Kobe Club
The cinnamon-scented air filling the confines of the suite had almost served as a deterrent to Ronald Sandoval when he'd stepped into the room. The smoky fragrance had evoked a memory intrusion of the one woman he was trying so hard not to think about.
Six months had passed since Erin's departure from his life and each day without her was becoming harder and harder to face. She invaded his dreams with her angelic face and electric-blue eyes, her captivating smile and gentle voice. Not a day went by where he didn't think of her. There were just too many painful reminders all around him that made it difficult to forget that he had lost yet another love because of his high-risk lifestyle and his not so ethical way of dealing with 'problems'.
Even with all his resources and capabilities, six months of searching had thus far gotten him no closer to finding Erin. Tate had suggested that they give up, it was obviously useless with the girl's Resistance contacts. But the other agent's slur of "cut your losses and find a better wh*re. No woman, however good in the sack, is worth screwing everything up," had not gone down well with the Implant. Tate was now sporting a nasty bump on the back of his head and a sprained wrist from the Skrill blast he'd taken.
However much he disagreed with the lackey's statement, Sandoval knew Tate was right. They couldn't risk losing everything they'd worked for just because some woman had broken his heart.
And so here he was, back to his old routine of spending his lonely nights at the Club, trying to forget just for a few hours the deep, aching void Erin had left in his life, in his very soul. If he even had one anymore.
How could a woman I'd only known for two months affect me so? was a constant wonder to the Agent.
A low, moaning noise from above him brought Ron's attention back to the present as the young Geisha's movements became more rapid, her slight hands pressing harder against his stomach and her thighs grinding more forcefully against his.
A few more moments and then it was over. Ron let out a quite sigh as the woman slid down from the table-like bed, neither meeting the other's gaze. No matter how many times he came here, no matter how many women he slept with, none of them left him with the incredible, lasting feeling of peace that Erin had always brought after their lovemaking.
He lay there for a few minutes, waiting for the young woman to leave. When he heard the rustle of fabric as she made her way to the door, Ron finally sat up and began to get dressed, feeling no better than when he had walked in. Erin was the only one who had been able to make him forget his pain, his anger at the Taelons, and now that she was gone he was forced to live with it every moment of every day, with no promise of blissful relief at the end of it.
Raven began to hiss impatiently then, reminding Ron that he hadn't eaten since breakfast and needed sustenance. Buttoning up his shirt, Ron sat down on the cold floor before the low table and poured himself a cup of Saki and got started on the bowl of rice that awaited him. A fond smile touched his lips as he looked into the white ceramic bowl, remembering how Erin had often left him little 'gifts' in his rice. A wrapped chocolate heart, a love note with minuscule lettering that his CVI enabled him to read effortlessly. But this time, of course, there was no such surprise.
He heaved another sigh and finished the meal, seeing and feeling Raven's sated glow against his dark skin. Gathering up his jacket, he was about to exit when his Global started beeping.
"What is it, Tate?" he growled as soon as the other man's face appeared on the screen.
"Hey, cheer up, boss, I've got good news," Tate announced with a triumphant smirk.
Ron's eyes widened ever so slightly at the implications of this 'good news.' "You've found her?"
"I certainly have. She didn't even change her name OR her college major. Clever little tactic, if I do say so myself. We hadn't considered that she wouldn't change her identity..."
"Get to the point. Where is she?" Ron demanded impatiently.
"Connecticut. She's been dividing her time between working at a bio-engineering lab under the auspices of DI and a local day-care center."
Ron's brow creased with puzzlement. "Day-care? She said she wasn't too fond of children," he muttered to himself.
"Yeah well, maybe she lied about that too," Tate suggested.
"What'd you mean, "too"?"
Tate shook his dark head. "Nothing. Er, I've uploaded the info to your Global..."
***
Tender Hearts Day Care, Manchester, Connecticut
Giggles and delighted squeals added to the carefree, playful atmosphere of the recreation area as a group of ten young children ran about merrily, chasing one another and playing with the adults supervising them.
Sitting on one of the picnic benches, Erin Morgan lifted three-year-old Jamie Cummins up onto her lap and began to wipe away the chocolate milk from his little mouth. His small hands and cheeks were also coated with chocolate fudge from the brownies he'd been eating, and he couldn't stop giggling from the obvious sugar-high he was currently experiencing.
"Your mommy's not going to be too happy with us for letting you have so much sugar," she told the little boy, who only grinned at her and graced her with his dimples and teething gums. Erin couldn't help but smile back; he was such a cutie that none of the women at the center could resist his elfin little face.
"They're adorable when they're like this, aren't they?"
Erin looked up from her charge to see one of the other day-care workers, and her new best friend, sitting down opposite. "Like what?"
"When they're not crying, throwing tantrums or sulking," Sophie Webber elaborated, smiling warmly at her young friend. "As much as I love kids, they can be a lot of work."
"Mmm. I just hope I can handle parenthood by myself."
"Hey, you're not by yourself. You have me and all the other wonderful, childless women here that have devoted their time to taking care of other people's children. Look at it this way, at least you won't have to worry about finding a good baby-sitter to take care of the baby while you're working."
"I guess you're right. I'll be okay," Erin sighed, not sounding very convinced.
"Baby in tummy?" Jamie asked, pointing to Erin's swollen abdomen.
"Yep. In two and a half months, I will have a little baby of my very own," Erin confirmed, ruffling the little boy's fair hair.
"Um, I probably shouldn't be mentioning this, but we've all been discussing throwing you a baby-shower next week and I thought I'd warn you in advance. I know how you don't like surprises," Sophie informed. "That's okay, isn't it? A party, I mean."
Erin nodded and set Jamie back down on the grass. "Go find Emma and she'll get you some more milk," she instructed, then turned back to her companion as the little boy went on his way, still giggling. "A baby-shower sounds great. You've all made me feel very welcome here and I appreciate that."
Looking down at her stomach, Erin rubbed her hand over the firm skin, sighing deeply.
"Is everything all right?" Sophie asked softly, with genuine concern for the younger woman. In the four months that Erin had been working part-time at Tender Hearts, the two women had become good friends. But there were still a few secrets between them, that was clear. Like the real reason Erin was no longer involved with her baby's father and why she had fled D.C. Of course, Sophie herself had come to Connecticut three years previous to start a new life. She sympathized with Erin and would not push for answers until the younger woman was ready to tell her.
"I'm fine. Just hormones, I guess," Erin answered quietly, looking back up at her. "Mood swings, that sort of thing."
Sophie graced her friend with an understanding smile and poured two cups of lemonade from the pitcher sitting atop the wooden table. "So, when we finish up here, how about we go do some shopping? I know you'll be getting a huge bunch of stuff at the shower, but I don't recall seeing even a crib in that ridiculously expensive house of yours," she suggested, handing Erin one of the colored plastic cups.
"Well, my dad did send me a sizeable amount of money when I told him about the baby last week and I could use some help picking things out," Erin explained. She smiled enthusiastically then, as the idea grew on her. "Sure, why not..."
***
Three hours later, the two women 'hit the town' and picked up almost everything Erin would need for the baby. They finally called it a day when the streets began to get drenched with a sudden downpour of autumn rainfall. Returning to Erin's new residence, they got to work on putting the finishing touches to the nursery. It was well after midnight when they put the last soft-toy on the shelf and turned out the light on the baby's new room.
After seeing Sophie out, Erin fixed herself some warm milk and settled into bed. Switching off the bedside lamp, she snuggled further under the covers and placed a comforting hand on the swell of her stomach. "I don't suppose you're going to let me sleep uninterrupted tonight?" she asked the child. The baby kicked as if to say 'no'. Erin laughed lightly and rubbed her stomach. "All right. I suppose that's okay. Just don't kick too hard until I've gotten at least three hours of sleep. Night, baby..."
***
Unbeknownst to the young mother, a dark-clad figure sat in a Government-plated sedan, watching the house from across the street. Sandoval had arrived in town too late to catch Erin at work and it was far too late at night to be making his presence known now.
So for the past hour he had sat there quietly, just watching the still house. He knew she was still awake, or had been a while ago before the lights went out, but he just couldn't bring himself to go in. Just after his arrival, he had seen another woman in her mid-thirties leaving the house. Even from a distance she had seemed oddly familiar to him, but he couldn't get a good enough look at her face to determine why he felt that he knew her from somewhere.
The 'mystery woman' appeared to have dark brown, wavy hair, slight build, a few inches shorter than Erin and himself and her blue eyes shone eerily in the darkness. There were only two women in his life that had such beautiful eyes, and one was dead, the other just a few feet away from him.
Shaking off the sudden chill that run up his spine, Ronald keyed the ignition and pulled away from the curb.
Time to find a hotel.
After lying to Zo'or about having a prerequisite doctor's appointment that involved lengthy tests lasting most of the day, he was now free for the next 24 hours. He could barely contain his anticipation as he drove away from the area. After six months of searching, long, lonely nights and worrying about Erin, he was finally just a few hours away from seeing her again...
***
Pinewood Recreational Park
The following morning, all that was left of the rain from the previous day were a few puddles and droplets of water and morning dew dripping from the remaining leaves on the trees as Erin sat on her favorite bench and watched a pair of squirrels scurrying about from tree to tree.
"When you're old enough, and I've recovered from the excruciating pain of bringing you into this world, I'm going to bring you here every morning," she whispered to her stomach. "And when you start to walk, we'll get a puppy and take him for walks here too. We'll be just fine, you and me. We don't need your daddy.."
I hope.
Even with seven months to prepare herself for motherhood, Erin was still having a hard time getting used to the fact that she would be raising her baby alone, with no father for it to look up to or bond with the way a boy should.
Hubble had tried to persuade his daughter to return to D.C., insisting that he would see to it that no harm came to her or his grandson. Sandoval would have access to the child but no way of taking him from Erin unless he wanted the Taelons to find out. Which was highly unlikely. But Erin was adamant that Sandoval not find out that he was about to have another son born into this world.
It's better this way. We'll find someone else. And even if we don't, I have my friends, both here and with the Resistance...
Rubbing her hand over her stomach, she leaned back against the bench and switched her gaze to the birds flying above her.
Meanwhile, Ron Sandoval once again sat in his car quietly observing the object of his affections. The car was parked by the curb, but far enough away so that Erin couldn't hear him close the door when he finally managed to get out. From his present angle, he could only see her back. She was sitting on the dark wooden bench closest to the trees towards the side of the green, looking up at the clear sky and murmuring something to herself, as if she were singing something.
Either that or she's talking to herself,Ron mused with a fond smile. But whatever she's doing, why ever she's here, I didn't come all this way just to watch her from afar.
Taking a deep breath, Ron set off across the expanse of damp grass, feeling his heartbeat quicken like an excited child. As he closed the gap between himself and his salvation, a twig snapped loudly beneath his feet. Wincing, he stood stock-still as Erin's form tensed, her back straightening.
For a long moment, nothing was said, neither of them moved an inch. Then, "Erin?" Ron whispered softly. He was certain that it was her, he'd followed her here, but he was suddenly rendered incapable of speaking anything other than her name.
The young woman sucked in her breath, producing an involuntary gasp.
"I didn't mean to sneak up on you like this, but I had to see you," he continued. When she still refused to say a single word, he began to walk slowly, tentatively, around the bench to face her.
She was just sitting there, her eyes slightly wider than normal, staring at the grass in front of her.
He could see her chest raising and falling, her breath coming in quiet, almost rasping sounds. The fear in her too-blue eyes made him want to take her in his arms and tell her that he meant her no harm, but what happened next had him staring, frozen in shock...
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