Epilogue
"If you have tears, prepare to shed them now."
-William Shakespeare "Julius Caesar"
The shuttle had barely touched the ground before Ron jumped out and started running toward the scene in front of the day-care center. Every available space was filled with parked ambulances, wounded children and adults and worried loved ones desperate to see if their child was all right.
Liam powered down the shuttle and hurried to catch up with his father, who was now demanding to know where the casualties were being taken and if they had yet put together a list of those injured in the shooting. Liam approached just in time to hear the Detective in charge explain that the critically wounded were en route to the nearest hospital. All except one.
"Who?" Sandoval demanded of the taller man.
"A young woman by the name of Erin Morgan. The paramedics are still trying to stabilize her enough to be moved," the detective explained calmly. "But they said it doesn't look good."
Without another word, Sandoval quickly glanced around the area until he located Erin in the back of a nearby ambulance. He immediately took off running again, pushing past anyone who got in his way.
"Companion Security! This woman is one of our employees and I have authorization to take her back to D.C. for treatment," the Implant announced, holding up his ID as he climbed aboard the vehicle.
"She won't make a ride that far," one of the women tending Erin insisted.
"Major, get in here and help me!" Ignoring the protests of the two female EMTs, Ron unstrapped Erin from the stretcher as Liam climbed in.
Carefully, the two men lifted Erin up and carried her out to the waiting shuttle. As they gently lowered her down onto the bio-slurry floor of the craft, the thin gray blanket covering her pale, bloodied body slipped down to reveal the singed, blood-coated fabric of her dress. Gauze covered the gaping hole in her torso just above her swollen womb but both men could clearly see the extent of the damage. It was clearly the work of a Taelon-issue energy weapon.
Ron quickly pulled the blanket back up over his young lover and ordered the Major to fly them to Bethesda. The naval hospital was one of the few funded by the Taelons and Doors International, and thus had access to the latest in medical technology and treatments, unlike many other medical facilities.
Liam's heart was beating wildly against his chest as he steered the alien craft through the swirling vortex of ID space. He had seen the severity of the wound on Erin's chest and had no doubt that the shooter had deliberately avoided hitting Erin's baby. From the burns and pattern of the wound, he knew it had to have been caused by an energy weapon of some kind, a weapon that was restricted to use only by Companion employees such as Protectors and Volunteers.
It was unlikely that a divorced, alcoholic housewife and mother of three, however distraught and enraged, would purchase such a deadly, illegal weapon off the black-market. Nor would a Companion employee give it to her. Liam resolved to look into the investigation once he had a spare moment.
Behind him, he could hear Sandoval's quiet pleas to Erin, urging her to stay with him. Liam glanced over his shoulder to see his father cradling the young woman to his chest, pent-up tears glistening in his unusually soft eyes. It surprised him that the Implant was showing such emotion, such weakness, in the presence of someone he despised.
He really does love her, the hybrid concluded softly to himself.
Sighing, Liam returned his attention to the holographic controls before him and tried not to listen, missing the single tear falling from his father's eye.
Ronald quickly raised a hand to his face and wiped away the salty drop from his warm cheek, never taking his eyes off the young woman lying prone in his protective arms. She looked so pale, so sickly, drained of too much blood, and the peaceful aura she had always exuded no longer made her beautiful skin glow with radiance.
Keeping her close, Ron placed a trembling hand on Erin's abdomen. Nothing. The baby, his son, did not move or react in any way to his touch. He could feel the tears threatening to fall again as he realized that it was hopeless. He was going to lose them both and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
"I'm sorry," Ron whispered tenderly, sadly, to his young love. "I never meant for you to get hurt because of me. And I'll never forgive myself for making you flee. If I hadn't, this would never have happened..." The tears were flowing freely now, as he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on Erin's forehead. As he drew back, something soft and delicate brushed against his chin.
His breath caught in his throat as he looked down into Erin's deep-blue, half-open eyes.
"Ron?" Erin's hoarse voice was nothing but a whisper.
"Shh, try not to talk. We're almost there, you're going to be okay," Sandoval assured her, a smile of relief and happiness touching his lips.
"Promise me you'll... take care of our... baby..."
"Erin-"
"Promise me!" she insisted as firmly as she could, feeling her hold on consciousness begin to fade once again.
Ron hesitated. He had been certain the baby was dead, but he couldn't worry Erin with that possibility right now. "I promise," he whispered earnestly. "But you're BOTH going to be fine."
"...Love you..."
Ron didn't care if the Major could hear them, Erin needed comfort, needed to hear him confess his love for her, perhaps for the last time. "And I love you, my angel. For as long as I live."
Erin's pale lips curved into a weak smile as she took one last look at the man she loved and gave in to the pull of unconsciousness...
***
Bethesda Naval Hospital
The two Protectors had to almost jog to keep up with the orderlies as they wheeled the gurney down the stark hall of the facility. Doctor Allison Curzon stood at Erin's side, effortlessly walking alongside the gurney as she ran a handheld scanner over the younger woman's bloodied form.
"Dammit, she's A-B negative," the doctor hissed to herself, studying the scanner's read out as it not only displayed her current physical condition but her medical records as well. "We don't have any in supply and it'll take too long to Portal it over from Washington General."
"Would a direct, person to person transfusion be sufficient?" Liam inquired.
"Yes. Why?"
"I'm A-B negative."
"Fantastic! Major, go with this nurse and she'll do a quick test to make sure you're compatible," the doctor instructed, motioning to the woman beside her.
Without protest, Liam followed the nurse into a side room where she hastily but gently drew a small sample of his blood and put it through the analyser. He watched her cautiously, a feeling of dread developing in his stomach. How to explain the 'anomalies' she was sure to find?
A few seconds later, the young woman's brow furrowed in puzzlement as she looked down at the results. "Do you have any inherent genetic anomalies or disorders, Major?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Er, no, not that I'm aware of," Liam answered calmly. "But my father was diagnosed with a genetic blood disorder last year. I was tested for it and my doctor says that I don't have it, but as a result there are some unusual properties, or anomalies, to my DNA."
"Well, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with you and this is urgent, so I suppose we can overlook it."
Less than ten minutes later, Liam found himself lying on a gurney next to Erin as the young woman's wounds were treated, his vital, life-giving blood flowing from him into Erin's weakened, drained body through a slit in her arm.
Sandoval paced back and forth in the corridor just outside, occasionally peering into the room through the window. The Implant was more anxious and filled with deep, genuine concern than Liam had ever seen him in. If he looked hard enough, he could almost see the profound agony of his father's soul. It almost mirrored his own in so many ways that Liam was forced to realize that he shared more in common with his unknowing Human father than he cared to admit.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Liam turned his head a little more to the side so that he could see Erin. She was still unconscious, her complexion deathly pale, barely breathing, but at least the transfusion was succeeding in stabilizing her and her unborn baby, Liam's brother.
He could hear the infant's heartbeat coming from the fetal monitor positioned on the other side of Erin. The steady beeping was faint, but getting stronger with each ounce of blood he received from his mother.
When at last the doctor was finished tending to Erin, a nurse carefully removed the needle and tube from Liam's arm and handed him a cup of pure orange juice. Doctor Curzon opened the door to Sandoval and informed him that Erin and the baby would be fine if they made it through the next twenty-four hours, which she had no doubt they would.
Ron watched as the orderlies took Erin away to her own private room, sighing with greater relief he'd ever expected to feel for another Human being again, and turned to the young man sitting up unsteadily behind him. The Major looked incredibly woozy, like he was on the verge of passing out, but to his credit, he did not. "I owe you a debt of thanks, Major."
The Agent's whispered words of genuine gratitude very nearly caused Liam to choke on the juice. Wiping a few stray drops of the yellow-orange liquid away from his lips, Liam quipped with an amused smile, "They must've taken too much blood. I could swear I just heard you thank me."
Sandoval glanced down at the floor for a long moment, as if contemplating whether he should confirm or deny his words. "I should have thanked you a long time ago," he murmured, slowly raising his gaze to meet Liam's. "I owe you much more than that... You've saved my life more times than I care to remember, but until now, I've never truly felt grateful to you for anything."
Liam's handsome features brightened into a warm smile. "You're welcome, Sandoval," he returned softly. "Just take care of your family and we'll call it even." Slowly lowering his feet to the ground, Liam stood unsteadily and took a step toward his father. "Piece of advice: Do it right this time. If you need it, I'm willing to help."
That said, the Major slowly left the room, pausing half way to the door to steady himself as a wave of dizziness blurred his vision and weakened his knees. Ron was instantly at his side, gripping the taller man's arm to steady him.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, I just need to get my land-legs back," Liam insisted. "On second thought, maybe I'll just lie down for a while." His long legs suddenly gave out from under him, forcing him to fall to his knees, the grip Sandoval had on his arm the only thing keeping him from collapsing completely.
***
Later that night
The hallways of the hospital were eerily silent as Ron sat at Erin's bedside, dividing his time between watching her still face and the shimmering stars outside the window. It was well after 1 a.m., but he didn't care if he was tired and fatigued for the rest of the day as a result. He wanted to be there when Erin woke up, or in case she or the baby took a turn for the worse.
He had to leave eventually, of course. He was due at work in less than six hours and he couldn't afford to get out of his duties again without Zo'or becoming even more angry with him than he already was. Kincaid was still around, though, having fainted in his arms earlier that evening. Perhaps he could ask him to stay with Erin for the day, he could arrange for the Major to have a sick day.
He did say he would 'help' if I needed it. But what could be in this for him? Why would he ever want to help me? In fact, why hasn't he turned me over to Zo'or by now for all my unethical, disloyal actions and all the secrets he knows I'm keeping from the Taelons, against my Imperative? Ronald wondered, and not for the first time.
"Ron?" The quite, gentle voice pulled him from his thoughts. It was Doctor Curzon, a small smile parting her lips as she stood in the doorway.
"What is it? Is Erin okay?" Ron asked.
"Yes, she's fine, there's no change in her or the baby," Allison assured him. "What I have to tell you involves your other son."
Ron's brow creased as he got up out of the chair and took a step closer to the doctor. "What about him?" The question was spoken softly in case anyone could hear them, even though he knew no one could. He'd placed a jamming device on the wall to prevent any unwanted listeners.
The doctor took a deep breath and ran a hand over her tired eyes. "One of the nurses informed me of some genetic oddities detected in Major Kincaid's blood sample," she began. "So I ran the test again and came up with some rather shocking results... I compared them to the anomalies in your son's blood... They're identical."
"What?" Ron demanded.
"I ran a DNA analysis to confirm it... I have no doubt about it, Ron. Major Liam Kincaid and your son... are one and the same..."
FIN...
Last Part
Go to the sequel, 'Echoes of Angels'
Return to the 'In the Arms of An Angel' index