A/N: Hey, what d� ya� know? We�re done!
Chapter 11: A Different Type of Showdown By: DragonMouse ~( 8>
Becca was playing with the other bed in Edward�s new semi-private room and Donna was talking with her fianc�e, who�d woken up not long ago when a call came on my cell phone. �Hello?�
�Anita, me an� Pete need a ride back to the hospital. We�re done here.�
�Okay, be right there,� I answered and we both hung up without saying good-bye. Ms. Manners would be appalled.
I relayed the message, making sure it was okay that I took the Hummer since Edward was awake this time, then headed out. When I pulled into the drive, I found Crys huddled into herself on the walkway from the driveway to the front door. Peter�s arm was slung around her shoulders as he crouched next to her, a concerned look in his eyes. He helped her up as the car pulled in and then opened the door for her, sliding in after her.
�What the hell happened?� I asked when neither kid volunteered any information. Peter�s mouth opened, but I interrupted. �Never mind. Save it for Edward and Donna. He�s awake, by the way.�
He nodded, then looked back and forth between Crys and me. �I-I gave her orange juice and cookies. That�s what they people when they donate blood. So it�s gotta be good for blood loss, right? I did good, right?� His voice was squeaky with fear.
�Yeah, I suppose you did. She�ll be fine, Peter.�
�Except that Double Stuf Oreo�s taste really bad with OJ,� Crys piped without her usual hyperness. I wondered again what happened.
*~*
Peter was holding Crys�s good hand between both of his. Apparently, a bit of guilt had set in, because every now and then, he�d say something about being sorry he wasn�t looking the right way. She shook her head every time, reassuring him that he couldn�t have known. All the while, Doctor Webster was trying to sew up the nasty slices in her arm, hoping surgery wouldn�t be needed. She�d cried and cursed through the local anesthetics. I hadn�t watched. Needles and all�
Becca was coloring with crayons in a book her mom had, her back to the room. Strategic placing at it�s best. Ever since the story of what happened, told before the doc came in, Donna�s eyes had been darting between Crys, her son, her daughter and Edward in an endless circle. I didn�t think it boded well. I wasn�t too happy about the kids� activities myself, but they�d done it themselves, no encouragement from the assassin, though he /did/ seem immensely proud. Which meant I wouldn�t have to kill him.
Finally, Webster stood. �In a couple hours, I�ll be back in to check both of you. I�m going to have to take some of your blood, Crys, to send to the lab to see if you might have, uh, caught something creature that bit you. And you�ll have to schedule an exam for either tomorrow or the day after to make sure there was no damage to nerves and tendons that we couldn�t see. Once the swelling goes down a bit, it�ll be cake.� He tipped a wink at the girl and wandered out, depositing the tools he�d used in a sharps box on the way. The doctor knew very well that it wasn�t some strange, vicious animal. His insistence on blood work was proof enough. Hell, he�d just spent hours in surgery closing them on the kid�s guardian, he /had/ to know.
�So Teddy,� Crys grinned, her spirit rejuvenated by the IV in her arm and the numbness. �Me an� Pete were thinking that we�ll give you 10 percent, since you turned us on to this one. Except for the bleeding, pain thing, it was awesome!�
�Oh yeah,� Peter agreed. �I�ve found my adrenaline rush. Screw bungee jumping. Paintball for keeps that�s what this was. Paintball for keeps.� His knee was bouncing up and down, a toothy grin plastered across his face. They still had their hearts, or they wouldn�t have reacted so enthusiastically, but their consciences were gone, flown the coupe. Shit.
Suddenly, Donna sat forward. �No. No, Peter, no child of mine will do something like this. I can�t have this happening, I just can�t. Ted, the engagement is off. I want you away from the kids. You can�t influence my children like this. It�s bad enough you have little Crystal.�
Edward blinked once, twice, then said impassively, �Fine.� No accent. No appealing to his �honeypot�. He�d dropped Ted in favor of Edward.
By now Becca had perked up, purple crayon poised. �Momma? Why are you mad at Ted?�
�It doesn�t matter honey. I just don�t want him to see you or Peter anymore.�
�But _why_?� she insisted, tears gleaming in her bright, innocent eyes.
Donna had eyes only for Edward when she said, �Because he�s a bad man.�
Death�s face didn�t change, but I felt like smacking the woman. After the Riker incident, you would have thought she�d know good from bad a little better. Edward may not be Mr. Perfect, but he�s fought on the side of right many, _many_ times. Becca had barely taken her mother�s statement in when she hurled the Crayola she was holding at the woman. �He is not! Him and Anita saved me from the bad men! They�re GOOD guys. A GOOD guy can�t be a bad guy! Don� you watch cartoons?� She crawled up on Edward�s bed, taking one of his hands and one of mine, glaring at her mom through her tears. I could only stare down at the child, shocked by her outburst. Olaf flashed in my head, one of the �good guys� who saved her, though he was far from it in fact.
On the other side of the room, Peter stood, placed a kiss on Crys�s hand before dropping it and started across the room. In her shock, Donna didn�t even notice. Crys was watching all this with frightened eyes, probably afraid she�d be separated from her buddy forever. He came to a halt by Edward�s bed and crouched in front of his sister. �Becca. Becca, you�re right. Ted _is_ a good guy. He and Anita are two of the best people out there, you know that, right?� The young girl nodded, sniffling. Peter lowered his voice so only Becca, Edward, and myself could hear.
�But he scares Mom, did you know that?� Becca shook her head, a bit confused, and her brother continued. �She doesn�t know how much he wants to protect us, or how he hurt the bad guys who hurt us, because she didn�t see it. We think different now �cause of what we went through, right?� Again, the girl nodded. �Well, Mom blames how I think now on Ted and doesn�t like it. She thinks you�ll be like Crys, Anita, Ted and I, but wants you to be like her. Listen to Mom Becca, get over there.�
She looked at all of us in turn, judging what her older brother had said, weighing it in her cute little head. Then she released our hands and slid off the bed, pausing to give Edward a peck on the cheek before venturing back to her mother. When Donna laid a protective hand on the girl�s shoulder, Becca turned back to us. �But I kinda _want_ to be like you and Crys and Ted and Anita.�
From across the room, Crys finally added her two cents to the mix. �No you don�t, kiddo. We may get to beat up the bad guys, but they get to beat us up too. Trust me. When you grow up, you�ll know that staying away from us is a good idea.� Becca�s eyes ticked to Crys�s stitched, tattered, swollen arm, much more visible then Edward�s more grievous wounds, and those baby blues widened considerably.
Donna took her daughter�s hand, ready to get out of there. I actually admired her decision on her own, one that benefited the children, more then herself. But as she turned to Peter, I had a keen feeling the roll she was on was about to slam head-on into a wall she didn�t even see. �Let�s go Peter,� she stated, as if she really expected him to just get up and leave.
Several months ago, he would have. But that was before he bonded with Edward, before he and Crys teamed up. He did stand up though, and Crys sat, worry etched on her face as she studied him. She needn�t worry though. His jaw was set in a determined line and he stared disbelieving at his mom. In those moments, I saw what that 14-year-old boy would grow into and I was proud of him. Apparently Donna saw it too, because a look of shock crossed her face.
�You don�t get it, huh Mom? I�m staying. These three, they know me better then you _ever_ will. They understand that certain things need to be done so that everyone else can stay innocent and safe. Get out of here. Crys and I will keep the world innocent. Eddy and Anita will show us how.�
Across the room, Crys grinned in approval, needing to add nothing. I wondered briefly if Donna had noticed Peter used Eddy instead of Ted, but then realized it didn�t much matter anymore. Down at my side, I felt a tug on my shirttail and found it to be Edward. He indicated the kids with a tick of his not-so-cold blue eyes, then mouthed, �Uh-oh.� I gave a scowl that I didn�t really mean and pointed back at him, indicating that this was all _his_ fault. In return, Edward gave me a rare smile and shrugged as much as his wounds would let him.
Donna was doing that little fishy thing with her mouth as she stared at her son. Suddenly, she stopped, stood up ramrod straight and said huffily, �Fine then. Come by and get you things soon. Your sister and I will be packing and leaving. Good luck with those, those _monsters_.� With that, she took Becca by the hand and hauled the child along behind her.
A silence fell over the room as Peter stared at the door his blood family had just left from and we watched him. I was wondering if he�d run after them, screaming he was sorry the whole way. After a bit, he nodded as if to a voice in his mind and muttered, �Love you too, Mom.� He turned back to us and cleared his throat. �So Eddy, can I stay with you guys for awhile? �Til I�m 18, say?�
His eyes shining, Edward coughed on a laugh. �Sure kid. I think I�ve still got one more room to spare.�
Just as Peter was about to shake the assassin�s offered hand, he let out a surprised �Oomph,� when Crys wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. �This is gonna be sooo awesome,� she blurted, both kids grinning widely.
�We�re going to have our hands full,� Edward muttered to me.
I looked him straight in the eye, glaring. �What do you mean, �we�?� In response, he gave me that infuriating smile and said nothing.
~( 8>