| Chapter 66 Ana walked into Brian's room, smiling. Marie looked up at her, "Hey, what's got you so happy?" Ana grinned, blushing slightly, "Nothing," she sing songed. Brian watched the two friends, wondering what the looks between them meant. It'd been days since he'd woken up. Cameron had taken him off the ventilator, and he was improving greatly. He was still weak, and slept often, but he felt better than he had in a long time. "Your blushing," he pointed out, only making Ana blush more. Marie laughed, scooping up some more soup for Brian, "Finish your soup baby." Brian looked at her, "You two are keeping something from me aren't you?" Both girls smiled, and giggled. "It's a girl thing," Ana laughed. Brian smiled, looking between the two before he took the spoonful Marie offered him, "Honey, you should eat too," he said, looking at her with concern. Marie shook her head, "I'm not hungry." "But you've barely eaten all day. That can't be good for the baby," he protested. Marie bit her lip and looked down, her emotions coming to life. Ana glanced over at her, shocked that she hadn't told Brian yet. "Um, I just remembered I need to go finish something for the queen. I'll come back later," she said, giving Marie a �tell him' look as she left the room. Brian watched her leave, "That was odd." Marie looked up at him, trying her best to hide her emotions, "What?" "That Ana would come in and just leave like that. She always stays," he said, looking at his wife. "Well she forgot to do something for the queen, you heard her," she stammered, scooping up another bite for him. Brian pushed the spoon away, staring deep into her eyes, "What's wrong?" "Nothing sweetie, now finish your soup," she answered, looking back down. Brian pushed himself to sit up more in the bed and took her chin in his hand, gently lifting it, "You're upset. Please tell me why." Marie adverted her eyes from his piercing blues as a few tears escaped and trailed down her soft cheeks. Brian took her hand in his and squeezed it. Her behavior was scaring him, "Marie honey, what is it?" She sniffed, wiping the tears from her face. She had to tell him. She'd been avoiding it until now, but she couldn't keep it from him any longer. "Um ... I need to tell you something," she started, her voice soft and small. Brian watched as she struggled with her words, more tears flowing down her face. "Something happened when you were gone," she whispered. He squeezed her hand tighter, searching her eyes, "What baby?" Marie stared at him with so much loss in her eyes, "I um ...... I lost our baby." Brian felt his heart sink to his stomach and hot tears stung his face. He stared at his wife for a moment, so shocked he couldn't find any words. "I'm sorry Brian," she apologized through her tears, "I'm so sorry." Brian forced himself to move. He grabbed her and pulled her to him, holding her tight as they both cried. "Honey, it's OK. It's not your fault," he whispered. "I-I don't know what h-happened," she bawled, "Everything was fine .... then it happened." Brian smoothed her hair, "Oh honey, I'm so sorry. You're alright though?" he asked, suddenly frightened for her health. Marie pulled back and looked at him, nodding. He managed a smile through his tears, "Then we'll be OK." She looked back down, biting her lip, "It was a little girl." Brian leaned down, catching her eyes with his, "Then we'll have another little girl someday," he smiled. She nodded, feeling a sense of relief come over her. Silently she'd been dreading telling Brian because she thought he might blame her in some way. She knew it was stupid to think that, but she couldn't help it. Brian reached up and wiped her tears away, "I love you Marie." She smiled, falling into his embrace, "I love you too Brian." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat in his office, staring at the paperwork on his desk. He and Ana has spent all morning in the cave, and now he couldn't concentrate on a thing. His mind kept taking him back to their time together. A wide grinned plastered itself on his face, as he chewed on his lower lip. "Looks like someone had a good morning," Kevin teased, walking in. Nick jumped slightly, then blushed, "Um .. Yeah it was nice." Kevin grinned at the younger man, "Nice huh? So what'd you do this morning?" Nick shrugged, looking everywhere but his older brothers eyes, "Nothing really. Took a long walk in the garden, just enjoyed my day off, ya know." Kevin laughed, sitting down on the edge of the desk, "I think I do know, and it has nothing to do with taking a walk." Nick looked up at him, arching his eyebrows, "Just what do you think you know?" Kevin shook his head, and moved to sit in the chair across from the desk, "Nick, it's not that hard to figure out. I just ran into Ana in the hall. She had the same goofy smile on her face that you had when I walked in here," he laughed, "So, how long you two been doin the happy dance?" Nick's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. Quickly he waved his hand and the door to his office slid shut. "Jesus Kevin, just fucking announce it to the world why don't ya?!" he said, flustered. Kevin laughed, "Sorry man, but it's not gonna take a genius to figure out what's going on. All anyone has to do is look at you two." Nick sighed, "That obvious huh?" The older man nodded, "Clear as day." Nick shook his head, "What am I suppose to do Kev? I love her." "I know that kiddo, but you know if you guys get caught....." Kevin started. "I know, believe me I know, "Nick interrupted. "All I'm saying is just be careful," Kevin said, "Love can blind you, and you guys are starting to really be obvious. I just wanted to warn ya. If I've noticed it, who else has seen it?" Nick nodded his head, "K, thanks. We'll be more careful." Kevin grinned at him, "On a more personal note, I'm happy for ya man. She's a great girl." Nick laughed, "Thanks ... and Kev? The happy dance? Really dude, you gotta get a better saying," he giggled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian lay in his bed, Marie in his arms. She had told him everything that had happened, eventually crying herself to sleep next to him. He held her close, hating what she'd gone through without him. He should've been there for her, but was glad that A.J. had been. He made a note to thank his friend the next time he saw him. If A.J. hadn't been there, he wasn't sure how Marie would've gotten through it. He seemed to be her safety when Brian was gone. Cameron walked into the room, a syringe filled with blue in his hand. He smiled at the two as he injected the liquid into Brian's IV. "Cameron, how long before I get off this stuff?" Brian asked. The doctor sighed, "It will be a while Brian. You're still to weak to start weaning you off just yet." Brian's face fell, "Please Cameron. I don't like being on this stuff. I hate knowing that I'm depending on that shot every four hours to make me feel better." "I know Brian, but you're still to weak. You wouldn't be able to handle the withdrawals right now," Cameron replied. Brian sighed as the drug hit his system, washing him with that familiar relaxing feeling. "Get some rest," Cameron said, heading for the door. Brian watched him go, then wrapped his arms around his wife and settled next to her. He was asleep in moments. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat straight up in bed, gasping for air. Slowly the images from his dream left him and he looked around. It was the middle of the night, the moon hidden behind the clouds. He wrapped his arms around himself and fought to calm down. He was trembling with fear as tiny beads of sweat trickled from his forehead. Taking a deep breath, he got up and walked out to the balcony, staring up at the clouds. He frowned, not being able to see the stars. He grabbed the railing and looked out over the city lights. He was calming down, but the fear was still there, just like it'd been for the past several nights. Again he was left to determine if this was just a dream or something more. He prayed with all his heart it was just a nightmare, otherwise ...... The sound of his console beeping drew his attention back inside the room. He crossed the plush carpet and hit the button. Tamara's image met him, "Nick, I'm sorry to wake you." He shook his head, "I was awake. What's up?" "We've found the manufacturing plant," she said. "Where?" he asked, the ever present fear tingling down his spine. "It's in the Keys," she answered, "Tom and I are going to check it out in the morning." "The Keys? The Florida Keys?" he asked. "Yes, from what we've gathered, there's an ingredient that only grows in the waters here," she said. Nick nodded, "Be careful." The agent smiled at him, "We will. We'll call as soon as we can and let you know what we found out." "Thanks," he said. "Nick, are you alright?" she asked. "Yeah, just tired. Haven't gotten much sleep lately," he admitted. "Alright then, I'll let you go. Talk to you tomorrow," she said. "K, night," he said, switching off the console. Nick leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face. He was trembling again. "Get a grip Carter.. It's just a damn dream," he told himself, going back over to the bed. He sat down and stared out the balcony doors, "Please let it be a dream," he whispered, before grabbing a pillow and hugging it to himself, laying back down. Chapter 67 |