Gwen lays in the infirmary in Stormwatch Tower in a hospital bed wearing a hospital gown. Her belly is round, carrying a 9-month old baby that's finally about to make its entrance into the world. Doctors and nurses rush all around her, doing Gwen-knows-what, while Gwen just lays there and watches them. Gwen's mind doesn't know how to fill in the missing pieces of what she would be doing right now because Gwen has never given birth or been pregnant in real life, and so she just lays there watching everyone else.
Suddenly time skips ahead and Gwen is in an operating room-- still laying on the hospital bed in her hospital gown, but with her wrists and ankles in restraints. She pulls on the restraints, but they don't creak or give at all. Doctors are standing around her, watching, while a doctor and some nurses stand at the end of the bed preparing a tray as if for an operation.
"No...I'm giving birth naturally!" Gwen tells them, but no one seems to hear her. "I CAN GIVE BIRTH NATURALLY!!" she shouts, but no one even flinches or gives any sign that they hear her. The doctor at the foot of the bed turns to face her and then reaches towards her.
Time flashes forward again. Gwen's still laying in the hospital bed, but in a recovery room. Her belly is now flat. A doctor and nurse are watching her.
The doctor-- a man-- holds a clipboard and takes a step towards her. "I'm sorry but we had to take the baby. We had no choice."
Gwen jumps out of the bed. "Take the baby?? Take her WHERE??" Somehow Gwen knows the baby was a girl. "Where is she?? Go get her! Bring her back!" she screams. She reaches out to grab the doctor, and the next thing she knows she's running down a hallway in the infirmary, still in the hospital gown.
At the end of the hallway is a while, sterile-looking room. Standing in the room are Caestus and all the members of Stormwatch, all in their uniforms. They look odd...like a military line...all of them standing straight and tall, side-by-side. Gwen runs into the room.
"Caestus, they took my baby!! Help me get her back!!" she cries.
Caestus shakes his head. "I'm afraid I cannot."
Gwen's face looks shocked. "What do you mean, you can't??" She looks pleadingly from face to face of all her teammates. "Help me! Help me!" she cries, but their faces remain impassive as they just look at her.
She turns around and looks up at the ceiling, as if she can see right through it and into the sky. "ETHAN!!" she shrieks. "ETHAN HELP!!"
Gwen thrashes around in her large bed. Her left arm reaches and pats around desperately on the empty left side of the bed as she moans Ethan's name, but it finds nothing there. She moans again and rolls towards the empty side of the bed, arms searching fruitlessly, and then finally her eyes open. She's covered in sweat and crying. Ethan's gone. It takes her a second to remember where he is and what he's doing, and then she just pulls the covers over her head and whimpers as the dream slowly fades into the shadows and real life rushes back in.
Even in the confusion that follows the nightmare she knows why she had it. She had it because she feels like Caestus and Stormwatch aren't doing anything to help her find the man who's been trying to kill Ethan. Her anxiety about Divis trying to steal her baby...about not feeling like she can trust anyone she doesn't know in Stormwatch Tower...is her most recent fear, but the long-term underlying frustration is about Ethan's attempted assassin.
It takes her a long time to shake the dream. She doesn't want to go back to sleep in case the nightmare comes back-- and luckily she nova-body doesn't need sleep anymore anyway-- so she gets out of bed groggily and pulls on a pair of black track-shorts, a white tank top, and a pair of top-of-the-line black and white running shoes that don't require socks. She loves sports technology! She takes the elevator down to the track-level of the basement-- level minus 9-- and starts running.
Two hours later she's feeling much stronger, emotionally AND physically, so she's ready to face the world again. Most people just use that phrase casually. For Gwen, she really DOES face the world everyday!
She gets in the elevator, wondering if the Nova Beer she drank at the party last night contributed to the nightmare. That was her first time giving in and drinking it. She's never been much of a drinker anyway, and the thought of drinking something that could take her powers away just sounded stupid to her!
But last night she'd finally let loose and given in to the peer pressure. And...it had had no affect on her. She'd had at least 4 beers and nothing! She'd watched most of her teammates get shit-faced and do silly things. She'd enjoying streaking through all three law-floors of the building perfectly sober-- she hates lawyers. Well...all except Ethan, of course! And she can't wait for Kat or Elias to show themselves so she can get the dirt on if they slept together, or if they just passed out in Elias' room!
She goes to push the button to her floor of the building when she realizes that she's only 4 floors down from the infirmary. She gets a little shiver as part of the dream flashes through her mind, but she quickly shoves it away. And then decides...hmm! The infirmary! Bob needs a visit! It's still early in the morning, but if anyone else would be up right now it's Bob! Even a sick and injured Bob!
She pulls out her ever-present cell phone and dials the number to the nurses station.
"Infirmary," the nasally voice says. "How may we help you, Aura?" the nurse says.
Bob has been laying in his bed awake for the last few hours. He can't sleep and sadly he can't roll to his side, which is how he likes to sleep. He looks down at his legs. Everyday they get stronger, but not strong enough. They say he'll walk with a cane...maybe...if he walks at all.
"I'm in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by to visit Bob. Is he awake?" she asks cheerfully.
The nurse stands up looking through the glass to his room. "He is, Aura. He's been refusing his sleeping medication," she says.
"Really? Hmm. I'll talk to him about it." she says, pushing the button for floor minus 3. The elevator quickly takes her to the infirmary, and she steps out. She waves her fingers and smiles at the nurse she was just talking to, and clicks her cell phone shut as she walks past the nurses station.
Bob's room isn't too far. She does a little knock-knock on the door before walking in. "Hey Bob! It's your favorite nova in the world!" she calls as she enters.
Bob turns his head to the door. "Come in," he says sitting up. He presses the button and the bed shifts up to a sitting position. He draws the blankets over his legs and midsection. "Hello Aura. Little early for you to be up isn't it?"
She smiles and walks over to the bed. "I had a bad dream. Don't worry, you weren't in it!" she teases. "So I took a little run and thought I'd come visit you afterwards." She glances across the blankets and pillows they've provided him here. "Damn...for a billion doller corporation you'd think they could get you a fluffy pillow and soft sheets or something." she comments. Gwen's one of the few members of Stormwatch who's never be a patient in the infirmary. She looks back at Bob. "How are you feeling?"
Bob shrugs, "It is what it is, and it's not that uncomfortable." he says. "I hope you'll never have to spend time here." He sits up a bit more and turns on the light. He looks over at Aura. "A visit huh...You, Sero, Slider and Damage are the only ones who come down here."
Gwen's eyebrows raise. "Really? Hmm. Well...I don't think the others have had enough time to get to know you yet. Maybe they're just shy." She pulls a chair over and sits down beside the bed.
"Well as you know we finally had a party last night!" she grins. "Now don't go getting a big head or anything. Slider kissed ME last time we played Truth or Dare!" she laughs. "Not too shabby, is she!" she winks.
Bob laughs, "No not at all. I didn't mind it. I hope you all weren't too tough on the new guys." he says. "I hear Sero will be taking Stormwatch One while I'm out. That's good, she'll do a good job of it."
"Too tough on the new guys?? US??" she pretends to be offended. "I don't know what you could be talking about!" She finally grins. "Actually, we were really easy on them...THIS time! Me and Slider had the hardest challenges! I still need to call Dave and apologize to him..." she says to herself, tapping a finger against her chin. She looks back at Bob. "The best events of the evening weren't even dares! Sero and Dylan McShane slept together, and then Kat and Elias went to his apartment together...both VERY drunk!" she grins. "And it was reported that Facade brought someone up to HER apartment, but no one saw who! And it sure wasn't one of us!"
Bob shakes his head. "I'm suddenly very glad to be down here rather than playing Truth of Dare with you guys." he says. "Do all your Truth or Dare sessions turn into a meat market session?" he asks with a shake of the head.
Gwen laughs, crossing her legs. "Now Bob! I told you! That had nothing to do with Truth or Dare! Sero and Dylan went upstairs before we even started playing, and all the other match-ups went to bed well after we stopped! If anything was to blame it was that Nova Beer-- although it had no affect on me!"
She pauses. "Bob...you really should come play with us next time! There are SO many questions I would want to ask you...so many dares to dare you!" she grins. "And just think! You could ask US anything you wanted to, or dare us to do anything you wanted to! Isn't that incredibly tempting?? Come on Bob...say yes!"
Bob purses his lips. "Gwen, I have to remain respected by the team. Otherwise you and the rest of Stormwatch will take my leadership abilities and trash them. I have to remain separated from you all to keep my authority." he says. "That Nova Beer will get you guys in trouble some day."
Gwen sighs and looks sad when Bob turns down her offer to play with them. "It's OK, Bob. I understand. One of my former assistant coaches was the same way. He was a really cool guy so we invited him to come party with us after a meet, but he said no for the same reasons. He was afraid that we'd start seeing him as a friend and not take him as seriously." Gwen pauses. "Well...you're still fair game to be the SUBJECT of a dare, right?" she pokes his arm teasingly.
"Incidentally, I agree about the Nova Beer. It seems more like something you'd force your enemy to drink with how it takes your powers away. I mean, it might feel good to get buzzed or drunk, but I don't like the price you pay for that experience. So if anything happens because of the beer, remember this conversation and know that I had nothing to do with it!"
"I will Gwen," Bob says. "And no, don't involve me in any more dares." he says sternly. "Hey Gwen, again, I want to thank you for what you did in Vegas. I'd be dead if you hadn't." he says.
Gwen smiles at Bob, reaching over and patting his arm. "Anytime, Bob. We may fight, but...we're family. I don't know what I'd do without you." She's pauses for a moment. "Especially after the Stormwatch Julie-fiasco!" she smiles. "And I'm sure Sero will be much better than Julie, but...Bob? Please hurry up and get better?" she pleads.
Bob looks down at his legs and then back up to Gwen. "Tell them," he says with a wane smile. "I'll try, Gwen. I promise. I want to come back as much as you guys want me back." he says. "Why did he do it?" he asks after a moment of silence.
Gwen shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "Who knows! Most of the times we encounter him he's very calm and just talks to us. I was actually shocked when I saw that he'd lit the stadium on fire because I wasn't expecting it at all! I think he's like a volcano. He stores up all this animosity and holds onto it and holds onto it and then suddenly unleashes it. Maybe he was mad because he thought Rage was someone he could recruit, and then when he got to my dressing room and saw all of you there and realized I was Aura he had a temper-tantrum. It could have been anything, Bob. Or maybe he finally saw his chance to get rid of the human behind Stormwatch. I know he's always been pissed off that we take orders from a non-nova." she explains.
Bob considers it a moment and nods. "All that for me? I doubt it, Aura. He probably wanted to demonstrate his powers, or as Ortiz says, destroy the XWF. Who knows what goes on in that twisted mind of his."
Aura nods. "Well...if he was going to destroy the XWF at least he waited until my last match!" she half-heartedly jokes. "I don't know why he's suddenly attacking the XWF! We're no slaves! We CHOSE to sign on because we thought it sounded fun! He's always got to be grumpy about SOMETHING." she sighs. "Next time I see Ortiz I'm going to THROTTLE him!!" She pauses. "I can do that, right? Or will I have to pay him $80,000,000??" she asks in frustration.
"No you can't do that..." Bob says. "But...since it pisses off Ortiz and Mal so much...and the fact that you ID'd Terminatrix as a possible Teragen member...I'm inclined to possibly letting you stay in the XWF as Rage..." Bob says nodding. "What do you think?"
"EEEEEEEEEE!!!" Gwen shrieks with excitement. She jumps out of her chair and hugs Bob tightly, lifting him like a rag-doll and then apologizing and setting him back down. "Oh Bob really?? REALLY??" she asks, bouncing around the room.
"Yes, I'll have to OK with Caestus, but I'm sure I can convince him." Bob says settling back down on the bed wincing in pain. He presses the nurse button. "Could I have some pain medication," he says into the speaker. "Just don't do that again." he says gruffly.
Gwen quickly settles back into her chair, looking innocently at the nurse as she brings Bob his pain medicine. After the nurse goes Gwen relaxes again.
"I'm sorry Bob...I wasn't thinking! That happens a lot..." she grins. She looks down at her running clothes and then at Bob in the bed and gives a little laugh. "You know who we remind me of? Forrest Gump and Lieutenant Dan!" she says, trying to get him to laugh. "I just don't want you to be resentful of me that I saved your life while you're going through physical therapy!" she grins. She pauses a moment and then laughs hard. "Pumpkin is definitely Bubba! Except that he didn't die!"
Bob settles back on the bed and sighs as the medicine kicks in. He groans at the Forrest Gump comparison. "Look Aura, I don't resent you. I'm glad you saved my life. I'd rather be walking with a cane than dead." he says. "So how do you like your new members?"
Gwen settles back in her chair and thinks. "Thundergirl is fitting right in very nicely. She and Sero have been spending a lot of time together working on their projects, and she's been a good friend to me during my...difficult times. Elias is also fitting in nicely. He's really into the Nova Council, and has been working on some papers that he wants to present to them. I can't wait for the next meeting!"
"The Iron Mountie and The Duke are both good in battle, but really anti-social the rest of the time. They seem to be getting along well together, anyway." she grins, wiggling her eyebrows. "Not that I'm implying anything at all..." she adds with a wink. And Facade...she's really friendly, and she's been getting along well with Sero and Thundergirl, but I think she needs some direction. All she does is perch at the window and drop water balloons on the media! Not that that's BAD or anything..."
"What???" Bob says sitting up. He winces and takes a sharp breath. "Stop her, Aura. Please don't let her do that again." he says as the medicine really kicks in, his voice dropping off a bit. His eyes glaze over a little and begin to droop. "Woah..." he says leaning back. "Powerful stuff."
Gwen watches him with raised eyebrows, and then grins. "Fast-acting, too! Nice! Don't worry! I'll tell her that by the power vested in me from Stormwatch Bob, no more water balloons!" she grins. "So why are you refusing your sleeping medicine? Are you being as stubborn as ever about getting some good rest?"
"I can't rest...I have...to...keep...you guys...in line..." Bob says through the medicine. "Wow...Aura...I'm about to fall asleep." he says. "Damn...they gave me a sedative..." he says. He blinks a couple times trying to stay awake.
Gwen's face falls. The thing she'd been the most excited to tell him and he's only going to be half-awake to hear it. Why has no one appreciated the story of what she accomplished with Brenda Walker? No one in Stormwatch seemed to give a shit when she told them. Caestus gave her a pat on the head. Ethan gave her a backwards compliment, telling her he knows she only did it to spy on Brenda, but good work anyway. Which is NOT why she did it at all! She befriended Brenda so that Herman Walker's own child wouldn't hate novas. So that she'd, in fact, like them a lot, and see that they can be good people! She saw the potential for a turning-point in the greater scheme of things...that maybe getting Herman's daughter to like novas might change the tide in the battle with Herman. It was probably the most challenging thing she'd ever done. Anyone who knows her even a little should have realized what an incredible thing Gwen had accomplished-- not only did she NOT kill Brenda when she was such a bitch to her, but then she helped her find a job and even made "friends" with her! And this was not only Gwen who did this, but Gwen in Rage-mode! Doesn't anyone get that? By all rights she should have just killed Brenda, or something! But she didn't. And you know what? If Gwen gets ignored when she does good, and yelled at when she TRIES to do good and messes up, what's the point in even trying anymore?
Gwen looks down at Bob, wondering if she should even bother telling him. She'd been SO excited to tell the others, but afterward she'd felt like a balloon that had been deflated.
She sighs. "Hey Bob? I wanted to tell you something good that I did." she says tentatively. "If you can stay awake that long."
Bob nods, "Yeah...I'm fighting it. Fire away..." he says sitting up even more. He rubs his eyes and blinks. "Ok let me hear it, I'm interested in anything good you do." he says.
Gwen gives a bitter smile and is about to say something about how rare those times are, but then doesn't. She sighs again. "Just remember while I'm telling it that the story ends great so that your blood pressure doesn't go up!" she adds. "Anyway, I decided that I wanted to meet Herman Walker's daughter and see if I could secretly tape her talking about Herman Walker so I could have that in case I needed it. She worked at a strip club in Tennessee, so I had Rage go down there and ask if she could strip for one night, and of course the manager said 'oh yeah!' and just like that I found myself back in the dressing room with Brenda."
"I tried to be friendly, but Brenda was a nightmare. She was probably the rudest, most foul-mouthed person I've ever met, and that's saying a lot! She said she hated novas...something about all novas being assholes, or something. I really don't know why she was so rude to me. I was impressively nice! While she was stripping I saw a check for $5,000 in her purse that Herman had paid her to keep her quiet. Nice dad, huh? Cheap bastard."
"Anyway, she ended up getting herself fired because she was so rude to me, and then the manager insinuated that if she performed an unspecified sex-act on him by way of apology that she could get her job back the next day! She stalked out, and it took all my willpower not to touch the manager! See Bob? Getting sued for $80,000,000 DOES teach me how to deal with humans!" she grins sarcastically.
"I followed her outside to her car and found her crying, and I STILL tried to be nice to her-- even after all the shit I'd been through with her already. But she drove off. So I followed her. She was driving all crazy and almost crashed into a pole, but I used my telekenesis to save her life. After that she was a little more reasonable. I told her I was with Aeon and I was there to protect her because the Teragen had been throwing her name around. I told her I could get her a good job...I told her Supreme could vouch for me."
"To make a long story short, she finally believed me, and by the end of it she was hugging me and we exchanged phone numbers! I got her a job in Dylan McShane's records department, and now she LOVES novas! Caestus told me to keep in touch with her...make sure she's doing OK...see if she's someone we could trust. My idea is that one day she might be able to turn the tide in this battle we're having with Herman Walker. If his own daughter would stand up to him on national television...you never know what kind of an effect that might have on his supporters."
Bob considers this for a moment. Even through the fog of the sedatives he can see the potential for this. "Aura...I'm impressed. That took a lot of forethought. Imagine," he says rubbing his chin. "Herman Walker trying to push through Nova registration again, and here comes his daughter at a press conference telling the world what a bigot her father his," Bob says with a smile. "Brilliant, Aura, really!" he says with a big smile. He then scowls at her. "I don't approve of the stripping, but since it didn't happen I'll ignore it."
Gwen beams and ALMOST hugs Bob again, but stops herself in time! "Aaaw Bob! How could you ignore ME stripping?" she grins. "Tell you what. I'll give you a private show and THEN tell me if you approve or not!" she teases. "Seriously though, thank you Bob. It's nice to be told that I did something right."
"I count on you and Damage a lot more than you think," Bob says looking very weary now. "I know the two of you will be there when the chips are down. I can count on you to stand up and fight..." he says. "You two are the bedrock of the team."
Gwen smiles, looking surprised. "Wow! Thank you Bob!" She bends forward and pats his shoulder. "I really appreciate hearing that. I didn't know you felt that way about me." She pauses. "Oh! Did you hear that Pumpkin and Songbird are engaged? Yep! There's might be a little pumpkin patch sooner than later!" she grins.
She pauses again. "Bob? Do you think you'll be able to be at my wedding? I really want you there." she asks softly.
Bob nods and looks down at his shoulder and then back at Gwen. "Hmmm well. I didn't hear about those two. That's nice," he says. "I'll be at your wedding, Aura, if you can promise me no Truth or Dare," he says. "At least until I leave," he says.
Gwen folds her arms and shakes her head. "Bob, you are the master manipulator, you know that? Hmmm...a week and a half...I think we can probably manage not to play Truth or Dare in that amount of time...even though I think the game ended a little prematurely last night! Hopefully nothing ELSE ended a little prematurely last night!" she grins. "All right, fine Bob. No Truth or Dare. Even though I know deep down you like it!" she smirks.
Bob rolls his eyes and yawns. "Mmm I think my willpower is fading Aura. You mind if I sleep now? By the look of that nurse in the window she seems to be getting impatient for me to sleep as well," Bob says motioning to the nurse just on the other side of the glass behind Aura. "Nosy bitch," he mutters.
Gwen laughs. "OK Bob. Hey-- you need anything from your apartment? Books? Magazines? Porno? Softer pillows and blankets? A framed picture of me for your nightstand?"
"No, got some here, no, no, the pillows here are fine and definitely not," he says. Bob flashes her a rare smile, "Alright Aura. I'll see you later, the nurse is about to have a heart attack." he says. "Go get some sleep yourself."
Gwen grins. "OK Bob. But if you change your mind just give me a call!" She pats Bob's shoulder, and then gets up from her chair, slides it back against the wall, and exits the room with a last wave over her shoulder.
She can barely contain her excitement as she goes up to her room in the elevator...77 floors up from the infirmary. When she finally steps into her room she lets out a loud shriek of excitement and starts jumping around.
"I CAN WRESTLE AGAIN!! I CAN WRESTLE AGAIN!!" she shouts, and starts flying around in little circles. She pauses a split-second to wonder if she's disturbing Thundergirl one floor down, and then remembers that she's with Elias! Woo-woo! She flies to her window calling "open!" and then soars off into the sky, whooping with happiness.
