by K. D. Jones
Her father perked up. “Absolutely.” He motioned for his soldiers to follow him. Maggie watched as he spoke with Liam, who looked at her briefly, then smiled and nodded at something her father said.
Her mother came up to her and touched her hand briefly. “Thank you for that. He was worried that he wouldn’t be allowed to do anything to help.”
She shrugged. “Its hard for someone used to giving orders to sit back and watch others do it. Allowing him to assist will make him feel useful. It’s a small thing to do.”
Her mother smiled at her slowly. “You have grown up to be not only strong and beautiful, but wise as well.”
She wasn’t sure about the wise or the beautiful part. But yeah, she felt strong. “What doesn’t break us makes us stronger.”
“Indeed.” Her mother agreed. “Why don’t you and Lily show me around?”
“Sure.” Maggie smiled at her mom. Some of the tension she had been feeling was starting to ease a little.
***
“Where are the supplies supposed to go?” Lt. Colonel James asked.
Jared had set up a treatment area with a portable table for patients to sit on. Liam was satisfied that Kyle and his team were providing adequate security around the perimeter and was now bringing in supplies. “Jerry the Tribe leader said to put the boxes marked ‘food’ over there. Anything marked ‘medik’ needs to be taken over to Jared and he will tell you where to put it. But you don’t have to do this, Lt. Colonel James. I have it taken care of.”
“I can do my part. I think you can call me David, you’re going to be my son-in-law soon.” The lt. colonel started lifting boxes and moving them.
Liam smiled. How strange to think the smaller human man would be almost like a father. “You would be called my father-in-law, correct?”
“Yes.” There were a few minutes of silence, then David spoke again. “I wanted to tell you thank you.”
Liam was confused. “For what?”
“Saving my girl when she was shot, and for treating her for radiation sickness. She looks very healthy and very happy.”
“My brother Jared is the one to thank for treating her sickness.”
“But you brought her up to your ship when she was shot. If you had just left her here, she would have died.”
That was true. The Tribe did not have the necessary medical technology to treat the gunshot wound like the one Maggie had suffered. The thought that she could have died filled him with uneasiness. “She was mine to protect from the moment I gazed into her eyes.”
“It shows. You’re good for her. I’m glad that she has you,” David said begrudgingly.
“She has you, too” Liam felt uncomfortable speaking about emotional things with another man.
“She does, whether she wants me or not.”
Liam laughed. “I pretty much told her the same thing when she was angry with me and wanted to come back to the subway. I told her she was mine to protect and that she was stuck with me whether she liked it or not.”
David smiled. “How did that go over?”
“She slapped me, but I’m still with her.”
David laughed. “She was always a spitfire with a heart of gold.”
“That she is.”
***
“This is the sub car I share with Lily and Thomas.” Maggie had showed her mother everything in the subway area except her own living space. After seeing the dome, she felt embarrassed.
Thomas and Rachel had just come out of the subway car. Lily excused herself so that she could follow and see where her son was leading Rachel next. It left Maggie alone with her mother for once.
Her mother followed her up into the car and looked around. Maggie tried to see things through her mother’s eyes. There were hanging sheets to separate the sleeping spaces from the rest of the car. Their beds were the subway bench seating. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but it was better than the floor. They had books lining one side of the car on the bench and the opposite one was where they sat down and relaxed.
The front of the car was were they set up their little kitchen of sorts. They didn’t have a refrigerator, so they never had anything cold, but they had found a portable burner they could rig to run off the battery of the car. It worked okay for heating up food in cans, but it wasn’t real cooking equipment. If they had wanted to eat fresh meat like rat, they had to have an open fire pit.
It wasn’t much, especially in comparison to the lavish accommodations her family was used to or what the Drastan ship provided. But she and Lily kept the place clean and organized. They had tried to make it as much of a home as possible for Thomas.
She looked at her mother’s face for any signs of pity or disgust, but she saw nothing of the kind. “That’s where Lily and Thomas sleep. This is where I sleep.”
Her mother stepped close to Maggie and looked around. “You all made it a real home here.”
“We tried. We wanted to provide the best we could for Thomas. He already had to grow up with no father.”
Her mother lifted a photo frame from one of the benches that Maggie used as a type of dresser. “Who’s this little girl?”
Maggie’s breath caught. “Darla … my daughter.”
Her mother looked from Maggie to the rough sketch of Maggie’s little girl that Corey had done for her.
“She looks to be the same age as Thomas. Where is she?”
“I miscarried a few months into my pregnancy. It was a bad situation.” She turned to leave but her mother gently grabbed her arm to make her stop. She couldn’t look her mother in the eyes.
“Tell me about her.”
They sat down on Maggie’s makeshift bed. Her mother held onto the drawing and didn’t say a word as she listened to Maggie tell about the attack, her attacker being banned from the Tribe, her finding out she was pregnant, and about the miscarriage. She never interrupted Maggie, not once through the whole thing.
“I don’t know for sure if she was a girl or a boy. She was only this big when I held her in my hands.” Maggie cupped her hands together. “But when I dream about my baby, I dream about a little girl. She looks just like the drawing. I told Corey how she looks in my dream and he drew the image for me. It’s the only picture I’ll ever have of her.”
“You were just a child yourself,” her mother said, fighting back her tears.
“I grew up fast. I had to. If it hadn’t been for Lily, Thomas, and Corey, I would have let myself die. But they kept me going, they saved me. Now I need to save them.”
Her mother reached over and took her hand. “We’ll save them together.”
Maggie broke into tears. Her mother took her in her arms and she realized it was the first time she had let someone other than Liam hold her since before the bombs came down. God, how she had missed her mother over the years.
“Sorry, I don’t know why I am so emotional lately.”
“It’s the hormones caused by the pregnancy,” her mother said matter-of-factly.
Maggie pulled back from her mother in shock. “How did you know?”
Her mother cupped her cheek gently. “My dear, I have two daughters. I know what a pregnant woman looks like. You’re tired. Your Liam won’t leave your side for more than a few hours at a time. You keep rubbing your flat belly and you’re in tears at the drop of a hat.”
Maggie laughed and snorted. “Don’t forget bloated.”
“That, too. So you are happy with Liam?”
Maggie nodded and smiled. “He’s everything to me.”
“I’m glad. I can tell he feels the same for you.”
“I’m scared. What if I’m a crappy mother?” It was her worst fear.
Her mother laughed. “Honey, all new mothers have that fear. But use it to make sure you do everything you can to make your child feel safe. They need that, along with feeling loved.”
“How do you think Dad will handle the news about the baby?”
Her mother smiled. “He’ll be shocked at first. But he’ll feel lik
e I do: excited and thrilled about being a grandparent.”
“I hope so.”
***
“Sir?” Liam walked up to the sub car that he knew Maggie had lived in. She was inside with her mother, but he found her father sitting down on the sub car steps, an expression on the man’s face that Liam could only describe as tragic. “Is something wrong? Maggie, is she okay?” Liam looked for Maggie through the sub car window and was relieved to see her safe. She was hugging her mother. That was a good sign.
“She’s fine. Let’s take a walk. What I have to say, I don’t want my wife or daughter to hear.” David stood up and started walking toward the darkened end of the subway tunnel.
After they were a good distance away, David stopped and looked Liam straight in the eyes. “I want to know who he is.”
“Who?” Liam tilted his head to the side.
“The man who hurt my baby girl.” His voice was choked.
Liam growled at the reminder. “She refused to tell me, but I have my suspicions.”
“Who do you suspect?”
“Ben, the man who tried to kidnap me and shot her.”
“Is there a way to get this suspicion verified?” David asked. He didn’t want to go after an innocent man.
“I think I know just the person to ask.”
Chapter 21
“You are the one called Corey?” Liam asked as he and David stepped up to the tribe’s central meeting area.
The younger man looked at him and nodded. “Yes.”
“We have some questions we would like to ask you.” David stepped up, taking the lead.
Thirty minutes later, Liam and David were furious. Their suspicions had been confirmed. “Why was this man let go instead of killed? Your tribe leader should have dealt him a harsher punishment,” David demanded.
“It is considered a form of death to be banned from the Tribe and to have to fend for yourself. But Ben managed to convince others to follow him and form their own Tribe. Jerry did the best he could, but the Tribes survive by trading with one another. He couldn’t ban Ben and his Tribe from coming back through here. Believe me, I’ve tried to convince Jerry otherwise. But Jerry was afraid it might start a Tribe war. Over the years, it has happened occasionally, and the outcome is always devastating for all Tribes involved.”
David turned to Liam. “I want the man brought in for justice.”
“Me, too. I will keep sending scouts out to hunt him and bring him in, dead or alive,” Liam agreed.
Corey spoke up. “I’d like to help with that. I know the tunnels better than anyone.”
Liam looked him up and down. He could understand why Maggie cared for the other man. He seemed honest and had the makings of a fine soldier. “You need to go through at least two weeks’ worth of treatments. If you agree, I can have you brought up to the Eclipse and start training you while you get your treatments.”
“I’ll do it!” Corey jumped at the chance to be closer to Maggie.
Liam recognized the look. He stepped closer to Corey, getting into his personal space. “Maggie is mine. We are to have what you call a wedding. She is also carrying my child. If you can respect her relationship with me, then you can come up with us when we return this evening. If not, keep your distance or I’ll kill you.”
Corey nodded. “I can respect your relationship. But if you ever hurt her, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Liam smiled at him. “I understand that.”
“She’s really pregnant?” Corey asked in awe.
“Yes.”
Corey smiled at him. “I’m glad for her. She was devastated after …” He didn’t say anymore. All three of them knew what he was referring to. “Well, if I am leaving with you guys, I need to go back my belongings.” He hurried off.
David stepped forward, watching. “I like that young man.”
“I do, too. But if he touches my Maggie, he’s a dead man.” They both chuckled.
***
“It won’t hurt at all. I promise.” Jared’s voice was soft and consoling.
Maggie and her mother walked up to where Jared was giving everyone their first round of treatments. Lily was holding a crying Thomas, who was refusing to get a healing shot.
“What’s in it?” Lily asked suspiciously.
Jared gritted his teeth. Maggie recognized his sign of frustration. There had been many times over the last few weeks that he did that with her.
“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked, stepping up and taking Thomas in her arms.
“I was trying to give them their first treatment,” Jared said, running a hand through his hair and glancing at Lily.
Maggie caught him checking her friend out. “Lily, this is Mediko Jared Estro. He’s Liam’s brother and he saved my life. The treatment he is giving will help flush the radiation out of your body and has a healing serum that promotes healing from the inside out.”
“Is it safe?” Lily asked Maggie.
“I would give it to Darla in a heartbeat.” It was the right thing to say. Lily looked relieved.
“Thomas, watch Mommy. I’ll get my shot first, okay? Watch Mommy.” Lily approached Jared, who towered over her even though Lily was much taller than Maggie, nearly six feet. She still had to crane her head to look up at the big Drastan.
Jared gently lifted Lily’s arm up. “It won’t hurt,” he said in a suddenly husky voice. He inserted the special needle and it only felt like a tiny pinch. Then he pulled the syringe away. “All done.” He rubbed on the spot softly and a little longer than necessary.
Lily cleared her throat and turned towards Thomas. “It didn’t hurt. Just like Maggie said. Come on, who’s my brave boy?”
“I am,” Thomas answered automatically. He went to his mother’s arms hesitantly.
Lily carried him closer to Jared, who had a fresh syringe ready. Jared smiled at the boy gently. “On the count of three, okay?” The little boy nodded and closed his eyes. Jared lifted his small arm up and counted. “One … two … three.” He gave the shot quickly and pulled back. “All done.”
The little boy opened his eyes and looked at his arm. “It didn’t hurt at all!”
“See, would I steer you wrong?” Maggie asked.
Jared looked at Maggie in concern. He stepped closer to her and waved his scanner over her stomach. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired, all of a sudden.” Maggie rubbed her forehead. “Maybe a little headache, too.”
“You need to rest, honey,” her mother said, coming up to stand next to her.
“She’s right. We have another hour before we leave. Is there someplace you can lay down and rest? I’d like for you to put your feet up. There’s some swelling in your ankles,” Jared said.
“I could go back to my sub car and rest,” Maggie said.
Lily was watching. “Are you pregnant?”
Maggie nodded and Lily squealed as she hugged her. “That’s great, Maggie! I am so happy for you.”
“Thanks. It’s a surprise, but a happy one.”
“Let’s get you to the sub car to lay down. I think its time for Thomas to have a nap, too.”
“Aw, Mom,” Thomas complained.
Maggie paused. “I need to let Liam know where I am.”
“You go on with Lily and Thomas. I’ll go find Liam for you,” her mother said, urging her away.
“Thanks, Mom.” It was strange calling someone Mom again. But it felt good, too. She walked beside Lily, telling her about her and Liam’s wedding and the news about the baby. She found herself yawning.
“Come on, pregnant woman, let’s get you a nap.”
***
Thirty minutes after she had fallen asleep, something woke Maggie. It sounded like a loud bang. “Lily?” She called out. Then she heard the shuffling of feet and something being dragged on the floor. She opened her eyes and sucked in a breath at what she saw.
“Did you miss me, Maggie?” Ben asked. He was hovering over her. She was about to scream but he covered her mo
uth with his hand. “You scream I will kill you outright and your bitch friend over there.”
He pulled her up to a standing position and kept his hand over her mouth, making her walk forward. She looked around frantically and found Lily on the floor. She tried to struggle, to get to her friend, but he pulled her tight, her back pressing against his front. That’s when she felt the gun pressed into her side “Easy, you struggle like that I’ll get rid of the brat while he’s still asleep.”
Maggie stopped struggling. “Is she dead?” she whispered.
“No, just unconscious. But she will be dead if you don’t cooperate.” She nodded her assent. “Good. This is what we’re going to do. We’ll take the East tunnel out. Everyone’s busy with your alien friends and won’t notice us slip past them. We’ll meet up with Taylor and the others about a mile up. We’ll take you back to a little place we discovered not long ago.”
He was telling her this as they climbed down from the subway car. “What do you want from me?”
He snorted. “I already got what I wanted from you years ago. But we might have time to reminisce. You sure are looking good.” He rubbed his crotch against her backside. Maggie felt like she was going to throw up. “I think we can trade you for weapons and rations like we planned to do with that alien bastard.”
“Liam isn’t the bastard, you are,” she said through gritted teeth.
He squeezed her around her middle. “Do you like banging the alien, Mags?”
“Shut the hell up!” She was furious. He put the gun to her stomach and she froze.
“Be nice to me, Mags, if you want to live,” he said. It reminded her of the day he had attacked her, hearing him say those words again. She would rather die than let him take her that way again. Her hand touched her stomach. It wasn’t just her anymore. She had to do everything she could to keep herself and the baby alive. She needed to wait for the right time. She allowed him to push her toward the tunnel and prayed that Liam would come for her soon.