by Anna Lewis
If that were true, Jack would be incredibly happy but also in deep trouble. He had no idea how he would make it through the next six months knowing that Sam loved him. The work she was doing for him was already too much for him, a man used to doing everything himself.
***
“You think that we can get by with defending all the files without knowing all the information in them?” Jonathan flipped idly through one new case file that was handed to him.
“The date for court is scheduled already,” Sam sighed. She shoved her hair out of her face and examined another file that was given to them two days prior. “It’s like they don’t want us to be prepared at all. I’m worried they may ask for all these cases that we have no information about.”
Jonathan nodded thoughtfully. “I’d like to think that they will be more understanding than that. The military hasn’t been forthcoming, hardly our fault. And we’ve tried all the channels. It’s not as if illegally obtained material will stand up in court anyway, so no use beating ourselves up.”
He pushed himself off Sam’s desk and made a circle in her office, flipping impatiently now. “I don’t know about the files you’ve seen but some of these aren’t even worth defending. Look at this one, the guy was caught in another guy’s tent. Doesn’t say what they were doing, just that he was there.” He flipped it closed, a look of disgust on his face.
Sam hoped he didn’t pry into what Jack’s file read. Thus far, he’d been respectful and didn’t ask about it. He left it up to her to sort out and deal with since he was now her husband. Having a personal interest in a case made it meaningful, but the stress levels increased tenfold.
The only problem in this whole scenario is that eventually, he could find out about this if the judge asked her about it in court. And quite likely, he would. She had to tell Jonathan, but she didn’t know how to explain something she herself was just beginning to understand.
As far as she knew, he wouldn’t harm anyone unless he was protecting someone else. She didn’t feel endangered by him, at least not since the first time when she’d run from him. But she was intimidated by it. To explain to someone else...well, it wasn’t easy. She saw now why her father hadn’t done the best job explaining to her.
“Jonathan, I wanted to talk to you about Jack’s file,” she said hesitantly. Then she rose and shut the door to keep out anyone else. “It’s big.”
Jonathan stared at her, “Big, how? Big like he killed a guy or big like he’s a double agent?”
“Neither,” she said. “It’s, uh, unique.”
“Oh, now you got me hooked,” Jonathan said. He settled into a seat across from her desk and craned his neck to look back at her. “I’m waiting for more, unless you’d rather I just read the file.”
Sam walked over to her tote bag where she’d stashed his file since she’d gotten it and withdrew it. “This doesn’t leave this room,” she warned.
“Of course. But that’s contingent on the idea that the judge won’t request more information about what’s being suppressed here.” He thumbed through with a blank look and then his eyebrows rose. “Is this a joke?”
“It’s not,” Sam said flatly. “It’s real. I’ve seen it. And even my father told me about it.”
He gave a low whistle. “I don’t even know if I know what that means, to be honest.”
“It means he’s human, mostly. He just has this other side to him. Anyway, wrong place, wrong time, right intentions, and now a decade later he has to make sure the world doesn’t find out about it.”
Jonathan frowned as he read the papers intently. “Is there more to this?”
“No, not that I know of. I just have this file.”
“So every account you’ve heard matches this file?” Jonathan prodded her.
“Yes,” she came to peer over his shoulder. “What do you see missing?”
“Well, for starters, it doesn’t say why they had to have it suppressed. Was he being threatened?”
Sam straightened to rub her belly with one hand and her lower back with the other. She wasn’t quite showing yet, but she was expanding and the pain was getting to her whenever she wore her heels. “Hmm, well, no. The story I got was that they, meaning Jack and my father, took preventative measures in case it became anything big.”
Jonathan looked up at her, “Your father must have known someone would try to get ahold of this information at some point. This doesn’t look like standard protocol for something.”
“He’s a shapeshifter!” Sam said in exasperation. “Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Sure, but he did save an officer’s life, and nobody has seen him use his skills before or after. If you ask me, your father knew they would try to exploit him. Force him into missions, using him as a weapon of sorts. Your father was trying to protect him.”
Sam took the folder from him and thought about his words. What he was saying made sense. She wanted to kick herself for not seeing it before. She should have trusted Jonathan to look at it earlier.
“Are you pregnant?” Jonathan asked bluntly.
Sam gave him a sharp look. “Yes, how—”
“You didn’t tell him, did you?” His gaze was knowing.
“You’re a little too good at what you do,” Sam quipped. “I have my reasons.”
“Well, you two make quite the pair what with all those secrets you have.” He studied her carefully, “You know you can let me know if you need anything, right?”
Sam flashed him a grateful smile, “I know, thank you.”
“Doesn’t mean I’ll do it for you, but…” he trailed off laughing when she hit him playfully with the folder.
“How long will Jack be gone for anyway?” He eyed her midsection. “And how far along are you now?”
“Six months, and I’m right at two months now.”
“Cutting it close,” he said sympathetically. “We have less than a month until this case is all over, so at least that will be one less stress for you to deal with.”
“Right, but that depends on the outcome of it.” Sam said, feeling anxious once again.
“You don’t worry about that,” Jonathan said. “Now that I have something to go on, I’m going to make it my mission to make sure that these files go nowhere. Jack and that guy,” he jerked his thumb to the file he had been mocking earlier, “will sleep peacefully again.”
“I hope so,” Sam said with a chuckle. “What do you plan on doing?”
“I think it would do us good for me to go pay the new officer in charge a visit.” Jonathan said. “He definitely knows something. And out of the files that we’ve seen, Jack’s is the only one that could potentially do any damage.”
“If you’re going, so am I,” Sam said rushing to get her purse.
“Whoa, do you think that’s a good idea? I can go and let you know what I found out. I think it’s safer if you stay here.”
“Safer? Do you think he’s dangerous?” Sam raised an eyebrow at him.
“I don’t know what to think, but I know Jack’s dangerous and I’m not about to let his wife go marching into this guy’s office when he’s the one pushing for her husband to be exposed to the public.” Jonathan said firmly.
Sam gave a laugh at this. “Jack’s hardly dangerous.”
“Oh, have you seen the missions he’s been on? He’s hailed as one of the riskiest SEAL members and he’s known for taking any risk that comes his way. His nickname changes according to how many missions he’s been on. Currently dubbed ‘38 lives’ on his military chart.”
Sam’s heart stopped. She didn’t speak for a moment. She did consider that he might not return, but she hadn’t considered it seriously. She just worried that he might get hurt. But just like she hadn’t expected her hearty father to fall ill, she didn’t think Jack would ever find himself in a vulnerable position. But thirty-eight missions? Sam looked at Jonathan. “I’m going with you.”
Something in her tone made him back down. He considered her words for a moment and put
his hands up. “Your call. But let me start it off, please. I don’t want him antagonizing you. He’s definitely that kind of guy.”
Sam nodded and they filed out together. Calling for a ride to the offices as they went down the elevator, Sam listened as Jonathan highlighted key issues he wanted the man to address.
“What if he won’t see us? It’s not like we have an appointment,” Sam fretted.
“Once he knows who we are, he’ll talk to us. People like him love attention and he’s probably been waiting for us.” He looked at her curiously. “Did he ever come by when your dad was in the hospital?”
“No, never,” Sam answered immediately. “I would have remembered him. I kept a little log in the room for people to sign when they came in to write thank you notes to them later, but he wasn’t on there. And if he did visit, he never signed the book.”
“He wouldn’t have come,” Jonathan said waving his hand dismissively. “He just wants us to come to him. He definitely knows about Jack.”
Sam thought about Jack doing so many reckless missions and shuddered. Was he still throwing caution to the wind or was he being more careful? From what he had told her, he was mostly supervising. But once an adrenaline junkie, always an adrenaline junkie. She knew Jack wasn’t one to sit on the sidelines for any reason.
***
Squinting across the field, Jack saw a man in the distance climbing the craggy rocks that ran along the side of the mountain. He wasn’t a local, but he also wasn’t part of their team. Immediately Jack was on high alert. He looked back to see one of his youngest team members waiting for instruction.
Motioning for him to be quiet, Jack sat motionless, pressed up against the side of a ledge that hid him well, so he wasn’t concerned about himself. He was more concerned that his team might be found and shot before they could get a chance to identify or defend themselves. He had wanted to go out alone to investigate, but protocol mandated that he take at least two others with him whenever he went out. Safety in numbers was more of a liability in his opinion. He’d worked the field alone for far too long, it was difficult for him to switch gears and work with others. None of them could really protect him, he knew that. That’s why he’d gained such a fearlessness. Those around him constantly looked to him for direction even when he wasn’t the one in charge.
His eyes darted to find his other man. He was tucked into some bushes several yards away from Jack. Jack only noticed when the bushes moved unnaturally when the wind had fallen still. He gritted his teeth. If these guys weren’t more careful, they would all be killed.
He stared hard into the bush and signaled for both of them to wait. If the two men with him weren’t so new and unpredictable, he would have stealthily made his way closer to the man that was hiding ahead of them. Instead he opted to lure the man out. In an open field, his options were limited. It wasn’t a method he liked to take because of the potential risks, but it was either that or wait until the other man signaled for more back-up of his own. As it was, he probably only knew about Jack’s man in the bush.
Using that information as his only guide, Jack thought quickly and found the fake grenade that he carried with him. He hurled it as far as he could from the opposite direction of where his man in the bush was hunkered down. That should do it.
Sure enough, there was a scuffle and a cloud of dust rose up as the man scrambled to scoot away from the toy. While he was distracted, Jack saw his chance to move from his position and gain an advantage. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw the bushes move again and his man came out charging towards the stranger. Cursing under his breath, Jack looked back to make sure the other man was still down. He motioned for him to cover for him as he went towards the scuffle.
Gun cocked, he darted and rolled behind another large rock, peering over the top. Where was he? He couldn’t see either man, then he spied his own presumably searching for the stranger. Then he saw the man approaching him from directly in front of him. He was slithering on his belly towards the SEAL like the snake that he was, Jack thought angrily.
With no other option, Jack knew he had to shapeshift. What did he have to lose anyway, he reasoned. The court was going to rule against him and all would be revealed in due time. Once he did, he wasted no time in charging. The man didn’t see him coming right away, but when he did, a look of sheer terror crossed his face. His own man stood stock still, as Jack had suspected he would. It occurred to him that his own team might try to shoot at him, but he took the chance. He wasn’t going to go on a mission and have anyone die under him.
If he died, that was another story. He hadn’t heard from Sam since he had left Washington. He did call her to let her know he’d made it, but since then, they’d not communicated at all. He had a little over one month left here, and he’d all but given up hope of ever hearing from her. He wasn’t wishing death upon himself, but he wasn’t willing it away either. He was who he was, dammit. He would go down as himself, not trying to hide parts of himself to make himself more digestible.
Within seconds he’d successfully outmaneuvered the man and alerted his own men that it was still him. He glared at the man that was in the bushes.
“Next time, follow orders. You jeopardized our positions. That’s not how we operate.” He knew he sounded far more menacing than was necessary, but he didn’t care. The man needed to learn his lesson, and fast.
More shots rang out suddenly and Jack jerked his head around to see where it was coming from just as a bullet whizzed past his head and another he felt slam into his chest. He looked down to see blood oozing out. His body shifted of its own accord and he looked on helplessly. Was this how he was going to end, he wondered to himself. He never even told Sam how he really felt about her. He dropped to his knees and fell back slowly, the light fading as he went.
***
Jack stirred when he felt a poke on his arm. It was blunt, something round. He heard sniffling and fought to open his eyes. When he did, he had to blink several times for the fog to dissipate before he could see. Where was he? He tried to recall where he was last before he wound up here. He thought about the soldier who hadn’t listened to his instructions and was hiding in the bush. Then he remembered shots being fired.
He focused ahead and found himself attached to several machines. When he tried to move he felt a sharp pain and clenched his jaw to keep from making any noise. He had no idea where he could be, the more information he gathered until someone came in, the better.
“Don’t move too much,” a voice next to him said. It sounded like Sam. He must have really been attacked badly if he thought Sam was out here with him.
“Sam,” he tried to say the words but no sound came out.
“Here,” she said. She lifted a cup with a straw to his lips. “Sip slowly,” she cautioned.
It sounded like Sam. The cool water slid down this throat, coating it. It felt sore but he was grateful to feel anything at all. “Sam,” this time the words came out but his voice sounded foreign to him.
“I’m here,” she said. She pulled at his hand and he turned his head slowly to look at her. “Easy,” she cautioned. “You got hit on your neck too.”
He felt the twinge of pain just as she spoke and jerked his head back into its original position. “Where else?” he asked. He wiggled his toes, good. Still movement there.
“You missed every major artery and organ, according to the doctors. You really got lucky.” He heard her circling around to come to his other side. He closed his eyes. She sounded neutral, she wasn’t showing any emotion.
“You’ll be fine,” she continued. “And as soon as you’re stable, we can go home. We’re in Germany right now. They got you out as soon as they could. Your team medic did a good job with the field dressings before they carried you out of there or you could have lost a lot of blood.”
He didn’t hear anything she said after ‘we’ and ‘home.’ Maybe there was hope yet. He opened his eyes and came face to face with Sam’s large belly.
“
Wha—” Jack sputtered.
Sam smiled. “Two more months and we’ll be parents,” she said shyly. “I never got a chance to tell you.” Her hands wrapped protectively around the protruding stomach and she edged closer. It bumped into him and he realized that’s what had poked him awake.
Before he could process what she just told him, a nurse bustled in to take his vitals. Jack, still flabbergasted, could only look at her in awe. Sam bumped him again, lifting her eyebrows in invitation to touch her stomach. He complied, reaching out to lay a hand on it. Her belly was stretched taut around the baby. He felt a faint movement followed by a succession of strong, healthy kicks.
“He or she,” he asked suddenly. “Whatever it is has more power than I do at the moment.”
Sam laughed and nodded in agreement. “Tell me about it. It’s like I have a team of rugby players in there these days. Constant movement. I’m not sure when this baby really sleeps.” She covered his hand with her own. “It’s a she.”
His chest swelled with pride and he smiled at her. A baby in two short months, he couldn’t believe this was happening. When he was out in the field, he’d felt so desperate, willing to jump into any line of danger, regardless of the risks. But seeing Sam and now thinking about their baby, he couldn’t imagine doing it again.
The nurse put two pills into a container for him to take. “For pain,” she clarified.
He nodded and tossed them back. He could feel deep ache near his ribs, and hoped the medicine would take care of it.
“I’ll just use the restroom,” Sam said excusing herself.
“You’re lucky to have such a beautiful, loving wife,” the nurse said with admiration. “Being pregnant and coming all the way here, taking care of you this past week. Hang onto her.” She winked and left him with his thoughts.
When Sam returned, he was looking at the calendar on the wall. It was a marker board, but all the dates were filled in. “Which day did I land up in here,” he asked Sam.