Chapter 9

Gavin was suddenly glad he’d never given Garrett back that pistol.

There had to have been thirty IMF agents in and surrounding the house. Grace pushed Zack and Chelsea up the kitchen stairs and locked them in the master bedroom.

Gavin stood in the fairly enclosed stairwell. They could only make it up here one by one, the stairs were narrow… but eventually he was going to run out of ammunition.

Grace came halfway down the stairs. “Gavin!”

He couldn’t exactly turn around – he’d just wasted three shots trying to kill one guy and was bemoaning his horrendous aim – but he yelled back. “What?”

But it seemed whatever it was would have to wait, for the agent nearest Gavin had just grabbed him. “Go get the kid, lady, or your husband bites it.”

Grace hesitated on the stairs. She couldn’t let Gavin die…but she couldn’t really let her son die either.

“Don’t, Grace,” Gavin said firmly. “Just…”

“Shut up,” the agent barked, and as Gavin had a gun to his head he decided it might be wise to listen.

Grace began her way up the stairs. “I won’t let him kill you, Gavin.” She said tearfully as she stopped at the top of the stairs.

“Better me than the kids!” Gavin called after her.

Grace opened the bedroom door and found it empty. No sign of Chelsea or Zack anywhere. She ran back down the stairs. “They’re gone…”

“Well. That sucks for you.” The man simply grinned.

Grace had a sick feeling of dread settle into her stomach. “No…please…” Hot tears coursed down her cheeks.

He fired and fairly threw Gavin down the stairs before sweeping out of the house.

Gavin struggled back to his feet. “It was friggin’ empty the entire time.”

Grace flew down the stairs and practically tackled him. “Oh you’re okay…” she broke down in sobs.

“Ow, hey, bruised ribs. I’m alright.” He pulled her close. “Shh.”

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” She buried her face in his shoulder.

He pulled her close. “The kids… they’re really gone?”

“They’re in our closet. In the crawlspace.”

“I think…” Here he paused. “Maybe… we should call Garrett… we aren’t safe here anymore, Grace. If that gun *hadn’t* been empty, you’d be a widow right now.”

“Shut up. I don’t want to think what would have happened if the gun wasn’t empty.”

“Well… I still think we should call Garrett.”

She nodded, wrapping her arms around Gavin’s neck.

~*~*~*~

“Garrett!” Cassidy cried out, forcing herself to sit. “Garrett something’s wrong…”

“What? What’s wrong?” He flicked on the light and helped Cassidy out of bed. “What’s going on?”

“I think…” She began to cry. “I think I’m having a miscarriage… it’s too early for the baby, I’m only six months…”

“Come on, let’s get you down to the medical wing.” He picked her up and carried her down the stairs.

She cried out again. “Garrett… it hurts…”

“I know, baby, just hang on.” He got her to the medical wing and into a bed in record time.

“What’s going on in here, ma’am?” The doctor asked, walking into the room.

“I think I’m having a miscarriage…”

“Let’s set you up on the monitors and we’ll see what’s going on. It may just be a set of Braxton Hicks contractions.”

Cassidy tried to force herself to calm down.

“Okay…” The doctor and the nurse exchanged a glance. “You’re fully dilated, Mrs. Spencer, you’re going to have to push.”

“Excuse me? It’s months early… the baby can’t make it on its own at six months…”

“We’ve got a special ventilator ready for the baby, but you’ve got to calm down. If you’re upset you could cause more damage to the baby.”

“You want me to calm down just because you’ve ordered it?!?”

“If you don’t calm down your chances of surviving are pretty significantly decreased, Mrs. Spencer!” The nurse told her.

“Don’t yell at my wife like that!!” Garrett barked, he kissed the back of Cassidy’s hand. He couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t let this baby kill her.

She started to cry softly.

“It’s okay, baby…” Garrett kissed her forehead.

“Push.” The doctor ordered.

“I can’t…” Cassidy half wailed, but she did anyway.

One push was all it took. The baby was so small that it was handed to the nurse right away and put into the incubator.

“You’ve got a baby boy.” The doctor told them.

It was at that moment that Cassidy passed out.

“Cassidy!!” Garrett cried as the doctor and the nurse shoved him out of the way and rushed her to surgery.

~*~*~*~

Part of him still felt he should pull away, just roll over and pretend Corryn wasn’t even in the room, nevermind the bed. But the other part of him didn’t want him to…. and so he didn’t.

She stirred next to him. “Dylan? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He replied quietly.

“Sure?” She turned to face him.

“Yeah.” He gave her a small smile and kissed her.

She kissed back, sliding close to him.

“You cold?”

“Little bit,” she admitted.

“Come here, I’ll warm you up.” He kissed her again and pulled her close.

She laughed a little bit. “Oh I know you will…”

Dylan wrapped his arm around her waist, and smiled at her. “Well we *are* still in bed, I just think we should take advantage of the situation if you’re cold.”

“Going to sleep with a pregnant woman?” She asked with a slight smile.

“Well… wait, pregnant?”

She nodded. “Mission accomplished?”

He smiled and kissed her neck. “I…I think…I don’t know…”

Corryn closed her eyes, marveling at how good he could make her feel with just a simple action… but then again, she’d all but given him a road map. “But I like this. I… I like you, and being with you.”

“Good. Because I feel the same way about you.” He smiled brightly.

Corryn kissed him eagerly.

“I didn’t expect to feel this way…but I do…I didn’t think I’d fall in love.”

“Dylan… I love you.”

“I love you, Corryn, I really do.” He kissed her cheek and smoothed her hair.

~*~*~*~

"We finally found Kincaide's weak spot." Garrett announced to the room proudly, tossing some pictures onto the table.

"He's got himself a girlfriend." Gavin grinned.

"He seems pretty serious about her too. They've been seen practically everywhere together."

"Kidnap her."

"What?"

"Kidnap her. See how he likes it."

"We can't kidnap her just yet. It might just be a facade. He might be seeing this girl in hopes to distract us."

"She's distracting him... which is good for us."

"We can't yet."

"They've taken my wife, killed my son, tried to kill me on at least three occasions, and you decide to take the fucking moral high ground?!?"

"I'm sorry, Gavin, but just because you've got a vendetta against him doesn't mean I'm going to help you."

"No, better to wait until he strikes against you, right?"

"Better me than you."

"Your wife's half dead so I guess you won't have to worry about her being killed anymore."

"She's not half dead."

"She's worse than that, right?"

"No. Cassidy's going to get better." Garrett said sharply. "Don't talk about her."

"I'll talk about her if I damn well please. Wife half dead and a kid behind glass and you decide now is the time to show mercy."

"It's not Kincaide's fault she had the baby early. My wife isn't the one he's got problems with."

"Ah-hah, so it's her fault the kid can't breathe on its own. Maybe it'd have been easier for you if she just miscarried."

"It's not Cassidy's fault either! And my wife doesn't miscarry. That's Grace's job."

"You filthy - " Gavin dove at his brother.

"Temper, temper, brother dear." Garrett said, pushing Gavin off of him.

"You're a piece of shit."

"I'd rather be a piece of shit than a deserter."

"Well I'm back, aren't I?"

"Only because you can't keep your family safe."

"It's your fucking fault if I can't."

Garrett shrugged. "We'll take her out when the timing is right."

"Right." Gavin sat again, but was glaring daggers at his brother.

"But if you've got a personal vendetta against Kincaide, I'm not going to stop you if you go after his girl. In fact, it might work better if you round up a small contingent of agents to help you."

"Then I'll do that."

"Good."

"See what you can accomplish when you're not blind with rage?" Garrett asked, sliding a piece of paper across the table. The paper had a list of names of the agents that would accompany him.

"Blind with rage? That's rich from the man who tried to kill his brother's wife."

"I never tried to kill her, merely use her for my own purposes."

"Cause you're scum."

"Call me whatever you'd like."

"I'm going to talk to Grace and visit my kids."

"Have fun, try not to get them killed, blood doesn't come out of the carpet that easily."

Gavin punched his brother as hard as he could possibly manage.

Not expecting that, Garrett stumbled back into the wall.

Gavin hurried out before Garrett regained control.

Once Gavin had left, Garrett went out another door and made his way down to the medical wing to Cassidy's room.

Cassidy had been fading in and out of consciousness over the past few days, and at the moment seemed to be unconscious.

"Come on, Cassidy....you've got to wake up....he's so small...he needs you...I need you." Garrett kissed the back of her hand.

There was no response.

"Gavin?" Grace looked up when he entered the library. "What's wrong?"

"Come on, Cass...please."

A nurse, one who had become familiar with the situation and been trusted to care for both Cassidy and the baby, approached Garrett cautiously. "She woke up for a bit today, but then went back out... the baby's doing just fine," she offered encouragingly.

"My brother's a piece of shit, that's what's wrong."

"Next time she wakes up, call me right away. Can I hold him?" He asked.

"What happened?"

"He's got a way to make Kincaide pay and he's holding off."

"For a few minutes, sir. But not for very long." The nurse went to the incubator and gently lifted the baby out, handing him to Garrett.

"Why? If he has something that'll bring him down..."

"Because apparently it's not the right fucking time."

"Hello Nathan...it's your dad." Garrett said, carefully holding the child.

The baby had been sleeping, but he stirred and looked up at Garrett with wide green eyes.

"Not the right time? He can't judge if it's the right time or not...he's too concerned with Cassidy."

"Exactly."

Garrett smiled down at him. "Hey son."

The baby made a little noise of contentment.

"What is it that Garrett has on him?" Grace asked.

"He's got himself a little girlfriend."

Garrett smiled and handed the baby back to the nurse so she could put him back into the incubator.

"How...nice." Grace responded flatly.

The nurse put the child back before he could get cold. "He's getting stronger quickly. Soon you might be able to have twenty minutes or so with him..."

"Yeah, but it'd turn the tables on him," Gavin said.

"He's perfect."

Cassidy seemed to be stirring.

"Cass?" Garrett turned back to his wife.

"It would. He deserves any bit of pain he gets."

"Garrett?" Her voice was abnormally quiet.

"Agreed," Gavin said.

"Baby?" Garrett smiled down at her.

She flicked open her eyes. "You're here. You weren't here last time..."

Grace kissed him softly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I also punched Garrett."

"I'm sorry I wasn't... baby... how are you feeling?"

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"Weak," Cassidy admitted.

"Good." Grace hugged him tightly.

"But you're awake." He smoothed some of her hair.

"Yeah... I am." Cassidy coughed, bringing up a bit of blood.

Gavin held her close.

"Cass?" Garrett said worriedly looking to the nurse.

"Are you going to go after his little whore?" Grace asked after a minute.

"Lay back, Mrs. Spencer. I'll bring you some water. Don't try to sit up again," she advised.

Cassidy complied, resting her head on the pillows once more.

"Don't leave me, Cass." Garrett whispered.

"Garrett, I'm scared..."

"I know, baby, me too."

"How's the baby?"

"He's fine, getting stronger by the day."

"Yeah... soon, I'm going after her," Gavin said.

Cassidy smiled. "Good."

"When are you leaving?"

"As soon as I can put a team together."

Garrett smiled. "Now we just need you to get stronger."

"Oh."

Gavin kissed her forehead. "But I'll be safe."

"Promise?"

"I'm trying... I'm doing everything they tell me to..." Cassidy's lip trembled a bit.

"Promise."

"What is it, baby?" Garrett asked.

"Okay." Grace sighed. "Please, please be safe."

"I will, love." Gavin kissed her.

"They can't figure out what the problem even is, Garrett."

"It's probably just because you had Nathan so early, baby. They'll find it."

Grace kissed him back almost desperately.

Gavin held her close.

Cassidy nodded. "I just... I'm scared..."

"I know...me too, baby." Garrett kissed her softly.

"I want to see the baby... but they can't move him *or* me, I only got to see him once..."

"You'll see him...he's right here, by the bed." Garrett pointed to the incubator.

Cassidy nodded, then gently squeezed his hand.

Grace sighed.

"I'm just glad you're awake."

"I know, beautiful. I know." Gavin kissed her cheek.

She nodded, then winced suddenly. "Something's wrong..."

The nurse looked to another nurse nearby in alarm. "Go get her doctor, now."

"What's going on?" Garrett demanded. "Cass?"

"How did it get to be that the only place we're safe is the place we don't want to be?"

Her eyelids fluttered, then closed.

"Twisted irony?" Gavin offered.

"What the hell is going on?" Garrett demanded as the doctor rushed in.

"She's gone out again," the nurse said. "Mr. Spencer, if you could just give the doctor room to work..."

"What is going on? I demand to know!"

"Must be it." Grace replied.

Gavin sighed and sat down.

Grace sat down in his lap and began playing with his hair.

Gavin smiled a bit at that.

"She's got a blood clot in her lungs, we're going to operate to remove it." The doctor replied.

The nurses wheeled Cass out of the room and Garrett sat next to the incubator.

"You're amazing, you know that?" She said after a minute.

"What, me?" Gavin asked.

The child in the incubator looked up through the glass.

"You see anyone else in the room?"

Garrett smiled and pressed his hand against the glass.

The little one reached up.

"I hope not."

"I don't. I see you."

"Good."

Grace kissed his cheek.

Gavin just pulled her closer.

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