Beverly's Rebirth (A novella) (Six Saviors Series Book 4) (5 page)

Chapter
14

Hudson stood in the shower, the water pounding against his back
as he washed his son’s vomit from his body.

He was
exhausted. Just flat-out done. He knew if he lay down, he would be out, but he would never forgive himself if something happened with Beverly or their son while he was napping. Honestly, he was almost afraid to go to sleep. Who knew what kind of sick dreams his subconscious would cough up with the powerful events that had happened in the past six hours.

As he
lathered the shampoo into his hair, he heard the wails of his son. The need to get to him was fierce, but he reminded himself that the boy was being cared for by Faith and Cohen. Hudson was naked, and he had shampoo running into his eyes. He could take a few minutes and get rinsed off.

A
half hour later he was holding his well-fed and burped son again, sitting at Beverly’s bedside, and drinking a cup of coffee. Rayner had given up his search for Beverly’s spirit in the silo and sat with Faith a few feet away from Hudson. Cohen continued to monitor Beverly’s vital signs.

“
Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat, Hudson?” Faith asked. “It’s almost lunchtime.”

“
Nah. Thanks though.”

They all sat in silence, staring at the baby. The love Hudson felt for the child swirled within him, seeping into his bones. It was a different kind of love than what he
felt for Beverly, but it was so strong and intense, it surprised him. How could he love someone so fiercely when he had known him for less than twelve hours? He didn’t even know what type of person this little guy was. How could he feel so strongly about him?

Yes, he had loved Abby from the second she was born as well, but this was different
. There was a strong bond and connection forming between him and his son.

Hudson looked over to Beverly, tracking the rise and fall of her chest. She absolutely needed to wake up. He needed her like he needed to breathe air, li
ke he needed his heart to beat, or his legs to walk.

Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and
she gasped for air. Hudson stood and looked to Cohen, noticing that her chest was no longer moving. It was as if every muscle in her body contracted, causing her to go completely rigid and still.

“
What’s going on, Cohen?” Hudson asked in a quiet voice.

“
I don’t know,” Cohen said, pumping the blood pressure cuff. After a moment, he moved the stethoscope to her chest. His brows furrowed as he concentrated.

“Cohen
—“

“
I just don’t fucking know!”

Beverly
took a long inhale, and Hudson couldn’t help but notice that she looked like a fish out of water taking its last breath.

Cohen pumped on the blood pressure cuff
again, and Hudson felt dread seep in and take over. He was transfixed on Beverly when Faith came over and took the baby. He barely noticed the weight gone from his arms.

“
No,” he whispered, grasping Beverly’s hand.

Beverly
’s skin turned an ashen color, her chest still not moving, her green eyes staring up at the ceiling with no life left in them. This was it. He had tried to be a good person and follow the rules. He had done his best to kill the Colonists on this planet. What in the world had he done to deserve this punishment? He was losing his
lovren
.

Cohen ripped off the blood pressure cuff and began to perform CPR. Hudson watched as he pushed on Beverly
’s chest, and then tipped her head back and breathed into her mouth.

After a few minutes, Cohen listened to her chest, and then repeated his actions while everyone stood in shocked silence, unable to move.

“There’s . . . nothing,” Cohen said a while later as he listened into the stethoscope. “Just . . . nothing.”

Cohen met Hudson
’s eyes, setting down the stethoscope. “I’m sorry, my friend. So fucking sorry.”

Hudson looked around the room. He wanted to kill something
and make it long and painful. He felt a rage that he had never experienced travel through his body.

“
Hudson,” Rayner said, stepping up to him.

“
Don’t, Rayner. Whatever you are going to say, whatever you are going to do, just don’t. I’m about to lose my shit right now, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“
That’s good, my friend. But just listen to me—“

“
I don’t want to listen to a fucking thing, Rayner!”

Hudson tried to step around Rayner. He needed space, he needed to be alone to try to get his marbles back in a row, because right now, they were scattered all over the place. How was he going to raise a child by himself? Why did this happen? Would he be able to continue on? The pain that
stormed within him was blinding.

As he walked across the gym
and headed for the double doors, he heard a soft voice that sounded remarkably like Beverly. Now he was hearing things. Beverly was dead. Her body was over on that Goddamn hospital bed.

“
Hudson?” There it was again—that voice that soothed him so much.

“
Hudson!” Rayner yelled. “Get over here! She’s back!”

Chapter 15

Beverly and Hudson snuggled in their bed, their baby between them.
After two hours of being monitored by Cohen, Beverly insisted on going back to their quarters. She showered, and Hudson had made her an omelet jammed-packed with vegetables. Finally, she was exactly where she wanted to be, where she needed to be—with the man she loved and their baby.

“
So, what should we name him?” Hudson asked.

“
Well, I don’t know. What do you think?”

“
Hudson Junior sounds nice.”

Beverly laughed.
“Let’s give him his own name, okay?”

The
y sat in silence for a moment, both staring at the baby.

“
Where did you go, Beverly?” Hudson asked in a quiet voice.

Beverly sighed, keeping her eyes on the
baby. It all seemed so . . . ridiculous, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she had dreamt it all.

But there was something inside of her that told her it had all been very, very real.

She had held her tongue as she listened to her future being decided by the Council of Mother Nature, and eventually she was allowed to speak.

With nothing new to say, she had repeated herself. She belonged with Hudson and their baby. She wasn
’t any different than Abby, or her child, but simply had become part SR44 by a different means. She wasn’t going to go back and begin a rampage of destruction; she was going to go back and live her life. If they didn’t want her to procreate, it was a done deal. She doubted with the hemorrhaging that she would be able to anyway. There had to be some damage done.

When she
had finished speaking, she was escorted out of the room and told to wait by the door. She strained to hear what was being said, but she couldn’t hear any voices. At that point, left alone, she had almost ran, but again, where would she go?

An hour later
, the large door opened on its own accord, and Mother Nature called her in. Beverly sat down at the table again.

“
We’ve made our decision,” Mother Nature had said.

Beverly studied the ethereal face for some hint of what her fate would be, but could find none.

“You will be leaving us now.”

Instantly,
Beverly was back in the wind tunnel, spiraling out of control. The ride had been another long trip.

There were no goodbyes, no explanations on their decision. And Beverly
was okay with that. She didn’t need to know why she had been sent back; she was simply happy that she had been.

She
had screamed and closed her eyes as she plummeted toward the blue mats in the gym. Suddenly, she stopped and floated down, landing gently on the soft surface.

Sitting up, she looked around. Hudson was walking toward the exit.
“Hudson?” she had called, her voice sounding far away.

Faith stood with the baby next to B
everly’s bed looking at Hudson.

“
Hudson!” Beverly had yelled again.

Cohen was also staring at Hudson
’s back. Rayner, however, was gazing at her.

He gave her a smile
and a wink. “Hudson!” Rayner called. “Get over here! She’s back!”

Rayner had performed a ceremony to get her back into her body through Hudson
’s love. Beverly watched as they all stood around her body, and Rayner chanted the incantation in his native tongue. Suddenly, she felt as though something was pulling her toward her body. She didn’t fight it, but allowed the process to happen. After a moment, she opened her eyes and met Hudson’s gaze. He smiled, his eyes shiny, and bent down to kiss her. “Welcome home, Bev,” he had said.

And now, as Beverly sat there next to Hudson, holding her little boy in her arms, her heart swelled with joy.

“I . . . I know this sounds crazy, but I was in Heaven, Hudson.”

She didn
’t meet his eyes, but continued to stare down at their unnamed baby. There was a long silence, and finally she lifted her gaze to his.

“
I don’t think it’s crazy, Beverly,” he said in a soft voice. “I’m just glad you’re back. Maybe when you’re up to it you can tell me about it.”

Tears welled in her e
yes. Hudson was such a good man, and one day soon she would tell him about her experience. She found it comforting to know there was something after this life, but she was also happy to be back. She had a lot more living to do before she was ready for Heaven.

She watched as
Hudson’s eyes slowly turned a bright yellow. Then they got very wide, his eyebrows taking a hike for his hairline.

“
Wow,” he whispered. “I . . . I think Cohen needs to look at you, Bev.”

“
Why?”

“
Because you’re eyes are glowing. It’s slight, but they are glowing green.”

Beverly stood and made her way to the bathroom. There was no need for lights; she could see that her eyes were indeed glowing green.

What could this mean? Would she live longer than a normal human? She smiled at the thought. More time with Hudson and their son sounded wonderful.

She made her way back to the bed and slipped under the covers.
“I’ll see Cohen tomorrow. For right now I’m happy where I’m at.”

There was a long stretch of silence as they both studied their baby.
Beverly marveled at his little fingers, his rosy cheeks, and the silkiness of his tufts of black hair. She was so grateful that she could touch him. Everyone would be coming home tomorrow, and she couldn’t wait for them to meet him. This beautiful little bundle was her greatest achievement, and her heart swelled with joy and pride.

She took Hudson’s hand and gave it a squeeze
. “We did good,” she whispered, smiling. “He’s amazing.”

Hudson grinned. “We did do good, Bev. And we’re only going to get better, the three of us together.”

Beverly looked down at their baby again, at their miracle. The baby who was never supposed to happen according to the many doctors who cared for her after her accident; the baby she couldn’t conceive or carry because of the damage done to her pelvic area.

“
So . . . a name?” Hudson said.

The baby began to wail, and Hudson got up to get a bottle.

“Let me try to breastfeed him, Hudson.”

She took the baby and brought him to her
chest, where he latched on immediately. “It looks like he likes my breast,” she said.

“
He takes after his daddy,” Hudson said, grinning and getting back into bed.

“
Killian,” Beverly said after a moment. “Killian is a good name.”

Hudson nodded.
“Yes, it is. It’s a strong Warrior name.”

Beverly shook her head and smiled.
“Hudson, our son won’t be a Warrior.”

Hudson
’s grin widened. “We have years to talk about that.”

Tears stung
Beverly’s eyes as she thought of how close she had come to leaving Hudson and baby Killian.

But in the end,
she had ended up in the right place, exactly where she belonged.

“
I love you, Bev.”

“
I love you too, Hudson.”

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