Dawn (14 page)

“I guess I'm not going to have time to take a bath,” Jace said, a knowing smile on his face as I walked up to him.

“No,” I said, smiling back at him.

“You sure do know how to make it hard on a guy.”

I couldn't prevent a laugh as I wrapped my arms around his neck, placing a hand at the back of his head but not having to do much to lower his lips next to mine.

“I certainly hope so,” I said before kissing him, leaving no doubt about what it was I wanted.

Afterward, I lay with my head resting on Jace's chest, absently gliding a hand up and down the peaks and valleys of the well-defined muscles of his torso.

“What are you thinking about?” Jace asked, smoothing my hair away from the side of my face so he could see me better.

“I'm actually trying not to think too much,” I told him. “If I do, I might start to cry.”

Jace tightened his arms around me as if the action could take all of my worries away.

“I wish I could end this nightmare for you,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

“I don't think it will be too much longer before it’s over.”

Jace placed a hand underneath my chin to make me look up at him.

“What makes you say that?” He asked with that look of worry in his eyes again.

I sighed. “It's just a feeling I have. I can't explain it. I just know.”

“Then good,” he said. “The sooner we finish this the better. I'm ready to start our lives. I'm ready for us to be a real family. It's something I've never had, and it's something I desperately want with you.”

His words brought back my earlier thoughts when I was with Zoe’s mother on her boat. The fact that I couldn’t provide Jace with a child of his own caused me to burst into tears.

“Skye,” Jace said, tightening his arms around me as I cried against his chest. “Why are you crying?”

I shook my head as I continued to mourn the loss of not being able to give Jace a child.

“I can't give you a real family,” I said through my tears. “I can't give you a baby.”

Jace rubbed one hand up and down my exposed arm.

“Please, Skye, don't cry because of what she did to you. We have two beautiful children. I don't need any more than that,” Jace said in a soothing voice. “I just hate that she took that experience away from you. All I need is you, Rose, and Simon to feel complete. You three have become my whole world, my reason for existing.”

I forced myself to look at Jace. He raised a hand and wiped away my tears with the tips of his fingers.

“But don't you feel cheated?” I asked. “I know I do.”

“Honestly?” Jace said. “No, I don't feel cheated. I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I have a beautiful, smart, brave woman who loves me. I have two gorgeous and gifted children. Why would I need anything else?  What more could I possibly want?  I have everything.”

I leaned up and kissed Jace on the lips. The kiss was salty from my tears, but I didn't care. I wanted him to know just how much I loved him, how much he meant to me.

“I love you,” I breathed against his lips. “I will always love you.”

I looked into his eyes and didn't see worry this time, only true happiness.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The next morning I awoke to find myself alone in bed. I quickly sat up and used my enhanced hearing to listen to the noises within the house. I heard the rattle of pans and clang of utensils come from the first floor mixed with the happy gurgles of Rose.

“We’re going to make mommy breakfast in bed. Aren’t we, Rosey?”

Rose giggled like she was all for the idea.

I lay back down hugging my pillow to my chest and couldn’t prevent a contented smile from spreading my lips.

Only Jace would think to make me breakfast in bed. A small way to spoil me I suppose. Something, I suddenly realized, I had never had anyone do for me before now. I didn’t want to ruin Jace’s surprise so I closed my eyes and listened as he moved around in the kitchen below me.

While he cooked, he told Rose all about her future.

“When the big bad queen is dead,” he said in a sing song voice like he was telling Rose a fairy tale, “you, Simon, me, and mommy will all live in a little house together and have breakfast with one another every morning. And at bedtime, mommy and me will tuck you and your brother in your beds all safe and sound and kiss you both goodnight so you have sweet dreams while you sleep. I’m going to make sure wherever we live has a large field of wheat beside it so your mommy can chase you through it. You’ll have plenty to eat, and we’ll always love you. But, there will come a day when you need to leave us, and I’ll try to not be sad about it because I know what you have to do is important. I will give you the best life I can before that day comes though, Rosey. I promise.”

I wiped tears from the corners of my eyes as I fully realized Jace was right. We would lose Rose and Simon one day in the future. I would be the person who sends them back to particular time points to help us. They would choose to sacrifice their lives as they knew them in order to give the world a chance at a fresh start. I made my own private promise to Rose that I would become the woman she brought to me when I was in this very same room only a few months before. I would be someone she instantly called her mother.

I heard a car pull up into the driveway and park in front of the house. With a sigh of disappointment, I knew there would be no time for breakfast in bed. We had work to do.

While I was getting dressed, I eavesdropped when Jace answered the door.

“Good morning, Paul,” Jace said.

“Morning. The scout's returned from the queen's compound,” I heard Paul tell Jace. “Your fathers sent me over to ask that you both come over to discuss the Intel she brought back.”

“Ok, we'll be right over,” Jace replied, a note of disappointment in his voice.

I smiled slightly because I knew why he sounded that way. His surprise of serving me breakfast in bed was ruined now, and there was no telling when he would have the opportunity to do it again. I hoped it would be someday soon. I desperately wanted the normal life Jace promised Rose we would have. To be afforded the opportunity to live like a real family was both of our dreams, not just his. A normal life was all I had ever wanted.

I was slipping on my tennis shoes when Jace walked up the stairs and into the bedroom with Rose against his hip in the crook of his arm. They both smiled at me when they came in making my heart soar but even that happiness wasn't complete.

A small voice inside my head questioned whether or not I would always be able to feel this close to them. What if the queen did something which made me lose my ability to love?  I forced the thought back into the recesses of my mind. I wouldn't let it happen. I needed Jace and the kids like I needed air to breathe. Without being able to love them, I felt sure I would find a way to just end my life because what would be the point of living anymore? But, I had hope it wouldn't come to that. According to everything I'd been allowed to see of the future, I would end up earning the happy life we all wanted. The one we all deserved to have.

“I take it you heard what Paul said?” Jace asked, coming to stand by me while I sat on the bed tying my last lace.

“Yes,” I said, sitting up and holding my arms out to take Rose so Jace could change out of his sweat pants and t-shirt.

Rose gurgled her happiness as I sat her on my lap. I looked into her bluer than blue eyes and saw faint traces of Zoe in her smile. I leaned down and kissed one of her chubby little cheeks, breathing in her clean sweet baby scent.

“Why do you smell so good?” I asked her, gaining a smile and small laugh in return. I tickled her under her chin making her giggle. “I could eat you up you smell so good.”

Ok, maybe not the best choice of words, I realized. Considering what the queen did to the ‘meat’ left over from the humans she harvested organs from. Why did it seem like nothing associated with the queen ever led to good thoughts?  Everything connected to her was tainted with evil, even me. I was no saint even before being made into a Harvester. I was obstinate, argumentative, and occasionally hot headed. But, I knew right from wrong, and I had to believe that was due to my mother and father's influence on my life when I was younger. Hopefully, the age old argument between nature and nurture leaned more towards the nurture side when it came to me.

After Jace got dressed, we went straight to the mansion where the others were staying. We found them in the kitchen sitting around the table in the room eating breakfast.

My father was standing by the stove with a spatula in one hand watching something cook in the pan in front of him.

“Are you making pancakes?” I asked, walking over to the stove and peering into the pan.

“We raided Lucena's vast larder here,” my dad said with a smile. “Found some pancake mix and remembered how much you used to like them when you were a kid.”

The pancake in the pan was in the shape of Mickey Mouse with two smaller pancakes acting as ears on the larger center pancake.

I smiled up at my dad.

“Just the way I like them,” I said, gaining one of his effervescent smiles in return. It brought back memories of happier times from our shared past and made me realize how blessed my life was, at least for the moment.

After we had our fill of pancakes for breakfast and cleared the table of dirty dishes, Michael's scout was brought in to tell us what she learned from going to the Geneva compound.

I faintly remembered the woman. She was the same person who led Jace and me from the tunnel Michael and his group dug under the Biltmore Estate to the clearing where we met Michael's helicopter. The scout, whose name I learned was Gina, told us what she saw.

“They have your son in the queen's main compound which is located here,” Gina said pointing to a spot marked on the map with a red 'S'. “It used to be a hotel back in the day but the queen is there and....”Gina looked over at me like she wasn't sure how I would react to what she had to say next.

“And what?” I prodded.

“And I think she's waiting for you.”

“What makes you say that?” My dad asked, not hiding the fact he didn't like hearing this news.

Gina crossed her arms over her chest and looked me dead in the eyes as she said, “Usually the queen has the most guards around her. But, here she has only a minimal number of them present. For her, it's like an open invitation to come in.”

“She knows I won't allow an attack on her if she has Simon,” I replied. “Maybe she's just not wasting the man power on protection because of that.”

“Maybe,” Gina shrugged, “but if you ask me, she knows you're coming and doesn't want to scare you off with too many guards around her. She's up to something, but I can't quite figure out what. If I were you, I would watch my back when I went in.”

“I'll have her back,” Lux promised with a nod of her head.

Gina turned her attention back to the map.

“Your friends Ava and Jackson are here,” Gina said, pointing to a spot marked vineyard on the map in pencil. “From what I could tell, they're pretty much working the poor girl to the bone. Jackson just seems to be what they're using against her to force her to work as hard as she is. They have him drugged on something because he looked pretty out of it when I saw him. So whoever goes to get him, be prepared to have to carry him out. He's pretty useless at the moment.”

“I'll go get Ava and Jackson,” Ian volunteered.

“Both you and Jace should get them,” I said. “Lux and I will get Simon.”

“I want to help you get Simon,” Jace began to argue.

“I know you want to come, but I can't have you there,” I said to him, “I can't take the chance that the queen will capture you again. It would be stupid to place both you and Simon in the same room with her. I'll be fine with Lux watching my back. You should go with Ian and help him get Jackson and Ava.”

I could tell Jace wanted to argue the point further, but I could also tell he knew I was right. Finally, he nodded his head, reluctantly agreeing to the plan.

“You should each take at least two more people with you,” Michael said.

“I want to go in quietly and come out quietly,” I told him. “The more people we have the more risk there is of Simon being caught in the crossfire. Besides, Gina’s probably right. The queen is expecting me to show up, and she knows I won’t go in guns blazing if there is a chance it will harm Simon. She wants me with her. It's her weakness and we need to exploit it.”

“I doubt she's just going to let you waltz in, grab Simon and waltz out,” Ian said skeptically.

“I'll do what I have to do to get my son back,” I told him. “If we tried to figure out exactly what she’s thinking before we went there, we'd never leave this compound. Getting Simon back is my only priority right now. And trust me when I tell you nothing she places in my way will stop me from getting him the hell away from her.”

I felt Jace place one of his arms around my waist.

“You'll get him back,” he said to me.

I looked over at him.

“Yes, I will,” I said, not with over confidence just certainty.

The plan was set. The four of us would leave near dusk in a helicopter and make the three hour flight to Geneva, NY. By the time we reached our destination, we would be able to use the cloak of night to help camouflage our movements within the compound. Doc Riley provided us with what was left of the supply of her Cain virus coated bullets for our guns, but we would each only get seven shots each. The bullets might prove to be useless unless we aimed to kill. I felt sure the queen had a supply of my blood to cure anyone we infected and left alive. If she cared enough to keep them around, she could easily cure them. But, killing Harvesters wasn't my objective. Getting Simon back safe and sound was the only thing I cared about.

When it was time to leave, we left Rose in the safe care of Kirk, Teegan, and Kale.

“You guys will probably want to take turns feeding her at night,” I told them. “That's what Jace and I do. And if she doesn't want to go to sleep, just sing her a lullaby and rock her. She should fall back to sleep fairly quickly.
Do not
and I repeat,
do not
let her suck on her thumb no matter how much she tries. All I need is for her to have dental problems when we don’t have any dentist around. Also, make sure you use the ointment in her diaper bag if you see her getting red on her bottom. It doesn't take long for a full on rash to develop, and she can be a bear if that happens.”

“Skye,” Kirk said, putting a comforting hand on my right shoulder, “I think we can take care of a baby for a few hours. There's three of us and one of her. We can handle it. The last thing you need to be doing right now is worrying about her. You just focus on getting Simon back.”

I nodded, trying to put on a braver face than I felt. The truth was I didn't like being away from Rose for so long. I tightened my hold on her and looked at her happily gnawing on one of her little fists which I gently made her stop doing. I felt sure she was going to handle the separation far better than I was.

“I know you’ll take good care of her,” I admitted. “I've just never left her for this long before.”

“We'll treat her like a princess, Skye,” Kale assured me. “No worries.”

Teegan held her arms out and Rose immediately reached out for her.

I handed her over and Teegan held Rose cradled in the crook of her arm, sitting her on a hip.

Jace leaned in and kissed Rose on the top of her head.

“Next time you see us,” Jace told her, “we'll have your brother back.”

Rose looked over at me as if she was waiting for me to make my goodbyes too.

“We'll be back soon,” I told her, picking up a small duffel bag I had packed with supplies for Simon after we found him. “We should go,” I said to Jace. “They're all waiting for us at the airport.”

I turned to leave but heard Rose begin to whimper. When I glanced back over my shoulder, I saw her watching me leave and holding her arms out for me to come back to her. I instantly slipped the strap of the bag off my shoulder, walked over to her and took her from Teegan. I held Rose against me and kissed her chubby little cheeks and the tip of her nose.

“I'll be back before you know it,” I told her, feeling the threat of tears reveal how much I would miss her but forcing them back. “You'll be safe here. That's the only reason I'm leaving you behind. But, I promise you daddy and I will be back soon. It won't be forever, ok?”