Chapter 2
As soon as the elevator doors open on level seven, instantly I see that directions weren’t necessary, it looks like a JSOC meeting just let out. Charlie team are littered through the upscale corridor, looking so out of place wearing their combat fatigues, I greet each of them and offer my thanks and as I approach the door, I can hear Alexa giggling, the sound instantly flooding my cold chest with warmth and the feeling of hope.
Charlie Team Chief claps me on the back, “Can you send two men up to the Hawk and have them pick up the rest of my team?”
“Already sent two men up, Chief. I’m all over it, they are coordinating with Reid on location, I’m also coordinating with Delta. All you need to worry about is your family, Go be with your girl.” he says.
“Thanks, Chief, I appreciate it.”
“Your little girl, Alexa, is going to be the next drill instructor at BUDs dude, that little spitfire has my boys at her beck and call, it’s quite impressive.”
I laugh, because I know this to be one hundred percent true, my princess is my carbon copy and I’m so fucking proud she calls me Dad.
“Daddy, Daddy, yoaw heaw!” Alexa shouts excitedly, and Charlie Chief lets out a belly laugh and steps out of the way.
I walk in and see Alexa sitting on the edge of Davies bed, with a litter of books spread over his blankets.
“Hi, Princess, how are you feeling?” I ask.
Lottie is curled up asleep in the reclining chair near Alexa’s empty bed, curls wild and mouth hanging open.
“I’s good Daddy, better than Pa. I’s weading him stowies to makes him feels bettaw.” She says with a small smile.
“I see.”
“Whewa’s Mommy? Did you gets da bad man?” Alexa asks as she tries to move off the bed but winces when she moves suddenly, and I move fast to get to her.
“Princess, I got you.” I say scooping her into my arms and cradling her to my chest, and just breathe in her goodness.
“Youw smewwing me again.” Alexa notes.
“I am my love; you smell like home.” I whisper.
“Lily good?” Davies asks concerned, he knows my mannerisms and knows something is seriously wrong and tries to sit up straighter, fuck me, he looks like hell in a hand basket, but the ol’ man is still giving it his all.
“Let me grab a chair,” I say as I kiss Alexa on the forehead and walk to the other side of Davies bed to take a seat.
I hold Alexa close to my chest and just keep breathing her in.
“Youw smewwing me again, Daddy?” Alexa says with a giggle.
Davies uses the remote to raise the bed so he’s sitting taller, and I can see the toll it’s taking on his body, but he is a SEAL, once a SEAL, always a SEAL and he won’t let it stop him.
“I am Princess, I missed you so much while I was away.”
Alexa sighs, “I mished you too Daddy, whewa’s Mommy?”
And then whispers with conviction.
“I hopes you made him huwt, Daddy.”
I look over at Davies and he is pissed, I know that if he could move off the bed he would. The left side of his face is dark blue and the right side is not much better, his head is swollen, and left eye is closed shut and the right barely open.
The whole left side of his head is shaved, and he has a zipper of stitches from his temple, running over his ear travelling back around his skull. Fuck me, he must have hit the side window of the Beast hard, doesn’t help that it had reinforced glass. Seeing my mentor in a hospital bed is not something you ever want to see and is damn fucking hard.
I pull Alexa back from my chest and take her in, she’s wearing a hospital gown with fatigue patterns. Trust my little girl to want to be dressed for battle, she has moderate facial bruising, and her left eye is black but otherwise she looks okay.
“Princess, Mommy is in surgery like Pa was, she is hurt pretty badly, but Mommy is strong like you and Pa, she will fight hard.”
Alexa’s bottom lip trembles and tears start falling from her eyes, “Wiww Mommy be, okay?”
I look to Davies and his shoulders stiffen waiting on my reply.
“Uncle Doc is with Mommy and doing his best to fix her, we need to be patient and think happy thoughts, that’s what Mommy needs, she needs our happy, healing thoughts.”
Alexa lets out a sob, and curls into my chest and cries, and all I can do is hold her and let her feel what she needs to feel. I’m not going to promise her that Lily will be okay, because lying to a child is never a good idea. You just don’t do that shit.
“Did you get the a-hole?” Davies ask on a low growl and I nod with acknowledgement, while rocking Alexa and kissing her soft curls.
“Cuddy, Reid, Jackson, Tiny, and Betty are with him and... Caroline.”
Davies head jerks and I nod.
“What the? Okay, and Betty?”
I give a little chuckle at that because, Davies seems surprised.
“Dear ol’ Betty’s one in a million Commander, she’s going to give Trickle all types of heat, you have no idea.”
Alexa raises her tear-soaked face to me, “Daddy I’s wants to dwaw a pictuaw of Mommy and me at da pawk, to makes hew feels bettaw.”
I smile as I stand and carry her over to her bed which is beside Davies, “You okay, if I set you up here and you can draw Mommy some happy pictures? Daddy needs to talk to Pa.”
“Yesh Daddy, I knowed you do. I’s be okay, can you pass me the pods pwease.”
I see the iPods on the side table and set Alexa up with her paper, pencils and kiss her on the forehead.
“I love you Alexa, I’m so glad you are okay my sweet girl.”
Alexa whispers, “I wuvs you twoo, Daddy. Wait tiww you see my chwest Daddy, I’s have a big X mawk da spot. I’s soaw but medichin hewps me.”
“I will have a look at your war wounds soon, Princess.” I say kissing her on her forehead once again while placing the pods in her little ears. I stand and take her in, Alexa looks up and gives me a little smile and shoos me away, she amazes me every single day with how she rolls with the punches, I just have to believe the final blow never comes.
I walk over and sit next to Davies, and he starts rapid firing questions.
“What the fuck has happened to my sweet girl? How bad is she? Where is Blake? And... Caroline? I thought she died?”
I take a deep breath because Davies is going to want to get out of that bed as soon as I tell him everything.
“Commander, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, Lily is in a bad way, we’ve lost her twice already, she coded on the Haw–”
“NO! Is she alive son, you better fucking tell me Lily is okay or I’m gonna lose my shit and tear this place apart.”
“Doc had to rapid transfuse from Blake to Lily as he has B- blood, if he wasn’t with us,” I shake my head, he was with us. “Doc wouldn’t have gotten her back and just as we were exiting the elevator, Lily’s heart stopped again and the team were working on her while rushing to the operating room.”
Davies looks at me intently, breathing heavily, and his heart monitor shows he’s not coping with this information.
“You need to breathe, Commander your monitors are about to start alarming.”
“Don’t tell me to fucking breathe, my baby is injured and, well... fuck.”
As much as wants to keep arguing he follows my request and starts to breathe.
“I don’t know any more information; Davies I came straight here where Doc told me to wait, I needed to see you both instead of going insane in a surgical waiting room and Doc knew it. Lily’s only just hanging on, that fucking asshole has tortured her, both her lungs have collapsed, one of them being punctured, the bruising was black all over her side. We found Lily curled up shackled to a wall, with her bottom half exposed, and Trickle was pulling up his pants.”
“Fuck, no, I’m gonna fucking kill him.” Davies grinds.
A tear escapes, as I look to Alexa and check if she can hear me.
“I don’t know if he raped her, she was unconscious, barely breathing when we got to her, and critical. Doc worked fast to try and stabilize her while Cuddy worked fast to release her from the shackles so we could transport her. I shot that fucker in the left shoulder and both knees, but I want him fed to the fucking sharks Commander.”
“Lily is strong, Harrington, you know this. Is Blake, okay?” Davies asks, concern in his voice but more under control.
“Yes, he’s giving the staff hell, but I ordered him to have his transfusion, then he’ll be sent to us once he’s leveled out.”
“Good, now you said Caroline was alive? What the hell is going on with her?”
“We’re not sure at this stage but Tiny will get answers, she’s in a bad way herself, she looked strung out and withered. She’d been beaten also, and from the brief look I got of her it looked like she’s been through all types of hell for a long time. Betty is there which is good; Charlie Chief is coordinating with Alpha and Delta while we concentrate on our girls.”
Davies lets out a low whistle and gently shakes his head, “What did you find out from Janelle?”
“That is a whole other mystery, it appears that she may have been drugged. Doc got lab reports back and it showed heavy amphetamine use for years, Doc has a suspicion that if it’s true her rage and personality change may have been drug induced.”
“Fucking hell, that’s... what the fuck has been going on in bum fuck nowhere?” Davies is just as shocked as I was.
“Davies, Lily might be pregnant, my angel was conscious briefly before she crashed; all she said was baby. That’s all we know at this stage, but Doc didn’t seem surprised when I told him what she said.”
I notice Davies nodding his head in agreement, he too is not looking shocked at the news.
“Do you know something I don’t?” I ask Davies.
“I suspected yesterday when Lily was vomiting so violently, I’ve never seen a tummy turn like Lily’s was. It would make a whole lot of sense.”
“If she is Davies, I don’t know how the baby will survive, the trauma to her side and what we could see of her abdomen was severe. She was black and blue and Doc suspected a ruptured spleen or liver. I don’t know if Lily will survive let alone our baby, and if she does pull through... and there is a loss it will devastate her. I’m sick to my fucking stomach with worry but instructed Doc to do whatever is needed to save her life.”
I hang my head and shake it, “I can’t lose my angel, Davies, she is everything to me, and Alexa.”
Davies voice takes an authoritative edge, “You will not lose Lily, that girl is meant for this earth, she will survive. Doc is with her and that kid is a fucking gun with a scalpel, he will save Lily and quite possibly your baby, have faith in him, Doc is the best.”
I nod because I know he’s right, Doc is the best, and if my angel doesn’t survive, I know that Doc would have done everything in his power to save her.
“I need to close my eyes, Son, wake me when there’s any news.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Davies closes his eyes and instantly looks ten years older, laid up in a damn hospital bed, it’s a site you never want to see; your Commander whether still active or not is still that, Davies is like a father figure to all us boys, his boys, and that will never change. I swing my gaze over to Alexa and she has fallen asleep with a little pencil still in her hand, I stand and walk over and lay her back and when I try to remove the pencil she tightens her grip, okay princess, you keep your little sword of love.