I smiled. I felt his thumb brushing against my skin. I looked at his eyes, waiting for them to open. I wanted to see their dark blue color with the light blue pattern in them.
“Hiya,” he said softly. He shifted a bit to try and stretch without hurting himself. “Did someone bring me a pop?”
“Right here.” I opened the can of ginger ale and helped him sip. “How you are feeling?”
“Like I want to go home.” He smiled. “Got cookies too?”
I opened the bag and fed him a few. I saw what Schel had told me about his shaking. A drop-in blood sugar will do that.
“Benboy, you wake?” Kamon came in and she lit up when she saw he was awake and smiling. “Oh, you are.” He held up his hand to her so she would come closer.
“I’m okay, Kamon. You didn’t have to come,” he told her, holding her hands.
“I had to make sure you okay, Benboy. It’s my job,” she said.
“Thank you, Kamon,” he said to her, smiling.
“All right, you two be good. I send food tomorrow. Rosa and I worked out so you will be fed. I see you soon.” She bent and kissed Ben’s cheek, then kissed mine and left.
I smiled at him. I smiled for us. We were very lucky to have all these wonderful people in our life. He drank most of his pop and ate his cookies. He was getting antsy. I helped him dress. His pants were hard to get on over the bandage, but we managed.
“Your chariot awaits, good sir.” Sarah came in pushing a wheelchair.
He laughed and hopped over to it. We walked out; no one stopped us, so we kept walking. Soon, Sarah led us to where she had my car waiting. We got Ben in the passenger seat and Sarah took us home. She had the filled prescriptions on the seat. I put them in my pocket. Soon, she pulled up in front of my house.
“All right, do you two got it?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, we can do this,” Ben said
“Great. Mary, I am going to park this in the garage. I will drop your keys off, and then I’m going home. If you need anything, call, but call someone else for the next six hours, okay?” she said.
I laughed. “Sure thing. Thank you, Sarah.” Ben was out of the car and I had his arm around my shoulders to help him get to the front door. “You ready?”
“Let’s go.” We worked together and got him to the stairs. My door opened. Ninja, Joey, and Oatmeal were there. Ninja and Oatmeal took over, carrying him the rest of the way. I heard him talking to them, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“You okay, BB? Need anything?” Joey asked me.
“We should be fine,” I said, just wanting to get in my house. When I walked in, I saw how Oatmeal had arranged our recliners next to each other. It made me happy. I looked at my sewing table, happy to see there was nothing on it that shouldn’t be. It could be a catch-all and I hated that.
“Everything we didn’t know what to do with, mostly pictures, we put in the lounge. We moved his gun safe into the bedroom with that dresser from the garage. If you don’t like it, we can change it,” he said.
“I am sure it will be fine. Thank you for moving him in.” I gave Joey a hug.
“All right, we are going to head out now. We stocked the fridge and pantry. Call if you need anything or can’t find something. His crutches are next to the bed,” Ninja said.
“Thank you all for everything,” I said. They each gave me a hug as they left. I walked in the bedroom. They had changed him and laid him on the bed.
“Finally, alone. Come here,” Ben said, holding his arms out to me.
I went into them. He held me for a few moments. “I have to give you your meds. Do you need food for them? I can make peanut butter toast? Did you need the washroom?”
“There is prepared food in the fridge. Pick something and I will take whatever, but no pain meds. Are you sure you’re okay with me being here? I know we didn’t really talk about it much.” He looked at me, waiting for my answer.
“Yes, no other place I would want you to be.” I smiled.
“Perfect. No, the guys helped me. I could use a little food, the meds Polgara says I must take, and you. That’s all I need,” he said.
“Okay, I can do that.” I went and picked out some food and got the meds. I gave him everything, then I went and took a shower. I crawled into bed next to him, thrilled with how everything had worked out.
Chapter 31
Ammo
I had been lying around Mary’s house for a week. Our house. I loved living with her. She was very happy. She was working on the wedding plans and I listened carefully to her. She was missing a few things, but I had already taken care of them. It was time for our weekly meeting, and I conferenced in on my tablet. It was a new thing for me since I always was in the command center for these.
“Hello, Ammo! How are you feeling?” Domino asked.
“Loving being with Mary, but tired of sitting on my ass. How are things?” We chatted as everyone else logged in or came in and found a seat.
“Good. Lego, Amber, and Phoenix have been making sure everything is in order in your armory. Ninja and Trigger have been keeping everyone up on training, so things should be in order when you get back.
“Good to hear, thanks.”
Domino looked around. “We all are here, now. Let’s get this started. As we have been digging into Michael Greyson, we have made lots of interesting finds. His real name is Brian Woods. He was born to a drug addict in Little Village. His mother was from Park Ridge, but she ran away, got caught up in drugs, and eventually she died when Woods was ten. Woods never really went to school. He ran around with the street gangs of the area. After his grandparents found out about their daughter’s death, they wanted him. So, the next time he was arrested his grandparents, took him home to Park Ridge. This marked a huge change. He had to go to school, his grandfather took an interest in him, and by the time he was eighteen, he was ready to attend Northwestern in Evanston and was getting degrees in business.” Domino drank some water.
“He never lost contact with the gangs he ran with. He saw how they could make more money. He convinced the gangs to start taking girls, and he was selling them to his schoolmates that could pay; businessmen that he had met. The gangs were making money. Lots of it. They were able to change their lives for the better, at least in their eyes. They started calling him Moses; he was leading them to the promised land. Fucking bastard. Anyways. He kept records. We are deciphering them, and we have found some leads to get some of the girls back. We might be doing some of the rescues, but so far, the FBI, DEA, and the military are working together on it. Last night there was a new development though. Moses had been bragging about all the women he tested before selling. A group of prisoners decided they didn’t like it and took out that piece of garbage.”
Domino turned to me. “Ben, I am sorry, he will not be judged in a court of law. Though I do believe he will be judged by a higher power. And let’s hope the devil doesn’t kick him out.”
Most of us were grim-faced. I was thrilled he was no longer going to breathe air. I just hoped I would get to see my sister again. Domino carried on the meeting, but for the first time, I was not even listening. I logged out without saying good bye. I got up and carefully went to where Mary had hung up all our family photos together. I leaned against the door jamb, looking at my sister and me as we grew up. My parents there, then not there. Grandma and Gramps. Mary had left a few spots open. She wanted us to take a picture that replicated the pose of my parents from their anniversary. She had found one of Grandma and Gramps in a similar pose.
“Ben, is the meeting over already?” Mary asked me after seeing I was looking at the pictures.
“I don’t know. Moses was killed last night. I just missed my sister and wanted to look at her.” She saw I was hurting and snuggled into my arms. She didn’t say anything; we just held onto each other for a long time.
Chapter 32
Mary
I got the invites out. Ari was getting my dress taken care of. Kamon and Rosa too
k care of the food. I asked Ben who should officiate, and he said he had taken care of it. I let it go. We fell into an easy routine; he was a much better patient than I’d thought he would be. It was a sweet time, even with the news from the weekly meeting. Friends stopped by every day; he enjoyed visiting. I decided not to work till the first of the year since there was just so much going on. My parents came into town. They ended up staying at a hotel; it was just easier they said. I was happy because I didn’t want to give up our privacy.
Ari said he was coming over with a surprise; he came over often to work on the dress. I loved how it was coming out. He had kept it simple with the lace that Ben wanted.
“Here’s my surprise!” Ari said, walking in with his aunt Clarisse.
“Hello, Mary, how are you?” she asked.
I gave her a hug, “Wonderful, how are you?”
“Very well. So, anything you want to tell me?” she asked, giving me a stare that said she’d caught me. Ari was right; I was in trouble. I led her back to the lounge where Ari and Ben were talking. They ignored us.
“Ben asked me to marry him. I said yes. Then I didn’t tell you because taking down Greyson, who turned out to be the notorious criminal Moses, was more important.” Sticking to facts might help me.
“I see. While taking down that criminal was very important, you are more important to me. Your aunt Helen would be very upset that you neglected to share your good news,” she said with a sad smile.
“I know.” I felt bad for upsetting her.
“But I will forgive you. How did you two meet?” Clarisse smiled at me. She was a beautiful woman; even in her late fifties, her dark-haired bob still shone brightly. Her intelligent brown eyes missed nothing. I told her the story about how we had lunch at the seal pool. “That was one of your aunt’s favorite places.” She had a far-off look on her face.
We talked for a while. Ari and Ben’s conversation seemed to wind down. “Auntie Clarisse, are you ready?” Ari asked her.
“Yes.” She reached her hand into her pocket. “I almost forgot. Mary, this is for you, from Aunt Helen and I.” She handed me a small gift bag. We said our good byes and they left.
I walked back to the lounge where Ben was still sitting with his ankle elevated. “Clarisse is someone special to your aunt Helen and to you?”
“Yes, I think so. Clarisse and Aunt Helen were best friends from childhood. They both married the men their parents chose for them. Both had very little love in their marriages, but they had each other, so they were fine. But Aunt Helen died of a heart attack at a young age, leaving Clarisse alone. She then dedicated her life to raising money for her charities. But she keeps an eye on me and helps me when she can.”
“She’s the one that gets you the Zoo passes?”
“Yeah, she and Aunt Helen went all the time.”
Ben smiled at me. “It’s good to have the memories. So, what’d she get you?” He nodded to the bag.
I opened it. I found a note and box. The note said, ‘Your angels watch over you.’ In the box was a heart-shaped locket. I opened it. There were pictures of Clarisse and Aunt Helen hugging, one from their teenage years, one closer to when Aunt Helen passed. You could see the happiness on their faces.
We went to see Polgara in her office and she said he’d healed up better than she expected. She took out his stitches and said light duty. She also said he could dance with me at the wedding. It was in just a few days. He drove us over to Forces so he could share his news. I left him talking to the guys and found Lach in the clinic.
“G’day, BB, what can I do you for?”
“I think I need a pregnancy test.” I was feeling more tired than normal, my period had never come, and I’d noticed my body was changing.
“Sure.” He opened a drawer and handed me a cup with a lid. “Here. The washroom is around the corner. Then come back and hop up here ’n I can see what is going on.”
I got a sample in the cup. That was easy; one of the changes was I kept having to pee. I took it back to him. He stuck a test stick in it, and we waited. “If this is positive, will it be a celebratory time?” he asked.
“Yes.” I smiled. I kept dreaming of holding a baby in my arms with Ben holding both of us in his.
“Well, let’s celebrate then!” Lach said, looking at the positive result on the stick.
I laughed. “Well, let’s keep it a secret. I will tell Ben on our wedding day as a present.”
“Excellent idea; no greater gift. I am going to get you a prescription for some anti-nausea medication. Here is a sheet on some prenatal vitamins, some over the counter anti-nausea medication you can use as well, and things you can’t take. Lastly, the number to a friend of mine. I am assuming you don’t have an OB/GYN which is why you are here?” I nodded at him. “Her ’n her wife run this practice ’n they are great people as well as great doctors.”
“Thanks, Lach. I will make an appointment as soon as possible,” I said, hopping down. I was hoping I could keep the secret till Sunday. I was also going to need to stop by the store without Ben and get these items. I ended up calling Lita and asking her to do it for me since she was going to stop by later.
Sunday morning dawned, bright and sunny. It was chilly, but not too bad for Chicago in early winter. Ben and I decided we would rather not spend the night apart. I was lying in his arms, just enjoying the feel of him next to me. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I scrambled out of bed and ran for the bathroom. “Mary, what’s wrong?” He followed me.
I made it just in time to throw up. He held my hair back while I lost everything in my stomach. When my body stopped heaving, he handed me a glass of water. I rinsed and spit. “Anything you want to tell me?” He was smiling.
“I was going to wait till tonight. We are going to have a baby,” I said. I felt terrible, I knew I had to look terrible, but I sat there on the bathroom floor with him looking down on me, and I’d never felt more loved in all my life.
Chapter 33
Ammo
Looking at her sitting on that floor with the news she’d just told me, I finally felt whole. I felt our love; this day was only going to keep getting better and better. I couldn’t wait to marry her that night. I picked her up and put her back in our bed. I went to the kitchen and found the brown bag she had tried to hide from me. There were over the counter anti-nausea tabs in it. I brought them to her and a ginger ale that I’d noticed showed up in the fridge on the same day the brown bag did. I handed them to her. She took a sip and got the tab in her mouth before I curled up next to her, wrapping my hands around her stomach, imagining her growing with our baby.
“So, you ready for today?” I asked her, wanting to turn her mind away from feeling sick.
“Yup, food’s done, dress is done, you took care of the officiant, Phoenix is the photographer, Joey took care of the music. What else do we need?”
“What about a cake?” I felt her stiffen. I figured since her surprise about the baby was ruined, I would give her this one.
“Cake! How could I forget the cake! Ben, what are we going to do?”
“Nothing. Did you know Charity’s sister is a baker?”
“I didn’t even know Charity had a sister.”
“Well, she does, and she took care of it. I was going to tell you later, but since your surprise got out early, I thought this one could too.”
“Ben, I love you. Thank you for everything.”
“I love you too. No thanks needed; we are partners. This is how it works,” I said, kissing her head. We lay for a little while longer, till we needed to get up and get showered. Tarzan invited me to get ready his and Jenn’s house. I took him up on it because I didn’t have another place, and Ari was coming over to get Mary ready at our house with her parents.
“Hey, Tarzan, how’s Jenn?” I said as he let me in. I had my dress blues in a bag over my shoulder.
“I am feeling good today. I am going to lie here and watch you two parade around in your uniforms, so that has a certain mo
tivation to it,” Jenn said, smiling. She still looked good, but she tired quickly. They had said they would be there for the ceremony, but not much more than that.
I laughed with them. “I am glad I could provide that service.”
“Here, sit,” Tarzan said and took my bag to the spare room.
“Ben, do not read this today. But sometime soon, please read this for me, okay?” Jenn asked, handing me a letter.
“I will, Jenn,” I said.
“Thank you. So, are you excited?” she asked, smiling.
“More than you know. Mary asked me not to say anything yet because it’s too soon, but we are going to have a baby.” I was ecstatic.
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