by Holly Rayner
“No, but I…”
“Then you can’t be allowed in. I’m sorry ma’am, but there are rules.”
“I don’t give a shit about your rules,” Kally replied hotly, and took off toward a set of double doors.
Kally quite couldn’t understand what she was doing. It was as if her entire being were on autopilot. Her brain was screaming that she was insane, that she was certain to be caught in a few moments. Indeed, the lady at the desk was loudly ordering security after her. She ran for all she was worth, and by excellent good fortune, an elevator opened just as she reached the banks. She dove in, and the doors shut just as the guards came within her sight.
A few moments later, Kally was barreling down the hall toward the intensive care unit. She had just hit the double doors when her progress was stalled by two members of Alexandros’ security team. The first was a muscular man with low cut hair and a square face; the same guard who had seized Kally at the launch event.
The man put his hand on Kally’s shoulder and shook his head. “You’ve really stepped in it this time, Ms. Jones,” he said, sighing as he spoke. “I'm Dan Michaels, Mr. Stratos’ head of security. The boss is in surgery, so he won’t be able to help you when the police get here. However, it’s clear he wanted you by his side, so I can slip you in to see him when the surgery’s over. If you wanna get out of this without going to jail, you’re going to have to do exactly what I tell you. Understand?”
Kally was elated to discover that Alexandros was not dead. She nodded, smiling in gratitude, just as the hospital’s security officers came into view.
“Stay right where you are, ma’am!” one of them ordered. Granted, the woman was short, but her eyes were dangerously fierce, and looking right at Kally. She surged forward, black hair flailing wildly behind her, but as she drew near, Dan held up his hand.
“I apologize for the misunderstanding, officer. Ms. Jones is a bit enthusiastic sometimes, but she’s one of us.”
“One of you?” The woman replied skeptically. “Why would a personal security officer run through a hospital like a mad person?”
“She’s not security, officer. She’s Mr. Stratos’ deputy personal assistant, and my guess is she panicked. Jones here has only been on the job for a month or so, but as you can see, she takes it seriously.”
“Nevertheless, we’re going to have to…”
“Leave this one to us. She’s hurt no one, and we’re keeping her out until the surgery’s over. When the boss awakes, he’s going to want his assistant near to hand, not in prison.”
It took a while for Dan to convince the woman and her team, but eventually, the hospital agreed to stand down, and call off the police.
Kally waited nervously for over four hours before the doctors would allow anyone in to see Alexandros. When she was finally able to push through the nurses, and the police who were standing guard, she saw Alexandros lying silently, covered with tubes. He was still unconscious, but his color was returning, and none of the nurses looked especially worried. The heart monitor droned on, moment after moment, like some sort of somber drumbeat.
Kally took a seat beside the man she loved. It had to be impossible. Only last June, she had been a little-known journalist whose entire life was defined by her work. And now she had disguised herself as a reporter, dodged security guards, and almost got herself arrested, all for a future that was still uncertain.
She still had no idea what would happen when Alexandros woke up. The more she thought, the more she realized that only one thing mattered to her: that, at least for a few hours, her new family should be together. And so they sat in the antiseptic hospital room: the sleeping billionaire, his anxious biographer, and the child they had made together.
Dr. Hall called a few minutes later, her voice more frantic than Kally had ever heard it.
“Are you okay, Kally? Are you alright?” she panted, a bit hysterically. Her usually bold voice was not far removed from tears. “I saw what happened, I saw the footage. The baby, the baby…”
“The baby’s fine, Grace,” Kally assured her. “The baby’s fine and so am I.”
“Oh, thank God,” Grace breathed. “You were standing so close to Alexandros. I was so worried… How is he?”
Kally hesitated for a second before answering. Her mentor worked for a news organization, but nothing in Grace’s voice said “I want an exclusive.”
“He’s alive and recovering,” Kally supplied. “I’m going to wait here with him until he wakes up.”
Kally heard her mentor breathe a sigh of relief. “My heart’s still beating way too fast,” Grace confessed. “I never told you this, Kally, but you’re like a daughter to me. When I saw you working so hard at Howard, I knew I ought to give you a hand. Since then I’ve watched you grow into a unique, tenacious, and talented individual, full of a remarkable love for everything you do. I’m so proud of you, Kally. And I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m babbling, but you’re family…” she trailed off.
It was one of the most touching things Kally had ever heard. She had never known her mentor had felt that way, but when she thought about it, Grace had guided her though her entire adult life, like some sort of guardian angel. She had led Kally to her job at the Republic, and then to Standard, Ayers, and Associates, and finally, if inadvertently, to Alexandros, who now slept beside her.
Kelly was speechless for some time, and Grace ended up having to ask her if she was still on the line. The pair talked for several more minutes, Kally telling Grace about her concerns about what would happen when Alexandros awoke. Grace sounded optimistic about their future, and by the time she hung up, it was difficult for Kally not to feel a little more hopeful as well. She took Alexandros' hand in hers and tried to relax as she watched him sleep, telling herself, like a mantra, that the worst was over.
***
About an hour later, Alexandros groggily awoke, and saw, through bleary eyes, an outline that looked suspiciously like Kally.
Kally's face broke into a wide grin. She had been waiting at his bedside for this exact moment, and now she pulled him into a tearful, but gentle, embrace.
“I was so afraid,” she whispered, softly kissing his cheek. “So afraid,” she repeated, her voice quavering slightly. Her eyes filled with a sudden flash of anger, “I hope they kill that bastard when they catch him,” she said hotly.
Alexandros patted Kally's hand and slowly sighed. “There has been enough death,” he said weakly, trying to meet Kally’s eyes. His were still unfocused, but his mind was not. “I stood in my office once, and watched a village burn. When they begged me for mercy, I ignored them. A person who can do that cannot go unpunished forever.”
“But you’re not like that. Not anymore,” Kally insisted, “You're not who everyone thinks you are. People only see part of the story, but I've heard it all, and I know you're not a monster, Alexandros. I know that in my heart, and when your memoir comes out, the rest of the world will know it too. Even you,” she intoned with a soft smile. “You’re not a monster, Alex. What you are is a father.”
It took a few moments for her words to register, but when they did, Alexandros' face was a picture of shock and surprise. He finally understood her eagerness to get to him earlier, and why she was still wearing press credentials that weren’t hers. He looked at Kally, then at her stomach, and then back at her again, a smile spreading all the way across his face. He pulled her to him, hugging her as well as he could despite his injuries, and she could feel his hot tears running down the side of her face.
Moments later, the door opened and two exhausted-looking police officers stepped into the room.
“NYPD has apprehended the man who tried to kill you, sir,” the first one said. “He’ll be turned over to Homeland Security. He’s claiming to be a member of the so-called Army of the Nine. Since arriving in the country, he and other members of the group have been following your movements, and those of your associates very closely.”
“So it wasn’t Don!” Kally interj
ected suddenly.
“What wasn’t Don?” Alexandros asked, perking up slightly.
“He’s been calling left and right, trying to force me to give him something on you. The last time, he threatened to make me pay if I didn’t cooperate.”
“Oh don’t worry about him,” Alexandros said derisively. “Don talks a good game, but he never follows it up. He’s been trying to get something on me for as long as I can remember, but all he’s managed to get so far is upset.”
“We’ll keep an eye on him for a while, nonetheless,” the second officer said. “Just in case he becomes an issue. As for now, the hospital is secure, and we believe the terrorist was acting alone, so you are free to leave whenever the doctors release you.”
The officers filed out, leaving Kally and Alexandros to themselves. Neither of them spoke, but questions were buzzing around Kally's mind: what was going to happen now? Alexandros still had to recover, and when he did, he had a charity to get going. On top of that, he had a billion dollar corporation to manage away from the heartlessness and greed that had consumed it. Could he really devote all the time and attention a baby would need to his new son or daughter?
Kally herself still had to finish the memoir and get it published so that the world might know the true story of Alexandros Stratos. His charity was depending on the memoir to push people, and create the will for change. Once that was finished she had decided to work her way back into journalism. It had been her first love, and the bedrock of her life for so long. Could she pursue all of those things, and still care for another human being, a new life?
It was Alexandros that broke the silence first. He had a vision of an infant Stefania tucked lovingly in his arms. He had long ago burned the note pinned to her chest, reasoning that no child should ever know she had been unwanted. He had made time for the angel giggling in his lap, and he was determined to do the same for this child when it arrived.
“Let’s try being parents together, Kally. What do you say?” he asked. “I just survived a shot to the chest, after all,” he joked. “It can’t be much harder than that.”
Kally’s face registered a level of joy no one had seen there before. Her heart felt like it might stop right then and there. He wanted their child. He wanted to be with her, to be parents together. None of the horrible things she had imagined had happened. The three of them were going to be a family.
“I say yes!” she asserted happily. “Let’s make a new start together.”
“Have you thought about names yet?” the Greek asked playfully. “Alexandros has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Kally returned with a contented smile.
They looked at each other and Kally sighed softly as she realized she had never been as happy as she was in that moment. When they were interrupted by Kally’s phone ringing again, she casually threw it against the nearest wall. As soon as Alexandros stopped laughing, he drew her into a warm kiss.
They stayed in that room for hours, talking, holding each other and kissing, until a team of nurses came to move Alexandros to a new room. They’d stopped talking of scheming relatives, missed opportunities, and the legion of mistakes each of them had made. Every word they spoke was about the future, the world they were building for their coming child. A world where it was safe to dream, and there was a way to see those dreams come true. It was a world each of them had always dreamed of, in two different corners of a very wide world. Kally and Alexandros were going to live their dreams the only way they knew how: together.
THIRTEEN
It was ten thirty the following evening, and Alexandros was occupying a bed in observation. He had just pushed a button which launched another dose of pain killer into his body. Visiting hours had ended an hour ago, but none of the nurses had the heart to tell Kally. And so she sat beside her lover, a pillow behind her head, and a hospital blanket covering her wrinkled business suit.
“I see you’re planning to stick around, then,” Alexandros laughed.
“Damn right I am!” Kally returned, giggling a little. “Besides, we still haven’t decided what to call this little guy.” She patted her stomach gently for effect.
“It could be a girl,” Alexandros said, and Kally thought his eyes seemed to twinkle at the thought.
“So we’re both on Team Girl, then,” she said with a smile. “And what do you propose we call her when she gets here?”
“Grace,” Alexandros answered at once. “After the woman that sent you my way in the first place.”
They discussed the merits of that name, and many others, until gone midnight, when the medicine began lulling Alexandros to sleep. A nurse showed up with more chairs and blankets, which she swiftly turned into a decent makeshift bed. Kally thanked her and tucked herself up in it as well as she could. She went to sleep dreaming of the future that awaited her family.
The next afternoon, one of the nurses turned on the television, and Alexandros and Kally got a bit of a shock. According to the raven-haired reporter for Drexel Omnimedia, social media was alive with archived articles, old photographs, and video clips of some of the worst activities Kerzoil and Stratos Holdings had been involved in. Sites like Facebook and Twitter were scrambling to remove uploads by people purporting to be associated with the Army of the Nine. Nevertheless, the same images and videos were dominating the news, and after only a few minutes, Kally was hunting for the remote, desperate to turn it off.
She eventually found it, but not before the reporter played a video clip recorded in a small village. In it, a very old woman was standing in a graveyard, her face contorted in wild lamentation. Her tear-filled eyes looked to the sky, and her hands were high in the air. She was screaming something in Greek.
“She is saying, 'Where was his compassion when my children needed it?' She told us she prays nearly every morning for the death of Alexandros Stratos. According to recent reports, however, the owner of this network is expected to make a full recov…”
The report was suddenly replaced by a rerun of a popular sitcom, as the TV responded to Kally's command.
“Don’t pay any attention to it,” Alexandros advised, but he could not master his features quickly enough. The woman in the video had gripped his heart, hurting him even more than the bullet had.
Kally looked stricken. That morning she had woken up happier than she’d ever been. Sure, there had been one hell of a crick in her neck, but everything seemed to have changed for the better. She was suddenly reminded that nothing had changed at all, and the world was still as it had been. Somewhere out there, Beth, Walter, and Noah were still struggling to make ends meet. People still hated Alexandros, even if she no longer felt the same. No one believed things would get better because of one speech. She stared at the television, struggling to think of what to do next.
“We have to finish the memoir,” Alexandros supplied, as if he had been reading her mind. “People’s opinions will change once they have the whole story. They will see then that I am sincere, and that I will never give our child a reason to think of her father as a criminal. I have built my charity, and you will tell my story. Together, that will change things. For us, and for everyone.”
“I hope so,” Kally answered quietly, but she didn’t sound entirely convinced. She sat beside Alexandros holding his hand, silently thinking.
FOURTEEN
It was four more days before Alexandros was allowed to return home. Kally made a visit to her apartment to gather up her notes and materials, as well as a suitcase full of clothes, before she too headed back to Queens. In roughly eight months' time, Kally had reasoned, she and Alexandros were going to be raising a child together; now was the time to get to know him as well as possible. What's more, Alexandros had hired a live-in nurse who Kally wanted to keep an eye on. The woman would have arrived at the mansion by the time Kally got there, and she was supposed to be young, blonde, and Swedish. Kally had gone over her credentials three times, but as Alexandros had insisted, she was indeed emin
ently qualified to look after him during his recovery.
They ran into each other as soon as Kally’s cab pulled up, and within five minutes, Kally was certain they’d be thick as thieves. Helga was a head shorter than her, with blonde hair that she wore in a loose ponytail. She wore a white blouse and blue jeans, and moved with more energy than Kally had ever seen in a human being. She had a face that reminded Kally of the fairy queen in any children’s story, and she wore a stylish pair of glasses to combat her extreme nearsightedness. Her personality had won Kally over instantly. She was warm, professional, and a little nerdy. When Helga started talking, it was hard not to like her. Even Kally’s gruff cab driver mellowed a little as Helga paid him the fare.
Kally spent most of her first day in Alexandros’ study, toiling away at her final draft. By midday, her fingers were beginning to feel stiff, and she forced herself to take a break As she did, Alexandros came in wielding a cup of tea.
