Trials and Complications

Part 17: Binding (part I of II)

Having finally received a response to her bell-ringing, Faith smiled as the front door was opened.
"Hey D," she chimed, recoiling as the door was stopped from opening by its chain. "Woah," the brunette uttered. "You expecting someone else?"

Melancholy, Dawn unlatched the door and let the slayer inside checking behind her. When finding nothing to put her mind at rest, she told the older brunette, "Something's happened."

"You burn dinner?" Faith replied, making jest of the situation whilst removing her jacket.

"No," Dawn merely answered. "It's Joyce. She's missing."

Not at all fazed, the slayer asked the younger woman, "You tried Xander?"

"And the police and every other person that we know who lives in Sunnydale," the twenty-four year old informed. "No-one's seen her."

Her expression now mirroring her concern, Faith entered further into the Summers' household. Trying to articulate, she asked, "Does B know? Who saw her last?"

"Yeah and Buffy. She didn't tell me much but she said something about letting Parker take her home and now she's missing."

"Parker!?! What the fuck?" The slayer asked. Her hurt masking her reasoning, she continued. "She's known this guy for two seconds and she let him take J?"

"She was working and he was going this way-"

"I don't give a shit what she was doing," the angry brunette returned, pacing. "She shouldn't have let that slimy son of a bitch touch her. And now she's missing?! I can't fucking believe this."

"Look Faith, I might be wrong. Buffy hasn't even been able to speak to Parker yet. They might just be held up somewhere. She's gone to his apartment, they're probably there."

Turning to face the younger woman, Faith told her dryly, "I don't even wanna think how bad *that* scenario could be. Do you have the address?"

"No, but Faith we can't panic," Dawn tried, adding, "For Buffy."

The brunette slayer attempted to calm herself whilst continuing to pace. "We-I can't just stay here," she eventually decided. "I have to do something." Searching around, she grabbed her jacket and letting herself out of the Summers' house, charged across the road to that of their neighbour's. Pressing the doorbell, the slayer waited impatiently for it to be answered.

"Hi Faith," the oldest of the Thompsons greeted when he came to the door.

"Hey Pete. D'you mind if I have a word with Tyler a sec?"

"Actually he's asleep."

"I know, I'm sorry. But you know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important."

Appreciating this and deciding not to press further, Mr Thompson allowed the young woman inside. Leading her up the stairs, he asked, "What's going on?"

"I just wanted to have a word with him about today."

Accepting this, Mr Thompson allowed the woman into his son's room. Turning on a dim light, he walked to the child's beside. Shaking him gently, he uttered, "Tyler. Son, you have a visitor."

Tired, the eight year old opened his eyes and attempted to focus. His eyes adjusting to the light, he gazed up at his father and the brunette at his bedside.

"T, it's me, Faith," the slayer introduced as Tyler woke. "See Joyce hasn't come home yet and I wanted to see if you could help me find out where she is."

"Have you called the police?" Mr Thompson interjected from his position behind her.

"We're waiting to hear back from Buffy first. I'm just trying to get all the facts straight," the slayer replied before returning her attention to the child. "T, did you see where J went after school today?"

Looking wearily at the brunette, Tyler attempted to recall the day's earlier events. He nodded. "Buffy picked me and her up and took us to the clinic 'cause my mom had to stay back at school," he answered.

"Ok, so when you got to the clinic what happened?"

"Buffy had to go to do things in her office and me and Joyce were sitting in the place with the lady who answers the phones. Then…Parker came and he asked Buffy if she wanted him to take me and Joyce home and she said ok."

"So he took you home?"

"Yep. I told him that Buffy said that I could stay at your house for a while but he said that him and Joyce were going somewhere for a while that only two people could go and he knew the way. But he said that he would take me another day. Then he made me get out of the car."

Mulling over the details she had been given, Faith was unable to deduce anything. She pressed further.
"What colour was the car?"

"It was black and shiny."

"Do you know what model?"

Tyler shook his head.

"Was it a big car?"

"Kinda. It was bigger than my mom and dad's car."

"Is it as big as my car?"

"Yeah," Tyler answered.

"Ok," Faith replied, drawing up a mental picture of the vehicle. "Er, when you were in the car, did you see anything weird?" the slayer quizzed further.

"Nope."

"Anything hangin' from the mirror?"

"No." The child paused, recalling the brief ride in the car. "There was a picture on the dash board."

"Yeah? What kind of picture?"

"It was from the Bulls."

"The Chicago bulls?"

"Yep."

"Anything else you can remember?" She tried, encouraging, "Anything at all?"

Tyler shook his head.

"Ok," Faith agreed. She stood. "Thanks T. You can get back to sleep now," she told him, making her way to his door.

"Oh," the child remembered, adding. "When Parker was on the phone he talked code; that was weird."

"What kind of code?"

"He said 'the journey is complete sir' but that was it."

Smiling compassionately, the brunette replied, "Thanks T. You remember anything else just call me, ok? Doesn't matter what time it is."

"Ok," Tyler replied, tucking himself in and covering his body with his duvet.

Faith let herself out of the boy's room. Thanking the child's father, she descended the stairs and made her way onto Rovello drive. Making her way back to her former home, the brunette tapped on the front door, finding it swung open by her former lover.

"B," was all she could say when faced with the older slayer.

Leaving the door open, Buffy returned to the living room, taking up a battle axe. About to pass the brunette on the way, Faith stopped her.

"Buffy, wait. What's going on? 'Cause I'm only getting a load o' half stories from everyone."

"They have her," Buffy returned. She reached into her pocket pulling part of a document that she had received earlier that evening, handing it over.

Taking it and skimming through the paper, Faith concluded that they must have been the contracts that Buffy was asked to sign, handing Joyce over to the military. At the bottom of the page, she found her suspicions confirmed when she recognised her ex girlfriend's signature lining the bottom.

Looking up to see Buffy near tears and shamefully watching her read it, she immediately tore the sheet in two. "This doesn't mean anything," the younger brunette concluded.

"It means they've taken her."

"Yeah, but we'll get her back," Faith returned. Thinking, she asked, "D'you have any idea where they might be?"

Buffy shook her head. "I've tried their old place but there's nothing there. I know they're probably still in town just not where."

"How d'you know?"

"My last patient today was this new girl who was transferred to the clinic the same day as Parker," Buffy answered. "I could tell she was stalling me; I just didn't know why. She left me about twenty minutes ago."

"Ok. If they've got what they came for, they've gotta be trying to clear out of here right now. Which means we need to be checking all the places a whole lot of people would be trying to get out from. The airport, airfield…station-"

"Docks," Buffy completed.

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

"The day I met Kayla," the blonde slayer added. "She sent me uptown on some hoax call and there was a surprise party waiting for me-"

"Okay, I know that area pretty well," the taller woman interjected. "I'll head there and do a couple of sweeps."

Agreeing, Buffy decided, "I'll try the docks and the station. Will you call me if you find anything?"

"Of course," Faith assured her. Taking hold of the open door and about to leave, she caught sight of the other slayer's disheartened expression. "Hey," she gently called. "We'll find her. I swear."

When Buffy nodded, the brunette leant in and gave her a kiss meant to comfort the slayer, but ending up being both longer and deeper than usually used to hearten. Pulling back, she locked eyes with the blonde and lightly smiling, left the house ahead of her. Deciding that she would have to deal with the previous event once Joyce'd been found, she dismissed the thoughts that kissing her ex had re-awakened and returned her focus to the missing child, heading for her car.

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Bored and lonely, Joyce looked up when the door, to the almost empty room in which she was, opened and Parker entered. "You changed," Joyce observed, staring at the man in front of her dressed in uniform.

"Yeah," Parker replied. "This is what you have to wear here."

"Why?" The eight-year-old inquired.

The brunette smiled at the youngster. He explained, "Because you do. When you start out in the army you get given a green uniform. But, and this is really cool, as you grow up and you complete missions, you have silver arrows attached to your arm. See, look." He pointed at the arrows embedded on his jacket. "See these arrows? They mean that you're a Major."

"You're a Major?" Joyce asked, impressed and adding, "*and* a psychatrist?"

"The word is psychiatrist, Joyce," Parker corrected. "And yes, I am."

"Cool."

"Maybe one day you'll be a Major too," he told the impressionable youth. "You wanna be in the army just like your dad was, don't you?"

"My dad was in the army?" the blonde youngster asked.

"Yeah and he wanted you to be too."

"You knew my dad?"

"Sure. He was a great guy. He helped a lot of people and he loved you a lot… It's why he was murdered."

Saddened and with her question almost a whisper, Joyce asked, "because of me?"

Moving to hold her, Parker dismissed, "No. He's not here because someone didn't want him to be there for you."

"Who?" the eight-year old asked, near tears.

Crouching down to be eye-level with the blonde child and peering into her hazel eyes with his blue ones, he asked her, "You really wanna know who killed him?"

The youngster nodded emphatically, desperate to know the identity of the brute who had robbed her of the man her mother once loved. Looking up at the Major she pleaded, "Please. Tell me, Uncle Parker."


TBC..

Part 17: Binding (II of II)

Having been unsuccessful scouring the town in her jeep, Faith pulled up outside a bar that she'd hoped she'd never have to enter again. Leaving her vehicle, the brunette, locked it and walked into the dank public house. Entering, she was immediately hit by odours, a mixture of cigarette smoke and rotting demon skin. Striding up to the bar, she was instantaneously noticed by the bar tender, who nervously shuffled under the gaze of the slayer.

"I already told your girlfriend," Willie started, putting his hands in the air defensively. "I don't know anything."

Grinning, Faith merely looked at the ageing man beckoning him over with her fore-finger.

Complying until just out of arms reach for the slayer, the bar-tender stopped. "Yeah?" he asked, quivering and feeling himself begin to perspire under the young woman's steel gaze. Startled when she lunged toward him, he let out a small whimper when she grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him towards her, the sound causing an eerie silence in the bar.

As if taking centre stage, Faith coolly explained, "We both know B has a habit of being too soft sometimes, Will." She reminded the brunette, "Me? Well I have this habit of killing people who don't tell me what I need to know."

"W-w-w-I'm not that kind of people," the bar-tender stuttered, uncomfortable in the position he was being forced to adopt. "Just tell me what you need to know and I'll help you, I swear. 'Cause-"

"What do you know about a group called the initiative?" the brunette asked, cutting Willie's bumbling short.

"The Initiative? They cleared out a while back," he blurted out, his face now turning red from the pressure the dark slayer was applying to his throat.

"They're back and I want to know where."

"I…I don't know," the brunette quickly answered, feeling his consciousness slipping. "I swear. I don't-"

"Think harder, Willie," Faith coaxed.

"Er… I… The docks. You tried the docks?" he spat with little energy, causing Faith to release the pressure on his wind-pipe a little. Taking a needed deep breath the bar-keep continued. "Or the air field. That's where they used to use."

"I've tried both," the slayer informed him. "They're both dead." She tightened her grip on his throat again. "Just like you'll be in seconds, if you don't give me something to go on, Willie." Raising her voice in a condescending tone, she added, "I know you can help me Will, you just gotta use that brain of yours."

Racking his mind, the bar-tender eventually realised, "The sewers."

Releasing her hold on him, Faith announced, much to his relief, "I'm listening."

Rubbing his neck, the brunette explained, "A couple of guys have been coming in complaining that a section of the sewers have been cut off. I didn't think anything of it 'til now."

"Where?"

"Uptown."

Cocking her head, slightly the brunette slayer teased, "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Willie let out an uncomfortable mock-laugh.

Satisfied, the young slayer motioned with her hand, ordering, "Hand over your piece."

"My what?"

"The gun you reached for when I came in, punk," Faith clarified.

Deciding that resisting would be futile, the bar-tender, reached underneath the bar and bent to search underneath it. Grabbing his double-barrelled handgun, he handed it over.

Thanking him and tucking it into her trousers, Faith left the underground hole and made for her jeep.
The journey uptown a short one from Willie's bar, the brunette looked around for sewer access by way of a Man Hole or gate. Finding the former, she parked her car and left it at the roadside. Walking to the concealed sewer access, she easily lifted the large metal disc cover before using the ladder provided to climb down into the sewer. Replacing the disc so that it only half covered the entrance for sake of later convenience, she jumped from the ladder. Landing, the brunette walked a few feet before being faced by a barrier. Grabbing hold of two of the metal bars of the gate constricting entry, Faith prised them apart allowing herself room to move through.

Met with a split in the path, the slayer instinctively walked to the right, her eyes adjusting to the lack of moon-light illumination. Searching around the slayer came across the makings of used for ventilation. The need for ventilation in the sewers alerting her attention, Faith followed the large pipe around finding herself unable to continue when the pipe-end disappeared into a wall. A door beneath this, the slayer pressed her ear to it and she listened to a conversation seemingly between two men. Deciding against charging inside, the slayer found herself at a loss for another option when the door was swung open. Automatically drawing her weapon, Faith aimed her gun at the head of the advancing soldier.
"Inside," she ordered.

Back-stepping, the young man obliged and entered the room.

Without taking her eyes from the man in front of her, the brunette kicked the door shut behind her as she entered the room. She proceeded to scan it, immediately noticing Joyce huddled in the corner. Relieved, she now acknowledged the other man in the room, glancing at him and yelling, "Keep your hands in the air," raising the gun at her captive's head, in a threatening manner.

Without hesitation the soldier's arms shot up into the air.

Not taking her gaze from the soldiers, Faith uttered, "J, come here to me."

When receiving no response. Faith looked towards the child, repeating herself again to no avail.
"J," Faith tried again. "Kiddo it's me, Faith." She pressed the gun to the soldier's forehead asking him, "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing," the man answered. "She's just a quiet kid."

Not accepting this, Faith rid the man of the weapon in his belt ordering him, "Walk."

Complying, the soldier took steps backward and towards the child in the corner.

When close to Joyce, Faith bent to look the child in the eyes ensuring she kept her gun poised at the body of the soldier. "Kiddo, tell me what's wrong-" she started, cut off by the commotion of one of the room's inhabitants dashing out.

A distraction having been created by the rapid exit of his colleague, the captive soldier took his opportunity and delivered a kick to the slayer's ribs, rushing to obtain his weapon.

Reacting quickly, Faith stood, poised her gun and fired two shots into the head of the marine, flooring him instantly. She turned as Joyce violently burst into tears.

Immediately going to hold her, the brunette apologised, "Kiddo, I'm sorry. But the people here wanna hurt you and keep you away from me and your mom," she explained, qualifying, "I won't let them. You hear me? I love you too much." Upon hearing running footsteps approach, Faith searched around for a way out, spying an air vent. Recalling that it led back to the exit, she moved to it and removed the steel casing. "We gotta get out of here," she informed Joyce as lifted the child into her arms, carrying her to the opening.

Scrambling into the tight opening, Joyce crawled through and found Faith crawling right behind her, the brunette only stopping to replace the cover behind them. "Kiddo, hurry," Faith told the youngster, realising that both herself and the child were doomed if they spent long in the metal encasing.

Running out of pipe, Joyce stopped crawling along the metal frame looking back at the slayer.

Understanding, Faith told the girl, "It's ok, kiddo, just jump."

Obeying, the eight-year-old threw herself down towards the ground, falling several feet and landing with her leg at an awkward angle, screaming in pain upon collision.

Distressed, Faith quickly followed. Unable to stop to console the child for the fear of being caught by their assailants, she picked Joyce up into her arms running.

"This is fubad," Joyce noticed under her breath, as she heard shots fired behind them.

"Yeah," Faith agreed, trying to remember the tunnel she had used at her arrival. Choosing one, she rushed down it, seeing the barrier that she had dented earlier. Rushing towards it she was startled when a new, steel one speedily emerged from the wall, threatening to block the two of them in. Reacting out of reflex, the slayer set Joyce down and used her arm to stop the barrier from closing. Hearing footsteps rapidly approach, she called out, "J, hurry!" holding the steel barrier from closing. "Listen to me," she told the blonde as she speedily approached. Putting her foot between the barrier and the door to be able to shrug out of her jacket, Faith replaced her hands in their original position, telling Joyce. "Run…straight through this hole in the bars and then up the ladder." Realising that only the youngster would be able to fit through the now small gap between the barrier and sewer wall, she continued, "My keys are in my jacket pocket… Get into my car and lock yourself in." Pushing as hard as she could, against the steel door's mechanism, she allowed Joyce to squeeze past. Hearing the approaching voices' increased audibility, she ordered, "Hurry!" When the child was through, Faith found herself unable to hold the door any longer, and let go as Joyce escaped through it. "I'm right behind you kiddo," she assured, no longer able to see her. "Run!" Looking around and deciding that she would have to find another way out. A notion quashed by the crew of fully armed initiative soldiers that appeared in front of her.

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Entering the room, Parker walked up to the captive having just been briefed that his officers allowed the Cadet to escape, substituting her with the slayer. Carrying a vile of combination muscle relaxants, he approached the brunette pulling out the syringe from its container.

"Hi Faith," he greeted, injecting her with the bottle's content before dismissing the supervising officer from his post, pointing a long range, gun at the slayer. "Little present from your buddy David Gibbons. He told me to say hi."

Recalling the name, Faith felt as though she was losing control over her limbs. Slumping in the chair on which she was atop, she almost instantaneously felt powerless to do anything other than utter a, "Bite me," to the older man, causing him to laugh.

Looking to the door as it opened, the Major was greeted by a colleague who had come to deliver orders. "From the General," the soldier informed. "He's not happy that you have a civilian under capture and requests that you release her immediately."

Nodding, the Major dismissed the lower rank before returning to the side of the slightly drowsy slayer.

Fighting to stay awake, Faith looked up at the psychiatrist. "You heard your boy. Untie me, pussy."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You deaf too?"

"No, I just didn't catch your reference to pussies," Parker replied. Clasping his hand to his jaw, he motioned as if he were putting two and two together. Looking to her Parker suddenly exclaimed asking, "Is that why you're so uptight? 'Cause you're not getting any of Buffy's?" In an attempt to strike a nerve, he answered his own question. "I understand. I mean I wouldn't wanna go without that for too long."

"Go to hell."

"It's ok. I know you don't really mean that. You're simply just angry 'cause I got into your ex-girlfriend's panties."

Pondering the notion momentarily, Faith smiled, sobering. "Buffy'd never fuck you," she dismissed. "She's got much higher standards than that."

"No?" the psychiatrist asked, his tone one of indifference. "But we were doing it whilst she was still sleeping with you. Didn't Buffy tell you that she was going to leave you before went and left her?"

Her grin failing to fade, Faith looked up at the brunette. Her expression one of nonchalance, she merely asked him, "D'you know why you're such a fucking loser, dick-head? I already had this conversation with B. She told me nothing happened with you and I believe her. So stop the bullshit and wake me up when your boss kicks your ass for not letting me go."

About to administer a comeback to the slayer, Parker was interrupted by the entrance of a soldier.
"We got her, sir," the man announced. "Picked her up about a block from here."

Turning to see the defeated expression on the slayer's face, Parker smiled. Ruffling her hair he asked,
"You hear that? Joyce is coming with us." Elated, he ordered the lower rank," Send word to the General and let's head out."

"What about her?" the soldier asked in reference to Faith. "The General ordered that the civilian is to be returned, unharmed."

"You tell the General that under section 61, a civilian no longer possesses rights when he/she commits murder. Especially that of one of our team." He turned to the brunette slayer, informing her more than the soldier, "I have plans for our little murderer.

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Alerted by the doorbell, a relieved, Buffy ran for the door and threw it open. She calmed, immediately set upon by the arms of her former watcher.

"Oh Buffy, I'm sorry," Giles professed, holding her. "I tried to come as soon as I heard."

"Thank you. I'm glad you're here," the blonde slayer told him in earnest. "We need all the help we can get. We're researching the initiative."

Bemused, the older Briton asked, "Why?"

"They have Joyce."

"The initiative have Joyce?" the watcher asked Buffy, in shock. "Oh my God."

"Wait," the slayer uttered, turning to face her former watcher. "Then what were you talking about?"

"Me?"

"You said you came as soon as you heard."

"Yes, about Faith," the watcher answered.

Her concern growing the petite blonde asked, "What's wrong with her?"

"Oh Buffy I thought you knew," Giles replied, forcing Buffy to repeat the question.

"The watcher's council called me and told me that one of the slayers at the academy was called tonight. I rushed here as soon as I could…"

Taking time to process the information the older man had given her, his meaning finally sunk in. Crying out, Buffy sank to the floor.

Giles immediately ran to hold the fallen slayer, rocking her as tears streamed from her eyes.

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Aroused by fluctuations on the ECG monitor, the renegade militia's medical staff rushed to the side of their patient. Peering down at her, they watched as the brunette made subtle movements.

"She's coming to," one of them observed.

"You're lucky. What kind of moron overdoses on Digoxin!?! If she hadn't have woken up, you would have had a hell of a lot of people to answer to."

Faith slowly opened her eyes, trying to take in her surroundings. Looking up to see two faces peering down at her, she abruptly sat up and attempted to release her arms from their restraints, cutting herself in the process.

"Easy," one of them ordered, seeing the blood pour from the fresh tear in the young woman's skin.

"What the fuck is going on?" Faith asked. "Let me go."

Pulling the needle from her hand she lunged at the man, her fist colliding with his face. The slayer immediately recoiled from the pain. Rubbing her fist, she winced as the man got up and nursed his face.

"That actually hurt," he told his colleague. "I don't think you gave her enough."

"Anymore and she'll be paralysed," the woman told him, having already administered the maximum advised dosage of sedatives and muscle relaxants to the brunette that she was allowed to.

"I'm thinking that's not such a bad idea," the other medic returned, still rubbing his jaw. He looked at the brunette, his scowl quickly fading as her expressionless young face staring down at the sheet in front of her, invoked compassion within him.

Faith looked at the face of her captors. Fighting back the tears that were emerging, she lacked the energy to do anything other than lay back and close her eyes. Having finally realised how she faced the prospect of possibly never being able to gaze into the hazel eyes of her heart's keeper again, she chose rather to commit to memory the moments they had shared together, minus the trials and complications that they had faced. The little things having prevented her from true happiness, ceased to matter to her. All that did was for her to strive to live, holding onto the hope that they might, should the fates allow, be united again.

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Buffy returned home and smiled at the sight of her one year old child sprawled across Faith's mid-section, the two of them deep in slumber on their sofa. Hanging up her coat, she took a step forward, alerting the previously sleeping younger slayer to her presence.

Waking, Faith turned her head to see her girlfriend stood in the hallway. She smiled as the blonde walked to be at her side, leaning in to kiss her. Pressing her lips against the older slayer's, she could barely form a thought until their lips were parted.

"I thought I'd come and see how you two were doing," Buffy explained in a whisper.

"We're ok," Faith returned. About to speak again, she stopped as the baby atop her shuffled around.
Both slayers remained silent hoping the baby would continue her slumber, but were disproved as Joyce woke and began to wail.

Immediately sitting up, Faith cradled the baby. "Hey…" she shushed, bouncing and holding onto the infant. "Look, mommy's home."

When this piece of information failed to either interest or quieten the baby, Buffy suggested, "Maybe she needs changing."

"Nah, I just did that," Faith informed her. She looked to the infant, asking her, "You're hungry aren't you kiddo?"

Handing Joyce over to Buffy, she stood up from the sofa and walked to the kitchen. Re-heating pre-warmed milk, when she decided it was warm enough, the brunette took it and carried it to the living room. Squirting it into her mouth by way of testing the temperature, the slayer decided it was cool enough and put the bottle to the lips of the infant causing Joyce to change her attention from crying to suckling. The younger slayer released the bottle as the baby's mother proceeded to take over and feed the child.

Lying back, Faith rested against the sofa, tired from spending a day with the temperamental miniature human being. "Kid's got a great pair of lungs," the brunette stated truthfully. "I'll give her that."

"I know," Buffy agreed, briefly recalling that she had only had two hours sleep that night. She eventually decided. "But it's worth it. We have a mini-person who's ours."

Faith smiled. "Yeah" she agreed, adding, "And we get to raise her together and teach her stuff-" She yawned.

Buffy grinned. Lying on top of the brunette whilst cradling her child, she told the younger slayer, "Baby, sleep. We'll teach her stuff when you wake up."

Thankful, the brunette kissed her lover's neck wrapping her arms across the blonde's stomach. Feeling truly elated, she settled back and closed her eyes, holding onto the only family she valued in the world and vowing internally that only death would keep them apart.

The End…