* I blew the cigarette smoke out slowly, my mind starting to come back to me. Gracie-Lynn Jericho was curled into the fetal position across the backseat, whimpering with every pain. Time was running out. I had two choices: leave this place as it is, and hope that whatever robotic experiments Wilson and Cantwell were doing would collapse, or I could end it all now, and never have to think about it again. Grace moaned and her pain made up my mind. I got out of the car and popped the trunk. My hands closed around my grenade launcher - my favorite weapon. I aimed at a lone car sitting in front of the main building. I planted my feet and squeezed the trigger, watching the grenade travel and land at the back of the car. The explosion rocked the very concrete I stood on. I watched as the flames engulfed the building and started to spread along the rest of the containers. Once I was satisfied that everything was sufficiently burning, I got back in the car. I looked back at Grace, who was still curled into herself. I could see the babe rolling beneath her thin shirt as it tried to make it's way into the world. "Hold on, we're going to get you help." I kicked the engine over and sped away from her prison. I pulled up the GPS in the car, looking for the nearest hospital. There wasn't one. "Fuck me running." I grumbled, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I dialed Quinn Cooper . He didn't answer. "You worthless fuck, you could have told me where to meet up with you!" I hung up and dialed my boss. My real fucking boss. "Monroe, you're AWOL." He growled. I bit back my own growl. "I need a bloody hospital and fast!" I pushed the pedal harder as Grace cried out, writhing across the seat. "Got yourself caught up, didn't you?" I clenched my jaw. "Just help me find a doctor and then I can get back to the job at hand." I could hear clicking on his end, and I knew he was locating me. "Quite an explosion out that way. I figured it was you. Bad news, bruiser. There isn't one close to you. A couple of clinics." I cursed the sun for raising in the east. "Send me the addresses. I'll pick one." An agonizing scream came from the backseat. "Take care of that and get your ass back on the job." There was a click and then a busy signal. Moments later, addresses started coming through on my phone. I picked the closest one. I looked in the rear view mirror to see Grace sweating and panting. "Breathe deep, lass. Slow it down." I crooned to her. "I just wanna die." She whimpered, clutching her belly and curling further into herself. "You will." I told her flatly. "But then you'll be reborn again, only this time you'll be a mother." I was shitty with emotions and shitty with comfort. I didn't know how to take it, let alone fucking give it. I saw the medical center up ahead and the tires squealed as I whipped into the parking lot. I parked like an asshole, taking up two spaces at the front. "Right back, lass." I hit the double doors hard enough to crack the glass in one as I raced inside. "I need help. I've got a woman in labor in the back of my car. She's in bad shape." The woman at the front desk stood out of her chair. "Sir, you need to take her to the hospital. We aren't equipped to deal with trauma emergencies." I slammed my hand on the counter. "She will die without intervention. Get your manager. Get the head doctor. Get whoever the fucking hell is in charge out here right now." I could feel the chills starting as it pricked along my skin. A man came out, his white coat flapping as he angrily approached me. "What is the meaning of this?" His voice was heavily accented as he tried to grip my arm and pull me out of the waiting room. I jerked away with a snarl. "There's a woman in my car in labor. She's been in labor. She was taken hostage by her husband and she needs help. She'll never make it to Anchorage." My eyes met his and I watched as his pupils dilated. "Get a room ready, Mary. We'll either deliver the baby or stabilize them for a flight to Anchorage." She seemed surprised. "But Dr. Ashraf, we don't do deliveries." He brushed by me. "We do today." I nodded and was back out to the car. I reached in and lifted Grace out. She was weak and she cried as I walked. When I stepped back inside with her, another nurse was there. "Right this way." I followed her. "What's your wife's name?" She asked as we walked. "She's not my wife. Her name is Grace. Her husband took her hostage. I'm just the detective who found her. The rest of my crew is working on her captor." We stepped into a room that smelled of antiseptic. I laid Grace on the bed and the nurses went to work, stripping off her clothes and hooking up monitors and IV's. I stepped back and turned to leave the room. "Stay." Her voice was low and I barely heard her. I turned back around. Her face was pale and her eyes were huge and haunting. They pleaded with me to stay with her. "We'll bring him back in once we've got you settled." The nurse reassured her. I stayed anyways, watching as they went to work on checking her out. *

* I blew the cigarette smoke out slowly, my mind starting to come back to me. Gracie-Lynn Jericho was curled into the fetal position across the backseat, whimpering with every pain. Time was running out. I had two choices: leave this place as it is, and hope that whatever robotic experiments Wilson and Cantwell were doing would collapse, or I could end it all now, and never have to think about it again. Grace moaned and her pain made up my mind. I got out of the car and popped the trunk. My hands closed around my grenade launcher - my favorite weapon. I aimed at a lone car sitting in front of the main building. I planted my feet and squeezed the trigger, watching the grenade travel and land at the back of the car. The explosion rocked the very concrete I stood on. I watched as the flames engulfed the building and started to spread along the rest of the containers. Once I was satisfied that everything was sufficiently burning, I got back in the car. I looked back at Grace, who was still curled into herself. I could see the babe rolling beneath her thin shirt as it tried to make it's way into the world. "Hold on, we're going to get you help." I kicked the engine over and sped away from her prison. I pulled up the GPS in the car, looking for the nearest hospital. There wasn't one. "Fuck me running." I grumbled, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I dialed Quinn Cooper . He didn't answer. "You worthless fuck, you could have told me where to meet up with you!" I hung up and dialed my boss. My real fucking boss. "Monroe, you're AWOL." He growled. I bit back my own growl. "I need a bloody hospital and fast!" I pushed the pedal harder as Grace cried out, writhing across the seat. "Got yourself caught up, didn't you?" I clenched my jaw. "Just help me find a doctor and then I can get back to the job at hand." I could hear clicking on his end, and I knew he was locating me. "Quite an explosion out that way. I figured it was you. Bad news, bruiser. There isn't one close to you. A couple of clinics." I cursed the sun for raising in the east. "Send me the addresses. I'll pick one." An agonizing scream came from the backseat. "Take care of that and get your ass back on the job." There was a click and then a busy signal. Moments later, addresses started coming through on my phone. I picked the closest one. I looked in the rear view mirror to see Grace sweating and panting. "Breathe deep, lass. Slow it down." I crooned to her. "I just wanna die." She whimpered, clutching her belly and curling further into herself. "You will." I told her flatly. "But then you'll be reborn again, only this time you'll be a mother." I was shitty with emotions and shitty with comfort. I didn't know how to take it, let alone fucking give it. I saw the medical center up ahead and the tires squealed as I whipped into the parking lot. I parked like an asshole, taking up two spaces at the front. "Right back, lass." I hit the double doors hard enough to crack the glass in one as I raced inside. "I need help. I've got a woman in labor in the back of my car. She's in bad shape." The woman at the front desk stood out of her chair. "Sir, you need to take her to the hospital. We aren't equipped to deal with trauma emergencies." I slammed my hand on the counter. "She will die without intervention. Get your manager. Get the head doctor. Get whoever the fucking hell is in charge out here right now." I could feel the chills starting as it pricked along my skin. A man came out, his white coat flapping as he angrily approached me. "What is the meaning of this?" His voice was heavily accented as he tried to grip my arm and pull me out of the waiting room. I jerked away with a snarl. "There's a woman in my car in labor. She's been in labor. She was taken hostage by her husband and she needs help. She'll never make it to Anchorage." My eyes met his and I watched as his pupils dilated. "Get a room ready, Mary. We'll either deliver the baby or stabilize them for a flight to Anchorage." She seemed surprised. "But Dr. Ashraf, we don't do deliveries." He brushed by me. "We do today." I nodded and was back out to the car. I reached in and lifted Grace out. She was weak and she cried as I walked. When I stepped back inside with her, another nurse was there. "Right this way." I followed her. "What's your wife's name?" She asked as we walked. "She's not my wife. Her name is Grace. Her husband took her hostage. I'm just the detective who found her. The rest of my crew is working on her captor." We stepped into a room that smelled of antiseptic. I laid Grace on the bed and the nurses went to work, stripping off her clothes and hooking up monitors and IV's. I stepped back and turned to leave the room. "Stay." Her voice was low and I barely heard her. I turned back around. Her face was pale and her eyes were huge and haunting. They pleaded with me to stay with her. "We'll bring him back in once we've got you settled." The nurse reassured her. I stayed anyways, watching as they went to work on checking her out. *