Tragedy and Triumph
CHAPTER 1: WTF?
(Scene)
…Sonja was breathing hard but steady, her nose was flaring with each breath she took. Her entire body seemed to quiver, everything except for the gun which she was holding as steady as a statue. The gun was trained on a weasely-looking, limp haired, 30ish something poor excuse of a man named Renault Thibideaux and Sonja was fighting with everything in her not to pull the trigger!
(2 Months Earlier)
There's definitely something fishy going on. Agent Christopher LaSalle sat at his desk pondering the weird scene that had played out last night. He was so very confused and doing his best not to let it affect him today but he couldn't stop thinking about it.
He and his girlfriend and partner Agent Sonja Percy were supposed to meet last night for dinner. As was common, he often got off and ran home to shower and change before picking her up for dinner. Even after a year and a half he still couldn't convince her to move in with him, or he with her. She was still being so…so…Sonja, which he had to admit made him smile.
After he showered, he opened the drawer and grabbed one of his many Alabama Roll-Tide t-shirts, this was to be a very casual dinner. He didn't realize until he was getting out of his truck at Sonja's that he had mistakenly put on the shirt he had bought for her. I mean really, if she was going to be in his life she had to have some Alabama gear. As he looked down at himself he thought, huh, well this is a very coupley thing to do, wear each other's clothes. He knew he loved seeing her in one of his shirts after a night together, well, the fact that it was his shirt and that she was gloriously naked underneath. He definitely had to grin at that part. Anyway, he thought Sonja would get a kick out of seeing him in an Alabama shirt that literally said "HERS", which when you thought about it was very true. What had really happened is why he was sitting at his desk this morning with a pounding headache and a queasy stomach.
LaSalle had walked up to Sonja's door and rang the doorbell instead of using his key. He figured he would make it a proper date tonight. So he was all smiles when she answered the door. He held his arms out to the side so that she could get a good look at her shirt on him. Instead of the laugh or smart-alec remark he expected, Sonja had burst into tears. To say he was surprised was the understatement of the century! Tears were so uncharacteristic for his tough-as-nails partner, especially unbidden tears, that LaSalle actually got scared. He didn't know whether to draw his gun, or take her into his arms, or grab her and run. What he did was stand there speechless just staring at her, stunned.
When he finally gathered his wits he hugged her and asked, "Baby, what's wrong?" Percy just shook her head and continued to weep. He moved them back inside the house, closed the door and drew her to the couch where he sat with her in his lap. He gently soothed her by rubbing her back and lightly kissing her temple and muttering softly, "It'll be ok baby, whatever it is we'll deal with it."
Gradually Sonja's sobbing slowed then turned into hiccups which also finally tapered off so that she was lying still against Chris' chest and his/her very damp shirt. Once she had quieted, LaSalle kissed her forehead and said, "Now tell me what's wrong."
Never in a million years would he have ever guessed what would come out of her mouth… "I wanted the ribs." A look of total confusion on his face, LaSalle asked, "Excuse me?" Percy took a deep breath and explained. "We were planning to go to Frank's for dinner and you know how I love their food, so I called ahead and asked if they had ribs. When the hostess told me that they were out of ribs…wrecked my whole day! I love those ribs LaSalle. Then you show up in my shirt, that was the last straw. I just couldn't anymore." All of this information elicited a very Patton like "Oookkaayyy" from LaSalle, he was sooooo lost.
LaSalle thought for a minute and said, "City Mouse, clearly you dealin' with some thangs. How bout I make you some nice hot tea and I'll go pick us up some Chinese take-out. I'll even get an order of short ribs for ya and we'll stay in tonight, ok?" What happened next is what had him feeling like he'd been hit by a big rig this morning. Sonja had taken him by the hand, kissed his cheek and said, "Thanks Country Mouse, but I think I just wanna be alone tonight. Can you lock up on your way out and I'll see you at work in the morning? Love you." She had gently kissed his lips and retreated to her bedroom.
LaSalle stood there dumbstruck! They hadn't spent a night apart in almost a year. He felt shaky and like he wanted to vomit as he did what she asked and locked her front door on his way out while trying like hell to figure out what had just happened. He drove slowly around the city before finally making his way home and not sleeping a wink all night.
Chris had seen Sonja do this before, whenever something happened that she didn't like or know how to deal with emotionally, she would begin to pull back. She would invent arguments, start fights or just stop talking altogether. He was wracking his brain trying to figure out what was going on because he would fix whatever it was. The only thing he knew was that he didn't want to live without this woman, the love of his life. It had taken him a long time to find her so he would fight with everything he had to keep her. Usually he could guess what the issue was or at least get close. This time he was stumped, grasping at straws. If he didn't know what was wrong, he couldn't fix it.
/
When after two hours Percy still hadn't shown up for work LaSalle started to get worried. He had assured everyone this morning that Percy would be in shortly after 8, nobody so much as batted an eye. But now at almost 10 he was the one beginning to ask questions and that was getting him plenty of funny looks. LaSalle asked Pride, "Hey King, you talked to Percy this morning?" Pride's response was, "No, you mean you haven't?" To which LaSalle responded, "Naw, we came in separately this morning, she had a few errands to run." Pride took a good look at LaSalle and asked, "Son, is everything alright?" LaSalle grinned trying to look convincing, "Yeah, of course, why wouldn't it be? I was just wondering if she had missed me and called you instead. She must have got caught up with one of her errands. I'm sure she'll be in directly." As LaSalle walked away to go try to get Percy on the phone for at least the 10th time, Pride walked to his office and tried to call Percy himself, to no avail, her phone was going straight to voicemail.
An hour later at 11 O'clock, a smiling Sonja Percy breezed through the squad room door with a large bag in her hands. She yelled, "Hey guys I'm here…brought you something." Both Pride and LaSalle looked up in surprise. Before either could ask where she'd been or what was going on, Gregorio and Patton came in from the courtyard. They had been away on the other side of the city investigating a lead on a criminal case in which a couple of bodies had been dropped, one of which was a retired Navy vet.
Gregorio said, "Hey something smells good, what's in the bag?" to which Percy merrily said, "Beignets!" Patton whooped with delight and asked, "Are they fresh and warm?" "Yep," Percy answered as she held out the bag to him. Patton turned to Pride, "Is there fresh coffee?" Pride just lifted an eyebrow in his direction. Patton slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead, "Duh, of course there is, if you're here there's always fresh coffee. What are we waiting for people, let's get a move on this party, race you to the kitchen."
They laughed and took off for the kitchen at a fast walk, or roll in Patton's case. All except LaSalle who lightly grabbed Percy's arm as she passed by. He pulled her aside, "Percy, what the hell? Where have you been and why couldn't I reach you?" Percy looked at him with a slight grin, "Calm down LaSalle, I paid a few bills and ran some errands, one of which was visiting a friend at the hospital and you know how awful the reception can be in the medical center. I got caught up and lost track of time." LaSalle just looked at her, "that's it?" "That's it," Sonja replied though she added, "I do want to apologize about last night. I don't know what came over me, but to make up for it I want to take you out on the town. Something fancy, my treat so dress up real nice for me and I'll pick you up at your place after work, ok?" She grinned up at him with that smile he just couldn't resist. It made him flash his own killer grin in response, "Ok but we are so gonna talk about this later." Percy agreed, "Deal, now let's get in there before they eat all the good stuff."
CHAPTER 2: DINNER
That night after work, as promised, Percy arrived at LaSalle's place dressed to the nines! She was wearing a stunning evening gown the exact color of LaSalle's blue eyes. When she rang the doorbell he answered wearing a rich mid-night blue tailored suite with a tie that matched his eyes because Sonja said it was her favorite. "WOW!" they both exclaimed as they took each other in. Sonja gave Chris an appraising once-over from top to bottom. "LaSalle, you sure do follow directions well. You look incredible, love the tie." Chris grinned at her, "Right back atcha' Percy, you look good enough to eat." Percy has the grace to blush which made LaSalle smile that much harder. "Shall we?" he asked as he offered her his arm to lead her down the steps to her…LaSalle stopped short. "Percy, this is a limo!" "Very astute of you LaSalle," Percy laughed. "How did you miss this big ass car when you came out?" "Easy," LaSalle answered, "I was too busy looking at you." That earned him a lovely kiss that would have turned more serious had Percy not broken off and said, "Come on you, we've got reservations, later for that." "Promise?" he asked, winking at her.
They pulled up a little while later in front of a swanky French restaurant in downtown New Orleans. LaSalle whistled, "Ain't this that famous chef's place?" Percy nodded, "yes it is." "And this is where we're eating?" Again Percy answered in the affirmative, "Yes." LaSalle looked at her and smiled, "You must really love me." "I, do," Sonja smiled. "And you must be really, really sorry about last night." "I am," Percy looked at him, her face beaming. LaSalle couldn't resist, he had to lean over and kiss her. "Ok, woman, you're forgiven." Percy laughed, "You haven't even seen the best part yet." "I haven't?" LaSalle asked as he began nuzzling her neck. "Nope," Percy replied as she first leaned into him then regretfully pulled away, "but first we eat." And eat they did, they had wonderful entrees that were a delightful mix of French and Creole that New Orleans is famous for.
After dinner the limo took them to their final destination for the evening… a very high-end hotel located in the heart of the city. Once they got out and the limo drove away Percy produced a keycard from her handbag and waved it at LaSalle. "Shall we?" she asked, "After you," he answered. They proceeded to luxurious suite with a spectacular view of the city below and the mighty Mississippi River in the near distance. Sonja told Chris to make himself comfortable and she would be right out. Chris went to the windows to look at the gorgeous view. When he saw the hint of a reflection in the window he turned around and his eyes almost popped out of his head. Sonja was standing behind him wearing a fire-engine red, peek-a-boo nightie with garters and hose leading down a pair of black 5 inch stiletto heels. He could only stare in amazement and wonder and total appreciation.
Sonja crooked her finger at him, "Come here Agent LaSalle. He obliged willingly. LaSalle spoke with a hushed tone…"Sonja you look…you are…unbelievable." He pressed her close and kissed her long and hard, running his hands up and down her lace clad form, feeling her curves underneath. He paid extra special attention to her breasts, lavishing one then the other with a series of soft caresses and hot wet pulls of his mouth. He came up for air, "Sonja I swear, if I didn't know any better I'd say your breast are even more voluptuous than usual. It might just be because they're one… two of my favorite body parts of yours."
Sonja smiled a sexy smile, "Oh yeah? Well let me guide you to what's gonna be another favorite spot of yours." She took his hand and placed it at her neck, then she traced down between her breasts, down, down…then stopped right before the "promised land." It took LaSalle's fevered brain a moment to catch up, but when it did he realized his palm was resting against her abdomen. He was confused and ready for her to keep going lower, but he decided to play along. "Yeah Sonja, I like your stomach too. I like all of you, your whole body. Sonja just shook her head, "Uh uh, you're gonna LOVE this part of me." She beamed at him as understanding finally took hold. He drew in a sharp breath, "Sonja…are you saying…are… are you pregnant?" "No Neanderthal, we're pregnant. I'm gonna have your baby. We're gonna be parents!"
Chris let out a whoop so loud Sonja thought they would be getting a call from the front desk for sure. He picked her up and swung her around and around and around. She just giggled helplessly. When he slowed and set her down, he started immediately on the questions; "When? How? Um, never mind the how, I know how, but how long?" Sonja just laughed, "Whoa Cowboy, one question at a time." Sonja motioned for him to sit on the sofa then explained.
"Last night I freaked myself out. I mean really, I dissolved into hysterics about some ribs... Me? When's the last time you've known me to eat meat like that? Crazy thing was though, I really wanted those ribs." Sonja laughed, "And when you showed up in my shirt, which was really cute by the way, I just lost it, scared me to death. I thought I might be losing my mind or something, that's why I asked you to leave. When I calmed all the way down and thought about it, I got suspicious and had to think back to the last time I had my cycle. It was about 2 months ago, but you know how crazy my cycle is so that didn't really mean anything, except that compiled with my freak-out and well… I took an old test I found at the back of my bathroom cabinet. When it popped positive I was convinced it was defective, so I went to the store and bought 4 more, all different kinds. They all came back positive. So this morning I went to the doctor's office and refused to budge until I was seen. He squeezed me in and they confirmed, "We're about two and a half months pregnant, babe." Sonja beamed at Chris.
LaSalle looked at her through slightly misty eyes, "I love you Sonja Percy, thank you for loving me, thank you for being in my life and thank you for giving me the most amazing gift ever." He kissed her softly then asked almost shyly, "Can I see?" Sonja lifted an eyebrow at him, "See what?" she asked. Chris grinned, "See the baby?" "Oh, you wanna see the ultrasound," Sonja moved to get her purse with the pictures inside. He stopped her with a hand on her belly, "Naw, that ain't what I mean." He looked at her suggestively, then pointedly looked at her stomach where his hand was caressing her. "Oooh," she said. "Oh yeah," he replied.
Sonja stood completely still as Chris peeled her out of her nightie and hose and shoes. He didn't stop until she was completely naked in front of him. He lowered himself to his knees in front of her and just gazed lovingly at her barely perceptible baby bump. In fact, the only way you could see it was if she was butt naked as she was now, and he'd be damned if anyone other than maybe the doctor, was going to see her like this but him. While on his knees he drew her even closer and kissed the little bump. Then he did something that made Sonja fall even deeper in love with him, if that was even possible… He began to talk to the baby, telling the little bump that he was Daddy, that he loved Mommy and that he would be here always. Sonja melted, this man was the end-all-be-all of men in her estimation. She had hit the jackpot.
With Chris kneeling before her, and her being completely naked, and him holding her so close and talking to her stomach; his warm breath teasing and tickling her skin as she looked down at him/at them like that, a wave of erotic flame flashed through her body. She called his name in a throaty whisper, "Christopher." When he looked up into her face and his blue eyes locked with her brown ones, he didn't need to ask why she'd called his name. Her eyes smoldered with her need for him. Her look set him on fire. He picked her up and carried her to the gigantic California King bed and placed her lovingly on it and shed his clothes.
He joined her in bed and only paused once with his hand on her stomach to ask, "This ain't gone hurt the baby is it?" Sonja growled, "No, but if you don't get in here right now I'm gonna hurt you." Chris unleased his dazzling grin, "Yes ma'am." Then they were lost to the world until hours later. Sonja woke briefly, feeling safe and happy. She felt the incredible warmth emanating from Chris at her back, even in sleep his hand was resting protectively against her belly. She felt so blessed. Sonja whispered a quick "Thank you," to God, then snuggled back up against Chris and fell asleep smiling.
CHAPTER 3: NO!
About three weeks later, LaSalle and Percy were out on an investigation. They hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy. They were just out of the first trimester by about a week. Sonja wasn't showing yet and she felt better than ever. As a matter of fact, the only instance of morning sickness that she had experienced was when an overly enthusiastic perfume wearer decided to use the whole bottle instead of going by the motto, "Less Is More". It was so strong it even bothered LaSalle's sinuses and sent him off into a sneezing fit.
Everything was going extremely well, but LaSalle was beginning to think that it would soon be time to let Pride and the team know, which would of course mean Sonja would have to go on desk duty. But for right now he wasn't too concerned because since they were partners they were together all the time and nobody was getting to her through him, so he figured she was safe enough for now.
They were back road cruising on a bright sun-shiny day through one of the many swamps of Louisiana heading for Pride and Gregorio and the murder scene they were going to investigate. Dead sailor, gun- shot wounds and unfortunately the body was half eaten by an alligator, so yeah, this was going to be a tough case. In spite of what they were heading towards, they both felt magnificent. They were riding off of the high of hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time and were discussing potential baby names.
LaSalle grinned, "If it's a boy I want a Jr." Percy groaned, "You would, but I would be ok with that. Ok, what if it's a girl Country Mouse what name do you want? Be warned, if you whip out a Priscilla or a Lucille I'm gonna hurt you." LaSalle feigned a look of offended pride, "Hey, those were my grandmothers names. One was Pricilla Grace and the other was Lucille Jean, those are good family names." Percy just looked at him, slightly worried that she'd offended him, when he burst out laughing…"City Mouse you should see yo face. I was just kidding, those were not my grandmas' names." Percy swung playfully at his arm, "that was not funny LaSalle." "Oh it was Percy," LaSalle continued to laugh. When he calmed a little he said, "Naw, for real tho, I was thinkin' maybe Lacy? It's kinda a mix between LaSalle and Percy which is what the baby would be." When he didn't get a response from Percy he turned his head to look at her and found her looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face. "What, you don't like it?" he asked. Sonja had to clear her throat before speaking, "I love it Chris. You've just named our kid." LaSalle actually blushed at the praise and grabbed Percy's hand intertwining their fingers. That's how they were when a vehicle T-boned the truck on Percy's side.
LaSalle and Percy didn't even have time to react before the truck rolled over and over heading for a canal a few feet below. Luckily, the truck landed on its roof stopping just shy of plunging into the canal itself. The first thing out of LaSalle's mouth was, "Sonja! Are ya alright?" He waited for a breath before she answered, "Yeah, I think so…you?" LaSalle heaved a sigh of relief, "Yeah, I'm radioin Pride, we're not far from them." He reached up for the radio which was now hanging above them, "King, me and Percy just got hit. We're upside down on the edge of a canal about a mile east of your position. We're alright, but we need help." Pride answered right away, "We heard the crash, hang on we're on the way and I'm calling an ambulance."
LaSalle hung the radio mic back up, "Percy, can you move?" She tried and found that she could but her foot didn't feel right, it felt kinda of funny, like it might be broken." "Ok, I'm gonna punch outta this seatbelt then come around and get you. Don't release that seatbelt till I get over there to catch you, ok?" "Ok," Percy responded. LaSalle released his seatbelt from his upside down position and cursed as he crashed down onto the roof of the truck, "DAMN IT!" "Chris?" Sonja asked, still inverted and not able to see his landing. "I'm alright, just banged my head; that was not pleasant. I'm coming around to ya."
When LaSalle got around to the other side of the truck he had to physically pull and tug at the door to make it budge. When it still wouldn't open he braced himself with one foot on the side of the truck and pulled on the door handle with all of his might. He was groaning with the effort, when finally with a tortured squeal, the door gave way and grudgingly pulled open enough for him to get inside to Percy. LaSalle pushed himself through the door and onto the roof of the truck right beneath her. When he was in position he said, "Ok, on the count of 3 release the seatbelt and I'll ease you down." He placed one hand at her back and wrapped his other arm around her mid-section and said, "Ready…1…2…3 now!" Percy released her seatbelt and felt LaSalle take her weight and slow her from the sudden drop. He eased her onto the roof of the truck with him then positioned her so he could wiggle out backward pulling her out with him. Just as LaSalle cleared the wreckage with Percy in tow, and she looked up for her first unimpeded glimpse of the sky, a face appeared above them.
For an instant, Percy thought a passer-by or the occupant of the other vehicle had come to help them. A split-second later she registered the leering face and only had time to yell, "NO!" before LaSalle fell away from her, unconscious from a blow to the head by the butt of a gun. Percy's hands dropped to her belt reaching for her gun, but it wasn't there. She had taken it off and put it into the glove compartment of the truck because it had been digging into her back on the ride. The only thing she had on her belt was her handcuffs.
All of a sudden, she was being pulled roughly past LaSalle's inert body. She called out to him, "LaSalle!" A cruel voice cut her off, "Shut-up bitch!" As the voice's owner delivered two swift and vicious kicks to her mid-section he yelled, "This is from my brother Renault." Percy cried out and curled into a ball. Her assailant leaned down to taunt her, "Awww, did I hurt the little girl? Well too bad… cause this one's from me." From her fetal position on the ground, Percy could see Reynoir Thibideaux rearing back, raising his leg to deliver a stomp to her body when lightning-quick, she drew the switchblade she was never without, from her boot. As his foot was descending, she caught it and yanked hard, simultaneously swiping the blade across his Achilles tendon, affectively overbalancing him and insuring he couldn't walk away.
Reynoir hit the ground with a thud, screaming in pain. Percy didn't stop, she quickly pulled herself up along his body stabbing him twice more; once in the calf and once in the side of the knee. Reynoir went wild, bucking and sobbing, trying to dislodge a furious and focused, "Little Girl" from him. He rolled onto this stomach trying to pull himself away from her. He managed to swing back and knock the knife from her hand, but Percy grabbed a near-by stone and brained him with it, knocking him unconscious.
She quickly bound his hands together with her handcuffs. She left him bleeding profusely where he had fallen and crawled back over to LaSalle fearing the worst. She put her hands on his face, he felt warm, then, she put him fingers beneath his nose and felt warm breath being exhaled. She shook him calling his name…"LaSalle? Baby, please wake up." When he groaned and stirred, Percy collapsed beside him with relief. The last thing she heard before unconsciousness swallowed her, was sirens.
Percy woke twice, once to a feeling of moving, the sound of machines, an engine and sirens. She blinked up at people…EMTs. She tried to speak, "LaSalle?" But there was an oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth. She raised her hand to draw the mask away, asking again, "LaSalle?" One of the EMTs bent to her…"Shhh Agent Percy, you've got to leave the mask on, it's helping you breathe. Your partner Agent LaSalle is still unconscious but he's stable and should be coming around any minute. He's in the ambulance behind us ok?" Percy nodded once and lapsed back into unconsciousness. As she faded, she had one thought…"I should tell them something…"
The second time she awoke, she was rolling with florescent lights flashing by overhead. She heard people yelling stuff, but she couldn't make it out. Then she heard the one voice she had been praying to hear. "Percy!" came LaSalle's bellow from somewhere to the side and behind her. She tried to lift her head to see him, tried to call his name, but she couldn't. So she did the only thing she could do. She lifted her arms out toward the direction of his voice. The next things she heard were shouts and a crash like something turned over. Then she felt warmth, she felt her hands encased in his, and she heard his voice right beside her…"I'm here baby, I'm right here." Then she saw his face looking down at her. Tears of relief leaked from the corners of her eyes as she looked up at him. "Sonja, the doctors are going to take care of you ok, and I'll be right here waiting for you ok?" She nodded and mouthed, "I love you," to which he responded, "I love you more and forever." She smiled then grimaced as pain tore through her body. She screamed and everything became a flurry of motion. She started moving again but wouldn't let go of LaSalle's hand. He was right with her until they got to the surgical suite doors. The nurse told LaSalle he would have to wait there and he leaned down and kissed her forehead, "I'll be here waiting." Sonja looked at him with wide frightened eyes as the nurses and attendants gently peeled their hands apart from one another.
By this time the entire NCIS team was there in the hallway with him. When the surgeon went by he stopped for just a moment to assure them that Agent Percy was in good hands. LaSalle uttered the words that stopped everybody short…"Doc please take care of her, she's pregnant with our baby, bout 3 months gone." Nobody breathed for half a second, then the doctor grasped his shoulder, nodded once, then pushed through the surgical suite doors and was gone.
LaSalle was left standing in the middle of the hallway staring at the cold stark doors. Pride walked up behind him and touched him on the shoulder. LaSalle didn't turn around he just bowed his head. Pride grabbed him by both shoulders and said, "It's ok, turn around son," then he did. When LaSalle turned, tears were streaming down his cheeks and his mouth was quavering. When he looked up at Pride he was speechless, afraid to open his mouth, unsure of what sound might come out. So LaSalle just shrugged his shoulders and Pride enveloped him in a bear hug. "It's alright son, we've got you." The rest of the team surrounded them and joined in a group hug. Tears were flowing all around.
A few minutes later Pride said, "Christopher, you've got to let the doctors check you out son. You've probably got a concussion." LaSalle opened his mouth and found that he could speak, "I ain't goin nowhere King. I gotta be here when she comes out. I promised I would be here." "And you will," Pride promised. "We're going to go one floor down, have the docs take a look at you. If you've got a concussion you've got to stay awake and have someone watch you. Well you'll have all of us and an entire hospital to watch you, so let's get you checked out and we'll be back up here before you know it ok?" LaSalle nodded, his head did hurt, "Ok, let's go so we can hurry up and get back."
CHAPTER 4: THE NEWS
LaSalle and the team were in the surgical waiting room. He had been checked out by a doctor and he did indeed have mild concussion which meant he needed to be watched to keep from falling asleep. Like that was really going to happen, there was zero percent chance of his falling asleep anytime in the near future. His adrenalin was still on low simmer because Percy was still in surgery an hour and a half later, and there'd been no word so far.
LaSalle had taken time to call Percy's family to let them know what was going on, he intentionally left out a small piece of vital information, namely the pregnancy. After two years together, even though he got along great with her family, especially her father and sisters, he wanted to give Percy the opportunity to give that news to her family. Besides, he was still working on her mother and the last thing he wanted to do was inform her that he had knocked up her daughter and they weren't married. He didn't know which information would upset Mrs. Percy the most and he wasn't in any shape to find out right now. So, he simply promised to keep them informed with any updates.
After another 30 minutes the surgeon finally emerged from the depths of the operating room. He looked tired. He glanced around the waiting room until he located LaSalle standing in the middle of the small crowd. The surgeon announced in general, "Agent Percy pulled through with flying colors, she's very strong. Her spleen was ruptured due to the severe trauma to her mid-section. We had to remove her spleen but she will make a full recovery." The surgeon again found LaSalle's face, "Agent LaSalle, may I speak with you please?"
LaSalle stood stock-still for another moment before he drew in a deep breath and moved to meet the doctor a short way down the corridor a bit removed from the crowd. The surgeon laid a hand on LaSalle's shoulder as he seemed to struggle for a way be begin his statement. LaSalle steeled himself and looked at the doctor, "Just say it Doc." The doctor looked at him, nodded twice and dropped a bomb on his world, "I'm so very sorry, we tried but we couldn't save the baby. There was too much trauma to her midsection, in addition to her ruptured spleen and well… it was just too much for the baby to survive. There is some good news though, Agent Percy is one of the 30% of people who have what we call an additional spleen. That means that she really will have a full recovery including the retention of her full immunity protection. It looks great if you guys want to try again, she should be fully capable of having and maintaining a healthy pregnancy in the future."
LaSalle robotically thanked the doctor and asked when he could see Sonja. He was told that she was in Recovery, and in light of all the events they were going to move her to a private room and keep her at least overnight and maybe even two nights just to make sure she was recovering well. LaSalle was told that when he was ready, he'd be taken to her room to wait for her to be brought up.
LaSalle was numb as he turned back toward the group. He pondered how to start this conversation then decided, to hell with it, and dived right in… "We lost the baby." As sobs erupted from the group LaSalle just lifted his head toward the ceiling and closed his eyes. "I will be strong, I will not break down…I will be strong, I will not break down!" was the mantra running through his brain.
After about two full minutes, when he thought he had himself under control, he drew in and exhaled a huge breath, opened his eyes, blinked a few times then lowered his head to face his friends. LaSalle offered a sad little smile, "She was…we were a little over 3 months pregnant. We found out 3 weeks ago. We were gonna tell you guys after the third month because it's supposed to be bad luck to announce it before the first trimester. He offered that little smile again, "Or so Sonja says anyway. We had even thought up some baby names…" he stopped and swallowed hard. Pride approached him, moved to hug him, but LaSalle in a very Percy like move, inhaled sharply, stepped back and held out his hands palms forward and said, "Don't! I'm sorry King but if you…I won't…I can't…" Pride backed away slowly, "Son, it's alright, I understand, but we're just a phone call away if you need any of us ok… right gang?" He asked the rest of the team. LaSalle just nodded.
As everyone began to file out of the waiting room, Dr. Loretta Wade stopped in front of LaSalle, "Chris, you and Sonja come see me in a few days, yeah?" Again, he nodded and answered, "Yes, Ma'am." Sebastian stopped in front of him, opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He looked at LaSalle horror-stricken. LaSalle quickly shook his head at Sebastian and again looked skyward trying to contain himself. Sebastian nodded awkwardly as Dr. Wade drew him away by the arm, "Come on dear." Gregorio stopped, "I've got your back City Mouse." LaSalle shook his head and actually smiled a little, "Gregorio, you've gotta get that right, I'm Country Mouse." Tammy looked at him, blinked and said, "I knew that." Then she winked at him and he nodded once in gratitude. Patton just waved from the doorway. LaSalle waved back and then he was alone, dreading what he was about to have to do. He had to tell the woman he loved that their baby didn't survive. How in the hell was he supposed to do that? He so was not looking forward to this.
/
An hour later, LaSalle sat holding a still sleeping Sonja's hand. He was saying every prayer he knew for strength and the words to tell her that they had lost their baby. It was funny because up until 3 weeks ago they didn't even know about the baby, so why and how did it hurt so much now?
His head was resting against their clasped hands on the bed when he felt her fingers twitch. His stomach plummeted to somewhere around his ankles. He said yet another silent prayer for strength and cautiously raised his head. Sonja's forehead was creased like she was concentrating very hard. Chris smiled a little, it was so like Sonja to frown before anything else. He watched as her forehead smoothed out and her eyelashes began to flutter. As her eyes came fully open, she glanced around the room groggily until she located him sitting in a chair beside her bed. He watched her lovingly as her eyes focused and then widened on him. She tried to speak but he just leaned down, lightly kissed her lips and said, "Shhh Sweet Cheeks, you're ok and I am too." That earned him a groggy smile. She did speak then…"What happened?" came out in a hoarse croak. Sonja cleared her throat and tried again, this time successfully, "What happened?"
This was the moment LaSalle had been dreading. He so didn't want to do this, but he had to and he would always tell her the truth. He kissed her fingers then sat on the edge of the bed. "How much do you remember?" he asked her quietly.
Percy thought for a few minutes then replied slowly, "I don't know Chris, it's all kind of fuzzy. I remember being in the truck, getting hit, rolling over, you getting me out, then… Chris! It wasn't an accident! It was the Thibideaux brothers, Renault and Reynoir, but I only say Reynoir there. They were two very nasty characters that I busted when I was with ATF. I didn't know they got out. Reynoir knocked you out and… he kicked me!" A look of absolute horror filled her face, "Oh Chris, he kicked me really hard in my stomach…twice…and I…Oh no, Chris I forgot to tell the EMTs that I'm pregnant!"
"I was in the ambulance and I knew that I should have told them something, but I couldn't remember what!" Sonja calmed just a bit, "Wait, wait, I'm freaking out for nothing, I'm sure you told them when we got here right?" Chris couldn't say a word, he just nodded. Sonja smiled at him then, "Was everybody surprised when they found out? Was anybody pissed that we didn't tell them?" Chris nodded his head yes, then shook his head no. Sonja was so relieved that she hadn't really noticed he wasn't speaking. Sonja smiled at him again, "How's our baby LaSalle?"
Chris meant to be strong, he really did, but when she looked at him like that, looking so innocent and happy… he broke, he… just… broke. He tried to control his face, but when he opened his mouth to speak his face crumbled, his breath caught and hitched and the tears he had been holding…fell. His reaction made Sonja's blood run cold. She looked at him with terror in her eyes. She whispered his name…"Christopher?" as she reached toward him. He took her hand and placed it against his wet cheek. She asked again just as softly, "our baby?" With her hand still on his cheek he shook his head slowly. A low keening sound, that she wasn't even aware she was making, flowed from between her lips. It increased into a crescendo of sound that resulted in a primal wail that shivered the nerves of everyone who heard it. It brought heads around in the hallways and sent nurses running to see what was happening. The first nurse to reach the room only got as far as the doorway, what she saw broke her heart into about a thousand pieces.
The young man, no doubt about them being a couple, was on the bed cuddling the young woman, who was bent into almost a C shape. They were both crying so hard that the waves of emotion pouring from them made the bed literally vibrate. Their eyes were closed and they were lost in their own world of abject misery so great, that their pain was a tangible thing. It engulfed the room. The nurse, an 18 year veteran of nursing, backed out of the room pulling the door closed with her. Once outside the room she held up her hand for the other approaching staff to back off. She had to take a few deep breaths of her own to steady herself before she spoke. "They just found out they lost their baby." The understanding, pity and empathy flashed instantaneously across all the surrounding faces.
Everyone dispersed back into their various duties. The nurse put herself on guard duty outside of their room. She couldn't bring herself to say that things were ok inside the room, when someone asked, because they so were not, but they would be. That beautiful couple needed this time to get this out of their systems. If they were going to survive this and get out the other side they really needed this time to grieve. Eventually she peeked in to check on them. She found them in the same position but now asleep, sleeping the sleep of the totally exhausted. She went in, covered them with a blanket, shut off the overhead lights and resumed her vigil outside of their door.
Hours later they awoke groggy and a little disoriented. Now they talked, LaSalle filled Percy in on what had happened when they arrived at the hospital, what the Dr. said about her still being able to have kids, about their chances on trying again. Percy thought for a few minutes then said "LaSalle, I don't know about the whole kid thing." LaSalle came right back with, "At this point Percy, neither do I." Once again they were perfectly attuned in their misery.
While they were quietly talking, Pride was approaching their room. He had been trying to contact LaSalle all night to no avail. He was trying to give them the space and time they needed but he was going insane not knowing what was going on with his agents. It seemed that even the hospital room phone had been disconnected. So he was here to see for himself what was going on. As he approached the room, the guardian nurse, though no longer seated in front of the door, was still keeping a watchful eye on the room from the nurses' station. She stopped Pride within 5 feet of the door with a very clear if somewhat hostile…"And who are you?" Pride's head swiveled to the right to see a tall, matronly, fiercely determined looking nurse approaching him. When he had identified himself, shown his badge and otherwise convinced her of his identity, she finally relaxed and relayed the events of overnight. He thanked her for guarding his agents. She smiled, "Those two touched my heart without saying a word. They're going to be ok, they have each other and I can feel and see the bond between them." Pride agreed with her, "That bond is also what makes them such good agents and partners." The nurse nodded, "Ok, I'm off shift so I'm turning them over to you, take good care of them." Pride smiled, "Yes Ma'am."
CHAPTER 5: GOTCHA!
Several weeks later, both LaSalle and Percy were back at work. It had taken LaSalle a week to recuperate enough to get back to work. It had taken Percy three. Her ankle had only been sprained, not broken and her surgical site had healed very well. There was still just a little twinge if she moved the wrong way, but the doctors had cleared her to go back to work. They'd had a few open and shut cases come through and they were settling in again nicely. The rest of the team could still see a hint of lingering sadness in both their eyes.
LaSalle and Percy had gone to see Ms. Loretta as requested and she had shared some of her personal history with them, which included several miscarriages of her own, one due to trauma. They felt a little better knowing that someone understood what they were going through; that they weren't alone. She assured them that though it was hurtful, and though she'd never birthed a child of her own; she didn't regret any of her pregnancies. It just hadn't been meant to be for her and her husband, God rest his soul. They had lost six before they had finally stopped trying. But, she reminded them, now she had CJ and Danny, so she got to be a mother after all. Being the wise, sage and wonderful guru she seemed to be sometimes, Ms. Loretta had assured them that if and when they were meant to have a baby, it would happen, and nothing would keep them from it.
/
While they were truly back in the swing of things, Percy was on a private mission of her own. She was surreptitiously on the look-out for Renault Thibideaux. They had his brother Reynoir who was mean as a badger, but he was also as dumb as a box of rocks and didn't have the brain power to put together a strike like that. So while he was the one who physically assaulted her and LaSalle, she wouldn't rest until she had the one who had set everything in motion. She was after the one who had ultimately by his orders, killed their baby. In surprisingly short order she got her chance.
No less than a week after she returned to work, Percy caught a call about suspicious activity and a possible body in one of the Thibideaux brothers known places of business. She reported the call to Pride saying it was probably nothing and she'd just run over and check it out. She said all of that by way of message, knowing that Pride would never have allowed her to go alone, and LaSalle would physically restrain her if necessary. It was just her luck that he had gone on a quick run with Gregorio. So she responded in her message to Pride that she'd be careful and call for backup if she needed help.
Unbeknownst to Percy, LaSalle was expecting something like that from her and had Patton put his Nano- Drones to good use invisibly following her this last week. LaSalle could feel the tension in Percy; when he talked to her, when he held her. She was drawn tight as a bow string. They had yet to make love again after the accident, or incident, whichever you preferred. He thought maybe they were both a little afraid. I mean hey, they hadn't tried for the first baby, what if they accidentally got pregnant again? He could admit it freaked him out a little, and at first he thought that was what was also going on with Percy, with her "tightness." But during this past week she had felt…electric, like a powder keg waiting to blow, loaded, cocked, aimed…use any adjective you wanted, he was worried. LaSalle had a good idea of what she was doing, or better yet, who she was looking for. He knew because quite frankly, he was looking for Renault Thibideaux too. He had a nagging feeling Percy would find him first because she knew him better from her time at the ATF… hence the drones. He also had the whole team on alert, because he was afraid of what she would do when she found him, also Pride was no fool, he'd been keeping an eye on Percy too.
As soon as Percy arrived at the seedy looking location, she knew without a doubt that she would find Renault inside. She just felt it. So she wasn't necessarily trying to be quiet as she entered the building, she wanted this confrontation. Renault didn't disappoint, he was on her 2 minutes after she found her way through to the inner courtyard. Luckily, for him or her, no one knew yet, Patton sent up the "Bat Signal" and the team was on their way to the disreputable establishment.
Renault grabbed Percy by the ponytail and slammed her against a brick wall just to get her attention. He like toying with his prey. His mistake tonight was not realizing he was the prey. As soon as Sonja hit the wall she rebounded, spun and kicked Renault in the crotch, a sure way to drop any man. As he doubled over she followed through with her elbow to his chin and finally a backhand blow to the side of the face with the Glock she was now holding. "Get Up!" she yelled at him.
/
Thanks to Patton's Nano-Drones, the rest of the team had quickly disabled any remaining bad guys. As LaSalle entered the room first, because of course he would, he saw…
…Sonja, breathing hard but steady, her nose was flaring with each breath she took. Her entire body seemed to quiver, everything except for the gun which she was holding as steady as a statue. The gun was trained on a weasely-looking, limp haired, 30ish something poor excuse of a man named Renault Thibideaux and Sonja was fighting with everything in her not to pull the trigger!
LaSalle breathed out a slow steady breath, "Percy, we're here. We've got him, he won't get away. Lower you gun and let us move in and take him." Percy didn't move, didn't respond at all, like she didn't even hear him. LaSalle tried again, "Percy, we've got him, and we found all kinds of contraband in here. He's going away for a very long time, maybe even forever. Step back and let us take him." Still no movement from Percy. Both Pride and Gregorio tried with no success.
LaSalle finally holstered his gun and took a step towards her, "Sonja…baby…don't let this creep win. Don't let him take you away from me. He already took our baby, please don't let him have you too. Sonja, I won't make it without you." He moved closer, "Sonja please…please come back to me, please don't do this." At this moment, Renault finally got the gist of what was going on. He stupidly opened his mouth to say something glib when Gregorio saved his life by stopping him with her words…"Hey Numb Nuts, don't even think about it! You're about a millimeter away from Hell right now. I guarantee you if you say anything, even if Sonja misses, which she won't, I will put a bullet in you myself. Thibideaux's mouth snapped closed. "Good boy," Gregorio smirked
Once again Chris moved closer…"Sonja, woman of my heart, former mother of my child, please stay with me, stay so that we can try again." For the first time Sonja reacted, she drew in a huge breath. Chris, encouraged, took another step which put him directly behind her. He brought both of his arms up, bracketing her on either side. He slowly and gently placed his hands around hers on the stock of her gun, so that for a moment they were both holding the gun pointed at Renault, their fingers on the trigger. For a moment, Chris saw and felt what Sonja did. For a moment, they were both staring down the barrel of the gun at the weasel faced demon that had subsequently resulted in the death of their baby. The longing was there, Chris wanted to squeeze that trigger too, but he refocused on the woman, the dynamo, his partner, the love of his life in front of him. He decided in that moment he would never give her up, not for anything or anyone, especially not for revenge on that creep Thibideaux.
LaSalle sliced his eyes toward Pride on his left, then Tammy on his right to make sure they had the asshole well and truly covered, then he lowered his mouth to Sonja's ear and started to speak. "Sonja, I love you with my whole being. Where you go, I go, where you'll be, I'll be. If you really want to waste this asshole, we'll do it together, but baby then we'll have to be apart, they won't let us go to prison together. I'll lose you forever and that'll kill me. You make the choice baby…my life, for all time, is in your hands. What we gone do? I love you." He kissed her lightly on the temple and waited.
They were still holding the gun together when Chris felt, more than saw, Sonja inhale a deep breath and relax as she exhaled slowly. All of that terrible, rigid tension left her, was just…gone. She slowly lowered the gun, which lowered their clasped hands. Chris gently took the gun from her and handed it to Gregorio. He then brought his arms back around Sonja, joined their arms and just held her from behind.
Renault chose that moment to smirk, and now that he was sure he wasn't going to die, attempt to goad Sonja. As soon as he uttered the first sound, Pride hit him so hard that he went down in an unconscious heap…KO'd. Gregorio looked at Pride smiling. "What?" Pride asked, "Didn't you see him lunge for Sonja and Chris?" Gregorio nodded thoughtfully, "I did indeed see that sir." Tammy reached into her jacket pocket for the bottle of water she always carried. She unscrewed the cap and dumped it on the face of the unmoving Thibideaux, after a moment he began to sputter. Pride handcuffed the thankfully silent, but now wet, suspect and he and Tammy frog-marched him out to the waiting car. When they drew even with LaSalle and Percy, Pride asked, "Christopher…Sonja, you ok?" He received a nod from LaSalle and a smaller less perceptible nod from Sonja, whose heads were still bowed and eyes were still closed. He laid a hand on Chris' shoulder and squeezed; then he and Tammy were gone leading Renault Thibideaux away forever.
Everyone was gone, Chris and Sonja were alone in the dilapidated old courtyard. Chris finally lifted his head and turned Sonja to face him. He kissed her forehead, "Baby look at me." Sonja complied looking up into his beautiful blue eyes. He looked at her for a moment then took her face between his palms, kissed her lightly on the lips, and from inches away, whispered…"Marry me." LaSalle watched mesmerized, as life and warmth swam back into her beautiful brown eyes. He was bowled over when she whispered…"Yes."