Deliver Us From Evil
Chapter Six
Erica used the shaft of light that came through the window behind her to read her watch. It had been an hour and twenty-five minutes since the shuttle landed but no one had come out of it yet. They were waiting for her to make the first move. She would have been out there before the ship even landed if it hadn't been for Ryan encouraging her to stay put.
"We don't even know if he's on that ship," he said.
She must have been shifting around too much to elicit his gentle warning. "I know."
There was some slight movement coming from the side door closest to them but even in the dim light, Erica could see Georgie and Jack making their way towards them. She only felt half relieved.
"Where's Lily?" Ryan asked.
"She took Julia out back," Georgie said with a wry grin, "to have a little chat with her."
Erica noticed a tense set to Jack's jaw. She didn't think killing would ever sit well with him, especially if it was Lily doing the act. She didn't know the extent of Jack and Lily's past, though Grace's presence spoke volumes, but she had noticed he hadn't worn his collar for the last few days. But that was an issue to be dealt with later.
"Any sign of your kid?" Georgie asked.
"Not yet."
Ryan sighed. "I am going to say that he's not on that ship."
"Mom?"
Erica jumped to her feet but felt three pairs of hands grab hold of her and pulled her back down. "That's him, that's Tyler!" But before she could break free from their grasp, another voice answered Tyler's and Erica stilled slightly. It was Lily.
"Are you Tyler Evans?"
"Yeah?"
"Anyone else with you?"
"Uh, no. Are you alright?"
"Fine," Lily answered shortly. "Let's go."
"Where's my mom?"
"I don't know but we need to leave, now."
Erica felt everyone's grip loosen and she took the opportunity to make her way to the side door. Thankfully, no one tried to stop her this time. They filed out of the building, guns drawn and plastered against the side of the building. She saw the dark form of Julia laying near the car but noticed the light from the street lamps glistened off a trail of blood that led to the front of the warehouse. Tyler's question rang in her ears.
Are you alright?
Lily was hurt. She turned to tell whoever was closest but Tyler's voice interrupted her.
"Mom! There you are."
She stifled the cry of relief that threatened to erupt from her and grabbed his arm. "Come on, we have to go."
He yanked his arm free from her. "I only came so you would stop giving the V's a bad rap. I'm here, I'm fine."
"And you need to come with us," Lily added.
"No," he shook his head. "I'm going back up there."
"The hell you are," Erica stepped forward and when she grabbed his arm, made sure she had a strong grip this time.
"Your mother's right," Jack spoke up. "It's not safe for you up there."
"Oh great, now the Priest is in on this?"
"Hey," Lily appeared behind him and Erica tried not to notice how pale she looked. "None of us had to come here tonight but we did. Some gratitude would nice. Respect would be even better but I'll settle for gratitude."
Erica took the opportunity of a stunned Tyler and pulled her son around the corner of the building, using the momentum to propel him to the car. Thankfully, seeing Ryan and Georgie standing behind Jack put enough trepidation into Tyler that he didn't resist too much on the way to the car. Having Lily on the other side of Tyler helped matters too. No sooner did they put Tyler in the back of the car, then Georgie shouted a warning to get down. Erica pushed Tyler down in the backseat and slammed the door shut. Thin, metal spikes drove themselves into the car and ground around them.
Erica fumbled for her gun but someone beat her to it and two shots rang out. The seeker that had been sent exploded in a shower of sparks. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the gun in Jack's hands.
"Everyone alright?" Ryan asked.
Erica noticed the three men were standing and no sign of injury. Lily, however, was propping herself up against the hood of the car. "Lily's hurt."
"It's not that bad." Lily waved it off. "It can wait. We really should get back to the house. Eric and Julia could have told them where we were camping out."
Ryan straightened up suddenly. "Jack, you ride with me and Lily. See if you can patch her up. Georgie, go with Erica and her son. We'll only stop long enough to get our things from the Hamptons before moving elsewhere."
* * *
Lily tried to focus to something, anything, other than Jack's probing fingers. He was holding a penlight in his teeth to see the wound better but every bump in the road jostled it and she could hear him grind his teeth tighter.
"You're going to chip a tooth if you keep that up," she ground out.
"You haf a bedder idear," he mumbled back.
She knew it wasn't good. In fact, she knew she would bleed out before they reached the beach house. Julia had cleaned them out of medical supplied. The med kit she brought with her was completely empty. She didn't want to believe it, she wanted to see Grace one more time. Grace... "Do you want to know why I named our daughter Grace?"
Jack looked down at her, panic rising in his eyes. She knew he would recognize battlefield defeatism as soon as he saw it. But it didn't matter now. It was unavoidable and there were things he needed to know before she left him again. He spit the pen light out of his mouth. "You can tell me later, Lily."
"Whenever I heard you recite your rosary, you would always say 'Hail Mary, full of grace.' Mary was chosen by God, wasn't she? Favored in His sight?"
"She was."
Lily looked over his shoulder and out the backseat window the car. She could see the mothership in the distance and frowned. "I wanted our daughter to be favored by your God but I didn't want to offend Him by naming her Mary." A smile found it's way back on her face. "So I named her Grace." Jack's hands had stilled and the pen light hadn't been returned to his mouth.
"Don't die. Please."
Lily smiled wider. "You were always so polite. So kind. Grace is more like you than me. You two will get along just fine."
"Lily-"
She blindly reached out and found one of Jack's hands, warm and reassuring. She would have liked to have felt them on her skin one more time but holding onto him would have to do. "Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
Even with things dimming, she could tell he was crying. "Don't shed tears. We're soldiers. Revolutionaries. When one of us dies..."
"The other's feel pride, not grief," he finished.
Lily squeezed Jack's hand until he looked at her. He too was crying. "Pride, Jack, not grief." She really had forgotten just how blue his eyes were.
* * *
Valerie couldn't sleep. She had checked in on Grace about twenty times, paced all four floors in the house and even tried to step out onto the beach but found it too cold to be out there for long. Watching the news, which only covered the Visitors now, didn't help her worried mind. She wanted to call Ryan, hear his voice and know that everything was alright.
"Mommy!"
Valerie took two stairs at a time but Grace kept yelling for her mom, even after Valerie had gathered her up into her arms. "Gracie, it's okay. Your mom will be back soon."
The girl buried her face into Valerie's shoulder and kept crying. "No, she's not. She's not coming back. She's d-dead."
"Oh sweetheart, that was just a dream."
"No, it wasn't."
Valerie rubbed Grace's back. "Sometimes dreams feel very real to us but they're just dreams. You'll see. Your mom is going to be back in no time and I'll send her in to tuck you in again, alright?"
Grace's crying had settled down into quiet sniffles. She could still feel the tension in the little body and knew Grace wouldn't be soothed until Lily showed up, safe and sound. After a few more minutes of quiet, Valerie could feel Grace's steady breathing. Carefully, she put Grace back under the blankets and turned the light out. As she was going back down the stairs, Erica, Georgie and Tyler came through the front door in a rush. All formalities were dropped.
"Get what you can in the next five minutes," Georgie said to her, "we have to get out of here."
"Where's Ryan?"
Erica stopped. "He isn't back yet?"
Valerie shook her head. "I haven't even heard from him."
Georgie pulled out his phone but as soon as he punched in Ryan's number, they could hear the ring come from outside the house. Georgie opened the front door and immediately step back. Ryan stepped across the threshold, stone faced and held the door open as Jack followed behind him carrying Lily. At first Valerie thought the woman was asleep but then realized that was not the case. Valerie came down the rest of the stairs and stood by Ryan as they all watched Jack carry her up the stairs. As soon as he was out sight, the questions started.
"What happened?" Erica asked.
Ryan kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, a sign Valerie picked up on whenever he was distressed. "Julia had an assassin's spike on her. When Lily confronted her, she stabbed her."
"Jack healed from his wound," Erica said.
"That's because he's human," Ryan answered. "The spike penetrated not only her human skin but her V skin as well. Julia must have been right next to Lily when she attacked her. There was no stopping the bleeding."
Georgie pushed his way into the conversation. "What about the med kit she brought with her? Wasn't there anything in there that could help?"
"Med kit was empty. Julia cleaned us out of all medical supplies."
Erica angrily shoved her gun into the waistband of her jeans. "Where was Jack taking her?"
"The bathtub." Ryan heaved a sigh. "We have to clear out of the house within fifteen minutes."
"What about the body?" Georgie asked.
"We leave her here," Erica answered. "Resting in the bathtub."
Ryan nodded slowly. "Lily would have appreciated that."
Valerie wondered if she should tell them about Grace's nightmare but realized it was Jack who would most likely be taking care of Grace now. Without saying anything, she turned and went back up the stairs and followed the light that was spilling out from underneath the bathroom door. She knocked once.
"I know we have to go," Jack's voice carried out to her, "but just give me a minute."
Valerie opened the door and stepped inside. Jack was sitting on the floor, blood covering his shirt, coat, hands and even his face. Lily was curled up inside the tub, still looking blissfully asleep. "Jack, I just wanted you to know that Grace had a nightmare before you all came back."
His brow furrowed and some of the anger and grief gave way to confusion. "Is she alright?"
"She said that in her nightmare, her mother died."
Jack dropped his head. "What am I suppose to tell her? How do I tell a child that her mother isn't coming back again?"
For Valerie, that was an easy question and she quickly slipped into counselor mode. "You tell her exactly what you just said. That her mom isn't coming back anymore. That she loved her very much."
He turned bloodshot blue eyes towards her. "How am I suppose to take care of my three year old daughter that I just met a few days ago?"
Valerie swallowed the lump in her throat, wishing she had an answer for him this time. Instead, she just mutely shook her head and backed out of the bathroom.
***
Author's Note: The rest of this story is now dedicated to all the Jack/Erica fans out there. I must admit...I wasn't one when I started writing this fic, but the more I write them...the more I like them together. :-) Congratulations...you've added another shipper to your ranks!