Chapter 10

Kiza locked the ship into auto and moved into the hull to meet them.

Caine gently lay Jupiter down on a bed in the back of the ship. It was small but it would do. Stinger helped Kiza get medical supplies together.

"Kiza," Stinger called out. "We need to portal."

"I know Dad," She replied with a large metal case in her hand. She lay it down on the floor next to Caine and started to prep. "I need to get her stable first."

"I'm gonna need to get in there a moment big guy," Kiza gently tapped Caine on the shoulder but he was reluctant to leave Jupiter's side, keeping her hand in his. Kiza looked over at her father for some help.

Stinger got her hint. "Hey Caine, you can't help her right now. Kiza can. She's in good hands, why don't you help me set the portal coordinates."

Caine didn't want to move, he didn't want to leave her, but they were right, there was nothing more he could do right that minute. She was safe on board the ship, but as good as he was with a gun, Kiza was Jupiter's best bet now.

Caine released Jupiter's hand and backed away. He didn't go with Stinger to help set coordinates. He just stood back standing century. Once again, helpless.

Kiza looked down at Jupiter. She was covered in blood from head to toe. It was drying on her skin and had caked into her hair. Kiza's first task was assessing how much of that blood was Jupiter's and then where the hell it was pouring from. It wasn't going to be a short job.

"Can't you use the healing spray?" Caine asked over Kiza's shoulder.

Kiza shook her head, "She's too serious for that now." Kiza took out a triage device that scanned Jupiter's body giving her a breakdown of her current condition. "Christ!" Kiza whispered but of course Caine heard her.

"What? What is it?"

Kiza started to clear away the blood from the parts of Jupiter's body that she needed a clearer view of. "She's got 3 broken ribs, an upper arm fracture on her right side, a torn ligament in her left calf, dislocated shoulder but..."

Caine looked worried, "But?"

Kiza looked back at him. "I'm gonna need you to help me here,"

Caine knelt beside Kiza and Jupiter. Jupiter was growing pale, her lips tinting with blue, her breathing short, shallow and laboured.

"She's gotta collapsed lung. One of her broken ribs has given her a puncture. I need to get the air out from between her ribs and her lungs before I can re-inflate the lung. If we don't get this done now and done right, she will die Caine so I need you to do exactly as I say ok?"

Caine remained silent and nodded.

"Cut her shirt open up to her breast bone."

Caine did so without flinching or question. So much blood. Kiza took a scalpel out of the metal medi case along with a rubber tube.

"Caine, I'm gonna make an incision right here," she pointed at a space a third of the way down Jupiter's rib cage on one side. "As soon as I'm in I need you to feed the tube in quickly but steadily. Not too quick mind. There's gonna be blood but we want the tube to run clear. If it keeps draining blood then her lungs are filling with it and that aint good."

Caine nodded again. He calmly waited for kiza to make the cut and then he was in there with the tube feeding it into Jupiter's body until he felt like he reached the right place. How could he even be sure? Kiza told him to hold the tube steady while blood poured from the end, and it kept coming but after what seemed like an eternity the fluid ran clear. Caine didn't realise he was holding his breath till that moment. Kiza exhaled too.

She got Caine to help her close Jupiter up and then she could set about using the healing spray. When she was done Kiza and Caine were covered in Jupiter's blood.

"It's up to her from here on out Caine. I've done all I can, she should be fine eventually but...there's no real guarantee, I'm sorry, I don't wanna lie to you."

"I understand," Caine said to Kiza. When she got up with her medi case to leave the two alone Caine pulled her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you."

Kiza squeezed him back. "I'll go see if we're ready to portal."

Then Caine was alone again with Jupiter laid out on the bed, the only thing showing that she was alive and not dead was the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Caine knelt down beside her with her hand in his. He lay his forehead down on her chest.

"What did you do Jupe? You were gonna leave me, just like that. After everything..."

After what seemed like hours, Jupiter's eyes fluttered open feeling the warm weight on her chest. She ached all over, it ached to speak but she mustered the strength to raise a hand and place it on Caine's head. "I...I'm sorry,"

Caine raised his head to look at her, "he said he would kill you, all of you..."

Caine cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. "He would have killed us anyway."

"I know," Jupiter replied, "But I had to try. I thought once he got the Title he would forget about you guys,"

Caine's hand ran down Jupiter's right arm gently. He turned her wrist upwards and brushed a thumb over the glowing tattoo. "You still have your title."

"Someone changed my mind. Made me want to fight for it."

Caine looked at her, "Who?"

"Titus."

Caine looked confused. "I don't understand, we found Titus' body. What did he say to you, did he hurt you?"

Jupiter shook her head slowly. "He didn't hurt me. And it's not what he said." She took another laboured breath, "Before I killed him he showed me something..."

"What?" Caine asked.

Jupiter gently took Caine's hand in hers and placed it on her abdomen. He looked down at her still not certain. Jupiter cradled Caine's cheek and gently pressed his face to her stomach beside his hand.

He started to pull up and then froze. He closed his eyes, both hands on now her stomach and breathed in deep. He turned eyes that had spilled to black orbs to Jupiter and she could see the moisture in them as he turned back to their normal hue.

"Jupiter..." was all he could think to say.

She smiled back. "You see, I couldn't just give up. It wasn't just about me or you anymore. She's gonna need both of us.

Caine sat up, "She?"

Jupiter nodded, "You think we can do this?"

Caine didn't reply, just leaned down and kissed her. His hand not leaving her stomach.

2 years later.

It was the middle of the night. Jupiter was fast asleep with Caine beside her in peaceful slumber. The events of 2 years previous were a distant memory now and she and Caine were growing more and more comfortable in their new roles as keepers of the earth and guardians of the realm.

Jupiter rolled over woken by the heat of the warm July night. Caine didn't seem to notice. She tried not to hate him for it but when a wail of distress came from the adjoining room, a small smile crept on to her face.

"DADDY!"

Jupiter's smile got bigger nudging Caine with her elbow as he grumbled in protest.

"You heard the lady."

Caine got up, still half in sleep and padded into the nursery to get his daughter. He bought her back into the bed with the two of them. She was small like her mother but had nearly white blonde hair like her father save for a dark brown streak at the front. She had jupiter's huge brown eyes with Caine's Lycantant traits. It made breast feeding while the child was teething a short-lived experiment.

"She wants in our bed," Caine said cradling the toddler in his arms.

Jupiter pulled back the sheets, "Well then what my Princess wants, my Princess gets no?"

Caine smiled kissing the child on the head and plonking her down in the bed. Jupiter lay on her back propt up on pillows.

"Ya know we can't keep making a habit of this," Jupiter rubbed her rounded belly. "Your offspring are...exhausting."

Caine smiled and lay a hand on Jupiter's growing belly. "He's dreaming he's running," he lay a kiss on her stomach.

The End?

Excuse the typos or grammar farts, i'm super tired tonight and wanna go sleepies. Was really having trouble with ending this one so i've just stopped it here instead of labouring over it and driving myself crazy. Hoped you enjoyed the twists and turns. Thanks for following and reviewing and all that.