A/N: Finally! I had such a crap time with this chapter. It was a real stop/start kind of thing, but I finally got the upper hand and wrestled my muse to the ground. Cross your fingers that I get a new chapter out before I head to Vegas next weekend. Also...the next flashback will involve one of the most awesome mean "girls" on TV. Let that percolate for a while. Hope you like it, because I enjoy playing in this sandbox. Not mine, don't own it, as always.

***

As the sun set over the walls of Jerusalem, it turned them crimson. Rachel shuddered and wrapped her hands tightly around her swollen belly. It was as if the very stones of the great city were soaked with blood. A feeling of dread seeped into Rachel's bones. Some great wickedness was on its way to the city. Suddenly cold, Rachel left the balcony and returned to her seat to finish the embroidery she had been working on.

A quiet knock sounded on her door, so subtle that you could not hear it unless one knew exactly what to listen for. Rachel smoothed her plait before rushing to open it. Noah, well practiced, slipped through the opening easily. He pushed the door shut with his foot before taking Rachel in his arms and kissing her soundly.

"How much time do we have?" she whispered.

Noah kissed her again, harder and gentler at the same time. "Ibelin has called the lords together to plan a strategy, as the King Consort has seen fit to leave us defenceless with the Saracens at our gates. Gwyn has gone to see what we can do."

"Why are you not with him?"

"He asked me to ensure your protection and took Mathias in my stead. Arturo is keeping watch, he will notify us when they return."

Rachel took his hand from her face and placed it on the swell of her stomach. She watched the look on Noah's face turn to amazement as the child inside her kicked up into his hand. Rachel was unsurprised when Noah dropped to his knees and placed a kiss on her stomach. He had often done this since she had informed him that she was carrying his child.

And it was his child, of that Rachel was certain. She had only lain with her husband once in the long months since she and Noah had found each other. She had seduced Gwyn shortly after she had missed her courses the second time. If Noah could not work out a plan for them to escape together, they had decided to tell Gwyn that the child had arrived earlier than expected. Rachel's soul ached at the thought of pretending another was her child's father, but Noah had insisted it would be for the best if they could not find another way.

Rachel let Noah urge her back to her seat where she picked up the embroidery once more. He sat on the floor beside her, stroking her belly softly and singing the lullabies of their people to the child inside.

Rachel's heart nearly stopped when the door to her chambers burst open. Gwyn stepped through the doorway, his skin flush with rage. With his right hand, he dragged in a bruised and bloodied Arturo, throwing the boy to the ground. Behind him, Rachel could see two of the other knights that had found place among their retinue, Mathias and Mica, as well as the serving girl, Sabina, whose dark eyes glittered with triumph. The house steward, Guilliame, entered the room as well, casting a wary look towards Rachel.

Though her fingers stilled on the embroidery, Rachel did not rise. Neither did Noah. Gwyn crossed the room in barely two strides of his long legs and hauled Noah to his feet. His fist struck Noah hard in the jaw, throwing him against Rachel's legs. Her hands itched to check her lover's wound, but she forced them to stay on the hoop and needle.

Gwyn raised his hand to strike Noah again, but when Noah made no move to defend, Guilliame placed a restraining hand on his lord's shoulder. "Tell the truth!" Gwyn snarled.

Rachel steeled herself and set the embroidery aside. She reached for Noah's hand, finding it reaching for her own in return. Their fingers linked together as if they were meant to do so and they rose as one force.

"I would hear it," Gwyn yelled, "I would hear it from you both."

"My lord," urged Guilliame gently, "perhaps a cooler temper should prevail."

"No," Gwyn hissed, pushing Guilliame's hand away, "I will not tolerate their dishonesty any longer!"

Gwyn stared at Rachel and the rage in his eyes transformed to helplessness. With his gaze, he begged her to let him be wrong. Rachel held her chin high. "It is true, Gwyn," she said, "Sir Noel is the father of this child."

"You purposefully deceived me?" Gwyn asked, stepping towards Rachel.

Noah placed himself between them and stared him down. "It was you who believed her, my lord."

"It was never my intention to cause you pain," Rachel whispered, gripping Noah's hand tightly.

"Take him," Gwyn seethed, signalling to his knights. The two men grasped Noah by the arms and dragged him away from Rachel, who held on as long as she could.

Gwyn stepped forward and stared down at her. "We are ended," he hissed, "I wish that you would be gone from my sight."

Then he struck her across the face with a backhanded blow that was so hard Rachel thought the very stars in the heavens had taken residence on her ceiling. Blood streamed from her mouth and nose as she fell to her knees.

Noah struggled so hard that he nearly broke free of Mathias and Mica's grip. Gwyn turned on him, waving away Guilliame's attempts to examine his bloodied hand. Gwyn closed his fist and struck Noah three more times, bringing the shorter man to his knees. Then Gwyn put his hand under Noah's chin and forced him to look up.

"I was your lord and you betrayed your oath. I was your friend and you betrayed our bond. I was your...brother...and you cut out my heart with your treachery. For that I would put you to death."

"No!" Rachel yelled, crawling towards the two. Gwyn turned on her with a raised hand and Rachel shrank back.

Returning to his former position, Gwyn once again took hold of Noah's face. "Though I know not why, God smiles upon you this day Sir Noel. Ibelin has need of every able bodied man he can find to mount a defence against Saladin's considerable forces. You will fight, as we all must, and, by the Grace of Our Father, you will fall. I dare say the Saracens will show you more mercy than I, if you live through the siege."

With that, Gwyn swept out of the room. Mathias and Mica lifted Noah to his feet and began to force him away. He slipped from their grasp for a moment, to cross the room and brush a kiss over Rachel's cheek. "Forever," he whispered.

Rachel nodded, crying softly as the knights took hold of him once more. "Always," she cried.

The knights dragged Noah from the room, stepping over Arturo as they did. With pitying looks to Rachel and to the broken boy on the floor, Guilliame exited the room. The lock clicked soundly shut.

As Rachel wept, she pulled herself over to Arturo's prone form. The boy still lived, despite the beating he had subjected to. Slowly and gently, she began to tend to his wounds.

***

Rachel and Arturo were released at the end of the siege. Like all the inhabitants of the city, they were made to leave. Rachel helped Arturo as best she could, as the boy was still injured and could barely walk.

Rachel's eyes searched the caravan of survivors for Noah's face, though she knew in her heart that if he still lived he would already be by her side. She and Arturo passed by Gwyn on the first day of their journey, but he turned his eyes from them almost as soon as his gaze had fallen on the two companions.

Beautiful, dark, angry Sabina rode behind Gwyn on his horse. She looked down upon Rachel and Arturo as they passed by, smiling haughtily. Rachel simply held her head high and urged Arturo onward.

Mathias was the only person from their former lives that would speak to them. They came across him while searching among the survivors for a place to bed down for the night. He told them how Noah had lasted for the first part of the siege, only to fall when the wall was breached. Mathias' companion Mica had also fallen after the breach. For that evening, the three came together in mourning, but when morning broke Rachel and Arturo were on their own again.

Together, they carried on.

***

"Rachel, sweetie, are you okay?"

Rachel's eyes focused and she turned her head to face her father. "I'm fine, Daddy. Why do you ask?"

Her father swallowed thickly yelled over his shoulder. "Jim, honey, where the hell is that towel?"

"Towel?" Rachel asked fuzzily.

"Baby, your nose is bleeding all over the place."

Rachel blinked tiredly as her dad handed her father a kitchen towel. "Caleb," he said, "this is the best I could do."

Rachel's father shook his head. "This will be fine, honey."

The towel was rough against Rachel's face as she put the pieces together.

She had spend the afternoon waiting with Noah until his mother got home, which she did at 5:15 sharp with his little sister Bekah in tow. After explaining, with full on theatrical tears and a very stretched version of the truth, that Noah was merely defending her honour as any good Jewish young man might, Ruth Puckerman had insisted that Rachel stay for dinner.

Rachel had politely declined, as her fathers would be expecting her, and was only permitted to leave after promising to come on another night. She'd then gone home and popped in West Side Story for the millionth time. Rachel was sure she'd fallen asleep before the vision had come on, but maybe she hadn't. The last thing she remembered before the vision hit was listening to 'America.'

The visions seemed to have nasty side effects when they took her by surprise.

Hence Rachel's current situation with her fathers staring at her with concern, holding a bloodied towel under her nose. When the bleeding finally stopped, they looked to her for an explanation. "Rachel, sweetie," her father began, "you aren't doing drugs are you?"

"What?" Rachel and her dad chimed in unison.

Caleb Berry stared at them. "Nosebleeds are a common side effect of cocaine use. Cocaine is a stimulant that some people use to keep on top of their many activities."

Jim Berry stared right back. "Our daughter is not a drug addict, Caleb."

Caleb sighed. "I know that. It's just that this is the second time she's had one this month and she's never had them before. Aren't I allowed to be worried?"

"Cocaine, darling, really?"

"It was the first thing that came to mind."

Rachel sighed. "Dad," she said, "Daddy, I assure you that I am fine. I can also assure you that, except for one incident where they were prescribed by the school nurse, I have never used any kind of stimulant to stay abreast of my highly structured lifestyle. That being said, I believe that the nosebleeds are simply a side effect of the lack of humidity in our home. Perhaps we should invest in a humidifier?"

Rachel's dad kissed her hair. "That sounds like a great idea, pumpkin. We'll pick one up while we're in Cleveland this weekend. How about you go wash your face and get ready for supper."

Rachel nodded, collecting the bloody towel from her father and leaving him alone with her dad to discuss possible makes and models for humidifiers.

She hated lying to them, but who could blame her for stating the first reason to come to mind?