Chapter Ten: Façade

Exhaustion was like a poison. Some mysterious venom seeping its way through the bloodstreams of unsuspecting victims, enveloping them into a rapid oblivion.

Oblivion strikingly similar to the one Tru had unintentionally sunken into moments ago. At that moment, she didn't want to sleep.

She wanted clarity.

And Jensen wanted to taint that. He wanted to obliterate what she knew so that she would come to trust him more quickly.

Not the other man. Not the man who had knowingly seduced her with his charm, wit and sincerity. Not the man who she had grown close to, who she had bonded with, even as they converged into the two complimentary halves of the yin and the yang.

Ironic how Life had come to trust Death enough to put her own life in his hands.

How could he not harm her? How could she not see through the charming façade he had seduced her with so ostentatiously?

Because this was the way of the universe. This was how everything was supposed to fall into place. Yin and yang together at long last. Yin and Yang ceremoniously joined together for all eternity.

And Jensen was afraid of this. He was afraid of what would happen once their undeniable bond was sealed with finality.

Sealed for good.

Jack somehow managed to catch Tru mid-fall and she now lay limply in his arms. He slowly eased himself down on his knees, gently placing her on the soft, grassy earth below. Thinking quickly, he whipped off his jacket and put it underneath her head.

"Tru," he whispered urgently, resisting the overbearing temptation to shake her awake. "Tru, wake up."

Gradually, Tru began to come to, eyes fluttering ever so slightly. She looked confused and disoriented at first until her eyes opened completely and she breathed in the once-familiar surroundings.

Yes, everything was looking quite familiar now.

A slow, ironic smile formed across the edges of her lips.

Perfect.

"Tru…"

Tru sat up quicker than Jack had expected. She turned towards him, her eyes dark and piercing, and her smile malicious and all-knowing.

"Hello, Jack."

The voice was unmistakably her own, but her tone – even the slightest of inflections – was haunting and sent involuntary chills up Jack's spine.

Jensen.

It had to be. Somehow he had managed to possess her.

"Surprised to see me like this?" Jensen continued, getting up from the spot where Tru had lay only moments before. "I know you are which is why I'm here like this in the first place. There's something you need to know."

"And what's that?"

"You can't protect her from what's to come, Jack. All of the pain and the suffering and the post-partum depression…"

"I know that, Jensen, but that doesn't mean that I don't love her. I'd die for her."

Jensen quirked an unsuspecting eyebrow as a wry smile creased over Tru's lips. "Would you now?" he questioned coyly. "Interesting choice of words, wouldn't you say?"

"But it's the truth. You know that because you love her, too. And this? Let me tell you, I don't find this clever little façade of yours all too amusing. I think you should leave. Leave her alone. Leave us alone."

"Not so fast," Jensen countered, holding up Tru's right hand in defense. "Consider this clever little façade a warning. A warning that I'm watching everything. That I know everything. Just to know how intricately involved you're going to be in my daughter's life makes me sick."

"Daughter?"

Jensen nodded all-knowingly. "Her daughter. My daughter. Our daughter. My innocent little girl is going to be raised by Death himself. Perfect. Death himself is going to be responsible for the life of my little girl. When she's hurt, all the blame will be on you." He circled around Jack almost menacingly and Tru's eyes seemed to ignite ferociously, as if they were nestled in the orange midst of raging fire. "Can you imagine?"

Jack was unhesitant as he seized Tru by the shoulders, shaking her roughly. "Get out of her. Leave. NOW!"

The expression spread over Tru's features was unnaturally evil.

"As you wish."

Her eyes fluttered momentarily as a now unconscious Tru fell into Jack's arms. She had a pulse and she was breathing, but Jack started to notice small droplets of sweat forming on her forehead.

Placing his hand on her skin's moist surface, his augmenting fears were confirmed.

Tru had a high fever and she needed medical attention quickly, especially now with another life at stake.

Son of a bitch, Jack cursed silently at Jensen.

But he had little time to do or focus on anything else.

Tru's life was at stake now.

And so was her daughter's.

Life had been meticulously placed in the arms of Death.

Once Life had breathed her last breath, Death had no adversary.

No opposite.

No soulmate.

The façade of the universe – one that was once perfectly balanced with two opposing forces – would dissolve into a reign of frantic chaos.

"Kira."

The bubbly five-year-old looked up.

"Hi, Daddy!"

She was lying on her bed, dressed in her blue flannel Tinkerbell pajamas.

"What are you doing?" Jensen asked, even though he knew exactly what she was doing. He approached her carefully, sitting beside her on the very edge of the small bed.

"I'm drawing a picture of my family. See?"

Jensen's eyes glazed over the picture. There were four stick figure people, each of which were donned in various squiggles of what was supposed to be multi-colored pieces of clothing. They were standing next to one another and next to the smallest stick figure was a big golden blob.

He noticed the labels under each one written in big capital letters. From right to left, the names read: MOMMY, DADDY 1, DADDY 2, ME and TRIXIE.

"Who's Daddy 1 and who's Daddy 2?" Jensen asked, pointing to the two tallest stick figures in the middle.

"You're Daddy 1, silly!" Kira exclaimed, giving Jensen a wide, happy grin.

"Come here, sweetheart," Jensen said, pulling Kira onto his lap.

She looked up at her father curiously as he ran his fingers through her wavy curls of hair and gently stroked her back.

"How's Mommy?"

"Fine," Kira replied. "But sometimes she cries a lot. I think it's because she misses you."

"Does she tell you that she does?"

Kira shook her head. "No, but I still think so. Are you gonna talk to her?"

"No, sweetie, not right now," Jensen told her, kissing her forehead. "I came to see you."

She giggled when he started tickling her stomach.

"Someone's ticklish!"

He almost regretted what was to come. What he had to do.

His daughter shouldn't have to go through this at the expense of her mother. It wasn't right. But it was the only way.

He had no choice.

Tru was much too stubborn to listen to him. But if it meant that her daughter's life was at stake then that was an entirely different story.

Jensen stopped tickling Kira as she looked up at him.

"Have you had dinner yet?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yup. Mommy made spaghetti and meatballs."

"I have a special treat for you," Jensen whispered, his voice dark yet gentle. "Look on your nightstand."

Kira's eyes darted towards her nightstand as they fell on a small plastic bowl with a spoon in it.

"Go see what it is."

The little girl sprung from her father's lap. "Oooh, it's chocolate pudding! That's my favorite!"

"I know."

Kira returned to her father with the bowl in her small hands and spots of pudding already on her lips and chin.

"Does that taste good?"

"Yummy," Kira chirped, in-between mouthfuls of the sweet concoction.

Jensen took the bowl from her when she finished.

"Let's get you tucked into bed now, okay?"

"Are you going to stay with me, Daddy?"

Kira's eyes were hopeful, pensive.

"Only for a little while, but then I have to go."

"Can we sit in the rocking chair?"

"Only if you promise me you'll go to sleep," Jensen told her quietly, lifting her into his arms as he stood up from her bed.

"I promise."

They settled into the rocking chair on the opposite end of the room. Kira was still in her Tinkerbell pajamas, her right arm securely tucked around Kanga, a brown kangaroo stuffed animal Jensen had given her when she was three years old. It had been her favorite stuffed animal ever since.

She rested comfortably against Jensen's chest; her breathing became soft and steady as her small form moving back and forth with each rhythmic, gentle rocking.

Rockabye, rockabye, rockabye, baby.

Sweet dreams, goodnight.

Sweet dreams, goodnight.

Sleep tight while I sing you this lullaby. Sleep tight while I sing you this lullaby.

The rocking chair creaked from lack of use, but Kira did not stir.

Almost an hour later, Jensen heard some movement and commotion come from down the hall. The footsteps were coming closer…

"Kira?" Tru called. "Isn't it a little past your -…"

Her dappled brown eyes fell on the man opposite her. The man who represented every facet of perpetual non-existence and was forced back into a realty his soul had shunned him from. He shouldn't be here.

Though he might be dead, it didn't mean he was gone. His eerie presence in this lively pulse called reality was a constant reminder to Tru.

And now he was holding her daughter in his arms.

Their daughter.

"Shhh," Jensen whispered, putting a finger to his lips. "She's sleeping."

"What are you doing here?" Tru hissed, quietly moving towards them.

"I'm spending time with my daughter. Since when is that a crime?"

Tru sighed deeply. "Will you just leave? I can take care of her."

Jensen slowed the rocking chair down until it almost completely stopped as Kira began to stir.

"Mommy," she mumbled drowsily.

"Sweetie, I'm right here."

"Mommy, I don't feel so good."

Tru knelt beside the chair, looking into her daughter's sleepy eyes. "What's wrong, baby?" she asked softly, stroking her hair.

"I'm hot."

Tru felt her daughter's forehead almost surprised to find it exceedingly warm to the touch. She had a fever and she was burning up.

"Tell me you didn't do this. Tell me you didn't drug her," Tru hissed again, her eyes piercing through Jensen's.

He smiled wryly.

"But I did." He stood up, carefully placing a sleepy, disoriented Kira in Tru's arms. "And I have the antidote," he breathed seductively into her ear.

"Mommy…"

"Shhh…" Tru whispered. "Mommy's got you now."

She carefully lay Kira on the bed, placing her above the covers.

There was a light knocking on Kira's door as Jack suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Is everything okay in here? May I come in?"

Tru turned to face her fiancée, noticing Jensen had disappeared. "Kira has a fever."

"What…"

"The question isn't what happened. It's more like why did he do it?"

Jack came over and stood beside Tru, putting a consoling arm around her shoulders. "And yet, why am I not surprised that he would pull something like this? What exactly did he do?"

Tru gestured to the empty bowl of chocolate pudding beside the foot of Kira's bed. "The least he could do is hide the incriminating evidence."

"Maybe he left it there for a reason."

Tru sighed.

"Jack, will you stay with her? I need to talk to him. She needs that antidote."

He kissed her cheek. "Of course."

"Mommy, where are you going? Don't leave!"

"Mommy's just going downstairs for a little while. She'll be back soon." Jack tried to consol the little girl as he settled down in a chair beside Kira's bed and Tru approached her daughter's side.

"Kira, baby. Mommy's gonna get you some medicine, okay? And then you're gonna feel all better. Daddy's gonna watch you until I get back."

Just then, Trixie trotted in and jumped on Kira's bed, lying down beside her.

Tru stroked her daughter's cheek and kissed her before quietly stepping out of her room as Jack opened the storybook, The Tales of Peter Rabbit, and started to read to her.

Jensen was already waiting for Tru in the kitchen as she came downstairs.

"Give me the antidote," Tru spat venomously, her dark eyes searing into his.

"Not if you ask like that," Jensen shot back.

"I don't have time for this, Jensen! Our daughter's life is at stake!"

He circled around her in full predator mode, his gestures insinuating every nuance of tantalizing seduction. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer to him and roughly kissed her neck. His lips on her bare, vulnerable flesh made her skin tingle and burn.

"Do you know what the name Kira means?" he breathed into her ear. Jensen opened the palm of his left hand, revealing what looked like a black jellybean in the middle of his palm.

"Black," he continued, as he felt her inhale sharply in response to their intimate contact. "I know you chose that name for a reason. All that blackness growing inside of you for so long… aching to come out early… wanting to be free… a bright façade seeped in darkness…"

"Stop."

Tru shifted uneasily in his gentle embrace and managed to regain her composure.

"Her antidote is a black jellybean?"

"It's not just any jellybean," Jensen told her, blowing softly on the small candy in his palm. Almost instantly, the jellybean changed colors, turning a bright cherry red.

"Give this to Kira," Jensen whispered. "It works just like a sedative. If she sleeps through the night, her fever should be gone by tomorrow morning."

"And if I don't give it to her?"

"Then you will face the consequences. But I know you, Tru. It's not in your nature to do something like that." Tru took the jellybean from Jensen's palm and swallowed.

Hard.

She pulled herself out of Jensen's embrace and whirled around gracefully to face him.

"You're wrong," she spat icily. "Although maybe it depends on what origin the name is. Japanese and Persian roots of the name mean something entirely different. Light. The sun. I'd like to believe I chose that name for a reason, too. Because she's become the light in my life. She's my everything."

Her voice broke.

"And if you really do love her as much as you say you do, you'll stop trying to hurt her to win back my affection. You know that Jack and I are engaged and we love each other. I love him. Nothing you ever say or do will ever change the way we feel about each other."

And with that, Tru walked away, making her way back up the stairs and into Kira's room, leaving a grinning Jensen alone amidst the unsuspecting dark of night.

"We'll see about that."

Kira looked at the jellybean with eager curiosity.

"That's my medicine?"

"Yes, sweetie. Now just eat it, okay? You'll feel better by tomorrow morning."

The little girl willingly obliged as she took the candy from her mother's hand, popped it in her mouth, chewed slowly and swallowed.

"All gone?" Tru asked.

Kira opened her mouth, revealing no jellybean to be seen.

Tru kissed her daughter's cheek. "That's my good girl," she praised.

Kira beamed with delight. "It tasted like cherries!"

Jack lifted her up carefully as Tru pulled back the blankets on her bed. He then settled her gently between them, putting Kanga in her arms while Trixie curled up beside her.

Jack gave Trixie a quick pat on the head. "Take good care of Kira for us, okay?"

Trixie whimpered in response.

Tru and Jack both noticed that Kira's eyes began to flutter as she reached the brink of sleep.

Once they were sure she was safely asleep, they left Kira's room and headed down the hall to their own bedroom.

Tru slipped into bed first, feeling Jack settle in a few minutes later beside her.

His lips caressed the perfect swell of her bare shoulder.

"You're doing fine," he reassured her. "Everything's going to be okay."

"I don't know, Jack," she replied, not making any immediate movement to face him directly. "Sometimes I'm not so sure."

"Jack… Jack…"

"I'm here, Tru," he told her, as her eyes slowly began to flutter open.

No sooner had they opened, she sprang into Jack's arms, holding onto him for dear life. It hadn't quite sunk in yet that she was in the hospital. All she wanted was to be enveloped in the reassuring comforts of Jack's embrace.

Someone who'd tell her it would all be okay.

Hot tears slid down her pallid white cheeks, staining his shirt with those painstakingly vivid memories. Memories that seemed so tangible, so real. Memories, dreams, visions, hallucinations…

Whatever they were, she could not deny their continuous existence in this bleak reality. She was twenty-two weeks pregnant, and this cold, unforgiving reality seemed to crack around the edges. But she had to hold on; she had to be strong.

For herself.

And also for what was growing inside of her.

For her daughter.

There was no disillusion; there was no clever façade; there was nowhere to hide.

This was reality in its prime.

Ripe and fresh.

"Shhh," Jack soothed. "It's okay. You're safe now. I promise. You're safe now."

And she believed him.

For here, in his arms, she felt safe again.

Whole again.

He held her in his arms for what seemed like beyond an eternity. And she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay like this – with him – forever.

His fingers weaved effortlessly through her intricate tangle of brown curls.

He hated seeing her like this. He was watching her gradually sink into the dangerous abyss of a black depression.

And he swore, by every fiber in his being, that he would not let control her. Rather he would help her learn to take control of what was rightfully hers.

Because all was not lost.

Not yet.

When she pulled away, he brushed the tears from her eyes.

Then he kissed her.

It was slow and deep, leaving an overwhelming passion in its wake. This act of love was nothing innocent. Nothing lustful.

Just pure passion.

No charming façade.

They broke apart for some much needed oxygen, each eagerly waiting for whatever was to come in every imminent lapse of time and space.

"Jack," Tru whispered, as her eyes became lost in his. "I saw her."

"Saw who?"

He moved closer; she could feel his warm breath on the base of her neck.

"My daughter," she said. "Our daughter."

Author's Note: Wow… another long chapter has finally come to a close. First of all, a huge thank you and many hugs for those who've been continuously tuning in with me time after time (you know who you are). You guys make this endlessly fun yet tedious process extremely worthwhile. There are a few things I'd like to mention about this chapter. First off, I did a little research on the name Kira and came up with the following results: Celtic and Gaelic roots of the name indicate the name Kira means "black". I also found another description saying it means "dark lady". But what gave me the chills is, upon further research, the Persian/Japanese roots of the name mean "light" or "the sun". I used it to my best advantage in this chapter because it was just too fitting to resist. And considering the TITLE of the fic itself, it's perfect. I swear, I didn't know the origins of the name Kira before this; I just loved the name and thought it was perfect to name Tru's little girl! Second, as you may infer by my pen name, I am hopelessly obsessed with cherries (among other things), so I had to do the cherry jellybean thing. And third, Kira's stuffed animal, Kanga, does exist. She's my favorite stuffed animal, and I've had her since I was three years old. So I've had her for seventeen years now! For these future scenes, I wanted to emphasize the whole "two fathers" conflict and how Tru still feels so torn. This story should be wrapping up soon. I've written part of Chapter Eleven entitled "Delivery" for those who want to know. And after that, I will close with the epilogue. Lots of good stuff to come and be expecting Tru's little girl to finally be born in the next chapter! ;)

On yet another side-note, summer school is still as hellacious as ever, but I will try and get Chapter Eleven up at least by August, if not sooner. Review replies will also be sent out as soon as possible. Thank you all, once again, and stay tuned for more! ;)