Lee caught signs of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned back to face Chen only to see the man leveling a weapon at him once again. The next events seemed to unfold in slow motion. Lee watched Yu squeeze the trigger and knew that, just like before, he had made a mistake by not finishing the job.
Barney had been easing his way into the home and saw Yu grab the gun, point and fire at the former SAS officer. But, Barney was just as quick, squeezing off a round from his own weapon at almost the same time as Chen.
Christmas stood transfixed and watched as the Expendables leader entered his home, killing Chen. However, not before the gunshot Yu fired found its mark, piercing Lee's side. The normally self-assured Brit seemed frozen in place, oblivious to everything except that Chen was now dead and Barney was the one who had done it, most likely saving Lee's life in the process.
Shady's blood-curdling scream seemed to break the trance. Lee looked up at Barney who responded, "Christmas, your wife."
And Lee turned and flew to the nursery. The site there froze him again. His very pregnant wife was tied up to the huge cabinet that filled one wall of the room, dried blood crusting the ropes that bound her wrists. Her head hung down but Lee could still see that her face was tear-streaked and she continued to cry, calling his name. Shady's face also showed bruising from Chen's slap. But, it was her lips that crushed him. In order to keep from crying out in her labor, Boots had bitten them so hard that she had brought blood, bruising them, shredding them.
He was in front of her immediately, speaking her name. She looked up into his ruggedly handsome face and started crying again, "Lee. You're alive. Oh, Lee"
He grabbed her, trying to hold her and work loose the restraints but he couldn't make them budge. "Barney," Lee yelled, "I need a knife. Hurry!"
Shady chuckled tiredly, "Lee Christmas doesn't have a knife. When does that happen?" She panted through each word.
And, for the first time since the ordeal began, Lee smiled genuinely, "Never again."
Barney appeared immediately, cutting through the ropes, and Christmas lowered his wife down gently. Shady was in obvious advanced labor, the contractions interrupting the questions and commands she was trying to issue.
"Get…Hercules," she waved toward the bedroom.
"Toll's got the dog, worry about you," Barney answered over the top of the couple.
"Why didn't you cry out?" Lee's voice broke, trying to give her comfort.
She shook her head, "Couldn't…distract you. What he wanted." Shady tried to speak around the pain as her husband kissed her forehead.
Hale and Yin had made their way into the home and she heard one of them tell Lee that the ambulance was on its way. Boots shook her head, "Don't think…there's time."
And when she looked at her husband, it registered that his shirt was bloodied. She grabbed at him, her whole tone changing again, "You're shot? Now's the time you get shot?"
Lee looked at her, grinning a bit, "Yeah, but it's just a scratch." But before she could argue, Shady cried out again as the worst pain she had experienced so far stopped her.
A calm voice coming from somewhere directly in front of her brought Shady's clenched eyes open, "Boots? I've done this before. I can help you." The former NCIS agent looked into the blue eyes of Gunnar Jensen, as he added, "Do you trust me?"
She grasped the man's hand with a tired smile and gave an answer that all of them heard, "As I do each and every one of you, as I always have and always will - I trust you with my life."
Gunnar nodded and took charge, ordering Lee behind his wife to help her sit up. Jensen helped her get into a position for delivery and gently eased up her dress-tail that was damp from where Shady's water had broken at some point. The other men gave the three privacy as Gunnar began to talk her through the birth. With each push, Shady gripped Lee's hands tighter and tighter, grateful that her husband was alive and with her for this event. Behind his wife, Christmas gave her quiet words of encouragement as she made the final last effort to bring their first child into the world.
"One more push, Boots," Jensen ordered. Lee helped her lean forward and Shady gave one more loud cry.
The baby's cries suddenly replaced the mother's. EMTs had entered the nursery just as Jensen delivered the Christmas' child. One of the medics knelt down and took over, "Nice job, sir. We can take it from here."
Shady and Lee smiled at the huge blonde mercenary who quietly moved out of the way, fading into the background. The emergency personnel quickly cut the cord and swaddled the crying baby and turned to the injured parents. Shady was immediately given an IV and put on a gurney, readied to leave.
"Wait, he's been shot," she pointed towards her husband.
"It's nothing," Lee argued.
"It is not nothing," Shady responded indignantly.
But before anything else could be said, Ross stepped in, "She's right. He's been wounded. He'll be going." And that ended that.
The Lee Christmas family was home. Despite the uncomfortable circumstances of the delivery, mother and baby were fine; Lee, not so much. The bullet had actually lodged in his ribs and required surgery to remove. He was released a day after Shady.
The rest of the guys had done yeoman work taking care of the house. Barney had reached out to both Church and Shady's friend, Mitchell Matthews, from the FBI. Together, the men were able to concoct a story of an intruder from Shady's former NCIS days trying to settle a vendetta. This kept Lee's SAS black ops connection shrouded. However, it would only be logical that a military consultant would know how to protect himself and his pregnant wife.
Yin, Hale and Gunnar worked on cleaning up the house, removing all the broken pieces of glass and furniture. Toll handled Hercules who had bloodied his paws trying to get out to protect his master and mistress. He doctored the big dog, feeding him and getting him ready for his new family to come home.
Barney had also called Shadow Powell to share the news with him – that he was a grandpa. He had made the trip from Sacramento and was waiting when his daughter and her child came in. He immediately helped her into the bedroom, bringing in the bassinette for the babe. Powell knew this was where Shady and Lee would keep the baby. Shadow doubted the nursery would ever see use. The Colonel also brought Christmas home after his release. The younger man couldn't contain himself, ready to see his wife and kid.
Shady was curled up on her side, head propped up on her hand staring down at the baby. She knew immediately when she was no longer alone. She smiled down at her sleeping child as she spoke, "You know how much I hate it when you stare."
Boots heard the deep chuckle as he joined her on the bed, picking up his son as he did. "He seems none the worse for wear."
And Shady repositioned herself on the pillows where she could watch father and son bond, "No he seems to know that unusual is the rule rather than the exception around here."
As Lee looked down at the sleeping boy, he spoke quietly, "I still can't believe I agreed to this name, though."
"Lee," she warned.
"The 'Thomas' doesn't bother me. I'm pleased to honor your father that way." Shady shook her head as he continued, "But Jensen? Really?"
"You know it was the right thing," Shady teased back.
"Yeah, well, don't expect me to call him that. I'm thinking T.J. sounds good enough," and he kissed the baby's head and laid him gently into the nearby bassinette.
Lee then turned around and settled himself comfortably on the bed next to his wife. She snuggled against him cautiously, aware of the bandages that were under the shirt. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head.
"I owe you an apology," he spoke quietly, seriously.
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do. I put you in danger. I've kept things from you in my past. I just don't know how…"
Shady put her fingers on his lips, "I know the risks. I've always known the risks. And I love you with all my heart and soul, Lee Christmas. Don't ever forget that."
He put his hand on hers, kissing her fingertips, "Thank you, Shady."
She leaned back and looked at him, "For what?"
"For saying yes, when I asked you to marry me. For saying yes, when I wanted children. For saying yes, when I asked you to come into the jungle fours year ago."
Shady smiled broadly, "You're welcome." And she kissed him with a sigh. Could life ever get any better?