Don't Dream It's Over

There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're traveling with me

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win
-Crowded House

Nick felt someone pulling on his hand. He came aware slowly. First, he realized that he was hurt. His arm hurt even worse than his leg had when it had been infected. Second, he remembered the bomb, the explosion. Third, he remembered grabbing Logan.

He sat up, wincing at how badly it hurt. At first, as he opened his eyes, he thought he'd gone blind for a second but slowly his eyes adjusted to the dark. He saw Logan sitting next to him pulling on his hand desperately. Nick lifted the boy and cuddled him to his good side. He realized as he tried to get up that his leg was broken. Well, fuck.

"Have they found them yet?" Kate asked dully a day later. Elise exchanged glances with Ralph, worried.

"No, there's no sign of them," Ralph said.

"Then... could they be okay?" Kate ventured.

"It was a really big explosion," Ralph said gently. "If they had been inside..." Kate knew what he wasn't saying. "They've searched the back yard, there's no sign of them there. The fence was broken though."

"So, it's possible, they might have been blown free."

"Don't get your hopes up," Ralph cautioned. "We don't know."

"I'm going to help look," she announced.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Elise said looking worried.

"Are you sure?" Ralph asked.

"Yes."

"Then I'll go with you," he announced.

"Thank you, Ralph," Kate said. They walked out to the truck and drove to the house. Kate's heart dropped when she saw the house. There was a group of people there, they came out to meet them.

"We haven't seen any sign of him," a man told Kate gently. "Or the boy. I'm sorry."

"You've scoured the woods?" Ralph asked.

"That's what we were doing when you drove up," the man said.

"We came to help," Ralph said.

"Okay, come with me." He led them into the back yard. "Please, excuse me for speaking plainly," he asked Kate. "As far as we can see they were blown through the fence and fell down this hill. We've been all over the hill and... we saw some blood, but no sign of them."

"Thank you," Kate said stiffly. She walked with Ralph down the hill and searched with him. It was close to dark when Ralph announced that they should go back. "I can't," she said walking further. "I can't let this be it."

"We can come back tomorrow and-" Ralph started; he then froze, hearing a baby cry.

"Logan," Kate gasped. She ran towards the soft sound and almost fell into the ditch. "Logan!" The crying went on. "Ralph, we need a flashlight."

"Here you are," Ralph said coming up beside her with some others. He shined the flashlight into the ravine. Kate gasped seeing Logan sitting on Nick's lap. "Nick!" Nick looked up, blinking into the light.

"We need a rope," a man called.

"They're alive," Kate murmured the relief making her eyes well up with tears. "Thank God..." Someone brought the rope and the lowered one of the guys into the ditch.

"Are you okay?" the guy asked. Nick rolled his eyes, was he actually expected to answer? He pointed at his leg and handed Logan to the man. The man carried Logan up and handed the crying toddler to Kate.

"Logan," Kate gasped cuddling him close. His sobs tapered off. The man went back down and helped Nick up. After checking him over he tied the rope around his waist and they pulled him up slowly. It was now dusk.

Kate hurried to Nick's side, he smiled weakly, seeing her. "Are you okay?" she asked. She brushed a hand gently across his face, scared she'd hurt him with any other contact but having to touch him. He gave a comme ci, comme cá motion. "I was so scared, I thought..." she stopped herself. "Let's get you to the hospital."

He nodded, painkillers were a phenomenal idea. Four men carried Nick to Ralph's truck a gently deposited him in the back. Ralph sped to Dr. Richardson's office. Dick came out to meet them.

"Nick? My God, you're alive," Dick breathed. "I'll go get a stretcher." They brought Nick into the clinic. Kate sat with him through the whole check up, she held his hand as they set his leg, and helped them treat then wrap his burns.

"Go home," Nick told her finally, in a note. It hurt his left arm to much to move it needlessly. "You look exhausted."

"No," she said. "I'm fine. I don't want to go." He sighed but nodded. The painkillers were starting to kick in and he really didn't have the energy to argue. "You saved Logan's life. I can't even bare to think of how close I came to losing you, to losing both of you. I love you, Nick. So much." He reached out and took her hand. As the drugs took over he drifted off to sleep.

When Nick woke up he saw that Kate had dozed off with her head resting on the bed. He smiled faintly, running a hand through her hair. His arm still hurt and his leg felt horrible but the painkillers were still doing their job. Dr. Richardson walked in. He smiled faintly seeing Kate asleep.

"I told her to go home," he said.

Nick smiled pulling out his notebook. "Me too. What happened?"

"I think I should let someone else tell you that," Dr. Richardson said. Stu, Glen, and Ralph walked in. Ralph was holding Logan who immediately held his arms out to Nick. Nick held the boy, amazed when Logan just cuddled up to his side.

"Nick, I thought... It's great to see you," Stu said blinking rapidly. Ralph had told him about Nick early this morning but he hadn't been able to really grasp it until he saw the younger man sitting in the hospital bed.

"It was Lauder, wasn't it?" Nick wrote.

"Yeah, it was," Stu said. "Mother Abagail's back." Nick's eyebrows rose. Meanwhile, Kate slept on. "Yeah, she's in real bad shape, but she's back."

"How bad was it?" Nick wrote knowing what they weren't saying.

Stu sighed. "Sue's dead." Nick winced. "Chad Norris, Andrea Terminello, Dean, Wykoff, Dale Pedersen, and Patsy Stone as well. Teddy Weizak just died this morning. We have people scouring the hills but..."

"But no one's going to find them," Nick wrote looking furious and hating that he hadn't been more vocal (so to speak) in his worries about Lauder. "They're long gone."

"Yeah. How do you feel?"

"I'm in a bit of pain but whatever Dr. Richardson has me on has me feeling pretty damn good. Is Frannie okay?"

"Yeah, she's banged around a bit, but she's alright." Nick sat back blinking, all those lives lost. Kate sat up and smiled faintly seeing Logan. He giggled, seeing her and held out his arms. She lifted him into her arms. She looked over, embarrassed to see the others.

"Sorry, is this committee business?" she asked, about to stand to leave the men alone.

"Not much of a point in that anymore," Glen said sourly. "There's not much of a committee left."

"You're fine," Ralph told her.

"Is Fran okay?" Kate asked.

"She and the baby are going to be fine," Stu told her.

"Good. Is Larry okay?"

"He's keeping watch over Mother Abagail," Ralph told her.

"Mother Abagail's back?" Kate asked looking alarmed.

"She came back the night the bomb went off," Glen said amazed no one had told her. "She's... Dr. Richardson thinks she may be dying but she's alive."

"Can I leave?" Nick wrote, handing the note to Dr. Richardson.

"As long as Kate promises to take care of those burns and you come back tomorrow," the doctor told him.

"I will," Kate nodded.

"Then I'll go get you some crutches," Dr. Richardson said. He left.

"We're having a town meeting tonight," Glen said. "It'd be good if you could be there, but we'll understand if you can't."

"I'll be there," Nick promised.

"I'm going to get back to Fran," Stu said.

"Give her our best," Kate said. Glen left with Stu. Dr. Richardson came back and helped Nick learn to walk with the crutches. Ralph helped Nick into the truck and drove them to the house Ralph and Elise had moved into. Nick wanted to sit up but Kate forced him to retire to a bedroom. "You need to rest," she told him. "Especially if you're going to that meeting tonight."

"Stay with me," he requested in a note.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said as he stretched out on his back. She sat Logan down who laid down beside Nick.

With a grin he signed, slowly because of his hand. "Well, he's got the right idea." Smiling back at him, she laid down.