Triplets in Love

By: Raven in Red

The Gardener triplets are divided once more as they each pursue a different path in their lives. But as their relationships go through difficult times, they come to discover that their bonds of sisterhood are stronger than any other facet of their lives. Long story, told in three parts, please R&R

Part Three: Sisters Forever

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Biggest Choice She Ever Made

After a long day of planning and prep, the time had come. Lily, Jasmine, Jack, and five of the best members of Jack's pirate crew were suited up and ready to break Lionel free.

"Now, let's go over our individual tasks one last time," said Lily. She, Jasmine, and Jack were still in the sitting room of the farmhouse while the crew was waiting outside in the carts that would carry them to the prison. "Jasmine?"

"I stay here with the girls and make sure everything is ready for Lionel's arrival," said Jasmine.

"Jack?" Lily turned to her pirate brother-in-law.

"I get the keys and take out anyone that gets in my way," said Jack.

"Perfect," said Lily. "And I'll go straight to Lionel's cell and keep him calm until everything's ready."

"Alright," said Jasmine. "I wish you both the best of luck." She hugged Lily and hugged and kissed Jack before gently pushing them out the door.

"Don't worry, Lily," Jack said as the two of them climbed into one of the carts. "This is all going to work out."

The ride to the prison felt like the road to hell, paved with anticipation and uncertainty. Lily's knees were shaking before she even climbed out of the carriage.

"Ready?" Jack asked once he had assembled his crew. He turned to Lily.

"Yes," Lily said firmly. "Yes, I am."

"Good luck, my dear sister," Jack said, leaning down and pecking Lily's cheek just before taking off with his crew. Once she was finally alone, Lily took a deep breath and took long, bold strides toward the prison door. She pinned her arms firmly to her sides until she felt the stiffness of the daggers she had tucked in the inner pockets of her vest. She and Jack had stayed up late into the previous night reviewing hand-to-hand combat techniques. With enough luck, Lily would be as stealthy and quick as a mountain lion.

"Lady Beckett!" the guard greeted her when she approached the door. Luckily, it was the same guard that had escorted her the first time. "Come to interrogate Williams again?"

"Absolutely," said Lily, following the guard close at his heels as he led her into the prison. "He gave me nothing satisfactory the last time I conversed with him, but I am nearly positive that he is hiding something, so I would like to make one last attempt before his trial and execution tomorrow."

"Your husband certainly acknowledges how diplomatic you are, Lady Beckett," said the guard.

"That is quite a bold statement, and it is certainly not appropriate for the situation at hand," Lily snapped, letting the guard know she meant nothing but business.

"I… I apologize, Lady Beckett!" the guard stammered. "I meant no disrespect!" Finally, the duo arrived at Lionel's cell.

"Thank you, sir," Lily said to the guard with a polite bow of her head. "You have been most helpful tonight." Then, in one sudden smooth motion, she reached into her pockets, retrieved the daggers, and painted a bloody red X deep across the guard's throat. It was only a short matter of time before he was dead at Lily's feet.

"Lily!" Lionel gasped in surprise. The sound had probably woken him up.

"Yes, Lionel, I'm here," said Lily, kneeling in front of the cell. It was then that she got a look at his face. "Oh, my God, are those tears in your eyes?"

"I thought you weren't going to come for me," Lionel whispered, his voice still a little choked up. "I thought it was a lost cause. My trial is scheduled for tomorrow, and they most certainly would have found me guilty and I would have been hanged as a pirate." Another tear escaped from his eyes and trickled down his face.

"Don't cry," Lily cooed, taking a handkerchief from her vest and gently drying his tears. "Everything is going to be just fine. We're going to get you out of here."

When his sobs had calmed to deep breaths, Lionel clasped Lily's hand and brought it tenderly to his lips. "Thank you so much, Lily. I owe you my very life."

The two waited in silence for a little while. As Lily held Lionel's hand, she began to think. She and Lionel were both right about her relationship with her husband. Beckett may be her husband and the father of her daughter, but in the end he would always be ruthless, cruel, and, as much as it pained Lily to think it, evil.

"Ready?" Lily was interrupted from her pensive trance by Jack's voice.

"Absolutely!" Lily stood up immediately. She quickly snatched the keys from Jack and unlocked Lionel's cell. "Mr. Williams," she said, extending her hand. "You are free to go." Lionel took Lily's hand and pulled himself to his feet.

"Great," said Jack. "Now, let's go!"

"You go on ahead and make sure the coast is clear," said Lily. "There could still be more guards that we haven't accounted for. You go ahead and scope things out and come find us along the east wall when the coast is clear."

"Good plan," said Jack. With that, he and his crew took off down the main corridor.

"Lily," Lionel began. Lily had a quick decision to make. Before Lionel had another chance to speak, she took his face in her hands and swiftly brought her lips to his.

"Let's go!" Lily whispered once they had pulled apart. Without another words, the two joined hands and took off down the corridor.

"Lily, might I ask a question?" Lionel asked. He and Lily were hiding in the shadows along the east side of the prison, waiting for Jack to catch up with them when the coast was clear.

"What would you like to ask, Lionel?" Lily decided to play along.

"Why did you kiss me?" he asked, pausing to pass her a quick smile.

"Do you want me to kiss you again?" Lily asked with a mischievous smile.

"Well, of course I do, but I would just like to know what made you do it in the first place," said Lionel.

"It's hard to talk about," said Lily, her expression suddenly turning south.

"I'm listening," Lionel said kindly, reaching over and giving her hand a quick squeeze.

"I… can't stand being my husband's wife any longer," Lily admitted. "He does terrible things to innocent people and the only thing that really keeps us together is the fact that we have a daughter together. I've just always been too afraid to say no to him."

"You're very brave to admit that, Lily," said Lionel. "But what are you going to do about your daughter if you leave him?"

"When I leave my husband, I will be taking Victoria with me," said Lily. "I love Cutler and I know that it's going to hurt him and I know it's purely selfish on my part, but it feels like what I just have to do."

"You're a very honorable woman, Lily," said Lionel. "Any man is lucky to have you, but that man must also respect you." He leaned in for another kiss, but they were interrupted as soon as their lips touched.

"Lily?"

Lily sighed and placed her hands angrily on her hips. "What do you want, Holly?" she demanded once the familiar head of red hair became visible under the moonlight.

"I knew you would go through with it," Holly sighed.

"You told James, didn't you?" Lily's voice was eerily calm.

"Yes, I did," Holly sighed again. "He's on his way right now to put a stop to your plan."

"And you're here to warn me and try to make amends," said Lily.

"Yes!" said Holly. "Now, why are you being so defensive? From a mother to a mother and a sister to a sister, we're supposed to support each other!"

"But you already betrayed me," said Lily, "and Jasmine. You can't just fix things with one little apology. Actually, I don't actually recall an apology."

"Fine, don't listen to me," said Holly. "Have a lovely time getting arrested and hanged. And I'm sure your husband would be interested to know that you're kissing another man!"

Lily could actually feel her heart sinking as Holly stormed away. She squeezed Lionel's hand as hard as she could. She knew deep down that Holly was most definitely going to tell her husband about her kiss with Lionel, especially after everything she had already done. "Lionel…" she whispered.

"Yes, Lily?" Lionel leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

"Run!" Lily whispered sharply.

"Lionel!"

The first sound the group heard when they returned to the farmhouse was Jasmine's excited shriek. Lionel's hand was then wrenched from Lily's as he embraced the woman he had selflessly rescued.

"Lionel, how have you been?" Jasmine had the biggest smile on her face and tears cascading from her eyes. "I haven't seen you in ages and I've been so worried!"

"I'm alive, well, and broken out of prison, all thanks to your brave sister!" Lionel declared. It was then that Jasmine noticed him and Lily holding hands.

"What's going on here?" she asked with a wink.

Lionel and Lily couldn't hide their smiles. "Alright," said Lily, "Jasmine, I want you and Lionel in the sitting room. Everyone else, out." Once the room was clear, she and Lionel and Jasmine took their seats.

"You sister here has come to a decision," Lionel announced. He and Lily had spent some time rehearsing how they would reveal their new relationship.

"Let me guess," said Jasmine. "You're finally leaving Cutler after Holly and I have been dropping hints for months."

"Uh…" Lily was caught off guard. Her grip on Lionel's hand tightened even more. "Yes."

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that," said Jasmine, letting out a long sigh of relief. "That man is poison, and I still haven't forgiven him for what he did to me."

"Truth be told, neither have I," said Lily, looking down into her lap.

Lionel spoke up. "When she first came to visit me in prison, she was terrified of the possibility. She didn't want to admit her desire to leave him, but she told me. She is taking charge once more and making decisions for herself."

"All our lives, we've been pushing Lily to be her own person," said Jasmine. "We never wanted her to be tied down the way she always seemed to be."

"I should have never let Father arrange our marriage," Lily admitted.

"Sweetie, I'm sure he never could have seen this coming," Jasmine said reassuringly. "Cutler was still a decent man when you and Father first met him, and Father was gone before any of this happened."

"After Father's death, I relied on Cutler too much," said Lily. "It was like my way of filling the gap that his death ripped in my heart." Everything fell silent. "Now I'm terrified of how I'm going to avoid Cutler. He nearly owns the world at this point, and it scares me. He'll come after me as soon as someone drops my name."

"We're going to get you away from here," Jasmine declared bluntly. "You and Lionel are going to pack up tonight and take off with Jack… tomorrow. I'll stay here and take care of Victoria for you. As far as Cutler is concerned, you are the only one involved in releasing Lionel, so I should be perfectly safe to take care of my niece for you." When she saw the look of terror on her sister's face, she softened her tone a little. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but this is the only way to keep you safe."

Lily could no longer hide her tears. She went from a slightly quivering lip to all-out open sobbing, and she stood from her seat and stormed out of the room. Lionel was close at her heels.

"Lily?" He managed to chase her down and secure his arms around her, pulling her to his chest so she could cry in peace. "Lily, it's alright. You know I'm not going to let you be put in danger. I'm going to protect you with all I have left in this world."

"Do you promise?" Lily struggled to say.

"Absolutely." Lionel looked her straight in the eye to speak that one word. "I will not abandon you… not now and not ever."

"But you could get killed because of me, and I don't want that," Lily pointed out just before surrendering to her sobs again.

"Shh, come here," Lionel cooed, bringing Lily to his chest once more, allowing the steady beating of his heart to calm her. "If I must die, then I would rather die protecting a beautiful woman that I might very well love."

"Love?" Lily's face now bore a look of shock when she gazed back up into his eyes.

"I had a lot of time to think about you between the time you first visited me and tonight," said Lionel. "Now, I know this must be very overwhelming for you, but I must tell you how I feel… I feel that, if a woman is willing to risk everything, even her very life, to rescue me from my own certain death, then that woman must remain in my life and will be the woman I fall in love with."

"I… Lionel, I… don't… know what to say," Lily stuttered, her tears finally drying.

"Then don't say anything." Swiftly, he pulled her in for a kiss.

Author's Note: So, how do we like Lily and Lionel? I must admit that, even though he's attractive, I've always despised Beckett's character so I knew I had to do away with his involvement in Lily's life.