"Calm down, kid, they'll be back soon," Reggie rolled her eyes heavenwards. Molly's lips tugged down in a grimace as she played with the hem of her over stretched shirt. "Jesus, you need to sit down and put your feet up. You're seven months pregnant. Back me up here, Lottie," Reggie glanced at the mousy haired woman.

"I second that motion," Lacey said over her glass of wine. Molly grumbled an expletive. Four days ago, Barney had begged and pleaded with Billy to come and assist on a mission. Billy had gone, promising Molly he'd return soon.

In the hopes of elevating Molly's sour mood, Reggie, Lacey, and Lottie had all shown up with wine and sweets. Molly had contented herself with a no-caffeine pop, though.

"So, is it a boy or a girl?" Lacey asked, twisting so she was facing the pregnant woman. Molly grinned.

"We decided to wait. I think it's a girl," Molly confessed, "But Billy thinks I'm full of it."

"What about names?" Reggie wondered.

"Gabriel Thomas, if it's a boy, and Alyssa Mae, if it's a girl."

"Those are really pretty!" Lottie enthused. Molly smiled and ducked her head.

"It took us forever to agree on them," she admitted.


It was around three in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. Molly started to rise, but Reggie beat her to it.

"No, sit down, Preggo, I'll get it. It's probably the Girl Scouts or some damn thing.." Reggie rose. Molly called for Chinook and Roza and made them sit at her feet.

"Make sure you get some Thin Mints!" Lacey shouted after Reggie. Molly grinned at Lottie across the room.

A moment passed before the door closed.

"That was quick," Lacey noted gleefully. Then Reggie appeared in the hallway. Her face was pale and her hands were raised.

Molly was on her feet in an instant, reaching for the Colt she kept on her bookshelf. A gunshot made her flinch as the bookshelf splintered. Molly wrapped her arms around her pregnant belly protectively. The dogs bared their teeth in a silent snarl, but made no move towards the intruder

"Don't move." A middle aged man, probably around her father's age, stood in her hallway, a gun on her and a gun on Reggie. He had thinning black hair and a deeply lined face. Lottie and Lacey had risen. Lottie was shielding the other woman.

"What the f*ck do you want?" Reggie demanded acidly. She had shifted her stance to defensive and her hands were clenched into fists at her side.

"I want you all to sit down on the couch and shut the f*ck up, how'd that be, Frasier?" the man bit back. Molly shared a brief glance with Reggie. The ginger nodded.

"Slowly, and don't get any f*cking ideas!" he warned, keeping his gun on them. The click of a hammer being drawn back drew all eyes to Lottie, who held Molly's stashed Webley revolver.

"What the f*ck are you doing here, Charles?" Lottie demanded. There was a quiet ice to her usually gentle voice. It didn't belong there and it gave Molly a bad feeling.

"You know this guy?" Lacey's voice had rose an octave. Molly swallowed hard, searching Lottie's face.

"Know her? Ha! I practically raised her! After her daddy left her all alone and her mommy went off the deep end," Charlie sneered. Molly felt the blood drain from her face.

"Did I ever tell you that I met your dad when I was a kid? My dad ran with him for a while," James' easy Cajun accent echoed in her head.

"I didn't know this, but she had been pregnant. Charlie never passed the message on to me... Ariana took care of James when he was little," Her father's voice added.

Molly felt like throwing up.

"You're Charles Devereaux," Molly said numbly, "and you're Ariana Donner's daughter," her eyes trailed over Lottie.

Lottie winced, but kept her gun trained on Charlie.

"Yeah, Molly, but now's not the time for that. All you need to know is that I have never intended you any harm," Lottie swore. And for some insane reason, Molly believed her. "Now, what the hell are you doing here, Charlie?"

"Didn't you hear, little Lottie? The Expendables are out of town, and the girl responsible for my boy's death is all alone," Charlie leered at Molly, "James and Ariana are both dead because your father couldn't keep it in his pants!"

"Don't f*cking act like they were victims, Mister Devereaux! Ariana Donner was a jealous bitch who killed my mother," Molly seethed.

"You shouldn't mouth off to a man with a gun, Molly Booker, didn't dear old Johnny teach you that? Oh, that's right, he left you, too," Charlie scoffed.

"Enough, Charlie, git on outta here and maybe I won't kill you," Lottie threatened.

"Somebody's gotta pay for my boy, Lottie," Charlie said viciously, "and since Johnny's hidden away his new squeeze and little boy, so I'm just going to have to content myself with his wayward daughter," Charlie sneered.

"She hasn't done anything. You've got a beef with John Booker, then settle it with him," Lottie ordered.

Charlie grimaced and Molly only had a split second. Reggie's skinny frame knocked into her, taking her down to the floor. Her head snapped against the solid wood and black engulfed her as two gunshots rang out.

Charlie fell, blood spraying from his neck. Lottie clapped a hand over her arm. Blood oozed through her fingers like red silk ribbons.

"Christ!" Reggie inspected Molly's prone form as Charlie sucked in his last, wet breath. "Call a f*cking ambulance!"


Molly came to as her center of gravity was shifted. She felt firm hands lifting her and she rolled to her side.

"You've gotta stay still, Molly," Reggie's panicked voice broke through her haze.

"Is she ok?" Molly's tongue felt too thick, but fear rose in her belly. She had fallen, she had landed on her side, they had to make sure her baby was ok. "Is my baby ok?!" her voice sounded shrill to her ears.

"Please, Mrs. Timmons, just calm down, we're on our way to the hospital," an unfamiliar voice said.

"Reg- Reggie," Molly caught the ginger's hand, squeezing firmly, "My baby has to live, no matter what."

The older woman, understanding Molly's meaning, nodded once, her eyes serious.

"Where is she?! Where's Molly!?" Billy demanded, shoving past the nurses. Dirt and blood stained his fatigues and face. He looked like he'd just fought his way out of hell.

"Sir, please, keep your voice down," the receptionist said coolly.

"Where the hell is my wife!?" Billy snarled in a rare show of temper. Barney caught his shoulder firmly and gave him a stern look.

"Molly Booker-Timmons, she was brought in by ambulance with a trauma to the head, she's about seven months pregnant," Barney told the receptionist. The woman finally looked up at them. Fear and shock flashed across her pointed features. Seven large, muscled men wearing blood stained fatigues tended to make people do a double look.

"Room 407..." she said blankly, never tearing her eyes away from them.

Billy was off like a jet, the team on his heels. He bumped past doctors, not even offering a glance back at them.

Reggie rose to her feet in the small waiting area, opening her mouth, but he burst into the room. A loud wail greeted him from Molly's arms.

"Damn it, Billy Timmons, I'd just gotten him to sleep!" Molly cursed. Billy's knees nearly buckled.

Sitting up in a hospital bed, a cut on her brow butterflied shut, was Molly in a white hospital gown. Cradled in her arms was a tiny, pink infant with a head full of dark blond curls.

Billy swept forward and kissed Molly hard on the mouth, relief coursing through his veins.

"Are you alright? Is he alright?" Billy asked, pulling away anxiously. Molly smiled sadly.

"Just skeletons from my dad's closet, Kid, nothing to worry about. You look like hell, though," she noted. Billy let out a weak laugh. "Wash your hands then come hold your son," Molly said, shooting a look to his grime caked hands.

Billy went over to the sink and squirted some hand soap into his palms. The water turned brown in the stainless steel sink.

"What happened?" he glanced over his shoulder. The baby had finally stopped crying.

"Well, Charles Devereaux came. He got the drop on us. We took care of him, though," Molly stated, offering Billy the baby. "Meet little Gabriel. Reggie thinks he looks like you, but I think she's full of it. He looks like any other baby."

Billy carefully held the blanket swaddled babe, peering down at him.

"He's healthy and everything? You were only seven and a half months-" Billy trailed off nervously.

"He's fine, Billy," Molly promised, grinning broadly. Billy smoothed his son's hair back carefully, marveling at his small size.

"I love you, Molly Timmons," Billy told her.


The next morning, when Billy had gone home to take a shower, the women came in to keep Molly company.

"So, the question is," Reggie said from her place by the window, her voice was hard, "Are you going to tell the guys that you're Lottie Donner?"

Lottie, looking very small in the plastic waiting chair, shrunk inwards.

"She saved our lives, Reggie, let up," Molly warned as she nursed Gabriel.

"She's also your damn half sister!" Lacey exclaimed, "are we really going to ignore that?!"

Molly fixed the brunette with an even look.

"It's up to Lottie. But, for what it's worth, I think you should at least tell Toll. He deserves to know," Molly said.

"Three men can keep a secret if two of them are dead," Lottie said gravely, "You really think half of us can keep a secret from the other half? I can't ask Toll to keep this from his brothers."

"So tell them," Molly shrugged, "I'll back you up. You've been around for months. I think if you wanted to hurt me, you would have let Charles kill me."

Lottie lowered her eyes. "I never even meant to find you, Molly, you have to believe me. I just wanted to be nearer to Mrs. Devereaux in Shreveport."

"I believe you," Molly told her honestly.


A/N: Two more chapters left!

To my U.S. readers, I do hope you're all enjoying this Memorial Day Weekend, but please don't forget the men and women who have served and sacrificed for their country.

Thank you for reading.