V-Vindication

Brandon was a good man with an admirable code of ethics; He never once considered burying evidence or crossing the line. He knew that Guya would not want him to sacrifice himself for her but the truth was that he knew the system he worked for…and the system would say that her prints were all over the murder weapon. He had a plan and he might have gotten away with it without having to tell a soul if Gina and Owen had not tracked him down.

"What are you two doing here; shouldn't you be with your Aunt?" Brandon snapped.

"We could ask you the same thing," Owen retorted.

"Oh my God," Gina suddenly gasped. "Is that the piece of scum who put my aunt in the hospital? Did you kill Dan for her?"

He thought about lying to her but he knew it would be a waste of time and they did not have much of it left. "I wish I could claim responsibility for this," Brandon admitted.

"It…It was aunt Jane wasn't it," Owen correctly admitted.

"She woke up from the operation asking if he was dead; I know she could be confused but she was so hysterical that I figured I needed to check it out. There is only one person I would ever consider throwing out every code of ethics that I have ever stood by and that is your aunt…and now our daughter."

"You could lose your job Brandon," Gina pointed out.

"Do you think I care about that right now?"

"But she would," Owen said. "You are a standup guy Brandon and you have loved our aunt better than any man ever has…she needs you right now…let us take care of the garbage?"

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Keep your hands clean Brandon," Gina said. "Nobody is ever going to question how much you love her. We know how much you would sacrifice. Go back to the hospital. Keep her calm and be there for her. That is your job right now. Everything else Owen and I can take care of."

"Thank you," Brandon choked out. The thought of what could happen to his wife was eating him alive. He needed to make sure she would stay safe.

When Brandon was out the door, Gina and Owen got to work, dusting the hotel of any prints or incriminating Evidence.

"How are we going to get this bastard out of here," Gina asked her brother.

"We don't have many options do we?"

Gina shook her head as Owen picked up the phone and ordered room service. He made a request for the cook to leave the tray outside the door.

"You're a genius," Gina admitted.

"Let's just hope he fits," he quipped.

As Owen waited for the tray to arrive, Gina snuck downstairs into a supply closet and walked off with two hotel personnel uniforms. Owen smiled brightly when she returned.

"How did you…"

"I've done this before remember?"

"The dead hooker," he admitted and they both burst out laughing. They loaded Dan into the cart and changed into the uniforms.

They waited for the hallway to be clear and then hurried out the door. Neither of them looked up or said a word. They just needed to get the hell out of the hotel and quickly.

"I want to see our baby," Guya cried. "Please Brandon; Take me to our baby."

She was becoming agitated as she struggled to get out of bed and Brandon was afraid that she would hurt herself. She was acting as if he was trying to keep her away from Ellie.

"Don't fight me sweetheart; I'm not trying to keep you from her. I just need you to relax. Can you do that for me sweetheart?

She was breathing through an oxygen mask, but she was lucid.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "The last thing I want to do is fight with you; I just want to see my baby."

"Then calm down. I am not taking you anywhere if you don't control your blood pressure."

"What if I ask really nicely," she tried.

"I'll get you a wheelchair—don't you even bother protesting that…you had a baby and then you had an operation because you were losing blood faster than they could replace it…so do not fight me on this. I am not going to lose my wife when we barely even had a honeymoon."

She could see the tears brimming in his eyes and she reached out her hand to touch his face. He looped his fingers through hers and just enjoyed the silence for one brief moment.

"You are not going to lose me Brandon; you are not going to lose our child."

He knew the words she struggled not to say—Dan's attack had rendered her unable to bear any more children—once a Placenta separated from the Uterus, it was impossible to repair it.

"I want you to promise me something sweetheart; I want you to promise me that you'll tell me when you are hurting. I cannot fix what that bastard took away but I love you and I am always going to love you—even if this is as good as it ever gets."

"I love you too Brandon; but right now I really need to see my little girl."

"Then you have two options—wheelchair or I carry you."

"That's dirty pool."

"You are too weak to walk right now…so…"

She gritted her teeth and forced a smile. "Well it's no threshold but…"

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the ground. "Oh believe me sweetheart, the threshold is coming. I'm a traditional kind of a guy."

She smiled as she leaned her head against his chest. "How did I know you would say that?"

"Because you are a smart woman-not to mention the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

He kissed her softly on the lips before returning her Oxygen mask. "No more talking. You need to save your strength."

She could only smile to herself because she never knew a man who spent every day telling her such beautiful things and actually meaning them…she never knew a man who could love her in spite of her flaws.

She could only hope their daughter inherited that kind of temperament-she could only hope their daughter lived.

Gina and Owen drove to the ocean and rented a boat. They did some fishing until finally Owen cut a few open and tied them to Dan's wrists. They had dressed him in a yellow diving suit.

"Sharks are attracted to fish blood and yellow," Owen remarked before they pushed him into the bottom of the ocean. They started to row away before the sharks came for their dinner.

"This time tomorrow, that bastard will be in pieces. I just wish he was still alive to feel it," Gina said.

"You and me both."

They would return in their boat the following day, free of prints; tonight, they would return to their aunt and their new baby cousin. For her, they would do anything.