Gwen groaned, her eyes fluttering open. What had just happened?

Gwen glanced around the room, blinking as she adjusted to the dim light streaming in through a hole in the ceiling. For the most part the room was dark, but she could make out shapes here and there.

Gwen peeked up at the ceiling and caught sight of the closed hatch—her heart stopping in her chest.

A bomb had gone off. Only seconds after Julian and Eve had made it in, had closed the hatch behind them.

Oh dear God, were they all right? Were Sheridan and Luis? What about Hank . . . ? Where the hell was he?

Gwen nearly jumped out of her skin when someone started to groan and twist underneath her.

"Oh my God, Hank!" Relief rushed through Gwen's body as his eyes began to inch open. "Hank, you're all right!"

Hank gazed up at her and brushed one finger down her cheek.

Gwen's stomach flipped.

Cupping Gwen's face in his hands, Hank captured her lips with his.


Across the room, Luis rolled his head on the hard cement floor and slowly opened his eyes. He felt Sheridan's soft body on top of him, noticed her heart beating against his. When the bomb had gone off, he had twisted himself underneath her in an attempt to break her fall—thank goodness he had succeeded. He didn't want to think about what might have happened to her—or to their child—if he hadn't.

"Sher?" Luis traced the side of her face. "Sher, are you okay?"

Sheridan's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Oh, Luis, thank God you're all right!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.

Luis started to rub her back; Sheridan froze in his arms.

"But the baby, Luis . . ." Sheridan's eyes filled with horror as she glanced down at her stomach. "What about our baby?"

"Are you having any sort of pains, Sheridan?" Luis immediately sat up.

"No." Sheridan said slowly, rubbing her abdomen as he helped her sit up. "But, Luis, what if I'm bleeding?"

Sheridan's eyes flew up to his, her heart beginning to race. What if she had just lost their baby?

"Sher . . ." Luis rubbed her back. "It's going to be okay. Just try to breathe." Luis surveyed her dress. "I don't see any blood. Do you?"

"No," Sheridan agreed. "Oh, God, Luis, what were we thinking coming down here?"

"Shh . . . shh . . . Sher . . . relax." Luis pulled her tight against his chest. "We had no way of knowing this was going to happen. How on earth would we have ever known that Alistair was capable of tracking us down while he's on the run?"

"Still, Luis," Sheridan sobbed. "I don't think I'll be able to bear it if anything happens to our child."

"Hey, I told you, I'm not going to let that happen." Luis rubbed her back and laid his forehead against hers, his own heartbeat relaxing as her breathing slowed down. "I'm right here with you, Sher."

Sheridan curled up against his chest and buried her head under his neck.

"Oh, God, what about everyone else?" Sheridan's voice trembled. "Julian, Eve, Gwen, and Hank . . . what about your father, Luis?"

Luis straightened, his eyes darting around the room as Sheridan softly cried.

"Papa? Papa, where are you?" Panic rose in Luis's chest.

"Martin? Mr. Fitzgerald?" Sheridan cried out.

"Papa, please answer us!"


Eve groaned as she woke up to the sound of Luis's and Sheridan's screams.

What had just happened? Had a bomb really gone off?

Eve rubbed her throbbing temples. "Julian," she breathed, squeezing his hand. "Julian, please wake up."

Julian moaned; his eyes inched open.

Eve's heart skipped a beat.

"Eve?" he groaned, rolling his head.

"Julian, you're okay!" Eve's voice caught in throat. "I thought I'd lost you."

Eve's heartbeat accelerated as Julian searched her eyes, as he feathered his fingers down her cheek.

"As long as I have any say in it," Julian whispered, "you will never lose me, Eve."