Chapter Twenty One
Day One
"Decompression Chamber. Decompression Chamber. Decompression Chamber," Tommy muttered as he held Kimberly in his arms and concentrated on the Command Center manifesting exactly what he needed. He needed to get her in to the chamber- immediately. Every second was precious. His next turn he saw what had to be a decompression chamber and quickly placed her in it. Celestria had not said how long she would need to be in that room, but the idea of it killed him.
The blade laid behind him, completely forgotten. He had watched her launch herself off the top of the tower to grab the blade and his heart had stopped. He could not believe that she was willing to do that. He could not believe that she had trusted what Celestria said enough to actually do that. He had been sure he had just watched her die to get a weapon. He was still not completely sure that he hadn't watched her die to get that weapon.
He listened to the decompression chamber pressurize and he then took the time to read the instructions on the front of the chamber. It conveniently said that it would slowly regulate back to Earth's pressure from Aquitar's and he could not help but wonder why it was not necessary for him to be in the chamber.
"Oh Kimberly. Please be okay. Please be okay," Tommy whispered as he laid down on the other side of the transparent door and felt the tears start streaming down his face. She had to be alright. He needed her and their baby to be alright.
Day Two
He had not thought that she would still be unconscious 24 hours in to this and as much as he wanted to go in to the decompression chamber and really check on her- he knew that that was a risk he probably should not take. He called Celestria to ask if this was expected and she had barely nodded. She was at least starting to move and he hoped that meant she would be awake soon.
Day Three
"Tommy," Kim croaked as she started to wake up and he jerked awake. He looked over at her and her eyes met his. "Water."
"Absolutely," Tommy said as he jumped up and ran off to grab her some water, as well as, some food. She may not have asked for food, but he was certain she would need it. When he returned she was sitting up and was looking around the chamber.
"How long?" Kim asked and he put the food in the small tube and listened to it pressurize before it opened on her side.
"Almost two days," Tommy stated and she barely nodded. He watched as she gulped down the water and forced herself to eat something. His gut told him to be easy on her, but his mouth did not register that in time. "Why?"
"There weren't any more hand or foot holds. It was the only way," Kim whispered and he watched as she placed her head against the glass. He lowered himself to where she was sitting and mirrored her actions to tilt his forehead as close to hers as possible. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to be able to comfort her and really be able to hear about everything that was going on in her mind. He could not do any of that. "Please tell me that I got it."
"You did," Tommy said and he nodded his head towards the blade. He had not really taken a look at it. He had been busy trying to find Billy's brother. That turned out to be nearly impossible. He did not like the conclusion that he had come to in order for this to end. "How are you?"
"Not great. Not horrible," Kim muttered as she splayed her hand against the glass and he lifted his hand up to be as close to hers as possible. "Tommy…I…I need for this to be over soon."
"I know and I'm working on it. I think I have a plan, but we don't need to talk about that now," Tommy said as she looked up at him and he forced a bit of a smile. She motioned for him to go ahead. She might as well know what he was thinking. "I doubt that I can just go in to this by myself- everything has depended on the two of us being together so far. Why would this be any different?"
"I agree- how long do I have to be in here?" Kim asked and he averted his gaze. He just knew that meeting her gaze on that was not wise. "You don't know."
"I don't. It claims it will release when it has equaled out to the pressure on Earth," Tommy stated and he watched as the tears started flowing. "Kimberly…if I had realized I would have locked myself in with you. I was so concerned about getting you in the chamber."
"I don't blame you. I blame Billy," Kim stated and she forced herself to get up and move around a bit. He agreed. And the kindest thing that they could do was keep him alive- even after all the betrayal that they now felt. They both knew that going after Billy would be a step too far.
Day Four
He checked the gauge and saw that it had fallen below the halfway point. He quietly settled across from her. He hoped that she could deal with strategizing some today.
"What's on your mind?" Kimberly asked and he chuckled. Of course she would be able to tell that he was thinking about something.
"I want to talk to you about what I think will work- to see if you're willing," Tommy stated and she barely nodded. He could see that she had expected this yesterday, but was glad that he had not pushed it. "I've tried to find him. I can't. But we know that he can find me. I think we go back to New York and we wait."
He was met with silence. He watched as she took in a deep breath and looked down at the floor. He did not like the idea, but he also felt that this was better than spending- maybe months- to find Billy's brother. He knew that once they were outside of the Command Center that it would only be a matter of time before he came for him.
"Are you sure?" Kim asked and he just nodded. He felt like they should not try to find him. Unless Billy's brother changed his M.O.- he was going to come to him fairly soon after he was out in the open.
"I don't like it, but I also don't think it makes sense for us to spend months here trying to find him. He'll come for me and I'll have the blade," Tommy stated and she bit her bottom lip. "I'm happy to consider something else."
"No, you're right. We can't continue to hide," Kim said and she glanced over at the gauge. "How much longer does it look like?"
"Maybe four more days. Maybe a bit less," Tommy muttered and he placed his palm against the glass. Her hand slowly moved up and met his. He wished he could touch her, but that just wasn't possible at the moment. "We'll take a day before we leave. I think we both need it."
"Yeah, yeah we do," Kim whispered and he pressed his lips together. The pain he heard in her voice was tearing in to him, but he knew that they would get through this. He knew that the pain would fade as soon as they could actually hold each other again.
Day Five
"Oh my gosh- is there not anything else in the kitchen?" Kim complained as she looked at the food he had passed her. He had not noticed that he had been making the same meals over and over. He just was cooking the things that he knew how to cook.
"Sorry- it's what I know how to cook," Tommy muttered as he glanced down at the plate and forced his feelings out of this conversation. She was stuck in that room. He was at least able to move around the Command Center, go out to the roof and enjoy the weather. The only new things each day was food, which she had opinions on. "Do you want something else?"
"Just- something different for dinner," Kim stated and he nodded. He really hoped that the gauge was accurate.
Day Six
"I would kill to be able to have sex right now," Kim muttered and he jerked around to face her. He had been trying to figure out which flights they could take and him transport the blade on the actual plane- not with it being placed as cargo. He had worked through the paperwork part of the process- now it was figuring out what kind of case they would need and all of the small details. He was now firmly derailed from that. "What? I'm allowed to have wants as well."
"No, you absolutely are. I just wasn't expecting that," Tommy said with a chuckle. He felt the blush creeping over his skin and he hoped that it was not super obvious. "We have maybe two days left."
"You better fix yourself a platter of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches- because I'm not letting you out of my sight for at least a day," Kim promised and he just nodded. He was fine with this idea. He was actually thrilled considering how the last few weeks had been- never mind that the last few days had about killed the both of them emotionally.
Day Seven
He walked over to the decompression chamber and gave the door a gentle tug. He had done this every morning and he was getting used to it not opening. When it eased open he stood there in shock. Kimberly was still asleep and he launched himself at her and pulled her to his chest.
"Wha…what's going on?" Kimberly grumbled as she felt someone holding her. He was so grateful to be able to feel her hands reacting to him, holding on to him. "The door…the door opened."
"It did," Tommy whispered in to her hair before he leaned down and gave her a kiss. "I am so glad that you're okay. I'm glad that both of you are okay."
"Me too and as much as I want to go through with what I said yesterday- can we maybe…" Kim motioned to the door and he chuckled. Yes- they could most certainly get out of the chamber. "She's starting to move."
"She?" Tommy asked and he pulled her to her feet. He was sure he didn't care what the baby was.
"Yes- she…it's a gut feeling," Kim whispered as she grabbed his hand and guided it to her stomach. He could not feel anything, but he could tell that was not what she was expecting. She wanted this level of intimacy with him and hadn't been able to have it.
"Go shower- I'll get us some breakfast," Tommy said as he gently swatted at her butt and she squealed before running off to the shower. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed a happy day. He needed a happy memory. He hoped that today would be that for the both of them.