As soon as Donovan told them what had happened, Sara grabbed her jacket and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" He asked her in a commanding voice.
"To save my friends."
"You can't go in alone," he stated matter-of-factly.
They stared each other down for several minutes until Sara caved. "Fine. Me and Ian will go in, then you can come with your team."
He started to protest, but she stopped him. "It's either that, or I'm going in alone. You decide."
He stood his ground. After several minutes of silence, Sara started to turn to Ian, but he was already beside her. Frank Donovan sighed and said, "Fine. We'll back you up. When do you want to go in?"
"Right now."
He looked at her then nodded his head. "As soon as you get there, we'll come in."
Sara and Ian walked outside, and she got on her bike. "Want to ride?"
He climbed on behind her. Putting on her helmet, she started down the street.
*******
Once they realized that Renee and Gabriel weren't going to try to escape, only one man was left to watch them. Jake kept one eye on the other men while he watched the captives. When he was sure that no one was paying any attention to them, he whispered, "Don't worry. This will be over soon."
Renee didn't know why he was being quiet, but she kept her voice down as well. There was a cynical note in it when she said, "What? When you kill us?"
He chanced a glance at the men then looked back at her. "I'm not gonna kill you. I'm an undercover agent with the department of justice. We're trying to get these men. Just be patient. It will be done soon."
Renee looked at him and only saw sincerity in his face. She nodded slightly then leaned her head back against the wall. She could feel the baby moving inside. Looking over at Gabriel, she saw that he was smiling at her.
She turned around and laid down with her head in his lap. They smiled at each other. Renee closed her eyes and fell asleep. Gabriel glared at their captors daring any of them to come near her. They avoided making eye contact with him. Soon, realizing they were going to leave the two of them alone, he closed his eyes and joined Renee in sleep.
*******
Sara stopped her bike in front of the building and pulled her helmet off. She got off and saw that Ian was already walking toward the back of the building. She drew her gun, opened the door, and stepped inside. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the difference in lighting, and she saw four men sitting on the other side of the room. Renee and Gabriel were against the wall closer to her. Only one man was guarding them. Sara recognized him as Frank Donovan's agent.
The men saw her, and William Ryan stood up. Walking to the middle of the room, he asked, "Who are you?"
Ian stepped inside before she could answer. "Someone who does not like having her friends abducted," Ian told them in a low voice.
Ryan realized who it was. He hadn't been able to see her well enough before. Sara advanced on him, the witch blade in full gauntlet form, and he backed up. They continued this pattern until he was backed up against the wall. With the tip of the blade pressing against his throat, he started begging for his life.
Disgusted, she withdrew the blade and swung at his head. It connected with a resounding whack, and he crumpled to the floor. As his limp body hit the cold floor, the doors slammed open. The surviving killers opened fire on the men who stormed into the building.
The blade retracted, and Sara raised her gun and exchanged shots with Aidan Murphy. He fell to the floor grabbing his throat where the bullet had stuck him. He tried to swear at her, but he choked on his own blood. After a few minutes, he let out a final breath and died.
She turned around and saw the twins laying side by side, each with a bullet between their eyes. They were identical even in death. Ian was standing on the other side of them with his guns still in his hands.
Sara smiled at him and mouthed, "Thank you." Then, she walked over to where Jake was helping Renee and Gabriel to their feet.
"Are you two all right?"She asked, concerned.
They nodded their heads. Then, Sara saw Donovan walking toward them. "Are you okay, Jake?"
"Yeah. They're dead?"
"Yes. All of them. The side of one's head was smashed in," he said looking at Sara.
She shrugged like she didn't know how it happened but avoided meeting his eyes.
"Looks like he'll get away again."
Sara looked at him sharply and asked, "Why? Don't you have anything on him?"
He shook his head. "We were counting on one of them talking."
She turned and walked outside. Ian was right behind her. "Sara, you cannot go after him."
"And why is that, Ian?" She snapped the question at him. "He sent these men after us and you don't think I should go after him?"
"It would destroy you, Sara, if you killed him. You do not kill in cold blood. You would not forgive yourself if you did."
"If it was him, I would." She started to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"His time will come."
She tried to get away, but his grip remained strong. Finally, she gave in. "Fine. I won't go after him, for now. But if something happens, and I find out he's behind it, don't try to stop me."
After a moment, he replied, "I won't."
They turned around, but before they could start inside, they saw Renee and Gabriel coming out. "You two ready to go home?" She asked them.
"Yeah."
Alex stepped forward and offered, "I'll drive you home."
"That would be nice."
They got in her car and were headed home.
*******
"So, Renee. Next week's the big day, huh?"
"Yeah. I'm so nervous, Sara."
"You don't act like it. You seem so calm."
"I'm not. I'm not at all."
"Just relax. Your dad is coming, isn't he?"
"Yeah. At least he is unless something else comes up," Renee said bitterly.
"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll come," Sara assured her.
"Think I should have gotten a bigger dress," the younger girl said with a laugh desperately trying to change the subject.
Sara smiled at her friend. "Good thing we got it altered. Do you have everything moved into your new place?"
"Yeah. We got everything moved in and unpacked last night." Renee felt Gabriel's arms slide over her shoulders. "You ready to go?"
She nodded her head. "Yeah."
They walked down to the car and drove away from Sara's apartment. Ten minutes later they pulled up in front of the hospital. Gabriel helped her out of the car and they walked inside. The receptionist saw them and smiled. "The doctor will see you in a few minutes, Miss Mackenzie."
She nodded her head, and they sat down. After a five minute wait, a nurse came out and told them, "The doctor is ready for you now."
Gabriel stood up and helped Renee to her feet. Then, they followed the nurse down the hallway. Renee sat on the bed, and Gabriel sat in a chair in the corner of the room. A couple of minutes later the doctor came in. He smiled at them and said, "Let's see how the little one's doing."
When he had finished examining her, the doctor said, "Everything looks to be fine. Are you two sure you don't want to know the gender?"
"We're sure," Renee replied after a slight hesitation.
He nodded then turned around and left. They followed him out of the room and walked out to the car. Then, they started home.
*******
The next morning Renee was sitting on the couch when the phone rang. She slowly rose to her feet, and walked over to it just as slowly. "Hello, Dad," she said recognizing the phone number on the caller i.d.
"Renee, I have some bad news."
"What is it?" She asked already knowing what it would be.
"My boss just told me last night that I have to go on a business trip in a couple of days, and I'll be gone for a week."
"So you won't be here for the wedding."
"I'm sorry. I tried to get out of it."
"It's okay, Dad. I understand."
Hanging up the phone, she turned around with tears in her eyes. Gabriel was standing in the middle of the room, his hair still dripping from his shower.
"What's wrong?"
"He's not coming."
"Your dad?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry, Renee."
"It's all right. I shouldn't have expected anything else from him."
He took her face in his hands, and their lips met in a kiss. They pulled apart after a minute, and she said, "You're my angel. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You'd figure it out, but I promise you that you'll never have to."
*******
They had just finished eating dinner when someone knocked on their door. Gabriel stood up and went to answer it. He opened the door, and Renee turned her head at his gasp of surprise. His parents, the Bowmans, were standing outside.
"Mom, Dad, please come in," he said. "We didn't expect you for another couple of days."
"Well, son, we thought we'd come early and see if there was anything we could help with," his father, Peter, replied.
Gabriel shook his head. "I think we have everything taken care of."
Peter put his hand on his son's shoulder and smiled at him. "I'm not surprised." Turning to Renee, he said, "This boy never needed help doing anything. Or wanted any."
Gabriel looked down at the floor in an attempt to hide the flush rising in his cheeks. His mom spoke up. "Can we see the baby's room?"
Renee smiled at her and said, "Yeah. Follow me."
She led the way into the room and flipped the light switch on. The walls were painted a medium green. Gabriel had painted them so that they looked like rolling hills. The ceiling was painted black with small, white stars. There was a crib in one corner of the room. The wood was left unpainted. A rocking horse was sitting in the opposite corner. There was a wooden dresser in another corner.
"Did you do this all yourself?" His father asked him.
"Not completely. Sara's partner, Jake McCarty, and their boss, Stephen Richards, helped."
Gabriel's mother, Catherine, and Renee smiled as father and son talked. "Have you found out yet if it's going to be a boy or girl?" She asked her soon to be daughter-in-law.
Renee shook her head. Everyone seemed to be asking them this. "No. We both wanted to be surprised. But we have names picked out for both."
"What are they?"
"If it's a girl, we're going to name her Cara Morgan. And if it's a boy, Peter Michael."
"That's wonderful that you're going to name him after his grandfathers if it's a boy. Speaking of your father, when is he coming up?"
"He's not. He's going to be out of town for a week."
"Who's going to walk you down the aisle then?"
Peter and Gabriel had turned their attention to the women by this time.
"No one I guess," Renee replied with a shrug. She was trying to act like it didn't bother her, but they could see how much it did.
Peter stepped forward and said, "I'll do it if you'd like."
Not knowing what to say, she settled for, "Thank you."
He shook his head. Not a problem. It would be my pleasure to do it."
Gabriel led his parents down the hallway to the room they would be sleeping in until after the wedding. Once they had their bags in there, all four of them went back into the living room. They talked until the moon was high in the sky. Then, they all went to bed.
