Salvation
Chapter Nine – You'll Never Be Alone Again

If Aki hadn't been in so much pain, she would have thought the expression on Hein's face was rather cute. She'd never seen anyone look so shocked in her life, and a hysterical giggle escaped her lips.

"You're... joking, right Dr. Ross?" His voice was pleading, and there was a shrill, panicked note to it. "I mean... you still have a whole month left!"

Aki winced as another contraction tore through her body. She'd been trying to tell herself the same thing when she'd been sitting in the shadow of the boulder, but she could deny it: she was in labor.

"I'm not joking!" she gasped. "We need to get to Houston!"

Hein's mouth moved soundlessly for a moment, then he turned back to the radio. He looked less like a rogue and more like a scared little boy, she thought absently. Then again, he was mentally only twenty years old. He probably wasn't prepared for something like this.

Neither was she, actually.

"They still won't answer," Hein said. "What should we do?"

"Don't suppose you know anything about this?" Aki said hoarsely.

"Dr. Ross, I told you I was three years younger than the rest of my class! They made me sit in the hallway during all that!" Hein managed somehow to look more panicked than she felt. She was again struck by how funny the whole scenario would be... if she wasn't in so much pain!

Hein kept glancing at her, then at the city. "What are you planning?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"To scream and run as far away as possible," Hein said weakly.

"Men," Aki muttered.

"Aren't there supposed to be classes that helped you?" Hein asked, eying her warily. "Didn't you take those?"

"I started them," she hissed. "Thought I had another month. And even then I had Dr. Sid with me-"

"Dr. Sid?" Hein repeated incredulously. "Why him?"

"This is no time to be jealous!" Aki cried, startling them both. Hein managed to look sheepish as well as frightened.

"I'm sorry," Hein said. As she watched, he seemed to pull himself back under control. "How can I help you?"

"Get help, since no one's answering."

"I won't leave you," Hein said grimly.

"I thought you were going to scream and run away." Aki clutched her belly, willing the pain to subside. It didn't.

"That was before…" Hein said, his face tense. "Before you started to bleed. Doctor, is there supposed to be that much blood?"

From the look on Aki's face, it wasn't supposed to be that way. She whispered something that sounded like "hemorrhage." No… That can't happen, not to Aki! She's been through so much, and she wants her son so badly…

He'd put her in danger, frightening her off like he had.

"We need help. I can't raise anyone on the radio, and I can't leave you alone. We'll get to Houston if I have to carry you," Hein vowed.

"I can't," Aki said weakly. Her strength seemed to have failed her, and she was splayed limply on her seat. "It hurts…"

She was getting weaker. She'd seemed fine moments before, until she'd started bleeding, until everything went horribly wrong… Things had indeed gotten worse.

He tried to call the base again, then tried other channels. Nothing! He wondered if perhaps the ATV's had only short-range com devices. After all, he hadn't even heard anything from Williams since he'd left the city.

"C'mon, Doctor. We're leaving." Hein helped the shaking woman out of the vehicle. She clung tightly to his right hand, nails biting into his wrist. She leaned heavily on him, and he tried not to grimace at the strain her weight caused. After all, he was barely recovered from his own ordeal.

They made slow progress, with Aki stumbling blindly beside him. She seemed to be barely holding on to consciousness, and he heard her muttering incoherently. He thought he heard her call for Gray once, but that was all he picked up.

It was so hot… Hein was sweating, and he was certain he was getting another sunburn. But his only thoughts were for Aki. Was moving her the right thing? Perhaps he was further tearing her up inside. But the other option was to let her bleed in the ATV, possibly to death.

"Hold on," he whispered. She seemed to respond to his voice, so he kept up a steady stream of chatter, telling her about his early life (omitting the beatings) and his Academy days.

He was so engrossed in his monologue that he failed to notice the huge transport vehicles coming up the road until they were nearly on top of him.

Hein almost cried out in delight. "Here's help, Doctor," he told the barely conscious woman. They staggered into the middle of the road, Hein waving his free left hand desperately.

The lead vehicle waited until the last possible second to stop, and Hein got the impression it only had because he was in the way. This was confirmed by an angry sergeant who climbed out of the driver's seat.

"Out of the way!" the man snapped.

"We need to get to Houston. Can you help us?"

"We're very busy," the sergeant growled. "We aren't a public transportation service."

"I know," Hein said, irritated by the man's tone. "But we couldn't raise the city on our radio, and our jeep is out of gas. Doctor Ross here-"

"That's because General Emerson ordered radio silence."

Hein blinked. Aki had said the man was paranoid, but this was ridiculous! As he obstinately stayed in place, he noticed the vehicles and men were fully armed and armored. Hein could sort of understand – he too felt a little nervous being outdoors, from a lifetime of Phantom habitation - but this…

"Please," Hein said. "If you could just spare a vehicle, or even radio the base for us-"

"I'm sorry, but that's against orders," the sergeant said stubbornly.

"Doctor Aki Ross," Hein hoped invoking her name would spur the man into action, "needs to get to a hospital now!"

"Maybe we could pick you up on the way back-" the sergeant began. He was interrupted by a sharp voice.

"What is going on here?" Several others had gathered, officers to judge by their uniforms. One of them, a captain, stepped forward.

"I need help," Hein hissed. Aki's fingers were digging even more sharply into his wrist, and he could feel blood trickling down his fingers.

"General Hein?" another voice interjected. "Is that you?"

One of the men had recognized him! That may be not be a bad thing, he suddenly realized, seizing the situation.

"Yes," Hein said coldly. He called to mind the image of himself in the New York Council room, and tried to imitate the chilling demeanor. It was surprisingly easy. "And if this moron," he gestured to the sergeant, "would have let me finish a sentence, I would have explained that I was commandeering his vehicle to take Dr. Ross to the hospital!"

"But General Emerson said-" the sergeant began timidly.

"Emerson be damned!" Hein roared. "I outrank him –" at least, that's what his profile had implied – " and I intend to use this vehicle to save Dr. Ross's life! Unless of course any of you simpletons knows anything about childbirth?" He glowered, noticing how most of them shrank under his gaze.

"Uh, my dog had puppies once," the sergeant supplied.

Hein blinked. "Um, right. But do you really think that will help?" Hein pulled the whimpering Aki closer. At least the child doesn't seem to be coming right now…

"No, sir," the sergeant said. "I'll take you back. Climb in." He gestured towards the back of the transport and Hein, with the help of the lieutenant who had recognized him, gently lifted Aki in.

The captain who had spoken up said nothing to stop them, and Hein was surprised to recognized Captain Hoffman from Aki's terraforming mission. He gave them an approving nod, and Hein got the feeling if he hadn't cowed the sergeant into submission, Hoffman would have done it for him. "Get her back safely," was all Hoffman said to the sergeant.

The ride to Houston seemed to last forever. Aki lapsed into unconsciousness despite Hein's best efforts to keep her awake. She was curled partially in his lap, and he could feel her body shuddering.

Hein ran his left hand through his dusty, tangled hair, wondering just how he'd been recognized. With his battered grey T-shirt and jeans and scuffed hiking boots, he didn't look like a military man.

That didn't matter. He could see buildings outside the transport's windows now. "Almost there," he told Aki, running his fingers through her hair. "Hold on."

They stopped, and after several moments, the transport swarmed with hospital attendants. One gently pried Aki's fingers from his hand, and she was taken away from him. Hein followed as far as he could but was stopped in the lobby.

He could only watch helplessly as Aki was wheeled away. "Please don't die," he whispered. Blood dripped from his wound and splattered the white tile, but he didn't care. If anything happened to Aki, Hein knew he'd never forgive himself.

Dr. Sid hurried down the hospital hallway as quickly as his aching joints allowed. He had rushed back to Houston as soon as he had gotten Hein's message.

I told her to be careful, he thought worriedly. And I trusted Hein to watch her! What was I thinking?

Hein's message had been delivered in a flat monotone, as if he really didn't care that Aki had nearly died. I should never have left them! Dr. Sid knew he'd get nowhere by blaming Hein, but right now, he wanted to kill the general with his bare hands.

Speaking of which… Hein was in one of the many waiting rooms, hidden in a corner with his chin cupped in his hands and staring at the wall, a blank expression on his face. Dr. Sid stood over him and glared down at the younger man.

"Well?" he asked, barely restraining his anger.

Hein blinked slowly, then lifted his head to face Sid. His expression didn't change. "She's recovering," he said in that same low tone. "There was an internal hemorrhage, and they had to do surgery to remove the baby and repair the damage. She lost a lot of blood, almost too much. They nearly lost her." He waved his right hand slowly, and Dr. Sid saw he had a bandage wrapped around his wrist. "They found out we share the same blood type when they stitched this up," Hein went on, "so I donated some of my blood. Seemed to be the least I could do." Hein seemed to sink back into his vacant state.

"What about the child?" Dr. Sid asked.

"He's small, but healthy. He'll live," Hein said dully. He was silent for a moment, then, "No thanks to me."

Dr. Sid's frown deepened. He'd suspected as much. "What did you do to her?"

Hein gave him a pained look, and Dr. Sid suddenly realized his cold face had been a mask. He wondered how often that same expression had hidden fear in the Council room, rather than being the uncaring attitude Dr. Sid had taken it for.

"I got angry," Hein confessed. "I never meant to hurt her! But I was so upset…" He closed his eye and slumped forward. Dr. Sid seated his weary body to Hein's left. "She ran away… She knew it would be dangerous, but she ran away, because of me…" He lowered his head further, the dusty curls sliding forward to hide his face. "Why do I always hurt people? I always thought I'd improve with age. But it seems I'm an angel of death."

Dr. Sid couldn't disagree with that. Luckily, he didn't have to, because the doctor who had been working on Aki came up to them. "Mr. Hein? Dr. Ross is awake. She'd like to speak to you." The doctor turned to Sid. "You too, Doctor."

"Is she all right?" Hein asked, surging to his feet.

"She's very weak, and she may seem a little out of it because of the painkillers, but she's well enough to speak. If you'll follow me?"

They did, though Hein lingered behind, his face pale. The doctor gave them a warning. "Keep it calm; don't stress her out," before letting them in.

Seeing Aki lying limp on the hospital bed, her face pale and drawn, shocked Dr. Sid. She'd always been so vibrant, so full of life. But now… "Hi," she said weakly, her dull eyes brightening.

"Hello, Aki," Dr. Sid said warmly. Behind him, Hein mumbled something that sounded like "hey."

"You know, Betty's going to be upset you had Gray early. She had a baby shower planned for you," Dr. Sid said with a smile.

"She can wait in line to chew me out. Doctor Nelson already promised me I'm going to get a lecture about listening to my doctor's advice." She gave him a wry grin.

"I think I owe you an 'I told you so,'" Dr. Sid scolded. "But I'm glad you're both all right. Have you seen the baby yet?"

Her face clouded. "No. I was unconscious when he was born, and since he's a month early, he needs special care. I want to see him! Could you check on him for me? Dr. Nelson says he's fine, but…"

"I understand," Sid said. He glanced over at the silent Hein, and noticed Aki follow his look. "In fact, why don't I do that now? Dr. Nelson didn't give us much time to visit, and I think Hein has some things he needs to say." With that, Dr. Sid rose to his feet, leaving them alone.

Hein wished desperately that Dr. Sid would come back. What could he say to Aki? He'd nearly ruined this for her! "Doctor," he began.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Excuse me?"

"I wanted to thank you. You came after me, even though I was cruel to you. You got me back to Houston in time to save Gray and I. I owe you," Aki concluded.

"It's my fault you ran off in the first place. I'm sorry, Doctor, I'm so sorry." Hein couldn't remember ever being so miserable. This was worse than discovering he'd been the one to destroy Captain Edwards and all those aboard the Zeus Cannon! Those incidents still seemed to him to have been caused by someone else. This… this was his fault.

"If I wasn't so stubborn," she disagreed, "I would have told you how I felt, instead of fleeing from my emotions. I think I'm afraid to feel strongly for anyone again." The confession seemed to make her uncomfortable, so Hein didn't press the subject.

"They had to do surgery on you, didn't they?" he asked instead. "How do you feel?"

"Surprisingly good," she said.

"Painkillers?"

She grinned. "I can't feel anything below my shoulders. Which is a good thing because this looks painful. She lifted her hospital gown, exposing her bandaged belly.

She really is a little out of it, Hein thought. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to a dark figure on her flabby skin. It was a tattoo, below and to the side of her belly button. "It looks like a turkey."

She examined it as best as she could. "It was a hawk until it got stretched out," she said wryly. She stared at her belly for a moment, and a strange expression crossed her face.

"What's wrong?" Hein asked, alarmed.

"I'm alone now," she said sadly. "For the past eight months, I've always had the child with me, but now… I'm all alone…"

Hein took on hand in both of his, stroking the soft skin. "My dear doctor, don't worry. You'll never be alone again." With that, he leaned over her.

He'd only intended to give her a light peck on the cheek. But somehow, his lips found hers.

He couldn't remember ever feeling anything like it as her lips hungrily met his own, and Hein shyly responded. He felt awkward and naïve compared to her, but he put all of his emotions in that single touch.

"I'm sorry," he said when they parted. "I only meant to –"

Aki put a finger to his lips, hushing him. "I wanted it, too," she said.

A slow smile spread across Hein's scarred face. "I'm so happy you feel that way. Is that the drugs talking, or you?"

"Me. Definitely me. Do you think we could make it work? You are a lot older than I am."

"Physically eight years older, mentally seven years younger. That has to average out somehow," Hein grinned.

"And if you get your memory back-"

Now Hein was the one pressing his fingers to her lips. "We'll worry about that if it ever happens. For now, you have other things to worry about. Like your son."

Her eyes lit up. "Gray," she corrected. "Like his father."

"Right. And when you're out of the hospital, I can take you to dinner, and we can just enjoy ourselves for once," Hein said enthusiastically.

"I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while," Aki reminded him.

"Then I'll make dinner for you when you come home," Hein amended.

"Can you cook?" Aki asked skeptically.

"Only one way to find out. It has to be better than hospital food, right?" Hein felt like a kid in a candy store. Finally, things were going right!

"It's a date," Aki promised. "And one more thing," she added.

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Don't call me 'Doctor' anymore. Call me Aki. You did before, remember?"

"I thought I forfeited that right when you wouldn't speak to me," Hein said softly. "But if we're going to be informal, call me Douglas. Or Doug. Whatever you prefer."

"How about Dougie-wuggie?" she teased.

"My dear doctor," Hein said sternly, "if you call me that, I shall be forced to inflict that most terrible of tortures upon you: tickling. You're only getting out of it now because you're in the hospital."

"I look forward to it," she said coyly.

Dr. Sid was waiting for him outside the room, a short distance down the hall. He was resting against the wall, arms crossed and a stern expression on his face.

Hein, giddy by his success with Aki, lifted his head proudly. There was nothing that could ruin his good mood now.

"Did you work things out?" Dr. Sid asked.

Hein wasn't sure how to answer. He knew Dr. Sid didn't approve of his feelings for Aki, but at the moment, he didn't really care. "Things went very well," he said loftily. Hein suddenly wanted to grin and tell Dr. Sid – tell the whole world - that he loved Dr. Aki Ross and that she returned his feelings!

"Good," Dr. Sid said, surprising him. "Aki needs someone to be with. While I don't approve of her choice, I realize your heart is in the right place." Dr. Sid looked bemused by his admission.

Now Hein's scarred lips did curl into a crooked grin. "You mean, you don't mind?"

Dr. Sid snorted. "My opinion doesn't matter anyway. You're both adults – physically, anyway – and you can take care of yourselves and make your own decisions. I won't get in your way."

Hein almost hugged the man. Dr. Sid's grudging approval would make his relationship with Aki much smoother. "Thank you."

Dr. Sid's face suddenly softened. "While we're here, would you like to see the person you're sharing Aki with? Gray isn't too far from here. He's a cute baby."

"Sure," Hein said. To think this day had started off so badly. Hein had gone from rock bottom to top of the world!

"Why did you return to Houston? You had your orders."

The sergeant who had given Aki and Hein a ride back to the city shrank under General Emerson's disapproving glare. It was nothing compared to the looks Hein had given him, but Emerson was his superior officer.

"I know, sir. But he pulled rank!" the sergeant defended himself. "He said he was a general. Captain Hoffman and Lieutenant Richards confirmed it!"

"Some ragged stranger stops one of my convoys and claims to be a general, and you forget who your commander is?" General Emerson ground his teeth. "I don't care if it was Dr. Ross's life you were trying to save. Because of you, the convoy will now be late to Atlanta. That won't look good for me."

"He said he was General Hein, sir," the sergeant said miserably.

General Emerson froze. "Hein? Are you sure?" At the sergeant's nod, Emerson's blood ran cold. "Why wasn't I informed? This is bad, sergeant. Mark my words; this is very bad indeed."