chapter 6



"Gandpa Seth, why awe you knockin' on the door?"

"Because I wanted to let your aunt and uncle know we're home."

"Why? They would know when we go inside."

"Because I didn't want to interrupt them in the middle of something."

"Like what?" Meghan was being a typical curious five-year-old. "Something you can wait to learn about."

"Why do I have to wait?"

"Because you have to be older before you can learn about it."

"Why?"

"Because it's only something adults should do."

"Why?"

Seth chuckled at her curiosity. "Just wait. You'll find out one day."

He knocked on the door again. It opened a few moments later to reveal Gabriel standing there in just his jeans. "What were you and Aunt Renee doing?" Meghan asked.

Gabriel glanced at his grandfather, but the older man just shook his head, trying not to laugh again. "Uh, well, we were-."

Renee walked up behind him and grinned at their niece. "We were taking it easy, Meghan."

Gabriel really had to restrain himself so he didn't laugh. He turned around and whispered in her ear, "I'm not sure that's the way to describe it."

Meghan disappeared into the house before they could kiss in front of her again. The adults laughed, then Seth knitted his brows as he looked at his grandson. "Gabriel, why aren't you using your crutch?"

"I'm doing fine without it."

"You're just gonna make your knee worse."

"I said I'm doing fine without out," he said defensively.

"Why are you so bullheaded?"

"Guess I take after you."

Seth just shook his head. "Boy, that's not necessarily a good thing."

Renee laughed, then picked her daughter up out of the stroller. "Maybe this time you'll actually take a nap." Amie grinned at her mother.

*******

Sweat ran down his face from under his helmet. He switched his rifle to his other hand and wiped the sweaty palm across his forehead. The man to his right was offering bets on how much longer they would last. He shook his head; Declan Murphy never took life seriously, even with death all around him.

He returned his attention to the front. Night would soon be approaching and with it, a slight cooling of temperatures. It would also bring increased danger. He wiped the dripping sweat away once again and blinked his eyes.

"They will no' be comin' t'night," the lilting Irish voice came from his right.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Dec. They'll be coming before long."

Just as he finished saying that, several North Koreans seemingly appeared out of thin air. Their bullets sliced the air as he brought the butt of the rifle to his shoulder. Korean after Korean fell, but they kept coming. "Why don' they jus' gi'e up?" Declan shouted over the gunfire.

"Because it ain't that easy my friend."

His next shot took a Korean through the throat. The man fell to the ground, gagging on his blood as it spurted out of his neck. He felt something wet hit his face and glanced quickly to his right. "Oh, shit."

Declan's chest exploded in a burst of red as two bullets hit him at once. He fell to the ground, but wasn't dead yet. Seth acted quickly. He put his arms under his friend's shoulders and dragged him away from the action. Laying him on the ground, Seth dropped to his knees to examine his friend. Pink froth was bubbling from his lips when he tried to speak. "Carad, will ye do me a favor?"

"Of course, Dec. Anything."

"Tell me wife...tell her...I...I love her." The light in his eyes was quickly fading.

"You tell her, Dec."

"No, Carad. Ye will ha'e t' do...do it." He coughed up blood...a lot of it. "Please take...take care o' her."

"I will, Dec." He knew there was nothing he could do to save his friend. At least one of the bullets had punctured a lung.

The Irishman turned American for just a few short years coughed up blood again. Then, his eyes were empty.



Seth woke with a start. His shirt was soaked with sweat from the nightmare. It was vivid, almost like it had just happened. In reality, it had happened fifty years ago. He swung his feet to the floor and slowly made his way downstairs. He could never get back to sleep after these dreams. Of course, they weren't really dreams. A better word was memories. They weren't frequent anymore, but still as disturbing as they had been for the past fifty years.

He turned on the television, not really caring what was on. It was just something to distract his mind. Reclining on the couch, he closed his eyes. Sleep wouldn't come, but he could still try to find it. Twenty minutes later he heard the front door creak open, and his body was instantly alert. Footsteps crossed the floor and stopped behind the couch. Seth saw an arm above him, holding a gun on him. He reached up toward it and grabbed the arm on both sides of the elbow. With a quick movement, he snapped it and a scream of pain filled the house. Larry grabbed his arm as the gun clattered to the floor.

A moment later Gabriel was running down the steps. "What happened?" He demanded when he saw Seth standing in front of the couch.

"Call the police. We had an intruder. I think it was the same guy from before."

Gabriel grabbed the phone and dialed Sara's number. When she answered, he told her what he thought had happened, and she promised to be over as soon as she got a hold of Danny. He returned the phone to its receiver and flicked on a light. Larry's arm was dangling at his side. The broken bone protruded from the skin. Seth had retrieved the gun and was now training it on Larry.

Sara arrived fifteen minutes later. When she opened the door, Larry spun around and bolted for the opening. He almost mowed her down in his desperate escape, but the Witchblade activated just in time. It slid through his chest, and his body went limp. The blade retracted, and he fell to the floor. Seth stared at her for a moment, then said, "I have seen strange things in my life, but that definitely tops them all."

Sara bit her lip, and Seth shrugged. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

She smiled gratefully at him, then turned as Danny walked through the door. "We should get his body out of here." Her partner nodded and dragged the body out of the house. "You guys gonna be okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Gabriel said, grinning at her.

*******

"Why were you downstairs that night?" Gabriel asked his grandfather one morning while trying to change a squirming baby. It had been a month since the incident, but they hadn't talked about it at all.

"Just couldn't sleep," he replied with a shrug. "Memories," he said as further explanation.

Gabriel nodded, most of his attention on Amie. "Will you please hold still? We're almost done."

"No," Amie said, grinning at her father.

"She sure does like that word."

Seth chuckled, but his memories kept drawing him back. He had kept his promise to his friend. He had taken care of his wife. Until the day she died, in fact. And for that, she had given him a son, Gabriel's father.

"Finally," Gabriel said, straightening up from the changing table. "Let's give you your medicine, then we'll go see Mommy."

"Mommy," she squealed.

He carried her into the bathroom and grabbed the last dose of Amoxycillin doctor had given them. Problems seemed to keep coming. Earlier that month her feet had turned purple for apparently no reason. Then, one day they were back to normal again. A few weeks after that she came down with a virus that appeared similar to mononucleosis. He finally managed to get her to take the antibiotic. At least she seemed to be feeling better now. "Let's go see Mommy now."