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*"Beautiful? Leanna! Wake up!" I cried, shaking her

But it was no use, she was out cold*

























Chapter XV-The Hardest Goodbye























I was still shaking her while Rafe checked her pulse

"She's got a pulse" he reported

I looked around in alarm, searching my head for what to do next

"Let's get her to the hospital, Evelyn'll know what to do" I said

"Alright, I'll carry her" Rafe said, not waiting for my answer before picking her up like a baby, and we set off towards the hospital

The walk to the hospital seemed like it took an eternity, I kept glancing over at Leanna's deathly pale face and then at Rafe, who would nod to assure me that she was still breathing

Finally, with the hospital in view, I broke into a sprint, and ran up the stairs, praying that Evelyn would be there

By the divine intervention of a higher power, Evelyn had just arrived at the hospital thinking maybe we had gone there looking for her

"Evelyn!" I yelled, still standing in the door, panting for breath

She looked up wide eyed, "Danny! What is it?!" she was worried it was Rafe, I knew it

"L-Leanna she just, collapsed, I don't know..." I started, but Evelyn had already passed me and was approaching Rafe, who was still carrying the limp Leanna

"Get her inside!" she said urgently while checking her pulse

Rafe ran her inside, following Evelyn to an (amazingly) nearly empty ward

"There" Evelyn pointed to a bed and grabbed a blood-pressure cuff and a stethoscope

Evelyn feverishly worked on the small girl, she was severely pale and, for the first time, I noticed her frame looked very small, I watched Evelyn put the stethoscope on her chest and then on the stomach, to check the baby, and then replaced it around her neck with a sigh

"I don't know," was all she could say, "She's just...out, nothing *seems* wrong, but she's not waking up"

I leaned down close to her forehead and brushed a curl away, "Beautiful, please?" I whispered

There was a sudden jerk beneath me that caused me to draw back just in time to see twinkling green eyes as her eyelids fluttered open

"Beautiful?" Rafe fell in beside me to look at her

"Mmm?" she mumbled

It was the most wonderful sound on earth

"Beautiful, you ok?" I asked

"Will be soon as you get off of me" she said, forcing her pale lips to upturn in a smile

I smiled back and touched her chin

"You scared us there for a second" Rafe said

"You? It wasn't exactly a walk in the park for me" she was straining to speak

"Ok, she needs her rest, you two need to go" Evelyn said, fully knowing that they were not going to leave

"Evelyn?" Leanna whispered

"Yes?"



"My baby?"

Evelyn smiled, "I checked, it's fine"

Leanna let a breath she didn't know she was holding, then her gaze turned worried again

"Please don't make them leave" Leanna pleaded

"Alright" Evelyn whispered before turning to Rafe and I

"I need to know what happened to her" she said plainly

"We were talking, arguing, and she just...fell" I said

"Arguing? The Golden Trio? What about?" Evelyn asked, snickering at the name she had made up for the three

"Danny and I are going on a mission, we leave in the morning" Rafe said quickly, any amusement in Evelyn's face was gone

"You're what?" she said, her breath catching in her throat

"We're leaving, in the morning" Rafe repeated

"Rafe, you just got back!" she tried to keep her voice in check

"We have to, this is war, we have to, it's our job" Rafe said

"I know" Evelyn sighed, giving Rafe a look that said that this wasn't over yet, but for the sake of Leanna...it was through

Evelyn sighed, "Stay with her, I know you'll just bug me until I let you"

"Thanks" I whispered

Rafe was still staring after Evelyn

"Look, Rafe, I can stay with Beautiful, you need to talk to Evelyn" I offered, Rafe looked thoughtful

"Ok" he said, stepping past me and kissing Leanna's forehead, "I'll be back later, Beautiful, ok?"

Leanna nodded and Rafe walked away, leaving me sitting on the side of the bed in silence

Leanna looked straight ahead, she looked deep in thought

"Danny, are you scared to die?" she asked finally, looking up at me from the bed where she lay

The question caught me off-guard and I thought for a moment, taking her tiny hand in mine, it was cold like ice, but still I held onto her

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out, all I could do was nod

"Me too," she sighed, "Do you think it hurts? Or if it's just peace? Or does it depend on the person?"

I smiled absently

"I don't know, Beautiful, but you don't have to worry, you aren't going to be dying for a very long time" I said

It was her turn to look uncomfortable, she cast her eyes down and pursed her lips, I shifted my weight in the chair and leaned over to kiss her forehead

"Me and Rafe leave in the morning, I need to go pry him from the jaws of Evelyn, we'll come back tonight to say goodbye" I said, standing up and smiling down at my pregnant looking sister before turning and leaving the hospital

As I stepped out into the day I looked around for a sign of Evelyn, seeing none, I walked down the four wooden steps and went to turn the corner towards my bunker, and ran straight into her, she backed away, startled but seemingly glad to see me

"Sorry, Ev"I said, smiling at her

She smiled back

I opened my mouth to speak

"Me and Rafe are leaving in the morning, and well, neither of us really wanna go, coz of Beautiful, but we have to, we're counting on you to take care of Leanna for us" I blurted

Evelyn smiled and nodded, "I'll take the best of care of her, and you two don't have to worry about a thing, you'll be back in plenty of time for the birth"

"Thanks, Ev, now get out of here, you and Rafe need to patch things up" I said smiling knowingly and walking toward the bunker, hearing a soft laugh from Evelyn behind me

It was good to know that Evelyn had seemed to warm up to Leanna, became sort of a big sister to her, because I hated leaving my baby sister all alone in that strange hospital ward, but I needed my wits about me, so did Rafe, our very survival depended on it…



*-*The Next Morning*-*



Rafe and I woke up before the sun on the morning we were to leave, we had returned to the hospital after we had finished packing and set our affairs in order, that was around 10, and Leanna was already asleep, neither of us wanted to leave her, and so that's where we spent our night, I on one side, holding Leanna's hand and Rafe on the other, doing the same

I woke first and looked at Rafe across from me, clutching Leanna's hand as if he'd never let it go, he was slumped over her stomach and her hand was gently on the nape of his neck

I couldn't suppress the small chuckle that escaped my lips

At this, Rafe stirred and lifted his head lazily, "Morning, huh?" he said

"Yeah, in a couple hours we'll need to be gone" I said

"Think we should wake her?" Rafe sighed

I shook my head, "Just a few more minutes"

Rafe took a deep breath, then exhaled for a long while

Minutes passed as I played with my baby sister's hand in mine, I didn't want to leave her, she was so fragile, she needed us, but I had to, and small noise from Rafe reminded me of that

"Beautiful?" I whispered

She moved slightly and then settled back down into the pillow

"Beautiful" I said, louder this time

Her eyelids fluttered, and after a moment of contemplating it, she opened her eyes with a smile

"Mornin' Danny, Rafe" she said, regarding each of us

"Morning Beautiful" Rafe smiled to her

"Shouldn't you guys be in the air?" she asked, shifting her position so she was sitting up

"Nah, not for a few minutes, we wanted to say goodbye first" I said

She smiled. It was a very genuine smile, not the kind that she forced to make us think she was ok

"I'm going to miss you" Rafe spoke up

Leanna looked like she almost laughed, "I'll miss you two more than you can know" she said

That was what it took to throw us into an uncomfortable silence that would have lasted for long minutes

But time wasn't something we had

"Y'all be careful, please, don't try to be heros, just get back alive" Leanna said

"We'll be careful, Beautiful" I said

Another moment of silence while she just looked at us, and finally, with a sigh, I stood, Rafe following my lead

"We'd better be off, Beautiful" I said solemnly

"Yeah, I love you" Rafe said, bending down to hug her and kiss her cheek

"You take care of my brother, hear?" she whispered and Rafe smiled

"Don't I always" he whispered back and pulled away, walking towards the door and never looking back, I knew he couldn't

"I love you, Beautiful, so much, don't forget that" I said, leaning down and hugging her before pulling away

"I love you, too, Danny" she said, "Just come home, alright?"

I nodded and kissed her forehead, leaning up to take one last look at her

The look on her face was so desperate, with that look that screamed 'I'm trying to be strong, here' and the tears in her eyes, had Leanna anything, 'Danny, don't go', anything, I wouldn't have gone, I would have stayed right there beside her hospital bed and told Rafe to go on without me

But she just looked up at me with tears glistening in those sparkling emerald eyes and said nothing...

So I walked away...













A/N: Mmmkay...that's one more down, and a few to go, I've actually almost got the entire thing written, and once I do, look for the chapters to come out much faster...and I can't stress this enough...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!! And again, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! Look for a new chapter next week!





Preview for Chapter 16: Danny and Rafe find out what this whole 'secret mission' is about; Leanna finds out why she got so sick and opens up to Evelyn