ZEDD - FOUR DAYS LATER

I'm not really in the mood to work today. All I really want to do is spend time with Thomas and our children. At least Thomas is finally recovering well. He was upset at having to stay in bed almost exclusively for the last few days, but with any luck he should be able to be up and move around a bit, unaided, by tomorrow. I look over at Mara Jane, who is playing quietly in the corner having joined me after Thomas and Jacob had fallen asleep to whatever movie Dar had put in for him after lunch. Maybe I'll just deal with a couple of these contracts and push the rest off until tomorrow…

Suddenly, the proximity alarm goes off. I don't recognize the ship, which makes me uneasy. "Mara Jane, I want you to go and stay with Daddy and Jacob. Right now."

Immediately, she leaves the room and I'm right behind her. Kira, Pina and Dar join me as Mara Jane runs toward our room. Once she's out of earshot, I say grimly, "I don't know who it is or what they want, but they don't get in the castle."

We head outside to deal with the intruders. A quick head count makes me sigh in irritation. I mean, really? Twenty five people? This is nothing but a waste of our time. Though in fairness I suppose I should be slightly relieved it's no real threat given the children and Thomas still needing to recover. Dar speaks first. "What do you want? Who sent you?"

"It doesn't matter who sent us. We have our orders. Attack!"

It really doesn't take long to decimate them. It almost seems like some of them have no battle training at all. Suddenly, Kira cries out, "Shit! It's a diversion!"

I spin around to see someone slip into the castle. Cursing myself, I launch for the door, the others not far behind. "How many got in?"

"Not sure. Five, I think." Fuck.

Immediately, I head for the living areas, praying that they aren't headed there. I hear a fight break out behind me. I'm torn. Do I go make sure that my mate and offspring are all right or do I help the rest of my family? Dar shouts, "Zedd, go!"

I race for the bedroom, driven by Mara Jane's sudden scream and Thomas' surge of fear, followed by Jacob's cries. It takes far longer than I care for to reach my destination, my own fear ramping up the entire time. Once I get there, I find the intruder out cold in the doorway. Mara Jane has lowered the side of the crib and is kneeling beside Jacob, trying to soothe him through her own tears and sobs. I don't see Thomas. "Thomas!"

"Zedd, check on the kids." I can't place the direction of his voice in my panic, but for the moment I do as he's asked.

"Are you okay?" I ask Mara Jane anxiously as I wrap both children up in my arms.

She bursts into a fresh round of tears. "Yes, Papa, but I was so scared! The bad man hit Daddy a lot!"

Worry for my mate swelling as I see the children are all right, I look around for him once more, only taking a moment to find he's curled up on the floor by the bed, staff still in hand, out of sight from the door. "Thomas!"

"Are the kids okay?" The pain in his voice is obvious.

"Zedd!" Kira's in the doorway. "Are they okay?"

Quickly, I hand Jacob to her and set Mara Jane down. "Go with Aunt Kira" I instruct my daughter. "She'll take care of you while I take care of Daddy."

Sniffling, she takes Kira's hand and they leave the room. Kira calls out for Pina as they go, saving me the effort. I hurry to Thomas' side. "What happened, love? How bad are you hurt?"

"Please, Zedd. Tell me the kids are all right."

"They're safe, thanks to you. What's wrong, what hurts?"

Softly, he says, "Everything hurts and I think I'm bleeding, Zedd. I think I've torn out my stitches." Removing his arm from his midsection, I can already see that it's covered in fresh blood along with his shirt and the floor under him.

Realizing the extent of the damage done, I literally stop breathing in fear. "PINA!"

"I'm right here, Zedd. Move." In a moment, she's beside him, coaxing him to lie down so she can look. He's definitely bleeding badly, without a doubt he's torn out at least some of his stitches if not all. Without looking up, she says, "Dar, run and get my kit and then you and Zedd get those people out of here."

"I'm not-"

"Zedd, I don't need you looking over my shoulder while I take care of him. Once you get rid of them, go to your children. They're going to need the reassurance from their papa until I get their daddy patched back up."

Weakly, Thomas agrees with her. "They need you, mate, please."

"You need me."

"Right now I need you with them more. Please, I'll feel better knowing that you're with them." Still feeling his fear and very concerned over what it's about, I give him a kiss, doing my best not to get in Pina's way as she tries to apply pressure on his reopened wound. "Love you, Zedd. But please, for both our sakes, get the hell out." Giving me a weak smile and push, he does his best to get me moving, even if I'm not buying his attempt to reassure me in the least.

Reluctant as I am to do as they suggest, putting Thomas' mind at ease will help Pina care for him properly. It helps a little to know that Dar will help Pina once he's done helping me. I leave the room, grabbing the unconscious form in the doorway by his collar and dragging him with me. This one I think I'll keep for a bit to see if I can get some answers along with a bit of payback.

By the time I get to the nursery, Jacob is once more asleep, securely wrapped and in the crib while Mara Jane is asleep in Kira's lap. She looks up as I come in. "They're all right, Zedd. Not a scratch on either one of them."

As I look my daughter over to reassure myself, I notice a bandage on her finger. "Oh really?"

"Not a scratch from the intruder" she amends. "She pinched her finger trying to get the side of the crib down so that she could get to Jacob. She said that he was scared and needed her since Daddy was busy fighting the bad man."

Definitely Thomas' daughter although I have no doubt that if he'd gotten past Thomas, she would have done her best to make sure that he didn't touch her brother. Seeing Kira shift uncomfortably, I gently take Mara Jane from her. "Are you all right?"

"Just bruised ribs, Zedd. No big deal and the powers will take care of that by tomorrow or the next day."

"I can't begin to tell you how grateful we are that you're here, Kira."

She waves this away. "I love these kids as much as if they were my own."

"Do you want some of your own?" At her startled look, I go on hastily. "Not that I'm suggesting anything weird. It's just that you are so good with them, but as far as I know, you haven't done anything about searching for a mate."

She shrugs, taking my frank statement in stride. "It's not really crucial right now. I'm happy with my situation as it is. Besides, seeing your relationship with Tommy and Pina and Dar's relationship, not to mention Jason and Hayley, I have really high standards and I'm not willing to settle for less."

"I'm your high standard." Looking at her doubtfully, I shake my head. "Female, please, do me a favor and aim higher than for someone like me. For hell's sake, I can't even protect my mate." Feeling my earlier panic over Thomas' return quickly as I recall the situation we're currently in, the only thing truly keeping me put at the moment is the fact I can still feel him through the bond.

"Don't let him hear you say that, Zedd or he'll kick your ass despite risking another round of stitches."

"Kira, in the time I've been with him, I've failed to protect him twice from Calan, once from Mesogog, I didn't even realize something had gone wrong while he was carrying Jacob, and now this."

"Zedd, none of us realized something was wrong. He didn't even realize it and he was the one bleeding internally. As for the rest, shit happens, with the lives you both have led and still lead, you can't save each other from everything all the time."

"I know that, but it doesn't make me feel any less like a failure when it does happen."

"I'm sure that Tommy feels the same way when he's failed to protect you. And, by the way, yes you and Tommy are both my high standards. I would be extremely lucky to find someone to love me as much as you two obviously do each other. Hell, even when you're fighting, anyone with eyes can see that you love each other."

A disturbing thought occurs to me. "Kira, you - don't feel trapped here, do you? Like your opportunities are limited here?"

Surprised, she replies, "No, of course not. You have no restrictions on me. If I wanted to go back to Earth tomorrow, you wouldn't force me to stay."

"Beg, maybe, at the moment."

"Not that I'd abandon you guys right now anyway, but what the hell brought that on?"

I sigh. "Many years ago someone accused me of denying Thomas any other options for mates by keeping him here with me. It wasn't true, but I've wondered from time to time if you being here has denied you the opportunity to find a mate to be happy with."

She sighs in return, rolling her eyes as she does. "Zedd, I have been on dates since I've been here."

"Very few and far in between. Hell, you're gone more often recording your music than dating. I don't want you giving up something you want or maybe even need to be here with us. Not that we don't want you here, but we definitely don't want it to be at the expense of your happiness."

"Zedd, I'm happy here with all of you. Right now, you have bigger things to worry about than fixing me up with a date. I'll take Mara Jane and the baby in with me and you go tend to your husband." I'm not thrilled by the suggestion, not really wanting my children out of my sight at the moment, however I know there's no way I will be able to give Thomas the attention and care he needs right now while tending to them as well.

"I'll help you." In minutes we have the crib from the nursery moved into her room and Mara Jane tucked in Kira's bed. "Are you sure about this?"

She nods. "It's just for a night or two. If you would grab the rocking chair for me, though, that would be great."

While I'm at it, I grab the bottle warmer and an insulated bag filled with bottles. I know she shouldn't need them all, but better too many than not enough. "If you need anything, or they need us, please don't hesitate."

"I won't, now please go make sure Tommy's okay before you give yourself a stroke."

A quick kiss for both my children and a quick hug for Kira and I'm off to check on my mate. She's just as worried about Thomas as I am, but she hides it well. Somehow I get the feeling that's something she's picked up from Pina, Dar and myself.

I head back to my room, knowing that Thomas is still there. When I arrive, Pina and Dar are settling Thomas back in bed. Dar starts cleaning up as Pina addresses me. "It's not nearly as bad as I thought. A few of the inside stitches gave in addition to the outside ones, but everything's okay now."

"He doesn't look okay" I state, taking in my clearly heavily bandaged, and very likely drugged up mate.

"Okay, so, perhaps 'okay' isn't the right word, but everything will be all right…Well, it's under control, anyway."

"She loaded him up on pain killers" Dar states as he finishes cleaning up the blood from the floor. "He might not be okay, but he's at least not in any pain at the moment." That's a small comfort at I suppose.

I nod. I feel bad once more that I couldn't protect him, despite Kira's earlier words. I barely hear Thomas' soft voice. "It's all right, kalleimat. It's not your fault. I should have locked the door."

"I should have seen the diversion for what it was."

"Yeah, we should have too, but we didn't."

Thomas looks puzzled. "You didn't? Well then who- Kira?"

I nod. "She saw them sneak into the castle."

He considers this for a minute. "So nobody realized it was a diversion until she saw them sneak in. Sounds to me like sheer luck that kept things from being any worse."

"No, not luck, Thomas. You. Without you, they would have gotten away with whatever it was they were trying to do." Something that from the looks of it either involved him or our children.

"It would be nice to know who and why and what the goal was."

"Don't worry. We will." The determination in Dar's words is as firm as my own. After all, any destruction and havoc that I wreak will be much more effective if I can deliver the proper message with it. And I have no doubt that the prisoner in the dungeon will certainly be able to give us the information we seek.

"Not tonight" Thomas says as firmly as he's able, seconded by Pina. "Make whoever you have in the dungeon wait a couple of days to be questioned. I want to be there and I'm going to need at least that long. Feed him, but don't question him."

"Agreed" Dar nods. "Let him worry for a while."

The couple clears out of the room and I quickly change clothes and curl up with my mate. "I'm sorry, Thomas."

"Still not your fault. But we are going to find out whose fault it is and make them sorry that they ever decided to mess with us."