A/N: Can't believe I'm saying this but here we are at the final chapter! I want to thank you all for hanging in there for this wild ride of a story. I really hope you enjoy the ending. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review. You all mean the world to be and I am forever grateful!
July 1, 2005
Somewhere Across the Mexican Border
"What the fuck." Nick said, shaking his head. He looked bewildered, amazed that someone he had shot and left for dead was standing in front of him. "You're like one of those fucking chickens in a cock fight. If I cut your head off, will you run around for a couple minutes too?" He called out, glaring at Tommy. Tommy came to a stop about ten yards away, a hard expression on his face. He still wore his bloody white dress shirt and black pants from the basement, his hair billowing in the wind without it's tie holding it in place. I've never been so relieved to see Tommy before in my life. I was confused though. I had seen Nick shoot him. Why wasn't he dead or in a hospital right now? Was he some kind of indestructible person that I wasn't aware of?
"Maybe next time, you should make sure you shoot twice." Tommy replied.
"I'll keep that in mind for this time." Nick said. He pulled the gun from his waist line and pressed it against my temple. "You've kinda interrupted something important."
"Give me my daughter and I'll let you get right back to it." Tommy said. Nick laughed.
"You think I'm just going to let you waltz right in here and take Kim and the baby after everything that's happened? You're delusional, Tommy Oliver. That's for sure." Tommy shook his head.
"I don't want Kimberly." He said. My eyes widened at the words. "You can keep her if you want. I just want my daughter. She means nothing to you and is just a liability for you at this point. Keep Kimberly and let me take Lily back home. You can do whatever you want after that."
"Well, I'll be damned." Nick said, letting out a chuckle. "If I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I wouldn't have believed it for myself." Nick nudged my shoulder with his. "Did you hear that, Kimmy? Tommy doesn't even want you anymore."
"Why would I want to save someone who has done nothing but lie to me and tried to keep my daughter away from me since the beginning?" Tommy shifted his glance from Nick to me, locking his eyes with mine. "I'll be fine if I never have to see your face again." I felt the sting of tears in my eyes as his words cut into me like a knife. He did hate me and I didn't blame him. I had caused all of this pain and chaos. If I had been honest with him in the beginning, Lily wouldn't have been put into so much danger and he wouldn't have had to run here to Mexico to save her. At least this way, I knew Lily was going to be with Tommy and that she was going to be safe. If I was destined to spend the rest of my life here with Nick, it was at least with the knowledge Lily wasn't going to face the same fate. This was the best solution I was being handed, even though it hurt like hell to know that Tommy didn't love me anymore. It was my own fault and I had to deal with the consequences of my actions.
"Oof. That's harsh. Do you have anything you'd like to say, Kimmy?" Nick asked. "Since we're getting everything off our chests here."
"Fuck off." I said, glaring up at Nick. He pushed the gun into my temple with more pressure, making me turn back to face Tommy. I looked back over at Tommy. "I didn't do it to hurt you." He scoffed, shaking his head at me. The look in his eyes told me just how angry he was with what I had done. His gaze hardened as he formed words in his mind before he said them out loud.
"Oh, yeah? Cause that's literally what happened. That's all that ever happens with you, Kim. Ever since you came back here, you're just one ticking time bomb of hurt for everyone around you. Did you think that I didn't deserve to know or something? Or that I wasn't prepared to know the truth? But yet, I was good enough for you to pretend to be the father. It makes no sense to me no matter how you think you're going to spin it."
"I'm not spinning anything!" I exclaimed. Tommy shook his head, the anger in his features on his face growing.
"I'm here for Lily and I'm not leaving without her." He said.
"There's a lot of angst here right now, isn't there?" Nick said, sounding amused. "I'll admit that I didn't see this twist coming. I mean, sure. The knight in shining white armor is so cliche of the two of you. But to have Tommy not want to save you because of the lying bitch you are. That's just a shock that I don't think any of us saw coming."
"Enough with your dramatics, Nick." Tommy called. "Give me Lily so you can get back to whatever you two are doing."
"Here's the thing; I love the idea of you not wanting Kimmy anymore. It's like poetic justice to my ears." Nick said. "And it does get me more private time with my bride to be. But, I've kinda grown on the idea of being a Dad. I know I may not seem it but I'm really a family guy. I've got the whole vision for us. Nice house, white picket fence. Hell, maybe even a dog in the yard. Kimmy will be cooking me dinner every night while Lily learns how to take over our family business someday. Has quite the ring to it if you ask me. I'm not seeing where having you in the picture is going to work with me."
"We can have more kids." I said, looking up at Nick. "We know I can now. Let Tommy have Lily and I can give you kids that are yours."
"That's a nice offer but I suppose I should be honest with you now if we're going to start fresh. I had a vasectomy about a year ago. I never wanted to have kids with you and you just kept pushing the idea. So, I snipped the problem away." I glared at him.
"You knew that whole time that the baby was never yours." I said. He nodded.
"I was just as surprised as you when I found the pregnancy test. I knew if I pushed your buttons enough, you'd admit that you slept with this hair bag over here. Face it, Kimmy. Once a whore, always a whore. I knew that if you could cheat on Tommy with me, you could cheat on me with Tommy. It was just a matter of time before you fucked up. It was interesting to see just how far you would carry this lie with you, though."
"I hate you." I said, pulling against his grip. He squeezed tighter,
"Oh, we can work on all that later. Now, Tommy. Let's get back to business here. I'm not an unreasonable guy. I'm willing to make a deal with you. I mean, she is a pretty cute kid after all. I don't see why you wouldn't want to fight for her. That is what you do after all. You're all about swooping in and saving the day. So, what does your daughter's life mean to you? How much is it worth?"
"You want me to pay for my daughter's life?" Tommy asked. Nick shrugged.
"I mean, you'll end up doing it one way or another, am I right?" He said, laughing. "Girls are pricey. Especially one that came from Kimmy. What are you willing to give me in exchange for your daughter?"
"What do you want?" Tommy called out. "I don't have money laying around like that."
"There's plenty more than just money we could trade. Let me think for a moment…" Nick removed the gun from my temple and drummed it against his chin for a moment. "You know, come to think of it, I don't think you have anything I could really want. I mean I blew up your dojo, I stole your kid, and I have your woman right here that you don't even want anymore. Not much of a bargaining chip."
"Then I'll bargain with you." I said, glancing up at Nick. "If you let Tommy take Lily right now, I promise to not run away. I won't say another word about him or Lily. We can start a new life all over again. You have my word."
"The word of a whore doesn't mean much to me." Nick said.
"I'll even marry you again in a real ceremony. Make everything legal and set in stone. You were right about coming back to Angel Grove. We never should have done it. I'm sorry. We can pick up where we left off in Miami. Just you and me." I could see conflict in Nick's eyes as he looked down at mine.
"Give him the baby." Nick said, slowly raising his eyes from mine over to Gracie.
"You sure about this, man?" Pete asked, taking a step forward.
"Yeah. She's telling the truth."
"But we could use the baby as leverage. Or ransom." Pete replied. Nick shook his head.
"Just give him the baby so he can finally be the fuck out of our lives." Gracie mumbled something under her breath before walking over to Tommy. She held Lily out to Tommy who gently took her in his arms. He looked so relieved to be holding her again and inside, I felt the edges of my heart begin to crack. This was going to be the last time I ever saw her again. Tommy glanced down at Lily and then back up at me.
"Can she say good-bye to her? It's the least you could do." Tommy called out.
"No. The least I could do is to shoot you between the eyes right now." Nick replied. I let out a shallow breath, trying to contain my sobs. Nick must have heard it because he let out a frustrated noise. "Fine." He walked towards Tommy, shoving me with him. Nick came to a stop a few feet away from Tommy and shoved me forward. He pointed the gun at me still but allowed me to reach out and take Lily from Tommy's arms.
"Hey, sweet girl." I said. Lily's eyes gazed up at me as I rocked her. My eyes blurred as I kissed her forehead. "You'll never know how much you changed my life. I am so happy to be your mom. You're going to be so happy growing up with your Daddy. I've never regretted anything about you and I will spend the rest of my life missing you." Tears streamed down my face as I held her close. My miracle baby that I fought for would be gone forever and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wasn't going to be there to watch her grow up. I wouldn't see her first day of school. I wouldn't be there to dress for her prom dress. I wouldn't be there for her wedding day. I was going to miss her entire life. But it was worth it to know that she was going to be safe and that Nick was going to be nowhere near her. "I love you." I whispered, kissing her head. I shifted my eyes to look over at Tommy. "Please let her know my mom. She deserves the chance to know her granddaughter. And watch out for Marci. I know she's going to worry but tell her I'm fine."
"I will." Tommy said, nodding.
"She has an inhaler in the kitchen drawer. She doesn't know about it but her mom told me she had asthma as a kid and I always keep it on hand just in case she has a random episode." I let out a little laugh. "You know how much she hates it when I mother her too much. Don't let her get too serious with that boy too soon and make sure she goes to college."
"Kim…" Tommy said, stepping towards me.
"I know. I know." I said, smiling at him. "I am so glad that Lily is going to have you there, Tommy. You're the best father she could ever have." I nuzzled my cheek against Lily's head.
"Let's wrap this up." Nick said. Nodding, I moved to hand Tommy Lily. As I did, he put a hand on my elbow.
"Duck." He whispered, his eyes locking with mine. I looked at him with confusion. I heard some popping noises and then suddenly, I felt Tommy dive forward into me. As he did, I saw behind him. The RV exploded, pieces of it flying high in the air. The noise was deafening and the force knocked us to the ground. An enormous fire blow flew into the air. I wrapped my arms around Lily on instinct, Tommy's around me. A tire flew by, narrowly missing my head. The ground shook underneath me and I could hear Nick and his men let out yells from the blast. The heat from the flames was almost unbearable, making me wonder if I still had hair left on my head for a moment as we laid there, trying to recover. My ears were ringing, bringing me back to that night the dojo blew up. Tommy stood up, making sure Lily was still in my arms as he did. He ran away from me, leaving me on the ground.
"Are you okay?" A far away voice said next to me. Turning, I was surprised to see that it was Trini. She was crouched next to me, a smile on her face.
"Trini! What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Rescuing you, silly." She said. I looked over my shoulder and saw that someone was dragging Pete to his feet. It was Billy. And next to them, I noticed that Andrew was fighting with Adam. Gracie was cowering behind her husband, a large gash on her head with blood smeared down her face. Nick and Tommy were going blow to blow by the cliff.
"Take Lily and get her somewhere safe." I said, handing the baby to Trini. Trini took her but grabbed my arm.
"You're coming with me too. Aisha and Rocky are waiting on the FBI down the road. Let me take you to them and then we can come back with back up." She said. I shook my head.
"Tommy needs my help. Please, Trini. Just take her and go." I scrambled to my feet, fighting to get my footing for a second without any shoes on. Burning pieces of the RV and sharp rocks were scattered on the ground, making it hard for me to run. As I headed to where Tommy and Nick were going at it, I felt someone grab my ankle. This caused me to trip and fall on my front. Rolling over, I saw it was Gracie.
"You did this!" She yelled, glaring at me. I rolled over on to my back side and brought my other foot up. I brought it back down with as much force as I could muster, connecting the heel of my foot with the middle of her face. Her head shot back as I heard some loud crack. Blood sprayed from her injury as well as her nose now, a cry coming from her that sounded garbled. She rolled over on her back and brought her hands up to her face. I stood up and walked over to her.
"That's what you get for being a disgusting excuse of a human being." I said. Bending down, I reached into her pocket and pulled out the jewelry of mine she had stolen. "I'll take these back, too. Thanks." I nudged her away with my foot, shoving the jewelry into the bust of my dress.
"Fuck you!" I heard someone yell in a rage. I turned just in time to see Nick pistol whip Tommy across the face. Tommy let out a grunt as he fell backwards, landing on his hands and knees. Nick pointed the gun in Tommy's direction, cocking it. I ran towards Nick as fast as I could, a deranged look on his face as he moved to pull the trigger. I leapt forward, colliding with him. His eyes widened when he saw me coming and we both flew backwards. He landed on the ground about a foot away from me, his gun sliding out of his hand and over toward the cliff ledge. It stopped, inches for it. I skidded to a stop on the gravel, the rocks digging into the skin on my legs and shoulders. I could taste dirt in my mouth and felt the grittiness on my tongue. Shifting, I saw Nick clamber to his hands and knees and reach out for the gun. He couldn't get that. I couldn't let him.
I pulled myself up to my feet and ran. He saw me coming and flopped himself forward to grab it. I jumped, flipping over him. I landed on my feet next to the gun and grabbed it as his fingers grabbed the barrel of it. He pulled it and me down to the ground. I kicked and pushed against him, doing my best to keep both of my hands on the weapon. He used his free hand to claw at my arms and face, trying to get me to let go. He elbowed me as hard as he could in the torso, taking my breath away. I gasped, the pain radiating through my entire midsection. I didn't let go though as I was trying to suck in more air. His finger was close to the trigger as we struggled for the gun, the barrel going back and forth between the two of us. His finger hit the trigger and the gun went off, a bullet whizzing by my head into the dirt behind me. I used the distraction of that to my advantage and kicked Nick as hard as I could between his legs. He let out a wheezing noise, his hands falling from the gun to his groin. I kneed him in the chin as I moved to stand, walking backwards from him. The gun was still in my hand as I tried to catch my breath. He moved to stand, anger on his features. I raised the gun and pointed it at him.
"Oh, c'mon. You know you don't have it in you to shoot me, Kimmy." Nick said.
"I don't?" I asked. I pointed the gun at the ground by his foot and squeezed the trigger. The bullet narrowly missed his toes, causing him to move his foot quickly. I pointed it back at his torso again. "Wanna wager that guess again?" I asked. Looking around, I saw that Billy had Pete detained on the ground. His wrists were in zip ties. Adam was kicking Andrew who was laying on the ground. Gracie was still on the ground where I had left her, a white fabric in her hand that she had pressed to her face. Tommy walked over and stood next to me.
"Well, do it then. Show me just how much of a strong woman you are now." Nick said, licking his lips.
"I've always been a strong woman. I was one before I met you and I still am. I just let you beat me down and take my self confidence away because I would rather not have that than someone who claimed to love me." I said, glaring at him. "That's changed now. The moment you put my daughter at risk is the same moment where you fucked your life up the most. You have no clue who I really fucking am, buddy. I have every right to shoot you right between the eyes right now. And believe me. I'll make that shot too." I've made harder shots with my power bow when I was on the team. I knew I could make this one easily, even if he tried to run or dodge it.
"Do it then." Nick said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Kim," Tommy said, putting a hand on my bicep. "He's not worth it."
"He tried to hurt Lily." I said, not looking away from Nick who smirked. I gripped the gun tighter. "He tried to kill all of us."
"I know but if you do this, you're just going to become a monster just like him. Let the FBI deal with him."
"Don't let him talk you out of it, Kimberly! Show me how much I hurt you. Make me pay for it." Nick called out.
"I could end this once and for all." I whispered. Memories of everything Nick has done to me flashed through my head. The beatings. The rapes. The constant abuse. Him trying to kill me. Him trying to end my pregnancy. Him threatening to hurt Marci. Him threatening to kill everyone I loved. The dojo blowing up. Trini and Jason's house getting destroyed. Everything. He tortured me to the brink of making me hate myself and he almost cost me my daughter. I had every right in the world to end his life right now.
"Shooting him won't end this. It'll eat you up inside. If you shoot him, you're going to be the one spending your life in jail. Lily doesn't deserve that. She needs her mother to be there with her, not sitting in a jail cell somewhere because of this loser. He knows that too. That's why he's egging you on." Tommy put a hand on the small of my back. "Lower the gun, okay?" I broke my gaze from Nick and glanced at Tommy. Nodding, I lowered the pistol. I knew he was right. Killing Nick was only going to be a temporary fix to everything he had caused. It wouldn't make the pain go away, just the beginning source.
"I knew you couldn't do it." Nick called out to me. I glared over at him, raising the gun. I fired, a bullet hitting him in his left shin. I fired again, hitting him in the left. He let out howls of pain as he collapsed to the ground, holding his legs. I tossed the gun over the side of the cliff, watching it fall fifty feet below until it was out of my sight. I walked over and stood above him.
"Don't fuck with my family again." I said, lightly kicking his left leg. It moved in a gross fashion, causing him to let out a loud scream. Adam shoved Andrew down on the ground near Nick, Andrew's hands tied behind his back. His face was swollen, blood in the corner of his mouth and down his shirt. Adam wiped his hands off on his black slacks, his wedding tux ruined from fighting. Billy's was also ruined, the shirt ripped from fighting and dirt caked to it.
"That brings me back." Adam said. "Swooping in to save the day and taking care of the bad guys. I forgot how much I missed it."
"Well, I don't." Billy said, cleaning his glasses. "I much prefer the technological side of things at this age."
"And you do a marvelous job at it." Adam said, smirking at his husband. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I remembered that Tommy had been standing there. I moved to say something but he pointed behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that Trini was standing behind Adam and Billy with Lily in her hands. She was closer to the RV wreckage, bouncing the baby in her arms.
"Lily!" I said, relief in my chest. I walked towards them, excited to see my baby again. Things might be changing now that I would need to share her with Tommy but for right now, she was mine and that was all that mattered.
"KIMBERLY!" Tommy yelled loudly, panic in his voice. I looked back towards him to see what was wrong. As I did, I saw that Nick was pulling a gun from Andrew's pant leg by his boot. He raised the gun and pointed it. It wasn't in my direction. Instead, it was pointed right at Trini and Lily. Trini's eyes widened as she saw the gun. I heard the blast as Nick pulled the trigger.
"No!" I exclaimed, running towards them. I stretched my body out as much as I could, leaving the ground. I felt something slam into my chest with the force of a car. It took the air right out of me as I felt pain shoot through my body. I fell to the ground, crumpling near Trini's feet. I could hear yelling and punches being thrown.
"Kim? Kimberly!" Trini said, kneeling next to me. I looked up at her and saw that her and Lilly were unharmed.
"You're okay." I breathed out.
"Oh my god. Tommy!" Trini called out, looking panic stricken. He appeared on my other side, propping my head up in his hand.
"Stay with me, Beautiful." He said, looking down at me. "Where did it hit you?" He asked.
"My chest." I whispered. "It's okay, Tommy. It's okay."
"No. Don't say that to me." He said and I could see tears welling up in his eyes. I shook my head. Picking up my arm, I gingerly reached into my bra. It hurt as I dug to where the bullet had hit me. I pulled out the necklaces. One had been a necklace that my grandmother had given to me. I wanted Tommy to have it to give to Lily. When I pulled the necklaces out though, my power coin can with it. The coin fell from the web of chains and Tommy caught it with his free hand. I saw there was something sticking to it. Tommy let out a small chuckle as he turned it over in his hand. That's when I saw it had been the bullet attached to it. The bullet had hit my power coin. It had saved my life again, even though it had all the power ability of a paper weight.
"Best present ever." I said, smiling weakly up at him. Tommy sniffled, nodding as he laughed.
"Come on. Let's get you up." He said. Slowly, he helped me to my feet. It still hurt where I had been shot but it was good to know that I wasn't bleeding to death at the moment. I saw that Adam and Billy were now restraining Nick who was looking more bloody now that he had before. Behind us, I heard what sounded like sirens and the blades of a helicopter. Black cars and SUVs swarmed into the parking area, a helicopter flying in above us and over the trees.
"Aisha and Rocky brought back up." Trini said, smiling. From one of the cars, I saw Aisha and Rocky climb out. Aisha smiled when she saw me and she came running towards us.
"Girl, I am so glad to see the two of you!" She said, giving me a hug. I winced from the force but I returned it.
"How did you guys even find us?" I asked.
"It was Billy. He managed to track your cell phone down here. Smart thinking in grabbing it." Trini said. I shook my head, confused.
"I didn't grab my cell phone. I had lost it when they hit us." I replied. Suddenly, it dawned on me that Gracie had stolen my power coin. That meant she had been in my purse. She had probably stolen the whole thing and had it stashed somewhere in the RV. She had saved us even though she hadn't meant to.
"I'm just glad it worked." Aisha said. Several FBI agents walked over and Adam, Billy, and Tommy helped them bring Andrew, Gracie, Pete and Nick towards their vehicles. Nick needed to be carried by two agents due to his gunshot wounds. Nick glared at me as he passed and I smiled, waving at him as he passed. This caused him to yell out in rage but they shoved him into the back of a truck and shut the door.
"Is Jason okay?" I asked, remembering the crash and what had happened at the house. Trini nodded.
"Yes. Luckily, him and Tommy had only been grazed when Nick shot them. Jason needed surgery though. That's the only reason he's not here. But Tommy only needed some stitches but he refused them once he knew that we figured out where you two were." Lily squirmed in Trini's arms. "I think someone wants their mommy."
"I know her mommy wants her." I said, holding my arms out for her. I took Lily, putting her on my side that wasn't throbbing. "Mommy thought she was never going to see you again. I'm pretty sure I'm never going to let you out of my sight again." I kissed her forehead. Looking around, I searched for Tommy. I didn't see him by the cars any more. Shifting, I saw that he was standing by the cliff, overlooking it. I took a deep breath. "C'mon. Let's go see Daddy."
Walking over, I saw that the sun had fully risen now and made the ground feel warm under my feet. Tommy's hands were tucked into his pockets and he had a look on his face that told me he was looking faraway at things that weren't there. I came to a stop next to him, biting my lip.
"Hey." I whispered. He shifted, seeing me standing there. "Are you hurt?" I asked. He shook his head.
"No. I'm fine."
"Tommy, you were in a head on collision and you were shot today. Even Superman knows when he needs to take a five minute breather." I said. He shrugged his shoulders and kicked at the ground at his feet.
"It's nothing I can't get taken care of at home." He replied. I took a deep breath.
"Tommy, I meant what I said. I never intended for anyone to get hurt. I was afraid something was going to happen if anyone knew you were Lily's real father. That's the only reason I didn't tell you." I said. "I know you don't want to see me any more and I understand why. I appreciate you saving us. And I hope that we can make this work so that we can both be in Lily's life." Tommy turned to face me.
"I meant what I said too." He replied. My heart fell. He really does hate me. For good reason though. "At first." He sighed. "Kim, I was so angry when I found out I was really Lily's father. I couldn't understand why you thought it was okay for you to lie to me and to keep this secret. I'm still a little upset about it, honestly. But then I saw him threaten to kill her and I knew why you did it. In that moment, I was willing to do whatever it took to make sure she was safe. I know that's the reason why you did it as well." I nodded, looking over the view next to us.
"I was also worried that you would keep her from me because of the decisions I've made in my life." I said softly. "I know I've messed up and I would do the same thing but I just can't picture not having her in my life."
"I know the feeling. I never would have kept you from her, Kim. But I get it. I do." He took his hands out of his pockets and stroked Lily's cheek. "I mean, you wouldn't want to see this face every day."
"I'm so sorry, Tommy. I really am. But now that you know, we can work things out and come up with a custody agreement or some kind of arrangement so we can share her." I kissed Lily's other cheek. "We can make this whole co-parenting thing work for us."
"Or," He said. "We can try making us work again. For good this time."
"What?" I asked, looking up at him. He reached over and took my hand in his.
"I know it's not going to be easy and we have plenty of shit to work through but I still want this. I want you. I want Lily. I even want the bratty teenager. I want our little family."
"But what about what I did?" I asked.
"It sucked. Sure did. But I'm willing to put it behind us if you're willing to work on trusting me. I'm not Nick, Kim. I know you get scared and you have every reason to. But we can work on our baggage together. This is our end game. We were meant to be together no matter what happens."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"I love you, Kimberly." He whispered, stroking my hand with his thumb.
"I love you, too." I said, tears welling in my eyes. "And I'm all in as long as you are."
"Me too. Unless you don't want to." He said. "Then we can make something else work. I'm sure Kat wouldn't mind being a stepmom."
"Shut up." I said, laughing. Reaching up, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer to me. Standing on my tippy toes, I pressed my lips to his. He returned the kiss, carefully wrapping his arms around Lily and me. When I pulled away, he kissed the top of Lily's head.
"Think it's time I get my girls home."
