Chapter 6
One Year Later
Finola lifted her baby out of his crib and cradled him in her arms. Four-month-old Jeremy smiled up at her. Her heart glowed looking down at her beautiful son, who they named after her mother, Jenna. She tickled his chin, eliciting one of those cheerful baby laughs.
She settled into the padded rocking chair to nurse him. He ate well, never fussy. It soothed her frazzled nerves to spend this special time with him. She definitely need it after having to leave him in daycare while she and Bryan dealt with the threat they learned about this morning.
Voices drifted up the stairs and Finola wished she had closed the door. Bryan and Maddox. They were scared. She got it. She was terrified of the threat too. But for right now, she wanted to forget about it, to just nurse her baby in peace.
After a little while, she realized Jeremy had fallen asleep. His little eyelids fluttered as he dreamed. Finola laid him down in his crib. He whined for a moment before settling back into slumber.
Finola checked to make sure the window was locked. Then she clicked on the motion sensor and positioned it between the bed and the door. Finally, she waved at the camera in the corner. At least they let her angle the rocking chair the other way for some privacy while nursing.
She paused on the stairs before traveling down to the bottom, listening.
"There's no reason for them to think that a four-month-old baby would have access to the power of the debris!" Bryan yelled.
Finola could hear fear and anger lacing Bryan's voice. She knew it came from a place of love, but hated he had to experience it. Bryan had become an amazing father, just as he'd promised her on the bathroom floor all those months ago. Sure, it had taken him a little bit to get used the diaper thing, but he'd figured it out. Now, seeing his protectiveness for their son lashing out, it made her love him that much more. She sat down next to him on the sofa and took his hand. She laced her fingers between his, focusing on his wedding ring as it pressed against her skin. It linked them together in more than one way against this threat.
He looked down at their interlocked hands. His body relaxed some. He drew in a shuddering breath. "Sorry."
Maddox, who sat in the chair on the opposite side, gave them a sad smile. "I understand. I really do. If someone threatened Dario, I'd be freaking out too. But according to my contact, INFLUX is convinced that because your son was conceived through the power of the debris, he possesses that power. Therefore, they want him."
"No!" Finola retorted sharply. "They can't him! He doesn't have any special powers!"
This time, Bryan calmed her down with a hand on her knee. He spoke up again, his voice steady now. "We've run every genetic test on him. No abnormalities. The pediatrician says he's meeting his milestones, but not exceeding them. There's no evidence of what they're saying. What about any of the other babies? Any of them showing unusual abilities or behaviors?"
"No," Maddox answered. "I've contacted the three other families with children resulting from this particular debris incident and none of them have reported anything different than what you are telling me. I've put security details on all of them as well, although the threat seemed more targeted to you."
Finola frowned. "How does INFLUX even know about the circumstances of his conception? We were assured the details of that incident were sealed," she pointed out.
Maddox's jaw tightened and he took a deep breath. "That information is supposed to be classified, but it does seem appropriate at this time to bring you two in on my suspicion that Orbital has been infiltrated by a mole."
"Shit," Bryan cursed.
"Any idea who it could be?" Finola questioned.
Maddox shook his head. "No, just a hunch at the moment based on INFLUX having knowledge of things they shouldn't. Things like this."
The idea that one of their own could betray them like that brought back the very painful memory of Finola's father. Not only that, but they threatened the life of her child. "I want in on this. I'll find that traitor," she growled.
Maddox nodded. "I'd like to get your expertise for that. Come to my office tomor-"
Jarring sirens blared through the house, making them all jump. Even over that noise, the shrill cries of an infant in distress could be heard.
Bryan tore out of the room first, his gun already in his hand as he took the stairs two at a time. Finola followed on his heels.
Maddox trailed behind, ripping open the front door for the two agents stationed in the surveillance van outside. They also had their guns out. They thundered up the steps too.
At the top of the stairs, Bryan slammed into the nursery door, which Finola always left open a crack. The door flew open and Bryan aimed his gun at a figure laying prone on the floor. It was too dark to really see any details about it. "Hey!" he yelled.
The screaming of her son drowned out every other noise in Finola's ears. He sounds to be in agony and so many horrible thoughts of what might have been done to him flooded her mind. Despite the possible danger to herself, she squeezed through the doorway behind Bryan.
"Finola! Stop!" Bryan yelled.
The darkness pressed in and she could barely see anything. But her baby still shrieked and she wasn't leaving him in there alone. She shirted past the splayed legs on the floor. She scooped Jeremy out of the crib, cradling him against her. Then she hid herself in the corner behind the rocking chair, angling herself to shield him from any oncoming harm.
Jeremy clung to her, twisting his little hands into her shirt. His cries lessened from full onslaught to whiny hiccups. She unconsciously stroked his back.
The lights flicked on, practically blinding her. She shut her eyes involuntarily but forced them back open a moment later. Bryan and the two other agents had surrounded the body on the floor, guns all pointing at it.
It didn't move.
Finola could see legs ending in feet covered with shoes just a few feet from her. Yet, those appeared to be the only normal parts left. The entire upper half of the body looked like it had been melted. The flesh had turned a ghastly white and parts had liquefied. An obscene, caustic smell touched her nose and made her gag a little. She noticed one of the other agents put his hand to his nose.
The other agent jabbed his foot at the hip area, below where the area of disfigurement. He still didn't move. "This guy's toast. Or maybe pudding," the agent said.
Nobody laughed. Everybody winced.
Bryan holstered his weapon, the intruder no longer a threat. He strode past the body and over to Finola. Gently, he guided her, still holding their baby, out of the room. "Is he okay?" Bryan asked out in the hallway. Before Finola could even answer, Bryan started examining him. He ran his hands down Jeremy's arms, legs, back and head. Tilting Jeremy's chin up so Bryan could check his face, the baby looked at him with wide eyes. "I think he's okay." He looked at Finola. "Are you okay?"
"Not sure yet. Ask me in an hour. I need to get the baby carrier. I'm strapping him on me and not letting him out of my sight until he's eighteen years old." She said, angry at the whole situation.
Bryan chuckled, breaking the tension surrounding him. "He might get a little heavy before then."
Maddox exited the room with a scowl on his face. "I want to know how that bastard got in there and what the hell happened to him. I've already called the response team, which should be here any minute." His eyes softened when he looked at the baby, who now had his thumb stuck in his mouth. "How's the little guy?"
"Apparently unscathed," Bryan told his boss, relief written all over his face.
"Thank goodness," Maddox breathed out. "Let's go view the footage in the van. That way we can get better resolution."
Nodding, they all headed for the door, stopping only to strap Jeremy in the baby carrier around Finola. In the van, they all crowded around the monitors. Maddox queued up the footage, which didn't have sound associated with it, only picture. At least it was in color. For several minutes, nothing happened. Then they watched Finola walking in the room and going about nursing the baby. Just as they watched her leaving the room on the screen, two more vans pulled up behind them outside.
"That's the response team. I'm going to show them the mess upstairs. Pause when you get to something significant. I'll be right back." Maddox climbed out.
Finola and Bryan continued watching. Again, nothing happened for a couple of minutes. Then things got significant. Neither of them reached for the pause button, letting it continue to run.
The man appeared in the room. He didn't come in through the window or the door, just magically arrived in a puff of smoke. It reminded Finola of an old-fashioned magician doing a lounge act.
She gasped, her heart rate skyrocketing as she watched him creep over to the crib and reach inside. Bryan put his hand over hers, silently reminding her this already happened. It wasn't happening again.
The man on the screen moved his leg and it must have hit the alarm sensor because he looked around wildly.
An eerie green glow sprang to life within the crib.
Finola's eyes widened, her stomach clenching.
The man's head whipped back down to the crib in alarm. He struggled, seemingly trying to extract his arms from the crib but couldn't. His mouth opened in a silent scream. Then, as if propelled, he collapsed on the floor. The top half of his body sizzled and melted rapidly. He only just stopped twitching when Bryan burst through the door with gun drawn.
So many emotions flooded Finola's head. Everything they'd wondered, feared, about their son had been true. Jeremy had debris-related abilities! Even at four months old, he'd been able to protect himself from abduction. He'd always be a target for INFLUX.
But what about Orbital? She trusted Maddox, but only to a point. Would they still see him as a baby? Or would they see him as a resource? Or a weapon?
No, she couldn't allow that. No matter what he was, he'd always be her child before anything else.
She looked into Bryan's eyes. His own fears reflected back at her. She put her finger on the DELETE button, but didn't press it yet. They couldn't see this footage, even Maddox. Their boss, a father himself, might not be okay with taking Jeremy, but what about those above him? She looked back at Bryan for confirmation.
He glanced at her finger then down at the baby strapped to her. Jeremy had fallen asleep during all of this excitement. He still had his thumb stuck in his mouth, looking like the cutest, most innocent thing she could imagine. Bryan ran a finger through his son's curly brown hair. Even though they both knew the significance of their actions, he nodded slowly to Finola.
She pushed the button.
The End
Author Note: Not sure if anyone read this, but I hope you liked it! I just loved exploring how changing one thing can create a completely different reality. Now this Bryan and Finola have a son with abilities who is being targeted by INFLUX and maybe Orbital if they found out. I'm not planning on going on with this story but it's fun to think about. This was really just going to be some smut that then developed into a full-blown story.
Are you are wondering (I know you aren't but I put some thought into it) why they have a son here instead of having Bryanna, the daughter in "Switching Through the Debris"? She was actually born a few years after they get married so it would be illogical to have the same child earlier. Although, I am toying with the idea of adding an epilogue chapter about her to that story.
Of course, the mole is still Grace! Why do I always make her the antagonist in my stories? I just couldn't get over her shooting Bryan in the back during the second Icarus episode simply because he was acting strangely. You'd think they'd get a little leeway working around debris, which could have any effect on people. Anyone else watch the show "Legends of Tomorrow"? I discovered Grace from Debris also plays Kayla the tentacle alien who breeds with Rory on that show. Fun connection!
Still haven't heard anything about this show getting picked up. Also just learned another show I was really getting into, "Y: The Last Man," has also been dropped. I'm almost afraid to get into shows these days because they seem to get dropped so fast!
I think I have one more story in me, a fluffy, light one-shot. Sadly, after that, I may have to say good-bye to Bryan and Finola. I'll miss them.
