And now for the first of this weekend's posts!

"As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line

You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line."

(I Walk The Line- Johnny Cash)

He could hear Maia's terrified screams, but couldn't get to her. Just like before, when the door to their cell creaked opened, Maia wasn't there, but he could follow her scent. He ran faster than he ever had in his life to get to her. She was back in their old cell, but he really didn't care. She looked far worse than she had the last time they'd been reunited like this. She looked up slowly when he entered, blinking like she couldn't see clearly, "L, I killed a man." He couldn't help but scoff and show her his claws as a reminder of his own homicidal tendencies.

Maia shook her head, "I did it with my mind, L. A guard. I told him to kill himself, and he did. Blew his own brains out right in front of me. I've never been able to do anything like that before." Nothing he could say could cover that. He instead pulled her into his arms and back down onto their tiny old cot, swearing to protect her from ever being in such a situation again. Their freedom wasn't worth destroying her beautiful soul.

It took a couple of weeks, but she eventually shook off the ghost of the man she'd killed, and, despite her sister's best efforts, the trauma hadn't been repeated. He hated seeing her come back shaken every time, but she was at least pleased that her range had improved. She said she was able to stay connected with him even when they weren't together, and she found solace in that.

The changes that occurred in her body during those weeks would have been imperceptible to anyone who didn't stare at her all the time like he did. Her hips, once hovering between girlish slenderness and womanly curves, were suddenly firmly in the womanly category, with a tiny rounding between her still too sharp hip bones. Her breasts, while still proportional to the rest of her slim body, had grown, the color of her nipples darkening just enough for him to notice. And every day, she smelled more and more like him. She was his. Completely. Or so boasted the animalistic pride in his head he didn't completely understand. Why the changes in Maia's form excited him so much, why they made him want to ram himself inside of her and at the same time, even more ready to kill to protect her than before, he didn't know. Something'd changed.

His pride turned to worry suddenly when, one morning, Maia jerked out of his arms and flung herself at their sorry excuse for a toilet, vomiting violently. Then she did the same the next day, the day after that, and the day after that. Each time, she ended up pale and weak for hours afterwards, laying in bed beside him, trembling. On the eighth morning, she finally spoke about it, her face paler than usual and drawn in fear, that damned scent covering up the one he loved as she whispered, "I don't know what's wrong with me." His worry turned to fear when she stopped eating. He thrust their plate under her nose, but she shook her head weakly, "No, I can't eat." He kept pressuring her until she vomited on them both, too exhausted to move so she didn't get sick on herself. He picked her up gently, and walked her into their shower, peeling her clothes off of her and rinsing the sick from her skin. She vomited once more before he was done, and seemed completely out of it. "I think I need help." She whispered, laying on their stripped cot as he sat on the floor next to her, stroking her hair out of her face. She fell asleep, and stayed asleep even as he paced in front of the doorway, growling, demanding the only way he could to get help without her in a position to be his voice. The only response to his anxiety was a new blanket and clothes being shoved through the slot that usually produced food.

Over the next few weeks, Maia rode a rollercoaster of sickness that he was helpless to stop. Eventually, however, she got better. She slept a lot, but when she was awake, she was better. Maia even felt up to trying to get him to talk, cajoling and teasing him. She was frowning at him, "Hey, my Wild Man, I think I'm okay. I feel alright. Honestly, you don't need to worry so much."

He took immense pleasure in the shocked look on her face when he growled, "Mine."

A few seconds later, she began laughing, "I sure as hell hope so." The laugh was hollow though, and she whispered, "I'm pregnant, L." She took a deep breath, a hand on her stomach, "Least I'm pretty sure that's what's wrong. It's the only damn thing that makes sense." She looked around, her blue eyes wide, "A baby, L. In this place. What the hell are we going to do? I mean we can't even get out of here without me fucking it up. We can't raise a kid here." She started panicking, and, again, all he could do was pull her to his chest.

The weeks and months that followed started a new pattern where Maia was pulled out by her sister every week for blood tests and examinations. Then they started wanting him alone:

"Weapon X, we can flood this room with a sedative and drag you out, but by the time you're unconscious, she'll be dead. Your choice." Had been the first and only warning he needed.

Sometimes they sent him on missions, sometimes they were just satisfied with torturing him. Sarah Kinney was the worst, and he'd already been given Maia's permission to kill the bitch should the opportunity present itself…after the baby was born. She'd just finished stabbing him a couple dozen times when she smiled pleasantly at him, "I've sent some men to go grab my dear sister. She'll rejoin you shortly, unless you'd like to stay. She might appreciate that."

He understood her advice when he'd been reunited with Maia. The bitch wanted to jab a needle into Maia's stomach. Neither one of them were on board with that plan, but, as usual, a gun pointed at Maia's head was usually a pretty good deterrent. She used a strange tool to help guide the needle through Maia's skin, which she said would keep her from hurting the baby, but that didn't help either of them relax. He'd barely kept from killing the woman when she'd used the needle to pull nearly clear fluid out of Maia. They didn't relax until they were back in their pathetic little cell, and L had lovingly mauled every inch of her, doing his best to erase every trace of every unwanted touch.

He then spent some time projecting the best sound in the world to her, their baby's heartbeat. He'd heard it for weeks, and she appreciated it greatly, talking to their daughter. They were both pretty certain it was a girl. He had noted that the baby smelled more like her than him, and she relied on her motherly instincts as well as what she'd gleaned from Sarah. Her powers had grown, and his mind had been able to heal itself much faster than it ever had before…or so he thought. He really had no point of reference. He didn't even know his own damn name.

Maia fell asleep in his arms, and he cradled the ever growing bulge between her hips. His whole world was right here, these two girls, his mate and his daughter. In his dreams, they were curled up on a bed in a farmhouse, and they were safe and happy. His nightmares weren't much worse than reality, but they were enough to make him grateful for every minute of peace he could muster here with Maia. As the months grew on, he enjoyed those quiet moments even more as their daughter grew and made her presence known by kicking and jabbing her mother. The bigger she grew, the stronger she got, the smaller Maia seemed, and faint bruises popped up on the skin of her stomach more and more frequently. He hated she was causing Maia pain, but they both took her activity as a sign of a healthy baby.

Those moments grew infinitely precious as they started pulling him out of his little world almost daily. Every time he came back bloody, he did his best not to touch Maia until after he'd cleaned up. It went against every fiber of his being to see blood on her, and he wasn't going to taint her anymore than he already had. She and their daughter had to get out of this place, and he would do whatever it took. Maia wasn't a weapon, she had a family who…mostly… loved her, and he would give them both up for her and their daughter to make it back to that family. To safety.

Things will move quickly after this one!

Reviews are always welcome!

-Jenn