Danny ran his hands over his face as he walked in the opposite direction of Harrison. So it was Gabriel behind the fights. Kono was wondering what in the world the man was up to these days, and she guessed it just so happened to turn out he was in the illegal fight ring business. It seemed a little odd to her for him to be involved in something so crude. But anything was possible. Harrison just smirked at them. "Yeah, good luck finding who's really responsible," he said, somewhat sarcastically.
"You're still going to jail, buddy, I promise you that," Kono corrected.
"Don't you see? I'm just a pawn! Just like the rest of those in charge of this ring." Harrison settled back into his chair with an exhale of minor annoyance and Kono looked to Danny. Danny finally turned back to face him, standing near the door. "You really expect us to believe that?" Danny asked, unbelieving. "After all you've done?"
Harrison was about to respond when the door to the interrogation room burst open, startling all three of its occupants. Steve marched into the room, practically fuming, and Danny tried to grab him and stop him. Kono moved to assist Danny but Steve easily broke out of both their grasps and reached Harrison.
Steve sent his fist square into Harrison's jaw, nearly knocking him clear off the metal chair. "That's for Harper," Steve said. He grabbed Harrison's shirt collar and hefted him back to normal seating position on the chair, then hit him again in the same place. "And that's because you deserve a whole lot worse than my fist." Harrison coughed blood onto the tile floor as Steve stepped back. Danny sighed and stepped up beside him. "Was that really necessary?" Danny asked.
"Why would you ask me that? Of course that was necessary, Danny," Steve replied, like it should be obvious, turning to face Danny. "He locked up Harper and who knows how many others and forced them to fight each other while he made money off their deaths."
"We know he's a major league scumbag, but he already confessed. He's going to jail," Danny assured. Steve looked at Harrison, secretly wishing he could do more to hurt him. Even jail was too good for that man, in Steve's mind. At least he was able to get some kind of revenge.
Harper drove back to the hospital. She not only needed to check in on Layla and the baby, but she needed to see Derek as well. So she checked in at the nurse desk and walked down the hallway until she reached his room—107. Her knuckles rapped on the door twice as she slowly pushed it open, peering her head around the corner. "Knock knock. Are you decent?" she asked.
"That depends on your definition," Derek replied. Harper smiled as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "What brings you by?"
"I came to give you this." Harper held out her hand as Derek raised an eyebrow at her. His eyes dropped to the keycard in her fingers' grasp. Mixed emotions bubbled up in both of them. Harper hoped it would be a sign that they were at a truce. But there was still a strong chance he would take it badly. Though, he didn't seem agitated by the gesture. Instead he took the card from her hand and looked at it more closely. "You kept this?" he asked, surprised. "Why would you do that?"
"It was a reminder. We still had one of ours missing," she answered, lightly. He glanced up at her a second, then looked back at the badge with a slightly bewildered expression. "I don't need it anymore, so I thought you could do the honor of holding onto it. Or throwing it away—whatever you choose."
He huffed a breathy chuckle. "Thanks...how are the others?" Harper moved to sit on the edge of the bed, near the end, positioned to face him. "They're dealing with it. They have a support group of sorts at Bryan's house tonight," she said. "I suppose we're all a lot better thanks to you. I'm sorry for being difficult in there. I didn't realize...I wasn't thinking about the consequences of my actions."
"Ah, save it, Harper. It wasn't your fault for any of it, alright? Get that through your head. It wasn't your fault," he pressed, sure. She nodded with a closed-mouthed smile knowing he was right, but still not quite feeling it. After a second she stood and walked toward the door, then turned around. "I won't bother you any further. I have other business to attend to in this joint," she said, jutting a thumb over her shoulder.
Derek nodded once. "Thanks for stopping by." She returned the nod and quickly slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind her. The walk to Layla's side of the hospital was quiet and slow. She needed time to clear her head a bit and take a breather from today's events. It'd been a stressful day for everyone. Harper finally arrived at Layla's room just past four pm.
She eagerly opened the door to the room and walked in, skidding to a stop when she saw Layla already had a guest. A man she didn't recognize with close shaved hair sat at Layla's bedside. It seemed like Harper interrupted a conversation. Layla looked to Harper. "Hey, there you are. I was wondering where you got off to," she smiled. "You can finally meet my husband—Lucas. Lucas, this is Harper, my half-sister." Lucas stood and walked toward Harper, holding a hand out.
Harper tried to retract her rounded eyes as she shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you. Layla told me a lot about you," Lucas smiled politely.
"It's nice to meet you to. Have you been down to the NICU?" Harper inquired.
"I'm afraid I just got here," he shook his head. "I'd really like to, though."
"Okay. I can show you where he is, if you want?" Harper had been meaning to go down to see Henry a lot sooner, so it was convenient to go with Lucas. That and it would be nice to get to know him, she supposed. Lucas nodded gratefully. "Yeah, that would be great. Thank you. Layla, do you mind if-" Lucas twisted to see Layla, but she cut him off with a big smile and a wave. "Go on. Don't let me stop you," she said. "I'll be fine here."
Lucas turned back to Harper and she smiled, gesturing to the door. "Right this way." Harper led the way to the elevators. The NICU was one floor down and on the opposite side of the hospital. Every trip was a lot of walking. Harper tried to make conversation as they stepped out of the elevators. "You were overseas?" she said, lightly.
Lucas nodded. "Yes, Afghanistan. There are only a few of us left over there but we manage. I heard I have you to thank for getting me back so fast. Layla told me you have certain complicated connections?" The innocent smile he wore let her know it was supposed to be lighthearted, so she smiled back and nodded. "Yeah...my boyfriend's ex was still in contact with some of her Navy buddies," she explained, casually.
"Well, either way, thank you. It means a lot to me—and to Layla—that I'm here," Lucas thanked, genuinely. "I owe you." They rounded a corner and Harper shook her head quickly, sliding her hands into her jacket pockets. "Oh, no. You owe me nothing," she declined.
"We'll see about that," he said, a smile to his tone. Harper and Lucas visited with Henry James. It was the first time Lucas saw his son. Harper tried to maintain a certain level of unemotional. But as soon as she noticed Lucas getting choked up, she found herself sniffling. She hung back by the door to give him space until he was done, then she walked him back up to Layla's room.
It was six thirty when Harper finally walked in the front door of her apartment. She let the door fall closed as she went to her bedroom to change. The meeting she'd agreed to go to tonight was at seven so she wouldn't have much time to prepare herself before leaving straight to Bryan's house. She'd never been there before, but he'd texted the address not long ago. It wasn't specified if the meeting was formal or casual.
But Harper tried to think comfort as she stared at her closet. She laid out an outfit of loose denim jeans and a random navy blue top on the bed, and then headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. The sense of finality that bringing in Harrison gave her was enough to get her through today—and possibly a lot more days. It was just a reassurance to know that this wasn't going to happen to her or anyone else ever again. It was a good feeling.
Harper dried her hair as much as she could with the time constraint and pulled on a jacket, then headed out the door. She had a GPS app tell her the directions while she drove and she managed to arrive at Bryan's house in one piece. She parked along the sidewalk, behind another smaller car before the drive way. The house was a two level home with a modern style to it. Harper took a deep breath before knocking twice. It took a second. But then the door pulled open, and Kylie smiled at her.
"Hey, Harper. Long time no see," she said, pulling Harper into an unsuspected hug. Harper felt a little awkward, but she tried to hug Kylie back. "Where have you been?"
"Here and there," Harper brushed over it, stepping back.
"Let the girl inside, Kylie!" a male voice called from deep inside the house. Kylie paused her movement and rolled her eyes with a sigh. "I was getting to that!" she hollered back, stepping aside for Harper to enter. Harper walked in a ways as Kylie shut the door behind her. There was a small front room that opened into a wide living room of sofas, and the living room opened left to a large kitchen. She immediately spotted Bryan and Megan.
Though, there were a few people she didn't even know existed. She guessed they were other fighters. Kylie walked past Harper toward the living room, saying, "Come on, party's in here." Harper felt like a fish out of water. She had no idea what to do and what not to do, how to act or what to she did her best to keep her chin up and stepped into the living room. Bryan cut off his conversation with someone she didn't recognize to come over to her.
He stood a foot from her. "Glad you could make it," he greeted. "How are you feeling about all this?"
"A little weird," she admitted, glancing around at the different conversations being held. How many fighters could there have been? She hadn't even seen half these people during her time underground nor had Bryan ever mentioned this capacity of guests. It was intimidating. "Don't worry, they don't bite. Want something to drink?" he asked.
"Water's fine, thanks," she nodded with a small smile. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and then headed into the kitchen. "Harper?" She whirled right at the sound of her name, freezing at the sight of who voiced it. "Will. Hi," she said, unsure of what else to say. Will didn't look exactly how she'd remembered. His hair was longer and curled around his ears. The civilian clothes threw her off a bit. Last time she saw him, he was still in the white uniform.
He stayed a short distance back. She couldn't tell if he was quite happy to see her or if she was just a painful reminder. "How have you been?" he asked, slowly, hesitant. Harper thought about the question, thinking of how to phrase it. She cleared her throat. "Not good, but not bad either," she tried to convey. "How have you been?"
"Probably about the same," He bobbed his head, looking at something slightly over her shoulder. Then he looked to her. "I've been wanting to ask—have they found Matt yet?"
Harper nodded a little. "Yeah. They did." Will seemed relieved by the news, but he still remained a constant look of depression mixed with steel. It was his signature grumpy look, the same one he'd worn underground, the only thing she'd ever seen on him. "We bickered a lot, Mattie and me...but he was like my brother," Will said, quietly venting. Harper's heart ached hearing his words. "I don't blame you for what happened in there. Bryan told me how it happened. It wasn't your fault."
She was taken aback, but did her best to not show it, nodding a bit. "Thank you." Will flashed a small, closed-mouthed smile before walking past her toward the kitchen. She took a deep breath to keep the lump in her throat at bay. Just then, Bryan returned. He held out a glass of water to her and she took it gratefully, taking a drink while Bryan faced everyone in the living room. "Alright. Are we gonna stand around all night or are we gonna do what we came here to do?"