This chapter will not be entirely centered on Hermes and Anke I:} plus there's a special surprise in store
...
Anke's POV
Ten days after that, I finally feel ready to get out of bed.
Apollo was right: his tests only take about four days. However, I don't feel well enough to get out of bed until almost a week after that.
Hermes is with me in the hospital for almost every minute of every day. For that, I am grateful. I don't think I would have been able to bear being in there without him. Adrian comes and goes, but that's mainly because he's spending time helping to train the BTs, on Jayne Walker's request. I still don't like that woman.
"Ready?" asks Hermes.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I nod nervously.
It was three days ago that Apollo deemed it safe to unhook Hermes from his mobile IV drip. He also said that there would be no need for me to have a mobile drip too, which I have to say I'm relieved about.
Hermes helps me off the bed. My legs feel wobbly but I'm able to stand. Just about. I reach onto the bed and pick up the light blanket that Apollo told me I should have when I go out. Hermes puts it around my shoulders. I hold the ends with one hand, keeping it in place, and Hermes takes my other hand. With his help, I shuffle out of the room. I feel like an old lady but as I walk, I get stronger.
I get outside and squint against the sunlight. While the sun is out, it's still fairly chilly, but I adjust the blanket around my shoulders and I'm warm.
"You good?" asks Hermes.
I nod. "I'll tell you if I feel unwell."
"Okay. I have the medicines so we should be okay."
We sit down on the grass and enjoy the sunshine. There's no-one else out here except us.
I really love Hermes. We've been through a lot together recently, and I know that if I had been in Hermes's position and vice versa, I wouldn't have been able to live without him.
Hermes's POV
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you dying and being brought back to life actually benefited us," I say, taking a huge risk.
"In what way?" Anke asks. She doesn't seem offended...yet.
"Adrian brought someone back from the dead. That fact has been spread around OWCA for the last two weeks. People fear us a lot less now, and ever since the whole Kate thing, I feel like we really needed something like that."
Anke nods thoughtfully. "Yeah..."
I lie back on the grass. Anke copies me but she rests her head on my chest.
Almost losing Anke permanently makes me realise how much I love her. I can't stand losing her. I feel insecure when I'm not around her. I really love her.
We lie outside together for about an hour. We only move when we see Adrian coming running towards us.
"You guys missed it!" he pants when he arrives. "I know you missed the announcement but I can't believe nobody told you."
Anke and I exchange a look. "Missed what?" I ask.
"Major Monogram announced his retirement the other day. An hour ago, Carl took his place."
Perry's POV
After the ceremony, the newly made Commander Carl leaves the stage rather quickly. Major Monogram, who is now just Francis Monogram, leaves on the opposite side. Now he gets to go home and spend more time with his wife and kids, Monty and Mel.
I follow Carl to the changing room behind the stage. It's almost completely dark. The former intern is sitting on a bench, hanging his head. I come inside and close the door. This makes it incredibly dark, so I switch on the light. Usually there's light coming in from the window and it's not used at night so the light is only dim. Even in such low light, I can see the look on Carl's face.
"Are you okay?"
Carl sniffs and pushes his glasses further up his nose. "I can't do this, Perry."
Registering this use of my name rather than my title, I hop onto the bench next to my new superior officer.
"I knew that this day would come someday, ever since I made the decision to join OWCA permanently. Major Monogram told me lots of times to be ready for when I take over from him. But now that that day is here, I don't know that I'm ready. I can't lead OWCA, Perry. I can't live up to Major Monogram's great legacy. It was hard enough doing it all those years ago when he was temporarily fired and I was promoted. That wasn't even for a day, and I couldn't handle it." He buries his face in his hands. "I can't do it. I can't be Major Monogram."
I'm silent for a moment, trying to think of what to say. "Good."
"What?"
"Good," I repeat. "You can't be Major Monogram. That's why your name is Commander Carl and not Major Monogram. You're going to be your own leader. It doesn't matter how Monogram was perceived in regards to how you'll be perceived. As long as you earn your agents' respect, you'll keep it. As long as you prove to be a great leader in your own right, your agents will view you as such. You don't have to try and be Major Monogram. Just be your own leader. Be Commander Carl, and be a strong leader. You've been in this organisation for nearly as long as the major, and I'd argue that by your sixth year here, you knew OWCA better than him. There's nobody better for this job than you."
Wow, I think that's the longest I've ever talked for.
Carl nods and looks up, a determined look settling on his face. "I-you're right. I can do this. I can't let OWCA down."
"No you can't," I agree. "Now go out there and issue your first orders as Commander Carl."
Carl grins and says, "I don't need to go out there to do that. Agent P, I order you to take the rest of the day off."
"Wh-why?"
"For giving the commander advice and making him feel a lot better about his job."
I smile. "Thank you, sir."
"Sir..." repeats Carl, sighing. "I'm never going to get used to that."
...
I just realised how long MM had been in charge so I decided it was time for a change. Thoughts?
Also: cute Perry/Carl bonding :)
