Dawn Reclaimed

"Well great. Saves me the trouble then." She started to invite Thomas to the One Shot tonight. Thinking that He and Jan could get better acquainted. But, the uncomfortable silence, cold and frigid as a northern breeze, between Thomas and Jan made her second guess the idea. "I think we'd better get back to our patients. See you later Thomas."

"Bye." Thomas said. Shaking his head as Claire waddled down the hall. He had no trouble at all with the idea of signing the paperwork that would put her on maternity leave. No doubt, she was getting miserably huge. Thankfully, the baby would be born soon and he could put the mess behind him.

Chapter 65

Gina awoke to the sounds of her own voice, screaming in terror. She was dreaming of awful things, nightmares. She had managed to control the demons in her mind all day yesterday. Settling for avoiding the things that set off the memories. When she was asleep. Her mind had made up for it. Taking her to all the dark places her consciousness couldn't bear to go.

The lamp on the bedside table snapped on and the room was flooded with a warm glow. Hunter had stayed in her room last night. Insisting that he stayed by her side, he bedded down on the loveseat. At the sound of her first scream, he rushed to her side. Wrapping her in comforting arms. Fighting off the devils she'd dreamed back into existence.

"Shh, I'm here." His voice soothed her frazzled mind. In the daylight, she could pretend to be brave. But at night, she was nothing more than a frightened little girl again. Afraid of the bogeyman, the monster that lived under her bed, and things that went bump in the night. In the dark, she couldn't hide from herself.

She hitched a shaky breath and exhaled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." She righted herself in the bed and reluctantly wiggled out of his arms. He wouldn't always be there to comfort her and she'd be on her own. She'd better get used to it.

"You didn't." He stretched out the kink in his back. "The couch isn't nearly as comfortable as it looks."

"Sorry. You don't have to stay with me. I'm okay on my own." Gina said hiding the tremble in her voice as she tried to sound convincing. She could scoot over and share the bed with him. But that was too awkward. Demons weren't the only thing she battled. He was an attractive man. Well built in all the right places with soft, supple lips that whispered the promise of sexuality and divine pleasure. She couldn't think about going there. Not when both of their lives were a train wreck.

Hunter smiled at her. He could still feel the heat of her body in his arms and smell her gentle scent on his skin. She made him feel things that he shouldn't. His loyalty and his love belonged to his wife. He was determined to make sure it stayed that way. There was nothing preventing him from pursing a female. Nothing but his foolish notions and stubbornness to let go, admit that holding onto the past was self destructive, and live again. Things he didn't want to do.

He managed to push everyone away, eventually. He couldn't face the massive undertaking of winning back their trust. He wouldn't treat Gina any better, and therefore, he had to begin inching her away, before he could hurt her too. "Its morning anyway. A little after seven," he said, sliding off the bed.

"Its morning?" Time had a way of slipping away from her. In part because the place had no windows and she couldn't see outside. Fresh air and sun, she could barely remember what it felt like. The tiny taste she'd gotten when she was rescued wasn't nearly enough. Maybe if she saw the sun and felt the breeze on her face, the nightmares would leave. Maybe she'd finally wake up and find that the past two weeks had been a dream. Hesitating to ask, she bit at her bottom lip. "Could we go outside for a while? It's so disorienting down here."

Hunter jumped at the chance. Gina was finally beginning to show a little progress. She was one step closer to returning to her life. "Sure." He hopped up and dug out a pair of tennis shoes that were way too tiny for his feet. Handing them to her, he busied himself straightening the bed as she dressed.

Gina slid the shoes on and shrugged into a light canvas jacket that was at least three sizes too big for her. "Won't you get cold?"

Hunter shook his head and pulled a t-shirt over his head. "No." Outside, it was a beautiful morning. He had his own internal barometer. His wolf always knew the weather. Today was a perfect day for a walk. He led her through the winding corridors and punched in a code. With a hiss the heavy metal door sprung free from its magnetic locks. Fresh, cool air bit grazed his hair and washed over his face. "Are you ready."

Gina hesitantly bit her lip and put her gloved hand in his. She half expected to see buildings towering over her, hear the sounds of bustling traffic, and smell the assorted acrid scents of the city. Instead, the earthy scent of pine and quiet of majestic woods greeted her. "Where am I?"

"My home," Hunter said, gesturing to the trees and rugged landscape. "We're about three hours outside of the city. Someplace safe."

Gina took timid steps. The uneven, soft, spongy ground beneath her feet gave with every footfall. She lifted her face up to the trees. Gentle patches of dawn filtered through the thick layers of pine and leafy, green branches overhead. The cool morning nipped at her cheeks. But, the sensation was delightful. Caressing her like a lover's touch. The sun hadn't fully risen yet. Everything was tinted with the golden glow of dawn.

A tear crept a path down the apple of her cheek. Everything was real. The pain was real. Her terror was real. She hadn't imagined one second of her anguish. Her real nightmares were over. The only thing left for her to conquer were the ones that bounced around inside of her head. "I didn't think I'd ever see the sun again," she whispered.

"You will, this sunrise and many more to follow. Do you feel up to walking down the trail a bit? The view is amazing."

"I think so," Gina whispered. Not wanting to break the magical silence of the woods around her, she kept quiet. She held fast to Hunter's hand letting him lead her down a narrow, bumpy, well used trail. Unsure of where he was taking her. She half expected someone to stop them and shoo them back to the compound.

She thought back to her meeting with Dane. He was a startling and amazing man. Tall and built like a brick wall, even larger than Hunter. He had piercing brown/gold eyes, like a predatory bird, and richly hued bronze skin. The aura of someone in charge and used to being obeyed. Graciously he accepted her thanks and offered her any creature comforts or assistance she needed.

He promised to let her leave as soon as she felt strong enough. Asking only one thing in return. That she kept everything she saw and knew a secret. Apparently, he was true to his word. No one tried to stop them. She could go if she wanted to. But, was she ready to take the big plunge and go back home, alone? What would the life that was stolen from her have in wait when she returned?

She was frightened to return to the city. Afraid of what might be lurking beyond ever corner. Strangely, Hunter and Dane didn't frighten her. People did. The city was crawling with people. Like fleas infesting a dog, they were everywhere, and she could not avoid them. What would happen the first time someone bumped into her while waiting for the bus? How would she react the first time she was caught out alone after dark? What about when the nightmares came? Hunter wouldn't be there to protect her. Dane would be miles away. Her casual friends couldn't understand. And she was bound by a promise. She couldn't tell them to make them understand. There was no one out there like her. Nobody had seen and experienced what she had.

Gina followed Hunter through a bank of tall stark tree trunks glittering with morning dew. Flat ground stretched out in front of her flanked by towering, jagged, walls of gray rock. Winds howled through the ancient limestone rocks in baleful sighs. The sun poked its big, yellow eye over the lowest ridge. Its warmth crept over her skin. Reverently silent, Hunter led her over to a steep ledge. Nestled in miles of thick pine and spruce, was a little town. Puffs of white smoke billowed out of cheerful red and brown, brick chimneys. Roof tops of gray, brown, black and green peeked out from amongst the evergreens.

"Thank you," she whispered. Fighting a shiver. Outside felt so much better than inside. Despite the coolness of the morning, she wanted to stay in this silent, peaceful, place for as long as she could.

Hunter wrapped his fingers around the hood of Gina's jacket and slid it over her head. Tugging the ends down tightly across the rubor of her wind kissed cheek. His palm cupped her chilled skin. Warming it. Lingering too long. Flirting with promises he could never make good on. Teasing him with reminders of how good and soft a woman's skin felt beneath his fingertips. "You're welcome." He forced his hand away and trailed his fingers down her arm.

He didn't know what made him wonder what her lips felt and tasted like. Why he was considering giving in to the temptation and finding out. Perhaps, he could blame it on the magic of the bluffs. This was the only place on Earth where he felt almost normal, where he felt safe to feel anything at all. He had to get her back to her home. Drop her back into her life exactly where she'd left off. He had to get away from her before he acted on one the random impulses running rampant in his brain. He would bring her nothing but more suffering and confusion when he failed to make good on the unspoken promise of a kiss.

Gina's cheek was still warm from Hunter's touch. His palm had lingered on her cheek for longer than a casual brush should have. She thought he was going to kiss her and wondered why he didn't. She must have misinterpreted his gesture and read more into it than what was really there. Not surprising really, the two of them together was madness. They had nothing in common. And yet, with all that nothingness between them, she knew him better than probably anyone else. She'd suffered with him, for him, because of him. She'd heard him scream the pain nobody else but her would know the true definition of. And that, that insanity was the only thing that made them closer than any other two people, two complete strangers, would ever be.

She followed Hunter back under the dense cover of the trees. Casting a last longing glance at the majestic bluffs over her shoulder, she took note of every tree and rock along the path. Trying to remember how to find her way back. The bluffs were more than majestic. They were magical. Someday, when her present became her past and her future the present, she'd travel out here and find them again.

"Hunter, I think I'm ready." Gina said. "I want to go back. I need to see where it happened." Gina had plans to travel back to this place in the future. But she wouldn't have a future as long as she stayed rooted safely next to Hunter's side.

"Gina, are you sure?" He expected her to take her first steps timidly. Not take one step and then leap off the ledge of a cliff. Maybe she was as anxious to return to her life as he was for her to return to it. Perhaps, she was sick him constantly hanging around like a watchdog. Maybe. She just wanted to get the hell away everything and anything that reminded her of what happened. Primarily, get away from him. And start living again. After all, isn't that what he wanted for her too?

"Yes."

There it was. Her answer delivered without the slightest hesitation or delay. "Ok. I'll see when Dane is available to go with us. I think he should be there too." He didn't mention the link Dane had with her through his blood. He'd felt Patrick's essence mingling with his own. Patrick had a dark side he worked desperately to hide. And in offering his blood, he'd revealed it. If Gina wasn't as ready as she thought, Dane could handle her in a way he knew he could not. At this point, Dane was probably the better candidate to see her though to the end of her journey. He was mated and happy, content with his life. And Hunter doubted she needed someone as imbalanced and imperfect as him to guide her along the way.

Anna had been locked in her room for the better part of the week. The only thing that bribed her out at all was cooking for Gina and Hunter. She was trying to come to terms with the fact that she had taken a human life. Despite what that life had been. It had ended by her hands. Toby had tried his best to console and comfort her. But there was no comfort from the darkness she saw when she closed her eyes. The man was evil. Pure unadulterated evil, more so than Roark and his batch of minions could ever dream of. Part of him was in her. Circulating blackness through her veins, she'd swallowed the tiniest drop of his blood. And she was disgusted by him and at herself.

She could rationalize it away. So many women, so much suffering. He would never hurt anyone again. Maybe, he deserved to die. Maybe, he got exactly what he wanted. But the fact that she was the one to deliver him to it left her cold and empty on the inside. Anna had never been particularly religious. But, she prayed for forgiveness for her deeds everyday. She wasn't any better than the man. She was a killer too. She had vanquished the Windingo and sent them back to Hell where they belonged. But they weren't and had never been human. They couldn't have been allowed to roam free reaping a path of destruction in their wake. But the man was human. Weaker. Demented. Sick. If she hadn't stopped him, how many more would have died? Wasn't the death of one evil man worth the lives she'd saved? Did she have the right to answer that question?

She stirred the thick batter for the cake she was baking, lost in her thoughts. Toby had managed to track down the man's true identity. Putting a name with the face didn't help any. And she tried not to think about it. The rich scent of vanilla tinted the air, smelling of happiness and home. Baking was what she did when things got too tough to handle. These last few days, she'd been baking a lot.

The refrigerator opened behind her. Her heightened senses picked up Gina's scent. Turning with the spoon dripping batter onto the floor, she faced the woman. "Hi, I'm Anna."

"Gina," she answered. Carefully avoiding the bottled water and reaching way around the opened case, she decided on a can of pop instead. She skittered around the open drawer filled with cutlery and sat at the edge of the counter. "Have I seen you before?"

"Yes, I was there in the city... when you were rescued."

"You, you're one of them? A vampire?"

"An architect first, vampire second."

Gina smiled. She never missed a headline. Sipping her pop thoughtfully. Feeling the sugary acid burn down her throat, she remembered. "You were on the front page, about a year or so ago. You built a children's wing at the hospital."

Anna smiled and nodded. "That was me." She scooped the batter into a long pan and shook out the air bubbles before setting it into the oven to bake. It was nice to be remembered for the small measure of good she'd managed to do instead of all the bad. She wasn't a bad person. She'd been a good person in a bad situation. Big difference there.

"You weren't a vampire then?"

"No, that was before," Anna answered. Blocking the bad memories from her mind and smiling at the happy ones she had, she smiled and said, "Seems like a lifetime ago. Can I get you something to eat?"

Gina shook her head. "Nah. Pop is fine. You've been doing all the cooking? For me?"

Anna nodded proudly. "Most of the other vampires can't stand the smell of food. Garlic drives them nuts. But, for some reason, food, not even garlic, bothers me one bit. So the kitchen is a pretty quiet place for me to get away and think." She chortled, "When I've really got something on my mind. I whip up a batch of my extra spicy Mongolian garlic chicken with red chill peppers. Clears the room for hours."

"But, you can't eat."

"No. Not as much as one nibble. So, I have to rely on my toughest critics for feedback." She pointed to Gina with the spoon and gave her an inquisitive eye.

"Oh, everything has been wonderful. I really appreciate the finger foods." She bitterly snorted. "Stupid to be afraid of cutlery isn't it?"

"No. Not at all, given what happened. Perfectly understandable."

Gina met Anna's glacier blue eyes. "Can you tell me something? Will you answer me honestly? I need to know and Hunter won't say. How did the man die?"

Anna sighed and sat on a stool across the counter. "I...I killed him." She looked away in shame.

"He's really dead?"

"Very dead."

Gina closed her eyes and exhaled. She didn't blame or hate Anna for killing the man. In fact, Anna was at the very top of her heroes list currently. "Thank you. Thank you for what you did." She turned the empty pop can in her fingers. "It couldn't have been easy for you to do that. And I can't tell you what it means to know that he's gone. For good."

"You don't think I'm just as bad as he is? I took a life."

"You did. But you saved one too. I think that makes you even in the eyes of Karma. I'm not sorry that he's dead and I don't think you should be either. Please don't be so hard on yourself."

The oven timer buzzed interrupting the conversation. "Oh, I've got to get that," Anna said. Inside she felt a dark fissure close over. The woman was safe, healthy, and healing on the inside. Partially thanks to the sacrifice that Anna had made. No, hard choices and their consequences were never easy. A part of her would always remember what she'd done and the guilt at killing a living being. But, regret taking his life to save countless others, after talking to Gina and seeing her alive and regaining the life that had been stolen from her. Never.

Chapter 66

Ok, ok, Claire had to admit that Jan wasn't so bad. Confidence would come with time and soon enough, her replacement would feel right at home on the bustling unit. Truth was, as the day wore on, Claire began to resent Jan a lot less. Her back ached and her feet felt like bloody stumps. Her belly cramped beneath the strain of the baby's weight. Jan never complained, not once, about picking up her slack. Jan was smart, quick witted, and efficient. Jan worked tirelessly throughout the morning, never losing pace. Claire waddled along next to her, explaining this and that. Teaching as best she could with the constant strain beating her body to a pulp. She wanted to believe she could tough it out and make it through the week. She wasn't a wimp. She could do this. But, by lunchtime she wasn't so sure. "Ready for a break?" she asked. Gritting through a particularly bad attack of back cramps, she led the way to the bank of elevators.

Jan automatically headed for the stairs then backtracked to stand beside her preceptor as they waited on the elevators. She eyed Claire suspiciously. Claire didn't look too hot. She rested her weight on her palm, against the wall. And had her other hand planted at the base of her spine, her fingers massaging tight and painful muscles. Obviously, Claire was struggling, hiding the fatigue behind a bright, professional smile. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, perfectly fine. I've only got to push through the next three days and then I can become a lady of leisure."

Jen scoffed. "Until the baby comes, and then, it's bottles, diapers, and two AM feedings for you."

Claire groaned. "Don't remind me." Sharing a chuckle with her protégé, they joked and teased like old friends all the way to the cafeteria and through the lunch line. Seating was at a premium this time of day. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made in order to get fresh food. Sitting with strangers was often one of those sacrifices. Claire spotted two empty seats at the back of the cafeteria and herded through the throng to claim them.