Our Last Chance - Chapters 4 (Julian, Eve, Sheridan & Luis)
by pip
 
 

Our Last Chance – Chapter 4

Luis and Sheridan held each other for a long moment before Luis leaned back and pressed his thumb under her chin, raising her face to his. Her eyes sparkled with tears. He lightly brushed her lips with his. Sheridan murmured, “I was so afraid.”

Luis chided her, “You didn’t have to go through this alone. Do you have any idea the hell I’ve been through? Not knowing where you were, how you were?”

Sheridan became defensive. “I couldn’t take the back and forth with you and Antonio. I had to escape it.”

“Did leaving make it better?” There was a harsh edge in his voice.

She raised her eyebrows, noting his tone. “Yes, I was able to make a choice. Before I left Harmony, I believed that it would be wrong to leave Antonio if our baby was his. Antonio made me feel that when he talked on and on about the baby. I found my truth up here, alone. I didn’t think of Antonio for days, but you... you were in every waking thought, every dream. I didn’t leave you. You’ve been here with me.”

Luis couldn’t let go of the weeks of worry and frustration that easily. He narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re full of it, Sheridan. I was back in Harmony without a clue to your whereabouts.”

She tilted her head to one side and worked her magic on him. Smiling softly she said, “Believe me, you were here with me.” Shamelessly, she looked down and patted her belly, and then, still smiling, she looked up into Luis’s eyes.

The amusement in his eyes denied his lethal tone as he warned, “Don’t ever pull a stunt like this again.”

Sheridan promised, “Never.” He relented and smoothed his hands up and down her back. In the next moment, her eyes widened. She gasped as she pulled away from Luis and doubled over. “Oh, no. This one is harder. Oh, God.”

Luis held her arm. Panic tinged his voice as he instructed, “Breathe, breathe. Breathe through it.”

As the pain ebbed, Sheridan slowly straightened up, exhaling in gasps. “That was real.”

Relieved that her pain had passed, Luis laughed, “Yeah, but the reality will be back. Let’s get you settled on your blankets near the fire.”

“No, I want to sit on the sofa. I’ll prop one of those pillows behind my back.”

“Don’t be difficult. You need to be near the fire,” he said, tugging her elbow. Sheridan stood her ground. Luis accused, “You pick the damndest times to be stubborn.”

“Me, stubborn? You’re the bossiest man I’ve ever know.” She pulled her arm from his hand and plopped onto the sofa.

Luis stood staring at her. “We need to get this straight. I’m making the rules here.”

“Ha!” She glared up at him. “This is my party and you weren’t even invited.”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. You wouldn’t be having this party without me.”

“Don’t pull that proud peacock, I’m the daddy routine on me, Lo-Fitz. You, get this straight...” She stopped, gasping in pain again.

“Pant, pant,” Luis urged as he sat down beside her on the sofa and panted with her. Luis looked at his watch. This contraction was so close to the last one that it unnerved him. More to himself than to Sheridan, he said, “Eve and Julian are coming in a Hummer. They’ll get up here faster than I did.”

Exhaling at the end of the spasm, Sheridan gasped, “How long did it take you?”

He didn’t answer. She didn’t need to hear how long. He said, “You remember the day you crashed into my police car?” She nodded. “I knew then you were major trouble. I should have high tailed it out of Harmony right then.”

Sheridan teased, “It was too late, even then.”

Luis bared his soul. “Sometimes I feel like I’m in a perpetual collision. It never ends.”

Sheridan cupped his cheek in her hand and batted her eyes flirtatiously. “Awww, did the little lady get the best of the big bad cop?”

Luis smirked. “Or did the cop get the best of the naughty speed demon?”

They laughed together, easing the strain of waiting. Luis watched her as she settled against a sofa cushion. She was handling this pretty well if she could sit here and flirt with him between contractions. Sheridan was always more than he expected, but he recognized a core of strength in her that he’d never seen. She had always seemed needy, in a way, but not now.

As if reading his mind, Sheridan explained her attitude. “All I ever wanted was to have your baby.”

Luis said, “So, in your opinion, all is right with the world.” Luis wasn’t positive that everything was hunky-dory. The last few weeks, with Sheridan missing, had been rough. And, they still had to deal with Antonio.

Her response was to pant through the next flow of pain. Her grip on Luis’s hand turned it numb. As the contraction eased, she began to talk. “When you first came in that door, you were angry.”

“What did you expect? We have some things to work through. The time isn’t right.”

“So, you’re giving me a break because I’m having your baby. Don’t do me any favors.”

Stressed by every aspect of the situation, Luis blurted, “Fine. You want to talk about it. On the way up here I had one purpose, to find you and take you home to your husband.”

Sheridan chewed her bottom lip. “And now?” she asked.

“Like I said, we have some things to work through, later.” His tone was adamant.

“Why didn’t you just give me a blast when you first came in and let it go?” she asked.

“You stood there with fire in your eyes, ready for battle and very pregnant. I lost my momentum. I didn’t intend to be your lap dog and lick your face when I found you. I had decided not to deal with you. You’re not my wife, not my problem.”

Trembling, she asked, “You were giving up on us?”

“I figured the choice was made. You couldn’t tell Antonio, and you ran away from the whole mess. None of that said you were ready to end your charade of a marriage and marry me. It was time I got the message.”

She couldn’t meet his eyes. Speaking softly she said, “That wasn’t the message. I was afraid to make the decision final until after the baby was born.”

Luis shrugged, “Yeah, well, that says a lot. You planned to choose the father. That’s not enough.”

“But I wanted you to be the father.”

“Not enough,” he repeated.

“Even angry, you were happy to see me when you got here. I know you were.”

His voice was barely audible. “I didn’t say that I don’t love you.”

“Luis, I didn’t choose the father. Even before we knew, I chose you.”

Luis said, “I think I knew that when I came in the door. You should have seen your face.”

“Whoa, whoa.” She gripped his hand again. They panted together.

He rubbed her back saying, “You’re doing great.”

She flared at him, breathlessly, “Not great. Not until you tell me what’s happening to us.”

Luis said, “Bottom line: this is our last chance.”

She nodded, understanding, as she slowly exhaled. “I need to use your phone.”

“What?”

“I’m calling Antonio.”

“Not now, Sheridan, let’s have our baby first.”

“I’m telling him now.” She turned the palm of her hand up and demanded, “The phone.”

Her face was more intense than he’d ever seen it. Luis rose from the sofa and brought her his phone. There was no arguing with this Sheridan. She looked up at him. “Help me up.” Luis placed his hands at the backs of her upper arms and lifted her to her feet. She turned away from him. “I’m taking the phone to the kitchen. I need to do this alone.”

Luis was speechless as he watched her leave the room. A full ten minutes lapsed as he paced the room. How many contractions had she had while she was on the phone? He could hear the low murmur of her voice, but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. When she returned, her face split with rage. Luis blanched.

Sheridan said, “He knew. That bastard knew about you, about us, all along.”

Luis’s mouth hung open. When Sheridan first came back to Harmony, he’d believed that Antonio might know, but somewhere along the line, he’d let go of that thought. Luis waited for the final verdict.

She said, “He’s going to fight.”

Luis shrugged. “He’ll lose.”

Sheridan braced her back and leaned toward him panting. A full minute passed. Her breathing was the only sound in the room. Then she lifted her face to his. She ranted, “Even before the wedding, I believe he knew.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“I deduced from something he blurted out about how hard he’d worked to keep us apart. Why didn’t I see it before now?”

“Sheridan, it’s not in you to think the worst of those you love.” He didn’t say that he’d tried to tell her. He didn’t say that he forgave her everything now that she’d told Antonio. She knew.

Sheridan gasped and looked down at a puddle on the floor. Luis followed her eyes, horrified by the sight. Her water had broken. He pulled her a few steps away. “Let’s move to your nest now and get the wet clothes off you.” Sheridan nodded. Some of her assertiveness was gone, spent on Antonio.

She followed Luis’s calm instructions until they stood before the fire. He knelt down before her and raised his hands to the waistband of her sweat pants. She said, “No, don’t.”

He raised his puzzled eyes to hers. “We have to get you out of these.”

Primly she said, “Turn your back, please.”

“Sheridan,” he exhaled her name in frustration. “This is no time for modesty.”

“Turn around,” she said firmly.

Luis stood up and turned his back. He muttered, “Obstinate.”

She braced her hand on his shoulder as she struggled out of her pants. “What’s that you said?”

“Nothing.”

Finally, he had her settled on the bed before the hearth. Then he asked, “Do you need anything?”

“Only you.”

He knelt beside her and kissed her forehead. “That’s a done deal.” She smiled up at him. He lowered himself to the blankets and sat beside her.

Sheridan asked, “Should we call Doctor Russell to tell her my water broke?”

Luis retrieved the phone. After connecting with Eve, Luis listened as she explained that Sheridan’s labor would probably accelerate now that her water had broken. Luis said, “Let me talk to Julian.”

Eve passed the phone. “He wants to talk to you.”

Surprised, Julian answered, “Yes.”

Luis glanced at Sheridan. He didn’t want to upset her. “Julian, did you hear the word Eve used?”

“Accelerate?” Julian guessed.

“You got it,” Luis responded.

“This may be the first time we’ve seen eye to eye,” Julian stated.

Luis could hear the roar of the Hummer as Julian shot to a higher gear. “How soon, Julian?”

“An hour if we don’t hit any snags.”

Ending the call, Luis turned back to Sheridan. She had closed her eyes and was resting between contractions.

Out on the mountain road, Eve was startled when Julian increased the speed. Julian said, “Sheridan needs you.”

Eve turned her face and scanned Julian’s profile. He leaned into the steering wheel, intensity in his expression. Although she didn’t doubt his feelings for her, he rarely displayed true concern for others. Now he was a balance of determination and calmness, a man she could rely on in an emergency. She knew that whatever went on at the cabin, he would help her cope.

Julian was conscious of her gaze upon him. He didn’t miss much about Eve. He seemed to take in every nuance. He glanced aside at her. In his deep, controlled voice he said, “We’re going to get there in time.”

She smiled at him. “Yes, Julian.”

“Wanted to be sure that you knew.”

“I know that I can count on you.”

“Always.”

Eve shifted in the seat and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I know, Julian, always.”

For some reason, Julian wanted to ask, ‘Where did we go wrong? How did we let go of this?’ Of course, he couldn’t say the words aloud. They both knew the answers. The blame was on him. He had so many sins, so much for which to atone.

Sensing the weight of his guilt, Eve said, “Today, Julian, however you’ve wronged Sheridan and Luis. Today is your redemption.”

Julian hammered the accelerator to the floor. This time, one time in her life, he would be there for his sister. Julian pushed forward harder. He was a man possessed. A man in hell, but so close to heaven he could see the pearly gates.

Eve braced one hand to the ceiling of the vehicle, as the tank-like monstrosity spun out on a curve. The Hummer rumbled and roared up the mountain road. The tires whined when they slid on ice and ground when they hit the softer snow. Eve didn’t caution him to slow down. She trusted Julian. He veered around one curve and into a deep drift over the road. Julian rammed the machine into reverse, and then plowed forward again.

Suddenly Eve saw the ridiculous incongruity of Julian Crane driving a Hummer up a mountain road like a maniac. She started to giggle. She tried to smother her giggles, but they turned to hardy laughter. Julian grinned at her and commented, “This turned out to be one hell of a morning.” He couldn’t know that earlier Luis thought those same words. Finally, accelerating into a straight, uphill stretch of road, Julian said, “We’ll be there in thirty minutes, tops.”

Eve said, “When we get there, I may need your help with Luis.”

“Luis?”

“Yes, if Sheridan hasn’t already delivered by the time we get there, things will be pretty tense. Luis will be totally involved. Sheridan had some complications with her pregnancy. It may be best if he’s out of the room. At this point, I’m sure that he assumes he’ll be there for the birth. That may not be best. Just help me if this is an issue.”

Julian wanted to say, ‘Of course, no problem,’ but Julian couldn’t recall a time that he’d ever felt as though he had Luis under his thumb. He cautioned Eve, “Luis doesn’t exactly adhere to my advice.”

Eve couldn’t help but laugh again. What was wrong with her this morning? In the midst of this terribly tense situation, she felt positively light-hearted. It was wonderful to be off with Julian. It wasn’t like going off on an adventure together. But, actually, it was. She wasn’t going to lie to herself, everyone else maybe, but not to herself. She let go of her prim and proper Doctor Russell persona. With Julian, she was a woman first. She decided to relax and enjoy the adventure. Shocking the hell out of Julian, she signaled him her change of mood. Sweetly she asked, “Julian, what was that little nick-name you used to have for me?”

They came over the crest of the mountain and started the decline. Julian slowed. Good thing he was slowing or he might have run off the road when she spoke. The corner of his mouth turned up. Hoarsely, he whispered, “My angel.” The endearment had never been more appropriate. Eve was leading him to salvation.
 
 
 

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