Authors: Susan Hayes
With no time left, she did the only thing she could. She took two steps to get ahead of Annie and then used all her strength to lift the little girl and hurl her clear of the path of the transpo. The transfer of momentum meant there was little chance for Ciara to get clear herself, but at least Annie would be okay.
Perception shifted. Each moment captured in slow motion. She saw the grill of the vehicle closing in on her and heard someone’s horrified shout of warning. The scent of baked cinnamon and sugar tickled at her nose. The grill of the transpo filled her vision, and she knew she was out of time. The last thing that passed through her mind as she fell to the ground was a terrible sense of regret and grief.
I wish I’d had more time to love them.
***
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dane had a nagging sense that something wasn’t right. It was nothing he could put his finger on, but the feeling rasped against his subconscious like sandpaper. They’d finished working on the new design for a claiming tattoo a few minutes ago, and now they were waiting for Ciara to get home with Annie.
She was late.
He activated his wrist unit to message Ciara, but before he could dial her number, he heard Vance’s wrist unit go off. His hope it was Ciara calling in vanished the moment he heard Vance’s greeting.
“Sterling here. When? Condition? ETA? I’ll be there shortly.”
“They’re calling you on your day off? Must be serious,” Dane said as Vance jogged by him, heading for the front door.
“Some kind of accident. They’re bringing the victims in now. All three of them are civilians, and it’s protocol to let me know whenever a civilian receives on-base treatment. I’ll need to go in and do the paperwork. No one is seriously hurt at least.”
“The joy of being the boss—” Dane’s wrist unit went off. It was Ciara. “Hey, angel. I was just thinking about you.”
“Dane? There was an accident. We’re okay. I promise we’re okay, but we’re being taken to the medical center.”
“What the hell happened?” Dane demanded, his heart in his throat. Memories of another accident filled his head. Christine’s death. The phone calls. The questions. All started with a call and the words, “There’s been an accident.”
“We were crossing the street. A transpo’s brakes failed. He couldn’t stop. There wasn’t time to get both of us out of the way. I made sure Annie was okay. I swear. She’s fine. She’s right beside me, complaining because we didn’t get any donuts.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can. Promise me you’re okay. Swear it.”
“I swear, we’re fine. A little bruised and shaken, but that’s it.”
“I love you. For fuck’s sake, try to stay out of danger until we get there, you hear me?”
“I love you, too. Just, come get us. We want to go home.”
Dane didn’t bother ending the call. He just turned for the door and ran. “Vance! Med-center. Right now. Those accident victims of yours? They’re Ciara and Annie.”
“What? How?” Vance demanded.
“I’ll tell you what I know when we’re in the shuttle. Move it, Doc. Our girls need us.”
They sprinted to the vehicle together.
Vance felt like he was in freefall. There was a rushing in his ears and everything was coming at him so fast he could barely keep up. “What the fuck happened? She was going for donuts!”
“She gave me her word they were okay. She wouldn’t lie to us about that. And your call said no one was seriously hurt, right?”
“They did. Minor injuries for two of the three, a broken arm and head lacerations for the driver. What driver? Was Ciara driving?” Vance hated the feeling of being out of control. He needed answers. He needed to hold his baby girl and Ciara and see for himself they were safe.
“Ciara didn’t give a lot of details. A transpo nearly hit them. Brake failure she said. She wanted me to know she got Annie clear. I don’t know what that means, exactly, but they’re both okay.” Dane took the next corner so fast Vance had to hang onto the door handle to steady himself.
“If you don’t slow down a little, we’re going to be in a wreck ourselves.”
“Any other time, I’d agree with you, but damn it, I need to see them for myself.”
Vance knew exactly what Dane meant. “In that case, floor it. Just make sure we get there in one piece.”
* * * *
Ciara held Annie on her lap, trying to keep the little girl distracted so she didn’t cry again. Annie didn’t understand what had happened to them. All she knew was that she had scraped knees, bruised hands, and no donuts.
She wasn’t happy about any of it, and Ciara couldn’t blame her.
They’d arrived a few minutes ago and been taken straight to an exam room. Since then, several nurses had come and gone, taking down information and making notes. Ciara knew a doctor would be by any second, but she hated sitting around doing nothing. She could treat their injuries herself. Apart from her scraped up knees and hands, the worst of her injuries were some bruised ribs and a goose-egg sized lump on her forehead from hitting the road face first. She had a splitting headache, but that was it. She and Annie were fine—which was a miracle.
The door opened again, and this time someone new arrived, one that looked familiar. It took Ciara a moment to place her. The brunette from the patio the other night. The one who thought Vance looked happier than she’d seen in a long time.
The new arrival took one look at Ciara and grinned. “Hello, again. I’m Dr. Daphne Stone.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced. I’m Ciara Fanning, and this young lady is Annie Sterling.”
“Oh, I’ve met Annie before. We’re old friends.” Dr. Stone crouched down in front of Annie and smiled at the little girl. “You come in with your Daddy Vance some times. Do you remember me?”
Annie snuggled deeper into Ciara’s arms. “No.”
Ciara gave the other woman an apologetic smile. “Sorry. She’s still shaken up over what happened. It’s been a hell of a morning for us.”
“So I heard. In fact, I heard you got hit by a transpo. I have to say, you look pretty good if that’s the case. Do you mind if I take Annie for a minute? I want to pop her onto the med-scan so we can take a look and make sure she’s okay.”
“She’s all yours. I think she’s okay, but I’d like to be sure. Her daddies are going to be out of their minds with worry. I’d like to be able to tell them their daughter’s fine.”
“You got it. I’ll make this quick.” Dr. Stone lifted Annie into her arms, ignoring the wail of protest that tore at Ciara’s heart.
“I’m right here, Annie. The doctor needs to take a quick look, that’s all.”
“Maybe you should come over here, too. Hold her hand? It won’t affect the scan.”
Ciara was up in an instant and limped over to the med-scan. The moment she took Annie’s hand, the little girl’s cries faded. “I got you, sweet pea.”
“Perfect, thanks. So, what happened to you two?”
“A transpo was coming down a hill when its brakes failed. There wasn’t room for him to steer around us, so I did the only thing I could think of. I got Annie out of its path, then took a dive. Lucky for me those big transpos are high enough off the ground he drove over me instead of into me.”
“Holy nova. That close?”
Ciara could still remember the roar of the engine as it passed over her head. She’d been terrified and convinced that she was going to die, but she hadn’t. The chassis had been high enough it hadn’t touched her. Thank the stars the driver hadn’t tried to swerve, or she’d have been crushed by a tire. “I guess it wasn’t my time. How’s the driver doing?”
“Broken arm, some facial lacerations. He’ll be fine. If he didn’t hit you, what did he hit?” Daphne asked. As they spoke, she’d taken a bit of gauze and was carefully wiping Annie’s face with it, cleaning up the worst of the dust and scratches. Her touch was so gentle Annie hadn’t even noticed.
“To be honest, I’m not sure. A street light maybe? Or maybe it was the corner of the building on the other side of the intersection. I was too busy checking on Annie to notice. Once I knew Annie was okay, I wanted to go help the driver, but by the time I got there, someone already had a bandage on his head and I could hear the ambulance coming.”
The med-bed readout beeped softly, and Dr. Stone glanced up to read the results. “All done. She’s fine. A little upset, but that’s to be expected.”
Ciara sighed with relief. “I’m so glad to hear that. You’re good, sweet pea. And you were very brave.”
The door to the examination room flew open at that moment. Dane and Vance came charging in, both of them looking ready to do battle. “Annie! Ciara! Are you okay?”
Daphne stepped aside, and Ciara found herself and Annie caught up in a double bear hug that threatened to break her already bruised ribs. “I’m fine. We’re fine. I promise.”
“I’ll leave you all alone for a minute, but I still need to finish my exam and treatment before you go anywhere,” Daphne said before exiting the room.
“What treatment? You said you were fine!” Vance asked.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. Ciara knew he was using his abilities to check her over, but she didn’t mind. It felt good to be back in their arms. When she’d thought she’d never get this chance again, it hurt her more than anything she’d ever known.
“I was nearly hit by a transpo, so ‘fine’ might be a relative term,” she said, burrowing deeper into their arms.
“Cuts. Bruises, knee, ribs…” Vance eased his hold on her. “She’s got sore ribs, Dane. Ease up on the hug. We’re hurting her.”
“You’re not hurting me.” Ciara took a breath. “But it is easier to breathe when you’re not squishing us.”
“Squishy hugs!” Annie giggled.
Dane listened to his daughter laugh and knew it was going to be okay. The two women he loved were both alive and safe. “How about you take Annie for more squishy hugs, Vance?” he suggested, knowing his partner would want to check on Annie’s health next.
“C’mere, sweet pea. Daddy Vance needs a whole lot of hugs.”
Annie squealed as Vance swung her up into his arms. “Missed you!”
Vance cradled his daughter close to his heart and kissed the top of her head. “We missed you, too.”
“You want to explain how a simple trip to the bakery for donuts resulted in…whatever the hell happened to you?” Dane asked.
“I’ll explain everything, if you let me sit down first. My knees got scraped up when I hit the ground.” Dane helped her to the nearest chair and dropped to his knees at Ciara’s side, unwilling to be away from her. He wasn’t sure he’d be leaving her alone any time soon. They’d come so close to losing her and Annie that his heart ached just thinking about it.
He held tight to her while she described what happened, grateful to have the chance to hold her again. The thought he might not have had this chance rocking him to his soul.
“…I thought I was a goner, but at the last second, I saw how much clearance there was underneath the chassis. I figured better a slim chance than none at all and dove for the ground. The universe must have plans for me still, because my insane plan worked, and he drove right over me.”
“You risked your own life to save Annie’s.” Vance’s voice cracked.
“If I hadn’t done anything, it would have been both of us facing death. It only made sense to make sure she was safe. She’s got her whole life ahead of her.”
“Spoken like a mother. You put Annie’s life ahead of your own. I’m so glad it wasn’t the last thing you ever did. Fuck, we came so close to losing you.” Vance leaned in and kissed her. “I love you.”
Dane leaned in and stroked her cheek. “Motherhood looks good on you, angel.”
“I love you both, but watch the language, will you? Little ears are listening.”
Both men blinked at her, then laughed.
“And a momma-bear is born,” Vance said.
“I want another name. Momma-bear doesn’t sound very sexy to me,” Ciara protested.
Dane gave in to temptation and rose up to slant a kiss across her lips. “Oh, trust us, it is. Very, very sexy.”
Ciara kissed him in return, grateful to be back with them again. One thing nearly dying had clarified for her—she was where she wanted to be, with the people she wanted to be with. It wasn’t her clinic, or her patients, or her life in the badlands she’d thought of in those final seconds. It was Vance and Dane and their little girl.
There was a sound of movement in the room, and when Dane ended their kiss, she opened her eyes and discovered that that Vance was on his knees beside Dane with Annie settled between them.
“Uh, why is everyone on the floor?” she asked.
“Tradition,” Vance replied, holding out his hand to her.
Dane mirrored the move, and Ciara found herself taking both their hands. They both looked solemn, and her heart beat a little faster as they glanced at each other, then at her.
“Do you love us?” Vance asked.
“Very much. When I…I thought I was…” She broke off and swallowed several times, trying to remove the lump in her throat. “At the end, all I could think about was that I wanted more time with the three of you. That’s all I wanted. So, yes, I love you.”
“We love you, too. We want you to be part of our lives forever. Will you?” Dane asked, looking at her with love shining in his sky-blue eyes.
“Yes. Hell yes. I don’t think you could get rid of me now if you tried.”
They both grinned, and even Annie laughed and clapped though she was too young to truly understand what was going on.
“Close your eyes, Ciara,” Vance said.
“Bossy ’leet,” she muttered.
“Yes, I am. Get used to it. Now, close your eyes.”
“Trust us, angel,” Dane added.
She closed her eyes. “I’ll always trust you.”
Vance’s voice was thick with emotion. “And we trust you, with everything we are, and everything we have. We want you in our lives, Ciara.”
Someone’s hand touched her left cheek, smoothing back her wind-tangled hair. There was a touch of something cool against her skin, then a brief tingle. “What the hell did you do?”
Two voices answered her in concert. “We choose you, Ciara.”
Her eyes flew open. Both men were staring at her, their identical expressions one of smug male possessiveness. Vance moved his hand away, and she immediately spotted the marking device he held.