Jana Leigh (5 page)

Jessie jumped from
the car and his only intent was getting to the birthing suite that held Brin.  Mark and his other friends appeared at the end of a hallway and they were all pointing and smiling.  As he ran down the hall he heard the guard from the front chasing him, as well as a nurse yelling at him to stop.  He was not going to, not until he saw Brin.

“
Sir,” the nurse yelled as he rounded the corner and kept running. 

A man stepped out of the doorway at the end of the hall.  The only thing he registered was that he was
wearing hip waders and was frowning at him.

“
BRIN?!” he yelled loudly and desperately.

Another man stepped out into the hallway and frowned.  “
Hey?” the guy said and Jessie skidded to a halt.

“
Do either of you know where the birth center is?” Jessie asked, in most hospitals it was a locked ward.

“
Right here,” one of the men said.

“
Jessie?" the other man said and Jessie snapped to attention when the second man had stepped into the hallway.  He was tall, and had sandy brown, shaggy hair.  He had green eyes and when he looked in them, he recognized a boy from his past.  Wait…Grant was here?  Why was Grant in nowhereville? 

“
Grant?” Jessie said and looked at his childhood best friend in shock.  But the other man had other ideas as did the nurse who finally caught up with him, and the security guard who was yelling in his radio.

“
Why are you looking for Brin?” the other man demanded and Jessie’s attention snapped to him.  He was big, and a little more than threatening but Jessie was desperate.

“
Because I am,” Jessie growled and the man looked at the people behind him.  “Wanda, Roy, I got this,” the man said as he heard a grown from the room to his left.

“
Jessie?”  He heard a woman say.  BRIN!  Jessie took a step toward the doorway.  He heard Drake make a noise but didn’t turn.

“
Now hold on there a minute, big guy.  Brin is one of ours now.  What do you want with her?” the man said and Jessie frowned.

One of whose?

He turned slowly and saw the man was bowing his shoulders and standing even taller than the mountain of a man did already.  Jessie stood his full height as well and then scowled at him.  Most men would have backed off when they saw the look on Jessie’s face.  The guy must have a death wish—he laughed at Jessie.

“
Why don’t you scoot along, I will have the Sheriff come and talk to you when Brin is available,” the man said.

“
Who the fuck do you…”  Was as far as he made it when the man reached into his large wading pants and pulled out a pistol.

Mark appe
ared to the side of him and whispered,
“Dude, really, you need to get in there.  It is happening.” 

Jessie growled and rolled his eyes, figures the ghost would show now.  He turned his attention back to the threat and glared.

“Who I am is that woman’s protector, and as far as I can tell, you are the asshole who got our poor Brin pregnant and left her.  Made her cry yesterday and just this morning too.  So git on outta here,” the man growled.  After the long night of the women being in labor together, Jabo was taking it upon himself to protect the sprite of a woman his wife had made friends with.

Jessie took in the situation in the blink of an eye, he needed to get into that room like ASAP, this muther fucker was stopping him, and that was not acceptable.  H
e felt his childhood friend shift on his feet and then hold up a hand.  But it was going to be too little too late Jessie figured. 

“
Jabo,” Grant said with a warning and that was all that was said.

Jessie kicked the arm holding the gun sending it scatteri
ng down the hallway.  Jessie grabbed the man by the shirt and brought him in to head-butt him, but the man was prepared.  Not missing a beat, the man broke the grip and laughed, “Gonna do it the hard way, huh?”

“
Damn it, Jabo, kick his ass and git back in here, I need my back rubbed,” another female voice called.  “Brin honey, just hold on, Jabo will take care of this, and then the Doc can help you out.”

Jessie didn
’t hear a word of what was being yelled, his focus was on the man and getting into the room that held Brin.  Mark stood again in the doorway and yelled to him. 
“Dude, you are making me look at shit I shouldn’t be.  Get your ass over here.”

Jessie could see the feint lines of the men he served with, it seemed natural they were here, watching
over Brin and the baby while Jessie tried to kick the stranger’s ass.  However, he wasn’t sure Brin was going to feel that way when this was all said and done.

“
Jessie, knock it off!” Brin yelled.

Drake stepped forward when the guard was going to jump int
o the fray and said, “Might be best if we let them fight it out.  Getting in between them looks a little dangerous.”

Roy, the security guard
, snorted and then nodded reluctantly.  Grant looked around in awe as he saw his best friend whom he grew up with punch and dodge Jabo and his meaty fists.

Jessie
’s head snapped back when Jabo punched him in the mouth, “Son of a Bitch!”

“
Now my mama don’t take kindly to being called such names.”  Jabo grinned and swung again.

Jessie roared and putting his right shoulder
forward he charged the man and took him down to the ground with a load thump.

“
Now, honey, are you almost done, the doctor is saying something about crowning,” Sassy called.

Drake frowned and looked into the room.  He turned green and stepped back out.  “
Dude, you need to hurry it up.”

“
My doctor says the same thing, “Brin called, and Grant tried to move to the door but was blocked by the tangle of bodies punching each other on the floor.

The nurse gave up shaking her head and looking at Roy, “
Better call the Sheriff.”

“
No worries I am right here,” a potbellied man said as he lumbered down the hallway.

Jessie and Jabo refused to give up the hold they each had on each other, both of them looked like a pretzel as they held each other
’s necks.

“
Muther fucker,” Jessie ground out and released one hand to punch the man they called Jabo in the mouth. 

“
I told you, don’t be saying things about my mama,” Jabo said, released a hand and punched Jessie as well.  They were grappling on the floor scooting closer and closer to the doorway where Brin was.  Jessie dug his foot on the floor and popped his head in.  “Brin!”

He saw Mark
's sister raise her head from the bed.  He also saw a man in between her legs that were raised up in stirrups and he was directing Brin to push.

“
Damn it, doctor, I am trying to but right now I have distractions!” Brin yelled.  “Jessie, get the hell up off the floor, is that blood I see.  What are you doing?”

“
He is getting his ass kicked!” Sassy yelled.  “Honey, you are gonna have to hurry it up.”

“
Right there, darlin’,” Jabo yelled.

“
Hey, whose truck is parked in the front of the hospital illegally?” the Sherriff said.

Drake turned and raised his hand, “
Mine, we were on our way to help Brin Plater deliver.  You see, Jessie is the father, only he didn’t know he was going to be a father, he just found out.  So we drove here through the night, and she was still in labor, Jessie wanted to get here fast so we just left the car and ran.”

“
Son, I didn’t ask for your life story.  Now, I assume Jessie is the man who is playing with Jabo on the floor there?” the Sheriff said.

“
Frank,” Sassy called.  “That is the man who got our new best friend pregnant.  Grant has taken a liking to her.”

“
Well now,” the Sheriff said.  “I thought I was gonna have to drive all over hell and back to find all these people.  So here is your ticket for double parking in an Emergency Zone.  Brin Plater,” he said and rubbed his chin.  “Just take hers too, it is for leaving a SUV abandoned on the side of the road without calling for a tow.  And Sassy, I will just put Jabo’s on his tab.  And what is his name, so I can give him a ticket for disorderly conduct?”

Drake looked at the Sheriff in shock.  “
Uhhh...Jessie James?”

“
No foolin'?  Well that is very nice.  Seems like I sewed up the town treasury needs in one trip.  Have a nice day, ya’ll,” the Sheriff said and turned.

“
OHHHHHHHHHH…Damn you, Jessie, I can’t believe you got me into this mess.  Get up off the floor so I can kick your balls in your throat so you can feel the same pain,” Brin yelled.

Grant finally was able to move and he bent over and grabbed Jessie up from the ground and said, “
Jabo, Sassy…get moving.  Jessie, Brin…suck it up.”

Jessie shook his head and didn
’t even wipe the blood from his face as he ran into the room and said, “Aww, honey.”

“
FUUUCCCKKK  YYOOOUUU!”  Brin screamed as she pushed for last time.  Jessie looked to where his child was being cradled in the doctor’s hands. 
The blood….shit
! was his last thought as he fell to the floor?

“
Damn,” Grant said and looked at Drake.  “I really thought by now he would have gotten over his squeamishness about blood.”

“
Nah, he is a pussy,” Drake said and shook his head.

Jessie felt someone slapping his face and he grumbled.  “
Dude, you are giving SEALs a bad name, man.”  Drake laughed and Jessie opened one eye.

“
Fuck,” Jessie said, hurting all over.  “I feel like I got hit with a two ton truck.” 

“
Maybe a two ton hillbilly named Jabo.”  He heard a man laugh.  Jessie groaned and tried to focus. 
Shit, Grant…hospital…BRIN!
Jessie thought and sat up.  He grabbed his head and looked around.  They had moved him to the corner of the larger room.  The doctor and nurses were still taking care of Brin who was slumped exhausted on the bed, holding something in her arms and crying.  Jessie scrambled to his feet.

He walked to the bed without acknowledging the two comedy wanna be
’s sitting in the corner.  But he felt Grant move to the other side of the bed.  His focus remained on the small bundle in Brin’s arms. 

“
Brin?” he said hesitantly.

“
Jessie, it's a boy, can you believe how perfect he is?” she said, crying and looking up at him.

“
Oh man,” Jessie said with tears in his eyes.  A son.  He had a son.  The feelings washed over him as he looked down at the two people who were most precious to him in the world.  Shit, if Mark were here he would kick his ass.  Jessie wanted to take Brin and the baby and run, get to know her more, and keep them forever.  He wanted the family, he wanted the mess of life, for once, Jessie was not going to run away from a relationship.  He wanted this more than his next breath.

“
Do you want to hold him?” Brin whispered and Jessie felt himself nodding. He leaned over, picked up the almost weightless bundle, and looked down. 
He's perfect
, Jessie thought as he looked at the round faced little man.  He had glistening white hair and blinked a few times as if trying to figure out why the scenery had changed.  The blue eyes stared up at him and he felt like he was on top of the world.

“
I am sorry,” Brin whispered and took Grant’s hand absently.  Jessie looked up and shook his head. 

“
No, Brin, my fault.  I should have called,” Jessie whispered.

“
Ha, like that would have mattered.  I would never have told you about being pregnant over the phone.  I would have insisted we meet.  I know what a shitty time you were going through, and I couldn’t do that to you.  To be honest, you needed to heal.”

Jessie closed his eyes, she understood, even though it was completely fucked up, she understood. 
He came back from overseas, wounded and an emotional mess, Jessie would have completely screwed this up.  Probably would have done or said something that would have gotten him kicked out of Brin’s life forever, no matter how screwed up the situation was.  Jessie was going to fix it, he had to, all of their futures were on the line.

“
I have to take care of the patient, maybe you men would like to go and grab something to drink and come back, then we will be done in here,” an older nurse said brusquely and took the baby from Jessie and laid it back on Brin’s chest.

The men nodded absently and allowed themselves to be hustled out of the room, when Jessie was
standing in the corridor he looked at Drake and shook his head.

“
What the hell just happened?” Jessie said.

“
I don’t know, but I could use a drink,” Drake said.

Grant laughed and put his hand on both of their shoulders and led them down the hallway.  “
Maybe Jabo has his flask, let’s go and find him.”

“
Can you tell me who the hell Jabo is too?  He has a mean right hook,” Jessie complained.

Thane and West gathered their gear up.  Th
ey were going to Texas to get some answers.  So far, everything they dug up didn't make any sense.  West insisted on going since Arden was convinced that something her parents were involved in was going to come back to haunt them.

After seeing the report
from the Commander about their death, West and Voodoo agreed.  Somehow they were involved in this mess.  How they all connected was not clear, which was why Thane and West were going to Texas, to get some answers. 

Their shady dealings with gunrunners an
d drug dealers had gotten them killed.  However, there was a single thread that was connecting these things to the situation with the Team.  Whoever was trying to kill them was involved in this whole mess.  One way or another they were going to unravel this. Thane and the others thought if they pulled the right string, everything would fall into place.  The key was trying to figure which string to pull.

The men who attacked the ranch and tried to kill the Team were from a drug cartel in Mexico.  The same g
roup of men who were tied to the deaths of Arden’s parents.  Although they were not the exact same men, they belonged to the same gang.  As far as the guys knew, they had never been involved with the cartel.  Most of their missions had been overseas.

Howev
er, Arden’s parents were involved also in the smuggling of weapons to the areas the men had previously had a mission.  It was like a big revolving door, and one they were ready to stop.

“
I hate this,” Arden said from the table where the group was sitting. “We are supposed to be going to the islands and getting settled together.”

West smiled and looked at Arden.  “
Honey, I told you.  We are just making a stop in Texas and then we will follow.  Alex’s family has got everything set up and ready.  Once Jessie and the others get to the islands, we will be able to figure this out without having a target on our backs.”

Jolie and Sable snorted.  “
Just like a man,” Sable said.  “However, the only good thing is that Destiny and her men will look after the place with the hands.  That way they will be safe.  I hate that we brought this fight to Healing.  It is such a nice little town.”

Gage and David looked at one another and smiled.  “
Like the town cared.  The mayor and the others will be keeping a look out for strangers.  They have it all ready to notify us.  We have sworn in some of the townsfolk for now to help with patrols in case there is a problem.  The town Council voted to try to keep you all here to protect you.  But they understand your decision,” David said with a touch of humor in his voice. 

Alex laughed.  “
We sure picked a great place to move to.” 

The men shook their heads, once this was all said and done they would be back to settle, this was one of the only places they would be able to find peace and l
ive like they wanted.  Heck, even Alex’s family was talking about relocating soon.  The town needed a bit more excitement according to them.

“
The family is going to hold up on the south island, and we can take the large one.  It has enough room for all of us, a few bungalows, plus the large main house,” Slone said, pointing to the map they had out.

“
The Commander doesn’t want to know where we are taking them, he said the fewer people who knew the better.  They also have alerted West’s TEAM and given them permission to help.  A few of them are from Texas so they are home on leave for cover.  The others are leaving on a deployment, but will have a layover in Houston.  They won’t make the connecting flight, though no one will report that,” Gage said and pointed to the other board. 

“
Thane, you and West can call any of these guys.  Mason, Alex, Slone, and Gage will be getting the families to the islands.  I have a few things to finish up, and I will follow.  The ranch is taken care of, the construction is going on as planned under the watchful eyes of the Mayor,” David said and then nodded. 

“
When are we leaving?” Sable asked.

“
Tomorrow morning,” West said grimly and they began to plan.

Jessie looked at his friend again and grinned.  “
Grant, it is good to see you.”

They had kept in touch with phone calls.  However, the last time they had seen each other was when Grant
's mother had passed away from breast cancer last year.  He remembered his friend telling him he had moved, and promised to call and arrange to visit. 

Jessie felt like shit, time had gotten away and then he had been so focused on his own problems he had lost track of time.  Grant and
he had been best friends since they were five until they separated the last summer after graduation.  They remained in touch throughout college and basic, even meeting on occasion and going out.  They shared everything, and Jessie just realized how much he missed Grant.

“
Jessie, what the hell is going on?”  Grant laughed and shook his head.  “I find this woman on the side of the road pregnant and alone, and then lo and behold you show up and are the father?  How exactly does that fucking work?”

Jessie was silent as he tho
ught about his response.  They continued along the corridor trying to find the cafeteria the nurse directed them to.  Grant pointed and directed them into a large courtyard where there was a coffee cart and a snack cart.  Once they were settled at a table, Jessie finally looked at his friend.

“
So,” Jessie started and Grant held up his hand.

“
Hey, you don’t owe me any explanations.  I was just curious.  I know what happened to you and your team.  Hell, I would have had to been dead not to know.  I was worried.  I called the base to see if I could find out anything and they wouldn’t talk.  I figured you would contact me when you were ready,” Grant said softly.

“
I am sorry.  I was in a bad place, hell still in a bad place.  I have all this shit coming down on me and I am not equipped, man.  You know,” Jessie admitted.  It was nice to be able to talk to someone again, someone who knew what the hell he was talking about.

When they were younger neither had to say much to each other, they knew each other that well.
When one of them wanted to talk the other listened without judgment.  That was the way it was.  They would offer support and advice but only if the other asked for it.

Grant waited, Jessie knew he would never ask what was going on; it was up to Jessie to
tell him.  Drake was standing guard on the room so Jessie knew he had time to talk to his friend.  How much should he tell him though?