Chapter Eleven
Jeff found them on the beach and signaled the rest of the unit to come help. Rick showed up first, laying his hands on Casey first, then on Hal to check if they were okay. Several anxious men waited for his pronouncement.
“They’re okay, just worn out.”
“Even the captain?” one of the men asked with surprise in his voice.
Rick nodded. “Even the captain. Although his lady’s temperature is somewhat lower than it should be. Let’s get them inside and into something warm.”
Several men lifted Hal in their strong arms while Rick took Casey, Jeff following closely behind. This woman was too important to their captain and therefore too important to them, to let anything happen to her.
They took them to the mostly empty barracks where they’d all been staying, and Rick shooed out everyone but Jeff, who wouldn’t leave Casey’s side for some reason. All of them had learned not to question Jeff’s newly weird ways.
The guy had been spooky before. Now he was downright scary. He knew things about the future, and they weren’t always good things.
Making a quick decision, Rick decided to treat Hal first. He knew the captain would want to be awake to watch over his woman, and even though Rick was a medical doctor, he didn’t feel right stripping her out of her wet clothes when just a quick application of his newly acquired healing talent would revive the captain.
“How is she?”
Rick smiled, realizing that Hal’s first words would be concern for his lady.
“She’s resting. Her body temp is a little low. I’m going to take care of that. I figured you’d want to help.”
The mischievous smile he spared for Hal was wasted as their captain stumble out of his bunk, caring only that he reach his woman’s side.
He was sopping wet, but Rick didn’t argue with him. Hal began stripping off Casey’s clothes. She was still unconscious, and Rick knew it was caused by exhaustion from their ordeal. That, and being stuck in the ocean for who knew how long.
“What happened to you two, captain?” Rick took one side while Hal worked on her other side, fighting with sodden material that didn’t want to come off her.
“Foreign agents got us. Syrian, or maybe Egyptian, I think. Took us out on a boat several miles into the Atlantic. They threatened to hurt her if I didn’t cooperate.”
“But you kicked their asses and escaped, right?”
Hal nodded grimly, wrapping Cas’s bare upper half in a warm blanket before moving to fight with her wet jeans.
“They’re dead. Unfortunately, there are more where they came from. Two speedboats full. Whatever we stumbled into in ancient Babylon, they want to know about it, and they’re willing to kill to get to us.”
“We’re hunted then.” Rick’s voice didn’t sound that surprised, just resigned.
“’Fraid so. I only hope we have the skills to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. And our government is behind us. At least so far.”
“Speaking of which, they’ve sent us a new team of scientists and specialists to hear our tale of woe and help us figure out exactly what happened.”
That was good news, Hal realized. It meant that they were not being abandoned by their superiors. His faith had been repaid.
“How did you get away from them?” Jeff was still there, his voice low and concerned. “I couldn’t see that far ahead, Captain. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you in time.”
Hal stood after he’d covered Casey’s bare legs, nodding to his team doctor. “Do your thing, Rick.” He turned to face the seer of the group. “Don’t blame yourself, Jeff. You gave me time to prepare and try to evade. That’s more than I would’ve had without your warning. You probably saved her brother’s life. He’s my best friend, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that.”
Jeff looked oddly touched. He nodded, the blue flare of his eyes eerie in the twilight of the long room.
He paused on his way out the door to glance back.
“Take care of your woman, captain. She is important to us. So is the child.”
“Child?” Hal was shocked, but Jeff kept on walking. “Wait a minute. What child?”
Rick straightened from Casey’s side, an expression of awe on his face. He looked from his commander to the woman who was now awake and watching them both.
“Your child, Hal,” he said softly, his own gift flaring in his eyes. “Casey’s pregnant.”
“Good God.”
Her whisper brought Hal to his knees beside her. He touched her face gently, watching the shock be replaced by an overwhelming joy that flooded her eyes with tears.
“You’re happy about having my baby?” He couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. Having a child with Casey had been one of his long-held dreams. Life couldn’t get any better, as far as he was concerned.
She cried harder and threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
“Casey, sweetheart, what’s wrong. You are happy, right? Honey, you’re scaring me.”
She hiccupped, lifting her face to move between his and Rick’s.
“You don’t understand.” Her voice was ragged with her tears. “I was told I could never have children. I had some medical problems when I was in college, and they had to operate. Rick, are you sure?”
Both of them stared at the doctor. He beamed back at them.
“I’m positive. Your child is self-aware and happily growing.” He moved his hand gently down her abdomen, guiding her fingers with his. “Right about here. She’s tiny, but she’s got her mama’s determination.”
“A little girl?” Hal felt faint. The woman in his arms held his heart in her hands, his life in her smile and the new life of their daughter in her beloved body.
Rick nodded. “Have no doubts. You will be proud parents in about eight and a half months.” He got up to leave, giving them some privacy.
“It’s a miracle.” Casey sobbed into his chest, happiness invading every pore of her body.
“With everything that’s happened to me and my men lately, I definitely believe in those.” He stroked her hair and kissed her cheeks.
A thought occurred to her then. “Do you think what happened to you might’ve had something to do with this?”
“Only God knows for sure, sweetheart, but I wouldn’t be surprised.” He squeezed his big frame onto the cot, resting her against his chest and hugging her tight. “You will marry me, right?”
“You’re not asking me now just because of the baby, are you?”
He tugged her closer. “No, silly. Not just because of the baby. I wanted to ask before, but we were rudely interrupted by a dolphin. Remember when I said I loved you? I wanted to ask you then.”
“I remember. And Hal,” she whispered, her hands stroking loving circles on his chest. “I wanted you to ask. And I was going to say yes. But you didn’t ask.”
He sat up a little, frowning down at her. “Just to be clear, I’m asking now, brat. So what’s your answer?”
“Well, it’s not very romantic,” she teased, pouting. Then her face brightened. “You know I can never say no to you. So I guess my answer is yes.”
He gave a theatrical sigh of relief and tugged her back into his arms, hugging her close.
“I love you, squirt.”
“I love you, Hal. And I always will.”