The light from the window lit up Mary and the baby like an image of Christ with his virgin mother. The comparison almost made me laugh. Mary, a virgin? Yeah right.
Mary had changed. Burn scars marred the once flawless skin down the side of her neck, but her golden hair was perfectly styled, as usual. She paid little attention to me. I sat up and was about to use my powers to force her to bring me my baby, when she finally looked up and handed Ana over.
Love washed through me in waves as I stared at my daughter. I never knew anyone could feel this way about another human being. I'd loved her while I carried her to term, but nothing like this. This little cherub-faced girl with big blue eyes had stolen my heart. If only Drake could be here to see her, to fall in love with her himself.
"I love you, Ana. I'll be enough for the both of us, I swear." Only then did I realize Mary was still standing there, watching me. I'd seen her die. "How are you here, Mary? We thought you were...."
"Dead? Yeah, I've gotten that a lot since I've been back. I didn't die, no thanks to all of you who just left me there. Fortunately, IPI found me, and I had the distinct pleasure of recovering in their dreadful facility. You would not believe how miserable it was."
I couldn't believe she'd survived what Drake had done to her. Did she remember? "What happened to you?"
"I'm not really sure. They think I got caught in a fire. Well, they know I got caught in a fire." She fiddled with her hair until it covered her neck—a gesture that looked practiced. "But they think I hit my head and lost some of that time right before. So, yeah, not sure."
Guilt invaded my happy moment. Should I tell her what really happened? Would she do something to me or my baby if she knew that Drake almost killed her trying to free her from the Seeker's mind control? Maternal instinct warred with my sense of right, but in the end, maternal instinct won out. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the safety of my child.
The door opened, and Brad walked in. He smiled and gave a little wave to Ana. "How's the cutest baby in the whole world? Huh?"
His presence made me feeler safer, especially with Mary back so suddenly. "I love how we all sound like such goofballs around a baby." I offered him Ana, though it pained me to part with her, and he took her and made goo-goo sounds.
"I'm so glad you came through this okay, Sam. We were all worried for a while."
Susie had said I'd nearly died giving birth. But all I remembered was.... "Drake. I felt him. He was here with me, giving me strength somehow. I think he's the reason I lived through it."
Brad's face hardened, then softened into a goofy grin for the baby. "But he doesn't have his powers. Maybe you were delirious with the medications?"
"No, I don't think so. Even Susie said I was slipping away, then all of the sudden I called out to Drake and my body started to heal itself. Those aren't my powers. Those are—were—his. Do you think he could have gotten his powers back?"
The thought saddened me. If he did have his powers, then why hadn't he come home? Maybe he'd never forgiven me for what I'd done to him. But if so, why did he save my life? He'd sounded sad, in trouble.
Most of our friends were mad at him, Brad especially, though Luke and Lucy weren't big fans at the moment either. They didn't understand. They hadn't been there to feel how the loss of his powers had stripped him down to nothing. And I'd done it to him. I'd never forgive me either, so I couldn't blame him for being upset. But I did blame him for abandoning his daughter—inexcusable regardless of how he felt about me.
Susie popped her head in the room. "Sam, can you handle a few more visitors?"
Everyone kept telling me to rest, but I felt surprisingly strong and healthy. I needed to get up and stretch, to start doing something. "Sure, send them in." After this visit, I would insist that everyone stop treating me like a sick patient. Ana was healthy, and I felt better than ever. Literally, I felt stronger than I had since I got pregnant.
Father Patrick, Bernard and Desirai came into the room.
Father Patrick spoke first. "Hello, Sam, I hope you don't mind. Is this too much right now?"
I smiled at the old priest. Drake's absence must have broken his heart. They'd always been close. He'd been the only father Drake had ever known.
I gestured for them to come in. "Not at all. I'm so glad you're all here. I'm going stir-crazy in bed all the time."