Praetorian Series [3] A Hunter and His Legion (47 page)

It took me a while to reach the
fort’s southeast corner, where it seemed Agrippina had allowed my friends to camp, but after ten minutes of wandering around, I finally found a series of tents that were most certainly not from around here.  Those who occupied them were milling about, performing one task or another, none of them immediately noticing my arrival.  I saw Brewster and Stryker sitting around a small fire together, not talking, but clearly guarding each other’s backs.  Cuyler was behind all the tents situated on a haphazardly built platform that offered a little extra elevation, while Santino and Bordeaux were busy crafting a small palisade of stakes to place around the small encampment.

I caught Archer’s eye
as he surveyed the others and he waved me over.

“I hear you’re sane again,” he said as I
approached.

I knocked my head with the palm of a hand
.  “I hope so.”

He nodded
, his blond hair so long now that it fell into his face at the slight motion.  He brushed it away before handing me my heavy winter jacket that he must have found after Agrippina and I had left her
praetorium
.

I took it from him and slipped it on.

“I know I’ve been playing catch up since getting here,” he said as I zipped it tight, “but I think I understand that what you were going through wasn’t exactly your choice.”

“Not my choice, no,” I agreed, “but my actions were still my own.  The last few months are a little fuzzy, but I remember a few things.  Bad things.  I’m not sure…”

“Hunter,” Archer warned, placing a surprisingly warm and consoling hand on my shoulder.  “Try not to think about it.”

“
Yeah, I know… it’s just that I don’t think I’ve been magically cured,” I warned.  “It could happen again.  I could relapse maybe.  If the orb somehow finds its way back to me, I… well, I need you to be vigilant, Paul.  Do whatever you need to.”

He smiled
and worked his jaw with a hand.  “I do owe you a few punches…”

“
Cash them in,” I said hastily, realizing I was starting to like Archer again.  “Whatever it takes.”

“
Agreed,” he said.

I shifted my attention from him to survey the camp.
  “Where’s Helena?”  I asked, but Archer visibly hesitated.  “It’s all right, Paul.  I’m okay.  Really.  Now, where is she?”

He slowly hooked
a thumb over his shoulder toward the tent behind him.

“Thanks,
” I said, and walked past him, moving toward the tent.

It was large,
one not meant for sleeping, but one we used for recreational use or team meetings.  I leaned down to find the zipper that kept it closed, but had to take a second when a shiver rand down my spine, but it was a natural shiver, one born from the cold I’d only just now escaped and nothing more.  But when it subsided, I remained unmoving, wondering if this was the right thing to do.  The last month hadn’t done anything for my relationship with Helena besides damage it, I was sure, and I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want anything to do with me at all anymore.

I took
both a moment and a deep breath, but pushed into the tent.

“I told everyone
to stay out!”

I heard Wang shout these words
, but my eyes were drawn immediately to Helena laying on a table with her legs spread wide and Wang situated between them.  This initial sight of horror was only slightly improved by the sight of Artie near Helena’s head, facing Wang.

“I said that you’d better bloody well stay…” Wang started to say again as he turned around, but
then stopped when he saw me.  “Oh, it’s you.  You especially get the fuck…”

“
No, it’s all right, Wang,” Helena said as she leaned up.  I think he’s better.”

Wang shot to his feet
before she could finish and moved on me threateningly.  I took a step back and raised my hands innocently as he spoke, his hands balling themselves into tight fists.

“If you really are
better
,” Wang challenged, “then tell me something only Hunter would know.”

My head jerked back in confusion.  “I was under the influence of some really rough drugs, Wang, not replaced by a clone…”

His aggressive expression softened and his fighting posture disappeared as he straightened.  “Oh, right…” he muttered, glancing at the ground, “well, I suppose the other you wouldn’t have been so patient with a question like that, so… welcome back, mate.”

I rolled my eyes and gestured
toward Helena.  “What’s going on here?”

“
What do you think is going on here?”  Artie said, but her voice had a challenging edge to it.

“Artie, just don’t,” I said as I
returned her look, which she held with hard eyes until I couldn’t help but look away.

Wang
returned to Helena and lowered a sheet over her legs as he spoke again.  “Not many lady-part doctors around here, Hunter. So I’m all she’s got.”

I looked at him, almost shocke
d.  “And you’re okay with that?”  I turned to Helena.  “And you?”

Wang answered first.  “I may not be a doctor, but I took an
oath, and Helena needed me.  Besides, me mum was a nurse and helped deliver a thousand babies.  I learned a lot from her.”

“I trust him, Jacob,” Helena said
. “And he’s been very gentle.”

“He’d better
have been.”

Wang
narrowed his eyes at me, but quickly took a deep breath and shook his head as he turned away to search for something in his bag.

“Would you like to see your baby, Hunter
?”  He asked.

My eyebrows rose at the suggestion
.  “What?  How?”

“
My portable ultrasound device still works,” he indicated as he pulled a small, square device with an attached cord from his bag.  “But barely.  It’ll be fuzzy, but Helena’s far enough along that seeing him is quite easy.”

I looked at Helena.  “Him?”

She nodded and beamed at me.  “We’ve known for a few weeks now.”

I smiled, not even a hint of annoyance or anger present in my chest or heart or
in my mind or anywhere at the news.  All I felt was unabashed joy, the last month devolving into nothing more than a distant, painful memory, one that I pushed away to dwell on later.  Now, I got to see my son for the very first time, and not even Agrippina or the orb could ruin that moment.

“I told you,” I said
, barely above a whisper, and Helena’s grin grew and she tilted her head in acknowledgment that I had been the one to hope it was a boy.  She waved me over and I moved to kneel beside her, which is when Artie pulled away from Helena and marched away in silence.  I watched her go but then realized I couldn’t just let her leave without saying something.

“Wait, Artie,” I called out, shooting back to my feet and intercepting her by the tent’
s exit, and she stopped and turned to look up at me.  She rarely had to look up at guys, but she always had with me, but I had never thought any less of her for it, and I certainly didn’t now.

She stared into my eyes with a look of frustrated sadness that nearly broke my heart.

Carefully, I reached up and gripped her shoulders, and lowered my head toward her.  “There’s nothing I can really say to explain how sorry I am, Artie, but…”

As I spoke, she violently choked
back tears as a fit of sobs overwhelmed her, which was when she broke down completely.  She pulled herself against my chest as tears started to flow, but I hesitated before wrapping my arms around her, unsure if that’s what she really wanted from me, but finally, I did.

I
patted her head and let her cry.

“You have a lot to make up for, Jacob
,” she said around her tears.  “You can’t even imagine.”

I felt my eyes close on their own
.  “No.  I can’t.”

She lost her next words in another jolt of emotion, and I had to wait before she found it within herself to speak again
.  “I thought I’d lost you, big brother.  People snap all the time, for no reason at all sometimes, but because of the orb I… I thought I’d have to watch one of our friends hurt you before you did… before you did…”

I
squeezed her tighter as she failed to find the words she sought, and shushed her, feeling tears of my own form and fall at her words, realizing that I no longer cared about changed timelines and “2.0” monikers.  If I’d ever doubted that the Artie before me was anyone but my real sister… I no longer did now.

She was.

“I’m so sorry, Artie.  I wish I could say it wasn’t my fault, but… I can’t.  I could have done something about it.”

She pushed herself away
finally, shaking her head as she wiped tears from her cheeks.  “It’s okay, Jacob.  I think we all understand.  I… I just need some time, okay?”

“I understand, little sister,” I said, and she looked up at me and small smile formed on her lips at my use of my
own pet name for her.  The smile tightened a moment later, and after one last hug from her, she left, and I watched her go.  I wiped away a tear as I stared at the empty space Artie had just occupied, my emotions threatening to overwhelm me, when I remembered why it was I’d come here.

I turned around and saw Wang awkwardly fiddling with
the ultrasound device in his hands, while Helena still laid on the table, smiling at me.  She reached out again and beckoned me toward her, so I complied and knelt beside her, taking her hand in both of my own.

“Thanks for that,” I whispered.

“She’s your
sister
, Jacob,” Helena said.  “And she’s a great one.”

I nodded slowly
.  “Has she been with you for these before?”

“Every one,” Helena answered.

“God, I’m so sorry, Helena,” I said, lowering my head to her hand, my earlier tears threatening to return.  “How can you still love me after everything I’ve put you through?  I should have been here for you!  Should have been able to ignore orb.  I…”

“Not now, Jacob,” she said, her eyes supportive but with a frown.

“But…”

“
Later…”

I nodded
, but it didn’t come easy.

Helena turned to Wang.  “We’re ready, Doctor.”

I looked at the medic, some of my sadness leaving at the odd word choice.  “Doctor?”

“Her idea,” he said as he
gave his device one last inspection, not missing a beat. “It made her feel more comfortable.”

“Works for me…
” I said, my facial muscle memory finally remembering how to form a smile, “…
doctor
.”

He paused to give me an irritated look, but continued his preparation without pause.  “Pull up your shirt, Helena,” he ordered.

She did as she was told and lifted her shirt that may have belonged to Bordeaux a few weeks ago, to reveal her swollen belly.  I looked at it in wonder, having had no idea how big she’d really gotten until just now.

“Don’t look so disgusted, Jacob,” she chided.  “Other things are bigger as well.”

“
Please
…” Wang said as he applied a gel to her stomach.

“Sorr
… y!” Helena’s voice rose sharply as the cold gel hit her.  Wang ignored her and placed the wand against the gel and guided it along her belly.  I watched in wonder as the image of a tiny child materialized almost immediately on the handheld screen Wang also held, and was amazed at how clearly details came into view.  Bits and pieces of the little guy like arms and legs, fingers and toes, a torso and head were so plainly obvious on the screen that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  Even his face and nose were easy to detect despite the fuzziness from Wang’s defunct device.

It was an
awesome sight, in every definitive meaning of the word.

Without prompting, the little guy
squirmed and kicked in a series of tumbles and karate moves.  I sat there, mouth agape at what I saw, having never believed that seeing what I was seeing now could ever be so amazing and emotional.  I’d never even been sure if I’d ever get to see something like this, but I couldn’t be more thankful that I was now.

“My God,” I said, raising a hand to my mouth to cover my amazement.  “He’s… perfect.”

Wang nodded as he manipulated the device for a different view.  “He does seem quite healthy, and his dimensions look good.  I’m actually quite surprised considering the diet Helena’s been forced on here and the stress she’s been under.  There’s no way for me to perform a more detailed analysis, but it’s my professional opinion that the lad looks aces.”

“
Helena’s got great genes…” I whispered, barely understanding a word he’d said.

“You
helped,” Helena said.

“Hmm?”  I asked.  “What?”

She laughed and turned back to Wang.  “One of us should really have taken that bet, James.  He’s taking this a lot better than we thought he would.”