Chapter 7

He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now
Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen

Sutton, Surrey, November 25^th

"Sophie?" Caerys sat up, staring at the brief silhouette that disappeared as the door eased quietly shut. "Sophie, what's wrong?" The whispered reply was too quiet to hear. "What? Soph?"

"Nothing, Caerys." She whispered, a little louder. "Nothing's wrong."

"Then... uh..." The light flicked on as Caerys reached over to the bedside lamp.

"Why am I here?" Sophie finished, holding her robe around herself.

"Yes." Caerys sat up, reaching down to pull the sheet around herself a little more, self-consciously.

"I... I'm not sure." Sophie admitted, moving forward a step at a time, before perching on the edge of the bed. "I don't know."

"I'm sorry, Soph, I didn't mean... earlier. I shouldn't have said anything. It's just... I've been looked at like that all my life. I didn't want to do it to you."

"Thank you." Sophie smiled, gently, moving a little further onto the bed, but still not turning to face her. "It's not..." her voice dropped to a whisper.

"It's not just that... I don't want to be alone, tonight, but..."

"You can't help but feel that all this that's going on is affecting you and you don't want to do anything stupid that you can't take back later?" Sophie looked round at that, fear mingling with tears in her eyes.

"I shouldn't have come."

"Hey." Caerys reached out and grabbed a hand before she could get up. "Listen, I'm not going to judge you, certainly for that. This might be the last chance you get, you know, people are chasing us, trying to kill us, but... I don't want you to do anything you'll regret, but... if you need a friend, tonight, that's fine."

"Really?"

"Really." Caerys nodded, with a gentle smile. "I can't promise I won't think anything, but I won't do anything." Sophie paused, and Caerys frowned, slapping herself on the forehead. "Fuck... I didn't mean anything by that, Soph... that's the sort of humour I grew up with. The good end of it."

"That wasn't funny."

"I know..."

"You're nervous, too?"

"Nobody's ever asked before, Sophie." Caerys pointed out, her jaw quivering gently. "That... that means more than anything that might happen afterwards. You asked."

"And you're not going to do anything to spoil that, are you?" Caerys just shook her head, not trusting herself to speak, and Sophie stood up, slipping the robe off to the floor to reveal a floor-length ivory nightgown.

"Now you're just putting me to shame." Caerys mumbled, with a grin through the slight mist of tears, throwing back the covers to reveal a set of pink gingham pyjamas. "Come on."

"Thank you, Caerys." Sophie paused on the edge of the bed to smile at her, gently, lifting her nightgown ahead of her as she tentatively slipped in.

"Which side do you normally sleep?" Caerys asked.

"It's been so long... here will be fine." She settled down, turning slowly away and snuggling backwards as Caerys reached and turned the light off again. Lying back down, Caerys eased herself up against Sophie's back, one hand sliding under the pillow, and the other draping gently over her side to rest on her stomach.

"You know..." she whispered, quietly, "if you just wanted to be with someone, Gavin's out there. I don't think he'd try anything, either."

"I don't think he'd say yes." Sophie replied, after a moment's thought.

"You... you thought of him first?"

"Not until you mentioned it." Sophie smiled in the darkness as Caerys relaxed a little. "And before you mention Christophe, he doesn't hold me like this."

"I suppose not."

"And he wriggles."

Sutton, Surrey, November 26^th

Caerys woke up with a start, blinking in the unfamiliar surroundings for a moment, trying to pick out what had woken her. A second, louder burst of muffled music crept through to her, and she relaxed a little, easing back into the sheets and the warm, soft body behind her.

"Bon matin." Sophie mumbled, still half-asleep, rolling a little away on the narrow bed, and slipping back into her dreams. Caerys smiled, a relaxed, peaceful, contented smile, and rolled gently out of the bed, trying not let any of the slightly chilly air in under the blankets as he padded out of the room.

"Morning." Gavin managed, from his chair in the middle of the room, after an uncomfortable few seconds of watching her.

"Something I can do for you?" she asked, with a grin.

"No. You seem happier this morning."

"I..." she smiled again, a deeper, broader smile. "I am."

"OK. Good."

"Why?" Sophie stepped out of the same room, wrapped up in her robe again, giving a slightly shy smile to them both as she walked past.

"Why? Why not?"

"Fair enough." Gavin turned back to his reading, and Sophie headed off to the kitchen with Caerys in tow.

"You know what he'll think, now." Sophie stared across the counter as Caerys sat down.

"Maybe... depends on whether he sat there and listened all night." Sophie blushed, deeply, and stared back.

"I..." Sophie tried to say, but clammed up again.

"Soph, nothing happened."

"I know."

"But?"

"But... what if had? What... what if it does?" the flush deepened, and Caerys felt the little smile she couldn't get rid of grow a little further.

"I'd put off that decision for a while." Gavin strolled across the room easily to the fridge, bending to drag out food for breakfast. "Did you both want anything?"

"Just toast." Caerys muttered, suddenly quiet.

"I... why?" Sophie turned to face Gavin as he stood up, blushing still but standing firm.

"You're both under a lot of stress at the moment, circumstances are throwing you together and you aren't able to react to the situation normally. That isn't the time to make significant life decisions like that."

"That's... that's probably true." Sophie admitted, reluctantly.

"Is that why you keep yourself stuck in these permanent life-threatening situations?" Caerys asked, archly, staring over at Gavin. "So that you don't have to deal with real life at all?"

"I'll leave you to your discussion." Gavin avoided the issue, putting the food down on the counter and heading for the door. "I'll be in the gym."

"Avoiding, much?" Caerys asked, as he disappeared out the door, and Sophie sat down opposite her.

"He does have a point."

"Probably." Caerys admitted, still smiling gently.

"You don't seem too upset about that."

"Hey, I don't need to rush anything. I... for the first time in my life I woke up beside someone this morning. I've gone to bed with people before, but never had the opportunity to wake up with them. I always had to go back to my own room before that."

"I... that... I don't know what to say?"

"You don't need to say anything." Caerys reached out and covered her hand, gently. "You were still there this morning. I didn't even have to ask for that, I'm not going to ask for anything else."

"I'm... even before Gavin said anything I wasn't sure about this."

"Don't rush. Just... I don't know. It's nice like this. Even having him around."

"Really? I didn't think you liked him."

"Like? I don't know him well enough, but... I trust him. He dragged me naked from that warehouse, he knows he could do what he wanted, and he hasn't even thought about it."

"Most people are like that."

"No, most people wouldn't assume they can do what they want, but they don't have the ability to make it happen anyway. He does, but he doesn't use it."

"That makes a difference?"

"It doesn't take much character not to do things you're incapable of doing, does it?"

"No. No, I suppose it doesn't."

Sutton, Surrey, November 26^th

Gavin stopped, briefly, at the control panel for the air-conditioning system, turning the temperature down a degree or so. With four people in the place it seemed to be a little warmer, he decided, and then stepped into the gym to begin his workout. He struggled more than he'd expected to on the bike for his warm-up, fully seven minutes behind his usual time, but shrugged it off as the effects of the injuries.

Moving to the floor he ran through his stretches, feeling the tug below his ribs where he'd been stitched, but ignoring it as he forced himself through the routine, and then stood to move onto the weights, wondering if he might not have to turn down the air-conditioning a little more.

The floor tilted underneath him, and he grasped at the nearest machine for balance, missing completely and stumbling across the room to lean against the wall for support.

"Come on." He growled to himself as the door opened, and he stared at the short intruder that burst through, rounding on him. It babbled something incomprehensible at him, and he dropped into a defensive stance, wondering how anyone had snuck into the bunker without him knowing.

"Who are you?" he demanded, reaching over his shoulder for the sword that wasn't there, and taking a step to the right to clear some space from the machines.

"Christophe." Came the quiet, confused response, and Gavin tripped over the legs of the cross-trainer, sprawling inelegantly over the matting. "Are you alright?" the boy asked, as Gavin's inert form twitched and vomited over the matting.

"Maman!" Christophe yelled, backing out of the room, his voice rising as he went. "Caerys!"

"What is it, Christophe?" Caerys leant out of the kitchen with a gentle smile that slipped as she saw his face.

"Monsieur Gavin... He's... sick?"

"Again?" Caerys got up, moving past him to look into the gym. "Get your mother, Christophe, she's in the bedroom."

"I didn't do it." He whispered, following her as she crossed over to where Gavin lay. "I just looked to see what he was doing."

"It's OK, Christophe... just get your mother. Go on." She rolled him over, gagging at the bile-rich smell and checked his pulse and breathing as Sophie arrived. "He feels really warm, Soph." She noted. "He's breathing and he has a pulse..."

"It's quick, though." Sophie pointed out, pressing his neck gently. "Feels weaker than yesterday."

"What do you think it is?"

"Disease, maybe. Infection is likely, given the holes he'd had him..." she frowned, and Caerys laid an arm across her shoulders.

"If you hadn't sewn him up who knows what would have happened? Don't blame yourself."

"Do you know what everyone's thinking?" Sophie whispered, stripping off Gavin's shirt again.

"No..." Caerys admitted. "You can see that in your eyes... guilt. I got used to seeing that expression."

"Your family don't sound the sort of people to feel guilty." Sophie pointed out as she moved down to check the lurid red swollen area above his hip.

"Not on them..." Caerys admitted. "In the mirror." Sophie looked up, briefly, and back down.

"I have to deal with this." She pointed. "We can talk later, but... you shouldn't have been made to feel guilty."

"I know." Caerys nodded. "I shouldn't have been made to do a lot of things... Deal with this, I'll go dampen some cloths for you to cool him down."

"Thank you." Sophie clutched her hand as she pulled away. "We will talk about this, I promise." Caerys smiled, gently, and set on her way as Sophie leant over Gavin.

"Gavin?" she shook his shoulder, gently. "Can you hear me?"

"Giselle?" he half-whispered, eyes flicking open but not focussing on anything.

"No, Gavin, it's Sophie."

Portsmouth, Hampshire, August 14^th, eight years previous

"Giselle?" he stepped aside as she walked gracefully into the room. "My father isn't here, today."

"I know." She smiled, gently, leaning against the door as she pushed it closed. He swallowed, gently, forcing himself to keep his eyes on hers as his temptation was to step back and look at the considerable charms she was displaying in the short, summery dress. "And I know that the staff have the day off, too."

"Then..."he forced himself to concentrate on the conversation. "Did you need to get into the office? I'm afraid I don't have a key."

"I know that, too." She admitted. "I do, but I don't have it with me."

"Then... um..."

"What am I here for?" she smiled, giggling gently as his frown deepened a little further. "You just hate a puzzle you can't work out, don't you?"

"Is that such a bad thing?" he asked. "Why don't you just tell me, and then you can get back to whatever it was you were doing today."

"Don't get irritable." She caught his arm, gently as he made to move away, guiding her into the house. "It's obvious, if you think about it."

"Really?" He stared at her, patently disbelieving. She just nodded, gesturing for him to carry on. "Very well. You're my father's secretary, but he doesn't need you here today. If you had anything you needed from his office you'd have brought your key for it. You can't co-ordinate anything with the staff... have you forgotten to take something home with you?"

"Well... I think it's a little early for that." She laughed, and he felt himself smile with her infectious humour.

"Then I'm out of alternatives. There's nothing else here."

"There's you, isn't there?" she pointed out.

"Well, yes, obviously, but... did you need me for something?"

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Well... come on through to the kitchen then." He gestured. "Not that... my father doesn't speak about his business much with me, you know."

"Why should this be about business?" she smiled, and he drew up short, turning back to face her.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, Gabriel, come on." She stepped up beside him, a little closer than he was entirely comfortable with. "I've been round here every day this summer, whether your father was here or not. How often do I have to sit on your table before you'll ask me out somewhere?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you, you bloody idiot." She giggled, shuffling a little closer and placing a surprisingly warm hand on his chest. "Please?"

"I... but..."

"Yes?"

"Wow."

"Better." she laughed. "Keep going."

"Me?"

"Oh dear. And you were doing so well, too."

"Uh, look... are you sure?"

"Have I ever struck you as indecisive before?" she asked, and he was forced to shake his head. "I have to say, you're normally much more intelligible than this." He shook his head, a little confused, but looked down and smiled gently.

"Giselle, someone I know suggested you might like to go out for a walk this afternoon."

"Really?" she feigned amazement. "You are just full of surprises today, aren't you? First you reveal you actually have a friend, then you finally pick up on all of my incredibly subtle hints..."

"Subtlety isn't one of my strong points." He pointed out. "I have been watching you, for what it's worth."

"I know... you nearly burnt a hole in the back of the blue skirt I was wearing on Thursday, you were that subtle."

"Well, it did show off your... uh... that is..." Her throaty cackle made him swallow harder.

"Did you like what you saw?" she asked, suddenly quiet and slightly nervous.

"Oh yes." He assured, her, stepping a little closer.

"You know... about... About Catholics, right?" she gnawed gently on her lip, not looking up at him.

"Hey," he eased her chin up to look at him. "I've been looking and not speaking for the whole of summer." He pointed out. "I think I can handle look and don't touch..."

"Well... maybe touch a little." She offered, after a moment's thought, stepping in close to him, and wrapping a hand around his neck to pull him down and kiss him deeply. "Maybe more than a little..."

"Giselle... I'm only here for a few weeks, then I have to report for basic training."

"I know." She admitted. "That's why I couldn't wait for you to work it out for yourself." She laughed, leaning on his chest. "It's... I don't understand why you're doing this, you know. You've got two good degrees under your belt, there are any number of companies trying to get your services."

"It's... it's a family tradition, military service."

"Dying's a family tradition, if you look at it hard enough, Gabriel. Enough of that, though... where are you going to take me this afternoon?"

"I... hadn't thought about it, yet." He admitted. "We could take a walk along the hill?"

"I think I'd like that." She admitted, with a smile, stepping in to kiss him again, moaning gently as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in tight against him.

"Oh, wow." She smiled at his little outburst, when they finally parted, and he lifted her gently off her feet.

"I've been waiting for this for two years, you know." She observed, resting her head on his shoulder, and he put her gently down. "Gabriel? Can you hear me?" she waved a hand in front of his face, laughing at his stunned expression. "Can you hear me?"

Sutton, Surrey, November 26^th

"Two years?" Gavin muttered, thrashing around on the already soaked bed.

"Two years?" Caerys echoed him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know." Sophie admitted. "It's probably nothing relevant. The temperature he's got he's not rational."

"That's nothing new." Caerys muttered, and Sophie gave her a level look. "Alright, he's always rational, in his way." She admitted. "It's definitely his way, though."

"He's... we don't know much about him." Sophie pointed out, with a shrug. "Your outlook isn't what a lot of people would call normal, and that's probably to do with your childhood... maybe his was the same."

"Maybe." Caerys nodded, reluctantly. "Maybe there's something here about him." She pointed around at the bunker in general, and Sophie frowned.

"That's... an invading of privacy."

"Invasion." Caerys corrected. "Invasion of privacy."

"Right, yes."

"So does that mean you aren't going to help me, then?"

"I..." Sophie wrestled with her conscience for a moment.

"Come on, you know you want to know as much as I do."

"I do, but... it feels wrong."

"Right... why is you haven't given him any antibiotics for this infection yet?" she pointed out the obvious swelling on Gavin's hip.

"I don't know if he allergic to them." She admitted.

"Well, you can look up his medical history, then." Caerys smiled. "I'll help."

"This..." Sophie frowned. "I don't know."

"Well, let me put it this way." Caerys leant on the bed. "I'm going to look. Now you can come and help keep me under control, or you can wait here and see if I come up with anything."

"Alright." Sophie nodded, reluctantly. "I'll come."

"What about him?" Caerys gestured towards Gavin.

"At the moment he seems to be fighting it. His temperature's high but stable, the IV is keeping his fluids stable. If it lasts more than a few more hours he might be in trouble..."

"Come on, then." Caerys practically dragged her out into the main room. "Where do we start?"

"Well, the computer." Sophie suggested.

"I doubt it. His security's going to be tight, remember, he's a computer programmer."

"Oh, yes..." Caerys began opening the drawers around the room as Sophie stood and wondered.

"Charisma?" she called out, feeling a little odd to be talking to into the ether.

"Yes, Sophie." Came the reply, and she jumped a little.

"Um... what... what can you tell me about Gavin?"

"What would you like to know?"

"What's his real name? Where was he born, how old is he? Where's he from... medical history, mainly. Allergies."

"Gavin is allergic to penicillin and grapefruit, and has suffered childhood hayfever."

"And... the other questions?"

"Those are questions of a private nature that I do not believe Gavin would wish to have revealed to you."

"I see. Thank you." Sophie turned away, and Caerys looked up at her.

"Does that mean you can treat him?"

"Yes, he has a few vials in that chest that would work."

"Makes sense, if you think about it." Caerys noted, pulling another drawer out. "He wouldn't keep stuff in that he couldn't use on himself, would he. It's not like he has regular visitors." Sophie moved into the other room, delving into the chest to get another syringe and the vial she wanted.

"Gavin?" she said, quietly, knowing that he was slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Giselle?"

"No, Gavin, it's Sophie."

"Where am I, Giselle?"

"You're home, Gavin, in the bunker." She swiped his arm, gently, with an alcohol rub.