Chapter 34

Was she hallucinating? Emily's head did hurt. Probably from hitting it when the explosion knocked her off her feet.

But if she was making up this vision of Finn, why did he look so ... horrible. Pure desolation shrouded his fine features, etched into every line. The ocean blue of his eyes swimming in terror.

No. She was touching his face. His warm, sad face. Was this look because he was furious with her? Mad because she had broken her promise. It was breaking her heart.

"Finn," she whispered, "I'm so-"

The apology was cut off as all the oxygen in her lungs was forced out in Finn's sudden movement. His arms engulfed her, crushing her against him. Burying his face in her neck he let out a low almost howl-like moan.

This was more than Finn being mad at her. She could feel his dread, his body shaking, chest heaving. Emily tried to talk but she needed air to do that. Air which was having trouble making its way into her lungs. Finn's limbs were like a vice around her.

Maneuvering her arms around him, Emily squeezed Finn as tight as she could. Managing to squeak out two words. "It's okay."

She paired her next words with slow circles rubbed into his back. "We're okay."

Her reward was a loosening of his grip on her and she took a deep breath in celebration. Using the new lung capacity she added. "We're going to be fine."

Finn's chest slowly stopped surging as she kept up the pace of whispered words of encouragement matched by the caress of her hands along his spine and shoulders. Just as swiftly as he swaddled her, he let go, hands digging into her hair, holding her head. His warm lips crashed against hers.

His actions brought tears to her eyes. There was desperation in the kiss. Seeking solace. Seeking reassurance. Seeking something else. Emily wasn't sure what but she wordlessly responded, communicating by touch. Telling him of her own relief that he was here, he was alive, he was safe. Running her hands over his broad shoulders, following the tight cords of his neck, planting her fingers in his too-short hair. Luxuriating in the solid form of the man she loved, holding him once again.

Her response seemed to satisfy Finn. Eventually, they broke apart, panting a little in sync. Finn pressed his forehead against hers.

Trying to bring some levity to the situation, even though she didn't know if she could muster it, Emily brightly touted, "Hi."

Finn's throat bobbed with a swallow before responding, "Hey." His voice odd and forced.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too," he croaked.

"So ... when did you get back?"

"Em," Finn groaned. "Don't... I..."

"I didn't mean to." She was desperate for Finn to understand about leaving the base. The frivolous tone gone, replaced by her own frantic expression. "I had no choice. You have to believe me. I tried to-"

Finn had placed two fingers against her mouth. "I know." He swapped digits for lips with a chaste peck. "The Commander told me all about forcing you to leave."

"Oh," He wasn't mad then. A wave of relief washed over Emily. After regaining consciousness it was all she could think about – how hurt Finn would be.

"What are you doing on the floor down here in the basement?"

Before Emily had a chance to explain a male nearby cleared his throat.

"Wainwright. Sorry to interrupt but we need to talk."

Finn swivelled his head towards Campbell without breaking contact with her and looked at his friend. "Yup. Give me two."

Campbell nodded. "Glad to see you, Emily."

"Glad to be seen," she replied.

After taking two deep breaths, Finn stood up, pulling Emily up with him. Those pools of blue bored into her. "Are you hurt?"

Emily shook her head. It was a mistake. Pain spiked through it causing her to wince. "I hit my head."

Adding to her turmoil, Finn twisted her around and was digging through her hair. When he hit a spot that hurt, Emily yelped involuntarily and stepped away. Finn didn't let her get far, tugging her back into his arms, tenderly wrapping them around her waist. "Sorry," Finn murmured in her ear. "Do you have a headache?"

This time Emily knew better than to nod. "A bit."

"Any nausea? Dizziness?"

"No." Well, not now. The sight of blood upstairs had made her feel sick at first. When she had come to, the room was a mess, with people screaming behind Officer Kim who was shaking her. It had taken a moment for his face to come into view. There was a large gash on his upper arm. Which a woman was trying to tie a scarf around to stop the bleeding. Emily recognized her as the mother of the children with whom she had shared a smile before the explosion.

Finn turned her back towards him and studied her face. He must have believed she was telling him the truth because he relinquished his grasp. And proceeded to drop to his knees in front of her.

"Um...Finn?"

"Your shoelace is undone." Tying a knot, he shot up. "Ok. Let's get you back to the base."

Suddenly the boredom of her room, the safety of the base sounded like the best idea ever.

Slipping an arm around her waist, Finn marched them over to where Campbell was standing by an open door. The other man pointed into the room beyond. "Meet Officer Kim. And friends."

Emily stepped away from Finn and moved towards the little group. "This is Valentina. These are her daughters, Salome and Luciana. And this..." Emily picked up the now calm toddler and placed him on her hip. "...this little cutie is Alejandro."

Finn stared at her.

"What?"

"Are you starting a daycare?" Campbell chuckled at Finn's words. Then turned it into a cough when he caught on that Finn was not amused.

"She insisted we bring them," bleated Officer Kim. Emily had been determined and not one bit ashamed of it. It had been the right thing to do.

When she had finally managed to get to her feet again in the immigration office, with the assistance of Officer Kim and the woman she now knew as Valentia, Emily felt the first pangs of fear stab at her insides. Shards of glass from the blown-out windows were strewn everywhere and crunched under the feet of people fleeing the room. Other's were trying to help the injured. Valentia was in the latter group, her two little girls clinging to her legs, one holding her younger brother.

Then the gunfire started. At least Emily suspected it was gunfire. It sounded more like fireworks going off back home in Lance and Beth's backyard on the Fourth of July. Bits of marble splattered against her arm. Officer Kim's face went white and he began dragging Emily out of the room, insisting they leave. Emily was fully on board with this plan. Away sounded good. Grabbing Valentia's hand, the train of humans fled the room.

Officer Kim had tried to sever the connection between the two women but Emily held fast. This woman had helped them. The family needed shelter. Bullets were flying around the room. One of the kids could get hit.

"They'll slow us down," he protested.

"I'm not going anywhere without them." She would have liked to cross her arms in defiance, but that meant letting go of Valentia's hand. Her escort huffed, spoke some quick words in Spanish to the other woman and when she nodded, scooped up the little boy. "Let's move. Keep as quiet as possible."

And they had. Creeping along the corridor, down the stairs into the basement, ending up in this room with one redeeming quality. It had a telephone. While Officer Kim madly dialled numbers, Emily felt her legs go wobbly. Leaning back on the wall outside the room, she had slid to the floor when they gave way. It seemed like a good time to close her eyes for a moment. Try to make sense of what had happened.

Then she heard the little whine. Thinking one of the kids had come to get her, she opened her eyes to find Finn instead.

Finn, who was now regarding her with the hint of a smile playing on his lips. The sight, far better than the despair she had seen on it before, made her heart flutter a little. "Sounds like her."

If Finn could tease her, maybe everything would be okay.

"We should move," Campbell offered.

"Where are we going?"

Campbell turned to Emily. "There's a garage on the other side of the courtyard. We're going to find a ride and get out of here."

"A ride for all of us?" She was not leaving Valentia and her children here alone. Wherever she went, they went. Balling her fists, she prepared to fight. Verbally at least.

"Yes Em," Finn kissed the top of her head. "All of us."

"Oh. Good." Her heart did that flutter thing again with the knowledge Finn understood her, agreed with her, supported her. They were a team again. Some of the fear she'd been holding on to ebbed away. Together everything really would be okay.

As the three men discussed the best route to get to the garage, Emily studied Finn. All limbs accounted for. No injuries from his mission that she could see. She didn't like the sight of the gun in his hand but chose to ignore it. Those same sunglasses they had shared a few days ago sat atop his army brush cut. She missed his chocolate brown curls from when she first knew him.

Still, there were some advantages to army life. A light scruff covered the lower half of his face. This was a new look for Finn, who was always clean-shaven. He smelt good too. And those arms, biceps straining against the sleeves of his t-shirt. Her fingers ached to reach out and touch them. Emily licked her lips. This other version of him was ... hot.

Yes, back to the base sounded good. Back to her room. Finn in her room. Finn's hands...

Remembering just in time not to shake her head again and cause another wave of pain, she diverted her attention away from where her thoughts were going. Not the place nor the time. Concentrating instead on the conversation the others were having regarding who would take the lead in their upcoming adventure.

Emily had to refer to it as an adventure. Anything else was a little too... real. It was an adventure and when it was over, she would have a story to tell the girls when she got home. The big adventures of little Emily in Colombia. They would all laugh about it.

She hoped.

Officer Kim knew the way to the garage but his arm was badly hurt making him too unsteady to manage a gun. He'd be better looking after the civilians. In the end, they determined Finn would lead the group, followed by Emily, then Officer Kim. Valentia and her two daughters were trailed by Campbell who had confiscated Alejandro. The baby tucked his head into the soldier's neck, thumb stuck in its mouth.

Everyone was set to go. Except Finn didn't move.

"What is it?" asked Emily, low enough for only Finn to hear.

"I...I need you to be behind me to protect you. But I also need to see you. To know you're here. I can't have my attention split and if I can't see you..."

"Oh, like Orpheus and Eurydice?"

"Who?"

"Greek legend. Orpheus saves his wife from hell. But the one stipulation is as he leads her out, he can't turn around and look at her. If he does, she disappears and be gone forever."

"Sorta."

"Right." Emily slipped behind him. "I can talk. Then you can hear me."

"No good. We have to be quiet. Don't want to draw attention in case..."

Right thought Emily. Don't want any more 'in cases' today.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "How about this?" Underneath her fingers, Finn's muscles relaxed a bit.

"Yeah. That works."

Finn tapped his gun against the wall twice in some signal to Campbell and began moving forward. "Don't let go."

Squeezing his shoulder in response, Emily followed Finn into the corridor.