Page 129 of Creed

I shut my eyes and thanked God. Creed probably had no idea how many lives he saved last night. He was a national fucking hero, but nobody would probably ever know his name for it.

Creed

Everything was fuzzy and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I tried to say her name, but I coughed blood.

“Stay with us, sir! We’re almost there!”

I felt no pain, just sadness. I imagined her sitting on the dock so beautiful as she waited for me. I remembered her scent, her touch, and what it felt like to be loved. I knew it was going to happen. I’d find happiness just for it all to be ripped away. Everything went dark around me as flashes of her played out in my mind. The way her hair felt, the sound of her laugh, the taste of her tears when I kissed them and how beautiful my name sounded coming from those lips.

“We’re losing him!” Someone screamed just before everything went silent. Suddenly I saw a light that illuminated so beautifully that it made me feel warmth and love. I could see a figure walk toward me and I knew everything was going to be alright.

“Dad?”

“Welcome home, son.”

Morgan

I laid in bed and listened to the heartbeats as Zoey moved her wand. Addie was holding my hand and watching the screen. She thought it was weird and didn’t understand why we were looking at the screen. I sort of thought maybe she understood the heartbeats though.

I had the most horrible feeling of doom come over me a few hours prior. Axton assured me the operatives were making progress, and Cold Springs was nowhere near any of the cells. The closest ones were in Cincinnati and St. Louis, but the ones near Louisville were neutralized.

Zoey just wanted to do a quick check up because of the stress. I couldn’t force myself to eat and I was a mess. It only got worse when I got such a horrible feeling.

Addie asked for the third time if she was having brothers. She was not thrilled with the possibility. I didn’t know what I was having. All I knew was that they were identical twins. I refused to learn the sex because I wanted to wait for Creed. I hoped he would come home before the babies, and we could find out together. At first we thought they were fraternal, but we couldn’t get the best image with her portable ultra sound. Then the medical center opened, and I got a really good look at the babies. Zoey had it all up and running before we went underground. Unfortunately, all she had underground was an old machine and it wasn’t as easy for me to see the babies. It looked fuzzy but Zoey seemed to do fine with it. She was taking measurements and said everything looked good.

I was miserable. Uncomfortable because of some swelling and I was huge, sick because of Creed, and worried for my friends. I still hadn’t seen dad or Uncle Darren, but Patrick reported for his usual shift and got word to us they were fine. They were juston standby in case anything happened. From what Patrick said, the Devil’s Rejects were patrolling for looters and helping out in a few counties. The same with the Fallen Angels. The Mexican gang was nowhere to be found.

All I could do was sit and wait. It was hell, and I hated every moment. Melissa was watching Stephanie’s kids so she could work with the families. Addie went to play with them here and there, but she didn’t understand what was happening. She saw it as fun sleepovers and an opportunity to make Dillon’s life hell. I had to correct Addie several times about personal space and not bullying little boys. Or big ones because Weston thought Addie was the devil in disguise.

The boys were doing great. I was still trying to meet with them and go over their English course. There were a few books in the waiting area, and I asked them to read them and write a report. Sadly, they must have belonged to one of the wives at some point because they were erotic romance. I never saw two teenagers so intrigued with books in my life. I didn’t even have to get on them to read. I did notice they were practicing better hygiene by taking a few showers a day. I had to admit, that did amuse me.

When they weren’t reading and showering, they were helping out in the mess hall and doing some cleaning. The boys were like two changed men. They both seemed to have better outlooks on life. Unfortunately, Karter would be missing his trip to California to see his baby daughter, Olivia. She was darling and suddenly he was dedicated to making life at Creed’s Lake work.

Weston suddenly wanted to be an operative and in order to get there he knew he had to join the military and work really hard if he wanted to follow Creed’s footsteps. Karter wanted tobe a cop and was spending time with our security team before we went underground.

We were worried about Nicole. She had the ultimate set back and she wasn’t doing all that great. I hoped Creed and the boys could visit her soon. She was not given a good prognosis. The treatments were not working so she decided not to try anything else. She was going to pass away, and we had no communication since we went underground. She was still getting around okay and decided she still had time. She wanted the boys to do their best under our care and would send for them when the time came. I understood why. They were staying out of trouble and just started a new school. It was what was best for them.

Of course I had no clue about Jake. He had a premiere that night, and I hoped he wasn’t in the middle of it all. I honestly worried sick for him as well.

Even though I was uncomfortable, I loved being pregnant. I was trying so hard to hold on to Creed, but I didn’t have to try very hard. His babies were safely inside me. I found myself wondering if they’d have his eyes or mine. Maybe they’d have a new color of their own. I knew they would be tall, and smart like Creed. It gave me comfort that I would always have two parts of him if he didn’t come home. Their daddy was brave and loyal and that was what I would always tell them if they didn’t get to see the amazing man for themselves. They were both active and healthy, and that’s all I wanted. Just two healthy babies that would know their father.

Life underground was boring and did nothing to keep my mind off everything. Axton updated me as much as possible but there was still no word from Creed. Axton did tell me that Josh was okay and was in Kansas the last he heard. Bolton was inTexas, and they were all scattered and not together. He had no idea how much longer we had to stay underground.

We did get some good news. There were limited casualties. The warning to go home from the President went out pretty early so there wasn’t as many people out as we thought. The worst one was the theater in LA. That was only because they thought the theater was secure. The United States had four deaths total and over seven hundred injuries so far. Sydney had two deaths, and London had the most at seven deaths. Most of Europe was cleared but they were still on high alert. The same with Asia and Africa. I didn’t know if Josh was getting any rest, and I knew he was in a dangerous situation. There was talk about sending troops to South America.

All I knew was the love of my life was a hero. He got all the information they needed to take out the terrorist cells and I believe it was a start of a movement to take out other large terrorist networks. But what did I know, I was just a pregnant retired actress that hadn’t left Creed’s Lake in months. Not since I started showing. I didn’t want anyone to know I was pregnant, so I did all my interviews remotely while sitting behind Creed’s desk. Since it was twins I was considered high risk which got me out of a few contractual obligations. I wanted Creed to know about his babies before the world knew anything.

Every night Addie either slept with me or had a sleep over with Stephanie’s kids. Melissa stayed over there for the most part because Stephanie was a paid employee, and it was her job to help all families.

Felicity and the girls were doing better than I imagined. None of them were getting the big D since all the operatives were busy and all that was left were prospects. They were off limits, but the girls helped the kitchen staff, relieved some of theparents by putting on some games for the kids, and they were even knitting me some baby clothes. I didn’t think the guys were too happy that the girls were taking up new hobbies. From what I heard before we went underground the whole sex club thing was getting boring. The men were seeking attention outside Creed’s Lake.

My great grandfather was an entirely different story. He kept trying to wonder off in the tunnels and tried to form a coup. He was convinced Axton was a member of the Nazi party and was having outbursts. He didn’t even know who my grandpa was and kept calling him Dixon. He thought we were all prisoners of war and the operatives still with us were our captors. Everything about it made me so sad. I thought about how he was in the second world war and was probably a damn good soldier at one time. It was like he was living his worst days over and over again.

Urgent

Josh

It had been a week and most of the cells were neutralized. The military had it from there and I was on my way home. As soon as the jet landed, I ran down to the bunker. I was exhausted but nothing was keeping me from Morgan and Addie. I couldn’t get the door opened fast enough. I ran through those tunnels like my life depended on it. I didn’t stop at the command center or my apartment. Instead, I flung the door open to Creed’s apartment and spotted Addie first.

---