Timeline : A.C. 203

     Ruins of Chang Residence ~ basement

     Darkness engulfed the whole room as Sally crouched quietly beneath the steel table that she used to protect herself. As she had predicted earlier, part of the basement had tumbled to the ground, along with the dust and the framework of the mansion. Amazingly, the other part, the one where Wu Fei had built their private office, managed to keep standing.

     Sally sighed as she curled into a ball, didn't dare to move an inch from her spot. She was afraid, very afraid. She wished that Wu Fei was with her, but God knew where he was. He was gone. Vanished. He could be in the central headquarters, barking commands, or he could also be wounded or buried or worse still, dying. Sally shivered at the thought of his husband dying and blinked her tears away. She had never been this afraid before. As a soldier, she had never feared any war, any battle, and always commenced her duty level headed. Her execution was often right, and she had never lost her confidence, for she had always had the control of situation.

     Not now.

     She was alone, and she was buried below the basement with no supply or light source. She didn't know how long until people getting down to rescue her. If people remembered her. There was a secret emergency exit, but she decided not to go up there, for she feared the radiation. What if it wasn't ordinary bomb? What if it was atom bomb?

     "Wu Fei…" she whispered his name softly, feeling lonely all of sudden, "I want Wu Fei…"

     Wu Fei. He would probably be occupied by solving whatever the problems that his people had. He never really cared for her, for as long as she remembered. Their marriage was only an act of convenience for him.

     Nevertheless, she knew something. He was afraid to love. He never gave his heart to anyone. Always distancing himself from other people, he even distanced himself from her. Even he seemed…distanced when they kissed. However, sometimes she could see some hints of affection and tenderness when he gazed at her sometimes. But it was not enough, for she wanted more.

     Sally didn't know how to make him to open himself, and she thought the news of the baby would please him. She had been devastated when he was openly ignoring the fact that a baby was conceived between them, and kept on scorning her about the baby. Not that he said something that really hurt her feelings; it was just his attitude toward the news that really wounded her heart. She understood that it was an unplanned pregnancy, but he really shouldn't shun the fact that he was also part of it.

     "Ouch!" Sally moaned as she felt her baby kicking. It happened frequently since she regained consciousness. They were not strong, but the intervals were getting shorter and shorter within the hour. May be fate had destined her baby to be born here, in the basement, alone in the dark, with no one helping the process. Besides, she chose not to go out of the basement when she didn't really know the situation up there. She couldn't risk her baby killed.

     Sally snapped her head up as she heard the secret entrance swished open. Someone was coming. Could it be enemies? Have they found the secret entrance and decided to explore it? She wished Wu Fei was there, by her side. She felt really helpless without him. Wu Fei was right. In her present condition, she could do nothing without him.

     Searching frantically for a weapon to defend herself, she got up painfully to her feet and began probing in the darkness. She let out a little cry as she tripped on something, but sighed in relief when she found out that the object was along torch. Gripping the torch firmly with two hands, she waited behind the battered door of Wu Fei's office, her heart thumping wildly with each step that the potential enemy made. She braced herself and raised the torch high above her, then swang it down as she saw the figure entering the office.

     As fast as the torch blurring down, the stranger caught and twisted it, causing Sally to cry when the twist eventually hurt her wrists. The act forced her to let go of the torch and resulted in her losing her balance. She was waiting for her body to be slammed against the hard ground when a strong, very male arm supported her whole mass and steadied her. As she leant against the man's body and breathed in relief, she could smell a very familiar scent that belonged to…

     "Woman, are you alright? It's too dark here; I couldn't see your face,"

     The voice that belonged to…

     "Wu Fei!" Happy, excitement and relief were mingling into one as she latched onto her husband and clung desperately to him. Tears running down, she clutched Wu Fei's shirt and refused to let it go as he shifted her into a better position on his lap. Her body shaking, she tried to say something to him, but failed miserably.

     So much that Wu Fei wanted to tell his wife, but his lips refused to say it. He was in awe over Sally's reaction upon his presence. Sally, the brave and cool-headed strategist in battle, was weeping against his shoulder like a frightened little girl.

     Sally, Sally…

     His woman.

     His wife.

     Pregnancy had brought out more of her feminine side. It was a part of her that he had never seen before, never in years. So frail, so weak, so…like a woman.

     "Don't cry." Wu Fei finally found his gut to speak, "I hate seeing a woman crying."

     Sally detached herself from her husband and gazed back into his eyes with whatever light source available there, her tears still falling freely. Gently, Wu Fei touched her face and toyed with the tears before he finally wiped it away. He could see the contour of her face, even in the dark. Hardened by her training as a soldier, but softened by her upcoming motherhood. Curse him if he failed to protect her…and their future.

     "Why didn't you get out of this place by the emergency exit?" he asked her gently, his eyes telling her to trust him whatever happened.

     “I was afraid that the explosion resulted in a radiation, I couldn’t risk my baby!” Sally encountered, she was on the verge of wailing her desperation, but otherwise a surge of light feelings merged into her heart as Wu Fei stroked her hair as she sobbed quietly against her husband’s chest once again. Then, word by word, Sally recounted what had happened from before the explosion until the moment he found her. Wu Fei was quiet; he didn’t breathe a word until she calmed down and finished telling her story, in which she was grateful. She was glad Wu Fei was willing to listen. The usual Wu Fei would merely dismiss her story as women’s sentimentality.

     “I’m glad you’re safe, my wife.” Wu Fei told her as she finished her story, smiling ever so slightly. He took her hand in his and guided it to his cheek; his eyes closed in appreciation as the tender flesh of his wife’s palm caressing his cheek. “I thought I would never see you again. I regret all this commotion, Sally.”

     Sally smiled lovingly, hot and new tears started to sting her eyes, but she blinked them away. She knew that Wu Fei hated crying women, therefore she wouldn’t ruin the moment by crying. She didn’t want to upset the man she loved. And how much she had loved this man! She would do anything just to make him happy, even if that menat sacrificing her own. She would even stay immortal to ease him off his trauma over the death of his first wife, if she was able to.

     If.

     A strong kick of her baby distracted her from her current train of thought and made her focus her mind back on the present. As quick as the first was gone, Sally felt it kick again, only harder and more painful. If only she had a watch with her, she could measure the intervals of the kicks, but she had to settle with her hunch. If she was right, then it was time for her baby to be born. She moaned involuntarily at the thought and clutched Wu Fei’s wrist for attention.

     “Sally, what’s happening?” Wu Fei tightened his embrace around his wife’s shoulders as Sally once again moaned in pain. The woman was trying to bit off her cries, but the pain kept coming more and more until she couldn’t bear it anymore and finally cry in anguish.

     “Wu…Fei, help me…” grabbing her husband’s sweaty shirt, Sally said, “our baby is coming…” Then she rested her head against his strong chest, breathing shallowly, as her husband’s eyes widened in dread and realisation. Wu Fei knew nothing of delivering a baby, yet it was his responsibility at the moment to deliver it safely to the world. He was afraid, his face paled.

     “Sally, I don’t want to do it!” Wu Fei blurted out in fear, panic clearly sounded in his voice, “I can’t! I’m not a doctor…or a midwife.”

     “But Wu Fei…you have to!” Sally was panting heavily as she tried to convince her husband. She winced as another spasm of pain overcome her body, seizing her body with agony, “I cannot do this alone. I need your help,”

     “No, Sally. Please, don’t make me do this.” Wu Fei stubbornly refused to acknowledge the unavoidable situation; his eyes clearly showed signs of nervousness. He had never begged before, but he was desperately clueless about delivering a child. What if he only brought harm to the baby? One thing was certain. He would constantly blame himself if it really happened, and he hated blaming himself for things he had done. One sore guilt in his life was enough to mess him.

     “Wu Fei, please…” his wife’s plea brought him back to reality. Wu Fei flinched as he felt Sally’s cool, thin hand kneading his wrist painfully, as if transferring her own pain to him. He snapped his head up and saw her grimace in pain, but refused to cry it out loud, nonetheless. Beads of sweat were scattering on her forehead as she was trying to breathe normally without much avail, her entire body slumped heavily against his own body. A twitch of her eyebrows had told him that she had yet another contraction, but refused to alarm him by bravely biting her tongue and swallowing most of her cries. Only God knew how much pain she had to endure, alone. And he didn’t have to feel the pain because he was practically a man. It wasn’t fair at all for her.

     He was a jerk. He was a bastard. He had act selfishly in front of her, hurting her feelings, and he knew that every word he omitted was a dagger to her heart. He even acted as if he didn’t care about her and the baby and cowered on the merely task of helping her to deliver the baby safely.

     Her baby.

     Their baby.

     A sharp cry had brought his mind to its rail once again, its wheels starting to roll. What should he do in a situation like that? “What should I do?” subconsciously he whispered the question against his wife’s fairer hair, “I’m totally clueless.” He shifted his wife into a more comfortable position against the wall and gazed straight into her eyes, waiting for her direction. Inwardly, he chuckled ironically. The warrior was finally submitting to his weakness and giving himself into his wife’s console. It was desperate time, nevertheless, so he chose to dismiss the thought and focus his mind on the task in hand. Sally, his brave wife, merely smiled as she touched his cheek and remarked, “Just stay by my side.”

     Wu Fei caught her hand in his and squeezed it gently, then nodded firmly before answering, “I swear I would never turn your back on you.”

     “Good,” Sally exhaled in relief. However, her expression was transformed into one with worry as she whimpered softly, realising that something else had just happened. “Wu Fei, my water just broke.” She told him weakly, entwining her fingers with his as he offered his hand silently in support and braced herself for the last stages of the birthing process. Wu Fei had hooked the torch somehow higher; golden, soft light was flooding the room, filling it with gentle, orange hue.

     “Sally, my brave wife,”

     It was the last thing she heard as she began to scream and push with all her might, blood and sweat were mingling all over her body. Wu Fei could only watched his wife’s agony in horror as his heart grew colder and colder with every cry she omitted. What if she didn’t make it and die on him? He didn’t want to feel failure for the second time of his life. He feared that he would lose his wife this way. One lost was enough, and another one would only destroy him more mentally. It took all his courage and efforts not to bolt out of the room and keep a straight expression. He had sworn to her wife to stay by her side, and it was the least he could do. Besides, it was a warrior’s code to keep the promise he made.

     Don’t worry…Sally is a strong woman…

     He kept telling himself that, but his fear still flared deep within his mind. It just wouldn’t go away, and it felt worse than facing Mei Lan’s death. To think of it, he could lose both his wife and child this time, due to lack of sophisticated medication.

     “Wu Fei, catch the baby,” Sally commanded him between her gasps, “I feel her slipping away.”

     Wu Fei reacted quickly and caught the baby’s tiny form just in time before it was slammed against the hard floor. He briskly noticed the baby’s gender and permitted himself a small smile of amusement. A girl. So Sally’s instinct as a mother had been right all along. He really had to stop underestimating her prediction and took notice of it, although not openly.

     “The baby doesn’t cry at all.” Sally nudged his arm, panic edging her voice, “Try holding her by her stomach and smack her back three times,”

     Wu Fei did as his wife told him to do and waited for something to happen. Nothing. He was starting to panic himself when suddenly the baby started to choke miraculously and breathed, wailed her lungs out literally. Wu Fei breathed in relief and calmly handed back the baby to her mother, watching her serene expression as she cooed the baby and talked to her softly as any mother in the world would. She was a healthy little creature, he mused. Wu Fei was secretly pleased about the baby, a surge of pride flooding his heart with indescribable feelings as he watched Sally nursed their baby tenderly and lured her back into peaceful sleep. Satisfied, he got up to his feet and went in search of something that they could certainly used from the reminder of his cabinet. He remembered he should keep one blanket and soft towel, there. He slung the materials over his shoulder as soon as he found them and was walking back to his spot when Sally called him, “Wu Fei, won’t you look at your baby?”

     Wu Fei stiffened in mid gesture and withdrew himself back to his formal, distance-self, saying, “I have seen the babe.” Then, as he remembered something, he knelt down beside his wife and told her awkwardly, “Congratulation and thank you, for delivering me an heir, although it’s a female,”

     Sally sighed as she heard his reply. She knew that it was not his intention to hurt her feelings, but sometimes, it was just his rigid personality that made him the way he was. However, she couldn’t believe how fast he retreated back to his-former-self after all the emotional display and affection. This time, she wouldn’t let it to happen. She swore to herself Wu Fei had to accept their daughter and love her completely.

     “Your daughter wants to meet her father. She’s proud to have Papa around in her first time on this world.”

     “Nonsense,” Wu Fei grumbled unsympathetically, feeling a bit absurd over Sally’s words, “A baby couldn’t think,”

     “But she could feel, otherwise.” Sighing heavily, Sally gave him her sternest glare. She knew that her husband wouldn’t be easy to persuade, now and then, but she didn’t care. She would use all the patience left within her if it was what she needed to do. She was certain that would win his heart, sooner or later, for strength and stubbornness would not make him succumb to her words. “Take a look at your daughter, Wu Fei. She is…” she reverted her gaze back to her daughter and sighed in admiration, “…beautiful.”

     Wu Fei twitched his lips in amusement and defeat, then took the baby from the comfort of her mother’s arms delicately and wrapped the blanket around her fragile and lithe form. He stared at the baby as he proceeded to clean her up with the towel in his hand gently, dabbing her here and there. The first thing he noticed was her cord that dangled on her tummy. Gently, he handed back the baby to her mother as he produced a knife from behind his sweaty jacket and proceeded to cut it. Actually he needed alcohol or at least burn the knife first for sanitary reasons, but the situation was desperate.

     He took the baby again from Sally and found himself examining her toes and fingers. They were all there. Perfect. There was a raw, unexplainable feeling as he felt the baby’s hand closed over his forefinger, grabbing it with strength a baby could muster. His lips were curved unconsciously as he gazed at the baby’s features, studying it with intense. She was…beautiful. She had small lips and nose, which he noted resembling a rose bud. However, he wasn’t ready for the surprise in his life as the baby opened her eyes and revealed the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They were crystalline blue, and clear with deep innocence that he knew somehow was his to protect…and nurture. A surge of unexplainable emotions washed all over him again and before he knew it, he was weeping openly, though he hated the very idea.

     A beautiful creature.

     This miracle was his and Sally’s creation, part of him and her, blood and flesh. This miracle would do her parents pride, and continue the family tradition, holding the future within her tiny fists.

     “Wu Fei?”

     He was trying to wipe his tears away, but it wouldn’t stop flowing. Normally he would feel embarrassed over his display of weakness, but for the time being, it was the only natural thing to do. Besides, he knew perfectly that Sally would never, ever, mock him. She always respected him as a man and husband, and that what made him to respect her back, though only in secret.

     “Come, Wu Fei,” Sally extended her arms, reaching out to him, inviting him to sit beside her and enjoy the sight of their precious daughter together. Wu Fei lowered his well-framed body beside her slowly in obligation, then handed the baby back with care; his face was serious and solemn, tears still staining his cheeks. Sally smiled weakly as she wiped the tears off his face, never uttering a word, then accepted the baby from him and began to feed her in earnest. She was still sore and exhausted from her earlier birthing process, but her heart was light and fluttering with millions of feelings she herself couldn’t fathom. She was also very glad to see Wu Fei’s first changes of attitude toward the baby. It was alright if he didn’t love her, but her baby certainly deserved better than a cold and uncaring daddy. Her baby had to be loved by his father, she promised herself in grim determination. It alone would be a balm on her long hurt mind and soul.

     Sally was a little surprised when she felt his arm circling around her narrow shoulders and hugged her body tightly against his own well-muscled one, sending her face crushed into his broad chest. She was wondering why Wu Fei had shown her such a strong reaction, but she kept her bewilderment to herself, nonetheless.

     “I’m sorry,” Wu Fei whispered as he leant his cheek against the crown of his wife’s head, feeling exhausted and old and cowardly all of sudden. It made him guilty as he imagined the pain that Sally had to endure earlier as she delivered their baby. And he was just standing there, unable to do a thing…and he prided himself to be the sole protector of his family, his clan, yet…

     “That’s okay, Wu Fei…” Sally replied with a sigh as she lifted Wu Fei’s chin with her fingers and gazed deeply into his dark, glazing eyed. She could see thick and complicated emotions in them, so much that she was unable to sort out, or even to understand. However, she understood how much it had cost Wu Fei’s pride to apologise to her and she appreciated the efforts very much that she couldn’t express it in words, but merely a little smile of gratitude and a weak squeeze on his steel arm. Then, by instinct, she snuggled close into Wu Fei’s chest and sighed in contentment as he wrapped his arm around her waist protectively and rested his chin on top of her head, and savoured the rare moment of intimacy, feeling grateful as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

     And, as he watched both his wife and his child in their sleep, Wu Fei permitted himself a grim and melancholic smile as he kissed his wife’s forehead tenderly and whispered softly, “Sleep well, Wife. I will be here for you always, protecting you and our child from the gravest danger.”

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