{"id":347,"date":"2013-04-07T00:00:07","date_gmt":"2013-04-07T04:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=347"},"modified":"2013-04-06T22:42:25","modified_gmt":"2013-04-07T02:42:25","slug":"fourteen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=347","title":{"rendered":"Fourteen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u00a0There are moments in which the world changes\u2014and then there are moments when the world only begins<\/i> to change.\u00a0 That moment when things begin to change is often more important than the moments of instant change.<\/h3>\n

— Willow McLeod, Death of Lies<\/i><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

10 Decem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to the Council meeting,\u201d Brendan rasped.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019m going to go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay froze in the middle of getting dressed and slowly turned toward her husband.\u00a0 He sat swaying on the edge of the bed, dark eyes meeting hers as she turned.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Brendan,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not going to the Council meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour aunt is going to need your support, Lin.\u201d\u00a0 Brendan grunted quietly as he heaved himself up off the bed and to his feet.\u00a0 Somehow, standing, he seemed less unsteady than he had a moment before.\u00a0 \u201cEspecially if the Speaker\u2019s stepping down and intending to make her his successor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has more than enough support without my vote,\u201d Lindsay said.\u00a0 Brendan came to her and slid his arms around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe needs you to be there, Lin.\u00a0 The Council\u2019s going to take it like some kind of omen if you\u2019re not there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Council won\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, fine.\u201d\u00a0 He let go and stepped away, moving with careful, measured steps to the closet to find some clothes.\u00a0 \u201cWhen word starts to leak out that you weren\u2019t there for this meeting, people<\/i> will start to take it as some kind of omen.\u201d\u00a0 He jerked open the closet door and began to rummage for something clean.\u00a0 \u201cYou need to be there, Lin, whether you want to go or not.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to come with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can barely stand up,\u201d she protested weakly, eyes starting to sting as she watched him.\u00a0 Stubborn.\u00a0 So damned stubborn.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m standing fine,\u201d he growled.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you\u2019re stubborn, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

She made a weak sound in the back of her throat.\u00a0 \u201cBrendan, I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you didn\u2019t say it.\u201d\u00a0 His shoulders slumped, then straightened as he took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.\u00a0 \u201cBut I heard it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happening to us?\u201d\u00a0 Lindsay asked in a bare whisper.\u00a0 \u201cDammit, Brendan, what\u2019s happening to us?\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled one of his more formal duty uniforms out of the closet and shook the wrinkles and dust from it.\u00a0 \u201cDoes it really matter?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think we can stop it.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure I would want to if I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrendan\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

The pain in his eyes as he turned toward her made her stop and swallow.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it really that awful?\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cHearing thoughts like this\u2026that doesn\u2019t usually happen until forty, fifty years into a Bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2019m worried about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s not.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed and tossed the uniform on the bed.\u00a0 He came back to her and rested his hands lightly on her shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cLin, whatever I saw last night\u2014whatever I saw before when I was out rescuing your parents\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter where it came from.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter what\u2019s happening.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t change anything between you and I.\u201d\u00a0 He hesitated a moment, then added, \u201cDoes it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her jaw trembled and she shook her head hard, putting her arms around his shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d she said softly.\u00a0 \u201cNo, it doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 Not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan drew her into a tight hug, resting his cheek against her temple.\u00a0 \u201cGood,\u201d he whispered into her hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pregnant,\u201d she said, then winced.\u00a0 Why did I just\u2026?<\/i><\/p>\n

He stiffened in her arms and straightened, looking down at her in blinking surprise.\u00a0 \u201cYou are?\u00a0 When did\u2014how\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known for a few weeks,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cDr. V knows, and Kara knows.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t told anyone else.\u00a0 Kara guessed.\u201d\u00a0 She caught her lower lip between her teeth.\u00a0 \u201cWhat does all of this mean<\/i>, Brendan?\u00a0 Why is everything happening now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist.\u00a0 \u201cWhat I do know is that I\u2019m not leaving your side until we make it through all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bitter laugh escaped her even as she leaned into his chest to listen to the comforting thump of his heartbeat.\u00a0 \u201cUncle Adam needs you to fight\u2014or at the very least train a new crop of pilots to fight.\u00a0 I need to\u2026to\u2026to do a lot of things, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

He rested his chin against the top of her head.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, fine.\u00a0 I\u2019m not leaving this planet again, not without you.\u00a0 How\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore realistic,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cHopefully a promise we can keep.\u201d<\/p>\n

She felt him wince and heard him sigh.\u00a0 \u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 He drew back and tucked a knuckle under her chin, lifting her face to his.\u00a0 \u201cI guess we\u2019ll just have to find a way to make that happen, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d she whispered, then gave him a bare smile.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded, arms sliding around her again and squeezing tightly before he released her.\u00a0 \u201cGood.\u00a0 Now that we\u2019ve got that settled\u2026we have a Council meeting today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still don\u2019t want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019m still not going to give you a choice.\u00a0 Get dressed.\u00a0 We\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going in uniform?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I wore something else, I\u2019m thinking that people might give me a few strange looks.\u201d\u00a0 He stripped off his shirt and half turned toward her, brows knitting.\u00a0 \u201cHalf the Council already knows what we are to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore like the whole Council.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen it doesn\u2019t matter, does it?\u00a0 I\u2019m going to be there with you, like I\u2019m meant to be.\u00a0 No arguments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think some of Alana\u2019s stubbornness rubbed off on you,\u201d Lindsay said with a sigh.<\/p>\n

Brendan grinned.\u00a0 \u201cEntirely possible.\u00a0 Come on.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to be able to stop for something to eat on the way in.\u00a0 That way neither of us needs to cook.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the best thing I\u2019ve heard all day.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cAll right,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve got yourself a deal.\u201d\u00a0 She dug a sweater out of a drawer, watching him as he started to pull on his uniform.\u00a0 \u201cBut don\u2019t start thinking that I\u2019m going to be letting you win all the time for much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He grinned again, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not going to count on anything.\u00a0 I promise.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0There are moments in which the world changes\u2014and then there are moments when the world only begins to change.\u00a0 That moment when things begin to change is often more important than the moments of instant change. — Willow McLeod, Death … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-two-ashes-to-ashes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s25yjF-fourteen","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=347"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":349,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347\/revisions\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}