9:05 am
Potomac Hospital Woodbridge, VA
Dante was lost to the steady beeping of the machines that were attached to Nikki. He had been sitting in the chair next to her bed, holding her hand, since he and Simon had arrived at the hospital late last night. He was still feeling that this was all in some way his fault. A strong hand came to rest on his shoulder and he looked up to see Simon’s gray piercing eyes looking back down at him. “This isn’t your fault Dante, there is no way you could have prevented this and if you hadn’t been with her, she probably wouldn’t have made it….either of them.” He paused, gauging Dante’s reaction. “Have you seen her yet?” Simon asked while continuing to look into his young protege’s eyes.
A tear slid down Dante’s face and he shook his head no, “I couldn’t leave her, I keep thinking if I let go then… she will go away.” Simon nodded his understanding and squeezed his shoulder,
“Go meet your sister, I’ll stay with Nikki while you’re gone. The FBI is going to move her shortly and then we have to get the baby taken care of, which is going to take both of us.” He said with a reassuring smile.
Dante slowly came to his feet and moved toward the door. Just as he reached out to grab the handle, it opened and in walked Dead and Lee, the 2 snipers from their FBI ground team that they had worked with in the past. Both stopped to give Dante some reassurance and a Bro hug before coming into the room, one on either side of Nikki. Dante turned and went down the hallway to find the NICU, knowing nothing would happen to Nikki now.
As soon as he saw the little pink blob in the incubator, there was no doubt that this tiny little thing would rule their lives from now on. She was beautiful, just like her mother. She was laying there with a sweet look on her face and then her eyes scrunched together and she turned 3 shades redder and started wailing. Not a tiny little sound, full on 9 alarm wail. A small smile came to Dante’s lips as he whispered, “Hello baby Rage.”
15 minutes later, Simon came to get him to say goodbye to Nikki. They walked on either side of her stretcher, Dead and Lee following close behind, until they had her in the ambulance. Rob McShay was in the back of the ambulance and the snipers would be driving separate vehicles accompanying them all the way to the hospital. Simon also recognized 2 other members of their ground team in the front of the ambulance. Nikki would be safe. After watching the procession safely leave the parking lot, Simon turned to Dante and told him to stay close to the baby while he went to make arrangements to move her. Then he did something that Dante hadn’t seen him do in half a year, he held his hand out for the car keys. Dante looked him in the eye and with a single nod said, “I’m ready” as he dropped the keys into Simon’s hand.
“I know you are, after we get the baby situated, we’re going to work.” He turned around and left without another word.