Jaden

"Can you hear me? Jaden... Jaden Brown?"

I blinked my eyes open and squinted through the brightness that intensely hit my face. When my eyes gained focus, I could finally make out the figure standing in front of me as one of the doctors from the hospital. My body felt wet all over, my ears were ringing, and my fingers felt a little numb.

"He's up!" He told the others as he handed me a cup of water, "You feel okay?"

I nodded, taking notice of the cast on one of his arms, "Yeah..." I answered.

He held his hand out to me and I grabbed it so he could pull me up, "You kind of passed out there. I had to splash you with some water to wake you." he chuckled.

I rubbed my temples for a moment and tried to recall why I was here.

The shootout... Nicki was screaming-

I widened my eyes when everything overwhelmingly flooded back into my head, "Why is it so quiet... Where's Nicki! Where the fuck is my-"

He grabbed my shoulder to calm me down, "Hold on there, bud... Take a deep breath and drink your water."

I raised an eyebrow then downed my water because my mouth was extremely dry but I still had to know where my baby is.

"Where is she?" I asked in a calmer voice.

He smiled, "Look to your left, bud..."

My left...

When I did that, I almost couldn't believe she was there. That I was looking at the same person I came here with. I spotted the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in ages... A goddess in a hospital gown... Holding a tiny person against her chest.

Oh my god, you're both okay...

I could only gawk speechlessly, trying to keep my emotions together as she gently waved me over. I couldn't get over the fact of how gorgeous she looks. Her skin was glowing, she was smiling brighter than the sun, and her cheeks were blushed a light pink color as her eyes twinkled at me. It was a huge difference from seeing her sweaty and angry all the time for the past few months.

I made my way over to her with a small smile on my face. "Nicki... You're beautiful."

She gasped as if I've never said that to her before. Maybe it was the timing?

She giggled for the first time and I couldn't help but chuckle when I heard how girly it was. "Look..." she smiled.

I watched as she gently pulled the small blanket down from the little baby's head and I almost lost my shit!

We made that?!

It's so damn cute! I grinned and reached out to gently caress its delicate cheek. Its skin felt warm and creamy like fresh icing on a doughnut and I think I saw it smile a little at my touch, "Miracle..." I whispered and the baby yawned, cuddling closer to Nicole. It looked so healthy... And to see that it was breathing almost felt unreal to me.

I sat on the edge of the bed and gently continued to rub its cheek, "What gender is it...?"

Nicole grinned at me with a small tear in her eye, "It's Nicholas... A boy... He almost didn't make it." she said, kissing his forehead.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "He's gonna be okay, right?"

She nodded and let the tear fall, "He will... I heard about Rebecca..." her voice trembled slightly, "Sh- she wanted to..."

"No..." I wiped her tear away and kissed her forehead, "Don't say it, Nicki. It's all over now..." she looked at me unsurely so I told her, "You'll understand when I explain it all later."

I smiled at the baby and tickled his chin, "Hey, Nicholas..." I whispered.

He turned his head and gently placed his mouth over my finger and sucked on it. Nicole laughed a little then stopped when Dr. Walton came to our side with some papers in her hands.

"Congratulations..." she smiled. "He's a lucky one you know."

We both nodded and she continued.

"If you didn't get here in time, he could've died from suffocation and Nicole could've suffered from fatal complications as well but thankfully, you did. Unfortunately, he's lost about 85 percent of hearing in his right ear..."

85 percent?

I wasn't too surprised about the baby having a bit of hearing damage but that number was a bit concerning to me.

He'll be okay... As long as he's breathing, I'm happy.

I looked at Nicki with a smile but that quickly faded away when I saw how sad she looked as she stroked Nicholas' beige knitted hat.

Dr. Walton gave us a sympathetic smile, "He's still developing so there is a chance his hearing could come back, a little if any. I can't guarantee it, though. The chances that he might only have one good ear is very high..."

"He'll be fine, right?" I asked.

"Yes." she smiled. "He's very healthy and very happy."

The door to the hospital room creaked open and a squad of familiar faces walked in.

"Heyyy...." Tyler sang, peeping in before actually entering with the rest of the gang following behind.

They all looked exhausted and sweaty and they were all still geared up and heavily armed from the event.

"I see everyone is okay for the most part." Tyler chuckled, slapping the palm of my hand as he stood by me, "You should've seen it, those officers came through for us."

"I know. I saw that." I smiled with a small huff of laughter. "Look, you guys... Thanks for getting down here quickly. I don't think I would've ever been able to deal with that alone."

Dani grinned, "Thank you for helping us catch our criminal. I should've known it was Rebecca who paid some gang members to set all of this up."

Madelyn patted her shoulder, "None of us would've figured it out that quickly. There were hardly any traces."

"Exactly," Dani said. "She's a former spy, only members would know how to get past high tech security and steal millions of dollars of weapons without leaving a fingerprint. It's a skill only secret services are trained to do."

Makes sense...

Tyler shrugged, "You're right but can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that the Twisted Reality freaks were not involved in this mess?"

We all stared at him for a moment but then I went ahead and clapped, "Preach..."

The rest of us began to clap as well then I grinned at Dr. Walton, "And to Dr. Walton who heroically stayed with Nicole to finish the delivery even when we had bullets flying through the window."

Tyler gaped his mouth wide open, "Seriously? That's epic!"

We all clapped and cheered for her, making her blush. "Oh, stop it... I was just doing my job."

I stood up to give her a tight hug, "Yeah, well you just saved two lives by willing to give up your own... I seriously appreciate that."

"Don't give me all the credit now, who do you think took out that gunman?"

I widened my eyes in realization as I turned to face the doctor who had a cast on his arm.

No way...

They kept their promise to protect her and fought back...

I grinned, "I... I don't know what else to say than thank you... Thank you all so much!"

Dr. Walton pulled back and cupped my cheeks in her hands, "We live to help others, Jaden... No matter what, we always put our patients first."

"Not all heroes wear capes but sometimes they wear gloves and scrubs," Dani smirked, causing everyone to clap and mumble in agreement. "You all are truly amazing."

"How 'bout a round of applause to the little trooper over there..." D.T mentioned with his arms crossed and his back against the wall.

I smiled and nodded at him, "Yeah... He's a strong one. He wouldn't have made it without you guys... And Nicki wouldn't have been here also..." I felt a small lump begin to form in my throat as soon as I mentioned that. I would've gone insane if I had to go through a loss like that. I love her so much and I'm already in love with my newborn son.

They're both hear now... There was no need to let out any tears.

D.T pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to us with his hands on his belt. When he stopped beside us, he stared at the baby for a moment. "What's its name?"

"Nicholas..." Nicki whispered.

"Hm... Will you look at that..." he smirked. "Welcome to the squad, Agent Nicholas." he smiled this time and tickled the baby's neck.

"I want to see him too." one of the other members said then caused the rest of them to come and crowd around us to take a look.

I laughed as they all awed and commented on who's nose and lips the baby had and on how tiny he was. I could tell Nicki was entertained by them too because she couldn't stop laughing and staying engaged in the conversation about little Nicholas. I found it funny how every little thing Nicholas did amaze us. Even when he started crying, we reacted as we've never seen anyone cry before. Tyler tried to make him stop by playing peek-a-boo but that only made it worse. We later learned from Dr. Walton that he was just hungry and Nicki needed to feed him.

"When he cries like that, start by assuming he's hungry," she told us. "It's the most common need of a newborn."

"Got it," Nicki said as she began to naturally feed Nicholas.

Tyler snickered and gave me a stupid look, "Hey... Looks like you'll have to share now, if you know what I mean." he mumbled to me.

I slapped his chest and laughed, "Shut up, dumbass."

"Soldier." Simon's voice said from the entrance.

We all looked back at him silently and I almost gasped when I saw how torn up he was. He couldn't even walk on his own because of how bad his condition was.

He walked into the room with a battered Jackson and Janet on either side of him, helping him walk. The squad backed away from the hospital bed to make a path for Simon to get through and we watched as he limped his way through, ignoring our presence and only keeping his eyes locked with Nicole's.

I scanned everyone's faces, wondering why they looked anything but worried about him. I was worried about him! Those old bones can't take a beating like that!

D.T closed his eyes and removed his helmet to bow his head then before I knew it, the rest of the team in this room did the same, watching Simon get to the end.

He stopped in front of the bed and signaled Jackson and Janet to let go of him so he could stand on his own before he turned to Nicki and just... Stared at her.

It was more than just a stare though. They looked at each other as if they knew what the other was thinking, as if they were having a serious conversation telepathically. It was the weirdest thing to me but it was fascinating at the same time.

Silently, Simon reached out to Nicki and stroked her cheek with a small smile and slight nod. His hand then moved down to gently trace his thumb over the small blue heart stitched to the side of the baby's hat and that made him grin.

"Grandson..." he whispered.

I could hear small gasps coming from the others, most likely because they were just learning that Simon is Nicole's dad.

"His name is Nicholas." Nicki smiled.

"Nicholas..." he repeated. After a moment of processing that in his head, he chuckled and heavily got down on his knees to hug Nicole and the baby, kissing them both as well. "Everything I did is worth this... You are worth it." He tickled Nicholas' chin. "I love you, Soldier." he kissed Nicole's forehead before turning to look at me, "And thank you, Jaden... All of you!" his voice cracked.

I tried to hold back tears from the saline getting in my eyes as I nodded in appreciation.

"Sir, I'm sorry to ruin the moment but we really need to get you back to the room to rest..." a doctor from a different room said.

Simon only nodded then turned back to me, "You've made me a proud man, son... I know, with all my heart that you would make a loyal father to Nicholas and spouse to Nicole."

"Thank you so much... Uh, do you need help getting up?" I asked, wiping the tears.

He nodded and held his hand out to me, "Please."

I laughed then went to help him up with Jackson's help. We walked him out of Nicki's hospital room and brought him a few doors down to his.

I felt accomplished right now. I still have my family, I've made Simon proud and now Rebecca was most likely in handcuffs... Life could return back to normal from this day forward.

"I'll take it from here." the doctor said, guiding Simon to the bed.

Jackson gave me a pat on the back and signaled me to follow him. Before I did, I saluted to Simon, "I'll see you later... Promise."

He saluted back silently then I turned to follow Jackson out of the room.

Jackson gently closed the door behind him then slowly lifted his eyes up to me, placing his hands in his pockets, "He should be fine... Strong guy." he said in a low voice.

"What happened to him?" I asked in the same tone.

"He fought..." he said. "He fought like life meant nothing to him anymore."

Really? Simon can fight?

He continued to tell me, "It was scary, honestly but he was ready to die for his family..." he thought to himself for a moment then he crossed his arms and chuckled, "He's a beast with that machine gun."

I bit my lip and narrowed my eyes, trying to imagine that, "Wow... I never knew he carried a fearless trait like that."

"He always has. In fact, he's the one who trained Nicole to have the skills she has. Everything she knows was learned from him."

I nodded, "So she wasn't always as violent as she is?"

He snickered, "She was violent since she started working with us. Simon just turned that violence into something useful. He taught her when and not to hurt people, taught her more control, and advanced her fighting knowledge."

"How do you know all this?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It all came together after I learned he was her father a while back. When I began coaching for the USSCI, I've always worked with Nicole on just about everything and let me tell you, young Nicole was a yapper. She used to hate me and tell me things like 'Simon already taught me this.' or ask to leave the gym early so she could 'talk to Simon'. I found that weird because, you know, we don't just walk out to go and bother the boss, he either calls us in or you have to have a scheduled appointment. When we do just randomly go there, he hardly ever grants us access but I noticed that he always granted Nicole access to his office constantly. That's when I kind of began to study her more."

I nodded and rubbed the back of my neck, "He loves her a lot..."

"He does. He almost had a panic attack when he found out his pregnant daughter was being hunted down earlier. Simon could stay calm under whatever pressure you put him through but when there is a life or death situation involving someone he dedicates everything to, there's no telling what could happen. It's a good thing you were there for her."

"Yeah, well Nicki actually helped out by finding the strength to fight with me..." I sighed, "You won't believe who lead the whole attack."

"I've heard..." He sighed painfully, " Dani told me everything. She had a gun pointed to you while you had your back to her and Dani had no choice but to end her..."

My heart thumped in my chest. "She's... Gone?"

He nodded.

Dammit...

I rubbed a stressful hand over my head, "That's not what I wanted to hear..."

He shook his head and put an arm around my shoulder, "None of us wanted that but she wasn't going to surrender until she got what she wanted... Come on, let's go check on Nick and clear our heads a bit."

I nodded and walked with him to head back to Nicole's hospital room.