We agreed to try The Wastes first. After surveying them, we decided it would be safer as JFK Mark had been fenced off for an unknown reason and we didn't linger to find out. Dastun agreed the Military Police wouldn't go any further than the city limits and there were enough fallen buildings to hide what we were doing along the edge of The Wastes. Beck had his team work around the clock, looking over Dr. Wayneright's notes, making components that could possibly give Big O an edge in the upcoming fight.
While waiting for Beck to finish, I began researching the symbol Dorothy had told me about. I thought it would be safe to consult Big Ear for this one. He told me what Dr. Plebanski had told Norman, however there were other rumors regarding the meaning of the symbol during the founding of Paradigm. One persistent rumor was it was to be translated into "The Great." But these discussions didn't amount to anything, so the meaning was dropped eventually by the Paradigm Health Board. Another meaning that was considered was "End" and was strictly to be used in terms related to death or cycling out equipment, but this too was also dropped. As Paradigm began to get stricter with their printing laws, eventually they would drop the symbol altogether from the books Dr. Plebanski had in her possession, the symbol now a lost memory within the City of Amnesia.
The expansion quarterly meeting in June was… strange. Paradigm, for once, did not protest anything. Beck had complained that people were sabotaging the project, he attributed them to illegal scrappers, but we both knew better. However, Paradigm didn't take the bait. They only said if problems were to continue, they would consult the Military Police to see if they could provide additional assistance in patrols in the area. The meeting made me and Beck feel uneasy. Angel also noticed this same behavior with the council. The four members of the council that normally protested her, were now letting her pass pretty much anything she wanted without any complications.
We took this as a sign the enemy was getting ready to make a big move, and were focusing their efforts on getting prepared. Beck doubled down and managed to get the last remaining components built and installed on Big O. Big O, who normally hated Beck working on him, must've sensed our urgency, and was cooperating with Beck on the maintenance upkeep. Many of the components were small in nature that were either installed around the cockpit or as amplifiers near the weapon system in slots that already existed in Big O, but Norman and I had no idea how to use them.
The day of the test arrived. I took Big O out in the Prairie Dog while Beck, Dorothy, and Norman stayed behind to man the console in the hangar. Angel and Dastun decided to ride over a lookout point in the city so they could view the test from across the bay to keep an eye on things.
Big O crashed through the ground as Dastun watched through a set of binoculars.
"You didn't have to come, y'know," he said to Angel, watching the debris cloud settle.
"I needed to get away from the office. I've been feeling on edge. I don't like this change in the council's attitude. Makes me feel uneasy and I feel like I'm being watched…"
"You're not the only one, even Roger said something to me the other day that he was feeling the same way after the expansion meeting. Some upper brass in the MP have been pulling a bunch of people lately, and doing some last-minute transfers. While I'm getting people I can work with, I can't help but wonder what Paradigm is doing with the ones that are leaving."
Their comm links established a connection, with Beck on the comm.
"Okay, Crow Boy! Systems are ready to go on my end. Whenever you're ready."
Dastun handed the binoculars over to Angel.
"It's weird seeing the megadeus like this."
"How so?" asked Angel.
"Normally, there's something fighting it. But… I feel like we're placing all our hopes and prayers on it and Roger… that hopefully these improvements help it."
Angel stopped looking through the binoculars, looking at Dastun. "Feeling out of your league?"
"No. Feeling like… no matter what I do, it'll never be enough."
Angel sighed and smiled.
"You can still help the people though, and that in the end is more important than fighting a giant monster, even if it does feel like a cleanup detail afterwards."
Dastun gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, but you've never been a part of that detail, haven't you? I'll give Roger this, at least… he hasn't hurt anyone yet. Destroyed homes, yes, but no one innocent has suffered at his hands. Either he has perfect timing or just damn good luck."
Angel smirked. "More like dumb luck if you ask me."
Roger felt strangely at home, in his element inside the gyrosphere. "CAST IN THE GOD, YE NOT GUILTY" scrolled across the middle comm as the joy cons dropped and moved to the front. He put his hands on the joy cons, griping them tight.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Big O?" he said softly, looking at everything around him.
"What the hell are you talking about, Crow Boy?"
Roger smirked. "Nothing, Beck. BIG O! ACTION!"
Big O assumed his fighting stance ready to go. Roger heard Dastun come across the comm.
"There's nothing in the harbor, so if you want to try any of your long-range weapons, best do it now."
"Got it."
Roger moved Big O into position, focusing on a building leaning in front him. Big O assumed his stance for Arc Line and fired the eye beams directly at the building. The beams found their mark, destroying the target, and, as the smoke cleared, an additional building behind it. Roger raised an eyebrow at Beck laughing on the comm.
"Crow Boy, Gramps got his test results from last time, and I'm looking at them. There's a 37% increase in power in those eye beams! Ha ha!"
"It's called Arc Line? And wow. Yeah, I'm seeing the results. What do you say, Big O? Wanna try a Chromebuster?"
The Chromebuster switched raised on the console. Roger adjusted Big O, finding a different target, the skeletal remains of a tower, that had yet to fallen over. Roger locked on it and pressed the button. Big O's arms moved into place, raising up, locking into place, then coming back down to his mid-drift, his fists meeting in the middle. The Chromebuster fired, going through the building, into two more before crashing into the sand dune behind them. Beck was gleeful on the comm.
"YES! 45% increase in power."
"HEY! Cease fire! I got a boat passing through. Lie low for a minute, Roger!" yelled Dastun over the comm.
Roger waited for the debris cloud to clear from the destroyed target. He saw the boat passing by, but he was hidden by the building debris. The cloud of smoke cleared from the target, showing casing a wave of melted glass before a piece of debris fell onto it, smashing it into pieces.
"Norman, Beck! Did you catch that?"
"We did, sir! Most unusual! The Chromebuster has never done that before."
"From what I've been reading in the file, it can still be tweaked. The component I installed raised the temperature on the beam without compromising the glass dome. That's definitely something worth noting!"
Roger smirked. "Dastun, am I good now?"
"Yeah, the ship's passed! You're good!"
"Why don't we turn this up a notch? Dub, T-Bone fire up the Beck Victory Deluxe!" Beck exclaimed.
"Huh? Beck! What are you…"
But Roger didn't finish as he saw Beck's robot rise up from his right corner hidden by some ruins. The robot smashed through them, approaching Big O.
"It's completely remote controlled. I had it delivered this morning. But I figured this would stretch out the Big Guy's muscles as well as yours, Crow Boy."
Dastun was livid.
"ARE YOU CRAZY? ROGER, I FORBID YOU TO FIGHT THAT THING! THAT'S TOO MUCH ATTENTION! BECK! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"
"Relax, Pops. I did make some modifications to it, but compared to what I did on the Big Guy, Smith's got this in the bag."
Roger snickered. "What do you say, Big O?'
Big O flashed his eyes, assuming his fighting stance once more.
"ALRIGHT, IT'S SHOW TIME FOLKS, LET'S GO!"
Roger moved the foot pedals, approaching the robot. Beck Victory Deluxe fired two rockets at Big O, but Roger raised Big O's arms and guarded from the attack. The rockets smashed into the arms, exploding on contact. Roger eyed the center screen. No damage had been sustained.
"Hmph! Really Beck? Is that all you got?"
"Don't mock me! Dub, T-bone, fire the finger attack!"
Beck Victory Deluxe brought its arms up, its hands spinning rapidly, and then began firing lasers at Big O. Roger guarded once more, pressing two buttons on his right console. Two Moby Dick Anchors fired from the side, being propelled by rockets inside the anchor, smashing into Beck's robot, finding their target. Beck came across the comm.
"The thruster modifier works! 38% improvement in your speed, 52% increase in accuracy! Bwa ha ha ha! Finish it, Crow Boy!"
Roger laughed and grabbed the two chains, pulling back hard as Beck's robot lurched forward, Roger catching it.
"Bye bye, Goldie!"
Roger fired the tri-sudden impact and the robot smashed to pieces from the sheer force of pressurized air. Steam released from the lower bottom. Roger smiled.
"Test completed. I'm gonna refrain from using the Missile Party and O Thunder, seeing that we had a boat just pass by, and I don't want to chance a stray rocket or beam. We're returning."
Big O flashed his eyes as he raised his foot, coming down hard on the ground. The ground gave way and Big O began to sink slowly, going back to the Prairie Dog.
"That was a lot of fun, wasn't it?" Roger asked, quietly.
Big O slowly powered down as the Prairie Dog lowered him down into the chamber, sealing shut, and begin making its way back to the mansion.
"DAMN IT ROGER!"
Dastun's voice came through the console. Dorothy was making notes of the numbers, giggled at Dastun's reaction. Angel came across the comm.
"We're heading back to the mansion. We're nearly there. Dan left as soon as Roger began fighting Beck's robot. Roger's gonna get an ear full," said Angel.
"If he hasn't calmed down by the time you guys get here. Be careful. We'll see you soon!" replied Dorothy.
Meanwhile Dub and T-bone were crying, Yumi smacking them both on the head.
"You weren't fighting for real! It was a test, remember? You were going to lose anyway!" she yelled at them, annoyed by their behavior.
"But the boss cheered on the Negotiator instead of us!" they both cried.
"Yeah, because the Negotiator has a giant megadeus who can kick our butts! Root for the winning side, it's only common sense, yah morons!"
Dorothy handed her notes over to Norman, who reviewed them over with Beck.
"Toots… these are detailed. Awesome! Gives me more to play with. Definitely can tweak some things, but I think the test was a success…"
Beck was cut off by the console alarming. Norman and Dorothy accessed it, worried.
"Roger, are you alright?" she called to him.
"I'm fine, but Big O's sensing tremors in the underground and they're making everything us around shake. I'm feeling them, even inside the Prairie Dog," he said, across the comm.
"Norman, how much longer until he gets back?"
"He's underneath the harbor, Miss Dorothy. At least five minutes or so, but if these tremors keep up…"
"Tch! It's getting worse!"
As Roger came across the comm, everyone began feeling the ground shake. Dorothy, caught off guard, began to stumble, but Norman grabbed her to steady her.
"Hold on, Miss Dorothy! Mr. Beck, check the Prairie Dog's power systems."
Beck manned the console as Norman held on to Dorothy, the tremors finally beginning to subside. Dub, T-bone, and Yumi had fallen over from sitting at their table Beck had set up for them earlier, seeing stars. The Prairie Dog was still moving.
"Master Roger, the tremors have stopped on our end! Are you alright?"
They heard Roger breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm fine. How far am I now?"
"Less than five minutes."
"Alright. Under no circumstances you open the hangar door for the Prairie Dog until I am right on it, understand? Something doesn't feel right."
"Yes sir, of course!"
A loud screeching of brakes could be heard. Norman, looked up and unholstered one of his 1911s, breathing hard. He heard it getting closer to the hangar entrance from the outside. Beck moved in front of Dorothy.
"You think you can take my goons and get yourselves to safety?" he asked, also pulling out his pistol.
"Wait… what? Why are you…?"
"I'm not stupid, Toots. If Crow Boy loses you, we'll have lost the fight before it even starts. Go on and hide yourselves…"
"I don't understand why you're… wait, that's Dan's car!"
Dorothy saw it on camera as it came screeching to halt, waiting for the entrance to open.
"Miss Dorothy!" yelled Norman, but she opened the hangar garage door, Dastun driving inside. He drove all the way down, slamming breaks, and parked the car. He opened the door, falling out of the car, but a gust of energy blew him away. Norman ran over to him, Dastun crawling up slowly, Norman helping him to his feet.
"Good man, you look like you've seen a ghost!"
"It's happening again! Something's going on with Angel! Only… I dunno! We felt the earthquake, then she started complaining of pain in her back and the next thing I knew… she passed out and the scars on her back started doing something, glowing… but the energy from them… tore the back off her clothes! I can't wake her! I can't stop her!"
Dorothy glared ahead, watching the swirling wind of energy encompassing Dastun's car and she noticed the console starting to go haywire. Beck remained where he was, fear paralyzing him at what he was seeing. Dorothy joined Norman and Dastun.
"What did you do last time to wake her?" she yelled, over the roar of energy, now growing louder.
Dastun shook his head, and Dorothy, for the first time, saw fear in Dastun's eyes.
"I don't know! I just asked her to come back!"
Dorothy turned facing the energy.
"I'm going to need your help for this. I think I can get you to her, but you'll have to help do the rest, Dan!"
"Miss Dorothy, in your condition, please reconsider!"
"Norman, we don't have much time!"
Norman heard the loud braking of the Prairie Dog outside hangar doors leading into the subway, and he ran back to the console as Dorothy took Dastun's hand, and began walking to the energy.
Angel was now standing in front of Big Venus, but it was like a poorly connected radio. Big Venus would disappear and then reappear. Even Angel noticed the darkness was welling around her, like maelstrom, slowly closing in on them. The grid-like structure was disappearing and turning dark.
"Big Venus! What's wrong? Why did you call me?"
Angel didn't like this at all, and for the first time in a long time, she felt very afraid. This was the second time Big Venus had summoned her, since the start of the third reset.
"Big Venus!"
Terrible danger. The unification is nearly complete.
"The what? What do you mean?"
Angel then remembered the status report from when Roger, Dastun, and Beck went into the tunnels.
"It's the containment tank! Is that what the unification is? What are they using it for?"
The resurrection, the folly of man.
Gordon's words flashed through her mind. "The Power of the Creator wielded by the hand of man…"
"It's a Big, isn't it? It's the Big that Dorothy drew! It's real, isn't it?"
Magnus Gamma, finis lator.
Angel now saw a vision of the Big, exactly like the one Dorothy drew. Angel felt herself tense up at the sight of the terrible vision. It's tall, shadowy presence looming over the populace below, as they ran in terror for their lives. The maelstrom of darkness was now upon them, but unlike the other times where Big Venus had pushed the darkness away, she fell forward, her arms breaking her fall. Angel fell down from the vibration. She raised herself up.
"You're hurt! This is hurting you, isn't it?"
Big Venus struggled to stand, the darkness now swarming her. Angel got up and ran toward Big Venus, her wings now emitting from her back, carrying her over to her, to help her fight the darkness closing in on them.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
Roger was yelling into the comm, hearing all kinds of background noise and as he got closer to the mansion, he noticed Big O's circuits going haywire. Norman had opened the hangar garage doors and the Prairie Dog slowly pulled in. Then the cover for the Prairie Dog opened, along with Big O's hatch, all by itself without any prompt.
"Big O, what's wrong?"
But Roger saw the answer to his question. Everything inside the hangar was being blown around. Papers were whipping around in a circle not too far from him. Roger climbed out and on top of the Prairie Dog. He saw Norman, his eyes full of fear, staring off in one direction. As Roger followed Norman's gaze, he saw Dorothy walking with Dastun to a swirling mass of energy inside Dastun's car.
No.
Roger jumped down from the Prairie Dog and ran to Dorothy, calling her name.
"DOROTHY! DOROTHY! STOP!"
He finally reached her and grabbed her free hand.
"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled, the roar of the energy now getting louder.
"I can stop this! Something tells me I can do this!"
"Dorothy, think about this!"
"There's no time! I can do this! The twins will be fine! Trust me!"
Roger grimaced. They needed to do something, and they were the closest to the car.
"FINE! We'll do it your way!"
Roger got behind Dorothy and now with the added support, Dorothy increased her rate of speed, approaching the car. The wind was terrible and mighty as they got closer, but they didn't dare stop. Eventually, they reached the car, Roger pulling Dorothy to the back end.
"Hold on! Dastun, help me get Angel out of the car!"
Roger leaned into the car from the driver's side and pulled Angel over. The driver's side door, which had been snapped past its limit facing the hood of the car, came swinging back, but Dastun grabbed the door to prevent it from hitting Roger. The energy was intense, and Roger, who had made some gains since his injury in terms of strength, was still struggling to pull her out. Dorothy braced herself as the energy began to get more violent around them.
"Roger, hurry!"
Roger gave a roar and pulled Angel out, the full power of the energy now swarming them. Roger reached for Dorothy's hand, Dorothy taking it, and he pulled her close.
"Whatever you're gonna do, do it now!"
"Dan, give me your hand! You need to focus on her! Concentrate on her waking up! Focus on your love for her!"
Dastun turned around, taking Dorothy's hand, nodding. She guided them to one of Angel's hand, without thinking, or questioning why, Dorothy found herself saying a prayer, not understanding the words flowing from her or why. Roger sat there holding Angel with one arm, Dorothy his other, his breath catching in his throat, praying for whatever was happening to stop and soon.
Dorothy went on for a minute, it felt longer to Roger, and then slowly, the energy began to dissipate. The papers swirling around them began to fall back to the hanger floor. The energy finally disappeared. Dorothy felt tired suddenly and began leaning backward.
"Dastun!" yelled Roger. Dastun held on to Angel, while Roger grabbed Dorothy, falling back on the ground with her. Norman ran forward, holstering his pistol. Beck dropped his pistol as he sank to the floor, still in shock from what he had just witnessed. Roger held Dorothy tight as she had passed out. He was barely whispering her name, rocking her back and forth, his eyes trembling with worry.
"Dorothy? Dorothy?"
Norman put his hand on his shoulder, to let him know he was behind him, and Dorothy slowly opened her eyes.
"That took a little more effort than I thought. I'm sorry," she said, weakly.
Roger let out a nervous laugh, relieved that she was alright. "Dorothy, you're amazing, but don't you ever scare me like that again."
"I'll try not to," she said, giving a weak smile, "How's Angel?"
Roger sat up, holding Dorothy, and they looked over at Dastun. Norman went to check on them, checking for Angel's pulse.
"It's weak. I'll call the clinic," and he hurried off to find the phone. Dastun and Roger's eyes met for a moment, then they looked away. Roger picked up Dorothy, carrying her in his arms.
"Let's get these two upstairs and settled. Dr. Plebanski won't be long."
Dastun picked up Angel and followed Roger to the lift.
"Roger Smith, you better have a good explanation for Mary when she comes in!"
Dorothy was lying in bed in the master bedroom. Roger was sitting by her side while Carlye conducted a portable ultrasound, clicking on each baby, measuring the heartbeat rates by sound. Then she put her stethoscope on her abdomen, listening intently. Norman had gone to the clinic to watch the children while they came to check on Dorothy and Angel.
"I can't hear anything wrong or see anything wrong. You look alright, but Mary will want to check once she's done with the Madam President."
Roger breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's my fault, Carlye. I insisted," said Dorothy.
"It doesn't excuse him! Roger, I've known you for a while, not as long as Mary, but she's going to kill you! You do understand with twins, there's twice the care that Dorothy needs, but also twice the risk with her pregnancy! You need to start taking better care of her or I'll… ooo…. You make me so angry! Now I understand why she treats you the way she does…"
Roger looked away, knowing she was right. He had no excuse, but he was still trying to comprehend what he saw in the hangar only hours ago. Dr. Plebanski was with Dastun and Angel in Dorothy's old room, and had yet to come out. Carlye saw the look on his face, a look of shame and defeat, that could be easily seen. Carlye's face softened.
"Roger, what happened?"
Roger shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it. I… it was… I dunno… I guess I understand how Dastun feels now."
He looked at Dorothy, who was watching him. He placed his hand over her belly.
"I'm definitely a louse. You shouldn't had to do that. I'm sorry. She's technically my client and my responsibility."
"And technically she's mine too, and my friend. If the roles were reversed, we both be feeling what we're feeling right now, and you know it."
Roger had no reply. Carlye sighed.
"I'll let Beck know you can have visitors now. He's been wanting to speak to you. But, bed rest for at least a few days. Mary may prescribe longer. I'm gonna go help her. I know how she gets when she's needed by two different people who have the same critical needs."
She stepped out of the bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. Roger placed a long kiss on Dorothy's forehead.
"Please don't…"
"Roger, I get it, please. Please stop. I hate feeling so… useless."
Roger looked at Dorothy. "No, don't ever say that. You're NOT useless. It's just…" Roger thought for a moment, trying to choose his words carefully. "As a negotiator, in order for negotiations to conclude, you can't put yourself in a situation or position that would compromise you. And, in your case, there are two others to consider, even though, they haven't been born yet. And in this case, there was a lot that could've gone wrong, but didn't thankfully. However, it would be unwise to continue pushing the envelope in such a way that could possibly harm them and you."
"But Roger, prior to this reset, you were doing that every day in Big O, fighting monsters, giant robots, other Bigs. Is it not the same for you?"
"Uh…" Roger thought long and hard, but then sighed. "I guess, that was a different time. I was a different man then."
"Not to me. You're still the same man I know."
"Okay, let's use your logic. I'm the same man you know, but a lot has changed and I have a lot more to protect now. Even I'm not as trigger happy in terms of summoning Big O to resolve everything, if you catch my drift."
"So, you're saying you're more cautious?"
"Yes and I'm asking you, really pleading with you, to please use caution in your judgment next time. Not to dwell on what could've happened, but what if Angel found out you lost the twins because of her? How would you feel and how do you think she would feel?"
Dorothy had no counter argument. Beck then knocked on the door.
"Can I come in?"
They both nodded. He entered, Beck shutting the door behind him.
"Can someone please explain to me what's going on with the President?" asked Beck, looking exasperated.
Roger shrugged. "All I know, and mind you, this is the first time I'm seeing it, second time dealing with the aftermath, if Angel contacts Big Venus, depending on the intensity of the encounter, that's one of the side effects. It sounds like she goes somewhere to talk to Big Venus, but not in the physical sense. Like her body stays here and her consciousness goes elsewhere, at least that's my theory. But, the side effect is that her power gets unleashed, and it gets worse if the encounter goes bad, or requires her to use her power to a certain strength while speaking with her."
Beck shoved his hands in pocket, shaking his head. "Crow Boy… she's not looking too good. She barely was talking to Pops when he walked by me. Judging from the look on his face, it's bad."
Roger glared at Beck, and ever so slightly jerked his head in Dorothy's direction as Dorothy began to look visibly upset. Beck changed the conversation quickly.
"But this is the doc that saved Crow Boy here, so this'll probably be a breeze for her, right?" he asked nervously.
"Eloquent save," growled Roger.
Beck realized the topic was not on the table for discussion anymore and changed it. "So, I did some work down in the hangar while waiting… because why not. All your systems are fine. I didn't see any damage to any components, externally and internally. The Big Guy's doing fine and he's back in the bay."
"I see. Thank you for helping out."
"I'll just go then and check on some more things. Probably missed something," said Beck, sensing that Roger wanted Beck out of the room for making Dorothy upset. He left quickly, shutting the door with the snap.
Roger massaged his temple. "Do you want me to see what's going on? Would that put you at ease?"
"It would, but my old room is not that big. Dr. Plebanski will snap at you."
"It's fine. I'll check," and Roger kissed Dorothy on the forehead once more before leaving the room and walking down the hall. He was about to open the door to Dorothy's old room when Dr. Plebanski opened it quickly, seeing him, and placed a finger on his chest, pushing him back all the way against the wall, Roger instinctively holding his hands up in defeat.
"You! Explain! NOW."
"Uhhhh… some-supernatural-things-are-going-on-that-caused-a-bunch-of-energy-to-escape-the-Madam-President-and-it-makes-her-weak-every-time-it-happens," said Roger quickly.
"WHAT?"
"Please don't make me say it again. Even I don't know what happened or how. All I know this is the second time this has happened."
Dr. Plebanski put her hand to her forehead. "This is related to your case, isn't it? And the first time was when I came over to the Chief's place?"
Roger nodded.
"So, what happened to Dorothy?"
"I dunno. She took Dastun's hand and started saying a prayer I didn't recognize. It worked, but it took her strength away for a moment. Prayer was something about walking through a valley in the shadow of death…"
"What did you say?"
"I don't know. She just started saying it and everything sorta, stopped."
Dr. Plebanski put her bag on a nearby table, looking for something, pulling out an old book and had seen better days. She flipped through the book and found the page she was looking for.
"I found this in the ruins of a church a long time ago. Was it this she said?"
Roger read over the passage Dr. Plebanski had pointed at.
"Yeah, that's the one."
"This is called a Holy Bible. It's… interesting to say the least. I know some churches around here still use it outside the domes. Others use a book called Hymns. It's hard to understand some of the passages, but I know this one. I know it very well. It's my go to when things get bad, and I'm trying everything, and, I'm not superstitious, but… it calms my nerves…"
She looked away from Roger, putting the book away.
"I'll tell you what I told the Chief. If that happens again, in the same intensity or worse, there's no doctor in Paradigm that will be able to save her. I… I don't know what I was doing… I tried everything. It was only when I started saying that prayer I just showed you, I started getting better vitals. I thought I was going to have to take her to an ER. Whatever it is, whatever she has, it's… I never seen it before. She's fine, I didn't see anything wrong physically or hear anything. But whatever it is, it's also putting a strain on her. I don't know what to compare it to. I want to say it's like a cancer, but… it's not even that."
"So, she'll die if something similar happens again?"
Dr. Plebanski sighed and looked at Roger, the look telling him all he needed to know.
"I'm going to check on Dorothy and make sure she's alright. And Roger…"
"Yes?"
"Like I told you before, solve this case. But now… you need to finish it and quickly, if you want the Madam President to live and spare Dorothy pain from losing her friend, and possibly the twins, if she gets too upset."
Roger sighed as Dr. Plebanski walked away. He turned to look at her.
"Mary?"
She looked back at him.
"Dorothy's going to ask. Beck ran his mouth. There's no point in hiding it from her. Just… break it gently… please…"
Dr. Plebanski nodded and walked to Roger's bedroom. Carlye, who finished notating vitals from the monitor, excused herself to follow Dr. Plebanski. Roger sighed and made an about face, going back to the living room over to the open bar he had, pouring two drinks, and then walked back to Dorothy's old room, knocking gently on the door.
"Yeah?" came Dastun's tired voice.
Roger entered and handed a drink to Dastun, who accepted it, not taking his eyes off Angel, now sleeping. The sound of the heart monitor was beeping steady.
"She's sedated. Needs her rest," Dastun said, quietly.
Roger sat on the floor.
"Helluva of day, here's to another," and Roger raised his glass. Dastun met his glass with his and they both drank at the same time.
"Ha! You ain't kidding."
"Dr. Plebanski told me the news."
Dastun took a long drink and sat in silence for a while. Roger didn't say anything, letting Dastun find his words.
"I'd rather not… not right now… At some point, I'll have to break it to her, or she will… she's not going to take it well. I know it. She'll wanna fight and end all of this. The woman we knew back then… she's changed into someone… I respect and admire… and… love…"
Roger looked at Dastun, stunned. He was never the type to admit his feelings to anyone in his inner circle.
"Dastun…" whispered Roger, still in shock.
"Is… is that offer to stay… still open?"
"Yeah… we can make some room. I think we got spare bed somewhere."
"The couch is fine for me. Don't make a fuss." Dastun took a long sip of his drink, "Roger?"
"Mmm?"
"I think there's something happening in the government. A lot of… transfers have been happening with personnel. I'm not complaining. I'm actually getting decent people under my command, but… all the same, it makes me uneasy. If you have to be out and about, be careful. I don't trust anyone right now, not after what's happened, and after today. I think the enemy… they're almost ready. Something tells me… they're reason why she's in this state. There's something they're doing, and it's connected to her."
"Noted," and Roger took a long sip, finishing his drink. He heard sobbing coming down from the hall and sighed. Dr. Plebanski had told the news to Dorothy. Roger got up.
"I'll look for some things to make your stay comfortable. Dastun…"
Dastun turned to look at Roger and saw his eyes were red.
"Thanks for watching my back today."
"Yeah…" and he turned back to look at Angel.
Roger walked out of the room and shut the door, leaving it slightly open, making his way down the hall. He stopped to survey the living room, looking around him, memories flashing through his mind when he and Dorothy danced and had their first kiss, playing chess, playing the piano, celebrating Heaven's Day together, celebrating the news of the twins… and for the first time in his life, he felt like he was close losing everything he cared about. He looked at his empty glass and went over to the counter once more to pour himself a drink, but stopped.
Dorothy needs me. I can tend to my own feelings later.
He left the glass on the counter, going back into the bedroom to comfort Dorothy.