Captive Angel Ch. 14 - End

"I take it, that's my cue to get out," Hunter said.

"Just for a while," the nurse agreed.

"I have to do something first," he said, his hand going to his pocket. He pulled her ring out, taking her hand and sliding it back onto her finger.

"There, now you look better," he smiled, leaning down and kissing her finger and then her lips gently. His lips clung to hers for a moment that seemed like an eternity over to fast when he stood. "I'll go get some breakfast and be back. Don't go running off on me," he said with a smile and a wink.

"Damn, honey," the nurse said as soon as Hunter left. "Your man there has the whole nursing staff in a tizzy. He's a hot one. He's like...walking sin," she said with a sigh. She walked over to the bed, setting aside the things she needed and lifting Angel's hospital gown. "Can you tell me where I can find one of those?"

Angel sighed. "He has an older brother."

"Is he as yummy?"

"I don't know, I've never met him." Angel glanced down at the incision. It wasn't a long one, only about three inches. "Nice stitch work," she commented.

"Dr. Andros is a wonder. You'll get to meet him today. He'll be by to check up on you and probably get rid of this drainage tube. Everything looks good. I just need you to roll over so that I can get to your back."

"My back?"

"The bullet went straight through you sweetie. From what I've heard, they dug it out of a portrait that was on the wall." She helped Angel to roll over and Angel felt the pull of tape as she removed the bandage. "How's your pain? We've been trying to stay away from the harder stuff because of the baby, but if it gets worse, the doctor has left an order for something else."

"I'm fine," Angel said, flinching a little as the nurse cleaned the wound and then bandaged it. "When can I get out of here?"

"Yep, just like I said, doctors make the worst patients. That's between you and Dr. Andros, but I'm going to bet it won't be for at least a week. You lost a lot of blood." She gathered the soiled bandages and threw them away, pulling off her gloves and dropping them in the hazardous waste container.

Grabbing a fresh pair, she came over to help Angel into a clean gown.

By the time Hunter returned to the room, she was bundled into a chair, wrapped in a blanket, staring out the window at the gray clouds that were spitting snow on the city skyline.

He came in, sitting on the edge of her bed. "How do you feel?"

A small smile appeared, a tiny dimple flashing in the corner of her mouth.

"Like I've been shot," she said, making him laugh.

But he sobered quickly as he thought of everything she'd been through and how close she'd come to dying. "Angel...I..."

"You really need to go take driving classes, dammit Brandon. You almost killed me," Shanna groused over her shoulder as she walked into the room, the object of her scorn following right on her heels.

"If I was trying to kill you, you'd be dead, so don't go giving me any ideas that I'd have to explain to your brother about." He scooped the hair back away from his face with one hand, his irritation showing in the abrupt gesture as his eyes narrowed as they glared at her back. "How he puts up with you..."

"He loves me," Shanna said, glaring back at Brandon.

"It's a good thing he does, it's probably the only way any man could stand to be around you." Brandon felt a slash of shame as he said the words but it was too late to take them back. He watched as Shanna's face grew red and her eyes darkened from the gold to a shade that promised retribution later.

Damn his big mouth!

If only she wasn't so beautiful, so sexy and his best friend's sister. He wouldn't be wasting time with words and they wouldn't have slept in separate rooms last night. He could think of other ways to shut her up that wouldn't take words and would be much more fun.

The thought of backing her up against the wall, crushing his lips down on that viperous mouth of hers, getting his hands on those lush curves that she now kept covered up with layers of clothing had him thinking of little else. He could feel his cock stirring in his pants, jerking at the memory of how her nipples had looked, hard and pointed in that sheer golden gown. It was all he could do to keep his hands to himself.

"Will you two knock it off," Hunter growled, more upset at the interruption than at their actual arguing. He was getting used to the arguing though how anyone could get under his meek little sister's skin enough to piss her off was hard for him to figure out. "We got a lady here who was shot yesterday, any of you remember her?"

Angel smiled, though it was weak. "I'm fine, Hunter." She lifted her cheek as

Brandon came closer, pressing his lips to it and then she smiled at Shanna.

"You were right," she said to the girl.

"Yeah, I know. I told you, I'd just know if anything had happened to him." She smirked a little, making Angel laugh.

"You probably made his life miserable when he was a teenager, didn't you?" Angel joked, liking Shanna immediately.

"Someone had to keep him and Dillon on the straight and narrow. Congratulations by the way," she said. "I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt. You should have seen Aaron's face when he found out."

"I can just imagine," Angel said. She shifted in the chair, the pain in her stomach and back growing stronger.

"Let me get the nurse," Hunter said, noting the expression on her face.

She nodded, what little color draining from her face as he left and the pain grew worse. Feeling a hand taking her own, she looked up.

"Squeeze if you need to, Angel." Shanna knelt down in front of her. She spoke softly to Angel, distracting her by telling her stories of Hunter's growing up until he returned with the nurse.

She shooed all of them out while she got Angel back into bed. When Hunter returned, Angel was almost asleep.

He sat beside her, picking up her hand, fiddling with the ring she wore once more.

"Why don't you go sleep in a bed?" she whispered huskily, the medication the nurse had given her and her exertion making her sleepy.

"I'm afraid to leave you," he said, dropping his forehead onto her hand as he made the confession. "I'm afraid you'll disappear."

"Not today," she whispered. "The bang's gone out of my poof."

He chuckled. Reaching up, he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.

"You are coming home with me after we get you cleared to leave, right?"

Angel blinked at the insecurity she could hear in his voice. She hadn't known he could feel that way. "I got you worried?"

"Yeah," he answered instantly, his eyes clouding. "Something is wrong,

Angel. I can sense it and I know you aren't telling me something, I just don't know what."

"That's ridiculous," she said faintly. "I'm just tired." She tried to work up a smile, but it turned into more of a grimace.

"Okay," he said, hating to see her pain. "I'll be back later." He rose, bending to kiss her softly, feeling her lips tremble under his. "I love you, baby."

She closed her eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. Instead, she murmured something, feeling his eyes on her face for a moment longer before he let loose of her hand. She heard his footsteps as he walked out of the room, heard the door close softly. Then her eyes opened and she stared up in to the darkness, the pain in her heart far outweighing any wound she could ever have.

Chapter Seventeen

It was four days later, after the cops had been in to take her statement of what had happened at Sebastian's mansion and Brandon had brought some tough looking female fed in so that she could repeat what she'd already told the cops before she had another chance to really be alone. Hunter was with

Brandon, clearing up the last of the details and getting ready to take her home to Texas.

She'd been officially declared alive; her purse with all her credit cards and money had been found at the mansion and returned to her. She had her identification. She had her life back. She'd even managed to con Shanna into getting her some clothing, so she had something to wear when she left.

"I'm leaving, I'll sign myself out."

The doctor sputtered and argued, but in the end, the papers had been written up and she'd signed them. She was dressed with a whole ream of prescriptions, including prenatal vitamins. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, writing on a piece of paper she'd managed to talk one of the nurses into bringing to her.

A tear slipped down her cheek and fell onto the paper, running the ink. She brushed at it distractedly, then finished, signing her name. Folding it, she slipped it into an envelope. Then closing her eyes, she pulled the diamond off of her finger, kissing it, and then slipped it in with the letter before sealing the envelope. She wrote Hunter's name on it, finishing just as the nurse brought in her wheelchair to take her downstairs.

"Where's your hunk of a fiancé at? Is he coming to get you?" she asked, smiling before noting the look on Angel's face.

"Could you give him this when he comes in?" Angel asked her, handing her the envelope before wiping the tears out of her eyes and sitting down into the wheelchair.

"Yeah, no problem. Are you sure you want to do this, sweetie? Guys like yours aren't easy to find." The nurse wanted to say more, such as how could

Angel give up a man who looked at her like hers did, but she knew when to keep her mouth shut.

Angel nodded, picking up her purse. She was leaving everything else behind.

The nurse wheeled Angel out to the lobby and then through the front doors where a cab was waiting to take her to the airport.

* * * *

Hunter entered the hospital whistling lightly. He was feeling fantastic, Angel was healing and she was pregnant with his child. Sebastian was looking at a long, long prison term, if he ever got out at all. Shanna had decided to move to Texas, to start over and was working on divorce proceedings from her husband. There was something strange going on between her and Brandon, which smelled suspiciously like some kind of mating dance, and Hunter couldn't have been happier.

Now he just had to get his woman healthy and get her to marry him and he'd be on cloud nine.

He hurried to the elevator, holding it open for a man and a little girl who were carrying a balloon and a dozen roses with them. He smiled at the little girl.

"My mommy had a baby," she said, smiling shyly at Hunter.

"She did? Do you have a brother or a sister?" he asked crouching to get down to her level.

"A sister," she said, scrunching up her nose. "Boys are yucky."

Hunter chuckled, looking up at the girl's daddy. "Yeah, they can be."

They got off the elevator at the maternity ward which was on the second floor and he continued on his way to the fifth floor, holding the door open for a couple of ladies who got in as he left. He turned the corner, making his way down the hallway to Angel's room.

Opening the door, he came to a stumbling stop. The bed was made, the flowers that had been delivered to her were gone, and it was like she'd never been there. He stepped back out into the hallway, studying the door to make sure he had the right room.

"She's gone," the nurse said, coming up behind him. "She signed herself out early this morning and left."

"Left for where," Hunter said, confused, a bad feeling coiling in her stomach.

"I don't know. Home I guess. She left you this," she said, handing him the envelope. She'd been watching for him since she'd taken Angel down to the cab earlier, not wanting to miss him. He seemed to love the injured woman so much, she thought it was terrible what she had done to him.

Hunter stared at the envelope, finally taking it from her. He held it gingerly, as if it would bite him if he moved wrong. "Thanks," he said, turning away and heading down the hall to the small lounge area he'd been in before.

Sinking into one of the chairs, he turned the envelope over in his hand, seeing his name written on the front in sharp, precise letters. Slowly he opened it, pulling out the letter and grabbing the ring as it fell out. He stared at it for a moment, not understanding why it was there and then he unfolded the letter.

He stared at the sheet of paper, his eyes going over the precise writing, reading over and over what she had written. When it finally sank in, he lifted his head, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists, the sheet of paper in between them. He sat like that, lost in thought.

It was a different man who stood up from the one that had whistled his way into the hospital just a few minutes before. He straightened out the crumpled paper before folding the letter, putting it back in the envelope and sticking it in the pocket of his jacket. He put the ring in his jean pocket, feeling it resting against his leg as he left the waiting room, a determined look on his face.

* * * *

Angel sighed tiredly, putting her hands to her lower back and stretching. It had been her first day back at her old job and she was dog-tired. Between the healing wounds and the baby, she felt as if she could sleep for a year.

It didn't help that she missed Hunter so much that she could barely think of his name without wanting to burst into tears. Her heart felt shriveled, and there was a knot in her stomach that never seemed to go away. "It'll get easier," she murmured for the thousandth time, rubbing her hand down her growing stomach before digging her keys out of her purse and unlocking the small apartment she had rented.

She had furnished it sparsely, buying a couch and a chair, a small radio and a bed with the money she got from her renter's insurance. There was none of the hominess of her old apartment; all her childhood mementoes and pictures were gone, burned in the fire. The scrapbook that her mother had made for her was gone, the little things that had made her old place home, gone in a rush of fire and smoke ordered by a man who had donated his DNA to create her.

She had two bedrooms, one for her and one she was fixing up for the baby.

A small living area and a tiny kitchen made up most of the rest of the apartment, but she didn't need much, not just yet anyway. She was going to save up her money and when the baby came she would move somewhere nicer, somewhere with a yard. It's what she always wanted as a child, a yard to play in with a swing set and maybe a dog. Her child would have it.

"I want to be the best mom," she whispered, looking down at the slight bulge mostly hidden by her sweater. She sighed as she pushed open the door, ready to drop everything and then collapse on the couch for a much-needed nap.

She dropped her mail on the small bar in the kitchen, setting her purse next to it. Pulling off her coat, she draped it over the chair and started toward her bedroom, wanting to kick off her shoes and find something soft and warm to wear. Before she made it two steps in that direction, there was a knock on the door.

It halted her in her tracks. She stood staring at the door, her heart in her throat before she took a deep breath. It couldn't be Hunter. He hadn't come here in the four weeks since she left the hospital; he wasn't coming for her now. After the first week, she'd all but given up. Still, every time she closed her eyes, every dream she had, he was always there.

He popped into her thoughts and she found herself wishing she could talk to him, tell him the things that were happening in her life, to her body as it grew to make room for their child. She woke in the morning, reaching for him next to her, tears coming to her eyes as she remembered he wasn't there. She loved him so much and it seemed he didn't love her at all.

The knock came again, louder this time, rattling the door. "I'm coming!" she called, turning around and hurrying to the door.

She opened it slowly, her eyes going wide when she saw who was there.

"H...Hunter?"

He pushed on the door, opening it wide enough so that he could walk by her, standing in her small living space and looking around the room.

"You remembered," he said, his tone slightly sarcastic and harsh.

"Yeah, like I could forget," she muttered. "What are you doing here?"

"You and I have some unfinished business, Angel." He turned slowly his eyes dropping to the bulge of her stomach.

"I said all I had to say in the letter I left for you," she said, closing the door slowly and then moving around him until she had the kitchen bar between them.

"Oh yeah, that ridiculous letter you left me. It said nothing, Angel." He pulled it out of his pocket. "Dear Hunter," he read, his voice hard. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to go to Texas...blah blah blah." He slapped it with his other hand, crumpling it in a ball. "I think you can do better than that."

"You think I can...what?" She felt her anger start to boil now that her mind was actually processing the thought that he really was in her living room.

"You heard me," he growled, prowling the small space, slipping off his coat and dropping it on top of hers. "I think I deserve more than some kind of

'Dear John' letter." He turned heading towards her, his eyes feasting on the sight of her, noting every detail. "You look like shit," he added suddenly, feeling a twinge of concern and worry that he quickly squelched.

"Thank you," she smirked. She couldn't say the same to him. He looked wonderful. Tanned and healthy though he did look thinner, he had never looked better to her. It was all she could do not to rush into his arms and babble about being an idiot and would he forgive her.

"So...?" he asked, stopping right in front of her and forcing her to crane her neck to look up at him.

"So what?" she asked. He was too close, the scent of him enveloped her and she felt her heartbeat speed up until she wondered how he couldn't hear it. If she lifted her hand, just lifted it, she could touch him. The urge to do it, to touch him, to kiss him like she had when they were on the run, to make love to him until she couldn't think, was almost overwhelming. She licked her suddenly dry lips and took a step back, trying to think.

The sight of her pink tongue swiping over those delectable morsels almost sent Hunter to his knees. He moaned, closing his eyes against the sight before he gathered his resolve, determined to finish what he'd come her for today. He was going to win his lady back, no matter what it took, even if it meant sweeping her up in his arms and making love to her until she couldn't run from him again.

"I'm waiting, Angel."

"I told you all I can tell you, Hunter," she turned, walking into the living area, desperately trying to keep some space between them.

"Bull shit!"

"W...what?" she looked up at him, suddenly afraid of the expression on his face. He seemed to know, how could he know? She hadn't told anyone. Unless he got it from her father, he couldn't know.

"I know you, baby. You're hiding something from me and I'm not leaving here until I find out what it is." He walked by her, sitting down on her couch and crossing his legs.

"I'm not hiding anything. Is your ego so big that you can't believe that you weren't worth it for me to pack up my entire existence and cross the continent for you?" she almost flinched when she saw the look of hurt that came over him.

"It's not my ego that's telling me you're lying, Angel." He paused for a moment, staring at her. "It's my heart."

She stared at him, hating him at that moment for dredging up every painful moment she'd had in the past month since finding out her parentage. "Fine, sit there, but I'm tired and I'm going to change clothes." She stormed into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her with a noise as loud as a pistol shot.

For a second, she stood in the middle of her bedroom, staring at the unmade bed, the small TV tray she used as a nightstand, the box she used to store her clothes in since she didn't have a dresser yet. It all seemed so shabby and worthless with him in the next room.