November 6th, 2099

 

Marianna abruptly woke to the hospital bed being transported somewhere, the bed jumping an inch or so off of the ground every bump there was. She hesitantly opened her eyes,  and saw familiar eyes. Was it...?

"...Aiden?" She mumbled, still being half asleep. The man the eyes belonged to shushed her. In moments, she was being lifted up into an airplane of the sorts, where the hospital bed was tied down. A few minutes later, after the plane took off, she heard a familiar voice.

 

"Hey deary. How are you feeling?" Marianna opened her eyes all the way, and saw who looked like Leah, only this woman had blonde hair, and brown eyes. But the tone in her voice was unmistakable.

 

"Better now. Where were you guys?"

 

Another voice spoke up. "For the first five years, you were pronounced dead. Then as soon as we found out otherwise, we found out where you were, and you were wiped off the face of the earth, or so it seemed. And we've been looking for you ever since, but over the past seven years, your location kept changing."

 

"What about mom? Where is she?"Aiden sighed.

 

"We had to split up after they took you and Ryan...now known as Rye. But I'm sure you knew that by now." He paused. "Leah, you need to look for that object we found in her x-rays."

 

Leah nodded. "Alright deary." She brushed Marianna's hair out of her face. "You're going to be alright, Mary. We just need to get something out of you. We'll just need to wait til we get more situated. You're not going to like what you're going to have to do, though. Which I'm terribly sorry about." She kissed Marianna on the forehead, and pulled a wamed blanket over her. It was somewhat chilly, and she didn't want her to get cold. She returned to the front of the plane with

 

Aiden, who waited until she was looking away to crack the resembelence of a smile. After a little while, he heard Marianna snoring, and asked, "Hey, what did you want to talk about earlier?"

 

Leah looked over at Aiden. "Oh, well it's not completely important at the moment."

 

"Of course it is. You were insisting on telling me whatever it was earlier."

 

Leah looked back at Marianna, to make sure she was passed out, and sighed. "I think I might be pregnant."

 

All color flushed from Aiden's face. "Are you absolutely sure about that?"

 

"Yes, lovey. I'm absolutely certain there is a ninety percent chance that the one  night we were both enebriated beyond recollection..."

 

"Oh god...yeah, that sounds about right. But you were also finally open about being jealous of all of the women over the past ten years."

 

"Yes, that too. Which I'm still very sorry about. I still have no idea what came over me that night. I suppose all of the men who were after us made me want to be more honest with you."

 

Aiden nodded. A few minutes later, he thought. "What are we going to do about your daughter?"

 

"I'm not sure yet. I want to go back for her, but only once we know we finally have Marianna in safe keeping. I want her to see me for who I am, not just her mother. I'm sure they're telling her our ultimate form is a sickness of the sorts, or have never let her reach her full potential."

 

Aiden nodded. "Good thing we're fairly close. But...are you sure you want to go alone?"

 

"I have no choice. You need to keep an eye on Mary." She paused to think for a moment. "And Aiden?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"If I am...pregnant...this will most likely be the last child I will be able to bear. They only left a few eggs left for me to have as my own. The rest will die off eventually." Leah turned back to stare out the window, and the remainder of the plane ride, they sat in silence. When they finally arrived, Aiden landed the plane behind a somewhat secluded house in the mountains. Once it was completely secured where it was, he got up from the chair, and walked back to start unhooking Marianna's hospital bed. Leah followed in que, and began unhooking the bed.

 

Aiden laughed."You don't look bad in that corperate monkey suit."

 

Leah blushed a little. "Well don't expect me to keep it on now that we're here."

 

Aiden rolled his eyes, laughing, and before he could speak, was interrupted by Leah.

 

"You don't look so bad yourself, Mr Corperate."

 

Aiden thought for a minute. "I'm surprised that went as well as it did. Makes me wonder if it was too easy, ya know?"

 

Leah nodded. "Yeh, I know. It's best not to think about it right now. All that matters, is that we have Mary back in our hands." An hour or so later, Marianna woke up in a warm bed in pajamas and a soft, cuddily throw blanket on her. She sat up, and saw a mug on the bedside table with a note beside it. It read:

'This is for you in case you wake up before the morning. There is a trash can beside you that you'll know what to do with. You need to make sure you drink the entire glass, otherwise you will not get better.'

Marianna felt confused for a moment, but saw the trash can on the floor next to the bed. She took a small sip from the mug, and it was surprisingly tasy, so she drank the entire mug. A few moments later, she felt something move in her stomach, and felt light headed. Following by her throwing up her guts in the trash can. There was a light thud in the bottom of the can, and she automatically felt better. She grabbed the note, and finished reading it:

 

'There is a bottle of water on the floor beside the trash can so you can immediately get the taste of vomit out of your mouth. Even if you feel better, you need to get your rest. I will be gone in the morning, but Aiden will be here to make sure you're alright.

Love,

Leah.'

 

Marianna felt for a bottle on the floor, and grabbed it, opening and taking a huge sip from it.  She went to lay back down, but had a sudden urge to pee and grab a snack. She walked out of the bedroom, and searched the small home for a bathroom. She found the kitchen first, and grabbed a small package of cheese nips, which she brought into the bathroom with her. Not caring about germs, she ate her cheese nips at the same time as she peed.

 

When she returned to the bedroom, she climbed back into bed, and after a few hours, fell back asleep. During those hours, Leah sat in the living room, mentally preparing for her first encounter with her daughter. She had gotten glimpses of her, but never interacted with her first hand. She knew her daughter would be more than capable of brining Ryan out of whatever brain washing he has undergone. Leah smiled, more than aware that Aiden had been standing in the doorway for a few minutes, but choosing to ignore it for the time being.

Until he walked over, and sat down next to her. "How do you know she isn't going to reject you?"

Leah smiled. "Because, deary. You should know by now why she won't."

 

Aiden shrugged. "Are you sure you want to do that to your daughter?"

 

"Do what? I'm just going to come up with a sap story about how I had to give her up for adoption as a baby because I was terminally ill, and am now better and want to start over with her."

 

"Hmmm...doubt that will work, Leah."

 

She patted his leg. "And that is exactly why I found you in a hotel room, in the bathroom tub. You're paranoid about everything. You don't have to be anymore, lovey. We have your sister back. Now I just need to get my daughter back, and we need to find your parents." She lowered her voice. "Wherever they decided to run off to this time." She paused to think for a minute. "You should get some rest, deary."

 

Aiden crossed his arms. "Nope, not tired. Also I don't care how much you don't want me to worry, I'm going to." He sighed. "Whose idea was it to split up again?"

 

Leah laughed. "That was yours, lovey."

 

Aiden thought for a minute. "Yeah...you're right. It was."

 

Leah smiled. "Well you should still get some sleep, dear. I won't be sleeping tonight. I need to be focused, so I'll be heading out-"

 

Aiden put a hand on her arm as she was getting ready to stand up. "Be careful." He gave her a look of concern.

"Don't worry about me, love. I've made a mental map of all the places I can go."

 

Aiden kept a hold of her arm. "Well...before you go then," Before he could even pull her back down, Leah was leaning down to give him a hug. He was tense at first, but loosened up as she hugged him. While in each other's grasp, he asked in a low voice, "What are we going to do about..." He looked down at her stomach.

 

"Only time will tell, love.  Until then, we need to focus on right now." She paused. "And that, is getting you to get some sleep, and me heading out." She slowly moved him down to lay down on the couch as she talked, and when he went to protest, she placed a finger over his lips to hush him. Accepting defeat, he laid down, and allowed her to place a blanket over him. Leah sat on the floor beside the couch, playing her plans over in her mind over again, not entirely sure what was going to happen and why. All that mattered was that she at least be in contact with her daughter-whether it was to find her again later or not, didn't matter.