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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 17, 2017 3:58:37 GMT -5
He couldn't speak for the men who supposedly loved her. Was this version of Christian one of them? F*ck if he knew. But he could attest to the caliber of her love for her children.
"You'd be the kind of mother who doesn't let anyone get in the way of her daughter's safety or happiness. The mother who would fight for two f*cking years without a break just to make a safe place for her daughter to come home to. I can't speak for your father's affections, Diana, but his feelings for you have clearly had no negative effects on your feelings for your children. If anything, being hurt by the men you love has made you more capable of loving Alyx and Liam. You know where we've f*cked up and can avoid those potholes. F*ck, Diana, don't hold Marcus' sh*tty parenting against your own. You're an amazing mother already."
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 17, 2017 4:03:53 GMT -5
"No, no, no!" she said pushing at him and getting to her feet as she whirled angrily "Don't you get it?!" she couldn't understand how she hadn't seen it before, or why Christian couldn't see it now. "Everything! Everything I've done to get Alyx back, it's only put her in danger! Put others in danger! I got Simm's daughters killed!" she pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes and slumped against the wall. "I'll get you all killed. It was all for nothing. I can't do this anymore Christian...I can't."
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 17, 2017 4:12:10 GMT -5
"Taking out, what, eleven different high powered threats to her safety was putting her in danger? Don't be bloody stupid, Diana! There was a f*cking problem and you solved it. There's only one board member left and then we can bring her home."
Christian wasn't sure where his phrasing was coming from. He hadn't spoken like this of Alyx before. Whose home did he think they would be bringing her home to? Was he planning to stay in the picture in more than just a financial manner? What the hell was happening?!
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 17, 2017 4:16:03 GMT -5
"The bounty on my head Christian. It's too high, you said it yourself. They'll use her just like they used Simm's girls. I can't do that Christian...I don't know what to do." she was defeated, the wariness had set in.
"I don't want to do this anymore. I'm tired." She looked up at him, "I just want to go home."
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 17, 2017 4:24:15 GMT -5
"There'll be no one to pay the bounty after Burke and I take out the last f*cker. F*ck, after seeing you fight I'd suggest you do the hit with us except your pregnant. And you can't hide from this one either. You're not that type of woman, Diana. Believe me, I've spent two weeks with you. You're too f*cking stubborn to give up on what you want and you want those kids!"
"Where's home, Diana? Where do you think you're going to go that you'll be free of this sh*tstorm? Do you think that f*cking bounty won't follow you if we don't eliminate its bloody poster? I guess if you go home you can just give up Liam and forget you ever had a son, is that it? Is that what you're wanting, because I don't believe it is." She was being irrational and Christian, to his credit, was being as sensitive as he was capable.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 17, 2017 4:35:18 GMT -5
"I'm tired Christian." she cried, "I'm so tired."
What he was saying was true, but she just had the low lights reel play before her experiencing every tortured emotion over again, and that was just a toe in the water in comparison to the other years. It was too much for any one person to bear.
"I can't do it again Christian!"
In away Christian's betrayal and subsequent assish behavior had merged with his abandonment years ago. She found herself in a similar situation: pregnant, helpless, and an uncertain future. She had repeated the same mistakes, and she simply couldn't live through what she had already gone through over again. She didn't have that kind of strength.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 17, 2017 4:46:05 GMT -5
He stood up, angry, and towered over her. "Dammit, Diana, you're not going to do it all again and you're definitely not going to bloody do it alone! I know I was a bastard and I can't take it back but I'm f*cking here now. I'm ready to fight with you, to fight for you. That's my god-damned kid out there and my other kid in there," he gestured widely to the general 'out there' and then to her stomach.
"And you're my f*cking wife and I don't know what that means exactly but I'm pretty sure at some point it meant that I f*cking loved you enough to give up my whole damned life to be with you and something is telling me to do it all again. But I'm not going to bloody try if you're sitting there like a f*cking bump on a log. Now get the f*ck up and let's finish this!" He extended his hand to help her from the floor.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 17, 2017 21:49:57 GMT -5
Diana curled her knees up against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She stared at him wide eyed as he yelled at her. Only Christian could yell at her and throw in a declaration as well. She blinked at his hand and his high handed manner, but slowly a smile curved on her lips and tentatively she placed her hand in his.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 17, 2017 22:49:25 GMT -5
His hand closed around hers then he pulled her to her feet. They were only inches apart from each other. Christian felt the urge to kiss her but instead he wiped the tears from her cheek.
"Now, show me that clever woman who planned out our attack on the board member's next meeting and get us the f*ck out of here." Christian couldn't bring himself to remain in this twisted memory where his dead children had replaced someone else's dead children.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 18, 2017 1:43:56 GMT -5
'I love you.' she thought staring in his green eyes. Eyes that haunted her dreams, and fulfilled all her fantasies. She thought she had lost him, and perhaps she had for a little while, but the man who held her up now, he was the same. He didn't have his memories, but she knew him.
"Promise me..." she whispered trying to discern the truth in his eyes. She wrapped her arms around his torso, and put her cheek against his chest listening to its familiar thud. "Promise you'll be with me."
It was an un-Diana-like statement set in the deepest of her subconscious after the haunting experiences she had just endured. She needed to know that she wasn't alone anymore.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 18, 2017 1:55:11 GMT -5
He wanted to make that promise and he sure as hell wanted to keep it. But the words wouldn't pass his lips. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight, whispering into her ear. "You're not in this alone, Diana."
It was as close as he could come and in that moment he meant it. He didn't love her, not anything like the man he had once been. But he cared for her and his gut twisted when he saw her so distraught. Christian wasn't sure he could be what Diana wanted or needed him to be but a nagging voice inside his head was screaming at him to try.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 18, 2017 2:13:23 GMT -5
Diana released a breath and felt the tension drain from her. She held on to him, or rather let him hold on to her, and closed her eyes. She tried clearing her mind. It was subtle at first, but the hope that Christian gave her, that he would be with her and they could fight these demons together, began to affect their surroundings.
Their children's mangled bodies was the first horrific image to disappear, then the rest of the room as well. And finally it was just Christian and Diana. Then it was something else. Something unexpected.
Diana was laying in bed. Christian was standing beside her looking at her in a way he never had before. He had looked at her with lust, even with love, but the look of awe on his face was completely unprecedented. It was the warmest feeling she had ever felt looking in his eyes, until a moment later as Dr. Hanley placed her son in her arms, and then a moment after that as the door opened and...
"Alyx..."
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 18, 2017 2:24:32 GMT -5
This moment that they were standing in was the one thing Diana needed. If she could have a happy ending after all of the horrors that she had faced in her life, it would make it all worth it. It was overwhelming for Christian but simultaneously peaceful in a way.
Was this what he wanted too?
Christian kept his arms round her, but turned Diana so that her back pressed against his chest. They looked on the scene together. He could feel Diana's demeanor change as he held her. He felt the anxiety and stress melt away; her muscles loosened, her posture relaxed.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 18, 2017 2:33:03 GMT -5
This was her victory. This was her reward for making it through what she had made it through. And it was a glorious victory, it was more than anything she could have dreamed to have her children and the man she loved beside her. It was all she ever wanted. The happiness was almost too bright.
"I'm ready." she said after a moment. She was ready to fight for that future. She was ready to fight for her family.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 18, 2017 3:42:53 GMT -5
A warm sensation spread from his chest as he looked at the happiness that was evident on the dream Christian's face. It had been a very long time since he had felt anything close to what his dream self was feeling, and although this was simply Diana's subconscious, her hopes and dreams, Christian believed he could really feel that way one day.
Diana was ready. So was he. Christian spun her around and kissed her.
He felt different somehow, but he couldn't place it. There was no way to describe the sense of hope he was feeling. He gave a smug smile. "I think that's all we needed to do here."
He silently prayed that he was right; that this strange, pulsating sense of hope meant that they had anchored Diana's subconscious to her body. He didn't fancy coming back to this nightmare again, no matter how wonderful it felt at that moment.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 18, 2017 13:09:46 GMT -5
The last thing Diana remembered was the very tangible feeling of Christian's lips on hers, and a warm hope spreading through her chest. They had reached the end of the journey and had come out the other side. She woke with a smile on her face. It didn't last long. Diana too fell back on the sofa, but her eyes closed a second later, she had a faint smile on her face. "Alright Crawford, give him hell." Derek smirked. He levitated the couple upstairs and placed them on the bed then began the spell to link them. Once they were linked in Diana's subconscious Derek merely waited, he wasn't sure how long it would take for them to get through Diana's issues, but with a woman like Diana, he knew it wouldn't be a quick trip. Unfortunately. Derek felt the hairs on his neck stand up. A warning that something was happening around him. It was quiet. Too Quiet. But then he heard it, the single creak of a footstep on the stairway. Without alerting the intruders Derek cast a charm over the couple to protect them, and essentially hide them from the attackers, but he knew it wouldn't hold long. He cast several others for defense around the couple, then made his way down the stairs with the decoys he had conjured in order to get a better look at what he was up against. He cursed mentally. Fortunately Derek wasn't quite as useless as Christian believed him to be. Unfortunately it was an entire hit squad attacking, and even he wasn't good enough to take down twenty or so trained assassins by himself. He couldn't get the couple out, and defensive charms would only last so long. He had a choice. He could run, save his own hide and wash his hands of the couple. Or he could stay and fight. And probably die along with his friends. If there was one quality Derek had that had value - even in Christian's eyes - it was that he was loyal. He wouldn't run without fighting. He wouldn't leave a man behind. And hell, maybe he was good enough to buy them enough time to wake up. **** He fought long. He fought hard. Hell, he fought dirty. He used every trick in his arsenal, but the battle had come to Christian and Diana as the other defenses had fallen. There were more men sent in, it was a numbers game. Derek had managed to limit the battle to the hallway, thus he only had to deal with attacks from one angle and generally one on one or three on one as the case had been. But he was damaged, and he was tired. He sent a curse out, but left himself open to attack. It only took one well place hex and he was down. The assassin stood over him, a mechanical coldness in his eyes as the wand hovered over Derek's form. Derek, ever the charismatic bastard, gave a bloody grin at the man before spitting in his direction. "Ava..." this was it, the end. He closed his eyes. **** Diana's eyes adjusted to the light in the room, but a sixth sense adjusted much quicker. The same sense that kept her alive for the past two years. The one she had honed through being the target of multiple assassins and having her life literally depend on her ability to immediately defend herself. She shot out of bed, the warm glow diminishing somewhat and the lethal prowess taking it's place. When she saw Derek however, she didn't hesitate. Christian had taken her wand, and access to all her weapons, which meant she would need to acquire more. She was a little burdened by her pregnancy, but the bump was charmed away. Derek's attacker was facing Derek and had his back to Diana, it was a simple move to snap his neck, and she did so without hesitation. She kept him upright as a shield before taking his wand. Using a couple of clever curses she was able to restore a barrier in front of Derek. But she didn't stop, the hope that had seeped into her chest gave her new energy that she hadn't felt in weeks. She conjured a set of twin deadly blades and moved through the hallway. Close encounters gave her the advantage over the others who needed distance to cast a spell. Once again she was a machine, although that was too cold and clinical a word. It was rather like she was a dancer, she moved with grace with perfect strikes to crucial areas of the body, and the bodies began to pile up. In short. She was flawless. |
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 18, 2017 13:28:33 GMT -5
He was pulled out of the dream-like atmosphere and met instantly with the sound of a battle inside his home. Christian didn't have time to think on the events he had just been a part of in Diana's mind. He couldn't hold on to that fleeting sense that he now knew Diana better and potentially even loved her. It drifted away as with any dream, expedited by his jumping from the bed and drawing his wand.
He moved just in time to witness Diana using man's dead body as a shield as she passed over Derek. Christian pulled Derek to his feet and without a word he moved forward after Diana.
She was magnificent. He had a strange sense of deja vu as he watched Diana fight off two attackers at once, though he couldn't place why her lethal skills were familiar to him. He had already forgotten his time in Diana's subconscious. If there weren't so many of them coming up the stairs, Christian would have had time to be aroused as Diana moved with grace and deadly aim. She covered the hallway, Christian took the stairs.
A bolt of green light knocked one man back, causing him to fall lifeless onto the man behind him. Both stumbled down the stairs and gave Christian the opportunity to move. He made it to the landing where the staircase turned, halfway between the first and second floor. Another green light meant the man who had been knocked down by the dead body had joined his companion in the after life.
Christian didn't hesitate as he spun and looked out at the scene below. From his vantage point Christian could see the foyer, the front door which had been knocked silently off its hinges, and part of each of the dining room, kitchen, and sitting room. Too many possibilities of being attacked from behind. He was safest on the landing with his back to the wall.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 18, 2017 13:39:27 GMT -5
Diana fought her way down to where Christian was at. He wouldn't remember it, but she recalled just how Christian fought, and she was comfortable fighting by his side.
"Upstairs is clear. Derek set a defensive perimeter around the second story." meaning attackers couldn't come in any way but the stairs. They needed to clear out the rest of the house, Diana looked at Christian and gave him a subtle nod. She'd follow his lead, but he would have to trust her at his back.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 18, 2017 13:51:20 GMT -5
Christian instinctively aimed his wand at the approaching figure but dropped it when he realized it was Diana. There were a few beads of sweat at her hairline and her skin was flushed from the energy of hand to hand combat. Diana's baby bump was charmed away, but it didn't hid the other aspects of her pregnant body. She came down the stairs, Diana's swollen breasts jostled at each step. Christian felt a swelling of attraction that was short-lived as he fired a killing curse at a man attempting to come in through the front door.
Christian nodded at Diana's information. The bottom floor would be more difficult to clear as they were currently at the center. They'd need to pick a direction then backtrack to get the other side. The easiest route would be to start with the sitting room, then the dining room, and leave the kitchen for last. They could ward the front entry on their way.
"Be careful," he cautioned, though there was a slight smirk on his lips after seeing the damage Diana caused upstairs. She was still pregnant, not to mention linked to Christian. They both needed to be especially on guard, if one of them went down it meant all three would perish.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 18, 2017 14:12:02 GMT -5
She nodded. She trusted him at her back, and without giving it much thought she trusted him in general, though it had proven perilous for her in the past. She moved with him as one unit, watching his back. Her new knives were pinned at her sides and she was using one of the fallen assassin's wands from upstairs. They had to step around the bodies of the men Derek had already killed to secure the rest of the house, and Diana bit back the sarcastic comment about whether or not Derek was handy in Christian's opinion anymore. It would come up later.
The sitting room and the dining room were clear. Diana took preventive measures to make sure they wouldn't be attacked again from an area they had just left. The spell wouldn't last forever, but it would clear the house for a while. She didn't want to think about the fact that the assassins had found her.
She didn't know what made her turn at the last moment, but it was just enough time to see the attacker.
He went after Christian, using the element of surprise to take down what he assumed to be the more difficult target. There was no time to defend, the assassin was using a muggle gun and it's aim was set perfectly on Christian's heart until Diana put herself in the bullet's path.
The burning piece of metal tore through Diana's back into her chest. The force of the hit pushed her into Christian as she fell in his arms.
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