Fate Unchanged (Quinah & Norminah)

Chapter Forty-Seven

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KEHLANI

Kehlani returned with Kiana to a somewhat empty HQ. Most of the team was out on their posts, leaving only a few downstairs. Aside from the leaders of the mission, Victoria was the only one still there. The tatted woman knew so when she parked her truck right next to her fiancé's sports Jaguar. She smiled at the vehicle before getting out of her own, opening Kiana's door before picking her up and carrying her to HQ's entrance bridal style. The poor girl was spent – her body was very weak due to Kehlani having to suck out most of the bullet that was lodged in her side. Hopefully, a pop-in with Dr. Torres could get her vitals back up so she could properly rest. Kehlani strolled up to the security system and put her glowing, honey eyes up to the scanner to be let in.

"Kehlani Parrish...cleared."

The entrance door unlocked as the tatted woman let herself in, getting in the lift to travel down to the dungeon. Once the doors opened, she made her way to the medical lab. Callie was typing away on her computer, no doubt entering everyone's medical information into the system. The Latina looked up in time to see Kehlani enter the room. Her eyes widened immediately after, seeing that the woman brought a complete stranger into the facility.

"Don't freak out," Kehlani said. "She's a friend of mine. She knows about us, and she knows about Daemon...our mission hasn't been compromised."

Callie's body visibly relaxed as she sat back in her chair.

"What happened?" she asked, noticing the woman's pale skin.

"Daemon..." Kehlani huffed in annoyance, "...our drop turned out to be another killing spree, and she got caught in the line of fire."

Callie aided Kehlani in laying Kiana on the hospital bed before lifting her shirt and seeing the wound. She could see that the woman was shot at, but there was no exit wound, telling the Latina that the bullet was probably still in there.

"I sucked it out," Kehlani said, "which is why she's so weak. On top of losing a good amount of blood from the initial shot, me getting the bullet out added to it."

"Right," Callie nodded, "so then that must've been just a regular bullet. All I need to do is patch her up, put an IV in her, and she'll be good to go."

"Thanks," Kehlani said. "Make sure to call me when she wakes up. Mani and Làna got me covered with Daemon, so I'll be here for the rest of the day."

Callie nodded to her before catering to Kiana. With a longing look, Kehlani left the medical lab and made her way upstairs to Victoria. Entering the room, she was smitten to see the ebony in one of her shirts, her beautiful legs glimmering in the sunlight as she rested against the massive pillows. The tatted woman stripped herself of her jeans and shirt before joining her fiancé. She planted a lingering kiss on the ebony's neck, prompting her to release the cutest little moan before melting into Kehlani's embrace.

"...hi babe..." Victoria uttered softly.

"Hi mamas," Kehlani smiled.

"...you're back early...everything okay?"

"Yeah...for the most part...had to bring a friend over to Callie so she could be taken care of. Daemon brought us to where she worked and she got shot at."

Victoria turned around to face her fiancé, her honey eyes glowing bright. Kehlani did her best not to get lost in them, but it was proving difficult. She brought the ebony closer to her as Victoria caressed the small of her back.

"Is she okay?" Victoria asked. "Does she know about-"

"Yes to both," Kehlani answered. "She even knows about you..."

Victoria's eyebrow shot up in surprise.

"Does she, now?"

"Mhmm..." Kehlani smiled, "...and she can't wait to meet you. Aside from Mani, she kept me sane while I was still trying to find you. She was always there for me. And, in a lot of ways, she reminds me of you."

"I like her already," Victoria smirked.

Kehlani chuckled.

"You should come down to the medical lab with me when she wakes up. She'd be so happy to meet you. I think you two would really hit it off."

"I'd love to," Victoria smiled.

The couple spent the next few hours holding each other in bed. It wasn't until evening that Kehlani felt Callie's connection to her open, telling her that Kiana was awake. The couple made their way down to the medical lab, Kehlani getting Victoria behind her as they entered. Kiana looked up and beamed at the sight of the tatted woman, Victoria immediately noticing the change and observing with much intrigue.

"Hey, dove," Kehlani greeted. "How you feelin'?"

"So much better," Kiana smiled, "thanks to Dr. Torres."

The Latina smiled before checking the woman's IV, carefully taking the needle out of her forearm.

"Looks like your vitals are back where they should be," she said. "You just need to rest up for a little while before going back to work. Though, I'd personally find somewhere else to work."

Kiana chuckled before catching eyes with Victoria. She froze as she stared dreamily at the ebony, Victoria smiling back at her as she walked up next to Kehlani. The smile Kiana gave back was so precious to the ebony.

"Oh my god, Lani..." she said, "...is this-"

"The one and only," Kehlani smiled proudly. "This is my fiancé, Victoria. Babe, this is Kiana."

Victoria approached Kiana, sitting beside her before holding her hand. Her eyes began to glow as she stared deeply into the woman's hazel/green eyes. Kiana stared back, enchanted with the way Victoria's eyes seemed to literally sparkle. The ebony began to smile the more she looked into Kiana's eyes before letting go of her hand.

"...hi..." Kiana said dreamily.

"Nice to meet you, gorgeous," Victoria smiled.

Kehlani smiled before getting both women's attention.

"How about we get comfortable upstairs?" she suggested.

Both of them nodded before Victoria helped Kiana out of bed, Kehlani ushering them out of the medical lab. The tatted woman looked back at Callie with a smile of gratitude.

"Thanks for takin' care of her, doc."

Callie smiled before giving Kehlani a nod.

"Anytime."

The three women took their time getting to their room. Kiana suddenly let out a small yawn as her body relaxed against the sheets.

"I've never felt this exhausted before," she said.

"You lost a lot of blood earlier," Kehlani said, bringing some hair behind the woman's ear. "Your body is still a little weak."

"Nothing a little more rest can't fix," Victoria smiled.

"I don't want to be a burden, though..." Kiana said.

"You wouldn't be," Kehlani reassured. "Not even in the slightest. This bed is big enough for three."

The woman smiled before allowing her body to succumb to sleep. She melted into Kehlani's embrace, Victoria gently grazing her bullet wound. She was able to feel exactly where it was lodged in. She continued to rub the area soothingly, bringing a sense of relief to the sleeping woman. Kehlani looked up at her fiancé and smiled.

"What did you see?" she asked. "Back in the medical lab?"

Victoria looked at the tatted woman and knew that she had no idea of what transpired in the past...nor what was to come in their future. She didn't want to be premature in revealing everything, so she kept her discoveries to herself, deciding to talk to Kiana about it alone first.

"You'll know soon enough, babe," the ebony smiled back.

Kehlani didn't know what Victoria was up to, but she trusted her enough to know that whatever it was, had to have been a good thing.