Astral Lovers

CHAPTER 22

Small note before you start reading!

I am not a doctor so the events I narrate in this chapter are the result of ideas taken from reality and completely imaginary situations.
You are kind to me, please 🥺

Enjoy the last chapter ❤️

Doctor Strange POV

"What have you done?" I hiss at the girl at the top of the stairs.
Layla watches me calmly.
She doesn't seem repentant or scared.
She stays there and stares at me.
I ran a hand through my hair nervously.
I turn to Wong who at the moment gives me my own bewildered gaze.
I need to find out where she is.
I have to run to her and help her.
If anything were to happen to her...I don't know if I would survive.
I close my eyes and her words ring out loud in my head for a moment.
Strong as an explosion.
"I wan't let them hurt the father of my baby!"
My little girl is pregnant.
How could I haven't noticed it?
I've been by her side for the past nine weeks and haven't noticed anything.
Why did she keep it from me?
I turn my gaze back to Layla.
"You knew"
Mine is not a question.
She nods.
"How long?"
Layla sighs.
"She told me when we got back to America"
"Does Captain Rogers know about it?"
"Lily told him two weeks ago"
I nod turning my back on her.
I need to think, to think of a way to find her and to get her to safety from McTavish.
That man has already taken Sophia away from me, I will not allow him to take away my little girl too...and my nephew.
This thought hits me as hard as a bowling ball thrown in my chest.
A nephew.
My little Lily will be a mom and I will be a grandfather.
I feel a new warmth expanding in my chest.
Since Lily entered my life she has completely upset it.
I had gotten used to living alone, surrounded only by books and magic.
But thanks to her, her exuberance, her innate love for life I found myself wondering how I could have given up living a real life all these years.
She brought the real magic into my life.
"Doctor Strange?" Layla calls me, she is still motionless at the top of the stairs.
I turn back in her direction.
She goes down a few steps and then stops again.
"If you wants to send me away you can do it but first I just want to ask you a favor"
I raise an eyebrow at her weird request but remain silent allowing her to speak.
"Don't be mad at Lil, please.It wasn't easy for her.She was scared"
"Scared of what?" I ask impetuously.
"You" she replies simply to me with a half smile.
My eyes go wide.
"Me?Why?"
Why is my daughter afraid of me?
"Because you are a man of integrity, severe.And she was absolutely terrified of disappointing you.It wasn't a deliberate pregnancy but it happened and she found herself torn between the fear of telling Steve, she was afraid he didn't want this baby, and the fear of letting you down.And then there was the training.She kept the truth from everyone and she trained hard for weeks.When she finally made up her mind to tell Steve instead of feeling relieved she felt worse.Worse because she kept lying to you.Her father, her highest point of reference.And while you praised her for her intelligence and her maturity she died inside because she kept lying to you and she believed she did not deserve your esteem.She couldn't find the courage to tell you the truth.You are all she has left of her family and she would do anything to make you proud of her" concludes Layla.
For the first time in my life I am speechless.
Didn't Lily really feel free to tell me the truth about something as important and delicate as a pregnancy?
"We were on our way to your office before Wong showed up" adds Layla.
I put my gaze back on her.
"I convinced her to do it.We were coming to you to tell you the truth...but then things turned out differently"
"We will think about it later.Now I just have to find her before that psycho can hurt her" I reply.
Now I can't think of anything else.
We'll talk about everything else later, when I'm sure she's okay.
Now the only thing I want is to stop Philip.
"I'm going to my room.I'm going to pack my bags" Layla whispers sadly.
I watch her as she turns her back to me and with her head down she goes up the great staircase of the Sanctuary.
"Why should you do this?" I ask her.
Layla turns to me with a confused look.
"Because I have openly disobeyed you.As my Master you can interrupt my training and send me home" Layla murmurs with her head down.
Now all her confidence and her cheekiness seem to be gone.
I smile.
She is a loyal friend.
She had risks everything to help Lily.
I said it from the first moment, between her and my daughter I will go out of my mind much sooner than I think.
I sigh wearily.
"Stop talking nonsense.You are an excellent student and I am sure you will be a perfect Guardian of the Time Stone.Now come here and help me find a way to find that bunch of idiots before it's too late" I sigh wearily.
I am sure that at the root of my nervous breakdown there is also the reckless behavior of those two stupid and unconscious centenarians.
Oh but they'll hear me, they'll hear me all right as soon as this is all over.
Before I can speak to Wong, the phone rings.
I rush to pick up the receiver.
"Elisabeth?" I ask with my heart in my mouth and the hope that my reckless daughter is on the other end of the phone.
"I'm Barnes.You have to reach us as fast as you can!Lily is injured...it's serious!Please hurry"
The voice of the former Winter Soldier is haunted.
Something went wrong.
My hand is shaking but I can't afford to panic, the life of my only daughter is at stake.
My daughter and Sophia's.
I promised her that I would protect her for life and that's what I will do, I already failed once ten years ago and it won't happen again.
"Stay calm Sergeant.Tell me where you are or I won't be able to help you"
I try to talk to him slowly.
I think he is in panic.
"Yeah...sure...we're in an old abandoned warehouse in the Bronx.Right next to the fire station.I think it's on Prospect Avenue...yeah!Prospect Avenue!Please hurry" Bucky repeats.
"Ok.I come!"
"What's going on?" Layla asks behind me, she has her arms crossed over her chest and her gaze is full of concern.
I don't answer her.
I can't waste time.
Every second is precious.
I dial another phone number.
She answers me on the first ring.
"Hey Stephen!How long!"
"Please Christine tell me you're in the hospital!It's a matter of utmost urgency"
I'm sorry to be so abrupt but I have no idea what condition Lily is in and I don't know how much time she has left.
From Barnes's voice I would say not much but I try not to think about it.
"Yes, I'm on my lunch break.What happens?" she asks nervously.
She has certainly understood that there is something big at stake.
"I need a clear OR and bags of blood, B negative.Only bring people you trust and I can trust"
"Stephen you're scaring me.Please tell me what happens"
"There is no time.I'll be with you in a few minutes.Get ready"
I don't even give her time to answer me as I close the phone.
I'll apologize to her later.
"Come on Layla!Wong you stay guard at the Sanctuary"
Wong nods as he disappears from my sight.
Layla watches me, in her eyes a mixture of fear and determination.
I open a portal focusing on the exact place where my daughter is.
I close my eyes and now with safe and automatic gestures I make a portal open in front of us.
We are catapulted into a semi-deserted street.
There are no people.
On the street in front of us only one car passes.
In front of me, on my left is the fire station.
Following the structure with my eyes, I meet the old abandoned warehouse.
"Follow me" I exclaim.
Layla and I are striding, almost running, towards the door of the building.
I push the door of the main entrance that creaks open, I enter and the floorboards creak under my feet.
"Is anybody there?" I scream at the top of my lungs.
"This way.Soon!" a male voice answers me, it seems to come from the door on our right.
I approach the door and after opening it I go down the stairs that I find in front of myself.
I go down with my heart in my mouth, terrified of what I will find at their end.
Layla's footsteps follow me.
The place is very dark.
At the end of the last flight of stairs there is a small corridor lined with many dirty and smelly cells.
A murmur begins to come to my ear.
Below it is a little more illuminated, there are flickering neon lights that allow me to see a little better.
Halfway down the corridor, I remain petrified for a moment.
Layla behind me gasps violently.
The scene in front of our eyes is gruesome, like in a horror movie.
My sweet and beautiful Lily is lying on the cold hard stone floor, immersed in a pool of blood.
Her ashen face and gray lips, her black hair make her features even more pale and frightening.
"Dad..." she whispers and then slips into unconsciousness.
Rogers is on his knees next to her, giving her heart massage.
His hands are covered in thick, dark blood.
"No, no, no!" he keeps repeating like a litany in a desperate tone.
Sergeant Barnes begins to count the pressure the Captain exerts on Lily's heart and then blows air into her lungs through her mouth.
They are practicing CPR and thank God at least they are doing it right.
But it will really be useless if we don't get her out of here right away.
Natasha Romanoff is the first to notice my arrival.
Her eyes are filled with tears.
She seems in utter despair.
"Move, both of you!Immediately!" I speak out loud.
A hint of anger to dirty my voice.
Bucky quickly walks away while Steve doesn't seem to have heard me, or he's just ignoring me.
He continues to press on Lily's heart in a regular pace.
"Get out of here Rogers.You've already done enough"
I push him away unceremoniously.
He sits down and stares at me as if he doesn't know who the hell I am.
He is visibly in shock.
I grab my little girl's wrist trying not to pay attention to all the blood that covers her.
The heart beat is there.
It is barely perceptible but it is there.
This is a good sign.
I grab her in my arms.
"Layla I need you to open a portal for me.You have to take us to New York-Presbyterian Hospital"
Layla nods and even though she is shocked, her pale face is a clear sign, she nods vigorously.
She closes her eyes concentrating and in no time a portal opens right in front of us.
Orange sparks light up this awful place.
And only now I notice the other two corpses a little further on.
McTavish and another man lie lifeless on the ground.
They got the end they deserved.
I turn my gaze to Captain Rogers who is still sitting on the floor.
"Steve give yourself an attitude and get up!If you want to come with us this is the time.Otherwise go away.I don't need a dead weight with me"
As soon as he hears his name he immediately looks up at my figure.
He stands up shaky.
I walk through the portal.
Behind me everyone follow me and lastly Layla.