Kingdom Come Undone

Strike to Kill

A/N: Hi everyone! Happy Holidays! Please rest assured that new chapter will always be coming. In regard to the story, I already have it in-depth planned though through July and you all know time moves like molasses through this story. Thank you all for your patience. Writing is a hobby for me though even though I would love to dedicate myself to writing full-time, I know that isn't feasible. Here is 17,000+ word chapter just for you all.

As always, thank you for trusting me with these characters and these words. It means to the world.

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Devastated was an understatement. Excusing myself from the table as soon as I could, I rushed to the restroom due to feeling instantly ill. I threw the door to the largest stall open, not even bothering to lock it behind me as I knelt in front of the toilet. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't possible. We had done everything. We had taken every precaution. And it hadn't been enough. And now, I somehow had to try and contain myself as only Claire and I knew the potential truth. Truth that Emmanuel and everyone else involved in the study were bound to discover to moment we had access to the identified patient code. 2AC9.

Emptying the contents of my stomach and guilt into the porcelain in front of me, I heard Alison's footsteps clearly behind, "Baby? Are you –?"

"I'm okay!" I attempted to reassure her while turning back almost immediately to continue to vomit. Facing her seemed like too much to bear.

Her hands reached forward to pull my hair back. She knelt down next to me on one knee, her right hand around the hair cascading down my back, while her left grabbed some toilet paper. "Look here for me, sweetheart." I turned solemnly, closing my eyes to prevent the near replicate of Jacob's baby blues from staring back into my soul. She dabbed around my mouth delicately, kissing next to my eye before speaking again. "You're okay. I'm right here."

I nodded, attempting to shove everything down. My forearm gently rested on the lid, so that my head could lie against it as I waited for the potential next wave.

"Claire helped all of us understand where your reaction is coming from; this being your first project and all outside of your doctorate. If it helps, Emmanuel doesn't think this will be detrimental. It'll be shitty to address, but once you process it all, I think you'll see that it's not that bad."

Her fingers traced up and down my spine as tears silently fell down my cheeks. Hearing her rationalize a situation that was bound to destroy not only her life but my entire project because of the hidden inclusion of an eight-year-old. An eight-year-old adding direct bias from my life into multi-million-dollar resear –

The thought of losing it all caused me to continue expelling my guilt. "Emmy..." She groaned. I could alone assume from both sadness and disgust. "I'm so sorry you're going through this. I'm sure it feels like the biggest loss of control right now, but you'll get it back the moment you're able to return to work. And until then, I'll take over, okay? Push it away until you can control it again, sweetheart. Trust me, please." Her lips lingered as she kissed up and down my upper arm to try and pull my attention. "Let me check your face again?" Squeezing my eyes tightly, I looked up at her. "Thank you. Maybe I can see your beautiful brown eyes for a moment? Wipe away some of those tears?" I sheepishly looked up at her, causing her to broadly smile. "There you are. Hi, cutie. You okay? Or at least will you be?"

God, I loved her. It was undeniable to consider a world where she wasn't mine. She peered at me with such vulnerability even though I was the one literally spilling my guts. All she wanted was reassurance, confidence that I couldn't provide. Even though I was doing everything in my power to ensure it. To keep her protected until the end of time.