I Will Protect You

Part Five

Drake threw his coat over himself and 40 just shook his head at his friend. Noah couldn't bare to see his friend get lost in all of that bullshit again.

"Man don't look at me like that, just-" Drake sighed. "Please look after Onika, for the night. I should be back before she wakes up."

"Again, if she does wake up what do I tell her, huh?" Noah asked again and Drake fixed his scarf and coat right.

"Just tell her that I went to run a couple errands, and if she's hungry take her to McDonald's and buy her a sandwich or something, I'll pay you back later." Drake explained and walked into the bedroom. He crouched down next to the bed and ran his fingers through Nicki's hair before kissing her cold skin. She was shivering under his touch and it made Drake frown harshly. "I love you," he muttered and stood up straight.

When he got back out to the living room, he found 40 hunched over his old macbook with his external hard drive hooked up to it. He had his headphones around his neck as his stared at the sound waves on the screen. Drake walked past him and turned when he got to the door.

"What if she finds out, do you really think this is something she'd want you doing, or something she'd want around her child?" 40 asked playing at Drake's guilt.

"She won't and if she doesn't I'll stop for her, but she never will find out, right?" Drake asked and 40 just sighed but Drake still took it as an agreement to stay silent. "Thanks man," he said and 40 simply nodded. Drake sighed and shut the door before walking down the hall, down the steps and out the door. He pulled the collar of his hood up around himself to keep himself warm as he walked the familiar route, a sense of deja vu overtaking him.

It only took him ten minutes to reach his destination and Gareth spotted him right away, greeting him.

"Hey, so you're back?" he asked with a smirk and Drake sighed.

"I guess, I gotta turn the heat back on." Drake explained and Gareth nodded walking into his spot, Drake following close behind. The familiarity of it all made him cringe a bit as the death of his ex filled his head with guilt but he kept focuses on making enough to keep Onika warm and fed for the next couple months.

"Alright, you think you can push this shit like you used too?" Gareth asked with an amused smile. He was elated to have Drake back in the moment, he was Gareth's best partner and could move weight better than he could. In truth Gareth was a bit jealous but Drake never wanted to move deeper than where he was leaving Gareth to be top dog.

"Yeah, got a nine for me?" Drake asked and Gareth handed Drake one of his old guns. When he left he only kept two for protection giving the rest to Gareth to keep for him.

"She's been cleaned and loaded." he explained as Drake took the gun back into his hands. "You still a good shot though?"

"I'll manage," Drake said and stuffed the gun in his belt. "It hasn't been that damn long man."

~

When Nicki woke she felt hot, so hot that her skin felt like it was burning. Her breath got caught in her throat and she began to panic, feeling as if she was suffocating in her sleep. She instantly thought of her unborn child and as best she could, she wrapped a hand around her stomach as her eyes shot open. Nicki was expecting there to be some type of emergency in the bedroom but the room was just as it was when she went to sleep the night before.

She felt sweat trickle down her neck and she pushed all the covers off her tiny body before shedding both sweaters Drake had wrapped her up in. She looked towards the window and saw that the towel that usually covered the seal was gone as the room was filled with the hum of the heater blowing hot air. 'What's happening?' Nicki thought to herself and got into the bathroom to relieve herself, before washing her hands and following the smell of cooking food to the kitchen. She peeked her head around the corner and saw Drake standing at the stove. He lifted a pan and slid what looked to be eggs, hash browns, and bacon onto a plate before grabbing the whistling kettle and pouring the boiling water into a pink mug.