Atelophobia (Revised and Updated.)

Prologue

Beep....Beep.....Beep.....

This is the sound that greeted him as he entered the room. The sting of the sterileness of the room assaults his nose. He listens to the sound of the ventilator. How the hell did this happen to him? 12 weeks ago, he was on top of the world... then it all came crashing down. Fate is a bitch.

His once-tanned olive skin is now ashen. He looks wary, even in this state. The doctors had taken him out of the induced coma, but he refused to wake. He has nothing left to live for... not without her.

"Your Highness," the doctor bows.

"What happened to him? Why is he not waking up?" he asks.

"That is hard to say, his body has been through a lot of trauma, but it seems to me that his spirit and will, are what is broken. All of the advanced medicine in the world cannot heal a broken spirit. Not without help."

"Thank you, Dr..."

"Dr. Niva Kakaris." she smiles. She checks his vitals, then turns to leave. "You can talk to him, he may hear you, help him want to stay here."

"Thank you."

Leo turns back to Liam... What the hell is going on, Li?

***

"Alright, Ms. Masters...Your labs have come back. Congratulations, you are going to have a baby."

"What!!??? Are you sure you have my file? I can't be..."

"I take it this wasn't planned. Well, I know that this is a shock, but let's see how far along you are. Just lie back and we will take a look."

Zira nods her head still not believing what she was just told. She couldn't be pregnant. Could she? They were careful...what am I going to do? How will I protect them? What happens if they find out? Zira's pulled back to the present by the warming sensation on her skin.

"Most people say this stuff is usually cold," she says.

The doctor laughs, "I like to not shock people more than they usually are."

Zira nods, she is still in shock that they have created a new life. How is she going to tell him?

"Ok, Mom, let's see what we can find." Just then the picture emerges on the screen. Zira cannot believe what she sees. "Well, that would explain the higher levels. You are having twins." Zira's eyes start at the screen, she cannot believe it. They had created not one but two babies. "Well with what the measurements and looks of their development, I would say you are about 12-14 weeks along. Would you like to hear their heartbeats?"

Zira can only nod, her eyes never leaving the screen. As the whooshing of their heartbeats fills the room, she can no longer hold back the tears. They were going to be parents.

What the fuck were you thinking, Zira?

***

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" he paces back and forth in the apartment they share. He had walked into her bedroom to get the trash, and there it was...words still visible. Pregnant... How could you get so drunk, Walker? It's bad enough you cannot provide for your firstborn, but now... did I sleep with your best friend's girl? No, I didn't,  I couldn't have. Could I? Is this what she was hiding? She is pregnant. Shit...How am I going to tell him? Will he even listen? Hell will he even believe me? FUCK! This makes things more difficult. The plan needs to change.

You have to protect them, Walker?

***

The clicking of her heels announced that she was on a mission and could not be bothered. She had to get to him. She had to see him. She arrived at his door and from the window, she could see that he wasn't alone. He was there with him. His shoulders shook as he silently sobbed into his hands. She had never seen him cry. They both looked so broken. How could she do this to him? How could he do this to us?

She slipped into the room and placed her hand on his shoulder. "How is he, Leo?"

"Liv, what the hell happened?"

"Well, it started with your father. He pushed Madeleine down Liam's throat. Then he releases the scandal, and Zira is humiliated. Once they realized it was him that was behind it, the damage had been done. He lost her, Leo. She didn't come back," she pauses, though she has no proof of what it means... "Neither did Drake."

"What do you mean Liv? " Leo could see the pain and question in Liv's eyes. "He wouldn't do that to Liam, or you two." Leo looks back to his brother. No way he could do that to him, to them, could he?

"Liv, I will leave you to visit with him, but we need to talk, but not in front of him. Can you meet me in his office back at the palace?"

"Sure, I have to pick the little up, but we will be there in about an hour."

"Call me if anything happens." with that, Leo leaves Liv to sit with her oldest friend.

What the fuck were you guys thinking?

***

Leo's suite in the Palace...

It is late in the evening when she walks into the living room. She had been staying in his abandoned suite since the night of Liam's Coronation. She stops as she sees a figure on the couch. He looks over his shoulder at her and sees the sorrow in her eyes. He stands and walks over to her. Their lips collide. He holds her tighter. She melts into his arms. Their tongues intertwine around each other. How could he let her go? How could he almost let her marry him? He needed her like he needed air to breathe. She was his life preserver in the stormy sea, that was his life. She kept him afloat. This feeling right here was what he wanted for Liam.

He picks her up, her legs wrap around his waist and he carries her to the bedroom, never once breaking their kiss. He needed to show her just what she meant to him. He was going to do it all night long. He was never going to take her for granted again. He will never let her go. She was his home.

We need to figure this out.