She stared at both of them with happiness, sadness and relief. Before she had time to react she felt not one but two pair of arms embrace her tightly and felt herself be lifted off the floor slightly. She put two and two together and realized that Nikolai and Yuri were hugging the life out of her and might have forgotten she was currently pregnant. She wiggled in their grasp trying to signal them to put her down but got the opposite response and was squeezed tighter to the point that she actually thought they would squeeze the baby out of her.
"Pregn...ant here!" She choked out and felt herself be lowered back onto the lovely floor. Both of them started to apologize.
"I'm sorry Lydia but I am so happy to see you! We didn't know if we were ever going to see you again! We were informed of your escape but everything went dark after that!" answered Yuri as he placed both hands on her shoulders and Lydia could see that both were on the verge of crying. She could only fathom what they been through. She playfully punched both of them in the chest as she blinked furiously so she wouldn't cry. Both men acted hurt by her punch causing her to laugh.
"Don't go soft on me now," she said with a giggle before reaching out to caress their cheeks. She felt that this moment was a feverish dream but it wasn't. It was them. They were alive and not dead like she believed.
"Soft? My dear you do pack a punch for your size," laughed Nikolai as he put his own hand over hers, Yuri doing the same. She laughed before tears started falling down her face and she pulled the two into another embrace, this time with them being mindful of her round stomach.
"I thought I lost you two. I really did," she said as her emotions took over, "Promise me that he'll never take you two away from me again okay?"
"We promise Lydia," both men said in unison before they all laughed. Lydia wiped away her tears as Yuri placed his hands on either side of her stomach and moved them in a circular motion. He was extremely relieved that she and the baby were fine.
"Do you know what you're having yet?" Asked Yuri.
"A baby girl," She answered happily but with a sad undertone, "Hopefully she doesn't come out like her father."
"Let's hope not," agreed Nikolai as he too placed one of his hands on her stomach, "We heard news of the massacre. He's getting more reckless and ruthless to find you. I fear nothing will stop him until he has you." She gulped in fear. They all knew what kind of ruthless monster he was. Both men have seen firsthand what he's capable off even seeing the horrible arguments that Lydia and Makarov have gotten in that resulted them and a few others to get involved and stop it. One argument in particular resulted him putting his hands on Lydia and leaving a horrible scar on her back.
"I-I don't know how he keeps finding me you guys. I swear he's around every corner I go! I'm careful to cover my tracks, I'm careful on who I speak too! I was lucky this time around but it came with a price...if Tamara and her crew didn't see them in time I wouldn't be here in front of you two. Everyone in that safe house died because of me," She said as she put her head down in disappointment with herself, "I couldn't help them." Yuri grasped her chin and lifted her head so they were looking into each other's eyes.
"If you did help them Lydia you most likely be dead by now. She did the best for you, now you have to do her the favor and live. Nikolai and me promise to keep you safe from him, even if it kills us."
"I don't want more people to die Yuri. I've lost so many friends even my own brother to him. How much more blood needs to be spilled because of me?"
"My little sister," butted in Nikolai as he gazed at her with a sad look in his eyes, "You know Makarov will stop at nothing to get you back or to see you dead. Yuri and me might be the only ones that can keep him off your trail for a bit that's if we get the assistance of Task force 141. I'm going to take the assumption that you haven't been questioned yet?" Lydia nodded her head a no. "When they do question you, we'll be there in that room with you. Honesty is key here and they are good men. They won't turn on you or hurt you."
"How would you know? I'm literally impregnated with a global security threats baby! A man who's probably killed some of their teammates, friends and family!" Nikolai sighed knowing she was scared out of her mind but he knew how to reassure her.
"Why do you think we're here Lydia? These people know that at one point I was acquainted with Makarov while I was undercover and this was way before you came into the picture. Not as close as Yuri was with him but I know him. We both betrayed him and whoever else was behind his little parade of death and destruction. Why do you think I disappeared? I was found out and these men, this task force came to my rescue," said Nikolai as he looked between both of his friends, "You will be well protected. Yuri and me swear by that."
"Okay, I'll take your word for it Nikolai," said Lydia as she absorbed up all the information she was told and it was only the beginning of it. They stood there chatting a bit more on less serious topics and enjoying their little reunion, with the guys going back to rubbing her belly. Suddenly, they felt these little thumps against their hands and they looked at each other surprised.
"She kicked!" Stated Yuri excitedly.
"I guess she's introducing herself to her god father's," giggled Lydia making them laugh.
"Lydia?" They all heard a male voice callout followed with a stampede of footsteps when a small group of soldier's led by none other than Archer himself rounded the corner. "There you are! Oh, I see you met Yuri and Nikolai."
"Hey Archer," she answered sweetly back, "And these two? I actually already know them believe it or not." Archer raised an eyebrow but decided against asking how she personally knew them at the moment since there was many people around.
"I've came to get you. The doctor is ready to see you," said Archer respectfully. Lydia nodded and looked at her friends.
"Hopefully this won't take long but I'll see you guys later if it does." They both nodded in acknowledgement and knowing that she was in safe hands proceeded to head off to do whatever task they were originally doing before running into her. She then followed Archer to the doctor, walking beside him while the extra soldiers he brought followed behind.
"Any reason you brought these men with you?" She asked innocently.
"They were assigned to watch you. General's orders."
"Oh...Am I in trouble?"
"What? No! Of course not! He didn't really give any specifics to why he wanted soldiers assigned to you but I can only assume since you're the sole survivor of this incident, he probably doesn't want you to feel alone in this," he answered honestly.
"Ah, okay. I'll properly thank him for taking my well-being into consideration if I'm ever introduced to him anytime soon," replied Lydia as they continued walking.
A few hours later...
"God, you know I was only joking when I said this might take long," She groaned as she adjusted herself on the medical bed she was in. Archer, who was sitting beside her in a chair, laughed at her comment.
"Well at least we know God does answers his calls here and there."
"He could've ignored this one," groaned Lydia making him laugh more. She rolled her eyes at him as she softly scratched at her arm where blood was drawn.
"Lydia, may I ask you a question?" Said Archer in a hushed tone. She felt her heart pound against her chest but she kept herself collected.
"Yeah, of course Archer. What's up?"
"I didn't want to ask earlier since so many people were present but now we're alone and our little entourage of soldiers are hanging outside the infirmary, I wanted to ask now but how do you know Nikolai and Yuri? You three don't seem like you would've crossed paths just because life said so. I have some ideas on how I think you all met." Lydia sighed heavily and looked at him.
"What ideas do you have?" She asked, "I'm curious to hear."
"There's a few but I'm leaning more towards the idea that somehow Makarov is involved in this situation," he sighed as he gave her a sympathetic look, "He's the father isn't he?" Lydia nibbled on her bottom lip and picked at her fingers but she nodded her head a yes.
"How did you figure it out? Have the rest figured it out too like you?" She asked nervously. She didn't want to be labeled a traitor or as an enemy.
"One, it's my job to figure out things pretty fast. Secondly, as far as I'm aware, no I don't think the others have put it together yet besides Ghost and myself. And considering how Tamara took the time to hide you underneath the floor from his men, the brutality of what can be considered a war crime of just trying to find your whereabouts and what vague information she gave about you to us, it didn't seem that far fetch of an idea that you were on the run from Makarov."
"And what of Ghost? Have you two talked about this?"
"A bit on the flight back here to ourselves. Obviously, he can tell that you had no part of anything Makarov has done but in this field, you always have to be on your tippy toes and expect the unexpected," answered Archer.
"I'm worried on how the rest will react to this," she said softly, "I'm not a monster like him. I'm not, I swear. If I only knew what I know now back then, I would've never said hi back to him when we first met. Those I lost would still be here." She looked at Archer and he could see she was about to cry once more. He reached over and grasp her arm gently, giving it a firm squeeze of reassurance.
"Hey no more tears okay? Some might not take the news too well later on today and that's fine but at the end of the day we all share a common enemy. Him. As long as you're on the right side there's nothing to worry alright?"
"You know, you could be a motivational speaker if this military career doesn't work out," she said as tried her hardest to not cry because crying wasn't going to do anything. It wasn't going to stop the war, undo decisions or bring back the dead. Archer laughed.
"Maybe I will! This field does get boring from time to time when I'm not in the frontlines but with the morons I work with there's never a dull day," said Archer causing her to laugh at the thought on what these big, bulky men do on their free time. Suddenly, Lydia made a face as if she didn't feel too well and put a hand over her mouth.
"Is there a trash can? I'm about to throw up!" Archer immediately sprung up and rushed to the nearest trash can he could see, grab it, rushed back to Lydia and placed it in front of her and she just threw up everything her stomach was holding.
"Is she alright?" questioned Toad as he rushed from wherever he was in the infirmary to her with a look of concern on his face after hearing the sound of vomiting.
"Yeah, I think it's just nausea from her being pregnant," replied Archer as he rubbed her back in comfort but kept his gaze in another direction so his sense of smell wouldn't get violated by the stench of vomit.
"At this point, I don't even know what's the worse part of being pregnant is," she muttered in between breaths. The bitter taste of stomach acid and whatever little food she did manage to eat hours ago lingered in her mouth regardless of how much she spit into the trash can.
"Do we have to wait for her results Toad? I think Lydia needs a bit of fresh air and a walk to stretch her limbs out at the moment," said Archer as he removed the trash can off the bed when Lydia signaled she was fine for now and placed it on the floor close by just incase she needed it again.
"No, you guys are free to go considering it's going to be a few hours, possibly a day at most for her results to come in. I've contacted a local clinic nearby that works with us on the low and they'll be more than happy to provide some ultrasound's for you at your discretion since I don't really have that kind of equipment around here," answered Toad sincerely, "But once I get your results back I'll send word for you to come back. Okay?"
"Okay, thank you very much Toad," said Lydia with a warm smile in which he returned before excusing himself when two soldiers came into the infirmary with one supporting the other who was limping and all Lydia could really catch was he landed wrong on his ankle when doing a run in something called the pit.
"Come on sweetie, let's go for a walk," said Archer as he helped her get out of the bed and onto her feet, "Maybe I can show you around the base and introduce you to the others if their here."
"I don't mind, it'll kill time for both of us. What about the others that were assigned to watch me?" She asked as she waddled next to Archer like a little penguin whilst cradling her round belly as they made their way to the doors.
"I'll tell them we'll meet up with them in the cafeteria in an hour. You're not a threat and I'm with you and I don't think our General is going to show his face anytime soon for us to get in trouble."
"But you said it was the General's order Archer?" Said Lydia a bit confused. He looked at her and gave her a wink as he pushed the door open for her to pass.
"What's life without a little risk?" He asked. Lydia chuckled and moved her head disapprovingly.
"I can already tell you guys run up his blood pressure."
"Highly," answered Archer with a laugh before he looked back into the infirmary and called out to Toad, "See you later buddy!"
"You better watch her!" Was the reply he got back from him. He gave him a thumbs up before following after Lydia's small figure so he could show her around.
Re-edit.