With the countdown coming close, Harley decided to get some fresh air. She went to the park and watched as mothers played with their children. She smiled as she couldn't wait to experience that with her baby.
"Hi, is this seat taken?"
Harley looks up to see a girl around her age, with short auburn hair. Harley shakes her head and allows the girl to sit next to her.
"Are any of these children yours?" Harley asks.
The girl shakes her head. "No, but I am a caretaker. I try to come to parks and offer my help in any way that I can." She held out her hand. "I'm Reese."
Harley smiles and shakes the girl's hand. "I'm Harley."
*
A few days later, Harley and Reese had gotten closer. They would meet up at the park and talk about Harley's pregnancy. Harley enjoyed the girl's company. She even offered Reese a position to help her during her final hours of pregnancy.
Currently, Harley sat with the team in the living room when Douglas walked in. He had a look of worry on his face that Harley noticed.
"Hey, Dad, what's wrong?" Harley questions.
"Something strange is going on outside. The whole city feels eerie. There are a lot more police sirens than usual."
"What do you think it is?" Bree asks.
Douglas shakes his head. "I don't know. But something is definitely not right."
Skylar walked out on the balcony to check out what was going on. When she came back in, she explained how Douglas was right and that things were looking sketchy out there.
"I told you something weird was going on," Douglas says. "I was watching the Channel 5 news with Chip and Dixie, and they said strange things have been happening all over the city."
"What kind of strange things?" Skylar asks.
"Fires, ruptured gas lines, all sorts of random destruction. Eyewitnesses are saying it all started with a mysterious black swarm."
"Hey, we know a mysterious black swarm." Kaz points out. "Oh."
"Roman and Riker," Chase says. "They must be changing up their strategy. Instead of attacking us, they're attacking the people of Centium City."
"Why?"
"Because they couldn't get our list of the superheroes' locations." Skylar answers.
"Instead of fighting the superheroes themselves, I bet they're trying to lure them out by using innocent civilians as bait," Kaz explains.
"I better go down and use the encrypted network to warn the superheroes," Skylar says, but as she makes her way toward the hyperlift, the power shuts off.
"The whole city just went dark," Harley says.
"This isn't good. You guys need to suit up and get moving." Douglas tells the team, then looks at Chase. "I will stay here with Harley."
*
As Douglas and Harley lit up the room with candles or flashlights, the door opens to reveal two people walking in.
"Perry? Reese? What are you two doing here?" Harley questions.
"I came here to check on you. As your caretaker, I have to make sure you and the baby are alright." Reese smiles. "I don't know who this weird lady is though."
Douglas rolls his eyes before walking over to Perry. The woman says to him, "I saw the news. The city is being overrun by a giant swarm. I'm scared, Dougie." She traps him in a hug.
"And now I'm scared." He pushes her off. "Look, the team is out taking care of it."
"But what if they don't? What if they never come back?" Perry asks. "Then you and I will have this giant penthouse all to ourselves. And just like that, I'm rooting for the bad guys."
Harley scoffs. "I'm standing right here, and that is my team you are talking about."
"I'm gonna go up to the roof and turn on the emergency generator to get some light in here," Douglas informs them.
"I'll go with you. I once had a dream that we were up on the roof. Two young babes under a blanket of stars."
Harley shudders in disgust.
"Just stay here with Harley and her friend until I get back."
After a little while, Perry talked off the girl's ear about her obsession with Douglas when the lights came back on. During that time, Perry also gave herself a makeover to surprise Douglas.
"Okay. I was able to turn the generator on." Douglas looks from his watch and screams when looking at Perry's makeover. "And now I'm gonna go turn it off again." When he walked out of the room, Perry chased after him.
Harley chuckles and turns to Reese. "Sorry about that. Things are normally better than this. But in the meantime, I don't really know what we need to do."
"Oh, it's alright. I just need you out of my way." Reese says.
Harley tilts her head in confusion. "I'm sorry... what?" Before she could process it, she felt a pinch in her stomach. She looks down to see Reese inject a needle into her stomach. Harley lets out a gasp and falls to the ground, clutching her stomach.
She tried her best to grab her phone and dial the team before she blacked out.
*
When it was revealed to the team that Reese was Rodissius' daughter, Chase worried for his wife. He never met the girl, but he heard about her from Harley. The team rushed back to the penthouse, but they first entered from mission command. They saw Douglas on the floor and Perry next to him.
"What happened?" Bree asks.
"I don't know. I was chasing him all over, and when I found him down here, he was gasping for air." Perry explains.
"Where's Reese?" Oliver asks.
"No, where is Harley?" Chase questions.
Douglas groans. "She took off right after she blasted me. Harley was where I left her, which is upstairs."
Chase looks at the superheroes. "Stay with him. I need to check on Harley." He enters the hyperlift and goes to the living room. When the doors opened, he instantly saw Harley unconscious.
"Harley!" He ran to her side and checked for a pulse. It was there but it was faint. "No, no, no." He mutters to himself as he picks her up bridal style.
"Chase!" Bree yells after him, her eyes on Harley. "What happened to her?"
"Reese must've happened. I have to take her to the hospital. She and the baby could be in danger."
"Well, we are coming with you. Douglas isn't looking too good, either."
*
At the hospital, the team waited as both Harley and Douglas were rushed into surgery. It felt like hours went by when they saw a doctor coming towards them.
"How are they doing? Is Harley okay? Is the baby--" Chase questions but the doctor stops him.
"Everyone is fine. Douglas is resting. I will admit, there were some complications with Harley and the baby. We lost a heartbeat with the mother, but we were easily able to get her back. And your baby is perfectly healthy. I don't know what the baby could injected with, but he came out strong. He's a fighter."
The team sighs with relief.
"Wait, he?" Bree asks. "The baby's a boy?"
The doctor smiles. "Yes. You have a beautiful baby boy waiting for you. Congratulations, Dad." He pats Chase's shoulder. "You guys may go see them now."
"Go ahead, Chase, we will be here waiting," Skylar tells him, and the team nods.
Chase follows the doctor to the room. He opens the door to be greeted with Harley's sleepy but beautiful smile.
"Oh, thank goodness." Chase runs to her side and plants multiple forehead kisses. "I thought I lost you."
"You're stuck with me, Chase Davenport," Harley tells him before looking around. "Where's the baby? Please tell me the baby is okay."
Chase smiled when he saw the sleeping baby in the crib next to the bed. He walks over and steadily picks the baby up. "I think he is more than okay."
Harley's eyes glossed when her eyes landed on the baby. "He? He's okay?" Chase gently sets the baby in the mother's arms. The baby began to fuss before going back to sleep.
"The doctor said he's a fighter, just like his mother is," Chase says, planting another kiss on her forehead. "I don't want to bring any bad news, but--"
"Not right now." Harley cuts him off. "That can be a later problem. Right now, I just want to admire what we brought into this world."
Chase nods before joining her in the bed. The two parents smiled lovingly at their baby boy.
"Welcome to the world, Charlie Samuel Davenport."
And that's the end! I may have rushed to the finish line, but that is mostly because I could not figure out the best way to write the ending considering Reese was Chase's girlfriend in the show, and there is no second season to find out what happens.
So to my imagination, this is Harley and Chase's happily ever after.
I want to thank all my readers and the support you have given me while I wrote the Chase Davenport series. Especially when it took me ages to finish the book.
I love you all <3