Things had begun to improve between Gerry and Keirra. They were talking more, she was eating a little. Hell, he'd even managed to get her laughing a time or two. Things weren't perfect, but, hey, that was them. Always a work in progress. Gerry was heading home from work when his phone rang.

Probably, the wife, he thought, answering without looking at the screen. "Hooker, what you want?" he said with a grin on his face.

"Finnegan. So good to hear your voice." Came the rumbling tones from the other end. Gerry froze in place. This was decidedly not the voice of his wife.

"Jameson." Gerry said in a low, dangerous tone. The last time he'd seen the man, he was being dragged off after shooting Ko in the chest. If he could have reached through the phone and strangled him right then and there, he would have done so with much gusto.

"How's prison? You drop the soap yet?" Gerry asked, taunting him.

"You'd have to ask the guard currently bleeding dry in my cell." Jameson replied the sound of footsteps on the other end.

"You're out?" Gerry said, his voice taking on a more frightened tone.

"Free as a bird. And you should see the view I have right now." the low voice practically growled to him.

It suddenly felt like Gerry's stomach did a back-flip inside of him.

"Nice place you got here, Finnegan. Love the decor. You'll have to refer me to your interior decorator." he rumbled to the man.

Gerry suddenly heard the sound of crying. Nasya. And, oh god...Ginny was there watching the kid! If he was in there...

No. No, he couldn't think like that.

"What did you do to my sister?" Gerry said, his tone threatening.

A small laugh emitted from phone. "I gave her the day off. She went home."

Gerry was white as a ghost, the color draining from him. "You lay a finger on my daughter or my sister and I will end you."

Jameson just laughed. "You keep talkin' like that, I wait till your little wife wanders back in here, and I put one in her and another in this squalling little beauty. Now, I know your blushin' bride's gonna bounce right back, but little blue eyes here? Not so sure you wanna put that to the test. You understand?"

Silence. Gerry was terrified to answer.

Jameson took on a taunting, condescending tone. "Say, 'Richie, I understand.'"

Gerry croaked out, "I understand."

"Docks. 1 hour. You be there alone. No calls. You're being watched." The call ended.

Gerry stared at that phone wanting desperately to call Keirra. Tell her what was happening. But he knew if he picked up that phone, his baby girl's life could be in danger. No, he'd have to see this through. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much it killed him. If there was even a sliver of a chance he could protect his child, he'd give anything.

He stepped into his office, one last time. His entire adult life had been spent building this place. This business. This home. This life. At one corner of the desk was a picture of Keirra and him at the tropical resort on their honeymoon, Ko in his arms with a wild smile on her face. Trembling fingers opened the back of the frame and slipped the picture out. If he had to go out, this was what he wanted with him. Blue eyes blinked away tears as he stared. Time was wasting.

He stuffed the picture in his pocket and stepped outside, moving to lock the office like he had a million times before. Suddenly, he stopped. His eyes shut and he just turned and walked away, the key left in the lock.

~~~~~~
Jameson stood the edge of the pier in the light of the moon. The sounds of creaking ships and lapping water all around him. Behind him on a crate, was Nasya in her baby seat. Cooing away, unaware of what was happening around her. Thank god she was okay, he thought as he approached.

"Where is my sister?" Gerry demanded.

Jameson, spoke with a lit cigarette between his lips. "You know..." he pulled the cig with two fingers, breathing out smoke as he flicked it away. "I'd considered not telling you what's going to happen here. Let you wander on into it and deal with the consequences."

"Where is my sister?" Gerry repeated.

Jameson went on, unimpeded. "You know, I thought to myself...Hey. Richie. Isn't that a little comic book supervillain? A little tired and played out?"

Gerry's fists clenched, ready to beat his face in. But he knew better right now. He knew what he'd risk. "Where. Is my sister." He said, his voice shaking with rage.

Again, Jameson went on. "Then I decided...No. I want you to know. I want you to know what you're going to lose."

"Where-"

"You're sister's fine. She's waiting for you." Jameson said sneering. "I want to introduce you to a friend of mine."

A rift opened in a flash of light behind Gerry. A tall, gaunt, lanky man stepped past him. Jameson gestured to him. "This is Arlo. We met in the joint. Well, seems Arlo here has a particularly interesting set of skills in his possession."

Gerry's heart was pounding, still trying to figure out what their game was here.

"See, Arlo can open and close a rift in the nexus at will. Quite a useful tool for a murderer, no? Well, they restricted poor Arlo. Didn't let him play. But me? I made friends. And now Arlo can run and play to his little heart's content." Jameson smirked.

Slowly it was dawning on Gerry, but Jameson put it bluntly. "We're sending you home."

Gerry just laughed bitterly. "That's it? That's your big plan? You're sending me on a vacation? Yeah. Been there. Done that. I came back."

Jameson chuckled at that, running his tongue along the back of his lip. "Yeah. Yeah, you did didn't you?" He nodded. "But...that ain't gonna happen this time. See...Another fun thing Arlo can do...is Arlo can make sure you NEVER come back." The smirk faded and he looked more like a predator.

Gerry's face dropped. His voice becoming a weak whisper. "You're lying..."

Jameson shook his head. " 'fraid not. Even if you find a rift, you'll sail right on past. There ain't gonna be no comin' back this time, my friend."

Gerry's eyes shifted to the baby. "Then, maybe I'll take my chances. Kill you, kill your friend and take my daughter and we go back to my apartment. How about that, you son of a bitch?"

Jameson stared at him, very still. "You think you can take us both out in the amount of time it would take me to reach over and snap this little thing's neck?"

Gerry didn't seem too sure about that and he sure as hell knew better than to doubt what that psychopath would do.

"I didn't think so. Besides. The moment you touch that child...you'll be sent away. See, she's the key. Whether we're alive or not."

Horror overtook him. There had to be other options, other avenues he could take. But there weren't. He was beaten and he knew it.

"I told you, Finnegan. I told you I would hurt you. I failed before. I took her from you, but it was only temporary. I couldn't take her away forever. Well...I found a way. I always win, Gerard. One way or another."

Gerry's heart broke. Simply, plainly. His only option was losing his wife. His best friend. His soul mate. He wanted to cry. To scream. To destroy the world around him, especially the two men who'd put him in this situation. The sound of his daughter cooing brought him back. He blinked away the tears.

There was no choice.

"What do I do?" he whispered, his voice shaking.

Jameson shrugged and gestured to the child. "Simple. Just pick up your daughter. Hold her tight. It'll be over in a second."

Gerry swallowed hard. His legs suddenly felt like they were dragging one-ton weights. He couldn't move them.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Ko. He repeated over and over in his head, every step a struggle.

Images flashed in his head. A smile directed at a stranger in the inn, drinking liquor she didn't even want.

The two of them in the lake by the campsite. The inside of the camper and the two lip-locked in a passionate embrace.

The wedding. The moment when they absurdity of their surroundings melted away and they pledged themselves to one another.

Starscream snuggled up between the two of them.

Holding Nasya for the first time. Knowing everything had changed. HE had changed. And he would do anything for that little blue eyed bundle of light in a world full of darkness.

Happiness. While fleeting and often interrupted, he remembered how happy they were.

Mostly, he remembered her smile. Her eyes. The way her face lit up a room. The way it felt to earn that smile. That was what got him out of bed in the morning. What he'd fought to return to. That was what he would never get to say goodbye to.

Gerry chasing. Always chasing. Always fighting for her. To keep her. To love her. Always finding her and bringing her back or get back to her. This time, there would be no going back. The chase, the fight... was over.

Gerry stared down at his daughter. The baby smiled up at him wriggling around happily. Completely unaware of both their worlds about to change forever. For a moment, Gerry thought he'd give anything to be in her place. To be that unaware. He reached to Nasya, hesitating, his entire body shaking. His breaths left his body in quivering exhales, his eyes clamped shut as the tears came. "What will you tell her?" He asked, bloodshot, tearful eyes turning to Jameson angrily, full of pain.

Jameson simply shook his head. "Nothing. Not a God damn thing. She's gonna hate you. She's gonna hate you forever. That's how this ends." God, but it was sweet for Jameson. This was perfection.

Gerry turned back to Nasya, and watched the child. He whispered "Keirra. I'm sorry. I love you. Goodbye."

He wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her tight to his chest. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. A tingling sensation went throughout his whole body. He turned to the two men as light began glow around him. Arlo simply walked away while Jameson looked on with grim satisfaction.

That son of a bitch was NOT going to be the last thing he saw here. No way in hell. He turned and looked out to the ocean. Those waters had been the first thing he'd seen when he'd arrived. They'd been his home. His employment. He glanced down to his daughter, those big blue eyes a mirror image of her mother's. Nasya stared up at him with those big beautiful pools of blue. Gerry looked up, panic in his eyes as the light began to consume him. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Keirra! I lo-



The light faded. Water lapped at the shore. Life carried on, none the wiser.

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"And I'll be awful sometimes, Weakened to my knees. But I'll learn to get by... On little victories."