CHAPTER 151
SKYLAR'S POV
I woke up to the sound of machines beeping and the soft murmur of voices speaking in hushed tones. The private hospital room was dimly lit, with expensive equipment monitoring my vital signs and an IV drip connected to my arm. But all of that faded into background noise when I saw three familiar figures sitting in chairs around my bed.
Harry, Jax, and Lucas were all there, alive and whole, though they looked like they'd been through hell. Harry had bandages on his left arm, Jax sported a spectacular black eye, and Lucas had stitches along his jaw. But they were breathing, they were talking quietly among themselves, and most importantly, they were here.
"You're alive," I whispered, my voice hoarse from whatever medical procedures I'd undergone.
Three heads turned toward me immediately, and the relief on their faces was so intense it made my chest tight with emotion.
"We're alive," Jax said, moving his chair closer to my bed. "The question is how you're doing. You've been unconscious for eight hours."
I tried to sit up and immediately felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. My hand moved instinctively to my stomach, feeling for the slight swell that had been there before the mission.
"The baby?" I asked, though I dreaded the answer.
"Is fine," Harry said quickly, reaching for my free hand. "Doctor says everything looks normal. You had some bleeding from stress and exhaustion, but no permanent damage. You just need rest and to avoid high-stress situations for the next few weeks."
The relief was so overwhelming I started crying, which made all three of them look panicked.
"Skylar, what's wrong?" Lucas asked urgently. "Are you in pain? Should I call the doctor?"
"I'm fine," I sobbed. "I'm just... when the comm went dead, when I heard gunfire, I thought I'd lost you. I thought I'd lost everything."
"You didn't lose us," Jax said softly, brushing tears from my cheeks. "Though it was touch and go for a while. Turns out Agent Martinez's intelligence was about six hours out of date. The traffickers had moved in reinforcements right before we hit the compound."
"What happened?"
"We got caught in a three-way firefight between the traffickers, corrupt local police, and Mexican federal forces who showed up unexpectedly," Harry explained. "Spent two hours pinned down in a warehouse while trying to protect seventy terrified children."
"But you got them all out?"
"Every single one," Lucas confirmed. "Including Rebecca Chen, who is currently being reunited with her parents in San Diego. The other kids are in protective custody with legitimate Mexican authorities."
I closed my eyes, feeling a satisfaction that went deeper than professional pride. Seventy children were safe tonight because we'd chosen to act instead of following protocols. But the cost...
"I almost lost our baby because I couldn't stand to sit on the sidelines," I said quietly. "I almost destroyed everything we're trying to build because I had to prove I could still coordinate a mission."
"You didn't almost lose anything," Harry said firmly. "You made a choice to save seventy kids while managing a medical emergency. That's not failure, Skylar. That's exactly who we fell in love with."
"Even though I broke my promise about no unilateral decisions?"
"You didn't make a unilateral decision," Jax pointed out. "You brought the situation to us, laid out the facts, and let us choose whether to act. That's exactly what we agreed to do."
"And when I started having complications, I could have ordered you to abort the mission and come back. But I didn't, because those children needed you more than I did in that moment."
Lucas leaned forward, his expression serious. "Skylar, do you remember what you said when you were going into surgery? When the doctors were asking about emergency contacts and medical decisions?"
I shook my head, the memories of those hours still fuzzy from pain medication.
"You told them that if something went wrong, if they had to choose between saving you or saving the baby, they should save the baby. You said our child deserved a chance to live even if you didn't make it."
The words hit me like a physical blow. I had no memory of saying that, but it sounded exactly like something I would say in a crisis situation.
"That's when we knew," Harry continued, "that you weren't choosing the mission over our family. You were choosing our family over yourself. Just like you always do."
"Just like you all do," I corrected. "When the shooting started, you could have abandoned those kids and come back to help me. But you didn't, because you knew I'd never forgive myself if children died because of my medical problems."
We sat in silence for a moment, all of us processing what had almost happened and what it meant for our future.
"We can't keep doing this," Lucas said finally. "Not like this. The stress of field operations while you're pregnant is too dangerous for all of us."
"I know. But we also can't stop doing the work entirely. Not when there are children like Rebecca Chen depending on people like us to save them."
"So what do you propose?" Jax asked.
"I propose we stick to the foundation plan, but with modifications. No more direct action missions for me until after the baby is born. You three handle field operations while I coordinate from secure locations with proper medical support."
"And if another situation like this comes up? Where children are in immediate danger and we have to choose between following safe protocols and saving lives?"
I thought about it carefully, remembering the faces of those seventy children and the desperate fear in Rebecca Chen's eyes.
"Then we save the children," I said. "But we do it smarter. Better planning, more backup options, medical teams on standby. We learn from this instead of being paralyzed by it."
"The baby comes first, though," Harry said. "No matter what. Our child's safety is non-negotiable."
"Agreed. But that doesn't mean we abandon our mission. It means we find ways to fulfill it that don't put our family at risk."
A soft knock on the door interrupted our conversation. Agent Martinez entered the room carrying a tablet and wearing an expression that was equal parts relief and concern.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Like I just learned that loving someone means accepting their need to save the world," I replied.
She smiled at that. "I wanted to update you on the aftermath of the Mexico operation. All seventy children have been medically cleared and are being placed with legitimate social services. The trafficking network has been completely dismantled, and we've arrested fifteen people including three corrupt police officials."
"Any complications?"
"Actually, the opposite. The success of the operation has attracted attention from some very important people. Good attention."
She handed me the tablet, which displayed what looked like an official government document with multiple seals and signatures.
"What is this?"
"A formal request from the United Nations Human Rights Council. They want to meet with you about heading up a new international task force on human trafficking. Full funding, diplomatic immunity, resources that would make our current foundation look like a lemonade stand."
I stared at the document, processing the implications. This was everything we'd dreamed of - the authority and resources to make a real difference on a global scale.
But it would also mean even more dangerous missions, higher stakes, and enemies who wouldn't hesitate to target our family.
"There's one catch," Martinez continued. "They want an answer within seventy-two hours. Apparently, there's a major trafficking summit happening next month, and they need someone in position before then."
I looked at the faces of the three men I loved, seeing the same mixture of excitement and terror I was feeling.
We could build something that might save thousands of children.
Or we could lose everything we'd fought so hard to create.
And we had three days to decide which risk we were willing to take.
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