#mcdarwin

Ken POV

The redheaded figure at the bow of the ship turned to look at us, and I felt one of the heavy guilts on my shoulders lift as I breathed out in recognition, “Quinn!”

It was definitely Quinn, badass new outfit aside, still as pale and beautiful as ever. Her eyes widened as they fell on us, and he hand went white-knuckled on the railing of the ship.

“You...you’re...alive...” Her voice was just loud enough to be heard above the soft sound of the sea surrounding us. 

For a moment, one single moment, no one moved. And then, Raj let out a loud whoop and raced forward, Estela, Jake, Diego, and I joining him. 

We took our turns hugging Quinn close, each of us trying to talk at once, our words getting lost in the noise and the joy of finding each other again, Quinn’s frame warm and sturdy and alive under our hands.

A small hand curled into my elbow, and I dragged my eyes away from Quinn to find Michelle standing next to me, her eyes shining with tears. Her nails dug into my skin as she whispered, “Ken?”

Her voice was fragile, afraid, and as the voices behind me faded away, I turned completely to face her, lifting a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. 

I knew, without having to hear it from her lips, that she wasn’t really sure it was Quinn standing there. It seemed too good to be true for all of us, and Michelle, love her though we did, had always been a bit of a cynic.

So I let my fingertips rub small circles on her shoulder, and I nodded and said simply, “She’s here, Meech. She’s real.”

Tears spilled out onto Michelle’s cheeks, and with a soft cry she broke away from me and bolted towards Quinn. Quinn met her halfway, their arms encircling each other like the other was something almost too precious to touch, like the second skin met skin they might fade away into a dream.

But they didn’t fade, and so their hands began to roam over each other’s arms and backs and shoulders, quiet reassurances and whispers of devotion and regret exchanged between them, a kiss pressed to skin every so often, the tightness of their shoulders and the desperation of their tears fading more and more with each brush of lips.

And in that moment, I had never wanted to see Sean so much, to hear his voice or soft laughter, to hold his hand. To know he was safe.

But he wasn’t here, and I didn’t even know if Sean was alive.

At some point, I had to look away from Quinn and Michelle and I found Raj, Diego, Estela, and Jake watching with looks that mirrored my own longing and hurt. 

Estela’s hands were shaking, Raj’s eyes were glassy and far away, Diego looked about a minute away from crying, and Jake...just looked so tired.

I walked over and reached out to capture their hands, tugged them one by one to stand close to me, letting my hands squeeze theirs momentarily.

A tear dropped down Diego’s cheek, and Jake reached up to quietly brush it away. 

Estela stiffened for a moment, before eventually leaning over and pressing her face into my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around her waist, and Raj reached over to brush some of Estela’s loose hair away from her face. Diego reached out and tangled his fingers in with Estela’s.

I could feel, absently, Varyyn, Yvonne, and Malatesta staring at us, but I shoved the thought away to focus on my family. 

“Hey,” I started, my voice unexpectedly dry and thick with my own hurt. “We found Quinn. We’ll find everyone else too. They’ll all be fine. I promise.”

Raj nodded, trying to smile, though it didn’t quite seem to take. “It just...sucks, right now, man.”

Jake sighed, exhaustion poured into every line of his body. “That it does.”

Diego’s eyes darted up, and I followed his gaze to where Quinn and Michelle were standing hand in hand outside our little circle.

Without a word, Diego and Jake moved to let them join us, and everyone’s arms fell around one another as we hugged each other close.

---The Next Day---

Mike strode up to Aleister, his movements as robotic and sharp as ever. “Sir, the hostages are our first priority.”

“Mike,” Jake called out, his voice ripping from him rough and harsh like he couldn’t stand it any longer, “You’d never go along with something like this. Is there anything left of you in there? Wake up!”

Mike did not reply except to level his gun at Jake.

Raj and Diego, nearest to Jake, leaned in closer, as if to comfort him without touching him, to lend him their strength through proximity alone.

Malatesta growled impatiently, “This is an awful lot of talking for a raid. We fighting or not?”

"Ken, please,” Aleister begged, his voice strained, the dark bruise-like circles under his eyes somehow getting more prominent as he asked, “Just walk away. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Something deep, dark, and twisted rose up from my gut at the mere thought of leaving Sean and Craig behind.

My lips curled back from my teeth and I snarled, “We’re not leaving without Sean and Craig.”

Aleister actually stepped back slightly at the sound of the fervor in my voice, swallowing hard, surprise and regret swimming in his eyes. “So be it.”

He turned away slightly to yell, “Guards, capture them! Keep them alive, if you hurt them I will hurt you.”

As the guards took up defensive positions around Sean and Craig, Malatesta rolled his shoulders, a feverish grin spread across his mouth. “Ready, Yvie?”

“Oui, mon cher!” Yvonne called back, tossing a small round ball over to Malatesta, who pulls a pin out of it and throws it.

A smoke screen plumes rapidly out of the ball as it skitters across the deck of the boat, confusing the Arachnid soldiers.

As the now familiar clamor of yelling, blows landing, and clash of bodies in battle sounded around me, I could see two fists of crackling electricity approaching through the haze of smoke.

The Arachnid soldier hefted his fists, sneering, “Ready to dance, kid?”

I glared at him, rising to the balls of my feet and settling into a low, ready position.

The battle went much quicker than I was used to, with Aleister constantly yelling at the soldiers to watch how hard they hit, we had no such qualms. They had captured and contained our friends. 

When the path to where Sean and Craig were kneeling finally cleared enough in front of me, I bolted.  Mike stepped into my path, leveling his gun at me.

“No!” Aleister cried, shoving the rifle down and away from me. “I ordered you to not kill them!”

I ignored the both of them, ducking down to remove the gags from Sean and Craig’s mouths as quickly and gently as possible. They started coughing almost immediately, stretching their jaws to alleviate their no doubt aching muscles, holding out their wrists so I could remove their other bonds.

“Ken, you’re here?” Sean’s voice was low and cautious, rough like he hadn’t spoken in days. He stared at me like he wanted to believe I was really there, but couldn’t.

My hands trembled at the way he looked at me, the ferocious desire to kiss him and hold him nearly breaking me. But we were in the middle of a battle and as much as I wanted to, now was not the time.

“Ch’yeah Ken’s here, man, we owe you so much!” Craig had lost none of his enthusiasm, something I noted with relief.

The moment I cut through the last of their bonds, Sean’s huge frame soared up to arch over me, Sean yelling, “Watch out!”

I ducked down instinctively, trusting him completely, just as Sean’s hand snaps out to catch an Arachnid operative by their baton, his powerful muscles flexing as he twists it from their grip and cracks the operative across the head with it, knocking the soldier immediately unconscious.

Sean’s chest was heaving with adrenaline, his hands reaching out as his eyes found mine again, and the pressure on my heart eased to nothing, allowing me to breathe for the first time since setting foot into the MASADA facility. 

In the space of a breath, the baton clattered to the deck and Sean’s arms swept me up off of the deck of the boat completely, holding me to his broad chest in a nearly crushing grip, my hands clutched at his shoulders as tears formed in my eyes, relief and dumb, delayed panic searing under my skin.

“Ken.” His voice cracked a little as he said it, and in the one word I heard everything he meant by it.

I thought you were dead. I missed you so much. I can’t believe you’re here. Thank you for coming for me. For fighting for me. I love you. I’m sorry.

Forgetting everything else in the entire world, for just a moment, I tucked my face against his, cupping the back of his neck and squeezing, my own voice dry and cracking as I managed to whisper, “Sean.”

I tried to fit it all into that one word.

I thought you were dead, too. I thought it was my fault. I missed you so much. I was so worried. I’m so glad you’re here. You’re alright. Thank you for that. I love you. I’m sorry.

The rest of the world came back with a rush of sound, all of the Arachnid operatives on the boat either unconscious or contained, Mike missing and Aleister now bound, and our friends racing back to the Dorado while throwing worried glances over their shoulders at something on the horizon. 

I look, to see another boat exactly like the one we’re standing on approaching. 

Sean has followed my gaze, and cursed softly.

Estela tugged on Sean’s shirtsleeve, eyes hollow as she barked, “Reinforcements, come on, we need to get to the Dorado.”

Sean and I separated, though we kept a hold on one another’s hands, and we hurried to join the others on the boat. 

The second our feet landed on deck, I heard Jake’s angry voice yelling, “Nobody is going anywhere without Mike!”

Diego’s eyes were on the sky, his face slightly paled. “I think he feels the same way, Jake.”

We all look up. 

Mike was using his Arachnid suit to jetpack between the ruined military speedboat and up to the Dorado, his eyes empty and a rifle securely in his hands. As his feet touched down on deck, Mike commanded, “Return Aleister to the Arachnid vessel.”

Jake pushed forward, holding out a hand to signal the rest of us behind him as he took on the full weight of Mike’s attention. “Or what?”

Without warning, Mike activated his jetpack again, rushing forward to punch Jake, who deftly ducked the blow, but managed to hook an arm around Mike and wrestle him to the ground.

They exchanged blows, Mike’s movements practiced, vicious, relentless, and Jake’s attempts growing weaker and weaker the longer they struggled, grappling for power.

I realized suddenly that Jake was crying.

“Jake, make him remember!” I cried, noticing that the other speedboat was quickly gaining on the Dorado.

Sharply, Jake managed to flip Mike onto his back and pin him down.

“Goddamnit, Mike, remember!” Jake snarled, quaking with emotion. “Remember when we met in basic and made fun of all the other cadets over dinner, and you called me ‘grandpa’ for the first time? Remember when we flew together for the first time and it was like we’d always been doing it together, we didn’t have to guess what the other one was gonna do we just knew.”

Mike was still struggling, but Jake slammed him back down against the deck, his voice rushed, the words spilling out, “Remember when we got assigned to the same detail and we had to be so cool and professional in the meeting but the second we got home we were so relieved we cried? Do you remember any of those nights and days on duty in the sky where it seemed like we were the only two people on earth?”

Mike’s efforts had lessened, he seemed transfixed by the raw intensity in Jake’s voice. “Do you remember that day that you decided enough was enough and you got up, walked across the living room, and kissed me because you were tired of me being so up my own ass about it?”

Jake’s voice dropped in volume, tears streaming freely down his face, his hands loosening on Mike’s arms as he begged, “Or how, right after it, I couldn’t help it, I told you how much I loved you, always had, honeybee, and you told me you loved me back? Mike, please, don’t you-don’t you remember any of it? Anything? Your own fucking name?”

Jake’s head dipped down in anguish, shoulders trembling, eyes pleading, hope fading fast.

Just as Jake’s gaze fell away from him, Mike whispered, very softly, “Honeybee...”

There was a strange, struggling look on Mike’s face, flickering with pain and confusion. It was the most expressive I’d ever seen him, and that scared me a little.

Jake’s gaze snapped up, shock pushing out all other emotion. “Yes...yes, that’s right, honeybee, please-”

The hard, fathomless, apathetic mask fell back into place on Mike’s face, and while Jake’s defenses were down, Mike punched out hard, catching Jake squarely in the chest, pushing Jake off of him.

Mike stood, and leveled the gun at Michelle, who held Aleister.

Her eyes darted over to me, and I nodded. “Go ahead, Meech. We need them to go. The other boat will be here soon.”

She gritted her teeth in fury, but wordlessly unwrapped the ropes holding Aleister.

Aleister did not look at any of us as he stepped towards Mike.

Sean stepped forward. “Aleister, wait.”

Aleister’s back tensed, but he turned his head to meet Sean’s gaze.

Sean held out the hand that wasn’t holding mine. “Come back.”

Shock echoed in the expressions of the faces around us, but nowhere nearly as close in power as the one Aleister wore.

Sean offered again, louder. “Come back. It’s not too late.”

One by one, I felt eyes land on me, silently asking for my opinion.

I tightened my grip on Sean’s hand and nodded. “Aleister. Please. Come home.”

A quiet sob broke through Aleister’s composure, his posture breaking completely. “It’s too late,” he mourned, “I’m afraid it’s much too late.”

Mike darted forward and wrapped an arm securely around Aleister before lifting the two of them into the air, his jetpack carrying them towards the approaching speedboat.

Malatesta, Yvonne, and Varyyn immediately set to work around the Dorado to get us the fuck out of dodge, while the rest of us stood still, silently processing what had just happened.

Jake tried to stand, and only managed to go about an inch before falling into a fit of violent coughing.

The sound jerked us all out of our thoughts, and Michelle raced to his side, tutting at him, “Now stop moving, ok, let me look at you.”

As Michelle tended to him, the rest of us looked around at each other, helplessly.

Then, slowly, Craig stepped forward. “Diego?”

Diego’s eyes filled with tears. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

They reached for each other at the same time, choked sounds of relief and gratitude and love and worry pouring from them, as Diego traced the planes of Craig’s face with his fingers, Craig running his hands up and down Diego’s back, their foreheads bending in to touch, hands finally pulling one another in close as they tucked their heads together and just held on to the other.

I reached out a hand and motioned to everyone else, “Hey, why don’t you guys relax for a bit? We’ve had a very eventful day.”

Estela, staring at Diego and Craig with a hollow look in her eyes, nodded, turning away. 

Quinn caught her wrist before she turned away completely, and pulled her into an easy hug. “Zahra’s safe,” Quinn promised. “You know how tough she is."

Raj pulled them both close, swaying slightly on the spot, and I saw the moment Estela relaxed, nodded, curled into the both of them, and just let herself be comforted.

I turned, Sean reading my mind and pulling me into his chest. I settled against him, breathing in the scent of his skin, my fingers tangling in his shirt. He pressed soft kisses to my forehead. 

We were still missing Zahra and Grace. 

And Aleister too, actually. But I wasn't’ sure if we would ever get him back.

Jake POV

Michelle prodded gently at my chest, frowning darkly at me when I tried to stifle a wince. “Don’t be an idiot, Jacob,” she chastised, “I need to know where it hurts and how much.”

As always, her words were clipped but her tone was soft. Michelle did that, I’d noticed, hid how deeply she cared about us all by acting like she couldn’t care less. 

I grinned at her, sighing in resignation. “Yes, ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes, and as she started wrapping my chest she smiled outright and wasn’t that something. I’d also noticed she’d been better about that closed off Ice Queen bit now that we were, mostly, all back together. More open, less guarded, letting herself smile more and not as reluctant to hug us, worry about us. Especially when it concerned Quinn. The two of them had hardly left a radius of five feet of the other, always in arms reach.

We’d all had been like that lately, from the moment we’d all found each other again. We walked closer together, we moved with one another, leaning into one another.

As awful as it was, I couldn’t help the thought that it was too similar to the way Mike and I had acted around each other.

My gaze drifted around the main deck of the Dorado, where Yvonne and Malatesta were still arguing over their loot, where Estela was talking to Raj and Varyyn with tension radiating out of every facet of her body, where Ken and Sean were holding hands and talking to Quinn, brows furrowed as they worried over her, where Craig was still holding Diego against his chest, the two of them talking softly to one another, their hands white-knuckled on each other’s clothes the only clue as to how relieved they were to be together again.

Michelle followed my gaze, a small smile breaking out on her face. “They’re good together.”

I nodded, adjusting my sitting position on the deck of the Dorado. “We’re all pretty good together, Dollface.”

She glanced back at me, eyebrow raised. “That’s a new one.”

“Well,” I tried to smile, “Maybelline wasn’t worthy of ya.”

She bit her lip, a pleased blush gracing her face.

I felt my gaze, as if magnetically pulled, find the spot where, just moments before, I had been pinning Mike down. Chest heaving, hands shaking, hot terror and desperation creeping up my spine, tears threatening more and more the longer I looked at him.

His blank face, his absent eyes, that unconcerned, uncaring demeanor that wasn’t Mike, couldn’t have been but it was.

I didn’t care about the robotic eye, the scars, the way the back of his head had felt puckered like it had been punctured when I’d cupped his head in my hands, fingers tangling in the all to familiar dark silk of his hair as I’d begged him to please, please God, just remember.

Remember anything, anything at all, just one fleeting moment of who he used to be, who I used to be, who we used to be together, to remember my own fucking name, or his for that matter, I didn’t care I just wanted him back.

I’d wanted it now more than I ever had when I thought him dead, and in so many ways it was worse now. Mike was so close, within reach, and he didn’t know me

He didn’t care about me.

He didn’t love me.

I didn’t realize I was crying until Michelle, finished wrapping my chest, wrapped her hand around mine and squeezed.

“You’re here, Jake,” She said calmly, slowly, “And so are we. You’re safe.”

“But he’s not,” I gasped. 

Her face fell, and she looked over her shoulder, as we all did when one or any or all of us were hurting, to Ken.

Ken was already on his way over, face drawn in tight, his shoulders drooping heavily.

I couldn’t help but notice that he looked a little thinner than the last time I’d seen him, a little of the college kid glow had faded from him, replaced with the world-weary air of someone who had the fate of everything on their shoulders. Which, as I thought about it, my stomach dropping out, he did.

We depended on Ken for everything. It’s why we’d gone to look for him first.

Without Ken to keep us together, we’d fall apart.

Ken knelt down next to me and Michelle, all the others save Varyyn, Malatesta, and Yvonne joining us.

Ken reached out, cupping my face in both hands, sweeping his thumbs across my cheeks to wipe away my tears.

I let myself exhale in a rush, my eyes closing in relief, my entire body sagging.

Ken whispered softly, “You ok?”

“No,” I croaked, my hands curling into fists against the deck. “I’m not ok, Boy Scout.”

Ken traced my cheeks with his thumbs in slow, reassuring, gentle circles, humming, “We’re here, Jake. Talk to us.”

His hands left my face and I opened my eyes, finding a semi-familiar sight. They were all sitting around me, leaning into one another, crowded close even in the heat, eyes worried.

Close as we all were, it was easy to pick out those who were missing. Grace, Zahra...

Aleister.

I looked up at the sky and cleared my throat, leaning back against the rail of the deck, letting the salty air clear my head a little.

I cleared my throat again, trying to figure out where to start.

“Thing is,” I found myself saying, “I never thought it’d be me.”

I tried to smile at them all, but it didn’t take. “I mean, Mike was always just...better. Stronger, tougher, faster, smarter. I’d never dreamed that I’d end up being the one who lived.”

I winced as my ribs ached, protesting the pounding of my heart, the hot guilt weighing down my heart. “I mean, who can stand to think about the guy they love dying.”

Sean immediately froze, eyes locking onto Ken, that stark, haunted pain exactly the same as what I’d seen in the helicopter the moment Ken had fallen. 

Then he looked over at me, and something in Sean’s gaze shifted.

In a soft voice, he said, “I think we can all understand that.”

I looked around the group to find them all with that same stricken expression, Craig’s hands having dipped down to curl around Diego’s while Diego swallowed hard and interlaced their fingers, Michelle tucking herself in closer to Quinn when Quinn made a soft noise of distress, that desperate look coming back into Estela’s eyes.

I swallowed, hard. “I was in love with him. We’d only been together, official like, for a few months.”

Breathing was harder now. My vision was starting to blur. I tried to laugh, “I was such an idiot...I’d been in love with him since I met him. We’d lived together since basic, and every day I loved him more, and every day it got harder to tell him. But I was afraid, you know? He was so incredible. Beautiful, capable, and so fucking smart. Why would he want me?”

I shook my head, the words spilling out unchecked. “But he did. Had to do it himself, I was too afraid to ruin the best thing in my life. One day, we were sitting at home, and all of a sudden, he just got up, walked over, and kissed me.”

I tried to laugh again, but it came out choked and dark. “He said he’d let me stew long enough. He wasn’t about to let us die before we...before we...before..”

I couldn’t continue, my throat closing around the words. My hands were shaking.

My whole body was shaking. 

A cool hand alighted on my forehead, thumb brushing my hair away from my face. “Easy now,” Estela’s voice soothed, “We’re here. Deep breaths.”

Two hands began to rub circles on my back as I fell forward into Estela’s shoulder, curling around her.

I didn’t know how long we were there, Estela slowly helping me through the grief that was rotting me from the inside out.

I was barely aware of the way I had sobbed out at some unidentifiable point, “I still love him, I can’t help it.”

Ken had murmured back, “We know, Jake.”

Later, when the sun had slipped closer to the horizon, I finally leaned back.

Estela was still staring at me, her own eyes rimmed in red. 

We’d been through so much together, just in the last week alone. They were all incredibly important to me, almost more than anyone or anything ever had been to me before.

So it was easy to take Estela’s hands in mine and say, just loud enough for everyone to hear, “We’ll get her back.”

Her eyes welled up with new tears, her fingers curling tightly around mine.

“We will find Zahra,” I promised, “She’ll be ok. So will Grace.”

I paused, then threw caution to the wind. “So will Aleister.”

And everyone else stared at me.

Part of me expected Estela to tear away from me, her face to contort into a hateful grimace and for her to spit something threatening about him.

But she didn’t.

Instead, a tear slipped down her cheek and she whispered, “He betrayed us. He doesn’t...he won’t.”

Ken leaned forward, sliding a hand onto Estela’s shoulder, squeezing as he said, determination strengthening his voice, “He still loves us, Estela, and he knows that we still love him. He’ll come home.”

Craig nodded in agreement, ever the source of strength. “We’ll bring him home, Estela. We’ll bring them all home.”

Softly, hands brushed over everyone’s arms, quiet words of support were exchanged, every one of us reaching out to comfort the others.

It was what you did for family. You gave them whatever they needed.

And these people were my family. I loved them so much, I would do anything, absolutely anything for them. Same as what Aleister did.

So I swallowed the ocean of heartbreak in my chest, the longing and despair and the gut-wrenching regret of everything I never told Mike, everything I should have but didn’t, all the times I hadn’t let myself hold him just a little longer, just a little tighter, all the times I hadn’t kissed him just one more time.

I swallowed it all and said, “I’m gonna do whatever it takes to make sure that happens. Even if it means going up against Mike.”

My voice broke on his name, my heart skipping a beat.

All around the circle, eyes widened, hands stilled.

I finished, softly, “I’ll do whatever it takes to stop him if he tries to hurt any of you.”

I could hear it in my voice, that lack of conviction, the pain of what that promise cost me.

It was silent but for the waves and the distant sound of Malatesta and Yvonne bickering.

Then, “No.”

I looked up at Ken, who had spoken.

His expression was softer than I could stand as he stared at me, his hazel eyes shining from the sun. “Jake, it’s ok. You won’t hurt him. And we understand. He’s still Mike.”

I shook my head, trying to maintain my ground. “No, seriously, I-”

“Jake,” Quinn rebuked gently, and I fell silent.

I dropped my eyes to the deck, but Ken sighed and lifted a hand to turn my face back to him.

He smiled at me, “We all do what we have to when it comes to the people we love. That doesn’t exclude Mike. Or you.”

Raj hummed in agreement, “We got your back, Jake. No matter what.”

I closed my eyes again, unable to stand the way they were looking at me. I hadn’t had anybody treat me like that for so long. I wasn’t used to people caring about me like this, it hurt too much when they left.

But I knew, even without looking at any of them, that they weren’t about to leave me, or each other. No matter what happened when or if we survived this mess, we were in it all together. 

I smiled, keeping my eyes closed. “Just...thanks. For everything.”