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“You killed my husband!”
The slap hurt like a motherfucker. 3468 slid a hand up to his jaw to make sure all his teeth were still there. He doubted even Grant MacLaren had ever been hit that hard before he’d landed in his consciousness. This was not how he’d imagined this rescue to go. To be honest, he genuinely hadn’t expected 001 to keep his promise. He never thought they would just be standing on the side of the road. He’d expected a shootout. He’d expected Kat to be in shock, to be hurt, and the moment she saw him, she’d fall apart in his arms and he’d hold her and comfort her like a husband would.
3468 knew that a confrontation with her would be inevitable. But there wouldn’t be much of one before a Medic arrived with a memory inhibitor, and that would be the end of it. His team would get their stories straight and the next day, Kat would wake up back in their home and they’d cry and he’d be there to guide her through it.
Well, I’m getting a confrontation, and she’s hurt, but not the way I expected.
The look of utter betrayal on Kat’s face stung 3468 worse than the slap. Very suddenly, he was aware that his entire team and the others were watching him and Kat. Waiting to see what he’d do.
“I didn’t kill your husband.”
Fuck Protocol 2 .
“No?” He’d seen Kat mad at him. Kat was furious . He couldn’t blame her. “You’re not my husband. He might as well be dead!”
“You’re right,” 3468 cut in. “I’m not, and he is. FBI Special Agent Grant MacLaren was supposed to fall down an elevator shaft and bleed out alone in the dark.”
The look on Kat’s face was killing him, and it was only going to get worse. “Before that could happen, I arrived and overwrote his consciousness in his dying moments and took his place. I didn’t kill him, Kat. He was already dead.”
“Mac-” Trevor began, but 3468 held up a hand.
“I’m not Mac.” He looked around at all of them. “We are not Trevor, or Carly, or Marcy, or Phillip. We are Travelers,” he reminded them.
He returned his attention to Kat. “I’m not your husband, Kat.” She was crying now, and 3468 knew that whether it was because of the stress of the abduction, the knowledge of the truth, or the fact that he’d shattered the pieces of her life…it was all because of him . “Not really,” he amended, softening. She’s been through enough . “Kat, after the plane crash, and you won’t remember any of this, but after the plane crash, I ended up in…the hospital. And while I was recovering, I got to see….there must have been a few snippets of Grant MacLaren left. I got to see him. Got to see you. Saw how much he loved you.”
It wasn’t helping. But she needed to know.
“We have a Protocol. Protocol 5 says we’re supposed to live our host’s lives as if nothing’s changed. But…something changed.” 3468 felt his team’s eyes burning into his back. He wondered if they felt as guilty as he did. “I’m not Grant,” he said. “But…that doesn’t mean I don’t…or can’t …love you like he did.”
“Do you really expect me to love you after this?” Kat’s voice was soft, disbelieving. “To trust you?”
“No.”
“And…our baby?” Kat’s voice broke. 3468 could feel tears in the corners of his eyes. He wasn't ready to have that conversation. Not yet. But the events leading up to that... He could give her half the truth. He owed her that.
“That was when things changed,” he told her quietly. “After the plane crash, I saw you…and Grant, and your baby.” Something had shifted, and he felt her fingers intertwined with his. “I…I wanted to give you that. It meant breaking Protocol 4-”
“Now I know you’re not my husband,” Kat said. “Grant never broke rules. You've broken like, five of them.”
He choked back a laugh, realizing how inappropriate it was at a time like this. “Yeah. I didn't either. Not until- No! ”
Kat collapsed in his arms and he staggered, bending to keep her upright. The other team had arrived, D13 with a few other Medics. Around him, he saw David, Ray, and Jeff all being gently lowered to the ground while his team looked on. Only Grace was still standing, but the look on her face told 3468 that she wasn’t out of the woods either. “Damn it!” 3468 swore, slipping Kat’s arm over his shoulder to keep her upright.
“Protocol 2, Boss,” Trevor reminded him.
“She won’t remember any of this,” D13 reminded 3468. He eyed him. “Be thankful that she won’t. The Director wouldn’t approve.”
“Right now,” 3468 said, sliding his elbow under his wife’s knees and cradling her, “I really don’t give a fuck.”
It doesn’t mean I don’t…or I can’t…
But I do.