Disclaimer:  Does anyone believe I own them?  Speak now, please!

AN:  Well, a few close mates requested it, so here it is.  Also . . .well . . .Jaraen's being cruel to me, so go check out the new stories he's playing with.

To Love and Protect

Epilogue

The quality of the darkness that held him was changing.  For the longest time it had been complete, an ebon curtain that blocked his view of any world.  At first he had thought himself alone in the darkness, but that had quickly changed, understanding dawning with a mix of awe and fear.

Something had stalked him.

He had never seen what it was, but he had felt it, an even colder and blacker part of the darkness, and he had run from it.

There had been something else, too . . .something that would distract the deeper darkness, something that would give him a chance to rest . . .

Now, though, the darkness had been steadily lightening, but with each lightening came the growing sense of pain, as though someone had lit a fire in his gut and left it to smolder.  For the moment the pain was still separate, still not a part of him, but if he took one more step away from the dark . . .

Don't fight it, and whatever you do don't move.  You'll be fine.

Seemingly without his consent the veil that separated him from the world where the pain was began to unravel, and the young man hissed quietly, determined not to cry out while attempting to decide if it was possible to not breath for an hour or so.  When not breathing the pain actually seemed manageable.

You're fine, Brian.  The pain will go away in time.

If opening his eyes was difficult, then focusing was nearly impossible, the form bending over him little more than a blurred outline against a dim background.

Rest.  They're caring for you.  You did what was right, even if it wasn't entirely lawful.  I'm proud of you.

The voice was familiar, as was the blurred visage that apparently went with it, but his mind seemed unable to wrap around a name, or a reason why he should feel such implicit trust.

He blinked slowly, hoping to bring some manner of clarity to his vision, but when he opened his eyes the man was gone.  It took nearly a full minute for his mind to work through the thought that if the man had left he would probably have used the door, and several more minutes to remember how to turn his head and refocus his vision.

"Brian!  You're awake!"  Elizabeth halted abruptly in the doorway, a grin quickly spreading across her face, and Brian found himself smiling, as well.

"How do you feel?  Are you comfortable?"  Brian decided he must have blinked again, as Elizabeth seemed to move from the doorway to his bed without taking any steps between.  Her hand was cool on his forehead as she smoothed unruly blond locks down.  "You're not hot, either.  Oh, thank God.  We've been so worried about you."

The young captain frowned, disgusted at the sluggishness of his own thoughts.  There was something he should ask her . . .

He grinned, wincing briefly as the too-deep breath that followed caused the fire in his gut to move from smoldering to flames.  "Who . . .was here . . .before?"  His voice was hoarse, barely audible, and Elizabeth quickly grabbed a glass of water and expertly raised his head so he could drink.

"Before?  Before when?  We've been with Captain Jenkin all afternoon, being . . .debriefed.  Not many people know everything what happened, and he's managed to craft quite a believable tale that should at least keep you alive and let you stay in the Navy, even if it doesn't keep you from getting demoted."  Elizabeth stopped, smiling slightly as she studied his face.  "And you're still too out of it understand much of what I just said, aren't you?"

Yes, he was, but that didn't matter at the moment.  He would just handle one thing at a time, and eventually everything would make sense.  "Before.  Not long ago.  Maybe ten minutes, a half hour . . .man . . .might've passed him in the hall . . .told me I'd be fine . . ."

"Maybe it was one of the soldiers on watch.  You're men've been worried about you, too."  Elizabeth gently took his hand in hers.  "It doesn't really matter who it was.  You're safe.  Whoever it was obviously didn't mean any harm."

"I know.  I . . .felt safe . . .should know who . . .it was . . ."  There was something about the voice that was bothering him, something he should realize that was nagging at the back of his mind.  "Voice . . .same voice . . .as in the darkness.  Phrase . . .it was the same phrase . . ."

It was the same phrase Jack had used.

I'm proud of you.

It was a phrase that had a disconcerting tendency to be used when you either thought someone was dying or thought you'd never see them again, never get a chance to tell them again.

What was it Jack had said?

James would be proud of you, son.  I'm proud of you. 

"James . . ."  Brian smiled and allowed his eyes to drift closed.  His mentor had protected him.  How he had earned the privilege was a mystery to him, but he was still grateful beyond words.

"A little bit of help from the afterlife . . ."  Elizabeth's whisper caused the young man to again struggle back to full consciousness, and he gazed through slitted eyes that still managed to convey curiosity.

"Jack, when he was saying goodbye . . .he said you had a little bit of help from the afterlife.  Will and I didn't think to ask what he meant."

"Where's Jack?"  The haze that had blanketed his mind was slowly lifting, allowing a bit more coherent thought.  The pirate would have wanted to place as much distance between himself and the navy as possible.

"He . . .well . . .he commandeered the Jade.  It's a rather long story, but Rollin can't decide whether to hate the man or respect him."

"He took the Jade?  Did he take her crew?"  It wasn't entirely unexpected, Jack setting his sights on the privateer vessel, but it still would have involved a good deal of planning and foresight.

"He took the privateer crew.  He didn't take any of your men, though.  He didn't offer anyone a choice, and he didn't try to take any hostages.  He was very well-behaved."

Brian nodded, his eyes closing again of their own volition.

"Go ahead and sleep, Brian.  We're taking care of everything."

Elizabeth's hand again brushed his hair back into place, lingering on his forehead, the woman apparently not quite able to believe that he really was getting better.

"Thank you.  For taking care of me.  I owe you."

Though he couldn't see her face, he had no doubt that she was smiling.  "You don't owe us anything, Brian.  You're family.  Family cares for family, remember?"

He smiled faintly as a gentler darkness rose to cradle his being.

His family.  It must qualify as one of the strangest families in the world . . .but it was also the best anyone could ever hope to know.