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merryghoulTitle: Fiona's Confessions
Author:merryghoul
Fandom: Burn Notice
Pairing/Characters: Fiona Glenanne/Jesse Porter, Gabriel, OCs
Rating: Mature
Length: ~3800 words
Summary: Desperate to prove she's being framed for murder, Fiona Glenanne entrusts her reputation—and her life—to the man whose heart she once broke. Jesse Porter, a sexy former Army counterintelligence agent turned detective, has never been the same since military action. But behind his cold demeanor, he still burns for Fiona.
Taking her case is an easy but dangerous decision for Jesse. Together they must race against the clock to find the real killer, who now wants them both dead. More dangerous, however, is their sudden, reignited passion. Jesse will do anything for a second chance with Fiona…while she'll do everything to keep the secret she never wants him to know…
Notes: Summary (as well as the style of this fic) taken from Confessions by Cynthia Eden. Set after Season Six and then goes AU from there. Does mention events from season three.
Link: Dreamwidth | AO3
Fiona called Jesse, but it was too late. Stephen, a harmful bastard Fiona was attempting to set up to get arrested for a client, knocked her out and tied her up in a chair. Her arms and legs were restrained in twine rope. Even if Fiona could escape her bonds by cutting through them with a knife, it would take a while. Stephen gagged Fiona with a handkerchief; she couldn't say anything coherent through it.
As Stephen cocked a semi-automatic near Fiona's head, she knew she was going to die.
Just when she thought Stephen was going to put a bullet through her brain, Stephen fell to his knees and collapsed to the ground. The gun fell out of his hands and slid towards the wall of the abandoned factory Stephen held Fiona in.
Fiona looked up. It was Jesse, holding a piece of heavy wooden debris in his hands. He dropped the debris. "Glad I got here in time."
Jesse pulled out a pocket knife and cut Fiona free of her bonds. He took off the hankerchief around her mouth. "I called the police for you. They should be coming any minute. That bastard should be out long enough to not escape."
"We need to go, Jesse," Fiona said. She grabbed Jesse's hand. The two ran out of the factory as soon as the police arrived, their lights and sirens going at full blast.
It felt strange for Jesse to walk Fiona to the door of her home. Most of the time, Jesse would be walking away from Fiona. Then again, that was when Michael was around. After he decided to join the CIA again, he disappeared. Jesse and Sam spent some time looking for him, but when all their leads went towards dead ends, that's when they gave up. They couldn't spend forever for a man who was as good as dead. And Fiona wanted nothing to do with Michael ever since he broke her heart for the last time.
Then there was also that time Jesse blew up a house Fiona moved into earlier, to kill a serial killer. After that incident, Jesse thought he was banned from walking into Fiona's residences. But here he was, leading Fiona out of his car and to her front door.
Fiona opened the door, then turned and looked at Jesse. Jesse noticed there was something different with this look she was giving him. She wanted him, desired him, needed him in her bed now. Fiona leaned in to kiss Jesse, and he kissed her back.
Jesse let Fiona pull him into her house. He shut the door as she was stripping off his clothes, leaving a trail to her bedroom. Seconds later, she was fully nude. She threw him onto the bed.
Their fingers explored every crevice, every nook and cranny on their torsos. Jesse pulled Fiona close to him and started kissing her all over her stomach. He flipped her onto her back and spread her legs.
Jesse couldn't believe it. He was about to do something he wanted to do for years, and all it took was a man choosing he'd rather have his job back than his girlfriend for the rest of his life.
Fiona gripped Jesse's back. "Thank you, Jesse," she whispered.
Jesse blinked. "Don't mention it." He entered her and started to thrust inside of her. Fiona held on to Jesse as tight as she could. Jesse did the same, grasping her hips for dear life. He saw Fiona's back arch towards him. He felt her quivering in delight...for him.
Fiona's eyes opened wide. She moaned. She reached her climax.
Jesse followed afterward, his pleasure coursing throughout his body. He was disappointed that their private meeting was over.
All Jesse could do was lie beside her and feel Fiona's head rubbing against his chest and her arms holding him in an embrace.
One month later...
Fiona stood in her bathroom waiting for the result of her pregnancy test. The kit said the result would appear in three minutes. Those three minutes felt like an eternity.
The results started to show up in the pregnancy test's window. One line appeared. Then, a second.
Fiona was pregnant, but she couldn't tell Jesse just yet. She was late for an appointment with the bounty hunter she worked with.
Fiona put on her clothes and went to her front door. She had no idea what was waiting for her on the other side.
A Miami-Dade police car was parked beside Fiona's Hyundai Genesis. Two officers stepped out of the car. "Are you Fiona Glenanne?" one of the officers asked.
"I am."
"You're under arrest for the murder of Joshua Motley."
As Fiona froze in shock, the officer who wasn't reciting her Miranda rights to her handcuffed her and placed her in the back of their squad car.
Across the street from Fiona's house, the man who murdered Joshua Motley was in a black car with the license plates switched on it. He watched Fiona get arrested through binoculars. The murder weapon, a Walther PPK that was similar to Fiona's preferred gun, was in the back seat of the car. The reason why he held on to the gun was he was planning to use it again. Hopefully the gun would be turned onto her.
As the police car headed to the nearest police station, the murderer drove away.
Fiona's bail was set at 50,000 dollars. Fiona called Jesse and told him about the arrest. With the help of the bail bondsman Fiona worked for, Jesse paid Fiona's bail and picked her up from the jail she was housed in. As they were walking to his car, Fiona laid her head on Jesse's shoulder.
"Fi, are you okay?" Jesse asked.
"I'm fine. Just a bit light-headed. I didn't eat any breakfast before I was arrested. At least this time I was able to post bail. We all know what happened last time."
"Yeah. At least that bastard Anson is dead. You said the police arrested you for murder?"
"Yeah. Some man named Joshua Motley. That's my only lead."
"Let me take you home so you can rest. I'm going to look for this Joshua Motley for you."
"Thanks, Jesse."
"Don't mention it. Besides, the police owe me 50,000 dollars for this."
After Jesse left her home, Fiona went back to the bathroom. She looked at her pregnancy test. It still said she was pregnant. She put the test back in its box and put the box back in the medicine cabinet. Given the day's sudden turn of events, telling Jesse about her pregnancy could wait.
Later that day, Jesse retuned to Fiona's home. Fiona was well enough to walk to the door and let Jesse in.
"What'd you find out, Jesse?"
"Not much. Joshua Motley was an executive at some computer company. Apex Industries."
Fiona sat down in the nearest chair in her living room. Once again, she was stunned.
"Fi, what's wrong?"
"I never told you about Gabriel. I think."
Jesse sat down beside Fiona. "Who's Gabriel?"
"Gabriel's from Argentina. He came to Miami to kidnap a businessman and hold him hostage to force the businessman's company out of his town. He knew about my reputation and hired me to help out with the job."
"Did you want to do the job?"
"No. Well, after I learned what Gabriel was going to do."
"So you took this job without knowing what it was."
Fiona's eyes widened. "Twenty thousand dollars, Jesse. Ten thousand up front. It sounded like a great deal at the time. The weasel that gave it to me was harmless, so I thought the job was harmless. But the job wasn't as harmless as I thought it was.
"Michael and Sam helped me foil Gabriel's plans. And after we stopped Gabriel from kidnapping the buisnessman, we sent him to jail. I thought Gabriel was going to stay in jail for a long time."
"Well, at least we know who possibly killed Joshua. Let me see if I can find the bastard. You know what prison he went to?"
"No. Once Gabriel was arrested, we stopped checking up on him. But maybe my contacts know some things. I know a few harmless weasels here and there. I'll start looking for him tomorrow."
"I may have a few contacts at work that I can get in touch with. I'll start looking tomorrow too. You wanna meet up at Carlito's tomorrow, trade some intel?"
"Sounds great."
"See you, Fi."
Jesse left Fiona's home. Fiona rubbed her stomach.
As Jesse was leaving, he saw a black car across from Fiona's home. He noticed the man inside of it was looking at the residence through binoculars. Jesse pretended not to see the man and walked back into the house.
Fiona jerked her hand off her stomach when Jesse came back into the house. "What's wrong, Jesse?"
"Did you know there's a man in front of your house looking at everyone coming in and out of your front door?"
Fiona shook her head. "No. Did you see him?"
"Short black hair, black jacket? Was that the guy?"
Fiona's eyes widened.
Jesse nodded. "That was the guy. I bet he's been stalking you ever since he broke out of prison."
"We've got to get out of here, Jesse."
"Can I drive my car behind your house and pick you up?"
"Yeah. Drive slowly so the bastard doesn't hear you. But let me drive. You drive like a senior citizen in rush hour traffic."
Jesse blinked. "Well, excuse me if I like to obey traffic laws most of the time."
"I'll meet you at the back door. You'd better have your gun."
"In times like these, I'd feel stupid if I didn't have a gun around you."
As Jesse left to get into his car, Fiona rubbed her stomach again, tugging at the end of her t-shirt. Jesse saw her doing this just before he left Fiona's home.
"So, where are we going?" Fiona asked once Jesse and her were away from her home.
"Hialeah."
Fiona turned to Jesse while she was driving. "Hialeah."
"It's cool, Fi. I know this motel there we can both hide out in. I bet they don't remember the last time I hid out in their motel."
"So you want me to lie down on a bed with--"
Fiona checked the rear-view mirror. Gabriel caught up to Jesse's car. Gabriel was slamming his car into Jesse's rear fender. "Bad news, Jesse. Gabriel's caught up to us."
"What, you think I can't feel that? When I get my bail money back, I have to spend part of it on getting my car fixed thanks to this guy."
"I think he realized something was going on after we left my place."
"We can't go to Hialeah."
"I think I know a cleaner place we can hide out in. There's an abandoned factory nearby. I think I can get us there in three minutes. That should buy us some time to hide out from the bastard."
Fiona sped up and started passing and driving past cars on the road. It didn't take her long to escape Gabriel and force him to abide with the other traffic on the road.
In the abandoned factory, Fiona led Jesse to a small office upstairs from the ground floor. They both hid behind a broken, dusty desk in the office.
"Fi, we should start looking for Gabriel."
"No, not yet. We need to have a plan. We can't shoot him fatally, if we have to shoot him. We need him alive or I'm going back to prison. I have no intention of being--"
Jesse shook his head. "You don't have to go there. I had nightmares about you in prison, too."
"You did?"
"We all did--Sam, Mike, and I. I think you only talked to Mike about it. Mike was talking about how hungry and thin you looked in prison. I started seeing it in my daydreams, and it bled over into my nightmares. Glad you didn't come out of prison looking like death."
"I'm glad I came out of prison alright, too."
Jesse sighed. "Probably not the best time to tell you that I still have a crush on you."
Fiona shook her head. "No. It's okay to tell me now."
"I feel bad because you've always had a thing for Mike."
"Not any more. He's as good as dead to me." Fiona grabbed Jesse's hands. "When I let you spend the night, it wasn't a fluke, Jesse. I want you to be my boyfriend. Well, if we both survive Gabriel."
"You mean it?"
Fiona nodded.
"Wow. I just got upgraded to your boyfriend in a day."
"It's been months in the making, Jesse. You've been looking out for me well before Michael left us. You've told me things I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. And you're a great sidekick whenever I need help on a job." She stroked Jesse's cheek. "Thank you, Jesse."
"While we're here, Fi, you want to tell me why you're so obsessed with your stomach lately? You're rubbing it like you have a stomachache."
Fiona blinked. She sighed. "I didn't want to tell you this, but I should. I hope I'm not going to upset you when I tell you my secret."
"What's your secret?"
Fiona took a deep breath. "I took a pregnancy test earlier. Two lines came up on the test. I'm pregnant."
Jesse blinked. "You're serious."
Fiona nodded. "It's been about a month. The dates line up. I haven't done it with anyone else. I'd probably need to double check with a real doctor, but I'm pregnant."
"Oh, so now I'm your boyfriend and your baby daddy."
"You know, there was a time when I didn't want kids. I'd thought I'd be a horrible mother. Over time, I've learned that not only can I defend kids from weasels, I can have fun with them too. I know I'm not a young mother, and I probably need all the medical help I can get. But I'd like to keep this child, if I can." She rubbed her stomach and smiled.
"You won't be able to do jobs for a while."
"I know. I'll find a way to make money for us while I'm incapacitated. But when I can go back to work, Madeline can babysit for us if we're doing a job together. And maybe Sam, if he's not doing a job. When we're not out on jobs, we'll take care of the kid. Everything will be fine. Well, after this Gabriel business."
"Are you gonna ask me if I want to be in this child's life?"
"I was getting to that. Jesse, would you like to be in my child's life? I think you'll be a great dad."
"You're not the woman I envisioned carrying my first born."
Fiona stared at Jesse.
"You never let to get me finish, do you? But I want to be there for him when he's born. And I want to make sure he doesn't have a childhood like I had."
"Well, what if it's a girl? We won't know for a few months. That is, if you want to know before the baby's born."
"I am also going to make sure that, if the baby's a girl, she will not have the same childhood I had."
"We'll get to anything else when our child grows up. But that's years from now. Right now, we've got to get Gabriel to confess he murdered Joshua."
Jesse nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to need that 50,000 dollars back for my car and my child. You figured out something?"
Fiona shook her head. "We're just going to look for the bastard and take him head on. We knock him out, put him in the trunk of your car, extract a confession from him, and we can start preparing to be new parents."
Jesse nodded. "Sounds like a good plan from someone who has no plan." He grabbed Fiona's hand.
"Let's go," Fiona said.
The two walked downstairs to an open space in the abandoned factory. Fiona and Jesse walked around the factory, their guns drawn. They stayed close to each other as they attempted to scan the space for any intruders.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the two of them to stay together with weapons drawn. Gabriel snuck up behind the two and knocked out Jesse, causing him and his SIG-Sauer to fall to the ground. Gabriel covered Fiona's mouth and dragged her far away from Jesse's fallen body.
Gabriel tied Fiona up to a column in the factory with twine rope. He gagged her with a bandanna. With a gloved hand, he held Fiona's Walther up to the side of her head. "Fiona, I was hoping I'd see you again."
All Fiona could do was yell through her gag. She was tearing up. She was so close to having a family, and now Gabriel was going to take hers away, all because she took a job in the hopes of getting some quick cash. The thought sickened her to her stomach.
"I still haven't forgotten what you and your friends did to me. I was going to go after Michael--you know, the man they keep calling your boyfriend? The man that had the audacity to save my life when I didn't want it saved? But my sources tell me Michael is out of the country. So I decided to go after you first and save Michael for last. The old man--what's his name, Sam? He's next. Him and that bald man you've been hanging around recently. Are you cheating on Michael, Fiona? I hope not. That would be a shame."
Gabriel didn't see Jesse going for the Walther.
"Actually," Jesse said, "Fi broke up with Mike. I'm her boyfriend now."
Gabriel felt himself being pulled away from one of the people keeping him from exacting vengeance over the technology company that killed his daughter. He struggled to keep the gun in his hands. He managed to fire a shot out from the gun.
Fiona gasped when she heard the shot go off.
Jesse stood up, but he was limping. He yelped. "Dude, did you really have to shoot me in my butt?" Despite his limp, he was able to push Gabriel against a wall. It was enough for Gabriel to drop Fiona's Walther. Jesse grabbed the Walther and pointed it at Gabriel. He sighed. "Now I have to use my bail money on fixing my car and my butt. This would happen when I'm expecting a baby. Ouch."
Fiona drove to the closest police station with Jesse in the back seat and Gabriel in the trunk. She walked to the station's front desk. "Hi. I'm Fiona Glenanne. I was arrested earlier because someone shot Joshua Motley of the Apex Corporation and framed me for it because they knew what gun I liked to use. I'm here to let you know I found the murderer, and, if I'm not mistaken, he's just gotten out of jail. I, uh, I'll be right back with the murderer. His name's Gabriel, by the way. And can you call an ambulance for my boyfriend? He's in my car. His name's Jesse Porter, and Gabriel shot him in the--"
Four months later...
Gabriel was sent to a high-security state prison north of Miami. Gabriel could still get out and try to exact his vengeance on Fiona, Jesse, and the rest of their friends and family, but it would be an uphill battle for him to try and do so.
Meanwhile, Fiona's belly had grown larger. The baby was quickening inside of her; she could feel it moving around.
Jesse recovered from getting shot in his butt. The downside was he now had a bullet in his butt for the rest of his life. The upside was he could walk around as if he'd never gotten shot at all.
It felt weird for Fiona and Jesse to regularly see an obstetrician. Fiona was used to sewing up wounds in the middle of battle and moving on, not seeing a doctor to ensure she and her unborn child would be safe. Yet Jesse and her were sitting in an obstetrician's office, waiting for the results of an amniocentesis test. Fiona took in a deep breath and relaxed. She stroked Jesse's hand. "It'll be okay, Jesse. I'm sure our child will be fine."
"Yeah, let's wait until our doctor tells that, okay, Fi?"
The obstetrician walked into the room and sat beside Fiona, who was lying down on an examination table, and Jesse. "So, Fiona," the obstetrician said, "how are you feeling?"
"Hungrier than ever. I've been eating a lot of sweet things and making a lot of wake up calls in the morning." She gave Jesse a sly smile and a wink. "There's a little discomfort in my abdomen, but I think it's because of my little one growing inside of me."
"I've got some good news. Your baby's going to be okay. We didn't find anything abnormal in your amniotic fluid. You should be able to carry your baby to term without any problems. We also did find out the sex of your child. Would you like to find out now?"
Fiona nodded. "Sure, why not? But I believe I will be having a little girl in a few months. That's what my mother craved when she was pregnant with my sister and me, sweet things."
"Old wives' tales aren't reliable, but, surprisingly, you're right. You're having a little girl in a few months."
"Told you," Fiona said to Jesse.
"You don't have to rub it in my face, Fi."
"And I have the perfect name for my little girl when she arrives," Fiona said to the obstetrician.
"Me too, Fi."
"I'm naming her after my sister," Fiona said. At the same time, Jesse said "I'm naming her after my mother." The two of them looked at each other.
"Her first name can be your sister's, Fi. Her middle name can be my mother's."
Fiona nodded. "That sounds wonderful. I can't wait until she grows up so we can take her to the shoo--"
"Fi, not in front of our doctor."
Fiona cleared her throat. "I can't wait until she's old enough to join our adventures."
Fiona and Jesse looked at each other. Fiona squeezed his hand, and the two of them smiled at each other. The baby shifted inside of Fiona. Fiona and Jesse's daughter was already preparing for their adventures together in a few month's time, and it felt like it wouldn't take her long to catch up to speed.
Author:
merryghoulFandom: Burn Notice
Pairing/Characters: Fiona Glenanne/Jesse Porter, Gabriel, OCs
Rating: Mature
Length: ~3800 words
Summary: Desperate to prove she's being framed for murder, Fiona Glenanne entrusts her reputation—and her life—to the man whose heart she once broke. Jesse Porter, a sexy former Army counterintelligence agent turned detective, has never been the same since military action. But behind his cold demeanor, he still burns for Fiona.
Taking her case is an easy but dangerous decision for Jesse. Together they must race against the clock to find the real killer, who now wants them both dead. More dangerous, however, is their sudden, reignited passion. Jesse will do anything for a second chance with Fiona…while she'll do everything to keep the secret she never wants him to know…
Notes: Summary (as well as the style of this fic) taken from Confessions by Cynthia Eden. Set after Season Six and then goes AU from there. Does mention events from season three.
Link: Dreamwidth | AO3
Fiona called Jesse, but it was too late. Stephen, a harmful bastard Fiona was attempting to set up to get arrested for a client, knocked her out and tied her up in a chair. Her arms and legs were restrained in twine rope. Even if Fiona could escape her bonds by cutting through them with a knife, it would take a while. Stephen gagged Fiona with a handkerchief; she couldn't say anything coherent through it.
As Stephen cocked a semi-automatic near Fiona's head, she knew she was going to die.
Just when she thought Stephen was going to put a bullet through her brain, Stephen fell to his knees and collapsed to the ground. The gun fell out of his hands and slid towards the wall of the abandoned factory Stephen held Fiona in.
Fiona looked up. It was Jesse, holding a piece of heavy wooden debris in his hands. He dropped the debris. "Glad I got here in time."
Jesse pulled out a pocket knife and cut Fiona free of her bonds. He took off the hankerchief around her mouth. "I called the police for you. They should be coming any minute. That bastard should be out long enough to not escape."
"We need to go, Jesse," Fiona said. She grabbed Jesse's hand. The two ran out of the factory as soon as the police arrived, their lights and sirens going at full blast.
It felt strange for Jesse to walk Fiona to the door of her home. Most of the time, Jesse would be walking away from Fiona. Then again, that was when Michael was around. After he decided to join the CIA again, he disappeared. Jesse and Sam spent some time looking for him, but when all their leads went towards dead ends, that's when they gave up. They couldn't spend forever for a man who was as good as dead. And Fiona wanted nothing to do with Michael ever since he broke her heart for the last time.
Then there was also that time Jesse blew up a house Fiona moved into earlier, to kill a serial killer. After that incident, Jesse thought he was banned from walking into Fiona's residences. But here he was, leading Fiona out of his car and to her front door.
Fiona opened the door, then turned and looked at Jesse. Jesse noticed there was something different with this look she was giving him. She wanted him, desired him, needed him in her bed now. Fiona leaned in to kiss Jesse, and he kissed her back.
Jesse let Fiona pull him into her house. He shut the door as she was stripping off his clothes, leaving a trail to her bedroom. Seconds later, she was fully nude. She threw him onto the bed.
Their fingers explored every crevice, every nook and cranny on their torsos. Jesse pulled Fiona close to him and started kissing her all over her stomach. He flipped her onto her back and spread her legs.
Jesse couldn't believe it. He was about to do something he wanted to do for years, and all it took was a man choosing he'd rather have his job back than his girlfriend for the rest of his life.
Fiona gripped Jesse's back. "Thank you, Jesse," she whispered.
Jesse blinked. "Don't mention it." He entered her and started to thrust inside of her. Fiona held on to Jesse as tight as she could. Jesse did the same, grasping her hips for dear life. He saw Fiona's back arch towards him. He felt her quivering in delight...for him.
Fiona's eyes opened wide. She moaned. She reached her climax.
Jesse followed afterward, his pleasure coursing throughout his body. He was disappointed that their private meeting was over.
All Jesse could do was lie beside her and feel Fiona's head rubbing against his chest and her arms holding him in an embrace.
One month later...
Fiona stood in her bathroom waiting for the result of her pregnancy test. The kit said the result would appear in three minutes. Those three minutes felt like an eternity.
The results started to show up in the pregnancy test's window. One line appeared. Then, a second.
Fiona was pregnant, but she couldn't tell Jesse just yet. She was late for an appointment with the bounty hunter she worked with.
Fiona put on her clothes and went to her front door. She had no idea what was waiting for her on the other side.
A Miami-Dade police car was parked beside Fiona's Hyundai Genesis. Two officers stepped out of the car. "Are you Fiona Glenanne?" one of the officers asked.
"I am."
"You're under arrest for the murder of Joshua Motley."
As Fiona froze in shock, the officer who wasn't reciting her Miranda rights to her handcuffed her and placed her in the back of their squad car.
Across the street from Fiona's house, the man who murdered Joshua Motley was in a black car with the license plates switched on it. He watched Fiona get arrested through binoculars. The murder weapon, a Walther PPK that was similar to Fiona's preferred gun, was in the back seat of the car. The reason why he held on to the gun was he was planning to use it again. Hopefully the gun would be turned onto her.
As the police car headed to the nearest police station, the murderer drove away.
Fiona's bail was set at 50,000 dollars. Fiona called Jesse and told him about the arrest. With the help of the bail bondsman Fiona worked for, Jesse paid Fiona's bail and picked her up from the jail she was housed in. As they were walking to his car, Fiona laid her head on Jesse's shoulder.
"Fi, are you okay?" Jesse asked.
"I'm fine. Just a bit light-headed. I didn't eat any breakfast before I was arrested. At least this time I was able to post bail. We all know what happened last time."
"Yeah. At least that bastard Anson is dead. You said the police arrested you for murder?"
"Yeah. Some man named Joshua Motley. That's my only lead."
"Let me take you home so you can rest. I'm going to look for this Joshua Motley for you."
"Thanks, Jesse."
"Don't mention it. Besides, the police owe me 50,000 dollars for this."
After Jesse left her home, Fiona went back to the bathroom. She looked at her pregnancy test. It still said she was pregnant. She put the test back in its box and put the box back in the medicine cabinet. Given the day's sudden turn of events, telling Jesse about her pregnancy could wait.
Later that day, Jesse retuned to Fiona's home. Fiona was well enough to walk to the door and let Jesse in.
"What'd you find out, Jesse?"
"Not much. Joshua Motley was an executive at some computer company. Apex Industries."
Fiona sat down in the nearest chair in her living room. Once again, she was stunned.
"Fi, what's wrong?"
"I never told you about Gabriel. I think."
Jesse sat down beside Fiona. "Who's Gabriel?"
"Gabriel's from Argentina. He came to Miami to kidnap a businessman and hold him hostage to force the businessman's company out of his town. He knew about my reputation and hired me to help out with the job."
"Did you want to do the job?"
"No. Well, after I learned what Gabriel was going to do."
"So you took this job without knowing what it was."
Fiona's eyes widened. "Twenty thousand dollars, Jesse. Ten thousand up front. It sounded like a great deal at the time. The weasel that gave it to me was harmless, so I thought the job was harmless. But the job wasn't as harmless as I thought it was.
"Michael and Sam helped me foil Gabriel's plans. And after we stopped Gabriel from kidnapping the buisnessman, we sent him to jail. I thought Gabriel was going to stay in jail for a long time."
"Well, at least we know who possibly killed Joshua. Let me see if I can find the bastard. You know what prison he went to?"
"No. Once Gabriel was arrested, we stopped checking up on him. But maybe my contacts know some things. I know a few harmless weasels here and there. I'll start looking for him tomorrow."
"I may have a few contacts at work that I can get in touch with. I'll start looking tomorrow too. You wanna meet up at Carlito's tomorrow, trade some intel?"
"Sounds great."
"See you, Fi."
Jesse left Fiona's home. Fiona rubbed her stomach.
As Jesse was leaving, he saw a black car across from Fiona's home. He noticed the man inside of it was looking at the residence through binoculars. Jesse pretended not to see the man and walked back into the house.
Fiona jerked her hand off her stomach when Jesse came back into the house. "What's wrong, Jesse?"
"Did you know there's a man in front of your house looking at everyone coming in and out of your front door?"
Fiona shook her head. "No. Did you see him?"
"Short black hair, black jacket? Was that the guy?"
Fiona's eyes widened.
Jesse nodded. "That was the guy. I bet he's been stalking you ever since he broke out of prison."
"We've got to get out of here, Jesse."
"Can I drive my car behind your house and pick you up?"
"Yeah. Drive slowly so the bastard doesn't hear you. But let me drive. You drive like a senior citizen in rush hour traffic."
Jesse blinked. "Well, excuse me if I like to obey traffic laws most of the time."
"I'll meet you at the back door. You'd better have your gun."
"In times like these, I'd feel stupid if I didn't have a gun around you."
As Jesse left to get into his car, Fiona rubbed her stomach again, tugging at the end of her t-shirt. Jesse saw her doing this just before he left Fiona's home.
"So, where are we going?" Fiona asked once Jesse and her were away from her home.
"Hialeah."
Fiona turned to Jesse while she was driving. "Hialeah."
"It's cool, Fi. I know this motel there we can both hide out in. I bet they don't remember the last time I hid out in their motel."
"So you want me to lie down on a bed with--"
Fiona checked the rear-view mirror. Gabriel caught up to Jesse's car. Gabriel was slamming his car into Jesse's rear fender. "Bad news, Jesse. Gabriel's caught up to us."
"What, you think I can't feel that? When I get my bail money back, I have to spend part of it on getting my car fixed thanks to this guy."
"I think he realized something was going on after we left my place."
"We can't go to Hialeah."
"I think I know a cleaner place we can hide out in. There's an abandoned factory nearby. I think I can get us there in three minutes. That should buy us some time to hide out from the bastard."
Fiona sped up and started passing and driving past cars on the road. It didn't take her long to escape Gabriel and force him to abide with the other traffic on the road.
In the abandoned factory, Fiona led Jesse to a small office upstairs from the ground floor. They both hid behind a broken, dusty desk in the office.
"Fi, we should start looking for Gabriel."
"No, not yet. We need to have a plan. We can't shoot him fatally, if we have to shoot him. We need him alive or I'm going back to prison. I have no intention of being--"
Jesse shook his head. "You don't have to go there. I had nightmares about you in prison, too."
"You did?"
"We all did--Sam, Mike, and I. I think you only talked to Mike about it. Mike was talking about how hungry and thin you looked in prison. I started seeing it in my daydreams, and it bled over into my nightmares. Glad you didn't come out of prison looking like death."
"I'm glad I came out of prison alright, too."
Jesse sighed. "Probably not the best time to tell you that I still have a crush on you."
Fiona shook her head. "No. It's okay to tell me now."
"I feel bad because you've always had a thing for Mike."
"Not any more. He's as good as dead to me." Fiona grabbed Jesse's hands. "When I let you spend the night, it wasn't a fluke, Jesse. I want you to be my boyfriend. Well, if we both survive Gabriel."
"You mean it?"
Fiona nodded.
"Wow. I just got upgraded to your boyfriend in a day."
"It's been months in the making, Jesse. You've been looking out for me well before Michael left us. You've told me things I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. And you're a great sidekick whenever I need help on a job." She stroked Jesse's cheek. "Thank you, Jesse."
"While we're here, Fi, you want to tell me why you're so obsessed with your stomach lately? You're rubbing it like you have a stomachache."
Fiona blinked. She sighed. "I didn't want to tell you this, but I should. I hope I'm not going to upset you when I tell you my secret."
"What's your secret?"
Fiona took a deep breath. "I took a pregnancy test earlier. Two lines came up on the test. I'm pregnant."
Jesse blinked. "You're serious."
Fiona nodded. "It's been about a month. The dates line up. I haven't done it with anyone else. I'd probably need to double check with a real doctor, but I'm pregnant."
"Oh, so now I'm your boyfriend and your baby daddy."
"You know, there was a time when I didn't want kids. I'd thought I'd be a horrible mother. Over time, I've learned that not only can I defend kids from weasels, I can have fun with them too. I know I'm not a young mother, and I probably need all the medical help I can get. But I'd like to keep this child, if I can." She rubbed her stomach and smiled.
"You won't be able to do jobs for a while."
"I know. I'll find a way to make money for us while I'm incapacitated. But when I can go back to work, Madeline can babysit for us if we're doing a job together. And maybe Sam, if he's not doing a job. When we're not out on jobs, we'll take care of the kid. Everything will be fine. Well, after this Gabriel business."
"Are you gonna ask me if I want to be in this child's life?"
"I was getting to that. Jesse, would you like to be in my child's life? I think you'll be a great dad."
"You're not the woman I envisioned carrying my first born."
Fiona stared at Jesse.
"You never let to get me finish, do you? But I want to be there for him when he's born. And I want to make sure he doesn't have a childhood like I had."
"Well, what if it's a girl? We won't know for a few months. That is, if you want to know before the baby's born."
"I am also going to make sure that, if the baby's a girl, she will not have the same childhood I had."
"We'll get to anything else when our child grows up. But that's years from now. Right now, we've got to get Gabriel to confess he murdered Joshua."
Jesse nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to need that 50,000 dollars back for my car and my child. You figured out something?"
Fiona shook her head. "We're just going to look for the bastard and take him head on. We knock him out, put him in the trunk of your car, extract a confession from him, and we can start preparing to be new parents."
Jesse nodded. "Sounds like a good plan from someone who has no plan." He grabbed Fiona's hand.
"Let's go," Fiona said.
The two walked downstairs to an open space in the abandoned factory. Fiona and Jesse walked around the factory, their guns drawn. They stayed close to each other as they attempted to scan the space for any intruders.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the two of them to stay together with weapons drawn. Gabriel snuck up behind the two and knocked out Jesse, causing him and his SIG-Sauer to fall to the ground. Gabriel covered Fiona's mouth and dragged her far away from Jesse's fallen body.
Gabriel tied Fiona up to a column in the factory with twine rope. He gagged her with a bandanna. With a gloved hand, he held Fiona's Walther up to the side of her head. "Fiona, I was hoping I'd see you again."
All Fiona could do was yell through her gag. She was tearing up. She was so close to having a family, and now Gabriel was going to take hers away, all because she took a job in the hopes of getting some quick cash. The thought sickened her to her stomach.
"I still haven't forgotten what you and your friends did to me. I was going to go after Michael--you know, the man they keep calling your boyfriend? The man that had the audacity to save my life when I didn't want it saved? But my sources tell me Michael is out of the country. So I decided to go after you first and save Michael for last. The old man--what's his name, Sam? He's next. Him and that bald man you've been hanging around recently. Are you cheating on Michael, Fiona? I hope not. That would be a shame."
Gabriel didn't see Jesse going for the Walther.
"Actually," Jesse said, "Fi broke up with Mike. I'm her boyfriend now."
Gabriel felt himself being pulled away from one of the people keeping him from exacting vengeance over the technology company that killed his daughter. He struggled to keep the gun in his hands. He managed to fire a shot out from the gun.
Fiona gasped when she heard the shot go off.
Jesse stood up, but he was limping. He yelped. "Dude, did you really have to shoot me in my butt?" Despite his limp, he was able to push Gabriel against a wall. It was enough for Gabriel to drop Fiona's Walther. Jesse grabbed the Walther and pointed it at Gabriel. He sighed. "Now I have to use my bail money on fixing my car and my butt. This would happen when I'm expecting a baby. Ouch."
Fiona drove to the closest police station with Jesse in the back seat and Gabriel in the trunk. She walked to the station's front desk. "Hi. I'm Fiona Glenanne. I was arrested earlier because someone shot Joshua Motley of the Apex Corporation and framed me for it because they knew what gun I liked to use. I'm here to let you know I found the murderer, and, if I'm not mistaken, he's just gotten out of jail. I, uh, I'll be right back with the murderer. His name's Gabriel, by the way. And can you call an ambulance for my boyfriend? He's in my car. His name's Jesse Porter, and Gabriel shot him in the--"
Four months later...
Gabriel was sent to a high-security state prison north of Miami. Gabriel could still get out and try to exact his vengeance on Fiona, Jesse, and the rest of their friends and family, but it would be an uphill battle for him to try and do so.
Meanwhile, Fiona's belly had grown larger. The baby was quickening inside of her; she could feel it moving around.
Jesse recovered from getting shot in his butt. The downside was he now had a bullet in his butt for the rest of his life. The upside was he could walk around as if he'd never gotten shot at all.
It felt weird for Fiona and Jesse to regularly see an obstetrician. Fiona was used to sewing up wounds in the middle of battle and moving on, not seeing a doctor to ensure she and her unborn child would be safe. Yet Jesse and her were sitting in an obstetrician's office, waiting for the results of an amniocentesis test. Fiona took in a deep breath and relaxed. She stroked Jesse's hand. "It'll be okay, Jesse. I'm sure our child will be fine."
"Yeah, let's wait until our doctor tells that, okay, Fi?"
The obstetrician walked into the room and sat beside Fiona, who was lying down on an examination table, and Jesse. "So, Fiona," the obstetrician said, "how are you feeling?"
"Hungrier than ever. I've been eating a lot of sweet things and making a lot of wake up calls in the morning." She gave Jesse a sly smile and a wink. "There's a little discomfort in my abdomen, but I think it's because of my little one growing inside of me."
"I've got some good news. Your baby's going to be okay. We didn't find anything abnormal in your amniotic fluid. You should be able to carry your baby to term without any problems. We also did find out the sex of your child. Would you like to find out now?"
Fiona nodded. "Sure, why not? But I believe I will be having a little girl in a few months. That's what my mother craved when she was pregnant with my sister and me, sweet things."
"Old wives' tales aren't reliable, but, surprisingly, you're right. You're having a little girl in a few months."
"Told you," Fiona said to Jesse.
"You don't have to rub it in my face, Fi."
"And I have the perfect name for my little girl when she arrives," Fiona said to the obstetrician.
"Me too, Fi."
"I'm naming her after my sister," Fiona said. At the same time, Jesse said "I'm naming her after my mother." The two of them looked at each other.
"Her first name can be your sister's, Fi. Her middle name can be my mother's."
Fiona nodded. "That sounds wonderful. I can't wait until she grows up so we can take her to the shoo--"
"Fi, not in front of our doctor."
Fiona cleared her throat. "I can't wait until she's old enough to join our adventures."
Fiona and Jesse looked at each other. Fiona squeezed his hand, and the two of them smiled at each other. The baby shifted inside of Fiona. Fiona and Jesse's daughter was already preparing for their adventures together in a few month's time, and it felt like it wouldn't take her long to catch up to speed.
