Holding Their Own VII: Phoenix Star (35 page)

Bishop s
at Terri down at his feet as gently as possible. His arms were burning tired, and he thought the hard pavement might actually be a little more comfortable than his sloppy grip. He dropped to his knees, resting her head on his thighs. It was the best he could do, and she didn’t complain.

A few minutes later
, there was a rush of activity behind the gate. He heard racing engines, car doors, and the hustled sound of several pairs of boots.

“Here it comes,” he mumbled, fully expecting the MPs to rush him with drawn weapons. He
reached down and touched Terri’s cheek. “I love you,” he said.

He pulled Hunter around to his front, hugging his son and kissing his forehead. “Be strong
, little man. I love you.”

The sound of hurried footfalls made Bishop look up. Seeing silhouettes of men running in his direction, Bishop whispered a prayer that they wouldn’t shoot him outright while he was holding Hunter.

He was relieved that the first arrivals wore patches indicating they were medics. They ignored him, moving immediately to Terri. Someone produced a stretcher out of the confusion, and before he could say a word, Terri was being lifted and carried back toward the gate.

It was all a blur to Bishop’s exhausted eyes. Men were everywhere, a semi-circle of uniforms and motion swirling around him. He kept his eye on Hunter, trying to burn every detail of his son’s face into his memory. Bishop was scared, uncertain and dazed. He was without hope, sure his life was over – convinced the sacrifice was worth it.

A female voice, strangely familiar, sounded beside him. “Why don’t you let me hold him while the medics check you out?”

Bishop looked up into Diana’s smiling face. “What? W
hat the hell are you doing here?” came his confused reply.
I’ve lost my mind
, raced through Bishop’s thoughts.
I’m hallucinating
.      

“Lord have mercy,
look at the sorry state of our Army. They’ll let anyone in here these days,” sounded another familiar voice. Bishop’s head snapped around, Nick’s grinning face appearing over his shoulder.

Before Bishop could respond, Westfield’s unmistakable boom
ing voice rang out. “Why are you all standing around here playing grab ass! Someone check that man out and then get him to his wife’s side.”

The general stepped over just as Bishop managed his feet. “How are you, Bishop? Do you need anything? Talk to me, son.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have any baby formula around, would you, sir?”

Fort Bliss Base Hospital, El Paso, Texas

August 9

“So I go out of town for a few days
, and what happens? You and Diana conquer the entire territory, accept the surrender of a huge military force, and manage to feed thousands. Terri and I sneak away for a short vacation, and things go to hell back at the office. I thought you guys might slack off while we were gone, but this is ridiculous,” Bishop declared, flashing Nick a toothy grin.

“Don’t forget I managed to prove that your sorry ass was innocent. I should get some credit for that,” came Nick’s counter.

The banter was interrupted by Terri’s arrival, a nurse pushing her along in a wheelchair.

“Good news,” she announced. “My blood test came back clean. I can start nursing Hunter again.”

“He’ll be happy to hear that,” Bishop replied, “He doesn’t care for the bottle much – almost kicked my ass the last time I tried to feed him.”

“Bishop! Your language!” his wife teased.

The procession proceeded down the hospital corridor, heading for Terri’s room. The patient held up her hand and said, “Hold on a second. Can you back me up a little?”

The nurse complied, stopping when Terri pointed at a framed picture hanging on the wall. “I know this is going to sound weird, but can I borrow that for a little bit?”

The nurse considered the request for a second and shrugged. “I guess it would be okay.”

Bishop glanced at Nick with a questioning look on his face. The big man flashed an expression of “Beats me.”

A short time later, they arrived at Terri’s room. Diana, waiting with Hunter for everyone to return, looked happier than Nick had seen her in months.

After she was helped back into bed, the
relieved mother took her baby, immediately nursing the eager child. Kevin, embarrassed by the display, decided to head to the cafeteria.

Terri looked up and then pointed at the picture Bishop was still holding. “Diana, I’ve been thinking about the Alliance and everything that has been hap
pening. On the way back from physical therapy, I saw that image. I think a picture says a thousand words.”

Handing over the framed image, Diana examined it for a few moments
, and then a huge smile broke across her face. “Girl… I think you might be on to something here. What a concept.”

Bishop and Nick mov
ed to peer over Diana’s shoulder, finding a map dated from 1845. The title across the legend was “The Republic of Texas,” an outline of the independent nation that existed before the first American Civil War.

Everyone looked up at Terri, all eyes making it clear they all understood her meaning. No one said anything for a few minutes, the implications of the nursing mother’s proposal prompting deep, serious thought.

It was Bishop who broke the analysis-ice. “The Republic of Texas,” he stated clearly. “It does have a ring to it.”

THE END