Chapter 5 - the rescue

Obviously, that was not the last Harry had seen of her. He had to watch her be humiliated in front of the press and high society when no one wanted to bid on her. Not even the sleaziest of the man in the room. It had been difficult for him to not storm through the tables and carry her out. Away from all those eyes and words.

The emcee, clearly her friend, tried to get some response from the crowd but the audience was as lively as a dead fish. He wanted very much to start the bid but he couldn't. She was his employee. It would be a breach in etiquette for him to bid on her. It was also something his lawyers had advised against when he had researched the legalese of such events. The participants had had to sign a lengthy document that basically said that Harry and Coulter Tech were not liable for anything that happened between them and the bidder.

But, tonight, as he locked eyes with her, he found that he was willing to breach anything to get her out of the spotlight. Anything to stop her torment. He who had begun to act like his lawyers' words were gospel was just a hair's breath from doing everything against their advice when someone finally made a bid.

And it was his cousin.

Jason Halloway, the CEO of Halloway Corporation based in Chicago, made an exorbitant bid. Ten thousand dollars. Which was more than twice of what was being asked. The entire hall was stunned. Including him.

He knew Jason had not attended for the auction. He had attended the event so as to publicly showcase his new girlfriend, April Saunders. With the way the media was hounding them and his twin babies, Sharon, his cousin Cameron's wife, had believed such a public display would end all speculations and interest in them. And since she was a successful sports agent who had had a hand in steering her clients through their own scandals, they had taken her advice. Which was the only reason they were there.

But Harry didn't care why they were there. He was just grateful that Elena was getting off the stage. And she was heading towards him. Technically, their table but the only empty chair was right beside him. His heart racing like he had just sprinted, he fixed his eyes on the napkin on the table and waited for her. Only, in the last minute, Jason took the empty seat, letting Elena take the seat between him and April.

He couldn't believe the disappointment and anger he was feeling. He was moments from decking his cousin when he heard a light vibrant laughter. His eyes went to Elena and something in him softened when he saw her laughing at something April had said. Watching her eyes light up, the stress draining from her face, her tears drying up, he was content with just gazing at her. And that was what he did all night.

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Remembering that night and the way the ladies at the table had amused themselves made his lips curve up. His finger traced Elena's smile in the frame and he was reminded again of her pregnancy. He was no closer to dealing with this news than he did half an hour ago. Sighing, he dropped onto his back on the sofa, his hands coming up to cover his eyes, uncaring about staining the white cover with his shoe.

He didn't know whether he was happy or angry. Whether he wanted the kid or not. Did he want to be in the kid's life? Should he be in the kid's life? WIth the shining example his parents had been, did he have what it took to raise a kid? What about the mess that was his life now? Was this the best situation to even bring a kid in?

He had always wanted a family, notwithstanding the last few years where he had wallowed too deeply in his bitterness. He wanted a big one, as big as his cousin, Cameron Ballard's. He already had four children and if Harry knew his cousin, he was sure there would be more additions in the future. Growing up, he had always been alone, despite being carted to his aunt's place every holiday. And despite having an elder brother, he had spent most of his time at home alone. Which was why he didn't want his child, if he ever had any, to be as lonely as he had been.

Well, now he had one on the way. So what was he going to do about it?

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"Come on, pick up, "Harry said into the receiver. It was now seven in the evening. He had fallen asleep on the couch while he been pondering his predicament. All that pondering had only exhausted him and, now that he was awake, still unable to completely process that one nugget of information. But the one good thing that the nap had done was remind him of the fact that Jason had gone through a similar situation.

Well, not that similar as he had only known about his twins when they had been six months old. And the only reason he had known was because the twin's mother had wanted to rid herself of them. That had been a tangle of massive proportions. He did find his fiancee, who he had initially hired to become his twin's nanny, in the process but their relationship had been forged in flames.

The twin's mother, Carrie, had suddenly come back into the picture close to four months after signing away her rights. She had demanded to be allowed partial custody of the twins despite papers saying she had no rights. She had cited a psychological problem that clouded her judgement during that period in time. This voided any decisions she had made during that time. However, everyone had thought that it should have been a simple enough process to disprove but her psychological report had held and a judge had awarded her that custody.

Harry knew Jason had had a tough, uphill battle to get back sole custody of his children, with April by his side. But the battle paled over that fact that his children had suffered while under Carrie's care. Even the fact that it had been his mother who had orchestrated everything did not eclipse that fact that his children had been hurt.

They had been fed alcohol, which was, as he'd learned, dangerous to children, especially the very young. To get every trace of alcohol out, they had to have their stomachs pumped. It had devastated everyone. And that had been the reason he had had to leave Elena after their day and night together. He hadn't had the time to leave her a message and he had thought she would figure out who he was.

Only she hadn't. Or she didn't want his help. He didn't know which but he was hoping his cousin would help clear the fog that was his mind.

Only he wasn't picking up.

Harry was on the verge of throwing his phone against the wall. He knew that it was only ten in Chicago. Surely he wasn't in bed yet. So why the fuck was he not answering his phone? His hand clenching around his phone, he realised what he had to do if he was going to get any help.

He had to go to Chicago.

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Getting out of his car, Harry lifted his arms over his head and stretched, wincing when he heard the cracks from his back and shoulders. He had had a hard time making his way to Jason's place and it was showing from the way his back ached, his legs cramped and spasmed and his eyes felt sandy and gritty. But now that he was there, he couldn't wait to drag his cousin into a room and let loose the barrage of questions that had built up.

He couldn't believe the luck he had had. First had been his jet. He had bought a jet so that he could travel in comfort and convenience. However, when he needed it the most, he found out that it was out of commission due to some fault in the engine. Aksa, then, had to contact the plane leasing companies but, despite the bad economy, all of them were fully booked. Having headed home to change, he had then instructed Aksa to find him a commercial flight to which she had immediately informed him that the next available flight was eight in the morning. He had been impressed by her efficiency but he couldn't believe that he had to wait until the next day to be on his way. But after calling almost all the airlines in the city, he had been forced to accept that he would not be going to Chicago in the next hour or so.

That had not been all, though. Even though he had been on time for his flight, the first commercial flight after a decade, he had had to wait for close to five hours since it had been delayed. The worse part had been the fact that he had not been able to distract his mind with work. He had prowled the airport from one end to the other, thinking about Elena and their baby. Even as a part of him rejoiced, the rest of him wanted to run scared. Which disconcerted him since he had been the type to charge into any situation and problems since he had been ten. Even though he had tempered that impulse with age and experience, he was still fearless.

The only luck he had was the fact that he was able to score first class seats. Getting through custom had been an ordeal on its own and he was just glad he was in an open area. No longer would he take space for granted. Heading to the door, he pressed the doorbell.

As he waited for someone to answer the door, he hoped to gentle some of the waves that was crashing into his mind. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Elena was pregnant. But when he saw the person who opened the door, his eyes couldn't move from the slight bump on her abdomen.

He had forgotten that April was pregnant. That was the one good news that had come out of their trouble. Jason had been over the moon when he found out about the pregnancy. It didn't matter that he had been looking down the barrel of a gun just hours before. He couldn't stop grinning until they had been able to visit April. The joy and connection between the two had sparked his own envy. Especially with Cameron and Sharon in the same room. The love between the two couples made him even more aware of the loneliness in his life.

But now, he was having a kid. With Elena. And looking at the slight baby bump on April, he could viscerally picture what Elena would look like, full with his child. He didn't know whether she would be as big as April but he couldn't stop imagining her when she was more advanced into the pregnancy. And he couldn't believe that fact that he liked it. He liked the idea of it. He wanted to touch her belly, he wanted to help her with anything and everything. Suddenly stopping, he felt like telling the whole world about Elena and her pregnancy. But, as happy as he was, what came out of his mouth was the exact opposite of what he was feeling.

"Elena's pregnant."

"Say what?"April asked softly.

He repeated woodenly, "Elena's pregnant. And I am the father."

PS: Hey guys, hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I'm so happy that I managed to tie in the ending of AB. It was something that had me sweating for a bit. And you do not want to see me sweat. It's ugly.

Oh, there might or might not be a brief appearance of the twins in the next chapter. You'll know next week.

So VOTE and COMMENT if you loved this chapter. Do follow me for more updates and go to my twitter where I'll infrequently update while writing and other randomness.

THANKS

P.S. Do you want to have a say in the gender of Harry's baby? How about the name? Honestly, I'm fine with both so I thought this would be a good opportunity to bring you guys in to the process. Do let me know and I'll think about making a poll on my twitter.

P.P.S how about April's baby? Admittedly, we won't see much of her (I think) in this story but I'd like to know what you think the gender of her baby will be :)