Hiding in Plain Sight, 1/?

[calliopes_muse]

Hiding in Plain Sight

Rating: Ultimately, NC-17, but mostly PG-13 & R

Pairing: Otalia, obviously

A/N: So, um, I had a little bit of an obsession as a kid with this particular sci-fi idea, and it struck me one day that this would make for an interesting reason for the Nataway. It’s definitely…different. Can anyone pick it after only one chapter? *wicked grin*

Chapter 1

Natalia stared at the urine-covered stick, her heart racing as she waited for the stupid smiley face to show up or not. Her stomach rolled as it knotted in worry, a wave of excruciating pain shooting through her joints.

Doubling over, she grumbled, “God, please just let this be a bug.”

A knock at the bathroom door startled her. Olivia spoke softly from the other side, her excitement of going to the barbeque still evident in her voice. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah…I’m fine. Just a bug. I’ll be out in a minute,” she answered quickly and prayed she was right. She didn’t remember feeling this horrible, sickening ache all over her body with Rafe. She rubbed her hand over the tight distension of her belly, letting her mind settle on the worst possible scenario. No, not cancer. Pregnancy.

With a groan, Natalia dropped her head to her hand and waited.

Her phone beeped letting her know that the waiting was over. Taking a deep breath, she raised the pregnancy test to look at the results. Being pregnant was the last thing she needed right now. Before she could bring herself to look at the test results, her phone buzzed.

The message was mysterious but familiar after all these years. No one would understand its meaning but her.

SANCTUARY

“Shit!” It wasn’t like her to curse, but this was the worst time for the message to come. The upside was that it probably explained why she was so sick feeling. Looking at the test stick again, this time with less hesitation and fear, she let out a sigh of relief to not see that blasted smiley face. “Thank God!”

Olivia knocked again at the bathroom door. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She had forgotten completely about Olivia and Emma waiting on her. She needed time to think of a way to balance everything going on. “I’m fine, but I’ll probably be a little longer. Why don’t you and Emma go ahead? I’ll meet you two there.”

“Are you sure?” Natalia’s heart broke at hearing the disappointment in her love’s voice.

She swallowed against the tightness in her throat and attempted to sound more confident than she felt. “Absolutely!”

There was a slight hesitation. “Well, okay. Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.” Natalia bit her lip after blatantly lying.

“I love you,” Olivia said tenderly.

Natalia fought down the tears that shimmered in her eyes, hating that she was going to break Olivia’s heart. “Love you too.”

***

For a long moment, Natalia stood in front of the convent. Blake’s car was well out of sight, and the other woman had promised to pass her message on to Olivia. Fortunately, Blake easily bought the pregnancy lie. The only problem was when she returned to Springfield and to Olivia that she’d have to compound the deception with another lie – a miscarriage. She hated lying to her, but she couldn’t risk Olivia finding her.

She heard the door open behind her and feet softly shuffle outside. A voice spoke barely above a whisper, but Natalia heard her clearly. “The car’s ready for you, Agent Rivera.”

Natalia nodded and followed protocol as she waited for a blindfold to be placed over her eyes and her hands to be bound firmly in the special restraints. A hand at her elbow guided her into the building, down a long corridor, and out the rear of the building. She was placed inside a car, the soft leather seats cool against her skin, as she sank back and got comfortable. The ride, if she recalled correctly from previous times, was a good two hours. With nothing left to do but wait, she dropped her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

TBC?