Nothing Could Fall

Restless

Alicia stands next to the freshly turned mound of dirt, gazing out over the field of flowers. She squeezes her eyes shut as a presence stops just beside her. She knows who it is without looking. Elyza and Strand had returned to the car a while ago, leaving Alicia and Luciana to mourn in silence.

"I'm sorry," Alicia murmurs, unable to meet the eyes of the woman Nick loved. "I'm sorry I did this to him."

"You didn't."

Alicia shakes her head, completely unwilling to let herself be comforted by this woman. "If I had only listened when you all said she might not be there, he-"

Luciana stops her with a raise of her hand. "We would have come to the same conclusion. If you hadn't convinced us, Nick would have. He's very persuasive. Despite what you may think, he was as supportive of the plan as you were. He told me so last night. He wanted to go in alone, actually."

"What?" Alicia startles. She finally looks up at Luciana with her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Last night, he told me we shouldn't go in... He tried to get me to run."

"He was trying to protect you. He loved you," Luciana shakes her head. She takes in a stuttered breath, and Alicia has to look away as the woman's eyes fill with tears. They both stare at nothing in particular, drinking in the moonlight and flowers around Nick's grave. "This is beautiful. He would have loved it."

"I thought so too," Alicia mumbles as she spares a glance over to offer the woman a small smile. When Luciana's small gesture catches her eye, Alicia practically gasps. "Luciana..." Alicia's eyes travel down, following Luciana's arm as her hand rests protectively over her belly. Alicia sharply inhales with the realization and tears once again threaten behind her eyes. "Did... did Nick know?" Alicia asks quietly.

"No," Luciana gives her a sad little smile as she gently caresses her belly. "I didn't know for sure until two days ago. Loren got me a test the night the horde showed up at the nursery. There was never really a good time after to tell him after." Luci turns to face Alicia as a single tear runs down her cheek. "I'm not sure I regret that either. Knowing wouldn't have changed his actions. He still would have taken the bullet for Elyza. You can't die regretting a life you didn't know you'd have."

The tears fall freely now, as Alicia nods with Luciana's words. "When?" she asks softly.

"I was over a month late, so seven or eight months from now. I'm not sure. It's hard to keep up with that sort of thing," Luciana shrugs. She sighs deeply, her shoulders rising and falling dramatically with the action, before squatting down. Alicia watches as Luciana brings her hand to her mouth, kissing her fingertips and touches them first to her belly and then to the freshly turned earth. Alicia hears her mutter something in Spanish, but it's too quiet for her to catch. Luciana stands and turns and begins her trek back to the truck, leaving Alicia to pay her final respects in peace.

She barely makes it a few feet before spinning on her heel and facing Alicia. "Would you mind keeping this between us? Just for now? I'm not ready to share it yet."

"I promise."

--

The rest of the drive was short and thankfully dead free. Elyza pulls the Harley up to the room in the corner of the abandoned motel, and the pair waits for Strand to park next to them. The four huddle around the door, knives drawn, as Strand takes a firm stance and kicks the old door in. They pause, waiting for any sign of the dead, and when none appear, cautiously enter the room.

Elyza makes quick work of inspecting the typical motel room finding nothing to cause alarm. Alicia settles on one of the beds, and without much thought, drifts off into an uneasy sleep.