Perfect Sacrifice (59 page)

"It's gotten pretty bad," she explained.  "I know I was really young when they died, but that's no excuse.  I should be able to remember them better.  It's even gotten to the point where I'm starting to forget Lee.  I don't remember the simple things, like how long his hair was or the color of his eyes.  Sometimes he appears as nothing more than a blurry outline of a boy.  I don't even remember the sound of his voice when he'd call my name."  She clenched her fists, clutching at the sheets on Leon's hospital bed.  He could see her shoulders shaking a little, and he was about to reach out to her when his arm stopped.  He just couldn't do it, and he didn't know why.

"Ray," he began sympathetically, but she just threw her head back and looked to the ceiling.

"I wish I could remember them," she said with a smile that was so unlike her.  "I just want one memory that isn't about them dying.  I wish I could remember the way things used to be…the way they were before Ramirez came."  She turned to him, that fake smile still painting her face.  However, it was unable to mask the pain in her eyes, something that was usually hidden in their depths.  Her lone cherry eye seemed to almost quiver with the pain of the memories flowing through her mind.

Leon really wasn't sure what to say or do.  He wasn't used to dealing with people, especially with women, and Ray was just another matter altogether.  He really wasn't sure just how to deal with her when she was like this.  She was in pain, and nothing he could say would bring her solace.  He was stuck this time.

"That's not too much to ask for, is it?" she asked him softly, and he only responded by shaking his head.  "Sorry," she continued as she stood up.  "I didn't mean to be so depressing."  She put on what she hoped was a believable smile and began walking backwards towards the door.  "I'll come back a little later, okay?  But I'll go get the doctor so he can check up on you.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll get to come home tomorrow."  With that said, Ray left the room, closing the door behind her. 

Leon just sighed as he leaned back against the wall again.  He hated being alone in the white room, but now he at least had something else to think about.  Ray was starting to get more confusing, and he was becoming more intrigued.  He wanted to know more about her, and she was letting him.  She was feeding him the information herself.  He had known that her past was horrible, but he hadn't known that it was affecting her so much.  There had to be something he could do.  He'd just have to think about it for a while, and right now he had all the time in the world.

* * * *

The next day rolled around rather quickly, and just as Ray had predicted, the doctor told Leon that he could go home.  His wound was healing nicely, and it would only be another week before he could battle again.  He would be just fine.

Currently he was getting ready to leave, packing away the gifts and cards he had been given when he was unconscious.  There were quite a few.  He was so engrossed in reading some of the cards that he jumped when he heard the door open.  He quickly turned towards it, his eyes landing on Abby and Brian.  They both stood before him with smiles on their faces.

"Hey Leon," Abby greeted cheerfully.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked curiously.  Didn't they know that he was about to leave?

"We're giving you a ride back to the base," explained Brian as he glanced around the white room.

Leon was a little surprised to say the least.  He had assumed that his dad would be coming to pick him up or maybe Ray.  Exactly what were Abby and Brian doing there?  Knights didn't usually go out of their way to do something that wasn't directly related with the GRC.  Ray was the only exception to that.

"Where's my dad?" he asked them.

"Busy," responded Abby.  "And R.C got called away to help Gordan out with something, so he sent us to pick you up."

"Let's go," said Brian as Leon picked up his only bag.  They all began walking out the door when Abby stopped and turned towards Leon thoughtfully.

"One more thing," she said sweetly.  "When you see R.C today, make sure to wish her a happy birthday."  Leon's eyes widened, and he nearly dropped the bag he was carrying.  No one had told him that it was Ray's birthday until just now, not even Ray.  Did she expect him to just know or something?  What was he supposed to do now?  He didn't have anything for her.

"It's her birthday?" he asked dumbly, his mind at a loss for intelligent things to say.  All he could do was echo what Abby had just said in the form of a question.

"That's what I said," she told him as she began turning around to walk out the door.  They all made their way into the hallway, but Leon was still a little panicky.

"B-but I didn't get her anything," he said, seeming worried about that.  The tone of his voice quickly drew the knights' interest.  He really seemed to care about this issue.

Abby smiled as she walked over to Leon.  She had an idea.  She wanted to help him out.  It was easy to tell that this was something important.  Leon really seemed to want to get Ray a present, and it had to be perfect.  Only the best for the ace knight.  There wasn't much anyone could really get her.  She had almost every kind of weapon imaginable, and she wasn't into fashion.  Sure she begged for a lot of stuff at the stores, but half of it she didn't need nor want.  It was just what she did.

"Don't worry Leon," said Abby with a smug looking smile.  "We'll help you out."

"You will?" he asked, sounding incredibly relieved.  If there were two people who knew Ray better than anyone, it was Abby and Brian.

"Of course," she said, slapping a hand down on his shoulder.  "Leave it to us, right Brian?"  He just nodded, deciding to go along with Abby's plan.  It's not like he had a choice.  She was always dragging him into something, and he just let her.  Abby was scary when she was determined, and he had learned from experience that it was better not to fight with her.  Ray was the same way.  He just kind of went along with the two of them.  Why was it that girls could be so scary when they had their minds set?

They began walking down the hallway, heading towards the front doors.  Leon had been in the hospital for long enough.  He needed to get back home and finish healing.  Hopefully he'd have the time he needed.  Ramirez was never to be ignored.  Then again, the general probably thought that Leon was dead.  If that was the case, they needed him to keep thinking that for as long as possible.  Leon would be much safer that way.

"So," began Abby as they walked out onto the sidewalk.  "Any ideas on a present?"  She looked towards Leon, hoping he had some kind of idea, no matter how blunt and vague it was.  She needed something to go on if she was going to help him find something.

"Well," he began as they all climbed into Brian's car, "I don't really know what she wants that I can actually give her."

"What do you mean?" asked Abby as she got in the back with Leon.  He just sighed and hung his head a little. 

"I know what she wants, but it's not something I can give her," he explained vaguely.

"What does she want?" asked Brian as he started up his car.

"Memories," he answered softly, drawing the attention of both knights.  "She wants to have clear memories of her parents and her brother, and I can't give her that."

Abby and Brian said nothing, but they both looked to each other.  A smile soon crossed Brian's face, and a similar one appeared on Abby's.  They were both thinking the same thing.  There was a solution to Leon's problem.

"Maybe you can," said Abby thoughtfully, earning her Leon's full attention.

"Really?  How?" he asked quickly.

"Gordan used to have a video camera," began Brian as he pulled away from the hospital and began heading down the streets.  "He would film everything, including Ray's family.  If anything, he filmed them the most.  I'm sure he still has the video tapes, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you gave them to Ray."  Leon smiled at the proposition.  This would be perfect.  This was exactly what Ray wanted.  She wanted memories, and he was going to give her some.

"That's perfect," he stated with a smile.

"We'll even throw in a card for you," said Abby as she reclined in the back seat.  "What do you want it to say?"

"Just keep it simple, alright?" he said.  "I'm not big on words."

"You got it," she responded with a small wink.  Leon just smiled.  This would be perfect.  Abby and Brian were going to take care of his last minute present, and he'd give it to Ray later on in the evening.  It was such a simple gift, but he hoped it would be big enough for her.  Ray was the ace knight after all.  She deserved only the best, and Leon wanted to give her just that.

* * * *

Darkness fell rather quickly that evening it seemed.  It felt like only hours ago that he had arrived back at the base when really it had been about half a day or so.  When he had gotten home, his father and Chris had been there waiting.  They celebrated his return when Ray had come back from headquarters.  They hadn't really done too much of anything else during the day but that.

Leon was surprised that things had changed.  The biggest change was the absence of Jace.  He hadn't known that the knight had left, but he knew that it was probably because of what had happened.  He didn't really feel bad about it though.  He was happy that the base was back to the way it had been.  The four of them were fine.  It was alright just like that.

Leon was currently waiting in the hanger, staring at the desert.  The sun had just fallen behind the horizon, and he could now see a car approaching in the distance.  He had to squint to see it, but after a few more moments, he knew who it was.  It sure had taken them long enough though.  He had at least wanted time to look over everything first.  There wasn't a lot of time now.

The car pulled up to the hanger, and Abby got out of the passenger's side.  In her hands was a rather large box, wrapped in simple blue and red wrapping paper.  There was a silver bow along with a normal white card.

"You said keep it simple, right?" she asked with a smile as he walked over to take the box.

"Yeah," he said as he looked over the gift a little more.  It was kind of heavy, but it probably had quite a few tapes in it.  Everything about it was very simple, just as he had said he wanted it.

"Well, we'll see you later," said Abby as she began getting into the car.

"Yeah, bye," said Leon as he turned around, still examining the box.  He began to head back up the stairs and towards the kitchen.  He had to make sure that Ray didn't see her present yet, but she had basically been staying in her room all day.  Getting by her wasn't going to be a problem.  This was all so much fun.  Right now though, he had to add a few things to the card, and perhaps change a few things as well.

* * * *

Ray was lying on her bed in her room.  She didn't have anything else to do after all.  She was just staring at the ceiling, thinking about the day.  It was her birthday, but no one had even said anything to her yet.  She couldn't blame the Solaris family.  They didn't know, but Abby and Brian did, and they had yet to say anything to her.  She only sighed and closed her eyes. 
Another birthday come and gone, and not a single person cares.  I didn't even get so much as a measly "happy birthday".

There was a knock at her door, and she quickly sat up.  She waited for a moment, but nothing preceded it.  Everything was just silent.  It was really starting to irk her, so she got up and went to the door, slowly opening it.  She was a little startled when her door bumped into something.  She looked down to see a plainly wrapped package with a silver bow sitting right outside her door.  Ray bent down and picked it up, nearly dropping it from the weight.  She looked to the card and quickly opened it, reading it aloud.

"Happy birthday," she said as she read the card.  "It's not much, but I hope you like it.  I wasn't sure what to get you, and I tried listening to what you said, so I hope I got it right."  Ray smiled as she read the last two words.  "Love…Leon."  Ray walked back into her room, closing the door behind her. 

She set the package down on her bed and began opening it.  She tore at the paper, coming to a cardboard box.  She managed to rip open the box top and reach inside.  She was a little surprised to find a bunch of video tapes, each one in a separate plastic box.  They were all labeled with dates, ones that didn't mean much to her right now.  She looked through the box, finding about fifteen tapes.  She was instantly curious about what was on them.

Ray waited in her room curiously until she was sure that everyone in the base was asleep.  She then quietly snuck out, carrying the box of tapes carefully in her arms.  She didn't want to risk dropping them.  She had to know what they were.

She walked into the living room, picking her way carefully through the darkness.  She eventually found her way over to the television, and she put in one of the tapes, the one with the earliest date on it.  She took the remote control and sat down on the couch.  She quickly turned on the television, making sure that the volume was soft enough so that no one would hear.  As soon as all the preparations were made, she pushed the play button, and the images she saw were unbelievable.

* * * *

It was approaching one o'clock when Leon began his trip towards the kitchen for a late night snack.  He couldn't sleep anymore, and he wanted to make a stop by Ray's room on his way back.  He was a little surprised, however, when he reached the living room.  Ray was there, sitting on the couch.  The television was on, and she was watching it intently.  She hadn't even noticed him standing there yet.