The first day of the 9th month arrived not with a celebration, but with a heavy, suffocating tension that draped over the Black Box like a shroud. The sun had barely risen over the horizon when Ci n and the medical team performed the final pre-surgical scan. The results were whispered in the hallway, but the look on Ci n's face when he walked back into the room told me everything I needed to know.
The "Starlight" was ready. But the price was higher than ever.
POV: Jay (Jasper Jean Mariano)
I sat propped up against the pillows, the light of the morning sun feeling far too bright. My body felt heavy, disconnected, as if my spirit were already preparing for the possibility of flight. I watched Keifer standing by the window. He was dressed in a black suit, his back to me, his posture so rigid it looked like he was made of stone.
"Hubby," I said softly.
He didn't move. He couldn't. I knew that if he turned around, he would have to face the reality that today—or tomorrow, or the day after—could be the end of "us."
"Keifer, come here. Please."
He finally turned, and his face was a mask of cold, controlled agony. He walked to the bed and sat on the edge, taking my hand in his. His skin was ice-cold.
"I need to say this," I whispered, my voice trembling but my gaze steady. "And you need to listen. You cannot go into your 'Monster' mode and shut the world out. Not this time."
"Jay, don't," he growled, his grip on my hand tightening. "We aren't talking about this. The surgical team is ready. Ci n is ready. You are going to be fine."
"We don't know that, Keifer!" I snapped, the "Savage" in me fighting through the fear. "I am a surgeon. I know what's happening inside me. The hemorrhage risk is near 100%. If... if the light goes out for me on that table..."
"I won't let it," he choked out, his eyes turning bloodshot.
"If it does," I continued, ignoring his protest, "you have to promise me something. You cannot let the 'Monster' take over. You cannot become the man who only cares about power and revenge."
The Mother's Final Command
I took his other hand, forcing him to look me in the eye.
"If I leave, you have to look after Alexander and Astraea," I said, my tears finally falling. "They cannot grow up in a house of ghosts, Keifer. You have to be the one who smiles at them. You have to be the one who tells Alexander stories about his Mumma and his sister Aurora. You have to be the one who holds Astraea when she has a nightmare."
"I can't do it without you!" Keifer sobbed, his head dropping onto my lap. "I'll look at them and only see what I lost! I'll look at Astraea and see the reason you aren't here!"
"No!" I pulled his face up, my voice fierce. "You will look at Astraea and see my eyes. You will look at Alexander and see my heart. You are a Watson. You are the protector of this fortress. If you fail them because you're too busy mourning me, then you've truly lost. Do you want our daughter to grow up thinking her life was a curse?"
Keifer shook his head, his chest heaving with racking, silent sobs.
"Promise me," I whispered. "Promise me you will be the father they deserve. Promise me you will stay soft for them, even if the world is hard. Promise me you'll let Ma, Pa Pa, Angelo, and Section E help you. Don't push them away."
The Heartbreaking Vow
Keifer looked at me, and for the first time, the "Monster" was completely gone. He looked like a man who was watching his entire universe collapse.
"I promise," he whispered, the words sounding like a death vow. "I will protect them. I will love them. I will give them everything I have left of my soul. But Jay... if you go... you're taking the best part of me with you."
"Then find that part in them," I said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Every time Astraea laughs, that's me. Every time Alexander leads his 'missions,' that's me. I'm not leaving you, hubby. I'm just changing forms."
The Family Watch
The door creaked open, and the family began to trickle in. They knew. The silence in the mansion had told them.
Alexander ran to the bed, sensing the heavy atmosphere. He climbed up and tucked himself under my arm. "Baby Astra is coming soon, right Mumma? I have my sword ready to protect the door."
I looked over at the doorway. Section E—Ci n, Percy, Erdix, Rory, Denzel, Emman—were all standing there in a line. Their faces were grim, their eyes fixed on me. Behind them stood Ma, Pa Pa, Kuya Angelo, and the rest of the clan.
Ci n stepped forward, his surgical mask hanging around his neck. "It's time to move to the theater, Jay. The vitals are shifting. We have to go now."
Keifer stood up, his face hardening into a terrifying, icy resolve. He wasn't the mourning husband anymore; he was the Commander. He looked at Section E.
"Clear the halls," Keifer commanded. "Total lockdown. No one breathes near that OR unless they are on the surgical list. If any of you see a shadow out of place, kill it."
"Yes, Kuya," Keigan and Keiran said in unison, their voices devoid of their usual playfulness.
The Final Walk
As they wheeled my bed toward the private surgical suite within the Black Box, I held Keifer's hand. The family stood against the walls, a silent guard of honor.
Aries (Horoscope) held up a clear quartz, his lips moving in a silent prayer. Percy (Blue Eyes) gave me a sharp nod, his eyes filled with a rare, raw emotion. Ma and Pa Pa blew me kisses, their hands clasped together.
We reached the double doors of the OR. Ci n stopped the bed.
"This is as far as you go, Keifer," Ci n said, his voice steady. "I have her now."
Keifer leaned over me, his lips pressing against mine in a kiss that felt like it was trying to anchor my soul to the earth.
"I'll be right outside these doors, wifey," he whispered. "I'm not moving. I'm waiting for my girls."
"I love you, hubby," I whispered as the doors began to swing shut.
"I love you more than life," he replied.
The doors closed. The red "In Operation" light flickered to life. The 9th month had begun with a whisper of love and a roar of fear. The battle for the Star and her Mother was officially underway.