...untimely ripp'd

A/N: the mood of this chapter is very different to the previous tone of the series. It is NOT comedy.

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“I still love him,” Darla said. She cuddled the baby to her breast. “It wasn’t just sharing his soul. I love him.”

“Let’s get him inside,” Fred suggested.

Darla nodded. “Help me up,” she ordered. Angel took the baby from her and Queequeg helped Darla to her feet.

“We should do something about that wound,” Harmony said. She bent to pick up a cushion from the car and Holtz’s first crossbow bolt hit her in the shoulder instead of the chest.

The second pierced Darla’s heart.

The baby cried as his mother’s dust was washed away by the driving rain.