"Its stuck! The right leg is not responding!"
Dana's eyes widened as she heard Dev's words, her eyes falling on the Kaiju outside the Jaeger protecting them. It was lunging toward them, from the right, aiming for...
"Dev, look out!" The girl in the blue exoskeleton shoot screamed. Dev looked up and gasped as the Jaeger jerked and shook.
When the shaking stopped Dana realized they were on the ground, on the Jaeger's back. Her leg hurt, but it was fine...the Jaeger's wasn't. She groaned, looking around, and her eyes widened. The thing was coming toward them.
"Dev, we need to get up! Dev!" She shouted, turning to her right, toward her co pilot. And then she froze, staring. Dev's form was hanging loosely from the harness, not moving, limp. "Dev!"
201X. One of the first Kaiju attacks after the Jaegers were designed. One of the things was swimming through the Panama Canal, toward the Gulf of nether of them knew that then.
What Dana knew was that Dev, the boy in the next campsite on the beach, was talking about running away. He was eleven, and she was five. She giggled as she watched him pack a satchel to run away with.
"You're going to need more food then that." She stated, tracing symbols in the sand. "And you'll get awfully lonely."
"Maybe." Dev sighed, looking up at her. The boy had a shiner forming. She'd heard shouting that morning, but her parents had kept her in their camp. "What do you suggest? I'm not saying here and if I run now I'm not in a town where people know whose kid I am."
"Well..." Dana paused and clambered up. "Let me get my pack! I'll come with you!"
That was how the children wound up running away together down the main straight of the tiny island of the coast of Florida on its last day. Dev kept telling Dana her parents would worry, and Dana kept telling him she would worry about him. She was a few feet behind him because he had longer legs. Dev rolled his brown eyes over his shoulder at her, and then stopped. Something...impossible was moving toward the island. Huge. One of the monsters he'd heard whispers about.
"Dana, take my hand!" The dark haired boy screamed, tossing down his pack and grabbing the younger girl's hand. "Follow me, now!"
Dana didn't see it then. She simply laughed, glad he'd finally accepted he was stuck with her, and ran after him. She didn't notice the other people running and screaming, just clung to a teddy bear under her arm, from her father. It was just a game. They were running away together. Dev found a skiff on the docks, nodded, and faced Dana, grabbing her shoulders so she couldn't turn around. The thing had gotten a lot closer then it should hav. He swallowed but showed no other signs of fears.
"Now we're going to be pirates, okay?" Dev stated. "I'm the captain and you're my first mate!"
"And Bear is our Parrot!" The little girl with dark hair chirped.
"Yes, and Bear is our Parrot." Dev smiled softly. "Now lets get in our ship!"
In theory he knew the skiff plan was dangerous as he led her onto it, and hid with her in the cabin. But he also knew with something that...size coming toward them there was no safety. When the ship shook her clung to her, hugging the girl who only began to realize then something was wrong.
"Dev, I'm scared..." Dana squeaked. "I want my parents."
'Oh god. Her parents.' Dev has scene the Wallaces play. Bethany, Arthur, and Dana Wallace. A happy family. When she was missing and a monster was coming...they'd be terrified. Because she ran away with him. 'I'll protect her and get back to you...I promise.'
They spent a day and a half floating after the destruction slowed down. Dev crept out and stared with wide eyes. Almost none of the Island was left. Wood and bodies and blue goop floated in the water. He counted himself lucky Dana was napping. 'She's so innocent. She doesn't need to see this.' But their meager supplies of juice boxes and animal crackers was running out. He could see another ship and began to wave his arms, shouting out.
"Over here! We're here!"
Dana finally woke up at the shelter. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, Bear still under her arm, and reached for Dev's sleeve.
"I need to pee." She whispered. Dev smiled softly, wondering if she had any idea what had happened yet. Probably not. At least he'd done some good in the chaos.
"Lets go, First Mate.' Dev whispered, giving her hand a squeeze and guiding her for survivors wrapped in blankets.
"Aye, captain!" Dana giggled and held tight to his hand, following him.
When her little hand slipped through his, Dev slipped into panic and turned to find her when he heard her tiny call.
"Mommy!"
She'd spotted her mother, Bethany, at a desk, Dev would learn reporting missing people. The large woman turned and gasped, kneeling to catch her daughter in a tight embrace.
"Your safe...my baby..." She looked up to Dev and he could see something in her eyes. Sympathy. He didn't need her to tell him. He was an orphan again. "Did your father find you?"
"Nuh uh." Dana shook her head. "Dev and I became pirates and got in a boat! But then it rocked really hard. Where is Daddy?"
Dev froze then as another sort of guilt washed over him. His adoptive parents weren't people he was going to mourn the loss of. Being an orphan sucked, but at least he wouldn't get hit all the time. He could deal with the system. But...Arthur Wallace had gone looking for his little girl. And he hadn't turned up.
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be along." Bethany whispered gently, but Dev already knew he wouldn't.
Dana was talking to another little girl a year or so older then her, a red head, when Bethany sat beside Dev.
"...Thank you. For protecting her."
"...Its my fault you're a Widow. Don't thank me." Dev whispered, looking down. "I decided to run away this morning long before that thing showed up. Your daughter was convinced I'd be lonely so she came with me."
"But you protected her." Bethany sighed softly. "If you had run away before she knew, she'd have gone off looking for you. And if she hadn't found you she'd have been alone."
"Arthur might have found her."
"Might have." Bethany sighed softly, spinning her wedding ring on her finger. "...I'm not saying losing him won't hurt. But I am saying you saved my daughter."
"The moment she ran away with me she became my responsibility."
"Heh, is that so?" Bethany sighed. "Dev, your parents..."
"Not my parents. Just the rich snobs who adopted me. Treated me like a possession. I'm used to being an orphan, Mrs. Wallace, I'll survive."
"...You're right." Bethany replied. "Because you and Beatrix over there are coming home with Dana and I. First thing, I'm selling our house, which might be coastal now, and buying a home in the midwest, something...dryer." She shuddered. "I'll find a job there, perhaps as a relief worker."
"...What?" Dev stared at her. "I may be the reason you're a widow, and you're adopting me?"
"You protected my daughter. Why wouldn't I?"
After that they did just that. Bethany adopted Dev and Beatrix, the red head who lost her mother and sister, and moved to a small town in Colorado where her husband had family. Had had. It was a three bedroom, Beatrix and Dana sharing a room with a bunk bed, and Dev's room was slightly smaller. He realized he was the oldest soon enough but said nothing about it. He was a bit moody, and snapped in sarcasm constantly. But that was because nightmares of what he'd seen were keeping him awake.
One night he awoke from one of them in tears and saw a small figure in his doorway.
"Are you having bad dreams?" Dana, then six,, inquired in her pajamas. He was twelve by then and rolled on his side.
"No. Go away." He murmured. Instead he heard her come closer, and felt her climb into bed next to him, standing on her knees.
"I am. But Bear eats them. Nom nom!" She held out the teddy bear and Dev felt guilt again. It was the same bear. The bear her father had bought her from a toy store on the shore, a store and shore that no longer existed, nor her father.
"...So what if I am?" Dev muttered.
"Then I'll leave Bear here to eat your nightmares!"
"And then who will eat your nightmares?" Dev laughed.
"...Well." Dana paused and pondered, crossed her arms, and nodded. "Then I'll have to sleep here too!"
Needless to say Dana sneaking into his room every night from then on in made puberty complicated. For both of them. He'd never admit it though, but sometimes he really liked feeling her cuddle up against him. It was nice to know he wasn't alone. Dev knew he'd always protect her then, always.
"They said I'm drift compatible!"
Dana's exclamation when she was seventeen made Dev double take. By then they all knew about Yaegers. Mk 1 and Mk II were doing damage against Kaiju and protecting people. They were looking for pilots for MKIII's. Dev had taken the exam, and discovered he could potentially be a Ranger. But he hadn't said anything. The twenty-three year old had planned to leave without explanation, but somehow, somehow when he saw the teen in his bedroom door he knew she wasn't going to let him run away alone. Just like that first time, she would go with him.
Beatrix wound up joining them, wanting to be on a mechanic team for one of the world protecting titans. Bethany overpacked the three friends, and Dev was sure if she could have shoved Jaegers in their bags to protect them, she would have. Dana laughed and rolled her eyes, hugging the woman.
"Mum, we're not going to fight any Kaiju for at least a year! I'm not doing anything dangerous!" She sighed. "Besides, Beatrix and Dev are both coming to protect me! I'll be fine!"
"Yes...I suppose you will." Bethany smiled at Dev then. "Take care of her for me."
"Who else will?" Dev tried to shrug it off. Beatrix rolled her eyes as they got into the airport.
"Still trying to play the tough guy, huh?"
"Shut up, Beatrix."
"I see it. Right until you're around Dana. Then you're a pile of goo."
"Oh can we get McDonalds before the plane?" Dana suddenly called out.
"Sure, you know which part of my bag my wallets in!" Beatrix shouted, laughing. Dev just rolled his eyes, double checking for his ID and tickets.
"East Coast ranger? Why the fuck would the East Coast need a Ranger? The rift is in the Pacific."
Dev was getting really tired of the Aussie. He didn't even know his name and he didn't like the cocky son of a bitch across the room, on the other side of the circle of chairs. A dozen or so potential rangers were gathered to introduce themselves to each other. Dana had volunteered, standing up, and revealing if she made it through training she hoped to be one of the defenders of Florida. That was when the prick spoke and Dev decided he didn't like him.
"Maybe you don't know, dumbass," Dev spoke through clenched teeth, "But Florida got attacked by a Kaiju in the Gulf of Mexico a little over a decade ago. It swam through the Panama Canal and appeared like an evil Jack in the Box. That's why the East Coast needs a Ranger. Because it's a god damn coast and its still surprisingly populated."
"Oh, who are you to speak?" The other youth snorted and stood up. "I was in Sydney when it got hit the first time. I was in school. Australia's a big target. A couple Kaiju have targeted it now. Florida got on retarded Kaiju one time. I think your girlfriend just wants to play hero while real Rangers do the hard work where the things actually show up."
Dev literally had not seen Dana move past him. Not until she swung a fist into the asshole's nose. For a girl of five foot five, maybe one hundred and twenty-five pounds, she seemed to pack a hell of a punch. It was also the first time he'd seen her come to violence.
"Dana!" Dev exclaimed as the man yelped, stumbling back. Dana puffed out her cheeks like she adorably did, but this time it was angry. Her knee jerked to his groin, causing half the would be rangers to wince as her foot came back down with speed and strength, crushing his foot under hers.
"She's crazy man!" The man coughed as he fell back into the chairs.
"No." She hissed in an angry voice Dev had never heard before. "I'm a girl who lost her father to a special needs Kaiju, according to you."
After the class was dismissed (Dana had gone to her room after teaching the asshat a lesson), Dev sought out Beatrix in the messhall. He couldn't spot Dana but felt the need to talk to their red headed friend.
"Boomer, did yo happen to teach Dana how to street fight?" Dev demanded as he sat across from her.
"Why, did Dana get in a fight with the other kids in Ranger class?" Beatrix snorted as she ate her pudding first.
"Only one of them."
"Did Dana kick his ass?"
"She's tiny. He didn't see if coming. Of course she kicked his ass."
"Did he have it coming?"
"Well, yes." Dev admitted.
"I don't see the problem." She stated. "You going to eat your cookie?"
"Bringing it to Dana once I find her."
"I think she said she was going to her room. She seemed pretty upset. What the asshat do?"
"...Belittled the attack on Florida." Dev stated quietly.
"...Which one?" Beatrix's knuckles turned white around her lunch tray.
"Aussie with the broken nose and toes." Dev pointed a thumb as he stood up. As he left the room he heard the sound of a noise he identified without looking was a tray smashing against a human head.
"Dana, its Dev. Can I come in?"
The vault like door cranked open before Dev, revealing the small living quarters Dana had been giving. She'd already decorated it in posters of Jaegers. On one wall he saw a cork board of photos over the course of her life. He could see an image of the late Arthur Wallace watching him judgingly over his wife's shoulder. But he ignored it, closing the door behind him and spotting Dana as she sat back down on the bed. She was clinging to that same stuffed bear, who was looking pretty ragged these days. But Dev knew him. He still had a little "D" print on his paw.
"...So it's a Bear day." Dev sat down beside her slowly. Dana nodded, averting her eyes, but he could see trails of tears going down her face.
"Are they going to kick me out?"
"You, no. Beatrix, maybe. Last I saw her she was assaulting the asshat in the cafeteria." He paused. "Well, last I heard. She's been teaching you moves, huh?"
"She thought I should know combat to deal with the bullies in school."
Dev tensed for a moment as he lifted her chin to meet her eyes.
"You were bullied?"
"Yeah. A lot. Its no big deal. Before Middle School Beatrix taught me how to fight. First time someone gave me trouble I kicked their butts." Dana smiled faintly.
"How did I not know about this?"
"You were most of the way though High School by then. I didn't want to worry Mom. I'd been bullied at my old school. Beatrix took care of me, but she was a year ahead so Fifth Grade was rough."
"...You'd cry at night when you thought I was sleeping." Dev groaned. "I should have known something was wrong!"
He watched Dana's cheeks flush bright red as she stared at him, eyes wide.
"You weren't asleep?!"
"Sometimes I was. Sometimes I wasn't. Sometimes I was aware you came in. Most times I wasn't." Dev shrugged. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason!" Dana looked down, hiding under the teddy bear.
"...I think there was one." Dev smirked. "I'm gonna find out."
"I'll never tell!"
"Well then. I suppose I'll just have to...tickle you!"
Dev moved forward and acted on this, starting with Dana's sides. Dana fell backwards on the bed, laughing as he tickled her.
"I-I'll never talk!" She giggled as he climbed up, tickling up her sides to her arms.
"Give me time, I'll get it out of you!"
There was a knock on the door, interupting the moment, and Dev found himself double taking. The younger girl was laying on her back under him, hair spread out behind her, one of her arms pinned back. She was heaving heavy breathes, cheeks flushed, and he found himself abruptly aware the teenager had become a woman
"...I'll get it." Dev stated quickly and stood up, going to the door. Dana sat up behind him as he pushed it open to find Beatrix with her hair messy, a bloody lip, and a shiner.
"Is that mashed potatoes in your hair?"
"You should see the other guy." Beatrix snorted. "Pentecost wants to talk to you. Both of you." She paused and glanced down. "...I suggest you think of the attack before you go to him. Mailmen. Bethany cooking Keibasy. Slicing it in half. Slugs exploding." She smirked. "Or you know. Anything not Dana."
"Shut up." Dev growled and called over his shoulder. "Dana, Pentecost's office. I need to stop at the bathroom."
"I bet you do." Beatrix snorted as she followed him.
"Beatrix, I don't need this."
"Not judging. You know she'd let you, by the way."
Dev stopped at the door to the restroom and gave Beatrix a funny look.
"Pardon?"
"Dana. She'd let you. Probably anything but butt stuff."
"...Are you high?"
"I plead the fifth, but that's unrelated."
"She's seventeen!"
"Almost eighteen." Beatrix rolled her eyes. "And she's been in love with you for years."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"You're being ridiculous enough for both of us." She turned away as Dev slipped into the restroom. But he couldn't forget her words...
"So you two grew up together?"
The intimidating figure of Pentecoast addressed both of them. Dana gulped and Dev nodded once.
"Yes, Sir. Bethany, Dana's mother, took me in after I lost my parents. I've been around them for nearly a dozen years. Sir."
"You were both present during the attack from the Gulf on Florida, I heard. Is that true?"
"Dev saw it." Dana spoke up. "Saw it coming. Hid us on a skiff. I didn't know anything had happened until I woke up in the Shelter afterwords."
"I see." The man nodded slowly. "You two are both in Ranger Training?"
"Yes sir." Dana nodded. "That is...if I'm not getting kicked out."
"Kicked out?" Pentecost cocked a brow. "Why?"
"No reason, Sir." Dev cut in. "Just a slight brawl with one of the other trainees. He antagonized her. No broken limbs. Maybe a nose."
"Is that so?" Pentecost chuckled. "Ryder, your record says you got in a lot of fights in school."
"Eh, every so often." He laughed a bit.
"Once a month, minimum." Dana glared. "Worried me sick."
"I'd like you two to test for Drift Compatability." Pentecost interupted. "Virtual simulation, attempt a neural handshake. Your shared memories are helpful toward the goal."
"...You want Dana to be my partner, Sir?" Dev raised a brow in response.
"We could arrange for you both to pair with straingers." Pentecost replied. "But if you two can work together it would be a much better fit, thus, easier on both of you in terms of mental strain."
"Sir, yes, sir." Dana's cheeks were pink as she spoke. "If Dev is for it, I will willingly test a drift with him."
"Good." Pentecost nodded once. "A week from today at eighteen hundred hours. You will go into additional classes to warn you about the strains of the drift, and the dangers. Don't chase the rabbit. Dismissed."
That first night Dev almost didn't sleep, but for the first time, it was because Dana was there. Beatrix's words rang in his ears as she cuddled against him from behind. She'd gone and grown breasts, and curves, both of which he was acutely aware of as she nuzzled against his back. It wasn't that Dev never thought about sex. He'd spent many afternoons in high school in locker rooms, back seats, and supply closets with a string of willing women. His generation scored pretty well in high school. Everyone was terrified a Kaiju might attack at any moment and end their lives short, so it was seize the day every day. The thing was that was where it had ended. Dev had no interest in romance or commitment. Sure, he got better about pleasuring his sexual partners, but that was it.
Dana was a constant. She was the girl at home chattering about Jaeger designs, telling him to take his muddy shoes off. She was the warmth in the cold nights, the light in the dark who guided him home. She was the girl he blotted the tears of when her middle school crush rejected her because she was "fat". (That night Beatrix had told him exactly which boy and which house, they proceeded to scare the shit out of him). But she was Dana. He'd never once considered her in...well, a way he was having a hard time not thinking about her now. She was beautiful, he realized, glancing over his shoulder. His very own Snow White, with fair skin, black hair, and red lips. But Beatrix was crazy. Dana was a nice girl, and whether Dev became a ranger or not, he was a bad boy. She could do better then him, someone who would be her hero, take care of her, and maybe start a family with some day. He would never do any of that. He could barely take care of himself, and he'd decided a long time ago he wouldn't have kids while monsters were trying to kill them.
Yet there was Dana, volunteering to drift with him. Another thought crossed his mind. The carnage he'd saved her from seeing all those years ago. It was alive, thriving in his memories. What if she saw that? He shuddered a bit and grasped her hand in his, the one curled around his torso. Dana didn't need to see that. But how could he tell her that...?
"Beatrix, why are you playing with your bra?"
The three of them were eating dinner a week later when Dana asked her friend that. Dev cocked a brow and turned as their friend unbuttoned part of her mechanic coverall.
"Because," The ginger grinned,"I want the Beckett brothers to get a good look."
"...I don't want to sit here anymore." Dana winced.
"Well I can't sit within thirty feet of the Australians," Beatrix snorted, "Pentecoast's orders."
"Why not either of them?" Dev raised a brow.
"Pentecoast seems to think I'll blame the father for how his son came out."
"Why?"
"I might have insinuated I blame the father for how his son came out," Beatrix laughed,"But enough about me! You two are practicing drifting in one of the scrapped Jaeger pits! That's going to be awesome. You two ready to be in each other's heads?"
Dev froze and dropped his fork because he's forgotten about it in the bustle of classes. The girls resumed talking for a bit but he didn't hear it for a while.
"Besides, Dana, you can't tell me he's not sexy as sin." That drew him back in.
"Whose sexy as sin?" Dev cocked a brow and looked at them.
"Either Beckett." Beatrix stated as Dana blushed, looking down.
"Well I guess Raleigh is easy on the eyes," Dana murmured, "He's got nice hair."
Dev became aware of his own hair, which he hadn't grown out in a while. He supposed it was all right, and he had stubble. But was it nice? He also became aware Beatrix was eyeing him as he pulled his fingers through it. She snorted as Dana finished off her cake.
"So," the youngest of their trio grinned at him, "Shall we?"
He was trying not to panic as they put him and Dana into the exoskeletons. She'd actually gotten a great deal more nervous seeming since they got there, but he didn't know why. Once they were in the harnesses, Beatrix's voice cued.
"Joining you as an Engineer Trainee, I am here. You two set in there?"
"Uh huh," Dana nodded once. Dev just nodded, bracing himself for it. No one could exactly explain what Drifting felt like. Just lots of warnings.
"All right. Neural handshake initiating in...three...two...one."
And it was his life flashing before his eyes. With Dana. Rapid fire. Shit he didn't want her to see about him. He was suddenly trying to block it. A jerk. He could hear Dana calling to him. And then...no. It wasn't the island. It wasn't the attack he found himself standing in.
Dev was a child standing in a big house. He'd just spilled purple grape juice on a white carpet. The woman had shrieked. The woman who adopted him. The man who said he should call them mom and dad. The woman was shrieking, the man roaring at hom. The first swing caught him off guard, he cried out. The next swing he shut up, curling up and taking the beating.
He'd spilled the man's beer the night before the Kaiju attack. It had been answered with whips being beaten against his back. But he'd dealt with it. And he was small again. And Dana had appeared the next morning while he was preparing to run away and call it over. But...it wasn't.
"Dev!" It was Dana in her exoskeleton, calling out to him. Concern on her face for his pain. He hated that.
"How am I supposed to protect you?!" He cried out.
"You're not, you doofus!" Dana rolled her eyes. "We're supposed to protect each other!"
And then they were back in the drift. In their memories of growing up together. A warm feeling filling Dev after his first fight in his new school and Dana came running to him with a bad aid. Dev teaching Dana how to use a stove safely, and how to cook ramen. Dana dragging Dev to the TV where Beatrix was already staring at the first footage of Yaegers. How excited she was. That was the day he first considered becoming a Ranger, to become a hero, to protect Dana. Wait...no, that was why she became a Ranger? To protect him. Her memories were flowing with his now. Dana's projects in schools became constantly focused on the Jaegers and how it all worked, and he'd help her construct them. The time Beatrix constructed a little Clockwork Yaeger. Laughing, there was so much laughter. Bethany cooking brunch for them on the weekends, a ton of french toast. Birthdays. Holidays. Dana's memories of her father. Then they were back at the island. Dev went rigid. No. He wouldn't remember this. He wouldn't let her see this.
"Dev!" Dana shouted again and he felt her hand squeeze around him. "You've protected me from it for years...now let me lighten your load."
Through the rest of the Drift session, Dev felt at peace, and he felt something warm engulf him. He didn't know what it was, but it put him at peace. It allowed him to focus.
"Only two rabbit chasings, both on the right hemisphere, and came back both times. Not bad for your first time."
Pentecost had them back in his office the next day, looking over the report.
"Thank you sir, but it was Dana who pulled me back." Dev smiled softly at Dana. She was smiling back at him when Pentecoast chuckled.
"Well I dare say that makes you an ideal team. If the two of you can complete the rest of your training, we'll see about commissioning a Jaeger for the two of you. Dismissed."
They were barely out of the office before Dana squealed and tossed her arms around Dev to hug him.
"We did it! We're going to be Rangers! We're going to get a Jaeger!"
"He said if we finish everything else." Dev chuckled as he returned the hug, grinning at her. She'd seen his worst moments. She hadn't turned away from him. He was okay with this.
"Of course we'll finish the other stuff!" Dana rolled her eyes in response.
And then they were still again. Dana was in his arms, with her own arms aroudn him. He was holding her up on her toes because of the height difference. Their gazes held so much meaning then before.
"Dev...I...wanted to say something to you. I hoped you'd find it in the drift but we got side tracked and..."
The young woman was interrupted by the door across the hall beginning to creak open. One of the Beckett boys's room. Yancy, Dev remember. Dev and Dana both turned as Beatrix crept out in her coveralls, buttoning them back up, her short hair a total mess. She lifted her head and gave a smile before quirking a brow.
"Am I interupting something?"
"No." Dana squeaked, releasing Dev. "Pentecost said if we pass all our classes and exams and drift tests he'll commision a Yaeger! You have to be our engineer!"
Still Dev saw an annoyed look leave Beatrix's face as Dana turned back to him and found himself wondering what she would have said.
"Can I pick the colors? Please?" She pleaded.
"Sure." Dev chuckled. "But I pick the name."
"Deal!"
Dana was quiet for a moment as she sat on her bed. It was after dinner time as she looked at her photo board, hugging Bear as she laid back, thinking about it all. She was going to be a Ranger, and she was going to be able to protect Dev. That was his wish too, too protect her? She'd felt him trying to block her out, to shield her from what he saw that day. From who he'd been in high school. Had he thought she didn't know? How many angry phone calls from girls she screened? How many teens had come looking to beat him up who she simply shut the door on and threatened to call the cops on? Dana knew Dev wasn't perfect, she always had, but she loved him anyway. She'd really learned to face it when she found the Pan Pacific Defense Corps panphlet he'd hidden under his bed. He always acted tough when he shoved her out of bed in the morning, but not having him around gave her nightmares. When she'd fallen to the floor, she snatched it, realized he'd been going over the information, and cried in the school bathroom for fear she'd never see him again.
Beatrix had found her, heard her out, and smacked her.
"Are you even going to pretend you never intended to try out to be a ranger anyway?" She snorted. "I'm sure if you're driftable they'll let you skip the end of high school!" And that had been that. Now they were all in one form of training or other. She pondered it for a moment longer and set the bear down beside her bed and dug through things. On Beatrix's advice before they left home she had packed one thing: a set of "sexy" underwear. She considered them, matching purple things, before shoving them back in the bag with a blush in her cheeks. She had to at least confess to Dev before she thought about that.
Which, Dana determined, is what she would do. She stepped out, shutting the door behind her, She turned and nearly jumped when she saw the trainee she'd punched on the first day.
"Oh-uh-you-I-"
"Your friend with the red hair told me about your dad," he sighed, "Sorry if what I said seemed callous."
"...Accepted," Dana sighed, "And sorry about your mom. Your...dad told me what happened."
"Friends?" He held out a hand.
"...Lets go with allies and see from there," Dana laughed and shook his hand, "I promise not to spoil your tough guy image. Speaking of, have you seen Dev around?"
"Who, your boyfriend?" He snorted and jerked a thumb, "He's in the Jaeger bay, looking over some of the retired models."
"We're not a couple." Dana rolled her eyes as she walked in the direction he pointed. "At least...not yet."
He'd been telling the truth, Dana was happy to find, when she spotted Dev writing on a sign that read "Extreme Crush Hazard". He was adding in Sharpie "No shit!" Dana found a giggle leave her as she approached.
"Nice touch."
"Thanks." Dev laughed a bit. "Considering that name for our Jaeger some day. Extreme Crush Hazard."
"How appropiate."
Dana smiled softly as he faced her. 'Gosh he is handsome.' She thought for what must have been the millionth time. Tall, lean, muscular. She wondered if he knew he still had an accent. She absent mindedly reached up to run her hand over his stubble. Dev became still for a moment and she worried'd she'd crossed a land. Until his hand took hers and held it there.
"Why do you waste your time with me, Dana?" His words confused her. Had he seen what she confessed to his sleeping form one night?
"...Because there's no one else for me." Dana replied bluntly.
"You deserve so much more then I can ever give you," he replied, "Someone who can take care of you, protect you, give you children..."
"You already do protect me!" Dana snapped, "And I don't want anyone to take care of me...as for kids, I have years to worry about that, you moron! I'm only eighteen!"
"...Happy Birthday," Dev smiled gently, releasing her hand.
Dana began to protect the action, not sure how but certain she wanted to, when his hands were on his cheeks, and his lips upon hers. Her eyes widened but she shut them then, tossing her arms around his neck. It was intense, so much more then she'd been expecting. Had the drift caused that? His arms moved down, wrapping around her waist and picking her up so she wouldn't have to tipe toe. Dana's arms curled tighter around his shoulders and her dangling legs wrapped around him as years of longing poured out between their lips.
Dev had pinned her against a support beam in the searing kiss when they both became aware of something falling beside them. The kiss broke with heavy breathing, Dana staring into his dark eyes with her silver ones. There were no questions left. There was no one else. Age was a number, no more, not to them. She was legally aloud to make that decision now. That was all that had been holding her back.
Dev's eyes moved to see what had fallen and he audibly groaned, looking up. Dana followed his gaze to the platform above and blushed to see Beatrix and the Beckett's smirking down at them.
"Oh don't stop on our account!" Beatrix laughed, "I just new Bethany would kill me if I let him knock you up!"
"What?!" Dana squeaked and looked down to see what she'd tossed. Her cheeks reddened when she sat the condom wrapper and she buried her face against Dev's chest.
"Were you planning on letting us know you were there?" Dev exclamied as he held her close, setting Dana on her feet.
"Were you planning on nailing her right there, in the middle of the Jaeger Bay?" Beatrix laughed, "We wondered why you weren't turning up at dinner!"
"Oh shut up!" Dev snapped as Dana smiled, peeking out.
The next time they'd drifted, Dev identified the warm feeling he felt. It was Dana's love for him, stemming back from one night when they were still in the house. He was asleep and she had curled up beside him, like she always did. She was twisting her pig tails nervously before leaning forward and kissing his cheek suddenly, whispering into his ear:
"I love you."
After they were done with the trial drift he made sure to tell her. And that evening they skipped dinner in his room, and made use of what Beatrix had given them. Dana had curled up in his arms, a serene expression on his face as he held her close, running his fingers through her hair.
"Do you think..." Dana giggled, "We'll see the other's perspectives in the drift, of what we just did?"
"If so..." Dev laughed,"Then we're only going to get better." Then he paused.
"What?" Dana tilted her head
"The father son trainees," Dev laughed, "Do you think there's a chance the poor boy will wittness his own conception? From his pather"s perspective?"
"...Oh my god." Dana burst into laughter and gave him a shove. "You're horrible!"
"Yes, what will you ever do with me?" Dev laughed as he leaned on his side. "Whatever will you do with me?"
"A few things come to mind."
After a half a year's time, they finished training, and were working with Beatrix at the Florida station to design their future Jaeger. Dev chuckled as Dana sat in his lap, reaching over and pointing out design changes.
"Thinking dark purple, blue, and black hughes," She concluded, looking back at Dev with a smile, "Did you pick a name yet?"
"I had a thought," Dev grinned and reached over, signing the title he liked. Beatrix burst into laughter as Dana groaned.
"We are not naming it a Bra Size!"
"I see no bra size here," Dev cackled, "I see a symbol. Our names. Dana and Dev. Double D. DD. Where did your head go?"
"Oh!" Dana crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.
"You're adorable when your annoyed."
Six months after that the Double D was ready for its first trial run and Drift check. Dana seemed nervous about something, but Dev hadn't found out what. Not until they were in the drift. The trial was cut short when he shut it down and stared at her.
"You're how many weeks late?!"
Dana had sat quietly with him in their room then. They had shoved all their stuff into one now. It was cramped, but she found it cozy as they lay there.
"...So you're pregnant." Dev stated.
"I MIGHT be pregnant. I don't know yet." Dana gulped. "I just haven't had my period in a little while." She was uncertain. All this training could be for naught. If she was carrying a child she couldn't pilot. If she kept the child, she couldn't pilot for danger of leaving the child alone. He couldn't drift with anyone else, she knew that by now. They'd be failing the PPDC if they did that. Even though she'd always spoken of being choice, Dana felt herself scared. She'd always seen the theoretical scenario being a rape, something bad. Not by the man she loved, by an act of love.
"One of the condoms must have...broken or something, I don't know." Dev sighed and looked up at her. "Are you okay?"
"Freaking out a little," Dana bit her lip, "I suppose I should see a doctor."
"...If you are pregnant, I'll stay by you," Dev reached over and squeezed her hand, "I love you Dana. I will always protect you."
The infirmary room scared Dana. It was rather bare, with only a few charts and images. But she supposed it wasn't a proper Doctor's office. Dev held her hand tightly and it was in a small way reassuring. The doctor returned with a furrowed brow as he pushed a ballpoint pin on.
"Well..." He exhaled, sitting on a stool, "You are not pregnant."
"Oh thank god." Dana let out a heavy sigh as Dev laughed softly.
"Thats my line. Your mother would have killed me if I'd ruined your dreams by getting you pregnant."
"But I am concerned." The Doctor added. "When do you remember your last period?"
"Twelve weeks ago maybe?" Dana nodded softly, "Yeah, we were visiting my mother for her birthday."
"I see. Did it seem odd to you?" He asked. Dana paused as she contemplated it and nodded.
"It was light. I didn't think about it. Why? What stopped it?"
The Doctor sighed and looked between them with an unhappy expression.
"How much practice have you two been doing in the Mark One Jaeger on the base?"
"A lot." Dev stated as Dana's eyes widened, "Nearly Daily since we got here, sometimes twice daily. Two hours a go, why?"
"...So four hours a day for the last year, you'd say you've been inside a Jaeger?" He inquired as Dana's hand cept to her abdomen. No. She wasn't pregnant.
"...The radiation from the core." She whispered. And she never would be.
Of course Dana had been distraught by the news. Dev had held her tight for nights on end. Beatrix had tried to lift her spirits, but it wasn't helping. She was sullen a lot of the time, and Dev felt like the only time he could connect to her was in the drift for a few weeks.
"...I'm sorry."
"Hey," Dana sighed as she pulled off her helmet, "At least you don't have to worry about knocking me up now."
"...Maybe I didn't want kids while giant alien monsters want to kill us," Dev turned to her abruptly, hands on her shoulders, "But I know you would have been a wonderful mother. And I am so sorry we will never get to find out." Dev pulled her into a tight hug and an odd relief filled him when Dana finally began to cry into his chest. They stood there in the Double D's head for hours, Dev just holding her, petting the back of her head, and kissing her forehead.
It was a few years later when they got the news from Achorage. Yancy Beckett was dead, and their engineer and lead mechanic was inconsolable. Dev waited outside her room, looking up as Dana emerged with a concerned brow.
"How is she?"
"Terrible." Dana sighed. "I thought it was just a fling this whole time. I didn't think they were..."
"I don't know if they were. I do know they wrote back and forth a lot. Outside of us that was the first person she ever connected to after Florida." Dev sighed. "I heard he was still in the Drift when it happened..."
"Christ, poor Raleigh..."
Dana turned to Dev then and suddenly kissed him. It was heated, more so then their usual, passionate, filled with need. He held her shoulders and set her down.
"Not that I mind but...what was that?"
"Don't go getting kill on me, okay?" Dana snapped at him,"Don't be a big damn hero! I can't lose anyone else I love! I won't!"
"...I won't leave you, Dana," Dev cracked a smile as he looped an arm around her, a hand going into his pocket. "I hope to spend a long while with you yet." He added, sliding the simple gold band onto her finger. Dana's eyes widened as she looked up at him.
"Dev...are you..."
"Quite serious, love." Dev whispered as he picked up her hand to kiss her knuckles. "I want to marry you, Dana. I love you and have loved you for a very long time, and damned the state of the world, I want everyone to know it."
"...Yes!" Dana cried out, tossing her arms around him, kissing him intensely. "Yes, of course I will!"
Dana was staring with wide eyes in disbelief as the Double D Jaeger pit sparked with things having broken. Their viewing screen was damaged, and she could faintly detect the Jaeger coming at them, Beatrix's voice screaming at her to get up. But it all felt miles away. Dev wasn't moving. She was screaming his name, tears filling her eyes. He can't be gone, he can't be. Dev! I'm scared! Dev, please come back!
They hadn't thought about it; the fact that Beatrix hadn't checked on their Jaeger in a while because of the news. When the Kaiju popped up they suited up, trembling with anticipation.
"We're going to kill a Kaiju." Dana stated as they stepped in.
"We are." Dev grinned a bit. "Together."
"...Together." Dana smiled and reached for his hand. "We're going to save lives."
Now Dev was watching his form, unmoving, limp. Why was that? Why couldn't he control it? Why couldn't he reach out to Dana? She had stopped shouting. Why couldn't he shout to her? Beatrix was still screaming over the intercom. All he could make out was loss. And then...a dream. Dana had chased the rabbit.
She was trying on a wedding dress. No. It was their wedding. Her mother was there, Beatrix was there. And her father was there. The late Arthur Wallace was smiling at her. And then she was a child again. Searching through the shelter, through the survivors, crying out for her father. Clinging to a teddy bear with a D on its paw.
"Daddy!" The little visage of Dana was screaming, "Daddy, where are you? Answer me! Daddy! I'm scared...Daddy!"
He had caused that loss. She had run away with him the day the Kaiju attacked Florida, and her father had coming looking for her, and likely been killed as a result. Now Dev's body was...no. No he would not cause her more pain. He would not let that thing have her.
"You can't have her!"
The voice pulled Dana back to reality, lifting her head as Dev's voice erupted in her ears. The Jaeger had lifted its arms though she could not recalling telling it do so. It blocked the Kaiju's charge and then swung a punch at it. She could barely believe her eyes as the battle ensued. Or that her arms were actings as the controls without her willing them to.
"Nice come back, Dana! Finish it fast or you're going to burn up!" Beatrix's voice rang.
"I'm not doing it," Dana whispered, "He is."
"...Dana, sweetie..." Beatrix exhaled. "Dev's body is non responsive. Theirs no brain activity."
"He's still here...I can hear him. I can feel him..." Dana stopped. "He's in the drift! We're still drifting!"
"...Well...I...Oye, science guys! Is that possible?!"
"Dev?!" Dana cried out again, eyes wide.
"Dana, I love you, but it's kind of heard to control this thing on my own, give me a hand killing this retardard Kaiju, love?" His voice rang in her ears.
"...With pleasure." Dana grinned.
"And he's still alive in the Drift?"
Beatrix nodded in response on the phone conference with Pentecost and the pit of the Double Dee.
"Dana swears it. He's there. She had no further stress on her brain controlling the damn thing. His body is brain dead, but his conciousness got caught in the drift, his mind swimming around past Dana's. He's able to control her like a Jaeger now, but he's on stand by."
"...Well...can they be disconnected?"
"Not without risking losing him. Dana has threatened to control the Jaeger on her own and burn herself out taking us apart and if we try."
"Didn't threaten," Dana cut in, "Promises."
"Sir, I have no idea how she got this violent." Her voice chimed in a different tone.
"Suuure you don't." Beatrix rolled her eyes. "So basically we have to keep the drift between them active. It doesn't have to be an active drift with the Jaeger, thus putting less strain on them. But what we need to do is disconnect them both from it, leaving them connected to each other."
"Are you suggesting we leave Dana in active drift with the remnant of a ranger?!"
"Sir, with all respect, I'm not a remnant." Dev spoke with Dana's voice again, "I'm completey here."
"He's worth the risk," Dana sighed, "Sir...I won't risk losing him. It can't be anymore strain on my brain then a Jaeger would be."
"...You're asking us to rig a tech that would keep you connected to him, in the drift, at all times." Pentecost sighed.
"Jailbreak a Google Glass!" Beatrix exclaimed, "Hell, give me one, and I'll rig it to capacity to do the job!"
"Why is this so important to you?!"
"What, you mean other then I don't want to lose anyone else and they're two of the most important people to me?!" Beatrix snapped. "Because it's my fault! I haven't been keeping up with check ups! I should have caught thet leg jam a month ago!"
There was a pause before Pentecost sighed, pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number.
"Keep the Double D powered until further notice. Get me a god damn flash drive, biggest you can, and a Google Glass. It is a matter of national security. How fast do you think a Jaeger can make it from Fort Walton Beach to DC? Don't test the pilot. Get me the Google Glass."
Needless to say after her emotional outbreak, Dana was never let back in a Jaeger. But as she packed up her stuff, she was smiling, a thin eye glass like structure around her head, a 64 Gigabyte Flash Drive with a blinking blue light rigged to it, and a small piece of plastic projecting Dev's image to her. She was all right with them forbidding her from piloting again. She didn't want to pilot with anyone else, and three people would get crowded in the drift. For now, she would live her life in constant drift.
"What's next, love?" Dev's voice rang in her ear. Dana smiled softly as she picked up her back, spinning the ring on her finger.
"Next, Beatrix and I look into cloning."