Takes place after Plague, i recommend reading it after you read Plague...as usual i am not Michael Grant, and will never be, so this is based of his work yada yada...except i do have flashbacks from Diana in italics, those are parts of all of the books, those, on the other hand, are Michael Grants...(thanks for letting me use it)

This takes place when Sam, Diana, and everyone else is walking to the lake (in case you wanted to know).

Hope you like it! Here we go...

Diana hated herself, hated her life (well, her new life) but most of all, she hated him. Caine. Maybe it was just the hope that he could change. Idiot. Maybe, just maybe, he waned to go to the island for her. For food, of course, but maybe he wanted to get away. Maybe he wanted to have a peaceful life on the island with Diana. Manipulation.

Or maybe he just wanted sex. Maybe he just wanted to use her and leave her feeling like shit. Like Brittany crawling up from her grave, covered in filth and the lies that her brother told her that the Gaiaphage is God.

Lies, it was all lies. Diana thought she manipulated people but nothing like this. He was suave, smooth, she thought he was awkward with girls but maybe it was just an act, and maybe she will always be the victim.

"It's my fault." Diana cursed to herself under her breath. Sam glanced at her and she tried to smile. Diana could feel all eyes on her. Glaring, drilling holes into her back, or stomach. Dekka's, Brianna's, all judging. You're really pregnant? Whore.

Diana Ladris. A manipulator. A bitch? Fine, she could deal with that. She wasn't a nice girl. A statistic. Sixteen and pregnant would make a great FAYZ addiction, except she was fifteen. She was old in the FAYZ. But a baby? Maybe she was the first of many. Was that who Diana Ladris turned out to be?

Goodbye Mother Mary, Hello Mother Diana.

Not a nice ring, but to top it off, Caine as a father? Diana wouldn't be surprised if this child was the devil.

Caine. Bastard. A manipulator. But she fell for it, and Diana had no blame for Caine that couldn't be blamed on herself too.

But Diana realized too late when this was coming. The very first day Caine had kissed her, he had threatened her afterwards. It had only been to make sure that Diana was on his side. Caine had power, and that was for sure, but to throw away the only person he had ever cared about? No, Caine only cares about himself, always will, and always had.

"'I'm getting better at this' Caine said. 'I'm gaining control. Precision.'

'Goody for you'

Caine's shoulders sagged. 'You know, you could occasionally show some support. You know how I feel about you. But all you ever do is bust me.'"

Diana's eyes flared at the memory. How had he felt about her?

"'Do you love me?' Diana asked.

Caine's eyes widened. She could actually see him twitch. Like a startled animal. Like a rabbit who had just heard a fox.

'It's a yes or no question,' Diana said acidly. 'But I'll accept a nod or a shake of the head or an incoherent grunt.'

'I…I don't know what you mean by that," Caine said lamely."

Caine knew exactly what she meant; he had told he loved her plenty of times before. Well, only because he wanted something. Diana is noticing now how at the house, the island, he never wanted her, he just wanted her body.

"He interrupted her with a rushed, lunging kiss.

'What was that for?'

'It's the least you owe me, isn't it?' Caine said. He sounded childish, needy.

She said nothing. He was still dangerous. At this range he had the power to kill her with a thought.

'So how about from now on you just do what I say?'

'You're threatening me?'

Caine nodded. 'Like you said, Diana, we didn't make the FAYZ, we just live here. Here in the FAYZ it's all about power. I have it. You don't."'

Caine had used her from the very beginning. Kissing her. His first kiss, it made her feel like he actually cared about her. But it was a lie; he was threatening her, using her. He had the power to kill her but he needed her. For sex? Maybe. He needed someone by his side to push him through the rough spots. But when she needed him? He left her with a two-bar baby growing in her womb.

Not now. Not in the FAYZ. Not with someone like Caine as the father.

"'I'm in love with you, Diana. You took care of me these last three months. I don't want you to be hurt.'

'Why are you threatening me?'

'Because I have plans. I have things I have to do. I need to know whose side you are on."'

Caine had never wanted Diana, he wanted power. He had a plan and nothing could stop him from crossing the finish line. Once getting to that island his initial goal was don't be a virgin. Mission? How to get there? Doesn't matter. Getting pregnant was one thing, but just being a pawn? Diana should have seen it, all the signs were there. From the very first day of the FAYZ she was being used. Is it karma? For all the bad things Diana had done in the past?

People loathed Diana, but no one would try to bring this upon her.

Diana felt tears coming to her eyes so she quickly looked down so no one would see.

"You okay?" Sam noticed…crap. Diana vowed she would change and she was going to. Step one, stop hiding her feelings behind her strong face. A person is only as strong as their weakest emotions, and right now, Diana was tearing up at the seams.

"Yeah." Flat, plain, she couldn't talk or she would choke on her words. Even if this was Sam this time, she didn't want him to see her like this. No one has even seen Diana cry, not unless she was looking in a mirror.

"That is not the truth." Toto, sometimes the truth isn't what's best. Diana couldn't spit out the memories that were in her head. They were proof, proof that Caine has been using her this whole time. To think she actually might have started to like him.

People don't change she reassured herself.

"Toto, please." It was Sam who, again, noticed Diana's pained face. He knew she was lying; Toto might just make her crack.

Dekka hated Diana, but hated Caine more. Caine and Drake were the ones who cemented her hands, not Diana, so she had at least some sympathy.

"Toto, let's go for a walk, okay?" Dekka was only doing this for Sam, after losing Astrid, him and Diana needed each other before they fell apart.

"That is not what you want to do." Toto confirmed.

"Yes it is! Move!"

"That is not the truth." Dekka probably regretted grabbing Toto's arm and pulling him out of ear shot but it was worth it for Sam. He had saved her life, got rid of the bugs.

Sam looked at Diana, she was beautiful. She had her figure back from that island. Her hair grew back. Her gums were a little puffy but they were getting better.

"So what's bothering you?" Sam knew the answers and saw the stunned expression on Diana's face, but considering how he felt, he knew that Diana wanted to get her emotions out too.

"What is bothering me?" Diana mocked. "Are you for real?" Sam could almost see the steam coming out of Diana's ears.

"In nine months, there's going to be a mini Caine running around, that's what's wrong. We are both horrible people, and it's a two-bar. What is the FAYZ going to come to? And speaking of the FAYZ, you never know what might happen, maybe the baby will come next month!" Diana was gasping for air by the end until the tears finally poured out of her usually strong, brilliant brown eyes.

"And it was all part of a plan!" Sam flinched at this as he offered a shoulder to wipe her tears. Diana noticed his expression and continued to explain.

"Not like that," She reassured him. "He was just using me. He wanted a girl, and I was the only one willing. I told him, me or the FAYZ and I thought he picked me, but he wanted both. My whole life in the FAYZ I was used, like a dirty tissue. Once he got what he wanted, he threw me away. He saved my life twice, and for this?"

"Diana," Sam's voice was calming; anyone could tell that he meant the words he was saying. "You are...one of the...smartest girls in the FAYZ, and if you couldn't see what Caine was doing, no one would." Diana saw Sam slowly drag out the word 'smartest'. It reminded him of Astrid. Both of their 'significant others' were on the wrong side of town, but maybe Sam and Diana are just on the wrong side? Sam misses Astrid, and he's just a little bit less screwed up than Diana.

"But there were signs, I reviewed every conversation in my head, I should have known, I should have never let him leave that island. I should have never let him save me."

"Diana Ladris! Every life is valid in the FAYZ, ask Edilio." Sam glanced over at the sick boy looking like a misfit riding atop Jack's shoulders. "He had to dig the graves, and I think this place we call 'home' just wouldn't be the same without a certain Diana Ladris." Diana smiled; maybe someone didn't think she was an 'insensitive rhymes with witch'.

"But…" For the first time in her life, Diana was at a loss for words.

"But I think you should stop blaming yourself." Sam's eyes were wide, like he was the only person in the world who actually cared about her. Same wiped the tears off Diana's face and she buried her head on his shoulder in a hug, something Caine never gave her.

"We're good together, huh?" Diana didn't think Sam meant it but it was pleasantly surprising to hear.

"But insignificantly enough we both have significant others."

"Caine?"

"And I know you still love Astrid." Sam sighed, he wasn't even going to try and deny it, plus Toto might still be in earshot.

"I should have picked up on the signs, but it's too late now."

"It's only the FAYZ" Sam smiled, that 'joke' was starting to get old.

"Yeah, so maybe it's time to start being Diana again, and if Caine payed attention to even five minutes of what we spent together, he should know he should watch his back."

"We don't want a war." Sam sighed, was this a bad idea?

"But Caine is Caine, and he gets what he wants, until he wants more. And Caine is the King, and Kings need everything." Sam knew Diana had some truth in that, he wished she didn't.

"Well, lets just get to the river, we have two bellies to feed there." Any other time Diana would start sobbing, but not now, not here. The past was the past and she shouldn't worry about it. She should have picked up on the pieces of the past, but she can't do anything about that now other than move foreword.

I hoped you liked it, Diana is my favorite character and once i got to the part where Caine left in Plague, he went from my favorite character to someone i wanted to murder on the spot. Anyway, a couple of more notes, i used a quote from Easy A in here and lyrics from "The Worst Way to Retaliate" by My Favorite Highway.

Anyway, i hoped you enjoyed this little story, please review, it's what encourages me to write...anyway i will continue "when words escape us" but i am working on a couple of oneshots first because i have a few things that i feel needs to be written, too cliche?

So Review, please, i can't force you but i can highly encourage, good, bad, constructive criticism?

-Lindsey (^.^)