Baird knew the word bitter better than anyone else probably did, hell, if you looked up the word in a dictionary you'd find his picture next to the definition. And right now he was in no mood to be doing what he was. He was hardly ever in the mood.

Damon stood along in line with a bunch of other Gears whom he knew nothing about except that they were doing what he was; the only ones in the line along with him that he knew were the rest of Delta and that included Bernadette Mataki.

Baird sometimes wondered how the hell she had gotten past Hoffman and out on the frontline with the rest of the CoG. Maybe she knew how to seduce the old geezer into getting what she wanted, like most women did. It was a Bairdish thought.

Mataki transferred her gaze away from the Drill Sergeant before them to the group of lads she had fallen accustomed to, and; like Baird, they were the only ones she knew who were standing in line.

"Ten-Shun!" The Drill Sergeant raised his voice above everything else that could have been heard then. This Sergeant was new; fresh as a spring flower to the eyes and ears of all the Gears.

All the soldiers stood with their hands clasped behind their backs in respect as they listened attentively to their leader. Or that's what he was right now to them at least.

"You have all been called here to receive special training on how to fight the Lambent that have invaded our island." The Sergeant knew how to rattle a Gear to the bone with that loud mouth of his. Him and Baird would get along just fine if they happened to speak to each other.

Mataki looked straight ahead of her, but she wasn't looking at the man in front of her; but instead looking beyond the horizon. It was early in the day and the sun was brand new in the sky. She could smell and feel the ocean breeze against her skin and in her dreadlocked hair. It was just the right temperature to be outside training today.

I wish we could have a day off for once. I'm getting too old for this kind of shit this early in the morning. Shit, not this senile old person crap. Come on Mataki, you're stronger than this.

Bernie was starting to settle into that character that Hoffman had labeled her as; too old to fight. Shit, why the hell was he talking crap about her when he was older than her. Sometimes the things men did and said irked her beyond comprehension.

"First off, how do you identify a lambent?" The Sergeant just continued talking on as Baird looked ahead as well, acting as if he were intrigued by the man's words. That was the last thing he was paying attention to. He moved a bit in his spot; moving his legs around trying to keep from putting too much weight on either one. Eventually he settled and continued to frolic in his own little world.

Yeah, great; Lambent, blah, blah, blah. I need to get back to the workshop and work on those rigs.

Baird continued to think aimlessly of other things rather then the task at hand.

Eventually the Sergeant stopped talking and dismissed the group. Baird was surprised that he hadn't made them do anything. Maybe he was saving that for another day, or maybe even later today.

Bernie stepped out of line and stretched out. Standing still for so long made the body ache; mostly the legs. Standing for a good 30 minutes to and hour made her feel like one big knot.

She looked over to Baird who was heading back towards the Naval Base. She started walking his way. Looking back, she saw Marcus, Cole, and Dom were going the opposite way she and Baird were heading. Kind to think of it; only she and Baird where heading this way. Eventually Baird saw her out of the corner of his eye and stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't turn a hair.

"Hey Grannie, what're you doing?" This time he didn't have a snappy comeback to add to the end of that question.

"Nothing Blondie, just heading back to the Base. Maybe grab some chow or something."

Baird didn't phase her, she remained the same as if she had been talking to Marcus or someone who seemed to have a bit more of a heart inside their chest.

Maybe she would surprisingly break Baird today.

Mentally; She was a bit closer to him in some ways than most people would have liked to been; with the exception of Cole…

Finally after a short, quiet and slightly awkward walk to the base, Baird opened up the doors to the "Stores" as they were called around here. He slid his goggles over his eyes before stepping in and excepting what he'd be working on today; it was a rig that was broken and run down in specific areas. This is what he did in his free time, Bernie had known that but she also wondered how someone stayed entertained with machines alone.

But who was she to judge what kept his yap shut.

She stared at him as he walked around the huge vehicle; he grabbed a wrench and started to go to work at replacing missing screws on the side of its armor incasing.

Before going following Baird, she went to grab a pair of ear muffs; they were supposed to keep the sounds from inside the shops out and keep you from becoming deaf. There wasn't any sound except the 'clanking' sound of Baird replacing screws, but she was prepared just incase he pulled out a power saw or something.

Bernie looked at Baird and caught his eye. "I think Cole is right about you Baird, you're gonna go deaf in here one day."

Baird simply looked at her and sneered at her and turned back to continue his work. "Grannie, I've done this shit for years, I'm practically immune."

Bernie made he way over and grabbed a seat on the floor near the tool bench Baird was using.

Immune or not, I'd rather still be safe than sorry. But it's you Baird.

She chewed this thought over for a second until it became a more thought out and complex one. She wanted to know Baird in a way like she knew Dom or Marcus. She knew hardly anything about him and it made her feel guilty. She didn't know how to deal with the poor sod sometimes, how to respond to his smart-ass comments.

She wanted to know what made him tick. And who had fixed his gears too tight. She needed to know where she struck a nerve, but again. This was Baird.

Baird turned her way and threw out his hand, which made her flinch in surprise.

"Hey Bernie, I'm short a screw, can you hand me one?"

Without objection, she stood up and searched the table for what looked like a screw. She spotted two and picked one up and handed it to Baird who quickly took it and inserted into the side of the rig.

"There, the casing is done. Just needs a good cleaning now."

He was right about cleaning it; the thing was filthy and covered in mud and other grim that had accumulated on it.

"Hey Blondie, tell me something." Bernie couldn't believe she was going to try and get to him today.

"What? A story from my wondrous youth?" It was a joke but it was also the truth, it was ironic.

"Actually, yes. Since we're alone in here. As far as I know we are. I want to know more about you." Bernie thought she'd never see the day; maybe she was becoming senile.

"You feeling okay Granny? Did you forget to take your pills this morning?"

He didn't offend her; she had learned when and when not to be.

"Really Baird, I want to know why you act the way you do, I'm sure you'd feel better to get some of it off your chest."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was actually offering her ear to him; in a way it freaked him out and made him feel as if he were in a therapy session.

That freaked him out even more.

"So you want to know about me?"

"Yep, I want to know how to deal with you for future reference." Bernie was joking in a more meaningful way that would relate to Baird and his ways.

"Whatever Granny, but aren't you supposed to be giving me the old timey stories about when you were a little girl?" Baird put down his wrench and carefully leaned against the rig and pulled his goggles back up onto his forehead.

Bernie thought he looked completely alien with those things on.

"Well sweetie." Bernie began.

Baird's sneer turned into what looked like an embarrassed half-smile, but it wasn't a kind one. It was probably one for the reason he was being called sweet and even he knew he was nowhere near it.

"Why are you such a crab who likes to bite at everyone's ass?" Bernie had changed her tone to a more serious one to suit the moment better.

"Don't know, just always have, but I do know when not to. Like Dom, he's a big exception. I can't even see myself being that harsh or mean to someone like him."

Bernie just stared at him, listening. "I mean… what made you this way. You seem like you have no feelings at all but to be bitter."

There was that word again; bitter. It was his word. It was perfect for him.

"I can tell you this much; it always starts at childhood…"

He was right, if you had a fucked up childhood your chances of being a fucked up adult where greater. She knew that just because she knew Marcus. No mother, and a father who barely knew his own son. And then she looked at Dom; he had a great childhood, loving family and brother, and even Marcus was there when they were kids. But she also knew he had lost all that.

That poor lad…

Bernie's mind only wondered off for a moment before she regained sight to the conversation they were having now.

"Okay, well, what did your parents do? What happened when you were young?"

"Eh, the usual; parents were complete assholes who had no love for there own son but to get what they wanted out of having one."

Bernie didn't quite understand what he meant; she hoped he would explain it more.

"They only wanted what was good for them, I had to join the army or no money for me. Even though I was smarter than the average child and gifted in Mechanics and engineering that didn't mean jack shit to them."

She kept listening as if he were giving an interesting lecture on the meaning of life or some other subject.

"No siblings, hell. I was alone in the house half the time unless I was at school. And when my folks were home and I disobeyed them my dad would beat my ass."

The way Baird had said all this just showed how sour a man could be after years of neglect and hatred. It built up and finally it was what you knew by heart.

There's no such thing as a bad child, but there is such a thing as a bad parent. And Baird had the best example of that there was.

"What about school life?" Bernie said.

"No friends… I was always ahead of everyone, I was in classes with kids way older then me, and I also didn't try and make any. I waited for them to come to me. They never did…"

"Oh, Well, you have Cole now, don't you?" Bernie replied as she messed with a misplaced bolt that had fallen on the floor.

"Yeah, but he insisted upon me until I finally formed a liking to him. He's the only other guy I know who can deal with me. And honestly without him I'd be alone."

In other words… he got to you until you had to have him by your side as your buddy. Because he actually gave you the attention you wanted.

Bernie knew there was still more to the story, but she felt she had prodded around enough for today.

"Alright, that's all I wanted to know." No, she wanted to know more, but she was as close as she was going to get for a while.

She stood up and put the loose bolt back onto the tool bench; it rolled around for a moment until it came to a stop on a small crack in the wood.

Baird shot back up and turned quickly to return his attention to the rig. "Granny, now that you know what you want, promise me this; you won't tell a damn soul. I figured since you're old that you might forget in due time."

There he went again, with his venomous words that didn't seem to sting Bernie like he wanted them to, but she also knew that they were his cover up from the raw feelings that lie under him.

"Yeah, I can do that." She turned and walked as she took off the earmuffs. She placed them back on the hold with the rest of them. Without looking back she spoke just loud enough for Baird to hear her.

"You know Blondie, you aren't as bad as people say."

She didn't know if it made him feel good to hear that, or if it didn't affect him at all. She could only guess. But that was just Damon for you, one big puzzle that no one could fully figure out.

But Bernie would, she knew she would find every missing piece and figure him out for herself.

Even if it took her to some of the most awkward places he knew, she would make sure she found what she was looking for.

Bernie slowly walked out, as Baird remained alone in the workshop. And for once she was almost ready to give him her company again.