Last Stand

"I'm all alone

You're far away

Never learned from my mistakes"

Tiptree - Present Day

"Hey, I was gonna sneak out tonight and meet a bunch of the guys at the Radial," Hope Shepard Moreau whispered conspiratorially to her cousin, and best friend, Lucy, as she closed her locker. "Wanna come?"

"Um, I'm already grounded for the rest of my life, so I think I'll pass. Plus, I can't drink, anyway," Lucy noted, glumly, as they started down the crowded hallway toward their next classroom.

"Oh, yeah." Lucy had just discovered a few weeks ago that she was pregnant. It wasn't a terribly happy time around the Ryderson household. "Sorry." Hope shot her cousin an apologetic look.

"How are you gonna get out, anyway?" Lucy asked, dodging around a student hurrying in the other direction. "Where's your mom gonna be?"

"Get this – she and my dad are going out to dinner!"

"Really? Are they getting back together?"

"Who the hell knows?" Hope muttered as they wove their way through the throngs of boisterous adolescents. She was fed up with her parents and their drama. Who'd ever heard of people who were separated, but still married, going on a date? It was ridiculous.

"They're never gonna let you in there, you know," Lucy informed her, pulling Hope back to the present conversation.

"Kristie says that they hacked a fake ID for me."

"Well, you'd better be careful. If you get busted, everyone's gonna know about it."

Hope understood what her cousin meant. Her whole life, she'd lived in the shadow of her parents' accomplishments. People always treated her differently once they knew who she was. Her one saving grace was that, due to a clerical error, Shepard had been noted on her birth certificate as her middle name - Shepard Moreau, rather than Shepard-Moreau. Her parents had never bothered to fix it, so she was sometimes able to get away with going by Hope Moreau.

Her dad was a hero, but her mother was a goddamn legend.

Still, everyone on Tiptree knew her family. It was a small colony. Two weeks out from her 16th birthday, and Hope had never had a real boyfriend. Most guys were too afraid to ask her out. Parents who considered assault rifles to be everyday accessories were not good for your social life.

But lately, Hope had started hanging with a different crowd. She'd always been a decent athlete, and a good student, but she'd had the same friends since grammar school. One day, when she'd been feeling particularly glum and antisocial, she'd ducked under the bleachers during gym class. To her surprise, there'd been a boy she'd vaguely recognized tucked away in the shadows. The scent of marijuana - a requisite crop for all human colonies - had floated to her on the breeze, and she'd hesitated, debating whether or not to stay.

"Hey," he'd drawled, acknowledging her presence with a casual nod. "Want a hit?"

After a brief deliberation, Hope had stepped forward and taken the offering from his outstretched hand. He'd watched her intently as she'd raised it to her lips and inhaled tentatively. She'd immediately begun coughing violently and had handed the joint back to him, tears streaming from her eyes.

"First time?" he'd asked with a hint of amusement, blue eyes sparkling. Hope had nodded, unable to speak. She'd thought that he was a year ahead of her – in the same grade as Lucy's boyfriend, Jason. He'd been cute – tall and lanky, with dark hair that flopped over his forehead. He'd worn black jeans, along with a t-shirt and sneakers. "You're Hope, right?"

Regaining her voice, she'd wheezed, "Yeah," while swiping the moisture from her cheeks. She'd liked that he'd just said "Hope," and not "Hope Shepard" or, god forbid, "Shepard's kid."

"I'm Zach."

"Hi." Boy, she was really outdoing herself with the sparkling conversation here. "Um...you're a junior, right?"

"Yeah. Why, have you noticed me?" Zach had teased, eyes twinkling as he'd regarded her.

Hope had blushed and ducked her head. "My cousin, Lucy, goes out with Jason Merrill. He's in your grade."

"Mmm." Zach had taken another hit off of the joint and Hope had watched, fascinated, as he'd held his breath for what seemed like forever before pinching off the end and tucking it into his pocket, finally releasing the smoke in a puff. "Well, I gotta go. Don't want to be late for class," he'd said, not really sounding like he cared too much one way or the other. "See you around, Hope."

"Yeah, see ya," Hope had replied, watching as Zach had emerged from the darkness into the light, slinking across the field. He'd moved with an almost feline grace, and she'd recalled how he'd already known her name.

She'd wondered if maybe she'd finally met someone who'd have the balls to go out with her, after all.

After that, Hope had run into Zach a few times, and he'd invited her to hang out with him. Jason was casually acquainted with some of Zach's friends, and Jason and Lucy had gone with Hope to a party at Kristie's house before the big pregnancy fiasco. Hope had been trying to determine if Zach was interested in her or not, with little success. He had a naturally flirty manner around girls, so it was impossible to tell if he really liked her, or if he was just being Zach.

But tonight's outing was going to be a big deal. The Radial was the most popular bar on Tiptree, right near the spaceport. People from all over the galaxy passed through there. It had a questionable reputation and was notorious for its fights, drugs and prostitution. Kristie's cousin had hacked them some fake ID's, and she swore that no one would question their authenticity. Hope was excited and terrified, all at once. She knew that she would be in big trouble if the ID didn't work, but she was determined that tonight would be the night that she would make her move on Zach, once and for all. If he rejected her, then at least she could stop wasting time thinking about him.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Hope promised Lucy, as they squeezed through the door into the classroom, just ahead of the warning bell.

"Yeah, that's what I said, too," Lucy whispered back, mournfully, as they slid into the last two desks in the back of the room, across the row from each other. Her hand slid to cover her still - for now - flat abdomen. "And look how that turned out."

Later that night, Hope was watching her mother rush around in a tizzy and wishing that she would just hurry up and leave, already.

"Does this look all right?" Sam asked her, for what seemed like the millionth time.

Her mother tugged nervously at the simple black dress that hugged her lithe form and swirled gently above her knees. Her hair was pulled into a loose knot, and tendrils wisped around her face, framing brilliant emerald eyes. Hope had green eyes, too, but they were darker, like her father's. Hope thought that her mother was effortlessly beautiful, and she hated her just a little bit for it. Nothing was effortless when you were a teenager.

"What difference does it make?" Hope huffed, impatiently. "You're only going out with Dad! I think he knows what you look like by now."

"Hope," her mom chided, gently.

"What? This whole thing is stupid."

Sam stopped fidgeting and studied her daughter. "Does it bother you that I'm going out to dinner with your dad?"

"No!" Hope retorted, squirming under her mother's penetrating gaze. "I just don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of it."

Hope felt a little guilty when she saw the hurt look flit across her mom's face. "Sorry," Sam said. "I didn't realize I was doing that."

Hope sighed inwardly. She was nervous about tonight, and it wasn't even a real date. She supposed she should cut her mom some slack. "You look great, Mom. Really."

Sam's lips quirked in the half-smile that Hope knew so well. "Right. And by that, you mean – 'Stop bothering me and get the hell out of here!'" She reached for her purse and coat. "Is Lucy coming over?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Hope said, heart racing with the subterfuge. She'd never lied to her parents about anything this big before. "She's still grounded."

"Oh, right. Well, if you decide to go over there instead, just let me know, okay?"

Her mother's blind faith made the guilt twist a little deeper. Her folks had always trusted her, and Hope was about to betray that trust in a huge way. But she couldn't miss out on this night - it was too important.

"I will," Hope replied.

"Okay. I love you, honey," Sam said, leaning over and planting a kiss on her forehead. "I won't be too late."

"Mom!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Her mom swept from the room, trailing the faint scent of vanilla and coconut in her wake. Hope heard the front door slide open and closed, and she heaved a sigh.

She'd give her mom a ten minute head start, and then she was out of here.

It was almost an hour later by the time Hope reached the Radial. She'd gotten confused about the tram schedule, and had taken the wrong line. She'd seen Zach before she'd left school that day, and he'd offered to pick her up, but she'd been worried that he would show up before her mom left, so she'd refused. Before departing the house, she'd considered taking a cab, but she hadn't known how much it would cost, and she'd been afraid that she wouldn't have enough credits. She had a student pass for all the public transport on Tiptree, but she wasn't used to coming this far outside of the colony limits.

Now Hope was almost a half hour late meeting her friends, and she had three messages from Zach asking where she was. She was thrilled that he seemed so eager to see her, and worried that he was going to get tired of waiting and find some other girl to entertain him. He had a notoriously short attention span when it came to company of the female persuasion.

As Hope walked across the crowded parking lot, she messaged him:

I'm here. Finally.

The reply came instantly:

Be right out.

Hope loitered awkwardly, feeling conspicuous. She was nervous about using the fake ID, and relieved that Zach was coming out to meet her and escort her inside.

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw him emerge from the building and glance around, searching for her. His lanky legs were clad in faded blue jeans, which he wore with a black, button-down shirt. His tousled mop of dark hair ruffled in the breeze. She noticed that he looked older than usual - almost as if he belonged here. Hope raised her hand in greeting as they walked towards each other, meeting about six meters from the entrance.

"Hey," Zach said, with a welcoming smile. "You made it."

"Yeah. Sorry I'm so late."

"That's okay. You look great, by the way," he said, looking her over, appreciatively. Hope had pulled her long, straight, mahogany hair into a sleek ponytail that hung down her back. She'd painstakingly applied makeup to highlight her eyes and smooth her pale, freckled complexion, and she wore skin-tight blue jeans, an amethyst halter top of silky material, and black high-heeled boots that she'd borrowed from her mother. Despite all the effort she'd put into her appearance, Hope still blushed at the compliment and glanced away as Zach took her hand, guiding her away from the front door and around the side of the building.

"Where are we going?" Hope asked when she realized that they were headed away from the entrance.

"I had Kristie prop open the rear door," Zach explained, intertwining his fingers with hers as they picked their way through the broken glass and litter lining the dim corridor between the bar and the fence that separated it from the neighboring airstrip. "The ID's worked, but the bouncer was acting suspicious. I thought it would be easier to just sneak you in the back."

"I don't know," Hope said, balking as they reached the corner at the rear of the club and pulling Zach to a halt beside her. "I really, really can't get caught sneaking in."

Zach turned to face her, raising his free hand to gently caress her cheek. Hope could hear her heart pounding in her ears. "Hey," he said, softly. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise. Trust me?"

Hope's stomach did a somersault at his touch, the spicy scent of his cologne overriding the offensive stench emanating from the alley. She found herself nodding weakly, willing to agree to anything in that moment just to remain close to him. Zach slowly leaned closer, clasping her other hand and lowering his face to hers, and she was so enthralled by his presence that she almost missed the rustling emerging from the darkness behind her.

As Hope started to rotate her head to investigate the sound, she noticed that rather than looking at her, Zach's gaze was fixed on a spot somewhere over her left shoulder. "Do it!" he hissed, tightening his grip to prevent her from turning. Confused, she twisted in his arms, trying to see the person he was addressing.

A voice drifted from out of the gloom. "I...I can't! Hold her still!" The unidentified presence sounded young, male, and almost as panicked as she felt, but that fact didn't provide any comfort.

Hope was struggling in earnest now, but Zach only squeezed harder, his grasp utterly unyielding. "Do it now!" he ordered, in a cold tone she didn't recognize. In the fleeting stillness, Hope felt something sharp prick the skin of her upper arm, and she cried out in a breathy gasp.

Releasing one of her hands, Zach spun her around and clamped a palm over her mouth to muffle the sound, his fingers digging painfully into her face. Now facing her unknown assailant, Hope felt a pleasant warmth begin to spread through her body as two terrified, pale blue eyes appeared before her, shrouded in shadow and seeming to actually glow in the darkness.

The illusion was mesmerizing, momentarily freezing her in place, until Hope realized that the strength was fleeing her limbs and the corners of her vision were narrowing. A surge of panic shook her from her from her stupor, and she tried to scream - but Zach's hand muffled the sound.

"Just relax, Hope," Zach whispered silkily in her ear. "I promise to take good care of you."

The incandescent blue eyes floated before her as she went limp and everything faded to black.

A/N: Only a year and a half after the ending of "Why Don't You and I?" and I'm finally posting the first chapter of the sequel. To be fair, I have been working on it sporadically, but the story itself is much more daunting than anything I've ever written, and I was leery of making another long-term commitment if I couldn't honor it. So, please - if you like the story and want to read more, let me know. Your feedback is my motivation. I will try to update once or twice a month. As always, my thanks to jay8008, for tearing my work apart in order to make it better; and, to Midnight Blackened, for her countless sexy images of Joker that motivate me in an entirely different way (check her out on deviantart at Midnight-Blackened.) My undying gratitude, also, to blackdragon21, for providing the cover art for this story long before she'd even seen any proof that it actually existed, or was any good. I hope it turns out to be worth the wait. ~Jacks