Author's Note: This chapter got started thanks to a couple reviews here and there that got my ass in gear. Coincidentally right after the second one I had a close family friend pass away. Writing every morning helped distract me from what was going on, but I was also distracted while writing. I apologize if this chapter isn't up to par with the previous two chapters, I needed some comedy considering what was going on in my life when I was writing it. The good news is chapter 4 will be as funny as this one and it has already been started. I didn't realize I'd started writing over into it while working in this one. It happens. I hope you enjoy. Thank you for your reviews, and views.
Systematic pounding at the top of the door sent Zach running to fulfill his newly appointed duty as keeper of the gate. After Nora had suggested it he'd realized the lame job was a way to redeem himself. All the remaining adults were busy with one task or another and it made him feel good to be useful for once. Eph glanced up and found his son taking his responsibility seriously as a wooden chair was drug with screeching scrapes along the concrete floor. Over to the peephole.
"That's not the secret knock." he whined through the metal opening.
"Come on Zach." the tall man on the other side droned in an exasperated tone.
The boy moved his stepping stool aside and began unlocking the many clasps and bolts. When the two figures stepped inside and the entrance was firmly sealed behind them he felt accomplished. Relieved he hadn't done anything stupid again.
Dutch barely spared them an irritated glance as the two shook freshly fallen flakes from their jackets. She continued forcefully chopping carrots. Until she realized there were only two of them and her head shot back up in alarm. Her darkly rimmed eyes widened and her voluptuous bottom lip lowered in an open-mouthed horrified expression.
"W-where the bloody hell is she?" she demanded in a trembling gulp as she rounded the kitchen's island. Her next question came out in an angry burst. "What happened?!"
Setrakian threw a pitiless look up at Fet that told him this was his problem. He gladly ambled away toward the shelves where he kept the oldest pieces of literature in his possession.
"She's fine… I think." Fet answered, raising his hands and backing up a little as she pointed the culinary knife at him.
Dutch raised her equally sharp brows in a quizzical gesture.
"Ya think?" she questioned with a tilt of her head, pursing her lips.
"She was fine when she split up with us.." he began explaining before he started trailing off and not making sense. "…as fine as she's a gonna be after dat thing did whatever it did to her.."
"What thing did what to her? What do you mean 'split up'? There is no splitting up with her when you take her out there, Fet. She'll die!"
"She jumped outta the truck and said she had stuff ta do. Vhat did you want me to do? Abduct her?! She's a big girl."
Dutch rolled her eyes and flattened her lips in an un-amused line while he massaged his lower back and began taking off his boots. She noted he hadn't lost his recently acquired snippy attitude during their adventure.
"So what happened? Did she get stung? You just left 'er out there to turn? Lovely. And what thing?" she demanded again.
"Da dick muncher." he muttered with disdain and a shake of his head.
"What?" she insisted as her brows came together with confusion.
"Somethin' weird caught up with us in dat building and somethin' weirder went down between it an Ashly." he supplied and hurried to continue before she cut him off. "But she's okay."
"An she asked for someone to start choppin' veggies for her." he added with an incline of his head toward the counter Dutch had abandoned. And the uncomfortable woman watching them. His voice took on a condescending edge. "Nice to see you tappin' inta your domestic side."
Dutch gave him a flat look that wasn't needed to tell him she was bored out of her mind and that he could fuck off.
"Nikki and I thought we'd help out with the housework. It's been a nice change of pace." she lied with a rise of her brows that threatened him to claim otherwise.
"Oh yeah. Looks like lotsa fun." he quietly taunted back, aware of how little space was between them now and the weapon still clutched in her fist.
The smoldering way her eyes swept over him made it clear she'd be having much more fun climbing him like a tree. But with one lingering look loaded with frustration and regret she returned to her carrots.
"What may I ask, is a.. 'dick muncher'?" Eph called out to Fet, who let out a light chuckle and moved to join him at the table. "Another experiment of the Master's similar to the bind children? Based on the name you've given it I'm almost afraid to ask." he quipped while pushing his flask toward the lumbering Ukrainian.
Fet took a swig and seated himself carefully on a chair that was dwarfed by his size. He let out a satisfied "Ahh" as the whisky slid down his throat and leaned forward on his forearms, pushing the flask back.
"It was freaky lookin'. This thing came outta nowhere and it-"
The professor chose that opportune moment to slam the mammoth scroll down on the wooden table and interrupt Fet's rendition of the day's events.
"He.. is a creature thought to only be one of legend and myth.. Until today." he began as almost everyone gathered around to listen.
The fable he read aloud captivated them all and sent shivers down a few spines as they realized this fairytale was real.
"Coool." Zach gasped, moving a hand to trace the vague depiction of a fierce pale warrior in Roman armor.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Eph scoffed.
"Believe it buddy, I've seen it." Fet affirmed, especially with the way he grabbed for the flask again with purpose.
"The Born.." Nora murmured to herself before addressing the Professor. "That title sounds as though it hints to him being born into vampirism, not made by the Master like the others have been."
"That would be correct-" Setrakian began agreeing until Fet sucked in a dramatic gasp.
"Before they passed out it said "Capable of carryin' my offspring"…it wants her for an incubator. Like a god-damn easy bake oven for its muncher bun." he deduced with a disgusted curl of his lip.
"If he is in fact part human, Mr. Fet, it may be much more than that." the older man advised with a knowing look.
The prejudice younger man turned away with a grimace, shaking his head in disapproval. "S'not right."
"If she's not back by nightfall I'm going out to look for her." Dutch asserted from her place across the kitchen area with a blameful look directed at him.
"She will be alright." the Professor assured her. "I doubt The Born would allow any harm to come to the only female, as he claims, that is able to bear his offspring."
"Oh yeah, he looked real concerned walkin' off in the other direction." Fet snapped softly while Setrakian ignored him and turned to carry the scroll away with Zach trailing behind him.
"Sounds like you were really concerned when you drove off an left 'er out there with this thing, weren't you?" Dutch sarcastically retorted.
"Vhat de fak was I supposed to do?! I didn't leave 'er! She left us! She's a adult for faks sake!"
"You should have made her come home! She's not a fighter like us, she can't take care of herself out there!" she shouted back, furtively ignoring the fact that they sounded like two parents fighting over their child.
They glared at each other until Fet gave up and looked away to Eph. Who was doing his best to look like he was minding his own business, admiring Nora's behind while she bent over to right more plants that'd been knocked over during the previous evening's invasion.
"Why do you even care? She just slept with a guy I'm pretty sure you've been cheating on me with and these people are nobodies to you. What, are you banging her too?" Nikki whispered under her breath while she continued unevenly cutting celery stalks.
"These nobodies, me included, are the only family she has left." Dutch whispered back with a harsh look. "And she's the only one here who can sympathize with your… skill set.. in the group so you'll be spending a lot of time with her. Be nice."
Nikki let the subject drop as she looked around at the strangers she'd been moved in with. Some of who's names she hadn't bothered to try learning. She wrinkled her nose as her gaze moved upward to the grated system of walkways hanging above them. Fet caught the unsavory look she was giving her sanctuary and let out a snort. He believed if anyone deserved to be dumped on their own in the city is was the most ungrateful occupant.
Everyone went about their business as hours ticked by and the group's worry for their absent member grew. Nora had taken it upon herself to fulfill the linen duties Ashly normally carried out every day. Eph and Fet had decided to start a game of crazy eights while they took turns sipping the last of Eph's liquor.
Zach could be heard begging for Setrakian to re-tell the Born story a fourth time by the time the sun had gone down. The old man made his way to the radio charging station and began calling out for her to be free of his story-time burden. That endeavor caught the boy's interest as well and Setrakian was soon forced to share the pastime.
After half an hour of quietly arguing with her companion following sundown Dutch began readying herself to leave. She was almost thankful for the unfortunate reason to get away in light of the complicated situation she'd found herself in after bringing Nikki home. The tension between herself and Fet was momentarily forgotten as his worry cut through the whisky and he grabbed the walkie to try his hand at getting an answer from her. He sounded so remorseful it was hard to stay mad at him. And the way he kept running his fingers over his goatee while he listened to the silence that answered made Dutch realize he was itching to go out hunting for Ashly with her. An exhilarated thrill at the prospect of using her sword ran through her as she slipped the sheath onto her back. But it was short-lived as a familiar voice finally answered them. A different type of relief washed over her and a smile stretched across her face.
She came closer to listen while Setrakian grabbed the radio and hurriedly asked his important question. Much to his dislike Zach had a question for her as well. Her answer puzzled some while three of them fought for control. Until Nora suggested that The Born had relayed some of his history to her if they had been together the entire time she'd been away. Setrakian won the battle and was able to repeat his urgent question thanks to Nora chiding the other two hands away.
"Vhat a creep. Who follows people like dat?" Fet muttered in reply to her answer, his accent coming out to play thanks to the alcohol.
"Are you certain?" the old man demanded while using one hand to fight off Zach's continued advances.
Some static and an audible sigh came through the speaker and then a surprising statement that flabbergasted the lot of them.
"Just come out! I know you're there. I can feel you!"
Eyeballs bulged and everyone looked at each other incredulously, even Nikki.
"Feel?" Dutch parroted in disbelief where she'd come to stand beside Eph.
"Don't a get me started." Fet replied as an uncharacteristic shudder visibly rippled through his body.
Ashly's "I'm certain" made the old man almost smile. But Setrakian's next order over the radio sent everyone into an uproar.
"Vhat have you been smokin' old man, tellin' her to bring dat thing in here?!"
"Awesome!"
"Whoa whoa whoa, I want her to get home safe but I don't know if him knowing where we sleep is the best idea.."
"What if we could study his biological makeup and find a new way to take these things down?"
"Ehp is right, what if he is the key to ending all of this?"
"I'm not staying here if it's here."
Setrakian moved away to hear her response. And then to give his hoarse, strangled, reply before Zach yelled something that made all the bickering stop for a moment.
"Ask him if he has a stinger!"
"We're five streets away, we'll be home soon." was her short mortified reply.
Dutch was the first to break the stunned silence and address the one who'd just invited the enemy spices into their home.
"Can you ask her what she plans on making tonight? Nikki and I couldn't do much to get the ingredients ready because we didn't know and we only chopped the basic…"
Everyone was looking at her like she was the crazy one. But Setrakian nodded to her and acted as if she were the only one with a brain in her head while he tried to communicate her question. A certain amount of silence was honored for a reply that didn't come before all hell broke loose again. All through the bickering and arguing the old man's bushy eyebrows furrowed deeper and his un-amused silent lips pressed tighter into a receding line engulfed by his beard.
A thundering yell of "Enough!" interrupted them forcefully. Enough to make them all pause in surprise at the command that came from the individual holding onto the back of a chair for support. Romanian muttering tumbled from his lips next as he looked from person to person, glaring sternly into their eyes.
"This..is my home. My roof you all take shelter under. I will not be questioned or contradicted about who I invite here-"
"Or what.." Fet retorted under his breath only to advert his eyes in submission when Setrakian narrowed his gaze.
"I shall not tolerate it." he continued. "This being may be our last hope in defeating the Master and I will not have him shunned away by superstition and ignorant fear."
Setrakian began advancing toward his room when he paused and turned back to them. He looked uncertain of what he was going to say next. Zach thought he caught a hint of sadness in the old man's eyes from his seat near the door while the Professor hesitated.
"If anyone has qualms about the addition to our party…they may leave."
Everyone mutely stared back at him until he returned to his route, the silence continuing until the metal door to his quarters slammed shut. Ehp and Fet began arguing in furtive whispers that made Nora roll her eyes and sent her to straighten the living room. Dutch removed her gear and returned to the kitchen area. She'd intended on cleaning up the remnants of their chopping when Nikki's frantic tugging on her sleeve caught her attention.
"I want to leave." she whispered, her desperate brown eyes widening when Dutch gave her an incredulous look.
"This is the safest spot in the city." she tried to assure Nikki with a smile as she carried the discarded vegetable parts to the trashcan. "Besides, Ashly's cooking is out of this world, you wouldn't want to miss it. I wish we had potatoes, you would not believe-"
Nikki cut her off while she watched her bend over to fish around in the pantry.
"I don't want to stay here with these people or whatever the heck the chick who screwed your boyfriend is bringing back." she snapped, softening her tone into a whine at the other woman's disgruntled expression. "I want to go home, back to the apartment. I'm not comfortable here."
Dutch straightened and took Nikki's face in her hands, strumming her thumb over the tanned skin of her cheek while she stared into her eyes.
"He was not my boyfriend." she began explaining as Nikki scoffed and tried to pull away.
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Hey.." she softly insisted, using her hands to make her look at her again. "He wasn't, he was…you know me." Rolled eyes and the hint of a smile let Dutch continue. "We can't go tonight, it's not safe and the apartment hasn't been fortified yet. If you still feel the same way tomorrow morning…" she trailed off as her eyes studied her face, fighting the urge to look over at Fet and the compound surrounding them. "..then we can leave."
The slight nod Nikki gave made a smile spread across Dutch's face before she bent down to press a kiss to her forehead.
"And I for one, am very curious to see this..guy..Ashly's bringing home. Aren't you?" she announced loudly with good humor as she reached forward to tuck a piece of brown hair behind her companion's ear. "I can't imagine what a half human bloodsucker would look like."
"Not pretty." The sound of the slightly inebriated accented voice came from across the room as Nikki wrinkled her nose at what her mind came up with.
"Vhat's takin' her so long, how much ya wanna bet it sucked 'er dry and chucked 'er in a dumpster." Fet theorized bitterly as he threw his next card down and tried to ignore the intimate scene that'd just ended in his peripheral vision.
Ehp shook his head and let out a light chuckle.
"I doubt it with the way you mentioned him having a reproductive need for her." he reminded him, going on with a speculation of his own. "I wonder what exactly would make a human capable of reproducing with one of these things. I'd imagine if conception was successful..or possible.. the fetus would slowly kill her."
"Thanks Doc, exactly vhat I vanna hear." he scowled in reply as he watched Eph throw his last winning card down.
A recognizable pattern of thuds on the metal beside him sent Zach scurrying to unlock the door. His excited hands failed when they tried to tug it open. With one more forgotten deadbolt turned he pulled it open, stepping back as two snow pelted figures entered. He peered up into the stranger's dark hooded expanse with a slack-jawed grin and two glinting eyes reflected back at him. The woman next to him used her butt to close the door.
"Holy shit it's a blizzard out there." Ashly muttered as she used her weight to push the entrance shut behind them.
She stood upright and used a jerking motion to push her hood back and out of her eyes that made her neck twinge. Her vision adjusted to the bright lights and she felt her cheeks burning not only from the severe change in temperature. They were all staring. And Zach was reaching up to touch Quinlan's sword sheath.
"Hey, keep your hands to yourself. Look at this, I got you something while I was out there." she hurriedly bribed him, nudging his hand away with the brown paper-covered box to steal his attention as a soft rattle of warning sounded beside them.
After their earlier conversation she had resigned to make Zach wait until Christmas for the gaming system. But she could already see a distraction was direly needed. The boy let out an exclamation of "Awesome!" after he ripped the paper bag apart and gazed down at his gift. He disappeared into the only room in the compound that had a television, conveniently his bedroom.
Ashly turned back to her fellow snow covered traveler to take her other grocery bag from his hands. She couldn't see his eyes thanks to a low hanging hood. But she could see his abnormally large lips pressing together at her in disapproval while he handed over the bag.
"What? I had to give it to him, would you rather he's up your butt all night with questions?"
"You will make an indulgent mother." he quietly stated matter-of-factly, a slight smile lifting one corner of his mouth for a second as her eyes bulged in alarm and she turned away.
His expression returned to its neutral setting as she moved to deposit her bags on a countertop and her head no longer hid the bottom half of his face from view. He could sense the fear and uneasiness all around them she seemed to be oblivious to. He suspected she wasn't completely so. Because of the way she avoided looking at anyone in particular as she returned to his side and crouched down carefully to untie her boots. It took some maneuvering to not let the wine bottles in her pockets clank against the ground while she kneeled. An impatient half cough half throat clear from Eph forced her head to lift from the second knot. She gave him a confused look until he pointedly moved his eyes from her to the figure next to her.
"Oh shit." she whispered under her breath once she realized what he was trying to get across.
"Ah.." she croaked, accepting the suede-covered hand that offered to help her stand up.
"..Everyone, this is Quinlan.." she announced, awkwardly motioning with her quickly freed hand towards him. "Quinlan, this is everyone. You already know all their names because..well..you know.." she trailed off with a tapping motion against her temple.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the dramatic suspense as he reached up and slowly pushed his hood back off his head. The gasps that came after weren't as enjoyable. He'd been expecting them as well as the feeling of revulsion he picked up from a couple individuals. Some were intrigued, one even a little sexually attracted. But fear was the definable emotion that bolted through each one of them as his unsettling eyes swept across them.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances." he greeted stiffly to them all in general.
An uncomfortable silence answered. Aside from the briefly raised hand she was thankful Dutch waved at him. Quinlan felt the gesture make her dread and guilt return to the front of her mind.
"Um…you remember the Professor and Fet, from earlier today." she nervously added with clumsy gestures toward each of them.
He nodded to both of them as he freed his neck from her scarf, revealing his oddity. The latter of the two glared at the red knit that now hung loosely over Quinlan's coat, crossing his arms over his chest disapprovingly as he sat back in his chair. Setrakian seemed to surface from his awe that the myth was in fact real and standing on the welcome mat of his home. The old man made his way forward with a hand extended outward to shake.
"It is an honor to have you with us, Mr. Sertorius." he declared even though the faces and emotions of those around them claimed otherwise.
"Please, address me by my modern name, I have not gone by that title in many a century. And the honor, is all mine Professor. It's not every evening I am in the company of a human which managed to injure the Master." he informed him as he accepted the man's firm grip in his.
The old man stared up at him almost entranced. Mouth slightly agape, facial caterpillars trying to escape up into his hair. Ashly's unbecoming snort at Quinlan thinking his name was modern brought the Professor back to his senses.
"I wonder if I might have a word with you before supper." Setrakian inquired, waving a hand towards the privacy of his room.
Quinlan looked to her, an uncharacteristic motion of seeking consent that made her look questioningly back at him.
"Go ahead, I need to get cooking anyway if I wanna have dinner done before Zach's bedtime." she reasoned with a shrug while she toed her boots off.
He nodded to Setrakian and began following when a hand firmly attached to the nape of his coat stopped him and made him look back.
"Take those off first." she ordered, pointing down at his slush covered military style boots. "I just mopped this whole level the day before yesterday. You know that."
The look Setrakian gave her at having the audacity to order the Born to do anything made her let out a light laugh. One that cut short when she heard Dutch mutter something along the lines of "Always with the floor." and reminded her it was time to pay for her sins. She didn't bother kneeling down to whisper it to him, knowing he would hear her perfectly fine from where she stood upright. Instead focusing on speaking without moving her mouth so she didn't look weird.
"If Dutch punches me or something don't hurt her, I deserve it."
His quiet noise of answer didn't sound as though he agreed with her logic but he wordlessly advanced in black socks. Coming up beside the Professor as he started babbling about the Occido Lumen and they headed for solitude. She watched until the door slid closed behind them and she was forced to face the music. A tentative glance over at the kitchen gained her a quick raise and fall of Dutch's eyebrows in welcome.
Dutch watched her shuffle forward, eyes pointed downward in shame at her wet socks. Judging by her pathetic appearance she figured Ashly was harboring more negative feelings about the situation than she was herself. She was thinking about what a drag it must be to have those kinds of rigid notions about sex and relationships when watery brown eyes finally lifted to meet hers.
"I'm such a shitty friend." she admitted as she started unzipping her bulging coat.
She decided to leave out the exact details of why she was thanks to the woman intently watching beside the blonde. Instead she reached down inside her sweatshirt and extracted a bottle, relieving the stress on her strained bra straps.
"And I'm sorry." she apologized as she set the alcohol on the counter between them.
"Really.." she added with a second bottle, her aching back giving a sigh of relief as both her deepest pockets were emptied of their burdens and she presented the third. "..really sorry."
Dutch didn't answer. She looked from the bottles to Ashly, letting out a quiet sigh as she reached forward and picked one up. Inspecting it while the woman in front of her waited on pins and needles.
"Come on Dach, give 'er a break, she didn't do it alone. It takes two ta tango." Fet droned from across the room, making the girl in discussion turn around sharply and shush him.
"Shut up." she growled through clenched teeth before she turned her back on him.
She faced front to find Dutch looking from him to her and then back to the bottle in hand with unaffected features.
"It's your favorite kind." she mentioned timidly, the waiver in her voice making her sound near tears.
When Dutch put the wine down and raised one of her arms Ashly ducked, cowering with an arm curled over her unkempt head. Instead of pain she felt warmth and arms wrapping around her. Smelt the shampoo they all used that hadn't touched her own hair in one day too many.
"I'm glad ya made it home alive."
Seven simple words made her relax and straighten into the hug, awkwardly returning it with cautious pats to Dutch's back. Clearing of a nearby throat pulled them apart and made Dutch smile forgivingly down at her, cracking a joke while she held her at an arm's length.
"You're lucky you brought booze."
A loud laugh boomed from her. She started unloading stolen cans and produce from her pockets while Dutch set to putting them in their proper places and Nikki stood by.
"Booze? Did someone say booze?" Eph inquired as he shuffled the cards.
"Oh Jesus. Good one Dutchess, you set him off." she sighed humorously, rummaging through the paper bags until she found him his fix.
The pint was left at the edge of the kitchen's island for Eph to fetch and she deposited her empty coat on a hook next to the door.
"Dutchess?" Nikki whispered skeptically as she looked from Dutch to the woman who was turning the locks Zach had forgotten and calling out for Fet's cat with kissy noises.
"Be nice." Dutch scolded under her breath while Ashly approached.
A fake smile was slapped on her face as the girl nodded in her direction and came forward to introduce herself.
"Hey, it's nice to see you again, congrats on not getting eaten." she joked, making Dutch laugh and the woman she was addressing frown slightly. "I'm Ashly, resident catlady."
Nikki glanced from the image of a cat hanging from a tree branch with the words "hang in there" on her dirtied sweatshirt, up to her slightly embarrassed face.
"Nice to meet you, Nikki." she curtly replied as she leaned back against the counter and watched Dutch empty the bags.
Sensing that friendly conversation wasn't welcomed she briefly wondered if she was inheriting Quinlan's emotional sensitivity as she turned to a more pleasant endeavor.
"Where's my mow mowww!" she sang through the compound's living room area, looking around to see if the fur-ball was curled up on her pillow again.
A "Mau?" from a walkway up above answered her.
"There she iiis." Ashly cooed, extending her arms out for the feline to jump from the metal grate.
The cat landed on her chest with a thud and immediately began head-butting Ashly's chin, purring away while she was stroked and cuddled. Her unintelligible baby talk was interrupted by Dutch impatiently waving a package of meat at her and asking what to do.
"Oh you're going to cook, huh?" she asked with a laugh, moving forward to overlook the ingredients.
"God no, we'd all be dead." Dutch quipped back.
Ashly's brows rose in surprise at all the work that'd already been done while she tried to ignore Nikki's suspicious glances between herself and Dutch at their easy friendship. Instead she tried to bring the uncomfortable woman into the conversation.
"Are you psychic Nikki? How'd you know I'd be making beef stew?"
"We didn't. I just figured knowing you it'd have chopped vegetables in it." Dutch cut in. "So what now?" she asserted with a knife twirling at the un-assembled meal.
Ashly gave her a puzzled and slightly disturbed look while over dramatically backing away with the cat.
"I appreciate the help but who are you and what have you done with my Amazon warrior princess? Since when do you chop anything beside vampire necks?!" she exclaimed as she unloaded the ball of fluff from her arms into the middle of Eph and Fet's card game.
"Since when do you go out on your own, survive," Dutch countered, throwing a dirty look at Fet. "bring back tons of food, booze, video games, and a man?"
"Touché." Ashly snickered as she padded back to the kitchen while her eyes strayed toward Setrakian's room and she tied her hair back into a sloppy bun.
She continued ignoring the pull, a battle they had no idea she'd been fighting inside herself since the moment Quinlan had left her sight. Instead she focused on the fulfilling task of getting her family's dinner on the table.
"I need three onions quartered, same with five potatoes. Usually a good stew needs three hours but I'm hungry and I can get it done in one. It just won't taste as good as it's supposed to.." she rambled, shooting her hand out to grab Dutch's wrist when she realized what she was doing.
"Hold on there samurai Sammie." she chided, leaning over to address Nikki directly. "Do you know how to quarter?"
"Yeah.." Nikki affirmed, moving her hands to show what size the word meant.
"Okay, can you show her how to do it right before she starts chopping everything to bits?" she requested with a pained smile as she let go of Dutch and got the tiniest hint of a smile in return out of Nikki. "It's nice that I'm not the only one who knows what they're doing in the kitchen now, good to have you here."
The laughter she heard going on behind her while she washed her hands made her heart squeeze a little. It was nice to hear the happy sound instead of screams of terror. And it was a heartwarming thought that she'd orchestrated some happiness between the two that'd been a joint rain cloud since Dutch had brought her long lost deserter girlfriend home. Loud swearing and groaning from further behind her made her eyes flick upward and her head shake while she dried her hands.
"If you're going to be a sore loser then don't play." Nora scolded Eph as she emerged from helping Zach set up his new form of entertainment.
"Should I even ask what happened to his hair?" Ashly murmured when Nora joined her and the other ladies.
Widened eyes and the way she silently mouthed "No." made her let the subject change.
"I'd like to hear about your little adventure today." Dutch chimed in as she finished her portion of the chopping and began searching for a corkscrew.
"Adventcha." Ashly mimicked, imitating Dutch's accent with a smile.
"It wasn't much of an adventure. I got chemically… or biologically… or whatever.." she backpedaled, painfully aware that she was in the midst of an articulate scientist. "…betrothed to a demi-god."
"Saw that rat-faced bastard, the Masta for the first time." she continued, using her favored pronunciation of the title while she said it in her best imitation of Renfield from Dracula. "Shot him in his rat-face before Fet blew up the wrong pillar."
"Ey!-"
"I know, I know. It wasn't your fault, you were working blind." she yelled over the sound of sizzling meat when Fet tried to cut in and defend himself from afar.
"Then I went and pick-pocketed some corpses. Committed a home invasion robbery that involved me killing a nana-muncher with her knitting needles. Looted Zach the Playstation from a store. And then I bought groceries. See, nothing exciting."
Dutch gave her a flat disbelieving look along with Nora while Nikki stared at Ashly with her mouth wide open. The blonde gave up looking and pulled a switchblade from her jeans pocket instead.
"Come off it, what were you really doing out there for so long? How did you manage to make it out there?" Dutch insisted as she stabbed the cork and yanked it from the bottle in one swift motion that startled Nikki into raising her jaw.
"How I always do if one of you aren't around, I got lucky. I mean there was one close call and I made it out of that because I got lucky, but the rest of the time it was him." she explained with a tilt of her head in the general direction of Setrakian's bedroom.
Ashly looked up from searing the meat to find three pairs of expectant eyes on her. And hear a card game that had suddenly gone suspiciously quiet. When Nora's impatient fidgeting got on her nerves Dutch asked the question she knew she was dying to, along with everyone else there.
"So…him?" she inquired with a suggestive waggling of her eyebrows.
"Yeah, him. Don't start." Ashly warned, her glare melting away almost immediately into a goofy grin and a bubbly giggle.
Her hand clamped over her mouth while the other three women erupted with laughter at the unintentional sound that had come from her and the shade she was turning.
"Fet spoke about reproducing…and compatibility..does he.." Nora hesitated, her eyes conveying her apologies for rudely asking. "Is he..anatomically…equipped? I am only asking out of scientific curiosity."
Ashly's eyes bulged and they retreated back to the meat with hesitation before she addressed the meat in question.
"Ah..just so you know, this little session of girl-talk is not private. He can hear everything we're saying." she divulged with a wave of her spatula around the group of women.
"Seriously?" Nikki asked with a shocked expression and a brief look over at the caged room.
"Yup. He can probably hear a rat fart two blocks away." she flippantly guessed as her head turned in the same direction and she worried about him listening to her own natural bodily functions.
"So..dick or no dick?" Dutch pushed unabashedly in a blatant way that made Ashly snort with laughter.
"I'm not sure. I don't know for myself but according to Fet, he does." she supplied, growling the man's name through clenched teeth.
"Oh really!?" Dutch exclaimed with delighted scandalous surprise as she looked across to where the Ukrainian was hanging his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Didja fancy a walk on the wild side today Fetty boy? I didn't know you swung that way."
"It vasn't what you're makin' it sound like." he complained, holding his hands up innocently as Eph gave him a weird look, accidentally showing his cards in the process. "I only saw da outline through its pants, and da truck was moving. I barely saw it."
"Call him an it one more time and you're not getting dinner." Ashly threatened lowly, her demeanor darkening into a hostile one suddenly as she'd been laughing with everyone else seconds before.
Fet looked tempted to deliver a snaky reply but the smell of seasoned beef and the promise of a full stomach before bed held his tongue.
"Proper pronouns are important but jeez Ash, I've never seen you snap at someone like that before." Dutch worried aloud while pouring a generous portion of wine into three mismatched cups.
"Fet's been pissing me off all day but that's not all it is. I'm not..right..inside. It's hard to explain what's happening to me because I don't understand it. When I heard Fet being disrespectful towards Quinlan…I…I don't know. I'm just not myself. Almost literally if you take into account his memories in my brain…and his dead wife's memories…" she rambled off without a thorough explanation which caused them all to look at her strangely.
"How is that even possible? How does my brain have room for all that extra shit? How has my head not exploded between all that and the thing in me that spell-checks almost every feeling I have or action I take toward him? And that smell. Those pheromones are going to be the death of me." she mildly ranted, relieved she could soon toss everything in a pot and be done with the meticulous aspects of the recipe.
"Humans do only use ten percent of their brains." Nora offered weakly when Ashly's gaze landed on her for medical answers.
"Are ya sure you wouldn't like a touch?" Dutch inquired with a raise of her own glass, referring to her friend's inclination to rarely drink.
"The whole bottle wouldn't be enough to help my dilemma." she laughed with a shake of her head.
"And if I pass out all of a sudden, don't freak out. It's a part of what's happening." she warned them before raising a hand to the lump on the back of her head and muttering, "Hopefully I won't bash my head open on a corner..."
"I'm sorry, but did you say you have…spell check inside you?" Nikki cautiously asked, confident her girlfriend's new best friend was a raving madwoman.
"That's the best way I can describe…it…he calls it 'the need' and talks about it like it has a mind of its own, or like it's a force of nature like the weather. Oh god how do I…" she paused for a second, struggling for a proper way to explain. "If he were standing next to me right now it wouldn't let me feel frustrated over all of this stuff. I would get to feel it for a second and then the frustration would just be gone or stolen or erased or whatever it does. I can feel it trying to do it right now but it's weaker when we have some space between us."
"It's basically robbing her of her free will." Eph commented while contemplating his hand of cards.
A horrified expression of realization overtook her face as he articulated what she couldn't to a tee. The ladies all gave her sympathetic looks and consoling words of how wrong it was.
"It's not his fault though, he can't control it. He doesn't get a choice either. It's not just happening to me. He could think I'm totally gross but he doesn't get to feel grossed out. Instead he gets forced to feel like he overdosed on a bottle of Viagra with a bunch of ecstasy tabs mixed in." she elaborated when Nikki assumed he was deliberately manipulating her.
Every moment they gossiped about Quinlan and the unprecedented bond happening between them her conscience nagged at her. She'd been taught growing up that it was rude to discuss someone behind their back. The thought that it wasn't so bad because he could hear every word crossed her mind, and made another nerve wracking one occur to her. Regret and anxiety ran through her as she wondered if he would be upset with her for divulging the details of what was happening to them. Much to her dismay her family was far from done analyzing.
"You have to admit it's an ingenious preservation mechanism. If his species requires a crucial component in its mate for reproduction to be successful, and said component is rare to find in a mate, it makes sense. Trivial things like love and personal preferences are overridden in an attempt to ensure the survival of the species." Eph deduced, luring Nora into a debate on what exactly made Ashly compatible.
"Her body having an unprecedented ability to replenish her blood count could be a possibility." Nora suggested.
"We can't prove your hypothesis of course without running tests or conducting experiments." Ehp noted with an unwelcome look in Ashly's direction.
The Hispanic woman continued with a dismissive wave of her hand at his thinly veiled implication that their cook should become their lab rat.
"But I'd assume the fetus would require as much sustenance if not more than a human one. The crucial difference being that it would survive on blood rather than the mother's organic nutrition. It would make sense for her body to be able to keep up with the demand. Otherwise the host would die before the fetus could mature."
"Can I throw 'iron vagina' into the hat?" Dutch humorously asked, to her friend's irritation.
"Can we just not?" she requested wearily, looking pointedly at the scientists and side-eyeing the blonde.
"At least he's attractive." Dutch pointed out, watching as Ashly fought a grin that faltered when she realized Quinlan had gotten the short end of the stick in that department. "I'd give him a go at least once."
"Ya know, just to see what it's like." she added with a nonchalant shrug when Nikki gave her a disgusted look and Fet let out a retching sound.
Irrational jealousy raised the metaphorical hackles on the back of Ashly's perspiration-dotted neck as she diligently flipped the beef and poured tomato paste into a large pot. She was disturbed by the urge she got to attack Dutch, an animalistic instinct to stake claim to what the thing inside her saw as hers. A thick lump of guilt was swallowed and she tried her best to bury the violent urge.
"Well, I do owe you one." she joked with a strained chuckle and then a grimace when Ashly saw Nikki's displeased expression. She tried to steer the conversation away from prospect of Dutch cheating on her girlfriend again while Nora came to rejoin them. "What about you?"
Nora raised her hand and tipped it back and fourth, signaling uncertainty.
"I don't know. But I am going to have to get used to bald men." she admitted with a playful look thrown in Eph's direction that made them titter quietly.
Movement in the far corner of her peripheral vision made Ashly's head snap in the direction of the old man's room. Zach was crouched in the hallway that led to the bathroom and the room Dutch had shared with Fet. The exact hallway they'd fornicated in hours before. With an exasperated sigh she wiped her hands and threw the kitchen towel over her shoulder. As she crossed the expanse of the living area she wondered how he'd managed to slip past them all. He was peering through the metal mesh where a small hole was torn in the plastic that covered the other side, captivated. Enough so that he did not realize she was standing over him with aggravated hands resting on her hips.
"Pssst." Her noise made him jump and let out a hushed squeak. "Go play your games. I had to shoot a man for that, you know? If I catch you snooping around here again you're next buddy."
"I had to go to the bathroom." he whispered back petulantly while he started getting to his feet.
She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a knowing look.
"I don't see a toilet here." she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him until he turned away to continue down the hall.
His eavesdropping post was taken up after she quickly looked towards the kitchen. Quinlan was visible, seated on the Professor's bed while the old man sat across from him in his desk chair. From what little she could hear it seemed they were compiling a list of possible places the Master may have moved his hiding place to. She startled a little when his crystalline eyes moved straight to her peeping one. The sound of flushing and her own heart pounding embarrassment made her wrench away and struggle to stand upright before the adolescent returned. When he emerged she kept him going with a stern finger pointed in the direction of the living room. As she followed after him she mentally acknowledged Quinlan had known the boy was there the entire time and had been humoring the voyeurism.
"Dinner will be done in fifteen- twenty minutes." she called out to his back while watching him return to his room.
The beef and vegetables were being added to the pot as the telltale creaking of Setrakian's rolling door sounded out.