A/N: Alright, guys, I know a lot of you were expecting Nudge but I had a stroke of inspiration for Dr. Martinez, and no one said I had to go in order, right? It'll also be written in a very slightly different format. So, here they are: her ten secrets.

One: Valencia Alvarez first met Jeb Batchelder the first day of internship at Itex. She was twenty two years old at the time. It turned out that they had both been conned into joining – Val had wanted to be a vet. Jeb had wanted to work with genetics. Both had applied for jobs after leaving university, and Itex had appealed to both of them. At least, what they knew about Itex appealed to them.

Once they had agreed to join, they were there for good. All interns were made to swear an oath of secrecy. No one could know that they worked for Itex – not even their families. Jeb had joked that it was like being inducted into the CIA. Val didn't laugh. She was a little disturbed that they weren't allowed to say anything about it. It was ringing alarm bells in her head, but Jeb wasn't bothered in the slightest.

The two were soon best friends, and inseparable. Val felt herself becoming closer and closer to Jeb with each passing day, but sometimes she felt herself worrying about his happy go lucky attitude. She pushed it away, though – his wide smiles helped to brighten her day, and she didn't know how she'd cope with some situations without it to calm her down.

Two: The work at Itex was challenging, but fun. She was allowed to learn something new about the company every once in a while, and she got to work with many animals, which she loved. Her job was to keep them in good condition before they were taken away. She didn't know what they were taken for, but the man that came to transport them was always kind, so she never suspected a thing. Jeb worked in an entirely different area of the building, and she didn't see him as often anymore. She missed him a little. They had been close.

Three: One day, one of the minor directors of Itex came up to her with a proposition. "Are you Valencia Martinez?" he asked her as she was grooming one of the tabby kittens. She straightened and turned to face him, pulling at her uniform to lessen the wrinkles.

"Yes," she said hesitantly. "What do you need?"

"I'm Mark Federico. I need you to come with me to my office," the man said to her, nodding curtly. "Mr. Batchelder is there as well. We have an offer for you both."

Val's eyes widened and she smiled eagerly. What could it be? A raise? A promotion? "Of course," she said immediately. "Just let me put the kitten back in her cage."

Federico raised a hand. "Leave the kitten," he ordered. "Come with me now. It's important." Val was more than a little taken aback by this, but she obeyed orders, meekly putting the kitten down and following him back down the hallway.

When they reached his office, Federico motioned for Val to take a seat next to Jeb on one side of the desk. He then sat on the other side and pressed his fingers together thoughtfully. The office had a window that poured light into the room, and a shaft fell on Jeb's hair, making it sparkle and distracting Val momentarily.

"You two have been chosen for a new breakthrough," Federico said seriously, looking at them both. "Itex has been researching this for decades now, and you both should feel privileged. You will be the parents of a new generation of humans." Val stole a glance at Jeb. He was entranced by Federico's words, drinking it all in. "We have the means of creating the first human hybrids," Federico continued. "We've chosen the both of you to create a fertilized egg that will then be injected with exogenous DNA. The embryo will grow to be Itex's pride and joy."

"She – or he – would be treated well?" Val asked, immediately concerned for the future of what could be her baby.

"Naturally," Federico replied, leaning back in his chair. "Any other questions?"

Something seemed to hit Jeb, and he said urgently, "Wait – when you say parents – do you actually want us to -?" Federico just looked at him. Jeb sat back in his chair and mouthed wordlessly, stealing glances at Val every now and then, which she didn't miss.

"So?" Federico asked. "Do you accept? The both of you will receive raises, promotions, the whole nine yards if you do this for us. Your child will be well cared for. Don't worry about a thing. We'll take care of everything." He leaned forward again and pushed a thin stack of papers toward the both of them. "This is the contract. If you do decide to do this, I'll need you to sign."

"I really think that Jeb and I need to talk about this," Val began, but Jeb cut her off.

"We accept."

"What?" Val hissed, whipping around to face him. "You haven't even looked at the contract yet! What if there are legal things in there that bind us for life?"

"Think about it," Jeb whispered, his face lighting up with excitement, "just think about it! We're being offered a great opportunity. Don't you want to take a risk?" She made the mistake of looking into his earnest blue eyes and her resolve melted. She trusted him. She trusted him way too much.

"Fine," she relented. "I'll do it."

Federico grinned. His smile was cat-like. Feral. "Excellent."

Four: She never, ever wanted to let her baby go. Her daughter was perfect. Angelic, even. After she was born, Val took the first chance she got to hold her and look into her eyes. They were Val's eyes – a mesmerizing brown. It seemed to be the only physical trait that she had passed on to her child, as the baby had Jeb's skin and hair. And of course, the wings hadn't come from either of them.

"Beautiful," she breathed, touching them gently. "Just beautiful." They were mostly white, but she could see the beginnings of tan streaks and speckles here and there. Her daughter yawned delicately and snuggled further into the blankets that she was in, one tiny hand reaching out and instinctively closing around Val's finger.

Val was irrevocably in love with her baby, and there was no chance that she was letting her go.

Jeb came rushing into the room, beaming when he saw Val. "Isn't she gorgeous?" he asked. "Look…she has my hair!" His face fell when he remembered the news he brought. "Val…I was sent to tell you that Federico wants her to be taken back to the facility. It's time to let her go."

Val held her closer to her chest. Unfortunately, it was hard to look fierce and foreboding when you were holding a baby in a hospital bed. "No," she argued. "Jeb – I can't just give up my daughter and know that I'll never see her again. I just can't. I didn't want to do this in the first place."

Jeb came closer and knelt by the bed. "Val," he murmured, "we have to. We'll lose our jobs, our lives – while you've been on maternity leave, I've learned some things. Itex is everywhere – we can't run away with her. They'd track us down way too easily."

"I don't care," she said vehemently. "I'm not giving her up, Jeb, I won't do it!"

"Is there a problem?" Federico was leaning in the doorway, one eyebrow raised.

Jeb stood hastily. "No, no, there's nothing wrong."

"Good, good," Federico replied. "So you're ready to give up the experiment, then?"

The experiment – her daughter had become the experiment.

"He might be," Val spoke up, ignoring Jeb's movements that said don't do it, "but I'm not."

Federico sighed. "I thought that we might run into this problem," he said, almost to himself. Val shifted so that her daughter was partially obscured by her body, the first tinges of fear starting to prick at her heart. Federico poked his head out of the doorway. "Fabian?" he asked. "It's time."

"Time?" Val asked, the fear creeping further into her heart and squeezing it with a cold fist. "Time for what?"

A man in a lab coat appeared next to Federico. Val's eyes widened – he was holding a needle.

"You failed to read the contract, Valencia," Federico said. Val was transfixed with horror, unable to tear her eyes away from him. "It clearly stated that once the experiment was born, she was ours and ours alone. You have no custody of her whatsoever." She felt a sudden prick in her arm and jumped – the man that Federico had summoned had injected something into her with the needle.

"Sweet dreams, Valencia…" Federico laughed, as she slipped off into sleep…

Five: Sometimes she wonders if her marriage had been a little rushed. She met Alberto Martinez five months after she had her child with Jeb. He was kind, thoughtful, and cautious – Val thinks now that the cautious part was what made her fall in love with him. She needed someone that wouldn't be reckless and jump into situations – unlike some people she knew.

She and Alberto were married one year after they met and had Ella, their first child, shortly after. Her parents were absolutely ecstatic for her. To them, she was veterinarian Dr. Valencia Martinez, married with one daughter and a wonderful husband. Underneath, she was still Miss Val Alvarez, mother of two daughters, who was still – though she hated to admit it – harboring feelings for a certain Jeb Batchelder. She was living a double life – who others saw her as, and who she really was inside.

Six: She had told her parents that Alberto's death was the cause of just another L.A. drive by – there was gang activity not far from the place where she worked as a vet, and it was easy to say that the gunshot wound was from that. In reality, however, she knew that his death was anything but random. It was meticulously and carefully planned.

She had been the first to find his body. She had been inside the lab working late, heard the shots, like popcorn, and rushed outside when they ended. Alberto was face down outside, blood pooling from several wounds in his chest. "No," she whispered, "no, no, no, please no…please don't let this be happening, this can't be happening…" She knew better than to move his body, but she could see a scrap of paper poking out from underneath his chest. She tugged it out with a growing sense of foreboding.

We see you, Valencia, the blood spattered paper read. No more hiding.

She hardly remembered calling the police, and drove home in a daze. She paid the sitter who had been looking after two year old Ella and sent her home, then sank onto the couch in the living room, head in hands. It didn't take long for Ella to come and tap her shoulder. "Dónde está Papa?" she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

Tears trickled down Val's face. "Papa's not coming home tonight, niña," she whispered sadly, stroking Ella's hair. "Not tonight." She stood and lifted Ella into a sitting position on the couch. Val crossed into the study and pulled out a map of the United States, bringing it back to Ella, who was beginning to drift off. "Pick somewhere, sweetheart," she coaxed. Ella lifted a pudgy hand and stabbed at a random spot on the map, then nodded off to sleep.

Val looked at the map and at the place where Ella had left a sticky fingerprint. Arizona. "Arizona, here we come," she whispered.

Seven: She never, ever expected Jeb to show up at her doorstep one September day while Ella was at school. The doorbell had rung while she was making cookies for Ella as a surprise for her birthday. She wiped her hands on her jeans, leaving darker streaks of grease. She opened the door with a look on her face that quickly changed to a deep frown.

"Get out," she said, ice lacing her voice.

"Val, please," he pleaded. "You have to help me! They took my son."

Her eyes narrowed. "And? If I recall correctly, they took my daughter as well and you didn't seem to care. You stood by and watched."

"I've regretted it every day of my life," he answered, his eyes boring into hers. Val remembered a time when those eyes had convinced her to do anything. It didn't work this time. "Please believe me. You've got to help."

She said nothing.

"I brought you something," he said, partly to cover up the silence. "Here, look." He held out a package, which Val took reluctantly, glaring at him. "Open it," he prompted. She paused, looking at him again, and tore the brown paper off. Inside was a book on recombinant DNA, a book on birds, and a picture of a blonde baby boy.

"What do I want with these?" she asked venomously.

"It's kind of…well, I thought you'd like the books," he stuttered. Val kept the surprise off of her face. Jeb never stuttered. "And the picture…well, look closer." She held the picture slightly closer to her face and peered at it. She could barely make out a tip of a wing.

"He's another avian hybrid, isn't he?" she asked him. Before he had a chance to respond, she asked, "Exactly how many are there?"

"Six," Jeb said, "But that's beside the point. Please, Val. Please help me save my son. They're going to graft wolf genes into his DNA; I think it's to punish me-"

Val raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what did you do?"

Jeb just looked at her.

"Look," she started. "I feel for your son; I really do. But I'm not risking the life of my other daughter. I've already lost my husband. I'm not losing her too." She sensed that Jeb had stopped paying attention after the word 'daughter' as his eyes were slightly glazed over.

"You have a daughter," he said finally.

"Yes, I have a daughter," she said curtly. "And if you'll excuse me, I have things to do for her."

And with that, she shut the door in his pleading face.

Eight: After Jeb had told her that there were six avian hybrids, she wasn't positive when she saw Max that she was her daughter. The hair and eyes were a big clue, but she wouldn't allow herself to hope. She seemed too good to be true. It had torn her apart when she had left again, but she knew that she had to. If that really was her daughter, then she most likely was as stubborn as her mother was when she wanted to be, and that meant that nothing she could say would change her mind.

Nine: She read the books that Jeb had given her, more than she'd like to admit. They had a special, hidden place in her study, along with the picture of the baby avian hybrid. She'd been viewing them again that day – the day that Max had returned. Looking at the picture of the little boy, she'd suddenly become overwhelmed with emotion. That could be a picture of her daughter that she was holding, instead of a stranger's child. She could have had hundreds of pictures of her, but instead Itex had ruined everything. Everything.

She needed air.

She had stepped outside and taken a huge breath of air to calm herself down. The hairs on the back of her neck had prickled, and she immediately swept the area, paranoid after Alberto's death. Her eyes lit upon someone she thought that she would never see again.

Max, she mouthed soundlessly.

In the joy that came with Max, she never realized that she hadn't put the books or the picture back in their place.

Ten: When she discovered that Max was truly her daughter, she was so happy that she thought her heart would burst. Finally, finally, finally, here was her daughter. She felt whole again, as if a missing piece of her heart had suddenly been returned. Here was the girl that had been a part of her life for so long now – nearly fifteen years of wondering, of pain, of fear.

Finding Max again made it all worth it.

A/N: Wow, this was long. I really hoped you guys liked this one – it's my favorite. I hope that I did Dr. Martinez justice.

Review if you liked it! (Please?)