For years Doctor Holiday had wondered what it would be like to meet Rex's family. To shake his father's hand and tell his mother what an incredible son she had. But not once had she'd imagined the scene playing out like this; in her lab during an interrogation.
Sophie's revelation had shocked the room into silence. All eyes were on her, but her own gaze was locked onto her hands as she played with her fingers. Rex took half a step forward, seemed to think better of it, and stayed put, a strange look on his face.
The family resemblance was obvious now that Holiday was looking for it. They had the same rich eyes, and although the angles in Sophie's face were softer, it was the same shape.
"My name is Roberto?" Rex asked incredulously, breaking the awkward silence, "I always thought that it'd be something cooler."
"Some things never change, I guess," she murmured with a little laugh, lifting her eyes to meet Rex's. She offered him a small smile which he returned uneasily.
Six cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to himself, "Why are you just telling us this now? Surely you've seen Rex on TV before, why not speak up sooner?" his eyes narrowed behind the glasses.
Sophie looked back at him and shrugged, "I'm not sure…I guess I saw what a nice set up he had here and I didn't want to screw things for him."
"How come—"
"That's enough, Six," Holiday snapped, walking briskly forward, "Give the girl a break, please."
Taken aback by the doctor's rebuke, Six's shoulder's stiffened and he took a step back, "I'm going to talk to White Knight," he shot Sophie one last look, "Do a DNA test, he'll want proof."
Holiday rolled her eyes at the retreating agent, and then smiled warmly at Sophie, "I'm so happy to meet you," she said, rummaging through her medical equipment and pulling out a syringe and clean needle, "I will need a blood sample, just to check, and…" she sighed, "I never thought…This is just so wonderful."
"Yeah…" Sophie's voice lacked enthusiasm as it trailed off into uncomfortable silence, "If its alright, I would really like to go home now, my boss is going to be pissed…"
"No!" Rex exclaimed suddenly and Holiday raised an eyebrow. "I have so many questions, please don't go." Sophie sighed and smiled grimly, a tear glistened at the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away, "I don't know, Robbie…"
"It's late," Holiday interrupted, "Why don't we find you a room for Sophie tonight, and talk things through in the morning?"
Rex looked unhappy, "But—"
"Don't argue with me, Rex. Goodnight,"
He sighed and murmured a goodnight to them both before trudging out the door.
Sophie let out a little gasp as the doctor suddenly pricked her arm with the needle, "Why are you so reluctant to talk to him?" Holiday asked curiously, a slight edge to her voice.
"Because I'm afraid that he won't like what I say," Sophie replied softly, "Don't get me wrong, I am happy to see him again, but seeing me might bring up things I wish that he'd forget…" she swallowed hard, "It'd kill him if he knew." She offered no explanation for the strange wording and Holiday decided to end the questioning for the night.
"Well, you're done," she said, putting the blood sample aside. She looked at Sophie closely and a frown plucked at her mouth, "You look exhausted. Come on; let's go find a bed for you."
"Where'd she go?" Six asked, walking back into the lab an hour later.
"I put her in the infirmary for the night," Holiday replied, not looking up for her microscope, her eyebrows furrowed together in a scowl of concentration, "This is so strange…" she murmured.
"What?" Six asked, "Is she a genetic match?"
"Oh, yes, she's his sister. I'm looking at her nanites…They're active," she looked up at Six, her face mirroring his own confusion.
"So she's an EVO?" he asked doubtfully, "She didn't look it."
"That's what's strange about it. But they're definitely active…Do you think she can control them, like Rex?"
"I think that I have a couple more questions for her," Six murmured, making his way to the small room just outside the lab.
"Six, she's asleep, leave her alone," Holiday called after him but the lights were on when he opened the door.
Sophie stood pacing the small room when the agent walked in. She looked up in surprise, and then anger, "Geez, give me a heart attack, why don'tcha?" she snapped.
He crossed his arms stiffly, "I thought that you'd be exhausted by now."
"I had an espresso before the show to keep me," she replied hotly, "And I don't appreciate that tone, Mr. Six, or whatever your name is."
"Agent Six," he corrected contrarily.
"Whatever," she sighed, sitting down on the bed and yanking at her shoelaces. Her anger seemed to fizzle out before his eyes, leaving a tired and dejected young woman, but Six couldn't help wonder if this too was an act.
Looking up, Sophie smiled at his visual scrutiny, "I've known men like you before," she said wryly, "You think that if you break down a couple doors and stand all tall and quiet and mysterious that I'll be intimidated by you. But guess what, I'm not scared of you."
"I know, that's why I don't trust you."
"Well, I've given you plenty of reasons not to," she smiled again, then shimmed under a blanket, "Would you mind turning the light off on your way out?" she asked, burrowing her head into a pillow.
Six rolled his eyes and stepped out into the hallway, half wondering what exactly went wrong in that converstation.
He put a finger to his ear, "This is Six. Double time on that background check I ordered," he muttered, staring at the closed door. "I have a feeling you won't find much."
Yeah, kind of boring. But it'll pick up soon!
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