Kyle closed the phone and put it back in his pocket.

Everyone was on their way home. Now it was time for me to work out the next step. All I'd wanted was to have a normal life with my family and Amanda but Zzyzx, Madacorp and, from the beginning Latnok had wanted me, and looked at me as their property. Zzyzx was gone and Madacorp had lost interest but Latnok remained. Latnok was too big for Foss to fire bomb and I wouldn't let him do that anyway.

The members of Latnok represented Adam's dream and Sarah's nightmare. Which were they really? I had come to realize that they were some of both. I had hoped to find they weren't a threat and that I could have my life back. But Cassidy was right; they were never going to simply forget me. I was too important to them. Whatever 'normal' meant for my life Latnok was probably going to be a part of it. And of Jessi's.

I heard Amanda and Jessi's heartbeats as they came up to the house. At least they were home and safe.

Amanda's and Jessie came though the house looking for him with Amanda exclaiming when they came to the broken patio door. "Kyle, are you all right?"

Kyle swept her into his arms and kissed her. "I'm fine. Cassidy and I had a struggle, but no one got really hurt. The Tragers are going to have another mess to clean up, though."

He looked over at Jessi, hanging back, the feeling of rejection obvious in her eyes. He let go of Amanda to put his arms around Jessi, giving her a firm hug. He stepped back and said "I'm glad you're both safe, what happened? He looked at Amanda in astonishment, "You were stealing Nate's files on me?"

Amanda said, "I told you that he had files, I came over to tell you that he was going to be out and you would have a chance go get them but Jessi said you wouldn't be back in time and she couldn't leave the house – she said that I had to do it! Why couldn't she leave the house, Kyle?"

Kyle smiled, "That's complicated. There are quite a few things that you have to know before the answer would make any sense. I suspect that if you and Jessi have been going through Nate's files, you've found quite a few of the answers already."

Amanda smiled, "I guessed that you were the one in the tank without a belly button, Jessi said so and said that she had grown up in a tank too."

Kyle looked at Jessi who said, "Even she could figure that out from what she saw."

Amanda sighed, "I really wanted to wait for you to tell me, but there was so much right in front of me. I still have a lot of questions, Kyle."

Kyle nodded, "And I guess I have a lot of answers. I've tried so hard to keep you out of this. I always wanted to protect you, but you're completely in the middle of it now." He looked at Jessi who shrugged. "But we have to clean up this mess, the Tragers are on their way home and I don't want Nicole to be too upset. Let me walk you home, we can talk tomorrow."

"I can walk myself home, it's just next door" Amanda objected.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be walking around alone tonight. I'm not sure where Cassidy went to."

Amanda smiled, "Still protecting me?"

"Always."

Jessi said, "I'll start cleaning up the glass."

Kyle nodded to her, "Thanks, I'll help you when I get back."

Kyle took Amanda's hand and led her though the house. It was, as she said, just a short walk. When they got to her porch, he said, "I'm really sorry Jessi brought you into this tonight, you know how much I've wanted to keep you safely out of it."

"I'm not, she did me a favor," Amanda answered then smiled, "although I'm sure she didn't mean to. I've wanted to know your story, to be a part of your life for so long." She sighed, "I may have gotten some answers, but I think I have more questions than I started with."

"We can talk tomorrow," Kyle assured her. "I'll answer them all – at least the ones I know the answers to."

"Promise?" Amanda asked.

"I promise."

He took her in his arms and kissed her. She started for the door and turned back and said playfully, "And you can't make me tell you the same amount of things you don't know about me. That wasn't fair, there's no way I can match you!"

Kyle smiled, "I promise." She laughed and went inside. Kyle headed home.

So many times I had wanted to tell Amanda everything. I always hated keeping it secret from her. Foss had told me she was safer not knowing. After tonight's events she will be safer knowing what is going on around her. Maybe she always would have been. Because of my secrets, I had told Amanda that we couldn't be together. Being able to have Amanda back will be the one good thing to come out of this night's events.

When Kyle got back to the patio, Jessi was finishing sweeping up the glass. He helped her pick up the last of it and put it into the trash. "That's all we going to be able to fix until tomorrow." He waved her to a chair, "I want to hear what happened at Nate's"

Jessi explained how she had been in my room when Amanda came to tell me that there was a chance for me to get Nate's files. How she had sent Amanda to get them and worked with her over the internet to download his data, and how, when Nate caught Amanda she rushed over to the rescue. She told how they had gotten the rest of his files and Sarah's Latnok ring.

"What was Nate doing with Sarah's ring?" Kyle wondered. "I saw it in Cassidy's safe, why did he give it to Nate?"

Jessi frowned, "I'm not sure that Cassidy gave it to him. There were no messages in Nate's files between them. It really looked like something Nate was doing separate from Cassidy. Whatever it was, there was a lot of data."

Kyle, looked at Jessi's hand wearing the red Latnok ring, "I'm glad you've got Sarah's ring." He reached over and ran his fingers over the back of her hand and the ring. Jessi straightened as he touched her – that 'electricity' thing, again. "Although, I'm not sure it's safe to wear."

He took the chain with Adam's ring from around his neck and set it down on the table. "Cassidy had this …" he pulled the device out of his pocket and set it next to the ring, "it seemed to target my Latnok ring with an electrical charge from clear across the room – it packed quite a punch! That's how Cassidy was able to get the advantage at first." Kyle frowned, "I seem to remember something like that happening the night of the prom, but there was so much going on that night I forgot it."

I was able to access my holographic memory of coming out and finding Amanda missing. There had been a Latnok ring on the ground and, when I picked it up I felt an electric charge – the memory ended there when I lost consciousness.

"Yes, that's how they kidnapped me. I don't think we should wear them until we know more about this." Kyle said tapping the device.

"I could try to reverse engineer it." Jessie offered.

Kyle answered, "I can do that." he noticed Jessi slump slightly, "Actually, you are probably better at devices than I am – you certainly fixed Josh's car radio." Jessi brightened, "why don't you take a look at it?" He pushed the device and ring across to her.

"Right now?" She eagerly started to get up.

Kyle smiled at her enthusiasm, "No, tomorrow will do. If you need to do something that would damage a ring, I still have Ballantine's ring, I'll give it to you to work with too."

Jessi reluctantly took off Sarah's ring and set it next to Adam's. She put them and the device in her pocket. "Tomorrow, first thing, I promise." She looked at Kyle with a smile, "We did it! We tracked down and destroyed all the copies of the formula, you contaminated the culture. Latnok can't grow clones of you! Now, we just have to deal with Cassidy."

Kyle frowned. "I'm afraid there are still copies of the formula that Cassidy knows about and is trying to get."

Jessi tilted her head, puzzled, "We destroyed them all."

Kyle tapped his forehead, "I saw the formula, I remember everything – and Cassidy figured out that I would. That's what the fight was about – he was trying to force me to give it to him. He was pretty desperate."

Jessie sat back frowning. Kyle agreed, "Yes, of course, you do too – but I don't think he's figured that out yet. He tries not to think about you. He's afraid of you."

A glint of rage came into Jessi's eyes, "He should be, I threatened to kill him if he hurt you or the Tragers – and that was before he killed Sarah!"

Kyle smiled grimly, "That was how our conversation ended. I threatened to kill him if he hurt Amanda, the Tragers or you." Jessi gave a little smile at being included. He added, "I don't know if I could really kill someone."

Jessi looked down and said in a small voice "I did."

Kyle put his hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I know, but I remember how confused I was when I first awoke. I was lucky nothing bad happened to me and that Nicole found me the next day. It wasn't your fault." Jessie looked up, her gratitude at his understanding plain, he continued "But I know that I am only alive because Foss killed to protect me, starting with Professor Kern. I don't know how many died when he bombed Zzyzx. I worry that the day may come when I have to – and what that would do to me. Nicole is already very worried about me. I don't want to let her down."

"Do you think Cassidy will come after you … or me?" Jessi asked.

"Maybe, but I don't think right away. He may be in trouble with Latnok. I think his project may not have been authorized." He reached and took Jessi's other hand, she sat upright, he said, "I told Cassidy that I wanted us to meet with the senior Latnok people."

As he expected, Jessi was taken aback, "Why should we meet with them? I don't trust them, Sarah didn't trust them … and they killed her!"

Kyle continued to hold her hands and earnestly answered, "Cassidy killed Sarah. We still don't know if any of the other members of Latnok were involved. I spent time at the Latnok group at the university trying to find out what they were like. Most of them were doing good work. Nate and Cassidy were the exceptions. We have friends there. We may have some allies among the senior members – there were some that Adam still trusted. We have to know."

"They won't want to see me," Jessi protested. "They think I'm a mistake. Brian said they threw him out as punishment for creating me."

Kyle reassuringly squeezed her hands, "They are mistaken, about that and many things. I told Cassidy that we were a team and that they had to deal with us together or not at all." Jessie leaned forward smiling, he continued, "We can't hide from them, they know everything about us. It's time we knew more about them. There's one more thing, when I had Cassidy by the throat he told me that his mother, Grace Kingsley, was my mother too. I wish I could believe he was lying but I sensed he was telling the truth."

"Amanda and I found a document called 'Origins' on Nate's computer. It said the same thing." Jessi said. She looked at him with a frown, "Does it bother you?"

"It does a little," Kyle admitted, "I think it would bother Nicole more. Do you think Cassidy and Nate are working together?"

"I don't think so; I read many of the files as they were being transferred," her brow furrowed. "It looked more like a collection of documents he had found, not information being exchanged. Amanda knocked him out, so I couldn't question him."

"Amanda, knocked him out!" Kyle was surprised.

"Yes I was holding him, I was going to question him, but she hit him." Jessi shrugged, "So we gathered the files and left." She smiled, "She had to hit him twice."

"I was unhappy that you sent Amanda into danger." Kyle admitted, "I didn't imagine that she would be knocking people out."

They heard the door and Stephen's voice "Kyle, are you here?"

Kyle released her hands and stood up, "We're back here." The Tragers came though the house and stood staring at the damage to the door.

Nicole hugged Kyle, "I'm just glad you are all right." she held Kyle for a moment longer then turned and put her arms around Jessi, "and you too! We can fix doors, as long as our family is still all right, a little home repair is no problem." Jessi's eyes sparkled at the inclusion.

Stephen asked, "So did you get it done?"

I told them of how we had tracked down all the copies of the formula and that my attempt to contaminate the existing stock had been successful. I didn't want to say anything about Amanda and Jessi's encounter with Nate until I talked to Amanda, I also didn't mention Grace Kingsley, I didn't want to trouble Nicole and I wanted to think more about it first.

Stephen pointed at the door, "How did this happen?"

Kyle answered, "By the time I finished, Cassidy figured out what was happening and came here after first getting you all out of the way. He figured that I would remember the formula and tried to force me to give it to him. I don't think he realized how strong I am…" he smiled at Jessi, "How strong we, are." She smiled.

Nicole's spirits dropped, "So is he still a threat to our family, Kyle?"

"I don't think he is going to do anything more, at least not for a while," Kyle assured her. "I've called Foss and told him what happened. I asked him to keep an eye on the house to be sure." He told Stephen, "I'll help fix the door tomorrow, I promise." He gave Nicole his engaging smile, "I am hoping for pancakes in the morning."

Nicole brightened at the thought of a return to a normal domestic pattern, "I think that can be arranged."

Jessie volunteered, "I'll help."

Nicole gave her a warm smile, "That will be great – it's beginning to take quite a few pancakes to feed this family."

Eventually the excitement settled down and the Trager household was able to get to bed. As I lay in my tub, I focused my hearing and checked on Amanda, her heart was beating evenly as she slept. I listened to Josh, Lori, Nicole and Stephen. They seemed resting well. Finally, I focused on Jessi; her heart rate was a bit higher – still trying to get to sleep. I had an idea and focused my thoughts upon Jessi, thinking "Good Night, Jessi." I heard an increase in her heart beat and felt a feeling of warmth in return. I fell asleep listening to the symphony of hearts that I held so dear.