A/N:

Hello all, here's another update! My note to you is quick today...

Enjoy.


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Darla.

Jak and I had stayed awake most of the night, just talking about everything that had gone on since the courts had banished him. He told me of Spargus City and all his adventures. He told me of his new light eco gene, and how it had been the one thing that kept his darker mind stable. He said he had been spending time with Sig, and that Daxter's old friend Nica, who we thought had passed away, was actually very much alive and living in Spargus. Jak also told me that he had earned of the respect of Spargus's king, Damas, who I now knew was the man from my visions. I refrained from telling Jak anything regarding that, though.

He told me about how much he enjoyed life in Spargus, which at first twisted my gut as I remembered the words he had said to Ashelin, but he was quick to say that it was only a distraction away from his worry and fear. He mentioned that, in Spargus, he was treated like the warrior, the hero he worked so hard to be. I told him that a I had seen him once, in the vision Onin had sent me, and that every day I was proud of him. I made sure he knew that it was okay that he liked being in Spargus, because he was doing what Samos had told him to do, years ago when we came through the rift gate: he was finding himself. I also let him know that I always had faith in him, no matter where he was, and that he never had be sorry or feel bad for anything.

We had slept for maybe a couple of hours before Torn called Jak over the communicator at sunrise. I got up and tugged his arms and he laid in bed, whining about how tired he was. Then I kissed him repeatedly until he finally rose from his cocoon of blankets.

When it was time for him to head out, he stood in the doorway of the apartment and he was cupping my face in his hands. He smiled down at me dreamily, eyelids heavy and every once in a while he would lean in to kiss me. I flashed my best, bravest smile at him and he bent down, his face level with my plump belly.

"You take care of your mommy while I'm gone," He said to my stomach, beaming. His words made my heart skip. "You've done a great job so far." He looked up at me briefly before continuing, "She's tough, but so are you." He held my sides and kissed my baby bump, and then stood.

I smirked, "I love you. Whatever Torn is making you do...please be careful." I grabbed his hips, tugging him close to me, "We need you."

"I love you." Jak kissed me again, fiercely this time, in a way that made me hungry for more, but I knew he had to go. He pouted when I stopped him, pecked me one last time and then headed out the door.

Once it closed behind him, I let out a sharp whoosh of breath I had been holding in since we awoke. I hurried to the bedroom, throwing on a pair of joggers, boots and one of Jak's tunics. I sniffed it, his scent bringing me comfort, then grabbed my communicator off of the side table. I dialed Keira's number and it rang.

"Hey, D!" She exclaimed but sounded tired, "What's-"

"Keira, I -huff- need your help." I said urgently, rubbing my bump. The cramping was getting worse, becoming more painful with every breath I took.

"Darla, what is it?!"

I bent over, holding in a groan, "It's the baby, something's wrong. Please, help me."

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Jak.

I had a bounce in my step today.

My gut still ached from guilt, my head hurt from lack of sleep and I yearned to just lay in bed with Darla all day...but I was satisfied with how we left things and I was ready to kick some ass.

I took a zoomer to Naughty Ottsel, and luckily I was able to get through the Industrial sector much easier now that we'd cleared the way. Parking around the alleyway, I adjusted the pack on my back, double-checked to see if my jet board was there, and hurried inside. Daxter was on the bar, kicking his legs, flirting and whispering with Tess, who was still in her bed clothes, fluffy pink bath robe included.

Torn was at the center table, messing around with the console when I approached him. He glanced up at me, "'Bout time you showed your face. I thought I was going to have to shoot myself with these two fucking around," He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at the two love birds.

I rolled my eyes, "They haven't seen each other in six months. Give them a break."

"I wish I could have a break." Torn grumbled. "Daxter, get your furry asshole over here so I can brief you and Jak!"

Daxter sighed obnoxiously and jumped to the floor, scurrying over quickly as Torn pointed at maps of the sewers, "Jak, I need you to go into the sewers and into the metalhead city section," He started, "We need to attack their hive from below."

I grimaced, "I'm back for ten minutes and you're already sending me back to the sewers..."

"It's our only way in right now..." He wrinkled his nose, "We haven't been in those old passageways since the war broke out, but no scouts have reported movement down there."

Daxter put his hands on his hips, "Um, that's a good thing, right?"

Torn's lip twitched, "I mean, no scouts have ever come back alive to tell us."

Daxter pursed his mouth. "Oh." Then he realized what Torn said and his eyes snapped open, "OH! Still giving us the crappy missions, huh?"

I shrugged a smile playing across my lips, "Dark, dirty, dangerous...I'm beginning to like this war."

Torn grinned widely, patting me on the shoulder. "It's good to have you back."

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Ashelin called with another mission as soon as Daxter and I had cleared out the sewers, and Daxter was complaining nonstop as usual.

"I miss when we lived in a place where our comrades asked us to go do awesome jobs," He trudged behind me, his feet covered in mud (I hoped).

I pouted reflexively, "Yeah, kind of sucks being ordered around without a 'thank you' or a 'good job'."

"And there were no sewers. Just sand."

I laughed, "Torn's favorite place is the sewers."

I snagged an abandoned zoomer and Dax and I headed for the south Port border, where metalheads were using a cache of dark eco to make weapons. The entire area was practically all swamp, noxious gasses and fumes filling the air and making me catch a buzz. We had to wear our goggles through the fog, since it was so potent and made our eyes burn.

"I can't believe this used to be a place where people were." Daxter said loudly over the rickety zoomer engine.

It was startling, especially since so much of the city was gone. "I can't even remember what it looked like before, Dax..."

"My guess is, if we're near the south border, we should be near South Haven Forest," Daxter scratched his head, "So this must've been the agricultural section of the city."

I mentally flashed back to what that portion of the city looked like...green grass, blooming enormous plants, grazing yakows. I remembered being chased by KG multiple times through those twists and turns, and as I drove now I realized they indeed were the same turns as when it was the agricultural section.

"Hmm." I said quietly.

Up ahead it looked like there was a metalhead nest, where the creatures were in the process of farming dark eco from this an enormous plant. I lowered hover zones and quickly pulled over along the side of a wall. Dax scampered up my arm from the passenger seat as I whipped out Tess's newest invention.

"This baby will get the job done quick," Daxter whispered into my ear, "You can tell Tess is a real freak...if you get my drift." He snickered and I made a face.

I crept up to the nest slowly. While on a regular basis I always went running in, gun and eco powers blazing, I wanted to test this gun's kill zone scanner. I aimed directly over the crowding metal beasts, then deployed the silver and yellow disk into the air above them.

Ducking in cover, Dax and I covered our ears as the bullets spurt out loudly at the metalheads, and for a long time, too. Once the sounds ceased, Daxter mouthed "wow!" to me and we slowly peeked around the edge of a rock we hid behind.

Metalhead bodies were strewn about, bullet holes in their armor. The results proved that the gun was very effective, not to mention impressive. The disk was black now, no trace of yellow eco remaining, and lying in the crumpled heap of metal bodies. Behind the massacre was an enormous throbbing, pulsating budding plant thriving with dark eco, electric bolts zapping out of its vines.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, echoing Daxter's previous reaction, "Remind me never to doubt Tess's abilities."

"I always believed in my little Tessie-poo." Daxter stood tall and walked around the corpses, checking out the plant. "Whoa! Check this out..."

I walked up next to Daxter and stood before the monstrous vegetation. It was practically humming with power and the poison vibrating through it was causing Daxter shiver, and he stepped behind me. "Jak...I don't like this."

"It's okay Daxter, it's just a sick plant." I put my hand on his head protectively, reassuring him. Just like how I was for a long time...A sick host for dark eco.

My demon was whispering in the back of my mind- it could sense the power too. Just one touch...

"I'm going to tug it out by the roots and toss it into the trench," I said to Dax, "That should do the trick."

So much power you can harness, Jak...

"O-okay," Daxter said quietly, his ears drooping low, "Just...be careful."

I pat his head again then stepped up to the pulsing bud. I could hear voices, not just my demon's voice in my head but a thousand quiet whispers erupting from within the purple flower. I blinked at it, fascinated with how this living plant was adapting to the dark eco infested atmosphere here. If we stayed here over a constant period of months, would we be completely transformed permanently too?

That's an appealing thought, isn't it?

I couldn't help but smile slightly at the plant. I was sure it had been a defenseless little seed, and once the dark eco had touched it, it blossomed into this incredible, powerful source of energy. I reached forward to put my hands around the bud...

Suddenly the plant exploded, blasting me backward so that I landed on my back hard. Pain erupted my entire body; all I could see were spots and all I could hear was ringing in my ears and Daxter shouting my name repeatedly. My demon was hysterical and I felt my blood boil in anger. I rolled onto my stomach, moved to my knees and a sharp pain rocked in my chest and stomach, so horrible that I could only see red.

I got to my feet, trying to shake this unfathomable pain but another wave hit me and I keeled over, releasing what sounded like a mix between a growl, yelp and moan; a sound that I didn't recognize as my own. My demon then forced itself out of me and I collapsed to my knees again, crying out as my claws slid from my fingertips. Through the sheer fire I searched for my light eco, hoping that my advanced healing would somehow numb the pain, but it was nowhere in my mental sights. I then produced a violet beam of light from my palms and flung it toward the rest of the eco cache, blasting it into smithereens.

I fell forward onto my arms, my body reverting back to human form. I felt sick...My skin burned me, the heat coming from inside me. I heard Daxter run up to me shouting, "Jak! Jak!" He reached me, wrapping his arms around my bicep, pulling it. "Get up Jak, metalheads are coming! Please get up!"

I moaned, putting my head on the ground, my cheek resting against the cool stone. I looked up at my pal, "Daxter...?" I breathed heavily and closed my eyes.

"Hang in there, buddy!" Daxter's hands left my arm and my hand balled into a fist by my face. I heard him shift around, "I'm just going to grab this here..." I then started hearing snarls and growls in the distance. "Shit!" Daxter sounded very far away now. I heard gunfire then, the loudness making my body jolt in response, and more waves of pain rippled through me. I cried out.

Daxter screamed briefly and then shouted, "Back! Back, you beasts!" More gunfire. I breathed in and out slowly, meditating with the pulsing pain in my body. Daxter yelled again, "Stay away from my brother, you bastards!"

I blacked out.

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Darla.

I was laying on a hard bed in one of the rooms at the healer's office, clutching my cramping abdomen. I hiccupped for the thousandth time that day, a purple wisp with tiny electric bolts escaping my lips yet again, foggy like breath on a cold day. I groaned and Healer Kenzo and Keira were both standing at my side.

"It's not the baby who is hurting, Darla." He said solemnly.

I grimaced, squeezing my eyes shut. I should've been thankful that the baby was healthy, but I knew that Kenzo would be giving me some kind of lecture on how I'm not taking enough yellow eco-infused pills.

"We might need to induce labor."

My eyes snapped open and I sat up, "Doc, I hope you're kidding."

He frowned, running a hand through his hair, "I'm afraid not."

Keira, crossing her arms, stood and turned to Kenzo, "She's only about seven months along, Kenzo, this is too dangerous for the baby-"

"It's killing her," He snapped, "The pills just aren't working anymore. The baby is adapting. If you want to live, I suggest we get it out of you."

"No!" I exclaimed, rubbing my stomach, "I'd rather my baby live than risk it dying because of premature birth!" I wrapped my arms around myself.

"I can't promise that you will make it through the next two months!" Kenzo's tone was scolding, but his face pitied me. And I hated that.

"Kenzo, I won't live if my baby dies."

His mouth closed and he looked down at the floor. He then sat on the bed and put his hand on mine. "It's your choice, I am only just giving you my medical advice."

"You can shove it up your ass."

"Darla," Keira frowned at me.

I knew I was being childish but I couldn't risk losing my baby. I knew it was meant to be born and I had to keep fighting. I had to.

Kenzo looked at me sadly, "It's fine, I understand why you are...lashing out." He rose to his feet, "It's part of my job to deliver bad news and it's never easy. For me or the patient."

I sighed. "I'm sorry Doc. But I am going to keep fighting. I have to just make it at least another month. I can do it, you have to trust me."

"It all depends on how you're body is going to fight, Darla." Kenzo warned. "You have genetics that help you heal quickly which is what has kept you alive the past few months, but the baby's continuous transformations are taking a serious toll on your body." He wrote out a prescription and handed me the slip of paper, "The best I can do for you right now is provide painkillers..."

I took the paper and smiled warmly, "I appreciate it greatly." He nodded and then left the room without another word.

"Damnit Darla," Keira rubbed her stressed face, strands of aqua hair peeking out of place, "You're so headstrong."

I shrugged and got off of the bed, "I just want Jak's kid to be alive and healthy, is that too much to ask?"

"But what about you, D, what about you being alive and healthy?"

I struggled to bend down to tug my boots on, "Keira, can you-" But she already squatted down to lift my shoes to me, "Thanks."

"Darla, I'm being serious though." Once my boots were on, she pulled me to my feet, "Jak would never forgive you for letting yourself die. He wouldn't be able to live."

I licked my lips, avoiding eye contact with her, "He will live." I walked to the door, expecting Keira to follow, but she didn't. I turned around.

Her hands were at her side, her bright eyes wide with a combination of fear and concern. "Darla," She whispered, "Are you...going to die?"

I knew what she was asking...had I seen Jak and my child in a vision without me? Was my baby going to live and I wasn't? The truth was that, no, I hadn't had any visions of this. I had only a few visions of myself being pregnant, and I had one vision ever of myself holding the baby at some point in time, but other than that I still wasn't getting many visions, especially since the baby was still with me and interfering with my abilities.

"No, no." I answered her. I hiccupped another purple, electric puff of air. "But I know Jak. And I know myself. And if we just do this the way I know we're supposed to, everything is going to be fine."

She looked relieved, but I could tell she was still worried. "Okay. But the next time you have a scare...we're getting that baby out." I rolled my eyes and she brushed past me through the door, "Let's just...get you home."

Maichael had been outside the building, pacing back and forth anxiously. When he saw us coming, he came up an embraced me tightly.

"I'm fine." My voice was muffled by his hoodie.

"You're always fine," Maichael meant for it to come out in a scolding way, but the emotion in his voice told me he, too, was relieved. He pulled away, grabbing Keira's hand, and we headed back to my apartment. Once we walked through the door, we noticed my communicator on the kitchen counter was beeping nonstop.

"Oh!" I said surprised, and I snatched it up, "Hello?"

"DARLA!" Daxter's voice came screeching through the speaker. I grinned, extremely happy to hear his voice.

"Daxter! I've missed you so much-" I started but he cut me off.

"You guys need to come help us!" He shouted, the urgency in his voice scaring me. I heard a groan in the background that sounded like Jak and my stomach flipped. Dax muttered something inaudible and then said, "Metalheads! We're by the south Port border, please hurry! AAAH!" Gunfire sounded as he screamed and the transmission cut.

I spun around to face my friends, "We need to get to the south Port border right now! Jak and Daxter are in trouble, something about metalheads!"

"I'll go!" Maichael said, turning to Keira, "You both stay here and-"

NO! My demon hissed and I said simultaneously. Maichael began to protest but I put my hand up, "I know how to handle metalheads. I am coming."

Maichael shook his head, "But D-!"

We have to go, don't let him stop you! She pushed. I felt no pain and I felt ready to slay. I was always strong, always motivated to fight and I wasn't going to back down when I knew for a fact that no matter what state I was in, I was an unstoppable force. I fully embraced who I was, dark eco and all.

"I. Am. Coming." I said, my tone calm, complete seriousness in my voice. Maichael didn't argue any further and he nodded, brown-eyes focused.

"Let's go!"

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We sped through what used to be the vibrant, crisp agricultural area of Haven City, and Keira was flying the zoomer low to the ground so we could scan it for Jak and Dax. There were a few metalheads running around but it was nothing to be alarmed about.

"Where are they?" Keira muttered.

My demon was practically jumping up and down. Oh my god, I can't wait to just fucking tear my teeth into those metalheads, I'm going to rip them to shreds, I'll hit them with their own limbs and-!

"There!" Maichael leaned forward from the back seat of the zoomer and pointed towards a mess of metalhead bodies, as well as living ones sprinting toward a small, orange ottsel.

"That's Daxter!" Keira shouted, "He's been fighting them off by himself?!"

A few feet behind him was an unconcious Jak, facedown on the ground, not moving whatsoever. Metalheads were surrounding my two favorite boys, and one of which was poking and prodding at Jak, pushing his limp body like a toy.

Before Keira could even shift hover zones, I flung myself over the front of the zoomer, my darker self tearing through my skin and I started slashing my way in the duo's direction. I could hear Keira and Maichael shouting off in the distance, but my black eyes were on the prize: killing, killing, killing.

I can't remember much of the fight. All I can remember are swirling visuals of arms and legs and metalhead teeth. I remember laughing at one point. Keira was driving over metalheads with her zoomer. I could see Maichael shooting his pistol at the oncoming metalheads while I took care of the ones specifically surrounding my furry little friend. He ran out of bullets suddenly and as a metalhead closed in on him I scooped Daxter up and exploded the metalhead through the chest with one of my dark eco blasts.

"DARLA!" Daxter shouted my name, both out of fear and gratitude, and scrambled onto my shoulder, gripping my shirt by my shoulder blade. I continued spinning around and blasting metalheads until my demon couldn't physically find anymore. Swaying from the adrenaline, my body very slowly returned back to its human state. Daxter hid his face in my shoulder, blood caked on his face. He glanced up at me, shaking.

"Thanks, D."

Maichael and Keira came running over and we all made our way over to Jak. He had a bruise on his face with a tiny cut and I knelt beside him and gently touched it. "What happened?" I asked Daxter.

He propped himself up on my shoulder, "Oh man it was crazy," He began, "Ash told us to clear out this dark eco, 'cause the metalheads were making weapons with it. Then after Jak killed the metalheads, he went to rip the plant out but it blew the fuck up and the blast hit him square in the midsection!"

Maichael rolled Jak onto his back and lifted his blue tunic. Jak moaned ever so quietly, but his eyes wouldn't open and it made me feel sick. We all gasped in unison as he revealed a dark purple and red throbbing bruise that went from beneath his left peck, over his rib cage and down to his abdomen.

Daxter covered his eyes, "I feel woozy..."

I reached up and pet him, "Daxter are you hurt?"

He leaned into me, "No...I don't know. I just don't feel good. I'm tired."

"We need to get him to a healer right now," Maichael said, hoisting Jak up into his arms bridal style, "This looks really bad and we're not exactly in the safest place right now."

Keira got up then and ran over to the zoomer, hopping inside and driving it over to us, "We need to get out of here, I can hear them coming..."

Maichael place Jak over his shoulders and got into the zoomer while I pulled Daxter off my back and into my arms. I got into the vehicle and Keira sped us off into the air. I kept glancing back at my Jak. It was rare to see him so...vulnerable. He was the strongest person who had ever lived and I hated seeing him like this, or anyone else seeing him this way.

Keira and Maichael were talking loudly over the engine and they became a hum in the background. Daxter was sitting on my baby bump, his head resting on my boobs, but he made no snarky comments or jokes. He was tugging at my tunic, twisting the cloth within his grasp. I took his hands in mine and he glanced at me, sadness in his eyes. They reflected my thoughts exactly: if he hadn't been there with Jak...Jak would have died.

"He's so lucky to have you," I said quietly so only he would hear, "He would be dead if it weren't for you, Daxter. In more ways than one..."

Daxter nodded and pat my hand, "He missed you. We both did. It's so fucking good to see you...not under the current circumstances of course. And I can only really see you through your cleavage."

There it was. I giggled briefly and he smiled. He closed his eyes and nuzzled into my chest, "I'm going to enjoy it now because this might be the closest I'll ever get to your zingers."

I narrowed my eyes at him. But I couldn't help myself...I loved him and I really missed his wiseass. "You're Jak's best friend, so you're my best fried; what's his is yours...not literally but-"

"There's boundaries, but not really." He flashed a toothy grin at me, eyes still closed.

"Yeah. Exactly." I smirked and shook my head. He fell asleep only a minute later, and the rest of the ride we were all quiet.

The healer we went to was actually set up in one of the empty warehouses in the Port. He had a tent set up outside for immediate transport, considering war victims were always being brought in by combat medics these days. The set up was perfect for instant assistance, and it made me miss my own job as a combat medic. It had been a very long time...I couldn't wait to get back in the game.

Maichael stood by the healer, explaining the situation quickly as they helped him place Jak onto the table. Daxter had woken up and was standing on the top of my head, trying to see over the healers and medics working on Jak. I took him outside of the tent once they hooked Jak up to a heart monitor- I knew how anxious hearing that beeping sound made someone.

I leaned against one of the building walls and Daxter climbed down my body to the ground. He put his hands on his hips, raised his eyebrows at me and whistled. "Well, look at you."

I rolled my eyes, sliding down the wall and sitting on the ground. "I know."

"You're morbidly pregnant."

"Thank you, Dax, I know."

"I mean, at least you're hot and morbidly pregnant."

I grinned at him. "You're going to have to start watching what you say around your nephew."

Daxter's eyes widened and he beamed at me, "It's going to be a boy?!"

I was sure my face was confused once again...I kept doing that...calling it a "he"..."I'm not sure, I feel like it's a boy. Don't say anything to Jak, nothing is for sure, you know?"

Daxter scampered up to me and rested his hand on my belly. "Whatever it is, I promise I'll be the best uncle it ever has."

I lifted an eyebrow, "Why does that worry me?" I said teasingly. The baby then nudged the area where Daxter's hand was.

He shook his head incredulously, "Wow. That's an amazing thing." I nodded and he rubbed the spot, "It's all so crazy. You and Jak made that. And it's literally right in there, in your stomach!"

It was an amazing thing...everything that happened to Jak and I, whether it was wonderful or terrible or in between the two...our life, our story, was really amazing. Some day, we'd tell it to our kid when he or she was grown and could understand all the serious aspects of our lives. One day, the baby would know everything.

"You know," Daxter said, smiling sneakily, "I kind of hope it's a boy...Because then I can teach him everything he needs to know about the ladies. And you can name him after me."

"Oh brother..."

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Jak.

I was having incredible dreams and nightmares. They weren't visually clear...they were blurry, like a film was covering my eyes. And I would flash in and out between the dreams and just plain darkness with sound playing in the background. Darla was in them, but she was in her darker form, tearing through the flesh of metalheads, a monster killing the creatures so effortlessly...I didn't know whether to feel safe or terrified.

I kept seeing so much green and purple for a while. And then I felt warm, arms wrapping around me...someone holding me. My cheek rested on soft material. A sweatshirt? Maybe not, because the next time I faded out and back in I was so cold, icy cold. I wanted to hold myself but I felt paralyzed. It was noisy and I wanted it to be quiet more than I wanted to be warm.

I fell into a deeper sleep and entered a dream where I was standing on a cliff in Spargus, looking out at the ocean, holding someone's little hand. I looked down at my side, but all I could see was the ghost of an image that looked like my younger self. He looked up at me, his body and eyes translucent, his thumb grazing the top of my knuckles. The feeling was very comforting, and I sat down on the cliff, letting my feet dangle over the edge. The ghost of my past self disappeared and I suddenly felt lonely. I stared down at the blue water, crashing against the rocks below, and thought about how beautiful it was and how much Darla and Dax would love this view.

Suddenly I felt someone shove me violently from behind and I went tumbling off the cliff, pain coursing through my entire body as I yelled, and everything went black.

My eyes snapped open and I bolted upright. It was bright and my eyes took time to adjust before I realized I was in my bed at the apartment. I fell back against the pillows, groaning.

"Morning, sleeping beauty!" I heard Daxter's voice crone, "You've been out for over a week."

I tilted my head and saw Daxter sitting on Darla's shoulder while they stood in front of the big picture window in mine and Darla's room. Darla's face was filled with concern, her blue eyes glossy but she smiled, "You look good, love."

I smiled weakly and slowly sat myself up as they approached me. "Strangely enough, I'm just as tired as before I went to sleep." I stretched my neck, "What the hell happened?"

Darla sat on the edge of the bed beside me and rubbed my arm. "Daxter saved your fucking life."

Dax flexed his arms proudly and flashed his pearly whites. I lifted an eyebrow skeptically, "What really happened?"

"It's true!" He fought, "You got bitch-slapped by a plant that injected you with tons and tons of dark eco. You got some nasty power with it," Dax wrinkled his nose in distaste, "It did a doozy of a beating on you man, I'll tell you that."

I remembered the utter pain shattering my very core and flinched at the memory. I looked down at my bare stomach and to my horror, I saw a thin tube with tape holding it in me, sticking out of my bruised but healing abdomen. My lips parted in fright and Darla squeezed my arm, "It's attached to a packet of green eco over here," She pointed to a bag on the side table, "It's transferring the eco into your blood to flush out the toxins from your wound. You just need to finish this one and then I will get that tube right out, I promise."

I stared down at the tube, watching the vibrant, green, flowing liquid. It reminded me of dark eco injections and I felt a sense of panic making my heart pump. But Darla was reassuring me, she knew how I reacted to these kinds of things. She knew what gave me nightmares and she knew the right things to say, so I needed to trust her. I tore my eyes away from the tube and looked her dead in the eyes so I wouldn't look back at it.

"Anyway," Daxter said, rubbing his hands together, "You got knocked the fuck out. And metalheads, hundreds of metalheads were headed right for us so I broke out the Vulcan Fury mod, popped it on your gun and started shooting!"

"He's not exaggerating either," Darla said, smiling proudly at Daxter, "There were hundreds of them before we even arrived to help."

"I had to keep them away from you, you wouldn't wake up." Daxter shook his head, "And while I was shooting them up, I called D and told her, Keira and Maichael to come get us, and when they came Darla literally jumped out of the zoomer midflight and went 'dark Darla' on those metal fuckers!"

Darla shrugged and smirked, "I live for shredding the 'heads."

I rested my head against the headboard and grinned at my two best friends. "I can't believe I missed it. You guys kicked ass."

Daxter hopped onto the bed and glanced at Darla, still smiling, "Darla always kicks ass, that's nothing new, I'm still impressed with my own epic shooting skills!"

I stared between the two of them, my grin still plastered on my face. How did I get so lucky, to have my best friend and my girl be best friends too? How'd I get so lucky...I kept asking in my head subconsciously. Darla leaned forward then and planted a fat kiss right on my lips.

Daxter feigned a gagging sound, crossing his arms. "HEY! What about me, Jak? When do I get my kiss?"

I reached my hand out for a low-five and he slapped it. I pat his arm, "Thanks for saving me, Dax. I'm so proud of you. Really."

He waved his hand, "It was nothing. Don't get used to it, Jakie."

I started getting drowsy then and I felt my body relax. I looked from my buddy to my girl, then to her stomach before I allowed sleep to take me.

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Darla.

Jak's communicator had been ringing off the hook the entire day while he slept. He was out cold- he didn't even twitch when I removed the tube and bandaged him up. Daxter was handling his incoming calls, screeching about how Jak was unavailable so "find someone else to do your dirty work!".

"Man!" Daxter said, tossing the communicator across the couch. He leaned against my side, "We can't catch a break! Jak could be unconcious and they'd still think he's ready for the next mission."

I tilted my head, "Jak is a valuable member of the war, but people forget that he's only human."

"A human who channels eco and also has super powers."

"Exactly."

The communicator rang again and Dax threw his arms to the sky. As he scurried across the couch to answer the call, Jak emerged from the hall, shirtless and rubbing his eyes sleepily, blonde hair all spiked up from the pillow. I grinned at him and when he saw me, that lopsided smirk formed on his face. I opened my arms, indicating for him to come to me and he walked over, climbing onto the couch and leaning in to kiss me.

"I DON'T CARE IF THE PLANTS ARE IN DANGER, SAMOS!" Daxter shouted. "I DON'T CARE IF THE FUCKING MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING, AND I DON'T CARE IF THE ROCKS DO NOT RECALL!" He was jumping up and down on the couch angrily, "STOP CALLING!" He slammed the communicator repeatedly, and uselessly, into the couch cushions.

Jak looked at me quizzically. I just shook my head, indicating there was nothing to worry about, and don't ask. He jutted his bottom lip out at me, then moved down and rested his head on my thighs. "What's going on, Dax?" He asked, despite my warning to him.

Dax's head snapped around to glare at Jak, "You had to be so 'chosen', didn't you!" He plopped down on his bottom and crossed his arms, "Either you're trying to get me killed, get me in tough, or gross, situations, or I'm answering your damn phone calls like a secretary!"

Jak flashed him a smile, "The work is never done, partner."

The communicator started ringing again, muffled by the couch cushions. Daxter let out a stream of loud profanity and dug through the couch until he whipped the communicator out and answered, "WHAT IS IT NOW?!"

Jak sat up on his knees, "Let me-"

Daxter held up his hand to make him quiet. "Uh-huh..." There was a pause. "Mhm, I see." Another pause. "Yes. Okay. Glorious. I will see to it." He hung up and placed the communicator onto the couch.

Jak and I exchanged a look of confusion and Daxter turned to face us, his face completely straight. "Jak?"

"...Um...Yeah?" Jak lifted his eyebrows.

"Where is your gun?"

"Why...?"

"I want to shoot Samos."

Jak laughed, "What's the problem?"

Daxter shook his fists at the sky, "Grandpa Green, the bane of my existence, is the problem!" He crossed his arms, "He said he as an 'easy mission' for us to do when you feel ready and on your feet, involving exterminating infected plants in South Haven Forest."

Jak's eyes flickered with memory; he clearly missed the forest...feeling free and with nature. He nodded. "Okay, we can do that. It doesn't sound too bad."

Daxter groaned, "I told him no a million times today but he just wouldn't quit!" He growled, "But this time he called and said he would drag me out of the apartment by my balls and make me do it myself if I didn't at least ask you if you were up for the task."

"Samos gets what he wants, we both have known this our whole lives." Jak blinked, "I'm shocked you actually had the gall to tell him no!"

"Yeah, well, I wanted you to get better." He said, then turned to the communicator on the couch, which began ringing again, "But apparently that's TOO MUCH TO ASK! FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" He jumped up and down again.

"Dax, you want some of my painkillers? It chills me the fuck out." I said to Dax slyly.

He glared at me, then closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Darla, if you weren't pregnant with my best friend's baby...carrying my newest little buddy in your womb..."

I laughed out loud and Jak chuckled, "Alright Dax, let's just take care of those plants and shut Samos up."

Daxter rolled his eyes, "He said that Keira told him the jet board can channel green eco so we won't have to touch the plants. She doesn't want you to blow up again." He tapped his chin, "He also said there are ancient Precursor pillars in the forest that may have a link to the catacombs."

Jak got to his feet, wincing slightly, "We'd better get going, Dax. I'll just get dressed." He made a face that told me he was still in pain, but I knew he would fight me if I even suggested he stay here and rest. I sighed and watched him stretch.

He looked at me, his face softening, leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll be okay, Darla. I promise." He smiled warmly and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'll cover his ass just like last time, don't you worry, D!" Daxter smirked and hopped off the couch, scrambling over to Jak, "Don't go into labor while we're out, okay?"

I smiled, rubbing my stomach, "I won't, this kid's not going anywhere."

At least I hoped it wouldn't.

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A/N:

Expect frequent updates! I have plenty of plans for the future. So excited to reveal things. I appreciate your feedback and thank you all for sticking with the story!

Til the next chapter...

~RyJones