Okay, so, another chapter. I know it's been a while. I've been doing school stuff. I do have a midterm in my class this evening so I went ahead an wrote this all for you. I'm hoping you like it.

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Entry 8- November 28, 2111

After Andrew's little pep talk I felt a little closer to the both of them. While Darien and I had our quips about one another, Andrew got it. He could moderate us if need be. Something about Andrew made me trust him completely. He'd known about me for a long time and hadn't ratted me out. He told Mina about me because they could help me. Andrew just seemed to know me. I found myself awake very early this morning. And Andrew was on the couch so I woke him. He looked at me with shock then smiled and sat up.

"Eck! What time is it?" He blinked and rubbed his eyes. "Something tells me it's too early."

"What's too early to you?" I smiled and sat on the couch next to his feet. He sighed and put his feet on my lap. "Any time before I wake up myself." He winked at me and flexed his feet. He then looked at the wiggling items and frowned. "Do my toe nails look dirty to you?"

I looked down at his nails and pursed my lips together as I was greeted with nails covered in dirt. In fact, his feet were filthy in general. "Ewww! Get off of me!" I squealed and tried to shove his feet away without touching them.

"No!" He lifted one towards my face and wiggled his toes. "Hehe! I totally forgot how grossed out you girls get!" He laughed then jumped up and started poking at my sides. I started laughing then flipped him onto the couch and sat on his torso trapping his arms much like I did that night to the bum.

Andrew used the leverage of the back of the couch to flip us over so I was beneath him on the ground. Just as he did this the door to Darien's room opened and I'll admit. I froze with just a bit of fear. Just as I expected Darien's midnight depths focused on us and darkened a bit.

"Did you know she's ticklish." Andrew asked.

"No, I'll admit I didn't bother tickling her." Darien's tone was a warning one. I knew that tone far too well.

"Well, there's some of your problem, no foreplay!" Andrew laughed then looked down at me. "I'll go wash my feet. Wimp."

As soon as Andrew was out of the room Darien walked quickly to me and pulled me off the floor. "Enjoy that did you?" He shot and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I did actually. Problem?" I asked carefully. I didn't know what he was thinking but something told me that something was about to happen.

"He's going out today. I'm going to sit in the dumpster and wait for him to come back. You and Luna will be in here on your lonesome. "When he gets back, I'm going to go to the compound and check on the gang."

"Don't." I grabbed his arm. "Malachite told you he'd radio you."

"He's taken too long. I'm just going to do a visual check of the compound and try to make radio contact. I'm worried." I knew as much based on the dark circles under his eyes. He'd been losing sleep lately. "If something goes wrong you have Andrew. Seems like you two are getting on well." There was something in his eyes then, a sadness.

"I suppose, but, you're coming back. I know it." I added.

"You don't know that. If I don't come back I don't want either of you following me. Understand me?" Darien added and migrated closer to me. My mind started to race and my eyes dropped to his jaw. Damn it! I looked back up and saw a smile behind his eyes. "Looks like I haven't lost you after all." He grinned.

"No, not yet. If you don't come back, I'm coming after you." I smiled and moved a bit closer to him. We were so close together. It had been a month since we'd been together and I couldn't help but hope that perhaps he'd be back soon so we could revisit that experience.

"Should I go back into the bathroom for a while?" Andrew cut in. "I mean, do you two need time?" I stepped away from Darien with a slight blush.

"You're leaving right? We'll have plenty of time while you're out." Darien laughed which made Andrew dangerously serious. It was the most concerning face I've seen on the blonde man.

"We both know that's a bad idea." Andrew almost growled his sentence out. "You have to be here to protect not advertise."

"I don't need to be reminded." Darien sobered his attitude and suddenly I felt like once again, I was in the dark. I huffed a bit and sat on the couch. "Well, Serena, Andrew will already smell like you. That's why I'm staking out the doorway. If I smelt overly much like… you then we would have quite a bit of trouble. I don't want to call too much attention to us. Especially because of the timing."

"Timing?" I tried to clarify. Andrew seemed to get a little skittish and blushed a bit. "What, what am I missing?"

"The timing related to your hormone cycle. I know you don't think we pay attention but we have to. If any dogs are going to pick you up it's going to be now." Darien explained and it was my time to blush. I had no idea the boys were watching my menstrual cycle so closely. It was something I had never taken stock of.

"You have to understand Serena. Even without a dog I knew when you were at this time of month." Andrew explained. "I would time it out and spray deer musk around the place. I covered you for a while until I told Mina about you. As much as I was doing to help I couldn't do it alone. That's when they started tailing you."

"How did you know though? I don't understand." I felt completely lost.

"Well, things have gotten a bit primitive out there in case you haven't noticed. Instincts have taken over. I'm not one to just jump on impulse but most others are. Men can just tell when you ladies are at that point, sort of like a cat in heat, we just know." At this explanation I was shocked. So, my rubbing alcohol wasn't what lent me freedom. It was Andrew. All the time I spent washing and soaking in rubbing alcohol meant nothing.

"Wow… I had no idea. That's… revealing." I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered a bit. Well, I'm just going to… sit here." I stayed on the couch and deflated a bit. I thought I had been very good at hiding at least a little, but apparently not. In addition, this was embarrassing!

"Look, this has been a fun conversation but I really need to get going if I'm going to be back in time for you to head out Darien." Andrew sighed and walked back into the bathroom. He spent some time in there while Darien simply stared at me with apathy behind his eyes.

As we stood there my mind wandered back to his demeanor just a few moments ago. "Hey, were you jealous of Andrew tickling me?" I asked suddenly. I was hoping to catch him off guard but that damn man! He simply smiled a bit.

"Jealous? No. I was simply concerned with him getting your scent all over him before he left. I've kept a bit of distance so I don't have to worry as much." He then paused and shook his head. "Jealous. Why would you ever think I would be jealous?"

"Your tone and the look you had on your face." I chuckled a bit. He was jealous, I just knew it.

"No, maybe women get jealous, it's a natural defense, men on the other hand, we get violent. If I felt threatened by Andrew sexually, I'd likely rip him apart." The smile on Darien's face was a scary and stark contrast to the darkness in his eyes. He meant what he was saying. Had we as a species really become so uncivilized that even a man well versed in social interaction and decency would kill another man for the sake of posterity? The thought concerned me. Then again, I was reminded of my first worries concerning Darien. He was dangerous. Very dangerous.

"Okay! Well, out I go." Andrew came out of the bathroom and paused. "Why do I get the feeling a conversation partially about me came up?"

"Serena's just wondering how domesticated we men are." Darien provided without a beat and walked towards the door. Andrew glanced at me then followed Darien's lead.

"Well, I'm far more domesticated than you." Andrew provided with a smile. "And more cheerful."

"That's because you're more effeminate than I am." Darien chuckled and opened the door. Andrew laughed and in a moment the door was closed and I was alone with Luna.

The black fuzzball had been indifferent to the matter and jumped up on the couch. I'm not sure if she wanted attention or simply to comfort me. With a sigh I picked her up and cradled her in my arms while rubbing her ears. "They're just animals aren't they? Just because you give it a bath, trim its coat, and teach it some manners doesn't mean it's not an animal." Luna purred her agreement to my statement. It made me smile to see her so happy with so little. Looked at the door, simply knowing Darien was on the other side made me happy but then again, him not being inside reminded me of how alone I had been. Since dad died, I've been alone. Truly alone. I know that Darien is impressed with my social skills, I shouldn't be as reasonable as I am. I should be bat shit crazy by now.

I sighed and lay down on the couch, still holding Luna. We cuddled together and soon I found myself dozing off. It happens when it's quiet and your bored. I awoke when the door opened and Andrew began carrying stuff in.

"Wait until you see what I brought back!" Andrew exclaimed. "Don't tell Mr. Grumps though." He winked and set down a big box. "I have to stand guard outside for a little while to be sure I wasn't followed and Darien doesn't provide a track back but when I come back in. I'm setting this stuff up." He then pivoted and walked out the door closing it behind him.

The box in front of me was sturdy, it looked heavy too. Curious about the contents I opened it and stared at the items inside. One was a large black plastic thing. It looked like some sort of picture frame with a blank black painting in it. It had a stand it sat on and I wondered what it's use was. Further exploration of the box revealed a power cord. The black painting plugged into the power outlet. Also in the box was a machine that looked like a music player. There were music disks in the box as well except they had more pictures on the cases. I read the album titles with curiosity: The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, Beauty and the Beast, Boondock Saints, Men in Black, so on and so forth. These were strange cases and titles for music albums but then again, what did I know. My dad only liked a few groups and he explained they were considered outdated when he was a kid. Maybe these were newer groups.

The box did make me anxious for Andrew to come back inside. I took the machine out of the box and the disks but didn't lift the painting. I figured Andrew would do that. I waited for two hours before Andrew opened the door and stepped in. Flipping the lock closed he sighed and slapped his hands together. "Okay, here we go!" He giddily jumped towards the box and removed the painting. He moved a few things around so the painting was sitting on a table against the wall opposite the couch. He puttered around a little more, seemingly connecting the painting to the machine. He then turned towards me and smiled. "Do you know what this is?"

I shook my head no and waited for him to continue. "This is what they call a television." He smiled as the term sparked recognition in me. I had heard of televisions. Dad had once explained to me that a television was like watching a book. There were moving pictures, like real life, that told stories on the television.

"I got this from a guy who was hoping I could use it. I couldn't get it to work with my system but your electrical system is wired right. I'm really excited, I've never seen a movie or anything. So, what should we watch first?"

"I don't know. Something interesting. Something real, not made up." I asked excitedly. Finally, I had a chance to see the world as it was, before the war, before the destruction. When trees were alive and grass was abundant. When the skies were blue instead of the stark white it is now.

"Well, I think they're all made up stories but something that is as close to real life as possible coming up." He read the back of the cases and frowned. "Something closer to the war or further back?"

"Something closer, I want to understand what it was like just before the war. We can go back as we go along." I leaned forward excited. I couldn't believe I was that excited.

"Okay, let's try Meet the Parents. That looks good. It's a man wanting to marry a woman and he goes to meet her parents. Should be interesting." Andrew opened the machine and put the disk in. He then grabbed a plastic bar with buttons on it and pushed on. The television suddenly jumped to life and a picture appeared with options on it. Andrew selected play after some time of wrestling with the plastic bar. Then the movie started. We were mesmerized by the television and the story unfolding in front of us. There were humorous moments in it but what I was surprised about was the beauty of the world and the civilized nature of the people in the story. The world was everything I dreamed it would be. It was beautiful and gentle. The main character's fear of Jack Burns was trivial in my opinion. I had seen far more dangerous people than Jack Burns.

After the movie was over Andrew and I sat there staring at the television. I was feeling a little deprived but I was also excited to watch another. "Wow, the world was sure different wasn't it?" Andrew asked and sank back into the couch. "Can you imagine living in a world like that? Everything was so beautiful."

I nodded and sighed. What I wouldn't give to live in a world like that. Jack Burns and his wife were old, very old. I had never seen people that old, the world used to be safe enough that people could live, unafraid, until they were very old. There were also children in movie. I had never seen a child in my lifetime. Very few survived in this world because few mothers survive to care for their children.

Maybe the world could become like that again. Maybe that's what Darien was trying to create within the compound. I turned towards Andrew. "Another please?" The excitement was gone from the room but we were still interested in the movies.

"This one should be good too. It says it's based on a true story." Andrew said and put in another movie. This one was called the Blind Side. The main character of the movie shocked me. His skin was the darkest I had ever seen. I had seen many tanned people but none were as tan as this boy. There were others in the movie just as tan. I was also shocked by the wealth of the family that took the boy into their home. He had very little, much like everyone in my world, and that family had more and shared it with him. It was beautiful and inspiring. I was once again mesmerized.

It then occurred to me, after the movie, that Darien was like the wealthy family. He was searching for people with skills and providing them with something more than what they had on their own. He was trying to make the world a better place.

I looked at the clock on the wall. I don't think it was accurate but it did measure the passing of time. I then jumped up from the couch with alarm. Darien had been gone for five hours! That was far too long! "Andrew, he's not back yet!" I cried and rushed to the door. I peeked outside and confirmed my suspicion. It was dark outside. Very dark. He wouldn't venture through the barren wasteland that was outside in the dark. We'd have to wait until morning until we could go after him.

"Regardless, we're not leaving." Andrew crossed his arms and stood. "He expressly told me to not let you go after him. I'm a little more concerned about you than I am him."

"But he could be in trouble!" I shouted. "You can't stop me either!" I added and marched to the door. "I'll go right now even."

Andrew grabbed me from behind, trapping my arms against me. "You can't do that. Serena, be reasonable." He sighed then released me. Turning me towards him he pulled me into a hug. "He's fine. Remember. He's a dangerous bastard. Come on, bed time, and just so you don't get any ideas of sneaking out, I'm bunking with you."