Learn To Share

"I don't care." Abby growled slamming her fist into the bag swinging in front of her.

"I don't like having to share the munchkin either but think of it this way," Faye rolled onto her side continuing with another stretch. "She finally has another kid to play with and Témoc knows about us so she doesn't have to hide anything. Dayne knows too, even if she keeps denying it to herself." Faye's brow furrowed at the stubborn woman's denial that vampires were real.

"That's very life like." Gael said in his soft voice. He smiled at Dayne extending his hand in greeting. "Me llamo Gael DelRey."

"Dayne-."

"DeVega. Si, lo se." he nodded releasing her hand. Faye was surprised Dayne hadn't jumped out of her seat but to her credit she just kept looking at Gael steadily. Faye enjoyed listening to his spanish brogue and hoped it made Dayne feel at ease the way it calmed her. Most of the time she had no idea what he was saying not that she cared becau- well, it didn't matter. Gael turned, as if he felt her eyes on him and smiled. Dayne noticed and taking a look at them she smiled.

"She's nice."

"I think so." Gael agreed amiably. Faye listened to them talking, pretending to prepare for the test she was going to run on Dayne just to give Gael some time. She figured that out of all of them, he had the best chance of getting her to see vampires were real and the events from the alley had happened.

"Dayne?" Faye turned frowning slightly at his tone. "Dayne." He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder which made her flinch. "Esta bien?"

"Si, fine." She mumbled looking up but the charcoal she'd been sketching with was broken and the sheets were clenched in her hands crumpling the notepad.

"So." Faye approached with her brightest smile but the wary look on Dayne's face annoyed her. "Look," she huffed loosing patience. "No one's going to hurt you and we're really not going to keep you any longer. I just- the tests…" and at the sheepish smile on her face Dayne only arched an incredulous eyebrow.

"You don't believe us." Gael cut in as he stood.

"Gael-." Faye frowned with a little shake of her head.

"It's alright." He assured before turning to Dayne. "I know how it sounds, how we must look. Some people aren't strong enough to deal with this part of life."

It was then Faye understood what he was doing but she still wasn't sure how pissing off Dayne was going to get her to accept what she saw was real.

"Excuse me?" Dayne stood as well.

"I didn't believe it either. Not at first." He admitted with a smile for Faye.

"He was the biggest non-believer!" she agreed grinning even though he scoffed. "Well you were, you tore up my lab."

"I did." he admitted sheepishly.

"All you did was yell at King." Faye laughed giving a little shake of her head. "Personally, I think it's about time someone outside of the cell did so, someone he can't make a pile of ash, anyway."

"He tends to annoy her." Gael explained at the confused look on Dayne.

"Annoy?" Faye scoffed.

"It's a bad idea." Abby snapped. "We move around a lot. What's going to happen when she can't go on a 'play date'?" she asked with a kick to the bag she followed it with a jab then an upper cut. "E-mail leaves a trail and we can't afford to be compromised."

"Abby." Faye sighed with a smile.

"I'm not talking about this anymore." Abby stepped away from the swinging bag and un-strapped the gloves. She walked off the mat to Faye's surprise, throwing the gloves aside and continued up the stairs to the bathroom. Faye knew there was something bothering Abby but the other woman kept everything bottled up. The only one she showed any tenderness to was Zoëy and maybe it worried her, maybe she thought Zoëy was starting to like the 'normal' life at Témoc's house. Faye was just happy Zoëy came back excited after an afternoon with the DeVega family.

Abby was angry but she was always angry these days and she didn't like it. Daystar should have worked, it was supposed to work and yet all they managed to do was bring about some sort of evolution for the suck heads so there were varieties.

"31 fucking flavors." She growled slamming her palms on the bathroom doors. Most of them resistant to sunlight which meant they were forced to decapitate them. At night there was no way to tell which ones died which way and that was dangerous. Sundogs and silver were still the best way to go.

Daystar.

It always came back to that. The useless virus they went to all the trouble of mixing with Drake's blood and he wasn't even dead. Killed the entire coroner's team as he escaped and now no one knew where he was. Ran to ground after killing everyone… Abby wanted him.

"And I'm going to get him." She vowed looking in the mirror.

NS

King tried to get some sleep as he tossed and turned on his bed. It was a full size and still not big enough for his huge frame. If he slept face down his feet dangled over the edge, if he slept on his back his arm usually hung over the edge as he flung it over his head. He didn't mind that so much except for the tingling in the offending limb as it fell asleep.

After an hour of sleeplessness, though he was tired, King gave up and got dressed. They were hunting a particularly nasty nest of suck heads in the down town area but before that they or rather he had to make a stop.

King walked out of his room hiding a yawn behind his hand. He turned into the kitchen where he found Zoëy already at the table eating a sandwich. She waved hello trying to swallow the food in her mouth.

"You ready?" he asked taking the pot of black coffee always kept full and smiled when he saw it was fresh brewed. He poured a large mug foregoing the sugar and milk he usually dumped in it. He knew he was going to need all the caffeine he could get to stay awake at least until the fighting started, that's when adrenaline kicked in.

"Uh-huh. I'm all ready, King." Zoëy nodded still smiling even though she hadn't managed to swallow all her food.

King couldn't help but smile at her excitement. He knew Abby was beyond pissed off but that meant the suck heads had a bigger problem than he did. King was hoping Abby worked out all her anger during the hunt because he wasn't looking forward to the drive back to the hide out with a pissed of Whistler.

Zoëy got up and dumped her plate in the sink and once she drank all the milk set the cup in there as well. King gave her a wink and watched her go out. He could hear her lugging her overnight bag and sighed when it thumped down the stairs. It wasn't long before there was no coffee in his cup. King glanced at the pot debating whether he should have a second when Reaper walked in. His blond hair was messy and smirking, King handed him a clean mug while the blond stifled a yawn.

"Morning sleeping beauty."

Reaper grunted acknowledgement taking the mug and flipping him the bird at the same time. King chuckled and set his mug in the sink pouring some water in it before heading out.

"You visiting your girl?" Reaper murmured raising the mug to his lips.

"Dropping off Zoëy." King answered ignoring the disbelieving chuckle behind him. The joke was getting old but the blond wasn't tired of it yet, especially when King decided to argue the point.

"Don't stay out too late. We got a hunt tonight." Reaper called out the door with another chuckle but there was no response. He could see why King liked her; physically she was very easy on the eyes. That long inky mane, the gold tinted skin, full lips and cat shaped eyes would draw anyone's admiring gaze and having her curves was never bad. She was small-petite really; small waist … yeah, he didn't doubt she got some cat calls on the street. Still, it wasn't just about her looks and Reaper had spent enough time around her kid to know she hadn't had much time to be happy lately. From the conversation-the only one he'd had with her- he learned she was an easy person to talk to. She listened attentively, replied in an honest voice when it was needed but mostly she just lent a comforting presence. Reaper felt comfortable around her and seeing her when King was around was more than entertaining. Those two managed to argue over everything and the fact that Dayne had still believed herself to be held captive only made her scathing comments that much funnier. He wondered if they'd have another 'polite conversation' this visit, it wouldn't be normal if they didn't argue.

King couldn't help thinking she didn't like him. That was fact. Dayne blamed him for all of it and though she was partially right King would've thought that after all his help in getting her back to normal would've counted for something. Then again she thought they'd kidnapped them, kept them locked up just because instead of for her own good.

'Don't forget you finally let her go. She should be licking your balls!' the sarcasm wasn't lost on him.

King sighed and wiped a hand over his face remembering the 'conversation' he'd had with Abby. Thinking about it and both women gave him a head ache.

"How long do you plan on keeping them?" Abby asked rounding the front of their latest SUV. She walked beside King matching his long strides as Reaper led the way up the stairs and towards the kitchen. The blond only had food on his mind after a hunt. King took his time answering making her wait until he'd set his gun down on Gael's work table. Abby left her bow but kept the revolver. She didn't like walking around unprotected even in their hide out, were they were supposed to be safe. He shook his head marginally thinking that had been their mistake, thinking they were safe any where…

"Faye's gonna run some tests." He sighed not bothering to look at his partner. There had been a time when he would've been right there, agreeing with her, following her lead but being grateful she'd saved his hide or given him back his life didn't mean he'd stopped thinking for himself. Not that he'd ever been a great thinking what with all the stunts he'd pulled. "Don't worry Whistler; she's not happy to be here either."

Abby pressed her lips together as if she'd tasted something sour and scowled at his back. What had happened to make him so… it didn't matter, none of them were the same. After Drake and everything that happened, the fact that Daystar failed to work properly… She was tiered, tired of going out and finding even more familiars, humans willing to put themselves under the fang. Why? Abby didn't understand, she didn't care to. They were traitors, deserters and they deserved to die just like any vampire. There were still to many of them and not enough NightStalkers to go around. They'd thought California had been cleaned up, all its vampires ashes and not a year later here they were again. Los Angeles, city of Angel's and King's bringing in strays…. Where had things gone wrong?

"Think she'll be nice" Reaper asked King as they neared the kitchen door and Abby stomped past them. The murmur of voices grew louder and the smell of food brought rumblings from both stomachs.

"Which one and to who?" King raised a sardonic eyebrow. He wasn't going to play referee to either woman and he was definitely not taking sides. That was always bad.

"I'm pretty sure I heard your girl's voice in there." Reaper ignored King's look and half open mouth. What ever he'd been about to say never came out which brought a smirk to the blonds mouth. "Why is it we always want what we're told we can't have?"

King let the blond go in first and stood in the hall wondering about that.

He stopped at the foot of the stairs debating whether he should say what he was thinking of saying or just letting it go and keeping his jewels intact. Abigail was obviously planning on joining them and the way she was dressed only meant one thing. In the end his family jewels were more important so he kept his mouth shut and strode towards the SUV. King went around to the driver side and got in. He completely ignored the sound of the passenger door closing as he started the engine. He ignored the fact that Whistler sat next to him in complete NightStalkers hunting gear a full three hours before they were supposed to hit the nest. Still… it didn't mean he wasn't curious and found himself glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes as he drove out of the maze and onto the freeway.

"You want to get us there alive, King." It was clearly an order though he decided to take it as a suggestion because it was just too early to get into an argument.

"So," King peered into the rearview mirror searching for Zoëy. "What do you have planned for tonight?"

Zoëy's face brightened, she was barely able to contain her excitement. "Témoc says its movie marathon night and we're going to stay up as late as we want. His Mom doesn't like scary movies so his uncle got us some cartoons." She made a face that clearly said she wasn't happy to be thought of as a little kid. After all that had happened to her King wondered about that…the being a kid part. "They have a bunch of board games too and he has an X-box and his uncle gave him a Playstation …"

The rest of the ride was punctuated by Zoëy and her weekend plans at the DeVega home.

NS

Dayne dropped the box watching as dust puffed off the lid. She let out a breath which blew inky strands out of her eyes wondering why she was going through all the trouble of looking in it but a mental image of the mouse Duque stuffed down her shirt-. Dayne shuddered blocking the image as she knelt tearing the lid away. She needed ammunition and she was going to find it. 'Mamá always kept the really embarrassing stuff extra safe.'

Dayne glanced over her shoulder checking the study door before diving back into the trove of humiliations clearly labeled 'Duque' in their Mother's hand. The scrolling letters were just as dark as the day she marked the box. Dayne remembered the beautiful chest that was ruined when the roof leaked. Thanks to the plastic wrapping and her Mother's foresight nothing inside was lost.

At first all she cared about were the embarrassing pictures but the albums contained too many images of her parents, younger than she remembered and happy. Her Mother's smiling face looked out at her from almost every picture. Her Father, the one usually behind the camera appeared sparingly though there were plenty of him with Duque napping. Those rare moments when her Mother would catch him with his first born...

Dayne couldn't help but sigh at the memories, Duque was four years older and though he had more memories of their parents when they were younger he'd left after graduation to join the Army leaving everyone behind. Mr. DeVega had been upset at first but soon realized his only son could die at any time. Peace was made quickly though acceptance came much later. Still, Dayne was the one home when their Mother died; she was the one home for the burial. Dayne was the one home dealing with their Father's mourning; she was there when he died and though she'd been alone for the wake Duque arrived the morning of the burial, finally there for one of their parents.

The sound of the door chimes jerked her out of the sad memories. She turned to the door ignoring the small pile of naked pictures and funky hair do's Duque had claimed were 'in style' at the time. She could hear the sound of running foot steps then Témoc's voice calling he'd get the door as she rose to her feet. Her eyes roamed down to the album still in her hands stopping on a picture of her Mother. She wasn't looking anywhere at the camera, her body was slightly turned away and it must've been a windy day because she had a hand raised to pluck dark strands out of her face. Something in the way she looked had Dayne's brow furrowed. She thought her Mother might look sad but- what had there been to be sad about?

"The door…" Dayne's head rose sharply turning to the study door. Témoc was answering the door. She was used to letting him get the door; he knew how to open it, what to do and had been doing it for the last two years…

But now it was different. Now there were things they had to watch out for.

'You mean vampires.'

Things that didn't care whether it was daylight or moonlight though that was hard to believe. Any thing King had told her was more than hard for her to believe and yet there she was, afraid to let her ten year old open a door alone.

The album dropped from her hand, it fell on the pile of pictures completely forgotten in her head long rush to get to the door before Témoc had a chance to let them in. She reached the study door grabbing the frame as she headed out into the hall.

"Témoc, no habrás." She ordered stepping out of the study. Her foot snagged on something and cursing she grabbed for the hall table to steady herself as she looked down. There, just beside the study door and the table was a neat coil of rope. Dayne scowled at her brother's 'tool' one of which he insisted on leaving all over the house. She dipped her toe in the loops intending on sliding the whole mess under the hall table where it couldn't trip any one up all the while muttering about throwing his 'tools' in the trash if he kept this up. She hated the small distraction and glancing towards the door saw Témoc glance out the side window as he began opening it.

The rope snapped tight, wrapping around her black boot and catching the hem of her dark jeans. It pulled, yanking her leg up and with a surprised yell Dayne grabbed for the hall table with both hands as her body was jerked out from under her. The table fell over, the vase of flowers shattered on the hall floor spilling water all over the marble tiles and still she screamed curse after curse at her brother's nasty trick.

'Oops, you fell for it again!'

NS

"Now," King began in his best fatherly tone of voice as he parked in Dayne's drive way. He turned to look at his passengers, the mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes ever present. "Don't forget to mind your manners and be polite."

Abby's eyes narrowed at what he implied but made no comment. She saw him wink at Zoëy before they all piled out of the SUV. Abby leaving behind her bow and arrows at Zoëy's request and covering the revolver strapped to her side with the hem of the thigh length jacket she wore. They walked up to the front door, Abby looking over her shoulder at the houses on either side and down the street. She felt the quiet press down on her and didn't like it; she didn't like the normalness of the neighborhood. The familiarity of the everyday life wasn't her reality any more and though the life she had now was much harder she preferred it because Abby didn't know how to go back to being…normal.

King grinned at Zoëy hefting her overnight bag on his shoulder as he rang the door bell. They heard the chime sound, its hollow tone echoing inside. He wondered if she'd changed it, Dayne, or if was the same sound her parents had picked out. He didn't think she was the type to try and erase the past even if all there was were sad memories.

'And how would you know? She could be a crazy ax murderer for all the time you've spent with her and still know jack shit about the woman.'

He sighed; there was no denying that Dayne hadn't given much information about herself, unlike Témoc who seemed to open up to Zoëy about his and his Mother's life.

'And that's why you're encouraging Zoëy to hang out with them. You want to know more. Aaw, aint that cute. King's got a crush on the little terror's Momma.'

King scowled looking up at the boards over his head that covered the front porch when the crash from inside had both he and Abby reaching for a weapon. He looked at Abby nodding once as the door opened a crack. Abby grabbed Zoëy quickly pushing her behind and turning until she knelt staring at Zoëy.

"Go back to the car and lock the doors." Abby ordered in a steady voice. Her green eyes bore into Zoëy and with a jerky nod the little girl began to obey. Leaving her stuff behind Zoëy scrambled over the porch railing with Abby's help and scurried off to the SUV where she sat on the floor with the doors locked. She didn't dare peek out the window and though she knew he was dead, because Abby and King had seen him die, the image of his stretching fingers made her shiver with dread at what might be happening inside Témoc's house.

Abby waited until the SUV door closed before turning to the front door and carefully inching her way inside. The revolver felt cool in her palm as she brought it to bear on the figures in the hallway. She noticed the kid standing behind King who stood in the center of the hall and though she couldn't see Dayne, Abby heard the womans throaty voice. The words were definitely not English but the meaning was evident in the tone. Some one had made Dayne very angry but only Témoc knew exactly how angry his Mother was just then.

King stood opened mouthed at the sight before him and though his eyes wandered over the image he was having trouble accepting that something like this could be done inside a house.

"I'm going to give him something to complain about. Lo juro por todos los santos que se arrepentirá! He's gonna have the shits for weeks! I'll give him diarrhea and make him clean his own damn toilet!" Dayne raged still swaying in the center of her hall way. She kept thrashing, her hands reaching to the wall but never touching it and then she'd try grabbing at the rope but that was too far as well. The rope around her ankle was looped through a winch cleverly placed on the beam going through the vaulted ceiling of the hallway. The end of the rope, which had been hidden behind the large in-house potted tree, had knocked it over and torn some of the thin branches off, scattering green leaves all over the hall floor.

Témoc finally looked towards the open door and seeing Abby lowering her gun moved to look out side. He frowned not seeing Zoëy and questioned Abby.

"She's in the car." He didn't wait for her to finish before he went to get her leaving all three adults to deal with the situation.

"So," King tried hard not to grin. "You hang around here often?"

Dayne gave him a murderous look and without warning reached a clawed hand which thankfully missed him. The movement had her swaying once more and with a snort of laughter which he cut short he helped steady her. "You wanna explain how you ended up like this?"

"You think this is funny?" Dayne growled slapping his hand away from her waist. She tugged on the hem of her t-shirt but once she let go, the dark red material just slithered down leaving her midriff bare. "My brother clearly thinks this funny. He thinks were fucking thirteen again!" her voice rose dangerously as she reached up to grab at her foot. Her fingers tried to pull on the knot but failed and dropping down again cursed once more.

King couldn't help being amused by the situation and clearly, playing practical jokes in this family was a hazard. He looked up, inspecting the rope around her ankle. "I can get this knot, hang out for a minute." He snorted back a laugh as he went around her to get a chair.

"I can get myself down." Dayne called to his back reaching up to her free leg and coming back down with a pocket knife. She swayed lazily still muttering curses under her breath as the blade snapped open in her hand. Dayne noticed the slightly arched eyebrow on Abby and shrugged. "With my brother home I have to be prepared."

Abby made no reply and watched as Dayne reached up once more. She easily grabbed the rope above her foot and pulled herself up higher as Témoc and Zoëy came inside. Abby noticed the little boy was carrying Zoëy's overnight bag which he easily set inside the living room. Zoëy's face was pale as she glanced wide eyed at the sight of Dayne hanging from her ceiling cutting a rope.

"My uncle's been playing tricks on her." Témoc whispered as he stood between Zoëy and Abby. "They've been going back and forth non-stop but this one's the best so far." He shook his head watching as King set the kitchen chair beside Dayne and began to step up. "I don't know how my Mom's going to top it…"

"I said I could do it on my own." Dayne growled feeling the rope loosen just as King's hand splayed on her back.

"You're one stubborn woman." King complained pushing her up as he stepped onto the chair. "Why can't you just let me hel-!"

"Let g-ah!" Dayne felt the rope break and the sudden release dropped her onto King who wasn't completely steady on his feet or the chair. Her legs dropped down swinging her forward which had King let her go would have made for a safe landing. As it was, King clutched at her waist with his left arm while reaching for the wall to keep himself upright. Unlike other houses, the hallway in Dayne's house was wide enough three people could walk side by side and that made the wall a lot farther away than King's long arm could reach.

With a curse and yell both went down with Dayne slamming her left knee into the marble tiles. She managed to keep hold of the switchblade which she held as far away from both of their bodies as her short arm would allow. Pain lanced through her knee and taking a sharp breath she momentarily clung to King, wrapping her fingers in his shirt and pulling him close so her face was hidden in the black material.

King was completely unprepared for the 'hug' though quickly realized from the hiss of breath coming from the feisty brunette that it was a pained reaction. Still, he had to hide the pleased smile though he did lean into her on the pretext of trying to get up. His nose came close to the top of her head but the inky locks were pulled in a braid, still, he caught the light scent of her.

'The same one. She's wearing the same perfume.' It gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach but then she was pushing out of his arm and rolling onto her side to sit up. King pushed up as well, easily getting to his feet and offering a hand to her.

Dayne stared at the hand for a moment feeling the numbness start to leave and be replaced by a hot wave of pain coursing through her knee. Did she really want to stand up all on her own? Did she want to have any more contact with him? Out of the two, having to hold King's hand for a moment was bearable, more so than trying to get up on her own and she didn't want them to see her in pain and looking like a fool as she tried to get on her feet by herself.

King began to think she wasn't going to accept his help when she slipped her small hand into his. He twitched involuntarily at the feel of her soft skin, smooth and warm in his and covered it by pulling her up quickly. She didn't even stumble though Dayne never moved from her spot in the center of the hallway.

"Thank you." She said softly. King glanced at her sharply wondering if she'd hit her head as well because that was the first nice thing she'd said to him.

Dayne felt her face heat slightly and looked to Abby but the woman made no comment just stood there taking in the situation and somehow Dayne couldn't help thinking she was amused by the scene. In reality she guessed it would be funny but this time Duque had gone a bit far. Who set an outdoor trap inside a house? She had to admit it was a bit on the brilliant side because she hadn't been expecting it but then she hadn't been expecting the huge hairy spider inside the pot she'd been about to use to cook. Dayne smiled evilly at the memory of Duque slapping at his back to get the mouse she'd shoved down his shirt out. He hadn't been expecting that either then the smile turned to a scowl as she remembered the snake he'd hidden in her bed. That had been a big fight; if there was anything Dayne feared more than spiders it was snakes. She hated snakes, couldn't stand them and Duque had kept both as pets when they were younger.

"So…" King glanced up at the beam then at Dayne unable to hide the grin. "Now that you're done hanging around-."

"Not funny." Dayne growled feeling the throbbing in her knee become an insistent pulse of pain.

"Of course not." King snickered trying to hide his laugh. "But we really have t-."

Suddenly her hand shot forward and the switch blade glinted in the thin beams of light coming through the window. Abby instinctively pulled out her gun aiming for Dayne but the woman was glaring at the upper corner of the hall.

"Fuck dick!" she hissed under her breath while King arched an eyebrow at her choice of words.

"You know…" he began only to receive a glare from Dayne. It was as if she knew what he was about to say not that it was difficult to know what King would reply to something like that. Abby snorted and holstered her weapon again.

"I - will - hurt - you." She said softly sounding each word distinctly, her brown eyes flashing with the green flecks. Her arm rose, a finger pointing at her knife stuck in the wall. "He put up a fucking spy cam to catch the show."

King looked to where she pointed and sure enough there were the remains of a small camera practically hidden in the shadowy corner.

"Some day you're gonna have to tell me how this started." King replied with a slightly arched eyebrow as he turned to her.

NS

AN: Sorry for the delay but life interfered and work not to mention work did I mention work got in the way?

So now that I'm back and posting can I get some input here? Any one have an opinion?

And I know, outdoor trap inside a house… hey I needed her to fall and tripping over something was just so cliché and done and I started thinking: what else could I do to her? Hmmm… A trap! And Duque is military trained… and just so it kinda made sense I got them playing tricks on each other. I want to do more of those but am short on anecdotes so does any one have a particularly interesting prank they've pulled or had played on them? I'd love to write one in plus you'd get credit for it. Drop me a line.