General warning that I am nearing the end of what I have pre-written. I'll gladly write more, but I need to know people are interested. If you truly are interested in reading more please let me know soon and I will continue to update, otherwise I'll discontinue the story (No point in writing to an empty crowd.)

Chapter 10

"Come on," Jedikiah blurted out after a minute of awkward silence. "Everyone else has left already and John's report can wait until the morning. Let's clock out and I'm going to take you out for dinner."

Wait, what? "Dinner?"

"Yes, dinner," Jedikiah laughed as if my reaction was an Adam Sandler movie. "I'd like to learn something about my daughter that doesn't come from a report."

It was a reasonable enough request, yet the idea still freaked me out. Sure, I'd accepted Jedikiah's blood ran through my veins, but going out for dinner with him meant accepting that he wasn't just my father but my dad also. "My mom's probably going to be worried about me. I haven't exactly found a good way of explaining…this. She just thinks I'm in the school play and we have really long practices. I should be getting home though…she'll be worried."

"Check your phone. A girl went missing in Central Park earlier and I'd bet your mom volunteered for the case," Jedikiah told me swiping the card to punch us out. "Come on," he prompted when I didn't move.

Giving him a very teenage look, I pulled out my phone and sure enough, there was a text from my mom saying she wouldn't be home until late. "How did you know she'd be taking that case? Girls go missing all the time it's New York City."

"Fifteen, blond hair, blue eyes," Jedikiah recited and I wondered where he got the information. "She reminded me of you as well. If course your mom would take it. Now what kind of food do you like? Italian? Mexican? Chinese?

"Mexican sounds good," I warily told him practically running to keep up. (When will people realize that being a foot taller means they have longer legs that make them move faster?)

Jedikiah scowled, "I hate Mexican. Let's go Chinese."

Chuckling I shrugged. Whatever. I wasn't about to fight him over what restaurant we were going to. I was still too surprised that we were going to any restaurant at all. Jedikiah hailed us a taxi, and I realized that I wasn't getting the look. Usually people's eyes would follow me and my mom whenever we were together because they just couldn't see how someone so dark could give birth to me. I guess it made sense now that I knew I hadn't just had an Irish father and she really hadn't given birth to me. Still, it was weird to realize that no one would question our relationship because I actually looked like my dad.

Well, I could have had worse genes.

"So…" Jedikiah asked dumping a dumpling into his duck sauce. "What's school like?"

A perfectly normal question from a perfectly abnormal father to a paranormal daughter. How had my life become so insane so quickly? "Um, good, I guess. I'm in all AP classes except for English and Math so I guess I have a lot of work but at the same time I guess I don't…"

Jedikiah nodded. "Do you ever cheat in class? I mean you could easily get the answers…"

So much for our normal conversation, "I have once or twice." What was the point lying? "But I don't like that. I guess I figure I convinced them to let me skip grades twice, I should thrive on my own merit. Plus, when I actually need to know the information is when there won't be someone around who already knows it."

"You're a good kid Kaia. Truly a good kid which is why… why I'm going to mark you off as having the procedure tomorrow when you won't." Procedure? Oh, he meant the serum that would make me able to kill. "I hate the idea of you getting hurt because you couldn't defend yourself, but unless you really want it."

Did I want to be a possible weapon? No way. "No…thank you Jedikiah."

I could practically hear him crunch his words with the spring roll before he replied, "You can call me dad…if you want."

"Um well."

"Or not," he quickly answered looking relieved. "Jedikiah or Jed is just as good."

"Jedikiah," I told him smiling weakly. "Jedikiah is good." As the silence stretched between us again, I began to regret both this dinner and getting lo mein. He didn't seem like a bad man, no matter what I'd been told about him, but we didn't really know each other. We didn't know each other at all. What were we supposed to talk about, our jobs?

Jedikiah seemed to feel the same way, and I wondered if he even had a life outside his work. In all this time it sounded like he'd had two girlfriends, and neither could have lasted long when he was supposed to be studying, not dating, them. "June."

"What's in June?" he asked looking into my matching eyes.

"Not in June. That's her name. Your daughter…my sister. June." He deserves to know her name, even if we both knew they would probably never meet. Hopefully would never meet.

Even Jedikiah's sadness showed he didn't expect to get to know her, "That's a beautiful name. Morgan will be a good mother… and you a good sister."

Me, a sister? "She lives at Ultra. I don't imagine it would go over well with me going to visit her."

"Technically, we're not at war with the Tomorrow People yet. It would probably be good for you to go there, show them that we do want peace."

Peace. So long as everyone wasn't exactly the same I doubted we'd be getting that. "You want peace. The DOD wants them all to become killer agents."

"Maybe working with the DOD is in their best interest," Jedikiah hissed and I wondered just who he was trying to convince. "Because working against them will only lead to more deaths."

I should never have gone out to dinner with Jedikiah, even if he was my father. He had only one world, the world of paranormals, and I needed some time away from my newfound identity. "Thanks for the food," I told him throwing on my coat. "But I have a lot of homework to do. I can get myself home."

Jedikiah looked frustrated with himself, but he sighed and didn't try to stop me from going. "I'll see you tomorrow Kaia. Just, if you see Stephen, remind him that he is my family and just as I'm protecting you I will protect him…and Luca when he breaks out."

Now that stopped me in my tracks. "When?"

"He's a synergist, like Stephen, like you," Jedikiah shrugged throwing a bill on the table. "We don't know how this gene expresses himself, but we know it does. He's 16 and I can guarantee before the year is out he'll have powers of his own."

I didn't need to, but I looked down at my phone anyways. December 13th. "What do you know?" I asked him with squinted eyebrows. If there was something about Luca…something that could help him.

"It's just a feeling," Jedikiah obviously lied. "Truly Kaia, how could I predict Luca breaking out? If I had that ability, my job would be much easier. Now go, do your homework. I'll see you at three tomorrow."

And tomorrow I'd get answers for my best friend.