Chapter 11: Hard Road

Jay sighed as he got up the next morning and headed downstairs. He saw Bray standing in the lobby with Brady in his arms. "What are you doing here?" He asked. Bray looked up at him.

"I came to see my niece is that a problem?" He asked.

"Depends are you here to arrest me again?"

Brady pulled at Bray's cloak with a smile. "Come on, Brady, let's go play," Trudy suggested. She took Brady into her arms and walked away.

"How's Amber?" Bray asked.

"She's fine," Jay replied.

"The child?"

"There is no child anymore. She miscarried when she fell on the stairs."

Jay sighed and he ran his fingers through his short hair. "I'm going to go get some work done," he muttered. He turned and he left the lobby.

Amber sat up with a sigh and she tilted her head back against the headboard. "Hey, Amber," Bray greeted. Amber lifted her head to see Bray standing in the doorway. "I see you…let your hair down again," he commented. Amber smiled.

"Yeah, my head was starting to ache with being sick and all," she answered.

"Yeah, yeah, Jay told me are you okay?"

"I lost my baby, Bray…I fell down the damn stairs and lost my baby do you really think I'm okay?"

"Right, stupid question."

Amber felt a lump swell up in her throat. "I couldn't wait to have that baby, I really couldn't wait," she murmured. Bray nodded his head slowly. "I wanted Jay's baby. I love Jay and he's done so much for me, the least I could do was give him a baby," she murmured.

"Amber, you've done so much for him too it seems," he answered.

She let out a sigh. "I could always count on you, Bray," she commented. She looked up to see that they were close together. She placed her hand up in front of him before he could lean forward to kiss her. "We can't, Bray," she murmured.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I'm not in love with you anymore."

"You can't be in love with Jay."

"Why not?"

"He's a Techno!"

Amber leaned back against the headboard. "He gave up the Technos," she answered.

"Only to get into bed with you," he told her.

Amber reached out and she smacked him. "Don't you ever talk about Jay like that ever again! Ever!" She hissed. Bray rubbed the sore spot on his cheek.

"How could you love someone like him?" He asked.

"He's done a lot for me. It was easy to fall in love with him."

Bray stared at her in shock. "Bray…I think you should go," she murmured. She turned on her side, having her back facing him.

"Amber…" he started.

"Just go…please…"

Bray got up and he left the room. Jay came back in and he saw Amber having her back facing the door. "Amber, are you okay?" He asked.

"No," she replied.

Jay heard a sob wanting to escape her throat and he sat next to her on the bed. "Hey, what happened?" He asked. He ran his hand over her back.

"Bray…" she replied.

"Bray? What did he do?"

Amber let out a sob. "What happened?" He asked.

"He almost kissed me," she replied.

Jay stood up from the bed. "He what?" He asked. He then stormed out of the room before Amber could repeat herself.

(The Lobby)

Bray was about to leave when someone tackled him from behind. "JAY!" Trudy shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Lex shouted.

Jay and Bray started rolling around on the floor throwing punches at each other. Lex grabbed onto Jay, pulling him off Bray and Jack grabbed onto Bray. "What the hell are you doing?" Lex snapped. Jay tried shaking Lex off him to go at Bray again.

"You tried taking my girlfriend you son of a bitch!" Jay snapped.

"She was my girlfriend to begin with!" Bray snapped back.

"Damn it, Lex, let me go so I can beat the shit out of him!"

Lex kept a grip on his arms. "Jay knock it off!" He snapped. Jay tried to get out of Lex's grasp again, but then he gave up.

"You just hate the thought that Amber loves me now and not you!" Jay hissed.

"Techno scum!" Bray snapped.

Jay glared at him. "You hate the thought that maybe I'd want to have a future with Amber. I've gotten really close so far, why not go all the way?" Jay taunted. Bray froze when he realized what Jay meant.

"You wouldn't…" Bray trailed off.

"I would've asked her already, but then you popped up," Jay answered.

"Amber's mine!"

"Amber's not property!"

Bray broke out of Jack's grasp and he ran at Jay. Jay was able to push Lex back and he took Bray on head on. Bray threw Jay up against a wall and the others didn't know what else to do, but to watch as the two of them beat the hell out of each other.

Amber sat up when she heard all the commotion downstairs. She didn't care that she had a "condition", she slowly got up, pulled on her pants and boots, and she went to see what was going on.

She stood out on the balcony and she saw the two of them fist fighting on the floor. "Bloody hell!" She gasped. She ran back into the room.

Jay kicked Bray off him and when Bray went to tackle him to the floor again, a zapper blast landed in between them. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Amber shouted. Jay slowly stood up from the floor, holding his sore side.

"Amber you shouldn't be out of bed," Trudy commented.

Amber held onto the railing as she walked down the stairs with the zapper raised. "You two stop acting like children! We've got children for crying out loud!" She snapped. She held her stomach feeling a little achy from the miscarriage. "And Jay! You have a five-year-old son who looks up to you, you're supposed to set a good example for him!" She snapped. David was hiding behind Ruby during the entire fight. Ruby sighed as she picked David up and had the boy sitting on her side. "Just walk away, Jay, walk away," she insisted. Jay sighed as he limped upstairs.

That night, Amber was kneeled on the bed with a rag in her hand, dabbing the cut above Jay's eyebrow. "What were you thinking huh?" She asked. Jay sighed and he winced slightly.

"I was thinking…that I was going to lose you to him," he replied.

"Jay…"

She placed her hand on his good cheek and she had him face her. "Why do you think you're going to lose me?" She asked.

"Because…" he trailed off.

"Hey, just because he fathered little Bray, doesn't mean I'd want to be with him again."

She kissed him gently, aware of the cut on his lip. Jay kissed her back and he placed his hand on the side of her face. He pulled back slightly. "Maybe I should get rid of the Techno uniform and emblem," he commented.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because it's not who I am," he replied.

Amber sighed as she laid down and she pulled him with her. Jay wrapped his arm around her waist and he placed his head on her shoulder. "I love you," he murmured. Amber smiled.

"I love you too," she answered.

(Three Days Later)

Amber came downstairs and she looked around. "Have you guys seen Jay?" She asked.

"Not since this morning," Trudy replied.

Amber sighed as she went to find her boyfriend. She went outside and she saw David running up to her. "Mummy! Come see, come see!" He told her. He grabbed her hand and led her towards one side of the hotel. Amber stopped and a smile came across her face.

"What do you think?" Jay asked.

Jay had washed the emblem from his forehead. He was still wearing his black boots, but he was wearing torn up blue jeans, a black shirt, and a jean jacket.

"Jay…" she trailed off. She walked over and she placed her hands on his face.

"Looks different huh?" He asked.

"Very different, but I like it. Where did you get these?"

Jay looked at the clothes he was wearing. "Well, a big city, but doesn't mean all the clothes are gone," he replied. Amber smiled and she hugged him gently.

"You look great," she commented.

Jay hugged her back with a smile.

That night, everyone was gathered around in the sitting area of the hotel when Lottie came running in. "Bray's here! He's hurt!" She exclaimed. They got up and they ran over to the lobby.

Bray collapsed to the floor in pain. "Bray!" Amber gasped. She ran over and she turned him on his back. Jay was kneeled next to Amber, looking at Bray's injuries.

"Almost didn't recognize you without your Techno stuff," Bray commented.

"What happened to you?" Jay asked.

"They're here…"

Amber looked at Bray with a quizzical look. "Who? Who's here?" She asked.

"T--The Predator Tribe…they're here," he replied.

"Who are they?" Ruby asked.

Amber helped Bray sit up. "Salene could you get him some water?" She asked.

"Yeah," Salene replied.

"Who are the Predators?" Trudy asked.

"They're worse than the Demon Dogz, Locos, and Technos combined," Bray replied.

Salene brought some water over. "What happened to your tribe?" Ebony asked.

"Either captured or killed. They take the girls and the kids, they kill the guys," he replied.

Bray winced and Jay felt his heart stop. "Ved…" he trailed off. Amber watched as Jay got up and he ran out the door.

"JAY!" She shouted.