Can't Keep Hiding

Another three months had gone by and the team had managed to keep Tobias from going after Visser Three. It was also getting harder for Rachel to hide her pregnancy from her family. Stomach was growing rapidly by the day. She was sitting at a table in the arcade, Cassie and Ax on either side of her.

"Are you going to eat that french fry?" Ax asked. Rachel glared at him, taking the fry and popping it into her mouth.

"Go buy your own," she snapped irritably. She was in a bad mood today and she didn't know why.

"Rachel," Cassie hissed.

"What?" she muttered.

"You don't have to be snappy. We get that you're in a bad mood today," Cassie explained.

"You would be too if you looked like a whale," she grumbled.

"Rachel, whales do not look like you do," Ax commented.

"It's just an expression, Ax," Cassie sighed.

"Where are Jake and Marco?" Ax questioned after a few minutes of silence.

Out in the woods, Jake and Marco were following Tobias at a distance. They knew his anger was just festering below the surface and they wanted to make sure that he didn't do something they'd all regret. They passed several tree with bullets lodged in them.

"I think he's officially gone crazy," Marco whispered.

"He was crazy long before now," Jake muttered. Tobias was up ahead a few yards, standing in a clearing. He reached behind him, pulling a gun out from under his jacket. Jake started to move forward when Marco stopped him.

"We don't want to scare him. We'd probably end up with a bullet to the brain," Marco hissed.

"Well we can't just let him do this...it's not safe...for anyone," Jake whispered back. Tobias stopped what he was doing, turning around. In a matter of steps he was face-to-face with Jake and Marco.

"What are you two doing? Following me?" he asked.

"We're just worried about you, dude. You've kind of been a little...trigger happy lately," Marco answered nervously.

"That psychopath kidnaped my girlfriend and could have done God knows what to her. I think I have a right to be a little pissed off," Tobias spat.

"No...a little pissed off would be punching walls. You've moved beyond a little pissed off and gone straight to homicidal," Jake retorted.

"So we have a dead Controller. What's the big deal?" Tobias asked.

"He does have a point," Marco whispered.

"But Elfangor didn't give us this power to go around killing people, innocent or otherwise," Jake stated.

"He gave us the power to stop the Yeerks and if that means leaving a few dead bodies along the way then so be it," Tobias spat.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Jake sighed, starting to pull Marco away. They glanced over their shoulders to see Tobias walking back into the clearing. They ran as fast as they could to the arcade, knowing they were late.

"There you guys are," Cassie called, waving them over.

"Sorry we're late," Jake apologized as Marco went to get them smoothies.

"Where's Tobias?" Rachel asked.

"He uh...was busy," Jake answered.

"Busy...doing what? Killing mice?" she snorted.

"No but I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up killing something," Jake muttered under his breath.

"Bird-boy needs to just relax," Marco grumbled.

"Guys, what's going on?" Rachel demanded.

"Let's just say, he's been using the woods as his personal target range," Jake muttered.

"You should really talk to him, Rach. Before he hurts someone," Marco interjected.

Rachel just eyed her friends nervously. What the hell was Tobias up to? She knew he was still angry about what Visser Three had tried to do to her but it was months ago. And she was alright.

"I'll talk to him," she finally sighed. They finished their smoothies in silence, all lost in their own thoughts. Rachel's hands rested on her ever-growing belly. She knew she needed to tell her family but she was scared that her mom would freak out. After what felt like an eternity, they left the arcade, heading their separate ways. Rachel headed in the direction of the woods, following the path Jake and Marco had taken earlier. Sure enough she found Tobias in the clearing.

"Tobias," she called out, not wanting to startle him. He turned around, looking angry but his features softened when he realized who it was.

"Hey," he called, jogging towards her. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.

"You look beautiful," he whispered against her hair.

"I look like a whale," she complained. Tobias just shook his head. He bent down, lifting up her shirt and kissed her stomach. She felt a shiver run up her spine as his lips brushed against her skin.

"Kiss me," she begged suddenly, tugging on the collar of his jacket. He rose, pressing his lips to hers as requested. She let her hands roam over his back, slowing heading towards the waistline of his jeans. He didn't seem to notice her roaming hands, not at first. AS she found the gun tucked between the material he stopped, pulling her hand away.

"Leave it," he breathed.

"You're going to hurt someone. I don't want my child to grow up knowing it's father killed another person," she said sharply.

"Visser Three isn't a person, Rachel. He's a disgusting slug infested alien. There's a difference," he spat.

"But what about all the human Controllers. They're people...are you going to kill them too?" she shot.

'I'm just doing what my father asked me to do. I'm saving the fucking world from an alien invasion. What more do you want from me?" he snapped.

"I want you to let all this anger go. I want to be able to fall asleep in your arms every night. Damn it, I just want you," she whimpered, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes He immediately pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head.

"I want to be there for you every single minute of every single day but I can't. Not until I stop him. He already murdered my father. And he tried to rape you. I'm through letting him screw with my family," he whispered, his tone determined.

"Let us help you. We can take him down together," she breathed, looking up and kissing him.

"I'm sorry but this is something I need to do alone," he murmured. They fell into silence, just clinging to each other. Finally Rachel pulled away.

"Shouldn't you morph soon?" she asked, wiping at her eyes. He gave her a half smirk and returned to his hawk form.

"There's something I need you to do for me," she continued, running her fingers over his feathers.

What? Tobias questioned in thought-speech.

"I need you to come with me tonight...to be there when I tell my mom and sister that I'm pregnant," she answered.

I'll be there, he promised, letting out a squawk.

Rachel slowly headed for home, Tobias still perched on her arm. She reached her house and Tobias took off. She watched him go and just headed into the house, hoping she could avoid her family until she was ready. To her surprise when she got into her room she found Cassie and the others.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"While you were walking back, Tobias told us you are telling your family tonight. We thought we'd be here for moral support," Cassie explained. Just then Tobias flew in, morphing mid flight and landed on her bed. He reached out his hand, pulling Rachel to him.

"Thank you," she breathed, resting her head on his chest. He was about to answer when the room suddenly froze, a familiar holographic figure appearing before them.