A/N: Enjoy!

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After five days of laying around on the couch, Laura was beginning to tire of her endless boredom. The living room of the dusty, ramshackle house Laura's mind had titled Lizard's home-although she supposed in some sick and twisted parody of domestic bliss, it was also her home now-gave forth nothing to help end her idleness, past watching the peeling and faded wallpaper flutter in what little breeze managed to escape through the cracks in the rotting wood. Her sore leg and battered ribs meant that she did not make the trek up the creaky and equally rotten steps to their shared sleeping space. Instead, Laura slumbered on the wizened old couch, more sand and creaking springs than comfy plush anymore, while Lizard took to stalking through out the night as he had done before he had the warm flesh of a woman warming his bed. He told her he was on the lookout for more suitable food for her well-being; Laura figured the large buck shotgun he had strung over his elbow constantly now was more suitable hunting down larger prey than for hunting hares.

One day Big Mama, perhaps sensing the girl's sullen mood, stopped in one morning towards the end of Laura's first week as an infirm. She was busy that day, she told Laura, and was wondering if the girl could watch the twins for a few hours while she tended to Big Brain, who apparently had a bed sore festering on his side that needed looking at. Laura suspected that the moment Mama returned to her house, the television would be switched on and her feet propped up, but the girl was truly thankful for the woman's attempt at alleviating her boredom. She agreed without hesitation, and soon found her arms full with the swaddled babes. Mama would be back to get them in time for their meal. Laura merely nodded, mesmerized as usual by the tiny life forms.

The twins proved to be surprisingly good company. They were too small to talk, had barely even begun to move their hands and feet with much consciousness, but Laura found herself in conversation with them anyway. She described the outside world as best as she could remember it; what Oregon had been like, her job, her old house (she listed off everything contained in her bedroom by memory), even her old family, as painful and touchy subject she found it to be. To be fair, Laura had found her birth family a touchy subject long before she had been adopted by the desert Family.

She had come from the typical broken family that seemed to be just as in style as quickie marriages and pre-nups. Her parents had divorced by the time she was seven years of age, and not long after her mother, a charming woman with a penchant for mixing painkillers and endless bottles of wine, had fled her abusive husband and moved back into her parents house in northern Utah. Laura's father, a man who had for most of her young life been absent (and when he became involved, it had never been a good thing), took to moving Laura and her younger brother around the entire state of Oregon for the years to come.

Laura had been to six different public schools, had spent a semester in a private school before being expelled for fighting with a senior girl, and had seen her father marry three times over. Laura left home the summer following her high school graduation, rented a small room with three other students, and began working her way through life with the grim acknowledgement that she would most likely marry Gord (her boyfriend of many years and only real constant figure in her life), work a dead-end nine to five job, and have a few kids in her later years, when out of necessity, she was forced to finally settle down and nest.

When Laura had left Oregon behind to travel with Gord, his sister and sister's boyfriend, her father had already been divorced again twice, and living with his fourth wife and her family (once, rather callously, called her Father's Other Family by her wretched old grandmother), while her sixteen year old brother had somehow managed to weasel his way back into their mother's life, and was living with her in Utah. Laura had thought it would be a nice break from the norm, even if she was nervous about meeting Gord's extended family. Of course, crashing and proceeding to spend the rest of her life with a clan of cannibalistic mutants in the New Mexican desert had not been on her list of Things To Do.

Given this choice over returning home, though, Laura was perfectly content.

Besides, she gained a perverse pleasure from knowing that her parents were, hopefully, stricken with grief and misery over the lost of their only biological daughter. It was her first real chance in life to hurt them, and even though she was unable to see the consequences first hand, the girl found she liked it.

She realized Lizard was gaining an influence on her. She suddenly had a vision of the school counselors office where she had spent a large amount of her time during her school years, or rather of which time she had attended classes, and wondered idly just how many books the crooked nosed counselor, who had grease stained wire frames and a terrible nervous habit of biting his fingernails, could fill after one session with the new and improved Laura. The Laura that now partook in the most basic of survival mannerisms, both in scavenging from the long deceased, and in bedding a monster-the monster-who not only asked these things of her, but encouraged her cruelty and subjugation beneath him.

"Not that you really care, huh?" She muttered, playing with Venus' tiny hand.

The baby girl cooed slightly, hand squeezing on the first finger she could find. Next to her, settled in Laura's lap, Mercury stared solemnly with his bottomless black eyes. Laura smiled, reaching out and tapping the boy on the tip of his nose. In response, he crinkled it and flapped one pudgy hand in amusement. He was still struggling with the concept of smiling, something Venus had picked up by her fifth week of life. Both were still tiny at the age of ten weeks, so much so that Laura wondered if the same parents that had conceived Pluto had truly also done so for the twins, however it seemed that Mercury was going to be more sickly than his big sister. It made Laura's heart clench in such a way that it traveled to the pit of her stomach, and there she wrestled with feelings of both elation and wanting, that combined to make her feel sick and feverish.

The addition of the twins had wrought changes in the Family. She knew that it would be silly to think such a thing odd, seeing as Jupiter and Mama had several children previous to the birth of the twins, but it was heart warming nonetheless.

In light of his clan's newest editions, Jupiter had become unrecognisably tender. She had seen him walk by some days, while she lay unmoving on the couch, one of the twins tucked safely in his arm and Ruby walking along side him, one hand twisted in the folds of his coat. This was a different Jupiter to the one Laura was used to dealing with. He treated his son's differently than his daughter, and now the twins, encouraging in them their cruelty and strength. With Ruby, Papa Jupe had taken a completely opposite approach. To say she was his favourite child was an understatement. He found her shyness and disdain for the Family's way of life endearing, going so far as to treat her as though she were a glass doll; she was the one who could always wrangle a hug out of the elder, or perhaps a piggy-back ride if he were in a particularly good mood. Once, Laura had watched from Mama's living room as Ruby paraded around the Test Village in an old fifties house dress, hat and gloves included, until Jupiter had come upon her and he scooped her up, the tiny and twisted girl squealing in delight, and twirled her around so that the hem of the dress billowed magnificently. He gave just as much affection to the twins, often holding one (both, if he could manage) while rocking on his porch.

Mama shone in her role of mother and caregiver. The woman still enjoyed her afternoon soaps and other mindless things, but her babies where at the forefront of her mind and actions, constantly. They were well groomed, clean and well fed. Neither were very fussy, but at the slightest peep, Mama was there to soothe them, rock them, coddle them as she saw fit. Ruby, the always present helper, was her shadow.

Even the three eldest boys settled down when near. Lizard remained grouchy, as he was wont to do, but never argued for long if one of the little ones was passed into his arms, instead taking to muttering under his breath and shooting Laura heated and promising looks. Goggle, who usually spent most of his time out in the desert, began returning home for his meals as though an excuse to watch his younger siblings. And Pluto took to standing over their crib, a makeshift wooden contraption, and cooing down at them, grinning and making faces, seemingly just as enthralled with them as the twins were with him.

In fact, if Laura were honest with herself, it was she that was out of place when the babies arrived. Each family member had a role to play, new duties to see to, and Laura had none. She played babysitter once in a while, but more often than not would simply wait to steal one of the babes away and sit for hours in contemplation with them. And now, bruised and battered and useless, she saw little of them.

It was with a heavy heart that Laura passed Venus and Mercury back to Big Mama when she returned that day. The older woman seemed to understand the girl's want and gave her an affectionate pat on the head, mindful of her scrapes and lumps. Still, when she left leaving Laura once again to stare at the wall paper, the girl made a feverish wish for her own child. Twisted and formed by the sands of the desert and the creatures that slumbered below the heat such a child would spring from, Laura's very being still ached for that small creature of her own.

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By her second week of inhabiting the couch, Laura made up her mind that she was going to move about, goddammit, regardless of what anyone thought.

It resulted in a yelling match between Lizard and the girl, the latter winning by default-she had managed to silence him with a well timed. albeit sloppy kiss and teasing graze of her palm to the front of his dusty pants-but at least she was able to try.

It was quite the attempt. Lizard, apparently miffed that Laura should go against his wishes, declined helping the girl much past getting her to her feet. He stepped back, leaving her wobbling like a newborn colt. The swelling in her knee had gone down significantly, but she was now faced with tight and sore muscles, muscles that had not been used for a near fourteen full days. With a shriek, arms flailing in attempt to gain balance, she toppled back to the couch with a grunt. Lizard grinned.

"C'mon," Laura whined. "Just help me out."

Lizard shook his head.

"C'mon!"

"No."

Laura told him off under her breath, before gathering herself for another attempt. This time, she was successful in gaining balance and, throwing a smirk at Lizard, began hobbling towards the front door. She reached the door frame and leaned against it, huffing and puffing. Her left leg, the one that had come away unscathed from the fall, was tingling as the blood flow returned in response to physical movement.

"Fuck me," She breathed.

"Ain't you a sight," Her partner teased.

"Fuck you, too."

Lizard walked over and opened the door for her, arching an eyebrow made grimy by perspiration and sand in such a way that his torn lip rode even higher. In the past, the girl's stomach would have rolled in revulsion; however it was now both an endearing yet endlessly annoying quirk. When she did not move, he gave her a nudge.

"I'm going, I'm going," She snapped.

She made it as far as the bench that was tucked up to the side of the house before she collapsed and titled herself victorious for the day. Her lower back was aching now, and her left leg itched, blotched red as blood vessels bloomed beneath her skin. Her right knee gave a twinge of pain as she stretched it out.

"Ought'a shoot you," Lizard grinned.

"Then it just be you and your left hand, Lizard-boy."

He gave a small snarl, stalking in that certain manner that was just...Lizard, and moved over to sit next to her. He allowed her to slump next to him, something she was grateful for. They were silent for a moment, the girl's breathing evening out.

"Hades came round," Lizard spoke out of the blue.

"Oh?" Laura said. "When?"

"Few days ago."

Laura wondered why he hadn't told her sooner.

"What he say?"

Lizard gave her a once over, as though trying to judge if she could handle what he was going to say. He sighed and picked absentmindedly at his scarred cheek.

"Wondered what the hell I was doin' wit' you." The pair were silent as Goggle went loping by, coming home for his lunch. "Wasn't happy, tell you that much. Thought I was mad."

"What did you say?"

Again he glanced at her, "Told him the truth. Said you were mine, ain't no matter."

Laura nibbled at her lip, frowning as she watched the man scuff his heavy work boots on the wooden planks beneath. "Bet he wasn't pleased with that."

Lizard laughed, "Hades ain't never pleased wit' nothing. Said I ought'a tie you up and have you whelp, then be done wit' you."

"And?" The girl pressed. Lizard turned his shockingly blue eyes on her, narrowed in his usual sign of dominance, and Laura once again marveled at the concealed intelligence and purpose that lingered in them. A shiver raised goosebumps on her flesh, even though no breezed stirred under the hot midday sun.

"Didn' understand why I kept you here, free and what not. They don' let their women like so, 'less they born to them."

Laura, still feeling her racing heartbeat under her sweaty chest, and the now increasingly amount of discomfort in her torn knee, did not bother pressing an argument about the lax definition of freedom the Hill dwellers held. Laura knew of Hades' clan and how they treated passing women, had heard of women tied and broken, forced to breed and then disposed of once the child was born. Her stomach suddenly coiled in disgust. She was thankful she lived on this side of Sector 16.

"Wasn' happy about what Pluto did to Grabber, either, roughin' him up like that," Lizard continued. "Said Jupe was goin' soft, lettin' his boys go like that."

"Bet Jupiter wasn't happy either."

"Nah," Lizard's lip quirked in amusement. "Told Hades off, alright. Told him, said he could do what he wanted, and we what we wanted. Then Hades said alright, but if one of his family got attacked again, he'd have somthin' to say about it."

Laura frowned, "So no remorse over the fact that I was almost killed?"

Lizard mirrored her look, "Ain't you been listenin'? Hades don' give a damn about you. Only actin' like this to stay on Jupe's good side. Don' want no fightin'."

"Still," The girl mumbled.

"Don' matter anyhow, you goin' be stayin' away from his territory anyway," Lizard eyed her. "Got it?"

"Yeah," She grunted. "Ain't like I'm going to go and make friends with the asshole."

Lizard grunted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him so as to allow himself the pleasure of tracing one leather bound knuckle over the soft valley of her breasts. She propped her good knee up next to him and turned to rest against his neck. He felt her grin soon after.

"You didn't bust his chops?"

She felt Lizard chuckle, the sound rumbling in his chest that sounded foreign, unused, "No. Played nice."

"There's a first," She laughed, feeling at ease again.

He squeezed her to him tighter, sighing into her hair, in a rare sign of his own demented form of affection. When he spoke next, she could feel his hot, lopsided mouth through her hair, "Hades be by again, anyway. Wants to see you for himself."

Laura's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't particularly happy to hear this. She wasn't sure how she would react to seeing the other clan leader in person, didn't relish standing before him so as to be surveyed. She didn't see anyway around it, either.

She kept silent, but pressed closer to Lizard and silently drew strength from his commanding presence, hoping for all the world (however small and cramped that world had become within the limits of the Hills) to live up to the expectations of these so-called people.