Disclaimer: I don't own Jumper.

A/N: Ok, here we go. This is one of my favourite chapters, so I hope you don't hate it.

Griffin's Revenge

Chapter 12 - Talking

That evening, Falcon and Griffin sat side by side in front of a small campfire in the middle of the desert. They had walked for the rest of the day in the direction of the nearest city, the most likely place for Roland to have gone. Griffin had stayed silent the whole time, and exuded such anger that Falcon hadn't even tried to talk him out of it.

But now, he had to talk. She wasn't going to give him any choice.

"You ok?" Falcon asked, looking across at Griffin. Griffin grunted, still staring at the dancing flames. Falcon sighed, then turned her whole body towards him. "What happened today? What's going on?" She waited for a moment. "You can talk to me, you know," she added. "You can always talk to me."

Griffin shrugged. "What do you want me to say?"

Falcon smiled sadly. "Whatever's going on in there," she replied, reaching out one finger to touch his head. Griffin jerked away, and Falcon flinched. She looked away into the darkness. "Do you still trust me?" she asked quietly.

Griffin sighed, and tilted his head back for a moment. "Should I?" he asked finally.

Falcon snorted faintly, and Griffin looked across in irritation. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Us," said Falcon catching Griffin's gaze for the first time. "Answering questions with questions. Never actually talking, like properly talking, not just about the Paladins or Roland or David, but about proper things, important things. We still can't talk to each other, even after all this time, even though we're-" Griffin's hand shot out and clamped itself over Falcon's mouth.

Falcon slapped Griffin's hand away and stood up suddenly, taking a few steps away. In the pitch-dark of the desert, she was barely visible. She stood there for a moment, turned away from Griffin, battling to stop the tears flowing, shaking with suppressed anger and frustration and rejection.

Then she turned back. "Why do you hate me?" she cried, hating the sound of her voice trembling. "What's wrong with me?"

Griffin stared at her in disbelief and stood. He put his arms out to hold Falcon's shoulder's, shaking with sobs despite her best efforts. Fighting with his cynical side, the side that had kept him alive all these years, he spoke to Falcon gently. "Is that what this is all about?" he asked. "You think I hate you?"

Falcon looked up at him, eyes burning into his with an intensity that made him want to look away in shame. "What, you think I haven't noticed? You never seem to want me around, you ditch me the first chance you get when you don't need my help with Paladins. You don't even-" she stopped suddenly, biting her bottom lip, looking away into the night.

Griffin let his hands drop. "What?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"I'm your sister!" Falcon screamed. "And all you do, all the time, is deny it. Why are you so ashamed of me? Do I cramp your style? Is it just part of the whole 'I don't need anyone' routine? No-one knows, cos you keep it such a secret. You even destroyed our birth certificates! You destroyed every kind of record of us ever having anything to do with each other that you could find. Why do you hate me so much that I can't even be your sister?" Falcon stared at him, fully expecting him to brush her off. But, to her surprise, he came closer.

Without saying anything, Griffin gently pulled his sobbing sister into his arms, and began to rock them both gently from side to side, stroking her back. Resisting the urge to say something sarcastic, Griffin bent his head to Falcon's ear. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I just … I didn't want anyone to know in case something happened to you. You're the only family I've got left, and if they got you too … I don't think I could live." He pulled back slightly and tilted Falcon's head so that she was looking at him. "You are everything to me," he said, for once telling the absolute truth and keeping nothing back. He needed his sister, as if she was oxygen or water. He couldn't see a way of living without her to anchor him. She was what kept him sane, the one person he could rely on.

In the dark, a figure silently crept away.

Falcon nodded, stretching out her arms and hugging him back. "Thank you," she whispered. Together, they sat down, and watched as the fire slowly burned out, and the sun began to rise.

Just after dawn, Falcon shifted against Griffin's side, and he looked down at her. "If people ask, can I tell them?" she asked. "That you're my brother?"

Griffin considered. He longed to say no, to keep Falcon safe, at least until Roland was dead. But he knew that she needed this, as confirmation that what he had said had been the truth. "Only people you really trust, with your life," he compromised.

Falcon looked up at him. "You're my brother," said softly.

Griffin smiled, and gently pulled her hair. "Congratulations," he said, some of his normal self creeping back. Falcon grinned, and snuggled into his chest. "Cold?" Griffin asked. Falcon nodded, shivering dramatically as Griffin stood, pulling her upright after him. "You choose breakfast," he suggested.

Falcon thought for a second. "Pancakes," she decided. Griffin nodded, and they Jumped together.

A figure raced towards the Jumpscar, reaching it just before it closed, and disappeared.

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Don't care either way? Please review, I need to know. Virtual prizes for correct guesses on the figure, although it's probably not that hard. There will probably be more action stuff now, but I have no clue, as I haven't written the next chapter yet. Again, please review!