After a few embarrassing questions and an even more embarrassing position, the doctor told me that everything was fine. I cleaned up, and sat waiting on the exam table for him to return.

"I love you, Tabby Catt." Bobby said in an exasperated tone. "And I would do ANYTHING for you. But please don't let me do this ever again."

I laughed, slapping his arm lightly. "Don't worry. I think that makes two of us."

"I just wanted to punch him when he was examining you." He rubbed his face hard. "Makes my whole, 'Turn your head and cough' appointments seem much more innocent." We were laughing when the doctor knocked on the door and came back in.

"Well, Tabitha." Dr. Andrews said, wringing his hands. "Your scarring is minimal and has healed nicely. You should have no problem conceiving, but I would recommend that you wait at least a couple more months before you try again, to make sure that your cervix is completely healed."

"That is NOT going to be a problem." I smiled, as he sat down in his rolling chair by the room's computer.

"Have you though any about birth control?"

"Actually I have." I turned to Bobby to watch his face. He had pulled his blank face down, and was obviously trying to ignore this conversation. "I was needing something that I didn't have to take every day, and that would be easy. And I move around A LOT, so I never see the same doctor more than once."

"You should look into an IUD." He said, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a pamphlet before handing it to me. "It can last up to 5 years, and there's no real…maintenance." He smiled at the last word. "You just need to get your annual physical, and check monthly yourself."

I looked over the pamphlets. "Sounds good. When can I get one?"

"Well, let me get some things together, and we can get it in." He stood. "It will be painful for a couple of days. It's going into your uterus, so you might feel some pretty good cramping and even some contraction like pains."

"Not a problem."

A half hour later, I was hobbling my way out of the patient room. Dr. Andrews was right, this hurt like a bitch. Not only did he ram something up into my uterus, but I feel like I was skewered and gutted.

"You okay, Beautiful." Les asked gently putting his hand on my back.

"What the hell happened to her?" Ric asked as he cornered very scared looking Dr. Andrews.

"Down boys." I said, pulling Dr. Andrews away from their huddle and walking with him down the hall. "Thank you so much, Dr. Andrews. I will call you if I have any questions or problems."

He nodded, patted me on the shoulder with a smile and left.

"You all have to back down a bit." I scolded them, hands on my hips. "He is a doctor, and I am fine. I may be sore for a little while, but I will be fine. I just want to go home, take a long hot shower and veg out."

"Alright, let's head back." Ric said, waving his hand to motion his men to assume our moving position. This time, Bobby wrapped his arm around my waist and half-carried me to the SUV.

When we arrived, I slunk to my bedroom to gather my comfy clothes and headed for the shower.

*********************Ric's POV********************************

"So, what did the doctor say?" Diesel asked Bobby as we all sat around the breakfast bar in the kitchen.

"Come on guys." Bobby sighed. "If you want to know the details, you have to ask her."

"But everything's okay, right?" Tank asked, taking a sip from his beer.

"Everything is fine. Doc said she would be sore for a couple of days, but she is great." Bobby chugged his beer and got up to get another one. "I will tell you this though. I will NEVER go into another OB/GYN appointment again. That is some crazy shit."

"You just can't appreciate it because she's your sister." Les smiled. I smacked him on the back of his head.

"Cuz, you are so fucked up." I smiled as Les contemplated this for a second and then nodded. I laughed. "Fucker."

We sat drinking beer and staring off into space for about 20 minutes before anyone said anything.

"What are we going to do now?" Bobby asked, looking at each of us.

"Well, I know what I have to do." Diesel said, slamming the last of his third beer. "Just not looking forward to it."

"I bet we could find him." Tank said, pulling the label off his beer in small chunks and piling them on the counter. "We have Tabby, and he wants her. Why don't we just put it out on the street? I bet he'd come running."

"Not that easy." Diesel sighed.

"I'm not going to let Tabby be fucking bait, either." Bobby spat, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Listen, I appreciate that y'all want to fix this, but there isn't anything you can do." Diesel stood and ran his hands through his hair. "It was my fault that she was in this mess to begin with. I should have fought the council to keep her as my partner, but I didn't. I definitely should have kept her out of Grady's hands."

The bedroom door clicked and Tabby walked out. She was wearing low-rise flared jeans, a soft pink button down shirt and pink and white sneakers. Her hair was pulled into two French braids and dampened the shirt slightly where the ends of the braids settled.

"I feel a lot better." She said, making her way to Diesel. She slipped her arm around his waist and snuggled into him.

"You look like you feel better." Diesel said, kissing the top of her head. A wave of jealously burned through me. I clenched my fist and ground my teeth. I knew that I had no right to have these controlling emotions over her, but there seemed to be no negotiating with my heart. Taking a few deep breaths, I slowly unclenched my fists and shook my head slightly to clear it of the murderous thoughts I was having over Diesel.

A shrill ring broke my thoughts, as Tank's cell phone rang. As he picked it up, Diesel's went off and he unwound himself from Tabby before stepping away to answer it. Tabby shrugged her shoulders and made her way over to where we were sitting.

"I didn't think you would all be sitting here waiting for me." She smiled as she grabbed the beer out of my hand and took a drink. "There isn't anything going on today?"

"Nothing more important than being here." I said snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her towards me. She stood between my legs, leaning against my chest. She smelled like lilac and vanilla. I pulled gently on one of her braids and smiled. "I always like you in braids."

She turned to face me. "I know why you liked me wearing braids." She slapped me playfully. "I think I remember you referring to them as being your own personal handle bars."

"Yea." I wrapped the braid around my hand and pulled again. "It's a great way to steer you where I want you to go."

"Jerk." Tabby laughed, unwrapping her hair from my hand and flipping it over her shoulder.

Tank flipped his phone shut and looked at me, motioning slightly towards the door with his head. I nodded and watched as he pulled Bobby and Lester out to the elevator.

"So what's on the agenda for me today, then?" Tabby asked, pulling herself up onto my lap and folding her hands in her own.

"Nothing that I know of." I took another drink of my beer. "We can do whatever you want. I am offline today."

"Ooh.." She said, jumping excitedly on my lap. "I want to go to the mall, and then out for dinner and dancing."

"I am sure that we can manage that." I smiled, stroking her cheek softly with my knuckle.

"Thanks, Ric." She said as she placed a hand on either side of my face and gently kissed me on the lips. Smiling, she slipped her hand through my hair. "When did you decide to keep it so long?"

I shrugged, "I don't usually have a lot of time to worry about it. So, I just cut it when I need to."

"Typical male." She laughed, pulling both hands through my hair. "I like it though. It's rugged."

"I'm glad." I growled. She was gently scratching her nails on my scalp, sending shivers down my spine.

"FUCK!" Diesel's shout startled both of us, causing me to almost dump Tabby on the floor. Diesel was pacing back and forth in the living room, his phone the obvious culprit. He stopped pacing long enough to rip his phone in half and stomp on the pieces.

**************************Tabby's POV***********************************

"Diesel?" I asked pulling from Ric's lap and walking towards him. Anger was radiating from him in huge thick choking waves, and he was shaking. I took a deep breath to calm my heart, which had begun pumping furiously when his projected emotions hit me. I glanced back at Ric, who was just sitting dumbfounded in his chair. I reached out and touched his arm lightly. A bolt of burning heat shot though me, making me gasp almost double over. I saw Ric jump from his chair and reach me before I could even regain my breath.

"You okay, Tabb?" Ric asked, pulling me into his arms and rubbing my back gently.

"I'm fine." I turned to look again at Diesel, who was panting quietly, with a look of horror in his eyes.

"Tabb," Diesel whispered, wringing his hands. "Shit. Did I hurt you?"

"No." I shook my head. "I am fine. Just caught me off guard, that's all."

"You shouldn't have to be on guard with me." He said angrily. "I can't lose control of this, I can't imagine what I would do if..."

I pulled from Ric's grasp and reached for him, stopping an inch away and looked at his eyes. "Deep breath, D." my voice was soft and almost sing-songy. "I'm going to touch you, okay?" I waited until he nodded before gently resting my open palm on his forearm. The heat was intense, but bearable. I choked back my gasp and wince and began stroking his arm gently. "See, everything is okay. Let me help you, okay?"

Ric stood anxiously, waiting to pounce on Diesel the moment that I showed any sign of pain or discomfort. Diesel looked mortified, and absolutely livid. I slowly placed my other hand's open palm on the other forearm, before stroking that side as well. He had stopped shaking, but still radiated heat. I could feel the tips of my fingers and the base of my wrist began to get tender, but didn't let go.

"Are you ready?" I asked, again my voice slow, soft and sing-songy.

"Do it." Diesel closed his eyes, bracing himself. I concentrated on the heat he was giving off, feeling as it waved like water between us. Running my hands up his arms to his shoulders, I could feel the heat following my movement, ebbing away. When I reached the crook where his shoulders and neck met, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. A rush of heat slammed into my body, flowing down my arms and legs, swirling around my neck and back before rolling into a ball in my chest. It burned uncomfortably, but didn't hurt. I opened my eyes and saw Diesel's staring back to me. He placed one hand on my chest, and the other on my back across from it. Still staring into my eyes, we took a deep breath before he pressed both hands towards each other, before pulling the hand on my chest to his own chest. The heat followed his movements, and I gasped loudly as it was pulled from my chest and into his.

We stood for a moment, leaning gently on one another for support as our heart rates gradually went back to normal.

"What the fuck was that?" Ric asked, hands loosely at his sides, mouth slightly open. I patted Diesel on the chest before taking a step back.

"It's been a while." I said to Diesel. He nodded, his expression worn and broken. "Wanna talk about it?"

I went over to one of the chairs at the breakfast bar and downed the last of Ric's beer. Ric stood next to me and waited patiently for an explanation, as Diesel grabbed three more beers from the fridge. He set one in front of me, and Ric and then chugged the last one.

"That." I waved towards where we had been standing. "Was getting control over a rampant Unmentionable power."

"Are you hurt?" Ric placed his hand gingerly on my shoulder. His eyes were filled with concern.

"No. I'm fine. It's not so much that it hurts, just that it takes a lot of you." I struggled to get the top off of the beer, swore softly and then thrust it towards Ric. He chuckled and opened it before handing it back to me. "Diesel used to have to do that all the time with me. Usually when your emotional state becomes overwhelmed, your powers will try to compensate. It happens, but I have only had to do it a few times with him."

"Thanks, Tabb." Diesel said, kissing the top of my head and stroking my cheek gently.

"Tell me what happened." I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers through his. "I know that you don't lose control, especially like that. The last time was when..."

"Yeah, I know." He interrupted, sighed and then continued. "Grady has requested the council formally demand your powers."

"When."

"Tomorrow." He shook his head. "I don't know if I will be able to delay them. He's pretty adamant about getting them, he wants to be present."

"NO fucking way." Ric yelled. "He isn't coming near her." I laced my other hand through his, pulling both to my chest. I swallowed hard, trying to push down the tears that were tightening my throat.

"Where."

"He doesn't care." Diesel's voice was rough, and I could tell he was trying to gain control as well. "I am not going to let you do this alone."

"Call him. I will give my powers up, but at my terms. I have a feeling that if I do it with him there he will try to retaliate when I am weak." I looked into Ric's eyes. "I would like to ask for your protection. I don't want to put you in harm's way, but I know that you would be able to get me out alive."

"Always." Ric kissed my cheek. "You always have my protection. I will have to call a meeting and get my core team together and briefed." He turned towards Diesel. "I need to know what we are up against. What are his powers, what is he capable of, and how do I take him down if I need to?"

"He can manipulate your mind, and make you do things that you wouldn't do. He uses your fear to fuel his intentions. He doesn't have any striking powers, like heat, or electricity but he can convince your mind that you're dead and stop your body from functioning."

"He needs to be able to touch you to do real damage though." I interjected. "Once he has you in his grasp, he can make you do anything. From a distance, he has only suggestions, but he can veil your thoughts and make you think you're seeing something you're not."

"How the fuck do I compete against that?" Ric said to himself as he ran his free hand through his hair. With a sigh he pulled out his phone, pressed a button and spoke into the phone. "Core meeting in 10 minutes."

I looked from Diesel to Ric, my eyes watering as I thought about what they were doing for me. If anyone got hurt, or god-forbid killed, I would never forgive myself. Standing, I released my grip on their hands and walked back into my bedroom. Opening the closet I pulled out the cardboard box that Diesel had brought from my apartment. I grabbed the teddy bear that I had gotten from Bobby for my 8th birthday and headed back out to where I left Ric and Diesel.

"Love?" Ric asked, eyeing the teddy bear.

"You'll see." I grabbed Ric's unopened beer off the counter, and headed for the door. "Let's go."

We piled into the elevator, and as I was about to press the button I stopped. I turned facing both of them; their faces were taut with concern and stress. They stood shoulder to shoulder, and looked at me. I felt my bottom lip quiver, but sniffed quickly to gain control.

"I want you two to know how much I love you." My fingers curled nervously around the bear's ribbon. "I want you to know that you two are responsible for the majority of my happiness." Pressing the button for 5, I lunged at both of them, one arm wrapped around each of their necks, pulling them tightly to me. "This isn't going to be the end." They wrapped their arms around me and held me as descended.