(heyyyyyy :D so I hate to spring this on yiu all but this is the third last chapter :x only two more to go after this... D: I know you all probably wanna kill me because of the short notice and I'M SORRY! YEAH so I got a lot of feed back about last chapter and I LOVE IT :D Daniel was an OC classykazmiller25 gave me :) Didn't have time to do my usual shpeel because I was rushed :( one of my friends WHO I WILL NOT NAME *COUGH* *COUGH *MAGDA* *COUGH* made me go out to a dance so I was rushed ;p Please keep reviwing :D each time I read one that you post I get so happy and giddy :3 Can't wait for the reviews :D ENJOOOOY :D I have my next stoty altready started :) and i have a one shot also :3 TILL NEXT FRIDAY ALL :D two more chapters afters this! Keep that in mind! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :D :3 3 )

"Dad?" Mariah walked into his office as the guard opened the door for her. She watched his scarred face briefly acknowledge her presence then returning his attention to the sight that lay before him. Adorning the center wall was a collection of pictures and documents that Mariah's eyes briefly passed over.

"Yes? I'm busy…" Mariah walked closer into the room, hearing the door close behind her. This place was not home. Home is where you feel safe, loved... belonged. The only thing Mariah felt at the moment were the uncomfortable stiches she had been given. After Jackson had driven away, Mariah had passed out from exhaustion. The graze from the bullet that had nearly caused her demise had not helped matters either. Being woozy from the continuing blood trickling down the side of her face only made her think of Daniel. The image of his cold eyes had haunted her ever since she had arrived. Every night she awoke screaming. After the first three nights of this, her father's soldiers who patrolled the area had stopped checking on her. Brushing her fingers over the stiches, she let out a deep sigh.

"You're always busy," She walked over to his side, looking at the strange sight that was laid out before her eyes. Countless pictures and text were sprawled out along the wall. Mariah's eyes passed over them, once again. They did not matter. There was only one reason she was here – to talk. It angered her that her father had kept his affiliation with the Ghosts a secret. He had always talked down about them and how they were the scum of the earth… but to Mariah, they were more compassionate than he had ever been to her. Was her father simply being hard on her? Hardly. Rorke was not a loving man except in one sense – he loved to kill. He had even killed Mariah – inside.

If it wasn't for that bastard… things would have been different – I would have been different. He doesn't even care.

"You know that my job requires me to devote all my time towards it." Mariah bit her lip as her fathers' words – distant as ever – washed over her. Her eyes followed his hand as he gripped a nearby sharpie. They intently followed the tip as it connected with a picture of a group of men. Mariah's eyes sparked once she saw them. All line up together were the Ghosts – with her fathers' place removed. With a smooth stroke, Mariah filled with palpable hatred. That action only meant on thing – he had the Ghosts. Two of them, at least. Hesh's and Merrick's faces were circled.

He must have only captured them because they were in the other helicopter. I just hope they're still alive.

"It's important." Mariah took in a deep breath, trying to regain the resolve she once had at the Ghost base. It had been buried once more as the chain of events snapped and unlinked before her eyes. Stepping closer, Mariah stood beside her father and grabbed his wrist, still poised with the marker. To her surprise, he turned to face her. Looking into his eyes was a strange sensation. Mariah never noticed how deep and intriguing his brown eyes were. In her entire life, he had never looked at her the way he did now. He was actually focusing on her. Mariah was at a loss for words. It was a blessing he was the first to speak.

"Alright," Mariah let go of his wrist and he put the marker down. It was strange –he should not be so compliant. Something was amiss. The way Rorke looked after sent a feeling of unease through her, "what is so pressing?"

"You were a Ghost," Mariah fought back her mounting anger. An emotional outburst at this moment would end badly… for the both of them. Mariah knew she had to approach this stoically and with a distance, "all my life you have been telling me they are horrible people and how they need to be eradicated," Mariah clenched her fist as tightly as she could, feeling her knuckles turn white. Her newly stirred resentment she had for her father was starting to react with her anger, "then I found out – through a stupid dossier I found – that you were one of them," Mariah felt her lip starting to quiver. Inside, she was starting to crumble… and it was because of him. All of this pain had been caused by her father. Mariah's eyes stung as she continued to look into his eyes – a reflection of her own, "so what the hell is with that?! Why have you been hiding this from me?!" Mariah started to yell, losing the composure she had once possessed. Through blurring vision, Mariah saw something behind her fathers' eyes. It was the look of almost defeat. He knew he could no longer get around this.

"Mariah," she felt him place his hand on her shoulder and watched him lower his self at her eye level. It felt so awkward to Mariah that this was occurring. Nothing like this had ever happened before. A tingling sensation sparked through her body as his coarse, rough finger whisked away a stray tear from her eye, "Let's take a walk."

Before Mariah could even utter a word, she was being guided out of the room with an arm draped over her back. The eyes from soldiers – some recognizable and others unknown – looked at her with an air of intrigue and trepidation. They may see the tears that streaked her face but she was still his daughter. Nothing in Mariah's power would ever be able to change that. Part of her still enjoyed that power… but slowly she was starting to be irked by this. If they only knew what really went on between the two of them. Mariah smiled at the thought, looking up at her father as they passed through a corridor she had not even remembered or noticed starting down. She saw a small glimmer of pride in his eyes as he stopped before a door.

"You want to know about my past, right?" Mariah wiped away a stray tear from her eye and nodded. It was the one thing she needed to know. Holding her breath, she watched him open the door and enter. As she followed, she noticed how dank and dark it was. None of this was making sense to her. Unwaveringly, she followed him down the dark path and then arrived at a rusted metal staircase.

"Sir." A man brandishing a K7 stepped aside, allowing them to pass through, unhindered. Mariah saw his eyes briefly make contact with her own. There was something he knew that she did not. Putting that thought behind her, she tried to keep up with her father. He had not spoken anything for the past few minutes. Once she had stepped down the groaning staircase that was screaming to be fixed, her father suddenly stopped. Mariah bumped into him and saw what he stopped for – a door.

"What is this?" Mariah's voice cut the darkness like a steel blade. She was confused. There was no reason to have to come down here just to explain himself. Her eyes found themselves piercing into her father's. As she did this, the once stoic face took on a sadistic smile that sent a wave of coldness over Mariah.

"You want to know about my past," Mariah watched as he gestured towards the door, calmly, "it's in there."

Cautiously, Mariah approached the door. What was behind this door? Was something going to harm her? A million questions swirled and buzzed around her mind as every step she took sent her heart beating faster and faster. Her hand grasped the door knob and she took in a deep breath. Without a second thought, Mariah flung open the door. Inside, all she saw was darkness, once again. Puzzled, she stepped inside further.

"I don't understand…" she trailed off, turning around to face her father. As to answer her underlying question, she watched him slam his palm against a button on the wall. Shadows danced around her as she could see light behind her illuminating the dark recesses. Turning around, she saw what she had prayed would never happen. As she stepped into the room, once again, the battered and beaten bodies of Hesh and Merrick were propped up on two chairs. Her eyes saw blood splattered on and around their unconscious bodies. Wordlessly, Mariah walked over to Hesh and ran her fingers over the side of his face. He felt cold to the touch.

"Ask them. They know the answer." Mariah turned her face to see her father leaning up against the door frame, watching her every movement. Mariah was furious – at all of them. Looking at Merrick, she felt empathy for him. She knew what it was like to be a prisoner…even in her own home. Gently, Mariah shook Merrick by his shoulders. After a few moments, he woke up, extremely disoriented. Mariah saw his head perk up and look her in the eyes.

"Just like your father…" he let out a laugh, spitting a glob of blood at Mariah. Gritting her teeth, Mariah wiped the blood off of her cheek and slapped Merrick across his battered face. That statement was the one thing that would always stab at her core – she was not her father.

"Shut up!" Mariah screamed as she watched his head reel back from the blow. The laugh her father concocted from his mouth stirred up her inner turmoil and anger even further. All of these years she had listened to him … now he would be the one answering to her.

"Ah Merrick, you've never been good with people…" Mariah kept her eyes staring into Merrick's – even in this state he still looked at her with contempt. She felt her father pat her on the back and then circle around behind Merrick.

"I want to know something and I want to know it now." Mariah got to eye level with Merrick, longing and curiosity brimming in her eyes. For a moment, Merrick lost the content he one harboured and look at her almost genuinely. As quickly as it came, it went.

"Yes, girl?" He spat back, angering Mariah even more. On an impulse, she let her emotions get a hold of her. Her hand smacked against the side of his face and drew more blood.

"Don't call me girl. We've had this talk. Now tell me – how the hell was my father associated with the Ghosts?"

Merrick let out a loud laugh – as loud as a laugh as a man in his position could. Mariah glared at him. Nothing about this situation was funny.

"You really don't know do you? He was the reason we were feared."

"Is that true?" Mariah looked at her father with eyes filled with horror.

"Yes. I'm still feared." Mariah watched her father grab the back of Merrick's head and look into his eyes, grinning, "During one of our missions they left me behind." Mariah watched her father speak his words into Merrick with finality.

"It's your fault," Mariah trembled, looking at Merrick. Everything that had made her the way she was started with that. If her father had never been left behind, she would have never been born into this lifestyle. She could have had a normal, carefree life. Every vein in her body pulsated with an intense aversion for Merrick. It was his fault. Everything was because of him. Leaning intently into him, she looked into his eyes, jaw clenched, "If it wasn't for you things would have been different – I WOULD'VE BEEN DIFFERENT!" With that, Mariah channeled all of her anger into her leg – sending it reeling at Merrick's exposed head. Mariah could not stop herself even after the crunch she heard of his nose. In her fury, she sent a fury of punches directed at no particular part of his body.

"Mariah…"

She continued to beat Merrick without mercy.

"Mariah…" This time she stopped when she realized who was calling her name. Turning her head to the side, she saw a dazed Hesh looking at her, pleading. Lowering her blood covered fist, she stared into his eyes. They looked defeated.

"Hesh, it was his fault." Mariah knelt in front of him, running her hand across his swollen face, leaving smears of blood behind. This was the last thing Hesh needed to see of her.

"No… my dad he… it was for the team… if he hasn't we'd all be dead…"

"What?" Mariah looked back at her father who eyed her with a look of pride of what she had just done. What was happening?

"The mission went bad… he got caught in the debris… if he would've saved him… the whole team would've… died…"

"I…" Mariah looked back over at her father who now bore a look of coldness.

"They left me behind."

"It wasn't their fault… all these years... you lied to me…" Mariah shook her head, disgusted.

"Mariah," She watched him approach her, taking her blood covered hand into his own, "You were bound to follow me one way or another. You're a Rorke – we always get the job done… look what you did – you interrogated a prisoner without any training. You're a natural." He ran his fingers through her hair.

"You sick bastard... how could you… how could you have made me do this?"

"I didn't – it was all your own doing. I never told you once to hit him. I never told you once what to say. I simply told you to ask them about me – the rest was up to you."

He was right. Everything he was saying was right. Rorke had never forced her to strike Merrick – that was all her. It felt right to her, though. It was his fault... but it was not, was it? Merrick did not want to leave her father behind. She knew he was a man who strongly believed in his team and leaving no one behind. It was a call he was forced to make – one that probably still haunted him to this day.

"They were your friends and you turned on them." Mariah ripped her hand away from her father, feeling her eyes sting, once again, "When I was with them, they took care of me. They looked after me. I didn't care if it was because they had to or not – it's more than you've ever done. These people you've condemned to die are innocent. You're exactly what you've described them as – horrible, evil and deserve to die."

"They're the enemy don't you under-", without even thinking, Mariah send her fist flying towards the side of his face. When she felt his skin connect with her own, she was in disbelief. Once both of them realized what had happened, the room stayed silent. After a few moments, Rorke started to laugh while rubbing the side of his face.

"Oh I love the fight in you, daughter."

"That's the only thing you love about me, liar." She clenched her teeth.

"Now, now, be nice – we have guests in the room."

"…" Mariah was at a loss for words. Her father was unpredictable.

"One last thing," Mariah felt his fingers dig into the soft flesh of her neck, lifting her off of the ground, "don't ever hit me again, alright?" Mariah nodded and felt the pressure release off of her neck, "now go back to your room – daddy needs to finish the job you started."

"I didn't start anything." Mariah looked over the three of them. She had started something – the growth of her hatred for her father. It had burst from a sapling into a blooming evergreen.

Mariah watched her father rummage around in his pocket and press something. Within seconds, a guard appeared in the doorway.

"Escort her back to more familiar territory. She's allowed back down if she wants to finish was she started."

"Yes, sir." Mariah walked over to the man and then looked back at Hesh and Merrick. What had been done could not be undone. It was only a matter of time before the damage they would get inflicted upon themselves would be permanent. As Mariah walked up the stairs, the only thing she could think about was what Hesh had said.

"If he would've saved him… the whole team would've…died..."