Gerald Richter was asleep when a voice reached his ears. "Hey Richter."

It was a guard. But there was something off about his clothes. The prison guards wore strict uniforms and while in the dark it looked the same this guard was different. He was holding a gun. A big automatic pistol with a silencer on the muzzle.

"You disappointed Claw." The man whispered. Richter recognized the voice. It was Abernathy's personal hit man. The assassin no one had ever heard of.

"I tried everything." Richter pleaded. He'd done everything he could. Tried a series of different methods in one shot. "He's not human. He can't be killed."

"Maybe not by you." The assassin replied. "Enough about your failure. I don't have time for goodbyes." His green eyes were illuminated by a flash of light from the window and then there was a muffled clap. Richter's chest suddenly exploded with pain and blood splattered everywhere for a moment he stood in shock before the pain and the damage kicked in.

He fell forward onto his bed. His eyes rolling back as his last breath escaped jaggedly.

The fake guard was already on his way out. He was smiling as he went. There was a bloodlust in his eyes and a frenzied haste to his step.

Rick looked at his right eye. He'd finally dared a long look at it and to his surprise it was almost healed. However there was a slight discoloration in the form of a small straight line that started at the right corner of his eye and merged with his grey iris. Grant was pretty sure that there would be some sort of scar tissue. Even on the eye.

Rick's vision was back to normal. It felt good to be able to look at himself with both eyes.

He tilted his head up and ever so carefully brought the little prescription dropper above his eye. He barely squeezed and felt the drop splash his eye. He blinked several times in reaction. Rick would have liked to keep the patch off, but he knew that it would wait until Grant stopped by later.

If Grant thought his eye was ready for action Rick would be free from his half-sight. It was annoying having to turn his head so much to talk to people.

Once his right eye was covered he looked at the rest of his healing body. His torso was still a battlefield of pink sensitive tissue, but at least there were no more staples or stitches. Rick looked at his face. Not only were the new scars almost gone but he could see almost no trace of the long jagged mark Abernathy had left on the left side of his face.

Everything was working out just fine. Today also happened to be his birthday. October 27th. He was officially thirty-nine years old. He didn't feel that old though. Alex had warned that perhaps the biggest side effect of cybernetics was to slow the aging process. Especially when there were a lot put into one person. His face had barely aged in the decade since.

But he wasn't upset by this. He knew that Penny would probably long outlive most normal people. Jessica was seven years his junior. And though he worried about her he was certain that if anything did ever happen to her Alex would be there in a heartbeat with a circuit and her handheld.

He buttoned up the soft blue shirt and tucked it into his jeans. He didn't like slacks. Pants like that were for city men.

Rick strode through the hall ready to greet the day no matter what Jessica had planned for his birthday. He hated people making a fuss over him. He really did.

So when he entered the kitchen to find it filled with a breakfast feast he knew that it was going to be a long day. He wasn't even forty yet. Maybe then he'd indulge in a little noise made over his age.

Penny popped out from behind the table. "Happy Birthday Daddy!" She yelled.

Rick smiled at her as she offered him a large box wrapped in green paper. "I don't suppose this is for me?" He asked.

"Of course it is." She said bouncing on her toes. "Go ahead and open it."

Rick set it on an empty corner of the table and slowly peeled away the paper. "Where's Jess?" He asked.

"She'll be here soon." Penny winked at him.

He unwrapped the paper meticulously for the fun of dragging out the moment. Penny was twitching anxiously. She wanted to see her father's reaction to whatever gift he was about to receive. The box was unmarked without the paper and he opened it to find two smaller boxes within. He chuckled. "You probably think this is funny." He said to her. She nodded excitedly giggling.

Rick picked up the largest box and opened it. Inside was a framed sketch. The sketch was of him, and extremely detailed. He looked at Penny. "Did you draw this?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes, we were supposed to draw one of our parents. Most everybody drew their mothers." Rick was impressed.

"I'm flattered." He said with a grin, "I'm guessin' Jess had it framed?"

"Actually my art teacher Mr. Hayes." She answered. "He wants to put it up in the display case for the next year."

"Are you goin' to let him?" Rick asked
"I want to, but I wanted you to see it first." Penny admitted.

"Thank you." Rick said. He opened the other box and lifted out a stack of DVDs. They were some of his favorites. Among them were Indiana Jones and Ferris Bueler's Day Off.

"Is this a hint?" He asked. "That you two are makin' sure I relax?" Penny nodded that mischievous smile on her face. "I thought so." He gave her a hug, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The girl was smiling proudly.

At this time Jess walked into the kitchen. "Good morning." She said. "And Happy Birthday." She gave him a kiss.

"I hope this is all you have planned for today." He said hopeful.

"Come one Rick, live a little." She replied. "Don't worry about the rest of the day. Let's just eat breakfast and see where things go from there."

Rick agreed with her, but he knew she was up to something.

The rest of the day was spent watching movies. Grant came by and gave Rick the ok to take the patch off his eye. For dinner Jess blindfolded Rick and took him to his favorite restaurant. Texas Roadhouse was busy but she'd made reservations.

Dinner was long and filled with lots of general discussion. Hopes of maybe taking an official vacation somewhere out of state, Jessica voiced a hope that Penny wouldn't be an only child anymore, and some decisions about school for Penny.

The girl would have a chance to take a high school entrance exam in the next year and a half. Penny would be awfully young, but they all knew that she probably needed it.

As the evening came to a close Rick drove home and listened to Jess and Penny talk about how much fun it would be to have another child in the house. Maybe a baby boy who they could dress up in little suits and bowties.

He couldn't deny that he too had thought along those lines. He had never really expected himself to be a family man, but he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed it. To come home to someone who missed you and needed you everyday was a lot better than an empty apartment with nothing but some phone messages to greet you.

Jessica turned to him, "You haven't said one word, are you ok?" The worry in her eyes made him smile.

"Course not," He replied keeping his eyes on the road, "I've been enjoyin' the conversation between the two of you."

"Does that mean you want to have more kids?" Penny asked eagerly. She'd obviously been a little lonely over the years. Brain had gotten so much attention from her that it had made Rick wonder if she needed more people around.

"You could say that." He replied. Jessica smiled.

"Good because that's what I'd like to do." Jess said.

"Alright then, looks like we've got a plan." Rick said pulling into the drive. Penny raced out as soon as the car stopped.

Jessica kissed him before they got out of the car. "You mean it?" She searched his eyes.

Rick nodded slowly, "I've been thinkin' that it might be a good idea, for all of us. I didn't know Penny was so eager to have a sibling."

"This was supposed to be your birthday, but here you are telling me the best thing I've heard in weeks."

"I've had enough gifts for my birthday." Rick said.

He opened his door. "Penny's waitin' on us." He said climbing out. Jess hurried out with him.