A/N: Okay, this is a total cop out chapter. I could not get anything to work for me the way that I wanted it to. Apparently the characters are not ready for this story to be done yet. I hope you guys don't mind me switching the focus to start round two-ish and give the limelight to Stoker and Cassie? They're commanding it. And after such a painfully long hiatus of struggling over what to do, I'm inclined to give it to them. I'm really really sorry this took so long, you guys. Truly am.
Stalker
Charley turned the dial to the heat down after they'd been on the road for several minutes and the heat had chased away every lingering trace of winter chill in the confines of the blazer. She glanced at her passenger, tried to think of something to say. It was eerie to see Stoker like this, staring out the window with such an emotionless expression. Usually he was so vibrant, so full of vivaciousness that she sometimes wished she could tap into it. It was less enthusiastic than Vinnie's, more subdued and manageable but still, something she wish she could shroud herself with whenever she was in his presence.
Now...he seemed detached from life. And for his line of work, detached was dangerous.
Worrying her bottom lip for a moment, Charley tried to think of what to do. Obviously, something had happened. Something big. The looks on both Stoker and Cassie's faces when they'd parted ways had been haunted. More haunted than what should have been possible for two people who had only known each other for a few days.
"Stoker," she started, cautiously.
He hummed a soft response, turning to look at her.
"What... happened between you and Cassie?" When he didn't react right away, when his face remained hard and his eyes clear, she pressed on. "Did something happen? You two sure didn't look like two people who have only known each other for a few days."
He turned his gaze forward, out the windshield to the stretch of pavement quickly passing beneath the tires. "She never let herself love a man. And it might have had to do somethin' with you-." He paused, shaking his head sadly. "But it wasn't all you. It wasn't just watchin' what Andrew's death did to you. It was watchin' what it did to her family."
Charley's heart fell. She'd been expecting him to talk about Cassie. But not like this. Not in a way that would directly affect her.
"Ask her a name sometime. She can't remember a one of 'em."
"So, I guess you two had some pretty deep conversations, hm?"
The question hung in the air unanswered for much longer than it should have.
"Somethin' like that," he finally muttered, turning to look out his window.
"Something like that," Charley repeated. "Elaborate."
She allowed the silence without pushing him, knowing he would talk when he was ready to. She expected something along the lines of staying up too late and talking too much. She prepared herself for that.
"I took a walk through her mind...and let her take a walk through mine."
Memories of Throttle intruding her mind and laying their world out like an R rated movie that she couldn't stop rushed over her. She gripped the steering wheel, swallowed hard. After having known the guys for several months, Charley had talked to Throttle once about what had happened. She understood the basics. And beyond that, she understood just what kind of danger was involved in that kind of communication. "You did that to my little sister? You haven't even known her for more than a few days! Stoker, that-."
"Yeah, I know, darlin'. It wasn't right. None of it was right. I never should have said a damn thing but once I'd started it was impossible to stop. She got into my head in a way no woman ever has before and I just-." He dropped his head back, covering his face with his hands and groaning. "I ran out of time to know her."
"So you talk!" Charley yelped. "You don't...open a two way street to fast-track the process! Throttle told me how dangerous that can be and that was just when he let me see inside his head! Not the other way around!"
"You really think I would put her in a position to get hurt in any way? I ain't a selfish man, Charlene. And I sure as hell ain't some rookie takin' chances. I knew what I was doing. And I tried to take it back but I'd said too much. She pushed for it-."
"You're going to place blame on a human? Someone who can't even begin to understand how your species operates? That's a load of shit, Stoker!"
"Watch it, Charlene," he snarled.
He'd never taken that tone with her before, never spoken to her in a way that was anything less than flattering or friendly. The undercurrent of hostility in his voice caused her to snap her mouth shut. Any comfort she felt in his presence quickly evaporated, leaving her feeling anxious and uncomfortable.
She made a split decision to pull over, not wanting tension to ride in the backseat the rest of the way home. The guys were well ahead of them so the disappearance of headlights in the rearview wouldn't alert them. Her tires rumbled over the edge of the lane, crunched onto gravel and she slowly shifted the gear stick into park.
She waited several moments, piecing together what she was going to say and forcing an evenness to her tone that wouldn't provoke him further into anger.
"She's my sister, Stoker. I'm allowed to be upset when I find out someone's taken a walk inside her head without her fully understanding every danger involved with that."
Stoker was silent, his elbow resting against the window he seemed intent on staring out and his fist pressed to his chin. "I told her what could happen," he said, his voice so soft she barely caught it. "I told her I could end up takin' everything away from her...leavin' her with nothing. She told me I wouldn't, told me she trusted me." He sighed deeply, sweeping an agitated hand through his hair and finally turning to face her. "I know I shouldn't have taken that kind of liberty with her but there's not a whole lot I can do to take it back now. I'm sorry...for takin' advantage of your sister like that. I'm not gonna try to load that apology with a bunch of excuses for what I did. But Charlene-." His gaze fell to her, tired and questioning. "If you had one day left with Modo and you had no way of knowin' if you'd ever see him again...and he offered you somethin' like that, would you take it?"
It was an unfair question. He knew it. She draped her hands over the steering wheel, dropping her head back and staring up at the roof. "That's a cheap shot, Stoke."
"But you get my point."
"Yes, I get your point. I'm not happy about it. But I get it." The next question wasn't one she wanted to ask, but she had to know the answer to it. "How far did you let her in?"
He cursed roughly and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and shoving his fingers into his thick hair. "Hell of a lot further than I meant to. I had a handle on it but the second I reached for something of hers...she just opened herself up to me and I lost my balance. Before I knew what was happening, she was all the way in and everything...shit, she had it all before I even realized how much I'd let go."
Charley fought the sudden urge to call her sister and demand that she move to Chicago. She knew first hand what it felt like to witness the devastation of an entire species and the helplessness that came from watching, from not being able to do anything. She remembered reeling afterwards, thinking that she had just witnessed something recent and not understanding right away that everything Throttle had shown her was in the past, that there wasn't anything either of them could do to fix what had already been done years before.
"You want to bawl me out again? You go right ahead, if you need to."
Charley shook her head. "No, I don't need to. You sound like you're doing a damn fine job of it yourself." She reached across the small space that divided them, slipping her fingers around his hand and tugging it away from his face to get him to look at her. "I'll call her. I'll do whatever it takes to get her to move to Chicago and I'll help her through it." At his questioning look, she smiled sadly and squeezed his hand. "You might be hardened from years of war but being someone pulled into a lifetime of memories all revolving around it is...difficult to deal with. The guys kept me busy fixing their bikes and running all over Chi-town chasing down Limburger...but on the quiet nights when I was alone in my apartment and everything was quiet, the memories of what Throttle had shown me would haunt me. I'd lay in bed sobbing, wishing I hadn't seen any of it. You've known war all your life. Cassie might be a military daughter, but we never witnessed any of it first hand and dad never talked to us about it."
A look of horrified realization overtook the confusion and Charley felt a sharp pang of pity for the older man. "Hell, Charlene. I didn't even think about how seein' any of that would affect her." He glanced at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You probably would love to skin me and hang me out in the sun right about now, hm?"
Charley chuckled. "No, I wouldn't."
"I admire your restraint, beautiful."
"If it weren't for that damn charm of yours-." She purposely let the sentence hang as she shifted the gear stick into drive and pulled back out onto the highway.
"I'm gonna do whatever I can to get back to her, Charlene," Stoker said after several miles of freeway had passed beneath them.
She glanced at him, noted the hard resolve in his eyes. "I know you will."
Hours later as the sun disappeared over the horizon, they pulled into the Last Chance where Vinnie, Throttle and Modo were waiting, root beers already opened and the truck gone.
"McCyber stopped by quick to pick it up," Vinnie explained when they got out, taking one of Charley's bags for her. "Said he wished he could stick around but had to get back home. He didn't say it but I got the impression someone might be waitin' there for him."
Behind him, Modo grinned shyly and Charley felt her cheeks warm. "I sure hope so. I can't remember the last time Jack went on a date," she said, stretching her arms over her head to work out the kinks that had wound her muscles into tight knots over the course of the drive. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. And I don't feel like cooking at all. Take out?"
Vinnie brightened immediately. "Of the Chinese variety? Hell yeah!"
Charley smiled, suddenly craving sweet and sour chicken. "That actually sounds great. I'll call it in."
She started for the stairs, missing the hard look Modo leveled on his bros before taking the bags from Vinnie and following her. She remained oblivious to the fact that he'd taken over responsibility of her belongings, trying instead to remember the closest Chinese takeout restaurant, which one served obscenely large "single" portion plates and what was included on the menu. She could remember one but the name was just out of reach. She shrugged out of her coat, tossing it over the arm of the couch as she passed through the living room and started unzipping the hooded sweatshirt she'd pulled on that morning before heading out.
"Hey Vin, can you just put my bags in my room?" she asked, tugging at one sleeve to pull her arm free. Before she could work the other arm free, she was gently pulled back and spun around to face Modo. "You're not Vinnie," she murmured, letting him remove her sweatshirt before loosely wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Nope, sure not," he replied before dipping his head and catching her lips in a slow kiss. Desire unfurled slowly in the pit of her stomach. With a sigh, she leaned into him, tilting her head and deepening the kiss.
"Hey, can you guys order food before you start suckin' face?"
With a groan, Modo pulled back, angling a glare at the open stairwell.
Charley laughed softly, patting his shoulder. "That's Vinnie." She went up on her tiptoes, stealing a quick kiss. "I'll order quick."
She turned and went for the phone, casting a quick appreciative glance at Modo as he picked up her bags. It really was a shame that everyone else was here. After the long car ride she'd had and the conversation with Stoker, she couldn't think of anything she wanted more than to spend the rest of the evening with Modo finding comfort in their new relationship. Though she could take what moments they had until everyone else went home for the night.
Grinning, she grabbed the cordless phone from the cradle on the kitchen counter, riffled through a drawer of random take out menu's she had collected over her time as a single working woman, then, finding the one she wanted, dialed the number on the front while walking to her room. The hostess answered on the second ring, just as she was rounding the corner to her bedroom, intercepting Modo on his way out.
"Yeah, hi," she greeted, holding up a finger to stall him, "this is Charley Davidson. I'd like to order some food for takeout."
Grinning slowly, Modo leaned against the wall. He reached for her, looping his finger in her front pocket and pulling her close. She was so startled by suddenly being pressed against him that the hostess had to ask her twice what her address was.
"Um..Last...the Last Chance Garage on Utica," she said quickly, stifling a gasp when Modo lowered his head and his teeth scraped against her neck. She did her best to order, though trying to focus on answering questions when Modo's hands were sliding down her hips and his teeth and tongue were working a trail from her neck down to her collarbone and shoulder was near impossible.
Finally, with the order confirmed, Charley muttered a quick thank you and dropped the phone, not bothering to end the call. Modo took it as an invitation and swept her up in his arms, carrying her back to her room and kicking the door shut behind him.
"How long'd they say?" her asked, his hands already tugging impatiently at the hem of her shirt.
"Half hour, forty five minutes," she replied in a breathless rush, reaching between them to help him. Together, they tossed the piece of clothing aside and Modo hooked his hands behind her knees, lifting her as if she weighed nothing at all and wrapping her legs around his waist.
"If you don't mind, ma'am...I'll take my time lovin' you properly later."
Charley smiled against his mouth. "Is that a promise?"
His only response was a dark chuckle.
He'd been true to his word, waiting until his Throttle, Vinnie and Stoker had left before turning every ounce of his attention on her. And for hour upon blissful hour, she allowed herself not to think about everything she'd talked with Stoker about.
But when the sun peeked through her drawn shades the next morning, her thoughts were immediately on her sister. She watched the small beam of sunlight travel the length of her floor, coasting over the rumpled clothing she and Modo had so eagerly removed last night. Would Cassie be up yet? Would she be angry that Charley knew so much? Was she suffering with the constant horror movie now playing on loop in her mind? She couldn't even imagine what Stoker's suffering looked like in comparison to Throttle's. She didn't want to know.
With a sigh, she pushed the covers back, moving carefully out of the bed so as not to disturb Modo, and retrieved her robe from the over the door of her closet. She cinched the belt and started out of her room. She would call Cassie. Her dad would be awake and would have no problem rousting Cassie. But first, she would make coffee so she was somewhat coherent when-.
Her apartment already smelled like coffee.
Charley slowed her steps, coming to a stop in the hallway. Vinnie would never get up early just to come to her place and make coffee. Neither would Throttle, for that matter. Neither of them cared enough for coffee to do something so drastic.
Maybe Stoker...but even then, Modo had made it quite clear in his silent way that the three should stay away from Charley's apartment for as long as they could if they knew what was good for them.
Pulling at the neckline of her robe, she started for the kitchen carefully, ready to attack if need be. If she could make it to the small closet between the kitchen and stairwell, she could retrieve the bat she kept there at Throttles insistence.
She reached for the closet when she was close enough, but a soft sniffle stopped her.
Bat forgotten, Charley rounded the corner to the kitchen. Her sister sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee next to her elbow, her hair mussed and her eyes red rimmed.
"Cass?"
"Hey sis," Cassie returned weakly, offering the tiniest of smiles. "So, how much of a stalker does this make me?"
Charley sagged against the wall, wrapping her arms around herself and lifting her shoulders in a half-hearted smile. The sudden relief she felt upon seeing her sister sitting in her apartment, even if she did look like hell warmed over, was immense and eased away the tension that had interrupted her sleep. "On a scale of one to ten? I'd give it a four."
Cassie laughed, a startled sound that escaped with a sob right on its heels.
Charley was next to her in an instant, wrapping her arms around Cassie's trembling shoulders and holding her tightly. She hoped feverently that Modo would keep sleeping and that Cassie could outrun Stokers demons before anyone showed up and felt the need to help her fight them. Specifically Stoker himself.
"Can't tell what's real from what he put in your head, can you?" she asked after a while, keeping her voice low and soft.
Cassie gasped, pulling back. "How...how do you know?"
"How fresh is that coffee?"
Cassie glanced over her shoulder at the pot. "I didn't get here that long ago. Half and hour maybe. I couldn't sleep and I just...I packed everything up and started driving."
Sensing the tension welling back up within her sister, Charley gave her a calming smile, holding her shoulders. "Let me get a cup of it and I'll tell you all about how I met the guys."