The next morning, Sarah woke up, finding the other side of the bed empty as usual. Having been a military brat, Scott was always an early riser. By the time most people were having their morning shower and deciding what to have for breakfast, he had already been for a 5 mile run, thrashed through about fifty push-ups and sit-ups, had his shower and checked the military law enforcement scans for news of any major disturbances.

She got up, and made her way to her wardrobe to look out an outfit for the day, part of her own morning routine. It only took her about a second, mainly because just like when she still wore the "school uniform" she had been made to wear in Alphabet Soup, she had multiple sets of exactly the same clothes. Indeed, with the exception of the dress she had worn to the double wedding, it was the only outfit she had. It was one of the old habits she had actually kept from her Alphabet Soup days.

After that, she went to her shower, taking her usual 4 minutes and 37 seconds. She never really realised that her routine was just as regimented as Scott's until he pointed it out one time she commented on how he seemed to have a very efficient body clock. It was a slightly comforting thought that despite all their differences, there was at least one thing they seemed to have in common, even if it was something as unimportant as being laughably predictable in their morning routine.

As she finished with her shower, she suddenly stopped, seemingly unable to continue as a thought occurred to her. Looking at the clock she realised she had slept in, and it was already 11:00 AM, long after the Rangers were due to arrive for duty. Obviously the pregnancy was already taking a toll on her physically. In only a few minutes, she would be going downstairs to complete bedlam.

Ziggy and Tenaya were getting married, at long last, the following day. Everyone would already be incredibly excited about the roles they would play, and making last minute arrangements. That would mean they were all there, and she knew that there would be another thing they would be buzzing about, the thing she wasn't looking forward to. They would want to talk to her all about the baby.

She got dressed a lot more slowly than usual, hoping that she wouldn't have to face the endless stream of questions and well-wishes. She could already see Summer and Gemma crowding around her gleefully, while Ziggy, Tenaya and Flynn congratulated the pair and offered parenting advice.

She wished she could feel as excited about the pregnancy as Scott had. She had always presumed it would happen eventually, they were married after all, but she had never anticipated that it would happen so soon. She had come a long way in her emotional growth, especially since she began her relationship with Scott, but there were still shades of her old self in her personality. She had done a few school visits while she was mentoring the team, and she had been there whenever Ziggy brought the kids from the orphanage around or dragged the Rangers to see them. In all those times though, she had never felt the same affection for children the others had.

She was never the most patient of people. She often got easily frustrated by those less intelligent than herself, or who took a little too long to figure things out and needed to have things constantly explained. Unfortunately for her, that included pretty much everyone, sometimes even Gem and Gemma. Kids just completely baffled her, and in some ways, also disgusted and frightened her in equal measure. They constantly prattled on, asking endless questions, quickly grating on her and trying her patience. They had no ideas of social boundaries, constantly invading personal space. Whenever she had been to the orphanage, it was as though she had a big sign pinned to her saying "please hug me". They were noisy, sometimes they could be smelly and they were generally always untidy and unhygienic, a complete breeding ground for bacteria and disease.

She heard a knock on the door, and turned to face it, seeing Scott coming in with a huge grin on his face. He was clearly still delighted by the thought of fatherhood. She knew that he always loved the idea of family. He had talked fondly many times about when his mother was still alive, before the relationship between the three Truman men had become strained. He always wanted to have a family of his own. She didn't know how to talk to him about her fears for the future. She didn't want to spoil this for him.

"I was beginning to wonder if we'd see you this morning." He commented, coming to her side and kissing her softly. "So how are you both?"

"Scott..."

"Hello little guy." He whispered to her belly, placing his hand on it gently. "I hope you're not giving your mother too much trouble."

"Scott..."

"Sorry, I guess I shouldn't be attributing gender yet." He told her. "The Trumans tend to have boys. At least going by my family they do. I guess a girl would be cool though."

"Scott, I'm feeling perfectly fine. I haven't had any problems so far." She groaned. "Also, for your information, the foetus will currently be female. It'll be a while yet before the correct developmental stage which will determine the baby's final gender."

"Wait, all babies start out as girls?" He asked her. "You mean...at one time I was a girl?"

"At the correct developmental stage, an extra hormone is required to change the foetus from female to male." She explained. Scott just smiled at her.

"So are you hungry yet?" He asked her. She just nodded in response. "Let's see about getting you something to eat."

With that, he took her downstairs. Tenaya was trying on her dress, with Summer and Sam watching on. Dillon was in the corner with all four of the babies, seeming to have the time of his life. Sarah couldn't help feeling that this made things seem even worse. Dillon, who at one time was a loner, to the point of being sociopathic had adapted to parenthood. He hadn't loved kids either, but it seemed that even he could find himself adapting to the new rigours of parenthood.

"Flynn, could you fix up some breakfast for my special ladies?" He asked him. Flynn just smiled.

"Ladies?" He asked him. "Are you trying to tell me you know the baby's sex already?"

"It's a long story." Scott replied with a chuckle. "I'll let Sarah explain..."

"Flynn, what exactly is this?" Sarah asked him as he pushed her a bowl of...exactly what she wasn't sure. It looked a little like off-colour wallpaper paste with a few lumps in it.

"It's porridge." Flynn informed her. "My dad said he and mum swore by it. Sam can attest to it too can't you pet?"

"It doesn't look too good, but it doesn't taste bad." She called over from where Tenaya was having her dress fitted. "I find myself eating it even now I'm not pregnant."

"What about my cereal?" She asked him. "What about my Dr. Honeybees?"

"Sorry lass, that's just full of sugars and chemicals and all sorts of nasty wee things you shouldn't be putting into your body." He told her, beginning to skin a banana. "I had to throw it out."

"You threw out my cereal?" Sarah asked him a little incredulously. "Flynn, I am well aware of nutrition. I have a perfectly balanced diet which takes into account my love of sugary confectionary products..."

"Aye, well it may have been perfectly balanced for one lass." He replied, slicing the banana onto her porridge. "You've got to remember, you're eating for two now."

Sarah just looked down to the porridge and bananas and picked up her spoon with a sigh. The baby was starting to take over her life already.

In another part of town, Ziggy arrived outside Vasquez's apartment. He had been kicked out of the apartment for the day to allow the girls to work on Tenaya's dress without him seeing it. Meanwhile, he just had to make sure the other guests were all aware of their roles in the ceremony and were going to attend the rehearsal dinner that night.

He hit the doorbell, waiting for a response. It took a while, and he was about ready to leave when he heard a noise from inside the apartment.

Inside, Vasquez was ripped from her slumber by the doorbell. The term "come-to" would probably have been more appropriate. Between her injuries and the amount she'd had to drink, she had pretty much passed out on the couch again. She groaned as she reached to her face, feeling her cheek a little swollen. As a result of her rather hectic night, she had several nagging injuries which plagued her. It was only luck that a patrol had come by and broken up the fight she had become involved in. She was close, very close to achieving what she wanted. She reached for a bottle which still had some vodka in it, and took a long gulp, before making her way to the door. She opened it ajar, making sure whoever was there couldn't see inside.

"Ziggy?" She asked him wearily, wiping some sand from her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"We haven't heard from you in a while, I was just making sure you remembered the rehearsal dinner tonight." He began, trying to get some idea as to how she was. It looked like she had only just woken up, and by the looks of her, she hadn't yet washed or changed. He couldn't see the bottle in her hand, she was concealing it behind the door, but the smell from the apartment concerned him a little.

"That's tonight?" She asked him. "You only told me about it on..."

"Vasquez, its tonight." He assured her. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Um...not really." She told him, trying to find a way to let him down gently. She had forgotten all about the rehearsal dinner. The way she was feeling now that Luanne was gone, she really had no desire to be around all the happy couples, the ones for whom happiness had come so easily. She had double-booked herself, having already told the pit fighting ring that she would be there to fight. Given the alternative, being stuck in the corner of the room feeling sorry for herself while everyone else prepared for the spectacle of the happy wedding, the fight sounded a lot more appealing. "Do you mind if I give it a miss?"

"Vasquez, we all really want you to be there." He told her regretfully as he saw the look on her face. "You're our friend; it wouldn't be the same..."

"I just don't really feel that good." She interrupted him. "I probably just need a quiet night to lie down and get myself together."

"Are you sure?" Ziggy asked her, hoping to get her to change her mind. Like the others, he had been a little worried about her. "If you're ill we understand, but we'd really love you to be there."

"I'm sorry; I'm really not up to it." She stated flatly. "I'll be at the ceremony tomorrow, I promise."

With that, she closed the door. Ziggy wasn't at all happy with how the situation had been resolved. He knew that there was far more going on than she was letting on. He knew that unless she was willing to listen and let them know what was going on with her, then there wasn't really anything he could do. Reluctantly, he left the building, heading on his way. He could only hope that Vasquez would be at the wedding as she had promised.

Over at the Central Command building, the newly appointed Mayor Truman was trawling through some paperwork when Colonel Hicks knocked on his door, poking his head into the office.

"You wanted to see me sir?" He asked him. Truman just smiled and waved him in, noting the fact that Hicks was out of uniform. He was wearing suit pants and a red shirt.

"I'm guessing you gave yourself a short day." Mason commented. Hicks just shrugged.

"A wise man once told me that the secret of effective command is to train your team until they don't need you to give orders." Hicks replied. "I figured you wouldn't mind. Especially seeing as I'm the one giving you a ride to the rehearsal dinner."

"I had a small matter to discuss with you." Mason told him. "As you know, the reformation of earth is progressing well. The Orient is completely under SPD control. North and South America are clear, and the efforts to clear the remnants of Venjix's forces out of Europe are progressing well."

"It's only Australasia and Africa that we haven't made any headway into." Hicks replied with a nod, confirming what he had said. "We wanted to fortify the territory we had reclaimed before pushing through Africa."

"Well I've received the most recent communication from SPD command." He informed him. "They now feel that Earth is secure enough to officially begin inducting it into the SPD jurisdiction."

"I guess we always knew this day would come." Hicks replied. "What do we have to do?"

"As you know, there are six main outposts that are considered the strongest cities of earth, New Tech, Eden and Corinth here in the States, Mexico City down in the south, Paris France and Madrid in Spain." He reminded him. "The decision has been taken that an election is to take place among the leaders of those six cities to elect a President of Earth to stand in the interplanetary council."

"It looks like you're facing an election race after all." Hicks said with a smile. "You know exactly where my vote will go."

"I'm flattered to hear that, thank you but that isn't why I called you here." He told him. "Every city on earth will have an SPD outpost. The SPD Rangers will operate out of the main outpost in New Tech, but each station will have its own base of SPD officers. I've recommended you to be the Base Commander of SPD Corinth."

"I appreciate that sir." Hicks replied, but Truman held up his hand to stop him.

"It would mean a transfer off-world for three months while you're trained for the position." He informed his former protégé. "After that, you would be sent back with a team to train the military to become SPD officers."

"I understand sir." Hicks assured him with a sigh, realising where this was going. "Gemma wouldn't be going with me would she?"

"No, she would remain as part of the efforts to complete the reformation." Mason told him.

"Can I take a while to think about it?" He asked. "I'll need to talk to her."

"I thought you would need some time." Truman replied. "They'll need your answer within a week."

It wasn't much time, but Hicks had been in the military long enough to know that decisions were made, and expected to be made in such short time frames. He didn't know what to do. In some respects, so much of his job had been law enforcement for so long; it seemed like a logical progression. It also sounded like membership of the SPD organisation came with some pretty heavy conditions. The way Mason was talking, it sounded almost like SPD would essentially take the place of both the military AND the police across the planet. If he refused the position, did that mean he would lose his job? Was he going to have to choose between Gemma and his career?

"Sir!" A soldier called out as he barged into the office. He stared at them as he realised his mistake, quickly saluting. "Colonel Hicks sir, we have some information on a major incident going down tonight. We picked up a man hawking some counterfeit watches..."

"Get to the point private, I have a wedding to get to!" Hicks snapped, becoming a little short with him, the weight of the numerous things on his mind taking the last of his patience. Between having no idea what was going on with Vasquez and protecting her from getting into trouble, running the entire military and now the prospect of losing his job or his girlfriend, he was quickly finding his mental capacity stretched to the limit.

"Sir, there's a pit fighting ring meeting in the old foundry tonight." He informed him. "They say there's a huge event, all sorts of players will be there..."

"Get the duty sergeant to put together a sting." Hicks interrupted him again, getting up from his seat. Mayor Truman did likewise, collecting his jacket.

"Sir, you don't understand. This is the organisation we've been trying to bring down for months." He explained. "Apparently there are a couple of hybrids going to be fighting. They're expecting a huge turnout; all the players in the city will be there. They'll be loaded for bear!"

"The duty sergeant should be able to handle it." Hicks reiterated sharply. "Tell him from me that since we're expecting resistance, you have my authorisation to use lethal force if necessary. Do you understand? If you think someone's making a move, shoot to kill."

"Yes sir." He stammered in response, before rushing out to relay the message.

Meanwhile, Vasquez was sitting in the old foundry on a crate, taping up her fists for the fight. She had tied her hair back to hold it out of her face, and was wearing only a black gym shirt and track suit trousers with white tennis shoes. She could already hear the crowd baying like bloodthirsty animals awaiting the fight. The promoter walked up to her, giving her a lecherous grin.

"So you're the new hybrid?" He asked her. "I'm surprised you want to get that pretty face messed up. I could think of better ways for you to earn money."

"Trust me, I'm not interested." She sighed in disgust, reaching for a vodka bottle and taking a long swig. The promoter just laughed.

"That's an interesting training regime you have there." He laughed. "I guess considering the night you're about to have I can't blame you..."

"Just shut up and tell me who I'm facing." She interrupted him.

"Hold your horses there little lady, you don't just walk into the main event. You need to audition first. See if the crowd likes you." He explained. "Before we put you in with the real sickos and have you end up as chunks on a coroner's slab, we need to know if you can cut it."

"Am I here to fight or get bored to death?" She asked him sarcastically. "Who am I facing?"

"Go out there and find out." He told her, gesturing to the ring. He stopped her and inspected her fist tape. "You're not ready. These aren't properly prepared."

These underground fights were thoroughly sadistic affairs, true human blood sports. It had been described as human cock fighting. Generally all fighters would dip their fist tape into glue and then broken glass. It meant that their punches inflicted truly horrific injuries, even with merely glancing blows, while not being lethal enough to encourage short fights.

"I'll do more damage like this." She told him, finishing the bottle before throwing it aside. She strode into the ring as the promoter walked away.

"It's your funeral sweetheart." He replied.

Vasquez stepped out into the "arena", in truth only a work floor of the old foundry, which had been surrounded by a makeshift wall made of shipping pallets, chain-link fences and sheets of corrugated iron, fastened together securely. Razor wire was bolted to practically every inch of it, again in the hopes of raising the excitement by encouraging the fighters to force each other into it and tear each other apart. The "door" was closed behind her and secured with heavy chain. Vasquez looked around, seeing all manner of bloodthirsty spectators, all screaming for more. Given the stains on the floor, it was obvious hers was not the first fight of the evening.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a treat for you tonight. A new hybrid thinks she is good enough to take part in our elite battles." The promoter announced over the house microphone. "Let's see if she's right. Odds start at 3:1 against!"

Just then, the other door opened, and about a dozen punks rushed into the ring, carrying assorted weapons. There were some machetes, a couple of meat cleavers, baseball bats and even one carrying a sledgehammer. They all rushed around, surrounding her. Vasquez just smiled as she got ready to fight.