Roman and Drake had never before paid this much attention in biology class. Ms. Benton's soothing voice had put a few students to sleep; even her tight dresses and perky cleavage weren't enough to keep Eric and his friends interested today. It didn't hurt that the topic was Atrian anatomy, something the Redhawks found pointless and occasionally even offensive.

Aria's physiology was a mystery to everyone involved in her life. Medical services in the Sector were sufficient but not extravagant – the vast majority of ailments were treated with a visit to the healers of the Iwabas tribe. In addition, Aria's mother had actively tried not to draw attention to her special circumstances, so she rarely took the child with her when she needed something from them. Aria had passed as a full Atrian for years; now Drake and Roman had taken it upon themselves to remedy that.

Roman tried to think of a subtle way to bring up a few of his most pressing questions; Drake opted instead for an approach with which he was more comfortable.

"So, hang on," Darke interrupted without raising his hand, "What happens if an Atrian and a human actually do get it on?" There was a low snicker from the back of the class. Ms. Benton shot the student a warning look and then turned to Drake.

"Well, Drake, that's not actually relevant to our current topic," she reminded him, tapping the screen behind her where a blow-up of the Atrian respiratory system was displayed. Roman swooped in to help.

"Actually it could be," he interjected. "If a human and an Atrian had a kid." There was a general up-tick in enthusiasm from the students at the suggestion, and Ms. Benton was savvy enough to know how to capitalize on that.

"Okay, interesting. Explain," she encouraged, tilting her head to one side and opening her arms to the class, signaling her willingness to hear more. Other students began piping up, and as the questions flew, she made notes on the screen.

"Would their skin breathe?"

"Would they have those crazy markings?"

"Would their markings still glow, if they had any?"

"Would they belong to a tribe?"

"Would they live with humans, or Atrians?" - Ms. Benton turned around at that, unsure who had asked it.

"Not really related to biology, but thanks for the effort," she called out.

"What about hearts? How many hearts would they have?" Roman tossed in quickly, glaring at Drake once Ms. Benton had turned back to the board. Real smooth, he mouthed.

"Oh yeah! And lungs! Like, would there be three or something?"

"Would they be able to keep up with Sophia in the pool?" someone added, and the whole class laughed. Ms. Benton smiled to herself, making a mental note to tell Gloria about the sense of camaraderie that had overtaken these students today, however briefly.

She cleared her throat for attention.

"These are all excellent questions. The unfortunate truth is, we don't have a lot of answers. There are no documented cases of human-Atrian hybrids for study, so the scientific community is nearly as uncertain as you all are." She could tell from the disappointed groans that this was not the answer they wanted. "However, we can extrapolate, based on our most knowledge of the nature of genetics, and come up with some reasonable hypotheses." Ms. Benton pursed her lips, tapped her finger thoughtfully against her chin, and then nodded decisively.

"Okay guys, I can work with this. Independent research projects, deal? Using, as the basis for your research, the following questions: given our current knowledge, what would a hypothetical mixed human-Atrian child look like? And, how would its internal organs be structured?" The bell rang, and Ms. Benton glanced with a frustrated sigh at the time. "I'll break you up into your research groups tomorrow. Please read chapter 7 for homework, in the meantime!" She had to raise her voice slightly at the end, since the buzz of excited discussion threatened to drown her out.

"It sounds like a really interesting research topic!" Sophia gushed to Julia and Lukas as the students moved into the hallway. Roman signaled Drake and the two hung back for a moment.

"Did you catch that comment she made?" he asked under his breath.

"What? You mean, 'no documented cases of hybrids for study'? How could I miss it?" Drake frowned. "We can't let anyone else know about Aria. It's too dangerous."

…

Taylor finally found a chance to talk to Drake, in his last period study hall. She held the paperwork out proudly for him to read. He scanned the top page quickly, cocked his head at her in confusion, and read it again more carefully.

"What's an 'emancipated minor'? And ...what's a... 'writ of habeas corpus'? What language is this? …I don't understand half the stuff in here," he complained quietly. "Please just tell me what's going on."

"I'm free," Taylor whispered. Her eyes were shining more brightly than Drake had ever seen, and she almost reached across the desk to kiss him but managed to stop herself. The study hall was mostly freshmen. At this point, they were all huddled on one side of the room, staring with a "deer in the headlights" look at the pair of juniors. Clearly, the single most terrifying experience of their short lives was being stuck in this enclosed space with both The Incredible Atrian Hulk and the Queen Bee. Taylor looked around haughtily, found a group of girls and randomly picked out one.

"Nice top," she commented flatly before turning back to Drake. It worked. She could hear the sighs and murmurs from across the room as that top instantly became the most important fashion item in their collective wardrobe.

Drake stared at her in admiration.

"That shouldn't be possible," he pointed out. She shrugged dismissively.

"I know. But it works for me. Look, that was just to distract them from us. The point is, I'm done with the Dragon Lady! Gloria told me this weekend, but the papers came in today. She's friends with the D.A. so he appointed her my advocate, but she said that's just a formality. We're going to look for apartments this afternoon! Do you want to come with me? It would be so great to have you there," she pleaded, wrapping her hands over his and tilting her head coyly. Drake sighed and pulled back reluctantly.

"Taylor, I'd really like to, but... I have to get back to Aria." Taylor knew he was right, and she tried not to be jealous of Drake's double life - but some days were harder than others. She frowned without meaning to, then excused herself, saying she needed to find Emery to share the news. Drake tightened his fists as he struggled to keep his frustrations in check. He nodded at her and went back to his math homework.

Taylor found Emery sidling out of a tiny broom closet, a guilty look on her face. She jumped when Taylor called her name, and glanced back toward the door quickly, blushing.

"Ohhh!" Taylor smiled in understanding. "Hey, the coast is clear, Roman, just come out!" Taylor called impatiently. She would share her news with anyone she could.

Roman read the papers to himself a few times, finding the legal jargon confusingly redundant. Emery, meanwhile, hugged Taylor gently and asked about what would happen next; Roman had a different question on his mind.

"So, according to all this, you don't know who your father is?"

"Yes, but clearly he was a dick, so why would I want to?" Taylor retorted. Roman sighed. He was happy for Drake, no question, but he still found Taylor a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

"Because, Taylor, what if he's the same person who also… you know… Aria's mother?" Roman tried to explain. "You have to admit, the resemblance between you two is pretty striking."

Taylor's eyes grew rounder as she pondered this.

"Do you really think it's possible? That I have a sister? We're over 12 years apart."

"Yes, I really think it's possible." Roman had to abandon subtlety in favor of the direct approach with Taylor. "I think men who do… that… don't stop at one woman."

Emery watched Taylor's face closely. She could tell the blonde girl was struggling with the ramifications of Roman's theory.

"Taylor, that's not something to worry about right now," she interjected, shooting Roman an annoyed look. "You have enough to deal with. Get yourself settled first, then we can focus on everything else." Taylor nodded gratefully to Emery and then, as the bell rang, headed for her locker. Roman and Emery watched her walk away, each troubled by Taylor's news but for different reasons.

Roman couldn't imagine his life without Sophia. If it was possible Aria and Taylor were sisters, they deserved to know that right away. They shouldn't waste another moment apart. Emery clearly didn't agree; as an only child, though, he understood she might not be able to have the proper perspective.

Emery was much more focused on the teenage girl's immediate needs. She had never seen Taylor spend money on anything other than clothes. Did she even know how to budget? Had she ever cooked for herself before? And would she need to get a job? Emery felt, and dismissed, a tiny grain of irritation at Roman's insensitivity to the current situation. They would discuss it later, when the world was just the two of them again.

As the halls filled with students, Roman pressed the back of his hand lightly against the back of Emery's and quietly slipped away. Under the circumstances it was such a daring move that Emery shivered in delight at the illicit touch. She resisted the white-hot tug in the pit of her stomach, the one telling her to just go after him, dammit, and turned to her locker. Julia and Lukas were already waiting there, eager to discuss Ms. Benton's project.

"So as you can imagine," Lukas began with a self-deprecating laugh, "I've already been thinking about how we should approach this. I think we should focus on one particular aspect of the child's anatomy, and really dig into it. Like the child's senses, for example. Did you even know Atrians can see into the UV spectrum? I'm sure there are plenty of other differences betwe -" Julia held one hand in front of Lukas to slow him down.

"Whoa there, cowboy," she laughed. "Ms. Benton hasn't even assigned us our groups. What makes you think we'll be together?"

"I just figured she'd end up letting us choose our groups," Lukas shrugged dismissively.

…

Lukas was wrong. In class the next day, Emery sat with the rest of her independent research team to brainstorm the assignment. She offered to take notes, and began by entering the names of the five group members onto her tablet:

Emery. Julia. Roman. Teri. Grayson.