***(slight)WARNING***

This chapter contains some things that some people may not like reading about. And, no, this warning is not what y'all think it's for. (PERVERTS) It's nothing too bad, but I just wanna give y'all a heads up.

So.. You wanna know what the first thing I saw when I logged on to check how the story was doing? Reviews! 69 of them! And it made me giggle! God.. I'm so immature. I apologize for having the mentality of a prepubescent boy.

But seriously.. 69 reviews.. I never thought I'd get more than 10. Seriously. I love you guys. For real.

Speaking of reviews.. I'd like to thank (and I apologize if I'm leaving anyone out, I use my phone for checking the people who reviewed the last chapter, and some of the e-mails got deleted) DarknessMakesMeSmile,KimKitty, and GracefulWolvesInTheNight for your reviews! I'm glad that you're all enjoying the story so much! :3

KimKitty: It really depends.. Right now, I'm on break, so I have loads of free-time to update. I'm going back to school on the 7th, so, after that point, it'll probably be a weekly thing. I'm taking three extra college classes this semester that I'm a bit nervous about, so I may not have as much time to update as I have in the past.. Thank you for your review! :3

Now..

~Here's Chapter 38!~

Chapter 38: Disappointed

He shifted in the driver's seat, exhaling slowly to try to ease the throbbing itch the wound on his shoulder was producing. God, he just wanted to tear at it with his claws. The shirt he'd put on was rubbing against it all wrong, and the gauze patch was getting annoying. He was seriously tempted to rip the damn thing off.

He adjusted again, gritting his teeth in annoyance. Why couldn't he get comfortable? He loved driving, it put his mind at ease. Yet, here he was, driving, and his mind was definitely not at ease. Why wasn't it working?

A soft, sleepy sigh sounded at his right, bringing an unintentional smile to his face. His deep blue eyes moved from the road, to the woman seated beside him. Well.. Not seated. She was actually curled up on the chair, one leg propped up on the dash, her arms over her head, hands loosely gripping the headrest. How she was able to sleep in that position, he did not know. She certainly looked comfortable.

The SUV jerked slightly as they went over a bump, and he found his eyes straying away from her face, passing over the soft, rounded curve of her breast, then down to her shapely thighs and supple hips. He'd always been more of a leg man. She had some very nice legs.. Long, toned, leading up to a damn near perfect-

He tore his gaze away, his eyes widening. No, no.. He couldn't think like that - He wouldn't! Here she was, sleeping soundly, unaware of her surroundings, and he was, as the young adults back at the mansion called it, 'checking her out'. Sure, she had a nice body. Yeah, she was a caring woman, with a spicy spunk that could only be described as 'Jillian'. Maybe he actually kind of enjoyed spending time with her, relished hearing her laugh, drank in every smile, every kind look she sent his way. It wasn't like he liked her or anything. They fought all the time. She obviously didn't like him. And he didn't like her. Nope, not one bit.

'Lie.' The one-syllable word said in a deep, ragged voice forced him out of his woman-related thoughts, drawing a startled gasp from his lips. He looked over at Jillian, who was, thankfully, still asleep, then returned his gaze to the road.

'... Beast?' He questioned.

'Lie.' The same voice repeated, it's tone sharper.

'What's a lie?'

There was silence, but he felt an odd emotion that did not belong to him enter his mind. It was bitter and knowing, the same feeling one experienced when they caught another forging a story. He furrowed his eyebrows. Beast had growled and roared, but he'd never actually spoken.

'Can you speak?'

He heard something akin to a scoff, before all traces of his inner animal disappeared. Henry groaned a little, hitting his head on the headrest behind him.

"Wonderful. Now I'm mentally conversing with myself."

"Henry..?" Came a gentle voice. He froze, glancing over to Jillian. She was looking up at him with confused eyes.

"Sorry, I, uh.. I'm tired." Well, that wasn't all a lie. They were almost out of Pennsylvania, and he'd been driving for quite some time.

"I can take over, if you want." She said, letting out a little moan as she stretched. His lips went into a tight line and he shifted in his seat again.

'No, no, no.. Don't do that.' He mentally berated a treacherous part of his body.

"Actually, I'm fine." He lied. "You can keep sleeping."

"I couldn't fall back asleep, even if I wanted too. I'm awake now." She said, sitting up in the seat. "Are you sure you want to keep driving?"

"Yes." He replied too quickly. Jillian raised her eyebrow, but said nothing.

"..Is there a rest stop anywhere near here?" She asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, there's one coming up after this exit."

"Good." She said, bouncing her leg. "Where are we?"

"We're almost to New York.. We've about ten miles to go."

"Wow, you were really truckin'." She smirked.

"I assure you, I never accelerated higher than 90." He replied, a playful grin on his face.

"Well, that's good." She chuckled, pushing her chocolate tresses out of her face, before wincing. "Ouch! Damn, that really hurts.." She leaned forward and pulled the mirror down. ".. Jesus." Her fingertips lightly graced the bruise. "You're steering wheel really packs a punch."

Henry released an apologetic sigh.

"That it does. How does it feel?"

"Ouch."

He shook his head, still grinning as he pulled into the rest stop.

"That's not really an answer."

"It is, too. Ah! Rest stop! Thank God, I'm about to pee my pants!" She ripped open the door and flew out of the car.

Once my bladder was emptied and my hands were properly washed, I exited the bathroom to find Henry sitting on the hood of the SUV. He was rubbing his shoulder slowly, wincing every so often, his eyes fixed on the ground. I brushed my hands off on my pants, before shoving them in my back pockets as I strode over to him. He really did look exhausted.

"How's the shoulder?" I asked. His head jerked up slightly, like he was surprised that I'd talked to him. I felt walls come up. Huh.. I thought we were past that.

"It's.. Fine."

"That's a lie." I stopped a few feet in front of him, my head tilting. His eyes remained guarded as they met mine.

"It's just a bit sore." He admitted.

"Has it healed?"

"Almost."

"Should I look at it?"

He shook his head.

"It's fine, I don't think you need to."

I couldn't help but feel shocked when I suddenly grew disappointed. I bit down on my lower lip, nodding.

"M'kay. Give me the keys."

His head tilted to one side.

"What? Why?"

"Give me the keys. I'm driving. You're going to go to sleep."

His eyes narrowed.

"I do not believe that I agreed to this."

"I don't care. I'm commandeering this vessel." I patted the SUV's hood. "Give me the keys."

"I thought you were 'commandeering' it from me. I can't just give you the keys."

I put my hands on my hips, leaning forward.

"We can do this the hard way, or the easy way." I warned. I saw his eyes darken.

"I am not giving you the keys. Look at what happened the last time I let you drive." He smirked playfully.

"Oh, you just had to pull THAT card, didn't you?" I shot him a fake glare. He didn't look like he was going to change his mind. "Fine. Hard it is!"

I lunged at him. Before I had time to think, I felt my feet leave the ground, wind whipping through my hair.

"I don't think so!" He laughed. I shrieked playfully.

"No! Give it!" I reached out for the keys. He ripped his arm back, but I kept at it, wiggling in his grasp, before I got closer to the prize. My fingers clasped around them. "Almost -HA!" I snatched his keys out of his hand, then managed to twist my way out of his grasp. "Victory is mine!" I cheered, doing a little dance.

"You are not driving." He informed me, crossing his arms.

"I am, too. Consider your vehicle commandeered." I jingled his keys. " Now, get your butt in the passenger's seat and take a nap. That's an order."

"Who's the one in a high government position here? Oh, that's right. Not you." He went to snatch the keys away, but I stepped back and threw my arm out behind me. My back pressed against the grille of the SUV.

"No! Henry, seriously, just let me drive."

"You hit your head."

"You got shot. You've been healing. From what I remember reading about class five feral mutant's, they're usually drained after stitching themselves back together from trauma such as that."

"I was only shot." He sneered.

"Oh, you were only shot. Just a little bullet wound, no harm done."

I saw him fighting the smile that was trying to show itself. I smirked.

"I don't care what you say, I'm driving. So stop complaining, I can tell you really want me to drive, you just like arguing with me like this. You like playful banter."

His eyes went wide, shock etching his features. My smirk grew larger.

"Oh, you thought I didn't know?" I leaned in closer, my head craning so that I could continue looking into his eyes. His breath hitched, our faces inches away. "Empathy, remember?" With that, I slipped away from him and sashayed towards the driver's seat. When I climbed inside, I found that Henry was still standing at the front of the car, the shock still evident on his face(though, there was another emotion clear on it, too.). Moments later, he chuckled and shook his head, before walking to the passenger's seat and getting inside.

I gave him a wicked grin, then turned the key in the ignition and drove back onto the highway.

"You saw it?"

"Y-yeah." The man swallowed, wincing as he tried to open his swollen eye. "Huge motherfucker. Looked like a fuckin' blue gorilla."

"Why didn't you shoot it?!"

"A-Ah tried! Simon fired a couple, but by that time, the fucker'd ran out! Saw blood. Don't know where it hit 'im."

"Was he alone?"

"Some bitch was out in his car. She's the one that did this." He motioned to his broken arm and badly bruised face. "Ah wish Ah could get ahold'a her. Dumb bitch needs ta be taught a lesson."

The man's eyes darkened.

"You let yourself get injured by a woman?"

"She was in the car! Slammed the breaks and made us hit 'er head on! She's fuckin' crazy! Explain's why she's with that fuckin mutant dick. Ah reckon she likes suckin' off his blue-"

"Shut the fuck up!"

SMACK!

The man cried out in pain, blood from numerous re-opened cuts on his face now pooling onto the floor. The man with the glasses sneered, wiping the slick crimson liquid off his hand.

"Look at that, you've gone and ruined my church clothes. How am I going to explain this to Lily?" He frowned, examining the red splotches on the white fabric.

"S-sorry, boss, Ah-"

SMACK!

"Thought I told you to shut up, Boy." He turned, walking towards the desk. Though the room was badly lit, the man in the chair could see his fingers skim across something metal.

"Tim.." He began, sucking in air as he lifted his head. "I am very, very disappointed in you." Click! Whirrrr.. "I do not tolerate failure, nor do I like to be.." He paused as he picked up the item he'd been toying with. "Disappointed."

At this point, the man in the chair began trembling.

"G-General, A-Ah swear.. W-Won't happen again. Please, gimme another chance. Next time Ah see 'im, Ah'll shoot that sonofabitch dead, Ah swear on my dead Mama's grave! Ya gotta believe me!"

"Oh, I believe you, Tim." He turned again, arms crossed and smiling.

His eyes went wide.

"Y-yer givin' me another chance?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that.." He pulled out a revolver and made sure that Tim saw straight down the barrel before pulling the trigger.

ERMAHGERD SOME PLOT

Just thought I'd squeeeeeze that in there. It would've been a short chapter if it had just been Hank and Jillian's.. Uhaha.. Interesting.. Rest-stop interactions.

...Heheheheheueueuhehuehuehe.. Hehehehhehehaehauhauahuehuah euhehehe.. Hehehuah.

Okay, I'm done. I swears. I'm gonna work a little on chapter 39, and then go to bed.. Good Night, everyone! Have a pleasant tomorrow! :)

P.S. Did you guys know that I love reviews? *totally subtle hint*