Despite my initial panic, I should have expected this. If not tonight, then sometime soon. It wasn't like Jake yelling bloody murder in his sleep was out of the ordinary. After the first time he woke me and Temrash up, he'd started sleeping with his door closed. My former Yeerk figured it was some teenage phase, and it bothered him about as much as the kind of torture he put me through on a regular basis. To Midget's credit, the door being closed probably muffled the sound, at least to some extent. Our bedrooms were next to each other. My parents, on the other hand, slept on the other side of the hallway, and I couldn't recall a single instance in which either had been woken up when Midget was having a nightmare.

The first time Temrash and I had heard the screams, Temrash had rushed into his room, acting (emphasis on "acting") decent enough to Jake. My brother reacted with a mixture of embarrassment and near animosity, which Temrash rightly took as an indicator that his presence wouldn't be necessary if Jake had more nightmares. So, of course, my slug had ran with that.

Liliss cared about the fact that Jake had nightmares regularly, mostly because it worried me, but we both figured it would be better to follow Temrash's lead-for once. If Jake didn't want us there when he woke up from a bad dream, well, we'd only be intruding.

This time, now knowing what we did, was way different.

Not that either of us thought about this when we heard Jake's screams. They even sounded worse than before. As I woke up and bolted out of my bed, I wasn't even sure if it was me in control, or Liliss. Probably me, but it was hardly something I would have bet my life on.

Anyway, we didn't communicate much in those first few seconds. Or, nothing very concrete. I was half asleep, still, and Liliss...well, she was probably more awake because if she'd been sleeping, it was the light sleep that Yeerks experienced.

We raced out of my room and, without bothering to knock on Jake's door, opened it and turned on the light. Jake was curled up in a ball in the middle of his bed, still yelling out something about...well, I couldn't make out anything concrete.

The point was, Midget was clearly terrified, and I had no plans of leaving until he either kicked me out (unlikely, considering earlier), felt better enough for me to leave (still unlikely), or felt safe enough to fall asleep, ideally with me next to him to prevent any more nightmares that night (ideal option).

(I got this,) I told Liliss.

Even though I wasn't sure I wasn't already in control.

At her mental nod and warm smile, I crossed the room towards the bed, and sort of half sat, half leaned down, pulling a still half asleep Jake into my arms.

Not unlike how we'd been sitting earlier.

"Hey. It's okay, it's okay," I murmured, holding him close. "Just a nightmare, Midget."

Jake's eyes widened at the sound of my voice.

"Tom?" he asked, hoarsely.

"Yeah." I smoothed some hair out of his face. "Bad dream, huh?"

I loosened my grip, repositioning myself to a sitting position, using the head of his bed as support. Jake remained in a huddled position next to me.

"Temrash...Visser Three..." he began, then stopped as his voice caught.

I nodded, pulling him closer to me. "Sounds awful," I murmured.

"It was just a nightmare." Jake looked up at me, almost embarrassed. "Sorry for waking you, Tom."

I rolled my eyes, moving another piece of hair away from his face. "Oh, please. It's Saturday night. Or Sunday morning. We can sleep in. Not that that would change even if it were a school night. You have a nightmare, you come and get me, okay?" I pressed. "I mean it. That's what I'm here for."

Or, maybe, I should just stay with him when he slept. At least for a few days. Or a week. Long enough so that he knew I wasn't the enemy-well, that Liliss wasn't.

Jake did the slow nod thing again. "Okay," he answered, in a low voice.

I sort of pulled him into my arms, but gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"We were at a Sharing meeting. You...were holding me down, and Visser Three had a Yeerk." Jake's voice caught, again. "I couldn't morph. Couldn't escape."

I placed my hands on his shoulders and began to run my hands over them, slowly, gently. "I've had ones like that, Jake. The worst, huh?"

Jake murmured something that sounded like he agreed. Then, he let out a small sigh, not moving, so I continued massaging his shoulders for several minutes. Jake kept his back more or less straight the whole time, but his head slowly flopped over against his chest.

"Feel good?" I asked, gently, and, once again, he murmured something I couldn't quite make out, but sounded affirmative. Suddenly, a memory came to me. "Hey, remember how Mom used to do this when we had a bad dream, or when we were sick?"

Jake gave a little nod, his breathing slowing down. "Yeah."

Slowly, I moved my hands to his upper back, and began to knead that area for awhile.

"Stay with me?" he whispered. "Please?"

"You bet," I promised. "Now, shh. Try to relax," I urged.

Jake laughed. "Not too hard."

"Huh?" I asked, thinking that I was hurting him.

"To relax," he mumbled. "Feels good, Tom."

"Good," I repeated, smiling to myself, still alternating between gently rubbing his shoulders and kneading out the tension underneath.

Jake let out another sigh, and soon, his breathing grew slow and even. Once I was sure he'd falling asleep any minute, I carefully removed my hands from his back, then moved Jake on his side, onto the bed. I wrapped one arm around him in a bear hug, and used the other to tuck the blankets in around us. Then, of course, I wrapped my free arm around him, holding him in a protective hug.

"Thanks," I thought I heard him murmur, just before I fell asleep.

I woke up the next day to a sense of mild confusion at holding Jake in my arms, and then the memory of the previous night returned.

(Bad dream,) I murmured to Liliss, not loosening my hold on Jake.

(Yes. Definitely a nightmare,) she agreed, sounding more awake than I was.

The memory of last night appeared in my mind, not triggered by Liliss. What struck me was how scared, almost panicked, Jake had looked. Even when I'd come in to check on him.

Maybe, especially then.

(It's no wonder he didn't want Temrash with him, if his other dreams were anything like this,) she observed.

(Yeah,) I agreed, grimly. (Bad dreams are one thing, but something like that? At the very least, he'd think Midget had gone crazy.)

(Speaking of which...) Liliss added, sending me a light mental nudge.

Jake was just starting to stir in his sleep. A few seconds later, his eyes opened, then widened when he saw me-and felt me-holding him.

"Hey, Midget," I greeted, trying to keep my voice light. "How'd you sleep?"

Jake's eyes widened even more. His brows wrinkled in confusion, then returned to normal as he must have remembered the previous night.

"Sorry, Tom," he mumbled, not looking at me.

It wasn't fear, though. I'd been apart from Jake for over a year, but I knew embarrassment when I saw it.

Poor kid.

I gave his shoulders a gently squeeze. "Hey. We've been through this, Midget," I chided, gently. "Given everything you've been through, you're going to get nightmares. Heck, I get them, too."

Not as much as before Liliss, sure, but back then, I could have probably given Jake a run for his money.

Not that it was any kind of competition.

Jake nodded, a small amount of relief showing on his face. "Sor-I mean, um, okay."

Well, I guessed that embarrassment at having been "caught" having had a major nightmare in front of his brother was a hell of a lot better than outright terror at said brother.

I hoped that, as we regained our closeness, Jake's embarrassment about something he could hardly control would disappear.

In the meantime...

"You sleep any better afterwards?" I wondered, pretty sure I knew the answer, but wanting to be certain.

He smiled. "Oh, definitely. Way better, Tom."

"Good." I smiled back. "Anyway, I was thinking...you get them a lot, so how about I stay here with you?" At his hesitation, I added, "At least, for the next few days or so? You know, to see if my being there helps you any. If not, we can always go back..."

"You mean it?" Jake asked, almost surprised. Then, he looked down at the bed, then up at me.

I could almost hear what he was thinking. We definitely fit, and easily, too. No surprise, since I was pretty sure we both slept in queen sized beds. They were only a little smaller than our parents, who slept in a king.

"It's not like there isn't room," I pointed out, as though this wasn't obvious. Still, I gestured to the space between myself and the edge of the bed, and then Jake and the edge of his side of the bed. "See? Neither of us are are in much danger of falling off."

For emphasis, I gave Jake a little push, which he returned. Which resulted in me trapping him in a bear hug.

Not much of a trap, since he immediately relaxed against me, even laughing a little.

"So, what do you think?" I pressed, studying my kid brother.

"I mean...it's not...babyish or anything, is it?" Jake wondered.

"Only if you wet the bed. Then, I'm out." At Jake's look of horror, I laughed. "Kidding, kidding. No, Midget. Look, given what you must be going through, plus the fact that I have sort of been the de facto enemy for almost a year, I want to be there for you now. Especially now," I added, with emphasis. "In case you haven't noticed, we've got a lot of time to make up."

"Yeah, a lot," Jake agreed with a sigh, then rested his head against my chest. "Okay. Thanks, Tom."

"You bet." I gave him another squeeze. "Want to just hang out here for a little?"

At his nod, I lay us both back down on the bed. Jake curled himself up against me.

"Well, maybe I could get used to this," Jake laughed.

I tousled his hair. "Good. That's kind of the point."

We remained in bed for another half hour or so, mostly resting, occasionally chatting about non-Yeerk related stuff. It was after 9 when we headed downstairs, which meant that (aside from the time Jake and I had been up the night before) we'd probably gotten at least eleven hours of sleep.

Well, after yesterday, we needed it.

We both poured ourselves a bowl of cereal, drowning it with milk.

Watching me eat must have reminded Liliss about having to go back to the Yeerk Pool soon, because she spoke up.

(You know, Tom, I could go feed this morning, if you want,) she offered. (While Jake finishes his homework or works on the garage or...)

(Hangs out in front of the TV or plays video games?) I finished, with a mental grin. (Yeah, I guess that could work.)

I didn't mention-didn't have to take into account-that she'd be going hours before she officially needed to be there. Since Yeerks start to feel hunger after about two and a half days, and human schedules can be inconsistent or modified by parents, it was an unofficial policy that Yeerks with human hosts would feed whenever they saw fit, in order to avoid starvation. Naturally, if you were going daily or every other day, it would raise eyebrows, but moving your feeding schedule up by a few hours here and there was almost expected. Temrash often complained to me about having to deal with curfews and school, but I noticed that he never let so much as two and a half days pass with me before feeding.

In fact, being starved out from my brother might have been the first time my former Yeerk had ever felt hunger.

Well, the first time in months. Hork-Bajir Controllers' feeding schedules are a lot more regimented, as are Taxxons' (which I knew he'd never had) and Gedds'.

(Probably,) Liliss agreed, (although, were I the Visser sentencing him, I would have made it last much longer.)

I raised my eyebrows. (You're being a little sadistic, there, Liliss.)

(Protective,) she corrected, gently. (You're my host, honey, and we're supposed to care for our hosts. Not break them down into shadows of their former selves. And, well, if that's not a crime in the Yeerk empire, well, it shows just how misguided the empire is.)

(You know, you really don't need to convince me of that,) I deadpanned.

(No,) Liliss noted, with a small sigh. (I suppose not.)

"Hey, Midget," I spoke up, as we piled our bowls in the sink. "Liliss and I were thinking of going to the pool early. You mind?"

Jake raised an eyebrow at me. "Do I mind that my brother is locked in a cage while his Yeerk feeds?"

I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Yeah. Aside from that."

He shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. How long you think you'll be?"

"Two and a half, maybe three hours," I guessed. "Depending on traffic and lines and all that."

(Tell him I'll leave your head when I get back, just to assuage his concerns,) Liliss suggest him.

(I'm not going to use the word "assuage" to my kid brother,) I retorted, with a mental grin. (That sounds so geeky.)

Liliss sent me an image of a Yeerk wearing sunglasses.

Out loud, I added, "Liliss promises to leave my head for a little when we get back. You know, in case you were worried."

This did seem to reassure Jake. I could see the lines clear from his face.

All he said, though, was, "Okay. Great. Yeah, I guess it makes sense for you guys to go now."

"We'll finish up the garage when I get back. You can finish your homework, or watch TV, or whatever in the meantime, okay?" I asked.

"I can finish the English book from hell," Jake laughed.

"Now, Jake," I mock chided, "you know that books that go to hell are exclusively math and maybe science related."

This got an eye roll. "Some English books deserve to go there."

Remembering some of the stuff I had to read in middle school and early high school, I could hardly dispute this fact. "Okay. Guess there's room for them, too."

I got dressed in clothes that would be okay for cleaning the garage, if that still needed to be done when we got back. Jake seemed to have the same idea, but, honestly, a lot of his clothing looked like that.

I noticed something that looked like the shirt from a body suit poke out from his loose long-sleeved t-shirt.

"What's that, Midget?" I wondered.

Jake glanced at his arm, and then grinned, lifting up his shirt. A much tighter one was underneath. "My morphing outfit. We always wear them."

I frowned. "Um...why?"

"Because we can't morph anything but super tight clothes, and none of us want to be naked when we demorph," Jake explained, patiently.

Like this was totally obvious.

I grinned. "Yeah, well. Bet you look like mutant superheroes."

"Shut up," Jake retorted, with a grin. "Like I said. It's that or be naked whenever we demorph."

(Tom,) Liliss warned, before I could even formulate the thought, (you don't want to go there.)

(Okay, okay,) I groaned. (Man, sometimes, it really sucks that you can read all of my thoughts, Liliss.)

(I can also prevent you from embarrassing your brother unnecessarily,) she answered, almost primly.

Of course, I sent her a mental image of an exceptionally hideous looking Yeerk sticking out an enormous tongue.

Really, though, Liliss had a point. What I'd been thinking probably would have crossed a line.

Veering on a somewhat safer topic, I asked, "Wait. What, exactly, happens with your regular clothes when you morph?"

"When we tried to morph them in the beginning, we sort of slid out of them. If we were lucky. For battle morphs, they could get torn to shreds. Now?" Jake just shrugged. "We just remove them before we morph."

"And hide them?" I guessed.

"If we need to wear them to not look weird, yeah. But hiding them creates problems, so..." Jake shrugged. "Someday, we're figure out how to morph regular clothes. And shoes. We can't do anything with shoes."

(Hmm. A possible role to fill,) Liliss suggested.

(Yeah...)

"Ouch." I winced.

"At least, morphing repairs all injuries." Jake shrugged, again. "Rachel found out the hard way."

"Huh? Why would Rachel want to keep her injuries?" I asked, baffled.

Jake pointed to his ears. Or, rather, the part of the ear that almost every girl in the world-or at least my school-gets pierced.

"Ohh." I understood at once. "What happened with that? Does she go to the mall every week or something?"

"I heard her telling Cassie that after the fifth time she had to get her ears pierced again, she figured she'd just wear earrings all the time. It worked, I think?" Jake shrugged. "I guess earrings act like clothes to the ear."

I nodded, glad that this was one thing Jake didn't have to deal with. Sure, some guys pierced one ear, but he'd shown exactly zero interest in that.

"Well," I concluded, "once we get back, we'll finish up with the garage, and you can tell me more morphing stories. I figure if we make the garage look really good, and you get all of your homework done, there's a chance I could convince Mom and Dad to let you off early for good behavior."

"Good behavior?" Jake echoed, grinning at me.

"You know, doing your homework and cleaning up the garage," I explained. "As opposed to morphing bird and hightailing it out of here."

"Which would get me grounded for life," Jake reminded me.

"Well, yeah." I grinned. "Anyway, I will put in a good word for you. As your unofficial prison guard."

"I appreciate it," Jake told me, seriously.

I gave him a hug, which he returned.

The wait at the Yeerk Pool wasn't too long. At least, there weren't a lot of humans there. I suspected that most of the human Controllers with families had church or other family obligations. If more would stop by later, I hoped that Liliss and I would be long gone before then.

Not that this meant it was any quieter than usual. In fact, it might have been louder. We humans tend to give up over time-myself included-but Hork-Bajir tended not to quit.

Temrash had told me that his was too stupid not to fight him, despite receiving increasingly painful mental punishments when he did. Yeerks can do worse than use memory torture.

Liliss heard this thoughts, and pulled me into a mental hug. (That dapsen,) she muttered.

(Wonder if his old host is still alive,) I answered, even as I relaxed into my Yeerk's hug.

After a pause, Liliss replied, (Probably. They don't usually live more than ten years, but Yeerks infest them as soon as they can, and unless Temrash controlled him for most of his life...)

Maybe.

Even now, thinking about my old Yeerk still hurt.

(After what he did to you, I'm hardly surprised,) Liliss told me, responding to my unspoken thoughts.

Yeah. There would probably always be some kind of trauma associated with thinking about that slug. Like a scar from a nasty accident, except at least a hundred times worse.

(At least...I'm glad I have you, now,) I told her.

As though she didn't know.

Liliss smiled at me. (Me too, honey.)

Over the last eight months, I'd asked Liliss about her first human host. I'd only known that she was an older woman, and the Yeerk empire had murdered her because she'd been going blind, and an experimental procedure intended to improve her vision hadn't worked. Or, not well enough for the Yeerks in charge to decide not to murder her.

Anyway, Liliss had been happy to share more details about her. Meg had been a widow when she'd joined The Sharing, and she and her late husband had never been able to have kids. Liliss wasn't Meg's first Yeerk-that had been Mercan 671 of the Sulp Niar Pool. Later, a member of the Peace Movement, but after Liliss had joined. Since Meg had consented to infestation without any struggling, she'd been given a Yeerk without a history of host abuse. Or, whatever the empire called it to both acknowledge and deny that Yeerks could treat their hosts decently and still be good members of the empire. So, by the time Liliss was assigned to Meg (after Mercan had been promoted to a younger host-sound familiar?), she was both cooperative and expecting to be treated well. Which, of course, Liliss did.

I'd asked Liliss how soon Meg had been murdered after her failed operation. She'd hesitated before explaining that she hadn't been in her host during the surgery, because it coincided with her feeding time, and the Yeerk doctors didn't think there was any reason to wait. Most likely, after Meg woke up, the doctors quickly learned that the operation hadn't gone well, and then killed her.

(I can only hope it was painless for her,) Liliss had confided to me. (And that she was unaware of being killed. I've heard rumors of this. After a host goes through a procedure, they will provide an additional anesthetic once they have the necessary information, and then kill the host after he or she falls asleep. It's easier for the host, that way. More importantly, it's easier for them. Less chance of the host fighting back.)

Maybe it was because I was used to hearing about the atrocities the Yeerk empire committed, but I had been more surprised that Yeerks would even bother with operations, unless they were sure of a good outcome.

(Human medicine can be tricky, and Yeerk medicine is mostly a combination of what we've learned from hacking Andalite computers and the greatest scientists we've managed to infest,) Liliss had explained. (Time and money is nothing compared to a voluntary host body. If you ever encounter sub-Visser 51, and I hope we don't...well, you wouldn't notice it, but most of her host's body was operated on. Something about a fire and extreme damage...at least, that's the rumor. I don't know much about the girl, but the Yeerk is nearly as bad as Visser Three.)

(With our luck, she'll become the new one if he ever gets killed or promoted,) I'd joked, darkly.

(Yes. I wouldn't doubt it.)

These happy thoughts swam around in my mind as I waited in my-for once-half empty cage. The other temporary occupants were a boy who looked like he was nine or ten, two adult men who were probably in their 20's, and a small girl with blond hair past her waist. No older than six, I was sure. The kids were screaming, but the adults looked like they were actually trying to have a conversation.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

After what felt like ten hours but was really only two, the guards opened the cage and grabbed me. As usual, I didn't fight, but I also didn't make it easy for them. Liliss and I had both agreed that it would be better for us if I acted the same way I had before. A broken host who didn't fight, but didn't cooperate. The way one of the guards grabbed my arm for a minute, I was sure he was going to dislocate my shoulder, but the other one said something to him, and he stopped. Probably a warning that my Yeerk would have his blades if he hurt me.

Even Yeerks with involuntary hosts can be fiercely protective-of their host body, anyway.

After all, a host's physical pain becomes a Yeerk's pain when the slug is back in charge, after all.

The line for reinfestation consisted of mostly involuntary hosts who were being restrained by pool guards, and voluntary hosts (almost all human, but an occasional Hork-Bajir slipped in) who the guards left alone. When it came time for the voluntary hosts to receive their Yeerk, the guard would hold their head in place (probably protocol), but gently, and maybe even helpfully. They also had ample time to take in a deep breath, or the option to their head on their side.

My turn came quickly enough, and the guard forced my head on my side so that I wouldn't have the opportunity to try and kill myself. Not that I would have, now, but the guards didn't need to know this.

I could sort of see Liliss moving around in the pool, swimming towards my head. A grey green colored slug, maybe six inches long. Identical to thousands of others in the same pool...and yet, so not.

It probably wasn't accurate to say that she saved my life. The pool guards kept my body alive, every three days.

But, she saved my sanity. Gave me hope. Helped me to move my body again. Treated me way better than I could have expected from a Yeerk.

We were friends.

Jake was in the garage when I returned, and it looked almost finished.

"Hey, Midget!" I called, stepping inside.

"Hi, Tom," he replied.

(I'll leave your head now. Just, try not to let me dry up,) Liliss reminded me.

(Don't worry. If it's more than a few minutes, I'll put you in some water,) I reassured her.

It probably won't be, though.

"She's about to leave my head," I reminded Jake, who nodded.

About ten seconds later, Liliss emerged from my head, and I carefully placed her in my hand. At first, her body's all stretched out and thin from being in my brain, but almost immediately, she sort of bounced back to her regular shape.

"It's okay," I assured Jake, holding Liliss in both of my hands. "It's still her."

Jake nodded, then crossed the few feet to study her. "I don't think I ever saw a Yeerk this close before. When he..." Jake swallowed hard, then continued, "he just sort of shriveled up and became dust after leaving my ear."

Bursting into flames would have been a more accurate fate for him, but if there was a hell, Temrash was definitely there.

I placed a hand over Jake's shoulder. "I'm here, you know."

He nodded, again. "Well, um, I guess you should put her back in?"

"Yeah, otherwise, she'll dry up. That's why I had the glass of water, yesterday," I explained. Then, I held Liliss up to my ear, and felt her crawl in.

Once again, she didn't take control, just connected to my mind and accessed my senses.

(Thanks, honey,) she murmured. (I don't mind the pool so much, but when I'm not in a host-in your head-well, it's strange. I guess I feel more helpless.)

That made sense. The pool was a lot more protected than my hands, or a glass of water. She knew that I wouldn't hurt her, but I couldn't necessarily prevent others from doing this.

(I figure this won't be a regular thing,) I promised.

(Yes. Besides, it's important to earn their trust,) agreed Liliss.

"The garage looks great," I told Jake, looking around. "I think you're about finished."

"We just need to move those boxes. They're kind of heavy, so I thought we could do that together." Jake pointed to three that definitely look like a two person job. "Mom called when I was doing English. She said that she and Dad will be home around 2."

I looked at my watch. It was a little after 12:30.

I nodded. "Okay. Also, once we move those, we should get lunch. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Jake laughed. "Now that you mention it..."

Needless to say, we made short work of the boxes, and then I parked both of the cars inside.

Mission accomplished.

By the time we had finished selecting our slices, there were two pieces of pizza leftover.

"Good thing we got the second box," Jake mumbled through a mouthful of pizza.

"I'd have made grilled cheese sandwiches, otherwise. Or, you know. Find something else in the fridge," I teased. "And careful, Midget. You don't want to choke."

Jake both grinned and rolled his eyes at me, but the next bite he took was a little smaller.

(Sweet kid,) Liliss murmured.

(Yeah. Can't believe he's fourteen already,) I mused.

Among other things.

Jake spoke up again. "Does your Yeerk enjoy eating?"

"You know, I hadn't really asked her before..."

(I do,) Liliss agreed. (I eat much different foods with you than with Meg. She loved sweet foods. Always kept some candy in her house. Also, a roll of lifesavers in her purse.)

(I like sweets,) I protested.

(Yes, but she loved them. Always ate a bowl of ice cream after dinner, for instance.) Liliss smiled at the memory. (Her food choices, for nutrition, were fairly standard, but plain. She never ate spicy foods. Partly because of the taste, mostly because of heartburn. She also was a vegetarian.)

(That's definitely not me,) I laughed.

(I know.) Another mental smile. (I enjoy being exposed to various foods, through you.)

"Tom?" Jake asked.

I pointed to my head. "Checking my source. Basically, yeah. She likes eating."

Jake nodded. "Cool."

I half expected him to continue, maybe with a comment or another question, but he didn't.

Well, this was probably new to him. Living with the enemy for over a year, and finding out that the enemy wasn't really the enemy for the past eight months.

(He's already come pretty far,) Liliss soothed. Then, jokingly, she added, (It took you longer. Not that you didn't have every reason not to trust me.)

(And he was infested with Temrash, of all Yeerks. Might have been easier if he'd gotten someone like you. Of course, then he'd have to deal with the guilt of starving out a decent Yeerk...)

Yeah. There hadn't really been a good choice, there. I'd have preferred Jake to remain uninfested, and I knew that Jake felt the same way.

A memory came to mind of a mysterious phone call Liliss and I had received about a week after she became my Yeerk.

By then, I'd made some progress with being able to control my body. In the week I'd had her, I'd gone from five minutes to almost ten. Unfortunately, after ten minutes, I'd needed a mental nap-usually at least three hours-almost immediately afterwards.

I'd just woken up from this mental nap. I'd been aware of Liliss working on my History homework in the kitchen when the phone rang.

"Yeah?" she'd asked, just like I would have.

"I have a message," came this bizarre voice.

(I hope Mom and Dad are okay,) I'd murmured to Liliss. (Oh, God, what if it's Jake?)

It sounded like one of those voices you hear during scary movies when there's a hostage being taken.

(Honey,) Liliss had soothed, (I'm sure they're fine.)

"What?" she'd asked, out loud.

Trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Don't give up, Tom. Don't ever give up."

Before Liliss could have reacted, the phone line had gone dead.

We'd both gone silent in my mind.

Who had it been? A prank call? Someone who-this had seemed laughable-known about the Yeerks? That I was a Controller?

Probably just a prank call.

Now, I spoke up. Needing to know.

"Midget?" I asked, trying to keep my voice normal, even though there was no need to act around Jake.

He looked up from the pizza he'd been devouring. Swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Um, about a week after I was assigned to Liliss, I was home alone. It was in the afternoon. We got this bizarre phone call. Totally weird voice. He told us that he had a message for Tom-"

"Don't give up, Tom," Jake interrupted me. "Don't ever give up."

I blinked. "That was you?"

Jake nodded, and I could see tears in his eyes. I got up from my chair and walked over to him. Put a hand around his shoulder. Then, he stood up and nearly crushed me in a bear hug that had to have lasted the better part of a minute. He let go, took a long breath, then let it out. I kept an arm around his shoulder.

"After...after I'd been infested with your Yeerk, I knew that you'd given up," Jake began, and I could see how hard he was working to keep his voice steady. "We couldn't starve your new one. I knew that. I had a better sense of how the empire did stuff...and we'd only get you killed or given another Yeerk..."

I squeezed his shoulder. "I know. I understand, Midget."

Jake nodded. "But, I wanted-I needed-to give you some hope. So, we used Cassie's dad's cell phone, and I went part way into wolf morph. Enough to disguise my voice."

I had to grin. "That worked. You sounded almost like a serial killer. When you first spoke, about having a message, I'd been terrified that you or Mom or Dad had been kidnapped."

Jake paled. "Oh, no."

"It's okay," I reassured him. "You got to the point pretty quickly."

"Did it...help?" Jake asked.

"Sometimes," I answered, truthfully. "When I was working to relearn how to use my body. It would have been more powerful if I didn't have Liliss."

I gave Jake a small smile to let him know I was sort of teasing.

"Yeah," Jake laughed. "I hadn't thought you'd get a decent Yeerk."

I squeezed his hand. "There were only twenty other Yeerks in the Peace Movement at the time. I sort of won the lottery, there. Of course, Temrash was worse than usual, and we both got him, so maybe I was due for some good luck."

He sighed. "We all were."

Well, yeah.

Okay, so that was one mystery solved. The strange voice had been Jake, trying to give me hope. I wondered how much courage it had taken, how much he'd argued with his friends, for them to agree to go through with it. After all, it had been Cassie's dad's phone.

"Your friends were okay with it? The call?" I pressed.

"Marco thought it was crazy, but he didn't object too much. We figured that with the unknown number and the wolf morph, it was about as safe as some of our other missions had been. And, it didn't get us captured..." Jake trailed off.

"Liliss didn't even use star 69," I recalled. "You were fine, Jake. And, hey. Thank you. Like I said, that took a lot."

It had, too. I realized this, now.

I'd been focused on my pain over the past six months, and getting as much of my life back as I could. Which was, I felt, understandable. I also knew, now, that Jake was struggling with his own demons as he fought the war.

It kind of just dawned on me how awful it had been for him, thinking that your brother was a perpetual slave, and having to live with him and face him every day.

Every. Single. Day.

I stood up and gave him another bear hug.

"Hey. We're going to win this, okay? And, you know, you have me, now."

Jake didn't say anything, just rested his head on my shoulder for awhile.

Finally, we sat back down and finished the pizza.

(You have a good brother, Tom,) Liliss told me. (And you are a good brother.)

I turned a little red. (Thanks, Liliss.)

With the garage clean and our homework finished, Jake took a quick shower and then we decided how to make the best use of our hour or so before our parents came back.

"I'm kind of sick of watching TV," Jake admitted.

I gave him a little nudge. "Says the first teenager ever. Okay, Midget. What do you want to do?"

He considered. "How about a video game?"

"Sure, but I'm warning you, I've had no practice in almost a year, so you'll probably win."

"I'll accept my easy win with good sportsmanship," Jake kidded.

I rolled my eyes. "I never said it would be easy, Midget. Just that you'd probably win."

Jake just grinned. "Uh huh."

Once upstairs in Jake's room, we took spots on his bed, controllers (ha) in hand. I was kind of glad he'd suggested this, because even though I could manage control for at least four hours at a time with regular tasks, I still had trouble with ones that required dexterity. My basketball playing, in particular, was about 75% of where it had been before, which put me at "great" without "wow, that kid has a GIFT" level. At least I didn't drop ordinary objects or have trouble with weight lifting. It was more that if something required special skills and concentration, I definitely wasn't myself.

Not that I wasn't improving, but I knew I had a long way to go.

Video gaming with Midget would give me some practice.

Plus, bonding time with my kid brother.

After some debate, Jake and I settled on this racing game.

"It will help your nonexistent driving skills," I teased. "Unless..."

Jake grinned. "Nope, I'm pleading the fifth on that. For me and all the other Animorphs."

"Aw, you're no fun," I teased. "You know I wouldn't tell Mom and Dad."

But he wouldn't budge.

Despite having a couple of years of experience behind the wheel on my side, Jake beat me pretty easily. Granted, he and Marco had probably played before, and I could only assume that race car driving was nothing like regular driving. Well, there were probably similarities if you were on the freeway, but the similarities ended there.

Not that I minded too much. Like I said. Time with Midget, plus, a chance to improve my hand-eye coordination.

(You've really improved, honey,) Liliss told me. (I wouldn't be surprised if you were at your pre-infestation level in six more months.)

(We'll be on the team before then,) I pointed out, a little glumly.

The season would begin in three months.

(Well, I'll use gentle control if you're not where you want to be, and we can practice more,) she promised.

(Is it cheating to let your Yeerk do that for you?) I wondered.

(Not if another Yeerk stole your abilities,) Liliss answered, reasonably. (In fact, you'd probably be even better if you hadn't been infested. But, don't worry. We'll get there.)

(Okay,) I agreed, simply.

It was hard to stay pessimistic with Liliss, especially when I knew how much improvement I'd already made.

Mom and Dad came back just after we'd finished the third game (I was pretty sure Jake let me win). We headed downstairs as soon as we heard them enter the house.

Mom pulled us both into long hugs, which was a little unexpected, but I wasn't going to reject a hug from my mom. Dad did the same, afterwards, although his were shorter.

"The garage looks incredible," Mom complimented, and Dad agreed.

"Well, Tom helped," Jake admitted, turning to me.

"Even with his help, I'd expected it to take all weekend," Dad smiled. "I'm officially impressed."

I put an arm around Jake's shoulder. "We also went over his math, and he should be good for the next quiz."

Mom and Dad beamed.

(Should I ask them now?) I wondered.

(Now would probably be the best time,) Liliss assured me, grinning.

"So, in light of this, I was wondering if Jake and I could head out for a little this afternoon," I blurted.

Mom and Dad exchanged their parent glances.

"I guess it's okay," Mom agreed. "Steve, what do you think?"

"Well," Dad laughed, "if your mother says it's okay, I'm not going to be the bad guy and say no."

"Just be back by curfew," Mom added. "Jake's curfew, not Tom's."

Which was 9:00PM on a Sunday night. Mine was 11.

We both nodded, and I hoped we'd be back well before then. If we ended up missing dinner, well, I could stop at McDonalds. No, come to think of it, probably Wendy's.

"I just need to make a quick call," Jake added.

I nodded, figuring he would be calling Cassie. Maybe some of the others. "Okay, let me know when you're ready to go. I'll be in my room."

"Notice," Dad stage whispered, "how they will do anything to get out of spending time with us."

I raised my eyebrows. "Says the parent who left us home alone for almost two days. By the way, there are two pieces of pizza leftover."

Dad seemed to perk up at this.

Jake came by about ten minutes later. I'd spent the time trying to read ahead in the book assigned for English, but hadn't gotten very far. To be honest, I was sort of worried. Would Jake's friends trust me? What if they tried to starve Liliss out? Or, had someone infest me, just to be sure?

Liliss had me in a mental hug before these thoughts could get too dark, but they were hardly invalid. They had starved out Temrash, an action I fully supported, but that didn't mean they wouldn't do it again.

(They let Aftran go, and Cassie was stuck as a caterpillar,) Liliss soothed me.

That was true. Reassuring, even.

Jake sort of knocked on my door, even though it was open. "Cassie says we can come over."

I nodded. "And the others?"

"Yeah, they'll be there." Jake paused, then added, "I think it will be okay. But, Ax will probably be in his Andalite body."

"Well, I've seen Visser Three before," I pointed out.

"Yeah, and the first time got you infested and the second time almost got you killed." Jake paused. "Thanks for that, by the way. You kind of saved our lives."

I laughed. "Had I known it was you, Midget, I would have really gone up against him. No one messes with my kid brother and lives. I would have got him where the sun doesn't shine."

"He was shooting fireballs," Jake reminded me.

"Yeah, how come you don't have any cool morphs like that?" I teased, tousling his hair.

We left the room, then, and he went quiet until we got into the car. Then, Jake sort of continued the conversation.

"We had dinosaur morphs when we ended up in the last dinosaur period. They didn't stick when we returned," Jake added, like this was completely normal.

"You're kidding."

"No. It was...um, maybe a month ago? Feels like longer."

"Well, sure, it was technically millions of years ago," I pointed out, starting the car. "I want a full account. Now. Please."

Needless to say, this hadn't been covered in Jake's two hour version of events.

Well, I guessed the kid couldn't remember everything at once. But, man. Time travel?

What else had I not known about?

Jake was just finishing the story about the Mercora and the Nesk-of course, the ant creatures had found a way to survive-when we arrived at Cassie's barn.

I tried not to feel too worried. These were the good guys, after all.

Still.

A/N: The next chapter will probably be the last, but I have decided to make this a series. The next work in the series will be a one-shot from Jake's point of view that takes place immediately after this work ends. A "1.5" piece, if you will.