Thank you all so much for all of your reviews and for reading this story! It means so much to me.

Here is the next chapter!

Enjoy!

There were enough reasons not to go. But he knew he'd have to face the situation sooner or later. He listened quietly while Throttle and Modo were talking to each other on the radio. The grey mouse sounded relaxed and calm. Something happened between him and Charley, aside from the kissing that was. Vinnie just knew it.

He was not ready to be confronted with that part of reality. But it was his own fault really. After all, he hadn't stopped Modo when he told him he had feelings for Charley. Just like he in return never told Charley he also had feelings for her. Now it was too late for him to do anything about it.

He knew he had to be the bigger mouse here. In a way, he had to thank Throttle and Stoker for coming to that conclusion. This whole situation between those two and Izzy, made him realize he did not want to end up that way with his one-eyed bro and Charley.

Not that it would. Neither of them had marked Charley. The other advantage, was that he had known her for so long and thus had the time to learn how to handle his self-control. Of course, the occasional blowing up of buildings helped in that department as well.

The white mouse grabbed his helmet and made his way to the door the minute Throttle ended communication with the Last Chance Garage. But the other refrained from moving and just stared out of the window.

"Yo, Earth to Throttle! Come on, let's get going. We still have to pick up Charley's truck along the way." Vinnie shouted as he pointed to the exit behind him.

Throttle turned around to face him. "I'm not going with you."

Vinnie arched an eyebrow. "Scuse me?"

"To the Last Chance. I think I'll just stay at the scoreboard."

No, he had definitely heard him correctly. If there was one thing Vinnie was not in the mood for, it was heading back to the garage and face Modo and Charley all on his own.

After all, they had no idea where Stoker and Izzy were. Of course, he couldn't really blame them for never coming back last night, but it put him in quite a difficult spot if Throttle was planning on staying behind.

"Come on, Throttle. What are you going to do here? Contact Carbine again?"

The tanned mouse twitched his nose. Contacting Carbine again would be a complete waste of energy. She made it perfectly clear his call had come at a bad time. Despite the fact that she wanted to talk to him too, it was clear she was the one who would decide where and when.

The only time she seemed to relax a little was when he told her that he missed her and her response sounded sincere. Yet, he did not feel at ease and even after the call with his girlfriend ended, his mind was still occupied with visions of Izzy sleeping against him.

While Vinnie slept last night, he'd pulled out the picture he'd found on the floor in the scoreboard. A photograph of the honey haired female, glancing over her shoulder into the camera. Throttle had stared at it for a long time until he finally fell asleep.

"I think I will take another look at the spaceship. Maybe I can fix it, seeing as the power cells are in perfect condition. Makes me wonder how broken it really is."

Vinnie let out a deep sigh and walked back to his bro. "I know you told me that Carbine wants the ship back on Mars asap. But that's not the only reason why you're trying to fix it, right?"

It was obvious what he was talking about.

"He's going to have to go back to Mars sooner or later." Throttle replied. Not even bothering to deny Vinnie's accusation.

"Fine, and then what?" The white mouse continued.

"And then things will go back to the way they're suppose to be. Stoker will be on Mars and we'll continue to protect Earth from the Plutarkians."

Vinnie would be lying to himself if that didn't sound like music to his ears. But things had changed. Modo and Charley were probably a couple now. Not to mention there was still the matter of Izzy being around them, which automatically meant Throttle would not be his usual self.

There was no way he believed his older bro would be able to go back to behaving normal just like that.

"What about Izzy?" He asked and he noticed a shift in Throttle's demeanour as he said her name. "What if she decides to stay in Chicago?"

The other mouse shrugged and his expression changed again. "If she wants to stay, that's her decision."

Vinnie huffed. "And you're okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean, with her around us and Stoker on Mars? I don't want to be mean here, Throttle, but I have seen the way you behaved yesterday. How can you be sure you won't lose your it again?"

That was the entire problem right there. Throttle was well aware of it and the fact that Vinnie was pointing it out, wasn't really helping him.

No, Throttle wasn't sure how he would be able to cope. With Stoker gone, he would be able to see Izzy whenever he wanted without having to look over his shoulder. Of course that thought had crossed his mind. How could it not?

But he wasn't a single mouse. He was with Carbine and he still cared for her and he did miss her. He hated the fact that he couldn't turn off his biological response every time Izzy showed up in his surroundings.

Vinnie was right, there was no guarantee that he wasn't going to lose his mind again. Therefore he had to figure out a way to get rid of his feelings for her.

Something patted him on his shoulder. Throttle turned his head and saw Vinnie giving him an apologetic look.

"We'll figure it out. But you have to tell us the moment you think something is going on. Kay?" He said to him and the tanned mouse managed to smile a little.

"Thanks, Vincent." Throttle paused for a second and then cleared his throat. "You know, I think I will come with you to the garage."

The Last Chance Garage

The moment Charley finally managed to calm down and stop crying, Izzy began to explain everything that had happened to her over the past twelve months.

She began by telling Charley how she never left the states after the funeral. She had plans to leave, that much was true. But then, one fateful night, a business man named Charles Morden showed up at her door.

He asked for Sam. Unfortunately Izzy couldn't help him, as Sam had passed away just recently. Morden proceeded to tell her everything about Sam's gambling addiction and the debts he had created over the years.

Instead of telling Charley about, Izzy took it upon herself to pay off Sam's debt. By ysing her dead husband's life insurance money as well as her savings, but it wasn't enough and thus Morden offered her a job at his club Dreamland.

She danced and stripped, almost every night, for a couple of months. It was indeed a quick way to make money and she managed to get rid of the last bit of Sam's debt.

After that things went quiet for a while. Izzy spent her time going back and forth to her home country, England. She tried to make a living there, but it was somehow too difficult compared to the life she'd had in the States.

And then a call from the Will and Estates company came. After almost a year, Sam's bike from the crash was finally released from the case. A part of her had wondered why the company called her first instead of contacting Charley. After all, the bike was left to her and not Izzy.

In the end it didn't matter. On a whim, she decided to be the one to take care of it and she arranged to bring the bike to the Last Chance Garage. In a way, she'd hoped doing so would finally bring the closure she so desperately sought after dealing with Sam's death and debt.

But returning to Chicago immediately caught the attention of Morden. Izzy had no idea how or why, until he told her yesterday.

Sam hadn't died in the accident. He'd faked his death in order to escape the debt he owed Morden. But unbeknownst to him, he was spotted in a casino by a mutual acquaintance of Morden.

Eventually he was found, taken in and given an opportunity to work for the man. A sort of punishment for tricking Morden into thinking he was dead. For whatever reason Sam went along with it for a while, but he ended up stealing something from Morden. Some kind of microfilm.

Whatever was on it, Izzy didn't know, except that it was apparently worth quite an amount of money. It resulted into Morden shooting Sam. Unfortunately for the cocky business man, the microfilm was already gone. But where exactly, nobody knew.

There wasn't anything else to tell and Izzy slumped back against the armrest of the couch. Charley eyed her with confusion and shock. She knew some parts of the story already, thanks to the goon who kidnapped her. But it was still a lot to take in.

"Where is this Morden guy now?" Was the first thing Charley asked the moment the other woman was done talking.

At this question Stoker cleared his throat and placed his hands on Izzy's shoulders. "I took care of him."

Charley arched an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"You know. Dead." The hazel mouse stated as if it was the most logical answer to her question.

The female mechanic wasn't sure how to respond to that. It wasn't an answer she had expected to hear. Actually, the entire story her sister-in-law just told her was unbelievable. And hearing these things about her brother wasn't the only thing that bothered her.

The other thing which rubbed her the wrong way, was right in front of her.

There was Izzy, sitting on the couch,leaning into the corner with Stoker situated right behind her on the armrest. His hands resting on her shoulders, gently rubbing her collarbone every now and then.

Charley wasn't sure at first why the image upset her so. Perhaps because she knew on some level this was bound to happen at some point or maybe it was because of her brother.

Seeing her sister-in-law resting comfortably against the older mouse, someone who wasn't Sam, was a sight she thought she'd never see in her life.

Another thing she had noticed was that Stoker hadn't really reacted with any form of emotion to Izzy's words. As if he already knew everything about it. Now that she thought of it, Modo didn't seem all that fazed either. Perhaps a little bit, but not in total shock like she was.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Izzy?" Charley decided to ask. "About any of this. This Morden character or about Sam's gambling. About working in a strip club to pay off his debt, for heaven's sake."

It was Stoker who answered her. "She didn't, because she didn't want to burden you with it. She wanted to preserve the good memory you had of your brother."

The upper right corner of Charley's mouth twitched with annoyance. His comment sort of confirmed her hunch that he had been in the loop far longer than she had.

If this was true, Charley did not like it one bit. This was about her brother and her sister-in-law. It wasn't really any of his business to interfere with their conversation.

"I think Izzy is more than capable of telling me herself, Stoker." She replied coldly.

"It's alright, Charley. He's only trying to help." Izzy conjured up a small smile, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

The other woman crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked up at the older mouse. "You know, I can't help but notice that you don't seem surprised by any of this. As if you've heard it all before." She said and then her eyes moved back to Izzy.

She had to know her gut feeling was right. She had to know if Izzy had told her friends about this before telling her.

"How long has Stoker known? Since yesterday or before that?"

Almost immediately Izzy averted her gaze and Charley didn't need more proof than that.

The conversation was taking an entirely different turn than any of them were expecting. Of course Charley had every right to be upset. Stoker had warned Izzy that something like this could happen. The longer she waited with telling the truth, the more intense Charley's reaction would be.

But it hurt him to see his love being questioned like this. Especially after everything that happened between them since he landed on Earth. He could feel her guilt and sense her sorrow for not having told Charley sooner.

It didn't take long for Izzy to respond and she knew Charley wasn't going to like her answer. "He's known for a while now. It happened the night they brought Throttle here, because he got injured in that explosion,-"

She couldn't finish her sentence as the female mechanic suddenly rose up from the couch. Her legs wobbled and Modo quickly rushed to her side to support her.

"Are you kidding me, Isabel?" She exclaimed loudly.

"Wait, you don't get it,-" Izzy jumped up as well, but Charley raised her hand defensively, signalling her not to come any closer.

But Stoker stood up as well and took a stance next to Izzy. "The reason why she had to tell me, was because I accidentally saw what happened."

Charley eyed him sceptically. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember I touched her on accident that night?" He paused to point at his antennas. "Before it knocked her out, I saw flashes of her memory. I confronted her later, she told me the truth and that was how I found out."

Although technically it probably would have taken longer if that henchman hadn't shown up first thing in the morning. There was a part of Stoker that wondered if Izzy would have ever told him anything at all, if he hadn't connected with her on accident.

He quickly shook the thought out of his head before continuing. "So if it's any consolation, it wasn't as if she had much of a choice. And as you know, I can be pretty persuasive."

For a couple of seconds Charley simply stared at the two of them. The story sounded believable enough, but that didn't take away the fact that Izzy had kept information about her brother's past from her. Even if she'd done it with the best of intentions, it wasn't her decision to make.

The auburn haired woman let out a deep and exhausted sigh. Her shoulders slumped and she felt Modo squeeze his arm more tightly around her upper body.

"Well,- there's nothing left to do about it now. Sam made some bad decisions, which he paid for with his life. The guy who he'd stolen from, this Morden fellow, is now dead. Killed by you." At the latter part she turned her attention to Stoker.

He acknowledged her statement with a nod and encircled his arm around Izzy's waist protectively. Talking about both Sam and Morden still made his blood boil, despite neither of them being around no more.

Charley lowered her eyes towards the mouse's arm around her sister-in-law. It was clear there was more going on between them than Stoker just simply being concerned for her well-being. And even though she knew it wasn't her place to comment on whatever was going on between them, she didn't like seeing it.

"And what about this?" Charley spoke up again as she waved her hand at the two in front of her.

"Charley,-" Modo whispered at her, already sensing her emotions spiking again.

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked with confusion. But Stoker on the other hand knew exactly what she was referring to. Automatically he tightened his hold on his woman a bit more.

"It seems to me that something happened between the two of you. You know, since we all were in the same room together." Her tone was short. "Or am I wrong?"

Izzy looked up at Stoker for a quick second. Her eyes searching for his, but he kept his own gaze focused on Charley. The older mouse did not like the way she was talking to them.

Of course he knew she was against the idea of him going after her sister-in-law. Worried that he was merely having fun, which was what he was known for in her eyes. But he had also told her he had no intention of backing down when it came to expressing interest in Izzy. That this was different.

Since neither of them responded to her question, Charley scoffed with disdain. "So, is it true? You and Stoker are...what? Together?"

Again Modo tugged on her slightly, but she shook her head with disbelief. "Wow, you really do move quick."

"I understand you're sad and grieving because of what Sam did and what happened to him. But there is no need to drag what's going on between me and Stoker into it..."

Charley's face had gone pale and her cheeks coloured a dark shade of red at Izzy's comment. And she knew she should have stopped right there and then and just let it slide. But the moment she opened her mouth, it was too late.

"You just learned that Sam died for real, Izzy! And here you are already in the arms of another man. How am I suppose to look at it?!"

An eerie silence fell over the room, so quiet that no one dared to make a move. Modo and Stoker threw each other a quick look, silently trying to figure out if they should do anything.

But then Izzy removed Stoker's arm from around her waist and took a deep breath. "I think you two gentlemen should leave for a moment. I'd like to have a word with my sister-in-law,-" She turned her head towards Stoker. "Alone."

Her voice actually frightened him slightly. It was an emotion he hadn't really felt from her before. Sure, he had seen her upset and hurt, perhaps even angry, but this was different. She was furious.

Without questioning her, Stoker stepped aside and walked past Modo and Charley. The latter nodded at the tall grey mouse, who reluctantly obliged and followed his former coach down towards the garage.

::::::...::::::

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Modo asked his former mentor once he stepped onto the garage floor.

"If there is one thing I've learned over the years is that when a woman asks you to leave...you leave." Stoker replied as he halted and sat down midway on the staircase. "Especially if it's with a certain tone of voice."

The tall grey mouse let out a deep sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "I apologize for Charley. She shouldn't have said that."

But Stoker shook his head and leaned back. "It's alright. I mean, it's me we're talking about."

Modo frowned at the other mouse. "You didn't seem fine with it just now."

That much was true. The moment Charley accused Izzy of moving on too quickly, it hit him and not just his pride. It felt as if Charley didn't deem him good enough for her sister-in-law.

But considering the fact she'd just learned about her brother's lies and deceit from over the last twelve months, the root of her anger probably originated from there instead of him. At least that was what he hoped.

"Of course I'm not fine with it. Because as much as I don't care what others think of me and Izzy being together, I know it means something to her and that I do care about." Stoker replied.

Modo could do nothing except nod. He knew Charley was just worried, not because she was against Izzy falling for a Martian, but more so because it was with the former rebel leader. After all, his reputation didn't work in his benefit when it came to women or other things for that matter.

As soon as Charley realized Stoker was serious about this, her feelings would probably change. Perhaps it was a good thing that she and Izzy were currently talking about it. But Modo didn't like the sounds coming from upstairs.

Their voices were loud, almost to the point of yelling and filled with anger and accusations. They could hear every word thanks to their Martian hearing, though he currently wished that he couldn't. Stoker cleared his throat and Modo lowered his gaze towards him.

"So, you and Charley, huh?" The hazel mouse grinned. "It's about time that happened. You waited long enough."

Modo felt his face heat up as he chuckled rather nervously. "I guess I did. But it was worth the wait." Then he paused and looked at his former coach.

"Did Vinnie mention anything about it?"

It surprised him when Stoker shook his head in response. He was certain Vinnie would have at least mentioned something. Some reason why he had gone to the scoreboard instead of staying at the Last Chance.

"He didn't literally tell us what happened. But it was clear he was,- out of it? I don't know how else to describe it. It was a different Vinnie for sure."

Modo winced slightly as Stoker said that. Of course he knew his younger bro was taken back by what he saw when he walked in on him and Charley. The fact that he hadn't mentioned it to the others, probably meant he felt dejected or worse.

"Vinnie walked in when Charley and I were kissing."

"Ouch,-" Stoker hissed through his teeth. "I can only imagine what that would feel like for him."

The grey mouse let out a deep sigh. "I'll admit, I did feel a bit guilty when he saw us. I mean, I knew he cared for her as well. But I couldn't just stand on the sidelines no more, coach."

"Hey, you don't have to explain it to me, rookie. I'm sure he'll get over it. If not, you could always share her,-"

Modo's eye glowed red all of a sudden and Stoker immediately stopped talking. It was clear, sharing was not on the mouse's mind.

"In any case," He then continued. "I have to say, I am glad I ran into Vinnie on the way to the scoreboard. You heard what happened there, right?"

The red glow disappeared and Modo nodded. At first he thought Vinnie had contacted him last night for different matters, but it soon became clear that he hadn't. The white mouse had informed him on the fight between Throttle and Stoker, something Modo had not seen coming.

"You want my honest opinion about it?"

Stoker shuddered. "Probably not from the sound of things."

"Speaking of sound of things,- We got company." Modo turned his head as the sound of multiple engines echoed in the distance. A car and two motorcycles.

It seemed both Vinnie and Throttle finally managed to find their way to the Last Chance Garage, along with Charley's truck. Throttle parked the car next to the entrance as Vinnie rode inside on his bike along with Throttle's ride following close behind.

Currently, the garage was a place of high tension and emotions. For Earthlings and Martians alike. Throttle and Vinnie stood on one side of the room while Stoker and Modo resided on and near the staircase.

The white mouse was the first one to open his mouth and break the silence, as was usually the case anyway. "We took a little detour on the way over." He said, pointing at the truck over his shoulder.

"So I see. No problems?" Stoker asked him.

"Not really. We checked the apartment for a sec. After Izzy mentioned that microfilm, I figured perhaps there would be some clues in that place on where he might have hid it." Throttle said. "But it's cleared out."

"Cleared out?" The oldest mouse repeated.

"The place was empty and believe me, it did not look like that yesterday." Vinnie assured all of them. "It was as naked as a Martian baby."

Modo rubbed his chin as he listened to the others talking. He found it rather strange that Sam Davidson's place had been cleared out within not even twenty-four hours. Who could have given that order? The goon who had kidnapped Charley? Morden was dead, so he couldn't have done it.

Perhaps this so called microfilm was more important than they realized? However, there was no way to trace the object. Besides, there were more important matters to deal with.

He tilted his head back once again and glanced up. The yelling had stopped, thank the Goddesses, but he could still hear Charley and Izzy talking. He lowered his head and caught Stoker looking at him. The older mouse was probably just as anxious about the two women, as he was.

"Do you think we should check on them?" The grey mouse asked.

Even if Stoker was worried or concerned, he didn't show it. He simply shook his head. "As much as I want to, let's give them their space. I'm sure they'll come down sooner or later. They probably heard the others come in."

"Did something happen?" This question came from Throttle who decided to approach the other mice instead of staying put across the room.

It hadn't gone unnoticed to him that both Modo and Stoker seemed elsewhere with their thoughts. Actually the moment he turned off his bike, he could hear Izzy's voice from upstairs and she didn't sound like her usual calm self.

Modo cleared his throat. "Well,-"

::::::...::::::

Charley had never seen her sister-in-law this angry. After Modo and Stoker had left the room, Izzy stepped closer. Her face stern and hurt, her lips pressed in a tight line as if to withhold herself from shouting.

She pointed her index finger at her and finally opened her mouth to speak. "I'm only going to say this to you once, Charley, and I urge you to really listen to me. Although you might not like what I have to say."

Charley gulped slightly at seeing this side of Izzy. She had crossed a line with her comment, she understood that and it was already becoming apparent that she'd probably been wrong about both her sister-in-law and Stoker.

"Do you have any idea how the past year has been for me since your brother died? I cried myself to sleep every night after the accident. Up until the point that I learned of his secret. His gambling addiction and his debts. I got so angry that instead of crying, I drank myself to sleep every night."

She paused and started to walk across the living room. "I'm not even going to start explaining how I felt in the months after that. Trying to get rid of your brother's debt as quickly as possible."

Charley crossed her arms. "You should have told me the moment that guy approached you. If you had told me about it, I could have helped you, Izzy!" She retorted. "Instead you chose to carry the burden yourself. You even undressed yourself in front of,-"

"What would you have done in my stead, Charlene? Don't you think I realize the consequences of my choices? I'm not asking for pity. Not from you, not from your friends from Mars, or anybody else!" Izzy's voice trembled slightly as her tone rose once again.

Charley lowered her eyes and reached for the couch to sit down, her legs feeling heavy all of a sudden.

"I know it was wrong of me not to tell you, you deserved to know, I realize that now. You loved your brother more than anything else in this world, but all the love I had for him vanished incredibly fast and I didn't want you to hate him as well."

She followed the other woman's example and sat down beside her on the couch. "I don't want you to think that me falling for one of your friends, means that I'm trying to get back at Sam. I never intended for something like this to happen, it just did."

That thought had crossed Charley's mind, she couldn't deny that. At first she only was angry at Stoker for getting infatuated with Izzy, whether or not it had to do with that blasted Martian biology, as Throttle had put it.

But the moment she saw the two of them together just now, her anger shifted from the hazel mouse towards her sister-in-law. Not understanding how it was possible to just move on from her brother to somebody else like that in a heartbeat.

"You're in love with Stoker?" The female mechanic asked carefully.

A small smile appeared on Izzy's face. "I am." She replied softly.

Charley wasn't sure why her words hit her as hard as they did. Technically she wasn't betraying Sam, but why did it feel like that to her? Something warm wrapped themselves around her hands and Charley looked up at the woman in front of her.

"I did love your brother, Charlene. Despite that changing afterwards. It was you and the others that made me feel something again after all those months. Especially Stoker. I felt ashamed of myself and not loving someone made things easier than getting hurt again."

She took a deep breath and gave Charley's hands a gentle squeeze. "I really did try to push him away, you know? But he wouldn't and I can't deny how he makes me feel. All I can hope from you, is that you can understand it. Because I don't think I can handle losing someone again."

Before Charley got a chance to reply, sounds of engines entered through the open window. Both women looked up and then back at each other. The female mechanic licked her dry lips. "I think that's Vinnie and Throttle."

It would seem their conversation at come to an end and already Izzy retracted her hands from Charley's. But the other wasn't ready to let go just yet. She felt like such an idiot for her behaviour earlier.

She really did let her emotions get the better of her and the fact that Izzy also apologized for her own actions in the past, made her feel even worse. A terrible friend as well as a sister.

"Izzy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that to you and I'll apologize to Stoker too. You're right, I am hurt because of Sam and I,-" Her voice cracked and Izzy quickly shook her head.

"We both have been fools..." She moved closer and wrapped her arms around Charley, pulling her into a tight hug.

After a couple of seconds they let go and looked at each other. "You want to go downstairs?" She asked and Charley nodded.

Izzy was the first to open the door which led towards the staircase. Once she opened it, she was greeted by a hazel mouse sitting halfway down the steps. His head was already turned her way.

"Hello beautiful." His smile was small, but warm.

He stood up from his spot to make way for the two women to come downstairs. Izzy halted next to him as Charley continued her descent. Modo extended his arm towards her and he gallantly guided her down to him.

"You okay, darling?" He asked and she gave a short nod.

"I see you guys brought my truck back." She then noted. "Thanks for that, guys."

Nobody replied. In fact, none of the mice really seemed to know what to say next. As if something happened between the four of them while Izzy and Charley were upstairs.

"Is everything alright?" Her eyes suddenly went wide. "Did something happen?"

Throttle cleared his throat and stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I, uh,- I just told them that I talked to Carbine last night."

He paused and his eyes moved towards Izzy for a quick second. "She wants Stoker back on Mars."

Dundundunnnnn...