-41-

Contra Timorous

"We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it."

-Rick Warren

XXX

San Quentin State Prison was located along the coast of California, just north of San Francisco. It was one of the largest prisons in the state, with well over four thousand inmates, including seven hundred people and counting on death row. The prison had been built back in 1852, and held the record as the oldest prison in California. Since then, it had expanded; the death row block had multiplied into three separate blocks in the one hundred and sixty plus years of use, ranging from the Northern Segregation with those inmates who didn't cause trouble and could get along, East Block, with its crumbling utilities for those that caused trouble, and straight down into the Adjustment Center, where the worst of the worst-cop killers, baby rapers, and mass murderers-lived their lives on guard and always looking over their shoulders.

It was home to California's only male euthanizing room, which had been a gas chamber up until '96, when a double jointed inmate had escaped his bindings while being gassed and had run screaming and begging for mercy before the life went out of him in a corner of the chamber like a nightmare reminiscent of the holocaust. At that point, gassing was deemed too cruel and the gas was replaced with lethal injection.

They still carried out the executions in the ol' chamber though.

Away from the inmates on death row, those serving a sentence not quite as harsh lived their lives in dormitories. Level I Dormitories were saved for those people shown to behave and able to conduct themselves in a civil manner, without the armed guards or heavy walls that encompassed the Level II Dormitories.

"You'll see all kinds a' shit there," the Senior Corrections Officer said. "I been here twenty-seven years, and the shit you see in that cell block will hurt ya. Watch your back in there and never go anywhere without a buddy. Especially when escorting a prisoner. And stay alert. You'll know when something bad's about to go down. You'll feel it. Everything could look like another day in the pen, so you'll let down your guard, and bam something will happen. You ever feel like that you get on the radio and let the rest of the guards know, you hear? Don't matter if nothing happens, any a' us who's seasoned know what you're talking about, and eight outta ten times it turns into something."

"Right." Martinez nodded as they walked past the long rows of cells. It was orientation day for him, a chance to get out and get his feet wet, learn the lay of the land before he was partnered up with a more seasoned correctional facility officer at the start of next week for on-the-job training. "Anyone I should look out for?" He'd never been a correctional facility officer before, but the requirements had been few: a high school degree or GED equivalent (he'd just graduated with his BA), go to a training academy for a couple of months, then get stationed out in whatever prison or jail was in need of manning. The pay wasn't half-bad either, especially with Cali's ludicrous cost of living and his own college debt to pay off.

"Everyone," the Senior said-he'd forgotten the man's name. Instead the man looked back at him, his face lined with age and his hair leaning more on the edge of silver over brown. The man wasn't even in his fifties yet, aged by a time of hard service that he found no joy in. "Don't trust any of 'em. The gangs'll try and buy you, and then blackmail you to keep you loyal once you're in their pocket. Half of 'em will convince you they've turned over a new leaf; found God or Christ or Allah or hell, I don't know, the Dali Lama. Half a' them will be telling the truth. The other half'll be digging for sympathy and a sucker-don't be that guy. Let 'em preach and let 'em talk, but stick to the laws laid out by the faculty. Don't trust any of 'em. Druggies, thieves, gang leaders, rapists, murderers... just don't."

"Okay..." Martinez mumbled.

"Keep in mind though, that these folks are still human beings," the man continued. "Just 'cause you can't trust 'em don't mean you gotta treat 'em like animals. Be fair with them, and believe it or not, most of 'em'll be fair to you. I tell you right now, Kid, in all my twenty-seven years a' time, the guards who get shivved are the ones who treat the inmates like crap. Last time we had a prison riot, this a few months ago, the inmates went from stabbing each other to stabbing the guards with some shivs they'd made outta paper. Pretty ingenious too. Nothing but rolled up sticks of paper ground against the floor into a point. You get enough of it, it gets to be dense enough to put a hole in you, and don't you forget that when one of 'em starts asking for a bunch a' paper.

"Anywho, so like I was saying. The ones the inmates went for were three of our own who we all knew liked to mess with the prisoners. Three of 'em, and let me tell you, one of 'em was a real ass and everyone knew it. He'd gotten death threats from three different gang sects in his time here before that last riot. Got stabbed fifteen times, three of which were lucky blows that punctured a lung, blew out an eardrum, and almost left him with a hole in his throat. I was down there at the time with 'em. Me and a couple other guards who all kept their noses clean and knew something was about to go down. Remember what I said about watching your back? Yeah, this was one a' those times. So as I was saying, riot breaks out, shivs come out, and we're fighting to keep the prisoners from ganging up on us. Couple inmates helped get some of the others and me out of there before we got overwhelmed. Earned a couple of 'em a few months off their sentence."

Martinez looked at the man queerly. "Only a couple?" he asked. "Not all of them?"

The older man nodded. "Some but not all," he admitted, "Kind of feel bad about it too. One of 'em, Stewie, who you'll see on this row, didn't get a knock back. The family he screwed around with fight it at every turn. He's been here a while. Over a decade. Been working hard at the reform and rehabilitation programs. Star inmate, if there ever was one in Level II."

His comments earned him another queer look from Martinez. "If he's such a 'star inmate', why's he in Level II and not Level I with all the other model prisoners?"

"He's a child rapist. In for one count of sexual assault on a minor. Little girl, not even ten." The man shook his head. "Moving him to Level I would start a riot over there. There's honor among thieves, and hierarchy among prisoners, and the people at the bottom of that totem pole are cop killers, corrupted cops, and people who fuck with children: murderers, molesters, and rapists. Guys like Stewie? They bring out the worst of the prisoners in Level I, so he stays in Level II, safely behind big walls and lots a' armed guards where there are cameras everywhere."

"But isn't he in more danger in Level II?" Martinez asked, curiosity getting the better of him despite the con's crime.

"You'd think that," the Senior nodded thoughtfully. "Inmates got their own sense a justice. You see some pretty messed up stuff while you're here, especially towards those guys at the bottom a' the totem pole. I remember a few of 'em. One of them, a man in on one account of sexual assault and murder of a minor- she was four- well... when word got out over what he'd done, the cons cornered him during a riot. Ended up beating him within an inch a' his life, then held him down while one of 'em carved out the victim's name across his forehead. 'Jenny's Justice', if I remember right. Was with a rusty nail one a' the inmates had gotten ahold of. The wound ended up getting infected while he was recovering and he ended up dying from it. Infection spread right up into his brain, from what I gather. Nasty way to go." He shook his head. "Another one of 'em went faster. This a guy in on four accounts a sexual assault on minors, with all a' them being young boys not even ten yet. We found him dead in the shower when he'd gone missing a couple hours earlier. Head was cracked open and his brains were splattered all over the wall. He didn't have a face anymore, just a giant slab a' gore from where one, maybe two of the inmates smashed him into the wall."

"That's fucked up," Martinez winced.

"That's San Quentin." The older man shrugged. "You'll see it eventually. Might as well prepare yourself for when that time comes."

"Wait, so if all this stuff is happening to all these other child rapists, how come this other guy hasn't been hurt yet? He in with one of the gangs?"

"No, Stewie isn't in with any of the gangs. None of 'em. Not even the white supremacists, and he's as white as my pasty ass." The man shook his head. "That guy is... weird."

"Weird?" Martinez enquired.

"Yes," the corrections officer replied. "You'll see. The gangs avoid him. He's got weird rumors surrounding him, and none of the convicts want anything to do with him. He's... well, the rumors say everything from him being jinxed to being a Satanist to being haunted by some ghost, which is funny because there are a lotta self-proclaimed 'Satanists' here at San Quentin and even they want nothing to do with him. Weird stuff happens when he's around. Even I seen it."

"Like what?"

"Accidents, mainly," the older man explained. "Things just seem to... break, when he's around. Or people will get careless and get their hand run through a machine, or a guy will somehow fall onto an assembly line and get crushed by one a' those megaton steel presses used for license plates."

"That doesn't sound like an accident." Martinez eyed his companion critically.

"But it is," the man said. "It always is. You'll have four witnesses, two of em guards, one of 'em the victim's buddy and one of 'em unaffiliated, and three cameras pointing from different angles to watch the incident, and each time, without fail, it's the victim's own fault." He shook his head in disgust. "There been an increase in the accidents, too, starting up a couple of months ago. What's stranger still is the fact that the victims are all inmates new and looking to make a name for themselves in the prison by using Stewie as a target. Shit happens to him all the time and he gets hurt more often then not, and we all see it, but..."

He shrugged. "That license plate accident a while back? Stewie ain't never stepped foot in that room. He doesn't have friends, and the equipment is inspected regularly as well. He also ain't never served in the cafeteria, so it ain't nothing to do with passing folks bad or contaminated food, which ain't much of a stretch given it's prison gruel. Stewie's a loner who works in the textile facility, making uniforms for the private sector. Not even the inmates' uniforms. He's never around when anything happens to one of the guys who mess with him. Stewie always has an alibi, the people who saw what happened usually admit he wasn't there, and even the cameras show him doing his own thing all the way on the other side of the prison. It's weird and no one can explain it. Just a bunch of really weird, unexplainable accidents."

"That can't be right though." Martinez said. "If there's a trend of all these people getting hurt, it's gotta link back to this guy somehow, right?"

"You would think that," the officer agreed, "But... I've sat there with some of the other guards. I've reviewed hours upon hours of footage trying to find something that might hint that Stewie was involved or that he's got some kind of internal gang no one knows about or if he really was there messing with equipment. Nothing. No one stooping over to mess with something, no folks giving other cons the 'shifty eyes', no Stewie messing with something he ain't supposed to touch. Nothing. Just a bunch a cons in the wrong place at the wrong time." The man visibly shuddered. "This prison is old and the ghosts still walk the halls. Who knows, maybe he's got a friend on the 'other side' looking out for him."

"A guardian angel?" Martinez's voice was laden with sarcasm.

"Either that or Casper the Friendly Poltergeist. Who can say?"

XXX

For the past several years, the Morisato clan has made a pilgrimage back home. Not to Japan, but to their adopted home in San Francisco. Unfortunately, unlike most family gatherings, this was not a happy time, although they did what they could to make the best of it. For all those involved, it was a somber and trying affair. This being the fifth year, it was starting to become routine; live your life, but put things on hold and come back home and confront the man who had become a stain on their whole existence, especially for Aiko.

It was time for Stuart's parole hearing.

They had all made a pact that, if possible, they would come to confront him personally to ensure that he stays in prison for the length of his sentence. So far, it had worked as their testimony, Aiko's in particular, moved the board to deny his parole each time. They all had every intention of being there for all of the future ones. In fact, they all hoped that, with the current climate, they could get him incarcerated indefinitely under "Chelsea's Law", which was passed several years after Stewart raped Aiko and provided for continued detention of offenders where evaluation and assessment deem such to be necessary.

The long flight across the country from Norfolk to San Francisco was relatively pleasant for Keiichi. It sure beat some of the Space-A flights he had taken in previous years, and it certainly beat the hell out of the cargo area of a C-130. It was especially nice when his girlfriend was sitting right next to him the entire way holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder. He and Belldandy were still recovering after she had nearly killed him a few weeks before. Their discussion a few days ago about her being patient with her recovery had seemed to get things back on track. It had helped him as well, as he had barely ever even discussed Fida with anyone aside from his therapist. It felt good to get it off his chest.

As they walked together from the gate where their plane was debarking its passenger load, Keiichi led the way as they headed towards the baggage claim. His group, which consisted of himself, Belldandy, Aiko, and Urd, were heading to meet his sister Megumi, who was supposed to arrive earlier from god only knew where due to how much she traveled with her job. The second oldest Morisato worked for Bikers Against Child Abuse, traveling around the country to promote the charity and raise money on her old BMW RS motorcycle that she inherited from Keiichi when he left for boot camp. Just like her brother, Megumi felt that some of the blame for what happened was hers and this was her way of repaying that debt, even if there was none to begin with.

"So Piper and Lind actually went out on a date together?" Aiko stared at the two Norns in shock.

"Yep," Urd said. "It was successful, from what I gathered. Even though Lind gave him that damnable cactus-"

"She still went through with that?!" Belldandy exclaimed, interrupting her sister.

"She gave him a cactus?!" Aiko cried at nearly the same time.

"Yes on both accounts," Urd replied. "And from what Lind told me, Jackson got a kick out of it. Thought it was a total riot." She pulled out her phone and unlocked it, then scrolled to her photo gallery, selecting one picture in particular. "This is what she sent me." The other two women leaned in close, and then Aiko burst out laughing. The photo showed Piper and a somewhat uncomfortable Lind taking a selfie together with the cactus. Someone, in the time between Urd and Belldandy's pep talk with Lind and the time of the photo, had drawn a crude mouth on the cactus. The entire cast: Uncomfortable Lind, Laughing Piper, and Grimace the Cactus, looked utterly ridiculous together. "Piper named it Bob."

"Bob the cactus?" Aiko asked.

"Bob the cactus," Urd confirmed. "Whom Piper almost immediately dropped in his exuberance and grabbed reflexively. You know. A cactus. Without gloves." The goddess shook her head and tittered. "Apparently they spent the whole night picking spines out of Piper's hand after that. Lind said his entire hand swelled up like a balloon."

Belldandy and Aiko winced. "Well, there goes that couple of the century," Aiko mumbled. "Poor bastard."

Urd nodded. "Yep. Piper's persistent though. Apparently, because of how 'Bob' ruined Saturday night, he wanted to try and make it up to Lind on Sunday, even though the swelling hadn't subsided and he could only use one hand." The goddess paused in her explanation, her face a mask of pity. "I think Lind agreed because she wanted to make sure he didn't further injure himself."

"Oh god," Aiko muttered.

"Was Sunday any better?" Belldandy asked.

Urd's smile was pained. "Maybe?" she said, sounding unsure of herself. "It's... difficult to say. Piper wanted to cook-"

"Piper always wants to cook," Keiichi threw in, having been eavesdropping on the conversation. "It's his hobby. Dude absolutely loves it."

"Yep." Urd nodded in agreement. "Lind wouldn't let him with his injured hand."

"Keep a man from his grill..." Keiichi trailed off, distracting himself as he searched for the signs pointing him to baggage claim.

"It ended up being a 'hit or miss' scenario," Urd finished. "Lind ended up helping him prep food all day. She sent me a message around, I don't know... four or so? She was ranting about Baked...Alaska?" She looked over at Aiko. "Isn't that a state?"

"It's a dessert," Aiko corrected. "A very, very hard dessert to bake."

"Really?" Belldandy perked up in interest. "What does it entail?"

"Um...baking...ice cream?" Aiko said tentatively. "Into a cake?"

"Like... in an oven?" Belldandy stared at her in something akin to shock and wonder, "How...?"

Aiko shook her head. "I dunno," she admitted. "I've never had it before. Like I said, it's super hard to make."

Belldandy stared at her. "I will find a recipe for it, then," she decided. "And I will make it myself." There was a small hint of excitement in her voice, as though the goddess had stumbled upon a previously unknown challenge that tickled her fancy.

"Just don't burn down the house, Bell," Urd requested.

Belldandy shot her a glare. "That's your job, not mine."

When they reached the claim area, Keiichi led the way through the throng of people who were massing at the conveyer looking for their luggage. Fortunately, he did not have to join in since all he needed was in his carry-on bag, and the goddesses had stashed theirs and Aiko's luggage who knows where. They had offered to do the same for his, but he declined. He was sure that it was safer than allowing the airline to handle it, but he still did not want to risk the chance of it ending up on Pluto or somewhere even more 'exotic'.

He paused when he heard someone yelling.

"Kei!"

Looking around, he caught sight of his sister. She was standing on the edge of one of the conveyors that was not in use at the time, waving at him. He saw her hop down as he started to make his way to her. "Hey Megs!" he yelled over the din created by the rest of the passengers as they conversed and moved about. Megumi crashed into him with a laugh and gave him a tight hug that he returned in kind. Aiko rushed in and joined them, leaving Belldandy and Urd to observe the reunion. "How have you been?" Keiichi asked after finally breaking the three way hug.

"I've been good," replied Megumi with a smile. "Job keeps me moving, but I still love it! The only thing I miss about it is Mark since he is office bound right now."

"That's right," replied Keiichi at the mention of Megumi's fiancé. "He got promoted didn't he?"

"Yeah," replied Megumi. "Money's good, but I don't get to ride out with him as much as we used to."

"It will work out, Megs," said Aiko with a smile. "Hey, so, I didn't tell Kei about this, but I have a surprise for you two later."

Keiichi looked at his short haired sister in confusion. "Surprise? You didn't mention anything about a surprise."

"Surprise!" quipped Aiko with a sheepish grin.

"Well," said Megumi. "Since we are talking about surprises, I have two of them, the first one being over there." She turned and waved at someone. Keiichi squinted to see who it might be, but couldn't quite make them out. Whoever it was disappeared into the mass of people who were milling about as they waited on their luggage before he could recognize them.

All at once, a feeling of dread came over the SEAL. He pensively looked in the direction the mystery person was approaching from, then back to his sister. "What did you do?" he demanded.

A smile formed on Megumi's face and she winked. "You'll see!"

He narrowed his eyes. Unfortunately for him, there was probably only one person it could be. Megumi had remained friends with this person even after Keiichi had cut ties. A sense of impending doom overcame him as the crowd seemed to part and he saw her.

"Hi Keiichi," she said with a tentative wave.

The blood flowing through the oldest Morisato's body ran cold. Debra Morisato, she kept her last name in spite of their divorce, stood there watching him pensively. Keiichi noted that she had let her hair grow out since the last time he had seen her. In fact, he had to say that it was nearly as long as Belldandy's now. However, unlike his girlfriend, Debra's hair was done up in a tight ponytail, no doubt she needed to because of her job as a detective.

Keiichi stared at her in open mouthed horror for a moment before coming to his senses. "Hey! You're here!" he exclaimed, then turned to the Norns and Aiko. "Look, everyone, she's here! Debra's here!" There was a pregnant pause as he stared at his ex. "Why are you here?"

Debra smiled nervously, and took a step forward. "I wanted to be here for Aiko at the parole hearing," she said earnestly. "And… I wanted to see you."

Beside Keiichi, Aiko watched as Debra came closer, anxiety welling up in her chest. She knew that Belldandy was probably watching, lord only knew what was going through her mind right now. They started talking, or rather Debra started talking and Keiichi just nodded dumbly. Aiko looked over to her older sister and saw a triumphant smile on her lips. "Welp! Let's get going to the hotel!" announced Keiichi as he started heading to the exit. It was obvious he was trying to put some distance between himself and the newcomer, but without being invited, Debra fell in next to him, taking hold of his arm as she did. Keiichi was too polite to ask her to let go.

"Oh, that's so sweet," said Megumi from beside her.

Aiko gave her sister a withering glance, then looked to Urd and Belldandy. The almond haired goddess was stiffly walking as she hurried to catch up with Keiichi and Debra. Aiko could tell from where she was standing that there was a war going on in the woman's psyche. Urd was practically sprinting ahead of the middle Norn, all the while looking around nervously, probably for an escape route in case things got out of hand.

She felt a slight breeze inside the building, a clear warning sign. Aiko shivered involuntarily, both from the cold and from what it could mean.

Megumi did the same. "They sure do have the A/C cranked in here, don't they?"

XXX

Keiichi was in a daze. He looked over at the blonde woman who had attached herself to his arm. She was walking beside him with her hand in the crux of his elbow, in much the same way they would have walked in years gone by. What the hell are you doing, Morisato! he screamed in his mind as the doors opened so that they could exit the baggage claim. It had been over a year now since he had even seen Debra, and the surprise that she as here was overwhelming him.

While they had parted on mostly amicable terms, what they had at the end was anything but a loving relationship. In fact, it was downright dangerous for Debra to even be around him. In one particularly bad incident, which was probably the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, Keiichi had damn near killed her. A lightning storm was approaching, and there was a strike right outside their house. One moment, he was sitting and watching TV, and the next he was back in Iraq in the middle of a particularly bad mortar attack.

He honestly did not remember anything after that, other than moving and then taking cover. He only found out later when he was sitting in a holding cell at the sheriff's station that he had bolted out of the house. Debra followed, but quickly lost track of him. In spite of that, she stayed out and looked for him. After about half an hour without any luck, she was about to go back in and call McGuinness when he ambushed her. He finally came back to his senses as she was pleading for her life. It pained him to even think about it, but he was just a split second away from breaking her neck.

Now, she was hanging on to his arm as if the hell that he had put her through had never happened. There was still a respectable distance between them physically, but he was still so distracted that he almost ran into Urd as she quickly swung around in front of them.

"Keiichi, I need to talk to you," she demanded.

The dark haired man had several months now to get used to some of the nuances of both of the Norn's voices. He certainly caught the warning in Urd's. Debra did not.

"Can I help you?"

The silver haired goddess affixed the blonde with a glare. "No Debra, you can't. I just need to speak with your EX-husband for a moment." The emphasis on ex-husband was unmistakable, and it caused Debra to flinch slightly. Urd returned her gaze to Keiichi, then bobbed her head indicating he should follow.

Out of fear of losing his nerve, Keiichi did not look at Debra as he disengaged her from his arm and moved to follow. He heard an annoyed huff come from his ex-wife, but no other protest, for which he was thankful. When they were a safe enough distance away, Urd whirled around and faced him, planting her hands on her hips to show just how pissed she was. "What the hell are you doing, Jank!"

Urd's amethyst eyes bore into him, and Keiichi could not bare to look in to them. "I have no fucking clue," he said, his voice low and contrite. "I just-"

"Just what?" Urd demanded. "Just decided to throw your relationship with Bell out the window as soon as Debra decided to get off her ass and realize what a mistake she made?"

Keiichi's anger flared and he finally met Urd's gaze. "God damn it, Urd! It's not like that!" When the goddess did not reply, Keiichi took it as his signal to continue, but what the hell was he going to say? For all intents and purposes, that was what is sure looked like, and he knew it. How would he be able to explain it to Belldandy, let alone Urd, when he sure as hell was having issues explaining it to himself? It was as if something had switched him to autopilot, causing muscle memories long since forgotten to start acting of their own volition. "Look, I will make this right, I promise. Just give me a moment to figure out how."

"You may not have a moment." Urd gestured to somewhere behind him. He turned and saw what she was indicating.

"Oh shit."

XXX

As Belldandy watched and followed Keiichi and the woman she assumed was his ex-wife Debra based on some pictures she had seen, her mind was in turmoil. Things had been going so well the past couple of days. After their talk, it seemed that Keiichi was finally starting to put what happened behind them. When he held her hand throughout the flight here, a great deal of anxiety had been lifted. Finally they were going to be able to start moving forward again for real instead of being just housemates.

But now... now That Woman had returned. That Woman who had abandoned Keiichi in what was probably his greatest time of need. Be gone, witch. For I am Belldandy, Goddess First Class and one of the three Norns of Fate! Her anger rising, she clenched her fists in anticipation as she was determined to scare That Woman away. And if she would not scare, then it would be time to beat some sense into her. A breeze swirled around her and began to pick up steam as she took a step forward.

Stop!

The command was as sudden as it was startling. For the goddess, it was almost as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on her head. The wind that she was unconsciously gathering to her suddenly stopped and dissipated. It took her a moment to realize that it was Holy Bell who had said it. Even with all the progress she had made with Urd and Nebo, it was still a little disconcerting to hear that part of herself again. Much to her own regret, she had nearly forgotten even what her angel's voice sounded like in her ten years of servitude. In fact, it was only within the day or so where her link to the other being who shared her soul had become strong enough that Belldandy could manage to hear entire sentences rather than the broken fragments that she was getting before.

You need to calm down and think about this.

And in that moment, the goddess nearly wept as a moment of epiphany came to her. All those other times where she had lost herself to her anger and jealousy, this was the part that had been missing! Holy Bell had always been her anchor. Ever since she had come into her life, the angel had been a calming influence, even more so than maybe anyone realized. There had been a time when the middle Norn had been just as inclined to punch her way out of an issue as she was to talk through it. That had all changed once she swallowed that egg. In fact, most of that perfect image that everyone attributed to her could be traced directly to Holy Bell.

Silently, she agreed with her angel. If there was any time when she needed to be calm and control her temper, it was here in public. Only the Almighty knew what kind of damage control would be needed if she lost it in here. Thank you, she replied back then wavered a bit as she thought more on what she had to do. Right, I will just go up to her and talk to her, get to know her. Sounds easy enough.

She closed the gap between her and Debra, then tentatively tapped the woman on the shoulder to get her attention. "Hello, my name is Belldandy."

Debra glanced, then simply waved the goddess off and returned her attention to Keiichi and Urd, who were arguing several paces away and out of earshot. "That's nice, I don't want to buy anything."

Belldandy stared at Debra in shock for a moment before realizing the woman had probably not seen her get off the plane with Keiichi. She moved so that she was within the blonde woman's line of sight and smiled. "No no, you misunderstand," she said as pleasantly as she could. "I am introducing myself because I accompanied Keiichi here."

That got Debra's attention. She turned fully to the Norn. "You did? And who are you to him, exactly?"

The goddess noted that the other woman's hands had come up and were planted firmly on her hips. There was also a touch of animosity in her tone, yet she paid it no mind. "I am his girlfriend."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Since for how long, might I ask?"

"Keiichi and I met in March," replied the goddess with a smile.

Debra snorted in amusement. "Well, I think I know a little more about what's best for him since I've known him since we were both five years old," retorted the woman with another dismissive wave as she returned her attention where Keiichi had gone off to, only to be surprised by him approaching. "Oh, hi! So you got whatever that other woman wanted taken care of?"

"Yeah," replied Keiichi. "So I was going to introduce you to Belldandy here, but I see that you have already met?" There was an unmistakable nervous quality to his voice.

"Yes!" replied Debra as she cast a glance towards the brunette goddess. "We were just discussing you, actually!"

Keiichi groaned and scratched at the back of his head. "Nothing too embarrassing, I hope!"

Belldandy cast a sidelong glance at Debra, then returned her gaze to Keiichi. "No, nothing of the sort. Debra was just introducing herself to me and explained how long she has known you." She sent a sneer towards Debra but did not voice her internal thoughts. I think she should say something about how she left you in your greatest hour of need.

"That's… good?" said Keiichi who seemed to be relieved.

Belldandy brushed past Debra and latched on to Keiichi's arm in the spot the blonde had occupied earlier. It was an obvious attempt, at least in her eyes, to mark him as 'hers'. "I think it's time that we head to the hotel, don't you think?" she said in hopes of ditching Debra.

"Right! Yeah, let's do that," said Keiichi as he seemed to brighten a little at the prospect. He then turned to Debra. "Where are you staying?"

The blonde woman smiled, and to Belldandy, it was a smug little smile that Holy Bell helped suppress the urge to slap off. "I am staying at the Courtyard by the Airport, same as you!" If she had gotten the earlier hint, Debra did not let on as she slipped past Belldandy and latched on to Keiichi's other arm. She glared daggers at the Goddess, who was only too happy to return it.

"Greaaaat," said Keiichi as the two women started to walk him towards the waiting area for the hotel shuttles. Behind them, their companions watched in a mixture of amusement, confusion, and embarrassment.

XXX

The ride to the hotel was uneventful, but tense. As soon as he could, Keiichi disengaged from his escorts and jumped into the front passenger seat of the van, leaving Belldandy and Debra to decide where to sit on their own. They both decided to sit in the row closest to the front, with the rest taking up the remainder of the seats in the back. The dark haired man never once looked back.

When they arrived, they all piled out, and Keiichi nearly bolted into the lobby to check in. He had reserved a block of four rooms; one for him, one each for his sisters, and one for the Norns. Debra managed to get a room on the same floor, but further down the hall from where the main group was.

Instead of going to her own room, Aiko followed Megumi into hers. She shut the door and went straight for her sister. "What the hell, Megumi! Why did she have to come?"

The older woman backpedaled as the other approached. "Whoa! Hold your horses there! I thought that if she came, maybe Keiichi and her could… you know!"

Aiko stared at her sister incredulously. "This isn't like in High School when you were trying to hook him up with any eligible bachelorette like on the Dating Game! Did you even think it might be a good idea to ask him?"

Megumi just shrugged and turned to her bag, which she had tossed on the bed she was claiming, and began to empty it into the dresser drawer with practiced ease. "You know he would have said no, so I figured I would surprise him."

"Well, you accomplished that and more, I think."

As the older Morisato woman put her last item in the drawer and closed it, she turned to her sister. "Look, those two are perfect for each other! The fact that they aren't together since he got help is a travesty as far as I am concerned, and I am going to do what I can to make sure they get back together."

"Even at the expense of someone else?"

Megumi furrowed her brows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He's got a girlfriend!" exclaimed Aiko, shaking her hands in emphasis. "He brought her with him to meet Keima and Takano!"

The older woman only seemed to become more confused. "You mean that woman with the white hair and big boobs?"

Aiko paused for just a moment to ensure that she heard that right. "No no no, and hell no," she said while shaking her head. "It's the other one."

"The dishwater blonde?"

"Yeah, that one," replied the blue haired woman.

"Oh," said Megumi before a scared look came on her face. "OH!"

"Yeah," confirmed Aiko. "And to be honest, she's more damaged than he is in some ways. They are so perfect for each other it's almost scary. Scratch that, it IS scary."

"Oh well shit, I fucked up, then, didn't I?" When Aiko nodded Megumi continued. "But I don't think there is anything we can do about it right now." She sighed and sat down on the couch. "You know how Debra is when she puts her mind to something."

Aiko sat down next to her sister and let out her own sigh. "Yeah, that's what I am afraid of."

XXX

Aiko spent the next couple of minutes explaining things to Megumi before she excused herself and stepped out to claim her luggage. Fortunately, the other reason she wanted to get out of there, Belldandy, was in the same place. She knocked on the door to the Norns' room and waited. After a moment, it opened to reveal Urd. She said nothing, just opened the door and stepped aside to allow her entry while gesturing in Belldandy's direction with her head. The blue haired woman stepped in and headed over to the middle Norn who was sitting at a desk tearing a piece of paper out of the room service menu. Several origami stars already littered the top. The room was dark aside from some light that filtered in through the window through the curtains, which had been left half open by the cleaning crews.

Aiko stepped over and grabbed the curtains and opened them all the way, bathing the room in sunlight. "Man! Would you look at that San Francisco sky! Talk about blue!"

"Riveting."

Satisfied that she had at least lightened the room, if not the attitudes, Aiko walked over and sat on the bed close to the desk and leaned in towards Belldandy. She reached out and placed a hand on her back.

"So… Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," replied Belldandy, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm just peachy other than the fact that my boyfriend's ex-wife showed up unexpectedly and unannounced and is obviously trying to reinsert herself into his life." She tore another long strip of paper from the menu, and Aiko idly wondered if the hotel would charge them for it. "She had her chance and she blew it by leaving him instead of supporting him in a time he probably needed her most."

Aiko flinched at that. In spite of the obvious truth in Belldandy's words, Debra was still a close friend. Her presence here was quite unexpected because Aiko had just spoken to her not two weeks ago, and there was no indication from the other woman that she was even considering making the trip back. In the past, when she was still married to Keiichi, Debra had always joined them on their trips back home, however since then she had stayed away. The yearly trips back home to combat the parole hearings against Stuart frayed everyone's nerves, especially Aiko's, and Deb had made it clear from the get-go that she did not want to incite further strife by attending any of the trips when Keiichi was visiting as well. However California was home for Deb too; her father still lived a block away from Keima and Takano, her mother was buried in San Francisco's National Cemetery, and she had two aunts who lived in San Jose and Santa Barbra respectfully. Deb had just as much a right to be here as Aiko did. Still, a little heads-up would have been nice. A little forewarning would have been nice.

It was Megs. Aiko reminded herself. She's been trying to push Deb into speaking to Kei ever since he pulled himself back together. She knew that wasn't fair. Debra and Megumi had been best friends for longer than Aiko had been alive. She'd supported Kei and Deb's decision to marry and had been the maid of honor at their wedding. She'd opened her doors to Deb after things had started to fall apart between the two of them, and had been the level head of the whole family when people began to pick and choose sides on who was to blame for what happened following Kei's breakdown and had done her best to help Deb move on after the divorce, though in private Megumi had confided to Aiko that 'it wasn't right'. She'd always wanted to see the two of them get back together, and realistically, Deb had too, despite the reasons that had caused her to leave in the first place.

And, well...

Megumi and Debra hadn't known about the new lady in Keiichi's life.

Christ, as if things weren't enough of a clusterfuck already. This on top of— "Fuck, that's right," Aiko mumbled.

"What's right?" Urd asked.

"I wanted to grab you guys so..." She trailed off, looking suddenly uncomfortable. Shy almost. "Uh... there's sort of a surprise for everyone down in the lobby," she said. "Do you... want to go and see it? I mean, them? I was coming here to see if you wanted my..." The woman fell silent, the words dying on her lips when even Belldandy paused from her stars to look over at her.

"Aiko, are you all right?" Urd asked. "You're acting... weird. Weirder than normal, which from you says a lot."

"Indeed." Belldandy frowned. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing!" Aiko exclaimed. "Absolutely nothing! Nothing at all! Life is just peachy-keen! I just-" She bit off the words before they could leave her mouth, and tried to smile. It came out a grimace. "Just... stressed, is all. Coming home is... difficult for me." She bit her lip, disliking the shared look between Belldandy and Urd. It was one of concern. "C'mon, let's go and grab Kei and the others," she said. "This is a huge surprise, so..."

"I don't believe I like surprises," Belldandy muttered, a dour scowl on her face. "I certainly did not enjoy this last surprise."

Aiko laughed nervously. "It's... not that," she said. "Um... no, definitely not another girl from Kei's past."

"I would hope not."

The woman winced. "Uh... just... um, keep an open mind, okay?" she requested. "It's... different. That's all. I know you gods are supposed to be all conservative and stuff, so-"

"Whoever told you that has never met a real god," Urd interrupted. "You tend to look at the world with different eyes when you have cousins who are literal snakes, horses, wolves, and half-dead walking corpses."

"And that's enough family history for one day Urd," Belldandy said tightly. "Aiko, if you would be a dear, go collect your siblings while I have a chat with my lovely sister born of a dragon's brood." She glared at Urd, who looked at her sharply.

Sensing a quick change in the mood of the two siblings, Aiko wisely took Belldandy's words to heart and ducked out. She made a face, both grateful that the Norns had agreed to join her and relieved to be away from what looked like a brewing argument. "Yeesh. 'Dragon's brood'. Wonder what that's all about," she muttered, and paused when she saw Debra in the hallway. Her ex-sister-in-law waved at her, but didn't approach further. Instead she stopped in front of a door a couple of rooms down and knocked. It made Aiko pause. That was Kei's room. Not Meg's, who was down past the shared room with the Norns, or even Aiko's, whose room was located directly across from the Norns.

Oh shit. Aiko thought, and proceeded to turn and walk the other way, almost running into a sharply-dressed man in a black suit with a green shirt and tie. "Sorry." She mumbled, and proceeded towards Megumi's room instead, deciding she would be the easier person to speak with while Deb spoke to Kei. I don't know what's going on in there and I'm pretty sure I don't want to know, she thought.

The woman headed down the hallway, passing a family of three before pausing at her older sister's door. She knocked, and found Megumi answering it right away, pocketing her cellphone in the process. "Hey Sis, what's up?" Megumi asked. "Good timing. I just got off the phone with Mark."

"How's he doing?" Aiko asked.

"He's doing good," Megumi replied. "He's going to a national convention up in Washington this week as part of a promotion of BACA. He's really excited about it, since the Chapter has been having some difficulties getting a good foothold up there, as the locals tend to fall back into the old stereotype that all biker gangs are bad."

"Oooh, that makes me jealous," Aiko said. "Washington's supposed to be beautiful. And in the summertime? With everything in bloom?" She shook her head. "Man, it almost makes me want to go down the traditional Morisato path and get me a bike of my own, just to go touring."

"Well, if you want to come and visit Mark, you could skip the flight back to Virginia and ride up North with me once our trip here is over," Megumi offered. "I'm planning on riding up to visit him after this before returning to the home office in Denver. Go for a nice ride along the coast from San Francisco all the way through Oregon and into Washington."

"Really?" Aiko asked in surprise.

Megumi shrugged. "Why not? It's been a while since we took a trip together. Might get you out of North Carolina a bit to show you what some of the other states have to offer. Portland and Seattle are always looking for good IT peeps, so it's not like you'll be hurting for a job after you graduate."

"I'll have to think it over..." Aiko murmured. "I kind of already made plans after this, but the offer is really, really tempting."

"Think it over some," Megumi advised. "There's no pressure or rush. It's a bit spur of the moment, but I was thinking it might be a fun way to help get this place out of your head once we finish our 'family reunion'."

"Definitely." Aiko nodded. "I'll let you know later on. Until then... remember that surprise I mentioned?"

Megumi raised an eyebrow. "What, you gonna suddenly come out and say you're a man?" she asked, and Aiko laughed.

"No, no, nothing that crazy," she said. "But I'm gathering Keiichi and the others. Want to join in?"

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do," Megumi agreed. "And I... kinda want to keep an eye on Deb and Kei's new chick.

"I don't blame you," Aiko grumbled. She stepped back to allow Megumi into the hallway, where the older woman shut the door behind her. "I've gotten to know Bell pretty well over the past couple of months, and the way she looks at Deb is that same murderous look your stupid cat gives me when I come to visit you."

"Yeah..." Megumi made a face. "I still don't know what you did to piss that poor thing off so badly."

"I didn't do anything," Aiko grumbled. "It's just a five pound ball of hate and piss. All I ever did was offer it a hand to sniff." Together, the two siblings began walking back up the hallway towards Keiichi's room. The door to the Norns' room opened, and Belldandy and Urd stepped out into the hallway as the Morisato sisters drew near. Belldandy looked at them with a wan smile, and Urd paused to shut the door behind her, a scowl on her face that hinted at the tenor of the conversation that took place behind closed doors.

"You guys ready?" Aiko asked.

"Yes..." Belldandy trailed off. "Are we going to grab Keiichi as well?" She turned to look further up the hallway, and missed the grimace that flashed across Aiko's face. Deb was still in Keiichi's room, as far as Aiko knew, and in all actuality Aiko would very much like to avoid anything that tipped the goddess off to that lone little fact.

Unfortunately, Fate was a bit of a bitch, as any of the Norns would say, and it was as Belldandy was looking towards Keiichi's room that said door opened and Debra stepped out with Keiichi a moment later. Aiko's eyes widened, and Keiichi, perhaps sensing the growing number of stares in the hallway, paused to look up. He froze, his expression like that of a deer in headlights as his gaze met Belldandy's.

"Oh shit," Aiko breathed, and not daring to move- much like her brother in that moment- her gaze zipped to Belldandy in time to see the woman's hands curl up into fists. Oh please no, Aiko thought to herself, Oh lord, please no. Even Urd looked ready to spring on her, yet at the last moment Belldandy took a long breath and unclenched her hands, giving breath to the tension that had settled within the hallway.

Megumi edged closer to Aiko. "Jeez-us," she said, her voice low.

"Yeah," Aiko agreed.

"Are we going to have to put a wall between these two?" Megumi whispered.

"I sure hope not," Aiko grumbled. A wall wouldn't stop Belldandy from unleashing hell in the hotel. Shit, it wouldn't even slow her down.

"No wonder her sister came," Megumi muttered. "Fuck, talk about her sister's keeper..."

Aiko winced. Time to take control of the situation. She decided, and loped over to Keiichi and Debra. She didn't like the way her ex-sister-in-law was eyeing the Norns. Deb was a detective, once from Norfolk when she'd still been married to Keiichi, now of Maryland after she transferred to another department. She specialized in violent crimes and gang-related activities, and the way she was staring at the two goddesses now reminded Aiko of the look Deb occasionally got on her face when discussing her work. Eagle Eyes, Keiichi used to tease, a term he'd picked up from the Chair Force's 'OPSEC' program designed to identify suspicious or criminal activity happening around Norfolk. It was an ample description, and those 'eagle eyes' of Deb's were focused on Belldandy now. Scrutinizing. Analyzing. Watching.

"So!" Aiko announced, and smiled with as much glee as her face could muster when those eyes zoomed in on her. "Who's ready for a surprise?"

"Please?" Megumi's voice was strained.

"Yes!" Urd announced, taking her cues from Aiko. "Come on, everyone, let's go and see what Aiko's big surprise is! I love surprises! Lead the way Aiko!" The smile that graced Urd's face was so strained Aiko almost mistook it for a snarl, and she couldn't shake the silly, odd impression that she was staring at a smiling serpent.

"Right!" Aiko exclaimed, resuming her pace down the hallway and seeing her older sister fall in behind her. She sent a look to Keiichi when she passed him, and found her brother didn't have the courage to meet her eyes. Oh you raging asshole, she thought to herself. You choose now of all times to pussy out on me? For fuck's sake!

The man fell in behind her, next to Belldandy, and Debra quickly moved to flank him on the other side, dismissing Aiko's prying gaze with a shrug. The younger of the two Norns cast a glare at Keiichi's ex-wife, who returned it full force, but otherwise did nothing, much to the relief of half of the group. "So, where are we going, Aiko?" Keiichi's voice cracked in the tension of the group.

As the gang passed a woman in a pressed black suit and green tie, Aiko responded. "Not far!" She sounded even more panicked now, though had she been asked the blue-haired woman would have been unable to say if it was due to her own nerves or the tension produced by Bell and Deb. "We're just going to the lobby to meet someone."

"What, so the surprise is a person?" Megumi asked. "Who is it, your boyfriend?" she joked, and Aiko laughed with her, though it was tense.

"Nah, given Aiko's track record, it'll be her girlfriend." Keiichi's attempted to join in, but he sounded even more tense then Aiko with the two women on either side of him. His joke fell flat in the wake of two women casting dark looks at each other, and Aiko did not rise to the intended bait.

The lobby was thick with humanity, an ocean of guests, vacationers, travelers and businessmen all attempting to check-in, check-out, or meander through the hotel in wait of others. There was already a long line of people standing in wait at the front desk, and the lobby was filled with the dull roar of talking adults and laughing, screaming children. "Christ, I forgot how crowded California was." Debra muttered.

"It's summertime," Keiichi pointed out. "College kids are out of school."

Megumi grunted but said nothing, observing a large group of businessmen in black suits and green ties gather in one corner of the lobby in close proximity to what appeared to be a massive gathering of teenagers. Several of the teens were wearing matching light blue shirts with the phrase Cesar Chavez Highschool Otters written on the back. A long-haired girl dressed in all black with a shock of blue-green hair occupied a couch in the lobby, and several children, none of whom were older than ten, chased each other while screaming through the entirety of the floor. A tired woman yelled at them from the line at the front desk.

Aiko paused near the threshold of the hallway, scanning the many bodies for the person in question. Her eyes lit up when they landed on the individual. "Morgan!" she exclaimed, and rushed off into the lobby.

"Guess it is her boyfriend, then," Deb muttered.

Together, the large group of people watched as Aiko raced off to greet her suspected significant other. A girl with long, dyed hair looked up at Aiko's shout, and lips painted black peeled back in a smile. "Aiko!" The young woman leapt to her feet and raced to greet the approaching college student, where the two first embraced and then kissed.

The crowd of teens, their attention drawn to the two shouts of the women, released a series of adoring coos.

"I stand corrected," Deb said. "Her girlfriend."

"I guess Aiko really does have a thing for blue hair," Belldandy said, a smile growing on her face.

Debra scoffed. "Are you color-blind? It's obviously teal. They do match, though."

Urd snorted, the smile on her face long and large. "They're adorable together."

Keiichi and Megumi Morisato, elder siblings to one Aiko Morisato- who was currently kissing a girl- said nothing. Keiichi stared with large, shocked eyes. His sister gaped openly.

"I guess that's one way to come out of the closet," Deb mumbled.

Aiko approached them, her arm wrapped around the teal-haired emo-goth too-much-eyeliner all-black-you-must-be-baking girl's shoulders. Her face was a bright red. "So... surprise?" The smile on her face looked more like a nervous grimace, and her eyes darted between her older siblings, gaging their reactions. "This is Morgan Roux," she introduced. "We've been together for about two years now."


A/N: Next couple of releases may be somewhat sporadic, depending on progress. I have a couple of R/L events coming up that will take quite a bit of my time. It is looking like the next chapter will be on the longer side, though, so that's good news!


Comments of a Madwoman: While it was intentional since her initial concept that Aiko would be gayer than a double rainbow sprouting from a fruitcake, it was sheer coincidence that her coming out to her family happened during gay pride month.