Gen 13: Christmas in the Sun

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to this," Sarah Rainmaker admitted, her long black hair falling in a silken wave down her back as she continued, "though I do like it." She and Caitlin were leaving the mall with their packages, both of them dressed in just light T-shirts and shorts in the still warm weather.

"It is odd," Caitlin agreed, her golden brown hair tied back simply, "the weather being this comfortable even in winter." She looked over her stuff critically as the taller woman asked, "Do you think we've got everything?"

"Cds for Roxy," Sarah noted, "new shirts for Bobby, Grunge's disgusting swimsuit DVDs, a certain gift for you and I'm certain there's a book in your pile for me."

"You know me too well," Caitlin admitted, the two reaching the car. About half of the stuff went in to the trunk, the rest carefully loaded into the back seat. As usual Caitlin drove, heading back home to their safehouse here in La Jolla, California. She looked at Sarah a moment then looked away, focusing on the road ahead.

"What?" Sarah asked curiously.

"How did you first know you were gay?" Caitlin asked softly.

Sarah blinked at her in surprise, wondering where that question came from. For Caitlin her lesbianism had mostly been a non-issue, unlike her other teammates. Bobby had fantasies of converting her, Grunge had dreamed of threeways and Roxy had been jumpy around her for weeks... but Caitlin had just calmly filed away the information and moved on.

'So if she's asking about this now,' Sarah reasoned, 'it must be important to her.' Aloud she said, "The girlhood crushes that didn't go away was my first hint." With a grin she added, "And I had my first relationship in my teens."

Caitlin puffed out her breath, "Wow. I don't think I've had a serious relationship yet..."

Sarah nodded, feeling a pang of sympathy for her. Caitlin had originally been a computer nerd, a small girl peering out at the world through her round glasses. All that changed when her Gen-factor was triggered and she gained the body of a amazon.. but none of the social skills to deal with it. Add in the fact that most men responded to just her looks, and you had a frustrating situation.

"Can I ask why you're asking?" Sarah asked mildly.

Caitlin blushed faintly as she looked towards the road, not meeting Sarah's eyes. "There's someone I've been getting to know recently," she admitted, "I've begun to think about her in ways that I'm not quite comfortable with."

"I understand," Sarah smiled, despite feeling a bit of regret that Caitlin wasn't talking about her. 'Not that I'm not keeping busy,' she reminded herself, 'it's just that I've had a crush on Caitlin for what feels like forever.' Curiously she asked, "Do we know her?"

"We've met a few times," Caitlin agreed. She eased the car into a turn, "Are you bringing a date for tonight?"

"Well, yes," Sarah smiled, deciding to let her get away with changing the subject this time, "Rebecca Alvarez is in town, we're going to the party together."

"But I thought you were seeing 'Voodoo doll' Sadie, Sarah?" a visibly confused Caitlin asked her curiously.

"I am," Sarah grinned, "we're non-monogamous."

Caitlin made a soft choking noise at that then laughed. "And they don't have a problem with that?" she asked.

Sarah looked thoughtful as she answered, "Sadie.. doesn't want anything serious, in fact she describes us a fuck-buddies." She grinned as Caitlin made those odd noises again, "I think Rebecca is a bit more serious, but she doesn't want me getting too lonely while she's gone."

Caitlin shook her head wryly, "I think I'd be ragingly jealous."

Sarah tilted her head to the side, then nodded slightly. "Maybe so," she agreed, "and I think I'll be breaking it off with Sadie if Rebecca does move here full time."

"Good," Caitlin smiled slightly, "I think Rebecca will be good for you."

The car pulled in to the safe house, a summer bungalow that was financed by all of Mr. Lynch's old 'black project' slush funds. It looked just like any two floor summer house and it matched the neighbor's homes, but underneath the surface it was a little different. The latest in weapons systems protected the place, along with advanced holographic shields to maintain their privacy, all provided by their robotic maid, Anna.

The blonde woman in question smiled as she met them at the carport, looking just like a traditional maid in her black and white uniform, but in reality she was a retired combat robot. "The others are back at the pool," she confided cheerfully, "you can sneak the gifts through the house while I keep them occupied."

"Thanks, Anna," Sarah laughed, watching in awe as Caitlin easily loaded up with heavy items, not even straining as she headed inside.

Caitlin nodded as she quietly added, "Thanks for suggesting we do a Christmas party, Anna. I don't know if we would have even thought about it otherwise..."

Speaking equally softly Anna replied, "I still owe you for saving me from my sisters, it was the least I could do."

Caitlin considered arguing with her that she didn't owe them anything, but decided it would be pointless. Not long ago Anna's crazed robotic 'sisters' had attacked, intent on completing their creators work, and after leading them on a wild chase they fought it out in the old Project Genesis compound. Only Ivana Baul's unexpected assistance had prevented disaster, leaving the group with mixed feelings about their former adversary.

'Especially me,' Caitlin thought as she returned to her room with a stack of gifts, wrapping them quickly and efficiently.

Calling Ivana in to help them had been hard, but even Caitlin had been surprised at how quickly she had responded. She had fought side by side with Caitlin, using a EM Pulse gun against the androids and providing technical skills to disarm the gen-factor bomb. Part of Caitlin wanted to believe that Ivana had just been preserving her investment in the team, but her conscience made her wonder if something else was going on.

Almost as soon as Caitlin hauled out her gifts to add to the pile in the living room Roxy ask, "What'd you get me?" Her little half sister was nearly bouncing with eagerness, her purple streaked hair flowing around her face.

"You'll find out Christmas morning," Caitlin said firmly.

"We aren't even opening up one tonight?" Bobby Lane smiled, the blonde shaking his head as he sighed, "Bummer."

Grunge gave her a puppy dog look, his black hair falling into his eyes, "Please?"

"I wouldn't mind getting one gift tonight," Sarah added with a slight smile.

"All right," Caitlin finally conceded, "but just one gift each." All four of them cheered and Caitlin rolled her eyes.

Anna cooked them up a turkey with all the fixings, and they dug in happily. The guests loved the food and company, including the friends they had made in the superhuman community here not to mention old friends from back east. It was just after Grunge and Tommy were trying to out-macho each other and Sarah and Rebecca were necking on the couch that Caitlin slipped away to the relative quiet of the library.

"Peace and quiet," Caitlin sighed, leaning against the computer desk. Part of her wanted to surf the net, but instead she picked up the phone, dialing a number she had memorized.

"Yes?" the smooth, cool woman's voice asked.

"Ivana?" Caitlin tried not to fidget, "It's Caitlin."

"Well, well," Ivana Baul warmed a bit as she asked, "what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I guess," Caitlin hesitated, "I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas."

Ivana actually sounded a bit surprised as she answered, "Thank you, you too."

"Ivana..." Caitlin started, only to realize Ivana was a bout to say something more. "Go on," she offered quietly.

"You recall that club we visited?" Ivana waited for Caitlin to agree and carried on, "There's a new years party coming up, and I seem to lack a date."

"And I'll be bodyguarding?" Caitlin asked with a faint smile.

"No," Ivana answered cheerfully, "I intend to take advantage of you, if I can."

"Like that would ever happen," Caitlin scoffed, despite feeling a little thrill at the idea. Not giving herself too much time to think about it she said, "I'd love to go."

"Then I'll pick you up on new years," Ivana laughed and hung up.

Caitlin put the phone down, smiling faintly. She still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but she was confident that whatever happened, it would at least be interesting.

End.

Notes: Here's another story set during Adam Warren's run on Gen 13... Mrs. Alvarez was introduced in that storyline, originally as a government agent and later as a private operator. She and Sarah had a... intense first meeting, one that she teased Sarah about when they met again. Annoyingly the title ended before things could develop between them, but Alvarez certainly seemed interested in Sarah.