Zack woke before Alicia. It was probably only an hour or so past dawn, but he was reenergized. He was still wrapped around Alicia's body. He was glad that she was still there. Five months before he'd fallen asleep with her in his arms, and when his eyes had opened, she'd been gone. A solider does not cry. But he'd wept into the pillow that still had the impression of her head. She had given him a gift before she left, a promise that she would see him again. He'd put the necklace on, and had not removed it since.
Now here she was again, and this time he was going to have to leave her. He understood why she hadn't been planning on seeing him. It was the right decision really. He hated himself for agreeing with her. Lydecker knew she would be going after him. They'd be looking for a young couple, not a single female. Once they got Bryn out, it would be obvious to even the other sixers Alicia had turned against Manticore. If they found her, it would be better not to have any X-5's around. They'd just get captured too.
He rubbed her stomach lightly, and she purred in her sleep. Did pregnant women like that or did she just like him touching her? He had to make himself stop. He had to admit that she was still incredibly attractive to him, and God knew he wanted her. He had not touched another woman since her, even though it had been sworn to him that all he needed was to find a girl that looked like Alicia, use her and dump her and he'd feel better.
"I love you," he whispered in her ear. She rolled over, her eyes blinking away sleep. She looked so much better. The dark smudges under her eyes were gone, and she seemed so much happier. She kissed him lightly.
"Good morning, my love," she said with a small smile. She knew she looked awful, but the way he was looking at her made her feel like the most beautiful and desirable and wanted creature on the face of the earth. They lay together simply smiling at one another happily. For a moment the future didn't loom like a black spot, and they could enjoy the sensation of being close again.
"Can I get you something?" Zack finally asked, needing to get away from her. He was thinking way too much about things he shouldn't be. He didn't want to do anything that could hurt the baby.
"Actually," she replied, feeling a little silly, "there's got to be coffee around here. I would kill for a cup." She inwardly cringed at her choice of words. She had killed to get here. It wasn't like she had gone on a wild rampage, but she hadn't cared in the slightest what happened to anyone in her way.
"I think I could manage something." He gave her a quick kiss and got out of bed. He threw on his clothes and went into the living room quietly. Bling was just coming through the front door, carrying a bag with him.
Zack went to say something, but Bling put his finger against his lips in a shushing gesture. Zack went into alert, but Bling seemed really amused by something. He motioned for Zack to follow. They approached the kitchen, and then Zack could hear Max's voice.
"All right, you don't like me and I don't like you, but we're going to work together and get the job done," she declared firmly. They edged around the corner. Max had her back to them, and was talking to the coffee maker. It was made to grind the beans and then make the coffee. Logan had gotten it after being told that a child could use it. Of course most children had better culinary skills than Max. She was determined to master the thing though.
She was approaching it like she would a minefield. The bag of beans was in one hand, a pot of water in the other. She opened a lid and went to pour the beans in when Bling stopped her.
"Wrong end Max," he called.
She jumped and spun around, causing the water to splash on her. All it would have taken was the tiniest of chuckles and they would have both been dead. Bling kept enough control over himself to take the beans from her, and get the machine working himself. Max stalked off to her room to dry off.
"She may be a dangerous as a solider," Bling commented, "but she's deadly in a kitchen." He nodded towards the bag he'd brought in. "I stopped by my sister's before coming over. Alicia can't exactly borrow any of Max's clothes, and my sister had some stuff left over from when she had her baby."
"Thanks," Zack said, picking up the bag. The coffee would take a few minutes anyways. He took the bag to Alicia.
She sifted through it and found a dress that she could wear. It felt very disconcerting to be relying on other people for help right now. Admittedly she wasn't worried about money in the future, but for now she couldn't exactly run out and pick up personal items. That would have to wait.
By the time she'd cleaned up and dressed, Zack was back with hot, fresh coffee. It smelled like Heaven. She took a small sip. It was Heaven.
"I think I'm getting jealous," Zack said looking at her. She looked like someone had handed her a cup of liquid bliss instead of plain coffee.
"Try going six weeks without the stuff," she said drinking some more. It burned her tongue, but she didn't care. Someone else had declared caffeine bad for her, and the rules had been followed strictly. Was this what freedom tasted like?
They went into the living room. Max was there, and looking rather angry at her coffee. Max was weird no matter what, so Alicia didn't even want to question what the matter was. Logan stumbled through heading towards the kitchen. He looked like he was still asleep, and being led only by his sense of smell. It was a typical morning at the Cale residence.
After a little while, Logan woke up enough to present them with a copy of the plans for the base in Utah. Alicia looked at them and groaned. They were made before the base underwent renovations. They were still usable, but would need some work. She wished she could call Cole. They could redo these plans together in less than an hour. He always had a better head for maps than she did, but oddly enough he had the worse sense of direction. He could draw the map freehand, but couldn't follow one to save his life.
They spread them out on the dining room table, and she started to make corrections. Max and Zack watched her, asking questions about different points of entry. Logan went into the computer room to see if he could come up with anything more current. They had been at it for an hour or so when the doorbell rang.
Bling answered the door to see a young woman standing there. He'd never seen her before, but she acted like she was supposed to be here.
"Hi," she said brightly. "Is Zack here?" Bling didn't say anything. "He told me to meet him here when he called me yesterday," she continued.
Zack had come up behind them. "It's OK," he told Bling. "She's one of us." The girl's bright green eyes flashed with warning at hearing him so casually giving out security like that. He addressed her. "They know everything."
"You told someone?" she asked, sounding absolutely shocked that he would ever do such a thing.
"I didn't have to," he replied. "Someone else already did." He glanced towards the table, and Max looked up at him sensing that she was being watched. He motioned for her to come over. She rose and walked towards him and the strange girl, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. She knew her, and from the expression of the girl's face, she was getting that feeling too.
Suddenly the girl's eyes widened. "Max!" she squeaked. "Oh my God! You're really here!"
Comprehension dawned on Max. "Jhondie?" she said, unable to stop the huge grin from spreading over her face. "You're the transport?" Neither of them said anything else as they both hugged wildly, thrilled to be reunited.