ZACK & JENNA, or the legacy of Manticore
Sequel to 'A part of something bigger'
November 4th 2024, near Roswell, New Mexico
"So how's Sarah handling becoming an aunt?" asked Logan Cale as he turned to his father-in-law, Max Evans. It was weird to think of him as such, when there wasn't that much of an age difference. They were on their way back to Roswell, along with Michael Guerin, Alex Whitman and Kyle Valenti. They had been thrown out of Max's home, when their wives had insisted they couldn't stay. They were having a baby shower for Logan's wife, Max. They all found it ridiculous that they'd waited until she was just about ready to deliver, but found it pointless to argue with them. So they'd went on a slight road trip...
"Oh, she's really excited, she won't stop talking about it," said Max, thinking back to just that morning, when his 3-year-old daughter, Sarah, was talking about how she would paint their nails just like Lisa had done for her. They had then explained that only one of the twins was a girl. She took it in stride and said that she would paint the girl's nails. Logan himself had witnessed the exchange as they'd been staying with Max and his wife Liz, who was his wife's mother, and Sarah. Even if Max wasn't his real daughter, Max had taken her in just as if she had been. And so they'd been living there for the past three months.
There was a phone ring and Logan reached inside his coat pocket to take out his cell phone. "Hello?"
"Logan?" came the voice of his 'aunt', Isabel Evans.
"Hey, we're on our way back now, so I hope we're not..." started Logan, but was interrupted.
"Logan, she's in labor."
"What?" he asked, his voice rising just a bit in panic.
"What's wrong?" asked Kyle from the back.
"It's Isabel, she says that Max just went into labor." Not sure of what to do, Max pulled the car over to the side of the road. "When did this start?" asked Logan.
"About an hour ago. We weren't sure if it was for real at first..." explained Isabel, almost forced to yell so that Logan would hear her over the sounds of Max screaming in the background.
"Alright, well... we'll be there as soon as possible," said Logan as Max started up the car again.
"Okay, hurry!" said Isabel.
"Tell her I love her."
"I will." He closed the phone and put it back in his pocket. "Come on! Faster!" said Logan.
"If we go too fast, we might be stopped and then it will be very long before we get there."
"I have a feeling that's pretty much what's gonna happen," said Alex as he pointed ahead.
"Oh great..." said Michael as he saw as well. There was a roadblock just ahead.
"No, no, no..." started Logan.
"Hold on, I'll go see what's going on," said Max.
He got out of the car and went to talk to someone near the front to find out what was happening. He came back about two minutes later.
"So?" asked Logan.
"Looks like we're gonna be here for a while. There was an accident up there, a truck and two cars... We have to wait until they've cleaned out the road. I'm sorry." Logan was silent for a minute, then took the phone out again. He dialed and waited.
"Hello?" came Isabel's voice.
"Hey, it's me. We have a problem."
"What problem?"
"There's a road block and it looks like it's gonna take a while."
"You're kidding."
"I wish I were. How's she doing?"
Before she could answer, Logan heard Max in the back, yelling. "PUNCH ME! JUST PUNCH ME! PLEASE!" Logan couldn't help grinning.
"We'll call when we can get through."
*
Ten hours later, still at the block
All of them had fallen asleep except Logan. He kept his eyes in front, waiting impatiently for the way to clear. They should have been through hours ago, but there was another problem, so they were still waiting. He just hoped he wouldn't miss the births. He wanted to be there. Suddenly, he saw a man come to the front of the line and remove the barriers.
"Hey! It's open!" he said as he shook Max awake.
"What?" he asked, still asleep.
"Come on, grandpa, let's go!" That woke him up. He started the car.
"I told you not to call me that." Logan took the phone once again.
"Hello?" This time it was Maria.
"Hey, it's me. It's finally open, so we're on our way. How's it coming?" he asked.
"You better hurry up, we're almost there."
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah she's fine... she sort of... broke Liz's fingers..."
"What?"
"Well she was squeezing her hand and..."
"Oh boy..."
"Hey, it's okay, Tess fixed it."
"Oh, good..."
"Just hurry, alright?"
"We'll get there as soon as we can." He closed the phone. "Move it."
*
Fifteen minutes later, Max and Liz's home
"Oh no, not again!" said Max with panic in her voice. Her eyes snapped shut, her whole face was shutting down as she held on to whatever she could find. She had broken quite a few things by then, and no one dared take her hand.
"It's okay, honey, you can do it, you're almost there!" encouraged Liz.
"I don't want to do this anymore!" she yelled.
"Sorry, you don't have a choice." She was about to scream again, they could see it.
"Don't swear!"
"TOMATO!" she screamed.
"Tomato?" asked Maria.
When she calmed down a bit, she managed to explain, "You told me not to swear..."
Out front, the guys arrived, quickly jumping out of the car and running through the door. "Hello?" called Logan. Tess came running to them.
"Come on, I have a feeling something's about to happen. He followed her in as the others were greeted by the kids.
"Daddy! Daddy!" called Sarah as she ran right into his arms.
"Hey there!"
"I'm gonna be an aunt!" she said joyfully.
"I know," said Max with a smile.
Just then, they heard a piercing scream from the room, followed by smaller cries and cheering. They all turned to the door. Michael walked up to Max. "Congratulations... grandpa," he said with a grin.
"Stop that." About a minute later, Logan came into the living room, carrying the first baby.
"Yay!" said Sarah as she clapped her hands together, getting agitated. Logan finally looked away from the child, a bright smile on his face.
"I'd like you to meet my son." The guys came up, congratulating him and looking down at the boy.
"LOGAN GET IN HERE!" they heard Max yell.
"Excuse me," he said as he returned to the room. Five minutes passed and the same thing happened as before. Logan returned a minute later with a different baby in his arms. "And meet my daughter." His smile had by then grown so much they were afraid his face would break.
*
Fifteen minutes later
"Alright, you can come in now," said Isabel as she went to see the guys in the living room. The kids ran in before any of them had time to get up. They'd been instructed not to make a lot of noise and they were careful to do so.
"Hi," said Max, "Sarah, come over here." The girl ran up and Logan lifted her up on the bed. She looked down at the two babies in Max's arms.
"I am an aunt?" she asked.
"Yes, you are," said Max with a smile.
"What are they called?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Liz, "You haven't told us what you'd come up with."
"Well... I wanted to name them after two of my brothers and sisters back at Manticore..." started Max.
"But we knew we couldn't do that because it could be too obvious in case there's still people out there..." continued Logan, leaving the last part to the adults' understanding.
"So we kept one, and found something relatively similar for the other," he explained. "Everyone, meet Zack and Jenna." All smiled and Max handed Liz a tissue. Sarah looked down to the two newborns once more.
"Hello, Zack and Jenna!" she greeted quietly.
*
Two weeks later
"Hey guys, check this out!" called Jack as he led their attention to the corner, where Zack and Jenna lay in the crib that had been Sarah's not too long ago. "Zack..." he called to the boy. He quickly turned his head and looked right to Jack. Before letting them react, he did it again. "Jenna..." he said, this time. The girl did the same as her brother. Max got up and approached her children. When they saw her come, they almost immediately let her know they'd seen her, which brought a smile to her face. She loved them so much... and she hoped more than anything that they would be all right when the four of them returned to Seattle in two weeks...
Sequel to 'A part of something bigger'
November 4th 2024, near Roswell, New Mexico
"So how's Sarah handling becoming an aunt?" asked Logan Cale as he turned to his father-in-law, Max Evans. It was weird to think of him as such, when there wasn't that much of an age difference. They were on their way back to Roswell, along with Michael Guerin, Alex Whitman and Kyle Valenti. They had been thrown out of Max's home, when their wives had insisted they couldn't stay. They were having a baby shower for Logan's wife, Max. They all found it ridiculous that they'd waited until she was just about ready to deliver, but found it pointless to argue with them. So they'd went on a slight road trip...
"Oh, she's really excited, she won't stop talking about it," said Max, thinking back to just that morning, when his 3-year-old daughter, Sarah, was talking about how she would paint their nails just like Lisa had done for her. They had then explained that only one of the twins was a girl. She took it in stride and said that she would paint the girl's nails. Logan himself had witnessed the exchange as they'd been staying with Max and his wife Liz, who was his wife's mother, and Sarah. Even if Max wasn't his real daughter, Max had taken her in just as if she had been. And so they'd been living there for the past three months.
There was a phone ring and Logan reached inside his coat pocket to take out his cell phone. "Hello?"
"Logan?" came the voice of his 'aunt', Isabel Evans.
"Hey, we're on our way back now, so I hope we're not..." started Logan, but was interrupted.
"Logan, she's in labor."
"What?" he asked, his voice rising just a bit in panic.
"What's wrong?" asked Kyle from the back.
"It's Isabel, she says that Max just went into labor." Not sure of what to do, Max pulled the car over to the side of the road. "When did this start?" asked Logan.
"About an hour ago. We weren't sure if it was for real at first..." explained Isabel, almost forced to yell so that Logan would hear her over the sounds of Max screaming in the background.
"Alright, well... we'll be there as soon as possible," said Logan as Max started up the car again.
"Okay, hurry!" said Isabel.
"Tell her I love her."
"I will." He closed the phone and put it back in his pocket. "Come on! Faster!" said Logan.
"If we go too fast, we might be stopped and then it will be very long before we get there."
"I have a feeling that's pretty much what's gonna happen," said Alex as he pointed ahead.
"Oh great..." said Michael as he saw as well. There was a roadblock just ahead.
"No, no, no..." started Logan.
"Hold on, I'll go see what's going on," said Max.
He got out of the car and went to talk to someone near the front to find out what was happening. He came back about two minutes later.
"So?" asked Logan.
"Looks like we're gonna be here for a while. There was an accident up there, a truck and two cars... We have to wait until they've cleaned out the road. I'm sorry." Logan was silent for a minute, then took the phone out again. He dialed and waited.
"Hello?" came Isabel's voice.
"Hey, it's me. We have a problem."
"What problem?"
"There's a road block and it looks like it's gonna take a while."
"You're kidding."
"I wish I were. How's she doing?"
Before she could answer, Logan heard Max in the back, yelling. "PUNCH ME! JUST PUNCH ME! PLEASE!" Logan couldn't help grinning.
"We'll call when we can get through."
*
Ten hours later, still at the block
All of them had fallen asleep except Logan. He kept his eyes in front, waiting impatiently for the way to clear. They should have been through hours ago, but there was another problem, so they were still waiting. He just hoped he wouldn't miss the births. He wanted to be there. Suddenly, he saw a man come to the front of the line and remove the barriers.
"Hey! It's open!" he said as he shook Max awake.
"What?" he asked, still asleep.
"Come on, grandpa, let's go!" That woke him up. He started the car.
"I told you not to call me that." Logan took the phone once again.
"Hello?" This time it was Maria.
"Hey, it's me. It's finally open, so we're on our way. How's it coming?" he asked.
"You better hurry up, we're almost there."
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah she's fine... she sort of... broke Liz's fingers..."
"What?"
"Well she was squeezing her hand and..."
"Oh boy..."
"Hey, it's okay, Tess fixed it."
"Oh, good..."
"Just hurry, alright?"
"We'll get there as soon as we can." He closed the phone. "Move it."
*
Fifteen minutes later, Max and Liz's home
"Oh no, not again!" said Max with panic in her voice. Her eyes snapped shut, her whole face was shutting down as she held on to whatever she could find. She had broken quite a few things by then, and no one dared take her hand.
"It's okay, honey, you can do it, you're almost there!" encouraged Liz.
"I don't want to do this anymore!" she yelled.
"Sorry, you don't have a choice." She was about to scream again, they could see it.
"Don't swear!"
"TOMATO!" she screamed.
"Tomato?" asked Maria.
When she calmed down a bit, she managed to explain, "You told me not to swear..."
Out front, the guys arrived, quickly jumping out of the car and running through the door. "Hello?" called Logan. Tess came running to them.
"Come on, I have a feeling something's about to happen. He followed her in as the others were greeted by the kids.
"Daddy! Daddy!" called Sarah as she ran right into his arms.
"Hey there!"
"I'm gonna be an aunt!" she said joyfully.
"I know," said Max with a smile.
Just then, they heard a piercing scream from the room, followed by smaller cries and cheering. They all turned to the door. Michael walked up to Max. "Congratulations... grandpa," he said with a grin.
"Stop that." About a minute later, Logan came into the living room, carrying the first baby.
"Yay!" said Sarah as she clapped her hands together, getting agitated. Logan finally looked away from the child, a bright smile on his face.
"I'd like you to meet my son." The guys came up, congratulating him and looking down at the boy.
"LOGAN GET IN HERE!" they heard Max yell.
"Excuse me," he said as he returned to the room. Five minutes passed and the same thing happened as before. Logan returned a minute later with a different baby in his arms. "And meet my daughter." His smile had by then grown so much they were afraid his face would break.
*
Fifteen minutes later
"Alright, you can come in now," said Isabel as she went to see the guys in the living room. The kids ran in before any of them had time to get up. They'd been instructed not to make a lot of noise and they were careful to do so.
"Hi," said Max, "Sarah, come over here." The girl ran up and Logan lifted her up on the bed. She looked down at the two babies in Max's arms.
"I am an aunt?" she asked.
"Yes, you are," said Max with a smile.
"What are they called?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Liz, "You haven't told us what you'd come up with."
"Well... I wanted to name them after two of my brothers and sisters back at Manticore..." started Max.
"But we knew we couldn't do that because it could be too obvious in case there's still people out there..." continued Logan, leaving the last part to the adults' understanding.
"So we kept one, and found something relatively similar for the other," he explained. "Everyone, meet Zack and Jenna." All smiled and Max handed Liz a tissue. Sarah looked down to the two newborns once more.
"Hello, Zack and Jenna!" she greeted quietly.
*
Two weeks later
"Hey guys, check this out!" called Jack as he led their attention to the corner, where Zack and Jenna lay in the crib that had been Sarah's not too long ago. "Zack..." he called to the boy. He quickly turned his head and looked right to Jack. Before letting them react, he did it again. "Jenna..." he said, this time. The girl did the same as her brother. Max got up and approached her children. When they saw her come, they almost immediately let her know they'd seen her, which brought a smile to her face. She loved them so much... and she hoped more than anything that they would be all right when the four of them returned to Seattle in two weeks...