"Where is it, where is it?" Bray asked himself aloud, before turning around and seeing Selene there. "Oh, hey Selene. Have you seen a box?"
"Uh, Bray?"
He turned back into the cabinet. "Ah ha, got it." He turned back to her holding a wooden box. "Thanks, we'll talk later."
As Bray ran off, Selene sighed. "Yeah, later, right."
~*~
Ebony smirked, as she stood over a thrashing KC. First step completed. Now all she had to do was get to Lex. That shouldn't be too hard...
"What the hell do you think you're doing in here Ebony?"
"Lex, Lex, Lex," she said, like the snake she was, "you and I both know we're perfect. We want the same things. We both want to control the tribe, Lex..."
~*~
"What?" Gwen said, looking over the railing she was sitting next to. She saw a girl standing down there, with short, purplish hair... "Uh, Trudy, right?"
Trudy smiled sadly, walks walked up the cafe, sitting across from Gwen. "And you're Gwen, the only person Lex has ever thanked, for anything..."
"I really don't see what the big deal is..."
"And he ripped Ellie's story up... again."
Gwen nodded, with a slight frown on her face. "I don't even think he really read it... he just ripped it up. Not all of it was about what happened..."
~*~
"I can't believe him!" Danni screamed as she slammed the door to her room, "he makes me think I'm the special one and he goes and chooses her?" She looked out a window of the mall. "He is going to pay for this..."
~*~
"Right now, Ebony," he bit out, "I just want you the hell outta my room."
"You really are a wimp sometimes, Lex... You could have so much..."
"With you, is that it?"
"Well..." she smirked coyly.
Lex looked her up and down, then saw KC tossing fitfully and "gently" guided her out of the room, slamming the door.
"Hey, hey..." he whispered, coming and putting a hand to cup his cheek. "Wake up... just a dream..."
KC's eyes snapped open and his breath came in one startled gasp, his eyes wide with fear.
"Hey, hey... it's okay... calm down, just a dream..." Lex soothed, his eyes worried...
~*~
"Lex just doesn't care that it wasn't all about that--- he's a... a... freedom of the press squelcher!"
"Ooooh, rough language, El..." Jack teased.
Ellie gave him a withering glare.
"He's in a mood, ignore it?" Trudy suggested logically.
"Trudy..." Bray smiled at her.
"Oh, morning, Bray..."
"Can... will you go for a walk with me?"
"Sure..." she shrugged, lifting Brady out of her carseat. "Sel? Watch baby will you, please? Just for a little while? Thanks." Trudy smiled, handing her Brady without giving her a chance to answer and going out the door with Bray...
~*~
"Billy Boy--- this is a really bad idea..."
"Yeah... bad Karma."
"Mall Rats are strong..."
Billy Boy tossed his hands up as he surveyed the triplets--- the twits would go around singing all the damned time, and they were really no help unless they were in the mood to fight...
"Shut up, all three of you! We are going to get her back, and that's final! And, if we can get to Lex in the process, more's the better!"
~*~
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ebony screamed at her, "First you sneak in on the hot tub room and just watch me, and then you come back and say everything's going to be over? Are you going to be a little coward and put us all out of our misery by getting rid of yourself?"
"Not exactly, but my dad did create the virus... I've got that natural destruction thing going for me." She smirked and started walking off, waving to Ebony. "Buh-bye, Eb."
~*~
"Who were ya yellin' at, Lex?"
"No one you need to be concerned with..."
"Was it Ellie and Alice's sister?" KC asked, eyes wide. Even though she was older, he didn't want Lex yelling at her. "She risked a lot to help me."
Lex sighed, and ruffled KC's hair. "No, not Gwen." He looked at KC. "Don't concern yourself with it, just rest."
"Lex, about what happened..."
"I'm just glad your okay." Lex knew there were things he hadn't been told, but he'd be likely to yell if KC told him right now...
~*~
Bray walked along the beach with Trudy, nervously holding onto the box in his pocket. "So," Bray said, "on a scale of one to ten, how mad are you right now?"
"Fourteen."
"Oh..." Bray took the box out of his pocket. "I was going to save this for when I told you guys who I chose. Like, really chose." He laughed nervously. "Even went to Lex for advice."
Trudy laughed finally. "Lex? You went to Lex?"
"Yeah, yeah, you can laugh about it later." He handed her the box. "The day I met Martin, when Chloe saw me... I... grabbed this from your house."
"What is it?" Trudy took the box, and slowly opened it. Tears built in her eyes when she saw what was inside. "Oh, Bray..."
~*~
Selene sat down next to Ryan at the fountain. "Ryan?" she asked shifting Brady on her shoulders.
'What is it, Selene?"
Selene cringed. "You don't have to sound so cross, Ryan."
"Don't I have a right? All I want is you, and all you want is Bray!"
"Well, you wanted Zandra! But she chose Lex!"
~*~
Gwen saw Ellie looking over at her. "What?" she asked.
"Your eyes," she said, "they're green. I forgot about that."
"We've all got the green eyes, El," Alice said, sitting down next to them. "It's just hers are different. They're like emeralds."
Ellie nodded, and moved to sit between Alice and Gwen. "A family again, huh?"
Gwen and Alice smiled. "Yeah," Gwen told Ellie, "one big, happy, farm loving family."
Well, it was one of those great stories,
that you can't put down at night.
The hero knew what he had to do,
and he wasn't afraid to fight.
The villain goes to jail,
and, the hero goes free.
I wish it were that simple for me.
Trudy lifted out her mother's favorite necklace--- it was a Star of David; rather to people of the Jewish faith what a crucifix is to Christians...
She fingered the delicate sterling chain, feeling the minute silver filigreed symbol between her fingers...
"Oh, Bray..." she said again, her voice thick and choked.
"Here... let me put it on you?"
She nodded and he clasped it on her, fumbling a bit with the tiny clasp.
"There..." he said, dropping a kiss on the back of her neck.
"Thank you, Bray... I was starting to forget..."
"Shhhh... it's okay..." he whispered, burying his face in her warm neck, breathing in her sweet scent... like warm vanilla extract...
And, the reason that she loved him,
was the reason I loved him too.
And, he never wondered what was right or wrong,
he just knew--- he just knew.
"Isn't it morning yet?" KC wondered.
"Well, yeah... past breakfast; let ya sleep in..."
"Oh... well, can I go get something now? Kinda hungry..."
"Ah, sure, kid... whatever you want..."
KC nodded and went down to the kitchen. Lex watched him leave and sighed, laying back against the wall.
"Billy Boy is so dead..." he muttered under his breath...
Shadows and shapes mixed together at dawn,
but, by the time you catch them, the simplicity's gone.
And, so we sort through the pieces,
my friends and I.
Searching through the pieces
to find the breaks in the sky.
"I'm bored..." Patsy whined.
"Yeah, we never get to do anything around here, and KC's sleeping..." Chloe added a bit petulantly.
"Well... what do you want us to do about it?" Jack asked.
"Jack, don't be so grouchy..." Alice tsked.
"Ummm... you girls know how to play scattergories?" Gwen smiled at them.
"Scat-what?"
"Scattergories... it's great fun; it's like we pick a letter, and have to write down something in each category starting with that letter before the time is up. We see then if our answers match or if we came up with more original things..." she explained.
"Oh, yeah!" Ellie smiled. "We used to play that all the time back before..."
And, the reason that she loved him,
was the reason I loved him too.
He never wondered what was right or wrong,
he just knew--- he just knew.
KC walked out towards the cafe and bumped into Selene, Ryan and Brady.
"Oh, hey guys..."
"Hi, KC..." Selene said softly.
KC frowned slightly.
"It's okay, you know... he's calmer this morning?"
"Calmer?! He still wants me out; he's gotten everyone to want me out!"
"If that were so you wouldn't be sitting for Brady." he said pointedly.
"Yeah, chill out, Sel..."
And, we wonder,
yes we wonder,
how do you make sense of this?
When the hero kills the maiden
with his kiss--- with his kiss.
Bray cupped her face gently and pulled her to his mouth, capturing hers hotly. With his tongue he gently parted her lips and explored the inner recesses of her mouth...
Trudy reciprocated eagerly, knotting her fingers in his hair as they fell down to the sand and the waves began to crash around them...
Well, it was one of those great stories,
that you can't put down at night.
The hero knew what he had to do,
and he wasn't afraid to fight.
The villain goes to jail,
and the hero goes free.
I wish it were that simple
for me--- if it were that simple for me...
Gwen shrugged, but Alice was snickering. "Figures," she told Patsy and Chloe, "Gwen likes Lex, we should have all thought of it."
"But Lex isn't a nickname. It's his name!"
"Yeah, Alice, it's his name! She can't win for that!"
"Why not, huh?" They all turned to the door of the cafe. While they'd seen KC come and go while they were at K, no one noticed Lex walk in while they were writing down their stuff for L. "And Gwennie, I need to talk to you. Now."
Gwen sighed. "Yeah, yeah, all right..." She lifted herself up from the floor and grabbed her staff, which she'd been using as a crutch since she'd found it that morning.
Lex helped her out and looked back when they got to the entrance. "And Lex is short for Alexander."
~*~
"Sel, calm down.... Lex is just mad because you made it worse..."
KC nodded. "Yeah, you know him; it'll blow over in a few days."
"I don't have a few days!" Selene cried. Of course, this caused Brady to start, and so Selene had to jiggle her along. "I don't, you both know that."
Ryan sighed.. Sometimes Selene was just impossible. "Come on, I think the Gwen could do a pretty good job of convincing him ya didn't mean it?"
"Yeah, right."
"Then why is he talking to her... again?" He gestured towards the two walking out of the cafe. "Come on, she'll plead your case."
~*~
"We've gotta warn her..." Lips said, looking out of a window of the casino. "...so they can prepare..."
"Billy would be mad," Dimples commented rather airily, "real mad."
Teeth nodded. "I concur," she said, before they all broke out into mad laughter.
~*~
Ebony was the one to follow Danni this time. She went to the closet where there was the blueprints for the mall. "What are you doing?" she asked, causing Danni to spin around, looking all shocked. "My, my, jumpy aren't we?"
"Leave it, Ebony," she threw back, "what I do is none of your business."
"I beg to differ on that one..."
~*~
"Sooooo... Alexander... What'd you wanna talk to me about?" Gwen asked, biting her lip.
"There are things... things I don't know; I know that."
"I don't follow..."
"What happened, you know..."
"Oh, that..."
"Yes. That."
"Well... what did you wanna know?"
"What the hell was so bad he's got nightmares? What am I missing here? And... what you were doing there to start with?"
~*~
Trudy got up, laughing, as Bray followed with their clothes.
"Come on before someone sees us..."
"Yeah, guess it wouldn't be good to get caught naked by a warrior tribe..." he nodded, looking her up and down.
"Funny. Gimme?" she said, reaching for her dress.
"Now... what do I get in return?"
Trudy rolled her eyes and gave him a quick peck before taking it from him.
"Well, well... what have we here?" a voice said, startling them...
~*~
"I'm not stupid like Bray; I don't answer to you."
"Loverboy's not as... pliant as you think..." Ebony smirked. "Now... what have we here?" she asked, reaching into her hand...
"The plans to the mall I see," Ebony said, smirking up at Danni. "I was going to come get some of these later. For business, of course."
"You would Ebony," Danni spat, "if you tell me what you want them for, then maybe I'll tell you why I'm looking at them."
"Revenge... against the whole damned city, Danni. Everyone who's wronged me."
"Finally, we see eye to eye. Except... I'm just out to get Trudy. That whore has Bray wrapped around her little finger..."
Ebony smirked. "Now you're talkin' my language."
~*~
"I can't make out what they're saying..."
"Lex is really going to be mad if he catches us, Ryan."
Selene sighed, and jiggled Brady back and forth. If Trudy didn't get back soon, she's have to warm up some regular milk for Brady, when she knew full well Brady was still nursing. "Would you two stop?" she whispered, getting waved off by both KC and Ryan.
"What's she saying about Billy Boy?"
KC bit his lip. He should have told Lex exactly how it went down, and who Gwen was. She was surprised he didn't know already. "I don't know," KC lied, "but it can't be good."
~*~
"Well, well, well," Jaffa said, looking Trudy and Bray up and down, "I guess we've stumbled into something private here." He narrowed his eyes at Bray. "Betrayer. Zoot will hear of this."
Trudy bit her lip as she pulled her dress back on the rest of the way. "Zoot fell from a balcony, Jaffa," she said, "I had to stand there and watch. And maybe what Zoot wants is for me to live my life as I wish, huh?"
Jaffa spotted the pendant she was wearing. "Such a petty trinket is no accessories for the Supreme Mother." He scoffed. "And we won't tell if you won't."
"Our little secret, huh?" Bray said with disdain in his voice. "No deal, I don't cut them with people like you."
~*~
"Gwendolyn, tell me what happened. Why were you there?"
Gwen sat down on a step, joined by Lex only a few seconds later. "It was late at night, and I was with Billy and the rest, surveying the casino. He actually let me come along this time. I bugged him until he let me go... instead of staying in bed." She shuddered, and felt a jacket being placed around her shoulders. "Thanks."
"No problem. Least I can do."
"I was talking with the Smile... you know, Teeth, Lips, and Dimples?"
Lex smirked. "Personally."
"That's when I heard the kid say something about the Mallrats. I knew Billy Boy hated Mallrats. I figured I'd watch, that it was an older kid. But it wasn't."
Lex's smirk fell, as he suddenly got what she was saying. "You're a Jackal?"
"Were a Jackal, after what I did next."
"I think he musta said some pretty bad things to the ki - KC, and, he looked in mental and physical pain by the time I got there. So I smacked Billy. Right upside the head with a pool cue."
Lex looked at her in disbelief. This, this - girl - she had been a plaything for Billy Boy, and she smacked him upside the head with full knowledge of the consequences. But she'd been, or still was... a Jackal. "The rest is all you, then?"
"I told him to go, and I didn't see how bad his arm was. But it wasn't... Selene?" Lex nodded. "It wasn't her fault. The bruise is so far up on his arm. I don't think she would have hurt him on purpose."
Lex sighed. What was he going to do now? This girl had just made the perfect defense for Selene... and herself, if it ever came down to it.
~*~
Trudy felt an acute sharpness, and looked down.
"Um, Bray... we've gotta get back now..."
"So soon, Supreme Mother?"
"I have a daughter to feed; I gotta go."
"You're making excus---"
But, Jaffa cut himself off as he saw she wasn't making excuses, and two round wet spots began forming on the front of her dress.
"Ohhhhh..."
"SEE???!!!" she screeched. "I gotta go..." she mumbled, embarrassed.
"Yeah, yeah; we're going, Trud..." Bray nodded, pulling his shirt on, keeping her behind him, and a safe distance from Jaffa.
"I am alone now, but I will not always be..."
"Yeah, well, I'll make it a point not to be..." she muttered, running off, hand-in-hand with Bray...
Jaffa smirked as he watched them go.
"Time will come, Supreme Mother... Time will come..."
~*~
"You really don't know what he said, huh?"
"Lex, I told you---"
"Yeah, but if you know anything--- I mean, really, Gwen..." he half-pleaded with her.
"Lex..." she sighed. "I just don't feel it's much my place---"
"It's better I hear from you than KC..." he said quietly. "If I fly off the handle in front of you, that's better than scarin' the hell outta the kid... I'm gonna say somethin' to you that... well, I never said to anyone... Please?"
~*~
Trudy raced into the mall with Bray, panting.
"Brady! Sel! Alice, where's my baby???" she demanded, grabbing her by the shoulders...
Gwen sighed, and looked at Lex. "Tá mé Tuirseach," she told him, before realizing he probably didn't understand what she'd just said. She was just getting thrown to the edge of her candle with him, more than she ever had - well, differently - than she had been with Billy Boy.
"What did you just say?"
"It means I am tired in Gaelic." She tried to smile. "The one phrase I learned right away was 'Tá mé air meisce'."
"What's that mean?"
Gwen let a slight giggle escape. "It means, 'I am drunk.'"
Lex rolled his eyes. "I'd have had cause for that a time ago."
"Ah, but now, we have use for another - Gura slán an scéalai." At the raise of Lex's eyebrow, she smiled softly. "It means: May the bearer of the news be safe."
"I think I like that one."
Gwen nodded. "Me too." Then she sighed again. "If I knew anything more than I've told you, I would tell you Ale - Lex."
Lex smirked in that sexy, quirky way Gwen had come to notice he did. "Without any spite in your voice, I'm so proud."
~*~
"Here, here," Selene said, handing Brady to Trudy. "She was fussing, I was about to go make her a bottle me'self."
Trudy smiled. "Thanks Selene," she said, before nodding her head over to Ryan and KC. "What are they doin' exactly?"
"Spying," Ryan replied without looking back, "Lex is talking to Gwen."
Bray scooted next to them. "Make room for me?"
~*~
Teeth, Lips, and Dimples snuck out of the casino cautiously. They knew that if Billy Boy caught them, they'd be dead. More than dead, they'd be shredded. As they reached the sight of the mall by way of the beach, they saw Jaffa, and hid behind a piece of driftwood as two women appeared out of an entrance in the rocks.
"I don't like this..."
"...Gwennie needs to know..."
"...but we can't get to her without being seen..." Defeated, the Triplets started back to the casino, sulking.
~*~
Ebony walked out onto the beach with Danni, and up to Jaffa, handing him the plans of the entire mall. "What's she doing here?" Jaffa whined suspiciously, "This wasn't part of the deal, there was to be only one sign from Zoot."
"Sign from Zoot my a-"
"Heh heh, Danni," Ebony said, "she wants to get rid of Trudy and her rugrat as much as you want them. She's already made a deal with the Jackals."
"And if you think I'm going to let some cape wearing, Michael Bolton haircut guy stop my from that, you're nuts."
Jaffa smirked evilly. "This could work after all..."
~*~
Gwen looked musingly up at Lex; he was different than he appeared upon close inspection... Sure, he was still sexy, but...
Well, when Trudy had called him an "old bear", there was a double meaning there... He may have had a fierce growl, but he also had a fiercely protective nature...
She smiled as he pulled her to her feet and dragged her off.
"Hey, where'd they go?"
"Behind ya, Ryan."
"Gah! Um... hi, Lex?"
"Larry, Moe, Curly."
Bray rolled his eyes.
"Lex---"
"Yes?" he smirked.
"Trudy and I came across the leader of the Chosen on the beach---"
"And you were doing stupid things rather than alerting the security?!"
"We got away?"
"Twit. Where's Trudy now?"
"Feeding Brady."
"KC, c'mere, got... a job for you, kay?"
"Job? Really?"
"Yeah, we're gonna hafta double up security, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Keep an eye on Patsy and Chloe."
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah, keep them in the mall; they're stubborn and know-it-alls; they need looking after, kay?"
"Lex---"
"Out of it, Tai-San." Lex said, putting his jacket on...
~*~
The Smile decided to sneak out and warn Gwen anyways; Billy Boy was distracted with Top Hat at the moment...
Suddenly, they ran upon Jaffa, Danni and Ebony on the beach...
"One of the robed freaks talking with a mallrat and a loco!"
"Not just any robed freak; the guardian!"
"And, not just any loco... Ebony..."
~*~
"So, Big G, we'll talk to the Jackals, you get your people ready," Ebony said.
Jaffa narrowed his eyes at Ebony. He'd never liked her, and he was going to go back on her living the first advantage he got. "Of course, sign of Zoot."
"Sign of Zoot my a-"
"DANNI!"
~*~
"Uh, Lex?"
"Hmm?"
Ryan laughed at the sight in front of him. Apparently Lex had forgotten he'd been dragging Gwen, and had tried to put on the other arm of his jacket... including Gwen in it. "Planning on smuggling her into a bar?" he asked, a smirk on his face.
"Huh?" Lex asked, before looking down to his right. "Oh, hi - Gwendolyn - " He smirked as she jabbed a finger into his side, and let go of her arm. "- but you looked so cute glaring up at me with those green eyes of yours."
"Shut up," Gwen said, but smiling. "And you better not think you're going anywhere near that casino without me."
"Yes, mother...."
Bray laughed, and looked at Selene and Ryan as Lex and Gwen walked off.
"Perfect."
~*~
KC walked down the halls of the mall grumbling, looking for Patsy and Chloe. When he finally found them, they were still in the cafe, with Alice, Ellie, Jack, and Dal. "Lex said I have to watch you two," he told them.
Patsy and Chloe smiled. "GOODIE!" they said, each grabbing an arm of KC's and latching on tight.
"We'll have lots of fun KC, we promise," Chloe said.
Patsy nodded in agreement, trying to be careful, since she was holding KC's bruised arm like a barnacle. "Yeah," she told him, "we won't even put makeup on you this time."
KC grumbled. Lex was going to hear about this when he got the chance.
~*~
"That's so sweet--- you sparing his feelings like that..." Gwen smiled up at him as they were walking, checking the permitter.
"Don't know what you're talkin' about..."
"Lex... why else would ya have him to look after the girls?"
"Because... they're not very bright and need lookin' after?"
Gwen snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Suuuurrrreeee, Lex..."
"What?"
"We both know you were trying to spare his little pride..."
"Am I the type to do that? No... If I wanted him to stay, I'd've just said, 'park your little butt and reside yerself to stayin', or I'll lock ya in a room'..."
Gwen rolled her eyes at him.
~*~
"Come on KC, let's play dollies!"
"No, no; let's play dress-up!"
"Let's play you go make KC a snack?"
Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Come on... okay, house? You can be the daddy..."
KC grimaced; Lex was definitely getting an earful when he got back...
~*~
"Trudy, will ya stop pacing?"
"She's got colic, Bray; you hafta walk 'em..."
"She wants to go to sleep..."
"I carried her and gave birth to her, I think I know what she wants..."
Bray sighed as Brady lay her head on Trudy's shoulder, tugging at her mother's hair gently as she went to sleep, her little fist half in her mouth...
~*~
"Omigod, Ryan! It's... them!" Selene squeaked as the triplets walked in.
"Relax, Red."
"We're only here."
"To warn you."
"About what?" Ryan asked warily.
"At first it was Billy Boy..."
"But now it's something more..."
"Ebony and one of your fellow Mall Rats is meeting with the Guardian as we speak..."
~*~
"DIMPLES! TEETH! LIPS!" Billy boy growled. Where were those three? They knew better than to go off like they obviously had. He'd checked the shoreline, they weren't there.
Top Hat smirked as Billy came back into the conference room. "Whatsa matter, Bill? Lose your three singing hookers?"
Billy grimaced. "No, Gwe -" Billy Boy looked at Top Hat, and swore. "They went to warn her!"
"Warn who?"
"Remember the redhead?"
Top Hat smirked in remembrance. "Vividly... where is she?"
"She set upon herself for a one-woman mutiny, and ran. We're attacking the mall, since she ran there."
"Oh yeah, and a Mallrat came to help you with that, I remember." Top Hat leaned forward. "What are you going to do about the Smile, then?"
Billy boy looked out a casino window. "They're going down along with her."
~*~
"Ebony..." Selene sneered. "...so she finally did it, she finally betrayed us."
Ryan put an arm around Selene's shoulders. "Don't worry, Selene," he assured her, "everything will turn out fine."
"What about the Mallrat with them? Who would Ebony actually get along with enough to join forces with them?"
"She had black hair..."
"....And a leaf on her arm..."
"....Ebony called her Danni."
Selene and Ryan's eyes went wide. Danni was the last person they'd have thought would betray them to the Jackals.
"She was at the casino earlier..."
"...talking to Billy..."
"...About getting Gwen back."
Selene couldn't help but somewhat cheer up at that. "She's out patrolling with Lex," she told the Triplets, whose eyes went wide as dinner plates.
"She isn't."
"Going after Billy Boy."
"Is she?"
Ryan shrugged. "They must have been interesting," he told Selene "her and Billy Boy I mean."
Dimples frowned. "He wasn't nice to her..."
"...even though she was nice to us." Lips also frowned.
Then came for Teeth, and she smiled instead. "...and she never got to experience the real thing."
Selene and Ryan sighed. Could those three be being anymore cryptic?"
~*~
"Fine, pretend you're all tough."
"Fine, I will."
"Fine."
"Fine."
If anyone else had been with Lex and Gwen, they'd have gone stir crazy by now. They were two blocks from the casino and were still arguing about why Lex had told KC to watch Patsy and Chloe. "Let's talk about something else then," Gwen suggested.
Lex looked at her. "Are you ever just quiet?"
"No. Are you ever romantic?"
"When I like the girl, sure." He glanced over at her again as they walked, and smirked. "Did you know you're beautiful when you scowl?"
"I'm not scowling." She looked over at Lex. "But thanks anyway."
"What exactly were you at the casino?"
"Ever seen Pretty Woman?"
"On a date once, maybe." he noticed she flinched at that. "Why?"
"I was Julia Roberts." Lex looked confused. "You know, Viv?"
"Oh, the hot redhead." He smirked at her. "Sorry, no preference to them."
"I wouldn't care." She shrugged. "That's what I was. I was what she did. A call girl, prostitute, hooker..."
"I get the idea. He was your.."
"..Pimp."
~*~
As ebony and Danni walked back into the mall throughout the sewer entrance, they smirked at each other. "Poor, poor Trudy," Ebony said, "taken away from Bray again."
"And poor Bray," Danni replied, "whoever will he turn to when it's all over?"
~*~
Lex grimaced as he stepped inside the casino; Top Hat and Billy Boy...
"You keep back; he's mine." Lex growled.
"You can't take them both on!" she whispered harshly.
"What he did--- he's mine---"
"He did worse to me--- I guess..."
Lex's eyes exploded with rage and he stomped into the middle of the room.
Gwen rolled her eyes.
"Why did I wanna go alone with him again?" she muttered under her breath...
~*~
Bray stroked Trudy's soft hair as she slept in his lap; Brady snoozing cuddled safe in her mother's arms, her cheek rested against Trudy's; her fist in her mouth.
"My girls..." he whispered, dropping a kiss on top of both their heads.
He'd be damned if Jaffa was gonna come here and take them away... not now, not ever...
~*~
"Ebony getting Danni to defect; who'd've thought?" Alice mused.
"Danni's father did start this all; maybe it's genetic?" Ellie put in helpfully.
"Don't start, El." Jack sighed.
"He's cute..." Teeth said, reaching to touch Jack's hair.
"Yeah, you know what they say about redheaded guys..." Dimples smirked.
"Got a name, sweetcheeks?"
"Back off; mine!" Ellie yelled.