"Aren't you going to say anything

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Heather finally asked after the silence kept stretching out. She had finished her story, but Jon wasn't talking. His silence was driving her crazy. She hoped she didn't just make a huge mistake.

"I'm not sure what to say," he responded. "Your parents are genetically engineered soldiers. You have super-powers. Mercenaries who want to sell you to the highest bidder are after you. What am I supposed to say? That's cool, want to go to dinner tonight just doesn't go with the situation."

She jerked away from him angrily. "None of this is my fault!" she snapped. "I never asked to be born weird. I don't want to be chased all over the place. All I wanted this weekend is for you to teach me how to ski and…" her words trailed off. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of telling him she liked him and was hoping he would ask her out.

"And what?" he asked.

"Nothing," she muttered. Logically, she knew this was going to be hard for him to take in. If he told her his parents were aliens or something, she would have a hard time with that. Logic didn't help though when Jon was looking at her like she was diseased now. No wonder her parents had warned her so many times to say nothing. It wasn't a matter of getting caught; it was a matter of people not being able to accept her as she was. Different was always going to be a bad thing to norms.

Jon knew his reaction wasn't all that Heather had hoped for, but he wasn't really sure how he should react. It explained a lot about her and why she always seemed different from other girls even though she tried to act like them, but the whole thing was still very weird. She wasn't really human. She looked human though. She sounded like a regular human being and a few hours before he would never have suspected her as being anything less than that.

Heather had already started walking off from him. He hesitated for a second, then yelled out "Heather!" and then ran after her. She didn't stop, but she didn't speed up either. He caught her arm and made her face him. The hurt on her face, eyes bright with unshed tears, made him feel like a total jerk. She was a real person no matter what weird DNA made her. He liked her before, and whatever had made her into the girl he liked, he should just accept it, and accept her as what she was. Race was just a matter of DNA, and if she were Asian or black or any other ethnic background, she would still be the same person. All of his papers on the equality of human beings now came up to haunt him. He had written articles that had been published in magazines about "all men are created equal" and the first time he gets really challenged on that belief, he starts acting like a hypocrite. She was different from the average, but diversity was a good thing in the world.

"I just wasn't expecting to hear that kind of story from you," he explained, now really feeling like a world-class jerk. He smiled a little more. "I wasn't ever expecting to hear that kind of story from anyone. So, you can really move stuff with your mind?"

She finally smiled back. "I get headaches if it's too heavy or if I do too much, but yeah, I can really do it."

"I always wished I could do that when I was younger," he commented. Her smile became much more real. He was dealing with it, and she couldn't help but feel relieved that he wasn't going to run out on her now.

"It's not the big deal you think," she replied. She sighed wistfully. "I always thought it would be cool to be able to become invisible." They both laughed at that. No matter what you had, you still wanted more. Maybe it was a rich spoiled brat trait. After a second Jon reached down and took her hand again, and she didn't pull away from him. They started walking, both of them feeling much better now that the air was cleared.

"I was thinking," Jon said hesitantly, "that maybe when we got home, you'd…um…we could, you know…maybe if you wanted to…you could, um, let me…take you out." He was blushing bright red now, staring at the snow at their feet, and not daring to look at her.

"I'd love to."

Now he looked up at her, his eyes bright. "You would?"

Heather grinned. "I have been waiting forever for you to ask me out," she declared. Jon grinned broadly at that. She grimaced. "You just have to meet my parents though."

"They can't be that bad," Jon said, and then thought about it for a second. "Um, they don't like kill people they don't like, do they?" He thought that was a very fair question. Fathers tended to be protective over daughters and he didn't want to get on the bad side of a genetically engineered assassin.

"They're really regular now," Heather insisted. "I mean, Dad works as a private investigator, and Mom volunteers at school and does regular mom kind of stuff." She thought for a second. "The only time I can ever remember either of them going off the deep end was when I was three and some guys tried to kidnap me and Daniel. I don't remember much except that Mom showed up in time and wiped out like six or seven guys."

"She killed them?" Jon asked, horrified and fascinated all at the same time.

"Daniel can remember it better than I do, and he said she did," Heather replied. "Mom won't talk about what she did for Manticore and her missions and stuff like that, but there was a reason why she was their leader. Since Dad left when he was young he never had to do anything bad, but I think she got put into some bad situations." Heather noticed Jon was looking a little pale. "She's not like that now," Heather said quickly. "Except for that one time, you couldn't tell she ever did anything like that before."

Jon had never considered the possibility that the mother of the girl he'd like to date was more dangerous than the father. He'd always been told to be careful of shotgun toting fathers that called their daughter "princess". He didn't think he'd ever have to wonder if her mother would be a sniper. "Does your mom ever wish she was back there?" Jon asked. If she wanted to go back, he wouldn't want to be her first target.

"I don't think so," Heather said. "Daniel said that when he was real small he can remember Mom being sad sometimes and acting like she wasn't happy and there wasn't anything anyone could do, and then when I was like six months old her and Dad split up for like a month, and then she came back home, and she was better after that. I think she went back to Manticore and then changed her mind and came home." Heather shrugged. "I can't remember her being anything but a regular mom."

Jon felt better now. Maybe they were strange, but they weren't crazed killers. Not anymore at least. He had seen Heather not hesitate to shoot someone, but her life was very much in danger. There wasn't anything wrong with protecting yourself, or your family. He wasn't sure about the guy that got caught up in the avalanche, maybe he had survived, but Jon knew he would have killed him and taken Heather had he not been nailed by the avalanche. Sometimes you just had to do things that you would prefer not to, but you had to anyways.

They walked for a few minutes in silence before Heather said a little shyly. "You're the first person I ever told the truth to."

"Not even Nina and Beth?" he asked. They were her best friends.

Heather snorted. "They're friends, but I wouldn't trust them with this for anything."

"You trusted me with it though?"

She shrugged. "You're different from them."

"So are you," Jon said, continuing quickly when he felt her tense. "Different in a good way. I think I like your kind of different." Now it was Heather's turn to blush. She looked like she was debating something for a second, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. Jon looked almost as startled as Heather that she had done such a thing.

"Thanks," she said softly. "For being okay with different." They stopped walking and faced each other, their eyes meeting. Heather could feel her heart start racing. He's going to kiss me, she thought excitedly. She knew full well there wasn't any time for this, but she couldn't make herself move for anything.

"Close your eyes," he ordered gently. She hesitated for a second but closed them anyways. "Just keep them closed," he added. Heather felt him lift her arm and do something with her wrist. Odd, but she kept her eyes closed.

"Okay," he said, sounding a little excited. Heather opened her eyes and gasped in shock.

"My bracelet!" she cried. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I can't believe you found it! Thank you thank you thank you!" she practically squealed. She never thought she was going to see it again, and he managed to get it back for her.

Jon hugged her back, even more glad now that he had found it. Maybe it was silly right now for her to be getting so excited over a few pieces of gold, but at that moment he felt like he had just presented her with the head of a dragon.

Heather tensed suddenly then jerked back, her head tilted slightly like she was listening to something. Jon opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but she held up a finger in warning. He listened hard, but he couldn't hear anything except the wind.

"Helicopter's coming," she whispered. There was a clump of trees nearby and she grabbed his hand and they both ran for it. Heather dropped to the snow, pulling Jon down with her. Jon could only watch in amazement as the snow suddenly shifted more than the wind could account for, covering their tracks. He glanced over at Heather in question and her expression clearly said that she was moving the snow herself.

Now he could hear the helicopter bearing down on them. They both pressed down tightly in the snow. Heather had a few seconds to throw some snow over their bodies, but it wasn't enough to cover them totally. They were going to have to hope the trees finished covering them. The noise got louder and louder until it was right on top of them. For a heart-stopping moment, it seemed to pause, but then Jon realized it was continuing on its course. Jon and Heather got up, brushing the snow off of themselves as the sound became fainter.

"Maybe it was help," Jon suggested in a low voice.

"Maybe," she agreed evenly. "But I'm not risking either of out lives on it. Her mouth tightened in a firm line. "The enemy can risk theirs."