A/N: I WOULD LIKE TO THANK PANDA FOR REVIEWING REAL FAST AND FOR THE
ENCOURAGEMENT. THIS CHAPTER DOESN'T FOCUS TOO MUCH ON MAX. HOPE YOU GUYS
DON'T MIND. MORE REVIEWS PLEASE AND I'LL KEEP UPDATING. THANKS!!
Max looked at the little boy that was sleeping peacefully on his aunt's lap. They had just gotten back to Seattle and the poor kid fell asleep due to exhaustion from the long trip.
"I'm sorry." Max whispered to the woman who was glaring at her vehemently. She wasn't too happy when Max came knocking on their door, asking to take the boy away and give him back to his father.
"You have no choice." The woman replied rather softly surprising Max a little. She didn't look like she hated Max anymore. She sympathized but she wasn't happy with the situation. Life was almost normal without Ames White.
"We'll protect him. We promise you." Jondy said. The woman nodded not really believing them. Max sighed and followed Jondy over to the kitchen. Alec and Zane were already there.
"I swear Jondy; you cook the best food ever." Zane said as he gulped down the last piece of the chicken pie. Jondy smiled. It was good to have her brother back.
"Thanks Zane." She said sitting down next to him. Having him around made their mood a little lighter.
Max sighed and sat next to Alec. He was uncharacteristically silent today. Lots of things in his mind, she assumed. It has been three days since White called. It made all of them uneasy.
Jondy got up from her chair and walked over to the window. She needed to think. The tension was getting to her.
Just then the door swung open and Zack and Brin stepped in. The minute Zack saw her, he knew. He knew she was Asha but by the way she was standing there all dressed in black wearing those boots, with her blonde hair tied on the top of her head showing the barcode on the back of her neck, he realized she was Jondy. His long lost baby sister Jondy who not barely three days ago called him and told him that she and Max needed him.
Jondy looked uneasy. Only Zack could make her feel that way. He was the only one capable of tearing down the walls she built around her and making her show all her suppressed emotions. "Zack." She said barely above a whisper. She stood frozen on her spot, looking rather gorgeous, grown up and yet still the kid that Zack knew.
Alec decided to break the ice by briefing them on the situation and the plan. He was acting CO again but this time Zack was fine with that. He just wanted to talk to Jondy. When they were all through, Alec and Max decided to step out and talk; Brin went to bed and Zane just said he had to go and will be back in an hour.
Only Jondy and Zack were left in the living room.
"You didn't tell me." Zack's voice was fully of accusation. It hurt. It hurt to find out that his sister was right in front of him and he didn't know it.
"I..I.." Jondy stopped herself. No more excuses. "I'm sorry." There. She said it. Plain and simple.
"I couldn't find you." He whispered hoarsely. He still looked angry. "You didn't want me to find you." He added. She looked up at him. He was right. She hadn't wanted him to find her. Not then anyway.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you worry but I just needed to do things on my own." She explained. Zack wasn't going to accept that. He was her older brother. The oldest out of all of them and in his mind and even theirs, he was responsible for their well being. He was supposed to take care of them.
"You have this whole life and you excluded all of us." He said. That wasn't the main reason he was mad. It was part of it but there was more.
"You wouldn't have approved." She defended herself.
"And I never will. You, Tinga, and Max. Always dying to be normal." He said bitterly. "Look at what happened to Tinga. She died. Max almost died too. Now it's happening again and you're in it this time." Zack declared.
"But we're all here now. It'll be over soon and we can go back to the way we were." She said softly. Zack scoffed.
"The way we were?" He echoed. "The way we were means being back in Manticore." He said.
"You know what I mean Zack." She said getting rather impatient.
"That's not the point. You know that children are a liability. You were reckless." He said and Jondy scowled.
"I have never in my life been reckless." Jondy said defending herself. "I have always been careful. Every step I took, every choice I've made has been based on what you taught us, what the colonel planted in our minds!" She said. By this time, Jondy was fuming. "I have done well for my life Zack." She added.
Jondy was right of course. Zack knew that. He just wanted to put some sense into her head. She was stubborn. That seemed to be a trait that went around their family.
"Don't be angry at me, please." Jondy said, her voice softening.
Zack nodded hugging her. "I missed you baby sister." He whispered in her hair.
"I love you Zack." She said. "Always."
It was hard to stay angry with her. It didn't make what she did less wrong. She lied to him and their siblings. Jondy had stood there and smiled and called herself Asha. She had served them food and talked to them when they were trying to rescue Max a few months back. She had lied through her teeth and she had made it look easy.
That hurt.
Max walked in the door. Jondy and Zack were still hugging. You could see the family resemblance between them. The blonde hair and their tall, lean body structure. Their eyes were different. Asha had blue while Zack had brown. She looked a little like Alec. Max suspected their genes were almost the same. Manticore was to blame like usual.
Her phone rang. Asha looked pale. Zack was apprehensive. Alec had just walked in the door. The air was tense as hell.
"Come to the warehouse right by the pier tonight. Midnight. Be on time." White's voice ordered followed by a click.
Max sighed. There was no turning back now.
Max looked at the little boy that was sleeping peacefully on his aunt's lap. They had just gotten back to Seattle and the poor kid fell asleep due to exhaustion from the long trip.
"I'm sorry." Max whispered to the woman who was glaring at her vehemently. She wasn't too happy when Max came knocking on their door, asking to take the boy away and give him back to his father.
"You have no choice." The woman replied rather softly surprising Max a little. She didn't look like she hated Max anymore. She sympathized but she wasn't happy with the situation. Life was almost normal without Ames White.
"We'll protect him. We promise you." Jondy said. The woman nodded not really believing them. Max sighed and followed Jondy over to the kitchen. Alec and Zane were already there.
"I swear Jondy; you cook the best food ever." Zane said as he gulped down the last piece of the chicken pie. Jondy smiled. It was good to have her brother back.
"Thanks Zane." She said sitting down next to him. Having him around made their mood a little lighter.
Max sighed and sat next to Alec. He was uncharacteristically silent today. Lots of things in his mind, she assumed. It has been three days since White called. It made all of them uneasy.
Jondy got up from her chair and walked over to the window. She needed to think. The tension was getting to her.
Just then the door swung open and Zack and Brin stepped in. The minute Zack saw her, he knew. He knew she was Asha but by the way she was standing there all dressed in black wearing those boots, with her blonde hair tied on the top of her head showing the barcode on the back of her neck, he realized she was Jondy. His long lost baby sister Jondy who not barely three days ago called him and told him that she and Max needed him.
Jondy looked uneasy. Only Zack could make her feel that way. He was the only one capable of tearing down the walls she built around her and making her show all her suppressed emotions. "Zack." She said barely above a whisper. She stood frozen on her spot, looking rather gorgeous, grown up and yet still the kid that Zack knew.
Alec decided to break the ice by briefing them on the situation and the plan. He was acting CO again but this time Zack was fine with that. He just wanted to talk to Jondy. When they were all through, Alec and Max decided to step out and talk; Brin went to bed and Zane just said he had to go and will be back in an hour.
Only Jondy and Zack were left in the living room.
"You didn't tell me." Zack's voice was fully of accusation. It hurt. It hurt to find out that his sister was right in front of him and he didn't know it.
"I..I.." Jondy stopped herself. No more excuses. "I'm sorry." There. She said it. Plain and simple.
"I couldn't find you." He whispered hoarsely. He still looked angry. "You didn't want me to find you." He added. She looked up at him. He was right. She hadn't wanted him to find her. Not then anyway.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you worry but I just needed to do things on my own." She explained. Zack wasn't going to accept that. He was her older brother. The oldest out of all of them and in his mind and even theirs, he was responsible for their well being. He was supposed to take care of them.
"You have this whole life and you excluded all of us." He said. That wasn't the main reason he was mad. It was part of it but there was more.
"You wouldn't have approved." She defended herself.
"And I never will. You, Tinga, and Max. Always dying to be normal." He said bitterly. "Look at what happened to Tinga. She died. Max almost died too. Now it's happening again and you're in it this time." Zack declared.
"But we're all here now. It'll be over soon and we can go back to the way we were." She said softly. Zack scoffed.
"The way we were?" He echoed. "The way we were means being back in Manticore." He said.
"You know what I mean Zack." She said getting rather impatient.
"That's not the point. You know that children are a liability. You were reckless." He said and Jondy scowled.
"I have never in my life been reckless." Jondy said defending herself. "I have always been careful. Every step I took, every choice I've made has been based on what you taught us, what the colonel planted in our minds!" She said. By this time, Jondy was fuming. "I have done well for my life Zack." She added.
Jondy was right of course. Zack knew that. He just wanted to put some sense into her head. She was stubborn. That seemed to be a trait that went around their family.
"Don't be angry at me, please." Jondy said, her voice softening.
Zack nodded hugging her. "I missed you baby sister." He whispered in her hair.
"I love you Zack." She said. "Always."
It was hard to stay angry with her. It didn't make what she did less wrong. She lied to him and their siblings. Jondy had stood there and smiled and called herself Asha. She had served them food and talked to them when they were trying to rescue Max a few months back. She had lied through her teeth and she had made it look easy.
That hurt.
Max walked in the door. Jondy and Zack were still hugging. You could see the family resemblance between them. The blonde hair and their tall, lean body structure. Their eyes were different. Asha had blue while Zack had brown. She looked a little like Alec. Max suspected their genes were almost the same. Manticore was to blame like usual.
Her phone rang. Asha looked pale. Zack was apprehensive. Alec had just walked in the door. The air was tense as hell.
"Come to the warehouse right by the pier tonight. Midnight. Be on time." White's voice ordered followed by a click.
Max sighed. There was no turning back now.