Gaby, Emma, Angela, Gunn, the sisters, Alcott, and TransGenics are mine.
Rated PG-13 : Strong sexuality; harsh language, moderate violence.
Wes had been right, this was better than the Bio-Lab lunchroom. Eric frowned slightly as he looked around the restaurant, a very nice place, and expensive. The thought of Wes brought back the worry. But this was no time to be thinking about that. Looking at Angela, sitting across from him, he remembered Wes's disapproval of his reluctance to spend the extra money to go somewhere nice. For her it was worth it. He caught himself thinking that she lived up to her name, sitting there smiling at him, looking just like an angel.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. "You look sad."
"I'm still worried about Wes."
"Of course."
"He's supposed to go home from the hospital in the morning. I was going to go visit him again tonight but Mr. Collins practically ordered me to go home and get some rest."
"And you called me instead. I'm very flattered."
"I wanted to be with you. I missed you."
"It's only been two days."
"Two days too long." Eric paused, surprised and embarrassed at his own sentimentality.
"Wes isn't going back to work, is he?" He saw a sharpness in her glance and wondered at it.
"No, he'll stay home for at least a week or two. The doctors said no work, and no stress."
"Do they know what's wrong with him?"
"No. They did every test known to medical science, and couldn't find anything wrong. They think it's psychological, some kind of mental breakdown. But Wes was the sanest person I knew, before this started. He misses his old girlfriend -- the one who left -- but that's normal. I just can't see him suddenly losing it like this."
Angela lowered her eyes and said quietly, "Has it occurred to anyone that this -- isn't natural? That maybe someone did it to him?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, maybe he was poisoned or something. Maybe someone gave him a drug."
Eric stared at her thoughtfully. "The doctors would have found it in his blood, wouldn't they?"
"I don't know. If they didn't know what to look for, maybe not."
"As a Silver Guardians commander, he certainly has some enemies. It's worth looking into."
She smiled brilliantly. "Good. And you should watch him. Make sure no one from Bio-Lab tries to give him anything."
He reached out to take her hand. "It's generous of you to try to help my friend."
"All I did was make a suggestion."
"But you thought about it. You care about a complete stranger. You're a good person, Angela."
She looked away. He thought for a moment she seemed upset, but put it down to modest embarrassment at the compliment. After a moment she looked back, smiling again. "How are you holding up, having to cover for Wes, on top of catching up with your own work?"
He shrugged. "It's okay. Steve Miller is picking up a lot of the slack, and he did a great job while we were suspended. My biggest problem now is trying to find out who broke into Bio-Lab, and robbed our warehouse. Whoever they were, they probably haven't given up."
"I'm sure they haven't. Don't you think it's likely they're a competitor?"
"That's still a strong possibility. So far we don't have anything to go on. They didn't leave any fingerprints or DNA in either case. They killed their own men to keep them from talking. The police have identified the dead men but they're still working on trying to link them up with whoever's behind this."
Angela was quiet for a few moments, then very softly she said, "They're terrible people. The ones behind it, the ones at the top, they never even see their victims. All they see is the money and power they can get."
He watched her, a little puzzled at her words and the bitterness with which they were spoken. When she looked up again and smiled, he said, "Maybe we shouldn't talk about that. What have you been doing for the last couple of days?"
"Going to work. I'm editing a book on genetics now. That's always been a special interest of mine."
"Is that why you're always asking me about the mutants?"
She laughed. "I suppose so. It would be so thrilling to actually meet one, after reading so much about them. Do you think that's possible?"
He smiled. "I'm afraid not. They're gone now, for good."
"You don't mean they're dead?"
"No. They were criminals. They've been taken back where they came from, to pay for their crimes."
"Were they really so bad, considering the kind of lives they must have had?"
"From what I was told, there were plenty of mutants who got along fine where they came from. These ones just wanted power. There's no excuse for what they did, killing Commander Porter, trying to kill me and the other Rangers. And you must remember what they did to the whole city a year ago. People died in that attack. The whole city is still trying to get over it, still rebuilding. Bio-Lab has financial problems, and the Silver Guardians lost people. For a while it looked like we might not keep going. We're still struggling."
She looked away, biting her lip. "I wasn't here when that happened. But it must have been terrible."
"Yeah, it was."
After another moment of silence, he beckoned the waiter. "Come on, let's get out of here."
They were in his car this time, parked across the street from her building, Angela wrapped in his arms, her body warm and soft, her skin smelling clean and fragrant. He kissed her, losing himself in the sensations of closeness and desire. His hands moved over her shoulders, sliding down her back and arm. But before he could go further, she shifted and turned slightly, resting her head against his shoulder. He stroked her hair.
"Eric, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Anything."
"Where did the mutants come from?"
He tensed slightly. "Why do you keep asking about that?"
"I'm interested. I guess I just always wondered what it would be like, being different like that. Knowing people would be afraid of you, and hate you, if they knew what you can do. Even looking different, and having to hide it."
Eric hugged her closer. "I understand. But I can't tell you where they came from, or where they went. Just that they're not coming back."
"Did Bio-Lab make them? Please tell me the truth."
He sighed. "I don't know why you keep thinking that. Bio-Lab was their main target. They almost destroyed us."
"Maybe for revenge. For creating them."
"No. I swear, on whatever you want me to swear on, Bio-Lab had nothing to do with it. And I'm absolutely sure of that."
He felt her take a deep breath. Then she raised her head and kissed him unexpectedly. He responded, pulling her closer, then letting his hands start to wander. She let him caress her for a few seconds, then pulled back.
"It's getting late. I'd better go."
He stroked her cheek with his fingers and kissed the side of her neck. "Come home with me. Please," he said softly into her hair.
"I'm sorry. Really." When he looked at her face he saw regret and a hint of sadness there. And again his passion subsided, leaving a more tender feeling. He smiled and said, "It's all right. I don't mind waiting." It was almost true.
At her building door they kissed again, Eric holding her for a moment of closeness, enough to last him until next time. Then with a smile and a whispered "Good night," she disappeared inside.
"Here we are."
Wes looked out of the car window, squinting in the morning sun at the house where he had grown up. It was a welcome sight. He opened the door as soon as they stopped, stepping out and away from the hands that tried to support him. He didn't want to be reminded of his own weakness, of what had happened to him, and especially of how he had acted. As he recovered, the anger and depression had faded, although he could still feel them, like an undercurrent in his mind. He had started to suspect they had always been there, just buried beneath his consciousness, and that now he would always be aware of them in the future.
"I'm all right. I can walk by myself." He went to the front door, forced to wait there when he remembered he didn't have his keys. Something else he needed to get back. Along with the rest of his life.
Once inside he stopped in the foyer and looked around. Part of him wanted to go to his room and hide. But he'd spent the last five days cooped up in a hospital room, and suddenly he wanted to be outside.
"Mind if I go out to the garden?" he asked his father.
"Of course not. Can I tag along?"
Wes smiled and nodded. He was starting to be almost amused by the way his father and Philips hovered over him, as if he'd go berserk again at any moment. Maybe that was a good sign, that his usual good humor was coming back. With Collins following, he headed out the back way.
The garden was as beautiful as ever, even with its winter shortage of flowers. And the air was wonderful, the slight morning breeze ruffling his hair and bringing the faint smell of the ocean. It seemed to blow through some of the darkness still in his mind. Wes moved to a stone bench and sat down. Memory came back to him overwhelmingly, of sitting here with Jen, of kissing and holding her. He laid his hand lightly on the stone where she had sat.
"Wes? Is anything wrong?"
He looked up at his father, seeing the concern in his face. He smiled. "I was just thinking about Jen. We sat right here, that night after we captured Ransik. It was the first time we said we loved each other." He sighed. "I miss her."
"Of course you do."
"Do you still miss Mom?"
Collins sat on the bench next to him and looked out toward the ocean. "Yes. I loved her very much, and I'll always miss her. But I've learned to live with it. With time, even the worst pain gets easier." He looked back at Wes. "Your mother died. Jen is still alive -- or will be, in the future, even though you'll probably never see her again. Be grateful for that much."
"I am, Dad. I'll be fine." Wes paused for a few seconds. "Tell me about Mom. What she was like."
"You've heard it all before."
"Well, I want to hear it again."
"All right." Collins took a breath and smiled. "We met in college. In an economics class. She asked me to help her study for midterms. I fell for her right away. She was beautiful, with long blonde hair and green eyes. And she was smart. She ended up helping me with some of my classes."
"And she helped you start Bio-Lab."
"Right. She had some family money, and she trusted me with it. We started the company together. Even after she got sick, her advice was a big help." He stopped, looking out at the horizon again. Wes knew his father would not go on to the end of the story, when she had died after a two-year struggle with cancer, during the first stages of which he had been born.
"Bio-Lab is one of the things she left behind. That's one of the reasons it means so much to me."
"I know, Dad. It's started to mean a lot to me too."
Collins turned to him with a smile. "That's good to hear. But you're the other thing she left me. And you're more important." He looked away again. "I wish the doctors had been able to find out what was wrong."
"So do I. But -- you know the expression that you feel like a weight has been lifted off you? That's how I feel. Something was happening to me. I don't know what. But it's gone now. I know I'm getting better."
"That's a weight off me too. I was so worried about you. When you collapsed like that… God, it was terrible."
"Dad, I'm sorry for all the things I said. And especially for threatening you. I must have gone crazy."
"You weren't yourself. The threats weren't as frightening as the way you had just become a different person somehow." Wes shivered, not only from the chilly air. "Come on inside. It's too cold to be sitting out here," Collins said.
Wes nodded, and they got up and walked slowly back. At the door Wes turned for a last look. "It's good to be home," he said. His father put an arm around his shoulders as they walked in.
Gaby was working late. She normally didn't believe in putting in more hours than she was paid for, which probably meant she would never get very far up the corporate ladder of success. But this was different. She was convinced that the break-in was connected to the computer hacking attempts. And people had died in that incident. Now she finally had proof of what she had suspected for some time. But it was potentially dynamite. Time to call in the cavalry.
Minutes later she found Eric's office locked and presumably empty. Out with that damn girlfriend of his again, no doubt. She realized how late it was when she found Steve Miller's office in the same condition. Daryl Gunn was an early bird, he'd have gone home hours ago. And Mr. Collins would be home with his son. She had only one more person to try.
Approaching Emma's office, she saw Wes's door open, and the lights on. She hurried toward it, expecting to find Emma inside. But what she saw stopped her short. It was Robert Taylor, standing at Wes's desk, holding something. As he started to turn she had the absurd impulse to run. He's the one who's someplace he shouldn't be, she told herself, and met his eyes as he saw her. Somewhat to her satisfaction, he reacted with a guilty start.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"Looking for Emma. And you?"
"Just thought I'd take this over to Wes. I'm sure he'd like to have it. And I think Emma's gone home."
Gaby glanced at the object in his hand and stepped aside as he walked out. She watched thoughtfully as he disappeared down the hall. A quick check showed her that Emma was indeed not in. Briefly she considered calling her friend at home. But the morning would be soon enough. What could happen in one night?
Wes could hear the conversation drifting up from below. They had a visitor, one whose voice he recognized. There was only one reason Taylor would be there. To pay a courtesy visit, and impress his father. With some reluctance he got off the bed, ran his fingers through his hair and started downstairs.
Halfway down he stopped to watch them talking, feeling disgusted as he watched Taylor smiling and sucking up as hard as he could manage, only a few days after he had tried to turn Wes against his own father. Successfully, he remembered with a pang of guilt.
"Wes! It's great to see you. You look fine," Taylor said with a big smile that Wes was sure was as phony as the rest of him.
"Thanks. I'm much better. A little surprised to see you."
"I thought the least I could do was to drop by and see how you're doing."
"Well, thanks. But you shouldn't have."
"Would you like a drink, Mr. Taylor?" Collins asked. "Or are you driving?"
"No thanks. I just dropped by for a minute. And I brought this for Wes, from his office." Taylor was carrying something in his hand. He held it out to Wes.
"Thanks!" Wes was surprised, and genuinely touched. Taylor had brought the picture of Jen he kept in his office. His favorite picture of her. "That was really nice of you." He caught a strange look on Taylor's face, but couldn't identify it, and it was gone almost instantly. And he was too pleased to worry about it.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're better. I'll get going now."
They said their goodbyes and walked Taylor to the door. Then Collins put his arm around Wes's shoulders and led him back toward the living room.
"Feel like some TV? Or a snack?" Collins asked, laughing when Wes yawned instead of answering. "I think it's time for you to get to bed, young man."
Wes smiled. "I guess you're right. You'd think I'd have had enough sleep. Seems like that's all I did in the hospital."
"No one can sleep right in a hospital. Now that you're home, you'll be your old self in no time."
"Sure, Dad. Goodnight."
"'Night, son."
Wes went up the stairs feeling more cheerful than he could remember being in weeks. In his room, he put the picture on his bedside table, where he could roll over and see her anytime he wanted. He sat on the bed, then laid down, too tired to get undressed yet. After a moment his eyes drifted shut, then snapped open again. He had felt it, a twinge of the old, horribly familiar headache. Fear trickled inside him, like ice water running through his heart.