Jon noticed that Heather had gotten more and more quiet on the flight back to Europe. She had breathed a sigh of relief when they got over the Atlantic Ocean without incident. Incident being the parents getting their hands on them. Their talk had been mostly about the twins and Janna and the various ways they were going to die when she got her hands on them. A good portion was set aside for her amazement over her boss also being an X- 6. Did that mean he was now invited over for the holidays? Jon knew his family was classified as dysfunctional, but if he wanted to feel better about his upbringing, he just had to spend some time with Heather's family. They had officially cornered the market on strange family relationships.

But she had gotten quiet over the last hour or so. She was mostly staring out the window, gazing thoughtfully on the ocean below them. He touched her hair lightly to get her attention. "Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly, knowing how lame it sounded. There wasn't much that could be classified as okay right then.

Heather smiled a little at Jon. She was go glad he was there. She honestly wasn't sure how she would be handling all of this if he hadn't been there for her to keep her stable. "Just thinking," she finally replied.

"About?"

It took Heather a while to get up the courage to answer. "This is kind of you going home," she said with a little shrug. "I mean, you live here and no reason for you to come all the way back to the States or anything and I know that big expansion is going to start soon and..." her words trailed off and she looked down. This should be the last thing on her mind. She should be focused on what was ahead. Unfortunately she was, just not on the ahead for the twins and Janna.

"What if I wanted to come back?" Jon asked. "Holidays are always nicer with people you love." His finger pressed under her chin so she was looking at him. "With a person you love."

She tried to smile, but it only made her look more miserable. "That's the thing," she said sadly. "I want you to come home with me. And we'd have a great time and not be separated for a minute. And it wouldn't be just incredible sex either. I'd have my best friend back like before. Except better than before because we both know what we really want now. I'd have someone that I can be completely honest with and who's not scared of my crazy family.

Jon blinked. "And this is a bad thing exactly how?"

"Are you going to give up your entire life to stay with me?" she asked, her tone far more harsh than she intended. Heather paused, not looking at him or else she would burst into tears. "I just mean," she continued in a much softer voice, "that we've still got an ocean between us when all is said and done. We're going to try and have a relationship with three thousand miles in between us all of the time. It's hard to even think about."

She finally peeped back up at him; his obvious shock and hurt finally making tears spill over her eyelids. "Are you breaking up with me?" he asked incredulously.

"God no!" Heather blurted, loud enough to make the guy in the next aisle look over at her. "I just mean...it's going to be hard, you know. That's what I was thinking about earlier. Just that it's going to be really hard on us."

Jon put his arm around her and hugged her to him. Nice thing about first class was that there was room to cuddle in your seats. "It might not be as bad as you think," he ventured, contemplatively.

"I know I'm going to miss you when we're apart," Heather sighed. "But I do love you. I know people say that's not enough, but it's a damn good start."

Jon smiled. Yes, the next year was going to be very busy with the expansion getting ready to start. And he wouldn't have a lot of time to spend with Heather in the States. But the situation was far from hopeless. "Your parents didn't think they had a chance in the world," he reminded her. "But twenty years and four kids later, they managed to make it."

Heather looked him in the eyes. "I can guarantee you didn't impregnate me last night."

"I should hope not," he replied, remembering that it was Heather's mom getting pregnant that kind of forced their situation. "So, how soon you think you'd be able to?"

Heather's jaw dropped as she jerked upright at the seriousness of his tone. Then he grinned at her and she realized he was teasing. She lightly punched his shoulder. "That was not funny!"

He laughed. "It was to me." She was on the verge of pouting and if he kept looking at her, he was really going to start laughing and possibly not stop until she strangled him. Instead he pulled her close to him again.

"I know it's going to be hard," he said, getting control over the laughter that wanted to bubble out. "The course of true love and all that, right? But I would rather have you in my life part time than not at all." Heather would have questioned the wry little smile gracing his lips had she seen it, but she was curled under his chin, grateful to have him for now and very glad to know that he was willing to face the hardships ahead for them to be able to be together.

The flight was rather uneventful. Even sober, Heather wasn't the best flier. She had the tendency to turn green whenever a flight got rough. During summer when turbulence was at it's worst, she had been known to drive all the way from Boston to Seattle for summer breaks rather than dealing with a flight. Both her and Jon were grateful for the calm air as they flew over the ocean. Heather knew that her and Jon were seriously committed to this thing between them, but she really didn't want to test it by getting sick in his lap.

As they exited the plane into the terminal, Antonio was waiting for them. His heart sped up when he recognized Jonathan getting off of the plane with the woman in the family photo. They both looked a bit tired and travel- worn. He supposed they would be after criss-crossing the ocean so many times in such a matter of days. Tired or not, both of them still seemed quite formidable. And they were his best and only link to where Janna was.

"Antonio," Jon greeted, holding out his hand when they approached. Antonio shook it quickly. "This is Heather Raleigh. Heather, Antonio di LiCossa."

Antonio had to suppress a shiver when she turned those icy blue eyes on him. There was absolutely nothing that reminded him of Janna in that hard stare. The Janna he knew was full of movement and passion whether it was in her work or the way she talked or even walked. There was always fire in those chocolate eyes of hers. This woman was solid ice. Antonio knew instinctively that everything she said or did in front of him would be very deliberate. If Janna were a tigress always prowling and moving in her hunt, then this one would be the creature that lay very still and quiet, pouncing her prey when it mistakenly felt safe. The only way he was going to get anything out of her was to get her off balance somehow. And those cold blue eyes told him very clearly that was not going to be an easy task.

Heather shook his hand. "Good to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances. Your sister spoke of you so highly. I trust that she and your mother are well?"

Most men would have been immediately offended had they gotten the threat behind the polite words, but an Italian in a powerful position could respect how subtly she made the statement. "They are quite well," he replied, his expression acknowledging the meaning behind her words but confident anyways that he still had the upper hand.

"Heather, you want to check and see if you've got any messages?" Jon asked gently. He hadn't missed the tension between her and Antonio. A deaf mute that was blind couldn't have missed the tension between them. Heather was going to have to back down on this count. Antonio had them and he knew it. Heather's family, not to mention her career was going to be devastated if this leaked out. Antonio would regret it later when he learned what happened when you pissed off a bunch of X-series and injured one of their own, but in the meantime it just wouldn't be pretty. And there was no way he could be warned in advance about the reality of the danger he was in.

Heather nodded and they stepped off to the side of the main walkway as she powered up her cell phone and let the messages load. She couldn't help but to wince at the number of voicemails. Seven from her parents. Three from Cole. One from Max. Two from Xander. Even one from Lon. God, she was so dead when she got home. Finally the last one was Cameron's number. She hit play and listened to it, both of the men she was with waiting eagerly for some news.

Heather mentally cursed her younger siblings. Okay, it wasn't like they had much of a choice by now, but it would have been so helpful to have Mom and Dad now. This felt like an ambush waiting to happen. Mom or Dad would know for sure and they would know the best way to deal with something like this. It was what they were trained for. Heather could investigate and she knew how an arrest should be made, but this was a little over her head. Too late now, she supposed. But at least the twins were going to get some reinforcements if anything had gone wrong.

"They're on their way to Athens to make the trade," she reported in a low voice. "Guy made contact, no problem, everything is set and ready to run." She glanced at her watch and made a quick time zone conversion. "If everything is on schedule, they should be meeting there in maybe half of an hour or so."

Antonio yanked out his cell phone and dialed quickly. Whoever he called must have picked up on the first ring, because he almost immediately began barking orders in Italian. He hung up and looked at their questioning expressions. "My plane will be ready in ten minutes to take us there," he said firmly. He was not going to wait for a phone call to find out if and when Janna was safe.

Heather didn't like how he was immediately trying to take over, but there wasn't much of a choice now. And having a private jet fueled and ready to go was a heck of a lot better option than trying to get a flight or getting a train for Greece. When she caught up with Janna, she was so going to explain that if you are going to be bad, you do not tell your victims your name, address and how to get a hold of the whole family. Heather would make her point most clearly. Probably with an ice pick.

There wasn't much conversation until they boarded Antonio's plane. Nobody wanted to be overheard considering what they needed to discuss. You didn't start talking about stealing, smuggling and the Mafia in public. That tended to attract the wrong sort of attention and there wasn't the time to explain to security guards that it was all just a movie they saw or something like that.

The plane wasn't huge, but it certainly was nice. There were ten seats in the front like on a normal plane, but then there was a curtain and behind it was a dining or conference area. The table was bolted to the floor and had a raised edge around it to keep things from sliding off. A wet bar was in there and Heather was willing to bet the small cove that was walled off was a kitchen / food prep area. A large bathroom including a shower was behind the conference area. Another room behind that was behind a real wall with a door. Heather didn't get the chance to peep back there, but she was willing to bet it was a sleeping area. The plane had all the amenities for anyone that liked to travel in comfort.

After they took off and the pilot said it was okay to take off their seatbelts, the three of them went into the conference area. Antonio offered Heather and Jon a drink, disappointed when they both refused. Getting them drunk was not a good idea, but a drink or two would help him get the information he was going for out of them. He waited patiently as Heather checked another message on her phone.

"Xander got some stuff for me on this Southwood guy," she said more to Jon than Antonio. This was why Heather loved her uncle. There was nothing that man couldn't do if he really wanted to. "Hopefully we won't need to use it, but it can't hurt to have it."

Antonio blinked. "Your, ah, this Xander was able to find out information on Southwood?" he asked, impressed. His people had turned up absolutely nothing.

"Xander is very well connected." She wasn't going to give him an iota more information than he really needed. He had also sounded a little funny on the phone. Heather hoped her mother hadn't "talked" to him and explained to him in a most forceful manner that she was not pleased with him helping her wayward children. She had a feeling that Christmas was really not going to be the happy joyous time that it usually was at home.

"And you trust his information is correct?"

"Implicitly."

"I suppose you would," Antonio remarked casually. She didn't twitch. Obviously she learned how to play poker from some expert players. But Jonathan blinked. It wasn't much but it was a place to put the chisel. "One does tend to trust family." Neither of them twitched, but the temperature must have dropped ten degrees. He had taken a stab in the dark and it was working quite well. One more perhaps. "Please, don't be surprised. Janna told me everything."

Antonio never knew how close to death he came at that moment. If Jon hadn't been holding Heather's hand so tightly she might have gone after Antonio. Yeah, so what if she had told Jon. He was in the middle of a rather critical situation and deserved to know the truth. Antonio had a great smile and a nice butt and that was worth putting the entire family in danger? Heather put her free hand on the table and leaned forward a bit. "What did she tell you?"

Antonio wasn't expecting the chill that ran through him when those cold blue eyes narrowed. But this was what he had been looking for. They knew what had happened and why. They weren't telling. He was willing to push as hard as needed to know what was going on with Janna. "She told me everything," he repeated, leaning forward as well. A memory of Janna mentioning her aunt and uncle were ex-military. "Not every detail of course. There wasn't time for that. Do you still have relatives in the military or have they all left the service?"

There was no mistaking the shock in her face this time or the fact that both of them turned paper white. Heather and Jon looked at each other, totally at a loss as to what to do. This is why I should have had Mom and Dad with me, Heather thought miserably. I can't just kill this guy. He can't be let loose knowing what he knows, but I can't just do him in either. How could he have gotten it out of her...oh crap, they were talking about Janna.

"Heather," Jon said sharply. She looked at him, her eyes narrowed. She was still white, but he knew her far too well. The one thing that was most dangerous in the world was to back her in a corner. And that was what Antonio had just done. "Don't," Jon said urgently, in a low voice. "You're not like them. They were raised to be what they were. You weren't. I don't care what your instincts are saying. You can't be like that for any reason."

"I know," she said softly, his words taking the edge off of her anger somewhat. She looked back at Antonio, knowing that she could do so and not kill him at that moment. "You slept with her didn't you?" she accused.

Antonio flushed, not expecting her to know such an intimate detail. Heather smirked. "I get it now," she said nastily. "I don't know how but you realized she was one of those girls that can't tell the difference between that whole sex and love thing. What, did she admit that she doesn't do that one-night stand thing, ever? You made her think something she had no business thinking and she made a serious mistake and told you about the whole screwed up family."

Antonio knew that he needed to be listening to her. Obviously this was of great importance to her and Jonathan. It didn't seem like it was fulfilling his specific goal, but whatever. The important thing was that Janna had never slept with a man she didn't care about. Yes, their moment could have been chalked up to just intense emotions and the situation, but still, one could also make a case that there was something there between them. He had to admit that he wondered if Janna was capable of faking such...such passion, but her cousin's remarks seemed to tell a different story.

But then Heather leaned forward and his full attention was captured. Menace flowed off her like cold off of an iceberg. "Forget what she told you," Heather almost growled. "You think you know? Trust me, you have no idea what you're dealing with when it comes to my kind. They are relentless. They fear nothing and they can't be stopped."

Antonio leaned forward as well, refusing to be intimidated. Well, refusing to show it at least. There was something about this young woman that was simply frightening in a way. "I believe," he said slowly, "that the proper English phrase is 'bring it on'."

"Both of you calm down," Jon ordered. Anyone else in the world would have risked getting hurt at that moment, but he was willing to chance that Heather wouldn't touch him. "Heather, keep in mind that Antonio isn't out to sell the twins or your cousin. He was the one they victimized, remember?"

"Yeah, and I wonder how Southwood found Janna?" Heather snapped, but she did sit back in her chair. She glared at Antonio who glared right back at her. "You made a big deal over finding that stupid necklace. Such a deal, all he had to do was watch you and you led him right to her. That's just a little too coincidental for me."

"I know you did not just accuse me with collaborating with that man," Antonio spit out.

"Heather, calm down," Jon said louder this time. She glared at him, but he could deal with it. Better it get to him then she get carried away and lose control of herself. "Southwood managed to get his hands on Janna. He's got to be tricky. And he managed to fool two telepaths. That can't be easy. He didn't need collaboration and I'm willing to bet he's the type that won't want to because he doesn't like to split the profits. Antonio was looking for Janna, already trying to help her when he called. I know your upset over Janna's big mouth, but deal with her, not him."

"My little brother and sister are out there," she said in a shaky voice, "and they don't know what they are walking into." It was said with such painful sincerity, that even Antonio softened a little. If something happened to Luisa, he would not handle it well. "It doesn't make sense to go through all of this trouble for a statue. That necklace has got to be worth a lot more. So what else do those two have that's worth everything?"

"The point is we won't know until we get there," Jon reminded her.

"The point is that they were supposed to get caught!" Heather yelled, jumping out of her seat. "Southwood planned that. That's why the plane was sabotaged. They were supposed to get caught and while they were nice and incarcerated, he could pay someone off and have them delivered, nice and neat." She looked at Antonio furiously. "And when they shocked the hell out of him by escaping, you led them right to live bait."

She sat down heavily. "As soon as we land, I'm calling Mom and Dad."

"Heather..." Jon said, trying to protest so she would think this out and not panic like she was doing. It might not be as bad as she thought.

"I'm way over my head now," Heather interrupted. Jon realized that the last time he had seen that particular expression on her face they were being chased around the mountains of Colorado. "This was supposed to just be the twins handling the problem they made. They broke it, they needed to fix it. But they don't know what the problem is and I just sent off to Southwood the billion-dollar genetic code that he's been dying to get his hands on. When it happened to me, I had Uncle Cole. They don't have anyone and they will protect Janna."

They were both so intent on each other, neither of them noticed the sudden confusion on Antonio's face. A what kind of genetic code?

"He might not know," Jon repeated. "And even if he did, unless he's seen them in action, he won't have any idea what a Manticoreling can do."

"If he knows what he's looking for," Heather countered, "then he'll have an idea of what they can do. Telepathy only goes so far. I don't think they know how to use it like Cole can. If they know what they were into...and I'm not the backup they need. I'm not the genetically engineered killing machine that's needed. I'm just their kid. Just because I have the ability doesn't mean I have the training. They do."

The plane suddenly started to shake as it hit some turbulence, dropping slightly and trembling. Heather instantly turned a lovely shade of green. She grabbed the edge of the table, her siblings forgotten for the moment. The plane shuddered again and there was the sensation like when a high- speed elevator first starts to go down. It was a good thing she didn't have to hold back on speed in front of Antonio. She would never have made it to the bathroom in time.

Jon couldn't help the smile, but he was able at least to bite back a laugh. It never failed to amaze him how she could be so tough and strong but in an airplane chances of her vomiting were much higher than her making it through the flight. Jhondie and Justin refused to take her anywhere. They said they couldn't afford the cleaning bills in their plane. He glanced at Antonio to make a comment about Heather not being able to fly, but the words died before they could come out. Jon knew that expression. He knew it rather well. It was the face of someone that had just seen things that they knew could not be happening. Jon's smile wilted as he suddenly put things together.

"You bluffed her," he whispered. Antonio looked at him, still too stunned to speak. No human being could move that fast. It was impossible. This couldn't be happening. "Oh my God," Jon muttered a little louder. "You really bluffed her."

He slid next to Antonio, grabbing his upper arm, his gaze as intense as his voice. "Janna didn't tell you any of this, did she?" he asked urgently.

"How in God's name did she do that?" Antonio asked, just as urgently. "Genetically engineered...is she insane? Those things...they do not...they can not exist."

"And neither can petite girls that can kick the crap out of men the size of Marco and then jump out a third story window and take off running when she hits the ground," Jon retorted, hoping Heather would stay in the bathroom long enough for him to be able to explain. Or at least keep Antonio from letting on that he didn't know. If Heather knew he had played her, Antonio was going to learn what skydiving without a parachute was like.

Antonio didn't speak for a moment while he tried to assimilate what he was being told. At first he thought it was an act. It had to be an act. They were acting so stunned, to the point where he believed it, and then they began speaking madness. Such things did not exist. They should not exist. Oh, but it made more sense. The statue meant more to the family because of its history rather than it's value. Why kidnap Janna over it? But genetic engineering? Both the cousin and Janna had subdued Marco. And saying there were wires was all well and good, but there would have been some trace left behind. And then when Heather ran. One moment she was standing there and the next she was gone as though she had teleported. Only the slamming of the door had given away that Heather had run through it.

"How is this possible?" Antonio asked. "Janna is one of them as well?"

"Half," Jon answered. "Her father's normal. Her mother...the American army was trying to make super-soldiers. They used transgenic DNA and made them. Some escaped when they were kids and others stayed and were what they were supposed to be. Janna's mother is one that escaped. Both of Heather's parents are though, that's why she can move like she can."

The plane lurched again and they heard more retching coming from the bathroom. Jon knew he should feel bad for doing so, but he thanked the heavens for a few extra moments. "No wonder Janna was able to take down Marco," Antonio muttered. But when she ran from him, why didn't she get away?

"Janna's not super-strong," Jon corrected. "She just has a real attitude problem when you get her pissed."

Antonio smirked. He didn't have to be told that. "Do you really think these men know what she is?" he asked.

Jon shrugged. "I don't know. Heather...it's going to be the first thing she thinks. When she was fifteen a group tried to kidnap and sell her to someone wanting biosynthetic technology. If it weren't for one of her uncles being close by, they probably would have gotten her. I think that's the thing that scares her most in the world now though. Being kidnapped and sold to some butcher."

His eyes met Antonio's, dead serious now. "Listen, I'm not trying to threaten you or scare you or anything like that. I want you to know what you're dealing with. They are very, very protective of their own. The only reason I wasn't seen as a threat was because I got involved accidentally when Heather was almost kidnapped and I helped to save her life then. You're a wildcard. And it won't matter how well connected you are or what the consequences are. If they think that you're going to be a danger to one of their own, nothing will stop one of them from getting to you."

The toilet flushed and Jon slid away from Antonio. A very pale Heather came out and sat back down next to him. She wished she could curl up against him until they could get out of this bouncing Purgatory and back onto solid ground, but she didn't want to look that pathetic in front of Antonio. He was watching her too thoughtfully for her to feel relaxed right then.

"Heather," Antonio said smoothly, "I believe that you do not fully understand my intentions. The last time that Janna and I spoke, she expressed a great deal of regret over the theft and said that she would do whatever she could to get the necklace back. I believed her. The purpose of a prison is to make a person regret what they have done, and since she already feels that way, I see no point in sending her off to such a place."

"None of them can go to jail," Heather said shakily. "It's not safe."

"And besides," Jon added, "their parents know. If you'd ever met them, you'd understand what that means. I'm willing to bet they're going to wish they were safe in a prison where their parents couldn't get to them."

Antonio smiled at that. "I can believe that. When I was very small, I was caught stealing a candy bar from a store. After my mother got through with me, I wished that the police had been there to protect me from her."

Heather smiled wanly. "Okay," she said. "Honestly, I'm too nauseous to be a bitch right now. Are we all on the same side?"

Antonio nodded. "If that side is getting them all back safe and sound then I am with you."

Jon took her hand. "They're going to be fine," he reassured her. "When have those three not landed on their feet?