Title: Frames of Reference: Chapter Six

Author: Stormhawk

Rating: PG

Word Count: 2896

Please Read and Review.

Stef sat by Smith's slab/bed in the tech lab two days later as the major portion of the purging finished. She hoped he would wake up soon. The reattached collaborators – and his daughter – had woken up a few hours ago and were exploring their mansion.

It was a fun idea, giving them a mansion. Money was no object to the agents so it hadn't seemed to such a big of a deal.

She literally heard him blink as he opened his eyes for the first time in almost a week. "Welcome back," she said with a smile.

"What are you smiling at?" he snapped as he sat up and looked down at himself. He was in hospital-type pajamas, either a coincidence because the lab was the equivalent of hospital for agents or some sort of strange joke it was of the only human customs that the agents had adopted.

"Well, something good happened…"

"Unless it involves Anderson's head on a platter I don't want to hear it Mimosa." He said as he folded his arms across his chest and lowered his head.

"Do you want to give me a chance to tell you?"

"I just wanted to die. Couldn't you have let me die?"

"No. I can't just let you die, I need you. Stevie needs you too." His head snapped toward her in anger.

"My daughter is dead."

"No, she's alive." With one quick movement he hit her in the side of the head. Standing and looking down at her as she pulled herself back up to her feet he fumed.

"Don't you ever say that. How could you joke about that? I never wanted to believe that you were as bad as Whitman. That joke makes me think you're worse."

Ok, that hurt. She would let it pass on the grounds that he still thought Stevie was dead and that he was in the hospital. "I'm not joking, I'm serious. She's not dead."

"Please don't lie to me. I know the truth."

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"You would lie to me about this because you're human. Humans have this incessant need for hope against all odds and against the truth." He said bitterly as he sat back down on his bed.

Turning her chair back up the right way she sat down in front of him. "Anderson told you. Who are you going to believe – your worst enemy or your best friend?"

He hadn't thought of it like that. Looking straight into her eyes he needed more than anything not to see any deception there. He needed to see the truth. "Are you telling me the truth or are you just holding out hope?"

"Put some real clothes on and come with me."

"I'm still purging, I can't require any." One requirement later he was back in his suit. Reaching over and straightening his tie she slipped his sunglasses into his pocket.

"Jones won't mind if you slip out for a couple of minutes would he?"

"I won't tell him unless this proves to be a waste of time."

"Have a little faith in me please," she said as she shifted them away. Standing in the front entrance of the mansion they walked through into the living room. Darth was lying on the couch with is feet propped up on the coffee table watching the big screen TV.

"Darth?" he looked up and paused the TV.

"Yeah?"

"Where's everyone else?"

"Up in their rooms. The girls changed rooms, Niq's on the left now. Cray's still in the middle room."

"And you're still in the attic?"

"No one else claimed it, it's cool up there anyway."

Nodding, she had to practically drag Smith up the stairs. Walking to the right on the second level he stopped and shook his arm free. "Is there some point to being here?"

"Open that door Smith," she said pointing to the bedroom door at the end of the hall.

"What for?"

"Just open the damn door Smith."

"What's the point?"

"Dad?" a soft voice asked as the door opened and Stevie walked out, having heard their voices.

"Stevie?" he breathed, unable to believe his eyes.

"Dad!" the teenager cried as she ran toward him. Catching her he hugged her tightly.

"I thought I lost you."

"Anderson is a big fat lying jerk."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm plugged back in, I'm home."

"I love you."

"I love you too dad, come see my new room," she said as she pulled him into her new room. It was much bigger than her old room and with some posters and personal effects it would be perfect.

He turned back to look at Stef. She smiled and nodded, he returned the smile and went to see Stevie's new room. His daughter was home – everything was perfect.

Stef grinned to herself as she walked down the stairs. Everything was going to be all right now.

"Leaving so soon Stef?" Darth asked as she walked toward the door. She smirked and leant over the lounge. The programmer looked up at her.

"Look Darth – I never said you could call me Stef."

"Would you prefer 'Agent Mim'?"

"No, only Hummer can call me that."

"Then what would you like me to call you?"

"I guess you can call me Stef."

"I knew you were going to say that. You don't have to leave."

"Well, why should I stay?"

"Watch this with me, I hate watching it alone. I need someone to laugh at all the dumb jokes with me."

"They aren't dumb – they're just Trek."

"Nuclear wessels," he said with a laugh.

"Double dumb ass on you. Ok," she said as she jumped over the lounge and relaxed in the opposite corner to him. Shifting around in the plush leather she caught Darth smiling and she was pretty sure it wasn't at the movie.

She was glad she didn't have to kill him.

With Stevie back and these new allies, she had the feeling that things were finally looking up.

"Hey – you want some popcorn?" he asked as the movie progressed.

"Agents don't eat."

"Sorry."

"Don't, not can't – I can eat when I want."

"Good, I'll go get it."

"No need," she said, as she required a bowl full of popcorn, grabbing a handful of kernels she passed the bowl down to him. Accepting the bowl, he caught her hand before she would withdraw it. "What?"

"Nothing much," he said as he looked at her palms. "There's so much detail here. I never thought…I mean it's very cool."

"Thanks," gently he pushed her fingers down until she made a fist.

"It feels so real."

"I am real."

"I know," he said as he smiled at her. She had wanted to pull her hand back the instant he had grabbed it, a reaction, but now she wasn't so sure.

It felt nice.

"You want to see something really cool?" He nodded. She looked down at herself and made a requirement. A couple of seconds later she had no suit and no skin, she was a being made of code. Standing up in shock, he was speechless. Standing, she cocked her head to the side, "well?"

"I…I…wicked."

Requiring back her skin and suit she smirked. "Glad you think so."

"If you've finished showing off Mimosa, we have to get back. She looked over to him, she was so glad to see him smiling again, she nodded.

"See ya Darth," she called as they walked out the front door. 

Darth sighed as the front door shut. Cray leaned over the lounge and grabbed a handful of popcorn. "I didn't see this before, where'd you find it?"

"We don't have any food – we have to go shopping."

"Then where'd you get it?"

"Mimosa gave it to me, pulled it right out of thin air."

"Don't tell me you're falling for an agent. You're suicidal Darth, you tell her that and she'll snap your neck."

"Come on, we're on the same side now."

"There are plenty of normal girls around. You don't need to go after a program."

"She's more than a program."

 "You're a programmer and she's a program, don't you think that's a little weird?"

'I don't think so. Like I've got a chance anyway."

"Chance for what exactly? How far are you thinking? It's not like you can settle down and get a dog, have kids and like that."

"Shut up Cray."

"You just want to get laid before I do. Every other guy I know that's your age has had at least one girlfriend…close girlfriend. I wouldn't be surprised if you make out with your computer."

The young man didn't even see the punch before it hit him in the face. "Get your mind out of the gutter kid," Darth said before storming out of the house.

So what? He thought as he walked down the street. So what if he'd never had a girlfriend for more than a couple of weeks? That the most he had ever gotten was a kiss goodnight before being left for some better-looking guy. Some toned guy with a cool car and lots of money. Someone who didn't live in his computer.

Before he had been freed he had spent hours in front of his computer. He was a programmer, it was what he did. He worked out of his home as that was where he worked the best.

There hadn't seemed to be anyone for him. Then he had been freed, never having lived in Zion the only three girls around had been Pandora, Phoenix and Niq.

Pandora was Ryder's girl; Phoenix was always talking about one of her old boyfriends or getting a new one when she was in Zion, besides she was much older than he was and then there was Niq.

He had never thought of Niq like that. She was more of a sister. Everyone on the Exodus was a close family.

But this human-agent wasn't like anyone he'd ever met before. She was quick-minded, intelligent, funny. Not model-beautiful – far from the airhead blonds that dominated the media he still thought she was beautiful. There was more to her than a pretty face and her short brown, no nonsense hair just added to that image.

Cray was right; he was in love with an agent.

Agents, the scourge of the resistance. The cold-blooded killers. The soulless programs…none of that was true. Maybe of other agents but not of the ones he had met. The boss agent who had a daughter he loved enough to risk his life for, or so he had learned from her while she was recouping in the med bay on the ship.

Agents with humor, with hearts and warm blood as he had found out as he had held her hand. It felt more real than he every could have imaged.

*****

"Hummer open up!" Stef yelled at his door in the hallway. She had nothing to do back at the Agency and she really needed to talk to someone and with Smith on the mend the hippy was the only person she trusted enough.

After five solid minutes if beating on his door she realized that he wasn't home. Damn. Leaning against the wall and slumping down to the floor in an ungraceful pile she sighed.

She needed to know what the hell was going on.

She couldn't be in love, it was impossible. She'd never been in love as a human and now as an agent…oh screw the mainframe, that wasn't the point.

The point was that she was Stef Mimosa; love had never seemed to be on the cards for her. She'd never had a boyfriend; the only guys in her life were the anonymous geeks in the net cafés that she had frequented in the months before all this had happened.

So why did she feel so strange?

It could be a code error, she could get Jones to give her a look or require a self-diagnostic. But she knew that it wasn't digital, it was emotional.

She liked Darth, damn it she did. She had to admit it to herself at the very least. Be true to yourself before anyone else.

She liked his smile, his sense of humor, he was cute. God, I'm making him sound like a Gary-Stu, she chided herself. She had to forget about him, it was impossible that he would…could feel the same way about her. She was just a program to her, so what if he'd smiled at her a couple of times.

He probably did that to all the girls.

Why did life had to suck?

*****

Damn it, if it kills me I'm going to tell her something, Darth decided as he walked toward the Agency. He could have gotten a cab or a limousine but he needed the walk. Beside, it gave him time to think on exactly he was going to say to her.

Knowing the security guards would need some ID, he pulled out his wallet out of his pocket. It had been nice of them to provide them with appropriate ID so that there wouldn't be any trouble with the human authorities. Tripping on some uneven concrete, it went flying a couple of feet.

Not bothering to stand, he walked a couple of steps on his knees and went to pick it up. As he went to grab it a slim hand picked it up.

He looked up to see a pretty young woman. "You dropped this," she said as he rose off the ground. "Ouch," she said as she looked him up and down. "I hope you didn't hurt anything…important."

"I'm fine," Darth replied, she was kind of scary.

"Yes, yes you are. My name's Anne but you call me," she licked her finger and sss'd the air.

"Anne are you coming or not?" A dark haired recruit asked impatiently from the door.

"Yeah Peter, in a minute. Are you coming in here?"

"Yeah – I'm…"

"Good, at least you aren't a rebel."

"Actually…" he started as she slid her arms under his and wrapped them around his back.

"Are you bored? I'm bored. Want to not be bored together?"

"Um…"

"You never even told me your name."

***

Stef had shifted to the alley near the Agency after leaving the backdoors. What the hell was she going to do?

She wasn't ready to forget about him, not just yet anyway.

Walking out of the alley immediately reconsidered that last thought. It would have something to do with seeing him in the arms of Recruit Anne. And he didn't seem to mind.

Of course, why would he? Anne, though her file read like a soap opera she was beautiful, sexy and smarter than the average brick but by no means a brain.

Probably perfect for him.

Oh, and one more thing. Something important. She was human, pure and simple human. Not some weird experimental human-program.

Turning away she walked away from the Agency.

***

"My name is Darth," he said. That second she let him go and shoved him back a couple of paces.

"As in Star Wars? That is so lame," turning on her hells she walked through the front doors of the Agency with Peter. Darth sighed to himself, looking down the street he saw Stef walking away.

"Hey Stef – wait up!" he called as he ran down the sidewalk after her.

***

~ ~ "Love is nothing but trouble," or so said her aunt Pam. Then again, Pam had had more boyfriends than anyone else Stef could remember.

Pam had raised Stef after her mum had died. Pam was good and kind, never angry with her but Stef had always felt that for the large part Pam had been…absent. She had never come to anything at her school; she had her own life to run. That was one of the main reasons she had moved out, at least that way she knew she was alone instead of just feeling like it.

"Wait up!" she heard Darth yell from behind her. She stopped and turned back and waited for him to catch up. She wiped as much of the expression and emotion off her face as she could. "Yes?"

"I was looking for you."

"You seemed to have no trouble finding Recruit Anne."

"That scary chick that latched onto me? She thought my name was lame."

"Darth or Tyler?"

"No one calls me Tyler except my parents."

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Um…" he hadn't actually figured out what he had been going to say yet. He thought he would have chickened out by now. "Um."

Stef waited for him to say something. What was he going to say? He couldn't be going to say…no, of course not.

He swallowed, "I just wanted to say thank you. You freed us from the war. Saved is probably a better word."

Oh. "It wasn't all me you know."

"I know, but you're like the ambassador for your side. They wouldn't have even considered it if it weren't for you."

"You're welcome." He smiled, that wasn't what he wanted to say but it would do for the moment. He could say it but instead he turned away.

"Darth!" she called before she knew what she was doing.

"Yeah?" he asked hopefully.

"Want to do something?" Smiling, he nodded.

The End.

Not quite. There's an epilogue that I added.