Blood Ties

Disclaimer: I own Zip and Diddly Squat. Honesty I do they're my muses. Well soon to be ex-muses unless they get their butts in gear.

Warning: The next few chaps will contain death some minor foul language, my pathetic attempts at romance and violence. (Beware my attempts at romance, that's the scariest.)

Chapter 8: Don't Walk Away.

Alex walked into the dimly lit room. In the middle stood a small steel table with a body on it. It reminded him of a morgue. A thought that struck close to home a little to close to home for his liking. But he knew that he had to live with the pain building in his heart now. The only difference between the morgue and this facility was the fact that the body was still breathing, shallow breathing but breathing nonetheless. At his command everything had been removed from the room. They would now wait for the only end to come about, the man's death. He approached the table. The man looked up at his captor.

"So you came to taunt me again. Leave me Alex." He turned away from the man.

"Mark...I can't leave you here not like this not now."

He looked back panicked "It's...it's not Andy is it?" His eyes pleaded

"No." Alex's heart felt like it had been dropped in ice when Marks eyes showed relief. "Mark it's you." Confusion now took the place of relief. Alex turned away he didn't have the courage to tell Mark to his face. "Mark I..." Tears now flowed freely from him "I'm so sorry but you'll never see Andy again...you're...you're dying. There's nothing we can do to stop it." He now looked up at him again only to see confusion, anger, sadness, and several other emotions he couldn't identify cross his once friends face.

He merely nodded the last action Alex had anticipated from him. "I thought so. I knew I didn't have much time left after last night. How?"

"It...It was the tests. The doctors can't eve begin to explain it, it's almost like your body has been pushed to the limits and is now slowly failing, like it can't handle the new limits and is shorting out. I'm sorry I never meant for this to happen. I mean after everything we did together, all the pranks and jokes." A small smile came to his lips "Although I was always the one to get in trouble after all who would believe that the uptight son of a army man would ever do anything."

"I remember, you left one day and returned a scientist always keeping secrets and looking for something new."

"Listen you have enough data let Andy go-"

"I will." Expecting an argument Mark now turned to his once friend. "It was our tests that did this to you. I remember when Andy was born. I thought that she was so beautiful. I never could have kids of my own and I swore to the both of you that I would protect her as if she was my own. I'll make good on that promise now."

Mark looked at Alex, he wanted to yell and berate him. To shove everything he had done back in his face but one look at him and he couldn't bring himself to do it. He looked inside his mind and found what he was looking for the truth. Alex felt the probing and let Mark search for what he was looking for. To Marks surprise he was telling the truth. He had planned on letting the both of them go after everything was done, he hadn't planned on this outcome and now would strive to keep Andy from sharing his fate. His eyes focused on the man in front of him as he pulled himself from Alex's mind. When he got a good look at him he was crying.

"I forgive you, but I want Sam to look after Andy when I die. I know that if anything should happen to me that I wanted you to take her in, but given the situation and how old she is I want Sam to take her."

"I understand."

"Thank you."

"What for? I destroyed your family sent you daughter into hiding and I've killed you!"

"For being Alex again. I thought I had lost him. But knowing that you are still the man I joked with and shared all my secrets with makes me happy, knowing that Andy will never live through what I have make these last few hours better."

Andy sat in the hospital room trying to figure out what had happened to her, the last thing she remembered was trying to reach out to her father as he had done so many times, only to find pain and then darkness. Sam moved closer to Andy to embrace her before she left with Jack.

She got up and left noticing the untouched food. She and Jack left her to her book and what looked like a restless night's sleep. She found Jack's hand and held it as they left knowing that no one would be around at this hour to see them. Turning around to look at Andy once more Jack found himself looking at a scowl like she knew that they wanted to discuss her eating habits, as well as other things, out of eat shot like she was a child. He was about to retort on the look when he shook his head reminding himself that she was just a teen caught up in something that was way bigger than she was.

Once alone in Sam's room they began to talk.

"I don't get it why isn't she eating?"

"She's scared Sam." Jack walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck. "I'm sure she'll hungry and eat."

"I hope you're right." Tears slid down her cheeks. Jack noticed this and pulled her closer. "I hope this ends soon so we can talk to the general about well us."

"Speaking of us there is something I wanted to ask you." Sam was just melting in Jack's arm's taking in the love and support he was giving her. He removed one of his arms and it returned a few moments later "Will you marry me?"

Sam opened her eyes and gaped at the ring that was in front of them. She opened and closed her mouth several times trying to find the right words. Unable to find them she dislodged herself from Jack and turned to face him, taken aback by her silence and assuming that she was trying to find the words to say no he looked at the ground lowering the hand with the ring.

She walked to him and kissed him deeply. They didn't break from the kiss until the need to breath became too great. "Do I take that as a yes?" She leaned in and kissed him again more forcefully this time.

Once again air forced them apart "Does that answer your question?" Jack just smiled. He lifted her hand and placed the ring on it.

"When this is all over you and I will be together."

Once again Andy had blanked out that evening but shortly regained consciousness. It was then that the full effect of the Asgurad's words had hit her. She was fast reaching her limit. She gave up for the night, reluctantly eating the food before her she thought about how she was going to get out of here before her abilities reached a limit affecting any rescue attempt she made on her father. She remembered the dream she had had when she had fallen unconscious, but it hadn't been a normal dream her father had been reaching out to her, and her aunt. He had told them that he was dying and that they could trust Alex, he also told them not to come for him that time was short.

He turned from them and walked into a mist his voice carried to them. Relaying his words of love, he told them that he was proud of them and wished he could see them again but this was the best they could do. She woke up on the verge of tears, but she would not cry. She would not let her father die away from them without seeing them one last time, not in the hands of the government.

Sam woke up in Jack's arms. She started silently crying. After so many years this was how it was to end. Mark would never see Andy's graduation, never see her fall in love and marry, never see her first child being born. He would never tease her, Sam, at her wedding either.

Jack woke up, feeling his love crying he pulled her closer; she took in the warmth and comfort. She thought of Andy, of going to her but she knew it would be in vain so she stayed in Jacks arms willing that moment to never end. But all too soon morning came.

I know it's a little short, but I got work tomorrow at 6 am. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. This chapter has been revised taking out the song Don't Walk Away as per Fanfiction rules.