When the others arrived back at the apartment he shared with David, Pacey in tow, CJ was sat with his back against the kitchen counter, staring at a spot on the living room wall. They all froze at the sight of him and CJ could practically feel their fear and uncertainty radiating off them.
"You campaign for transgenic rights, David," CJ didn't move an inch as he spoke, "surely you have no problem living with one."
David cleared his throat and edged forward, nervously. "I…erm…I don't," he said unconvincingly.
"All well and good in theory, hey, but when one of the monsters is sat in front of you then it's a whole different ball game."
"You're a transgenic," Jen accused, sounding more angry than afraid. She marched to stand in front of him, obscuring his view of the spot on the wall. Instead he was faced with two denim clad legs, one of which was tapping, belying her nervousness.
"Yup."
"Urgh!" Jen yelled, throwing her hands in the air. "We're not really upset you're a transgenic, you know! We're upset you never told us!"
CJ smirked. "Hate to tell you, Jen, but Joey's terrified."
"Fine," said Jen, crouching to his level, "then I'm upset that you never told me."
He looked up at her, she'd been crying in the hour since he'd seen her last. Her eyes were red and her mascara had ran. Her hair was more tousled as well and slightly damp. CJ registered the sound of the rain beating on the window. He silently berated himself, he'd been so self-involved he hadn't even taken note of the weather conditions.
He smiled at Jen and gently raised a hand to her face, lightly brushing a fingertip millimetres from her cheek. "It's not exactly something that could be dropped into conversation. 'Hey, honey, how was your day, where do you want to go to dinner and, oh yeah, I'm a genetically engineered superhuman.'" He grinned wryly, "Doesn't really work."
"You should have told me," Jen reprimanded.
"If I had you'd have been in even more danger," CJ closed his eyes briefly, "Too many people I loved have died."
"Max?" David asked, softly.
CJ's head jerked to look at him and he saw his best friend, rocking back on forth on his heels, scared to ask him a simple question.
"I don't know if I loved Max," he smiled sadly, "I never got the chance to find out."
"That Lydecker guy was asking us questions when you left," Jack said, adding hastily, "we didn't tell him anything."
"He'll find out where I live soon enough and will pull something."
Joey let out a strangled gasp. "But what can he do?" Pacey asked, putting an arm around Joey's waist.
"Kill me," CJ said in a far too cheerful voice and slapping his knees, "and possibly you."
CJ watched Jen swallow heavily as everyone else glanced madly at the door and window, moving as one further into the room. "What are you going to do?" Jen asked, quietly.
He glanced around the room at everyone and then, with a determined expression, he stood in one fluid movement and moved over to the couch. "CJ? What the hell?" Jack asked as CJ critically looked at the couch.
"Exactly three by three," he murmured before kneeling, putting his hand under the couch, and withdrawing a gun.
There was a collective gasp from his audience.
"I'm going to pay Uncle Donald a visit," CJ said, slipping the gun in the waistband of his jeans and shrugging on a jacket.
"You're going to kill him?" Joey asked in a small voice. CJ smiled at her, adjusting the cuffs of his jacket and turning the collar up, in an instinctual act that would have normally hide his barcode.
"Probably not, though it's always an option."
"You've killed a lot of people," Jen said and CJ knew it wasn't a question. He watched her carefully for a moment as she wrung her hands together.
"I was trained for solo ops," he explained, quietly, "assassinations." He saw Jen's breath hitch and he added, in a louder voice, "You best all get out of here, go to a place you wouldn't normally go to."
They all nodded slowly, their expressions still shocked. "CJ!" Jen suddenly yelled just as his hand closed around the doorknob. He looked back to find a determined expression on her face. "Don't kill him."
He stared at her for one long moment before he twisted the handle and walked out of the room.
He wasn't going to make a promise he knew he couldn't keep.