Does anybody have any good ideas for the Alex/Van Zan pairing? I have a rough idea, but I'd love to hear what you think should happen to their relationship. Also, do you want more A/VZ or J/Q? Let me know!

A/N: I don't own. Anything. It's quite sad, actually.

Chapter 4: Baby steps and the Journey

Madrid, Spain

The chopper blades whirled as the beast swooped down from the sky, jaws opened, ready to swallow the soldier plummeting towards Earth. The net was released, and as it snagged the wings of the dragon, suddenly jerking back the huge animal, Alex's heart soared. Nothing like getting one after three days of chasing, she thought. Tonight, tonight, maybe Van Zan won't clam up and brush me off. Maybe we'll have a normal conversation about something unrelated to the Rise. Maybe he'll tell me things he's never told anyone before, things about him that no one else knows. Alex rolled her eyes at the last thought. Don't flatter yourself. You may be the only person he talks to, not including commanding, but that doesn't mean he'll suddenly realize his undying love for you, confess it, and sweep you off your feet. Now stop daydreaming and focus on getting the chopper back down in one piece.

Landing the helicopter like she'd done so many times before, Alex hopped off and joined the small group of soldiers already back on the ground. Surely slaying a dragon without losing any colleagues was a reason to celebrate? Of course, with supplies running so low, the real question would be: celebrate with what? The little food they had left was already stretched thin; they had no liquor either.

Alex let out a whoop, and was simultaneously crushed in a huge hug from two guys on either side of her. Giggling, she tried to fight them off of her before surrendering. Alex gasped for breath, and managed to wiggle out of their grasp. She was grinning from ear to ear as she looked around at her colleagues, her friends, her family.

She didn't see him. Of course, no one ever saw him. He was their heartless, cold commander; nothing more. Van Zan's stony countenance was firmly in place; no one looking at him would be able to guess the pain and frustration he held behind that mask. But he was frustrated. With himself, which rarely happened. Van Zan had always functioned best when he was uncaring, detached from the rest of the human race. But now, all that was changing. Because of a woman. He didn't know why he felt so weak around Alex. It wasn't lust, of that he was certain. Lust didn't come with the feeling of responsibility, the need to regard someone else's emotions, the desire to put her wants first. It couldn't be just a crush; it was too powerful to be something so trivial. So, what was left? Love? That last option wasn't even remotely possible. Van Zan had never been in love; to love required a heart. But, as he watched her hug her friends and laugh at nothing in particular, his nonexistent heart gave a lurch, and he felt bitterness course through his body. Perhaps it was jealousy; perhaps it was resentment of his helplessness and fear. To him, no dragon was as daunting as expressing his emotions. After all, everyone has dragons to slay. Van Zan was by no means a coward; he'd always been bold to the point of stupidity, but that night he looked in from the outside, and cursed his cowardice.

Northumberland

Be sure that you don't make it into a habit, Quinn. You're starting to let your guard down. Not just with her, but, more importantly, with the dragons. Quinn mentally reproached himself as he re-entered the castle after another horseback ride with Jack. He admitted, reluctantly, that beyond the prickly exterior and acid tongue, Jack was witty and refreshing, great company when he was feeling strained. But this was going to have to stop. Others may get away with frequent escapades, but as the leader, with so many lives depending on him, he couldn't afford to be distracted. Of course, he couldn't help it if Creedy, his right-hand man, forced him to take a break now and then, right?

Lost in thought, Quinn made his way to the basement of the castle, where the plumbing had been causing some problems again. He was so unaware that he nearly collided with Vaughn in the dark corridor, which was sufficient in snapping Quinn out of his stupor.

Vaughn was Quinn's rival for the throne, so to speak. Ambitious without skill, he was always rebelling and questioning Quinn's authority. Quinn, with reason, was always wary when it came to Vaughn. He was unpredictable, and often violent. A walking time bomb. The fact that most of the castle regarded him as a spoiled child who wanted power but not responsibility didn't help matters. Not a lot of people supported Vaughn, and was loyal to Quinn, for which the former was resentful and latter was grateful.

"Why hello, Mr. Abercromby." Vaughn sneered; taking in Quinn's dirty riding clothes. "Have a nice roll in the hay? I never thought of you as Jack's type, but you know, I guess you must have a thing for redheads." Here, Vaughn crossed, no steamrolled, over the line, completely oblivious to the danger he was in. "But the real question is, how good is she in the sack?"

Quinn, quicker with his fists than his tongue, lashed out with his right arm. A satisfying crack echoed out as knuckles met jaw, and Quinn, far from appeased, was about to hit him again when Creedy ran forward. "Quinn, STOP!" he hollered, grabbing Quinn's fist from behind. Apparently, Creedy had seen the whole exchange, and had come to make sure Quinn didn't beat Vaughn to death.

Quinn was breathing hard, not from the exercise, but from the rage. His steely grey-blue eyes were like wild storm clouds. He couldn't believe anyone would talk like that about Jack. Vaughn always criticized his decisions, but had never made such a personal insult, and it infuriated Quinn. His blood boiled, and he longed to hit him again. But one look at Creedy, and he restrained himself. Creedy's silent glare spoke loudly. Don't be an idiot and sink to his level. It wouldn't help your, and Jack's, reputation, if you reacted as if the accusations were true. Creedy glowered at Vaughn, who was attempting to get up off the floor, still dazed by the blow. How dare he! How dare he take such a low shot! How dare he try to destroy the fragile, though growing, relationship between Quinn and Jack! Especially when Creedy had worked so hard to bring them to this point!

Creedy opened his mouth first. "Vaughn, you were lucky this time. Don't push your luck. Next time, I might not be there when Quinn attempts to kill you for ruining his, and Jack's, reputation", he growled. Vaughn, pathetically nodding, ran off in the other direction.

Creedy turned to Quinn. "Calm down. I doubt he's going to be making any remarks about you and Jack anytime soon. I'm assuming the accusations aren't true." Here, Creedy looked pointedly at Quinn, who was still looking like he wanted another go at Vaughn. Quinn returned the look.

"Oh no, not you too! Of course not! You're my best friend! You know as well as I how I feel about Jack. She's just a casual acquaintance. And an infuriating one, at that. There are over 150 women in this castle. So WHY is it that I get accused of being involved with Jack? By everybody! I haven't been in a relationship for almost an entire decade!"

"No wonder you're so miserable and uptight." Creedy replied cheekily. "First, I know, as well as you do, that Jack isn't just a "casual acquaintance". Recently, you're always heading for the stables when you have a bit of spare time, and it's not just because you love horses. Don't think everyone hasn't noticed. Second, the reason you are always associated with Jack is because out of the 150 or so women, 90 are children or teens, 40 are old enough to be your mother, and out of the 20 left, only 8 are single, and younger than you. Its tough pickings here, Quinn, and Jack is the only one you know by name. Plus, she's gorgeous. Red hair, green eyes, and she's tough as nails. Everyone knows about her. She's the one who walked, without food, I might add, 10 km with a broken arm and tons of burns." Creedy sobered at the memory.

Quinn sighed, knowing Creedy, as usual, was right. "Then why don't you date her? She hates me. Has, ever since I made her cry in front of the whole castle. She probably just deals with me because she needs an extra hand with the horses or something. Not that I want to date her." He added hastily.

Creedy took Quinn's words with a grain of salt. "Look, I'm not going to date her because she obviously doesn't think of me that way. I don't see her like that, either. We're perfectly happy as friends, thank you very much. Oh, Quinn?"

"Yeah?" Quinn turned to his friend.

"Ten years?" Creedy questioned incredulously. Quinn just sighed at Creedy's parting words.

The first thing Creedy did as soon as his duties were done was find Jack. It wasn't hard; she was patching up some kids in the infirmary, where she was on duty most of the time. Awkwardly trying to comfort the crying boy, who had a scraped knee, she carried him to the door, where his anxious older sister waited. After handing the sniffling child over to more expert hands, she slumped on the small cot, not noticing her visitor.

"Hey," Creedy said kindly, knowing that Jack wasn't very happy or comfortable working with children. "How are you?" He sat beside her, the cot groaning protest at the weight of two grown adults.

"I honestly don't know. I guess I must have been a child once, but somehow, I can't put that experience to good use. Why do children have to be so sodding loud?"

Creedy chuckled, sympathizing. "I know what you mean. But, there's a reason why people have children. It's the pride and joy they feel, a sense of purpose in their lives. The kids here, especially, they really grow on you."

"Yeah, well, so does fungus." Replied Jack cynically. Then, more seriously, she continued. "I can't imagine wanting to bring another life into this horrid world. Maybe when times change, and I learn to handle kids, I'll think about having them." At her words, both Jack and Creedy sat in silence, thinking of their own stolen childhood.

Creedy, anxious to get to the real reason why he was there, changed the subject. "Actually, I came here to tell you something. Something that might surprise you a little."

That got Jack's attention. "What is it? Is it good news? We've made contact with someone, haven't we? Where are they? Do they have supplies? Do they have food?"

Creedy interrupted Jack before she got too excited. "No, it's a bit of a personal matter, actually. Involving you and Quinn." Here, he cautiously glanced at Jack, hoping she wasn't immediately jumping to conclusions.

"Oh. What's so important about that? We've barely had a dozen civilized, normal conversations. Hardly anything to call private or personal." Jack said, looking at Creedy curiously.

"Well, others wouldn't agree. Especially Vaughn." At the mention of Vaughn, Jack groaned, secretly hoping Creedy had pummeled the living daylights out of him. Creedy continued. "Right after Quinn came back in from the stables, he bumped into Vaughn. Vaughn, being Vaughn, made a comment about you and him and…ahem, a "roll in the hay". It was the stupidest thing I had ever heard, even for Vaughn. So, Quinn, the strong, silent one, hooks the imbecile in the jaw. Surprised would be an understatement. So, Vaughn's down, the wind knocked out of him, and Quinn has this murderous look on his face, so I go stop him before he kills someone. I've never seen him lose his temper like that. Ever. And at something so tiny and stupid."

Jack just looked at Creedy, puzzled. "That's it? You come down here to tell me that Quinn socking Vaughn once is important? Wow, you must be really bored or something, 'cause one punch isn't really that impressive, even for Quinn."

Creedy smacked his forehead, wondering how two bright, intelligent, perceptive people could be so thick. "No! The punch is not the important bit! The important bit is Quinn's motive!"

Again, Jack was perplexed. "Vaughn deserving a beating because he's a bloody wanker?"

"NO!" Creedy bellowed so loudly that Jack jumped three meters into the air. "Vaughn's comment about you and Quinn in the sack! That's the important bit."

"Okay; he doesn't like false rumours. Got it." Jack said, giving Creedy a funny look. "Seriously, are you feeling alright? You're not delirious or anything." At this point, Creedy was becoming so aggravated, he couldn't talk straight. But he managed to sputter out his point.

"Quinn was upset that Vaughn had made a less than flattering comment about you. Nothing ever pushed him over the edge, so out of control before. Until you and your honour-that-needs-to-be-defended-from-scum-like-Vaughn came along. So, obviously, there's something more between you two than you're willing to admit. Especially Quinn, who, get this, had the nerve to ask me why I don't date you."

Jack though Creedy's words over. That didn't make any sense. If Quinn had reacted because her reputation was involved, and not Vaughn being a pain in the neck, it meant that…that…DAMMIT! She wasn't good at this sort of thing. She couldn't, and didn't flirt with the guys like the other women. She found the whole men-women relationship mystifying. Horses were so much simpler. You feed them and groom them and talk to them, and they love you. Men were strange, unpredictable, and a mystery altogether. No matter how hard she tried (which, up to now, was not at all), she'd never figure them out.

"Creedy, you're crazy. Quinn and I are acquaintances, nothing more. So what if we both love riding? We're always bickering, and always have been. We definitely don't think of each other as…well…in that way. So, just don't go around announcing engagements or anything, 'kay?" Jack reassured Creedy, who looked, if possible, even more irritated. "See you at dinner. I can't wait to see Vaughn's bruise. How much do you want to bet that he won't show up? Probably will hide out in his room, crying about his beautiful, ruined face." At the mention of Vaughn crying, Jack's expression lit up, obviously having forgotten all about the previous conversation. Creedy sighed, wondering, not for the first time, why he even bothered.

Wow. The longest chapter yet. I hope that reading it was as fun for you as writing it was for me. PLEASE REVIEW!