When she was finished she headed out, looking for her father and or aunt, but on the way she walked into a bigger figure and said sorry. "Tami is that you?" An older voice asked. Just when Tami wanted to look up she got captured in a big and tight embrace.
Tami tried desperately to breath but failed over and over again. "I would like my daughter to be alive for another few years, Duo." Her fathers voice said and she gasped for air before coughing a little, when the arms disappeared. "Ow I'm really sorry! I'm a little too excited." Duo replied and lightly petted Tami on the back as she continued coughing. When she stopped she looked up at Duo and the rest and smiled when Emily walked up to her. Her smile disappeared when she felt Emily's arms wrapped around her and she was trapped again. But Emily quickly let go of her and smiled.
"Long time no see! Ow and sorry 'bout my dad…" She said giving her father a little glare. "Happy birthday by the way!" She continued and gave Tami a little wrapped present. "What is it?" Tami asks eying the present. "Well you'll have to unwrap it to find out, duhuh." Emily said crossing her arms and rolling her eyes while she answered. Tami unwrapped the present and held it up smiling. It was a stuffed little lion. "Thank you Emily, I love it." Tami said looking at her. "Good! I almost thought you didn't like lions anymore!" Emily said being happy that her present was a success.
Tami's eyes scanned over the rest of her friends but she saw the three persons where missing. "Where are Stuart and his parents?" Tami asked and Angela quickly made her way over to her. "They said the couldn't make it.. Stuarts parents are very busy these days.. But that doesn't matter now, ready for you other presents?" She said. Tami smiled a little but nodded eagerly, making Angela and the others laugh. "Well here you go." She said handing her a long dark blue box. "Me and Keith made it ourselves." She said proudly grabbing her brother by the arm pulling him next to her. Keith smiled and said happy birthday. Tami opened the box and gasped in awe and surprise. It was a silver hanger with a green medallion.
"Push the button underneath the medallion." Keith said. Tami did what Keith said and suddenly a green hologram came from the medallion. It was a picture of the last day, 10 years ago. All of them where on it, smiling. Tami's mouth was slightly open and her eyes where glued to the hologram. "Now every time we're not near you can push the button and she us!" Angela said clapping her hands together. Tami's mouth formed into a soft smile and she turned to the Winner twins. "Thanks both of you. It's really great." Tami said and quickly hugged them both.
Coby came forward and grinned giving Tami her present from him. Tami raised one of her eyebrows. "What are you grinning at?" She asked curious. "Nothing.. Just open your present!" He said happily. Tami, still with one eyebrow raised unwrapped the present and she looked back at him. "How did you know I have a guitar?" She asks showing the rest a set of guitar picks, some extra guitar strings and a book of how to play guitar. "I heard your dad telling my dad that he was going to buy you a guitar for your 16th birthday so I thought why not buy her some things for her guitar." Coby answered and smiled. "Thanks Coby." Tami said and hugged him.
Shenlong was pushed forward by his mother and he slightly glared at her. He cleared his throat and handed Tami her present from him saying congrats. "I don't know if you still draw and paint as much as when we were younger but well.. just open it." He said sighing. Tami opened the present and surprised Shenlong by hugging him. She pulled back and laughed at his expression. "Thank you so much Shenlong, I was running out of paper and paint." She said and pressed the papers and paint set against her chest. Then she picked up the rest and looked at it.
She never got so many presents at her birthday. She turns again and gasps slightly when suddenly Odin stands in front of her. She looks at him wondering what he's doing when he bent his head. She keeps looking at him but then smiles. "No need to feel sorry, Odin. I didn't even asked all of you to buy me something for my birthday." She says noticing that he was trying to apologize because he didn't got a present for her. "And just being here on my 16th birthday is the best present anyway." She continues as her smile grows. Odin nods his head and says happy 16th birthday before Angela and Emily grab Tami's arms and pull her with them away from the rest. "Hey! Where are you taking me!" Tami yells at them not knowing what's going on. "Chill, Tam. We're just steeling you from the rest so we can have some girl talk. We have a lot to discus, it has been 10 years after all." Emily says and waves at the rest walking outside.
It was now dark and Tami sits together with Angela and Emily on one side of the fire while the boy's sit on the other side. Angela and Emily eagerly ask how it is living in a moving circus and how it conflicts school. "Everything I needed to learn, I was learn by my father and aunt. Some others from the circus thought me things as well but that was only for the good of the circus, like how I should make summersaults and that kind of things." "And what about that boy who helped you with your act?" Angela asks grinning slightly. "You mean Tai? He's just a friend. I met him when he and his parents came working for the circus 6 years ago." Tami says staring into the fire. Angela nods and stares at the ground. After a while all three of the girls grow silent.
"Tami!" Tami heard her name been called and looked up to see Tai running up to her. When he reached her he pants a little but quickly recovers and smiles. "I'm sorry that I haven't said this before but I was busy with everything for the show, Happy birthday Tami. This is for you." He said and hands her a little box. She smiles at Tai and opens the box. Tami's eyes move from the present inside to Tai. " Are you sure this is for me?" She asks picking up the silver bracelet from the box. Tai nods and his smile grows into a grin. "I remember you telling me you liked this bracelet when we were on colony L4, so I bought it for you." He says. "Thank you, Tai. I'm surprised you even remembered." Tami replied placing the bracelet around her wrist. Tai nods again and looks down at her. Tami looks up smiling but her smile disappears when she hears a snap and she sees that a little laser is directed on one side of Tai's head.
Her eyes grow wide and just when Tai opens his mouth she hears a shot and pushes Tai away, onto the ground where he lays looking at Tami like she was crazy. The others had heard the shot too but Tami was already running to the source of it and found a man dressed in a black/brown suit with a patron of 'A.A.D.S.'. As soon as she sees this she begins to get angry. Tami had heard of this organization. They were the men that had been killing people all over the world, why? Tami didn't know an answer to that but she wouldn't just let him get away after what he tried just a few seconds ago.
The man stands up and runs away but Tami runs after her, jumping on his back so he falls flat on his stomach. She stands up and kicks him a few times before she rolls him over and picks him up by the choler of his suit. "Where did you come from?" Tami hissed at him. The man looks at her with a blank face and shrugs. This makes Tami even more angry and she punches the man into his face. The man groans loudly and tries to hold his now bleeding nose. "Answer!" Tami almost yells, but again the man doesn't answer. "Fine have it your way then." She says and drops him while picking up his weapon and directing it to his head. "One last chance." She whispers knowing that the man would hear her. The man's mouth keeps closed and Tami growls. Before even thinking clear she pulls the trigger and drops the gun when she realize what precisely she just had done.
"I killed a man." She whispers and sinks to the ground not moving her eyes away from the now dead bleeding man. She hears many footsteps coming her way but she blokes them out. "Killed him." She whispers again, feeling someone shaking her shoulders, calling her name. Her eyes, now a little red, move to the person who's shaking her and she sighs deeply, letting her head fall forward, as in shame.
"Tami! You okay?" Her dad asks but when he sees her head falling forward he stops his actions and sighs. " It's okay, Tami." He says and rubs her right shoulder slightly. Tami's head shots up and a single tear is rolling down her face. "Now it's not! I just killed him!" She yelled while another tear escapes from her eye. She pushes her father's hands off of her shoulders and crawls quickly to the man, putting her hands into his pockets searching for something. She stops searching and opens a brown little book. "I just killed 'Vasco Rodriguez', age 26, length 1.83." She says dropping the little book again, staring at the man called Vasco Rodriguez.
All of the others stand around her and the dead man and stare at them. "If you didn't stop him, he would kill someone else." An older voice said. Tami doesn't react but her tears had stop. She moved her head a little to the right and looked at the patron. "A.A.D.S… I killed someone from A.A.D.S. on my 16th birthday. I don't even know what A.A.D.S. means!" She half yelled and thought about it for a few seconds. "Well sometime has to be the first time." She said and stood crossing her arms, glaring down at the man. "It's your own fault, if you didn't tried to shot Tai then you would still be living." She said but blushed when she realized she was talking to a dead man. Trowa wrapped one of his arms around his daughters shoulders and pushed her slightly against him telling her to come with him.