A/N: Quick shout outs...

Step2stepgirl: I don't know if Sky will ever come back. You'll have to wait and see just like everyone else...lol.
Jnr Cpl Scarlett: It's fun torturing you readers. Yes, I'm a meanie. lol. I hope you enjoy this one. Thanks for reviewing!
CamFan4Ever: Thanks for your review. I'm glad you're looking forward to it!
Michelle: Wow, I appreciate all your reviews. It's definitely my longest one ever. lol. I'll keep those pairings in mind. Thanks for your suggestions.
garnetred: Thanks for the review. Oh yeah, Jack and Bridge are gonna feel pretty stupid in the following chapters.
Islandgurlie12: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I haven't left a cliffhanger for awhile now so I had to put one there. lol.
lkwREADer: Hey, thanks for the review. There's definitely a possibility for Bridge and Z!
Veronica: Thanks for reviewing! Z is doing alot better than before. You'll see how easy she's taking it in this next chapter.

Chapter 12

"Another Alternative"

Sky Tate and his half sister Serenity went out for dinner that night. They sat across from each other at a restaurant with their meals served in front of them. Serenity noticed Sky's sudden stillness as she places her fork down and drinks from the glass of wine. "Why you so quiet?" She interrupted Sky's deep thinking as he looks up from his fixed gaze upon the table. "You haven't touched your food."

Sky deeply sighs. "Yeah…well I have a lot in my mind." He grunted and starts eating for her sake.

"Want to talk about it?"

Sky drops the fork and faces her. "My friends thought you were my girlfriend." She chokes on the food that were already in her mouth and began coughing uncontrollably. "You alright?" He asks worriedly while reaching over and rubbing her back.

Serenity wipes her mouth. "Yeah, I think I tasted vomit."

He glares at his half sister. "Funny."

"Why are you so worked up about it anyway?" She grabs a napkin to wipe the sides of her mouth.

"Because! They think we're together."

"You mean you didn't tell them?

Sky drew in a deep sigh. "They didn't give me a chance to. And yeah, I know the thought of it is disgusting. But they're going to tell her anyway, and I'm screwed."

"Who? Z?" He lowers his head down and nods. "Sky, you two aren't even together. Why do you care all of a sudden?"

"I've always cared!" He retorted.

"Then why are you here?"

"Because of you." Sky answers sincerely. "You're my sister."

Serenity smiles in awed, "I'm fine now. I can get through training without you by my side and looking after me."

"I'm your big brother. It's my job. Besides, mom told me how much you hated it here."

"Not anymore because you help me get through it." She reassures him. "You've done your part, Sky. Now it's time that you go back to her."

"I don't think I can."

"Why not? Don't tell me I'm your excuse that you left."

"Well…yeah."

Serenity nods her head in dismay. "Sky, your life isn't here. You belong to SPD whether you want to admit it or not."

"What if I want to stay?"

She folded her arms across her chest while leaning back on the chair. "Give me one good reason why you want to stay, and you can't say because of me."

He shrugs. "The weather is better over here."

"And?"

"I already give you one reason, sis."

"Too bad it's not good enough."

Sky groans out of annoyance. "Please don't make me go back."

"I'm not making you. I'm telling yah." He buries his face in hand. "Sky, you're crazy about this woman. Why can't you go back to her?"

"Because looking at her would bring a lot of crappy memories."

"Sky, do you stop and think for a moment about the good things that happened between you two and forget about the bad? I mean, it's obvious that you love her."

"Can you please not use the word love around me?"

"Why not? It obviously means something to you."

"Love is nothing but a word." He exclaims dejectedly. "I fell in love once and look what happened."

"Sky, there's nothing wrong with falling in love again."

"And end up with the same results?"

"No." Serenity groans. "This is what life is all about. You go through hardships and learn from them so you wouldn't have to make the same mistakes. Life is full of surprises, Sky. There will be good times and bad times. So what if your first love didn't work out? That doesn't necessarily mean you give up on finding your one true love."

He pursed his lips and sighs. "There are times when I do want to go back."

"Then go."

"But I've been gone for months. She'll never want to see me again, not after leaving her and the others hanging like that."

"Well, you should try anyway. And if it doesn't work out, there's always a home for you in the Military Academy."

Sky looks up with a weak smile, "Thanks, sis."

"No problem. Just give it some time to think about it."

He nods in response. "Yeah, I'll think about it."

"But I still say you should go."

Sky chuckles, "You trying to get rid of me or something?"

"No!" Serenity scoffs as she playfully punches him on the shoulder. "Well…maybe."

"Thanks a lot." He blurts out in sarcasm.

"You know I'm just messing with you. Lighten up, Sky!" He chuckles and stops with his eyes fixed on the table. Serenity furrows her eyebrows while waving a hand in front of him. "Sky? Hello." She chuckles as he finally looks up.

"Sorry." He smiles in wonder. "I just remember Z telling me to lighten up all the time."

Serenity tilts her head to the side and smiles in awed. "How cute. I didn't think you'd be so sensitive."

"Shut up." Sky shot back coldly, throwing a napkin at her.

"What?" She chuckles. "There's nothing wrong with that. You're usually serious and uptight. I'm surprise she's able to break that hard shell of yours."

"Well she's just as stubborn as I am."

"Aw…what a perfect match," Serenity responds lightly in a semi-sarcastic matter as Sky shot her a dirty look. "What?"

Jack and Bridge made their arrival back to SPD Headquarters late that night when suddenly they were taken by surprise of Z's appearance as they entered the common room and switched the light on.

"Whoa!" Jack shrieked out of nowhere as they drew in a deep sigh of relief when they figured it was only Z in the shadows. "Z, are you trying to scare us to death?" Bridge stood next to him, breathing heavily.

There was no response from Cadet Delgado as she stood in front of them in her yellow pajamas with her arms crossed, waiting for an explanation. "It's like past midnight, where were you two?" She questions.

Jack and Bridge exchange worried looks. "Uh…nowhere." He lightly stammered on his sentence.

"Just went out for a jog." The other added.

"At this hour?" Z gives them a suspicious look as she shifts her gaze from one to the other. "Right…"

"So how was your day?" Bridge asks as he and Jack took a seat on the couch with an appearance of fatigue on their faces.

Z shrugged her shoulders in response, "Same as usual."

Awkward silence filled the room.

"I know you guys did more than just jog." She says in a vague, apprehensive tone. "I mean…you two were gone for the whole day…and jogging for that long does not make sense to me."

Bridge turns to Jack. "She does not look convince. I think we should tell her." He whispers in his ear. "She has the right to know."

Cadet Landors scratches the back of his head. "You're right." He grunted and shifts his gaze back towards Z. "We went out to visit Sky. There we said it."

She arches her eyebrows. "Did you guys try to convince him to come back?"

"Well…no, we just went over there to see how he is doing."

Z places her hands on her hips, curious to know more. "Well, tell me. How is he doing?" She asks anxiously.

Jack and Bridge were surprise how easy she was taking it for they were expecting her to blow up on their faces. "Sky looked really good." Bridge answers. "In fact, he looked real good that if I was a guy…I would so—"

"Bridge," Jack immediately covers his mouth, "I don't want to know."

Z lowers her eyes. "Oh…" A dry whisper escape from her lips, "I see."

"Look, I'm sorry. I should have said something."

"Is there anything else?" Z questions as the room fell silent. Jack and Bridge exchange looks.

"Well…there's this other girl." She immediately looks down as Jack bit his lip out of guilt. His heart ached at the disappointed and sad expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Z."

"You two shouldn't be sorry. It's bound to happen anyway." Z shrugs her shoulder as though the news wasn't affecting her as they expected it to be.

"You don't have to hide your feelings, Z. It's understandable."

"I know and I'm moving on." She tells them reassuringly.

Silence filled the room once again.

"I didn't think she was that pretty." Bridge says out of attempted consolation while scratching the back of his neck.

"Not that pretty?" Jack widely grins as Bridge makes a weird face.

"Okay, she was gorgeous." He admitted followed by an uneasy chuckle. Z smirks while rolling her eyes from behind.

"Whatever." Z has heard enough and was getting tired from day's training. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

"You sure you're okay?" Jack asks worriedly as she looks over her shoulder and yawns.

"I will be," She weakly smiles, "Thanks for caring."

Jack and Bridge both smiled at her way, "No problem."

"Good night now. Don't stay up too late."

"Night, Z."

As soon as she exits the room, the door closes behind her as Jack and Bridge breathe easily in relief.

"Well, she seems to be okay with it."

Jack wrinkles his nose. "I doubt it. She's totally faking it and it shows all over her face. She may look fine but in the inside, she's crushed."

"That's because you know more about her than all of us. From my point of view, if Z is hiding like you say she is, well…she's doing a great job at it."

Jack bit his lip with a thought in mind. "Bridge, I was wondering…do you like Z?"

"Yeah, of course I do."

"No, I mean as more than a friend." Cadet Carson averts from his gaze, feeling rather uncomfortable towards the subject. "Don't worry. I won't flip out or anything." Jack reassures him with a small chuckle.

"Yes…no," he shook his head and stutters, "Well…maybe. I've liked her for awhile now, Jack."

"Then how come you never ask her out?"

Bridge scoffs in response. "You kidding right? At this time? Jack, I was the reason why Sky and Z broke up the first place."

"Let's not think about the past. They're no longer together…and your friendship with Sky pretty much went down the drain. No offense or anything," he added. "But I mean…come on. Have you ever thought about it?"

Bridge looks down to think. After a brief moment, he stops and shook his head. "Jack, where are you getting at?"

"Look, we all know Z is going through a difficult time at this point. But she needs someone who can make her laugh…smile, and that's you." He exclaims. "You shouldn't stand around and wait till you get your chance. You gotta step up!"

"Jack, Sky and I may not be talking but he is still my best friend and I would never do anything to hurt him again—especially after what happened."

He groans impatiently. "Sky moved on though didn't he?" Bridge looks away and fell silent at the thought. Jack nudges his shoulder for added support. "And it's about time that you and Z move on too."

A/N: uh oh...review, folks!