Chapter Six

Occupational Hazards

Walnut Grove, Missouri

Jimmy stood over the stove scraping eggs in a frying pan with a spatula. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the pungent aroma of the freshly fried bacon piled on the plate next to him. Satisfied that the eggs were properly scrambled, he moved the pan to an empty plate and poured the eggs onto it.

"Morning." A sleepy eyed Emma walked drearily into the kitchen and plopped down at the table where the newspaper was. "Hey look we made the front page!" She held up the paper to show a large picture of the bar-wide brawl that had been caused by Emma's initial defense.

Jimmy handed her a plate of bacon and eggs and a cup of coffee. He then brought the same for himself and sat next to her. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Emma asked with a mouthful of egg.

"For pushing you like I did. I'm just worried. I know you must be lonely and I…" Jimmy lowered his head and sipped his coffee.

Emma smiled and patted his hand. It touched her that her brother cared for her well being so. "You feel guilty that you're happy. Don't be! You should be happy that you're happy! I am! I think it's great! Sure it annoys and grosses me out to watch you two practically make out in front of me everyday, but that doesn't mean I want you to break it off just to prove misery loves company!"

He smiled as he slowly swallowed. He knew all of those things. We all do when we worry about those we love. But it doesn't stop us from continuing to indulge in the less rational of emotions time and again. He thought carefully before he answered. He wanted what ever he was going to say to have gravity. He wanted to tell her that he knew inside that things were changing, and how odd that it was that they never really thought of this. It's funny how you know things but never really allow yourself to think about them. They knew that one day they would grow up, fall in love, and maybe get married have lots of babies, but they never really thought about it. How it would affect them and all. That what it meant was they wouldn't be living together forever; that they would be living in separate houses sharing their lives with other people. It was a scary thought for a set of twins who had no one else in the world! For the last few years it had only been the two of them. And with one of them finding solace and love in another person, that meant that they were moving on. Jimmy was afraid that it meant that he didn't Emma anymore! And he did! He didn't want her to think that! And secretly in his heart, he knew that he would have felt the same way and maybe that's why he never said anything about her isolation. It made him feel important and needed that he was the only person on this planet that she ever really spoke to. But the guilt in his heart forced him to speak up and try to force her into the world of people. He had thought that if she found someone and fallen in love and wanted a separate life, then maybe then the blame would be shifted and he wouldn't feel so guilty. As he thought back on last night gulping his coffee he realized that might have been a mistake.

"Emma…" He began to speak. But Emma gripped his hand and when he looked up he could see that she was weeping.

"It's ok Jimbo. I heard it all. I know. It's something we avoided because we were scared of moving on that it made it all seem less important that it made mom, dad and Shea seem less important somehow. That's why we didn't really talk about them all that much before. But, it's ok! We're grown-ups now. Whether we like it or not we are! But that doesn't mean that we need each other any less than before. Just differently. That's all. It's just different now. Besides, it's not like you are moving out tomorrow!"

Jimmy looked up from the swirling rich brown liquid in his chipped "I 'heart' Lobsters" mug and winked at his twin. "I guess we have to hug now." He said sarcastically. And without a thought, they did. Jimmy opened his eyes and looked down on the back of the old t-shirt Emma was wearing.

"I don't care how mushy we are right now, if that t-shirt doesn't find its way back into my drawer today; I'm going to hide all of your legs while you're sleeping again!"

Layla entered the room just as the twins were sharing their moment. "Wonderful, now can we all move on with out lives? Ooo! Coffee!" Layla rushed over and filled her cup. As she leaned against the counter to take a sip she spied the paper and rushed over. "Oh smashing! Are we mentioned? Did they get a picture of me? I was looking bloody brilliant last night!"

While the twins were busy rolling their eyes as Layla tore through the paper. Suddenly, loud crashes of breaking glass and kicked in doors erupted all through the house. As the three jumped from their seats, the cause presented itself by busting through the kitchen door and windows. Several men and dressed like ninjas with long black tunics and dark blue sashes across their left shoulder and chest came bursting into the house and surrounded them.

Emma froze prepared to defend them looking utterly baffled at the intruders. "I don't know if you guys got the memo, but, I kill vampires. If you're looking for the cheesy, B movie reject, ninja slayer, that's the next street over. Ask for Tom."

One stepped forward and spoke through the black cloth covering his mouth and nose. "Shut your mouth whore. You are unworthy of the soul you posses. You have tainted it and we are here to release it from your filthy shell!" The intruder swung forward to attack Emma, but she kicked upward with her right foot and broke his arm. He stumbled backwards as the others closed in to attack the three as well. Emma did her best to fight back the ninja-like intruders, but she was greatly out numbered. Jimmy knew if he was to help, what he needed was all in the basement. But, the path to the door was blocked!

"Emma!" He cried out. "Exit!"

Emma nodded knowing what he wanted. With all of the strength she possessed in her being, she rose her right foot and smashed it down hard onto the kitchen floor by Jimmy. The force of the blow created a gapping hole through which Jimmy fell and landed in the basement below. Wasting not a moment, he rushed to his work station to retrieve his gadgets… and check their batteries.

Upstairs, Emma still did her best to fight off the many intruders. Her adrenaline was coursing through her veins and she felt the cold heat of fear and hate drive her to fight harder. With graceful and fluid movements, she spun, jumped and tossed her body to protect herself and Layla who was now crouching under the kitchen table conjuring her move. As Layla concentrated and chanted, Emma leapt into the air, back flipped and landed on her feet on the kitchen table. She stomped her foot several times and retrieved the stakes that flew up consecutively from the launcher in her right leg. As soon as she caught one in her hand, she shot it directly to a target. As Emma activated another gizmo in her leg creating a series of spike to protrude from her shin, she continued to defend against the assault.

Down the basement Jimmy scrambled to insert the batteries into his glove and load the pellet explosives into the blow gun. He could hear the commotion upstairs and his rapidly beating heart told him to hurry. He inserted the last double a cell and heard the glove beep signaling it was ready for use. He heard Emma yell out in pain and began to move faster. His hands shook and his palms began to sweat causing him to drop pellets while trying to slide them into the tiny blow gun. "DAMN IT!" He would curse aloud. "Ninjas? How lame is that? Who sends Ninjas! It would have been cooler to send out Jem'Hadar!" He finally loaded the last one and ran up the stairs.

"I can't do this with all of that bloody racket!" Layla barked from her shelter.

"Well, hurry up damn it! You're supposed to be so damn powerful!" Emma struggled with her opponents. She was now back on the floor. One grabbed her from be hind and another attacked her with a knife. With a certain amount of effort, she was able to kick the knife out of his hands, but, not without having he arm sliced in the process.

"LAYLA!" Emma yelled as she broke free form the "ninja's" grip and elbowed him in the face.

"DAMN IT WOMAN! I'm trying! Shut up will you! MAK TO MAK TO MAK TO RENARIE MAK TO!" She resumed her chant and focused all that she could.

Suddenly, Jimmy emerged from the basement door and shot a pellet into the neck of an intruder with the blow gun. The annoyed man in black turned and made his way towards Jimmy, when suddenly he stopped and a look of severe discomfort took over his face. He reached up and placed a hand to the side of his neck and then with a wet sound, it exploded outward blowing away that half of his neck. The man instantly dropped to the ground.

Jimmy stood over him for a second and looked carefully; confused. He pulled the remaining sash from his blood soaked face. "EMMA! They're HUMAN!" Jimmy was tackled by another one. This time when he used his glove it worked and the man was sent flying back into the kitchen knocking over a few more of his cohorts.

"I know Jim! Is that a problem?" She yelled back as she tossed one back out of the window.

"It's just that… these guys won't burn up! This is going to be real messy! AND I'M going to have to clean it!" He said blowing a hole in one of the intruder's arms.

Finally as Emma head butted a "ninja" and snapped his neck, Layla's chanting began to show results. Sparks began to surge out from underneath the table and suddenly it flew up and back as Layla stood up with her arms out. Everyone in the room stopped and shielded their eyes. Layla's hair waved behind her and her eyes had become completely white. The energy building between her arms ripped open and grew and grew until the she was barely visible behind the bright blue light. Her voice echoed as she cried out her command.

"MAK TO AGBA NEFERU!" As the words were spoken, a wave of light pulsed through the house and like the tide, swept quickly back to the energy Layla had conjured. Once it returned, Layla closed her hands together and the light vanished along with all of the intruders. "Oh good." Layla mumbled softly while teetering on her feet. "It worked." The strength had been sapped from her body and Layla fell to the ground unconscious.

Jimmy dropped his glove and blow gun and ran to her side. He lifter her head felt her pulse and then lifter her eye lids one at a time to check her pupils. He cradled her in his arms and kissed her cheek. "Layla! Please wake up!"

Emma came over and took her from his arms. She carried her down the hall, into Jimmy and Layla's bedroom and laid her gently down on the bed.

Jimmy stood over her shoulder and chewed his lip nervously. The fear crept up into his throat and the stomach turned with uneasiness. "We should call a doctor; take her to the hospital!" He demanded.

"And tell them what? Hey doc, out psychic friend here exhausted herself by sucking a bunch on blue ninjas into another dimension. Would you mind patching her up real quick so we can get back to killing vampires! You're the genius! Figure out what they would do next!" Emma sat next to Layla and brushed the hair from her wet face.

"What are we going to do then? Emma! I can't go through this again! I can't lose another…" Jimmy had begun to panic.

"AND YOUR NOT!" Emma yelled cutting him off. "You go to the shop and see if there's anything in the family journals about ninjas."

"What are you going to do?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"I'm going to help Layla." She turned and looked Jimmy in the eyes. She wanted him to know that everything would be fine and that she knew what she was doing. Reluctantly he nodded and backed out of the room.

When Emma was sure that he was gone, she scooted closer to Layla and grasped both of her hands. "Ok, I know there is some part of you in there that can still hear me or even feel me. So, do that thing. That thing where you use me to heal yourself. Take what you need." Emma closed her eyes and offered her strength to her ailing friend.