YES! After months and months of deliberation, editing, consideration, editing, research…and a whole lot of editing I might add, I have finally figured out how to continue with this story! There will be more chapters to come, I promise.

Until then, here is…

Chapter Sixteen

Tom Jensen has cancelled the interview. Casey has the day off…

Casey plays the recording for the umpteen-billionth …well, more like twenty-fifth, but who's counting?

"Okay, Casey. That's enough." Now it's Ro's turn to hold Casey at bay. "You'll wear it down if you keep messing with it."

Bucky and Bennet breathe a sigh of relief. They couldn't bear to hear it again. And yet, no one could figure out why Jensen had a change of heart at the last minute.

But on the bright side, Ro is out of danger. Everyone now concentrates on helping Zee. His eyes are still bruised and swollen, but at least he's breathing normally. After a quick computer scanning, Bucky can see that the nanonites have created a set of lungs inside Zee's chest cavity, which explains why Zee can breathe like a human. And a closer inspection shows there's a heart forming as well. These nanonites are wasting no time in giving Zee human organs, but the fact that his body isn't healing as fast as it should is still quite disturbing.

Bennet interrupts his train of thought. "Bucky, it's late. We should let Zeta sleep. Maybe these nanonites will repair themselves on their own during the night."

Bucky sighs again. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Zee's body twitches as Bucky removes the wires as tenderly as possible, but once the last wire is taken out, Zee's breathing becomes more relaxed. As Bennet looks on, he can't help but think about the last time the NSA 'examined' him. He was so relieved that he had finally captured the renegade synthoid, thinking that the nightmare was finally over. He remembers how Zeta was secured to the metal table, about to have his memories erased… He didn't notice it then and there, but…

Zeta was scared. He was very scared.

But with Bucky, Zeta has no problem whatsoever. That's because Bucky respects Zeta's desire to be free, unlike the NSA. Zeta may not be Top Priority right now, but if they find out about these nanonites, being reprogrammed will be the very least of his worries.

It suddenly occurs to Bennet that Commander Lemac is probably wondering where he is. He didn't plan to be away this long. He needs to come up with a really good excuse when he gets back…

"Listen, everyone…" Casey says, "…It's too late to be traveling anywhere now. Bucky, Bennet…why don't you spend the night here? You'll be right here if Zee's condition changes."

Bennet agrees to make due with the pull-out sofa opposite Zeta, while Bucky shares with Casey. Rowen brings two sets of pillows and white blankets. As Bennet claims his set and prepares the sofa, he pretends not to notice how Rowen tenderly removes his shoes, slowly unbuckles his belt and pulls it off, helps him raise his head and chest just high enough to insert the pillow underneath, and then unfolds the blanket, covering him up to his neck.

With the sofa finally folded out, Bennet takes off his shoes and shades and tucks himself in. He closes his eyes, pretending to be oblivious to Rowen as she whispers softly to Zeta. No doubt that it's to help him fall asleep, especially since they won't be sharing their bed. A few minutes later, the lights are turned off. Bennet hears light footsteps heading upstairs. Rowen is heading upstairs.

He then remembers the little box in his pocket. He moves it from his pocket to have another look at it. Zeta may be safe from Jensen, at least for now; but he needs to know about his purchases being monitored. Zeta hasn't told her about the dress yet, so it's obviously meant to be a surprise. And now that he's bought the ring…

RRRRRRRRRR…

…there's no doubt in Bennet's mind…

RRRRRRRRRR…

…Zeta wants to propose…

RRRRRRRRRR…

Bennet opens his eyes. (What is that noise?)

RRRRRRRRRR…

Bennet slowly lifts his head. All the lights are off, even in the kitchen. Everyone else is upstairs. It sounds like its coming from… (Good Lord! I don't believe it! It's Zeta! He's…snoring?) Bennet is flabbergasted. This can't be happening. Do all the infiltration units snore like this? How could Rowen put up with that noise night after night?

Nevertheless, with a heavy heart, he approaches the sleeping human/synthoid.

"Zeta…" Bennet says softly. "Zeta, wake up…Zeta?"

Zee stirs, putting a halt to his snoring. He moves his head a bit, but his eyes are still swollen shut. "Bennet?"

Bennet takes another quick look at the stairway. All the lights are off. Everyone else must be asleep. It's now or never. "Zeta… There's something you need to know. It's the reason I came here in the first place." A deep breath later he adds, "Agent West has been assigned to observe your purchases with your cred card. No doubt Lemac thinks that Miss Rowen might go on one too many shopping sprees…"

"No…!" Zee whispers loudly. "No… She isn't like that…!"

Bennet eyes the stairway again. He can't risk waking the others up. Not now… "I realize that now, Zeta. But the point is West is to report to Lemac the moment the card records any out-of-the-way items. Take that dress you bought, for example. You do realize it's a wedding dress, don't you?"

"Yes… The saleslady said… It's just that…"

"You've had that dress for sometime now. I'm surprised Lemac hasn't come for you sooner. And now, you've bought a ring. If this doesn't grab Lemac's attention, nothing will. When do you plan on marrying…?"

"A ring…? No! No, you… you're wrong. I didn't buy a ring…"

Even though Zee still can't see, Bennet holds up the box. "Zeta, I'm holding a small box that fell from your pocket when you collapsed. It's wrapped in gold paper with a blue ribbon. You're lucky you didn't lose it on the street. If it's not a wedding ring, then what is it?"

"Pendant…It's… it's a…pendant."

(A pendant?) Bennet studied the box for a second. A pendant could fit in a box this small, too. (Okay, so it's not a wedding ring. But still…)

"Bennet… please… don't tell Ro. Not now…please…please…!"

(Great! Now I've upset him…) "I won't tell her, Zeta. I promise… I'm sorry about this. I really am. It's just that…it wasn't easy convincing Lemac to stop pursuing you. And given your present situation, you and Miss Rowen are in no condition to be back on the run…"

"I… I can't protect her anymore… I tried…but I can't…"

Bennet raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I… I looked everywhere…the park… We've gone there a lot. That's when I realized… I was losing my powers. There were moments when I thought I saw her in the distance, but my telescopic vision… It's gone. Then it turns out…to be someone else."

Zee makes a sound that sounds like a sniff, and then he says, "I had to find her. I had to keep her safe and warm, and from Jensen. When I couldn't find her, I was so afraid… What if Jensen already had her? I know it sounds foolish now, but I had to go there… I had to try and save her, before I lost all my powers completely…"

Bennet did not like what he was hearing. "Zeta… Are you saying you tried to infiltrate the Chronicle? Is that how you got hurt?"

Zee sniffs again. "I didn't make it…to the building. I ran all the way from the park, but not as fast as…my speed was failing. And…I thought I knew where the building was, but I couldn't find my internal map system. I tried and tried…but that's gone, too. I had to ask for directions. And when I finally found the Chronicle…I saw Sweete."

Bennet's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"It was Sweete. I saw him drive from the building. There were others…in the car with him, but I couldn't make them out. What if he had Ro…? I…I tried to follow them…" He takes a jagged breath. "…but I was… I was attacked."

Bennet does not like how this is adding up. Sweete was at the Chronicle… (Did he have anything to do with Jensen canceling the Rowen interview? How did he even know about it? And why would he want to stop it?)

Zee continues, his voice shaking. "I think… I think I ran past an alley… And then…this guy…punching and kicking… It happened so fast! He wouldn't stop…and…I couldn't stop him."

(If I didn't know better, it almost sounds like he's crying.) "And when he finally stopped, you made your way back here. Am I right, Zeta?"

"Yes…" Zee's voice still shakes. "I wanted to help Ro. She needed me… I…I failed her."

"Zeta, listen to me. I'm sorry everything happened the way it did, but you must not let yourself be upset right now. Miss Rowen is safe now, and from what you said, I have a strange feeling Sweete had something to do with Jensen changing his mind about her interview. But, right now, you must rest and let your body heal. And thanks to you, we know that Sweete is here in San Francisco. The NSA is more concerned with his whereabouts right now, not yours.

"And Zeta… In the past, it was just you and Miss Rowen protecting each other. Things have changed since then. You now have Casey, Bucky…and me, too. We're all going to do everything we can to help you deal with becoming human. I'll make sure Titus Sweete remains Top Priority with the NSA. You don't have to run from them anymore, understand?"

Zee's breathing sounds a little more relaxed. "Understood."

"That's better. Now you go back to sleep. We'll check on you in the morning." Bennet heads back to the pull-out bed.

"Bennet?"

"Yes, Zeta?"

"Thank you…for keeping the pendant safe."

(The pendant!) Bennet had forgotten all about it when Zeta mentioned Sweete. It's still in his hand. He decides to hang onto it for now. Chances are Zeta will wait until he fully recovers before giving it and the dress to Rowen. But as Bennet climbs back into bed, he can't help but wonder how long Lemac will allow Zeta to make purchases on the cred card. And when Zeta does try to marry Rowen, how would Lemac handle it?

RRRRRRRRRR…

And now he wonders how he's going to sleep through Zeta's snoring…

But Bennet isn't the only one who's having trouble sleeping…

The lights upstairs were indeed off, but Ro was far from sound asleep. She thought a cool drink of juice would help her relax, considering her condition. But once she heard Bennet and Zee talking, she remained hidden in the darkness, and listened in on every word.

At first, Ro wanted to pound Bennet for waking Zee and upsetting him like that. She had just put him to sleep. But because she held her ground, she now knows about the gifts Zee bought for her, and how he had gotten hurt. And knowing Bennet will do what he can to help Zee does offer some reassurance.

And something tells her he's never heard a synthoid snore before. No good deed ever goes unpunished.

And now that Zee is snoring soundly again, she returns to her room. Once the door is quietly closed behind her, she heads straight for the bed and carefully pulls the white box with the red ribbon from underneath.

(So this is it. He actually bought me a wedding dress. But when…?)

Then it dawns on her. Zee wasn't with her when she had lunch with Casey, the morning after they…made love for the first time. But Zee wasn't alone. Bucky was with him. He must have bought it after Bucky did the check-up. And now, he's bought her…a pendant? He must have bought that this morning, while she was registering for classes. But then Casey's boss does the blackmail thing and ruins everyone's day. Didn't Zee say that he saw Sweete at the Chronicle? Why would he be there? Did he have something to do with Jensen changing his mind? Why would Brother's Day want to help her, of all people?

The most disturbing question of all is… Who was able to beat Zee up like that? Usually he's able to defend himself with no problem. But that was before the nanonites took over his body, making him more human. Humans don't have the robotic powers Zee has…or had.

As she glances at the box, she knows one thing for certain… Everything that's happening to Zee – becoming human, buying the dress – is because he loves her. And rather than spoil the surprise, she tucks the box back under the bed and gets herself under the covers. She doesn't know what the dress looks like, so it can still be a surprise. She can wait until he's ready.

Besides, she has a surprise of her own…when he's better enough to deal with it.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Don't worry, folks! Chapter Seventeen is in the works. In the meantime, feel free to review this chapter and tell me what you think.

See ya soon!