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The scoreboard

Stoker finally found his way back to the scoreboard, basically by heading into the direction of a gigantic rectangular shape in the distance. Why hadn't he thought of that before?

It wasn't a long walk, about twenty minutes, but his body wasn't completely healed yet so he felt drained by the time he made it back. His shoulder still hurt from crashing against the control board during landing, he probably should have let Charley take a look at it. When Stoker walked through the door the others were already there. He hadn't counted on seeing them yet, he thought they would still be at Charley's. Busy with explaining to her where he had run off to and hopefully she bought it. But knowing Charley, chances were slim. Very slim.

"She didn't buy it, did she?" He said immediately when he closed the door behind him.

Throttle shook his head. "Nope. You didn't really expect her to, did you?"

Stoker stretched out and leaned his head back. "No, but then again you three are awfully bad liars." He sat down on the couch and groaned. "That was some walk."

"That's what you get for leaving your bros behind." Vinnie said to him. "All because of a woman."

Stoker snorted. "You're one to talk. All the times you went after the ladies, completely forgetting about the rest of us." He threw a pillow into Vinnie's direction which hit him square in the face.

"Did you learn anything new?" Modo asked pulling up a chair and setting it down next to the couch. Stoker raised his legs and placed them on the coffee table.

"She's staying at a,- motel? I believe that's what you call them. She has a funny accent. Smells like vanilla and some type of flower."

Vinnie made a noise causing Modo to chuckle. But only Throttle shook his head. "It doesn't matter how nice she smells. What matters is that we have to be careful the next couple of days. Charley said she is planning on informing Isabel about our existence. But slowly. She might react differently than Charley did when she first met us."

"Now she was impressed by our appearance." Vinnie wiggled his eyebrows. Remembering on how they first met Charley and how he bravely saved her from Greasepit. Not in the most graceful manner, but it got the job done.

"More impressed with your bad sense of humour." Modo grinned. Vinnie jumped out of his seat and knocked Modo over unto the floor where they began to roll and wrestle.

Throttle diverted his attention from his bros back to Stoker who had now decided to take up the entire couch with his body. "Anything else?"

Stoker opened his eyes and thought for a moment. "Got a scar on the right side of her face." He drew a imaginative line on his own face. "I take it it's from the accident, but I didn't ask."

Throttle arched an eyebrow. "Didn't ask?" He repeated and he leaned forward. "Did you talk to her?"

"Ah crap." Stoker exclaimed realizing he now had to tell Throttle everything. He groaned and sat up straight. "She caught me looking into her car. I should have made a run for it, but I couldn't move. So I said 'hello'."

"You did what?" Throttle stood up and his chair fell back. Modo and Vinnie stopped their fight and watched the two of them.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. She asked what I was doing, I said just looking. She made a joke about it. We laughed. I asked for directions towards the stadium and that's it." Stoker moved his arms to emphasize the latter part. The three guys eyed him quietly, somehow not convinced even though Stoker was actually telling the truth.

"Wasn't she scared?" Modo asked referring to the fact that they were not exactly human looking.

"I was wearing one of Charley's spare helmets. Hid my tail behind my back, for as far that was possible." He glanced down at his metal tail. "That's all. She saw nothing. Didn't question the helmet either, she didn't seem to mind any of it. Aside from the fact it apparently looked as if I was planning on stealing her car."

Modo nudged Vinnie. "Is he rambling?"

Vinnie rubbed his chin. "Nah, Stoker? Not possible. He doesn't get nervous at all. Especially around ladies."

"Well, she isn't Martian." Modo added.

"True, true." Vinnie gave a swift nod with his head. "But he does sound disappointed."

"Okay, guys. Done." Throttle told them. Though he had to admit it, and he frankly hated himself for thinking it. But it did seem as though Stoker was nervous. Which was impossible. Their former coach never got nervous. Anxious for a fight, sure. But nervous when talking about a woman, he'd just met? Although...

He glanced over at Modo and Vinnie for a second. Both of them had acted in a similar manner when they first met Charley girl, charmed and impressed by the beautiful female mechanic. Even to this day you could see it happen on numerous occasions, though less because they both respected each other but most importantly Charley. Vinnie managed to hide his nerves behind his bravado, unless the moments when Charley came close and gave him a hug or a kiss as a thank you for something. His white fur turned bright red like a stop sign.

Modo was easier to read, he couldn't hide it no matter how much he wanted to. Throttle was sure Charley hardly noticed, but the big grey mouse's heartbeat increased whenever she touched him. She couldn't hear it, but they all could. But that was something they all left aside. Charley was human, they were Martian. He couldn't see it happen between Charley, Vinnie and Modo.

Some mice were polygamous, but he was certain Charley was not. At least he wasn't. Carbine had been his love for as long as he could remember. And even though it had been a while since they'd gone to Mars, he was sure nothing had changed.

"Tonight we lay low, alright? No funny business."

:::::::...:::::::

The Last Chance Garage

If Charley could bang her head against a wall, she would. But then Isabel would wonder where that big bruise had come from. Charley couldn't believe what Stoker had done. Slipping away from the roof, sneaking into the back of the pickup truck and hiding under a cover without her knowledge.

After Throttle and the others explained to her what Stoker had done and was currently doing, actually doing and not the lie that he had gone back to the scoreboard, Charley was furious. She was going to yell at him later. She'd given the guys an earful and she wasn't about to let their former chief off the hook. She could only hope that he'd stayed hidden and not engaged into conversation with Isabel. She had to find out if anything happened.

Charley stood in the garage next to Sam's ride, waiting for Isabel to come back. First thing Charley was going to do was to check the back of the truck, make sure that Stoker wasn't still hiding underneath the cover.

After a couple of minutes she heard the approaching sounds of a car. She looked up and saw the dark grey pickup truck pull up into the alleyway next to the building. Immediately she dropped the wrench she'd been holding and ran towards Isabel. Her sister-in-law hadn't even gotten out of the car yet by the time Charley arrived and halted at the back of the truck. The mechanic leaned over the side but saw nothing except for the dirty beige cloth which had been used to cover not only Sam's ride but Stoker too.

"Charley, what are you doing?" Isabel asked as she climbed out of the truck.

"Nothing, nothing. Just...looking." Charley replied as she leaned against the vehicle with her brow furrowed.

Isabel frowned. That was the second time today she'd heard that sentence. She knew her car tended to attract people, it wasn't the first time. But twice in one day? Charley could have done this earlier when Isabel was leaving the garage. She hadn't done that then, so why now? She decided to let it slide, it couldn't be very important.

"I took a look at Sam's bike." Charley said to her, changing the subject. "I'm pretty certain I can get it back just the way it was." Then she paused.

"But,-?"

"But it's going to take some time. I mean the business isn't going as great as I want, but jobs still come in. So depending on how many there are, I won't be able to work on it every day."

Isabel nodded understandingly. "Charley, I can understand if you'd rather give me call once you're done with Sam's motorbike instead of me hovering around in the city until you do finish it?"

She meant it. She didn't want to be a burden to Charley. After all, she had left the entire family after the funeral and even though Charley was the only one she'd had a bit of contact with in those first few months, Isabel felt guilty. Not only for leaving but for being the one who got to live instead of Sam. And now here she was, arriving out of the blue at Charley's home and asking her to fix the bike which no longer belonged to her.

Charley wasn't sure how to reply. She still wasn't even sure how she felt about all this. Isabel being back, Sam's bike in shambles in her garage and she'd even inherited it from him. Did she want to fix the bike because it was now hers and to preserve Sam's memory? Or because she wanted to give Isabel the closure she needed? Could she handle her sister-in-law being here whilst fixing everything else? Not to mention the guys who she loves and wants to spend her time with?

"I don't know yet." She replied and that was the truth. "How about we take things slow and start dinner first?"

:::::::...…:::::::

"And then he ran out of the bar."

"Naked?"

"Butt naked."

Charley threw her head back and laughed. "Poor Sam. He never knew when to quit."

"Especially with a game he sucked at." Isabel smirked.

"Name one game he didn't suck at." Charley asked but both girls pondered for a second.

"Monopoly!" They exclaimed in unison and then laughed again.

"How is it possible that a man who is bad at betting money with card games, is good at a boardgame which revolves around money?" Isabel took another bite of the lovely dinner Charley had made for them. "I phoned geth it." She said with her mouth full.

"Me neither." Charley wiped a tear away.

"You should have seen the women. They went mental for him."

"But not you." Charley commented.

Isabel shook her head. "I just thought he was a dumbass."

Charley snorted. All these memories of her brother made her feel happy. At first she thought talking about him would make her feel all the grief she had felt over a year ago, but as it turned out it didn't. In fact she hadn't laughed like this in a long time, not about her own family at least. They guys always knew how to make her laugh.

"Vinnie would have loved to hang with Sam." She smiled.

Isabel blinked and cocked her head. "Vinnie?"

Charley stared at her for a minute and then her eyes widened. She mentioned Vinnie. Oh geez, how could she have been so stupid.

"He's a friend." She eventually replied. "Loose cannon, but with a heart of gold."

"Ah, that does sound a lot like Sam." Isabel leaned back and took a sip from her drink. Charley exhaled with relief. At least she dodged that bullet.

"Is he someone special? Or just a friend?"

Okay, perhaps she didn't dodge a bullet there. Charley wasn't sure how to reply, not only because she didn't really know the answer to that question but also because she hadn't planned on revealing anything about her friends. Not just yet.

"Friend." She replied though her voice squeaked a bit as she said it. Thankfully Isabel didn't push the topic any further after that. But now that her friends had been mentioned, or at least one of them, Charley felt the need to ask Isabel about this afternoon.

Stoker had been hiding in the back of Isabel's pickup truck and Charley still didn't know whether or not she had noticed. She could wait to confront Stoker herself because she had plans on kicking that muscled mouse to China if she could.

"So tell me, Izzy." She began. "Did you do anything this afternoon? Seen the city or met interesting people." She eyed Isabel carefully, trying to read her expression and body language. Sadly, it didn't reveal much. Perhaps nothing had happened and Stoker managed to sneak out before Isabel caught him.

"I went to the hotel. Stayed there until it was time to go back here." Isabel tapped her fingers on the table surface.

"Oh." Charley cocked her head. "I figured you might have driven around some. Have a drink somewhere. Don't tell me nobody checked out your car? I remember strangers always doing that." Okay, perhaps that latter bit was laid on way too thick. But Isabel didn't seem to notice.

Isabel stopped tapping her fingers nervously on the table. "Funnily enough, I didn't drive around. But there was a guy."

Charley immediately leaned forward both anxious and pissed at the same time, though the anger part was completely directed at Stoker not Isabel. The guy she mentioned simply had to be Stoker. But Charley wasn't sure yet. "Oh?"

"I don't know what it is with people having such interest in that truck. I know it's a great looking car, but the way they approach it is sometimes incredibly rude. Even creepy."

"Did he talk to you?" Charley asked and Isabel nodded. "What did he say?"

Isabel cocked her head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. He was checking out the car. I caught him, he apologized. Made a joke, we laughed. Then he asked for directions to some stadium."

If she hadn't mentioned the stadium, Charley couldn't have known that the guy had indeed been Stoker. But the directions to the stadium had Stoker written all over it. Who else would go to the stadium when there was currently no one playing?

"That's it?" She said with disbelief. Stoker was usually someone who was all over the place. Like Vinnie, he didn't know when to stop. Especially when it came to women and flirting.

"You sound very disappointed, Charlene." Isabel arched an eyebrow. Charley narrowed her eyes, she did not like it when people called her Charlene.

"No, I mean, this is Chicago. Some men can be real creeps around here. It sounds like he wasn't."

"I guess you're right about that." Isabel replied. "He came across as rather, normal."

This time it was Charley's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Normal?" She leaned forward. "What did he look like?"

"I don't know, he was wearing a helmet. He wore a long sleeved army jacket, but you could tell he was build." Isabel shrugged. "I'm sure he would have removed his helmet if he was interested in having a conversation. But he seemed rather nervous about something. He left in quite a hurry, despite coming across as normal. Perhaps he had been planning on nicking the car but got cold feet cause I caught him in the act?"

Charley had heard enough. She was still pissed at Stoker for getting so incredibly close to Isabel, and he'd even dared talking to her. But he'd kept his face hidden and thus his secret of being from another planet. She was still going to yell at him though.

:::::::...:::::::

The next day

"I can't believe you did that!"

Stoker hid his head behind his arms, peeking between them at the angry but beautiful mechanic in front of him. He knew this was coming, if it hadn't been because of Isabel it would have been something else. He always managed to make some woman yell at him, he just hadn't expected it to be within twenty-four since he landed on Earth.

"Not only did you put yourself in danger, you put your friends in danger. Including me! Not to mention Isabel. What if she'd seen your face and screamed her head of? She could have gone to the police or try to hurt you."

Stoker lowered his arms. "Or fall for my incredible charm."

Charley pressed her lips in a tight line and her nostrils flared. Stoker immediately jumped back. Okay, that had not been the way to go. He stood up and walked over to her.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I admit it, it was a dumb idea. I never should have done it." He said to her.

Charley crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "But,-?"

"But what?"

"I know you, there is always a but. You apologize and then you go on this whole rant to defend yourself."

Stoker bit his bottom lip. Curse it. She was right. Charley looked at him waiting patiently for him to start blurting out excuses as to why he'd done what he did. Truth was Stoker didn't really have a valid excuse, at least not an excuse Charley would understand. The others did, they understood it completely. But how would he be able to explain it to Charley without probably exposing Vinnie's or even Modo's feelings towards her? No doubt she would recognize their behaviour if he explained his. He just had to be subtle. Which was a word you'd not usually find in Stoker's vocabulary.

"Okay, you're right. There was an ulterior motive and the way I approach it was dumb. I should have waited for you to properly introduce us to her before I jumped the gun to go after her myself." Stoker paused and thought that perhaps he should have kept out that last bit. The look Charley was giving him confirmed it.

"What do you mean, go after her?" The woman repeated still with her arms crossed and judging look in her eyes.

Stoker sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. He needed someone else to explain this to her.

"I didn't mean it like that." The tall mouse exhaled. "I am very curious about her, that's all I can really say about it." He turned away from Charley but he could hear her following him.

"You do realize she's not just some random person. She's my sister-in-law, Stoker. My brother's wife. Even though he died, she's still my family."

Stoker abruptly stopped causing Charley to nearly crash into him. Even though he understood perfectly well where Charley was coming from and maybe on some level she even had a point, he did not like the way she said that. As if she was forbidding him to have any kind of interest in Isabel.

"Look, you came here to yell at me. That's fine, I deserve it. But you can't tell me what I can or cannot do." He raised his voice more than he intended to. As if on cue the other mice came crashing through the door, laughing and wrestling each other as usual. They stopped the moment they spotted Charley and Stoker standing face to face with each other. The negative air clearly present in the room.

"Uh, want us to come back later?" Throttle asked pointing over his shoulder.

Stoker shook his head. He was done for the moment. He didn't want to fight Charley, but he honestly believed she was being unfair to him. "No, it's fine. I'm done. Sorry, Charley." He quickly added before walking past his bros and closing the door behind him.

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