Welcome one, welcome all.

Thank you so much SpaceFlora, Wolftattoo, just me, Sammy and guest for your reviews.

I'm glad you're all enjoying the Charley/Vinnie/Modo dynamic. Because all them, the mice and the girls, they are all equally important to write about I feel. Not just one or a complete focus on just an OC character.

I'd also like to apologize for updating this story quite late. I've been focusing (when I have free time) on fixing one of my older stories I uploaded back in 2012. A matter of fixing grammar, adding extra scenes.

Hope you all can forgive me :)

Enjoy this new chapter!

"Hope you're hungry." The waitress set the plates down in front of Isabel and Charley. "Bon appetit." She winked.

However the two of them didn't touch their food. Instead they were engaged in deep conversation about the four tall furry creatures from outer space, more specifically from the fourth planet of their solar system.

"Weren't you afraid?" Isabel asked Charley with wide eyes.

"Of course I was. But they saved my life and Throttle showed me what was happening on their planet. After that I could not, not trust, you know?" The mechanic explained.

"Showed you?" Isabel threw her sister-in-law a confused look. "How do you mean? Did they take you there?"

Not going in on topic on her trip to the actual planet Mars, Charley began to explain to Isabel about the antennas the guys had on top of their heads. They weren't just for decoration, such as bright colours on certain bird species to attract mates. No, the antennas were actually an important part of their biology as they use it for telepathic communication.

Truth be told, Isabel thought it all sounded pretty far fetched. Charley's friends were not only human sized mice, although their average height was taller than a human, but they were also stronger, bulkier and now they also turned out to be telepaths? Isabel began to wonder what other abilities these creatures had which humans did not have.

"Did it hurt?" She asked and Charley shook her head.

"No, but it was sad to see what was happening to their planet. I'm sure they'll tell you all about it if you asked them. Perhaps one of them will even show you."

It didn't sound like something that Isabel wanted to see. She didn't know much about the whole thing and Charley hadn't told her that much about it, mainly that for years there'd been a war going on between the inhabitants of Mars and creatures from another planet.

Charley had been right about one thing though from the very start. Knowing more about the Martians was making it easier for Isabel to see that they weren't as frightening as she initially thought they were. As it turned out, buying those hot dogs for them as an apology felt like the right thing to do.

"But enough about the guys." Charley said waving her hand. "Let's enjoy our lunch and then afterwards we can go do some sightseeing."

The two women finally began to eat their meals, talking about the old days as they'd done the last time when they were in the Last Chance Garage. Every now and then Isabel's eyes would divert their attention to a 'help wanted' sign standing on top of the counter in the diner.

Charley noticed her sister-in-law checking the sign out more than once but she knew when to keep quiet and when to speak up. If Isabel had something on her mind and wanted to share with her, she'd let her do it on her on time instead of prying. Unlike a certain white mouse who always wanted to pry and know everything about everything.

She was actually surprised that none of the guys had been following them out of curiosity, but then again they were currently filling their bellies with the hot dogs Isabel had so kindly bought for them. Charley could only hope the guys wouldn't use this as an opportunity to go back to their road rampaging, jumping through windows instead of doors, behaviour if Izzy was around.

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

Somewhere in Chicago

"I can't believe you're still hungry." Trottle said to Vinnie who was standing in line in front of a hot dog cart.

"You even ate half of Stoker's dogs." Modo added as he stepped of Lil' Hoss. "Not even you could be that dissatisfied with 8 hot dogs, even if they were without mustard."

"What can I say? I run out of energy quickly, it's not like we hang around the scoreboard all day on the couch watching television." Vinnie retorted and he shrugged.

Throttle and Modo looked at each other before responding. "That's basically what we do most of the time at the moment." The tanned mouse said.

Stoker quietly listened to the three of them bantering as the line at the vendor finally began to move. He didn't mind going out at all for another round of dogs, even though he still didn't feel like eating. Those two hot dogs he had managed to swallow filled him up more than plenty, which was odd because he usually could eat as much as Vincent. Stoker knew very well why he was feeling like this, but he didn't want to think about it. After all he had promised Charley and his bros that he was going to take care of his little problem.

But after what happened today, his talk with Izzy and her kind gesture of getting them food, Stoker was losing himself in the situation once again. Was it really wrong to act on it, simply because everyone else seemed to be against it? He never doubted himself or his actions before but then again he'd never been in this kind of situation before. If he thought more thoroughly about it, who could really tell whether acting on it was right or wrong?

"Yo, Stoke!" Vinnie yelled and Stoker looked up. "How many do you want?"

Come on, Stoker old boy, you have to eat something. Stop acting like a love sick mouse. He told himself before replying to Vinnie. "How much money you got?" And the white mouse smiled at his former leader.

"How about we go down to China town and see if there's any action to be found?" Throttle suddenly suggested. "It's been very quiet lately and we all know what that usually means."

There was more to Throttle's suggestion than he led on. Sure it was true than whenever things had been quiet for a couple of days, there was most certainly something fishy going on somewhere in Chicago, but that wasn't the only reason why Throttle wanted to head to China town. He wanted to blow of some steams and he could tell he wasn't the only one. When Modo and Vinnie returned earlier today with Charley, he could tell something was up but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Both of his bros' heartbeats were pounding rather rapidly and it wasn't just theirs, he noticed that even Charley-girl's pulse had increased its speed. What could have happened on that short trip to the pawn shop?

Needless to say, they could all use some action to blow of steam.

::::::…::::::

The Last Chance Garage

It was around five in the afternoon when two woman decided to go back to the garage. Charley really wanted to get some work done on Stoker and her late brother's bike, plus the sudden appearance of rain gave her a good excuse do go back instead of roaming around Chicago. Not to mention the chances that they were more than likely to run into the guys the longer they stayed out and about.

"I can't believe you still have some of this stuff lying around." Isabel exclaimed as she rummaged through a box Charley had retrieved from the back of a shelf.

"Yeah, well,- I thought they might come in handy at some point. But you know me,-" Charley wiggled her fingers. "I'm only good at fixing the bikes, not making them look pretty."

Isabel scoffed. "That's not true and you know it."

"Please, all my flowers look alike. The only difference is the colour I give the petals." The auburn haired mechanic replied.

Isabel shook her head. It was so difficult to compliment her sister-in-law. The woman had a talent, a great talent and everybody knew it. So what if she wasn't the type of artist when it came to a brush or a pencil. She could work magic with a wrench and that was a work of art on its own.

"Even back then hardly anyone wanted fancy drawings on their bikes or change the overall colour. Only the occasional truck and sometimes a random Harley owner would ask for it. See, I remember only getting a call from you about once or twice every three weeks to paint a motorcycle." Isabel grabbed a can from one of the boxes and shook it vigorously. She pressed the nuzzle but nothing happened.

"Mmm, seems like these gems have dried up after all this time." She tossed it back in the box.

Charley eyed the honey blonde woman quietly. Isabel used to work at a bar, that was how she met Sam in the first place. When the two of them began to date Sam had often expressed his hatred for Izzy's job, even if that was how they found each other in the first place. He hadn't like it that she sometimes worked throughout the night. He hadn't like it that other men tried to flirt or get with his woman. Charley and him often had words about it. She'd told him to be honest with Izzy while he tried to convince her to give Izzy a job at the garage. Eventually they agreed on both plans and Isabel began to work parttime at the bar and at the garage.

Not with repairing or altering motorcycles. No, she wasn't gifted in that area at all. Her talents were more on the creative side, something Charley loved and admired about her sister-in-law and sometimes those skill came in handy whenever a vehicle was in need of a makeover. Alas it wasn't a great way to make money, but it was the company and friendship which Charley valued most of all.

For a moment she thought back, she still hadn't forgotten about Izzy glancing at the 'help wanted' sign at the diner a few hours ago. It was obvious she was looking for a job, probably because she was planning on staying until Sam's bike was fixed. But that wouldn't really take more than a month or two, why would she want a job unless she was planning on staying longer? Not that she wouldn't welcome it, but Izzy so far had not expressed any desire in staying in Chicago. Nevertheless she cleared her throat.

"You know, Izzy?" Charley began. "If you want, we could go back to that for the time being?"

Isabel cocked her head sideways and arched an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"With this." The other woman grabbed a spray gun and held it up. "Fixing the paint on bikes in need of it. Extra if they want a different colour, or an addition such as,- I don't know, a lightning bolt?"

The other woman snickered. "A lightning bolt?"

"You know what I mean." Charley rolled her eyes. "What do you say?"

Isabel bit her bottom lip. On the one hand it was an offer she more than gladly wanted to accept, but on the other hand it wouldn't mak for a very steady income especially because she was staying at a motel. The help sign at the diner would pay more than working at the garage, but the foresight of having to work late at night and smelling like booze and fried food made her nose twitch. Izzy opened her mouth to reply when a bright light blinded her and the sound of approaching motorcycles stopped her from replying.

The four biker mice entered the garage, their tires screeching to a halt and two of them jumped off their bikes. Charley was the first to see what was wrong with this picture. There was no yelling, no enthusiastic cheering or chest pounding macho behaviour.

"What happened?" The auburn haired mechanic asked them. However none of them replied. Vinnie and Stoker helped Throttle off of the back of Modo's ride. The tanned mouse wasn't moving.

Charley didn't bother to ask further, it was obvious something had gone wrong and Throttle was in need of help. She pointed the mice towards the ladder. "Get him up, use my bed." Vinnie and Stoker nodded and did as they were told.

Modo removed his helmet and he looked at Charley ma'am. His furry face pale and a worried expression. "There was an explosion." He said with a slight tremble. "Throttle was standing closest to it."

Charley stared at him, confusion written on her face. "What? How? Where?" There were too many questions to ask. Modo placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Chinatown, but it'll have to wait. It was bad, Charley ma'am. He practically flew through the air. It's a lucky thing his bike's still okay."

Izzy glanced over at the motorcycle which belonged to Throttle. At first glance the bike seemed alright, but looking closer you could clearly see scratches and smudges caused by powder. The woman didn't yet know just how special the bikes were and what they meant to the guys. If she had, she would have probably felt more sympathy for the object.

"Izzy, will you help me?" Charley asked her sister-in-law.

Isabel nodded and followed Charley and Modo up the steps towards the others. Stoker and Vinnie and placed Throttle on Charley's bed. The tanned mouse still wasn't moving, not to mention the blood colouring his fur and now also the sheets. They'd removed his helmet and also his glasses, which were luckily still intact.

Charley set down on the edge of the bed right next to him. She wasn't a medic and het expertise in that field was rather limited. She knew how to treat shallow wounds or how to temporarily set a broken bone until a doctor would check it out. She knew exactly how to treat someone who had the flu or a common cold, but these wounds were different and the fact that he wasn't moving made every alarm in Charley's head go off. She looked over her shoulder at Izzy. who looked rather pale herself. Her expression showed nothing as if the situation didn't move her at all. Not a hint of worry or compassion. She'd been in this kind of situation before and even if she hadn't, she had more experience due to her history and former line of work when it came to more severe injuries. Surely she could help where Charley could not?

Izzy saw Charley struggle with what to do next. Her sister-in-law leaned over Throttle and gently patted his cheek in an attempt to see if he was responsive.

"He'll be alright, won't he, Charley?" This question came from Vinnie who stood closest to the mechanic.

Charley shook her head. "I really don't know, Vinnie. I mean sure there have been worse situations, but,-"

"Move over." Isabel's soft voice interrupted and Charley looked up at her.

"Please?" She asked again and this time Charley stood up from her spot to let Izzy take her place. She placed her hand next to Throttle's hand and narrowed her eyes. She could hear him breathing softly, but breathing nonetheless and in a normal calm pace. The situation wasn't as dire as they initially thought, but they still had to move quickly and wake him up. Charley's gentle patting was pointless and Izzy doubted that her sister-in-law had any smelling salts lying around.

"I need a torch,- uh a flashlight, some warm water and also a cold wet cloth." She said out loud to no one in particular as she rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. Sure enough both Modo and Charley were the first ones to spring into action.

As they went out of the room to retrieve the items Isabel asked for, the blonde haired woman could finally focus on Throttle's body. She eyed each limb closely, thankfully discovering nothing bent out of sorts or fractured. There were several cuts, which meant debris had hit him at some point. She couldn't tell how deep the cuts were but judging by the amount of blood it wasn't too severe.

The main problem was that the man was unresponsive despite him breathing calmly and Izzy didn't know as to how long he'd been like that. She looked up at the two mice standing behind her, both quietly watching what she was doing.

"How long has he been out?" She asked them. Vinnie scratched the back of his head while Stoker closed his eyes for a split second to think.

"Just about when we pulled up here." The older mouse replied confidently. "Couldn't have been more than a minute or two now."

Without responding Izzy immediately leaned over to unbuckle Throttle's belt, causing both Stoker and Vinnie to both yelp out. Ignoring their questions, Izzy continued to remove Throttle's jacket, which wasn't easy, the man was rather heavy. Then she placed her head on his chest. She wasn't overly worried, but the fact that he still hadn't opened his eyes was troublesome. Without warning she raised her hand and smashed it against his face. The collision worked and Throttle's eyes flung open. He jolted forward accidentally hitting Izzy in the process, who in turn landed on the floor.

Vinnie jumped onto Charley's bed in order to calm his bro down while Stoker crouched down next to Izzy.

"You okay, babe?" He asked as he observed her face for any injury caused by Throttle. A dark red spot clearly visible on the side of her face.

Izzy nodded. "I'm fine. Help me up, please?" Stoker held her hand tightly as he pulled her up with him. She quickly sat down on the bed again as Vinnie still had a firm grip on his brother.

"Calm down, man! You're alright, we're at Charley's. Stoke, a little help here would ya?" Vinnie panted and Stoker let go of Izzy's hand to help the young mouse out.

Isabel watched the two hold Throttle down all the while talking to him, trying to get him to calm down. His chest heaved up and down as if he was trying to catch his breath. After a couple of seconds he finally began to relax. They laid him back down on his bed, his head resting on top of Charley's pillow.

"What happened?" He asked hoarsely.

"You got hit by the blast, you dimwit." Stoker told him. "You got hurdled into the air and landed against a wall."

"Was a good fly though. You really soared." Vinnie said with a broad smirk. "Think you set a new record."

"Ahum." Izzy cleared her throat loudly and the three mice looked her way.

"If you're all quite finished, I'd like to continue." It wasn't a question and both Vinnie and Stoker moved away from the bed.

She leaned forward and was about to place her hands on Throttle's face when the tanned mouse jerked backwards. Izzy lowered her hands. "I won't hurt you. I'm only trying to help."

It was a rather ironic sentence to say to him as he had once told her the same that night at the beach. Still rather reluctant, Throttle let her do what she wanted. His head really hurt and he couldn't see anything properly except for a white shape which resembled Isabel. Why was she here anyway and why was she helping him? Even though she'd spent the morning with him and Stoker at the scoreboard, wasn't she still afraid of them?

At that moment Throttle got the answer to his question. Even though she appeared calm and collected, the moment her cold fingers touched his face he felt them tremble slightly. He could hear her heart beat in a rapid pace. Apparently not much had changed.

"Do you feel dizzy or nauseous?" She asked him as she pried his eyes open with her fingers.

"Head hurts." Throttle replied.

"Any ringing in your ears? Sensitive to light?"

Izzy couldn't help but notice that Throttle blinked his eyes quite a lot, not to mention squint them shut as well. Perhaps the blast had given him a concussion, but aside from the headache there weren't enough symptoms yet to support that theory. His eyes were the same red colour as that of Stoker.

"The light rings a bell."

Izzy finally lowered her hands, a look of worry crossed her face. "Can you see anything or just dots?"

"Uh, he's actually practically blind." This came from Vinnie and Izzy widened her eyes with shock. "Also thanks to a blast, didn't fly as much though."

Stoker punched the white mouse's shoulder. "What Vinnie is trying to say is, Throttle has been through worse."

Throttle groaned loudly, not because of any pain but more because he felt annoyed with the whole situation. At that moment Modo and Charley finally came back into the room. Both smiling with relief when they saw Throttle awake in the bed. Modo placed a pan filled with warm water on the night stand next to Isabel, while Charley handed her the cold damp cloth.

"How you feeling, Throttle?" She asked him taking a step back.

"Like I got run over by multiple bikes." He replied closing his eyes.

"I'm glad you're awake, bro. Gave us quite the scare,- Why is his belt unbuckled?" Modo suddenly noted and Throttle raised his head to look down at his abdomen. He could see it obviously but when he reached down with his hand he suddenly realised how exposed he actually was. Charley hadn't even noticed until now and she politely turned her head away from the half naked mouse in her bed.

"That would have been Isabel." Stoker told them with a bit of an underlying tone.

A blush crept over Izzy's cheeks and she apologized. "It was all with medical intent, I assure you. It's what you do when someone's unconscious. To help the blood flow."

Everybody stayed quiet, except for Vinnie who nodded while rubbing his chin. "I'll have to remember that trick."

"Well,-"Izzy stood up and cleared her throat. "I don't think there is any immediate danger." She looked at Charley and gave her the towel back. "Would you mind cleaning the wounds on his arms? And Throttle?" She looked down at the tanned mouse, who still couldn't see anything properly because no one had bothered to hand him his shades.

"Don't fall asleep, okay? At least not for the next hour. If you start to feel sick or the headache gets worse, say it immediately. I'm just,- going to step out for a moment."

Without locking eyes with anyone Izzy hurried out of Charley's bedroom and down the steps towards the kitchen. Once she got there she opened a window and leaned against the windowsill, breathing in the fresh air as deeply as she could.

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

"Sam!"

With much effort Isabel crawled up to stand on her feet. She took one step before toppling over and hitting the rail on the side of the road.

"Sam!" She yelled again but the heavy downpour drowned out her voice.

She blinked as raindrops kept falling into her eyes, making it even more difficult to see properly. The only guideline she had was the fire a few feet away from her. She had to get to Sam. Isabel dragged herself across the concrete, not caring about anything else except getting to her husband. She was almost there. The fire blazed brightly and she began to feel the warmth of it warming her skin. But then the light became a flash and the only thing she could hear was a ringing sound filling her head. Something hit her face followed by a scream and then everything went dark.

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

Stoker stood in the opening of the kitchen, quietly watching Charley's sister-in-law. Perhaps the others hadn't noticed it in Isabel, but he had. It happened the moment they lifted Throttle off Modo's bike. Then he saw it happen again once she'd entered Charley's bedroom and saw Throttle lying there. Her whole body went rigid, her movements stiff as if something else was controlling her. Her blue eyes distant without any sign of empathy. The latter probably helped when she went to examine Throttle. Something she'd done rather professionally, Stoker thought to himself. But then something woke her out of her state, probably the moment Charley and Modo came back and they made a comment on Throttle being partially undressed. Something Stoker himself didn't care for much either. In fact when she started to undo Throttle's belt he felt that pang of jealousy again. Of course she had her reasons, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Seeing her standing there, leaning against the window with her shoulders hunched and an almost unnoticeable tremble going through her body, Stoker could almost feel it himself. He knew what was going on, he'd been around long enough. Been around pain, accidents and wars long enough. She was reliving something very painful and he wanted to do everything he could to take that away from her.

He knocked on the door politely, announcing himself so she wouldn't think he'd been standing there watching her like some creep the entire time. The moment he knocked Isabel straightened herself and moved her hand across her face before turning around to face him.

"You alright, beautiful?" Stoker asked her softly taking a step into the kitchen.

"Yeah, yes." She licked her lips and put on a fake smile. "Perfectly alright. Your friend will be fine, I think. Just have to make sure it's not a severe concussion. Judged by what you told me it's probably a mild one, still have to be careful though. Even a mild one is not a joke."

Rambling. Stoker knew it meant that, in fact, she wasn't fine. Especially because she was diverting attention from her own well being to that of Throttle. Stoker wasn't going to allow that. Even if it was with selfish intend, he wanted to talk about her. Show her he was there to listen to her, to be a shoulder for her to lean on. Prove he knew what she was going through and that he saw it. Anything to get just a bit closer. Stoker ignored the voice in his head telling him he was behaving only for personal gain as he stepped closer to Isabel.

"Isabel." He said firmly looking down at her. "You can't fool this mouse. I'm glad you're here and that you apparently know your way around injuries, but I can't help but think this stirred something in you."

He went quiet for a moment to see her reaction. Isabel looked away for a split second before looking at him again. "Well, of course it did." She said. "Charley cares for you guys. I could only imagine how she'd feel if one of you got hurt. I had to help."

Stoker lowered his head and let out a sigh. Again she was diverting attention from herself. Perhaps he should let her. He'd shown her a caring part of himself, even if it was only for a few seconds. Surely that was enough for the time being. However, Stoker didn't want to stop just yet.

"I wasn't referring to Charley." He said his voice going lower.

"Izzy?" Charley's voice entered the kitchen and Stoker growled internally.

"Everything okay?" Isabel asked her sister-in-law stepping away from the window.

"I know this is very rude of me to ask, but-" Charley stepped into the kitchen and ran a hand through her auburn hair. "But would you mind staying here tonight? Or perhaps one of the guys can drive you back to the motel if you don't want to stay. I don't want to leave the house in case Throttle's condition suddenly goes the other way."

Stoker's ears perked up. He glanced back at Isabel wondering what her answer would be and if she would pick the latter option, he was certainly going to be the one to volunteer.

And there you have it folks!

Hope you all enjoyed :)

until next time!