Chapter 3

Farah was so tired. She needed sleep. She'd gotten so little the last two weeks on the road.

You're going to fall asleep and drive off the road.

Farah shook her head and pulled into a late night diner.

"I need coffee." She said.

Todd nodded. "Coffee sounds good."

They sat in a sticky booth and Farah tossed a menu at him.

"Get food. You've dropped at least ten pounds since we left Seattle."

Todd raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're monitoring my weight now?"

"It's my responsibility to assess your health and well being. Weight loss is a common side effect from your meds and you can't afford to lose too much. It will reduce your stamina and strength."

"So, do you think you're my bodyguard now?" he asked.

Yes. Said her mind. "No." said her voice.

She was afraid she had insulted him, but he looked mildly amused.

"What can I get you?" asked a waitress with a husky voice and a stained uniform.

Todd looked up. "I'm apparently having the Deluxe Omelet with extra bacon and coffee with lots of room for cream." He looked over at Farah with a little half smile. "Satisfactory?"

Add another coffee for me and a cheese Danish to split." Said Farah.

"You spoil me." Said Todd.

Farah smiled. "Well, I did take you to the finest establishment in the area." She said.

The coffee was burnt, and the Danish was stale, but the company was pleasant as she and Todd had a fork battle over the last bite of Danish.

Farah felt the shift. Eyes, watching her.

Stay calm.

Todd couldn't sense it, but he could see the change in her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Stay calm." She said.

Four large men and a rather formattable woman approached their table.

"Hey there, Gorgeous." Said the slimy leader of the group. "Mind if I sit down?"

Don't engage. It would rapidly escalate and put yourself and Todd in danger. Find a way to exit the building that causes as little disturbance as possible.

"Actually, we were just leaving."

He blocked her exit.

Sitting at a booth was a mistake. Amateur move.

"Oh, come on. You're new around here. I can show you the highlights."

"Thanks, but we're just on our way out." Said Todd as he tried to stand. One of the other men, easily twice Todd's size, shoved him back into his seat. Todd let out a sharp exhale as he landed hard onto the plastic seat of the booth. Farah felt a surge of fear, but Todd caught his breath. It wasn't the start of an attack.

Get out now without drawing too much attention. Blackwing will be looking for disturbances like this one. You know where the exits are. Get the primary and get out.

"What's your name, Babe?" asked the greasy leader as he slid into the booth beside her.

The woman and one who shoved Todd sat down on the other side, and smashed Todd against the wall. They all reeked of cheap alcohol and weed.

Whatever you do, don't make a scene. Just find a way out.

The one next to Farah leaned in. "How about I show you what a real man can do?"

Kick his ass.

As Gross Guy leaned in, Farah swung her legs around and kicked him so hard that he flew out of the booth seat and shot into the next table.

Farah launched herself to standing and everyone was so shocked that Todd was able to dive under the table and pop up at Farah's side.

The gang launched at them and Farah felt all the pent up rage, fear, and frustration from the past two weeks explode out of her like a cannon.

While the gang had only been five, there were more in the diner that were not about to see their friends go down without a fight.

Soon it was a sea of fists and thrown coffee cups and yelling.

Farah was so caught up on the fight that she didn't even realize she'd fought her way to the exit until Todd grabbed her shoulders and yanked her out the door and into the dark street. He grabbed her hand and they ran.

They lost the angry crowd quickly. They were just a collection of drunk, disorganized mob wannabes that gave up or forgot what they were doing almost the moment Farah and Todd were out of sight. But the two of them still ran. They ran hard. At first she thought they were running out of fear, then she realized something strange. She was laughing. She was laughing and so was Todd. Soon they were both laughing so hard they couldn't run anymore. They staggered to a stop behind a closed restaurant.

"What… what even was that?!" Todd shrieked between bouts of laughter.

"I know! It was like something out of a bad movie!" Farah howled.

"The look on his face when you kicked him!" Todd cried as he attempted to recreate the facial expression. They both doubled over with laughter.

When they finally caught their breath and wiped away the tears, they were sitting on some crates behind a restaurant.

Todd shook his head. "You were unreal! I mean, I've never seen you really fight before! You were incredible! Like it wasn't just ass kicking. It was art. It was the art of ass kicking!"

Farah burst out laughing again. "You weren't so bad yourself! I saw you knock that guy out with a rather formidable punch."

Todd smiled. "Well you see, this incredible woman I admire presented me with some brass knuckles, and I never leave home without them." He said as he showed off his right hand with the knuckles Farah gave him still on.

"You'll want to wash the blood off of that." Said Farah.

Todd looked mock offended. "But this is my trophy of the night I fought alongside the greatest warrior in the land and managed to punch one guy while she took on fifty."

"It wasn't fifty." She said.

"Well it was a lot and I somehow managed to not be a liability! So, if I kept a diary, this would be a night I'd write down in it."

"Dear Diary, I was in a fight and was not a liability." She said with a grin.

"I even helped a little." He added.

"You helped a lot! You're scrappier than I thought. I underestimated you."

"I'm choosing to take that as a compliment." He said.

"It is." Said Farah as she playfully shoved him.

He pushed back and they ended up both trying to shove the other off of the creates they were sitting on. They eventually stopped pushing and just leaned against each other, catching their breath and giggling.

Farah looked over at him and she felt a shift. No, that wasn't accurate. She realized the shift had happened some time ago, but this was the first she was consciously aware of it.

They were staring at each other, both frozen in place. Both feeling what was happening, but also unsure if the desire to move forward outweighed the fear of what could happen.

They leaned in slowly, watching closely for any sign that the other wanted to pull away. But that didn't happen. They just kept moving closer until their lips brushed together.

Farah had dated. Not a lot. Most guys were intimidated by her. And the ones that weren't usually saw her a challenge, just something to be conquered. Or they were just into tough ladies who know how to use a gun. On the rare instance she found someone that she thought there could be a real connection, he was always scared off once he got a glance of just how much anxiety and quirks were underneath. One guy once handed her a card for his shrink and begged her to please call.

A waste.

How many times had she heard those words? From the Navy Seal who said she was a waste of raw talent. The science teacher who said she was a waste of an excellent brain. And, of course, her father. He saw her as the biggest waste. A waste of all the advanced training he'd given her since she could walk. A waste of his impressive connections. A waste of the family DNA which had produced generation after generation of soldiers.

She could hear his voice as she was told she had been rejected by the FBI. When the Army Rangers said she wasn't mentally fit for their services. When she couldn't keep Patrick Spring alive.

He'd been so disappointed when she'd become a bodyguard.

"Well," he'd said flatly "I suppose you'll finally get to use a small portion of the resources I've poured into you. At least there will be some return for my efforts. However small it may be." He'd narrowed his gaze at her. "I suppose it's… something."

His words had cut her so deeply. She'd felt so ashamed walking into the Spring's employment. She almost talked herself out of showing up for her first day on the job. She had just started to really gain confidence there when Lydia vanished, and Patrick was killed.

She remembered the last time she saw Lydia before she sent her away to be safe from the Men of the Machine. She loved that child so much. It was difficult to watch her go, even if that was the best way to keep her safe. Lydia had looked her in the eye and told Farah to stop hiding what an amazing freak she was. She'd said how Farah came through with what she called her "army of weirdos". And coming from a girl who spent a significant amount of time as a corgi and whose father was a time traveling mad scientist, the words "freak" and "weirdo" had some weight.

Farah's mind went to the other people in her life. Dirk, the psychic detective and human puppy who was full of innocence and positivity despite living so much of his life being experimented on in a secret government facility. How he looked up to Farah and admired her skills and never acted like she was strange.

Amanda Brotzman. When Amanda first explained how her condition caused her to be agoraphobic, it seemed tragic. But the more Farah leaned about paraibulitis, the more amazed she was at what Amanda had done and her unbreakable spirit. And it was Amanda who first really reached out to Farah as a friend and peer. And when she found out Farah's quirks, she was intrigued rather than repulsed.

And Todd. Farah gently pulled back and Todd looked at her. She stared into his eyes and saw only respect and admiration. No judging. No searching for fault. No pity. He accepted her and looked up to her as she was, not as what she could be.

I'm one of the freaks! She thought happily. And her thoughts finally sounded like herself.