Desmond yawns as he descends down the stairs, ready for a cup of coffee and some food before everyone else managed to wake up and ruin the quiet of the morning. Unfortunately someone had beaten him down first, the person being Megan. She was dressed in a black tank top and purple flannel pants, a steaming mug of hot chocolate sitting beside her on the bar counter. He pauses in surprise thinking over if he should go upstairs and put a shirt on, the house had been hot last night and he was sure he hadn't been the only one to do so. She pauses in her thinking when she notices his presence.

"Oh morning." She greets softly, returning to looking inside of her cup for whatever answers she was looking for. She gives a big sigh before taking a drink of the rich chocolate. If her house was stocked of one thing, it was hot chocolate. Her eyes had large purple bags under them and her skin was paler than before.

"Yeah… What're you doing up?" He questions. It had been two weeks since her kidnapping and she had been rather reserved from them. Ezio had been making threats of tickling the woman to death if he had to deal with her being mopey any longer, Altair agreeing with him. It just didn't seem right for their happy-go-lucky hostess to be so depressed.

"Couldn't sleep." Was her response, a shrug following afterwards. Des gives a slow nod of his head. Something was bothering her.

"You know, you can talk to any of us. We'll listen… and help as best we, uh, can." He fumbles out, clearing his throat a few times through the sentences and scratches the back of his head. This was something for women not men. But all there were were men in her home and they would have to deal with it, hopefully she wouldn't burst into tears or something. That would be horrible.

"I know…" She says in a small voice. Something about the kidnapping had struck her as odd, with what she knew of the men she had figured they would have been the one's taken or killed or something. While she did know a little, she knew that they still had plenty of things kept from her just as she did from them. Everyone was entitled to secrets and if they wished to indulge them to another was that person's choice. Her's were still to raw to deal with on her own let alone allowing another soul to try to help her along. She sighs once more, eyes cutting to Des as he puts his hand down and stands before her awkwardly. She grins inwardly, her outside remaining blank. She wasn't bothered by half-nakedness, her brothers had run around that way near all her life and now she had Alex doing the same thing. Except that he slept in his boxers, she even had a favorite pair that he seemed to always wear to bed; they were orange with white clouds and yellow rubber duckies. She fights the giggle that was caused by the mental image threatening to break through her stoic visage.

"…you want something to eat?" He questions after a moment. She quirks a brow.

"I say all of you are trying to get me fat and round." She rolls her eyes as the smile breaks her mask, a giggle escaping as well when he grunts.

Alex wakes up alone. Somehow, this was becoming normal and he did not like it. Hell, he was wearing the god forsaken boxers she liked! He vehemently denied that they were growing on him the more he wore them, even to himself. He was beginning to miss her small body curled up against him, seeking the heat his body gave off constantly. Des made a joke the other day that she was only doing it because he was a living space heater. He would have ripped off the Assassin's head had he not been thinking the same when he realized the woman had fallen asleep against him while watching AFV.

She had been having a hard time sleeping at night; waking up at odd times sitting up and looking around, her breathing hard and labored. She would either flop back onto the bed and curl up into a little ball, shaking, or leave the room and go downstairs to bring up a cup of chocolate and watching TV until she managed to fall asleep again. She was also waking up earlier, sitting in the bed until she figured he was awake. Thing was, she was keeping him up. Her poor nights of no sleep were worrying him and the others.

The man pulls on a pair of pajama bottoms Megan had gotten him, red and black plaid, and goes downstairs to hear her and Des laughing. Her appearance was still poor but her mood was only slightly brighter. It would probably never have the same brilliance as it did before she was taken but it could still extraordinary. He felt something inside flare up at the look she was giving the man, something dark and dangerous. It was the same feeling that had come forward when he saw those creatures beating her and then the leader taking off with her. He had seen red when she was shoved into the van and he was grateful she couldn't see what he had done to him, or really what he had left of him. Consuming the dead angered him further, the thoughts cruel. They weren't men but monsters. In a way, he wondered what that made him.

She turns to him, always seeming to know when he was around even if he made no noise. She gives him a blinding smile before greeting him warmly, Des jumping when he returned the salutation and takes the seat beside her. She turns back to Des with a frown.

"Why are you shirtless?"

Desmond nearly spits out the coffee he was drinking, choking down what he did manage to swallow only to get stuck in his throat. "It-it got hot last night."

She blinks a few times before her little mouth makes an 'o' in understanding, nodding her head slowly. "That makes sense." She takes a drink before frowning down at her cup. "Damn, it's empty." She sets it down with a clink and a huff. Des begins to chuckle as he takes the cup and puts it in the sink, turning the tap on hot to make sure nothing was stuck inside it. Afterwards he pulls two mugs down from the cabinet and sets them in front of the two, grabs the coffee pot and pours some in. Sugar and creamer were already out on the counter so Megan scoops a few spoonfuls into the hot liquid before adding the creamer to get it to her liking. Alex ignores both, taking a drink of the bitter liquid, before taking a closer look at the girl as she takes a drink of her own coffee. She was a little thinner than she was two weeks ago, her appetite having disappeared for a few days after her ordeal; paler, her eyes had been a little duller as well and the bags under them weren't helping any. He catches Des' frown at her appearance before it disappears when her cup makes contact with the counter. "I wonder if the others are like the two of you." She mumbles turning to the stairs before taking off to them, skidding around the post at the bottom, and then going up two at a time. They hear doors open along with her shouting 'GOOD MORNING KRUSTY CREW!' before moving on to the next and repeating 5 times.

She was howling with laughter as she makes her way down the stairs, slipping and sliding down the rest on her butt, and running to where the other two were waiting both with eyebrows raised. And then the rest come down, sounding like a herd of elephants, various states of undress and anger apparent. The girl was leaned over, gasping for breath from both running and laughing as hard as she was.

"What has gotten into that head of yours?!" Malik raises his voice, sleep tinting the edges, as he huffs. Ezio, Altair, and Shaun nod in agreement. She takes one look at them before bursting into laughter once more, this time her legs unable to support herself, and rolls on the ground holding onto her middle. Des and Alex were fighting not to join her on the ground, Alex doing alright but Des was a hair's breath away from joining. Malik was wearing purple boxers with kittens on them; Ezio had on white with little red hearts, Altair wore pink ones, Leo wore some that were a pale yellow, but Shaun, oh, Shaun wore green with white tighty whities*. Des soon joins the girl when she begins to snort, both unable to speak. He leaned over the counter, head down, laughing and body shaking.

"Sh-sh-SHAUN!" She manages to crow out, once more dissolving into her laughing fit. Said Brit turn red when everyone looks at him and then his choice of attire, before bolting back up the stairs when the rest begin to grin. Even Altair was cracking, a wide smile breaking out over his face. Finally Megan regains control, groaning as her sides hurt, sitting up on her elbows to take in the rest of them. "Ezio and Leo I get but the rest of you, not so much." She cocks her head to the side before pulling herself up with Alex's help. The 4 roll their eyes before following their predecessor up the stairs to put on clothes. Megan gets up in the chair behind Alex and puts her head down on the table, every so often giving a little giggle.

"I think you lost your mind." Des says with a shake of his head. She peeks up at his with a large smile on her face, one that reached her eyes.

"That happened a long time ago." She retorts, sitting up and grabbing her coffee from over Alex's arms and taking a drink then giving a warm sigh. She wasn't hungry so when Des went to hand her a plate of food she waved it off. "You really are trying to get me fat." Was her remark as she laughed. When Shaun made it back downstairs, now fully clothed and still a little red faced, he grabs a cup and makes himself a cup of tea. She had to wonder what was with the British and their tea. Course she hadn't noticed the last time they went to town for food that he had… Her brain stops, counts back and then she groans loudly, head dropping with a 'thump' to the table. By this point the rest of the men had made their way downstairs, either with pajama pants , with or without a shirt, or fully dressed. Scratch that, Leo was the only one dressed besides Shaun. She gives out another loud groan. "Shiiiiitttt."

"What is wrong?" Leo questions, fork paused mid-air as he was about to take a bite. Her head snaps up and she looks around at them. Ezio had bacon hanging out of his mouth, Altair and Malik looking at the descendent in disgust before their attention when to her. Her face becomes a little red at whatever was on her mind.

"I… have to go to town."

"OH! Excellent, who is going with you?" This simple question made her face even redder.

"No one. No men, this is something I have to go to alone." And under her breath she adds, "it's embarrassing enough by myself." She takes her coffee, gets out of her seat, then goes upstairs; leaving all 7 men confused.

"….What?" All of them collectively agree on.

When Megan finally comes back down the stairs she was wearing a large gray shirt that hung off of her left shoulder and showed a dark purple tank under, slightly loose fitting jeans and a pair of violet converses. She had Alex's jacket over her left arm and she puts it on before grabbing her car's keys and leaving. Des watched from her study's window before joining the rest in the living room, all sitting around bored.

"Now what?" Malik questions his head falling back on the couch. Altair had claimed the other one for himself, stretching out across it and taking a nap. One, it was to cold to go outside and train; and two, the snow was to deep. Alex was still sitting on the bar stool with another cup of coffee, a new pot of which was slowly starting to percolate. Ezio and Leo were getting a fire started and fighting over who was going to light the newspaper like children. Shaun had hijacked the woman's laptop once more, this time just lazily surfing the web. Des flops down beside the one armed man with a groan following.

It was quiet for a little while, no one sure of what they could do. Certain things were off limits, nothing really other than bobbles or certain books that she was reading at the time, but other than that they had free rein.

"Could go watch TV on the big one." Altair comments, turning over with a yawn. The big TV was in Megan's, well her's and Alex's seeing as the man never seemed to spend time in his own, room and while she didn't mind, she didn't approve either. Not only that, it took weeks to get the older four to stop calling it the moving box.

"Nothing on at this time of day other than Maury." Shaun remarks, a hint of disgust in his voice.

"How about we raid those copy paper boxes?" Everyone looks over to Des in surprise. He gives a shrug before continuing. "Been wondering what's in them since she pulled them out a few months ago after we got here. She wouldn't let anyone read them." Mulling this information over they all had to agree that the curiosity was in all of them, eating slowly away at their resolve to find out. With accompanying shrugs four of them head into her study and grab a box each to take into the living room.

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Megan calls out, kicking the door shut with her foot seeing as her arms were loaded with as much junk food as she could carry. 'And feeling somewhat violated.' She adds sarcastically in her head, a snort of laughter breaking through. No noise that she could hear, not even a whisper, which surprises her. If she had left on her own normally when she got back at least Des and Leo would be there to greet her, or in the odd case, Malik and Ezio joining them.

This actually worried her. What if, what if they were able to go home? Then she would be alone again, utterly alone. Sure she would have her memories but this would just be her family again. She didn't know if she could handle something like that once more, didn't know if her heart could handle breaking more than it already had. She quickly sets the bags of food down then takes off upstairs, her shoes slick from the melted snow so she slid around the banister to go up. She could hear whispering from Des's room and releases the breathe she had been holding but she begins to wonder what exactly they were doing. She didn't want to walk in on them comparing sizes or something else like that.

Her face heats up at the thought and she has to fight the sudden girly giggle that wanted to escape. She couldn't deny that she was curious about it though, she was a woman after all and lived with the best examples of the male gender she had ever seen. Especially after this morning. And with that thought, an idiotic grin breaks out over her face; both from the rather wonderful view she had received and the way she had awoken them.

Quietly, ankles wobbling from the effort, she stalks over to the door to find that it was still open a crack; large enough for her to see through and hear better. Hiding by the door she listens to them.

After a few minutes her eyes widen and she flings the door open, Altair's mouth hanging open and the word dying on his lips that he had been reading off the paper held in his hands. Every one of them was in the same manner, not speaking just yet but the paper's held tightly in hand. Eyes were darting around, worry evident that they had done something wrong. Her face turns red in embarrassment. "What are you doing?"

"Err… reading?" Alex answers as a question, flinching when her eyes turn to him. This was stupid; very, very stupid of them to have done. And by the way everyone else was trying to avoid her gaze, they were thinking the same thing. She really didn't hide things from them unless it was something they didn't need to know about.

Her eyes then turn to the ground as she scuffs her shoe across the wooden floors, her arms behind her back and her posture submissive. "…What did- what did you think of them?" Her voice was small and quiet.

The men all blink in surprise.

"Bloody brilliant I'll say." Shaun answers, giving a cocky grin at her.

"Impressive." Malik adds.

"Extraordinary!" Leo practically yells out, a huge smile on his face.

"Molto bello." Ezio praises with a nod of his head.

"Wonderful." Des gives a smile to the girl.

"Stunning." Altair's lips quirk as if he was trying to fight a smile.

Alex gets up, looking between the papers and the girl. The word on the pages had a flow that seemed to speak to him, call to something within himself, as soothing as cool water on a burn. With each praise she was given her face started to turn pink. "Beautiful."

She keeps her head down for a few minutes, the men unsure what was going on before she gives a sigh and walks in; taking the papers from Altair's hands seeing as he was the closest to her. She flips through a few of the pages ahead of where he had been. " I wrote all of these when I was a freshman in high school."

"WHEN YOU WERE 15!" Des and Shaun cry out, every one of their eyes widening.

"Yeah, so?"

"Ok, tell us why you had to go to town all on your little lonesome?" Des questions, looking up at Megan who was lying down across the foot of her bed. She had explained to them she had been published since she was a freshman when she had won an award for a short story in a competition. They talked about her life and how she had graduated two years later then moved up here on her own.

They had started a drinking game for no reason other than Ezio had claimed that he could hold his liquor better than Des and somehow, they all ended up playing a game. Watching Ridiculousness, they started to drink every time that Rob would repeatedly say 'stop, stop, stop' they would get a drink of their beers. Des had at first made fun of Megan drinking Smirnoff instead of the Buds she had gotten them. Once she explained that she disliked the taste, and smacked the man on the head with a pillow, they had returned to the game, the older men taking a little time to get used to the taste. More than once Ezio had complained about wanting wine and he received the same treatment as Des.

"Drink!" She calls and they all upturn the bottles. When they finish she looks at her now empty bottle and grabs a new one seeing as they were beside Des. Behind her sat Malik and Alex while Shaun, Des, Leo, Ezio, and Altair were on the floor against the foot of the bed. Why were they on the floor? Ro-sham-bo. "I had an appointment."

"With?"

"Doctor of female parts." Was her answer, causing the men to all spit out the beer they had just taken a drink of. She had timed it perfectly because Rob had repeated the word and they weren't paying attention to him, just enough to know when to get a drink. She takes a swig of her new bottle. "Get that shit on my bed and I will not be happy camper." Her body was warm from the alcohol. It was one of the reasons she drank, though she hadn't been doing so much of it since Alex had commandeered half of her bed. God she hoped she didn't make a fool of herself tonight. She tended to get cuddly when she got drunk. Malik rolls his eyes but nods to her.

"That… that wasn't what I wanted to hear." Shaun says, a shiver running up his spine. Twenty minutes later Megan realizes that both Des and Ezio had fallen asleep. She gains a wicked grin, crawling over Alex to the side table and getting out a black sharpie. Instantly both Alex and Shaun realize what she was going to do. And Shaun wanted to help. The two share the marker and even find out that Altair had fallen asleep as well

'Lightweights.' Megan thinks, giggling inside her head but fighting the giggles on the outside. She waves over Malik and hands him the sharpie to join in. Leo just smiles as Malik begins write things like novice and weakling and other things in Arabic she was sure were very derogatory. Ezio had a Mario mustache and eyes on his eyelids that were crossed, she had even scrawled weirdo on his forehead. Shaun had put things like a doodle of a tongue sticking out, fatso, and a few other things as well. All three of them were fighting not to laugh out, instead Malik and Shaun and Leo help stand they three up, who waken just enough to realize they were moving, and take them out of the room. Now alone, Alex shuts off the television and Megan crawls under the blankets after putting the beers away in her mini fridge. She would have to remember to get them out in the morning but for now they were fine.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Alex questions after she curls up against him.

"No. But it's nothing that can be helped. I'm just curious as to why I was taken. I'm a nobody, I even write under an alias. I don't want people to know who I am, just appreciate what I can give them." She says, knowing what he was talking about. She was sad but this drinking binge was what she needed to get over it. She had tried to do so without getting drunk but this just seemed to be helpful.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" Screeches three voice simultaneously, and if there were any people left sleeping they weren't now. Megan blinks tiredly, opening the door to her room right as it was about to be thrown open. In front of her stood Altair, Ezio, and Desmond; all three very angry. She couldn't blame them with what was written and drawn on their faces. Some of it was smudged from them having moved around in their sleep but most was still readable. Megan rolls her eyes and closes her door once more, locking it. Alex looks at her blearily.

"Go back to bed." She says with a huge yawn and gets in as well, returning to her previous position against him. Alex shrugs and wraps an arm around her waist to pull her back against his chest. He lets out a sigh, closing his eyes to the grumbling he could hear past the door.

Alright new chappy! Yay. This one actually was kind of hard to think of. And my computer decided to be retarded and deleted what I had been working on before by turning off to do an update. -grumbles-

Anyways, I wanna thank Raychaell Dionzeros and my newest reviewie: Malaika Al-Sayf! Hope you both enjoy the newest chapter!

I also do not suggest doing two shots of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum unless you want your jaw to ache and drool like crazy for 5 minutes afterwards.

As always, if you wanna let me know what you think of the story please e-mail me (which is on my homepage-thingy) or review or pm me. Thanks!