Eep! Sorry for being so long with a chapter! Again, I blame school.

Chapter 22 -- Expose of Tania

Tania poked at the fire as she watched Silas appear with a bag of radishes. She hadn't had a good radish in a really long time, and this was her idea of a treat. The closest thing to home. "Rachel, Silas is back! he has food!" rachel steppd out of the small shcak, and Silas, being so happy to see her alive and well ran to her. He was careful not to hug her to hard and cause anymore pain than she was already in. "Rachel, I'm so glad you're alive." Rachel buried her head in his shoulder and whispered, "I know. Me too. Listen Silas, I still want to have a baby..." She was interrupted by Tania's cries of digust. "There a bugs in these radishes!" She was hopping around and twicthing like she was on fire. Silas walked to the bag, kicked it over and saw what she meant. The radishes were really fresh. So fresh, that they had the dirt and insects with them. He sighed. Women could be so over dramatic. Tania was shaking ten feet away in the fetal postion on top of a dumpster. "It is okay. We will just have to clean these by hand, and then we can make soup." Tania shook her head. "No, no, no. I hate bugs!" Rachel quickly identified Tania's entomophobia, or the fear of insects.

"Tania," she said gently as she walked over to help the frightened girl down, "the bugs aren't going to kill you." Tania shook her head. "You don't understand. What I had to go through coming up here, also had a lot of bugs. Bugs are bad. Have you ever been raped by an insect collector? In the back of his van with the bugs crawling all over you, biting and stinging. He's laughing and having a jolly good time, thinking this is kinky. It's not kinky! It's disgusting! That is no way to lose your inoccence." Rachel watched as tears flowed from her eyes. Tania only a few minutes ago was entirely composed and head strong, egging her on to sleep with Silas. How could she speak so easily about sex when she had these traumatic experiences? "Tania, I am so sorry. I truly am. But the bugs aren't what you need to fear, it's people who only want your body for pleasure. Now please, come off the garbage can." Tania wiped her face and let Rachel help her off.

Silas was still confused about what just went on, but assumed it was one of those "girl things." He scrubed the radishes in melted snow, carefully inspecting for holes that could signal a living creature. One hole is no goal, but two is true! He remembered the catchy phrase he made up when he was younger in Marsielles. If there was one hole, that meant the bug had entered and not left, but two meant it had left. Odd number of holes means there is a bug in there. Even numbers meant there was none. But the risk of eggs was always present. Silas shrugged this fact off and considered it extra protein.

He was slightly pleased that he had lived on the streets long enough to have gained some experience. He just didn't plan on having to ever use it again. Tania sat outside the doorway of the shack and watched Silas clean the vegetables. Rachel had gone off to scavenge for other ingredients and to see what their status was with the police. After he was done, Tania walked over and smiled. "You're albino. That's cool. Does it hurt to be in the sun?" Silas looked up and saw she was completely serious. Well, except for her grin. "It does not hurt my skin as much as it does my eyes."

"You look really strong. Do you work out?"

"No, I just gained muscle by genetics."

"Did you gain that sexy voice of your by genetics as well?"

Silas paused before answering. He never thought he had an accent, but then quickly realized what she was talking about. His French-Spanish roots must have combined to create some female-attracting voice. "I did not gain my accent by genetics, but by traveling. I was born and lived awhile in France, then moved to Spain."

Tania stared in awe. "You can speak three languages?"

"Yes."

Tania shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelieveable. Do you speak Latin?"

"Yes. I was a monk..." He heard himself say "Was" and stopped. I still AM a monk. What am I thinking? Tania was waving her hands in his face as he snapped back to reality. "Silas! Come back to the world of the living!" Silas scowled and grunted. "Shouldn't you be on a corner somewhere getting us money?" Tania's cheery dispostion suddenly turned dark and cold as she said, "Shouldn't you?"

Silas was stunned. He had never been insulted like that before. Before he could come back with a snide comment, she leaned forward and whispered, "Why sleep with a stranger when I can sleep with an albino?" Silas wasn't sure whether to pray for her or ignore her completely now. Tania wasn't sure what to make of Silas's face. He was registering shock and disgust, but also, curiousity. "Have you ever been with a Puerto Rican Silas? It's nothing like you've ever experienced." She leaned closer to him, giving him a full view of her cleavage. He gulped and before she could say another word, pulled back and smiled. "If you need me, you know where to find me."

Silas held his breath unitl Rachel came and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Hey peach pie, what's wrong?" Silas said nothing but stood and stared at Tania. "Tania. I think Rachel and I need some time alone." Tania's face darkened a moment as she stood and walked from the door way. "I'll be out on a corner getting us some money, if you need me." Before anyone could say anything, she was gone. "Silas, what was that all about?" He had already sinned, so Silas didn't think much of a lie. "I have no idea. Horomones I guess." Rachel laughed. "Yeah, to be that young again." Silas could easily recall being thirteen again, and wished not to rehash the idea.

As they walked in, Rachel sat on the small mat that served as their bed. "What is it that we need to talk about Silas?" Silas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Without saying anything, he leaned forward and kissed her.

I'm done! Not with the story, but getting there, sorry!