Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. LionHeart, thank you for pointing out how outdated my summary was. I did start this when I was 14, and it was meant to be a spin off from a fic by my friend, and I got no choice about the pairings. But since then, it has evolved into a seperate entity and the pairings have been altered - my fic, my pairings.

Thanks to ChocRocks and Professional Scatterbrain for such lovely reviews.

I stayed with Tawny, in that tiny two roomed place he optimistically called an apartment. I relinquished his bed back to him the second night, and made my own bed on the couch – it folded out into a sofa bed, with a thin mattress. It was soft enough to remind me how far I'd come, but hard enough to remind me of my childhood pallet back in the barracks.

May had very kindly unearthed some old pillows for me, and a blanket. They were clean, and served a purpose. Jina had given me some old clothes and I had a place to be. But, after the initial few days of 'recovering', May had made it quite clear I was not a charity case. I would work for her, just like Tawny did.

May did pay us – sometimes – and it was just enough to cover tryptrophan, and to have Tawny's barcode removed. My hair covered mine, and I covered it up with some of Lina's make up – make up I had slipped out of her school bag one afternoon when she wasn't looking. May was nice to us, telling me I could come and talk to her anytime I wanted, and that we could live in her building as long as we needed.

May ran restaurant – and it did terribly. Local business men turned up for lunch, but not many, and not often. I spent my mornings wiping down tables with a greasy cloth and washing dishes.

I didn't ever ask what Tawny did for May. But I was the house maid. I cleaned the entire building, and waited tables when there were customers. I'd work from first thing, until dinner without a break, for a crumpled twenty dollar note once a month. If I was lucky. But, it was worth it, just to be able to see Tawny every day, to be back with the man I loved. With the brother I loved.

I was doing the dishes one rainy morning; the twins were off to school. I had hinted to May that I wanted to go back to school – I could finish high school and have my diploma in a year or less. Tawny hadn't made it to school since the escape, and didn't intend to ever go. But he did indulge my idea of graduating high school. May had crushed all my hopes, pointing out she was not a local refuge, but a business woman. So, I slipped back into my role as house keeper.

That was the day May was heading out of town for some reason. She didn't offer an explanation and I didn't ask. Tawny had already left with a piece of toast, and bag May had silently handed him, and May was waiting to drop Jina and Lina off.

"See you tonight, Alexis," Jina smiled at me. I smiled back, brushing my hair from my eyes. Jina was nice to me, slipping me her old clothes and magazines, offering to style my hair for me. But there was a gap between us – she was very much the privileged immigrant daughter, and I was the working girl – no money, no parents and little education – as far as she knew.

Lina knew this, and spent every second of the day reminding me my position as Tawny's roommate was precarious. Lina spent the rest of her time flinging herself at Tawny, while Tawny fended her off with an air of disgust.

"I will see you tomorrow night, Alexis," May said as she picked up her purse – a cheap vinyl copy of a much more expensive designer bag. "Jia Li and Li Na will stay over at friends' houses tonight. I expect no trouble, but my cell phone number is next to the telephone."

I nodded, stacking all the white plates back on the shelf, wiping my soapy hands on my jeans. "Yes, May," I replied. "Call us if you have any worries."

May nodded once, before leaving me alone in the building. I walked out into the dark restaurant, deadlocking the door behind May and the girls. I had two whole days of freedom – or one, if I got my cleaning done now.

I loved the twins' room. It was painted pink and white, with posters of old movie stars stuck up on the walls, and colourful butterflies made from rice paper stuck everywhere. The wardrobe burst with clothes and shoes that were often forgotten after the initial purchase. I could stay there for hours, fingering the crepe-like skirts, and silky tops; every tailored skirt and mail-ordered dress hung there, teasing and tempting me. Showing something I would never have; something I could never catch a hold of.

A black navel-baring top and a pair of jeans with bright coloured butterflies up the hem had always caught my attention. I had tried to add a tiny bow to my jeans, but I didn't know how to sew and Lina was very patronizing about my sad attempts.

I slowly straightened up their room. If a tube of lipstick or some change slipped down behind the dressing tables, I would calmly slip it into my pocket. They were good people, but I was desperate. My clothes were packed into bags beside my couch-bed. Our savings was kept up Tawny's mattress, all thirty nine dollars of it. The lipsticks were slipped under my own mattress. There were nine now, in different shades of red. I could probably sell them on the streets for a dollar or two. Enough to buy a cup of coffee, at least.

I was down in the laundry room when someone knocked on the kitchen door – a heavy red door with three deadlocks that deliveries came too. And they more like thumped on the door. Leaving the wet clothes in the sink, I slipped down into the empty kitchen, and began to unbolt the door.

It was Tawny, looking panicked and dishevelled. "Lexy," he grabbed me by the shoulders and looked at me very closely. "You're here, thank god. Get upstairs and turn off all the lights, any radios... It needs to look like no one is here." He spun around, locking the red door behind us. "Hurry up."

"What's going on?" I said uneasily, hovering around him.

"Lydecker," Tawny said, running his hands through his hair. "I don't know if anyone followed me. But I saw him. He's here in Boston."

I felt like someone had poured iced water down my back. I looked up at Tawny, my eyes widening. "Lydecker's here?" I said in a tiny voice.

Tawny nodded. "We need to pretend no one is here, okay? And be ready to leave as soon as possible. Go upstairs, and turn off all the lights and stuff. Then go straight to our room, and wait, okay?"

I nodded, and slipped off, up the stairs, hitting the light switch as I went. The entire house went completely dark, and I looked up to the top floor – May's house was six stories high, with a winding staircase. Each of the floors, except the bottom and the very top, had a landing, and a door, and you could keep walking up. The top floor had no door; it just opened onto the main bedroom – May's bedroom. And her room's lights had to be turned off separately.

I hurried up the steps, pulling all the doors shut as I went.

May's room was done entirely in white and gold. It almost generated a light of its own. A long dressing table, covered in May's jewellery and make up, and an enormous bed with white and gold covers.

I hit the switch, the large, modern steel chandelier going dark, and I went back down to Tawny's room. It was much darker in there, and I knew I couldn't turn the lights on here; even with the newspaper covering the windows, it would give us away. Tawny had talked me through his escape plan a few times, and I knew what I had to do.

I crammed most of my things into a small messenger bag – easy to carry when running. Tawny had his own bag in the wardrobe, ready for our escape at any moment. I slipped on a clean, dark green sweatshirt, and a pair of combat boots Tawny had managed to get for me.

I sat on my sofa bed, waiting for Tawny to come up. It felt like my heart was in my throat, as I nervously twisted my long hair into a braid. There was one traitorous thought floating around my mind – what if Lydecker had gotten Tawny downstairs? What if Tawny had seen Lydecker, and taken off, hoping to lead Lydecker away from May and her family, and from me?

It seemed like an eternity before I heard the door swing open, and saw Tawny appear, looking... frightened. I could almost taste his fear, as he sat down next to me, pulling me roughly against him.

"I called Zack and left a message on his voice mail," Tawny told me in a hushed voice. "If it is Lydecker, we're getting out of Boston tonight. If he followed me back here, we won't have long to wait."

I nodded, breathing in Tawny's scent of leather and sweat before he pulled away and slipped into the bedroom. Moments later, he returned with his own bag – slightly bigger than mine. Digging around in his bag, Tawny handed me a holster and a small silver handgun.

"Tawny..." I said, eyeing the gun uneasily.

"You know how to shoot a gun, Lexy," he said, quietly. "If it comes down to it, just shoot to wound. Good old Lydecker will live, and so will we."

I swallowed hard, and stood up, strapping the holster round my legs... and getting tangled. I looked up, almost embarrassed; as Tawny gave me a Look, before crouching down to untangle me, wordlessly.

"Been a long time..." I murmured as he straightened up.

"I can tell," he replied with a grin. "You were a dead shot back at Manticore, and now you get tangled strapping on the holster."

"New fangled crap," I said primly, "I prefer the classics."

I never heard Tawny's reply. Because that was when the end of our time in Boston began – we both heard someone knock loudly on the front door – thank god for our superior hearing. I whipped my heard around, gazing at the door.

"Tawn..." I whimpered, sounding like nothing more than a scared child.

He was silent, listening carefully. And I knew he heard exactly what I did.

"... Secure the perimeter. There is one known X5 fugitive in this building, designation X5-327. Male, approximately six foot tall and a hundred and eighty pounds." Lydecker's voice sounded like he was issuing the orders in the same room we were.

Tawny breathed a sigh of relief. "He doesn't know about you. You'll be okay."

"I'm not leaving you behind," I hissed, grabbing his wrist. "You and I are leaving this building together, whether it's in Lydecker's custody or running like hell, okay?"

He didn't get a chance to argue with me – we could hear the soldiers moving around downstairs, and some of them heading upstairs.

"We need to go, now," Tawny said, swinging open the door. Before I could ask what his exact plan was, now that we couldn't slip out of the back kitchen door, Tawny dragged me onto the stairwell. And I heard a gasp. Four steps down, was Lydecker. And we looked directly at each other.

There was a split second when he and I just looked at each other. He was older than I remembered, and slightly deflated. Not as scary as I recalled – just an aging man. I know I flinched as I saw him studying me, and as he reached for something in his coat pocket.

I don't think Lydecker recognized me. How could he? Last time he saw me, I was just a child – an androgynous looking little girl with no hair - just another X5. He stared at me for a second – as Tawny dragged me up the stairs, without ever looking back, and Lydecker drew something out of his pocket and held it up.

Just as I saw Lydecker press the button, I realized it was a camera. I held my free hand out in front of my face, turning my head around as the flash went off. And then he started yelling for back up – a second unconfirmed X5 was in the building.

We made it up to May's room, I was still reeling. Tawny dragged me into the small bathroom at the end of the room. "Climb onto the ledge, and jump," he said quietly. "Make it over the fence, there's a dumpster filled with old newspapers and stuff. I'll follow you down. I need to get something first."

He left me in that bathroom. I slid the window open, and climbed out, onto the ledge, waiting for Tawny to get back. He snatched a few things off May's dressing table, and as Lydecker made it up into the airy room, he fired a gun as Tawny slammed the bathroom door, flicking the lock. Without a pause, Tawny slipped out the window, grabbed me around the waist, and leapt off the ledge, dragging me with him.

Six floors... it was a scary fall. It reminded me something of that first foster home, of the fall I took when my foster father Glen threw me down half a flight of stairs... except this went on for longer, and I was clutched around the waist by my brother.

The landing was a bad one – I had not been ready to jump, and had weighed Tawny down. Tawny hit the fence as we fell, and I heard him hiss in pain. I whacked my knee on the side of the Dumpster, and my bag drained me down, but we made it. Lydecker's men were firing at us from May's room, and Tawny pointed to a small hole in the fence, that would lead us onto the next street.

It was still early in the evening, but the rest of the night was spent running through the city, occasionally doubling back and hiding in the shadows. My lungs felt like they were burning, but I was tense - And wired. Scared. Fear is a very bitter taste in my mouth, but reassuring in its own way.

Tawny's slowing up, and lagging behind. We're going to camp out at an abandoned hotel tonight. And Zack will be here soon. Our mantra – Zack will be here soon.

The hotel was in a gothic style. The doors are unlocked, and lead us into what was once the lobby – a long desk for check in, some over turned coffee tables and chairs greeting us. And dust, everywhere, covering everything. I can hear rats and cockroaches scuttling around the place, but other than that, the building is suspiciously quiet.

"Lex," Tawny says suddenly, sounding strange.

I turn around to see him leaning against the door, clutching his shoulder. And I can see the blood stain on his shirt, and smell it from here. "You were hit," I said, in a horrified way, walking towards him.

"Yeah. As we fell," he winces as I shoulder his bag and lead him to one of the chairs that remained standing. "Only a graze..."

I dump our bags next to the chair and crouch down. "Take off your shirt," I say, looking at his pale face in concern. "I can't do much without a first aid kit."

Tawny nodded, tugging his t shirt off, my stomach doing somersaults as I see his sleek chest, smeared blood marring his incredible physique. He's right; the bullet didn't go through, it's only a graze. He's an X5, so he won't get blood poisoning or infection. Blood loss is the thing that concerns me the most.

"Got anything in your bag I can use?" I ask softly. "Some tissues or a bandage?"

"Might be something in the side pocket," Tawny winced, leaning back, closing his eyes.

"Talk to me, Tawn," I say mildly, hunting through his bag. "Can't let you pass out just yet, okay?"

"Okay." He sounds drained. "Where do you wanna go next, Lex?"

"Next?" I unzip the side pocket of his bag and pull out a handful of stuff.

"Yeah. Zack'll move us now." His hand plays with the end of my braid. "Maybe Florida. Hot girls in bikinis over there."

I smack him gently on the leg as I go through the stuff. A few safety pins, some antiseptic – thank god – and a handful of tissues. At least I could clean the wound, but it would definitely need stitches.

"How about Las Vegas?" I offer, as I pour some of the antiseptic – not much left in the small bottle – onto the tissues, and dabbing at the bullet wound gently. "I've always wanted to see Vegas."

Tawny let out a half hearted chuckle. "Never would have picked you for an aspiring stripper, baby sister."

"It's been a dream of mine... for so long," I said, mock thoughtfully. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Tawny shifted, wincing, and opened his eyes. "You didn't get hit, did you?"

"No, I'm fine," I replied, straightening up, working out how I could bandage the wound.

"There's some food in my bag," Tawny said. "Didn't see what I grabbed – some coleslaw, maybe."

I rummaged through his bag. "Hungry?"

"Yeah, you must be too."

I was, but I was more worried about him. He was horribly pale, and in shock. If he lost consciousness, there was nothing I could do for him without drawing Lydecker's attention. "I'm fine."

I found the food jammed down the side – some peanut brittle wrapped in foil and two plastic containers – some coleslaw and some chicken salad, both left over from dinner the previous night.

"Peanut brittle, coleslaw or chicken salad?" I offered. "Take your pick."

We ate silently, using our fingers. Tawny wolfed down the rest of the salad, and I licked mayonnaise off my fingers. I broke the peanut brittle up into smaller pieces and I leant against his legs, offering him some.

"Beats Manticore meals," Tawny chuckled. "Comfortable chair, decent food, pretty girl... all I need now is a bed and a beer..." He shifted, wincing again. "Remember the meals at Manticore?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't see it. "That grey mush?" I shuddered. "I could hardly swallow it."

"Best time was when we got the candy for that experiment," Tawny said. "Even Zack enjoyed it."

My smile faded. "He'll separate us, won't he?" my voice faltered.

Silence.

"He'll try. If we can convince him 'safety in numbers,' maybe we can stay together," Tawny said, sounding less than convinced.

"How's your shoulder?" I changed the subject, swallowing down the fear that I'd lose Tawny again. I was never myself when I wasn't with Tawny, I couldn't imagine trying to survive this world, trying to escape from Lydecker, without him by my side.

"Numb," Tawny replied. "I'm gonna get some sleep, okay? You should too. I don't know what time Zack will get here."

"Okay. I'll shake you in an hour or so, make sure you're okay," I said, wrapping my arms around him in an impromptu hug. Tawny wrapped his right arm – the uninjured one – around my waist.

"I'll be fine. Built to last, we are," he said, almost cheerfully. "Get some sleep."

I pulled out a coat from my bag and spread it out on the ground, lying down on it a few metres away from Tawny, with a view of the entrance. I slid my gun underneath my coat and closed my eyes.

And, what seemed like just a few minutes, I was jerked awake, someone's hand over my mouth. I jerked away, but the grip was too much for me. I fumbled for my gun and managed to shove the intruder off with a well aimed knee in the stomach. And my gun was aimed at the person's head, my heart pounding.

"Lex! Put the gun down! It's me!" Zack hissed.

"Zack," I said with a sigh of relief, dropping my gun, and crawling over to hug him. "You came."

"I came," Zack agreed, patting my hair and pulling away. "Lydecker's men are all over the city. We need to get out, and get out tonight."

"Tawny's injured," I said in a quiet voice, motioning to Tawny, dead to the world in the chair. "Bullet graze, left shoulder. I applied some antiseptic, but it needs stitches and a bandage."

Zack frowned. "Okay. I'll be back in twenty minutes. Have your stuff ready, and wake Tawny up."

"Okay," I said, gathering my coat, gun and the rest of our things and stuffed them in my bag, as Zack disappeared out the door. I leant over Tawny, shaking him. "Tawn, Zack's here, we gotta go."

Nothing.

"Tawn?" I punched his shoulder. "Tawny?"

"Lex," he grunted, his eyes fluttering. "What's wrong?"

"Zack's here. He's gone to get some bandages for your shoulder, and then we're getting out of here. Are you okay?" I asked, slightly pitifully. I just wanted to curl up with Tawny and be left alone. Every time he grinned at me, I wanted to kiss him. I've never had the urge to touch, hold or kiss another person. And this guy was meant to be my older brother.

Tawny stretched out a little and stood up, wincing. "Yeah. My shoulder's hurting again," he peeled his blood stained t shirt off, and pulled another one out of his bag. Tugging it on, he sank back into the chair and looked up at me.

"Lexy, what's wrong?" he asked, leaning forward. "Are you okay?"

"You gave me a fright," I said, closing my eyes. "You wouldn't wake up. I thought something was wrong."

I felt Tawny's good arm snake around my waist and pull me gently into his lap. "Hey, I'm fine. Just my body healing. I'm not going into a coma anytime soon." I rested my head on his shoulder. "You don't have to worry, Lex."

"I do, anyway," I said. "I missed you. I can't go back to doing this by myself." I sat up and looked at him. "Like I said, you're stuck with me," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Tawny touched my cheek. "You're the only one I want to be stuck with," he said, with a small grin. "I..."

"Ready to move out?" came a voice.

Zack stood in the doorway, with a paper bag and a frown on his face.

"Yeah," I slid off Tawny's lap and grabbed my bag. Zack reached into his pocket and tossed me some keys.

"Put your stuff in the car, Lexy, and wait there. Tawny and I will be out in a second," he said, in a gruff voice.

I nodded, grabbing Tawny's bag and slipped out the door, unlocking and climbing into the backseat of the car, just as the rain started. And I waited for Tawny and Zack.

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