Howdy y'all :) How are we all today? Good I hope...

Before we get this party started I'd just like to say thank you so much to all who have reviewed so far. I am thrilled to see that you like my Beth stories, I write them for all of you :)

Also, next chapter may be a while as it is my birthday in a couple of days and all my energy is going on a huge party as I am lucky enough to share a birthday with one of my best friends. So thank you in advance for what I know will be amazing patience.

So, here is chaper 3 (A bit longer than normal to keep you going) ...

"Any news?"

Clay looked up from the paper he was reading. Jolene's expression was one between hope and angst. Ever since she had heard about Max's twin all she had done was worry. Worry about her son; worry about Pooch; worry about all of the Losers, her extended family.

Clay threw her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Jolene. I've called in every favour I'm owed. It's like the guy never existed. Not even a name."

Jolene took a seat on the couch opposite Clay.

"You know, he'll never say it, but I know my man. The way he looks at me and our boy, he doesn't think we'll be safe until you find this guy. Is he right?"

"I don't know …"

"Don't lie to me, Franklin," Jolene's voice was soft, yet firm, and the fact that she had called the Colonel by his first name scared him half to death, "I've had enough of Pooch trying to sugar-coat this stuff. I just want an honest answer,"

Clay folded his paper and gently set it down on the coffee table in front of him, sitting slightly forward in his seat as he did so.

"There's a chance," Clay's voice was lowered, "that he could be looking for us, hell there's a chance he could already know where we are."

Jolene's expression dropped to one of fear.

"But…" Clay continued, "There's an equal chance that we'll never see him again. He was his brothers shadow. If I were him I'd use this as a chance to start fresh."

"But when are things ever that simple, eh Colonel?" Jolene laughed softly, it sounded genuine enough for Clay to believe she was okay. The Colonel relaxed back into his seat, looking over his shoulder at the clock that sat behind him. 11:48pm.

"How come you're still up?" asked Clay, noticing for the first time how tired Jolene looked.

"Couldn't sleep," she replied with a sigh, "Little man's having a bit of a restless night," She looked at her watch, "Speaking of which, he's due for a feed in a couple of hours so I'm going to try and grab some sleep. Goodnight Clay."

"Goodnight,"

And with that, Jolene took her leave. Clay flicked through his paper one last time before making his way upstairs. He wandered to the bedroom at the end of the corridor and silently opened the door. Beth was sprawled out across the bed on her front with both arms tucked under her pillow, he soft, steady breathing barely audible compared to Jensen's snoring. The tech slept on a makeshift bed on the floor next to Beth, both were dead to the world.

"Goodnight Beth," Clay whispered before closing the door as silently as it had been opened and then trudging to his and Aisha's shared bedroom, quietly sliding in and closing the door behind him.

...

The sweet smell of Jolene's homemade pancakes welcomed Beth when she opened her eyes the following morning.

"Jensen," she mumbled, gently thumping the floor to try and find and wake her sleeping friend. All she found was empty bed sheets. That was weird, Jensen almost always woke her up if he was awake first. Beth shrugged and dragged herself out of bed, gently rubbing her eyes before making her way downstairs.

"Good morning sleepy head," Jolene greeted, presenting Beth with a plate of syruped pancakes almost the second she stepped foot into the kitchen.

"Thanks," smiled Beth, taking a seat at the table next to little Theo's high chair.

It took Beth four large mouthfuls of the heaven that was Jolene's sweet, succulent pancakes to realise the silence throughout the house.

"Where is everyone?" she asked, taking a large sip of orange juice to wash down her breakfast. The other must have been out, Jensen and Pooch would never miss pancake breakfast.

"Special Ops stuff," Jolene replied with a shrug, plating herself up some breakfast and joining Beth at the table, "They got a call a few hours ago, seemed important. I've never seen your father move so fast."

Beth was curious, she resisted the urge to phone them to ask for the juicy details. Instead she just nodded and shrugged. If all else failed, Cougar would definitely inform her of all the gory details, or Jensen; actually, most likely Jensen.

"Mlerrgghha," gurgled Theo, followed by a giggle. The baby boy threw one of his toys, Beth subtly catching it before it hit the floor. Theo clapped as Beth handed him back his toy, this game would have gone on for hours if Jolene hadn't lifted her baby up into her arms.

"Bath time stinky boy," Jolene giggled along with her son before turning toward the bathroom. Beth finished off her pancakes, watering it down with another swig of orange juice.

After clearing her plate, Beth made her way back upstairs to get dressed, using Clay and Aisha's en suite bathroom as not to interrupt Theo's bath time.

"Eurgh," she said to herself, Aisha and her father were not doing a great job at keeping it tidy. There were towels all across the floor along with what looked like Aisha's underwear. The toothpaste carton lay across the sink, opened. Beth couldn't help but screw the lid back on, it was her pet peeve. The bin was overloading with what seemed to be empty bottles of shampoo and shower gel, most of them looked pink. Figures, Beth knew her father had always been relatively tidy. Beth chuckled to herself; Aisha's messy, who knew.

After cleaning her teeth and running a brush through her hair, Beth felt a surge of relief run through her that she had showered yesterday. No way in hell would she trust the goings on in her Dad and Aisha's shower, no one should.

She mentally reminded herself to leave a note for Jolene when they leave, recommending that the shower is bleached, a lot, before further use, and then threw some comfortable clothes on before making her way back downstairs.

...

To say that Beth was startled to see her father, Aisha, Jensen, Pooch and Cougar all crowded around the kitchen table when she set foot downstairs was a bit of an understatement. The team had never been that silent. Cougar, definitely; Pooch, sometime. But all of them entering the house without making a sound.

"This can't be good?" Beth's statement was more of a question, and it was aimed at her father. The Colonel was stood by the kitchen sink facing away from everybody, his eyes fixed on the window that lead out on to the back yard.

"He's out, Beth," Clay responded, not having to turn around to know that his daughter's eyes were glued to him. Beth looked around. Jensen and Cougar were sat at the kitchen table. Cougar's head was down, his hat covering his eyes. This was pretty normal, but the sight of Jensen made Beth shudder. He was silent for a start, and that never meant anything good, but he looked pale and his head was also dipped low. Jensen was sat across from Cougar, his head buried in his hands, he looked upset. Beth didn't like his expression one bit. Pooch was leant against the doorframe, arms crossed and head low. If Aisha hadn't of been looking her in the eye, the young girl feared she may have gone crazy.

Her father's significant other looked shocked, but her expression showed no fear that matched any of the rest of the team.

"Out?" Beth uttered, a little more than a whisper, "Who's out?"

There was silence, Beth waited patiently. She was shaking a little, no one wanted to say it.

After around thirty seconds, what felt like thirty minutes, Jensen looked up and met Beth's eyes for the first time since he arrived back.

"Max."

Opinions? Following chapters are going to include more action :)

P.s - Sorry for the evil cliffie ^^ Love you all, Ashley xx