Choices

by Mystic25

UPDATE CHAPTER 28 SUMMARY: Jessie finally asks Max about her past

26. Catalyst

Choices 26-"Catalyst"

AUTHOR: Mystic25

RATING: PG13, nothing you wouldn't expect to be in a DA episode.

SUMMARY: One thing can lead to another….

DISCLAIMER: I write this cause James Cameron has issues with sharing..

A/N: Don't hate me, I just was lazy in getting this out….don't hate, just throw rocks…

XXXXXXXX

SAN FRANCISCO

7:00 AM

"Mmm, how about you give me a little something to remember you by for the day?"

In the semi darkness that was the early morning hours, Jondy felt warm breathing on the back of her neck. She rolled over lazily, but determined to stop the love cooing that was being emitted at her. The foggy strands of sleep began to clear from her brain after her waking mind registered that she had a male partner in her bed this morning. I knew I shouldn't have had those last few tequila shots. Jondy had been a bit over zealous at her bartending job last night. Being a Saturday night customers were bursting out of the doors and windows. Over half of those customers had been men, attractive men. And they all hit on Jondy throughout the night, offering more than just money in the way of tipping. Jondy wasn't in heat, but she was bored and on the prowl for something to liven her life up. So she had allowed a sexy dark eyed stranger to buy her drinks, and, after she closed up, to come back to her apartment. It had seemed like a worthwhile endeavor last night.

Brown bloodshot eyes stared back at her, pupils completely dilated even in the minimal light. One muscular arm rested limply on the bed, while the other reached out to touch her still naked lower body.

Jondy pulled his hand away before any grabbing of her crotch initiated. He's cute, but apparently not very tactful. Next time I get drunk AFTER the sex. "I gotta get dressed hun," she stood up in her queen-sized bed, pulling the white sheet over her legs and ass.

"C'mon baby," her previous night's conquest tugged at the sheet. "There's nothing wrong with calling in late." He managed to get the cloth to pull away from her body and scoped out her bare ass.

Jondy punched him in the chest and snatched the sheet away from him at the same time so that the sounds of ripping from the 200-thread count sheet and his gasping groan intermingled in her small bedroom. She didn't offer him any comments and picked up a hairbrush from her nightstand, holding the sheet closed with her free hand.

"I don't have any coffee," Jondy said while running the brush through her long, straight brown locks, "There's some orange juice in the fridge, drink it on your way out." After a few repeats of the same procedure she returned the brush to the nightstand.

Her date had finally regained his breath, and watched her agile body walk across a threadbare sea foam carpet to the peeling white door that led to her tiny closet. He pulled his legs up on the bed under the blanket, and rested folded arms atop them, the long black dragon tattooed on his bicep flexing at his movements. "Are you going to join me?" A suggesting smile was mixed up in his words.

Jondy removed the sheet from her body and threw it over his head before he got a chance to peak at her body some more. "Get out, I gotta get dressed."

The guy removed the sheet from his head but didn't catch sight of Jondy who had vanished into the closet. "You're joking right?" She was fine as hell and dished out sex as good as her looks, so he naturally expected her to be a little more "open" around him.

Jondy pulled a pair of gray five pocket flair pants off of a hanger, poking her head out of the closet to glare at him. "Yeah I'm joking." She pulled on a pair of red bikini briefs, "And I'm three seconds away from punching you in your balls and making it a really funny joke." She enjoyed the boy's sex but she wasn't in the mood to do any male ego stroking. "Get out."

She slid her legs into her pants and watched the guy pick up his boxer briefs from the floor and walk out the bedroom door with them in his hand. Jondy sighed to herself after he left. Definitely hot, but that's about it. After throwing on a bra and white tank top she walked out of her closet and around to the side of her bed. Sex fluid stained both sides of it in large puddles, making the sheets unsalvageable. Stupid Pulse, it'll be weeks before I can find another sheet set. She balled up the sheets and threw them in a pile on the floor. She hunted around for her watch but realized that she had left in the living room last night.

She left her bedroom and walked through the small hallway that connected her bedroom and bath with the rest of the apartment. The living room was a large rectangular room that Jondy divided into two rooms by placing a two seater wooden table and chairs at the end that was closest to the kitchen. The other end of the large room was taken up with a gray leather couch with an unstained pinewood coffee table sitting in front of it. Secured to the wall in front of the minimal furniture was a silver 29-inch I Art Plasma TV that Jondy had won in a game of Chinatown gangster run hi-low. Just to the side of the TV stood Jondy's motorcycle, a silver and orange Kawasaki Ninja ZX-9R with a red motorcycle helmet resting on one of its handlebars. Jondy stopped in front of the bike to check the gas gauge, cursing to herself because she only had a quarter of a tank left.

"Nice bike," Her one-night-stand commented from the kitchen, currently pouring himself a glass of juice from the half carton that had been sitting in the fridge.

"Thanks," Jondy returned. She always respected comments on her bike; it was an awesome machine.

The guy smiled at her. "You sure you don't want any?" he gestured to the glass of juice he was sipping from.

"I'm good," Jondy returned finally finding her watch on the coffee table. She picked up the silver bracelet Seiko Marine watch and clasped it on he wrist. Logan had offered it to her as a gift a year ago, though she didn't know what the hell for. She didn't do birthdays and anniversaries; but she didn't take a big stand against it. If her rich brother-in-law wanted to lay expensive gifts on her who was she to complain?

She headed towards the kitchen where she kept her black cordless phone and picked up the handheld unit but midway through dialing she realized that the guy in her kitchen was completely naked. She didn't say anything to him, just dialed the rest of the numbers and waited until the call connected.

"Hey, is Syl in?"

"Sure, hang on a minute okay?" came the male reply on the other line.

"No prob," Jondy answered, listening to him call her sister to the phone. She barked an order at her date from last night. "Boy put your pants on!"

xxxxxxxx

LAS VEGAS

Syl's eyebrows rose at Jondy's retort. "I could call back later if you're entertaining naked boys Jondy." Across the black table sat her boyfriend Craig; twenty-seven, tanned skinned with short dark brown hair set above a killer set of green eyes. He was currently making a face at Syl's remark while taking a sip from his coffee cup. He and Syl didn't live together; he would just come by some days for breakfast –Syl was as good a cook as Logan – or for a slumber party. Today he had done both.

"He's entertaining himself already girl." Jondy stated from the other line.

Syl's eyebrows arched so high that they almost touched her hairline. "You mean to tell me you got some loser masturbating this early?"

Craig choked so loudly on the French toast he had just put into his mouth that Syl got up from her chair and smacked him hard in the back, making him dislodge the food onto the tabletop.

"Please Syl," Craig coughed and took a big swig from the glass of water next to his plate. "No whacking-off stories during breakfast." He accepted the napkin Syl handed to him, ignoring her amused look.

"Thank you Syl for that image before I've even had a cup of coffee," Jondy returned. "Hell if he decided to pleasure himself I'd excuse it. The boy just decided to strut into my kitchen naked." She had lowered her voice on the last remark, making Syl suspect that the man in question was right in the room.

"Is he hot?" This time Syl ignored the look Craig was shooting her.

"Hell yeah."

"Then there's no problem," Syl rectified.

"Syl you're a little slut."

"I'm not the one with the naked man in my kitchen Jondy."

The sound of a chair being pulled back made Syl glance up to see Craig standing beside the table holding the plate with the remains of his breakfast. "I'm sure you're enjoying your sisterly conversation baby, but I've got to head down and open up shop, thank god, so I'm sorry but I won't be able to catch the end of it." Craig owned and operated a small motorcycle repair shop near downtown Vegas. He had met Syl there in 2018 when she came in to have Yamaha Shadow serviced. He was intrigued by her from the start and the fact that she knew a lot about bikes made her that much more alluring to him.

Their relationship grew stronger over the years Syl had even allowed him to meet her family; albeit sporadically, and it was a large family. She had a brother in LA; one in Montana, those two he didn't have a problem with but her brother Zack – the oldest of all her siblings– was extremely overprotective and a pain in the ass. But Craig could see how much Syl cared for him so he kept his remarks to himself. She had two married sisters in Seattle, they were cool; and her sister Jondy, who Syl was currently talking to, was a trip. A wild single woman who had beat Craig at poker quite a few times. A few years ago Syl had also trusted him with a very large secret about her past. He had found it hard to believe at first, her stories about how she and her family were super soldiers escaped from a secret government lab. But after he had witnessed armed men chasing her down countless times and her fighting skills to thwart them he didn't deny it any more. In spite all this the thought of leaving her had never even crossed his mind. By the time everything came to light he was in love with her and the fact that she handled really bad shit for so many years made him love her even more.

But right now, as much as he loved her, he didn't want to listen in on a conversation about naked men and masturbation this early in the morning. "Bye," He kissed Syl on the back of her neck, feeling her shiver, it being a sensitive spot for her. He grabbed his black messenger bag off the couch and walked over to the small foyer that led to the front door.

XXXXXX

SAN FRANCISCO

"Did I scare Craig away again?" Jondy asked, not even trying to repress the smile creeping on her face. She loved to mess with people.

"Yeah, you really need to quit that little sister."

"Hey you don't tamper with the classics," Jondy admonished, scooping out the last bits of freeze-dried coffee from a metal canister. She was finally able to go into her kitchen after convincing her late night boy toy to put his clothes on by pitching a full case of motor oil at his head. She only missed him because his face was too pretty to mar.

"Was getting your morning ya-ya's out on my boyfriend the only reason for calling or was there more?"

"Well getting my morning ya-ya's is always a winner Syl, but this time there's actually something else I'd like to dish about." Jondy set the coffee in the ancient coffee maker, added two cups of water, and switched the whole operation on.

"If you're going to get into how hot you are again I'm not in the mood."

"Girl I am hot, why do you think I get so much action?" Jondy hopped up on her crowded countertop to wait for her coffee to percolate.

"The letters 'E' and 'Z' have something to do with it."

"Because this is so goddamn early I'm gonna let that slide." Jondy grabbed a handful of oatmeal cookies from a half eaten box beside her. That dink ate most of my cookies. "Also cause I gotta drop this bomb I'm sitting on before it blows up in my face," her voice was partially muffled by her chewing. "You'll never guess the rumor that's being going around X5 Seattle."

"Maxie's pregnant again." Syl took a shot at it.

"What? No!" Jondy's voice was muffled by another cookie. "The girl has some restraint."

"Either that or birth control pills."

Syl and Jondy laughed over the phone. Max's three children were testament to the fact that she loved her husband, a hell of a lot.

"You're gonna have to tell me then Jondy, cause that's all I can come up with."

"Believe me this is better then that."

In the few seconds that Jondy paused for dramatic flair Syl grew annoyed.

"Jondy, none of us were born with patience-"

"Okay," Jondy finally started talking again. "I got this from a very reliable source."

"What reliable source?" Syl cut in.

"Tinga," Jondy answered.

"TINGA'S your source?" Syl didn't sound at all convinced of this. Tinga was reliable but she didn't go around telling everyone else's business.

"Who'd you think it was?"

"I don't know, Alec maybe."

"Alec? Why the hell would you think that?" Jondy feigned innocence, like she didn't know what Syl was talking about and that she didn't have any hots for Alec.

"Cause he's better at shooting his mouth off than Tinga."

"What do you have against Tinga?"

XXXXXXX

LAS VEGAS

"Girl, just get on with it!" Syl growled, dumping the breakfast plates in the sink to worry about later. She opened the stained white refrigerator that sat next to the sink, pulling out a carton of milk. A rancid odor emitted from the carton after she opened it. She screwed up her face in disgust, and saw that the expiration date had passed two weeks ago.

"I gotta clean out my fridge more," Syl said this to herself, but out loud. She chucked the milk carton in the low trashcan that sat next to the stove on the floor of her blue tiled kitchen.

"What did you just call me?" Jondy stated teasingly.

"Don't even start with that," Syl warned, exiting her kitchen. "Tell me what it is right now before I come through this phone and beat on your ass." She walked past her small dining table and into the living room. A tabby cat with lustrous pewter gray fur was curled on one end of the couch watching Syl through one yellow eye and one pale white one. Craig had found her abandoned in a ditch a year ago. She had a clubbed back foot and was blind in her right eye, which was probably why she had been abandoned. Her clubbed foot looked like a curled eagle's talon and her blind white eye resembled a bat's so Syl had named her Chimera.

"Shove over," Syl ordered to her cat that only looked up at her, blinking her good eye sleepily. "It's my turn on this spot Chimera." She picked up the cat and deposited it in her lap. The tabby mewed softly and shook her head.

"Are you done?" Jondy could hear Syl going on with her cat.

"Not until you start," Syl said, in more of an order then anything else. She scratched Chimera's ears, practically glaring at Jondy through the phone.

"Are you sitting?"

"JONDY!" Syl shouted into the phone, making Chimera cock her head at her. She was tired of playing the mind games Jondy was famous for.

"Okay, okay, I'll spill. What if I told you that our family just expanded?"

"I thought you said Maxie wasn't pregnant."

"Syl would you get off Maxie for a second!" Jondy hissed. "It has nothing to do with her, OR Tinga. Now focus, who else has a tendency to hang around Seattle?"

"Honey, you should've learned a long time ago that Zack can't get pregnant."

"Cute Syl, real cute. Now if you're done disgusting me I can tell you that Big Brother has been spotted around the city with Asha-"

"So?" Syl interrupted. "I don't see how this falls into the category of 'explosive information' Asha's his girlfriend remember?"

"Not anymore apparently."

"You mean they called it off?"

"Not unless you call them sporting matching rings 'calling it off'."

"What??" Syl almost dropped the phone. For a second she thought Jondy was just messing around again, but there was no teasing tone in her voice. Chimera sprang from her lap at her latest outburst, done with her owner scaring her. Not that Syl blamed the cat. Her current state was anything but calm.

XXXXXXX

SAN FRANCISCO

"My thoughts exactly girl." Jondy said. "He hasn't been leaving Seattle as much as he used too and for a guy who's not into jewelry he sure likes wearing a gold band on a chain around his neck."

"You're sure of this?"

"As sure as I am that I'm hot and transgenic. Zack married Asha."

"Son-of-a-bitch."

"I know right? The bastard didn't even tell us. I didn't even get a chance to come out of any bachelor party cakes."

"I think you're the only one that's upset about that hun. But back to the subject at hand-"

"Do you know how big this is Syl?" Jondy's coffee pot beeped – or rather it coughed out a dying imitation of a beep since it was so old. Jondy hopped off the counter and filled a white mug two-thirds full adding cream to the top of the rim. She sipped her coffee, scowled at the taste, but knew she couldn't get anything better, so she continued drinking it.

"Zack has a hell of a lot of explaining to do," Syl agreed.

"Damn straightThere's never been a Mrs X5 before. Forget big, this is unprecedented."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Asha knows."

"You know damn well what I mean."

"Me thinks Maxie knows, Zack likes to play favorites with her." Jondy had a bit of annoyance in her voice. It wasn't that Zack didn't care for her too, but ever since they were kids he would always single out Max for special attention. If they hadn't been brother and sister Zack might've fallen in love with Max. Jondy's current thoughts were disgusting her and she physically shook herself to get rid of them.

"So what's the game plan?" Syl asked, still digesting the information that Zack had found someone who was willing to put up with him until the day she died.

"You're higher up in the chain-of-command, you tell me." Jondy walked over to her kitchen countertop that jutted into her living room; leaning her elbows on it. Her coffee already was starting to go lukewarm so she settled on swirling her finger around in it instead of continuing to drink it.

"Well obviously Zack didn't tell us because he doesn't want us to know."

"Since when have we ever let that stop us-" Jondy's retort was cut short when hands around her waist startled her into dropping her mug and spilling her reheated coffee all over the front of her tank top. In one swift movement she grabbed the arms from around her waist spun around and kicked the body they were attached to the floor. Her entire assault only took five seconds and only after it was over did she realize her date was now sprawled out in a heap in front of her staring at her in complete bewilderment.

"Shit," Jondy meant this curse for herself, but not because she had just pitched her sleeping partner to the ground. She was rather commenting on the brown stain on her tank that had formed on and between her breasts. "What the hell are you trying to do?" She grabbed a napkin from a stack on the counter and wiped at the stain. Syl had gone silent over the phone, and Jondy guessed that her sister wasn't worried; she was just nosey.

"Me?" the guy climbed to his feet. "You're the one who "self-defense class" threw me over your shoulder." He ran a hand through his hair; trying to regain the sense of male coolness he just lost by being thrown down by a woman.

"You ruined my tank," Jondy complained, giving up the futile attempts to wipe away the stain. "And that was skill not some amateur YMCA move." Her eyes became apologetic, but internally she was glowering at him and berating herself for wasting her time picking him up in the first place. "Look Rick-"

"Rodger," he corrected her.

"Whatever," Jondy returned. "This isn't gonna work out." Rodger didn't say anything but she could see the look forming behind his eyes at having a girl drop him after the first night.

"What do you mean?"

"This ride was only fun for one night hun," Jondy clarified. She knew he knew damn well what she meant; he was just trying to pull her into a conversation that would bait her to reconsider.

Rodger's look broke for a second, he could sense that she knew what he was trying to do. He was completely surprised. This hadn't been his past experience with women he picked up at bars.

"So that's it?"

"Yeah," Jondy told him simply. She had only known him for 10 hours; she wasn't about to stroke his male ego. "Here," she pulled off her stained tank top and threw it to him, now standing before him in nothing but a white lace bra.

He caught it, looking at it like it was a memento.

However Jondy killed that idea with her next remark. "Toss it in the dumpster, there's no way in hell that stain's commin' out."

"Baby c'mon," Rodger didn't sound entirely convinced that Jondy had just dropped him.

"Be out of my apartment in five minutes." She turned and headed back down the hall to her bedroom with the phone in her hand, ignoring Rodger's gaping look.

She closed the door loudly, listening through the walls to the sounds of Rodger's thudding feet walking out of her apartment door. No more Tequila for me.

There was no sound on the other end of the phone except Syl's breathing but Jondy knew that she was dying to say something. All X5's were born with a mouth they couldn't keep shut.

"Girl, stop torturing yourself and just say it." Jondy pulled out a shirt from her dresser drawer and slid it on. It was white, short sleeved, form fitting with a scoop neck and had the phrase: "These aren't my eyes" written in red across her breasts.

"Your boyfriend gone?"

"Syl I don't wanna lose another sister-" Jondy threatened. She walked over and sat down on edge of her bed, avoiding the semen stain drying on her mattress.

Syl laughed into the phone, turn about was fair play, but she was willing to let Jondy off the hook because she had something else that she wanted to say. "You and your stud muffin's exchange gave me an idea."

"Which is?" Jondy asked, choosing to ignore the 'stud muffin' remark until she could reprimand Syl in person.

"Being in your face is a good weapon."

"You're talking to the girl who invented it." Jondy stated. "But what's your point?"

"I was thinking we could use it on a certain brother of ours so that he'll spill on a few things-"

"Like what number Clairol he uses on his hair?"

"That AND why he never dropped the news about our new sister-in-law."

A smile crept on Jondy's face. "I'm always in the mood for a road trip."

XXXXXXX

LOS ANGELES

11:00 AM

"Pete, hand me that number three ratchet," Zane issued this order while slid up under a Hyundai XG-340. The car had been salvaged from a junkyard three weeks ago and the man who had done the salvaging was paying Zane 800 dollars cash money to repair it. Zane had torn down the engine completely in order to turbo charge it and was now replacing it back inside the car one piece at a time. The missing parts of the engine created a gaping hole up through the under body by which Zane could see the ceiling of the garage from out of the raised hood.

Almost a full half-minute had passed from when Zane made the request and he was growing impatient "Pete, some time today man." He was about to slide out and get the ratchet himself when a shadow blocked the halogen lamp that hung suspended over the car.

"What the hell man?" Zane complained. He assumed Pete was standing over the car, getting ready to hand him the ratchet through the hood. "Quit blocking the light."

"Light isn't your friend."

The voice that spoke these words didn't belong to Zane's coworker Pete. "Look what the Pulse dragged in." Zane shot back glaring at Zack who was leaning over the hood of the car, staring at him. "You wanna move away from my light before I mar that pretty face?" Despite Zane's words that indicated he was going to continue working on the engine he slid out from underneath the car.

"What's up?" Zane quipped, wiping the oil from his hands on a white rag that was lying on the roof of the car. "Manticore troubles or woman troubles?"

"Why does it have to be either Zane?" Zack questioned.

"Because you didn't come down here just because you missed me." Zane returned throwing the rag over his shoulder. He stared at Zack for a second, analyzing the look behind Zack's eyes. "Definitely woman troubles."

"And you would know so much about that topic," Zack stated.

"Hell yeah, " Zane insisted. "That's why you came to me my brother."

"You put too much faith in your own intuition Zane," Zack returned, a hint of a playful pitch in his voice. Of all his brothers Zack was closest to Zane. Two months after the escape he and Zane met up and lived together for a year in the condemned basement of a skyscraper in LA. During that time their struggle for food and cash created a stronger bond between they had back at Manticore. Zack had returned from stealing food for them one day to find the outside of their hide out swarming with Manticore TAC Team Soldiers. Zack hadn't risked the exposure in trying to find Zane; he figured Zane hadn't neglected his own training and had cleared out when he saw the soldiers approaching. Zack had never learned who tipped Lydecker on their location. Zack was nineteen by the time he finally found Zane again, still in LA, living in a trailer he had stolen. Their reunion wasn't tears and handholds, but the brothers were glad to see each other. Zane still had his trailer, which Zack frequented every few months to just catch up.

"You know that's why you came here pretty boy," Zane teased. He loved to rile Zack on his looks. He'd been with Zack at a bar on many occasions and had been ignored by women because of his older brother. Not that Zane wasn't a looker –with shoulder length brown hair usually pulled into a pony tail, green eyes, goatee, hands used to getting into tight places – it was just that Zack was normally closed off around the women that kept throwing themselves at him. And this just made them want him more.

"Is your super fly chick holding out on you soldier?" Zane removed the rag from his shoulder and pitched it into a bin in the corner of the garage where scrap rags were kept. "Cause you know all I can do is console you on that fact. And by "console" I mean with words."

Zack screwed up his face. "You really need to get out more."

"You still haven't denied my earlier remark," Zane said, crossing his arms above his blue mechanic's jumper, and moving his legs at a stance of 'parade rest.' This was all done to make Zack feel walled in and piss him off enough so he would talk.

"Things are fine Zane," Zack informed. "So you can drop the drill sergeant crap." Zack knew a Manticore learned move when he saw one.

Zane uncrossed his arms and darted his hand towards Zack's chest. Before Zack had time to process what the hell he was doing Zane was fingering the gold band around Zack's neck. "I'll say they are. Unless some call girl gave you this for rocking her world."

Zack yanked the ring away from Zane's hand.

"Man of a thousands secrets huh?" Zane could tell by the weight of the ring it was pure. Defiantly not something that a low paid hooker could afford to give to his brother. And he guessed it was a tall leggy blonde that offered it up to him. "So that makes you Mr. Copland now?"

Zack shot him a look. "And you wonder why I didn't tell you right off."

"You were probably too busy getting it on legally," Zane corrected slyly. He wasn't about to start crying Zack or offer "official congratulations." One, because he was still kinda floored about Zack having a wife. And two, he was a Manticore guy; he didn't do things like that.

"Being legal has nothing to do with it," Zack deadpanned. He had married Asha because he loved her, not because he loved the law. He didn't give a crap about things done legally.

Zane caught the meaning behind Zack's words. He held out his hand wanting to give Zack props, and the two brothers banged fists. "So where'd you stash my sister-in-law?"

"I left at five this morning, she wasn't awake." Zack stated.

Zane looked at him, incredulous. "You ditched your bride?"

"I left a note," Zack told him.

"You're the ideal husband Zack." Zane returned, clamping his hand down on Zack's shoulder "Let's go drink to your status change."

"What about your job?" Zack asked. Zane's first love was cars and as such he could always be found around the garage where he worked.

"Screw the damn job," Zane insisted. "My lone wolf big brother finally found a mate, that's something worth getting drunk over."

"Fine," Zack finally gave into his younger brother's request. "But I'm not pulling you off any busty mistakes."

"You do and I'll kick your ass soldier," Zane informed. "I take care of my own mistakes."

XXXXXXXXX

SEATTLE

FENTAL AVE.

The small bedroom was empty. The dark red comforter had been pulled off the bed, leaving only beige sheets and pillows on the mattress.

The sound of water running came from the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom by a single white door that was currently halfway open. Inside the bathroom Asha stood by the running shower with the comforter wrapped around herself, not for modesty, but because the air inside her apartment was freezing thanks to a broken heating system. She made no attempts to climb under the spray and instead was focusing on a small piece of paper in her hand.

She had rolled over the piece of paper in her sleep and the noise it made caused her to wake up and realize that Zack was gone and that this note was in his place.

Had to see Zane

I'll be back when I walk through the door.

Zack

It wasn't a love note; it was very short, to the point. Asha should've been upset that her husband had ditched her without even saying anything to her face, had simply left her this note, but she didn't have an issue with it. If he had woken her for an early morning goodbye she would've thought he was crazy; that's not the way he did things.

Asha laid the note on the tank of the toilet and climbed into the heated spray of the shower. She lathered shampoo in her hair and reached for a washrag and the bar of soap that sat in the caddy.

The smell of the soap wasn't over laden with flower perfumes; it was very clean with a hint of male smelling cologne. Asha preferred the smell of bath products made for men. They were more warm and spicy then the one's designed for women.

The smell of the soapsuds lathered on her body made her think of Zack. They had been living together ever since they had gotten married. Zack slept for only four or five hours at night, waking up before dawn. Asha would hear the shower running every morning and imagine him using the same products on his skin that she used on hers. It roused her almost as much as if she had been inside with him. And it wasn't just a pure animal lust. She could picture his well-sculpted body but she could also see the scars that marred his skin, permanent reminders of all the abuse he had suffered for the sake of those he loved.

The shower water had run cold under Asha's thoughts of Zack. She washed the soap and shampoo from her body and hair and stepped out into a fine cloud of steam. She realized that there were no towels on the rack so she left the bathroom to retrieve one from the front hall closet where she kept her linens.

Asha was completely naked as she went to retrieve a towel but she didn't think anything of it. Her door was locked and the window shades were pulled down to block Peeping Toms. She walked into her living room and headed over to the small foyer where the closet was located. She stopped halfway there when she heard footsteps come up behind her from her kitchen.

"Hey I have-"

The voice cut short when Asha screamed. She wasn't scared; she was shocked.

"Alec!" Asha turned around, though she knew she wasn't in a better situation in this position. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"My job," Alec informed. "I have something here for a Ms. Asha Copland." If Alec was surprised at all by seeing Asha naked he gave no indication of it.

"You mean you picked my lock, because I never let you in!" Asha hissed over her shoulder. She shivered, because she was still wet and naked in the middle of her living room. She covered her breasts with her hand and glared at him over her shoulder.

"Cold?" Alec asked.

Asha didn't respond to his blatant remark. "Turn around and face the other way, I need to get dressed. And I swear to God Alec, if I catch you peeping I'm mailing you back to Lydecker in a box."

Alec gave her his world famous smirk but he obediently turned around. Asha grabbed a towel from the closet and skirted past him and into her bedroom. She got dressed in record time, throwing on the first pair of lingerie she found in her drawer and then a pair of gray cargo pants and a pink Henley. She wrapped her wet hair up in the towel and walked barefoot back to her living room.

"I dig the Swami look," Alec remarked when he saw Asha come out.

She stepped over to him without a word "You said you had something for me?"

Alec held a small brown wrapped package in front of her, but when Asha reached for it he pulled it away and placed an clipboard in front of her. "I need a signature first."

Asha snatched it from him and scribbled her name on the line, taking the package from Alec when handed it to her.

"Thank you for using Jam Pony." Alec said to which Asha's response was to remove the towel from her hair and drop it over his head. She walked into her kitchen to get some coffee.

Alec pulled the towel off his face. "Can I get some java?"

Asha gave him a look, her hand stilling on the coffee pot. "You've got to be kidding?" She didn't think that after all that happened that she owed him any favors.

"I'll treat you too."

"You're treating me to my coffee? You're a real gentleman Alec."

"I know," Alec returned. "I meant, I'll pour out. To make up for, ya know."

Asha glared at Alec but it faded after a moment as she gave into his offer. "Fine, cream, one sugar."

"Excellent." Alec said around a smile as he walked into the kitchen draping the towel he was holding over Asha's shoulder. Asha headed over to her small table located in the corner of her living room. She placed the package Alec had given her on the tabletop and hung the towel on the back of a chair before sitting down.

"With all this charm you carry around Alec I'm surprised you're not married." Asha turned sideways in her chair and watched Alec pour coffee into two Styrofoam cups. Asha had been too busy being in an underground organization most of her life to bother buying any dishes.

"Marriage is for people who don't have enough balls to handle a different partner every night." Alec took out a cardboard carton of cream and sniffed it. He made a face at the rancid smell and threw it in the trash and then got out a small carton of milk. "That's why Zack's perfect for it." He finished fixing the coffee and brought the cups over to the table, seeing Asha's surprised look.

"Rings aren't that hard to notice." Alec told her, handing her one of the cups.

Asha took it from him with her left hand, taking in the sight of her ring. She should've suspected someone as perceptive as Alec to notice the new addition to her jewelry collection.

Alec slid into the seat next to her and sipped his black coffee, waiting for her to say something.

Asha came out of her thoughts and stared at Alec, his eyes on her, casually drinking his coffee like they were just having friendly chat.

"Who said it was Zack?" Asha insisted, resting her elbows on the table.

"C'mon Asha, you've had that boy whipped for two years, it's obvious that you'd reel him in at some point."

"You make it sound so romantic Alec." Asha took one sip from her coffee.

Alec scoffed at the remark. "I think you picked the wrong guy for romance. Hell I'm not sure how you even got him to agree to something like that." He put down his coffee cup and leaned back in his chair.

"Maybe it's because he loves me," Asha insisted. "Is that something so hard to believe?"

"With Zack, yeah." Alec answered. He could tell he had gone a bit too far because of the protective glare in Asha's eyes. "But I guess even hot headed guys make good long term lovers."

"You better believe it," Asha knew she had scored a point for herself when Alec gave her a look that was part raised eyebrow, part disgusted. She drank more of her coffee.

"Aren't you going to see what you got?" Alec picked up the package he had just delivered and read the label off it.

Asha snatched the package from Alec's hand, "Not after you do." The return address said only "Building C4" She pulled tape off the box and opened the flaps. There was a mound of packing peanuts on top and after digging through it she found a small – only seven inches high – green glazed vase.

"Zack must've gotten it for you while he was out antiquing."

Asha ignored Alec's joke and tilted the vase upside down. Most of the bottom was comprised of a large raised ceramic circle where the vase could be set down on a tabletop. She twisted this piece and it unscrewed like the lid on a jar. Holding onto one end of the removed circle piece she pulled on the other end and it snapped open like a compact revealing a folded piece of thin paper hidden inside.

"You're not by any chance a spy are you?" Alec asked, watching Asha unfold the paper lengthwise. Before she said anything he grabbed it from her. "Damn, how long has this been going on?" The paper he was looking at was a corporate check written out to her in the amount of 500 dollars. "Paper's authentic." He held it up to the florescent light suspended on the ceiling. "Water mark looks good." He looked over to Asha. "Care to explain?"

"Not particularly." Asha grabbed the check back from him.

"You know that's not enough to satisfy me." Alec insisted. "All this cover-up to conceal a check has got me very curious as to what the big secret is."

Asha sighed. Prying into other people's business was something Alec was good at. She didn't know if it was an X5 trait or just an "Alec trait" but he was relentless at it.

"It's my low-low money," Asha told him, borrowing a phrase from Original Cindy.

"Low-low?" Alec repeated, amused at her choice of words. "Did you grow up in the white girl ghetto?"

"C4 is the code name for the Hoverdrone Cooperation's security program section." Asha went on, ignoring Alec's sarcastic remark. She didn't know why she was telling this to Alec, but he wanted to know where the check came from, and as much of a pain as Alec was Asha knew he wouldn't tell anyone else what she was saying. "I'm one of the program writers of that section. All the recorded feed from the Hoverdrones has to run by me and the other techs to check for breaches in security like viruses that could've been uploaded on the system. And every so often the hoverdrones catch some higher up doing something dirty on camera, something that would injure reputations if they were ever found out. So they make us delete the feed of the mayor getting down on his daughter's 16 year old girlfriend against the window of his office-"

"And cut you a check in return for your amnesia." Alec didn't sound at all disgusted with their corrupt government system. In a dirty city people had to expect dirty inhabitants, deals had to be struck, mouths had to be kept shut. "So which one of the higher ups was doing the nasty with a school girl for you to get that?"

"It's called low-low money for a reason Alec," Asha refolded the check and laid it in front of her on the table. She didn't really care if Alec knew about the slimy side of government officials that she was supposed to keep obscure. She didn't give a shit about any of the politicians' reputations; she just didn't want to keep talking about this subject.

Asha stood up from the table with the vase in her hand, walking over to where she kept a cardboard box behind her sofa. She laid the vase inside the lidless box with over a dozen other trinket items – all with false bottoms that had been mailed to her during with bribe money. City Officials got caught doing the nasty with schoolgirls a lot in Seattle.

"Does your husband Zack know about your stash?"

Asha looked over to Alec still seated at the table. Very few people knew of her marriage and it always gave her a tingling sensation to hear Zack referred to as her husband.

"Yes, my husband Zack knows about the money," Asha reiterated Alec's words because she liked the sounds of 'my husband' and 'Zack' being used in the same sentence. "We share our stashes with each other."

"What kind of stash would Zack have besides a secret pile of bras?" Alec quipped.

"If it bothers you Alec then quit leaving your lingerie here." Asha spit Alec's joke back in his face, loving every minute of the glare he was shooting her. Being married to Zack gave her plenty of opportunities to perfect her comebacks.

Alec seemed to be digesting her retort and either decided it wasn't worth responding back too or –and this is what Asha suspected more – he didn't want to admit that she got him good.

She watched Alec swallow the last bit of his coffee, tilting the cup completely vertical for good measure before laying it atop the table upside down.

"Fee is five dollars," Asha stated.

"My wallet's in my pants," Alec told her. "You can come get it if you want." A suggestive smile played across his lips.

Asha rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, a silent 'not in this lifetime' response to Alec's proposition. And while she was executing this maneuver something caught her attention in the very far reaches of her vision.

On the ceiling directly by her front door a naked light bulb hung on a gold chain for light. But the circuit for the light was bad, causing the light emitting from the fixture to be very dim and throw elongated shadows against her front door of anyone standing in her entranceway. And just before Asha's quit rolling her eyes at Alec she noticed a human shaped shadow on the door.

She couldn't find the source the shadow belonged too, which caused her to stand up from her chair and stare in confused alarm where the shadow was currently fixed. Alec was up from his seat as well, and the fact that he didn't question her on what she was doing mean that he saw the same thing she did.

Asha kept her gun – a silver Colt Revolver – in a locked drawer by her couch. But in the few seconds she was mentally debating on a way to reach it a blur of activity whirled in front of her. Alec had moved faster than humanly possible behind the partition wall that separated the small entranceway of the apartment from where he and Asha were currently standing. She saw Alec's shadow go down on top of the unknown one and sounds of defensive fighting reached her ears.

Asha was at her front door in under a minute. Her gaze went from alarmed, to plain confused at what she saw. "What the hell is going on?"

Jondy was lying flat on her back on the white tile floor in front of the front door, her hair flung wildly behind her. Alec was straddling her hips, pinning her shoulders down with his hands. "Don't ask me," he directed his remark at Asha not looking away to the woman he was sitting on while he talked. "If you wanted me to be on top Jondy, all you had to do was ask."

Jondy didn't take any time to consider Alec's proposal "Get the hell off me Alec!" She bucked at him with her right leg but it never hit its mark because Alec moved away expertly and stood back up on his feet. He offered her his hand. "Need some help?"

"Don't even," Jondy retorted, shoving his hand aside and climbing to her feet. She straightened out her black parachute material jacket then worked a few tangles out of her hair before lowering her hands and turning to Alec with a glower. "What the hell is up with you trying to take me out soldier boy? Cause I'm certain you didn't knock before getting into Asha's place either."

"What?" Alec said in mock confusion. "I was just brushing up on my skills."

"Yeah, well you better brush up some more Alec because all you did just a minute ago was embarrass yourself."

"I wasn't the one underneath Jondy, which you can't act like you didn't enjoy."

"Guys," Asha interrupted. She didn't care if they were into each other, she just didn't want to hear it. "Turn each other on later. Right now I'd like to ask Jondy what she's doing here."

"It's a mostly free city Asha, I come and go as I please." Jondy informed.

"Oh, so you driving several hundred miles was something purely arbitrary?" Asha returned.

"You know me, Carpe Diem," Jondy insisted, brushing imaginary dust off her clothes as a distraction from having to look at Alec.

"I do know you Jondy," Asha agreed, but didn't stop her conversation there. "You don't just seize the day. You squeeze it by its balls until it gives you what you want."

"And here I thought Jondy only squeezed five dollar things by their balls until they gave her what she wanted." Alec quipped.

Jondy shot a glare at him, but it last only for half a second as her retort came out of her mouth: "If you have five dollars on you Alec I'll show you just how much of a multitasker I am." She was baiting him, daring him to rib her again, but there was also a seriousness in her tone that both Alec and Asha picked up.

Asha didn't know what Alec's reaction would be to Jondy's subtle come on – those two casually flirted with each other enough that she wouldn't be surprised if Alec was turned on by it – but she didn't want to be witness to whatever the two X5's were contemplating behind there eyes and in their thoughts. Also she wanted to know the real reason Jondy decided to come into her apartment without so much as a knock.

"I think Mrs. Zack wants us to move this conversation to the drawing room," Alec said, breaking the silence. His slip up wasn't intentional, though it could very well have been because of the personality he had. However Alec didn't try to backtrack, the news was already out, it wasn't like he could erase memories.

Silence hung in the air between them before it was broken, not by an explanation from Asha but rather by Jondy, in her usual quick wit.

"I think before we retire Mrs. Zack need explain just why the hell none of Mr. Zack's siblings- particularly –this sibling – knew anything about their copulation. You better explain yourself girl." Jondy looked at her new sister-in-law sternly, like a kindergarten teacher reprimanding a student for putting glue in someone else's hair.

Asha felt the sting of Jondy's words, being punished for keeping a secret she shouldn't have. "I'm sorry Jondy, I just couldn't think of the right time to tell you-"

"Damn right you're sorry," Jondy interrupted. "Me getting a new sister-in-law is a very big deal, I could've been drinking to you and Zack, I could've been calling during inconvenient moments at night-" her mock tirade fizzled out and the forming of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "But just because I hate being out of the loop doesn't mean I don't think it's awesome," her smile came out fully and she embraced Asha in a quick hug. She pulled back, her smile now down to a mischievous half grin. "No kids though, Zack genes in a child aren't a good thing."

"That warning's a little late Jondy," Asha stated, watching Jondy and Alec's eyes about drop out of their sockets at her remark. She started speaking again before they could comment. "I'm joking guys, I'm not pregnant, at least not that I know of."

"How the hell could you not know you were pregnant?" Alec insisted. "Suddenly you're gaining weight and you just think, what – that your metabolism's just slowing down?"

"You don't show during the first trimester Alec," Jondy retorted. "You just feel like crap for a few months-"

"Hello," Asha cut in. She seemed to be interrupting a lot of conversations between them lately. "I'm aware of the facts of pregnancy. But I meant that I use protection-"

"Chastity belts are hot," Alec quipped dryly.

Asha ignored Alec's remark. "I never said that I don't want any."

"Good luck getting Zack to jump on the baby train girl," Jondy said. "He's not all fire into procreating after what Manticore did to him," Jondy's voice was still at the same pitch, but the look in her eyes had shifted slightly. Manticore had forced Zack into super ejaculation for interbreeding so many times that Jondy thought he would turn out sterile. She knew he had no problems with sex, but after being made to have a dozen petri-dish offspring she didn't know if Zack could handle having a child.

Asha adapted the same look as Jondy. She knew about what Zack had been made to do at Manticore. It made her incredibly angry at how Manticore could manipulate human life like it meant nothing but what they made out of it. Her gaze changed a moment later though, a look that revealed that she knew something about Zack that could only be learned from by a wife.

"Zack wants kids, I'm sure of it."

"Meaning you want kids," Alec theorized. "I doubt Zack would sit still long enough to be fitted for a Snuggly, he isn't exactly father material."

Asha shot him a 'says who?' look before verbal counter attacking Alec's theory on Zack. "I've seen the way he is around his nieces and nephews to know how he is around kids Alec. So what makes you think he wouldn't be the same way to an even higher extent with one of his own?"

"Calm down momma," Alec held up his hand, a physical sign that went along with the tone in his voice. "No need to be so defensive. We're still talking about fictitious kids remember? Hell if you wanna pump out uber Zacks you have my blessing."

"I'm sure she'll sleep better now." Jondy stated.

"With Zack as a blanket every time," Alec quipped, and then hissed under his breath when Jondy punched him in the shoulder.

"I think it's safe to talk about something else now." Jondy told him, turning to Asha. "What's say we kick Alec back to work and spend some quality sister-in-law time together?"

"Excellent," Asha agreed. Her first reason for taking to Jondy's idea was because – though she valued Alec as a friend – she was a little tired of his smart mouth. But the other reason behind her first was that she was beginning to enjoy having female relations who wanted to be around her.

Asha's mother had fled the scene when she was barely a year old, running off with – off all things – the septic tank repair guy. Her father –then an LAPD Detective who filled in for her mom's disappearance – was a good man and she loved him. But when he remarried Asha felt the attention he used to show for her dwindle. On fourth birthday she got a present – in the form of her half-sister Ayden. Up until that point Asha and her step mom Meredith had formed a pretty decent relationship. But after Ayden was born Meredith pushed Asha aside to concentrate on the daughter who was blood related. Ayden looked up to Asha in the beginning, a little girl with brown scraggly hair who always chased after Asha wanting to do things with her. But after she started going to school Meredith began separating her from Asha, sending Ayden to private schools and dance classes all day after that.

Her father loved both Asha and Ayden but because of Meredith's influence on his youngest daughter, and her lack of acknowledgement of Asha his marriage took a hard beating. He filed for divorce six years later, sharing custody of Ayden with Meredith. When Ayden turned thirteen she began to express anger – almost hatred – towards Asha. Asha had no idea why this was, but she had suspicions that when Meredith went away for her "private weekends" she filled her daughter's head with savage lies about her half sister. By the time Asha left home at 18 on a full scholarship to MIT, Ayden had turned into an angry rebellious teeny bopper, spending all her time out at the mall, or at parties that ran until seven the next morning. On her last day at home Asha caught Ayden sneaking of her room. She later discovered that her sister had stashed half a kilo of LSD inside her luggage, which caused her to be arrested at the LA airport. Her father managed – through angry phone calls, and payoffs – to cut her sentence down to 600 hours of community service.

Asha had become adept at computer skills by this time, and through hacking into the police records had successfully erased her file from the police database. This enabled her to finally head to MIT six months later – a criminal record would have revoked her scholarship. She had never told her father what she did, even over the countless phone calls they shared while she was away. He had too much on his mind already. Ayden had run off with her boyfriend to Seattle three years after Asha left home. The same year Asha started into a Master's program at 25 her father begged her to go to the city to look for Ayden. By then Asha had dropped out of graduate school after receiving an offer from the S1W. With the group's help she tracked Ayden down. She was dealing Meth in Pike's Public Market after hours, living in a condemned parking garage. Asha confronted Ayden, and the girl was so enraged by being tracked down that her screaming alerted cops to her location. Ayden had been in the middle of a deal, but the buyer fled after hearing the sirens, spilling two half-gram Meth baggies at Ayden's feet. Before the first officer on the scene could get to Ayden she had pulled out a five inch serrated knife and stabbed Asha in the chest. The officer managed to subdue Ayden, dragging her off while she screamed a stream of profanities at her sister.

Asha had nearly died from the attack. After she was released from the hospital the doctors who treated her called her recovery "remarkable." She was left with a permanent reminder – a two-inch long raised scar running vertically underneath her breasts. Zack had run his fingers over it one night, and Asha expected him to ask about it but he never did. She felt him kiss the scarred flesh, lingering his mouth on her body while she ran her fingers through his hair. Men she could trust, men like her father who tried to provide for her the best he could. Men like Zack, who, even through all his demons had never intentionally hurt her, and who loved her, in every aspect of the word.

Women were different; women were dirty, conniving, scheming manipulators who would turn anything out for profit for themselves. Up until recently Asha believed in this whole heartedly, that was why all her friends were male, why she never responded to Ayden's calls, even after she had "come clean". But after Asha met Max, and through her all the women of Max's life, Asha finally started to let her guard down around females. These women manipulated yes, but they did it to survive, to keep people from hurting them. These women, once they started liking Asha, let her become their girl, and protected her, accepted her.

So Jondy's suggestion meant more to her than Asha would admit.

"I've been meaning to have an excuse to talk about Zack behind his back," Asha said.

Jondy's smile broadened at the prospect of talking trash about her brother. She knew that wasn't what Asha had in mind. But Asha was Zack's wife, Jondy was his sister, she had a different set of rules. "Lead on Asha."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

LOS ANGELES

12:15 PM

"This place has such an original name," Zack stated dryly. The bar Zane had dragged him too was simply called "The Tavern" The interior– from floor to rafters – was made up of aged beach wood. Even the bar and the tables were made out of it. It had been a thriving place before the Pulse, always filled to capacity with a waiting list a week long for entrance. Back then it had also been more structurally sound. Now the wooden braces on were dark and rotting, and the roof had a five-foot wide hole in it, which was quickly patched up with a window skylight that was pockmarked with bullet holes, and rats had made homes in the walls. Lighting was supplied by one florescent fixture that ran the entire length of the master support beam of the arched ceiling, and it flickered at random intervals.

The place was nothing but a run down bar, but the owner refused to sell it even when he hardly got one person inside in a month. The strategy that kept the place afloat was the owner's hiring of busty, leggy waitresses who wore white halter tops and mini skirts that were nothing more then tiny scraps of fabric that barely covered up their breasts and crotch. This strategy worked – mob bosses, gang leaders, and every male within a fifty-mile radius turned up daily and nightly to ogle and grope the women over pitchers of beer.

A dazzling tanned blonde beauty wound her way through the thick grouping of tables, holding a black plastic tray high over her head. She stopped when she reached the table against the wall where Zack and Zane were sitting. She lowered the tray and passed out the drinks on it.

"Rum and Coke on the rocks, and our special for the night –Rum and Vodka straight up." The waitress looked at Zack through long black massacred lashes after she set his drink – the Vodka/Rum combination – in front of him. "You sure you can handle that handsome?" She rested the tray in an erotic position against her breasts, so that the edge of it was touching her nipples.

"Would I have ordered it if I couldn't?" Zack retorted. The woman's sultry good looks were not lost on him, but he didn't need some buxom waitress to mentally feel him up.

"Don't worry, this is my boy here," Zane told the waitress, who was looking a little put upon at being told off so harshly. "He can handle a hell of a lot more then a two mixed drink." He held out his cash payment for the drinks, but when he went to lay it in the waitress hand, she shook her head, pointing to the white lace garter belt on her thigh, an inch below her short skirt.

Zane slipped the money under the belt, the waitress watching the transaction silently, her full lips resting in a pout.

She smiled seductively after he finished. "You two sexy, sexy gentleman, enjoy your drinks." The waitress departed after these words, slinking back through the menagerie of tables.

Zane followed her retreating figure, roaming his eyes over her shapely, curvy body.

"If you stare at her any harder her ass is going to burst into flames," Zack's words drew Zane's eyes back to his brother.

"I have needs Zack. Unlike you, I don't have a sexy blonde who'd have my balls if I watch." Zane took a sip from his drink. The rum was acidic, it had been aged a bit too long, but he drank it anyway. "Then again she's probably all ready had your balls-"

"I think you better cram that drink in your mouth before I do it for you," Zack warned. He preferred not to have his sex life used as a discussion topic over drinks.

"There's nothing wrong with it big brother," Zane defended. "You took the vows; you can do it until you die with an erection if you want."

"If this is the 'celebration' you wanted me to have I shouldn't have agreed to it," Zack finally took a drink from his glass, feeling the liquor burn hotly down his throat.

"Cut the bull Zack," Zane ordered, taking a long drink from his glass. "You're enjoying this and you damn well know it."

"So you're a psychic now?" Zack asked, taking another drink.

"Would you pay me if I did?" Zane retorted, resting his elbows on the rotting table.

This remark produced a smile from Zack, an action that totally clashed with his next choice of words: "Piss off Zane." His smile was lost behind the glass as he drank from it again. "Save your money for the garter belts."

Zane laughed dryly at Zack's words. "Will do big brother." He raised his glass in a salute to himself before downing the last bit of the drink, the balled ice clinking against the glass. After the drink had successfully been swallowed Zane set his glass back down on the tabletop. "So how come no ring on the finger?" He was looking at the chain hanging around Zack's neck. If Zack was trying to conceal the jewelry's reason for being worn by wearing it around his neck he was wasting his time. It would be noticed and asked about just due to the fact that it was on his body.

"I don't do man rings," Zack responded, resting his right arm on the table. "I wore it the way it was given."

"So the ring was originally Asha's?" Zane theorized.

"Her grandfather's," Zack responded.

"Wow," Zane said with a hint of awe in his voice. "She must care about you a hell of a lot more then I do to hand you over a family keepsake."

"I love you too cupcake," Zack quipped.

"Same here sweetheart," Zane returned in the same smart-alic tone. "So are you two registered anywhere? Cause if not then this drink is gonna have to be your gift." He enjoyed the glare Zack was giving him.

Zane leaned back in the booth seat, silently observing Zack. "You did good Zack," When Zane spoke again his earlier teasing toned had died away. He suddenly stood up from the table, coming around to Zack's side. Wordlessly he leaned over and kissed Zack on the forehead. There was nothing forced about Zane's actions. Zack had fought, protected and bled for Zane since they were children; at the very least Zane owed his brother this simple gesture.

"Sorry, you're just so damn pretty I just can't control myself-" Zane joked, revealing the full spectrum of his personality; a compassionate sibling, and a complete wise ass.

Zack shoved Zane away from him roughly, but also teasingly. He didn't care that every guy at the bar was probably now mentally laughing at them because of macho dogmatic joke they were thinking of. Zack didn't get embarrassed when there wasn't any damn need too, fuck everyone who had a problem with it.

"I'm glad to see that marriage hasn't changed your sterling personality. "Zane walked back to the other side of the table and picked up his empty glass; holding it out. "Congratulations, if anyone deserves to be taken down, it's you."

Zack returned the toast, despite the slam against him. "I can't say that I'm not enjoying it."

"Amen brother," Zane agreed.

XXXXXXX

SEATTLE

CHARLIE AND TINGA'S APARTMENT

Charlie was stretched out on a gray leather recliner, listening to a Kyoto's-Lakers game on an ancient looking silver RCA stereo. The television had broken down two weeks ago, and despite Charlie's numerous calls to every repair shop in the city, no one was willing to fix it without charging 500 dollars up front before even looking at it. So the set stayed broken and unplugged against the only window in the living room, now only being used by Case who had placed lines of plastic green army men all over the top, and would wage daily wars on his battalion with the remaining army men that weren't stationed on the TV.

Charlie fiddled with the antenna on the radio, trying to get the static that had blocked the game to clear. But no matter which way he turned it, the static didn't get any better, forcing him to strain to hear the Sports Announcer through a thick layer of static fog. After another minute of this barely audible broadcast the entire radio cut out completely.

"Come on damnit, not now!" Charlie cursed, hitting the top of the radio with his fist. He fiddled with the dial, but to no avail. He sighed in exasperation, cursing a few more times under his breath.

"Daddy-" Case called over to him, standing beside the television, about to throw a handful of army men on top of the ones he had positioned there.

"Sorry Daddy didn't mean that," Charlie apologized for cursing in front of his son.

"Someone's at the door," Case had wanted to get his father's attention to tell him that, not to complain about what he said.

Charlie glanced at the door and then over at Case in puzzlement. "I didn't hear anyone knock Case."

Case set down his army men and walked to the front door of the apartment. He placed one hand on the brass colored knob, but before he could open it Charlie jumped up from his chair.

"Wait!" Charlie ordered. At first he thought Case had been hearing things, but then he realized that with Case's acute senses he probably did hear something at the door. "I'll get it," He pushed Case behind him and pulled the door open a crack, leaving the chain bolt locked.

He didn't see anyone standing on the other side. Cautiously he re-closed the door and slid the chain out, opening the door completely.

"Hello?" He stepped out into the apartment floor hallway, looking down the carpeted floor in both directions. The hallway was empty and he didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Charlie turned back around to go back inside, when he came face to face with someone standing in the doorway. He gave a startled gasp, but his panic was cut short, when he recognized Syl's form standing there casually, holding Case in her arms.

"Jesus Christ Syl, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Charlie could hear his heart pounding against his hand, which he was resting on his chest while he tried to catch his breath. He stepped back into the apartment and closed the door. "Why couldn't you just knock?"

"It was more fun this way daddy," Case told him.

"It sure was," Syl agreed with a grin, despite the glare Charlie was giving her.

"Sometimes you're really a bad influence on him Syl," Charlie insisted.

"I know; and I enjoy every minute of it too," she kissed Case on the top of the head and set him back on his feet. "Where's your mom big guy?"

"In her room sleeping," Case said.

Syl looked at her nephew confused. "Why is she still asleep? It's almost one in the afternoon." Even though Tinga couldn't function without sleep like Max or Jondy, Syl knew that she never slept for more then four or five hours a night, and especially not in the afternoon.

"Well I'm not asleep anymore, thanks to you." Tinga's complaint reached Syl's ears as the door against the very right wall of the living room opened and she stepped out of the bedroom. Syl just stared at her.

Tinga walked into the living room wearing a long white V-neck sweater, gray track pants and bare feet. Her long black hair was completely unbraided and it fell down her back and over her shoulders. Having just woken up, Tinga looked a bit unkempt, but that's not what Syl was staring at. Syl knew Tinga, both emotionally and physically. And Syl knew that Tinga's rounded stomach peeking out of her sweater wasn't her sister's normal waistline.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Syl stated in utter confusion.

"Women can sometimes get pregnant Syl after sex Syl," Tinga responded casually and matter-of-fact.

"You know damn well what I mean girl," Syl retorted. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I wanted to be sure," Tinga clarified.

"Tinga I'm a midwife. I know it damn well doesn't take until you mysteriously starting to gain weight and fell kicking in your belly to realize you're pregnant." Syl was angry that Tinga hadn't told her, but Syl was more happy than mad. However she kept the latter emotion to herself, opting to make Tinga suffer a little more for keeping this big of a secret from her. "You look about what, five months?"

"Just about," Tinga agreed. She could tell Syl wasn't really angry with her. She was the oldest girl; she could read her younger sisters emotions without them even knowing it. "I was going to tell you Syl. After all, I can't very well leave my midwife out of the loop."

"Oh so that's your angle," Syl threw back.

"Cut the crap little sister," Tinga ordered, but she couldn't keep up the 'stern soldier' façade, and a smile passed her lips. "You don't want to give your nephew a bad impression right from the start."

Syl raised her eyebrows at Tinga's remark. "You know it's a boy?"

Tinga shook her head. "Charlie has three brothers, and his sister has four boys. I'm just going on the hunch."

Syl smiled. "There's probably some 'male dominant' gene in the Smith Family. But hey, three more boys and you'll catch up with us."

"Oh no," Tinga stated. "Two is plenty, thanks. This apartment is too small to live the way we did back at Manticore."

"Does this mean if your hunch is right you're going to name him Zack?" Syl teased.

Tinga snorted. "One Zack in this family is enough to deal with."

"You got my vote on that," Syl agreed. "But on that subject. The entire reason I stopped by is to grill you on a certain item of information you told Jondy concerning our dear big brother."

"Don't tell me he's pregnant too?" Tinga joked.

Syl shot her a disgusted look. "I don't think Manticore's that good Tinga. And I know you know what I mean."

"I wish someone would just explain this 'item of information' to me," Charlie spoke up. "Because I have idea what you two are talking about."

"She's talking about Zack," Tinga told her husband.

"That much I gathered from your conversation sweetheart," Charlie returned.

"He's married," Tinga elaborated more.

There was a few seconds of silence as the information Tinga said was absorbed by the other two in the room. Syl already had an inkling about Zack but to finally know her thoughts were true-"Kind of a big thing to keep to yourself sis," Syl stated.

"Zack's married?" Charlie asked; surprised to be hearing something about Zack he would have never thought about.

"Apparently so." Syl responded.

"What? How? When did this happen?" Charlie knew he was babbling, but he was stunned.

"He married Asha a month ago, after the raid." Tinga said to her husband. "He let the information slip to Max, and Max told me."

"Wait, I thought you said that you saw Zack and Asha together in the city and assumed all of this?" Syl said.

"I did, after I got the information out of Max." Tinga told her. "I never just assume anything."

"My God, Jondy was actually right," Syl said. "Now I'm officially scared."

"Does this mean that Asha's my aunt now?" the question came from Case who had been listening in on the entire conversation. He was advanced for his age, but it didn't take super intelligence for the seven-year-old to be able to grasp what the adults were talking about.

"You guessed right Case," Syl informed her nephew.

"Does that make her your sister?" Case asked another question.

"Not exactly baby," Tinga answered. "She's our sister-in-law."

"What does 'in law' mean mommy?"

"It means that Asha wasn't born into the same family as we were. She became a part of it after she married Uncle Zack."

Case seemed satisfied with this remark, but he still added something. "But that still makes you sisters doesn't it?"

Tinga silently thought about Case's question. They were related only though an action of Seattle Legality. But Asha was now Case's aunt, and would be the aunt of her baby. Tinga knew that Asha marrying Zack was a hell of a lot more then just a legal formality.

"Yes honey," Tinga said to Case. "It does."

XXXXXXX

SEATTLE

8:55 PM

Jondy had left the apartment two hours ago after taking a bottle of red wine from the fridge, an expensive bottle of red wine that Logan had insisted on giving to Asha as a wedding present. Asha hadn't even opened it yet, but after finding it missing, she really didn't care enough to track Jondy down for it.

Zack's note gave no indication as to when he was returning, and Asha had given up waiting for him hours ago. She had planted herself in the living room watching the old Pre-Post movie "The Green Mile", a DVD she had almost forgotten she owned. The movie was a little over halfway through but she found herself falling asleep. She had liked the movie in the past, but it just wasn't attracting her tonight. She dug the remote out from where she had been laying on it in the couch and switched the movie off. She had the lights off so the television set going black instantly made the living room dark. The darkness only lasted for few seconds before the flip of a light switch brought light back into the room.

Asha yawned, stretching her arms over her head. She checked her watch from her current angle, realizing that it was still early. And though she was tired she didn't feel like going to bed this soon. Though doing so would give her an excuse not to look at the mound of paperwork she had received yesterday but hadn't yet got around to looking at. Half of it was a week's worth of encrypted Hover Drone feed that she had to decrypt and send into the nameless bosses who headed the company. The other half of paperwork was handwritten surveillance taken down by members of the S1W. Asha –with her MIT tech training – unofficially been assigned to hack into computer mainframes to cross check leads the S1W would collect. Ironically, it was because of one of the corporations the S1W was opposed to, that Asha was able to find the information the group needed. Being a security tech for the Hoverdrone Corporation made obtaining government secrets almost laughingly easy.

She never told the S1W about her job, one because it totally went against what they stood for, but more importantly the Hoverdrone Corporation was a high end government run project, and they would go to great lengths to keep people away from information they deemed top secret. Many security personnel had "mysteriously disappeared" after they were suspected of leaking classified secrets and Asha wasn't about to be stupid and hand over her job description to the S1W. Though she trusted the group as a whole, there had been spies planted over the years, and she wouldn't be any good to the "Cause of Seattle" if she were dead.

She was more like Zack than she knew, trust was something they each only handed out to the very worthy. If she were the kind of person who believed in soul mates, he would be hers.

Though right now she wondered where the hell her soul mate was. She yawned again, finally deciding to screw reports, vigil-antis and waiting for her husband in favor of reading the plot-less smut she had under the bed until she fell asleep.

Her plan was halted when the front door bumped open by what Asha knew to be the wheel on Zack's motorcycle. The rest of the bike came through the doorway, pushed by its rider.

"Did you have a good time honey?" Asha said in sugarcoated sweetness. Zack glared at her while parking the bike behind the sofa. But Asha had done that on purpose, he was sexy when he glared.

"Give the adoring housewife act a rest, it doesn't suit you," Zack said, releasing the bike after it was safely resting on its kickstand.

"Even if I'm no Donna Reed I still get my 'Coming Home Kiss'," Asha informed. She walked over to Zack and kissed him, not a voracious kiss, but certainly one with more passion then Donna had ever given her husband.

Zack had accepted the kiss, but after Asha pulled back, he had a look on his face like he wanted to tell her something but his Manticore-groomed restraint stood in the way of the words and his mouth.

"Okay, what is it?" Asha asked. She knew what Zack's reaction would be to this remark, but he sure as hell wasn't about to just start initiating this conversation on his own. "You have that 'I have an earth shattering secret' look on your face."

"What, you're psychic now?" Asha had suspected Zack's' snappish remark. But he wasn't angry with her; it was just the way he responded to the beginnings of an interrogation.

"No, I've just been with you long enough to know when you want to tell me something," Asha returned.

Zack didn't say anything for a long five seconds, five seconds where he either would start doing something else to avoid the question, or just blurt out the information. "Tinga's pregnant."

Asha's eyebrows raised in stunned silence. "Are you sure?"

"She's as big as a tanker truck, it's pretty obvious." Zack retorted angrily.

Asha didn't know why Zack would be so upset about Tinga's 'condition'. She was married, and she already had a son. She had every right to want another baby. "Why are you so upset about this Zack?"

"Who said I was upset?" Zack lied.

"Right," Asha wasn't buying it. "And Tinga's baby is yours."

Zack glared at her, pushing past her and walked towards the kitchen. "She already has enough vulnerability to worry about. What the hell is she thinking having another kid?" Zack wasn't asking Asha, he was just venting his thoughts out loud. He opened the refrigerator, but all he found was a dozen 12-ounce bottles of water, not the alcohol he was wanting. He snatched one of the bottles anyway and slammed the door shut. Uncapping the bottle, he downed half of the water in three seconds. It wasn't alcohol, but he had just wanted something to slug down his throat.

Asha had moved into the kitchen while Zack had been looking in the fridge. "She's a grown woman Zack." When Zack didn't cut in Asha continued. "She can handle having a baby, remember she already has a son."

"And that got her into a hell of a lot of trouble," Zack counterattacked, pushing past Asha again, this time heading back towards the living room.

Asha sighed to herself before following Zack. He had stopped in front of the couch to shed his leather, throwing it down on the cushions. She stopped about a foot in front of him, on the same side of the couch as he was. "Did you ever stop to think for one second what having another kid means to her and Charlie? Most families are excited about birth announcements."

"Yeah well we're not most families," Zack returned. "So I can't exactly get excited about another thing that some shadow tail organization can use against her."

"You're a real family values guy Zack," Asha snapped. "Shadow Tail Organizations aside, she's your sister. She deserves your respect." Zack was over protective with his sisters, and normally Asha didn't have any real issues with it, it was just the way he was. But, like Tinga, Asha was a woman, and having a child with the man you loved was a very big deal, just not in the way that Zack was thinking.

"She's going to have that baby Zack, even if you have an issue with it." Asha laid a hand on his arm, caressing it while she talked. "She's a good mom baby, she just wants to be one again."

Zack snatched his arm away from Asha's stroking. "You're not seriously buying into that maternal love sentimental crap?"

"Even if it's sentimental crap I still believe it," Asha stated matter-of-fact. "Maybe it's just due to the fact that I'm a woman, but I do believe in it. And so should you."

"Why?" Zack shot back. "Just because I'm her brother I'm supposed to jump on board with her need for a life that she can never achieve?"

"I'm not talking about Tinga, I'm talking about me!" Asha practically shouted the last words at him. After they came out, she wished for one insane moment she could take them back. But that was just stupid, why should she? Though she had no idea why the hell she had lied to Jondy. But after Alec's off-color discussion, and what Jondy told her about Zack, she felt like she had too.

After her words sank in the look in Zack's eyes shifted, going from angry to an unreadable void, hidden behind blue-green pupils. "What are you saying?"

Asha had three lines, something she never had even rehearsed, but came tumbling out at that moment. "I'm pregnant Zack."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

To quell the M/L readers, I know that after 8+ months of waiting for an update you're now growling at me in a "where the firetrucks is Max?" kind of way. I appologize, but I couldn't think of a way to work Max into this particular plot, not without only giving her some minor, insignificant appearance. This chapter ended on a scene, that, had the story kept going, would have led into a scene with Max. But basically this chapter is a bit of "filler" I guess, which introduces major plots – mainly Asha's pregnancy and Tinga's as well – that will set up a lot of future chapters, including the next one, which will be a more deeply involved installement. And rest assured it will include Max, Logan and their family, and Zack and Asha, and their unborn baby. (Zack gonna be a father? Whouda thunk?) There may even some Normal moments, cause heaven knows we need more of that, haha. And I swear on a stack of Eyes Only Dossiers that I will have the next chapter out much much sooner then this one.

So have no fear I'm not abandoning Max or Logan, nor do I plan to do another of these "absentee Max fics" As my beta Sammi put it "the whole series is based on Max." And it would be really stupid to keep leaving out the main character. Which basically means I'm really stupid now for writing this fic. However, I'm going to plead "Zack-lust-induced" Insanity in this case.

Peace

Mystic