You have no idea how much writers block I suffered in the middle of writing this chapter. I knew exactly how I wanted to end it, yet couldn't seem to get there. But I pushed through ! :D

The next chapter will be a memory of Up's. I was considering putting it up as it's own little companion piece instead, separate to IMBFYBI as to not break the continuation of Taz's life. There WILL be entire Up-centric chapters/mini arcs later on... I'm just considering the idea of having all of them in a separate story that you can read along with this. Thoughts? I really want to make your reading experience as smooth and creative as possible.

Disclaimer: Taz/Up/ the G.L.E.E. not .

ENJOY MY LOVELIES.

Chapter 15

Three days into Up's sickness, Taz had been reassigned from kitchen duty to nursing her mentor back to health full time. Sure, she was glad to help her friend out...but staying between the four walls of their quarters was beginning to drive her loco. So she used any excuse to go on an errand run. Need food? Ok, I'll go down to the cafeteria. Need some reading material? To the library! You're tired? I'll leave you be then... see if Mary needs any help in that lab of hers.

Up lay in his bed staring at the ceiling, reminiscing on his days before the Academy, and ultimately his life as a ranger. This ceiling was boring, Up decided. It should be like the odd, bumpy kind of ceiling he had as a kid back in Alabama. You could search for patterns and pictures and stuff in those ceilings; kind of like cloud watching. He always chose the upper bunks at whatever orphanage he was shipped to as they were closer to the ceiling. Huh.

"Whatcha doin' up there?" Some kids would ask him.

"Just lookin' up." He would always reply. There was nothing better to do anyway.

His past was... interesting to say the least. At least he had some more good stories to share with Taz once she got back.

The sheets ruffled as he shifted positions .He couldn't sleep. His head was pounding and his nose was too stuffy to breath properly and lying here in the dark was dull and his left big toe was itchy and everything sucked and-

"Up! I'm back! And I found a checkers board." His gaze shifted to the dark silhouette in the doorway, brandishing a box, curing him of his slow descent into insanity. Her hand flew up to the wall and flipped the light-switch, effectively burning his eyes.

"Ack!" The blonde cried as he rushed to pull the sheets up above his head in vain, grumbling. That was great. He was sure to be blind for the next minute or two.

"Aw, don't be like that. Checkers can be fun." her boot-clad feet clomped over to him. "Besides, we don't have anything better to do." Up chuckled and pulled the sheet back down, to find her smiling face over him, bangs casting a shadow across her face.

"That's for sur-'" And then he choked up with a loud cough. Up felt her small fist start beating on his back as he hacked.

"Guess you're not up for checkers then..."

"Nah,' Up said finally after the coughing fit, "I'm fine." He pushed himself into a seated position and turned so that he could rest up against the wall. "Really."

"You sure?"

He reached for the box that contained the checkers set. "I'm positive chica." Taz snorted in amusement at the fact Up was using Spanish.

He sat one one end of the bed and Taz jumped onto the other end, stealing his pillow. They set up the board. The Lieutenant chose black and Taz became red.

"You know the rules?"

"How could I forget?" Over the past few months Taz had made a fun little rule for when her and friends got together for a board game. Whoever lost a piece, or was currently failing had to tell something about themselves to the rest of the group. Often childhood stories, or jokes would pop up and often secret talents would emerge (for instance, Anthony could juggle with his feet...he was scheduled to teach Taz soon.).

Up picked a piece of his and hopped over two of Taz's red discs. Her eyebrow twitched. He smirked. "Ok," she said with a roll of her eyes, " I bet you didn't know that I can't whistle."

"Really?"

"Yea, really. Mi hermano Pedro tried to teach me for years... never worked."

"I took two of your pieces." Up replied after a moment. That meant she had to spill another interesting fact. Her face formed a frown, thinking hard.

"I believe... que la ciencia no mató a Dios." She said really fast, looking at her mentor pointedly. "God is not dead." Up mulled that over for a moment. Taz never struck him as the religious type.

"Huh. That's... interesting." Her fingers reached out and pushed the last red piece accross the board jumping over a black chip and landing on the last row.

"Queen me."

"That's chess."

"Point?"

Up complied, stacking a few chips on top of the one on the board. "There. What do you want to know?"

A wicked gleam sparked in her eyes. Oh gosh. Up wondered warily what information he was about to spill. She watched him squirm into a more comfortable position, bringing his blanket around his broad shoulders like a cape. Super Up. She grinned at the funny image that popped into her head. Up in a cowl and tights? That would never happen...but it was his duty to save the human race. Taz supposed he was a hero. He had saved her from death didn't he?

"In the library, I overheard a few of the older gleeks talking about how you saved this place. You know, Headquarters." She paused, looking him straight in the eyes. "You promised me awhile ago to tell me about it."

The Lieutenant suffered a massive mental facepalm right then. Had he really never shared the story with the girl in front of him? "Have I really not told you?"

"Nada."

"Sheesh! I'm sorry." He brought his right palm to his face and rubbed his forehead sheepisly. "Let's see. It was about a year or so ago... The ship I was stationed on was docked here for brief repairs, and we were to leave again the next day. It was a total fluke. I was on my way to the North wing to visit..." Taz sat back in her chair, bringing herself into the fetal position to listen. As his voice fluctuated and grew in volume, her eyes widened accordingly, enraptured with the tale. 'Wow', she thought somewhere along the daring tale, 'talk about being in the right place at the right time.'

Translation:

que la ciencia no mató a Dios: that science killed God.

When finished with this story (that'll be forever from now) this is a chapter I will definitely come back and add to.
BUT FIRST. I seriously want your opinions on this. So I will repeat. The next chapter will be a memory of Up's. I was considering putting it up as it's own little companion piece separate to IMBFYBI. There WILL be entire Up-centric chapters/mini arcs later on... I'm just considering the idea of having them in a separate story, to explore him more without taz. Thoughts? Share your wisdom, oh lovely people.