A/N: So this chapter is shorter than my regular ones. Idk why... Wrote this while I was sick, hence the stomach thing for my character. I really do have an ailment that i take meds for, which kinda sucks. Writing always seems to make me feel a bit better. :) Oh and the Empty Quarters is the location from the book where Griffin trained a lot. Thought I'd incorporate it. Love the end fluff. ^^ I thought it'd be cute. Heh heh. Next chapter will be interesting. Crap, I'm rambling...
Read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 14: Electric

(Ashley POV)

Griffin jumped from her sight and returned with his jacket. "Put the damn thing on," he shouted at her as he tossed the jacket at her face.

Ashley caught it and put it on with a huff. 'I'm not zipping it though.' He still looked unpleased. "What now?"

"Zip it, yeah?" he said pointing at the zipper. Ashley shook her head and he threw up his hands. "Whatever. You're stubborn."

"Well you're bossy. I mean, god forbid I show a little skin," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She reluctantly zipped the jacket up to where the shirt stopped. "Better?"

"No. That's even worse…" Griffin mumbled and Ashley laughed. "You're annoying me now."

She shrugged. "Oh well. Can we start now?" Griffin turned and tossed her the familiar wooden stick. He had a silver rod in his hand. "What the hell is that?" she asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"This is the weapon the Paladins use. I nicked it a while back from one. It gives off ten thousand volts of electricity, enough to stun someone like us. So don't let it touch you."

Ashley's eyes went wide. "You're kidding right?"

"I'm not. You'd better stay on your toes today," he warned as he ran towards her, lunging with the weapon in hand. Ashley jumped behind him and tapped his shoulder with the wooden stick. Griffin shoved the Paladin stick behind him. It made contact with Ashley's side briefly and she yelped, stumbling back and holding her side. She felt her body twitch as she tried to jump. Griffin turned around and shook the stick. "This'll temporarily stop your jumps. That's why you don't want them to touch you."

She winced as the electricity died down. "Thanks for the warning." She felt as if her heart would jump out of her chest it was working so fast. Her breathing was doing the same. Ashley pulled the hand from her side and jumped behind him, smacking him on the arm with the stick. He whipped around to shock her but she jumped to the side of him. He managed to stab the rod at her hand and she pulled it away, cradling it. "Son of a bitch, Griffin! Is this necessary?"

Griffin nodded. "Yes. You need to learn to dodge attacks."

"Fuck," she grumbled as he went to jab her again with the rod. This time, Ashley managed to jump a few feet away. She felt a twinge in her stomach and doubled over. "Shit," she said breathless.

Griffin jumped in front of her. "What's wrong? Don't pretend you're sick now."

"I'm not pretending," she gasped. "I have this thing." She groaned and looked at Tori, who was hard at work, punching the punching bag. "Tori!" she shouted. Tori held up a hand to David, signaling for him to stop before she darted over to Ashley's side. "Where are my pills?" she asked.

Tori rubbed her back. "Let's go get them. They're in my bag."

Griffin grumbled, "Training isn't over yet."

Ashley watched as Tori shot Griffin a look of anger. "She's sick. You can't push her this much when she does this." Ashley managed to grab Tori's wrist and jump them back to the spare room.

---

(Tori POV)

Tori rummaged through her bag as Ashley sat on the bed, her arms wrapped around her stomach. She found a pill bottle and handed it to Ashley. Ashley cracked it open and dumped two pills into her hands. Tori watched as she dry swallowed them and sighed. "You alright?"

Ashley nodded. "They'll kick in like twenty minutes."

"Was it a bad feeling?" Tori asked.

She looked over at her with glazed over eyes. "Yeah. I think something's gunna happen." Ashley lay back on the bed and Tori sensed a jump.

David burst into the room. "Is everything okay?" he asked, sounding worried. "You two jumped away."

Tori nodded. "It was just her stomach. She gets sick a lot."

"Sometimes it's not sickness," Ashley murmured. "Where's Griffin?"

David walked in and sat on the opposite side of the bed. "He's pissed. Taking it out on the punching bag. He thinks he caused this to happen."

Ashley sat up, shaking her head and hand in unison. "Will you two go get him or something?" she looked at Tori and David.

Tori nodded and stood. "Sure," she said. "I'll explain everything. C'mon David." With that, David walked over to Tori and jumped them back to the Empty Quarter. Tori saw Griffin, throwing swings at the punching bag. "Griffin," Tori said as she walked over to him.

"What?" he asked in a gruff tone as he continued to abuse the punching bag.

"It's not your fault. Ashley gets sick from time to time. This time it was one of her bad feelings. Don't blame yourself."

"I'm not," he threw a final violent punch at the bag, "blamin' myself." Tori heard David made a sound of disapproval behind her and Griffin turned around to face them. "Now what do yeh…"

His words were cut off when the sound of whirring began over head. The three looked up and saw a helicopter moved over the trees. "Paladins?" Tori whispered as she turned to David. David nodded and grabbed her hand. He jumped them to the opposite of the Empty Quarter and back a few times before jumping by one of his other jumpscars, causing Tori to get dizzy by the time he jumped back to the apartment.

Griffin appeared next to them. "I can't believe they found the Empty Quarter. I've been usin' that place since I was a kid and no one ever showed up before." He kicked the leg of a chair and stormed into the hallway, obviously going to check on Ashley.

Tori followed after him, "Wait." Griffin stopped dead in his tracks. "Try being nice to her if she's sick, kay?" Griffin gave a nod as he looked over his shoulder.

---

(Ashley POV)

Someone knocked on the door and she opened her eyes. Ashley had been taking a small nap to help her stomach. The pill had worked sooner than she expected. "Come in," she said. 'Who knocks around here?' Slightly nervous, she watched the door open. Griffin walked in with his a hand in his pocket. "Hi Griffin," Ashley said. 'Surprised he knocked.'

Griffin shut the door behind him and walked over to the bed. He sat down next to her, running a hand through his hair. "Are you…alright?"

Ashley nodded and looked down, realizing she was still wearing his leather jacket. "Do you want this back?" she asked as she unzipped the jacket a little. He looked at her with sorrowful eyes silently. "What's wrong Griffin?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Paladins found the Empty Quarter," he said silently. He sighed and continued, "After all these years…"

She watched him as a frown snuck its way across his features. Ashley scooted next to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry," she told him softly. She felt him rub her back as his arms wrapped around her.

"S'Okay," he said. She looked up at him and he kissed her. "It's all gunna be okay," he mumbled against her lips.