I force myself awake one morning. I can tell by looking outside that this is no normal wake up hour. A knock on my window tells me exactly why I'm awake at such a forsaken hour. A boy of about nineteen years is outside my window, peering in with a cat-like grin. One look at a clock tells me it's three A.M. But I'm excited, and dress quickly, unashamed to be naked in front of this male boy.

He takes me into his arms. "Hello there, stranger. I must admit someone as beautiful as you is a truly rare thing to come by."

"You're hilarious, Dylan," I say, a smile touching my lips. "But we all know that I am no rare gem. I am a commoner and a peasant. No beauty here."

He cups my face with one hand, a loving look in his eyes. "I beg to differ, Anna." He closes in, kissing me sensually. I feel light headed and a bit breathy as he pulls back from me, his forehead against mine as I just stare at him. "Damn it. I think you'll be the death of me, Anna."

"Same to you," I say, smiling as we climb down from my room to go for a nice stroll in the park.

It's been at least a half hour, the whole thing fast forward. I remember it clearly, but this is the part that I have to see clearly. I don't want to believe it as they take a bat to Dylan's head, leaving me defenseless and alone at such a time...

Fuck, I am pretty damn stupid.

I hold my breath underwater, two hands holding me there. Since my last stunt at school, stealing from the concession stand after refused food because of a lack of money, I haven't been having such a great time. My mother holds me down, even trying to push me farther into the pool. But I can't go any farther. I'm touching the bottom.

My lungs burn, and I know pretty soon that I'll be dead. But mother doesn't care. She just keeps me there...

There's shouting above the pool and I break free for air. I cough and gasp, throwing water from my mouth. A hand reaches for me, and I throw it away. I know it's my mother trying to make this look better than it it. I'm not that damn stupid. A towel wraps around me and I meet green eyes like mine. "Thanks, Hibiki." He doesn't answer, his mouth a taut line. I know if he doesn't get a hold of his temper that he will be just like our father. So I pray he does and gets it quick.

I run into our upstairs bathroom. It's been three weeks since Dylan and I were attacked in the park. My period was supposed to be last week. After that experience, I don't really want to know, but I have to know. I have to know so I can get the hell out of dodge.

I walk into Hibiki's room about ten minutes later, holding it out to him. His emotions change quickly from surprise to anger to shock before he asks the question I know will kill him. "Who's the father?"

"No clue. Don't want to know either."

"What the hell do you mean?" he demands, insinuating something.

"What I mean," I say, walking straight to him. "is that it was not consensual between us. They knocked Dylan out. He couldn't have done anything."

Hibiki is quiet for a moment. "We gotta leave."

"But to where? We don't have friends willing to hide us from them, bubba. And they will eventually find us if we stay with Hillary. Hell, Hil would probably give them a map to us." I run my hands through my hair, kneeling down and getting back up as it all sets in. I'm fucking pregnant.

I wait for Dylan to show before I dare go through security. He isn't going to let me leave without a goodbye since he can't come with us. He still has school. But he's sworn to find me, someday and somehow. I tap my foot impatiently. He only has a short while left before Hibiki will force me to get on the damn plane.

I see his form coming, and smile. Dylan runs to me, wrapping me up in his arms. I let out a sigh as I feel complete all of a sudden. His hands rests on my stomach as he pulls back. "It doesn't matter about the genetics. When I come back to find you, he will be my son. Just as you will be my wife." I giggle as he nuzzles my neck. I feel the ring on my finger move as he fiddles with it. "What did I do to get someone like you?"

"Well, you spilled your milk on me back in third grade," I reply as he grows serious again.

"I will do a better job of protecting you in the future. Of course, you also won't be alone in raising the child for a little while in the future."

"To the future?"

"To the future."

"Ladies, break it up! We have a plane to catch!"

I go to move away, but Dylan pulls me back. "Hey, I wanted to give you this earlier, but... I just couldn't. Put this in your bag, okay?" I take a dagger with a beautiful blue jem in the hilt. "Keep this with you. I don't care if it's legal."

I'm in the hospital, but not for my baby. My baby has already been born. Dylan is stretched out in front of me, still as can be with three gunshot wounds to the chest. The doctors say he'll make it, but I'm not thinking about that as I keep a tight hold on the dagger with the blue jewel. I hold his hand tightly, knowing this is one of the last times I'll ever see him. I kiss his forehead, whispering, "Don't look for me."

Hours later I'm in a house, the whole thing in fast forward. I see two sleeping forms in front of me. My mother and father. The two single-handedly most destructive forces in my life that I know I'll end up like. I won't murder my kid, but I will be a murderer. The amount of charges are up to them. I go to my father first, waking him up. My mother is likely suffering from having too many fucking pills.

"You, father, should be ashamed of yourself. You killed your own daughter, your own blood, and threatened your other children with it. You beat on another daughter every night. She couldn't even pass P.E. classes of any sort because of you. Your last daughter... how many men did you let touch her? Your son... oh, your son... How many times did you tell him to be like you?"

"All the time," her father replies, empty. He is well aware that this is his death and his penance.

"If he is... I'll fucking kill him too." The dagger sinks into my father's eye, and he's dead in an instant. I go to my mother's side.

I don't want to say anything to her. She's nearly killed me more than my father has. I plan to just slit her throat and walk away. But she opens her mouth. "So you're going to kill me too? How is that for everything I've done for you?"

"Sure, you've done a lot for me. You've nearly drowned me, you've burned me with your cigarettes, you've let men get away with me, and you've not given a damn about me for the last nineteen years. Did you know Dylan wasn't the father? Did you know that it wasn't consensual?!"

"I bet that's your excuse so you won't be a slut in your boyfriend's eyes. But I've always known what you were. I've always known you were going to be a slut. I tried to flush and burn it out of you. When that failed-"

"When that failed you wanted to kill my son. So fuck you."

My mother smiles. "You cause collateral damage all around you, Annabelle. Your son will grow up without a mother now. Your boyfriend will come out of that hospital a changed man. Your sister will never forgive you. Your brother won't even take you back."

"You're right, mother," I whisper so she can hear. "But there's a difference between you and me, mom, because you cause collateral damage all around you too. I'm not going to stick around to cause more damage. My son will grow up with Hillary as his mother, and Hibiki will be given full access. I gave Dylan a note so he can find a new love, someone better than me."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Good." My dagger slides across her throat, and she convulses, unable to speak. I smirk. "I'll see you again in hell."

"I'll see you again in hell," she says, and Mina and Storm Shadow snap to attention. She's been out for two weeks. A smirk paints her face. Mina smooths her hair back, looking for another sign so she can wake up. She sighs, sitting back.

"Damn it," Mina says. "Wake up, Z. I need you, and so does Storm Shadow." She shakes Zaltana again. Nothing.

Storm Shadow stays silent. It's in this time that his curiosity about the ring on her finger gets to be a bit more than he can handle. Aron came in earlier and put it on her, but he didn't give much of a story. It's nearly his bedtime, and he's supposed to be there soon. "Where did the ring come from?"

"No idea," Mina answers. "Her files don't go back that far."

Aron enters then. "Okay, the ring. Sorry, heard you outside and Jaye sent me in." Aron takes the ring from his mom's finger, then the necklace he gave her for her birthday their first year together. "Mom was in a relationship when she got pregnant with me. Guy's name was Dylan. He swore to find mom one day, and gave her a ring despite the fact that she was pregnant. My grandparents shot him when they thought he was my dad. I kind of wish he was... Maybe mom wouldn't have been so angry."

Storm Shadow stares at the ring. Aron puts a hand on his shoulder. "Mom doesn't love him like she used to. She told him to find someone new."

"Alright, bed time."