I have to admit, I was a little worried that some people were going to freak out and take the last chapter all wrong, but you guys are awesome! This chapter is shorter and a little more filler-like while we wait for Caleb to become coherent again. But I do want to point out that as long as I make ff's deadline, this chapter is being posted on 12-7, and according to my timeline, it's 12-7 in the story as well- I kind of LOVE that. :D

Note: From now on, the guest reviews are going to be submitted for moderation due to an...incident...over the last few days. If you're curious, it's all still there, but I don't allow people insulting my reviewers (because you guys are absolutely the best). If people want to personally insult me or rip apart the story, fine, but I'm not allowing attacks aimed at my reviewers.

trudes193- Caleb didn't do what he did because he desires Lisa. He wanted to hurt her- no romance or passion. As for Caleb's freak-out, I figure since it's the middle of the night and those luxury hotels are insulated fairly well, no one's going to be calling the cops.

Eva- Thanks! It did go longer than I intended, but like you said, once you start...I didn't feel like splitting it in half. You're right about the Rippner boys- they are both protective of Lisa. Unfortunately, they've created this little monster who insists on being involved. :D Honestly, I have no idea how to end this story. It's like you said...it just keeps going. :P By the way, if you sign in, I can send you the little previews/side stories that reviewers usually get. :)

Guest(1)- Still no sexytimes planned. :)

KnoKnayme- Thanks! I wrote a little more Ben than I planned since I know a lot of you like him (and I do too).

Perhaps-A-Star- I know you've been around a while- I swear I've seen a review from you before. :) Thanks for the support! This one will be a little less of a rollercoaster, but there's more coming.

MademoiselleGF- It's all good...it's been crazy here too. Are you a student as well?

lol I don't think you're a misogynist unless I'm one for having enjoyed writing the scenes. I agree with you on the secret thing, at least from Lisa's perspective. We'll have to see what Caleb wants to do though. You really want me to kill Lisa, don't you? I love it!

Caleb and his new BF Stoli. :D And thanks sooo much- you're one of the first (maybe the first, actually) to say have any kind of sympathy for Cheryl. I actually liked writing her- it was fun to never go into her POV so we have no idea if she's just screwing with people or being honest, or what her exact motivations were. And the rest, too- I can't stand straight-up good or bad characters. I think almost everyone has the capacity for both.

Sorry about confusing you. :( I'll put line breaks if I ever do the quick changes again like 30 or Psycho Killer, but usually it's just split in half or thirds, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Jesscah- You live agaaaain! Good luck with exams, sweetie! I miss chatting with you!

Pirate Gyrl- Yeah, Caleb had quite the mindfuck. Now the question is will Jackson understand...if he ever finds out :) Lisa made the right choice giving the situation time to cool down, I think.

Thanks! I enjoy expanding on Caleb. I feel like the two brothers are so intertwined that learning more about Caleb helps to understand more about Jackson. They kind of feed off the other, but yes- they definitely need some major communication.

Victoria and Betty- Thanks for the support, ladies. That "guest" (definitely not a welcome one) had been doing this for almost two days, but it looks like they're done now. I'd remove their reviews, but I can't really be bothered. I wouldn't worry about it too much, though...the anger they spewed was too personal to be some random troll who just happened to find the story. It was fairly personal (I thought) and I'm pretty sure I know who is behind it. Thanks again for having my back, and don't worry- I don't let people like that stop me from writing or change how I do things.

Onward!

Chapter 31: The Baptism

Jackson quickly walked down the hallway, using most of his self-control not to break into an all-out run. He had no idea what to expect, but Ben had sounded pretty worried. What could possibly have happened to make Lisa want to leave the hotel instead of just coming to him? What had she seen?

He pulled out the key card Caleb had given him, unlocking the door. Pushing open the door, he was startled at the scene in front of him. "Startled" was an understatement, really. He paced throughout the suite, his heart rate increasing as he realized that there was no sign of his brother except for broken glass, ceramic, and an upset chair that had seen better days.

Jackson roughly ran a hand through his hair, clenching his fist in the strands. Where would Caleb go? He glanced down at the ground again, and noticed empty liquor bottles scattered throughout the room. So he was drinking...not a surprise. Jackson did a quick inventory of the mini bar. He quickly figured out that Caleb had run out of vodka, and knew that his brother didn't really enjoy any other hard liquor...but would he even have cared what he was drinking?

But where else would he be except looking for more liquor? Jackson clenched his jaw, hoping that his brother wasn't on the street. He pulled out his phone and dialed Caleb's number, but received only voicemail. Jesus. It was almost four in the morning, so he couldn't imagine Caleb trying to buy liquor anywhere, but again, that was if he was in his right mind, and Jackson had no idea. Another quick scan of the suite yielded no sign of blood, so he probably wasn't injured.

He knew that Caleb hadn't come to his room, because at the very least, he would have passed him...the chances of them missing each other on the elevators were slim to none. So...where else? Jackson spun on his heel, racing out of the room. Of course- he could be in Ben's room. It was the only other specific place he could think of, and if that didn't work, what then? Walk the streets of Miami looking for him?

As Jackson approached Ben's room, he saw that the door was against the frame, but not closed. Well, that was a plus- he didn't have a key. He inhaled deeply as he gently touched the handle, wishing that he was religious so he could pray to someone that his brother was on the other side of the door.

He pushed the door slowly, but threw it open when he saw the man sprawled on the bed. Thank...someone. He quickly reached his brother and stood over him, his throat tightening. He saw three more empty bottles...what was Caleb trying to do? For fuck's sake, he was a doctor- he knew how dangerous that amount of alcohol in that short of time could be.

Jackson's fears were confirmed when he shook Caleb roughly, rolling him onto his back, and received no response. He was out cold. He narrowed his eyes. If Caleb had actually given himself alcohol poisoning...he didn't even want to think about it. As a last-ditch effort, he gently slid his fingers along his brother's jawline, pressing hard with his index and middle finger on the soft patch of skin where jaw met neck.

He sighed in relief when Caleb stirred, his head pulling away from Jackson's touch. So he was just passed out...that wasn't as bad, but still not okay, really. Jackson sank onto the bed, dropping next to Caleb. He gently turned him onto his side, knowing that in reality, he should probably move him into the bathroom in case he threw up. But Jackson wasn't about to force his brother to lie on cold tile.

He moved his hand down to Caleb's arm when he noticed that the other man was trembling. He felt how cold his skin was and reached back, maneuvering the two men to pull the comforter over Caleb's body. The shivering ceased, and Jackson sat in silence, running his fingers through his brother's hair and listening to his steady breathing. Still somewhat paranoid, he checked his watch as he counted the breaths...10. The rate was slow, but not dangerously so.

Jackson ran a hand through his hair, the bitterness rising in his chest making it hard to breathe. He had screwed up Caleb's life so badly. He had heard the argument "he chose to go into the agency with you- it's not your fault" a few times in his head, but to him, it wasn't true. Yes, it was Caleb's choice, but they had become so dependent on each other by the time they left college that he would have followed Jackson anywhere.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, watching his brother sleep. And he was. There were too many "should haves" in his actions where his brother was concerned. He should have kept them both away from the agency. Jackson needed the agency- it was the only place where felt truly alive- but he would gladly give it up if it had kept Caleb from all that death, from Cheryl.

He should have had Jeff call Thomas at Jackson Memorial instead of Cheryl. Logically, he had had no reason to contact his brother and bring him into it. But he had been sure that he was about to die, and he had just wanted his brother there, similar to the way he had told Lisa his name in the airport because he had wanted her to know it.

He rested his elbow on his thigh and buried his face in his free hand, forcing himself to face the fact that when he strayed from his plans, he ruined lives.

He should have refused to let Caleb go to Joe's house. Even if it meant being immature and hogtying Caleb like he had back when they were seven and he was holding him "hostage" as a prisoner of war, he should have kept him away from that damn house.

He had always been the one in charge, and Caleb had been his follower. But it was apparent that he had lead them in a very wrong direction, and he hated that there was absolutely nothing he could do to fix it. This wasn't a "sorry" kind of thing. It was a "hopefully this will heal with time" sort of problem. Neither were Jackson's specialties.

No, Jackson excelled at pretending that he didn't care, that these kinds of things didn't hurt him. But how could he ignore this? How could he pretend that it didn't rattle him that his brother had drunk an obscene amount of alcohol and was passed out next to him? Even if he could ignore his own brother or pretend that he had just been irresponsible with his liquor, he couldn't block out the images of the hotel suite that he had left shredded in his wake...the empty bottles, the shattered glass and ceramic...the destruction was impossible to misinterpret.

Jackson snapped his attention to Caleb again when he felt his body start to spasm. He quickly pulled Caleb to his feet, escorting the barely-conscious man to the bathroom. He lowered Caleb to his knees and helped him lean over the toilet, cringing when the other man violently emptied his stomach. He heard his brother mumble, but couldn't make out what was being said. At least he was still somewhat awake- that was a good sign.

Jackson kept an arm around his brother's shoulders for support as he helped into a sitting position. The barely younger man swayed dangerously, obviously not ready to fully wake up.

"You need some water," he told Caleb, reaching toward the counter. He stretched his fingers as far as he could to turn on the faucet, grabbing a glass and filling it. Caleb gave another mostly unintelligible reply, but ended with 'you need water...'

"Nope," Jackson replied, barely suppressing a grin. "I'm good." He lifted the glass to Caleb's lips, tipping back his head, but not forcing the liquid down his throat. Caleb began to swallow the water as Jackson poured it very slowly, but then he clumsily swiped at the glass, knocking it to the floor with a loud shatter.

Jackson jerked in surprise, almost losing his grip on his brother. "Fuggoff," he heard Caleb mumble, his eyelids fluttering closed again. Jackson sighed heavily, sitting next to him.

"Don't do that," he rebuked, shifting as Caleb collapsed onto him, his back pressed against Jackson's chest. It was going to take more than words to get him to leave at this point. He rubbed his brother's shoulders to keep him warm, trying to stay alert so he could notice if the other man was about to throw up again.

He knew that he should be focused on his brother, but something about that Ben had said about Lisa was nagging at him. Several things, really, but one main question- why was she staying at Ben's apartment? If she was upset, why didn't she come to him? He heard Caleb's breathing steady again as the other man lost consciousness again.

Jackson pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing Lisa's number. The call went straight to voicemail...did she not know what a phone charger was for? Shaking his head, he dialed Ben's number.

"How is he?" Ben greeted, getting right to the point. He sounded more concerned than usual, even more so than he had been when he had first called Jackson.

"Very drunk," Jackson replied as Caleb groaned softly. He waited, but no more sounds came from the younger man. "I'm not getting anything from him tonight."

"Oh," came the simple reply. Jackson narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Ben was hiding something from him- he was almost too casual now.

"I need to talk to Lisa," he said. "Her phone's dead...give her yours," he explained before Ben could make a stupid remark like 'then call her.'

"She's not really in a talking mood," Ben replied, and then paused. "She's pretty upset." Jackson rolled his eyes. Obviously she was upset- she just helped set her dad's goddamn house on fire.

"Put her on the phone," he ordered calmly. Another pause, and Jackson could barely make out Lisa's voice, but couldn't understand what she was saying. She didn't sound happy, but again...that was no surprise. He stared at a deformation in the bathroom wallpaper, listening to what sounded like bickering between the two of them.

"No," Ben finally replied, his voice firm. Jackson arched an eyebrow. Ben continued before he could say anything. "I told you that I was going to be nice to her and she doesn't want to talk to you, alright?"

Jackson slowly took a deep breath. "Giveherthefuckingphone," he snapped, clenching his jaw.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Ben muttered, his voice fading as he handed the phone off. "I try to be a nice guy, but noooo..." Jackson shook his head. What a drama queen. To be fair, Ben was right, but Jackson didn't want to hear it. Something was wrong with Lisa, and he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

Jackson's frown deepened when he heard a meek 'Hi' from Lisa. He hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out where to go next. He just wasn't used to getting information out of someone like Lisa who would usually share what was on her mind whether or not he asked or even really wanted to hear it.

"Why are you at Ben's?" he asked, deciding to go the straight route. He immediately regretted it, knowing that he should have started by asking how she was taking everything. He just wished there was a way to make her magically get over it. He personally thought that Lisa was better off without her dad. He knew that Joe had been her rock, but rocks weigh people down.

"I wanted to get out of there," Lisa responded quietly, and did not elaborate. Jackson sighed heavily at how broken she sounded. The constant 'Are you okay? Are you sure?' she got from her father had definitely served to keep Lisa thinking that things weren't okay, and it seemed to him that she had never really been challenged to leave her comfort zone. Well, except for the rape, but as far as Jackson could tell, that had only pushed her further into her self-pity.

"Well," he began, suddenly irritated, "hope you feel better." He hung up the phone, tossing it aside on the tile. If she didn't want to speak to him, then he wasn't going to force her. Fuck it- let Ben comfort her if that was what she really wanted.

He reached up behind him, awkwardly filling another glass of water and bringing it back down, giving Caleb a shake. He reached around, placing the glass in Caleb's hand and hoping for a better reaction than the last time. His brother lifted the glass to his lips, only half-conscious. Jackson kept his hand on the glass in case Caleb decided to toss it again.

God, Jackson wanted- needed- a cigarette, but he wasn't about to drag his brother outside. He pulled the half-empty glass from Caleb's fingers, gently turning their bodies and pulling away to help Caleb rest on the floor, making sure that he was on his side and his knee was bent. Placing his hands on the tile to push himself to his feet, Jackson noted with a frown how cold the floor was, and how Caleb was wearing almost nothing. He would have to get a blanket or dress him, but the other man certainly wouldn't get hypothermia or anything in the time it took Jackson to smoke.

Jackson dropped down heavily on the chaise-lounge, lighting his cigarette. He shouldn't have been so hard on Lisa, but she had cut him by deciding to go to Ben instead of him. He was jealous- not in the sense that he actually thought Lisa felt more for Ben than him, but just for the simple fact that she obviously needed some kind of comfort, and she hadn't gone to him.

And he was angry about Lisa's attachment to her father. It was horrible, but it was the truth. Lisa was strong, but she still had so much self-doubt sometimes. She was trying though, and Jackson had to give her credit for that. In the eight weeks that he had watched her, he never anticipated her reaction on the airplane, let alone imagine her willingly participating in the recent events. She had started out insisting that she had no choice, but she wasn't making excuses anymore. He hardly recognized her sometimes...and he loved it.

Lisa closed the phone and tossed it back to Ben, crossing her arms. "He's pretty angry with me," she noted sadly, leaning back against the cushions.

Ben shrugged. "What did you expect?" he asked, setting the phone on the coffee table. Lisa shook her head. She knew that he was about to lecture her again, and she wasn't in the mood.

"I knew he wouldn't get it," she snapped. "So don't bother telling me all the mistakes I made." She closed her eyes. "Of course he's taking it personally- he doesn't know why I'm here." She opened her eyes again, staring sidelong. "He'll probably hate you more now...sorry about that."

Ben shrugged again. "He won't be able to pick me out of a line-up when you tell him what happened." He propped his feet on the coffee table, crossing his ankles. "Too bad you didn't just tell him," he continued. "If Cal's as drunk as he says, Jackie'll be too busy taking care of him to kill him. So he could have used that time to calm down."

"Or get even angrier," Lisa pointed out. "And I don't want to tell him over the phone anyway." She tipped sideways, resting her head on the armrest. "Can I ask you a weird question?" she asked, staring at the hardwood floor.

"Always," Ben replied, sinking further into the couch. Lisa knew that they should get some sleep, but she had too much on her mind to be tired. She had one question that was bothering her that she didn't think she could or should ask either Rippner.

"Am I like Cheryl?" she asked quietly. "I don't mean like betraying people, I just mean personality-wise?" Her cheeks burned slightly when Ben remained silent. Of course he wouldn't understand what she was asking.

"Kind of," he finally replied, obviously confused. "I didn't know her before she was in the agency obviously, and you're not that cold yet. But yeah, I see some similarities, I guess." Lisa just nodded. She wasn't really surprised- she had expected that answer. Yet.

"You were right about me," she admitted quietly, her face flushing. She could talk to the brothers about how she was feeling without much of a problem lately, but she wasn't completely comfortable around Ben yet. "You and Caleb. I did manipulate him, and I did...do judge what you guys do."

"Is this the part where I pretend to be surprised that I'm right?" he replied, nudging the back of her thigh with his elbow. Lisa laughed softly. She wondered if anything surprised these agents. Well, Cheryl seemed to surprise them, but still...she almost felt like her they were reading her mind more than half the time. Not Jackson, though...they had many misunderstandings and miscommunications.

"Why do you think you and Caleb can read me so well, but Jackson doesn't have a clue sometimes?" she asked. It was probably a big mistake to be opening up to Ben like this, but if Lisa didn't talk, she would just obsess over that evening.

Ben sighed loudly, thinking. "Oh, it's probably because he's not being an agent with you, and we are." Lisa furrowed her eyebrows. They still saw her as some kind of mark? Even Caleb? "We're just used to constantly analyzing situations at an arm's length and not getting too emotionally involved with whatever it is. Like you and me. I already told you, you're cool, but that doesn't mean that I won't say whatever I have to if I want to get something from you."

Lisa nodded. "It's just business," she summarized. "I get it. So Jackson sees me as an actual person so he can't be as objective about things?" She kicked Ben lightly, grinning. "Should you really be telling me that you're totally open to manipulating me? Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose...I'm totally not going to believe anything you say ever again."

Ben laughed, lighting a cigarette. "Then how can you believe that you're just business to me? I said it, after all. Or maybe I told you because I'm manipulating you right now," he teased, and then sobered again. "No, it's true. Believe what you want to. But that's my best guess as to why you two keep fucking it up. You both suck at interpersonal communication."

Lisa laughed again. "Fancy words," she joked, looking up from the couch cushion to see Ben nodding, looking pleased with himself. He was so weird. "So I'm guessing that you two don't really hate each other as much as you say," she continued. They worked too well together sometimes. But then...Ben had just said that they were used to separating business and personal aspects, so maybe they put it aside when it came to the job.

Ben winked, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Well, let's put it this way- if he died, I'd send flowers." He paused for a moment. "But I'd send gardenias just to piss him off in Hell." He rubbed his chin. "Yeah, a final little...asshole gesture. He'd probably approve." Lisa frowned again.

"

It would piss him off, but he'd approve?" she asked, confused. "And why gardenias? Does he just hate those flowers?" That would be so oddly specific...

Ben laughed again. "Pierre always sent him gardenias, so yes, he hates them." He winked at Lisa. "I'll tell you the story if you stop asking me to be all deep and do this girl talk with you." Lisa rolled her eyes. Such a guy. She nodded though- she did want to hear the story. It already sounded too weird to be boring, and apparently it was important enough that Ben would think of it for Jackson's hypothetical funeral.

"Okay, so this was our first year at the agency, and we had to get to this weapons dealer," Ben began, stretching. "That was usually our focus- international weapons rings. I've seen enough different guns to make a redneck masterbate just at the thought." He grinned again as Lisa giggled softly at the disgusting image. "Anyway, this guy was totally paranoid and secretive about his routine." He took another drag and gestured to the kitchen, silently asking Lisa to grab him a drink.

She quickly grabbed two beers from the fridge- did these guys only drink liquor?- and dropped down on the couch again. She knew that she should probably be averse to hearing stories about their jobs since she didn't really like what they did, but it was oddly fascinating to hear both the stories themselves and learn a little more about Jackson's past.

"So we had to get the information through his assistant, this guy named Pierre," Ben continued, taking a drink. "The easiest way to do that is to seduce the person, generally in the long term. Hell, if they like you enough, you can turn them sometimes and get them to do the dirty work." Lisa froze midway to bringing the beer to her lips. They had to seduce this Pierre? The same Pierre that 'always' sent Jackson gardenias?

"Jackson seduced him?" she asked incredulously, feeling slight disgust. She couldn't- and didn't want to- imagine Jackson with another guy. It was so...wrong. She knew he wasn't gay, but how could he be okay with doing something like that?

Ben eyed her, biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing in her face. "So you know he kills people, and that's...understandable...but you find out that he had a completely fake relationship with a man while doing his job and that's oh my God, so horrible? Really, Lisa?" He shook his head.

Lisa frowned, taking the drink. "I just don't see how he could do it," she replied defensively. "I wouldn't do anything like that with another woman just like I wouldn't with a man I'm not attracted to."

Ben lost the battle, laughing loudly. "So would you be that disgusted if I told you how many women he's used?" He shook his head when Lisa hesitated. "Don't give me that innocent 'oh, I just blah blah blah' shit. Goddamn hypocrite...not that I care, but still."

Lisa shook her head. She wasn't going to let him paint her as some kind of idiot. "So you're telling me that you never teased him about it?" she demanded. She couldn't imagine Ben letting that kind of situation go without some kind of comment.

"Not once," Ben replied. "He did it because he knew French the best out of any of us. I've done it. Caleb's done it. It's a job, just the same as if the mark was named Paulette. What is there to tease him about?"

Lisa crossed her arms. "But you said you'd send gardenias to his funeral just to be an asshole. How is that not teasing?" she asked, refusing to back down.

"It has nothing to do with the fact that Pierre was a guy," he insisted. "He sent those flowers every day for a month, sometimes twice. I think it must have been some inside thing between them, but it was hilarious." He grinned. "I still send him gardenias a few times a year." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "No idea what happened to Pierre though...he ended up killing his own boss for us and they parted ways. He wasn't even that mad...guess Jackson was good in bed or something."

Lisa groaned. He added that last part just to piss her off- she knew it. On some level, she knew that it was ridiculous to get upset about whatever Jackson did with this Pierre, but it was still weird to her. And how could he completely melt into a new personality like that? Or was kissing guys not a big deal to him? She grinned slightly, trying to imagine the awkward conversation revolving around that question.

Ben was wrong. Lisa didn't really have any opinion about gay people- whatever two people want to do was their business. But how did he not see how strange it was for someone like Jackson- or himself- to act against their orientation just for a job? Or was Ben right- was there no difference between Pierre and however many women Jackson had used?

"I don't get it," she admitted, burying her face in the armrest again. "I'm trying to understand-" She cut herself off, frowning. "You told me this story on purpose, didn't you?" She looked up again, staring at Ben accusingly. He just nodded. "You're trying to put me off."

"You got it," he replied sharply, putting out his cigarette in an ashtray. "If you can't handle something like that, you should definitely walk away after this job is over. There's nothing romantic about it, that's for sure." He squeezed her thigh. "We should get some sleep- we only get a few hours before we should be back at the hotel. If Cal's that drunk, Jackson will be watching him, and you can only do that for so long before you just kind of go nuts."

Lisa nodded. "I'm not going to walk away," she insisted, pounding her beer with a grimace. Liquor usually made her somewhat sleepy- maybe it would help now. "And I'm not going to try to get him to leave anymore. I get that it's important to him, you know. I'm not just some little...good girl who needs everything to be on the level."

"Anymore," Ben added, and to Lisa's complete shock, leaned over and poured a small amount of beer onto her head. "It seemed like a baptism moment," he explained over her surprised shriek. Lisa sat up, shaking her head vigorously to scatter the beer droplets.

"You're insane," she pointed out, but she still laughed. It was just beer- no reason to get upset.

"Are you going to tell him?" Ben asked after her laughter had faded. Lisa sank back against the couch, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I'm not sure" she replied. "I probably should, but if they're already having issues, this isn't going to help. What good would it do anyway?" She shrugged. "It's not like I think Caleb's going to do it again, and I don't need Jackson to defend me or anything like that." She looked at Ben, who looked unphased. "Do you think I should?"

Ben nodded. "Something's definitely wrong with Cal if he's acting like that, and I think Jackson should know about it." He turned to look at her. "Just...if you do tell him, don't try to hold him back." Lisa tilted her head. What was he talking about? "Like you said, they have some issues, and if they're going to fight it out, let them."

Lisa sighed. "What's going to happen?" she asked. Ben finished his beer.

"It'll be bad," he predicted. "I mean, Jackson's already pretty Hitler about the whole violence against women thing- which doesn't really make sense since he's dished out his fair share- but this is you. And his brother." He shook his head. "Basically, if we put it on Pay-Per-View, we'd make a killing...no pun intended."

Lisa groaned again. "Stop trying to get me riled," she replied. "He's not going to kill him." Just...break his face?She ran a hand through her still-damp hair. "I'm not going to say anything until I talk to Caleb about it...he can decide if he wants him to know." She shook her head bitterly. "It's not like Jackson doesn't have secrets that Caleb should know about," she added, remembering that along with Cheryl, she had killed an unborn child and Caleb still had no idea. Maybe she owed Caleb a secret.

She ignored Ben's curious stare, dropping on her side again. No, she definitely owed it to him. She was still a little upset that it had happened, but she refused to believe that it was some kind of desire on Caleb's part or a hatred of her. There was something behind his actions, and there really was no reason to tell Jackson unless he wanted to.

"I don't know what you're so worried about," Ben said after a few moments. "You're totally turning into one of us. Where did this logical thinking come from?"

"I think it was the baptism," Lisa replied sarcastically, shutting her eyes. She was too tired to think about it anymore.

"Probably not," Ben replied. "We did the affusion, but I forgot to do the oil cross...I do have some massage oil somewhere. It smells like strawberries- you might like it." He yawned, continuing his babbling as Lisa felt him collapse onto the other armrest. "And you're supposed to be naked."

Lisa scoffed. "Not in the last couple hundred years," she replied, feeling herself drifting off. "Nice try, though."

"Can't blame a guy for trying," he murmured, and Lisa remembered that he had been awake much longer than she had. Poor guy was probably ready to pass out at the drop of a hat.

"Just don't let Jackson hear you say that," she replied, yawning again. "Since you have a history of sleeping with his girlfriends and all..."

Ben snickered. "Low blow," he accused. "Sleep with one ex and you're marked for life."

Lisa shook her head. Having him around was like having a little yappy dog sometimes. But he did know when to be serious- she had to give him that. Once Ben was silent, Lisa couldn't help but think about the Rippners. How was Caleb doing? How was Jackson taking it? She was convinced that it would be best to keep her mouth shut about what had happened, but would she be able to once she was face-to-face with Jackson again?

Lisa and Ben are bonding! Aw.

I realized after getting a PM from one of my reviewers that I should put some kind of explanation for Lisa's reaction to the whole Pierre thing. So here it is:

Personally, I hated writing those thoughts/lines of hers. I felt like I kind of had to though, because I realized that I've made her into a bit of a conservative- religious, pro-life, etc. I interpreted her as not necessarily being homophobic to the point that she dislikes gay people, but she's definitely uncomfortable with it. It's just one more "thing" for Lisa to get over. It was one more little push out of the judgmental world she's built.

Maybe I'm reading the character incorrectly, but she seemed a little high and mighty to me. Like the scene when the woman spills coffee on her at the airport, she says it's fine and all that, but her tone is sooo..."get the hell away from me". And calling Jackson out for asking if the bay breeze was okay with that condescending little "you sound like my dad" speech (mostly the "I'm sure" ending), as though Jackson would know her dad says that (although he probably did :P) and the "if I say yes, are you going to ask me if I'm sure?" stuff. She just came off as a little stuck up to me. I think she's getting better throughout the story, but she's still getting hung up on the little things.

I didn't have time to send previews for chapter 31 (I'm getting really bad about not doing that), but again, I'll make it up to you guys- I have another fun Jackson and Co. side story brewing. This one involves the question "What would you do if you ruled the world?" and Ben has some...interesting ideas. :D

R&R!