Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Michael Grant, various publishers including but not limited to Harper Collins Publishers. No money is being made and No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Literally he owns it I don't, Enjoy!

Chapter 23 - Many a true word is spoken in jest

Dakota stood in the middle of the sitting room staring at the body that lay at her feet. She had to admit what had just happened was not planned but even she had to face the facts there was no way Drake/Brittney could have carried on living in the attic without there being problems.
She'd left the house for half an hour, and had returned to Jack's frantic screaming. She had just gotten through the door when he'd barrelled down the stairs, screaming at her, telling her that there was a dead girl in the attic. It hadn't taken long for her to realise that he was talking about Brittney.
Dakota tried reasoning with him but he was frantic and had even started pushing her towards the door.
That was when Drake had come down the stairs.
He'd been smirking at her, silently finding entertainment with her failed attempts to calm the boy down. Then his facial expression changed at first it was blank then it broke into an malicious grin, with a sudden movement his whip was wrapped tightly around Jack's throat. Dakota watched as Jack's froze, his face turning red at first then pale, he tried using his strength to pry the whip off but before his arms even reached his neck Drake would squeeze tighter, his grin growing slightly every time.
Drake slowly descended down the stairs holding Jack at whip's length the whole time. He raised his whip higher taking Jack's feet off the ground then walked into the sitting room just as slowly as if drawing out the inevitable. Dakota closed the door gently then followed them into the sitting room; she closed the curtains then turned back to the pair in the centre of the room, Drake looked at her over Jack's shoulder. She knew what had to be done.
"Kill him."
Then with a loud crunch, Drake released Jack, his body falling to the floor in an ungraceful manner. Dakota walked over to him, she looked down at his body but felt no emotions stir up concerning his death. The sound of the door opening, alerted her to the fact Drake had left the room. Dakota changed into Dekka, using her power to lift Jack's corpse and carry him into the garden, there she dropped the body lifted a large shapeless mound of soil kicked Jack's body in the resulting hole then replaced the soil. Dakota remained emotionless as she returned to the house; she had other things to do.

Dekka walked into the church basement, a smile immediately gracing her face. She walked purposely over to Brianna's bed, looking over her girlfriend as she ate her lunch. Brianna had woken up a few days after Sam, Edilio and Astrid had left for Coates Academy, and now after two weeks of rest and recovery she was going to try and run properly after the accident. Lana had healed most of Brianna's wounds including her broken ribs and punctured lung. But having to relocate her knee had no doubt been the hardest injury to heal. . . Dekka frowned slightly before looking back at Brianna.

"Hey, how are you feeling today?" She asked in a soft voice.

"I feel great; I can't wait to get out of this bed." Briana replied in between mouthfuls of fish. Dahra walked up on the other side of Brianna.

"Are you sure you want to do this now? You could always wait a few days before trying anything strenuous." Dekka looked up at Dahra grateful she wasn't the only one thinking the same thing.

"Dahra's right, there's no rush to do this you can always wait a while and try again later."

"No, I'm sure I want to do this my legs are literally itching to run." Brianna replied, she handed her plate to Dahra who in turn gave it to one of the medical helpers.

"Alright if you're sure," She made her way to the other side of the bed as Brianna swung her legs off the side "Dekka give me a hand here. We are just going to help you onto your feet slowly Brianna, try not to rush things we don't want you hurting yourself again." Brianna leaned forward letting Dekka and Dahra to take most of her weight as she slowly eased herself off the bed. She gingerly prodded the floor with her feet before letting the majority of her weight rest on her feet.
Dekka and Dahra watched as she started rocking back on forth on her feet, then gently placed one foot in front of the other sliding her arms off of Dahra and Dekka's shoulders. She put the other foot forward and took a few cautious steps. Dekka walked around her towards the door then turned again to hold her arms out wide.

"Okay Brianna, try walking over here." She smiled encouragingly but was careful not to humiliate her at the same time. Dahra hovered beside her at all times making sure not to touch her but was there just in case she fell. At first Brianna looked like she was going to fall easily, her legs still fragile from the battering they had taken but as she continued walking her balance improved and she became stronger on her feet. As soon as she got to Dekka she lunged herself forward and held her close.

"Thank you" said the breathless whisper in Dekka's ear. She smiled before pulling back and pecking her girlfriend on the cheek.

"Alright, let's do this again."

Edilio made his way across the plaza passing the day care on his way. Mary was outside with all the kids and a few helpers along with her brother John; they looked like they were going on some kind of field trip. He didn't see Mary's face but even from behind she looked busy, so he decided now wasn't the best time to stop by and say hi maybe he'll come by in the evening.
Edilio walked up to Sam and Astrid's house, not bothering to knock before he went inside. He looked into the sitting room to see Sam and Astrid snuggled up on the sofa, Astrid read a pregnancy book softly while Sam absentmindedly rubbed her belly from behind but still listening to her voice. Astrid's belly was now visible if you looked hard enough through all the baggy clothes she wore. Her and Sam had grown even closer over the past weeks, Edilio often found them cuddled together sometimes reading often sleeping. Sam was more tired these days mostly because he insisted doing everything for Astrid. It was always fun watching them bicker over who was going to do the chores. Edilio sat on the armchair opposite the couple toeing off his shoes and giving a sigh.

"Hi Edilio." Sam said taking his eyes off the book to smile and his friend.

"Hey Edilio, look what we found in this book!" Astrid got off the sofa and rushed over to him to show him a 20 week ultrasound. "This is what our baby looks like, isn't he or she adorable?"
Edilio looked at the scan, it was one of those 3D ones and he could honestly say that what he was looking at didn't seem to resemble a human being, but he wasn't going to let Astrid know that.

"That is definitely going to be one cute baby" he answered reluctantly. Astrid's face lit up.

"I knew you'd agree!" she skipped back over to Sam. Edilio sighed and shook his head, deciding not to comment on her overexcited mood.

"Sam, look at this 'Your baby's eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed and his fingernails now cover his fingertips.'" She looked up at Sam with a smile on her face.

"Our baby's growing so fast" Edilio could hear the amazement in his voice and watched as he placed hand back upon Astrid's stomach stroking the skin lightly. Edilio looked upon the young couple as they smiled and talked about the growth of their unborn child.
Then abruptly the picture of happiness ended as one of Edilio's soldiers ran into the room panting and gasping for all he was worth.

Brianna had never felt as free as she did the moment she and Dekka ran down the beach at normal human speed. After an hour of trying she could finally run, it wasn't her super speed but she found when running with Dekka she really didn't mind what speed they were going at. Dekka looked just as happy with a broad smile right across her face, soon they slowed down to catch their breath.

"How does it feel to be running after all this time?" Dekka asked around breathless gasps.

"It feels . . . I don't know how to describe it! It just feels absolutely amazing!" she smiled back at Dekka, but Dekka wasn't looking at her. She was looking at something behind Brianna with a confused look on her face. Brianna followed her gaze and watched as one tall girl held onto the hands of a line of shorter people on either side of her.
"What the –" Brianna had began to say when suddenly the taller girl walked right off the cliff edge dragging the shorter people along with her. At first it looked like she was walking on some kind of invisible bridge, but then that moment passed.

"NO!" Dekka yelled as she sprinted forward, Brianna followed closely behind her she watched as Dekka dived onto the beach facing upwards then thrust her hands towards the falling children. Most of the children were immediately suspended in midair however one or two kids continued to fall. "Brianna! Get them!"

Time seemed to slow down as Brianna took a few steps back then ran forward. She wasn't even sure if she was running at super speed she only cared about saving those kids, after a few steps she jumped into the air grabbing a child with each arm. They fell unceremoniously to the floor but at least they were safe. Brianna looked back as she heard one of the kids scream, the taller girl (who Brianna could now tell was Mary Terrafino) continued to fall towards the beach her legs still moving as if she was walking, but moments before she reached the beach she simply vanished into thin air. Despite being shocked Brianna couldn't help the breath of relief she released.

Astrid stood at the edge of the cliff looking down at the beach solemnly as all the littles were calmed down. Mary had tried to kill them all while in the process of killing herself. By some odd coincidence Brianna and Dekka had happened to be on the beach when they had all jumped if not . . . well Astrid didn't want to think about that.

"Poor Mary can you imagine what she must have been going through to think that mass suicide was the answer." Astrid said quietly her voice tight with emotion, she stood next to Sam buried in a large hoody effectively hiding her pregnancy, it was quite warm outside but everyone around was too caught up with what had just happened with Mary and the pre-schoolers to worry about her odd choice of clothing. Astrid could hear someone walking up to her and Sam, she looked up at saw Edilio's grim face.

"All the pre-schoolers are here and are doing well thanks to Dekka and Brianna." Which Astrid knew really meant 'Mary didn't kill anyone in her mass suicide attempt'.

"What are we going to do?" Sam asked indicating the pre-schoolers. "We were lucky the first time with Mary volunteering but we abused her kindness and now she's gone. There's no way we'll find someone else to do her job."

"Look, I know you're going to want to blame yourself for what happened," Astrid replied "but there was truly nothing any of us could have done. Mary . . . she was unhappy and now . . . well we can only hope she's in a better place and that she's happier there" Sam nodded, Astrid walked toward him and reached for his hand, he squeezed back tightly.

"Come on lets go down to the beach, its time everyone went home." Astrid said

By the time they got back it was dark and Sam was exhausted. Astrid had told him she was tired and made her way upstairs, Sam promised to meet her in a few minutes. He followed Edilio into the sitting room.

"What a mess!" Sam sighed as he dropped onto the sofa he and Astrid had sat on so happily earlier that day.

"Tell me about it" Edilio replied, burying his head into his hands. Sam just shook his head already feeling guilty enough about not noticing the signs Mary had been showing. She'd obviously been over-working herself at the day care plus with her anorexia and bulimia he should have found a way to help her with some medication or even better, to find an alternative to all those drugs. But now it was too late. Mary had poofed and now everyone was too scared to look after the preschoolers fearing they'd have an untimely demise similar to Mary's.

"Do you think we could have done anything to help her?" Edilio asked, for a while Sam didn't answer, then lifted his face from his palms.

"There will always be 'what ifs' no matter how you look at it, you just got to remember in the end it's not really anyone's fault." He answered

"You still haven't answered my question" Edilio pressed on.

"Does it matter?!" Sam suddenly yelled, he sighed again then placed his face back into his hands. "She's gone Edilio, there's nothing we can do even in the FAYZ when people die they do not come back." After a few minutes of silence, Sam heard Edilio get up.

"Hey man" Edilio paused to yawn "I'm gonna head to bed."

"Yeah same here, " Sam got up from his seat as well then walked towards him and put his hand on Edilio's shoulder

"Look man I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"Sam, it's alright, and look everything will work out in the end." Sam smiled then pulled Edilio in for a hug.

"Thanks man" Sam said muffled by Edilio's shirt. A few more seconds passed before Edilio cleared his throat.

"Alright you can let go of me now" Sam pulled away and was surprised to see Edilio blushing but decided not to say anything.

"See you in the morning." Sam called over his shoulder as he made his way upstairs. Changed into his PJs in his room then he made his way to his and Astrid's room, not bothering to knock he let himself right in. He walked up behind Astrid and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You look beautiful." He said before placing a kiss on her shoulder. He'd found her looking into the full length mirror with an uncertain look on her face. She wore one of his shirts for pyjamas but had only done half the buttons with her belly poking out lightly from under the cloth.

"I'm gaining weight look how chubby my cheeks are." She said poking at her face.

"I think you look adorable" Sam answered smiling at her in the mirror. Astrid immediately froze and unwound Sam's arms from her waist.

"You think I look fat!" Her was neutral therefore Sam had no idea how to answer her.

"No, that wasn't what I said. What I meant was that . . . was that . . ."

"But you still agree that I've put on weight." She placed her hands on her hips, her face definitely showed anger now.

"No! Well, yeah a little bit, you can't say that you haven't I mean, you are pregnant but it's not like a massive amount or anything." Sam tried.

"How can you –" She suddenly gasped her hands flying to her stomach. Sam felt the panic leap into his throat. Not the baby!

"Astrid, honey are you okay?" she kept silent her face blank. Sam grabbed her shoulders shaking her gently. "Astrid!" Instantaneously Astrid's face broke out into a huge smile.

"Sam! I felt it! I felt . . . our baby . . . move. For, the first time." She said in a stunned voice. Sam let out a whoosh of air. Thank heaven.

"You scared me!" Sam said.

"Do you want to feel?" Astrid asked completely ignoring what Sam had just said. She grabbed his hand without waiting for an answer; she placed it gently on her lower stomach then waited. It felt like they were waiting for ages until Sam felt the tiniest flutter under his palm. He couldn't believe it. Their baby. His and Astrid's. He just felt their child move, and it was amazing. Feeling the tiny life growing inside the girl of his dreams.

"Are you okay?" Astrid asked sounding concerned. Sam hadn't even realised his eyes had watered until he felt a tear fall from his eye. He quickly used the back of his hand to wipe his face before looking back at her.

"Yeah, Im fine." Astrid still looked worried, "Stupid pregnancy hormones." He said in his highest falsetto of Astrid's voice.

"Oi!" she slapped him playfully on the arm "that's not funny" he laughed as he made his way around their bed and got in, she mirrored his actions from the other side of the room. Soon as they'd gotten comfortable, Astrid cuddled up into his side and his arm wrapped around her holding her close, Sam reached over and turned off their bedside lamp.

"Goodnight Sam, I love you."

"I love you too"

YAY! Another Chapter!
Sorry I've been gone so long everybody all I can say is GCSE's and TUMBLR.

For those of you who do not know Tumblr is a deadly disease and as you can see from my leave of absence is highly addictive.
For those of you who do know what Tumblr is I congratulate you for finding time for both Tumblr and FF! Because frankly it is impossible!

About Edilio blushing after the hug dont look to deeply into it if you've read Fear you'll know where that mgiht be going and if you havent. . . well I wont spoil it for you.;)

Thanks for reading!
please review!

hunnybunny ;]

A/N: 40,000 words WOOHOO! Thanks to everyone for your support so far!