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Chapter 7

Game of Life

Sam P.O.V.

Gracey cheered as I spun her around a few times. Her laughter filled the space around us and once I stopped turning around, she poked my nose and grinned. "I learned a new joke today. Do you want to hear it?" she asked me with hopeful eyes.

"Sure," I said as I set the car keys down on the counter. "Tell me."

"Okay, why are ghosts bad liars?" she asked as she grinned against and bit her lip.

I thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't know, tell me," I said.

She shook her head in defiance. "You have to guess, Dad," she whined as she tilted her head to the side.

I heaved an exasperated sigh at her and raised my eyebrows. "Because…ghosts don't lie?" I asked.

She giggled and shook her head. "No, because you can see right through them!" she said as she made an o shape with her mouth and then laughed again. I chuckled. "Isn't that funny?" she asked me.

"It is," I agreed as I bent over and set her onto her feet. "Where did you hear that?" I asked.

"TV," she answered as she walked over to the table and picked up a cup of apple juice. "Although I like the animal jokes better, like the one about the zebra," she said with another laugh.

I frowned as I realized that Quorra was nowhere in sight. I looked out on the terrace but didn't see her. "Where's Quorra?" I asked Gracey.

Gracey sighed and climbed into her seat. "Mom said that I shouldn't bother her because she is doing Mom things today, but…" she trailed off as she gave me a perplexed face. "If you ask me, I don't think she's feeling well."

"Here I am," Quorra said as she walked out of our room and into the spacious living area. "And I'm feeling fine," she added as she gave me a warm and reassuring smile. "You're home earlier than I expected."

"I can always leave for a bit and come back later," I said as I gave her a wide grin.

She shook her head. "No," she murmured as I reached a hand out for her, puling her towards me gently.

"Alan and I took the rest of the day off after lunch and met with the new agents and detectives taking over the case," I told her honestly as I hugged her close to me. "And actually, they've already gotten farther than we ever could," I added as I squeezed her hips slightly.

She smiled up at me. "That's good to hear," she murmured as she rubbed her hand soothingly over my back.

I grimaced. "Sort of."

She froze and looked up at me with wide eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked me carefully.

"They are wanting to relocate the two of you while they are going through the warrant and arrest process so this doesn't backfire on us," I answered as I made a face.

She stared up at me with a hurt expression. "When you say that you mean…?" she trailed off.

"Just the two of you," I said with a nod.

Gracey looked over at us with a surprised expression. "You're sending us away?" she asked with a slight frown. "I don't want to go anywhere though."

"We haven't made any final decision yet," I started before Quorra could put in her thoughts. "So don't get mad at me just yet, okay?" I asked as I looked down at her with a gentle smile. "It's for your own safety."

She exhaled deeply and gave me an exasperated look. "Unbelievable," she muttered as she shook her head.

"They're doing it for your own good," I interjected as I tipped her chin up. "I told them what you said the other night. They don't want you interfering," I stated. "Alan highly disapproves," I added.

"What did Mom say?" Gracey asked curiously.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Quorra answered quietly as she glanced over at Gracey for a brief moment.

I smiled. "I sure would hope not," I started as I turned her around so she was facing me. "Because Gracey would do more than just worry if you ever did something rash," I mumbled under my breath. "Not to mention the damage that you'd do to your family," I added in a breath.

Quorra stared at me blankly. "Well, I just don't know what you're talking about," Gracey chimed in as she hopped off of her seat and hugged herself to Quorra, looking up at her with wide and wondering eyes. "And I'm guessing neither of you are going to tell me."

We both hummed our response and she huffed. Quorra let go of me and brushed her fingers through Gracey's hair. "Go finish your homework and then we'll have dinner, alright?

"She has homework?" I asked. "She's five."

"My new tutor came today," Gracey said as she gave me an excited smile. "He taught me about exponential growth," she went on.

I made a face. "Right…" I mumbled as I shook my head.

Quorra and Gracey both laughed. "Alright, homework," Quorra said as she gave Gracey a gentle prod towards her room. Gracey scoffed and walked to her room, closing the door halfway behind her.

I moved my gaze back to Quorra. "How was your day?" I asked. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Quorra didn't answer me though. Instead, she grabbed my arm and dragged me to our room and shut the door behind us before turning around to face me. "Kiss me," she instructed somewhat breathlessly.

I looked at her with bewilderment, utterly surprised. "Did I miss something?" I asked as I scratched my head.

She shook her head. "I'll explain everything later," she promised me as she took a step closer. "Just do it," she said as she gave me an innocent smile.

"I have a feeling that I want the explanation first…" I trailed off as she pulled her shirt over her head to reveal a deep purple and black lace bra.

She reached for the button to her jeans but I reached a hand out to grab hers. "Alright, alright, my darling," I muttered as I looked down towards her. "Seduction isn't necessary," I told her softly. I leaned in to kiss her but she turned me around and sat me down on the edge of the bed, straddling my lap easily. Her beautiful eyes met mine as her warm hands grasped either side of my face.

I smiled and leaned in to kiss her again, pressing my lips to hers as I secured my arms around her bare back. She kissed me back almost immediately with a fiery passion that sucked me in instantly.

Our lips moved in a quick unison. She sighed as I ran my hands over her skin and I felt her shiver as I pulled her flush against me. I bit her lip gently and she did the same to me, biting a bit harder as her fingers sent trails of electricity down my side.

She made easy work of my shirt and within moments I could feel her soft hands running down the skin of my abdomen like she always did. I grinned against her lips and let myself fall back against the bed before flipping her over quickly. I teased my tongue over her lips before pulling back slightly to trail kisses over her face and neck. "I don't think I'll ever understand you," I breathed against her silky smooth skin. Her hands ran methodical patterns over my back as I lowered my kisses to her shoulders and neckline.

She gave me a returning laugh before she directed my lips back to hers and easily twined her tongue with mine. She moaned as her hands knotted themselves in my hair.

My mind started to haze and my head began to feel heavy as I continued to kiss her until I realized that something strange had happened.

I was hearing her voice.

"Sam…"

That couldn't be right, could it? Our lips were locked together so she couldn't possibly utter my name so clearly, could she?

"Sam, I need him, I love him."

My lips started to slow until I pulled back ever so slightly. "What is that?" I asked quietly as I opened my eyes.

"He hears me. Sam…"

The words seemed to whisper around in my head, echoing beautifully, almost as if I were hearing her thoughts.

"But you are."

Her breaths were short and quick as she opened her eyes to look at me again. "Last night…I felt something, it was you…your aura, I suppose," she mumbled as she shook her head slightly. "You unconsciously let me in, I could hear your thoughts," she whispered as she placed her hands on my face again.

I frowned. "So you can hear my thoughts…?" I asked in a confused tone. That concept was completely foreign to me.

"And you can hear mine, although I didn't know how to let you in last night," her thoughts whirled around in my head methodically.

"So you heard everything last night? You can hear everything now?" I asked.

She nodded as I continued to listen to her stream of thoughts. "Much more than that, you can explore thoughts in the mind that people store."

"What did you hear last night?" I asked her curiously with a slight yet wary smile.

She rolled from underneath me and waited for me to settle in the center of the bed before she curled up against me. "A lot of things," she said as she draped her arm around my side and scooted closer. "You think of me a lot," she added.

"Because I'm in love with you," I reminded her as I kissed her temple.

She smiled. "You'd really do anything for me," she added as she shook her head in disbelief. "Anything," she breathed.

"In a heartbeat," I agreed as I stroked a thumb over her cheek.

"You shouldn't."

"I will," I said simply.

She sighed but then bit her lip. "You have so many words that you describe me with," she added as she giggled and grinned.

I chuckled softly. "So I'm never going to be alone in my head anymore?" I asked as I rolled my eyes.

Quorra made a face. "I don't know how to disconnect, so eventually, it just happens," she said with a shrug. "I think the connection was beginning to hurt you. You had a headache…" she mumbled. "I think it disconnected when you fell asleep."

"I did have a headache but it could've been from anything," I reassured her.

"You're afraid to be alone. You never told me that before."

"Because it's impossible for me to imagine-"

"Life without me," she finished as she twisted a few strands of my hair in between her fingers. "It would kill you," she whispered.

I sighed. "It would, but I think you were aware of that already."

"I did but I didn't know it was so…literal," she whispered. "You really mean it."

"I don't want to be the cause of that, Sam. What about our daughter?"

"Maybe it will encourage you to not go anywhere," I said to her with a slight smile.

She smiled but didn't respond. "Now it's your turn," she murmured as her eyes met mine again.

"Is it that easy?" I asked as her thoughts started to rush through my head at a quicker pace, like she was trying to direct me towards something.

"It's as easy as you want it to be," she breathed as she looked up at the ceiling.

My father appeared suddenly, so clearly that I could've sworn that he was right in front of me but he was wearing his grid attire.

I could see Quorra facing away from him and he stood about ten feet away from her with a perplexed face. "I understand, believe me, I do."

"Do you really?" Quorra asked as she tilted her head to the side. Her tone sounded different, foreign to me.

My father came to stand beside her, keeping about two feet of space between them as he looked off in the distance. "I'm stuck here, kiddo, until the day I die. I'll never see any of my loved ones again," he said quietly, his voice composed.

"Really?" she asked quietly as she raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Well, of course. I had a family, friends, colleagues, you know?" he wondered as he stifled a deep sigh.

She sighed. "I understand to an extent from the stories that I've read."

"I'll never see my son again," he said quietly. I saw the slightest tear drop from his eye. "My wife, his mother, passed a few years back. I left him…without a parent," he said as he shook his head.

Quorra turned to him, her eyes filled with wonder like they always were. "I am sorry," she said.

"I am too," he sighed. "I mean…he's only seven, it wasn't fair for me to do this to him," he went on. "We were supposed to be there until he couldn't wait to get away from us. We were supposed to watch him grow up, be at his wedding, be the best grandparents to his own children…" he trailed off. "I'll never know now."

Quorra smiled ever so slightly, her face sad. "You do understand then," she said apologetically. "What was your son's name?"

"Sam. Sam Flynn."

"Your thoughts are so vivid, so real," I told her as I shook my head in disbelief as I pulled out of the memory.

"That's because I remember everything," she reminded me with a soft smile as her eyes remained on the ceiling. "What memory did you see?" she asked

"My father was telling you what he left behind here," I answered softly. "You were upset about something."

She nodded. "It was when they announced that the purge was over. All of the ISO's were pronounced derezzed. I realized that I was alone," she told me.

He talked about you a lot, sometimes that was all he could talk about.

I smiled. "He probably never imagined this happening," I said as I twined my hand with hers.

She turned her head so she was facing me again and then frowned. "Your nose is bleeding," she said as she sat up, looking down at me carefully.

I touched my nose to my hand and scoffed. "Timing," I muttered as I sat up. Quorra got off the bed and walked into the bathroom.

She reappeared a moment later with a paper towel and a wet washcloth in her hand. She sat beside me and pressed the paper towel to my face before exchanging it with the wet washcloth.

"I'm sorry."

I smiled. "So you think it's your fault?" I asked.

"I think it's a negative side affect that the connection has on you," she concluded. "You're human, I'm not," she said as she removed the washcloth from my face. "And you're head hurts," she added. "I think it has to do with the human brain capacity. Sharing thoughts is abnormal."

I grinned. "This is amazing, Quorra. I think I can deal with a headache and a slight nosebleed," I told her.

"Tilt your head back a bit," she instructed as she placed the wet cloth to my face again. "But I don't know how to disconnect and it could escalate," she told me. "I don't know if it's something that you'll get used to."

"Hey," I said. "I love you."

She gave me a breathy laugh and removed the cloth from my nose again before sighing. "It's not stopping…" she mumbled as she moved to sit in my lap. "And…I love you too," she added with a soft smile.

"Stop, you're hurting him. Figure out how to disconnect."

Her thoughts started to rush again as panic and anxiety ran through her. Her thoughts whispered through my head so quickly that it made my head spin. "So that's how you think…" I mumbled. "I see why I never win anything."

She rolled her eyes at me. "That's beside the point, Sam Flynn," she said with a small smile as she shook her head.

"You know…you look great," I said as I ran my hands over her smooth stomach and then her back. "Beautiful, sexy…"

She ran her hands over my bare chest. "Innocent…" she grumbled. "I thought we had moved past that one."

"Because you're always going to be that," I told her. "It's adorable though so I don't mind," I added. "And it's not necessarily a bad thing."

"You still also think I'm naïve," she added with a pout.

I nodded. "I do, but you have gotten better," I said. "I love all of your qualities though. It makes you who you are and I fell for you."

"You're over-protective and kind of possessive." Her voice whispered through my head.

"And now that you're in my head, you know why," I teased as I took the cloth from her hand and held it up to my nose.

"Why hasn't it stopped yet? Do nosebleeds last a long time?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't know, I don't really get nosebleeds, sweetheart," I told her with a shrug. "I'm pretty sure that I'm going to survive," I said.

As soon as I said that, I realized that her stream of thoughts was becoming harder to hear until I could only hear my own thoughts again. She grinned at me. "There, but I don't really know how I did it," she said softly as she ran her fingers against my cheek.

"Practice makes perfect," I promised her. "I enjoy having you as close as possibly," I told her as I wrapped my arm around her. "We should do it again soon," I said, realizing that I already missed her thoughts.

"Did it stop?" she pressed as she pulled the cloth from my nose.

I shrugged. "I guess. My head stopped hurting," I told her. She bit her lip and watched me carefully. "Look who's being the over-protective one now," I teased. "It's a nosebleed, Q. I'm not hemorrhaging."

She glared playfully at me. "Alright," she said as she leaned in and kissed me again. "I love you," she breathed as she rested her forehead against mine.

I grinned. "I know."

Review and let me know what you thought of the chapter and this new idea that I thought of. I liked it, personally and it'll definitely come into use in some of my next chapters. I have the next chapter already written and just letting you know, get ready for a surprise! I'll update soon!