Love Struck Eternal

Chapter 5 - Teddy

Sam's POV, Thirty minutes later.

We finished up breakfast and found ourselves walking into the city. Peek kept himself looking pretty popular. Not only did he just look interesting, he was a bird and was a rare sight for anyone out here to see. I even caught a few girls checking him out. Two of which were probably my age. Yet he didn't seem bothered by any of it. After a while I asked him.

"You said you had a family back stateside?"

Giving me a small nod of his head as we neared the museum, he replied.

"Just a girlfriend. Nothing too serious."

"What's her name?" I then wondered as he pulled out his phone from his back pocket.

"Skylar. Here you can see her for yourself."

Turning his phone over to me, I found myself looking at another equally good looking bird. They had to be the same species, except she had darker blue feathers when compared to Peek's orange. Handing him back his phone, I told him happily.

"She's really pretty. How'd you guys meet?"

"Believe it or not I met her at my family reunion a few years back."

Widening my eyes with some concern I questioned.

"Are you related?"

Breaking his normal tone, Peek laughed then replied.

"Hell no. She was my brother's girlfriend at the time."

Now giving him a devilish grin, I had to ask in disbelief.

"You stole your own brother's girl?"

Nodding his head he replied.

"My brother is an asshole. He'd sell her out to the highest bidder if it meant he could make some money. I did the right thing. I showed her that she was worth more than just being someone else's product. Once she saw that for herself she cut ties with him and came to me. We just clicked ever since."

"Does he know?" I then asked him as he chuckled back.

"Nah. He'd be pissed if he knew what happened to Skylar since she robbed him and broke his nose before she left his life completely."

"She robbed him?" I then questioned as we came up to the museum to stop at the entrance.

Looking back at me after checking the door, Peek replied with some pride to his voice.

"Damn right she did. I told her to. My brother was never good at keeping secrets or hiding his money. Served him right anyway."

"You also tell her to break his nose?"

Now lowering his voice to a whisper, the bird looked me right in the eyes with a face that read the word "oops" to reply.

"Nope. She did that on her own."

All I could do was laugh now as he got the door to then ask me.

"You want me to hang back so you can make the introductions?"

Walking passed him, I replied while starting to look for Teddy.

"Hell no. You don't need to be worried or anything. He's not gonna bite you."

"I might bite him though." He told me as I spotted my friend standing alongside one of the nearest and probably biggest displays in the lobby reading over the inscription written across a stone slab that was mounted to the ground in front of it. Mocha kept herself pressed to my right leg the whole time.

Reaching back to gently smack my uncle on his arm for his statement, I proceeded to inform him as we began our approach.

"That's him."

Peek's eyes went right to the bear as I called out from a few meters away.

"Ted!"

Turning his head back almost instantly was my best friend. Standing up over nearly seven feet tall and weighing I believe close to three hundred pounds. Almost all of it was muscle however. Teddy was really into getting in shape at a young age and it's paid off. He has all the muscle you'd expect but almost all of it was evenly distributed from his arms down to his legs. He was less of a cuddlier and more of a wrestler. But Teddy wasn't violent by any means.

Solely made up of a darker brown coat of fur, he also has saggy facial features. His ears and mane all were puffed up because of his species's genetics. Wearing a really nice set of black jeans and dawning a white tee shirt, Teddy also had this jacket he loved to wear. He got it from his dad who was a pilot in the M.E.A.F. Pure black leather and covered in all different kinds of aviator patches. And on the front was a patch that had his last name written across where his heart would be. His last name was Brag. Giving me a wide smile as I jogged the rest of the way over to him, I gave him a big hug and asked him as my uncle stayed a few feet back.

"Sorry I'm a little late. What have you been up to?"

Keeping me in his arms, he replied while letting me take a step back.

"You're all good. I was just hanging out here. I knew you were coming regardless and I didn't want to spoil anything for myself. I wanted to stick to the plan and do this together."

Teddy's voice was surprisingly soft for a large mammal, but that made me more comfortable. By the time we let each other go; Peek had made it to us and had fully taken his attention away. Teddy with wide eyes asked me calmly as he also attempted to greet Mocha with a lowered right hand to her head.

"Who's your friend Sam?"

Not letting me answer that, my uncle offered up his hand to reply.

"I'm one of Sam's many uncles. My name is Peek. Nice to meet you. I heard good things about you Teddy."

Smiling and taking my uncle's offer to shake his hand with his other, Teddy replied.

"Jesus, she has more uncles than friends. Nice to meet you too sir."

Once they had shook and parted hands, did Peek add.

"Sadly that's accurate, but hopefully that'll change. I hear you're a big fan of the military here. Have you ever thought of joining up?"

Nodding his head, Teddy replied back.

"Actually yes I have. I'm already signed up, so after school is done I'll be heading straight into basic."

Peek loved that response it seemed and then had to wonder.

"What are you going in for?"

Aviation. I wanna work with planes and helicopters. Maybe try my luck at being a pilot like my pops was back when he served."

"Sounds like a good idea. How long have you known Sam?"

"Since we were in elementary. We met over lunch one day. Some dude was being an asshole to her. Trying to take her lunch money and what have you. I couldn't let that happen. My parents taught me not to take shit from anyone and to help everyone to the best of my abilities."

"Sounds like you were raised right."

Teddy just smiled as my uncle looked back at me to urge us both promptly.

"Well let's get a move on. I'm not trying to hold you two up. I'm just gonna find my own way around the place and take in what it has to offer. If you need me Sam, just shoot me a text. Sound good?"

Nodding I replied.

"Yeah that's perfect. We'll see you later."

Peek just remained where he was as Teddy put his hand back on my side to begin escorting me towards the first main attraction in the lobby. As we walked he asked me quietly.

"So that's one of your uncles? He looks kinda serious. Is he friends with your pops?"

Nodding I replied.

"Old friends, but yeah. He's an ex-mercenary."

"No shit? What the hell is he doing hanging out with you? And since when do you wear dog tags?" He asked me as we had stopped in front of this large memorial the museum had plastered across the wall.

Gently reaching up to feel the tags with my right hand, I replied to his concerns.

"My dad just gave them to me. They're his and Shadow Robotnik's."

Almost choking on his own breath, Teddy questioned while leaning down to see them for himself.

"What!?"

I could only smile. I was slightly embarrassed as this big bear was nearly muzzle deep in my chest looking over the dog tags. After a few seconds he looked back up at me to ask.

"Do you have any idea how much these things are worth probably to the right people? I bet this place alone would pay you a small fortune to have this Sam."

"I know." I replied as I took the tags away from his big mitts to state onward.

"I'm not interested in selling these. My dad would probably kill me if I did something that selfish. Do you have any idea what these mean to him? It's a part of his past life. He wore these everyday till his very last day in office and now that I'm old enough he wants me to carry on the tradition."

"That's a few thousand dollars Sam. That's a pretty hefty tradition. But I respect your dad and I get it. I'm just telling you to be careful. Don't ever lose these. You're basically carrying history wherever you go. And more so Sam, you need to keep these more hidden. There are bound to be plenty of bad people who would be willing to hurt you for them. Put them behind your shirt or something."

Giving the bear a faint smile back, I gently pulled up the neck of my shirt and stowed the dog tags. I could feel them pressing right between my breasts and fuck was it surprisingly cold. After they were gone, Teddy proceeded to ask me again.

"Now what's the story with your uncle? Never seen a bird this far east before. Your dad must have a reason."

Nodding my head, I replied while looking on towards the inscriptions that were carved into the memorial.

"I got offered a full scholarship by G.U.N. But my dad and I talked last night after dinner about my plans for after school and I think he was worried about what I said to him."

Grabbing my arm, Teddy questioned in disbelief.

"Hold up. You got a full ride? By G.U.N?"

Chuckling I replied.

"You bet your ass I did. My other uncle Char gave it to me last night over dinner. It was a big surprise for both myself and my parents."

The bear broke out into a happy fit and shouted.

"No shit that would be a surprise to them Sam! You're mom probably lost her marbles!"

"She did a little." I informed him back jokingly as he then asked in confusion.

"But what about your dad? You said he was worried about it?"

"I don't know if he was worried about the scholarship. I think he was more concerned with the idea of me joining the army. I mentioned that as a possibility and wanted his opinion, but in the end he asked me if I was serious and of course I had no idea. I'm not a fighter Teddy. I can barely defend myself, let alone be a soldier."

Teddy was just listening as I looked back to see if Peek was still hanging around. But with the bird nowhere to be found, I looked back at him to mumble.

"He took my thoughts to heart and asked Peek to come out here to train me. More so be a mentor and a guardian in case I really decided the military would be my route to take after graduation."

"He's looking out for you Sam. Hell just by looking at him I can tell that bird knows a few things about kicking some ass. I bet you could learn a lot. Have you guys talked about it?"

Nodding I replied.

"A little. He wants to take it slow for now and give me time to narrow down my choices."

"Are you really thinking about joining the M.E.A.F with me? Can you imagine? We'd have so much fun!"

"It's not about having fun." I told him which got his attention to lower back down to a quiet level. With my eyes going back to the display, I explained to him my feelings about the subject.

"I want to join to show everyone I'm not just some spoiled brat who grew up with a silver spoon at first light. I see how people look at me Teddy. Even you when we first met."

The bear lost his smile and immediately grew sadder and somewhat defensive.

"Sam I never thought you were….?" Cutting him off I shouted slightly.

"Don't lie to me!" Mocha's ears went up as my voice was raised.

Teddy on the other hand lost his ability to speak as I gave him a glare that closely resembled my father. Keeping his mouth shut, he let me speak onward.

"You never talked to me until I was put in a bad spot and I thank you with all my heart for stepping in and being my friend till this very day, but if that guy never tried to mess with me you would have just kept looking. And you know as well as I do Teddy that it took years for us to find out what we had in common. We weren't perfect for one another right from the beginning. And it's no secret that everyone else was too scared to even come near me."

It was at that moment that I felt someone put their hand on my back. Upon looking back I found Peek now standing there with a serious look on his face. A tear slipped through my right eye as he asked me.

"What's going on?"

Wiping my face I replied.

"Nothing. Just let me…..just let me finish."

My uncle kept his hand on me as I looked back at Teddy to state.

"I pushed a lot of people away in my life. For a number of reasons. Everyone except you and at the very least I'd like you to not pretend like this wasn't the case from day one."

The bear wasn't mad or even sad at this point. He was just listening closely with all he had as I mumbled somewhat sadly.

"I want to change. Not just for myself, but for the people who've been a part of my life since the beginning. I wanna change for you, my parents, my uncles, and fuck even her." My hands directed themselves down to where Mocha was standing. Teddy just calmly nodded his head as I finished firmly.

"I'm not trying to get lost in the crowd. I don't wanna live a boring life. I want to do different things while I still have the time. Be that by going back to school somewhere or by joining the army. I don't know which yet, but at the very least I know if I join the military I'll be taking a risk by trying new things and by learning to work with other people. I just want to be treated as a normal person, but at the same time I want to make a difference. I wanna be something more."

Teddy was still quiet. Peek on the other hand gently pulled me back a foot to whisper into my side.

"Let's go Sam."

Looking directly at my big friend, I told him sadly.

"I'm sorry Teddy. I have to go."

Nodding his head he replied.

"It's okay. I get it. Can I call you later tonight?"

Smiling, I replied.

"I'd like that."

Now cracking me a smile, I was able to walk away with my uncle. Another tear left my eye and at that moment he urged me quietly as we walked back to the entrance.

"Wipe your face."

Mocha was concerned for my emotion this whole time and as we left the museum my uncle and I got back onto the sidewalk and began to walk back in the direction of the house. When we got a few meters away from the museum did I try to tell him confidently.

"That's not how I wanted that to go."

"You could have fooled me." My uncle replied as I questioned.

"What do you mean?"

Stopping us in our tracks, Peek reached out to hold me by my arms. With a heavy tone to his words he said to me.

"I mean you could have fooled me. You lost yourself back there. Right to your only good friend. Now I know you aren't normally an emotional kid so just be honest with me because there is no point in hiding it now. What happened? What did he say?"

"It's not something he said." I told him back as I shook his grip off me. Peek watched me closely as I took a few steps back to collect myself. After a moment I muttered to him.

"I just…...we were talking about joining the military and I lost myself when I got wind of his feelings towards it. He…..he thinks it's going to be fun. Fun? He thinks it'll be fun if we both join up."

My uncle then asked me.

"You don't think the same?"

Shaking my head, I replied with a raised tone.

"I could care less about having fun! If I joined the military my focus would be on myself and making sure I contributed in one way or another! By making a difference and by being the person I know both my mom and dad would expect from me to be! I want to make them proud! I don't care about having fun! Fuck that! I need to make a difference with my life! I don't wanna grow up living by everyone else's standards!"

With my tears coming back, I cried to him with Mocha pawing at my legs to get me to stop.

"Everyone I know is scared of me because of who my parents are and what they've lived to do! Others think I'm just some spoiled fucking brat who hasn't had to work hard to get anything in life! Everyone looks at me and believes I'm somebody else based off of them and their ideas of what my life is like! When the truth is I'm just…...I'm just scared!"

I was breaking down now and my uncle knew it from a mile away. Shaking now I cried.

"I don't know what I want to do with my life! I don't have any self confidence to be a god damn soldier like my parents! I barely have enough self confidence to talk to anyone other than Teddy!"

With my emotions going up to a boiling point, I broke away from the bird and began to cry my way off, passing him and hopefully on the right trail back to the house. In no less than a few seconds after I made my break, Peek came walking right up behind me to beg.

"Sam stop."

His hand scraped my arm, but the second I felt it I shook him off and just kept walking.

"Sam!" He shouted which got me to cry harder.

Now out of options my uncle reached out to grab me by my left wrist. Applying the needed force, I stopped and was turned back around. Keeping my eyes closed and away from his, I begged him.

"Let go."

Staying calm somehow, he replied.

"Not till you listen to me. Hey…...stop crying."

I did my best to listen to him. He gave me the time I needed and after about thirty seconds I began to wipe my face. Once I had finished that he went on to tell me.

"You're eighteen years old and you're smart. You can't be this easily broken. You need to listen to me when I tell you right now Sam that your life is important. But it's important in a different way."

Sniffing up some of my depression, I asked him back.

"Different how?"

Now letting me go, he replied softly.

"It's different by the fact that you're not your mother or your father. Get that through your head first. I know it's not simple, but the sooner you can look at things from that angle the easier it will be for you to mature past what I'm seeing in front of me now. No matter how you like to view yourself; you're not destined to follow in either of their footsteps. Both of them became who they are by not following behind their parents. They forged themselves through hardship and by following their beliefs. You'd be doing the opposite by trying to appeal to their beliefs and their interests. Your focus needs to be solely on yourself and I know that sounds selfish, but that's the only way you're going to ever become something special. You need to break out of this shell and stop thinking about your parents."

"But….?"

"But nothing Sam." My uncle injected as he went on further to ask me.

"Do you really believe that going into the army is the only way you'll make those two proud?"

I was stunned for a moment and shortly after he demanded of me.

"Do you?"

Shaking my head I replied.

"I don't know. But I know it's something they would like."

Now being much more direct, Peek took a step into me to shout.

"Fuck that! Your life shouldn't revolve around your parents and what they would like! Your life is your life Sam! Are you this fucking stuipd!?"

I've never been talked to like this. The most I got in terms of discipline was from my dad and I can't really recall the last time he raised his tone at me. Let alone curse and insult me. Yet I wasn't able to get mad. I wasn't that type of person. I knew what Peek was doing and it only made me question myself and my beliefs even more. With a tear rolling past my chin, I tried to respond with a shaky tone of voice.

"I…..I don't…...no I'm not."

"Are you sure about that?! Because right now all I'm seeing is a fucking scared girl who's sole reason for living is to make others happy! You don't give two shits about yourself, do you Sam!? Speak up for once and tell me the truth! Do you have any care for yourself?"!

"I don't know!" I replied as he went on to tell me bluntly.

"Then you need to wake up and see for yourself just how important you are! When your parents talk do you even bother to really listen to what they're saying!? How many fucking times have they said to you that they don't care what you do with your life!? All they want is for you to follow your heart! How many times!?"

I was clearly unsure of what to do now that the situation had escalated. My mind was focused on trying to find a happy place. Yet all I could do was think over the mistakes I've made thus far. With the bird displaying controlled anger, he went on to say to me.

"I know both your mother and your father. I know without a doubt that they just want you to be happy and not…..not this. You're miserable. You're miserable and to be quite honest Sam you're not ready to be an adult if this is where your mind is at."

Widening my eyes to his words I questioned.

"How can you say that? You barely fucking know me!"

I proceeded to push my uncle with all I had; yet this man barely flinched as I shouted at him.

Peek's POV.

Sam was where I needed her to be. When she pushed me, I watched closely as she proceeded to tell me in her own blunt manner.

"You don't know anything about me! The last time we met was when I was a baby and your only here now because my fucking dad asked you! Now you have the guts to stand there and insult me!?"

"I'm trying to prove a point to you Sam!"

"You're coming at my neck you fucking asshole!"

She went to push me again and this time I widened my eyes when I saw her eyes go red. When she connected her hands to me and applied the force; I was caught off guard and sent a few feet backwards. Shortly after her eyes returned back to their normal gold color and she shouted at me.

"What gives you the right to judge me?! Just because I don't know who I am yet doesn't mean I'm stuipd! It doesn't mean I'm immature or not capable of being an adult! I'm just fucking confused and you have no idea what that feels like!"

Collecting myself, I attempted to cut her off by shouting her name.

"Sam!"

Again her eyes snapped back to red and without even thinking she swung at me with her right hand. Of course I took a large step back as she was completely off her handle. Once I had backed up, she took her chance to growl at me in tears.

"You have no idea what it's like to be alone your whole fucking life! No idea what it's like being avoided by everyone your age!"

"Calm down Sam!" I ordered her as she came at me again. Dodging another hook of hers, I rolled under her side and got behind her. She of course followed me again and turned with me to continue her rant.

"I've always been avoided, or ignored, or even hated by everyone because of who my parents are! Or because of how I act! I'm an asshole! I can't stand working with idiots! I can't stand wasting my time! It drives me fucking insane!"

I was at a loss for what to do now. I had no idea what was going on with her. Since when was she exposed to viper venom? This shouldn't be happening to her, but thanks to my ability to push her buttons; I now had her so mad it must have triggered something in her head to click. But I knew this was bad. Her fur was already slightly darker thanks to the venom and if memory serves those with little training would soon go feral and the last thing I needed was her turning into a monster for the public to see and thanks to our argument we already had more than enough people watching it all unfold.

With her taking a second to stare me down, I tried to calmly warn her.

"Sam? Take a second and just breathe. I'm sorry if I upset you, but you need to listen to me for real and just calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" She ordered me as I knew things were about to blow up. Taking a moment to look around the area I caught the eyes of a few people staring at me. Once my focus had come back to her; I widened my eyes to see her coming for another swing. This time however I took her back after avoiding the blow and managed to wrap both my arms around her whole torso. I even got a hold of her arms and brought them together. Her instant reaction was to growl and scream at me, but with my strength taking over, I held her in place and ordered her with a growl of my own.

"Calm down! Breathe Sam!"

She struggled for a few seconds but once she realized she wasn't going anywhere she began to cry again. Her eyes went back to normal and with a lack of energy she went limp and nearly fell down. Thankfully I held her up and ordered her as I saw she was nearly fainting.

"Breathe. Sam, breathe."

The wolf somehow found the ability to recover and stay on her own two feet. She was clearly distraught and unsure of what just came over her. With my hands still holding her in place on the sidewalk, I began to look around at the groups of onlookers. Without even thinking about it, I urged her with a whisper.

"We have to leave. Right now Sam. Can you walk?"

She just nodded her head in tears and taking that with a grain of salt, I used my own power to start moving us away from the scene. During the first few steps her fur went back to normal and she began to breathe in a frenzy. She was starting to hyperventilate and I could feel it as my eyes kept a close tab on her now. Once we were far enough away, I slipped us into a nearby alley and had found a small set of stairs to sit her down on. Getting down on my own two knees, I put both my hands on her shoulders and got right in her face to urge her.

"Breathe. Take short breaths Sam. You're hyperventilating and I need you to calm down and control your breathing. Otherwise you're going to pass out and the last thing I want is to drag you to a hospital. Are you listening to me?"

She nodded her head.

We spent a few minutes here. She was calming down but the closer she got to the end of her flurry; the more I was noticing her exhaustion. Going into my pocket, I grabbed onto a small black case I had tucked away with my phone. Her eyes had picked up on its presence and with barely any energy she asked me.

"What is that?"

Popping the case opening, I pulled out a single black tablet and had placed it in her hand. Wanting to avoid this conversation, I just calmly urged her.

"It's gonna help you. You need to trust me about this. Go on and take it. You can chew it if you have to, but it's gonna taste bad. In the end you'll feel a lot better. If you don't wanna pass out; I'll need this from you Sam."

The wolf stared at the tablet for a moment then looked back at me. I just stared at her and in time she took it down with a single gulp. Moments later her face went red with heat and her eyes had gone red again. This time however she gently laid herself back against the stairs and said to me softly.

"Oh my god. What the hell is going on? Peek?"

She was gonna fall over. So without even thinking, I sat down next to her and balanced her head on my side. From there I urged her.

"Just breathe. Close your eyes and just control your breathing. It's gonna take a few minutes, but you'll start to feel your energy coming back in no time. Okay? Sam?"

"Okay." She mumbled as she did as I asked of her.

My heart was racing as I put the case away in my pocket. With her body pressed against mine, I tried to think of my next move. This wasn't good and I knew for a fact I couldn't hide this from Raptor. The man could read minds and I never had a good poker face when it came to things like this, but right now the most important thing was to make sure his daughter was okay. I'd sit here all day if I had to, but regardless I decided to get out my phone and call someone who I knew could keep a secret. Her aunt answered on the first dial.

"Hello?"

With Pepper's voice coming through loud and clear, I looked back at Sam to see she was asleep. Gently laying her head down on my lap, I said to her aunt who was waiting calmly on the other end.

"Hey I know it's been a bit since we last spoke Pep, but I need to talk to Cody. Is he in?"

Picking up on my voice Pepper replied.

"Yeah he's around, but you called me dumb fuck. What's going on? Where are you?"

"It's a long story Pep. Can you just get Cody for me?"

The girl let out a small sigh and from there I heard her yell his name. In seconds she said to me.

"Here he comes."

"Thank you." I replied as I heard her hand the phone over. With an Irish tone coming through the line now, I listened as Cody asked.

"Who's this?"

"Hey little man it's Peek. Long time no talk."

"Holy crap man yeah. It's been a hot minute. What's been going on with you? I heard you left the states. What have….?" Cutting him off I asked him.

"Is there any chance you can slip away from the bloodhound for a few minutes? I need to talk to you."

Cody was never accustomed to me asking for his help. Let alone was he used to hearing me sound worried. So without a doubt he replied.

"Yeah hold on a second. Pep?! I'm gonna take this outside for a few minutes!"

I assume she said it was fine because the next thing I knew Cody was on the move and once where he needed to be he said to me.

"We're good. What's up man?"

Looking down at Sam who was asleep I replied.

"It's a long story brother, but I'll cut you all the details. I'm back in the middle east helping Raptor with his daughter."

"No shit? What's wrong with her? I didn't know about this."

"This was recent. Like last night. Long story short man, he's worried about her ability to defend herself and asked me to help her learn a few things. I couldn't say no to the guy and you know why."

"Is she in trouble? Why is he all the sudden concerned about her safety? I thought he was agonist teaching her shit like that."

"He's concerned because Sam was given a full ride scholarship from G.U.N to any school of her choosing."

"What?" He whispered in shock as I nodded to myself and replied back.

"She can go anywhere she wants, but they talked about it and Sam admits she's scared and unsure of her ability to handle herself if something happened and she wasn't living in the middle east. She's even thinking about joining the army man and with that kind of honesty; Raptor wants to make sure she at least has a foot through the door no matter what way she decides to go."

"So you're training her?"

Nodding again I replied.

"Yeah but man there's a problem."

"What?" Cody then asked in concern as I looked back down at Sam to reply.

"She's a user."

Cody went to respond but his voice snapped in two once his mind realized what I had just said. Sensing he was stumped I explained a little.

"It's my first real day with her and I'll be honest she's a mess. I pushed her a little too hard emotionally and she snapped on me. Her eyes went red, coat got dark, and she had the power of a truck behind her fists."

"You two fought?" He asked me as I shook my head.

"She swung a few times but I'm good man. So is she. I restrained her and she managed to calm down, but her body and her mind had no idea what came over it just now. She was hyperventilating and I had no choice but to give her one of my supplements. We're currently in an alley and she's out cold on my lap. I don't know what to do."

Cody took a huge breath and slowly let it out soon after. With Mocha at my hip taking a seat next to her master, I reached out to pet her and state.

"She's okay baby. Just taking a short nap. Calm down."

Mocha was just unsure of her condition. Cody on the other hand asked me.

"Are you sure she was using venom? Because man that can't be a thing. Her parents have never dosed her up."

"I'm one hundred percent certain."

Cody went silent for a few moments and that gave me enough time to say out loud.

"She's not just a user. She's somehow a perfect user. Which makes this all the more crazy to think about."

"Does Raptor know?" Cody wondered as I wiped my head to reply.

"This just happened. So no. He doesn't know. But if I go back to that house he'll know something's up. With either of us. I don't want this to get out of hand."

"It may already be." Cody told me as I let out a sigh of my own. Once I was okay I told him truthfully.

"It could be genetic. Both him and Zeta are perfect users. There could be a chance the venom was passed down."

Ignoring my assumption, Cody said to me.

"That doesn't really matter at the moment man. How is she?"

"Asleep. What do I do? Come clean to her parents?"

"Right now I'd focus on keeping her safe. If that was her first time she's going to be feeling it when she wakes up. I'd just keep quiet till she's able to move on her own again. Talk to them later after she's recovered."

"Don't tell Pepper." I begged him as he chuckled back.

"You serious? You just referred to her as a bloodhound. Do you really think I have a chance keeping something like this a secret?"

With his point made and taken, I sighed and replied.

"I guess not. But I need to figure this out soon."

"I'd go to her father as soon as you get the chance. There isn't any point in hiding this from him."

"Ahhhh….I guess your right. Thanks Cody. I'm gonna let you go.""

Keep in touch man. You know I'm right around the corner if you're back in Iraq. You need me and I'll be there."

"Same." I replied as I hung up the phone and looked back at Sam to see she was still asleep.

"Fuck." I mumbled as Mocha sat down alongside me to sniff at my arm. Reaching over and petting her gently on the head, I asked myself out loud.

"What do you do now?"

mT Shadow.