Restart

Ty could not take it any more. He stood and whirled on Bradley with a glare that could have boiled the sea. "Shut up!" he shouted angrily. "Just shut up! No one want your stupid opinion, so just keep it to yourself!"

Alyson hurried over. "That's enough, both of you," she scolded. "Do you want to get thrown out?" She glanced over at the security guards who were looking over curiously.

----

There was a pause and then: "An ambulance is on its way to your location," the operator said. "It should be there in a minute or two. Keep your friend still and warm. Don't try to move him. Do you want me to stay on the line?"

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

His grin slipping slightly, Bradley looked at the guards then over at Alyson. "I ain't doing a thing wrong," he told her edgily. He nodded at the movie star. "He's the one getting riled."

Impulsively Shelby stepped closer to Ty and clutched his arm, using him as a shield even though it was him that needed protecting.

~~~~~~

"Uh, no," Mary Jane said quickly, remembering what Layla said. "I got to call someone--"

And without further explanation she hung up and then looked for Layla number in the recent calls. She stroked Chase's hair when she found it and hit the green button. "Stay with me, Chase," she murmured as she wiped a trail of blood away from his eyes and waited for Layla to pick up. "Please, Chase, stay."

Restart

Ty looked down at Shelby and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm down for her sake.

Alyson shook her head. "You're the one who started it," she pointed out. "If you keep it up, I'll have a mind to call Child Services and get Dotty placed in a more suitable home. In fact, I might just do that anyway."

----

Layla answered the phone quickly as she walked down the road toward the bus stop, holding John Luke's hand tightly.

"Mary Jane?" she said immediately. "We're on our way to the hospital right now. What's your status?"

Approaching sirens sounded.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Shelby gripped Ty's arm as tightly as her small hands could, fearful of what will happen next. Bradley never did anything rational when threatened, and even though it was a woman standing up to him she highly doubted Bradley would remember that she was the weaker sex.

To her surprise, however, Bradley didn't do anything. He didn't lunge and attack Alyson, or leap to his feet and scream a stream of cusses in her feet. She was very surprised that all he did was turn his face away, as if thinking about what Alyson said.

After a long while of pondering, Bradley sat up straighter in his seat and then moved to stand slowly. There was nothing threatening about his manner, almost as if his movements were carefully taken, like when a person plans his words before apologizing. He walked over to her and stood at a respectful distance away from her, hands behind his back.

"No need to do that," he said smoothly, an innocent smile gracing his face that looked very out of place there. "Dotty's in the best care in the world. We care about her a lot more than you could know."

~~~~~~

Mary Jane hardly knew how to respond. How can she say that nothing had changed, that she didn't know when the ambulance was coming, and that she didn't even know if Chase was all right. She didn't know how to say it. That's when the wet stained trail became a flowing river down her face and a sob choked her throat.

She didn't try to answer but just pressed the cell phone to her ear as she cried unceasingly. She didn't know what to do anymore. This wasn't right, none of it was. They were just going home . . .

When the ambulance arrived she let them help her out of the truck and stood on the sidelines as they worked, watching with still moist eyes as the paramedics handled Chase with care while they put him on the gurney. She sat beside Chase when they left the accident sight and went to the hospital, and she held his hand the whole way.

Inside the ambulance was the last time she saw him once they arrived at the hospital. A team of nurses and a doctor whisked Chase away before she could protest, and she thought as another nurse approached her to examine her bruises that nothing was going to be the same ever again.

Restart

Ty wanted to scream "Liar!" at the top of his lungs, but he held still, breathing heavily, watching Alyson and Bradley closely, moving his gaze back and forth between the two as if watching a tennis match, though there was no words spoken for a long time after Bradley's declaration.

Alyson studied Bradley for a moment before shaking her head. "I can see how they were fooled," she said with some respect to the boy's acting skills. "However, I am not fooled. Words is all I hear. And before now I heard some pretty spiteful words coming from that foul mouth of yours. I am disinclined to believe you."

She moved back over to her seat and sat down, picking up a magazine and opening it to the page it had been before she had set it down.

----

Layla arrived soon after they did, holding John Luke's hand tightly. She was grateful she had remembered to leave a note for Shane or whoever came to the condo next. Walking right up to MJ, she let go of John Luke's hand long enough to give the other girl a hug.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Shelby peeked from behind Tyler and over at the woman who stood up to Bradley. She felt an undecided amount of admiration for Alyson and wished she could have someone in her life just like her. For a moment she forgot about Bradley and his reaction.

Bradley, however, felt nothing for this woman but contempt and the strong to extort the living daylights out of her. Caught between his act and his fury, he wrestled with his impulsive urges and his need to remain calm when Mrs. Withers came out of the intensive care unit.

Followed behind Nate, Mrs. Withers hardly noticed the scene in front of her and she called to Shelby under a grunt. "Let's go," she announced bristly, holding out her hand for Shelby to take. "We don't need to stay any longer."

Shelby looked at her aunt's hand hesitantly, now suddenly feeling safer with a stranger who called himself Dotty's friend than with her own family, but after Mrs. Withers snapped her fingers with impatience at her she quickly took the extended hand. She looked back as she was lead out at Tyler wistfully, waving her fingers in goodbye.

With a snort, Bradley followed his mother out, but not before he had his final say. "It won't be as easy as you think," he retorted towards Alyson. "You're going to have more to deal with than the law to get Dotty away from us."
~~~~~~

A friendly face was the exact medicine Mary Jane needed, and after seeing nothing but strangers' faces for the longest time she hugged Layla tightly, not wanting to be let go.

John Luke circled anxiously around Mary Jane and Layla as they hugged, and after a while he couldn't take it anymore. "MJ?" He tugged on his sister's shirt for her attention, just wanting to see her face so he would know she was okay.

Feeling the tug Mary Jane pulled herself far enough away to look down at John Luke, and when she saw him renewed tears formed on her face. Wordlessly she picked him up off his feet and practically squeezed the living daylights out of him as she cried softly into his neck. And he didn't squirm like little boys normally do, but pat his sister affectionately on the head.

Restart

Ty waved back at Shelby sadly, hurting inside to see her go with such a horrible mother and brother. It brought back painful memories of his first and only foster family.

Alyson just looked back over at Bradley with a sugary smile. "I'd get a good lawyer if I were you, Mr. Withers," she said sweetly.

----

A doctor approached Layla. "Are you the patient's sister?" When she nodded the affirmative he went on. "Your brother is going to be fine. For now at least. He's not awake yet but he is resting comfortably. You can go in and see him any time."

"Thank you, doctor," Layla said with a grateful smile.

"We are worried about what came up in the MRI, however," the doctor went on with a concerned frown.

Layla bit her lip gently. "We know all about that doctor."

"Does he have a good physician?"

Layla glanced away. "We couldn't afford one," she said softly. "We've just had enough for routine check-ups. They said he was doing well."

"He is," the doctor said reassuringly. "But I'm afraid this accident might have sped up the process."

"Thanks for telling me," Layla said, looking pale and tired.

He patted her shoulder sympathetically and then moved on.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Bradley hurmphed and then left.

Nate took a tentative step into the waiting room, watching Bradley go with confusement. "What happened?" he asked quietly as he approached Alyson.

~~~~~~

Wiping her eyes with her shoulder, Mary Jane turned as a doctor addressed Layla. She held onto John Luke as the doctor talked, sighing with relief when he said Chase was fine, but her worry suddenly heightened when he mentioned something that was seemingly unrelated.

"Layla?" Mary Jane shifted John Luke to a better spot on her hip. "What did he mean?" she asked hesitantly, unsure she could handle it after all this, before swallowing. "Speed up what?"

Restart

Ty stood there where Shelby had left him, only turning slightly to look at the doors that led into ICU.

Alyson looked up at Nate. "Oh, I'm just going to get Dotty placed in a different home, that's all," she said. "How was she?"

----

Layla looked over at Mary Jane, before running a hand through her hair and sighing.

"He doesn't really want anyone to know," she said slowly. "He just wants to live a normal life. But since you overheard . . ." Layla moved her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes briefly. "Chase has a brain tumor. The doctors say he won't live past twenty-one. Now it looks like it might be sooner than that."

P.S."Brooklyn!"

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life
Chase and Nessie arrived at Galvan's office complex and were escorted inside. A short turbolift ride later, and they were sitting on black padded chairs in the very bare waiting room outside the Lord Overseer's office.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait here?" Nessie asked her uncle in a whisper. She was a little shaken up by their ordeal, but her youthful, adventurous attitude allowed her to enjoy it too.

"I don't know," Chase replied, concerned for their safety. He had never been shot at before, and was beginning to wonder if the manuscript really was worth the risk.

"I suppose it depends on how long Mr. Megas's meeting goes," he said, not expecting it to end any time soon. But since there was literally nothing in the waiting room for the visitors to occupy themselves with, the pair just sat, wondering when cabin fever would set in.

Amazingly, they had only to wait about ten minutes before the door to the office opened and Galvan Megas stepped out, followed by a tall man in his mid-thirties and a girl in her early teens. The man was dressed in a plain tan tunic with brown pants and had a dark brown cloak hanging behind his shoulders like a cape. His brown hair had signs of grey, though his gold-striped brown eyes still shone with youthful vigor. The girl was a young beauty dressed in a blue tunic and white leggings, and her flaming red hair rippled down past her shoulders. She smiled warmly when she noticed Nessie, glad to see another young girl.

"Ah, you're still here. Good," Galvan said gruffly when he saw Chase and Nessie. "Believe it or not, it's actually a good thing you came here, Professor. Having an historian present will be a nice touch as we finalize this agreement." He gestured to the man beside him as he spoke.

"This is Governor Zacce Nalum of Delantare, and his daughter Rianna. We've been meeting to discuss Ditto Metru's inclusion in their Intergalactic Alliance."

If Chase had been holding anything, it would have slipped from his hands. He had begun to recognize Zacce as he exited, and he scarcely could believe his ears as Galvan introduced the former Jedi. Chase's hands began to shake, and he found himself unable to rise to his feet. His eyes bugged out of their sockets, and his jaw hung open so far it seemed about ready to fall off. His throat moved as he tried to speak, but only soft guttural sounds managed to escape.

Nessie's eyes had grown pretty large as well, but she was able to keep her wits about her much better than her uncle.

"No way!" she said softly. "You're the Zacce Nalum? For real???"

Zacce chuckled pleasantly.

"I was the last time I checked. I'm pleased to meet you..." his voice trailed off, waiting for their answer to his unasked question. Chase was still unable to speak, though his mouth tried to move. Nessie quickly jumped in.

"This is my uncle, Chase Ramsey. I'm Nessie Meryl. Sorry, it's just that my uncle's a huge fan of yours."

"A... fan?" Zacce asked, not quite familiar with the term. Galvan muttered something snide about the professor under his breath.

"It's someone with an intense liking for someone or something, Dad," Rianna explained with a smile. "In a way, the people of the City are you biggest fans."

An amused smile spread on Zacce's face, and he approached Chase. He held out his hand to the man and grinned.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ramsey."

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life

"Well, yes, there are laws against that sort of thing. Unfortunately, most people don't really care what happens to vampires. In many places wicked vigilantes hunt them down and kill them, just because they drain the blood of a few hapless victims every now and then. The poor vampire dears don't really mean any harm, but they do have to eat. I'm sure you wouldn't like it very much if people wanted to kill you because you ate cookies?" Miss Lucinda replied.

-----
Moira walked up to the counter and smiled sweetly at the new customer. He was a tall, bulky man who looked quite capable of snapping her in half. But Moira wasn't afraid for herself at the moment. She could smell death on the man, feel the violence and brutality radiating off of him. It sickened her and reminded her again of why she'd left Earth behind, hoping to get away from people who felt like this. She also knew she'd felt this man before, although she wasn't sure where.

"Hey, Moira. Like the new digs. Good to see you've fallen on your feet for a change. Bad luck always did seem to follow you around, what with you being a death omen and all," the new customer said.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Oh, we go way back. Of course, I looked different at the time. You're still as gorgeous as always. Must be nice being immortal," the man said and then spotted Malcolm and Pandora peering warily out of the kitchen. "Oh, you've made friends again. You never learn, do you? This game is gonna be fun."

Moira's skin had gone paler than seemed possible with each word the man spoke. She forced herself to speak, her voice trembling with horror.

"Jack? Is it you? Why did you follow me here?"

Jack, as that seemed to be his name, reached out and touched Moira's cheek, a gesture that normally would have seemed loving, but instead seemed more like a violation in this case.

"Dear, sweet Moira. You should know by now that you'll never be rid of me."

"Get your hands off of her!" Malcolm snapped as he stepped out of the kitchen. His hands clenched involuntarily and sparks crackled around them. Pandora was right behind him, a knife in each hand. She looked scared half to death, but determined to protect Moira all the same.

"I wonder how much they'll still like you when I start the game and they realize it's all your fault, Moira?" Jack asked, backing out of the bakery. The door slammed shut behind him as he yelled out his parting words."The first one is tonight. Better keep your friends off the streets."

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life
Chase finally managed to slowly reach out a trembling hand to hold Zacce's. The realization that he was shaking hands with one of the original Fountain Fellowship hit him, and a huge grin blossomed on his face. He leaped to his feet and pumped Zacce's hand vigorously.

"It's an incredible honor to meet you, Master Nalum! I've studied everything I can about you! I always wished I could have seen you during the Undetto Crisis (I was in Monstropolis at the time), but I understand that you had your own quest to go on. I just can't believe I'm finally getting to meet you!" he rambled at a mile a minute.

Zacce smiled graciously as the man gushed.

"Actually, Professor Ramsey, I've heard of you as well. I have a copy of your history of the Undetto Crisis. You never have the full perspective of a war when you're fighting in it, so it was very helpful to be able to understand what else was going on in the world at the time. By the way, I'm going to need that hand back," he said with a grin.

Chase flushed as he realized how ridiculous he was being and quickly released Zacce's hand.

"I'm terribly sorry," Chase said. "It's just that, like my niece said, I'm such a big fan of the Fountain Fellowship, and being able to actually meet someone as legendary as yourself, why I--"

Zacce held up a hand to stop Chase from rambling again.

"I'm just a man, Professor, like yourself. Anything great that I may have done is by the grace of the All. If it wasn't for Him, I would have died a long time ago."

Galvan cleared his throat impatiently.

"As entertaining as this has been, perhaps we can finish signing the treaty, Governor Nalum? I'm sure the professor would be overjoyed to be witness to it," the last sentence was spoken with a good portion of sarcasm that was missed by its target.

"Why, certainly I would!" Chase said, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Dad," Rianna spoke up. "Would it be alright if I stay out here with Nessie?" While Chase had been geeking out over Zacce, Rianna had sidled up to Nessie and the two had been talking together in low tones.

"That's fine with me," Zacce said, following Galvan back into the office.

"You don't want to see this, Nessie?" Chase asked, shocked. "This is history in the making!"

"Well..." Nessie hesitated, glancing up at Rianna. Chase's face softened in understanding.

"Alright. I'll see you in a bit. Don't wander off,"

"We won't, Professor Ramsey," Rianna said as Chase followed the leaders into the office. As the door closed behind him, Rianna looked at Nessie with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Now we can have some fun!" she said.

A (Slightly) Less Normal Life

Katie looked at the half eaten cookies in her hands with wide eyes. She looked back up at Miss Lucinda with an indignant look.

"They'd better not!" she exclaimed. "I'd throw my inkpots at 'em. That'd teach 'em."

----

Caeden weighed the credits in his hand for a moment before pocketing them and sticking his head into the bridge. "Hey Jones," he called.

"I'm right here, you don't have to shout," Jones grumbled.

"Right sorry," Caeden grinned. "I just wanted to say that I'm going out to buy a new cover for the vent. This one's all busted."

Jones dug into his pocket to dig out some credits. Caeden shook his head.

"No man, I got it. The Jedi Master lady gave me some credits for the repairs."

"She did, huh?" Jones did not look too happy about that.

"Yup! So, I'll see ya!" Caeden hurried away before Jones could decide the money was evil and throw the credits in the toilet or something.

He exited the ship carefully, making sure none of those pesky Jedi were around, before heading down the street to find a junk yard or some such place to buy a new vent cover.

----

A trio of young people stepped up to the bakery, looking up at the sign that appeared to say: HETAD YB PSTARY.

"Well, it has bread displayed," the green-eyed teen of the group said, nodding to said loaves. He fingered the scar on his face absently "So it's probably a bakery."

"No, duh," the younger boy said, resting his sword on his shoulder, rubbing the skull on the pommel lightly with his finger tips to make it shine. The blade was black and looked to be made of some kind of iron. The leather on the hilt was blood-red. It would have looked extremely impressive on the shoulder of a tall, muscular (preferably bald) man, but since it rested on the shoulder of a scrawny, twelve-year-old, it looked simply odd and unsettling.

The tall girl in the middle of the two boys rolled her eyes. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. Let's go in already."

With that she pushed open the door and entered the bakery.

The older boy shrugged and followed. The younger boy glanced around them surreptitiously, before stepping quickly into the store and shutting the door firmly behind them.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Restart

Nate blinked but then shook his head, as if to shake off confusion. "Uhh, she's still unconscious," he answered her question quietly, weariness weighing down his voice. "There hasn't been much change and probably won't be until she wakes up. At least," he shrugged helplessly and released a sigh, "that's what they keep telling me."

~~~~~~

For a long moment Mary Jane just stared at Layla, her eyes not focusing on the sitter but lost in a daze. Suddenly, though, she realized she had been holding her breath while Layla told her and forgot to breathe again; she had to gasp sharply for her air tank was starkly empty.

"B-but . . . He's so--healthy," she stammered. Her arm around John Luke inadvertently tightened its hold. "He never looked sick . . ."

Restart

"We'll just have to hope and pray that she wakes up then," Alyson said, her lips set in a firm line. She glanced over at Ty briefly then turned back to Nate.

"In the meantime, I think you owe someone an apology." She looked pointedly over at the despondent teen.

----

"Well it's not very big right now," Layla said slowly. "It's just inoperable." She sighed lightly.

P.S."Brooklyn!"