| Chapter 19 "But I don't see why we have to....." Nick started. "Jesus freaking Christ!" Jered yelled, slamming his hand on the table. Ephah glared at him, "Jered, he has to learn." "Yeah but damn already," Jered said, "I'm sick of all the questions. Why do we do this? How come this? Stop already!" Nick sat across the table from him, staring at him. Jered stood up and headed for the door, "I'm sick of this, I'm leaving." Nick looked down at the table and sighed as Jered left the room. Ephah put his hand on Nick's shoulder, "Don't mind him. He never was graced with much patience." Nick smiled and laughed, "I see that." Ephah got up and walked over to the frig pulling out two beers and handing one to Nick. "Thanks," Nick said, taking a long drink. It had already been a long day, and it wasn't even half over yet. Nick's plan to annoy Jered into leaving worked. He wanted to get Ephah alone and really get to know him. The man intrigued him, and he had to know if there was a chance to bring him back. "So," Ephah said sitting back down, "What was it you were asking before we were interrupted?" Nick bit his lower lip, "You know, I forgot already," he said with a laugh. Ephah smiled, "I'm sure if it was important, you'll remember it later." "Yeah," Nick said, "Um there is one thing I'd like to know though." Ephah set his bottle down, "What's that?" "Well I kinda know a little about Jered from Tara, but I was wondering about you," Nick started. Ephah stared at him, "What about me?" "Well, there's something different about you. It reminds me of Gideon in a way. Are you like me and Tara or are you like him?" Nick asked, hoping he just sounded curious. Ephah took a drink before he answered, "I'm not like you or Tara. I'm one of the �originals'." Nick looked confused, "Originals?" Ephah nodded, "Yeah. You see, when the uprising happened, heaven was divided. There were those that were loyal to God and those that were loyal to ..... um let me call him Satan so you'll know who I'm talking about." Nick nodded, completely engrossed in his story. "I supported Satan. I believed in his cause at the time. So when he was cast out of heaven, those of us who supported him were cast out as well," Ephah continued. "So you're a true fallen angel?" Nick asked. Ephah laughed, "If that's what you wanna call me, then yeah I guess so." "Do you miss being on the other side?" Nick asked. Ephah almost choked on his drink, the question taking him by complete surprise. "Um honestly, sometimes I do," he said. Nick's breath caught in his throat. He really wasn't expecting him to be so candid with him. "So um why do you stay then?" Nick asked. Ephah shrugged his shoulders, "I've been here a long time Nick. I can't expect them to let me back now. Besides, there are days when I like what I do here. There's honor in staying where you decided to go, even if it turned out to be a mistake. And, why are you asking me all this anyway? Are you having second thoughts about being here?" Nick ran his hand through his hair, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I just .... I feel like I belong here more though. I couldn't live by their rules." "But you can live by ours?" Ephah asked. Nick nodded, "They're completely different. I feel more at home here." Ephah smiled, "Like I said, there are days when I love my job." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "No, no, no," Serenity said, shaking her head. "You can't use as much force," Evi said. Tara sighed, completely frustrated. "If you do it like that, you'll have every guy within ten blocks at your feet," Serenity stated. "Yeah, you have to soften it a bit. Focus on one person and aim it at him," Evi noted. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Tara said. "No, you're doing fine, really," Evi said. Tara looked at her like she'd lost her mind, "And what part of today was fine?" "Tara, you just have to learn to tone it down a little, that's all," Serenity said. "Yeah, you're abilities make this easy for you. You just have to learn how to soften it a little," Evi said. Tara lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, "OK, I'll try." "Good, now just take a deep breath and concentrate," Evi said. "Remember, soft," Serenity added. "Soft," Tara repeated. She took a deep breath, focusing on her task. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the tune she wanted, then she began to sing. It was a song only the three of them could audibly hear, but one that would be dangerous to any other person. Tara found it to be the most beautiful song she had ever heard, and still couldn't believe she was actually singing it. Evi and Serenity smiled at each other. "That's it," Evi said, "You got it." Tara stopped singing and looked at her, "Really?" "Yup, picture perfect," she said smiling. Tara breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally." The girls laughed. "Tara, you're going faster in your training that any of us ever have. I think in a few weeks you'll be ready for your first test," Serenity said. Tara looked concerned, "Test? We have tests?" The girls laughed again. "Don't worry, with your abilities, you'll pass with flying colors," Evi said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "So what do you want to take with you?" Lyn asked, looking in Brian's closet. "I dunno, I guess some sweats," Brian answered from his spot on the bed. Lyn looked back at him, "I know you don't wanna do this right now, but we're leaving so early in the morning we need to be packed before we get up." Brian sighed, "I know. I still can't believe Ted got the tests moved up to tomorrow." Lyn smiled, "He can pull strings when he has to." "Yeah I see that," Brian conceded. Lyn finished packing his bag and zipped it up, setting it next to the door. Then she went back to sit next to Brian, "You sure you don't want to call the guys and tell them?" Brian shook his head, "No. Let's just wait until we see what the tests show. I don't wanna worry them if it's nothing." Lyn put her hand on his arm, "Bri, whatever this is, it's not nothing. You've been so tired the last few days. Something's causing that." Brian sighed, "I know, but you don't understand." "What don't I understand?" she asked, looking deep into his eyes. Brian sat up more in bed and faced her, "How they treat me." Lyn looked confused, "What do you mean?" "They treat me different, and I hate it," Brian said, "When I found out I had to have surgery I kept it from them for a long time. At first I wasn't really sure how to tell them, then I was just scared to. It was like if I said the words, it made it that much more real, ya know?" Lyn nodded. "So I waited until about three weeks before the surgery to tell them. They all knew something was up, cause I had started skipping almost everything but the shows. I slept all the time, and was barely making it through the show. So they all knew something wasn't right, but when I told them, everything changed," he said. "How so?" she asked. "It was like they were afraid to touch me or something. Like I had the plague. They were afraid they'd hurt me, so they just stopped messing around with me. A.J. avoided me altogether. He told me later that he was just scared and didn't know how to handle it. Howie was supportive, but very distant. Kevin went into �father' overload. He bugged the hell outta me making sure I did what the doctors told me to, and Nick......" he said. "What did Nick do?" Lyn asked. Brian shook his head, "I'll never forget the look on his face. It was sheer horror. He was young then, and the news hit him like a ton of bricks. He was always trying to get me things so I wouldn't have to do anything for myself." Lyn laughed, "It just shows how much he loves you." Brian smiled, "I know, but at the time it was annoying. I mean I knew they all loved me and would be there for me, but I couldn't take the way they were treating me. Like I was an invalid or something." "I see," Lyn said. "So you see why I don't want them to know anything? At least until we do?" Brian asked. Lyn nodded her head, "I understand. We'll wait to call them." Brain hugged her, leaning most of his weight on her, "Thank you." Lyn held him for a few moments, then helped him lay back in the bed, "I think you should rest now." Brian nodded, "I'm so tired of being tired," he laughed. Lyn smiled at him, "Tell ya what. If you feel up to it, we'll watch a movie tonight." "Oh goody! Can we have popcorn too?" Brian teased. Lyn laughed and shook her head. Even when he was on the verge of sleep, he still tried to ease her fears. "Yes and popcorn too," she said, kissing his cheek. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara, Evi, and Serenity kept glancing at one another and giggling. Nick took another bite of his supper, trying to figure out what was so funny. Jered was getting annoyed, and Ephah was curious as to what they were up to. Nick put his fork down, looking over at Tara, "Honey, what's so funny?" Tara bit her lip and smiled, "Um nothing." "Oh do tell," Jered hissed. Nick shot him a look, and Jered went back to eating. Finally Tara couldn't hold it in any longer, "Um wanna hear what I learned today?" Nick smiled at her, "Sure." "OK," Tara said, grinning. Nick watched as she looked directly at Jered, just staring at him. He started to ask what it was she learned, then he felt it. He couldn't hear the song, but he knew she was singing it. He could tell she was aiming most of it at Jered. Nick looked over at him, seeing his eyes cloud over. Nick smiled, reaching over and squeezing her hand under the table. Tara stopped her song and smiled back at Nick, "Good huh?" Nick nodded, "I say so." Ephah reached over and shook Jered out of his trance. "You seem to be learning very well," he said, "I barely felt that." "Yeah, me to," Nick stated. Jered came back to himself, noticing everyone looking at him. "What?" he asked. "Oh nothing," Tara said with a laugh. Evi and Serenity smiled. "What are you smiling about?" Jered asked, getting annoyed. Everyone laughed, continuing with the meal. Jered growled, getting up and leaving the room. "Huh, was it something I said?" Tara teased, sending the rest into hysterics. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Lyn sat on the couch. Lyn had her arm around Brian as he leaned against her. They were both eating popcorn from the bowl Lyn had in her lap and watching Dances With Wolves. They both loved the movie, and watched it so much they new each line before it was said. Brian glanced at the clock, then put the popcorn he'd just picked up back in the bowl. "What?" Lyn asked. "I'm not suppose to eat anything after ten remember?" he said. "Oh yeah, I forgot," she said, setting the bowl on the coffee table. Brian leaned his head back and looked at her, "That doesn't mean you have to stop eating." "I'm full anyway," she said, smiling at him. Just then they heard a knock at the door. Brian sat up so Lyn could answer it. She walked over to the door, letting Ted in. "Evening sweetheart," he said. "Hey," Lyn said, "Long day today huh?" "Yeah, I just got done. How's Brian?" he asked. "OK," Brian answered from the couch. Ted walked in and looked at him, "OK huh?" Brian shrugged his shoulders, "Tired as hell, but hey, what can I do?" Ted smiled, "Well hopefully the tests tomorrow will shed some light on this." "Yeah I hope so," Brian said. Lyn asked Ted something about the procedures he was going to run Brian through. Brian tuned out, having been through everything at least twice before, he really didn't care to hear it. He grabbed the half eaten bowl of popcorn and stood up to take it to the kitchen. Just as he stood up, the most intense wave of dizziness came over him. He dropped the bowl, trying to reach for something to hold on to, to keep from falling over. Ted grabbed him, "Whoa there, you alright?" Brain nodded holding his hand over his eyes, "Just really dizzy." Ted sat him back down on the couch, "Let me take a look here." Lyn quickly cleaned up the popcorn and put the bowl away while Ted dug through his bag and took Brian's blood pressure. Lyn watched as a concerned look came over his face. "What is it?" she asked. "Brian, you're blood pressure is pretty low," Ted said. Brian nodded, still trying to get the room to stop spinning. "When was the last time you ate anything?" Ted asked. "We just stopped eating when you came in," Lyn answered. Ted took out his stethoscope and listened to Brian's heart. It was racing. "This doesn't make sense," Ted said, "Your heart is racing and your blood pressure is low." Brian opened his eyes and looked up at the man, "I'm not feeling so good." "What's going on Bri?" Lyn asked, before Ted could. "I feel nauseous, and really lightheaded," Brian answered, closing his eyes again. Ted looked over at Lyn, "I think we need to take him in tonight instead of waiting until morning." Lyn nodded, "I'll get our stuff," she said, heading to the bedroom to get the bag she had packed earlier in the day. Ted saw Brian's shoes next to the couch and proceeded to put them on for him. "Ted, you know what's going on?" Brian asked. "No Brian, but we're gonna find out," he answered. Lyn came back with the bag, "OK, let's go." Brian started trembling. "Brian tell me what's going on," Ted said, putting his hand on his arm. "I'm f-f-freezing," Brian said. Lyn shot Ted a look of fear. It was summer and it was definitely not cold in the house. "Lyn, take the bag out, I'll bring Brian," Ted said, handing her his keys. Lyn took them, heading out the door to the car. Ted pulled the afghan off the back of the couch and wrapped it around Brian before bending down and picking him up. He could feel Brian shaking in his arms, "Hang in there, we'll be at the hospital soon." "I'll t-t-try," Brian stuttered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick and Tara sat on the patio, looking at the night sky. "I think Ephah is a possibility," Nick whispered. "You think?" Tara asked. Nick nodded, "He all but said that he regretted his decision to be on this side." Tara smiled at the possibility, "We have to be careful though." "I know," Nick said, "We can't blow our cover trying to win him back." "Exactly," Tara said. Nick looked deep into her eyes, "How are you doing?" Tara put her hand on his cheek, "I'm fine. I'm actually having fun with this." Nick looked concerned, "Well, just as long as you don't have to much fun." Tara laughed, "I won't, trust me. It's just really interesting how they do things. I see now why we couldn't sense them before." "Well as soon as you think you have enough, we're outta here," Nick said. "I know. I just need to find out a few more things first," she said. Nick nodded, both of them leaning in and kissing as Evi walked by the patio doors. They waited until they felt her far enough away to part. Tara smiled, "That part I especially like." Nick laughed, "So do I." "Let's let them know what's going on, I'm really tired," Tara said. "Yeah it has been a long day," Nick agreed. He looked out into the darkness of the desert. Training is going well. Ephah is a possibility, will let you know. Goodnight, he signed. They both searched for the confirmation, and smiled when they got it. Nick stood up, pulling Tara with him, "Come on, let's go to bed." Tara smiled, walking with him into the house. Chapter 20 |