Written By: Armina Qi Saxton

Standard Disclaimer: See Disclaimer Page

Chapter 2: Between The Lines

The days were growing shorter, the air cooler, and the winds were picking up steadily. There was hardly a day that went by without a gust of wind making the day feel even colder then it already was, the winds that came from the west and south the coldest. Even with the sun shining down from above, when it had a chance to break through the gray clouds that often hid the blue sky, there was no warmth held in the beams of light in this November weather. There had already been a small flurry of snow earlier in the week, one that none had really paid any head to. They were more concerned with the up coming weekend and the high chances that a blizzard from the east would ruin their plans of shopping and relaxing.

Many had already ignored the countless warning predictions of the weather station, despite so many signs that they could see right in front of them. Frost had settled onto the ground every morning and night, creating the illusion of a fine mist of freshly fallen snow. Flurries of snow had been spotted all across Gaia and her Territories, flowing down from the heavens above. The temperatures had gone down even more so, the coldest days still to come. The wind from the west, which had always been warm and brought the hot temperatures, now were cold and without the breeze it usually held. There were no warm days ahead except for the spring days and the summer nights.

There was little to worry about it seemed, despite the ever cooling weather and the warning predictions coming from weather stations and from the few places in G-Corp that cared enough to back up those predictions. There was one place that held little interest in the weather above it, as it sat several miles underneath the soil. A single trap door, hidden as a normal boulder not very far from where Aekea lay, was the only known way in or out of this facility. The stairs seemed to go on forever, until one came to a doorway that sat several paces from where the stairs ended and a different world started. Beyond the nearly impassible door laid a place where Gaia couldn't put her eye upon quite yet: the new Secret Underground Test Facility.

It was actually larger then what the first one was, if not the only major secret all of Gaia didn't know was back in existence except for those that worked inside and the few that knew about it above. Three floors of experiments, of testing, and of mechanical work being down twenty out of the twenty-four hours in a day. There were many workers going about their daily business without bumping into another person, labtechs placing themselves into their work without even noticing anything else around them. There were a few security personal wandering about, making sure nothing was out of place, while cameras watched hawk-like from their perches around the facility.

It was a labyrinth of doorways, hallways, and places that didn't seem to lead anywhere. There were passages that only a handful of labtechs knew of, if that many to begin with, and the only way in them was to know more then just a code to access security panels. These passages were not used for escape routes but rather as places to hide things many would not dare touch with their lives, home to experiments that were just as deadly as the zombie outbreak that took out the last SUTF. However, the only difference between these experiments and the one that had started it all, was the fact that the mistakes made then were not about to be repeated a second or third time around. Instead, they were more contained and less labtechs knew about the experiments.

It was only a precaution that the heads of G-Corp would take to make sure that nothing went wrong again; even if something did, there was so much more to stop the outbreaks then just shutting down the entire facility. Silent Flash, in all of its glory, had been abandoned for the most part and the mere fact that no one wanted Aekea to go down along with whatever had triggered the top-most security instrument. There were smaller versions of the missile, in forms of sprays and liquids that worked so much better then that missile and would not destroy anything above ground. If there were any reasons that these versions could not contain anything, and every other option had been exhausted, then and only then would Silent Flash be brought back into existence and used as a last resort.

That last resort wasn't something that was upon Johnny Gambino's mind, as he sat behind a desk in his office inside the SUTF, hardly even looking like he was doing anything else but staring off into space. The office wasn't as big as the one that he had in his mansion, but it was enough for him at the time behind. It was also one of the few places inside the facility that wasn't painted pure white or had a metallic look to it; instead, it was a soft gold color and looked out of place among the bland décor outside. There was nothing on the walls except for a painting that sat directly behind him and a few other items that reminded him of the outside world above him.

Light oak drawers sat on one side of the room, holding files that were under more then lock and key, with several cushioned chairs sitting on the other side. They were used only when there were more then three people inside the room at any given moment, for when there were things that needed more then one person's opinion or general knowledge that needed to be shared with others in the facility. Other then himself, Edmund, and a few other high-ranking labtechs, there was no one else that knew about his office and that was the way that he wanted to keep it at. The fewer that knew he was inside the SUTF, the better he was off.

On the light oak desk Johnny sat behind, there were papers that he had been looking at before he let himself stare off at nothing. These papers were important to the SUTF and were all but signed, himself having looked through them countless times and with numerous changes that were already done by his own hand. There were several pens and pencils lying upon it and a single, faded picture in a dark metal frame that sat off to one side of his desk. Other then those few items, there was no clutter anywhere else on the desk or inside the drawers that held more things that the wandering eye wouldn't be able to see and he wasn't about to let him into his personal space quite yet.

The picture, the only other one that had survived the initial rubble of this first mansion, was old and held two smiling faces inside of it, one of a younger Johnny and one of a woman that no one else seemed to know of. It was a picture that he was glad was found and given back, one of the last memories that he held dear to him. It was also a constant reminder of what he had lost, both of over twenty years prior and of only several years before. That was the reason why he had not picked up a pen in the last ten minutes, because of memories that was still so fresh in his mind.

He was lost in his own thoughts, that he didn't even hear the tapping of fingers against a keypad outside the door or the clicking of the lock gears as it began to unlock from the other side of the door. There were only a few codes that worked on the door to his office, so few that knew them that could enter without being shocked by a low current of electricity. It had been installed as soon as the office had been built, to keep noisy workers from entering when they didn't even need to be anywhere near the office or to be inside of it. It wasn't like very many knew where to look for an office like this, only that they need not know about things that did not concern them.

It had taken only five minutes for the door to open fully; once it did, an exhausted Edmund fumbled in and pushed his back against the door as he gripped a manila folder in his right hand. He looked like he had been through the pits of hell several times through, the tiredness of having been up for two days straight finally showing on his face. He had been up longer and not felt the effects of it until all of his work was finished, but those times had been when he was a few years younger and didn't also have a shop to run on the side. Yet, his tiredness wasn't what his attention was focused on at the moment as his eyes fell upon Johnny's distant look and the eyes that hadn't even gone over to him as soon as he had entered.

Edmund calmly walked over to the desk where Johnny was sitting behind and placed the folder upon the desk itself. There was no movement in his eyes at that moment, just the tightening of his mouth and the bland look that was in his eyes. Edmund couldn't remember the last time he had seen his friend look as though he was ignoring everything else around him without the faintest hint that his mind was drifting into the world of insanity, but it was something that was worrying him. Ever since Gino had left his father behind, nothing had been the same in him, not even the laughter that once showed on his face. It looks like he has died but hasn't left the world of the living quite yet, He thought as he stood there for a few moments more.

"I still can't help but wonder if he is still alive, if he is dead, or what he is doing now. So much that I don't know, so much that isn't there," He said as though no one else was in the room with him or, if he had noticed that there was another person there, he didn't show it on his face. Johnny hardly noticed that Edmund was sitting down on a chair across from him, a look of confusion on his face. He just stared at his friend for a moment, just watching him sit there with the glazed look in his eyes and the aged face that seemed so withered. It was as though everything had been taken out of him and was replaced by an empty shell.

"There is little you can do, Johnny. You can't force him back," Edmund said at least, his eyes moving down upon the desk. It was only then did Johnny seem to come out of his daydreams and focus on the man that sat across from him. It was as though he had seen him for the first time in days and had no idea as to why and how this person was sitting in front of him without him noticing he had entered the room.

"I know I can't. It's bad enough that I'm the reason he left in the first place." He brushed a hand along the manila folder's top before picking it up. There were several pages inside of it, at least two dozen, and containing something he did not know of. "What's this?"

"The background checks for the two new labtechs that was hired last week. Thought you might want to look at them," Edmund said with a shrug. "Leon found little to worry about, so that's one good thing."

"Oh, right," He said, placing the folder back upon his desk. There was something about his voice that Edmund didn't like, a tone that suggested what his face did not and could not say.

"Are you okay? You've been distracted lately," He observed, as he looked at Johnny from overtop his glasses.

"It's the usual things that have been bothering me. Too much to think about and not a lot of time in the day to do it in. Nothing to worry about," Johnny said, dismissing any looks that Edmund was giving him. There really was more to his being distracted then G-Corp and the Gaian Council, more then what Edmund could really see. He knew there was something else, something deeper, and it was that one thing that he never really let irritate him about his friendship with Johnny. They both had gone through similar things in life and those similarities were what told them something was wrong with the other.

"Gino is alright, Johnny," Edmund said with a nod. "I wouldn't worry about him."

"That's the problem right there. I can't help but wonder if he is lying somewhere in Gaia, hurt and alone or if he has died and I don't know about it. I can't sleep at night without thinking about it. It's horrible." Johnny held a hand up to keep Edmund from speaking. "I know it's been over four years since he left, but he's my flesh and blood. I just...I don't know anymore."

"I know. I understand, but you've got to stop thinking about it so much. Marie has been complaining lately about it." There had to be a playful smile on his lips when he mentioned the remaining Von Helson's name, so much that it reflected in Johnny's eyes. The dull look that had once been there, lifted and a twinkle came into them, a change that most likely wouldn't last long.

"When doesn't she complain?" There was now his own smile on his lips, something he had to do with little force to keep it up. "I've been trying to, but it's hard. To spend one last day with him, to tell him everything, to let him know I miss him, would be the best thing that could happen. All I want is my son back."

There was a long pause afterwards where the sparkle in his eyes vanished as quickly as it had come into them and the dull look returned. Edmund had only seen the lost look in his friend's eyes once before and that moment stood out in h is mind the most out of any memory that he could remember without wincing. To not be able to really help him at this moment, when there had been so much before that he could do, was something that he did not like. Nothing short of bringing Gino back to his father's side would bring him out and let him live in total happiness. Both knew that was the impossible feat that neither one could accomplish.

"He'll be back, one day. No one can stay away from Gaia for long," Edmund said in a low tone, standing up from his chair with a tight smile on his lips. They stared at each other for several minutes, exchanging their silent goodbyes before Edmund turned to the door and walked to it.

There was no need to type in codes to get out of Johnny's office, Edmund easily turning the knob open and letting him out of the room. Johnny stared at the slow-closing door, half expecting another being to wander in before the door closed completely. No one came in once the door closed all the way, leaving him alone once again in the confines of the room. He once enjoyed being alone in an office like this, when there was more work to be done and a family to go home to. There was still a presence of family there, yet it wasn't the same as before. Not as complete as it should be, with so many things missing from it.

So far from being complete.

****

It was the wind of fate that had brought everything together as it was now and tore things apart that couldn't be mended back together again. That was the way it worked, whether there was something else that placed a hand into it or if it was the choices that people made by their own free will. Things change with the wind, regardless of which it happened to, why it happened, or when it occurred; all they knew was that change brought the good and the bad with it. They had to live with what choices they made and the things that came with it.

Edmund knew how things changed, as he made his way through the lighted streets of Durem and towards a bed that wanted wear. Night had long since fallen over Gaia and everything seemed quiet, too quite for him even when he was so used to the clamor of the city during the day. There were few wandering Gaians around, all giving him n o sideways looks as they passed him by to their own homes, from wherever they had been coming from. They had their own places to go and he did as well, as he turned towards the Salon and headed towards the homes stationed not far from where it sat in the darkness of the night.

It felt good to get out of the SUTF, when he had spent nearly the entire day underground and doing work that he did not really care for doing, and out into the fresh air, regardless of how cold the night was. The first few hours of the day were spent doing things around his shop and placing orders for items that were out of stock at the moment. It was hard to leave the store once he had spent those few hours inside, glad for once that he had a window to look out of to see the open area of Durem. It was better then seeing nothing but blank walls and bright lights from above.

After he had finished what he had been doing there, he had made his way to the outskirts of Aekea, dodging and twisting his way through Gaians that were making their own way in the same direction he was, some giving him odd looks as he passed them. He knew he was supposed to be in Durem, in his shop, and helping these same Gaians, but he had other things to do then sell clothes and he made sure no one was looking when he had entered and eventually exited the entrance down below. It was a precaution that he had to take, to make sure that no one really knew that there was something hiding beneath the soil once again.

The rest of the day had been spent in his own office in the SUTF, doing more then just glance over G-Corp papers and making sure things were alright elsewhere. So many things had to be done for the Gaian Council, that it seemed to be piling up with every blink of his eyes. It wasn't that he had no one to help him with the rising amount of work, but because there were more then just public concerns and outcries. Things on the Council hadn't been going smoothly, with talks and plans being drawn out for new communities in Gaia. How the Council would set up these communities when there were so many already, was something he didn't want to think of.

Yet, that did not even remotely take up the bulk of his work, as he had attempted countless times to understand the things that the labtechs had found in the patterns of weather that were slowly sweeping across Gaia. He could tell that the labtechs didn't really like to stoop down to checking the weather every hour with the equipment that G-Corp had, but it was a job that had to be done to see how it would affect the rest of Gaia and her Territories. Everything seemed to point in the direction that the winter ahead would be plagued with enough snow and cold weather to last into the next few decades, but not enough that it would be a major problem. Still, it was something to be concerned with, especially with the outlaying towns that had nothing like what Central Gaia had or the other major cities that dotted around the land.

It wasn't the Council he was concerned with, as he knew that it could run just as fine and well without him or Johnny there, acting as the guardians of the Council, or even the weather. In fact, Edmund wasn't even remotely concerned with G-Corp either, as it was being run just as smoothly and without any major incidents where anything got out of control, harmed anyone, or turned anyone into zombies. Now, it was Johnny he was concerned about, considering he looked like he was ready to curl up and stay in one place until he was ready to come out of his shell or die, whichever came first. Edmund couldn't really remember the last time he had seen his friend look as though there was nothing else to live for; not even when his wife had died over twenty years before, did he look so horrible and old. Perhaps it was because Gino wasn't there for him to put his work into for or it was because of something else entirely; whatever it was, it was slowly draining him of life.

There was nothing he or Marie could do, even though it helped greatly that she was there. She had changed for the better, it seemed, since she had moved into the seaside mansion and stayed with him, to see what Johnny was really like. Edmund couldn't say he wasn't surprised when Johnny had burst out with the news that he and Marie were together, yet it seemed so odd that the two of them were together. There had been so much hostility between the two families in the past, he had wondered if it was all real or that the two of them were playing a early April Fools joke on Gaia. It was not a joke, not when he saw the life seeping back into Johnny as soon as Marie was around him. It was something, at least, to bring him out of the shell he had created.

He stopped in front of a small house that seemed to sit apart from the rest of the city, a pale yellow light drifting out from inside the living room. Edmund stood there for a moment, the key to the house already in his hand, as he peered into the room. He didn't' see anyone in there, but knew that there was at least one person inside the house as he placed the key into the doorknob and turned it to where it would unlock for him. After he had taken the key out, he turned the knob once again and let himself into the house after he opened the door wide enough to let him in, the door softly closing behind him and locking into place.

There was no reason to go straight to the living room, as he walked carefully into the kitchen and began to take his coat off his shoulders. There didn't seem to be anyone coming into the kitchen to greet him, not even the sounds of a TV being played in the room next to the kitchen. He paused there for a few minutes, listening to the quietness of the house and wondering where the other occupant of it was. It was unusual for one light to be on if there was no one else awake when he got home, not even a hall light would be on for him to return. He knew he wouldn't get far without bumping into that person and feeling her wraith when she saw him standing there, so late from coming home. And he was right.

"You're late," Came a growling voice from behind him. Edmund turned slowly around to see Vanessa standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, and a look on her face that twisted her features so much that he wondered if she wasn't more then just angry. He took a step back from her, in case she was in a mood that would put him in contact with ore then a fist. "Where have you been?"

"You sound like I've been gone for a few days and haven't checked in," He mumbled back at her, turning back around and placing his coat upon the closest kitchen chair he could put it on. "I've been at the SUTF doing work for G-Corp, if you must know."

"Well, with the little I've seen you in the last week, I wouldn't be surprised if you have," She snapped as he walked to the refrigerator and opened the door to it. She wanted to go to him and shake his shoulders, to show him that she had been worried about him, and perhaps to shake some sense into his already tired mind. She didn't really want much from him at this point, perhaps a quiet night in bed or something else that they could do together. "What have you been doing there? And don't lie to me, either."

Edmund froze at the open refrigerator door, his back straightening, and more then unable to really answer her question. The complex network of things he had always told her, lining it with the truth, had always come naturally to him, even when they had first met so many years ago. He and Johnny had kept everything secret about G-Corp from their own love interests, even though they both could trust those that shared the same love. There wasn't much more to what he could say to Vanessa other then that he was working on things that need not concern her.

"It's nothing, Vanessa. Just things that are not really of much interest," He said, taking a bottle of water out and closing the door. Upon turning around to face Vanessa, he found that she had moved to the kitchen table itself and was glaring at him with narrowed eyes. He couldn't keep his gaze with hers, moving his head away from her before he could say anything else to her.

"Used to be that you could tell anything about G-Corp, despite that so many things were untrue." Those words made his head snap right back to her, his mouth hanging open as Vanessa's weight shifted slightly. How she knew that not everything he said about G-Corp to her was not all truth, he didn't know but was rather silently proud of the fact that she could see right through those lies. "At least some of what you said about G-Corp is the truth. What makes this any different?"

"Lack of sleep and a headache, that's the difference. Besides, you already know that I didn't tell you everything and it is not that I don't trust you. How long you've known, I honestly don't plan on knowing myself. It's just that the secretary of G-Corp has always been that way, no matter how many people know of its existence." He took in a sigh and rubbed his forehead. "Look, it's been a week from hell. It's been getting colder earlier and it's really looking bad for Gaia, in terms of snow at least. Johnny and I have been trying to track systems and bands of snow with some of G-Corp's research equipment. The labtechs don't like being bothered with what they call 'idiotic weather tracking', but what G-Corp has is better then what the weather station has."

"And that's the reason as to why you've been gone almost all week?" Vanessa folded her arms across her chest and gave Edmund more of her glare. There came to a point in his life where he just wanted to shut out the world around him and fall asleep, not even bothering to do anything else but. This was one of those points and he was more then ready to lay down and go to sleep.

"Partly that and partly because I have a store to run," Edmund said, his tone becoming more irritated. "I can't very well stay away from it for long, especially with Gaians nearly knocking down the doors every time I'm in there."

"Then take a break from something and spend more time here," She said, her eyes softening and becoming pleading to a point that he felt like he could walk out of the room at the moment and not even care what she would do after he left. He was not in a mood to listen to the pleading of someone, regardless of who it was or what type of relationship he had with that person. "I have a place to run too, but I still have the time to have a life outside of it."

"You have one thing to do in your life, when I have three: G-Corp, my store, and the Council." That struck a nerve in Vanessa, more then her surprised look could ever express in her face. The anger that once had been held in her face had melted and an expression of hurt went across from it. She stood there for several moments, not speaking, studying his face if she was looking for any signs of regret on his features. Edmund didn't know how those few words impacted her until she spoke.

"What am I then?" She whispered, holding herself where she was before she turned around and started to walk into the hallway without even waiting for Edmund to respond. It took him a second or two to put the water bottle he had in his hand down upon the table and walk after her, quickening his pace so that he could grab her by the waist and pull her back to him before she even got halfway down the hallway. She didn't bother to get out of his grasp, as she continued to keep her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face.

"Listen, I'm sorry. It's been one of the roughest weeks I've had in a long time, and I've been saying things I don't mean," He whispered, placing both arms around her and his right cheek upon her right shoulder. "I know I haven't been around in more then a week, but just give it time. Everything will smooth out, you'll see."

"When, Edmund?" She asked, biting her lower lip. "When will it all smooth out?"

"Soon, I promise. I can't tell you exactly when, but there are a lot of things in G-Corp that is slowing down and the business I've had isn't all that great anyways, with the weather getting worse by the day." He gently kissed her shoulder, rubbing a hand along one of her arms. "Besides, you are the only reason I come home every night."

"Sure I am," Vanessa muttered, rolling her eyes. Edmund laughed as he raised his head off of her shoulder and brought her closer to him.

"You are," He told her. "Admit it, you enjoy it."

A sly smile came upon Vanessa lips, her eyes lighting up slightly with the prospect of what he was proposing. "Enjoy what?"

"You'll see," He whispered into her ear, his arms moving away from her waist. He took one of her hands into his as he moved around her, gently pulling her into the direction of the master bedroom, his eyes looking tired but still more then awake to do something more. Despite the fact that he felt like he was about to collapse from the day's work and a ache was running against his head, there were more important things that he had to do then get rid of those pains and fall asleep.

So much more important, as he lead Vanessa into the bedroom and closed the door behind him, that nothing else mattered.

****

The hours between night and twilight had all but faded from Gaia, as the clouds that had once been over the land faded into the distance for a short time and the moon was allowed to shine down upon the ground. It was a night that reflected the serenity that would only last a moment or more, even to those that were not even awake to see the few stars shine in the dark sky. It was enough to know that the clouds, at least, had allowed the few that were up at this hour, to gaze upon what might just be the only time a clear sky would be visible between the breaks of storms.

Johnny had taken this opportunity to stare up at the sky above him on the balcony that jutted out from his bedroom, his head tilted to the sky and a soft smile on his lips. He wasn't up by choice, just because sleep didn't seem to come to him this night. It wasn't because of nightmares or because his body wasn't already deprived of sleep, but because of the restlessness that he felt just by laying down. Nothing he did allowed him to become comfortable for even a short period of time, his movements few to keep Marie from waking up and finding him still up at this hour of the night. He did not want to feel her wraith at this moment, not when she first came out of her slumber.

How he forged a friendship, then a romance, with a Von Helson, couldn't be explained to those that were outside those that actually knew what was going on in his life. He hadn't even mentioned this relationship to Edmund and he had been Johnny's friend since they were kids on the playground and that was something he found he couldn't mention to his friend. Why, he didn't know, but he knew that the understanding of what Marie and he shared wouldn't come easily to those that even knew them best. How the two families could find peace, then love, together, escaped even the most knowledgeable Gaian alive.

He had to smile at the mere thought of how the two started becoming as one, something that he didn't even know how it came to be. It had happened so fast, that he couldn't explain it to himself and he felt like he had lost control of everything at that point. He had been doing things that he would have never done before, finding that he could say things easily to her and find a common trait among what she had been through in her life. It was a odd pairing, the two of them, but one that he could put his remaining energy into so that it would work for the both of them, together.

Marie still was that spoiled brat that he knew so many years ago, but that personality had long since become less of a hindrance to him. She had matured from the snotty person that she had been during the Anniversary Ball that had gotten him and Gino thrown out of the former Von Helson Mansion, to someone that would do almost anything for him now. She no longer saw the common Gaians as 'sheep', as she and Anna had once called them, but as those that were just like them, except that they hadn't the gold like she and Johnny had. There were moments that she still stuck her nose up and pouted, but it was still a far cry from the person that she once had been four years ago.

Johnny couldn't explain these feelings he had for her, not when he was still confused about them and with his heart already broken as it were. He wasn't torn between Marie and his late wife, not when the last of the pain had faded only a few years ago, but because he still missed his son so dearly. That was the only thing that was keeping his family from being complete, the lack of Gino's presence to where Johnny knew where he was. He didn't have to be inside the mansion or anywhere close to the island, but in a place where his father knew he was there and would be safe until the next day. That was all that he wanted, was to have his son back, even if it would hurt his relationship with Marie.

Marie, herself, found that sleep couldn't possibly come to her, not when there was an empty spot next to her without good reason for it being empty. It took her several minutes for her to wake up and turn over, feeling the space where Johnny normally laid in bed with her before realizing that she was alone in the bed. The chill from the balcony window came to her, as she frowned and swore several times underneath her breath at where he was now and wondered why he was still up at this late of hour. Throwing the blankets from overtop of her and moving over the bed, she swung her legs over the edge and stood up, hoping that there was a familiar person standing on the balcony and not someone who would do her harm.

She lightly stepped onto the balcony, her head tilted to one side as she watched Johnny stare out into the ocean, lost in his own thoughts. She stood where the doorway that lead into the bedroom, her arms lightly crossed her over her satin nightgown, ignoring the coldness of the night. She couldn't help but wonder why he was out in the cold when there was a warm bed that needed him to come back to it and someone that wanted him to be with her.

She didn't want to disturb him while he was looking out into the ocean, not when she had seen his face look so distant in the last few weeks. It wasn't because of the things that happened in the past, but because she knew that there was so much that he had to do that couldn't wait until the last second. He wasn't very eager to go back to work without her by his side, that much she could tell by his voice every time they said their goodbyes to each other, yet he managed to stay away for hours at a time without even a call from him. Those times, she recalled from her own childhood, only made her stronger.

"You need to come to bed," She said, walking away from the doorway and to Johnny's side. He looked over at her as she placed a hand upon his, their eyes meeting for a moment. "It's too early in the morning to be awake at this hour."

"I know it is. I just can't seem to sleep, even though I'm tired," He replied, looking back across the ocean. Marie stared at him for a few more moments before she, too, turned to the ocean in front of them. It was a beautiful sight to see, the ocean with the moon shining down from above after many nights of it hiding behind dark, gray clouds. If it hadn't been so cold out underneath the stars, then it would have been the perfect morning to be awake.

"You've been working too hard lately. I've missed you," She said, squeezing his hand tightly.

"There has been a lot of things going on with G-Corp and the Council since Halloween," Johnny said, taking his hand out of hers and wrapped it around her waist. He brought her closer to him so that she could rest her head upon his shoulder and get warmer against his body. "Once it calms down between both, I'll have a lot of more free time. I promise."

Marie stared up at him, her eyes studying his face underneath the little light that there was. The same eyes that she had seen so filled with the feeling of lost, was void of the pain that she had seen in them so many times before and now held a soft, caring tone to them. Those eyes were what she saw on one night, nearly a year before, she had been in the library, holding a picture of her, Anna, and their father. She had been sobbing; she remembered that much, but how he knew she was there and why he had come into the library at that time, she couldn't place in her mind. All she knew was that she looked into his eyes and felt drawn into them, as though there was nothing wrong in the world, like she did now. It felt so wonderful just to stare into the deep purple eyes and not have to worry about anything.

"When, though?" She asked softly, finally resting her head upon his shoulder. "It could be months before anything starts to slow down, and I don't want to wait that long."

"Hopefully before Christmas, it will. I don't know, and I don't really want to give you an exact date, just in case something comes up that I can't get away from it," He said in a calm voice, although it had started to shake at the end of his words. "I know you don't want to wait, but I have no choice but to work."

"Hopefully?" Marie raised her head up slightly so she could look straight into his face again. "Johnny, you've put too much time into both of them and its time to stop. It's not that I am selfish, maybe it is some, but I just want to see more of you. I don't want you.... well, you know."

"I know, I know," Johnny whispered, putting a cheek on the top of her head as she rested her own cheek on his shoulder. He knew what she was going to say, that he was becoming like her father by putting himself into work and not paying attention to the rest of his life. He had made that mistake once before and wasn't about to make it again, by losing someone else to the work that he couldn't get out of. "I want to be around more, but...."

His voice trailed off, breaking off at that second so he wouldn't be repeating what he had said to Gino all of his life. It had always been the same, that he had to work and couldn't get away from it, leaving his child at home in the hands of caregivers. He admitted that there was a degree of pain involved then, but now there wasn't. He couldn't risk losing Marie either, not when he had finally found a piece of him that was willing to leave his past behind and allow his life to have some meaning to it. He also knew that he couldn't help working as much as he had been in the last few weeks and that would most likely continue to be until Christmas.

"Listen, Marie," He started slowly, "I can't make any promises, but if nothing has calmed down before Christmas Eve, I'll try my best to spend Christmas Day to New Years Eve with you, without spending more then three hours a day working."

"Without working with the Council or G-Corp after two o'clock?" She asked. Johnny smiled, placing his other arm around her and giving her body a squeeze.

"Without either one after two," He repeated, his smile faltering slightly. "How does that sound to you?"

"It sounds fine to me. Just remember it, okay?" Marie demanded, her own smile playfully dancing upon her lips.

"I will, I promise," He said, lifting his head up and removing his arms from around her after giving her own last, loving squeeze. "Come on, then. Let's go back to bed."

Marie nodded at that, as she lifted her head up off of his shoulder and placed her hand into his outstretched hand. Together, they walked to the balcony door, Johnny taking one last look out into the ocean before being pulled into the bedroom by Marie. The door stayed opened for a few moments longer, as Marie moved into the bed, waiting for Johnny to close the door and lock it behind him. The night sky was still there, dark but still shining with a certain gleam to it that would be soon covered by a thick blanket of clouds and snow in the following weeks. It was one last clear night of the month, before the winter would come blasting in and Gaia would be covered with more then a thin layer of snow and ice.

It was something, at least, to know that the homes were still warm and comfortable, as the first rays of the new day slowly peeked out from the horizon. It was a day that would begin everything and everything beginning again. Whether or not it was enjoyed by all was not the question, but rather would it be something that would delay the return of the stormy wintry weather or would it come blasting in like trumpets on a high note. Those in Gaia did not care, as the day began anew and everything started to stir once again.