Alea Iacta Est - a Worm AU Fanfic

Alea Iacta Est

Part Six: The Plot Thickens


Kayden wanted to swear as she wrestled with the shopping cart on her way out of the supermarket. As opposed to the norm, where the cart had one wonky wheel, she had somehow managed to find one with four wheels, all of which insisted on trying to roll in different directions. On top of that, Aster was fussing and Kayden couldn't give her the full attention that she demanded, causing her to fuss all the more.

There was a mild slope in the parking lot and the cart, despite its previous inclination to not want to go anywhere without a great amount of shoving and determination, now decided that it wanted to roll downhill, away from Kayden's car and toward a very expensive-looking BMW. Three times she hauled it back and placed it in a different orientation and three times it managed to line up its wheels and make an escape attempt.

The temper and frustration building in Kayden matched and then surpassed Aster's own. Were it not for her secret identity, she was becoming more and more tempted to blast the shopping cart to very small pieces; groceries be damned. At the very least, she was definitely going to go out after she got Theo over, and find some ABB drug house to take out her irritation on. There won't be much more than a crater left …

“Excuse me, ma'am? Can I help?”

She looked around in surprise; a young girl, twelve or thirteen at best, was standing next to her cart, steadying it. At first, Kayden suspected a potential thief, but the girl was well dressed and her hands were holding the outside of the cart.

“Oh, if you could, that would be wonderful,” Kayden told the girl. “Thank you so much.”

“That's all right,” the girl said with a smile. “I've seen my mom having trouble with these things as well. You end up needing about four extra arms and without powers, that's a little difficult.” Her smile morphed into an infectious grin.

How little you know. “You have a very good point. Okay, Aster, come on.” Kayden lifted the infant from the shopping cart. “If you could please hold it while I get her into the car?”

“No problems at all. My name's Dinah.”

“Kayden.” Leaning into the car, she put Aster into the baby seat. In the cool of the shade and with the comfortable surrounds of the seat, Aster began to settle down. Kayden smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead, eliciting a gurgle of happiness. At that moment, she wouldn't have cared if the girl had intended to make a run for it with the groceries; just being able to get this part sorted out was almost worth it.

But when she straightened up, Dinah was still patiently holding the cart. Maybe she really does just want to help.

“So are these going in the back seat or the trunk?”

“In the trunk, I think.” Kayden reached into the front of the car to pop the trunk lid and then helped Dinah move the cart around to the back. “I really do appreciate the assistance.”

“That's okay,” Dinah said as she began to hand Kayden the bags. She even managed to do it in the order that Kayden preferred, without having to ask. “But to be honest, I do have an ulterior motive. There's something I'd like from you.”

Kayden stopped and gave her a hard glare. So she does want something. “What?”

“Five minutes of your time, once we're done here.” Dinah's expression was polite and open. “It's got nothing to do with money or anything illegal. You're under no obligation to say yes. And,” she chuckled, “no, I'm not with Amway. Or anything like that. I just need to say something, then ask you a question. Fair enough?”

Kayden considered that. “And if I say right now that I'm going to say no, no matter what?”

“Then I keep helping you load groceries, then put the cart away and go my own way,” Dinah replied imperturbably. “Like I said, no obligation.”

She had to admit, Dinah had a good selling technique. No pressure, ready to back off at a moment's notice. It made her honestly curious about what the girl had to say.

“So it's not Girl Scout cookies then?” Her question was more to do with idle chat than actual information gathering.

“No. Although I am actually in the Scouts,” Dinah answered readily enough. “It's way more important than that.”

This only piqued Kayden's growing curiosity. She took the last few bags from Dinah and watched the girl trundle the cart away toward the collection area. How she managed to make it roll so smoothly, Kayden wasn't so sure; maybe it was because there was nothing in it.

“Okay,” Kayden said once Dinah returned. “What's so important that you were willing to help me load groceries to talk to me about?”

Dinah glanced around. Nobody was really nearby, but she frowned anyway. “Can we sit in the car?” she asked. “More private that way.”

Suspicions began to surface once more, but Kayden held her peace. If she thinks she can carjack me, she's in for a very rude surprise. “Okay, let's do that.” It was, after all, a very small concession.

<><>​

Once in the car, with the windows wound up, Kayden turned to Dinah. “You have your privacy. Let's hear what you have to say.”

“Thank you.” Dinah nodded to her. “It's simple. I want to recruit you.”

The words hung in the air for several beats while Kayden tried to puzzle them out. “I'm missing something here,” she eventually admitted. “Recruit me for what? Who are you?”

“To answer your questions in reverse order,” Dinah replied carefully, “I'm a parahuman. I'm forming a team and I would like you to be a part of it.”

Kayden's thoughts raced. If she's asking me to be a part of her team, whatever that team is, it means that she knows who I am. As she tensed up, her voice went very quiet so as not to disturb Aster. “I think you'd better explain yourself very quickly. Leave nothing out. Including how you know what you know.”

To her credit, Dinah did not show any sign of fear. “As I said, I'm a parahuman. Specifically, my power allows me to figure out the perfect person for a specific job and how the job can be done most efficiently. If I have a job in mind, my power will point out people and give me information about their capabilities, specifically to do with the job at hand.”

“Including whether or not people have powers,” Kayden filled in.

“If having powers would help with doing the job, yes,” Dinah agreed.

“And you were looking for people who could do the job of being a member of your team.”

“Well, specifically, I was looking for heavy hitters,” came the surprising confession. “We've already got Thinkers and we're looking to get a healer type, but we're light on throw weight.”

“And you just chose to walk up to the first flying Blaster you saw.” Kayden raised her eyebrows. “Pretty ballsy. You're not even out of middle school, are you?” A thought struck her. “Please tell me you're not the oldest member of your team.”

“No, the youngest. But I'm the best organiser by far.” Dinah grinned at her. “I'm twelve. That's young, I know. But powers happen when powers happen.”

“This is true,” sighed Kayden, recalling her own trigger event. Even though it had happened more than ten years previously, it was still vivid in her mind. If her powers hadn't manifested, she would have died of thirst, trapped in her crashed car. “Okay, so how did you know that I wouldn't react badly?”

“Because my power tells me that you at least have the temperament to think about it. As for specifics, I have a friend who can give me a percentage chance that you'll hear me out and accept it.”

“One of these other Thinkers you were talking about, right.” Kayden rubbed her chin. “Okay, so you really didn't know who I was before you approached me.”

“I knew your powerset, so I could guess fairly easily who you were, given that you're not Lady Photon,” Dinah agreed. “But no, I didn't know your name.”

“Okay,” Kayden decided. “This is not me saying yes, but here's a hypothetical. If I joined, would I get to have my own agenda in the team or would you be deciding the team goals?”

“It would depend on that agenda,” Dinah replied frankly. “We're aiming to be superheroes, so nothing illegal.” She looked at Kayden questioningly. “What agenda are you referring to?”

“It's the ABB,” Kayden said. “I've been trying to whittle them down for months, but every time I think I'm getting somewhere, more pop up.” Despite her best efforts, the frustration showed in her voice. “I just don't know where I'm going wrong.”

“Wow,” Dinah exclaimed, softly so as to not wake Aster, who was dozing. “It sounds like you could do with the help of a Thinker or two, to figure out where to hit and to organise matters so you do it most efficiently. Now I wonder where you could find someone like that?”

Kayden blinked. “You could do that? You would do that?”

Dinah shrugged. “They're villains. We want to be heroes. And there's not much use in recruiting someone to be the heavy hitter if you're not happy in your work.”

“So wait,” Kayden stated, trying to keep the newfound note of excitement out of her voice, “you could define 'bringing down the ABB' as a task and let your power figure out how to best get it done? It's that easy?”

“Well, first I'd have to find and recruit the right people but … hmm.” Dinah paused for a moment. “My power's saying that you're definitely one of the right people for the job. But I'd need more information about how they operate, where they operate and so on. On the upside, for this we'd need Thinkers; we already have one and we're looking to bring another on board.” She gave Kayden a broad smile. “So yeah, we can really do this.”

“And you'd have no problem with me going after Asians?” asked Kayden, probing the idea like a tongue would a loose tooth. “I'm trying to cut ties with the Empire Eighty-Eight, but people see me attacking the ABB and seem to think it's a racial thing.”

Dinah gave her a frank, open look. “You were a member of a racist gang for ten years and that stuff sticks, whether you like it or not. People are gonna see what they want to see. Trust me, it's schoolyard politics all over again. The point is, these Asians are criminals so I don't see the problem. Just so long as you've got no problem with going after white crooks as well … ?” She let the question hang in the air.

“Oh, I've got no problem with that,” Kayden assured her. “Though it might get a little awkward if we went up against members of the Empire.”

“I can see that,” Dinah agreed. “We'll do our best to avoid that, okay?”

“I like that idea,” Kayden said, then paused. “So, about team leadership.”

“I know what you're going to say,” Dinah stated. “I'm young but you've got the experience. Well, we can work with that. I'm good at directing operations but I'm not a front-line fighter. How about I tell you what needs doing and I leave the actual how it gets done to you, with maybe a few suggestions from my power for more efficiency.” She shrugged. “As far as I can tell, you already know how to use your powers, so I won't be telling you anything new.”

Kayden blinked. One of the reasons she had split from the Empire was Kaiser's need to be in total control all the time. Dinah seemed aware of her own limitations and was willing to give her a free rein in how she did things. In return, she would have the chance to be a hero and take down the ABB in the process. Two birds, one stone. Do I really want to even think about saying no?

“I … well, I can't see a problem with the idea as it is,” she confessed. “But can I think about it and get back to you?” She gestured with her head toward the back seat. “With Aster in the equation, I really have to think everything through first. Her needs come before mine, every time.”

Dinah grinned. “Well, that's another benefit of joining the team. More potential babysitters.”

And Theo could do with friends of his own age. “It's definitely sounding more and more attractive by the moment.” Kayden took a breath. “But I still have to think it over. Do you have a -”

“- phone number? Sure.” Dinah held out the card to her. On it was written “MANAGEMENT”. Below the name was a number. “Take your time. We don't want to rush into this.”

“Thanks. I appreciate this.”

Dinah nodded. “And thanks for taking the time to listen to me.” She opened the car door and began to get out. “I hope you take my offer up. We really do need you.”

You already know I will, you little wiseass, Kayden thought with a mental smirk. This is just for appearances, and we both know it. “We'll see,” she added out loud.

The car door closed. As Kayden watched the slim form walk away, the mental smile became a physical one. We'll talk again really soon, kid.

<><>​

Danny looked up at the knock on the door. “Taylor, were you expecting someone?”

“Uh, no.” Taylor turned from where she'd been rolling dice at the kitchen table. She closed the exercise book where she'd been noting the information she was getting. “Not that I know of.” Picking up the dice, she rolled. “Huh. It's Annette.”

Danny froze in the act of getting off the sofa. “What, your friend from school? The one whose mom is -”

The knock came again. “Yeah, that's who it is,” Taylor said. She headed into the front hall.

“Did you invite them over?” Danny felt as though events were going too fast for him. I'm not ready for this. “You could have warned me.”

“Dad, come on. I'm sure it'll be fine.” Reaching the door, Taylor opened it.

“Taylor!” A redheaded whirlwind blitzed in through the open door, wrapping Taylor in a spontaneous hug and spinning her around. “Wow, I love your house, it's so awesome. Hey, is this your dad? Hi, Mr Hebert! I've heard so much about you, it's good to meet you.”

“Uh, hello, Annette,” Danny replied cautiously. She looks so much like her mom. “Taylor's said a lot of good things about you. I'm pleased to meet you too. Uh, is your mother -”

“Right here, Danny.” Andrea spoke from the doorway, causing his heart to freeze momentarily. Dear God, her voice hasn't changed a bit. Swallowing hard, he turned to face the door. The intervening years had quite failed to dim the sparkle in her green eyes or the life in her expression; Danny lapped up both without meaning to. But where to go from here?

She seemed to be having the same problem; her voice was almost tentative as she spoke. “Got a hug for an old friend?”

She was only about five feet tall; when she wrapped her arms around Danny, her head rested against his chest. He held her tightly, not knowing what to say, but it was too awkward to stand there in silence. Someone had to break the ice. “My God, Andrea … it's been so long. Where were you?” And where were you when I needed you, after Anne-Rose died?

Her grip around him tightened, as though she had read his mind. It wouldn't be the first time. She didn't meet his eyes as she spoke, which was unlike her. “I'm really sorry, Danny. I was working in Boston. I always meant to come back to Brockton Bay to see you and Anne-Rose again, and I should have. Sooner. A lot sooner.” For the first time, she peeked up at him. “Forgive me?”

By way of answer, he grinned down at her. Of course I do. “You had a girl, I see.” From the noises coming from upstairs, Taylor was taking Annette on a tour of the house. “She's very like you.”

“Thank you, Danny,” she said with a snort; she surreptitiously wiped one eye. “Taylor's a lot like you too.” Pulling his head down to hers, she planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Yoink!”

Yyyup, that's Andrea all right. “Wow, okay, what was that for?”

“Oh, just something I promised myself I'd do when I saw you again.” She tilted her head with the old familiar grin. “Well, I said I'd kiss Anne-Rose, but given the circumstances, you're the next best thing.” They gravitated toward the sofa; he wasn't quite sure who was doing the leading. “So, you're killing me here. How's things going with you? Taylor seems to be a nice girl. She's certainly inherited your attitude toward sex. Annette says she's made a couple of passes and Taylor never even noticed. Did Anne-Rose actually get to talk to her about sex?”

Danny felt his brain seize up. “I, uh, no, that is, uh, Taylor, I, I mean -”

Andrea laughed, high and free and clear. “Oh god, you gave her the Talk, didn't you? Now, let me guess. It went along the lines of 'you can't have sex till I'm dead'. Or something like that, yeah?”

“No.” Danny's face was red and getting redder by the second. She could always do this to him. “But I made sure that she knew to be careful -”

“Pfft. Careful, schmareful. Don't get pregnant, don't catch an STD. Those were my only rules. Well,” she rolled her eyes toward the chattering going on from upstairs. “I kind of accidentally broke one of them. Fortunately, it was the one I got something good out of. So I named her after the other best thing that ever happened to me.”

Reminded of Anne-Rose, Danny went silent. Andrea wrapped her arms around him. “Danny, I'm really sorry. I just didn't hear about it until really recently. It hit me really hard, so the first chance I got to request a transfer to Brockton Bay, I did. But then I didn't even know if you'd want to see me again. Until Annette came home talking about her new friend Taylor Hebert and how she thought I'd been sleeping with her mom. And then I told myself not to be such a fucking wimp and came on over.”

“Wow.” Danny shook his head. “I never thought you were scared of anything.”

She leaned her head against his chest as a thundering herd descended the stairs then went along the front hall. From the sounds of it, they then headed down into the basement. “I just never let it show. And I was terrified of turning up on your doorstep and you not wanting to see me. That would have been too much to take.”

His arms went around her in turn. “I'm always glad to see you, Andrea.”

“Good.” The impish look was back in her eye as she reached up and kissed him again. “And that one was for you. Because I still don't know why you never slept with me in all the time I knew you.”

He felt himself flushing again. “Because I was married,” he explained patiently. “To Anne-Rose. Your best friend. I wasn't going to do that to her.”

“You do realise that you two never got married while I knew you, right? And that she slept with me at least three times before you two got really serious?” Andrea's eyes were bright with mischief. “If you had offered to sleep with me, she would have joined in. The only reason she didn't suggest a threesome herself is that I guess she thought you'd say no.”

“I -” Danny stopped; he literally did not know how to go on from that. The revelation that Anne-Rose had slept with Andrea while they were dating was a surprise but not a huge one, knowing the both of them. What am I gonna do? Get mad, fifteen years after the fact? "That can't be right. Surely we were married -"

"Not while I knew you." She grinned at him. "Must've been around the same time you knocked her up with Taylor. Which was around the same time I, uh, left. So another excuse, please?"

Options flashed through his mind. I was kind of a prude and I didn't know how to get past that? I didn't know she wanted to as well? I was a total idiot? Finally, he settled on what seemed safest. “I don't know what I would have said.” Probably no. Because I was an idiot.

Andrea rolled her eyes. “When you're faced with a situation like that, there's only one answer that's applicable. And it's not 'let me think about that and get back to you in twenty years'.”

“I'm sorry. I was an idiot.” The words popped out of his mouth before he had a chance to rethink them.

“Yeah, well, there's a lot of that going around.” She smiled kindly and put her hand to his cheek. “I should have come back a lot sooner, but there was Annette and my job and I kind of let that get in the way of more important things. Like maintaining friendships.”

He tilted his head. “You say that like Annette and your job had something to do with each other. I mean, Anne-Rose and I didn't even know you were pregnant. One day you just left town with barely any kind of explanation. What happened?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Met a guy while I was out and about one night. I liked the look of him, he liked the look of me, he bought me drinks, and we woke up at my place. He was only a kid, really, just out of high school and starting at his dad's company. I mean, I was happy to keep it casual, but he wasn't a 'casual' sort of guy. Very fixated on what he wanted and what he wanted was me. So when I got pregnant – and I'm not entirely sure he didn't do that on purpose – he pulled me in front of his dad and said he wanted to get married.”

Danny blinked, fascinated. “What happened?”

She snorted. “His dad hit the roof. Read him the riot act, tore off a strip ten feet wide. Told me in no uncertain terms that no gold-digging hussy was gonna get a piece of his company. I yelled right back at him, told him I didn't want it. Made sure he knew it was his kid's idea and not mine. I would've been happy just going along as I was.”

“I bet that went down well.”

“Actually, it went kind of better than I expected,” she said thoughtfully. “He sent his kid out of the room and asked me a few questions about my education, then moved me to Boston and put me into a job at a subsidiary firm that he owned, on the firm condition that I'd never make any claim to his kid, the company or the family name. With the unspoken but absolutely agreed-on kind of understanding that I wouldn't come back to Brockton Bay any time soon. Which I was an idiot to agree to, but he was kind of scary, you know? The sort of guy who's a legitimate businessman but you can tell there's more going on under the surface.”

“Holy shit.” Danny stared at her. “That actually happened? Who was this, anyway? Who was the guy who did this to you? And how come you're back?”

“Oh, the guy died years ago,” Andrea said cheerfully. “By that time I was kind of settled in the job and had Annette to care for. But when I got the chance to come on back, especially once I heard what had happened to Anne-Rose, I came back.” She paused. “As for who he was, like I said, he died years ago, but the kid's still around. Running his dad's company now, actually. He got married a few years ago, so I'm pretty sure I'm just one of those mildly embarrassing memories that you wish you could forget about your college years.” She paused. “Well, you guys wish you could forget, anyway. Me, I relish them. Best time of my life.”

“Yeah, I don't think I could forget that about you,” Danny agreed ruefully. “But the kid's now in charge of the company?”

“Yeah,” she said. “You probably know of him. He's kind of a big wheel. His name's Max, Max Anders. And I'm still working for him, in a roundabout way. So yeah, I was my boss' college fling. Yay me.”

<><>​

“So what do you think they're talking about?” Taylor asked as Annette poked curiously about the old workbench in the basement.

“Don't know, don't care,” was the casual answer. “Mom'll tell me if she thinks I need to know. Or if I ask. Think he'll start sleeping with her?”

“Annette!” Taylor stared at her friend, her cheeks heating. “What the hell sort of question is that?”

“Just a question,” Annette said cheerfully. “I mean, does he have someone else?”

“No!” Taylor realised that she'd spoken too sharply. “I mean, sorry, no, he doesn't. Not since Mom died.”

“So what's the problem? Him and Mom already know each other, so that's out of the way. They were pretty good friends back in the day. She likes him and I think he likes her, so why make it harder than it has to be?”

“God, you can't just come out with questions like that.” Taylor's face felt as though it was going to catch on fire. Annette's questions, as innocent as they sounded, were not something she was ready for.

“Why not?” Annette grinned at her. “It saves all kinds of confusion if you can ask a straight question and get a straight answer. That's what Mom always says, anyway.”

“But not about … about that.” Taylor wanted to hide her face in her hands. Instead, she stared fixedly at the cover over the old coal chute. If I levered that off, maybe I could hide in there until she went away …

“But why not?” Annette's voice was persistent.

“Because you don't, that's all.” Taylor knew that the answer was inadequate in the extreme, but she couldn't think of a better one.

“Okay, so here's another one. Did you know that I actually think you're kinda hot?”

It was right about then that Taylor's brain exploded. Dimly, over the roaring in her ears, she heard Annette ask, “Uh, Taylor?”

Suddenly able to move again, she swung back toward Annette. “What. No. You did not just say that.” She was pretty sure that her blush was all the way down to her shoulders by now.

Annette seemed to be enjoying herself hugely. “Well, duh. Remember when I told you I'd tell Mom we were only casual? That was me giving you the chance to say something. And other times I've left it open for you to make a move on me. But you just aren't wired to notice that sort of thing, are you?”

“Annette.” Taylor was very proud of her self-control. She would really rather be shouting or screaming or hiding under the workbench, but instead she spoke carefully and steadily.

“Yes?”

“Let's please not talk about this any more. Ever again. Okay?”

Annette's sigh was almost disappointed. “Okay, fine. But you know, all you had to say was no, you're not interested. I would've dropped it.”

“No.” Taylor forced the words out. “Not interested.”

“But we can still be friends?”

Taking a long breath, Taylor nodded. “Yes. Still friends.”

“Yay!” Happily, Annette hugged her.

Reluctantly, Taylor hugged her back, not wanting Annette to think that she was totally rejecting her. A thought struck her; she really didn't want to raise the topic, but if she didn't ask now, she knew she never would. Not that I'm certain that I want to know. “So …”

“So?” asked Annette brightly.

“Have you, uh, made moves on anyone else in the group?”

Annette raised an eyebrow cheerfully. “Sure you want to know?”

No. “Yes.”

“Well, yeah, okay. I've gone out with Cam a few times. He's nice, but once he and Kay met, they've been more interested in each other than in branching out. Kay's got this whole rock-solid hetero vibe going on, so she's a non-starter.”

“Oh.” Well, that was about as frank as it gets. “Have you and Cam, uh …”

Annette grinned at her. “You don't really want to know that, do you?”

Abruptly, Taylor's nerve gave way. “No. No, I don't.”

“Then nothing happened between us.” Annette's voice was firm. Taylor didn't trust it for a moment.

However, it did give her a much-needed out from the hole she had dug for herself. “Good. Now let us never speak of this again.”

Annette shrugged. “Okay.”

“In fact, we didn't even talk about this at all.”

Annette's expression said loud and clear that she thought Taylor was making too much of this, but she shrugged and agreed once more. “Okay.”

"Good." While Annette watched with mild interest. Taylor took a deep breath, trying to regather her scattered composure. "So, uh, what do we talk about now?"

Annette's expression became impish. "Well, I guess a discussion of the literary merits of Fifty Shades of of Grey is off the table?”

This time, Taylor did cover her ears with her hands. “No. God no.” Taking her hands away again, she stared at Annette. “Please tell me you haven't actually read that.”

“Well, no, not seriously. But Mom did recommend it as a primer for how not to do bondage.”

“Not even going to ask. Just nope.” Taylor took a deep breath. “Okay, how about the second Star Wars movie? Gonna be going to see that when it comes out?”

“Sure. Wanna come with?”

Taylor raised an eyebrow. “Only if you don't discuss the potential sex lives of the characters on screen.”

Annette rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine, we'll do it the boring way.” She gave Taylor another spontaneous hug. “This'll be so much fun.”

Taylor's voice was dry. “I think the fun for you is how much you can shock people.”

Annette blinked and spread her hands, as if the point was obvious. “Well, duh.”

<><>​

“Yeah, it has been a while, hasn't it? Last we saw each other, you had all your hair.” Andrea's voice was teasing but the smile on her face was genuine. She raised her hand to his cheek; it lingered there a moment before smoothing back the thinning hair on his scalp.

“Lots of things have changed.” His voice was unintentionally gruff. “A lot of water under the bridge. Taylor … Anne-Rose …”

“I am so sorry for not being here for you when that happened.” Her voice was soft.

He gave a half-shrug, his eyes not quite meeting hers. “It happened. We survived. Mostly.”

“So, are you seeing anyone?” she asked directly.

Danny hesitated. “I -”

“Well, of course not.” She rolled her eyes. “Danny Hebert, I love you dearly but you're such a typical male. I bet you haven't even considered dating again, have you?”

Whether or not she intended for her tone to be quite that scathing, she certainly succeeded. “I, uh. I've been busy, and Taylor -”

“Taylor is a big girl,” she informed him dryly. “She'll know you're not trying to replace Anne-Rose in your heart or hers. But we all need companionship and I'm sure she'd be thrilled to see you getting out and about, having fun instead of working yourself to a frazzle every day.”

“I, uh, I've had no real time -”

“Then make time.” Grabbing him as though he were a rag doll instead of an adult man, she shook him vigorously. “You need to go out, meet people, have sex. Getting laid at least once a week has amazing health bonuses. All those endorphins running around in your system. You'll sleep better, be more alert at work, and you'll feel a hell of a lot better too.”

“I, uh -” He hesitated. “Are you trying to tell me you want to sleep with me?”

“Well finally the penny drops,” she exclaimed, though the grin on her face took the sting out of the words. “I was just trying to make sure you didn't have something lined up with someone else. But apparently don't, so yes. I am telling you exactly that.”

“What, here? Now?” Events were outrunning his brain again.

Her grin became downright suggestive. “Well, we could if you wanted to. But I've got places to be, so if you're not in the mood right now, we can stick a pin in that.” Delving into her bag, she scribbled on a piece of paper. “My number. Call me up sometime, and Annette and I can come over for a sleepover.”

He hesitated. “Won't she know -”

“That I'm coming over to have sex with you? Well, yes. Will she care? Not at all. Except maybe to give points for style if we're too noisy.”

He hesitated. “If this is none of my business, please tell me right now, but is she -”

“Having sex?” Andrea paused. “To be honest, I make it my business not to know. I mean, she knows about sex. When I gave her the Talk, I gave her the Talk.”

Danny shuddered to think about it. Knowing Andrea, the Talk probably involved instructive filmclips. Annette was almost certainly far more informed about sex than he had been at that age. “Yeah, I had figured that much,” he agreed.

Andrea nodded. “So yeah, I filled her in on all the important details, then made sure she knew exactly what my rules were and why I had them. Then I arranged for birth control, and let her go her own way.” She shrugged. “I presume she has, but if so, she's been discreet about it. No pregnancies, no medical visits for other reasons. So that seems to be working out.”

“And that was far more information than I needed,” he said. “A simple 'yes', 'no' or 'not sure' would have sufficed. Anyway. Will it be weird if she's made a pass and Taylor's turned her down?” He refused to think about the possibility of Annette making a pass and Taylor not turning her down. I'll cross that bridge if I come to it, and not a moment before.

“Shouldn't be,” Andrea decided. “It never got weird between us, did it?”

“Well, no more than normal,” he agreed.

“So you'll call me sometime?” she pressed, eyes bright.

Reluctantly, not knowing even why he was being reluctant, he nodded. “Yeah. I will.”

“Yay!” She grabbed him and kissed him again. This time, he kissed her back.

<><>​

Danny set the stove on low and turned around. “Taylor?”

“Mmm?” She looked up from the exercise book and the dice.

“You look like you want to ask me a question. In fact, you've had that look on your face ever since they left.”

“I … oh god.” She took her glasses off and buried her face in her hands; her voice came out somewhat muffled. “I don't even know where to begin.”

His was somewhat amused. “Not an uncommon reaction when dealing with Andrea Campbell, I've found.”

“And Annette. Her too. Trust me.” Moving her hands from over her face, she locked them together in the hair on top of her head, looking down at the table. “I don't even know how to begin to process what happened between us.”

He pulled out a chair and sat down on the other side of the table. “So talk to me about it. Or did things happen that you aren't comfortable talking about?”

Looking up at him, she flushed slightly. “You mean, did she make a pass at me? Yeah, she did. Did anything more happen? Nope. I turned her down.”

“And how did she take it?” His voice was as neutral as he could make it.

The slightest shrug. “She … took it really well, actually. Wanted to know if we were still friends. We talked about other stuff then. It didn't come up again.”

“So are you still friends?” There was no judgement, no pressure in his tone.

She took a deep breath. “Yeah. I guess. There's no getting over the fact that this sort of thing does make things just a bit weird. I mean, your best friend telling you she -” She coughed, then steeled herself, “- she thinks you're hot? I mean, how do you even get past that?” Her eyes were on the table again.

“You just do.” His tone was firm. “I learned to, years ago, with her mother.”

That got a reaction; her eyes jerked upward to meet his. Without her glasses, they were still slightly unfocused, but she did it anyway. “What?”

He smiled wryly. “Andrea's always been that way. Very open, especially about who she was attracted to and, well, stuff like that.”

“Uh, yeah, I saw that with Annette,” she agreed. “Boy, did I see that.”

The smile became a chuckle. “No, you saw the watered down version. Andrea in college was like the Andrea you met, only with the brakes off and full steam ahead.”

She blinked a couple of times. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah. That was kind of my reaction, many times.”

She took a deep breath. “Annette seems to really enjoy shocking people. Is that …”

“ … what Andrea does?” He shook his head. “She just doesn't care about other people's judgement of her actions. She does what she does. As far as she's concerned,” he coughed, “uh, sleeping with people is just something that happens. It's what people do. There's no need for hangups or emotional scenes.”

“Wow. And we left you alone with her.” She gave him a searching look. “Can I ask what happened between you two? Or don't I want to know? You looked a bit shell-shocked when we got back upstairs.”

He looked a little uncomfortable. “Well, yeah, it was a bit of a shock to the system to have all her attention on me for the first time in years. She's very direct. I'd kind of forgotten that.”

“And?” The question was asked reluctantly.

He took a deep breath. “And, well, yes. I'll be seeing more of her. In fact, she might be coming over sometime, to, uh, stay the night. And bringing Annette for a sleepover. If that's okay?”

“Wait.” Taylor's voice was flat. “Annette's mom is going to be staying the night. With you.”

He cringed slightly. “I, uh, yes?” A long pause. “I mean, I did love your mother and all, I still do, but it has been more than two years, and Andrea kind of reminded me that I do have needs, and -”

“Ew. Okay. Please stop talking now.” Taylor made a 'time-out' gesture. “I do not need to hear about your 'needs'.”

“Okay. Sorry. Fine. But is it okay if …”

“... if Annette's mom comes over to spend the night?”

“If they both come over. Annette has a sleepover, and well they both do, I guess.” His forced levity tried to make it into a joke, and failed.

“And you're asking my permission.” She put her glasses on so that she could see him clearly. “Is that what you're doing?”

He looked more than a little hunted. “Uh … yes?”

She took a long moment to consider that. “Well. Um.”

“Uh -”

“Sh. Still thinking about it.”

She let him hang for a few moments longer, then spoke, carefully and considering every word. “Annette's my friend. It is gonna be a little bit weird between us, but she's still my friend. My best friend, really. She was the first one to help me out at Arcadia and she's been nothing but nice to me. Even if she is attracted to me. Which I'm still having a hard time processing.”

Her father looked at her, waiting for her to go on. Finally, she nodded. “So yeah, I think having a sleepover might help. Let me come to terms with how things are. And if Annette can have a sleepover, then … well, everything you said is true. And I like her mom. She's really nice. So yeah.” She gave him a warning look. “It's not gonna be any less weird for all of that, but I can accept that.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” He turned back toward the stove.

“Uh, Dad?”

He turned back. “Yeah?”

“One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this likely to be a permanent thing? I mean, am I expected to call her 'mom'? Because I don't think I can do that.”

Hastily, he shook his head. “No, no. Andrea doesn't do permanent. And she won't expect that. And I won't either.”

She took a deep breath. “Good. Well, I can accept that.” A pause. “When's this likely to happen?”

“When I finally get up the nerve to do it.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, well, give me warning before you do. So I can get used to the idea too. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Thanks.” She went back to the exercise book.

He sighed. “It'll be good having them in our lives, I think. Andrea was always fun for me and Anne-Rose to be around. And at least there won't be any awkward complications. Andrea's about the most uncomplicated person I know.”

“Don't I know it,” she agreed ruefully. “Annette's so straightforward you could use her as a ruler.”

He tasted the stew. “Well, what with your superhero activities, it'll be good to have something uncomplicated to deal with around here.”

She stuck out her tongue at him.

<><>​

Max Anders sat in his office, staring at his computer screen. On it, a name stared back at him, on a list of transfers between his subsidiary companies. It was a name he had almost forgotten, but one that brought back memories of a simpler time, a happier time. An infectious laugh, flashing green eyes and a riot of red curly hair. His first true love.

I always wondered how Father managed to make her disappear so completely. He hid her inside Medhall.

She had been the first thing, the first person, he had truly wanted. And his father had taken her away from him. She wasn't a member of the Empire, so she had been deemed to be not a suitable match for him.

Well, now I'm in charge.

And I want her back.


End of Part Six

Part Seven