All of Us -- Chapter 23

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

“So, when are Jondy and Wayne going on their date?” Becky asked Max as the two of them and Zack stood hidden in a building on sentry duty near the main gate of Terminal City.

“Later this week,” Max told her. “Jondy said that they’re just going to eat dinner in her apartment.” She zoomed in on the activity outside. “Not a whole lot happening. Your p—General Murphy and Colonel Robinson haven’t arrived yet.”

“It’s still pretty early,” Zack said. He checked his watch. “It’s not even six o’clock yet. You told us that they usually show up around six and we’ve got about another ten minutes until they get here.”

“Nervous?” Max teased.

“No, I mean Becky and I are only about to see the people who genetically are our parents for the first time,” Zack said sarcastically. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Maxie. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”

Max smiled and put a reassuring hand on Zack’s shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. I know how stressful this is for you. Don’t worry.”

“I’m glad that I’ve gotten to the point where I can at least add on their last names to their ranks and not just refer to them as ‘the general’ and ‘the colonel,’” Becky said. She shuddered and picked up her rifle and examined it. “I’d sometimes refer to Lydecker as ‘the colonel’ when I was younger. The thought of classifying Colonel Robinson with Lydecker doesn’t sit right, and I’ve never even met Colonel Robinson.”

Zack smirked. “You can say that about most of the human population.”

“True,” Max admitted as both she and Becky laughed.

“I could think of so many people that I like more than Lydecker,” Becky said as she continued to watch the activity outside. “Pretty much everybody except White and his freaky friends. Renfro’s dead so I guess she doesn’t count anymore.” She was quiet for a moment. “I never liked Renfro very much before I found out that she was keeping the two of you separated and thinking that the other was dead back at Manticore. She always struck me as a sadistic bitch. She treated me personally the few times that I had face-to-face interaction with her as well as somebody like her could and would treat a transgenic, but I think that was because the two or three times I was actually speaking to her or being debriefed by her, Lydecker was in the room with us and she knew that I was Lydecker’s best and she wanted to practically suck up to me to piss off Lydecker.” She shuddered. “I hated being Lydecker’s favorite, even as much as it was even in my nature to be competitive and to want to be the best. I don’t know why Lydecker liked me as relatively much as he did because I know that he knew that I wanted to make a break for it after I got out of Psy Ops in September of 2009 but I couldn’t because my family didn’t want to leave. Go figure that one out.”

“Hey, you can always ask Lydecker the next time we see him if we ever do,” Max joked. “Just go up to him and say ‘Hey, Deck. Before I smack you around because it’s fun, would you please tell me why you treated me like the Manticore equivalent of a teacher’s pet even though you were pretty much using my younger brothers and sisters to hold me hostage there since I was almost seven?’”

“I should do that if I ever see him again,” Becky said, grinning. “If for no other reason than to see the look on his face. That would be something to see, wouldn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” Max agreed. “I’ve seen a few different expressions on Donald Lydecker’s face by now. I’ve seen anger, I’ve seen pride, I’ve seen concern as freaky as it sounds, I’ve seen something bordering on love or lust when he was reminiscing about his late wife when he and I were in the Jeep waiting for his friend to get out of that strip club, and I’ve seen smugness. I still would love to see whatever shows up on his face if you ever ask him that question.”

“That’s—oh, shit,” Zack said quietly as something caught his eye. He zoomed in and saw two vehicles pull up to the military camp. “I think they’re here.”

Max and Becky also grew quiet and they also zoomed in on the two vehicles and watched as Dennis got out of one and Caroline got out of the other. “Oh my God,” Becky whispered as she saw her parents for the first time. “It’s really real. They’re really real.”

“She has my eyes,” Zack said in disbelief. “I mean, I have her eyes. I don’t…what the…”

“It blows your mind, doesn’t it?” Max guessed.

“I’ll say,” Zack agreed.

“I—I don’t know what to think,” Becky said. She felt overwhelmed. It’s true. Those are my biological parents. I know it. Deep down, I know that’s the truth. They’re as much a part of my blood as Zack is. They’re here and they’re real and…what the hell am I going to do?

“I don’t know what I’m going to do either,” Zack said softly. Becky gave him an odd look and Zack shook his head. “I can’t read minds, but I can take a good guess as to what you’re thinking because I’m thinking the same thing.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, just remember that they’re on our side,” Max assured them. “If push comes to shove, remember what Krit and I overheard them talking about. They know that you are their kids and they don’t want to hurt you or any of us.”

Zack and Becky nodded. “Right,” Zack said. He sighed. “I guess we’ll just see what happens now.” He continued to watch Dennis and Caroline. They’re here, we’re here…what will happen now? For once, I don’t have any answers or any plan. What’s wrong with me?

“Don’t worry,” Max said. “That’s why I’m here.” She looked at Zack reassuringly and Zack smiled back at her.

That’s one reason why I love this woman so much.

TBC