Prophecy -- Chapter 14

Disclaimer:  The TV shows Dark Angel and Supernatural, all of the characters that appeared on them, and everything else that has to do with the shows belong to their respective owners, not to me.  No money is being made off of this fic.  I only own the original characters (Dylan/X6-175, etc.).

Notes:  For at least the next couple of chapters, this fic will be going back and forth between the Dark Angel and Supernatural universes.  I hope this doesn’t confuse anybody!  This chapter takes places hours after chapter 13.  Oh, and if anybody was wondering what Audrey looks like, just picture Anne Hathaway as that character.  I saw a commercial for ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ on DVD and I thought ‘hey, she kind of looks a little Audrey Hepburn-ish…except not as little and fragile-looking.’ :)

“Have I ever told you that you can be the biggest moron on the planet?” Dylan asked Alec as they left the work site.  The younger transgenic was trying to hide a grin.

Alec glared at him.  “Yes.  Repeatedly.”

“Oh.”  Dylan shrugged.  “But you were there for your first mechanics class way back at Manticore, right?  The one where they explained to you how to use tools and all of the safety stuff?  I loved that class.  I think my favorite part was the lecture on the proper way to handle a—“

“I…get…the…point,” Alec growled.  He shook his head when Dylan laughed.  I should be happy that he’s in a better mood and all, and I am, but does it have to be at my expense?  “But you were there and unless you’re blind and deaf, then you saw how I was distracted by those two kids fighting over the hammer that they were using.  It happens to the best of us, Dylan.  Even to transgenics like us.”  He adjusted the partially blood-soaked rag on his right hand to make sure that it was tight.  “Max is going to kill me for this.”

“Yeah, I would say so,” Dylan agreed.

“I’m not sure why your hand is bleeding, but I’d still say that you’d be right.”

“Oh, hey, Audrey,” Alec said.  “How’re you doing?”

Audrey shrugged.  “Physically, I’m not doing too bad.  It was pretty much just a graze.  Hurt like hell when it happened and the rest of that night, but it’s much better today.  I’ll definitely be one hundred percent again by tomorrow morning.”  She sighed.  “Damn, I hadn’t had anybody gunning for my ass that intensely since I was a kid.  It brought back some pretty bad memories, you know what I mean?”

“I’ve got a decent idea,” Alec said.  He saw the uneasy look on Dylan’s face and gave the teenager a slap on the back.  “What’s the matter, Dylan?  Nervous in front of the girl?”  As soon as Audrey looked upwards in exasperation, Alec winked at Dylan.

“No, I’m not nervous in front of the girl,” Dylan retorted, though inwardly he felt grateful for Alec for covering up the main reason for his sudden attack of nerves.  “That’s the pot calling the kettle black, buddy.  Do you want me to fill Audrey in?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Alec insisted.  “I’ll be seeing you guys later.  I should be getting my hand taken care of.”

“Sometimes, I wonder why I’m friends with him,” Dylan commented as he and Audrey watched Alec walk away.  “He can be so exasperating it defies comprehension.”

“Why are you friends with him?” Audrey wondered.

Dylan laughed.  “I don’t know, it just happened.  I mean, I’d seen him around the halls and all when I was little, but he was always with his unit and I was with mine, or at least the ones that had been released to full training.  I had my schedule.  He had his.  Then we ran into each other that one day and it just kind of went from there.  He and Biggs were always nice to me and helped me whenever I needed it.  It was kind of hero worship, at least on my part.  I thought that neither of them, especially Alec, could do any wrong.”  He shook his head, an angry look spreading across his face.  “It always made me so furious whenever Alec got thrown into Psy Ops because it was never his fault.  Not even the Berrisford mission.  I don’t blame you or Max or any of you guys for him getting tossed in there in ’09, I—well, I’m getting a little off track, for one thing.  Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Audrey assured him.  “Really.”

“Thanks,” Dylan said.  He looked thoughtful.  “Alec and Biggs became my best friends pretty quickly after we actually met.  It was pretty cool.  I didn’t have too many friends within my own unit, but that’s another story for another time.  They always encouraged me with everything.”  Dylan made a face.  “Including dragging me into it whenever they wanted to prank somebody in their unit.  We almost got caught at least twice.  I wanted to wring both of their necks.”  Audrey giggled and Dylan couldn’t help smiling.  “Though they turned right around and offered to get some of the brattier members of my group.  And they did.  Those guys in my unit were too busy getting the goop out of what hair they had, they were too young at the time to start growing their hair out, for them to be whiney pains-in-the-ass.”

“It’s great when there’s people who have your back the way Alec and Biggs did when you were growing up,” Audrey commented.  “Me and my family all had each other’s backs when we were kids.”

“Alec’s still got mine,” Dylan remarked.  The two of them stood around quietly before Audrey finally spoke up.

“So…do you want to do something?” she asked.  “The kitchen in my apartment actually works and believe it or not, I’m not too bad of a cook.  I’m pretty sure that I have stuff in my refrigerator, too.”

“Maybe,” Dylan said.  “I am kind of hungry after all of that work on that building.”  He gave Audrey a hopeful look.  “You wouldn’t happen to have some pizza in your ‘fridge, would you?”

Audrey laughed.  “No, I don’t.  Nice try, though I do have a couple of boxes of spaghetti and plenty of sauce.  I was going to make some for myself last night after I got back…”  She shivered.  “Well, you get the idea.”

“Yeah, I do,” Dylan mumbled.

“Are you okay?” Audrey wondered.  She frowned when Dylan suddenly looked annoyed.  “Did I say something?”

“No, you didn’t.  I’m just sick of people asking if I’m okay,” Dylan explained.  “Alec must have asked me that question a million times last night after we got back here to T.C. and things had settled down.”

“So you’re sick of Alec asking you if you’re okay.  That doesn’t mean that…”  Audrey paused and took a deep breath.  “I’m sorry, Dylan, I’m really sorry.  I don’t have any right to ask somebody if they’re all right or not when I’m not close to fine myself.”

“It’s okay,” Dylan said.  He pulled Audrey into a hug.  “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you,” Audrey said gratefully.  She looked up at the X6.  “I really am concerned for you, though.”

“Rightfully so,” Dylan confessed.  “Look, Audrey, it’s…complicated.”  I can’t tell her.  She’ll either think I’m completely crazy or hate me for not doing anything sooner.  I should tell her, but I just can’t.  Not yet.  “I’ll tell you someday, I promise.”

“Okay,” Audrey said.  “I trust you.”

“Thank you.”  Dylan hugged Audrey a little tighter, grateful that she didn’t press the issue.  “That means a lot.”

“No problem,” Audrey told him.  Dylan released her and she stuck her hands in the pockets of her jeans, suddenly nervous.  “Anyway, do you still want to come over to my place for something to eat?”

Dylan grinned, though he felt butterflies spring to life in his stomach.  “Yeah, that does sound good.  I’d like that.”

“Men always like free food,” Audrey teased.

“Yeah, but I—“  Dylan suddenly stopped and blushed.  “Never mind.”

“Okay,” Audrey said, though the unfinished sentence triggered butterflies in her own stomach.  “Come on.  Do you want that free grub?”  She and Dylan both laughed.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Dylan agreed.  As he followed Audrey to her apartment, he couldn’t help feeling slightly guilty.  Would she be this nice to me if she knew?  Dylan mentally rolled his eyes.  She will, you idiot.  Somehow, I know she will.  If she really…does she like me?  Ugh, my head is so screwed up right now that it’s ridiculous.  Just calm down and focus on the here and now.  Simple as that.  I hope.

TBC