Nightmares Redux -- Chapter 5

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.).

Gabrielle looked suspiciously at the pile of clothes that she had just folded. Okay, that t-shirt was with the rest of the load when I threw it into the washer, and I know that I saw it when I transferred everything to the dryer. I’m damn near positive that I got everything when I took my laundry out of the dryer when it was finished in there. Damn, this is annoying. She shook her head and started to turn around to head for the laundry room again, but stopped when she heard her phone ringing. Gabrielle answered it gratefully. “It’s Gabby. Who is it?”

“It’s me, sweetheart,” Zack said.

“Hi, Dad,” Gabrielle replied. “What’s going on?”

“I just thought that I’d call to say hello,” Zack said.

“Dad, I’m a big girl,” Gabrielle said, though she kept her voice light. She knew that her father’s habit of periodically calling to check in on her when she was home came from the fact that he’d spent his adolescence and first part of adulthood spent running from Manticore, so it never truly bothered her. “How are things over at your office? Maxine yapping in your ear non-stop?”

“Very funny,” Zack said. “Maxine actually happens to be out with her mother on a job right now. To be honest, I wish that you were here to help me go through all this paperwork that I have to get done.”

“Right now, I wish that’s where I was, too,” Gabrielle said sincerely. “I told you when I finished at the offices for the summer before we took Derek and Jordan down to California that I need this time before I have to go back to school to get my stuff together and all of that. I’m tempted to go over there anyway. I’m trying to do my laundry and it’s annoying the living hell out of me. How come every time I try to get this done, I end up missing a shirt, a sock, or something else?”

“If it makes you feel any better, your mother has always had a hard time trying to do laundry,” Zack reminded her.

Gabrielle nodded. “Yeah, I know. Ever since I could remember, you were always the one who did the laundry.” She laughed. “Was there any kind of chore that Mom actually could do without messing it up at least half of the time? I love my mother like crazy, but to say she isn’t exactly that Martha Stewart person that Uncle Alec and Aunt Brin say was big before the Pulse is an understatement.”

“She can cook chicken very well and she certainly knew how to get you and your brothers to clean your rooms,” Zack said. He and his daughter both grinned. “She always did her best and still does. Speaking of your mother, is she home?”

“Sorry, Dad, you’re out of luck at the moment,” Gabrielle informed him. “Mom went out about a minute ago to do some grocery shopping and to pop in on Aunt Syl because she’s in heat again so it’s only her and Ronnie at her and Uncle Krit’s place and she’s going nuts. Poor Ronnie when she gets her first heat. She’s going to be in for a hell of a time.”

“I’ll bet,” Zack remarked. “Do you have any plans for later?”

“The usual, I guess,” Gabrielle said. She switched the cordless receiver to her other hand. “I’ll probably either find something here or go out and grab something to eat by myself unless you and Mom are both home and want all three of us to eat together. I might go meet the usual crowd over at Crash again, but I don’t know about that one yet. I’m still waiting to hear back from Tony or Julia to see if either of them will be able to make it. Julia’s got a date tonight but it’s supposed to be for a fairly early dinner and Tony…” Gabrielle rolled her eyes. “God only knows what his plans are.”

“I see.” Zack sounded amused at Gabrielle’s tone of voice. “Well, whatever you end up doing tonight, I hope that you have a great time. I should be back home by five, maybe six at the absolute latest, so I should at least see you before you go do whatever you will plan out.”

“Gotcha,” Gabrielle said. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV in her room before tossing the remote back onto her bed. “Dad, do you really need some help going through that paperwork? If you do, I can always take a break from figuring out my laundry and ride over on my bike. It’s no big deal.”

“Biggs should be getting back here sometime in the next fifteen minutes, so I think I’ll get some help from him then,” Zack assured her. “If he isn’t able to help me, then I’ll get back to you. I promise.” He paused. “What are you watching on TV?”

“Looks like the lunchtime news,” Gabrielle said. “I’ll probably change it in a minute.” She started to take some of the folded laundry and put it away in her dresser drawers. “Speaking of news, did I tell you or did Uncle Biggs tell you that Andrea went back East today?”

“I haven’t heard anything today, but Biggs mentioned yesterday that Andrea’s flight back to New York City was supposed to leave at ten this morning,” Zack said. “I can’t believe she’s starting graduate school.”

“You do need a couple of years of it if you want to become a psychiatrist like Andrea does,” Gabrielle said. “Personally, I think she’s nuts that she wants to become a shrink, but to each her own, I guess. If that’s what she wants to do, then more power to her.”

“At least she knows what she wants to do,” Zack said. “Your brothers on the other hand...” He sighed.

Gabrielle laughed. “Okay, Mom’s not here right now, so I’ve got to be the one who has to listen to you complaining about how the Wonder Twins seem to have no apparent direction?” She grinned when she heard Zack’s laughter on the other end of the line. “Dad, Derek and Jordan are only seventeen and they just started college. They only had their first classes today, for crying out loud. Give them some time to figure it all out. You know they will eventually.”

“You sounded just like your mother,” Zack said.

“That makes for a nice change. Most of the time, people tell me that I sound just like you or Grandma,” Gabrielle joked.

“That’s not such a bad thing, you know,” Zack said, though his voice sounded as teasing as it ever did.

“I know that, Dad,” Gabrielle said. She giggled. “Though what I’m not sure of is why…” Her attention drifted from her father to the television.

“…and in local news, we have a report of a missing child, the second in two days,” the anchor said. “Earlier this morning, eleven-year-old Caitlin Brown disappeared from the public pool where she’d been swimming and playing with some of her friends. Eyewitnesses say that Ms. Brown excused herself to use the restroom several yards away from the pool and never returned. They did not see anybody take the girl. As we said earlier, Caitlin Brown was not the only child to be reported missing in the past few days. Eight-year-old—“

Gabrielle frowned as she changed the channel. “These poor children. It’s so sad.” She sighed. “I better get back to my laundry, Dad.”

“I’ll let you go, then,” Zack said. “Enjoy your afternoon. If you go out, keep your…”

“…eyes and ears open at all times, no matter what,” Gabrielle finished. She and Zack both laughed softly. “I will, Dad, always. I love you.”

“I love you too, Gabby,” Zack said. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later. ‘Bye.” Gabrielle hung up the phone and paused briefly before sighing and heading back towards the laundry room.