What's Next? -- Chapter 14a

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.).

Caroline pulled her rental car to a stop in front of her father’s house and parked it. She turned to Dennis. “Ready to meet the father of the woman you had two children with that he never knew about until last week?” she teased.

“Mom, Grandpa won’t flip out on him,” Jenny said.

“That’s good to know,” Dennis said. The three of them got out of the car and waited for Zack, Max, Becky, and Jeff to get out of their own rental car. “Are you guys ready?”

“I don’t know,” Becky confessed.

“Neither do I,” Zack admitted.

“Will the two of you relax?” Max said. “It’s going to be fine. I’m sure that your family is cool.”

“They are,” Caroline assured them. She looked around. “My dad’s car is in the driveway.”

“He still drives? How old did you say he was again?” Dennis teased, trying to lighten Zack and Becky’s moods. It seemed to work as he saw both of them smile a little.

Caroline rolled her eyes but she also smiled. “He’s eighty and you won’t get him to stop driving until he’s dead. He still works out every day and he’s definitely still sharp upstairs. He’s a great guy. You’ll like him.” Something caught her eye. “It looks like Danny and Erica and their kids are here. That’s Danny’s car over there.” She smiled as they walked up the front steps. “Maybe Cassie even brought her son with her.” She rang the doorbell and they all waited.

The door opened a moment later. Danny Robinson stood there, grinning. “Look who decided to show up. If it isn’t Little Miss Busy.”

“Little Miss Busy who decided to use part of her three-month leave to actually visit your sorry ass,” Caroline retorted, but she also grinned and after Danny let them all inside the house, gave him a big hug. “It’s great to see you again, Danny.”

“It’s great to see you too, Caroline,” Danny said. He turned around and looked at Dennis. “You must be Dennis. I did see you once before, though we were wearing football helmets and on opposite sides that time.”

“The 1990 Army/Navy game,” Dennis recalled. He smiled and shook Danny’s hand. “It’s nice to properly meet you.”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed. He turned to Zack and Becky. “It’s an honor to finally meet the two of you. I’m your Uncle Danny.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Zack said. Becky nodded in agreement as they took turns shaking his hand.

“Where’s Erica, Cassie, Amy, and Mark?” Caroline asked. “Did Cassie bring Andrew and Keith with her?”

“Drew is coming with Cassie and they will be bringing Keith with them,” Danny said. “All of the kids are coming separately. Amy’s actually here already, but Erica needed to run out to the store for something for the fruit salad she’s making for dinner tonight and she and Amy went in Amy’s car. They should be back in a few minutes.”

“Is that my little girl?” Mr. Robinson’s voice said from one of the other rooms of the house. He entered the living room a minute later and went over to Caroline and gave her a big hug. “Thank goodness that you’re in one piece, sweetheart.”

“Hi, Dad,” Caroline said. “How have you been?”

“Very well,” he said. He looked at Zack and Becky. “You must be Zack and Becky.”

“Yes, sir,” Becky said then winced. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

Mr. Robinson nodded and smiled at her. “I understand. You can call me Grandpa. I’m so happy to meet both of you.”

“Thank you,” Becky said.

“You’re welcome,” he said. He turned to greet the others and did a double take when he saw Max. “Caroline, is it just me or does she look like…?”

Caroline sighed. “Yes, she does. I’ll explain later. That’s Zack’s girlfriend, Max, and the boy is Becky’s boyfriend, Jeff. That’s Dennis, Zack and Becky’s father.”

Mr. Robinson greeted the three of them and then turned to Jenny. “And how have you been doing, young lady?”

“Good, Grandpa,” Jenny said. “I’m looking forward to school starting next month.”

“Is this really my niece?” Danny teased. “Is this the same girl who complains about school whenever I talk to her?”

“Very funny,” Mr. Robinson said. “Caroline, why don’t you show the kids around the house while we wait for the others to get here?”

“Sure,” Caroline said. “Follow me.” She walked up the stairs and paused at the door of the first bedroom to her left. “That’s my dad’s room. The bathroom’s right across the hall from there.”

“What about the door next to the bathroom?” Zack asked.

Caroline smiled. “That was my bedroom when I was growing up. Do you want to see it?”

“Sure,” Becky said. They followed Caroline as she walked down the hall and opened the door. She and Zack looked around her and she blinked. “Wow, it’s so…normal.”

“Yeah, it is,” Caroline said. She stepped inside her old room and looked around at the posters and the pictures and awards that hung on the walls or were displayed elsewhere in the room. Even I can’t believe how normal my room is. It’s very normal, just like how my life used to be before I left for West Point. When did my life start to slide from normal? “It almost seems like it belongs to somebody else. I know it was mine—I know that it is mine—but I feel like such a different person than the one that I was when I last lived here. I wouldn’t trade who I am and my life for anything, but it’s just…”

“…it feels like an out-of-body experience,” Zack agreed. “We all change. I’ve changed a lot from who I used to be. Sometimes I almost don’t recognize myself or my life, especially these days, but I wouldn’t change it for anything or anybody.”

“Exactly,” Caroline said. They smiled at each other. “Come on. Let me show the two of you the rest of the house.” They turned around and left the room.

TBC