What's Next? -- 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.).

Max left her and Zack’s bedroom, brushing her hair out of her face. She frowned a little when she saw Becky sitting on the living room couch. “I thought that you weren’t coming over until tonight to have dinner with us.”

“Nope, you’re thinking of last week,” Becky said. “It’s lunch today.” She stretched.

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Max said. “Nice shirt. Is that the one that you said that Caroline bought for you for your birthday a few weeks ago?”

“No, this one is my birthday present from Maggie,” Becky said.

Max smirked. “What, your younger siblings didn’t give you any presents that were…appropriate for you?”

“Very funny,” Becky remarked. “For the record, Kevin did get me a new switchblade, but he got it for me because the handle was my favorite color and he knew that I’d also love the design on it. It really is pretty cool. I’ve got it on me now.” She took the knife out of her pocket and handed it to Max. “Check it out.”

“I’ve got to admit, this is some quality work,” Max said as she critically examined the knife. She flicked the blade out and examined it before she flicked it back in and handed the knife back to Becky. “That’s a nice piece. Did Kevin get it legit or off the black market or by way of the five finger discount?”

“I don’t know,” Becky said. She shrugged. “He didn’t tell me and I didn’t ask.” She looked around the room. “Where’s Zack? Isn’t this his day off this week?”

“It is. He--:”

“—got called into a meeting,” Zack finished as he entered the apartment. He walked over to Max and gave her a kiss. “Got to change.”

Becky raised an eyebrow. “Change? You’re wearing a dress shirt and jeans. It’s not like you’re wearing a tuxedo or even a suit.” She caught the paperweight that Zack had thrown at her and immediately flung it back at him. Max intercepted it before it could connect with Zack.

“Yes, change. It’s a simple concept,” she said.

“You know, I have a mother to tell me things like this now,” Becky said. She looked amused.

“Yes, and I need the practice,” Max said sweetly. “And judging by the mood that you’re in this afternoon, I’m going to get plenty of it. My goodness, Becky, you’re starting to border on Alec.”

“Hey, even I have my days,” Becky said. “I should get it out of my system before I start my job in two months.” She sighed.

“What course or courses will you be teaching? Do you know that yet?” Zack asked from the bedroom.

“Yeah, I’ll be teaching two sections of Freshman Composition. One of them is on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at nine in the morning and the other one is on the same days but it starts at eleven in the morning. I’ll also be teaching a section of Modern Literature on Wednesday afternoons.” Becky shrugged. “It should be interesting.”

“Teaching other people your age? Good luck,” Max said.

Becky snorted. “You’re telling me.”

There was a knock at the door. Max turned towards it. “Come on in.” The door opened and Dennis and Caroline walked inside. “Hey, you guys. Great to see you.”

“It’s great to see the two of you as well,” Caroline said. She hugged both Max and Becky. “Where’s Zack?”

“I’m right here,” Zack said, leaving the bedroom. He went over to his parents and gave each of them a hug. “Great to see you.”

“We stopped by because we’ve got some news that we had to tell you,” Dennis admitted.

Becky tensed reflexively. “Good news or bad?”

Caroline thought about it. “Some of it is definitely good and some of it is open to interpretation.”

“Let’s hear the news that’s open to interpretation first,” Zack said.

“Our leaves officially end tomorrow,” Dennis said. “We received notice of our next official postings today.” He shook his head a little. “We’re definitely leaving Seattle, both of us. I’m being transferred back to the Pentagon to resume my work there. Caroline’s actually going to be transferring there with me. She has been reassigned to my staff.”

“Reassigned or requested?” Max said with a knowing smirk.

“I can’t help it if Caroline’s an extremely qualified and competent officer,” Dennis said. He couldn’t help grinning. “Hey, if I’m madly in love with her…” Becky laughed, but then grew quiet.

“Well…when are you guys leaving for D.C.?” she finally asked.

“Tomorrow morning,” Caroline said. “Our flight leaves at seven.”

Zack nodded and bit his lip and then took a deep breath. “So, what’s the news that’s definitely good?”

Caroline grinned. “I’m being promoted to Brigadier General.”

“Finally!” Becky said. She gave Caroline a big hug. “It’s about damn time, Mom! Congratulations!”

Zack also grinned and gave his mother a hug. “Congratulations, Mom. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you so much,” Caroline said.

“We were going to go out to lunch,” Max said. “Do you guys want to come with us?”

“We’d love to,” Caroline said. She paused. “Actually, can we make it dinner so that Jenny can join us?” She turned to Becky and gave her a slight smirk. “And Jeff can join us as well.”

“Mom!” Becky said. She blushed.

“Wow,” Zack said. He looked mildly surprised. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Becky blush like that before.”

Becky recovered quickly. “Yeah, it’s a good thing that we’ve got photographic memories because you will never see that happen again.”

“We should get going,” Dennis said. “We’ve got a lot of packing to do.”

“I’ll help,” Zack said. “Becky, you in?”

“Sure,” Becky said. “I’ll call and see if anybody else wants to give a hand.”

“Will you be okay by yourself, Maxie?” Zack asked.

“I’m only pregnant. I’ll be fine,” Max said. She smiled and gave Zack a kiss. “I was thinking about stopping in and seeing Krit and those guys at the shop anyway. It’s all good.”

“Let’s get started then,” Becky said. The five of them left the apartment.

TBC