Eventually, Reece couldn't stand it anymore. On silent feet, he crept out of the bedroom towards the one place that he would feel safe.

He stopped in the doorway. Despite Cooper saving his life and everything, he still wasn't happy about seeing the marine in bed with his mom. Madi was fast asleep but Cooper was awake. And looking at him. No backing out now. Reece felt embarrassed.

"You okay?" asked Cooper softly. Why did people keep asking him that? He nodded abruptly. "What's wrong?"

"Can't sleep."

"Oh. Nightmares?" Reece nodded again, watching Cooper nervously. He hated having to admit any weakness, especially to Cooper. "Yeah. Bad huh?"

Reece nodded again. "How did you know?"

"I have 'em too."

"'Bout AIs?"

"No. That's Shane." Reece wondered who Shane was. He started to shiver. "Cold?" God the guy was a genius, Reece thought sarcastically. He nodded once again, more sullenly this time. The next thing Cooper did surprised the hell out of him. He threw back the covers and shifted over so that there was now room in the bed for Reece. Reece stood there open-mouthed. Cooper frowned at him impatiently. "Better get where it's warm."

Reece debated this for a moment. On the one hand, that would really be admitting weakness. On the other, the alternative was his room. And god knows what was under his bed. He thought it might be AIs. After an internal struggle, he leapt into the bed, snuggling up next to Cooper. Well, he was cold, he told himself.

"Cooper, what do you have bad dreams about, if not AIs?"

"Small spaces, and being back in the tank."

"Cooper, does everyone have bad dreams."

"Yes. Reece?"

"Yes?"

"Go to sleep." Surprisingly enough, he managed to.

They slept late, the exhaustion and pressure from the events of the night before catching up with them. When Cooper finally awoke, the sun was high in the sky. He couldn't hear any sounds that may indicate that anyone else was awake. Reece was hogging the covers just as Madi did and Madi was hogging the covers that Reece wasn't. He decided that since he was cold anyway, he might as well get up. He would have liked to have laid there all day, and just hug his lover, he was too tired and sore to do much else, but looking at Reece curled up against Madi's side, he decided it wasn't going to happen.

It took him a long time to get out of bed. He had stiffened up during the night, and whatever drugs Beth had given him the night before had worn off. He staggered to the shower, cursing under his breath with every step. The hot water helped slightly, easing some of the stiffness away and making him feel at least slightly human. What he really needed was a hot cup of coffee. And then he was going to feel as good as he was going to get today.

He examined his face for a moment in the mirror. Bad. Could have been worse, though. Slightly. At least he was still breathing, even if every breath hurt his ribs. He wondered miserably if the mess those bastards had made of his face meant that Nathan wouldn't want him as his best man anymore. He was far from vain, in fact he didn't really believe Madi when she told him that she thought that he was good looking. Well, he believed that she might, just not anyone else. But he was well aware that Nathan's family were not going to be overjoyed at his choice of best man, and the sight of these bruises could only confirm their fears. He wondered if he'd heal in time, and if not, whether Nate would let him back out.

As he went downstairs, taking each step one at a time, he could smell coffee. Someone was obviously up. It was Thursday. He hung in the doorway, slightly shy. The events of last night were a bit of a blur. And what do you say to someone who was wearing very little the first time you met, and saved your butt none the less.

Good morning would be good. Her voice was soft and amused in his head. And familiar. He smiled at her in relief.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Sore?"

"A little." He eased himself into one of the kitchen chairs, wondering what to say next. She smiled at him again, and held her hand out.

"Thursday Hagen, since we haven't been formally introduced."

He smiled back at her shyly, and clasped her outstretched hand. "Cooper Hawkes."

"Coffee?" She smiled at the smile that lit up his face. "I guess so then."

They sat in companionable silence, drinking coffee for a while, until Cooper found the courage to ask the question preying on his mind. "Thursday, what will happen to Madi and the kids? Are they ever going to be safe?"

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, cariad," she said, those soft golden eyes shining at him. He found them as pretty as Lucas did. Not as pretty as Madi's of course, he thought loyally. She caught the thought and smiled. "No, Lucas and I are already taking steps in that direction. Both to keep you and Madi safe. And the kids, of course and Doctor Gibson."

Doctor Gibson. He still wasn't happy with the thought of that man. He wouldn't wish him any harm, for Madi's sake, but he wouldn't grieve if he never saw him again. Thursday obviously caught that thought too.

"He could have killed you, you know, cariad. He had every opportunity, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it."

He tried to change the subject. "Cariad?" He spoke several languages, but that obviously wasn't one of them. She smiled at him again.

"It's Welsh," she said. "For sweetheart."

~*~

Diane Hayden was still fuming about Samuel's failure. She didn't know what had gone wrong. All she knew was that the tank was still alive and that meant that her situation was still precarious. As long as he was alive there was a chance that someone, somewhere would find out about their relationship. He had to die if she was ever to be safe. The fact that they shared some genetic code meant nothing to her.

The sound of an e:mail arriving attracted her attention. It had come to her private terminal rather than through her secretary. That in itself was unusual. What was even more so was the fact that the system was now beeping to attract her attention.

"Code required" said the cool female voice of her system when she tried to read it. She really hated the sound of that voice. Computers injected no warmth into it. Cool and unflappable. Which made her feel all too human and frail.

Code? What code? She placed her hand on the console, searching until she found the connection to her machine which slid neatly into her implant. Sometimes she felt like a goddamn AI. However, when the connection was made it enabled her neural implant to 'see' the screen, or rather the information contained on the computer system was fed straight into her brain. If only they could only devise a system which would enable her to 'see' as well all of the time instead of ghost images which is all she could manage at the moment. Still, when she was a child, she couldn't even 'see' this well.

The message was from June. Encrypted as always. How was that possible. June had been dead now for nine months. Diane still remembered the police telling her about finding June's lifeless body in the car lot. A senseless, savage attack, they'd called it. However, here, clear as day, if you pardoned the pun, was a message from her deceased aide.

She opened it using the password known only by herself and June, wondering if somehow it was time delayed. Had June somehow known she was going to die and wanted to leave some kind of message for her? Then why wait nine months? She still remembered June's last phone call. She was excited about something, something about Diane not being able to guess who exactly was aiding that tank, who had thwarted her plans. But she couldn't tell Diane over the phone, not even their normal encrypted line. And the next thing Diane knew she was dead.

The message wasn't from June. As Diane watched the screen fill, her blood froze in her veins. Someone else had managed to crack their code and use June's access. She wondered what else June had told them before she died.

Her worst nightmares were coming true. There, in front of her, was a mock-up of the front page of the New York Times. The headline screamed at her. "Hayden indicted for Aerotech conspiracy." There was more. "Hayden implicated in Chartwell assassination and attempt on Chaput's life."

She continued to scan the page, her eyes moving sightlessly behind her lids. A useless action, because that was not how she 'saw' but one which instinct forced her to make anyway. There was much more. Not all of the evidence of her crimes, but enough to condemn her with anyway. More than enough.

There was also a message.

"We're watching you," it said. "Never forget that we're watching you. Any action against Lieutenant Hawkes or any of his family or friends, any action against ourselves or Doctor Gibson or his family, and this mock-up will become more real than you could imagine. The evidence mentioned in this article is stored in several solicitors' offices. Now matter how many of your spies you put onto this, I really doubt if you could find them all. If anything happens to myself or my partner, then our solicitors have instructions to release this information to the press immediately. Not even your tame editors could keep the lid on this. And believe me when I say that if anything happens to us, it will be known about. You can't keep it quiet.

"Don't bother trying to trace this message. If we can hack into your personal code, you'd better believe that we'd be smart enough to cover our tracks.

"This message will self destruct in ten seconds."

As Diane watched, speechless, the words dissolved before her 'eyes'. The virus which did that also took out half of her files.

~*~

"Don't you think that that last line was overdoing it?" asked Thursday, affectionately wrapping her arms around Lucas' neck from her position behind him as he sat in the chair in front of his screen. "You've been watching far too much cult television."

"You think so," asked Lucas, fondly rubbing his fingers over the back of her hand. "I thought it added just the right amount of savoir faire." He turned to give her his trademark devilish grin. "How long do you think it will be before her system is back on line?"

She kissed the top of his head. "Lucas," she sighed. "Sometimes you are such a child."

~*~

They were an attractive couple, Mrs Leibowitz thought several days later. The couple sitting opposite them on the train. Attractive and so obviously in love. She smiled indulgently. She remembered a time when she and Ira were that openly affectionate. She sat there, the girl, with her head resting on his shoulder. Although she supposed that she was too old to be referred to as a girl. A young woman perhaps. It was just her age that made her call her a girl. Mrs Leibowitz sighed. Recently she noticed a tendency to call thirty year olds girl.

Her hand was resting on his on the table, their fingers entwined. As she watched surreptitiously he squeezed her fingers gently, and turned his head slightly to place a gentle kiss on the top of those reddish gold locks before turning back to look out of the window at the fields racing by. Mrs Leibowitz had had hair that colour once. Although now it was mostly white.

And him. My, he was handsome. Even with the slight evidence of bruising still on his face. Especially wearing that marine's uniform. It seemed to cling to his body perfectly. She felt the vague stirrings of something, she thought with amusement might be the remnants of lust.

With a sigh, he released her hand and wrapped one arm around her, pulling her closer to his chest. Mrs Leibowitz was jealous for an instant. She shot a glance at her husband. He had his head resting on the back of the seat, fast asleep, snoring slightly. She remembered when he'd been that handsome, almost.

The man in the seat opposite jumped slightly. She observed him over her knitting, wondering what could have startled him so much. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, returning her look, before returning his gaze to his sweetheart.

"Madi," his voice said warningly. It was the first time she'd heard his voice. She quite liked it.

"Yes, sweetheart?" the girl, obviously Madi, asked innocently. She recognised the look in that eye though. A long time ago, she used to have that look herself.

Beside her her husband woke up with a snort. She smiled at him, the lovebirds opposite her forgotten for a minute. She wondered how he'd react if she suggested that when they got home that night they fooled around. Probably look at her as though she was crazy, she reflected wryly, and then suggest a nice cup of cocoa. She sighed, and watched the couple opposite over her knitting.

The boy squirmed in his seat again. The girl's face remained innocent, but Mrs Leibowitz would laid odds on what she was doing at that moment in time. As she watched the girl reached up and kissed his ear gently, and then settled down in her seat again, snuggling up against his chest. Her hands remained out of sight beneath the table.

Mrs Leibowitz watched amused as the boy settled further back into his seat too, looking for all the world as if he'd decided to take a nap. She wasn't fooled. The occasional slight shudder that shook his body and the way he occasionally caught his lip between his teeth confirmed her suspicion as to what exactly the girl was up to under the table. He opened his eyes and tried desperately to look as though he was interested in the passing scenery.

The girl reached for her unopened can, and clumsily knocked it off the table. She smiled brightly at Mrs Leibowitz and then dived under the table to retrieve it.

The boy gasped suddenly. A few seconds later the girl reappeared, still smiling brightly. "Sorry, darling." she said. "I didn't mean to grasp your ankle. Did I startle you?"

Mrs Leibowitz was almost certain that whatever the girl had grasped it wasn't his ankle. She observed the hot looks he was giving his girlfriend. Definitely not his ankle. She chuckled softly.

The boy looked at her startled, and then began to blush a deep furious red. He was cute when he did that. No wonder that this Madi couldn't keep her hands off him. He stared out of the window, still blushing, while the girl exchanged a mischievous look with Mrs Leibowitz. She liked this girl. She had style and a certain recklessness.

The girl began to whisper sweet nothings into his ear, obviously apologising for embarrassing him. Mrs Leibowitz was also sorry. She hadn't meant to embarrass either of them, although Madi didn't seem to embarrass easily. She wondered what this cute boy was called. She wondered if he was still on leave or on his way to the front. She wondered if he'd still be alive in six months. She hoped so, fervently hoped so for the girl's sake.

They lay curled up together opposite.

"I wonder if Nathan's nervous?" the boy said suddenly.

"Well," Madi said. "It's not every day you get married so I suppose he might be. But he and Kylen have been together so long, I doubt that either of them is having doubts."

She wondered who Nathan and Kylen were. She wondered if Nathan were as cute as the boy sitting opposite her.

"Yeah, but Nate's going back to the 'Toga with me, Shane an' 'Phousse in three days. Kind of a short time to get used to it."

She snuggled closer to him, the reminder of how short a time they had together obviously disturbing her. His arm tightened around her. He jumped again, and shot an agitated glance at Mrs Leibowitz. She studiously ignored it. Let them think that she was a deaf and dotty old lady who couldn't see beyond her own nose. If they only had three days left she wasn't going to spoil their fun. She concentrated on her knitting. She really hated knitting but she supposed that this was what grans were supposed to do.

The boy was kissing that pretty girl now. Deep and sensuously. His fingers traced their way down the side of her face. Her hands were still beneath the table.

As the train pulled into the station, they pulled apart, staring deep into each others eyes.

"This is our stop," Madi whispered. As they stood up and he pulled down their luggage, she reached up and whispered in his ear. He froze and then looked deep into her eyes, his own dark with desire. Grabbing her hand he almost dragged her off the train. As they left, the girl exchanged one last mischievous and delighted look with Mrs Leibowitz. As he turned she noticed the navel on the back of his neck, which shocked her slightly. She hadn't realised that he was an InVitro. It was so seldom that you saw InVitros that happy. 'Good luck, dear,' she thought. 'I hope he's worth it.'

Her husband shifted in his seat. "They seemed to be in a hurry."

"Mmm," she said, counting the stitches. "I think that she's just told him that she's not wearing any underwear."

Her husband gave her a curious look. "You think so?" he asked, not doubting it for a minute. His wife could be remarkably astute.

"Well," returned his wife. "She was certainly doing everything else she could to drive him out of his mind."

Her husband watched them move through the people on the platform. "I wonder how long it will take him to find out?"

It didn't take him long at all. He dragged her into a dark recess on the platform, sliding one hand up underneath her skirt to encounter bare flesh. His breath was hot against her ear, catching in his throat as he realised that she'd told him the truth. She pulled away from him with an evil chuckle. For a second he debated just taking her there on the platform, hard, fast, furious. However reason asserted itself, when he realised that they were not far from their hotel. At least he hoped that they were not far from their hotel. If they were more than five minutes away, reason be damned.

Grabbing hold of her hand again, he dragged her towards the taxi rank, praying that there wasn't going to be a queue. He was in luck and managed to flag one down almost immediately. He didn't think that public transport was necessarily a good idea.

He almost killed the clerk at the hotel, who appeared to have mislaid their reservation and argued with Madi about it. He'd been there when Madi had made the call so he knew that this brainwipe was just being unhelpful. He wondered if it was because this guy had guessed he was an InVitro. That would explain the looks this guy was throwing him, and why he was so goddamned rude to his kitty. He was hot, horny, and tired and he'd had enough. He decided to take matters into his own hands.

"I know she made the reservation," he hissed. "I was there when she made it. So don't jerk us around. We've had a long trip. I'm tired and I want to wash up before I meet up with my squad. We're only on planet for three days and god help you if a minute of any of those days is wasted because you can't tell your ass from your elbow. Now you apologise to her before I reach down your throat and remove your fuckin' balls from the inside."

The clerk looked at him, wide eyed and open mouthed. This marine looked perfectly capable of carrying out his threat. Not someone you wanted to mess with. He decided that discretion was the better part of valour, apologised profusely to Madi and miraculously managed to find their reservation. He even judiciously upgraded the room, gratis. No point in pissing this guy off any more. Especially not when he was still glaring at you like that.

He offered to get someone to help with their bags, but as that went down like a lead balloon, retreated to the back to finish some paperwork he'd suddenly decided was incredibly urgent.

In the elevator, Cooper grabbed hold of her, pulling her to him and sliding his hands up her skirt again to caress her bare behind. She could feel his erection pressing into her stomach. His hot kisses were taking her breath away.

The elevator pinged to let them know that they reached their destination. Reluctantly, Cooper released her, his looks still intense. One hand picked up their bags, while the other arm wrapped itself around her waist possessively. Right now he didn't want any other man within 10 feet of her. He stood behind her, close as she fumbled with the key in the lock, sighing impatiently when she missed the keyhole. Both of his hands were running up and down her hips now, leaving trails of heat in their wake.

At last the door opened and they were inside. He tossed their bags on the bed and reached for her. Laughing, she danced out of his reach. "I thought you wanted to get washed up, cowboy?" she teased. "We don't have time for that."

As she headed into the bathroom she heard his steps close behind her. He grabbed her and spun her round. "We'll make time," he growled. Before she knew what was happening, he'd swept the vanity clean of all of the free mini shampoo bottles and soaps that hotel's insist on giving you. As they clattered to the floor, he picked her up and sat her on the vanity, as though she weighed nothing at all.

He pushed her skirt up around her waist, and she gasped as she felt his finger enter her, to find that she was as aroused as he was. And then she heard his zip go, as he growled into her ear, "Gotta finish what you start, little girl."

She gasped again as she felt him thrust into her, stretching her, filling her. God he felt so good. She wrapped her legs around his waist and placed her palms flat against the cold marble surface to steady herself against his thrusts. Cooper wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her closer against him, and braced his other hand against the glass of the mirror behind the sink.

"Madi." His voice was harsh in her ear. "Look at me," he ordered.

She opened her eyes and stared into his, maintaining their gaze as long as she could. Before too long, it was all too much for her, and she closed her eyes again as she drowned in the waves of pleasure that swallowed her whole.

She felt him tense against her, his fingers digging painfully into her waist. He bucked violently, once, twice, three times, each time sending new waves of pleasure coursing through her body, and gasped her name as he came. He removed his hand from the mirror and buried it and his face in her hair, his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him.

"Thank god," he breathed. "Thank god I got you back, Madi. I wanted to die without you." He tightened his hold on her even more, while her mind reeled from his words.

"Just one more thing, Madi."

"What," she panted.

"If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll throw you down on any available surface and take you there and then. I don't care how public it is. You play with fire, little girl, you're gonna get burned." He kissed her deeply, to take the sting from his words. She chuckled softly against his mouth.

"I don't doubt it for a second," she said. "Why do you think that I waited until we got off the train to tell you?"

He pulled his head back, looking deeply into her eyes which were dancing with mischief and something deeper. Her love for him. He didn't doubt that anymore. He rubbed his face against her hair. "Do you think we have time to do it again?" he enquired wistfully. She laughed again.

"Not unless you want to miss your friend's wedding," she sighed.

For a second Cooper seriously considered it, but reluctantly decided that was not the best course of action. He didn't think that Nate would ever forgive him. Especially since he had the rings. He still wasn't sure about this best man gig, but he'd run it past Shane and she'd confirmed what Madi had told him. He guessed that it was one of those necessary things you had to do, like building latrines and attending those god awful civic functions in full dress. Shane had also explained that being asked to be someone's best man meant that you were someone really special to them. The thought of being someone special to Nate brought a lump to his throat, considering how much they wanted to kill each other when they first met. He hoped to god he didn't let Nate down. He'd rather be shot down by Chigs.

So reluctantly he released Madi with one last deep kiss and tidied himself up. On the other hand, considering the fact that he had to make a speech, perhaps being shot down by Chigs wasn't that unattractive an alternative.

~*~

By the time that the ceremony was over, and they'd seen Nathan and Kylen off on their all too brief honeymoon she was tired and had the beginnings of a headache. The bigot they'd run into at the restaurant hadn't helped. He'd refused to serve them because his establishment didn't serve 'tanks.' Nathan had saved the day, turning it into a joke, making the guy look very foolish indeed.

"It's okay," he'd said. "We don't need a tank. We've already got one, and we wouldn't swap him for anything. A decorated war hero, a damn fine pilot, crack shot, and overall my friend. And someone who's out there saving your butt, asswipe." He'd then turned to the others and suggested that they adjourned to a more 'convivial' establishment. One not populated by deadbeats and cowards who wouldn't refuse to serve 'the guys laying down their lives for them.' He'd intentionally raised his voice, demanding and getting attention from the other diners. The owner had backed down, had wanted to seat them at the back out of sight of the other diners. Like he thought that the sight of Cooper would put other diners off their meals. Nathan had protested loudly at that too.

Eventually one of the other diners had added his voice to Nathan's. He'd called the way the owner was behaving a 'disgusting insult to these brave marines, and an insult to America.' One or two 'here, here's' were heard.

Cooper had wanted to leave. He wasn't going to enjoy this meal, he hated being the centre of attention. But he also hadn't wanted to give in and embarrass Nate in front of his family by quitting. So he'd sat at the meal, stony faced at first, then relaxing when Shane teased that he couldn't get out of giving his best man's speech that easily.

It had been a good speech, brief and touching. Coop was almost overcome with shyness at having to talk in front of Nathan and Kylen's families, but determined not to shame Nathan. He was well aware that neither family was entirely delighted with Nate's choice of a tank as best man. So he'd reached deep into his heart, and told them what Nathan meant to them, the 58th, and what Kylen had come to symbolise for them.

"You were his hope," he'd said. "And then you became ours, something to fight for, something to believe in." He'd paused a moment, his glance at Nathan sly, before continuing. "Cos we figured that if a deadbeat like Nate could get someone like you, there'd be hope for the rest of us!" The evening had improved after that.

But she was tired, and her head was throbbing. And Cooper was silent and moody in the taxi on the way back, brooding about the evening, and concerned about how she felt being the centre of attention for being with a tank, about being the source of whispers and victim of innuendo. All he wanted to do now was get back to their room and hug her hard. And then make love to her and blot out the restaurant.

She wasn't interested. It wasn't him, she was at pains to reassure him. It was just that she was tired and had a headache. And no, it wasn't because of him being a tank. Yes, she was sure of that. She'd known that they'd face nights like tonight and the wrath of bigots and she wasn't going to let that put her off. Yes, she was sure. Yes, she loved him. Could she please go to sleep now. All she wanted was to take some aspirin and go to bed.

She stopped him on his way out of the door. Where was he going? Why did he think they needed another room? Just because she didn't want to make love to him tonight didn't meant that she was throwing him out. Besides she might feel differently in the morning when her headache was gone. In fact she was sure that she would. She kissed him deeply, and watched him as he undressed for bed. Damn, he looked good in his dress uniform. She bitterly regretted her headache. Mind you, he looked even better out of it.

It had never occurred to him that she'd want to just sleep with him and not have sex. Part of him was pleased about that, but another part of him wondered if that meant she didn't want him anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. If she changed her mind and wanted to leave in the middle of the night, he wanted to know about it. She dropped off to sleep almost immediately.

He didn't. He couldn't. He lay awake for hours, listening to her breathing, which was comforting. Feeling her hot, curvaceous body pressed against him. Which wasn't. Every time she breathed, he could feel her breasts push against him. Damn it he couldn't sleep. He was too wound up. Gently he extricated himself from her body, and started to do the one thing that he knew would help him relax.

"Cooper," a sleepy voice asked. "What are you doing?" He froze.

"I thought that you were asleep," he stuttered. He could hear the amusement in her voice.

"So you thought a little relief would be in order?"

"I couldn't sleep," he said defensively. She laughed softly.

"Do you always do this when you're bored?" she asked. He rolled over and kissed her hair.

"Don't you?" he asked innocently. One blue eye peered at him through tousled hair.

"I'm kinda missing the necessary equipment," she teased. He sighed.

"It helps me relax," he argued. She shook her hair out of her face, and smiled at him.

"You know," she said seriously, although her eyes were sparkling, "some people just take a hot bath. Or have a glass of warm milk." He pouted adorably at her.

"It's not as much fun," he groused. Then he shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. "Still got a headache?" he asked hopefully. She chuckled deep in her throat, a sexy sound that sent shivers down his spine.

"I've got a better idea," she grinned. "Why don't you just keep on doing what you're doing." He sighed again. "But I get to watch," she added devilishly. He looked at her uncertainly for a moment or two, and then shrugged his shoulders. She was beginning to realise he had no sexual hang-ups. One of the benefits of having an InVitro as a lover, she thought. They hadn't had enough time to develop any.

He threw back the sheets, so that she could see his erection. "No," she said softly. He looked at her, his face questioning. "Over there," she added. "On the chair."

She watched him move from the bed, his body shimmering in the moonlight. The curtains were open. One of the advantages of being on the sixth floor on the tallest building around. No one could see in.

He was so beautiful he took her breath away. He sat in the chair, completely unselfconsciously. His legs were akimbo, and one arm was thrown over his head over the back of the chair. He wriggled slightly to get comfortable, and then looked at her. "Just pretend I'm not here," she said. "Just do what you would normally do." He held her eyes while his other hand began to move up and down, slowly at first and then faster.

She watched, fascinated. None of her other lovers had done this in front of her, although one of them had liked it when she had done it in front of him. She'd never really had the courage to ask them. She wondered what Cooper's reaction would have been if she'd been doing the same thing when he'd woken up. Probably have had her on her back in no time. She was beginning to regret her headache earlier.

He couldn't maintain eye contact with her any longer. He was too close, the feelings were too intense. Having her watch him was turning him on so much that he reached the edge much sooner than he usually did.

She watched as he closed his eyes, and rolled his head back so that it rested on the chair back. His breaths were coming faster now, his hand moving faster and harder. He caught his lip between his teeth, and tensed. His free hand had so tight a hold of the back of the chair that the knuckles turned white. He twisted in the chair as he came.

She watched open mouthed as he relaxed, and licked the semen off the back of his hand. So unselfconscious he took her breath away. She was incredibly aroused. Her simple night-shirt felt rough against her erect nipples, and her pants felt uncomfortably tight. He was still hard. She wondered if it would last. She wanted him inside her so desperately she could almost feel him.

As she watched, he returned his hand to his erection, and began to move it up and down again, his eyes still closed. There was something so wanton about that. She gasped. His eyes shot open and he looked at her uncertainly, almost fearfully.

She wasn't supposed to know. He's been so careful up to now so that she didn't find out, but she'd told him to do what he normally did, and he'd never thought. Susie had been very explicit. You don't let natural borns know about that. It makes them squeamish. You save it for InVitro lovers. They're the only ones who understand. They're the only ones who won't be squeamish or use it against you or say that it proves you're not human. He felt icy fear curl in his heart. You must never let natural borns know that InVitros can have multiple orgasms, or they'll call you a freak.

He wondered miserably if Madi would call him a freak. If she was going to be as disgusted as Susie had suggested. She didn't look disgusted. She looked surprised but not disgusted.

"Madi?" he asked tentatively. She looked at him. "I'm sorry," he added miserably.

"For what?"

"For this." She looked confused.

"Why would you be sorry, Cooper?"

"You weren't supposed to know," he mumbled, not looking at her, refusing to meet her eyes. "Susie said that natural borns shouldn't know. That you'd think I was a freak if you knew." She felt a white hot hatred towards Susie. He was so beautiful, so sweet and she loved him so much, how could she think he was a freak. She was surprised. She'd heard the rumours, of course. A few people had asked her if she knew if they were true, as she worked with InVitro children, as though working with the kids gave her insights into the sex lives of the adults. But Cooper had never given her reason to believe them. True, his libido was high, but so was hers when she was with him. And that meant that they usually had sex more than once a night. But they were together so rarely it was hardly surprising. They had a lot of catching up to do.

"Cooper," she said gently. "I don't think that you're a freak. I think you're beautiful. I love you. As far as I'm concerned this is an added bonus." He met her eyes, still anxious. She smiled to reassure him. There was laughter in her voice as she added, "So what you're trying to tell me is that you're not just an Eveready, but a Duracell and can keep going and going and going, like the Duracell bunny."

He smiled back at her, relief shining in his eyes. "You really don't mind?"

She pursed her lips in thought. "Let me get this right," she said. "You're gorgeous, sexy as hell, well built, both body and...well....the other thing," she flashed him a grin," you know exactly what to do to drive me out of my mind, and you can keep going all night. And this is supposed to be a bad thing?" He grinned back at her. "Why didn't you tell me before?" He looked sheepish.

"Well, it wasn't important. I mean we had fun anyway. And the first time you were sore, and I didn't want that to happen again."

"Cooper, I was sore because I was out of practice. Remember." He nodded, smiling at her. She smiled back. "I'm not out of practice anymore." He brightened.

"Headache gone?"

She nodded, laughing. "Now tell me," she added seductively. "How often can you do this?" He paused considering this.

"Three or four times in a row," he answered.

"What happens after that?" she wanted to know. He looked at her as though she were stupid.

"Madi," he said patiently. "My arm gets tired." She howled with laughter, rolling around on the bed while he watched bemused, a slight smile on his face. As far as he was concerned it had been a perfectly logical response. He couldn't see what she found so funny but Madi had a weird sense of humor. Eventually she stopped and climbed off the bed, heading towards him, stripping of her clothes as she went. He reached for her with a happy sigh.

"Not so fast, lover boy," she growled. "First of all I want to make sure that you're not yanking my chain." He looked at her confused, and then it was his turn to gasp as she sank her head into his lap. He tightened his hold on the chair with one hand and buried the other one in her hair as her mouth slid up and down him. Her tongue was circling him as she did so, and he thought that he'd die of pleasure.

He came calling her name, his hot juices filling her mouth. She raised her head, placing one last kiss on the tip as she did so. She examined him critically. Still hard. She smiled up at him.

"I guess you were telling the truth after all." His eyes were hot as he looked at her. He reached down and dragged her into his lap.

"Second one's usually the best," he growled into her mouth. "Third one's pretty good too, though," he added. His kisses were hot and impatient. He shuddered when he realised that as well as her, he could taste himself. She raised herself up and then guided him into her. Still hard, very hard. She gasped in pleasure as he moved within her, his thrusts gentle at first and then harder as he came closer to the edge. He shuddered deep within her and she realised that he'd climaxed again. But he still continued to move within her, and finally she came, furiously, her scream swallowed by his kisses as he joined her again.

"God," she gasped when she could speak again. "I can't believe how lucky I am." His arms tightened around her.

"No," he corrected. "I'm the lucky one."

~*~

The time flew past far too quickly. Before they knew it, before they were ready for it, it was time for the Wildcards to return to the Saratoga and active duty. Shane and Damphousse enjoyed their unexpected leave on Earth, McQueen having successfully argued that since two of the originals were already back on Earth, what were two more for three days. And these young people had been through so much and hadn't been home in so long, that they deserved it. So two more pilots had been recalled and Shane and 'Phousse took their places.

So, very early one morning, Nathan was accompanied to the base by Kylen, his new wife putting on a brave face at the fact that they were going to be separated so soon. However, they'd been through worse, much worse. They were both happy just to be able to have three days together, to become reacquainted. It was too short a time to come to terms with what they'd both been through, with how they'd both changed, but it was a start.

Cooper was accompanied by Madi and Reece. Reece refused point blank to be left behind. He'd insisted that he didn't want his mom travelling back on her own, and besides, he wanted to see Cooper off. Neither Cooper or Madi was fooled. They both knew that part of the reason was so that he could be sure that Cooper had really gone. Things were slightly easier between Reece and Cooper now, but Reece still didn't want to share his mom on a full time basis unless he had too. And even then, only grudgingly. So it was a slightly tense crowd that stood at the side of the runway.

Madi was absolutely determined not to cry, not in front of Shane. Reece was watching her closely, relaxing when he saw that she didn't appear tearful. That must mean she wasn't going to be too upset this time. Kylen had been through too much to cry. She stood there with one arm wrapped around her husband's waist, watching the hammerheads take off with old eyes.

Eventually, Madi couldn't take it anymore, and excused herself, going to the bathroom where she could cry in peace for a minute or two without Shane's amused eyes on her. She bet that Shane never cried, she was too tough for that.

That left Cooper and Reece to their own devices. Shane had gone to check the roster for the flights out, for about the third time. She 'didn't trust those jarheads to get it right first time.' Damphousse was making one last phone call home, who knew when she'd have a chance to call again, with the recent communications blackouts on the 'Toga. Nathan and Kylen were off to one side, having a few last private moments together.

Cooper leant against a low stone wall, watching the hammerheads taking off with excited eyes. On the one hand he couldn't wait to get into one of those babies. On the other, that meant he'd have to leave Madi. Reece just watched him out of the corner of his eye. Now that his rival was leaving, he couldn't think of anything to say. He scuffed the earth with the toe of one boot. It was even colder here than it had been in Scotland.

He glanced at Cooper, to see if he'd noticed that he was shivering. Cooper didn't seem to notice anything but those damn planes. Reece had liked seeing hammerheads up close, but now that his toes were going numb the novelty had worn off. He let his teeth chatter a little. Cooper didn't even seem to notice that. Reece had had enough. He was cold, and he was damned if he was going to stay cold.

He moved to position himself between Cooper's legs, leaning back against his chest. At least here he was sheltered from the wind, he thought morosely. He refused to acknowledge that perhaps his bad mood was due to the fact that Cooper was leaving. Because his back was to Cooper, he didn't notice Cooper's slight smile. Cooper was beginning to realise that this kid wasn't as tough as he made out. He could relate to that. He wrapped his arms around Reece, to keep him warm, and began to tell him in a soft voice about the hammerheads he was seeing, answering Reece's questions as well as he could.

Nathan watched them amused. He may have got the march on Cooper, getting married first, but it looked like Cooper had a head start in the kid stakes. Although, he thought, wrapping his arms around his wife even tighter, he and Kylen had certainly been trying to catch up over the last few days.

Madi's heart also melted when she saw them, although as soon as Reece caught sight of her smiling, he pulled himself away from Cooper, resuming his customary scowl. Madi took the opportunity to take his place, smiling sweetly at him while Cooper gently kissed the top of her head.

All too soon, Shane was there. "Okay people, we're next up. Let's move out." With a nod to Madi and Kylen, she marched firmly over to their hammerheads. Damphousse followed, casting a sympathetic look at Cooper and Nate.

"Gotta go," said Cooper, gently extricating himself from Madi's embrace. "I'm gonna miss you Mad," he added awkwardly. Shane be damned, she thought, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him roundly.

"Be careful," she admonished, her voice cracking. "Come back to me safe." He turned to Reece, and looked at him awkwardly for a moment, before stretching out his hand. Reece considered him solemnly before accepting and shaking Cooper's hand.

"Look after your mom for me," said Cooper, before following Nathan to their planes.

Madi watched as he walked over to the planes with Nate, and felt Kylen gently wrap one arm around her waist and Reece another. Together they watched as the planes disappeared into the rising sun, tears running down both of their faces.

"War Child
War Child."

"War Child" - The Cranberries, 1995