Parasitic Love Redux - 26. Piggy

Connor woke as the sun came up on the horizon. The view was invigorating and he rolled out of bed with something close to a smile on his face.

He'd never been one for early mornings, but that was before he'd taken in a dog.

The teenagers, Jamie in particular, had taken to letting Jack out in the mornings while they got ready for school.

Jamie was still in a coma though. It had been over a week and there was zero change in her condition.

So Connor had committed to waking up with the sun and taking Jack for a run. The dog loved it, Connor loved it, and both Nathan and Julie appreciated the help in the morning, because it seemed like both of them were really struggling with life without the resident 16-year-old.

Connor got dressed in sweats, a sleeveless shirt and tennis shoes. He tried not make any noise. M slept peacefully on the bed, one arm thrown over his eyes.

Connor watched him for a moment…

Last night, they'd had another amazing session of lovemaking. M seemed to want it every night now. Sometimes, they even managed to sneak away in the day for a little extra, as well.

There had been no trace of the agent since the ambush at the party. M said that was why he was letting go and enjoying himself, but Connor liked to think it was because he was irresistible to the blond… Either way, their relationship was on the mend and they were in love again and no matter what, Connor was grateful for the change.

He went down to the living room and met Jack at the back door. The dog was already pawing at the glass, eager to get out.

"Let's go," Connor said as he opened the door. Jack stuck his nose out. Then his head. "Move, dummy," Connor said with an easy laugh. He pulled the dog out of the way and opened the door fully. Jack rushed outside, barking at the birds flying across the bay. They flew into the sun, probably looking for warmth and more water. Connor walked after the dog, swinging his arms and stretching out his legs and neck. When he hit the path, he started jogging and easily caught up with the frolicking mutt.

Jack got in gear once Connor fell in step beside him. The dog recognized they were on a mission now, to finish the path and reach home again without stopping. He switched into a loping run suitable for distance and stayed at Connor's side for the remainder of the trip. They came across a couple other people, neighbors out for their morning exercise. Jack paid them little attention though, he was focused on Connor.

They finished in just under 40 minutes. On the cool down, Jack did his business. Then he wandered closer and let Connor know he was ready for breakfast with a friendly nudge.

"Good idea. I'm hungry too," Connor said to the dog. He rubbed Jack behind the ear. "How about I throw in a treat as well? Since you did so good for me and all."

Jack watched him with his shining black eyes. He didn't know what Connor was saying, but he was interested.

"Cmon," Connor called and he led the way through the neighborhood and back to Julie's.

When they got around to the back patio, Connor filled Jack's food bowl and threw in a treat, like promised.

Jack tore into the food immediately. If he could tell there was a treat in the mix, he didn't show it. He ate just as eagerly as always

Connor slipped inside and went to the kitchen. He'd expected Julie and Nathan to be in the midst of their own breakfasts, but the kitchen was empty and dark.

There was a note on the fridge and a 20 dollar bill.

I took Nathan to school early and then I'm going to sit with Jamie until he finishes class. We're low on food, so I left some lunch money.

Love, Julie

$20 wasn't much when you figured there was going to be four mouths to feed.

Connor took the note and money off the fridge and opened the door for some milk for his cereal… only there wasn't any. The milk was missing from its normal spot on the door and the eggs were gone from the rack up top. There weren't any containers of leftovers, no meat, cheese or fresh produce…

There was a half finished bottle of Starbucks Carmel Frappa-whatever and a greasy glass of olives on the back shelf.

"What the fuck?"

"Looking for something to eat?" Bradley asked as she breezed into the kitchen. She went to the coffee pot and started making a cup.

"Uh yeah?"

"Julie hasn't been to the store in days. She and Nathan—"

"Are always at the hospital," Connor sighed. He held up the letter and the money. "We're shit out of luck for lunch too."

"We'll get something off the dollar menu at Micky D's. Relax."

Connor frowned. "But what about breakfast?"

"Hannah found an old tin of oatmeal. She said it tasted fine."

Connor started to say something nasty, but he bit his tongue. "Where is she?"

"Taking a bath," Bradley said. "I'll tell her you're dying to try a bowl of old fashioned oats."

Connor's stomach grumbled. He frowned a little, but kept his opinions to himself. This seemed really dumb as far as he was concerned, though. They were a house of six people and there wasn't a single damned cracker to split between them.

Fucking stupid…

Bradley laughed at the look on Connor's face. "Here," she said, holding up her cup of coffee. "Go sit down, watch the news, drink my coffee, and I'll get you something to eat."

Connor blinked. "Thanks."

"It's black. That's how you take it, right?"

Connor nodded and took the mug from Bradley. He stared into the swirling black depths.

He'd been treating everyone in the house a lot different this past week. He'd been practicing the old adage, if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.

So, it'd been a week full of biting his tongue…

The less he said, surprising, the more Hannah and Bradley seemed to appreciate him. He was around more — he was really trying not to wall himself up in the attic again — but he was agreeable and in good spirits more often than not. Hannah had mentioned it more than once, how unusual Connor was acting.

"I don't know what you taking, but I like it," she said.

Connor rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want the attention. Not from Hannah anyway.

He went to the living room to wait for his breakfast. It was kind of weird, but fuck it, Bradley had offered. It would be rude to refuse, right?

***

"So, how's the job hunt going?" Hannah asked.

The four of them, Connor and M, Bradley and Hannah, were out on the back patio. It was getting close to lunch and Connor was thinking about it obsessively. The oatmeal had been alright this morning, but he didn't want seconds.

He shrugged. "The best paying positions ask for degrees and certifications, but I already knew that."

"Well, you have time to go back to school—"

"I'm not committing to a four year program," Connor said immediately. "I don't have time for that. I'm the only one in this family who works. M's pretty useless."

"Hey!" M cried. "My job is to take care of the baby all day. I hear it's a demanding position."

Connor chuckled. "You'll have your hands full, that's for sure. But see?" He turned back to Hannah. "I'll be the only breadwinner in our household. I can't waste my time and money on college."

"It's not a waste," Hannah said in a little voice.

Bradley cleared her throat. "You have a point Hannah, but I think he's looking for an alternative to a four-year degree. Connor, have you thought about trade school?"

Connor shrugged again. "I don't know."

"You can do school part-time and work part-time, too," Bradley said. "And you'd still be done in less than 2 years."

Connor hesitated. "I was kind of thinking about getting a CDL."

"A commercial driver's license?" Hannah made a face. "Seriously? A truck driver?"

Connor frowned and looked away rather than start an argument. He knew he shouldn't have said anything.

"Well, I think that's a great idea, Connor," Bradley said quickly. "You could make a lot of money."

Connor scowled down at the floor. He hated Bradley's condescending tone. He already knew truck drivers made lots of money. That's why he was considering it, fuck.

He didn't say anything though. He kept his negative thoughts to himself.

"What's a truck driver do?" M asked.

Connor snorted."Besides driving a truck?"

Bradley cut in. "You know those big semi-trucks on the highway? Connor's talking about driving one of those."

"Oooh."

"He'll be paid to drive goods across the country. The further he goes, the more he'll make."

"Like a road trip?" M asked excitedly. "Like a really, really long road trip?"

"Uh, sort of."

Connor rolled his eyes. "Doesn't matter. It was just an idea."

"Don't be like that," Bradley said.

"Connor," Hannah started. "I'm sorry—"

"It's fine," Connor said lightly. "I'm fine."

Everyone fell silent for a few uncomfortable moments.

"Wait," M blurted into the silence. "What just happened?"

Connor shook his head. "Nothing M. I just don't want to set my sights too high. I don't want to go back to school so my options are pretty limited. Its either food service or physical labor."

"That is so not true," Hannah cried.

Connor was done with the conversation, however. "Guys, I'm hungry again. What are we doing for lunch?"

Bradley volunteered to drive down to the McDonald's a couple minutes away and Hannah instantly asked to go with her.

"Get me as many chicken sandwiches as possible," Connor said.

"What about you, M?"

The blond pondered the question with way too much consideration than was warranted. "What do they have?"

"Get him a kids meal," Connor said with a smirk. "He'll probably love the surprise in the bag."

"There's a surprise in the bag?" M asked, looking super curious.

Bradley snorted. "I'll get him two meals, then. I think it's like 3 bucks for a plain burger and fries."

Bradley and Hannah talked money for a minute or two, planning what they'd order in the window. Connor left them to it. He got up and slipped inside.

Alone in the kitchen, Connor drank a cold glass of water while he stared out the window over the sink.

The neighborhood outside was sunny and quiet. There wasn't anything weird going on out there. None of the neighbors had problems like Connor and his friends. They went about their normal day to day lives in ignorant bliss… They had no idea their very lives were in jeopardy; that aliens were waging a war in their very backyards over the right to use their bodies…

Two little girls pedaled their bikes down the sidewalk outside. The first girl had streamers on her handlebars. They fluttered in the wind, carefree and light, like the two girls who gabbed and giggled as they passed the house.

Connor watched them go, grim-faced. He wondered if the aliens had any kind of morals. He wondered if they'd take over a child's body if given the chance, and if they would, Connor wondered what kind of danger he and M were bringing their baby into.

He finished his glass of water and turned the faucet on again, grabbing the dish rag to clean up after himself.

A million different thoughts swam like sharks through his mind. Their fins poked menacingly above the surface of his thoughts. He only had to focus on one and suddenly, all of them brought their heads above the rippling surface to flash their sharp teeth at him.

"Hey."

Connor spun around.

M stood behind him, a look of concern on his face. "Are you OK?"

"I guess," Connor said. His heart raced, but the negative thoughts continued to swarm at the edges of his mind. "I've got a lot on my mind. I'm doing my best to keep it together, though."

"I know," M said softly. "And you are. You're doing a great job, because I didn't even know anything was wrong until now."

"Ugh!" Connor fisted his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Nothing is wrong, M. Nothing you can do anything about anyway, so let's just drop it."

"Great, now I feel like I'm useless," M huffed. What's wrong?"

"I worried about the baby," Connor said. "And the agent—"

"And about a truck driving job… Why does Hannah act like it's a bad thing?"

"Because rednecks drive trucks," Connor said wearily. "Rednecks and trailer trash and I'm both, so, I don't see why she's trying to make me into some college graduate or something. That's not who I am."

M's eyes got really wide. "What are those two things? Rednecks and trailer trash?"

Connor laughed. "Don't worry about it."

M pouted. "I want you to be happy, Connor. We all do."

"I'll figure something out. I'm looking at new jobs every day. Marcus told me to look on Craigslist too and I'm supposed to be getting a call back about a job in sales," Connor said. "They don't have any education requirements and the earning potential is through the roof."

"Hmm."

"I've never considered sales," Connor said slowly. "But the ad said they train new hires."

"What is sales?"

Connor sighed heavily, annoyed by M's constant questions… They weren't even smart ones, he was asking questions a 4 year old would ask!

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He did a little countdown from 10 as he calmed his heart rate and his breathing. How would M know these things… He'd been on earth for only a short time… When he opened them once more, M watched him with a look of blatant confusion. Connor felt calmer though and he even managed to answer the blond's question.

"Sales is a when you talk to people about buying an expensive item, like a car or some jewelry or whatever. This job is selling insurance."

"What's insurance?"

"It's something responsible people with a lot of money buy," Connor said, drawing patience from deep within. "It protects their family after they die, usually in the form of a cash payment."

"How does that help?" M wrinkled his brow.

Connor smiled a little. "Because in the human world money equals power. It doesn't matter how big or strong you are, if you have enough money you can get away with pretty much anything. Even murder."

M got a serious look on his face. "Is that why you want to get another job? So you feel more powerful?"

Connor winked. "In a way, yes."

"I think you should stay here with me. You shouldn't worry about getting a job. Julie takes care of us now."

"Unless you have another reason than that, I think I'm going to have to say no," Connor snorted.

"It's safer if we stay together. That hasn't changed."

Connor shook his head. "I can't freeload off my mom forever, M. Even if it is easier, it's not right. I'm a grown adult. I should be able to stand on my own two feet."

"What about Nathan and Jamie—"

"They're teenagers," Connor said. "It's an upgrade from being children, but they're still not adults. We are adults. We're starting a family and I'm getting another job and getting us out of here. I absolutely insist."

M grinned slowly. "I love how motivated you sound lately. I might disagree with you, but at least now you're smiling more than once a week." He studied Connor's face for a long moment. "You're so sexy when you smile. You're eyes are so pretty."

Connor laughed out loud. "Wow, thanks."

"You're welcome." M smiled at him toothily. "You're hot, Connor."

Strangely flattered, Connor finally left the sink. He wrapped his arms around M, pulling him close.

"I wanna fuck you… Right now," Connor said into the blond's ear.

"The girls just left to get lunch," M said in a hushed voice.

"Mmm, guess you're all mine then." Connor grinned. M blinked at him, watching him closely, but he still yelped in surprise when Connor scooped him up into his arms and threw him over his shoulder.

"Connor!" M cried. Connor was halfway up the first set of stairs though. He wasn't bashful in the least.

Connor barged into the attic. He strode across the stretch of open room, his legs taking long, aggressive strides. He pulled M off his shoulder and threw him across the bed.

M bit his lip, watching Connor as he stood over him, hands on his hips. The blond nervously bent his knees, pulling his feet up towards his butt. His sandals were still on and they tangled in the bedsheets… Connor went for them first. He slipped the sandals off M's little feet and grabbed his ankles. He firmly pulled him to the edge of the mattress.

M stared up at him, his eyes full of expectation.

Connor looked down at the blond. "I love fucking you," he said in a deep voice. He pushed M's top up and hooked his fingers under the band of his tiny shorts. He pulled them down slowly, exposing M's beautiful, hardening cock inch by inch.

M tipped his head back and let his eyes slide shut. "Connor…" he whispered, his bottom lip trembling.

Connor ripped M's shorts off completely and the blond's pole sprang straight up in the air. He groaned and looked down at his eager cock.

Connor dropped to his knees and got a good look at his M's erect cock too. He gathered the shaft into his hand and gently stroked the hard length. He lifted it up and away from M's heavy balls. The sac was velvety soft. Connor bowed his head and sucked one of the blond's testicles into his mouth.

M moaned deeply and his sac pulled up tight to his body. He tangled his fingers in Connor's dark hair.

Connor sucked on each of M's tender balls and weighed them sensually on his tongue. He rolled them gently between his fingers and played lightly across the sensitive flesh with his nails. He hadn't forgotten about M's erection, but he had neglected it while he focused on M's ballsack.

He let the boy's balls drop back to the bed, wet with saliva. He took M's cockhead into his mouth then and licked the swollen nob like it was a tasty ice cream cone.

M whimpered.

Connor had a raging erection in his pants. He drank in the sounds of M's wanton moans, each one going straight to his cock.

He licked and sucked M sloppily as passion burned in his loins. He let his spit run down the boy's cock and into the crevice of his perineum. He mopped the slick moisture up with his fingers and used it to penetrate M's sweet little hole.

He fingered him for a moment or two, but stopped when M's cries became more needy. He pulled away and started to undress.

"... Connor…?" M whined. He peeled open a single green eye and looked desperately into Connor's. When he saw him disrobing however, he relaxed a little.

"Roll over," Connor said. "Grab a pillow to put under you if you want. Doggie style will be easier with your belly."

M giggled. "Doggie style?" He got onto his hands and knees though. He seemed to consider it for a second and then got a pillow from the top of the bed and put it under his chest. He settled in, his ass in the air, his dark pink anus peeking from between his parted asscheeks.

Connor kicked his boxers off and advanced on M's behind. He grabbed his hips and slid his cock in between M's cheeks. He rubbed his cockhead over M's opening, teasing the needy hole.

"Put it in…" M moaned and Connor pushed inside.

They moved together, in sync. M wanted him deep inside and Connor didn't disappoint. He bottomed out in just two thrusts. He hit M's prostate on the last one in and M's body shook with the pure shock of it. He yelled out loud and ground his ass back onto Connor's big dick.

They fucked like wild animals after that.

Connor dug his fingers into M's skin and slammed his cock into him again and again.

M yelled with abandon. He pushed back on Connor's cock, sliding on his shaft like a man possessed.

Connor nailed M's prostate almost every time and he could feel the reaction in the blond's hot little body. His anus clenched wildly and his legs trembled beneath him like they were made of jelly.

Their hips slapped together, their grunts and cries mingled in the large room. Connor was so delirious with pleasure, he didn't care how loud they were being. He didn't care if people heard them going at it. All he cared about was reaching the top of the mountain…

Below him, M's body suddenly went rigid. He arched his back and howled as he came untouched onto the bed sheets. His muscles went crazy and his anus clamped down on Connor's cock.

Connor groaned. He pushed deeper into M's tight asshole and then flooded the blond's bowels with gallons of hot sperm.

M collapsed into his pillow as Connor pulled out. Connor was pretty wobbly on his feet, but he staggered to the bedside table and got a handful of tissues out of the box. Julie had started putting them there a few weeks back. She must have known they'd be getting messy up here…

He cringed a little.

"Mmm," M moaned. "My whole body is tingling."

Connor snorted. He threw a couple tissues M's way. "C'mon lazy. You're laying in a puddle of cum. Get up."

"But I don't want to," M pouted.

"Lunch will be here soon, if isn't already," Connor said as he grabbed his clothes off the floor. "And I love you and everything, but I'm not serving you in this cum-stained bed."

M kicked his feet and flopped onto his back. He had white stuff smeared on his lower belly. He cleaned himself off lazily. "I am pretty hungry," he said. "Hannah wouldn't put extra sugar in my oatmeal so I didn't finish it."

Connor rolled his eyes. "Sorry it wasn't covered in chocolate." He got dressed and then stood waiting for M. "C'mon. Up. It's time to wash these sheets."

M put his clothes back on and bounced off the mattress to help tear the sheets off.

"I'll miss that smell," M said wistfully. He caught the tail end of the sheet as Connor wadded it into a ball. He took a big sniff of the fabric.

"I don't know if I'm turned on or grossed out," Connor said. He shook his head and laughed. "Whatever. Let's see if they're back yet."

Down in the kitchen, Hannah and Bradley were already eating lunch. There were a couple McDonald's bags set to the side and Connor went to investigate.

One bag had four wrapped sandwiches. Connor pulled back the paper. It was chicken!

"Four chicken sandwiches and two kids meals," Bradley said around a bite of burger. "There'd better be two different toys. I asked at the window."

Connor nodded.

"We got back maybe 10 minutes ago," she continued and Connor took another look at her. She was hiding a shit-eating grin behind her food. Hannah, on closer inspection, appeared to be in a state of shock. She ate without emotion and she carefully avoided looking in either Connor's or M's direction.

"Yeah?"

"Sounds like you guys were having a great time up there," she said. "We didn't want to interrupt."

Connor's face went red in an instant. "Fuck," he muttered. He carried the bundle of sheets into the laundry room and slammed the door behind him.

Bradley's laughter floated through the door.

"What?" M asked in a muffled voice. "We were having fun. That was the best."

Bradley snorted and Connor banged his head against the wall, so embarrassed he was sure he'd burn to ashes before he could get his load of laundry started.

In fact… Connor tossed the sheets on top of the washer and snuck out to the garage. He exited the side door and breathed a huge sigh of relief once he was out in the fresh air.

He thought about the dog, but Jack was probably asleep in front of the TV…

He decided to do a quick lap around the neighborhood and he took off down the sidewalk.

Connor was finding a lot of physical and mental relief from his renewed habit. He taken up running years before, just wanting to be physically fit, but now he was seeing the full range of benefits.

As he sprinted past the glamorous homes that made up Julie's neighborhood, he felt free and alive. The embarrassment faded. The tension in his body broke down with every step he took until it was nothing but dust in the wind…

He got back in 15 minutes.

Everyone had finished eating. The girls were watching a cooking competition in the living room while M sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, examining the plastic toys that had come with his meal.

Nobody seemed to notice him standing in the doorway. So, he cleared his throat. "Hey," he said to the room in general.

M looked up, smiling brilliantly in greeting. Bradley glanced around at Connor too, but Hannah remained focused on the show.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Bradley asked vaughly, her eyes straying back to the TV screen.

"He went running," M said, gazing adoringly up at Connor. "Look. He's all sweaty."

Connor was hardly sweaty. There was a bit of moisture beading at his hairline. It hadn't even been a real workout.

Bradley snorted. "Ok, M. We all know how much you want Connor's sexy body, but have a heart. We're trying to watch this."

M stuck his tongue out at the ex-cop. "Maybe we'll just take it upstairs."

"Why? So you can scream down the house?"

Connor shook his head. He should have known he couldn't escape a little teasing… "Actually," he interrupted loudly. "I'm going to eat my cold chicken sandwiches."

"Take the buns off and warm the patties up for 5 seconds," Bradley called after him. "I'm the queen of reheating leftovers."

Connor went to warm up his lunch…

***

It was just starting to get dark out when Julie and Nathan came home.

Connor and the others were hanging in the living room. They were kind of watching the sci fi movie Hannah had put on, but mostly talking.

"I've got the perfect hiding place," Bradley said with a laugh. "Disney World!"

Connor made a face. "That hell hole?"

"Connor, Disney is crazy packed. If we need to hide from the agent, that's the most crowded place around. For miles.

"She's got a point," Hannah said. "It seems like your mom has some money… We wouldn't even need to trapeze though the amusement park, we could get a hotel room and hide out there."

"I guess," Connor said. "But then how do we get the agent's attention? We're in a crowded amusement park with what? A bunch of weapons? How are we supposed to cut his head off."

Bradley laughed. "One thing at a time, Connor. We'll have to figure that out once we're there, because no. The chances of us getting into the most magical place on earth armed to the teeth with swords and axes is pretty slim."

"Oh, great idea!" Connor spoke up excitedly. "We can all dress up like we're a part of the seven dwarfs from Snow White and tell them our weapons are props—"

"Is this a real idea?" Bradley asked suspiciously.

"Fuck no."

Bradley flipped him off. "Thanks for the input."

The garage door groaned to life from the front of the house. Everyone fell silent.

"That must be Julie," Hannah said.

The gears on the door groaned once more, going in reverse this time. Then, seconds later, muffled voices and the rustling of plastic bags came from the kitchen.

"Maybe she got groceries," Connor said.

"I'll go see if they need help," Hannah said as she got up. Bradley leaned back on the couch, clearly content to remain seated. Connor and M stayed with her, waiting to see what happened next.

"Guys! Dinner!" Hannah called from the kitchen and Connor suddenly realized how hungry he was. The chicken sandwiches had gone down alright, but that had been more than a couple hours ago now.

He checked the time. It was almost 8.

In the kitchen, Hannah and Julie were taking to-go boxes out of plastic bags. Connor frowned. So much for groceries.

"It's Chinese," Julie said as Hannah collected plates from the cupboard. "I hope everyone likes chow mein."

Connor peered at his mother as M and Bradley trailed into the kitchen behind him. She looked exhausted.

"Chinese is better than another pizza," Bradley said cheerfully.

"What's Chinese?" M asked her.

"Come and see."

As Bradley and M pursued the take-out boxes, Connor noticed his little brother slipping into the dining room.

He followed him.

Nathan sat at the back of the room in a chair at the end of the table. He steepled his fingers and grimaced.

"How are you holding up?" Connor asked.

Nathan stared blankly across the room. He didn't react to Connor's question at all.

Connor cleared his throat and tried again, louder than before: "How are you?"

Nathan rocked in his chair, his eyes focused firmly across the room on bare wall. "My fiancé's in a coma," he said slowly. "I'm not doing so well."

"Well, of course not," Connor said awkwardly. He suddenly felt like he was being an asshole… He gave Nathan some extra room and sat at the far end of the table. "I guess it's a good thing she's in the hospital though," he said. "Just in case anything else goes wrong—"

Nathan looked up, his eyes wide with suspicion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uhhh, I meant to say that the baby is safest in the hospital."

Nathan scoffed.

"Oh, c'mon. You can't argue with that one," Connor said. He laughed a little, but it sounded hollow.

Nathan didn't seem to appreciate his good humor anyway. He looked down at his folded hands, a scowl on his face. "I've never seen Jamie so pale before," he said softly. "She hasn't been outside in weeks… She's like a ghost."

"But how's the baby?" Connor asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Nathan shrugged. "Moving around," he said. "Ma can't get enough of it. She keeps touching Jamie's stomach." He smiled tightly. "I kinda wish she'd stop."

Connor didn't know what to say to that. "Our baby's moving too," he said. "He kicked me the other night when we were… doing…" he hesitated. "Adult things."

"Adult things?" Nathan snorted. "Like paying taxes?"

Connor smiled and laughed a little. He opened his mouth to say something more, but Hannah and M came into the room with the take-out boxes followed closely by Bradley and Julie with cups and drinks. He immediately gave up on the small talk.

Everybody, it seemed, was a fan of the chow mein. Or everyone was starving… either way, dinner went by quickly and everything was eaten.

Connor kept tabs on his mother and his brother while he ate. They weren't standing out or calling attention to themselves, but it was obvious both of them were tired. There was a palpable sadness hanging about them.

Connor wished he could do something… The plotting they'd been doing earlier was more for fun than anything else. Nobody really knew what they were talking about.

The group broke up after dinner. Nathan went to his room. Julie said something about a bath and she disappeared upstairs.

Hannah and Bradley went to finish their TV shows in the living room and they invited M, as well, but the blond turned them down

Connor followed his lead. They went upstairs and headed into their room.

M leapt at Connor the second they were alone. He smothered Connor in kisses.

Connor put his arms around M's hips. He smiled, but he was distracted.

"What's wrong?" M asked. He pulled back and studied Connor's face.

"Nathan's really taking this hard," he said. "I mean, I knew he wasn't happy about Jamie going away, but he seems… different now," he said lamely.

"He's quiet," M said in agreement.

"He's bitter," Connor said. He frowned and shook his head. He broke away from M and went to sit on the edge of the bed.

It was dark getting dark outside, but the sun hadn't set yet. There was a warm orange light oozing through the large window panes behind them. It lit the room in a dreamy haze.

Connor looked up at the little blond. M waited with his arm around his belly… his face was expectant.

"I wish we could do something," Connor said. "I wish we could find a way to wake Jamie up."

M sighed heavily. "I think I have a way to find the remnants of Mother."

"The space ship?"

"I've been looking through some of the electronics Nathan has lying around his room—"

Connor laughed. "The broke laptops and Iphones?"

"I don't know how broke they are." M shrugged. "I could use them to set up a locator… If I tuned into Mother's last distress signal, I could hone in on her current location."

Connor blinked. "What good would that do?"

"If I had physical access to the mainframe, I could probably salvage a lot of her data," M said carefully. "She might even have an idea how to defeat the agent."

Connor gaped at him. "Are you serious?"

M nodded

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Because the agent will know what I'm doing the second I start to do it," M said with a scowl. He touched his belly again. "The baby is developing rapidly. I have a feeling he's sensing the danger."

Connor looked down at M's protruding stomach.

"He's coming soon, whether we're ready or not," M said, stroking his belly like it was a crystal ball. "I don't know if we should act now or wait—"

"Do you want to wait until you're in labor?" Connor grunted. He was frustrated, but he tried to keep his temper from flaring out of control. "If anything, we should be using this time to prepare. The agent straight up said he wasn't going to attack you until the baby's born. Bradley has the right idea, making plans and stuff, but we don't have the full picture. We never do. You're the only one who has any clue what's going on or what's going to happen next. "

"I don't know anything—"

"You know more than we do," Connor snapped. "And if you're going to leave us in the dark? I would suggest you shine a little light on the next part of your brilliant plan because we're all feeling like sitting ducks. We're sick of holding our breath and waiting for the next disaster."

M swallowed audibly. "I'll start on the locator device in the morning."

"Cool," Connor said. He rubbed a hand over his face. "Now, let's get some sleep," he said wearily. "I'm exhausted all of a sudden."

M seemed a bit disappointed, but he came around to the other side of the bed and climbed up.

Connor fell back onto his pillow. "It's like sympathy sleepiness," he said with laugh. "It's what I get for looking at Julie and Nathan. I haven't even been to the hospital once to see Jamie."

M sighed. "Wait on it a few days. Maybe I'll find a cure for you to bring along."

"You think it'll be that easy?" Connor asked.

M rolled onto his side, facing away from Connor. "Probably not," he said. "But Mother's database is our best shot. That or the agent's secret lab."

Connor snorted. "Secret lab?"

"Yes. You were in it once," M said. "When you had that tracker put in your head."

Connor zipped his lips.

"Well, goodnight," M said.

Connor didn't say anything. Despite what he'd just said, he laid awake for the next 40 some minutes as M lost consciousness beside him, curled into a warm little ball.

Not that he was surprised, but Connor was plagued by another night of bad dreams…

He was getting used to it, though.

***

Connor woke up alone, the sun strobing through the window and into his eyes.

He groaned and rolled out of bed. He looked around for M, but the blond was nowhere in sight.

He got dressed, feeling groggy and confused. He should probably try to walk the dog though…

Down in the kitchen, Julie rushed around with her purse over her shoulder. There were more bags of McDonald's on the counter and beside it was another handwritten note and some cash.

"Keys, keys, keys…" Julie muttered as she did loops around the room, her eyes peeled.

Connor spotted Julie's set of keys on a single glance. They were in plain sight, right beside the bananas on the island.

He stepped into the room and scooped up the keys. Julie turned to him as they jangled in his hand.

"You OK?"

"Yes," Julie said. She smiled a little and came closer to claim her keys. "Running a bit late, though. I thought I'd grab everyone some breakfast before I left."

Connor glanced at the McDonald's bags. "It's better than oatmeal, I guess."

Julie laughed shortly. "Oh, and I finished your laundry this morning."

Before Connor could stop her, Julie swept into the laundry room.

As he waited, he glanced a couple empty McDonald's coffee cups in the trash. Fuck, Julie was over caffeinated…

"I just ran these through the dryer twice so they'd be extra fresh," she said as she bustled back into the room. She had their bed sheets bundled in her arms.

Connor took the sheet from her and unfurled it.

"Your clothes are folded on the table in there," Julie said quickly. "You'll have to grab them later. I have to run… Nathan's waiting out in the Hummer—"

"Mom, you didn't actually wash these?"

Julie blinked.

Connor turned the sheet around and flapped it like a flag in the wind. "There's cum stains all over this thing!"

Julie's face paled.

Connor held the fabric under his nose… It smelled like sunshine and grass, but off-white blotches of cum remained, clear as day, right in the middle of the sheet.

"I-I'll spot treat it tonight when I get home," she said uncomfortably. She tried to take the sheet back, avoiding Connor's gaze, but Connor shook his head and refused to hand over the bedding.

"Mom. Just forget it. I'll be here all day. I can take care of my own laundry."

Julie bit her lip. It actually looked like she might cry. "I'm sorry—"

Connor shoved the sheet away and pulled her into a tight hug. "No, mom, I'm sorry," he said softly. "We'll handle the chores from now on, ok?"

Julie pulled back, her eyes wide. "I can't have you do that," she said incredulously. "You're guests!"

"No, we're family," Connor said and even he was a little amazed by the conviction in his voice. "Leave it to me. I'll get everything done," he said confidently. "Shit, if you leave me the card, I can even do the grocery shopping for you."

Julie smiled. Her eyes still looked suspiciously wet, but she laughed and turned away before she could shed a tear. "I might take you up on that," she said. "But not until tomorrow. I need the card. I have to get a few things in the gift shop today," she said. "For Jamie's room."

"Oh." Connor rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, if you think about it, maybe you could make a grocery list for me? It would probably be helpful," he said awkwardly.

Julie started to say something when her phone rang from the depths of her bag.

"That's Nathan," Julie said. "He's going to be late for first period if I don't hurry…"

"Bye," Connor said loudly, cutting Julie's excuses short. "See you later."

Julie flew out door.

Connor listened to the Hummer as it roared to life out in the garage. He picked through the bags of breakfast and glanced at the note.

They were on their own again for lunch, but they had $40 this time…

No more McDonald's, Connor thought, relieved.

He ate a breakfast sandwich standing in the kitchen. He threw the paper wrapper away and then wandered out into the hall in search of the dog.

Jack waited in the living room. His tail flew back and forth at the speed of light. He'd spotted Connor and already, he was anticipating a nice run outside and a bowl of doggie food straight after.

"Let's go, ya dummy," Connor said to the enthusiastic mutt. He smiled though and let the dog out onto the patio without further delay.

Jack, the smart little fucker, headed for the bike trail out of habit.

Connor felt confident following Jack's lead. He stretched and burped twice in a row when he twisted to relax the muscles in his back.

He could feel heartburn coming on already…

Connor pushed through it and he and his dog finished their normal route. It took almost 15 minutes longer than usual, but Connor was satisfied he'd made it back without collapsing. He wasn't feeling well. He had a stomach ache.

When they got back to the house, Connor fed and watered the dog and then staggered inside.

"M!" he hollered as he fell onto the nearest couch. He waited a beat and then tired again. "M!"

Hannah popped her head into the room after a long stretch of silence.

"You OK?" she asked.

"No," Connor whined. "I ate an egg McMuffin and now I feel like my chest is on fire… my stomach burns too."

Hannah smiled gently. "Stay there. I'll have a look a Julie's medicine cabinet."

"There's got to be loads of antacids packed away somewhere," Connor grumbled to himself, thinking of Greg.

He waited in silence, grimacing occasionally at the pain from the Shit McMuffin.

He hoped M would come wandering by at some point. In his mind, he was imaging M touching him with a glowing finger, like E.T.

"Ooouch!"

Then the pain would be gone and Connor would feel all better.

The blond didn't show his face, though. Hannah returned after a couple minutes with a half bottle of Pepto Bismol.

Hannah handed it over the back of the couch and Connor chugged it straight from the bottle.

"Eww." Hannah cringed. "There's a dosage cup on top, you know."

Connor shrugged. "Have you seen M?"

"No. I thought he was upstairs," Hannah said. "Bradley and I are picking through breakfast in there," she said, pointing over her shoulder back at the kitchen. "Nothing looks very good when it's cold, though," she said, making a face.

Connor shrugged again. "Julie tried. I think it had something to do with the three empty cups of Mickey D's coffee in the trash though."

Hannah giggled. "I didn't notice."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Hannah sat on the other side of the couch, fidgeting with her hands.

"I kissed Bradley the other day," said said suddenly.

Connor's eyes widened. "What?"

"I thought I should try it out…" she said, her face flushing with color. "You said yourself, Bradley has been crushing me for a while now."

"Well…" Connor stated at the blushing blonde. "How was it?"

Hannah smiled. "We've tried again a couple more times," she said. "We tried it last night, in bed."

"Wow." Connor blinked. "Sounds like it's agreeing with you."

"We're taking things really slow," Hannah said. She lowered her head so her hair fell into her red, blushing face. She stared down at her hands in her lap, her fingers twisting together nervously. "I don't want to rush into anything… I mean, I've been straight my whole life. I never even thought about experimenting."

"Well, you always liked learning new things," Connor said awkwardly. He kind of felt like laughing. "Take things as slow as you like. You're learning."

Hannah nodded and bit her lip. "I should probably go back to the kitchen," she said. "Bradley's waiting."

Hannah got up and Connor watched her go, honestly shocked by what he'd just heard. He'd teased her about going lesbian, but he hadn't actually thought she ever would.

Connor chilled out on the couch while he waited for the Pepto to have an effect. He found a show on the History Channel and wasted the morning away.

It was getting close to 3 when Hannah and Bradley came into the living room.

Connor hadn't heard them enter so when he spotted the two girls standing in his peripheral, he flinched and immediately drew his arms up in a defensive maneuver.

"Fuck," he huffed when he realized it was only Hannah and Bradley.

The girls wore twin smirks on their faces. They moved around the couch to sit on the loveseat, side-by-side.

Connor looked between them. "What's all the smiling for? You surprised me. Big deal."

Hannah immediately wiped the look off her face. "Connor, how do you feel?"

"Better," Connor said. "I'm praying were not doing anymore fast food today though."

Bradley nodded. "We were just talking that," she said. "We thought you'd like a little input."

"I want meat," Connor said firmly. "Hopefully fresh and cooked well."

The girls looked at each other, communicating through their eyes…

Connor was a bit unnerved by the intensity of their shared look. He looked away.

"We were thinking we'd try a little Italian place by the water," Hannah said, her eyes glimmering. "They have chicken… Chicken strips, chicken wings, fried chicken…"

Connor frowned… He'd just had fried chicken at McDonald's the other day.

Obviously, the girls really wanted this Italian place though, for some reason, so Connor grit his teeth and smiled.

"That sounds alright," he said.

"Cool." Hannah grinned. "Now, where's M?"

"Here."

Everyone jumped a little at the the boy's unannounced arrival. Connor craned his neck a bit and saw M standing out in the hall, apparently listening to the conversation from a distance.

M stepped further into the room. "Italian is pizza, right?"

"Sure," Hannah said helpful. "Or spaghetti and lasagna."

"I don't know what those things are."

"Then you should definitely try one of them. You should always try something different when you have the chance."

M blinked at Hannah. "Uh-huh."

Hannah deflated a little.

"So, when are we going?" Connor asked.

"Now?"

"I'm ready!" M said excitedly.

"I'll bet. You missed breakfast completely," Hannah said.

"Alright," Bradley said, getting up. "Let me grab my stuff upstairs. Meet you guys at the car."

"Where've you been all morning?" Connor asked as they shuffled out the front door.

"Working," M said. "I told him you about this last night."

Connor paused, letting Hannah and M go ahead of him. Hannah got in the front and M hopped into the seat behind her. He met Connor's eyes through the windshield.

Connor fuzzily remembered M talking about a location device the night before made of iPod parts and old laptops.

He'd had such a shitty night's sleep with weird, disturbing dreams, though… Frankly, he'd mixed the conversation up with his nightmares.

"You driving?" Bradley asked. She sidled up behind him, slapping him on the shoulder in a friendly sort of way.

Connor shrugged away from the lesbian. "If you want."

Bradley held her hands up. "Please. Be my guest."

Connor sneered. He stalked past Bradley and toward the shiny, expensive Chrysler. Vaguely, he wondered, not for the first time, when good old Beth would report her car as stolen…

He climbed in behind the wheel and fussily adjusted his mirrors. Hannah watched him silently, probably wondering what the hell had just happened…

Bradley got in the back. She was messing with her phone. "Here," she said. "My phone will give you directions."

"You will arrive in 28 minutes," the GPS lady said.

Connor groaned. "How far away is this place."

"Hannah already said," Bradley said. "It's by the water."

Connor rolled his eyes and hunkered down for a long drive.

They got on the highway and took the overpass. The ocean was visible in the distance. It glittered under the sun.

"Oh, let's go to the beach!" M cried as he caught sight of the view. "I want to swim in the waves again!"

"I'm not a very good swimmer," Hannah said, her gaze fixed on the ocean like M's was. Slowly, the view was cut off and replaced by tall, thin trees.

"That's OK. I can teach you!" M said excitedly.

Hannah sighed. "I've have more than one professional swim instructors," she said. "My mom paid for them."

"What that suppose to mean?"

Hannah snorted. "That no matter what I do, when I get in deep water I sink."

M giggled. "Can't you float?"

"No," Hannah said. "I flop around and kick my legs until I'm close to exhaustion… If I couldn't just climb out of the pool, I would probably drown myself."

"I honestly can't believe you're letting water defeat you," Bradley said with a shake of her head. Hannah reached into the backseat and hit her playfully on the knee.

"Shut up," she said with a laugh.

"C'mon, who cares if you can't swim, we should still go to the beach," M whined.

"Lunch first," Connor said decisively. "I'm getting hungry."

M huffed. "We never do anything fun anymore."

Bradley chuckled. "Welcome to Motherhood."

"What?" M scrunched up his face.

"You're about to have a baby," Bradley said very clearly. "You'll have zero time to yourself and probably next to no fun on top of that."

M frowned and rubbed his stomach. "That can't possibly be true."

"Well it is," Bradley said. "For the first year at least."

"Make the next right," the GPS lady said and Connor glanced up, seeing he was about to miss his exit.

He swerved into the middle lane and started to cut to into the far right one when a horn blared behind them.

Connor whirled around just in time to avoid sideswiping a van sitting in his blind spot. He growled and stepped on the gas to power past them, totally missing the exit.

The GPS rerouted and Connie got into the right lane to get off on the next exit. She wanted him to to turn around.

"You made me miss my exit, you dicks," Connor said to the car in general. "I can't here her talking."

Bradley and M giggled together in the back, ignoring Connor completely.

"Calm down down," Hannah said. She checked Bradley's phone. "You added 4 extra minutes. It's not a big deal."

"I'm hungry," Connor complained. "Fuck this shit, I'm tired of going out for every meal." He sped up a bit, just wanting to get this stupid reroute over with.

"Slow down," Hannah said.

"I'm driving," Connor snapped. "Leave me alone." He sped for the exit and made a quick left at the yellow light. He swung around and got back on the highway. He was easily going 80 by this point.

"Make the next right," said Bradley's phone.

"See! We're making good time now," Connor said. He sped up a bit more, cutting around a black truck in the left lane. "Fucking asshole," Connor muttered. "Why is he in this lane? He's going like... 50!"

"Connor," Hannah said nervously. "Slow down."

There was a slight curve ahead and Connor let the car coast a bit. Hannah grabbed the door handle in a white-knuckled grip and sat straight backed in her seat. The back of the car had fallen quiet.

Connor thought about slowing down a little as he caught sight of their exit a few miles down. He squinted ahead at the sign, checking the numbers when red and blue lights suddenly lit up behind them.

He looked in the rear view mirror. There was a State Trooper on their tail.

"Shit."

"I told you," Hannah said. "I told you to slow down."

Connor shouted in frustration. He started to pull over though, heading for the shoulder.

"We might have a problem," Bradley said from the back. "We don't have a registration. He's going to want to see something. Our plates are our of state."

"Fuck," Connor cursed. He slammed the Chrysler into park and punched the steering wheel a few times. "Fuck!"

"Keep calm," Bradley said very seriously. "Maybe he'll let us go."

"Fat chance of that happening," Connor snapped. "Fuck!"

Behind them, an old, overweight cop stepped out of his vehicle. He pulled his hat down over his eyes as he strolled down the shoulder.

Connor rolled his window down. He took a few deep breaths and attempted to calm down, like Bradley had suggested.

The cop waltzed up to the window. He leaned an arm against the outside of Connor's door and peered into the car through dark, round-lensed sunglasses.

"License and registration," he asked evenly.

"Um…" Connor pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He took his ID out and handed it over. Before the cop could ask for a registration a second time, before Connor could think of anything to say even, Hannah spoke up.

"We don't have the registration on us," Hannah said. "This is my mom's car. Beth Hardy."

The cop thinned his lips. Without saying anything, he took Connor's ID and headed back to his cruiser.

"Damn," Bradley said under her breath. "He's definitely going to run the plates now."

Connor felt his spine stiffen. "Fuck, he's going to arrest us."

"Keep it together, Connor," Bradley said, a tab impatient.

"Oh god, I don't want to spend the night in another cell." He gripped the wheel in a death grip and wrenched it back and forth. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"Connor! Get it together, man!" Bradley snapped.

Connor laughed and sobbed in the same breath. "I hate cops."

Bradley primped her short hair. "I don't see why. Most of us are fabulous."

Connor laughed nervously.

"No," M said suddenly from the back. He turned and peeked at the state trooper running their plates. "Something is wrong. I can feel it."

Connor froze up. "What do I do?"

"Let's go," M said forceful at the same moment Bradley said: "Just sit tight."

Connor groaned in indecision. He stepped on the brakes and shifted into drive.

"Connor," Bradley hissed. "What are you doing?"

Connor hesitated and glanced in his side mirror to see if the cop had noticed him shifting gears. He gasped in horrified shock, just barely managing to stop himself from shitting his pants when he saw the trooper crouched beside the car, his face expressionless, his eyes hidden behind the round lenses of his shades…

"This car has been reported stolen," he said, and then he let out a long, frightening squealing sound like a wild boar. He opened his mouth and a greenisn-blue tongue rolled out of his mouth.

Connor stared in horror as the state trooper's tongue dangled all the way to the pavement.

"Um… what?"

The trooper shot through the window and tackled Connor. In a burst of light and with a terrible shattering sound, Connor and the cop blasted through the passenger side door, sending the metal and plastic flying through the air and pinging off the side of the road. Connor rolled out flat on his back, covered in debris. He was on the asphalt and he didn't really know how he'd got there.

"... Connor," Hannah wheezed and Connor climbed shakily onto his knees and looked up at the car.

The drivers side was completely obliterated. The door was gone, the wheel was smashed into the dash, the leather seat was charred and everything was littered in a fine layer of splintered glass. The back part of the front seat and the belt were completely separated from the car.

Hannah was still in the passenger seat. She looked rather worse for wear.

Her door was gone as well, blasted through by the force of Connor's hurtling body. She dangled out of the car, her body pinned by her belt. There was blood dripping from her hairline and down into her eye.

"Look out," she mouthed and then something bashed into Connor's head from behind. He went limp and fell forward, seeing stars.

He was roused by M and Bradley yelling. He sat up groggily, clutching his head.

The trooper was a gray blur as he ran rigs around the Chrysler, squealing and snorting like a demonic pig-beast. Bradley had M backed up against the cop's cruiser. She held out a gun, her hands trembling terribly and the weapon shaking twice as bad.

Hannah was completely unconscious now…

Connor started to get up, thinking he'd drag Hannah out of the wreckage. The trooper spotted him moving though and he leapt up on the hood of the car, seriously denting the metal and probably the engine underneath.

He released an ear splitting squeal, the sound digging into Connor's ears and head. Then the pig-beast lashed his long, slimy tongue down at Connor and the wet appendage wrapped around Connor's forearm and pulled him across the pavement on his knees.

The wet muscle started to burn Connor's skin and when he looked down at the nasty blue-green thing he screamed. His skin was sizzling! The trooper's tongue was burning his skin away on contact!

"Bradley!" Connor yelled. "Fucking shoot him!!!"

Bradley closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. Connor screamed, but immediately, the trooper's tongue released his arm and Connor scrambled back on the shoulder until he hit the guard rail. He looked up, breathing fast.

The state trooper's body was slumped across the hood of Beth's Chrysler. Blood poured from his head.

M squeezed out from behind Bradley and rushed to Connor's side.

"Are you alright?" he asked immediately.

"Fine," Connor groaned. "But Hannah…" He started to get up, wanting to check on his friend…

A howling wind picked up suddenly. It pushed Connor's hair back.

"We have to move!" M yelled and he grabbed Connor around the waist and shoved him towards the guard rail.

"We have to grab Hannah!" Connor yelled back, pushing his body into M's with little affect. M was playing the Strong Man today…

"I got her!" Bradley hollered over the wind. She quickly unstrapped Hannah's lifeless body from the car seat, brushed her bloody hair back tenderly and then lifted her over her shoulder.

Connor's eyes strayed from Bradley as he watched the scene unfold. The body of the state trooper was rustling in the wind. His arms and legs were flying up in the air like he was about to float away.

"C'mon!" M cried and he pulled Connor after him. He threw a leg over the guard rail and carefully lifted the other one over. There was a steep embankment below, but the wind was getting stronger behind them.

Cars on the highway swerved around them as dark clouds swarmed around the sun, blocking out the afternoon light. The wind howled sharply as it cut across the strip of highway.

There seemed to be a mini storm happening directly overhead…

"We have to go down there," M said. "Trust me!"

Connor firmed his jaw. His heart pounded in his chest like an unstoppable machine. He hopped the railing, grabbed M's upper arm and hoisted him bodily up onto his shoulder.

M scrambled into a more comfortable position on Connor's back. He wrapped his legs and arms around Connor's middle, digging his nails in for extra grip or something…

Connor grunted, but he tucked M's thighs under his armpits and gripped onto his ankles. He looked back at Bradley.

The lesbian's hair was all ruffled up and windblown. Her cheeks were red too, cut with tiny bits of glass that were getting picked up in the wind and tossed around. Connor felt his face getting nicked too, but he he barely registered it.

"Follow me," he said. "We're going down."

Bradley looped her arm around Hannah's middle and nodded curtly. She started over the railing as the pitch of the howling wind picked up to an all time high. Connor turned his back on Bradley, trusting her to be right behind him…

He leapt down the muddy slope and landed on some rocks. He nearly fell, but he righted himself at the last minute on the branches of a prickly tree.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath. He pressed himself and M close to the rocks and called down for Bradley.

He was there to catch and support her with her extra load. The two of them took Hannah's dead weight as M slipped off his back and down the rocks. They crouched there as the wind tore aggressively over their heads.

"What's happening?" Connor yelled over the raging winds.

"It's the agent," M yelled back. "Look."

Up in the sky, shining through a thick patch of black clouds were two strong beams of light.

It was a fucking spaceship.

The four of them huddled, helpless and filled with fear of the unknown as the storm continued to brew.

It lasted for several more minutes… and then the sky cleared up, the wind calmed and every trace of the UFO disappeared.

"Guys," Bradley spoke up suddenly. Connor looked at her. "Something is wrong with Hannah. She's not waking up."

Connor turned his gaze to his oldest friend next. She was cradled in Bradley's arms, her body completely limp and unresponsive.

"I-is she breathing?" Connor asked.

"Shallowly," Bradley said, tears in her eyes. "What if she's in a coma now too? This is exactly what Jamie looked like when we took her to the hospital."

"I don't know," Connor said softly. He looked a bit like closer at Hannah's face, but there was nothing there… No movement behind her eyelids, nothing in her expression… Her chest rose slowly up and down, but besides that, there were no other signs of life.

Connor sighed. "Let's get back up there. We'll call the real police."

They took the long way back up to the road, but the path was much leveler. M was able to walk on his own and Connor helped Bradley carry Hannah up the incline.

When they were on the shoulder once more, climbing over the guardrail, Connor saw they were a couple yards up from the Chrysler.

They hiked back down the road, cars and trucks rumbling past just feet from them.

"Careful M, stay on the side of the road," Connor said distractedly. M was walking weird, grabbing his belly.

Connor and Bradley were both focuses on the remains of the car however and they didn't stop until they were beside the vehicle.

"The trooper's gone," Bradley said as they gently set Hannah in the grass. "So's his cruiser. Shit. That did just happen, right? We didn't imagine it?"

"How did I do that parked on the side of the road?" Connor pointed angrily at the Chrysler, at the two missing doors torn clear off their hinges, the glass fanned across the side of the road and the crumpled steering wheel.

The front hood of the car was crushed. Connor remembered seeing the the pig-demon's body flapping in the wind… He must have been sucked up by the storm.

Bradley shook her head. "I'm calling the police."

Connor grunted in agreement.

He looked from their destroyed car, to Hannah's lifeless body, and finally, his gaze rested on M.

The blond rubbed his stomach in a soothing manner as he leaned wearily against the guard rail.

He looked deeply uncomfortable.

"So, what do you think just happened?"

M sighed. "That the agent's a liar." He clutched his belly, then, his eyes flashing with possessiveness. "I wonder when he'll try to take my baby? He lied about leaving my friends alone…"

Connor snorted. "We already knew he was lying."

"I got a good start on the locator device," M said. "It'll be complete in a few days."

"Maybe we worry about getting into a better place hiding place—"

"That won't help anyone. It'll simply delay the inevitable… The agent is coming for me. I'm helpless without Mother's protection, but now I might have a way to reach her again, to get her back in some way."

"A lot of help she was," Connor said snidely under his breath.

M glared at him, but he didn't say anything.

Bradley had her phone plastered to the side of her head. She faced away from everyone as she murmured into the receiver.

"I hope they hurry, the cops." Connor pouted. "They're assholes and stuff, but they'll get us home, get Hannah to the hospital, and get this mess cleaned up."

M nodded slowly. "The baby is kicking my guts over and over again," he said with a little groan. "It's really getting painful."

Connor smiled faintly. "It's how we know your both alive and well," he said. "A little kicking never killed anyone."

Settling in for the wait, Connor crouched in the grass beside Hannah. He lightly touched her hair…

"Hold on, Hannah. We'll figure this out," he promised the girl. She didn't respond, of course. "Fuck. What the hell did we get ourselves in too, Hannah?"

Connor remembered the night when M had appeared in the swamp behind his old trailer.

Hannah had been so adamant that they could help M, that they could fix him… But now, Connor found himself committing to fix Hannah, to help her, because it was the right thing to do and because she was his best friend and he loved her. He hadn't meant to do anything, but he was to blame for so much…

"You're bleeding," M said suddenly, pointing out Connor's torn black t-shirt.

Connor pulled his arm out of his sleeve. His arm and the right side of his upper torso were mottled with dark bruises. There was a shallow cut on the curve of Connor's upper bicep. It was dripping bright red blood.

"Wow," M said. "Does it hurt?"

"I can't feel a thing," Connor said. He pressed his hand to his chest. His heart was still flying. "It's adrenaline," he said.

"What's add-reel-ton?"

Connor shook his head. "Ask me tomorrow."

Bradley was off the phone now. She stood, alert and vigilant, on the white line, probably waiting to flag down an ambulance.

Indeed, Connor heard sirens blaring in the distance. He put his shirt back on so the EMTs wouldn't try to take care of him…

" Are we still going to jail? For stealing Beth's car?"

"I doubt it," Connor said, but he wasn't actually sure. "Once Beth finds out Hannah's was taken away in an ambulance, I have a feeling she'll drop the charges."

"That's good, right?"

Connor sighed. "Right."

A local cop car pulled up behind them on the shoulder. He hopped out and assisted Bradley as she attempted to direct the ambulance closer to Hannah.

Connor prepared for a million questions, hopefully a short trip to the hospital, and then home late.

He was really hopefully life wasn't about to get worse than it already was… Friends unconscious, multiple vehicles totaled, jobs lost by the bundle… Connor really hoped he wasn't about to add a long stretch in jail to his fun adventure time.

He tried his best to stay calm.