Authors: Paulette Miller
As they drove down the main road out of town, Jax said, “Thanks for your discretion back at the castle, but I want you to know that I’m not embarrassed to have you at my side.”
“I actually understand why our ruse was necessary.”
“But it wasn’t fair to you and the nickname they gave you wasn’t appropriate.”
“They’re your people and, based on what I saw and heard, they worship the ground you walk on. I’m everything they hate and wouldn’t be worthy of your attention except as a snack.”
“But they were downright mean to you, even after you saved Van Gogh.”
“They had every right to react to me the way they did. I would hate to see how they would’ve reacted if you told them about us.” She chuckled and said, “We are an odd pair.”
He teased, “I thought we fit quite nicely together in the bathroom.”
She wasn’t about to argue that point but, on a more serious note, she said, “You’re doing great things at your castles and I don’t want to be the one to mess that up. Your people need you. By the way, what in blue blazes made you admit to being the one in the bathroom? And then why did you tell them I was in there after you? Someone could have put two and two together. I about choked on my food.”
“No worries on that one. You and I together is way beyond a reality they could ever believe in. I wanted you to know how much I appreciated the morning stretch.”
“You really are embracing the concept of humor.”
“Seeing the expression on your face made it all worth it.”
When they pulled onto the highway, Penny asked, “Ice, may I ask you about something?”
He cringed at her use of his street name and said, “First, let’s go back to the way we were before Reno. Jax is my name, if you recall.” He also took her hand, and felt the much missed heat through his fingers.
When he unconsciously rubbed the spot where her ring used to be, she took her hand back and quickly slipped the engagement ring onto the proper finger. Although he made no outward reaction to the change, once the ring was back in place, he took her hand again and began to run a fingertip along its edge with a contented sigh. He then asked, “Okay, what did you want to ask me?”
“I know that you and Razor talked last night, but he wouldn’t tell me anything for fear others might overhear. Now that we’re alone, can you tell me what you discussed?” There was no doubt in her mind that she was the main subject of their conversation.
Jax pulled over to the side of the road, turned to Penny, and said, “As we suspected, Razor discovered your unique gift. Between what he witnessed when your blood saved Van Gogh and his own body’s reaction when he healed your bite, it took him only a second to discover your unique gift. But don’t fear. He’s going to keep what he knows a secret. He understands how rare and critically important you are to the future of Changelings.”
Rare and important weren’t words she would use to describe herself. She said, “I’m Penny—just one ordinary Human among billions on the planet. My blood can’t be that special. There must be many other Humans like me.”
He said, “Maybe there are others out there with blood like yours, but you’re the first one to be discovered. And now that you’ve been found, you need to accept that you aren’t just an ordinary Human and must be protected.” He also wanted to tell her how special she was to him but, instead, he decided to stick to the subject at hand. “The first step is to contain who knows about your gift. This is where Razor will be stepping in.”
“How?”
Jax wasn’t sure how best to explain so he said, “He’s going to help take care of a loose end.”
Realizing who else were witnesses to what happened at the castle, Penny screeched and exclaimed in sheer panic, “Not Van Gogh or Charlie! Turn around right now! I have to stop him.”
“Calm down. Razor has already talked to both of them and confirmed that they’re still unaware of the extent of your gift. You’ve managed to win those two over and we convinced them to keep the whole scene to themselves. And since they live in the heart of a world that isn’t ready to accept needing a Human for anything, they’re more than willing to keep their newfound feelings for you to themselves.”
“If not them, then who are you talking about?” Before Jax had a chance to respond, an image popped in her mind and she asked, “Do you mean Logan?” When Jax nodded, she added, “We haven’t seen him since the night he attacked me. Surely he’s forgotten all about it.”
“You greatly underestimate the impact your blood has on my kind. Look at what you did for Van Gogh. He should have died. Razor said that his reaction was instantaneous and Logan took even more than he did. He’s convinced that Logan is biding his time until he can find a way to get to you.”
“But I haven’t been hiding.”
“Logan would have to proceed very carefully. Besides Sam’s family, he knows that you’re being protected by me and my reputation isn’t just based on theory or hearsay.”
“If that’s true about Logan, then what do you plan on doing about him?”
“Night Walkers are quickly forming their own sub culture. After what happened at Sam’s house and then the incident while stargazing with Bobby at Estes Park…I guarantee that the word has spread among his kind and there would be a fight if I get anywhere near them. Since Razor is one of them, he can get close to Logan.”
“To kill his own kind? Logan scares the crap out of me, but I don’t want anyone to die because of me.”
“Killing him won’t be our first option, but we will if it’s deemed necessary to protect you.” Seeing guilt instantly wash over her, he added, “You aren’t some random Human and we don’t know the extent of your gift to more than just Night Walkers.”
“You’ve had more of my blood than anyone. What has it done to you?”
“You’re joking, right?” Seeing her continued confusion, he asked, “Who were you making out with in the cave?”
“You. What does that have to do with this?”
“I joke, laugh, and show compassion to Humans, such as Bobby. Then there’s Ice. I know that you think of him as me being cranky, but Ice is a killer and has been my hate in physical form. I didn’t know he could be anything else. You changed that. Not only did you break down his wall of hate, your kiss...” His voice trailed off for a minute. Then he said, “I had no idea that side of me could feel passion. I had to force my Jax side forward or we would have done more than kissed in that cave. Even when I managed to get us back to the tent a part of Ice refused to let go.”
“You mean the spots, hard muscles, and that wonderful tongue? I really liked all of those.”
Recalling her rather loud reaction, he replied, “I think the whole park is aware of that.”
“And you think my blood had something to do with all those changes?”
“I’m positive. You aren’t a Changeling so it might be hard for you to understand, but our bodies are fundamentally different than yours. For some odd reason, they chemically react to things and your blood is at the top of that list. We lose more Changelings every day. You could be the key to saving our race. If we could synthesize whatever is in your blood, we might be able to save countless lives.”
“But why me? Why would I be given this gift?”
“As you have repeatedly told me, everything happens for a reason. You said you wished you had a way to help. Maybe nature gave you this gift so that you could give Changelings a fighting chance to survive.”
“I can’t sit back and watch all of this. What do you want me to do right now?”
“You can stay safe. And to do that, I need you to trust me and do whatever I ask. My first request is to stop offering your life on a plate to anyone in need.”
“I do trust you with my life and I’m sorry to be such a pain, but I can’t turn my back on someone in need.” Wanting to change the subject, she asked, “You were with Razor all night. Surely you talked about topics besides my blood.”
Jax was also grateful for the shift in the conversation and said, “We also met with Spock and discussed the challenges the castle is facing. We called Sam and started to make plans for how to make the place safer and more self-sufficient. I don’t want Charlie to feel obligated to expose herself to danger just to help keep the castle afloat. I’m hoping Sam can do his money magic and find ways for them to have a steady income.”
As they started to discuss ways to help the safe houses, Jax pulled back onto the highway and they proceeded onto their next stop in their journey.
As Jax drove down the highway, Penny relaxed back in her seat and asked, “What’s our next stop?”
He replied, grateful to be on a new subject, “We’re on our way to the place you picked for your brothers.”
She dug out their travel map and said with some excitement in her voice, “That’s right. We’re off to see a volcano. I thought that they would like the idea of having a piece of themselves explode out of the ground someday.”
After a short drive, the travelers drove out of Nevada and into California. Several hours later they arrived at the Lesson Volcanic National Park. As they walked into the park, Penny wasn’t sure how she was going to spread ashes without anyone seeing her, but her concerns turned out to be pointless. Jax’s presence alone was enough of a distraction. He managed to keep everyone’s attention while Penny sprinkled ashes into a large hydrothermal pond.
She leaned against the rail and watched the ashes melt into their surroundings and said, “Someday, the world is going to sit back and watch the two of you shoot into the sky in a blaze of glory.” Although the sulfur in the air burned the inside of her nose, she loved nature’s pallet of yellows, oranges, and greens of various minerals. As she stared at the amazing surface that bubbled like soda pop, she pondered on the violent life hidden underneath. It reminded her of Jax who, hidden under his Human exterior, had a violent being that was always on the verge of exploding.
Jax rejoined her and escorted her around the park to give her time to regroup and stretch her legs before they returned to the Rover. They then continued leisurely down the highway and quietly enjoyed the mountain scenery. As they headed north the mountains that surrounded them reminded Penny of her cabin home and her stomach clenched uncomfortably at the prospect that her time with Jax was quickly coming to an end. That feeling grew even stronger when they passed over the border into Oregon.
It was dinner time when they arrived at Crater Lake National Park. Although there was a beautiful lodge that overlooked the lake, Penny insisted that they camp out. She wanted to spend every second of their remaining time together away from prying eyes.
After paying the overnight backpacking fee, they drove as close to the lake as they could get and parked. After they grabbed their camping gear, with the light of the setting sun, they headed off into the woods. When they arrived at a small clearing that hugged the edge of the lake, Penny dropped her gear. She looked out at the reflection of the quickly fading multi-colored sunset and sighed. “Perfect,” she whispered.
Working seamlessly side by side, they had their camp setup in minutes. Admiring their final product, Penny said, “If setting up camp was an Olympic sport, you and I would be gold medal contenders.”
“We’ve done this a few times during the trip.”
While they both stood staring at the tent that had become home to them, Penny said, “We’ll be home tomorrow, so this will be our last night.” Trying to lighten the mood, she added, “Tomorrow night we’ll get to sleep in a real bed without rocks digging into our backs.”
“Where I can lay down and stretch out my legs completely… and do both acts at the same time.”
Penny quickly added onto Jax’s thoughts, “And where you can spread out and use the whole bed instead of being trapped into six inches of space by a Human furnace.”
Jax replied sarcastically, “I can’t wait for that.” He then added for Penny’s benefit, “And you’ll get to sleep without being snacked on by bugs or a frosty Changeling.”
With words full of emotion, she replied, “Yeah, I’ve really hated that.”
They both continued to stare at the place where they had spent countless hours wrapped in each other’s arms in the heat of passion and Penny’s eyes welled with tears. She knew she and Jax needed to talk, but she didn’t want to waste what time she had left. If this was her last night with Jax, she was going to make the best of it.
She wiped the tears from her eyes, took in a deep breath, and said, “I’m going for a swim.”
She turned her back on the tent and, slowly taking off her clothes, said with her voice clear and strong, “I expect to be seeing spots by the time I hit the lake. And once I’m tired of taking advantage of you in the water, I plan to continue in that cramped, bug biting bed until I pass out from exhaustion. Oh, and I should warn you. During all this, I plan to take complete ownership of Ice’s tongue, so you might want to do some stretching because I guarantee that you’ll need it. If you have problems with any of this, too bad. Deal with it.”
Jax stood motionless as Penny walked naked to the water. When she didn’t see him moving, she called back warningly, “Get moving, Changeling. I’m almost to the lake edge.”
Jax let out a roar and, by the time Penny’s toe touched the lake, skin covered in camouflage spots was standing next to her. With a satisfied grin, she took his hand and led him into the water.
*~*~*~*
Jax woke the next morning and, when he tried to move, he found his favorite petite Human tangled up in his legs with her cheek resting on his thigh. Recalling the flexibility research that Penny insisted they try out in the tent, he wasn’t surprised to find that his muscles actually ached, especially the muscles in his face. He never would understand Penny’s insatiable need to kiss for hours on end.
When he adjusted his leg to head off a cramp he could feel forming, Penny blinked open her eyes. She yawned and, when she sat up, she groaned from her own body aches. While running her fingers through hair, trying to tame the disaster on top of her head, she said, “I know that we didn’t drink a drop of alcohol last night, but I feel like I’m suffering from a hangover. My mind is actually fuzzy and the room is spinning.” As she blinked hard a couple of times she added, “And I swear that I’m still seeing spots.”
“That’s probably due to Ice’s overindulgence in Penny snacks, but you were so demanding.”
“I really like how his bite feels, and I fear I’m hopelessly addicted.”
“Come here, my little addict,” he said with a grin. He pulled his tent mate up his body so that she was lying next to him and, once in place, he said, “You were in rare form last night.”
“I wanted our last night together to be memorable. You know, going out with a bang.”
He laughed and said, “A bang? More like a nuclear explosion. It’s a night I’ll never forget. I wish I had captured a few of your more adventurous moves on the camera. No one would believe me that some of those positions would even be possible.”
She shot up into a sitting position and asked, “You wouldn’t tell anyone, would you?”
He instantly missed the heat of her skin and pulled her back down. He then said, “What happens in a tent, woods, water, or on a stone boulder will remain between the two of us, and you know that I’m really good at keeping secrets.”
As Penny stared at her ring she asked, “Speaking of secrets, what are we going to tell the family once we get home? I mean about you and me. We need to get our story straight. Should we pretend that nothing happened? I hate lying to them and I’m a really bad actress. I wear my emotions on my sleeve for all to see. Although I doubt they would believe us anyway. Ice and a Human—that’s a combo no one would dream of.”
“We are an unusual pair.” In a more serious tone, he asked, “What do you think we should do?”
After pondering on their situation silently for a while, Penny got up and said, “I can’t think on an empty stomach, so let’s go find a place for a good breakfast. I’m starved.”
Although he knew she wanted to avoid the topic for a little longer, he agreed, “Okay, but after we eat we need to finish this conversation.”
“Agreed.” When all of her muscles yelled at her as she stood, she said, “I’m a mess and I’m going to jump in the lake in an attempt to clean up a little. You’re welcome to join me.” She gave him a wink.
“Go ahead. I’m not sure my body could survive another clean up session with you.”
Penny giggled and, after digging out a few supplies, headed out of the tent. Although Jax really wanted to follow her, he needed to stay behind and take a few private moments to think about what he wanted to happen once they were back home. The last few weeks were life changing and he didn’t know if he could walk away from the woman who was now a part of the person he’d become. As his mind swirled with more questions than answers, he got out of the tent and began to pack up for the last time.
After Penny got out of the water, she found a nicely folded pile of clothes waiting for her. She also found her tent home gone. She walked to the Rover and, seeing that it too was packed and ready to go, said to Jax, “Thanks for leaving me some clothes, but I could’ve helped pack up.”
Although he did it because he was desperate for a distraction, he teased, “I figured I had better pack up the tent before you attacked me again. Besides, I need to go eat some protein to regain my strength.”
“Ha, ha. So the Iceman is attempting humor again?” As she got into the Rover she added, “The day is young and, in case you forgot, a tent is not required in order for me to attack you.” She looked him up and down and then gave him a growl.
Just before he closed her door, he said, “That growl wasn’t bad for a Human. The student no longer requires the master.” He gave her a bow, making her chuckle.
While they drove out of the park, they teased each other, which continued as they ate their breakfast at a local diner they found several miles down the road. They each knew they needed to have a serious talk, but neither of them wanting to initiate it.
When it was time to eat again, they saw the sign for Mt Hood National Forest. Penny said, “We’re getting really close to home. We should call Sam to let him know we’ll be there soon.”
“Let’s have lunch first. We have a few things we need to discuss before we go home.”
Penny knew he was right and agreed. As Jax drove, Penny was lost to her thoughts. Home had a whole new meaning for her now. Although one side of her couldn’t wait to see her cabin in the woods, her other side was terrified to face her new reality. As they pulled into a restaurant parking lot, she suggested, “I know that we need to talk, but I don’t want to have this conversation in public. How about we grab something to go and find a private place to have a picnic?”
After they did as she suggested, they found themselves in the woods with their lunch eaten and no closer to having the needed conversation.
This time Jax suggested, “I haven’t called Sam yet so we aren’t in any rush.” Looking up into the bright sky, he added, “There’s plenty of daylight left. Maybe it would be easier to talk while hiking.”
Without saying a word, Penny changed into hiking gear, strapped on her backpack, and led Jax into the thick woods of Mt Hood to have ‘the talk’.