Grey
Chapter Eleven: Family
As I gathered my thoughts I realized that no, Blake couldn’t be my father. He was a para – a totally normal para. I tried to ignore the irony of that statement and avoided the wolf’s unblinking eyes. If what Jeff smelled was true, then my father must be a Mechanician. It suddenly downed on me that I had never really thought of who my father might be. Ever since I began having dreams of my mother, that enquiry had totally evaded my thoughts. I looked up and caught the eyes of Liana – my mother. It was so surreal and unbelievable that I couldn’t quite grasp it yet. She was my mother. I reached out and touched the strands from her ponytail. The black locks were soft against the skin on my fingers. I studied her features once more and when I thought about it, I could actually quite easily see the similarity between her and her father. Oh, God – Hutton was my grandfather… ,,Jacks?” The soft voice, which I recognized from my dreams, made me regain the sense of present time, and I found her eyes once more. ,,Moth- Mothe- Mom?” I couldn’t help but make it into a question. As I watched, her blue eyes watered and a few stray tears streamed down her cheeks. I could see the relief clearly shining in her eyes, her smile one of a relaxation that had not been on her lips in many years. She was beautiful. She nodded, almost franticly, and suddenly drew me closer, embracing me with a strength I hadn’t expected from her lithe body. She squeezed me against her chest and she clutched the nape of my neck – almost seeming afraid of losing me if she let go. No words were uttered as we embraced. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, feeling how the tension ebbed out of me. Her smell and presence had my heart rate slowing down until it was calm. It was only when the other people around us began clapping and congratulating Liana and I cheerfully that I realized we weren’t alone. I hesitatingly, reluctantly, really, drew back from my mother and looked over my shoulder. The other paras in the great hall were all looking our way, joy and happiness for us painted on their faces. I looked up at Blake but brushed over his undecipherable expression to tune in on Jeff’s dark, dark eyes. Although he was smiling at me, I could see the ghost of something else glazing over his eyes. Remembrance? Sadness? Whatever it was quickly disappeared again, and he leaned forward and clasped my shoulder before he looked over at Liana with a bright smile. Liana ended our embrace but never let go of my shoulder, her fingers a comfortable presence as she squeezed my muscles. She answered Jeff’s smile with one of her own. ,,Jeff, you were the one sent to retrieve my son? Were you the para in that company?” At the last question – after getting a confirmative nod from Jeff – she turned toward me. I nodded. ,,I was sedated.” At that I could see Liana’s eyes narrow in anger, so I hurriedly continued. ,,When I finally realized it, I stopped taking the pills, and I got in contact with Blake.” I nodded toward her husband, trying to ignore the fact that to be married to Blake they had to… No! Absolutely not thinking about that! I nodded toward Jeff and I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at him. ,,Jeff was already in Ayers’ company, and he got me out of there.” Liana nodded and slung her arm around my shoulders and nudged me to walk toward the exit. ,,Come on, Jackson, we have a lot to talk about.” I just nodded at her and let myself be led out of the big room, casting a lone glance backwards to catch Jeff’s eyes before the door shut behind us. As we walked between the apartments and buildings – apparently with no clear destination in mind – there was a comfortable silence in which we squeezed each other’s hands and studied each other’s faces. The light outside was dimming, and I could already see the stars appearing in the eastern sky. Although the wind was cool, it wasn’t bitingly so. The warmth from Liana’s hand in mine went all the way through my arm and seemed to embrace my heart as well. My mother was the one to break the silence. She gave me a sideway glance and spoke with a smile both apparent in her voice and on her face. ,,I knew you would become a handsome man when you grew up.” She squeezed my hand and reached out to stroke my cheek before she let her hand fall down once more. A sudden haunted expression danced across her features. ,,What happened? After you were-were-” She was barely whispering by the time I finally interrupted her and spared her the pain of finishing the sentence. ,,I don’t remember it all,” I said slowly, pronouncing every word carefully. ,,I see it all through dreams at night.” I gave her a stiff smile though I tried desperately not to make her worry. ,,I remember when they- when they came. That night.” Liana just nodded, tears coming to her eyes as she drew in a deep, shaky breath. I also inhaled deeply and cleared my throat. ,,From what I can piece together, I was taken to some uniformed… persons. But I escaped them some time… and then I started work at that company.” I didn’t dare reveal to her that I had been recaptured and had had to escape once more. I didn’t want her to cry anymore. I shrugged and looked away, down at my feet as they walked – almost by themself. ,,I guess I lost my memories with the drugs.” Liana stopped and pulled me into another embrace and held onto me as tightly as I held onto her. ,,It’s alright now,” I heard her mutter – not sure whether it was for me or for her. ,,We’re together now. It’s all going to be fine now.” I nodded into her shoulder and let the tears leak. When we finally let go of each other again, the only source of light around us came from the lit up apartments, the lampposts and the full moon from the suddenly clear sky above us. I could see the other paras exiting from the great hall and drifting back to their apartments. Liana and I walked on with an overall direction toward the lake where I could see the stars and the moon reflected beautifully in the still surface of the water. I heard a small chuckle from my mother and turned toward her. ,,What?” She sent me a smile that warmed me to my core in a way I had never experienced from anyone. ,,I was just imagining the expression my father will have on his face when he sees you, his grandson.” I smiled, too, remembering my meeting with Hutton. When he had called me ‘son’ he had been a lot more accurate than he had thought he was. But then I remembered his reaction toward learning we were looking for a way to find Blake. I pushed it away. I would much rather smile and be happy than be brooding. I returned Liana’s smile with one of my own. ,,I have already met him – actually,” I said, smiling more at the surprised expression on my mother’s face. ,,I didn’t know who he was then – and he didn’t know either…” Liana’s smile brightened – putting even Dalia’s to shame. ,,Well, then it’ll only be that much more fun.” Although I wanted to ask her about what happened after I had been taken, I couldn’t get myself to ask her that. We were finally smiling, and I knew there would be plenty of time to talk of that other stuff. ,,For how long have you been here?” Liana asked me. ,,About two weeks,” I answered, relieved at the triviality of the question. ,,We went to Proctor, and there we waited for Raven to show up and teleport us to Portobello Road.” Nodding, my mother eyed the water getting nearer and nearer as we walked. ,,There have been a lot of bad publicity about Proctor and his Union.” Her forehead wrinkled as worry settled in. ,,I warned him while I was there waiting for Raven, but… he is too confident. At least he agreed to think it over whether or not to sent his wife and child away to a safer place.” I turned my face toward her. ,,You think something bad will happen to them? To his family?” The thought of Sam getting hurt made my heart suddenly ache. Although I hadn’t known the boy for very long, his eagerness and talkative nature had gotten to me. I hoped Proctor would heed Liana’s warning. She turned her eyes to mine, a worried light shining in them. ,,I am not sure, but by the way the hunters have gained support lately, it is not unlikely that they will use their newfound leverage. I just hope they won’t use it on Proctor.” By the hard edge to her tone, I guessed she had another, more fitting, victim in mind. ,,You mean The Blood?” I asked. She didn’t respond. She just looked over the lake for a while before she turned toward me again. Her lips were a thin line over her chin, her forehead still wrinkled, her face set in a tense grimace. ,,Is you Talent still that of… electricity, mechanics, electronics?” She asked as if she hoped I wouldn’t confirm her suspicion. It confused me a little. When I was little she would always praise me when I could master my Talent. The way she spoke now had me suddenly second-guessing the signals I had gotten through the dreams. ,,Yes… What’s the matter?” My mother turned around to look over the still water, her skin like silver in the moonlight. She sighed, her chest lifting and then resting again. I could see her eyes watering. ,,I thought so…” I had to clear my throat before I could speak again. I looked over the water, too, as I opened my mouth to let out the words. ,,Is it because of- because of my… Is it because of who my father is?” Nodding barely to my question, I reacted by inhaling a deep breath. She turned to me, but I kept my gaze on the water. We had reached the shore and we stood still, the water almost reaching our feet. ,,I can’t tell you much about him…” Liana said, and I could see her dropping her gaze to the ground. ,,His name was Telqan. I don’t even know his last name, but… He was a good man.” Somehow that hadn’t been what I had been expecting to hear. I turned to her, and as she seemed to notice my movement, she looked up again. The expression in her features was calm now, confident. ,,I was young when I met him – only eighteen when I gave birth to you – but I knew he wasn’t trying to take advantage of a young and naïve girl such as I was at that time. Knowing later on that he was a Mechanician, he probably didn’t even know about the moral difficulties with big age-gaps and early pregnancies and births. But he was kind and loving. Then one day he was simply gone. He only left a note for me, stating how sorry he was, and that coming to find me had been a mistake, which he would use many years to repent – as the great coward that he was.” The bell of recognition rang in my head as I listened to what had been written in the note. That sounded an awful lot like the voice in the background of that powerful computer in my dream. ,,I think I’ve,” I interrupted her, a furrowed brow appearing on my face, ,,met him…” As I thought of that voice and the name Telqan, I pictured the solitary man in the wooden hut from my dreams in my mind. Could he have been my father? Could he have saved me from the uniformed persons? Or had he appeared earlier or later in my life? My jumbled memory was driving me insane. Why couldn’t I remember anything?! I felt like smashing my head against a wall a couple of times. Liana reached out and cupped my face in her hands, obviously detecting my distress. ,,You have met him? When? What did he say to you?” We locked gazes, our blue eyes identical. That was when it hit me that I had inherited everything from my mother. Every feature in the face and the body I had gotten from her. There was nothing in my appearance that suggested I was half alien. ,,They can control consummation, can’t they? They tampered with all the other paras’ consummation, so why wouldn’t Telqan be able to tamper with mine?” Although we were looking each other directly in the eyes, I felt how my mind, mouth and eyes began to wander. ,,He made sure no one would see how different I was from humans – he made me only look like you. But he gave me their powers. The Mechanician Talent. No paras have them – well, other than me, of course. Maybe it’s because I am half Mechanician. If the other paras had had more Mechanician blood or something in them, then we would all have the same Talent.” ,,Jacks,” my mother interrupted me, placing her hand reassuringly on my shoulder, the other one still cupping my left cheek. ,,We have no way of ever knowing that.” Despite Liana’s attempt at me to leave the subject, I was too submerged in it to stop. ,,But we can know more. Perhaps I can read the message. Or if I find the computer…” That had me stopping cold, though. The thought of connecting with that computer from my dream made me shiver and balk away from the thought. If I ever did that I couldn’t be sure I would ever be freed from it again. I didn’t even know how I managed to do so the last time. ,,It’s late, Jacks,” Liana said and patted my shoulder, pulling me with her toward the apartments. ,,Let’s go home and have some sleep.” ,,Home?” I couldn’t help but whisper, knowing in my gut that she wasn’t talking about my apartment across from Jeff’s. The thought-mention of Jeff suddenly made me blush though I tried to hide it. Why was I suddenly thinking of Jeff?! ,,Yes. There is a room available down the hallway from Blake’s and mine.” She eyed me, and I could see by the shadow crossing her features that she knew I was going to reject her. ,,It’s on the upper floor of the Office…” Her voice faded out slowly. ,,Mom,” I started and noticed how good that word tasted in my mouth before I continued, ,,I’ve already settled in in my own apartment. I’ll come over by the Office tomorrow, or you could come over to my building, but I really want to keep-” ,,Yes, yes, I understand.” She had already started nodding before I even started talking. ,,I will come over tomorrow, and then we can eat lunch together.” We walked in silence the rest of the way to my apartment building, but when we finally arrived, my mother repeated her promise to me, kissed my cheeks and almost hugged the life out of me. ,,Sleep well, Jacks,” she whispered in my ear and kissed me one last time before we broke apart. ,,I’ll see you tomorrow.” She began walking but stopped after only taking three steps and turned around, a smile dragging at her lips. ,,I love you, Jacks.” Warmth filled me suddenly, and for a moment I had trouble breathing. A tear fogged my vision before I managed to blink it away. ,,I- I love you, too.” Her smile broadened and then she turned to walk back to her home. With Blake. The thought still had me shaking my head in order to try and clear it of that very thought. The living room area was empty and I hurriedly went up the stairs as silently as I could. There was no light on but I made my way to the door with fumbling hands and pushed it open. I had forgotten to luck it this morning. I only casted one lingering glance toward Jeff’s door before I went inside and closed it behind me. When I turned around and noticed the occupied armchair, I stiffened for a moment. Jeff had fallen asleep in here. Waiting for me, probably. My heart skipped a beat before I ventured further inside. He stirred quickly. His eyes blinked frantically before he could focus his eyes on me, but when he did, he sent me that droopy smile and got up from the chair. He was wrapped around me, arms and tail, in a matter of seconds, sniffing my scent and his face in the crook of my neck. I sighed and closed my eyes. His presence wrapped around me as thoroughly as his arms did, and I felt content, safe. I felt like I belonged here. In his arms. Didn’t mean I was going to admit it, though. Jeff eased us toward the bed, not bothering with undressing as we sat down, me still embraced in his arms. We broke apart enough for us to look into each other’s eyes. Jeff’s hands drifted down from my shoulders to hold me by my elbows. He began massaging the clefts with soothing circular movements. I couldn’t keep my eyes from Jeff’s face as I watched his droopy smile broaden. He licked his lips before he began talking, my gaze immediately fixed on them as they parted and uttered sound. ,,You talked with Liana?” It took me an embarrassing amount of time to look away from those moist lips and focus on his face in general and what he had just asked me about. I cleared my throat and ignored the knowing smirk crossing the other para’s features. ,,Yeah,” I answered breathily and I felt the smile tugging at my lips. ,,I still can’t really believe it… My mother… I have a family. Two family members. At least.” I shook my head in disbelieve and leaned toward Jeff until out foreheads were pressed together. I could feel his warm breath puffing against my mouth and cheeks, and for a moment I forgot all about my newfound family. Jeff wet his lips before he grabbed the hair in the back of my neck and tugged me even closer to him. His eyes caught mine and forced them to stay there as he lightly kissed the tip of my nose and then each of my cheeks. He urged me to lie down with him on top as he continued to spread kisses all over my face and down my neck, his fingers moving to remove my shirt. His fingers continued to caress my chest and I shivered when he touched my skin directly. I didn’t know what possessed me to ruin this situation entirely when I opened my mouth and broke our kiss. ,,What about your family?” I asked. Jeff stiffened. He balked away. Although he didn’t leave the bed it felt as if he had gone to the other side of the planet. He sat totally still, all eagerness gone now, and he wouldn’t look me in the eye. ,,I only have my sister,” Jeff said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet, his gaze averted downward and his shoulder hunched over. Totally un-Jeff-like. He let out a strained sigh and closed his eyes, as if trying to ignore the memories and the pain they brought with them. I leaned over and touched his shoulder, squeezing slightly. ,,I’m sorry, Jeff, I didn’t mean to pry.” I closed the distance between us slowly, letting my hand on his shoulder drift up to his neck, massaging the tense muscles there the same way as Jeff had done to me numerous times already. I leaned in until we were within kissing range, and I could see from his expression that he wanted me to continue. He wanted me to initiate. If I did so, then that meant I wanted this, too. If I kissed him now, there was no backing away. I closed my eyes and leaned in until my lips touched his and I kissed him. The sun shone through a gap between the curtains, leaving a trail of light across the floor all the way to the bed, touching my bare ankle as well as Jeff’s. As I lay in bed watching the ray of golden light, I thought for a moment that it was a shackle binding me to Jeff, but I quickly shook my head, ridded myself of that silly imagery.
Jeff caught my movement and tightened his hold over my bare shoulder. His head nestled in the crook between my neck and my shoulder, his arms around me, one of his legs slung over both mine. I leaned my cheek against the top of his head. I felt almost dizzy with serenity and comfort. I had slept well for two days in a row – and it was all thanks to the man now stirring beside me. I smiled at him as he glanced at my face. Jeff smiled a still half-asleep smile before he closed his eyes and inhaled through his flaring nostrils. His smile broadened and he opened his eyes once again. ,,You smell of me,” he said triumphantly and gave me a chaste kiss on the mouth. He drew back again. ,,And I smell of you.” He kissed me again, and this time his tongue plunged into my mouth, demanding access and receiving it. Both his hands fisted in my hair, and when our kiss ended and our lips parted each other, he let his fingers relax and fondle in my locks. I responded to the caress, letting my fingers brush through his dark, exotic curls. He began to purr. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. My head was light with a feeling I had never known since before I was taken from my mother all those years ago. Fingers still engaged in the other’s hair, we lay like that for some time, reveling in the fact that there was no rush, no anxiety and that there was nothing to fear. It was safe here. It was safe now. It felt as if we had created a sacred haven over the night of touching and kissing, mapping each other’s bodies for later reference. We hadn’t ‘done it’ last night – it felt as if we would be defiling the serenity of the experience, but I could feel my body’s signals of craving and lust. Each time Jeff licked his lips or his heated gaze swept over my body, I knew what I wanted. And I knew he wanted it, too. Jeff gave out a chuckle, and I reared back to the present time immediately, smiling in amused puzzlement in return. ,,What?” The smile I received was bright enough to put even the sun to shame, and smirking enough to make a thrill wash through my body. ,,You’re beautiful.” Whatever I had been expecting, it wasn’t that. Jeff must have read my expression like an open book, because he began nodding frantically. ,,I’m not beautiful…” ,,But you are,” Jeff insisted and let his knuckles brush along my right cheek. He moved until I was pinned beneath his bigger body, leaning on his elbows and observing my face with that droopy smile. ,,And what we did last night was beautiful.” Suddenly blushing, I turned my face away, but I found myself nodding nonetheless. ,,It wasn’t that much of a-” Jeff interrupted me by grabbing my chin and turning me to face him again, his smile still there, but his eyes hard enough to be insistent. ,,Honey, it meant everything to me that you kissed me. I needed it then.” ,,Honey?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow, challenging. Jeff grinned. ,,What – you want me to call you sweetie-pie instead? Or pooh bear? I’m fine with either one.” He gave me a peck on the nose before he hurriedly left the bed and dodged the pillow I sent flying after him. I could still hear him laughing when he exited my room to go to his own, probably to get a shower and a change of clothes before breakfast. I let myself fall down on the bed and just stared up at the ceiling with a big smile on my lips. I couldn’t believe it. Everything was right, now. Liana and I had found each other. Jeff and I were… going somewhere. I felt happy. Lightheaded and dizzy with happiness in fact. The pain Jeff had showed concerning his own family tugged at my smile and good mood, though. But I wouldn’t pry. If he wanted to tell me, and if he trusted me enough to tell me, then I would listen. The only thing I could do was to wait patiently. My peaceful line of thought was broken, though, when I thought I heard someone screaming my name. And not in the good way screaming. I got up from bed, ignorant to the fact that I was only wearing a pair of pajamas pants, which Jeff had gotten me into last night before we fell asleep in each other’s arms, and I ran out of my room and down the stairs where the source of the scream had come from. ,,Grey!” ,,Sam?!”
Hi there, everyone! I hope you liked the new chapter ^^ Please R&R and let me know what you think! xD Thx for the rates and reviews, it's great to hear from y'all :3
js; Yeah, that's a stepfather - though possibly a very awkward relationship to one xD we'll just have to wait and see... Thx for the review, and I hope you liked the update ^_~
Ellie; Yay, I was hoping for that reaction, haha!!! I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you'll like this chappy as well ^^ FortunateM; Well, you got the father-son-connection right! xD No, Jeff was just having a 'Holy Shit' kind of experience :3 And more to be revealed about Telqan, the real father ^^ I'm so glad I am not making this story too easy to figure out, haha - wouldn't want that! ;P Hope you like this chap as well! See ya ;D smint45; Yes! I was hoping people would be a little taken aback by the meeting between Jeff and his mother xD I'm happy I succeded, haha ^^ You were right about Blake => That was just Grey having a moment of shock! Hope you liked this chapter as well C: eroburn; Aww, thx a bunch! Sometimes I'm afraid I get a bit too sappy, but I'm glad that isn't the case here ^^ And yeah, Jacks' father is an ALIEN! xD I'm so glad you're liking it (and that you're telling me, haha) and I hope you'll like what will happens onwards :3 Wait! My sugar!!! No. No. No! NO! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Sugar... Candy... *hicup* Well, I have... vegetables... Oh, God, what am I going to do now!? Cain; Heeeeeeeeeeere you go! xD I hope you liked the chap, and that you didn't mind the longer than usual-waiting time! Thx for your review ;) Hare; Quite a lot is happening, haha ^^ I hope you're enjoying the story! xD
