Author's Note:

Sorry for that huge delay. That was not planned. Basically what happened was I rewrote this twice more... and I'm still not happy with it, but it is the best version I have. To me it felt dry and just like I was throwing a ton of information at you (the reader). So excuse the lack of tact in the big (sort of big) revelations. This was just one hard chapter to write in general, and I cut it off short because I couldn't get it to my standard, so the next one will be more lengthy and hopefully better.

This is un-beta'd, so excuse the mistakes I did not pick up on. I felt like you guys waited long enough.

If anyone is still reading this: here you go!

Marcus was slipping in and out of consciousness. With Blair in his arms and her warm lean body pressed up against his it was hard to stay lucid. Her siren scent wafting up from her long dark locks calmed his stormy mind and eased the stiff tension in his body. Even as he succumbed to numbness he was aware of the object of his affections nestled in his lap. Then, a little while later, it was disturbed by said body shifting.

"Marcus.…" Blair whispered against his chest.

Opening one eye he glanced down at her, "Mmm?"

"It has been over two hours."

A sigh of contentment fanned over the top of her head, snuggly positioned beneath his chin.

"Marcus….?" Blair prompted.

"And?" he responded expectantly.

Pushing herself away, properly leveling their eyes, she fixed him with a look of pursing lips and a furrowed brow.

"And Kate was supposed to be back with Xander over an hour ago to report on the new results."

A grunt escaped his lips as Marcus sat up a little more. Once repositioned and comfortable, he settled his eyes on Blair, arching a questioning eyebrow as to what she could possibly be hinting at.

"It's suspicious," she defended herself lamely.

Blinking, and then flicking his gaze to the only door in his small room thoughtfully, Marcus seemed to finally focus. It was strange. He didn't know Kate that well yet, but something about the woman spoke of punctuality.

"It is," he admitted gruffly. "But there isn't a whole lot we can do about it."

Sometime later he woke to the door being opened and a stream of dazzling light briefly flashing across his face before the dim illumination of the room was undisturbed once more. Marcus struggled to wake up. His brain reared at the thought of having to be aware of everything again. When he had let his mind drift off he found a comforting lack of sensation in slumber, taking away the internal war that plagued him.

Groaning his distaste for his now conscious state he stretched – back arching and muscles tensing briefly – before he let his body fall lax once more. There was a jolly chuckle that caught his ear and Marcus' eyes lazily raised fractionally to see who dared to disturb him.

Xander stood off to the side of his bed, a thick stack of papers neatly held in his olive-toned hands. Kate was at his feet, her usual grim face in place. Whatever news the two came baring, Marcus was hedging his bets that it wasn't all sunshine and roses.

Don't strain yourself Kate; you might have an animism if you actually smiled.

"You might want to get comfy Marcus, this could take a while." Her voice was flat.

Nice to see you too, Kate.

Xander situated himself just so in the chair Connor previously occupied, while Marcus sat up more properly, propping some pillows up behind his back to do so.

Kate chose to remain standing, her shoulders were screwed up. The woman couldn't look more tense if she tried. He was guessing that Kate would have a migraine by the end of the day, if she didn't already have one. With her and Connor it was difficult to tell if the frown was from pain or if their faces were just permanently stuck in such expressions.

"That bad?" Marcus asked curiously.

Xander looked up from reviewing the papers in front of him, his face now sporting a pair of glasses that rested at the tip of his nose. Actually appearing mature and intelligent with them on, he would have fooled Marcus if not for the playful glint that refused to be snuffed from his dark gold eyes. He wore his signature smirk of amusement, the very one that gave Marcus the feeling that Xander knew much more than he ever let on.

"That depends, really," Xander's condescending tone chilling any good vibes left in the room.

"On?" Marcus prompted.

"Your definition of how bad 'that bad' is."

Marcus caught Kate rolling her blue eyes just before she sighed and garnered both of their attention. "Stop fooling around and get to it, Xander. We both have better things to do then listen to you play mind-games."

Yeah, cause sitting in a room all day and counting the cracks in the ceiling is considered revolutionary work.

"Before we do, I thought you would have had your support group here. Where are Blair and Kyle?" Xander queried, ignoring a rather annoyed Kate.

Both doctors looked like they expected a good explanation. Why it was that everyone always thought he had the answers was beyond him. Marcus was one of the least informed people alive to date.

"Blair was here…" he trailed off. Marcus hadn't noticed the absence of the spunky resistance fighter due to Xander and his aggravatingly attention grabbing ways. "She must have slipped away when I was asleep."

"And Kyle?" Xander asked.

He shrugged, "I haven't seen Kyle since he took Star and bolted with everyone else."

"Charming friends, do you–"

"Marcus, we reviewed some of the results before we came here. Our hopes were to be able to explain and answer your questions more efficiently this way." Kate cut off Xander.

She didn't look like a bone in her body was apologetic for the interruption. Xander's mouth was still open as if he was entertaining the idea of returning the favor before eventually shutting it. Oh yes, these two were going to make a wonderful team; Marcus could just see it now. Kate was Dr. Jekyll to Xander's Mr. Hyde.

Kate continued, "When I originally looked at your body – you were unconscious by the way, so you wouldn't remember it – back in California I was only able to go so far. We didn't have the technology and facilities they have here. Our knowledge on you was limited and sketchy at best. Thanks to Xander and his labs, the x-rays and other various tests gave us a much clear picture."

Xander picked up from there. "The answer to your first question, before you slipped into a coma," an amused smile spread across his face. "You can't eat, like you initially thought."

Marcus didn't miss the 'you' part of the statement.

They thought I could eat? Why did that seem like such a crazy idea? Maybe because I don't have a stomach!

"What I mean is your body does need energy; the human part of you requires human things like sleep. However, food does not seem to be one of these necessities. From our test results it seems you can't process food. We also think that the part of your brain that helps regulate hunger motivation was one of the pieces removed, probably to make room for needed things. This might explain why you don't ever feel hungry."

Kate stepped in again, "Blair informed me that you already figured this part out, though I'm sure it won't hurt to confirm your theory. You do have unusual sleep patterns. What surprises me is just how accurately you were able to guess the trends. Based on our approximations you do need to sleep every other night to every third night, though you don't need a full eight hours of rest. Xander believes, Marcus that you need roughly six hours."

He absorbed their words as the two medical professionals fell silent to let everything sink in. Marcus caught how Kate worded her last statement and curiosity bubbled up inside of him. The redhead was withholding information. Her blue eyes held his in a level stare that was unquestionably searching his face for signs of any reaction. Xander was watching him too, though the Asian didn't look nearly as intense as Kate Connor.

"You have a different theory on how much I need to sleep?" Marcus finally asked.

Kate didn't blink nor move for a few moments, though her eyes shifted slightly as she thought over his question. "Yes. I think you don't need that much sleep. My calculations came out at three hours at the most, not six."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see, then." Marcus muttered cryptically to himself.

Xander grunted something unintelligible, garnering Marcus' attention once more.

"Onto the next question: Can you age and all the things that go with it?" He glanced down at the papers, shuffling through them. Finding the desired few he ordered the mess of white sheets in his hands once more and read through them briefly, as if double checking something that he might have read wrong.

"Everything we can conclude based on what we know about the rest of you; our speculation is you can't age. Like you said earlier, arthritis isn't possible for you and wrinkles aren't either. Your skin has been biomedically engineered so that it grows at an alarmingly fast rate. It is approximately three times more durable than normal human skin, and its life span is actually longer than ours. Because of how your skin and the rest of your living body parts work, it is both Kate's and my belief that you will never have cancer or tumors either.

"You're endoskeleton won't deteriorate and can grow parts of it back as well. In lame man's terms, Marcus, you're never going to see your strength begin to wane or your body lose or gain weight. We hypothesize you won't ever see a gray hair on your head either.

"We can also tell you that your eyes, ears, and nose are more powerful compared to human standards, though it is not by too much. You will not lose your senses to old age like the rest of us. No, it is our guess that you will not change physically one bit, no matter how long you live."

He didn't know what to say or to think. Marcus couldn't figure out if this was good news or bad news. Losing his looks – whatever amount that he had – wouldn't be a concern for him, and he'd never have to worry about dying because he was just too old to keep up.

A plus out of this was Marcus would always be able to not only defend himself, but Blair as well. It was a problem for the very same reason. She would age, everyone would. The idea of Blair as an old lady was amusing; he could picture her still just as energetic and vindictive as an elder as she was now.

Her body will age, but I doubt she'll ever lose that spirit.

There was an irresistible, confusing, intoxicating pull towards Blair. Even images of her as an aged shriveled prune couldn't deter his… emotions. She was life itself, mysterious and unpredictable, yet beautiful and terrifying. Her age wouldn't matter, so long as she looked at him like that, like she had been since he woke up. Or had she been ogling him that way longer and he was just being dense? No matter; if Blair accepted him, he'd take every day he could get from her – until her dying breath. But what would he do when she died? How long could he live if Skynet or the terminators didn't kill him first?

"How long do you estimate that I'll live? It can't be indefinitely. My system will have to wear out eventually." Marcus looked to Xander, then to Kate. The expressions on their faces shifted from polite patience to defensive and uncomfortable.

It's not like I asked them for their death dates, geez.

"In all honesty," Kate said truthfully, "we think you could live for hundreds of years. You're built well and if Skynet doesn't off you, you could live to see the end of this war and maybe even see the world rebuilt then destroyed again several times over."

I don't want to live that long! What am I supposed to do when you're all dead? Play chess with myself?

Marcus felt panic thrill through his body, his heart tightening painfully inside his hybrid chest. He already lost one world and everything and one that was dear to him. Would fate be so cruel that he'd have to live the same punishment over and over again? Was this what hell really was? Being forced to say goodbye no sooner then he made roots.

Maybe Serna really was the devil. Perhaps the moment his lips touched her dead ones he was cursed to live for forever.

I never should have agreed to that hag's offer.

"Marcus, I'm sorry–" Blair entered the room just then. She shut her mouth when her honey eyes registered Kate Connor and Xander Fox in the room, both of them looking as grim as death itself. How fitting a description.

"We're just reading off the report. I'm sure Marcus will catch you up once we've finished the rest of it." Xander offered dismissively.

"Oh…?" her sweet voice sounding mildly interested.

Blair dropped a brown paper bag on the table next to his bed before settling down in another chair that was poised between Xander and Marcus. Something told him that Blair had purposely made herself the barrier between him and the questionably mad scientist. If he didn`t know better, Blair's protective instincts were showing, reminding him of what a mother bear would do for her cub that was being threatened by a stranger.

"Were there any other questions you had Marcus?" Kate asked.

She looked tired, worn. He bet Kate would be sleeping the rest of the day away when her head hit the pillow. Blair was not the only one with dark circles under her eyes and a ragged appearance. Though Kate couldn't possibly have lost weight while he was out, if anything she had gain two or three more pounds. The sleek ginger hair Marcus remembered her having upon their first meeting was a shadow of its former self; scruffy and pulled back in a messy, high pony-tail.

He had once heard that pregnant woman were supposed to glow. Or was that after birthing the child? Either way Kate Connor didn't glow, in fact she seemed to suck up all that was good and turn it into something grimy and dark.

Marcus replied in his usual gruff way, "No."

"I do," Blair's guarded voice spoke up. She glanced back at him before rounding on Kate and Xander, fixing them with twin golden flames of contempt. "What about Marcus' heart… and brain?"

"What about them?" Xander suddenly became defensive, crossing his legs and flipping his upturned palms down so that his hands gripped the end of each arm rest. Marcus felt a sense of unease come over him and wondered what he could possibly have to hide. Was there something wrong or complicated about his two organs?

She asked about my body, not about your hidden agenda.

"Well… they're like ours aren't they? They can't take as much damage as the rest of Marcus. Don't they also age normally too?"

Marcus felt his own interest spark as his eyes riveted onto the back of Blair. What was it to her? Was there some relevance to these questions that he didn't grasp, a double meaning perhaps?

He scrutinized her, but Blair's body posture was relaxed, though her shoulders were tugged forward from her crossed arms. It was the most inappropriate time, but Marcus found himself eying her slight figure, yearning to reach out and touch her. Longing to stroke her soft dark curls.

Hey, focus! You're not a hormone driven teenager.

Both pairs of blue and brown eyes flicked towards the door. Marcus was intrigued as to what could possibly be so uncomfortable about the topic that both doctors would instantly glance towards the escape route. If he thought about it, they seemed like timid mice retreating from the hungry cat now cornering them.

"Not all the test came out… conclusive," Kate vaguely replied. "We don't know what to think about all his internal organs just yet."

Blair narrowed her eyes. It was like she was silently calling out the bluff she thought Kate just made.

"Now if you'll excuse us; I have other rounds to make and I do believe Kate is well past her shift time restraints." Xander coolly dismissed the conversation.

Marcus blinked in bewilderment with Blair as the two medical experts practically scrambled over top of the other to get out of his room as soon as humanly possible.

What the hell just happened?

For the next three days Marcus had been forced to remain the infirmary. If it wasn't Blair or Kyle constantly entertaining him when they were off duty, it was Star diligently keeping him company. Blair had even caught Connor paying a visit to Marcus after he woke, once. The only person that didn't seem to care was Barnes – still holding a grudge against the hybrid apparently.

Kate had promised that Marcus be released on the third day, if he showed no signs of stress or mental relapse. Ecstatic by the news, Blair had been in a bubble ever since. Regardless of the strange behavior on Kate Connor and Xander's part, nothing seemed to be able to burst her joy. Her hours at work flew by, and her dreams seemed to ease in their depressing outcomes, though sleep still didn't come easy.

Frequent meetings were being held between Cathal, Connor, and Xavier. None of them were saying anything, and the only other person that seemed to know about the strangely familiar report was her. Unsettling as that was, Blair was more concerned with what that meant rather than why they chose to not disclose anything.

But today was not the day to worry. Marcus had just been given clearance to leave, and was currently following a step behind her as they walked back towards their shared room.

He had been silent since they left the infirmity. Blair chalked it up to Marcus being bombarded with everything at once, just trying to mentally catch up. So their trip was quite besides their boots scuffing across the cement floor and their staggered breathing.

"You're lucky I got the day off," Blair said conversationally as they entered into their two bed living arrangements. "That way I can give you the tour and catch you up to speed instead of some mindless drone they have from here."

Marcus did not vocally acknowledge her, but she caught a subtle nod of his head out of the corner of her eye. With what she thought was reluctance the man walked over to the bed he had previously used, stared at it, then turned to her with a questioning look and cocked copper eyebrow.

Damn. I forgot to make the bed.

"Was someone else sharing the room with you?" His gruff voice held a hard edge to it, some emotion Blair couldn't quite comprehend glinted in his now frosty gaze that was locked on her.

Well shit. He went from brooding and pensive to accusatory and pissed in under five seconds.

"Actually…." Blair crossed her arms defensively, feeling a blush coming on as she diverted her attention to the other single bunk, suddenly finding it very interesting. "I kind of switched from using my bed to your bed."

The awkward stillness that followed that validation of there not being someone else was deafening. Chancing a glance to see her companion's reaction, Blair was surprised when she did not find an angry or disgruntled Marcus, but a baffled one.

He had a hand running through his ruffled brown hair, eyebrows raised. The chips of ice that had been his narrowed eyes were now wide and searching for an answer, attempting to lift the truth straight from her head, no doubt.

"Why?" Marcus made it sound more like he was asking, 'Are you sane?'

Yeah, question my mentality when you're the one that just went into a coma from PTS.

She shrugged noncommittally. "Cause I liked that side of the room better."

There was no way in hell she'd own up to the real reason. His bed, despite Marcus only sleeping in it once, had kept his raw masculine scent. When Blair had discovered this a few nights ago, she had burrowed into his bed, finding she slept much better when it felt like he was near.

"You – like – this side of the room – better?" He echoed haltingly.

Narrowing her eyes, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No. But apparently you do."

Huffing, she rolled her eyes before stalking over to her bed, quickly making it and ignoring the bemused expression Marcus was making.

"Come on, let's go find something for me to eat before I give you the tour," she grumbled, once she was finished with her hasty bed-making.

"Yeah, before you bite someone's head off – viably mine."