True Identity

A few weeks had passed since the fragmentation of Epsilon,but the memory was still fresh in our minds...

"Simmons, we reached the docking bay, where the HELL AR-" my voice was cut off. Silence filled the space separating us. Carolina and I refused to move at the shock of seeing that armor, of seeing him in that visor. "Maine"whispered so quietly that only he could hear. Abandoning my BR I rushed up to him surrounding him in a tight bear hug, just like the ones in the past. My eyes filling with tears just from seeing him and touching his armor as if for the last time...again. "I thought I would never see you again..."Quietly sobbing, I could feel myself being peeled away from the teal chest plate. Fighting to remain in the presence of my love, only to be broken once again. He had removed his helmet. The man inside of his armor was not the big marshmallow I had once loved, but the saddened features of a young man who has seen too much. "No," whispering once again.

"Wash, I..I'm sorry." He looked down, ashamed of his decision.

"No no no nononono, this can't be REAL, IT CAN'T BE!" Frantically I started to back away from the now foreign object of a man, tripping over my own feet. Landing hard, I continued to push myself away. Away from the memories, away from the love, away from the pain.

"Davi-," 'Lina's attempts at calming me were in vain. Her voice only went unheard, my thoughts shattered by the armor and the man who was once inside. I let out a terrified cry, cutting her off. Curling into a small ball, my mind went back. Tears streaming down my hidden face. Back to when Epsilon had had tried to convince me, tried to help me save them, to save him. But I had pushed him away, sealing the fate of my friends. The deaths of those I cared for, resulted in the fracturing of myself. Separating every emotion every memory, every touch that had taken place with them. Making myself empty to the world, emotionless to everything, even my family. My muttering started filling my thoughts, blocking her attempts of calming me. Knowing the state I had returned to she took evasive maneuvers, just as she was told. Back then, by our father.

"Dr. Gray" footsteps quickly came toward the group, feeling a small prick in the side of my neck, I don't react. Darkness soon overcomes. The last thing I heard..." I'm so sorry, Wash..."

The memory fades to the back of my mind. The emotions and tears, on the other hand, stick around longer than they were wanted.

"I think it's time you told them" the small green figure shifted on the ground in front of me. His voice always so concerned sounding, like he's always worried something was about to happen.

"Maybe, I guess it's now or never. They would have found out somehow, thanks D...for everything." With a flash of green light, he was gone. Sitting up from the tough soil, I made my way back to the temp base, our new home. Sighing as I dragged myself through the door I could hear the clang of dishes in the sink along with the soft clicks of armor being put on. It was nice out for once, even when I had escaped early this morning, Mother Nature had been good to us.

"Hey Wash, you want some breakfast? I saved some from Grif this morning." Donuts friendly voice echoed from the small space we had doubed the dinning room. Smiling, I shook my head as a response, knowing he was unable to see my amusement. Stalking into the ready room, I run it to my faithful sister.

"Hey, umm... I think... I think I'm ready." She twitched a bit at the acknowledgment, understanding slowly overcame her shock.

"You sure? You had a pretty big breakdown." Worry crossed her face, an emotion more commonly seen now after the fall of freelancer. It was a nice change, unlike most things.

"Yeah, let's start gathering the guys." nodding we both headed in separate directions, pulling the teams into the ready room. For me to spill my guts to them.

With the group finally together, I could really tell how nervous I was about this. Throughout my adult life only a few people knew of this fact; my family, the counselor, and my partner. The occasional AI would appear to calm the room until it was finally silent, save for Sarge quietly mumbling to himself. Taking a deep breath, I started to open up. To spill over.

"As you all may have figured out by now, Agent Maine and I were , by far, more than friends. We were insuperable, almost never apart in any given situation, together we were almost unstoppable." I take a moment to gather my thoughts as the teams start to whisper, " Now, before you jump to conclusions, yes we were together and yes, Tucker, we went the full nine yards," I cracked a smile as heads turned, quietly he said his favorite catch phrase to himself to the annoyance of the others, " But, two things you know about me are completely wrong. One, my name is not David and two, the reason you never see me with my helmet off," I quickly unlatch the only thing covering my emotion battling features, " is because my gender, is completely opposite of what you think I am." With the voice modifier disabled the room is filled with the faint female voice I had despised throughout my life, the absence of my dark helmet reviled the soft features that Maine had once loved. My head was facing away from them, making it difficult to see my face. The freckles that coated my cheeks framed the crystal eyes from my mother, perfectly complimenting the dirty blond hair in the overgrown shaved pixie from years earlier.

"Just remember, that no matter what, I'm still and always will be the same Wash you guys have known forever. The one who will stay by your side and never give up on you, the one who twisted things in our favor to keep you alive." My voice was shaking. Silence filled the room, making it seem larger than it truly was. It was slowly killing me.

"Remember me for who I was." Fighting the urge to run my hand threw my hair, the need to hide my true self, I looked up to see the shocked faces surrounding me.

*THWAMP* Tucker hit the floor. No reaction from the group. All of them were too busy staring ogling at my small face.

I attempted to cover up my anxiety with humor, "Nothing, no questions no sly comments?This is not like you guys at all."crossing my arms, patience took over. They remained silent for a time. My comment lingering in the air.

The Red leader cleared his throat, granting him the full attention of the room (Tucker's still out so he's not included). "Well I may or may not be speaking for the rest of us but," he paused a fidgeted with his hands, looking embarrassed," What's your name, little lady?"

The room went silent. Nothing made a sound as they waited for my answer. The AIs patently hovered above their respective hosts, carefully listening. I felt my face heat up from the stares. Carefully, the answer came.

"Daniele, my name is Daniele Church."

AN:/From Collective Minds: This is my friends story. I'm going to refer to her as Theta. Hope you enjoy her writing!