"What are you singing? What do you mean I have a ball and chain? I'm not holding you to me; you're free to leave at any time." Ebony's eyes and tone dripped ice as she heard the song that Jack was singing softly. I was 'Crash Into Me' by Dave Matthews Band.. Who knew why he was singing it, with its mentions of balls and chains.

"Ebs it's just a song; no hidden meanings. It just pops into my head sometimes and before I know it, I'm singing out loud." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her unyielding form into a hug. After a moment, she softened, giving in to his embrace and returning it.

"Oh Jack, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's these damned hormones. And there I go again, crying now." She sobbed quietly against the firm surface of his chest as he stroked her back up and down. "Shh, don't worry about it. It's my fault you're in this condition in the first place." He pulled away from her slightly, slipping his hand in between to gently massage her barely visible bump. He bent his head to whisper to the baby.

"Hey little Ebony, how's it going? Why are you making your momma cry?"

Ebony laughed at Jack's antics, pulling him upright and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Are you so sure that it's a girl? Most guys want their first child to be a boy."

"Your point? I want a little girl, a feisty green-eyed little spitfire, just like her mom." Jack leaned down and pressed his lips softly to hers. He meant for that to be the end of it, but Ebony had other ideas. She reached up and grabbed his head pulling it down so that that she could kiss him properly, sliding her tongue along the seam of his lips, seeking entry. He obliged, deepening the kiss. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, orchestrating a dance that soon had them both light-headed and breathing heavily as they separated their lips, resting their foreheads together.

"We should—really—get going," Jack gasped against her lips.

"Do we have to?" She whispered back, sliding her fingers through the soft, chestnut strands of his hair.

"I think we do. Suddenly I'm not sure of anything anymore."

Ebony trailed her hands from his head to his shoulders and down his chest, before dropping them to her side stepping back from him. "I know we do. If there is one thing I've learned in all this time, it's that no matter what, I'll always end up back at the mall. It's like there's this invisible force drawing me there, like a magnet or a homing beacon. Time, distance has no meaning to this force, it just calls me back." Her tone was if not bitter, resigned to her fate.

Jack bent and picked up their pack before slipping an arm about Ebony's waist and beginning to walk again. "That's all well and good, but what about our force, what about my lodestone? You know the invisible force that brings you back to me no matter what?

She laughed, pinching him softly on the waist where her hand rested. "You silly. Of course I'll always come back to you, no matter what. Who else am I going to curse and berate when I'm giving birth to 'Lil Ebony'?"

Jack stilled, all merriment gone from his mind. That was something he hadn't thought about, the birth. Who was going to deliver Ebony's baby? If there were any Technos left, he doubted that they would be willing to help out a couple or virts. Tai-San could have helped, but she'd been missing since the first day that the Technos came, before he and Ebony had been captured.

His thoughts were broken by the sensation of Ebony's small hand rubbing against his side, trying to soothe away his worry. As if she had been reading his mind she said, "Don't worry so much, Jack. Women have been giving birth since the dawn of time and unless some radical technology is invented, we always will. I'll be fine. After all, if Trudy can manage to birth a child, I don't see why I can't."

He laughed at her joke, as expected, but his merriment was only skin-deep. Yes, Trudy had given birth to Brady, who had been a healthy baby. But Trudy had almost died from an infection afterwards. Trudy had a larger frame than Ebony. What if the baby was big? So much could go wrong. They didn't even have Dal anymore, to impart whatever medical knowledge he'd gleaned from his father. Jack's breath hitched as still-painful memories of a caramel-complexioned boy with a head of curly black hair flashed through his mind. Silently he sent up a prayer to the force on high, pleading for an uncomplicated birth for Ebony and asking it to watch over the spirit of his lost friend.

They carried on their walk at a steady pace, stopping occasionally so that Ebony could rest and catch her breath and at the last stop by a stream before they hit the city, dampen a cloth and wipe herself and Jack as clean as possible. Then they came to the outskirts of the city that met up with the woods, sector 8. Hand in hand they walked observing the changes that the Technos had wrought.

There were cameras looking down from the roof of every building and light pole that they passed. They encountered no other tribes or individuals for that matter as they approached the once-bustling but now abandoned marketplace. It was eerie, the silence. No traders bargaining with customers trying to cheat them more than they already were. No farmers hawking carts full of fresh fruits and vegetables. There was no one.

Ebony and Jack shared the same thought, but refused to voice it aloud. Was there anyone anywhere? Would there be anyone at the mall? Ebony gripped Jack's hand a little bit tighter as they came upon the entrance of the mall. The sight that greeted them did not bode well. Or rather, the sight that did not greet them did not bode well. There was no fire burning in the large metal bin outside the mall. There was always a fire burning in that bin. That fire and the old hoot-owl that roosted above the main entrance were two standards that greeted everyone who came to the mall, particularly after dark.

The apprehensive couple silently looked at each other outside the main entrance. A question was asked and answered and they shuddered and braced themselves, entering the mall, arms wrapped around each other's waists. They walked past the raised grill, Jack briefly experiencing a sense of pride that something he had worked on was still operating. He also noted that there were lights on inside. So that was why the bin fire was out. Then suddenly, Ebony stiffened by his side. He looked down at her to see that her eyes were as wide as saucers and she was quite pale. Her breath caught and nothing but a high-pitched squeak came out of her mouth. She stood like this for the span of about ten seconds, when the astonishingly familiar looking braided girl screamed before passing out into the arms of a nearby Lex. Ebony managed to utter one word "…Siva," before her eyes rolled back and she too fainted, Jack catching and lifting up her slight form

Credits: Hooty owl and bin fire observation curtesy of suntzu's She-Woman (Hear Me Roar), a hilarious take on Salene's return to the mall at the beginning of S4. I have two words: bits and P-ride. Please read and find out what I mean.