The Other Side.

It it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium.

It's a line out of a movie, and David felt like making the joke, so we start out in a hotel in Belgium. I really don't know what time he gets up, given the way he lives, but I know that when I'm awake, he's got breakfast waiting. Always in a little carry case. Never on plates. He almost never gets his food from wherever he's staying. Breakfast is waffles for me, with ice-cream topped. The waffles are from Belgium, the Ice Cream from a little gelato place in Italy.

We never sleep anywhere really plush. Lots of places are open to the public. Hostels, backpackers, that sort of thing. Depending on which ones you pick and what time of the year it is there, it's no trouble finding privacy. It's not cushy exactly, but that's fine too, because we're almost immediately gone every time we wake up.

After breakfast, a shower. Funny thing, but those showers in swimming pools have great water pressure. Lots of hot water too, if you get there before they open to the public, which is never a problem for us. Davy provides a towel from some five star hotel, and takes it back to their various hotel laundries without anyone noticing one more towel suddenly dissapear from the linen and reappear in the wash.

The morning is always for me. Back when we were kids, I must have talked his ear off about all the places I wanted to go, so our day starts with Landmarks, guided tours, exotic cities. David always lets me pick. I get the impression that he's wanted to take me on this tour for a long time.

Late morning is for shopping. A lifetime of working in a bar where the TV is permanently set to ESPN gives a girl some very definite opinions about sporting events, teams, and games. Sonics in Philadelphia seemed like a safe pick, but you get better odds in Atlantic City than you do in Vegas, so when I told Davy I wanted to place a bet, we stopped there. An hour later, we're wandering through the Zocalo's of South America, then Malaysia, then Indonesia. David tells me that the most densely populated places have the best marketplaces. You wouldn't believe the bargains you get with the exchange rates.

I don't know where Davy stashes the clothes and kick-knacks we buy when we aren't using them, but I'm willing to bet they're safely hidden. Still, you'd be surprised how few times a day I change clothes, given the changes in culture and climate that make up a typical week.

After the morning ends, David likes to show off, and we begin a world tour, Jumper Style.

Given the pace of the life we lead, you want a fairly light lunch, or you'll make yourself nauseous. Tokyo has great sushi, using ingredients I can't even pronounce. They serve it for practically every meal, but when you go at night, you get a great view of a city skyline that gives the Las Vegas lights a run for their money. For the locals that's a late dinner. But for us, that's lunch.

After lunch and before dinner, we make a brief stop back in Altantic City to see how my picks turned out, and I had a hundred bucks to spend. I wanted to be the one to take Davy out for once, so I asked him to suggest a place.

The freshest lobster are in Maine. But it's the wrong time of year. Fishing season for the really expensive crab and lobsters is tightly policed.

There are places in the Pacific where you can buy the good stuff for a song, as long as you don't ask the fisherman for documentation. Another advantage to open air marketplaces.

Davy tells me the best spices, sauces and herbs are sold off rickshaw wagons at the open air markets of India. We get them both, and then take them to this place David knew in Shanghai, where they'll cook the food up in front of you like one of those novelty Japanese places. The aromas are fantastic as your meal is cooked. The place is just David's style. They cook the food on a flame right in front of you, and if there's one thing about travelling with a Jumper, it makes you somewhat impatient. Works for me too, because I never know what to do in the really expensive places.

After dinner espresso's are best found in France, but of course in France it's a good bit earlier, so most of the people are at work. They take coffee seriously in France. There are apparently some places where asking for sugar would get you shot.

Dinner and dancing of course, are the standbys for an evening out. And the best place for music, drinking and dancing are the streets of New Orleans. New Orleans is really bohemian about that sort of thing. People are meeting up with complete strangers and slow dancing in the parks and promenades, to the jazz trio's practically on every corner. The humid nights are lit by fire barrel's as the soulful saxophone players pour their hearts out and the street vendors dole out everything from Hot Dogs to Southern Comfort sipping whiskey.

And all this for less than Twenty American Dollars. David's made it clear that money's not an issue, but I still don't really like spending the money he took from banks, even if it's how he stays ahead of Paladins now. Besides, Mom always says it pays to comparison shop. Man, if she only knew the places I could compare now.

After that, you're looking for a place to unwind and cool off, and it turns out that Mount Kilimanjaro is comfortably cool this time of year depending on how high up the mountain you go. If you catch it at sunset, there's this massive feel of the sky being on fire from the high-altitude sunset.

After the whirlwind tour, it's good to catch your breath. And a mountain high cool can chill the New Orleans sweat. A stop in Hawaii bakes the cold out of a girl. David actually surfs to relax. I guess knowing you'll never get rolled by a wave does take some of the risk out of it. Me, I stretch out on the sand and enjoy the warmth.

A few minutes after I finish dozing, there's a quick gust of sand. I don't flinch. I'm getting used to it.

Sure enough, a familiar voice leans close to my ear. "That bathing suit really works for you."

I smile without opening my eyes. "You think so?"

"It's working for me too."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"There's a bed and breakfast in New Zealand."

"We don't have a reservation."

"It's the off season there for tourists; I bet we could get a room. Room service, massages, spa bath..."

"Sounds like fun."

Ten minutes later we're half a world away, checking in to this fantastic little cabin in the middle of the night.

I don't know what time it is, but it's nighttime now. I still have my watch, but it's been off by hours for more than half the trip. I don't care. It's been a full day. And then in the morning (Night. Afternoon?), we get up and do it all over again.

David is gone to get us breakfast. There's a little family owned bakery in Australia he likes. I'm taking advantage of the spa while he's gone, when there's a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"Room service." A woman calls through the door.

"Come on in!" I shout back, reaching for a robe..

The door opens, and a maid rolls in a food cart. Champagne and Orange Juice. I've always wanted to try that for breakfast. I must have said something along those lines to David.

There's a full breakfast selection too. Fresh fruit slices and eggs are apparently the kind of food that never travel real well once prepared. "I... I didn't order this."

"Your companion did Ma'am; he's at the front desk extending your stay."

I smile. Good, we're coming back tonight. (This morning? This afternoon?)

"Do I know you?" She asks suddenly.

I turn around. The maid, an attractive woman in her forties is smiling over at me. "Y'know, you do look familiar." I say. "My name is Millie."

"Millie Harris." She said, as if suddenly remembering the name.

Her face is so familiar. It's on the very tip of my tongue. "I know you! Your name is… I'm terrible with names. I'm sorry."

"That's okay." She tells me forgivingly. "Wow, you've grown up. I can see why he likes you. My name's Mary Rice. I'm David's mother."

My eyes must have bulged halfway out of my head. Mary makes a move for the Food Cart, and I start to scream. "DAV-"

Mary moves, faster than I've ever seen anyone go, and in her hands is a staff, about two feet long, that crackles with an electrical buzz.

She brings one end up to point at me, a movement so fluid I can't follow it, when the staff spits out a net. Two cords, weighted, going vertically, bound with two cords, also weighted, going horizontally. The double-bola net nails me around the middle, and I feel myself knocked off my feet, until I slam into the wall behind me.

Whoa. Deja vu. Some part of my mind notes distantly.

"I'm sorry about this." She says, sounding genuinely apologetic. "But you need an education my dear. And it's not going to come from David in time."

She moves like a dancer, clearing the distance and spinning the staff so that the metallic end is swinging toward the side of my head.

There's a buzz that makes my hair go in every direction...

And when I wake up, I'm in a whole other place.

I'm on a cot in a room with bare walls. The place isn't particularly menacing, just Spartan. There's a door, a window, through which I can see the road, but I don't know where. There's a door. It's locked. There's a table, with two chairs.

I'm dressed. The same clothes that were on my bed. The same clothes I wore yesterday.

"Hello Miss Harris."

I spin away from the window toward the door. It's Roland. He has a jug of water, and two cups. he sets the two cups down and pours. "Drink. You're dehydrated."

"How long have I been out?" I ask softly.

"Almost twenty hours."

I do the math quickly in my head. It was morning in New Zealand twenty hours ago, so judging by the light outside, that puts me...

"You are in the States, 120 miles south of Ann Arbor, Michigan." Roland says, quickly divining my question.

Ann Arbor? The bad guys brought me home?

"I'm not here to fight; I just want to talk to you."

I stay as far away from him as I can. The thought that it may have been Roland who dressed me makes my skin crawl. "So talk, it's your prison."

"Miss Harris, you are not a prisoner. You will be released within two hours, you really should drink something."

As a show of faith, he takes a sip first, and then pushes my cup closer.

I can't help but look closely at the glass. I am thirsty. Finally, I reach out, and take the cup, but I do not sit at the table with him.

"I want you to know, that what I did to you last time we met, I took no enjoyment in." Roland volunteers. "I just had to find him. Still do."

"So you can kill him." I grit out.

Roland looks gravely at me. "Yes." He says, matter-of-factly.

He's so easy about it, calmly marking my man for death. "Why? Because he's dangerous?" I demand. "From where I sit, it's your guys who have been killing people..." I say. I suddenly start talking, and I can't stop myself. "In fact, as I recall, it was you personally who used me as bait to kill him. You didn't ask me, or even threaten me! You put me into the wall and stuck me there with electric ropes. In fact, from what I hear, you've been killing people like David for no other reason than they're different, and I'm pretty sure David's father too."

Roland takes that in. "Miss Harris, I realize you don't have much reason to like us, but you should at least acknowledge that we have reasons for what we do. Jumpers have been around for centuries, and for all those centuries, the Paladins have fought to keep them in check. Can you imagine what would happen if we didn't?"

"David is no killer."

"No? Well, maybe not. Truth be known you're right, last time you and I were in a room together, David had the chance to kill me. He didn't take it. Not all Jumpers want to rule, most just want to own. But some want more than that. The world is full of brutal people, willing to do unspeakable things. What if a Jumper decided to work for terrorists one day? Think about it, they travel between continents on a casual thought. Why would they have any loyalties to any particular government?" He was calmly picking away at his nails. "A jumper can be anywhere. A jumper could steal a warhead from any base in any country, put it in any city. New York? Washington? No better yet, Moscow. Do you think they'd launch?"

The sheer number of ways I can picture my Davy ending the world makes my hands shake. But not for long. I give myself a quick mental shake. Be careful what you say Millie. This man's almost killed you before. And you're his prisoner. I shook my head. "That's not Davy. He would never do that.."

Roland seemed all too willing to concede that. "No I don't think so either, but sooner or later, one of them will. And we can't take the risk. It's a simple law of survival. Us or them. And if you think they aren't a danger to the world, based on the two you've met, then think harder. Laws aren't an invention of man. Law of Gravity. Law of Motion. Law of Thermodynamics. Laws of Physics. These are the very foundation of existence." He pours me another glass of water. "Rules are not an inconvenience Miss Harris. Rules are there for our protection. When there are rules that are too restrictive, people rebel. When there are rules that keep people from walking out into traffic, or starting fights over nothing, or taking things that don't belong to them, nobody rebels. Because everyone understands, without those rules… the world simply wouldn't work. It was us that killed the London Jumpers during the Black Death and kept them from spreading it further. One got away and half of Europe died. We hunted them harder and kept it going further than that. It was us who stopped the German born Jumpers from assassinating Churchill during the Second World War. It was us who stopped the Jumpers loyal to Lord Nelson from killing Napoleon. It was us that killed the six or so Jumpers that started looting Cash Bond certificates and deeds of ownership out of the wreckage after 9/11."

I don't want to hear this; I don't want to be listening. But I am. So help me, I'm listening, and worse yet, I'm picturing the history he's telling me, and I'm not liking it.

Roland shifts his seat, so that he's down in front of me, leans forward, and looks up beseechingly into my eyes. "This is not a power that people can have. It is not a power people can be trusted with. Power corrupts. Sooner or later they all go bad."

I'm listening to this. Really listening. I don't want to be, but I am. Enough that I sit down in the chair opposite him, and stare at my plate. "Davy's not like that."

"He's not." Roland says blandly. "Oh, I'll grant you, he could have killed me, could have done a lot of things. But he's still not one of the good guys."

"That's not true."

Roland actually smiled at me. "You're loving it aren't you? Being with him. Living his life. You wanted the world, he gave it to you. Rio, New Orleans, Paris, India, New York..."

I swallow and stare down at my shoes. I just can't look at those eyes any more.

Roland nods gently. "Sure. We're still tracking you, I won't deny it."

I fight to find my voice again. "Y'know, I was getting freaked out by Davy. By the fact that he was clearly on the run, by the bags full of unmarked bills, by you. Then you kidnapped me, and he was the one that rescued me. So while you keep ranting about how Davy is the antichrist, you overlook the fact that he came back for me, let himself get hurt a lot to do it, fought another Jumper to keep everyone in my living room, you and me included from being blown up, and then let you live when frankly, he had every reason to drop you off the cliff."

Roland takes in my argument without blinking. "He likes you. That's a given. You're something special to him, which makes you of interest to me. But understand, his life, is one of avarice and vanity. And I don't think that's what you want your life to be."

"It's not!"

"Some Jumpers would like to blow up cities, some want to rule the world, most are willing to go through life robbing banks, travelling the world looking for a better wave to surf, or a better nightclub to haunt. For some, like David, taking a pretty girl like you on a fantasy trip to Rome so you'll sleep with him is enough."

I slapped him. It was clearly the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life, but I do it. He takes it without flinching. Without even closing his eyes, without even turning his head. In fact, I actually hurt my hand. "Millicent," He says, commanding and precise. "Do you even know what month it is?"

I look down again. Between the constant jumping back and forth, between time zones, between hemispheres… We chased the night for Nightclubs and Parties; we chased the daylight for the tourist spots. Daybreak in the mountains, sunsets on the Sphinx… I don't even know what time it is. Was my watch set to Michigan time or Rome when David teleported me out of my apartment?

Roland nods, like he knows exactly what I'm thinking, and tosses down a manila folder. It has my name on it. "Millicent, your neighbours have been evicted, your apartment building has been condemned; and you've been listed as missing. Given the fact that the State Department says your passport arrived back in the States a full five days before your holiday was supposed to end, but nobody can recall seeing you, the authorities aren't sure where to search. Since your apartment has actually vanished clean out of the building, nobody knows where to look for you. The Police have ended their search for you, your mother is debating whether or not they should have a funeral, your employers have started taking applications for your job." He breaks off and notices me going pale. "You're in his world now. Did you even think about what you left behind?"

Hell, I hadn't thought about any of that! My mom! Last she knew, Davy was whisking me away to Rome! She was thrilled I was finally going. The fact that it was with someone I was sweet on as a kid, (back from the dead, no less) made it seem wildly impulsive and romantic. But my contact number in Rome… I hadn't been there for days. Weeks? She would have been trying to contact me since my apartment suddenly appeared in Ann Arbor Public Library!

Roland takes in my sudden horrified realization with ease. "Miss Harris, why do you think he's been doing this? Even Jumpers sleep. I drove him out of his New York Penthouse, and the first place he comes is to see you, with nothing but a backpack full of stolen money left to him. Millicent, he doesn't have a home to go back to anymore either. But he's used to that. 'Do as you please and take what you want' is the only way of life that Jumpers understand."

And with that, he stands up. It's clear our meeting is concluding. "You will not convince me to spare David. He is a Jumper. I am a Paladin. It's a war as old as time. Even his own mother will concede only to giving him a head start." He gives me a small wry grin. "We can explain away your absence, we can explain away your apartment, we can explain away what happened in Rome. We've been doing it for centuries. But the longer you stay away from home, the more you are in David's world."

"And until I agree to lead you to him, or go home, I can't leave, is that it?"

"Not at all." Roland says easily. "I told you, you would be released within the hour. We just thought, that maybe you should get another side of the story."

"You do this for all the people who hang around Jumpers?"

"Of course not. There's never been anybody who hangs around with Jumpers before."

Roland leaves me with that thought, and locks the door behind him.

The door opens again a half hour later. Mary Rice comes in. "You feeling okay? You've got a trip ahead of you."

I look up at her. "Are you going to kill me now?"

She looks a little surprised by the question. "Of course not. You aren't a prisoner, you aren't bait. We told you we'd let you go, almost as soon as you woke up. It takes a while to set up a trip this far out. We had to organize a ride for you that wouldn't get you noticed."

" 'scuse me if I don't take your word for it."

Mary has nothing but sympathy on her face. "We aren't the bad guys Millie. We kill when we have to, but not without hesitation."

"Not what I got from Roland."

"Roland is the best. He has… broad discretionary powers."

"Licensed to kill?"

"If he has to. If he feels it's important." She looks pointedly at me. "Just like I am."

A moment of silence as Mary clears up the table. "Ask you a question?" I say suddenly.

"Sure."

"What would you do if you could Jump?" I challenge her.

Mary freezes. Finally, she takes out a key, unlocks the door, and calmly steps aside, waving me out. "There's a car that will take you to a bus station. From there, a ticket is waiting in your name to take you straight home to Ann Arbor. If you take it, there'll be a car waiting to pick you up from the Bus Stop to deliver you home to your family. There will be no press waiting. There will be no interview requests. There will be no fuss made. Your job will be held open for you. The Police will have no questions. Just a whirlwind vacation with an old flame that went longer than expected, and ended in chaos."

She means it too. Man, is there nothing these people can't do? "Why are you doing this?" I demand hollowly of her. "If I'm not bait for him, then what do you want from me?!"

Mary nods, and leads me out into the light. "We know how to handle David, and Griffin. We've dealt with them before, too often. But you Millie, you're something new. Jumpers are solitary. They don't take companions on their journeys. We brought you here, because we don't know what else to do with you." She smiles at me, like some impossibly forgiving favourite aunt. "We just wanted you to know why we do it. We aren't evil."

"If Davey comes after me... you'll kill him."

Mary glances at Roland. "Yes."

"He's your son! He's not a killer. He's harmless."

"Of course he is. That's how they all are. Then one day they stop being harmless and that's how things like World Wars start. They all start out having fun. Wishes fulfilled. They start out not understanding the consequences. They end up not caring."

"You can't believe that about David. And if you don't, then why are you and Roland trying so hard to convince me?"

"Well, you asked the question." Roland pipes up, suddenly flanking my left. Mary and Roland are escorting me to the car. "What would you do if you could Jump?"

"What I've been doing." I shoot back.

"Really? And that's all?" Mary challenges, like this is a ridiculous lie that she's already caught me out on.

"That's all." I repeat.

Long silence. For a moment, I wonder if she's actually considering what I say.

"Nice necklace." She says finally.

I blink. That's not even close to the responses I had expected.

"Davy get it for you?"

I run my hand down my neck to the chain necklace and the gold pendant on it. "Yeah."

"It's nice. I like it." She pulls a scrap of newspaper out of her pocket. "Bet she did too."

The newspaper article has a picture of a movie star so famous that they've heard of her on Mars. She's being photographed at the Oscars as she accepts her Academy Award. And she's wearing my necklace.

The article reads that she donated the dress and jewellery to a charity auction. One item of which was reported missing several days ago. Police suspect a shipping error, since the necklace is the only thing missing. One expensive item among many.

About the time Davy presented it to me, at the top of Mount Rushmore.

Mary takes in my reaction. "That's why we're doing this for you Millie. Jumpers… they don't keep passengers. Maybe he is different, but not that much. Not enough to justify… anyway, you're the first one to be taken along for any length of time. We've never had to deal with someone important to a Jumper before. Some of us wanted to kill you, use you for bait… me and Roland, we managed to convince them to do this. We so rarely make our case to anyone we haven't recruited." The tone is leading. The implication is obvious.

"I will never join you." Cool. I just had a Star Wars moment. "For one thing, it would mean I have to kill Davy."

She was about to say something… and suddenly her face changes. She turns to look back the way we came…

...there's a thump. Air displacement. A reverse vacuum sound, as something that wasn't there a moment ago moves the air aside to make room....

…and suddenly a convertible sports car appears out of nowhere, about three feet off the ground, moving fast like it just came off a ramp. It lands hard enough to send sparks everywhere, and screeches into a 180 spin, bringing the passenger side door in front of me.

Davy is in the drivers' seat. "MILLIE!" He sees Roland and Mary flanking me, and struggles to get out of the car.

"David, wait!" I shout. "It's okay! They're letting me go!"

David freezes. "What?!"

"Get out of here!" I scream at him. As long as he's gone, they let me go. if he's here, they're obligated to hunt him. Davy, just get away!

Roland and Mary are moving fast, quick-drawing their shock-sticks. They dart forward...

When out of thin air another man appears, standing on the hood of the car, with a flame-thrower in his hands.

Griffin!

Mary and Roland both dive to the ground in opposite directions...

I feel an arm go around my waist, and a blast of heat.

When I open my eyes again, I'm suddenly on the opposite side of the car, and David is holding me tight against him.

Griffin is having it out with Mary and Roland. I can see the other two Paladin guards charging down the path from the house toward us.

Davy pulls me tighter and we--

--are suddenly somewhere else. We're in something of a duck blind. David releases me. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

He starts checking me over for injuries. "Did he hurt you?" David asked. His voice is suddenly speaking of imminent violence.

"No, they just brought me here…."

"Good. I'll be back."

"David, wai-"

But he's gone.

I sneak a quick look around. It looks like a very quickly constructed hiding place. It's made pretty much of nothing but camouflage netting. There's a gap to look out, and a set of binoculars close by. I snatch them up, and look out the small window. We're several hundred feet away from the cabin, and have a clear view of the entrance. Davy and Griffin were obviously waiting for them to move me.

I can see the fight clearly.

There is fire smoldering on Roland's coat, he's down, trying to get it off. Mary is slashing at Griffin with her staff. Griffin is using the wand of the Flamethrower to block her.

Mary is moving with lithe grace, like it's a ballet. Her face is twisted in fury, and her eyes are fever bright.

Roland finally freed himself of his burning jacket, and another two Paladins have finally reached the fight from the house.

David makes his reappearance at the car, takes a quick glace around, and jumps over to take the reinforcements from behind. In his hands is a baseball bat he didn't have before, and he nails a Paladin in the back of the leg hard.

He drops, when Davy discards the bat and grabs the second one, disappearing both of them.

Roland has gathered himself and aimed the firing end of his staff at Griffin. I see the net fire, just as Davy reappears and puts the paladin he grabbed in the way.

Roland's face twists, and his spins the staff forward, going on the attack.

Mary lands a quick shock to Griffin's leg. Griffin drops to one knee, and puts up the flamethrower wand one last time, as Mary brings down a savage slash that breaks the Flamethrower feed open.

Fuel is spraying from the broken Flamethrower, and Griffin is suddenly up again, spraying as much of the pressurized leaking fuel as he can on David's mother.

Roland is moving with less grace than Mary, but much more savagery. The calm detachment I saw in that cabin is long gone. It's clear he's enjoying this too much. This is personal. He hates Davy. Probably hates all Jumpers.

David's skipping in and out of sight, making micro jumps back and forth, each blow passing through the space he was in a microsecond before. Davy has his knife out, but it's little more than a fancy way to slice open boxes, it's not a combat knife. He's trying to make any kind of mark on Roland, but the huge warrior is like a man possessed, in some kind of zone that leads him to wherever Davy's going to be. Reflexes alone are keeping my man alive.

Mary suddenly realized she was covered in flammable liquid, and tried to get clear.

Davy gave up trying to get in close quarters with Roland and Jumped, much further back, to snatch up his Baseball Bat again, when he saw Griffin pull a lighter from his pocket and flick it on.

My jaw dropped as David threw himself forward, vanished from sight, reappeared in the same instant, still moving, caught his mom in a tackle, and both of them disappeared just as Griffin threw the lighter at her.

Leaving Roland and Griffin alone.

I obviously can't hear what they say to each other, but whatever it is, Griffin's suddenly as mad as I've ever seen him. He pulls a knife from somewhere and charges Roland. He Jumps in short, sharp skips across the fifteen feet between the two of them, giving an impression, not unlike him being in five places at once.

It Works; Roland's eyes skip back and forth very fast, trying to find his target...

And Griffin is suddenly in his face, blasting Roland back hard into the car behind him, hard enough to find himself in the backseat of the convertible.

Griffin grabs the useless fuel tank from the ground and pounces, ready to smash it down on Roland, who kicks out at Griffin...

...who isn't there anymore.

Instead, he's standing on the driver's seat, suddenly to Roland's left instead of in front of him. Griffin's still mid throw, and he throws the tank down into the front seat of the car. He must have hit the gas pedal, because suddenly the car is screaming forward.

Griffin grabs the steering wheel, as Roland fights his way to upright and gets a grip around Griffin's throat.

And the whole car disappears.

A few seconds later, David reappears next to me, so close that I nearly jump out of my skin.

"Let's get out of here." he says.

I don't know if it's the shock of sudden battle, or the after-effects of fear from being captured, but I'm suddenly exhausted. He stands up and holds out a hand. I quickly pull myself up. Holding his hand is enough for Jumping, but right now, it's not enough for me.

I pull him into a tight hug, and I can feel him smile against my cheek. "Take a deep breath."

When I exhale, my ears pop.

I'm still hugging David, and my ears are ringing a little. We're somewhere I don't recognize. It's a road, lined with trees, completely empty. Looks like it has been for a while. "Where are we?"

"Pit stop." David explains. "Griffin has a few lairs, and thanks to us one got torched. We made a deal. You and I can crash for a night at one of them, if I give him a shot at Roland. How'd that work out by the way?"

"No idea. They both vanished, and took your car with them." I answered, looking around. There are leaves covering the ground like a thick carpet. That would put us somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.

"Ears still ringing?"

"It's getting better."

"Okay. Griffin's new Lair is in the Mountains somewhere. Go from Sea Level to Mountain cabin in a hop, and you'll get the bends, so we've gotta make the trip in a few legs."

I nod, understanding this. For some reason we start walking down the road. I shuffle my feet a bit and start kicking lightly at the leaves like a little kid.

"Having fun?" David teased.

"Yeah."

"Good. Get undressed."

I flush bright pink and spin to look at him and the smirk on his face. "Davy, really. A little effort. Most girls like to be romanced."

David cracks up and laughs for a while, before his face sobers. "I'm not kidding. They had you for hours, you could be bugged."

I see the point of this. The way he said it was just to tweak my nose a little. "Last time I got a Roman Holiday, today I get a public street." I mutter and pull my jacket off.

"There's nobody coming." Davy points out. "I'll get you a change of clothes."

I turn to tell him something clever and witty. Davy's gone.

A few seconds later, he's back with my overnight bag. "Don't look." I shiver, and quickly change clothes while he turns his back. I cross my fingers that Griffin won't pick that moment to appear. "What do we do to these?" I ask him.

"Leave that to me." David bundles up my old clothes and vanishes again.

***

Griffin's new lair has windows, but not ones for viewing. Instead, they're there for light. I take a peak outside. Griffin has a great view. I can see for miles in every direction. It's pretty clear it's a home-made job. Griffin must have put it together himself. No landmarks in sight though. The perfect hideaway for a teleport who likes his privacy.

I'm breathing a little faster, but it's not labored. The air is thin. We're pretty high up.

My ears popped almost painfully when we got here, and they're still singing. David gives me something chewy and my ears pop a few more times. I can tell it's bugging him too, but he hasn't taken his eyes off me since we got here.

I wash-up in Griffin's bathroom. A chemical toilet, a wash basin, with a single tap. And a pipe going through the wall. I can see the water tank outside through the small window. Off-hand, I recognize it as something you'd find on a Mobile Army Base, and wonder where Griffin filched it.

It takes me a minute, but I realize what's strange about this place. There are no doors. Just a series of rooms.

David is in the room with me. He hasn't willingly let go of me for too long since we arrived, but I don't mind at all.

"I'm okay." I promise him softly.

David finally nods slowly. "I know, it's just... god Millie, I didn't know where you were or what they were doing..."

"They didn't hurt me." I reassure him. "They just wanted to... to talk to me."

David looks about as confused at that as you'd think. "About what?"

"About you... I think... I think that they wanted to recruit me."

David's eyes flashed.

"Davy," I josh him. "I couldn't do that. Not to you." I grin wryly. "I'll grant you, there were moments when I wanted to deck you."

He chuckles.

"But killing you is something else." Pause. "Well, maybe Griffin."

David chuckles again, and I know we're going to be okay.

Davy jumps us to the living room. There are two couches, one facing a big-screen hooked up to an XBOX, the other facing a smaller TV, hooked up the DVD player. There are roughly four thousand DVD's stacked messily all over the floor, and a dented steel-cabinet, padlocked shut sitting next to it.

I collapse into one of the couches. Davy settles next to me. I lean against him. "What happened to your mom?" I ask him softly. "Can I ask?"

David tenses, just a little. "I got her somewhere with snow. I was able to douse the fire pretty quick. She's okay."

"Is she?"

He knows what I'm asking. "I saved her life so... she gave me another head start."

I felt such a wave of sympathy for him. We all knew what his father was doing to him. My mom, the teachers, me... We all knew his mom split when he was five. All that time, we thought it was because of his father. Davy included, and then this...

For some reason, Roland's voice comes back to me then. He doesn't have a home to go back to anymore either. But he's used to that.

Yes, he's used to it. But not because of what he is.

Davy leans tighter into me, almost against my neck, whispering low in my ear. "Where do you want to go from here? Name it, it's yours."

I shiver and close my eyes. I don't know why, but just for a second, the idea of Jumping around the globe with him again is… unsettling. "Maybe… maybe not today. I think… I think I'd like to just stay and veg for a while. With you."

David seems more than okay with that. It's been a tough day all around.

"Movie?"

"Sure."

He picks something funny. It's a bootleg of a movie still in cinemas. He's about to play it when I suddenly realize that I haven't eaten in almost 30 hours. When my stomach growls, David hands me the remote. "Listen, I'm going to get us something to eat. Any requests?"

I don't really care, but he's still fussing over me so much that I give him something to do. "Chinese food maybe?" Boys can be so needy.

"Coming right up."

"Don't be gone too long." I tell him softly. "If I need to use the bathroom or something, I'll need you to get me out of this room."

The doors are not plastered over. They were never there. Anyone coming in the front door to kill the resident would have to tear their way through, room by room, wall by wall. David sees what I mean and chuckles.

I do not. I don't find it as amusing any more. "Guess it's been a while since either you or Griffin has had to use a door huh?"

There's something in my voice, something that David recognises. Something he doesn't like. But he gets up and vanishes.

They start out not understanding the consequences. They end up not caring.

A few minutes later, David is back. He's got Chinese food. "Sweet and sour okay?"

"Pork or Chicken?" I ask him.

"Um... I got it from this place just outside Seoul, so maybe neither. Maybe both."

I shrug. Part of the life when you run with a Jumper. "Sweet and sour is fine." I open the box. "Okay, now you tell me."

"Tell you?"

"How you found me."

David hands me the chopsticks and shrugs. "Wasn't actually that hard. The raid that kidnapped you had a car waiting. Two Paladins guarding the car, and they were in a hurry once the BnB owner saw you getting carried into the parking lot. I beat them to the car, and managed to take one of them with me, but... well..."

"Your mom was the one leading the raid." I finished. I understood. Even hearing the little speech that Roland and Mary gave; I can't help but wonder if Mary would have the nerve to actually kill her son.

Davy looks embarrassed. "Anyway, when I saw them getting away with you, I knew it was because they wanted you as bait. So I was left with a Paladin, who insisted he didn't know where they were taking you..."

"So you went to Griffin." I finish.

"Right."

"Bet he was glad to see you."

David snorted. "'Griffin, the Paladin's have my girlfriend, I need your help.' He'd heard that one before." He dunked an egg roll in sauce and picked up the story. "Griffin recognized the one I had prisoner, checked his notes, found out who he was usually teamed with. When we found out Roland was on that team, Griffin signed on fast. Roland keeps a typical entourage and we were able to find out that one of that team rented a car. The car had an anti-theft system, so we jumped into the Rental Car Offices, and turned on the GPS, and once we followed it, we found the cabin. And we knew you could be guarded in there, or you might have been chained to something we couldn't jump away... so we waited."

"It worked."

"Waiting till they let you see daylight was actually the hardest part."

I smiled gently. Whatever else, I knew he cared about me. He had since we were both kids. And I would be lying if I said I didn't still care about him that way back then. Mom hadn't let go of me the entire night, trying to console me when I thought he'd gone through the ice and drowned. Ever since I found that snow globe... I had always wondered what had come of that kid with hunched shoulders and the scared eyes who loved me.

And now, eating Fried Rice in some lair, on the run from some Secret Society... He still gave me those insecure eyes. Wondering if I was secretly laughing at him, knowing that I never would.

I set down my food, and leaned forward to kiss him.

He leaned closer...

And just then, screaming like a wounded banshee, Griffin suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, and landed on the floor with a thump. The smell of charred fabric clung to him, his hair was wild, his face was bloodied, and his eyes went back and forth across the room, completely feral, fixating first on David, then me, then on the food, before his hand flashed out and grabbed a fistful of noodles, straight from the box, and shoved it in his mouth, almost before he straightened up.

Beat as Griffin chewed hungrily, swallowed noisily, and finally caught his breath, looking back and forth between us.

"Sorry." He croaked. "Did I spoil the romantic mood?"

"Little bit." David admitted.

Griffin grabbed another box. "When you're in my house young man..." he started to crack, and then promptly passed out. David caught him just before landed on me.

Another hour, and David and I had managed to bandage up his arm and cool down his burns. He has a lot of scars. Mostly knives and a few electrical burns. Not the kind of thing you see on cop shows.

Another hour after that, and our host was still asleep on the other couch, all but forgotten.

David and I were curled up where we were, watching another movie.

The credits roll, and Davy smooches me again. "Feeling better?'

Adrenaline has run out long ago, food has been satisfyingly consumed in full, I've got a warm body comfortably against my own, and my internal clock is still off by about four time zones. "Mm-Hmm." I hum sleepily.

The Menu Screen on the DVD comes back up with sudden loud theme music, and I wince. "Mmm. Loud."

"You have the remote."

"Would that involve opening my eyes at all?" I murmur.

David chuckles a bit, puts his other arm around me and-

-Suddenly I can feel the arm of the couch, pressing into my hip-

-And then it's gone, and David has changed the TV over to another channel, and turned down the volume.

I open one eye. "Did you just...?"

David waves the remote. "Who needs the hassle of reaching for something?"

"Lazy bastard." In Irish accent comments.

I open the other eyes. Griffin is sitting up slowly. "Hey. You okay?"

"I'm not dead."

"Roland?" David asks.

Griffin winces. "Hard to kill that one." He looks pointedly at David. "His partner?"

David winces. "My mom you mean? She's... somewhere cold."

Griffin takes that in. "Huh. Glad I'm not having Thanksgiving at your house this year."

David clearly doesn't want to go there.

Griffin doesn't care. "She'll kill you. You know that. She's a Paladin, you're a Jumper."

"She's my mom."

"She's a Paladin, who has tried to kill both of us, is partnered with Roland, and hasn't been shy about whose side she's on brother. She's the enemy. Letting her live so often is such a risk…"

"You want to talk about risk?" David shoots back, getting up in Griffin's face. "As I recall, you were the one who nearly got Millie killed, twice now!"

"And as I recall, you were the one who let Roland get away twice, torched my home, and left me sizzling in a set of Chechnya power lines. And all for the Girl Next Door here."

"David!" I suddenly shout. On the TV, it's the news. Breaking News.

I turn up the volume.

"…unsure how the fire started, but fire-fighters are frantically trying to stop it from spreading to other factories. Nobody's quite sure how the fire expanded so quickly, but early speculation is that the fire was deliberately lit."

The factory fire is fierce, even from a helicopter view, but what draws my attention is the two people on the roof, barely visible through the smoke.

David looks at me like he must be missing something. I glare at him as hard as I can.

"Dan, I can see two people on the rooftop, but it's too high for the Firefighter ladders to reach. We've been warned to stay back for all the smoke and ash coming up from the windows. Dan, I don't know who they are, but based on what I can see here, god help them!"

David looks at the screen, then back at me and gets the point. He suddenly looks embarrassed.

Griffin is watching all this with a cynical eye. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, you better think again."

"Do I even have a jump site in the Chicago factory district?" David asks himself quietly.

"We both know you can get there faster than anybody else." I snap at him.

"Sister," Griffin puts in, still stretched out on his couch. "Understand, we're being hunted. All the time. So we can't afford to be stupid. We go on camera to play superman, what do you call that?"

I glare at Griffin. "You sit here and let those people burn, what do you call that?"

Griffin shrugged. "Reality."

I look back at David. He won't look at me. "David, this is why they hate you. Because you don't... because you can do this incredible thing, and... and you use it for Take-out meals and robbing banks."

"They're fanatics' sister, they don't need a reason." Griffin counters. "They made war on us. Those people are in the wrong place at the wrong time. So are thousands of other people who get hurt by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's not our fault."

I stare at him. "What you mean is, it's not your problem. Right?"

"Millie, you ever wonder why you never read stories in the paper of a rescuer who appears out of thin air and saves the day? Because we've got our own problems. Normal people don't worry about Paladins; Jumper's don't worry about the price of gas. Get the picture?"

David has subconsciously wandered to being halfway between me and Griffin, drawn to both points of view. David won't meet my eyes, but I can see this is bothering him. Not the situation, just my scrutiny.

Why would doing nothing bother him? I ask myself. It never has before.

They start out not understanding the consequences. Mary had said. They end up not caring.

God, are they right?! He'll jump across the room to save three seconds walk. He'll jump six inches to the left on this couch because he can't be bothered reaching. He'll jump clear across the world for take-out…

I glare harder. David wilts. "Okay! Okay!"

David gets up.

"Whipped man, whipped." Griffin puts in.

"She's worth it." David shoots back, and he is suddenly not there.

I turn back to the TV.

Griffin settles. "This is dangerous you know. It could get him caught."

"It's still the right thing to do."

"Davy's led a charmed life sister."

"You obviously don't know-"

"I don't mean that, I mean his life as a Jumper. Paladins know what to look for Millie. It's why I live in lairs in the middle of the frickin' desert. David's been living in a New York Penthouse. How the hell he stayed alive this long I could never figure out. Until I found out who his mother was. And for all that, you're still the stupidest risk he's ever taken."

I can't help but smirk. "Paladins don't know what to make of me either. It's why they took me. Wanted to give me a chance to see the error of Davy's ways."

"We're Jumpers Millie. We don't get the girl. We get the world. Time's gonna come when he can't catch you in time. You know that right? Mary Rice will kill you, just to draw him close. And when she does, he won't fight back, because it's his mom. She'll kill him. I could have done it. If he'd just stood back and let me for a second longer…"

"It was still his mom Griffin. She ran out on him when he was five. He found her again."

Griffin turns to me. "She's family. Big deal. I had a family once too. Paladins killed them all when I was five." He glares ferociously at me. "And I'm pretty sure it was either Mary Rice or Roland Cox."

I don't have an answer for that.

"The smoke is obstructing any sign of... I can't see them any more." The reporter was narrating. "I don't know what happened, but.... Oh no! Oh no, the roof just caved in."

I sit a little straighter in my seat. I catch a glance out of the corner of my eye and see that Griffin is too.

"I don't see any way they could have survived that. I just don't see any..."

The TV switched off.

I spin. David is back, holding the remote. "Nothing good on TV these days." He says blandly.

I'm up and hugging him instantly. He smells like smoke. David turns smugly to Griffin. "The cameras didn't see me, and neither did they. Not my face anyway."

"You're still whipped."

David gives a theatrical bow to Griffin and sat back down. I was smiling at him. "Look at that! You're doing great! Y'know Davy, you keep doing the right thing, before you know it, you'll be enjoying it."

David sighed. "I'm gonna need a superhero name."

I can't stop smiling. I'm so proud of him. I wish Roland was there so I could be smug about it. I kiss him sweetly, just so he knows how pleased with him I am.

"You two are making it hard to keep my egg rolls down." Griffin comments. "Get out."

I smile at David. "Seems we've worn out our welcome."

David smiles back. "Where to?"

I take his hand. "Surprise me." I said, just like when he had finished talking to him mom for the first time since finding out what she…

What she was.

How the hell he stayed alive this long I could never figure out. Griffin had said. Until I found out who his mother was.

It came to me in a sudden realization. Mary Rice had been protecting him. Not just by taking off when he was five, but by running interference for him the entire time he lived the high life in a Penthouse apartment. David said that the only reason Roland let him live in New York was because he was convinced David was working with someone. Mary's sudden appearance in Rome to set David free proved it. Mary had been using her place as a Paladin to protect her only son.

In a flash, I get the point that Mary was trying to make. I'm the first person that Davy has kept around for more than a day. And that was why I had been taken, but not harmed. Mary had been trying to recruit me, but not as a Paladin.

Mary had been trying to warn me, without actually saying anything that Roland could use against her. She couldn't protect him any more.

His mother was warning me not to get caught up in the life of a Jumper. After all, I'm not a Jumper am I? I'm the only person that has lived his life without being like him. The only person that would want him to do something positive with his powers.

I'm his conscience

David grips my hand tighter. "Take a deep breath."

Seems there's hope for him after all.

End

AN: Changes have been made. nothing of real substance, just fleshing out details, and correcting grammar. Read. Enjoy. Review. Given that you're at the bottom of the page, I'm hoping you've done two out of three already.