"Dave," Breanna called, striding through the tech room doors and looking around, "have you seen Tina?"

"Not since we got back, after settling the refugees before chatting to me, but she never showed," David said, turning from the table with a half-reassembled pistol in his grip, "why?"

"Usually, she would talk to me about any research she is doing." Breanna sighed, leaning on the table. "But ..." she shook her head, "I woke this morning to a long email about the possibility of another type of enhancement Darcia could have done to some experiments."

"Email you?" David frowned, "that doesn't sound like Tina at all. Do you know where it came from?"

"The laptop she keeps in their suite," Breanna said, "I dropped past her room, but she wasn't there," Breanna sighed, "she hasn't been herself since Jaxon arrived here."

"No, she hasn't, but neither has Craig. I don't think it's Jaxon or any of the newcomers affecting her," David carefully laid his loaded pistol on the table. "Something is going on between Craig and Tina."

"What are you talking about?" Breanna moved closer, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Babe, what is going on? Is it to do with her pregnancy?"

"I don't know," David shook his head, looking sideways at Breanna, "I noticed the tension between them in the last few days. Out in the field today, Craig was abnormally violent when terminating Morgan, as though he allowed his emotions to get the better of his actions. Then when we got back today, he didn't even greet Tina like he usually does. Simply answered her questions, gave orders and left the area."

"None of that sounds right," Breanna shook her head, "Craig is usually so controlled in the field it's scary, and he adores Tina."

"I know," David sighed, "something is bothering him, and it's affecting both of them."

Breanna sighed before shrugging, "If it gets out of hand, I'll talk to him. What about the pregnancy? How is that going?"

"I'm not sure," David said, "what I understand from Rose is that four babies are growing. Two have already communicated with the outside world using Tina's body. The other two seem shy to respond to anyone but Tina. Calla said she felt Tina's immense anger the other day, but Tina didn't appear angry."

"It could have been one of the shy ones," Breanna said, glancing over at two women waiving from a computer across the room. "Apparently, Daisy and Iris are looking through the database again. Maybe they came up with something."

David picked up his pistol, pushing it into its holster, "Let go find out what they know."

Breathing in, Tina tipped her face to the sun's warmth as she pushed her barefoot into the plush grass under the garden swing, feeling the peace of the pleasure gardens as they swung back and forth. The babies seemed to be calmer today.

"It's lovely outside today," she murmured, "the smell of fresh cut grass, the blooming flowers, the buzz of the bees and then there is the bright green of the hedgerow. So quiet out here."

It was a wonderful break from the relentless emotional roller coaster she was living. Everything that was happening left her feeling raw, vulnerable and uncertain. Second-guessing herself and everything she considered. It had been a long time since she felt this way since she didn't know her own mind or was sure of her feelings. Even though she felt that way, the one absolute in life was that she would be a mother. Smiling, she gently rubbed the growing mound on her abdomen.

"There you are," Cara said, "I heard your … doubt and other thoughts when I left the house."

"Sorry," Tina murmured, "thought I was far enough away to be loud."

"It's no problem at all," Cara said, narrowing her eyes on Tina's tear-stained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes, "Craig still having those sleepless nights?"

"I guess," Tina said, "I was working in our suite past midnight, and he didn't come back. I think he feels that if he distances himself, he is protecting me from whatever is eating at him. But it's not true."

"Is Craig still not talking to you?" Cara sighed, "sometimes I want to hit him for being stubborn. I'm so sorry, Tina. You don't need this right now."

Silence fell between the women. Tina shifted, sighed and finally looked at Cara.

"It would be a good idea to stay out of my head," Tina warned, "it isn't a pretty sight."

"I don't need to be in your head," Cara frowned, easing onto the swinging bench, "you are very loud, so it makes it easy to know your thoughts."

Nodding, Tina swallowed hard, "Then you know why I'm here."

"A little hard not to know," Cara murmured, "there is a lot you're dealing with right now. Pregnancy with half-bloods cannot be easy. You have the possibility of not making it. You have teams going out clandestinely and newcomers arriving that need help and support. You doubt yourself in the middle of this because Craig refuses to trust you with his past."

"When you say it like that, it sounds overwhelming, but you are right ... I am doubting myself," Tina whispered absently.

"Tina, you know Craig will protect you at any cost. Perhaps he doesn't want to burden you with his baggage," Cara replied. "Perhaps he doesn't want whatever has arisen, either in himself or due to the situation, to taint what he has with you."

"That may be his reasoning," Tina swiped at her cheeks again, "but his baggage, as you put it, is already tainting us. It's not the baggage, Cara. Craig's refusal to tell me what the issue is in not bringing us closer. It's pushing us apart. Maybe I'm wrong, but he doesn't seem to care about the damage inflicted."

Cara sighed, reaching into her pocket and handing Tina a small packet of tissues.

"You see, I get that," Cara said, "any woman would, but men think they have to be tough, stable, solid and emotionless. It may appear that Craig doesn't care, but I have caught him watching you in the past few days," Cara said, "he cares. He cares so much that he is frightened of losing you."

Tina scoffed, "He is pushing me away, Cara. There are only so many times I can beg him to talk to me. I can feel this anger coming from one of the babies, and I cannot blame them. I know their father is a good and kind man, but he is stubborn and will not beg him to include me ... not anymore."

"Give him some time, and don't lose hope, Tina," Cara said, nodding in understanding before her eyes glazed slightly, "Breanna wants us in the tech room."

"Thanks for listening," Tina said, "Cara, please don't tell anyone about this. If David heard … well … he'll physically take the issue up with Craig, and we all know how that will end."

"Not a word," Cara smiled, "come on. Let's go."

Snippets of conversation floated to Craig as he wandered through the tech room. The talks varied from the business at hand to the latest fashion trends and various team scenarios for the next patrol. He had not returned to the suite until very early in the morning and had barely stopped himself from disturbing Tina's deep sleep. Turning in a circle, he could not see her anywhere in the room. Worry tugged at him; his actions and words toward her haunted him. The heartfelt plea to confide in her still rang through his mind. He had squandered his right to expect anything from her. Right now, he would be thankful if she stayed in the same room and spoke to him.

The sound of the door opening drew his attention; his breath caught as he gazed locked on Tina's tear-ravaged face. Pain sliced through him. She had been crying ... was it he who had made her cry?

Neither woman looked his way as they chatted, heading in Breanna's direction. Frowning, Craig watched as Breanna pointed at a large screen above them before listening to what Tina was saying.

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What could Breanna possibly want with Tina?

"Hey Craig," David said, leaning on the round table, "what do you think of the plan Breanna put together?"

Craig looked down at the table blindly, taking in the maps, papers and pictures scattered on the surface. Nothing registered.

"Craig?" David straightened, narrowing his eyes as he took in a blank stare, "is everything alright?"

Craig looked at David, frowning as he pondered the question.

Was everything all right?

When had someone found themselves needing to ask him that question?

"Ah ... yes," Craig nodded, clearing his throat, "what plan is Bre sprouting now?"

"Tina sent Breanna an email last night," David said, "Iris and Daisy have been finding information to substantiate Tina's hunch."

"What hunch?" Craig asked.

"You haven't spoken to her today?" David asked, glancing at Craig.

"We haven't seen much of each other," Craig murmured, "not much time to talk."

"Are you going to talk to her?" David turned to face Craig, "I mean, really talk to her."

"Eventually," Craig sighed, looking across the room at Tina.

"You do realise "eventually" may be too late," David frowned at Craig, "that can mean never talking to her. I know my sister Craig. There is a point she will stop asking. When that happens, your time has run out. She will make decisions that are best for herself ... and your offspring after that ... I wouldn't wait for eventually."

"Noted," Craig nodded, watching Breanna with Tina.

"Everyone here?" Breanna asked, coming toward the table, followed by Cara and Tina, "Good. We have some new information, thanks to Tina."

"What info are we talking about?" Clio asked.

"Tina, Daisy, and Iris have put together a list of experiments not fit for fighting," Breanna said, "these experiments became the next level of Darcia and Madden's insanity."

"How?" Tania asked.

A disgruntled murmur rose as everyone found space around the table. Some looked down at the maps. Others looked at the paperwork or read the information discovered by Daisy and Iris, or listened to Breanna.

"Procreation," Breanna said, "we have come across two families who have successfully birthed and are raising children who are half and half."

"The mothers are human?" Tula looked up from the sheet of paper, frowning.

"Yes," Breanna nodded, "and we have discovered the fathers are genetically enhanced so far."

"The mothers must be terrified," Tula shook her head, "your child displays strange mannerisms and things you don't understand. You have no idea where they are coming from or what to do about them?"

"How many children are there and what ages?" Jasmine asked.

"So far," Breanna sighed, "we have come across a three-week-old and a five-year-old."

"How many are genetically enhanced to produce these children?" Trevet asked, placing an article back on the table.

"We're not entirely sure," Daisy said, "Iris and I have been looking through Darcia's genetic manipulation database. We found twenty-five so far, but we haven't finished yet. There may be more."

"Until we are certain of how many there are," Breanna spoke over the murmur, "we will not be certain of the ages of the children or their location."

"Are we going to be relocating them?" Frank whispered.

"We are looking into that possibility," Breanna nodded, "however we need to uncover why Madden wants them and if not Madden …who?"

"We have one entire family here. Jaxon, the father, is not a fighter," Hana said, "Rose and I have found him to be highly intelligent and knowledgeable in many areas. These kinds of experiments can be used in education and physical training."

"He would be able to be a teacher somewhere," Jesse nodded, "if we look deep enough, we will probably find another. Perhaps a chef, a mechanic or another field no one would suspect."

"What are you saying?" Clio frowned.

"Darcia could have had a plan to have entire towns at her disposal," Jesse said, "control the parent by using their family to keep them in line. Necklace or no necklace."

"The flip side is that parents can be used to control the children," David nodded, "spy-craft 101."

"Exactly," Jesse nodded, "when will we know the final count?"

"Probably this afternoon," Iris said, "there is a lot to go through."

Nods and mumbled acknowledgements rippled around the table.

"This new information is disturbing," Tamhas said, "what is the objective of this meeting?"

"We need to find Macaria's father before whoever wants the children find him," Breanna said. "Morgan already tried to take her from her mother before Craig terminated him. If they find the father, both mother and child will be in danger."

"I'm happy to help any way I can," Kyle said, "what is required?"

"Break into teams and look over the leads Aegle supplied to find other families with different children," Breanna said.

"Different children?" Tania frowned.

"That is what they are called," Breanna said, "it's better than calling them names like freak, monster and demon."

"Fair enough," Tania nodded, "how many leads are we talking about?"

"Five," Breanna said, "some of them are in clusters while others are solitary."

"Do the mothers know about the father's genetic enhancement?" Trevet asked, looking at the maps Breanna had marked with the locations.

"It depends if the father told her about his past," Tina said, "Aegle knows and accepts that her daughter is different because she knows the father is. Plus, he confided in her about his past. If you look at Alexis, she has no idea why her daughter is different, is terrified of the unknown and has no idea how to raise her."

"This can get messy," Jarred sighed, "very messy. Plus, people are not shy to put the terrorising of innocent people all over the news."

"Exactly. It's why we need to find the families and get them to safety," Breanna said.

"Once we have pinpointed the exact areas and extraction points, teams can work through each area," Jesse said.

"Work through doing what?" Tania frowned.

"Finding and extracting the families," Jarred said, not looking up from the sheet of paper in his hand.

"Once the extraction is successful," Breanna continued, "the families are transported to a safe house."

"We can have a team at each safe house assisting with acclamation on arrival," Jesse said.

"Sounds like a plan," Jasmine nodded.

"When are we going to be moving out?" Craig asked, "today, tomorrow or next week?"

"We'll be moving out the first team tomorrow morning," Breanna said, "those in the tactical unit, get your gear together. Make sure your body armour is up to extraction standards."

Conversation peppered the area as everyone dispersed. Heading in different directions. Craig lingered at the table, taking in the information displayed. He noticed a cluster of tight-fitting pins on the map. Turning the sheet of paper, he noted the name of the town they were closest to and swallowed hard as his blood chilled in his veins.

"They have already started a town," he muttered, closing his eyes against the realisation. "The rioting was a test to see if the children would use their abilities to protect their families and neighbourhood."

"That occurred to me as well," Breanna said, leaning on the table, "we'll be going to the clustered areas first and then move out."

"Who is helping with the acclimation?" Craig asked.

"Phoenix and his sister have offered their services. Phoenix feels that they will require someone to keep them safe," Breanna said. "Tina will head up our previous base before moving on to another once everyone is settled. After that, we'll take it from there."

"She volunteered," Craig asked, his gaze snapping to Breanna, "did she give a reason?"

"She did," Breanna sighed, "something about needing space, feeling needed and requiring a purpose."

Craig nodded, rubbing his face with his hands, "She said that."

"Big Bro," Breanna met his gaze, "what is going on? You two were inseparable and happy about the pregnancy a few days ago. Now she is looking for reasons to get away."

"We're having a ... communication problem," Craig muttered, "we just need to work through it."

"Craig," Breanna straightened, "you're deluding yourself."

"What?" Craig frowned.

"You're lying," Breanna sighed, shaking her head, "whatever the real problem is, sort it out. Quickly. Tina will decide on the route to take, and you'll not see it coming. If she does that, everyone in that part of your family will be gone."

Craig watched her walk away toward Daisy and Iris, and they started jabbering, drawing her into a deep conversation. Shaking his head, he wondered how he was supposed to sort this out. If he told Tina the truth, she might walk away, but if he didn't… desperation snapped through him.

"You will lose her anyway," Cara said, finishing his thought.

"Cara," Craig inhaled sharply, "I know I need to talk to her."

"Then stop stalling," Cara said, shaking her head as she left the tech room.

Craig looked across the room, meeting Tina's hurt gaze. She smiled tightly at him, which faded into hurt as he turned and left the tech room. Heading for the training room and armoury, Craig was uncertain if he would do target practice or submit himself to an extreme workout. One thing he knew was he had to figure out how to tell the woman who held his heart and loved more than anything that he wasn't who she thought him. Nodding decisively as he entered the busy area, heading for the punching bags, he would talk to her tonight before the pre-dawn patrols.