The silence and subdued lighting of the infirmary clashed with memories of the earlier bustle and noise in Craig's mind. Shaking his head, he focused, looking around until he found Breanna beside one of the beds, quietly talking to one of the three men.

Craig watched the interaction until Breanna noticed him, smiled a little, and came toward him.

"I was told Nigel wanted to talk to me," Craig said.

"Yes," Breanna said, "did you chat with Tina?"

"We had a few moments," Craig nodded, "I was able to let her know I understand."

Breanna frowned, "You understand? What do you understand?"

Craig looked past his sister and her questions, "What does he want?"

"He says he only wants to pass the information along to another light thrower," Breanna sighed, turning toward the bed. "No idea why he thinks you are one of those. See what you can get from them. I'm heading back to the main compound. I'll see you there."

Craig met Devon's cautious eyes and Nigel's waiting expression before slowly moving toward father and son.

"Devon," Craig nodded, greeting the teen before looking at Nigel, "you must be Nigel."

"Craig," Nigel smiled, "it's good to see you again. You probably don't remember me, but I was in the Madhouse at the same time you were"

"I do remember you. Just never knew your name," Craig sat on the side of the bed, taking the man's reaching hand in his own, "you were one of the groups used to torture me."

"You never broke," Nigel smiled, "your control increased daily, as did your anger."

Craig met Devon's eyes, noting his wince every time they spoke.

"Why do you think I'm a light thrower?" Craig whispered.

Devon sighed, his shoulders relaxing as he sat back in the chair. The relief was evident in his expression.

"Your body can throw electrical pulses, large and small. It's an energy that can be sucked out of you," Nigel sighed "it was designed that way."

"Madden wanted people like that for the selling of alternate electrical sources," Craig said, "we stopped him from achieving that."

"You stopped him. It doesn't mean you stopped them from achieving the insane goal," Nigel gripped Craig's hand. "There is a European facility with babies, children, and teenagers. All half and half. They … work on these innocents unnecessarily until they have them either submitted to their "cause" or they drain their life."

"Where in Europe?" Craig asked, his focus intent on Nigel's worried expression.

"Devon has the coordinates," Nigel whispered, "it is where I was able to extract him and a few of the children upstairs. It was not an easy task."

"Have others been across there to do the same?" Craig asked.

Nigel nodded, "Some succeed and get a few more out before they are moved, but others don't make it back."

"What happens to their families?" Craig asked, meeting Nigel's pained gaze.

"We don't know," Nigel shook his head, "we try to get them to safety somewhere away from the clusters as soon as someone goes, but we cannot be sure if we succeed. Those demons are everywhere."

"Jaxon Skully," Craig offered the name.

"He made it back?" Nigel swallowed his emotion.

"He did, and we have both him and his family ... safe" Craig smiled as the man breathed out, swiping at his face, "we have the other families safely away from the clusters as well."

"Find those children and get them out of that facility," Nigel begged, "they seem to have an endless supply of babies, all twins."

Craig nodded, "We will do everything in our power to get them to safety."

"Oh," Nigel grasped Craig's arm, "thank you for saving my life. I was told you didn't hesitate to start my heart again."

"We have had enough loss and heartache in the past few months," Craig said, "another family need not lose a loved one if there is a solution."

"Devon," Nigel looked at his son, "give Craig the coordinates."

Devon pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and ran his crackling fingertips across the page before handing it to Craig.

"Thanks," Craig looked at the numbers burnt into the paper, "we'll find it."

Craig rose from the bed, but Nigel grasped his arm, "Craig, Tina ... is she okay?"

"She was upset when you nearly died, but she seems to be okay now," Craig said, forcing the words past the lump in his throat, "I guess you two are close."

"Not close in the sense you're thinking," Nigel smiled, "we battled through challenges in the Madhouse, nothing more. I have my family, and I understand so does she. I'm glad she has you."

Looking at the list attached to the clipboard, Tina frowned, her thoughts distracted and her mind wandering from the current task. Sighing, she glanced around the room before looking back at the clipboard.

Where was she on the list?

What had been completed?

What still needed to be done?

Shaking her head to clear it, she sighed, "This is getting me nowhere."

Craig and his words continued to enter her thoughts, making it hard for her to focus.

Why did he think she wanted to be with Nigel?

She had been emotional, yes. She knew Nigel to be a kind, good-hearted person due to his help when she was first in the Madhouse, but that was all. He was a good man, father and mate but to someone else.

Cringing as she thought of Craig learning of her decision to move from safe house to safe house, she should have told him herself, but how to do that when he was avoiding her. When she tried to talk to him and explain her reaction to Nigel ... she inhaled sharply. The pain of his sudden release of her from his life sliced deep; he was letting her go without questions or a request to stay or try to work it out. Hear her point of view. They were simply adrift; they had nowhere to call home, and she felt lost and abandoned.

How could Craig think her heart belonged to Nigel?

Craig's words drifted through her memory, and sudden realisation slammed into her.

"Oh no," Tina closed her eyes; he must think Nigel was her first love of some kind and still felt emotions toward him, "damn."

"Thoughts," Valencia asked, handing Tina a cup of green tea, "something wrong?"

"Not with the families settling in," Tina said, sipping at the cup, "thanks for the tea."

"Craig then," Valencia nodded, "makes sense. It was difficult not to notice how his words affected you."

"He didn't let me explain or dispute what he thinks he knows," Tina swallowed hard, "he was the one person I thought would never let go of us. I thought ..." she sighed, "he is so infuriating."

"Wait. Craig did what?" Valencia frowned.

"I was emotional when Nigel came in, he nearly died, and I felt it deeply," Tina said, "he protected me in the Madhouse. He helped me after the clonings happened, and I knew him as someone kind and noble. That is all. I'm sure you heard what Craig said to me when I tried to talk to him afterwards; he simply released me from our ..." Tina swallowed, "our relationship and moved on."

"That doesn't sound right. It doesn't sound like the Craig who has been worrying about you all this time," Valencia frowned, "unless ...

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"Well, he did," Tina interrupted. "He found out I'm moving from one safe house to the next settling families, got it into his head that Nigel and I have history, assumed that was where my heart lay and wished me happy."

"Wow," Valencia blinked quickly, "that is … wow!"

"I know," Tina shook her head, "I don't know if I'm irritated or furious or hurt ... perhaps all three."

"Do you have a history with …. wait, who is Nigel?" Valencia asked, looking through her list of names.

Tina chuckled as she watched Valencia, "Nigel is Devon's father. Remember that teenager fighting to save those children from the fanatics."

"That was the last cluster we extracted," Valencia nodded, "that kid is a level five-light thrower."

"A what?" Tina frowned.

"Light thrower," Valencia said, "I came across them in Darcia's database. They were a specific type of genetic enhancement able to manipulate and express their static energy."

"Express their energy…." Tina stared straight ahead, "oh heavens, Craig is a light thrower."

"Not possible," Valencia shook her head, "he has too much control."

"He did ... he does ... his control has been spotty since Jaxon arrived and worse since the arrival of Nigel," Tina whispered. "I know something is bothering him, but he won't talk to me. He says he's trying to protect me but shuts me out because he doesn't want me to live through it, doesn't want his past to affect us or me, but I'm ... we're living through it as well. Craig has nightmares, isn't sleeping, and hardly eats. He is working out and training until exhaustion forces him to stop. He is in the shooting range when he isn't training."

"That doesn't prove he is a light thrower," Valencia said, shaking her head, "unless ..."

Tina grimaced, "I saw him. Besides, if you ask Birgit, she can tell you how he charged her for days. She also had to help Simon stop the energy field from taking everyone out."

"Oh my ..." Valencia's hand covered her mouth, "no wonder she slept for hours at a time; that was when Simon had to contain him while protecting the families and the team."

Tina swallowed hard on the emotion before nodding, "He ..." she cleared her throat, "he was apparently out of control. Everything that he had suppressed seemed to explode from inside. Val … he didn't seem to know I was there."

Valencia slid her arm around Tina, "I know that it seems Craig is cutting you loose. Everything I've heard from Breanna and Michael about him makes his current actions normal for him."

"I don't understand," Tina sniffed, swiping at the tears on her cheeks, "how can it be normal?"

"Craig always sacrifices what he wants for the good of others," Valencia explained. "He wants those he loves to be happy and fulfilled. He wants what is best for others, even if that is without him."

Tina breathed in deeply, trying to control the sudden raging anger. It caught her by surprise; opening her lips to speak, she found herself unable to. She paced away from Valencia, staring out another window before returning and repeating the action twice before stopping in front of Valencia.

"Tina?" Valencia asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

"I…" Tina started, breathed in and paced again before returning. "Would Breanna complain if I tore a strip off her brother?"

"Probably not," Valencia shrugged, "you know it's probably the only time Craig will let you beat him up."

Tina sighed, chuckling at the matter-of-fact delivery of the words, "Damn," shaking her head, "thanks, Val, you have a way of defusing the situation."

"Any time," Valencia smiled, "you're angry, and perhaps that's not a bad thing, but what are you going to do about it?"

"I ... I think I need space ... to think. Perhaps ..." Tina faltered, swallowing hard, "perhaps Craig needs it as well," Tina said, clearing her throat. "More importantly, I'm going to settle these people and ensure they have what they need before heading back. After that," Tina shrugged, "one moment at a time. Plus, I must focus on bringing these growing beings to term."

Valencia smiled and nodded. Hearing her name, she hugged Tina before heading toward a young mother holding a baby.

Looking out the window, Tina shook her head. She needed to focus. There was work to be done. Families to settle; only then could she sort out Craig. She needed to concentrate on something actionable.

"Tina," a small green-eyed, redhead girl came running toward her, "the others and I would like to make sundaes. Can we? Please?"

Tina chuckled at the serious expression on the child's face, "Candy, right?"

"Yes," an answering nod and eyes rounded into a pleading expression met Tina's gaze.

"Let's go to the kitchen," Tina grinned, holding her hand for the child to take. Candy looked at Tina's hand for a long moment before slipping her tiny hand into Tina's larger one.

"What do you want on your Sundae?" Tina asked, walking toward the children's kitchen and the waiting group.

"Lots of ice cream ... nuts, cherries and peanut butter," Candy said, pronouncing her words carefully.

"Peanut butter?" Tina chuckled.

"When I tried it at home, it was delicious, and it's nice to have in a Sundae," Candy started humming as she walked.

Tina listened, wondering where Candy had heard the tune. It didn't sound like a nursery rhythm or a children's melody. Childish giggling caught her attention as they entered the kitchen.

"What is going on?" she smiled, watching the children running around the centre counter before clambering onto the bar stools.

"We were trying a game we learnt here," a young boy said, "just without the music."

"Musical chairs?" Tina asked.

Nods followed as she moved to the other side of the counter. It seemed strange these children had never played musical chairs.

"It was nice that Devon showed us how to play it," Candy said.

"When did Devon teach you?" Tina asked, putting toppings on the counter before scooping ice cream into dishes.

"Before those bad men came," another little girl said, "he taught us a lot that we never knew."

"How come you didn't know? Didn't your parents teach you to do things, sing with you, or read stories?" Tina asked, pushing plates of ice cream toward the children.

"We were in the white place until a short while ago," an older boy sighed, "we were never taught fun things at the white place."

"Where is the white place?" Tina asked, her blood running cold. This could be what they were looking for?

"I think it's in Europe," another boy said, "we travelled for days over land and in planes when my Dad came for us."

"What did you do in the white place?" Tina asked.

"Lots of work," Candy said dramatically.

"We were tested on," an older girl shook her head, "painful procedures designed to torture or kill."

"Can any of you do special things?" Tina waited.

"We were born able to do special things," an older boy said, "but when we were taken to the white place ... and worked on ... we were able to do other special things as well."

Tina watched as the children added their favourite toppings to their ice cream. Could it be possible? Did Darcia have another fully functioning laboratory somewhere in Europe?

"John, when you are finished, make sure the dishes are placed in the dishwasher," Tina said to the eldest boy. John nodded before spooning more ice cream into his mouth.

Tina wandered through the passageways, searching for the study. She needed to chat with Breanna. Nagging in the back of her memory was something about babies. Breanna had mentioned them when they destroyed the main facility. What if those babies were not at the facility when it blew up?

Pushing open a door, Tina sighed with satisfaction. Success. She had found the study. Perhaps she was getting better at finding rooms in this massive house. Moving to the desk, Tina looked around on top for a laptop. Seeing nothing, she ran her hands under the edges feeling for any buttons. On the verge of looking for another room capable of contacting Breanna, Tina's hand ran over two slight bumps under the front of the desk. Sitting down in the chair, she pushed a few combinations of buttons. On the opposite wall, a screen descended while a computer screen opened up from the inside of the desktop. An automated voice spoke into the office space around her.

"Who would you like to contact?" the female-sounding voice sounded soft and welcoming.

"Breanna Gordon," Tina said.

The computer screen on the desk flickered twice before the tech room appeared on the screen on the opposite wall.

"What's up?" Breanna called from the screen, "Tina, is everything okay? I've just got back to the main compound ... has something happened?"

Tina nodded, "We're fine. The families are settling in. The children are doing well and are surprisingly resilient. However, some have trust issues and a set of twins that only listen to John. He's the eldest child in the group here."

"Do you think it's due to not knowing you?" Breanna asked.

"No," Tina shook her head, "the children are used to their structure, but they talk to me. They were chatting while having Sundaes and their conversation came around to the White Place."

"White Place?" Breanna frowned.

"Yes, they said it was somewhere in Europe," Tina said, "Bre, the older children were talking about babies being there. Lots of twins. Identical twins."

"Twins," Breanna murmured, sinking into a nearby chair, "these children telling you this were all born half and half?"

"Yes," Tina nodded, "one of them told me that although they had abilities, they were enhanced in The White Place. I wondered if the babies may be those Darcia mentioned or if they could be born with abilities and stolen from their families."

"It's all a possibility. Why were the children taken to a facility in Europe?" Breanna frowned.

"Bre, when you extracted me, there was talk about the babies," Tina said, "do you think that Darcia lied about keeping them close to home? Instead, had the babies sent to a facility in Europe?"

"Oh man, anything is possible," Breanna rubbed her forehead, "she could have meant the babies were already in Europe, but if that were so, it should have stopped when she died. This European facility could be someone else piggybacking as Madden did, or it could be another facility of her own making."

"What if those babies were born half and half, and they are still enhancing them," Tina offered the thought carefully, "why would they do that?"

"You're talking about the babies Darcia engineered off my parents," Breanna sighed heavily as Tina nodded, "she spoke of perfecting them, but it would be inhumane."

"Bre, have you considered that Madden may not be the only sidekick Darcia had?" Tina asked.

"I have," Breanna nodded, "when Darica died, all of this should have stopped. When Madden was dealt with, everything should have died down, but it hasn't. I cannot sleep at night thinking about how far this may go and who could be involved. It's forcing me to consider that my sister may have been more of a planner than the family thought."

"I don't think she came up with everything on her own," Tina frowned, "Darcia was full of her own importance. What if someone piggybacked her plan to succeed at one of their own? Madden did that, and the world has never had only one mad scientist."

"You have a point. You mean someone who played to Darica's vanity. Received funding to start a lab for their own research, like Madden did," Breanna nodded, "it sounds viable, Tina. Craig is looking into the location of a facility in Europe. It could be the beginning of a rescue operation. Let me see what he comes up with, and we'll chat again."

Tina nodded before waving and cancelling the connection. Sitting, staring at a blank screen as Breanna's words sank in. Craig had the coordinates for a place that may be The White Place. Leaning back in the chair, Tina pondered everything she had heard. Frowning as a thought occurred to her. Pushing out of the chair, she went in search of the children.