Dreamweaver: Part Fourteen
He fell through the darkness for what seemed like forever until he came to rest, gently, on a solid surface. Feeling curiously light-headed, Nathan sat up and opened his eyes, expecting to see only more blackness.
Instead, he found himself sitting on a beach of pure white sand beside a turquoise sea. He took a deep, shuddering breath, drinking in the colors like a man dying of thirst. Even during the confrontations with Sinister, Taylor and the Marauders, the awful possibility that his blindness might be permanent had lurked in the back of his mind.
Bewilderment replaced relief as he looked up at the sky. It was full daylight on the beach, but above, a glittering tapestry of stars stretched from horizon to horizon. A chill went through him, and frowning, he turned his head and stared into the lush forest that started at the edge of the beach. He was being watched--by more than one presence, to boot. As if reacting to his awareness, the presences faded. Nathan's frown grew into an outright scowl.
He turned back towards the sea. Let's see if I can reason this out, he thought bleakly. This couldn't be the astral plane. True, his injuries were gone, even down to the nagging ache of old wounds that hadn't had the chance to heal completely during the last few tumultuous months. But he still felt weak and dizzy, which he shouldn't if he was in astral form.
Am I dead? Staring out at the sea, Nathan mulled over the prospect, surprised by how little it alarmed him. This quiet, peaceful place would be a pretty good place to spend his 'afterlife'. He smiled faintly, relishing the thought of how much his death would upset those who wanted to use him for their own purposes: Sinister, Apocalypse, even the Askani.
"That's a remarkably childish attitude to take, Nathan," came a disapproving voice from behind him. Nathan stiffened warily.
Why am I not surprised? he thought, a sullen sort of resentment settling over him. She just keeps haunting me! You'd think she'd let me off the hook now that I'm dead.
"We're all entitled to be childish now and again, Rachel," he said tautly, trying not to snarl at her. "Why don't you run along and find someone else to be your Chosen One? Nate Grey should be overjoyed to hear that he's unique again. Maybe if you talk fast, you can convince him to take up the flonqing mantle."
"You're NOT dead, you lunkhead. Look at me."
With a sigh, he rose to his feet and turned to face her. In her red-and-gold Phoenix costume, Rachel looked much the same as she had when they'd fought back on Muir Island and she'd prevented him from interfering with Xavier and Moira's attempt to help Colossus. She was wearing the same resolute, unyielding expression, too. Well, I can be just as stubborn--
She muttered an Askani curse beneath her breath as she saw the rebellious look on his face. "Sometimes I see Sanctity's point," she said darkly. "Look, Nathan, I know you're tired, and I realize how appealing this place must be to you." She smiled almost sadly. "It's beautiful and peaceful. But it's not real, and it's not safe. You can't stay here."
"Let me guess," he said tensely. "You want me to go back and take up my 'holy obligation' again. Fulfill my mission, save the world from Apocalypse." He gave a harsh bark of laughter, loathing the edge of hysteria he heard in the sound. "Guess what, Red? I don't happen to feel like it!"
Before she could say another word, he whirled and started down the beach, away from her. He heard her sigh, and then her telekinesis froze him where he stood. He tried to break free, but the attempt to use his own power only made him feel like the beach was spinning slowly around him.
She moved to stand in front of him. The hard expression was gone from her face. She looked worried, even guilty. Unfortunately, he was too pissed to care.
"Let--go--" he grated as she reached out and took his hands in her own. A steady stream of soothing emotions started to flow from her into him. Being manipulated again, he thought dully, a part of him hating her for it.
"Not until you calm down," she said firmly. "You may not be manifesting any exterior signs of it here, but you've been through hell in the last several months. I can feel the stresses on your mind." She gave a curiously disconsolate sigh. "I made some poor choices when I invented the Askani discipline, I think. Sure, it produces wonderful soldiers for the cause, but they're doomed to a life like that damned pink bunny from those battery commercials that were so popular back in the late twentieth. They just keep going and going--until they shatter into a million pieces from the strain of keeping it all together for so long."
"I hate those commercials," he said, beginning to feel decidedly mellow. "Shatterstar was always channel-surfing and it seemed like every time I walked by the damned TV--" And I always felt for that poor flonq of a rabbit, he thought dimly. It reminded me so much of myself--
"Shh," she said softly. "Just relax, Nathan. Let go of those extraneous thoughts. You see those stars up there?" He turned his head slowly and looked up at the glowing sky. "That's your mind--your memories. Let yourself drift up to them--"
As her voice started to get more distant, Nathan realized what she was doing. Mustering all the resistance he could, he shook free of her mental grip, wrenching away physically to make sure she couldn't try and reassert it.
He staggered backwards, his vision swimming for a moment. "No!" he snapped. "I'm not going back!"
She looked astonished. "Nathan, you don't have a choice!" Glaring at her, he shook his head. Rachel growled in wordless frustration. "Fine. I see I have to use smaller words," she said in a too-patient voice underlaid by anger. "How about 'if you stay here, you'll die'? Did that make it through that thick skull of yours, Nate?"
"Don't patronize me!" he snarled.
"I'm not--" She stopped in mid-sentence and took a deep breath. "I'm not patronizing you, Nathan," she said in a level voice. She studied his face for a moment, her eyes intent. "My God," she said softly, a horrified light in her eyes. "You don't care, do you? On some level, down here in your subconscious, you want to die."
"Maybe," he muttered, looking away. There was a strange ache in his chest. "With everything I've done--everything I'm going to do, it would save everyone a lot of heartache."
The fury that blazed up in her green eyes then was so profound that he took a step backwards, half-afraid. "Your family--our family, everyone that loves you is up there worried sick! It's hard enough for people like Dad and Sam, but think about Mom for a minute! How do you think she feels, sensing you slip away?"
Her last words totally escaped him. "Scott and Sam--" he muttered. His blurred memories started to take on a certain degree of cohesion, and a chill shot through him. "They're all right?" he asked swiftly. The anger on her face faded, and she shook her head ruefully.
"They're fine, Nathan. You saved them--unfortunately, you just about killed yourself doing it." She gave him a stern look. "Using the psionic energy of your astral form to create that shield was not the smartest idea you've ever had, little brother. I must say, Aliya left you with the damnedest gaps in your training--"
She stopped abruptly, giving him a penitent look. "I'm sorry. That was more than insensitive."
"Apology accepted," he managed stiffly, fighting back a sudden, overwhelming sorrow at the thought of Aliya. What's wrong with me? he thought, confused. All of his emotions seemed raw, as if the layers of defenses he'd built up over so many years had been ripped away. "So this is the astral plane, then?" he asked, trying to force him mind onto a more neutral topic.
"No," Rachel said, shaking her head. "This is your subconscious, Nathan. When the shield shattered, you were thrown into deep psionic shock, and your mind retreated here. This beach is a construct, an illusion that your mind's created to give itself a place to heal. But you don't have time for a lengthy recuperation. You have to go back and take control of the T-O virus. The force that's holding it for you now can't do it for much longer, not safely. It's too soon--"
"Why do you have to be so cryptic all the time!" he exploded, suddenly fed up. "Is it because you think I'm stupid, or because you don't trust me?" He laughed wildly, turning away from her. "Stupid question. No one trusts me!"
She laid a hand on his arm. "Self-pity doesn't suit you, Nate," she said sternly.
"You think I'm pitying myself?" he asked, shaking her off. "Hardly. People are right not to trust me, Rachel. All of this--" he gestured around at the beach, "is only what I deserve. I should be alone, someplace where my secrets can't hurt the people I love anymore." He turned to face her again, viciously satisfied by the sorrowful look on her face. "What, is that regret I see? Amazing."
"If there had been any other way, Nathan, don't you think I would have found it?" she asked, her voice unsteady. "Do you really, truly think that I wanted to force you into this role? When you were born, all I wanted for you was a happy life, like the one I never had. I promised you I'd be there for you, Nate. Even with everything that happened afterwards, I never broke my word."
Nathan blinked, caught by the faintest, misty memory of staring up into a pair of green eyes, sensing a mind akin to his own and a love for him as deep as what he felt from those he was just beginning to recognize as his parents. Feeling safe and protected--
He looked around, realizing he wasn't on the beach anymore. With Rachel, he floated amid the stars.
"Nasty trick, Rachel," he said, but he couldn't feel particularly resentful. Each star was a memory, like she'd said, and as he leaned closer to one, he saw that it wasn't a star at all. More like a soap bubble, an irisdecent sphere that contained an image or a sensation or an emotion.
"They're not all painful, are they?" she asked softly.
"No," Nathan admitted, leaning closer to one particular star. Inside was a green, flower-strewn meadow, filled with his Clansmen, who watched and cheered as he and Aliya spoke their marriage vows. "I guess I lose sight of that sometimes."
Over there was the night he'd returned to X-Force. Performing the Ceremony of Light in the Morlock tunnels--the kiss he and Domino had shared in the Negev just before the crystal wave had hit.
"I have to go back," he said, an admission of sorts. Rachel smiled at him, pride and sadness both in her green eyes. "How?" he asked.
"Oh, I think that might help," she said with a sudden grin, pointing upwards. There, winding down between the stars, growing steadily, was a ribbon of violet light, like a spiral staircase coming to meet him. Nathan's heart skipped a beat. The feel of the light was familiar--but it couldn't be. She'd left--no, he'd let her go, too blind and self-absorbed to recognize her need and reach out to her. Nathan turned back to Rachel, but she was gone.
The path was coming closer, and as it did, Nathan saw a figure on it, walking steadily downwards wiht a determination he'd recognize anywhere.
"Dom?" he whispered, almost fearfully. His eyes narrowing, he focused on trying to create a path of his own that would rise to meet hers. Suddenly, an intense wave of agony hit him. Losing his balance, he started to fall again, spinning helplessly out of control. In the end, his fall was broken by the beach once more--but this time, the landing was much harder.
Even when he was back on solid ground, the pain didn't go away. Just like the waves that crashed on the shore a short distance away, it waxed and waned: rising, then drawing back, and then advancing again, inexorable and overwhelming. Trembling, he pulled himself up into a sitting position. It was all he could manage--even the thought of trying to leave the beach again redoubled the pain.
If you stay here, you'll die, Rachel's words echoed in his head. He gave a short bark of hysterical laughter. She was probably right, but what could he do? He couldn't block the pain if he didn't know where it was coming from. It peaked again and he groaned, shivering, feeling as sick as if he was on the receiving end of Vertigo's power once more.
There was a wind coming off the sea now, cold and strong, and the light seemed to be dimming. Above in the sky, the stars were winking out, one by one.
***
Domino kept very carefully to the center of the path. One of G.W.'s SHIELD surgeons had removed Gryaznova's neural inhibitor almost a month ago, but she still didn't entirely trust her reflexes. And something told her she did not want to fall off this thing--
#Keep that in mind, Domino,# Jean's voice said inside her head. #Don't stray from the path. I'm barely managing to stay in contact with you as it is. If you fall, there's no way I'll be able to catch you.#
Domino grimaced. Like I really wanted to hear that, Jean. The path, a peculiar combination of her will, the psi-link and Jean's psionic energy, continued to grow steadily, winding downwards. It took a fair amount of concentration on her part to make it grow. Still, she could sense Nathan through their psi-link--but only the vaguest impression of fear and pain, like a distant echo.
Nathan? she sent hesitantly. Nathan, can you hear me? No answer. She sighed, frustrated.
#I don't think you're deep enough yet, Domino,# Jean said. #I--go--you and--see whether--# Domino winced, shaking her head at the odd sensation. It was like static, disrupting her link with Jean. #Be--don't--Domino--#
Jean, are you still there? Domino's eyes widened as the path stopped growing. Her eyes narrowing, she concentrated on trying to force it onwards, but it didn't budge, not an inch. "Shit!" Domino swore aloud, the sound of her own voice startling her. "What do I do now?"
#You come back!# Jean's voice suddenly said, free of the static. Domino winced at the volume; it was as if Jean was shouting. #I just hit a wall of some sort--I can't feed you the energy to expand the path any farther. We'll have to find another way--maybe call Emma in from Massachussetts and see if this works better with two of us supporting you--#
We don't have time for that, Jean! Domino sent angrily. The memory of seeing Nathan lying in the ICU unit hooked up to all those machines flashed through her mind, and she set her jaw determinedly. You said it yourself. We have to get him to take control of the T-O virus before this Dana person gets here. Waiting is not an option!
#It's the only option, Domino,# Jean's voice was firm. #You're too far away--I can't protect you. And if you haven't managed to reach him on your psi-link that means his mind has retreated to the subconscious level. It's not safe for you to be wandering around without any kind of shielding. The usual rules don't apply when his mind is fragmented like this.#
To hell with that, Jean! I don't care about the risk, I told you! She peered down intently into the darkness, and could have sworn she saw a glimmer of color below. Nathan? she tried once again, and sensed a flash of startled apprehension. Still, it wasn't a real response, and she gritted her teeth, suddenly infuriated. Damn it, she knew he was there! She could almost feeling him hanging back, uncertain or unwilling to make contact.
"All right then, Nate," she growled. "Be that way. Maybe you just need a little incentive." She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. I hope I'm not being too stupid here--
#Domino, no!# Jean cried.
Sorry, Jean, she sent back. But what he needs is a good swift kick in the ass, even if it is only figuratively. With that, she stepped off the path.
She could almost feel Jean grab at her and miss. The stars shot past at a dizzying speed, and Domino began to wonder if this hadn't been a really bad idea. But even as the first stirrings of panic set in, her fall began to slow. She continued to fall until her feet came into contact with solid ground. Bending her knees to absorb the slight impact, Domino looked around in wonder.
She was standing on a beach, of all places--or an idealized conception of a beach, rather. There was a curious feeling in the air. If she had to describe it, she'd say it felt like the last few minutes of abnormal calm before a storm.
Snap out of it, girl, she told herself firmly. This place isn't real. It can't have weather. But if the 'weather' was some metaphor for what was going on in Nathan's mind, she couldn't think of any positive interpretation.
"You know, I wasn't sure it was you at first, Dom, but that last stunt convinced me." She turned around slowly to face Nathan. He gave her a faint, somehow awkward smile. "I--it's good to see you."
She gasped and embraced him tightly, her heart pounding. Real or not, I'll take whatever I can get. And all her senses, all her instincts were telling her that this was Nathan standing in front of her, Nathan whose arms went around her hesitantly and held her close. God, I've missed him, Domino thought, blinking back tears.
Finally, she remembered where she was and what she had to do. Reluctantly, she drew back.
"I'm gone for two months and that's all you can say?" she said, trying to sound matter-of-fact as she stared up into his eyes. I never thought I'd say this, but he looks--scared. Reaching out along their psi-link, she could get no sure sense of what he was feeling, let alone read his thoughts. He's shielding, she thought worriedly. Why?
"How about 'I missed you'?" he suggested, almost lightly. Then his expression went curiously blank, and he pulled away, turning to face the sea. "You shouldn't have jumped off that thing," he said in a neutral voice, gesturing up at the path. "I don't know how to get back. Now you're probably trapped here too."
The shielding on their psi-link had suddenly increased in strength. Now it was like a brick wall. Domino chewed at her lower lip, beginning to realize what was going on. His subconscious, Jean said. He's reacting instinctively, emotionally, no matter how rational he might sound. Despite the situation, she almost laughed. Hmm. This could actually be kind of--enlightening.
"Don't shut me out, Nate," she said firmly. Nathan looked back at her, an expression of almost comic startlement on his face. "I came here to bring you back, and that's what I'm going to do. Just because we're both in--uncharted territory here doesn't mean you get to give up." She took a step towards him and he flinched, as if leery of the physical contact for some reason. "You're angry with me for leaving," she ventured. It wasn't quite a question.
"No!" he protested, looking shocked. "Not with you--never with you, Dom. With myself, for letting you go without a word."
"Letting me go?" She scowled, fighting down a surge of anger. "Poor choice of words, Nate. You don't dictate my actions!"
He gave a growl of frustration. "I didn't mean it that way, damn it! Why do you always have to take the worst possible interpretation? I just meant--" He took a deep breath, shaking his head and muttering an Askani curse. "I don't know what I meant, Dom. I just remember standing there, wanting to react, to say something. But I couldn't. It was like the words wouldn't come out." He sighed, looking miserable. "I feel like such a coward! I was so wrapped up with what had just happened at the mansion--trying to figure out why Bastion hadn't killed me, wondering if Nate Grey got Jean's family away safely--and I just stood there and watched you walk away. I didn't even try to--"
"Nathan, look at me," Domino said firmly, interrupting him. This is getting us nowhere. She reached out and took his hand, not letting go even when he tried to pull away. "Both of us were more than a little shell-shocked that night. Part of me wanted you to stop me, true, but the rest of me would've decked you if you'd tried." He gave a ghost of a laugh and she smiled up at him. "I needed the time away," she said softly. "G.W.'s surgeon fixed what that bitch Gryaznova did to me, but I still needed to do some thinking. A lot's happened to the both of us in the last year, Nate, and I just needed to figure out where I stand." She hesitated, not sure what to say next.
Will he remember any of this? she wondered, wishing Jean was there to answer the question. How much can I risk saying, when I don't know if I'll regret it when this is over? She shook her head. He's being honest with me, even if he can't help himself at the moment. I owe him that much in return.
"Not a bad idea," he said, sounding almost dazed. He was beginning to look disturbingly faint. "I should have done the same thing, instead of going off to hunt Sentinels. Scott tried to tell me that, but I nearly took his head off." That sounded almost regretful, Domino thought curiously.
"You were never big on the whole vacation thing," she said wryly, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Everyone deserves a break now and again, Nathan. Even would-be mutant messiahs."
The sound that escaped him then was half-laugh, half-sob. "I can't. I'm on a tight schedule, you know." He looked up at the sky, his eyes shimmering with tears. "I know I have to go back," he said softly. "But I can't, not if it's back to the life I've been leading for the last two months."
"Well, Jean and Scott will probably lock you up if you try to go Sentinel-hunting before you're fully recovered," she joked feebly, although she knew full well that wasn't what he meant.
He glanced down at her, and suddenly his shields were gone. She closed her eyes, wincing as his loneliness, his desperate longing washed over her. Such a sense of emptiness--of abandonment?
"Why didn't you stay with the X-Men?" she asked, not opening her eyes. "Scott and Jean would have liked that, I think, and even the X-Men you don't get along with wouldn't have argued, not after what you went through to keep those computer files out of Bastion's hands."
"I should have stayed," he admitted, sounding weary. "But it was just too much. If I'd stayed at the mansion, I would have given into the part of me that wanted to hide in a corner and shut the world away."
"Not like you to hide," Domino said gently, opening her eyes in time to see him flush. She chuckled.
"No," he said ruefully. "I just ran away instead." He turned to face her, his left eye glowing gold and the grey of his right eye nearly black with emotion as he visibly fumbled for the right words. She fought a sudden, ridiculous desire to hold her breath. "With both you and X-Force gone, I felt like there was nothing left in my life. Nothing except my damned mission." He shook his head. "I let it consume me once. I can't live like that anymore, Dom," he said softly. "I need more. I need--" He trailed off, and for a moment she thought he would say it, and free her to do the same--
The beach shuddered beneath their feet. It was getting very dark, she realized with some alarm. "We need to get out of here!" she said sharply. "We can talk about this later. We WILL talk about this later, Nathan, I promise--"
"Dom, I told you, I don't know how to get out of here!" he cried. "I tried, but I couldn't." He sounded almost ashamed of himself, but curiously determined at the same time. As if there was part of him that doesn't want to try again-- she thought darkly.
"Not like you to give up, either," she said, tensely. "Fine. We'll stay here together." It took every bit of strength she had to keep her voice level. The stars went out. By the much fainter light of the path, which remained, Domino could barely see Nathan's face.
"No, Dom! I can't leave, but you can at least try and reach the path again--" His voice broke. "You have to," he pleaded with her. "Please, Dom--"
"Shut up, Nathan," she said, stepping towards him. She reached up and felt the dampness on his cheeks. "Don't get me wrong, babe. I don't particularly want to die." His hand closed around hers, and she shook her head with a soft laugh. "But one thing I do know, Nathan Dayspring Summers, is that I don't much like the idea of life without you." She swallowed hard. "If this is the way it ends for the two of us, so be it. At least we'll be together--"
"Dom, please--" he whispered, anguish in his voice.
"No, Nathan. I'm not leaving. If you're going to give up like this, to die without even trying to live, you're going to have to take me with you. Because I'll be damned if I'm going to let you leave me alone--"
With a heartbroken moan, he reached out and pulled her towards him, his grip like iron. Domino's startled gasp was muffled against his chest as they started to float upwards, slowly but steadily. She could feel him trembling violently, and although he was shielding again, flashes of pain slipped through and she gasped again, horrified by the realization of what he was putting himself through in order to save her.
"Nate--Nate, let me help--"
"Quiet--" he managed in a choked voice. "Have--to concentrate--" The shielding wavered and fell, and she nearly screamed as she suddenly shared his pain. She remembered Hank's somber listing of Nathan's massive injuries. But if he's feeling a connection to his body again, we have to be getting close-- She could feel him trying to raise the shield again, to protect her.
No! she sent along their psi-link. Save your strength, I'll manage-- She twisted around in his arms, staring upwards. The path was getting closer. Only a little farther, Nathan, she told him. The pain got steadily worse, and if he hadn't been holding on to her so tightly, she would have fallen. Almost there, Nathan--we're almost there--
As they reached the spot where the path ended, it suddenly shifted color, from violet to a rosy pink. Domino felt Jean's presence in her mind again as Phoenix reached out and separated her from Nathan.
#You did it, Domino,# Jean said softly. #Come back now.#
No, wait! she sent desperately. I have to tell him--
There was a sudden, lurching sensation, and then she was back in her body.
***
"Domino!" Sam said frantically as his old teacher toppled from her chair, gasping. He lept forward and caught her. "Ma'am, are you all right?"
"Fine, Sam," she said breathlessly. "Help me up."
As he helped Domino to her feet, Sam glanced swiftly at Jean, who was leaning over Cable, one hand on his forehead and a look of intense concentration on her face.
"Did it work?" he asked Domino in a hushed voice, barely daring to hope. Domino glanced up at him, and the smile she gave him was brilliant, despite the weariness on her face. "Praise the Lord!" he gasped, giving her a quick hug.
"Oh, my stars and garters!" Hank suddenly bellowed from where he stood by the monitors. "Everyone, brace yourselves!"
Sam immediately switched on his blast field to protect himself and Domino, but even so, he was staggered by the sudden wave of energy that swept outwards from the ICU unit, shattering equipment and knocking everyone off balance. He saw Cecilia step forward to stand in front of Bridge and Logan, activating her own shield, and on the other side of the room Jean threw up a TK bubble to protect herself and Scott. Hank dove behind the monitors.
The TK wave dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. Cecilia sagged back against Logan, who helped her to a chair. Hank reappeared from behind the monitors, wincing as he saw the mess.
"I hadn't expected that," he muttered. "Thank God the ICU unit itself is undamaged." He turned back to the monitors. "Interesting. These are undamaged as well. It's as if he sensed that I was the only one unprotected."
"What the hell was it?" Bridge suddenly burst out. It was the first thing he'd said since Domino and Jean had psi-linked and entered Cable's mind. Sam was surprised to see how shaken he looked. Then again, Bridge hadn't spent much time around Cable since his powers had started to develop.
"The Phoenix energy being discharged," Jean said distractedly. She had resumed her earlier position, and a rosy halo of light surrounded her body. "Or at least the portion of it that was actively holding back the T-O virus." She gave a soft gasp and looked quickly at Hank, a huge smile spreading across her face. "Hank, how are you reading his power levels?"
Hank looked down at the monitors, and his eyebrows went up. "Still slightly low, but well within safe parameters. The extent of the T-O incursion is stable!" He shook his head in wonder. "Amazing. Simply miraculous. It's as if he simply decided to spontaneously regenerate his own psi-reserves. What did you do, Domino?"
She gave a queer little laugh that sounded almost like a sob. "You might say we played Truth or Dare--and I ended up doing both. It's a good thing his buttons are so easy to push." She swallowed and patted Sam on the arm before she went over to Bridge and embraced him. Bridge blinked, a suspicious moistness in his eyes, and said something to her that Sam didn't quite hear.
"Ah--not that I don't realize this is a very good thing," Cecilia said tiredly from her chair. "But it's a little soon for celebrations. He's still on life support, remember?"
They all suddenly heard Rogue's voice over the intercom, overlaid with static that suggested the energy wave had left a residue of some sort in the local atmosphere. "Everyone okay down there? The Midnight Runner's comin' in t'land."
Sam felt his heart leap. But then he frowned, looking back at Cable. Part of him didn't want to leave, not even to greet Dana.
#Sam,# Jean said quite patiently in his head. #Don't be an idiot. Besides, now you've got good news to greet her with.#
Sam couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.
"Yes, ma'am!" he sang out, startling everyone in the room as he ran for the door.
to be continued...
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