Generation 4, Chapter 10: Bad timing

"I have a surprise for you, but I'm not sure you've recovered enough from the ordeal with Vala...," Darcy giggled to herself as she spoke, leaving me frustrated. She would forever poke fun at me for allowing Vala to walk all over me and ruin my supposed "perfect" demeanor. I had been a fool, I suppose. Once a liar, always a liar, it seems. I had been a tool, something to keep her entertained while she was running away from her old life. But not anymore. I wasn't going to let anyone get under my skin again like she did. I had been too hopeful of her, too trusting. It had always been a weakness of mine.

"I'm fine, thanks for thinking of that," I answered dryly, peeking around the room to look for any clues of the suspected surprise.

"You sure?" she raised a eyebrow, surveying my face. "'Cause you look a little green in the face, you know..."

When Darcy's teasing got too much, I always had a secret weapon to back me: Darcy also had some skeletons locked away in her closet, and she hated it whenever someone brought it up in a conversation. It was an awful thing to do, but desperate situations call for desperate measures.

"Darcy...," I began, clearing my throat for emphasis. This was going to need a powerful delivery to have the needed effect. "Do you remember the time you accidentally stumbled into a strip club when you were drunk?"

With shrewd eyes, she leaned back slowly in her chair, glancing between me and the door. "Whenever you're ready," she called to the door, turning her face away from me. I had hit a nerve. Finally.

The surprise proved to be extremely unexpected. Through the doorway came a confident looking Sam, and Jack that followed close behind, only to sneak over to the bar. Breaking old habits had always been a trouble for Jack, and it seemed not to have changed, even when he was working at the Air Force.

"I thought you would be excited to see these two again...," my rather irritated sister huffed, though smiled slightly at Sam. 

"I am," I smiled as Sam took a seat at our table. My sister didn't know it, but I had stayed in contact with Sam and Jack the entire time they were away. Especially Sam and I. She was an interesting individual, seeing things in people that were overlooked. She had believed in Jack's leadership skills, which landed him a good job where he could stay out of trouble. Whether or not I was attracted to her was still vague. Expressing my feelings had never been a strong point of mine.

"I see your sister has been giving you hell while we were away," Samantha chuckled as she observed the stares between Darcy and I. "I really wish I could have seen it all going down."

"Oh, you should have. Someone even made a surprise visit and knocked Daniel back on the ground. But this time, alcohol was to blame."

"What happened?" Sam's eyes grew, and Darcy shot in a full scale explanation of Vala's appearance at our apartment. That was cue for me to leave. I didn't need to hear the story again. The first five times had been enough.

Scooting away from the table just as Darcy described my puking moment in detail, I sought refuge with Jack, though only silence greeted me as I took a seat close by. Was it some kind of revenge on his part, thinking that I was somehow to blame for him landing in the Air Force? I couldn't care less if it was that. He would get over it eventually, and hopefully, talk to me again soon. Sometimes it was a good idea to just leave him to grumble about it to himself.

Even after half an hour, which I spent texting my mom on my phone, Jack still didn't seem to budge. I would have to rethink my strategy. The impressive skills of the barmaid caught my eye, and an idea sparked inside my head. "Say...," I started, directing my attention on her. "I didn't know the art gallery hired someone to manage the bar."

"I haven't been here long," she smiled timidly while mixing up a new batch of drinks. "I started here just last week."

"Well, I must compliment you. You're doing an excellent job, and as a senior employee, I will personally say that to the manager. Perhaps your job position will be a permanent one..."

"R-really, sir?" her cheeks turned a rosy color of pink. "That's an incredibly nice thing of you to do..."

After a few minutes, the barmaid - whose named turned out to be Lucy Watkinson - placed two trays in front of us, seemingly representing a way of saying "thank you", though she didn't say it outright. Looking over at Jack, disbelief was plastered all over his face. I couldn't help but chuckle at how shocked he looked.

"Enjoy it, dude," I raised an glass towards him. For once, I was the one that could a girl to do me a favor, and not Jack...though he usually freaked them out, which was how he got his will.

It proved to be somewhat of a fatal mistake to have delivered such a flattering compliment. In truth, the drink was one of the worst I had ever had, and seeing as I was a horrible cook, I knew what tasted good and what tasted extremely bad.

Though I couldn't retract the comment I had made. It would be an insult to her and to my intelligence. Instead, I kept my composure intact. Whether or not Jack would do the same would be a problem.

His facial expression said it all. He was close to spitting it all out, and most likely about to cuss at the barmaid. I had to intervene. "Jack," I hissed at him as quietly as I could manage without alerting the girl. "Don't say anything. Act normal, okay?"

"Wha?" the liquid audibly slushed around in his mouth, as he was trying to keep it from going down.

"Just...swallow and squeal later, okay? Think of it as good karma for you."

"If you say so," he mumbled around the contents in his mouth, forcing it down his throat with a sour expression. "You owe me a beer."

Just to get revenge on Darcy, I served more of these drinks to both Sam and her, though none of them commented on the taste. Darcy seemed to have a lot more self control when it came to expressing distaste in something, and Sam just carried a smile on her face.

It was about a half hour later, after many embarrassing chats and laughs that I noticed Sam no longer sat at the table. "She's upstairs," Darcy pointed a manicured nail at the staircase. It led to the top floor of the art gallery, a place I was still busy renovating.

Tiptoeing up the stairs to avoid letting anyone know of my arrival, I noticed Sam's sheer awe at the artwork displayed on the walls. I couldn't help but chuckle at her amazement.

"It's nice to see people look at art in such a manner," I commented behind her. She didn't seem to take notice of my proximity.

"It's...truly amazing," she breathed, shaking her head as she scanned the room's contents.

"It's a work in progress, to be honest. I still have some artists who are interested in exhibiting here, but so far, it's looking pretty good."

"You did all this?" a frown formed on her face as I came to stand next to her. "I thought you were an Archaeologist?"

"I am, but that doesn't mean I can't express an interest in art. My, uh...former fiancée was an expert."

She nodded slightly. "Sarah, right? She seemed to have been a good teacher... Listen, Daniel," she lowered gaze to the floor. "You know how we chatted so much when I was away? Well, I don't want to seem rude, but...it was pure friendship."

It was a low blow...especially because I was interested in getting to know her as more than friends. She was intellectual, someone that I could relate to, who was almost always the smartest in a certain room. I didn't know if I would ever have the courage to ask her out, but to have the option ripped away hurt inside.

"That's...completely fine. Was I giving you the wrong impression? Dear lord, I'm so sorry," I lied, washing away all traces of interest.

"No, of course not," she excused quickly. "It's just... I like someone. I like him a lot, but... He won't ever have the same feelings."

Instantly, I knew who she was talking about. "Jack...," I smirked.

"Yeah...and...and... Oh my word, I feel terrible," she gently prodded her head with a finger. "My head feels like exploding."

"Stress? Or perhaps that horrid drink Jack and I gave you two?" though I stood there with a raised eyebrow, I took a step closer, offering my arm as support.

"No, it's not that...can't be...so dizzy..." Her eyes slowly closed, and I could feel her entire weight being supported by me. Did she just pass out on me?

Having never been in a situation like it before, I wasn't entirely sure of what to do. That feeling quickly vanished as I started feeling just as she had.

And now, there was no one to catch me when I fell.

~*~

When I finally awoke, it was a disturbing sight for my eyes. Not only did the place reek of alcohol and dog urine, but both my sister and Sam were passed out on the floor. Jack was next to me, and at least he was conscious, but it didn't mean he was in the mood for talking.

There was only one explanation for this. The bartender had drugged us. But the question that lingered in my mind was: Why? And why were we awake while we had first drank the drug laced drinks? The answer was relatively simple. As we were both male, and our body mass was definitely bigger than that of the girls, we had recovered the quickest...or that was what I had thought. When forced to think of an excuse, my mind had usually dried up.

We weren't the only ones occupying the room. Wide awake and lying on the floor with her feet up against the wall, was another individual that seemed eerily familiar.

"No, this is not hell," she commented, her gaze glued to the ceiling. "But to be honest, it's close to it, or it's going to be."

I knew that voice all to well.

Vala.

"What are you doing here? Where the hell are we, for that matter?" I coughed.

"Exactly where I knew I would end up, and what I was trying to protect you from... You know the people I work for? Well, they came after me, and apparently remembered who you were... Now you and your friends will probably suffer the same fate as I will."

"Which is?" I questioned, afraid to receive an answer. I had a good idea what it was going to be.

"Death."