Daddy!" Izzy ran to meet her father when he got out of the car. The wild haired little girl hugged at her father's legs. Leese watched as he picked her up effortlessly and held her in the air like a prize. She stood watching quietly until the little girl asked, "Who's that?"

Jeffrey smiled and said, "Meet Leese Izzy. Izzy meet Leese." Leese smiled as he put his daughter back down on solid ground.

"Is she staying for dinner?" Izzy asked in a squeaky voice.

"Yep." Jeffrey began walking toward the house and Leese followed him. Meanwhile Izzy had torn away to play with her friends on the front lawn.

When Leese and Jeffrey reached the porch he said, "This might not be pretty, so just sit tight while I talk to her."

Leese nodded as they stepped inside. She waited in the living room in the same spot she sat in before as he walked into the kitchen.

When Jeffrey walked in his wife was preparing dinner. She was cutting vegetables and humming something from the radio. He crept behind her and encircled her waist kissing her temple.

"Hey baby," there was a smile in her voice.

"Hey sweety," he answered.

She turned around and hugged him tightly. "Oh I'm so glad you're home. I think we have a mouse or something. How gross." She shuddered.

He smirked, "No way."

"Yes. Seriously. I heard him over there," She pointed daintily to the other side of the room, "It's a miracle I can even concentrate."

"I'll take care of that but there's something I have to talk to you about."

She relaxed her stance and looked at him quizzically. "You look so serious babe.what's up?"

At that point Izzy whizzed into the kitchen on her little razor scooter. "Moooooooom!"

"Didn't I tell you not to ride that thing in here?" Rita warned.

Izzy grabbed a cookie off of the counter and whizzed out again, "Got someone for dinner!" she sang.

Rita looked at her husband, "Oh is that it? Someone extra for dinner?"

"Well," he said looking sheepish, "I know you always say to let you know ahead of time."

"Baby that's fine, don't even worry. Where is he?"

"She."

"Oh, is she in the living room?" She asked pointing toward the exit of the kitchen, "why didn't you introduce us?" Rita started for the living room but Jeffrey stood in her way.

"What?" She frowned.

He sighed, "Leese Harmond is in there. She's our guest." Rita furrowed her brows, "You're joking right?"

He shook his head no.

"Didn't you give her the letter?"

"Yeah. It's done."

"So what could she possibly be doing here? I thought she didn't want anything from us?" she asked sarcastically.

"Rita, look."

"No you look. Didn't you understand? You give her the letter and we're done with her. Nothing more. You're a smart man Jeffrey.how could you mess it up?"

"Hold on," Jeffrey said, "don't insult me Rita."

"So tell me what the hell is going on? Why is she here for dinner?"

"She's here for a lot more than that Rita."



Leese finally met Christina or "Chrissy" during dinner. She seemed like a serious little girl, much like in her pictures. Her hair was long, straight and shiny, hanging over her shoulders and almost covering her face. She kept staring at Leese through the strands occasionally brushing them away.

They sat around the table and tension made everyone quiet except for the littlest Isabelle, who couldn't stop talking about this or that. Jeffrey indulged her in conversation while Rita just sat tight lipped and stiff, all emotion absent from her voice when asking for the pepper shaker or if Chrissy had finished her homework.

Leese was incredibly uncomfortable. Just one look around the table and she could tell that she didn't belong. Whenever Rita managed to glance her way (which wasn't often since she refused to acknowledge Leese's existence) the stare was icy cold.

This is the reason why Leese had genuinely wanted nothing to do with this family. She didn't need another reason to feel rejected.

When dinner was done Rita said, "Okay girls, clear your plates and put them in the sink."

As the girls rose from their seats Leese volunteered to do the dishes.

Rita's head jerked toward Leese and she gave the girl the iciest "how dare you even speak" stare. "That won't be necessary Leese. You're our guest."

"Nothing wrong with her helping out here and there since she'll be here for a little while." Jeffrey said staring dead at his wife. Their eyes locked and they were in some sort of showdown. This is when Chrissy asked, "Who are you?" to Leese.

Leese cleared her throat and said, "uhhh."

"Yes," Rita asked, "Who are you? My husband didn't do us the real honor of properly introducing you."

"Sarita," Jeff said in a warning voice.

From over at the sink where she put her plate Izzy chimed in, "Are you from daddy's job?"

Leese didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything. More than anything she felt like getting up and walking out of there right now. Where she would go didn't even matter as long as she was out of there.

"Leese is a friend and we're helping her by letting her stay with us for a little while." Jeffrey answered.

Izzy seemed satisfied with this answer and left the kitchen but Chrissy stuck around to ask "What does she need help with?"

"Chrissy go get ready for bed." Rita said coldly.

"But I wanna watch TV. It's early."

"Fine, just go." Rita's chair scraped against the wooden floor as she carried her plate to her sink.

Finally all three adults were left alone in the kitchen. Leese just sat there wanting to crawl out of her skin and Jeff paced back and forth as his wife loaded the dishwasher.

Eventually Jeffrey said, "You don't have to be like this Rita."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know, a jackass?"

"You bring some ex-convict up in here and say she's staying with us without my input and you want me to be congenial?"

Leese only sunk down in her chair, feeling smaller, and smaller.

"Well fine, let's talk about it, but don't be a bitch," Jeffrey said.

Leese winced as Rita spun around, "What did you just call me?"

"I didn't call you anything. But is that what it's gonna take to get you to hear me?"

"When do you ever hear me Jeff? Do you even hear yourself? Please hear yourself. Hear what your goddamn over analytical logical brain is telling you and hear what your stupid mouth is saying. Put two and two together and realize how crazy this is! She is playing you just like I said she would Jeffrey!"

Leese snapped out of her haze of and defended herself, "I'm not playing anybody. I didn't ask to come here, I was brought."

"That's right," Jeffrey said, "No one plays me Rita. You should know better."

"Well what happened to her not wanting anything to do with us? Now she's living with us? Something doesn't seem right here. Don't you see?"

"Look," Jeffrey said, "This is just temporary, only until she gets into the program. I told you this. You acted as if her coming here would all be fine."

"I did not act as if it would be fine I just didn't say 'no'. I want you to say 'no', I don't want to have to tell you what to do like a little boy."

He held up a hand, "Stop it right there Rita. You know damned well you can't tell me what to do like a little boy."

She was quiet for a moment and then turned to Leese, "Do you really expect us to believe that you are his daughter?"

"Yeah. Because it's true."

Rita scoffed, "Oh please.so this is your angle huh?"

"I don't have an 'angle'. Everything I told you both has been true. That don't mean I want to even be here."

"So get the fuck out!" Rita yelled.

Jeffrey grabbed his wife's arm, "What is wrong with you?"

She stared at Jeffrey her eyes glittering, "Get your hands off of me."

"The kids Rita." He hissed, "Come on, be an adult for once." She pulled away from him abruptly and said, "How is she so sure she's your daughter?"

"Because my mother told me so," Leese answered, "And it's on my birth certificate. When she finally told me she gave it to me to show me."

"Your mother sounds like she was a real stand up woman. The very model of veracity." Rita snorted. "Any woman can sign any man's name on a birth certificate. It doesn't mean anything."

Leese stood up, her fists clenched, "Who the fuck do you think you are talking about my mother?"

"Easy Leese," Jeffrey said.

"She doesn't know me Greene!" she shot at him and then turned to her, "You don't know me either. You don't know what I've been through."

"And we don't care!" Rita laughed. "You and your sob story is not going to help you here. You think by saying you're related to my husband we're going to have to care?"

"What you don't get is that I don't expect you to care," Leese pointed toward the woman, "and I don't care if you do or not—"

"You are not his daughter!" Rita interrupted.

"It doesn't matter if she's my daughter or not Rita." He said gently this time, "All this is, is what I said it would be. Her having somewhere stable until she gets in."

"Oh," she said crossing her arms over her chest, "So this has nothing to do with the fact that she says she's your daughter? So you bring poor ex-drug offenders off of the streets all of the time and I should just be used to it huh?"

"Rita, think of someone else besides yourself right now."

"Is that what I'm doing? Or is that what you're doing? I'm trying to protect my family."

"From what?" It was Jeffrey's turn to raise his voice. He motioned toward the curly haired girl and said, "Look at her? What could she possibly do to us? You think I'd jeopardize us Rita? I wouldn't do that. I'm so goddamned insulted that you would even insinuate that."

"I don't want her here Jeff! I don't care if she's your daughter or not." Rita replied coldly.

He winced and shook his head, "What?"

By now tears were running down Leese's cheeks. She sniffled and stormed out of the kitchen.

"So that's what this is all about," He watched Leese leave the room and then turned his attentions back to his angry wife. "You're lying. You do care if she's my daughter or not. You even care whether she believes she's my daughter or not. You just don't give a damn about whether she needs help or not. Or that she most likely won't inconvenience you in the least.you just don't want her here period because she might be my daughter."

Rita turned away from him holding her body stiffly.

"So even if she were mine, you wouldn't be able to stand her. Even if.even if she were a part of me. You say you love me and you won't even—"

"Okay," she interrupted, "Now that we're 'keeping it real' let's talk about you. You are not just doing this out of the kindness of your heart are you?"

He grabbed the back of his neck, "I knew her mother.and I just feel bad for the way things have turned out."

"If you believe that she could be your daughter, and this is why you're 'helping' her, then I have every right to protect you and us from the threat of someone trying to get over."

"And what if she is my daughter? You're saying I should just walk away?"

Tears suddenly brimmed in Rita's eyes as she said in a barely audible voice, "I can't believe this.you're actually considering." She sniffed and then cleared her throat, "I thought you didn't need anyone but us? I mean, you don't. I know you don't."

He stroked the stubble forming on his face and said, "I didn't ask for this Rita, but I have to be honest with myself. If she is my daughter then it does matter to me. I don't how or even why but it does, even a little bit. My head tells me it shouldn't and my heart doesn't listen. And even if she's not my child, I still care about what happens to her. And I know that if she gets into this program it could most likely stop her from dying. I know what she has to go back to if she fails at this."

"Well," Rita said, "I don't care about her tragic life. And I don't care about her. I don't want her here and I don't want a new addition to the family. I don't care who she is."

"Even if she's mine?"

Rita opened her mouth to respond but closed it again. She stood there, tapping the tip of her high heeled shoe on the floor.

"So what if she were mine and I wanted her to be a part of this family? You mean to tell me that you still would reject that? My flesh and blood? You'd hate it so much?"

"If I came home with a grown woman or man and said it was my child would you be so damned accepting?"

"Well," he said almost in a hush, "It wouldn't be easy but if he were yours and you wanted to be a part of his life I'd try to accept it. Because he's yours."

"We've got so much riding on this year" she shook her head, "I've worked too fucking hard Jeffrey. We can't have this."

He stared at her for a moment and then scoffed, "Wow. I can't believe this."

"Believe what?"

"Nothing," he said as he left the room, "nothing at all."

Jeffrey came into the guest bedroom where Leese would be staying. He found her there sitting on the bed, her head in her hands.

"You alright?" He asked.

She looked up and wiped her face on her sleeve, "I'm fine. But I don't think this is a good idea. I might just take off and say 'fuck it'. Find another way."

"I don't care what you think. You're not going back on those streets."

"What?" She asked confused.

"You go back, you die. It's just that simple."

"How do you know?" She asked him disbelievingly.

"I think you'd better get some sleep. You're gonna have to go down to the military base in the morning." He flicked off her light and began to walk out of the room.

"I can't stay where I'm not welcome Greene," is what he heard her say.

He stopped in his tracks, his back facing her as he answered, "What does it matter? It'll only be a few weeks until you see if you make the first cut. By then we'll have figured something out."

"Why you doing this Greene? You said it doesn't matter if I'm your kid or not. So if it doesn't why'd you help a stranger?

"I have my reasons," he said turning around to her. "so let's just leave it at that for now."

Jeffrey left the room and closed the door. He grabbed some sheets out of the linen closet so that he could fix them on the couch. It was where he was going to be sleeping tonight.

At six a.m. Leese heard a pounding on her door. She hadn't slept that well last night and she was still tired. She groaned as she heard a voice yell, "I need you to be dressed and downstairs in twenty minutes. Is that understood?"

She grumbled affirmatively and then lay back down in the bed. Five minutes later he knocked on the door again. "Leese, get up. I mean it."

She opened her eyes and rolled them around her head in the dark cozy room. What? Was he watching the door?

"First test and you're about to fail it. Being on time." She heard him say this and then heard footsteps creep away from the door. Reluctantly she got up out of the bed and rummaged through her bag for clean underwear.

It took her a little while to find fresh towels but she took a shower and washed her hair in the brightly tiled shower. They were tiny square tiles with different gradients comprising of all the colors in between sky blue and aqua green. It was pretty. She could've lived in the shower alone. She lathered up her full head of tight frizzy brown ringlets with a citrus smelling conditioner, and the scent woke her up immediately.

A few minutes later she went downstairs in a pair of faded baggy fatigue pants and cheap black canvas slip on sneakers that Nino bought her when he saw her pinky toe sticking out of her old sneakers. She wore this with a raglan baseball t-shirt and a pair of reflective shades. Coming down the stairs she snapped on a piece of gum. Jeffrey stood downstairs waiting for her, and when he saw her he crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Think you're one of the cool kids huh?"

She shrugged, "What?" When he looked her up and down she said, "I look like a bum."

"Yeah and you act like a rockstar. Let's go."

Leese wasn't surprised that Jeffrey owned a big black SUV. She got into the luxury truck and sunk into the supple leather. It smelled like a pine cone in the car because of his stupid air freshener hanging off of the rearview mirror, but it was still a good scent.

"Buckle up," he said, and he was wearing a pair of shades of his own.

As they drove down the highway Leese couldn't believe that she had been in Nino's girlfriend's project a partment, sleeping on the couch less than twenty-four hours ago. For the past few years she had been used to sleeping on hard prison issued cots and using community showers, instead of sleeping in soft comfy beds and using a spacious clean bathroom.

They didn't talk much until Jeffrey pulled into the drive thru of a donut spot and they ordered a light breakfast.

Once at the base Leese registered and filled out her application. She saw a long line of other applicants. They ranged in age from about eighteen to thirty, or even thirty five? She was sure that at least half of them had criminal records (by now she could just tell who had freshly done time and there were a quite a few), and she just knew that she was in with a batch of rejects who could never get into the military regularly if not for this Second Chance recruitment program and a shit load of recommendations.

She looked around at the various men and women, seemingly so used to institutions like these where you just might be stripped of your identity and have it replaced with a number. Others who didn't look quite used to this were nervous seeming and jittery. She wondered what made them a reject if they had never been to jail before. It was probably age.

All day long she went through test after test, meeting with psychologists and psychiatrists, and she even had to test her endurance on a treadmill among other physical evaluations. She didn't know what all those sticky white patches were all over her body attached to wires and a beeping machine, but it was a humiliating experience to jog with her shirt off.

Often during the day, she and the other potential recruits had to strip down and be examined, however she was used to this sort of thing. She went dead inside and didn't look around at the scores of other women around her who had stripped down to their underwear. They had at least separated these proceedings by gender.

Finally it was time for lunch. The recruits were ushered into a large sterile cafeteria where they sat down with bagged lunches or were offered standard issue army food (which didn't look too appetizing). Her stomach was semi-full from the breakfast sandwich she ate this morning but she still felt awkward sitting there and not eating. A Marines Master Sergeant had walked over and asked her if she were heading up to the mess line like the others who hadn't bought their food too. She said no.

"What?" His dark piercing blue eyes sparkled beneath the brim of his cap. "Already wanna be an individual huh?"

She almost rolled her eyes. Apparently the tall muscular Sergeant was one of those ball busters. "No sir," she said. She stood up and walked toward the line reluctantly when she heard him laugh, "Wait up," She felt his big hand cup her shoulder, "I was just playing. Jeff wanted me to come and get you." She flushed, slightly embarrassed as he introduced himself. "I'm Sergeant Wicks," he extended his hand to her and she accepted it, looking up sheepishly into his angular face.

"Leese. Leese Harmond," she answered back. Soon she was following him out of the cafeteria and down anonymous corridors until she found Jeffrey in an office, leaning against the edge of a desk chatting it up with some other military dude.

"How'd it go Leese?" Jeffrey was asking. He was smiling. For once. He seemed in a jovial mood.

"Great."

The guy he was talking to was introduced to her as her social worker's brother, Army Sergeant Major Francis Franzle. He stood up and shook her hand, "I've heard a lot about you little lady. And not just from my sis and Greene. Heard you were doing good out there."

"Really? Thanks."

"Wicks said you looked good," he nodded to the young sergeant who nodded back, almost shyly. For some reason Leese felt her face flush. Jeffrey snickered. "We're going to the waffle house for some lunch," Jeffrey said motioning around at his buddies, as Leese wondered what he told them about her.

"But I.I can't eat anything too heavy."

"Don't worry," Wicks said, "All you gonna do when you come back is check out. They're gonna go through the first round of who stays and who goes."

"I wouldn't worry about that little lady," Franzle said smiling. "Let's go eat!"

Lunch was awkward for Leese. She was in some sort of surreal world. Just a few days ago she had just gotten out of jail, not knowing where she was going to stay or where her next meal was coming from. Now, she was having lunch with military guys. Turns out this Mil-Ar-Tel thing was a joint operation between different segments of the military. Wicks was a Marine and Franzle was a high ranking Army officer. They were both assigned to work on this project with Franzle basically at its helm.

The guys all talked military crap while Leese zoned in and out of their conversation not saying much. At one point Wicks asked if a cat had her tongue, but Jeffrey had laughed and soon they were all laughing and forgot about her again.

Soon they were back at the base. She went off on her own again, away from Jeffrey feeling slightly anxious. It was time to narrow down the first round. Over a hundred of them stood in a large gymnasium in ten separate lines of about ten to twelve people. Some lady officer went down the line tapping people and telling them if they were in or out. Leese was somewhere in the middle. The people who got in were told to go to either room A or room B, and the rejects were told to check out in the exit room which was room C. She saw looks of disappointment and pain on the rejects' faces, wondering what else they had to turn to after this. She wondered the same thing for herself. She couldn't very well stay with Jeffrey in that big nice house after all this was done. Could she?

Other observant people would've told her that she should've known better than to worry. They thought she was a shoe in after all the special treatment they believed she was being given. They saw her shake hands and laugh with Sergeant Wicks like a real human being. They even saw her leave out for lunch and then come back with Franzle and Wicks. Most of the people here had to take a long bus ride here, and had no idea that she had arrived in a luxury car. There were rumors that she was here with some hot shot who had all but insured her entry to the next round. Leese had no idea of what some of the people buzzed about, especially the girls. She figured they were standoffish and withdrawn toward her because they were simply focused.

The room was halfway empty and Leese's turn was coming up. "Room B, you're in."

She breathed a sigh of belief and walked fast out of the gymnasium following the signs to room B.

Later, when the day was done and they were back in the car Jeffrey said, "Congrats. You have to be here tomorrow at six."

"SIX?" She groaned. "Why so early?"

"You starting already?" he snickered, "Anyway, I can't stay the whole day like I did today. So I'll pick you up when you're done. Is that cool?"

She nodded. "Thanks Greene." She really meant it.

They drove home in silence.

That night at dinner, things were chilly but Rita seemed more subdued, perhaps even a little sad. She said nothing about Leese being there and hardly anything to her husband. Dinner went by without incident.

Leese showered and collapsed into bed and Jeffrey moved into the den so that the kids wouldn't get too suspicious with him out in the open sleeping on the couch in the family room. He still refused to speak to Rita even though he wanted to. He began thinking a lot about Leese. He watched her today and she didn't even know it. For some reason, the way she held her body sometimes, or the way she walked, and even her facial expressions all reminded him of someone; if not himself than someone close to him. He didn't know if he was just imagining this or not. Either way, he was proud when she got through. He just didn't tell her that. He wanted to but didn't feel like it was his place.

In the morning he dropped a sleepy but slightly more focused Leese off at the base. He told her it was going to be a little more challenging today. They didn't have time for a real breakfast so it was back to the donut shop again. This time he made sure she had brought some lunch so that she wouldn't have to eat from the mess hall. But this too, would have to change when she got in. She couldn't come off as hoity toity, he said.

Once he dropped her off he watched her get out of the car and walk away, feeling wistful. He almost felt as if he were dropping Izzy or Chrissy off on their first day of school. He shook his head at himself and headed back to the city so that he could go to work.

He sat behind the desk in his office, hating this part of the job. The paper work, the bureaucracy. He was trying to get it over with now so that he wasn't inundated by it this weekend when he wanted to just relax.

His intercom buzzed and his secretary told him that he had a visitor. He could hear the smile on her face when she told him it was his wife. He sighed and waited for her to open the door, all the while he made an attempt to look busy and nonchalant.

Gently and quietly she made her entrance. She was a tall slender woman standing five- feet and ten inches tall with curves in all of the right places, though a little thicker on the bottom than she was on the top. Rita traced her roots back to Puerto Rico, and her sharp cheekbones and paisley shaped brown eyes reflected Taina origins. Her long brown hair was loose and soft, framing her face. She wore the glossiest cinnamon colored lipstick on her full perfectly shaped lips. She must have come from court on her lunch break, Jeffrey thought as she stood gripping her clutch bag in her hand in front of her. She wore a tight fitting white blouse that sort of frilled at the collar, the back of it high at the nape of her neck while the rest of the fabric fell across the tawny skin of her collar bone. She wore a heather gray pencil skirt and high heels. He hadn't really seen her in a couple of days and almost forgot how beautiful and classy she was. It took his breath away though he tried to hide this.

She tucked the slender black leather clutch under her arm as she said, "Jeffy? You busy?"

He couldn't help but to smile a little even as he kept his eyes on his paperwork. That diminutive voice was all a front but it still did something to him.

"What's up?"

She sat down in front of him and leaned forward on his desk, "Aren't you going to look at me?"

He sighed and looked into her pleading brown eyes, pools of warm chocolate.

"What are you doing here Sarita?"

"Jeff, I just feel horrible about everything.the arguments." She huffed, "I missed you."

His guard was slowly falling down. "Well." he said shuffling papers, "I missed you too."

They were both quiet for a while before he said, "You hurt my feelings."

She covered his big hand with both of hers, caressing his skin, running her finger over his wedding band. Her eyes were moist as she nodded, "Yes. I know. I'm sorry. I know what I made you feel and I'm sorry."

"I love you Sarita. You know that." He said finally keeping eye contact with her.

"I know."

"And you know I would give you anything, anything that would make you happy. So you tell me: Is this promotion, and this newfound social status you're seeking going to make you happy? Is it that important to you? If it is, I'll do what you want. I mean if it's more important than me.it doesn't matter—"

"Don't say that." She interrupted. "I lose focus sometimes and I forget how good you are. Sometimes I forget that your heart is bigger than mine. No one even knows it." She said gently stroking his finger with the tip of hers. "You're what matters to me. And I'm afraid that somehow, I could lose you. I don't know why, I mean, just because you're helping that girl out doesn't mean I'm going to lose you but.she turned everything I knew upside down. I always thought of us as this one thing that no one could touch, and that I had you all to myself.I guess I was wrong."

He stood up, getting up from behind his desk and went over to her, kneeling at her chair. She turned around to face him and he lifted his hands to her face gently cupping it, "You've got to realize that you and Chrissy and Izzy .You guys are my whole world. Nothing can change that."

She nodded. "I know.I just don't understand what's going on right now."

"Me either. But I want to help her. More than I've wanted to help anyone else in my whole life. I don't know why. Maybe it's 'cause I knew her mom. Or maybe." he trailed off for a minute.

"What?" She asked concerned.

"I know who she reminds me of." He smiled, "Manny."

"Your father?"

He explained to her that many of her little mannerisms had reminded him of someone he knew but he couldn't place who until now.

She laughed admitting both to herself and to him, "You do do those same things."

"I do?"

She nodded and they both looked at each other seriously for a moment.

"Wow." She said.

"Yeah."

"If she's yours.what's this gonna mean?"

He shook his head and stood, "No, no, forget it. It's stupid to even think about. I said I was gonna help her get in and that's it. No strings attached. Nothing to wonder about."

"But I know you, you're going to wonder."

"Even if she is my daughter, doesn't mean she'll even want anything to do with me. I don't think she even likes me to tell you the truth," he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Of course she does, every one likes you." Rita smiled.

"You like me?" He asked slyly.

"I really really do Mr. Greene." She said in a coy voice as she stood up, thrusting her chest forward. Her delicate yet ample décolletage was visible amongst the frail material of her blouse. Jeffrey bit his lip, he was getting hard almost instantly.

"What do I have to do in order to show you?"

She walked over to him and pressed her body into his. His hands encircled her waist. She giggled when she felt his bulge pressing against her thigh.

"Oh? Is that what you suggest?"

She cupped her hands over his face and began to kiss him softly. And then, it was full on passionate. He groped every part of her that he could touch, cupping her supple firm ass, getting harder and harder. He missed her so much.

She pulled away and with a sly smile led him to his chair behind his desk and pushed him until he flopped down into it. Then to his surprise she got down on her knees nestling between his long strong legs.

"Really?" He asked all excited. "Here? Now?"

She nodded and laughed as she unbuckled his pants. It took her awhile to work his throbbing almond colored dick out of his pants, but it was hard and smooth and beautiful. She caressed every vein and fingered the ridge of his tip. She knew her light touch was teasing him, driving him mad. It's exactly what she wanted.

Soon she began to lick the underside of his shaft slowly, up from the base until she lightly fluttered her tongue in that one sensitive spot beneath the ridge of his tip. He couldn't help but to shudder as she slowly took him into her mouth, gently lapping all around his tip with her tongue. Finally, she dug her tongue into his hole, and he couldn't help but to groan digging his fingers into her hair as he tensed up with pleasure. The way Rita did this was so artful that it made his breath catch in his chest for a moment. She was teasing him. This wasn't going to be so easy to hold out.

Suddenly his intercom buzzed.

"Shit," he answered and she kept on licking his dick, "What's up?"

"That intern you sent out to get the research is back. Should I just take his stuff and send him away? He says he needs to quickly brief you."

"Let him in." Rita whispered.

"What?" he whispered back?

She said nothing, just crouched beneath his large desk and pulled at his jeans to prompt him to move his seat all the way in. He couldn't believe what was going on right now.

"Sir? Are you.busy?"

"Send him in." Rita whispered.

Jeffrey complied with the woman bobbing up and down on his dick. He was at her mercy.

A young guy came in with a stack of manila folders. He put most of them on the desk but held one back. He flipped it open and began talking but Jeffrey had no idea what he was saying. All he knew is that the kid had no idea his wife was under his desk sucking his dick.

She slurped as quietly as she could, moving her pillowy lips up and down on his shaft, making the right amount of suction as she steadily pushed and pulled her face and maneuvered her neck trying to get as much of him in her mouth as possible without gagging. She was going at a steady yet slow pace but she knew she couldn't go on like this forever. The teasing was driving him crazy, he just might flip out at any minute. She hoped the intern wouldn't stay too long.she knew he was almost ready to cum.

Jeffrey was in a dream like state. He had taken one of the folders the kid had put on his desk and looked down at the papers in them flipping through it, pretending to listen. He wondered how long he could hold out. He didn't want this kid to see his "O" face, but he didn't want her to stop.

"Tell you what Carl." Jeffrey had managed to say, "Come back after lunch with this?"

"Will do," Carl gave a two finger salute and left the door. When it shut and they both knew he was gone Jeffrey laughed, "Oh my God, you're driving me nuts under there! No pun intended."

"That's the idea."

"Come out so I can see your face."

She came out from under the desk but still kept her body perched between his legs looking up at him as she began to bob up and down on him faster and with more suction. She moaned and slurped and groaned as if his dick were the most delicious thing in the world.

He looked into her beautiful eyes and heard her deep sensual voice moaning. He couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm gonna fucking cum."

"Cum in my mouth baby."

"What?" She never let him do that!

She sucked and slurped at a fevered pace now, her head bobbing furiously. She wanted his cum in her mouth so badly. She was going to milk him dry.

He felt his balls tighten and then every muscle in his body tensed as the greatest build up he'd had in a long time was rising up inside of him to the very top of his skull, a heat washing over him .

"Ohhhh shittttt." He grunted as he finally came in his wife's hot wet mouth.

She moaned and made a face that he would never forget as she sucked up his cum, but there was almost too much for her to handle. It was dripping out of her mouth and she had opened it letting some drip out onto his chair. He could tell she wasn't really enjoying the taste this being the first time she'd ever done it, but she was still digging her tongue into his tip as he continued to spurt more and more cum. She rubbed the tip of the dick on her lips and caught some more on her tongue.

When they were done, her whole mouth was covered with his cum. He reached into his drawer and pulled out a handkerchief and began to clean her face.

"Oh my God." He said panting.

"Did you like it baby?" She said rising up and still wiping off her face. She sat in his lap, his dick only semi-soft was pressed against her clean skirt, but she didn't care. They kissed as her hair fell onto his face. She smelled so good. If he weren't so spent, he'd fuck her right on top of his desk with everything still on it.

"Did I 'like' it?" He laughed, "You've got to be kidding. that was so fucking hot. I loved it. And I love you."

"I love you too."

They had decided to have lunch together so they went downtown to her favorite bistro. As they ate, they only had eyes for each other. Jeffrey was so relieved that he and Rita were speaking.well more than speaking again. And that she was okay with Leese being in the house for now. Everything felt right. And then she said: "What about a DNA test?"

"What?"

She shrugged, "You might as well find out right? Hey." She said snapping her fingers, "If I can get hold of her tooth or hair brush and get it back to my friends down at the lab we could have the results by tomorrow afternoon."

"Shouldn't we ask her first?"

"We could, but do you really wanna wait until you talk to her, get her permission, drag her down to someplace—"

He thought about this. If she kept getting through the phases, (and unless she totally fucked up she would) she'd be busy for the next few months testing and training. She wouldn't have time to go get tested.

"Besides," Rita said, "she swears she's your kid. Why would she mind being tested?"

"Right." He agreed.

"So," she said picking up her cell phone and flipping it open, "tell her on the ride home what you're doing. Or don't even tell her until we find out. Your choice."

He shrugged, it sounded like a good plan but still something didn't feel right to him. "If it comes out negative, does that mean she was playing us? I mean will you see it that way?"

"I think she really believes what her mother told her," She put a single finger up to hush him, "I'm gonna call Mary."

Within seconds she was instructing her assistant to grab the purple toothbrush out of the hall bathroom and Leese's hair brush off of her dresser in the guest room. And it was done. Before she went back to work she clipped a fingernail from Jeffrey's right thumb and carefully placed it in an empty space of one of her make up compacts. "There," she said kissing him on the lips. "I'm so excited!" She balled her hands together and smiled, "Aren't you?"

"Yeah," he gave her a very tight hug while they were in front of her car, "Thank you."

"Wow," she said holding him back tightly, "What's this for?"

He couldn't exactly say.



Leese was so tired after testing today. She jogged, did obstacle courses and lifted weights but what was most tiring was tiring was the psychological testing. They asked the most ridiculous questions. At first she thought it was some kind of joke when they asked if she ever thought that she believed she had magical powers. The psychiatrist didn't take it to well when she began laughing. There were more questions, all more or less strange than that, all asked repetitively and in different ways throughout the entire day by different psychiatrists and therapists. She was mentally drained and a little irritated. She waited outside of the base as cars came in and out picking up people. It was getting late and she some guy who noticed her lingering asked if she wanted a ride to the bus stop. She turned him down even though she wondered why it was talking to so long for Jeffrey to get here.

She stood outside, arms criss-crossed over her chest, hands rubbing her shoulders in her thin denim jacket. It was getting colder. The weather was chilly at night this time of year. She hissed and bounced on the balls of her feet trying to warm up when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around startled, seeing a tall, muscular, broad shouldered white guy in a baseball cap, a t-shirt, jean shorts and sneakers.

"What's up?" he said.

"Umm.hi?" She said confused, and then turned right back around.

When he laughed she knew who he was. Sergeant Wicks. She turned back around to apologize, "Oh man, I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't know who you were. You look different out of uniform."

"Different good or different bad?"

She shrugged, "Not half bad I guess." For some reason she felt a little nervous while talking to him at this moment. It was hard to keep eye contact with him. She didn't realize how good looking Wicks was. He was tall at about six foot two, with a complexion that wasn't exactly pale, as it had the affinity for ruddiness every once in a while. She noticed a long time ago that he had fine short dusty brown hair that was a bit oily, so it stuck up in pieces here and there if he went to long without a haircut. The lower part of his face was exaggerated with a long yet almost flat nose and cleft chin. He had lips that spread across his face but weren't too full. All of these features were encompassed by a face that was all angles and his dark blue eyes had a chameleon like quality that tricked people into thinking that they were brown. But even with all of these unique features he still possessed an all-American sort of look. It was hard to figure him out, but he was definitely a good looking guy. His looks paired with his charisma is what made him attractive.

It didn't hurt that he was also a big guy. He had been in the military for most of his adult life and at the age of thirty he had the kind of body that many guys would kill for. Broad shoulders, big muscles, a conical shape that was broad at his shoulders and narrow in the waist in hips. His body is what most people would call perfect. However, he still had a self-deprecating quality about him that made it seem that he had no idea of how perfect he really was.

"Well anyway, Greene called Major Franzle and asked if someone could drive you home."

"What?" She almost yelled, "He's not coming?"

"He got caught up at work."

She sucked her teeth and asked, "He wants me to go home with a stranger?"

"Do you really consider me a stranger?" He pointed toward himself. His voice was low and deep.

She took a deep breath. All this time she was starting to believe that Jeffrey actually gave a crap about her; he seemed to be so involved in this whole process. She knew it was childish but she was a little upset that he wasn't coming. She was used to riding home with him, even if they sat in silence the entire time. She even liked it. As weird as it was riding to and from the base with him were the best parts of her day. Apparently it was all business to him.

"Look," she said, "just give me a ride to the bus stop, I can find my way back from there."

"Aren't you headed to Santa Marina? That's a long way by bus."

"I don't want you to go through the trouble—"

"No trouble," he said shrugging nonchalantly, "I'm headed that way. Come on." He walked ahead of her and she had no choice but to follow.

Shocking, she thought, when she found out that he also had a big truck like Greene. His was a shiny army green and looked pretty new. He opened the door for her and she didn't exactly appreciate that, partly because no one had ever done it for her before. However, she kept quiet and got in the passenger's seat.

They drove for a while in silence but then Sergeant Wicks started talking and asking questions to which Leese gave only one word answers.

"You're not very talkative are you?"

"Sorry," she shrugged, "Little tired."

"Yeah, kinda grueling in there," he said referring to training.

"And I still don't know if I'm in."

"You're in. Trust me," he said gripping the wheel as he made a turn.

She looked at him, "You sure?"

"Yep. I'd bet money on it."

She narrowed her eyes and asked, "Not because of Greene right?"

"You're doing great Leese. Seriously."

"On my own?"

He nodded.

She was somewhat satisfied with the answer and backed down.

"So," he said, "How do you know Jeffrey Greene?"

Her body stiffened at the question. She didn't know exactly what to tell him without lying so she said, "He's a friend of my mom's."

"For real? That's cool. Where does your mom live?"

"She doesn't. Died when I was thirteen."

"Oh.sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. Thanks though."

"Wow, you're really terse huh?"

She looked at him and asked, "What's that?"

"Short answers. Straight to the point." He jabbed at the air with four fingers to emphasize

"Pretty much." She pulled a pack of gum out of her pocket and slid a stick out to offer him, "Juicyfruit?"

He laughed, "No thanks. I'm a Wrigley's Spearmint kind of dude."

She shrugged, "Just more for me."

Finally they pulled up to the house, "Well uh.you wanna come in for something to drink? Use the bathroom or anything?"

"Nah, I'm good." He said.

"Well," she fidgeted with her seatbelt until it unsnapped, "Guess I'll see you around. Thanks a lot umm.Sarge?"

He smiled, "Oliver. Ollie. Wicks. Whatever."

It was her turn to smile now, even though she felt he was much better at it, the way his whole face sort of went from semi-stoic to lighting up. "You don't look like an Ollie."

"You don't look like a Leese. What's your middle name, 'Withanoptiontobuy'?"

She rolled her eyes, "Good one," she patted his shoulder before she got out of the car.

He laughed as she closed the door, "Really, what's your real name?"

"Not like you don't already know. You probably know everything about me Mr. Military." She said with a mock-suspicious look as she slowly stepped backwards from the car with her hands jammed in her pocket.

"Not everything. Mildred."

She frowned, and her jaw dropping only made him laugh really hard. "See ya' tomorrow huh? Tell Greene I said what's up?" He gave a quick wave and pulled away from the curb. For some reason Leese still stood there, staring for awhile.

When she finally came in she saw the girls at the coffee table doing their homework. She always felt a little awkward around them. It was the way they stared at her, as if they had no idea who she was.which they didn't.

"Hi, Christina, Isabelle."

"Hi." They said in unison and went back to their work. She started to leave the room and go upstairs when Izzy asked her, "You wanna watch Spongebob before dinner?"

Leese stopped, a little flabbergasted. She looked down at the girl with the round cherubic face and big brown eyes, her wild curly hair looping all over her head.

"I guess."

"Yes!" she said and then began to tease her sister, "Two against one ha ha haa haahaaaa!"

"Whatever, she's just saying that to be nice," Chrissy said rolling her eyes at her younger sister, "Grownups don't watch Spongebob."

"But I don't wanna see that Rinszy Rohan movie!"

Chrissy sighed and Leese snickered, "How long is that movie?"

"It starts in ten minutes."

"You've seen it a hundred times!" Argued Izzy.

"How 'bout we watch one episode of Spongebob and then watch the movie?"

They both thought about this, "Well, I guess it's cool." Chrissy acquiesced.

"Yeah!" Izzy did some sort of victory dance with her arms in the air. Leese thought it was kind of cute. "But only if you're done with your homework." Leese said, not believing how much of a killjoy she sounded.

"Okay." They both agreed.

"I'll be back, I'm just going to put my stuff down upstairs."

When she spun around, she saw Rita staring at her with her arms crossed. She was expecting a look that could kill but instead she got some wistful, soft sort of look. Even her voice was soft when she said, "Dinner in an hour."

Leese nodded, somewhat freaked out. "Thanks Mrs. Greene." She bounded up the stairs wondering what had gotten into everyone. Before they treated her like she was a space invader. Now they were. nice?

She was watching TV with the girls when Jeffrey came home. They had to move on to the Lohan movie though Leese wanted to see a second episode of Spongebob. She didn't dare tell that to Chrissy, lest be judged.

Jeffrey stood in the living room, hands on his hips, "Ladies."

"Hi Dad!" the little girls said. "'Sup Greene." Leese answered.

Dinner was fine. Rita served some sort of seafood and rice dish. It was pretty good. Then she served pound cake and vanilla ice cream. She put whip cream on the girls' cake and then Leese's but not hers or her husband's. "Sorry," Rita apologized, "Didn't even ask if you wanted it."

"I like whip cream." Leese said enthusiastically as she dug into the dessert. She couldn't help but notice that Jeffrey and Rita looked at her strangely all night long.

After dinner, she offered to do the dishes and Rita actually let her. This relieved Leese, who was starting to feel so weird about being in someone else's house without doing anything to help out at all. She had to do something instead of just sit around and eat their food and sleep in their bed.

Before she went to bed, she went into the den and called Nino.

"Hey, 'sup Leese!" he answered. She could tell he was outside, on the block, working. "How's it going?"

"Real good man. I think that uhhh, I think I might get through."

Nino sounded really happy, congratulating her. "That's great! Yo, how's it in Greene's crib?"

"This place is sick. Like sitcom perfect sick. The lawn is so fucking green I can't stand it."

"Damn. He being nice to you?"

"I'm here right? That's nice enough."

"True. Listen, Teto's been asking me about you."

She stiffened, "So? Tell him to fuck off."

"I would if that wouldn't get my body thrown in a trash compactor."

"Well, he knows I'd rather die than go back to him.I mean, go back to work for him."

"Well I hope he doesn't take that too seriously."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, just talking shit."

More small talk ensued as Leese asked about his daughter and how his pregnant girlfriend was doing. Then it was time for her to go to bed.

As she got beneath the covers she wondered why Teto asked about her. What did he really want? She thought about the last time she saw him and what happened. She thought about the bruises and the pain.and about his forcefulness and the pleasure. The stars in her head when he made her climax.

Suddenly she was turned on even though she didn't want to be. Under the covers, she slipped her hands under her shirt. She had average sized breasts, not too big, not too small. She could fill a size c cup bra well. Her nipples stood up and out to her dismay.

I don't wanna feel this.

She couldn't help but to pinch at her sensitive nipples. She hissed a little, forgetting how good this felt. She hadn't touched herself in a long time, not since she'd been in prison. When all of the lights were out and she was sure her cellmate was asleep she did it quietly, thinking of the only thing she knew.

Him.

She pinched and rolled her nipples between her fingers, concentrating hard on the way he had made her feel as he had held her down so that she could do nothing but cum.

Her hands slipped down into her panties. She was already slick with her arousal. She couldn't believe how fast it happened. Spreading her thick toned thighs a part she gently stroked her slit with one hand as she pinched a nipple with the other. Her breathing was getting deeper and she was taking shallow jagged little gasps of air. She knew how to be quiet, but it was hard not to moan out loud when she touched her hard little clit. It poked out between her thick lips and when she stroked the tip in round little circles it sent a deep shudder down her spine. She gasped louder this time, her whole body shaking as she started to develop a rhythm. Round and round her fingers went circling the clit but not quite touching it directly. She grunted quietly as her thighs tensed. She imagined Teto sucking her nipples, licking, swirling his tongue around them. It was so bad but it felt so good.

Finally she began to flick the tip of her clit. First slowly, her hips bucking just a little upon each flick. She was going to cum soon, but she wanted to prolong it as long as she could. She stuck her fingers inside her tight wet core, it was hot and sticky. It felt so good having her fingers inside of her. She fucked herself, hearing slight gushy sounds. Her lips parted as she brought herself to the edge. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She began rapidly flicking her hard swollen clit with her middle finger. A sound caught in her throat, not fully allowing her to release it, like a silent scream. Her body shook and shivered as wave after wave of pleasure over took her, making every muscle squeeze tight in her body until tears were forced out of the corner of her eyes. "Shit!" she whispered in the dark room winding herself down until the aftershocks stopped hitting her.

Finally she was done. She lay panting, so relaxed, so calm, so.disgusted. She never wanted thoughts of Teto to turn her body into a bundle of tingly nerves, igniting a fire she had to let burn and die. But she couldn't help it. He was all she knew.

Leese was the first one up in the morning. Strange, Jeffrey had always taken it upon himself to wake her. She went downstairs to the den knowing he had been sleeping down there the past couple of nights. Now it was her turn to wake him up.

She knocked on the door and said, "Greene, it's like 4:30 a.m. I hope you're awake."

She didn't hear any response so she knocked again, wondering if she were overstepping her bounds by being the one who demanded he awaken. But the second knock actually tripped the door open. She peeked inside. There was no one on the couch. No one in there at all. She stepped completely inside, remembering that Rita actually wasn't a total bitch last night so he probably went to bed with her. She shrugged, there was no way she was going to his bedroom to wake him because that would really be crossing the line.

She was about to turn around and leave when she noticed pictures on the mantle. They were black and white shots and looked really old. In every picture there was a guy in a boxing ring, only he looked as if he were wrestling another big guy. He was big himself. Tall and solid. He wore tights. It was almost funny except there was an air of dignity about him. She picked up one of the photos. The guy looked like Jeffrey, only she could tell that he had lighter skin, though still very tan, and he had straight jet black hair. In one of them he held up what looked like a championship belt. Who was this guy?

The door behind her opened and she jumped. Jeffrey turned on the light and squinted at her, "What are you doing?"

"I was waking you up. Well, I guess not really."

He looked at her looking at the pictures, he was still in his robe, "I can be dressed in fifteen minutes."

"Ditto." She said putting down the picture.

Once they were in the car on their way to the base Jeffrey asked her what she thought of those pictures.

"I guess they're interesting," she answered, "who is he?"

"That guy's my dad. Was. He died five years ago."

"Oh," Leese said, never knowing what to say when people told her things like this. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"He was a nice guy. You would've liked him. He's much nicer and less serious than me. Really charismatic."

She arched her eyebrow, what kind of conversation were they having when Jeffrey told her she'd 'really like' someone? It was a conversation as if they were actually friends and she weren't a pity case?

"You're nice." She said in an almost quiet voice.

He turned to look at her, his shades covering his eyes, "What?"

"I think you're nice enough. That's all."

They were quiet some more until she asked, "So he was like some kind of wrestler dude?"

"Yeah. My Dad he's from Tonga. You know where that is?"

Leese shook her head no.

"It's part of the South Pacific Islands. Not too far from Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji."

"Oh," Leese said, "Okay, I see.you're Tongo?"

He laughed, "Tongan. My dad came here years ago when that kind of wrestling stuff was big. Real big. All his cousins were doing it, making good money to send home. Anyway, he met my mom in Montreal one time during a tour. They got married."

"You're mom's Canadian?" Leese asked.

"Yeah, also black. Her family migrated up there from the south years before."

"Wow." she said, "That's so interesting. I don't know who my grandparents are. I mean." She looked at him and then swiftly looked away, "I don't know my mom's family at all."

"I knew your mom's mom. Your grandmother." He smiled.

"Seriously?" Her face lit up.

"Miss Grace. Always called me a knucklehead. All of us were knuckleheads. Even your mom," he laughed, "we got into lots of trouble."

"Well yeah, I'm living proof—"

"I mean, we got into trouble separately, your mother and I way before we even.well you know." He cleared his throat, "Anyway. I guess it didn't take long before we'd come together, get into some real trouble."

"What happened to my grandma? Mom never took me to see her."

"I don't know.that's weird. I guess once Tiffany got kicked out of the house she started hanging out all the time and lost touch with her mother."

"So you used to live in my 'hood?" She asked.

"If your 'hood was the same spot I found you then not exactly. We used to live in South Central, Los Angeles."

"Oh." Leese said not understanding why her mother would move to a whole different city. The same city Jeffrey lived in. It was a strange coincidence.

Jeffrey talked about how their neighborhood was rough and how he was a part of the gang life. His father had left his mother when he was twelve, and things got hard. He barely saw his dad. He got into trouble, started hanging around the same people Leese's mom hung around, and they mixed it up like kids do with raging hormones.

"So you didn't exactly love my mom. She was just like.a chickenhead?"

Jeffrey gave a nervous laugh, rubbed his hand through the fine dark closely cropped hairs on his head, "I guess we were both chickenheads. But I do remember her. She was a nice girl you know, even though she was always running around in the streets."

Leese didn't say anything, just stared out of the window.

"You know me and my dad didn't really reunite until about fifteen years ago. If I knew he'd be gone so soon, I wouldn't have been suck a jerk about seeing him again. I blamed him for everything.for not being there. And in the end it just happened. Boom. Died of a heart attack. We were cool at that point but it was still kind of strained you know? I don't think I ever told him that." Jeffrey's voice began to trail off. Leese should've felt awkward but instead she felt that same lump in her throat that he must have felt. She had no idea why, she only cleared it and said, "I bet he sure was proud of you when he saw you again."

He looked over at her quickly as if surprised and then back at the road, "Well, I don't know. my dad always wanted me to play for the NFL. Never quite made it there though. Was scouted in college but never made it."

Leese soaked this in. She had a father who used to be a football player and a grandfather who was a wrestler. These were all facts she just jotted down in her mind. She didn't have much a history, so it fascinated her.

"Well still," she said, "you could've turned out a lot worse. Now you're a big shot."

He was quiet but from the corner of her eye she saw him nodding. They were quiet for the rest of the drive until he pulled up the base. She was about to hop out, saying "Later Greene," like she usually did when she felt him grab her shoulder.

"Wait, I need to talk to you for a minute."

She looked at her watch.

"Won't take long." He said.

She looked at him with questioning eyes, "What's up?"

"You really believe you're my daughter?"

She looked at him slightly puzzled. She honestly didn't think the subject would really come up again. "Yeah I mean.I wanna believe that. Only reason I wanna believe that is that it'd be the first true thing about myself that I really know. I don't wanna think my mom lied about that, I mean otherwise," she shrugged, "what would it matter?"

He said, "This is complicated." He breathed a deep breath. "I don't believe you mean me any harm. I think you're trying to do right by yourself."

"What? What's all this?" His tone sounded a little, "Its not you, it's me" esque. Leese became alarmed, "You telling me I gotta leave your crib?"

"No, no." he said holding up his hands, "Look. I know you said it doesn't matter to you because you don't want anything from me, I mean, not really. But, even though it doesn't mean anything to you, and it might not mean anything in the great scheme of things.I need to know if you're mine."

Her eyes began to get moist instantly. She didn't want this to happen, and didn't know why it was happening. Her emotions came flooding up within her without warning sometimes though she tried to mask them. "Listen, mister you don't gotta believe me. I'm not out here trying to scheme or anything like that. You've done enough. I can make my way here and back and find a place to sleep and."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know.but I'm no liar."

"I believe you. I believe that you believe what your mom said. I just need to know the truth for myself."

She gave a half shrug, her eyes still glittering wet, "What, like you wanna test me to see if I'm yours or something?"

"We already did."

She looked at him puzzled as he explained the situation. "I hope you're not upset that we did it, but we couldn't wait for your answer. You wouldn't have said no right?"

She wondered why her brush was in a different place on her dresser than usual. "I wouldn't have said no."

"Good." He nodded tapping the steering will with his fingers. "Good then."

"Good," she said leaning back echoing him compulsively without thinking. "Good then."

Leese got out of the car, but her legs were so wobbly, it was as if she were floating on air. Her head was so disconnected. Everything ahead of her and in her peripheral vision blurred, voices were garbled. She didn't understand what she felt right now or why. She didn't understand that heavy feeling in her chest. Why did she want to cry? She had no idea.

She checked in and was told to report to a classroom on the second floor, a place she'd never been before. She went to the locker room, and got changed. When she went to her training classroom, none other than Sergeant Wicks stood in front of a chalkboard in front of about twenty other people, grunts just like her.

He said smiling, "Congratulations losers, you've made it to the final phase of the Mil-Ar-Tel recruitment project."