Aegis (joining closed!)

[I quit:)]

Jim just kept on smirking. If Rachel only knew that this was only the beginning of the avalanche of questions.
Rose's eyes widened even more. "Kids? You have kids? Real kids?", she turned to Jim. "Kids!?"
"Son called Jack and two daughters called Raven and Angel.", he replied, smiling proudly. Rose nodded satisfied.
"You...wow. I can't believe this. Jimmy is married to the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, has wonderful kids...oh and look at that smile!" She stood up and clapped her hands once. "Time for pie!" As she left into the kitchen, Jim looked at Rachel for a moment.
"So? Already feeling pressure because of all those questions?", he asked, and winked. "Oh by the way...I need to tell you something. Eh...but not now, okay? Later. It's nothing bad, so don't worry." >>Even though I am. What if she can't handle the news...? What if she wants to move to Germany? Leave me?<<
Rose came back with three plates, a slice of apple pie on them. "Here you go, cutie.", she said to Jim, handing him the plate. She sat down on the couch again and handed the other plate to Rachel. "And a nice piece of apple pie for this beauty here."

Hunter looked into his eyes and sighed sadly. "I know, hun...I know. But you know me. The only thing I can is worry. And I just don't want to lose you - even if you are a strong angel." She softly stroke over his cheek and pulled him closer. "I love you."

[DaydreamNarrator]

Looking after Rose as she left into the kitchen, Rachel smirked, turning back to Jim.
"Nah, you know me, i have no problems with meeting new people. the war turned me into an extrovert." raising an eyebrow, she frowned slightly, and of course worried. "oookaaaayyy....can you at least give me clue? and of course i worry, you know me, lone wolf!"
as rose came back and handed her the plate with the pie, she smirked happily. "ahh, how i love apple pie. looks delicious. thank you!" she took the plate and took a bite. "mmmhhh, tastes delicious, too. i need that receipe!"

"I love you too", Mac said, softly pulling her closer. "And you can so much more than worry. but i know what you mean." he smirked, looking into her eyes. "You know, we angels can do everything every other person can do, too, even cursing like hell. but there's three things we aren't capable of- using dark spells and so on, lying, and breaking promises. and i promised you you won't lose me, right? well, i can't break that promise, so you don't have to worry about it, really."

[I quit:)]

"Thank you, young lady!" Rose grinned excitedly. "James, could you get the recipe please? It's in the first drawer on the right when you enter the kitchen."
"Sure.", Jim stood up, taking his plate with him and walked over to the kitchen.
While Jim was gone, Rose's expression turned serious.
"I need to tell you something, miss. I am not alive anymore. I am dead." She sighed. "Already since two years. The one speaking and you see - I am Rose's daughter. My mother asked me to do her a little favor - and here it is. I am able to see the near future. So, I knew that Jim and you would come here to meet and talk to my mother. Oh, I should explain: I am Anna, 49 years old and an anom. I can shift into any person I have ever touched in my entire life. So, my mother's favor: If he should ever return here, I should take her place as long as he's here. And never tell him the truth about my mother."

Hunter smiled softly and kissed him. She cuddled her head against his chest, enjoying his scent, his warmth...just everything.
"You can't lie?", she asked after a moment, giggling silently. "Really?"

[DaydreamNarrator]

Rachel looked to the ground, frowing. with a sad sigh, she looked back at...Anna.
"I wish you hadn't told me about that...i hate keeping things secret from Jim...and when he finds out...Anna, Jim has been lied to all his life. he can't take that anymore and i can understand it. when he finds out about it...gosh he will break apart."
taking another bite of the pie, she stared at the plate. "Don't you think he deserves to hear the truth?"

Mac smirked slightly, looking to the ground.
"yeah, we really can't lie. you could basically ask me everything and all i could do would be walking away to hide the truth. why do you ask?"

[I quit:)]

Anna sighed. "I know. And that's exactly why we shouldn't tell him. Rose didn't want him to suffer of losing another person when he already had so few to care about. That's why she asked me this favor. I can understand it will be hard for you to keep this a secret for him...I don't know him as good as you do. So you should decide what's best for him. The truth, or this lie." She took Rachel's hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Just...try to understand me. And my mother."

Hunter laughed. "Because I am the queen of lies.", she said, winked and kissed him. "Mhm...so I could ask you anything? What don't you like about me?"

[DaydreamNarrator]

Rachel sighed.
"i do understand rose and you...but i believe that another lie will hurt him more than loing her...he has been told so many lies. i don't know if he could take another one. especially if he finds out that i knew it. i promised him- no secrets. that he could trust me blindly. what do you think would happen when he'd find out i lied to him? he would lose trust in everthing. i can't do that to him."
as jim came back, she sighed sadly.
"honey? you should take a seat...we have to tell you something..."

Mac raised an eyebrow, sighing.
"honestly? that you keep thinking i will die every time i fight against somebody or something. i'm a grown-up man, i served n the army for over a year, fought a thousand fights...i know what i'm doing. and i'm a darn good fighter. but i understand your fear, honey, so it's half as bad."

[I quit:)]

Jim frowned. "Eh...alright." He sat down and looked at Rachel and Rose. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What's wrong?" He had a strange gut-feeling that it wasn't anything good. What was it? Did they find out they were family or what?

Hunter sighed and looked at him. "I'm sorry. I'll try to...decrease it.", she said and cuddled against him. "It's still funny you aren't able to lie anymore."

[DaydreamNarrator]

Rachel sighed sadly, looking at Anna and then at Jim.
"I promised you no secrets. and thati would never lie to you. and so i will do what i promised."
she stood up, went to her heels in front of him and took his hands, looking up into his eyes.
"this woman...isn't Rose. it's her daughter, Anna. Rose died two years ago."

Mac smirked slightly, playing with her hair. "i love you, no matter if you decrease it or not", he said softly.
"but now you have to answer that question, too! What don't you like about me?"

[I quit:)]

Jim stared at Rachel for a moment.
"What?", he asked, baffled.
Anna stood up and shifted into her normal-self. A 49-year-old single mother of two children, looking like an exact young copy of her mother.
"I am really sorry, Jim. But Rose asked me to do this."
"What? Why?", he looked at Rachel again for a moment, a sad, confused frown on his face, and then at Rose- eh...Anna again.
"She knew how hard it was for you to trust, open up and care about someone. And she knew you would come back once. She didn't want to hurt you. And she definitely didn't want you to find it out like this."
"But...how? I mean...why..?"
"She was old, Jim. Very old. You knew that. And she was sick. Leukemia."
Jim froze. >>Not again somebody with...<< He looked at the floor in front of him for a moment, before up to the ceiling, taking a deep breath.
"Thanks for telling me, hun...", he whispered to Rachel, and just leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes for a moment. It hurt to hear Rose was gone. That woman had done so much for Jim when he was younger. She had given him something to eat when he was around - on his way to stealing food again - because his father never gave him anything. 'Take care of yourself, boy' - he always used to say. Rose was the one who taught him how to tie a tie. She was the one who didn't see him as the troublemaker he was.
The weird thing though...he didn't feel that much pain. Maybe he had become numb? Or maybe he just couldn't feel a lot of pain anymore - because there was still a huge hole in his heart because his loss of Rex. The loss of Rose would hurt. Yeah. But it was easier. He knew that was harsh to think, but he couldn't lie to himself about that. They hadn't seen eachother anymore since about 6 years, so it was easier. Easy to recover - but hard to forget.

Hunter laughed. "There is nothing I don't like about you!", she said and kissed him. "Oh wait...there is this ONE thing."

[DaydreamNarrator]

"You deserved the truth", Rachel mumbled, runnig her fingers through his hair and down his neck. "Hey, honey, you know- i'm always there for you when you feel like falling."
she softly kissed him and looked into his eyes. "even when the whole world falls apart, when everything turns dark and everyone against you- i will still be there, right by your side, fighting with you."

Mac tilted his head curiously. "Well, then tell me!", he said with a slight smirk, wrapping one wing around her shoulders.