Devil Dawg Donnelly

Devil Dawg Donnelly's

Standard disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to people or actual events is purely coincidental.

You may contact the author at ulfr57@gmail.com All comments, suggestions and/or observations are welcome if presented respectfully.

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Part Twenty Seven:

"Man, this sucks" JD exclaimed, still staring into his closet, hoping for the umpteenth time that something in there would just shout out "wear me" instead of him trying to make the choice himself.

After lunch Sunday afternoon, Carl had made it quite clear that sweat pants and a t-shirt weren't gonna cut it for their upcoming early dinner with Jason and his mom and informed him to "find something nice to wear."

"What do ya think about this?" JD asked, holding up a pair of Levi 501 blue jeans and a dark blue button-up dress shirt, dangling them in front of Jake Bauers, who sat on his bed playing video games on his PS4.

"I don't know..." Jake responded, pausing the game to look JD up and down with a somewhat quirky grin on his face, adding: "I kinda like what you're wearing right now."

There was never a time in JD's life he could ever recall being either shy or bashful and having Jake now ogle him up a down as he stood there in his baby blue Calvin Klein briefs was no exception: "I can see your gonna be a lot of help" JD concluded, turning slightly sideways and wiggling his butt in Jake's direction.

"Keep that up and you're not gonna have to worry about what to wear" Jake laughed reaching over smacking JD's firm left ass cheek hard, causing JD to yelp, dropping his clothes as his hands shot to his smarting ass cheek protectively, rubbing the stinging flesh where Jake's hand had made contact.

"You're asking for it Bauers" JD retorted, before throwing himself at the massively muscular nineteen-year-old, thrusting him backward on his bed until he was straddling his hips, thrusting his fingers into Jake's armpits, and began tickling him.

Jake laughed, squirmed, and giggled, trying to pivot his body away from JD's wiggling fingers.

"Oh no, no no, big guy, there ain't no escape, I know all your weaknesses" JD chided playfully, his thighs tightening around Jake's hips as he mercilessly continued his tickle torture.

Jake finally thrust his hips up, snatching both of JD's shoulders in his large hands, bucking JD sideways on the bed, reversing their positions as he now held JD's wrist firmly against the mattress, the full weight of his body pressing tightly against him, making escape impossible.

As the playful laughs faded, the close physical contact started to have another effect on both of them, eyes locked together, they lay there like that for a few breathless moments staring into each other, fully aware of the growing heat in their connected loins.

As quickly as it had started it ended when Jake abruptly rolled off of him into a standing position beside his bed, glancing briefly down at JD, but not making eye contact: "Maybe I should go see if Carl needs some help so you can get dressed before your friend arrives."

Before JD could comment Jake had crossed the distance to his bedroom door, opened it and left, closing it behind him, leaving him there on the bed alone with a confused look and a throbbing erection.

JD lay there for a moment trying to clear his head and catch his breath, before looking down his body at the tenting bulge in his light blue briefs, noticing the dark wet patch that was spreading outward as the head of his seven-inch erection drooled dick snot into the straining fabric.

Once again JD found himself wondering what was going on, clearly, Jason wasn't the only guy he was now sexually attracted too, a realization he had come to last night during his talk with Carl resulting subsequently in his discussion with Jake afterward.

What was it about Jason and Jake that he was now finding himself attracted to, for that matter what was it about Timmy did he find alluring?

He realized that what he felt for Timmy was different from what he felt for Jake and Jason, with Timmy, he never once thought about Timmy's dick, for the most part, he completely ignored it, knowing that on some level inside his head he had compartmentalized Timmy, basically seeing him on the same level as the girls he was attracted too; but Jake and Jason were the complete opposite, he didn't know two more masculine guys, and though he had never seen Jake's dick, he found himself wondering what it would be like, actually speculating how it would compare to Jason's, the first and only dick he had ever sucked or wanted too.

In his head, he began running through all the guys he knew and coming to the conclusion he wasn't attracted to any of them, with the possible exception of Baxter Whitmore, his brother Billy's best bud.

He had always brushed off his appreciation of Baxter's body as just an admiration thing but was now coming to the realization that maybe it was more than that.

As he pondered it all, he came to the conclusion that even amongst those he was attracted to there seemed to be disparities; With Timmy and girls, in general, being the lowest level of attraction, then maybe Baxter, with Jake being marginally more so and Jason being the one he was most physically attracted too, though even then, with Jake there was the familiarity, the lifetime shared experiences that seemed to counterbalance the strong physical attraction to Jason, putting Jake and Jason nearly neck to neck on his desirability scale.

As he struggled to bring order to the chaos in his head, JD found himself dwelling on the things his Dad, and Carl for that matter had discussed with him about his future; his dad had said there would be consequences for his actions for breaking the code, and though JD didn't fully understand what that had fully meant, he was certain his dad wasn't just referring to his indiscretions with Andrea but in having sex with a girl period.

What he didn't understand, other than the obvious teen pregnancy thing, is why it didn't matter if he had sex with Timmy or even Jason for that matter, but fucking a girl did and why wasn't it okay?

And then there was Jake; it was becoming increasingly apparent that both his dad and Carl thought, that in addition to Jason, he shouldn't be writing Jake off as a potential interest, in fact, they both seemed to be encouraging it.

Most confusing of all was Carl basically stating that what one needs and what one wants are two separate things and as he pondered that now he almost simultaneously heard his dads voice telling him that a way forward had been prepared for him and that there would come a time he would have to make a choice; was this the choice he was talking about?

Carl had told him Jake was here for a reason, his dad had implied the same the first night Hank and Jake arrived.

JD found his thoughts drifting back to the night before, right after his conversation with Carl in the kitchen, which drove him to seek Jake out and apologize for his aggressive taunts earlier in the day.

Having found Jake were he last saw him, still leaning against the back yard retaining wall staring somberly into the darkening shroud of the evening woods, JD had just walked over to join him, standing by his side for a moment, before breaking the silence, striking up a conversation with him.

"Ya know what pipsqueak, I'm kinda pissed at you too," JD said, bumping his shoulder against Jake playfully.

Jake just cast him a quick sideways glance, acknowledging his presence but offering no retort to his comment.

JD continued anyway, reminded how his grandfather Marcus had always said "better out than in", and though true, it was usually stated right before he'd let one rip, but there were those rare occasions he meant discussing problems one might have with another person openly to their face, instead of allowing it to fester inside, either way, the analogy worked and both tended to cause a stink when deployed but once exposed to the open air, more times than not faded away, affording the person who had been keeping it in a measure of relief.

"It's been three years since I've seen or heard anything from you and when I finally do, you're staring at me like a starving man ogling a steak." JD exclaimed, with a hint of irritation in his voice: "Exactly how did you expect me to react..."JD's tone shifting from a query to supposition: "I thought ya just got old enough to think ya had better things to do than hang out with some snot-nosed kid."

That had hit a nerve, Jake's head swung around, the full force of his gaze boring right into JD: "I would never think that about you if you only knew..." Jake's voice faltered, averting his gaze to stare nervously at the ground between them, his face a mask of conflicting emotions.

JD brought his left hand up, cautiously placing it on Jake's right arm: "I know that now but I shouldn't have had to hear it from someone else..." JD paused for a second letting his words sink in: "I get why you didn't say anything back then, but why not now?"

Jake lifted his head, staring intently into JD's eyes: "Do you really have to ask me that, I would think it's rather obvious all things considered."

"Jason" JD whispered; this time it was his turn to avert his eyes and stare at the ground.

JD considered his words and for a moment, allowed it to cloud his judgment before thinking better of it, punching Jake in the arm...hard: "Here I thought ya was this big ol tough jarhead when what you really are is nuthin' more than a big ol pussy!"

Jake's eyes lit up as his lips parted into a toothy sneer: "You hit like a girl, you limp wristed pansy."

JD had burst out laughing throwing his arms around Jake as he did the same to him, they stood there hugging each other, giggling like two small schoolgirls before JD had pulled back to look his old friend in the eyes once again: "I've really missed you ya big dufus" he had exclaimed, before dragging him by the arm into the house where they had preceded to spend most of the night laughing and joking, reconnecting and renewing their friendship.

The warmth of the memory from the night before rejuvenated JD as he scooped up his clothes from the floor and hurriedly dressed before exiting his room, determined now to put his best foot forward and let the chips fall where they may.

As things got down to the wire before the expected arrival of Jason Dunne and his mother, Carl had turned into a whirling dervish of activity, juggling between setting the large wooden patio picnic table with eight place settings, all while mentally visualizing who should sit where and placing corresponding wine glasses at the appropriate sittings, temporarily discarding, for the sake of propriety, Max's general rule about underage alcohol consumption which was basically if a boy was sixteen or older and was under the direct supervision of an adult, that there was no problem and it was nobody else's business, but with Jason's mom joining them, Carl had managed to illicit a more tempered tone with Max for the evening.

Not knowing exactly what Jason's mom might find appetizing, Carl had decided to prepare both a slow-cooked roast with potatoes and carrots and stuffed roasted chicken.

When Jake joined him in the kitchen and offered to help, he had been pleasantly surprised when he revealed a palatable level of culinary skills; informing Carl it was purely out of his youthful survival instincts, stating his dad couldn't even boil water without burning it.

In no time Jake had added seasonings that elevated Carl's dishes and whipped up gravy's for both meat courses and a large salad worthy of being a meal unto itself, leaving Carl to just finish the dinner rolls and putting the finishing touches on his table settings.

From the moment Jake had entered the kitchen to offer up his services, Carl couldn't help but notice the dramatic change in his disposition, noting the stalwart six foot eight youthful brute was now in a far more jovial mood as compared to the day before, he could also detect his elevated pheromone levels while simultaneously catching the faint whiff of JD's on him as well.

As he and Jake finished their preparations out on the patio and while momentarily out of earshot of either Max or JD, Carl decided to make use of the situation, hoping to garner more insight into the inner workings of the young Marines mind and to fill him in on the main reason for this get together: "So, I take it you and JD are getting along better?" Carl posited, meaning it more as an observation than a question. knowing full well the boys had spent half the night giggling and laughing together in the living room, well after he and Max had gone to bed and his own dad had left with Timmy in tow.

"Better yes" Jake smiled, adding: "But still not quite the reception I had expected, I wish Max had been a little more informative when he invited me, I would have been nice to know all this beforehand."

Carl could hear the disappointment in Jake's words and responded as best he could: "The whole Jason thing broadsided both of us to be truthful" he thought for a moment before extrapolating, grateful Jake himself had provided the avenue for the very topic he wanted to bring up with him next: "Once you meet Jason I think you will understand JD's sudden attraction to him, Max and I are absolutely certain he is of the Heritage."

Jake's expression shifted from minor disappointment as his heavy eyebrow raised quizzically: "JD's only sixteen, his senses shouldn't be that developed"

Carl couldn't help but chuckle a little: "You're missing the obvious here.." Carl fomented, not wanting Jake to underestimate what he was potentially up against: "It isn't that JD is further along than he should be, it's that Jason is far more than he himself is aware of."

A look of surprise swept across Jake's face before positing: "If Jason hasn't claimed his Heritage yet and he's already projecting, then that would mean he's almost assuredly an..." Carl halted him by interjecting: "Exactly, that's why I'm cautioning you now, so you understand the potential risk you yourself may be facing this afternoon when he and his mother arrive."

Jake just stared back at him blankly for a few seconds, before his countenance shifted into slight incredulity: "I'm not that new to the Heritage or that undisciplined that I can't control myself, Uncle Carl."

"Nor have you met Jason, let alone spent hours around him, and let's not forget young man..." Carl paused, drawing the young Marine in for a slight hug before whispering in his ear: "You are still a virgin and JD isn't, and look how he's affected?" Carl concluded by pulling back giving him a knowing wink and a playful smile masking his underlying but very real concerns and misgivings.

"Ahem!" Max Donnelly interposed as he stepped through the back door onto the patio pavement, whimsically eyeing the pair up and down as they parted from their hug to stare back at him.

Carl shook his head bemusedly as Jake blushed, timidly casting his eyes down, daring only furtive glances from under his brow at Max as he uncomfortably shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Max sauntered over to them as Carl highlighted their previous conversation to him, noting bemusedly the playful, mischievous mood Max exuded as he continued to torment the trepidatious youth.

"Be that as it may..." Max noted, speaking calmly in low tones as his eyes completely focused on the now somewhat nervous young man before him: "Doesn't explain why he had his arms around you and acting like he has every right to do so."

Carl fought the urge to chuckle out loud as the color drained from Jake's face as his eyes went wide, gulping fretfully as he tried stammering a response: "I meant no offense...I ...I wasn't tryin' to..."

Max laughed out loud, smacking Jake on the shoulder before pulling him into a hearty hug, draping his arm around the shoulder of the youth, pulling his head down, and planting a kiss on his forehead: "Relax pup, I'm just fuckin' with ya." Max emphasized his jest by reaching up with his other hand and ruffled Jake's chocolate brown, short-cropped hair.

"But you should take notice of your reaction when I confronted you about Carl..." Max said flatly, his tone taking a more serious timbre as Jake eyed him quizzically: "Carl's right about Jason, and you had better prepare yourself for what might happen when he gets here and he and JD start interacting."

Jake's expressions took on a more thoughtful countenance as he considered Max's warning: "I won't become violent with him if that's what you're afraid of."

Carl shook his head as Max just rolled his eyes at the erstwhile young man.

"That's not exactly what Max is implying here Jake..." Carl said haltingly, trying to frame his thoughts carefully: "If what we are certain is true about Jason, Max and I are concerned you may feel compelled to back off when Jason is around, just as you did when Max confronted you just a minute ago."

As Carl's words sank in, their meaning took hold as a sudden realization swept across Jake's facial expressions like a light switch being flipped.

"But you said he hasn't been through his ceremony yet" Jake quipped, his voice tempered with doubt.

"That's the point" Carl explained, pointing first to Billy as his example and then relating his personal struggle to contain the boy the other night when he thought him an intruder.

Again, Jake's expression took on a grimace of concerned amazement as he obviously struggled with the implications of Carl's and Max's words.

"But that would suggest his sire was from one of the elder lineages, like Max's." Jake noted, as he continued to search his memories, recounting the limited possibilities before drawing the same conclusion both Max and Carl had already come to: "There isn't anyone in the country that's alive that could fit that description unless you're wrong about his age."

"We aren't and you'll see that for yourself when he gets here," Max said, summing up: "Which should be sometime soon I would think"

Elizabeth Dunne stood before her bathroom mirror still debating on whether she should wear her hair up as she normally did during the week when she was working or whether she should try to be less formal and let it hang down.

She had already decided to go as minimal as she could with her makeup and even chose to wear her contacts instead of her glasses, noting the latter made her seem more matronly, which, just for the day wasn't the image she wanted to project.

She had tried multiple times to beg out of the dinner commitment her son Jason had maneuvered her into, but as the time drew nearer, so did his unrelenting insistence.

It was moments like these, that were growing more frequent over the last couple of years as her son was becoming less the boy she raised and more a young man asserting his own autonomy, that reminded her of his father, Bannor Griffen.

At times she would marvel at how much he resembled his father, both in looks and mannerisms, and though he lacked the mental sharpness and intellect his father had possessed, she knew he was capable of doing so; she had hoped she had brought out her exes better qualities over the four years she had studied and processed Bannor's DNA samples before impregnating herself.

To date, she considered Jason the crowning glory of her past success but had recently been kicking herself in the backside for not obtaining larger sample sizes of his blood when he was younger, to compare to where his development was today.

The unknown variable quantities she had noted and mapped in Bannor's DNA comprised the sum of her life's work today, she had even considered expunging them from the sample she used to impregnate herself with, but had for sentimental reasons, left them in place, ultimately desiring to preserve the uniqueness that was the man she loved.

She had done some tweaking, however, just not to Bannor's DNA, instead she had opted to expunge her own DNA from the egg she had harvested from herself, leaving it as blank a slate as she possible could yet maintain it's viability, the result wasn't exactly cloning, but her sons DNA mirrored his fathers more than any naturally born human child; Jason was as close to being a replication of his father as her considerable skills had managed at the time. The outcome, to her amazement, had exceeded her expectations, there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't notice the ever-increasing similarities encapsulated in her son's physical and mental developments, down to even many of his personality quirks and mannerisms.

Physically, he was damn near a complete replication of his father and she marveled daily at how much like him her son was becoming, most notably of late his capacity for empathy and his near insatiable desire for physical development and self-discipline.

She had always thought that Bannor's drive to forge himself physically into a honed weapon had been instilled in him by his familial upbringing, a patriarchal driven manifestation passed down from father to son by daily interaction and a sense of familial obligation and traditions, but her subsequent observations denoted that what she thought was externally motivated male bravado and simple psycho/social dynamic structures and interactions, had in fact turned out to be more of a genetic trait than she had previously surmised.

Jason's birth and subsequent blood work had revealed as much; in her quest at approximating her lover's physicality, she had thought to combine the recumbent genetic traits that normally develop and activate at different intervals and stages through the natural progression of age and physical development.

She had in fact comprised a process to combine those developmental progressions by splicing Bannor's more maturely activated genome markers by distilling them from his blood samples with those age recessive traits in his spermatozoa.

At the time, she had thought it a sound and practical way of preserving Bannor's developmental traits and characteristics, factors that lay dormant in the DNA but present in his spermatozoa and would only develop, by random selection, as Jason grew older if left to the natural order Jason's development would have veered in a plethora of permutations, as was the case with any normal child developmental markers.

She knew that the random activation of those genes, though close to Bannor's, would have the same random variables present in most child growth; activating or not as the child grew to maturity, random genes like hair/eye color, body type, and metabolism, she knew what most geneticists knew, within each of us is a random selection of gene markers and traits that are randomly selected during gestational fetal progression.

That was unacceptable to her at the time, in her grief at the loss of her mate, she had chosen to subvert that random selection by injecting his matured genetic traits into the DNA markers of his spermatozoa, thus assuring a more replicative outcome, and she had succeeded, to a degree.

What she had failed to calculate into her equations was the recessive genes activated by Bannor's Heritage ceremony, genes her infant son inherited newly born, ones that became problematic enough that she felt compelled to sequester him as a toddler until she developed a treatment to inhibit their effects, which she had to administer to him, masked as a daily supplemental vitamin.

It had taken a while to take effect, but eventually, the affected genes were eventually muted enough for him to function in normal civil society; oddly though, her studies revealed that those RNA sequences that were normally dormant until released by the Heritage ceremony, weren't fully active at the time of his birth, suggesting that though her son had the full effective change his father had experienced at the time of his Heritage ceremony, which presented themselves as full-on physical attributes and manifestations in his progeny, yet remained inert awaiting the catalyst the Heritage ceremony proffered.

Jason was born with most of his fathers fully manifested attributes after his ceremony, muted by his daily supplements but still had the recessive genes the could be activated by the ceremony, meaning, if her son ever underwent the same ceremony, it was reasonable to assume he would expand upon those attributes he already inherited, the effect of which was completely unpredictable and more than a little unsettling to her and were the main source of her trepidation's about keeping her sons paternity a well-guarded secret.

She had also begun to suspect, that the closer Jason got to his eighteenth birthday, the more pronounced his fathers legacy was having on him, she feared that the daily supplements she had been giving him, were either becoming gradually ineffectual, or his body was adapting to it more rapidly the closer he got to his maturity.

Without bringing him into her lab and doing a complete assessment of his physiognomy, she was reluctant to up the dosage and was resistant to hazard a guess as to any potentially deleterious effects that may incur and being equally concerned how she might explain such a barrage of test to her offspring that wouldn't trigger his suspicions as to their purpose.

"C'mon Mom, we need to get goin' we're already running late" came her son's booming voice from the other side of the bathroom door, startling her into action.

Elizabeth Dunne stared at her own reflection and tried to consciously will the worry lines away that permeated her face as she steeled herself for what she was sure would be an awkward, boring evening with her son's recent love interest.

The afternoon/early evening was progressing rather well in Carl's opinion, he was particularly pleased about how the meal had turned out, both the roast and chicken seemed to go over well, but more importantly, Jason's mother, Elizabeth seemed to progressively become more at ease as they ate and enjoyed some light dinner banter.

Equally astonishing and even more surprising was the way Jake and Jason seemed to be hitting it off.

At first, Carl just assumed Jake was just putting his best foot forward for JD's sake, but as the meal snd conversations progressed the two boys seemed genuinely to connect, exchanging sports stats and comparing favorite football teams and players, finding they shared many similar favorites; Jason as well seemed to have a very keen interest in what Jake did in the Marine Corps, grilling him in earnest for details about his training to become a hand to hand combat specialist.

Carl couldn't also help but feel rather relieved that JD, though initially anxious and a little pensive at the meeting of the two guys he had conflicting feelings for, now seemed to be well on the way to becoming friends.

It wasn't hard for Carl or Max to see, as the meal progressed, the tension and worry casually slip away from JD as he sat at the opposite end of the table smiling and laughing, sandwiched on either side by the two large young men, as he effortlessly weaved himself into their conversations.

The only negative of the evening thus far was the obvious absence of Hank and Timmy and though he really wasn't that bothered Timmy wasn't there he was getting miffed with Hank since Carl and Max had made it clear they wanted him to meet Jason as well and get his opinion on the young man. Jake had offered up his observations earlier, shortly after Jason and his Mother had shown up; initially, Jake had been rather visibly taken aback at their first encounter.

The intense look of studious consternation that permeated his visage when JD made their introductions, left no doubt in Carl's mind that Jake was as surprised by Jason's "presence" as was both Carl and Max were previously.

Jason exuded almost the same hormonal and pheromone levels of someone who had already been through the Heritage, but at the same time, it was clearly obvious that that hadn't happened yet.

There was only one other person they had ever known to "broadcast" on that level and that was Billy and though it was nowhere near the same level of intensity that emanated from Billy, it was still rather jarring that he did so at all.

After Max had escorted the group out to the back patio and was doing his best to charm and engage Jason's mother, Jake had held back and offered up an observation that neither he nor Max had taken into account, though obviously apparent the moment Jake proffered it, what he sensed, when close to Jason, felt muted in some way, masked by something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Carl had agreed but cautioned Jake about appearing to be too obvious, indicating it was probably best for both Jason and JD if he just comported himself as relaxed and easy-going as possible and asking Jake at some point right after dinner if he would suggest to both JD and Jason they go hang in JD's room for a while, affording Max and him time alone with his mother, both being determined to garner more info from her about Jason's paternity and determine if she had any knowledge of who her son was or could be.

It had been a good half hour later Jake got the indicative nod from Carl when he suggested they let the old folks talk while they go do a few rounds of Street Fighter 11 on JD's PS4.

Carl used their subsequent departure as an excuse to fetch another bottle of white wine from the kitchen and to send a quick text message to Hank telling him to hurry his ass up and get there. Upon his return to the patio, Carl noted that Max had already started to steer their light-hearted dinner conversation more in the direction they had planned to discuss, he also couldn't help but notice the general demeanor of both Max and Elizabeth as their continued but restrained body language diametrically opposed the increased rate of their respiration and subsequent hormonal and pheromone elevation.

It had been a while since a woman had drawn that kind of physiological response from Max and Carl couldn't help but find amusement in how hard Max was now trying to mask his attraction from him while simultaneously trying to maintain the mutual, somewhat subcutaneous physical admiration passing between them noting to himself that even at the age of forty-three, Elizabeth Dunne was still quite the handsome and striking woman she had always been, made even more so by her unassuming attractiveness that most attractive women lacked.

From her perspective, she to found Max a refreshing change from the usual weak-willed, self-aggrandizing males her profession seemed rife with, men who talked endlessly about their achievements, the type of men who constantly sought to elevate themselves while diminishing the hard work of others and who constantly sought validation by disparaging others contributions.

She also couldn't help but draw mental comparisons to her deceased lover and father of her son Bannor Griffen, how they were almost identical in both physicality and attitude.

Bannor had exuded confidence and an underlying innate intelligence, but without the faux bravado and arrogant self-absorption many men like him had and though Max was obviously more hirsute, his mental and physical responses mirrored those of Bannor's and despite the fact she still keenly missed his presence in her life she couldn't help but find the similarities in Max Donnelly appealing.

Bannor had always been able to make her feel at ease around him while simultaneously making her feel on the verge of losing control, mostly where her inhibitions were concerned, it was more than physical, more than emotional, their time together was both comforting and exhilarating, he brought out the best in her, challenged her to be more than she perceived or had previously allowed herself to even consider.

She had often found herself angry with him as well, realizing early on that he often orchestrated emotional and mental upheavals that more times than not challenged her perceptions of accepted norms, but she also came to realize he didn't do these things to control her or in malice, but to help her grow as a person and as an individual.

There were times his machinations drove her to a furious, emotional outburst, ending ultimately in her seeing how his methodology had helped her better understand and build upon her own sense of reliance and personal achievement, often ending with her in his arms thanking him for helping her see herself the way he did, something she hadn't felt from a man in years, not since Bannor's tragic death.

They didn't always see eye to eye though, she just couldn't grasp his near slavish devotion to the Heritage and often railed against the more deleterious patriarchal nature subsumed within the Codex he and his men abided by.

She was glad he had placed enough faith in her and their relationship that he slowly, over time entrusted her with the knowledge of who he and the men under him were and the subsequent revelations of the Heritage dating back to antiquity.

The scope of it all was and still is mind-boggling to her, but she had kept the secret, but she also didn't forget or forgive how she felt it had ultimately claimed his life and most of the men she had come to considered as her extended family.

Only two of the original eight had survived and she now felt a sudden pang of relived grief as she pictured herself that last day, standing there with Henry and Russ, mourning the loss of their brethren and the man she had loved more than any other, at their graveside.

They did their best to comfort her and each other, but long before that day, Elizabeth had already decided her future course, that despite her loss she still wanted what had now been denied her, resolving that if she couldn't have the life they had envisioned together she could at least take some solace by finishing her studies and accomplishing through science what was now denied her by nature.

She also allowed her distaste for the Heritage to take deeper root, she knew that what she planned would more than likely be met with enthusiasm by both Henry and Russ, but she also knew that they would insist on being part of it, even drawing Bannor's father into it and she wanted no part of that life for her future son and it had been with those dire thoughts in mind that she had moved away and changed her last name, deciding to finish her schooling at Duke University instead of the University of North Carolina, learning all she could about genetics before carrying out her plan to impregnate herself with Bannor's progeny.

Carl had broken her somber reverie by popping the cork of the bottle of wine he had returned with.

He couldn't help but notice the slightly startled jump she gave before smiling, extending her glass as he held the bottle up, offering her a refill.

"It's interesting that you specialize in the field of genetics Liz," Max said, drawing her attention back to their conversation.

"Oh..." she mused: "I didn't know the Marine Corps held any specific interest in the topic?"

The smile on her face indicated a certain playfulness to her observation, but Max got a distinct feeling there was more to her statement than met the eye.

Max smiled back: "You'd be surprised what the Corps is interested in these days, but my observation was of a more personal nature"

Elizabeth looked over the rim of her glass at him as she took another sip before asking: "Have you studied the topic Max?"

Max merely smiled back her somewhat whimsically, leaving Carl to respond before he did: "Actually Max's ex-wife is a geneticist."

That news seemed to pique Elizabeth's interest, her eyes narrowing inquisitively as she looked back and forth at both Carl and Max: "That's fascinating.."Elizabeth noted, before asking: "Did she have a particular field of interest?"

Max's grin faded as he simply stated: "She was still working on her dissertation for her doctorate when she decided to abandon us..." His tone was clinical, but Elizabeth knew there had to be more to it than he was saying: "I do believe however her dissertation was on hybridization." He added, the look in his eyes suddenly so intense Elisabeth felt a sudden twinge of anxiety as she asked the next and obvious question: "Where did she matriculate, not many universities specialize in that topic."

Max just responded bluntly: "The University of Georgia."

Elizabeth felt another twinge in the back of her consciousness pull at her before stating observationally: "So her field of interest in hybridization was animal-related and not plant-based then?"

Max just shrugged his shoulders casually, but his gaze seemed to intensify again as he seemed to pause for what he was sure would be her next question making him grow even more pensive when she veered in another direction: "Is there any chance of meeting her, I think she and I might share some common interest in that particular field of study."

Carl interjected at that point, effectively heading her off that particular path of inquiry: "She didn't exactly leave a forwarding address after abandoning her husband and three children."

The pained look on her face denoted the genuine shock and remorse she now felt for having been so curious: "I'm so sorry Max, I meant no offense.." her hand reached out and casually touched his forearm, a comforting gesture, one Carl noted Max didn't seem to mind: "As a mother, I couldn't ever imagine abandoning one child let alone a husband and three children."

Carl saw an opening their exchange presented them and decided to broach the topic straight up: "It must be difficult for you as well, raising a son on your own..." Carl paused momentarily, letting the shift in topic take hold, while also noting the slight stiffening of her posture before asking: "Jason has told us he doesn't know who his father is and JD says it really seems to bother him..."

Both Max and Carl could sense it instantly, her heart rate jumped dramatically, her entire demeanor hardened as well as the expression on her face and the narrowing of her eyes came into laser-like focus as she withdrew her hand from Max's forearm: "Well that's a personal matter between my son and I, it really shouldn't concern you or JD..." Max braced himself and Carl could feel the mounting pressure building in him as his own gaze intensified, drilling everyone of his perceptions into the woman, Carl knew this was always his response when he knew someone was lying to him and for her part, her next words couldn't have been more poorly chosen, nor more deliberate in their intent: "I would think that both your son and you would have bigger concerns all things considered..." her words trailed off, but her implication still hung there, the cold haughty expression on her face a mask meant to ward off further intrusion, which Max completely ignored: "Please, don't mince words, we're all adults here" he retorted calmly, matching her now cold icy stare, which Max knew belied the rising heat of her respiration, with calm dispassion and cold calculated focus: "I would have thought that obvious by now..." she continued, shifting her weight sideways, setting her wine glass down on the table: "From everything I have heard, your son is nothing but trouble and he now seeks to drag my son down with him..." She took a step toward Max, glowering at him now, bringing her hand up and jabbed a finger into his chest: "It will be a cold day in hell before I ever allow that to happen."

Carl could sense the near panic brewing within her and knew Max could too as he stood there like an immovable rock, allowing her anxiety to play out in the direction of his choosing, both of them now absolutely certain she was hiding something and knowing it had to be something big for her to make this much of a fuss to try and deflect them from their course.

It was the following few moments that often made both Max and Carl question anyone's outright dismissal of the thing that one could only call fate or karma and it was moments like this one that made Carl more reflective of the possibility of divine intervention, for it was at this opportune moment that Timmy and Hank rounded the far corner of the trailer and made their way toward them, Hank shouting his usual cheerful greetings before coming to an abrupt halt not six feet behind Elizabeth Dunne, his nose in the air sniffing in her direction, as a shocked expression subsumed his facial features before cautiously observing: "As I live and breath, Liz Haskel is that really you?"