You can pick your fights but you can't always pick your sparring partner.

"Return to your quarters," Lothos instructed them sternly. "And speak to no one of what you have witnessed here. This was your revenge. Do not share it with anyone."

It wasn’t until after the last woman left the surgical theater did the surgical team started to prepare to remove the body.

"Leave it!" Lothos spoke with ominous quiet. "It will be removed by the sanitation crew and incinerated with the rest of the day's garbage."

Long after everyone, Xavier included, had departed Lothos studied from different angles the mutilated remains of what had once been a fine surgeon. Finally he cut the lights in the blood-spattered operating room, knowing that where Edward Grant was now, there was plenty of light.... from the fires in which he would burn in forever. 

PART ONE

In the few hours after Tala and the other women slowly made their way back from their quarters, the operating room was cleaned of all the debris and that ‘debris’ incinerated.  Even as Tala laid down on the bed that she had been used on just the previous night, Lothos watched her as she slept quietly.  It seemed as though she was finally getting some rest, and that in of itself was something that Lothos required more for his daughter than anything else.  Complete rest.  He continued his watch over his daughter and the rest of the project at a distance, but it was in the morning that he was more interested in as he watched her start to stir on her bed.

        Tala’s eyes flickered open and she lay there on her bed thinking about what had happened last night.  She felt vindicated.  Sitting up on the bed, she sighed and remembered her mother.  Zoë needed her and she hadn’t been there for her in over a day.

        Quickly getting up, Tala headed to the closet and pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt.  Getting dressed, she headed toward her mother’s quarters.  "Lothos, please tell... mom... that I'll be at her quarters in less than three minutes."

        "Good morning, Tala," Lothos said genially as she walked the hallways.  The moments when Lothos permitted himself to recall such tenderness were rare.  Then, in the next moment, he shifted his attention to Zoë’s quarters as he noticed that the nurse’s assistant had left her quarters.  “Tala is on her way,” he said evenly.  “She’ll be here in less than two minutes.”

        “She should have been here two hours ago,” Zoë snapped, glaring up at the ceiling.

        Zoë’s somewhat tart reply just made Lothos chuckle.  ‘Maybe when you're sixty your tongue will have lost some of its razor edge, my dear,’ he thought.  Then, Lothos went quiet as he watched Tala arrive at her mother's quarters.

        Hearing Lothos chuckle only infuriated Zoë more.  “Where is she?” she growled again.  Hearing a timid knock on her door, Zoë growled under her breath, "How nice of her to deign a visit," then retorted forcefully, "Get in here, Tala!  Now!"

        When the door slowly opened and Zoë saw her daughter's head hesitantly appear, she fixed Tala with a narrow gaze.  "How kind of you to visit me," Zoë snapped sarcastically.  "I trust you had a good night's sleep?"

          “Excuse me?” Tala asked a bit harshly.  “Have I missed something?”

Tala's tone wasn't lost on Zoë, and one slender eyebrow arched up as Zoë gave her daughter a narrow-eyed look.  "Yes," she snapped back at her daughter.  "You were supposed to escort me yesterday... ALL DAY," Zoë raised the volume of her voice as she glared daggers at her.  "But thanks to your total lack of discipline, I spent most of the day staring at the ceiling.  And, fool that I am, I figured you would be here bright and early this morning.  But noooo," she went on, seeing the heated color come up in her daughter’s face.  "You took the luxury of sleeping in over helping me."  Zoë raked her with a cold look.  "And if it happens again, daughter or not, you'll get ten lashes to remind you that I'm your mother AND a superior who expects no .... demands respect and unfailing obedience to any and all orders given to you!"

        Tala couldn’t believe what she had just heard.  ‘If she honestly expected me to be here taking care of her after I had just been beaten from the shoulders down and raped from midnight till dawn and sedated... she had another damn thing coming,’ Tala thought heatedly.  But before she opened her mouth to tell Zoë exactly what she thought about her demands - even if she was her mother and a superior, Tala clamped down on her teeth and ground her teeth for a moment and then counted to ten. 

        Zoë watched Tala fighting to hold her tongue.  ‘Nathaniel always had a hard time not spewing when he was in a temper tantrum,’ she thought.

Looking up into the camera in the corner of Zoë’s room then back to her, Tala told her plainly.  "I can not discuss what has happened in the past twenty four hours, as per Lothos' specific orders to me, however, ma'am if you want the specifics of what occurred, then you should ask that of him.  I apologize for not being here earlier.  It won't happen again, ma'am."

        Tala’s words piqued her curiosity.  As her daughter suggested, Zoë glanced up toward the ceiling.  “Well?” she asked sarcastically, wondering what sort of answer she’d get.

"A wise woman would heed the advice of her daughter," Lothos told her smoothly.  "And one would also refrain from asking... inappropriate questions."

        Tala stood there listening to her parents talk to each other.  Her temper was most definitely getting the better of her but she was definitely trying to control it.

        Zoë knew that Lothos’ words were almost a rap across her knuckles.  “Very well,” she said coolly as she shifted her attention back to Tala.  She saw how rigidly Tala was holding herself, to say nothing of her expression and Zoë knew that if she didn’t lighten up that today was going to be a lot longer and a more miserable day for both of them.

        Glancing at the clock affixed above the door of her quarters, Zoë offered an olive branch of sorts.  "Since I'm already dressed and had my breakfast," she began carefully, making herself smile naturally at Tala. "Let's go topside and stroll through the gardens.  I believe the roses are blooming."

        Tala saw how Zoë was trying to be pleasant again, but her heated temper wouldn’t let it go.  Tala blinked, took a deep breath then finally said, “I can't do this, father.  Dr... Mother needs to know what has happened.   May I explain what happened as of yesterday?  I don't want my mother to think that I'm keeping anything from her.  If we…" Tala looked to Zoë for a tentative moment, "... are going to build a relationship, I need to start out with the truth.  But, it's up to you, father."

        Zoë couldn’t hide the smirk as her… their daughter basically told Lothos how it was going to be.  She had the strangest of feelings that no matter what Lothos decided that Tala would tell her anyway.

        “Very well,” Lothos conceded.  “But this conversation… any and all aspects of it, do not leave this room for any reason.  Is that clearly understood, ladies?”

        “Understood sir,” Tala said as she sighed then sat down in a chair opposite of her mother and licked at her lips nervously.

        Tala gathered her thoughts for a moment then looked up at her mother who was looking at her expectantly.  Swallowing, she began, "I should have listened to you the other night.  I should have just gone back to my quarters and slept, but… being headstrong and thinking that I could handle myself, I went to the restaurant and met up with Dr. Grant for a drink.  The next thing that I remember was coming to in my room, strapped to my bed, trying to call out to father and getting tape over my mouth.  He finished at dawn then sedated me.  That's why I wasn't here to be with you.  When I woke, it was almost six o'clock at night... and then came the shock and the tests and waiting and the questions..." Tala paused as she looked away from Zoë, her eyes beginning to gather moisture in them.  "... and getting dressed once again to meet in the cellar with others who he had raped and abused to watch him be emasculated and then die."  Tala turned to finally look at Zoë to see the shocked expression and anger on her face.  "He won't ever hurt anyone again...especially me."

        As Zoë listened to Tala explaining what had happened to her since she had left her the night before, Zoë felt her blood begin to boil.  Perhaps she had not been a constant mother figure in Tala’s life, but that didn’t stop her instincts of protection and outrage at what her daughter had been subjected to.  “Exactly how did he die?” Zoë demanded of Lothos when Tala finished.  Only Lothos’ description of the operation satisfied her.

        A few moments passed before Zoë looked again at her daughter, but with understanding.  “Are you still game in going topside to see the rose garden?  It’s exceptional this year, or so I’ve been told.”

        Tala lowered her head and closed her eyes for a moment trying to rid herself of the emotions that overwhelmed her.  Taking a deep breath, she looked back up at Zoë and smiled as she appreciated just exactly what her mother was doing.  “I’m game.  But would you mind if we swung by the cafeteria on the way, I haven’t eaten any breakfast.”  When Zoë nodded, Tala stood and moved around to where she could move her wheelchair without too much of a fuss.

        Once settled, they moved down toward the elevator.  “You look like you could use some orange juice, Dr…” Tala sighed again and then shook her head only to lean down and look at the woman in the wheel chair.  “What do you want me to call you?” she finally questioned.

        Tala's question was a valid one.  Especially since Zoë hadn't thought about it, even after learning she was her daughter.  Zoë searched her face carefully, trying to assess her emotions and thoughts.  She hadn’t been a part of her life from the moment she was whisked away from her at the moment of her birth.  They were more like strangers, really.  Finally, Zoë answered, “Mom will do in private or off duty time.  But when on duty, address me by my title.”

        Tala grinned at her when she finally answered.  “All right mom… now, how about some orange juice?” she asked again.

        It was an unexpected feeling for Zoë; a foreign feeling actually when Tala smiled... really smiled at her as she again suggested getting some juice.  Zoë smiled at her, even letting it show in her eyes.  The moment was a triumph for Tala and Zoë.  It had been far longer than Zoë cared to admit since she let anyone so intimately close... relationship wise... to her since before Nathaniel sat down in that damned booth and became Lothos.

        "I believe I'd enjoy that a great deal," Zoë told her.  "Just remember, I don't like pulp in my juice." 

        The soft little chuckle Tala made was one of the sweetest sounds to have echoed in Zoë’s ears in a long time.  As Tala pushed her chair toward the elevators, Zoë realized something.  ‘This is the first time my daughter has been relaxed in my presence,’ and she savored that thought for a long time. 

PART TWO

Commander Adlams put the phone down and looked up at the man who just happened to come through the squad room door.

        "You've got good timing, Sylvane," he said as the lieutenant stopped in his steps and turned carefully to look at him.  He couldn't say anything; his hands were full of bags of food from the little cafe most of the guys liked, and he had a fifth one in his teeth.

        "Wah is it?" Quint tried to mumble around the bag as he moved toward the nearest empty desk to set his load down.  When he could take the bag from his mouth, he asked again, "What's up?"

        "There's a fight in one of the daylight bars.....The Chain Place," the commander told him.  "And since the others are already out patrolling, guess you get to go sort it out."

        Quint rolled his eyes. "Well since I'm going up to that level, is it okay if I grab some lunch up there when I get finished sorting it out?"  He hated the day shift, especially when it meant going to one of the daylight bars.

        Commander Adlams thoughtfully ran his tongue over the front of his teeth then raised an eyebrow.  "I don't see the problem with that. Just get it taken care of."

        Quinton Sylvane, known as Quint to the his pals, gave his commander a curt nod, turned on his heel and hurried toward the elevators that would lead him to The Chain Place on the first level. 

        Waiting for only a few moments, Quint mentally prepared himself for the fight that he was about to break up. But as soon as the elevator doors opened, it didn't take long for his adrenaline to rise.  Even as he stepped out of the elevator, a fist went toward his face.  Quint immediately did what any of the security detail would have done. 

        He grabbed hold of the arm, and with a quick turn away from whoever it was, began twisting the arm until the person went to the ground crying out in pain.  Quint, who shook his head finally looked down at the man who he held and saw that it was actually his next-door neighbor.  "You know, Martin, it's not nice to try to sucker punch your neighbor, right?" he asked as he eased up just a bit on the arm that he had been twisting.

        "Owwww!" Martin Rosen yipped again even though the security guard, whom he hadn't recognized in time to pull the punch he'd thrown, let up his grip.  "Owwww, no... no it's not," gasped the expected response when Quint twisted his arm again before releasing it. Getting to his feet, rubbing his left arm as he did so, Martin made eye contact with the guard.

        "You're not gonna put this on my record are you, Quint?" he asked hopefully.  Then... "Awww shit, Quint," he complained when his neighbor - now security guard on duty - grabbed him by the arm and turned him around and started marching him back in the direction of The Chain Place. "The guy had it coming.  He got in my face.  And Ernie damned sure wasn't helping any.  He wouldn't even throw the guy outta the bar!"  But his complaints fell on deaf ears as he and the guard with the steely grip on his arm re-entered the already busy bar.

        "Get that bum outta here, Quint," Ernie Smith yelled angrily, moving out from behind the bar. "If you don't, you might be hauling me in, too."

        Quint tilted his head to the side then gave a small half of a smirk before he swallowed and blinked at the bartender.  "If that's the case, Ernie, then that's okay too.  I've got two hands.  Not a big deal."  He raised his eyebrow then gave a not so polite shove to Martin to make him sit in a chair.  "Now," he said as he placed his hands on his hips, "what's going on that two friends are fighting over?  And, don't B.S. me, Ernie, you know that I can smell it a mile away."

        Ernie threw the disgruntled Martin a sour look before turning back to Officer Sylvane.  "Things were going along about like normal.  A few of the late shift guys came in for a drink. A couple of them started shooting pool.  You know, just letting off some steam.  Then about twenty minutes ago, this one came in," the bartender jerked a thumb in Martin's direction.  "Plunked his butt on a stool and said to keep 'em coming."  Ernie shrugged.  "So I did.  But outta the blue, he turns around and lays into the guys shootin' pool.  Tells 'em to stop because... you ready for this?"  He slid a look at the man in question. "They're making too much noise. He can't hear the music."  Forgetting for a moment about the security guard, Ernie swung around on Marty where he was sitting at a table.  "You moron! It's a bar, for crimminy sakes!  In bars you have noise and music and talking.  You want quiet?  Go sit on a mountain top."

"Yeah?" Martin jumped to his feet, pushing his chin out as he took a step toward Ernie.  "Well, why don't you just go sit...."

Quint listened to Ernie then shot a look toward Martin as he came up from his seat and all Quint needed to do was hold out a hand to stop the man from progressing any further.  Turning just his eyes back to Ernie, Quint slightly pushed his lips out then turned back to Martin.  "So, who is she this time, Martin?"  Quint knew of his neighbor’s antics; the boy spilled it out as quickly as he could every time that there was a new woman in his life.  The look that appeared on Martin's face wasn't what Quint was expecting.

Martin was ready to plant his fist in the middle of Ernie's face but a look at the security guard who had the quarters next to his, told him he'd better chill.  "None of your friggin' business," he snapped defensively.  "I don't go nosing into your business do I, Officer?" He didn't give the guard a chance to respond. "No, I don't." He paused and glanced around the bar at the few patrons who weren't paying him any mind.  "You know what?  Never mind.  There are other places that cater to people who like to just sit and have a quiet drink."

"Yeah," Ernie shot back.  "They'll take one look at you and meet you at the door."

"Now, see, now we're talking... not throwing punches, or anything else, right, Martin... Ernie?" Quint said as he rested his arms across his chest.  "Now, Ernie," he said then licked his lips, "You're telling me that you don't want Marty here in the bar, and you Marty, you're telling me now that you'd rather go somewhere else.  Sounds like we have come to a resolution on the matter.  Don't you think?" he asked as he gave a cool look to both of the men.

Hearing, "Yeah," and "Guess so," come from them, Quint nodded his head.  "Okay, gentlemen, then, Martin, shoot on out of here... and this little matter will be forgotten.  If not..." Quint quickly moved his arm around to his back pocket and pulled out the book that he kept his notes in to upload later into Lothos' discipline files.  "If not, then you and I need to have a little more discussion before you move off to *your* quarters.  What is it going to be?"

The sight of the security guard pulling out the 'little black notebook' from his hip pocket did more to settle Martin's attitude than the reasonable observation.  The last thing he wanted or needed was another discipline write up.  The last one had gotten him a promise of a trip to the Correctional Facility with the very next write up.  With that firmly in mind, he split a look between the guard and Ernie then turned on his heel and walked out of the bar.

"Thanks, Quint," the bartender said as he watched the annoying customer leave.  "At least this time around he didn't break a chair over somebody's head."  Shifting his attention to the slightly younger man, he asked, "You want a beer? It's on the house."

Quint shook his head with a grin.  "I'm on duty, Ernie, but if you want to house something for me, it is lunchtime.  If you can spare a hoagie or something, that would be great, but if not, no problem... I'd be even more than happy to pay for it."  He started to follow the bartender as he waved his arm to follow him.  "Just let me know how much I owe you."

Ernie grinned at Quint.  Reaching out to give him a friendly slap on the shoulder, he guided the guard to a booth near the back of the establishment.  "I think I can rustle up the fixings for a salami and cheese hoagie if you like."

He waited for Quint to decide then put two fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly.  Instantly a petite waitress across the room looked up.  "Gina, c'mere," Ernie called then waited for her to make her way across the room.  When she reached the bartender, she looked up at him.

"What's up?"

"Make Quint a hoagie," Ernie told her.  "The stuff's in the fridge in the back room."

Gina nodded then listened to how the guard wanted it dressed then went behind the bar and disappeared through a doorway behind it.  When she disappeared through the doorway, Ernie looked back at Quint and grinned.

"Her name is Gina," he told Quint softly, a grin spreading from ear to ear.

        Quint appreciated a woman's curves just as anyone else, but he knew exactly what Lothos would say to him through his implants if he had even looked at the woman as she walked away while he was on duty.  So, he kept his eyes on Ernie as she walked away.  When Ernie turned back to him, Quint chuckled slightly.  "It's most definitely a nice name," Quint said.  "When did she start here?"

The young woman's face flitted across his mind once again, but even as his mind thought of the young woman, he already dismissed it.  She was very pretty, but Quint knew exactly what he wanted… and she wasn't it. 

He listened politely as Ernie told him that she had begun working last week and how he really liked the way that she made the patrons feel welcomed to the bar.  When one of the patrons stepped up toward the bar, Ernie excused himself and went to attend to him.

Quint shook his head at the man as he walked away and then smiled politely when Gina placed the hoagie sandwich in front of him.  "Thank you."

"You're more than welcome, sugar," Gina answered then lightly reached out to tap his cheek.   "Hope to see you again, soon." 

Quint did his best to not jerk away from her touch.  He was very particular about the women that came around him and though Gina was most definitely a looker, he didn't appreciate that she was laying it on so thick especially when he was on duty.  It was one thing when he wasn't in their official uniform, and he could flirt back, but when a woman just plain laid it out how needy she was, it completely turned Quint off.

Quint waited until she had departed to finally pick up his hoagie and bite into it.  He ate quickly knowing that he didn't have a long time left on his lunch break, and knowing that he needed to get back to the security offices.

By the time that he finished his meal, he stood up and reached for his wallet.  After he pulled it out, he placed a tip on the table then headed for the front door.  As he reached the door, he turned back to see Ernie at the bar, gave him a final wave, and then exited the establishment. 

At the elevators, he pushed the button and waited patiently for the cabin to come.  When the doors of the elevator opened, the cabin was empty.  Pushing the button to go to the first level, he was more than surprised when the elevator went down instead of up.  He waited patiently as the elevator door opened to reveal a tall auburn haired lady pushing Dr. Zoë Malvison in a wheelchair.

Quint blinked in surprise at see Dr. Malvison.  He had heard the rumors that went through the complex about what had happened to her, but it still was a shock to see her so vulnerable when she was at one time a spitfire that you just stayed out of her way.

"Dr. Malvison," Quint said with a respectful nod.  It was then that he brought his head up to see the woman behind the chair.

"Officer Sylvane," Dr. Malvison said as she looked at the young man from head to toe.  'Some of the men in this place are just too die for,' she thought to herself before she brought a hand up to motion toward Tala behind her.  "I don't know if you know the young woman behind me, Quinton, but this is Ms. Tala Lothoman."  Zoë didn't mind it one bit when she saw Quinton Sylvane smile politely then move around to hold out his hand to shake her daughter's hand.  In fact, as she turned her head to see the interaction, she was proud of Tala not to go all wishy-washy… but that was probably because of the recent activity that had been all consuming to her - that being, Edward's rape.

Quint stepped toward the young woman who almost seemed standoffish and lent out his hand toward her.  He noticed that she glanced at his hand first then slowly, brought her own hand out to meet his.  Quint smiled at her then said, "Ms. Lothoman… a pleasure."

 He noticed the quick way that she released his hand and he licked his lips and took a step back from her not wanting to crowd her in any way.  Even as he did so, he backed himself into a corner and couldn't help but glancing to the woman to his left.  He wasn't sure quite why, but he had a feeling that there was something about her that he wanted to get to know more.  A lot more.

Zoë hadn't missed the near non-existent 'how-do-you-do's between Tala and Officer Quinton Sylvane, though she hadn't made a point to try.  'This mother hen thing is annoying,' she thought as she twisted her neck to look up at Tala where she still stood behind the wheelchair.

Once the elevator car arrived topside, Quint politely waited for Dr. Malvison and Ms. Lothoman to exit ahead of him, waiting until they had cleared the car before reaching to punch the button to get him back to the security level before Hank Adlams docked him fifteen minutes for being more than ten minutes late back from his lunch break. It was at that moment that he glanced down and saw a pale blue pass card on the floor of the car and bent down to retrieve it.  Out of habit he turned it over to read the information on it.

"Tala Lothoman," he read softly.  "Data input technician... oh ho... Central Control and Junior Assistant to Lothos...” Pausing at that, Quint put a hand out to prevent the elevator doors from closing, watching, and enjoying the view of Ms. Tala Lothoman's rear view as she pushed Dr. Malvison's chair quickly toward the exit.

Glancing at the card again, he grinned as he stepped out of the car and hurried after the two women.  He caught up to them just as they arrived at the checkout station.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As they moved along, Zoë observed, "He's easy on the eye, isn't he?"

When Tala didn't respond in any way, Zoë again angled her head to glance up at the young woman who, in just the right moments, clearly showed signs of who her father was just in the set of her jaw.

"I suppose so," Tala said, deciding that saying something was better than undergoing Dr. Malvison's - her mother's inquisition.  Drawing up at the demarcation line behind which you had to wait until the guard had checked your pass and then opened the doors, Tala thought again about the security officer that had shared the elevator car with them.

'Where did...." she wondered as she reached toward her back pocket to get her pass.

Not thinking anything of it, Quint reached out to lightly place a hand on Tala's right arm.  He was just slightly behind and to the side of her and he smiled lightly at her.

Seeing her start so suddenly and jerking away from him made him freeze.  To her sharp, knee-jerk demand of "What do you want?" and then the same question a bit softer a minute later, he gave her a moment to catch her breath.

"I didn't mean to startle you, Ms. Lothoman," he said then held out the pass card to her. "But you dropped your pass card in the elevator."  Glancing at the guards on exit duty then back to her, he added, "I didn't want you ladies to be prevented from going outside because you lost your pass."

Quint didn't know what the story was behind Tala Lothoman's jittery reaction but he didn't need a calculator to figure out that somewhere in the equation was a man.  'Correction,' he thought as she accepted the card from him. 'A first-class jerk.'

Deciding it best to leave the women to their own plans, as well as realizing he was late back from his break, Security Officer Quinton Sylvane, nodded respectfully to each woman, acknowledged the other security guards then returned to the elevator and the rest of his shift.

As the elevator doors closed, he couldn't help seeing the pretty redhead and Dr. Malvison were already halfway through the exit on their way to an afternoon in the sunshine.

PART THREE

Tala took in a deep breath of air and couldn’t help but smile.  She had always enjoyed it outside, except when the keepers were mowing.  The only problem was that the smell of the freshly cut lawns would mess with her sinuses and send her into an asthma attack. 

This time though, they weren't mowing.  Thankfully, Tala moved her mother into the gazebo that was located at the end of the walkway - in which all the roses, all multi-colored were blooming.  Parking her chair close to the end of one of the benches, Tala sat down as well and looked at the roses around them feeling empowered by their fragrance.  "They're beautiful."

        It had been quite a while since Zoë had been out in the gardens in the rose gazebo on the complex grounds; in fact, it had been a couple of months before Admiral Albert Calavicci had shot her that she had actually been here.  She had to agree with Tala.  "They are indeed exquisite,” Zoë murmured softly, her eyes roving slowly over the variegated and two-shaded roses.  But it was the bright lemon yellow ones with a pale apricot blush on the edge of each petal that had always been her favorite.  She smiled to herself.  ‘Nathaniel always... always... gave me roses from this particular bush,’ she reminisced.

"So beautiful indeed," she murmured yet again as she sniffed the air and caught the faint scent from the lovely blooms just inches from where she sat.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maxwell Robinson had finally finished clipping the hedges around the complex, which usually took him at least three days to accomplish since he did it by hand, and not with an electric blade.  Upon putting up the shears, he moved toward the gazebo and saw the lovely woman he had taken roses to just the other day – Ms. Zoë.   

        Knowing the gardens, and were in the gardens to hide, Maxwell very easily slunk down and moved toward the bush that he knew that Ms. Zoë loved.  Getting the scissors out of his back pocket, he gently clipped one of the roses off of the bush and turned around back the way that he came unnoticed.

        Popping back up approximately fifteen feet away, Maxwell smiled as he hid the rose with two blooms on it behind his back.  Whistling a tiny tune, he turned his head and saw Ms. Zoë and the young lady – the one that he had picked roses for as well -- with her and approached them.  "Well, well, well... Miss Zoë.  What a pleasant surprise...." Maxwell began but was more surprised when he rounded the gazebo entrance to see Zoë Malvison in a wheelchair.  “What… happened?” he asked softly his English accent coming through. 

        Zoë smiled impishly at the young man wondering what he had behind his back.  To his question, she answered, “I was shot in the back and because of it, and I’ll be in this blasted thing the rest of my days.” 

        Maxwell frowned at her response but knew that she was being as she always was – blunt.

She glanced back up at Maxwell then smiled at him.  “Thank you for the roses that you delivered the other day.  They were lovely.”  Seeing his nod, she probed a bit further, “And how have things been with you, Maxwell?” Seeing that there was something that he was hiding, she asked, “And what do you have behind your back?”

        Maxwell grinned at her.  "Oh, just a little something that I think that might perk your spirits."  With a twinkle in his eye and a wink, Maxwell brought the two blooms out from behind his back and handed them to her.  In the moment that she took them, Max saw the smile that he always got from Miss Zoë.  "See, I knew that would help."

        Turning his head to the lovely young woman sitting beside Miss Zoë, Maxwell smiled at her but didn't say a word to her.  He was sure that Miss Zoë would introduce him in her own time.  But before she got a chance to, Maxwell warmly took Miss Zoë’s right hand with the tips of his fingers so as not to get her dirty and lightly kissed her knuckles.  "Any rose in the garden is yours, Miss Zoë, as always."

        Since the wonderful days with Nathaniel before he had deserted her for a damned computer, Zoë rarely allowed any man to get close to her emotionally.  But from the first day when she'd come across Maxwell Robinson in the gardens, stripped to the waist, the sun glistening on his tanned, muscular back, there was no way for her to prevent herself from easing up.  ‘And when he looks at me.... damn my treacherous hormones... and smiles that smile.... double damn!  I go weak in the knees every time,’ she thought with a twitch of her head.  Just because she was in the wretched wheelchair, didn’t negate that reaction as Max presented her with the two blooms. She smiled coyly at him when he took her fingers and touched his lips to her knuckles.  “Oh, you are a charmer, aren’t you Maxwell,” she teased him lightly.  Then she saw him stray for a second to Tala and decided to make the introductions.  “Maxwell, this is my daughter, Tala,” she glanced at her.  “Tala this… tasty morsel of masculinity is Maxwell Robinson.”  Flashing a knowing look at Maxwell, she added, “He’s the best man in Lothos’ gardens.”  Her meaning wasn’t lost on Maxwell or Tala.

        Tala divided a glance between the man and her mother and lightly blushed at her mother’s introduction.  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Robinson,” she said formally as she felt a bit drawn toward him. 

        Maxwell smiled sincerely at her.  He saw the way that she held out her hand to shake his but with a glance down at his own hand, he knew that he wasn’t about to sully her hand with his.  Taking her hand as he did Zoë’s, he lightly kissed her hand as well, never taking his eyes off of hers.  “An honor to meet Miss Zoë’s daughter – Tala.”  Taking a long look at her, he seemed to recall the young woman that he saw just yesterday running and doing lips in the field of daisies.  “Were you topside the other day?  I seem to recall someone who looks familiar to you…” he said softly as he let her hand go.

        Tala blinked her eyes at him and slowly turned to her mother.  “No.  I wasn’t.  I was… ahm… indisposed most of the day yesterday,” she said softly turning her head away from them remembering and internally cringing.   

        Zoë smiled to herself as she watched Tala responding to Max.  Her shyness… she wasn’t sure which part of her family lineage she got it from.  Still, it seemed to strike a note with the tasty young morsel of a gardener, and having known Max for several months… almost a year, she thought… it occurred to her that it might be an interesting aspect to see the two of them together.

        "Max, why would you think Tala was topside yesterday?" she questioned him curiously.  And to Tala she posed, "What exactly were you doing yesterday, my dear?"

        Maxwell saw how Miss Zoë’s eyes flickered between the two of them and had a feeling that she had a thought of playing matchmaker.  But when asked about yesterday, he answered, “Well, I could have been mistaken because I was at least thirty yards away, but the young lady that I saw was running and frolicking with a companion.  I assumed that Miss Tala had been the one."  Max turned his head back to Tala and saw her frown and immediately wanted to take back his words.  "I... I hope that nothing I have said has displeased you, Miss Tala."

        Tala blinked at the question that her mother posed to her then shook her head at his words.  "No, no.  You haven't Mr. Robinson . . ."

        "Please, call me Maxwell or Max," he interrupted her.  "My apologies.  Please go on."

        Tala smiled at him as he interrupted her.  “Maxwell... you haven't said anything that has displeased me."  ‘However, my mother has,’ she thought hotly. ‘Had the fresh air totally evaporated what she had been told just this morning?’  Tala turned to look at her mother and said, "If you recall, mother, the sedative that was given to me to help me sleep kept me down for most of the day yesterday - remember?  I told you about that this morning." 

Hearing Tala’s words, Maxwell hesitated only a moment when he looked into Zoë’s face and saw a look dawn on her face.  She must have forgotten.  "Well, Miss Tala, I hope that whatever worries you have will fade away," he told her softly then reached up to one of the pink-violet colored roses up on the gazebo and cut it down.  Handing it to her, he genuinely smiled at her.  "Well, ladies, I still have some more work to do.  It was my pleasure to meet you, Miss Tala."  He graciously turned back to Miss Zoë and leaned down to lightly kiss her cheek.  "As always, Miss Zoë, your company is unsurpassable.  Please come see me again when you get the chance."

        Zoë made no attempt to hide her pleasure in watching young Maxwell stride away, the early summer sun warm on his smooth muscular back, the waistband of his jeans riding just the slightest bit low on his hips.

        "My, my," she murmured softly, unable to resist licking her lips at her thoughts.  It was the soft click of a tongue that drew her attention away from Max as she watched him drop to his knees by a large flowerbed and begin weeding it.  “Manual labor does such nice things to a man's body," Zoë murmured.  Again she heard the soft, disapproving click and shifted her gaze to Tala.

        "Darling," Zoë told her with a saucy smile that even managed to gleam in her eyes.  "I may be disabled, but I'm not dead.  As long as my eyes and my mind work, I will 'window shop' when and where I damn well please."

        Tala couldn’t believe how her mother was acting in front of her.  She shook her head at her words.  "Well, you don't have to make such a show out of it, and you don't have to be so evident of it."  She glanced over to where Maxwell was sitting as he sat back on his heels, wiping at his brow and quickly looked away when he glanced back at them.  

"I'm not ashamed of my appetites, Tala," Zoë told her, somewhat amazed at the lightness with which she was treating her opinions.  "There's nothing tawdry about sex..." Zoë saw Tala’s blush and couldn’t prevent a chuckle from escaping her lips.  "Good Lord, my daughter is a shrinking violet on the subject of sex?"   Then Zoë’s amusement grew as she saw Tala’s eyes go to Max and give him almost as good a looking over as she had. 

        Now, it was Zoë’s turn to click her tongue… impatiently, but with humor… when Tala quickly looked away when Max glanced back over at them once more.  Zoë knew that her rosy cheeks were just from embarrassment.  “Why don’t you go talk to him for a few minutes,” she suggested.  “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

        "Oh mother, really," Tala told her rather quickly.  "I'm twenty-four years old, I can manage my own dates, but even if I did want to go over and talk to him, I wouldn't know what on earth to talk to him about."

"Start with the flowers and let the conversation go where it will," Zoë told her offhandedly, watching her thoughtfully.  "Besides, if he's anything at all like most other men, give him an opening and he'll carry the conversation for as long as you don't interrupt him."  Seeing Tala looking at her, Tala’s mouth slightly agape, Zoë smiled at her.  "Men are amazingly easy to guide and most of it's done with a look and a smile."

Tala didn’t know which would be worse, listening to her mother telling her how to win a man or going over and starting a conversation with Maxwell.  She closed her eyes and shook her head softly.  ‘I can't believe that I'm about to do this, but. . .’

        Trying hard not to crack a smile, Tala stood and looked down at the rose in her hand then glanced over to Maxwell.  Taking a breath, she walked away from her mother and heard her chuckling.  ‘Great.  Just great.  Keep chuckling like that and he's going to know that you sent me over to talk to him.’ 

PART FOUR

Seeing Miss Zoë again and meeting her daughter made this day seem a bit special to Max.  He’d always gotten along well with the ladies, whatever their age.  But, truth be told, his real love was the gardens, and especially flowers. 

        Dropping onto his knees by the rose bed he'd been weeding when he spied Miss Zoë, he quickly got back into the task at hand.  It was a large bed and there was still over half of it to do.  It was hot, back-aching work at times, but that just agreed with him, too.  And being able to go around most of the time without a shirt didn't hurt either.

        "Ouch!" he muttered under his breath when a branch on one of the bushes snagged his forearm as he reached near it.  Sitting back on his heels, he examined the scratch then let his gaze wander toward Miss Zoë again.  He forgot about the scratch when he saw her daughter walking briskly toward him.

        She was a beauty.  ‘You got your mother's coloring, but the fire in your eyes,’ he wondered as he smiled encouragingly at Miss Tala as she approached.  ‘That fire you got from your father.’  As she moved ever closer, he thought, ‘And just by your eyes, I'd give a month's pay to know who he is.’

        "Hello, again," he smiled up at her, shielding his eyes with one hand.

        "Hello," Tala smiled at him and for a brief moment felt completely stupid for a moment.  She looked at the rosebush that he was weeding and then glanced down at his arm and saw it bleeding.  "You're bleeding." 

        “It’s just a scratch,” he began.

She reached into the small pocket that she did have and pulled out the small handkerchief that she always carried with her.  Kneeling down beside him, she motioned to it.  "May I?" she questioned before she touched him.

        With a smile, Maxwell held out his arm to her.  “By all means,” he said casually.  “And thanks.  Usually, I just wipe the blood on my jeans and keep going.”

Watching her dab gently at the still bleeding scratch, Maxwell watched her face closely.  She wasn't aware of it, but just the tiniest bit of the tip of her tongue was peeking from the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on his arm.  "Will I live?" he teased her softly.

        Although she had just met this man, Tala tended his arm as if she'd known him all of her life, giving it great care as she dabbed at it.  Finally, she pressed the handkerchief against his arm knowing that the pressure would stop the flow of blood.  Hearing his teasing words, she raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him.  "I'm not a doctor or a nurse, but I think that you just might," she grinned back at him and looked into his light blue eyes for a moment.

        Max grinned back at her ‘prognosis’ for his recovery and watched her consideringly.

"How long have you tended the gardens?" she finally ask trying to think of something to say so that she could finally look away from the intensity in his eyes.

        "Almost as long as I've been here," he replied.  "I lived with my Aunt Josephine; she brought me up until my mother came to get me when I was barely a teenager." He thought about Aunt Josie and smiled.  "She taught me to love flowers and gardening."  Seeing Miss Tala release his arm as she glanced away from him, he added, "And Lothos went along with my hopes of going into horticulture.  He paid for me to become a gardener."  Glancing around the vast open garden he was in, he let his gaze come back to her. "And I do love everything about a garden."

        Hearing him speaking of her father the way that he did, she was surprised that he had openly voiced his pride in his work and in his job. As she glanced around the gardens, she saw exactly that he was proud of what he did.  It was beautiful. 

        "I hope that you don't mind, but you said that your mother is here... do I know her, I mean if it isn't to personal.  I..." Tala didn’t know what spurred her to tell him, but it came out. "I... just recently learned that Dr. Malvison is my mother.  That's why we're up here, to build our relationship."  For some reason, she felt extremely comfortable with the man sitting beside her.

Maxwell nodded.  "I'll bet almost half of the people in the complex have met my mother, at one time or another," he told her, and then grinned again at her puzzled expression.  "She's a nurse.  Olivia Robinson.  She works a lot with Dr. Hugen."  Seeing her startled expression he asked, "Is something wrong?"

Tala couldn’t believe what she had just heard. ‘His mother is Olivia?  Olivia Robinson?  Oh my gawd.  No.  That means that he is Edward Grant's son... that his father had raped me...’ she thought.  Tala quickly stood up.  "No.  Nothing is wrong.  I ... I just need to get back to my mo... Dr. Malvison.  Excuse me."

When Miss Tala scrambled to her feet, her face now almost devoid of color, Maxwell jumped up to his feet as well and managed to catch her arm to keep her from fleeing.  The way her eyes went to his hand on her arm.... like he'd just wrapped a snake around it... made him draw back his hand hastily.

        "I'm sorry," he apologized, truly not understanding her reaction.  ‘To what?’ he thought back quickly to what they'd just spoken of.  Then it hit him.  "Miss Tala," I ask gently, not attempting to move toward her or touch her.  "Did my mother do something to you?  Hurt you in some way?"  He met her eyes levelly.  "If she did, tell me. I'd like to know, because at the moment," he confessed, "I'm confused."

        It took everything that she had not to race back to her mother and turn her back to the complex at a dead run.  Even before Tala got to say anything, she heard his words and she almost spilled it out right there and then, 'No, your father did though,' but she bit at her tongue.   Even as she raised her hand to brush her hair away from her face, she realized how she was shaking all over.  "No.  No, your mother hasn't done anything to hurt me.  Actually, she's been nothing but a mother figure to me before I found out about Dr. Malvison.  But... I... I... I need to go... please." 

        Maxwell listened without argument or comment to Miss Tala's words.  But something, some instinct told him that there was something about him that had this lovely young woman scared half out of her wits just being within arm's reach of him.  ‘If it isn't mom,’ he pondered silently, watching her trying not to run flat out back to Miss Zoë, ‘then what?’

        Maxwell stood and watched as Tala and Miss Zoë exchanged some words… a bit sharply it seemed… before they were headed quickly back toward the double doors into the complex.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        Walking, almost running away from Maxwell Robinson - now Grant, Tala headed back to her mother.  Once at her wheelchair, Tala threw down the pink-violet rose on the bench where she had been sitting and turned to her mother to see her shocked expression.  "We need to go inside, mother.  I can't stay out here."  Without giving her a chance to reply, Tala walked around her wheelchair.  "I appreciate the chat, but I think from now on, I'll find my own dates and or gentlemen to talk with."  She unlocked the brakes on her wheelchair and began to push her a few feet but her words stopped her as she barked.

        "Stop this chair this instant!" Zoë snapped, trying to twist his head around to look at her when she got the chair stopped.  "Now you get around here so I can see you, miss, and explain yourself! I am not in any mood to be accidentally run smack face first into the side of the building, and that's what just about happened."

        Tala moved around before her as she demanded, but she was just looking at her… then flicking a glance back, behind her ... at Max, she knew.  "Tala!" she snapped again to get her focused.  "Explain yourself.  Now!"

When Tala’s attention snapped back on Zoë, she licked her lips.  "I can't.  Dad's order as since it pertains to yesterday."  Tala clamped her mouth shut again for a moment but the look that she gave Zoë was enough to make it open again.  "I can't be around him.  I'm sorry.  I . . . I just can't."

"Not good enough!" Zoë snapped.  Using the joystick under her hand that gave her control of her chair, she edged it forward till the toes of her shoes were against her daughter's shins.  "Look at me!"  When Tala finally complied, Zoë demanded again, "Start talking." 

        Zoë saw her glance again back at Maxwell.  Pursing her lips for a second, she made a hasty decision.  Wheeling herself around to face Maxwell, she yelled, “Maxwell!  Come here!”  Turning back, she saw Tala's face was white, her eyes huge as Zoë watched her watching Max approached.

        Maxwell looked up when he heard Miss Zoë’s call and frowned.  ‘Damn, what now?’ he thought to himself as he stood up.  Confusion was drawing him into a state complete and utter distraction as he looked down at the weeding and saw that he was throwing out the mulch that he was meaning to keep in.  Growling to himself, he walked toward the building where they stood.  When he was close enough, he asked, “Yes, Miss Zoë?  Is there a problem?”

        Watching as he approached, Tala paled and swallowed hard.  ‘Why can't mom just take the information that I give her and go with that?’ she wondered.  

Zoë was never one to beat around the bush.  She turned to Max first and he was a bit taken aback by the force of her words.  "Just what in hell did you say to my daughter to frighten her?" she demanded.  She fixed him with a narrow eye.  Much as she hated the idea, her maternal instincts were rising fast.  "Did you try to get fresh with her?"

        Tala's gasp at her words got Zoë’s gaze shifted to her.  "Or did you try something but get turned down?  Is that it, miss?"  Both of the young people just stood and stared at her.  “Stop standing there like addle-pated idiots!" she shouted at the pair of them.  "Somebody better start talking!"

        Maxwell knew that he must look like a fool as his eyes flashed back and forth between the two of them, as his mouth was sagging open.  However, when Miss Zoë shouted, Maxwell finally managed to close his mouth.  Licking at his lips and then swallowing hard, Maxwell finally found his tongue.  "Miss Zoë, I didn't say anything that would make me think that I had scared Miss Tala."  Quickly, he summed up when he saw one of her eyebrows arch up at him. "I was cleaning the rosebush when she came over.  I scratched my arm on the rosebush, making my arm bleed.  She tended to it with her handkerchief and I asked if I was going to live.  She told me that she wasn't a doctor but gave a healthy prognosis.  She asked how long I had worked in the gardens and told her since I was 12 and I admitted to her how much I loved working on the gardens.  Then, she asked about mother, and when I told her who mom was, she quickly got up.  I asked her if mom had done something to hurt her.  I noticed how she was shaking and I asked her to tell me if she had.  I needed to know.  She answered no and then almost ran back over here to you.  Believe me, Miss Zoë, I have never lied to you, and Miss Tala did nothing," Maxwell emphasized the word for her mother.  "Nothing that was considered inappropriate.  I'm just as confused as you are."  Maxwell looked from Miss Zoë to Tala.  "I don't know what I've done, but whatever it is, I apologize, Miss Tala."

        Tala stood there trapped, listening to Maxwell telling her mother everything that had happened and again she got the urge to run.  Tala closed her eyes and waited for him to finish, but she was surprised when he told Zoë that she didn't act inappropriately and then apologized to her.  However, when she felt and heard the first wheeze from her chest, Tala shook her head.  "You… you didn't do anything.  I…" she gasped for the air that was starting to become a little harder to get to and she pulled out the inhaler from her pocket and lightly shook it.  Tala swallowed as she divided a glance between the two of them. 

        Zoë had known Max long enough and had his record checked for questionable activity in the complex, anything that would warrant time in punishment, but had found nothing.  Zoë had never caught him in a lie, which gave her no reason to remotely consider that he was lying.  It didn’t even hurt the way that he defended Tala… she most definitely liked this young man more and more.

        It was hearing Tala speaking, her words forced out by a wheezing gasp, that Zoë already forgot her annoyance.  Even as she told her, “Get your inhaler,” Tala already had it in hand.  Still, the way that her eyes darted from the two of them, Zoë knew that there was something more than she was saying, and she was going to find out what that something was.  Later.  Especially when Tala’s knees began to sag.  Before she could get the words out, she saw Max dart past her and catch Tala before she even touched the ground.

        "Put her on the ground," Zoë instructed him.  "Gently." 

        There was nothing but gentleness and real concern in Maxwell's eyes and attitude as he kept an arm around Tala's shoulders as she sat, semi-reclined against him.  But the look of loathing and fear in her daughter's eyes were unmistakable.

        "Tala, are you all right?  Do you need medical assistance?"

        Even with his arm around her shoulder, Tala tried not to cringe as she brought up her inhaler and took in the medicine into her lungs.  When Tala felt a little better, she pushed away from him.  "I can manage," she told them both and moved away from Maxwell, but turning her attention to her mother, she swallowed hard before saying, "No.  I don't need medical assistance.  I'll be fine.  I just don't need anyone crowding me," she said as she cast a fearful glance back at Maxwell.

        Maxwell jerked back as if he had been slapped.  Miss Tala’s words not only stunned him, but they stung, too.  He just stared at her, not sure what to say.  Deciding that the more distance between him and her, the better, at least for her peace of mind, the better.  “I’m… sorry for offending you with my presence,” he told her unable to keep the touch of hurt from his voice.  “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get back to my gardening.”  He glanced between them.  "Ladies," he murmured and turned to go back to the rose bed.  At least he knew he didn’t offend the roses.

        As he turned around, Tala couldn’t help but glare at him.  Before she could stop herself and it was probably something that she inherited from her mother and her hot-headedness, but it came out loud enough for Zoë to hear and only loud enough for him to whip back around to her.  “At least you can apologize for your mistakes that may be the only difference between him and his father – may he rot in hell.”

The words spewed out of Miss Tala's mouth with the force of a volcanic eruption... and did just about as much damage.  Maxwell’s Aunt Josie drummed and pounded proper manners into him, and he always abided by them, but not this time.  Nobody deserved to have venom sprayed on them for something that they knew nothing about.  "And just what do you know about my father?" he demanded, not moving any closer to her, letting his anger-flashing eyes strike out for him.  "Obviously a hell of a lot more than I do."  That seemed to take a bit of the wind out of her sails but she started this, and Maxwell was not about to back down.  And it seemed that his next words scored a direct emotional hit on her.  "What exactly did he do to you that makes you consign him to hell?"  Maxwell asked as he glared at her, his fists at his sides.

        As Tala listened to him, she wished that she hadn't said a damn word, but when he bluntly asked what his father did to make her 'consign him to hell', she vaguely remember Lothos' words to her, realizing that she had already screwed up.  Chewing on the inside of her cheek doing her damnedest not to break into tears with the scarring that was so intense and still very fresh in her mind, she finally told him, "I think that's a question you need to ask your mother, Mr. Robinson."  She licked at her lips as she went behind Zoë’s wheelchair putting more distance between them when she saw his fists at his side.  Tala seemed to remember that stance -- the fists, only that was Edward Grant standing over her... not Maxwell.

"Listen up... Miss Tala," Maxwell snapped at her when she mentioned his mother.  "You leave my mother out of this conversation."  He stabbed a finger at her, pointing almost accusingly.  "You started this diatribe and it's you I expect answers from."  He watched her start to wheel Miss Zoë’s chair away, but he didn’t move after her.  As she turned the chair toward the entrance to the complex, he got in one last shot.  “Running away won’t make a bad memory go away,” he called after her.  “But try all you like.”  Turning Maxwell stomped back to the rose bed.  By the time he was finished, his arms and a few places on his shoulders were bleeding.

        It took everything she had not to turn around and walk right back up to him and finish the conversation – damn the consequences of talking about what happened.  And, if Zoë hadn’t put her hand almost reassuringly on hers, she would have too.  By the time that they entered the elevator to go to the third floor, she was so angry that she was shaking.

        If Zoë wasn’t concerned over Tala’s near asthmatic episode, she would have found the entire scene between her daughter and Maxwell quite entertaining.  In those few moments, she was taken back years to when she and Nathaniel were together.  Sometimes it was like two wildcats tied together, spitting and hissing and fighting, but the makeup afterwards was always worth every ‘battle injury’.  Now, thinking about her child, she wondered about her.

        Zoë kept silent on the ride down to the third level, and that was saying something.  Though she was still behind her chair, the heat of Tala’s anger was almost a palpable thing.  The elevator doors opened and she started to push Zoë’s chair out, but Zoë reached up and touched Tala’s hand.  "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you, my dear?" Even Tala seemed taken aback by the genuine gentle concern in Zoë’s voice. 

        Tala had been so used to hearing her bark orders that it was wild to hear her be totally opposite.  She sighed.  “Perhaps once we are alone,” she told her trying very hard not to bite or snap at her concern.  "Lothos'... I mean... father's orders."

        As Tala opened the door to her mother’s quarters, she wheeled her mother inside and stopped her chair near the bed.  Once putting the brakes on, she took a deep breath and sat down opposite of her on one of the two chairs in the room.

        Tala sighed heavily before she looked up at her, and saw Zoë with her hands sitting on her lap, watching her expectantly.  Pushing back her hair, Tala told her, “I told you about what happened with Edward… about how he raped me.”  Zoë nodded at her statement.  “Well, the things that father forbade me… us not to tell anyone, and I may get punished for what I’m about to tell you, but you’re right… I need to talk about this, or it’s going to eat me alive.”

        Tala licked at her lips as Zoë once again nodded understandingly.  Tala swallowed hard trying to find the words.  “Last night, at midnight, father ordered for Edward’s death… he was emasculated and then bled to death.  But before he left, he and the rest of the women that he had raped on his own accord, not by punishment mother, got a very interesting fact that only one person knew about.  It seems that Olivia Robinson was one of the many that had been raped by Dr. Edward Grant... and she had a son, his son . . . Maxwell."  Tala shook her head softly.  "I can not be around Maxwell right now.  Not with this being so fresh... not when I’m still recovering from what that bastard did to me.  I can't... I won't put myself through that.  I won't."  Tala told her mother as a single tear ran down her cheek.

        From the moment Tala mentioned Edward raping her, Zoë’s instincts told her to remain quiet and just listen.  As Tala went on, Zoë had no problem with hearing about Edward's death; neither the fact that it happened nor how it happened.  She remembered what Lothos had told her this morning.  Her only regret was that she was not there to wield the knife herself.

        But the revelation Tala made about Maxwell... that Senior Nurse Olivia Robinson was not only one of Edward's rape victims but also the mother of a son born of that rape ... astounded was not a word that described Zoë Malvison often.  And that Maxwell was that son... Zoë was speechless for several minutes.

        "I can hardly believe it,” Zoë murmured, almost to herself as she stared at Tala then off into space for a moment.  "Olivia?"  She just couldn’t seem to picture that quiet, by-the-rules woman as being someone Edward would be attracted to.  Then Zoë shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts.  ‘Idiot!’ she thought to herself.  ‘A rapist doesn't always have a type.’ Again, Zoë pictured Olivia in her mind and a feeling of regret for her touched her.  Looking up at Tala, Zoë’s thoughts centered on her again, Zoë just did catch her last words; and saw the tear on her cheek.

        Moving her chair to Tala, maneuvering it so she was as close beside Tala as she could get, Zoë reached her hand out to cup her daughter’s cheek softly, that one tear wetting then flowing around her fingers.

        "I understand," Zoë told her gently, moving her fingers to tip Tala’s chin up so she could look into her eyes.  "But..." she paused then went on.  "Don't be too quick to judge Maxwell by the depravity of his male parent."  Tala seemed surprised at her choice of words.  "Any male can create a child," Zoë told her.  "But only a man, a real and honorable man can be a father."  Zoë watched Tala reach up with shaking fingers to brush at the tear.  "Edward was simply a male that took and used.  And in that use, created a child.  Maxwell.  Take your time, Tala," Zoë told her, stroking her cheek with the backs of her fingers, reaching to pet her hair softly.  "But after a while, try to see Maxwell for himself.  It's not his fault he's the product of rape.  But, it is a tribute to his mother. Olivia saw to it that he was brought up properly and without any of his... male parent's influence in his growing up."  Zoë then smiled gently at her.  "Give him the benefit of the doubt.  Give him a chance before you condemn him to the hell Edward's in."

        Tala listened to her mother and she knew that she was right.  Blinking her eyes, she took in a shaky breath and nodded her head.  “I’ll try,” she told her softly.

        Bringing both hands up to her face, Tala roughly scrubbed at her face to rid it of the tears and of the emotions that were threatening to overtake her.  “I’m sorry about the scene up there.  I… it… ohhh…” she reran what happened back before her.  “I deserved what I got, and he didn’t.  And I need…” Tala honestly didn’t want to say what she needed to do, but at the same time, she knew exactly what needed to be done.  The question was if she could do it.  “… I need to apologize to him.  Do… do you think that you can manage for a little while so I can do just that?” she asked Zoë before she lost her nerve.

        ‘Since when did I become so maternally minded,’ Zoë thought when she patted Tala’s hand and sent her off to make her apology to Maxwell.  Watching the door close behind her daughter, she murmured under her breath, “I just hope to heavens that he got nothing more from Edward than his gender.”

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