Story #4 in the Evil Jack series. Title is "Till Death Do Us Part." A few months between this story and #3.
Hannah's supposed to be asleep, but somebody is making noise at the back door. She sneaks to the open window, looks down, and sees 3 new mice debating whether or not to knock. One of them says something about waking up Uncle Modo instead. "He's your uncle too?" pops out before she has a chance to think about it.
Rimfire, Stoker, and Carbine all look up. Stoke is the first to recover from seeing a human kid hanging out the window and asks if Charley is there. Hannah says she'll go get Mommy and Daddy. They were asleep, but Charley wakes up a little quicker than Throttle, decides it's okay for Hannah to let them in since Hannah's halfway down the stairs to do that anyway.
Hannah gets them in the kitchen, got the perfect little hostess routine down, gives them rootbeer cause that's what mice drink, fascinated by Stoker's tail, wants to know how Modo is Rimfire's uncle too. Needs some hints on Carbine and Stoke's relationship here. The grownups are taken aback since as old as Hannah is she should've been present in infant form (if not older) the last time anyone visited and are relieved when Charley finally comes down in a bathrobe.
Stoke apologizes for barging in, but thought it'd be better than showing up at the scoreboard unannounced. Before he gets too far with that, muffled ow from upstairs. "Hannah!"
Hannah runs up the stairs with the standard what did I do now look. "Daddy you broke it!" Indistinct scolding noises. "I didn't leave it out! Uncle Vinnie was trying to drive it up the wall when I went to bed!"
Charley goes up to handle the domestic scabble and Hannah comes back down holding the Barbie car that has just been stepped on. "It's all smooshed"
Stoker helps her put it on Charley's workbench in the garage.
Come back into the kitchen and Charley is helping her hubby down the stairs. "Well you got a pair of slippers for Father's Day, but nooo big macho biker mice don't wear slippers." Throttle's wearing pyjama bottoms and Carbine's brain is going into reboot mode. You can tell by her expression that this scenerio never entered her mind at all. Stoker can't decide which is funnier, Throttle being all domestic or Carbine's reaction.
They finally get out about what brought them from Mars in absolute silence. Mars intercepted communications between Limburger and Plutarkian High Command. Limburger has promised to annihlate the entire human species without the need to invade in force. This is news to the Chicago team. And Carbine doesn't win any brownie points when Hannah asks what annihlate means and she answers "squashed like a bug." Not that she was purposely trying to be nasty, just answering the question without considering how a five-year-old would react. Parental snarl comes from both Charley and Throttle, which wasn't exactly expected. Charley does agree to let Carbine stay, since the scoreboard... 'nuff said. They put off any planning until the next morning.
Throttle gets a little more dressed and takes Stoker and Rimfire to the scoreboard. Charley takes Hannah to their bedroom, and sets up Hannah's for Carbine. The ladies don't talk. Carbine does talk to Throttle when he comes in though, after Charley and Hannah have gone to bed. All she wanted from the breakup was to scare him into realizing what his priorites are. Throttle's response is "It did" and goes to bed with his wife and child.
Next morning: Charley wakes up sick, but hides it from Throttle. Gotta save the world, no time to worry about her. Get Hannah off to school. Time to see what ole Fishlips is up to. But the Tower is deserted. Haven't worked on what clues they find there. But they do find something the confirms the timetable and that he plans on wiping everybody out. Just no how yet. Also need to add in some hints on how Carbine and Stoker's relationship is developing. Charley gets bad woosy and they rush her back to the garage. Carbine is feeling a little snipy about it. Can't stomach the job, shouldn't be fighting type thing.
Throttle didn't hear that, busy fretting over Charley. Vinnie and Modo have a few choice words but Stoke keeps the peace, mainly by dividing the group. Carbine and Hannah are left together.
Unfortunately it's Hannah that spills the beans about not having an Earth wedding yet. By Martian law, a Martian wedding an alien has to do so by the bride's customs for it to be legal. Carbine's pleased to hear that but jumps the wrong way with it. "If Throttle hasn't really married Charley, he doesn't really love her. Charley must be using him. Maybe your real father ought to be told." Carbine is just thinking outloud at this point, with no idea how it would effect Hannah or even realizing that Hannah's still listening. But she is and does a good job of hiding how freaked she is, but she is ever freaked.
Meanwhile, Charley is feeling a little better and comes out to where Vinnie is doing the remote control flick through TV Land. Part of the "Stand" catches his eye and Charley has to explain that most of the human race was killed off by a superflu. And the lightbulb goes off.
Charley grabs Throttle and the others. The virus that made Hannah so sick. What if it was made stronger and released in the water or the air or something?
So it's time to grab Dr. Ryan. Plus Charley's sick again and Throttle wants her checked. Dr. Ryan brings in Margo and the work they did to cure Hannah. They start working on that; Dr. Ryan checks on Charley; Stoke and Rimfire stays at the garage to guard while the bros and Carbine hunt for Limburger and company. It's Lake Michigan, to put it in the drinking water. Fight goes down, Rimfire brings Margo and the antibodies, and they save the day.
Return to the garage and find Charley in a panic trying to find Hannah. A suitcase and a lot of their clothes were missing, but Hannah is gone. Stoker finds Hannah asleep in the ship, all tuckered out from dragging the suitcases she packed on the sly into the spaceship. But it makes perfect sense, the spaceship can get them away from Jack forever. And of course Jack is coming the "General Lady is going to get him, she said so." Throttle takes her from Stoker right before Charley punches Carbine.
Stoker grabs Charley and puts himself between the pregnant lady (even though he's the only mouse to know at this point) and Carbine. So Charley resorts to yelling. How dare you tell my child that the psychopath that tried to kill her, me, and Throttle is coming to get her. What the hell is wrong with you? Carbine lets lose a volley that Charley stole Throttle and Throttle's just using her cause they aren't really married and how the hell was she supposed to know Hannah wasn't better off with her natural father?
Charley: Never stole Throttle, you broke up with him. And you never appreciated anything he tried to do for you. The money for the romantic get-away to patch things up that you refused to come to he used to make sure Hannah got well. And maybe you'd be more in the loop if you didn't constantly alienate people.
Before Carbine can come up with a response, Throttle pulls a small jewelry box from his bike and hands it to Charley. It has 3 rings, 2 plain bands and 1 with a tiny diamond on it. "You're supposed to be wearing the stone one now, right? I was waiting till we were going on that romantic dinner that Limburger's plans ruined the reservations for."
He's been working on the wedding. Having problems with the religious vs. justice of the peace and what religion is Charley anyway? But he was giving her the wedding and got a crazy notion that you shouldn't be quizzing the one getting it since it's a surprise.
Charley thwacks his ear and tells him that the wedding gown is the surprise, not the whole cermony. She supposed to help with that but she has something else to tell. And they disappear into their bedroom.
So that's where these notes come into play. Will add more to the conversation depending on how the dynamics of the cat fight work out.
Carbine stared at the kitchen door as it swung shut.
Stoker turned and captured Vinnie, Modo, and Rimfire in his best authoritative glare. They snapped to attention. He gave them a get-the-hell-out-of-here sideways nod toward the garage doors. They tiptoed to their bikes and eased them out and onto the street.
Carbine never noticed. "He loves her. He really does love her."
"Sit down before you fall down." He eased a chair under her and pushed her on to it. He straddled the nearby workbench and scrutinized her bleak expression. "It's not the end of the universe. You still got me."
She glared. "You are the most egotistical... what makes you think I even want you?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh come off it. All the advisory meetings, the visits to training sessions, inviting me along for this little jaunt; you can't stand to be away from me." Stoker grinned, and gently pulled her right hand toward him. His fingers stroked the fur on the back of her hand. He watched her brown(?) eyes go hesitant. "And I don't have any problems with that."
She made a feeble attempt to pull her hand back. "Stoker...."
"You and the Rookie were growing apart long before he left Mars. You dealt with that by walling off your heart. I'm not letting you do that this time. You deserve some happiness too."
A thud above shook the rafters and rained dust into the garage. "What was that?" Carbine tried to get up.
"Charley's surprise, none of our business. Where was I? You deserve happiness, I'm crazy about you, aw heck with the script." Before she could answer, he put his hands behind her ears and kissed her.
You probably just shot all your chances straight to hell, you stupid old man. What the hell were you thinking? He eased back from her, letting his fingers run through her black hair.
Carbine blinked as she eased forward. Her mouth fell on his and her arms wrapped around his neck.
The thud was Throttle hitting the bedroom floor in a faint after Charley tells him that the doctor says she's perfectly fine for a pregnant woman.
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