HOLY SHIT!!!!!!???????!!!!!!!???????!!!!!!!??????!!!!!!!???!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!?!???????!!!!!

Changes, Part 7--

"Wait, you what?!" Julia exclaimed when she found her voice; "I thought you weren't planning on ever getting married!"

"We weren't," Jordan said; "But with the babies coming, and the fact that we're getting older, we thought it was about time."

"I'm in shock," Jeremiah said, standing up to shake David's hand, "But congrats! I'm really and truly happy for you both!"

"Thanks, Jere," David said. "That mean so much to us, believe me!"

"And I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's about damn time!" Jeremiah said. "You've been acting like a married couple already, and had you not told us this, we'd have never known anything different."

"I always knew they'd get married one day," Joe said.

"We wanted to tell you guys first, before we told anyone else," David said. "We didn't want you to hear it secondhand then wonder why we didn't just tell you ourselves. So we told you."

"So the rest of the band doesn't even know?" Nik asked.

"Nope," David said. "I think Danny suspects something, but even he doesn't know for sure."

"Wow." Julia said. "So we're the first ones to know?"

"Not really," Jordan said. "We told Morbus because he's going to have to be bodyguard for both of us now."

Julia asked, "How did he take it?"

"I think it was the first time I'd ever seen Morbus really smile," David said.

"As long as people are making announcements," Nik said, "KateLynn and I have one of our own."

Jordan and David looked at each other and wondered what Nik was going to say. That he and KateLynn got married? Or are going to?

Curious glances were exchanged between Julia, Jeremiah and Joe, with those same thoughts.

"Well," Jeremiah said, "What is it, brother?"

"KateLynn and I are expecting a wee one of our own in about seven months!"

The looks on both Nik's and KateLynn's faces told the whole story. They were deliriously happy.

"You're both so young," Jordan said. "But that is wonderful news!"

While everyone was congratulating Nik and KateLynn, and talking and laughing, Julia slipped out of the room and went to her bedroom and locked the door.

Then she laid on her bed and sobbed.

----------

David telling the band about his and Jordan's marriage got pretty much the same reaction: disbelief followed by congratulations and good natured ribbing.

"It's about damn time you settled down!" Dan said, laughing. "I'm glad Jordan made an honest man out of you!"

"Babies have a tendency to put everything in perspective," Mike said. "So when do we get to see the little Draiman girls, hmmmm?"

"I find it funny he had girls," John said. "I figured David to have a bunch of boys running about."

"Funny, John..." David said. "The girls are coming home from the clinic tomorrow, but it might be a couple weeks before they make their debut. Even though Jordan has a child, she never got to start from the very beginning with Julia, so this is an adustment period for both of us."

"It'll be different than anything you've ever done," Mike said, "trust me!"

"Oh, I have no doubt about that!" David said; "I've had a little experience in the fathering department, but not with newborns."

"We do have to think about the state of the country, too," Dan said. "We still have a war on our hands."

David looked at Dan hard. He wanted to forget about the damned war for a little while.

----------

"I'm glad everything went well, and the new parents are getting adjusted to having newborns around," Justin said to his girlfriend of three years. "I helped Jordan escape from prison, and I'd do anything to make that woman happy after all the hell she's been through."

"You had a thing for her, didn't you, baby?" Britton said as she lay on the bed recouperating from giving birth to twin girls she'd never see.

"Yes, Britt, I did," Justin said sadly; "But I couldn't take advantage of her pain. She was an emotional wreck. She just wanted out, so I made that happen for her."

"How did you find out that the babies I was carrying were for Jordan and David Draiman?" Britt asked.

"Completely by accident," Justin said; "I knew why they wanted to know nothing about you, nor you about them. David has always had a high price on his head, and he and Jordan didn't want you to be in danger."

"I would have done it for them anyway, even if I knew who they were," Britt said. "You know that."

"I know, baby," Justin said, joining Britt on the bed. "You're very selfless. That's why you made such a good surrogate. And maybe someday soon, you and I could have a baby together."

"Isn't the one I already have enough?" Britt asked, knowing her son was sleeping in a room down the hall.

"He's a good kid," Justin said; "But he's not technically mine."

"You've been helping me raise him for three years," Britt said, annoyed. Justin always had to throw that in, that he wasn't Christopher's biological father. "He calls you 'Dad'. Isn't that enough?"

"I'm sorry, baby," Justin said, snuggling up to Britt. "And I adore him, you know that. I've always wanted one of my own, though."

"Let me recover from this one before we even talk about having one of our own, okay?" Britt said.

Justin laughed. "Okay, baby."

Britt soon drifted off to sleep, but Justin was wide awake. He had conflicting thoughts running riot in his mind. The main one was that he was sorry he had to cause the woman he'd been obsessed with for over a decade any pain whatsoever, and that her man would only have a short amount of time with her and their daughters.

Justin had been turned. To prove his loyalty to the New Army and the New Government, he had been given the mother of all assignments...

To assassinate David Draiman, a man whose cause Justin Pennybaker once pledged allegence to.

----------

damn......

GEEZ WOMAN! YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO FUCK WITH PEOPLE, HUH? FIRST DAVID AND JORDAN WEREN'T GONNA GET MARRIED, NOW THEY ARE. NOW JUSTIN, THE GUY THAT HELPED JORDAN ESCAPE IS A DAN DOUBLE AGENT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I LOVE IT!!!

Mind blowing, huh?

I've wanted to get Justin back in there for a while, and this finally was the opportunity. He'll get his, too, and you'll never guess from who!

Changes, Part 8--

Jordan went to find Julia after noticing that she had left the room right after Nik and KateLynn's announcement.

She knocked on the door of Julia's room and said, "Jules? It's Mom. Can I come in?"

Julia opened the door, and it was obvious to Jordan that her daughter had been crying.

"What's wrong, Jules? You've been crying," Jordan said. "You okay?"

Julia flopped down on her bed and looked at Jordan and said, "I'm so jealous of Nik and KateLynn! When is it going to be my turn to find someone who wants to be with me?"

Jordan joined Julia on the bed. "Julia, you are a very intelligent girl, you're a sweet girl, and that time will come. You may be almost ready for college, but you're not even fifteen yet. You're feeling like every other fifteen year old girl at one point or another. And that's normal."

"But I don't even have a boyfriend yet," Julia said. "All of the boys at school think I'm this weird, gun toting chick, and I'm not like that all the time!"

"I know that, baby girl," Jordan said, putting her arm around Julia. "I didn't have my first boyfriend until I was sixteen, and I thought I was totally in love. But he turned out to be a jerk. It hurt when he broke up with me."

"When did you meet Dad?" Julia asked.

"When I went to school to get my Master's degree," Jordan said. "I'd taken a year off after getting my Bachelor's, and when I went to enroll for my Master's courses, he was the one who helped me with the paperwork. He was working on his Master's, too. We'd met before that, as undergrads, but it wasn't until grad school that we fell in love."

"What was your Master's in?" Julia asked.

"Public Relations," Jordan said. "I never got to finish it because I got arrested at a Disturbed Ones rally when I was seven months pregnant with you."

"The one where he was killed?"

"Yes, and I witnessed his death," Jordan said, wondering if keeping the fact that she knew Jacob was still alive and known as Morbus was a wise idea. "I screamed until I lost my voice. The New Army dragged the dead through the streets so that others would be deterred from joining any protests. If anything, doing that caused more people to join."

"Wow," Julia said. "Major fail for the New Army, huh?"

"You could say that, yes," Jordan said with a chuckle. She was glad she could laugh at some of the things the Illegals did, because at the time, she was a scared 24 year old who had just watched the murder of her unborn child's father.

"However," Jordan said, "you should be happy for Nik and KateLynn, Julia. They're taking a huge step into adulthood now that they're expecting a baby. It's not something I could have done at eighteen."

"Why not?" Julia asked.

"Because I was very naive, very sheltered and my parents would have killed me if I showed up one day and said I was pregnant. Now, I guess it doesn't matter so much, because all the things kids now have to go through with the Illegals in control."

"Yeah," Julia said.

----------

Since the babies would be home the next afternoon, David and Jordan took advantage of the time alone. It would be a while before they had this opportunity again.

They lay in bed together after making love, just enjoying each other's company. But something was bothering Jordan, and she wanted to talk to David about it.

She turned over and faced him. His eyes were half closed and she thought he was just about to drop off when he said,

"Hey, Jordan...the babies are coming home tomorrow."

"I can't wait to get them nestled into their cribs and sing lullabys to them," she said.

"They're so adorably cute; I can't believe they're really mine!" he said.

"David," Jordan began, then stopped.

"What Jordan?"

"I'm sorry that you didn't get the boy you wanted to name after your grandfather."

"Jordan," David said as he took her into his arms, "don't be sorry. I'm so happy with the little ones we do have. We've been doubly blessed, baby. Even my grandfather would have said so."

"I know he was an important figure in your life," Jordan said.

"He was. And I miss him every day, even now," David said. "He'd be happy that I finally settled down with a good woman, even if you're not Jewish."

"I wish I could have met him," Jordan said.

"Me, too," David said. "He would have liked you. He liked fiesty women!"

Jordan laughed. She felt a little better. But there was still something unsettling in her mind. As happy as they were right now, she feared something bad was going to happen soon.

holy shit....all that got deep! damn! Justin a double agent, Jordan and David gettin married, the kids having a kid, damn!

Hey, Penni, you want another drink? *pours myself a screwdriver* Stef, that shit was DEEP! Whoa!

Changes, Part 9--

David and Jordan went to the clinic alone to pick up their baby daughters. All the formalities had been taken care of, and Nicole and Kimberlin were now theirs legally. They were more than ready to test out their new parenting skills.

They had hired a nurse for the first few weeks the babies were home, just to make sure that they were gaining weight and hitting all their milestones at the apropriate times. The first shots at two weeks of age were hard on both Jordan and David, because both babies cried a lot and cried loudly. But it only lasted a few hours, then they were back to their own selves.

Even at that young age, each baby was developing her own personality. Niki was the affectionate one, the first one to smile, and the first one to make "baby sounds", while Kimber was more reserved, and liked when her daddy talked to her.

David still went out and gave speeches and got crowds worked up at rallies. The Disturbed Ones were making progress towards getting the fair and free elections David demanded, but the illegal government still dragged their feet when asked to implement them. They realized they were losing power and losing supporters, and a plan was hatched by the Committee to assassinate David. They figured that without David leading them, the Disturbed Ones movement would collapse. The Committee had already turned a former Disturbed Ones follower and gave him the task of killing David. Unfortunately, the Committee also realized, that they'd have to also kill David's bodyguard, Morbus. That was no easy task. Morbus, they learned, was practically indestructible. The man had been shot, stabbed, and beaten so much that he'd built up a resistance to pain.

But, when rallies were over and the devoted had long gone home, David returned to his wife and their daughters. It wasn't just for the cause that David preached anymore; it was for a better world, a safer world, where Niki and Kimber and others could speak their minds without having a target on their back. Where all children would know how great the country was, and how great it would be again.

Someone, however, was watching closely.

----------

Julia loved her new role as big sister to Niki and Kimber. She didn't mind changing diapers, or being covered with spit up, or dealing with fussy babies. Jordan noticed this and thought, Julia is going to be a great mom someday.

Julia had also recently celebrated her fifteenth birthday, and was closer than ever to finishing school. The Academy told Jordan and David that Julia could graduate as soon as that December, and recommended a program designed for students like Julia who were far above their peers academically. Jordan knew that wasn't going to fly, because Julia still hated actually going to school, though she did well in her classes.

And, as promised, Julia began training with Morbus on how to be an assassin. She would get military style training akin to "Black Ops", similar to what Morbus himself had.

Julia would spend hours honing her skills, and often startled Jordan and David with her ability to sneak into and out of the house at all hours of the night. They realized it was an important part of her training to be as invisible as possible. One night she scared the live in nurse bad enough that she almost quit. Julia thought it was funny. Her parents and the nurse, not so much.

Morbus quickly realized that Julia's small size could work to her advantage, as would the fact that she was female. However, Morbus was hesitant to bring up the idea to Julia to use her feminine wiles on her male targets, because he knew she didn't have that kind of experience yet. When it came to using sex as a part of her arsenal, Morbus, like any father, didn't want to think of his daughter as being a sexual being. Someone else would have to train her for that. He knew of a couple of female trainers who could teach Julia, but she had to have some kind of intimate experiences first.

Morbus was very close to telling Julia he was her father. The idea of her reacting adversely to that information, frankly, scared him to death.

He'd find a way to accomplish that...before he grew any weaker.

----------

Justin Pennybaker was finding out that it was hard to shadow David. The man is slick, he thought as he trailed David to and from what Justin thought was David's home. It was the fake home that covered the underground safe house that David and his family actually lived in.

Justin was just looking for an opportunity to complete his assignment, but something always got in the way. Usually, it was his obsession with Jordan.

Justin never forgot Jordan, even as she was being hailed as a heroine of the cause. He never got to see her alone after he helped her escape from prison. She was always in the company of that disfigured bodyguard called Morbus, then she became David Draiman's lover. Justin wanted her to be happy, and if she was happy being Draiman's whore, then so be it.

He had found out as part of his assignment about the surrogate the couple used to bring their daughters into the world. When his girlfriend Britton agreed to be a surrogate for a Disturbed Ones couple, at the time, he didn't realize it was Draiman's and Jordan's babies she was carrying. When he found out, he knew that could be part of his surveillance into Draiman's activities. Draiman would protect his family at all costs, so if he could get into David's office on the compound, he might be able to take him out if Justin threated to eliminate his family.

Justin wondered if he could kidnap and torture Draiman before killing him. He made a note to himself to get in touch with his contact to see if that was a viable option.

----------

OMG, chick! It's getting deep in here. Good thing I've got my cruise ship!

I'm trying to write scenes about Julia's first intimate experiences, and so far, they all sound really creepy to me. She's going to meet a boy who actually likes her, and it's going to get deep in a hurry. But I can't for the life of me write a realistic teenage sexual experience scene that isn't too graphic or uses stupid phrases like "pops her cherry".

What shall I call this young man who steals Julia's heart?

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Help....! LOL

Thanx-- Stef

OMG *breathes deep after the 4th screwdriver* I think I need to sit down....WHOA!

Penni, you need to slow down sister.

Stef, I'll give it some though while I'm in class today and get back to you when I get home.

damn again!!

Changes, Part 10--

The day finally arrived that David, Jordan, Julia and the twins moved into the new safe house that replaced the one that had blown up the previous spring. It was a couple of months behind schedule, but it finally was ready to move into.

Jordan, for one, was glad to get out of the underground safe house that had been their home for the last six months. She had taken to using the fully stocked and furnished fake house above to take care of the babies so they at least could be exposed to sunlight several times a day.

Niki and Kimber were now four months old, and both were babbling, turning over, and making attempts to get on their hand and knees. Whenever Jordan (or David, if he happened to be home at the time) put the girls down for naps, they would go without fussing. Jordan would turn on the baby monitor and leave them to sleep.

But then, when Jordan got back to where the baby monitor base was, she'd hear what sounded like a conversation between her two baby daughters. Niki would babble something, and Kimber would babble something back in response. Jordan thought it was cute, and mentioned it to David one night as they were putting the babies to bed for the night.

"You talk to your sister behind our backs, Kimber?" David asked his younger girl. "You and Niki plotting take over of the world?" Kimber babbled something and David laughed. "I think she understands me," he said to Jordan, who was changing Niki's diapers.

"She just likes the sounds of Daddy's voice," Jordan said. Niki then babbled and Kimber "answered" her sister.

"Wait until we put them down and leave the room," Jordan told David; "They'll be talking up a storm then!"

Soon, both girls were ready for bed and their parents put them down for the night. Neither baby put up a fuss about it.

They didn't disappoint their parents either, because David and Jordan could hear on the monitor that there was some kind of "conversation" taking place between them. David had a big smile on his face as he listened to his daughters "talking" to each other.

"Just think, Jordan," David said. "If baby speak could be deciphered, it might be the solution the world needs."

"They're probably just talking about how funny their parents are," Jordan laughed.

"Or maybe," David said, running his hand over his bald scalp unconsciously, "how funny looking Daddy is."

Jordan kissed him and David responded. "Daddy isn't funny looking," Jordan said. "Daddy is everything in the world to Mama."

David led her to their bedroom. Once inside, he said, "They don't know that Mama is Daddy's whole reason for getting up in the morning, the reason I still fight for our way of life."

"I love you, David..." Jordan sighed as David laid her on the bed.

----------

Julia had decided to go to the special program for intellectually gifted students after her high school graduation after all, after wavering about it all summer. December couldn't get here soon enough as far as Julia was concerned. Classes at the Academy were challenging, but she still didn't have any real friends there; and forget about boys-- all they wanted was to either meet Disturbed, or get her into bed. Julia was smart enough to know that neither of those options were going to fly with her.

She had decided that if she was going to give up her virginity, it was going to be with someone who truly cared about her. And, not to some stupid boy who was enthralled with the fact that her stepfather was the leader of the Disturbed Ones.

Jordan though her daughter was being pretty smart in thinking that, but that also took a toll on the petite 15 year old's self esteem. At least as far as boys were concerned.

In Julia's other pursuits, like her training with the Disturbed Ones Security Forces, and her training with Morbus, she had more control over her emotions.

Julia looked forward to going home after her day was done, because she got to spend time with her baby half sisters.

They were much too young to understand that Julia was related to them, but they tried "talking" to her anyway. Julia thought it was cute that they were trying to communicate, and had read in one of Jordan's parenting books that babbling was the first piece of the puzzle in learning language.

"I can't wait until you two learn real words," Julia told them one night as she was giving them a bath. "Then maybe our conversations will make sense to me. You guys understand each other, but I don't understand you."

Kimber babbled something, and Niki responded with a high pitched squeal and splashing, which made her sister giggle.

"The joke's on me, huh?" Julia said as she pulled them from the bath and dried them off. Then the nurse came in and took the babies to the nursery to get dressed for bedtime.

Julia let out the bathwater and took the baby bath seats out of the tub and dried them off. She wondered what it would be like to have a little one of her own someday when she was older.

I guess I'll wait and see how Nik and KateLynn do with theirs, Julia thought.

----------

Having learned the location of the Draiman residence, Justin Pennybaker hid in the shadows nearby, watching the comings and goings of his target and members of his family.

He had gotten the okay from his contact with the Committee to kidnap Draiman and subject him to torture before killing him. Without the Disturbed Ones leader, the movement would fall apart. At least that's what Justin had been told.

Justin observed the arrival of a tall, blond man of about 20, and a noticeably pregnant woman of about the same age at the Draiman residence.

Damn, are they trying for another child so soon after getting their twins? Justin thought.

Then he remembered that one of Draiman's former wards was tall, blond, and eighteen or nineteen years old. The pregnant woman was his girlfriend or wife. The intel didn't give a lot of information about the couple, other than the man was a former ward named Nikolai San Marco. No name on the girl, only that she was identified in the report as "Mrs. San Marco".

Justin knew he'd heard that surname before, then recalled that Jordan's daughter Julia was living with a family with that surname when she was young. The San Marcos he was familiar with were executed by the New Government three years earlier. He'd have to ask his contact for more information.

For now, though, Pennybaker's eyes were on the house. The young expectant couple had gone inside, and Justin knew it was going to be a long, cool autumn night to be hiding in the darkness.

----------

Whoa, chick! What the hell? I can't WAIT til the traitor gets his!

Changes, Part 11--

"Pennybaker, when are you planning to carry out your assignment?" asked Justin's contact on the other end of the line; "When Draiman's daughters are in college?"

Justin rolled his eyes, then responded, "It seems he's never alone. If he's out, he's being protected by Morbus; when he's home, he has his wife and children with him. The only other place I could catch him alone is in his office."

"So, go to his office. Tell him you have new information about the New Government that you want to pass on."

Justin admitted to himself that he didn't really think of that, but it made perfect sense. Get Draiman alone and threaten his and his family's lives. Shoot Morbus if need be. Kill anyone who gets in the way.

"I'll do that," Justin said. "I think I have a way in."

"Good," the contact said. "Soon, without Draiman in the way, we will have everyone under our control. You have three days to finish your assignment or suffer the consequences."

"Yes, sir." Justin said and hung up.

Justin just didn't know that his contact wouldn't be the one meting out the consequences.

----------

The next day, Justin arrived at the Disturbed Ones' compound and went into the main Administration building and asked to see David.

"What does this pertain to," asked the receptionist. "Usually, Mr. Draiman doesn't see anyone without an appointment."

"I have information about a threat against the lives of him and his family," Justin lied.

"I'll see if he's able to see you," said the receptionist.

She was on the phone, talking to someone. She then hung up and turned toward Justin.

"Mr. Pennybaker, Mr. Draiman can see you now."

She led him back to David's office, announced him, and left the room.

"Justin, it's been a long time since I've seen you!" David said. "How's everything been for you? I understand you're working for our logistics department now?"

"Yes," Justin said, shaking David's hand. "It's been a pretty rewarding experience so far." But not as rewarding as killing you will be, he thought.

"Good," David said. "You have some information about threats against my family and me."

"Yes, David, I do."

"Let me get Dan Donegan in here first. He handles all the intel," David said, reaching over to get the phone. It was at this point that Justin drew his gun and said,

"If you don't mind, David, I don't think you'll be needing Donegan for anything."

David looked over, saw Justin with the gun, and raised his hands. "I see," he said. "You're the threat then."

"Yes, you slimy son of a bitch," Justin said, his demeanor turning cold in an instant. "You either come with me now, or your wife and daughters will die tonight."

"What is it you want from me, Justin?"

"Your death of course. But by the time we're done with you, you'll be wishing I'd just shot you where you sit."

"You know I'll fight back," David said. Then looking at Justin's thin build, said, "I have a distinct strength advantage over you."

"Maybe," Justin said, "But I have the gun."

"How do you know I'm not armed?" David asked.

"I know you're armed, David, but you'll give your gun to me now."

David handed over his gun, and while Justin's attention was on figuring out how to take the safety off, he pushed the button under his desk to alert Security Forces, Morbus, and to place the building on lockdown.

Justin got the safety off David's gun, just in time for Security Forces officers to burst through the door. Justin shot them all before they had a chance to get to David.

"You stupid shit," Justin growled at David. "That will just make your death more painful!"

Morbus came running in from outside, and Justin shot the bodyguard with David's gun. The bullet entered into Morbus' chest, but was not life threatening. The loss of blood caused Morbus to become weak.

Justin then held David's own weapon at David head and escorted him outside into a waiting vehicle. He could hear Morbus' moaning from down the hall.

"Die you disfigured freak! Die!" Justin said just loud enough for David to hear.

"You son of a whore!" David said to Justin in Hebrew. The insult was lost on Justin, not understanding what David said.

"Get in the car and do as I say!"

Once in the car, Justin got out a syringe and jabbed David in the arm with it, causing him to lose consciousness.

Justin tore off through the compound with Security Forces in pursuit. He drove to the location he was told to go to once he had his target. Security Forces lost him at some point, and returned to the compound.

The Disturbed Ones' leader had been kidnapped and taken to God only knew where.

But they were going to get a break from an unlikely source as to where David was being held.

----------

"Where's Julia?" Morbus asked as he was being placed on a stretcher to be taken into surgery to remove the bullet from his chest. "I need to talk to Julia before you take me anywhere."

One of Julia's instructors came and got her, telling her that Morbus had been shot, and that David had been forced into a car at gunpoint. Morbus was asking for her.

Julia ran to the Administration building just in time to see Morbus on a stretcher to be taken to the Medical Clinic. "Morbus!"

"Julia?" Morbus said, knowing with every passing moment he was getting weaker. But if he was going to die, he wanted Julia to know something important.

"Morbus! What happened?! Who did this to you?" Julia cried when she saw him.

"Julia listen to me," he began; "I have something important to tell you. The person you've known as Morbus your entire life used to be someone else."

"What are you talking about, Morbus?" Julia asked, feeling herself start to panic.

"I used to be a Disturbed Ones coordinator named Jacob Rossman," Morbus said. "I was in love with a beautiful girl who was carrying my child. I was shot at a Disturbed Ones rally and paraded through the streets because the New Army thought they had killed me. When they discovered they hadn't, they tortured me for information about David and the Movement, but I never gave up anything I knew."

He felt himself losing consciousness, but he had to tell Julia everything, make her understand that if he was going to die, she had to know...

"Julia, I'm telling you this because the girl who was carrying my child was your mother..." Morbus was fading fast, and medical personnel was concerned that his vitals were getting dangerously low.

"So you're...my father?!" Julia exclaimed.

"Yes, Julia, I am your father, Jacob..."

Morbus gave into the darkness that was enveloping him.

Julia, still in a state of shock at Morbus' revelation, and that David had been kidnapped, could only think of one thing to say as they wheeled Morbus into the clinic.

"You have to save him!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Then she crumpled to the floor, sobbing.

Oh, SNAP! *drops a glass of Jack* David has to get out of that situation and Morbus can't die, damn it!

Morbus isn't going to die, and David will go through some shit before he gets out of his predicament. And Mr. Pennybaker is going to wish he was never born...right before he gets his.

Julia's gonna get him? I hope so.

you're just gonna have to wait.

but Julia does have an ax to grind...

Damn it, Stef! Get the next section posted already, then.

Will do--

Changes, Part 12--

Word spread around the compound fast that David had been kidnapped and Morbus seriously wounded. After Jordan was told, she gathered up the twins and raced to the medical center, where Morbus was in surgery... and Julia was in hysterics.

She was met there by Dan and his wife Nicole, who was trying to comfort Julia as best she could, but the girl wasn't saying anything intelligible.

Dan took Jordan aside and asked her, "Did you at any time know a man named Justin Pennybaker?"

Jordan never forgot that name. He was the one who helped her escape from the prison years ago. And she told Dan the whole story. Then she asked why.

"Justin Pennybaker kidnapped David, shot Morbus, and killed several Security Force officers. Apparently, he had been sent by the Illegals to kill David."

"And Julia," Jordan asked; "What does Julia have to do with all this?"

Dan sighed. "Morbus apparently asked to see Julia, and she found him bleeding from a chest wound. He also wanted to tell her something, thinking he was dying."

Oh, dear God, thought Jordan. Morbus has told Julia he's her father. I know that's what he wanted to see her for. Especially if he thought he was dying.

"What did he tell her?" Jordan asked.

"We have no idea, Jordan," Dan said. "We can't even get Julia to string two words together that make sense right now."

"Let me talk to her and see if she'll tell me anything," Jordan said.

"Nicole said she'd watch the twins," Dan offered, then, "I hate to bring this up, Jordan, but David was scheduled to make a speech tonight."

"Let me talk to Julia, then I'll make David's speech," Jordan said. "I know what he was planning to say, and his notes are at the house."

"Jordan, you don't have to do that," Dan said. "Why make yourself a target? You have children to think about!"

"Because that's what David would have wanted me to do, Danny!" Jordan practically screamed at him. "So I'll give the God damned speech, is that okay with you, Mr. Donegan?"

Dan laughed, then said, "Remind me not to piss you off! Jesus, Jordan, we're on your side!"

"Then find my husband."

----------

Jordan sat down next to Julia while Nicole Donegan took the twins to another part of the clinic. Jordan could see that Julia's eyes were red from crying and that she was still very upset.

Julia looked at her mother and fell into Jordan's arms crying. Jordan felt helpless as her daughter cried in frustration and fear. All Jordan could think to do is rub Julia's back to calm her down.

When she calmed down some, Jordan asked what happened.

"Mom, is Morbus really my father, and if so, why didn't you tell me?" Julia asked.

"Yes, sweetheart, Morbus is your father," Jordan said. "Is that what he wanted to tell you?"

Julia nodded, then, "He told me the story you always told about how he was shot at a rally and his supposedly dead body was paraded through the streets. Except he didn't die! He became Morbus."

"And yes, I knew," Jordan said. "I found out by accident when you were about eight years old. Before David and I got together."

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Julia.

"Because he wanted to be the one who told you," Jordan said. "It was important to him that it came from him. Maybe he told you now because he thought he might not get another chance."

"Mom, what if he dies?"

"I don't know, Jules," Jordan said. "I really don't."

----------

David awoke slowly. He looked around and didn't really know where he was, only that it appeared to him that he was in a church of some kind.

His arms and legs were sore as fuck. Had he been shot? Stabbed? Beaten?

"Look who's awake, Boss," David heard Justin say. He remembered what Justin said about Morbus as he lay dying in the hallway outside David's office, and that pissed him off.

He felt himself being violently forced to a sitting position, then slapped in the face. "Wakey, wakey, Draiman," Justin said with a sinister tone. "Time for a game of Twenty Questions."

The man known as "Boss" asked him questions that, if David didn't answer fast enough, earned him another slap in the face.

"Your name?"

"You know my name," David said.

Another face slap.

"Your name, please?" Boss asked none to nicely.

"David Draiman," David said.

"Date of birth, please?"

"March 13, 1973."

"Occupation?"

"Lead singer for the band Disturbed."

Another face slap.

"Occupation?"

David said nothing. Again he was slapped in the face.

"Your occupation is leader of the Resistance group known as the 'Disturbed Ones', isn't it?"

"If you say so."

Boss thought a moment then said, "How about we bring your wife in here and Mr. Pennybaker and I can take turns fucking her while you watch? Or maybe suffocate those precious baby daughters of yours, again, while you watch? How about your teenage stepdaughter? I hear she's still a virgin. How bout we pop her cherry for her, while you watch, impotent to do anything?"

"You stay the fuck away from my family, you God damned motherfuckers. You hurt any of them and I'll kill you both with my bare hands!" David said angrily.

"I don't see how you're going to do that, Draiman," Boss said. "Since you are shackled to that chair you sit in."

Pennybaker just sat there, and David wanted to slap the smug right off his face.

"We'll let you think about your options, Draiman," Boss said. "Then we'll ask you the same questions again. Sound like a plan? Not answering this time might get you or your loved ones killed. I'm kinda liking robbing your stepdaughter of her diginty and her virginity myself. Maybe pimp her out to the rest of the Committee so they can take a whack at her." Boss and Justin then left, leaving David to sit there.

David knew he had to escape somehow. He found it just a little ironic that the man who helped Jordan escape from prison is now holding him prisoner in the basement of a church. The house of God, as Jordan called it.

He took comfort in the fact that Boss and Justin had no idea what Julia was capable of. The Illegals had intel on her, he knew. Guess they don't pass that shit down to their underlings.

And David wondered if Morbus was dead or alive.

----------

Jordan met with Dan, Mike and John about giving David's speech that evening, and what the reports from the Medical Center were on Morbus' condition.

Morbus was clinging to life, and it was hopeful that he would pull through surgery. Surgeons were reporting that it was slow going because of Morbus' multiple injuries over the years, including at least one other bullet lodged in his chest muscles.

"I'm going to give as much of David's speech as I can, then ask if anyone has heard anything about David's kidnapping, to please let us know," Jordan said.

"How's Julia?" Mike asked. "What was it that Morbus wanted to tell her?"

"Julia told me it was between her and Morbus," Jordan lied. "If Julia wants to make it known, she'll tell someone. At any rate, she's still a bit upset. She's known Morbus her whole life. It's like losing a member of the family. And Julia's been though enough of that."

Jordan was driven to the speech site in the armored Hummer, with a different bodyguard by her side. It was weird to her not to see Morbus in the seat next to her.

There were several bodyguards surrounding the stage as Jordan walked in to give the speech. Each had a sub machine gun and had orders to shoot to kill anyone who tried to harm Jordan.

Everyone in the crowd, knowing about what happened to David, were still taken aback when Jordan started to speak. I have to be strong, Jordan told herself. I can break down later.

"I know you were expecting to see David here this evening, fellow Disturbed Ones," Jordan began; "but in light of today's events, I am here in his stead to give the speech he would have given."

Jordan gave the speech in the same timbre, with the same emotion David would have given it, and got the same reaction David would have gotten. She ended it by saying,

"In conclusion, my fellow Disturbed Ones, I'd like to ask you a favor. If anyone knows anything at all about David's abduction, to please contact the compound. It is imperative that David be found as soon as possible. But with or without David, he would want our cause to go on.

"And please keep our brother, Morbus, in your thoughts. He has done his job for us well, and we would like that to continue, but the last reports we got were that Morbus is still in surgery, and it's not looking good. Morbus has survived worse injuries than this, but this one is serious because he lost a lot of blood.

"Remember, Disturbed Ones, we will never surrender! We will be victorious! We will never be overcome!"

Jordan left the stage quickly, where she was met by the other three members of the band. They congratulated Jordan on giving a great speech, and wanted to talk about the action they would take on the kidnappers.

Just then, a woman with shoulder length brown hair approached Jordan.

"Mrs. Draiman, my name is Britt, and I have information about your husband's kidnapping I wish I didn't know."

----------

Oh, snap! Justin's ole' lady's gonna flip on him.

oh yeah, she is.

all will be revealed in due time...