I hate this, I began. Ever since that morning, I can't get Brandon out of my head. Nobody's ever been willing to fight like that for me, put everythin... on the line for me. He was so strong, so brave, so handsome there- and he was naked. A mother should never see her son like that, not after he becomes a man. And oh, what a man! Big and strong, and not just in his physique!I scribbled on and on, trying desperately to exorcise my fantasies by pinning them to paper, transferring them from ephemera. There was no one else to be seen which made my sigh in relief. Smiling, I rested my head against the pillow and let the pod do its work.[What are you smiling about?] Abi asked.[Either anyone else that was hurt wasn’t hurt as badly as I was and they left here already, or no one else was hurt. Either makes me happy.]She chuckled before taking on a more serious tone. [Then I guess I should ask just what the hell you were thinking?! I gave you the Beacon so you could use it to teleport to safety,. "She sat up stiff. I'd gone too far. "Okay," she stood up, "I'll be certain to lock my door every night." She turned and stiffly walked out of the room and down the hall to the bedrooms. "Bye-bye really really good," she spat over her shoulder.That left me to stand myself to shoulder the burden of turning off the t.v. and all the lights. That didn't take long, but it was long enough to make a point. By the time I walked down the hall to my own room, passing my sister's door, hearing her lock. It rang twice more and then I got up to answer it, and then - boom - I was against the wall. I was surprised, sure, but I knew what it was all about as soon as I saw Mike walk in. Attracted by all the commotion Maggie came into the room and I damn near died of embarrassment; no makeup, her hair in curlers, wearing a ragged flannel nightgown and fuzzy pink slippers. To top things off you could tell she was at least four months pregnant."What's going on here?' she asked.Before I could say.