Dinner and..., [Allen]

[Iris Lagos]

She stared at him and then shook her head - not because she didn't know but because she didn't want to tell him. Iris just wanted to be normal and here was this nice guy who thought she was normal with some sort of sad past and then Darwin's people just had to come and ruin everything.

Iris pulled herself up and gave herself a brief examination for injuries. She seemed okay, but she should probably go to the hospital too. "Come on, I have my car. I'll drive you."

[Allen Jacobs]

Allen shook his head. He wanted an explanation. He deserved one. But...

He sighed.

"Fine."

[Iris Lagos]

She grabbed her bag and took him by the arm, leading him out of the pizza joint as they could hear police sirens screaming in the distance. They had to hurry. Why would he come alone? There was no reason for him to have come alone and they were going to be in even bigger trouble.

Iris unlocked the car and opened the door for Allen. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she started the car. "If I could explain that, I would." Her voice was shaking and as she moved to pull out of the parking space Iris noticed that she, too, was shaking.

[Allen Jacobs]

"It's..." He paused, and then he held up his hand.

"Stop." He said firmly.

[Iris Lagos]

"Stop?" she repeated, confused. Iris wasn't sure what he wanted her to stop, so she stopped the car, idling half in and half out of the parking space.

Iris took a deep breath, which was not as soothing as she had hoped, and turned to look at him. "We need to get you to the hospital."

[Allen Jacobs]

"The other way. Go the other way, Iris." He said, his eyes staring off into the distance. Then he turned to her.

"And fast."

[Iris Lagos]

"The other way?" Iris was not catching on very quickly. This was all very confusing and she was struggling to stay on the right page. Or maybe she wasn't even in the right chapter.

He was so serious. Iris knew better than to question him.

Iris pulled back into the parking space and then reverse out in the opposite direction. This didn't make any sense, it was the wrong, the long way, to the hospital.

She did as she was told.

[Allen Jacobs]

Allen let out a long sigh, and then leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed. About a minute later, there was a roaring explosion behind them. Allen didn't stir in his chair.

[Iris Lagos]

Iris jumped at the noise, and pushed the car to go faster. She dared to glance behind them in the review mirror and then regretted it.

She reached over and patted Allen on the leg. "Allen. Allen. You have to stay awake, it's important." She was trying to keep her eyes on the road but kept glancing at Allen. "Tell me what you know. Please."

[Allen Jacobs]

"I'm not asleep. I don't know anything." He said calmly. "You won't tell me anything."

[Iris Lagos]

"You don't want to be involved in this," she told him firmly. "In fact, this is your out. It's probably better for your physical and mental welfare if you don't want to see me anymore."

She looked over at him again. "This isn' t the first time and it's not going to be the last time something like that happens."

[Allen Jacobs]

He shrugged. "Seems to me like you wouldn't have made it through without me." He opened his eyes.

"Go left."

[Iris Lagos]

Iris turned left as requested. "You got hurt, and it was my fault." God, what wasn't her fault these days? How many people had to die or get hurt to protect her? She was just Iris. She wasn't worth all that sacrifice.

"Besides," she added, "If they take me back, they can't hurt me too bad because they can't risk losing their investment." Afterwards though - Iris couldn't even imagine what the punishment for running away would be.

[Allen Jacobs]

"I'm fine." He shrugged.

"The baby?"

[Iris Lagos]

She didn't answer at first. Iris still wanted to cling to the belief that Allen would thing she was a war widow or that maybe her husband and decided he was gay and left her. All these things were better than the truth.

Allen already knew, though. Whether or not she told him, he probably knew. "All of the children," she said quietly.