Resurgence

29

Jackson sat on the roof of his and Heather's home, staring at the night sky. Sometimes, he missed Helixion. The beautiful blue-green sea, his palace, his mother's gardens, and the sand dunes. But he remembered that he wasn't welcome there. He could never go back home.

Part of him felt angry at Brendan's loss. He shouldn't have had to have sacrificed himself to save them all. Part of him blamed the Agency but at the same time, the enemy could be unpredictable, as he had learned early on in his Leader role. He remembered how destroyed Erika had been at the hospital from grief. She had lost a child and her future husband at the same time.

Jackson had barely had any friends as a cephalopod but had deeply valued the ones he gained as a human. Brendan had been nice to him and had helped him despite the former beef between them. This was upsetting. He was now left with Heather, Kyra, and Erika. It would feel awkward being the only man in their group but he would live.

He heard footsteps behind him to see Heather.

"Is Leah asleep?" Jackson asked. Heather nodded.

"She woke up from a nightmare of your father beheading her." Heather sighed.

"That poor woman. I know that can't be easy." Jackson sighed. Part of him had truly hoped that she was his real mother but he knew the truth. Ayleah had been dead for a long time.

"It's not." Heather sighed. "How are you faring?"

"Better than I thought I would. I'm worried about Erika." Jackson sighed.

"Would you have believed it a year ago?" Heather raised her brow at him.

"I would have been disgusted. Then again, if you told me I'd end up with the human nurse that saved my life, I wouldn't have believed it either." He kissed Heather.

"And why not?" Heather looked at him.

Jackson sighed. "I fell in love with this girl named Mary Winters. I thought she was an angel that helped me escape the Agency the first time I came to Earth but it turned out she was with them the whole time."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Heather sighed. "That must have been sad."

"I got over it. Now I have you." Jackson held her hand and kissed it.

"What happened to Mary?" Heather asked.

"She blew herself up to spite me." Jackson ran his hand through his hair. "Well, she tried to blow Scarleth, one of my generals, and myself up but Scarleth saved me for whatever reason."

"You don't think she's here for you, do you?" Heather's eyes slightly widened.

"I doubt it. I don't think she really loves me romantically anymore." Jackson sighed, looking at Heather. He hoped she wasn't jealous of someone who wasn't competition to her.

"I hope not." Heather scooted closer to him. "I feel bad for Erika, she's not doing well, no matter what she says."

"We all see that. I know it's tearing up at Karenina. To not be able to help her daughter in a really bad time in her life." Jackson sighed. "I know Amanda was considering extending her leave but it would look bad after that meeting yesterday."

"I know. Brendan was a good friend to all of us. He was there with me when we got kidnapped by Avaline and Emerson. He tried to defend me but it didn't work." Heather sighed. "I miss him."

"How's Kyra doing?"

"She's down. Like that was her closest friend in the Agent circle. I can tell it's really messing her up but I think she's faring a bit better than Erika."

"Yeah. Auntie Ky's been through a lot of shit. When my mother died in that car accident, she almost died in the hospital room with her. But she pulled herself together for me." Heather sighed. "I think I need to pull myself together for Kyra now."

"You're so kind, Heather." Jackson cuddled closer to her.

"I try to be. The world isn't so kind so we have to be." Heather got up. "I think it's starting to get chilly at night. I'm sooo ready for Halloween and everything else."

Jackson got up. "Same. Remember how we did matching costumes for Amy's party?"

"I do." Heather smiled at him. "What should we do this year?"

"I have no idea. Last year we were Barbie and Ken."

Heather chuckled. "Oh, I remember. That blonde wig looked terrible, but that was the point."

"I think you still looked good." Jackson nudged her as they headed back inside.

"You always think I look good."

"Well, I am your boyfriend." Jackson smiled as they made it to the ground. Heather opened the door.

"What ever happened to Scarleth?" Heather turned on the kitchen light. Scarleth was on her phone.

"Hey guys." She spoke. "How was the stargazing?"

"Great." Jackson spoke. "How was your night out?"

"Good, I guess. Human men suck." Scarleth looked up at him. "One was mad because he bought me a drink and I wouldn't sleep with him."

"And what did you tell him?" Heather asked, crossing her arms.

"I told him if he just wanted sex, he would have hired a sex worker. He tried to slap me but I broke his arm." Scarleth had a huge grin on her face.

"Damn, Scarleth." Jackson looked surprised. "You have to be careful, humans aren't quite ready for us."

"He should have kept his hands to himself." Scarleth was messing with her nails. "He'll be fine. I was nice enough to erase his memory of what happened and throw him in his car right after."

"Lord." Jackson face palmed. "I'm ready for bed. Take care of Leah." Scarleth waved him off and they went into their bedroom. Jackson wondered if it was a good idea to have Scarleth around. She knew better than to try him. Leah was asleep on the couch.

Jackson took off his shirt and pants, jumping into bed in his underwear. Heather joined him in an oversized shirt and panties. She cuddled up against him and they both fell asleep, holding each other.