Paradise Threatened Ch. 07

Dana couldn't be happier. She had a good job, a nice home, a wonderful boyfriend and to top it all off, her parents were doing what they could to make amends with her. They were still a little stiff whenever she hugged them, but they were willing to spend time with her, trying to understand her. Life was great. It's been nearly a year since her Change and she felt it was time for her parents to officially meet Jason. Jason was a little apprehensive about it, though.

*Jason*

Dana looked at Jason from across the table, a little worried.

"Are you alright, hon?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said after helping his little brother cut up his roast, "I'm just a little nervous about meeting your parents tomorrow. I know they've been nothing but nice to us, but it still feels like they're up to something."

"I think you'll feel better about it after you've spent more time with them," she said.

After they finished dinner and Tristan was put to bed, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Jason asked.

"Hi, sweetheart," his mother answered. "I know you've got that lunch with Dana's parents tomorrow, but do you think you could watch Tristan again tomorrow? Your brother has another panel."

"That's ok," he said, "Maybe it'll make it easier with Tristan there. He'll stun them with his cuteness."

"That sounds about right," his mother laughed. "See you tomorrow night. I love you."

"Love you too, mom," he said, hanging up.

"What's up?" Dana asked.

"Mom asked us to watch Tristan tomorrow."

"Cool. My mom and dad will love him. He's just so adorable."

"You have your moments too," Jason purred, holding her to him.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, stud," she chuckled, putting her arms around his neck.

"Not a good idea tonight," he sighed, keeping a little distance between them. "Tristan's a pretty light sleeper."

"Alright," she sighed, "but you owe me tomorrow night, buddy."

"Mmm, sounds good to me," he replied. "Maybe we should turn in early tonight."

She just smiled and led him to their bed and got in. Later that night, a nasty thunderstorm rolled into the valley. Jason woke up, feeling something on his foot. He looked up to see Tristan crawling in between him and Dana, shaking with fear.

"Can I sleep in here with you tonight?" he asked, cringing when another thunderclap sounded.

"Sure you can," Dana told him, cuddling his little brother.

Tristan rolls into her body, purring softly and going back to sleep. Jason leaned over and kissed Dana before going back to sleep himself.

*Dana*

"Hi, mom, dad," Dana said as they walked up to her parents in the park. She hugged first her mom, then her dad, who was grilling some burgers. Grabbing Jason's hand, she pulled him forward. "This is my boyfriend, Jason and his little brother, Tristan. His parents are out of town and they asked us to babysit."

They simply smiled at the little boy. Dana, Jason and Tristan and her mom sat at the picnic table, talking until her father set the burgers next to the buns and condiments. They continued their conversation as they ate, Jason growing more relaxed. Her parents, though, seemed to grow more tense and anxious. Her instincts flared, saying something was really wrong. Her heightened hearing picked up rustling from in the trees and bushes, yet there was no wind. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed there were people hiding.

"Well, this was fun," Dana said, getting up, trying to remain as calm as possible. "But we should get home."

"I'm afraid not," her mom said as they were walking away.

Hearing a loud whistle, many of her old friends and some of her parent's friends jumped out at them, tossing nets. Jason managed to pull her out of the way, along with his baby brother.

"Hang on, little buddy," Jason said to Tristan, holding him to his chest until he grabbed on tight.

Running like hell, he spread his wings and took off, trying to get as high as possible. Dana followed after, but one of them grabbed her legs, pulling her back down. She screamed and twisted, trying to get free. Jason came back and tackled him to the ground.

"Run!" he snarled, punching the guy's lights out.

Dana ran, but towards Jason, to help him. Together, the three of them ran from the park, hiding in an abandoned building. When the coast was clear, they started down an empty street.

"I'm sorry, Dana," Jason said, putting an arm around her. "I hate it that they tried to use you."

"I hate myself," she whispered, tears staining her cheeks, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I was stupid to think they would ever change."

"No, you just wanted your family back. I don't blame you for that. But you've seen that they can't understand what you've went through, what my father went through. It's hard to understand change that you haven't went through. Thing is, I'm here. I will always be here with you. My family...they love you very much. We'll always be here for you."

"I know," she said, nuzzling his shoulder and neck. "Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too," he mumbled, stopping and holding her to him, Tristan squished between them.

"There they are!" she heard someone shout.

Both of them turned to see the crowd coming at them. Taking Tristan, Dana ran, Jason right behind her. A man and a woman tackled Jason to the ground.

"Go!" Jason growled, flailing around under them.

Dana ignored him, helping get the angry activists off of him and to his feet. One of the women made a grab at Tristan. Jason flipped out on her, scratching her face with his claws. Someone hit him with a bat from behind, taking him down. Feeling a blinding pain in her back, she went down beside him. In spite of the beating she was getting, Dana curled into a ball around Tristan, protecting him from the cruelty they were being subjected to.

Some time later, Dana came to in the hospital. She was sore and achy, but still breathing. Sitting up, she saw that Malcolm was sitting next to her bed.

"Hey there, good looking," he said softly, taking hold of her hand. "How you feeling?"

"Like crap, but at least I'm still alive," she replied, smiling slightly. The smile quickly left her face.

"Is Jason and Tristan ok?" she asked him.

"Tristan had a couple of scratches and was pretty upset, but he's fine. Jason hasn't woken up yet. They'd had to operate on him to stitch up a puncture to his lung and in his liver. He'll be fine, though."

"Can I see him?" she asked.

Malcolm nodded, wheeling over a wheelchair. He helped her into the chair and wheeled her down the hallway and into another room. She gasped when she saw him. Jason was sleeping fitfully; IVs in his arms, his torso bandaged. Malcolm brought her to a stop beside his bed. When she took hold of his hand, he held her hand back, his sleep becoming much more relaxed. Malcolm left them alone.

"This is all my fault," she said quietly, tears coming to her eyes. "If it wasn't for my idiocy, this never would've happened."

"Never," she heard him say, his voice hoarse. "It wasn't your fault. More than likely, it would've happened one way or another. I love you; I'd be more than willing to die for you."

He fell silent and went back to sleep. Dana stayed beside him for a while. Ever since the Change, she's hurt everyone she's ever loved. Hurt her parents, her friends. Jason. She couldn't do this anymore. There's no way she was going to sit by and hurt them anymore. Standing up, she leaned over and kissed Jason's forehead.

"I'll always love you, Jason," she said. "But I can't watch you suffer because of me. Goodbye, my love."

Getting up out of the chair, she went back to her room, found her clothes. Once she was dressed, she snuck out of the hospital and disappeared into the deep woods.

*Jason*

When Jason woke up again, Dana was gone and his mother was sitting next to him, reading. He got her attention by placing his hand on her shoulder. Marking her place in the book, his mom looked up at him.

"How are you feeling, baby?" she asked.

"A little tired and sore as hell, but I'll ok," he told her. "You know me, I always bounce back. Where's Dana?"

Her smile faded.

"Jason, she's gone."

"Gone?" he asked, his heart sinking. "What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"She put her clothes on and snuck out of the hospital. Doctors said her wing membranes were a little torn, so she can't fly right now, but they believe she disappeared into the woods."

Sitting up in his bed, he pulled out his IVs and yanked off all the sensors on his body. His mother stood up as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and pulled himself up.

"What are you doing, Jason?" she asked. "You still need rest."

"I can't rest knowing Dana's out there, weak and defenseless," he grunted hobbling to the door. When he reached it, he hung onto the door jamb, breathing heavily.

"Jason, please get back into bed," his mom pleaded from his side.

"No," he growled, pressing on.

Nearly falling, his mom rushed to his side and took some of his weight.

"If you insist on doing this, then at least let me help you," she sighed.

"Thank you, mother," he said, continuing on.

*Dana*

"Damnit," Dana cursed as she pulled herself back onto her feet, shaking from the effort.

She was muddy, bleeding and cold as she slowly trudged through the thick, treacherous forest. Because she was still weak from the beating she'd taken, her strength was waning quickly, but she wasn't going to stop. Dana could never go back to the valley, she wasn't going to let anyone else suffer because of her. No matter what she did, she would never be happy. She was meant to be alone. It broke her heart to have to leave Jason, but she loved him too much to stay and let him suffer.

Pushing through some thick brambles, Dana's foot caught on a tree root and she fell again. She slid down a mud-slick hillside, getting scratched by thorns and hitting a rock before finally coming to a rest at the bottom of the hill. Dana tried to get back up, but it was a vain attempt. She just didn't have any strength left and she felt ill. No one knew where she was and there was no way she was going anywhere.

"I'm going to die alone," she said to herself, tears flowing freely while she lay there.

*Jason*

With his dad and twin brother helping him, Jason pushed through the thick forest, calling out to Dana. He was weak and wanted to sleep so badly, but he couldn't stop. Not until he found her.

"Dana!" he cried, coughing afterwards, his body shaking.

"Jason, you need to stop now," his father said, "You're making yourself sick."

"Dana!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Please answer me!"

He sunk to his knees, tears flowing freely. His father and brother helped him up and they started to lead him back towards the hospital. Until one of the other searchers yelled out they found her. Jason tore himself away from them and ran over to the guy. He pointed to the bottom of the hill. He had to really look, but he saw her lying there; bruised, bloody, her fur caked with mud.

"Oh god, Dana!" he yelled, sliding down the hill, ending up right beside her.

Her breathing was shallow and she was burning up with fever. He made sure the searchers were very careful with her as they got her back to the hospital. Once she was clean and bandaged, Jason wouldn't calm down until she was in the same bed with him. The doctors placed them into a room with a double-wide bed. Knowing that Dana was being taken care of, Jason was able to rest.

*Dana*

Dana woke up lying next to a sleeping, smiling Jason.

"I've died and gone to heaven," she sighed, cuddling close to him.

"You're not dead," Jason said, waking up, looking right at her, "But this is definitely heaven. Then again, I'm always in heaven when I'm with you."

"More like hell," she sighed, looking away. His hand came up and pulled her head back around, making her look at him. "Jason...I left because I love you. I didn't want to hurt you anymore."

"Dana, sweetheart...it wasn't your fault. Things happen and I'm sure this won't be the last time this happens. Your parents even fooled me into thinking that they'd changed and wanted to make amends with you. I never blamed you once for what happened. We can get through anything as long as we're together."

Her emotions boiling over, Dana curled into herself and cried hard, her sobs making her whole body quake. She sobbed harder when she felt Jason's arms come around her and hug her tight to his body. He said nothing as he gave Dana the comfort and love she needed. When she finally stopped crying, he made her look up at him again in order to kiss her.

"Dana, will you marry me?" he asked softly, stroking her cheek.

"Yes," she whispered, tucking her head up against his chest. "I'll marry you. I love you."

*Jason*

"I love you too," he purred, stroking her hair and back as she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. Before he could fall asleep, his dad ran into the room.

"We've got a big problem," he said. "Dana's parents are petitioning to have the valley revert back to the state and have us all quarantined for study."

"What?! Why?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down in order to not wake Dana.

"They're claiming that after inviting their morph daughter and her boyfriend to a friendly lunch, you attacked them with no warning," he answered, "They're claiming that all morphs are savage animals and we need to be quarantined and studied heavily. Which means locking us up in labs or zoos."

"That isn't true. We were just leaving and they're activist friends attacked us. Hell, they were hiding in the bushes, waiting to ambush us."

"I believe you, son," his dad sighed, "but we're going to have a hell of a time diffusing this situation. I'm sorry to bother you with this, but you needed to know. Try to get some rest, alright?"

"Yeah," Jason sighed.

It was a long, long while before he was able to sleep.