This week's prompt is courtesy of Springie:

Oooh... looks like a good one!

Mark: And you know of course that Cronus was my father, and how he left me, the bastard, and then he left me again to go after the X-3, and I do see the Chief as a father but sometimes, I don't know, he's a bit tough on me, as if I'm the only person causing trouble on the team, surely Jason has caused more trouble than me all these years. Remember, he was the one who actually missed a mission because he was on the racing track. And I do like the company of Tiny and Keyop, but you know, Keyop can be a bit of a pain sometimes, not that I'd ever admit it in public, and Tiny, he's a solid guy, but his mind is more on girls than on the job sometimes. Well, in any case we'll have to wait until the war is over to get to know each other better, but I would like to get to know you better, what do you say? Princess: (snores)

simply brilliant DT!!

Starting off talking about his father was a bad move....

[unrecoverable text]

Awwwwww..... so sweet, KT!

DT - that sounds like Mark, all right! KT - that fits it perfectly, too. A baby Eagle or Swan on the way.

DT and KT - you two are so fast. I am only seeing this and you have already found something to post. Your pieces fit nicely with the image though.

Jun looked so peaceful as she dozed -- she was still exhausted from their last mission against Galactor. Ken hated to disturb her...but it was for everyone's benefit. "Jun," he whispered, "wake up!" She let out a tiny snore. "Come on, Jun! You remember what happened when one of us fell asleep during Hakase's 'discussion' about the thermodynamics involved in the perfect slice of pizza!"

lol, EW, so what did happen when one of them fell asleep during Hakase's 'discussion' about the thermodynamics involved in the perfect slice of pizza?

Nothing pretty, I assure you!

DT: Did Princess make the fatal mistake of asking Mark what's on his mind? KT: Aw ... not an enviable position for Ken, but it sounds like she really is in more danger than before (fatigue) and if anything happened to her, their child could suffer for it. Just have to get past her pride and her fear that not being there could get him killed, I suspect. EW: Oh dear.

Hey Springie! Thanks for another picture donation, it is awesome...but I have no idea what to write for it, yet. DT, that was hilarious...I can so imagine trying to nervously get everything out on the table at once.. Made me laugh! KT--Meow! I guess the cat is out of the bag now. EW...very funny too! Although I am not sure about the rate of heat loss that a solitary slice of pizza would emit, as opposed to a whole pie.

K2, I thought I put yopu all out of your misery a couple of weeks ago?

Keyop's loss had been devastating to them all. Princess and Mark most of all. Princess because she had always considered Keyop her brother. They had been adopted by the same family, and since then the two had spent a lot of their free time together. The two had even chosen to live together in the apartment above Jill's Bar, when Anderson had given the team permission to live off base. Mark though had allowed his grief to detach himself from the others. Their Commander blamed himself for the loss. There had been many times when Mark had been hear to say, "If I had held on just a little longer." Tiny though, had seen the rare time when Mark would pull himself from his anguish to console one of his teammates. Today, Tiny had managed to drag Mark from his shack at the airfield and bring him to the Jill's place where they were going to get a bite to eat. When they arrived they found Princess sitting at the bar with her head down, tears falling and shoulder's shaking. When Mark noticed he approached, and with concern etched on his face, he squatted beside her and began to offer words of encouragement. After a few minutes Tiny saw Princess dry her tears and tilt her head not quite looking at Mark, but obviously listening to what he was saying. Obviously their Commander's quiet, gentle words were helping - for now.

CD--Oh NO! What happened? Poor Keyop....

CD - I'm guessing this is from your AU! I always wondered what happened to Keyop. EW, I'm glad to see Mark is helping Princess stay out of trouble!

You are correct, part of my AU. K2p2 - I have been working on/in my Au for over 30 years, and as a teen, I could not stand Keyop and the way he blurbled and stuttered, I also could not find a way to explain why a 10 year old child would be on a team of warriors, so I decided to "kill him off." But don't worry, many years later I changed my mind and decided I could work Keyop back into my AU. Unfortunately he had been gone for so many years and missed so many events in my AU. I decided to not rework everything from the beginning but to have him located and brought back - you know much like happens in those "bad" soap stories. So while the team were off fighting Spectra as a foursome, Keyop was off on a mission of his own - only his mission goes slightly awry and he can not return.

Cloud: Aw, oh no. Good on Tiny for dragging Mark out of his shell, so Mark and Princess can help each other.

This week it's Jun's turn, while Ken is off at Club Aphrodite: Jun hated to admit it, but she was bored. Usually, the moment the word formed in her head, the universe threw something at her to break the tedium. Sometimes that something was a Galactor attack. At others, it might be a broken dishwasher, or the sudden smell of natural gas. She sat still and quiet, waiting for fate to throw something her way, but nothing came. Sighing, she considered calling Ken and inviting him to a movie. Sure, he'd probably drag the others with them, but as long as she got to sit next to him she could pretend it was a date. Then she remembered he was off on assignment. It irked her that he hadn't even said goodbye, but she knew from personal experience that Hakase often told them to keep their solo missions quiet. Otherwise, what was supposed to be solo became a group affair as one or more of them followed. Hopefully he'd be back soon. In the meantime, she considered as she lay her head on her desk, if the cat was away maybe the mouse should play. Though which one of them was the cat was up for debate. With the way he awkwardly evaded her more obvious advances, that probably made him the mouse. Who'd better not be off playing. But if she was the cat, she should step up her pursuit. Contrary to popular belief, she hadn't "waited" for him, and wasn't going to pine after him forever if he didn't give her some kind of sense that he was actually interested. She let out a yawn and started drifting. Yes, she needed a plan. That and the right kind of cheese. What kind of cheese did Eagle mice like, anyway? Then she slipped off into sleep. When she dreamed, she dreamed that she woke up to find him crouched by her desk, just watching and waiting for her to notice him. Like she could possibly not notice him. Stupid Eagle. At least it was a nice dream.

Chris, A nice dream indeed, from Jun's POV... CD, Of course Princess is going to miss Keyop most of all, regardless of whether he was killed or not, they share so much history together. It's so sweet of Mark to finally be able to put his own grief aside and be able to support her through it.

Sweet story, CW...glad to know that no matter what happens, Jun is going to be okay...

LOL, CW! I think Ken is the mouse here, leading Jun on yet never really ;confirming' anything! And too true about the 'others following along' thing! I recall that happening so many times in canon!

Originally posted by KT1972 K2, I thought I put yopu all out of your misery a couple of weeks ago?

Yes, but it's nice to have it confirmed, no?

EW, coming back to another thread about BoTP and who from TBBT would play who, somehow, in your fic, I see Anderson JUST RIGHT for Sheldon! Sorry to be off topic...

Originally posted by Daniella T

Originally posted by KT1972 K2, I thought I put yopu all out of your misery a couple of weeks ago?

Yes, but it's nice to have it confirmed, no?

I actually confirmed it in week 7, the romance thread back in February! It's been quite a source of amusement to me that everyone has kept guessing since....

No one pays any attention around here, KT. Haven't you figured that out yet?

Originally posted by Transmute Jun No one pays any attention around here, KT.

Huh? Were we supposed to pay attention to something? Are we going to be tested on this?

CW, you've got me wondering if Ken's going to find a cat in heat when he finally gets back...

"Who'd better not be off playing". Somehow, I wish Ken WOULD be playing, even it would mean he'd have to face a scratchy cat when he's back...

TJ: Ken better watch it before he ends up in a little cage with a habitrail. And that's the dangers of raising them as a team. I think it just feels wrong to them to send one of them off all by themselves when it's not necessary! KT: Some of us have the memory span of a gnat on crack. EW: I may have Jun show up there, which could potentially lead to a lot more trouble. *grin* Though I'm still up in the air on that. The fun of winging it. DT: The whole point of sending Ken there was for him to learn to play. Bwahaha.

Hee hee hee, maybe I should have let you all keep guessing then..... I was having such fun with it too!!

Originally posted by KT1972 Chris, A nice dream indeed, from Jun's POV... CD, Of course Princess is going to miss Keyop most of all, regardless of whether he was killed or not, they share so much history together. It's so sweet of Mark to finally be able to put his own grief aside and be able to support her through it.

Mark is not doing it to be sweet, he is doing it out of a sense of duty.

CW - I love the reference of the cat and the mouse. And like Jun I would be left wondering which I am and which he is. KT - I think you are getting to feel a little bit of what TJ enjoys when she is writing her weekly story - everyones speculation(s).

You may be right CD, Where it was obviously the swan in the pieces, I loved the speculation about whether it was the Eagle or Condor she was dating.... or even if it was Gatch or BotP universe, I just wasn't sure if I was able to keep it up much longer. I doubt if I would have managed to keep it going with this weeks prompt anyway. But there you go, all good things and all that, it sure was fun while it lasted.

I'm glad you are enjoying yourself, KT!

Hee hee hee, if I wasn't enjoying myself, I wouldn't participate, TJ, I'm still having lots of fun!

(The BF, an amateur pilot, is my inspiration here...)

LB!!!!!

Fantastic, Lb!!

LB: LOL, if he believed that, he needs to look up gullible in the dictionary.

Funny, that's the reaction I get when I want to talk to people about golf...

It was just one of those days. Most of the time Jun was busy from sunup to sundown. If she wasn't on a mission or dealing with the minutia of daily life with an active tween boy she was working at the Snack, putting everything she had into her small business to help it grow. The Snack was everything to her. It was her life, something she held onto for after the war was over. Sure, there were other things she wanted as well (she flushed slightly, thinking of those 'other things') but the Snack was solid. It was real. Not fantasy. When the war was over she could make a real go of the place, build a life for herself. Which made it all the more devastating when her bar got closed down. It had been such a stupid thing. The annual health inspection was due. Jun had made extra certain that Jinpei had no creatures hanging about, nothing that would cause alarm during the analysis. She had made an appointment with the inspector to view the restaurant. Naturally, as always happened in such situations, she had had to cancel the appointment, thanks to a call from Dr. Nambu. She had been able to reschedule with the inspector. Yet it had happened again. And again. After the third cancellation, the inspector had coldly stated that she was past her extension date and had declared her operation license null and void. She was officially out of business. Why did these things have to happen? The Snack was all she had wanted, everything she had worked for. And now it was gone. She sat at the empty bar, her head in her arms, her eyes closed as she deal with the deep sandess that washed over her. "Jun." She didn't open her eyes at the sound of the familiar voice. Today she didn't want to talk to anyone, but most especially not to Ken, who could send her emotions whirling in the blink of an eye. She she sat there quietly, pretending she hadn't heard him. "Jun, it's not the end of the world." Like that was going to make her feel any better. If she hadn't been so depressed Jun might have rolled her eyes in disbelief at the inanity of Ken's statement. "You did the right thing, and I'm sorry you had to suffer for it." She felt a light brushing on her arm, and then it was gone. "But it's going to be okay." Yeah, right. Whatever. "I hope you don't mind... I told Hakase what happened." Anger flared briefly, turning into a mild annoyance. Of course Ken had told Dr. Nambu. There was no such thing as privacy around here. "He's pulling some strings. You got another extension. The inspector is due here in fifteen minutes." "Wha...?" Jun sat bolt upright, here eyes popping open in shock. "Fifteen minutes?" she screeched. "I didn't want to risk getting another call, so I told Hakase to send him here immediately." Ken shrugged. He rose to a stand; apparently he had been crouching next to the bar. "I... I have to get ready!" Jun stammered as her eyes scanned the bar, checking that everything was clean and in place. Hurriedly she moved toward the kitchen. "Ken..." she said, turning back just as she was about to go through the door. "Thanks." she told him. "I owe you one." "It was the least I could do to help you out, after all of the times you helped me." he noted, his head nodding at his usual barstool. Jun flushed as she understood his meaning. "Your credit is good here anytime." she told him, rushing into the kitchen to hide her burning cheeks. Yet in short order her embarrassment was forgotten. After all, she had a lot to do in fifteen minutes.

Hee hee hee, Ken won't need to go begging from now on then! As if anyone would see the J closed for good though...

Chase out those bugs!

Originally posted by ChrisW LB: LOL, if he believed that, he needs to look up gullible in the dictionary.

I can hear it now: "What is my picture doing there?!" TJ, sweet little ficlet! (I almost said "nice"!)

TJ, I can totally see that happening to Jun. It's nice to see Ken step up to the plate (and earn that bar tab!).

Off topic, but I just saw jublke's new avatar - love the glasses!

TJ: Aw, love it. Hopefully she didn't trash the place when she got the news.

Somehow, I don't think Jun is the type to trash the place on bad news.

Originally posted by Transmute Jun Somehow, I don't think Jun is the type to trash the place on bad news.

Yeah ... trash the inspector, maybe. *grin*

EW- They can't risk a talk about pizza because there has to be nice, hot pizza present that will need eating. CD - The more you tell us about your AU, the more I want to read it. CW- Ken is sooooo in for it! LB- That would out me to sleep, too. Now if Joe was talking about racing... TJ- That's one way for Ken to make an inroad with Jun.

Originally posted by Daniella T Off topic, but I just saw jublke's new avatar - love the glasses!

Thanks, Daniella! Springie drew that for me - didn't she do a great job? I just posted a fic over at Gatchfanfic where Jason gets glasses. Even though I wrote it, I still had a hard time visualizing the Condor with glasses. But when Springie sent me her drawing, I was like, oh, of course.

Originally posted by Becky Rock TJ- That's one way for Ken to make an inroad with Jun.

Well if he's not permitted to reveal his true feelings, then at least he can do something nice for her.

Originally posted by jublke

Originally posted by Daniella T Off topic, but I just saw jublke's new avatar - love the glasses!

Thanks, Daniella! Springie drew that for me - didn't she do a great job? I just posted a fic over at Gatchfanfic where Jason gets glasses. Even though I wrote it, I still had a hard time visualizing the Condor with glasses. But when Springie sent me her drawing, I was like, oh, of course.

OK, going over to Gatchfanfic first chance I get {grin}!

I can't remember if I posted this...so here it is (first or second time) Ken is trying to wake me ...again but..I don't want to. Still.......he's persistent a little nudge, a look of concern on his face. My sweet beautiful Ken. But.... I love my dreams They hold all things possible So for now I ignore him I am not ready to wake up. You see in my dreams we are all happy! The war has ended and we all have wonderful lives. Ken and I are married a baby on the way. Ryu has a fleet of fishing boats and a gently lady for my gentle friend Jinipe is at college studying marine biology even Joe has found lasting love and races when ever we wants. My dreams make me happy and warm Yet Ken keeps urging me take wake up I don't want to my dreams are better than real life Real life is.... 4 unmarked graves and I'm alone

littlewolf: aaaaaw *sniffle* And I thought I was mean to her in Memorial.

wow, what a way to demonstrate the vast contrast between what she wanted and what it is, LW. Don't blame her at all for not wanting to wake up.

LW, that's beautiful yet so sad.

Very sad but poignant, LW!

TJ-Very sweet...glad to see the eagle helping the swan out in any way that he can. LW-Very sad. What a way to depict our heroes in a quiet time of reflection with what they want to what is. Well done.