Lynx Book 3: A Callie Torres Story

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As long as it took Jada to get used to the winter when she moved to Seattle, it was becoming her favorite season. The snow in New York City was beautiful. Not so much the people that complained about it every five steps they took, but Jada just loved the way the snow settled on the buildings and reflected the city lights at night.

They had been walking a few minutes now after exiting the subway, but Jada was still pretending to be cold so she could stay as close to Callie as humanly possible. Callie's arm was wrapped around Jada tightly, and Jada had shimmied her right hand into Callie's as well.

Callie had given an amazing presentation today and to celebrate, Jada took her wife out on a date. They ate at a fancy five star New York City restaurant that costed more for one meal than two week's worth of groceries. After dinner, they hopped on the subway to explore Central Park at night.

"Jackie, heel," Jada said to her Norwegian Elkhound walking on her left side.

When Michelle and Arizona joined them in New York City, they brought the two dogs along. Jada's anxiety had been doing good lately, and she wasn't relying on Jackie as much as she had been before. But Jackie was a snow dog, who absolutely loved the snow, and Jada knew she needed to bring him along.

She was considering retiring Jackie soon if she continued to feel good like she had been. Jackie was a great service dog, and he adapted to the job much better than anyone thought he would. Jada still hadn't made up her mind and wasn't sure what she would do. Not many people knew about the Norwegian Elkhound, but they are working dogs, originally used by the Vikings to hunt moose and big game. Jackie was a working breed and he had excelled at his job although it wasn't hunting. Jada didn't know how she would keep him as occupied if she retired him from service.

"You really used to live here?" Jada asked Callie as she took in Central Park and the tall buildings surrounding it.

"A while ago, when I was younger," Callie replied.

"Would you ever want to move back?"

Jada felt Callie shrug under her jacket. "I used to be a city girl," Callie explained. "But, I really like our house and the amount of space we have so I don't think I could ever go back to living in the city. The girls wouldn't do too well here either. Maybe a nice penthouse for vacation or something."

"I want to travel the world when the girls get older."

"Me too," Callie said gently.

"Do you want to have more kids?" Jada found herself asking. "I mean, we have a while before I would be ready again. We also don't need to decide right now, that's not what I was going for," Jada rambled.

"I'm open to it," Callie replied.

"If we do decide on more kids, I want you to get me pregnant again."

"I never thought I would hear you say that," Callie teased.

"Neither did I. There's just something I like about knowing that I'm pregnant with your baby."

"Our baby."

"But, you're the one who gets me pregnant," Jada pointed out. "We use your eggs. So, I'm pregnant with your baby."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Callie asked with a teasing raised eyebrow.

"I'm not pregnant now!" Jada playfully slapped Callie's arm. "Although, getting pregnant means sexy time. Especially how you do it."

Watching Callie's smile quickly fade, Jada raised a concerned eyebrow as they continued to walk. "Baby, what's up?"

Callie took a deep breath. "Talking about this reminds me that I need to talk to you about something."

"What's that?"

"I know Natasha and the team gave the okay for it," Callie began. "But... I-I, we need to talk about you being Lynx."

"How come?" Jada asked softly.

"I've seen so many people lose their loved ones," she started. "Peter Two literally lost Gwen when he was fighting Electro. Captain lost Peggy. Tony nearly lost his girl."

Callie stopped in the middle of the pathway and looked down at Jada. "I cannot lose you," she said breathily. "I can't. I can't live without you and this is a risk I'm not willing to take."

"You sound like you have your mind made up already, without talking to me about it."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I have to be selfish right now because what I do, is very dangerous. I-"

"I know it's dangerous, I know the risks Callie!"

"Jaelynn, I would not be able to live without you."

"How do you think I feel about you?"

Callie nodded. "I know. I can protect myself out there. I don't trust myself to protect you too. I don't know if I can do it. I don't want to lose you."

As much as Jada wanted to be mad at Callie, she couldn't. She knew Callie was doing this because of her protective instincts. She would probably even do the same thing if she were in Callie's position.

"I want you to fight crime with me," Callie continued. "The suit can protect you from street thugs. Nobody with superpowers though."

Taking a deep breath, she added, "I didn't ask for these powers or this life. If I could get rid of them I would."

Jada stepped towards Callie and wrapped her arms around her. "It's okay, baby. I know you're trying to protect me."

One more chapter and then book 4!