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It was the next day, "D-Day", before Criss even knew it. He had made all the preparations needed, and at his brother's insistance called for a couple of paramedics to stand by. Everything seemed perfect... at least until he walked into the production office and saw his brothers. They were quietly arguing about something, and quickly stopped as soon as they saw him. "Okay, what were you guys arguing about?" Criss asked.

"Nothing," Costa answered.

"We're not arguing," JD answered at the same time. Criss arched a brow at the two of them, and they both looked at each other quickly before looking back at Criss. "Well, we--" JD started before being punched in the arm by Costa. "OW!"

"We're not arguing about nothing... I mean, anything." Costa insisted.

Criss folded his arms. "You guys are terrible liars. And if you keep on lying, I'm telling Mom."

"Oh, come on, you can't use Mom against us," said JD. Criss pulled his cellphone out of his sweatshirt pocket and opened it.

"He's not going to call her," Costa said to JD. Criss dialed most of her number, but instead of pressing the last number he pressed the 'end call' button, then pushed the 'dial' and held it to his ear. Instead of ringing, he heard nothing... but his brothers didn't know that. The three stared at each other like gunslingers, JD and Costa wondering if he was bluffing or not.

Criss then suddenly smiled and said, "Hey Mom!"

JD and Costa rushed him at once, and Criss sprinted away out of the production office. He was still 'talking' to her as he kept on running, weaving through people in the lobby. The chase got back to the production office before Criss suddenly stopped and said, "Guys, I'm trying to talk to Mom here. I'm going to tell her about you guys now--"

"Okay, okay, we'll tell you!" JD panted. Criss said nothing, just waiting for him to catch his breath. "We were trying to figure out some way for you to not do the stunt."

"I think it's kind of late for that now," Criss answered.

Costa shook his head at him, panting also. "It never too late, Criss. We won't mind if you back out."

"I can't, guys. I want to do this. And it's no use trying to change my mind." He watched his brothers' solemn faces as he finished his speech. He understood their concern, but not only did he now owe it to his Loyals, he owed it to himself. He wanted something different to happen in his life, even though this would probably be as different as it would get.

JD was going to say something when his cellphone rang. He pulled it out and read the caller i.d: Mom Phone. He looked at Criss and said, "You didn't call Mom, did you?"

He smiled, closed his phone, then went into his back office.

Isabella leaned up against the ambulance and stared out at the emerging crowd. She was searching some faces of men that had somewhat of a same build as Joel had, but since the only times that she had actually seen him were for a few seconds in a police cruiser and in a dream she doubted she would have that much luck. Josh soon stood next to her. "We're all set here," he told her. "All we have to do now is watch."

Something told Isabella that wouldn't be a good thing, when she saw some men enter the small clearing and lay down a tarp before covering it with... broken glass? "I do not think I will be able to," she muttered slowly.

The two of them stood together in silence with a growing sense of dread as the men finished covering the length of tarp with glass. A few more men walked out side by side at this point, and two broke off, standing at the edge of the crowd, leaving one to continue forward. He stopped just in front of the tarp and shouted to the crowd, "What's going on?!" The crowd cheered, some chanting, "Mindfreak!" over and over. He talked to the crowd a little bit, before slipping off his sweatshirt and asking the crowd, "Are you ready?!"

Isabella sucked in a breath as the sweatshirt came off. She had stared at Mike's poster long enough to almost memorize exactly what he looked like, and it was hard for her not to appreciate his strong physique. But it was also a gasp of shock, because she didn't like where this could be going. He toed off his shoes, then started walking across the glass, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes on him, in case he hurt himself. She was a paramedic now, after all...

He neared the end of the length of tarp, then stopped and jumped in the air, causing everyone there to cringe or gasp. A smattering of applause and cheering went up through the crowd as Criss paused to regain his focus. He then knelt down and lay on the glass, giving one of his crew members a cue. He then started waving something over, and as it rumbled to life, Isabella noticed the reason why they might be needed-- a steamroller was driving towards him.

Isabella looked back and forth from Criss to the steamroller, her eyes widening. *"Li' ha' eer, so keres??" she moaned aloud, slipping back into her native Rrom tongue. She covered her mouth with a hand to keep from crying out as it rolled closer.

Josh stole a quick glance at her. "I have no idea what you just said, but that sounds exactly how I feel."

As the steamroller inched up his legs, it felt like the breath was being sucked out of her. How can he stand that?! The answer came to her quickly as his cries of pain came just seconds later-- he couldn't. She wanted to scream, to cry, move, shout, DO something, but her body couldn't seem to function. She could only stare in horror at the sight before her. After what seemed like years, she was nudged back into reality by Josh. She blinked, realizing that it had now rolled off of him. She expelled the breath that she didn't realize she was holding, and started to grab her medic bag when she took a second look at him... starting to stand up. Her jaw dropped, and she ran towards him. It was unbelieveable how a simple man could do something like that and still have the ability to move.

She reached him and took an arm to steady him. He was holding onto a towel that was being held against some small cuts on his abdomen from the glass. His breathing was ragged, and he half-leaned on her. She numbly murmured encouraging words to him as the stretcher was rolled out. They both helped Criss onto it and rolled it into the ambulance, one of his worried brother's following.

*"By the Gods, what are you doing??"

As the ambulance started, Costa shook his head at Criss. "I can't believe you just went through with that. What the hell is Mom going to think?"

Criss gritted his teeth and said nothing. He was trying to concentrate on anything but the pain he was feeling right now. When he noticed one of the paramedics nearing him with a needle for the IV, he blanched from it. "I don't think that's necessary," he told her.

Isabella looked at him in surprise. "Of course it is," she told him, disbelief edged in her voice.

"No, it's not, because I'm fine," Criss insisted.

"Yes, it is, Christopher." She remained firm.

"Criss," he corrected her. "I really don't need a needle stuck in my arm. I could prove to you right now I'm fine--"

"Which I will not believe a single second of, Christopher." She pointed at his abdomen where some of the cuts from the glass were still bleeding. "That is real, is it not?"

He looked at his stomach in confusion then looked back up at her. "Yes, it is, but that's not--"

"What if one of those bottles had some kind of infection on them? Because those same bottles had cut you, that infection could now be in your bloodstream and already making you ill, and you could not even know it."

Costa and Criss looked at her in shock, and she met Criss' stare evenly. "This needle is going in your arm, Christopher. There is no way around it. So, if it makes you uncomfortable, simply turn your head away."

"My name's Criss," he huffed in defeat.

"I am sure that 'Criss' is not the name God gave you, therefore I will call you 'Christopher'." she answered politely.

If looks could kill, she'd be 50 feet under. Costa covered his mouth with one hand and turned his head away so that his brother wouldn't see him laughing. Finally! He meets someone as stubborn and crafty as he is, and finally got a taste of his own medicine! He had to give her credit, because she succeeded in less than 5 min. where he and JD still haven't managed to even make a dent in. Damn, I wish JD were here to see this... or that at least one of the cameramen could fit in the ambulance with us to film it.

"What are you thinking?" Criss asked him sullenly.

"Where is a camera when I need one?" Costa answered truthfully as a wide grin broke out across his face.

Criss let out an exasperated noise and turned his head away from him, amidst the soft chuckles from his brother. He didn't need to talk to his brother... he wanted to save his strength for the next battle of wits with this certain paramedic...

Isabella remained silent for a few minutes. She had no doubt in her mind that the man on the stretcher in front of her could easily show her that he was fine and healthy, and that there must have been some form of trickery involved, but the expression on his face had told her perfectly that he had overlooked the fact that the glass wasn't as "safe" as it could've been.

She noticed his silence, also. It was a calculating silence, undoubtedly because he was trying to think of a way to easily get away from the hospital. She had pretty much figured out that he was as stubborn as anyone could be, given the fact that he had kept on insisting that she call him by his stage name. She let him know exactly who he was dealing with by being as stubborn as him. It had apparently worked, even though he was still shooting her death glares.

It had somewhat surprised her when he suddenly brightened and smiled up at her. "You can't understand me now, can you?" he asked her in Greek. That confused her even more. She knew Greek, very well since she was born and lived most of her life there, but he certainly didn't look it to her. His smile grew wider, mistaking her confusion for something else entirely, and continued on, telling Costa how he planned on "escaping" as soon as he got out of the ambulance, and adding a few insults here and there. Costa's jaw dropped, and Isabella waited until Criss paused to ask, "What is your last name?"

"Sarantakos, Criss that's not nice, and it definetely isn't like you."

Well, that explains everything, Isabella thought. "No, I understand entirely," she replied to Costa in perfect Greek. "When one assumes he has the upper hand, he uses it to his full advantage. But, next time Christopher, make sure you use a language that people do not know." She switched back to English to finish, saying in a smug tone, "But do not let this stop you, I rather enjoy it when you insult my mother and myself in that fashion."

Costa burst out laughing, then covered it in a cough when Criss shot him an evil look. "I'm sorry about him," Costa apologized. "Sometimes you can tell that he's the baby of the family."

Isabella laughed softly. "It is alright, I have dealt with worse than him. Actually, this is rather enjoyable."

Criss made a sour face and mocked her. Costa saw this and smacked his arm. "Ow! Don't hit me! Can't you see I'm injured?" Criss said.

"Oh, so now you admit you are injured?" Isabella quickly said. Criss blinked, but before he could deny it, Isabella continued. "Well, now that everyone here is certain that you are injured, then this hospital visit really is needed!"

Criss put a hand over his face. "Okay, Christopher, just stop talking..." he muttered into his hand. Silence passed over the back for a few moments... "Criss! My name is Criss!!!" Everyone else started laughing at his outburst, even Josh from the front. "Ugh, Costa, I want to go home!" he told his brother, feeling defeated yet again.

~~

Criss was sulking in his hospital room. Not only had be been outsmarted twice in less than an hour, but he also had to spend the night in the hospital to make the doctors happy. He impatiently tapped his fingers against one of his legs as he glanced at the time yet again. It's going slower and slower... I give up. My next Mindfreak'll be about speeding up time, that way I could use it when I'm in here and get out quickly. He sighed in resignation as Costa came into the room.

"C'mon, Criss, cheer up. You'll be out of here soon enough."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just so bored!" he said, flopping himself back onto the bed.

"I could bring that one paramedic back in here, and you guys can go at it again." Costa suggested.

"Ha ha, no."

"What paramedic?" JD asked, walking in.

"Don't tell him," Criss begged Costa.

"The girl paramedic is basically Criss in female form without the illusionist job."

Criss rolled his eyes as Costa told him anyway. Great. Fantastic!

"Well, I bet that was fun," JD said, looking at Criss.

"I'd rather saw myself in half, then set myself on a bed of nails in a burning car that's being pushed off of a cliff."

Costa sighed. "C'mon, it wasn't that bad."

"You're right, it wasn't that bad. It was worse!"

"You know, I think I want to meet this girl." JD said.

"No, you don't--"

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere," Costa interrupted.

Criss gave up trying to convince his brothers otherwise. Why me? he moaned to himself.

JD and Costa, knowing that it was useless to try to convince Criss to apologize to the female paramedic, decided to do it themselves. So after some careful investigating, they waited until Criss was preoccupied with editing the next episode to slip away to her apartment. Neither of them knew exactly what they would say to her, even if she was upset with his behavior at all, so they both decided to see what kind of attitude she had and go from there. What they didn't expect was for a guy to answer the door.

All three stared at each other in shock, before JD recovered, and said, "Hi. We're looking for..." he trailed off to look at the piece of paper in his hand that had her name and address scrawled on it. "Isabella," he finished, looking back up. "Is she here?"

Mike blinked, then coming out of his star-struck awe answered them. "Well, she is--" He was interrupted by a loud thud and a muffled shout. He turned to look back towards the noise, then looked back at them saying, "She doesn't really want to see anyone right now."

"Let me guess. She's still mad at Criss," Costa supplied.

"That would be an understatement." Mike cringed as he heard another thud. "I knew she was somewhat dramatic at times, but it never got like this."

"That's okay, we just want to talk to her really fast," JD said. They had to make this visit count, they might not get away that easily next time.

Mike seemed to consider it, then nodded in agreement. "Okay, come on in, I'll bring her out." As they stepped in and Mike turned away, he added to himself I just hope you have your will in order.

As they waited, they looked around the small living room area that they were now standing in. JD's eyes fell on a picture that was hanging on the wall. It was a portrait kind of photo of a girl leaning against a tree. Her arms were lightly folded as she smiled shyly into the camera. "Wow, she's pretty," he commented.

Costa looked at him, then followed his brother's line of sight. "Well, that's her."

JD looked back at him in surprise, then back at the photo. "Really? Now I can see how Criss is frustrated, since she looks like that and acts like him."

"I do not know if I should feel insulted or flattered," spoke a soft female voice. Both brothers turned and saw Isabella standing at the edge of the living room.

"Oh! I, ah... Isabella, I'm sorry that you heard that comment--"

She held up a hand, stopping JD's sheepish apology. "That is alright. Although, I should really apologize for not greeting you properly."

"That's fine," Costa replied. "We get that mad at him too, sometimes."

Isabella gave a small smile, then asked, "May I ask why you are here?"

"We want to apologize for Criss' behavior. We both really think that he was very rude to you."

"He was not able to come and apologize himself?" Isabella asked, letting a little bitterness into her tone.

"You've seen how he is," JD replied. "You'd probably be lucky if you got one this year."

Isabella laughed. "Yes, he is quite stubborn. I am amazed that you are able to deal with him regularly." Both brothers nodded in agreement, and Isabella continued. "Even though I accept your apology on your brother's behalf, I will not easily forgive his behavior."

"That's alright, we just felt that we should at least apologize to you."

"Then, thank you, very much."

The small group stood in silence for a few moments, when JD looked at his watch. "Oh, hey, we should probably get back before people notice we're gone."

Costa nodded, deep in thought. JD said his goodbye's for him, and made sure that Costa was still behind him as he left the apartment building. He waited until they got back into the car to ask Costa what he was thinking, and he couldn't help but smile as he heard Costa's plan.

"I like that. It's wickedly awesome, and totally perfect. But, it probably won't happen."

"I'll bet you it will," Costa challenged.

JD raised his brows. "A bet, you say? Are you willing to bet the usual?"

Costa considered it, then nodded. "Yeah, because I know I'm going to win."

A smile spread on JD's face as he held out his hand. Costa took it, and they both shook hands. The plan was in motion, as was the bet.