Author's Note: And...the conclusion! Thank you for reading and reviewing, even though this wasn't quite a "regular"story.

Part Three- Bree

She has never seen him like this before.

Donald Davenport often gets caught up in his work, even to the point that he forgets to eat and sleep. But Bree has never seen him quite this focused, this intense, or this frustrated.

And never before has it been because of something she did.

And seeing him at the breaking point is just another reminder of her guilt, and how she had something spectacular and threw it away like garbage.

Everything had seemed so clear a week ago, when she was hurt and frustrated and angry after hearing "no" repeatedly from her father. She could see her life stretching out in front of her in a straight line. Never branching off on her own, never finding her own way. Always shackled to her family. To the team that she never asked to be a part of, by virtue of a gift that she never asked to receive.

Being bionic is the cause of all my problems.

Therefore, not being bionic is the solution.

It was so simple, but it made so much sense. These abilities that she had never asked for, which had been installed in her body without her consent, were holding her back from becoming who she was meant to be. She didn't even stop to question it. Did not pause to consider all of the ramifications before she smashed her bionic chip to pieces in a hasty split-second decision.

It had felt so good. Like a weight disappeared immediately from her shoulders. Like she was free.

Her father had not yelled or thrown things or staged one of his famous Davenport temper tantrums. He had just stared down at the shattered fragments of her chip in disbelief and spoken quietly, without looking at her.

"You have no idea what you've done."

"I know exactly what I've done," she had replied confidently, even as the first tiny bit of doubt had entered her mind.

The next evening, they had received a mission alert. And it was a mission where her bionic abilities would have been not just helpful, but absolutely vital.

They had left her behind in the lab, and they were gone for hours. With each passing minute, she felt more and more anxious. She had desired freedom, but she had also wanted to remain a part of the team. And as the evening wore on, she realized that it was not possible to have both.

When they had finally returned, she could tell that the mission had been a bad one.

Her brothers would not talk about it, other than Chase gently but firmly reminding her that she could have put out the fire instantly with her super-speed.

The boys had spent half the night coughing, trying to clear the acrid smoke from their lungs. She had stood awake in her capsule listening to them, and with each cough, she wondered how she ever could have thought that her freedom was worth putting her brothers' lives in danger.

And now she has realized how wrong she was, and how limited and selfish her viewpoint had been. Humility is the only course of action for her now, and miraculously, though she does not deserve it, her brothers and her father readily forgive her.

Her father devotes every spare minute of the day and night to replicating her chip, and she spends every day feeling more and more guilty and embarrassed. She can't stand being the cause of his long days and sleepless nights, even though he never brings it up or lectures her or holds it over her head.

She knows that she deserves his reproach, but it never comes. And as she watches him tirelessly work to save her, she realizes that she may not have asked for this life, but he did not ask for it either.

And after a week of trying, it becomes clear that the brilliant Donald Davenport does not have the answer this time. And her guilt and embarrassment are replaced by fear that things will never be the same. She will never be able to help her brothers or prevent disasters or save people. She knows now that being bionic and being part of the team is who she was meant to be. The answer was there the whole time, but she had thrown it away.

Leo has been watching all of this unfold from the outside. He is her brother as much as any of them, but his point of view is not quite the same as that of her bionic brothers. Sometimes that is a good thing.

He feigns disinterest when she confides in him, but later shows up with the one person who might be able to help. It's a long-shot, and she knows Donald will not be happy to see the brother who has caused so much harm to their family. But Leo points out that they have no choice, so she reluctantly agrees.

And then things go from bad to worse, and she's stuck in a sling like a baby while her legs move without her consent or her control and her heart rate climbs higher and higher. She can barely breathe, can barely hear anything over the pounding of her pulse in her ears and the swish of her legs going back and forth at breakneck speed.

Her body cannot handle this, and she thinks this may be the end. And maybe this is the punishment that she really deserves.

Her father is frantic but focused. She can see now that he will not give up on her, even though she does not deserve such devotion after she herself showed no devotion at all.

Finally, finally, they find a fix that works. She breathes deeply as her heart rate recedes and her limbs begin to function normally. She is still in the sling, and her father is at her side in seconds, helping her out of it.

Her legs have turned to rubber after all that running. She cannot stand, and she uses this as an excuse to throw her arms around his neck. He seems surprised, but he returns the hug and holds her up so she does not fall again.

She swallows back the lump in her throat and quietly whispers the words she has wanted to tell him all week.

"I'm sorry."

"It's OK," he replies softly.

And in that moment, she truly understands what grace is.

THE END