Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
A/N: It's back! Yay. The long-awaited (and much anticipated, I'm sure) sequel to Sunshine. If you haven't read that, you probably should because otherwise this won't make much sense.
Massive thank-yous to everyone who read and reviewed Sunshine- I really enjoyed writing it but I needed to take a break and figure out where I wanted to go with the sequel instead of just jumping in head-first. :) But I do apologize for the delay, regardless.
And a special mention to Vague Lenore, who got me back on track for this one. Thank you.
So, without further adieu… Cloud Cover. :)
There was something poking her. This was not pleasant- not when she was pretty sure she knew what it meant and that meant she'd been asleep less than three hours.
Three hours was not nearly long enough for a regular person, never mind a shape shifting wolf-freak who had been on patrol all the previous day and spent most of the evening with her head in the books before… well. The rest of her evening's activities couldn't be blamed on anyone but herself.
That knowledge didn't stop her from growling though and blearily opening one eye. Her growl and the subsequent eye-opening prompted a giggle from the little boy beside her bed. His dark eyes glinted with amusement- something he had inherited from his grandfather- and he poked her again, square in the forehead. Leah growled again and pounced without warning, scooping him into her arms and his laughter was warming enough that any annoyance over being woken early faded. She rolled out of the bed, one arm holding him protectively to her chest, and stood in one fluid movement. She was pretty sure she'd have dropped him if she'd tried that move four years previously.
"Who let you in here, hmm?" Will was barely a year old- he was definitely not opening doors yet. Yet, she thought with a grin. She couldn't wait until the little monster could get into everything his parent's had been so diligently hiding behind locked doors. It would be karma of the highest order- she'd had to deal with their crap since she was, oh, born, so it was about time Rachel and Paul learned what it was really like chasing a small child around the reservation. Of course, seeing as Will had an entire Pack of overprotective uncles, including the Alpha who was probably worse than Paul and Rachel put together, she secretly doubted whether the child would ever be allowed to fall and scrape his knees, never mind get into the detergent and fill the entire house with soapy water like Rachel had done when she was three.
Of course, that had been Leah's idea at the time but she was the only one who remembered so she had no trouble blaming the twins for it instead. "Is your uncle Jake out here, laughing to himself and thinking he's sooo clever and funny and shit for siccing you on me?" It shouldn't have amused her- shouldn't have amused any of them- but it did: the boy responded to the term 'get him boy' with a growl and a lunge. It was hilarious, though Rachel certainly didn't think so. From her room, she could hear Jake's answering laugh. Yeah, he was and yeah, he thought he was funny.
"Shit" Her eyes widened, comically, and she stared down at the little boy.
"You did not just say that." He'd been picking up words, recently, alright but mostly it was 'No' and 'Momma' and the occasional 'Da' when he wanted something from Paul. Paul was a complete sucker for it- and Leah was willing to bet that when the kid learned to say Jake, he'd have two giant wolf-men wrapped around his finger completely. Though, that implied that they weren't already. Jake appeared at her side, wearing a startled expression.
"If anyone asks, Embry taught it to him." If anyone- i.e. Rachel- asks, lie. And if she pushes further, lie again. It was an accepted pattern of behaviour for the two Alphas. Rachel was probably the only person, bar Paul maybe, who intimidated Leah or Jacob anymore- and not because she was scary, because they were clearly scarier, but because she just refused to be intimidated by them. She had been, for a while, until she learned that Jake was far more scared of losing her than he was of her shouting at him. She got added leverage points for being the mother of the first Pack baby, too. They'd do anything for her, or Will.
Part of Leah knew that dedication was a result of almost losing her; the pain and fear that Paul felt at the mere idea of losing her was ingrained in the Pack now in a way that had previously only been present for their Alpha. And it was worse with Will because they all felt the unwavering love and loyalty that his dad and his uncle (and his aunt, she admitted reluctantly) had for him.
It would have been sweet if it had been anyone else, but Leah Clearwater didn't do sweet. Of course, tell that to someone who couldn't see her cradling the child's head and cooing that he shouldn't say that word to momma and you might find someone who believes you.
"What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you had patrol this morning." He raised one eyebrow at her in disbelief.
"I did. It's after noon already, Lee. Colin and Brady are out there now." He made a face, exasperated with the pair. "I swear to all that is holy, if they bring home another dead squirrel I will get them both castrated." The younger boys had recently developed a… game, of sorts. It involved a complicated scoring system and there was even a colour-coded scoreboard in the basement of Embry's house. Squirrels, wily little creatures that they are, had been decreed the highest score possible.
Jake had refused to let them add deer, bears and dangerous predators to the list- that could be dangerous, if nothing else- so they were forced to get creative with the scoring.
So far, only one of them – Tim- had been brave enough to take on a skunk. The three days of ostracism for Tim following that (there was nowhere downwind enough he could sit to get the scent to fade) meant that none of them were willing to try that again. And it all would have been fine if they didn't all insist on dropping their prey on Jake's doorstep. Or their doorstep, Leah corrected. He'd been living with her and Seth for several weeks- since just before Will turned one. Of course, he'd practically been living there for the year before that, but recent events precipitated his removal from the Black family home. I.e. Becca was back, and apparently she was here to stay.
Jake claimed his need to flee was based on the sheer volume of phone calls and flowers that Ben was showering his estranged wife with but the move hadn't exactly been unexpected. Ever since Sue had moved out (out and into Forks to live in sin with Charlie Swan) the invitation had been on the table for him.
Shit. It was noon, already? She was supposed to be at work for one.
"Thanks for waking me- I've gotta shower." She thrust the child into his arms and disappeared, swaggering a little because she knew he was watching- almost two years together and he still stared when she left a room. It did wonders for a girl's ego.
"Just you and me, huh Will?" The toddler grinned and smacked his uncle on the cheek.
"Shit." He declared proudly. His uncle, who clearly would never, ever admit to being slightly proud of the kid, just smirked.
"Come on kiddo. It's lunchtime." And just like everyone else in his family, there was one way to distract William Black: food.
Jake was cleaning up the third spoonful of eggs to have 'landed' on the floor when Leah re-emerged, smelling clean and properly dressed, even. She worked around Jake to grab her own lunch and sat next to an amused Will and they both watched the Pack Alpha clean the food from the floor. Leah watched the toddler carefully- he had learned recently that it annoyed his family when he made messes like that, and he was taking advantage of it by waiting until they cleaned one to make another.
Leah was usually able to distract the child long enough to get him to eat, so she did- Jake being grumpy for the rest of the day after getting outwitted by a one-year old was just… not worth it. She'd have to listen to him complain, for one, and that just wasn't on her to-do list.
"Did Jared call this morning?" Jared was in Billings, Montana, where Kim was finishing her training. She only had a few months left before she'd be a certified midwife- something there was a shortage of on the Olympic Peninsula, apparently. Jared was under strict orders to check in every morning, either by phone or by phasing, depending on where he was. He normally called- even though he was staying on the Crow reservation outside Billings and no-one would have questioned the giant wolf wandering their land. He used the phone because he hated being caught unawares, and naked, amongst the Crow people. The Crow shifters thought it the whole situation was hilarious. Jared, needless to say, did not. Jared's living there at all was a test for the Pack- if Jared could survive the torment of being surrounded by the Crows, then Seth would be starting in MSU Billings as a freshman in September. The younger boys were watching carefully, too, trying to plan for the future without really being sure what they could do. Jake wanted them all to go to college, if they wanted to. MSU wasn't the most prestigious college in the country- but it was a good school, and there were plenty of options and it was far enough away that they could have their independence and still be safe. That's what he thought, anyway. They were just reluctant to let the boys go anywhere that they wouldn't have backup so… Diana had offered and Leah had accepted, gratefully. They could do both; be both part of the Pack and live a regular life, hopefully. And so far the experiment had worked- well, Jared hadn't gone crazy yet and he seemed to have made a few friends among the Crows. He was working, too, which was good- he'd been at a loose end for months in La Push, working odd days here and there and never quite having enough to do. Jake was happy to see him content, and looked forward to seeing the same with Seth and the others, later, when they were ready.
"Yeah, at about eight. He called Rachel because the last time you answered the phone here he says you teased him for ten minutes about bringing the nudist beliefs of the Quileutes to the heathen Crows." Jake mock-glared at her but she just grinned, satisfied.
"Serves him right- he called me Mom. He referred to me as his mother. He's older than I am, Jake." She hadn't been impressed then and she wasn't happy about it now, either. Jake just grinned. Jared had been gone since August- four months, now- and Leah still wasn't ready to admit that she missed him. He'd need to be another thousand miles away for her to admit that. She was happy for him- and Kim- and she was happy to see him working full-time because she knew he'd been going crazy on the reservation. 'Buckets of loco' was how they'd been describing him and it was damn near true. So he was gone, doing the heavy lifting on the Crow reservation in return for lodging in one of the Tribal houses for himself and Kim, and he had another part-time gig in the city, working at a bar frequented by shallow girls with deep pockets. Jake was already scouting locations in Forks for Jared to start up his own bar- though Jared didn't know that. He'd be back; once Kim was qualified, and the Alpha was worried that coming home wouldn't present enough of a challenge for him.
It was Jake's new obsession- making sure that the Pack was looking after their human sides, too. It had been… difficult, dealing with Jared in the months where he was unoccupied, so Leah could only agree. Sam and Paul were different; they'd settled down already- Paul had a child and a wife, Sam had Emily and she had recently announced that she was knocked up, too. They were working for the Ranger service, based out of Forks and while it might not have been ideal, they were happy enough to do it. It paid the bills and they could find their happiness somewhere else. Quil had accepted a position as deputy working with Charlie Swan- it wasn't something he'd ever considered, before, but Quil was as tied to the reservation as Leah and Jacob were. His grandfather was here and he was getting old- Quil would have to take his place, someday, and that day was getting ever closer. And, of course, Claire was nearby. Jacob remembered his fimprint (Leah's term, which had somehow stuck despite his protests) well enough to know that leaving her behind was impossible.
And Embry… Embry had said no to a full ride to WSU in Spokane before he'd even told anyone about it. Jake had gone ballistic and the ensuing fight was a Pack legend.
Embry might have said no to the scholarship, he might have tried to stay home with the Pack but he started in Spokane for the second semester all the same. He was pre-med and Jacob swelled with pride every time he thought about it. It was ridiculous, but it was one hundred percent Jake, so no-one said a word.
"Were you channeling Sue again? Because if you were then you deserved it and you know it." Leah said nothing, just pushed the last of her toast into her mouth as an excuse and then plastered a 'who, me?' expression on her face. Jake didn't bother responding- he knew her well enough, already, to know what she was like.
"You want a ride to work?" It was his day off, so naturally Jake was going to be busy with council stuff. He was just lucky that the council stuff was relatively painless and he could keep Will with him while he worked. Between them, Paul, Rachel and Jake had a system in place for looking after the boy- they couldn't afford day-care and they couldn't afford to have Rachel not work, either. So she worked part-time, three days a week and the boys arranged their days off around the other two days. Jake normally had Will on Mondays. Of course, Becca had been back in La Push for three weeks and had yet to spend a day alone with her nephew.
Leah wasn't sure if it was Rachel or Paul that was nervous of leaving the other Black sister with the child, but she suspected it was Rachel. Becks had come home for the birth, sure, but she knew less than nothing about kids and Rachel was already a worrier. As a result though, Becca was sitting at the kitchen table in the Black house, trawling for jobs and Jake was juggling three- four, if you counted Alpha of the Pack as separate from Chief of the Quileutes. On her nice days, Leah didn't, but on the days that Becks pissed her off, she counted them separately.
"Yeah, please. I'm lazy today." He grinned, disbelieving. Leah only got lazy after sex, if then.
"Get your stuff and I'll get the kid into the car." Will grinned up at his uncle, eggs smashed across his face. Jake made a face at the mess and the little boy giggled. He was cleaned up quickly, with the practiced efficiency of someone who had grown used to cleaning up little boy messes, and strapped into the car seat in the rabbit mere moments before Leah slammed the front door and threw herself off the porch. The trip to the store was quick- Jake was pretty sure that the speed limits didn't apply to him, anyway, and Leah was out the door and out of sight without so much as a goodbye. In the backseat, Will waved goodbye and didn't seem to notice that it wasn't returned.
"You ever get the feeling that we've turned into an old married couple without noticing?" The boy just blinked at him, eyes wide. "Yeah, well, what do you know anyway kid?" They made their way to the community centre, the skies opening just as Jake ducked inside the door. Rain was good- rain meant that fewer people would come looking for him.
The role of Tribal Chief was pretty limited on paper- the reservation had a mayor and a federal representative; the population was low and the people were pretty easy to keep happy. But that was on paper. In reality, the Chief of the Quileutes gave up one afternoon a week to meet with anyone who needed him- for Jake that was Mondays. And on Mondays, every single complaint; death; birth and marriage was reported to him, dutifully, by the concerned parties. He had people older than old Quil coming to him for advice and women Sue's age telling him all about their varicose veins and bad backs.
It should have been tedious; it should have terrified him. But… Jake knew the people of La Push inside-out, now. He knew their secrets; their dreams and their worries in a way that he hadn't thought possible. It meant that when the Pack caught the scent of foreign Vampires on reservation land he had a whole new appreciation for just who they were working so hard to protect. Plus, all the middle aged women felt so sorry for their poor orphaned Chief that they always brought him food. Mondays rocked. He even had an office, tucked away in the back of the centre, where there was high-speed internet and a playpen for the kid.
That afternoon, he was reviewing the hunting license applications- the Pale faces had to apply to hunt on reservation land and, while he normally didn't have an issue with it, there had been some incidents the previous year that meant he was keeping a closer eye on the applicants this time around. He also got final approval on building projects- that was cool. It was legal or whatever, but if the Chief said no, the people would back him up. So far, that hadn't been an issue. No-one was that interested in building on the Rez, really. He was just looking forward to the day that Paul came to him asking for permission to extend the Black house because they really did need a second bathroom and (probably) because he needed to build a sound proof room he could lock Becks in before he suffocated her in her sleep.
Becca had been very difficult to live with since she'd left her husband. But really, who was surprised? Ben was a good guy- he was. But Becks had been eighteen when she got married, and she'd married him to escape a place she hated. Was anyone shocked that when she stopped hating the place, she didn't need him anymore? Not to say she didn't love him- she did. Jake didn't doubt that. But when Will was born, Jake had seen it in her eyes- she wanted to be at home. She'd wanted to come back to La Push and see her nephew grow up. He couldn't blame her for that, and he was thrilled to have her home, anyway.
If Ben would stop freakin' calling her, it would be a damn sight easier. At that thought, the phone in the office rang and Jake groaned. Nothing good ever came from answering the office phone. When he wasn't there, it went to voice mail instructing anyone with something important to call his cell. But everyone knew he was there on Mondays so it could be anything. The previous Monday, he'd been called to the school to explain to the seniors why finishing school was important. What the hell was that about? He'd barely graduated himself- it's not as if he was some massive proponent of college or whatever.
He answered with a terse "Jacob Black" that made him feel really old and grown up. No hello, no greeting at all. Very Alpha-esque. It was Diana- he knew he shouldn't have answered the call. Diana never had good news- last time she'd called, it had been to ask him to send the boys to Missouri to hunt some rogues. They'd been happy to oblige, of course, but Seth had been injured and Paul had been pissed that Leah was the one who headed the charge. All in all, not a win for Jake. Of course, there were so few Vamps on the continental USA that those calls were few and far between. He hoped, anyway. Who knows what crap Diana had landed herself in on any given day?
"What have you done now?" He questioned, making faces at the receiver, much to Will's amusement. She sighed on the other end, clearly unimpressed.
"What, I can't make a social call just to check in on you?" Had she ever done that before? Not counting that one time after he'd acid-tripped his way around the Rez.
"No. No, you can't. What's up?" His words might have been terse, but there was a certain- tiny- amount of fondness in his tone, too.
"It's nothing, really… your boy, Jared, he's made quite the impression here amongst my people." Oh God. What had he done? Jake held in his breath, waiting. "And some of my young people have expressed an interest in spending some time at La Push. Obviously, I would need your approval before I send them along, so here I am… waiting for approval."
"Let me guess, they're already on their way." She had the grace, at least, to apologize. She'd known he'd say yes- what else could he say? The Quileutes owed the Crows big, and they knew it, too. And Diana was not afraid to take advantage.
"The thing is, Jacob, that they may have been given the impression that I was, maybe, banishing them from Montana until the spring." He took it back- no fondness. None.
"And what exactly have they done to deserve this not-a-banishment?" What followed was a rambling explanation involving a Council meeting and an unexpected interruption or three that Jake didn't really even understand. "And what do you want me to do with them?" He didn't have time for three errant Crows. Though, having eyes in the sky could be good for patrolling. He grinned, beginning to factor the three in already.
"If you could make their lives difficult for a few weeks, that'd be wonderful. Jared has told everyone here stories of the fierce Alpha wolves of the Olympic Peninsula and I think it would do the children a world of good to see that other young people take their responsibilities seriously." Wait, wait, wait. Young people? Young people?
"Just how young are we talking, Diana?" Please say twenty. Please say twenty. Hell, I'll take eighteen. Please let them be legal. He didn't mind babysitting Will, but he didn't need any other children in his care.
"They're no younger than you were when you first phased." Fledglings. She was sending him fledglings. He felt his jaw tense and forced it to relax.
"When will they be here and do they know where to go?" He'd have to call Leah and let her know that they were going to have some house-guests. Three, teenaged house-guests. He already had a headache. Seth was going to kill him- he was a senior and he was trying to study all the goddamn time. This was going to suck. She kept talking, rambling on about their guests and apologizing for landing this on his lap with so little notice. She didn't sound very sorry, in Jake's humble opinion. Will was staring up at him, watching as he clenched and unclenched his fists; the motion was somewhat soothing, but not nearly enough.
"I'll keep them for three weeks Diana, but no more than that. They'll go to school everyday that they're here and I'll work them to the bone, too, so there'll be no doubt that this was not a vacation- but I can't take in every stray fledge that you think needs to be taught a lesson. I just don't have the time." Or the money. How the hell were they going to feed three more teenagers for three weeks? His headache worsened, just thinking about it. He had a feeling that the jar of cash in the dresser at home was going to be seriously depleted. They'd been hoping to go away for a week- or even a weekend, maybe- to celebrate Leah's birthday in March. So much for that idea- unless they decided to go to Montana, there was suddenly no way that was going to happen. Freakin' Crows.
Diana kept talking- Crows talk a lot- but Jake tuned her out. He'd see the kids for himself when they got here and no sooner. She either trusted him or she didn't- he really didn't need all the instructions. It wasn't that long ago that he'd been a teenager- he could surely cope with three of them. He could, right? Right. Definitely. And if he couldn't, Leah could. She was naturally bitchy- she'd be better at, like, discipline and stuff anyway.
"Diana, I've got this. Stop worrying." She stopped talking mid-sentence but he could practically hear the disapproval through the line. "Was there anything else? I've got a stack of paperwork here to get through and apparently I have some house-guests to prepare for." He'd have to call the school, too, and give them a heads-up about their exchange students. Grinning wickedly, he thought of just shoving all of them into Seth's classes for their time in La Push- Seth was taking all the AP classes that the reservation school had on offer. That would have been punishment enough for him when he was sixteen- maybe it'd work for these, too. And, if all else failed, he'd make the trek out the Cullen manor and ask Esme to take them for a week or two. With all the kids gone, traveling the world or whatever it was the Cullens did, he was sure that Esme could use another mouth or two to feed.
His grin was real, that time, and he hung upon on Diana before she could make his headache worse. He winked at Will and turned back to his paperwork.
If they got out of hand, he'd sic Esme on them and be done with it.
The rest of the afternoon was peaceful and he worked on, uninterrupted. The Principal at the reservation school wasn't thrilled to be taking in three random students, but she agreed to do it because he asked nicely. He didn't even have to remind her that he'd done her a favour the week previous, thankfully. Leah hadn't been thrilled either, but she'd accepted it- what choice did she really have, anyway? They'd be there that evening and they needed to stay somewhere- and where was safer than under the thumb of the Pack Alphas?
Toward four o'clock, Will began to get restless and Jake saw it as his sign to pack up and head home. The rain was still coming down heavily- no surprise there- outside and they got soaked running from the centre to the car, despite Jake's speed. Will, of course, though the rain was there personally to entertain him, so he was thrilled. He wouldn't be so thrilled when he got home to hear his mother reaming his uncle a new one for letting him get rained on, get sick and permanently stunt his growth and his mental development.
Jake could live with that, as long as he was nowhere nearby when Will shared his new favourite word with his Momma. He'd been in Rachel's head- she was a scary, scary woman and motherhood had not mellowed her the way he'd hoped it would. They were unfortunate, both of them, that Rachel was home from work early. Jake stood outside the door, listening to the argument raging inside, and shared a glance with his nephew.
"Do we have to go in?" The little boy nodded solemnly, though Jake was pretty sure he hadn't understood the question.
"Shit."
"You said it, buddy." He knew he shouldn't encourage the child but… hell, Rachel could only kill him once and she seemed to be already trying her best with Becca so maybe he'd escape for one more day.
There was a very real reason that the twins should not live together. Ever. They were loud and opinionated; stubborn as hell and completely unwilling to back down from a challenge. It made them wonderful allies but Christ on a cracker, leaving them in the same room for longer than twenty minutes was just asking for trouble. They hadn't noticed this during Becca's last extended visit, but that was because their Dad had died- there were other things to think about, then, not to mention all that Vampire crap and then the revelation that little William was on his way into the world. Too many distractions for anyone to take notice of the fact that Rachel and Rebecca Black should not, under any circumstances, be living together again.
Of course, the only solution Rachel could think of was for Becks to move into the Clearwater's with Jake, Leah and Seth. Suddenly, their new house-guests were looking better and better- he couldn't move Becks in while the room was occupied could he? And with the bright-side to the whole disaster finally found, his spirits lifted and Jake sauntered into the house with a grin.
"Evening, family. I've been hard at work all afternoon- which of you wants to feed me?" Of course, the solution to Rachel and Becca ripping each other to pieces was to have them focus on him. It had always worked when they were kids. "Don't fight about it- I'm happy to let you both do it if you really want to." His words worked, sort of, easing the tension around Rachel's eyes even as he handed over her- slightly damp- son. "We got caught in the rain, Rach. You want me to change him?" Of course she said no and dashed for the baby's room as a way to escape the remains of their fight. Becca glared after her sister and threw herself onto the couch in a fit of temper more suited to a toddler Will's age than to a grown woman. Jake dropped in next to her and slung one arm over her shoulder. "What were you two shouting about this time?"
The evening before, the topic had been who should do the washing up. The night before that? They'd been fighting about what responsibility the United States had to the developing world.
"She thinks I should give Ben another chance." So did he. "But I don't. We're done; there's nothing left to say and there's nothing left to do. I've mailed the divorce papers and I've told him that if he keeps calling me that I'll have him arrested for harassment."
"I bet he didn't like that." Who would? To his amazement, Becca frowned.
"He laughed, actually. Asshole." Huh. Apparently, she wasn't getting his sense of humour in the divorce.
"So… tell me again why you've left him?" She'd just shown up, bags in hand, and announced that she'd had enough. Maybe if she'd talk to him he could convince her to go back to Hawaii and let them get back to their routine. She made a face; reminiscent of Will when Paul tried to make the boy eat his peas. Jake just barely held back the laugh that threatened.
"I, uh… I thought I was pregnant." Say what now? "And I freaked out, completely."
"Are you?" They could not, under any circumstances, afford another baby around the place. She shook her head slowly.
"No, I'm not. I never was. But… it just made me realize that, if I had been pregnant, that'd I'd want to come home. I didn't even know that's what I wanted, you know?" No, he did not. "But there I was, sitting and staring at that stupid little stick and wondering if there would be space for me here until I found my own place." She sounded tired, suddenly, and he could see it in her face and felt a surge of guilt. "Ben didn't understand- he kept asking me why it mattered because I'm not pregnant and all I could say was that just because I wasn't pregnant yet didn't mean that I'd never be and… Gah! It makes no sense when I say it out loud, but I just wanted to be here." She let her head fall into her hands and he hugged her tighter, just for a second.
"You'd rather be fighting with Rachel than drinking Martinis on the beach, huh?" He wasn't even sure what a Martini was. Could you get them on the beach? Leah would know. He'd ask her later. If he remembered to care.
Becca just shrugged.
"Seems that way, doesn't it?" There was a note of amusement in her voice, though, and that was better than the defeat he'd sensed earlier. Less chance of her bursting into tears, if nothing else. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to Rachel asking Will questions about his day and if he'd had fun with his uncle Jake.
The house was quiet and the little voice travelled well.
"Shit". Becca lurched forward when Jake stood, his wary gaze on the hallway.
"Gotta go Becks- she's going to kill me."
He was just sliding back into the driver's seat of the rabbit when he heard Rachel's voice shouting his name. Later, he'd definitely claim that he couldn't hear her over the rain.
A/N: I know, I know. Not much by the way of plot in here. But we've moved forward almost two years from the end of Sunshine and *I* needed to check in with everyone and find out where they were, how they were doing. :) And we have to start somewhere, right?
Welcome back, anyway, and I hope y'all enjoyed it. I'll go crack on with the next chapter.