Surrounded by the clamor of airport travelers claiming their luggage and families greeting each other, Martha and Aaron stood side by side anxiously awaiting Nathan's arrival. Martha knew how much Aaron was looking forward to his son's visit; it would be almost the first time since his divorce that they had been able to spend more than a few days together. Nathan had matured during his time in the Navy, and Aaron was eager to get to know his adult son better. After their marriage, Aaron had confided to Martha that the night Adams had tried to kill him the two things he'd feared the most were that she would be left defenseless and that he would never see Nathan again. Martha hoped Nathan's vacation would give the three of them a chance to grow closer.

At last they saw a flash of red hair: "Dad!" Nathan waved to his father and stepmother as he exited the baggage claim area. He dropped his duffel bag and hugged first his father, then Martha. "Em, it's great to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Nathan." Martha smiled at her stepson, noting that he looked tired, though he seemed as cheerful as usual. "Did you have a good flight?"

"I had a long flight, but it was fine. The plane was packed, but we left on time, so I can't complain. It's really good of you to come and pick me up." Nathan hefted his duffel bag. "Where to?"

"The car is this way." Aaron indicated the corridor leading to the airport parking complex. "We'll get you home first, give you a chance to unpack and shower if you want. Then we thought we'd take you out to dinner."

Nathan was happy to avail himself of the chance to shower and change out of his uniform. Emerging from the guest room, he declared it "fantastic" and requested a tour of the entire apartment. "This is really nice, Em," he observed. "Right in the middle of the city and everything."

"Angie helped me find it. When I first moved here I had a smaller place downstairs, but your dad and I moved into this apartment about a month before we got married."

Nathan eyed the security camera and multiple locks on the doors. "You haven't had any more problems? Nobody else trying to break in?"

"No, thank God. Before my Secret Service protection ended we got the security cameras put up, extra locks on the doors, and your father bought me a gun and taught me how to use it. We took every precaution possible. But nothing else has happened." Martha stifled the urge to knock wood.

"Well, that's great, Em. I'm glad to hear it." Nathan looked relieved, but noting the shadow that had fallen over Martha's face, he quickly changed the subject. "You mentioned dinner; well, they didn't feed us on the plane. Any chance we can grab something now?"

"Of course. What do you feel like eating?" Aaron queried.

Nate's face lit up. "Steak!"

Having devoured the first half of his steak and a chunk of baked potato, Nathan leaned back with a sigh of contentment and looked inquiringly at his father. "So how's everything been going?"

"Going great," Aaron commented, smiling at his wife. "Nothing exciting, we've just been settling in and establishing a routine."

"Getting used to normal life," Martha commented dryly. After returning from their honeymoon she had made a promise to herself to kick the cigarette habit permanently and to focus on tapering and stopping her psychiatric medication. It had been difficult at first, but as months went by without any further threats to their safety she was able to relax. With Aaron's support and with the goal of finishing the book to sustain her, she had successfully quit smoking, decreased her alcohol intake and stopped her medication; she had also intensively reviewed their financial situation and drawn up a new plan for their retirement savings. None of this was exciting enough to talk about with Nathan, but it had kept her busy and given her more reason to look forward to the future than she had ever had before.

Returning to the present, she suddenly realized that Aaron was still chatting with Nathan: "Work is fine, Em's book is nearly finished. And what about you? You've been busy?"

"Very busy. Nothing really exciting or different though." Nathan shifted uneasily, and Martha was reminded of the postscript he had sent her with his last email. She quickly jumped into the conversation: "Did your dad tell you we spent our anniversary shopping for a ranch?"

"No! I knew you were going home for a visit, but I didn't know about the ranch part. Did you find one?"

'We did. It's the Brooks ranch – a really beautiful place, twenty acres and it's about half an hour from your Uncle Bill's."

Nathan grinned and shook his head. "You guys buying a ranch. I can't wait to see it. When I go out to visit Mom I'll be sure to stop by and take a look."

"Your Uncle Bill can take you out there if you ask him."

"That sounds great. How's Grandma doing?" The conversation shifted away to other topics and Martha leaned back with satisfaction, watching Nathan demolish the rest of his steak.

The following morning as Aaron was getting ready for work Martha poured herself a second cup of coffee and sat down facing Nathan.

"I got the impression last night that you didn't want to talk," she said quietly.

"I didn't." Nathan sighed. "I didn't want to ruin my visit right off the bat by dumping all my problems on you and Dad."

"Problems? Are things serious, Nathan?"

"No. Well, I mean it is fairly serious, but I'm not in trouble or anything." Nate stared into his coffee cup for a moment.

"You mentioned you've decided to leave the Navy. Are you getting tired of it?" Unnoticed by either of them Aaron had begun to walk into the kitchen, but stopped and leaned against the doorframe, listening. As Nathan continued to talk, a slight frown appeared on his face.

"Really tired of it. Nothing's changed, nothing's gone wrong, I'm just in a rut. I haven't done anything new in over a year, and I don't want to still be doing this when I turn thirty."

Aaron moved the rest of the way into the kitchen, causing Martha and Nathan to glance up in surprise; pulling out a chair, he sat down next to his son. "Wasn't your captain talking about transferring you to a different ship, Nate? Giving you some different responsibilities?"

"He was, but it didn't happen, and it looks like it isn't going to." Nathan glanced apprehensively at Martha for a moment and then looked back at his father. "That's part of the reason I'm here. I've decided it's time for me to leave the Navy. The hard part is trying to figure out what I want to do next."

Aaron nodded. "When is your term up?"

"About four months."

"Have you given any more thought to joining the Service? We did talk about that once or twice."

"Yes." Nathan hesitated for a moment and then said firmly, "It's not for me, Dad. I don't want to work for the government any more. I'd really like to work for myself if I could, start some sort of business, but I haven't been able to come up with any definite ideas."

There was a pause as Aaron thought this over and then, somewhat to Martha's relief, nodded calmly. "Well, why don't you sit down and brainstorm a few business ideas while you're here? This is the perfect time for us to talk about it."

Nathan looked stunned, but pleased. "Really? You're not disappointed?"

"Disappointed? No, Nathan. I'm proud of you. You've done well in the Navy, but that doesn't mean you have to stay there the rest of your life. You've picked up skills that will serve you well no matter what you decide to do. And I don't want you going into the Service if that isn't what you really want. Life's too short not to enjoy it," he added, glancing at his wife. "If you think you need a change of career, you probably do. Whatever you decide on, I know you'll do well."

Nathan relaxed. "That's great, Dad. I really wasn't sure what you'd think, I thought you might be upset when I told you. Em? Did you do this to him?" he added with a smile.

Martha squeezed her husband's hand. "I can't take the credit. Can I, Aaron? I think we both see things a little differently after everything we've been through. I still remember your father saying to me the day after the attacks that he'd changed his mind about you following him into the Service. He was considering quitting at that point himself."

"But Em got me to change my mind, and she was right," Aaron added. "I look at the Service differently now, Nate. I believe it's still the right job for me, but that doesn't make it right for you. I don't want you to make any career choices out of a sense of obligation, or for you to worry about what I'll think."

"You're not worried about me turning into a slacker, then?" his son quipped.

Aaron hugged him and got up from the table. "You're no slacker, Nathan. You've got energy, initiative, curiosity – the more I think about it, the more I think you'd do really well running your own business." He leaned over to kiss Martha and added, "I wish I could talk to you a little longer, but I've got a meeting this morning and I've got to run. I'll see you both tonight."

When Martha returned to the kitchen after saying goodbye to Aaron, Nathan was still sitting at the table, overcome. "Em, he never used to be like this. He was never rigid or unfair, but it could be tough to talk to him sometimes. He'd decided what I should do with my life, what I would be best at, and it was hard to explain that I didn't agree with him. It used to drive Mom crazy; he'd do it to her too."

"His perspective has changed, Nathan. Our first year together he was nearly killed more than once, and as I said, you see things differently after something like that happens." She looked at her stepson. "You are so important to him, and he is so proud of you. I know he wants things to be different now. Besides," she added with a smile, "you've grown up. He's not going to try to tell you what to do now that you're an adult."

Nathan looked moved, but tried to smile in return. "Well, I wish I felt like a grownup. Mostly what I feel right now is confused."

"Join the club," Martha retorted as the doorbell rang. "Oh, that's Angie. She'll be thrilled to see you, Nathan!"

Angie greeted her courtesy nephew warmly, chatting with him while Martha laid out a stack of papers and index cards covered with scribbled notes on the kitchen table. When Nate explained his plans to leave the Navy and hunt for another job, Angie heartily agreed with his decision and quickly wrote down a few telephone numbers for him.

"I know some people who've left the Pentagon and set up on their own," she explained. "A lot of them are contracted as suppliers to the Army now, they sell equipment or provide services. That may not be what you want to do, but it's a start and it'll give you a chance to see what's out there. Do you know anybody who's working in the Naval Department right now?"

"I might. I'm going to get online and see if I can get in touch with anybody I know who might be able to give me some pointers."

"You can use the computer in the den, Nathan," Martha offered. "Help yourself."

"Thanks, Em." Nate gave her a quick hug, poured a final cup of coffee and left the room as Martha turned back reluctantly to the pile of paper on the table.

"All right, Martha, the index," Angie said patiently. "You know we agreed you'd work on that today."

Martha put her head in her hands and groaned. "This is the worst part of the entire book. It's excruciating."

"It is also important," Angie replied firmly. "Let's get to it."

"Okay, okay."

When they broke for lunch a few hours later Nathan reported that he had managed to track down a friend of his at the Pentagon who had transferred to the Navy Office of Small Business Programs. "I'll give him a call after lunch," he commented, flipping through the notes spread halfway across the table. "This is some project, Em. What gave you the idea to write a book?"

"It started when we were on our honeymoon. Just an idea that popped into my head one afternoon, and when I talked to Aaron about it he thought it was a great idea. I guess you could call it a cross between a biography and a self-help book. Anyway, I wrote a proposal, it sold and I've been working on it ever since."

"Has Dad seen it yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted to wait and have him read the final draft. He'll get a better impression of the whole thing that way. I have go to New York to meet with the publisher later this week; you can come along if you'd like."

"That sounds like fun. While you're in the meeting I can walk around town. I haven't been to New York in a while."

By the end of the afternoon Nathan had spoken with his friend in the Pentagon and they had agreed to meet for lunch the following day; he had also left messages for Angie's Army contacts. In good spirits, he volunteered to fix dinner, an offer Martha was happy to accept. "I'll be seeing the alphabet in my sleep tonight," she muttered, cleaning off the table. "Do you cook much, Nate?"

"I don't get much of a chance to when we're at sea. But I do like to mess around in the kitchen." Nathan was exploring the pantry and refrigerator, stacking rice, garlic powder and canned tomatoes next to a pound of frozen ground beef. Martha watched with curiosity as she set the table: "What's this going to be?" she finally asked.

"Aunt Barbara's Mess. That's what she calls it," he added hastily. "She makes it all the time for her kids, and we had it once for dinner when I was visiting. I liked it so much I made her give me the recipe."

Martha laughed. "I can't wait to try it. Will salad go with it? I can make one."

Nathan's concoction turned out to be delicious, and the three of them lingered at the table after dinner, reluctant to leave. This is a family dinner, Martha thought suddenly. I'm part of a family. She felt happiness spread slowly through her and smiled at Aaron across the table.

"I've got to figure out how to get to the Pentagon tomorrow." Nathan sighed and pushed his chair back from the table.

"It's easy, Nathan. The Metro stops right at the Pentagon and the nearest Metro station to us is just a couple of blocks away. There's a map online." Nathan nodded and headed back to the den to pull up the map.

"What did you do today?" Aaron asked as they cleared the table.

"The dreaded index." Martha made a face. "It's nearly done, really. I asked Nate if he wanted to go to New York with me on Friday and he does. We'll probably be back late, so I can leave a printout of the book for you to look over if you want."

The rest of the week sped by, Nathan busily networking at the Pentagon and taking notes for future job ideas and Martha making last-minute adjustments to her book. Aaron had made arrangements to take a few days off work and he was happy to tour Washington with his son, Martha frequently joining them for lunch. Early Friday morning, laptop in hand, Martha left with Nathan to catch an early train for New York; Angie had elected to stay home, as the weather had taken a turn for the worse and she was fighting a cold.

With his father's politeness, Nathan ushered Martha off the train and flagged down a cab for the crosstown ride to her publisher's office. Once they were safe inside, he asked, "Do you want to meet for lunch, Em, or are you going to be having a working lunch?"

"I'm pretty sure this is going to be a working lunch. My editor said she wants to do an 'intensive' review of the book; this is probably going to take all day. Do you have your cell phone, Nathan?" she added anxiously.

"Absolutely. Don't worry about me. As far as I'm concerned, I've got the day on leave and I'm going to enjoy it. I have a list of places I'd like to see and I'm going to do a little shopping, maybe get Mom something."

"That sounds great." Martha smiled. "I hate to bring you here and then abandon you."

"You didn't! I'm excited that I get to go with you and I get to see New York." Nathan kissed her cheek. "Call me when you know what time you'll be done, okay?"

"Okay." Martha beamed at him and headed inside; Nathan checked his list and headed for the nearest subway station.

Aaron spent a half-day at the office catching up on paperwork and then left for home, telling Agent Mitchell where he could be reached. As head agent he had privileges to work from home fairly frequently but rarely availed himself of this opportunity, believing it was more important for the staff to see him in the office; this week, however, was different. He had wanted to spend as much time with Nathan as possible, and although he had not admitted it to Martha he was very glad to have the opportunity to read her book for the first time without her as an audience. Aaron knew Charles would figure largely in the book – there was no way for that not to be the case – and although since his death they had both come to terms with his presence in their pasts, that did not mean he was happy about having to re-experience this part of Martha's life.

He settled back in his reading chair and picked up the manuscript. At more than three hundred pages long it was so thick that he had first decided to skim quickly through it, but soon he found himself admiring his wife's writing style and engrossed in the details of her early life, especially in Martha's descriptions of her mother, whom he had never had the chance to meet. She had died several months after the Keeler/Logan election. Martha's father, he knew, had died when she was ten and she had only limited memories of him; it was her mother who had raised her. Not for the first time, Aaron found himself thinking of his own son's childhood and regretting that he had not spent more time with Nathan – but there had always been another Presidential activity he had to work or another urgent meeting to attend. Thinking again of his son's decision not to go into the Service, he had to agree that Nathan had made the right choice.

Reading on, Aaron braced himself as Charles entered Martha's life for the first time as a charming, well-connected and successful businessman. Where did that man go wrong, Aaron thought, mentally shaking his head; he had it all and he lost it. Or maybe he never really understood what he had. A few pages further he found himself sitting bolt upright, staring at the page.

"Oh no," he muttered under his breath, and then "Oh my God. Martha." Tossing the manuscript aside, he sat staring straight ahead of him for a few moments and then reached for his phone.

"Hello?" answered a hoarse voice.

"Angie, it's me. I don't mean to bother you, but Martha gave me her final draft and I've been reading it today. I have to ask you something. Is this true?"

Tired but happy, Nate and Martha were speeding home on the train. Martha was happy to approve of his purchases for his aunts, for his mother, and as it turned out for herself. With a flourish Nathan presented her with a beautiful crystal paperweight "to hold all those index cards down, Em. You've got to keep them under control or they'll multiply and take over the desk."

"Where did you go for lunch?" she asked him.

"This really great pizza place I remembered from my last trip to New York. It's still there."

"Do you love pizza as much as your father does? When we go off the diet wagon, it's always pizza he has to have."

"I guess I do. It's hard to find really good pizza in our part of Texas. You may have to learn to make it, Em."

"Right after I learn to can," she answered dryly. "Did I tell you about Mrs. Brooks being a champion canner and wanting to give me her equipment?"

The rest of their trip went quickly, with Nathan and Martha laughing and swapping anecdotes about Aaron. "I'm glad we're home," Martha sighed as they entered the apartment building.

"Me, too. I'm beat. Do you think Dad's had dinner yet?"

"No idea, but I bet we can fix something quick for ourselves if he has." Their conversation ended abruptly as they walked into the apartment and caught sight of Aaron. Although Aaron's expression was neutral, it was clear to both of them that he was very upset.

"Aaron, what's wrong?"

"Martha, can I please talk to you for a minute? Nathan, we won't be long," he added to his son. "I just – this is important."

Speechless, Nathan nodded and watched his father close the door to the den. He took his packages to the guest room and then sat down on the bed, half listening for angry voices and wondering what to do next.