For the next several weeks, Kitty became a regular visitor to the Brotherhood. No one really talked about why, but it was common knowledge that there was still a lot of tension at the Institute, and she seemed to want to spend as little time as possible there.

Fred didn't mind at all. He was actually pretty happy about it. He liked Kitty. Maybe it was because she always complimented his cooking, or maybe it was because she took his side when the group fought about what to watch. Either way, Fred always set an extra place at the table just in case she came around. Todd always made sure there were extra blankets and pillows on hand for when Kitty slept on the couch. He had learned real fast that keeping Kitty happy meant the house shook a lot less, which made everyone happy. Pietro was still skeptical, and not afraid to say so. He constantly accused Lance of slipping back into bad habits and made note of just how comfortable Kitty was in their place everytime she helped herself in the kitchen or stayed the night.

Palmer saw Pietro's point, though he was more concerned by how comfortable Lance and Kitty were getting with each other. Kitty stopped by frequently and without warning. She would drop by in the mornings before school, in the evening right around dinnertime, and sometimes she'd even come by before school got out. She often slept on the couch all weekend long and some weeknights. She also babied Palmer, taking him shopping for new clothes, school supplies, and even new bedroom furniture – though Palmer had to admit he was glad to see the blood red walls and dark furniture go. But Lance offset her well with his blunt honesty, treating Palmer more like an equal. Lance still insisted that Palmer be driven to and from school. Sometimes it was Lance, other times it was Kitty, but there were plenty of times when they both came. Like today.

"Hey," Palmer greeted them while tossing his bag in the jeep before hopping in. It seemed like just any other day, until Palmer noticed Lance nervously chewing on his nails and Kitty smiling in a way that seemed force. "What's up?"

"How would you feel…" Kitty began her pitch. "about a little mini-vacation?"

"Little and mini is redundant," Lance muttered.

"Um…" Palmer eyed them both carefully. "What do you mean?"

"Well, my parents, your grandparents, still live back in Northbrook where we," she gestured at Lance and herself, "grew up. And they'd love to see you. We could visit them and show you the town. It could be fun."

"Oh… well…" Palmer looked at Lance, but he was refusing to meet anyone's glance, including the desperate look Kitty shot him to help her sell this idea. "You mean all three of us?"

"Of course," Kitty nodded quickly.

"And we'd go…?" Palmer eyed Lance, who was now tapping his hands on the steering wheel.

"This weekend," Kitty answered. "You have Monday off from school, so we could leave Friday afternoon and have plenty of time there."

"And we can do that?" Palmer looked to Lance. "All of us can take the weekend and go?"

"If you want," Lance finally spoke, though it was obvious that this wasn't his plan.

"Well…" Palmer frowned. He didn't want to upset Kitty by saying no, but even she didn't seem to excited about this trip.

"It would really mean a lot to them, to my parents, if they could get to know you," Kitty smiled weakly. Palmer knew what she meant. It would mean a lot to her if he said yes. It would make them a family. He wasn't sure how he felt about all of this, but after over a month of them all getting along so well, he really didn't want to rock the boat.

"Okay," Palmer gave in reluctantly. "Let's go to Northbrook."

"Great!" Kitty gave Palmer's hand a light squeeze and patted Lance on the shoulder. "Well let's get back to the house. We have so much to figure out now."

"Fun," Palmer faked a smile. He noticed Lance stayed quiet, but his fingers had stilled on the wheel and his mouth was turned down at the corners ever so slightly.