Hey y'all! Couple of quick things before I get out of the way here.

First, I'm basing the use of medi-gel in this story solely on the example provided during the Citadel DLC, where a gunshot victim applies it and returns to business, apparently no worse for the wear. Since none of the other characters in game argued that her recovery was odd, I'm going with it.

Second, thank you guys! I love hearing from you, it is such a great way for me to learn how my ramblings are received, and I am so, so, grateful to each of you for reviewing and for all the new alerts. Y'all are completely fabulous.

Thank you, Lisa! As always, you're a superhero, slaying chaotic sentence structure and leaping run-on ramblings in a single bound!

Ready? Cool! Then I'll just get out of the way so you kids can read...

Home Sweet Home

Liara and Traynor had been working in her office for most of the day, their mutual dedication to the concept of manipulating the Keepers to work toward rebuilding the Citadel keeping them both quietly focused despite the long days and hours.

Traynor had taken the biometric readings from Chorban's research and, after a thorough review of the salarian's findings by Dr. Chakwas, isolated a single but shared frequency emitted by each Keeper. Together Liara and Traynor had created an algorithm that could track that frequency amongst the other activity contained within the mountain of research.

Now, both scientists were confident that the frequency found was the signature emitted when the Keepers communicated with one another.

"But how to test it?" Liara mumbled as she sat back from her console and rubbed her temples. Sitting up straight, she turned and studied Traynor, seated a few feet away at a small work station. "How do we tap into the frequency to prove our theory that this is how they're talking with one another?"

Samantha slowly grinned, not looking up from her work. "That, my love, is something I may have just sorted out. And if I'm correct, we won't need to talk to the Keepers at all," she said softly, tapping away at her keyboard. "Just another second… and… alright," she said under her breath as she stood and met Liara's blue eyes. "Take a look at this."

Standing, Liara moved to where Traynor was, watching her monitor as a series of equations appeared on the screen. "I see the energy band and I see the spike in it, but what am I looking at beyond that?"

"This is the last report of environmental conditions within and around the Citadel before it was taken over by the Reapers," Traynor explained. "See? There's loads of information here, from air quality and variant temperature reports, to the humidity index, and the different radiation levels within the various docking stations. Boring, yes, but all important when you're dealing with a variety of life forms with a multitude of environmental needs."

"Yes, but what has this to do with the Keepers? Their well-being seems to be completely unaffected by environmental changes around them."

"True, but, if you take this report and compare it against the readings taken just before the Citadel's arms begin closing," Traynor said quickly, tapping on her omni-tool and then touching her monitor, "what you see is a massive but very short-lived spike of electromagnetic energy."

Liara shook her head. "It's less than half a second long, Samantha."

"Yes, but I think it may be something similar to a gamma ray burst."

"That's not possible. A gamma burst within the Sol system, let alone within the Citadel itself, would destroy all life. The kind of energy you're speaking of… the magnitude of it… no, there's something you must be missing. What you're suggesting isn't an event anyone would survive and beyond that, is one that would leave behind a very distinctive radiation as evidence."

"No, but what if that's the point? What if it's something we're supposed to miss, something we're intended to overlook? It's hidden within its own improbability," Traynor said, interrupting herself, moving to another screen. "These are the current readings that are being collected from the Keepers now. There are so many little differences, tiny alterations between what was captured by Chorban's research, and now. Yet that frequency, the one we've isolated as their form of communication, remains unchanged. Yes?"

"Yes. Samantha, we've covered this before and nothing here connects the dots except that they continued to communicate with one another as they did before, regardless of the Reapers' presence."

"Yes, but their purpose still changed, didn't it? There are no deviations whatsoever in their empathic frequency, nothing, so how'd they know to alter their habits if it wasn't communicated to them?"

"Clearly it was, though we obviously still need to identify how they understood what to do."

"The Keepers only stopped behaving in their customary ways after the Reapers closed the Citadel, after this energy burst! Don't you see? The Reapers were here for months and months, working all over the galaxy towards their goal, but the Keepers remained unchanged, and so, what happened? Clearly it's not simply having Reapers present, or in closer proximity, if it were, then we'd be able to reference a change in their actions when Sovereign was here, or after the Reapers' arrival in the galaxy, but we can't."

"You believe this change is – "

"A direct result of this energy burst. This isn't about communication, about direct interaction, it's about a signal! We don't need to talk with them, we need to trigger them! We need to flip a switch!"

Liara stared at Traynor for a moment, nodding. "That would explain why there were never any changes to their empathic frequencies. You're saying the Reapers never communicated with the Keepers, but rather, activated them? That this energy burst is that activation?"

"Yes! And that means this – our purpose – is possible! We can alter them!"

"Of course, but how would we test such a theory? The breakdown on the burst is – "

"Oddly simple. Here, take a look!" Traynor exclaimed, handing Liara a data pad. "It's not a gamma burst, that's too destructive, but it is similar in power and could be capable – in theory – of producing the biometric changes we've seen. I'm telling you, I think we may be able simulate this signature! I believe, if we break down the data, we could, possibly, reproduce the burst."

"Assuming this is the signal used to alter their behavior, that doesn't prove the one needed to return the Keepers to normal is the same. If this idea of yours proves true, it's plausible that different types of energy would change the Keepers' actions in any number of ways."

"And that's why we need to test this theory," Traynor agreed. "Because if I'm right, they may get right back to work, repairing the Citadel and the relay within it… or they may attack and kill everyone currently on board."

"Clearly the second scenario should be avoided."

Traynor smiled. "Clearly."

Liara sighed, taking the data pad from Traynor's hand and moving to her console. Sitting down, she studied the information, growing silent as she absorbed and mulled over the data. Finally she looked up to see Samantha watching her intently and she offered her partner a single nod.

"Glyph, compile the information Samantha spoke of and begin running scenarios based on the variables presented on her console."

"Yes, Dr. T'Soni, right away," answered the hovering VI as it began to move quickly around the room.

Tapping on her omni-tool, the centenarian smiled softly at Traynor, reaching out to take her hand into hers as her omni-tool chimed softly. "James?" she began as the acting CO answered her call. "I believe it's time to tell Admiral Hackett what we've been up to."

xXx

Kaidan and Kate had awoken early, before sunrise, and had gathered their belongings. In the breaking dawn's light, they'd thanked their hosts for the comfortable suite, declining breakfast as gracefully as they could before leaving. A short walk to the edge of town brought them to their Land Cruiser, Kaidan quietly securing their bags on its roof rack as she checked the vehicle over with a diagnostic program Hernandez had installed into her omni-tool.

They'd left the town of Likely behind them just as the full light of day embraced the small haven of humanity.

As they'd traveled north toward the Alenko family orchard, he'd steadily grown quiet, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. Kate watched him from the corner of her eye, concerned at his obvious anxiety.

"Hey," she said softly from the passenger seat, leaning over to touch his cheek. "It'll be okay."

"Right, sure, of course it will," he replied with a quick nod, not taking his eyes off the rugged trail they were driving. "Or we'll, you know, find something awful. Jesus, I hate this," he muttered, turning the wheel of the Land Cruiser sharply, barely avoiding a too-deep rut in the ground. "God damn it! How's anybody supposed to get around up here? How's a person supposed to get help? Food? Where the hell is the Alliance?" he spat, roughly maneuvering the truck, jostling them inside the cab.

Watching him for a moment, she nodded. "Kaidan, we'll get there soon, we're close."

His nostrils flared and she could see him narrow his eyes from behind his sunglasses, but he didn't say anything else and neither did she. Not long after, they turned off of the trail and took a long and far better maintained road to the east, against the ridge line, and soon they were driving parallel to a barbed wire fence.

"This is the property line," he explained, pointing to the fencing. "This fence runs about two miles and we'll hit the orchard's entrance at its break."

"Okay."

He sighed as he shifted down to low four wheel drive and then grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. I'm just… I'm scared of what we're about to find."

"I know," she replied, clasping his hand tightly, rubbing his arm with her other hand. "I love you. Don't worry about me, okay? Let's just find your mom and dad. I'm fine."

Nodding quickly, he swallowed hard. "Right. Right, okay then," he rasped as he turned the wheel to the left, pulling them up to pair of closed six foot metal gates. "Here we are," he said as he turned off the Land Cruiser and got out, walking toward it. She quickly followed.

"It's chained," he said, tugging on a thick rope of metal chain and an electric lock securing the entrance. "Ah, I don't want to leave our gear, but I hate to hack this. I've never seen it locked before, and I'm guessing there's a good reason for it."

"Do you want to walk in? We could take our basic gear and hike up to the cabin?"

Stepping back, he crossed his arms and surveyed the area. "Yeah," he answered after a moment. "Let's hop the gate and head up to the house. If my parents are there, we can get the key and walk back down, bring the truck in then."

Together they opened the tailgate of the truck and pulled out their packs, each taking a few extra thermal clips with them, and she grabbed an energy bar for Kaidan. Closing up the vehicle once more, he secured it as she scaled the gate, landing gracefully before reaching out for his pack as he reached its top. Dropping down, they arranged their gear and began the long walk to the cabin.

"How far is it?"

He adjusted his pack as he led her through the perfectly aligned grove of apple trees, all bright with pink flowers, tall brown grass growing between them. "Ah, not more than about fifteen minutes, we'll be able to cut through the front field, that'll save us about a quarter mile."

She followed him quietly, her eyes constantly assessing their environment and searching for any possible threat as he did the same.

"The place is in okay shape, these lanes between the trees need weeding," he noted, before gesturing to the field to their right. "But that soil has been turned over in the last month or so; see the dead grass worked into the rows?"

"I didn't think your parents worked the land?"

"They didn't, but there isn't a whole lot of choice anymore. I mean, you saw the conditions of things between here and Vancouver, Kate. Help isn't exactly on its way just yet," he reasoned. "Come on, we're nearly there, we should be at the cabin in a few minutes."

They broke through the apple tree line and followed a small dirt road that separated the field from the orchard, and after another few hundred feet, rounded a curve in the road.

"That's good news, don't you think? That the land's being taken care of?" she asked, turning around and walking backwards as she spoke. "I mean, that didn't just happen on its own, someone's here."

"Things aren't perfect, but you're right, it is a good sign. Let's just get to the cabin and confirm it's my parents, and not someone else who's taken over," he replied as he gestured up the hill. "This way, we'll cut through the back gardens and be at the cabin, and if it isn't my parents doing this work, we can scope out who is."

Dropping in behind him, she followed him through a thick cluster of trees, their branches low and heavy with their spring blossoms.

"Stay there, Kate," he whispered, crouching low at the edge of the overgrowth, his biotics quietly crackling around him, all of his abilities ready if needed. Silently she watched him survey the house, still just beyond her view.

"I'm perfectly capable of assessing a situation, you know," she said softly from her position, her Paladin in her hand.

Standing, his blue aura dissipated as he turned back to face her. "I do, but I'm familiar with the layout, you're not," he reminded her before he gestured over his shoulder. "Things look quiet, come on."

He waited for her to reach his side and they stepped out of the brush and into a modest sized clearing, the cabin coming into full view as she, too, checked their surroundings before holstering her weapon.

She smiled slowly, taking in the quaint house, its loft A-frame construction picturesque and perfect in its foothill surroundings. There were two other log buildings near the house, and across the yard, a large and very old looking barn, its massive double doors open. Behind it, the rugged Rockies were in view.

"This is amazing," she breathed. "Would you look at this place? Kaidan, it's like something from a vid!"

Her husband nodded distractedly, taking her hand in his. "It is, except it's missing my parents. Let's check the house first, then we'll search the outbuildings and the barn."

"Right."

They quickly walked up the home's front steps, the large porch wrapping around a majority of the first floor. He grabbed the handle of the screen door, his powers charged and sidearm out, and entered the home, Kate on his heels, her own handgun drawn.

The smell hit them both at the same time.

"Oh!" he gasped, putting his hand over his mouth. "What the hell is that?"

"Trash? Pee? It's not a dead body, that smells way worse than this," she answered quickly, holding the collar of her shirt over her mouth and nose. "But, damn, that's really strong."

They swept through the front of the home, searching it quickly before meeting in a large great-room, the smell of the place not as strong in the bigger space.

"This place is a mess. I've never seen it like this."

"This isn't normal?" she asked, taking in the piles of trash, clothes, linens and random items. There was a large stack of perfectly aligned data pads by the fireplace.

"God no. My father's a neat-freak, he's always cleaning up behind you, barely gives you enough time to finish making a sandwich before he's putting the bread and stuff away. My mom's not as bad, but she's pretty well trained at this point. No, something is very wrong here. "

She followed him down a dark hallway, the carpet runner stained and pungent. "Wow, okay, here's the source of the smell," she observed. "Or one of them at least."

He knelt down, his omni-tool lighting as he sampled the stains. "Dog urine, traces of fecal matter," he muttered. "My mother has two Labradors, but they're house broken."

"Maybe they couldn't go out?"

"Okay, yeah, but why leave this here to fester?"

She shrugged, pointing at the end of the hall. "What's back there? I didn't check it, did you?"

"No. It's the kitchen. Ready?" he asked, moving forward quietly, his body wrapped again in the blue aura of his biotics.

"Ready."

Standing, he led her to the end of the hall, entering the small room. Dishes were everywhere, the counter tops buried beneath discarded food, trash, opened preserves and MRE wrappers, among other debris. The table had a mixture of food, trash, clothing and parts of a partially assembled gun bench on it, the soldering equipment on an adjacent chair.

"And that would be the other source of the funk," she observed, crossing to the basin. "It's full of rotting scraps."

Walking over to the pantry, he opened the door. "There's still food in here," he noted, stepping inside the small room. "No dust on the stores, this stuff is being used."

"So someone wasn't just here at some point, but still are."

"Yeah, but Kate, there's no way these are my parents. This place is disgusting."

"Okay, then, who is it? And what did they do with your parents?"

Shaking his head, he swallowed hard, resolve in his eyes. "I don't know, but we're going to find out, I promise you that."

xXx

Garrus sat quietly in the observation lounge and tried to remember when the view out of its window didn't include over thirty workers, scaffolding and a half a dozen mechs. He couldn't hear their efforts to finish the Normandy's overhaul, but he could certainly imagine the din they were creating and it only added to his agitation.

He heard the door open and close and he sighed, wishing whoever was there to bother him would turn right back around and leave him alone. From the corner of his eye he saw who was slowly settling down next to him on the couch and his irritation gave way to surprise.

"Joker, is there a fire?

"Uh, nope, don't think so."

"Locusts? Noxious fumes?"

"Not today."

"Well then I'm confused. What brings you out of the cockpit?"

"I leave the cockpit."

"Sure, to use the toilet and to get dinner, that's about it," Garrus argued. "So what is it? New seat too lumpy? Did they cut the extranet feed? Oh, wait, I know, they killed those little bookmarks you had on your omni-tool, the ones to the really good 'stuff'."

"First of all, I've long since learned how to restore those links, so up yours and second... okay, yeah, you're right, they're screwing with the extranet feed up front. It's boring as hell, so I thought I'd come down here for a while," the pilot finally admitted. He sat back, gesturing to the turian. "What are you doing?"

Garrus sighed, shrugging. "I'm supposed to be working on something for Liara," he replied, tapping a data pad laid on the space between them. "Seems she and Traynor think it's time we shared their little idea about the Keepers with Hackett and James is in agreement, so we're cleaning up a few of the finer points of the concept."

Arching an eyebrow, Joker nodded. "Well, I can see you're right on top of that, Garrus. I mean, look at you go, man. Clearly, that's, ah, that's going... "

"Nowhere. I'm distracted as hell and to be honest, I'm damned cranky about it."

"Tali?" the human ventured, surprised when Garrus, usually not one to share his more private thoughts, nodded. "What's Shepard say?"

"Nothing, I haven't told her that Tali's leaving the system, let alone already left the ship."

Joker crossed his arms, his eyes following the busy movement of the workers outside the ship. "I still miss EDI."

"Yeah," Garrus sighed, his gaze fixed outside as well. "It's been a long time since I had my heart broken. If I'm honest, I'd tell you this might be the very first time it's truly been broken. And then I'd tell you I'm not sure what to do about that."

"Every day there's something that comes up, something where I find myself thinking, 'Wait until I tell EDI!' and then... how the hell I could actually forget she's dead, I don't know, man, but I hate that moment," the pilot confessed quietly. "I hate it."

"Tali said she wanted us to keep in touch, that she wanted us to stay in contact," Garrus explained. "I want that too, I do, but right now, well, right now hearing her voice or reading an email from her isn't something I think I could handle, at least, not in the way I'd want to. I'm trying hard not to be angry at her, angry for my feeling this way, but it's not the easiest thing to do."

"You think she made the wrong choice?"

"No, no, I don't. I just... let's just say that logic isn't playing the forward role in this yet."

Joker rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, I know Tali's not, you know, gone in the same way, but if, ah, if it helps, it does get better. Instead of that happening to me a dozen times a day – thinking of something to share with EDI – it's only a few, and that makes me think at some point, I won't feel like complete and total shit all the time."

"Just half the time?"

The pilot snorted, forcing a laugh. "I'll take it."

Garrus released a pent up breath, his mandibles flexing as he turned to look at his old friend. "Me too, Jeff, me too."

xXx

Kaidan and Kate had searched the area around the cabin, barn and outbuildings. They'd found no hint of what had transpired at the orchard, though they did find fresh tracks of what appeared to be a single person. Besides this and an hour of further scouting, they had no more information than when they'd begun their search.

It was beginning to grow late as he studied the sky, seeing grey clouds gathering along the peaks of the mountains above the orchard.

"There's a storm coming in," he muttered, turning back to her. "Look, I'm certain my parents aren't here any longer. They've either fled or whoever is here now killed them."

"We don't know what went on," she argued gently. "Anything could have happened and I think the idea of them fleeing is far more likely. The folks in town did say there were groups of Reaper scouts sent through these areas."

"None of that matters. I need to know what happened and the only way to do that is if we stay here and wait for whoever is staying in the cabin to come back," he said stiffly. "Let's get the truck and bring it up here. We can secure the cabin and the yard, be ready for them when whoever is here gets back."

"Shouldn't we move the truck and the set up on the ridge line?" she countered. "We'd be able to see who comes back and how many of them there are before we have to confront them."

He shook his head. "No, there's isn't enough time for that. Whoever is here will likely be back soon."

"Or not, we don't know Kaidan, which is why we really should see what we're up against first."

"Damn it, Kate, no, we've got the element of surprise working for us right now! Whoever these bastards are, they're going to answer my questions, and its best they know right now who they're dealing with."

"And it's best we don't find out the hard way that there's fifty of them!"

His lips drew into a tight line. "There's been nothing to indicate there's anything more than one or two people on the property."

"We do not have the advantage if we stay here. I know you're scared for your parents, I get it, but we won't do them any good if we get overwhelmed here," she argued, her eyes locked with his. "We're the cavalry and there's no back up if we're wrong about the numbers."

He shook his head slightly. "Fine, fine, you're right," he rasped, running a hand through his hair. "Let's get the truck. If we hurry we can - " his words were cut off as a shot rang out, and she was thrown forward, nearly knocking him to the ground. "Kate!" he cried, dragging them both around the edge of the barn and erecting a biotic barrier around them.

On his knees, he cradled her against him, seeing the exit wound just under her left collarbone was already bleeding heavily.

"Kate!" he repeated, laying her back. "Hold your fire!" he shouted as loud as he could, readying himself for a fight before looking down at his wife. "Kate! Baby, can you hear me? Open your eyes!"

Another shot was repelled by his barrier. "Hold your fire!" he screamed, searching for their assailant as he felt Kate stir. "Kate! Can you hear me?"

She gasped loudly, opening her eyes. "Ow! Shit!" she hissed as she pushed up, pressing her good hand against her wound. "Shit! Shit! Ouch!"

"Thank God," he breathed as he jerked a medi-gel from his pack with one hand, biting the seal off and handing it to her. "I've only got one hand free. Can you put the gel on? I don't want to drop this barrier!"

"Yeah, okay," she panted, slapping the goo against the wound, working it into the injury. "Oh, that burns every time! Who's shooting at us? Are you okay?"

"I don't know, they haven't said anything," he replied, checking her wound. "I'm fine. Give me the last of that," he said, referring to the medi-gel and holding out his free hand, she squeezed the last of it into it. Quickly, he applied it to the entrance wound in her upper back, watching as it sealed almost instantly. "Better?"

Nodding, she drew a ragged breath. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

The concern on his handsome face turned to fury as he was now able to focus on their shooter. He stood, drew his weapon, and expanding the barrier field, made himself visible. "Hold your fire! My name is Major Alenko of the Alliance Navy and this is my property! You will identify yourself, now!"

"Take off your sunglasses!" demanded a masculine voice. "Let me see your face!"

Slowly, Kaidan removed his sunglasses, dropping them onto the ground so that his hold on his Paladin wasn't impeded. There was silence all around them and Kate slowly got to her feet, the tingle of the medi-gel healing her wound still hot on her skin.

Suddenly, a dark-eyed older man appeared on the edge of the clearing. "Kaidan? Is that you, son?"

"Dad?" Kaidan asked, dropping his barrier for the first time since the shots had begun and holstering his gun. "Dad? Are you okay? Where's Mom? And what are you doing shooting at us?"

The older Alenko's gaze locked with his only son's. "I hardly expected you! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Dad! You shot her! What are you doing firing at people at all?" Kaidan demanded in a harsh tone. "What the hell's going on? You could have killed her!"

"There's mercs all over these lands, Kaidan and no, I couldn't have, it was a clean shot. I'm not after killing anybody," his father replied evenly, looking at Kate. "But I am sorry all the same. You alright?"

"Kaidan's already taken care of me, we have medi-gel."

Nodding, Marcus Alenko's stern features softened and he suddenly closed the distance between him and his son. "My God, boy, it's good to see you," he announced, pulling Kaidan into a fierce hug. "After all the news, the fighting... I thought I'd lost you too."

Kate smiled softly as Marcus held Kaidan tight, her husband clearly stunned by his father's affectionate embrace, though not so much so that he wasn't returning it. A moment later, they separated and Kaidan frowned, glancing at Kate before speaking.

"I came as soon as I could," Kaidan explained. "But, ah Dad, you... you said too, 'lost you too.'"

Marcus stepped back, slinging his sniper rifle over his shoulder, his eyes on the ground.

"Where's Mom? Why isn't she with you?"

"Dead, son. She's gone," he said woodenly before he turned, silently walking toward the family cabin.

"Dad!" Kaidan cried out, his voice cracking with emotion. "Oh God, no," he moaned as he staggered back a few steps, his hands clasped behind his neck, his eyes shut tight. "Mom."

Kate moved to him, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling his shaking form against her. "I'm here," she whispered softly, hugging him tight. "I'm right here."

xXx

They remained outside until dark, Kaidan rarely speaking as Kate stayed at his side. The lights in the cabin came on shortly before they returned to it, Marcus not readily seen when they entered. Walking to the rear of the home, the elder Alenko was found sitting near the stone fireplace that dominated the far wall of the great room.

"Dad?"

Marcus turned slowly, his eyes glazed. "Oh. Hey there, I didn't hear you," he answered, blinking. "How are you feeling?" he asked Kate, standing and crossing to her. "The wound closed?"

She nodded, looking down at her ruined, blood-stained shirt. "It did, thank you."

Sighing, he turned to his son, his concern apparent. "You okay?"

"What happened, Dad? When did Mom… "

"Six weeks ago. I don't want to talk about it," he answered stiffly, his eyes no longer reflecting his worry for his son. "How'd you get here?"

"Shuttle into Vancouver, then we drove out," Kaidan replied quietly. "What happened to Mom?"

Marcus's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't matter."

"Dad," Kaidan whispered. "It matters to me."

"You say you drove, but where's your vehicle? I didn't see anything outside," Marcus stated, ignoring his son's comment completely before he met Kate's eyes. "And are you going to introduce me to the commander or not?"

Kaidan frowned, his stance rigid with his tension. "We left it by the south gate, we didn't want to damage the lock on the chains."

"Full of supplies? Must be, y'all had medi-gel for her earlier. Jesus, Kaidan, what are you trying to do, resupply the local mercs?" his father chastised sharply, before stomping across the room where he picked up his rifle. "Come on, let's go get it before they find it, if they haven't already."

With a furious huff, Marcus moved swiftly past them and a moment later, they heard the screen door slam shut.

"Kate, I want you to stay here, okay?" Kaidan asked in a hollow voice. "He's not acting right and I want to talk to him alone."

"He just lost your mom, and he's been here by himself, that's a lot to take."

"I know that, but… there's more going on here, he's too erratic. Kate, the last time he hugged me I was maybe five years old, and this place is disgusting, which is something he's never tolerated and his mood just changed about three times in as many minutes," he explained rapidly. "I want a chance to figure out what's happening."

Nodding, she kissed his cheek. "Alright, just be… be careful, okay?"

He sighed. "I will," he said sincerely. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

With that, he left the cabin, and Kate, glancing around the filthy room, settled in to wait.