Lukas, Sophia, and Julia held their breath, waiting for Roman to react to the news that Integration seemed to have hit its largest roadblock to date. They were thrown off-balance when he merely pursed his lips, nodded calmly, and then steepled his fingers together under his chin as he pondered Sophia's news. He was already changing, adapting to the expectations and demands of leadership even while they watched.

Roman considered who would have done something so stupid. This decision wasn't coming from Gloria. She wouldn't make such a drastic move. Saul? The principal had less backbone than an amoeba. He barely took a piss without Gloria's permission. The school board, then. They had been resistant in the past – including about allowing Atrians to attend the Homecoming carnival. They must have finally gotten the votes they needed to suspend Integration, somehow. But suspension was a temporary thing. Suspension could be lifted.

"How do we fix it? How do we make the board reverse their decision?" Roman asked his impromptu advisors. They were a ragtag substitute Hwatab, admittedly, but they also got more accomplished than the elders ever did. Only Drake was missing to round out the table, and Roman forgave him the absence. He had sacrificed enough recently for their cause.

"You could go to the school board and, you know, magic-speech-ify them," Julia suggested, only half-joking. It had worked on a mob of a thousand; maybe the school board would be equally susceptible?

"It's not actually a super power, Julia," Emery piped up from across the room. She was propped up on her elbow, watching them all and feeling reflective. A year ago, she and Julia were in an isolated section of the hospital, their own bodies eating at them. Lukas always came to visit - but more often than not it was a visit through a window, in case he carried germs that could infect the girls. Now, a simple act of pure kindness 10 years ago had come full circle, and Emery and Roman were irrevocably tied to each other. Along the way they had dragged those closest to them into their net, as well.

"It might as well be a super power," Julia muttered under her breath.

Roman frowned at Emery.

"You're supposed to be getting your rest," he scolded, moving to her side and running the fingers of one hand gently along her jaw.

"And let you plot without me? Ha! Unlikely," Emery smiled back; she loved the way his brow creased when he worried about her.

"Well, since you've scoffed at my idea, and no one else has made a better suggestion, I'm not sure there's much more we can do tonight," Julia said. "Why don't we all sleep on it? Maybe things will seem clearer in the morning."

Julia's words drew everyone's attention to how tired they were. Roman, in particular, suddenly felt as though the tide of frenetic energy that had pulled him along to this point was now ebbing, dragging him under a wave of exhaustion. The friends did their best to make themselves comfortable in the cramped space, hoping a good night's sleep really could fix everything.

Friday morning was a crisp, clear day – in fact, it was very nearly wintry. A cold snap had settled in overnight, and Louisiana apartments weren't built for these temperatures. Taylor woke up to discover Aria had crawled into bed beside her overnight, and that Drake had slipped out already. She hated when he did that; he came and went like a ghost. She knew why he had to – he would have been hard to miss, walking down the streets of Edendale in broad daylight – but it tugged at her heart painfully. Gloria's plan better work.

The hot water of the shower felt even better on a chilly morning. Taylor slipped on a thick robe before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Drake had been busy. He had prepared a traditional Atrian breakfast for his girls, and set it on the counter next to a scrap of yellow paper, on which he'd scribbled two hearts. When Taylor picked it up, she realized he had written "Aria" inside one, and "Taylor" inside the other. It was such a simple, sweet gesture; she started to cry, missing him even more. The only thing that stopped her was the sound of Aria calling her sleepily from the bedroom.

Taylor sighed and silently cursed the lack of coffee in the apartment. It had been the first thing she'd done when Aria moved in, removing all the potential allergens. If Aria accidentally ate something poisonous while under her care, Taylor knew Drake would never forgive her.

She headed back to the bedroom and Aria jumped off the bed into her arms. Taylor smiled and told her that Drake had made them breakfast because he had to leave so early; Aria whined a bit but when she saw the Atrian flatbread Drake had prepared, she perked up again.

Taylor got a text from Gloria while she and Aria were washing up: He's confirmed. 10:00 p.m. The message sent a shiver through Taylor that had nothing to do with the weather. This was what she'd been waiting for. She turned to the little girl.

"Aria, I think we need to go shopping today, okay? You and I need some new clothes," she suggested, squatting down to Aria's eye level. Before they could go out, though, Aria would need a bit of foundation, and a little powder…

The end result was terrifyingly realistic. Taylor glowed with pride at the finished product – a little human girl, who looked just like her. The markings on Aria's face were hidden under expertly-applied makeup, and the rest of her body was covered by pants and her grey sweatshirt. The cold weather provided the perfect excuse to bundle up - she would blend right in. And since there was a charming little boutique two storefronts down, they wouldn't even need to cross the street to get what they needed.

They were gone less than an hour. If there was one thing Taylor could do well, it was shop. The girls spread their purchases on the floor of the living room, reviewing the collection of brightly-colored garments they had found. Aria's smile lit the room as she pulled out a cute white dress sprinkled with delicate daisies.

"I love it, sweetheart, but before you put it on let me get this yucky stuff off your face," Taylor said, grabbing a wet washcloth and tackling the makeup. It was magical to see the Aria she knew and loved, reappearing as she worked. She hadn't realized how much the Atrians' markings helped define who they were.

Drake slipped into the darkened pod and was surprised to find Lukas standing guard just inside the door. It was not his shift.

"Hey man, what's up? How's Taylor?" Lukas asked quietly, with an easy smile. Any discomfort he had once felt around the hulking Atrian had disappeared over the course of the past week. While they would not have been natural friends under other circumstances, Lukas respected Drake's devotion to Roman and Drake appreciated the loyalty Lukas had repeatedly demonstrated for Emery.

"She's good, thanks. A little bored. I think she actually misses school at this point," Drake whispered back. He glanced around the cramped room, and his nose wrinkled at the unfamiliar smells of so many humans in this confined space. "What did I miss?"

"Oh wow – so much." Lukas gave a very condensed account of the terrifying semi-mob, Roman's discussion with the Hwatab, his electrifying speech to the people, and the current dilemma regarding the suspended Integration program.

"Actually, Gloria was talking about that last night, too," Drake mentioned. Lukas cocked his head to the side in surprise and Roman, who had been surreptitiously listening in, suddenly sat up.

"You saw Gloria last night? Where?"

"She stopped by Taylor's," Drake explained. "They're kind of… friends… I think. She's also Taylor's guardian sometimes, or something." Drake had blanked out a bit when Taylor originally explained it all – she had been wearing a very pretty, very low-cut blouse that day, and it was just so distracting, the way her breasts shifted against the thin fabric every time she reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. He remembered that top fondly. It was one of a growing number of now-destroyed clothing items he probably should replace for Taylor at some point.

"... Drake? ... About Gloria?" Roman's impatience cut through the soft warmth of Drake's daydream. He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, Gloria was talking about Integration and said she was able to organize a special town hall meeting for Saturday night. Apparently, there are several local businesses that want to have access to the Sector. They're pissed at the school board because the black market inside the Sector will just keep growing if Integration fails."

"A meeting tomorrow? Ok. Do you know where? And what time?" Roman demanded. A night of sleep had done wonders for him, but now he felt the call to action thundering through his chest. Tomorrow was so far away, and until then what could they do?

"We need to prepare," he answered his own unspoken question. Drake said he wasn't sure about the time or location, but he could ask Taylor tonight when he slipped out to see her. Roman nodded his silent approval of the idea.

Emery - who had woken up within minutes of Roman - now slipped up behind him and snaked her arms around his waist, pressing her hands against his taut stomach. She remembered the electric feeling of his body colliding into her hand that day – it felt like a year ago, now – when they were searching for a kidnapped Grayson and she had spotted him relaxing on the porch of the Boxwood mansion. At that time, it had physically hurt her to imagine the possibility of a relationship with Roman… now though, she ran a thumb possessively over the scar just above Roman's hip, and pressed her forehead into his back, her heart over-filled with the joy of him.

Roman ended the conversation with Drake and Lukas quickly, and pivoted to face Emery. He traced the contour of her neck and shoulder softly with one hand, finally taking a quick moment to contemplate how he had gone from certain death to a life so close to pitch-perfect, seemingly overnight. He quite literally owed Emery everything; all he wanted now was the time, and the space, to pay that debt back to her, a hundred-fold.

"Good morning," he finally whispered.

"Yakson," she whispered back in greeting, enjoying the fresh look of surprised admiration in his eyes every time she broke out a new phrase in her limited Sondiv arsenal. Emery was grateful for Sophia's discretion on this point; if Roman knew how hard his sister had worked teaching Emery just these few survival expressions, he might feel pity instead of pride.

"So, Iksen, what's on the agenda for today?" Emery asked, still wrapped tightly around him.

"First, breakfast," Roman announced with a mischievous grin. "And then, Miss Whitehill, I think it is about time for my people to meet the girl who saved their leader's life. What do you say?"