February 21, 2028 (three months post revolution)

Cole was slumped over in the back seat of his dad's car watching the trees roll by as they drove further out of the city. He would have preferred to be in the front seat but his dad had gotten sick of him and Connor always fighting over shotgun, so now they had to take turns. The three of them didn't talk much as they drove, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

As they turn off the highway and down a few side roads, Cole begins to feel more and more anxious. He starts to fidget with the scarf his dad made him wear, despite how warm of a February it had been. A wave of nausea hits him and he wonders if he's scared or if it's just the large energy drink he'd gotten at the gas station. As they drive through a tall wrought iron gate Cole checks his pocket for the hundredth time to make sure the paper was still there. He wants to tell his dad he changed his mind and wants to go home, but there was no way his dad would let him back out now, especially after driving all this way.

That's when he remembered something Berry had told him. It might be scary but you have to let people know how you're feeling. Your family wants to help you but you have to tell them when you need it. It's not weakness, it's being human.

"This feels weird," Cole mumbles. "Why does this feel so weird?"

"It's okay to feel nervous, bud," Hank says as he pulls off to the side. The brakes of his antique car squeak as it's thrown into park.

"I'm not nervous," he says defensively. "Why would I be nervous? I mean it's not like I'm actually…" Cole trails off as he looks out at the seemingly endless rows of headstones. He had never been to a real graveyard before. He takes a deep breath in as he unbuckles himself. When he opens the door and begins to step out he notices his dad and Connor weren't doing the same. "Are you guys coming?"

"Do you want us to?" Connor asks.

He takes a moment before quietly answering. "No. I-I think I want to go alone. If that's okay?"

"Of course it is," his dad says. "We'll be right here. She's five down six across. "

Connor reaches over and turns on the radio, changing the station over to the classic dad rock channel the two of them loved. The DJ was talking about giving away tickets to some band called 'Green Day' for their reunited tour. Cole rolled his eyes and groaned at his brother's love for music that only dudes in their fifties liked as he leaves the car.

1... 2...3...4...5. He counts as he walks down the rows of headstones. He can see that some of the stones are well kept with cut flowers laid across them while others have pale green moss growing on them. There are quite a few American flags stuck into the ground, waving in the slight breeze. His stomach flips when he sees a grave covered in toy cars and trucks. He lies to himself and pretends it was an old man who lived a full life and just loved cars. He's shaking now and he knows it's not from the cold. 1…...2… .. 3, His brain and body feel like they've gone into slow motion. 5….6. He finds himself in front of a small gray marble headstone. It seemed a little more faded then some of the others but not the oldest looking one by far.

He smiles as he says the two words he never thought he'd ever get to say.

"Hi Mom."

His eye scans over and over the words engraved upon the grave. Molly Padden 2007-2027.

"It's um, me, Cole. Sorry I haven't come out sooner, but in my defense, I didn't know you were out here."

Well, that was only a half-truth. His dad had asked him if he wanted to come out here a few weeks ago but he had said no at first because he didn't see much point to it. He thought that stuff like that was for people who believed in God and heaven and all that crap, and that he didn't consider himself to be one of those people. That was until Berry told him that it wasn't about her being able to hear him, it was about him letting out what he wanted to say to her. Truth was he didn't know what he wanted to say.

"Um, I brought you this." He removes the paper from his pocket and unfolds it. He looks around at the ground and finds a small stone to weigh it down with. It was a drawing of a nightmarish monster with red eyes and blood dripping from its mouth. "It's an enemy from my favorite video game. Dad and Connor thought I should have brought you a drawing of something prettier, like flowers or one of you and me and Dad, but I wanted to show you how good of an artist I am, and I think this one is one of my best." He looks back over his shoulder at the car. Connor and his dad were still sitting there like they said they'd be.

"You remember Hank, and that's Connor, my little android brother," he says, pointing back at his family. "Well, he likes to think he's the big brother, just 'cause he can do brain surgery and sh...stuff, but he's totally the little brother." He didn't think it would be very nice to swear in front of his dead mom, but then again his dad had told him that she swore more than anyone he had ever met, which is a lot coming from a cop. "Technically the government won't let us adopt him yet but he still my brother to me. He's a super dork sometimes but he can be pretty cool. He taught me how to do this." He pulled out the quarter he always carried with him. He started showing her all the different coin tricks he could do. He was still not as good as his brother but he was pretty damn proud of how good he was getting. That was another thing Berry was teaching him, to be proud of your accomplishments. He thought of all the other things he would tell her if she was here.

"My grades have been pretty good, I still have some trouble with math sometimes, but Connor's been helping me with that. I'm also part of the art club now. It's weird, I used to always do art alone, but it's been fun hanging out with those guys." He is thinking about his fellow club members when he gets that feeling in his chest he had been getting more and more lately.

"Can you keep a secret?" He pauses as if to let her respond. "I kind of have a crush on this girl in the club." He feels his cheeks flush up as he says it. He hadn't even told Berry about that yet. He can't stop himself from smiling as he thinks about her. "Her name's Jessica and her drawings are so cool and she's so cool, like the coolest girl ever and she's just so…" he struggles to find the words to describe just how captivating she is, but can't.

"Um, so Dad's been telling me more about you. He told me all about how excited you were to be a mom and how much you loved me, and how…" He started getting a lump in his throat. "How sad you were when you found out you wouldn't be able to see me grow up." It was such a heartbreaking thing to think of. She was only twenty, she was going to be missing out on most of her life, yet she was more upset about missing out on his. "I bet you would have been a great mom. You would have made me smile when I was sad, and snuggled me when I had bad dreams and made me ware dumb stuff like this," he whimpers as he tugs on his scarf. "I know I have Dad for all that but… I still wish I had you too." It was inevitable that he would start crying but he didn't think it would feel like this. He takes a deep breath and wipes his eyes.

"I don't know if I'm the man you'd hope I'd be but, I'm trying my best, so I hope that counts for something." Suddenly a heavy gust of wind sweeps through the open field and Cole pulls his scarf tighter around himself. His drawing flutters and rustles but it stays in place under the stone. Was it silly to imagine that it was anything more than just an everyday breeze from off the lake? Even if it was a sign, Cole was unsure if he should take it as a good one or a bad one, but something in his heart tells him that she would have been proud of him.

"I love you," he whispers. He had no clue what her voice sounded like but he still imagines a gentle voice telling him, I love you more . He wipes his eyes a few more times before heading back to the car.

Connor had moved to the back seat which Cole assumes is his way of trying to be nice. The warmth inside the car was enough to make him want to curl up into a ball and go to sleep. It had been an exhausting day. He had so much he needed to tell Berry at their next appointment.

"You okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah. Can we go home now?" He mutters towards the window.

"Sure thing," his dad says, as he takes the car out of park. Cole was glad they didn't push him to talk about it.

Connor leans forward, poking his head out in between their seats. "You know what you need?" He hints with a smirk.

Cole immediately perks up. "Connor-carbonara?" His mouth waters at the thought of the fat pack of bacon waiting for them in the fridge at home.

"Damn right, Connor-carbonara!"

Cole's mouth simultaneously drops open and turns up into a smile. "Did you just curse?"

"Oh great," his dad grumbles as he pulls back on to the main road. "Now I've got two of them."

"Hey," Connor looks over to his dad with a deep rumple in his brow. "What's that supposed to mean?" he questions indignantly.