Dear Dad,

Finals are coming up next week, and the ones I know anything about already seem harder than I expected. I study all the time, and I still don't think it's enough. And then there's Coveops, which you can't really study for at all. The upperclassmen say that the professors just snatch you out of bed in the middle of the night, and run you through a very persuasive simulation. Of course, I've begun making tactical choices about what I wear to bed.

The nightmares have been better since the Cabin. I only sleepwalk a few nights a week now. It's dramatically helping my studies not to sleep on the floor every night. Logan says he misses me though. That's a weird thing to tell your father, but I promised I'd be honest with you from here out. I was happy to hear that Rosalie has been located and detained. It sounds like Alice has gone to ground. I do hope that she'll resurface. It's very sad to think of her being out on the run, alone, at sixteen. I'm sure that if she returned, amends could be made in some way. I've certainly forgiven her, and most of the school is fortunately ignorant about the details of the situation.

I miss you. It feels kind of good to finally admit it. But I'm looking forward to being reunited soon.

Love,

Maddie

Maddie finished the letter and pulled out her cipher to check the coding. Her ability to write coded letters on the fly had dramatically improved, but she still liked to double-check them before sending them out into the void. And unlike the many Evapopaper letters Maddie had destroyed instead of sending this semester, this letter, written on a thin piece of actual parchment (far more flammable than standard paper) was one she actually intended to mail.

The last few weeks had been a whirlwind, and if Maddie was honest with herself, she was still processing.

After being thoroughly debriefed, Maddie had returned to the Gallagher Academy to prepare for her final exams. And Logan, despite his father's threats to the contrary, had joined her. Maddie might have made a very persuasive speech to the President about how, even though Logan had been kidnapped twice on her watch, he had never intentionally tried to ditch her. And so Logan had returned to Roseville, his own team of secret service agents in tow.

After Alice's untimely departure, Casey had moved back into Maddie's suite. Apologies and rom-coms were shared, and Maddie was finally learning what it meant to have girlfriends. For as long as she could remember, she'd only ever had her father, and then Logan.

Maddie used a small sponge to wet the edge of the envelope (agents never willingly leave their DNA on anything), and carefully applied the stamp. It felt good to be writing her father an honest letter and actually sending it for once.

Michael Manchester had been transferred to a secure facility while his statements about Logan's kidnapping and the death of Gregory Maxwell were investigated. As the only adult present at the scene of the kidnapping, a thorough inquiry had been launched into Maddie's father's actions. Maddie had been routinely corresponding with both her father and his attorney, and she hoped that Rosalie's capture meant her father would be released imminently.

The charges against both Maddie and Zach had been dropped immediately after Logan's return. Maddie had hoped to speak with, apologize to, and thank Zach, but when she attempted to contact him, she learned that both he and Cammie had moved to Chicago. Zach's message assured the move had nothing to do with Maddie, but she still felt guilty.

Correlation is not causation, Zach's message had read. It was an honor serving with you, Manchester.

You were a worthy and loyal partner, Maddie had said. I'm very sorry that I got you charged with treason.

Zach had sent her back a laughing emoji, and the message Just another day at the Gallagher Academy.

Maddie walked slowly down the hallway toward the outgoing mailbox, where her letter would be reviewed by high-tech computers to ensure that it didn't contain any classified information. She slid the envelope into the box, and heard the whir of the processing machinery coming to life inside the wall.

Maddie turned back toward her room, and found herself face to face with Logan, who was standing in the hallway watching her.

"Hey Mad," he said carefully. "I'm probably not supposed to tell you this, but I just came from the faculty hall, where I live, of course, and there's quite a lot of activity going on down there."

Maddie smiled. "Oh there is?" she asked knowingly. "Should we go investigate?"

Logan glanced nervously around the room, and leaned in to whisper "I'm supposed to tell you yes, but I'd much rather you spent the night with me instead of beating up teachers and knocking down walls and whatnot."

Maddie laughed. "Wow, Logan," she chided. "Don't give up your day job to pursue an acting career, that's for sure."

Logan cradled Maddie's cheeks in his hands, and kissed her gently. "Find me after?" he asked.

"Of course I will," Maddie smiled.

"Okay, then," Logan said happily. And before Maddie knew what had happened, Logan had twisted her into a Hindenago maneuver and placed a blindfold over her eyes.

"Sorry, Mad Dog," he whispered. "This time you get to be the one who plays the kidnapping victim."

Maddie laughed. "I take it back, your acting is pretty solid after all."

"Hey, I have picked up a thing or two from going to spy school," Logan said, indignantly.

"See you around 3 am?" Maddie asked. Her covert operations exam was going to be a lot easier than she'd expected.

"Of course," Logan said happily. "It's a date."