Chapter 42

Family Matters

Skye paused, her fist suspended in mid-air above Lucas' door. Was that a crash she'd heard? She waited for a moment, her suspicions confirmed by a loud bump and then another crash. Evidently he was up. But what on earth was he doing? Hunting a spider? She grinned to herself and knocked again.

"Lucas?" No response. "Lucas?"

When another bump sounded from inside, followed by a muffled yell and still no sign of the occupant, Skye opened the door and let herself in, stopping just over the threshold to survey the mess.

"Hey, I heard y-whaaat happened?"

"Bucket." Lucas turned quickly to look at her. He was clutching the side of the kitchen bench and seemed to be a little out of breath. "Don't you know how to knock?"

Skye stared around with wide eyes.

"What's going on? It sounded like you were wrestling a Carno in here."

"Oh, don't mind that." Lucas waved a hand dismissively at the disaster surrounding him. "I just .. lost something."

Skye looked back at him doubtfully.

"So you trashed your entire house?"

Lucas laughed with an obvious effort.

"I guess you and I have different searching methods."

".. right." Skye took a step towards him, studying his face. Had he been crying? "What's eating you?"

Lucas shook his head and turned away from the bench, bending to pick up one of his misplaced couch cushion. He began to dust it off meticulously.

"Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothi-"

"You're being naive!" Lucas suddenly exploded, throwing the cushion down again. Skye blinked in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"He's back for two seconds and suddenly you're all buddy-buddy again, just like that, after everything that happened, after everything he's done to us." Lucas picked up the cushion and threw it back onto the couch, shaking his head. "I saw you in the markets yesterday, laughing and smiling together like you didn't have a care in the world."

Skye's eyes narrowed.

"I didn't realise I was being spied on."

"How can you just forgive him like that?"

She stared at him warily.

"Who I decide to talk to is none of your business."

"But him?!" Lucas spat the words out angrily, causing Skye to take an involuntary step back. "I thought you of all people had more sense!"

"I don't have to answer to you!" Skye retorted shakily, turning away from him. "You know what, forget it. Stay here by yourself and tear this place apart. See if I care."

"He'll only disappoint you again." Lucas muttered darkly. "Wait and see."

Skye scoffed under her breath as she moved toward the door.

"You're such a hypocrite."

"What?"

"Nothing."

She glared up angrily as he slid in front of her, blocking her escape route.

"Get out of the way."

"What did you say?" Lucas leaned heavily against the door as she tried to open it. Skye locked eyes with him coldly.

"I said get out of the way."

"No."

"Fine."

In the space of two seconds, she had her sonic up and levelled, the tip pressing firmly into his chest.

"Now move."

Lucas tilted his head at her, looking almost bored.

"Really? I thought we were past this."

"So did I."

Skye didn't budge. Lucas looked down at the gun and then back up at her face.

"Could you really pull the trigger? .. that hurts, by the way. It's probably going to bruise."

"Good."

His mouth twitched.

"Who's the hypocrite now? I thought you swore an oath to protect the people of this colony, not deliberately injure them when they were unarmed."

"Yeah, the people of this colony, not you."

"I'm hurt. Really." Lucas lounged back against the door, apparently heedless of the potential damage to his heart should the sonic go off. "You think I stay here because I have to? Because I'm inventing some master plan to escape? Psshht."

He smiled to himself and shook his head, apparently enjoying some mental scenario of his own making.

"I could've walked right out that door months ago, and you'd never see or hear from me again .." he spread his hands out mildly ".. but I'm still here."

"You're lying." Skye stared at him scornfully. "There's no way you could escape."

"Oh, really?"

Before she could figure out what was happening, he had twisted the gun from her grip. Skye flew at him, attempting to retrieve it, but was blocked at every angle. In the process of being rebuffed, she stumbled backward over a fallen lamp and landed hard on the wood floor. Lucas winced, tapping the stolen sonic thoughtfully against his hand.

"What a hazard. Someone oughtta clean this place up."

Skye slammed her fist into the floorboards, furious with herself for being so easily beaten. She forced herself not to flinch with the impact. That was going to leave a mark. Lucas had taken a step closer and was now peering down at her curiously, the gun pointed straight at her nose. Skye glared at him and slumped back on her elbows in defeat.

"Well, go on then. Shoot me. Run out the door."

"Bucket." Lucas clicked his tongue and shook his head in disappointment. "Don't you know me better than that by now?"

They both fell silent for a few moments, one wearing a stubborn scowl and the other seeming rather unconcerned by the whole affair. Finally, Lucas broke the stalemate, still watching her with interest.

"You're not afraid."

Skye shrugged as though she found herself in similar situations every day.

"No, why would I be?"

"Maybe because I have a gun pointed at you."

"I know you do." Skye responded patiently. "Doesn't mean you're going to use it."

Lucas shook his head with a bewildered laugh.

"Then why are you still down there?"

"These floorboards are surprisingly comfortable."

Lucas rolled his eyes and dropped the arm with the sonic, holding the other one out to her expectantly.

"Come on."

She accepted the hand and he pulled her up, handing back her gun politely.

"Yours, I believe."

"Thank you." She holstered it and then folded her arms, looking up at him thoughtfully. "Everyone deserves a second chance, right?"

Lucas met her gaze and sighed, shaking his head a little.

".. I'm in no position to say otherwise now, am I?"

"Not really, no." Skye smiled slightly. "Hey. Try not to worry, alright? I'm not planning on blindly trusting anybody. Not even Taylor."

"I know how close you two were." Lucas murmured. He almost sounded a little jealous. "Just .. be careful."

"I will." Skye promised. "I mean, you know me, right? Always careful."

As the look on Lucas' face changed to one of alarm, she continued with a laugh.

"And so the next time you see me talking to your father .."

"I will leave you to your own judgement and walk in the opposite direction."

She snorted.

"Or, you know, you could come join the conversation."

"Don't push it."

"Fine."

"And don't ask me to spend any quality time with him either, or I'll be forced to resort to more drastic measures."

Skye eyed him.

"Such as .. ?"

"I don't know .." Lucas seemed to be considering his options. ".. maybe I'll have a sudden relapse of battle deafness from my youth."

Skye raised an eyebrow.

"You went deaf?"

"Temporarily .." A smile spread slowly across his face. ".. Mom had to go away for a few weeks. Naturally, me and the old man got into some argument the first night she left. I was deaf from there on out. Couldn't hear a word he said."

Skye tilted her head sceptically at him.

"Is that so .."

"Mhm." Lucas laughed to himself. "He was terrified. It was a common problem back then - happened all the time. Guys were always getting it. Probably made it worse that one of his men had come down with it only a couple days earlier."

"What happened?"

Lucas shrugged.

"Ah, it cleared up .. the minute Mom got back. He was so mad, he could've swallowed his tongue, but he couldn't prove anything either way."

Skye shouted with laughter.

"You were faking it the whole three weeks?!"

"Like I said, he couldn't prove anything."

She grinned and shook her head in disbelief.

"You Taylors .. you're as crazy as each other."

Lucas scoffed.

"I'm crazy?! Who was the one reclining on the floor two minutes ago while being held at gunpoint?"

".. fine." Skye repented, dropping her hands into the pockets of her cargo pants with a sigh. "So are we gonna go or what?"

Lucas stared at her blankly.

"Go .. ?"

"War council. Remember?" Skye prompted him. "What, you thought I just dropped in for a social visit?"

"I didn't think we were doing those anymore." Lucas countered mildly. "You seem to prefer to fight to the death instead."

Skye grinned.

"Be that as it may .. we really should go, or we're gonna be late. As it is, we'll probably get scowled at walking in."

"Lovely." Lucas held an arm out. "After you then."

"What about this dump?" Skye remarked, taking one last look around at the trashed room.

"Eh, leave it. It'll still be there later."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Why does everything always have to be about you?!"

"I never said it did!" Taylor exclaimed in exasperation. This was the second time they had had to pause because of one of Lucas' childish outbursts, and he was getting rather tired of it. "But it makes sense for me to give updates on my own ideas, don't you think?!"

Jim exchanged a strained expression with Mira as Lucas snorted.

"Sure, whatever."

Taylor folded his arms and stared unblinkingly at his boy. It wasn't hard to imagine lasers coming out of the cold blue irises and burning the younger of the two to a sizzling crisp.

"I feel like you've got something on your mind, son."

"I do actually." Lucas said, his calm voice contrasting starkly with the indignation flickering in his eyes. When he didn't elaborate, his father rolled his own eyes dramatically.

"Well, we obviously aren't going to be able to continue until you get it off your chest, so why don't you just spit it out already!"

"Fine." Lucas folded his own arms. "Aunt Malaikah. Remember her?"

Taylor frowned in confusion. Four words in and he'd lost him.

"Of course I remember your mother's sister. Why on earth would you bring that up now?"

"She was the one person who actually asked me how I was, after .." Lucas let his voice trail away, watching his father closely. "She was the one person who actually cared."

The entire room was frowning in confusion now, casting blank glances at each other. Skye prompted him as he fell quiet. Surely there was a point to all this. Lucas just seemed to have a roundabout way of getting there.

"What happened to her?"

Lucas scoffed.

"She came over one day, to talk to me. She hadn't been inside for five minutes before he came home. He sent her out of the house, yelled at her never to come back and then shut the door in her face." He laughed a little at the memory, seeming as though he found the whole thing funny all of a sudden. "Then he came up to my room and started laying into me for discussing our "family problems" with outsiders. She was my Aunt. She wasn't the Pope."

When the room remained silent, Taylor spoke up. Regardless of the fact that the whole story was making him look pretty bad, he seemed to be faintly enjoying himself, Lucas thought. Odd.

"May I talk now, please? Thank you." Taylor met his son's challenging gaze calmly. "Your Aunt Mala had an agenda. I knew her better than you."

"Maybe that's because you actually had a chance to get to know her."

Taylor folded his arms, a hint of a smile playing on his features.

"She was .. shall we say, less principled .. than you were used to. She would've been a bad influence."

"Ah." Lucas nodded sedately. "And you couldn't risk me turning into a bad person, could you? I might've stolen something .. killed someone .. tried to take over a city .. maybe the world?"

Despite his apparent good humour, Taylor was growing heartily sick of his son's attitude.

"You didn't have all the facts. She wanted to take you away from me!"

"Would that have been so bad?!" Lucas challenged. "After all, you didn't exactly do the greatest job in the end, did you?"

Taylor glanced around the room in annoyance. Everyone was waiting. Everyone was listening politely, but the general atmosphere was one of underlying discomfort. Why did Lucas always seem to want an audience?

"You're my son. I wanted you with me."

".. which is why you kept leaving me. I see." Lucas shook his head. "Forgive me, Dad, but you must see this isn't making you look any better."

"Ah!" Taylor huffed in annoyance and turned to abandon the conversation and stalk outside, but thought better of it and turned back. "I wanted you with me because I loved you, you know that? You were the last part I had of your mother."

"You didn't love me." Lucas smiled sadly, as though he'd won the argument, but it had brought him no joy in the process. "You loved her. You know what I really think?"

Taylor shook his head slowly.

"No, son, I truly don't."

"I think you did want me at first, because you'd lost everything else and it would've hurt your pride even more to lose me." Lucas smiled bitterly. "But then you realised. Every time you looked at me, I only reminded you of what you'd lost, not what you still had."

Taylor snorted.

"Is this your professional opinion?"

Lucas took several calculated steps forward, continuing to stare icily at the older man as he approached. When he finally stopped, the gap between them was mere inches.

"You couldn't bear to be near me anymore, so you shut me out. You left more often, you were never home, you never cared how I was getting through the day. You blamed ME for her death because YOU COULDN'T SAVE US BOTH."

A warning glance from Jim forced him to calm down a little.

"But you never loved me. It was always a game with you, always a battle you had to win, just like everything else. But in the end, you lost. So ends the reign of the great commander."

Lucas held his hands out wide as though he were offering a hug, but stepped back instead.

"I'm gone. And I don't love you. I used to believe you could do anything, you could win wars, lead armies, conquer prehistoric monsters .. you were undefeatable. But you were never a father to me. I used to hate you, but you know what .." His eyes flashed victoriously. "Now I don't even care. As far as I'm concerned, you're no one. You might as well be dead. Goodbye, 'Father'."

He turned on his heel and paraded out the door, his heart pounding with relief. He had said the words he had always wanted to say. He'd told him. He'd finally and indisputably won. But the triumph he felt was sorely lessened by the tears he'd seen in his father's eyes. The Commander never cried. Ever. He'd thought he was incapable of it. He'd used to joke that his father was a robot. Now he'd seen the tears, and suddenly he didn't feel pleased with himself at all. He just felt miserable.

"I guess the meeting's over."

Jim threw a questioning glance at Malcolm, who shrugged and put his tablet away.

"Not much to report anyway. We'll keep on with our research."

"Right." Jim nodded, looking around the room briefly. "Keep up the good work. I'll see you-"

"KREEEEEEE!"

Taylor was brought back to the present with a start. A few metres away, Josh was shaking his head to rid his ears of the ringing while simultaneously petting Inky's head to calm him.

"Sorry."

He glanced up at the old commander.

"He doesn't like that one. Where were you? You looked like you were miles away."

"Nowhere." Taylor muttered gruffly. "Do it again."

He leaned backwards on the rickety fence and watched as Josh and Inky attempted the exercise from the beginning, his mind wandering back to Lucas. How many times would they have to rehash old history before they could move on? How many times would they have to repeat different forms of the same conversation?

Or maybe this was it, he thought to himself. Something had broken between them that morning. It was as though their former relationship, turbulent as it was, had finally died. Perhaps they would never speak again. The thought sent a pang through his chest. He turned his attention deliberately back to the pair he was supposed to be supervising.

They were in the new training paddock that had been constructed about a hundred metres from the colony. It was bordered by rough wood and bamboo fences and carpeted with thick grass .. grass which had been well-trampled by this stage. At the sound of faint rustling behind him, he turned to see Carter lean on the top of the fence. The Sixer watched in silence for a minute or two without acknowledging Taylor's presence.

"So you got your way after all, huh?"

"Yep." Taylor didn't bother to look around. Carter nodded, but said nothing. His eyes were drawn to the other end of the corral as an olive-coloured uniform appeared.

Reynolds vaulted the fence, pulling up beside Josh as the Ovosaur broke away and fled to the opposite side of the pen again. Josh growled frustratedly under his breath and ran his hands through his hair, glancing at Mark in annoyance.

"Hey."

"Hey." Mark muttered in response, folding his arms. "Things not going well?"

"You could say that." Josh replied, sounding a little strained. Mark glanced over at Taylor and Carter, his gaze then dropping to the mottled scaly pattern in the grass at their feet.

"Can't say as I'd be able to concentrate either."

"I know." Josh whistled, causing Inky to spin sharply to face him. After a moment, the Ovosaur began to trot back.

"Hey, Taylor!" Josh yelled. "You're gonna have to get rid of that thing. Inky won't listen to a word I say while he's around."

"Well, you're gonna have to train that out of him, aren't you?" Taylor called back. "What if you encounter a Carno out there? You need him at his full game."

"Like he's going to be duelling it out with a Carno on his own!" Josh protested.

"Be that as it may, he can't be freezing either or he'll end up getting you both killed, won't he?"

Josh remained silent, which Taylor took as an answer in itself and nodded.

"Start from the beginning."

They began the exercise again. About halfway through, Inky wandered a little too close to where the onlookers were stationed. The Kap immediately rose smoothly from the grass, watching the Ovosaur with wide eyes. Inky froze, staring back at the massive predator. The Kap began to creep slowly into the pen. Josh glanced over at Taylor, then reached toward Mark, pulling the soldier's gun out of its holster. He aimed the pistol at the larger reptile, ignoring Mark's protests and flicking his eyes in the direction of the far fence.

"Taylor."

Taylor turned from saying something to Carter, jumping forward into action while simultaneously addressing Josh.

"Put the gun away, I told you not to do that-Hey!" Taylor smacked his own dinosaur hard. The Kap looked up at him in annoyance. "I need that little critter, so don't you even think about it. You eat when I say you eat and you don't eat other colonists, got it?"

Josh glanced sideways at Mark and raised an eyebrow. Inky was cowering back against his legs.

"Carter!" Taylor turned to the Sixer. "Take him away for a minute, will you?"

Carter pushed away from the fence and whistled, calling the dinosaur's attention to him.

"Go." Taylor dismissed the Kaprosuchus with a shove. It turned and followed Carter lazily, the only other person it could be bothered giving a second glance to. Taylor turned back to the pen as Mark retrieved his gun.

"Now." He looked at the two in front of him and slapped his hands together, making Inky jump with fright.

"What do you boys say we try this again?"

"So how was the meeting this morning?"

Skye and Lucas glanced at each other as the question hung in the air. Lucas broke the wordless exchange first, shifting his eyes away to stare out over the back yard. The Tates' house backed up against a small hill, and so their porch was slightly elevated. As a result, it looked a little different to the ones closer to the front of the colony, which were set on perfectly flat ground, with no need of steps or railing. Lucas rather thought the Tates had gotten the better end of the deal. He turned back to Deborah's waiting gaze with a half-smile.

"It could have gone better."

When she waited for him to elaborate, he sighed.

"It's him. It's his voice, it's .. so .. Three words out of his mouth and I can't stop myself. I don't know what comes over me. I can't seem to help it."

"Well, you better learn to help it." Skye remarked sternly. "One more blow-up like that and they won't be letting you in at all. Frankly, I'm surprised they've put up with you so far."

Lucas glanced at her and then at Deborah, looking suitably reprimanded.

"I know."

"You could come yourself, you know, Mom." Skye turned to her amused-looking mother hopefully. "They wouldn't mind."

"Oh, no." Deborah laughed a little and waved the suggestion away. "They wouldn't want me there. Anyway, I'd be out of breath by the time I reached the steps, I'm afraid."

"Speaking of which, I've .. got something for you." Lucas mumbled, looking to Skye for the go-ahead. At her nod, he pulled out a beautifully carved wooden cane from behind the seat.

"No, I didn't make it myself." He added quickly, laying the cane across his chair like the metal lap bar of a roller coaster. "But Durwin does good work."

"Lucas .. thank you .." Deborah hesitated, an odd, almost-angry expression intermingling with her attempt at a smile. ".. but I'm not an invalid."

There was a cold bite to her words that didn't go unnoticed by either party, but Lucas persisted quietly, leaning forward over the wooden stick to look her in the eye.

"You've barely left the house recently. Don't think we haven't noticed. You can't stay hidden away in here just because you're scared."

Deborah frowned.

"I beg your pardon-"

"Mom." Skye interjected. "This isn't going to go away and I don't want you hurting yourself either. Please, just .. try it out for a little while. Please?"

"Better for your neighbours to see you walking with a bit of assistance than to see you falling on your face into the garden." Lucas remarked bluntly. His expression softened a little as he held the cane out to her. "Please, Deb."

Deborah glanced from one to the other, then shook her head in defeat and relented, taking the cane and testing it a couple of times before she put her weight on it, standing slowly.

"When did you two become so bossy?"

"We've always been that way." Skye asserted, throwing a grin at Lucas. "You were just too bossy yourself to notice."

"Easy does it, missy." Deborah raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Watch that tongue, or I'll have to put you over my knee and spank you like I did when you were 3."

Skye reddened a little and fell silent, but Lucas folded his hands and sat back cheerfully.

"Please do."

Deborah shook her head at him with a laugh and then headed for the steps, descending them and taking a short walk around the small yard with the cane's assistance as Lucas and Skye watched on. She had to admit, having the extra support there did help her balance .. and she felt safer already. She turned back to the two lazy bodies slouched in the porch chairs.

"Well? How do I look?"

"Like a distinguished lady ready to take on a town of gossips." Lucas smiled. Deborah's own worried expression melted into a satisfied one as she got used to the idea. Finally, she nodded decisively, stroking a thumb over the smooth carved wood handle with an affectionate smile.

"Good."

The late afternoon breeze ruffled his hair gently as Lucas wandered out the gate in the direction of the new training paddock. Despite the fact that he knew what waited for him when he arrived, his curiosity refused to be shoved aside any longer. Malcolm wanted a progress check anyway, he reasoned with himself as he caught sight of the man-made structure through the ancient forest. In reality, he was doing someone else a favour. He reached the pen a few moments later and peered into it, wondering what exactly he was going to witness when he did.

Taylor glanced over as he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, a mixture of surprise and joy pulsing through him as he recognised the face above the fence. He turned back to the young Parasaur he was training with a renewed sense of determination. After a few minutes of battling with the unruly creature, disaster came knocking. The halter that he and a few other men had so painstakingly gotten on was snapped as the Parasaur managed to put a couple of claws through the gap. Taylor stamped his booted foot and cried out in rage before looking over at Lucas and making a conscious effort to be civil.

"Son, pass me that rope, will you?"

He was forced to take a step back a moment later as said rope collided with his chest. He tilted his head sarcastically in Lucas' direction.

"Thank you."

Lucas flashed him a brief and rather fake smile in reply, leaning back on the top of the fence to watch.

Another few minutes in, things were going fairly well. The Parasaur finally seemed to be playing the game and unbelievably, his father actually seemed to be making headway with the animal. He had almost managed to lead the adolescent creature halfway around the pen when it suddenly planted its feet and threw its head up sharply to look around. Taylor frowned and glanced at Lucas, who shrugged helpfully. He turned back to the animal and tugged on the rope. The Parasaur took another few faltering steps and stopped again. Taylor had almost given up on trying to coax him forward when a sudden trumpeting call caused both the humans and the young animal to gaze around in surprise. Nathaniel gasped in alarm as a cluster of nearby trees parted.

"Lucas, open the gate! Quick!"

Lucas did as he was told for once and swung open the gate, jumping out of the way as the large Parasaur stampeded into the pen. He swung the gate closed behind it breathlessly as Taylor made a mad scramble for the other side of the fence. A chaotic tussle ensued, which Lucas watched with great enjoyment. Finally, a victor emerged.

"Haha!" Taylor shouted as he managed to lasso the larger of the two animals, looping the rope around the top of one of the foundation poles for support as he restrained the irritated creature. "Take that, you overgrown lizard!"

He turned in triumph to see Lucas walking away. With a deflated glance at the grumpy animals, he shook his head and ducked under the fence.

"Hey."

Lucas' father's voice followed him as he walked under the raised gate and re-entered the colony.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry? Thought you'd want to see them get settled in."

Lucas looked up at the white shadecloths and rolled his eyes. Unbelievable. The man just didn't know when he was beaten. Taylor appeared beside him, matching him pace for pace. Lucas was tempted to walk more quickly in order to leave his father behind, but his ridiculous mental picture of the whole scenario squashed that idea. Instead, he tried his best to ignore the other man .. a resolution which didn't last long.

"Don't you know when to give up?"

"Don't you know better than to ask that question?" Taylor smiled a little. "I can't just give up, son. Like it or not, we're the only family we have left."

"I don't need you." Lucas mumbled wearily. "I have a new family."

"Oh, you're happy now, are you?" Taylor commented in amusement. "Don't forget who brought you here in the first place."

"What, you?" Lucas snorted as his father's face dropped. "I got here on my own."

"Oh, that's right. You decided to play super villain." Taylor nodded cynically. "You never had it in you, you know."

Lucas' eyebrows lowered in annoyance.

"Let me get my knife and I'll finish the job right now."

Taylor scoffed.

"If they've let you have a knife, I might as well give up and throw myself off the fence."

"I don't think they'd let you up there." Lucas retorted. "Probably shoot you if they saw you trying to climb it."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Taylor shook his head. "Don't kid yourself into thinking you're any more welcome here than I am. These people know a public menace when they see one."

He smiled at a random passer-by, who stared back at him suspiciously before turning and hurrying away. Lucas grinned sideways at his father.

"They do, don't they?"

Taylor surveyed the genuine happiness on his son's face with a hint of grief.

"What happened to you? Where's that gangly teenager who used to keep me up at night telling me all about his projects?"

Lucas' smile had faded.

"That teenager hated you. You just couldn't see past yourself."

His father shook his head.

"No he didn't. You don't spend hours explaining the theoretics of time displacement to someone you hate."

Lucas looked faintly surprised.

"But you never listened."

Taylor stared at him seriously for a moment.

"I listened."

With that, he stretched his back out and then wandered away, not giving his bewildered son a second glance. Lucas watched in silence. When he eventually turned to leave, a wrinkled hand on his arm stopped him. He looked down to see an old woman peering up into his face curiously.

"I didn't know he was back! When did that happen?!"

"Just turned up out of nowhere a few days ago." Lucas watched with a small smile as she raised an eyebrow.

"I thought he was dead!"

"So did we all." He put a hand on her shoulder as he walked away. "Bye, Francis."

"Bye, sonny."

"So .. the house all ready to go?"

Jim salted his meat with finesse as he looked across at the two homemakers. As night had fallen, a strange mood had overtaken them all, as though they were all setting out on a great journey, never to return. Everyone sat around the table, eating their 'final meal' in subdued silence. Every now and then, the wind outside would pick up, and the distant howl that echoed around the house added something rather appropriate to the current atmosphere. But! It was all in their heads, Jim had decided. Maddy was getting married tomorrow, it was cause for celebration. If he began to speak of normal things, the others would follow suit. The new house was a topic both safe and timely. He would start with that.

"Yup!" Maddy beamed in response, brightening up immediately. "It's a little empty for now, but it's looking great."

"It's spotless." Elisabeth added, glancing around at her own dirty floor with a touch of chagrin.

"Until someone brings her work home, that is .." Mark elbowed Maddy teasingly. "Man, I can't believe that a couple years ago, I walked you guys to the front door of this house when you first arrived. If I'd only known then how much that moment would change my life .."

He stared around at the familiar walls wonderingly.

"Now I'm moving into my own house .. with one of you beside me." He turned back to his vegetables on his plate. "It's insane."

"Come on, Reynolds, you're not getting sentimental in your old age, are you?" Jim's tone was light-hearted with very good reason. Mark's eyes were starting to shine suspiciously, and Jim had no desire to soak the table in nostalgic tears tonight. Mark cleared his throat a little and shook his head.

"No, sir, of course not."

"Good." Jim turned to Elisabeth in a more business-like manner. "That was the last of it this afternoon, wasn't it?"

"Just about." Maddy responded, coming to her mother's rescue. Jim had a horrible habit of addressing questions to his wife when she'd just taken a mouthful of food. "The rest can come over tomorrow afternoon."

"The room looks empty already." Zoe said mournfully, pushing her plate away and slumping down onto the table. "It'll be so lonely without you."

"Cheer up, Zo." Josh reached over and stole a cube of meat from his sister's plate, settling back into his seat with satisfaction as she glared at him. "It's not like you're gonna be alone. You'll have Vaughnie."

Zoe eyed the child beside her as he managed to smudge mashed vegetables all over his face .. again.

"It's not quite the same thing."

"It'll be fun." Elisabeth reassured her as Mark slid over to rescue the vegetables and the boy from each other's clutches. "You'll see."

"Hm." Zoe went back to picking at her food with her fork. Jim watched her for a moment and decided to change the subject again.

"What about you, Mark? Any plans for your last night in the barracks?"

The groom-to-be chuckled a little as he scooped a spoonful of peas into Vaughn's waiting mouth.

"No .. not that I'm aware of anyway. Honestly, I'm a little scared to go back. Maybe I should just bunk down here tonight."

"Yes!" Zoe almost leaped from her chair in excitement. "Sleepover!"

"No, no .." Jim squashed that idea firmly in the bud. "We all have a big day tomorrow, and Mark needs his rest - something I'm sure he won't get if you have your way with him." He raised a knowing eyebrow at his youngest daughter, who grinned back unrepentantly. "Besides, I'm sure Mark's buddies know better than to try anything too serious .. right, Reynolds?"

"Right." Mark agreed hastily, glancing at the girl across from him. "I'll be fine, Zoe. Nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't worried." Zoe admitted glumly, leaning her chin on her hands and causing her older sister to choke with laughter. "But you have to admit, a sleepover did kind of sound like fun."

"Yes it did." Josh responded soberly. "But like Dad said, we all need our beauty sleep tonight .. especially Mark."

"Hey!" This protest coming from Mark's corner of the table. Maddy patted his arm sympathetically.

"Welcome to my world. At least with you around, he picks on me less. You're my knight in shining armour in that regard."

Josh watched them smile at each other for a moment before interrupting cheerfully.

"Oh, I figured you were a lost cause at this point. No amount of sleep could fix that."

"Josh!"

"Hey, easy." Jim threw a warning look at his oldest son. "Don't upset the bride. It's bad luck."

Josh snorted.

"What, is she going to turn into Bridezilla and bake us all into a wedding cake while we sleep? Maybe smother us in her giant dress?"

"It's not giant." Maddy responded with dignity. "I'll have you know, it's a perfectly reasonable dress. Isn't it, Mom?"

"It is indeed. A lovely dress." Elisabeth agreed calmly. Maddy nodded and turned back to her brother.

"There you have it. But I will bake you into a cake if you're not careful, so watch it."

Josh scoffed into his collar.

"With your cooking, it'd be a fate worse than death."

"Ha!" Maddy poked tongues at him across the table, which for once, her brother seemed inordinately happy about. Amidst the banter, Zoe's face was slowly forming into a reluctant grin once again. Jim glanced around the table with satisfaction.

"Now, now, children." He eyed Mark severely. "Reynolds, they're worse than usual. I think you're a bad influence."

Mark accepted the backwards praise sagely.

"Thank you, sir. I'm thrilled you imagine I've had such an impact on them."

A few muffled snickers rippled around the table. Jim threw a stern look at Mark.

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Yes it was." Elisabeth whispered sideways at her future son-in-law, patting his arm gently. Mark winked back and resumed his task of feeding Vaughn, which, to be fair, was taking quite a bit of concentration anyway.

The easy-going conversation continued along steadily for another half hour. Before long, however, Jim called the meeting to a close and insisted they all head to bed. Mark was unceremoniously farewelled and the rest of the party all wandered off to their own spaces in an attempt to get some rest. In the end, they slept more soundly than any of them expected, even Josh, who had a sudden attack of nerves right before bed - a fact which he never divulged to anyone. And so the Shannons spent their last night under the same roof, the house peaceful and quiet. The occasional whistling of the wind and the faint sounds of breathing were the only noises to be heard.

The night drew on, a new day approached, and the former day was ended.