Two days after Shinji had finally exited his coma, Misato found him destroying his hospital room. She was approaching the door when an IV stand was chucked into the hallway. In alarm, she hurried inside to see him meticulously tipping over furniture and throwing objects, his expression blank.

"Shinji!" she cried out. He stopped, and began stumbling in a small circle, gripping his head with both hands and seemingly on the verge of a massive crying fit.

"Something's missing," he whimpered. "I don't know what, but it's not right."

Misato said nothing, crossing the room and gently gripping Shinji's wrists. He was stiff, but not resisting, as she pulled him into a hug. It was like hugging a statue.

"You're here right now. You're here with me. Just breathe."

"I want to die," he grunted. "I don't why." It was surprisingly painful to hear him say that, and Misato tightened the hug. She became aware of movement behind her, and turned her head enough to see Ennis. He made a vague gesture and expression that indicated apology, and then he gestured to the hallway.

"Take your time," he whispered. She nodded, and turned back to Shinji.

"Do you think you'd feel better back home?"

"I want to die," he repeated. He was no longer stiff, though, and he had relaxed into her hug.

"Well…I can't let that happen, bucko. I'm too fond of you." Shinji made an odd noise, but he returned the hug.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. Misato didn't tell him he had nothing to apologize for, but she did tighten the hug. That was all he needed for the moment. But only for the moment. More would be needed later.

After a few minutes, Misato rubbed Shinji's back, and slowly released him. She returned the mattress to the bed, and told Shinji to lie down for just a minute, she needed to talk to someone in the hall, but she would be next to the door if he needed her. Mechanically, he lay down on the bed and began to suck his thumb. He didn't seem aware that he was doing that.

Stepping into the hall, Misato rubbed her forehead tightly, and eyeballed Ennis.

"Yes?" she said.

"Grendel should be operational in eight hours. There was some issue with the OS that still needed resolving, but it's fine now."

"Finally. You Yanks can start pulling your weight again," Misato said, leaning against the door frame.

"Getting kicked in the teeth every time we deploy? Absolutely," Ennis said through a grin. Misato grinned back.

"And your Pilots?"

"Rita is ready and willing."

"And…Samson?"

"I submitted a recommendation that he be deactivated and returned to the States. And, get this: rejected."

"Of course."

"Of course." Ennis pulled at his lip. "Somebody somewhere really wants him here, and I'll be damned if I can figure out why."

"Hmm." Misato scratched an ear thoughtfully. "I can guess why."

"…You don't mean…?"

"I mean damned well what's in the basement. Look, soldier to soldier, NERV and duty to country and all that out the window, can we both agree that there are people well above us playing games even in the face of extinction?"

"That sounds paranoid."

"…Ennis, we're fighting extradimensional aliens with giant cyborg gods." The American sputtered for a moment, and made an exaggerated expression that conveyed the meaning of 'What's your point?' "I'm going to be clear, the only…the ONLY…goal I have in all of this is ensuring that someday, little old Granny Misato can kick off to whatever her reward is in the next life, making sure that all of Earth's misbegotten children can do the same, without the risk of being wiped from existence. The Basement, and all that it conveys to the powers that be, is irrelevant to me beyond what it immediately means."

"The end of the world."

"The end of the goddamned world!" She poked him in the chest to emphasize her point, eliciting a flat 'Ow.' "I don't have the time, inclination, or desire to play that game when my plate is full, and if you didn't notice, Shinji in there is in dire need of a vacation, and maybe some really intense therapy. In the very least, he deserves a back massage and an ice cream cone."

She jabbed her finger into Ennis' face, and his eyes widened in mild alarm. He seemed aware he was now on the receiving end of a very angry rant that he had no part of, but by God, he was going to hear it. "I never wanted to be Mama Misato, you hear me? Maybe Awesome Auntie Misato, but definitely Cool Big Sis Misato. That's what I wanted to be, but I am Mama Misato now, and if that's the way it's going to be, then by Elvis Presley, I'm going to be the best mother figure ever commissioned."

"What's Elvis got to-?"

"I am a young, vibrant woman with her whole life ahead of her. I was never ready to be a mom, and I didn't want to be. Did you know I was considering getting my tubes tied? I was, but I'm scared of surgery, so it never happened. But the thought was there."

"This is a…whole lot to unpack, which I don't feel like—"

"The point being, this is the position I'm in, and you know what? I think I'm doing pretty damned good at it. That's right, I'm a pretty awesome mom, for what it's worth, and what's more, I like Shinji. And Rei. And Asuka. I said it: I am proud to be a mom, okay?"

"That is…great."

"I don't care what X-Files or Men in Black bullshit you have going on at home, but you will, I…guarantee…ensure that Samson does not screw this up for the rest of us. So, no slips about the Basement, no sneaking it into reports, no indication one way or the other that you are aware of it, so he doesn't get any bright ideas in that Hannibal Lecter little skull of his and do something that erases us from existence, am I…abundantly clear?"

"…I honestly have no idea how to respond to any of this," Ennis mumbled.

"I've been sitting on that for awhile now. It just came out. It needed to come out. Are you going to make me feel bad that, now, I've finally got it off my chest?"

"I didn't say that," Ennis replied defensively.

"I am under…tremendous stress."

"That…that is a fact."

Misato opened her mouth to say more, clamped it shut, and stuck her finger in Ennis' face. He leaned back, slightly, eyeing it with mild concern. Her expression relaxed, and she shook the finger at him.

"You just…remember this talk, okay?"

"I don't want to, but I will not forget it," Ennis replied.

"See that you don't," Misato growled, and turned back to the hospital room. "Come on, Shinji, we're going home. We're getting ice cream on the way."

The closer they got to the apartment, the more Shinji seemed to relax into his skin. By the time they stepped through the door, he seemed drained, but somehow better.

"Where's Asuka?" he asked, standing in the kitchen. He seemed to be refamiliarizing himself with it.

"Still in the hospital, but only for a few days. Not much longer." Misato threw the trash from their ice cream stop away. "She's been worried about you." Shinji nodded, quiet and thoughtful.

"I'm not going to say things are going back to normal, but it'll be good to have you all back in the apartment again. Never thought I'd say that," Misato added, perusing her domain. "It gets too empty here."

"Hmm."

"Don't grunt, it's true. It's nice having you around. Asuka, too."

"I don't know what was taken." Misato turned back to Shinji, caught off guard by the statement.

"What?"

Shinji was looking at her, exhausted, but…clear eyed. He looked much older than he had a moment before. He looked like Gendo. It was alarming. He raised a finger, and tapped his forehead.

"Here. Something…." He flapped his fingers next to his eye, and sighed. "Lost it." He shook his head. "Something is missing. Taken. In the mind, or…heart…I don't know. It's not there, though, and I can't figure out what it was." He tried to grab something in front of him, or…maybe mold it. Shape it. His fingers twisted. "It's like…a shape. In my brain. It's…supposed to be there. I can see the shape, but I can't see…what was in it."

"What do you remember? From…when Unit-02—?"

"Everything. And…nothing? I see the events, but I can't…I'm sorry. I'm tired."

"You don't have to figure it out now," Misato assured him. He nodded, but looked unhappy with that. Misato decided to probe just a bit. "Are you…do you think that the Angel took something? Or…left something behind?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe…." He rubbed his head. "What…what do you think?"

"Well," Misato entered the kitchen and leaned against a counter. "We know you have no residual infection. At least, you didn't scan for any. I'd say that's a pretty good indicator the Angel didn't leave anything, but there's always the things we don't know." Shinji nodded.

"I think it's possible that maybe there was some information that got lost, whether it was taken, or just…the part that held it was damaged. What's more likely, though…in my humble opinion…is that you have woken up after a traumatic event, your brain is a mess of things it's trying to sort out, and you are physically, emotionally, and mentally tired. I think you've just been dragged past the point of rebounding to it, and you're worn out." She put a hand on his shoulder.

"You need to focus on recovering. If that empty spot doesn't make sense, or seems to keep pressing on you, we'll deal with that, but for now, let's focus on the things in front of us, and see if that helps."

"Okay."

"Like cartoons. Let's watch some. Sound like a plan?"

"…yeah." For three hours after that, they lounged in front of the television, drinking sodas and watching cartoons. It wasn't a solution, but it was a start.