A/N: Eventually, one has to embrace the truly awkward problem of Viper showing up at Social Services, right? Right.

Week 12 - UDC 2

56. Trial

As he walked back to where Dorinda was talking with Miss Lowell and Mr. Finney, Frank couldn't help but notice how clingy Nicky suddenly was. "What's wrong, huh?"

"Man strange," Nicky told him honestly, and Frank nodded. "Want Daddy." Frank rounded the corner and suddenly the two year old was squirming in his arms at the mere sight of his father.

"Oh," Noah breathed and quickly took him. "What's got into you, Bud?"

"Wanted you," Frank told him. "And he thinks the Officer that turned up is strange. Alan's onto you, by the way."

"Oh, I know. Did the same thing to him." Noah got Nicky to look at him. "Do you want to stay out here with Dorinda and Sheila and Maggie? Your mother and I have to go back there and talk to the strange man."

"Clothes weird," Nicky said. "Brown? Things."

Noah nodded. "That's not the answer I'm looking for, but I'll take it. Things, Frank?"

"Name tag, ribbons board, officer pins, Naval Aviator wings. Wrinkled service khakis."

"Ah."

Frank looked beyond him to Chelsea, who was watching them and talking to Dorinda, but also appeared a bit green. "Is she okay?"

Noah turned and frowned, then sighed. "Chelsea, when did you eat last?"

"Too nauseated," she shot at him defiantly and then a banana was suddenly in her hands. "Dorinda, I'm fine."

"That may be, but if you're hungry on an empty stomach, that just makes morning sickness worse, and you can't go in there and lash out again. He's already calling you 'the touchy redhead.' Am I surprised that you sent a Naval Lieutenant to Arlington, even if he was redirected at the Police station? No. Not at all."

Frank nodded, understanding the subtext of a pregnancy mood swing when she wasn't showing yet. He looked away from them and noticed another person come into the lobby, frowning at the sight of Sheryl Tomkins. "Oh. Are we expecting anyone other than Mrs. Tomkins?"

Noah smiled. "Nope. Aaron Whittington had a hop scheduled with Rotor and Blaze, and they wouldn't have been any help anyway, unless teaching Pete how to do Pre-Flight on an F-14 during a JROTC tour is something we need to tell whoever it is about."

57. Test

Frank waved Sheryl over and was pleasantly surprised when Nicky reached out to her enthusiastically. It was a stark difference between how he'd reacted to Officer Metcalf and her. "I wonder if it's because Officer Metcalf is fresh from deployment, that Nicky didn't react like that with him."

Chelsea looked up from peeling the banana. "How fresh?"

"So fresh his wife put him straight onto a plane," Frank answered. "How are you, Sheryl?"

Sheryl greeted both toddlers, then smiled. "I was barely able to leave the office. Busy day. So... we've got an officer fresh from deployment asking about Pete?"

"We do," Dorinda told her. "Alan apparently already knew him on sight, if not by name. Something about a picture?"

Noah frowned suddenly. "Oh really? Frank, which way is the conference room?" Frank pointed and Noah quickly handed his son over to Dorinda, leaving in that direction. Chelsea sighed and followed him while she munched on the banana, and Sheryl shrugged and followed after them both.

Frank watched and turned to look at Dorinda. "That'll be an interesting meeting."

58. Preparation

Alan had been prepared to let everyone get to know one another before moving on to the tough questions, and then Noah, followed by Chelsea and Sheryl Tomkins, entered the room and each took their seats quietly. Sheryl smiled at her husband and he nodded. "You made it after all."

"I did. Barely," Sheryl said with a nonchalant shrug. "Busy day in the office."

Mike had finished the fruit by now and set the baggie on the table. "Office?"

"Legal office. I'm a paralegal secretary." She studied him, watching Noah out of the corner of her eye as he reached for the picture. "I'm interested to know what you're doing here, Officer, especially since you're here instead of home, where ever that is, with your family when you're so fresh from deployment."

"...and I'd like to know what your call sign is," Noah mused as he looked at the picture while Chelsea also looked over his shoulder. "And also how you fit, here, given that it's been three years since Nora died, and you're showing up, no matter the circumstances, to ask about a kid you haven't seen in at least five years."

"Chelsea?" Helen asked, showing her another baggie of fruit, to which Chelsea shook her head and held up the banana she was just finishing. "That's good, then."

Chelsea swiped the baggie that Mike had discarded and put the banana peel in it, then looked at Mike. "I'm not going to apologize, Officer. My first concern goes to the safety, physical and emotional, of the kid you're here to ask about, even if he's not my foster son anymore, but theirs," She motioned to Walt and Helen. "And the Navy has had a very bad track record with all of us when it comes to this. Of course I would send you out of your way to talk to Harry Burrows, because that was the beginning of the story. The only reason you got redirected is because Officer Santos liked you. He called me afterwards."

"Oh." Mike looked at Noah. "My call sign is Viper, and Richard Mitchell was my wingman in my squadron, VF-51 stationed in Miramar. His son is my Godson."

59. Fail

Alan had been looking at Walt when Mike said that and noticed the man stiffen. "Walt?"

"In the hall," Walt said, voice tone so sharp it made him wince. "Now."

"Right. We'll be right back."

Out in the hallway, where they were joined by Noah, Alan noticed that Walt was agitated. "What about that upsets you?"

Walt sighed. "It's not that it upsets me, Alan. It's that, when we were attempting to go through the pictures with Pete a couple weeks ago, he told us that he had an 'Uncle Viper.' He doesn't remember much, just that this guy isn't actually his uncle. I have no idea if he knows that this is his Godfather, and without a will, that part doesn't matter. I don't think, anyway."

"No," Alan said as he nodded, processing the information. "And Pete already has you and Helen acting as Foster Parents. And thank you for the discretion."

"Without knowing his intentions, I wasn't going to say any of that in front of Officer Metcalf."

Noah nodded in agreement. "Plus, he hasn't seen him in ages."

"That, too."

Just then, Helen came out of the conference room with a slip of paper in her hand. "Can I use your phone, Alan?" He frowned at her. "I'm going to call his wife, Linda, and discuss things with her and see where we stand."

"Oh. Yes, dial nine to get out."

60. Pass

Re-entering the conference room, Mike frowned at the three of them. "Do you normally have this many people just for one kid?"

Alan chuckled as he re-took his seat. "No, this is a special case. Is there an active will for Mr. Mitchell? I assume there isn't, because he's not legally deceased, and you mentioned a State Department cover up but can not say why or what for."

"No," Mike admitted, wondering why that would make the two men that had left with the social worker react visibly. "Gentlemen? Now would be the time to discuss whatever is on your minds."

Walt took a steadying breath and looked at the third man who was studying him curiously. "Viper means something here."

"It does, huh?" Dean asked carefully.

"Yes. And now we've got the State Department, for whatever reason, muddying the waters... Können wir zu Pete zurückkehren, der sich Sorgen um einen Schließfachwechsel macht?" At Dean's amused expression, Walt blinked in realization. "Eh."

"It'd be nice if we could, really," Dean said humorously. "My German is a bit rusty, though, Walt."

"Mine isn't. I've been helping him study for mid-terms out loud." Walt glanced at Mike. "You didn't take German in high school?"

"French," Mike said after a moment. "And it's been very useful overseas. Why does my call sign mean something to you?"

"Now that," Alan spoke up, drawing his attention again. "Involves pictures that Nora had, which they were trying to go through with Pete." He motioned at the picture that Chelsea was holding. "Which did not include that one, because I wanted to ask questions. The thing here is, Lieutenant Commander: this child might be your godson, and maybe originally he was supposed to go live with you in such an event as this one, but none of that happened and instead, after Miss Lowell and Mr. Finney lost him due to certain factors because Harry made a decision, Pete spent the next three years bouncing around the Foster Care system, including a couple of tried and failed placements with Naval families which should have been good and turned out not to be."

"We're still dealing with the repercussions of that," Walt muttered, which caused Mike to frown again. "And it's one thing to hear him say he remembers something but not well, entirely another to have you sitting here with us while my wife calls yours to explain the situation to her."

Translation from German: "Can we go back to Pete worrying about a locker switch?"