A little while later, two cars entered the driveway of the Hinkley home. Ralph put the parking brake on and turned off the car, then turned to look at Aidan. She was taking a nap, still tired from the surgery.
He reached to shake her shoulder when he heard a tap on the window. "Hey, Mr. H, is Aidan all right?" said Tony slightly loud. Ralph put a finger to his lips and Tony softened his tone. "Sorry," said the agent.
"Yeah, Tony, just taking a nap," whispered Ralph, opening the door. "Not too surprised, since she was also up until 1 a.m. this morning thinking about everything."
"Figures, given what you told me at the office," he said. "At least now I know why she has the fear. Listen, instead of wakin' her, why don't you let me carry her into the house?"
"You sure Tony? She's not exactly a toddler you know."
"Yeah, especially since she needs the rest," he said, walking over to the passenger side.
Ralph shook his head, smiling and, after unbuckling Aidan, unlocked the door. Tony opened it and gently picked up Aidan in his arms. The men were walking up the walkway when Aidan woke up and realized she was being carried. "Hey, how ya feeling," said Tony when he saw her eyes open.
"Sleepy, silly. Thanks for the lift." said Aidan, her words still a little slurred from the Novocain they also used.
"Not a prob, Aidan. Besides, how else are you gonna help out on cases if you keel over?"
Ralph frowned at the implication. "Uh Tony, Aidan's still a little bit out of it at the moment, and Pam and I are definitely not going to let her fly around in the suit until at least tomorrow..."
"Hey, Mr. H, I wasn't going to ask her to do anything right now..."
"Good, 'cause I'm tired, and I think the suit'd rather not deal with a dizzy user," said Aidan, effectively ending the conversation.
"OK, I think we both hear you, Aidan," said Ralph smiling and opening the front door. "Pam we're home," he said as the three entered.
"Hey guys ... " said Pam as she entered the room from the kitchen and frowned slightly when she saw Tony carrying Aidan. "Oh no, don't tell me..."
"No Pam, everything went fine this time, before and after," said Ralph. "Aidan was sleeping when we drove up and Tony offered to carry her in."
"Really, well that's chivalrous of you Tony."
Tony smiled. "Learned from the best, you and Mr. H," he said. "Ya know..."
"I hate to be a bit of a bore to this, but Tony, I think you'd better put me down soon or you'll regret it in the morning," said Aidan softly, still in Tony's arms. "I can tell you're trying to hide being uncomfortable, but I know I'm not that light."
Tony held back a laugh and carried Aidan to her bedroom with Ralph and Pam in tow. After Tony placed Aidan down on the bed, Pam handed her a blanket. "Here you go Ade," she said. "If you need us, we'll be in the living room. We'll check on you in about a half hour to see if you're up for lunch."
"OK, Pam," said Aidan and the three left, closing the door. After a couple of minutes, Aidan started thinking about why Tony might be at the house now. Even though she felt she was too tired to get a holograph off the shirt at the moment, she decided it'd be best if she put the suit on. 'Ralph said I couldn't fly, but nothing about wearing the suit,' she thought tiredly as she put it on. 'Besides, I haven't had any bad experiences lately that it'll try to bring back... right suit.'
While the suit couldn't talk back, Aidan felt as though it understood her. She put back on her street clothes and lay back down on the bed. She covered herself with the blanket, and within a few moments, was fast asleep.