So, I've decided to do something that will, hopefully, help you, my kind and wonderful readers and followers, know which chapters have been updated. At the end of each author's note, I'll be putting a... memo, I guess, saying when the chapter was originally posted (if I remembered for anything previous to this one), all other dates (after today, for sure) when it was previously updated, and when it was most recently updated. Because I like to know these things. I'm weird like that. Everything says it was updated today, 5 Dec 2021, but that's not quite true; I added a grand total of three words in chapter 1, and one word in chapter 3. All the other "updates" are, literally, me putting in that update memo. You really don't need to read anything again; as I've mentioned before, adding those few words makes me feel like the story makes just a tiny bit more sense.

(Edit 2/2/22: You may need to read 'Chapter 3: Permission Granted' again; I finally, actually managed to explain my head-canon about Horcruxes and Lily's sacrifice, and it ties into one of the first additions in this chapter.)

S1m0nWr1t3, really? Did you have to guess so easily? (And did anyone have any other guesses on the culprit?) Honestly, I know the idea got stuck in my head from another story, but I don't remember which one. (I've read waaaaaay too many stories on this site.) But it makes a disturbing amount of sense, why that character might have that particular specialty.

Originally posted: 5 Dec 2021

Previous updates: 2 Feb 2022, 17 Mar 2022

Most recent update: 17 Apr 2022

"Why are we in a nursery?" Heindoffer questioned as he, White, and Philips landed next to them.

"I promised you the lowlights of my pre-Hogwarts life," Heather mumbled. "Most appropriate starting point is the night my parents died."

"You were a year old when that happened," White protested. "How could you possibly remember that in detail?"

"Watch and see," the teen shook her head. "If you haven't figured it out by the time… okay, what else happened that won't freak everyone out… oh, yeah, by the time Weasley's leg breaks, I'll tell you when we get to the Hospital Wing soon after that."

The adults watched the scene in horrified silence; the teen sobbed into Tony's chest as he held her ever tighter. When their surroundings changed, no one commented, letting her grieve for her parents for the first time, letting her take comfort from the one person she would accept it from. Finally, her tears dried up, and she sniffed into Tony's shirt. "This is the first time I noticed that Mum wasn't holding a wand." Hiccupping, she looked around, and realized where they now were. "Oh, this is when I first learned to cook."

And so it went. Any question about the memory was left until it had finished – answering before then defeated the purpose of watching the memories in the first place – but she was willing to provide background information whenever they asked, or preemptively if she thought it would be helpful. After they watched her be beaten, nearly to death, for the first time at 5 years old, she told the irate adults, "This is the only one I included. But I have many other memories of similar events, if you want them to help you press charges."

"I won't ask you to relive them with me," Philips ground out, "but I may have questions for you after seeing them."

White and Heindoffer shared a dark look and a nod. "Even without seeing every memory, this explains most of your injury list," the healer sighed, "and gives me a better idea of how to treat you."

Apparently, Tony would have magical assistance in his vengeance against these animals. He wasn't about to turn them away. He wondered absently if they could limit the collateral damage his explosions would cause. Or, after seeing how some of the neighbors and teachers treated her, if they would want to do so.

As they continued their trip down Heather's memory lane, their questions became bitter and rhetorical. By the time they reached the night after Hagrid informed her of magic, the adults had seen as clearly as she had (possibly helped by the fact that they were in her memories) that she was being lied to, manipulated, and used, and not just by the violent Dursleys; all they cared about was who wanted to control her, and why.

MWU

"A Cerberus?" Heindoffer whispered in horror when Granger, Weasley, Longbottom, and she had seen the beast. "What the fuck is a hellhound doing in a school?!"

The teen scoffed. "Fluffy wouldn't hurt a fly."

"It's not the bloody fly population I'm worried about," he retorted before his brain short-circuited. "Did you just call that goddamn monstrosity 'Fluffy'?"

Her smirk was downright devilish. "Did I?"

MWU

Her first Halloween in the magical world left the Americans unimpressed with the British teachers. "I think I get it now," Philips muttered, "why you don't want to go back. I wouldn't, either. 'Dangerous creature on the loose in the school; the only place we know for sure it isn't is in this room; so in the interest of safety, run free, children!' What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?"

"Your first mistake," White drawled, "is assuming that he was thinking." Her hands balled into white-knuckled fists.

"Probably something along the lines of, 'Let's cull the school of half its students,'" Heather chirped, her eyes dark as she explained, "Slytherin's Common Room is in the dungeons, and Hufflepuff's is only one floor above, in the basement. Slytherins are seen as evil, and Hufflepuffs as useless duffers. I may think that particular Slytherins are evil, but not all of them; and I certainly don't believe that about Hufflepuffs – Cedric was one."

Tony, on the other hand, came to a more heart-stopping conclusion and made the teen meet his eyes. "Tell me you didn't go after it."

"I didn't go after it," she vowed somberly. As soon as the scene cut to it, she grinned sheepishly at his outrage. "I didn't go looking for it, I swear. We were looking for Granger." The destruction of the bathroom earned her four incredulous looks. "…I may not start fights, but I do end them?"

…Had Tony mentioned exactly how much Rhodey would hate her if he ever found out about this?

MWU

All five viewers were nauseous after the Quidditch match. "Yeah, sorry about that," Heather apologized. "I thought we'd all be on the ground and could walk into the stands to watch. I didn't know we'd all be flying without brooms, when my Nimbus started bucking."

"That was tampering," Philips growled. "Must've been one of the teachers. Which one? The greaseball?"

Heather snorted. "Oh, so it's not just those of us who've had the questionable pleasure of meeting him that have that opinion." Only Tony noticed that she carefully avoided answering the question.

MWU

The teen refused to watch the scene with the mirror. "I don't want to take the chance," she said, pressing her face into Tony's chest. "This is the first time I saw my parents, or any family not named Dursley. I have pictures now. In my trunk. I'll show you later," she promised him.

"Was I in there?"

His attempt at humor fell short of the mark, but she appreciated the effort. "No. I didn't know about soulmates yet. None of us were old enough. Our words – or our mate's name, if we've already met and spoken – show up on our 13th birthday, and the earliest anyone can reach that milestone is the second of September of their second year, so that's when they tell us."

MWU

Dumbledore's words struck all of them as odd. "'Being moved to a new home?'" White scoffed. "Could he have chosen more mysterious words?"

"This is the man," Heather snarked back, "whose opening speech at my Sorting ceremony concluded with the exact phrase, 'Nitwit, oddment, blubber, tweak.' If Dumbledore can be summed up in five words – and I don't think he can – 'enigmatic,' 'eccentric', and 'infuriating' are most likely on everyone's list, if they've interacted with him for more than 2 minutes."

MWU

"A DRAGON?!" the adults shouted in unison.

The girl rubbed her ears. "If you have a problem with Norbert, you're really not gonna enjoy the First Task."

MWU

The detention she had to serve for helping Hagrid was greeted with even more anger. "What is the point of making the forest forbidden if you're going to use it as a detention site for preteens who don't know enough magic to protect themselves?" Heindoffer grumbled. "At least you didn't meet any of the dangerous denizens."

Heather made very sure that her face remained blank as she retorted, "The centaurs aren't dangerous enough?" Tony looked at her oddly, almost as though he knew exactly what she wasn't saying.

MWU

No one was impressed with the obstacle course after Fluffy. "Everything is easy enough for a firstie to get through," White groused, "and none of the teachers, supposedly some of the smartest people in the magical world, could figure out that this was a test, not protection?"

"You're not going back to Hogwarts," Philips stated, his olive skin flushed in indignation. "I'll file the injunction myself. And if your bloody Headmaster tries something, he'll have to go through all the Aurors in America. We look out for the Potters around here. And most places in the world, actually, as long as Albus of Many Colors isn't actually present."

After Dumbledore's lecture in the Hospital Wing, Tony pulled her away from him and made her look him in the eye again. "Are you okay, Gemstone?"

"Quirrell's death, I came to terms with it a long time ago," she shrugged. "It was self-defense. I don't like that I killed a man, but I hear that dying is worse for one's health." When his expression turned into a flat glare, she gave him a reassuring grin. "I'm all right, boo. This was three years ago. It was a one-off. No one else regularly at the castle has been quite so direct in his attempts to kill me."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Philips snapped.

The teen shrugged again, impressed that there was literal steam pouring from the auror's ears without the use of a Pepper-Up Potion. "Homework. Quidditch – as you saw, my captain was obsessed, and that's downplaying the situation. Snape, the overgrown bat, deserves a mention all his own. The usual school complaints." No need to mention any other near-death experiences now; they'd see them eventually.

MWU

"You flew… a car… to school," Tony stared at her curiously. "Any chance I can get the schematics to it so I can see if I can make it work with technology? Or better yet, can I see the car itself? Dad tried, and failed, to make it happen in the 40s, and I know I can do it now."

"Probably not, and hell no," she replied succinctly. "I doubt there's any technology left in that thing, and it's now wild and… well, you'll see." She fought back a laugh when her soulmate silently repeated the mind-bending part of the statement.

MWU

"What the hell is roaming a school with the intention to 'rip, tear, kill'? And why aren't the Anti-Dark wards stopping it from getting in? Or the troll and the possessed teacher the year before?" Heindoffer demanded; behind him, Philips ranted furiously but quietly about Lockhart raping her, which they had already known about, even if they hadn't known who.

Heather stared at him blankly. "There are anti-dark wards?" When the curse breaker turned to her dubiously, she added, "No, I'm not kidding. Dumbledore probably pulled them down when Snape started working there. He definitely acts evil enough to affect them. If they ever existed at all."

"They exist," he snapped back. "I was on the team that upgraded them nine years… ago." He paused as the realization hit him. "Huh, I should mention that to the bosses. The wards are supposed to be serviced every five years, and it should be the same people whenever possible, because they can see their own magic best."

MWU

Despite the implications, no one looked at her suspiciously with regards to the petrified cat. "What on earth could manage that?" Philips muttered.

"It's not a curse," Heindoffer grumbled. "I've never seen anything like that. It kinda reminds me of Medusa and the Gorgons of Greek mythology. It's gotta be a creature of some kind, but I don't know of any that can both turn someone to metaphoric stone and speak humanoid language."

Heather was learning exactly how hard it was to maintain no expression. She resorted to closing her eyes so they couldn't see her thoughts on how close they actually were to guessing, and how she could have used them as sounding boards when she was actually living the situation.

MWU

"Why is the cannonball following you?" Tony asked slowly as they sped around the pitch again. "And do we really have to see this?"

As the Bludger smashed her arm, they all cringed. "It explains why I was in the Hospital Wing," the teen told them. "Or rather, it explains why I needed the Hospital Wing for more than fifteen minutes."

When Lockhart vanished the bones in her arm, White yelled in frustration. They paused the memory so that she wouldn't miss anything.

Heather took particular note of some of the more interesting insults she used against the blonde idiot. "Do any of those translate to Scots Gaelic? Because I'm pretty sure I heard McGonagall use some of those that year…"

"It's Cherokee," the healer mumbled, blushing. "Native American. One of my non-magical co-workers has taught us some phrases that come in handy when we shouldn't be understood while swearing."

Her friends shared an amused look, accusing simultaneously, "You've been holding out on us!"

Tony smirked at Heather, and they, too, turned to White. "Teach us?"

MWU

"It was strange, being a guy for that hour," the teen reminisced after the Polyjuice incident. "I think Granger was just glad that, of the people who knew what happened, no one was inclined to call her Selina Kyle." Tony and Heindoffer snorted; the magically-raised White and Philips grinned without understanding. "And that potion was almost as bad as Skele-Gro."

MWU

After Hagrid's not-so-subtle hint, Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "You followed the spiders, didn't you?" he groaned at his soulmate.

"Yup," she giggled unrepentantly.

"Did you really think that was a good idea?" he whined. "This is the guy who named a Cerberus 'Fluffy' and wanted to raise a fire-breathing dragon in a wooden house."

"Both valid points," the teen admitted sheepishly, "but I didn't actually have any other idea, let alone a better one. Besides, I figured that if Hagrid was promoting talking to one, we'd be reasonably safe if we name-dropped him."

MWU

They all got in the feral Ford (and that was a phrase no one ever thought they'd use) with Past-Heather and Weasley as the Acromantula gave chase. "Needless to say, I learned my lesson," the present version quipped drily before anyone could comment.

MWU

"So you know what the dangerous creature is," White listed, though the teen had avoided giving up the memory of pulling the page out of Granger's hand, and thus the revelation, "and you have a logical deduction for where to find it. Please tell me you went to a teacher. You were 12; you shouldn't be fighting deadly beasts."

Heather's smirk did nothing to ease Tony's nerves. "Yes, we went to a teacher for help. Even brought them along for the slide."

"Don't you mean, 'along for the ride'?" Philips amended.

"I said what I meant, and I meant what I said," she taunted back.

MWU

When they realized she and the ginger had gone to Lockhart, the viewing adults all groaned as one. "She meant a competent teacher," Heindoffer corrected.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Heather snarked right back, unintimidated. "Did you see me go to McGonagall about the Stone? She's competent, yeah? She didn't believe me then; why would she believe me now? Flitwick might be a dueling champion, but he doesn't keep any weapons aside from his wand and mind at school. Sprout knows her plants but has no stamina to speak of. What good would either of them be against something that could kill them by squishing, biting, or looking – that can only be easily killed by a crowing rooster, not dancing pineapples, whatever passes for wizarding logic, or twisting vines? The less said about Snape, the better. I didn't know any of the electives' teachers. Sinistra, well, I've called her 'Siesta' before, and she didn't even realize. Binns is a ghost, and less than useless on a good day, which this certainly wasn't. Filch is a Squib. Dumbledore had been kicked out. Hagrid doesn't know much magic because of being expelled, and was illegally sitting in prison, to boot. Who else was I supposed to bring…" She smirked as the second years forced Lockhart down the pipe before them. "...but the cannon fodder?"

MWU

When Lockhart threatened to wipe their memories, Philips started growling. Everyone laughed, momentarily breaking the tension, when the pedophile got his comeuppance. "And this is why there's no reason to put him on your revenge lists. He won't remember it." The girl's smirk was vicious.

MWU

"BASILISK VENOM?!" White screeched as the fang pierced her arm in the memory, finally piecing the evidence together. Tony couldn't figure out how it took her that long (unless she was waiting for proof instead of just screaming out her suspicions.) "You were bitten by a basilisk – and you haven't died? How the hell is that even possible? How did you manage it?"

"See my hyphenated title for more details," the teen grumbled, watching fondly as Fawkes cried on her memory self's wound.

MWU

"They set Dementors around the school?" Heindoffer scowled. "What were they thinking? Were they thinking?"

"Fudge was thinking about his approval rating," Heather groused. "Had to be seen doing something."

"Okay, I get that they're the creepy, black-robed, floating things," Tony cut in, "but what are Dementors?"

"They're what the Patronus charm was created to defend against," the teen murmured, shivering. "And I don't react well to them."

"No one does," White added.

"I react rather worse than anyone else, save, possibly, my godfather," Heather snarled. Tony pulled her to him and rubbed her scalp in an effort to calm her. She batted his hand away. "You wanted to know why I can remember that Halloween night so well? THIS IS WHY! I passed out on the train, hearing my mother screaming, begging for my life. My Boggart is a Dementor. I learned how to produce a Patronus in a classroom while facing my greatest fear, and that's how I heard my father for the first time. Don't fucking tell me that 'no one reacts well' when no one reacts worse than I do!"

The magical adults watched the rest of the memories quietly, not wanting to risk her kicking them out now that they were so invested. Heindoffer growled upon seeing the security trolls in front of Gryffindor. White studied the escapee carefully, as if she could treat him in real life by treating him in the memory. Philips looked supremely interested in Sirius's explanation of how he wound up in Azkaban. The trio grew more vocal about the Tournament, about the lack of support she received, about the blatant bullying she suffered for the second time in her magical schooling, but she refused to comment. (She'd been right, though; she'd had to put a silencing charm around her when they watched her take on the Hungarian Horntail. She swore to ask White for some bruise balm; Tony's grip on her shoulders was too tight not to leave marks.) Tony kept his rare questions soft, and she answered bitterly only when it wouldn't be addressed in a later memory.

All through her fourth year, she collapsed further in on herself, curling into her soulmate's arms and gripping his wrist hard enough to leave fingernail crescents in his skin. When they reached the memory of the day before, she whimpered, "This is the Third Task. I don't wanna watch this – let me out!"

"Do you want me to come with you?" Tony offered as Philips pulled his wand. "Or do you want me to watch so I know what the nightmares are about?"

She shook her head. "I need a couple minutes alone right now," she whispered, burrowing into his chest.

He kissed the top of her head. "Okay. Start a pot of coffee for us?"

"We'll be out in five minutes," the auror told her. "This Pensieve has a special feature: no matter how long everyone's inside, only five minutes, max, will have passed in the real world. You leaving before us resets the timer, so to speak – I can't explain it better."

She nodded and felt herself rising. With her feet on the floor, she ran to the bathroom and dry heaved into the toilet. Despite the comfort Tony had provided, the memories had, at times, threatened to overwhelm her, as evidenced by her outburst regarding the Dementors. After rinsing her mouth out, she went to the kitchen and started brewing a pot of coffee as requested. Breathing deeply to try to reduce her anxiety, she missed the opening of the front door.

"Tony!" a man unexpectedly called out, and Heather yelped. She had no chance to find a hiding place before the man's footsteps brought him to the kitchen. He stood in the doorway, blocking her only exit, as he stared at her in momentary confusion. She stared right back in abject terror. "Where is he?" he groaned.

She blinked. "What?" Upon reflection, she realized she sounded more like a scared child than a perplexed teen.

"Your father," he clarified, exasperated.

"My mum and dad died when I was a baby," she squeaked. Yeah, she thought sarcastically, that sounded mature, too.

"Then why are you here?" the black man asked. "And is that one of Emily's dresses?" Somehow, her outfit baffled him more than her presence – how did that make sense?

Suddenly, four sets of feet landed in the living room. "Oh, Merlin, I'm gonna be sick," she heard White cough as the side door slid open. The man in the doorway turned around suspiciously.

"Tony?!" Heather called out in her fear, her voice still an octave higher than natural.

Her soulmate came running, pushing the unknown man aside with a simple, "Move." He pulled her into a tight hug. "Gods above, it's a miracle you survived, little gem. I am amazed – you were incredible! And I'm so proud. Heindoffer wants to brainstorm some ideas for revenge, but apparently Philips, as much as he agrees, can't take part. Speaking of Philips, I don't think he has any more questions for today. White, when she's done tossing her cookies, swears she's gonna tie you to the bed to treat you – she said she heard your ribs break when that tombstone exploded and hit you–" He finally noticed her shaking her head against his chest, and he pulled back. "What's up, buttercup?" She looked pointedly over his shoulder; Tony followed her gaze. "Rhodey?" Some of the tension drained from her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Bosnia."

"I was," the now-identified Rhodey agreed, his voice faint with surprise. "I was given a week's leave to celebrate my upcoming promotion. Spent the last three days in Philly with Mama and Jenny. Just got here to tell you. Who's your kid, Tones?"

"Yeah…" Tony drawled, running his free hand through his own hair. "That's complicated. Gemstone, meet James Rhodes, soon-to-be First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, and my best friend for, like, ever. Yells at me when I do stupid shit, but always has my back. I call him 'Rhodey.' Most days. Platypus, this is Heather Potter. I'm not her father – she's 14. I know I started young, but not at nine. Coffee?"

Rhodey groaned in frustration. "I was thinking something a little more your usual style. And who else showed up with you when you – where were you, anyway?"

"We can't tell you," Heather replied before Tony could. "Legal issues. Lockhart-type consequences," she explained to Tony, whose face lit with comprehension. "But we can do introductions."

"Grab some mugs, honey bear," Tony smirked. "Little gem, take the sugar, milk, and some spoons. I'm just gonna bring the pot in with us."

Heather did as she was told, as did Rhodey. "I thought I was your 'brother from another mother,'" he complained when the girl was out of earshot. "What'd I do to be downgraded?"

"Let me tell you how she was abused by her aunt and uncle," Tony hissed, aggressively getting into his friend's face, "how the only semi-maternal figure in her life tried to drug her and force her into a marriage, how the only two people she might have considered her siblings spied on her and sold her out." Rhodey's dark skin paled. "Then ask me why you've been 'downgraded.' I actually want her to like you, sour patch, not look at you like you're gonna turn on us for no reason."

Rhodey stared into Tony's enraged eyes. "I got it. Girl's here to stay, then?"

"Don't call her 'girl'," Tony warned, anger ebbing away. "Remember the abuse I mentioned? But yeah, she's here to stay." He grabbed two mugs and the pot of coffee and walked into the living room, leaving Rhodey to follow.

"Thought you got lost," Heather teased, her voice shaky.

"Well, the path from the kitchen is very labyrinthine," he grinned.

Heather laughed at the reminder. "Well, I guess I'll do introductions. This is Michelle White, a doctor specializing in pediatrics at Seneca Hope Hospital. John Philips is a police officer, the one who came to help me when… Anyway, he brought her in on this. Last but not least, this is their childhood best mate, Billy Heindoffer, who was visiting. He's an archeologist based in Egypt, and I'm pretty sure he only tagged along because he saw the potential for pranking against–" She cut herself off, taking a sip of the coffee Tony had made for her. Humming in gratitude, she asked Rhodey, "I think Tony said you're a Lieutenant?" He nodded; to the magicals, she went on, "This is Lieutenant James Rhodes of the U.S. Air Force, Tony's best mate – friend, sorry. British slang."

"Also wondering why you're here," Rhodey said without accusation.

"I told you, it's complicated," Tony bit out when he felt Heather cringe into him. "There's a lot of shit going on right now, Rhodes. I can't tell you about most of it – I'm not pressing my luck with these particular legalities. White, will Heather be negatively impacted if you wait two days to begin whatever treatment regimen you're planning?"

"I don't advise it," the healer hedged, "but I also don't foresee any problems with that."

"Good, we'll see you first thing Monday," he said as he stood.

"You can borrow that, Mr Philips," Heather allowed grudgingly, looking pointedly at the Pensieve. "I'm sure others like your supervisor will be interested. I do want it back soon."

"Agreed," came Philips's relieved sigh, and he picked up the ornate bowl. "I'll take good care of it." Tony's glare convinced the three magicals to hasten their departure.

They waited in awkward silence for the engineer to return from escorting the guests out. "You can call me Rhodey; everyone does," the lieutenant offered.

Heather tensed even more, even though he was on the far side of the couch. "Heather's fine, I guess," she returned uncomfortably. When Tony walked back into the room, she sighed, glad to see him in one piece despite his scowl. "You okay?"

"Yeah, Gem," Tony sighed as he dropped onto the sofa between them. She curled into him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Just not a fan of theirs right now. They said some stuff after you left that… Ugh. By the way, Rhodey, congrats on the promotion, man – you've earned it."

"I didn't hear that it was a promotion," Heather concurred quietly. "Congratulations, indeed, Rhodey." She followed Tony's example and raised her mug.

"I can't believe it," Rhodey drawled. "It's afternoon, and we're toasting with coffee. What is the world coming to?" He smirked at his friend. "It's unnatural, is what it is."

Tony smiled back, though his hard gaze made the expression look more like a snarl. "I'm not gonna kick Heather out just so we can get smashed."

"It's all right, Tony," she said calmly with a warm, genuine smile. "I need to… decompress, and unpack, anyway. What do you want for dinner?"

"I'm thinking lobster," Rhodey answered. "Geoffrey's?"

"I'll call ahead," Tony agreed. "I got this, Gem. No Spanish Inquisition robes, okay? You'll regret it."

"He's not joking," Rhodey confirmed, amused. "Your ears will be sorry. He starts singing and dancing, and that's the one song he purposely fucks up. I've actually seen someone start bleeding from their ears because of it."

"Trina was fine," Tony scoffed. "And besides, wasn't that how you found out she was cheating on you?" Heather giggled on her way to the room he'd given her earlier. Tony's easy-going facade fell as soon as he heard her door close. "Don't ask how we met," he growled softly in warning, "but she's my soulmate. Definitely. She said my words after I said hers. The abuse I mentioned – yeah, her uncle was a pig when he was sober, and she only rarely saw him in that good a state. He would get drunk and hurt her – he belted her, he carved the word 'freak' into her spine, he threw her into a closet under the stairs that was her bedroom. Even the man's sister and her dog got in on it."

"Are you fucking with me?"

"No. I wish I was." Tony sighed. "I'm sure as hell not gonna get smashed in front of her without her knowing and okaying it ahead of time, and definitely not soon. Rhodey, you didn't see how dead her eyes were. She barely trusts me, and that much only because of the words on our arms."

"She seriously asked if you were on drugs?" Rhodey snorted.

"I asked if she was a hallucination, first," he shrugged. "It was a fair response. But I can't – won't scare her like that. No, I'm gonna stop most, if not all, of my drinking."

"On behalf of your liver," Rhodey snarked darkly, raising his mug, "I thank you."