Wind drifted through the rafters, mixing with the shadows to create a soft stillness which seemed to bring life into the otherwise empty shell of the boat house. Tree branches lightly scraped the wooden walls as the heavy limbs bowed down and rose up, their leaves rustling in a hush of motion. Everything had settled into place long ago, the dust piled up into corners, the cobwebs wrapped around eachother so that they hung in stringy curtains rather than the heavy nets that they'd first been created as. The lighter items had migrated towards the edges of the room, clearing a natural space which opened the view out directly to the lake glistening in the distance under the sun. Activity from the water's surface traveled up against the docks, and lapped gently against the rotting wood. It all seemed a pleasant symbiosis of unremarkable motion.

There was a sudden splash, and an arm shot out onto the wooden dock with a loud thud. Then the water rolled back as Simon dragged himself up to throw his other arm onto the wooden planks, bracing himself halfway out of the water. It was harder than it needed to be, pulling himself all the way up and rolling onto his side so that he didn't place too much pressure on the rotted areas of wood and risk falling back in again. He stayed low, his knees bent slightly as he scanned the area, ready to throw himself back into the water at any sign of danger. The boat house was quiet. Clark had messaged that the police and the CyberLife android were gone. He let out a deep sigh and dropped his head so that he rested his forehead against the soft wood of the dock. They were safe.

He messaged Seph, and another hand shot out of the water to grip the edge of the dock. Simon raised himself into a crouched position as he leaned over, grasping Seph's arm to help him up. Seph's focused face came into view, his eyebrows drawn and hair darkened to a near black with moisture.

"Lauren first," said Seph. He flexed his shoulder, and the AP700's head and shoulders rose from the dark water, the features of her face emphasized in greater clarity now that her hair was pulled back. He pulled Lauren forward and Simon reached down to offer his hand to her. Her brown eyes met his, and there was a splash as she pushed herself away from him, her face lit in a tense glare.

"Lauren," said Seph, and the water churned as he gently pulled her back to the dock. "Lauren, it's okay."

Her fierce gaze was still locked on Simon as if she were daring him to attack her. Simon drew back from her.

"Let me help you out first, Seph," said Simon. "You can help her after."

Seph threw a glance up at him and nodded in a kind of defeat. Simon lowered his hand and Seph grabbed onto it, allowing Simon to rock his weight back and pull Seph up out of the water and onto the dock in a waterfall of river water. Then Seph turned and crouched next to Simon, gripping the edge of the dock. He held his hand out.

Lauren immediately grabbed onto it, and Seph hoisted her up out of the water next to him. She wrapped her arms around herself and took a step back from him, her brown eyes watching them both warily. Simon couldn't help the curiosity amidst the frenzy he'd been feeling up to that point. She hadn't indicated anything to them while they were hiding in the underwater darkness, and now that they were above water, she seemed even less inclined to communicate. Though it was clear from how she was looking at them that something had happened down there, he couldn't bring himself to assume the obvious.

Simon stood up as Seph twisted the hem of his white uniform, unleashing a curtain of water. Seph looked up at him, and gave him a nervous smile. "It's a good thing we got the biocomponents when we did," said Seph.

"It's a little too early to say where our luck stands," said Simon. He gazed at the AP700 who hadn't moved from where she stood, her arms still wrapped around herself and her eyebrows narrowed in a kind of defiance. Seph let out a heavy sigh and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. The android tilted his head, revealing his exhausted expression.

"Has Clark messaged you?" said Seph. "I haven't heard from him yet."

"The police are gone," said Simon. "He's with Kate now. So far it seems no one suspects anything except the CyberLife android but it shouldn't ever come back."

"If it does, you shouldn't stop me," said Seph, straightening. "It knows where you are now. It's going to find any reason to come back and finish what it started."

Simon put a hand on Seph's shoulder, leaning slightly to the side so he could gaze at him. "Then we need to make sure we're better prepared next time."

Seph breathed out, and his shoulders dropped. Before Simon could say another word, there were footsteps on the wooden porch of the boat house. He turned as two dark figures entered the shadows, a bright blue glow on the temple of one of them. The other stopped for a moment, frozen in the darkness. Then it rushed at him.

"Christ…" Kate's arms were around his shoulders, and he had just enough time to see her exasperated face before she pressed her body against his, her face buried in his neck. Simon wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes. The terrible apprehension he'd been suppressing up until that point slowly began to drain away. He let out a desperate sigh and tightened his arms around her as he felt her shoulders shake. There hadn't been time for him to realize how close he was to losing her. How close everyone had been to being discovered. Now that he felt the tangible anxiety in his arms, it all seemed too real.

Kate moved back from him, and she held onto either side of his face, her panicked hazel eyes coming into view. "Are you okay?" she said, her voice strained.

Simon smiled, shaking his head slowly as he looked at her. "I'm alright. I think you should answer that more than I─" He made a soft noise as Kate pulled herself into him, closing her mouth over his. He held her there for a moment, feeling the tension in her body, the sharp draw of her breath against his skin, and it made him painfully aware of how terrified she'd been. When she let go of his mouth, she pressed her forehead to his and breathed heavily. Her anxiety bled into him, and he closed his eyes as he traced his nose against hers, running his hands over her back to calm her.

"We're okay, Kate," he said softly, and he felt her nod hurriedly, her breath hitching as she swallowed. He moved into her, pressing his mouth to her temple. "It's okay. We made it. It's going to be okay." He slid his hand up her shoulder and into her hair so that he was able to wrap his arms around her shoulders, covering her protectively as she clutched the front of his shirt. Gradually, her breathing slowed and he felt the tension in her body relax.

Kate sniffed, and she pushed back from him, running a quick hand over her cheek as if wiping something away. She let out a heavy breath and looked down, pulling at her shirt which was now damp. "You were in the water the whole time," she said.

"We couldn't leave," said Seph. "They would have followed Lauren's signal and caught up to us eventually. Our best option was to hide."

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you," said Simon. He pressed a desperate hand to her cheek. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It wasn't fair to you."

Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. "Don't even try to argue that with me. You were right. I was a god damn idiot. I shouldn't have brought Lauren here."

Simon brushed her hair back as he moved into her, pulling her into him and feeling a nervous wave fall over him as he struggled to speak. "Kate, it worked."

"Yeah, I know it worked," said Kate as she moved back from him. "I know it's all fine and the cops are gone, but I─"

"No, Kate." Simon held her gaze and felt a hush fall over them as she focused on him. He drew in a soft breath. "It worked. RA9."

Kate returned his gaze, her eyes growing bright in her questioning expression. She opened her mouth and looked past him, then closed it again. He could see the thought process working visibly on her face and waited in nervous anticipation for her to accept it.

"Lauren?" she said. She threw Simon a glance as if he would confirm it, then stepped past him. "She deviated?"

Lauren stared at them in a kind of mix between fear and defiance. Seph was still standing near her, a strange tension in his shoulders as if he was fighting the urge to reach out to her.

Kate slowly moved towards her. "Lauren… hey…"

Lauren took a step back, her brown eyes growing wide. Kate froze and drew her hand to her chest. The confusion and fear was heavy in the air, and Simon could only watch in a kind of nervous curiosity. When Kate turned back towards him, her eyebrows were drawn and her face tense.

"What happened to her?" she asked.

"Did you force her to hide?" said Clark. He stepped forward next to Simon, throwing him and Seph a focused glance. "Was she resisting?"

"No," said Simon. "She was compliant the whole time."

"I interfaced with her so I would know if she sent a message to the police or the AK700," said Seph. "There was no message, but while we were hiding, I felt her deviate. I don't know why. There was no trigger from what I could see, she wasn't under a significant amount of stress. She just changed."

"Was it rA9 then?" said Clark. "Maybe we were wrong. Maybe that is all it takes for an android─"

"Could…" Kate had her hands in her hair, and slowly lowered them, her eyes clenched closed. "Could we not talk about her like she's not standing right here?"

Clark stared at her, his brown eyes wide. Kate turned back to Lauren, holding her hand out to the android.

"Lauren," said Kate softly. "Do you know what happened to you?"

Lauren drew her arms tighter around herself, her brown eyes narrowing further as she took another step back. Kate followed her slowly.

"Lauren, it's alright," she said. "You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."

Lauren made a sharp noise, then suddenly darted to the side. Seph let out a grunt as Lauren slammed into him. Her hand clenched the fabric of his uniform as she hid partially behind him, and she buried her face into the back of his arm so that only her brown eyes were visible. Seph seemed frozen, his blue eyes wide in stunned disbelief. He looked at Simon as if to deliver a silent plea for help. Simon could only stare back at him speechless.

Kate straightened, letting out a soft sigh. "Has she said anything to you?"

"Not since her deviation," said Seph. He twisted slightly to look behind him, and Lauren moved with him to stay hidden.

Simon watched the android as she turned her head, pressing her forehead against the back of his arm. "She seems comfortable with you, Seph," he said.

Seph looked at him, his eyebrows narrowed though the corner of his mouth pulled in a mild bemusement.

"Where are the thirium packets and biocomponents?" said Clark. He was moving along the workbench, running his hand over it.

"They're still in the water," said Simon. "The biocomponents aren't important, but we'll need to get the thirium packets back."

"My arm," said Clark. "I'd─ I'd like to keep my arm."

Simon nodded quietly, a subtle sympathy tugging at him. He moved forward. "You stay with Lauren. I'll get everything from the water."

"You don't need to do that," said Seph. "I can help."

"It'll only take one of us," said Simon. "And you look a little trapped." He moved to the edge of the dock as he watched Seph glance down at Lauren who had finally let go of his arm but was still standing behind him. Kate was watching him, and Simon stopped to meet her gaze. Her shoulders were tense and her eyes wide as if she were looking for a reason to object to his decision to volunteer. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"You're just going to jump in?" she said. "Fully clothed?"

Simon tilted his head at her as he processed the motive behind her question. Then he reached over his head, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt at the nape and he tugged it up so that it slid off of him. When it was completely removed, he looked up to see that Kate was now watching him with frantic eyes, her mouth tensed in a silent fury. He couldn't help the sideways smile that pulled at his lips. Without a word, he bunched the shirt up in one hand and tossed it at her face so that she was forced to scramble for it as he stepped off the dock and dropped into the dark water below.

It didn't take long to gather the thirium packets. He'd been careful to throw them all into the same place so that they would fall without drifting. There were seven in total, and after surfacing to hand them off to Seph and Clark, he sank back down to the bottom to retrieve Seph's detached arm. He found it in the wreckage of the fishing boat, and handed it to Seph before climbing back into the boat house. Seph almost seemed to hide it, but there was a distinct relief on his face once the mangled bit of plastic was back in his hands.

They set about restoring order in the boat house, and Simon took the opportunity to inspect it more closely now that there was a reason to be aware of the exact stability of the structure. It also gave him time to dry, and when he was no longer dripping water onto the ground, he motioned for his shirt back which Kate still had under her arm. She completely ignored him. He attempted to pull it gently from her, and then she suddenly flung the shirt over her own head, working her arms through it and flattening it against her chest. The look of satisfaction she gave him had his thirium pump nearly hitching, and after frantically searching for some kind of compromise to the situation, he surrendered to simply wrapping his arms around himself as he moved through the building.

Kate explained to Seph and Clark how they wanted to restore the boat house while Simon created a digital blueprint of the place. Lauren had found a quiet corner to watch them from, sitting on the edge of the workbench and gazing at them with her suspicious brown eyes which had calmed from their original hostility. It seemed inappropriate to even attempt to bring her into the conversation, but Simon couldn't help but feel guilty for making plans that involved her without her opinion on the matter. She was free from her programming, but it was a decision that had been forced upon her. As much as he wanted to know what internal struggle she was battling with, it felt more respectful to wait for her to come to them when she was ready to speak.

Simon joined the discussion when they were debating how to involve Seph and Lauren as inconspicuously as possible during the renovation. He moved behind Kate, sliding his hands around her waist and gripping the folds of his shirt. He pressed his nose to her temple.

"Can I have this back now?" he said quietly. Kate drew her shoulders up and turned her head towards him.

"It smells like a swamp," she said. She leaned into him, her eyes narrowed. "So do you." Simon stared at her apprehensively, pushing the question further with his gaze. She turned from him, chewing on her lip. "We should tell my dad," she said.

Seph and Clark fell silent. Simon stared down at her in quiet confusion. For a moment, he struggled to remember what the topic had been and what her statement meant.

"You didn't like the idea of involving your father," said Clark. Kate continued to stare at the floor, and Simon felt her slide her hands down his arms to reach his hands. Her fingers threaded in between his, and she sank deeper into him.

"It's a little late to hide everything from him now," said Kate. "He stood up for me. He backed me up even though I put him in this position again. The least I can do─" She shut her eyes and her face grew strained as if she were bracing against something. "The least I can do is give him the truth. It'd be awkward now if I didn't."

The reality of what Kate steered towards was coming into greater clarity. Simon flexed his hands in hers. "You don't have to do this alone, Kate."

She tilted her head against him. "I know."

"There's no reason we can't trust him after today," said Clark. "Whatever doubts you have about him I think can be discredited considering he had every opportunity and every reason to cooperate fully with the police and CyberLife. He chose not to. He didn't mention Simon or your activity here in the boat house. And we could certainly use his help at this point."

Kate closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "I know."

The room was silent. Simon tightened his arms around her and tilted his head against her when something caught his attention. Lauren was watching him from where she was sitting on the edge of the workbench, her face drawn in a mix of disgust and scrutiny. She didn't look away when Simon met her gaze, and he straightened as he acknowledged her. She drew her shoulders up and raised her head before finally looking down to the floor.

"Alright, well..." Kate moved forward and let out a breath. "Let's get this over with before I have time to change my mind."

Simon walked closely behind her and he heard footsteps as the others followed them. The quiet ambience of the boat house disappeared as they moved out into the open sunlight. He threw a glance behind him as they walked. Clark was gazing at the ground, his face drawn in its usual pensive expression. Seph and Lauren walked side-by-side, Seph's body slightly inclined towards her though he didn't touch her. When Simon looked at her, Lauren's brown eyes seemed to dart downward as though she had been watching him again. It made him run a nervous hand over his upper arm, and he reached forward to touch Kate's back.

"Kate…" He tugged at the university shirt. "Are you going to give this back to me or would you like to explain to your father why I'm shirtless?"

Kate's mouth tensed, and she appeared to fight back a smile. Finally she pulled the shirt up over her head and handed it to him, avoiding his gaze the whole time. When he worked it back over his head and shoulders, the fabric was noticeably more loose around his body now that it had been soaked and stretched.

They entered the house which appeared empty. A nervous weight fell over Simon as he looked towards the living room where he could hear muffled voices drifting around the wall. He couldn't help but notice the exhaustion in Kate's posture as they headed towards Richard's office. It filled him with a burning shame, and he moved in front of her before she could open the office door.

"Let me talk to him first," he said.

Kate's expression didn't change, though she lowered her gaze and nodded. Simon looked back at the others. Clark was staring at the office door in nervous determination. Seph had stopped next to Lauren who had her arms folded over her chest and her shoulders drawn up as she seemed to scan everyone around her. With a deep breath, Simon closed his eyes and knocked.

The voices inside the room went quiet. Then a woman's voice mumbled something, and Simon recognized Richard's response.

"Come in."

Simon opened the door carefully, keeping it from swinging completely open as he entered the office. Richard and Gloria were standing in front of the desk, both looking in his direction. Richard's hazel eyes were tensed in what Simon guessed was a mild relief. Gloria, however, stared at him in a fierce shock, her blue eyes bright under her blond eyebrows. A brief terror held Simon to the spot for a moment, and he let it fade before letting go of the door handle and taking another step into the room.

Richard straightened, and Simon saw his eyes glance over him. "You look a little wet," said Richard.

Simon gave a small confirming smile, politely acknowledging Gloria who was still staring at him. "We were in the water," he said.

Richard let out a soft laugh. "Clever." The silence that fell over them was compensated by the energy radiating in the room from Richard's expectant posture, Gloria's frantic suspicion, and Simon's own nervous hesitation. When no one spoke, Simon humbly dropped his shoulders and drew in a slow breath before looking at Richard.

"I wanted to give you an explanation for what's happened," said Simon. "To both of you. You deserve to know why the police were called and why the android was sent by CyberLife to look for me here. And I want to assure you that this won't ever happen again."

Gloria breathed out sharply. "You're right it won't happen again. You're both getting the hell out of our house and we might not call the cops back if─"

"Gloria." Richard ran a hand over his face as Gloria turned towards him.

"This isn't your problem, Richard. She's just using you like she always has and now she's bringing the police to our door. You want them to tear the whole house apart next looking for whatever android she stole?"

"It won't happen again," said Simon. Gloria looked at him, and he felt his strength waver under her intense gaze. "And we'll be leaving your house soon, but it wouldn't be appropriate for you to forcibly remove us given the circumstances."

"It wouldn't be appropriate?" Gloria turned towards him. "Who the hell are you to tell us what wouldn't be appropriate?"

"With all due respect, Mrs. Hayes," Simon said, closing his eyes for a moment to calm the anxiety in his system, "I don't think you fully understand the nature of what's been happening here under your roof, and how this affects your livelihood."

Gloria's blue eyes burned in even greater fury. "Are you threatening us?"

Simon let out a sigh and immediately shook his head. "No. I'm saying we are under threat."

"That's your own damn problem," said Gloria. "If Kate wants to screw around with you, she can do it somewhere else instead of using her father only when it's convenient for her."

"What do you mean?" Richard's voice was soft, and when Simon met his gaze, he was startled by the sharp focus written in the man's hazel eyes. It was as if he already suspected what Simon was going to say.

Simon took a step backward, throwing Gloria a cautious glance before resting his hand on the doorknob. Then he pulled the door open and stood to the side.

Kate entered the office. She wrapped an arm around herself as she moved next to Simon, and he felt her hand flex into his. Then Clark stepped into the room, his posture straight and determined. Richard let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Ah, Clark…"

"I'm sorry for the deception, Mr. Hayes," said Clark. "It was necessary to protect these two." Clark motioned to the door, and Seph entered followed by Lauren. They paused next to eachother, and Lauren stared at Richard and Gloria warily. Gloria let out a frustrated breath.

"What is this?" Gloria narrowed her bright blue eyes at Kate. "How many androids have you stolen?"

"They're not stolen," said Richard. Simon looked at him in stunned silence, and Gloria also turned to stare at him. Richard closed his eyes as he drew in a deep breath and let it out heavily. When he opened them again, he gazed at Clark with a strange sympathy written in his face. "How long, Clark?"

"Yesterday," said Clark. "If you mean since my deviation."

"Dev─ what?" Gloria straightened, her face strained in shock. "Clark, you can't possibly mean…"

"I experienced software errors after I interfaced with Simon," said Clark. "I deviated yesterday after making the choice not to call the authorities when I discovered Simon and Kate had hidden a deviant in the boat house. It was a conscious decision," Clark added, raising his eyebrows in concern to Richard. "Not a particularly traumatic experience. You were wrong about that, sir. Your missing link is in the code itself via a repeating rA9 element written directly into our quantic net. Seph and I acquired it from Simon, and Lauren acquired it from Seph. It is embedded, evolving, and─" He tilted his head to the side as if thinking. "─so far, stable."

Richard's eyes were narrowed in a way Simon hadn't seen before. It was as though he'd been told someone had died. He stared at Clark in silence for a while, then finally closed his eyes and lowered his head. He gripped the edge of his desk tightly, his knuckles turning white. Gloria stared back and forth between them in shock.

"Clark…" Her voice was soft. "Clark does that mean you─"

Clark shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hayes."

She let out a heavy breath and her eyes fell on Simon. She shifted as she turned to look at Seph and Lauren. "And…" Gloria motioned towards them. "Them too?"

"We all are," said Clark. "Simon has been deviated the longest. Lauren deviated not more than two hours ago while the police were searching for her. It's why they lost her signal."

Richard laughed in a quiet disbelief. When he looked up, his face was still drawn in sympathy though a bright fascination had taken over. He bobbed lightly as he seemed to process everything. "In the code, huh?"

Clark nodded. "We don't know the source. Only that it can be transferred between systems like a virus. It could have been caused by an update, a glitch, or even from a single patient X. We're not even clear what it does exactly, only that it's one of three conditions that need to be met for successful deviation." He looked at Lauren, and his eyes narrowed in a kind of shame. "Lauren was our proof of concept."

"So you did steal her?" Richard looked at Kate, and Simon felt her draw her shoulders up. He placed a comforting hand on her back.

"I didn't mean─" Kate made a noise and she closed her eyes. "I didn't see it like that at the time."

"No, you saw her as an experiment," said Richard. His hazel eyes were now locked on Lauren who seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "And now I've got four deviants hiding here, including one of my own androids. How do I deal with this, Kate?"

Kate was clenching Simon's hand tightly, and he pulled her into him further so that she rested her head against his chest. Richard stepped forward, and Simon watched as Lauren seemed to shrink back from him. For a moment, he simply gazed at her. Then he held out his hand.

"I'm Richard Hayes, chief engineer at CyberLife," he said. "I'm Kate's father. She's the one who saved your life."

Lauren stared at him fiercely, her body twisted partially behind Seph. She glanced down at Richard's hand warily, her LED spinning a frantic yellow. Then it calmed to blue, and she reached out to shake it slowly. Richard gave her a warm smile through his gray beard.

"Now that you're not stuck with CyberLife protocol," said Richard, and he let out a soft breath, "what do you want to do?"

Lauren seemed shocked by his question. She narrowed her brown eyes at him before looking quickly at Seph as if to ask him for his opinion. He gazed back at her, and Simon could only just make out the nervous tension in his face. Lauren closed her mouth. Then she looked back at Richard.

"I don't want to go back," she said. Richard nodded thoughtfully.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked. Lauren shook her head. Richard straightened. "You want to stay here?" Lauren looked at Seph again, and this time her brown eyes were somewhat wistful.

"I don't want to leave them," she said.

Richard gazed in between the two androids, and Simon felt his apprehension quiet somewhat. Richard let out a heavy breath, then he looked at Seph. "I didn't catch your name," he said, holding his hand out to him. Seph took his hand and shook it.

"Sephronillius, but you can call me Seph," he said.

Richard laughed. "Thanks for that." He took a step back and gazed at them all as if taking in the reality of the situation. Then he ran a hand through his gray hair. "Well, you all look like you've been through hell." His eyes fell on Seph's clothes which were still somewhat damp. "And I can't exactly tell you to go clean yourselves so if you want, there's a shower on the second floor. And I can have my androids bring you some clothes as long as you promise not to give them this virus until I can document it."

Simon stared at Richard in stunned disbelief. He didn't need to look at Kate to know she was doing the same thing. Richard drummed his fingers on the desk next to him and threw a glance at Gloria.

"I'll leave it to you to talk to Taylor if you want," he said. "Otherwise I don't mind being there if you want me to."

Gloria shook her head, her face lit in a minor shock. "No, I… I can talk to her."

"Why don't you stay in the guest bedroom for now?" said Richard, looking between Seph and Lauren. "Doesn't seem really necessary to have you living in the boat house before it's been renovated, assuming that's still the plan."

"The plan?" said Kate. Richard shrugged.

"I assume that's why you've been spending so much time there and wanted to fix it," he said. "It's what I would do."

Kate was silent. Then she turned her head so that she bumped Simon's chin and gave a small laugh. "Why are you helping us, dad."

"Other than the fact it sounds better than having you all factory reset," said Richard, "Clark knows how long I've been studying the deviancy phenomenon. You think I'm going to pass up the opportunity to finally learn what it is now that four of you have dropped in my lap? How about I make a deal with you if it makes you feel better. I'll let you stay. I'll make sure no one finds out about you. And you tell me what you know about deviancy. Allow me to scan your code, make mirror images, simulations, whatever I need to do to be able to prove what it is. When the time is right, I'll bring my information to CyberLife and they'll need to have the evidence in front of them. It might not be easy, and it could take a long time." He leaned back against the desk and gazed at each of them in turn. "Does that sound fair?"

"What if we want to leave before you've finished your research?" said Seph.

"Then I won't stop you," said Richard. "That's kind of the beauty of deviancy. You're free to do whatever you want."

Seph looked at Lauren who had her eyes narrowed at the floor. Clark was gazing at Richard in a kind of reverence, almost as if he was proud of the decision he was making. Simon tightened his arms around Kate who was clutching the front of his shirt. He already knew what he wanted. Richard could have made a far harsher compromise and Simon would have had no second thoughts.

Lauren nodded. "I'll do it."

"I'll stay," said Seph. Clark's black eyebrows went up.

"It'd be kind of strange if I left after all these years," said Clark. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me, sir."

"Call me Richard. I should have said that a long time ago," said Richard. He looked at Simon, and Simon remained silent as he rested his cheek on Kate's forehead. The side of Richard's beard twitched, and he looked at the ground.

"Alright, well you can get cleaned up and I'll have Quince collect some clothes for you," said Richard. "How about you, Clark? Are you done wearing a uniform?"

"My clothes are still clean sir─ Richard. I'll show them to the guest bedroom. Also, I'd like to keep helping you if I may. It will uphold a sense of normalcy in your house, and I like the job." Clark shifted. "I think."

Richard smiled. "Okay. You know where I'll be when you're done. We're going to have a lot to talk about, Clark."

Clark smiled, then turned and motioned Seph and Lauren to the door. Kate began to move with them, and Simon held her for a moment. He waited until the androids had left the room, then looked down at her. "I'll be with you in a second. Go help Lauren."

She narrowed her eyes questioningly at him. Simon let her go, and she turned away, throwing him another cautious glance before moving out of the office. Simon rested his hand on the doorknob as he watched her leave, then quietly closed the door. He knew Richard and Gloria were staring at him expectantly. It would have been better if Gloria wasn't there. But in a way, this applied to her too. He let out a deep breath and turned his head in their direction.

"How many times has Clark deviated?" Simon asked. He met Richard's gaze which was focused yet calm. Gloria threw a nervous glance in Richard's direction, then stared at the ground.

Richard closed his eyes and his jaw tensed. For an agonizing moment, Simon thought he was going to avoid the question. Then Richard looked to the side, his face drawn in shame. "This will be his fourth time."

It was hard not to acknowledge the sick feeling that rose in Simon's chest. He stepped forward, noticing how Richard continued to avoid his gaze. Simon reached out and placed a hand on his upper arm tightly enough to simply get his attention. When Richard looked at him again, Simon returned his gaze with gentle sincerity.

"Please don't reset him again," said Simon.

Richard's expression didn't change, though Simon detected what he could only describe as gratitude. Simon gave his arm a quick squeeze, then let it go. He gave Gloria a polite parting glance before moving to the door, opening it, and stepping into the quiet living room space to close the door behind him.