To Breezie Sparrow: The idea for this anthology began after "Group Therapy," though it didn't fit in until now, as a consequence of "Light in the Darkness."

"So how was your day, honey?"

Sabrina looked up from her dinner to find her mother eyeing her with a concerned expression. Digging a little deeper, she could sense nervousness and worry hiding under the surface, though her mother was trying to hide it. Sabrina's stomach had been churning all day; she let out a breath. "It was fine," she finally answered. "Chloe stopped at the rehab center around noon and we had lunch together at the park across the street – there's a really nice café a block from the rehab center, and their croque monsieur is really good. I think there must be a daycare down the street, too; there were a ton of kids at the park at lunchtime. So we just sat and watched the children playing on the swings. It was nice." Slowly she took another bite of her chicken, trying to push away the empty hollow that had been there for six weeks while she was in Angola, which had reappeared every morning when she left the apartment. Yet again, she couldn't sense Max's emotions. When it had happened almost two months ago, he had been stepped on by the Tarasque, and she had thought he was gone; what if something had happened to him today? She had only just gotten him back; could she survive losing him again? Sitting on the table beside her, in front of a small bowl of grapes, Nooroo looked up at her with big round eyes, and she tried not to flush as he patted her hand resting on the table.

"I'm glad to hear that you and Chloe are still having lunch together," her mother responded, giving her a smile as her worry faded slightly. "I had wondered if your work might make it harder for you to keep up with each other."

Sabrina cracked an amused smile. "Both of us do a lot for the Heroes of Paris," she pointed out. "That makes it pretty easy to make time for our friendship!"

"And how is the counseling going?" her father asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"It's good," she replied, nodding. "I had a couple of new clients come in today – so that kept me pretty busy."

"Anyone I would know?"

Sabrina gave him a deadpan look. "You know I can't answer that," she told him, frowning. His emotions shifted to embarrassment, and she sighed. "I can tell you that if any of your employees come to me and I feel that they need a leave of absence, you will be the first to know."

He nodded, swallowing. "Of course; I'm sorry for asking." He shook his head ruefully. "Sometimes I forget how much my baby girl has grown up – it seems like just yesterday you were going off to school for the first time, but suddenly you have a boyfriend, and a job, and you're in university! And on top of that you're a superhero!"

Sabrina smiled, though her stomach clenched at the mention of Max. She had asked him to come for dinner tonight, but he had said he needed to work in a few things – he had gotten an idea for a United Heroez expansion to the Super Akuma Battle franchise, and he wanted to write a test version of it before showing it to them. But how was he? He wasn't with her, so what if something had happened? Slowly, Sabrina took a deep breath and released it, expanding her senses out to encompass the entire city, not allowing herself to become bogged down in the minutia. When she was searching for people in need, she could spread a wide net; this time her attention was laser-focused. Finding Max's apartment building, she narrowed in on the apartment. There, sitting at his desk, focused and content, was Max. Her stomach unclenched.

"… Sabrina? Sweetheart?"

She blinked, refocusing on her father. "I'm sorry?"

"I was just asking how things are going for the Heroes of Paris?" he repeated. "I know that it was difficult for you last month–"

She sighed heavily at the reminder. Telling her father about what she had done – or what she had tried to do – had in some ways been even harder than telling Max. He had raised her to do the right thing, to "serve and protect." Growing up, he had always encouraged her to become a police officer like him, though she had found a different way to do the same thing. But in Angola she had betrayed everything he had taught her: hurting other people for her own ends. Yes, he had understood and forgiven her, but still. What if he still held her actions against her? "Yeah…"

He swallowed guiltily. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I can–"

"No–it's okay," she interrupted quickly. "It's–it's been hard on everyone. None of us were killed, but there were a lot of injuries. And a lot of people close to us were killed. Being in Angola, cut off from everything here – it was hard. There are still a lot of scars – that's where a lot of the counseling comes in," she added.

Her mother hummed. "I'm still a little surprised that Ladybug decided to have you do this through the Agreste Charity's rehab center."

Sabrina's expression froze in place. How could she answer that question without betraying Marinette and Adrien's identities? She trusted her parents… but this wasn't her secret to tell. Thinking quickly, she finally shrugged. "I guess it seemed like a natural fit," she answered. "After his father was arrested, Adrien was in a similar position of needing to redeem himself in the eyes of the public. That's part of why he started the charity in the first place. And this way I can help people who are suffering – and it's not just people from the rehab center; people have been coming for more than just addiction."

Her father nodded. "I can imagine." He chuckled, though his emotions betrayed exhaustion. "After last month, I expect there are a lot of people who need someone to talk to about all the stress!"

Sabrina nodded in agreement, returning to finishing up her dinner. "That's what I'm here for."

After a few minutes, her father hummed. "How is Max doing now?" he asked. "It's so strange to not be seeing him daily after he was around every day for six weeks. You know, I don't know where we would have been last month without him – he and Turing did so much to help me out…"

Sabrina smiled fondly. "He is enjoying the opportunity to get back to what he likes – just focusing on the technology and inventing the things that we need."

Her father nodded. "Well, that young man is pretty handy in a fight, all the same – even without a miraculous. Between him and Nabatala and the others, we were in a much better position than I think we had any right to be."

Her senses focused in on Max, Sabrina allowed herself to relax. "I'm glad you like him so much!"

Her father let out a quiet laugh. "I'm glad you found a boy I can like!"

"I do hope he is eating well, though," her mother fretted, frowning. "He really should just come over here for dinner every night – I'm happy to make sure he's getting fed."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "He is eating fine, Mom," she assured her. "And I did invite him for tonight; he just had a project to work on."

"Officer Luron's new upgraded prosthetic?" asked her father.

Sabrina frowned. "I think that's on his list still," she confirmed. "He's been pretty busy with other things, though."

"That is so sad, what happened to Ray," her mother mused, shaking her head. "I'm relieved that he survived, but I do hope that Delphine is holding up okay; I need to have her over for tea again sometime."

As her parents continued speaking, Sabrina cleared her throat and stood up from the table. "I have an essay to work on that's due the end of the week," she announced. "I'll be working in my room."

Her mother nodded. "We won't disturb you then, sweetheart," she assured her, pulling Sabrina into a hug and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Just… make sure you let us know if you are going out on patrol or anything like that."

Sabrina smiled. "You know I don't normally go on patrols," she reminded her. "I've only actually gone out a couple of times, with Max or Chloe."

"All the same…" her mother pressed, raising an eyebrow. "A mother worries."

Sabrina nodded. "I know. I'll let you know."

Returning to her room, Sabrina looked around at the desk she hadn't used more than a couple times recently, at the bed that she hadn't slept in since their return to Paris. She felt a brief twinge of guilt, but sighed, pushing it away. Nooroo drifted further into the room and looked back at her expectantly. Sabrina frowned. "It's not like I lied," she muttered to Nooroo. "I am going to work on the essay, and I am not going out on patrol."

Nooroo raised his eyebrows. "That is true," he agreed. "But you did omit certain details."

Sabrina shrugged. "I don't need to tell them everything, do I?" Without waiting for him to answer, she quickly changed out of the professional blouse and skirt she had worn for work and into a comfortable set of pajamas. As she did so, she kept her senses trained on the other side of the city, where she could sense Max still working steadily at his desk, his emotions primarily consisting of contentment and intense concentration, though with a growing hint of frustration. Sighing, she ran a brush through her hair a few times, activated the portable portal ring in her closet and hopped through, her book bag slung over one shoulder. On emerging in the hallway of Max's apartment, she immediately was struck by the smell of spice coming from the kitchen, which she recognized from the Japanese takeout restaurant down the street. With a sigh, she walked down to Max's bedroom and knocked on the doorframe until he looked up from his computer.

"Sabrina!" His eyes lit up on seeing her, and he stood up from the desk to pull her into a warm embrace. Sabrina sighed in contentment, resting her forehead against his shoulder. Suddenly the emptiness that had been hovering on the edge of her consciousness all day disappeared, filled in by his presence.

"I missed you," she murmured as he ran a hand up and down her back.

He hummed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I missed you, also. How was work?"

She shrugged. "Everything went fine; I have a couple of new clients now, though some of them – especially the other heroes – are a little nervous about going to the rehab center."

"You have heroes coming in for counseling?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I have people coming in who aren't from the counseling center," she corrected.

He grimaced. "I apologize."

Sighing, she pressed a kiss to his lips. "Unfortunately, I probably won't have too many of those clients willing to come to the rehab center."

He frowned. "I wonder if we can rectify that."

"If you can, I would appreciate it." She smiled. "But how is your coding going?"

He grinned, pulling her over to the desk and guiding her to sit down in front of his computer. "Come and take a look!" As he walked her through the program, he explained, "I am still struggling to come up with a reasonable storyline that will fit for all of the available characters. And Majestia's abilities create a significant balancing challenge. But it is 64% finished currently; I project that the remaining 36% will only take another two weeks to complete."

"That's good." She sighed heavily. "This essay… I'm not sure how I'm going to get it done. I just – I can't figure out where to start."

He furrowed his brows, eyeing her carefully. "What would help you the most?"

She pursed her lips and shrugged. "At this point, I think it would be most helpful to just reread the book."

He nodded. "Would you like some tea?"

"That would be nice," she agreed.

As Max went down to the kitchen and made tea, Sabrina settled in on the bed and opened her book to the first chapter. By the time Max returned with a teacup several minutes later and set it down on the nightstand next to her, she was fully engrossed in her reading. Max sat back down at the desk, and presently the clicking of computer keys resumed. Sabrina focused down her empathy to just their small bubble – herself, Max, and the two Kwamis lounging on the dresser – and slowly the tension that had been present all day finally ebbed away. He was safe; she was home. Pulling out a pencil, she started making notes in the margin of the book and on the inside back cover, nodding to herself as she did so. Finally she looked up at the wall clock, almost three hours later. Max still sat in almost the same position, typing and clicking away steadily on his computer. Her neck felt stiff from sitting in the same position for so long, and her eyes hurt from so much reading. But skimming through her notes, perhaps she finally had a plan in mind for this essay. Slowly she sat up and started reaching for her computer, only for her exhaustion to suddenly catch up with her. With a sigh, she rubbed her eyes and yawned, stretching her arms to either side and leaning her head back against the headrest.

Finally, Max looked up from the computer and glanced back at her. "Are you okay?" he asked. "How is the essay?"

She frowned, rolling her neck. "It's going to be fine, I think. Once I actually start writing it. But I think I'm done working on it for tonight; I'll type it up in the morning." She sighed. "What about you? Are you at a good stopping point?"

He shrugged. "I can put it aside for now. Why?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Ready for bed?"

He smiled warmly. "It is that time," he acknowledged, nodding.

Sabrina slipped under the covers while Max got ready for bed and joined her. As he lay down next to her, he smiled, though his emotions shifted into guilt. Sabrina swallowed nervously, looking into his face. "What–what's wrong?"

His eyes shot back to hers, and he grimaced in embarrassment. "I apologize," he began. "I just wondered… it feels as though we are going behind your parents' backs. Do you think we ought to tell them that you are spending nights here?"

She sighed heavily. "You and my dad…"

He flushed slightly. "I only – while you and your mom were in Africa, the two of us had more time to bond. You know he really loves you – he only wants what is best for you." He placed his hand on her cheek. "That is something we share in common."

"And this – you – are what's best right now," she pointed out.

He nodded, drawing her in closer. "That is my hope."

She frowned. "Does this mean that you want me to go back home, you don't want me to stay?"

Max smiled tenderly and pressed a delicate kiss to her lips, running a hand down her side. "That is not what I want at all. This – your happiness – is all that I want."

AN: "Sabrina" will continue after "The Basque Conflict." Tomorrow are the first chapters of "The Life and Times of the Heroes of the World" and "Heroes of Paris: Patrol Logs," volume 2.