Barney

He groaned as he came to. He could hear shouting and gunfire, and he tried to move his head. He saw Yang unconscious next to him, and he realized he was still in the damn truck. He knew they were done for. He moved to grab his pistol, grunting and wincing as he did so. He managed to get the door open and crawled out. He immediately saw a pair of boots standing there, and he craned his neck to look up and saw the tall, smiling man with a cigar hanging out of the side of his mouth. Sunglasses covered his eyes, but he didn't have to know that there was glee in them.

Barney groaned.

"What are you doing down there?" the thick, accented voice asked. "And what happened to your truck?"

"Test drive gone bad," he answered. "Trench. What are you doing here?"

"Heard you needed a rescue," Trench replied. He turned to gesture at the waiting helicopter. "Ta da."

"Oye," Barney muttered, pushing himself up onto his knees. He groaned from the effort.

"You owe me," Trench said around his cigar.

"No, this is making up for me saving your ass in '01," Barney retorted.

"Don't remind me of that," Trench scoffed. "It was barely a rescue."

"You're still here, aren't you?" Barney countered. "You're welcome."

"Better hurry up before reinforcements arrive," Trench said, ignoring him. He turned to walk away, and Barney made a face at his back.

"Better hurry up," he imitated, mocking Trench's voice before snorting, "please." He walked around to the back and pushed the cover away. "You boys alright back here?"

"What the hell happened?" Toll asked, groaning. The others were making noises as well as they moved to get up and come out.

"Yea, I thought you knew how to drive?" Lee asked, limping out.

"Well, wouldn't you know it, a family of ducks was on the road, so I swerved to avoid them," Barney answered.

"Seriously?" Lee stared at him.

"No, it was a tortoise and a hare having a footrace, and I didn't want to interrupt," Barney corrected.

"Oh, God," Caesar complained, knowing Barney was being stupid. He started to hobble towards the helicopter.

"You don't have to be ridiculous," Lee commented, giving Barney a look.

"Well, you don't have to be an idiot and pick on my driving skills," Barney scoffed. He reached to steady Gunner, who was a bit wobbly on his feet, having banged his head hard a few times after all. Toll seemed okay out of the lot. Yang was on his feet and waiting as they approached. Barney turned to see Trench leaving in his own helicopter with his team.

"Aw, man," Toll said, noticing. "Does that mean we owe him now?"

"No, we're even," Barney replied. "Come on. Let's get the hell out of here."

Norah

Lee had been gone for four days. She'd worked at the bar, watched TV, played with Rupert, and attempted to stop smoking. She'd lasted two days before giving in again. She had to give Rose credit for being able to stop and not go back. It was hard.

She hadn't heard much from Rose since she'd left. She knew her sister still hadn't said anything about the baby. She wished Rose would know that their father would be supportive and that Oscar would be excited.

She found herself back at Tool's on her Thursday night off, and she located Tool himself at a desk hunched over some paper.

"Hi," she said, making him look up and see her.

"Hello, there," he said back with a smile. "What can I do you for today? You want another one done?" He gestured to his drawings, which she now realized were tattoo designs. They were beautiful.

"Oh, no," she answered, shaking her head.

"Lotus holding up?"

"It's beautiful," she replied, smiling. "I just thought I'd come around and see if you had heard from Lee yet."

"I haven't," Tool advised, sitting up and resting his elbows on the table, fingers folded in the air in front of him.

"What does he do?" she tried again. It was killing her, not knowing.

"It's not my place to share his business," Tool answered again smoothly. "Sorry, darlin'."

She sighed. She was tired of her brain picturing all the things he could be doing.

"Sit down, take a load off," he instructed. "I don't mind the company."

"Sure," she agreed, plopping down on the couch across from him. She looked around again at the papers with drawings on them everywhere, paying more attention to them. She admired his talent. When she was done looking at it all, she looked back at him to see he was sketching again. She watched him work, not saying anything. After a while, he offered her something to eat, which she declined. She went back home and waited. She didn't know why she felt like she was lost without Lee there. She barely knew him, after all.

Victoria

Her heart was not aching, so she knew her brother was still alive. She felt relief. She wasn't surprised when Tool called her an hour later to tell her they were all right.

"Oh, and I have news about the other thing," Tool said. Her attention was captured. She'd told Tool in confidence about wanting to find her son the other night. He said he might be able to help. She hadn't expected him to be so quick.

"Already?" she asked.

"Yea. He's in New Jersey. Robert Yancy."

"Oh," she said, gripping the phone. They'd kept his name she'd given him. She felt touched.

"I can give you the address," Tool offered.

"Okay."

She wrote it down as he dictated. She stared at it. She could see her son. She could meet him and tell him stories. Would he be angry at her or realize she'd done the right thing for him?

"You want me to go with you?" Tool asked.

"No," she answered. "I want to do this alone."

"All right, but I'm here if you change your mind."

"What was it like?" she asked him suddenly, making him pause.

"What was what like?"

"Being adopted," she clarified. He'd told her his story once, but she'd never asked him this question.

"Vic," he said softly. "I knew it was the right choice my mother made. I was never mad at her, if that's what you're afraid of with Bobby."

"I'm worried he hates me," she whispered.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't hate my mother either," Tool offered. "I understood. I think he will understand too."

"I really hope so."

"He will."

"Thanks, Stefan."

"Ah, what did I say about that?" Tool asked. Victoria could just see him wagging his finger at her.

"Right, right. No real names."

"That's right. Call me Mickey Mouse if you need to call me something else other than Tool or Pops, but never Stefan."

"Okay then, Mickey."

"Better," he said, a smile in his tone now.

"Thanks again," she said, referring to her son's information.

"You're welcome. You take care of yourself," he said.

"You too."

They hung up, and she looked at the address again. She could go see him. She was burning with curiosity. Would she talk to him or just look at him? Who would he look like?

In the end, curiosity won. She booked herself a plane ticket for the next day, and then she distracted herself from thinking about using to take the edge off of her anxiety.

Rose & Joe

It was time. Rose knew she couldn't avoid it forever. She approached her father when he was alone washing the van. Oscar was still at school.

"Dad," she said, and he turned to look at her.

"Hi," he said, flinging water from the hose left to right across the side of the van. "Hang on." He finished what he was doing and shut it off before looking at her expectantly.

"I need to tell you something," Rose said hesitantly. "And I'm scared of how you're going to react."

"This is sounding familiar," Joe noted. He recalled the last time she'd told him she was pregnant. She was wearing the exact same face.

"I...I'm pregnant," Rose said on cue. She held her breath, waiting. Joe nodded his head slowly and met her eyes.

"Is Mac the father?"

"Yes," Rose whispered.

"He's a married man, isn't he?" Joe asked, recalling.

"Yes."

Joe sucked his teeth and then pressed his lips together. He looked at his daughter and knew she was already beating herself up over it and dealing with the guilt and shame. He didn't need to add to it. He pointed a finger at her.

"It better be a girl this time," he instructed. She gave a slight laugh, a look of relief going across her face.

"I'll see what I can do," she replied. He moved to hug her tightly, and she cried a little. She was thankful he hadn't said anymore about Mac.

"You tell Oscar yet?" he asked when they pulled apart.

"No. I'm not sure how to."

"Just tell him straight up. He's eight. He can handle it."

"You want me to tell him about Mac?!"

"No, no," Joe said, shaking his head. "Just about the baby. Don't worry about the father business."

"He still wonders who his father is." If she could have found the man, she would have let him know, but she never got the man's contact information, and the only name he told her was Leon. It was supposed to be a one night stand, after all.

"I think he'll be thrilled," Joe went on, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He'll make a great older brother."

"Thanks, Dad," Rose said, smiling. She hugged him again and felt relieved. One down, two to go.

Two Days Later

Lee

They'd made it home in one piece, thanks to Trench. He climbed out of Barney's plane and felt his leg protest. He was pissed that he'd gotten shot. He was pissed that Barney had nearly killed them in that truck. He had no idea how he was going to explain his injury to Norah without her finding out what he did for a living.

He got off his bike and limped towards his house. He'd cover his bike up later. He didn't have the energy for it now. Rupert met him at the door with very high energy. Lee managed to stay upright while pushing the dog off of him.

He spied Norah's cigarettes on the counter, and for whatever reason, he took them. He hid them in the basket on top of his fridge. He wasn't about to let her die from lung cancer. He didn't know why he cared. He just did.

"I'm armed!" Norah said loudly, appearing behind him and wielding a hammer. She lowered it upon seeing him.

"Was the nail gun not enough?" he asked sarcastically.

"I thought you were an intruder," she answered.

"Do intruders usually have keys to the house?"

"Sometimes," she replied defensively.

"Glad to see the house is still standing," he commented, moving on. Rupert followed, sniffing at him anxiously. Lee set his bag down and resisted groaning.

"So where did you go?" she asked, ignoring his comment. She set the hammer down and leaned against the counter as he stood there. He knew she'd see him limp, and he knew she'd have questions.

"Work trip," he answered.

"You look like hell," she retorted. "Some business trip. What did you do exactly?"

Lee pictured all the men he'd killed in quick succession. He blinked, trying not to think about it anymore.

"I got into a car accident," he said. It was part truth. He had.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?"

"Leg's a bit buggered," he answered, relieved to have a reason why he was limping.

"Shit, that must have been scary. I'm glad you're okay," she said genuinely.

"Me too," he agreed. They looked at each other for a moment before he gestured to his room. "I'm going to just...you know."

"Yea," she said. "Right. I'm sorry. You just got home. I'll talk to you later."

He gave a nod and limped away. He needed a shower. He needed sleep. At least he had answered her questions without really answering them. He wasn't sure how long he could keep that up for, though. He recognized the look of determination on her face. She wasn't going to rest until she found out what he went away for.

He found himself wondering if she'd stay after she found out and feeling surprised that he felt disappointed at the thought of her leaving.

Caesar

He walked into his home and got instantly bombarded by both children. Will launched into him hard while Sasha clung to a leg. Char gave him a relieved look over their heads.

"What did you bring me?!" Sasha asked excitedly.

"Oh, baby, I didn't bring anything," Caesar said, and her face fell. Then he reached into his back pocket and pulled something out, brandishing it in front of her face. "I brought the thing! Special power ring!" Sasha's face split into a wide smile as she reached to take the little skull ring from his fingers, courtesy of Barney. He'd overheard Caesar talking to Toll about not having brought back any souvenirs for his kids. Caesar almost suspected Barney had a car trunk somewhere loaded up with skull paraphernalia that he sold in some back alley or at a Halloween convention.

"Cool!" she exclaimed, putting in on her finger and proceeding to run around with her hand outstretched like an airplane.

"What about me?" Will asked hopefully.

"Well, I had to think extra hard about you," Caesar said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Big boy like you needs something really cool." Will was trying not to vibrate with anticipation but was failing. Char was chuckling over by the stove as she stirred dinner in the pot.

"How's this for a souvenir?" Caesar asked, pulling out a jackknife. Will's eyes popped.

"Whoa," he said, taking it gingerly.

"Um, baby?" Char asked, noticing. Her brows were up to her hairline.

"What? Every boy has one," Caesar said to her.

"Really," she said, not impressed. Caesar knew she was worried he was going to groom Will into becoming a mercenary like him, but that was not his goal. He wanted Will to be a doctor or a lawyer or something better than a man who went to kill people for a living.

"A raven! Like yours," Will said, examining the knife. Lee had given it to Caesar to give to him after picking on Barney's ring gift (they'd ended up bickering as usual afterwards). The man had too many knives, apparently. Oh, and on the Coolness Scale, skulls beat knives times infinity. Sometimes Caesar felt like he was working with a bunch of ten year olds.

"Don't go hurting anybody with that," Caesar warned. "Or I will revoke the gift."

"I won't," Will promised. He walked away with it to go examine it further.

"I really think you should have waited until he was a bit older," Char said. Caesar went over to her and put his arms around her tightly, making her exclaim in surprise at the sudden pressure from his arms. He buried his face down into her neck, breathing her in. He'd come too close, way too close to losing this.

"You okay, baby?" she asked, making him look at her.

"I am now," he answered, giving her a passionate kiss.

"Ewww!" Sasha cried. "Daddy's sucking on Momma's face!"

"That's not sucking," Caesar said, stopping since Char started laughing too hard. "You wanna see sucking? C'mere, girl." He started chasing her, making sucking noises with his mouth as she squealed and ran. "I'll suck your soul right outta you!"

"Hale!" Char warned.

"Right, right...nightmares," he said, clearing his throat and trying again. "I'll suck all the giggles right out of you!"

"Nooooo!" Sasha shrieked, laughing as she tried to hide. Then Will jumped in to save her, and they were a big pile of arms and legs on the floor laughing and giggling. Caesar felt the warmth spread from his heart to his core. He loved his family so much. He couldn't imagine losing them or having them lose him.

Maybe it was time to start thinking about ending his career while he was ahead.

Toll

He felt nervous as he went into his apartment. He had no idea if Victoria was going to be there, and he had no idea if she was going to still be pissed at him. He put his keys down on the counter and dropped his bag, exhaling slowly. His joints ached. His head ached. He had some nasty cuts and bruises. He wanted to sleep until the end of time.

"Nick?"

He looked to see his sister coming out of her room. She looked scared and relieved, and he knew right away that she had felt his pain. She took in his appearance and pressed her lips together momentarily.

"Oh, Nick," she said almost sadly. "What happened?"

"Just your regular run of the mill kind of mission," he said dismissively.

"Come on," she said, gesturing. He followed her to the bathroom, and she started to work on his wounds. She used to work as a nurse after all. Toll didn't say anything as she worked. He could tell there was something on her mind. He worried that she'd used when he was gone. Had he pushed her over the edge with everything?

"I found him," Victoria said softly. He stiffened.

"Where?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm not going to do anything about it."

"Did you...did you see him?"

"I did. He's so handsome, Nick. He looks just like you, just like Dad," her voice broke off, and she took in some breaths before clearing her throat. "But he's got Mum's eyes."

"Not my hair I hope," Toll said, a smirk on his lips. She nudged him.

"Definitely not. Thick head of hair on him."

"Good."

She finished and patted his shoulder fondly before starting to clean up the mess. He assisted, and when they were done, he pulled her into a tight hug. She buried her face into his shoulder and cried a little. Toll placed a hand on the back of her head and closed his eyes. She was all right for now. She wasn't showing any signs that she had been using in his absence. He knew her tells by heart.

She was safe for now.

Yang

He got home and put away his weapons. He had minor injuries that had been dealt with earlier, so he went to his fridge and pulled out a beer. He went to sit in his living room in front of her picture, and he raised his beer to her briefly before taking a sip. Then he leaned back, still looking at her face.

"Another job done," he said. "Only a little hurt. Nothing hurts as much as this." He put his hand over his heart. "Nothing compares to that hurt." He smiled sadly at her smiling face, the flowers in her hair. He sighed. Nothing came out of talking to ghosts, but he couldn't seem to stop.

He finished his beer, did a Sudoku puzzle, and then crawled into bed. Out of habit, he rested his hand on the pillow next to him. He imagined her next to him, smiling at him, telling him that sleep comes when you let it. He imagined what the sound of little pattering feet would have been like, the little voice asking to share the bed because they were scared. He'd never know.

A single tear slipped down his cheek and landed on his pillow.

"Good night, my love," he whispered. Then he closed his eyes.

Barney

He groaned as he sat down, his back facing Tool. It was time for another small piece to be done. Tool said nothing as he worked, and Barney preferred it that way. His mind went over the mission and all the things that could have gone wrong (more so than what did go wrong...he was still steaming about Trench saving the day). They'd had too many close calls as it was.

"Norah was here a few times while you were gone," Tool said eventually.

"Oh yea? The lost soul?"

"She seems to be finding her place here," Tool said. "I can see it. She looked bit happier than when I first met her."

"I really should see who this girl is," Barney chuckled. "Since she seems to be capturing the hearts of my team."

"She's definitely a sweetheart."

Barney pondered on this. He wondered which man was gonna get his heart broken by her first. He guessed Lee. Even though he acted uninterested, he knew Lee. It would only be a matter of time before a line got crossed, and then his knife wielding friend was going to get hurt.

"I got money on Christmas," Tool said, reading his mind.

"Oh yea?"

"Yea. She gets a goofy smile whenever she mentions him."

"Interesting."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Tool said. "She keeps asking what you guys do, though. I can only keep putting her off for so long."

"I'm sure we can find a way to share what we do without giving her nightmares," Barney reasoned.

"I'll leave you to be in charge of that," Tool said.

"All right"

They didn't say anything else, and then Barney gestured he was done. He looked at it in the mirror and felt satisfied. One day it'd be finished, over. Until then, he was going to enjoy the journey.

A Few Days Later

Norah

She was at the bar working when Gunner showed up. He sat down across from her and smiled.

"Beer?" she asked.

"Yea." He nodded. She slid him one and then moved to refill some other gentleman's drink near the end of the bar while Gunner sipped on his. A woman came into the bar then, and Norah noticed as she walked over to Dino and gave him a big hug.

"Ah, Lacy, my girl," he said, patting her back. "Long time no see!"

"I was passing through, and I thought I'd come say hi," she said, smiling at him.

"How's the Big Apple treating you?"

"Just fine," Lacy answered.

"You should really think about coming back here," Dino said. "I miss having you around."

"Maybe one day," Lacy replied. Norah turned away from them as they continued talking. She was focused on Gunner again, who was staring into space.

"You okay?" she asked him. He jerked back to the present, looking almost surprised that she was talking to him.

"Yea," he answered. "I'm alright."

Norah didn't completely buy it, but she let it go. She was still very curious as to where Lee had gone and how he'd ended up in a car accident. She wondered if Gunner would tell her.

"Hey," she started.

"You like parties?" he asked her at the same time.

"Um, depends on the party," she answered, her interest piqued. She enjoyed a good party back in the day.

"I'm going to a buddy's after; you wanna join me?"

Norah was a bit surprised he was asking her. She contemplated it. What was her evening like after work anyway? Going home and avoiding Mr. Mood, as she'd nicknamed Lee. Something was bugging him again.

"Sure, why not?" she said with a smile.

"Great." He grinned back. She vaguely thought about Victoria, but she figured maybe Gunner had ended that. Or maybe it was never really a thing. She didn't know.

What she did know was that she was looking forward to a good party. It had been too long. Her question about where Lee had gone and if they'd all gone together disappeared from her mind as Gunner started talking to her about his master's degree. She had not expected that, and he wrote things down on a napkin to show her he was serious. Then he'd blown his nose with it, making her laugh. Gunner was funny. She wondered if anyone had told him that before.

At last call, she helped Dino start to clean up, and then she left with Gunner.

Rose

She hurried a little towards the table where Winston was waiting. He stood up and pulled out her chair, making her smile. He really was a gentleman.

"Hey," he said, smiling back. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she answered. "And you?"

"Very good," he replied. Rose enjoyed his company. He made her laugh. He was interested in her for more than just her looks or what she could offer physically. It was very refreshing.

"How is Oscar?" he asked. Oh, and he took an interest in her son. Also a very good quality in him.

"He's loving his new school," Rose said with a chuckle. "He's also bird watching a lot with Dad."

"Did the tattoo finally wash off?" he asked, a smirk on his lips.

"Yes, finally," Rose answered, rolling her eyes. "He wants another one, but I'm not asking Norah where she got it."

"How is the wandering sister doing?"

"Okay I guess. She seems happy. I don't know what the appeal of New Orleans is, but she seems to be enjoying herself there."

"Maybe she'll find herself there," Winston reasoned.

"Maybe."

Rose wanted to tell him about the baby, but she didn't know how to. She was afraid it would push him away, make him leave. She wasn't ready to lose him just yet, not when things were still so new. So, she kept it to herself. She could tell him another time. For now, she leaned on her hand and laughed at his jokes and had an engaging conversation about everything and anything.

She felt at home.

Lee

He paced. His limp was getting better. His wounds were fading. He knew Norah had questions, but she had sense to keep them to herself. He finished the one construction job and started another. Norah was still helping him out, and they kept it friendly. His thoughts were on other things the majority of the time.

Rupert whined as Lee passed him again. Lee was restless. He didn't know what was wrong with him. There had been no word that trouble was coming his way from his contact, so he figured he was safe for now. There wasn't a job coming for a bit, so he could relax and recover from his injuries a while longer. He didn't really know what was nagging at him.

Then he realized what it was. He looked at the clock. It was past one in the morning, and Norah wasn't home. He knew she worked late at the bar, but she was always home by 12:30. He'd paid attention to her habits. She would get home and have a smoke. He'd hidden her cigarettes twice now, and she hadn't figured out it was him doing it yet (she simply bought a new pack and carried on). Once she finished with her smoke, she'd come inside and give pats to the dog and her cat. She'd make something to eat, bang around for a bit with the dishes, and then go down to her room. Sometimes she'd shower.

He went to the window and looked out. She wasn't home, so what had happened to her? Had she gotten into an accident? Had she gone home with a man? He didn't like the feeling that shot through him at that thought. So what if she'd gone home with a guy? She was single. She could do what she wanted. The protectiveness that Lee felt towards her, though, was getting stronger. He didn't know what to do about it. He couldn't stop it. He'd tried distancing from her and not talking to her, but he couldn't help but take an interest in her life and what she was doing. She was growing on him whether he wanted her to or not.

"Damn it," he said, trying to call her. It went to voicemail. He couldn't worry about her. She was an adult.

But he did worry, which is why after twenty minutes of not getting a hold of her, he went out to his bike and went looking for her.

Gunner

Norah, he discovered, was a lot of fun. They'd gone to the party at his friend's, and she had smoked a joint and played a drinking game as well as danced to whatever song came on the radio. Gunner found he could be himself around her. She made him laugh. She made him realize he was somebody. He loved her quirkiness, her weirdness and awkwardness. He could relate to it.

It was her idea to go trestling. He didn't even know what the hell she was talking about until they were standing at the bottom of a train trestle, and she indicated they were to climb to the top. It was a long way up, and Gunner felt a bit dizzy just looking at it, but he was game. When they got to the top, he chose not to look down. The trestle crossed a river, and he knew if he hit that at full speed, it would hurt like hell, if he even survived. He wasn't sure at this height if that was possible. He didn't want to think it was.

"Isn't this fun?" Norah asked him, laughing.

"You do this all the time?"

"Of course! It's the thrill that makes me feel alive," she answered.

"What if there's no train?"

"Then we try again another time," she said with a shrug. "So, Gunner, since we're up here waiting, tell me about yourself."

He could feel his buzz coming down, and he figured hers was too. He didn't do heart to hearts with people, but he felt he could with her.

"Not much to tell," he said honestly. He knew they weren't telling her about the whole mercenary thing yet, so he had to be careful.

"I don't buy that for a second," she said, pointing at him. "There's more to you than what meets the eye, and I want to know what it is."

He contemplated telling her. He really did. It had burdened him for so long, and he felt that if he shared it with someone, it could be lighter. It could stop pressing on his chest like a thousand pound weight. He just felt so ashamed, though, and he didn't want her to not be able to look at him or think less of him. No, he couldn't tell her. He couldn't tell anyone. It would go with him to the grave.

She was waiting for something, though, so he had to figure out what he was going to say. He cleared his throat.

"Well, I have a drinking problem," he offered. "And a drug problem."

"No shit," she said with a laugh. "So partying tonight wasn't really the best idea for you then?"

"I'm off the wagon right now," he chuckled. "Clearly."

"How does it help you?" she asked. She had poked at it, the secret he didn't want to share, the reason he buried himself with drinking and doing drugs. It took him off guard.

"What do you mean?" he countered, knowing full well what she meant but was buying himself some time.

"Using helps with pain of some sort, so what is your pain, Gunner?" she asked. He didn't say anything, and he felt bad. He didn't want her to think she'd upset him. He just didn't know what to tell her.

"I can go first," she offered. "My pain is finding my mother dead in the bathtub after slitting her own wrists when I was a young girl."

"Oh, shit," Gunner said. It was just so blunt.

"Yea," Norah said, nodding. "I see it all the time. It hurts so bad some days, and others it's just a dull ache. I used to drink and smoke weed a lot more, but I'm trying to clean up a little, trying to deal with the pain in a better way."

"How's that working out for you?"

"Well, I packed up and left home to find myself, so how do you think?" she asked, laughing. He laughed with her. Then, the trestle started to vibrate, and she grew excited.

"Here it comes," she said gleefully. She stuck her hand through the boards, and Gunner guffawed.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Taunting God," she answered. He gave a slight start. He didn't think about God much, but he knew He existed. He was still angry at God for what happened to him, though, so they didn't talk very often, if at all.

"You're pissed at Him too?" Gunner asked.

"Yea," Norah answered. "He let the demons take my mom."

Gunner didn't say anything else as he stuck his hand up there with Norah's, and they pulled them down fast when the train came, laughing like hyenas and hollering like idiots as it rolled overhead.

Norah

She got home around four in the morning, and she found a very pissed off Lee waiting for her. She paused at the sight of him, arms crossed and legs apart, standing on the porch when she was walking towards the house. Her brain was trying to process what was happening; it was still thinking about what had made her tell Gunner about her mother. It had just come out of her, really. She wondered why she felt she could tell him and not Toll or Tool.

"Where the hell have you been?" Lee demanded, bringing her back to Earth.

"None of your business, Dad," she said sarcastically. "You're seriously waiting up for me?"

"I thought something had happened to you," he snapped. "You didn't come home at your usual time, and you didn't answer my calls or texts."

She vaguely remembered seeing his messages but hadn't thought to answer him back. She figured she would check them later. She could feel the anger radiating off of him, and she couldn't understand why he even cared.

"I'm an adult, and I went out after work to have some fun," she said. "I don't need to run anything by you, and I certainly don't need to check in with you. I'm your tenant, not your girlfriend."

Lee's jaw was clenched, and she said nothing else as she moved past him. Thankfully, he didn't say anything else to her. She went down to her room and fell onto her bed. She thought about Gunner, how much fun they'd had together. She thought she might like to hang out with him again soon.

She turned her head at the sound of Lee coming down the stairs. Apparently he wasn't finished with her yet.

"You're seriously coming down for more?" she asked upon seeing him, incredulous.

"You don't seem to realize how much you scared me," he said.

"Why? Why did I scare you? I don't understand," she said roughly. A look flashed through his eyes, and she wondered what it is he wasn't telling her.

"Bad things happen to people who spend a lot of time around me," he offered after a moment. "I make it a habit of knowing you're okay for ease of mind."

"You don't have to worry about me," Norah insisted. "I'm fine, and I was with Gunner tonight, okay? Big guy like that...nobody would mess with me."

"Gunner?" he asked, surprised. Something else flashed through his eyes, and she felt surprised to think it could be jealousy. Why would he be jealous?

"Yes," she said. "And it was fun. We're gonna do it again sometime."

He said nothing, and again, she thought she detected jealousy. She kept staring back at him until he cleared his throat and turned away. He went up the stairs without another word. Norah relaxed back onto her pillows, suddenly exhausted. Her brain was too tired to try and figure out why Lee was bothered by her hanging out with Gunner. It was his problem, not hers.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep within moments.

Lee

He couldn't sleep. He didn't know what he was feeling or why he was feeling it. She'd been out with Gunner. She'd had fun with Gunner. Why had she done that? He didn't know why it was bothering him so much. He didn't like her that way.

Yes, you do.

Lee's attention snapped to the voice, knowing it wasn't his. He didn't hear it often; it would surface when he least expected it. Like now.

"I don't," he muttered out loud.

You do, and you don't want to admit it because everything you care about gets taken away from you. Like me, right?

Lee sat up, rubbing his face. He couldn't do this right now. He gave up on sleep and went out for a run. He needed to get rid of that voice.

He just couldn't run fast enough, though.