Wash and Carolina rode in the taxi as they headed towards their apartment. Carolina said that Kimball gave them the place. Wash didn't have the heart to ask her who Kimball was so he kept silent as they traveled down the road. The taxi stopped at a tall white building that said 'Chorus Estates' on a sign in calligraphy.
"This is our apartment?" Wash asked as he shut the door.
"Well," Carolina said as she paid the cabbie. "For now it is. When you're better, we can talk about another location." She led Wash into a white lobby with green potted plants in each corner. She said hello to the attendant at the counter before she entered the elevator with Wash quickly following.
"How long have you been in this apartment?" Wash asked.
"After we defeated Temple, I immediately came to check on you. You were in another surgery, so I waited. When you came out and into the room, I was allowed in after a few arguments. While you were asleep, Kimball came in and said she would do anything for us. So she gave us this apartment and a few other things."
The elevator door opened to one door that Carolina opened with her key. Wash stepped in to see an opened room with floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto the city skyline. The white living room with cream colored sofas sat around a dark walnut coffee table.
"What other things did she give us?" Wash asked as he continued to look around in the living room.
"Access to the military base whenever we want, civilian clothes, money, the usual things for war heros." He turned his head and found her smiling at him. He returned the smile and came towards her as she went into the kitchen.
"I haven't seen a kitchen with this much space in a long time," he said.
"Well, no more MRE's for us." Carolina went to the refrigerator and began to pull two steaks out and a few potatoes.
"You know how to cook?" He asked, pulling out a chair from the bar in front of the sink.
She smiled as she pulled a knife out from the block and began cutting the potatoes. "Yes, I learned as a child with my mother when she was home." Her smile faltered. "Alice was a great mom. We used to play in the orchard at my grandparent's farm when she was home. Both of my parents tried hard not to be deployed at the same time, but that didn't always happen. She made the most of it when she was home. The director didn't put in as much effort in as mom did."
"So the director really was your father? Is that why you kept the AI Church?"
Carolina was silent as she put the steaks into the oven. "Church was great. He could calculate my armor faster than I ever would be able to do. I also enjoyed our banter and compatibility. I never got along with my real father, so it was nice to have another chance with him, even as an AI." She became quiet as she put the potatoes into the boiling water and added a pinch of salt.
"So, your mom taught you how to cook and how were you able to keep up your skills while we were on missions?"
Carolina chuckled. "If you want it, you work for it."
Wash chuckled as well. "Well, I guess I'll have to work hard to get my memories back then."
"You will."