Connor blinked as he stepped out into the glaringly bright hallway.

"I have updates from the local police. Good news is that the terrorist has been shot dead."

Connor gulped, nodding.

The General was dead. Was Connor a bad person if he felt relieved that someone had died?

Alicia continued, "Bad news is that there have been injuries. Some of the villagers are seeking treatment in Kitgum. Two of your friends," She paused to read her phone, "James Church and Eli Neely were also injured. They are actually on the way here now."

"Are they…are they okay?"

"They were conscious, last I heard. I've notified Mr and Mrs Neely, but James Church doesn't seem to have his parents' contact on file. His emergency contact is a Mr Theodore Michaels?"

That was Elder Michael's dad. Connor had already asked Elder Church about it when he first saw the paperwork.

"Yeah, it's uh complicated," Connor sighed, "Umm...Can I borrow your phone again?"

Connor took the phone and dialled.

"Hello, Elder Thomas speaking."

"Poptarts!" Connor almost yelled, "Are you okay?"

"Connor! Where are you?! Are you with Elder Price?! Arnold's freaking out, I'm freaking out!" Poptarts cried hysterically, "We saw the birthday candles on the ground, when we were walking back to the hut. And the blood! For a moment I thought that we're gonna find you guys- you know, dead or something. And all your bloodied clothing in the room! What the heck, Connor?!"

Connor winced, "Sorry about that, I should have left a note. I called for help, and we're in Kampala now. All the blood, they're Kevin's, but he's gonna be okay."

"Gosh," Poptarts sniffed, "That was why the police came just in time? I thought we were all gonna die. It was horrible. Church and Neely, they-," Poptarts sighed, "Gosh, Connor!"

"Are they hurt bad? What happened?"

"Butt-effing-naked grabbed Maua. Neely went to defend her. And Church went to defend him. And then they got themselves shot," Poptarts sighed, "Maua's okay, the two of them are okay too, I think. They were in pain, but Gotswana helped to stop the bleeding," Poptarts sighed, "It was just a frigging mess."

"What about you? Elder Michaels? Elder Cunningham?"

"We're not hurt. We ran and hid, like you taught us. Connor, we were so worried about you and Elder Price! We were just about to go search for the two of you in the forest! Did you two- Did Butt-effing-naked..."

"No no, it wasn't him. We ran into one of his men, and Kevin got into a fight with him, and then got hit a couple of times. I actually knocked the guy out with my flashlight, can you believe that? Anyway, Kev has to get surgery for his arm, so we're just waiting."

"Do you want us to come to Kampala too? Elder Michaels followed along with Elder Church and Elder Neely."

Connor rubbed at his eyes tiredly, "I don't know, Poptarts. If you want to, I guess. My mom's coming tomorrow though, so I think I'll manage okay."

"My parents were about to fly here too! But I convinced them not to. Now, they're begging for me to go home."

"Yeah," Connor wondered if this meant the end of their missions.

—

Connor practically flew into his mother's arms when she appeared in the doorway.

"Mom!"

She smelled like home, she felt like home.

"You're here! You're really here," Connor buried his face in her hair.

"Oh Con," She held him tight, "I'm so glad that you're okay."

"Come," Connor pulled her into the room eagerly, "I want you to meet Kevin."

"I must say, this is...not what I expected Uganda to be," She looked around the busy hospital ward.

"Why's that? Here! Well, he's not awake yet but this is Kevin."

Connor didn't know why exactly, but the first thing he had wanted to do was to introduce his boyfriend to his mother.

She gave a tight smile.

"Con, hon, I know who Kevin Price is," She patted on Connor's arm, "Is he alright?"

"A concussion and a broken collarbone. The doctors are making us wait three weeks for the surgery to fix it," Connor huffed, "Unbelievable!"

"If you want, we could always go back," She tilted her head.

"I know, I know. Let's just see what he thinks when he wakes up," Connor turned back to look at Kevin.

Kevin looked much worse now, with the sunlight lighting up the whole room. A nasty bruise covered his right eye, and the black stitches and the red, raw cut on his brow was a stark contrast to the rest of his face. Whoever cleaned him up also missed a few spots, there was still some dried blood on his cheek, and on his jaw. Connor didn't know what they had done to Kevin's shirt, it was probably already in the trash. There was no salvaging the bloodied top.

"Well, I'm going to put my things in the hotel room," His mother gestured to her suitcase, "And then I'll bring you some food when I'm back, alright?"

"Oh, do you need help?" Connor offered, even though he hadn't wanted to leave Kevin's side. He was reluctant to let his mom leave either.

She gave him another hug, "I'll be back before you know it."

—

Connor was cleaning the residual blood and dirt on Kevin's face when his eyes fluttered open.

"Look who's awake," Connor's face broke into a grin.

Kevin frowned at him, "What are you doing?"

"You're filthy," Connor continued to rub at Kevin's jaw with the damp towel, "How are you feeling?"

"Ow, stop it," Kevin pushed Connor's hand away.

"Sorry, it won't come off."

"Leave it," Kevin sighed, "What's wrong with me? Everything hurts."

"You're lucky you didn't get shot, Kev. What were you thinking?"

"What?" Kevin looked confused for a second before his eyes widened with recollection, "Oh. Oh! Oh shit! The village! He- Is he…Is everyone-?"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Connor placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder, "The General is dead."

"What the fuck happened?!"

Connor began filling Kevin in on how they got to Kampala, and what Poptarts had told him.

"Elder Neely and Elder Church are actually in the room just down the hallway. They're both going to recover just fine," Connor said, "What else? Oh," Connor gently picked up Kevin's right hand, "Do you feel this?"

"Not really. A bit, I think?" Kevin sounded afraid, "Am I supposed to? Is this bad?"

"Can you move them?"

His fingers twitched, "It hurts. What…What did the doctor say?"

"You broke your collarbone again. The doctor said that they'll have to fix it with surgery."

Kevin rubbed at his shoulder, "Okay? It doesn't feel fixed."

"Well, they don't have any free slots in the surgery until three weeks later."

"You're joking, right? I can't wait three weeks?"

"I know, I know," Connor gently laid down Kevin's right hand, and grabbed Kevin's other hand, "If you want, we could leave for London tomorrow."

Kevin was about to reply, when he narrowed his eyes, "Uh Connor? Isn't that your mom?"

Connor turned, "Oh, yeah. And my mom's here."

"You don't say," Kevin raised an eyebrow.

She stared at their hands for a moment too long.

Kevin pulled his hand away from Connor's, "Mrs McKinley, hi."

"Please, call me Eileen. It's nice to see you awake," She nodded stiffly.

"How was your flight?" Kevin asked.

"Horrible."

"Oh," Kevin's smile fell.

She turned to Connor, "I bought some stew for you, hon. I think it's beef. And this," She took a small box out of the bag, "A cake! I imagine you don't get proper birthday cakes in the villages."

Connor laughed, "Aww mom. Kevin did bake me a beautiful cake, even though I didn't get the chance to eat it," Connor reached for Kevin's hand again, but Kevin slid it under the blanket.

Connor frowned at him, and Kevin just frowned back.

"That's nice. Con, why don't you get started on the food? You must be hungry."

"I am hungry, gosh, we haven't eaten since last night," Connor grinned, "Did you get anything for Kevin?"

His mother looked surprised, "Oh, I didn't think he'd be awake yet, I can go get something-"

"It's fine, I'm not hungry," Kevin hastily added.

Connor rolled his eyes, "How can you not be hungry? Here, we can share."

Kevin must have been starving too, because he gave a tiny smile, "Okay."

Connor helped Kevin sit up against the wall, and fed him a spoonful of meat.

"Good?" Connor smoothed Kevin's hair down.

"Yeah, thanks."

Connor looked up and caught his mother staring at them with furrowed brows, again. She promptly avoided his gaze.

Why was she acting all strange?

Kevin glanced at Connor sadly, and then down at his hands in his lap.

What was the matter? Connor thought that his parents were alright with them being in a relationship.

"Mom?" Connor sighed, "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

—

"I thought you weren't mad?"

"Con, what are you talking about?"

Connor crossed his arms, "I thought you guys were fine with Kevin and I, together."

"Of course we are, Connor. We're looking forward for the both of you to come home. We've already gotten Kevin's room all set up."

"Then why are you being so weird about it? You were making Kevin feel-," Connor gestured as he searched for the right word, "Unwelcome."

His mother smiled sadly, "That wasn't my intention, Connor. I guess it'll take some time getting used to seeing...this. We may not be Mormons anymore, but we have been for the past four decades."

Connor didn't respond.

"I'm sorry, Con. I assure you that your dad and I are happy to welcome Kevin into the family."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. I'm sorry, Connor," She stepped forward to embrace him, "I promise I'll behave."

Connor chuckled softly, "Okay. You know, I'm not the one you should be apologising to."

When they went back to Kevin, he was watching them expectantly.

His mother was the first to speak up, "So Kevin, what do you say we go home tomorrow?"

"Oh," Kevin looked pleasantly surprised, "Can we...can we stay for a few more days? I want to say goodbye to everyone."

"Of course we can, Kevin," She nodded, with a genuine smile.