"Well that went better than expected." Kirk muttered under his breath as they filed out of town hall.

Kirk's shoulders were slumped over as he shoved his hands into his pant's pockets. The older man let out a long breath, indicating that he was glad that the whole ordeal was over.

"Oh, do you have so little faith in me, your own brother?" Linebeck said in a faux hurt tone.

Linebeck grabbed at his chest like he was struck with an arrow. His hand flew up to his forehead as he suppressed a laugh. Kirk shook his head and let out a breath that sounded like a muffled laugh at his younger brother's antics. Link smiled, this was a side of his father that he hadn't seen too much of. One could only wonder what those two would get into while they were on the small island.

"No, I figured James was going to give you a lot more trouble. He's been kinda... well what's the word I'm looking for..." Kirk's voice trailed off.

There was a long pause before Linebeck offered, "Grumpy?"

"Yeah, we'll go with that." agreed Kirk.

Linebeck held up his hands, "Well surprise, surprise. What else is new with James?"

"It seems like this family reunion was well overdue with all the family drama going on." mumbled Tetra.

Link and Aryll nodded in agreement. This was certainly something both siblings weren't used to.

"So now that that's all over, what do we do now?" asked Link.

Linebeck thought for a moment, "Say hi to your grandmother for a while, catch up with everyone, and after that, I'm not sure."

"Well if that's the case," Tetra spoke to her crew, "go and enjoy yourselves. But don't cause any trouble. I'm not going to bail you out unless it's coming out of your next share. You got that? Mako gets first watch, then trade off on our usual schedule. We're going to be here for a few days so ration your money accordingly." Her words were fiery and commanded such authority that everyone quickly nodded.

Seeing such a reaction from her crew made her smile. Tetra waved her hand in the air and the crew dispersed into the town.

"I will see you later Link." Tetra said, "I need to look into a few things for the ship. I'll meet you back by the docks around 8."

With that, the girl turned and made her way down towards the stores along the docks. Link felt an elbow poke him in his shoulder. He looked up and saw his uncle flash him a smile.

"Oh, so where are you two going on your little date. I thought you two were too young to go out on a date." Kirk teased.

Link furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side in confusion, "Date?" Link repeated, the word sounding like it felt like a word he had never heard of. "I think she just wants my help getting the stuff back to the ship. I have power bracelets that allow me to pick up super heavy stuff. She probably just wants me to do the heavy lifting." Link said dismissively.

"But you never denied that you wouldn't be going on a date afterward." Kirk joked.

Link shook his head, "No. I said she probably just wants me to help. She probably wants me to put cannonballs or other supplies down in the cargo hold." the boy shrugged, "I just do what she tells me to."

"Sounds like Tetra who's going to be wearing the pants in the relationship." Jolene said quietly.

Aryll gave her brother a confused look, unfamiliar with the terminology that Jolene used. She noticed that her brother's cheeks were growing a dark pink as the adults chuckled. It could have been a trick of the light, as the sun was starting to set, but she knew that her brother was starting to get embarrassed.

"It's not like that." defended Link quietly. "She's the captain. We don't like each other like that and we aren't dating." Link's cheeks had already turned red by this point.

Linebeck placed a shoulder on his son's shoulder, "They're just giving you a hard time. Trust me, Kirk would tease me about you and your mother all the time. "

"Yeah, well..." Link crossed his arms and moved his shoulder out from under Linebeck's hand.

"Let's just say hi to your grandmother." Linebeck murmured noticing Link's bitter mood.

A smile flashed its way across Link's face. It seemed as though that reminder was enough to get Link back to his old self. They continued to make their way to Link's grandmother's house. The town lanterns were starting to get lit up by the townsfolk as they walked. Linebeck felt fingers reach for his. His emerald eyes flashed over and saw Jolene glance over at him. Their faces turned a shade darker for a second as their fingers intertwined.

Link and Aryll were walking along behind them. He was telling Aryl about the temple of the Ocean Kings. Aryll's eyes grew wide when Link told her about the curse that Bellum placed on it. Link was just about to explain the Phantom Hourglass when he noticed Linebeck and Jolene holding hands. He then noticed the smile on his father's face.

Link's stomach twisted in knots. Sure he was happy that Jolene made his father happy, but something about it... it didn't seem... Link couldn't think of the word to describe how it made him feel. Maybe it was because they were all finally home. Link and Aryll were going to see their grandmother with their father. Linebeck was goofing around with his older brother, the old rivalry between his father and his mother's brother was going on like it never ended. It was a perfect family reunion Link could only dream of. Everyone was finally home. But then it hit him. Link realized why Jolene holding his father's hand upset him so much. It wasn't a perfect family reunion because someone was missing... his mother. With that realization, Link's stomach twisted itself up even more.


Linebeck smiled, it was great seeing the family together under one roof. If only Ashlie were here to see this, she would love it. Goddesses, he missed her. But before Linebeck knew it, eight o'clock came all too soon. It was about time that they all needed to leave anyway. Link needed to go meet Tetra, and Linebeck needed to go back home and get it ready for the week. They said their goodbyes and made their way back towards the town.

"Goddesses, it's been so long since I've been home." Linebeck quietly said to himself. "I can only wonder how dusty that place has gotten."

"It's fine. Trust me." Kirk muttered under his breath.

"Why'd you say it like that?" asked Linebeck.

"Because my place was messy before I left, add in eight years of it being empty, it was a pain to clean up. But yours, you had two little kids, I was hoping it would be a bigger mess and make me feel better about my place. Nope! Besides eight years of dust, the place was spotless." Kirk said shaking his head.

Linebeck shrugged, "I made sure my place was always picked up before I left so I didn't have to clean while juggling two kids. Besides, you always were the messier one. As I recall you always made me clean up your room."

"So you were always a neat freak then." Jolene joked.

Kirk offhandedly replied, "That's why I paid him to clean my room every month."

"Five rupees was not enough for the disaster you called a room." muttered Linebeck under his breath. He turned looked at Jolene and continued, "It was like the time Bremer's room hadn't been cleaned out for a year."

Jolene shuddered at the image.

"But it was like that every month." finished Linebeck with an annoyed tone.

Linebeck put the key into the lock and turned it. It clicked signaling that the door was unlocked. He reached for the handle and turned it. Linebeck pushed opened the door and was hit with a wave of memories.