A Change in the Weather

Dana Faraday had gotten her husband back, ostensibly, at least. She remembered tuning into Peter Fleming's earth-shattering press conference. She was pleased that the Cape had somehow convinced Fleming to clear her husband's name, after all. (Of course, if he hadn't, Dana would have made a trip to ARK Tower to give Fleming a piece of her mind.)

But she had been floored when, instead of taking responsibility for her husband's death, Fleming proceeded to announce that Vince was still alive, that he had gone into hiding until his name could be cleared.

The fact that she had to learn this from the television, instead of from her husband, did not improve her mood one iota. When Vince finally showed up at her apartment an hour or so later, there was quite a bit of yelling before she broke down, sobbing, into his arms. Her husband had acted like a louse, allowing her to think he was dead for the better part of a year, but he was still her husband and she still loved him. He was back home and, she thought, that was all that mattered.

She should have known better, of course.

Despite Fleming's assurances to the public that Marty had framed Vince, there were rumblings that the Palm City District Attorney's Office was looking into the possibility of prosecuting Vince for Chess' crimes. By the end of a month, the District Attorney announced that they would not be bringing charges against Vince. There simply wasn't enough evidence for the D.A. to feel confident that he would be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. (On the contrary, Vince's military records showed that he was overseas when some of Chess' early murders were committed in the United States. How this had escaped everyone else's attention was beyond Dana.)

Unfortunately, Vince had already been convicted in the court of public opinion. The citizens of Palm City seemed convinced that, like Lizzie Borden, Vince Faraday had gotten away with murder. Vince was blacklisted. There was no way the Palm City Police Department would have given him his old job back… if, hypothetically, the PCPD was back in business.

In the midst of trying to rebuild his old life, Vince had been elated by the possibility of ARK losing its contract to provide law enforcement services to the city. Understandably, he blamed the corporation for destroying his reputation and disrupting his world (though Dana never heard him utter a word against Marty).

At first, it looked as if the mayor was going to rescind the contract. If, as the CEO claimed, the corporation had gone after the wrong man-had nearly killed him because of one rogue employee- while the real Chess roamed the streets in secret, unhindered, ARK clearly was not the correct guardian for Palm City.

But Peter Fleming did not get to where he was today by letting events take their course. In the days following his press conference, he spent hours in emergency meetings with the mayor and the city council. The ARK Public Relations and Legal Departments worked around the clock.

In the end, Fleming had convinced the mayor that the city would have nothing to gain by breaching its contract with ARK. Not coincidentally, a few million dollars had changed hands, though the newspapers and television stations-all subsidiaries of ARK- successfully buried that story.

The day Vince learned that ARK was going to continue to police the city, he nearly broke the television set. Fortunately, Dana persuaded him to go attack his punching bag, instead. He was still venting his anger when the doorbell rang.

Dana opened the door to see Peter Fleming standing before her.

"Hello, Mrs. Faraday. May I come inside?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Mr. Fleming."

"Is your husband home? I'd like to speak with him."

"I don't think he wants to speak with you."

"But that's not for you to decide, is it?" Peter asked as he slid past her and into the apartment. "I take it you've heard that ARK has managed to keep its contract with the city?"

"Yes, we have. If you've come to gloat, you've got a lot of nerve-"

"I haven't come to gloat. I've come to offer your husband a job."

"You…what?"

"Specifically, I've come to offer him the job he would have had at ARK if all this unpleasantness about Chess hadn't occurred."

"Well, that's-"

Vince walked into the room, having realized who had rung the bell.

"Honey, Mr. Fleming was just telling me that he wants to offer you your job back."

"Is that so? Well, Fleming, you can take your job and shove it up-"

"Forgive me, Faraday. I was under the impression that you wanted to be a cop. As you know, the PCPD is history."

"Thanks to you," Vince spat.

"Be that as it may. Do you really think anyone else will hire you now? Despite what I've said, a lot of people still believe that you're Chess. Of course, we know that isn't true, but that won't help you find work. Come to ARK, join me and you can be a cop again." No one spoke for a moment. Vince was still seething.

"He'll think it over, if that's okay, Mr. Fleming. Is it alright if he gives you a call when he's made a decision?"

"That won't be necessary, Mrs. Faraday. I already know what move he's going to make. I'll see you on Monday, Vince," Peter called over his shoulder as he turned to leave the apartment.

Six Months Later:

"Vince, don't tell me you have to work tonight, too! Not again; this is ridiculous!" Dana Faraday exclaimed.

Fleming had been right. Vince had, grudgingly, accepted the offer and gone to work at ARK Corporation. Somehow, the media did not have a field day about ARK hiring the man that had been accused of being Chess, but then, when you own the media, anything is possible, Dana mused.

So, it had been six months since Vince had come home to her and their son. Why then, did it feel as if he was never around? He had thrown himself into his work with a passion she had never seen before. Surely no one else at ARK put in the number of overtime hours he did. It was not unusual for Dana to go to bed or wake up alone, which would've been understandable if Vince was supposed to work the night shift. (Scratch that. It wouldn't have been understandable. Considering her memory of the morning Dana had woken up without her husband, only to see him on the news running for his life, she would never again be okay with waking up to finding him gone.)

But when confronted, Vince merely shrugged and said something about working extra shifts or not wanting to keep her awake by bringing work home. He wouldn't meet her eyes when he said this, though, and Dana knew he was keeping something from her.

She half-feared that his secret was that he was having an affair. When she mentioned this to Vince one evening, he choked on his beer.

After his coughing fit subsided, Vince faced Dana.

"An affair? Are you kidding me?" he denied it vehemently. "If I've been at all unfaithful to you, it's only been by being married to my work." Vince went back to sipping his beer.

"You're right." Certainly Vince was still passionate with her. She had no complaints in that department, only… Some nights he would come home so amorous, a traitorous part of her wondered who it was he was thinking of as he lay with her. She pushed those thoughts aside. Vince loved her.

Maybe in another six months, she wouldn't have to keep reminding herself of that.

"Maybe I should have a talk with Fleming," she said aloud, "tell him to stop riding you so hard. Vince? Are you alright?" she thumped on his back as he started choking again.

VFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVF

The Cape raced across the rooftops, guilt nagging at him. Vince knew it wasn't fair for him to keep his alter ego a secret from his family, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell them…

Trip had complained that the Cape had stopped coming around the apartment building. Surely, that would have been the perfect time for Vince to come clean. Instead, he'd made sure the Cape resumed his visits with Trip Faraday.

"What's the matter with me?" Vince muttered to himself.

"Where should I start?" Orwell's teasing voice came over his headset.

"It was a rhetorical question," Vince replied. Jamie had continued her blog unabated. Like Vince, Orwell saw no reason to quit until her father stopped being Chess, if her father ever stopped being Chess…

They had worried that his knowledge of their secret identities would spell disaster for them, but their fears were never realized. As it turned out, Peter, who had already called off the search for Orwell, was more concerned about the fact that they knew he was Chess. In exchange for their silence, he vowed not to touch Dana or Trip.

Unfortunately, he hadn't made any promises about not making Vince's life hell.

THE END

Author's Note: Thanks to IronAmerica, 1) for beta-reading this chapter, 2) for the tip about Vince's military alibi, and 3) for pointing out that Peter would find a way for ARK to keep its contract with the city.

Plenty of subtext for everyone, no? :) If, however, you're still looking for Pence, please check out my current crossover, "Black Bird; Green Arrow."

Be sure and let me know what you thought of the epilogue. I made a few edits. Unfortunately, it no longer ends on a joke, but it's less non-linear and hopefully less confusing now.

Thanks once more to those who reviewed!