A/N: Back to the Spring of '73 now, folks... (April, specifically.)
Week 13 - UDC 7
Past
Waking up the next morning was odd, for he wasn't in his own room and Nick was snoring softly in his ear. Pete frowned at that, wondering... and then it came back to him. He'd not wanted to be alone.
The snoring cut off and suddenly Nick was chuckling. "Oh, so I didn't imagine Ma and Dad letting you sleep in here with me. You okay?"
"Maybe?" Was he? That he had to question it himself was a bad thing, usually.
"I'll take a maybe," Nick told him, and Pete saw one of them pass by the open bedroom door in the hallway. "Up, or wait a minute?"
He knew Nick was trying to keep it light, to let him adjust, and really he just wanted everything to be normal. "You're not going to ask."
"No, I'm not. If you want to tell me, eventually you will."
Pete turned his head to look at him. "I hate it, you know? That things I didn't remember suddenly bug me and then I can't talk about it, because that makes it real. If that makes sense."
Present
Nick saw his father in the doorway, but didn't take his attention off of Pete. "It does make sense, Pete, and now I'm going to ask. What was it?"
Pete stared at him, then seemed to burrow deeper into the covers against him. "Right before Mom got sick, just after Grandpa died. I didn't hear all of what the officer said, but..."
"Oh." Really, now... what else could he say here? "Guess that would make you not want to talk to anyone."
"Yeah."
Walt cleared his throat, causing Pete to startle. "Sorry, kiddo. Breakfast will be ready shortly. Up and at 'em, both of you."
"Can't we just pretend it's a Saturday, Walt?"
"Nope," Walt said with a chuckle. Nick was watching him, though, and noticed a slight tick to his jaw, as if his father was concerned about something. Was it the content of Pete's flashback? Probably.
Future
As the boys ate breakfast in companionable silence, Helen watched them intently. The tenseness of the night before was gone, for the most part. She glanced at Walt, hiding behind the morning paper from them and knew that was unusual. "Any good stories in there?"
"Not really. Editorial is interesting... to a point."
Nick reached over and snatched the paper out of his hands to look at it, then handed the paper back to his father. "Sorry."
"You can ask," Walt told him and Nick grinned. "Besides, reading about current events is good for everyone, no matter how bad the news is."
"It's always bad," Pete muttered.
Walt opened the paper back up and turned a few pages to a certain section. "Oh, I don't know... Charlotte Hunter-Scott and Jaime Huntington got engaged last week. That seems like something good."
Nick paused, frowning at Pete. "That's weird. Did he mention it to you?"
Pete shook his head. "Walt, is there a picture?"
"Sure is." Walt turned it so they could see the announcement, and sure enough, it was Jaime smiling back at them.
Memories
Walt made a special trip to Social Services first thing after dropping the boys off at school and managed to catch Alan as he was parking his car. Alan blinked at him in surprise. "Hi. Where's your shadow?"
Alan smiled. "He decided to go to the base this morning, to check in, just in case he had to, so he's not MIA or AWOL, because his wife really did put him on a plane that fast. What's up?"
Walt sighed. "Can it be tomorrow that we try for an introduction? I was going to try to tell Pete that Metcalf is here, and then we had a bad night and I couldn't even begin to bring it up. Turns out, Nick was right about a memory."
Alan digested that for a minute, nodding. "Right. I'll call Sheryl and arrange for tomorrow."
"Another thing I've been wondering," Walt said as he pulled the paper out and showed the engagement announcement to Alan. "Who is this kid? The boys seem to know him."
Alan took the paper from him and studied the picture. "Oh. He's unofficially in the JROTC with them, actually, because his mother is anti-war. I think Huntington is also an honor student in Pete's math class."
"Think he'd mind coming to dinner with his fiancé?"
Alan smiled. "Well, we could ask him. Probably not."
Expectations
Jaime wasn't expecting Nick to show up at his locker after third period with a piece of paper in his hand and a really confused expression on his face. "What's up?"
Nick held the paper up. "An aide passed this to me after second period, and... it's weird. Dad was quiet for him this morning, and now we are going to dinner tomorrow night at the Tomkins house, and... you and Charlotte are invited, for some reason. Mr. Jenkins told me NOT to tell Pete yet, because he had a bad few days and... like I said, it's weird. Congratulations, by the way."
Jaime processed all of that while he put two books into his locker and pulled three out, along with his lunch. "Right. We'd love to come to dinner. And thank you. Wasn't planning on telling anyone for a while, because the wedding won't happen until I graduate." He paused. "Bad few days?"
"Was like talking to a curtain yesterday."
Jaime studied him as he closed his locker carefully. "And now?"
"Now, at least I know what it was. Is. And..." Nick took a deep breath, let it out. "Sometimes? It hurts to hear. This was one of those, and I don't even know the full content."
"But you know at least some of it," Jaime observed. "Which is better than none."