Cole smiled as he looked at the bright red schoolhouse doors, the early morning sun reflecting off of the shiny brass doorknobs. Even after the time that had passed, the ex-thrashball star found himself questioning if it was all real. He glanced around at the families who smiled at the Cole Train as they passed by, living their lives as though there had never been a fifteen year war.

A lot had changed in just five years, he thought. Even in his perpetually optimistic state of mind, Cole was still amazed to see what they'd achieved. It seemed as though it was just yesterday that they were fighting tooth and nail every day just to survive.

"Gus?" Claire Summers touched Cole's right bicep the second he shut the doors behind him, causing the massive gear to turn, bringing him back to the present. The petite, raven haired woman had her arms crossed over her chest, her copper-penny eyes mirroring concern. Her brow was furrowed, and his rose expectantly.

"What's the matter baby?"

"We're having a bit of a problem. The lights in the classroom, a couple of them actually, keep flickering, on and off. And now they won't go back on at all." Cole's expression contorted with confusion, and Claire shrugged.

"I have no idea what's going on. The rest of the building has electricity, so it's not an outage. But when I opened the doors half an hour ago, I hit the switch and, nothing."

"And the kids are scared." She added helplessly before rubbing her temples in a circular motion, the way she always did when she was distressed. "Just so happens it has to go pitch dark in a room filled with five and six year-olds," she mumbled, shaking her head.

Cole smiled warmly, taking her hand. He knew how much she cared about her class. She took care of each child as if they were her own.

"I'll take care of it, don't you worry. Why don't you get Jace to take the kids outside to play? The Cole Train will have everything up and runnin' again in no time."

Claire chuckled, but her expression seemed hesitant.

"Oh, I don't know. We were supposed to work on their arithmetic this morning…"

"Aww, but it's really nice out," Cole persisted. "I bet the little guys would love it if they got to go to recess early. And besides," the massive gear's eyes sparkled somewhat mischievously, "you're supposed to be the fun teacher right?"

Claire giggled at that, a sound Cole couldn't get enough of. "Well, if you put it that way, it does sound like a nice idea," she relented with a smile. Claire gave him a hug, which he returned.

"Thanks a bunch sweetheart."

"No trouble at all baby. You get the kiddos together, and I'll wait for ya outside. I know just the man for the job."

Claire knew right away who he meant and instinctively rolled her eyes with a grin before returning to her class, instructing them to line up, single file.

"Remind me again why I'm coming with you?" Baird asked with a glare. Cole could tell he was trying really hard to look put off at his request. Baird loved fixing things. All the time. But he also liked to play hard-to-get. The ex-thrashball star cocked his brow.

"Oh come on baby, don't tell me you were having more fun shopping with Sam." Cole had seen the glazed look in Baird's eye when he located him in the middle of the clothing store, carrying several items as Sam browsed. "Looked like that was going well," he quipped with a grin. Baird snorted.

"Oh God," he muttered, shaking his head. "Damon, does this make me look fat? How does this look Damon? Do you like these Damon? Why do you like these Damon?" Baird imitated Sam's voice as he recounted her unbearable chatter as they shopped for something "decent" for her to wear later that night. Cole mimed shock at his tone, and Baird immediately became defensive.

"Hey man, don't get me wrong. I love shopping for her, just not with her. That's girlfriend stuff—thanks for letting her borrow Claire, by the way." Cole nodded. Sam and Claire had grown pretty close, considering their men were something of best friends. It was only natural for the two to spend time together, and they'd caught on pretty well. Plus, Cole was happy to see Claire take a well deserved break from her teaching duties. He reminded himself to thank Jace for taking her shift.

"Besides," Baird threw his hands up, back to rant mode. "How am I supposed to answer those questions anyway? Women don't want your honest opinions about the way they look, no matter how much they say so. And I tell her how beautiful she looks all the time, but she doesn't believe me. She thinks I'm just being agreeable." Baird let out an exhausted sigh. Yeah, he needed something to fix. Anything. Now.

"Ok, ok, I get it," Cole raised his hands, palms out. "Just chill out, ok?" he added, chuckling. Baird rolled his eyes with a "yeah, yeah…"

Cole led his friend down the flights of stairs leading to the school's basement, locating the fuse box behind a few crates of supplies. Baird opened the doors, and the second his eyes fell on the heap of metal and wires entangled inside, his face brightened, his entire body relaxing. Cole grinned.

"So how are things with Claire?" Baird asked casually, going through his tools. His voice was completely free of stress now.

"Wonderful Damon," Cole responded, his tone almost dreamy. He paused for a moment before adding "She's the one."

Baird turned from his work, brows raised. "You serious?" he asked with a smile. Cole nodded.

"I'm telling you baby, there's something special about her, y'know?" Baird noticed the sparkle in his friend's eye. "I love her more than anything."

"Even more than me, huh?" The mechanic quipped, shaking his head. He couldn't resist. Cole bellowed with laughter and slapped him on the back.

"Now baby, you know there's no one on Sera who could replace you."

"Damn right," Baird snickered, returning to work. "Seriously though, I'm really happy for you, man." Cole smiled, tempted to hug the blond, but restrained himself.

"Thanks Damon."

They chattered a bit as Baird worked, aiming his miniature flashlight through dust-covered clumps of wire, his brow knitted tightly as he concentrated. But after a little while, Cole noticed Baird had stopped listening to him.

"What is it?" he asked, taking a step closer to Baird's seat.

Baird didn't answer. He leaned into his work, grabbing a wire between his first two fingers. It was cut in half, frayed at the edges. His expression screwed up with confusion, and he reached deeper into the fuse box, pushing passed the outer most of its internal hardware before grabbing a handful of frayed wiring.

"What the—" was all he got out before falling out of his seat, managing some interesting noises as something scurried across the floor.

"What the hell?!—" Baird gasped, scrambling over the dusty floor as Cole completely lost it. He was still laughing hysterically as Baird picked himself up, wiping a hand over the seat of his cargos.

"Yeah, real funny Cole," he sneered, cheeks already pink. "Where the hell did that thing go anyway?"

"It was just a mouse, baby!" Cole wiped at his eye. "Man, you shoulda seen your face…"

"Did you see where it went, or not?" Baird was growing agitated. "Because that's what's screwing up the lights." He peered into the fuse box again with renewed caution, eyeing the lump of dust and old wiring where the little creature had made its 'home.'

"How the hell did that thing not get electrocuted anyway..." Baird muttered before stopping dead in his tracks. "Oh, crap…Cole, come here and look at this."

Cole glanced over Baird's shoulder and raised his eyebrows. In the mouse's nest were six or seven baby mice, still pink and hairless. Cole made an 'awwwwww' sound, but Baird had already turned around with a long sigh.

"Well this is just perfect," he groaned. "Now the place with be crawling with these vermin."

"Aw Baird, have a heart," Cole cooed. "They need a home too."

"Yeah, and we need electricity," Baird countered. "Where'd the bigger one go?" He searched the floor, leaving Cole staring at the little nest. He glanced over his shoulder at the blond, who'd stooped down in the far corner.

"What'd you find baby?"

"I guess I found mom," he answered, his voice softer than before. Cole went over to see the little grey mouse lying on the floor, seemingly unwilling to move. Baird poked at it gently with the handle of his screwdriver, but it didn't even try to run.

"What's wrong with it?" Baird mumbled, actually managing to sound concerned. It suddenly tried to get up, but favored its back leg and lay back down.

"It'd might've gotten hurt when it fell from the box," Cole suggested. "It's pretty high up."

Baird's face took on a bit of sympathy as he turned around, still crouched. "Now I kinda feel bad killing it. Would've been pretty useful in the lab…"

"Sorry things didn't work out like you planned Damon," Cole shook his head. Baird raised his brows, shrugging his shoulders innocently.

"What? It's true." Cole ignored him, taking one of Baird's gloves from his tool belt.

"You don't have to kill it man, I'll do it," Baird offered. He was being genuine, but Cole still shot him a look.

"We're not gonna kill it! It's got a family." Cole sounded shocked at Baird's cruelty.

"A what?"

"If you kill the mom, the babies will die."

"Yeah…and?"

Cole huffed. "Man Damon, you're just all heart."

"Well what do you plan on doing, nurse it back to health?" Baird shot back, crossing his arms as Cole scooped up the injured creature into his palm.

"Exactly," Cole answered simply. Baird's mouth hung open as if to say 'are you serious?'

"We can't just leave em' here. Besides, the little kids will love having a class pet! And look how cute she is…" Cole sounded so enthused that Baird was forced to relent. He let out another forceful sigh, turning away.

"Ok, ok, fine. As long as they can't chew anymore wires, I don't give a shit. What do I give a shit?..." He faced Cole again, pointing his finger at him. "But the next time an army of those things decides to screw with the building's interior, don't come crying to me."

Cole chuckled. "Fair enough."

More on Cole and Claire, as well as the rest of the gang to come :)