"So you're on first name terms with the janitor," Kathryn teased Ben as they walked down University Plaza towards the train station Dinky.

Ben raised an eyebrow at her, and grinned. He was glad she was in a better mood than earlier, and from the direction they were heading, he could only imagine where she was planning on taking him. "What if I am?"

"How come you don't make friends with people your own age?" Kathryn asked, looking up at him, glad he was taller than her to block the bright sun.

"I'm your friend aren't I?"

"Only because I let you," she teased. Ben laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked.

"Or I let you," Ben pointed out. "Besides, being friends with Joe could have its benefits one day. You never know."

"Joe the Janitor, now doesn't that just sound odd to you?" Kathryn asked him; in such a way that Ben had to look down at her to see what she was thinking.

"You don't like Joe?" he asked.

"I don't know. I mean, I feel like I've seen him before, or something," Kathryn confessed. "It kind of weirds me out."

"You've probably saw him around campus last year," Ben assured her. "He just got assigned to Mathey College and Blair Hall this year. I bumped into him outside our hall this year, which is how we met." He knew Kathryn was always unsure of strangers, so he didn't see anything odd with what she was saying. Looking down at his small friend, he was amazed that everything the trauma she went through as a child, she was relatively okay. Besides the few panic attacks and a little claustrophobia, Kathryn was fine as long as she felt safe. It did make him pull her a little closer to him though, just to reassure her that she was safe with him. He'd told time after time he'd take care of her, not to mention he'd promised her brother that as well. "So where are we going?"

His question cheered her up a bit as she started going into the plan she had for the day. Ben listened, amazed that she'd managed to play the NYC trip in only a couple of minutes in the bathroom. Not to mention that Kathryn had also grabbed her camera bag without him noticing, which meant they were heading to Central Park for the better part of the day.

He couldn't help but having this thought in the back of his mind though, that he should look into Joe. If only to appease Kathryn's worries, he figured.

Virgil crashed onto his bed with a loud sigh of relief. It had been almost a twelve hour work schedule and he was too tired to even change out of his uniform completely. The fires had gotten out of hand while IR had been there, spreading quickly throughout the dry land. He had almost expected the ocean to dry up around Australia it had been so hot. He wished once more that Australia wasn't the driest country in the world so that rain could help put out the fires.

But it hadn't only been fires. IR had helped in the evacuation of many Australians, and in Alan's case, the movement of many animals. All three of their fire vehicles had been used at one point: the Firefly, the Fire Truck and the Fire Tender. John had been right; they'd need all hand on deck for this one. There were times where he even thought their dad, or Tin-Tin, should have come along and helped.

But he also knew it would have been too much pressure for Tin-Tin, being as inexperienced as she was. He cared for her like a brother, and he definitely wouldn't have wanted her at that mission. They did fine without her, on this mission at least. And not to mention Alan would have been more preoccupied in making sure she was safe than helping evacuate wildlife.

Speaking of Alan, he wondered what his brother was up to. What all his brothers were up to actually, because he seemed to recall something about a meeting after the mission. But he was just too tired to actually want to do anything, and his bed was just so comfortable.

Virgil didn't know if he fell asleep or just spaced out for a moment, but he definitely regained consciousness as a delicious smell wafted into his room, followed by quick steps and the opening of his door. "Come on Virg, we're all waiting for you," Alan said through a full mouth of what Virgil presumed was food. "Kyrano made us brunch, it's delicious. And Lady P and Parker are here."

Virgil sighed and pushed himself off the bed. No doubt he looked like a mess, probably still soot streaked and sweaty. Alan on the other hand, seemed to have taken a shower, water still dripping from his blond hair. But he was tired; his blue eyes rimmed red from irritation and exhaustion.

"I'll be down in five," Virgil told him, heading towards his bathroom. "Just let me wash up."

It wasn't until Virgil had gotten out of the bathroom and was making his way down the stairs did he remember his short conversation with Kathryn. He slowed down and stopped on the stairs, looking at some of their childhood pictures. There were five high school graduation pictures, and each one was the exact same as all the others. The only difference was the boy in blue and everyone else's height. Then there was the sixth picture, and it was this Tracy that Virgil kept looking at. Kathryn was in every one, her gray eyes just like his and that auburn hair which no one knew where she got from.

By the time Kathryn had graduated high school, she had taken their mother's maiden name, and they'd made sure there had been no relation to the Tracy name. So, they couldn't have just showed up at her graduation without raising questions. Parker had gone in their steed, under disguise, but Kathryn had managed to figure out who he was anyway. She'd posed for her picture for him and had to learn that they'd been on a mission in Thailand at the same time. He remembered, because that mission lead to Alan having a badly injured ankle which made John have to come down and Alan start his rotation early.

Virgil just looked at the pictures of his family, their lives together. Or supposedly. He noticed how there wasn't a new recent one of Kathryn, and the last one of the Tracy siblings was taken at Alan's high school graduation. That was six years ago. He tried to recall her face from last night's video call, trying to see how her features had changed, if at all. But all he could remembered were her grey eyes that looked tired, and worried. Why hadn't he noticed that last night when she called? He could have called her back while driving 2 to Australia, or had John check up on her while they were in the field. He'd just been too shocked to really react to anything.

He didn't know how long he had been standing there thinking. He probably would have stayed until the hunger reminded him he had to eat. Or until he heard someone clear their throat behind him. Virgil turned to see his blond haired, blue eyed brother, Alan, looking not at him, but at the pictures. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"Alan asked, turning his gaze towards him. Virgil nodded and took one last look. "Do you ever think that maybe dad didn't make the right decision? That maybe we agreed too quickly, or that we didn't search for different solutions." Alan paused for a moment and looked back at their lives hanging on the wall. "I always wonder how things would be different. How things would work differently here on the island. Her room is next to mine you know, I pass by it every day and know that it probably still looks the way it did when she was fourteen. I wonder if she and Tin-Tin would get along. Or if there would some fights for female dominance or something."

Virgil put a reassuring hand on his little brother, though he chuckled a little at his last comment. "I know Alan," he said, guiding him away from there and down the steps again. "I wonder too, but I think the right choice was made in the end. She's safe now, and happy. It's what everyone wants for their little sibling right?" Alan nodded, a little hesitant. "So, you think there's any food left?" On cue, Virgil's stomach growled making Alan grin.

"Not if you don't hurry. Gordon was already on his third plate when I came to get you. Doubt there's anything left by now. And boy, did you miss out," Alan teased, his somber mood slipping away.

"Come on squirt," Virgil said, ruffling his brother's hair and getting out of Alan's reach quickly. Alan laughed and chased after his brother. Neither gave a second thought on what they'd just talked about. Neither noticed as a graduation picture fell from the wall, its frame and glass shattering beyond repair.

Kathryn sat under a red light, flipping through the pages of a binder, looking for something. She would have sworn she had taken and developed a new roll, but she couldn't find it. Frowning, she got up from her printing station; made sure the photo paper was covered, and turned on the lights to the dark room.

It took her eyes a moment to readjust to the light. And as soon as she could see, she glanced at the clock to read the time. It was close to ten at night, and Kathryn had promised Ben they'd have their movie night today, but she couldn't go before she found out what happened to the roll. It wasn't that the roll contained some great pictures, because they were mostly campus shots, but she'd never lost a role before. She was extremely controlling of her photography gear, needing to know where everything was and making sure they weren't damaged. So it was easy to say that she had never lost anything photography related. Not even when she had to travel for team meets, or moving from school to Ben's for the summer, or even when she came to Princeton.

Kathryn had been using the dark room in Blair Hall since the first week of her freshman year, and had started using it this year even before school had officially started. Heck, she even had a key to the room. This thing most people called a hobby, Kathryn called a passion. It had definitely helped her through losing her ability to do gymnastics, which had devastated her. Photography was important to her. And all Kathryn really wanted to know was what had happened to her roll of film.

Her cell phone started to buzz, then Ben's ring tone, and she knew it was going to have to be a mystery she would solve tomorrow. If she didn't head up now, he'd drag her out and she did not want that spectacle to be repeated again. Grabbing a pencil and paper, she scribbled down a note for everyone who came in to know that her roll was missing. Maybe someone had taken it by mistake, she figured, trying to talk herself into that logic instead of going back in and scourging the room top to bottom.

Kathryn hadn't been expecting to see anyone in the hall this late into the night, but she almost ran into a custodial worker down the hall as she hurried back. "Oh sorry," she exclaimed, before stepping around and noting that it was the same one from earlier in the day, the one who knew Ben.

"It's alright," he said. For a moment she thought the man was wearing round glasses, which made her heart skip a beat. "Shouldn't be lurking about the halls this late at night any who. The name's Joe," Joe introduced himself. Kathryn smiled nervously; meeting strangers really wasn't her thing. Being alone with them at night wasn't really her thing either. She always imagined them wearing glasses, like her nightmare from before.

"Kathryn," she told him after a moment. The proper manners she'd had drilled into her as a child, then at finishing school, made her respond.

"Ah yes, Ben's friend," Joe said, a silly grin on his face. "Good kid that Ben. Always looking out for everyone, that boy is. Too bad he can't be around all the time." Kathryn nodded, getting this weird feeling down her back. The one that made your skin crawl when you knew something was coming.

"Yeah, too bad," she said, taking a step back. "Sorry, but I have to go. It was nice meeting you though," she told him and turned around, forcing herself not to run up the stairs and all the way to her room.

"Nice meeting you too, Kathryn," she heard Joe call after her as she went up the stairs. Even as she made her way to her dorm to drop off her things, Kathryn felt as though Joe kept watching her. She shivered at the thought.

"I'm just being paranoid," Kathryn mumbled to herself as she stopped in front of her dorm door and reached into her pocket for the key. She frowned, and reached into the other one. How could she have forgotten her key? "I guess I left it in my bag from today's trip," she figured, stepping back and heading down the hall and up the stairs again. Ben kept a spare of her key, so getting in later wouldn't be an issue. And even if he didn't, she could always just crash in his room.

The thought made her stomach tighten for a moment, which was odd. Kathryn had been spending basically any school break since her high school freshman year with him and his family at their South Carolina home and farm. At least when she hadn't been at some gymnastics training camp, which was more often than not.

She remembered the first time he took her home with him, winter break. She'd been a little worried at first, since they'd only become kind of friends in November, but when Ben had found out she would be returning to campus for Christmas after her camp, he just wouldn't hear no as an answer. After his parents meet her though, his mom had invited her for every break she wasn't going to be spending with her own family. Which would be none. She didn't mind though, their home reminded her of her home back in Kansas, back when she was young and spent a lot of her time at her grandmother's. Not to mention that Ben had a little sister, who she loved to play with and photograph.

It was the first trip that was what really kept her coming back. That was the trip when she had told Ben the truth about herself and her family (though back then IR hadn't really started up yet, that came later), something she had never shared with anyone before. It was then that their bond got stronger and grew to what it was now. She'd seen him in every possible way, and suddenly the idea of crashing in his room made her feel differently. Kathryn absolutely did not want to be feeling any different at all.

"Hey, you're late," Ben was at the door of his dorm, leaning against it and smiling rather cockily at her. He'd just taken a shower, because his dirty blond hair had darkened and was dripping.

"Not late late," Kathryn argued with her own grin. "Just fashionably late." Ben laughed and pulled her into his dorm, while Kathryn closed the door behind her.

A/N: Number 3! Sorry for the delay, last weeks before SB are always full of work. Anyway, I hope you guys are liking it. I know it's a bit slow in the beginning but it gets better, or I've been told.

Anyway till next time! Thanks for reading!