Voyager Headquarters
Trixie Maloney Lang looked up as Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones entered Omnitron Control.
She laughed. "My goodness, Jeffrey, I'm glad Phineas was with you! I don't know if I'd recognize my favorite assistant."
She'd been on a continuing education assignment in Alexandria the last they had come to headquarters, and Jeffrey was no longer a little boy, hardly a boy at all. His hair was shorter, leaving waves rather than the tight curls of youth, and he was nearly as tall as Bogg. His outfit was a reflection of his 1980s roots and his partnership of the past six years: stonewashed jeans, sneakers and a loose white shirt, but with red pinstripes. The strawberry blonde smiled when she noticed that he had a belt buckle with a falcon.
His face had taken on the more angular look of manhood, and while he had yet to fill out, his years growing up in the field had left him almost entirely sinew and muscle. His face held a cynicism and awareness that had been lacking as he eagerly toured the control room years before with all of his questions.
He was a handsome young man, and she was happy but also stunned at the not seeing the boy she knew. And then he smiled. It was the same sweet smile he'd always had, and it lit his brown eyes just the same as he ran up to her.
"Hey Trixie! So, how many books do you have for me to fetch this time? I can reach the high shelves," he laughed.
In his hug, he could now grab her and spin her around, and she laughed along.
"Incorrigible. Jeffrey, put me down," Trixie laughed. "What has Bogg been teaching you?"
Daniel Lang stepped out of his office. "Unhand my wife, sir," he said, putting a hand on Jeff's shoulder. "I'd like a hug from our youngest Voyager myself, and you shouldn't be breaking her in her condition."
"I'm no more fragile than I was six months ago, Dan," Trixie said. "I think I can handle a hug."
"That, my dear, was a tackle," Dan said, reaching out to hug Jeffrey, as Trixie ran to Bogg.
"Phineas, it's so good to see you both," she said, drawing him into a hug as well.
"Yeah, but he's always been your favorite," Bogg said with a grin.
She shrugged and laughed. "He likes my dusty old files …"
And she cut herself off, as she realized this was dangerous territory. She felt cold thinking of that week 12-year-old Jeffrey was missing from the grid, to be found only because the boy realized that if the Omnitron could track recorded history, he'd best record it.
Phineas looked her in the eyes. "I'm very grateful for that. And to you."
Dan went to shake Bogg's hand and pull him into an embrace. "Phin, you have to accept, some women just prefer the brains to the brawn. And it's a good thing, or I would be a lonely man."
"I'm right here, you know," Jeff said with a grin and jokingly grabbing Trixie in another hug and resting his chin on her head. "And some of us have both. Sorry for you two."
