"Car coming," Tommy said one evening a few weeks later.

"In or out?" Skip asked, not looking up from where he was carefully drawing a line through Homer's name on the next month's schedule. The older man had returned to work the night following Dex's unexpected visit, but a phone call from Sky Captain himself less than five minutes after his arrival had given Skip the authority to fire the useless Gates, much to both of the remaining night guards' delight.

"Out."

"Ten o'clock's kind of late for people to be leaving. Do you recognize the car?"

"No. I'll check them, it's my turn."

"All right." Continuing his ministrations to the roster, Skip kept one ear turned towards the door, listening for any trouble. Several minutes after Tommy stepped out, he came back in, followed by a familiar figure. "Dex! How are you?"

"Better than the last time I saw you," the engineer replied, gently fingering the bandage across his nose that was all save the last vestiges of bruising beneath his eyes and at one temple that showed he'd been in an accident recently.

"You look a lot better," Skip admitted. "Head still hurt?" Details about the extent of his injuries had been on everyone's lips the day after the wreck, and top among the rumors had been concerns that the nasty concussion he had suffered might have negatively affected his brilliant brain. The guards had waited rather uneasily through the several days that Sky Captain had forbidden Dex to return to work before hearing from the overtly relieved mechanics that, while he was still having awful headaches, the chief engineer's genius seemed to have been heightened rather than dimmed by the collision.

"Nah, nothing to speak of really," he shrugged good-naturedly. "The down time was actually kind of nice. I got a lot of work done, just laying around. But don't tell the Captain that," he added with a grin. His smile spread as he recalled the pleasant feeling of having Joe in his bed every night, cuddling and caressing him with a relentless neediness. Sky Captain had retrieved the mystery box from the damaged car before it was towed back to base for repairs, and Dex would never forget the look that had crossed the man's face when he'd opened it and discovered exactly what kind of "toys" had been worth hitting a deer for. They hadn't had the opportunity to use any of them yet – Joe refused to do anything more than tease until he was completely healed – but both were greatly looking forward to doing so.

"Someone said your arm was broken," Tommy's voice broke through his thoughts. "I don't see a cast, though."

"Yeah, it was just a wrenched shoulder. Still a little sore, but it's not holding me up at work, so you won't hear me complaining about it." A honk sounded from the vehicle outside, making them all jump. "Sorry," Dex laughed. "I guess I'm taking longer than he expected me to. I just came in to drop these off," he added, holding out a pair of envelopes that Skip had noticed but not commented on. "Your paychecks. Sorry they weren't here when your shift started, we had to make a little adjustment down at payroll to reflect your promotions."

Both guards' heads whipped up from examining the envelopes they'd been handed. "Our what?" Skip exclaimed. "Dex, you didn't have to do that, really."

"It wasn't all me," the engineer said quickly. "It was the Captain's decision to name you head of perimeter security. We figured you would need a deputy, and that Tommy'd be just about perfect for the job and was probably who you'd pick anyway, so he went ahead and approved that too."

"But…" Skip stammered, "head of perimeter security? You mean…for the whole base?"

"Sure," Dex beamed. "You can do it. We've never had that exact position before, but he said he liked the idea of having someone focused just on the perimeter defense, rather than having you guys report to artillery like you have been. You'll be in charge of the gate guards, the watchtowers, all of that stuff. We've already got feelers out for a couple of new people to train for the night shift, and until we find them you'll still have to pull duty up here, but your raises are retroactive to your last paychecks. You've got an office down in the admin building, too," he finished as the horn outside blew again. "Let me know if you need anything, you know, maps or whatever. Don't look so nervous, guys," he tacked on. "You'll be great, I know it." Raising a hand in goodbye, he left the guardhouse and trotted back to the car sitting before the gate.

"Promotions," Skip breathed.

"Our own office," Tommy added.

"'Head of Perimeter Security,'" Skip tried out, his eyes dancing. "Sounds pretty damn good, doesn't it?"

"I'll say it does. I knew Homer was wrong about that guy."

"Yeah, Dex is all right." He broke the seal on his envelope as he spoke, and then gaped down at the money inside. "Tommy."

"Yeah?"

"There's at least double our normal paycheck in here."

Tommy tore his open quickly. "Holy shit. I think you're right."

Skip beamed. "There's only one way this evening could get any better."

"How so?"

"I wish Homer was here to see this. Can you imagine what he would say?"

The two laughed so hard at the thought of their former co-worker watching them get huge promotions that tears of mirth rolled down their cheeks before they settled and began to talk seriously about their new posts.

"Get your message delivered then, Dex?" Joe asked as his chief engineer slipped back into the car.

"Yup. I think they'll be perfect for it."

"I know you do. That's why I agreed to it." He glanced over at the other man and quickly read his bashful smile. "You did tell them that it was your idea, didn't you?"

"I told them it was your decision. You had veto power after all, Cap."

"Yes, but we both know that I never use it with you. I've never had reason to. Your ideas are always worth carrying out."

"They don't need to know that," he answered back. "You're the head of the Legion, you're the boss. Telling them something like that might lessen the power that you represent in their minds. Besides," he went on, "with new responsibilities and higher pay, they won't have as much time to think about anything they may have overheard the other night." Although, he thought without saying, I don't think they would say anything even if they flat-out knew about us. He didn't know why he felt as certain of that fact as he did, but it calmed him nonetheless in the same way it had the night of his accident.

"Sometimes I wonder if I really deserve to be in charge," Sky Captain pondered, staring at his lover. "Sometimes I think you'd be much better at it than I am."

"Don't be ridiculous," Dex replied confidently. "I don't have the right attitude for it. The head of the Legion has to be a bona fide hero, someone people the world over can swoon thinking about. Someone like you. Besides," he went on, his voice dropping into a sensual murmur, "I like being beneath you."

Joe gulped at those words. "Uh…Dex?"

"Yeah, Cap?"

"How do you feel?"

"Pretty good, actually. And I have a bottle of pills in my pocket for if I start feeling less than up to par. Why," he practically purred, "did you have something in mind?"

Let's just skip the movie and get a hotel room, shall we? he wanted to ask. Only the fear that he might hurt his partner if they went too far too soon after his injuries held the question behind his lips. He glanced desperately over, hoping the engineer would say something to break his indecision.

Dex could see the war in Sky Captain's eyes as easily as he could see the bulge that had formed in the man's pants. Smile turning lecherous, he caught his gaze and divulged the secret he'd been keeping for the last hour. "The box is in the trunk."

Joe stare widened, a soft moan escaping him. "Good boy, Dex."

He settled back in his seat and placed his hand where it could be inconspicuously reached from the driver's seat. "No problem, Cap." Warm fingers covered his own. "You can thank me later."

"Oh, I will, Dex. I will." Images of what he intended to do to the man beside him that night racing through his head, he sped away from the gate and towards the city.