Alicia felt consciousness return announcing another day, the dream she was having promptly forgotten once she became aware of her surroundings. Again, the alarm didn't wake her and she heard the pounding of rain drumming a steady beat on the metal roof telling her their break from the monsoons was over. It was a soothing sound and she was tempted to close her eyes again, but the light wasn't from a lamp. Instead, it came in from the windows telling her she'd slept too long again. She felt a stirring beside her and rolled over. Nathaniel's blue eyes were looking at her and he smiled at being caught staring.
"Mornin," he leaned over for a kiss.
"Mornin yourself. What are you still in bed for?"
"Didn't feel like getting up," his hand wandered slowly over her silky skin.
"What time is it?" she stretched lazily, enjoying his gentle caresses.
"About eight," he leaned over for a kiss.
"How come I'm sleeping so long and why am I wanting you all the time?"
"Maybe you should see the doctor and I'm more than willing to help with the later," he rolled her on her back and settled over her, his desire seeking and finding her entrance. All talk of a doctor forgotten.
Mark slogged down the muddy one lane road in the loaner rover that Private Nelson would be taking back to the colony, rain thumping off the roof non-stop. He'd spent the night before until late with Maddy explaining military justice and how he was being punished for getting caught, not what they did. A soldier shouldn't be exposed when trying to use stealth he quoted her. She wasn't buying his explanation and he hoped a month apart didn't cool his feelings towards her. He assured her this trip was his total obligation for the year and he planned on being married before he had to go to an outpost again. Running on too little sleep, he almost missed the arm snagged around the bole of a beech tree. Jamming on the brakes, he slid to a stop and got out, pistol at the ready. He scoured the area for signs of predators as he warily approached the visible limb. As expected, the body was bloody with severe gashes across the neck and a telltale signs of spurting fluid drained the life from the Phoenix soldier.
"Holy crap," Mark felt faint as he turned to see what type of dinosaur killed the hapless soul. In an immolated pile were several more bodies with Andrew Fickett prominently displayed, his back resting against the pile and his head propped in the armpit of a dead man, his eyes open and staring at Mark in an uncanny semblance of life.
"Carno's didn't do this," he wasn't even aware he audibled as he walked around the pile, his miniplex recording everything he saw. All had been stabbed and a few shot neatly through the head. They'd been stripped of valuables and uniforms down to underwear. Boots were also missing but ID tags were prominently arrayed around their necks. His next thought was whoever did this might still be in the area and with great haste; he ran to his rover and took off, hands shaking as they gripped the wheel. He wondered what he should do and came to a decision. Racing away from the grisly murder scene, he dug his radio out.
"Corporal Reynolds to Commander Taylor," he bypassed the chain of command and went directly to the top.
Jim was in the Command Center when the call broke the silence. He looked to the Commander's desk and beyond where a radio was prominently sitting on the table along the wall. He went to the small device and answered, "Shannon here, what can I do for you, Corporal?"
"Sir, I am near the fork in the road that splits between Outpost Seven and Nine. I came upon a gruesome crime."
"Not on an open mic, Corporal," Shannon cut him off. "When you get to the outpost, contact me directly and give your report on a secure channel."
"Yes, Sir, Reynolds out."
Jim knew in an hour Mark would report. He hoped Taylor would be present as he had a niggling suspicion that Mark stumbled upon the rampage Guzman went on. He'd gotten a short scrambled written message from Guzman and delivered by the private manning the communications array saying 'Mission accomplished, returning, report upon arrival.'
"Shannon to Taylor," he didn't wait for the Commander to put in an appearance. He wanted to give him a heads up.
Alicia grabbed her radio. Nathaniel was lying on his back restoring his breathing to normal. "Taylor here," she hoped to throw Jim off.
He grinned into his radio, "Mrs. Taylor, is the man of the house still in residence?"
Alicia rolled to her other elbow and held the radio so Nathaniel could speak into it. "I take one morning off and you can't handle the colony?"
"If you don't count your prolonged honeymoon with many mornings off, you're taking a rare morning for yourself. I need you in the Command Center."
"Emergency?"
"No, but it might be urgent."
"Half an hour okay?"
"That'll work."
"Taylor out," Nathaniel replied in his gravelly voice and let Alicia disconnect and returned radio to the nightstand. "I'd ask you to join me in the shower, but I'm starving," he rolled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom leaving her to make breakfast. When he entered the kitchen fully dressed, he stopped to admire her in a robe, cooking at the stove in her bare feet. He grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at the table, his eyes never leaving her.
She brought two plates and caught him staring again, "What?"
"You're beautiful," he watched as she got her own coffee and joined him.
"Stop and get your eyes checked on the way to work. I'm a mess," she pushed a strand of hair behind an ear.
He smiled as he ate. Her hair was mussed and the robe was open past her cleavage. "Are you coming in right away?" he forced himself to think of work.
"As soon as I've showered and taken care of myself again," she waited for his reaction.
He laughed and slipped his fingers under the silk material of her navy robe to feel her nipple, which was indeed hard. "You've been…..amorous a lot lately," he wasn't complaining just stating his observation.
"I feel horny all the time when I'm not sleepy," she confessed.
His ear-to-ear grin told her he approved. "I think you should see Dr. Shannon in case it's a virus or something, but I don't want a cure."
"You can't keep up with me at this pace," she gathered their plates and took them to the sink.
He finished his coffee and took both of their cups to the counter. "I have to go and kick the shit out of Shannon for interrupting my trying to keep up. I want you to hold off…you know… taking care of anything. I'll be ready again in a couple hours." He kissed her and left to drive across the colony.
A tired Guzman told his unit to get some rest and with Sergeant Benson in tow, climbed the steps to the Command Center. He had a report to deliver to Nathaniel Taylor on his actions and wanted to be the first to give his account for the record. He didn't know Mark Reynolds gave a graphic description complete with video as he was approaching the gate.
Nathaniel, Jim and Alicia were still digesting what Mark reported when Guzman wearily entered with Benson following. Both stood at attention until Nathaniel motioned them to stand down.
"Get some coffee, gentlemen and join us," he moved to Alicia's table and took a seat near her while she still sat at the head of the table. Jim took the spot across from Nathaniel and they waited.
Nathaniel started, "Corporal Reynolds found your attempts at human sculpting and sent a recording," he slid the plexpad down the table so Guzman and Benson could view the footage.
"So that's what it looks like in daylight," was Guzman's only comment then he frowned, "that one separate from the rest mustn't have been dead. Who was in charge of killing him?" he snarled to Benson.
Benson thought, "Tucker and Caper were in charge of that one."
"I'm going to have them doing simulated killings until they get it right. After you slit the throat, a bullet to the head usually keeps them from crawling off," Guzman reiterated how to kill again.
"Before you dish out additional training, tell me what happened," Taylor snapped his order causing both men to look down the table.
Guzman started, "First, how is Tasha?"
"I checked on them yesterday afternoon late when I was going home and they were sleeping. They ate around noon, but Debora and the doctor planned on keeping them sedated until they woke late today," Alicia put him at ease.
"I'll stop by and see her on my way to sleep," Guzman got what was important out of the way first. "It was dark when the tracking of Fickett told us we were close and they were stopped. We parked a quarter klick from them and circled their vehicles, two transports. They were under a tarp with chem lights going and eating rations. With the rain pouring down we never made a sound, and they didn't know we surrounded them until it was too late."
"They wanted to surrender and be brought back to the colony," Benson added.
"I told them we couldn't do that in light of their crimes. They then thought they would be robbed and let loose," Guzman picked up again. "I explained raping and beating up girls wasn't tolerated by anyone in the colony without punishment. Someone in the crowd made a smart assed comment that one was a black whore and the other was the one who fooled Lucas Taylor so they had it coming. And besides, it looked like they would be here for a long time with the trouble Lucas was having and we should expect them to take women when they needed or wanted and they were changing the rules Hooper set forth when they first arrived. We had them surrounded and they still felt they had the upper hand, not smart that bunch."
"Did they specify the trouble Lucas was having and did they mention how he got back with them?" Nathaniel cut in.
"When I queried them, they clammed up so I pulled one out as an example and placed a shot in his temple hoping to loosen a few tongues and let them know who was in charge. They didn't expect that, so I asked who was next and pulled what looked like the youngest out. He was more than willing to tell what little he knew. Seems like Mira first took them to a place with an old decayed ship from eons past. It was in a ravine and time and rains had moved it some distance from where it first appeared at random or so Lucas thought. Because the artifacts they find are scattered, Lucas believes the control point is in the future for this area. He is sure he can find a control point somewhere and reverse the magnetic flow and get them home. They've been moving around looking for a rift to return to the future. So far, they've found nothing, but there are strange phenomena at night in the badlands. Food got low and they came to raid our fields. Mira and Fickett told them what was growing this time of year and where it was. They were on their way for food when they came upon the girls. The assault was not planned, but sporadic, a crime of opportunity. They planned on killing them, but heard the approaching of a vehicle and took off. That was when Wash came upon the scene. As far as how Lucas came to be with them, they didn't say and I didn't think to ask."
"Did you retrieve the produce?" Jim asked as Chang was bugging him again early this morning.
Guzman nodded, "It's in the trucks we brought back." He switched back to his story, "I explained the penalty for violent assault and forcible rape was death. Fickett quickly countered with the woman got to choose the punishment and banishment was also allowed. I informed the soldiers that Ficket was correct as long as the women were adults and not minors like what they assaulted and the perpetrator was a member of the colony and not an enemy combatant. Most of the men then turned on Fickett and a couple accused him of lying to them. The young one that I had a knife to his throat told me that Fickett assured them the women were adults and they couldn't tell."
"Is that when you killed Fickett?" Jim asked feeling sick at the coldness in which Guzman relayed his narrative.
"No, no he was last to die. I gave the order to execute everyone for the crimes of assault, rape of minors and theft. Chaos broke out as the soldiers tried to run or fight. I slit the throat of the kid I was holding and went for the largest soldier. He was armed with his knife as we took the pistols when we first surrounded them. He was no match for me and I slipped my K-bar through his ribs and left him sucking air with his windpipe on the outside with my next stroke. It was then that I went after Fickett and he didn't protest. I don't think he thought he would die. I explained he was positively identified as one of the rapist and he visibly paled in the chem light."
"I finished with my enemy and went to help the Lieutenant," Benson interjected. "He had his knife at Fickett's throat and the man was like crazy, laughing and daring Guz here to kill him. He told us and this is an exact quote, "Taylor won't like you killing me. He needs my expertise and knowledge for his pathetic colony to stand a chance."
"What happened then?" Nathaniel asked Guzman.
"I sliced the bastard's throat," Guzman spoke without sentiment and looked directly at the Commander. "I ordered the bodies positioned in a pyre formation and we came home without stopping," Guzman ended his account with a long swig of coffee.
Jim stared incredulously at Guzman. He was still ill at the images Reynolds sent them. "What made you kill those men after you had them subdued?"
"We're at war with them, Sir," Guzman stated as if Shannon should know why the men were executed.
"If they come back and take over the colony again, it won't go good for the people living here. If you let them live and be reunited with their unit, they wouldn't have a reason to attack. Now they might just for revenge," Jim pressed.
"Maybe you'd feel different if it were your daughter that was raped," Guzman defended his actions.
"I gave him the go ahead to take them out, Shannon," Nathaniel heard enough.
"Guzman, I think you're the most servile soldier I've ever seen," disgust was evident in Jim's tone. "The Commander tells you to kill and you do, without considering other options? You could have brought them back for trial or stripped them of weapons and let them fend for themselves like was done to Curran," Jim wasn't ready to let what he considered a war crime go. As a lawman, one just didn't take matters like this into his own hands. He looked down the table at Guzman, "Have you ever done this type of action before?" He noticed Guzman exchanged a look with the Commander, who nodded.
"In Somalia. We used stealth to invade the compound and any enemy we encountered; we killed, quietly and efficiently. We were still too late to save everyone, but got many out before they realized we had breached their security. Unfortunately, several people were executed, including my wife and the Commander's. If you think I'm going to have a humane moment for killing scum, think again. They came here, killed many of our people and soldiers. They were part of the attempt on Wash by catching her for Lucas. We will be free when they are all eradicated." Guzman gave Jim as good as he got and his stare didn't waver.
Jim looked at the Commander who said nothing. He looked at Alicia who was obviously okay with what transpired.
"I contacted the Phoenix and told them where to find the bodies," Guzman added as an afterthought.
"Did you divulge their crimes?" Nathaniel asked.
"I did and told them the crime was punishable by death."
"If Hooper has any control left over his soldiers, he'll reinforce not to touch the women. Guz, thanks for your report, you two are dismissed."
They left and Jim turned on Taylor, "You can't let him kill in cold blood like that."
"What's the alternative?" Nathaniel knew Jim was not military when he took him into his position as a leader in the colony.
"I think a trial would have shown that we are civilized. Barbarians do what Guzman just did."
"I'm the law here, Shannon. It's not the law of the future. We don't have trials by our peers anymore or smooth talking lawyers to get people off. You think Mira rules by committee. A benevolent dictatorship is the best for now and that's how I'm running this colony. You might not always agree with my actions, but I always have the best interest of the colony in mind. We can't have an enemy running around causing chaos. Not pursuing them right off has gotten two girls raped and I intend that doesn't happen again. I'm not taking prisoners in this war, Jim. We will hunt them down and destroy them and the sooner the better." Nathaniel stopped his diatribe and looked at his wife to see if she had anything to add.
"The rains haven't stopped," she pointed out the obvious. "I thought you wanted to wait for spring?"
"I've changed my mind. I was going to wait until the New Year to take the army and go hunting, but they may come after us now. I want you to prep the outposts with electronic sensors for the sound of vehicle movements and recall all our soldiers and scientists. I'm taking a large fighting force and we'll be gone until it's finished, as long as it takes."
"I'm going with you."
He shook his head, "No, I need you in charge."
"And if I don't live up to your standards, what then?" she wasn't going to be taken down a peg if he found she did things different than he would have. "I'll not be your scapegoat again, Nathaniel."
Jim felt he was intruding and slipped out. Looking around at the rainy morning with its few citizens braving the wet, he headed to the Infirmary to tell his wife what was transpiring.
"Wash, someone needs to be the leader of the colony. If anything happens to me, you're the next person in line. I'm not trying to protect you this time by making you stay behind. I need a person I can rely on to be in charge and that's you. We'll be gone for month's maybe."
Wash stood and paced the room, "It wasn't that long ago that I stood in this room and got called out for my failures. Why don't you leave your precious Shannon in charge. He'll do what you want, I might screw up," she stated her fears again trying to get through his thick skull. She wasn't going to be hung out to dry again, not ever.
"He's going with me. I might leave Guzman and Beta Unit to protect the colony, but everyone else has to be with me. I don't want to get caught out again without a large enough army." He tried to take her in his arms, but her stony look made his arms drop. "Wash, honey, I promise, no matter what happens I'll never take it out on you again."
"When will you leave?" her large ebony eyes fought back tears and she felt stupid for wanting to cry all of the sudden.
This time his arms did encircle her and pulled tight, "Soon, maybe as early as tomorrow." She let him kiss her.
She sniffed, "I better recall the troops then." She went to the communications room in another building and started giving instructions. Mark had no sooner got settled when the call came in. They followed orders and made bets on whether or not Nelson would return to assist. Sure enough Nelson came sloshing back to help and they stripped the building of valuables and took the two rovers back to the colony. Likewise all other outposts did the same. It would take outpost nine and ten two days to return to the colony. Once again, preparations were made for a possible invasion with their army away from home. This time a few changes were implemented.
Alicia knocked on Debora's door late that afternoon. Debora smiled when she saw who it was and let her in. The girls were sitting in the living room absorbed in what looked like schoolwork.
"They are doing well. Dr. Shannon was here and examined them earlier today. She said physically they are healing on schedule. I understand you want to assess their mental state?"
"I have to push my schedule up. With me left in charge again, I won't have time to talk to them so it has to be today."
You know Tasha better than we do and I'm afraid Skye won't open up to me like she might you." Debora led the way to the living room, "Girls, I'm going shopping for food, any requests?" Both girls shook their heads. "Well, Wash wants to talk with you," she gave Alicia one last smile of encouragement and left.
Alicia took a chair, "Tasha, did your father tell you what he did to the men who raped you?" she chose her words on purpose while looking for reactions to the word 'rape'.
"He said he took care of them, but not how." To her credit, Tasha and even Skye seemed to absorb the word without flinching.
Wash filled them in on the outcome, but not the details. "The Commander is taking the army and going after Hooper and the Sixers. Beta unit was made aware that you were raped. Guzman ordered them to silence, but you know how hard keeping that many people from not slipping up will be. I'll talk with them myself and again reaffirm the order. I'll threaten any soldier with outpost duty for a long time if they so much as say anything."
"But someone probably will," Skye sounded depressed.
"People like to talk. Word is already circulating that it was you two who were beaten up. If anyone ever says anything to you two about the rape, you come straight to me. Are you up to having company?"
Tasha and Skye looked at each other. Although the swelling was down, they still bore the bruises on their faces.
"Not until I don't look like this," Skye spoke first and Tasha echoed her agreement.
Alicia nodded, "I'll have words with the boys then. They are quite concerned."
"I don't want Hunter to see me like this," Skye vocalized.
'Interesting,' Alicia thought, why Hunter and not Josh? "How do you two feel about being raped?" She wanted to wait until later in the week to ask the questions, but with the army leaving, she knew she'd be too busy to play psychologist and already had a backlog of items requiring her attention.
"It happened and I can't take it back," Tasha spoke firmly.
"Are you involved sexually with anyone?" Alicia had sent a message to Debora before she arrived telling her the nature of the conversation she'd be having and to give her enough time alone with the girls.
Tasha hesitated, "Is my dad going to hear about this?"
"No," Alicia spoke firmly, "this is for you and me to judge how you are healing inside. He doesn't need to know all about your life unless you confide in him, but he's not stupid and knows you are living with men."
"Oh." Tasha let that revelation sink in, "So he suspects I've been with Max?"
"Or Hunter. He knows you're growing up and will experiment. How do you think you came about?" Alicia let her tone take on a teasing lilt.
"I never thought about it, they're my parents, that's gross."
Alicia laughed, as did Skye. "I was at their wedding and your mom was showing with you and her father was glaring at your father. Haven't you seen the wedding vids?"
"No, Dad never showed them to me."
"Make him. So I'm guessing Max?" she veered them back on course.
"A few times. It was during the occupation and we thought we'd be killed. After Dad came home, we didn't dare. Max is really scared of Dad."
"I'm sure your father will spell out in detail to him how he took care of the enemy," Alicia muttered, more to herself then the girls.
"I figure Max and me will get married someday." She looked at Skye, "Skye, have you decided on who you want, Hunter or Josh?"
"Neither right now. I want to have the colony forget what I did and have the Commander's forgiveness completely."
"I don't know if he'll ever fully forgive you, but look at it this way, he still hasn't forgiven me for drinking at Boylan's instead of mounting a resistance and I married him."
"He hasn't?" both girls spoke together.
"Men can be difficult. When you get married, you'll understand."
"But he loves you, I know," Skye was sure the Commander forgave his wife. The thought of the command pair having issues upset her. She wanted them to have a fairy tale life as their wedding indicated they did. The Commander never left her side during the entire wedding and he smiled continuously and joked as she never thought him capable of.
Alicia shrugged, "Enough about me. Skye, how are you taking being raped?"
Skye looked down, "I am surprised it didn't happen before now with me parading around Mira's men."
"Did Lucas rape you?" Alicia kept her tone neutral and factual.
Skye paused, "He wanted to and probably would have, given time. I had to play up to him even though he scared me to death. No, he didn't rape me."
"Have you had sexual relations with anyone?"
"Why are you asking that question?" Skye shot back.
"To ascertain if you were a virgin."
"Why didn't you just say so. No, I hadn't had sex before the assault, with anyone."
Alicia chose her next question carefully, "There's a big difference between sex, love and force. I don't want you to think the sexual relationship between a man and woman is like what you experienced, it's not. Tasha, do you understand?" she redirected to the other girl.
Tasha nodded, "What happened to me OTG was nothing like what Max and I did. That was wonderful."
"You have a point of reference to know the difference." She turned back to Skye, "If you have any problems with intimacy or getting a boyfriend and need to talk, I'm available; for you too, Tasha."
"I don't want any boyfriend right now. I have a career to focus on," Skye seemed to have made a decision.
"When I was your age, I was totally focused on being the best soldier I could be. I didn't get serious about a man for many years. I can probably count the number of boyfriends on one hand so you don't have to rush into anything."
"Did you ever date my Dad?" Tasha asked.
Alicia smiled, "No, we were always good friends. Just so you know, I've never dated any man here."
"Doesn't the Commander count?" Tasha thought he should.
"I wouldn't consider what we did dating. He doesn't have a clue how to date a woman, but I didn't say that," she tried to lighten the atmosphere and by the giggles of the girls it worked. She left the girls, confidant they would recover and told them she wouldn't bug them anymore, but stop and see her in the Command Center. She called Debora and met up with her under a covering in the market and quietly told her what she found out. Debora agreed not to say anything, which Alicia knew she wouldn't.
Four days later, in the dreary rain they left, a long convoy led by Nathanial driving his rover with Shannon as a companion. The entire colony turned out and formed a farewell assembly complete with Boylan telling Nathaniel he'd look after his wife like last time.
"I hope it's not like last time, Tom," Nathaniel pulled Wash to him one last time for a long passionate kiss, not caring they were the object of most people's attention. They'd said their goodbyes at home that morning. Wash watched him leave with the thought that the last time he left a woman for war, it was Ayani, and she was in his unit leaving with him. Now she knew what Ayani must have gone through, the fear and worry that something might go wrong and this would be the last time she'd ever see him.
Mark took his leave of Maddy again. This time he knew it would probably be longer than a month. She stood with her mother's arm around her shoulder as the convoy slowly made its way through the gate.
Josh stood with the family, having his father's admonishment to take care of them ringing in his ears, turned to go home when he spotted Skye at the edge of the crowd. He could see faint bruises and hurried to catch up with her as she was leaving with the rest of the dispersing crowd.
"Skye," he put a hand on her arm.
"Hi, Josh," she forced a smile up at him.
"I heard you got beat up by the Sixers and wanted to say how sorry I am," it sound trite to his ears, but he didn't know what else to say.
She shrugged and walked slowly back to her home, "It happened and now I have to get on with my life so really don't want to talk about it, okay."
"Fine with me," he was cut off by his mother calling. They stopped and waited for her and Zoe to catch up.
"I'm glad you came out to see the army off, Skye. I want you to come work with me and learn to be a laboratory assistant, if that's what you still want," Elizabeth promised the Commander she would ask her and soon. Before he left, he mentioned it again and said he didn't want Skye OTG while the army was on the prowl.
"The Commander said he was going to ask you. You don't have to do that for me," Skye didn't want charity, especially now. She felt isolated and alone. She couldn't even confide everything to her mother on how rough the last few years had been on her. The last thing she wanted was pity or someone being pressured on her account.
"My concerns for you had nothing to do with the job. I didn't want you pushing Josh into something he wasn't ready for," Elizabeth decided to come clean.
"Mom, I can more than take care of myself," Josh couldn't believe she did that and was embarrassed and felt a flush creeping up his neck and onto his cheeks, like when his father ordered him to attend orientation in front of Skye when they first arrived.
"When you have an eighteen year old someday you'll know where I'm coming from," Elizabeth snapped back.
Josh turned to Skye, "And I thought my Dad was bad, sorry about that."
To his surprise she laughed, "If I had a kid like me, I wouldn't want other kids around her either. I've come to grips that I'm a bad person and will have to deal with it." She turned to Dr. Shannon, "If the job is available I'd like it, and don't worry, Josh is off limits so I won't taint him."
"Who says I'm off limits."
"I do," Sky sounded serious.
Elizabeth listened to the words Skye used and didn't like her self-deprecating manner at all. "All right, Skye, come to work in the morning and we'll get you started as an intern. You do realize working in the Infirmary is not just one task and you will have a lot of schooling to do?"
"I've helped out some and don't mind doing whatever needs to be done. Just keep Hunter and his worm friend away from me."
Elizabeth chuckled, "I think he learned his lesson. I'll see you tomorrow," with a look of warning to Josh, she took Zoe home.
"What you said about me being off limits, what do you mean?" Josh was floundering, not sure he wanted an answer.
"After what happened to the colony and my part in it, I'm not ready for any relationship, just friendship, that's all," she started walking again and he fell in step beside her.
"So we can be friends like before?"
"I don't see why not, but I did ask you to lie for me so if you don't want to be my friend, I'll understand."
"I thought we got past that a long time ago," he didn't know why she brought that up again.
"It might be easy for you to forgive, but I'm the one who did wrong. It's going to take me longer to recover," she thanked him for walking her home and left him standing in the rain. On his way home on this Sunday morning, for his Mom's promised pancake breakfast, he decided it was time to announce he was moving out.