'How did you get here!?' Ben called down the street, grinning.

The figure at the other end of the street strolled towards them. 'I walked!' Deni grinned.

'From Charleston?' Ben laughed.

'Yep,' Deni nodded. 'I joined back up with the rebel skitters after you left. I've been up here for a little over a week. I was working with them on this big offensive. I was hoping I'd see you there… to be honest, I wasn't even sure you were alive. Then Samson comes back last night saying a pack of spike-backs refused to come back. The rebels flipped out, but Samson talked to us. All of us. He said that it was up to us whether or not we wanted to go through with it. I think maybe five people left then. I was going to stay until this morning.'

'What happened this morning?' Ben asked.

'Dallon and Harlem showed up,' Deni grinned. 'Said they decided to help after all, but their pack was staying behind with the humans they'd found. I asked who these humans were, and, surprise surprise, they said 2nd Mass. So, here I am!'

'She's here for Jimmy,' Summer rolled her eyes, then grinned as Deni gave her a stink eye.

'Yeah, so what?' Deni shrugged. 'Benji's my friend too. And the rest of your pack. Not to mention most of the 2nd Mass.'

'Wait, you know them?' Ben said, looking from Deni to Summer.

'Sure do,' Deni nodded. 'When I was with the rebels, before I ended up in Charleston, I met them. Jimmy and I connected. I mean, I'm friends with the rest of them too.'

'Thanks,' Summer rolled her eyes again.

'Cut the sass, mini-munch,' Deni glared at the girl, then broke into a smile. 'I missed you shrimpies.'

'We missed you too, Dee,' Summer grinned broadly.

'Come on,' Ben said. 'Let's go back to the 2nd Mass. This bag is getting heavy.'

'Looks like,' Deni raised her eyebrows. 'Whaddaya got in there?'

'Mostly canned beans,' Ben sighed. 'But, it's better than nothing.'

'That it is,' Deni laughed. The four made their way back to the gas station. As they neared they heard the squeals of the younger children playing in the parking lot.

Jimmy looked up as Ben, Matt, Summer, and Deni approached the lot and gaped. 'Abby!' he said, poking the older girl.

'What?' she asked, following his gaze. 'Is that Deni!?' she said, standing up on the med-bus step.

'Yeah,' Jimmy grinned. He jogged towards the approaching group, meeting them near the edge of the lot.

'Heya!' Deni grinned. She embraced Jimmy warmly then stepped back and held him at arm's length. 'You need a haircut.'

Jimmy rolled his eyes. 'You always say that.'

'Deni!' Amanda squealed, catching sight of the tall, thin girl, and sprinting towards her, followed by Mariah, Colm, and Lexie.

'Hey look!' Deni grinned, bending down to hug them all. 'It's my shrimpies! And who is this?'

'Oh, yeah,' Ben said. 'Deni, do you remember my sister?'

'Alexis?' Deni said, straightening up. 'Yeah, why?'

'That's her,' Ben replied.

'No kidding,' Deni said, staring at Lexie. 'Hey, kid. Remember me?'

'Yeah,' Lexie grinned. She stepped forward and hugged Deni.

'Lemme guess, Espheni?' Deni looked at Ben, who nodded. 'They're so weird,' she sighed. She picked Lexie up and balanced her on her hip. 'You know, you've grown a lot since I saw you last. Guess you hit your first growth spurt, huh?'

Lexie giggled. Deni grinned and hoisted her up slightly higher. The group set off for the inner part of the station where the last vehicles were being fueled.

'Hey, Matt, you wanna go give Abby her shoes?' Ben suggested as they approached the bus.

'Sure,' he said. He scampered towards the bus, followed by Amanda, Mariah, and Colm in a duckling trail. Deni set Lexie down, and the girl followed the others. Jimmy, Ben, and Summer continued towards where Weaver and Tom stood talking to Pope near the gas pump.

'Colonel Weaver!' Ben called, gaining the attention of the three men.

'Deni?' Tom called, peering around Weaver at the girl. She grinned and waved as she approached. 'What are you doing here?' Tom asked, hugging her.

'I was with the rebels,' Deni replied. 'Looking for you guys,' she hooked an arm around Jimmy's waist, instantly turning him beet red. 'And for them.'

Weaver raised an eyebrow but focused on Ben instead of Jimmy. 'What did you guys find? Besides Deni, that is.'

'Well, this is all canned food,' Ben said, sliding the knapsack off of his shoulder and handing it to Pope, who proceeded to nearly drop it. 'It's heavy,' he added as an afterthought. 'Matt has a bag full of medicine for Anne and boots for Abby, and Summer—'

'I found a gun,' Summer said, holding out the box of bullets for Weaver. Ben grinned and offered up the old gun.

'Summer found a gun and bullets,' Ben finished.

'Good,' Weaver nodded. 'Great job. We're waiting for two more scavenging teams to get back, then we'll head out.'

'Anne has some food for you two and Matt in the bus,' Tom added. 'Deni, are you coming with us?'

'I'd like to,' Deni nodded. 'Is there room?'

'There's always room for one more,' Tom joked. 'I guess you can ride with us, but the bus is pretty crowded.'

'That's the closest thing we have to extra space though,' Weaver said. 'In the bus. Hal and Maggie will be joining you, too; Tector and Anthony are taking a turn on the bikes.'

'Oh, okay,' Tom nodded.

'"Pretty crowded" might be an exaggeration,' Ben grinned.

'Are we all going to fit?' Mariah asked doubtfully, looking at the group assembled outside of the med-bus.

'Sure we are,' Abby nodded. She had donned the clunky, heavy black boots that Matt had brought for her and now stood a few feet away from the bus with her hands on her hips and her eyes on the smaller children as they continued to goof off.

'Are you sure?' Amanda asked, following Mariah's gaze. 'Deni and Maggie and Hal are all going to ride with us now, right?'

'Yeah,' Abby nodded. 'We'll make it work.'

'If you say so,' Amanda shrugged before rejoining Colm and Lexie's game of tag.

Mariah remained by Abby's side, watching the adults standing nearest the bus: Anne, Tom, Jonathan, Korinne, Hal and Maggie. Deni stood off to the side with Jimmy, the two talking softly. Lourdes had reboarded to put away the medicine Matt had brought back, and Summer, Matt, and Ben had disappeared. 'Is Jimmy riding with us this time?' Mariah asked, looking up at Abby.

'I don't think so,' Abby shook her head, watching Jimmy and Deni. 'I'm pretty sure he's going to stay with Colonel Weaver and Jeanne.'

'I want to ride with Jimmy,' Mariah complained.

'I don't think so,' Abby replied. 'The pick-up only has room for three people, and there are already three people in it.'

'But I'm little,' Mariah protested. 'I can fit.'

Abby laughed. 'But that would be uncomfortable for everyone else.'

'But I want to go with Jimmy,' Mariah whined.

'Mo, stop whining,' Abby snapped. 'Be happy that we can ride with the 2nd Mass at all; that we're not with the rebels anymore.'

'But, Abby,' Mariah grumbled.

'Mariah!' Abby said, exasperated. She turned to Mariah and crouched down in front of the other girl, resting her hands on Mariah's shoulders and looking into her eyes. 'Listen to me. I need you to stop whining right now. You need to be grateful that these people have made room for us and given us a home. If that means you have to ride in the bus, then you ride in the bus without complaining.'

Mariah pouted, crossing her arms and turning away from Abby, knocking the older girl's hands off of her shoulders. Abby sighed and dropped her head into her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. After several seconds, she raised her head and stood. She started to turn towards Jimmy and Deni but jumped to realize that they had approached her.

'Mariah, are you being a problem for Abby?' Jimmy said sternly, crossing his arms and looking at the small girl.

'No,' Mariah huffed.

'Yes,' Abby sighed.

'Why?' Jimmy asked, moving into Mariah's field of vision.

'I want to ride with you,' Mariah whined.

'Well, you can't today,' Jimmy said patiently. 'I'm riding in the pick-up and there isn't room for anyone else. Anyways, Colonel Weaver says that we might be driving all night. You'll be more comfortable in the bus, especially if you have to sleep there.'

'I don't care,' Mariah stomped her foot.

'Mariah,' Jimmy said sternly. 'If you don't listen, you'll be in trouble.'

'I don't care,' Mariah repeated stubbornly.

'Really?' Jimmy raised his eyebrows. 'Cos if you really don't, I'll let Abby be the one who decides what trouble you're in.'

'No,' Mariah complained. 'I'll behave.'

'Thank you,' Jimmy smiled.

'Crisis averted,' Deni whispered, grinning at Abby.

Abby broke into a grin and turned to the younger girl. 'Hey Dens,' she said, enveloping Deni in a bear hug. 'It's great to see you.'

'Great to see you too, Abs,' Deni said, returning the embrace. 'How are you guys doing?'

'Well, I think,' Abby laughed.

'What happened to your arms?' Deni said, looking pointedly first at Abby's bandaged wrist then her elbow.

'I crashed on a dirtbike,' Abby shrugged. 'It could have been worse.'

'You crashed a dirtbike?' Deni repeated.

'Well, Ben did,' Abby shrugged. 'But we were getting shot at by the… what are they called, Volm?'

'The Volm were shooting at you?' Deni gaped. 'I guess I missed more than I thought!'

Abby laughed. 'At least you know who the Volm are. I'd never heard of them before they shot at us.'

'Yeah, I was in Charleston after I left you guys in Delaware,' Deni shrugged.

'Is that how you know everyone?' Abby asked.

'Yeah,' Deni nodded. 'Benji and I were some of the few spiked kids who worked between the humans and rebel skitters.'

'Cool,' Abby nodded. 'What made you come here?'

'Dallon and Harlem,' Deni grinned. 'They showed up this morning, said they left the rest of you with some other human fighters.'

'So they're safe?' Abby smiled, relieved. 'I was worried. I mean, we assumed they followed Samson, but we weren't sure.'

'Yeah, now you know,' Deni laughed. 'They're fine.'

'Good,' Abby nodded. 'Did anyone else leave with you?'

'I don't know,' Deni shrugged. 'A few left last night when Samson got back; Bailey and Torrence's pack, I think. I didn't see Hatter this morning, so I'm guessing he skipped out; he never really wanted to fight skitters in the first place. I was surprised he didn't leave straight off.'

'So they're down, what, seven, plus the six of us and Ben,' Abby said absentmindedly. 'That's fourteen. Not a ton. It probably won't make much of a difference, considering four of us are pretty young and I'm not much of a fighter anyways.'

'Fourteen spike-backs could make a huge difference,' Deni contradicted. 'Even if five of them aren't much. Say that makes eleven or twelve. That's still a lot.'

'I guess,' Abby agreed. 'Did the group look small?'

'It looked about the same as when I was there, maybe a little smaller,' Deni replied. 'I guess they lose some, they find and free some more.'

'Pretty much,' Abby nodded. 'I think the other two packs we were working with when we found the 2nd Mass got lost in that fight. At least partly.'

'Which packs?' Deni asked.

'Petra, Yoni, Sammie, and Chris and Will, Susie, and Pearl,' Abby listed.

'I saw Yoni, Sammie, and Chris, but no Petra,' Deni replied. 'I don't know the other three.'

'I saw Susie and Pearl go down, and it wasn't looking good for Will,' Abby said. 'I lost sight of him right after I saw them die, and had Colm and Harlem to look after, so I didn't go back. I should have.'

'Nothing you could have done,' Deni said grimly.

'Colonel!' a voice called, and Anthony roared into the gas station parking lot on a motorbike. 'Colonel, we got incoming!' he shouted, screeching to a halt near where Weaver had joined the group by the bus. Seconds later, Tector roared up beside him, glancing nervously over his shoulder.

'What is it?' Weaver demanded.

'Mechs,' Tector replied. 'Don't know how many. We caught sight of em and hightailed it back here.'

'How far?' Tom asked.

'Under five miles,' Anthony replied.

'Everybody, we're moving out in five minutes!' Weaver bellowed, not waiting to hear more. 'Load up!'

Abby grabbed Lexie and Colm's hands as they continued their game of tag and forcibly towed them towards the med-bus. Deni grabbed onto Mariah and Amanda's hands and pulled them after Abby, nodding to Jimmy as he hurried towards Weaver's pick-up.

Abby arrived at the bus and passed Lexie and Colm off to a worried-looking Anne. Abby waited as they, Hal and Maggie, Deni, Mariah, Amanda, and Jon and Korinne piled onto the bus, leaving her and Tom standing outside.

'Where's—' Abby started.

'Here,' Ben interrupted her, arriving carrying Summer under one arm with his free hand

planted between Matt's shoulder blades and propelling the smaller boy ahead of him. Matt hurried up the bus steps, followed by Summer once Ben set her down. Tom boarded next, then Ben pushed Abby in front of him and up the stairs, following closely and slamming the makeshift door behind him. The two sat down back on their cots, which had now become more crowded since no-one had climbed into the top bunks.

'Here we go,' Tom called, starting the bus. He waited until one of the scout motorcycles, Weaver's truck, and two other vehicles pulled out before following them, the remaining vehicles falling in behind.

That night, Tom slowly regained consciousness to a soft conversation between Ben and Abby. Tom was lying on the floor between their cots. In the front seat of the bus was Hal, driving slowly along the dark road. Anne slept in the front cot with Lexie, Jon on the floor next to her, against the water cooler. On the bunk above Abby were Deni and Summer, while Mariah and Amanda were curled up together at the end of Abby's cot. Abby was sitting up as much as possible, propped up with her knapsack, with Colm snuggled in her arms. Over Ben's cot was Korinne, and Ben and Matt were curled up together, although Ben was propped up slightly. On the back couch, Maggie and Lourdes were huddled together under a few blankets.

'Okay, what do you miss most?' Tom heard Ben whisper.

'Oh, that's hard,' Abby replied. 'Sleeping in a bed, books, my cat, snuggling in bed with my cat and reading a book… my mom's cooking, and my grandma's PA Dutch food… swimming… Star Wars…'

'Star Wars?' Ben laughed. 'Seriously?'

'What about you?' Abby asked.

'Books,' Ben agreed. 'Definitely. School… The smell of my dad cooking breakfast on Saturdays… Saturday morning breakfasts… Matt and Hal playing catch in the backyard and arguing about who had a better underhand… Watching Hal try to teach Matt cradling tricks…'

'Cradling?' Abby asked. 'Like, lacrosse?'

'Yeah,' Ben replied. 'Hal played lacrosse.'

'That's something else I miss,' Abby murmured. 'Lacrosse. And soccer.'

'You played lacrosse?' Ben asked.

'Yeah, girls',' Abby joked. 'Totally different game. Equally intense.'

'I miss Hal's lacrosse games too, as much as I used to complain about going to them,' Ben added.

'Yeah,' Abby agreed. 'I miss watching my brother's soccer and basketball games. And, of course, my own soccer and lax games.'

'I miss lacrosse,' Hal agreed from the front of the bus. 'And Red Sox games.'

'Baseball is boring,' Abby argued. 'My best friend's boyfriend played. She used to drag me to his games.'

'High school, yeah,' Hal teased. 'Pro? No. No comparison.'

'I've seen and been to plenty of pro games,' Abby said. 'Still boring.'

'I miss music,' Matt mumbled sleepily.

'Me too,' Summer piped up.

'Bountiful chocolate,' Deni said wistfully, earning quickly-stifled chuckles from the other kids.

'Bacon,' said Abby. 'Boy do I miss bacon. I don't like meat much, but bacon…'

'You said "bacon" a lot in that sentence,' Ben laughed.

'I miss quiet bedtimes,' Maggie called softly from the back.

'I miss waking up to my boys arguing instead of warnings about incoming skitters or mechs,' Tom added, making Ben and Abby jump as they realized he was awake.

'I miss sleeping in,' Deni joked. 'Being an only child had some perks: namely, no siblings to wake me up.'

'I miss sleeping,' Hal groaned. 'Someone else want to drive? Who was older than sixteen when the invasion started, meaning they actually know how to drive?'

'I'll drive,' Tom laughed, clambering to his feet. 'You can sleep here.'

A/N: For the record, I really really love this chapter :3