"Are you sure about this, Jack?"

Moffitt turned to see Vanora leaning against the bedroom doorway. "I'm positive," he said.

"That scarf has been a part of you for years. It's hard to picture you without it."

"I know, but… I want Jules to have it." Moffitt resumed folding the scarf on his desk. "I was ten when I was given this on my first trip to North Africa with my father."

"You could just get him one of his own, love."

"This would be more special."

"You're absolutely certain that you want to give him your scarf."

Moffitt nodded. "I am."

Vanora sighed. "Alright. I'll miss seeing it on you, though."

That prompted the second thoughts. Moffitt looked down at the folded scarf. To most people, it was an ordinary, plain blue scarf. To Moffitt, it was something special. His father had given it to him as a gift, and it rarely, if ever, came off. It was something comforting and familiar, not just to Moffitt, but for his family. Anah could sometimes be found sleeping in it. Vanora had a habit of holding and sniffing it before putting it in the wash. As a baby, Jules would grab the scarf in his tiny fist and refuse to let go.

Perhaps it is a bad idea to give this to Jules. I do want him to have something like it, Moffitt thought. Maybe a different color. That's it. Moffitt unfolded the scarf and put it back around his neck. He breathed a sigh of relief. "I couldn't do that to you, darling," Moffitt said. "Tell you what—I'll still get Jules a scarf, but in a different color. First, I'm going to visit my father, and ask where he got this one from."

"Right now?" Vanora asked.

"Yes."

Within the next ten minutes, Moffitt was taking off in the car to his parents' home on the opposite side of the city of Cambridge. He knew they would appreciate this impromptu visit, and he had meaning to stop by and say "hello" the last few weeks anyway. Jules's birthday was tomorrow, which gave him very little time to find the answers he needed. He stilled minded his manners while standing on the doorstep and patiently waiting for someone to answer to his knocking.

It was his father, Nicholas, who answered, beaming brightly and grabbing his tall, lanky son into a hug. "What brings you out here today, Jack?" he asked.

"Jules's birthday," Moffitt replied. "I was originally going to give him this—" He gently tugged on his scarf, "but my wife talked me out of it."

"Wives are known to do that."

"Indeed. I've decided to get Jules one of his own. Do you remember where you got this scarf from?"

"Oh, of course I remember! It was a clothing shop in the center of town, just two blocks from the university."

"Is this the same place next door to the bakery? The one with the giant Christmas cookies every year?"

"Yes! They're still open. Whether or not they're still selling these scarves is another question."

"Right. Thanks, Father." Moffitt turned, but his father held out his hand.

"One last thing—your friend, Troy, was here earlier today."

"Really? Why?"

"Just to talk. He seemed quite upset over what happened with his mother a few weeks ago."

"Oh." Moffitt's heart sank. Anah had told him everything that happened in regards to Troy attempting to make amends with his blood family. He was, however, surprised that Troy was going to his parents to talk, when he had never done so before unless it was to arrange a surprise for Moffitt. "Is he alright?"

"I think what his mother said to him is hitting him harder than he would like to admit." Nicholas leaned against the doorway and looked down at the stone porch. "Goes to show you sometimes never know what's going on in someone else's head. I never would have thought this was something that was bothering Troy for the last twenty years."

"He's very good at hiding things like that."

"He sure is. He also told me that he's grateful Adeline and I treated you well, and that you're raising Jules right."

"We've had our rough spots in the past, but we've always worked them out." Moffitt stepped off the porch. "Alright. I'll go find a scarf for Jules. We'll see you and Mother tomorrow, right?"

"Of course you will, Jack. Good luck. See you tomorrow."

Moffitt waved to his father as he pulled out of the driveway. He breathed a sigh of relief that the place the scarf came from was still open, but now he just had to pray that they had what he was looking for.

Sure enough, they did, and with more colors than Moffitt could ever imagine. He browsed an impressive aisle of scarves, trying to find one in a color that fit Jules. His gaze kept turning to a teal blue one as he went up and down the aisle, until he finally paused to pick it up. The material was the same, though the teal one being newer meant it was softer and not wearing in some places.

This is the one. I can see Jules in this. Moffitt took the scarf up to the counter to pay for it, confident that he had found the perfect gift.

He had to keep it discreet when he was returning home. As he entered the house, he could hear Anah in the sitting room, reviewing an English lesson with Jules. Vanora walked up to her husband and gave him a hug and a kiss before whispering, "Did you find it?"

"I did. I think he'll love it," Moffitt replied. He opened the bag from the shop, showing his wife the teal scarf.

"Oh, Jack, it's adorable. You know, I was thinking of this color for Jules."

"Really? I kept staring at it in the store until finally deciding to get it."

"Shh!" Vanora covered Moffitt's mouth. "He's got good ears."

"Hopefully, he's paying more attention to Anah than us." Moffitt closed the bag. "He can wait until tomorrow. It's not like we said what it is."

"No, but don't give him any hints."

The next morning, Moffitt expected Jules to be waking everyone up early out of excitement. Instead, Moffitt found himself sleeping in. Even more unusual was that Snowstripe wasn't neighing at him outside the bedroom window. He turned to Vanora. "Are you awake, darling?"

"Little bit," Vanora mumbled. "What is it, love?"

"It's quiet."

"It's nice, isn't it?"

"No, it's a little too quiet. Jules hasn't woken us up, and Snowstripe isn't outside the window."

"Where's Anah?"

"She's still asleep on my nightstand."

Vanora sat up. "Okay, now it's time to worry."

"Indeed." Moffitt threw the blanket off and began frantically getting dressed. "Trousers. I need trousers."

Anah raised her head from her coils. "I did laundry yesterday. The basket is by the closet door. Nice boxers, by the way."

"Damn it, Anah!" Moffitt flushed red while digging through the basket for a pair of trousers. He was still red while putting the first pair he found on, but stopped his cursing once he was fully dressed and out of the bedroom. The house was empty. Jules was nowhere to be found. Moffitt swore again while putting a jacket out to check the stables. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found Jules—as well as Troy and his adopted daughter, Antheia.

"Hi, Dad," Jules said.

"Would you mind telling me what's going on here, young man?" Moffitt asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Showing Antheia the horses."

Moffitt looked over at Troy and Snowstripe. "I swear, I've woken up in a different world."

"What makes you say that?" Troy asked.

"Snowstripe isn't plucking your hat off."

Troy didn't respond at first. "Dietrich's right. There is something different about your horses. Snowstripe hasn't gone after me once since we got here."

"He knows you're upset about something."

"Yeah. Yeah, he does." Troy let out a heavy sigh. "Jules knows there's something wrong, too."

Moffitt nodded, then walked over to Troy in order to talk quietly. "Because Jules is an empath."

"How can that be possible?"

"Anah says it is."

Troy snorted. "Well, if Anah says so—"

Moffitt gave him a look.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." Troy went back to looking lost in his head.

"My father said you visited yesterday."

"I did. I also visited Hitch's parents, and Tully's mother."

"Why?"

Troy hesitated a moment, then sighed again. "Because I'm glad my team was raised by good people, and I just wanted to let them know that. I'm glad you and Vanora don't have… lofty expectations for your son. I'm glad Hitch is okay with Carolyn's interest in snakes, even though he's a bit wary around them. I'm glad Tully and Mabel do the best for their daughters and want to see them succeed at whatever they set their minds to. I know Dietrich will be the same."

"To be honest, I'm surprised you get along with my father, given that he pushed me into Cambridge, the same way your father wanted you and David to go to college."

"Your father took the time to help you find something you were interested in, and he said he regretted pushing you so hard later on. My father never would've done that." Troy looked at Snowstripe, letting the horse nuzzle him. "You and your mother argued over Anah. At least your mother ended up seeing that you were right about Anah, and apologized for giving you such a hard time over her."

Moffitt nodded. He looked at the ground, struggling a bit to find something to say. "Troy, I really am sorry that things didn't work out. Hitch, Tully, and I are all lucky to have blood families that love us. I know Dietrich… doesn't. At least you have all of us, and we have no intention of leaving you behind." Moffitt grinned a little. "As I recall, you ordered us to stay in contact with each other when the war ended."

"I did."

"That was definitely a clue to the much bigger and complicated picture of you. The fact that you, the one who barely told us anything about himself, wanted us all to stay in contact told me that beneath your toughened exterior was a very lonely man."

Troy tried to conceal a smile. "Let me guess… Anah—"

"She may have suggested that to me."

"Of course she did."

"Have you ever thought about how she cares for you the way you care for Dietrich?"

"No. Not really."

"She does. You pushed her away for so many years before finally opening up to her and letting her help you, much like Dietrich did with you."

"When you put it that way, it… makes sense."

"Now you're the best of friends."

"Anah's still a pain in the ass sometimes."

"Dietrich says the same about you."

"I'm not nearly as bad as Anah."

"Dietrich would beg to differ."

"Of course he would." Troy looked over at where Jules was showing Antheia how to groom a horse, demonstrating on Icepatch. "I find it hard to believe Jules is only ten."

"Indeed. I'm very proud of him." Moffitt watched his son for a moment, impressed at how knowledgeable he was about horses and how gentle he was with teaching Antheia. "I wouldn't be surprised if this is what he wants to do with his life."

"What? Horses?"

Moffitt nodded. "And if it is, I will help him every step of the way."

"Good."

Moffitt's smile faded when he looked back at Troy. "What will you do if Antheia wants to go to college?"

"As long as she has a career in mind and isn't doing it for the sake of it, I'll support her if that's what she wants to do."

"Deep down, you'd rather she do something else, though."

Troy sighed. "You're not completely wrong, and even though I'm not her biological father, I have to act like it. Whatever decision she makes, as long as she's not turning to crime or hurting herself or others, I have to stand by her."

"That doesn't mean you have to blindly accept whatever she does. Even if what she wants isn't harmful or illegal, if it's something that could hurt your relationship with each other, you need to sit down and talk about it."

Troy nodded. "It's not that I think her going to college is a bad thing, it's just…"

"You'll always have a negative association with it. Antheia should know about that." Moffitt lowered his voice. "Just like how Anah and I had to explain to Jules why he couldn't aim the garden hose at you when he was playing with it last summer, or why you couldn't participate in the water balloon fight."

"Yeah." Troy's face paled. "The kids really wanted me there. I wanted to participate, but… I knew it'd be a bad idea. I didn't want to suddenly start seeing myself in Beckmann's camp again, with the… the guards throwing water at me."

"I know what happened with your father wasn't nearly as traumatic, but it's the same principle."

"I don't want that to prevent Antheia from doing something she really wants to do."

"I don't think it will, but you both need to take the time to understand where you're coming from." Moffitt tried to give Troy a more reassuring smile. "Why don't we cross that bridge when we get there? You still have many years before you need to worry about that." He patted Troy's shoulder.

"Yeah," Troy said. He still looked unsure for a moment. "Moffitt?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for listening, and not thinking I'm crazy."

"Oh, I'll always think you're a little batty at times, but not when it comes to things like this."

"To be fair, I think you're crazy, too, sometimes. But, I'm glad I didn't send you back to the British after our first mission together."

"I'm glad I didn't ask to go back." Moffitt turned when he noticed movement in the corner of his eye, and saw Hitch, Tully, and Dietrich entering the stable. "Hello!"

"Mr. Dietrich!" Jules dashed over to leap into Dietrich's arms.

"Hey, where're our hugs?" Tully asked.

Moffitt noticed Antheia shyly approaching them, and putting her arms around Hitch.

"Okay, where's my hug?" Tully looked around in mock disappointment.

"Oh, for crying out loud—come here, you." Troy gave Tully a squeeze.

"Thanks, Sarge."

The group went into the house after Moffitt had Jules and Antheia finish grooming Icepatch. The wives and other children were already inside. While on his way to get Jules's gift from under the bed, Moffitt noticed Hitch's daughter, Carolyn, approaching Anah, who was curled up on the armrest of Moffitt's chair in front of the fireplace.

"Hello, Auntie Anah!" Carolyn gently pulled Anah off the chair to hug her—as best as one could hug a snake.

"Hello, dear," Anah said. She looked over at Moffitt. "And where are you off to?"

"Getting Jules's present," Moffitt said.

"Oh? What did you get him?"

"I'm not telling." Moffitt smirked. "Enjoy your hug from your favorite 'niece.'"

Now it was Carolyn's turn to look at him. "Is there going to be cake, Uncle Moffitt?"

"Of course there's going to be cake. Auntie Anah made the cake."

"Auntie Anah's the best cook."

Anah looked like she wanted to cry of happiness. "Isn't she the most precious little thing, dear?"

Moffitt shook his head while smiling, then disappeared into the bedroom. He pulled the bag out from under the bed, then opened it to look at the teal blue scarf inside. It seemed so simple, but it was special to him, and he hoped it would be special to Jules as well.

He waited until the party was winding down to approach Jules. The boy was far less energetic than before, having had two slices of cake and ran around the yard with the others for a while, which made him easier to catch. Moffitt found him with Dietrich, who was fast asleep on the couch in the sitting room.

"Jules," Moffitt said, "there's one last present we have for you."

"What is it, Dad?" Jules asked, perking up a little.

"When I was your age, your grandfather gave me the blue scarf you always see me wearing. I thought about giving you mine, but… I decided it would be better if you had one of your own." Moffitt pulled the teal scarf out of the bag. "Happy birthday."

Jules was gentle while taking the scarf from his father. He unfolded it and started putting it around his neck, tying it exactly the way Moffitt had his.

"You look very smart now, Jules," Moffitt said. "Ready to travel any desert."

"Thank you, Dad." Jules stood to tightly hug his father. "Does this mean we will go to North Africa soon?"

"Oh, not yet. Few more years, and I promise, we'll go. I've got something special planned that'll make it worth the wait."

"If you say so, Dad."

"Trust me. I think you'll really enjoy it." Moffitt hugged his son back. He felt someone entering the room behind him, and looked over his shoulder to see Troy. There was still a haunted look on Troy's face, but it faded as he watched Moffitt with Jules, giving father and son a smile before turning and going back into the kitchen.

Author's Note: Both Vanora and tallsunshine12 played my conscience in the beginning of this short. I originally planned on having Moffitt give his son the blue scarf he's seen with in the show, but after reading the story "Saving Troy's Bacon Raid," where Troy is separated from his slouch hat and reunited with it, I found I couldn't separate Moffitt from his scarf. That and I have plans for Jules in the future. It'll help develop himself as his own character, rather than just "Jack Moffitt's son," if he gets his own scarf in a color unique to him, rather than just inheriting his father's.