The sun was just beginning to go down when Charlie brought Alex home. He had been upbeat since going to the park and she was drained. She wasn't even sure how he still had so much energy.

"We're back!"

"You were gone a long time."

They followed the sound of Nora's voice into the living room and found her and Miles on the couch. On the television was some action movie Charlie had never seen. She stood at the back of the couch, frowning as jumping skeletons raced after a bus. Alex rushed around the front and bombarded his parents.

"Easy, easy." Nora winced a little as he partially landed on her. She pushed herself up halfway as Miles scolded their son.

"You need to be more careful. Don't jump on your mom."

"Sorry." Alex immediately looked remorseful and backed away to stand near the coffee table.

"It's fine. He's fine." She put a hand on her husband's arm, telling him to calm down. "Come here,"

She made room for Alex between them and he sat gently on the edge of the couch.

"Did you have a nice time with Charlie?" she asked quietly, which gained a nod as response while he slowly melted against her.

"I got him dinner. I wasn't sure if you were going to be home." Her niece replied. "What are you watching?"

"The Mummy Returns."

Nora glanced at Miles, saw the tiny smirk settle on his face, though he kept his eyes glued to the TV.

"Right." Charlie gnawed on her lip as she stared at the back of their heads. "Miles, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I'm listening."

"In private." She added softly. She saw his shoulders tense and Nora frowned, tilting her head slightly.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's nothing really."

"Then why do you need to talk in private?"

"Nora," there was a pleading tone in Charlie's voice, as though to say leave it alone. "It's family related."

"Oh." The curiosity slipped out of Nora's voice and was overtaken by a mix of hurt and irritation.

"It's not like that. It's… it's about Matheson stuff. You wouldn't- you wouldn't understand."

"Even better."

"Never mind. It's not important."

"I'll be right there." Miles interjected. "Charlie, go."

She looked apologetically at them, then slipped from the room. Miles waited a moment, then glanced at Nora's stony glare.

"She didn't mean it like that."

"I know."

"You know how she gets. It's probably something about Ben. That's my area." He reached his arm across the back of the couch and rubbed her neck gently. She nodded but he could tell she was ready to shrug him off.

"Do you want me to pause the movie?"

"No that's okay. I've seen it before."

He left the room as well, leaving his wife and son in silence as the movie continued to play.

"Did I hurt you?"

Alex's question caught Nora's attention and she turned with a frown to look at him. As her eyes fell on his sad gaze, her features softened and she sighed, shaking her head.

"No. No. You're just… getting bigger. That's all. You know your dad. Sometimes he overreacts." She forced a smile onto her face and he nodded a little. "You wouldn't like me jumping on you, right?"

He chuckled but agreed.

"So, what did you and Charlie do today?"

"We went to the park and out to eat."

"Anything happen while you were out?"

"I don't think so. We had fun. She met Mr. Pat. Oh!" his face suddenly lit up and he bounced a little with excitement. "Are you going to come to school on Wednesday? I forgot to tell you about it. Miss Broderick said that all our family gets to come and see what we've done so far and you can see my classroom and where I sit."

"Of course. What time is it?"

"I don't know. I'll find out. But I remembered because Mr. Pat told Charlie to remind you."

"Where did you see him?"

"At the park."

"Alright, what's going on?"

"I know you don't want to hear about any of the stuff involving the Patriots."

"Charlie,"

"Just hear me out. I know Alex mentioned about the people working at the school. I met one today – Pat?"

"Yeah, he comes into the classroom to spout American garbage. What about him?"

"He told me his name is Patrick Clayton." Charlie lowered her voice, just in case the sound traveled through the house. Miles's gaze turned blank as he processed what she told him.

"What?"

"That was about the same reaction I had! Wasn't that Nora's dad?"

"Yeah but no. No. Trust me, it would be impossible. I'm sure it's a common name."

"How do you know? I mean, the way I see it, he's targeting Alex."

"Charlie,"

"Why is it impossible?"

"Because that guy has the drive of an ant. He didn't give two shits about his own kids. I can't see him caring about anyone else's. Plus, he wasn't part of politics any way. He was practically a goddamn deadbeat. It's not him."

"I think you should check it out before you and Nora run into him. Especially, with this school thing coming up. He said flat-out that he's looking forward to seeing you. And it wasn't in an I-want-to-meet-everyone way. This was an I know who you are and can't wait to reveal myself type of thing."

"I doubt it."

"I know what I'm talking about Miles. I don't appreciate you being condescending."

"I'm not being condescending. I'm telling you to trust me."

"Like I've trusted you on everything else?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You don't even see what's going on out there."

"And you do? Is that why you and Jason are never here? You two starting your own little revolution somewhere?"

"It's not just us."

"Don't do it."

"You can't tell me what to do. Jesus, I did this as a courtesy for you."

"And I appreciate that. I do. But I'm saying don't do it. You're going to start yourself down a path that you're not going to like. More than that – don't draw attention to yourself. Don't drawn attention to us."

"Miles, they already know. They might act like they don't but they do and they're going to pounce when you least expect it."

"Do you want to live like this? One fight to the next?"

"Do you want to live like this? I know you and Nora have been through hell and you're just trying to move past things but you can't. You can't hide who you are forever. This is coming right to our doorstep."

"Then don't let it progress even further by leading it here."

"You're just going to play dumb?"

"It's not playing dumb."

"You think you're so smart and you've outwitted them but you haven't. I'm trying to help!"

"You're not helping Charlie! Do they know about us? Maybe. If they do, this is a trap to draw us out. I don't know what you've been doing and frankly, I don't care. You're an adult. You want to put yourself in danger I can't stop you. But goddamn it, do not – do not – put them at risk. You think you're so smart but you're not. You fought one war kid and half the time I was holding your hand. This is what they want you to do."

"You're unbelievable!"

"I have to look out for them. I look out for you the best I can –"

"You don't do shit! Forget it! I thought I was doing the right thing by warning you."

"Charlie,"

"I might not have years of being a ruthless general under my belt but I can handle myself. I learned from you."

"I know that but what you lack in experience, you make up for with exuberance. That's going to be a problem for you. All I am asking is for you to be careful. And if you do believe what you think, you will keep us out of it."

"Keeping your head buried is only going to get them hurt."

With that, she stormed out of his bedroom and headed into her own. The door slammed with a resounding crack. Miles waited a moment, then slowly made his way back downstairs.

"That wasn't exactly what I expected." Nora commented, having heard the doors slamming.

"I apparently don't know the right thing to say." he retorted, collapsing onto the couch. "I don't think she ever got a chance to have her rebellious teen years so this is it."

"Oh. Good thing we got a bunch of practice with Mia then."

"So that worked out eventually in our favor."

"Apparently." she smiled slightly, though she knew this was all a lie. If Miles or Charlie thought they actually pulled one over on her, they were wrong. She just had to decide if feigning ignorance would be beneficial in this scenario.

"How come they have the same names as the ones you said we had to use?" Alex asked. He was frowning at the television, watching the movie with deep concentration.

"Yes, why is that?" she was glad that the topic had changed and turned her attention to her son's question. Miles's struggle for an answer made her chuckle quietly.

"It's not cool when you two stare at me like that." he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "It feels like you're ganging up on me."

"Oh, I don't think we would ever do that." the tone in her voice was teasing while Alex simply giggled. "Would we Alex?"

"Definitely not."

"Yeah, sure." he gave them a look, then continued, "I like movies. Is that a crime?"

"So you picked them knowing they had the same names?"

"I wasn't expecting anyone to recognize them. It's not like they've been able to watch a DVD recently."

"Except someone pointed it out today."

"That was a fluke. Honestly, I think Stu Redman was a bit more obvious than Rick O'Connell."

"I guess it depends on what interests the person has. Seriously though, we're just not creative to come up with names on our own."

"Okay, it's better than saying we're John and Jane Smith. Plus, there's a lot of similarities with them."

"Yeah, I can't stop counting them."

He rolled his eyes at her but said nothing. They watched the movie for another few minutes until Alex jumped at a particularly startling scene and Nora decided that was enough for the time being.

"We can finish this when he goes to bed." she said, reaching for the remote. Miles held back his protest and gave a short nod.

"Can we watch a different movie?" Alex asked.

"Pick something out."

He moved off the couch to the cases stacked underneath the TV. Nora used the moment to her advantage and slid into his spot so she was able to curl against Miles again. He wrapped his arm over her shoulders, kissed the top of her head gently, and waited to see what Alex picked.

They could hear Charlie storm down the stairs but before either of them could say anything, she exited the house, the door slamming once again in her wake.

"You shouldn't be so hard on her." Nora said quietly.

"I didn't do anything." Miles argued.

"That's what you always say. She's not a kid babe. We can't restrain her."

"I'm not restraining her. And can I just say, pot meet kettle?"

"This is a different situation. Mia was barely seventeen. Charlie's almost twenty one."

"We never watched this one." Alex interrupted, holding up a copy of The Lion King. Miles muffled his groan and tipped his head back against the couch. He thought he had had his fill of singing cartoons when Charlie was a kid. Apparently, he was wrong. Nora jammed an elbow into his ribcage and stood to change the DVD.

"This is a great movie."

"That little skinny rat can shove all that hakuna matata shit up the pig's ass."

"What?" Alex's eyes bulged in confusion as Miles's snarky comment. Nora gave him a look over her shoulder.

"Sorry." he shrugged. "It's not my thing."

"Timon is a meerkat and Pumbaa is a warthog. Get your animals straight. And you could do with some hakuna matata in your life."

"I'm feeling slightly embarrassed for you."

"I have a little sister."

"Yeah, make all the excuses you want."

"Okay, one, when this movie originally came out, I was two old man. This is from my generation. Two, while you make fun, remember that we could be watching a certain blue alien for the thousandth time."

"There's nothing wrong with Lilo and Stitch." Alex seemed offended by his mother's implication and his father's accompanying groan.

"No but after a while, it's a little tiring seeing the same movie." they settled back on the couch as the movie began. She frowned as the scene progressed, feeling Miles stiffen at her side.

"What?" she lifted her head a little in order to see him but he shook his head.

"Just thought of something."

"What?"

"Something that was said about him." he jerked his chin towards their son, who didn't seem to notice their side conversation. "By, you know… comparing him to Simba."

"Oh."

"Sorry. It just popped into my head."

"It's okay. We're never going to be a hundred percent rid of them. Might as well not let them spoil stuff like this."

"Who?" Alex asked, twisting his head to look at them.

"No one. Watch your movie." Nora replied. She leaned against Miles, smiling slightly as he laid his hand against her stomach. She pressed her head further into his shoulder, which he responded to by pressing his cheek against her hair. After a few minutes, Alex moved himself so he was laying on the couch, with his head resting on her lap.

"What's wrong?" Miles mumbled when he felt something wet hit his shirt.

"It's just nice, being able to sit here like this, knowing this is how it's going to be from now on." she whispered. She lifted her hand from Alex's hair to wipe under her eyes.

"God, your hormones are so out of whack."

"Don't ruin this for me."

"I won't. You're right."

She glanced up when she felt his head move and found him looking at her. He could tease all he wanted but she could see the truth in his gaze. This little moment meant just as much to him as it did to her. He brushed his free hand along her cheek, then gave her a kiss.

"Why can't you just watch the movie?" Alex complained.

"We are."

"No you're not."

"Trust me, I know more about this movie than you do." Nora said, almost challengingly. "Did you know Simba means lion in Swahili?"

"Why do you know these things?" Miles asked.

"I paid attention when we went to Disney World. It was one of the points on the safari ride at Animal Kingdom. And Pumbaa means foolish."

"I'm going to stop you right there."

"And the movie is based on Hamlet."

"No."

"It is. I did a whole paper on it in high school."

"You would."

"I got an A. I was very proud of it. Did you ever read Hamlet?"

"I have no use for Ye Old English."

"What's Hamlet? And what's Sawaheehee?" Alex asked, genuinely curious.

"It's a play from about a million years ago. Swahili is a language. Your mother is weird." Miles replied. "Can we stop talking? He's going to miss the movie."

At that point, they all settled down, intending to watch the movie. Alex soon became enthralled with the storyline, not noticing his parents exchanging touches and whispers. None of the family thought to look out the window during this time. None of them expected for someone to be sitting in the shadows across the road, carefully watching their every move.