There were many difficulties of being a parent but in Miles's opinion, the worst was trying to pretend you were happy for the sake of your kid.

He knew going to the open house at the school was going to be a complete and utter shit show but Alex had been babbling about it for days now. He was so excited to have them come to see all he had done so far. If it didn't seem to be such a big deal, he would have insisted that they skip out.

That was not an option. Alex would have had a meltdown and Nora would have insisted on a logical explanation. Miles wasn't entirely sure how to explain that her father was in town and seemed to be part of the Patriots. He was dreading the moment that they came face to face, in a crowded room, and had to feign ignorance.

He should tell her ahead of time. He knew that but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He knew she was somewhat aware of his predicament. There were moments during the day and the walk to the school that he caught her looking at him inquisitively, trying to figure out what was going on.

He wasn't going to panic. Maybe, by sheer luck, Patrick wouldn't be there. But he had mentioned to Charlie that he was looking forward to seeing them.

There wasn't much time to contemplate the scenario once they were inside the school. Alex had taken the lead and was dragging both parents by the hand, speaking so quickly that they were missing half the point.

Miles was surprised to find the classroom to be similar to ones he had grown up in. Desks were lined up neatly in four rows, faded posters decorated the walls, shelves lined the back wall and filled with books.

"This is mine." Alex led them to the third desk next to the window and grinned proudly. On top was a colored picture of their family. "I drew that yesterday. We each got to decorate with something we wanted."

"It came out so good!" Nora cooed, completely enjoying every moment of their little venture. As usual, Alex glanced at Miles's for his approval and he forced a slight grin on his face as he gave a nod. Their son smiled cheerfully and continued down the aisle to the back of the classroom, where a long table was set up, displaying various projects.

"Jake sits right there." Alex pointed to the last desk in the row. "Miss Broderick moved his seat. He used to sit next to me but she said we talked too much."

"You're not being a trouble maker are you?"

"Never." he tilted his head up and met her gaze innocently. Miles snorted quietly, recognizing the look as one of his own. "Look at what we made today."

There were handmade turkeys lined up neatly on the tabletop. Alex grabbed one near the middle of the group and held it up. His name was written out in his careful, large hand writing near the turkey's feathers.

"This one's mine. Jake's mom had a bunch of boas and we ripped them up for feathers. We did it for Thanksgiving."

"I like him. Does he get to come home?"

"Yeah. Miss Broderick said we can take them tonight when we leave."

"Hi Alex," a soft voice whispered. Miles and Nora exchanged an amused glance when their son suddenly grew flustered and bashful.

"Hi Cat," he smiled a little, fidgeting. He took a small step back but stopped before he reached Nora. It seemed that he wanted their assistance but didn't want to come off as babyish in any way. The little girl seemed just as shy, glancing often back at a woman, who must have been her mother, standing near a small spread of refreshments.

"Um, um, I, I helped my mom make these." she held up a napkin that was wrapped around a brownie. "Um, you can have it if you want."

"Thanks." he accepted the treat and rubbed his free hand over the back of his head - a gesture Nora raised her eyebrows at. She had seen Miles do that more times than she dared to count. It was usually during an awkward or uncomfortable situation but she had never seen their son mimic that before.

"Well, bye," Cat gave a short wave and raced back to the safety of her mother. The woman smiled as she returned and met Nora's gaze, then gave a wave of acknowledgement. She returned the gesture, then focused her attention down on her son. He was still blushing as he nibbled on the corner of the brownie.

"I'm pleasantly surprised." Miles commented, earning an elbow to the ribs from his wife. "Why didn't you talk to her?"

"I did." Alex mumbled. His eyes flashed towards the girl in question and his cheeks reddened more.

"Right. We'll work on it." he grinned as Nora shook her head and reached out to ruffle his son's hair.

"Jake just walked in. Can I go say hi?"

"Come right back when you're done." Nora said with a nod. She nudged Miles again, earning a slight chuckle, as Alex disappeared. "He likes her!"

"I told you." they continued to the end of the table, then Nora wedged her way between the table and the bookshelf to get a better look at what was hanging on the bulletin board.

"This has been good for him. It seems like silly stuff but they're actually doing a lot. I guess I thought it would be different but it feels exactly like when we went to school."

"I thought the same thing when we walked in."

"We made a good choice." she muttered, turning her attention to the Lego creation to her right. She stared at it for a moment, noting the building structure and the group of figurines scattered in front. Then she saw the index card and blindly reached for Miles.

"Baby,"

"Hmm?" he turned his head to see what she was looking at and leaned in a little. "That's actually pretty cool."

"Alex made this."

"What? Seriously?"

She pointed to the handwritten note which stated made by Alex O. He raised an eyebrow and inspected the diagram again. It was- at least to them- evident that they were staring at a child's attempt at a vague mock-up of Independence Hall. The figures were Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader, clearly facing off in some kind of invisible battle.

"That's…"

"Creative, isn't it?"

Miles quickly wrapped an arm around Nora as she reeled backwards, startled by the quiet voice at their shoulders. Her head whipped around, eyes widened in shock as she came face to face with her father. Patrick stood on the opposite side of the table, a calm, polite expression on his face. Nora gaped for a few seconds, her fingers tightening on Miles's arm.

"Oh, Patrick, I see you found Alex's parents."

Miles squeezed Nora gently, a silent get it together, as Alex's teacher appeared from a conversation with another couple.

"Oh, oh. Are you okay?" Miss Broderick frowned in concern at the expression on Nora's face.

"What - oh, yeah. I turned too quickly and almost knocked the table over." she responded instantly, a breathless laugh escaping her mouth. "How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you." she smiled politely, relaxed now that she saw there was no problem. "How about you?"

"Great. Absolutely great."

"Wonderful. Patrick, this is Rick and Evie. This is Patrick Clayton, he has been assisting this year by way of the United States government."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." he extended his hand to them each in turn. Miles nodded and dropped Patrick's hand as quickly as he could. When he took Nora's, he squeezed her palm hard and she knew, for whatever reason, that he was testing her. She kept a friendly smile on her face, knowing she couldn't blow their cover like this. "Alex is wonderful in class, really, he is. He's a bright kid and obviously talented."

He gestured to the display behind them, the same calm expression still plastered on his face. It was unnerving for Nora, who had never seen her father in such a state before. She was fairly certain she had never even seen him in a suit.

"He threw that together yesterday during recess. Interesting concept."

"Boys will be boys. They're constantly playing pirates, cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, all that. I'm sure his head is constantly filled with that." his teacher gave a laugh, "Besides, it's not like he has the latest Legos and our collection is… eclectic. I think a week ago, Batman and Obi-Wan Kenobi were fighting Indiana Jones. He always leaves the generic figures out. I'm sure it makes sense in his mind. I can't make heads or tails of it and he never explains his scenes."

"Especially since he's been getting a crash course in pop culture." Nora aimed a look at Miles, who merely shrugged.

"Have to make sure he's well educated in all areas of life."

"Absolutely. Anyway, he's doing very well. He's wonderful to have in class too. Very polite and always willing to answer a question. There's just… one little thing."

"He told us about Jake getting his seat moved."

"Oh no! No, that happens all day every day. They've all moved at least a dozen times. That's life. No, I-I'm not sure if we were supposed to know but Alex was very excited to let everyone know that he was going to be a brother soon." Miss Broderick smiled politely. "Congratulations, by the way.

"Oh, well thank you."

"And obviously there is nothing wrong with that at all. It's just -" now, the young woman turned a little red and gave a quiet laugh, "Ah, Alex has… taken it upon himself to explain the birds and the bees to the rest of the class."

"Oh my God." Nora's smile immediately dissipated and was replaced with a mortified expression. "Oh God, I am so sorry. We had- I didn't think he'd - I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I understand and kids are going to be kids. He meant no harm. I just wanted you to be aware that he seems to be… spreading it around and… very ah, eager, I guess, to offer up information."

"We'll talk to him." Miles added.

"Obviously I have no problem with what you teach him or feel comfortable speaking to him about but not every parent feels the same way and isn't exactly thrilled when their child comes home discussing that."

"No, absolutely." Nora agreed with a nod. She glanced at Patrick and felt her heart sink again. It was difficult to keep cool, though the news of Alex's openness had distracted her momentarily.

She didn't understand any of this. It made no sense to her. There was a part of her that hoped he was aware of their situation and was playing along to keep them hidden. Then, at some point in the future, he would approach her in honest, and she would know what was going on. However, she knew that was not the case.

"It was nice talking to you again." Miss Broderick's voice caught her attention and she looked back to see the other woman gesturing to the others in the classroom. "If you would excuse me,"

"Yeah, of course." she smiled as she walked away and waited for her father to follow after. Instead, he continued to stand in front of them, merely observing. Miles shifted his stance slightly, positioning himself a little in front of Nora. It was a simple movement- one that wouldn't have attracted anyone's attention- but Patrick smiled a little wider and let out a quiet chuckle.

"I was glad I finally had a chance to meet you. Alex talks about you nonstop. The way he describes you Rick, you'd think you were some sort of god."

"Kids are usually great at exaggerating."

"That's what I always said. I'm sure he'll grow out of it soon enough. As I said earlier, he's a great kid. I enjoy teaching him. He's destined for great things, I'm sure."

"Appreciate that."

"I'm back." Alex appeared then, squeezing by the table.

"Hey Alex!" Patrick immediately grinned and reached out to ruffle his hair playfully. "How are you doing?"

"Hi Mr. Pat, I'm good. This is my mom and dad."

"I know, we just met. We were just talking about you." he leaned in and whispered, "Only good things, I promise."

Nora laid her hand against Miles's back, curled her fingers into his shirt. He glanced down at her and slipped his arm around her waist. It was irritating to watch the interaction between his father-in-law and son but she was experiencing something else - fear.

"I know I shouldn't admit this out loud but he takes a certain priority over the others. There's just something about him." Patrick stated, clapping his hands onto Alex's shoulders. He looked up with a smile, then pulled away from him to lean into Nora. "If things go as planned here in town, we'll be settling in for the long haul. Hopefully, I'll be able to move up each grade with him- make sure he unlocks his full potential."

"That - it sounds nice, having another person so interested in his well being." Nora finally spoke, placing her free hand protectively over her son.

"They always said it takes a village." he smiled widely. "Anyway, it was really nice meeting you both and I hope I see more of you soon. Alex, make sure that homework is finished."

"Already done."

"Good boy. Enjoy the rest of your night."

"Why are you not in bed yet?"

Alex looked up sheepishly from the puzzle on his desk and dropped the piece in his hand. He smiled sweetly at his mother while he raced to his bed and dove under the covers. Nora shook her head slightly as she sat next to him and pulled the blanket into place.

"Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yep."

"Are those clean pajamas?"

"Maybe." she gave a look and he grinned, amending his answer, "Yes."

"Alright. What book is it tonight?"

"Can Dad read to me tonight?"

"What, am I not good enough?"

"No you are but," he dragged out the last word, still grinning, "Dad does the voices."

"I see. I'll have him come up. I love you." she leaned down and kissed his cheek gently. When she pulled back, she hesitated and stared at him for a long moment.

"I swear I brushed."

"No, I know." his insistence made her smile softly. "Do you like school?"

"Yeah. It's been so much fun."

"Miss Broderick is really nice."

"Yeah."

"Do you like Mr. Pat?"

"Yeah, he's been great. He's really smart. We don't just talk about America anymore. We do a lot of other stuff."

"Is he nice to you?"

"Mhmm."

"Does he ever say anything to you?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Anything not about school."

"No. He likes baseball though. We talk about that a lot. He liked a team called the Astros. They used to be in Texas. He plays with us sometimes at recess. He said I could be a pro."

"He sounds like he cares about you a lot."

"I guess."

She was quiet for a few seconds, contemplating what she could say without damaging him in any way, "You know, if anything ever bothers you or someone does something that doesn't seem right, you tell me and Dad and we'll take care of it."

"I know." he frowned slightly, then added, "Mr. Pat isn't bad."

"I'm not talking about him. I'm just saying in general. If anything ever makes you feel uncomfortable, you can tell us. Sometimes- sometimes people will do bad things and tell kids that they can't say anything or they'll hurt someone they love or they'll get in trouble. If that ever happens, don't believe them."

"I know. Besides, nobody can hurt Dad. He kicks all their butts."

"He does, doesn't he? He's like your own personal superhero."

"Yeah so if someone tried to do something bad to you or Charlie, Dad would kick their butt. So, I'd take the risk."

"Okay." she smiled at his logic and pushed his hair away from his forehead. "I'll see you in the morning. He'll be in in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too."

"You knew."

The accusation was soft and void of any kind of malice. Miles tilted his head back, then turned to face Nora head on. She stood in the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed over her chest, and stared him down.

"Yeah."

"And you didn't say anything."

"Believe it or not, I was trying to protect you."

A laugh bubbled out of her mouth and her eyebrows raised slightly.

"You were trying to protect me? How the hell was that supposed to protect me? What did you think you were accomplishing by letting me go into a room with a man I haven't seen in ten years and not giving me any warnings as to what was going to happen?"

"I knew if you knew, it would wreck you and this was supposed to be about Alex. If you went in on the defensive, it would have been bad."

"At least I could have prepared! I almost lost it in there!"

"I know."

"How long have you known?"

"Only since Sunday. He was at the high school."

"Did he approach you?"

"No. I saw him. I tried following him but I lost track of him. And- he met Charlie. He didn't know who she was."

"I bet."

"He introduced himself. That's what she wanted to talk about on Friday. She wanted to let me know."

"And neither of you thought to tell me."

"I've been fighting with myself over this. Baby-"

"No. I don't-" she cut herself off with a sigh, then pointed at the stairs. "Alex wants you."

"We'll talk about it when I come down." he brushed past her to go to their son and she waited a few minutes before following his path. When he emerged from the bedroom fifteen minutes later, he noticed the door to his own room was shut. In front of the door was a blanket and his pillow.

"So much for talking." he muttered, going to collect his makeshift bed.

It was almost three in the morning before he heard footsteps on the staircase. He was sprawled on the couch, eyes glued to the TV. There was no attempt at sleeping. He was on the beginning of his fourth James Bond movie.

Nora entered the room quietly and sat on the edge of the couch without a word. Miles shifted his position so he was on his side rather than his back, giving her more room. It took a moment but she laid down in front of him, keeping her back to him. He ran his hand gently along her side, then grabbed the remote and put the TV on mute, sensing a conversation coming.

"I'm sorry." he kissed the back of her head, pulling a sigh out of her. "I am. I knew either way, it was going to suck. I was trying to keep some of your sanity for you."

"I don't get it."

"You can't be like this. It's not good for you or the baby."

"I know but what else am I supposed to do? Ignore it?"

"It would be nice."

"Yeah well, that's not an option. Not anymore. He knew when he came here. He knew exactly what he was doing."

"You don't know that."

"Miles, he has never cared before. Why would he start now? I refuse to believe that he's acting like this so he can win Grandpa of the Year. My thing is I can't figure out how he got tangled up in all of this. All my life, he was that bum on the beach, skirting his duties to the best of his abilities. And then he's standing in there, looking like he's the damn king of the world."

"Babysitting a bunch of kids is hardly king like."

"He's not babysitting. He's… grooming."

"Is that what you think?"

"Do you have any theories to offer up?" she turned slightly, elbowing him in the process, but was still able to meet his eye. "They're trying to fool everyone else in town. Kids are the easiest targets. We talked about this before."

"I know but- I don't know, I can't see your dad brainwashing kids." he shook his head a little. He had never been fond of his father-in-law. Most times he thought of him, he pictured that shell shocked guy on the porch of a mansion, seeing the last people he expected, and ruining the life he had concocted for himself.

"Neither can I but then again, I never pictured either of us in the roles we played either. How long do you think this has been going on?"

"I don't know. When we were in the Tower, Flynn seemed like he had been planning the attack for a while. I know Ben knew something about the power going off. I never knew how much though. But I've been thinking it over and I remember him mentioning some big project he and Rachel had been working on. Rachel knew Flynn. I think he worked for the government. Or actually, I know he did, I just don't know in what capacity."

"Do you think they caused the blackout?"

"The government?"

"Yeah."

"I don't want to think about that."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to believe that a country I fought over ten years and nearly died for would purposely put the lives of their citizens at risk. Kind of negates everything I worked for."

"Maybe it wasn't all of them. It doesn't take a lot of people to start a revolution."

"So your theory is a group of politicians okayed the usage of some crazy project that turned off all the electricity on purpose so they could come back a few years later and pretend to be the good guys?"

"I don't know if it was on purpose or it just went badly but I wouldn't be surprised. Flynn set off those nukes and a few weeks later the Patriots coming sailing in. Sounds like a set up to me."

"And where does your father fit into all of this? He wasn't a politician. Frankly, there was nothing special about him. How does he get to the top of their food chain?"

"Maybe they were recruiting people. They had to have other people than Flynn here. They could have been everywhere. They needed a network to keep in the loop on things. I mean, they were the ones who came in and said Bass and Foster dropped the nukes. They needed to have known that they were unstable and it would have been a believable story. Or how about the fact that Bass conveniently left Philly right before the bombs went off? They're saying too many details to not have the facts in some way."

"Okay so… they turn off the power, start recruiting people to gain traction. Why wait fifteen years?"

"Maybe they didn't plan on it taking that long."

"And when did your father have time to become recruited? He would have had to start at the bottom and work his way up. He's been at it for a while."

"I don't think he was in on it when the blackout happened."

"What about when he went back to Texas?"

"We don't know if he ever even made it back there." she muttered, rubbing a hand over her face. "I don't want him around Alex."

"That's going to be difficult to stop. We can't tell him to not go to his class and we can't pull him out."

"Of course we can. He's our son. We can do whatever we want with him."

"And what reason are you going to give? If they're serious about getting to the kids, they'll put a plan in action to stop any of them from being taken out of class. They can make it mandatory that they need to go to school or outlaw homeschooling. Even if they don't, want are you going to tell Alex? He's finally getting into the swing of things and you're going to stop that for him?"

"You are so unhelpful."

"I'm trying to be reasonable. The last thing we need is to make a scene over something. It'll put us right in their sights."

"We're already in their sights. My father is helping them. He was taunting us tonight. It's only a matter of time before something gives. I don't want Alex in the crossfire. I don't want him getting hurt."

"And you think I do?"

"No, I know you don't. I-" she sighed quietly, "I don't know. Miles, I don't know what to do. I want to fight. I'm ready to fight and I can't. I just- I feel like you don't. We know something isn't right and we know it's going to happen sooner rather than later and you keep brushing it off."

"I'm not brushing anything off."

"What is it going to take to push you over the edge?"

"Some actual evidence. Nothing has happened. We can speculate all we want but we don't know for sure they're here because of us or learned who we really are. I'm not going to start a fight when we may not need one."

She huffed at him in annoyance and sat up, swung her legs over the side of the couch. Nothing else was said for a few moments. Then, he pushed himself up and leaned over her, chin pressed into her shoulder.

"I can't shoot someone or drive a sword through them without reason. I mean, I could, but chances are I'd get myself arrested and executed and then you'll be left on your own and I don't think you want that." he paused, then continued, "Please don't think I'd sit back and let something happen to you or him. It's not true at all. I'm trying to be rational."

"I don't want you being rational. I want you being you."

"Give me some time. I'll look into things. If I see it's a mess, I'll put something together but for right now, nothing is wrong. Unless he's feeding Alex lies and turning him into a cold blooded killer, he's just doing his supposed civic duty and it's not exactly suspicious activity." he waited for her to respond, pushed her hair back gently over her shoulder. "Hey,"

She turned her head slightly, meeting his gaze, and waited for him to speak again.

"I would never forgive myself if I flew off the handle and did something that caused you to get hurt. If I'm going to get involved, I need to be careful about this. I'm just trying to keep you safe baby. I don't want to take any chances. I know you understand that and you're just being stubborn-"

"I'm not stubborn! I don't want to lose him - or you!"

"And if someone crashed through that window right now, I'd fight like hell for you. All I'm saying is, I'm not going to stand on Main Street and open fire just because I'm mad at what they're doing. That will end badly. Besides, I can't do it on my own. I don't know how many people they have but I'm pretty sure I'm outnumbered. We need to wait this out."

"Just don't wait too long."