On the morning of Alex's birthday, Miles woke up alone. The empty bed didn't surprise him as much as it should have but the following silence did. As he sat up, he realized it was still early and it was definitely possible his son was still asleep. He contemplated going back to sleep but decided against it and quietly stepped out into the hallway.

He knew Nora had been on a frenzied high the past few days wanting to make sure the party was perfect - mostly for Alex's sake but also to impress the neighborhood as this was the first time they were hosting anything. He was sure they had gone to bed together but knowing his wife as he did, that could have all been a trick and she had slipped away as soon as he was passed out. Finding her slumped over a half stirred bowl of cake batter would not surprise him in the least. Instead, he found her in Alex's room. He stopped in the doorway, intending to glance in on him quickly but her presence halted him.

Alex looked uncomfortable even in his sleep. Miles knew the cast was a pain and it hindered the sleeping positions his son favored. He was currently sprawled on his back but partially turned towards Nora, as if he knew she was there and was trying to curl into her.

"Hey," he kept his voice low, not wanting to startle either of them. She lifted her head and blinked when she saw him in the room.

"Hey. I wasn't expecting you up so soon."

"Almost nine." he shrugged and she hummed in understanding as she turned her attention back to their son. He quietly walked the rest of the way to the bed and sat on the open side. "How long have you been in here?"

"Not long. I was going downstairs to start breakfast and I had to sit here." there was a sigh in her voice as her fingers brushed lightly at Alex's bangs. His head turned slightly and he made a noise but didn't wake up. "He's so big."

He murmured his agreement. It was still difficult to reconcile the tiny newborn with the kid in front of him. Even in the past year, he had changed. Alex had never been chubby- the kid could be mistaken for a string bean- but he had still had that baby like roundness to his face. That had shed away and he had grown probably two inches since the previous November.

"I've avoided this day every year and now-" she broke off, smiling slightly. "I'm not going to do this today. But it's just-"

"I know." he leaned over and brushed a kiss against her mouth. She leaned her head against his as they broke away and let out a quiet chuckle. "What?"

"Just that this is the exact position we were in eight years ago." she mumbled. "Hovering over him while he slept. We should go. I don't want him to wake up. He's been having a hard time sleeping as it is with his arm."

"Yeah." he agreed quietly as he ran a hand over Alex's head. The motion made him jerk and he blinked blearily up at them. Nora glared at Miles, who grinned remorsefully. "Sorry. Go back to sleep."

"What you doin'?" he mumbled, arching slightly in a stretch.

"Nothing."

Alex gave them both a shrewd look and closed his eyes again. Nora smacked Miles lightly as they climbed off the bed and went downstairs together.

"Well, today is just full of surprises," he commented dryly upon seeing Charlie seated at the kitchen table. She gave a look as she chewed through a piece of toast.

"I was just about to make breakfast. Still hungry?" Nora asked.

"No thanks. Sorry, I didn't realize anyone was going to be up already." Charlie started to gather her plate and glass and stood from the table.

"Well don't leave on our account."

"No, it's not. I have stuff to do today. I'm already running late."

"What stuff?"

"Stuff, alright? I'll be out of your hair. What do you care?"

"It's Alex's birthday today, in case you had forgotten." the snide response snapped something within Nora and she remained in the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed. "While it doesn't matter to me or your uncle what you do, I know your cousin looks forward to you being around."

"I'll be back before then. Please move."

"No, I think we need to talk."

"Whatever." Charlie turned, intending to go through the back door but Miles leaned casually against the glass, blocking her other exit. "Oh, this is great. Of course, you're going to take her side."

"She didn't do anything to you Charlie - except offer you a home and be nice to you. I don't think this is really about us anyway."

"I'm not listening to this."

"Charlie, we're worried about you."

"You're not my mom Nora. Focus on your own kids!"

"I'm not trying to mother you. Caring about someone is trying to mother them? You didn't have a problem with it while we were on the road. Now, all of a sudden, you're a completely different person."

"Yeah, well, I did a lot of growing up since we were on the road."

"I know you went through a lot since last year. We all have but what you're doing isn't healthy."

"You don't even know what I'm doing."

"I do." Miles straightened up as Nora sighed in exasperation. "I see what you're doing out there, those missions and raids. You're on a rampage Charlie and you're not - you're reckless. I'm surprised you haven't gotten yourself killed yet."

"I'm doing what I've always done."

"Honey-"

"Don't!" Charlie snapped, cutting Nora's statement off. "You don't get it. You're sitting here cooped all the time. You don't see what's happening out there. What I'm doing is a lost cause. We're just biding our time now."

"If you truly think that, why are you even bothering?"

When she didn't answer, Nora continued, "I know what you're doing. Obviously we can't stop you but at least think this through. If you think we're not going to care if something were to happen to you, you're wrong. I know what you're going through. As soon as you stop moving, that's when things start to become real, and you don't want to deal with it. I did this when I lost my mom and when I lost Alex. You don't have to push us away. It doesn't help and eventually, it's not going to work. It's still going to hurt."

"We made bad choices when we left Philly. We should never have left each other." Miles met Nora's gaze over Charlie's shoulder.

"If I could, I would do it all over differently." she replied. Their eyes were locked and for a split second, this was about them and not their niece. Then, she blinked, and turned her attention back to the younger woman. "Is this why Jason hasn't been here?"

"Jason made his own choices. I'm not going to let myself be held down by him because he doesn't agree with me. I don't appreciate you two putting in your opinions either."

"Fine. We won't tell you that we care and would be devastated if something were to happen to you. Let me ask you something - what are you even still doing here?"

"I won't stay. I'm hardly here as it is. Don't worry. I'll be gone before you know it."

"Charlie, you're the one pushing us away. Don't act like the wounded party here."

With that, Nora stepped out of the doorway, allowing their niece to finally leave. The door slammed in her wake.

"We're not doing this again." Miles muttered. "We did it with Mia. I understood that but Charlie's an adult. We tried talking to her. It didn't work. End of story."

"You say that now." she gave him a look and he rolled his eyes but didn't argue. They both knew at some point, they would try reaching out to her again - most likely with failed results.

"Why is everyone being so loud?" Alex grumbled as he wandered in. He looked severely put out that he was awake and the glare on his face was the last expression either expected to see considering it was his birthday.

"Did we disturb the poor prince?" Miles teased. He laughed quietly at the scowl he received in response.

"I thought you went back to sleep." Nora smiled as well.

"Everyone was yelling."

"I'm sorry. Charlie left. We'll be much more quiet. You can go back to sleep or I'm going to make breakfast."

"What are we having?"

"You tell me. It's your birthday."

"It - " he stopped, thinking the statement over. His eyes moved towards the calendar, as though he didn't believe her. The frown disappeared and he was wide awake, suddenly buzzing with excitement. "It's my birthday!"

"Yeah, it is." she laughed at the change and hugged him tightly. "Happy birthday baby."

"Can we have eggs and pancakes and bacon?"

"Anything else?"

"Cake?"

"That's pushing it. It's not even ready yet." she kissed the tip of his nose and smiled down at him. He smiled back, not realizing the bittersweet gaze that had formed on her face. "Alright, if I'm going to make all this food, I better get started,"

She stroked his cheek gently, then turned to get the ingredients. She and Miles exchanged a look as he brushed past. He kissed the top of Alex's head quickly as he sat at the table.

"Happy Birthday buddy."

"Thanks." he grinned as he leaned over the table. "When do I get my presents?"

"That's a little presumptuous, don't you think?" Nora asked, though her gaze traveled towards the coffee table in the hall. He turned to follow her line of sight and gasped at the stack of presents. He had been so irritated coming down the stairs he hadn't even noticed them.

"Can I open them?"

"Bring them in here."

He scrambled out into the hall, then tried to grab all of them at once. He struggled with his one good hand, causing Miles to stand and help him collect the group. Once situated back at the table, Nora joined them and Alex looked overwhelmed at where to start.

"I got so many." he quietly pointed out each, then announced, "Seven."

"Technically, there are eight." Miles corrected. "The last one is on the porch."

"It's nothing crazy." Nora added, "Some of them are small. We couldn't make up our minds."

"Your mom couldn't make up her mind and didn't want to listen when I tried to remind her that Christmas is only a few weeks away."

"That's one for each year." Alex said softly. Miles and Nora exchanged a glance. He always managed to surprise them with his intuition. "Each year we weren't together."

"We're not going to think like that today." she rubbed his arm gently. "But yes, we wanted to give you a good birthday and we decided to make up for all the others. I know last year, we were together but - "

"Everyone forgot."

"Things were crazy. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Can I open this one first?"

"Whichever one you want."

It didn't take long to work through the stack. He seemed more excited at ripping the paper off each one instead of examining each carefully. They knew he would revisit each gift later on. There were two LEGO sets, another baseball, the fifth Harry Potter book, Monopoly, Clue, and a 500 piece puzzle that would form into a dragon.

"Don't forget the one on the porch."

Alex moved quickly to the sliding door and peered through the glass.

"A telescope!"

"When I was your age, that's what my tree house had. I'd sit up there for hours." Miles grinned at the excited expression on his son's face. "You know how to use it?"

"No. I wasn't allowed to touch the one back in Philly."

"Well, this one is all yours. Once the tree house is done, we'll move it up there. You'll be able to do some good spying from there."

"Thank you!" he raced back to the table and threw himself onto Miles's lap. He jumped off almost immediately and went to hug Nora. "I love all of it."

"Did you have a nice time today?"

It was later that night when they finally had a chance to sit and relax. The rest of the morning had been devoted to prepping the house and the afternoon had been the party. Nora had been surprised at how easily hostessing came back to her. It had been so long since they had thrown a party, especially a kid's birthday. Everyone had seemed to enjoy themselves. She had also been worried that having everyone in the house would open themselves up to snooping but as far as she knew, that had not been the case. She and Miles had been careful to hide any remnants of their past life and it seemed to have paid off.

"It was the best birthday ever." Alex mumbled. Nora smiled at his response and felt Miles rub her shoulder gently. "Can I have another piece of cake?"

"Didn't you have enough cake?"

"It can be really tiny." he twisted in her hold to smile at her. She chuckled and tipped her head back against Miles. They were squished onto the couch together, each curled into the next one's side.

"Do you think smiling at me like that is going to win me over?"

"It's supposed to."

"Your dad is a bad influence on you."

"What makes you think it was me?"

"Because I recognize the look on his face." she sighed, then nodded. "Fine, a small piece. Just wait a few minutes. I'll get it for you."

"I'll get it." Miles offered, slipping out from behind her. "Do you want a piece too?"

"Might as well."

"I'll make it three then."

Alex giggled at the wink Miles gave, then noticed Charlie in the doorway of the living room.

"Charlie!" he straightened up, an excited look on his face. "Where did you go?"

She gave a small smile, not sure what answer to give. After their argument that morning, she had stayed away until the party but did eventually return. She played the role of the dutiful niece and cousin, gave Alex his gift, but left halfway through the party.

"I had to help a couple friends out." she replied. She tried to avoid Miles as best as possible and tried to not make too much of the fact that Nora hadn't so much as looked at her.

"We're going to play Monopoly. Do you want to play with us?"

She hesitated, ready to say no, but her cousin's hopeful expression swayed her.

"Yeah, why not? Before that, I want to talk to your mom though."

"Why don't you help Dad with the cake?" Nora straightened up, patting her son to get him off the couch.

"Okay," he raced out of the room, oblivious to the tension at hand. Charlie fidgeted anxiously as her aunt stared at her.

"You can sit. I won't bite."

Charlie took up the suggestion and sat in the arm chair next to the couch. She looked down at her lap, then took in a deep breath, and met Nora's gaze once more.

"I'm sorry about this morning." she muttered. "It was uncalled for. You both were right. I was acting ungrateful."

"Not necessarily. You're an adult Charlie and you have boundaries that we shouldn't cross. We need to respect each other. I spend a lot of my day talking to Alex. I don't mean to sound like I'm babying you. Half the time, I don't realize I'm talking like that. That still doesn't diminish the fact that we care about you."

"I know and I… I do appreciate what you've done."

"Not that it's any of my business, but when we talked over the summer, you were saying the complete opposite of what you said this morning." she paused for a moment, waiting to see if Charlie would respond. When she didn't, she continued, "Like I said this morning, I know what you're doing. I did the same thing and looking back, I wish I had someone to tell me it would get better. That pain is never going to go away. It might lessen but it's always in the background but you learn to cope. People need to grieve Charlie. You shouldn't do it alone. You don't have to keep running."

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"I don't -"

"Tell me what's going on."

"You don't need to hear it."

"Maybe I do."

"After we talked on the beach, I got involved with the rebels… or more involved, I should say. I couldn't just sit and do nothing. The more time I spent being normal, I had to think about the past year and I didn't want to. I wasn't ready. I started spending more time away because… you guys… I don't need another set of parents and I don't need another brother. That's what this was becoming."

"We're not trying to replace your dad or Danny."

"I know and it wasn't - it was stupid things. Like Miles - he probably doesn't even realize that he does things that my dad used to do. Alex was becoming a second shadow and I didn't - I've done that with Danny. And you - all you've been is nice and I've never had that. I mean, I had Maggie but I never appreciated it."

"I thought you said you were scared of being alone."

"I am but I'm more scared of losing everything again." Charlie whispered. She slumped into the chair, scrubbing her hands over her face. "I thought spending less time here was better but that just meant I had to see more of what's going on out there. I don't think we stand a chance and I hear - I hear things about you and Miles and… and I just know it's going to end. But I don't want to watch it happen. So that's why I'm out there. It's not going to pay off in the long run but at least I'm buying you some time and… and I'll probably be the one to go first."

"You'd rather get yourself killed than have to see one of us get killed."

Charlie kept her eyes shut and her lips pressed together, not replying to the statement. Nora stared at her sadly, trying to figure out what to say next. The sudden knock on the door jolted them both out of their thoughts and she looked bewildered at the front hall.

"Who the hell is that?"

She heard Miles walking towards the door and tried to look around the edge of the wall, which was useless.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Miles glared at Patrick upon finding him on the front porch. "How the hell do you even know where we live?"

"It's recorded at the school and people talk. I know all your neighbors. I've been in town three months, you don't think I haven't come through here before?"

"I don't know what you're - "

"Hi Mr. Pat," Alex came down the hallway, chocolate smeared on his face. In the living room, Nora's eyes widened at her son's voice and she scrambled off the couch as quick as possible.

"Happy Birthday Alex," he greeted the boy with a wide smile. Miles tried wedging the door closed but Alex weaved around his legs to stand in front of him.

"What do you want?" Nora was at his shoulder, arms crossed over her chest. Alex glanced up, surprised at the hostility in his mother's voice. Patrick continued to smile, as though he found the situation amusing.

"I came to wish Alex a happy birthday."

"Is that for me?" Alex stepped out on the porch and his eyes widened at the bike on the sidewalk behind Patrick.

"No!" Miles and Nora chorused together while the older man nodded.

"Yes. This is your gift."

"Cool!"

"No, no," they both stepped onto the porch. "Alex, come here."

"Why?" he frowned back at his parents, then continued to examine the silver bike.

"You can't have that."

"Of course he can." Patrick interjected. "It's a gift."

"It's inappropriate." Nora insisted. "Or are the Patriots handing out bikes on everyone's birthdays?"

"We've discussed in the past-"

"We can't accept that."

"Evie, it's a bike, not a million dollars. It's hardly a big deal."

"It's a blatant display of favoritism, which is irresponsible for a person in your role."

"So I favor him. It's not a secret. If it bothers you so much, no one needs to know it came from me. Alex can keep a secret, can't he?" he turned his gaze to the boy in question, then smiled at his daughter and son-in-law.

"Honey, go inside please."

Alex turned again from the bike and stared at Nora, confused by her request.

"Why?"

"We need to talk to Mr. Pat alone."

"Don't be mad at him."

"We're not."

"Why are you saying I can't have the bike?"

"We'll discuss it later. Just go inside for now. Ask Charlie to help you set up the game. We'll be in in a few minutes."

They were all quiet until the door clicked shut.

"Why are you doing this?" Nora asked. "I've told you repeatedly to leave him alone."

"Unfortunately, you do not call the shots." her father responded. "Why are you so against having another adult in his life who clearly cares for him?"

"I don't know what you're trying to do but it's not going to work."

"All I'm trying to do is give my grandson a birthday present."

"Oh come on," Miles groaned. "You're so full of shit."

"I'm respecting your wishes. I haven't told him who I am. I haven't let anyone know you're my daughter." Patrick leaned in, lowering his voice in case any of the neighbors were out. "I could turn you both in and I haven't. The bounties on your heads would let anyone live comfortably for the rest of their lives."

"Step back." Miles placed himself between the two and his father-in-law backed up, sighing.

"I don't know why you both are so insistent on thinking something else is going on here. I was just as surprised to find you here as you were to find me. I'm trying to make the most of it. Don't you think if I had any ulterior motives, I'd have done something by now? Everything I have done for Alex has been to help him."

"That's not who you are." Nora replied. "You didn't care about me and you didn't care about Mia. You don't care about him either."

"None of that is true. Yes, I made mistakes with you and your sister. Alex is my second chance."

"He is nothing to you. I won't let him get sucked in by you. I've told you before that you are a teacher and nothing more. Now take that fucking bike and get off my lawn."

Patrick's eyebrows raised in surprise and he waited to see if she would retract the statement. However, she continued to stare coldly at him and Miles gestured towards the street.

"I think she made her point. Get going."

"Alright. I can tell when I'm not wanted. Sweetheart, I hope you change your mind about things."

She refused to answer and he nodded, stepping off the porch, and collected the bike. They remained rooted to the spot until he disappeared down the sidewalk and into the night.

"I will not let him use Alex for his own purpose, whatever it might be."

"No, absolutely not." he agreed quietly as he led her back into the house. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. What was he saying about bounties?"

"Don't."

"Charlie said she's been hearing things. Baby," there was an anxious tone in her voice but he shook his head, cutting her off.

"I don't want you worrying about it. Whatever happens, I'll handle it." he promised. The look in his eyes let her know he would handle it by any means necessary.

"Why don't you like him?" Alex's voice startled them both and they looked to see him lurking in the doorway of the living room.

"That's not true."

"You were mad."

"Honey, it would look bad if someone were to find out where that came from. It's nice that he wanted to wish you a happy birthday and sometimes, teachers will give a small gift maybe. However, something as extravagant as a bike isn't right. I was surprised - that's all. I'm glad that Mr. Pat seems to care but I don't like that he doesn't give that attention to the other kids. It's not fair. I don't think it's right that he's- think of it this way. What if you found out that Miss Broderick was treating Jake different that you and the others? How would that make you feel?"

He shrugged, not really grasping the full concept. He looked skeptical at his mother's response but didn't argue.

"Did you get that game set up?" Miles asked, trying to change the topic. Alex shook his head. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Does this mean I don't get the bike?"

"Yes it does."

"Oh." he seemed upset at that revelation.

"Alex, you have plenty of nice gifts that a lot of people took time picking out for you. If a bike is something you're interested in, maybe Santa will think about it."

"Do you think he's bad?"

"No," Nora lied after a moment, "I think he needs to be more... accepting of the other kids. If he's... nice to you and is helpful, then I guess that's all that matters."