James had made it back from the wasteland with the rest of the Arhome guard. Although a Master of the Disciples of the One, and a true believer, he was no pacifist. He had fought his share of battles and had now been instrumental in helping to complete the decimation of the Enclave. It would no longer prove a threat to the wasteland as every soldier had been taken alive when possible to interrogate, making sure no pockets were left anywhere. The prisoners were now being held in a large compound, guarded by experienced Brotherhood soldiers.

James had been in on the interrogations to make sure no extreme measures were employed and injured soldiers were treated. They would be taken care of and treated well until disposition was determined by a tribunal made up of Arhome, Brotherhood, and Ranger members. That was how he had come in possession of the artifact.

Nathan was at home with the triplets when James approached him.

"Hey, Nathan", James greeted his step father. "Is Mom around?"

"Not right now. She went over to the store. She said something about picking up some ingredients for dinner", Nathan responded.

"Where's the kids?", James asked, looking around.

Nathan looked at him curiously. "They're upstairs playing some board game", he said.

"Good", James said. "I wanted to show you this. The prisoner I got it from said it was cut out of Mom's body when they held them prisoner. The original plan was simply to kill them so they couldn't interfere with their future plans. When they didn't die their doctor wanted to see if he could save them so he could study them and figure out what they were. Anyway, the prisoner gave me this. I think he was hoping to make a deal if he returned it since he figured it was valuable. I've never seen it before. I wanted to know what you make of it."

James held out the artifact, carefully wrapped in a piece of soft cloth. Nathan unwrapped it and stared at it briefly. The reds and browns swirled through the tiny gem, set in a circle of golden leaves. The small circle, no more than 2" in diameter, was bent in on one side. He turned it over and ran his finger over the name on the back.

"Does anyone else know about this?", he asked.

"No, I haven't told anyone. Do you know who David is?", James asked.

Nathan looked up, his face closed. "This is your mother's talisman. She had it in her left breast. Hawk told me to never remove it because it guarded her heart. He also told me to never mention David to Calli. She has her secrets, James. Let her keep them. Here, give this to your mother in private when you get the chance. Don't tell her I saw it. She knows I know about it of course, but she also knows I've never removed it during any operation. She trusts me. I want to keep it that way."

The tiny piece of jewelry caught the sunlight and flashed brightly as Nathan held it out.

"How could it guard her heart? It's so small", James said.

Nathan didn't reply. James took it and carefully rewrapped it in the cloth before putting it in his pocket.

"The Guard found a piece of equipment we knew you've been looking for. It's a DNA sequencer. The Enclave was using it to test wastelanders and new recruits for mutations. I had it sent over to the clinic. Is that all right?", James asked.

"That's great. Thanks James. Calli's been looking for one for me for years. She'll be happy you found it", Nathan said.

"Happy he found what?", Calli asked, coming into the living room.

Nathan looked up at her with a smile. "Oh, hi, hon, did you find what you wanted? James was just telling me they got a DNA sequencer from the Enclave garrison."

"Hey, that's great!", Calli grinned. "You staying for dinner, James? I'm making an apple pie."

"I'd love to, Mom", James said. "I'll help you."

Nathan smiled. "I'm just going to take the kids out to play for a while. Call us when it's ready?"

Calli nodded. "Sure, go on." He didn't get to play with the triplets as much as he'd like.

James held out the piece of cloth to his mother. "One of the Enclave soldiers had this on him, Mom. He said they took it from you."

"Oh?", Calli said, wiping flour from her hands. She took the item from her son and unwrapped it.

Calli stared at the small piece of jewelry, running her finger over the glossy surface. An imperfect circle with a bend in one side, symbolizing an eternal but imperfect love. "I haven't seen this in years", she said quietly. She took it over to the window and turned it over, staring at the name.

"Who's David, Mom?", James asked.

She looked up at him. "Someone I couldn't save, James. I haven't seen him in many years."

"Did you love him?", he asked softly. Calli stared out the window at Nathan playing with the triplets. She could see past him to the farms and fields beyond. Her horse was grazing in the pasture. She was glad to have the animal. Their bikes had been breaking down more frequently and there weren't many parts left for repairs.

"It's a long time past, James. A very long time. Why don't you go set the table?"

She shoved the jewel into her pocket and turned to smile at him. Later she would make a small cut in her left breast and place the jewel in it. Her body would engulf it as it healed as it had done so many years ago. "Dinner's almost ready."

Calli was tired. Hawk hadn't come with them to Arhome. He had gone back to his home in the Settlement. She wouldn't be seeing him for at least a month. They needed some normalcy in their lives. The trials for the Enclave soldiers would proceed without them. She knew most of them would just be exiled from the DC wasteland. They would be deposited on various islands or taken to the southern continent or western shore on the Lelland trading ships. Some would be executed for heinous crimes. Neither she nor Nathan would attend Scott's trial.

Eventually their lives would resume. Arhome was open now. Nathan would take up his clinic and wasteland rounds. The radiation proof tunnel would be completed now there was plenty of the base material, and trade would flourish in and out of the city state. The bay would bustle with ships and trade. The Lelland Trading Company would expand. Manufacturing and farming and innovation would increase.

Calli would take a contingent of scientists and engineers to the spaceships she now owned. She hoped to reactivate some of the spy satellites still in orbit or maybe re-establish contact with Europe. Then there were the rumors of the army amassing at the western border that needed checked out. There was so much to do, but not right now. Now it was time for dinner with her family.

Nathan picked up Sheila and wiped the tears from the little face.

"It's all right, baby", he said, inspecting the scraped knee. He brushed the deep chestnut hair back and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She sniffled and smiled at him, giving him a hug before struggling away.

"Okay, Daddy," she said brightly, trotting off to rough house with her brothers. He watched her go. She looked so much like the holos he had seen of Calli before her change.

He hadn't said anything to Calli about why he wanted the DNA sequencer. She thought it was to help in his studies and now to check himself for GECK heritage, and he did want to do that, but it wasn't the main reason he wanted the machine. He had noticed small changes in Calli and Hawk. He didn't think they were ageless and he didn't think they were finished changing. He was afraid the GECK wasn't done with them yet.