a/n:Quincy would tell them about the mystery woman if they'd just let him talk.

Oops all dialogue.

All the good things belong to MonolithSoft.

Gwin interrupted immediately. "Beautiful like how? Movie star or cute girl next door?"

"Let the man talk," ordered Doug.

"Not movie star, although she's more beautiful than any actress I've ever seen. It's not the kind of beauty that demands you look at her the minute she walks into the room..."

"So, not Elma," Doug said, almost to himself.

"Wow," Gwin said with a little surprise.

"I'm telling truths."

Quincy did his by now familiar chuckle-cough. "I'll give you that one. She doesn't need to be that way. She's beautiful in a way that warms you to the core, that makes you feel so glad that she's there, always. She's genuine, this woman, strong but safe."

"I'm getting a mom vibe," Gwin offered. There was a cold silence from the rest. "Oh, right, so it's fine when Doug makes a comment but not when I do."

"You'd be wrong," Quincy said slowly, "I mean, maybe you'd say that if you're shallow."

"Ow," said Gwin. A low snicker was coming from Doug's feed, although his video didn't show anything but careful piloting.

"I won't deny that she's caring and kind, almost as kind as she is beautiful. But she has a wicked streak. Her humor peeks out from behind that angelic face and it sizzles. But somehow it never feels mean. I love to see her smile, really smile, when something pleases her or when she's happy. And her laugh? It's wonderful." Quincy's face dipped, checking a reading on his dashboard, but then his gaze returned to the video feeds. "This is probably boring."

Hope wasn't going to let him begin to doubt himself. "Is it helping? Because if it is, then you can say as much as you like."

Quincy smiled, softly at first and then suddenly his smile filled his face. "Yes. Yes, it's helping. More than I thought it could. I love her. It feels amazing to say it, even to you guys. I love her and she's wonderful. She's brave, always trying to learn how to fight better, and she's going to amaze everyone. No one asked her to take on more work, but she's dedicated like that. When she comes back from missions where there's been a fight, it's adorable. She's so proud to have protected the city."

"So she's in BLADE!" Gwin blurted.

"Not a Harrier or Interceptor, I'm thinking, not if fighting is a surprise. And if she's smart, that takes out the Pathies."

"H.B. is smart," Hope said, mentioning the most distinguished Pathfinder in New Los Angeles.

"And that chick that he tags after, she's wicked sharp. We need more clues," Gwin said excitedly.

"This is not why Quincy is talking," Hope said in despair, but no one was minding her at that point.

"What does she like to do?" asked Doug.

Quincy answered promptly. "She likes pretty normal things. I see her out with her friends, talking at a café, or on a shopping trip, and when she smiles, she's so beautiful." There was nothing crooked or half about Quincy's smile on screen. The more he spoke, the brighter his smile grew. "She loves her friends. They're so good for her. I wish she knew how much they love her."

Gwin wasn't impressed. "Not much to go on there."

"Favorite restaurant?" Doug queried.

Hope had had enough. "Douglas Barrett, we are not playing 20 questions."

"Speak for yourself," muttered Gwin distinctly.

Quincy blinked and seemed to return to the present. "We've gone out to eat," he said carefully. "As friends. I don't want to say she has a favorite restaurant because it's only happened a few times."

Hope said, thoughtfully, "You don't do that much. Go out to eat, I mean."

Quincy sighed. "Back when my team was alive, going out was normal. Then ... it felt like a long time before anything was normal. Cross helped. I met a lot of good people because of Cross."

For a moment there was only the sound of skell engines and the faint rush of wind. All of them had lost teammates, had lost normality, had faced the hard work of returning to life.

"I sort of met her that way," Quincy continued. "Friend of a friend, you know? We got pulled into a short mission and that's how we met."

"Elma's team works with a lot of people. It usually works out good," Doug said.

"Too many people! This isn't helping!" Gwin whined.

"Speak for yourself," said Quincy. Hope realized he hadn't done more than give a slight cough now and then.

"We need details! Specifics."

The city was now in full view, the cranes swinging on the far edge of the ring, the glint of cars on the unfinished streets. "Fine. I'll tell one story."

a/n: I'm going to switch to twice a week, because otherwise the chapters will get vanishingly short.

Next up: We need popcorn, because we go to the movies.