A/N - hello, hello - welcome back those that are still with us - welcome and hello to the newest readers, too! If you're jumping in here, you're missing all the intro, all the history, and pretty much EVERYTHING. Check out my profile or robbiepoo2341's for the reading order and synopses of each and every volume. Now ... where were we?

Chapter 1 - Walking Out

After Maria was born and Sadie was in California with Howard, Scott had approached Elin about getting back on the team again now that the big family events were through. The twins were a couple months old now, and Scott knew that Elin had physically healed up months ago. And since Elin and Chance would have graduated onto the senior team by now…

"So," Scott said, poking his head in to where Elin and Chance were just putting the kids down for a nap, "the next team practice is tomorrow night. I really want to see how you two mesh into the dynamic as a unit. Chance is doing fine, but you two work differently together."

Elin covered up the two little ones as Chance turned to listen to what his father had to say, but before Scott could get entirely through what he was saying, Elin simply left … without a word spoken. She was so used to tuning out when Scott had anything to say around her that even bordered on anything to do with the team, that as far as she was concerned … it was a non-issue. She'd been out for a long time, and she didn't really feel like she had a shot at it anymore. Not that she'd said anything to anyone.

It was such a shocking move that both Chance and Scott paused and glanced at each other, a silent conversation passing between them before Chance quickly rushed over to where Elin was, closing the door behind him, sure that his dad would watch the twins while he dealt with… whatever was going on with Elin. "El?" he said quietly.

She turned and looked his way with a little frown. "What?"

"El, you literally just walked out on my dad," he told her, frowning hard.

"I've been doing that for months."

"Yeah, but you said you can't say no to him," he said. "And … come on. You can't just… ignore my dad."

"You were talking shop. I'm not involved. What's the problem?"

"Um. He was talking about both of us being on the team?" Chance blinked at her. "Did you even hear anything he said? At all?"

She stared back at him and then huffed. "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does," Chance said, shaking his head before he stepped into her to pull her into a hug and kiss her. "I miss tag-teaming with you."

"I doubt that," she said, shaking her head. "But you're sweet to say so."

"Elin," he said in a soft breath before he let his shoulders drop and shook his head, pulling her into a long kiss. "We're going away," he said when the kiss broke.

"Why?" she asked, frowning deeper.

"Because you're in your head," he told her gently. "You have been since the twins were born, and you haven't come back." He dipped his head down to look at her better. "And you always do better when we get some distance and some fresh air for a while."

She shook her head at that. "You have things you two need to do. It's fine."

"Nothing is more important to me than you and our kids," Chance said. "If you're not yourself? Screw the team. You're more important than that."

"Chance, you're being dramatic."

"Humor me," he said, then leaned forward to steal a gentle kiss. "Please?"

She let out a sigh. "Where do you want to go?"

"I'll ask your dad if we can borrow his cabin," he said.

"You'll have to be more specific."

"I'll let him pick," Chance said with a shrug. "Someplace that we can get away from everyone else, but not such a big change that the kids will get messed up with the temperature shift."

She shook her head and pushed at his shoulder. "Go … do your team meeting with your dad."

He shook his head at that and kissed her forehead before he slipped over to the door and stuck his head out of it. "Hey, Dad, we're going up north for a while," he said before he'd even gotten out of the door. "Probably for the summer. We'll be back before the semester starts, promise."

When Scott just sort of frowned at him and then nodded, Chance turned back to Elin, gave her a smile, and headed out to go track down Logan to ask for the use of a cabin for the next few months.

Logan had been in the garage taking a few minutes to himself when Chance finally caught up to him, and only then because one of the bamfs had seen him looking and had taken the initiative to get him there faster.

"Hey, Dad, Elin and I need to borrow one of your places for a few months," Chance said.

"Okay," Logan said slowly, nodding to himself as he looked up at him. "I'm guessin' you're all four goin?"

Chance nodded. "She needs to get away for a while, but even I'm not stupid enough to anger the mama bear and go without the kids."

"Took you two long enough," he said with a little smirk, though he stopped what he was doing and sat back to consider it. "I got a spot with a second bedroom that should be big enough. Mine never bitched about it anyhow."

"Alright," Chance said. "We can pack a few portable beds for the kids."

Logan nodded. "I'll take you as soon as you're set to go," he said. "I want to double check it before you settle in."

"I'd appreciate it," Chance said, then leaned back with a sigh. "She's not herself, Dad."

"No, she's not."

"I really don't think we'll come back until she is," Chance said.

"I'll have the bamfs bring you supplies then," he said, nodding.

"Thanks," Chance said with a smirk, and then headed upstairs to get things prepared.

Of course, Elin was still looking at Chance as if he was being unreasonable as he gathered up what he thought they might need, and when they got to the jet, Logan took a moment to pull her into a one-armed hug and kiss her temple.

Thankfully, the twins slept through the entirety of the flight out, though Liliana was just starting to wake up as they set the jet down, so Chance was holding her when he stepped out and saw the picturesque view that Logan had picked out for them. It was absolutely stunning — and definitely what he wanted to help Elin feel more like herself.

Logan headed out of the jet first, with a little order for them to stick close to the plane while he rushed off into the bright green birch stand that surrounded the cabin, not that Chance could quite see it yet. But considering that they hadn't been back to this particular cabin in a while — and he couldn't remember which cabins and cottages he'd cleared after the Apocalypse thing — Logan wanted to make doubly sure that nothing was wrong before the little ones came anywhere near the building.

Once the cabin was cleared, he took his circle out all the way to the lake before he went back for the kids. "Come on," he said, though he took Matthew from Elin so she could get a little break before they were left alone. "It's all cleared."

Chance couldn't help but grin the more he saw of the place. "Thanks, Dad. Really. This is perfect."

Logan made a little noise but didn't really respond, but that at least got Elin working a little to hide the smirk. And it was clearly entertaining to Matthew, too, who had woken up and immediately started trying to grab Logan's shirt and eat it.

When they got to the cabin itself, the front door was already wide open from when Logan had run through the place, but he took a minute to make sure that they all got inside and waited for Chance to set up the little playpen for the little ones. "Elin knows where everything is. You've got your comms. Phones may not work out here right."

"We'll let you know when we're ready to come back," Chance promised as he handed Liliana her favorite stuffed elephant.

Logan smirked at him. "I'll be back before you know it. No tellin' how old the stuff in the freezer is." He gave Elin a little wink and turned to head out the door, but instead of heading for the jet, he went toward the mountain.

While Logan was gone, Chance was sure to lie down on the floor with the kids to keep them entertained before he glanced up at Elin. "I've got things here if you want to just… unwind."

She looked his way with a little frown before she turned to step outside — and after a moment of simply hugging herself and staring off into the woods, she turned to look at Chance with the twins and then took off down her father's trail.

But that just left Chance alone with the twins to play and to explore the cabin. Matthew was content with trying to eat the plastic keys, so Chance took Liliana with him for a little exploring, keeping an ear out for Matthew in case he decided he was done being alone. But the more he saw of the cabin, the more he was convinced it was exactly what Elin needed.

He glanced down at Liliana, who was contentedly looking around at everything, and nodded. "Think Mom'll like this?" he asked her, and when she blinked up at him, he grinned and nodded. "Yeah, me too," he said, taking her back with him to settle in and play with both of his kids until Elin came back.

It was a little bit before dark when Logan and Elin came back, perfectly clean and dragging a deer between them that had already been gutted out. She made her way into the cabin long enough to get a rope, but then headed right back outside to help her father string up the deer in a nearby tree. The two of them took a few moments to talk quietly before he started to cut it up quickly.

"If you want to learn something, Chance …" Logan called out quietly.

Chance grinned as he came out to join the two of them. "Looks amazing," he said before he pulled Elin over to kiss her cheek. "Kids are asleep, by the way."

"I can hear that," Elin said. "But I think Dad's going to give you a quick butchering lesson."

"On the deer, not me, right?" he couldn't help but tease.

"That wouldn't be a butchering lesson," Logan deadpanned.

"Makes me feel so much better," Chance said with a smirk before he moved around the deer to see what it was he needed to do.

Logan handed him the knife that he'd just used to skin the thing and started to show him how to get started as Elin sat down on the steps of the deck, head in her hands as she watched the two of them get to work. It wasn't an instant reset, but it was at least a step in the right direction — and Logan's not-too-subtle way of telling Chance that there might be work to do while they were there. Elin could hunt more down if they needed it, of course … but Logan wanted Chance to pitch in too.

By the time they were through, the twins had woken up and been fed again — and seemed to need to say goodbye to Logan before he could head out, if the little noises of protest Matthew made when Logan started to leave were any indication.

Logan made his way over — after he went to the lake to wash off his hands. "Don't need bloodied up babies," he said, which seemed to make Matthew happy just listening to him talk as he tried to gnaw on his shoulder. He took a moment to let the little guy settle out before he kissed the top of his head and handed him back to Chance and then did the same with Liliana — and Elin too. "See you when you come back," he said. "Unless Annie insists on sending something before then."

Chance smirked. "If she gets too horrible to deal with, I'll bring the kids for a few hours of babysitting, but we're not coming home until we're set."

"Don't worry about it," Logan said. "She's got plenty of babies to play with right now. Your father included."

Chance rolled his eyes at that. "You're hilarious."

Logan was chuckling to himself as he headed out, though it wasn't until he got to the treeline that there were a dozen little poofs of blue and the bamfs made their presence known — with stacks of supplies and a few extra toys that they were sure the little ones would need. The little giggles echoed the cabin, and when Elin went in to see what they'd done, she had to laugh when she saw that Logan had left the fob for the jet and a little note for them to take their time.

And they did, in fact, take their time.

It took several weeks before they were even remotely ready to think about heading back, but in the meantime, there was plenty to do to stay busy and to give Elin a chance to reset. The twins adored the cabin and liked to be around when Elin would work on a solid dinner. But right around the time they started figuring out how to giggle, Chance started to see the old Elin back, too.

They stayed out for a few more weeks after that until Elin was the one to bring up the idea of going back when they were sitting out on the back porch with the twins trying to figure out sitting up — and giggling at each other as they did.

"Unless, of course, you want to make a go out of just … living here," Elin said. "We'll have to either go back or start stacking wood."

Chance grinned as he leaned back with her. "You know I'd be happy wherever you are, El."

"I don't know how true that really is, Sweet Summers."

He smirked up at her and then leaned in to kiss her. "Well, it's levels. I'd be happy here, I'd be happy back home … happier on the team with my family, obviously, but that's just in my blood."

"Then we should probably get you back to your team."

"Our team, El," he corrected her gently and kissed her again. "You should be there with me. It's actually not bad being on a team with Jana, to be honest. It took a couple practices to get used to, but…"

"I didn't have a problem with her," Elin said. "But I don't want to screw up what you guys have going on already."

Chance shook his head. "You won't," he promised. "Besides, I always do better with you there. My partner in crime...fighting," he teased.

She gave him a little look and weighed it out. "I have a lot of the same concerns James has with the team, you know. Mom and Dad are on the senior team and Dad has James set to step up soon, too."

Chance nodded slowly. "Yeah, but you're looking at it on a strict power basis," he said.

"Dad's running the team," she pointed out. "There's no need for a bunch of strategists when there's already a plan in place." She shrugged. "So yeah. I almost have to look at it that way."

Chance shook his head. "Elin, you know Dad's always said he'd rather have a hundred people with the same powers that he can trust than every powerset known to man that he can't. It's not about what you can do. It's about who you are. Sorry, I know I'm doing the Summers inspirational thing, but that's just… how it is."

She gave him a dry look. "And they've all been getting along fine all this time."

"El," he said quietly, leaning in, "we ran the junior squad together. You think we can't get along with the adults?"

"That's not what I'm saying. You're just not … you don't want to hear what I'm trying to say."

"I just don't understand it," he said. "I know how amazing you are. You belong on that team more than I do! You can take me down in an instant and handle any threat that comes up. And you get along with everyone on the team, you're brilliant enough to handle running things if your dad splits us into smaller groups or if he's elsewhere… The only thing I can see stopping you is you."

"We'll talk about it later," she said in a sigh.

"You know Dad's going to want to know when we're both going to be at practice when we get back," he pointed out. "You can't just keep punting it, El."

"Is that a challenge?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

Chance let his shoulders drop. "Elin," he said in a tired sort of tone, "please."

"I just … kind of figured I was done."

He shook his head. "No one else — well, except Krissy — decided they were done because they took the time off to have kids," he pointed out. He let his shoulders drop. "Come on, Elin. I need you to dig in, please. It's nice to see you smiling and teasing and being yourself, but I don't want to go back and watch you float around in limbo and slide right back."

She watched him for a long moment and let out a breath. "I need to work with Mom before I can say anything."

"Just promise me you won't walk away from the team because you talked yourself into it," he said. "Leave because you want to do something else. Start a Swedish bakery. I dunno. But not because you think you're not wanted, because you know that's not true."

"I just need to talk to my mom," she repeated.

"I know what you said," he said. "And I just need to know you won't talk yourself into something that will hurt you."

"I'm not making any promises," she said. "And I'm not talking myself into anything."

"You talked yourself into running away from the team," he said.

She let out a little, low growl. "I didn't run away from the team."

"You literally left the room whenever it was mentioned."

"I left the room because it had nothing to do with me."

"You were wrong," he said evenly. "Even if you thought it had nothing to do with you, it did."

"There was never any line where it started to include me again. I wasn't and I'm still not on the team."

"If you were waiting for an embossed invitation, my dad showing up to our room to talk about incorporating our combined style was it," Chance said, still in that even tone. "I know you weren't yourself, but I'm trying to tell you: the team wants you back."

"Every single time up to then, it never had a thing to do with me. You can't blame me for tuning it out after all that time."

"You only heard what you wanted to hear," Chance insisted. "You think Dad bringing up the team all those times was for my benefit? Come on, El. You're smarter than that."

"I dropped everything to give you what you wanted," Elin said, her tone sharper than before as the truth came out. "And that included me off the team whether you realized it or not."

Chance blinked, suddenly and completely taken off his guard, his mouth parted. He'd thought they'd been on the same page. Had checked and double-checked and…

And now, all he could think as he watched Elin turn in a huff and start packing up the cabin to prepare to go back home was that he had monumentally screwed up, that he didn't know how to fix it. And he was afraid that their kids, their amazing kids, would always be the source of conflict between them.

He was afraid that he'd lost her.

He'd thought they'd been on the same page.

God, he didn't know what to do. Watching Elin get in the jet, he couldn't think of anything to say. So, the entire flight back was almost completely silent.