When Kendra and Chandler arrived at the cottage, Aurora was surfing the net, debating with herself about a purple evening gown that would go stunningly with her eyes, but she'd probably never have occasion to wear. At the cursory knock on the door, Aurora leapt up from her seat in the kitchen, loping out to meet her visitors before they'd cleared the small foyer.

"Hey, guys! You're early," Aurora said laughingly as she drew Kendra into a hug. Pulling back, she was immediately hauled into Chandler's bear hug. He crushed her close, lifting her off the floor and making her shriek a little in surprise. In retaliation, Aurora vised her grip around his ribs, and he set her loose, making an exaggerated face as he rubbed his side.

"Geez, Stretch. Thought you were going to break me in half there."

She punched his upper arm lightly, grinning in return to his crooked smile.

"Yeah, right. Me and what army?"

He laughed, a good belly laugh that somehow always made the people around him smile, at least a little. Chandler was a tall man, easily over six feet. His shoulders were broader, his arms much stronger than expected for a diplomat. His slightly shaggy hair, just shy of blond, was tipped in gold from the sun, his dancing hazel eyes already framed by laugh lines, even though he was still shy of thirty. Chandler was a good sport, a good man, and a good friend. He teased and joked, and often was the one responsible for lightening his wife's determined focus and stoic demeanor. The only time Aurora had ever seen Kendra cry from laughter had been from one of Chandler's silly jokes.

Herding them into the kitchen, Aurora ushered them to chairs, asking if they wanted a drink or anything to eat. If any of them thought it odd that she was playing hostess in what was technically Chandler's house, none of them said anything. She had just sat down and closed her laptop when Chandler spoke.

"Hey, where's that sneaky hound of yours?" He looked around the kitchen, as if Ban might pop out from where he'd been hiding in the oven.

"Oh, he's on a walk with Suzaku. I thought we had an hour till you got here, so I figured it was better if he got it out of the way."

Kendra shifted, propping her chin on the heel of her hand, her eyes assessing behind the small, round frames of her glasses.

"A walk, huh?" She didn't look irritated, but Aurora just shrugged with a sort of relaxed resignation.

"Not worth the battle, trust me. And if I had to guess, it's doing him good."

"All right. Anyway, we're early because someone woke me up at six this morning wanting to know if it was time to head out. Honestly, it's like it's Christmas, or something," Kendra complained good naturedly, rolling her eyes at her husband, who grinned like a cheeky boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"What? I was just excited to see the mutt and my favorite girl."

Kendra peered at him with narrowed eyes while Aurora smiled behind her hand.

"Your favorite girl. Really. Well, I'll just have to take that into account for later, I suppose."

Chandler ran his hand soothingly over Kendra's, trying and failing to hide his grin at a good bit of teasing.

"Darling, you're my favorite wife-"

"I'm your only wife," Kendra reminded him darkly. The twitch around her lips, however, betrayed her humor.

"Even so, you're my favorite wife. But I can't help it if Aurora's taller."

As Aurora failed to hold back her howl of laughter, Kendra ignored her and poked her husband in the ribs.

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"It just means she makes better cookies," Chandler reasoned innocently. Her laughter restarted, Aurora was unable to confirm or deny. Kendra, however, sighed.

"It's true. She does have a way with gingersnaps. If you're finished, Aurora," she said, trying to talk through Aurora's giggles as she imperiously pushed the bridge of her glasses up her nose, "would you be so kind as to retrieve my patient?"

Nodding, not quite trusting herself to talk yet, Aurora stood and moved to the back door, finally disciplining her breath enough to manage a whistle. As she turned and sat back down, Chandler shivered comically.

"Holy crap. I forgot you could whistle like that. Make's my spine tingle."

Kendra zinged her nails up Chandler's back, and this time he shivered for real. Laughing, Aurora finally managed to ask them about the clinic. The pair updated her as they waited for Suzaku to return, speaking of some of the regular patients, the ponderous progress in London, and the weather. Apparently, it was raining like the world was about to end. Chandler teased that if they had to come to Ireland to dry out, things must be pretty bad across the Manx.

Finally, Aurora caught the uneven stomp of boots over gravel, and stood to open the screen door. The sun had been playing hide and seek all day, the breeze as schizophrenic as the clouds. Just that moment, the sun and wind were soft, hardly tousling her hair as she leaned out to watch Suzaku approach. Ban walked at his side like a trusty shadow, and Aurora's smile, wide with humor, softened into an expression she didn't know she made. When Suzaku looked up to see her waiting for him, he froze for a moment, unreadable expressions flickering in his eyes. He eventually shook himself free and made his way over the last couple of yards to the door.

Ban lunged ahead of him, leaping gracelessly up the stairs and bounding into the kitchen. His low, vocal whoo's competed with Chandler's laughter, and Aurora stayed by the door, holding the screen open as Suzaku made his way up. She didn't help him, and he didn't ask. Aurora knew that both of them wanted to show Kendra how he was improving, give him a chance to maintain his pride in front of a stranger. As he stepped into the kitchen, Chandler looked up from where he and Ban rough-housed, his hazel eyes calming into an expression you didn't expect on his open, friendly face.

It wasn't aggression, necessarily. But it was a wariness, a measuring that reminded you that though Chandler was often a big jokester, he was also the canny, clever head of multiple committees and one of the most vocal, and determined, proponents of London's resurrection. An especially hard task in a time when money was tight and solidarity prompted by appreciation of the past was a luxury few could afford.

He straightened, very subtly stepping in front of his wife. Suzaku leaned his cane against the wall, squaring his shoulders in a motion that Aurora knew for a fact was painful. She introduced them, and, for a moment, the two men stared at each other. If Aurora wasn't so invested in them getting along, she would have rolled her eyes at this male territorial display.

The moment broke, however, when Chandler's stance loosened, his head tilting slightly to the side in an expression of consideration as he offered his hand for a shake. Suzaku took it, cautiously, but Aurora only fully relaxed when Chandler smiled. He looked down to talk more nonsense to Ban, who was delighted that his playmate had arrived. Kendra stood, hefting her extremely heavy bag with little effort and lovingly shoving Chandler and Ban out of the way.

"Let's head upstairs, Suzaku,"

Letting Aurora help him out of his jacket, he hurried after her as best he could, leaving his cane by the door. By accident or design, Aurora wasn't sure. She watched him, watched the way he walked, his limp less pronounced but his core still stiff with pain. Kendra paused at the base of the stairs, offering her help in a subtle, professional manner Aurora suspected she'd absorbed in med school. It was only once she'd heard the pair clear the top of the stairs and make it to his room that she relaxed, looking back at Chandler.

He had sat again, Ban all but drooling into his lap as he shifted the dog's collar and scratched where it normally sat. His expression was odd; partially interested, partially smug, partially surprised.

"What?" Aurora asked as she took her seat again. He looked at her silently for another moment, then shook his head, a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Nothing. So, you got any cookies around this place or what?"

She shook off her suspicion about his odd expression, lifting her brow at him.

"Uh huh. Now you want cookies."

He grinned, clever and silly.

"Of course. You think I'm going to eat cookies in front of Kendra? Come now. We both know I could only have two or three before she'd look at me and sigh in that way she has. This way, we can eat as many cookies as we want, and she'll be none the wiser." He looked at Aurora as if she should be heralding his genius.

"You just want to secure my silence by making me an accomplice," she teased with a mocking, serious expression on her face.

"Well, yeah," he said, jokingly exasperated. Aurora stood, pouring a glass of milk and retrieving a covered, half-full plate of gingersnaps she'd made yesterday, sliding both in front of Chandler. As she sat again, the man was already on his second cookie, closing his eyes in bliss.

"You, my dear lady, are one after my own heart, and a goddess of gingery baked goods," he claimed, pressing his hand to his heart as he made short work of another cookie.

"Yeah, yeah, sucker fish. You know, Kendra's just looking out for your girlish figure," Aurora said as Chandler paused in his determined cookie consumption to take a sip of milk.

"It is rather impressive, isn't it?" he said, flexing his not unsubstantial bicep. Aurora just laughed, shaking her head. He nudged the plate towards her, and as she daintily chose a small cookie, she noticed out of the corner of her eye Chandler sneaking a covert treat to Ban, who just as furtively snapped up the bit of dough. Sighing as she nibbled on a gingersnap, she leveled a glare at Chandler.

"If you had it your way, he'd be as big as a blimp," she chided. Chandler just shrugged.

"Man's got to eat," he said simply, wolfing down another cookie with a disarming smile. "So," he continued, rubbing a wide-palmed hand down Ban's spine, "how're you doing?"

"Alright, I suppose," Suzaku said as he sat on the bed, watching Kendra unload her equipment. Now that he was slightly more familiar with the process, he could devote his attention more to the doctor taking care of him. He'd forgotten how black her hair was, the way her eyes flashed gold behind the silver rims of her glasses. She made an interesting pair with her husband; she dark and clever, he brash and laughing. But Suzaku had noticed the way that they smiled at each other, and was shocked at the stab of envy that sliced through him.

"Good. I'm glad to see you're getting around better."

"The walks help," he said, uncharacteristically volunteering information in a desperate attempt to distract himself from the realization that he still wanted that life. A life with someone he loved, who loved him fully in return, a future not just a possibility, but their right. He could have had that with Euphemia, maybe, but…

Shaking himself, Suzaku dragged his thoughts out of a past he couldn't change, focusing on the doctor's brief examination of his general condition. Kendra's manner was different, but it reminded Suzaku of the bi-monthly health exams he'd had to undergo during his tenure in the Honorary Britannian system. He'd hated it, every time. The poking, the prodding, the measuring, the judging. But he'd endured it, because God forbid they pull him from active duty, from the field. The only place where he didn't feel like he would go insane from the static in his brain.

"Care to share?" Kendra's words jerked him back to Ireland, where he sat in a guest bedroom in Kendra's house. He stared at her, confused, as she took his pulse, her eyes regularly flicking from his down to her watch and back again.

"Your brain's circling around at a million miles an hour. Care to share what's got you so far away?"

Suzaku didn't say anything, because he didn't want to share. Didn't want to dredge up details of a past that loomed over his present. It didn't need encouragement with conversation. After noting down something on a pad of paper, she looked at him for a moment. When she realized he wasn't going to answer, she simply nodded.

"OK. Let's get that sling off."

He'd gotten his sling down to something of a science over the last week. He was also getting pretty good at getting dressed and undressed one handed. Usually, he got everything on by himself, then Aurora just checked the straps and velcros to make sure the sling was secure. At night, she simply undid the straps before leaving him to his own devices with the rest. Suzaku hadn't had to ask for the independence; she'd given it to him willingly, once she was certain he could handle it.

He caught the brief flash of surprise in Kendra's eyes as he managed to mostly undo the sling himself before she could really help. Smiling a little from a ridiculous, small burst of pride, he began undoing the buttons of his shirt without her command. After all, he had a better idea this time what this whole process was about.

She was smiling in approval as she helped him slide the sleeve free of his mangled left arm, her fingers moving lightly over skin sensitized by injury and healing. She did the same pressure exercises as last time, voicing her satisfaction with his improvement. As she listened to him breathe, Suzaku told himself he was getting better at it, that pneumonia wouldn't be a concern. He didn't really believe it until Kendra said much the same, relaxing the muscles in his shoulders in a way his own commands could never have done. Kendra straightened from bending over him, rubbing her eyes under her glasses briefly before pressing her hands to her lower back and arching her spine. Suzaku couldn't help the small frown that stole over his face.

"Are you… are you OK?"

Kendra looked surprised at his vocalization of concern, but pleased.

"I'm fine, Suzaku. Just a little stiff from the car ride. Now, let's see how your joints are doing." She ran him through a similar series of stretches they'd done last time, paying special attention to his shoulder, which was brittle and stiff with disuse. Carefully inspecting the stitches, Kendra declared another week for his shoulder, at least as much for his arm. Her insistent probing revealed that the soreness of his ribs was no longer caused by loose bone, but healing bone.

She seemed satisfied with his spine, and was glad to see that the muscular atrophy through the rest of his body was minimal – there was nothing they could do about his left arm and shoulder, not for a while. His bruises were entering their final phase of magnificent color, the sickly yellow of healing just around the corner. For now, they were their deepest black, the gathered blood now dead and waiting to be cleared away. Most of the bruises had lost their tenderness, and the swelling from the injuries was slowly fading throughout his entire frame.

"Alright, down to your skivvies," Kendra commanded as she helped him stand, busying herself with something from her bag as Suzaku worked off his pants. He'd stripped down to his underwear for more health inspections that he could count, but for some reason, it was different with Kendra. He wasn't so much embarrassed as… shy. Shaking his head at the silliness of it, he sat again at the doctor's command, going through the same motions as last time as she guided him along, her eyes careful and assessing. Inspecting his right calf, Kendra flashed him a grin as she settled onto the floor cross-legged.

"Good news – you're getting rid of at least one of your sets of stitches today."

Luckily, Suzaku couldn't really see as she slowly snipped away at the sixteen stitches in his calf. The measured, careful process, though relatively painless, was making his muscles twitch with each snick of the curve tipped scissors. He could only imagine that the broad rows of stitches on his shoulder and arm – around twenty and thirty, respectively, if not more – would be a bit harder to take. She patted his knee when she was done, dabbing at a drop of blood with a piece of gauze as she stood again.

"That one's looking good. I'm going to get some x-rays, then we're about done."

Suzaku nodded, surprised when he shivered a little as she turned to retrieve her beloved yellow box. He hadn't noticed a chill in the room, but then, he was sitting there in just his underwear. Looking down, he realized for the first time how prominent his ribs were. And that was after Aurora had spent a week shoving food down his throat at every opportunity. Jesus, how had he looked before?

He was distracted from his shocked, helpless thoughts as Kendra draped the lead apron over his lap and set to work. Much fewer shots were needed this time, and were mostly centered around his injured shoulder. When she took some x-rays of his back, Suzaku felt her fingers brush over his shoulder blade.

"Actually, these look ready to go, too."

As he watched Kendra meticulously pack away her x-ray equipment as the machine downloaded to her laptop and unpack her neatly stored scissors, gauze, and gloves, Suzaku wasn't surprised. It was the only stitched injury he couldn't see, his ribs too damaged to handle much twisting to see in the mirror. And honestly, he wasn't nearly as worried about the wound on his back, not when his arm ached so badly he didn't just avoid moving it to be careful – the slightest twitch of muscle was agonizing.

But above his shoulder blade, the entry wound was probably pretty minor. It made sense; the bullet made only a small injury going it. But going out, it had crashed through muscle and had been followed by a spray of shattered bone. Suzaku could only imagine how much worse the carnage had been when his arm had been blown apart.

Instead of kneeling on the bed behind him again, Kendra had him move to the chair, so she could stand as she removed the stitches. As the doctor set to work, Suzaku closed his eyes, and tried to focus on anything except the odd sensation of string being pulled through his skin. For some reason, Aurora came to mind. He hadn't known she looked like that when she laughed.

"You did not say that!" Aurora gasped, giggling helplessly at Chandler's audacity.

"You bet your skinny ass I did," he countered smugly.

"You told the Chairman of Distribution that the only person you let screw you like that was your wife," Aurora repeated incredulously. Chandler hummed in agreement, his smile wide and self-satisfied.

"What did he say?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"Well, after about a minute of blushing and fidgeting, he said he'd take another look at the budget."

"And?" Aurora prompted. His smile turned wicked.

"He ended up increasing the shipment by forty percent."

Aurora laughed, shaking her head.

"You tricky bastard."

"What?" Chandler protested innocently. "I just told him the truth. Not my fault I'm married to a tigress."

Aurora's hearty laugh faded quickly when she heard footsteps above them, her entire frame snapping to attention when the sounds of stairs being carefully traversed trickled down to the kitchen. When she glanced back at Chandler, he had that odd look on his face again.

"What?" Aurora queried, already rising to meet Suzaku and Kendra.

"You're worried about him," Chandler stated as he too rose, tugging on Ban's tail as he trotted out of the room to the hallway. Aurora just rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"I'm looking after one of the most controversial political figures in recent history who is recovering from three gunshot wounds. Of course I'm worried."

"That's not what I mean," Chandler murmured. Before Aurora had a chance to ask him what exactly he did mean, Suzaku and Kendra entered the kitchen.

"What's the verdict?" Chandler managed around one last cookie.

"He's recovering nicely," Kendra said. Catching Aurora's eye, she silently beckoned for her behind Suzaku's back. Glancing at him quickly, she managed a small smile as she started striding out of the room.

"Be right back," she called over her shoulder, the two women disappearing quickly down the hall towards the library. For a moment, Chandler and Suzaku stood in awkward silence, left without the comfortable buffer of Aurora. Finally, Chandler cleared his throat, gesturing towards the table, taking a seat as Ban snuffled his hands before rubbing his head on Suzaku's knee. Eyeing the other man a little warily, Suzaku slowly made his way to his usual seat. Another few moments of uncomfortable quiet passed before Chandler heaved a sigh and spoke.

"So."

"What's this all about?" Aurora asked, shutting the library door behind her as Kendra set down her bag and withdrew her laptop.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. It's not bad," she hurried to clarify. "Just… odd." Waiting as her computer booted up, Kendra turned to Aurora, a hand braced against her hipshot waist.

"How old is Suzaku?"

"He's almost twenty-one," Aurora answered immediately. Kendra slowly nodded, her brows slightly drawn in consideration. "Why?" She met Aurora's eyes before she spoke.

"I think he just finished growing."

"That's a little late, isn't it?" Aurora asked as Kendra pulled up her latest round of x-rays.

"I didn't notice it last time because, frankly, his arm was too much of a mess. Suzaku's doing good, but the bone's not healing quite as quickly as I would have assumed. When you think about it, that makes sense. Adolescent bone is harder and more brittle than usual. And then there's this." Kendra zoomed in on one of the x-rays, closing in on the area at the top of Suzaku's humerus.

"You see this ghostly-looking slice of squoosh? That's the epiphyseal plate. It's the areas on the ends of the bones that are soft – this is where bones grow. If I were to x-ray you in the exact same spot, we could maybe see a residual hairline. Chandler's and mine have long since fused and disappeared. But Suzaku's has just begun hardening. That means he just finished growing."

It was odd, and Aurora was silent as she thought over the implications. Kendra had to repeat her question before Aurora heard it.

"What?"

"I asked if his height was recorded in his military file."

"Yeah, he was about 5'9"."

"For how long?"

"They keep pretty tight records. He hit 5'9" at about sixteen, and stayed that way up until Lelouch took the throne. His files pretty much taper off after that."

Kendra nodded, her brows still knitted as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"And now I'd say he's at least a solid 6 foot, maybe just over. So he had regular growth until he was sixteen, stopped growing for at least two years, and recently gained four inches? That's pretty weird."

"Can you think of any reason why that would happen?" Aurora asked, her eyes flicking to and skittering away from the computer screen documenting Suzaku's damage.

"Well, it's possible, especially considering the time period, that under extreme stress, his body went into survival mode. Growing takes a lot of work, and paired with his mental strain, I can see how his body would have halted his growth to conserve resources. What surprises me is that it restarted. That means, sometime after Lelouch's death, Suzaku relaxed enough for his body to come out of that mode and finish what it had intended to do all along."

"So…?" Aurora prompted after a moment, sensing that this wasn't the extent of Kendra's confusion.

"So where in all of that is the trigger for the heroin use?"

Aurora stiffened, frowning a little as she dropped her eyes.

"He hasn't told you," Kendra realized, her voice a little sad.

"No. He hasn't talked to me about his addiction at all. I'm guessing it's forbidden territory."

The slightly uncomfortable look on Kendra's face tipped her off.

"But he told you."

"I have a theory why," Kendra said quickly, heading off any possible response from Aurora. "I'm neutral territory, kiddo. He can't disappoint me, and my opinion of him doesn't mean anything. We discussed as much last time. But he can disappoint you, and your opinion does matter. So the consequences are a little more hefty than he can deal with right now."

"Did he talk to you about it?" Aurora said in a small voice, her tone telling Kendra she wasn't asking the doctor to betray confidences. Kendra thought over her words before she spoke.

"A little. Not very in depth, but enough to relieve the pressure. Suzaku told me what he wanted out of it, but not the distinct thing that made him search out the relief heroin could bring him. To be honest, I'm not even sure he realizes what drove him to it in the first place. He's so out of touch with his emotions, it wouldn't surprise me in the least."

"How can that happen to someone?" Aurora asked, her voice low but her word fast and desperate. The questions had been burning in her gut for a while, and she needed to get a little reassurance, if not some answers.

"Guilt. Grief left unaddressed. Rage. Individually, they have the power to completely disrupt someone's life. When a man bound by secrets and lies is dealing with all of them, it can take over and corrupt his mind. I've heard that many people suffering from this level of trauma are afraid of their own feelings – they're afraid they'll go insane or injure someone if they fully let go. And considering the pressure, power, and physical strength that Suzaku commands, I'd say he's more afraid of that than most. Paired with the pain his feelings and memories bring, he probably tried to distance himself from those emotions. The heroin was a tool to do that. Unfortunately, his attempt to self-medicate back-fired, as it does 99.99% of the time."

"Did he tell you any of that?" Aurora was eager for answers, but carefully skirted the line of confidences.

"No," Kendra said with a small smile, clearly aware of Aurora's concern. "Those are just inferences from what I've seen and from what you've told me. He's a mess, sweetheart, and he's going to be a lot of work."

Aurora tilted her head back slightly, a smile slowly moving across her lips as she thought over Kendra's word choice.

"You're not warning me away anymore."

Kendra sighed as she turned away to scroll through the x-rays, turning back with a rueful expression on her face.

"No, I'm not."

At Aurora's raised brows, she continued.

"He asked me if I was OK." After a moment of thoughtful silence, Kendra continued. "I was a little stiff from the car ride, so I stretched before checking his stitches. And he noticed. You were right. He's in there somewhere. And that guy deserves a chance to be normal, to be healthy again. So I'm in. For the long haul."

Aurora slowly hugged Kendra, surprised at the relief washing through her. She knew she could always count on her friend, but it was startling how much Kendra's uninhibited support meant. Stepping back Aurora smiled radiantly.

"You are a queen."

Kendra just rolled her eyes.

"I know," she said seriously. Glancing back out of the corner of her eyes, Kendra smile mischievously. "And you, my darling girl, are more of a saint that I ever realized."

Aurora scrunched her nose as she waved the words away.

"Please. Don't make me laugh. You're still mad at me for what I said to Mr. Kensington."

Kendra glared at her as she replaced her laptop in exactly the same spot it had been in before.

"I can't believe you called him 'a dirty, rotten old codger who had more hair than brains and more brains than teeth.'"

Aurora couldn't help the laugh.

"You have to admit, that was pretty hilarious. Especially when you consider he's bald."

"He's a regular patient, Aurora," Kendra said chidingly. She just rolled her eyes.

"He's a rude old man who's always looking for a chance to cop a feel. He's lucky I didn't punch his dentures out through the back of his head."

Kendra just shook her head as she buckled her bag closed.

"So how's that x-ray machine working out for you?" Aurora asked, distracting Kendra from her sadly lacking sense of humor.

"Lovely. It was so kind of you to get me a gift like that, Aurora," Kendra said with a small smirk.

"Did I? I always have such good taste," she said with a toothy grin, swinging the strap on her shoulder as she threw her arm over Kendra's shoulders. On occasion, when an expensive piece of equipment was needed, Aurora insisted that it came from her extensive funds instead of the clinic's stable but modest budget. She told Kendra to think of it as her version of a gift. She didn't need to know about it – she trusted the Andrews implicitly.

As they made their way back to the kitchen, Aurora was shocked to see Suzaku laughing at something Chandler said. It was quiet and maybe a little rusty, but a laugh nonetheless.

"So what did you do?" he asked.

"Well, like a total moron trying to talk to a pretty girl, I tried to save face. This, of course, meant that my big fat mouth was still flapping, and I said 'She still in the same graveyard?'"

Suzaku continued to chuckle, running his fingers through his hair and shaking his head in solidarity to Chandler's pretty girl stupidity.

"How could I possibly resist such smooth charm?" Kendra joked as she strode over to her husband, tugging his hair to tip his face back for a kiss.

"You think I'm adorable," Chandler reminded her as she stroked her fingers through his hair.

"For some bizarre reason, I do. And with that, my dear friends, it's time for us to go."

"Already?" Chandler protested.

"Suzaku's tired," Kendra reasoned. He was shaking his head before she even finished speaking.

"I'm not tired."

Kendra just sighed at his wide-eyed protest.

"Fine, I'm tired. Probably because my adorable husband woke me up early this morning. Come on, dearest." She tugged on his arm, and he stood with obvious reluctance.

"You've got to work on that pout, Chandler," she told him, rising up on her toes to press a kiss to his unhappy mouth.

"I thought it was coming along rather nicely," he told her as they all slowly made their way towards the foyer. As Aurora helped Kendra shrug on her jacket and check her bag of medical supplies one last time, Chandler tugged on his brown page boy cap before turning to offer his hand to Suzaku.

"Nice meeting you, Kururugi. We'll be back soon enough."

Suzaku shook his hand in return, managing a smile and a nod. Kendra and Aurora shared a hug before the doctor turned to Suzaku with some last minute medical advice. Chandler wrapped his arms around Aurora as he pressed a smacking kiss to her cheek.

"See ya, Stretch."

"Travel safe, Senator," Aurora returned with a wave, leaning in the door jamb as the couple made their way to the car. Suzaku watched from a pace back from the door, his face softened by shadow as the Andrews climbed into their rental and headed on their merry way. Ban, who stood next to Aurora in the doorway, looked up at her, wagged his tail slowly, then trotted off to find the squooshy he'd been busy eviscerating earlier.

"I'm ready for some lunch," Aurora announced as she shut the front door. She walked back to the kitchen without waiting to see what Suzaku said in return, leaving him in the hallway feeling a little tired and overwhelmed. As he slowly made his way back, he could see the kettle already set to boil and Aurora busy at the counter, apparently creating some sort of concoction that involved chicken and celery. Since he didn't spy any green onions in the preparation, Suzaku didn't say anything. Now that he thought about it, he was a little hungry.

"How are you doing?" Aurora asked over her shoulder as she poured her tea, setting it down to steep as she quickly turned and continued chopping something. Suzaku cleared his throat, yet again feeling uncomfortable and useless as Aurora swiftly worked to take care of him.

"Fine," he managed. He could see the slight smile steal over Aurora's lips when she turned her head to grab a bottle of seasoning.

"I know they can be a lot, but the Andrews are always entertaining."

"I thought they were… charming," he managed, surprising himself when he realized that he'd spoken the truth.

"Yeah, especially when Chandler's acting like a giant fourteen year old and Kendra's got that look of resignation on her face like she's attached herself to a big pain in the ass."

Suzaku couldn't see her face, so he wasn't sure about Aurora's tone.

"I thought they got along rather well," he ventured cautiously. Aurora laughed.

"They get along famously. This may come as a surprise, but Chandler can actually be quite serious. His work day is filled with strain, lies, and consistently butting his head against a wall of greed and useless tradition. So when he's around Kendra, the woman he's completely in love with, he lets go and acts silly. It's partially for her benefit, because she can get really, really serious when he's not around. I can cheer her up a little, but no one can make the snark pour out of Kendra quite like Chandler. Weird as it may seem, all that was flirting for them. Teasing's practically part of their foreplay."

Suzaku felt his cheeks redden at the thought, and quickly steered the conversation away from the idea of Kendra and Chandler…

"What did Kendra want to talk to you about?" he asked as Aurora began whisking something in a bowl. Even a week ago, he might not have noticed it, but her shoulders slightly stiffened at his question.

"Nothing." Her voice was too quiet to be true. Suzaku was about to ask when she continued. "Kendra told me you got two sets of stitches taken out." Her voice was bright as she transferred the contents of one bowl to another, but Suzaku wasn't completely pulled off the thought.

"Yeah, my leg and the back of my shoulder. She's hoping to pull the rest of them next week."

Aurora was stirring the contents of the bowl with a vengeance, the lingering tension in her frame belying her jolly tone.

"I'm sure that's a relief. They must itch like crazy."

"They're OK," he murmured as Aurora covered the bowl and stuck it in the fridge. Pulling out a bag, she took a sip of tea before withdrawing something and setting about slicing it. Placing a cooking tray on the counter and switching on the oven, she finally turned to face him, leaning against the counter as she sipped from her mug. Suzaku could see the conflict on her face, the indecision in her eyes. Sighing, she seemed to come to some sort of conclusion.

"I'm just going to ask this to get it out of the way. Do you want to talk about the heroin?"

Suzaku felt his jaw flex, his eyes flutter, and his dry throat frantically swallow all within the space of two seconds. It had been the last thing he'd thought she would bring up, and was sick at the thought of even talking about it.

"No," Suzaku managed to croak out. Aurora just sighed, a little sadly.

"OK," she said briskly, barely managing to hide the sorrow in her eyes as she turned towards the fridge to remove the bowl she'd used earlier. As she arranged things on the tray and began scooping out the mixture from the bowl, Suzaku stared at the fist balled in his lap, struggling to bring his breathing back under control. He heard the oven door open and close, the click of the timer being set, but he still couldn't look up.

"It's OK, Suzaku. We won't talk about it."

As he looked up at her, his mind raced through the possibilities. We won't talk about it today? Ever? Until he was ready to talk? Until she wanted to push for answers? His mind was chasing itself up a dizzying spiral when Ban strutted into the room, the ragged remains of a plush chew toy dangling from his jaws, the squeaker still caught in his teeth giving a dying wheeze with every step. He stopped next to his mother, and spat the cotton carcass at her feet. She dropped her hands to her hips, glaring at the dog, whose black stripes across his body were coming in as he sleeked down to his summer coat. Ban gazed back innocently, looking for all the world like an obedient son.

"That's the third one you've killed in as many days, Ban. Congratulations. You're a squooshy serial killer."

The dog didn't look at all contrite. Instead, his tail started to go in helicopter-like circles, and he was even shameless enough to flash a doggy grin.

"No remorse is a clear sign of psychopathic tendencies. You're as bad as a five year old with a hamster."

He softly barked, standing up on his back legs primly, just to show how smart he was. Dropping back down, he swiftly lowered his haunches into his awkward sit, raising one paw in request.

Sighing like the sucker she was, Aurora shook his paw, reached into Ban's cabinet of goodies, and produced a rawhide about as long as her hand. As Ban neatly nipped it from her hand and trotted from the room, she shook her head, struggling to hide the smile that wanted to bloom.

"Try not to spend it all in one place," she murmured. Cocking her head, Aurora carefully listened, and Suzaku found himself unconsciously mirroring her. He could hear the quiet pats of Ban's footsteps, softening as he stepped onto carpet. The thud of bones hitting the floor drew a bark out of Aurora, loud enough to make Suzaku jump.

"No, Ban! Bed!" She hadn't moved, but she'd known that her dog was settling down on that nice rug in the living room to chew on his messy toy. Making out the dog's grunt as he stood, then the softer thud of him laying down where he was supposed to, Suzaku couldn't help the shake of his head.

"Can you read each other's minds?"

Laughing quietly, she opened the oven door to check on her creations.

"No, he and I just spend way too much time together." Shutting the oven, she produced plates and silverware, glasses and napkins, setting the table as she sipped on her tea. When the timer dinged, she quickly produced an oven mitt, withdrawing lunch from the oven with an excited little smile on her face. The scent that drifted Suzaku's way was surprisingly delicious – he'd hardly smelled anything at all when she'd been making whatever it was.

She returned with a plate that steamed delicately, setting it on the table with the grandeur of an artist unveiling a masterpiece. Sliding a piece onto her plate before she'd even sat with delicate fingers, Aurora bit into it and sighed, a smile sliding across her mouth as she chewed.

"What is it?" Suzaku murmured, tempted by the smell but still cautious. His appetite was slowly rearing its head after all but evaporating earlier.

"Homemade chicken salad on English muffins topped with sprinkled cheddar cheese toasted to perfection," Aurora announced in between bites. Like a man handling a time bomb, Suzaku transferred one of the little mounds to his own plate, looking at it for a moment before nibbling. As soon as the food hit his tongue, he sighed.

"Good?" Aurora asked, a twinkle in her eyes as she chewed.

"Better," he said, soon all too busy to talk.

Five days after the last update? What madness is this? Luckily for me, the residual magic from last time's session lasted into this one. I'm looking to start getting into the meat of this arc, and I have oodles and boodles of fun and drama to delve into.

Everything's been pretty freakin' serious so far, so I felt it was about damn time we met Chandler. I never realized how hard it was to concoct silly stories. I'm usually pretty witty and funny, but that's spur of the moment. When it's planned, I pretty much suck.

Ban's turning into a moment breaker, which, with these two, is a fantastic thing. Otherwise, I'm not sure they would be able to live together, not without casualties. I kind of tripped myself up with some timeline details, since I worked on some near future bits, then went back to this. Caught myself referring to things that hadn't even happened yet. I wish I could work linearly. I really do.

If you haven't figured it out by now, yes, I have a dog. And yes, he's a direct inspiration for Bannock. He's not as Lassie-like, but Ban's spirit is definitely that of my hound. His name is Hannibal, and he is a silly goose.

Hope you like it!

Love, Tango