Chapter 1, part 2.

Checked into the Air Force Inn at the Peterson Air Base, Alice took a shower and then sat on the bed in her room, replaying the conversation with Landry in her head, wondering if there was something she could have done to change the outcome, pondering the fact that Jareth was still out there, worrying over her new position as a team leader. And, behind it all, there loomed the dark cloud that was always with her nowadays: a mixture of grief, bitterness, guilt, and fear, all jumbled together into a Gordian knot; except she had no sword to cut it off.

As time wore off, she tried to occupy herself: she read half a book but then got bored and left it unfinished; reading the news made her feel even worse; she turned on the TV but it only made her head ache. Eventually, she decided to go for a stroll, but then changed her mind and got into her car to go for a drive. Somehow, without realizing what she was doing, she ended up in front of the hostel where she had deposited Deanna. She sat there for a moment, her inbred reluctance for social situations fighting with the need to distract her mind from the dark cloud of worry and grief.

After a good five minutes just sitting there, engine going, she finally turned it off and got out of the car. She walked into the hostel and straight into the common area just behind the reception desk—nobody stopped her. She figured the common area would be the most likely place to find Deanna, and, indeed, the girl was there, sitting alone on one of the sofas, headphones in her ears, a sketching pad in her hands, moving to the beat inaudible to anyone but her. Alice marched straight towards her and dropped onto an armchair next to her. Deanna didn't notice her at first, but then she looked up, then down, and then back up, with an expression of joyful surprise.

"Alice!" She squealed with delight, pulling the earphones out. "What are you doing here? I thought I'd never see you again!"

Alice smiled and it was almost genuine. "I failed in my mission. Could've known, really, but I guess I clung to faint hope against all odds. I'm staying in Colorado Springs, after all, and I figured—well, I could probably use a roommate."

Deanna's eyebrows went all the way up. "You mean me?"

"Yeah, why not? You seemed eager to, earlier…"

"But I was only joking! Never in a million years I'd've thought—I mean, that's a lovely thought, but you don't even know me!"

Alice shrugged. "I don't know anyone in town, really, outside of the military. And you remind me of my brother—you have the same sort of naturally sunny disposition. You certainly seem like a good person. It's enough for me. People often get roommates they'd never even met and it works out just fine." She hesitated. "Unless you don't want to, which is fine," she rushed to add.

"No, no, of course I do!" Deanna laughed, but there was still more shock in her face than anything else. "But I, like… I can't afford much. I was thinking of a room in town, nothing fancy, you know…"

"Well, I was thinking maybe something in or around Broadmoor? Something with a sizeable backyard with a view on the mountains, three bedrooms so we can have family or friends over…"

Deanna laughed again, this time nervously. "I could never afford that. I could maaaaybe manage eight hundred dollars a month, so…"

"Good, that'll be enough." Alice shrugged again. "I'll pay the rest."

Deanna looked at her as if Alice has just sprouted a new head. "You're making fun of me?"

"No, of course not. I mean it."

"I… I don't know what to say, but… I can't. I can't accept that."

Alice blinked quickly. "Why not?" And then hurried to add: "I understand if you simply don't want to live with me, I know I'm perhaps not the most fun person to be around…"

"Oh stop it!" Deanna looked distressed for a moment. "Of course it's not that, I'd love to have you as a roommate! You're such a good and sweet person, who wouldn't? But… clearly you want a higher standard of living than I can afford, which is fine, and, like, obviously, but I can't accept such… generosity!"

"Why?" Alice shrugged off her leather jacket and put it on the backrest of the armchair she was occupying; it was hot in the room. "Why would you rather take up room in some overcrowded dump than stay with me?"

Deanna opened her mouth as if she wanted to reply, but nothing came and she closed it.

"Trust me, I can afford it," Alice added with a smile. "I just got word from my CO—I'm getting promoted. And I have a housing allowance. It won't cover the entire rent, but it'll easily pay for at least half of it. It doesn't make much difference to me if I am to rent alone or with you. And I—" she hesitated "—I want you to stay with me."

"Why?"

Alice sighed. "Because it's not something I would usually do. In fact it's very unlike me. And right now… I don't want to be the old me."

Deanna looked at her discerningly, and her beautiful hazel eyes suddenly had the same penetrating depth that Alice used to see in Karim's; her heart skipped a beat and she had to turn away.

"What happened to you?" Deanna asked, but immediately checked herself. "No, I'm sorry, that's none of my business. Forget I asked."

Alice made herself look back at her and smile. It was a very sad smile. "You're right, something did happen to me. I'm not ready to talk about it yet… I don't know if I ever will." She wet her lips, for they suddenly had become dry. "And I don't know how to deal with it, I've never been good with things like emotions and stuff… but I know that I feel better when I talk to you. You… radiate positivity. Even though it's clear bad things happened to you too. Maybe you can teach me." She had to push herself to finish this little speech. She hated being vulnerable. And yet something deep inside compelled her to speak, to bare her soul before this kind stranger. She's never been good with people—never a good judge of character; but all of her instincts told her Deanna was trustworthy.

And Deanna surprised her again. All throughout their conversation, she was holding her sketchbook in her lap; she now flung it to the side, jumped on her feet, and embraced Alice in a tight, if a little awkward, hug. "Oh, honey, I'll do my best," she said into Alice's ear and then pulled out. "Clearly, you're in a desperate need of a friend. And by God, I shall be one for you!" And she went in for another hug.

The house was a warm shade of caramel brown, with white trims and dark saffron roof. It had two stories, a two-car garage, a big bright green front lawn, and an even bigger backyard with a few trees and a view of the mountains. There was a porch in the front and a large veranda on the back. Inside, it had hardwood floors both down– and upstairs, a real fireplace, a basement and a tiny attic, where Alice and Deanna moved some of the house owner's furniture to make space for their own. Most of it was bought by Alice, but Deanna contributed with smaller additions and accessories (a lot of them handmade) that brightened up the place, and made it feel more cozy and homely. It would take them weeks to furnish everything to their liking, but they ordered the essential things to be delivered right before moving in.

The house was available only from the beginning of June, so Alice had spent the three weeks between the end of her convalescent leave and the moving-in day at the Air Force guest lodging at Peterson. After being out of commission for six weeks (plus four months, but that fact was not widely known), and before she officially took over as a leader of an SG team, she had needed to go through a full medical and mental status exam, and, once passed, she had had to attend additional training, organized by the SGC on the Air Force Academy grounds. In the meantime, Deanna had stayed at the hostel and began her work at the local tailor's—and texted Alice a few times a day, not minding rarely getting any reply until late in the evening.

Their ordered stuff arrived at the house on Saturday, June 2nd, and Alice and Deanna spent the entire weekend unpacking and putting everything into order. They were both too tired to hang out too long that evening, but the next day, after many hours of labor making sure everything was perfect in their new nest, they both sat down on the veranda and watched the sun sink behind the outline of the mountains. Deanna had made mojitos and they sipped at their drinks quietly for a long moment.

"I still can't quite believe it," Deanna first broke the silence. "All this! This beautiful house, in this beautiful neighborhood, and this poor old me in it!" She shook her head vehemently. "I must be dreaming or something."

"Well, if it's a good dream, enjoy it and don't try to wake up." Alice shrugged.

"Yeah, but it's like, it's too good to be true? Makes me nervous. Like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?"

"No shoe-dropping here." Alice smiled lazily. It had been good three weeks, very busy—no time to think. Her mind was pleasantly blank.

"No, but it's like… I'm this awkwardly tall black hitchhiker you've picked up at the side of the road, and you've taken me in like a stray dog… you took care of me, even though you don't really know me, don't know anything about me… and now I'm living in this palace with the kindest soul on the planet?" Deanna laughed joyfully.

"Hardly." Alice rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. "A palace would have more spires," she quipped.

Deanna chuckled, but then grew more serious. "I promise you, as soon as I start earning a bit better, I'll chip in to the rent more…"

"Oh, stop it." Alice waved her hand and took a sip of her mojito. "I told you, I can afford it."

"Yeah, but see, I heard that the military doesn't pay all that well?" The intonation made it a question.

"I'm an officer, Dee, and I'm about to be promoted, that's a significant pay bump. And I get allowances, too." Not just the standard ones, like the housing allowance, but also Hazardous Duty, Imminent Danger, and Assignment Incentive Pay, which was how the Air Force tried to compensate those who worked for the Stargate Program. Plus, really, in the past three years she hardly spent anything; it wasn't like there was a Walmart on Atlantis. She helped her mom a bit, but mom didn't really want to accept cash, so instead Alice and Jake sent money to their uncles and trusted neighbors to keep mom supplied with food, medication and art materials, and paid the utility and medical bills. Still, it was just a fraction of what Alice was making, especially that the entire family chipped in to cover those expenses; not to mention that mom was back to work herself. She had good days and bad days, and the help from her family allowed her the freedom to pick and choose projects she wanted to do; she was a graphic artist and a painter.

"Still." Deanna put her empty glass on the table and stretched. "It hardly seems fair that I get to have my own bedroom and bathroom and all, but I don't even cover a quarter of the cost."

"More often than not you'll have the house all to yourself," Alice remarked offhandedly.

"Oh? Why's that?"

Alice shrugged. "I always work a lot, I don't expect that to change here; especially that I'm getting additional responsibilities. So I'll probably be off early and back late most days." She stood up and collected Deanna's glass alongside her own. "And on that note, I think I need to get myself to bed. Big day tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight!"

Alice woke up early on Monday to get ready without any rush. Her stomach refused any idea of a breakfast, so she merely drank a cup of coffee, showered and dressed—normal civilian clothing for the ride to the base. Her new car wasn't new new, she bought it used, but it wasn't very old and it still looked very decent—unlike Deanna's old clunker that she'd got on the cheap from a shady dealer; Alice offered to lend her cash to buy something that wasn't going to die in a few months, but Deanna didn't want to hear about it. Alice was beginning to realize that money was a touchy subject with her new roommate; never having been poor, she never really thought much about it, but clearly Deanna's world was much different in that regard.

Even though their new home was under two miles away from the entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex as the crow flies, the drive up the winding road was nearly five miles. Still, twelve minutes with no traffic to speak of was not half bad—especially for someone who grew up in Los Angeles. Having an assigned parking spot was also very nice, even though it wasn't too close to the entrance. She opted to walk inside instead of hopping on a van that went in and out of the base, ferrying people, and then had to crowd in two elevators to get all the way down to the Level 19 to change.

Despite having been on the base before, she was given an official orientation tour; a strapping young staff sergeant showed her around, and eventually led her to her personal quarters on Level 25 (all SG team members had a room on the base, even if they lived in town) and then to her office/laboratory on Level 19. The room was almost bare, except for some file cabinets along one wall, a long table in the middle, and a desk with a stationary computer stuffed into the corner.

Alice dismissed the sergeant and stood, alone, in the middle of the room, feeling a bit oppressed by the dark walls, trying to push away the unwelcome memories of her first-ever mission after being assigned to Atlantis, when she and Karim had been lost in an underground maze of buried corridors, plagued with a hallucinogenic gas and a hungry monster on their trail…

The sound of someone clearing their throat from behind her brought her back to the present with a jolt. She turned around and beheld a middle-aged, partially bald man in a white lab coat.

"Hi," he said, seeing that he got her attention, and stepped into the room with an outstretched hand. "So you are the new SG-7 commander!"

Alice smiled nervously and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you again, Doctor Lee."

"And you, Captain!" He gestured around him. "So, how do you like it? It's not exactly Atlantis, but, you know, it's something."

"I'm sure it will serve me well," Alice replied diplomatically. It was clearly not Atlantis; her lab in the City of the Ancients had been several hundred yards above the level of the ocean, with a huge window with a view on the south pier. Not to mention that it was full of Ancient tech, and a much nicer décor. "It'll look better when I get some of my research in here."

"Yes, it's pretty bare, it's stood empty for the last four years or so," he remarked offhandedly.

"What was here before?" Alice asked, just to keep up the conversation.

"Oh, it's always been a lab—it used to belong to Colonel Carter, but she's off to command the George Hammond, of course…"

"Oh." So it was Carter's old lab. Suddenly Alice looked at the walls with a little less antipathy, and realized that she felt a little flattered to be assigned this particular room—though, of course, it could've just meant that it was the first unused space they had.

"Yes, well, I'm sure she'd be glad that you of all people are taking over her old domain. She's always spoken very highly of you."

"Thank you, sir." Oh, perfect, yet another high expectation to meet. She barely restrained the urge to roll her eyes.

A squeaking sound from the corridor interrupted the conversation, and a few seconds later an airman came in, pushing a little cart with a number of boxes on it. He stood at attention in front of Alice and only relaxed when she nodded to him.

"Ma'am, General Landry would like you to familiarize yourself with these documents before you report for a full briefing at fourteen hundred hours."

Alice looked at the three or four boxes full of paper and sighed.

"Alright, put them on the table, please." She turned to Lee. "I better get to work."

"Of course, Captain, I'll leave you to it. I'm just across the hall if you need anything," he offered, smiled and left.

The airman finished hauling the boxes onto the table, nodded respectfully and wheeled the cart out. Alice picked up the first folder from the top, sat down on a high chair next to the table, and began reading.

The briefing, provided by Colonel Reynolds of the SG-3, did not reveal anything new to Alice in terms of recent developments in the Milky Way galaxy; it was all covered in the documentation Alice had received. However, Reynolds did offer some tips and pointers on life on the base—some as trivial as what the meal schedule was, others of more weight like the quarantine procedures in case the team became exposed to any chemical or biological agents while off-world. He was the second in command after General Landry, which Alice found curious, because he was only SG-3's leader; meanwhile, the flag team's commander, Colonel Mitchell, came in third. This was, of course, consistent with the military protocol, since Reynolds had seniority over Mitchell, even though they were of the same rank now; but it still seemed a little counterintuitive to her.

At the end of the briefing—which lasted almost three full hours—Reynolds dismissed Alice for the day, which surprised her. She had thought she'd at least meet her team that day, but Reynolds explained that they were currently off-world, providing support to a mining operation, and wouldn't be back until next week.

"Oh, fun," Alice commented offhandedly, thinking that it was a little weird: with eight years of experience in the Stargate Program—or five, if one discounted the time she'd spent at the Air Force Institute of Technology—she was stuck on the base while the butterbar fresh off the training was off-world, effectively leading the team.

"It's a good experience for Lieutenant Rodriguez," Reynolds said, as if he could read Alice's thoughts. "We've had that mining facility for over two years now and nothing bad ever happened there, and it's headed by Colonel Andrews, so they're in good hands."

With that cleared up, he said goodbye and left to attend to his other duties. Alice felt very odd to be going home at five in the afternoon—though she'd been on the base since eight in the morning, so it wasn't like she didn't do a full workday.

Deanna was already home—her car was sitting in the driveway, which was strange because they agreed to park in the garage. At first Alice dismissed it, thinking that maybe she just stopped at home for a moment and meant to leave soon, but then, when she slowed down to pull up next to Dee's clunker, she noticed a man standing at the front door—and pounding on it furiously. He was tall and large—not muscled, though, just massive—and wore loose-fitted clothing that made him seem even bigger.

Alice changed her mind and parked on the curb. She reached into the glove box and pulled out her personal Glock 19. She tucked it in her waistband, at the small of her back, and let her shirt cover it. Then she calmly walked up to the front door, where the man was still pounding on the wood and calling Deanna's name.

"Excuse me, can I help you, sir?" Alice asked in a measured tone, but she must have surprised him because he visibly jumped and turned around. He would've been handsome, Alice decided, if his face wasn't contorted in rage.

"Leave me alone," he grumbled at her, his voice loud and gruff. "It's none of your business!"

"Well, seeing as you're pounding on the door to my house, I'd say it kinda is, though," Alice remarked serenely.

"That's your place?" He turned and looked up at the building. "And Dee's living here with you?"

"Technically, it's rented," Alice replied without acknowledging the second question. "Now, let me ask you again, can I help you?"

"I want to speak to Dee." He put his fist on the door, but gently, and his voice sounded a little less angry, too. "She won't talk to me, but I know she's in there. You hear me!" He shouted suddenly and beat on the wood again. "I know you're in there, Dee! Come out!"

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Alice said, putting all of the authority she could muster in her tone—and it was considerable. It made him look back at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "Clearly, Dee doesn't want to speak to you. You will have to contend with your disappointment and leave." She stressed the final word and sent him a menacing look.

It threw him a little, she saw. He towered over her by more than a foot, and was easily twice as heavy as her, and yet her glaring eyes made him pause. She almost smiled at that realization.

"But I came all the way here," he protested, but rather feebly. His fist was still firmly planted on the door, though. "I just found out where she was, it wasn't easy, and I came all the way…"

"I'm sorry that you wasted a trip." Alice's voice became a little warmer, despite her trying to remain stern. "Perhaps, next time, call ahead."

"She won't take my calls. I called and called…"

At that moment, the door suddenly opened and he lost his balance and nearly fell.

Deanna appeared at the threshold and looked down at him with an air of sad indulgence.

"Oh, Lamar, what am I gonna do with you?"

"Dee!" He called, and a rush of emotion was clearly audible in his voice.

"So I take it you know this gentleman?" Alice asked, just as a formality.

Deanna shifted her haze to her and nodded with an inscrutable expression.

"Yeah, I do. It's alright, Alice. I'll talk to him. You can go on in."

"You sure?" Alice threw a glance at Lamar and then looked back at Deanna and was suddenly struck by how tall they both were, and how small she was compared to them. For a second, she felt young and helpless, but then reasserted herself: both Dee and Lamar were at least five years her junior.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks."

"Shout if you need me," Alice told her, shot a last warning glance at the man, and then walked past Deanna and into the house. The door closed behind her and, if any conversation ensued, she couldn't hear it.

In her room, she put on a pair of sweats and a top, but, after some debate, left the gun in a drawer of the bedside table. Then she went back down and out the door, putting her headphones in and looking around—but neither Dee, nor Lamar were anywhere to be seen. A bit worried, despite Deanna's earlier apparent confidence, Alice started jogging, first one way to the end of the cul-de-sac, and then the other way, past their house and up the road. To her relief, from that vantage point she saw them strolling around the backyard, apparently deep in conversation.

She returned half an hour later, a bit out of breath and all sweaty—she was still feeling the consequences of her foray into the future: the malnutrition and the effects of rapid decompression as much as the wound. Not to mention that she had been used to running in the flat corridors of Atlantis, or on a treadmill; here the ground was anything but flat, and the entire city was something like six thousand feet or more above the sea level.

Lamar was no longer there, but Deanna was waiting on the step of the front door. She got to her feet when she saw Alice approaching.

"You've already been jogging this morning. Isn't this a bit much?" She asked with a knowing smile.

Alice faltered for a second. "I, uh, just wanted to use the extra time. I got home so early and all…"

Deanna laughed. "Sure. And you surely didn't go running up the road just so you could keep an eye on me and Lamar."

Alice smiled, a bit flustered. "Of course not, why would you think that?"

Deanna chuckled again and then opened the door and walked in. "Go, take a shower, I'll finish making dinner."

Alice heeded her advice and twenty minutes later she walked back into the kitchen, part of her hair up in a little bun, part tucked behind her ears (as it was too short to reach the elastic), and wearing leggings and an oversize t-shirt with a band logo.

"Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes," Deanna announced, seeing Alice enter. "Italian pasta with pesto sauce and broccoli alright?"

"Sounds delicious," Alice replied, taking a seat on one of the stools at the island. "You know you don't need to cook for me, though, do you?"

"Nonsense!" Deanna laughed, dancing around the kitchen. "I came home first, so I cook, that's clear. Plus, it's my way of saying thank you for letting me live in this gorgeous house with you!"

Alice rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. Deanna didn't like silence, though.

"You a fan?" She asked pointing at Alice's t-shirt.

"Huh?" Alice looked down at it and then smiled warmly. "Oh, yes, I am."

"I thought so, that's, like the third time I've seen you in a Dead Man's Eyes t-shirt, and we've only been here for three days."

"Yeah, you'll see more of that, I'm afraid," Alice laughed. "I have tons of their merch."

"That big of a fan, huh?" Deanna's smile was a little condescending, Alice thought.

"You don't like them?"

"I like a couple songs, but it's not really my cup of tea," Deanna said dismissively, getting plates from a cupboard. She put them on the kitchen island and then leaned in, striking a pose, and added: "I'm all Rihanna and Beyoncé, baby!"

Alice shook her head, smiling. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Because you look at me and you go, uhm uhm, that girl is a queen!"

They both laughed at that. Deanna turned around to grab the cutlery.

"So if you're a queen, does that make Lamar a former king?" Alice asked after a moment.

Deanna sighed, but she was smiling. "You kept that question under the rug for long, didn't you?" She put the cutlery next to the plates and went back to check on the pasta. She continued with her back turned to Alice. "I've been with Lamar since we was both in school. My high-school sweetheart, you could call him. He's not a bad guy. I know why you reacted the way you did—he's big and menacing, I know this, but he wouldn't hurt a fly. He was just upset, that's all."

"Well, it didn't seem like you wanted to talk to him, and he was really pounding on that door…" Alice felt a need to offer some explanation, but it felt too much like an excuse so she decided to shut up.

Deanna wasn't fazed. "I was still deciding whether to talk to him or not when you came home. I think I'd've done it anyway…" She hesitated for a moment, freezing for just two seconds with a strainer in hand. "But your coming made the decision easier for sure."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, for Deanna focused on serving the pasta. Once seated, they dug in and ate quietly for a while, but "quiet" wasn't Deanna's natural state.

"I moved in with Lamar as soon as I turned eighteen. My parents had gotten divorced when I was twelve and I lived with my mom. I didn't like her new boyfriend." She sighed, looking at a strand of pasta hanging from her fork as if it was offering some secret knowledge. "Now I wish I had gone to live with dad—but I wanted to show them how grown up I was, you see… my daddy died later that year, but I was already living with Lamar. And it was great for a long while, but with time, we sort of… grew apart." She paused to grab some more pasta and put it in her mouth. She swallowed and then continued: "We turned into two different people. I guess that's what real growing up is about. Eventually, I decided that we became too toxic for each other… he was clingy and jealous, and I was always babying him, it wasn't good for either of us. So I decided to break it up. But I knew if I stayed in Denver, he'd find a way to get me back eventually… and so here I am!"

"A fresh start." Alice nodded.

Deanna smiled joyfully. "That's right. I didn't think it would be quite so easy for Lamar to find me, I guess my mother must have told him where I lived, even though I asked her not to… she has a soft heart, my mama."

"I'm sure she meant well," Alice agreed. "So what did you tell him today?"

"The same as I already had." The younger girl shrugged. "The truth. I hope this time it got through to his thick head… but you!" She chuckled and shook her head at Alice. "I don't know if I should feel exasperated with you, or pleased that you care so much for me."

Alice's answering smile was pretty wan. "I'm sorry." She sighed. "With the kind of job I do, it's easy to forget that not everyone is a threat."

"What is it that you actually do, though? You never said." Deanna looked at her expectantly.

Alice closed her eyes for just a little longer than a blink. Here came the lying… "I can't really tell you that," she replied, keeping her tone light. "But I can tell you that I used to be a fighter pilot."

"Shut the front door!" Deanna exclaimed, nearly spitting out a mouthful of pasta. "A fighter pilot?! You fly actual fighters?!"

"Not anymore." Alice smiled wistfully. "But I did for a long while. F-16 at first, and then some others."

"Wow." Deanna couldn't stop shaking her head in disbelief. "That is extremely cool. There aren't that many pilots, are there?"

"In the Air Force, all told? Around fifteen hundred, I think. Out of this, maybe three thousand are fighter pilots. There's actually a big shortage of pilots right now, with around ten percent of fighter and bomber billets vacant."

"Billets?"

"Positions," Alice translated with a lopsided smile. It's been a while since she had to explain such basic things to anyone.

"So if there's such a big shortage, why aren't you flying anymore?" Deanna pushed her empty plate away and reached for a glass of water.

"It's complicated," Alice replied curtly, but then decided to add: "My specific skills and experience are needed elsewhere now."

"What skills?"

Alice laughed. "You are relentless in your curiosity, aren't you?"

Deanna made a face at her. "You might as well get used to it! And don't change the subject!"

"Well, like I said—I can't tell you anything specific. Literally, can't—it's classified. But I can tell you that I have a PhD in Computer Engineering, with specialization in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning."

Deanna's jaw dropped—the girl was very expressive. It made Alice think of Bolton again. He was always fidgeting around and gesticulating wildly, much like Dee.

"Whoa! I knew you went to college—you told me, I think—but a PhD?! So does that mean that you're actually Doctor Boyd?"

Alice smiled and nodded. "In the civilian world, yes. But I got the degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology—had already been an airman for three years before that, so I'm not really used to that title. Everyone just calls me by rank, or by name."

"Captain Boyd sounds equally proud." Deanna smirked.

"Right." Alice resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Anyway, speaking of which—I did mention that I was being promoted, didn't I?" And, without waiting for Dee's reply, she continued: "My pinning-on ceremony is planned for this Thursday, it's gonna be combined with a decoration ceremony. My mom's coming for the occasion—you don't mind if she stays in the spare bedroom, do you?"

"What? Of course not, silly!" Deanna laughed lightly. "That's why you wanted the spare room, after all. I'd love to meet your mama!"

"Good, thank you. Of course, you're invited as well—I'd be honored if you could come," Alice offered with a warm smile.

"Oh, really? That's very sweet of you—but I should be working…"

"Oh, I'm sure your boss will let you go for a few hours, won't he? I'll understand, of course, if he doesn't," she rushed to assure her. "But it would be really great if you could come."

"If I can, I'll be there!" Deanna promised solemnly. "But will I and your mama be the only civilians there?"

"No, no," Alice reassured her. "There's gonna be a few civilians from work, if they can get here—and my best friend from Los Angeles is coming down with his son, too."

"Oh?" Deanna looked surprised. "I thought… no, nevermind."

Alice smirked. "Yeah, I know. You thought I don't have any friends outside of work. But I've known this friend since I was a toddler, we grew up on the same street, attended school together and all. It's been challenging to keep in touch since then, what with me constantly away, but we've stayed friends over the years." She laughed. "He's also my Dead Man's Eyes merch dealer, you know." She pointed at her t-shirt.

"How do you mean?"

Alice just tapped a spot on the shirt, but seeing complete lack of understanding on Dee's face, she explained: "He's the band's frontman. Aaron Starr."

"You're best friends with Aaron Starr?!"

"Like I said, we grew up on the same block. I know all the band—with the exception of Jeff, who joined after my brother left, we all went to the same school."

"Your brother was in the band?!"

"Yeah, back when it was five of them in Aaron's basement." Alice smiled, the memory coloring her voice with warmth. "But, after graduating high school, my brother joined the Marines and Aaron and the band went on to college and continued to play. That's when Jeff joined them to replace the missing guitar."

Deanna shook her head disbelievingly. "You are full of surprises, Alice Boyd."

"You don't even know," Alice agreed and got to her feet. "Alright, you cooked so I'll do the dishes."