> Really magnificent stuff. Is there any sign of teams gathering to take out the other out-of-control Threats? Do we know where those all are?

>

> – Radio transmission from Voices for Non-Citizens

Cassie might have been initially suspicious of Vince, but after she’d decided it was really him, she showed no further doubts. She only stopped clinging to his back like a tiny cape after he’d offered to hold her. She was sitting on his hip now, her gaze fixed on his face. Someone had given her a chocolate chip cookie, but the chocolate was melting over her fingers, ignored. Filling her mouth would have interrupted her stream-of-consciousness monologue.

“I can drive the car, Daddy. It’s my car. I am a really good driver. I will let you ride in it. In the sky, people look like raisins!”

“Does your car… fly?”

Cassie gave him a sympathetic look. “No, Daddy. It has rainbows. I can pick up Micah now!”

I raised my voice. “The lady who was watching her took her flying today.”

Vince’s eyes lit up in understanding. He gave me the barest nod, but didn’t look away from Cassie, drinking in her excited babble with a smile on his face.

“So, that’s Cassie’s father.”

Vince was still barefoot, wearing a torn athletic shirt and biking shorts, tight apparel that had apparently been somehow necessary for him to… steer their homemade blimp? I still wasn’t quite clear on all the details of his story. It was a big departure from his usual tendency toward baggy clothes, but it made it impossible not to see how in shape he was. I mean, he’d always had muscle, but they’d been the kind of muscles you felt with your fingers, not the kind of thing you saw from across the room.

That had changed.

He looked good.

“Yeah. That’s him.”

Pointy stared at Vince and Cassie with narrowed eyes. “Hm. I believe I am feeling… jealousy.”

I laughed, barely keeping a spray of cookie crumbs from escaping.

Pointy glared up at me peevishly. “It’s not that funny.”

“It kind of is.” I grinned at her. “Don’t worry. Cassie has enough love to go around. She may seem like she’s forgotten about you for now, but that won’t last.”

Pointy nodded reluctantly, looking away. “Historical evidence does suggest that Cassie’s current fixation will be temporary. And… I am happy for her. For all of you.”

“Thanks.” I squeezed Pointy gently. “I think you’ll like him too.”

“Perhaps. I am concerned. Your stories paint him as capable, but reckless. To be perfectly frank, I hadn’t run simulations on what to do in the event of his return, because I judged it so unlikely.”

I winced. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t tell me that before.”

Pointy rolled her eyes. “My social finesse may be a work in progress, but it wasn’t difficult to see how important hope for his safe return was to your family’s emotional health.”

I levitated my cookie to my mouth and took another bite, buying myself time to decide how to respond. I could see where Pointy had gotten her picture of Vince, but I didn’t think it was completely fair.

“I don’t think you need to worry. Vince might be reckless, but he’ll be reckless with himself. Not with Cassie or the boys. Plus he’s… a lot quicker to make decisions than me. You know all those times you had to shout at me when I froze up in a bad situation? That’ll never happen with him. He’ll be doing something about it, guaranteed.”

“The right something?”

I shrugged. “It’ll be better than freezing up. And he’ll adjust when I shout at him.”

“If you say so…” Pointy didn’t bother to hide her skepticism.

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I grinned. “You’ll see. He’s my teammate. My partner.”

Pointy didn’t look convinced, but Vince would have time to win her over. He was back. He was back!

Honestly, as delicious as the food was, I was ready to leave the party now that Cassie had rejoined us. Sharing my husband with my kids, who’d missed him just as much as I had? That was fair, if a little frustrating. All these other people? No way!

Oh, and damnit all, Colonel Yoshiro, Colonel Zwerinski, and General Heggins were heading toward him.

Nooooo! I wailed mentally.

“Vincenzo Moretti?” the general asked.

My husband stopped laughing at Cassie and looked at the general in puzzlement. “Just Vince is fine… Who…? You’re the leadership here, I take it?”

General Heggins nodded. “Colonel Yoshiro here is in overall charge of the Huntsville region. You’ve met Colonel Zwerinski. I’m General Heggins, and I’m the one taking charge of coordinating our efforts to reconnect with leadership elsewhere in the country and provide support to more distant areas.”

My husband sighed, his arm tightening around Cassie. “And you know I can get in touch with people across the country, especially the leadership at Kirtland.”

Colonel Zwerinski looked guilty. “Yes. I’ve been consulting heavily with your companions. We are trying to disrupt your reunion as little as possible, but-”

Vince suddenly started. “What about Kurt’s family? John’s wife?”

Colonel Zwerinski took the seeming non sequitur in stride. “We sent word ahead. Kurt Osorio’s wife and daughter have been located and are on their way to join us. We’re still trying to locate Mr. Christiansen’s wife.”

“I hadn’t even thought about them…” Vince said.

“You would have,” I said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You’re allowed to focus on us for a while.”

General Heggins cleared his throat. “Well… actually…”

His words died at the furious look I channeled his way.

Colonel Zwerinski raised his hands placatingly. “We know what an imposition this is, and we’ve done our best to minimize what we’re asking of you today. It’s my understanding that Vince still has three ruler messages available, so we’ve drafted up exactly what we want him to say for the first two. Then we’d like him to stay available for an hour, to relay any responses to us. Based on what we hear, we’d like him to use his third ruler message at that time. In exchange, we’ll give you two well-guarded rooms to stay here at the Arsenal tonight, and we’ll transport you back to Fort Autumn tomorrow, along with an assigned aide.”

“Why an aide?” I asked.

At the same time, Vince asked “Two rooms?”

“I imagine, with the advent of the paraslugs, you will be most comfortable sleeping in the same room as your children, under the watch of your daughter’s companion.” Colonel Zwerinski nodded at Pointy. “Still, I imagine there are things you would like to share with your wife alone. We’ve been modifying one of the nearby hotels for safety and would be happy to offer you guarded accommodations in two adjoining rooms this evening.”

Vince looked over at me, his eyes lingering in a way that made me blush. “Well, that seems fair.”

Embarrassed, I changed the subject, even as I smiled. “And… the aide?”

“At a minimum, they’ll have Mental Speech. We need a more reliable way for both you and your husband to keep in touch with us, since you continue to turn down our recruitment pitches.” Colonel Yoshiro smiled wryly, taking the bite from his statement. “The Signal sticks are a fine workaround in most cases, but your husband is our sole link to the western half of the country. If either of our groups find out something critical, we want to minimize any communication delay.”

General Heggins spoke up as well. “The aide isn’t likely to be permanent. The radio broadcasts from that Voices for Non-Citizens group mentioned a biological augment that could be incredibly helpful here. That, uh, Quantum Entanglement Reservoir? If Kirtland - or any other groups - can get someone to take that Augment and we do the same, those representatives will be able to communicate freely, regardless of distance. They’ll have to meet and physically touch first, but… it’s worth pursuing.”

Vince looked intrigued by that, but he shrugged, not asking further questions. “Huh. Alright then. You have what you want me to say written down?”

General Heggins nodded and passed my husband a paper. Vince looked it over, then handed it back. “Okay, done. I’ll let you know when I hear anything.”

The general accepted the paper from him with a smile. “Thank you. We’ll leave your family to enjoy the party.”

I rolled my eyes, stuffing my last bite of cookie in my mouth to stave off a rude response. Vince, ever the people person, managed to summon up a sincere-looking smile and say a few polite words. It wasn't until General Heggins turned his back that Vince looked over at me and gave a rueful shrug.

"If only you were less useful," I muttered.

Vince laughed. "You're one to talk!"

I shrugged, not willing to concede the point but unable to deny it.

He wrapped his spare arm around me, pulling my hip against his. "Come on. Let's round up the boys. Get lots of time in with the kids right now so you and I can... catch up, as soon as possible.

I couldn't help but grin at the mischief in his eyes. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"You already caught Mommy, Daddy," Cassie said seriously. "You are holding her right now."

"Yeah, but I want to catch her again and again!" Vince told Cassie. "Get my hands all over her."

"Vince!" I hissed, scandalized.

"What?" Vince grinned, adopting a faux-innocent expression. "Cassie loves hugging you too."

"That's not..." I spluttered.

"Meghan, would you like me to cancel out your husband's words?" Pointy offered.

"If he goes any farther, maybe," I muttered.

Vince bumped his hip against mine. "Aw, come on, you know you missed me!"

I blushed. "So much."