Noises

Laura laughs and draws Maggie in close, all three joining in the hug. "I certainly will be around a lot more now."

Her eyes raise to meet Nate's once again, the love shining through. Not caring that Maggie was present, she presses her lips to his again, then withdraws. "A lot more."

The doorbell interrupts them and Laura gives a little sigh. "He's early." She giggles. "Maybe that's a good thing. So he can sit down a moment."

Breaking away from Nate and Maggie, Laura goes to the door, opening it to reveal a wet Con, having made it from the car, but still getting rained on before making it to the porch. "You're early."

"Well sorry... the petshop was closed and..." He shrugs lamely. He knew his sister had wanted some time. "I can go check on the car, but... I figured I really didn't want to stand in the rain while trying to find the problem." His eyes drift over to Nate, suddenly getting the strange sense that he'd missed something. "Um..."

"It's okay." Laura grins. "Really. We were just, um... celebrating..." She looks back into the living room. "Right, Mags?"

Con quirks an eyebrow. "Celebrating what?"

Laura bites her lip. It was all happening so fast... but for once, she didn't care one bit. Her eyes sparkling, she timidly holds up her left hand.

It takes Con a moment to realize what she's showing him, but when she does, his eyes widen. "You mean you..."

Laura nods. "But you and Jamie have to take a trip the day after tomorrow."

"Whats... the day after tomorrow?"

"The wedding."

Con blinks and cocks his head to look at Nate. "Boy when you make up your mind, you really make up your mind." He looks back to his sister, still a bit stunned. "And you..."

"Yeah." Laura nods again, reassuring her brother that yes, this is what she really wanted. "Think you can hack Nate as your brother-in-law?"

Con grins. "Only if he can hack having a tank for his." Reaching out, he pulls his sister into a bear hug. Before he says any more though, he quickly backs up. "You're all wet!"

Laura laughs. "What? So? Nate didn't mind."

"As if he would." Con smirks. He looks back to Nate again. "Sorry to barge in on you two like this. Looks like my timing could have been better. I can wait out on the porch if you'd prefer."


Kyle wanders through the grass until his feet hit the coarse sand that ran around the small lake. Heaving a sigh, he comes closer to Alice, quietly... slowly. Slipping behind her, he eases down to sit with one leg on either side of her, then drapes his arms over his shoulders to fold them under her chin and pull her back so she's leaning against his chest. He kisses her head.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes quietly. He didn't know if the whole thing was really his fault or not... probably it was both his and Hunter's. Regardless, he was sorry that Alice had gotten upset. The bruise on the side of his face and head was clearly visible now, but that was the least of his worries.

His voice remains soft and low. "I'm thinking about pulling out. I know we could survive, but... the team could do better with Hunter than with me and... maybe I'm just not supposed to be here any more." There was disappointment in his tone, proving that he didn't really want that, nor did he really believe it was the right choice. But he felt backed up against the wall. "I don't want to keep up the fight with Hunter... it would be better if I just went back home."


"Of course you'll see me tomorrow." Ryder throws Thirteen a wink. "Goodnight."

It wasn't long before all was quiet. Trooper sprawls out on his usual spot on the floor, yawning and relaxing for another evning. He was used to the routine now, and used to keeping Thirteen company at night.

The light in the hall eventually dims, proving that almost everyone was gone. It wasn't until at least an hour later that a soft patter of feet could be heard.

Trooper rolls over and perks his ears forward, listening. A low growl sounds from his throat and he slowly stands up, going to the door. He puts his nose to the crack and sniffs, then cocks his head, listening again. A quiet "woof" comes out and he gives a little whine, looking back to Thirteen. He scratches at the door, asking to be let out of the room.