Cold War (closed)

[Ginny Campbell]

Ginny draped her feet over the arm of the couch, scrutinizing the framed picture she'd just attached a tiny camera to. James and Chase looked so happy, the smiles on their faces the sort of goofy, unphotogenic expressions that were more genuine than the perfect smiles on the models in magazines. She pushed herself up, reaching over to turn the picture slightly so it was no longer facing her; looking at the smiles made her feel guilty for sneaking around behind her dad's back like this, but she had to know if there was anything darker lurking beneath the facade of happiness and affection.

Chase's mugging made this ordeal slightly more difficult than originally planned, because he was in the room usually reserved for her, which meant it couldn't be used as a base of operations. Without that element of privacy her father could walk in on them and their planning at any moment; fortunately he was in the kitchen at the moment. She silently willed him to stay there until dinner was finished.

The family room had been the logical place to begin their task; the kitchen was out, at least momentarily, and as Mia had pointed out the bedroom was definitely not getting bugged at all. Ever. She didn't want to know about her parents' love life. Eww.

She swung her legs back to the floor and sighed, pushing herself to her feet. "Great....think we can fit anymore in this room or should we move on?" She whispered to her friend, gazing about for more hiding places. If anything even remotely suspicious went down in this room she and Mia were going to know about it.

[Mia Keystone]

”Well it would be a lot easier if your dad wasn’t anally OCD,” Mia mumbled around a mouthful of wires. Pulling one out, she screwed on the mini microphone and fed the wire into the tiny hole she’d drilled at the back of the bookcase. Unless James or Chase decided they wanted to reread The Atlas of Ancient Babylon, her bug would be undetected.

With ease that suggested a lot of experience Mia hopped down off the bookcase and spat the wires out into her hand. ”This is done. At least two of these should get passed your dad’s eagle eyes.” Mia had learnt a bit on the art of subtly since her attempt to hide in a file cabinet, but it was never easy with James Campbell. Didn’t stop her from trying though. She stuffed the wire into the back pocket of her favourite purple jeans and gave Ginny a grin. ”Yeah, should be plenty in here. Kitchen would be good but while those two are cooking, might be a bit obvious,” she whispered back and fell onto the now empty couch with a huff.

Inside, thanks to central heating, you couldn’t tell it was freezing out and Mia was heated up from her adventure climbing the Kilbourne-Campbell furniture like a jungle gym. She was part ninja, thus very agile. Well, that was the reasoning Ginny had given her when she explained why Mia had to climb the display cabinet and the book cases. Peeling off her hoodie to show her t-shirt (to be respectful to the child present, she’d stuck with one that just had a big green shroom with Get A Life under it. She’d even toned down the eyeliner so she didn’t look so scary. It was an effort, because Mia liked the Campbells. Hell, she even respected James a bit which was saying something, since the technopath either disliked or didn’t care about all her teachers. And Ginny was just awesome.

Not that Mia said that. Compliments weren’t her thing.

”Do I get to meet the rugrat?” she asked at a normal volume. ”Cause I want to.”

ALL the Campbells would be her friends, and together, they would take over the world. Or something.

[Nikolai Campbell]

Nikolai had been walking on egg shells ever since Chase had returned from the hospital. Chase was all broken now, and Niko wasn't the least bit interested in making it any worse for him if he could help it. Unfortunately for him, all that went through his mind was that he wanted nothing more than to hug his father. Chase could make it seem alright with a hug, couldn't he? Niko had enough reason to want him to. First James had gotten hurt, now Chase- was he next? Chase was supposed to protect them, wasn't he? Nikki'd begun to worry more than he had before, and, well, he didn't like it. At least there was one good thing to be said about today. Ginny was here, which he hoped could take his mind off of the bad things that had happened recently.

The first person Niko saw was Mia as he made his way toward the kitchen from his bedroom. She was sitting on the couch, looking quite comfortable. Immediately he looked around for someone familiar to ensure this stranger was supposed to be in the house- you could never be too careful. Niko was quick to notice Ginny was in the room, which seemed to relax Niko considerably. He smiled, turning his attention back to the strange looking girl. He hadn't heard her question prior to him entering (which was probably a good thing; rugrat wasn't one of his approved nicknames) so it came down to just having good timing, it seemed.

"Hi,"Niko greeted politely, his tone soft. He stayed in the entry way, not sure what the girls were doing but not wanting to interupt anything important. Niko was used to teens who had little time for him and were more likely to tell him to get lost than hold a conversation. And this was Ginny's room now that Chase had stole hers, so he'd respect her boundaries just as though it were her real room, at least while she was in there.

[Chase Campbell]

If there was one thing Chase was grateful about being out of the hospital, it was that there was no one watching him nearly twenty four hours a day. ... Okay, that wasn’t so true, but having James checking on him was infinitely better than the nurses. At the very least, he was down to some powerful painkillers, but at least they weren’t morphine. And if he didn’t want to take them, there was no one that was going to force him. He was finding as the healing process went on, he had bad days and good days. Good days, he could get away with a dose of Tylenol. On the bad days... he relied on the painkillers James tried to get him to take. He didn’t like them. They affected his mind, and he couldn’t think properly. He’d taken some earlier in the morning, however, hoping they would be worn off enough by the time Mia and Ginny got to the house.

At least luck was on his side in that regard. By the time the girls arrived, he was awake and feeling less drugged than he had earlier. He’d taken them to appease James, mostly, which he’d been doing more and more. It was why he was home now, as opposed to the hospital. He’d agreed to the biomanipulator fixing his ribs – and his concussion – but that was it. Just enough to get him home, to enable him to move on the crutches without causing more pain and damage.

He could hear the girls in the other room, shifting around. He loved Ginny, but he... well, Mia bothered him. Probably something to do with her calling him James’ ‘Jedi Wife.’ Even if Jedis were cool. He was currently lounging in a place he never thought he’d be used to, Ginny’s room. It had been awkward, particularly when she’d first arrived. Now it was just fact. James wouldn’t let him try the entire staircase, no matter how much he insisted he could manage it. So, for now, he was staying downstairs. He’d already kicked the pillow his foot had been resting on off of the bed, because he couldn’t stand it being elevated for long. Though he had a stack of sports magazines and Ginny’s little television to amuse himself with, it wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted things to be normal. He wanted to be in the kitchen, trying to help, only to be chased out and laughed at by Ginny. He wanted to be spending some time with Nikki that didn’t involve him coming in here just for company. And he wanted things to go back to the way they were before he'd created this mess. He wanted James to stop looking at him the way he had been. Scared, sad, worried, the list went on and on.

He sighed and rested his head against the wall. Things needed to go back to normal. And the stupid brace around his neck was hot and itchy. Trying to be as careful and quiet about it as he could, he reached up and slowly undid the Velcro holding the stupid thing on. Just five minutes was all he wanted. And probably all he could get away with.

[Dr. James Campbell]

James had thought it couldn't get any worse than it had been in August. It had been painful, shying away from Chase like that, closing himself off all summer. His life had always revolved around his family, and feeling so disconnected from them had taken a toll on all of them.

But apparently it could get worse. And it did.

At least now he felt comfortable touching Chase again, but now it was because he had to. His husband was on crutches and had a neck brace...and when he didn't have the brace on, James could still see the faint outline of the hand-shaped bruise on his throat.

But the recruiter was still nervous. Now that he knew what happened--at least a lot of it, though he was pretty certain that there were still things that Chase and Sean weren't going to telling him--he was still stressed. Underwood's operatives were undoubtedly out for blood, and they would want Chase, first of all. They had two kids to keep safe, Chase hadn't used his power since that day, and now, just for icing, Mia came over for dinner.

James didn't really have a problem with Mia; she was a smart girl, and he could respect the level of confidence she had. (And she didn't mind finding out when she was wrong, if it meant she came away with a bit more knowledge.) But now, of all times, when Chase was recuperating and sometimes on heavy medication, when they possibly had M.S.A.D watching them, when Chase had killed someone, they didn't need the nosiest person in the school hanging out.

But as he wasn't going to tell Ginny the other two reasons--at least not yet, he really did want to tell her--he had agreed to her inviting Mia to dinner.

She better like lasagna. It was a rare time that he was alone in the kitchen; usually one of the kids or Chase would be there to keep him company. But the kids were in the living room at Chase was supposed to be resting in Ginny's room. Supposed to be, because by James' calculation, the meds would have mostly worn off by now, and he'd just be restless. "Can I get someone in here to set the table?" James called towards the living room as he finished making the salad. There, dinner was almost done, most of the dishes were already washed, and if the kids took care of the table, everything would be fine. They could get through dinner with no more casualties.

James headed down the short hallway to Chase, frowning as he heard the sound of Velcro. Not again. "Chase, love, keep that thing on," he said as he leaned against the doorjam. "How are you feeling? You up for dinner with us?"

[Ginny Campbell]

Ginny grimaced as Mia hopped back to the floor. "Yeah, well, it isn't my fault he's difficult. But we gotta try, at least." Maybe they would get lucky and James would be too distracted by Chase's condition to notice the house was bugged until they had collected the information they needed. At least Mia had experience with this sort of operation, so they had a higher chance of some of their bugs going undetected than if Ginny had attempted this alone.

"Course you get to meet Nikki!" She assured the smaller girl just as her foster brother announced his arrival with a shy Hi, hovering uncertainly outside the room.

"Hey, speak of the devil!" Her grin was almost predatory as she eyed the young boy, ideas forming. Oh, Niko could be useful to their cause; why hadn't she thought of this before?

"Hey, Nikki!" She drawled, shoving her hands in her pockets and meandering on over to the doorway. "Wanna play a game with me and Mia?"

She glanced over at the other girl, hoping she would clue in and help encourage the boy. She didn't want him to run and tell her dads what they were up to, but if they made this into a game perhaps they could enlist his help while at the same time preventing him from alerting the adults.

"We just need you to..." She began when James shouted a request for help from the kitchen. "Sure thing, dad!! Be just a sec!" She yelled in answer before returning her attention to her brother. "We just need help hiding these in the kitchen before dad gets back." Her grin widened as she snatched her ziploc bag of tiny bugs and waved it at Niko.

"We're playing spies," She added by way of explanation. "Want in?"

[Mia Keystone]

Well, the kid got points for timing. Mia offered a wave and an attempt at a smile that wasn’t sarcastic, dry or mocking. ”Hey little dude,” she offered as a greeting. Truth be told, Mia was looking to make a good impression. Not try to act all baby-talk crazy, mind. If he spent half an hour talking about finger painting or whatever 9 year olds talked about, she would tell him to shut the fuck up before she passed out from boredom. But hey, it could work. Maybe. Could she swear? Maybe not... Damn.

Dispite James Campbell’s initial misgivings at seeing Mia hiding in his filing cabinet (well, not his but one JUST LIKE his) the girl had managed to inadvertently befriend his daughter and his nephew. It would be a shame to fuck up with his foster kid. So Mia nodded slightly at Ginny’s look and then grinned happily at the boy.

”It’s pretty different. Not sure you’ll have played this much with your buds at school,” she offered, then looked at Ginny in a am I doing it right? sort of way. She started a little as she heard Doc/James/Dr Campbell’s yell and was relieved when Ginny offered. She was hoping to clear; that way she could spend a bit more time in the kitchen and check things out there.

As usual, a part of Mia bristled when Ginny talked about playing spies but she shrugged it off and pulled out one of her micro mics. ”See? Pretty cool, eh?” she added, privately thinking that yes, they were cool. They’d been pretty tricky to build and they were as small as she could make them; about as big as a house fly. ”Must be hard playing hide and seek with Mr Campbell though, eh? That guy has crazy good vision.”

Again, Mia looked at Ginny with wide I don’t know what I’m doing eyes. Kids were alien to her, and had been even when she was one herself.

[Nikolai Campbell]

Niko had been looking at Mia, curious about her and waiting patiently for some response when Ginny's voice caught his attention. The fact that he seemed so excited about him was pleasing- he wanted nothing more than to be liked by Ginny. Even so, it was hard to miss the look of surprise on Nikki's expression when Ginny approached and made her offer. A game with her and her friend? Nikolai was, as usual, bored so the offer was appealing. Hammel wasn't exactly full of teens willing to entertain a nine year old.

When Mia mentioned his school buddies, Nikki immediately looked to Ginny, his eyes holding a question. Was it okay for him to talk about Hammel? If this was Ginny's friend, Hammel talk might be off-limits, and explaining why he- as a nine year old- wasn't in a regular elementary school wasn't easy. Even Nikki knew that. So he didn't respond directly to that. James' yelling and Ginny's reply seemed to excuse him from it, though, much to his relief.

"Hide those?"Nikki looked a bit skeptical at the suggestion. They didn't look a thing like Easter eggs, but you didn't go around hiding things unless it was Easter or to drive James crazy, did you? "Will James be mad? Are they his?" What the things in the bag had to do with spies, Nikki wasn't certain. But so long as James wouldn't be mad, Nikki was okay with it anyway.

When Mia showed him the small microphones, Niko wasn't sure what he was seeing. It resembled a microphone, but it was so tiny! He reacted to her emotion more than any realization with a smile.

'Yeah. Really cool!"He agreed cheerfully before answering her question."We play outside when it's warm- out in the forest. He doesn't find me then. Chase plays, too- he can't find me, either"Niko paused, looking to Ginny again. Of course he wanted in! " Yeah- I wanna play, but, what am I supposed to do?" Niko gently poked at the microphone Mia was holding."Hide that? Like in the drawers?"

[Chase Campbell]

It had killed Chase, telling James the truth. But it wasn’t something he could easily hide. The news would have reached Hammel sooner or later than their enemy was dead, and his loyal followers were out for revenge. There would have been questions. Considering what had happened the last time a secret had come between them, Chase just couldn’t let it happen again. He’d told the truth, and braced himself for the worst.

By some miracle, James was still with him. There was no talk of divorce, and the fear he saw in his husband’s eyes didn’t stem from a fear of him, but of what could happen next. Things had the potential to get worse, and he knew it. He didn’t like it, but it was fact. Things could, and probably would, get worse.

Of course, he wasn’t going to be discussing that, any of that with Mia around. He knew all about her, and he wasn’t about to put himself in a position to expose himself. Hopefully, James would be doing the same.

If nothing else, he could have his little pity party in his borrowed room. The kids were entertained (and he was hoping that Nikki was in the kitchen with James, as opposed to playing with the girls – Ginny, he trusted, Mia, not so much), James was cooking, and he was... bored. Out of his mind. Complaining was hard to do, however, when it was his own fault he was like this.

He really did miss the normal things, things he’d taken for granted not so long ago. Bugging James in the kitchen, talking with Ginny, playing with Niko. He felt weird, hiding away in the back room like this. He was considering putting the brace back (before James told him off) and actually getting up to see what was going on when his husband appeared in the doorway. He had a guilty expression on his face.

“But Jamie, it’s hot. And itchy.” He was well aware he sounded like a whiny toddler. But, like a good boy, he put it back. “I’m okay. The meds wore off. I’m just bored.” He pulled himself up and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’d love to be with you guys for dinner. It feels like I slept all day.” Which wasn’t that far from the truth. He motioned closer to himself, patting the bed. “C’mere a second. I missed you.” He pulled his legs closer to his body, making room for his husband while trying to ignore the dull throb from his broken ankle. As soon as he was beside him, Chase dropped his head on James’ shoulder. “What’re the kids up to?” He wasn’t tired anymore, he just wanted the contact.

And if Nikki was playing with the girls, he was seriously going to start chaperoning them.

[Dr. James Campbell]

"It's not too late to talk to a biomanipulator about it. Now that you're half-way healed, it should be pretty easy for him to finish the job." James smiled anyway when Chase put the brace back on. They'd been arguing back at forth about it since the incident--the recruiter refused to call it anything else, even in his head--but his half of it was more for pretense, because that was what Chase expected of him. James knew his husband was punishing himself for the death of Gabriel Underwood, and there was nothing he could do there, other than encourage him to talk to someone about it. (Their arguments went around in circles on that, though, because while talking to Sean was counter-productive, as he was involved and had participated in the incident, Chase couldn't tell someone else what he had done. It would be asking the therapist to commit a crime.)

"You did sleep all day, Chase. Same thing you've been trying to do for years." Somehow, it felt that all of his humor was just a bit...flat, lately. But they were trying. They never talked about it in front of the kids, or even when there was a chance Nikki or Gin could overhear. They just kept up their half-hearted grins and pretended it was just a mugging.

Making the kids panic wouldn't help anyone.

"I missed you too," James replied, coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed. That was only a little true, as he'd been pretty close tot he blond man all day, and had checked on him regularly to make sure he was still sleeping and still there. (Without crazy Gestalt Pairs or nightmares, though James didn't know about the former, the heavy drugs took the latter out of consideration.) He twined his fingers into Chase's and his smile went a little more genuine. He really was happy that they were all together for dinner.

"Niko's with the girls, and they've setting the table. Or they're about to. And don't worry, Gin is with them. Mia won't corrupt him that easily."

Yeah, James was that naive when it came to his daughter.

[Ginny Campbell]

"Aw, no, dad won't be mad!!" Ginny reassured Niko hurriedly. "These aren't his, they belong to Mia. She made them."

If James discovered what they were about he would undoubtedly be less than pleased, but she didn't intend for him to find out. Or rather, she didn't intend for him to find out until she'd gathered enough evidence to make her accusations -- whether that was that her step-father wasn't the good person she'd assumed or that her dads had somehow been targeted by the group Mia had mentioned while they were shopping. Either way she didn't wish to say anything until she had proof; neither accusation was the sort she would want to make public without solid proof.

"Wow, even dad can't find you?" She allowed herself to look impressed; it was almost impossible to hide anything from James Campbell and his super-powered OCD. "That's pretty keen. You have the makings of a good spy already."


She beamed when the boy accepted their offer. "Yeah, since spies can't be everywhere and can't fit into a lot of places we gotta use tools and wiretapping and stuff to find out the info we need. So just hide them anywhere in the kitchen you think nobody will find them. Like, think about if you were the microchip and you were playing hide and seek with dad and Chase, where would you hide? And you gotta be real good, cause spies who get caught are executed."

She gave this explanation in a whisper, stealthily creeping toward the kitchen, clearly expecting her two companions to follow her. "And spies who tell are assassinated. Being a spy, it's dangerous work, so you gotta be careful."

But just because they were using this window of opportunity to bug the kitchen didn't mean she was going to completely ignore her filial duties; she opened the cabinets, removing a stack of plates and stretching so she could place a microphone in the corner. She counted out five plates, setting those to the side while she arranged the others so that they hid the tiny device from prying eyes.

"Mmmm. Dad's lasagna smells delicious," she added, pulling flatware out of the drawer and still not looking up to see if Mia or Niko had followed.

[Mia Keystone]

A laugh spluttered from Mia as Ginny assured the mini person that James wouldn’t get angry. Bull. Shit. He’d be hell mad. Just not with Niko. And maybe not with Ginny, since it would be pretty obvious Ginny hadn’t suddenly learnt to make micro-bugs. It would be operation filing cabinet times three hundred million. Still, she wasn’t too worried. Now there was family involved she could just hide behind the wall of Campbells she was building.

Mia watched silently as Ginny managed to make planting tiny devices to spy on her dads sound like cops and robbers or something, getting up to clip something onto the exposed phone line before hiding it under the carpet. She let Ginny leave before turning to Niko.

”It’s true,” she said seriously, her face unreadable. ”Taddle tale spies get assassinated. It's messy. And not fun. So we have to make sure none of us tell anyone about this game. You got me?”

Yes, Mia was threatening a nine year old. Don’t act so surprised.

With one more glance at Niko, Mia followed her blonde friend into the kitchen and quickly started climbing onto the bench to get an idea of the room’s layout.

”Never had lasagna,” Mia frowned, looking at the table absently. ”Mom doesn’t do much but rice and stuff. Are there green things in it?” the wrinkle in her nose made it clear to all what the technopath thought of green things. With a grunt, Mia hauled herself up the cabinets and attached a tiny camera to the top, finding a knot in the wood it fitted into perfectly. How do you like me now, jedi wife? Mia was getting to the bottom of this, or her last name wasn't Keystone. And if it meant using the Campbell-Kilbourne kitchen like a jungle gym, then so be it.

She thought of helping Ginny, but she didn’t know where anything was so she started amusing herself by opening all the draws and cabinets to see what kind of stuff James and Chase had. Lots of jars... of stuff. Without much enthusiasm, Mia took a few pictures for her database and leapt off the bench top. ”Ok, if anything happens here we’ll get it,” she whispered to Ginny, then looked at the plates and settings with slight suspicion. ”What’s in a lasagna anyway? Is it hot? Is it spicy? Is it good, even?”

[Nikolai Campbell]

"Yeah,"Niko nodded. Niko's smile was one of pride now. Of course James couldn't! Chase played hide and seek with him more often, though. And Chase tried harder, it seemed, but Niko kind of expected that, because James was too good at the game for it to be fair (or at least that's why Niko thought he didn't want to play). But he did feel pretty special, anyway, especially since Ginny seemed impressed.

"Executed, Ginny?"Niko's eyes had widened when she said they could be executed, but he kept his tone at a whisper to mimic her. When she began to move, he stayed put- at least for a moment- watching her 'creeping' into the kitchen. Who was she hiding from? Niko glanced back, trying to see if anyone was peering in through a window. Of course they weren't. When Mia began talking, Niko turned his attention to her with a look of curiosity. It quickly shifted to surprise, however, when Mia made it sound like she already knew he was going to tell. He'd show her.

"I'm not going to tell."Niko responded, his tone serious.. Mia was officially not his favorite if she thought he couldn't keep a secret. But, her 'threat' worked; he wasn't going to tell and get them assassinated! The definition for the word was murky in his head, though he'd heard it. It didn't matter- he had enough problems without having Ginny or Mia hurt, too (death didn't seem to occur to him, he just assumed being assassinated would lead to injury)

Niko waited until Mia had begun walking before he followed behind. As he walked, he glanced back, still trying to catch whoever it was they were trying to evade- but, of course, to no avail. When he entered the kitchen, he noticed the plates set aside and immediately moved to Ginny's side.

"I'll set these out,"he offered, grabbing the five she set out. He could have waited for her to set the utensils with them so he could set those out at the same time, but he didn't think that far ahead. He did, however, pause long enough to watch Mia once the plates were in his hand. Okay, now that was the part of the game he'd enjoy playing.

When Mia began looking through the cabinets, Niko lost interest. Now all that left was for him to turn around and make his way back to the table, placing a plate at each spot with a smile. See, he could be helpful!

[Chase Campbell]

The suggestion made Chase give his husband an exasperated look. They’d been over this time and time again, since he’d been home from the hospital. Since James had learned the truth about what had happened in the Underwood mansion. “You know that’s not gonna happen.” He didn’t even need to say why. James knew the reason as well as he did. While he knew he could be accused of being a martyr, Chase really didn’t care. He deserved punishment for what he’d done. For various reasons, conventional punishment would never come. At least, they could hope for that. “It’s fine. Doesn’t even hurt much right now.” His body would heal on its’ own, and then he’d have to figure out a new form of punishment.

Regardless of the flat joke, Chase cracked a smile. “It wasn’t all day.” Tomorrow, things would go back to normal, and as long as he didn’t exert himself too much over the course of the evening with the kids, he could probably get away with not taking the harsh medication for the entire day. That would be nice. Keep a clear head, talk to Nikki and James and Ginny without feeling drugged.

Of course, with Mia around, it was almost tempting to take another dose. She might be a little more bearable. But that would entail leaving James to fend for himself with three kids. Not that it was outside of his comfort zone, he dealt with far more when they visited his family, but Chase didn’t want to do that. He wanted to be up and around because he was bored. And he missed his family.

“You missed me, or you missed teasing me for saying strange things under the influence of narcotics?” Again, his humor was weak, but he didn’t mind when he felt James’ hand in his. “I love you, Jamie.” While he would give anything to have things go back to normal, there was the small voice in the back of his head, telling him that things would get better, and despite the horrible thing he’d had to do, everyone was safer now. Gabriel was gone.

He ran his free hand through his hair, happy where he was. But the sounds of the kids in the kitchen made him sit up properly and sigh. “Gin better be keeping Nikki safe.” It was more of a grumble than anything else. He trusted Ginny. He did not trust Mia. “I guess we should go keep them company?” The trainer reached down for the crutches he’d left abandoned on the floor earlier. He wouldn’t mind having the brace off for the entirety of dinner, but he didn’t think James would go for it.

[Dr. James Campbell]

"Chase, you don't need to be drugged to say strange things. I could just get you drunk. Or wake you up and ask a question before you're fully alert." James carded his fingers through Chase's hair, messing it up more. But it wasn't like the blond hair had looked any better before. It was a tragic side-effect of bedrest, near-constant bed head. "I love you too, Chase. And I do miss having you up and around, but you're here. And that's enough for me."

When Chase sat up, James slid in closer to him, and wrapped his arm around his husband's back. "Ginny will keep an eye on him. We can take a minute." There hadn't been many quiet moments where they were both awake and lucid in the past few weeks, so he was going to relish this one, before they went out to the dining room to eat and had to deal with Mia's questions. (They weren't stupid, of course she would be asking questions. If she wasn't, that would actually make them suspicious.)

But pretending that everything was fine and normal would only work for a little while, so James hauled himself to his feet, the turned to help Chase with his crutches. (Yes, Chase was proficient with them already, but that wasn't going to stop him from hovering.)

When they got out to the kitchen, the table was almost set. "So, who is ready for some lasagna?"