So Nic left Wolfe alone and focused on running.

Wolfe continued running for about an hour before stopping by the back entrance.

Nic kept going by himself, stopping at the kitchen for a small meal and a drink before going to the gym.

Later in the morning, James woke up too hot. The sun was hitting them directly now. He tried to peel himself away from Yue a bit.

Yue grunted a little as she started to wake up and hid her face from the sun.

James kissed the top of her head once he was a bit detangled.

--

In the morning, Pepper left Tusk's room and showered before heading out to find Long.

Yue cussed a little at the light and her stiff muscles.

--

Long was no where to be found. When she asked about him, most people said he often disappeared to run errands and such for Sheng.

So James kissed her again.

--

Pepper sighed and gave up looking, instead finding another interesting character to spend the day with.

Yue cussed at James this time as she blinked her eyes open lazily.

James leaned in and kissed her nose lightly, "Top of the mornin' to ya," he said in accent.

So Yue complained about mornings in Chinese in a thick Chinese accent.

James chuckled, "And you're not even hungover," he replied in Chinese with an amused tone.

"Huh?" Yue asked as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her palm. "... Did we stay out all night?" she asked, back to English.

"Guess so," James replied as he looked around.

"... Are the leftovers still good?" Yue asked as she slowly pushed herself up.

"Yeah, the treys are thermal," James explained as pushed a few buttons on the one of the treys, "Give them a minute to warm up though."

Yue stretched a little, trying to wake up.

Once the food was hot, James handed Yue and bowl.

Yue surprisingly thanked James as she took the bowl and started munching away happily.

James froze in dramatic shock as he mouth dropped open. He stared at Yue.

Yue ignored him.

James took a deep breath, "Just have to absorb this moment," he breathed, "Who knows when it will come again?"

Yue looked like she was about to fling a shrimp at him, but decided to eat it instead.

James finally gave in and laughed before munching down on the food with his fingers.

If it was dinner, Yue would have probably said something. But she didn't mind the lack of breakfast etiquette too much.

James continued to munch away happily.

Yue didn't say anything else as she ate her fill.

The days passed slowly, Wolfe continued to meet Nic running every morning but never acknowledged him.

Laurel continued to avoid the neonates and alternated between dancing, talking to Nic and meeting with Fin. Frei visited Fin every so often but never stayed too long, she continued to be interested in what he was reading.

James, true to his word, steered clear of any other females. If any came too close to him, he winced slightly though he tried to hide it. He spent most of his time around Yue.

Wolfe was pretty busy but found a way to spend time with Raven, even if just a meal.

There had been no word from Kale but Wolfe was too busy with other things to really take notice.

--

Pepper continued to converse with Tusk, never giving him more information about the years... yet, anyway. She continued to wait for her meeting with Sheng and continued to try to make more allies.

Fin was initially getting more nervous, but later in the week he started to get used to his routine in the juttle. Well, he never asked to be let out. Nic didn't talk about Fin, but when he was forced to, his opinion was the same.

Yue complained a lot with James around, but she didn't seem too miserable since she never told him to leave her alone. As the week went on, James could tell she was finally opening up more to him instead of retreating back inside herself like she always used to do. It was slow, but she was becoming more like herself.

Raven seemed very happy that Wolfe was finding time for him, and did his best to let Wolfe know it.

Blaze never asked about Kale, but she had spoken to Wolfe about doing more work.

But a little over a week later, something was going on early in the morning at Raven's home. Upon further inspection, it looked like one of the barns had caught fire.

Snow immediately notified Wolfe who ran to the control room. He took a look at the fire before making sure the emergency services had been notified and were on their way. Then he called in Raven.

--

Laurel was eating lunch with Nic when she finally brought up the subject she'd been avoiding. "Nic... I think Fin was looking for your father when Kale picked him up... I think... he deserves to know how he died."

Raven yawned a little as he walked in. "What's going on?" he asked sleepily.

--

Nic paused and blinked at Laurel. "... How he died?" he asked, confused.

"A barn is on fire," Wolfe stated, pointing to the live footage.

--

Laurel blinked back, "You said he died," she stated quietly.

Raven immediately perked up and quickly went over to get a better look at the live footage. He cussed a little as it started to sink in.

--

Nic blinked again, still confused. Then after awhile he seemed to get it. "... Fuquin died," he explained quietly. "But he wasn't related by blood. I never really considered the man who fathered me to be a father."

Wolfe was typing something in before grabbing Raven's arm, "Let's go," he stated.

--

Laurel cussed a little bit as she suddenly glared at Nic, "That's it!" she decided, suddenly standing and grabbing his arm, "You're seeing him, right now!"

Raven paused, staring at the screen for another short moment before letting Wolfe drag him away.

--

"Huh?" Nic asked, not sure why Laurel was so angry.

Wolfe grabbed a Jet and Frei. Frei quickly started up the Jet as Wolfe and Raven strapped themselves in.

--

Laurel tried to haul Nic to his feet, not saying another word but her eyes were flashing.

Raven's expression was much more serious than usual, and he kept fidgeting. He clearly didn't like not being able to do much about this.

--

Nic was being a bit stubborn, but after awhile he grabbed his coffee and let Laurel drag him off.

It wasn't too long before they arrived, landing well away to not attract attention. Wolfe and Raven then got in a small hover-car to the farm itself.

--

Laurel dragged Nic right to the Juttle where Fin was staying, "You're going to go in there and you're going to talk to that boy," Laurel stated forcefully, gaze locked onto his, "You're going to stop being selfish and answer whatever questions Fin has about his family!" and she shoved him towards the door.

Raven got more antsy as they got closer. It was going to be difficult for him to not make his presence known.

--

"I have no answers for him," Nic replied, but it wasn't an angry reply. Just a statement of fact. But he took a deep breath and slowly went in the juttle unannounced.

"Don't make me regret bringing you along," Wolfe growled before exiting the hovercraft and taking a peek through the trees.

--

Laurel waited outside the Juttle, giving Nic and Fin some time alone.