OOC: Trying to stick to your list. Struggled a bit with this.

drive.google.com/open?id=0BxokA0dBKb4p..
Duncan Moran

docs.google.com/document/d/1Bo0p9RpqT5..
Duncan’s Parents

Saturday, Aug 5, 2017 (Classes start Aug 17, ID’s etc sooner)

Duncan was up early for the morning after a football game. He still didn’t understand why games began before the school year even started. But his was not to reason why. His was to cry and die. It hadn’t really been that bad. New varsity players. His first up as a team captain. They had won. But it had been a sloppy win. If they had faced a better team, they would have been crushed.

Duncan way of ‘relaxing’ without working in the lab, or tinkering with his car, was to play … soccer basketball. This translated to playing basketball without the use of his hands. To be honest, he played better with his feet than his hands anyways. He now stood 6’4” … and sucked at real basketball. He once tried to play HORSE with one of the basketball players and got as far as HO. The other player had let him get that far on purpose and proceeded to slaughter him for the rest of the game. It was a source of amusement for the entire basketball team. They were teasing and Duncan knew it. And he didn’t mind in the slightest.

As he played a moving van pulled up to the house next door. The house had been on the market for awhile. So it came as no surprise that someone had bought the place and were moving in. It was like watching a scene out of a Disney movie as they came to a stop and got set up for unloading and the “family” disembarked. It was only natural that Duncan got curious.

The movers were easy to spot. They were dressed for work. The rest, therefore, were the family. Almost immediately he felt something off with the family as the movers started to unload and the family started going in and out of the house - presumably to show the movers where to put things. But exactly what was off eluded Duncan So he started with the father (not his first choice).

Too well dressed. The whole family was a little too … stylish. Maybe the loss of a job? That would certainly do it. They’d still have the old trappings of wealth. He shook his head. It wasn’t really his business. Then he spotted the daughter ... and got smacked in the side of the head by a returning soccer ball. He winced a little, not at any pain, but in embarrassment. He hoped noone saw that.

Well, she would be an improvement to the scenery. He first impression was, probably a bit stuck up. He hated people - especially kids - who rated their importance based on the accomplishments of their parents. But he decided to give a friendly wave. At the very least he could TRY to start the girl out as a 10.

Saturday, Aug 5, 2017

The journey in the moving car had gone quiet a long time before they reached the house, Isla's eyes burned with tears and Adam felt uncomfortable for being the cause of them but had no idea what to say or do to make it up to her.


"I don't see why we're going to all this effort anyway."
"It's to keep you safe."
"Safe from what? They already got what they want."
"Not even close."
"Please, why would they want a kid?"
"Aside the leverage at having two Miller's hostage you mean? You saw their face, their unlikely to let you live for that."
"And moving out here is supposed to keep me safe? That idiot agent is going to be coming to this new place isn't she? They'll find us and they'll finish it. I don't even care anymore."
screeeeeeechhhhh
The tires of the car ground to a halt, the handbrake went on and Adam whirled on the sulking teen, his eyes blazing angrily; she'd always hated that look. Grabbing her by the arms he forced her to face him, "You're so selfish! I get it your mum is dead, it's awful, your father, who knows. So you what? Give up? You sulk like a petulant brat and just wait for them to turn up? They nearly killed you back at the house, they won't hesitate to it again but perhaps instead of your mum getting shot it will be me. Will that make you happy? Is that what it'll take to get you out of this stupid pity party? She was your mum and he's your dad but they're my friends!" Seeing the tears in her eyes and realising he was both shaking and yelling her let her go and continued their journey.

It had been hard for Adam too, he'd lost people before but this had been different and personal. He'd left the army so he didn't have to see people he cared for die anymore. When he saw the gun pointed at Sammy he was certain his heart was going to give out on him then and there. She meant everything to him, he'd only been part of the family for five years but Joshua had treated him like family and not the hired muscle, Ceila would laugh and joke with him all the time and even buy him little presents and Samantha? She was his favourite, she was so bubbly and full of life, a little rude at times but she never meant to be. She always drew pictures of him that made him look like the hulk but as she grew out of childhood and into adolescence the fun had stopped and they talked about things more. Losing Ceila had broken his heart and Joshua's kidnap had him hit the bottle pretty hard, it was StClaire that reminded him he had to man up and look after Samantha. The agent had intended to put her with a foster family on the other side of the world, he couldn't have that.

They pulled up outside the place and climbed out of the car. It wasn't a bad house to look at she supposed. A garage and a drive way and a small patch of front lawn. "It'll need rebedding." She muttered, wiping her eyes with her thumb. "Of course Isla." She cringed, she wasn't fond of that name yet, it felt like a lie but she shivered faintly to rid herself of the unpleasant feeling. "I don't know what I'd do... if I lost you too." She stated quietly before taking her bag inside to look around. The rooms were spacious and the hardwood floors made it feel comfortable. There was an old fashioned fireplace in one side of the living room and it opened up on an open plan dining room and the doors that lead to the back yard. A room the opposite side of the hall was the kitchen, which had a door leading into the garage and a laundry room further down. Up the stairs were the three bedrooms, she was told to dump her bag in the one she wanted as hers. She chose the one looking over the front yard, it was bigger and had more shape to it. Not to mention the built in wardrobe which might serve her purpose for clothes and survival if needs be. Shaking her head she dropped her bag on the window sill and retreated, checking out the bathrooms before heading back out to meet her 'uncle'.

She was about to speak to him when she saw the boy across the street, the thwack of the ball bouncing off his head made her wince in empathy but then giggle for the first time in what had to be a month. She hid it behind good manners, a hand in front of her mouth and an apologetic sparkle to her eyes. He waved, his cheeks a faint hint of red, so she lifted her hand and waved back, offering as kind a smile as she could muster at the time. Adam called her and she turned to face him, something quiet was said between them before she was asked to direct the movers and disappeared back inside.

Adam glanced over to the boy with the ball and for a long moment just looked at him. Then he too disappeared inside.

It was nearly dinnertime before the movers left and the new tenants were able to get the car into the drive and then the garage. The lights coming on one by one in the house as they settled in for the evening. In truth Isla was pretty efficient, if they were going to live here they weren't living in boxes. So the important rooms, the bathroom, kitchen and living room were fully unpacked and ready to receive guests, she'd even put down a plush rug in the living area and got Adam to set up the TV and organise for the internet to be installed on Monday. The bedrooms though and the assorted miscellaneous stuff; which was in the garage at the moment, were left in boxes.

However, as prepared as they had been they hadn't done any grocery shopping and so, after rummaging through the phone book they managed to find a pizza place and place an order.

Isla had changed, the chill in the air; or perhaps in her mind, had her putting on a thick jumper made of soft wool and hanging passed the knuckles on her hands and over the tops of her thighs. She'd put on a pair of jeggings too and thick fluffy socks that kept her feet warm in the house. "I'll wait for the pizza uncle Adam." She called, attempting to get used to the sound of the name on her tongue. So, with the porch light on she sat at the front door, listening to the sounds of the neighbourhood and waiting for their delivery.

The rest of Duncan’s Saturday was mostly spent with some self-imposed chores - his garden - and football practice. The funny thing about the garden was that he used to hate gardening. Now he actually enjoyed it and took a little pride in it - not that he had the world’s best green thumb. In fact, it was actually a little on the not green side. Some crops did well; some did not. He had a feeling it was the soil.

Football practice went about like he thought it would. Their first game had been sloppy. So it was going to be a back-to-basics gruelling day. Well, for most of the team it was. For him, a Kicker, not so much. But then everyone knew about his injuries. And he went as far as he could manage. One new thing he introduced was a rotation of mentoring program where the team members would take turns mentoring the junior varsity and middle school teams.

After football practice he dropped by the library at the college. He had begun working on his PhD course work and was trying to get the academics under his belt. It was going well. He had always been a self starter. But he was having trouble concentrating and stopped early. He didn’t want to admit it, but the new neighbors had a little something to do with it.

drive.google.com/open?id=0BxokA0dBKb4p..

When he arrived it was getting dark. He had missed dinner, but then he had called ahead. He pulled up in what could only be described as an experimental car. It was, in fact, his personal science experiment, a project built as a team effort with his foster father. Before he had met the Millers he hated hated working on cars. Jonathan Miller undid years of damage caused by Duncan’s stepfather with his first attempt to bond. All they were doing was changing oil. Duncan had stripped the bolt. He had expected his new father to get upset. But he didn’t He just smiled and said is was nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Duncan insisted on fixing it himself despite his Dad telling him it wasn’t necessary.

Now Dr Miller could easily have found a junkyard and picked up a new oil pan and bolt. However, Duncan did fix the problem and in a way Jonathan never expected. Duncan used his father’s 3D printer to fill in the hole, then re-drilled it and created a new bolt from scratch. It was overkill, but the boy was so proud of himself, Jonathan just congratulated him. Then he asked the kid if he wanted to try a little bit more of a challenge. As it turned out, the word “challenge” was a trigger. The third “challenge” proved to be helping with rebuilding a classic muscle car, one of Jonathan’s hobbies. (Isabelle Miller allowed the hobby on one condition. No more than one at a time.) Of course, her allowing Jonathan the occasional “hobby expense” was grounds to spend a little on herself from time to time.

Duncan had never liked the garage door opener. He just never trusted the things. They were a security weakness in his eyes. And his father knew it and agreed. Duncan waited for the garage door to open. At least it didn’t squeak. That was something Duncan had learned his father would fuss over until it worked right. Then he drove his car in and parked it behind his pickup. It was kind of funny. He had two cars. His parents each had one (not counting Dad’s hobby).

Then he walked out and closed the door. He glanced over. His eyes hadn’t missed the fact the new neighbors had turned the light on at the front door. Food. They were getting delivery. No big surprise there. Who’d want to cook after a day of moving?

+++++++++

Inside the house, the Millers were still waiting for Duncan.

“I wonder what’s keeping him,” Isabelle wondered aloud. “This late you’d think he be battering down the front door to get food.”

Jonathan chuckled. “I still remember that first sushi night.” That brought a round of laughter. “He inhaled two rolls of eel avocado when I blinked. I turned around to snag a few pieces and there was one roll left. He looked at me and swallowed hard.”

Memory had Isabelle almost in tears with laughter. “Well, we discovered he loved sushi. Although I am never sure if he takes time to taste it.”

Masumi smiled gently. “I am thinking you hired me to save money on sushi.” That observation set the Millers to laughing again. “But I think I know the delaying factor. I believe he’s hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the neighbors.”

Isabelle Miller looked sharply, with a glint of hope in her eyes. “Oh?”

Masumi nodded.

Duncan’s familiar noisy entrance interrupted the discussion. From the front hall he spoke up. “Did everyone notice we got in new neighbors?”

+++++++++

Duncan inhaled enough food to feed an army and excused himself to head upstairs to study. He asked if anyone would mind he he played the Martin (acoustic guitar). He always played the Gibson with earphones so as not to disturb anyone. He promised not to get too carried away.

Duncan’s room, as it so happened was as remote from the family as he could get. That meant his room faced the new neighbors. Well, he didn’t want to be accused of being a … well, you know. So he closed the curtain. It wasn’t complete opaque. He’d still be a silhouette.

Service was pretty quick, about twenty minutes after ordering a tatty little car pulled up on the pavement edge and a pimply boy hopped out of the drivers seat. He went to the back seat and grabbed the delivery bag and bottle of pop, before closing the door with his rear. Since the incident Isla had lost phone privileges, too easy to track, her e-mail accounts were all police monitored and her other technological devices had to be left in her old home, with her old life. It was so boring, she idly wondered what her friends were doing, if they missed her, if they were concerned. She'd lost every thing she'd spent her life building the night her father was taken and she couldn't help but look for someone to blame. She'd been quietly listening to the neighbourhood, watching cats dart across the road in the dark or the tree's swaying in the wind, sleep was not something she managed to get much of these days, when she did her dreams were plagued with horrific images, the doctors said it was her brains way of coping with the stress and had given her tablets to help her sleep… they didn't help. So she had decided to try and adjust to the different noises of the neighbourhood, the sound of the cars, the cats and animals fumbling about in the dark, the trees and bushes. She hoped maybe knowing them would let her relax more.

Standing she brushed down her trousers and pulled out a note from the pocket of her jumper, she took the pizza “Uncle Adam.” She called, “Pizza's here.” She told the delivery boy to keep the change and wished him a goodnight, before disappearing inside though she heard another car and for a moment every hair on her arms stood up. She wasn't sure why, seeing it reminded her of the Lamborghini’s many of her friends drove or longed to drive, it was a little strange though. Seeing it pull up across the street she wasn't entirely surprised to see the boy from earlier drive into the garage. She offered a faint smile as he left the garage but was quickly called inside by her uncle.

Adam set out the boxes on the table while Isla went to get glasses and coasters for the drinks. The sat opposite each other at the table but neither dove into the food in front of them.
“Mum would have killed you if you served us this.” Isla said, finally breaking the silence, Ceila had few talents compared to most of the ambassador's wives, she was a seamstress first, a bloody good cook second and honest to a fault and Joshua had loved that about her.
“Probably. I can hear her now, you aren't putting that processed junk anywhere near your bodies.” Adam replied quietly, “Not while you're under my roof.” A small ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.
“We're not under her roof though...” Isla whispered, hesitating a moment before reaching for a potato wedge and lifting it to her mouth.
“No… I guess not. But don't get used to this, proper meals start tomorrow.” He said reaching for a slice of pizza.

They took their time with the food and while eating they flicked through phonebooks and made notes of numbers and addresses of people to call on Monday. They wrote up a shopping list for groceries, general purpose items they'd need and things for making the home more their own. They had of course only seen a few pictures before they'd arrived and bought only the things they knew they'd need; clothes, books, personal belongings like figurines and jewellery and on the way they'd grabbed things like dinner services, towels, toaster and kettle and other things that would be useful until they had a chance to settle in. They discussed a paint job for the house, what flowers they'd like in the gardens and what to do about the floors.
“I know you probably don't want to think about it but StClaire suggested we get some photo's taken too?”
“No.”
“Not with her in them, just me and you, so it looks more like we are a family.”
“...” Isla didn't like the idea of it, it was lying in her opinion but it also felt like she was giving up on her dad if she did. She loved Adam dearly though and his worried face moved her to nod her head reluctantly. “Okay.”

Once the meal was finished Adam said he'd clear away the debris and sent her up to her room to unpack her things and get settled in. She threw open the window, allowing the night air to take the stale air out of her room, it was then she heard the music, it was faint but a pleasant change to stillness or traffic. So she left the windows open as she unpacked her room. Focusing first on making her bed and arranging her pillows so Sir Stuffin's was comfortably nestled in the middle of her double bed. Throwing open the wardrobe's doors she moved most of the boxes, as they were, into the wardrobe. The first room to be decorated was hers so she intended to leave things boxed until it was done. She did take out her clothes though and set to hanging them up on hangers and the hanging rail, smoothing down the dress bags and matching outfits.

Sunday 6th of August, 2017

She had slept fitfully, waking more than once with terror in her eyes and paralysed with fear. The second time she woke she had given up on sleep and crept downstairs with Sir Stuffin's in hand. Adam had woken due to the noise and when finding Isla grabbed a blanket and sat with her nestled against his chest until the morning.

He woke first, the light streaming in from the living room made it almost impossible for him to remain asleep much longer than that. He carefully moved Isla to lay upon one of the cushions and covered her over with the blankets. Adam had never really been a civilian, he'd been a stupid kid, then a college jock, then he'd gone into the force. He hadn't really learned much about moving houses and greeting neighbours but seemed the neighbourhood where doing so was traditional and he intended for them to make a good; but normal, impression on their new community.

Slipping out the house with a note left for Isla in case she woke up, he followed the sat nav to the nearest grocery store. After an hour he returned, his arms full of shopping he made his way to the front door only to realise he couldn't actually open it.

Luckily Isla had woken up, she'd showered – her hair was still damp and had slight ringlets from the moisture in it- and gotten dressed in a plain baby pink summer dress. It reached the middle of her thighs and had an 'X' shaped back and thick straps, she'd pulled on some knee high socks and slipped on a pair of black, velvet mary jane's with a heel. “What's this in aid of?” She asked, still somewhat groggy it seemed,
“You'll see.” He replied.

By midday the curtains for the living room and bedrooms had gone up and the delightful smell of cookies permeated the house. The cookies had cooled and Adam and Isla packaged them into various tupperware boxes. “Why are we doing this again?” She asked him
“It's what normal people do, besides, a house that smells like cookies feels more like a home doesn't it?”
“I guess. So where do we start?”

++++++

There was a polite knock at Duncan's front door ten minutes after, Isla had brushed through her hair but it remained damp and slightly curled, giving it added volume as it fell about her shoulders. Adam had dressed more casually as well -well casual for him, with a dress shirt with the top two buttons undone and a dark pair of smart looking jeans. They waited on the door step with a box of oatmeal and raisin cookies in a little Tupperware box, when the door opened Adam offered a friendly smile to the occupants. “Hi, we just moved in across the street and thought we'd come try and get to know our new neighbours, I'm Adam and this is Isla. Oh, we made cookies, I hope you like them.” He offered the box forward and Isla had to suppress a chuckle of amusement.

Sunday 6th of August, 2017

Duncan had already been up since before dawn. He’d eaten a large breakfast - yet another normal practice. On Sundays even the Millers normally spent time together - unless Mom had an emergency at the hospital or Dad had some special project going that demanded his attention. The latter was rare though, so Sunday was often a Dad day. Once breakfast was done Duncan had spent a couple hours fussing over his garden.

++++++++

It usually Duncan who answered the door, but a Japanese woman named Masumi, the Millers’ butler. Duncan was right behind the woman taking advantage of his height to look over her shoulder. His hand started forward and shrank back.

“I know; I know,” he grumbled. “Gotta ask Mom.” He grinned at Isla. “Mom is on a health kick. Oh, any nuts? Mom work at the UNM Medical Center. Some of her patients are kids. Masumi has banned me for the kitchen in the past for using the same knife to get mayonnaise and mustard. But some of the kids are allergic and that means I have to be careful.”

“And you are going to be working with kids yourself, Duncan,” Masumi reminded him.

Duncan looked thoughtful for a moment. “Good point.” He looked back at Isla and Adam. “I’m going to be a TA with middle school kids this year.”

Dr. Isabelle Miller poked her head around the corner of the hallway and raised her voice just enough to interject her own welcome. “Well, come on in! Isabelle Miller. And as my son just stated, there is an M.D. after that. I teach at the university. Jonathan is an engineer at Sandia Labs. We were going to ambush you at your place but looks like you beat us to the punch.”

Duncan was grinning. “Mom, I think you just channelled Dad.”

Isabelle smiled. “Yes, the cookies are fine. But don’t spoil your appetite. Not sure if that is even possible.” She looked back up at Adam. “We were going to invite you over some time for a barbecue before cold season starts up. That is still a month or so away though. So very sorry we missed you yesterday, but Jonathan and I were at the La Luz Trail Run. We didn’t get selected to run, but we worked as volunteers to assist runners. Duncan was going to try the Run, but probably just as well he didn’t.”

“You know I’d have made it. I’m too stubborn to give up,” Duncan stated. He wasn’t in denial. His tone suggested he believed it. He looked at Adam and Isla. “Last year this time I was in a hospital.” Duncan saw the look on his mother’s face. It was time to change the subject. “Oh! Veggies and fruits! Mom, mind if I …”

Isabelle brightened visibly. And about that time Jonathan Miller arrived around the corner of the hallway behind Isabelle. “Of course. Excellent idea.”

Duncan nodded. “Before they stock up on fresh foods.” He looked back at Isla and Adam again. “We have three fruit trees that are loaded with fruit. They weren’t pruned right. Now I am having to prop up branches on the peach tree to keep them from breaking - main branches. The peaches are the size of softballs. We have baking apples and cherries too. If you folks cook, we have just about every veggie that grows around here - plus a couple that don’t in a greenhouse. The corn isn’t doing well though. Can’t figure out why. The Hopi and Navajo had no problems. Anyways, we have squash - yellow, buttercup, and zucchini - eggplant, tomatoes, green beans, spinach, bell peppers, jalapenos, green onions, baby carrots, cucumbers, and cabbage. Masumi took over part of my greenhouse with some herbs - not that I am complaining. We have raspberries, a horrible grape vine that should be put out of its misery. I started a strawberry patch, but it will be next year for those.

“Oh … and if you fish or hunt, I started a worm bed last year if you need bait. I have some friends with the police and Marines, who do stuff with the Rod and Gun Club on base. I know several good places to fish within an hour or so.”

Adam and Isla looked from the young Asian to the teen behind her, he didn't take the cookies and for a moment Adam looked a little confused. The explanation straightened things out but Adam was thrown for a bit of a loop, so Isla piped up, “No nuts and no milk.” She stated softly, they hadn't known if people would have allergies so they substituted butter and milk for a vegan spread instead, they had picked oat and raising because it was the safest flavour they could think of for people they didn't know.

When the doctor popped her head around the door and introduced herself the colour drained from Isla's face, she took a half step backward, with full intention of heading back to the house but Adam's free hand discretely grabbed onto hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. The pair stood at the doorway for a moment even as the Asian lady stepped aside to allow them in. Isla looked up to Adam, he too looked paler than usual but was still managing to grin at their generous hosts, super generous, it was a little creepy actually.

Adam was the first to move, handing the cookies over to Duncan, “They should be good, Isla helped make them and she's not too bad at cooking.” It wasn't entirely true, Isla could do simple things like cookies, if she had a recipe in front of her but she wasn't that good at cooking. Still, that was their life now, lying and getting away with it or risking being found. She pushed back the pain and smiled faintly herself, “The secret is soaking the raisins for ten minutes in cinnamon water.” The mother then started to speak about some kind of run or other and the fact they had been helping with it, it was hard for Isla to keep up, the family were so animated. Adam seemed to be doing fine though. “Oh that's a pretty tough race.” His eyes bouncing to the son as he spoke up about his ability to join in the race and beat it.

Hospital was bought up and it was the first time Isla looked directly at the boy, a look of slight confusion on her face, even she noticed Isabelle's look and was equally glad of the change of topic. Another person appeared behind the woman and the suddenness made Isla jump, too distracted by her own thoughts. She offered the man a smile and returned her eyes to Duncan, he was talking about fruit and vegetables, Probably need more potash in the soil she thought to herself at the mention of the corn, “Do you know that is a very kind offer but we couldn't possibly take advantage of you and rob you of all your hardwork.” Adam said respectfully, “However, Isla is particularly fond of peaches, maybe you'd like to go with him and have a look around their garden? It would give you a better idea what you want to do with outs-” He turned to the parents, “-I have no luck with plants at all, best I don't even touch them.” His tone jovial and friendly.

Isla was confused, there was too much happening all at once, she was close to crying or just leaving but Adam had asked her to go play nice, so that was what she had to do. Treat it like a state visit, that's all it is. “I'd love to, if; of course, Duncan, Mister and Missus Miller, you don't mind?” Assuming there were none she regretfully left Adam's side for the first time since the shooting, leaving him to be both charming and polite with the Miller's and waited for Duncan to show her the way to the garden. “So, do you want to be a teacher when you are finished with school?” She asked curiously, the family seemed pretty driven and...well they were almost too much to believe.

Duncan shook his head. “You wouldn’t be taking advantage. Mom and Dad are already taking some to co-workers. The floor freezer is nearly packed. So I am going to check with all the neighbors and try not to let any go to waste. If noone cooks, I guess I’ll have to pack it up and take it to a shelter. I have a brown thumb to be honest. I kill plants just looking at them. But I sort of got carried away and over did it.”

Duncan led Isla toward the back of the house to head out to the backyard. “Teacher? Uhm, probably. But I plan to teach at a university. I tried to pass myself off last year as an ordinary student. But I think people are seeing through that. I am an official tutor with my own office. Physics and Chemistry. You know, it is NOT generally considered cool to be too smart. Uhm, I play football too?” He laughed a little. “I have been helping other students since I was 6. I just learn fast; that’s all. I’m only taking 3 classes this year - and an internship - and working on college stuff. For classes though … Guitar, Theater … and … uhm … Dance.”

He looked embarrassed at the last one. “Don’t ask me how I am going to manage that last one with a limp. But I am trying to take classes that I can’t just read a book on and be the expert. And ... you know … social stuff. I’m forcing myself to be around people. Smartest guy in human history had an IQ of 300. Lots of degrees by age 6, polyglot. His parents got him a position at Stanford. And then he tanked and faded into obscurity. He never learned how to work with people. He was arrogant and self absorbed. Who cared if he was right? Noone wanted to listen to him. I decided to take a lesson from that. I got my GED back at age 13. But I stay in school with people my own age and try to blend.

“Main reason I am thinking of teaching is that most of the best opportunities for research are in academia. My internship is with Sandia Labs. Dad put his foot down about me working on any sort of attack systems. Defensive systems only. The Millers don’t talk about it much - especially around Mom, but I know why. They lost their first son to the military - overseas. I’m adopted. I thought about going into the military myself. But … I don’t think she’d handle it if anything happened to me.”

Duncan decided to change the subject again, mentally kicking himself for allowing himself to approach a depressing subject. “Anyways … the Millers’ backyard. Over to our left we have veggies coming out our ears. To our right we have … ? That’s right, more veggies coming out our ears. To our sides up against the house and along the back wall? Yes, that’s right … still more … well some are fruits. Then we have the trees, the strawberry bed, worm bed, greenhouse…” He pointed at a geodesic dome. “And that is Dad’s toy. Professional telescope. Mom lets Dad splurge on an occasional hobby. He wanted to study some advanced astronomy … and it is a lot safer that him learning to skydive or race for pink slips. Do not repeat this, but Dad called it Mid Life Crisis Insurance. I call it Mom’s security deposit on her own splurging so Dad can’t complain.”

+++++++++

Back in the house Jonathan decided to take over the conversation. He could read his wife’s mind. She had taken one look at Isla and saw her future daughter-in-law and grandchildren. He had joked once that he was surprised she hadn’t started a website to put Duncan to pasture and charge stud fees. The teasing had got him smacked playfully. Then she had asked if he thought that would work. He had teased a little further and asked how HE would do on the site. She had taken the bait and told him he could have made a fortune, but was off the market. He had reassured her be agreeing wholeheartedly and said someone had out bid all the rest.

He decided to get Adam away from Isabelle before she started to really notice the new neighbor’s bearing. It was probably too late. But he had to try. “Adam, why don’t I give you the nickel tour and do a little male bonding. Isabelle was working on some stuff for later today. She was taking her kitchen back from Masumi.”

Masumi interjected and ask if anyone wanted any refreshments, going back into butler mode.

Jonathan’s ‘man cave’ was the shed. He had a very impressive array of tools, complete with 3D printer and a state of the art computer. In the center of the shed was a classic muscle car. It was in the process of being restored.

youtu.be/iaHbTdMPbvM

“1957 Chevy Bel Air. Isabelle allows me 2 hobbies that are all my own. For this one I am not allowed to race them, just restore. Duncan is helping me with this one. That experimental he drives, he and I worked on together. Some of his friends from college helped too.” Jonathan seemed a little distant for a moment.

“What branch were you in?” The question came out of the blue. “If I were to guess, I’d say Marines. I work around them a lot, plus some Air Force. And … our first son was one. I have to ask you a favor. No war stories - not around Isabelle. She hasn’t got over it not really. Duncan has helped a lot. Duncan figured it out. We took him in as a foster child a year ago and adopted him as soon as we could.”

Isla shot Adam a glance but his reassuring smile sent her off regardless, she walked with the elegance of a lady, shoulders back no sign of a slouch, head held so chin was parallel to the floor. Her hands were kept at her side and gently followed her pace as she walked. Duncan did all the talking, he talked quite a lot actually. It was strange, people didn’t usually blurt out things so very casually but she didn’t mind, it meant she didn’t have to talk. He seemed to flit from subject to subject like a humming bird, when he mentioned his limp, Isla’s first instinct was to reassure him but he continued talking regardless and so the opportunity passed.

His reasoning for doing a more social set of courses, or even staying in school seemed almost egotistical but she assumed it was a nervous intent to impress. Besides she’d met fare more arrogant and self-absorbed people than Duncan and so it didn’t seem necessary to interject.

When he mentioned military defence and attack systems her step faltered again, generally speaking it was not permitted for anyone outside of an MOD position to even know who worked on weapons and the like, let alone casually talk about projects. Recovering quickly she settled her mind and assumed it would be similar to many of the British companies that worked for MOD contracts, they didn’t technically all work on weapons but circuits and wiring, guidance systems and the like.

When he spoke about his mum it was the first time he seemed to touch on anything vaguely emotional and she paid a little closer attention at that point. Soon they were out in the back garden and he was directing her attention to the various plants that encompassed the land. It was quite cluttered and seemed more for self-sustainability than enjoyment, Isla quite liked plants but she preferred flowers to fruits, the only exception was made for fruit trees, she adored the delicate petals and the way they fell like rain at the end of the summer.

He had stopped speaking now and she allowed the silence to settle over her for a long moment, drinking it in. Even when her family had been whole their conversations were not so animated and constant and certainly since conversation was done silently and in small surges. “It’s lovely.” She commented, at a loss as to what to say to any of what had just been said to her. School, accidents, death, foster parents and mid-life crisis, it was a crash course into a person’s entire life and she was still processing it best she could. “What school is it you’re attending?” She asked, finally remembering him having spoken about that at some point during the walk.

++++++

Adam grinned at Masumi, “You know, I really wouldn’t say no to a drink, coffee? If that’s okay?”
Adam followed Mr. Miller to the shed, it was nice and the car was really nice. Adam was quite fond of cars, not that he thought that he’d have the time or money to have a hobby like Johnathan’s. As soon as he was in and the shed door closed the man was speaking to him and Adam had trouble keeping up at first. Perhaps it was the war that had left him unused to such free and easy speech or perhaps it was to do with the last month the pair had endured.

Still with a grin plastered on his face he kept up all the same, “I think Isla saw it last night, it runs pretty quiet. Glad to know that some of the next generation can still tinker with cars, it’s getting all too modern for me. Hardly know how to use a mobile phone.” He jested playfully.

It didn’t surprise him overly when Mr. Miller confronted him about his history before bearing his families own. Isla was right, they probably should have done the other houses first. He rolled his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, “I don’t think anyone who has seen war is ready to talk about it.” He certainly wasn’t, and it was Ceila’s first demand of him when they took him on. No stories in front of Isla, not then or ever and to this day he’d buried that part for Isla’s sake. “Got out a good few years back, after Afghanistan... well.” He shrugged again, turning to view the car, it was time for a change of subject, something less miserable. “So what’s the local school’s like? Obviously I’ve spoken with them and looked at their reviews but since your son goes to one, it’s better to get the inside scoop, right?”

Duncan grimaced. “Sorry, sometimes I babble. Albuquerque Academy. If you are going to a private school, that’s probably where you’ll go. Pretty tame school. None of the gang stuff like you get at public schools. Very low student teacher ratio - so small classes. You won’t get crammed into a class with 30 plus other students. More like a third of that. Fridays are guidance counsellor days, tutoring, or extracurricular days. It’s not bad. If you run into any troubles, look me up. Most of the campus knows me now. And I hope you aren’t going to Eldorado. I just transferred from there a year ago. Public school. We might be in the district for La Cuerva. Smaller public school. And be grateful we are nowhere near Manzano.”

Duncan paused. He was struggling to keep up the conversation. He mulled over what to say next. He had been trying not to pry. “So … any particular interests?” There that was neutral enough. “And … new to the area? Or just a move across town?”

++++++

Jonathan Miller chuckled. “You sound a little like Duncan. We got him his first smartphone a year ago. He kept ‘missing calls’ and had to call back for a couple weeks.” The man’s grin broadened. “He didn’t know how to swipe to answer it. He finally had to ask someone to show him how to answer his phone. I still don’t think he knows how to add Apps.

“He hated working on cars before. That was another effect of his stepfather. And he hates baseball and really doesn’t care for football even though he is the team captain now. Only reason he plays is for the team. His stepfather …” Jonathan stopped. Clearly the subject agitated him. “Let’s just say that the best thing that ever happened to Duncan was being removed from that man’s care. Duncan is far more forgiving than the man deserved. Duncan says he just tries to hang onto the good moments. Apparently the man had a few.”

Masumi arrived about that moment - probably a welcome relief from the serious tone the conversation had taken. Masumi actually brought the coffee out on a silver tray with a cup of sugar cubes, a selection of artificial sweeteners, and creamers in silver serving containers. “I’m sorry. I should have asked your preferences, but I brought a selection. Hazelnut, caramel macchiato, homemade mint, homemade raspberry, and a cocoa syrup if you prefer a mocha. Sorry Mr Miller, but Mrs Miller says no.” Her eyes twinkled a little, but she seemed apologetic.

Jonathan sighed. “Blood pressure. It’s not that high. But she takes no chances. And for the sake of the household’s harmony, she controls my diet.” He laughed gently.

Jonathan glanced at Adam’s hands for signs of a marriage. Seeing none, he offered some words. “Adam, if you ever find the right lady, a few words of advice. If she wants to look out for your health, let her.” His eyes twinkled as he added. “No matter what the green liquid tastes like. It’s sort of like the old salt test, where you eat whatever she puts in front of you and no matter how spiced, salted, or burnt, you look at her and say it’s wonderful.” He paused. “And unfortunately we have no dog to sneak it to.”

“There is always Duncan,” Masumi suggested.

Jonathan shook his head. “Tried that already. Duncan just showed me the helping Isabelle already gave him.”

Jonathan took an herbal tea and thanked Masumi. “School. Well, it is like any school these days. It has lots of rules. But no gangs. They are a problem at most of the public schools. The worst fear is drugs. We don’t have that fear with Duncan. He won’t even touch a wine to taste it when we offered. He was adamant about it. He made some promise when he was 5. No smoking, drinking or drugs. He won’t even touch wine vinegar or wine jelly. He has eaten some quail simmered in wine sauce. But he is extremely touchy about even that idea. He even avoids bourbon chicken.

“Albuquerque Academy - I hope you were able to get in and could afford it - is THE best school in the area, probably the state. But if you want details, you should ask Duncan. He went there last year. And he knows a lot of students. Or at the very least they know him. Jocks, mathletes, and artistic students alike. He has friends in every department.”

“You know, I don’t know if you’ve had time to do grocery shopping. But I am sure I can talk Isabelle into having company over. If not, there’s a Wal Mart on the south side of the school. Oh … and if you want to exchange contact information for emergencies, let me know. Isabelle and I both work some long hours. It is the very reason we hired Masumi. Make sure Duncan is watched after when we can’t.”

It seemed Duncan realised he had been waffling but she offered a small smile, "It's fine." She assured him, "Adam told me I was going to Albuquerque Academy. I have an interview with the heads of departments on Wednesday, my timetable has been submitted from my old school, with luck it won't be hard to accommodate." She stepped further into the garden, letting the feel of the grass and wind wrap around her, they were here for fruit right? "I don't mind busy classes, though it will be nice to focus on the work." She wasn't much into popularity contests, she'd been popular of course, first for her looks and second for her parents. It would be strange starting at a new school, starting fresh but it wasn't something she had given too much thought too.

"Me?" She asked, when he asked about her, she shrugged and moved to one of the heavy laden trees, her fingers toying with one of the large, soft fruits. "I like to sing, history, art and travel I guess." She gently twisted the fruit to lift it free of the branch without putting pressure on the already heavy branches. "I moved states, Uncle Adam moved across state though." She said gently, "My mum and dad are going through a divorce, it's messy and the arguments are... constant." She sighed lightly and lifted the fruit to smell the freshness of its skin, she hated lying, she was good at it, but she hated it. "So I ran away, Uncle Adam took me in but he was living in a one room apartment. He came to an arrangement I guess and got us here. I'm sure he's probably angry with me for it, he's had to change jobs and house."

Gesturing to the fruit, "They smell great, are they organic or do you use pesticides?" She asked, changing the topic away from her and her faux life, she was still getting used to being called Isla.

++++++

Duncan's father continued on and Adam nodded lightly, "Yeah, don't get it myself, all those apps and snap chats and facebook. Far too much hassle for my liking." Again the heavy subject of Duncan's past came up and Adam remained quiet, relieved for the butlers interjection. "Oh don't worry at all miss, honestly I should have mentioned to you how I like it." He stated with a friendly tone, taking the tray from her and placing it on the workbench. Adam didn't like butlers, not personally, but found it awkward watching people serve others. Always started with good intentions and lead to some of the darkest parts of history, "Though for reference I like it strong, black, with two sugars. I'm not sophisticated enough for the other stuff." He teased himself, putting a couple of cubes in and stirring it before straightening up again. "Good work in the garden by the way miss." He took a sip and looked overjoyed, "Oh man, that hits the spot, I haven't had good coffee in two days."

He turned his attention back to Mr. Miller and nodded lightly, "Ah, I see. Better safe than sorry though right?" When he went on about him getting married he shuffled uncomfortably, "Ah don't know if that's a viable option really." He said lightly, not while his Mister Miller was missing, Samantha needed him and the murders of Ceila were out there. besides how would he meet a kid anyway? Still he grinned lightly and nodded along, "Ah yeah, had a girlfriend like that. She could burn cornflakes." He said with a laugh.

When the topic turned to the school he relaxed a little, leaning back on the workshop table and nodding lightly. "Crime is always a problem, in my experience even when people say there isn't any, there usually is, somewhere." He winked lightly and took another sip of the coffee, "Heard good things about this place though. One of the lowest crime rates in America, great schools, good opportunities for Isla." He took a moment to enjoy the smell of the coffee, this family had been happy to over share so... "See, her mum and dad are going through a divorce, messy business. Poor Isla is stuck in the middle of it, having to listen to the arguments, watch the fights. It's no where for a kid really. One day she just turned up, suitcase packed in tears." He sighed lightly and shook his head, "The trouble that got me in... eventually though the lawyers and they agreed that it was better she stay with me for a while. You can't keep a teenage girl in a one room apartment though so. Here we are." He said, straightening up and drinking half the cup. If only that were true.

"As long as Duncan doesn't mind, I think Isla's more nervous than she lets on about going back to school. She lost her whole life coming here with me. She doesn't know anyone here... and your boy seems to have taken a shine to her." He said, neither happy nor upset about the fact, he couldn't tell which way he leaned. On the one hand Isla needed a friend, more now than ever but on the other she had just turned sixteen and didn't need a boy to distract her from work. Duncan seemed nice and all but he was older and clearly he had some very high expectations.

"Food? Just some basics, nothing fancy, we'll go shopping properly tomorrow while the decorators are in sorting out the house." He said, though he filed the Wal Mart information for later. "That sounds like a good idea, I'd be happy to get Duncan if needs be, give Masumi a break now and then. Would be nice to have a back up in case I'm stuck somewhere for Isla too. Don't put yourselves out though, we can manage, last two days we've had take out and garage shop food." He laughed lightly and shook his head, "Can't believe they let me keep her, reckon its more she looks after me to be honest."

For a change Duncan listened and observed. He had spent the past year being interviewed by police and shrinks. He had taken courses in criminology. He had discussed the reading of student ‘tells’ with his Creative Writing instructor. And from all that he had begun to learn to read people. Isla had just done the last thing he expected.

She had lied.

If he hadn’t been paying attention he’d have missed it. It was a rehearsed lie. Or more like one mixed with the truth. For the life of him, he couldn’t see a reason why. But then it really wasn’t his business. And he might just be reading her wrong. The usual Hollywood explanation ran through his head. He had watched more movies in the past year than he had watched his whole life. His mother and stepfather hadn’t let him watch movies or TV.

Duncan just nodded, then shook his head. “A mix. The cabbage - the leafy veggies - and tomatoes get sprayed. The rest is natural. Birds go after the peaches, so inspect yours. If you want to wash it off, I can turn on the water.

“Last year around this time my stepfather got sent to prison. My mother couldn’t take care of me. My older stepbrother ran away. My older stepsister went to a foster home. My extended step family took in my half brothers. But noone seemed to want me. I was one big medical bill. The Millers took me in. The rest is history.”

“History - changing the subject if you don’t mind - is not really my subject. And I don’t have a creative bone in my body. I have taken a class in Voice - singing. Travel, I love. Lived in Turkey for a year and a half. I loved it there. I am eventually going to visit every continent.”

++++++++

Jonathan was nowhere near as discerning as Duncan. Oh he was wiser. But he had no reason to doubt the cover story Adam spun. And when he relayed the news about the breakup of Isla’s parents to Isabelle, the subject would be taken off the shelf and packed away as a Do Not Discuss topic.

The mention of Duncan with regards to Isla brought a smile to Jonathan’s face. “You haven’t known Duncan long, but he’s about as nervous as he can get right now. All that rambling he was doing. He does that when he’s nervous. Now you’ll never get him to open up about some subjects. He will never lie. In all the time we have known him, he has never ever lied. Bluntly honest, in fact.

“He likes to help people - to a fault. His playing football is an example. He doesn’t really want to play. But he can’t say no to the team. If Isla needs help, all she’d have to do is ask. Even if the two had an argument. The moment he thought she needed help, he’d be there. He’s that kind of person. It’s why the military thing scares the hell out of us.”

For the rest of the visit Isla stayed with Duncan, washing the peach and picking a few more -after they insisted- to take home so they could make peach cobbler. Adam had said they would have loved to stay for dinner but there were things that needed attending before the decorators came by on Monday and so they made their apologies, set a date later in the week and traded contact information. It was hard to contact Adam and Isla, they hadn't got mobiles and the phone line was being installed on Monday but they had e-mail addresses they could be contact on in the mean time.

Adam remained quiet about what was spoken of in the shed and by the time they got home it was almost dinner. Toast with marmalade became their dinner and while they enjoyed that and a hot drink they discussed the neighbours they had met. Other from the neighbourhood seemed kind, somewhat boring in comparison to what dominated most of their time. The chatty and over sharing Miller's. It baffled them both how anyone could speak so freely and easily to complete strangers about the biggest tragedies their family had faced. Since both had very similar experiences with the family they put it down to just one of those oddities of the town.

They spent the rest of the evening moving things around and out of the main rooms to be decorated and into the spare room. They had decided that they could make that up another time after all, Isla would sleep there tonight and Adam in the living room before moving the sofa up to the spare room so the men had a free run of the house.

“We can go shopping while they decorate but maybe you'd like to see if Duncan will show you around the town? It's probably easier to get to know the place with a kid than an old man.”
“You're not that old.” Isla teased back with a smile, sitting on the sofa with him. “I guess I could, he seems harmless enough right? A little bizarre but not dangerous at least.” She remembered the peaches in the kitchen and smiled faintly, “Though I do get the Stepford vibe from that family. Though that could just be the way people are here right? It sounds like he has a lot of friends too so I could meet them probably.”
“Yeah… alright that's settled I'll drop by once we let the decorators in and we'll see if he wants to take you out for a bit. Any problems though just...”
“Call?”
“Yeah.”
“That'll be...”
“Tricky, yeah...” Adam rubbed the back of his neck and sighed faintly, “I'll see if the agent has those burner phones for us… that doesn't mean you get to go chatting all the time.” Isla just smiled and nodded softly. Soon after the pair turned in for the night and though fitful, managed to sleep for at least a little while.

- - - - - - - - - -

Monday 7th August 2017

Isla and Adam were up early, they cleared the rooms and managed to tidy out any lingering messes. There wasn't much in the fridge so they managed to unplug it and bring it out to the middle of the room so that it could be painted around.

Soon there was a knock at the door and two men in decorators overalls stood grinning up at them, they'd been vetted by the police, but Adam still didn't fully trust them.
“Good morning Mister, you spoke with our boss about a...well a full make over right?”
“That's right come in.” Adam spent twenty minutes going over the plan for each room, carefully pointing out the details they'd want. It was discussed that to get the whole house down would take about five days. They spent another hour going over paint colorus and hues, carpet options, shelving and anything else the pair wanted before agreeing the best room to start with would be Isla's room. She showed them what paints and carpet and the modification to the lighting she'd like. “Right, we'll need to take some measurements and then head out to the supplier to get the paints and carpet you want, we'll be back in about an hour alright?” And with that they left. Adam got ready to go out himself and he turned to Isla and gave her a nudge to go and see if Duncan was around.

She got changed, another pretty little summer dress with a more bohemian style, it had long flowing sleeves and hung off of one shoulder slightly. Due to the nearly see through quality of the dress she wore a black tank top underneath and a pair of cycling shorts to keep her modest. The skirt fell to the top of her knees and was shaped by a wide belt of tan leather around her waist. She wore matching tan sandals with her toe nails and fingernails painted the same eggshell hue of her dress. Her hair was held from her face by a flower headband and she had with her a handbag made of linen and leather. In it was her purse of course, all cash rather than credit card and with no identification cards.

She crossed the street to the neighbours, pursed her lips which were coated in a pale bubblegum gloss and knocked lightly on the door. When the door was answered she smiled faintly at Duncan, “So the decorators are going to be in all day and my Uncle would rather me not be around while they're busy… so he thought if you weren't busy maybe you'd give me a tour of the town? I've got to pick up some things for my room but I don't actually know where anything is.” She said sheepishly. “If you're busy though, don't worry. Could you just tell em where the bus stop is and which one I take?”

Duncan had reviewed the previous 12 hours of security video footage in fast forward. Nothing. His monitors were well concealed but intended to watch for a particular threat - well two threats. One was to watch for gangs. The other was to watch for Eldorado. His old school considered him a traitor. And after the buzz going around about him being back for another year, he half expected drive bys. He had increased their scope to include the front is Isla’s home - just in case the idiots decided to TP the wrong house - or heaven forbid a gang go in shooting up the wrong place. He really wasn’t expecting a gang. It had been a year. But then his brother’s old gang was still functional and might hold a grudge.

++++++

It was Masumi who answered the door. Again, Duncan was right behind her. Masumi’s eyes twinkled a little, Duncan had been up early, taken care of the garden, worked on some sort of homework. Then he had been pacing all over the house carrying a tablet, occasionally beating himself on the head with it. Every now and then he would write in the air or make strange gestures. She knew better than to ask. He was just Duncan being Duncan.

Masumi stepped aside the Duncan, glanced at his clothing and sighed almost unnoticeably. He was wearing a black T shirt and blue jeans - the same thing he wore the previous day. Only she reached out to tug on a sticker on his shirt which had the size and brand name information on it. Then she spoke gently. “Pants, rear left pocket.”

Duncan reached back with his gloved hand to his pocket and flushed a little. There was a faint snapping noise and his hand came around with another tag. He gave an embarrassed smile. “I sort of forgot. Thanks Masumi.” Then he turned his attention to Isla.

“Well, I have a few errands to run. But my homework is driving me nuts. I can use the break. I have no idea what sort of things you’d like to see. I do need to run by the Base and the Medical Center. I’m not sure if I can bring a guest on Base, but I’ll get something worked out if not. It isn’t for work. The Medical Center thing … Uhm, I said my Mom works with some kids. But you should know it is a terminal illness ward - Cancer. I’m meeting a patient who was in the hospital last year. She had leukemia and was going in for chemo. She just back for a check up. But she has been emailing and emailing hoping I’d visit.” Duncan was smiling. The smile was growing as he spoke. “The guys at the Base will probably come with me.”

++++++++++

Duncan’s car had all sorts of bells and whistles that most cars lacked. Probably the most impressive feature was the Heads Up Display on the windshield. But he shut most of it off from the start. The feature he left on was traffic info alerts. One of the features he shut off was some sort of advanced physics formulae. It didn’t take him long to get to the guard shack at the base. The guard knew him on site. But Duncan stopped and had to ask questions.

“Sergeant, I’m not sure if I’m allowed to bring a civilian on base. I’m emancipated and work at Sandia Labs. And come to think of it, I never asked if she had her ID with her. Really though, I am just meeting up with Gunnery Sergeant Reese and he and some Marines are following me over to the UNM Medical Center. If it is NOT okay or even questionable, I can just park there in a visitor spot and have them come here. I have his contact info.”

The guard nodded. “That’s probably best. I don’t think you can - not this gate. West Gate maybe. Go ahead.”

Duncan nodded and pulled over. “Sorry Isla, forgot about the security stuff. First time I ever brought anyone over.” A few minutes later his cell rang and he answer. “Yes sir, Duncan here. Did they well you where we are? Good…”

Several more minutes went by and Duncan got out to greet a tall Marine, and a few others. Duncan greeted the tall one as Reese.

images.mstarsnews.musictimes.com/data/..

A shorter marine named Castiel, nudged Duncan and jerked his head ever so slightly at Isla. Duncan blushed and shook his head ever so slightly. It was so easy to read the unspoken conversation. The older man was teasing Duncan and basically asking why the hell not.

“Now now, Casteel, let’s leave Mr Moran some dignity and let him work at his own pace,” Reese said in a low voice.

“Compared to everything else he does this is a snail’s pace.”

“Can’t rush research. Isn’t that right Duncan?” Reese never smiled. But it was clear he was amused or sympathetic.

“Yeah … thanks. I’m supposed to give her a tour of the town.”

“So can we hurry this along? That about it?” Reese asked with the same tone.

Duncan nodded. “More or less. I am still faster than using a bus.”

++++++++++

Again Duncan rolled out, this time with a military van in convoy. When they got to the hospital the reason for the van made itself very apparent. One of the men hadn’t gotten out back at the base. This time he did - with serious difficulty. He had a new prosthetic leg and was clearly not used to it yet. Duncan glanced at Reese, then at the injured soldier. He clearly hadn’t expected this. One of the other Marines strapped on a military bag with a box in it.

Duncan stepped forward and offered a hand for the man to shake. “Thank you for this.”

The vet didn’t seem especially thrilled. One of the Marines asked he if wanted to use the ‘chair’ to make most of the journey. The man seemed to be about to say no, but slowly nodded yes. “But I want to walk in there. I guess I have to get used to this sometime.”

They followed the man into the hospital. Duncan already had a good idea that Casey would be there as well. But he decided to call his mother. When she answered he asked, “We all good? Did you know Reese was on his way in? … Oh .. okay … there’s what? Oh … great. Wellll … I guess I should have expected that. Tell them to be not so conspicuous - or they could make things worse - and I mean bad worse.” Duncan listened for a moment. “Exactly right. Should I warn him? Might be best.

“Guys … News is in there. Seems they wanted to do a follow up story on Casey. She was the first recipient of this program and they got wind I was going to be here.” He looked at the wounded soldier. Sir, they normally record these visits. But it isn’t usually the news. Just record keeping. Are you going to be okay with this?”

The soldier looked around. Then he nodded and stood a little straighter in his seat. “I’m a Marine.”

Reese had remained back, closer to Isla. He leaned over and spoke in a low conspiratorial tone. “You seem unaware of this program. Duncan started it - a year ago. He could barely walk himself. Bears for Courage. We sponsor Toys for Tots, a Christmas thing. Casey was a 7 year old going in for chemo for leukemia. She was terrified about it. Duncan went and got ahold of an unnamed teddy bear his mother had made and gave it to the girl dressed up like a Marine. He tried to stitch the uniform by hand himself - with his left hand messed up. The recipients get to name the bear.

“Anyways, Duncan came to us and asked for help with his idea - by getting wounded vets like that man there to be the donors. The bears are hypoallergenic, each handmade and unique as possible.”

Isla was somewhat taken by surprise as Duncan got himself ready, his butler helping him with tags on his clothes. Isla pretended not to notice but her eyes fell to the side and she giggled quietly behind her hand. Soon they were in the car she'd seen, it was so high tech, she'd been in cars before but this was something else. Her eyes were wide but she kept up as much as she could with his words, they were going to an army base? Her chest tightened, then a hospital too? She felt it hard to breathe and she looked out the window, she'd have to be adjust though, this was life now.

“Don't worry.” She assured when she was refused from base admittance, somewhat glad in fact that she wasn't going on base. When the car parked up she was out of it like a whippet from the gate and leaning on the car to grab her breathe. She was somewhat oblivious to the chat of the men, although caught their gestures from their peripheral vision and shook her head lightly. Looking up to the blue skies and allowing the sun to wash over her face and body, it was nice. It was one of the few things she could still enjoy without bad memories.

Soon Duncan returned and she smiled faintly, slipping back into the car and belting herself in. She shook her head, “It's fine, I had thought it was likely where we were going.”

Soon they were at the hospital and the injured Vet was helped down, “How about.” She suggested with a grin that could melt butter, “We try for as long as we can? You've got this, then we'll use the chair, alright?” She walked with the vet quite happily and chatted about mundane things for the majority of the journey until the pain and ache got too much for him. “You did great.” She assured gently, the news of...well the news made her quiver, she didn't want to be anywhere near the cameras or the journalism. Once the vet was in the chair she was happy to hang in the back.

Isla listened as his friend Reese spoke to her about the project Duncan had started, the effects it had and the people it helped in many ways. It was all just too surreal, too much but she nodded along politely with a smile. “That's such a lovely idea.” She agreed quietly, “His girlfriend should be very proud of him.” It was obvious that his family would be after all, they certainly gushed enough over him the day before.

Isla's steps faltered further the closer they got to the news people until she stopped at the end of the corridor and leaned on one of the walls to watch. It was times like this she missed her mobile phone, so she could text and distract herself from the discomfort. She had been on television before, in the background usually but since the incident it was recommended she avoided any exposure, just in case. “I think I will wait here, no use in me being up there right?” Her tone was light and breezy with a sweet bright smile to accompany it. “I have a rather embarrassing fear of cameras.” She said pulling a face at herself with a giggle.

She would stay out of the camera shot but if someone came to her, of course she'd speak to them, she wasn't rude.

Reese and Casteel exchanged glances at the news of the … News. Then Reese stepped over to another Marine and asked him to take over to deal with the News. Once more the gunnery sergeant faded.

Duncan growled in frustration. “I hate having my picture taken and I suck in in videos. But when someone wants to say thank you for things like this, you don’t turn your back on them. I just hope they don’t bring up why I was at the hospital. Gunny, I’ll try to handle the Press. Work?”

Reese nodded. “Things are better for everyone if Casteel and I stay off camera.”

“Understood.” Duncan didn’t need to ask questions. His imagination filled in the gaps. Reese was a trained sniper. The man had taught him to shoot - though hardly as well. Casteel was likely much the same. Odds were they worked counterterrorism. The last thing they needed was publicity.

And that was exactly how it worked. Duncan spoke briefly with the Press, giving them a Time Out signal. They nodded as he worked with them. He made it very plain he’d simply walk out if they crossed the line. His mother stepped forward and told them she would have Security toss them out on their butts. But if they behaved, she would also work with them. The real surprise was the wounded vet who told them he didn’t care much for being some poster boy, but he’d play nice enough if they did.

Casey was a sweet 8 year old now - and in remission. She was a natural in front of the cameras. She introduced the Press to ‘Duncan Bear.’ Duncan was blushing furiously, but used some of his theatrical training and swaggered a little before proclaiming in his best (lousy) Marlon Brando imitation that he was godfather to a teddy bear. There was a brief scene of Casey blowing out a candle on a cupcake to celebrate another year of life.

Then everyone took a step back while the cameras focused on the other story which was the wounded vet donating the teddy bear he had in his box to another child. It was surprisingly transformative - both for the child and the vet. All it took was a hug. Of course questions like “does it hurt” from the kid didn’t hurt a bit. The Marine was completely honest about it. Then he developed a sort of fatherly attitude and consoled the kid.

Duncan bade the Marines a farewell to get Isla out of there early. Once back at the car he waited patiently for Isla. Once she was in he spoke, this time a bit less rushed. “Again sorry. Busy life. But I couldn’t see you taking the bus. So … I have no idea what sort of things interest you. Albuquerque must be pretty boring after living in Europe. London area? I lived in Ankara, Turkey about 6 years ago. My stepfather was military. That why it is so easy for me to just jump into a conversation. As a military brat, moving around all the time, you learn to meet people fast. But you try not to get too close because you’ll just have to move again in a couple years.”

Isla stayed back with the marines, chatting quietly with them while the interview went on. When it was done she made her goodbyes to the men, followed Duncan into the car and climbed in. In stark contrast to the car before he was talking again and she listened with hands folded in her lap. The images of the man giving his toy to the child was moving, beautiful really, but it still didn't make her nay more comfortable about the army, news or hospitals. There couldn't be three worse things to throw her into the middle of but she'd managed and ignored the triggers to run and squirrel herself away. As her therapist had said, if she knew what triggered her she could work on ways to stop the trigger response.

He spoke about his upbringing and her head span, he couldn't really have had such an intense and action packed life right? Still she didn't question it, he had no reason to lie to her after all. When he questioned about her European upbringing she shrugged lightly and smiled, she wanted to point out she'd been bought up all around the world so there wasn't really a 'home' language to think about or the fact their home didn't really see enough of them to be home. Instead she said, “It was pretty boring too. Don't get me wrong there were some nice bits but a town is a town really, all that changes is the weather.” Her tone was light enough to be considered playful.

“Well I have to get some things for the house, so I guess, do you have a mall? Cinema? Bowling Alley?” She asked, contemplating the favourite places she used to visit back home. “A gym would be good too if there is one. We can waste time anywhere really.” She said with a light chuckle, it really didn't matter where she went as long as it wasn't the house until the end of the working day.

“Turkey was pretty cool. I saw a lot of places while I was there. To be honest, I miss it. Uhm, bowling alley? I might be able to find something. I’m not the world's greatest bowler. I know where the one on base was. But that’s not happening. I could look up what movies are showing where.”

He double tapped on the windshield and spoke. “Internet.” The windshield became a computer screen. He grinned a little. “Movies showing near me.” He double tapped again. Then he started using the display like a touchscreen. “Any preferences?”

Isla had used a couple trigger words. Waste and time. In the past 24 hours he had set a record for wasting time. This was why he had avoided girls. They were a colossal way to consume every free moment. And this one didn’t seem remotely interested in him … at least not like that. No she just wanted to monopolize his time - just like the vacuous airhead cheerleader. What was it about blondes that …

Duncan was too polite to say no. He had already noticed Isla’s behavioral quirks. Up until now he had resisted asking questions. But he had spent enough hours with shrinks to know something was up. He suggested a number of movies - the action guy flicks - and watched her reactions. The we're mostly about military or terrorists. He decided those were a no go. He thought she seemed angst and about to nix the movie idea. Then he picked a movie about some girl who wanted to go to an equestrian camp, but was disabled. The words chicken flick popped into his head, but he pointed it out. The other options were Sci Fi horror - probably not good - and some kiddie flicks like Sponge Bob Saves the Earth … Again.

There was the Zoo, but that didn’t strike his own fancy. He had to drive past the school and pointed out where a lot of the stuff was around it. Then an idea hit him. Why settle for a movie? He did a quick search on riding lessons. “Got two ideas. One … the horse movie. Two … we go riding for real ourselves. Although, I haven't tried to ride since I was 12.”