Tania's front door was open as Rebecca approached after a quick visit to the beginnings of her mother's apartment. That meant Nate was probably around somewhere, rolling around the halls or drawing in the garden or something. She had Rufus with her since they always loved seeing each other, and was willing to bet if she let him wander long enough, he'd lead her right to Nate. Maybe in a bit.

She knocked on the doorframe and called out to identify herself, and his mother — sandy blonde haired and somewhere in her late thirties — leaned into view from the kitchen and waved her in. Sheets of paper bearing Nate's artwork adorned the hallway, and Rebecca remembered Ronnie's tablet. Maybe they could find him a stylus compatible one to draw infinitely with.

Tania smiled as she got closer. "Hey! Welcome back, I'm glad you're all okay."

Rebecca decided not to belabor the point with details of anyone's particular degree of 'okay'-ness and just returned the smile of greeting. "Thank you, we're definitely happy to be home. How's the man of the house?"

"Pretty good. As always, I'm worried about him getting bored, so thanks for bringing his buddy with you." She nodded towards Rufus, and when Rebecca looked down at him, he seemed to be eye-begging for a snack already.

She ruffled his ears to distract him. "You are incorrigible, you silly mutt." Then, she looked back up at Tania. "You know... while we were on the road, we met some folks that are probably going to be moving to town. I was originally thinking of the places they're trying to attract people to by the airfield, but I guess some might move here too. One of them is another single mom with a boy around Nate's age. There was a teenager there too, but..." Rebecca groaned under her breath. "She's pretty much the opposite of who I'd trust as a babysitter."

Tania's eyes lit up as she processed what Rebecca was saying. "You know, I love it here, but if there's other kids for him to socialize with, hell, I'll move down by the airfield and pick vegetables while he plays with them. He has a few acquaintances here, but the age gap means he doesn't really bond with them as much as I'd hope."

Rebecca smiled sympathetically as she mulled how hard it must be as a single parent the way things were now — her mother had it hard enough when society was still functional. There were probably a lot more single parents now too.

Too bad Stephanie-the-little-shit's dad was such an ass, or Rebecca could entertain fantasies of playing matchmaker. Come to think of it, she was probably a product of his parenting. Not that it's an excuse, look at Sam. "I'll be sure to keep you posted of whatever I hear. By the way, my mom came back with us—"

"Yes! I heard. That's so awesome. But... I'm sorry about Sam's. You don't have to tell her that, I don't know if a constant deluge of sympathy will make things harder. Allie just wanted a few of the folks Sam knows best around here to be aware so they didn't, y'know."

"Ruin valuable shoes by sticking their foot in their mouth?"

Tania nodded. "Something like that."

"I appreciate the sentiment, and the discretion. If it feels right, I'll tell her you send some love."

"Thanks, you know her best, so I'll trust your gut."

Rebecca glanced down at the flatbread sandwich that Tania was assembling from single-use packets of jelly and peanut butter — the latter was definitely from an MRE, but the jelly might have been scavenged from either a ration pack or a local diner. "But hey, my mom. I'd like to think she was good with kids, from my perspective anyway. She needs to meet folks around here, and I'm sure she'd lend a hand if you needed help with Nate someday."

"You really are sunshine on my doorstep today, just bringing good news after good news. Don't go tempting fate and Murphy by pushing it too far though!" Tania laughed dryly. "But, I'd love to meet her whenever she's ready. Maybe she can help me up my PB&J game."

"Heh. Who knows, with the powers of two moms combined. But, so... about that. I admit I'm not only here to brighten your day. Allie's having us over for dinner tonight and we were hoping to dress up a little, but my mom didn't exactly pack for social events when she was scrambling to get to my uncle's cabin."

"Ahhh, I see now. My magic mom senses tell me she's just my size?"

Rebecca chuckled and waggled one hand. "Ish?"

"I knew it! Mom ESP is never wrong. I'm not about to go through my clothes while my hands are all peanut buttery, but you go take a look." Tania nodded towards one of the two bedrooms — another reason she'd picked a place on the fifth floor, along with the garden courtyard. All the larger units were up there as penthouses. "All the nice stuff is on the left side of the closet."

"Thank you so much, Tania." Rebecca flashed an appreciative smile and then made her way down the hall. A little shiver crept along her spine when she thought about how it was much more comfortable going through a live person's closet with their permission, and she did her best to shove the thought aside and focus on her positive reason for being there.

She picked out a nice short-sleeved sundress and held it up in front of herself in the mirror, deciding it should fit her mother relatively well. As she passed Nate's bedroom on the way back to Tania, Rufus was peeking in and probably disappointed it was empty. She patted him with her free hand. "C'mon boy, we can look for him on the way out."

Tania looked up from washing her hands as she heard Rebecca talk. "Save me hollering up and down the hallways and please tell him lunch is ready when you find him! Fair price for borrowing a dress, right?"

Rebecca chuckled. "Okay, we will." She held up the dress she'd selected, loosely folded in one hand. "This one okay?"

"Yup! Sadly I can't tell her to keep it, it still fits me pretty good."

"We're grateful enough for the loan, I promise. C'mon Rufus, go find Nate! Go get 'im!"

**

They found him after walking two sides of the building, halfway between the original radio room and the next corner with the main staircase. Nate stopped rolling his wheelchair and turned to face them as they approached, probably hearing Rufus's jingling collar.

"Hi Miss Rebecca, welcome home! Hi Rufus!" It looked like he'd lost another tooth while they were away.

Rebecca chuckled as Rufus accelerated, possibly propelled by tail revolutions alone. "Hey buddy. How're you?" Mental note: Ask Sam to keep an eye out for another Lego set in storage room. Tania might need a restock on tooth fairy supplies.

"I'm okay. Did you know they changed the guard rotation times on the other roof? The soldiers switched an hour earlier the last two days."

She chuckled. "You're very observant. Any changes in the neighborhood outside the fence?"

"They're pretty good at mixing up their patrol routes, I haven't been able to figure out a pattern to which way they turn each day. But I saw a drone yesterday! Ronnie said it looked like one of ours when I showed her the sketch."

"You've got very good eyes and a sharp mind, big guy. But you probably have a big stomach too, and your mom says it's time for lunch."

"Aww, okay. Can I race Rufus once before I go eat?"

She couldn't help smiling. "Sure, buddy. Bring him back to me at the garden when you're done, okay? Only one lap, and take it slow in the corners, both of you!" She pretended to waggle her finger sternly at Rufus as well as Nate. Jesus, if Sam or Mom saw me...

"Okay thanks bye!" Nate whipped his chair to face the direction he'd already been going in and frantically windmilled his arms to accelerate down the hallway. He and Rufus greatly enjoyed their 'races', even though they probably just registered as a fun indoor run for the furry oaf. Tania and Rebecca had jointly decreed they had to stop at each corner, turn, and then start again for safety, but it didn't hurt to remind the enthusiastic nine-year-old. The last thing Rebecca's apparent anxiety and scrutinized pulse rate needed was to hear a crash and Nate yelling in pain from the far corner of the building.

She watched them until the next turn with a heart-warmed smile, then backtracked to Ronnie's door and tapped on it twice. There was no answer, but she half-expected that, since she was undoubtedly off dealing with a pile of responsibilities. Even if Ronnie hadn't sought them out, she'd get them done to her standards. That's just what she does. Lead by example.

Rebecca strolled back to the garden, sitting sideways at the edge of Jaime's memorial. Some new flowers were starting to bud and the dwarf trees looked to be well-kept, even though Allie probably wasn't spending as much time tending the beds and pots. Maybe Tania had taken on some of that since Nate loved it so much there? Her eyes stung, maybe with gratitude, but definitely to some degree because of the memories that came back as she looked at the corner they'd spent a few nights in when Jaime first surprised her with the fledgling garden a little over a year before.

"Oh, baby. You sweet knucklehead." She rested her hand on the top of the cairn she'd hand-piled and carved his epitaph into, and smiled wistfully. "We found Mom. Not Sam's though, and her dad was an asshole. Helped some folks along the way, figured you'd be proud." She moved her hand to touch the plastic bag protecting the cuff-and-chain earring that she'd left there, matching the one she'd be putting on later for dinner. "Miss you. I think we're building something good here, that you'd approve of."

Rebecca sighed. "I... got a little hurt on the trip. My memory was a little iffy, and I was afraid I'd forget you. I think I'm getting better though. Thank you for all the good things to remember." She started to say that she'd do it all again, but remembered a lingering doubt that she'd never fully addressed. Maybe he'd still be alive if it wasn't for me.

She had plenty of rational reasons to refute that notion. This was a spot he knew of to shelter in, he might have still found Leonard and Allie and befriended them. Might have still ended up in that hotel kitchen.

Or maybe if he hadn't, Leonard or Allie would have. Maybe they'd— she shoved the thought aside, not wanting to give the rest of it words. But she knew she'd step between a bullet and Allison and her baby, and she knew he would too. And if it had to be him doing it, she'd understand. Doesn't mean she'd like it.

She sat quietly with her eyes closed for a few minutes, just feeling the textures under her fingertips and listening to the sounds of the growing community echoing in from the open sky above. The approach of Nate's laughter and Rufus' rattling collar roused her and she opened her eyes, giving them a quick wipe to make sure they weren't damp.

Both of the boys were panting when she met them at the propped-open door. "Hi Miss Rebecca," Nate said again. "Were you talking to him?"

She blinked reflexively, just in case her eyes were watering, and smiled. "You really are clever. Yes, I thought I should visit now that I'm back."

Nate beamed up at her. "Is the earring still there? It was yesterday, I checked!"

She nodded and felt that burn starting to creep back into her eyes. "Yeah buddy, it is."

"It's nice you visit him. Mom says that even if she and Dad had their differences, she hopes he's okay somewhere, and that if he isn't, he's looking down and watching over me."

Rebecca bit back how much that stung, right in the feels. Oh Jesus, Tania. Please teach your kid some tact before telling him about Sam's mom, okay? "That's really nice, Nate. Your mom's a smart lady, you make sure you listen to what she tells you and be good for her, alright?"

"I will, Miss Rebecca. I know she always wants to take care of me."

God, I gotta get downstairs before this kid makes me start bawling. I probably have about ninety seconds. "Come here, dude, gimme a hug." She knelt and put an arm around him as he leaned forward in his chair. "I promise I'll bring Rufus by again tomorrow, okay? And, my mom brought our cat with her, maybe you can meet him soon. But go have lunch so your mom doesn't scold me and so I can go eat too, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks again Miss R! Have a good lunch!"

She watched him roll off down the hallway again, and after he turned the next corner, wrapped that same arm around Rufus' solid shoulders and sighed into the back of his neck. That's my boy. Always my rock.

"Okay buddy, let's go find Sam and Mom now, huh?"