[The cover shows a plush toucan sitting among the pieces of a
dismantled quadrotor drone and, incongruously, several pieces
of parchment covered in arcane sigils.]

____________________________________________________________________________
.|, COHERENT An ASHistory Series
--+-------------------------------------------------------------------------
'|` SUPER STORIES Special #2 - Home Again, Gain A Home
Featuring Doctor Developer copyright 2023 by Andrew Burton
____________________________________________________________________________

While the "Benefactor" storyline was ultimately rejected as the New
Direction for Coherent Comics, that does not seem to have stopped the writer
of LL&DD from contining to work on ideas beyond the rejected pitch.
Recently, a stack of 3.5" floppy disks was recovered among the effects of a
former editor, and once we found a machine capable of not only reading the
disks but also reading the files on them, we found a trove of other
unsubmitted work, including this sequel to "Cameryn By Any Other Name," which
follows the reunited McKay family.
Content warning, there's a few instances of violence beyond the usual
"comic book action" typical of LL&DD stories.

=============================================================================

Jennifer was warm.
Even though there was only a small part of her covering him...her head
on his shoulder, an arm draped over his chest...Cameron could feel Jennifer's
warm body increasing his own temperature. To say it was pleasant utterly
failed to express the situation, much like saying he felt uncomfortably cold
while lying on his bunk in The Cave with only a thin sheet to preserve his
own body heat against the aggressive HVAC system that circulated air in the
subterranean prison. It struck Cameron as apt to use a temperature
differential to compare how low he had been with how radiant life felt now.
Jennifer slept peacefully, her mouth barely opened, and the only
movement was a slight shift in her chest as she breathed. Her hair hung
behind her, like a comet tail or bridal train. She was still wearing the
dress from the train station where they were reunited as they'd both stayed
up talking until falling asleep.
The moment was perfect.
Cameron never wanted to move again.
"Moooommm!" a loud cry broke the silence.
Jennifer's face scrunched momentarily, and her eyes opened. She didn't
move at first, but then slowly looked up at Cameron with a content look on
her face. "I guess it's morning," she sighed.
"Cammy's awake," was all Cameron could think to say.
"It's not a school day," Jennifer told him. "Wait until tomorrow, then
I'll be yelling at her." Jennifer started to move, then stopped. She looked
back at Cameron with a quirk on her face. "You know, now there are two
parents in this house. I think this time, it's your turn," she paused to
roll off Cameron, then punctuated her point by calling him, "Dad."
Cameron shuffled out of their room and down the stairs. He rubbed his
face in an attempt to get his eyes to fully focus. It was going to take a
while for his sinuses to adjust to air that wasn't recycled and filtered.
Until then, maybe eyedrops.
Cameron turned the corner just in time to see Cammy dropping a couple of
toaster pastries on a plate. She started blowing on her fingers as soon as
the food clunked against her plate. "Hot, hot, hot!" she gasped between
puffs.
"Are the tongs still in the drawer?" Cameron asked. He pointed to one
of the drawers beside Cammy.
"Oh!" she jumped. "Cam...uh...dad. You're up. Where's mom?"
Cameron scratched the back of his head. "Her exact words were, 'It's
your turn.'" Cammy's eyes shifted nervously. "I think she wanted to give us
time to be alone."
"Yeah, that sounds like mom." Cammy set her plate down on the table,
and made a dash for the living room. She climbed over the couch, looked
behind the computer desk, and then headed for the washing room behind the
stairs. "Have you seen my jacket? I just had it, but now I can't find it,
and I'm going to be late."
Cameron listened, turning to keep Cammy in his sights as she dashed all
over the first floor. "What does it look like? Is it the blue one with the
bubbles on the back?"
"They're jellyfish, but, yes. Where is it?"
"You wore it yesterday at the train station..." Cameron started.
"The car!" Cammy interjected. She bolted out into the garage. After
some automotive sounding commotion, Cameron heard the definitive sound of a
slamming door. Moments later Cammy emerged from the garage wearing a blue
jacket covered in bubbles...or jellyfish. Cameron thought they looked like
bubbles.
"Why do you need a jacket?"
Cammy was already answering his question. She began shoving various
items from the kitchen table into the pockets of her jacket, including the
breakfast pastries. "Swetha's taking me shopping with her family today.
They'll be here any minute."
"Uh, do you need anything? Money?" Cameron asked.
"Nah," Cammy declined, "I'm good." She paused, struck by what she'd
said. "Maybe next time?" her voice pitched up hopefully.
"Next time," Cameron answered. He wondered if Jennifer ever found the
roll of hundreds he used to keep in the vents for emergencies.
"Uh," Cammy said awkwardly. Cameron looked at her, and realized neither
of them knew what to say next. "I'm going to get going."
"Do you have a curfew or anything? Should I wait up?" Cameron asked.
This got a laugh from Cammy. She pulled the black slab from her pocket.
"I'll call and let you guys know I'm not dead." Her thumb brushed against
the smooth surface, and it lit up with a picture of Cammy and Jennifer in
front of Wrigley Field. The angle struck Cameron as strange. Cammy must
have been holding whatever camera took the picture.
"What else?" Jennifer asked. She walked up behind Cameron, and wrapped
an arm over his shoulder.
Cammy rolled her eyes and head back. "Mom!"
"What else do you do?"
Cammy sighed and looked very put upon. "If I get kidnapped, I tell them
I'm an orphan." Cameron's eyebrows raised quite high, Jennifer smiled a
crooked grin. "That's not funny, mom."
"It is to me," Jennifer told her. "Now, go on. Don't make them wait."
Cammy didn't need any more encouragement, she launched herself out the
door.

* * * *

People rarely looked in air vents, not even repairmen. They certainly
didn't take a steak knife to the insides of an air vent searching for a hair
thin seam held in place by magnets. At least that was Cameron's theory
fifteen years in the past when he carved out his secret panel.
His theory proved correct. The edge of the knife caught on the seam,
and after a little work, Cameron lifted up the cover. From there it was easy
enough to pull out the small, nylon bag and replace all the covers to their
previous state.
Taking inspiration from Cammy, Cameron spread out the contents of the
bag on the kitchen table: multitool, three fake driver's licenses from
surrounding states, burner phone, and a roll of bills. The licenses were all
expired by now, and he expected the battery in the mobile phone had corroded
all of its internal components. The multitool was still useful. The cash,
all six thousand dollars, would be useful until he could get to his lawyer's
office to fill out some paperwork.
"I'm honestly not sure if I should or should not be surprised to find
you like this," Jennifer chuckled. She walked back in the kitchen. Gone
were the clothes she slept in, and now she was wearing a sweater and jeans.
She picked up the roll of bills and counted through it. "Where was this?"
Cameron pointed to the central cooling vent.
"How much money did you squirrel away around here?" Jennifer was
genuinely amused.
Cameron thought about it for a moment. "Enough seed capital to restart,
ah, a new life somewhere. This is just the easiest one to grab. The others
require dismantling the basement or digging up the backyard. Well," he
calculated, "it was before I..." he trailed off, "I haven't kept up with
inflation."
Jennifer bobbled her head, doing her own calculating. "Six grand is
still six grand." She set the roll back down. "Do you want to go shopping
or something?"
Cameron didn't, not right away. He recounted his brief conversation
with Cammy, his asking if she needed money, and how that reminded him of his
various stashes. "Just wanted to see if it was still there, ah, really.
Plus, I probably owe her some kind of back allowance, or birthday gifts."
Jennifer thought about that for a bit. The edges of her lips curled
slightly, but to her credit she never laughed out loud. "Please don't give
our daughter six thousand dollars," Jennifer said. "Have you seen her room
yet?"
Cameron shook his head, "No."
"She has too many plushies already. With six grand, we'd be swimming in
stuffed animals." Jennifer clapped Cameron on the back. "Speaking of
stuffed, I'm not. I'm hungry, and you're apparently flush with cash. Let's
go out for breakfast."

* * * *

The restaurant was new, and not a chain. It wasn't quite a diner, but
it had some of the trappings. There was a counter with stools. There were
waitresses, though they didn't appear to wear any uniform beyond an apron.
Their waitress, Sharon, led Cameron and Jennifer to a booth. Cameron
wasn't sure he picked up a lot of the nonverbal queues, but he felt confident
Jennifer knew Sharon, Sharon knew something about Cameron, and that Sharon
was feeling a bit warm. That last one didn't seem related, but Cameron
caught her fanning herself out of the corner of his eye.
"Ready to order," Sharon asked, "or do you need a minute?" She held out
two menus.
Jennifer waves her away. "I'll get the usual, she said, "but Cameron
may need one."
"Do you have pancakes?" he asked.
"Sure do."
"I'll take an order of pancakes and coffee, please."
Sharon's eyes sparked. "Two usuals it is." She smiled brightly at
Jennifer and went to deliver their order.
Before Cameron could ask, Jennifer offered an answer. "Cammy and I eat
here," she trailed off, "more often than we probably should, but they have
really good food. And they never seemed to mind a very tired museum
researcher bringing her hyperactive daughter."
"Where is Cammy today?" Sharon asked. She set the two coffee cups down
on the table, one for each.
"Her friends took her shopping," Jennifer explained. "They'd been
planning this for a while. I didn't have the heart to tell her to cancel,
even though it's Cameron's first day home. By the way, Sharon, this is my
husband, Cameron."
Sharon offered Cameron her hand, which he shook. "It is nice to finally
meet you. I'd be lying if I said Jenny shared your life story, but she let a
few things slip over the years." Jennifer buried her head in her hands,
feigning embarrassment.
"Thank you," Cameron said. He was at a loss for more.
Sharon smiled. "I'll let you two have some privacy. The stacks will be
done soon."
"Thanks, Sharon," Jennifer called. She turned back to look at Cameron,
rested her chin on one hand, and continued. "Can't say much, Sharon's
secrets are her own, but we've had overlapping professional circles in our
pasts. I let mine slip one night, and we bonded over it."
"I'm glad you had a friend," Cameron said.
Jennifer put her free hand to her chest and gasped. "What do you mean?
I'm a social butterfly!" She giggled, "But I will admit, having a kid will
drag even the most social butterfly back into her cocoon of hermitage."
Cameron actually smiled. "So will a maximum security cell."
Despite herself, Jennifer laughed out loud. She quickly covered her
mouth and blushed. "Deedee," she asked, "was that a joke?" She reached out
and lovingly punched his arm. She was about to say something else when her
pocket started buzzing.
"A beeper?" Cameron asked.
Jennifer didn't answer right away. She pulled the black, plastic slab
out of her pocket and the screen lit up. Cameron watched as she touched the
screen. He felt silly, it was a PDA. Obviously the screen resolution
improved over the years.
"Did your timer go off?" he asked.
Jennifer shook her head. "Cammy sent me a picture of a skirt she
wants." She turned the PDA around to show Cameron. Cammy was holding a
plaid, denim skirt next to her. It was from a similar angle as the Wrigley
Field photo. The camera was obviously at arm's length, but...
Cameron grabbed Jennifer's PDA.
"Does this have a, uh, camera in it?" he asked, "and a network
connection?" He felt something switch on in his brain. He was trying to
remember part numbers and specs, extrapolate them out using Moore's Law as a
rough guide, and work out just what the device in his hands could do.
Jennifer looked puzzled. "Yeah, all phones have them...these...days."
Her eyes widened. "You've never seen a smartphone?"
"That's a phone, with a camera, and a touchscreen interface?" he was
almost sputtering. He'd seen some pretty powerful handheld computers in his
day. He even built a few. Those were always one-offs, heavily kludged, and
often packed with paratech to give them a boost. Even then, he'd never seen
one as sleek and vibrant as Jennifer's.
"Oh, Deedee," Jennifer said. She took the phone back. "I'm glad you're
sitting down, because I have got a story to tell you. The year was two
thousand seven and a guy you may have heard of named Steve Jobs had a
brainstorm...."

* * * *

Hank's Hardware was exactly like Cameron remembered it. As he and
Jennifer walked in and the bell above the door jingled, he felt his pulse
quicken. There was nothing in the world like a well stocked hardware store.
"Be with you in a minute," Hank called out from somewhere in the back of
the store.
Cameron was already wandering over to the tool aisle as Jennifer
answered. "No rush. We're just browsing," she told the owner. She followed
Cameron.
"Don't go crazy," she said with a wink.
Cameron mumbled back, "Just a few essentials."
Jennifer knew that was going to be a stretch. Despite the lack of his
security clearances, even with something akin to a parole agreement barring
him from getting them back, she knew Cameron was already working on
something. She suspected it might have something to do with his sudden
fascination with smartphones. Her brief introduction had sparked something.
"Mrs. McKay," Hank said as he walked around the aisle, "Did I hear you
say 'we?'" he asked. "Is little Cammy here?"
Jennifer tugged on Cameron's arm so he was facing Hank as the shop owner
stepped onto the aisle with them. "No, but my big one is," she beamed.
Hank's jaw dropped, and Cameron's cheeks flushed. "I don't believe it!"
Hank extended a hand, and Cameron unexpectedly reacted by reaching out to
shake it. Jennifer could count on one hand the people Cameron was willing to
physically interact with, and she felt herself getting a little misty
witnessing a reunion with one.
"I just got, ah, home," Cameron explained.
"Just last night," Jennifer added. "I'm giving him the grand tour."
"Well, I'm glad I'm on the tour," Hank quipped back. He and Cameron
finished shaking hands. "Where are my manners, I'm sure you two don't need
me butting in..."
"Do you have any smartphones?" Cameron asked.
"Got a few of the pay as you go kind," Hank thought aloud, "but they're
cheap. Mostly sell them to contractors when they drop their own off a roof."
Cameron shrugged. "I'll take three," he said.
Hank grinned, quickly slipping back into the role of Cameron's supplier
of sometimes mundane, sometimes esoteric, but never boring hardware requests.
"They're behind the counter. You want a charger for them?"
Cameron furrowed his brow. Jennifer nodded. "I know where those are,"
she said, "Come on, let me introduce you to the world of phone chargers. If
you're lucky, I'll even show you some screen covers."

* * * *

Cameron's idea of essentials filled six bags. It was mostly random
items: a few tools Jennifer knew she didn't have; some tools Cameron swore
were new; a few rolls of duct tape; the three phones and miscellaneous
accessories for them, and a toy drone that Hank had remaining from his stock
of Christmas wares. Jennifer knew the purchases weren't completely random,
but she wasn't sure what he was planning.
"I didn't know you knew Hank," Cameron said. He set his load of bags
down, and Jennifer passed him two more.
"When Cammy was three or four, she had kind of an artistic streak,"
Jennifer explained, "and the walls were her canvas. Crayons, markers,
lipstick. She was determined to draw on anything except paper. I went to
buy some paint supplies. Over the years, I picked up some things here and
there.
"I told you, I'm a social butterfly."
She didn't mention that when she really missed Cameron, she would go to
Hank's. After Cameron's indictment, the DSHA cleared the equipment out of
his workshops. The government even took a lot of his equipment from their
house. She and Cameron managed to hide away a few critical pieces, but any
of the places where she could have gone to feel a connection with Cameron or
Doctor Developer disappeared. Hank's Hardware was the only surviving refuge
of Cameron-ness.
Jennifer felt like Hank suspected as much, but he never seemed to object
to her browsing quietly for half an hour every couple of months for a
screwdriver or lightbulbs. If Cameron's shopping spree today was any
indication of things to come, it was a good investment.
Cameron accepted her answer. If he suspected anything else, he kept it
to himself. Jennifer assumed he was more interested in sorting out his
purchases than digging into her sappy ulterior motives.
The sound of a car pulling up interrupted Jennifer's thoughts. It was
the Verma family dropping off Cammy. "Be right back. I need to thank the
Vermas for taking Cammy today."
Cammy was already saying her goodbyes by the time Jennifer got the
Vermas's car. It took less than five minutes for her to make a bit of
smalltalk and thank them. It took half that for Cammy to sneak away. Only
when Jennifer headed back to the garage did she see Cameron and Cammy
comparing their loot.
Cameron was holding a tube shaped, plush cat. He squeezed it a couple
of times. "What does it do?" he asked. Cammy took the toy back.
"He looks cute," she told him.
"Is that all?"
"No," Jennifer added, "it takes up space. And sometimes it sneaks into
the refrigerator and scares me when I'm trying to make breakfast."
"That happened one time," Cammy said defensively. She pleaded her case
directly to Cameron. "I was six, and I just learned that penguins lived in
cold regions. I thought Mr. Tuxedo would feel better in the cool air."
"That makes sense," Cameron considered, "but why not the freezer? It's
colder."
"I was six," Cammy said. "I was going to do that, but I was too short.
I settled on the fridge."
"And I knocked over a gallon of milk because I thought a rat got in
somehow," Jennifer added to the story. "All plushies in this house have a
curfew now."
Cammy shook her head and focused on Cameron's bags. She picked up one
of the unopened phones. "This is a cheap model," she said. "You should get
a DocDroid like mine." She showed Cameron her smartphone.
"Oh, have no fear, Cammy," Jennifer said. "If I know your dad, he'll
have the best phone in the neighborhood soon enough. These are for
research." Cammy looked confused. "You know how you bought all those little
Mr. Tuxedos before getting the," Jennifer paused and closed her eyes to
remember, "Shining Star Super Cute Mr. Tuxedo Special Edition Plush?"
This made perfect sense to Cammy. "Oh, you collect phones. That's
cool." Cammy pivoted the conversation again. "Mom, I got the skirt. I'm
going to try it on." She turned and headed inside.
"I'll be up in a minute so you can show it to me," Jennifer called out
as Cammy vanished inside.
Cameron was silent as Jennifer watched Cammy disappear. He quietly
said, "She really likes those stuffed animals."
Jennifer nodded. "You've got to see her room."

* * * *

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Cameron asked. He paused walking up
the stairs until Jennifer gave him a nudge.
"I'm sure it's not a good idea," she chuckled, "but just because it's
not a good idea, that doesn't make it a bad idea." She patted his shoulder.
"I'll be right over here," she told him.
As they reached the top of the stairs, Cameron went left. Jennifer went
right. He stopped right in front of the door to Cammy's room. Jennifer
leaned against the wall to keep out of sight, but not let him out of her
sight. He stared at the door, but couldn't bring himself to knock. Jennifer
took matters into her own hands, or fists, and wrapped on the door.
"It's open!" Cammy called from inside.
Jennifer pantomimed turning the door knob.
Cameron took the hint, and stepped into Cammy's room.

* * * *

Cammy was scratching through a plastic tub of toy bricks as her door
open. She spotted the one-by-four blue brick she was after, and focused on
extracting it before an avalanche covered it. Only when she had the brick in
hand did she look up.
"Cameron!" she yelped. The brick fell back into the tub. Shock and
irritation combined enough that she let out a short string of curses. As
soon as the last syllable came out, Cammy realized what it sounded like.
Before she could apologize, Jennifer appeared in the doorway.
"Would you care to repeat that, Cameryn?" she asked.
"I'm sorry!" Cammy said to Cameron, then to her mother. "I'm sorry.
He...you...I..." she sighed. "Dad startled me. I thought it was you, mom.
That was your knock." Jennifer looked sheepish. "Then I dropped the piece I
was looking for."
"She did," Cameron corroborated.
"It won't happen again," Cammy promised.
"It better not," Jennifer said with a motherly stare. Then she raised
an eyebrow. "Language like that should only be used when something goes
through a part of you."
Cammy muttered, "Gross."
Cameron used the lull to step forward and extend his arm toward Cammy,
offering an envelope in his hand. Cammy stood up and took it from him. "I,
ah, figured since I missed, uh, all your birthdays and Christmases that you
were due," he explained.
Cammy opened the envelope and looked at the card. She read the rainbow
"Happy birthday, dad!" set against a grassy green background. Cammy's mouth
dropped when she opened the card, but to her credit, she read the rest of the
card. "Here's to mower and mower birthdays."
"Hank doesn't have the best stock of cards," Cameron explained.
Cammy was focused on the five $100 bills in the card. She looked at
Cameron, then to her mom. "Don't look at me," Jennifer chucked. "I told him
to put it toward your college fund."
Cammy hugged the card and bills close to her chest. Then she cackled.
"I'm rich! Rich!" A tilt of Jennifer's head and Cammy calmed down. She gave
a slight curtsey. "What I intended to say, father," she said in her most
prim voice, "is that your belated gift is most appreciated, but it pales in
comparison to the gift of your return."
Cameron looked back at Jennifer, and Jennifer slow clapped. Cammy gave
a bow. Then she looked up at Cameron. "Thank you! Thank you! I've never
had this much money." She began giggling again.
"Maybe it was a bad idea," Jennifer said thoughtfully.

* * * *

Jennifer's field of expertise at the Museum of Science and Industry was
super-hero technology. She spent her time cataloging and maintaining pieces
in the archive, updating displays with new features, and performing research
and verifications on new acquisitions. It was one part historian and another
part ordnance disposal. You couldn't just display Tinker Tom's Robbin'
Roadster without thoroughly, and often repeatedly...given some paratech...
disarming the displays.
Ancient texts were a little out of her domain of expertise, but they
were right in the middle of Heathrow Chesterton's. That was why, when an
ancient manuscript was found powering a mechanized warrior, she had been
asked to work with him on figuring out a safe way to display the
pre-industrial age robot with the texts.
The robot was the easy part. Once the manuscripts were removed from
slots in its chest cavity, it was inert. She wasn't completely sure of the
internal workings, but there seemed to be some magical form of character
recognition at play. It only activated with the right pages were placed in
the right order.
Heathrow was less than sure. He insisted there was something more going
on. He cited a seal on the back of the pages that linked up with his family.
He was sure his family archives held the secrets to the power in the
manuscript, but thus far was forbidden from taking the pages off museum
premises.
That was why Jennifer was reading through occult books, comparing the
symbols on the manuscript with previously recorded ones. Heathrow sat across
from her at the end of her desk. He was working through his own library of
sigils, glyphs, and seals.
If she had her way, it'd be Cameron sitting across from her. He might
not have a Magene or multiple degrees in historical languages, but she'd seen
him extract order from mad science chaos more times than she could count.
Unfortunately, at the moment, that wasn't an option.
"Any luck on your end?" Jennifer asked. She closed the book, and put it
in her "done" stack. "I'm coming up dry."
"Unfortunately my search has not proven any more fruitful," Heathrow
answered. He ran a hand over his graying hair. "I wish I could take the
pages back to my family home. The library there is much better suited to
this kind of thing."
"What about bringing the books here?" Jennifer asked.
Heathrow shook his head and smiled sadly. "Father was something of a
paratech tinkerer, but he didn't pass on the knack. If I could put these
pages on the 'scrying board,'" he used air quotes for that, "the library
would show us what we needed. Unfortunately, if a single book is moved out
of place...."
He trailed off, and Jennifer understood. The double-edged blade of
Magene-powered paratech. People with the right aptitude could build
fantastic, magical systems, but they could be as fragile as crystal or
temperamental as a cat. Jennifer had experience with the latter as Lady
Lawful. Only she and her mother were able to wear her Enhancement Belt to
any benefit.
"I fear my eyes are going cross," Heathrow said, "Would you mind if I
took my leave?"
"Please," she said. Heathrow began to stack his books, and Jennifer
started to think about her belt, her mother, and Cammy. Cammy would be
getting out of school soon. "I think I'm going to see about clearing my head
too," Jennifer said.
"Then we shall begin anew tomorrow," Heathrow said.
Jennifer nodded. "Tomorrow it is."

* * * *

There was a secret part of Jennifer that she almost hated. If she were
to try to explain it, she would feel embarrassed and guilty. If she were
offered a means to exorcize it, she would decline the offer. It was a small,
selfish, and perhaps even petty part of her. She almost hated it, but not
fully.
Jennifer waved to Cammy from her perch, leaning against her car parked
across from her daughter's school. Cammy was walking with a small cluster of
friends until she saw her mother. With haste and a few quick waves to her
friends, Cammy broke from the pack and ran toward Jennifer.
Cameron being back was a relief beyond words could express. After years
of feeling like the only thread that held together a family that didn't know
the other halves, she was finally at peace watching as their unit knit itself
back together on a daily basis. After years living that dichotomy, there
were times she missed it.
Rationally she knew they were all adjusting to a rather large upheaval,
or perhaps resettling, depending on how you looked at it. There were going
to be tensions, slights, and recalibrations for a while. Maybe forever. A
family was hardly something that ever stopped changing.
Irrationally, maybe selfishly, she wanted to pick Cammy up from school,
take her to get milkshakes, and for an hour be the only parent in her life
again.

* * * *

They weren't even fully through the door before Cammy took off for one
of the empty stools at the counter. She preferred the stools. Her
preference came from a time when she was small enough to spin around on the
stool. Jennifer was glad that age had tempered Cammy's energy enough that
sitting on the stool was enough.
Almost enough.
Cammy spun the stool halfway around to face the still approaching
Jennifer. "Mom, can I get fries?"
Jennifer took a seat next to Cammy. "It's kind of close to dinner."
Cammy clasped her hands together, pleading. "Please. I didn't eat
lunch."
"Why didn't you eat lunch?" Jennifer asked. Cammy smiled nervously and
looked away from Jennifer. "Are you going to tell me, or should I expect a
call from Principal Reed...again?"
"No," Cammy answered, irritated to be reminded of her recent visit to
the principal's office. She let out an exasperated sigh, and reached into
her pocket to pull out a small, stuffed toucan. "We were trading birds.
Mari's dad brought her back some new Wing-A-Longs from his trip. She was
showing them off, and we started to trade."
Jennifer didn't remember seeing any toys on Cammy or in her backpack
when she checked before school. "What did you trade?" Jennifer asked, more
curious about her oversight than worried about Cammy getting caught with
contraband.
Cammy looked away from Jennifer, but before Cammy could answer a
waitress approached to take their order. Once the order for two milkshakes
and a small fry was placed, Jennifer nudged Cammy. Cammy was very
preoccupied with her toucan. It took another nudge for her to look up.
"What did you trade?" Jennifer asked again. "I don't remember you
trying to smuggle anything to school today. Are you swallowing plushies
now?"
Cammy giggled. "Gross! No."
"Then what?"
Cammy sighed forlornly. "Money. I took dad's 'birthday present' with
me." Jennifer tried not to scowl, but some disappointment slipped through.
"I promise I was just going to show it to Swetha, but then Marin had the
Wing-A-Longs..."
"It's your gift, your money, Cammy," Jennifer said, "but as your mother,
please tell me you didn't pay five hundred dollars for a stuffed toucan."
Cammy let out a, "Mooom," that almost made Jennifer ashamed that she
suspected her daughter would be that irresponsible. "A new, unopened toucan
only goes for a hundred and fifty, and she already opened it up."
"So a hundred?" Jennifer asked.
"I think I could have gotten her down to eighty, but I only had
hundreds," Cammy shrugged. She held up the toucan, flapping its wings with
her fingers. "I need to get some twenties next time her dad goes on a trip."
Jennifer was trying her best to decide how to punish Cammy, but she
couldn't fully express what rules had been violated. Taking five hundred
dollars to school was irresponsible, sure, but it was unprecedented. Plus,
Cammy took money to school all the time, for lunch or buying supplies, so
it's not Jennifer could outright forbid it. Maybe punishment wasn't
warranted, but this felt like a teachable moment.
It would have been except for two events. First, their order was
delivered, which caused Cammy to put away her toucan and start devouring
fries. Second, Jennifer's phone began to ring. She knew from the ringtone
it was work.
"Hello?" Jennifer answered.
"Oh, Jennifer, it's terrible," Heathrow started speaking immediately,
obviously upset, "The owners of the manuscript are demanding we return it
immediately."
"What? Why?" Jennifer asked. Her voice was elevated enough that Cammy
looked over at her. Jennifer waved at her to say it wasn't anything major.
"A caretaker showed up out of nowhere," Heathrow explained. He sounded
a little calmer now. "She wanted to see our security, so I showed it to her.
Now she's claiming it's not enough, and she wants to take it back."
Jennifer scowled. "That doesn't make sense," she grumbled, "the
security system is the one in the agreement they signed."
"The agreement with the immediate return clause," Heathrow reminded her.
"Any chance they can wait until tomorrow?"
"I don't think so," Heathrow whispered. "If she doesn't get it back in
the next hour, she's threatening to call the owners of other exhibits. This
is serious."
Jennifer closed her eyes and counted to five. "Okay, tell her I'm on
the way, but it's going to be half an hour before I can get back."
"I'll do what I can," Heathrow promised and hung up.
Cammy was chewing on fries when Jennifer hung up, and didn't wait to
swallow before asking, "Whuhs wrung?"
"Kind of an emergency at work," Jennifer explained. She was already
sliding off the stool and fishing for bills in her wallet to settle the
check. "Sorry about the detour, but I need you to ride with me back to the
museum."
"Sure!" Cammy replied, "It's cool when it's closed." Another blessing-
slash-curse of Jennifer's single parent lifestyle: Cammy had spent more than
a few evenings in an empty museum while Jennifer set up, took down, or
adjusted exhibits. "Can I look at the trains?"
"We'll see," was Jennifer's answer. She dropped several bills on the
counter, enough for the shakes, fries, and tip. Thankfully the shakes were
already in to-go cups, she grabbed hers. Then, on a whim, she took a handful
of fries out of Cammy's basket. There weren't many left. "Ready to go?"
Cammy tugged on an imaginary whistle and said, "Choo-choo!" Then she was
off the stool and headed for the door. Jennifer could only shake her head.
As they reached the car, Cammy stopped just before opening her door. "Should
we tell dad?"

* * * *

The Wi-Fi modem offended Cameron and filled him with a sense of anger he
didn't think a basic home appliance was capable of doing.
First and foremost, it was a bad design. Sure, you could cram a modem,
router, and wireless transceiver together into one machine, but then it
became a single point of failure for your entire network. He would have at
least made each individual function a separate module for easier debugging.
Picking the equipment had not been his choice.
That led to the second problem, he was over ten years behind the curve
of basic home networking. Jennifer was giving him lessons on hardware,
software, security, and workflows. He felt guilty feeling bad about that,
and he felt bad for feeling guilty. It was his job to keep their tech
running, and right now he was playing catch up.
Which was a problem of such magnitude, Cameron was sure he didn't even
understand every facet of it...and couldn't begin to until he solved the
first two problems. Before his time in The Cave, Doctor Developer was a
moderately respected and respectably feared name in the world of supers.
Cameron was egoistical about it, but he appreciated that it afforded him
certain privileges. It provided some security against minor threats,
trepidation for major ones, and provided access to solutions when required.
Right now the entirety of his resources included what was in the garage
and what he could purchase at Hank's. That was it. Without access to his
old, confiscated equipment he was starting over again. The external threats
to him and his family were not.
He had a lot of ground to cover before he would feel comfortable, and
the Wi-Fi modem reminded him of this every time he put a password in one of
his phones.
Cameron pushed the negative thoughts as far aside as he could as he
explored the smartphone in his hand. The manuals that came with the devices
were helpful getting it setup, and thankfully he had the foresight to buy a
couple of gift cards from Hank's, which let him activate the service. The
first step in getting back up to speed was behind him. He had anonymous
network access, of a sort.
It was slow going. Navigating the web on a small screen was a vastly
different experience than Cameron remembered. He missed his custom browsers,
spidering agents, and a decent keyboard. Those would come. Now he was just
happy to find how to sideload various free apps available from a few sites
Cammy showed him.
They were basic apps. Many of them were just starter projects by
students. Individually they weren't useful, but in carefully curated
aggregation, they held potential. One app that took pictures when the camera
detected motion, another that emailed those pictures, and a good hiding spot
were enough that Cameron had primitive security cameras watching the front
and back doors.
It was a start.
He was using his remaining phone, digging through the list of apps, when
the browser was replaced by a picture of Jennifer. It was from the night he
set up his phone. She was posing for him, sticking out her tongue to the
amusement of an off-camera Cammy. Once it was taken, she insisted on showing
him how to add it to his contact list. Cammy's picture was her stuffed tube
cat.
Cameron tapped the green answer icon, and held the phone up to his ear.
"Hello," he said.
"Hey, Cameron," Jennifer said. The audio wasn't the best, but he could
make out what she was saying well enough. "Got a bit of bad news, well, not
good anyway."
"Are you and Cammy okay?" he asked.
"We're fine," Jennifer said, "in fact she's with me now. I just got a
call from work, and we're heading back to the museum. Not really a big deal,
hopefully I can smooth things over." She paused. "Anyway, we will be late.
Are you okay?"
Cameron thought about the Wi-Fi modem and did his best to lie. "Yes.
I'm figuring out this phone."
Jennifer's voice lightened. "Oh, great, now I have two screen addicts
living with me."
Cammy said something, but Cameron couldn't make it out. It sounded
like, "Lure dictated blue." Teenage vernacular was confusing at times.
"We'll be home as soon as we can. If you can wait, I'll bring dinner
home with us. I'll call when we head back, okay?"
Cameron's phone made a noise. The noise he configured to alert him to
emails. Only one person knew his email address, and that was him. "That
sounds good," Cameron told her. "I love you."
"Love you too, Deedee," Jennifer replied in earnest. "See you soon."
As soon as he hung up, Cameron switched apps and brought up his email
client. One new email from a minute in the past. He opened it up. The
email contained a picture of the front door. It showed two big men walking
past it, as if they were going around back.
His phone made another noise, which meant they were at the back door.
Cameron reached over to the shelf next to his work bench, and pulled out
the remains of his toy drone. He didn't correct Jennifer's assumption that
he wanted a toy robot to play with, because it was largely true he wanted a
robot again. However, the drone was for something else less benevolent.
Until he could acquire something better, the drone's lithium battery,
four large capacitors connected to he motors, and parts of its body were the
basic ingredients he needed for a homebrewed taser. Uninvited guests seemed
as good a time as any to test it out.

* * * *

Cammy pulled her jacket off and stuffed it under the front seat. It
wasn't cold enough to warrant wearing it, and she really didn't want to risk
losing her toucan in the museum. She already felt her mom was cooking up a
lecture about buying plushies at school. The last thing she needed on top of
that was a lecture on personal responsibilities because she lost her toucan.
"Ready?" her mom asked. She was already out of the car.
"Yep!" Cammy answered. She slammed the door shut, and followed Jennifer
into the employee entrance at the back of the museum. That entrance was a
bit disappointing, as it didn't pass any exhibits. She could slip away and
look at the train display once the adults were...doing whatever they needed
to do.
Her mom said it was an emergency, but Cammy didn't see a fire. There
were no alarms going off. She couldn't imagine what kind of emergency
situation would let a kid on the scene.
Soon they were in the hallway in front of Jennifer's office. Waiting
for them was Heathrow and a woman Cammy didn't know. This emergency really
was turning out to be a dud if the people involved could just wait around for
Jennifer. Cammy mentally shrugged, because the less urgent this was the
sooner they could get to the exhibits.
"Hello," Jennifer greeted the unknown woman in as pleasant a voice as
possible, "I apologize for the delay. I was picking my daughter up from
school, and we had to drive back to the city." Heathrow and the woman shared
a significant look that Cammy assumed was adult stuff. Jennifer slowed her
pace just a bit.
"Heathrow, I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," Jennifer
continued, "I'm afraid I don't know you, Miss..."
"My name is not important," the woman snapped. "I am here to retrieve
the manuscript for my employers." The woman gave off a better-than-you vibe
that Cammy didn't appreciate. She could at least be polite.
"Certainly," Jennifer nodded. "Cammy, why don't you go check out the
train display. This shouldn't take too long."
Cammy nodded. "Cool!" She turned to make her way to the museum floor,
but Heathrow called out.
"Cameryn, why don't I come with you?" he asked rhetorically. Cammy was
about to brush him off, but he'd already started toward her. "The doors may
be locked."
"Really?" Cammy asked. This wasn't her first rodeo. There'd been a few
nights where her mom let her sit out on the museum floor while she did
research. She'd never had trouble going from the offices to the floor. The
locks only needed a badge on the way back.
"Really?" Jennifer echoed. She was about to question Heathrow when the
situation shifted very quickly toward what Cammy expected an emergency to be
like. Heathrow lunged forward, and grabbed Cammy's arm. He used his
momentum to slip behind her, pulling the grabbed arm behind her and then
using his free hand to restrain her other arm.
"Hey...ow!" Cammy cried, more in surprise than pain.
"Heathrow!" Jennifer snarled. She clenched her fists, and began
crouching so she could launch herself. Before she could complete her crouch,
the woman reached an arm around Jennifer's throat and pressed a...
"Mom!" Cammy shrieked.
"Relax, Mrs. McKay," the woman purred, "there's no reason you or your
daughter need to be hurt. Just help us get the manuscript, and you can both
live through the night."
"Heathrow," Jennifer growled, "I swear..."
"Your histrionics are unwise and unneeded, Jennifer," Heathrow sniffed.
He directed his gaze down at Cammy. "Let's not make this any more traumatic
than it already is."

* * * *

Cameron was disappointed as the last roll of tape peeled off the
cardboard spool. His plans for it were much more amorous. Unfortunately
when two burly men break into your house, one does as one must. In this case
it was wrapping their hands into useless balls to prevent any chance of
picking at the knots used to tie hogtie them.
Surprise and a taser were on his side this time. He wasn't going to
leave any chance for next time.
"You are a dead man," the first goon spat. He was a goon. Cameron may
have been out of the loop for over a decade, but he knew hired muscle when he
was threatened by them.
"Why are you here?" Cameron asked.
The awakened goon snorted. "I want a lawyer."
"You're making two mistakes," Cameron explained. He walked away from
the goons, toward where he thought Jennifer kept the Christmas ornaments.
"First, I'm not an officer of the law." Cameron opened the box labeled
"Ornaments" and rummaged through it. "Second, there will be no police
involved."
The second goon was waking up. "Hey, Harv, suburban dad is trying to be
gangsta."
Harv moaned, "What happened?" He shifted in his bonds. "Where are we?"
"Looks like the kid was with her mom," the first goon told his partner.
"Didn't know mommy was shacked up."
Cameron walked back over to his prisoners. In his hands were several
small ornaments. Stars and candy canes made from fired porcelain. "So you
were after my family?"
"I want my lawyer," the first goon repeated. He spit at Cameron.
"I will, ah, ask one more time," Cameron said as patiently as he could.
"Or, uh, uh, uh, what?" Harv asked, joining in the taunting. "You going
to torture us?" Both goons laughed.
"Torture is ineffective," Cameron said. He was looking at the ornaments
in his hands. Once he identified one just the right size, he showed it to
the two. He pointed at the first goon. "What I'm going to do is put this in
your mouth, kick your jaw shut, and then Harv and I are going to watch and
see if you die from choking on your own blood or, ah, bleed out from your
tongue."
Just as the goon opened his mouth to speak, "What," Cameron shoved the
ornament in. He covered the man's mouth with his hand, which was relatively
safe since the goon couldn't bite down.
"You can't do this?" Harv screamed. "I want my lawyer!"
"Why do you both keep saying that?" He grabbed the first goon's hair to
steady his head. "Do I look like a cop?" he asked. "Do you two not
recognize me?" He started applying pressure to the bottom of the first
goon's chin.
"I don't know you from crap!" Harv yelled. "You're crazy!"
Cameron laughed. "I'm not crazy, I'm super-villain." Both goons froze.
"I've been away for, ah, a while. I thought maybe I could just enjoy my
family for a while. I wanted to just live with them." He started squeezing
again. "But you won't tell me why you're here, why you came here, or where
they are."
"They're at the museum! We were supposed to get the girl and bring her
there, but she ain't here. It was just you, man." Harv gasped for air after
blurting out his explanation.
"Science and Industry?" Cameron asked. He removed his hand from the
unnamed goon's mouth, and the man used the opportunity to spit out the
ornament. At that point, he was in a much more cooperative mood.
"We're supposed to meet them in an alley once we're done." he offered.
Cameron walked around the men, stopping behind the unnamed goon's back.
"I, uh, guess I need to go to the museum," Cameron said, "but leaving you two
in this state is problematic."
"Just let us go," Harv begged.
"No, I mean there's at least two ways you can get free even with your
fingers bound." He found a couple of rags, and used them to gag the men,
preventing any chance for them to pick at knots or tape with their teeth.
"Now there's just one." With no warning, Cameron raised his booted foot and
slammed it down on the unnamed goon's hands. The goon screamed into his gag
as his finger bones splintered, ensuring even if he wore through the tape he
wouldn't be able to use them. Harv was already unconscious when Cameron
broke his.

* * * *

"About damn time," the woman cursed. She turned back to Heathrow.
"Harv and Denny just replied to my text. They're coming back now. We should
have taken separate cars."
Heathrow looked up from the manuscript he was reading through. "I don't
trust those two not to lead the authorities to our safehouse. Besides, we're
ahead of schedule thanks to Jennifer." As an afterthought, he asked, "Were
there complications, aside from wasting a trip out to suburbia?"
"They said no one was home."
Jennifer and Cammy shared a significant look, and Jennifer put a finger
to her lips. Cammy nodded and buried her head against Jennifer's arm.
Thus far their captivity was going as well as it could. Once Jennifer
applied her thumbprint and passcode to the safe so Heathrow could extract the
ancient text, she and Cammy were sat down against a far wall. The woman
produced several stainless steel cable ties, which she used to hobble
Jennifer and Cammy.
Jennifer tested the ties once applied. Given time, she might be able to
break them without her belt, but they weren't given an opportunity. She and
Cammy stayed huddled together, staying quiet for the most part.
"They're in the alley," the woman reported. She made an impatient noise
and continued, "They need to be let back in." The woman looked at Heathrow,
then to Jennifer and Cammy.
Heathrow seemed to read her mind. "Take the girl. Jennifer does a good
job of hiding it, but she is stronger than she looks. I, unfortunately, am a
rather dainty soul."
The woman walked over to Cammy, and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Get
up," she ordered. She pulled hard.
Cammy let out a plaintive cry, and despite every instinct, Jennifer let
her daughter slide out of her arms. She wasn't sure what the woman's deal
was, but Jennifer got the impression dislocating a teenager's shoulder didn't
crack the top one hundred worst things she'd done.
"It's okay, Cammy," Jennifer said as calmly, but loudly, as she could.
"Do what she says. She's just going downstairs to let her friends in."
"No! I don't want to leave you."
The woman stood Cammy up, and knelt down behind her. One hand she kept
on the back of Cammy's neck. The other she used to clip the steel ties
around her ankles. The woman showed Cammy the clippers. "You piss me off,
and these will cut through your fingers just as easily."
Cammy nodded.
"Good, now walk." The woman backed away from Jennifer, turned, and
drove Cammy out the door.
When the office door swung shut, Heathrow spoke. He turned away from
reading to give Jennifer a look that was meant to be apologetic. "It should
go without saying, if I have a hair out of place when they come back, your
daughter will pay the price for your actions."
"When they get back, I'm going to find out just how dainty you are,"
Jennifer swore.
"I have always admired your spirit, Jennifer," Heathrow chuckled. He
shook his head and went back to the manuscript.

* * * *

The woman's grip on Cammy's neck never eased up. Due to how much longer
her strides were than Cammy's, the younger of the two stumbled a couple of
times as they made their way to the fire exit. Those stumbles only caused
the firm grip to tighten.
"You're hurting me," Cammy squeaked.
"Then walk faster," was all the woman said.
Mercifully she released Cammy with a shove as they turned the last
corner and saw the fire escape. "Push the door open," the woman ordered.
Cammy looked back at her for a moment, and then went to the door.
"It'll set off the alarm."
"Do it!"
Cammy swallowed and pushed. She hoped there might be a chance she could
slip out and go get help. The door wouldn't move. Cammy pressed harder,
leaning into it with all her weight. She eventually gave up. "It won't
open."
"I am not in the mood for this," the woman stalked forward.
Cammy backed up as far as she could into the corner of the exit. "I
promise. It won't open."
The woman pushed on the door. It didn't move. "Move back," she
demanded, swiping her arm.
Cammy immediately obliged. She backed away, moving back past the
corner. She considered making a break for it while the woman fought with the
door, but...there was no point. She would just get caught. Then a movement
caught her eyes. A gloved hand and a black leather sleeve waved to her from
around the corner. A head poked around the corner, and the arm waved her to
come to it.
She ran as fast as she could toward her dad. She was halfway to him
when the woman registered the movement. "You little brat!" She forgot the
door and gave chase.
She rounded the corner just in time to see Cammy disappear around
another turn. The woman smirked. That was a straight hallway with stairs at
the end, she'd catch the girl easily.
Just as the woman turned the corner, her world exploded into a ball of
heat and light. It knocked her back against the wall, denting the drywall.
Her head lolled to one side, and she followed it all the way down to the
floor.

* * * *

A muffled rumble echoed through the office where Jennifer and Heathrow
waited. Heathrow looked up. "What was that?" When he turned back to
Jennifer, he was unsettled to see her smiling.

* * * *

"Did you build a bomb?" Cammy asked more loudly than Cameron would have
liked. He didn't have a chance to give her earplugs, so it was justified
loudness.
"A shaped concussive blast," Cameron explained. You could do amazing
things with a metal waste basket, a few cans of compressed air, and an
extension cord.
He moved quickly to the woman and rifled through her jacket. A gun, a
knife, and a half dozen steel ties were all he found. The gun was first,
clip and round removed. Then it went in his pocket with the knife. The ties
went around the woman's wrists and ankles.
"Don't forget this," Cammy told him. She pulled the snippers from the
woman's boot.
"Good eye," Cameron praised. "Hang onto those. Now, where's your mom?"
Cammy pointed down the hall. "I can show you," she offered, then
stopped, "What about her friends? She said Denny and Harv were coming back."
"They're outside...in the, uh, trunk of their car...parked in front of
the door," Cameron explained.
Cammy's eyes widened as several facts became apparent. Her dad knew how
to build a bomb. Her dad took out three really bad guys. Her dad parked a
car in front of a firedoor. Then one question popped in her mind. "How did
you get in?"
"Your, ah, mom used to bring me to these, uh, fundraising events,"
Cameron explained. "They were boring..."
"Still are," Cammy interjected. She knew those events.
"I spent the time planning how to break in," he answered. "Never
thought I'd actually get to do it."
It started to sink in for Cammy that Cameron might have been in such a
high security prison for a good reason.

* * * *

Someone started banging on the office door.
"Mom! Mom!" Cammy's muffled cries were joined by the handle rattling.
"Please, let me in!" The door required a keycard to open from the outside.
"Mr. Heathrow. Please!"
Heathrow moved toward the door. He looked perturbed and confused.
"Don't try anything," he warned Jennifer. "I may be dainty, but that's still
your kid." The threat was simple and effective. Jennifer glared at him, but
remained still.
Cammy called one more time as Heathrow yanked open the door. As
expected, Jennifer's kid was standing just outside. Heathrow expected to see
her looking up at him. Insead, she was staring to the side. Heathrow turned
to see what she was looking at just in time to see a fist slam into his
face.
Pain exploded through his face. He staggered back. Then something
collided with his sternum, and breathing became painful. He continued to
stagger back into Jennifer's office, until he felt two arms wrap around him.
One around his throat, the other pinning his left arm to his side.
"Do you like breathing, Heathrow?" Jennifer asked. Heathrow tried to
talk, but his diaphragm was still seizing. He coughed and tried to nod.
"Then I suggest you lie on the floor, face down, and enjoy every breath."
Jennifer's grip vanished, and Heathrow bolted toward the door. Cammy
was still there, and if he could grab her, there was a chance. With Jennifer
still hobbled, she couldn't give chase. His only obstacle was whoever hit
him the first time.
He would be ready.
He wasn't ready.
Heathrow's arm was extended, ready to grab his hostage, so it was the
first of him out the door. No sooner was his wrist past the threshold than
someone grabbed it. There was a yanking, and Heathrow's angle shifted. He
was no longer running at Cammy. He was stumbling past her, being pushed
forward, right into the wall.
"Holy shit!" Cammy exclaimed as Heathrow's body collapsed into a heap on
the ground. "I think you killed him, dad."
Cameron used his foot to roll Heathrow onto his side. He could see the
man's chest moving. "He'll live." Cameron looked at Cammy. "Always do what
your mother says," he said, trying to use Heathrow's uncooperative choice as
a learning experience.
Cammy stared back, eyes wide.
"Can I get a little help?" Jennifer called. She was shuffling toward
the door. "It's been a while since I had to bunnyhop. I'm out of practice."
Cammy looked down to her pockets for the snippers. She missed Cameron's
face turning beet red. Snippers found, Cammy ran over to cut the steel
bands. It took Jennifer's help, but they were able to free her ankles.
Jennifer hugged Cammy tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe, kiddo." After
another moment of squeezing Cammy, Jennifer eased up. She leaned back and
was a bit unnerved to see Cammy's eyes twinkling.
"Dad knows how to build bombs," Cammy told her mother.
Jennifer looked up at Cameron. He shrugged. "It was a shaped
concussive blast."

* * * *

The tears started halfway home.
It didn't take long for the police to get to the museum once an alarm
was triggered. Rounding up Heathrow and his cronies took a little longer.
Along the way they found a couple of guards who'd been locked in a storage
closet. Between their statements, Jennifer and Cammy's statements, and two
babbling goons found in a trunk, the story of what happened quickly came
together.
Once the perpetrators were read their rights and taken away, Cameron
showed up at the edge of the police tape asking about his family. This was
all the opening Jennifer needed to excuse herself and Cammy. She took a
detective's business card with a promise to return for a lineup the next day.
As the drive home began, Cameron in the back of Jennifer's sedan, Cammy
was virtually levitating with excitement. She wanted to know how Cameron
took out the goons, how he snuck into the museum then back out, and dozens of
other questions. It finally came down to one.
"Were we in any real danger?" she asked.
"No way," Jennifer demurred.
"Definitely," Cameron said plainly.
"Cameron!" Jennifer hissed.
"We were?" Cammy asked, her voice very deflated. Her eyes tearing up.
Jennifer didn't take her eyes off the road. "You want to handle this
one, Cameron?"
He didn't really, but he couldn't stop himself. "You were outnumbered,
and they were armed. That's a, uh, dangerous situation." He knew he'd
messed up. "The important thing is you lived. That's all that counts in the
end."
Cammy held most of the tears back until they got home, but it took more
than an hour of Jennifer talking to her, letting her weep, and promising to
always keep her safe before Cammy finally drifted off to sleep. Jennifer was
still sitting on the edge of Cammy's bed, holding one hand and stroking her
hair with the other as she did. It was anyone's guess how long she would
sleep.

* * * *

"I screwed up," Cameron said as Jennifer stepped into the kitchen. His
voice was quiet, but Jennifer couldn't tell if he was worried about waking
Cammy or ashamed. Maybe both.
She didn't immediately reply. Instead she worked on fixing a coffee for
herself. It would give her time to think. Part of her wanted to slap
Cameron, but she knew that wasn't fair. Aside from being a terrible,
terrible liar, he didn't have years of experience to know how easy Cammy's
adrenaline highs could crash. Cammy was going to have to process what
happened eventually no matter what broke the dam.
When her coffee cup was full she picked it up and sat across from
Cameron at the kitchen table. A bit of self-reflection, and she found
herself thinking that she had a lot to process as well.
Then she started talking.
"I was angry at you for a long time." Jennifer looked at the coffee mug
on the table. She stirred it several times, the spoon clinking against the
edge. Once she was sure it couldn't get any more stirred, she looked back at
Cameron. "It felt like you'd abandoned me, us, but mostly me.
"It wasn't until after Cammy was born that I understood," she paused,
"At least I accepted it. When you went out to get the refrigerator that
night, how many schemes did you think of? How many escape plans did you come
up with?"
Cameron's voice was flat. "About ten."
"How many of those did you dismiss because it put me or Cammy at risk,
or because you knew I didn't want to live in Khadam, or some reason?"
"All of them."
"Every day during the trial, every day before Cammy was born, I lied to
myself," Jennifer said. "I said that I didn't have to be Lady Lawful. I
could manage hiding out in Khadam. Then I'd think, 'But I won't have to.'"
Jennifer paused. She reached out across the table, and Cameron reciprocated.
"It wasn't until a nurse put a slimy, squealing, squirming baby in my arms
that I ever thought, 'I don't want to be Lady Lawful.'"
"Then I understood. You didn't abandon us, you gave up being Doctor
Developer for us." She looked at the table. "Then tonight happened, and I'm
back to not knowing how to feel. I love that you saved Cammy, I'm a bit
angry she knows you can build bombs, and I'm scared that one of those two
things is going to land you back in jail.
"I just got you back," Jennifer said. "I don't want to lose you again."
Cameron looked down at the table. "I'm mad at myself," he said. He
searched for the right words. "In prison, I think I gave up on being a part
of yours and Cammy's, uh, family. I accepted that. It hurt, but she had
you. You're more than enough. Then I met her, and I knew nothing I ever did
would be enough.
"When I heard you two were in trouble," Cameron paused. He pulled his
hands from Jennifer's, and leaned back in his chair. "I didn't even try to
find *you*, all I could think about was making sure *she* was safe." Cameron
looked spent, and Jennifer suspected he was.
"For someone who has absolutely no skill with speaking to teenage
girls," Jennifer smiled, "you're a pretty smooth operator getting the mother
of a teenage girl on your side."
Cameron looked confused. "You, uh, lost me."
Jennifer smiled and stood up. She stepped over to Cameron, and through
a bit of squeezing and sliding the table, she sat down in his lap. "You just
told me Cammy is the most important thing in the world to you, even more than
me." She nuzzled his neck. "And I know what you'll do for me."

* * * *

"Mom."
Jennifer recognized Cammy's voice before she felt a hand shake her
shoulder. Even half asleep, she knew what her daughter needed. "You want to
get in bed with me?" It was curious that Cammy wasn't already in bed with
her. Usually she just climbed in behind her.
"Yeah, but..." Cammy looked up, past Jennifer.
"Oh!" Jennifer's eyes fully opened. She rolled over to Cameron and
shook his shoulder. "Deedee, scoot over. Make room for Cammy."
His eyes opened a crack, and after a couple of seconds of staring into
nothing, he worked his way over to the edge. Jennifer inched closer to
Cameron, which gave Cammy enough room. She snuggled closer to her mother,
rested her head on Jennifer's left arm, and Jennifer hugged Cammy with her
right one.
"Not much room," Cammy teased in a whisper.
"At least you're not the Jennut Butter in a Camwhich," Jennifer replied
jovially.
Cammy raised her head slightly, then let it fall on Jennifer's arm as a
kind of love pat. "Mom...."
That was the last thing said for the rest of the night. Soon Cammy was
breathing regularly.
Cameron too was back to sleep. Jennifer could feel his regular breaths
on the back of her neck. It felt perfect. With Cammy getting older, there
wouldn't be many times she'd need to get in bed with her mom because of
nightmares. It dawned on her, in a mix of sadness and joy, that this night
could be the only time they would be like this.
Jennifer decided that if that was the case, then she was thankful,
happy, and content to have this night. From the day she found out she was
pregnant, to Heathrow's attempted theft, it was a long road. Lying between
her husband and daughter, having her family together, it was worth the
journey. It was the perfect place to be.
Jennifer was warm.

=============================================================================

Editor's Notes:

Of course, I actually have a 3.5" floppy drive. Somewhere. Well, I'm
pretty sure it's in one of the boxes stacked next to my entertainment
center. But it's USB and I could try to read old floppies if I had to.

On another tech note, because of the rather more...comprehensive...
changes to the world wrought by the Godmarket crash, the iPhone never
happened in mainline ASH. Something with a very similar form factor showed
up, but Apple itself didn't make it past the collapse (Jobs was a worshipper,
go figure, as were most corporate bigwigs), and the term "smartphone" never
came up, people instead just called them cellphones even as functions
multiplied and the phone part got less important. The term "blackcel" was
introduced in the late 2010s to refer to highly illegal phones with security
systems that ranged from "doesn't include mandatory government backdoors" to
"will electrocute unauthorized users," and then back-constructions of
whitecels (regular smartphones) and graycels (either very smart "gray cells"
or those that skirted the edge of tech laws, or both).
Yeah, privacy rights, and civil rights in general, are still recovering
from the State Of Emergency in the ASH universe.

Author's Notes:

Being a single person, I can only approximate parenthood based on
observations and mental simulacrum, so I apologize to any people out there
with kids who read this and think, "You sad simple person, is this how you
imagine parenting?" This is how I imagine it. :-)

It's been established in previous ASH stories that consumer technology
was a few years ahead of our world, specifically MP3 players. Smartphones
existed long before the iPhone, but weren't widely adopted. Jennifer was
probably using a flip phone until after the iPhone formfactor saturated the
market.

Finally, a small timeline:

July 1998: Benefactor Crisis
February 1999: Cameron's sentencing
March 1999: Cammy is born.
June 2007: iPhone is released.
May 2012: Cammy wins the robotics competition and is kicked out of her
club.
June 2012: Cameron comes home.

============================================================================

For all the back issues, plus additional background information, art,
and more, go to http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/ASH !

http://ash.wikidot.com/ is the official ASH Wiki, focusing on the Fourth
Heroic Age, but containing some information about other Ages.

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