"That was close," I said once we were back in the safety of the motorhome.

"Yeah, and I'll have to come up with a new disguise," Commander Howlett complained. We drove in silence for a while. Then, I thought crept into my mind. "Commander, when are we going to stop for the night?" I asked.

"We aren't, that's why I took the motorhome," he replied.

"Oh," I said quietly.

"How did you know all of those people were staring at us without looking around?" Howlett asked.

"I could feel everyone's eyes on us! Couldn't you feel it to? It was pretty uncomfortable."

"Yeah, but I thought it was strange that you knew without having to look around at everyone."

"A sixth sense I guess," I answered with a shrug. We drove on without showing any signs of stopping. I waited until I started drifting off before I got up to sleep in the bed. 3 hours later, I woke to Commander Howlett gently shaking me arm.

"Sarah, we're here," he said softly. As we walked up to the door, I smiled when I remembered that my Dad had no clue I was here. I rang the doorbell and was surprised that it only took him a few seconds to get to the door. He opened it awestruck and embraced me in a tight hug before crying happy tears.

"Welcome home my little princess," Dad said.

"I can't stay forever Dad," I admitted.

"Then we'll make every minute count," Dad smiled. After we went inside, I introduced Dad to Commander Howlett. As I started upstairs, I overheard their little conversation.

"Thank you for bringing her home," Dad said.

"I'm deeply sorry sir, but she can only stay for a few days," Commander Howlett informed him.

"To offer my gratitude, you are more than welcome to stay for the night," Dad suggested. Dad started up the stairs, so I hurried back to my room and not a second later, Dad gently knocked on my door.

"Can I come in?" he asked. I opened my door. "Your Commander is staying the night. Is there anything special you think he'd like for breakfast?"

"No, but I think he'll be grateful to have real food instead of the crap they feed us on base," I joked and went back to unpacking my suitcase. When I looked at him again, he looked like he was going to cry. "What is it Daddy?" I asked concerned. His expression softened a bit before he replied,

"You look so tough and beautiful at the same time! I miss seeing that in you everyday here at the house. Your mother would've been proud."

"I missed you too Dad and I'm glad that you can still find parts of me that were so much like mom," I said as I gave him another hug.

"I'm off to bed, but if you could make sure Commander Howlett doesn't need anything before you fall asleep, that would be great," Dad said as he walked away. I finished unpacking, kicked my shoes off, changed into some shorts and one of Dad's old shirts from when he was just a little older than me, and then headed down to the guest room. Commander Howlett had his back to me and it looked like he was reading some sort of file.

"What do you want?" he asked curtly.

"Do you need anything?" I asked gently when I realized he was in a "mood."

"No," he said without even glancing up from the file.

"Are you sure you don't want some water or an extra pillow?"

"I said no," Commander Howlett answered sternly. I stood there, staring in the doorway. Commander Howlett wasn't wearing his hat anymore, which gave him a strangely familiar scruffy look. I took a few steps closer to peek over his shoulder.

"What's in the file?" I asked. He slammed it shut right in my face, causing me to flinch.

"Nothing that concerns you," he replied sharply as he turned around to glare at me. I could see the anger in his eyes and thought it was best to scurry for the stairs. I didn't stop until I was back in my room, shut the door, and sprawled out on my bed. I let out a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair.

"Why do I have to be so curious all the time?" I thought to myself. "Curiosity, huh," I thought out loud as I grabbed the piece of paper with the coordinates on it. I made a plan to take the coordinates to Alice first thing tomorrow. I turned out the light and for the first time in weeks, I fell asleep instantly. 

I was running down a hall and a GPS indicated that Door 13 was where I needed to go. I stopped at the corner to check if anyone was coming. I jumped back out, silently ran to Door 13, and was almost there when a man from the shadows grabbed me. I tried to break free, but the man was too strong. He started to pull me away from Door 13. "No, NO! Let me go! I have to have to get to him, I HAVE TO!" I cried. "NO!" I bellowed as I sat straight up in bed. I was sweating and could feel a tear slipping out of the corner of my eye. "It was the same dream," I whispered to myself confusedly as I slung my legs over the edge of my bed. I cleaned myself up and changed into a tank top. I rinsed my face and when I looked in the mirror, I realized how buff my arms were now compared to what they used to be. My hair had grown out to just below my shoulders and my face looked more distinguished. I didn't think it was possible, but my stomach looked even more flat. When I pulled my tank top up and realized I had gotten abs, I cried out it surprise, but quickly covered my mouth, afraid that I had woken Dad up. I quietly checked and thankfully, Dad was still snoring as loud as a bull frog. Now that I was up and wide awake, there was no way I could fall back asleep, so I went downstairs.

I haven't had ice cream in over a month! Sure enough, the freezer had a full supply and had moose tracks, my favorite. I was so excited that I ate it right out of the container! The sensational, mouth quenching taste instantly washed over me. After a few desperate mouth fulls, I slowed down and took smaller bites.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" I stopped bid-bite and slowly turned around. Leaning against the kitchen wall with his arms crossed, was Commander Howlett smugly smiling. I quickly put the spoon down, furious that he'd caught me.

"Why aren't you  in bed?" I shot back at him.

"I don't sleep much," he said.

"Why not?" I asked. Commander Howlett didn't answer and I bashfully looked down, knowing that I had crossed the line.

"Where's the bowls?" he asked trying to quickly change the subject.

"Second cupboard on the right side at the top," I answered. I watched Commander Howlett as he got some ice cream to. He was wearing a "man" tank top with sweatpants and because his arms were exposed, I couldn't help but notice how big his biceps were. The tank top seemed too tight, shaping the rest of his muscled structure, and Commander Howlett's hair stuck out in odd shapes on the sides. He sat down across from me and took a few bites.

"Look, I feel guilty for how I treated you earlier," Commander Howlett admitted.

"It's ok," I said as I picked at my ice cream

"No, it's not ok!I shouldn't have treated you like that, but I did. So I guess all I'm trying to do is say sorry," Howlett said with thick emotion in his voice. He took a bunch of huge bites of ice cream as I looked at him in disbelief. I couldn't believe that someone so stern could care so much.

"I forgive you, just... don't let it happen again ok?" I said carefully.

"I won't," Howlett promised.

"You're not very good at apologizing, are you?" I asked playfully. Commander Howlett let out a small laugh before answering,

"No, I haven't had very much experience in that department." Now it was my turn to laugh. I put the ice cream back in the freezer and left our dishes in the dishwasher, hoping that Dad wouldn't find the evidence. We both went to push our chairs in, but stopped abruptly, surprised that we were doing the same thing at the same time, and I began to feel a nervous panic.

"It's getting late," I said curtly and pushed my chair in. Howlett, although a unsure of what happened, did the same. I was about to go up the stairs when Commander Howlett grabbed my arm; I froze and held my breath. Nobody but my Dad has ever done that to me before, not even Peter. He had a strong, but firm grip and we stared each other for a moment.

"You have an extremely bold father," Commander Howlett said. I had to swallow to breathe.

"Thank you," I managed to croak out. He released my arm and I slowly went back to my room where I soon fell asleep.