Chip allowed Riley to stay with him until they found Riley's family.

And later he parked his car in front of a garage.

It belonged to a small house in a quiet residential area.

Riley followed Chip to the door and they entered the house.

The young man put his bag aside and hung up his hat.

Riley heard footsteps from upstairs and a few moments later a young woman appeared at the top of the stairs. 

"Chip?" the woman spoke to him.

She  stopped in the middle of the stairs and looked irritated back and forth between her husband and the child who was setting her floor under water.

"Maggie, sweetheart–"

Chip approached his wife and tried to find a way to explain to his wife why he had brought home someone else's child.

"Let’s have a talk in the living room," suggested Maggie.

Her husband nodded and followed the woman with dark brown hair. But not without asking Riley to wait in the hallway.

Riley's first impulse was to make themself invisible and eavesdrop on the two.

Luckily, the teenager noticed in time that they were still wet and the drops of water on the floor would give Riley away.

So Riley had to wait until the couple came back.

Luckily, after a few minutes, Chip and Maggie joined Riley in the hallway.

Maggie suddenly seemed less suspicious and held out her hand to Riley.

"Your name is Riley, correct? I'm Maggie Chips' Wife."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Oh, don't call me that. You make me feel old," the woman said and laughed. "Just Maggie."

The teenager smiled back.

"Well then, let's get you out of these clothes," Maggie ripped Riley out of their thoughts.

Riley looked down. Even their shoes were so soaked that they made noises whenever Riley shifted their weight.

They gave Chip his coat back and followed Maggie into the bathroom.

The woman handed them a change of clothes and explained that she would quickly get the guest room ready while Riley changed.

"– and towels are in the cupboard next to sink."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Half an hour later, Riley was lying in a freshly made bed, wondering where their siblings and Five were.

Certainly not far.

After all, Riley knew their Idiots– the Hargreeves had a habit of drawing attention to themselves.

So it wouldn't be hard to find the others. They just had to look for something unusual.

How hard could that be?

~~~~

Maggie Adams woke up the next morning at the same time as the day before, and the day before, and the day before.

She got up, unwrapped the curlers from her hair, when she remembered what happened the previous evening.

Chip was way late from work. And when he got home he wasn't alone, he had this strange child with him.

She had been suspicious at first.

She knew Chip had a good heart, but he had never brought home a homeless child.

Just once a brown and orange cat– Mrs. Norrington. 

Who was no longer sleeping in her usual place when Maggie entered the bedroom again.

She didn't think about it and walked down the hall to the guest room to wake Riley.

The teenager could help her make breakfast– after all she didn't know what Riley liked.

Maggie was also able to use this opportunity to ask the questions that were on her mind since last night.

Maggie knocked on the door but got no response.

Expecting that Riley was still asleep, she opened the door, but Riley was nowhere to be seen.

"Strange," the woman murmured.

The thought that Riley just ran off crossed her mind.

But this thought disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

Because Riley was standing in the kitchen at the stove, making scrambled eggs with bacon and drinking coffee at the same time.

Mrs Norrington sat on the windowsill and watched the teenager prepare breakfast.

"Good morning," Riley greeted the young woman. "Coffee?"

Maggie politely declined.

Instead, she set the table, brought in the newspaper from outside and placed it next to Chip's cup.

Riley placed a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of everyone and then picked up the newspaper.

They finally wanted to know when they were.

"Chip always reads the newspaper first," Maggie explained, pouring some orangejuice into everyone's glasses.

"Oh, sorry," Riley mumbled.

They let go of the newspaper but could tell it was a Thursday.

"It’s okay," replied Maggie. "You can't know. Chip just has his own quirks."

"I know what you mean. My husband needs his coffee– a decent one or heads roll."

Riley rolled their eyes. They failed to notice that Maggie was looking at the teenager with furrowed eyebrows.

The brown-haired woman was about to confront Riley about calling someone a husband when Chip entered the kitchen.

He wished them both good morning and sat down at the kitchen table with Maggie and Riley.

"So, what are your plans for today?" Chip asked, looking at his wife.

"Well, after work Agness invited me for coffee," Maggie reported, addressing Riley. "I have a job at the newspaper. I work in the archives and help Mrs. Smith sort through all the records."

"Wow. That sounds exciting," said Riley, sounding impressed.

Maggie nodded and started talking about her work. 

She was currently working for a few hours a day and hoped to be able to work full time soon when Mrs Smith retired.

"– They are looking for a new journalist. I only saw the notice on Tuesday," the woman finished her story.

She took a sip of orange juice and Riley realized there was something more to that statement.

"Do you want to apply?", asked the teenager.

Maggie and Chip looked at Riley for a moment before Maggie started laughing.

In between giggles, she said that she definitely wouldn't get hired as a journalist and that she didn't even need to try. 

"I think you should apply," Chip said.

He got up and since everyone had finished breakfast, he grabbed the plates and started clearing the table.

"You can think about it. Meanwhile, Riley and I are looking for–"

Chip stopped and turned away from the sink.

"Riley? Is that a girl's name or a boy's name?"

"Both," Riley answered simply.

"So you're a boy?" Chip guessed based on Riley's short hair.

"No."

"Girl?"

"No. I'm neither. Just Riley."

Maggie and Chip looked at the teenager in silence. Riley saw the two of them thinking, trying to sort this information.

"Well, anyway," Chip muttered after a few moments. "Since I have today off, I'll help you find your siblings. It can't be that difficult."

The brown-haired man grabbed the newspaper and left the kitchen.

Maggie also got up from the kitchen table and wanted to leave the kitchen.

"Maggie, what date is it?"

"The fourth," she answered, leaving Riley alone in the kitchen.

"The fourth of what?"

"April," the woman called from the hallway. "The fourth of April."

~~~~

"And you don't have anything more specific," Chip repeated his question.

He and Riley were standing in the small alley where Riley landed a few hours earlier.

If I had anything more specific, I wouldn't be here, Riley thought, sighing in frustration.

"No. I wouldn't have messed with your partner either."

"Yeah, sorry about Ronnie. He's a–"

Chip wanted to say something else, but then changed his mind.

"– Idiot. I try to avoid him as much as possible."

Riley nodded and folded the piece of paper.

They were a little more relaxed now that Riley knew the exact date. On the way to the alley they had passed a shop advertising the 'new and best TV of the year 1963'.

So today was, Thursday, April fourth, 1963.

"His behavior is none of your business."

On the piece of paper, Riley scribbled an umbrella and written a small message in their cipher (Riley had forced everyone else to learn it).

They stuck the note between two bricks and hoped that the others would have their brain cells switched on if they ended up here too.

Riley turned back to Chip and the two left the alley.

Unaware that the note fell out between the bricks, the wind blew it into the next street and the rain softened the note so much that it was no longer readable.

~~~~

Maggie and Chip kindly allowed Riley to stay with them.

Although the two still found the teenager strange in some ways, they began to get used to Riley.

And Riley also slowly got used to not having to be on guard all the time and actually found it quite nice with Maggie and Chip.

Even if the most important thing was missing– Five.

Maggie and Chip always had to grin when Riley talked about their 'husband'. They thought it was cute and even suggested Riley invite the boy.

But Riley simply replied that that wasn't possible and then quickly changed the subject.

The couple noticed a long time ago that Riley didn't want to talk about their past.

Nevertheless, the teenager did everything they could to find their family.

Chip also searched the police records several times, but hadn't found anyone (except Reginald) with the name Hargreeves

"How about an article about the town festival next week?" suggested Maggie.

A few days ago she found the courage to apply to be a journalist and got the job.

They were small articles, about topics that supposedly only women were interested in, but Maggie made it her goal to have at least one of her articles make the front page.

And Riley started helping out in the archives a few weeks ago.

The teenager initially only went along so he wouldn't have to sit around at home all day.

Because Chip and Maggie wanted Riley to go to school first.

They didn't know how long the teenager would stay with them and they "needed education."

But Riley politely declined, assuring the couple that they would "jump off a cliff" if they forced them to go to the "fucking school with all these kids."

So the topic of school was ticked off and Riley decided to accompany Maggie to work.

"Whatever you write about will be great," Chip said.

He took Maggie's hand and kissed the back of her Hand.

Riley smiled and turned their gaze back to the newspaper. It was the morning edition of today, Friday, May 3, 1963.

~~~~

"Riley, could you please take these files to Mr. Jones before you go on your lunch break? He wanted to look at them again before we put the things away," Mrs. Smith asked the teenager.

Today was Friday (May 10th) and usually Riley and Maggie ate lunch together.

"Of course," Riley smiled.

They grabbed the small stacks and made their way to Mr. Jones' office.

The door was open, but Riley's boss was currently talking to James, one of Maggie's colleagues.

Maggie didn't like him. He seemed friendly at first, but upon closer inspection Maggie and Riley realized he wasn't excited about working with a woman.

Although James's articles hit the front page every now and then and Maggie's still hasn't.

"– are you sure about that?"

"This could be the story of the year–" said Mr. Jones.

He stood up from his chair and walked around his large desk.

"– and it's yours if you want it. All you have to do is–"

Riley knocked on the doorframe, "Sir, Mrs. Smith said you wanted to see those files again."

"Ah, yes."

Mr. Jones took the files from Riley and placed them on his desk.

"You're the Adam's boy, right?"

"Chip is my distant cousin, yes."

At work they told everyone that Riley would be staying with Chip and his wife for a while.

No one asked further questions and everyone assumed that Riley was a boy because of Riley's short hair. And Riley didn't care enough to correct them.

Chip and Maggie knew. That was the most important thing.

Mr. Jones nodded, turned back to James and suggested the younger man to continue they conversation over lunch.

The two men left the office, leaving Riley in the hallway.

Wondering what Mr. Jones and James were talking about, the teenager entered the office.

Next to the file on the desk was a piece of paper with a few words written in it. Riley could guess what it was.

They tore a sheet off a notepad, copied the other piece of paper and put the second one in their pocket.

"Maggie Adams, welcome to the front page."

~~~~

Chip's 31st birthday was May 20th.

Riley and Maggie planed a surprise party for him for weeks and took hours to bake a cake.

Maggie insisted it, preferring to do everything herself before something went wrong.

When Chip got home from work that afternoon, the garden was decorated and family and friends wished him a happy birthday.

After the cake, Riley went back into the house unnoticed and sat down in the living room.

Even though all the guests were super nice, they needed a moment for themselves.

Seeing Chip with his family made Riley painfully aware that they were completely alone.

Well not completely alone. Maggie and Chip became something of a family to them, but they weren't Five and their siblings.

The teenager closed their eyes briefly and tried to concentrate on their breathing.

"You okay?" asked Chip, standing at the door.

Riley opened their eyes and nodded.

"Yes. I just– I'm just not a people person," the teenager explained.

"Except for some exceptions," said Chip.

"How do you know?"

"Haven't I told you? I have superpowers. I can read minds," Chip joked, sitting down next to Riley.

They chuckled, shook their heads and nudged Chip with their shoulder.

"Very funny," Riley rolled their eyes.

Chip assured Riley that he already knew how funny he was before adding seriously, "You're okay, right?"

"Yes, I'm okay," Riley assured. "Thank you for asking."

Chip smiled at Riley and stood up to give the teenager some space.

Riley had to smile too and joined the others again a short time later.