As Will finally pulled into his driveway and turned off the car, he felt the heavy tension in his shoulders fade away, and he breathed a little sigh of relief. He turned his head slightly to check on Claire, who had rested her head on his shoulder and cried herself to sleep during the drive home. Will sat there motionless, gazing at Claire's tear-streaked face, and he felt a deep longing. More than anything, Will wished that he had been able to stop all of this from happening to her. He wished that he could have rescued Arthur. He wished that he could have kept Claire from being kidnapped. He wished that she had been able to surprise her father with a warm embrace that night she had arrived home on vacation. Only one thought eased Will's troubled mind: Claire was sitting here safely by his side. At least he had been able to keep that much of his word.

As Will sat there pondering, he was again reminded of how deeply he cared for Claire. This courageous, intelligent, talented, sensitive, sweet, beautiful woman had captivated his heart and mind. Will smiled slightly and studied Claire's face one last time. He then quietly opened his door and slowly slid out of the car, carefully supporting Claire's head so as not to wake her. Will reached over and gently lifted Claire into his arms and out of the car. She stirred slightly but did not awaken. Will used his back to shut the car door as quietly as he could and then made his way to the front door of the house.

As Will ascended the stairs to the porch, the door opened, and Hank's smiling face welcomed him inside. Max, who was standing nearby, greeted Will with a congratulatory nod. Will greeted his friends with a smile and then quietly made his way upstairs to the spare room that Claire had been using over the past few days. He carefully lowered Claire onto her bed and then knelt beside her. Will gently brushed her hair from her face and then caressed her cheek on the place where the tears had left their greatest mark. He smiled sadly and then quietly rose and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"How the hell did you do it?!" Hank asked excitedly after having welcomed Will into the living room with a giant bear hug. "It's not even midnight yet!"

"Quit making me sound like such a hero...because I'm not," Will said disappointedly as he flopped down on the sofa.

"What are you talking about? Claire's upstairs, isn't she?" Hank replied with a puzzled expression. "That makes you a hero in my book!"

"What happened, William?" Max asked, seeing that something was troubling Will.

"It was like something from a storybook, Max," Will answered, shaking his head sadly.

Hank finally realized that something was seriously bothering his friend, and he, too, became serious.

"What is it, Will? What happened out there?" Hank asked.

"I got to the warehouse, and Moe had Claire tied up in a chair," Will began to recount. "I told him the truth...how we were at the Emporium and saw the black automaton break in. He didn't believe me though, and he threatened to kill Claire if I didn't tell him where Art was. That's when Art actually showed up, and all hell broke loose."

"Wait?! Art was there?" Hank asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Julius brought him to the warehouse...said he turned himself in and demanded to see Moe," Will continued. "Anyway, Art brought a bomb with him...I guess he must have sold that idiot, Julius, on the idea that it was the secret project Moe had been trying to get his hands on in the first place...and he tells Moe to let him and Claire go or else he'll blow the whole place up with us all inside. Moe took his sweet time deciding, and for a moment there, I thought we were all goners. That's when that black automaton crashed the party...literally. It busted a door down and killed Moe's guy, Danny. Everyone scattered and started shooting, but the automaton was too quick...just like at the Emporium. Then someone starts shooting into the room from outside...probably the same mystery person from the roof at the Emporium. It was chaos, fellas, but somehow I managed to make it to Claire and get her free. We were about to make our escape when Claire spotted her dad on the far side of the room. I think he may have been shot because he didn't want us to come for him. Julius started shooting at us, and that's when I got Claire the hell out of there. We finally made it to the car, and I started to drive away. That's when the building exploded..."

"Exploded?!" Max said in shock.

"Yeah. Art must have triggered the bomb. I think that was his intention when he motioned for us to leave without him," Will stated sadly.

"Damn!" Hank exclaimed. "Did anyone else make it out?"

"I don't know," Will answered. "I didn't want to stick around to find out."

"I guess I don't blame you," Hank said. "But you do realize that this might mean that Moe is dead, right?"

"Maybe, but honestly, who cares? Claire's dad is dead, Hank," Will stated in a frustrated tone.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Hank replied apologetically.

"I was supposed to rescue him..." Will's voice faltered.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, William," Max encouraged. "You tried your best...and you did save Claire."

"Max is right. You can't win 'em all," Hank stated. "For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing."

"Thanks, fellas. I just wish..." Will paused mid-sentence as he heard the wood floor creak behind him and saw both Hank and Max look past him toward the entryway.

Will turned and saw Claire standing in the opening between the living room and the entryway. Her arms were crossed, and she slightly raised her right hand in greeting as she gave Will a little smile. Will stood and walked to the side of the sofa and paused. Hank and Max both stood as well.

"Hi, Hank...Hello, Max," Claire greeted as she entered the room.

"Hi, Claire. It's great to have you back with us," Hank returned.

"We're glad you're safe," Max said warmly. "We've missed you."

"Thank you both," Claire said as she stopped to stand near Will.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Max asked. "Some tea, perhaps?"

"That would be very nice. Thank you," Claire replied.

"Henry, would you mind lending me your assistance?" Max asked as he began to head toward the kitchen.

"Sure thing, Max," Hank agreed as he followed Max out of the room.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Claire said quietly once she was alone with Will. "I couldn't sleep."

"No worries," Will replied.

"Hank and Max are right, Will," Claire stated. "You don't need to be so hard on yourself. None of this is your fault."

"You heard all that, huh?" Will said.

"Yeah...I was actually sitting at the top of the stairs for a few minutes," Claire admitted. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have been eavesdropping."

"No, it's ok," Will said. "I don't mind."

"Thank you for everything you did tonight...for everything you've done this past week," Claire said warmly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save him..." Will began to apologize.

"I know," Claire said empathetically in almost a whisper.

Claire moved closer to Will, and he took her in his arms and held her close.

"My father made his choice...he did what he felt he had to do to save me," Claire whispered in Will's ear after several moments of silence. "You did the same...you made your choice...you did what you felt you had to do to save me. It's only because of you and my father that I'm alive. Thank you..."

Claire's voice trailed off, and Will could tell that she was quietly crying. He held her tightly in his arms for what seemed like hours. At one point, Max quietly entered the room, placed the tea tray on the coffee table, and then left as quietly as he had entered.

"Max brought the tea," Will finally whispered after another seeming eternity had passed.

Claire pulled away slightly, and Will took her hand and led her to the sofa where they sat close to one another. As he prepared her tea with a bit of honey, Claire gently touched Will's shoulder where the bullet had grazed him, and he winced slightly. She quietly got up and began to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Will asked.

"I'll be right back," Claire reassured.

A few minutes later, Claire returned with a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a cloth, and some gauze bandages. She sat back down beside Will and began to tend to his shoulder. Will's initial response was to protest, but he checked himself and let Claire care for him.

"Thank you," Will said quietly as Claire gently cleaned the gash.

Claire just smiled and continued her work. At one point, Will quietly interrupted her and took her hand and softly kissed the top of it. Claire simply smiled once again as her eyes met Will's, and she continued working in silence. When she had finally secured the final bandage in its proper place, she placed the remaining supplies on the coffee table.

"How's that feel?" Claire asked softly.

"Much better," Will replied.

Claire smiled and was about to reach for her tea when Will gently took her face in his hands and softly kissed her as tenderly and lovingly as he could.