"How does it feel?" Cassie asked.

"Oh, you know, a lot lighter," Sam grinned and rubbed his forearm, finally free from the cast.

They looked over as a nurse returned with the Velcro brace that they instructed Sam wear for another month.

"Here's this; we strongly recommend you wear this twenty-four, seven, but taking it off for showering or short periods of time is okay. And Samuel, take it easy." The nurse gave him a glare as if she knew exactly how Sam tended to live his life. "You're lucky to have the cast removed this early. We want to avoid reinjuring the arm."

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," Sam said cheerfully. "Careful is my middle name." Cassie snorted, and the nurse raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

When they got back to the car, Sam held his hand out towards her and wiggled his fingers.

"Keys?"

"Do you even remember how to drive?" she smirked as she pulled them out of her purse and tossed them to him.

"Might need a refresher course," Sam replied, unlocking the car and climbing into the driver's seat. "My God, you're short." He found the lever and slid the seat back as far as it would go.

"Oh, shut up," Cassie said. "And I'm not teaching you how to drive. If you're that worried, well...just make sure your seat-belt's on."

"Oh, it's nice to know my favorite niece still looks out for me," Sam said.

"I'm your only niece," she pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. Well, first place in a group of one is still first." Sam had the car running in a moment and started to pull them out of the parking lot.

"Have you always been like this?" she asked after a long pause.

"Like what?"

"A jackass." She cast him a mischievous look out of the corner of her eye.

"Wow. I feel attacked. And to answer the question, yes, I always have been. Just ask your dad."

"I believe it. Thank God you're going home soon," Cassie shot back.

"I can't wait. I'm getting sick of you following me around. Sam, come surfing. Sam, drive to town with me. Teach me how to play poker. Watch another chick-flick with me, Sam," he said, making his voice higher to mimic hers. Cassie couldn't contain her laughter.

"Oh my God, I do not sound like that!" She composed herself enough to sigh dramatically and gaze out the window "I can't believe this is what finally drives us apart. After all these years..."

"Yeah, it's a bummer. And dammit, I'll miss you, kid," Sam said.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss you too, unfortunately. Do you want me to get up early tomorrow to say goodbye?"

"Only if the princess doesn't mind interrupting her beauty sleep," Sam said in a sarcastic tone. Cassie snickered.

"I suppose I can suffer just this once."

**********

Cassie stood on her tiptoes to hug her dad tightly.

"Have a safe flight. See you in a few days. Yada, yada, yada."

"Thanks, hon. I love you."

"Love you too, Dad." Next to them, Sam hugged Elena and they said their goodbyes, and now he turned to Cassie and opened his arms. She was in them in an instant.

"Who the hell am I gonna whoop in chess without you around?" he grinned.

"I'm sure you'll find someone," she said, her voice strained from his crushing hug.

"Yeah, maybe. Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too." They finally broke apart and Cassie gave him a sad smile. "Gonna miss you." Sam's heart twisted and he wished that he didn't have to leave.

Elena opened the front door, and the cool morning air and the smell of saltwater overtook their senses. The moon hung low on the horizon and the sky glowed pink with the first light of dawn. Only the lapping of waves on the beach made a sound; not even the birds were awake yet.

"Have a safe trip," Elena said to Nathan and he gave her one last quick peck on the lips and gathered up his bag.

"Off we go," he said, sounding tired. Sam followed him to the jeep and Elena and Cassie stayed outside to wave as they drove off. When they were out of sight, Elena wrapped one arm around Cassie and squeezed her tightly, before checking her phone.

"Phew, I'm going back to bed. What's your plan, kid?"

"My bed sounds so good right now," Cassie yawned.

"All right. Let's sleep in, and when we get up again, I'm making waffles."

**********

Sam and Nathan caught a flight from Miami to Havana and before long they were touching down in Cuba's largest city.

"Been a while since I was here," Nathan commented, "but I guess I'd be more impressed if I didn't live year-round in South Florida." He scanned the view out the window as the plane descended. The airport sat back away from the city, surrounded by greenery, but in the distance, he could see the shining city on the edge of the Caribbean Sea.

"Yeah, it's just a bit too similar to be out of your comfort zone or awed by the scenery," Sam said.

"Although, I have to admit, Havana feels just a bit more exotic," Nathan said. Sam chuckled.

"It is more exotic, little brother. Living lawless, don't even get me started on the Cuban cigars... Sully and I were in our own personal heaven."

"I bet you were," Nathan said with a smile. "But too bad you gave all that up, even the smoking."

"Many a night did Sully and I spend in a bar just to grab a drink and literally get a whiff of our old life."

Disembarking the plane went smoothly and soon they were in a cab, on their way to the rambler that Sam and Sully had shared on the edge of the city. It was a small, single-level house on a tiny piece of property, awkwardly situated between similar houses. They climbed out of the cab and headed inside. Sam had lost his keys in Thailand, but assured Nathan that the doors didn't really lock anyways, so this wasn't an issue. Indeed, the front door opened on the first try. This made Nathan laugh uncomfortably.

"You're lucky no one ever goes through your house when you're out of town," he said. Sam only shrugged.

"No one bugs each other's stuff, and anyways, why my house when there's a city full of penthouses to rob? Nobody knows that my doors don't lock." Nathan didn't have a reply; Sam had a point.

"Just toss your stuff in the guest room," Sam said, pointing through a doorway off of the house's entry way. While Nathan dropped his things in there, Sam took his bags and walked through the kitchen and living area to his bedroom towards the back of the house. Nathan ditched his bags and shoes in the guest bedroom and followed Sam.

"Well, when do you want to get started?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe of Sam's bedroom.

"Doesn't matter. Do we have a plan of action?"

"I mean, everything is either trash, donations, or we keep it." Nathan shrugged.

"Wow, mister practical." Sam shot him a look as he dumped his bag and jacket on the bed.

"What do you want from me, Sam? You asked."

"No, no, it's just... this is his stuff, you know?"

"You don't think I realize that? I don't know, I just...I need to separate myself from it a little bit so that I don't actually lose it." He let out a faint laugh.

"Yeah, good point. We need rules. There's, uh, I'm sure there's somewhere downtown to donate stuff like clothes," Sam suggested.

"Awesome. And we'll keep stuff that was important to him or valuable or whatever. Keepsakes."

"Perfect. Here, c'mon." He pushed past Nathan and led him to the last two rooms in the back of the house, Sully's bedroom and the spare room that they used for storage. Sam and Nathan stood in the doorway, suddenly overwhelmed by the task at hand.

Sully's room was reasonably cluttered, and everywhere they turned, they recognized something else. A trinket from one of their trips, a shirt thrown over an arm hair that he'd worn nearly every week for the past thirty years, a shabby, scuffed pair of boots that Nathan was sure had seen more than one lost city. Nathan wandered a little farther in the room, scarcely able to breathe. Neither brother wanted to break the heavy silence.

"You gonna be okay, little brother?" Sam finally asked, examining Nathan uncertainly.

"I don't know if I can do this," Nathan said after a pause. He scratched the back of his head, staring around the room and refusing to look at Sam.

"Just...take a minute," Sam said. "You know, we don't have to start right away if you don't want to."

"No, no. No sense in putting it off." Nathan took a deep breath and gathered himself. "I'm good. Okay. Well, as my intelligent, eloquent wife would say, let's Marie Kondo the SHIT out of this place." He walked over to the closet and yanked both doors open at once, revealing an array of button-ups in both plain and Hawaiian prints.

"Hey Sam, do these spark joy?" Sam couldn't help but laugh at Nathan's sudden humor and theatrics.

"Oh my God. Yes. His shirts spark so much joy."

"I'll leave this to you, then. You decide what you want to wear and what we should give away. I'm gonna go make us some lunch." He let go of the doors and began to turn away but stopped and looked back at the shirts. He ran his hands over a few, and then grabbed a hanger with a solid red polo shirt. He held it up. "I'm not giving you a choice about this one. It's a keeper."

"You know I look terrible in red," Sam joked. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say you have to wear it. Just keep it. It's special to me."

"Fine," Sam said. "Oh, and, honestly, I don't know what food we have that's still good."

"I'll do my best," Nathan said, heading out into the kitchen. He dug around in the pantry and the fridge, but the only things that still appeared to be good were condiments, spices, and a half-full jar of peanut butter. He sighed and shut the fridge door. He started walking back to the bedroom and called,

"Sam, I can't find anyth-" but he stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly listening.

"What, Nathan?"

"Shut up for a sec," Nathan said in a normal voice, his attention focused elsewhere. He could hear multiple heavy footsteps, and was that the garage door? Nathan dashed forwards, running into Sam, who had appeared in the doorway, and pushed him back into the bedroom.

"Dude, what the hell?" Sam exclaimed, but Nathan grabbed his arm and clapped a hand over Sam's mouth.

"Shhhh. There's someone in the house," he hissed, just as the front door creaked open.

**********