Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Isaac grunted at the sudden cold spot that pressed against his neck, swatting sleepily at the source and receiving a sub-vocal grumble in return. The noise woke him up a little and he blinked his eyes open. Corbin was the one sticking his cold, wolfy nose into Isaac's neck. He could tell because Elfrick's stripe-tipped ears were ticking his chin. He smiled into his pillow, turning his head and scrunching his face at the sudden swipe of tongue at his jaw.

"Ew," he said, wriggling his shoulders. Corbin huffed, sitting up and yawning before shifting into his human form.

"Time 's it?" the five year old asked, sprawling over Isaac and his brother. Isaac shook his head.

"Time for you to put on pants," he muttered, poking the kid and getting a stifled squeal that woke Elfrick. Those stripe tipped ears twitched and the wolf cub sneezed himself awake before hopping to his feet and pinning his naked human brother, teeth gentle as he mouthed a shoulder, tail wagging. Corbin whined - less like a wolf and more like a beleaguered five year old who just wanted to sleep. Isaac chuckled and then laughed when Elfrick turned his morning energy on the older human. He pounced, and the two of them fell off the bed onto the small walk space. Corbin stole the blankets and rolled up in them so he was completely covered before going back to sleep.

Elfrick was a morning person.

Corbin not so much.

Isaac and Elfrick wrestled a little, both of them grinning at the end, and then Isaac stood up, trying to be careful as he brushed dirt off of himself. Elfrick was less careful, giving his fur coat an enthusiastic shake, sending dirt particles everywhere. Isaac turned his head so none would get in his eyes before shaking his head, checking his watch, and looking down at the wolf.

"Breakfast?" he asked, and Elfrick's ears went up. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and his tail started wagging. Isaac nodded. "Then you should change and put clothes on," he suggested. Elfrick snorted, but he was already shifting to his bipedal form. Isaac turned and surveyed the lump of blankets that was Corbin. "Corbin," he said. The lump grunted. "Breakfast. Come on, buddy. Time to get up," he said, reaching over to pull the blankets away. Corbin curled up into a ball and whined again. "C'mon, buddy, you know if you don't get up you'll miss out on the best of the breakfast," he said.

"Ugh!"

Corbin muttered and grumbled to himself, but crawled out from underneath the blankets and snatched the clothes his brother was throwing at him. They walked down to the large, open area dining room, where they joined the line for breakfast. Everyone was doled out equal portions of everything, which - today - was oatmeal with baked apples, a sausage, one pancake as big around as a coffee can, and a spoonful of scrambled eggs on toast. There was a small buffet for condiments and additional toppings, but you weren't supposed to take a lot because there were sixty other people, and it needed to make it around. Still, it was a good sized breakfast. The twins got handed off at the table, James having already fixed their plates.

"Thanks," Isaac said to Derek as the Eldest Hale child heaped a slightly fuller-than-usual scoop of eggs onto his plate. Derek nodded.

"Eat up," he said. Isaac turned to look for a place to eat and hesitated when he saw his father sitting at his normal table, watching him. There was an empty chair across from him. His heart tightened in his chest and the air seemed thinner.

"Hey, Isaac!" Scott called from across the dining room, and the boy twitched, looking over. Scott and Erica were sitting at their table across the room from his father, waving him over. He relaxed slightly, but looked over at his father again. His dad studied him for a moment before looking away dismissively. Isaac knew it was a trap. He knew it was. He still turned and went to sit between Scott and Erica, letting his fear slip away in their presence.

"Hey," he said, rolling his buttered pancake around the sausage link and eating it one handed.

"Hey, man. Check it out, Jackson grabbed a one-minute mystery thing. Erica's gotten like, five already," Scott gushed as he scraped what was left of his breakfast onto Isaac's plate. The curly-headed teen blushed.

"Dude, don't give me all your food," he protested. Scott shrugged.

"I don't eat a lot in the mornings anyway and I think they gave me extra," he said, before turning the page in his book. Isaac knew he was lying. He'd seen Scott eat twice what was on his tray and still be hungry after. Isaac blushed, wondering if Doctor Deaton had said anything about his last physical. The Doc had mentioned that Isaac was losing weight, but Isaac didn't think he would have told anyone about it. Isaac had started wearing oversized shirts to cover it, and he ate all of his meals so people wouldn't worry. It wasn't his fault he got a nervous stomach sometimes.

He listened to Scott and Erica solve mysteries out of a book for a while, laughing when Scott's solutions were outlandish and convoluted and way off the mark. He put in his own thoughts where appropriate and forgot for a little while that they lived in a hole because aliens walked the Earth.

"So I got the TV room for tonight," Erica told them, and they both perked up. The Hales had a generator that they used for the lights in the den. And they had a TV but there was a waiting list. It was so everyone could have a fair amount of time on it. And even if everyone got the TV for a whole day, there were only about sixty of them. Two months wasn't that long, not to mention all the times you'd get invited to watch whatever someone else was watching. They even had a couple game consoles (internet disabled, of course). "And one of the guys on the disposal warehouse raid teams found a bunch of DVDs and stuff. I thought we'd see if they got anything good tonight. I've got it for four whole hours," she said. Scott and Isaac grinned. "The last four hours. I figure we could just camp out in the TV room. Sleeping bags and cushions. What do you say boys? Sleep-over at my place?" she asked, grinning. Scott lunged forward and hugged her, pinning Isaac between them.

"You are the best Erica ever to Erica!" he cooed happily. Erica chuckled, hugging back. Isaac blushed, patting them both awkwardly on the shoulder before grabbing his empty tray. Both of them got to their feet and followed him to the tray return. "So what are you going to do today, Isaac," Scott asked. Isaac shrugged self-consciously. As far as he knew, he wasn't scheduled for any duties that day.

"I don't know. Maybe read?" he answered, looking at his friends. They looked doubtful, knowing that he'd already read everything in the Den.

"Ophelia's picking out people to follow that Reacher guy around, you could always volunteer," Erica offered. Isaac frowned, looking down at the ground.

"I was seen, Erica. You know I can't go out again," he told her. His stomach churned with guilt. He shouldn't have risked it. It was so stupid.

"Oh shut up. Those guys were way more focused on Peter than they were on you, and Peter almost never goes out during the day. I wouldn't worry about it. C'mon, let's go sign you up," Erica said, throwing an arm around his shoulder. He let her pull him along, even though his heart beat sickly in his chest. Scott bounced along beside them, full of energy.

"I'll sign up too. I can be your driver," he said with a smile. Instead of putting a smile on the face of the boy who'd been his best friend for the last six years, Scott's words made Isaac's shoulders hunch more while bringing a flush of unhappy color to his cheeks.

"Or I could be your driver, and then you could see Reacher again," he replied, not looking at his friend. Scott blinked, then looked uncomfortable.

"No, dude, that's not why--"

"It's okay, Scott," Isaac said, trying to diffuse the situation. Scott set his crooked jaw.

"No, Isaac, that's not what I was saying man," he insisted. Isaac glanced at him. "Look, I just wanted to get you out of the Den for a while, that's all," he said. Erica glanced around, the motion casual as can be except for how Scott copied her. Isaac looked between them and then flushed with embarrassment.

"Guys, c'mon," he whined quietly. Erica snorted.

"Your dad's a dick, Isaac. Can you blame us for not wanting you to be around him?" she asked bluntly. He shrugged.

"It's not that bad," he lied. She stared at him and shook her head.

"Doesn't matter, you're signing up," she told him. He expected her to grab his arm or drop a hand on his shoulder. She was a physical person - it wouldn't have been the first time, but she just slung her arm across both shoulders and left it hanging loose, still holding him, but not in her usual, demanding, intimidating way. Isaac was simultaneously relieved, touched, and insulted. He wasn't some delicate flower. Still, he let himself be dragged around the Den, through the ever-growing tunnels, to the concrete - pre-invasion structure that the Hales had built to keep their newly turned or of-age wolves safely away from the fragile humans on full moons.

One of those was a leisure room now.

They had to ask a couple of times where Ophelia was, since she was in charge of assigning the outside teams their potentially fatal duties. She didn't have an office, but even if she had one, she wouldn't have been in it. Ophelia didn't believe in sitting around (no one did, nowadays, but Ophelia less than most). When they finally found her, she was finishing up an argument with Talia about the ventilation system she'd been talking about needing for the last couple of weeks. Talia remained adamant that if they took things that were specifically for air ventilation, then people would look for places that needed ventilation and it wouldn't take the Argent Seekers long to figure out that the Den was underground. Ophelia continued to insist that what they had was only barely functional and they couldn't drill air-holes without risking the integrity of the entire system.

Scott, Isaac, and Erica watched the argument end in a stalemate - as it usually did - and then waited for Ophelia to notice them. It didn't take long. She'd already known they were there.

Werewolf hearing and all.

"What can I do for you, kids?" she asked, eyeing them critically. They all automatically tilted their heads so that the sides of their throats were exposed. Erica had told them it was a sign of respect, and they'd just fallen into the habit of doing it, especially if the werewolf they were talking to was upset about something. Ophelia glanced at the three bared throats and sighed, posture loosening.

"Isaac's here to sign up for Reacher watch," Scott told her, bouncing a little in his enthusiasm and then coughing a little. Isaac reached into his pocket for the make-shift inhaler that Deaton had made but Scott always forgot to carry, handing it to him. It apparently tasted awful, if the face Scott made was anything to go on, but it was effective, so he suffered in not-exactly-silence. "Urgh," he groaned, shuddering as the medicine opened his congested lungs.

"Is that so?" Ophelia asked, arching an eyebrow at Erica, who averted her eyes instantly. Her smile was small and playful as she darted glances back to the senior she-wolf. Ophelia snorted, shaking her head before waving Isaac into the room. "Just him," she said, when Erica and Scott started to follow him. They glanced at each other, watching Isaac concernedly before reluctantly retreating to the hall. Isaac shuffled his feet, looking at the floor. "Hey, kiddo. The kids were really glad you could sleep over," she told him, and he blinked up at her, shoulders losing some of their tension.

"It wasn't a problem," he replied, shrugging. She chuckled.

"C'mon, Isaac, you know how hard it is to keep those boys in one place for more than a minute while they're awake. Not that you aren't more to us than a glorified baby-sitter, but they really like listening to your stories," she told him. He blushed, uncomfortable with the praise. "So, Reacher-watch, hm?" she asked. He shrugged again.

"It was Scott's idea," he mumbled. She snorted.

"I figured. Still, it's not a bad idea," she told him. He blinked, opening his mouth to protest - to argue that he'd been seen, so didn't that mean going out would be dangerous for a while? He only caught himself as the words were working their way up his throat, but it didn't matter. Ophelia was already ahead of him. "You don't have to worry about slipping up, Isaac. Peter told me what happened," she told him. His face burned and he ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Relax, kiddo," she said, shaking her head. "There weren't any cameras in the store and from Peter's account, you had your arms up, surrender like. There's a good probability that they didn't get a good look at you. And it's sunny out. Perfect excuse to wear a baseball cap and shades," she told him.

"But if they catch me…" he said, stopping to take a breath with tighter lungs.

"They're not going to," said a voice from the door and Isaac turned to see Cora leaning there, arms folded, scowl firmly affixed. Ophelia snorted again.

"They'll catch on to you before they catch on to Isaac, sourpuss," the older wolf replied. Cora narrowed her eyes.

"That's why I'm the driver. I wouldn't want to be out in the sea of body-snatchers anyway," she said with a sniff. "Frankly I don't know why we're doing this. It's just another alien," she added with a growl. Ophelia looked at her. Her expression didn't change, but the tension in the room ratcheted up until - at Isaac's choked off noise of discomfort - Cora lowered her eyes and tilted her head, baring her throat even as she ground her teeth.

"It's not for you to question the Alpha's orders, Cora," Ophelia said to her niece. Cora set her jaw and lifted one hand to study her nails.

"That would have been Laura's job, right?" she asked snidely. Isaac took several steps to his left to clear both wolves' lines of sight, flinching at the snarl that left Ophelia's throat. Cora remained where she was, throat still bared even as she seethed. Her aunt fumed at her, nostrils flaring angrily.

"Tell James he's taking Isaac out," she ordered, and Cora lifted her head, ready to protest. "Cora," Ophelia snapped, and the teen wolf clenched her fists.

"Fine," she snapped back, storming off. Ophelia watched her go and took a few deep breaths, reaching up to scratch her forehead before dragging her hand through her hair. Isaac stayed where he was and tried to breathe shallowly, keeping his eyes downcast when Ophelia finally looked at him.

"Sorry about that, kiddo," she said, the anger leeched out of her voice. He glanced up at her, a quick, darting glance to gauge her mood, eyes not lingering enough to be considered disrespectful. Ophelia relaxed a little more at his submissive posture, shaking her head at her own burst of anger at her niece. She shouldn't have lost her cool like that - not around Isaac. The kid was too used to angry adults. "Hey," she said, holding out her hand. He looked at it, aborting his instinct to take it automatically. "It's okay, c'mere," she said softly, and he carefully approached. She made sure to move slowly so he could catalog her every move as she put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze before moving her hand to the back of his neck. He relaxed instantly, leaning into her touch. She smiled.

Isaac had spent a lot of time over the last six years observing and interacting with werewolves, and he was a quick study. He knew this was a sign of comfort and acceptance, and his submission to the gesture was easier and more natural than the stiff, fearful air of compliance that he put on around his father. She pulled him into a hug, burying her nose in his curly hair and giving him a motherly nuzzle when he hugged her back a little desperately.

They stayed there for a moment, hugging, and then she ruffled his hair, drawing a shy smile.

"So," she said, patting his curls. "Reacher-watch, hm?" she asked again. The smile grew and he ducked his head. "C'mon, let's find you some street-clothes," she told him, arm around his shoulder as she dragged him off.

**

James glanced over at Isaac as he pulled up to a parking space, doing exactly speed limit and watching out for pedestrians.

"You ready?" he asked, and Isaac glanced at him before looking back out the window.

"Are you sure he's out here?" the boy asked in return. James nodded.

"Danny was watching his house this morning and apparently he passed his driver's test, so he told the Seeker he lives with that he was going to drive downtown and walk around," James told him. Isaac nodded, and then took a deep breath to calm himself.

"See you in a couple hours," he said, before opening the door and stepping out into the sunlight.

There were people everywhere, smiling and talking to each other. Everyone spoke quietly and calmly, as if there were no reason to raise their voices - no reason to get excited about anything. Isaac scratched the back of his neck to hide a shiver and started scanning the crowd for the strange Soul that Ophelia had shown him a picture of.

He was surprisingly easy to spot. He was standing in front of a bookstore, struggling with a large box of books. He smiled sheepishly at a couple that stopped to help him, laughing a little at his ambitious undertaking and thanking them effusively after they helped him load it into a pale blue Jeep. Isaac watched for a moment and then followed him down the street, pretending to be interested in a couple of the other stores. He lingered at a flower stand for a moment when Reacher turned and headed into a music store, smelling a bright blue flower that he'd never seen before smiling at the lady behind the counter and following his target.

It took him a few seconds to adjust to the dimmer setting, and he blinked a few times, heart rate climbing at his temporary blindness. He looked around, catching the level eye of the man behind the counter and blushing before moving into the store to make himself look busy. The selection of records was enormous, and there were only twenty or so people in the store. Some of them were looking at the musical instruments along the back wall. One was studying a violin, but there were so many different kinds of instruments and it sort of blew Isaac's mind when he hadn't heard more than snatches of music in six years. A soft, instrumental piece was playing over the store's speakers and it tickled the back of his mind - so familiar and yet so foreign. It took him a long time to realize that he was standing motionless in the store, just staring at everything. His skin flushed hotly and for a moment there was burning anger that quickly gave way to deep, deep loss. His breaths were shaky, and he gripped the corner of one table, blinking away sudden moisture in his eyes.

He'd known - of course he'd known - that they had come and taken away everything, but it wasn't until this moment that he realized that they'd kept on taking it - continued to enjoy all the things that he and the others had gone without for so long. He hated them. He feared them. He envied them.

"Oh, hey, you're already here," said a voice beside him, startling him so badly that he jumped. "Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. We're still on for that coffee, right?"

Isaac stared. It was Reacher, standing very close and smiling earnestly at Isaac as if they were old friends. His shortish hair swooped forward a little over his forehead, and his eyes held that obvious ring of light that warned of an inner presence. He didn't know Isaac - couldn't - and even if the alien had mistaken him for someone, he would have realized by now, yet he still stood there, patiently expectant.

"Um…yeah," he said. Reacher beamed.

"Great! There's this place down the street that does really good coffee," he said. Isaac tried to keep his tension unnoticed as Reacher gently took his arm and steered him towards the door. He could have gotten away easily - Reacher wasn't holding him that tightly - but that would mean drawing attention to himself, and after the Store…Isaac couldn't take that chance, and he let his heart scream inside his chest as he let the alien lead him into uncertainty.

Outside, Reacher let go of him, casually looking around before gesturing to the cross-walk. "Sorry about scaring you," he said as they walked down the not-terribly-crowded street. "It's just…the inventory clerk was paying you too much attention," Reacher told him. Isaac blinked, swallowing hard.

"H-he was?"

Reacher nodded, corner of his mouth twitching into a placatory smile.

"To be fair, you sort of stuck out. I'm Reacher, by the way. You probably knew that," he said. Isaac shrugged. "I've never seen you before, though," he added, and Isaac's eyebrows darted together.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Reacher shrugged.

"I mean I've kind of noticed a lot of people in sunglasses following me - not that sunglasses are inherently suspicious, it's just the same people always wearing sunglasses - but you're new. Unless you're just way more stealthy - stealthier? Although, judging by our meeting, I'm guessing not so much," Reacher answered. Isaac blinked at his babble and then threw a glance around the street surrounding them.

"You knew about that?"

"It wasn't hard to suss out. After running into Scott that day, I've kind of been on the lookout, hoping to see him again," Reacher explained, opening the door of the coffee shop for Isaac. They kept quiet for a while as Reacher ordered their coffees, Isaac deferring to his experience with the beverage, and then found an isolated table in the outdoor café where they could talk quietly without being overheard. "So what can I call you?" Reacher asked when they were seated.

"Um…my name's Isaac," said the human, sipping his coffee. He couldn't help the small groan of pleasure that escaped. He hadn't ever had coffee before. There had been that time they'd managed to grab a couple cartons of coffee flavored ice cream, but this… He blushed at the pleased grin on Reacher's face.

"I meant your Soul name," he said in a voice full of kind laughter. Isaac blinked.

"Soul name?" he asked, stomach sinking. He hadn't thought of that. Had anyone at the Den thought of that?

"You do have one…" Reacher said, though he sounded uncertain, and when Isaac became fascinated with the container that his coffee had come in, the alien's eyebrows twitched upwards in surprise. "You have to…In order to avoid suspicion," he went on. Isaac blushed.

"Uh…"

Reacher glanced around and then studied his newfound acquaintance, drumming something offbeat on the table with his fingers.

"Well, Isaac's a nice name, but you should have something I can call you in public if I ever see you again - or, y'know, if someone asks," said Reacher. Isaac's hunched his shoulders a bit, feeling exposed and stupid, but Reacher only pursed his lips thoughtfully as he considered the matter. "How about…Fostered in the Southern Magma Pools. Dragon world. Call you Foster for short," he suggested. Isaac blinked at him.

"Are all your names like that?" he asked quietly; curiously.

"Most. We like names that tell a story. On the planet of the See-weeds, I was One Hundred and One, because I had an extra eye-stalk," the Soul answered with a grin. Isaac smiled too, stifling a strange laugh. He didn't know what Reacher was talking about, but his smile was infectious. "So I take it none of your friends have public names either," Reacher went on, and Isaac shook his head, sipping his coffee. "Well, I'll see what I can come up with," he offered.

"Why?" Isaac blurted out. Reacher blinked.

"Why what?"

"Why would you do that? Why did you help me? Why did you help…" shaded eyes flitted around the open air. "…Scott?" Isaac asked. Reacher studied his iced coffee for a moment, fiddling with the condensation on the outside of the plastic cup.

"I-my host…Stiles was friends with Scott," he said. Isaac stared at him, tension leaking slowly out of his shoulders. "And…I've been through his memories. They're real to me. I feel like I know him. Like…like he was my best friend, too," he offered with a sad smile. "And I miss him," he added, clearing his throat and sipping his coffee. "How is he, by the way?"

He asked it casually, as if he weren't dying to know. Isaac took a sip of his own, hot coffee, and tried to ignore the weird feeling that was starting in his stomach.

"He's…Scott. Happy most of the time, despite everything. He still…he misses his mom. And…other people," he answered, hesitantly meeting Reacher's hopeful gaze. He felt that weird feeling in his stomach turn into a vague pain in his chest at the thought of Reacher and Scott meeting - becoming friends (friends again?) - but he ignored it.

"I could find out about her. Get him a picture maybe," Reacher offered. Isaac imagined Scott holding a picture of his mother and nodded, looking down at his hands. "And what about you? Is there anyone you need me to find, or--"

"No," Isaac said, closing his eyes. Reacher hesitated, then nodded and said nothing. They finished their coffee quietly and then left, walking down the street. Isaac stopped as they were going past the bookstore and stared into it longingly. They'd long since read everything that the Hales' had to offer. Most of them knew far more than they liked about the supernatural world that they hadn't known they were living in. Reacher stopped, glanced between him and the store and then chuckled, herding him into the store amidst quietly voiced protests.

"Back so soon, Reacher?" asked a calm woman's voice. Reacher smiled.

"Not for me this time. My friend Foster just got to town and is looking for some new reading material. You don't mind, do you Garden?" asked the Soul as Isaac stood there, trying to look as though he belonged while his palms grew clammy and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Garden just smiled and shook her head like an older sister over her mischievous brother.

"Please yourself," she said, gesturing into the store before returning to her sweeping.

Reacher pulled Isaac into the book-laden stacks.

"We're gonna get caught," Isaac whispered, but Reacher shook his head.

"No we're not. Barely anyone comes in here. Well, some of the younger Souls get curious, but mostly it's just history students trying to understand humans from the written perspective. Sadly for most, this is a collection of everything that's wrong with humans. Lucky for us, that means this place is a goldmine," the alien explained quietly before gesturing around. "So what's your pleasure? Fantasy? Horror? Romance?" he asked with that infectious grin that pulled at the corners of Isaac's lips too.

**

They were there for hours before hauling out another box load of books, both of them grinning and giggling like middle-schoolers as they maneuvered it into Reacher's Jeep.

"So where can I drop you?" Reacher asked as they climbed in. Isaac considered his options and glanced at the box.

"There's a cotton mill," he started and Reacher nodded. As he started the car, Isaac looked around at the old and faded interior of the Jeep. It wasn't as well-maintained as the cars that the Hales had…acquired. "Nice car," he said politely. Reacher snorted, smirking at his passenger's attempts to be impressed.

"She belonged to Stiles' mother," he said, the smile fading on his face at her mention. "It had been in the garage since she…since she passed," he said with a sigh and a fond stroke of the steering wheel. Isaac watched him and nodded sympathetically.

"My mom died when I was four," he said quietly as they pulled up to a red light. They sat there for a still moment, and then Reacher hesitantly reached over and set his hand on Isaac's arm. He didn't say anything, and his hand was only there for a moment before he pulled away and responded to the light turning green. It should have made Isaac's skin crawl, the way it did when the others had found out about Isaac's mom. It should have made him want to do a tuck and roll into traffic just to escape. Instead, the alien's quiet empathy filled Isaac with a soft, anxious warmth. He relaxed into his seat, looking out the window as Reacher drove him to his rendezvous.

The sun was just beginning to set when they got there, and Reacher looked around as he parked just out of sight of the main road. He and Isaac wrestled the human's box of books out of the back seat and set it on the hood as they waited for Isaac's ride home. They settled on the bumper and talked about whatever crossed their minds. Isaac mostly asked about Reacher. Reacher mostly asked about Scott and the others - if they needed anything. If they wanted anything.

"Why do you want to help us?" Isaac asked him, and he bit his lip, looking down at his fingers.

"I like it here. Stiles' memories make it seem…well, I like it here," he answered, shrugging because he knew his answer was inadequate. Isaac didn't get to question him further, though, because the sound of an engine had them looking up, and then shielding their eyes against the headlights of a black car. It looked like a Seeker's car, and Isaac's heart almost exploded before he realized that it was James and he sighed.

James did not look relieved.

"What's going on," he demanded flatly, throwing looks at Reacher, who waved and then made no movements at all. Isaac looked guiltily at the Soul before turning to James, tilting his head to show his neck. James sighed at him. "Isaac, what's going on?" he asked, a little more calmly than before.

"Um…James, this is Reacher," he mumbled, gesturing. "Reacher, James."

"Hi," Reacher said. "I gave Isaac a lift. Hope that's okay," he added, looking at the large box on the hood. James barely acknowledged it, too busy scowling and trying to figure out if Reacher was a threat that needed to be eliminated.

"James, it's okay," Isaac said quietly, and James pressed his lips together. "I…I almost got caught. Reacher made it seem like we knew each other so that no one would suspect anything," he explained. James Hale blinked, eyebrows rising up in worry on his head, and he stepped forward, putting a hand on Isaac's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Isaac blushed, nodding. James nodded, pulling him into a short hug before looking at Reacher. The Soul was watching them with open and honest curiosity and a small smile. "Thank you," James said. He seemed surprised by the words, color rising into his cheeks.

"It was nothing," he said dismissively, before standing. Now James looked at the box, nodding to it as he stepped back from Isaac, keeping one hand on the back of his neck to comfort them both.

"What's in the box?" he asked. Reacher smiled.

"Books," he answered, chuckling at James' shock. "Yeah, Isaac told me you guys had run through all of what you had, so we picked out a couple more," he added, moving aside so that James could look inside. The older boy scoffed.

"A couple - there's like fifty books in here," he said.

"And we can always get more later. Honestly, those books are just sitting there, gathering dust, it'd be a shame if no one but me was reading them," Reacher replied. James stared at him. After a moment, the alien shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. "You want help getting it to your car?" he asked. At this, James snorted.

"Not necessary," he answered. Reacher frowned as the older boy went to get a grip on the box.

"Are you sure? It's kind of he-"

Reacher cut off when James lifted the box, turned, and walked easily back to the car, shifting the box only slightly in order to open the back door. Reacher's eyebrows said hey to his hairline before slowly descending to their normal position, and he turned to Isaac, who looked quietly amused.

"He's really strong," Reacher commented. Isaac chuckled. "So, I guess this so long for now, huh?" he asked, shaking himself out of his amazed stupor. Isaac nodded, kicking the dirt. "It was nice to meet you. Y'know, actually talk to one of you guys instead of just spotting you watching me," he said.

"And you're pretty cool for a body-snatcher," Isaac replied.

Lots of people wouldn't have noticed the twitch in Reacher's eyebrows or the way he dropped his eyes, or the way his shoulders tightened as if against some invisible blow.

Isaac wasn't lots of people. He noticed, but he said nothing about the split second of hurt in Reacher's eyes before James returned. James was looking at Reacher funny too.

"Maybe I'll see you again," Reacher said, and there was no missing the hope in those words as he turned raised eyebrows to James. James looked him over and tilted his head appraisingly.

"Maybe you will," he replied, before looking at Isaac, who nodded and started walking towards the car. He'd barely taken three steps before Reacher jolted.

"Oh! Wait, wait, I almost forgot," he blurted, before pulling open his Jeep's door and rummaging around in the backseat. It was almost comical the way his lower half was hanging out, leg occasionally kicking as he reached for something. Eventually he came up with a significantly smaller box than before, and he let out a relieved sigh as he handed it over. "For Scott," he said. James arched an eyebrow and Isaac moved closer.

"What is it?" he asked. Reacher grinned.

"Scott has asthma," he said, and James scoffed.

"So?"

"So he won't after this," Reacher told him. They both blinked, staring at Reacher in surprise and disbelief. "There's instructions in the box. It'll work for anyone else who's got respiratory issues," he added. "I went and picked some up a couple days after we ran into each other. I was hoping I'd run into him again or something," he explained.

"You just carried it around with you on the off chance you'd see Scott again?" James asked. Reacher waved a hand vaguely.

"Or someone that could get it to him, yeah," he answered.

"Didn't you just get your car today?" Isaac asked, recalling James' earlier words. Reacher blinked.

"Um yeah, but Fields said I should make sure I had the important things in there in case I needed them, so I --how'd you know I got my car today?" he asked. Isaac looked sheepishly at James, who didn't even flinch at the question.

"We've been watching you," he answered. Reacher stared at him for two seconds and then his face flooded with color.

"Ha," he laughed, but the tripping of his heart spelled panic not humor, and James arched an eyebrow. "Like during the day, right?" he asked, smile too forced.

"It's not twenty-four seven," James replied, and Reacher nodded once slowly, looking relieved. "But we do have night shifts," he added. Reacher froze, and then covered his face.

"Oh," he said weakly, ears reddening. James furrowed his eyebrows at Reacher's embarrassment for a moment before his expression cleared and he snorted. Reacher looked mortified. "I don't…I don't suppose Friday and Saturday were surveillance free nights?" he asked imploringly. James shook his head, a smile growing on his face. Isaac looked just as horrified as Reacher did. "Right. Okay," Reacher started, looking anywhere but at the two of them. "Right," he said again, blinking at the ground before shaking his head and turning to get in his car. James choked his laugh and herded Isaac to their own getaway vehicle so that Reacher could escape and suffer his embarrassment in peace.