"Only three more months and I get out of here, Jack. You know if Amelie is still around? She hasn't called or visited in a while."

Staring through the thick glass of a prison telephone-visitation room, Jack Morrison held the phone to his ear as his incarcerated colleague spoke. The gray-haired man sighed and shook his head.

"I haven't heard from her, Gabriel. Last I knew she visited the pharmacy at the hospital to fill her prescription. Angela saw her as she passed by heading into work, but didn't speak with her. You need to be the one to contact her. I can't do every favor for you." Jack rested his arm on the table, meeting eyes with his long-time friend. They'd been in disagreement for the past ten years that Gabriel had been imprisoned, but nearing the end of the decade, Jack had decided it was enough time to put the past behind them.

"What do I do if she doesn't answer? Where will I go? I can't be homeless and expect to somehow get a stable life after my release." Gabriel glared right back at Jack, who both understood the other's concern, but also felt no need to help him after what had happened ten years ago. Amelie was Gabriel's off-and-on girlfriend, and couldn't be relied on for much. Not that she was necessarily a bad woman; simply heavily medicated due to previous traumas and severe split personality disorder.

"You'll have to find something. Understand that I can't and won't have you around my family. Hana still has nightmares to this day. She was only six when you decided to attempt to rob us, and assaulted me in the process... She's sixteen now. Sophomore in high school. But she still remembers you, and the way you slashed the knife across my face." Jack could practically still feel the sting of the gash from the left side of his forehead trailing across his nose to his right cheek.

"We've been over this before, Jack. You're the last man I would go to live with. But you know more people on the outside than me. I'm not asking for a miracle. I'm just asking for you to put it out there that I'm getting out in three months and that I need somewhere to live for a while until I get back on my feet."

"Alright, Gabriel... Just remember, if no one will bring you into their home, it's your own fault. You put yourself in prison. You did the crime. Now you've done the time. You have to suffer the consequences for the rest of your life. Now... if you'll excuse me, I have to pick up Hana from school."

Without a goodbye, Jack hung the phone up on the partition wall, then stood from his chair. He was sure that Gabriel watched him every step of the way out until he couldn't see him any longer. Jack grabbed his jacket from the coat rack by the door, slipping on the ol' 76 leather outerwear and giving a nod to the officer at the exit. He made his way out to his vehicle in the barren parking lot; a beat up, dated pick-up truck. Blue in color. He liked it, though Angela insisted that he get a newer vehicle soon, should the current one discontinue its functionality.

The drive to the school Jack's adopted daughter attended was uneventful. The same streets of Hallton that he ventured nearly every day. The school, Hallton High, was an old brick building. New expansions to accomodate the growing student body were underway, though with winter closing in, they likely wouldn't finish until the next year.

Pulling up to the line of parent vehicles outside the school, Jack waited quietly, and when the bell signaling the end of the day sounded off, he braced himself for the excitable nature of his child. He'd adopted Hana when she was just an infant, and a year afterwards, married Angela Ziegler. They were a happy family, for the most part. Gabriel's assault on them was something Angela still didn't forgive. She had desperately protected Hana and attempted to shield her eyes, but she'd already seen much of her darling father's brutal beatdown. When Gabriel left, Jack remained unconscious. It was Angela's medical expertise that saved his life until paramedics arrived to take him to the hospital. All the while, Hana cowered in the corner, just a terrified child.

But now, Hana was much different. While she still admitted to the occasional nightmare, she was not the scared little girl Jack once knew. She was a ball of energy and an excellent student. She was also on the track team with her best friend Lucio. Together those two were the speediest pair in the school.

Spotting the duo as they walked out the glass double doors at the front of the school among the horde of departing students, the two didn't separate as they approached the truck.

"Hey dad!" Hana greeted, a bright smile on her face. Jack knew this was her 'I'm going to ask you for something'smile, so he raised his brows expectantly, tapping on the steering wheel with a finger.

"What is it you want, kiddo?" He questioned. Hana glanced to her dreadlocked friend, who had a kind attitude about him, though he was just as excitable as Hana when it came to... well, just about anything.

"Can Lucio come over? We're just gonna do homework then play some video games." Hana requested, clasping her hands together. "Please?"

Jack sighed. "You know I don't like having boys over at my house with you, Hana. But your mother and I will be home, so I guess it's alright. And I'll give you a proposition. Do the dishes, and you can play your games on the big TV in the living room."

Sometimes bribing your child to do chores was a handy tool.

"We'll do it! Thanks dad!" Hana chimed, leaning the passenger seat forward so that Lucio could hop in the back seats. The short young man slipped into the small seats with ease and put his seatbelt on. Hana then shoved the passenger seat upright and got in, putting her own belt on.

"So what did you do today, dad?" Hana asked. She always was curious what he did with his spare time, since he wasn't employed full-time. He was a former soldier, and worked part-time security at the hospital. Angela was a doctor, so she made plenty of money to support their family.

"Visited the prison. It's not important." Jack avoided speaking about Gabriel in detail. Lucio knew the whole situation thanks to Hana, but he didn't know Gabriel would be getting out soon. There was no doubt that the boy was protective of Hana. He was there for her almost as much as Jack and Angela were.

"It is important, dad... I know he's getting out in three months... Do you really think that we'll be safe? That he won't have any resentment or anything for being locked up for ten years?" Hana was a smart child, but sometimes she had a tendency to push buttons. More often than not, they were he father's.

"Hana, I'm not going to talk to you about this right now. End of conversation." The stern man turned his eyes to the front and began the drive home. Hana backed down, Lucio sitting awkwardly in the back seat until he saw a sign at the side of the street advertising a free music festival that would be happening in a week, conveniently located at the local park. He started a conversation with Hana, whose mood changed like flipping a switch. They ecstatically talked about the local musicians who were to be playing, and Lucio rambled about dreaming to perform there himself.

Jack listened, but didn't respond unless they addressed him directly. They arrived at the house shortly, parking the truck in the driveway, overtop of the oil stain on the concrete that Jack told himself wasn't because of any problem with the truck.

Angela wasn't home yet. She'd be getting off work at 5pm. So until then it was just Jack, Hana, and Lucio in the two-story home. It was a fairly nice place. Modern furniture, sentimental decor, fresh flowers on the dining room table... Angela was quite the neat-freak sometimes, but Jack couldn't complain. He loved the woman very dearly.

Hana and Lucio went to the kitchen and sat down at the table, unloading their bookbags and starting to get to work on their studies. Jack was nice enough to walk a few feet away from the two and open the fridge, grabbing two cans of Hana's favorite drink, Mountain Dew, and setting them in front of the teenagers.

"Don't work yourselves too hard." He stated before walking out of the kitchen. He went through the living room to the stairs and walked up, admiring the picture frames that lined the center of the walls on the way up. They were in chronological order, from the days when Jack and Angela were high school sweethearts, up until the latest photo that was on a camping trip they'd taken during the summer. Lucio had come along with his mother Satya, on the rare occasion that the two actually got along. Five happy people in that photo. Jack smiled slightly and sighed, finishing his trek up the stairs.

He headed down the hall to the last door on the right and entered his and Angela's bedroom, taking off his jacket and tossing it over the bedpost. He slipped off his boots then walked over to the vanity at the side of the room. Angela's makeup was neatly organized on top of it, and there was a photo of the two of them in an old wood frame. He picked it up, reminiscing on the day it was taken. Jack had come home from deployment early, not informing Angela who at the time was still in medical school. He'd surprised her, and the photo was snapped just as she embraced him in a loving kiss, arms tossed around his neck gleefully. It was a sweet photo, and a moment he'd never forget.

Setting the photo back down, Jack peered at himself in the mirror. Blue jeans, gray t-shirt, gray hair... He certainly wasn't getting any younger at 49 years old. Angela was younger than him by a year, but still as beautiful as ever. If anything, she was like a fine wine. Only got better with age.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Angela sat in her office during a brief break between patients, cup of coffee in hand. She would be out of work in about an hour, as it was currently 4pm. She had two appointments for the rest of her day, one at 4:15, and one at 4:40. With any luck, they wouldn't last even slightly as long as the scheduled time. One was a quick check-up on one of her regular patients who had frequent heart problems, mostly due to age and the amount of stress he put on his body in the past.

That was Reinhardt Wilhelm, a bodybuilder, former soldier, and aggressively-cheerful man in his sixties. He was a good friend of the doctor's husband, mostly because he'd been deployed at the same time as Jack, though they weren't of the same job. Reinhardt had been an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Specialist. Suffered through quite a few explosions, lost sight in his left eye, given himself slight brain damage, and some moderate hearing loss... And yet he remained like the loving old grandpa everyone adored.

The second patient to address was Genji Shimada. He was an unfortunate story to tell. Nearly everything to do with this man was prosthetic. Genji's brother had crashed the car they were both in, and all four of Genji's limbs needed to be amputated. It was awful, and the burn scars left over Genji's body caused him much pain. He covered his body head to toe, and wore a scarf over his face most anywhere he went. It not only protected his frail skin, but it spared others the sight. Angela felt empathy for the Japanese man, and had been helping him adjust to bionic prosthetics for the past few years. They were prototypes, but he had mastered them nonetheless. He could write slowly, drive in the city, and do almost anything a regular person could, though at a significantly slower pace. But it was progress, and that was the reason he was coming to Doctor Ziegler on this day. Just to check on his progress and make certain everything was still doing well.

Angela sat and drank her coffee, browsing over some documents on her desk until her assistant knocked on the door.

"Mr. Wilhelm is here, when you're ready for him." She informed the doctor. Angela took a deep breath, bracing herself for Reinhardt's abrasive glory-filled personality.

"Send him in, thank you." Angela ordered, taking one last moment to straighten herself out. Reinhardt soon entered the room, broad shoulders barely fitting through the door. The silver-haired man was simply massive. Despite his years, he hadn't lost an ounce of muscle.

"Angela! It is wonderful to see you again!" The beefy German exclaimed, raising his arms for a hug. Angela stood and politely hugged the man back. Her arms barely fit around his bulging torso.

"It's nice to see you too, Reinhardt. Let's get the tests over with, then we can chat if we have time, alright?" Not that she wanted to get Reinhardt out of here as fast as possible, but she would certainly enjoy it if she were able to.

Reinhardt complied with a few tests on his cardio, and accepted the unchanged results as they were. He'd been taking his medications as usual, and had been avoiding stressors in his life. Angela glanced down at her watch; 4:43pm. A little over the time limit.

"I have another appointment to bring in, so unfortunately we can't chat. But, you're in good health. Keep doing what you're doing, and if you feel like something's wrong, always trust your gut and let me know." Angela informed, standing up from her chair. Reinhardt grinned and hugged the woman once again.

"Thanks for the checkup, doctor. Let Jack know I'd love to hear from him sometime! He always acts like such a stranger!" With that, Reinhardt headed down the hall to the exit. Angela's assistant escorted Genji into the room a few moments later, and Angela smiled warmly at the man. She dipped her head in a polite bow, and Genji did the same.

"Good afternoon, doctor." He greeted, before seating himself in the chair Reinhardt had previously sat in, adjacent to Angela's desk. It was much easier to deal with Genji's personality. He was much more calm and well-mannered. Reinhardt was a gentleman, but had no sense of appropriate volume.

"Hello, Genji. I do apologize for the wait, Mr. Wilhelm is quite talkative. Shall we get started?" She asked. Genji nodded his head and Angela gently unwrapped the scarf from around the man's scarred face. She inspected the hypertrophic scars with latex gloves on her hands.

"How has the hypersensitivity and itching been been?" She questioned, prodding lightly at the hardened tissue.

Genji's eyes shut as she inspected his face. "No better or worse than last time I was here. I suppose that's a good thing that it hasn't gotten worse."

"Yes, but there are more options that we can try, if you'd like. Have you been having Mr. Zenyatta apply the cream thoroughly to your skin twice a day?" She stepped away for a moment to let the man speak before she continued. Mr. Zenyatta was Genji's caretaker. He made certain that Genji had company, and that he took care of himself, as well as assisted with treatment of his injuries.

"Yes. He is happy to help. I am grateful for his companionship." Genji now opened his eyes.

"Alright. So would you like to perhaps change the method of treatment, or stay with the cream for now? I know it might be easier if you could apply or administer something yourself, instead of having Mr. Zenyatta administer the cream for you." Angela took a seat in her chair, typing a few things in on her computer.

"No, I'll stick with the cream for now." Decisive, as usual. Genji was never one to hesitate about answering questions. "And since I know you'll ask about the prosthetics next, I may as well report on how everything's working. I haven't had any issues since the last we spoke. I still occasionally have spasms, but it's unavoidable, as you said before. I haven't had any phantom pains, and I have been going about things as usual."

Angela laughed lightly, amused that he'd gotten the routine of their interaction down perfectly. "Yes, thank you for the information, Genji. I'm glad things are still working for you. Would you like help putting your scarf back on before we finish things up?"

"No thank you, I will do it." Genji slowly moved his bionic limbs, wrapping his scarf back around his face one motion at a time. It was a time-consuming process, but he'd grown to be an extremely patient man, and very adept with his prosthetics.

"Alright. Let me just mark a few things down, and you can get out of here. Thank you for coming." Angela continued to type onto the file on her computer for a few brief moments before standing up. She stood by while Genji slowly moved himself to stand up, before they both bowed once again.

"Have a wonderful night, Genji." Angela said in farewell, and Genji returned the sentiment before walking out the door and down the hall. Angela breathed a heavy sigh, quickly gathering up her things before heading down the hall herself. She waved a goodbye to the receptionist on her way out of the hospital, and went outside to the parking lot. She located her silver sedan with ease and got in, beginning her drive home. It was short and sweet, aside from the few choice words that slipped from her mouth when someone drove out in front of her.

When she arrived home, she parked beside Jack's old truck and got out of her vehicle before heading inside, empty coffee mug in hand. She entered her home and went to the kitchen, seeing Hana and Lucio sitting at the table, finishing up what appeared to be some complicated math homework.

She approached her adopted daughter and leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek. "Hello dear." She said, smiling sweetly at her precious child.

"Hi mom. How was work?" Hana asked as Angela went to the sink to wash out her coffee mug.

"Oh, the usual. Reinhardt stopped in today for an appointment. He's doing well." The mother replied. "And hello to you as well, Lucio. How has your day been, you two? Did school go alright?"

Lucio looked up from the worksheet he had been intensely scribbling on for the past few seconds. "Bah, it was boring as usual. Mr. Bastion gave us this crazy Algebra homework. Two pages, front and back, shown work and all. He can do it like a robot, but I can barely keep up."

Hana nodded her head in agreement. "His class is so hard. But we can get the work done most of the time."

Angela chuckled in amusement, setting her clean coffee mug on the counter. "That's good."

Jack entered the room, looking surprised to see Angela. "Home already?"

"Yes, Jack. Your sense of time is second to your sense in vehicles." The wife joked, turning around to look at her beloved. Jack walked over and gave Angela a small kiss on the lips, amused by the "eww" reaction they got from Hana.

"Ugh, get a room you two!" Hana complained, tossing a crumpled piece of paper jokingly at her father. Jack caught it before it could hit him, smirking.

"Well, you two may want to wear headphones while you play your video games..."

Hana promptly made another noise of disgust. "You wouldn't!"

Angela laughed, face reddened. She joined in on the humor. "Well, it's not like we haven't done that before."

Hana shook her head, covering her ears. "La la la! I can't hear you!"

Jack and Angela both laughed, Lucio awkwardly chuckling along. Hana unclasped her ears and started putting her homework away.

"You know, maybe instead of playing video games, Lucio and I will just go skating."

Lucio brightened at the idea. "That'd be awesome! We'd need a ride to the ice rink though."

Angela raised a hand slightly. "I'll drive you two, if that's what you'd like to do. I'll give some money as well, so you can buy food. I believe your skates are in the garage, Hana."

Jack pitched the crumpled piece of paper in the trash can. "Who knew that grossing out kid out could lead to them being physically active as opposed to playing video games. Strange how that works."

Hana stuck her tongue out at her father, who crossed his arms. "What, you aren't going to thank your mother for giving you a ride and money to go skating?"

"Of course I am!" Hana stood and walked over, hugging her mother tightly. "Thanks mom. You're the best."

"You're welcome, Hana. You and Lucio clean up your stuff from the table and put it where it belongs, then head to the car. Lucio, you have your skates, right?" Angela looked to the boy who had begun shoving his homework into a folder. He briefly looked into his backpack, shaking his head.

"Looks like I forgot them. My house is on the way to the rink from here, do you think we could stop by so I can grab them? Skate rentals are so expensive." He asked.

Angela nodded. "Yes, we can. I'll chat with your mother while we're there. Perhaps I can ease her into some leniency for the night. I know she can be quite strict with you going out."

Lucio's smiled faded a bit at the mention of his mother. "Yeah... You're pretty good at talking with her. Better than me, to be honest." He finished putting his things away in his backpack, and threw his empty can of Mountain Dew into the recycling bin next to the trash can. He stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder, just as Hana did the same.

"I'm gonna put this in my room real quick, then I'll be back down." Hana said, walking out and hurrying up the stairs. Within a few minutes, the two teens were in the car, with Angela at the wheel. She drove them to Lucio's residence only a few minutes away.

To Lucio's chagrin, his mother was sitting out on the front porch, sipping at a cup of tea. Satya was a rigid woman, an architect for a property development company. Very formal and direct, and extremely OCD. Satya also suffered from autism. To what degree Angela wasn't certain. It certainly was mild, if that. But it was still present. Her son was... well, very much the opposite.

As Angela pulled into the driveway, Satya stood and set her tea cup aside, her pale blue dress hugging her curvy figure. Where Angela was petite, Satya certainly had twice as much. The doctor stepped out of her vehicle, along with Hana and Lucio, who quickly hustled inside past Satya's intimidating gaze.

Angela smiled. "Good evening, Satya. Enjoying some tea?"

Satya nodded. "Indeed I am. Has my son done his homework?"

Angela never enjoyed how Satya referred to Lucio as 'my son' more often than his actual name. It felt very impersonal. "He has." She replied. "I made certain of it. I was about to take them to the skating rink. They wanted to go there as opposed to playing video games."

Satya seemed mildly pleased. "Exercise is better than staring at a television screen. Do make certain that Lucio is home at a decent hour, Angela."

"You know I always do, Satya. Perhaps sometime soon we can get together and have a glass of wine? You must rarely get time to relax with a friend." Angela suggested. Satya smiled amusedly.

"I do suppose that would be nice. Are you busy tomorrow night, say, seven thirty? We could relax here in my home."

Angela shook her head. "No plans that I know of. So, it's a deal. Tomorrow I'll be over, seven thirty."

Satya clasped her hands together, gleaming with excitement for a moment. As much as she seemed like a difficult woman, she enjoyed being with people who could be polite and civil, and she did enjoy her wine though she'd never admit it.

Lucio and Hana soon came back out through the door, Hana scurring past Satya as if she were some kind of monster. Satya turned to her son, leaning down and whispering something in his ear, then kissing his cheek before standing up straight. Lucio looked shocked, then grinned. Angela's curiosity about what she told him was answered within moments.

"What?! Awesome!" He looked to Angela, straightening himself out in order to speak to her without seeming rude in front of his mother. "Angela, could I spend the night over at your place tomorrow with Hana?"

Angela raised her eyebrows in surprise, then looked to Satya, who simply smiled and nodded. "We have a lot to discuss tomorrow. It'd be best if these two were out of our hair, don't you agree?"

Angela couldn't beat that logic. So she sighed and nodded. "Alright, but this is going to give Jack a spike in blood pressure that'll take weeks to drop... But I know you two wouldn't do anything you wouldn't if one of us were watching, so I'll allow it. Jack will just have to deal with it."

Lucio grinned happily and pulled his mother into a tight hug. "Thanks mom! I'll see you tonight, let's get to skating!" The excited teenage boy hurried over to Angela's car, hopping in the backseat. Angela could practically hear him sharing the news of the plans with Hana.

The doctor smiled at Satya. "You're full of surprises. You know he loves you a lot, he just wants his freedom to express himself and be a normal teen."

"I'm aware." Satya replied. "I just want to keep him on the right track. He's a good son. I didn't give him up sixteen years ago when I had no money and was left a single mother. I wouldn't ever give him up, no matter our disagreements. Regardless, you should be going. Have a nice night, Angela."

Angela nodded her head. "You too, Satya." With that, she returned to the car, driving the ecstatic teens to the skate rink. Angela grabbed her purse from the passenger-side floor and gave the two $50 to split, then sent them off into the skate rink. She'd return around seven thirty, giving them plenty of time to skate and enjoy themselves.

When she returned home after dropping Hana and Lucio off, Jack was sitting on the couch waiting for his wife patiently. He smirked, handsome as ever in Angela's eyes, and pat the seat beside him.

"It's about time we have some decent time alone."

Angela's lips curled into a pleasant smile, walking over and sitting down at the left side of Jack, leaning her body against his, resting her head on his shoulder. Her left hand gently caressed his strong chest.

"I agree, Jack... It's nice to spend time with just you, even though the time will fly by."

Jack pressed his lips to Angela's temple, breathing a quiet sigh against her skin. "I'm nervous about Gabriel... It's all that I've been able to think about."

Angela nodded slightly. "I am too... I haven't forgotten what he's capable of."

"He wants someone to get in contact with Amelie... to see if she'll take him back, at least temporarily. I don't know if her mental health is sound enough to handle him... Last I knew she could barely handle herself."

Angela frowned slightly. "It isn't our job to make certain he has a place to stay when he gets out. Though... I suppose if he has somewhere to stay, it means less of a chance that he'd resort to violence against others. I'll see if I can get a hold of Amelie through patient records... I'm technically not supposed to go snooping around in patient files for personal business, but tomorrow if i have a moment, I'll see... The last thing I want is Gabriel showing up here like some kind of Grim Reaper again..."

The arm that Jack had wrapped around Angela's waist protectively pulled her tighter against him. "I won't let anything happen to this family again. I promise you that, Angela. Gabriel is never going to hurt us like he did before."