A huge thank you to NixiePixieStix for reviewing this chapter and fixing my paragraphs

"You're joking, right?" I demanded. The Bluetooth headset in my ear crackled with static as I drove along,

"Do I look like I'm joking?" she asked with a laugh, forgetting I couldn't see her because I wasn't even in the same state. "He asked me to marry him and I said yes!" she squealed again, the excitement in her voice overwhelming. A wide grin stretched across my lips as I banged a fist on my steering wheel,

"Oh, my god you go girl!" I screamed back, reveling in the infectious enthusiasm in her voice. "Is it a diamond?" I asked, curious about the ring.

She giggled, "Oh yeah, lots of little ones set in a silver band...oh it's gorgeous." she gushed.

Glancing at the sign coming up I felt my grin widen once more. Home...I was nearly home for the first time in four years. I hadn't planned to stay so long, but my engineering degree became a Bachelor of Engineering that suddenly turned into a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering. I was now fully qualified to design, research, build and experiment with flight equipment as well as the normal mechanical things and some electrical tech that I'd done on the side.

"Are you nearly home yet?" my friend questioned, friendly concern lacing her tone.

Laughing to myself I shook my head, "Relax Cord, I did have pretty far to drive remember?" I reminded her. Living in Southgate California meant I had had a very long drive down from MIT in Massachusetts. "But nearly, ten minutes perhaps? It's weird to drive past my old high school." I admitted.

Cordelia Longheart was my best friend; we'd shared a dorm and later an apartment when we'd scraped enough money together at MIT. She was the same age as me at twenty-four and we had had our fair share of arguments over the years but stuck together through it all. She, herself was from an entirely different state, Mission City in Nevada to be precise. She was an hour from the Hoover Dam which I thought was cool but, she didn't think so - apparently, a city in the middle of nowhere wasn't her place to set up a home. She was visiting her parents (probably to tell them about her engagement) but all her stuff had already been moved over to her fiancés apartment in New York. He was the head of some corporate company and thirty-two years old but they were cute and he treated her right, so the age gap was overlooked.

"Right, I forgot. You wanted to drive from the airport instead of just getting a cab like a normal person." she teased, "Well I've got to go, me and Rob are here now so...take care of yourself and I'll speak to you soon okay?" she hung up before I could agree making me shake my head with a grin.

Cordelia was so impulsive sometimes and perhaps a bit forgetful, there were days where I swore she'd forget her head if it wasn't screwed on. Driving onto the small yet familiar street I drew in a deep breath, looking down the rows of houses before I finally found mine. Smiling, I pulled up into the drive and killed the engine, honking my horn loudly.

My mom came hurrying out, glaring, and wielding her rolling pin while her flowery apron swayed in the summer breeze - the minute she saw me she dropped the rolling pin and embraced me tightly.

Squeezing her back, I couldn't help but laugh when she began crying into my shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm home now, no tears." I scolded playfully. She rolled her eyes, pulling back from me, and wiping her eyes.

"You caught me in the middle of baking your welcome home cake," she tutted at me, but her expression was far from serious. "Your farther and Sam are out buying a car for your brother," she informed me. I inhaled a deep lungful of the fresh California air and opened the boot of my old GTO with a push of a button, mentally praising myself for the work I'd done on restoring it.

"Help me get my stuff upstairs, please?" I requested. She nodded.

"Of course, of course." she shooed me towards the car and together we unpacked all seven boxes and two duffel bags I had crammed into my car.

There wouldn't be enough space in my room for all of this but I could put it in the attic until I found a place of my own. Finally, when the last two boxes were lugged upstairs I could lock my car. My mom touched my cheek gently and the warmth of her hand radiated into me. I sighed a little at her touch.

"I missed you," she murmured at the same time I did.

Chuckling slightly, I pulled her into another tight hug. She always smelt of flour for some reason though she hardly ever baked. Speaking of baking..."Mom did you leave the rolling pin in the garden?" I asked.

My mother's eyes widened and she hurried outside as I collapsed onto my bed in a fit of giggles. I couldn't quite understand why she needed a rolling pin if she was baking a cake. That was my mom for you, a little crazy but very loveable...when she wasn't being her annoying, persistent self.

Looking around the room, there were still some old posters on the walls of bands I had liked but out grown. I quickly took them down and replaced them with my posters of Da Vinci's first helicopter designs, black hawks, chinooks, and other engineering masterpieces, like the combustion engine that I loved to study. Once all my clothes were put away I made sure my phone charger was out and my I-Phone charging on the desk before I headed downstairs with a yawn.

My mom spotted me as I sat on a little chair near the island in the kitchen. She was icing my cake and I grinned as I dipped a finger in the bowl and licked the sweet liquid icing off my finger. Wrinkling my nose, I decided it needed to set some first. Mom swatted at my hand with the wooden spoon from the nearby pot as I shrugged at her innocently.

"What? I'm hungry, I drove for thirty-five minutes from the airport!" I defended myself. She just chuckled and shook her head.

"Why do you think I made you this?" she pushed a plate towards me and I looked down to see that there was a jam-packed ham, lettuce, and cucumber sandwich. A bubble of joy began to expand in my chest and I found that no words could describe how good it felt to be home with my family again. I had missed them so much and Mom's home cooking (even if it was just a sandwich) was a welcomed relief from microwave pizza and fries.

Picking it up I squished the bread between my fingers to flatten it out (a habit I'd had since I was little), pulled off the crust as I ate that first before getting to the rest of the sandwich. My mom watched me with adoring eyes as I sensed things were about to get soppy.

"It's good to know not everything about you changed." she said softly. My eyebrows rose in question as she laughed. "You're all grown up, Baby," she pointed the knife she was using to spread the icing at me playfully, but I could see the sadness in her eyes - her kids had grown up. Sam was preparing to leave the nest now and I was already gone technically; this was just a pit stop until I could set myself up in my own home.

"I'm still your daughter mom." I reminded her around a mouthful of sandwich. Covering my mouth, I stifled a yawn and jerked my thumb up behind me, finishing the last bite of sandwich. "I'm exhausted so...I'm going to turn in early." I admitted. She nodded a little and let me go, waving me away absent mindedly and muttering some sort of reminder to herself about icing flowers.

Snorting under my breath I shook my head and trooped up the stairs, frowning slightly when I realized I missed the odd creak you'd get three steps up when walking up to our apartment back at MIT - that was going to take some getting used to. Grabbing my pajamas, I looked at the clock, six in the evening. It was far too early to be sleeping but I'd had a long day and needed the rest since I'd spent most of last night packing and hadn't gotten much sleep anyway. Sighing I settled back under the covers of my bed, it was a strange contrast of smells with MIT and home mixing together. Hell, Cordelia's perfume still hung on my pillow but the smells all came from things I loved, and I fell asleep quicker than I thought I would.