"So, what do you think?" Sam asked, his normally deep, lazy drawl sounding slightly expectant and apprehensive behind her.

"Hmm? " asked Quorra dreamily, her eyes not once turning back to meet his. Her gaze instead was fixated at the bright orange orb in the sky now creeping slowly overhead, and though it hurt keeping her eyes straight on it's piercing shine, she felt like a moment's glance away would rid her of its image in her head. She didn't want to miss a single second; she wanted to remember what it was like and plant the vision firmly in her mind and the sensation of its warmth securely in her skin. It was exactly as Sam had described and so much more, and she understood within seconds of leaving Flynn's arcade that the amber hues surrounding the clouds above her weren't just an imaginary picture, an exaggeration Sam had made up to belittle the skies in The Grid- it was indeed as he had said; warm, radiant, and beautiful.

"I asked, what do you think?" Sam repeated, unlocking his garage shutters and parking the Ducati safely inside it. "You haven't been able to take your eyes off it ever since sun-up."

"It's, well..." Quorra's voice drifted, letting the soft breeze blow some of her fringe aside, "Like you said. But just feeling it now, the light it's casting everywhere, and how warm it feels, even in this chilly air..."

"Can't really put it in words, huh?"

Quorra grinned to the sky, shaking her head.

"It's not going to go away, you know," Sam chuckled behind her. "You'll get to see it every day."

"It's beautiful," Quorra said, tucking a strand of windblown hair behind her ear. "I wish..."

"Yeah?"

"I wish your Dad were here to see this," she said, finally tearing her eyes away from the sky to look at Sam. She sighed, looking down. "After cycles and cycles of only reading about it in books...and now he's not around to enjoy this moment with us."

Sam regarded her for a while, noticing the disappointment in her face.

"Come here," he slowly opened his arms and pulled her into a hug; she stiffened at first, but welcomed it instantly, wrapping her arms around him. It seemed only natural to them. Kevin was a father to them both.

"It's ok," he said quietly, swaying gently with her. Kevin Flynn may have been his father throughout a short time in his childhood, and somewhat an icon of his ambitions for the next twenty years of his life, but Kevin Flynn was also Quorra's mentor of many, many cycles. Sam could only imagine the bond they'd shared and the lessons she'd learnt from him for the span of time they spent together.

"We have the sun to remember him with. For the rest of our lives."

Their embrace was cut short by a familiar bark, followed by a whine; a timid attempt at gaining his attention. Sam chuckled again "I forgot. There's someone I want you to meet," he said, pulling away from Quorra to scoop up the tiny black and white boston terrier eyeing them keenly from below. At the sight of it, Quorra gasped and stepped back.

"What's that?" she asked nervously, flinching as Marvin barked again.

"Marvin, stop it!" Sam said. "This is Marvin, my dog."

"Is it-is it a user too? Is it...humanoid?"

Sam laughed, pulling out one of Marvin's paws towards her. "Nope. Not a user. Just a dog. Come on, he won't bite."

"A dog? Oh... okay." she bent forward to touch him, but held back as the curious little creature nibbled at her fingers. "What is his purpose here? Is he a programme then?"

"No," Sam laughed again."His purpose? Uh, besides being my partner-in-crime..."he said, gently putting the dog down and directing her to the garage-turned-house. "...eating my leftovers. Oh, and watching the house while I'm away. He's good at that. Except when Alan comes, he normally backs off then."

"Alan?"

"Yeah. My dad's old partner at ENCOM. Speaking of which..." he gestured for her to take a seat as he rummaged through his half-empty fridge for a decent excuse for breakfast, "I have to leave you here in a while. I promised Alan I'd see him at work this morning. I just promoted him to Chairman, so we're going to have to sort through the mess left behind by Mackey and Dillinger. They don't know the good—or rather, bad news yet, so we're going to have to give 'em the blow today. Coffee?"

"Uh...sure," Quorra replied, not exactly sure what coffee was, although if the strong, bittersweet smell given off by that grinding machine he was setting up was any indication, she had a feeling that she'd like it very much.

As Sam busied himself with the drinks and food, Quorra scanned the tiny room, noticing instantly the lack of decor, the overflow of computing and mechanics books on the lone bookshelf, the open dresser containing only a handful of folded clothes, a modest bath closet, and finally, the open doorway facing the river.

"Can't I come with you?" she asked him as he handed her a cup containing a weird black-coloured liquid.

Sam eyed her from the rim of his mug. "We've just travelled non-stop across the grid and across the city. Aren't you tired?"

"Yeah, but I want to know what ENCOM is all about too."

"And you will. Just rest for a couple of hours while I settle the groundwork with Alan, then tomorrow once we've gotten you some work-clothes—"

Quorra gasped.

"What? What's wrong?"

"This... this coffee substance. It's nothing like I've ever tasted before."

Sam grinned. "Like it?"

Quorra nodded excitedly.

"You have no idea what else you're missing," he mused, passing her a plate of just-made scrambled eggs. As he picked out a set of dress-clothes to change into in the bathroom, he called out, "Wait til you try cheeseburgers... and pizza... and steak and mash... You're in for a treat that's beyond anything you've ever dreamed of, Quorra."

Her only reply was a loud, funny giggle, one that he would learn to get used to very soon.