“Luke,” Jase says, “we are going to be late.”

 

“We’re already late.”

 

“That… doesn’t make it better.”

 

“I’m trying to find my gloves!”

 

Jase sighs, shakes his head. “D’you mean these gloves?”

 

“Wh— did you steal my gloves?”

 

“I’m not going to justify that with an answer.”

 

“You did!”

 

“You frighten me.”

 

“That’s not very nice.”

 

“But oh so true. Put your gloves on.”

 

“I don’t want them now, not after your giant hands stretched them out of shape. I’ll have you know I loved those gloves.”

 

“Y’know, maybe I should just go by myself. The public isn’t quite ready for you, I think.”

 

0---

 

“You’re late,” Sera says.

 

“I got that, yeah,” Jase pulls a chair out and sits down between Fosher and Des.

 

Bella looks up from her menu and frowns. “Two things” she says, “there is an empty seat right next to me, two actually, but you walk all the way around the table?”

 

“You’ve got a scary look on your face,” Sera says. “You were scowling at the menu like it suggested your hair looks like you stuck your finger in a socket and went with it; the waiter went and hid around the corner with our drinks.”

 

“What did you say about my hair?”

 

“Oh get on with it,” Des says, “because I am dying of thirst over here, thanks.”

 

Bella gives them the evil eye, but acquiesces. “Where’s Luke, then?”

 

“He’ll be along later.” Jase says, eyes dropped to his menu. “Has anyone tried the seize-cent soixante-quatre?”

 

“Sounds foreign,” Des says, glancing back at her own menu, which she still has, no thanks to Bella and her hair from hell and accessorizing anger with the world.

 

Bella perks up in her seat. “You don’t hate me,” she says, “you just don’t want to sit with Luke! Ooh, what’d he do this time? Is he coming at all?”

 

“I couldn’t say,” Jase says, stiffly.

 

Sera rests a hand on Bella’s upper arm before she can start interrogating him. “Let’s get everyone their drinks, order, and then we can talk.”

 

“I—yeah, alright.” She folds her menu and smiles at the waiter, waving him out from behind his corner.

 

0---

 

“Oh, I’m sorry sir, that’s just a little joke our head chef enjoys. The cuisine served here is what was traditionally referred to as French, and Seize-Cent-Soixante-Quatre was a very popular beer back then. Of course, we haven’t had contact with France for several thousand years…”

 

“Right,” Jase says, “I’ll just have the water, thanks.”

 

0---

 

Luke arrives, just as the second round of drinks is being handed out. He doesn’t even look around, just grabs the chair closest to him, quietly asking the waiter for a glass of milk.

 

“How was field work this morning?” Fosher asks, taking a first sip of his cranberry juice; they’re all up early again tomorrow, so no alcohol tonight.

 

“The usual,” Luke says. “localized weather is disgustingly easy to create and control, but so time consuming when you’ve got about fifty other people trying to ‘help.’”

 

“If it’s so easy, why do you look exhausted?”

 

“Just cause they were trying to help doesn’t mean I actually let them. Once I got them out of my way, which was pathetically easy, I only needed fifteen minutes to lock everything in place.”

 

“So you’re late because?” Sera asks.

 

Luke’s eyes flicker to Jase’s almost imperceptibly before he answers. “Spent the rest of the day getting chewed out for sending them on a doomed ten mile hike into the forest. Apparently, they got lost, so I had to bring them back.”

 

“It’s no wonder Jase is pissed at you, then,” Bella says.

 

Luke flinches.

 

‘Alright,” Sera says, standing, “I think it’s time we hit the little sailors’ room, wash our hands before we eat and all that.”

 

0---

 

Luke and Jase watch them go, equally unimpressed.

 

“Been talking about me behind my back then?” Luke says. “That’s…nice.”

 

“Stop it.”

 

“What? I’m on-”

 

“Please, just stop it,” Jase says. “I’m too tired for this, really.

 

“I try so hard, to keep you safe, but then you go off and do something so stupid as this. Two broken legs, some sprains, a head wound, mild hypothermia across the board?”

 

“I can take care of myself, Jase. Did for years before you can along. And if they didn’t try to waste my time, there wouldn’t have been a problem, would there?”

 

“God, Luke, please, don’t make this easy for them.”

 

Jase is so very glad Luke didn’t hear that, that someone chose then to scrape their chair against the flagstone.

 

He tries again, “you’re out of control, sometimes,”

 

“I think,” Luke says, “you need to stop before you say something you’ll regret.”

 

“You are unbelievable,” Jase says, shaking his head, “absolutely unbelievable. You can’t do this alone, you know, so you might want to work on not being quite so good at alienating everybody that cares about you.”

 

He stands up and walks out, leaving Luke staring open mouthed at the door swinging behind him.

 

0---

 

“Where’s Jase?” Fosher asks, taking his seat.

 

“I…don’t know.” Luke says, and slumps back, looking stunned.

 

Bella gives Sera a triumphant look before realizing this isn’t about winning, actually. “So,” she says, and everyone looks at her, expectantly, except for Luke, who seems to have forgotten they exist.

 

“Well?” Des says.

 

Bella frowns. “I didn’t actually have anything to follow that with.”

 

0---

 

The waiter arrives with their food, pauses at Jase’s empty chair.

 

“Mine, I guess,” Luke says, and watches as the pasta is placed before him.

 

“Luke,” Sera says, once they all have their food, and the waiter has been sent on a quest to find Bella some Tabasco sauce, “pass me that will you?”

 

“What?”

 

“No protein in that, or, at least, not enough, so we’ll trade.”

 

“Right,” Luke says, taking her fish in one hand, holding out his pasta with the other. “You sure?”

 

“Just eat it.”

 

0---

 

A return to 2007 Additions.