Incoming

Gavin woke up and immediately felt a sense of foreboding. It was his second morning waking up in his old bed, in the room that used to be his whole universe. Last night he had borrowed his sister's laptop and used the card Caine gave him to pay bills for his family. Every time he hit the 'pay' button he would hold his breath, waiting for it to say it couldn't process. It went through every time. He found himself wondering, not for the first time, just how much money Caine had put on there.

He put his swords back in the pocket dimension and sat up. He didn't want to leave his family in a bind. He had grown up in this house and it just seemed unfair that they could lose it after all this time.

Gavin made certain that everything he wanted was packed into the pocket dimension. While he was dressing there was a knock at the door. He finished pulling on his shirt before he called out.

"Come in."

He leaned down to slip on his boots as Ver walked in. She didn't look in a good mood and just stood there staring at him.

"What's up?"

"Cops are coming soon to take you in. They're supposed to question you about where you've been and get a psych eval done. What are you going to do?"

Gavin stood and made his way to the door, walking past her as he went.

"I told you, I'm not staying. Besides, I don't think I want to know what my psych eval is right now. No one does."

He was hoping to leave before anyone got there, but the doorbell rang the moment he stepped out of his room. He could hear his parents talking and a rough male voice answer back, though it was too far to hear any details.

"I was hoping to avoid this part, though."

"You're not going to hurt anyone, are you?"

"I'm not going to kill anyone. I won't promise to not hurt."

He paused a moment to look back at his sister then walked away. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his family in any way, but he wasn't just going to waste time with questions when he has a city to defend and a kingdom to take over. Priorities.

Gavin breaks the grey bead on his bracelet and begins a mental countdown. Ten minutes. He doesn't see the elders taking longer than that. After the wall they didn't really have anything else to keep them busy. It wasn't like it was back in the demon dimension.

The two officers were standing near the front door, his parents standing next to each other, talking to the officers with their back to the approaching Gavin. The officers were similar in height, and barely taller than Gavin's father. One had a moustache and was broad while the other was lanky. Both had buzzed haircuts and their business faces on. It was the moustached officer that noticed Gavin's approach.

The moment the officer turned his attention to Gavin his parents turned to face him. Gavin hated seeing the pain in their eyes, hated knowing that he was going to add to it.

"Morning, son. We're here to talk with you and discuss where you've been."

It was the lanky one that spoke, his voice matched the rough voice he had heard earlier.

"I'm afraid I don't know time to talk."

Gavin was beyond grateful that he could use magic here. The night before he had fully tested his abilities. He knew that he could conjure a flame and he knew that Caine used illusion magic. Knowing all of that he still wanted to verify that he could use all of the elements and a few spells.

It took him a moment to silently chant a spell and send it to the two officers, knocking them out cold. His mom and sister let out a gasp as the officers fell to the floor. His dad pulled his mom close and moved her away. Ver was the only one who had an idea of what had happened, but even she was at a loss.

"I don't have much time, so I'll be quick."

Gavin covered the distance to stand in front of his parents. He takes his mom's hand and looks into her eyes. Like every other time he's touched her he sends healing energy throughout her body. This will be his last chance to do this for who knows how long.

"I don't want you to keep worrying about me, mom. I want you to think about this like I've simply moved away. Now that I have the ability to, I will come back and visit again. I can't guarantee when I'll be able to come next, but I promise it won't be nearly as long."

He steps in and hugs her, then his father before stepping back.

"No matter what, I will do my best to take care of you guys. You're my family and I love you. If it's within my power I will protect you. I'm sorry to leave you like I am, but I don't have time to waste with useless things."

He motions to the officers laying on the floor, still unconscious.

"They should wake up in about half an hour. The worst they should experience is a migraine."

Gavin could feel something click in the air and realized that the portal was activating. He could feel himself being called back.

"Ver, I'm sorry but you'll have to explain things to them. My time has run out."

He had barely finished his sentence when he suddenly disappeared. His mom fainted at the sight of her son disappearing while Ver let out a string of curses. She was torn between awe, jealousy and anger. She has always wanted to use magic, all of the shows she's watched and books she's read have involved magic in some way. Seeing her baby brother having something she's always wanted fills her with awe and jealousy. The anger is because he left her to clean up his mess.

*******

Gavin reappeared in the empty room within the castle's dungeon. Before he could reorient himself Riley and ran up and jumped into his arms.

"Gavin!"

He laughed and hugged Riley tightly. Gods, how I missed them. While he hugged Riley his eyes locked onto Caine. Caine was unreadable as always, but it was familiarity that Gavin had missed. It's only been a month but Caine and the demons mean a lot to me. I think I missed them more these last two days than I've missed my family all these months.

It was a hard truth that he had come to realize. It didn't mean he loved his family any less, but he had found where he belonged and it felt great to be back.

"That was shorter than I expected. I was looking for you to be gone longer."

"I was too worried about what you would do to Riley to stay any longer."

Gavin chuckled, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings.

"That bad?"

Gavin sat Riley down, though he held him close as he walked to where Caine was.

"Gods, I didn't realize how hard it would be going back. Can we go somewhere quiet?"

"Of course."

They ended up back in their room with Gavin sitting on the bed and Riley curled up next to him.

"I missed you. It was so quiet while you were gone."

Riley said while looking up at Gavin. Gavin smiled and planted a kiss on his forehead.

"I missed you too. It was hard to sleep alone."

Gavin looked at Caine when he said the last part. Caine had chosen to stay standing, arms crossed as he leaned back against the wall.

"Want to talk about it?"

"It was a mess. My mom had just about given up, her whole body had lost it's will. My father was a mess and my sister had quit school to take care of them. I did what I could for them while I was there, but I had to leave when they called the cops in.

"I made a mess of things by refusing to talk about where I had been. I did end up telling my sister, but that's when I realized how much of a pervert you are. I mean, look at us."

Gavin motioned to himself and Riley then to Caine, his eyebrows raised in shock. Caine frowned for a moment before laughing.

"I could see how it could be viewed. It's a good thing we don't live in that world."

"Yeah…" Gavin let out a sigh and tightened his hold on Riley. "I had an inkling before I left, but being back there made me realize that it's not my home anymore. I'm not at the same level as you, but I've done enough here that there is no way I could be happy over there. Hell, I couldn���t sleep without my blades next to me.

"I almost killed my own sister because she came into my room to wake me. It was something she always used to do so she didn't think anything about it."

"I would offer my sympathies, but they would be hollow. The rules of each world are different, the laws we have to abide by are nearly polar opposites."

"On another subject. I used the card you gave me to take care of my family's bills."

"Good. It is yours to use as you wish."

Caine moved to stand in front of Gavin, his hand moving to rest against the side of his face.

"I told you, it's my job to take care of you. That extents to your family. Think of it as a reward for your loyalty, or a means to keep you close."

"You're such a manipulative bastard."

Gavin's voice was barely above a whisper as he stood up and kissed Caine. Riley sat up and watched them with a smile. He was happy that Gavin was back, he knew that Caine had missed Gavin as much as he had.

"Oh, I brought gifts for everyone."

Gavin announced once the kiss ended. He pulled out the clothes and stuffed animals for Riley, then gave Caine chocolate. Caine gave him a questioning look as he stored away the chocolate.

"I wasn't sure what to get you and I remembered that you made a moment about chocolate once so I decided to go with that. Is it ok?"

"Mhmm, I'm just surprised to read that much from something I said. But, yes, I do enjoy a good chocolate."

Gavin took out the books for Riley and set them on the bed.

"Riley ended up being the easiest to shop for. I found some fairytales from my world and brought some of my old shirts. This bear was what I had as a child and I thought that maybe it would help with the nightmares."

Riley hugged the stuffed bear and looked up at Gavin, his eyes bright from happiness and unshed tears. No one has ever given him something so soft and cute. Even as a sick child he wasn't given the luxury of toys or being a kid.

"I love it!"

There was a knock at the door and a moment later Xanthe walked in. She gave a slight bow in Gavin's direction.

"Welcome back."

Gavin moved to Xanthe and handed her a bag of mixed candy.

"I brought something for you."

"What is it?"

"It's candy from my world. I didn't know what you'd like so I got a few different types."

Gavin hugged Xanthe before she could say anything more. When the hug ended they both chuckled.

"Gods, you wouldn't believe how much I missed you. I felt exposed without my weapons or a friend to watch my back."

As he spoke he pulled out his blacks and strapped on the sheaths. It felt good to have his blades back out. They were even excited, filling his mind with their joy at being released from the pocket dimension.

"Oh, before I forget I came here to give a report."

"What is it?"

Xanthe glanced from Caine to Gavin as a smile raised her lips and filled her eyes, "Edicia's army has been spotted about two days out. We will finally get to fight.