_A Sort of Homecoming_ pt 1

When Zack first crested the hill he stared down at the village amazed at the changes his long years away had wrought.  Wally’s  Bend had once been one among a dozen sleepy little boroughs nestled at the edge of the jungle.  It had apparently had quite a boom since then, near tripling in size, quite a respectable looking town.

The place had a rough and new-built look about it, still serviced by the old logging roads cut through the dense vegetation rather than the smoother paved lanes expected around Corel or Costa del Sol.  For a moment Zack stood confused, tempted to turn back into the familiar and sheltering green of the trees before anyone could notice him, or the one he carried on his back. He had been avoiding all larger towns, worried about crossing paths of Shin-Ra personnel. It was impossible to say who Hojo might rope into looking for him, and he didn’t want to take chances.  He hadn’t expected that Wally’s Bend would be large enough to attract official attention, but apparently he had missed a memo somewhere along the way. _Something_ momentous must have occurred to thrust the outpost into its newfound prosperity.  The only claim to fame the place had, that he could recall, was that it was a relatively easy hike to Gongaga if someone was of a mind, a half-day trip with the luxury of a jeep.

Watching two of the sporty little trucks as they drove by him, Zack smiled with sudden bitter understanding.  Where better for the majority of the survivors to flee to than Wally’s Bend after Gongaga’s thrice-damned Mako Reactor had reduced the primary city to a crater. 

Funny how he hadn’t even considered the destruction as a reason to not bend his track north to his old haunts.  He had been too busy worrying that his old hometown would be an ideal place to have some one waiting for him.  The idea that most of what he remembered didn’t exist anymore hadn’t even occurred to him.  He had read about the disaster two years ago? Three? His days in the lab blurred together on close inspection. How often had he escaped his belljar at night just to thieve discarded newspapers from the trash while waiting for opportunity, or for his friend’s recovery?  It wasn’t something he wanted to think about.

Reading about a reactor failure in Gongaga, the sabotage of another one in Corel, the riots in the slums of Midgar, and uprising at the old south mountain fort, it had all felt so alien to him. They were all just bits of information scavenged and stored away. As meaningless in their way as the jargon-filled reports cluttering Hojo’s encrypted servers. Zack sometimes wondered if he had studied enough about genealogy, archeology, chemistry and pathology in his midnight prowling through the lab’s files to have earned an advanced degree at some university or another.

In a way, he was Hojo’s most avid protégé.

Zack spat on the hard packed dirt as he hefted his burden higher on his shoulders.  His sometime-torturer would hardly be likely to acknowledge his remarkable accomplishment, and besides, his only interest in science was in how to get himself and his friend out of the man’s clutches in one piece.  Thinking of the lab only served to make him angry, and didn’t solve the problem of what he was supposed to do now. Craning his head to the left he bumped Cloud’s forehead with his chin, eliciting a confused mumble for his efforts. “Oi, Kid. You with still me?”

An uncharitable portion of his brain murmured that it would be for the best if the boy would just slip away one afternoon, succumb to whatever bizarre drug cocktail Hojo’s latest batch of flunkies had shot him up with.  Who was to say it wouldn’t be a relief to the kid, to die somewhere quiet and green, be buried where no one would ever bother him again. There were far worse alternatives. 

Zack shook his head of the morbid thoughts, more grateful than he could express that he could still feel Cloud’s breath against his neck, despite the humid weather.  “Hang tough kiddo,” he murmured.

He was still mentally calculating the odds of a Shin-Ra presence among all the dispossessed of his old hometown. Certainly he didn’t expect to be recognized by anyone he grew up with, not with hair and clothing looking just one torn seam shy of an escape lunatic, not to mention the fact he was running about fifty pounds lighter than he was used to. Gaunt, beaten down, and undeniably ratty, he was going to stand out in a respectable crowd, with or without the comatose boy he was piggybacking across country.

Zack pondering waiting for dusk and slipping in around the backyards of town to scavenge some things rather than take his chances in more honest interactions. Anything stealthy would have to be done without his surrogate little brother in tow however. The boy couldn’t be trusted to stay quiet when necessary and might land them both in jail, where he had no doubt, Hojo’s little brute squad would be more than happy to collect them from. No, better to find some empty house or other secluded place to store the kid and then go about his business. They’d be gone before anyone could suspect them, all the better off for a change of close and a bath.  He was just about resolved to dive into the trees and hunker down for nightfall when he was startled by the sound of a truck changing gears just behind him.

Nerves jangled uncomfortably as he slowly turned to watch the jeep’s approach. Zack was ready to cut and run if necessary. But he knew acting jumpy was the surest way to drawing attention to himself, and unless it was the scientist himself or a platoon of his flunkies, he was confident he could sweet talk his way out of whatever the world threw at him.  As it turned out, his initial fears were for nothing. The vehicle slowed and stopped next to him to reveal its driver was nothing more threatening that a young woman with sweet eyes and a tired smile.

“Hi boys, need a lift?”

“Not really,” Zack grinned to show he meant no offense. “But thank you kindly for the offer.”

She looked at him as if startled by his refusal. “It’s still a fair ways into town. The hill makes it look deceptively close.”

“I’ll manage.” He shrugged.

“I could drop you off right in front of the hotel,” The woman offered again. “Come on, you look like you could use a break.”

“More than you know,” Zack laughed. “But as I can’t afford the hotel, I’ll have to decline the offer, I’ve got just enough for bus fare to the coast and that’s about it.”

“What’s wrong with your friend?” She tried a different tactic. “He doesn’t look so good.”

“My brother got bit by something out in the jungle.” He lied blandly. “Running a fever but I think he’ll be ok.”

“He should go to a hospital.” She frowned. “Some of the snakes ‘round da‘green are really poisonous!”

“I know.” Zack smiled at the hint of regional accent she’d let slip. “I grew up not far from here. But we’ll survive somehow. We’ve come this far.”

The woman tucked her bangs behind her ears as she considered him, too earnest to have an ulterior motive, too young to remember him even if she had started out in Gongaga.  He didn’t mind the quiet. She was very easy on the eyes, not flashy, but pretty in a nice and unthreatening way. It’d been a while since he’d bantered with a pretty girl for no particular reason. He always found it funny, the things he missed most while being locked away.

Leaning on her steering wheel she seemed to reach some internal conclusion. “You two really are a pair of rovers, aren’t you.”

“It seems so.”  He acknowledged, keeping an eye on the other trucks and crawlers traveling the road. “But now that you’re here, maybe you can help me after all?”

She immediately perked up. “What do you need?”

“Just some local know-how. This town’s changed a bit since I was last here.”

“When was that?” She teased.

“About ten years ago, I guess.” Zack grinned unrepentantly.  “I’d heard about Gongaga, but it never occurred to me that the survivors would want to relocate somewhere nearby, you know? Does this town sport a reactor too or what?”

“God no.” She made a disgusted face. “Shin-Ra popularity in this area took a real hit when Gongaga was near’blown off the map. The corporate types don’t tend to find much welcome here, except from the local vermin. You know how snakes are, once they’re in a building’s duct work, there’s no telling where they’ll end up. Just go looking for someplace warm to curl up and nap.”

Zack got her meaning just fine, and had to chuckle at her bland commentary. “Yeah and I’m sure the wolf spiders are just attracted by the city-slicker cologne?”

“You know it!” She matched his grin. “Hey now, don’t be snobbish, your brother can lie down on the back seat. It can’t be much fun for him to be hauled around like a sack of potatoes. Christian curtsey says the least I can do is offer you a meal and a haircut.” 

“Not afraid we’re some sort of crazies out to hijack you and make off with your jeep?” Zack mused, already won over in spite of himself.

“Nah.” She reached back and unlatched the door for him to shimmy Cloud onto the well-patched leather of the bench seat. “I don’t think a person can fake looking as miserable as he does.  And besides, after the day I’ve had, a hijacking would only be par for the course.”

“That bad?” Zack checked his friend over to see the kid was oblivious but well settled, and walked around the car to haul himself up into the passenger seat. “I’m sorry to hear that. You didn’t have to stop and pull our troubles in on yours.”

“Figured I could use the distraction.” She replied pragmatically as she put the jeep in gear and rolled them into town. “What’s your name, stranger?”

“Tom.” Zack answered blandly, “What’s yours?”

“Liza.” She tossed him a cheerful smile before bending her attention to avoiding the random pedestrians on the main drag. Zack didn’t pretend to hide his curiosity at the much-changed town, noting the new stores and a familiar old church. There were people everywhere, and plenty of old folks sitting on their steps, some of them probably still shell shocked over what had happened to their old home. The rest were likely just as stunned by the sudden avalanche of new arrivals in their sleepy neighborhood.  He was so engrossed with the view that he completely forgot to make small talk along the way, only shaking off the reverie when she pulled to a stop in back of a store with a sigh. “Here we are. Uncle Boney easy, eh?”

“Suren’so.” He slipped back into the old slang without a thought, and grinned at himself because of it.

Liza chuckled at him as well. “You weren’t lying about being from ‘round here, at any rate. Welcome to my humble home.”

Hopping out of the jeep, he looked at his host’s house and suddenly understood half of her unlikely offer.  An unlit neon sign over her back door announced that he had arrived at ‘Hair for Him&Her’.  Raking a hand through his own particularly unruly mane, he had to wonder at her motivations for stopping in the first place. “You’re going to use me as a poster child for your store, aren’t you.”

“Who me?” She looked back at him with a wicked gleam in her eye as she juggled her bags and keys. “I have to admit it was eye catching. When was the last time you had that mess tended to?”

“Professionally?” He pulled a mournful face as he hauled his own luggage –living and otherwise- out of the car and moved to join her. “Longer than I care to admit. I’ve been promising myself for a while that I’d just hack the whole lot off as a lost cause, but just haven’t gotten around to it.”

“Well, how about you grab a shower while I see what I’ve got that’s fit to eat, and then I’ll see what I can do to help?” Liza gestured that he could set Cloud down on a comfortably battered looking sofa. “Is there anything I can get for him? Some water maybe?”

Zack fussed over his friend for a quiet minute, checking the kid for sunburn or other signs of damage from their long hike. He accepted the blanket she produced with a murmur of thanks, and was obliged to repeat himself when she returned with a glass of water a minute later.  Cloud did his nerves good by consenting to placidly drink a few sips of the liquid before fading out again.

Tucking the boy in and watching him sleep was all well and good, but didn’t change the fact that he was tracking mud into his hostess’ house, and that he smelled much like a man who’d just spent three days hauling a friend through the jungle. Pulling his shoes off and setting them by the back door, he sadly noted the holes in his socks and mourned the loss of his once infallible charms.  From playboy to charity case, if he wasn’t so desperate for a shower and clean shirt he would have felt the sting of his wounded pride.  As it was he meekly followed as she guided him through to her tiny bathroom and proceeded to find random bits of clothing that might fit him when he was done.    

He took the offered hospitality at face value. As soon as she left to do her foraging in the kitchen, he stripped off the muddy rags and left them in a discrete heap by the trashcan before making a spirited attempt to use up all her hot water and then some. Dinner was pretty much done by the time he emerged, towel around his shoulders.  The too-tight t-shirt she had lent him almost succeeded in fooling him into thinking he wasn’t desperately underweight, and the sweat pants, fit just fine. Her ex-boyfriend must have liked working out, he decided to himself.  Zack checked Cloud a second time as he retraced his steps to the kitchen. The kid was still fast asleep, leaving him with little else to do but hesitate in the doorway as Liza bustled around setting plates and cups on the table. She hesitated, holding a third plate, only to look up and jump at the sight of him.

“My god, Tom. For a big guy you move quietly.”

“I’m sorry.” Zack shook his head. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s alright.” She hid her smile behind the plate she was hanging on to, eyes obviously appreciating his less muddy appearance. “You clean up nice, though.”

“Why thank you, Miss Liza.” He gave her a small bow. “Can I help with anything?”

“Do you think your brother wants something to eat?” She lowered the plate to consider putting back to its original purpose.

“Nah, I think Spike’ll probably sleep the night out, honestly. And since he’s in no shape to say it, you’ll have to let me say thank you for both of us.”

“Say that _after_ you taste my cooking.” Liza joked.

“Tell you what,” Zack pulled up a chair. “Let me steal a patch of floor tonight, and I’ll make you anything you please for breakfast in exchange.”

Seeming pleased with the idea, the woman blushed and set to serving them both chicken and casserole. “I have a spare bed that you’re welcome to. You can check the bus schedule at the town hall tomorrow morning.”

“I’m in your debt.” He dug in with pleasure. Even unremarkable food was a rare pleasure after surviving off of whatever could be had on the run.  Hojo’s hospitality had never extended to fine dining. Zack wasn’t sure he could even recognize good food if he saw it again. Hopefully his ability to scramble eggs wouldn’t be ruined by the lack of practice.  The least he could do was take over clearing the table for his hostess, and after a moment of protest she left him to the dishes, moving through to the front of her house and fussing about in the store.

Zack joined her as soon as he was done, drawn by the curious assortment of noises he heard and the cheerful light spilling through the darkened living room where Cloud fitfully slept.  A door lead him through a sort of storage hallway and then another let him into a small sort of hair salon. There were only two chairs in front of the large windows, surrounded by the standard accessories to a barbershop and an assortment of potted plants. Liza was sharpening a pair of scissors aggressively and gestured with a flourish that he ought to settle in the chair in front of the lit mirror. He complied gingerly, “I really think that your attempting to do anything to my poor head is well above and beyond the call of charity.”

“Heh. You may be right.” She spun him around and fearlessly sunk her fingers into his damp hair, tugging it this way and that as she tried to see what was salvageable. “What the hell did you do to it to get it all fused together like this? Try to make your own dredlocks or something?”

“Exposure to high temperature chemical steam, probably, along with lousy access to decent product over the past year or two.”

“Chemicals?” Her hand stilled a moment as she studied his reflection. “Like the fumes in Gongaga? People died like crazy from those.”

“Something like that.” Zack shrugged. “But not in Gongaga.”

“Where you been the last ten years, Tom?” She murmured as she looked down to study his hair again.

“Here and there.” He submitted to her inspection with only the occasional cringe as she tugged something painful. “Mostly _there_.”

“Bad times?” She hedged, reaching for some softener to rub briskly through his hair.

Zack closed his eyes and inhaled the familiar smell of shampoo and random body sprays. “You could say that.” He used to love going to his stylist in Midgar, the woman always tutted over his hair and then proceeded to do the most outrageous things with it. He’d go in with his usual messy shag and come out with trendy looking spikes and layers instead. Pity it never lasted, but he didn’t blame her. Given what she had to work with, it was a wonder his old stylist hadn’t just told him to shave it off and go around like a rap star.

When he opened his eyes again Liza had half his mane pined close to his head so she could tackle the other half. “I’m sorry I pried.” She said more to his hair than to him before getting down to business. “I think most of this will have to come off before we can decide what to do with the rest, it’s just too damaged.”

“Go ahead.” Zack smiled at her. “Take it all off, I could use a change.”

“Yes sir.” She blushed a little and reached for the scissors. “I may say that you do make a change, Tom. Usually all I get is guys in for a weekly trim.”

“Just a little off the top, Liza.” Zack teased as he watched her measure and cut a good ten inches of hair off his head. In his limited experience, she knew what she was doing. Resolving the enjoy the rare treat he closed his eyes and just let her get on with her business, there was something therapeutic about the feeling of a pretty woman running her fingers through his hair.  It left him suddenly wondering just what other little miracles might be in store if his luck held.

“Wake up, Tom.” 

A nudge on his shoulder caught him mid catnap. Zack blinked and recalled where he was with a moment’s alarm.  Liza was watching his reflection in the mirror, small smile playing on her lips. “You dozed off on me.”

“Uncanny, I don’t usually do that when someone’s threatening my hairstyle with scissors.” He grinned to cover his surprise. “I see you’ve made progress!” 

She certainly had. What had been a massive mat of hair was now a shaggy puddle on the floor, leaving him with a far more respectable but still lunatic looking two inch tall white-man’s afro.  His hair, unaccustomed to being suddenly short, was rebelling by standing almost on end. Zack had to laugh at it as he reached up to run an experimental hand through it.

Liza laughed at his antics. “It’s certainly very… Lively.”

“I usually wear it in spikes just because there’s nothing else to be done with it.” He agreed.

“Well we’ll shape it a bit, at least, maybe give you some bangs back.”

“That would be lovely.”  This time he stayed awake, critiquing and teasing her as she did her level best to make him look a trifle less electrocuted and more ‘styled.’  When at long last she declared she could do nothing more for him, he caught his reflection and was undeniably pleased with the result. “Liza you’re wonderful!”

“Just like shearing a sheep.” She washed her hands in the sink. “You’ll probably want another shower after that, get all the clippings off your neck.”

“Ladies first.” He grabbed a broom from the corner and set about tidying up the heap of hair he was leaving behind. “And if your hospitality extends that far, I’ll dunk my brother in the bath and tuck him into bed. The couch is good enough for me.”

“Well if you don’t mind cleaning up by yourself,” Liza hesitated, dustpan in hand. “It was a long drive before I picked you two up, and I could use a shower.”

“Don’t mind my rags in the corner. In fact, if you’ve got no long term love for these pants, You’re welcome to throw my old stuff out.”  Zack took the bin from her and used it to corral his trimmings into the trash.

“Let’s just say their previous owner isn’t likely to come back and claim them.” She made a face. “I’ll try to find some more of his stuff for your brother.” Casting him one more look she slipped up stairs to the bathroom. 

He was settled next to Cloud and poking the boy awake when she reappeared, hair damp and wearing a cute pajama suit.  Zack tried hard not to grin at how young the flower print garment made her look and she wrinkled her nose at him. “Bath is free. I left some clothes on the sink, the guest room is right across the hall.”

“You going to bed?” He got one of the kid’s arms over his shoulder and hauled him up. Cloud muttered something unintelligible, but did his best to put one foot in front of the other. Zack kept a firm grip on him as he half carried him towards the stairs.

“I was going to pour myself a drink actually.” Liza fluffed her hair a little and watched him manhandle his burden up to the bathroom. “Want me to pour you one too?” She called after him.

“Yes please.” Zack trusted she’d hear him, and concentrated on quickly stripping and dunking his friend before Spike could wake up enough to complain, or fight back.

 About halfway through the process the kid began to cry silently, but whether it was due to the shock of the warm water, or caused by the monsters that lived in his head was anyone’s guess. Pliant, the blond let him pat him dry and help him into the clean clothes. Zack kept up a cheerful banter with the boy through the whole process, only falling silent after tucking Cloud into the cozy little bed provided.

Liza’s guest room doubled as storage for an assortment of things, shelves full of magazines, extra bedding carefully stored in plastic bins, a set of battered looking old boxes, half open to reveal a contents of assorted men’s clothes. The name ‘Brian’ had been repeatedly scratched out on the side, making Zack raise a silent eyebrow in enquiry. Beggars couldn’t be choosers though; and if the woman had an ugly relationship or two behind her, who was he to point fingers.  Cloud settled down to sleep again with little fuss, leaving him free to pad back down stairs and claim the drink she had poured for him.

Liza was fiddling with her radio as he settled on the couch, finally choosing a blues station before smiling shyly at him. “Hope you don’t mind?”

“It’s fine.” He raised his glass in silent toast. “Thanks for the drink.” Catching her eye, he held her with his look. “Thank you for everything, Liza. I haven’t felt this human in a damn long time.”

“You’re welcome.” She looked away, a little pink. Letting her regain her composure, he skulled his drink and with instinctive intuition found where she kept her modest collection of bottles. He was in the mood for something a little stronger than brandy, and happily, her stock included a bottle of local brew.  Zack held up the bottle, “Wanna ‘topper?”

“Why not.” Liza held out her glass. Two drinks later they were both feeling considerably more relaxed in each other’s company. Liza had joined him on the couch and was slowly slouching against his arm in a pleasant way.

“So, would it be rude to ask where you were driving from when you were kind enough to coerce me into your car?” Zack propped his foot up on a convenient wastebasket and let her lean a little further against him.

“Visiting my mother-in-law in Gongaga” She sighed, and then giggled slightly as she felt him tense up. “Don’t worry, I don’t have a husband hiding in the closet. He… He’s long gone.”

“The reactor?” Zack asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Liza shrugged. “We were long divorced anyway, it wasn’t like we were lovely-lovey newlyweds. But then half the town caught fire overnight, and everyone running for their lives and… well when I next went to look for him, he was gone.”

“I’m sorry.” He murmured, not able to say much else.

She just shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, I just drive over for the weekend sometimes to visit his mother. It’s weird but I always got along better with her than with him.” Liza chuckled. “So much for the myth of the tyrannical mother-in-law. It’s depressing, going back there though, really tires a person out.”

“I was once told I give excellent backrubs.” Zack offered neutrally. “Or maybe another drink? You work tomorrow?”

“Nice thing about owning your own store,” She waved away the offered bottle. “You can sleep as late as you like on the occasional day. So long as you don’t make a habit of it.”

“How true.”  He watched her stand up and set their glasses in the sink. It was funny to think that last night he had been sleeping in the bole of a tree, and tonight he was cozy on a couch with almost any modern convenience he could name within reach.  The radio set in on a big-band set and he smiled to see his hostess start to sway a bit with the music as she went about locking up for the night. Standing in the modest clearing in front of her couch he held out a hand to her as she came back his direction, whimsically. “Care to dance, Liza?”

“Really?” She looked down at her tropical print pajamas, and then at his hand, and then smiled with tired pleasure. “Yes as a matter of fact, I’d like that.”

There wasn’t room for flashy moves, and honestly Zack wasn’t sure if he remembered them well enough to want to try. But Liza fit nicely against him and moved lightly on her feet as he steered her around the carpet. She was even game for a few twists and spins, apparently no novice, although probably just as rusty as he was. “Dancing barefoot to the radio,” he chuckled as he swung them to a stop, letting her catch her breath. “Not too many things cornier than that.”

“Oh I don’t know.” Liza’s hands rested comfortably on his shoulders looking up at him with what he suddenly realized were ‘bedroom eyes.’ “I can think of one or two things even more cliché.”

Zack was almost positive she had to be able to feel the thrill that ran up his spine. This much luck was not to be believed, even if he had been a veritable saint in freeing Cloud and ghosting him across country in a fit of selfless devotion.  Only a monster would have done less for the boy, Spike was as weak as a puppy and even less capable of looking after himself. For that alone, he probably owed the kid his life, having Cloud in tow had made him doubly cautious. Risks he would have ordinarily thought nothing of were now unconscionable, not until the kid was safely stowed somewhere he’d be looked after. 

And somehow all those good deeds were paying off with interest, testing his welcome, he leaned down, almost but not quite claiming a kiss.  Liza’s face tilted up to meet his without pretense. “How cliché would you rate being seduced by a total stranger that you picked up on the road home today?”

“_Terribly_ corny.” She whispered back. “But I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“A gentleman never kisses and tells.” He assured her before stooping the final inches to seal the deal. This time when her hands tangled in his hair it was decidedly non-professional interest that kept them there. Zack savored up her willing lips with a strange pang of homesickness. Too long, the little voice of his libido chanted at him. Too long, it had been much much too long since he had last had a moment to himself to breathe. Cloud would keep for one night, snug and safe in the bedroom down the hall, he wouldn’t begrudge him a little pleasure. That was of course, if they ever made it upstairs. 

“You sure about this?” He pulled back a little even as he explored the contours of her back beneath her nightshirt.

She coaxed him back towards the stairs, “Strangely, yes. I’ve never been more sure in my life.”

“Why strangely?” Zack grinned and let her lead the way.

“The thought didn’t even occur to me until after you came down from your shower.” Liza shook her head playfully. “I don’t usually demand sexual favors from my hitchhikers.”

“Guess I’m just lucky then.” His willingness didn’t stop him from glancing in at the boy as the shuffled past his door. Even Liza seemed to understand, looking in as well.

“You think he’ll be ok if you’re not with him tonight?”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Zack closed the door gently and proceeded to distract her by nibbling on her neck.

Somehow they made it to bed with only minimal fumbling Liza perfectly happy to refresh his memory on any number of counts in the ways and means of pleasuring a deserving woman. When he finally took his turn, well contented with his efforts leading up to it, he went as slowly as he could bear to, savoring the warmth and the natural closeness of her as they shifted against each other. She certainly wasn’t complaining when once bled into twice, bled into several lazy hours of lovemaking. Even when she slipped into well-deserved slumber, he couldn’t help but run a finger over her bare arm, admiring the moonlit skin with fresh appreciation for the unstinting gift she had given him. 

Well past midnight he stumbled sleepily down the hall to make a final stop at the bathroom and peek in on Spike.  Curled up on his side and even modestly comfortable looking, the kid was dead to the world. It would be a shame to drag the boy out of bed in the morning. Zack resolved to let the young trooper sleep as long as possible. He could go investigate transportation without the blond slung over his shoulders.  Clean and composed for bed, he gave a reckless thumbs-up to his much-improved reflection before turning out the lights.  Settling back into the hollow he had left at Liza’s side, he curled around her, glad for the moment just to lose himself in the scent of her hair.