The boy nodded and started the put-me-down wiggle.

Gabby distracted me from watching the happy family.  “Could we ride together tomorrow?” she asked.

Luke walked over with a heaping plate.  My stomach cheered for both of them, plate and man.

“Sure,” I said to Gabby.  “But I’m not much fun.  I tend to fall asleep all the time.”

“Maybe conversation will help,” she offered.

I shrugged and bit into a forkful of stuffing heaven.  But as I tasted it, I thought of home and had a hard time swallowing.  I really wanted to call my mom.  She had to be beyond crazy with worry by now.  But I was too afraid I’d find out they had her, too afraid of what I’d do to try to help her.  I knew I should wait until we exposed the Urbat to give her a call.  My eyes fell on Nana who was speaking to Charlene.  Charlene’s color was coming back.  She and Thomas sat on the edge of the bed eating together.

“Nana?”

She turned her head to look at me.

“Would you call my mom and let her know I’m okay?”  My throat felt tight.

The room grew quiet.

“I ran away to try to save her.  I don’t know if it worked.  I can’t know if it worked,” I stopped to swallow hard.  “At least not until we take away their advantage.  But thinking of her alone,” I looked down at my Thanksgiving meal.  “I just want her to know that I’m okay if she’s still there.”

Nana moved to me and squeezed my shoulder gently.  “Of course, Bethi.”

Jim brought over a piece of paper and pencil.  I wrote the number down, hesitated, and then wrote another before I handed it to Nana.  “The first one is my mom’s.  The second one is a friend, Dani, in case my mom doesn’t answer.  Find out what you can.  But don’t tell me.  Whether you reach her or not, don’t tell me.”

She nodded slowly, sad understanding filling her eyes.  I couldn’t know.  I had to stay strong.  I didn’t think I had much left in me.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” I said quietly, pushing my plate back.

“Bethi, you need to eat,” Luke insisted.

“I just want to go to my room.”  I stood, and he followed.

He didn’t put up too much of a fight about sharing a bed when we got to the room.  He even pulled back the covers and took off his shirt.

I ducked into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.  By then, I was ready to sleep.  He watched me cross the room, and held out an arm to welcome me.

“How are the stitches?” he asked.

“Fine,” I murmured closing my eyes.

I woke with a stretch followed by a wince when the stitches reminded me I couldn’t stretch too far.  Luke’s warm hand covered my stomach through my shirt; and I sighed, not opening my eyes.  I’d experienced one of the best nights. I’d slept through without interruption for—I lifted my head from his chest to look at the alarm clock—fourteen hours.

“You must be starving,” I said, lying back down.

“Your arm was looking good about six hours ago.”

“I bet.”  I wasn’t ready to get up yet.  I sighed and closed my eyes again.

His stomach growled.  I laughed and managed to sit up.  “You win.  We’ll go feed you.”

“You, too,” he said sitting up with too much energy.  “All you ate yesterday was a sandwich.”

“Not true.  I had a plate of pie, too.”

I picked out clothes while he used the bathroom.  He came out showered, fresh, and ready to eat.  I shook my head and indulged in a quick shower, careful not to let the scabs around the stitches get too wet.  It felt good to be so clean.  When I wiped the steam from the mirror, I cringed.  I hadn’t been paying attention to myself.  The circles under my eyes were dark again.  I used the hotel hair drier and brushed my hair until it was dry and then dressed.

Luke sat on a made bed waiting for me when I opened the door.

“Feed me,” I begged.

He couldn’t hide the worry that passed over his face.  Standing, he threaded his fingers through mine and led me out of the room. My bag was slung over his shoulder.

We met everyone in the breakfast area.  Michelle and Emmitt couldn’t stop looking at or touching each other.  Long looks followed by a quick kiss, a hug, or just a shoulder brush.  I shook my head.  I wasn’t the only one.  I caught Gabby’s look, too.  She grinned at me as Luke led me to the counter laid out with food.

He insisted I eat a bagel, eggs, sausage, and a waffle.  Then he looked at me and added a bowl of cereal.

“Seriously? I’ll be sick if I eat all that,” I whispered as he carried the plate to the table Grey and Carlos shared.

“He’ll eat what you don’t,” Grey said with a laugh.

I sat and started eating, asking questions between bites.

“Any news?”

“One of their sentinels must have discovered the Compound empty because they stopped grouping and have fanned out.  Gabby said they are creating a net across the states, but there are holes big enough to wind our way through.  It just might take a little longer,” Grey answered.

Nana came up and asked about the stitches. She insisted on checking them before we leave.  I reluctantly agreed.

Luke used his fork to stab a piece of sausage from my plate and fed it to me with a soft command to eat.

In no time I was down to just the waffle.  I had to push the plate away.  “Too much,” I groaned.  Luke had the same I did, but twice the serving size.  Still, his plate sat empty.  He grabbed my waffle and finished that, too.

We shuffled the seating arrangements so Nana, Gabby, and Clay rode with us.  Clay sighed when Gabby moved to sit in the backseat with Luke and me.  He caught the back of her shirt before she could completely escape him and planted a kiss on her mouth before getting into the front seat.

“How you feeling?” she asked when Nana pulled out of the lot.  Since we rode with Gabby, we were the lead car.

“Fine,” I acknowledged.  Luke’s leg pressed against mine, warming me.  I would probably be napping before long.

“If it’s okay, I have some questions for you...” She glanced at Luke and Nana.

“It’s fine with me.”  I’d relayed everything I thought I knew.  If there was some memory lurking, some piece of information I’d failed to mention...well, it wasn’t on purpose.

“You’ve said a lot about our abilities.  I thought...I thought I was meant to find pairs.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I touch people, if I’m feeling the right things, like empathy, I can transfer my power to them.  Then, I get this kind of echo back from it, like ripples.  When they hit the right one, their spark glows brighter.  Does that make sense?”

Though I understood what she was saying, I’d never experienced it.  “I haven’t lived anything like that yet.  I didn’t know you could transfer your power.  I wonder if the rest of us can,” I said looking out the window for a moment.  Who would I want to give these dreams to?  It would just be cruel.  Well, maybe Luke.  Maybe he would finally understand.

“When I transferred my power to Clay, my spark lit brightly.  When I transferred it to Luke, your spark lit brightly.  That’s why I sent him. Well, part of the reason.”

“You knew?” he said in a shocked tone.

“I wasn’t sure.  But I wasn’t wrong, was I?” Gabby watched Luke closely.

Luke scowled at her.

“I could pass my power to you,” she said.

She’d barely spoken the words when Clay and Luke simultaneously shouted, “No.”  Clay turned in his seat to give Gabby a look.  It wasn’t angry, but I could still see a stubborn warning there.

She and I shared a look.  “It drains me,” Gabby admitted.  “At least, it did before I Claimed Clay.”  She reached forward and ran her fingers in Clay’s hair.  “Clay, it probably won’t affect me anymore.”

He shook his head.  “Hands to yourself.”

I could see he wouldn’t be facing forward again anytime soon.  She sighed and sat back.

“What’s your reason for not wanting me to try?” she asked Luke.