September 17, 1987

    He'd warned Dawn that he was going to be seeing Candi once they touched down; she in turn informed him that she'd be giving Rick a call.
    "So what happened while we were gone?" he asked Thunderbolt, who came to pick them up in the boat, and heard the whole sordid tale. "Shit!"
    Thunderbolt had met twice with the Blood Boards, who were busily wiping out what remained of the Alley Cats. "They've been very impressive."
    "Good, good, glad to hear it. We really missed a circus, didn't we?"
    He changed his clothes and headed over to Candi's place on a hoverbike.
    She answered the door with a snapping of multiple deadbolts. "Come on in." The table was set, candles lit.
    "Wow!"
    "Come on in," she repeated, standing aside. She was wearing a stunningly sheer blouse and pants that left little to the imagination. Of course, he'd already seen her in a bikini on the boat, but still....
    "Um... I got you a present." He was thinking that he should have gotten her something else. A bit late.
    "Oh, really? What?"
    "It's not a big thing." He handed her the package and watched her open it.
    "Oh, this is great! Thanks." She snuggled the U of H sweatshirt up against her cheek. "You weren't attacked by anyone while you were down there?"
    "No, it all went very smooth."
    "Hang on just a minute, I'll go change into this." She headed into the bedroom and reappeared wearing the sweatshirt. "Missed you," she added with a wistful smile.
    "I missed you." He kissed her. "It was an interesting trip." He told her about it while they ate—it was fabulous, and he recalled that she'd been to culinary school. "Dawn's more powerful than we thought she was," he summed up, not wanting to go into the details.
    "Oh, then I'm glad I'm on her good side."
    "I don't think she'd ever hurt anybody."
    "So is she expecting you to come home tonight?"
    "Um...." Well, that was pretty clear. "No. I don't think she is."
    A while later the candles were blown out. Things moved slowly toward the bedroom—no rush.
    A clatter came from near the front door just as Talon was discovering that she wasn't wearing anything under the sweatshirt. Then the jingle of keys. He pushed Candi behind him, ready to protect her from—
    A blond guy with a couple of suitcases. "Whew, it's good to be—am I interrupting something?" He blinked, looking around the living room.
    "Yes," Talon replied grimly.
    "Hi, I'm Travis. I'm Candi's roommate."
    The moment having been not so much lost as nuked from orbit**, Talon collected his pants and went home.
    Dawn got in two minutes before her curfew.

** Credit for the line goes to Tom.

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