Chapter Text
Two weeks later, Daniel was standing in his room looking over his flight ticket. It was hard to believe how fast everything had happened. The night he’d phoned his mother and told Claire of the spring break plan, she had insisted on a ‘conference call’ the minute they walked in the door. Claire, Stephen, and Daniel had all gathered in the dining room for it, putting Karen on speaker phone. First, they’d gone over the plan together with Daniel present. After that, Claire sent him up to his room for her and Stephen to speak privately with their daughter. The sound of pacing footsteps, raised voices, and crying could all be heard for over an hour. In the end, Claire had come to what she called a ‘probationary truce’ with Karen, and agreed to Daniel visiting her in Arizona.
In truth, Daniel had mixed feelings about it. Despite the fact he loved his mother and longed to see her again, he still got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever he remembered her face. In some ways, he wished he’d never heard about Project Havenwolf from Flores; then again if he hadn’t, the FBI would still be stalking his every move. What if they still are? he shuddered.
His gaze fell back to the cluttered mess of items still splayed out on the bed, then to the empty suitcase at his feet. No matter how many times he’d been forced to pack up and go over the many months he’d spent on the road with his brother nearly five years prior, he still wasn’t any better at packing only the essentials. “Dude, you can’t fit the whole room in! Here…your super strong…big brother can help.” Daniel rolled his eyes at the memory and raised a hand. Somehow, it was easier to sort things when they were floating in the air.
“Daniel, are you ready to go yet?” Claire called up the stairs. The levitating items promptly plopped back on the bed. “We’ve got to beat the rush hour traffic if you want to make your flight!”
“I know Grandma, I’m almost done!” he replied, snatching up the stray items. “Alright…biggest stuff first. Jeans, hoodie, shorts, shirts, boxers, socks…deodorant…better make it two deodorants. God, I hate being a teenager,” he sighed, remembering how badly Sean had stunk during their first stay in Away. His eyes wandered over to his desk’s bottom drawer, where he kept his most sacred possessions. “Mushroom, you’re coming with me,” he said, digging out the tattered red bandana from its hiding spot. "It's always kept me safe," Brody had said. Right. Some luck that had offered. At least it was handy in case of dust storms. His dog Lucky eagerly wandered in the room and hopped up onto his bed with a yawn. “And you, you little sh*thead,” Daniel sighed, planting a kiss on her head, “you’re staying here.”
“DANIEL, for the last time!” Claire yelled.
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” the boy scrambled. He stuffed what he could fit from his bed into the suitcase, then dashed for the bathroom to grab his toothbrush while Lucky followed him from room to room. He was about to make his way for the stairs when he realized he hadn’t put pants on yet. “sh*t!” he huffed.
“Language!” Claire scolded at the foot of the stairs. “Honestly,” she scoffed to Stephen. “I’m about to start a swear jar for that boy, he’ll have enough for his college fund by the time he graduates.”
Daniel darted back to his room, tearing open his dresser drawers for a pair of jeans. That’s when he realized he must’ve shoved them into his suitcase, which meant opening it all over again. Screw it. He knew for sure he kept a clean pair of gym shorts in the bottom drawer for emergencies like this. Sure enough, the trusty red things were there. Thank god. He quickly slid them on. At least he’d managed to leave his wolf hoodie out as well, tucked just under the bed. Arizona would be steaming hot, but the Beaver Creek air was still crisp. And nights in the desert, he recalled, could get quite chilly.
But as Daniel bent down, he suddenly felt a dull ache in his legs.
“Why are my knees hurting?” he winced. Grabbing up his hoodie, he threw it over his head and stuck his arms through the sleeves, only for the material to slide up his wrists. The fit of the hoodie on his torso seemed to have changed as well. Too short. “SERIOUSLY?!”
Frustrated, he peeled himself out of it, snatched a pair of sunglasses off the desk, and stormed down the stairs past his grandparents to the car.
* * *
“Are you sure you’ll be alright sweetie?” Claire asked.
“I’m fine,” Daniel frowned, putting his sunglasses back on. “The lights are just giving me a headache.”
“Well, it is your first time flying—”
“I said I’m FINE!” the boy snapped, scarfing down the rest of a third double cheeseburger, followed by a big gulp of vanilla milkshake...followed by a brain freeze. f*ck. The fact his flight had been delayed by two hours meant he was now stuck in the loud, brightly lit food court with his grandparents, which really wasn’t helping. Neither were his surging hormones. It was a miracle he still had control over his powers. For now. What if I crash the f*cking plane?! Oh god!
“Daniel, you don’t have to get nasty with me, I didn’t—”
“Claire,” her husband interjected firmly, leaning into her with a whisper. “Maybe you ought to let me handle this one.”
“If you say so,” Claire frowned, eyeing Daniel cautiously.
“Daniel, what do you say you and I go for a little walk and stretch our legs?” Stephen asked, rising from his seat and patting him on the back. He noticed Stephen was bringing a small brown paper back with him, but thought nothing of it.
“Uh…yeah, sure,” he said. “I’m taking my fries though.”
With that, Stephen and Daniel made their way out of the café and through the main terminal, watching excited families gather near the gates to greet their relatives, people snoring in their seats as they waited for the next flight, children running amok with parents chasing after them, people arguing with the airline staff or begging to be put on standby. Daniel munched on his now cold fries for a bit, occasionally offering one to Stephen. The sight of the old man’s familiar limp still bothered him sometimes, evermore so now that he was anxious to be boarding his first plane.
“Look, Daniel,” Stephen sighed, scratching nervously at the back of his neck as they stepped aside to a quieter, shadowed area in the corner adjacent to the restrooms. Something was eating away at him, and it wasn’t the cold fries. “Boy talk…are you, uh…are you doing okay?”
“…I’m fine,” Daniel muttered.
“I’ve noticed you’re…growing a bit there,” Stephen cleared his throat, motioning from the top of his head to Daniel’s. The boy was nearly the same height now, minus a couple inches. “I-I mean you’ve…grown before, but not quite so fast,” the man remarked. “Anyway, uh…I’m sure you know about the birds and the—”
“I know, Grandpa! I’m fourteen, not ten!”
“Right, of course you are,” he chuckled quietly, clearing his throat again. “And of course you know it’s normal for a guy to—”
“Oh my god, stop!” Daniel groaned. “I’m past that stuff!”
“Yeah, yeah…‘course you know,” Stephen chuckled, patting him on the back again. “Glad we got that squared away.”
“Look, I’m just getting taller, it’s not a big deal.” Daniel frowned, palming his face as the tiniest crack split through his voice. “Damn it!” He pushed the falling sunglasses back up his oily nose. In truth, it wasn’t so much the lights bothering him. He just didn’t want to show his face.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Stephen assured him with a pat on the back.
“I’m just nervous and irritated and I really don’t need this to be happening right now,” he said, frustrated. “My knees hurt, I have a headache, I’m stinking worse, my clothes don't fit, and I don’t know if I even packed the right stuff! I’m seeing Mom after five years and I sure as hell don’t want to fly…I’m getting angry for no reason…” He could feel his resolve starting to crumble inside. Now for whatever reason, he felt so overwhelmed, he wanted to cry. “You guys seriously think it's a good idea for me to get on a plane when it’s my first time flying? What if I crash it with my powers? Are you insane?!” Daniel sniffled, his voice shaking.
“Daniel...listen,” his grandfather reassured him, squeezing his shoulder. “You remember how you were five years ago when you first came home to us?” The boy shook his head. “You were just as scared, awkward, worried, skittish, and upset. Even a little confused. But since then, I’ve watched you grow into a fine young man. You know who you are, that’s all that matters. And even if you don’t, you get to decide who you want to be in every moment. Besides…you never blew our house up, right?” Stephen laughed.
“I guess so,” Daniel sighed.
“And as far as planes…trust me, I was terrified as all get-out the first time I flew with Claire in Hawaii for our anniversary. I must’ve spent at least a half-hour in that bathroom getting airsick. But you know, I brought stuff to read, and the nice young nurse sitting across from me, she spoke with me, helped me keep breathing. Claire was with me too. I got through it.”
“That sounds nice. Except for you didn’t have telekinetic powers that could bring the whole plane down,” Daniel sighed, munching on another cold french fry.
“True, I don’t,” Stephen replied. “But I know anxiety. And I know distractions help get you out of it, especially if it’s one you happen to like. So here, I uh…I was going to save this for your fifteenth birthday when you got back, but…well, why not now?” Stephen smiled, handing him a small box out of the brown paper bag he’d brought. “I got you some brand new headphones. I know those ones you use for the PlayBox are a little worn. Plus these are wireless, and they got that uh, whatcha call it…”
“Bluetooth,” Daniel smiled, his face lighting up at the gift.
“Yeah, that,” Stephen replied. “And you can use those for listening to your music on your phone, or…whatever, while you’re up in the clouds. They’re also ‘noise canceling’, it says. I just figured that might help.”
“Thanks, Grandpa.”
“Anytime, kiddo,” Stephen said, patting him on the back.
An announcement came over the speaker, breaking through the din of the airport crowds.
“Attention all passengers. Flight SWA311 to Flagstaff has just arrived ahead of schedule. Again, all passengers boarding Flight SWA311 to Flagstaff, please proceed to Gate 12.”
Stephen sighed. “I guess we better go get your grandmother.”
“Yeah,” Daniel replied. “Thanks for the talk, Grandpa.”
“You betcha,” the old man smiled. “And hey, if anything, it’s just a two-hour flight, right? It’ll be over before you know it.”
As the two reunited with Claire in the café, Daniel felt only marginally better, but he kept Stephen’s words in mind and his brother’s warning about not feeding the beast in his heart. Deep down, Daniel Diaz knew who he was, and no nervousness over a two-hour flight was going to change that. Still, something felt strange, and it wasn’t just his raging hormones or aching knees. Something inside told him he was supposed to be going on this trip.
As he turned to wave goodbye to his grandparents before boarding the flight, he glimpsed a blue butterfly fluttering up to the large window outside to taste the freshly fallen raindrops.
* * *
It was around 9pm when Daniel’s flight at last descended to the Flagstaff Pulliam terminal. Barring some momentary—and terrifying—turbulence that jarred him awake and nearly sent him into Superwolf mode, he’d had a relatively peaceful journey sheltered between the metallic silver headphones Stephen had bought him. Daniel let out a bitter groan when he looked out the window at the grid of city lights approaching from below as ‘Hey There Delilah’ by Plain White T’s started up on his Spotify. f*cking cringiest song ever. He’d forgotten to remove himself from the playlist he and Chris shared together. Tapping pause, he heard a muffled voice through the plane speaker and slid the headphones down to his neck.
“Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. As those of you lucky enough to have window seats can tell, we’re now making our descent nice and easy into Flagstaff. We ask that you please remain seated with your seatbelts securely fastened and your trays in the upright and locked position. The time is currently 7:47pm and the temperature outside is 73 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m told the rain should be stopping by the time we land, so if any of you planned on reenacting Tom Holland’s Lip Sync Battle on the runway, I’m afraid you’re out of luck.”
An eruption of laughter filled the plane cabin. Daniel sunk down lower in his seat.
“We should be docked within about twenty minutes. As always, you’re welcome to let our flight attendants know if you need anything before you leave. Thank you for flying Southwest Airlines and wherever you’re off to, we hope you have a wonderful rest of the evening!”
Daniel put his headphones back on as the inevitable applause came. He didn’t understand the point of it. Thanks for not killing us, I guess. Minor annoyance aside, his heart sunk as he was now faced with the very thing he’d been putting off since storming out of the house back in Beaver Creek. What the hell am I even going to say to Mom? What if I don’t even recognize her, or she doesn’t recognize me? Awkward. Can I trust her to even show up?
Moments later, a sudden notification on his phone at least answered that.
> Hey, Danny. Your grandparents called and said you left a couple hours ago. I just got to the terminal so I’ve been watching the flight board. Should be at your gate soon. Just checking in.
Daniel sighed. He so wasn’t ready for this.
< Heading in now. Might be fifteen or so, I think. I’ll let you know.
> Okay. Can’t wait to see you again.
The boy sighed again, heavier this time, and tossed his phone facedown on the seat beside him. He didn’t know how to respond. There were too many conflicting emotions bubbling up inside him the closer the plane got to the runway. Powerless, he leaned his head against the cool window to watch every moment of the descent, the heat of his deep breaths fogging the glass until he could barely make out anything but a blur of distant lights.
Daniel cradled himself and sniffled, furiously rubbing the tears from his eyes.
I missed her so f*cking much. And I hate that.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Daniel had merged into the chaos of departing passengers, all of whom were no doubt eager to be reunited with family, start their vacations, build their future homes, get to hotels for business conferences, or catch up on sleep. It was supposed to be a vacation for him too, and yet it felt like anything but. He couldn’t shake the feeling there was a large storm cloud rolling in to loom over much of this week—as if his flight in the rain weren’t foreshadowing enough. Can’t my life just be normal for a change? It’s always something.
His knees were still hurting as he plodded up to the gate exit in a cold sweat. The moment was fast approaching. Soon, he would see a face he hadn’t seen in five long years. The face of the bitch who sold me out as a fetus for money and made my life a living hell. At least he could control those deeper emotions now, for the most part. He’d had plenty of practice, and Sean’s influence had helped. But back when he was a child living on the road, he remembered how quick he was to anger, to wanting to crush things that stood in his way. It had cost his brother an eye. I can’t be like that anymore. Thankfully, his hormones presented as more surface level emotions. It just sucked having to keep tighter reigns on himself than usual.
“Alright, where are you Mom?” he breathed, exiting the ramp. His eyes darted left and right, anxiously surveying the crowd for any sign of his mother. Finally, his gaze landed on a woman at the far end leaning against a marble column who was now only slightly taller than him. She was clad in gray plaid button-down, a black shirt with skulls, and torn black jeans. Her hair was the same blonde color he remembered, albeit with a purple streak on the right side.
With a heavy sigh, Daniel pulled the sunglasses out of his jeans pocket, put them on, and made his way over.
* * *
“Wow, what the hell happened to you? Midlife crisis?”
Those were the charming first words to escape her son’s mouth upon their five-year reunion. Karen was completely caught off guard, which didn’t happen often. Granted, it was the blunt turn of phrase she might expect from any young teenager—just not her own son, and certainly not her youngest.
Was it possible? Could this still be Daniel Diaz, the traumatized yet somehow still bright, fearless, strong, funny, exuberant, impulsive child whose presence had once brought so much life back to Away? The one who, in contrast to his brother, had been so quick to call her ‘Mom’? The word she would never have asked either of them to use with her unless they did so of their own accord, and the sound of which—she hated to admit—made her untamed heart pound with joy? Surely that child was still in there somewhere. Karen fully intended to draw him out. But for the time being, the only option was to respond with grace.
“Ouch,” she managed with the tiniest smirk. “Hello to you too. I see you’ve grown taller,” she remarked.
“Yeah. That tends to happen when you’re fourteen.”
Double ouch. “So it does.”
“Can we go now?” Daniel spat.
“…Sure,” Karen sighed, pushing off the column to lead the way through the terminal. This was easily the most difficult conversational position she had ever found herself in, save for the one she’d had with Sean at the motel back in Haven Point five years prior. Making the best of it after being thrown such a curve ball took more doing than she was used to. But the ball, for better or worse, always seemed to be in her court. And both my sons know how to twist the knife. This sucks.
“What?” Daniel grunted, having noticed her eyes occasionally wandering to him as they walked side by side.
“Nothing,” Karen said, turning into a long hall with a series of moving walkways built in for aiding and managing pedestrian travel through the terminal.
“You’re a sh*tty liar.”
“Just a bit curious why you’re wearing sunglasses when it’s been raining and it’s nighttime,” Karen remarked.
Daniel frowned. “The light’s just been bothering my eyes.”
“You have a headache? I got some Tylenol in the car.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Right,” Karen breathed as they neared the end of the long hall. The terminal at this time of night was mostly empty, save for the passengers and stragglers left over from the last remaining evening flights. For once, Karen wished Flagstaff had a larger airport. The tension in the air between them was so thick, it could’ve been cut with a knife. Hopefully there were more people in baggage claim to relieve the pressure. “Now where the hell is baggage claim, anyway?” she sighed, making a right.
“It’s this way,” Daniel pointed to the clearly marked sign, guiding her back to the left. “Stupid,” he muttered.
“Sorry…it’s been a bit of a long day,” Karen defended, skipping a few steps to catch up.
Daniel rolled his eyes in response. “Thought you’re good at knowing where you’re going.”
“I’m good at improvising,” Karen replied. Just not at the moment.
She wasn’t stupid, and at least had a good idea what this was all about. Project Havenwolf. As a fellow human being whom she wanted desperately to be on equal terms with, Karen could respect Daniel’s feelings. They made perfect sense, given her past. But the mother in her was ready to strangle him to death. Why did you even agree to come if you’re just going to act like this? But Karen knew that questioning him on his attitude before he was ready to talk about it was a mistake, and she could very well be wrong. If she didn’t allow him to lead, nothing would be resolved, and they only had a week of free time. She wasn’t about to waste it.
Daniel said nothing as they both waited in baggage claim for his checked luggage. A conveyor belt had never moved so slowly. Karen backed away and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes a moment with a heavy sigh. When Daniel realized he was alone at the belt, he plodded over to join her, removing his sunglasses. At last, she could see how much her son’s face had changed. It was amazing how much he’d begun to resemble his brother from five years ago, albeit slightly more youthful.
“Stupid thing takes forever,” he muttered. “There’s barely anybody else down here.”
“Oh, it’s only been five minutes.” As Karen glanced over at him, she noticed he seemed to be doing everything in his power not to look at her. That explains the sunglasses.
“It’s been ten,” he huffed, checking his phone. Karen noted that several people from his flight had already passed through to claim their luggage.
“We might have to check with the service desk.”
“What if they lost it?” Daniel grumbled. “I mean...not that I had anything important. Just clothes. That barely fit me anymore anyways...”
“In that case, I’m pretty sure Wal-Mart’s still open.”
Daniel rolled his eyes, still gazing ahead at the empty conveyor as he slid the sunglasses back on and plodded forward.
“Sucks.”
“Yeah. I’ll check with the desk,” Karen said matter-of-factly, digging into her jeans pocket for the truck keys. “In the meantime, here. Why don’t you find my car? It’s in Lot C,” she said, tossing them over to Daniel. He missed the catch. But before they could hit they floor, they suddenly shot up into his hand. Forgot he could do that. Karen said nothing, but scanned the immediate area just in case anyone had seen.
“Relax Mom, I’m not stupid!” Daniel spat, storming off out the sliding doors for the parking lot.
Karen hung her head with a heavy sigh, shutting her eyes as she said a silent prayer to whatever god was out there. She certainly needed more strength than any mortal could provide. Whoever or whatever the hell is out there…please let me get through to my son before this week is over.
Just then, a green bag suddenly slid down the ramp and onto the conveyor belt. Karen eagerly sprang over to check the tags. It wasn’t Daniel’s.
“Son of a bitch,” she panted, storming off to the elevators to make her way to the service desk.
