"Yes, Mother, I will come back tomorrow. I will adjust my hours at the Academy and get back to you. I have to go, I am at my front door. Love you!" Noble lowered her communicator with a sigh.
She leaned against the door of her house to have a moment to herself. Her first full day back in the NQSC had felt like it would never end.
The professor had found twelve messages and two missed calls when she finished her morning class. All of them were from Lena.
The return call as well as the two after it were filled with questions that the rest of the committee had about her findings.
"I am not sure where the difficulty is. It is all there in my report." Noble pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I know, sweetheart. They are just trying to be thorough." Her mother assured her.
At the time, the professor had wanted to accuse Lena of scheming to bring her into headquarters, but she knew deep down that was not the case. Her mother was simply relaying the concerns of other group members.
"You know what? Things are quiet around here. I will get Bee Two up to speed on what I need for this afternoon, and I will head your way." Noble picked up her datapad and began the process.
"You don't have to do that--" Lena began.
The professor clicked her tongue. "Too late, I have already started. I'll be there in an hour and a half."
"Thank you." The older lady ended the call.
That exchange had led to a whirlwind of an afternoon. The Committee had bombarded her with all sorts of questions.
Some Noble knew and others that would never have occurred to her.
Who cared how many spoons were at the port? As long as there was enough food, people could eat with their hands if needed. But the professor kept those judgments to herself.
Exhausted, Noble had finally excused herself to head home. And thanks to her mother's phone call just now, she had agreed to go back tomorrow.
'What did I get myself into?'
At least it was still early enough in the year that her Academy duties were manageable. If they were in full swing, there would be no hope of her getting everything done.
The door to her home opened suddenly. Blaze looked at his mom with a confused expression. "You aren't the food delivery guy!"
"Hello to you too!" Noble chuckled. Then she held up the to-go bag in her hand. "And not every delivery person has to be a guy."
Blaze threw the door open wide. "Mom's here, and she has FOOD!"
The young man ran off.
"Give us five minutes to get everything set up," Fort called after his son. He walked over to shut the door. "Thanks for picking that up."
Fort kissed his wife as he took the bag from her hands and placed it on the counter.
"Thanks for ordering it. I wasn't up for cooking." Noble set down the rest of her things and went to grab some plates.
"I think the only thing either of us ready for is an early bedtime." the Deputy Director smiled wearily. "I heard you were at headquarters today."
"I was. Turns out that being there in person is important here too." Noble placed the plates and silverware on the table.
"I know what you mean. Now that I am back, I have unofficially become the point of contact between the NQSC and the port. Until the ships leave next week, I will be stuck working almost nonstop. They have threatened–I mean promised–to promote me to a Directorship to make sure things get done."
"It's nice to be wanted," Noble shook her head. "Seems we are in the same boat. I am glad you were able to make it home tonight."
"We still need to have that talk..." The Deputy Director reminded her, his voice soft. "I haven't forgotten."
"You mean the one where one of us needed to change our mind?" The professor looked at her husband, her eyes swirled a soft blue.
"That is the one." Fort nodded, his gaze searched hers for answers. But they would have to wait.
Their time was up.
The boys came bounding in followed a moment later by their older sister. She looked much more herself than she had that morning, much to Noble's relief.
"Dinner is served!" Fort grinned. "And if I may say so, I really outdid myself with the cooking this time."
Honey clicked her tongue. She looked at the bags still sitting on the counter. "Unless you changed your name to 'Kbot's Diner', I think I will have to give any compliments to a different chef."
The meal was excellent and the clean up easy. Before long, the kids headed off to their rooms to finish their schoolwork before indulging in some shows or video games.
In the living room, things got very quiet. Noble and Fort sat on the largest couch staring at each other.
"I know it was a long day," Fort sighed, "and you might not want to talk about things now."
"It was a long day, but a good one. I know I complained when I got home, but I feel like progress was made. That feeling was nice." Noble straightened her shoulders. "I am ready. Let's talk about Antarctica..."
"I support you if you want to go."
"...I don't think I am meant to go."
The two voices overlapped. Silence took over once more as they processed each other's words.
"I guess we both changed our minds," Noble bit her lip. "What made you come around?"
"I witnessed how you protected our train from derailing and took down a fierce Nightmare Creature. I can see how big the need will be in Antarctica. If you want to use your strength and talent to protect others, you should have that chance." Fort reached out and squeezed his wife's hand.
"I appreciate you saying that. But I think I must stay here." Noble felt even more firm in her belief.
Fort's initial objections had made her stubborn. His releasing of that control made everything much easier.
"I did defeat the Bludgeoner, but it almost cost me my life simply because I hit the ground. I would be a liability to any team in Antarctica, at least as things are right now. Maybe that will change in the future. Now that people on the train saw I can float, I think I will practice some aerial sparring with Sarai to increase my skills."
"Seems reasonable." Fort tried to remain neutral, but Noble could sense his relief. She was glad he liked having her around.
"But beyond even that," she continued, "I do not want to leave all of you unprotected. With so many Awakened headed south, someone needs to stay here. Seeing our daughter's upset face this morning nearly broke me. I am going back tomorrow to help Mom. Who knows? I might be able to do a lot more good here fighting to get people help than I ever could fighting with my blade." The professor paused and bit her lip. "Am I being selfish?"
"You are more worried about being a liability to other soldiers than you are about your own death. You are the least selfish person I know," Fort countered. "You would never choose your own comfort over doing what is right. It is something I love about you."
"I feel the same way about you. You were willing to let me go across the world even if it meant you might lose me. Are you crazy?!" She gave him a small smile.
"I think we both are, but that is beside the point. Here, there, or anywhere, we still have a lot of good to do. But before any of that…"
Fort kissed his wife.
"I need to make sure to do that as much as humanly possible."
Noble smiled. "That is something we can both agree on."