Chapter Text
It took him four starts to get out of his window, and down the tree, and away. The rain made it harder. His hands didn't stop shaking the entire time. He waited for the lights to come on, and he thought about what they would do if they caught him, and that thought was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat.
It wasn't enough to stop him, though.
The trembling didn't go away, not even when he managed to navigate his way in the dark back to his old hideout, way back on the family's property, deep in the old forests replanted a couple centuries ago; the one he hadn't seen since-- since--
Since.
It didn't matter. It didn't matter. He wasn't broken.
Montgomery just pulled his sister's nonfunctional NovaPad out of his backpack, with his tools and his flashlight, and got to work fixing it. It would be too loud to do it in his room, and aye, she was mad at him all the time it seemed, where everyone else just sort of slid looks past him, but he could do this. He couldn't figure out where it'd all gone so bloody wrong, but he could fix this.
And his hands steadied as he did.
Andy bounced from foot to foot, trying occasionally to jump up high enough to see over the heads of people taller than him.
Everyone was in the way. It wasn't fair, it wasn't like their Dad had been gone for a month and a half in deep space. But no, they just had to get in the way.
His mother stopped his jumping with a hand on his shoulder, and Andy just crossed his arms and sulked. Of course.
Rach was bouncing just as much as he was. Just because he was fourteen and she was eight didn't mean he should have to be the one to stand still. Kids got away with everything.
Then the announcer came on: The shuttle was arriving.
"Mom," Andy finally begged, looking up at her, his bravado fleeing in light of an almost frantic feeling in his chest. "Please?"
His mother pressed her lips together, then shook her head and a smile took over where the mild consternation left off. "All right, but don't run into anyone."
"Okay!" That was all he needed to hear. He took off through the crowd, and okay, so maybe he did bump into some people, but he apologized.
When Aaron Corrigan stepped off of the shuttle, seabag over his shoulder, he was nearly knocked right back in by his son flying into his arms.