Nothing Less than Extraordinary

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My mom immediately took me into a hug and lingered tightly while I shot a "Help me, I'm suffocating" look to my dad before he took me into a hug of his own shortly after my mom released me.

"I'm so glad you're alright," my mom gushed. Zaine and I explained everything about the Academy to them when we had visited San Antonio, but a worry about being on the run was a different worry than thinking your children were dead with the assailants who originally sought them out. The other parents hadn't even had the initial information and I assumed they hadn't seen their children since they were enrolled at the Academy or if the Agency faked their deaths. I could see the concern and heartbreak and relief on the faces of Skye's father, the well-dressed Duprees, and the strawberry blonde mother of six who must've birthed the twins.

While my mom grasped my face, I was thankful for my brother producing himself from behind in order to say an amazed "Mom" that no one had heard for a decade. They embraced and I noticed my father shaking Zaine's hand beside me. It made me remember when he admitted to promising my parents and brother that nothing bad would happen to me. "Thank you for taking care of my baby girl."

I hadn't seen the lightness or appreciation in his eyes towards any male friend of mine since Tyler. He had given his theorized son-in-law his approval and had to watch all the trauma he had caused right in that court room. So for him to shake Zaine's hand and nod to him a prideful gratitude meant the world to me. And more than anything within my delight for my dad seeming to like Zaine, I thought I saw the corner's of Zaine's lips twitch to conceal a grin before he glanced over at me briefly. "I think she was the one mostly taking care of me, sir."

My mom grabbed my hand and got closer to me. "See. Ryan Gosling."

"Mom—" I tried to scold her for previously comparing Zaine to a chivalric, smooth character from a Nicolas Sparks novel in particular, but a newcomer caught all of our attention.

"Son," Marshall named before tearing through the crowd and instantly hugging Zaine.

"Dad..." Zaine stammered with tenseness before he relaxed and began to hug back tightly. Marshall pulled away. "What are you doing here? Where's Mom? Is she okay—"

"She's just fine...just misses her son," Marshall assured with an innocent smile you could tell meant he admired the care his son showed for his mother amidst all of this chaos. Before they could catch up or break down those military-grade walls of emotions, Marshall took a step back and looked towards me for a second before taking me into a hug as well. "Aspen, nice to see you again."

"Me as well," I smiled back and proceeded to introduce my parents. When the introductions were over, our father's shook hands and my dad immediately started not only thanking Marshall for his service, but also for raising such an incredible man. All the while I noticed Zaine's jaw tick tightly and his cheeks to redden, but I couldn't tell if it was because he was glad to see his father or because he was too humble to be talked so highly about by the man he respected his whole life. Since my mom was busy happy-crying over Wib's ability to speak and our dads were bonding over their times in the military, I reached over and grabbed Zaine's arm to lean against for his emotional fragility he wouldn't hesitate to deny.

Our fathers talked about the despicable acts that had accumulated throughout this journey—since Marshall had known Macintyre for years and my dad had known Tyler pretty much the same amount of time—and how they couldn't believe it. Wib had dragged our mom off to meet the spit-fire that was Jane Rawlinson, so Zaine and I just lingered around. I gaze around the enclosed foyer as Indica's parents scowled at the Dixons' unruly family and how Skye was talking humbly with Indica and her father. Chance, Sumer and Sentara talked closer to the doors of the court room so tensely I didn't want to intrude on for once. When I finally noticed Warren and Cariba, Cariba was walking off towards the rest room and Warren was on his way over here to converse with us. I looked over my shoulder as Warren began introducing himself (Zaine's composure relaxed a bit as well) and I saw Cheshire down the hall all by himself with a phone pressed to his ear.