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The sun's going down, so there were no problems putting the girls to bed.

Still, Mel's not inside. She's squatting on the edge of the bunker, with the shared bassinet right next to her, her axe the only thing between them, staring out in the direction her brother left in.

Keeping vigils for the Sokkas probably isn't the healthiest thing to do, especially as she left him herself for her sisterly "road"trip. But this is different. She's worried.

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Steph has batarangs again. She's incredibly excited about this, and has spent most of the day filing and polishing the ones Babs gave her.

Except it doesn't help with the worrying, does it?

"He'll be fine." It's almost sort of a question, except where she's trying very hard to sound convincing and authoritative, hopping up to sit next to Mel on the edge of the bunker. "He'll totally be fine."

... she thinks he should be back by now.

"I know."

Mel's convincing comes easily. She's not worried, she just misses him.

"I just want him fine here."

Steph's still worried. But Mel's not-worried-ness helps. She leans back on the roof to look up at the stars, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah. Me too."

Back here as soon as possible please. Steph would -- well, okay, this is Steph, she'd probably admit everything with enough encouragement, but she'd prefer not to admit just how much she misses him.

"Plus, then someone else can take babysitting duty."

"You can quit any time you want," Mel points out. She leans back too, tilted a little towards the babies.

"I can handle two sleepy bundles of smoke."

"But then I wouldn't get to play with them." Steph smiles down at the girls, because they're particularly adorable when they're asleep.

"I'm trying to teach Hana to say "Sokka smells," but she's not biting."

"Hana? Better make sure she doesn't end up saying Steph smells."

"Yeah, we're working on that 'k' sound, too." Hana gets a grin, amused.

"...how long should it take to get to the coast, do you think?"

"No idea," Mel says. "I don't know how fast those antique cars go."

"I guess it might be a while."

Steph's feelings about this can be summed up by: >(!

"How's farming going? And did you get any of the spaghetti last night?"

"It's going," Mel says cheerfully. "Weather's getting warmer, so we can plant things, and - OK, it's kinda weird I'm excited about this, isn't it?"

"Not even," Steph reassures her, beaming. "It's way awesome. I love how you're doing this leadery stuff."

"We have to come up with a better word for me," Mel says. "One that doesn't make me wanna cringe everytime I hear it."

"Top dog?" Steph suggests helpfully. "Princess?"

Mel buries her face in her hands.

"Jesu, it gets worse."

Steph giggles.

"You're so good at it, though."

Mel shoves Steph lightly in the shoulder, smiling all the time anyway.

"I learned from the best."

Steph elbows back cheerfully.

"Sure you did.

"... did you?"

Iroh? or maybe ... Babs? Steph's nose wrinkles in that expression of trying-hard-to-figure-out-who-they're-talking-about. (It's a very specific expression, apparently? Oh, I don't know. Shh. As you were. These aren't the droids you're looking for.)

Mel's gaze drops down to the babies, rolling Hana gently onto her back when the baby starts to stir, and ending up with her hand captured by sleeping baby.

Oh crap.

"Guess you weren't in the Apartments, so you won't remember."

O NOES! Trapped by baby is a terrible fate.

Steph shakes her head, watching Mel curiously. "I only know stuff Faye used to chatter about." It isn't a question, because that might get Mel mad at her, but she sounds curious anyway.

"Really?"

Funny, Mel thought Sokka would have told her everything there was to know.

Because Mel knows Sokka that well, it seems.

"Zuko was in charge there."

"What, your Zuko?"

She didn't mean to sound quite that surprised, but ... Mister Sulks-On-A-Rooftop-All-Year? Best leader Mel knows?

"Yeah."

Oh screw this. Sleepy baby Hana is going to sleep on Mel's lap if she won't let go of hand.

"Don't need to be so surprised."

Steph mulls this over, offering Loo a hand to hold as a substitute for Hana's now-moved-away warmth.

"He didn't ... Well, I guess I didn't really know him, right? I only met him, like, twice, in Eden."

He could have been a leader.

Twice. In an entire year. Yeah, Mel can understand why Steph didn't think him leadery.

"He was different, in the apartments," she says weakly. "Eden - I don't know how, but Eden broke him."

Steph hops to her feet to move to the other side of the baby's crib so that she can lean against Mel a little.

"Eden was fucked up like that," she says, sympathetic. "I know it messed up Tim. I think it would have messed up everyone if we didn't have -- I dunno, other sane people. Babies. Sokka. Claire. You."