After a rest, Kristy helped all of the Changed regain their sanity and Jenny helped them look human again. It took a good part of the day. Even the stronger Changed was reverted, but it seemed to put a strain on Kristy. They used the rest of the daylight to move the unconscious, reverted Changed and themselves across the street to a less damaged home. They put the cured Changed in the garage just in case they needed to barricade themselves again.

  As night drew closer, they sat in the living room together by candlelight. The electricity no longer worked, but the toilets worked still. Higgins explained that it was likely because the water treatment plant had backup generators, which mostly made sense to Colin.

  “The fruit is starting to go bad. Help me eat these,” Kristy said as she sat down with a plate of sliced strawberries.

  “I don’t think I can,” Colin shook his head. He was sitting with everyone in his newly clothed, human form. The lady that lived in this house was a different size, but the sweatpants and hoodie fit in a baggy way.

  “Are you my mommy now too?” Jenny asked as she plucked a strawberry off the plate.

  Colin shook his head and chuckled, “No, I just look like this for now. I’m actually thinking about making a short trip to the water-plant tonight so I can look like me again.”

  “That sounds dangerous,” Kristy said.

  “I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about leaving you three alone though.” Colin said.

  “I can keep watch if you don’t mind waiting to leave until after I get a little shuteye.” Higgins offered.

  “That works for me. I don’t really need sleep anymore, so I'll keep first watch and wake you up near sunrise, then head out. I can go on a supply run while i’m out too.”

  Kristy shook her head, “Focus on your body. You can’t carry much and still fly. It would make more sense to use Higgins’s car for a supply run, so we should plan to do that all together tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Colin agreed. That made sense to him.

  They stayed up chatting all together in the living room, but when Jenny fell asleep, Higgins excused himself to one of the bedrooms.

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  Alone for the first time in forever, Colin and Kristy sat together. They stepped outside like they used to and even though there were rocking chairs, they sat on the ground of the porch next to each other and watched the night sky.

  Colin reached for Kristy’s hand and she grasped his back, with a scrunched expression.

  “You’re too soft, it’s weird,” Kristy said, but didn’t let go.

  Colin laughed, “I could grow some scales if that helps.”

  “Oh stop,” Kristy said with a light slap to Colin’s arm, “You know, you still have the same eyes. They don’t look the same, obviously, but when I look into them, I can still see you.”

  “That makes sense,” Colin said, “It’s still me, I’m just kind of not? Well, I am, but you get it.”

  Kristy nodded, but her expression turned serious, “I’m sorry for the other day. I felt scared, but I should have trusted you more. I know you would never hurt me.”

  Colin looked dumbfounded before speaking: “What? No, I’m sorry. I never want you to feel that scared again. I let myself go without even considering what I was doing. I’ve hurt you and Jenny so many times by rushing headfirst into trouble, convinced it was the right choice. All I had to do was listen to you a little more and none of this crap would be happening to us.”

  “Then listen to me right now,” Kristy squeezed Colin’s hand hard, “We would be dead without you multiple times over. There’s a good chance that we would all be Changed right now, including yourself, if you hadn’t made those stupid choices you made. I think it’d be nice if you consulted with me more as a partner, sure, but you can’t blame yourself for falling victim to circumstances far beyond your control. You need to remind yourself that you might make stupid choices sometimes, but they are always motivated by love.”

  Colin felt stunned for a long time. He was about to protest, but caught himself and listened to Kristy this time. Slowly, a weight rolled off his shoulders and before he knew it, he felt like a new man. A single tear welled in the corner of his eye.

  Colin sniffled, “I needed that. I swear, I don’t know how you are so perfect.”

  Kristy snorted, “I just finished breaking into a neighbor’s home and let my daughter fall asleep on the floor. I think that leaves me a little underqualified for perfect.”

  “Don’t forget about all the unconscious hostages we have in the garage.” Colin joked back.

  “No we can’t forget them,” Kristy said with a light laugh.

  “I’ll make sure to eat stuff away from the house,” Colin blurted out.

  “I think that’s a good start,” Kristy said, “And avoid killing people if at all possible.”

  They both didn’t say much after that. After Kristy fell asleep leaning on Colin, he enhanced his muscles with a few different animals and carried her inside. He laid her on the couch near Jenny and then waited outside, keeping his Life pulse maximized to watch for any threats. His talk with Kristy gave him confidence that he could survive this. As long as his family was safe, Colin could survive anything.