xp_logs | Angelo and Fred, Sunday afternoon

Angelo tracks Fred down to the woodshed and they catch up.

Angelo had wandered along to the woodshed, dog in tow, when he didn't find Fred anywhere in the house, and was rewarded by the sound of axe on wood.

"Hey, buddy. Thought you might be out here."

Fred swung the massive axe, found in a pile of tools marked 'Cain's Stuff', over his shoulder when he heard Angelo's voice. He looked at the dog, knitting his eyebrows together before he smiled and offered Angelo his free hand, "Ah'm pretty hard tah miss, Jello. How yah been?"

"I'll let her run loose if you want", Angelo offered. "She'll come back when she's tired. And I'm... okay, I guess. Adjusting."

Fred grabbed his coat from where it was draped, and fished out a piece of jerky for the dog and handed it to Angelo, "Adjusting, huh?" Fred chuckled a little, "Is that what we're calling it now, after all the crap?"

He unclipped Joyita's leash and tossed the piece of meat to a distance, watching as she raced off after it. "Yeah, I guess so.
This one was harder than usual."

"Harder than usual? Wouldn't know, brother. It was my first, uh, one I guess..." Fred threw another piece of jerk at the excited dog, "Hope they ain't all like that. Don't think Ah could keep up iffen they were..."

"This was the worst yet", Angelo assured him. "Of the missions I was on, anyway, and I don't... don't think it'll happen again. I hope."

"Fingers crossed, yeah?" Fred scratched Joyita on the head before throwing another piece of meat, "...hey, thanks for helping Callie out, man. Ah really appreciate it, an Ah know she does too."

"Least I could do", he said with a shrug. "I'm glad she's come back where people can look out for her, not stayed there on her own."

"Ah'm just hopin she doesn't stay alone, even here." Fred lit a cigarette, and offered one to Angelo, "What bring yah tah mah little neck of tha woods...?"

He took it, lighting it off Fred's, and perched on the pile of cut and stacked wood to one side. "Just wanted to come and touch base, I guess. It's been a while."

Fred sighed, and nodded a little, "Sorry. Yeah. Ah'm not...Haven't been sleeping. Which ain't hard. Fillin tha time Ah mean. Tween tha Bel-Air an' tha trainin equipment..."

Angelo nodded. "Yeah, I know that feelin', and at least you don't need to sleep. How's training going for you?"

"Not bad. Ah'm startin tah get tha 'don't stand around an' get shot' thing down." Fred grinned, "Managed tah only get exploded, like, seven times last round...?"

He chuckled. "Well, that's progress. I keep telling you, you're good for a lot more than a human shield."

Fred perked up a little, a smile pulling his mouth wider, "Ah'm totally gonna consider 'Inhuman Shield' as ah proper codename. Pretty much anything's gotta be better than 'Adipose'..."

"It's kind of long to be a proper codename", Angelo said, amused. "But I'll get you an "Inhuman Shield" T-shirt to wear under your
leathers if you want."

Fred reached into a cooler and pulled out two large cans of Red Bull, tossing one to Angelo, "Lord knows Ah need some new ones. Ah keep forgettin that just cause Ah can take artillery fire, don't mean mah clothes can." Fred's face fell somewhere between amused and forlorn, "Ah mean where tha hell am Ah supposed tah find another Maniac Mansion tshirt, yah know...?"

"Ebay?" Angelo suggested, snagging the can out of the air and cracking it open. "But what happened to your last one?"

Fred rattled off a list like he was reading a summary of fallen soldiers, "Mah Tron shirt got napalmed, mah Elvira shirt got shrapnelled, Yvette hugged mah Pitfall shirt tah death..." Fred sighed, "Ah'm pretty sure either the Danger Room or Mr. Summers have it out for Mah damn wardrobe..."

"Well, you know what the lesson is there", Angelo said cheerfully. "Get a lot of cheap white T-shirts and wear them when you're in the Danger Room... wait, Yvette hugged it to death?"

Fred scoffed, "Plain white? Even Ah gotta have some kinda style, Jello." He nodded at Angelo's question, "Yeah. She caught me usin Tha Ram without supervision. Long story short, we both kinda had a little shell shock meltdown. Happens, yah know...?"

"Plain white is a perfectly good style!" Angelo protested. "And saves on irreplaceable shirts. Yeah, I know that happens, and we'll go back to the lack of supervision later. You both okay?"

Fred chuckled, "Ain't no kinda style. An' we're both fine. Ah worry bout her and Callie, though. When Ah think about what those sum'bitches did to em..." Fred exhaled as his body seemed to expand a little without him meaning to...

"Breathe, buddy", Angelo advised, eyes on his friend. "They're all dead or in jail, Callie and Yvette and Amara are right here. I was
pretty worried about 'Mara for a while there too."

Fred took a few deep breaths, his body slowly deflating, "Yeah. Ah know. Jail still ain't good enough for them..." He winced a little when Angelo mentioned Amara, "How's she doin? Ah know she went back tah, uh, Nova Sumthin..."

"Nova Roma." His smile had faded at the first mention of the girls. "Better, I think, but you know... I found her lying on the floor in
the dark at least once. Not hard to be better than that."

"Ah hear yah. Ah had tah practically drag Callie back tah tha mansion..." Fred dragged off his cigarette, "It...ain't gonna get any easier anytime soon Ah guess..."

"It will", Angelo countered. "One tiny bit at a time, it will. That's what rebuilding is."

Fred nodded slowly, "Patience ain't ever been mah virtue, Angelo..."

"Yeah, I'm... not always so good at that either." He smiled wryly. "But hey, we got back, I lost my job, got another one that's even
better, my girlfriend left me to try and help her brother not die... rebuilding's my whole life at the moment."

Fred hefted away all the massive tools he'd found since taking refuge in the toolshed before turning back to Angelo, "Heh. Sounds like yah win tha Feelin' Bad Contest. An' that means yah get ah beer."

"I never turn down a good beer", Angelo said solemnly. "Harry's?"

Fred produced his keys from the depths of his jacket, "Ah'll drive."