[ she doesn't call him on his bluff, knowing full well that he's fresh out of tricks, otherwise he would've made their ascent up those flights of stairs considerably more easier. or transformed the elevator into a turbolift. he snapped his fingers one time too many for her tonight, and she suspects he had something to do with the mistletoe's retreat. it's a wonder he's not suffering from the same excruciating headache he had the day he tried to pull in the delta flyer — or maybe he does, and he's taken a page out of her book and is hiding it well.

either way, she smiles softly and shakes her head. ] No, this will do. Though you're wrong about not having a home.

Home doesn't necessarily have to be a place. It can be a state of being, the presence of an object or set of objects, or even another person. And for you, I think you're son is home. Now, anyway.