This was supposed to be a continuation ‘fic where Sniper has Feels About His Parents, but my brain’s hit its limit for now. Feel free to continue this where I left off. ---------------------------------------------------- Like hell Tavish was going to let Harry go off on his own and deal with the aftermath of the mess that his parents (either ones) left behind. Not after everything they went through together. Not when Tavish knew Harry well enough to be all but certain that the other man was not handling anything well. The death of his parents, finding out that he was adopted from their last will and testament, and then getting abandoned to his doom by his birth ones--any one of those things alone would’ve brought him grief, and he’d gotten slammed with all three in rapid succession. So no matter how much Harry insisted he was fine and everything would be fine once everything would be settled and they went back to work, Tavish was having none of it. And if Tavish was going, then so was Jane, who still wasn't convinced that the two best friends turned brief enemies had reconciled over being turned against each other. And if Jane was going, then so was Zhanna, despite Jane's insistence that he didn't need a nursemaid. And if Zhanna was going, then so was Misha,who got in a similar argument with Zhanna over whether or not he was treating his little sister like a baby. And if Misha was going, then so was Ferdinand, unrepentant as ever about offering his services to Grey Mann. (Nevertheless, once the initial shock of finding out what he had been doing while everyone else was unemployed faded away, they realized that had not betrayed any personal confidences and didn’t hold the temporary switch in surface loyalties against him.) And if at least half of the team was going to be together in one place, then Ms. Pauling decided she may as well follow along so she could make sure that they ended up where they were supposed to be on time. And if Ms. Pauling was going, then so was Jacob, even though he still wasn't able to get a straight answer out of her, and so was Chris, even though he still wasn't able to go on a date with her. And with at least eight people going and none of them eligible or experienced enough to drive on the left side of the road (or being able to do so sober, in Tavish's case), Dell volunteered to tag along and get a rental so at least half of the group wouldn't have to try to fit in Harry's camper. And with Dell going, then of course Taters would, as he'd been all but attached to Dell at the hip once they met up again, babbling nonstop in tones so muffled nobody but Dell could understand a word. A simple coin toss meant the group could take the first red-eye to Sydney without having to endure Harry thinking himself in circles about which set of parental issues he should settle before the other. Then came a trip to the nearest gas station for a set of maps, and a rambling, tangent-filled set of instructions from Harry interrupted by impatient ex-mercenaries who were treating the trip like some sort of sight-seeing vacation rather than the solemn event it was supposed to be. Even with the inevitable delays brought on by the logistical nightmare of trying to organize such a diverse group--Tavish heard Dell mutter that it had to be easier to herd cats--they still managed to arrive at the Mundy-owned lands ahead of schedule thanks to both Harry and Dell's breakneck driving. Having spent all of their strength clinging to whatever they could hold onto and doing their best to not shit themselves, everyone tumbled out of the two cars and then into the house without a word, leaving Tavish to approach Harry alone. "You sure you're all right with turning this place into a bonfire?" he asked. The original plans had been to take whatever mementos Harry wished to keep plus any supplies that might help the group in their future endeavors and then do away with the house and the barn in a simple detonation that even Jane could do in his sleep, to keep the squatters away while Harry prevaricated over what to do about the land, but one thing led to another and all of a sudden torching the place, even with the risk of setting off an uncontrollable conflagration, became the superior option. "Wot else am I supposed t' do?" Harry rubbed at his eyes, which gained so many bags under them that, combined with his overall haggard appearance, seemed to have aged him by at least twenty years. "I couldn't leave this place at th' mercy 'f th' elements or those jackaroos. Besoides, I can't trust th' neighbors t' look after it neither, Dad never got along with them and they live half a day's droive away." Of all the possible actions for Harry to take this did seem like one of the less bad ones, but Tavish had to wonder if Harry was doing it to run from his problems. Still, Tavish had been walled by Harry enough times to know that this wasn't the right time to press the issue. "True enough. Give us a yell if you need any help with anything, all right? I'll try to keep a handle on things with the others." “’Preciate it.†Harry disappeared upstairs, leaving Tavish to keep his eye on the others. Most of them had been exhausted by the ordeal and wanted to do nothing more than take a nap, but Jane wanted to try his hand at wilderness survival. As much as Tavish loved Jane, sometimes he wanted to punch him. “For pity’s sake, man, the whole reason we went halfway around the world was so we wouldn’t split the group! If you’re that set on gallivanting about in the desert, at least wait until the rest of us have had our rest! Some of us need sleep, you know!†Jane was no doubt about to make some inane claim about how his regimen meant he was beyond such needs, but it was then that a knock sounded at the door and if anyone was armed, they would’ve emptied all of their ammunition in the direction of that sound, annihilating the poor chump at the other end. Even so, Tavish still had to put Jane in a full-force headlock to keep him from charging ahead blindly before he signaled to Jacques to open the door. A couple of lanky Ozzies (and by God was it strange to see ones that were skinnier than Harry, who already looked like he’d be blown away in a stiff breeze) stared back at five men sprawled in various positions over the furniture, Jane struggling to get free of Tavish, Jacques giving his most charming smile while flipping his knife back and forth with fluid rapidity, and Miss Pauling peering up from her glasses, all business. “May I help you gentlemen?†They all got varying levels of awkward and began mumbling in Strine--Tavish could pick up bits and pieces thanks to his exposure of it from Harry’s drunken ramblings, but could not not grok the general gist of the conversation, and of course no-one else had any idea what was going on. “What are you going on over there about?†Jane demanded. “Speak up! And speak American, dammit!†The commotion drew Harry back downstairs. His lips drew into a thin line when he saw the strangers at the door. “No worries, mates, I’ve got this.†As Jane gaped at Harry making rapid-fire conversation, Tavish took the opportunity to wrestle Jane away from the entrance and cold cock him, then let his unconscious form slide onto the floor, then grabbed a cushion from the couch to tuck under him. Meanwhile, Harry had finished talking and returned to those who were still awake to report on the situation. “Some jackaroos noticed us droiving up and wanted t’ know ‘oo we were and all that. Once I told them, they said they’d be willing t’ take everything we don’t want--except th’ ‘ouse ‘f course, but we’ve got that covered.†With that, he stalked away once again, leaving the team to their own devices. Tavish, meanwhile, decided that he could use a nap as well and settled down next to the unconscious Jane. When he woke again, he found that he was the last to do so. In the meantime, Miss Pauling had taken control of the situation, and most of the team--even Jane, who despite having been roped in to do the heavy lifting, was still barking orders that were ignored in favor of Miss Pauling’s much more sensible directions--were moving whatever nonperishable goods Harry kept in the basement that could fit in the limited vehicle space. Meanwhile, a delicious smell emanated from the kitchen; following it, Tavish saw Chris flipping pancakes and Dell working on everything else. Dell was tasting the gravy he’d just finished when he noticed Tavish. “Glad ta see yer up,†he greeted. “We’re jus’ about ready ta have us a nice brunch. We ain’t all gonna fit in here, so go ahead and help yersself and then call tha rest ‘a them in.†“Thanks, Dell.†Tavish made a beeline for the fridge and grabbed a beer. “You wouldn’t have happened to find anything more than this swill-water to drink, would you?†“Sorry, Tavish, but all that’s in tha kitchen is cooking wine. Try asking Harry? I’m sure he’s got a bit ‘a that hair ‘a tha dog lyin‘ around somewhere.†Having not seen Harry yet, Tavish figured he was still upstairs and started loading two plates, one for himself and one for Harry, and nicked another beer as well. “Nah, that can wait.†Indeed, Harry was in what Tavish presumed to have been his adoptive parents’ bedroom, loading album after album of childhood photos into what was now the fifth--no, sixth--box, not reacting to Travis’ presence until he cleared his throat. “Oh, don’t bother,†Harry said without looking up. “I don’t feel like eating anything.“ “Eat something anyway,†Tavish urged. “Or would you rather end up strapped on another gurney being pumped full of whatever fluids Ferdinand is experimenting with again?†“Foine, foine, give it ‘ere,†Harry grumbled, sealing off the box he was working on with packing tape. “Don’t worry, Harry, you and I will get good bloody sloshed afterward,†Tavish promised. “Provided you’ve got something tucked away in this house of yours, of course.â€