The strangest words began to pour out of my mouth.

"I missed you. I am so glad to see my son again. I'm so happy you're back. Please come home. I missed you so much. I don't want to let go. Please come home and get some rest, even for just a little while, please-"

This poor soul ensconced in an embrace powered by an unknown instinct was taking my outburst rather well. Looking bemused, he returned my hug, and I found myself unable to stop weeping. Though I cared for this boy, he certainly wasn't my son by any definition, and yet I was overcome with this archetypal maternal instinct to care for him. The rush of feeling was so foreign, yet so powerful, as though I could grab it in hand and use it to repel any and all threats.

"If this is how you greet me, then I fear for my dear friend's spine."

Another familiar young man raised his hand in greeting behind his friend, ever unaccustomed to speaking up to interrupt. My mind swam as I found myself running to hold him too, seizing him in the tightest hold I could muster, sobbing all the while. If anyone needed a good hug, it was this boy. A strained "help me" followed by an uneasy laugh pulled me out of my trance, and I let him go.

"Welcome back. I missed you both so much."

(The vision fades out here, then back in to a different scene of this woman and the young men seated at a table.)

"You did it. You both made it through to see your triumphant reprise."

"You could say that." Erich scratched his head along where his hair always stood up, and I wondered if it did that because he scratched there or if he scratched there because it stuck up. "We've been busy cleaning up after the incident with my mother, so..."

My face wrinkled in disgust nearly on reflex. That wretched woman, that blight on anyone who dared to call themselves a mother, who misled and manipulated entirely too many people on her vile quest for power, who birthed a son with a man who loved and respected her just to steal his resources and use her flesh and blood as a tool... The world spun around me as I recalled her and her crimes, vertigo propelled by a jet of rage.

"Are you all right?" Theo kept his expressions to his voice more than his face, and the way his voice softened made me wonder if I had begun to teeter.

"Yes," I answered, and it was not untrue, now that I had been pulled back to the present. "I hope it has been going well."

"I would say it's all proceeding apace. I would say we may soon be able to put all this behind us, but... Well." Theo shot Erich a meaningful glance.

"I'll deal with the lasting trauma of my mother's betrayal after we've cleared the red tape."

"I'm sorry." I reached to take one of Erich's hands in mine, but stopped before completing the gesture. "And I'm sorry I'm so touchy-feely right now."

Erich gave a small chuckle. "It's alright. Your way of being a mother hen is different enough."

Me, a mother hen? Perhaps it was strange that I questioned my maternal instincts after seeing what these boys pulled out of me, but I had spent a very long time believing I was barely fit to care for a houseplant, let alone another person.

"You did call me your son earlier," Theo said. "I don't find myself objecting so much as curious."

"There is no good explanation for it," I said, feeling as though I'd been caught doing something odd. "While handling that sordid business with Erich's mother, I wanted nothing more than to ensure that you were both safe and cared for in between expeditions." Theo chuckled, a low, warm sound. "What are you laughing about?"

"You have a warm heart. I wouldn't be surprised if you had other unspoken sons and daughters at this point." Theo leaned forward, ascertaining Erich's stance with a glance. "Your concern for us and caring efforts spoke volumes, especially to Erich... No, that's not all. I appreciated it as well."

The scene before you fades, returning you to the Existential Weave.