A hunter's apprentice

A Well-Deserved Break

Piper shook her head, still in disbelief.

"I can't believe, you guys just did that!" Piper said.

"Tell me about, I nearly lost my poker face back there but we pulled it off."

Patrick gave him a sideways glance, a slight smirk on his face.

"You know, you could've try to get more out of that deal back there. Leverage like that doesn't come around often, especially on the Judge."

"Nah I didn't want to push beyond the limit, plus there wasn't really anything else I desired."

Katrina crossed her arms, an amused smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"You are simply to selfless for your own good, you know that right?"

"I take pride in that part. At any rate, what now? I kinda didn't think this far ahead."

"Well for me and my dad, we're finally gonna spend some family time together and try to fix things again. We've got a lot to catch up on." Alice said.

"I suppose there's no reason for me and my mom to do the same, it has been a while since we spent time outside of the Underground and training."

"Guess I should head home then, I'm sure my sisters are wondering where I am."

"Oh wait, maybe we should all have a picnic together." Alice said.

"A picnic?"

"Yeah, it's a great way to relax and spend time together."

"I guess I picnic couldn't hurt, sounds good for everyone?"

"Sure."

"I'm down."

"It's ok with me."

"Well I guess we can meet up tomorrow."

As they went their separate ways, Lincoln couldn't help but feel that, for once, things might actually settle down,at least for a little while, and then Alice turned around towards Lincoln and spoke up again.

"Hey can I tell you something else real quick?"

"Yeah of course, what's up?"

Alice gave him a smile, warm and genuine. 

"Thanks, Lincoln...for everything."

Lincoln smiled back, feeling a sense of pride and relief. 

"Anytime."

For the first time in what felt like ages, the Underground crew had nothing urgent to do. No high-stakes meetings, no covert missions. It was just them, together, with a whole day to unwind. The next day, they'd all agreed on doing the picnic by the lake, in the middle of the park, away from the shadows of their usual lives. Lincoln, Piper, Katrina, and Patrick arrived early, spreading blankets on a grassy patch beneath the shade of a massive oak tree. Patrick and Alice were already there, setting up a small grill they'd brought along.

"This was a good idea, it's nice to actually see daylight and not worry about getting a call from Judge to go on a mission and kill some bad guys." Katrina said, stretching her arms above her head and breathing in the fresh air.

Lincoln grinned. 

"I told you all, once in a while, a break's worth it. Maybe this is the kind of thing all Hunters fight for."

"I wished we could've brought Aaron but he's spending time with his family at the mall."

Piper plopped down onto one of the blankets, letting out a long sigh of relief.