If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late, could you say goodbye to yesterday? ( Part 4 )

Nathan was stirred awake by the ringing of his phone. He was incredibly stiff ( probably because he'd spent the night on the floor ), but he managed to hoist himself up and drag over to the bedside table to grab his cell. Once he saw it was Peter, he pressed the talk button and lifted it to his ear. "Peter, I'm glad you called. Where are you? There's something I need to tell you." He was unable to hide the urgency in his voice. Just hearing his brother alive and well ... that meant there was still time to fix things. This was his second chance, and he was going to do it right this time. He realized that he'd broken the other's trust and that he'd have to win it back, but he could do this. They could do this.

It didn't take a lot of arm twisting to get Pete to give up his location. After that, Nathan made a few classified calls and was on his way.

When the two first came face to face, it was awkward. It had been weeks since they'd spoken to one another, and a lot had happened since their last encounter. What Peter didn't know was that there'd been a recent change in plans, and this time he'd approve. However, Nathan was so overwrought with relief that the only thing he was able to say was, "I missed you, Pete." That was the only 'apology' required to break the ice, and because of what he'd just been through, seeing what was going to happen, he immediately went to hug his little brother, just to be sure they were both really there. Yes, it was out of character for him, and he was fully aware of how strange he was acting, but it was better than fighting, right? He hadn't come here to argue. He'd come to let the people he loved know that he was sorry and that he wanted to make amends.

Peter didn't need to hear anything more than that to return the embrace and know that somehow everything was going to be okay, just like he'd told Claire. See, this was what he'd been waiting for: everything to resolve itself. He hadn't ever wanted to go to war with his brother, even if he disagreed with what he was doing. But something definitely had Nathan scared, because he wasn't ever this nice unless things were really bad. They hadn't gotten worse, right? As much as he hated to break this up, he needed to know what was going on, so after stepping to the side so Nathan could enter, he asked what this was all about. It was a little suspicious, him showing up like this all of a sudden. Clearly he'd had a change of heart, but why?

"Believe me, Pete, if I told you, you'd just think I was crazy." Nathan preferred to skip over the 'why' for now. He was far more interested in sharing with his mother, brother, and daughter ( who were all conveniently in the same room ) what he had done that would prove to them that he was a different man.

All of them seemed to have a bit of trouble believing he'd changed this much overnight, but eventually their doubt faded enough for them to at least agree that if what he was saying was true, they all wanted the same thing.

Claire expressed that she forgave him in the form of a hug, which verified to him that they could start again, rebuild their relationship. As angry as she'd been, she probably wouldn't be trusting him anytime soon, but he could deal with that. If she was willing to let him make it up to her, that's all he wanted. This just confirmed how crazy teenage hormones could be. She'd grown into a young lady, but only a day ago she'd been criticizing Peter for not seeing him for the monster he was ... jump ahead a few months, possibly even years, and she was gunning her uncle down. Why couldn't anyone in this family be sane or level-headed? Oh, right. There was Pete ... who sometimes had a momentary lapse in judgement himself.

Once they separated, Nathan's gaze finally settled on the one who'd remained the quietest during the verbal interrogation. He'd explained what would ( and wouldn't ) be happening in the near future, not if he had any say - and he did. But there were other unresolved issues between him and his mother.

"I wish you'd told me about Dad." It would've been a lot simpler if she'd been honest with him from the beginning, and there was still the matter of him being one of her experiments, but it was too late to take it back. Plus he'd survived. He had to let it go ... until she did something else unforgivable. They'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

"I know why you did it. All of it." If they were ever going to heal, some grudges had to be let go. And to do that, a level of understanding had to be reached.

If anyone was as stubborn as Nathan, it was their mother, but deep down even she didn't want her own sons to hate her. Regardless of all the crap they'd put each other through, as dysfunctional as they were, they were still a family, and family always mattered. Occasionally they didn't come first, but they could work out the kinks later.

Just like that, the tension slowly melted away.

The last time Ma had held him in her arms was ... huh, he was having a hard time remembering. Then again, he wasn't exactly the model son. But right now, it was like the love was contagious: spreading from one person to the other. Even she'd been affected. Guess he was a little nicer too. Watching her die had been difficult. He'd just have to remind himself of how he felt then if he started slipping back into his old ways.

They were interrupted by the ringing of his phone once again. Busy day - a little too busy for it to be Christmas. Here he'd thought most people took the day off.

When he answered, he heard Parkman's voice on the other end of the line. Rumor had it that everyone was being let go - that they were no longer considered an immediate threat to society, and Matt was curious as to whether he'd had anything to do with that. He admitted he'd played a part after the other assured Nathan that he and his girlfriend were not injured in any way. Well, nothing they wouldn't bounce back from relatively quickly. To make up for his role in their capture and brief captivity, he invited them to have dinner at the mansion along with him and the rest of his family. Their table was large enough to hold far more than the usual crowd. Besides, he owed them a lot more than a decent meal, but it was a good place to start.

The other accepted.

So it looks like they needed to get home so they'd have something to feed their guests. Naturally, Peter and Mom would be there. It was easily assumed that the invitation was extended to Claire as well, even if she hadn't been formally asked. She was family too, so she didn't have to wait for permission to tagalong. She'd probably want to bring her other family, which was entirely up to the Bennets. As for Nathan, he was perfectly content with his newest decision and hoped that they could all make this work.

Catching the look in Peter's eye, Nathan truly believed that everything would be okay. This hurdle was not one they couldn't overcome. In fact, for the most part, it was like it was already in the distant past.