The Eye of the Hurricane (Ongoing)

July 4th, 1974, 2:30 PM

Why are we here again?  Scout thought as he pushed open the door.

Then he saw the American flags plastered everywhere, life-size statue of George Washington, and bald eagle screeching at everyone that came near it. The Star-Spangled Banner was rattling from some awful speaker somewhere.

Oh yeah. It's the Fourth of July. Just as it had been every year since they were recruited, Soldier invited everyone to this dumb party for a holiday most of them didn't even celebrate. But hey, everyone likes fireworks.

Thankfully, the eagle was in a cage this time. Scout steered far from it as he held his newborn daughter closer to his chest. Despite the loud clatter, she was fast asleep.

The scene he and Mrs. Pauling walked into was interesting to say the least. Soldier was making out with Zhanna in the middle of the living room. Everyone else was either excitedly waiting for the fireworks 4 hours before they would happen, chatting, or eating/drinking. Many cups and plates were scattered across the floor. Pyro was drawing what looked like crappy-looking fireworks on the wall, which was still better than him burning the whole neighborhood down.

"Fellas!" exclaimed Engineer, beer in hand. He slung his arm over Scout's shoulder. "Glad y'all could come. And you even brought along your baby!" Up close, Scout could see the bags under his goggles and stubs on his chin. Nonetheless, he looked happy. 

"Hey!" Scout said. "She's right here. She's the awesomest baby ever, ain't she?" He looked down at her, grinning ear to ear.

"I'm glad you can finally see her!" Pauling exclaimed, giving Engie a hug. "Also, I brought only the good board games this time. Not the kinds Soldier flips the table over."

"Aw, that's good," he replied. "Welp, I'm glad you two are doing alright. I'm gonna check in with Pyro to make sure he ain't burnin' anything."

Miss Pauling tugged on the oranges basket she was holding. "Well, glad to see everything's going well. I'm gonna go set down our stuff." She kissed him on the cheek and took off.

Scout smiled and lightly touched the place she kissed him. Honestly, he didn't think he'd ever get with her, let alone marry or have a kid with her. No matter how hard he tried, he thought a smart, literate woman like Miss Pauling would never end up with someone like him. But thankfully, reality turned out better than fiction. 

He slumped down on the couch where Sniper had passed out. He felt that someone was missing, yet when he entered he could've sworn everyone was there. Had he miscounted?

Oh wait. Spy.

He grit his teeth. One of the hardest things Scout had to do was accept the fact that Tom Jones wasn't really his father. Nope. He found out months ago that Spy, the slimy French dipstick he worked with for years, was his dad the whole time. He felt many things—resentment, anger, shock, sadness. But between those was something else. Could it be... acceptance? Closure? He couldn't tell.

To be honest, he still felt uneasy knowing Spy helped make him. It didn't help that he hadn't seen him since he found out, either. However, maybe it'd be better to let bygones be bygones and bug him just like the good old days.

But seriously, where was he? It wasn't like Spy to be late, even fashionably. Maybe he was sick and tired of coming to 4th of July parties every year and decided to ditch. Or maybe he overslept, even though it was well into the afternoon.

"Hey," said a familiar voice. Scout turned his head to see Pauling sitting next to him. "You doing alright?"

"Doin' good," replied Scout. He scooched over to give her some room.