"...and once we were clear of that Chegor guy- still don't know what happened to him- it was smooth sailing to the end." Oliver wrapped up the story of their trip.

Sweeping his gaze across his friends, he took in their reactions to it- and was honestly happy to see them again. Tyrone and Marty both wore looks of concern after hearing of all the danger they faced... and the numerous times Oliver blew things up. While it sounded almost like something out of an action movie, the fact that it was their friend dodging bullets and escaping explosions had a weight to it that they couldn't shake...

Gary, on the other hand, looking completely relaxed the entire time, like he had total faith in his friends and their ability to come back unharmed... Of course, it was hard to tell what his exact expression was, considering he and Jal were busy sharing a bag of chips the entire time- and occasionally getting distracted arguing whether sour cream and onion chips were better than salt and vinegar.

They still couldn't agree, though apparently they stood united that caramel popcorn was far superior to cheddar popcorn...

Ed... missed the last part of the story, too busy trying to stifle his laughter.

"I can't believe your own familiar actually shot you!" He gasped between giggles. "That's some cartoon level shit right there!"

"Bro!" Tyrone shouted, punching his friend's arm. "Not cool, man! Oli could have been seriously hurt!"

"Ow!" Ed flinched, rubbing his arm and sure he would have a bruise tomorrow- even if Tyrone did hold back a lot, as otherwise Ed would have ended up on the floor after being hit by his massive friend. "Come on, guys! He's fine, right Oli?"

"Still, not cool man..."

"Guys, chill. Ok?" Oliver cut off the building argument- though he still shot Ed a glare. "Yeah, I'm fine... But getting shot hurts, ok? And it could have been worse. Plus, Henrietta got the idea from watching you play video games..."

Ed's wince was pronounced, and he sighed. "Yeah... I didn't think about that, bro. I saw her chilling with me while playing games kinda like having a pet dog hang out on the couch with me, ya know? And you don't really expect a dog to grab a gun and start blasting..."

"I mean, yeah..." Poli added with a sigh of her own. "But she's a lot smarter than a dog- more like a little kid, really. Smart enough to figure things out but not really understand the consequences, and very impressionable..."

"Yeah, I can see that." Ed nodded slowly in acknowledgment. "My bad guys."

"It was kinda funny to see her flying all over the place from the recoil, though." Oliver added with a small smile. "Not funny enough that I would want to try it again, but even I can admit it was ridiculous."

A small chuckle ran through the group at the mental image, and everyone sat back for a moment to fully take in everything Oliver and Polina had gone through. Eventually, Marty asked the question that all of them were silently wondering.

"So, what now?" He asked softly, panning his gaze across the small family. "I mean, I'm guessing you're going to settle in for at least a little while, right? I doubt either of you wants to take your daughter off on dangerous adventures..."

"Yeah, settle in is the general plan." Oliver agreed, smiling briefly as he glanced Jal's way. "Get them comfortable with life here, and try to bring them up to speed on what things are like. Poli is already looking at getting Jal set up with a tutor; Once she's caught up enough, we'll find a good school to enroll her in."

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"Give her at least a somewhat normal life, ya know?"

"Other than that," He continued as his friends nodded in agreement. "we'll probably check Local Bounties, looking for stuff that can be done easily in a day or two so we're not gone long- and stuff that I can handle quickly on my own while Poli holds down the fort..."

"Beyond that..." He shrugged, turning a wicked grin on his more mischievous friends- mainly Ed. "It's back to clearing out dead stock, so no more slacking off for you!"

"As you command, Your Majesty!" Ed responded with a mock bow, grinning the entire time.

"It's 'Your Highness', not 'Your Majesty'..." Gary corrected him without even looking up from his bag of chips. "Majesty is for the King and Queen, where Highness is for a Prince or Princess."

"He is correct." Lily added softly, amused by their banter. "It can also be considered an insult to use the wrong form of address; Calling someone a higher form of address may imply that they are acting beyond their station, or think too highly of themselves, while using a lesser station implies that they are unworthy of their current position."

"You seriously need to stop watching so much History Channel." Ed groaned, shaking his head sadly at his friend. "I mean, I get why the princess knows this stuff-"

"I learned that in Elementary School, bro." Gary cut in with a smug grin. "I had an awesome history teacher back then..."

"Plus, it's always been my favorite subject." He added with a shrug, eliciting a new round of laughter from the group of friends.

"You know, Gary could probably help tutor them in history." Marty said with a thoughtful look. "I mean, I can't think of anyone better at least."

"Kind of a back handed compliment, but I'll take it." Gary chuckled. "But why not? It sounds like fun-" A small frown flickered across his face as he realized Jal swiped the bag of chips while he was distracted. "-as long as you don't expect me to pay for all the snacks; I'm not sure I could afford to feed this girl!"

Poli snorted a laugh at their antics, already sure of the chaos that will undoubtedly come from Gary's tutoring sessions- but the guy really did know history well enough to do it. "We'll pay for the snacks, no worries, but we should probably hold off on history lessons for a bit. First up will be English lessons; Then, once she has that down well enough, we can add other subjects."

"We can post some fliers around campus for you, if you want." Tyrone chimed in with a smile. "The education department is pretty solid, and I know there are a lot of people there focused on Elementary and Middle School levels."

"And most college kids are looking for some way to make a little money." She agreed with a nod. "Plus, I'm sure it would look good on a resume or something."

"Just as long as we're careful about who we hire." Oliver added softly, brow furrowed in thought. "I'm sure some of them are fine, but I don't want to risk exposing Jal to some bigoted jerk..."

"I'm not sure how I would react to that, but I doubt it would be in a good way."

"We know how protective you are, Oli." Poli said, gently taking his hand. "Whoever we hire will go through an interview and a background check- and the tutoring will take place at our house, so at least one of us will always be there, just in case."

"Well, we've got a general outline at least." Tyrone said to break the tension, a bright smile on his face. "So, let's grab lunch to celebrate you guys being back- and Lily and Jal being here, of course. My treat."

"Hey, if it's a celebration, we should totally hit the sushi place!" Gary exclaimed, already jumping to his feet.

"You know that place is like a hundred dollars a person, right?" Ed added with a smug grin. "But, since T is paying..."

Rolling his eyes, Tyrone waved towards the door. "You guys are jerks; you know that, right? Besides, we don't even know if Lily and Jal can eat the fish here-"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Oliver broke in with a teasing smile. "We've already been careful to check a lot of foods, and seafood is actually the most similar thing we've found between the two worlds. They shouldn't have any problems."

"Thanks Oli." Tyrone said wryly before a small smile flashed across his face. "Maybe I can bill this to my boss as a business lunch? It's not like he ever checks the expense reports..."

Oliver could only let out an embarrassed chuckle- he really didn't, and if T hadn't said something, he wouldn't have even thought about it... Not that he was going to start checking in behind his friend; he put Tyrone in charge because he trusted him...

And because Oliver really didn't want to get stuck doing all that paperwork.

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