Nico was exhausted. He had flown as fast as he could to the castle to alert Flynn, and had then flown with him and the rescue team to the harbour. They had started to board the ship and make preparations to leave when the toucan spotted a figure in the distance from his place in the rigging.
"Flynn! Denahi!" Nico called down onto the deck, "its Renn! On the beach! I can see her." Flynn looked in the direction the toucan's beak was pointing and his stomach somersaulted. There was no mistaking his sister. Climbing down from the deck, Flynn landed in the shallows and waded ashore. When his feet hit dry land he started to run towards her. She did not look up. Was she hurt? Had they done something to her before dumping her on a beach somewhere? He quickened his pace. When he reached her, he pulled her into a hug. She was cold, her bare arms chilled by the sea winds. Flynn held her at arms lengths and frantically searched her arms, face and neck for any sign of injury.
"Are you okay, Renn?" he asked her, half-dreading the reply. She shuddered and nodded.
"I found Henry," she muttered into his shoulder as he pulled her into a second relieved embrace.
"You did what!?" Flynn demanded incredulously gripping his sister's arms tightly and pushing her away from him so he could see her face. She kept staring down at her feet, her lip trembling and said nothing further. What had he told her? Guilt squeezed at his gut, but she seemed content to return to his arms. Henry hadn't told her.

Henry hadn't told her.

---

Flynn sat in his Captain's office out of uniform. He scribbled his signature on the bottom of a slip of parchment, pinned it to the notice board by the door and grabbed his back.
"Have you seen Cal?" he asked the first guard he encountered. The man nodded, pointing off down the west corridor. Flynn thanked him and hurried off, pulling his bag higher on his shoulder. He hadn't gone very far when he heard her voice in the distance and quickened his pace. When he found her she was alone.
"Cal!" he called, waving to her. He beckoned her closer and then pressed a second piece of paper into her hand.
"I just gave you the day off," he explained with a grin, "I thought we could both do with some cheering up."

It was only now that he was standing in front of her that he hesitated. It had seemed like a good idea when he had thought of it, but now he wasn't entirely sure how she would react and that...that bothered him. He compensated by smiling at her again.
"My family drama has just hit new levels," Flynn explained, "and quite honestly I'm exhausted. I need to get away, even if it's just for an afternoon. I would love some company and I thought it might do you some good too." He held up the bag to show her.
"I've packed a load of things for a barbeque, and I've got some cold beer. So, do you fancy getting out of here and hitting the beach?"