One week later, after Hendrik turned the meeting into a controlled military operation, Victor produced enough medical restrictions to fill fourteen pages, and Arion had rearranged his schedule until missing an afternoon no longer threatened three committees and an infrastructure vote; they returned to the restricted forest.
Dean remained home.
Not because anyone had forbidden him this time, although several people would certainly have tried, but because Theodore had entered an increasingly opinionated phase regarding the geographical distribution of his parents.
One parent could leave.
That was apparently acceptable.
Both parents disappearing from his immediate environment had recently become grounds for outrage.
Consequently, Dean sat in the private family room with Theodore propped against his chest, one hand supporting the baby while the other held a tablet displaying four synchronized feeds from the northern perimeter.
Theo was already suspicious.
