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“I’m sorry,” Matt grumbled. “Did Aidan Rider just joke about someone talking too much?”

“I take exception to that,” Aidan said.

“More like resemble it,” Sean added.

Matt heard another thump, followed by Sean’s laughter as he hit the floor. Matt shook his head, leaning out the window to show the front gate his ID so they’d let him onto the base. For all his grumbling, Matt liked hearing Sean laugh again. After Clint’s death and up to a certain point when Aidan was around,Matt had believed he’d never see his friend smile again, let alone laugh.

They had all suffered after losing their teammate. Looking back, Matt was amazed at how bad things had been. Nick had always had issues sleeping, though point blank refused to get himself diagnosed with insomnia. After Clint’s death, Nick hardly slept at all, except for dropping off randomly during the day whenever there was a lull. He’d retreated from the team in a way even Ricardo hadn’t managed, and worse, he had retreated from Matt. It wasn’t until Ricardo dragged the man to Matt’s apartment that something finally gave.

“Should I let you two have a moment alone?” Matt asked as the car coasted into the housing section of the base.

“Uh, we’re fine,” came Aidan’s somewhat distant reply.

Matt frowned at the guilty tone in his voice. “I don’t like what I’m hearing. Please tell me why you called before whatever is ready to happen actually happens.”

“You mean other than the fact that we haven’t spoken to any of you in a couple of weeks?” Sean’s muffled voice asked.

Matt smiled as the car came to a stop. “Aw, aren’t you guys just the sweetest?”

“Oh God, I can’t tell if he’s being mushy or sarcastic,” Sean grumbled.

“You say that like they’re mutually exclusive with Matt,” Aidan said.

“True. I don’t think he knows how to be genuinely affectionate.”

“Ignoring the hypocrisy of what you just said, you’re right. With one exception.”

“Ah yes, the disjoined but still conjoined twin of his.”

Matt listened to them long enough to thank the driver before interrupting. “You guys know I’m still here, listening, right?”

“Duh,” came the in-unison reply.

“Right, well, when you two are done sharing a brain,” Matt said, grinning at the cry of outrage.

Sean’s voice grew closer. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just put me on the same mental and maturity level as Aidan.”

“Hey!” Aidan protested.

Sean continued unabated. “But we also called because we’re not going to make it to the States for at least another couple of months.”

Matt tried not to let his disappointment show. “Keeping you guys busy, huh?”

“Something like that,” Sean replied, as cryptic as ever.

Matt wasn’t surprised. Whatever the two of them had been up tohadkept them busy. Matt had been hoping they could squeeze some time off somewhere in their schedule, but he hadn’t been clinging too tightly to it.

Growing up, holidays were odd and not always great. He tried not to make a big deal of being one of those foster home kids, but he couldn’t deny it had affected him. Matt hadn’t known what family meant until Team Maelstrom. Sure, they had taken a while to bond, but every personality clash and argument had been worth it.

As a team, they spent just about every holiday and birthday together. Either in the field or on their time off, the team was rarely separated for celebrations. For people like Aidan and Matt, who didn’t have relatives to visit, it meant they always had family. And when push came to shove, they would join a team member for their family celebrations.

He had been hoping to celebrate Christmas with his old team.

Fishing his keys out, he managed a casual tone. “Can’t say I’m surprised. Though you should probably let Ricardo know, he asked if I’d heard from you guys about the holidays when I talked to him the other day.”

“Yeah, we figured we’d call you first. That way, we know Nick will hear about it. Ricardo is next on the list if the bastard bothers to answer his phone,” Aidan grumbled.

Matt laughed, opening the door to his apartment. “Aww, is someone feeling a little neglected?”