After recomposing herself, Kellie had called Gill first, patching the Elevator Woman cell phone through the sub‘s communication system.  She needed the comfort.  That call had helped, but less than she had hoped.  Gill was supportive, as always, but she could hear the hesitation in his voice, the same hesitation she’d seen on April’s face earlier.  Neither of them was sure where Kellie’s emotions stood on Dakota.  She knew what she’d known since she married Gill.  She knew where she stood, especially after looking at Dakota’s face, and seeing in the crystal viewing port a reflection of her own at the same time.  But they couldn’t know, and their lives would be affected by this decision, too.

Kellie dialed up Lakota next.  “Hello,” she answered.

“Lakota, it’s Kellie,” the heroine said.  “Brace yourself.  It’s finally happened.”

Kellie heard a gasp from Lakota’s side of the phone.  “You mean --”

“We’ve got him,” Kellie said.  “We’re bringing him home.”

Kellie heard Lakota break down crying, and couldn’t help doing a bit of it herself.  Finally, Dakota’s twin sister asked, “Is he OK?  Can I … talk to him?”

“He’s all right, but he’s like we expected him to be,” Kellie said.  “He’s been in cryonic sleep all this time, so it’s going to take some time to bring him around.  And …”

“And he’s still 15,” Lakota said.

“In every way that matters, yes,” Kellie said.

“How did you find him?”

“Scuba’s people found a previously uncharted crevasse this week,” Kellie said.  “They sent in a probe, and found the ice ship.  Scuba contacted us, and, well, we’re bringing him home.”

“So, what’s the plan from here?” Lakota asked.

“Just like we’d said, April and I are taking him to our place to decompress in a safe and familiar setting,” Kellie said.  “You can take the time you need to get arrangements made for Nick.  I’m holding off on a press release or conference until we’re sure he’s ready to let the world know he’s back.”

“Wow,” Lakota said.  “Kellie, so much has changed while he’s been gone.  This is gonna be so hard on him.”

“I know,” Kellie said quietly.  “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Lakota said.  “Kellie, he can live his life now because of you!  Yeah, it’ll be different than what it would have been before, but he can live it now!  You’ve saved him, Kellie!”

“Yeah,” Kellie said flatly.

“I can hardly wait to tell Mom and Dad!  They’re going to be so thrilled!”

“I’ll call you as soon as he can talk, and feels up to it,” Kellie said.  “I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you.”

“Kellie, are you all right?” Lakota asked.

“All right?” Kellie said.  “I’m a tangled up mess, but happier as a tangled-up mess than I’ve been for 25 years, in some ways.”

“ I undertand,“ Lakota said.  “I’ve got to start making arrangements, get the family together.  I’ll see you late tomorrow.”

“See you then,” Kellie said.

“Kellie,” Lakota said.  “You done good.”

Kellie hung up the phone.  She stared at Dakota and smiled.  “At least you’re alive, and free again,” she said to him.

A short time later, seeing on the controls of the sub that no more communications were outgoing, April set the sub on autopilot and went to check on her mother and their precious passenger.  She found Dakota still sleeping and her mom, asleep herself in the command chair.

Dakota had no idea how much time had passed when he groggily opened his eyes.  He had vaguely heard a hiss, and the sound of machinery moving.  Now he was looking at a familiar face wearing a familiar mask, even though something seemed a little bit … off somehow.  But he was so groggy, he couldn’t be sure.

“Elevator Girl?” Dakota said weakly.

April smiled at him.  “Yep,” she said.

That was close to the voice he expected, but, again, not quite right.  “Kel?” Dakota asked.

“She’s over here,” April said.

Kellie had been asleep, but bolted up at the sound she’d been waiting 25 years to hear:  Dakota’s voice.  She was by the tube where he was still resting, now opened as he had finally reached the point where he was starting to awaken.  “Kota!” she said gently.  “I’m here, Kota.”  She caressed his cheek.  Her face was unmasked.

Dakota smiled.  “Kel!” he said.  “You look so beautiful … so grown-up …”

“Oh, Kota,” said Kellie, “I love you.”

“I love you,” he said.  “Hey!  You finally said it …”

“I’m … sorry I took so long,” Kellie said, fighting back tears.

“S’okay,” he said.  “So sleepy … can’t wake up …”

“You’ve been through a lot,” Kellie said.  “You rest.  You’re safe now.  We’re taking you home.”

“’Kay,” said Dakota.  Love you, Kel.”

“I love you, Kota,” Kellie said.  She tenderly kissed him on the cheek.

April, watching, was gripped by fear for her family’s future again.

Kellie, seeing this, patted her daughter’s shoulder.  “Relax, Girl,” she said.  “I know my limits, and this is beyond them.  But he needs me to be his Kel right now … and, maybe, a corner of me needs to be that for him, in a limited way, and for just a little while.  Give me that much room, OK?”

Reassured, April grabbed her mom’s hand.  “OK,” she said.

The ship returned to the shore quickly.  Doctors from the Greene-Ross Foundation, sworn to secrecy on the threat of firing, were waiting to examine the unconscious Dakota when they got to a secured docking area just after dark.  Once he was cleared, the Trudeaus took him, still sleeping, to the house where Kellie had lived as long as she could remember.  By this time, she and April had shrunk from 7 feet tall to their normal heights and covered their uniforms in street clothes.  Gill helped get Dakota inside.  While either Kellie or April could have done so, they’d have had to use their powers, which would have put their identities at risk.

Dakota was placed in the guest bedroom upstairs, across the hall from what was now April’s room.  After April had gone to bed, Gill checked in on Kellie, who was sitting on a chair in the guest room, staring at the sleeping Dakota.

Gill gently put a hand on his wife’s shoulder.  “You OK?” he asked.

Kellie patted Gill’s hand and smiled up at him.  “I’m fine,” she said.  “How are you?”

“Anxious, but not overly so,” Gill said.  “I have to admit, for all the faith you’ve had over the years, there was a part of me that never expected to actually see my rival found, let alone in my house.  But, that said, I know I’m safe.”

Kellie’s smile took on a tinge of sadness.  “You could always read me like a book,” she said.  She tilted her head toward Dakota as she said, “There’s only been one other guy who could do that with me.”

Gill patted her shoulder again.

“Are you OK with us taking the time to help him transition here?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” Gill said.  “He needs to make the adjustment to what’s happened, and there’s no better place than your childhood home, the one place left available that he would find at least somewhat familiar.  I just wish I could be here tomorrow, but I’ve got to deliver that big project at work.”

Kellie bit her lip as she looked up at Gill.  “You’re better than I deserve,” she said.

“I think you got that backward,” he said.  “I take it you want to be here when he wakes up?”

Kellie nodded.  “He deserves that much.  And, besides, if he got up in the middle of the night, all sorts of things could go wrong.  He could fall down the stairs, or mistakenly think 15-year-old Kellie is in April’s room, since it used to be mine.  I mean, we never did, y’know, anything in there or anything, but --”

Gill chuckled.  “You’re thinking too much, Kellie, and I understand,” he said.  He leaned down and kissed her cheek.  “Just make sure you get at least some rest.  You won’t do him any good if you’re a wreck.”

“He’s been waiting 25 years,” Kellie said.  “I’ll be ready when he needs me.”

“You’re always ready when people need you,”  Gill said.  “That’s part of what I love about you.”

Kellie stood up, growing to match her husband’s height.  “I love you, Gill,” she said, kissing him on the lips.

“I love you, Kellie,” he said.  “Good night.”

“Good night,” she said.  As he exited, she sat back down, resuming both her normal height and her lonely vigil.

Several hours passed.  Kellie had dozed off in the chair when Dakota stirred, starting to awaken.  When he sat up, she bolted upright.  “Kota!” she said.  “Are you awake now?”

“Yeah,” Dakota said.  “Kel, where am I?  What’s going on?  What’s happened to you?”

Kellie moved over and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her old flame’s hand.  “You’re in the guest room in my house,” she said.

“It looks different,” Dakota said.  “So do you.”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Kellie asked.

Dakota smiled.  “You finally telling me you love me.”  Then he frowned.  “That wasn’t a dream, was it?”

Kellie chuckled.  “No, it was real,” she said.  “And I do love you, Kota.  I always will.  But I mean, the last thing before that,”

Dakota thought for a moment.  “I was kidnapped from the Greene-Ross fundraiser by some sort of ice mist and placed in a tube in an ice ship earlier today.”  He looked out the window at the darkness.  “Or maybe it was yesterday now.”

Kellie took a deep breath and sighed.  “Oh, Kota,” Kel said.  She patted his hand.  “You were kidnapped by that icy foe of mine from back in my early days.”

“Early days?” Dakota said.

“She put you in a cryogenic sleep and hid you, and died without saying where you were and left no clues,” Kellie said.  “I’ve spent a long time looking for you … a long, long time.”

Realization started to hit Dakota.  “Oh, God,” he said.  “Kel, how long have I been … out?  From the look of you, I’d say, what, a dozen years?”

Kellie couldn’t help but smile.  “How old do you think I am, Kota?” she asked.

“I dunno,” he said.  “Twenty-seven, 28?  Maybe 30 tops?”

Kellie looked him in the eye.  “You’re way low,” she said.

Dakota was feeling cold all over.  “How … how old …”

Kellie took another deep breath.  “Kota, I’m 40,” she said.  “You’ve been in suspended animation for 25 years.”

Dakota sat, stunned for a moment, before he said,  “Twenty-five …”  then he looked at Kellie, who simply nodded at him.  Seeing his distress, she reached forward and embraced him, not romantically, but caringly.

After a moment, Dakota pulled back.  “When you said you loved me,” he said, “I saw another Elevator Girl.  But she looked and sounded so much like you.  Is she … Is she …”

“My daughter,” Kellie said.

“Oh,” said Dakota quietly.

Kellie smiled.  “We’ve got some fresh clothes for you in the closet.  I’m going to go downstairs and get some food going.  You’ve got to be hungry.  I know you’re going to have a lot of questions.  I’ll do whatever I can to answer them.”

Kellie started to stand up, then fell back into a seated position o the bed, her back to Dakota, sobbing.

“Kel?” he said.

“It’s just,” she said.  “I’m so glad you’re back, … and so sorry it took so long to find you,” Kellie said.

She looked at Dakota.  He had placed a hand on her shoulder, and was smiling at her weakly with that goofy smile he’d smiled so often 25 years before.

“Right,” Kellie said, standing up again.  “It’s a lot to process.  Move at your own pace.  I’ll get us some food, and try to catch you up as you’re ready.”

As Kellie went to leave, Dakota said, “Kel?”

Kellie turned back.  “Yes, Kota?”

He glanced at her left hand and saw the engagement and wedding rings there.  “Are you happy?” he asked.

Kellie smiled.  “The short answer is yes,” she said.

Dakota tilted his head.  “There’s more to it than that,” he said.

Kellie smiled.  “You can still see right through me,” she said.  “You’re right, but let’s talk about that downstairs, if that’s what you want to talk about.”

Dakota looked a little sheepish.  “Well, I am kinda hungry,” he said.  “I guess it’s been 25 years since I’ve eaten.”

“The fresh clothes are in the dresser,” Kellie said.  “I’ll see you downstairs.”  She left to go start a breakfast she remembered that Dakota liked.