Julia was already coming down the stairs to make sure the driver was done
and stopped on the second to the last step before reaching the first floor
when Megan rushed to the door, almost beating Jonathan to it as he opened
the door for Derek and the others to enter. As it were, she was rooted to
the spot as the other woman obviously intended to be the first one to greet
Derek, even as his own mother and Sloan came out of the sitting room and
stood back at a distance.
And even with that, all Julia wanted to do was see Derek walk through under
his own steam or power. See that he was safe. She stayed rooted to the
spot, unable to swallow past a sudden lump in her throat as she waited.
Jonathon did his best to ignore the woman and opened the door, immediately
helping Milo as he approached and greeting the others with obvious relief.
Derek got out of the car and walked around it opening hte door for Alex.
"We can unload later," he told Nick, not that there was much left to unload.
Both flame throwers had been destroyed in the blast, but there were a few
things. He put a hand on Alex's shoulder, still concerned aboug her and
guided her to the house.
As he entered the front door he looked around at the relative crowd gathered
in the foyer and raised a curious eye brow. His face was smugged with dirt
and his right shirt sleever was torn and bloodied. He also had a slight
bruise on one side of his neck.
