It was raining.  The drops were cold but softer than the water Jack had gotten used to having on his face.  His trip to Europe had opened up amazing doors but he was ready to come home.  A lump formed in his throat and he wasn't sure if it was because he was going to miss traveling in steerage, or because he was anxious to see his mother. 

The day Naomi was buried was the day Jack left for London.  He hadn't seen or spoken to his mother since the night his aunt had been killed and after half a year he wanted nothing more than to have his mother hug him and call his name.

London had been thrilling and he had met a young woman named Agnes while he lived there.  She was somewhat of a tour guide and had accompanied him to Scotland and France.  As much as he enjoyed his time in Great Britain he had to move on and regretted he couldn't take Agnes further on. 

In Poland, Jack had been able to ride with the world famous Polish cavalry and felt the pain of his Aunt's loss lessen a little as he was able to indulge in his aunt's favorite hobby.  His last stop was Vienna, where Naomi had been born.  The house she had lived in was small but beautiful and Jack was able to spend a few nights with the family who lived there. 

His last night in Austria, he went to a concert and let his heart soar with the strings during Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons."  As the music intensified, a dam broke and he wept.  The anger, the sorrow, the loss and the pride he felt for his aunt overwhelmed him and he let the music wash over his soul and cleanse him. 

The next morning he snuck onto a large passenger ship and when he was caught bartered hard work for passage in steerage class.   That part of the trip was the hardest, but when he walked down the gangplank and onto American soil, his face was tanned and windburnt, his voice had deepened and had taken on a lower timbre and his arms and legs rippled with muscles he hadn't had when he left. 

The lump in his throat was familiar to him.  As much as he had seen and learned and loved in Europe, America was his home, and Detroit was his heart.

Jack stood outside of his mother's office and pondered how he would address her.  As the mother he loved and missed or the Don he was coming to work for?  Either way, hesitation wouldn't make this any easier.  He took a deep  breath and knocked.

Very nice story,I like its topic.

Kates walks down the sidewalk as she draws closer to the Renaissance HQ.

Diddy... what in the shit are you talking about?

Starshine heard that Jack was back home from Europe. She hoped he would come by and visit soon. Walking back from the post office where she had sent a telegram saying "Welcome home" she thought about the young man he had been when he left and what he would be like now.

McKnighter checks Diddy for insaneness.

"Hmm, I don't know about this one Kates. We might have another case here. Shall I bring my tools to operate?"

He should be fine- I had a brief private chat with him.

Turns and heads up the stairs and through the double doors of the Renaissance HQ.

Roman See's Jack, he Spits out his coffee and he Dials to the Nearest Payphone, he says to Voyshik "we need to talk to Vladimir, Jack MacLeod...The man we were Stationed to Kill in Romania...is alive" Voyshik Said into the phone with Righteousness "Didn't we come to america to refreshen ourselves? yes we can't get the Criminalisms out of our blood but we are working for a diffrent man now, and besides, he is a Relative to the boss of one of the Most Infamous/Famous Familys in Detrioit! so Roman...we need to Talk to Vladimir, yes but we also need to break from the past" and he hangs up, Roman, not sure if Jack will recognize him or not, Hops into his Limo and Drives off

Climbing the stairs, Kates could barely contain the smile spreading across her face. Her contacts weren't quite as good as Marietta's, but they were close. And something like the return of her only child after six months wasn't the sort of thing she'd ever be surprised by.

It was hard, Jack being away. So much of her life was and is focused on his well being. For him to drop off the face of the earth like that was a shock to her system. Well, nothing that obscene amounts of whiskey couldn't fix. She'd only cried once- the first night. Staring at pictures of Naomi and Jack, with her mother occupied by other business, she was truly alone. The next morning she picked up the pieces of herself, as she always did, and reforged them into something stronger. But her feet still flew up the stairs.

He was 17 now, almost a man. Hell, depending on the definition he might already be a man- she knew he'd been seen with more than a couple girls during his travels. As she silently turned at the top of the stairs, her eyes confirmed her thoughts. He'd never been a weakling, but the broad back and tanned skin almost made him look like a stranger. But her eyes adjusted quickly as she snuck up behind him and wrapped him in a hug, preventing him from moving his arms.

"I've missed you, Jack."

Jack had smelled a waft of perfume a few seconds before he was enveloped in a hug.

"I missed you too mom." 

A smile spread across his face as his mother finally let him go and he turned to see her.  A brief moment of confusion, had she shrunk?  Followed by a booming laugh, his, as he realized just how much he had grown while he was away. 

"As beautiful as always." he said fondly.  "But I can tell you've been working too hard.  Why don't I make you some tea and you have a seat?" 

He ushered her into her office and hummed a tune he'd learned in France while he waited for the water to boil, then poured two cups and steeped the linen tea bags until he felt the colour was right.  As he handed his mother a cup and saucer he shrugged apologetically.

"I'd love to make you a true cup of tea done the English way but all of my presents are in a box at my apartment.  I had them shipped home ahead of me."  He quickly turned his attention to his own tea at the look of wounded surprise on his mother's face.

"You already have an apartment?"

"I had David find me a nice flat and get it ready for me.  Of course I had some furniture and other things shipped home from Europe and I'll still need to organise everything and-" he looked up and frowned. "Are you upset with me?"