It was a quaint room; a quaint room in a quaint home. Look past the surface details, and it was instantly familiar. It bore the hallmarks of spousal bias: a wife who spent more time at home than her husband; a husband whose work followed him back from the office; a couple who were too busy paying their way through life to entertain guests often.

You didn't have to be a detective to discern that from the hastily cleared sofa, the haphazard stacks of paperwork quickly shoved out of view, or the fact that the guests had been served tea in mugs instead of from china. Heller understood the home because it could easily have been his own; he'd lived in such a place for his whole married life, and for a good few years after she'd passed until his ghosts and demons chased him out.

It was also very American, he mused with nostalgia. He'd spent too long in Europe, where everything had a special purpose, and a centuries-old tradition about how it should be used. He missed the that'll do mentality of his home country, and he missed the way that pretty much every product came in a ridiculously large volume. He couldn't imagine how Europeans managed to get anything done with how frequently they had to go back to the store to buy more of what they'd just used up.

He offered a polite smile: not something he usually indulged in, but a practice that he'd found helped a great deal when it came to dealing with civilians. He'd spent the last few minutes caught between the gossip and chit-chat of reminiscing siblings. He'd thought that bringing along a familiar face would help expediate matters, but he was beginning to suffer greatly at the hands of this unforeseen downside.

The sound of a key in the lock was like music to his ears: the dulcet melody of sweet salvation. Tired footsteps echoed from the hall; the General waited until they drew closer, no doubt curious at the unexpected sounds of conversation from the lounge.

John waited until Duke's frame filled the doorway, and offered him a salute with the tea mug.

"Hello, Detective."