Seattle
Dolemeck had no place to stay, so Tyler was kind enough to allow him to crash in his apartment until he could find his own living arrangements or continue his travels to California to visit his parents. Unfortunately, the wounds he suffered made traveling that long a distance a bit impossible, so he just stayed where he was. What made it worse was the news that the Helicarrier was attacked, and the woman he wanted to love, the one he wished to share his true feelings with, was presumed dead. Things could not possibly get any worse.

Laying on the floor of the apartment with a pillow under his head, and a blanket covering his 6' 2" frame, Dolemeck's phone began to ring beside his head. He picked it up and remembered the right button to push this time to talk. Things just got worse, as it was his adopted Mother, Venus, calling.

"Sweetie? Are you alright? You have not called in a few days and I was worried." Venus's voice, despite being over the phone, was still an amazing thing to hear. It was unlike any other voice on this planet, that was for sure.

"Mum, I am okay, I promise." He spoke softly, one hand now moving to rest under the pillow his head rested upon. "I am staying with a friend."

"That is good that you have a new friend, Dolemeck." Venus's cheerful voice continued to remain haunting as it was beautiful. "Look, sweetie... I know about what happened to that girl you really liked, and your father and I are really concerned about you. We were thinking that maybe you should come back home to live for awhile, maybe see Doctor Samson on a more regular basis to help you through this. Losing a first love can be very hard, and in your case it was very traumatic..."

"Mum, I'm fine..." He sighed, trying to give off as little emotion as possible as he talked. He loved his adopted parents, but Venus sometimes smothered him with worry. She worried if he was eating well, would not allow him to really live by himself as he could easily be taken advantage of, and worried how learning of his time displacement affected him. Now, she worried about his broken heart. "Things like this, they just happen. Nikki died as she lived, a hero. And while it hurts I never got to tell her how I felt, she would not want me to dwell upon her death, but move on."

"Dolemeck, a broken heart takes time. And you should be with family to help you through this. You should not be alone right now..."

"Mum, I have demons trying to drag me back to limbo. It's not safe for me to be around family at this point. Even if you are Atlas, I fear for your safety. I will just... I will figure something out. I will give you a call later when I am more settled."

"Alright..." Venus's voice sounded very reluctant to even accept what Dolemeck was telling her. "But if you do not call later, I will call you myself. And make sure you are eating well! We love you, sweetie."

"I love you, too, Mum." Dolemeck gave off a sigh, hanging up his phone. Little did he know he had the phone on speaker the entire time, and that Tyler could hear everything that was talked about.