Brilliant, on a curve of Skywalker

Bean walked away. He had memorized the route, of course, and knew how to get to the causeway without Sister Carlotta's help. But that was no consolation for the bitter disappointment of finding out that Peter was a gameplaying fool.

No one called after him, and he did not look back.

He knew the way to the causeway, but Peter's booked portal wouldn't be in for a while yet. So what was the point of waiting around for the portal to magically appear? Bean glanced up and looked at the large castle that spiked out from the hills.

What a waste of a trip. At least if they had gone to Greensboro and waited for Peter to come home during his break, he'd have been able to see the place where Ender had grown up.

He began to walk aimlessly, his instincts telling him to keep moving.

( Oh, goody! Ben's favorite person! )

[OOC: After this, preplayed with the fabulous lockestheway and hoorayimrich, continuing in comments and NFB!]

In the morning, Bean got up and posted a message to Achilles, naming a time about an hour later for their meeting. Then he wrote a brief note to Petra, just so she’d know he was thinking of her in case this was the last day of his life. Then another note to his parents, and one to Nikolai. At least if he managed to bring Achilles down with him, they’d be safe. That was something.

He walked downstairs to find Peter, Ben and Ender already waiting beside the IF car that would take them to the perimeter that had been established around the compound. The Wiggins seemed to have achieved some kind of truce, with Ender using Ben as an invisible wall between him and his brother.

They rode in near silence, because there was really nothing more to say.

At the perimeter, near the east gate, Bean found out very quickly that Peter hadn’t lied-the IF was standing behind his determination to go in with Bean’s group. Well, that was fine. Bean didn’t really need his companions to do much.

As he had requested before leaving Damascus, the IF had a uniformed doctor, two highly trained sharpshooters, and a fully equipped hazard squad, one of whom was to come in with Bean’s party.

( This was always here, lala )

[OOC: NFB, NFI, ABC, PDQ, LALALA. Preplayed with the luminous endsthegame, and holy GOD, OSC needs therapy.]

Bean had called them as soon as the doctors had told them Petra was nearly finished with the in-vitro treatment, and told them to meet him by the doors. He hadn't asked for anything else, had instead disposed of the phone, and then waited.

He was waiting for her with balloons.

They wheeled her out into the reception area. At first she didn’t notice him, because she was busy talking with the doctor. Which was fine with him. He wanted to look at her.

( INTRIGUE, OMG. )

[OOC: NFB, NFI, preplayed with the stunning glacial_witch and the sparkling endsthegame. Random obsession with teenage pregnancy is alllllll Orson Scott Card, kthx.]