Deep down inside, it was possible that Everett might not have thought this day would really come. He'd told himself it would, of course, because he didn't think he'd be able to keep going if he admitted that maybe he wouldn't ever find his sisters. He hadn't really thought as far as how it would go when he encountered one of them again, but he definitely wouldn't expect that Caitie wouldn't even look up. Of course, she didn't know he was here. Just hearing her voice again made his throat close up and his eyes blink rapidly as he tried to hold back what he felt. His baby sister, who'd always had a special place in his heart. He'd loved all of his younger siblings, but Caitie'd somehow weaseled her way deeper beneath his skin.
When Nick looked at him and said maybe he should say something, Everett nodded. It took him a few seconds to get his voice into working order, but then he cleared his throat and said, "Hey, Caitie-did." He'd used to call her that years and years ago, when she'd been a very small child, and he knew she wouldn't have forgotten it.