Daniel nodded wearily as the kids looked at him again before they followed her inside. He turned to look behind them. He wasn't sure about this but at the moment - yet again - he felt as if he had no choice. He took a long breath, reshouldered his bags and slowly followed. He knew the bags and over-sized coat made him look larger and far more imposing than he was - most of the time he took it as an advantage.
"I'll nip down in the morning, sort out some proper food, maybe a bath?" Honey suggested as she ushered them in. The shack was squat, busy and functional. She loved it here
The children quietly voiced there agreement, while Daniel merely nodded, barely taking the words in. If this really was Cascade Locks... They had been travelling for so long and big what ifs were stirring, his chest tightening at the thought of them.
"What was your name? Before?" Honey watched him.
Daniel carefully put down the bags, then frowned at her. "Why?"
"Because if I get this wrong..." Honey murmured.
His frown deepened, then he look over at the kids. "What do you mean?" he asked, keeping his voice low so as not to catch their attention.
"We're not a big tribe, we know each other's stories, and if you're Daniel, you're Shine's story," Honey replied. "But she's sick and if you aren't I can't talk about it."
Daniel unconsciously mouthed the word 'Shine'. He glanced back at the kids who were settled well enough. "Can we... talk about this outside?" he asked.
"Of course," Honey nodded and led the way outside.
With another glance at the kids, Daniel followed her out. "Shine? That's not a.. That's a, one of these new name things, right?"
"Yes, everyone decided to do it."
"Everyone..." He ran a shaky hand down his face. "My name... is Daniel. I... You said you recognised? Is Shine... Is she..." He wanted to ask, but he also didn't want to. Daniel was a common name after all.
"Little blonde woman with issues, she left a photo at the church, a lot of people have though."
There were also lots of little blonde women. Even hallucinated ones. Daniel let out a shaky breath. "Is her name... was it... before..."
"I think it was Angie, or something like that," Honey replied. "She's fragile, doesn't get out much."
"Not Angel?" The words came out as a whisper and he wasn't initially aware he had uttered them.
"Yeah, that's her!" Honey crowed.
Daniel stared at her. "I... One sec." He ducked back into the shack and after a quick glance at the now sleeping kids, he quietly rummaged through his bag and pulled a book out.
Back outside, he leafed through the book until he came to a specific point. "I know they're not great but... is this her?" he asked, tentatively holding it out for her to take.
"She's thinner and there's the scars, but yeah, that's Shine," Honey replied. "She's down at the post."
Daniel felt dizzy and found himself putting a hand out to hold on to the edge of the building. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Buck worries about her, because of how she gets," Honey replied
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, or started to but a muffled call of 'Dad?' from inside interrupted him. He didn't think about that fact that there was something else there and just walked off mid-sentence to check.
Honey's shoulders sagged. "You broke her and she wants to die," she whispered
Daniel missed it as he was back inside the shack, crouched down by the two kids, assuring them that he hadn't left and everything was fine. His tired mind reeled at the thought of Angel being here. Of seeing her again after so long. It both lifted his mood and scared him.