John chuckled. "I don't think Derek knows what to do with spoiling. But, pie he can appreciate. If you want to get rid of even more, I can always take a slice each for Mike and the Director, too."
Smiling, he nodded. "He is a good man. He just doesn't like to admit to it very often. Doesn't want to blow his cover and all. But, yeah, we...worked some things out...at the club on my birthday and things are better." John's original plan had been...well, wrong. But, things had worked out and he couldn't regret how things had turned out when he got the real Brian back. And the next time he got it into his head that pushing John toward someone else was a good idea, John would just smack him. "Much better."
He squeezed her hand in return. "And it shouldn't stop you from getting those lessons. In fact, I'm pretty sure Brian's taken up permanent residence under the hood of something every time we're not training, so he'd be easy to find to ask," he added with a laugh. "I keep thinking I should join him some night. It's been too long since I've gotten under the hood myself. I'm not sure what we can do to replace the club, but I'll help you think of something. And, in the meantime, maybe you and I at least can work on it. Mike's been hanging out with Brian and I some. We can both go join Brian. You can get your lessons and I can get my hands on an engine. I'm not sure what Matt's into, but we can talk to him and find out. We make sure to include them and the Hammonds in outings like dinner or that where appropriate." He shrugged. "We'll figure something out."