"Can we go back home?" she asked plaintively.

"It's about time," Red mumbled as she and the rest of the scavenging crew stumbled into the Den.

"Stop complaining," Tarloh told her.

"It was a damn good haul!"

"One frickin’ security guard and we get denied those medical supplies."

She sighed.

"I'll. . . I'll go back up tomorrow. I'll find a way to get what Arthur needs.”

It was Tarloh's turn to sigh. No matter how good a job Red did, in her mind it wasn't good enough.

"Fine. We may have to just buy it.

We'll see how much cash we've got and I'll get it to you by the evening."

Red hated spending the pack's limited funds on something she should have been able to acquire, but there were some things they couldn't wait on. She dropped her bundles off at the main table so that Tarloh and some of the others could start checking it off their lists. Red held onto a small package that had a different destination.

While out, Red had noticed a couple human girls shopping at one of those superstores. One of them had been about Jane's size, and she was wearing a cute little set of designer jeans and a blue sweater.

She was still feeling bad about how things had gone with Jane, so Red had inquired as to the girl's measurements (which had been a bizarre conversation), and had "procured" a similar ensemble and a long leather trenchcoat for the young woman. Red convinced herself that it was because it would be getting colder soon.

She noticed Jane sitting with the girls she had gone topside with and Arthur seemed to have joined them. The entire group looked a little somber.

“Hey. I hope I'm not intruding," Red said as she approached.

“Nah, that's okay," Talia said. She peaked out of the corner of her eye and noticed that Jane's eyes had immediately been drawn to Red's face, and they remained there until Red caught her staring.

"Okay," Red replied, unconvinced. But she needed to give her gift donation before she chickened out. ‘I wish I was better at this,‘ she thought.

"Hey Jane," she started, "I . . . I figured you didn't have a lot of clothes that actually fit, so I picked you up some stuff." There was a brief awkward moment where Red wasn't sure if she was supposed to hand Jane the package or unwrap it for her. She opted for the former.

Jane took the packages while avoiding making direct eye contact.

“Uhm... thank you," she murmured. Everything was actually wrapped up in a single piece of brown paper with the consistency of a grocery sack.

She was as careful opening the package as she would have handling fine porcelain. As each piece of clothing came into view, she touched it and pressed it against her face.

Red couldn't take her eyes off of Jane. The girl almost looked like she had just been given the key to the Kingdom of Heaven instead of some stolen garments.

Jane looked up with glistening eyes.

"Thuh . . . thank you." These weren't hand-me-downs or surplus.