A tag expansion for “Return of the Shadow Assassin,” written for the Sunday Challenge prompt.

After the Chi’Ru threat passes, Peter stands beside Caine in Chinatown and hears the one word he wants most: stay. Believing it is another matter.

A missing scene for “Temple,” written for the Sunday Challenge prompt.

On the road back to the temple, Peter and Caine speak through silence, exhaustion, and the uneasy weight of choices neither can fully name. As Peter questions his work, his relationship with Kelly, and the pull of his father’s world, Caine reminds him that he has never truly walked alone.

For Memorial Day, Peter knows everyone has a ritual: flags in the grass, flowers on graves, soldiers’ names read out loud. What he does not know is how to remember someone who came back from the dead. When Caine joins the Blaisdells for a family picnic, Peter begins forming a ritual of his own: bring him back, watch the door, let him go.

After Rain’s Only Friend, Caine brings Peter mooncakes from the bakery for a night of reunion, honoring both the boy Peter used to be and the guarded man he has become.

An "Initiation" post-script - Peter has been released from the hospital and has returned to desk duty at the precinct.