He nodded against her shoulder, unable to answer.
After a while, she loosened her grip enough to examine him. Her eyes moved over his face, the scrape on his hand, the blanket around his shoulders, and the wet clothes beneath it. She looked at Rascal, who appeared offended that nobody had yet acknowledged his part in the reunion, then returned her attention to Eli.
"You are going to tell me everything," she said.
"I know."
"Every single thing."
"I know."
She stared at him another moment. Then she pulled him close again, and he understood that the anger could wait until she finished being relieved.
Jonah arrived several steps behind her carrying a dry jacket and a small first-aid bag. He looked as though he had been awake for several days, although the worry in his face seemed to recede slightly when Eli met his eyes. Jonah set the bag down, crouched beside the boy, and held out his hand. Eli took it, expecting a lecture.
"You remembered to use the flashlight," Jonah said.
Eli gave a watery, surprised laugh. "Yeah."
"Good. We'll talk about everything else later."
His uncle examined the scrape on Eli's thumb, then looked at the thermal blanket and the paramedic's bandage. He nodded his approval and did not interfere with the care already provided. Jonah had spent years teaching Eli to notice details, but he had never imagined that those lessons would lead his nephew into a criminally altered underground room. The thought made him feel a complicated mixture of pride, terror, and responsibility.
"I didn't touch the new wiring," Eli said abruptly, as though he had been waiting to defend himself. "I know you told me not to. I used the old emergency control, the one with the label."
Jonah stopped what he was doing. "You were inside that room?"
Eli looked at his mother. She closed her eyes briefly.
"We will talk about that," Jonah said, his voice still steady. "A clearly labeled emergency function is better than guessing, but it's still an unknown system. You must never assume something is safe just because a diagram makes sense. Promise me you'll ask for help before doing anything like that again."
"I promise," Eli said.
He meant it. He had survived the danger, but surviving did not make the decision wise. It was one of the harder lessons of the night, because people were already beginning to call him brave, and bravery was a word that could cover mistakes if he allowed it to.
Ronan approached after giving Megan time to hold her son. He removed his gloves before extending a hand, introducing himself simply as Ronan Vale. Megan knew the name, though she had never met him. She looked at the leather vest, the graying hair, and the quiet eyes, then at the people gathered around the emergency vehicles.
"My son was here all night?" she asked.