That evening, after the twins were put to sleep, Artemis sat down and told his parents everything. They had already heard most of it from Butler, and they found it difficult to believe. On the other hand, there was a lot that made sense as well.

"You won't accept this instantly, and I doubt you will come to accept it even this year. All that matters to me is that I've told you. I have no secrets from you, and I plan on keeping it that way."

Artemis senior put his arm around his son. "I believe you."

"You do?" Artemis said in surprise, looking up at his father, who smiled down at him.

"Of course we do."

Artemis nodded slowly. He was still surprised. He had never imagined that either of his parents would take the news this way, but he was glad.

"I hope you aren't disappointed in me." Artemis said. "I know that some of the things I did were... immoral."

"Oh, Arty..." Angeline hugged her son. "We aren't disappointed... we, well, we have been scared for your safety. We always knew you were different. I mean, I knew you would find your father, and you did. I was just afraid that you might get killed in the process, and..." Angeline trailed off.

"And you thought I had." Artemis finished.

Angeline nodded, and wiped tears from her eyes.

"I promise that I will not put myself, or anyone else, in danger anymore. No more worries."

Although Angeline nodded, Artemis could tell that she didn't quite believe him. He couldn't blame her. He knew how insane it sounded.


Angeline and Artemis senior were in bed. They both had books open, but neither was really reading. Angeline finally set her book down on the nightstand with a sigh.

"Timmy?"

Artemis senior looked up at his wife. "Yes?"

"Do you really believe that story?" She asked. Artemis knew what she was talking about – it had been on his mind too.

"I don't know." He sighed. "Fairies. Time travel. It's impossible."

Angeline frowned. She had thought that her husband had understood, and could explain what she had missed.

"Why would they lie?" She asked.

"I don't know. And Artemis... he looks so young. He doesn't look any different."

"Is it possible...?"

"It doesn't make sense." Artemis senior said, shaking his head. "Artemis and Butler will tell us the truth, in time. But for now... I think it'll do them both good if we act like we believe them."

Angeline nodded. She had seen the smile on Artemis' face when they had said they believed him. He was so relieved. That didn't stop her from wondering. Some of the things Artemis and Butler had said fit so well with past events, though, that she couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to the whole thing.


For the next few days, all of Artemis' free time was spent with his parents, his new brother and sister, and Butler. Every day he'd gather, from hints and stories, what went on in his absence and write it all down on the laptop he kept in his bedroom. It was obsessive, he knew that, and he knew that knowing everything as if he'd been there wasn't going to make it true. It wouldn't even make a good substitute.

He was thinking, however, of getting in contact with Holly. He wanted to hear how she was doing. Better than he was, no doubt. Three years wasn't long for someone whose lifespan was a couple hundred years. More importantly, Artemis knew how to make things right. It wouldn't technically erase everything that happened, but...

There was a knock on his door. Artemis looked up at it, startled. No one ever knocked on his door this early in the morning. He looked at the clock beside his bed as the person knocked again. 6:48 AM. Breakfast wasn't for another fifteen minutes.

"Artemis, it's me." Butler said.

"Is something the matter?" Artemis asked, getting up from his bed and crossing to the door.

"No, everything is fine. Well, your mother made an appointment for Argus; we think he had an ear infection. But that's not why I'm here."

Artemis got up and pulled open the door. Butler stood there, dressed casually, his hair still long but his beard was gone. He smiled at the boy.

"Then why are you here?" Artemis asked. "It's not time for breakfast yet."

"I know. But someone is here to see you."

Artemis perked up. It must be Holly! Artemis paused a moment to wonder how Holly managed to come all the way up to Fowl Manor, but the excitement of getting to talk to her again, even though it hadn't been a week since he last saw her, was very inviting.

Butler smiled when he saw Artemis looking so happy. Artemis didn't mope, but he had certainly been close to it since he came back. He had been going to bed early, but Butler had heard him typing late at night.

"Wonderful. I'll go down and see her, then." Artemis slipped past Butler and sprinted down the hall. He came to a stop at the top of the stairs, and looked down.

A girl stood there. It took a moment of staring at her blonde, curly hair to figure it out.

"Minerva?" Artemis asked tentatively.

She turned around to face him, a grin on her face. Artemis felt himself blush. She was still pretty, and now she seemed to be running toward him to give him a hug.

Artemis was right. In a couple moments, Minerva had her arms around him. She wasn't even hugging him that tight, and yet, Artemis noticed that he couldn't breathe properly. He smelt something sweet and flowery. Minerva's shampoo. Closing his eyes, he managed to gather his senses and lightly push her away.

"I wasn't expecting you." He said after taking a slow, deep breath.

"Dom didn't tell you?" She asked.

"No, he just said that someone was here to see me. I was expecting..."

"Oh. I hope you don't mind that I came to see you. I've missed you. Dom said I should wait a while before coming, because you weren't quite ready, but I couldn't wait any longer."

With that, she gave him another hug. Artemis, who had just begun to breathe normally again, felt the same obnoxious effect take place again. He took a deep breath and pushed her away again. He suddenly felt annoyed.

"I'm not ready yet, Minerva." He said. "I should have been told you were coming. I'm sorry, but right now, I can't think about socializing. I have my family to worry about." He said, turning and walking toward the twin's nursery. Argus had an ear infection, and here Butler and Minerva were, acting like he was ready to think about people besides his family! An ear infection!

As he walked away, Artemis noticed that Minerva's smell followed him. It clung to his shirt, and he found himself angry at it. He couldn't rationalize why, it seemed that he couldn't think of anything but Minerva, no matter how he tried. He felt his body shake, and he grew annoyed. This wasn't right. He didn't know if it was puberty or the fact that she just showed up an expected him to be happy to see her, but he was annoyed. It wasn't right!

"What's wrong?" Butler asked when he saw Artemis coming back up the hall toward him.

"It's not right!" Artemis blurted out as he walked quickly past Butler and turned down the hall that lead to the nursery.

"What's not right, Artemis?" Butler asked. Minerva appeared beside him.

"I think I upset him." she said.


Author's note: If you read the chapter before I edited it, you'll notice a took a chunk out of this chapter. It'll be in the next one.