Author's Notes

Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed! Knowing that people have actually read my work is probably the coolest thing about writing it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the story line of this fanfiction. I lay no claim to the characters.

In Which Reunions Are Not Altogether Happy

It was a dizzying high to be graduating. It was even better to know that she had a full ride through med school, courtesy of her grandmother. Megan had never thought her half hearted ambition to be a pediatrician would ever come to anything more than her ambition to be a princess, but her grandmother had taken the idea and run with it. And boasted loudly the whole time to anyone who would listen about her granddaughter answering to the noble call of healing her fellow man.

That had been terribly embarrassing. Grandmother had showed up for her graduation ceremony with Howell in tow and made quite a scene in front of some of her friend's parents while Howell smirked.

Her friends had adored Howell. He was so cute (he was kind of small for ten) so precocious, and so polite! Each time he put on his gentleman act and offered one of them his arm they tittered.

There had been something though, gnawing at Megan more and more as the day progressed. Not something particularly wrong. Just markedly different about Howell.

His manner was the same. Charming and slightly superfluous. Howell was always on stage in front of the world audience. His speech was the same. Howell had always spoke with an easy intelligent grace, though in the past several years it had been adapted to fit the euphony of a pretty Welsh tune. His clothing was even similar to what Megan had seen him in last. Collared shirts and khaki pants. Never jeans. Ever.

He was happy for her. That much was easy to decipher from the myriad of emotions that Megan was picking up from him. But she was unsure whether her odd sense of Howell was making figuring the rest out worse or not. There was just a pervading sense of ... discontent about him.

It wasn't sadness or misery or despair; He didn't even seem discouraged with anything. It was just something that caused Howell to fall far from the shadow of genuine happiness.

Megan had promised herself that she would figure it out over her summer vacation. Grandmother had made an extremely generous offer to send her off to the French Riviera, but Megan had insisted on staying home. Her friends were here, she argued. And she had spent the past four years at boarding school, now she would be off at university, she wanted to spend some time with her family. In truth, she was still touched by an uneasy guilt about leaving Howell in the first place.

Which was how she came to be sitting in her own front yard for several hours, waiting for her brother and grandmother to arrive home and let her in. It was her own fault, she knew, because she had been so afraid that she was going to miss her train that she hadn't spared thirty seconds to call and tell them she was coming.

But it wasn't that bad really, Megan had just thought, when it began to rain. Megan had not been raised to curse, but in this case she made an exception.

"-can't believe that you would even think–"

"--a stunt like that!"

Megan stood hopefully as the voice of her grandmother drifted up the lane.

"– most important men on the school board!"

She could see them now; Grandmother shaking her head in dismay at her grandson who was peeling off a particularly stiff looking maroon jacket and looking down in distaste at the plaid tie.

"Hey!" She stood up and waved to them.

Howell's head snapped up. The rain abruptly stopped and Grandmother looked around curiously for a few moments before sighing and lowering her umbrella.

"Megan!" She called back and walked briskly forward to embrace her. Howell followed behind, juggling his jacket and the umbrella he had had thrust upon him.

Megan laughed out of pure joy. "It's so great to see you both!"

"It's great to see you too dear. I had no idea you would be coming so soon! I just took Howell to a meeting with some friends. Goodness! Look at you! Have you been out here in the rain this whole time? Howell, help your sister with her bags."

Megan submitted to her grandmother's fussing and waved Howell off when he tried to help with her trunk (it was bigger than he was).

"Megan?" He said quietly under their grandmother's chatter.

"Yeah?" She answered.

He smiled a little, not the bright charming one he used for show but he softer one that he only used when he meant it.

"I'm glad you're home."

She smiled.

"Me too."

The siblings were ushered into the kitchen where their grandmother being brewing coffee for Megan and tea for Howell.

"So you went to see some friends today?" Megan asked before her grandmother could start on something else.

"Hmm? Oh we were just visiting an old friend of mine. Her son-in-law is on the board of admissions for Eton."

"I'm not going to some stuffy prep school!" Howell protested.

"Hush." His grandmother admonished him as she set down their drinks.

Howell crossed his arms and glared at the tea set in front of him. "They're all idiots anyway. I could learn this stuff by myself..."

His mutterings went unnoticed by his grandmother, but not by Megan. She lifted her cup slowly to her mouth.

"Eton, really? Isn't Howell a bit young?"

Grandmother beamed. "Well yes. Traditionally he wouldn't be able to enter for a few more years, but his tutors say he's ready, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to look into it."

"Uh-huh." Megan tried to ignore the tight feeling in her chest. She was not jealous!

Grandmother laid a hand on her arm. "I'm sure you're tired dear. And you have to want to wash up from being out in the rain. I'll call you down for dinner later."

She nodded gratefully even as Howell looked at her inquisitively. He knew she wasn't really that tired. Her heart skipped a beat then when he called after her.

"Do you want me to bring your trunk up Megan?"

She let out a silent breath of relief.

"Thank, but I'll do fine without it for now." She tried to smile, but thought the effort was in vain. From Howell's skeptical look, she was probably right.

It wasn't that she envied Howell, Megan thought as she walked slowly to her room. It was foolish to envy Howell because, as Megan had realized so many years ago, Howell was on an entirely different playing field.

She hadn't reveled in Howell's academic failure. But there was a certain thrill that embraced her every time she came home with excellent marks for her grandmother to exclaim about while Howell looked up from whatever book he was reading and smiled at her before rolling his eyes when Grandmother turned on him with comparative scorn. It was a kind of payback for all the times when Howell had stolen away the attention of their parents.

Academics had always been her thing. She liked learning and reciting facts and being praised for her memory. She took great pride in getting stars at the top of her papers and was never the one receiving the sharp end of the teacher's red pen. She took great diligence in recording how many minutes she read, from what book, and practicing her math facts until she didn't even need someone to finish reading the problem to know the answer. She loved everything about the system that Howell looked upon in disdain.

She should have known that it wouldn't last forever though. If Howell wanted academic excellence, Howell would be phenomenal. That was just the way it was. If Howell really wanted something failure wasn't even an option that occurred to him. Solutions just came in nice, easy straight lines.

"Megan?"

Megan jumped out of her skin when she heard her brother's voice. She clutched a hand to her chest and whirled around to face him.

"Howell! Don't scare me like that!"

He paused. "I'm sorry."

She let out a slow, shaky breath. "That's okay. Did you want something?"

Howell nodded. "There's something I want to show you."

"Oh?"

"Grandmother says that when I finish with school she's going to give it to me."

Megan felt a sharp and sudden tiredness. "Not now Howell."

He blinked. "But-"

"Not. Now." She reiterated, then tried to smile to soften the blow of the words, but for the second time that day the expression failed.

There was something working behind Howell's eyes. Something bright and churning and just a bit cold. Something far and away that Megan could never recall seeing before.

"Sure." Howell smiled, but the expression and the sentiment behind it were equally false. Megan ignored the stab of guilt that came when Howell turned his back on her.

"I'll see you at dinner." He called.

There was a dull thud as Megan fell back against the door and sighed.