"Zara? Honey? We don't have to do this. We can still leave you know."

Zarabeth was quick to shake her head in refusal, holding a little tighter to Jim's hand as she smoothed the front of her dress once more. She sat completely stiff and straight in the wingback chair beside the solar fire, the echo of the Doppler children at play filling every corner of the room.

"No. We're here, there's no point in leaving. They'll be back any minute now."

"Okay. But if you want us to leave, you just say the word and we're gone."

The minutes rolled by in painful slowness, both Mr. and Mrs. Doppler gone to meet Amelia's mother at the spaceport. Of any other plan, having Jim and Zara stay back to watch the children was as good of an excuse as they could conjure to keep them there. Despite Amelia's reassurance that a reunion need never occur, Zarabeth was determined. Deep down, she wanted things to be set right, to bury once and for all her contempt and pain harbored against this one woman.

Long nights and the monotony of the hour gradually lulled the girl into an uncomfortable sort of fragile sleep, her attentions reviving in an instant at the touch of Jim's lips against her forehead.

"Hey. They're here. Delbert's pulling the carriage up now."

Once she'd recalled where she was and what she was doing, Zarabeth let Jim help her up from the comfort of the chair, only remembering the children at the sound of Jim's voice calling them to pause their games.

She was not ready. She had tried so hard to be, but Zara knew now, Andrew's little hand clasped in hers and Jim's arm practically keeping her upright, this was a mistake.

The massive double doors gave way with hardly a sound, the light pitter-patter of rain heard clearly for the first time that afternoon.

Zarabeth's concentration broke as she felt a small tug at the back of her skirt, looking to see Susan timidly peeking around her aunt to catch a glimpse of the grandmother she had been told about. Reaching around, Zara could feel how the small girl relaxed a little beneath her touch, the blond managing a small smile as she clung closer to her.

"Oh, darlings! Good you're all here."

Zarabeth was relieved to have Amelia be the first to come in, her look of practiced serenity paired with a smile more sympathetic than cheerful as she opened the door a little wider to hail in the third member of their small party, Delbert bringing up the rear with luggage cases tucked beneath each arm and dangling from either hand.

"Children, this is your grandmother, Vanessa Smollett. Mother, these are my children, Alexandra, Elizabeth, Andrew, and Susan."

Pulling back the hood of her woolen coat, a feline woman, a little taller in stature than her daughter, looked over the group in front of her, her hair once the same fiery shade of Amelia's now slowly graying. Dark green eyes wandered calculatingly over each face before her wrinkled cheeks relaxed into a small smile, her voice carrying a commanding presence as she took a few steps closer. "My dear children, at last we meet. Hmmm. Beautiful like your mother, and you young sir, you do your father proud, I'm sure."

Each of the little faces looked between one another, wholly unsure of what to do or say in return until Zarabeth's gentle hand urged Andrew to walk forward. Pulling a hand from behind his back, the little boy's large eyes seemed to grow wider still as he offered a single wilting flower up to Vanessa.

"This is for you. I-I picked it...before it rained. Sorry, it's already dying."

The woman gracefully pulled back the edges of her damp coat to kneel in front of the canine boy, her lips relaxing into a more natural smile as she took the small flower from him. "Thank you, child. Andrew, yes? It's a lovely flower."

Zarabeth released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as Jim's hand fought to regain some feeling from beneath her iron-grip. She couldn't help it. She was right there. Memory after unwanted memory was flooding each of the girl's senses, all the pain and heartache of years past now brought back from the shadows into the full light of day.

Vanessa couldn't touch her. She was safe. She was free. These thoughts were the only ones to keep Zarabeth standing as she was, the four children huddled around her and Jim slowly peeling away to stand in front of their grandmother.

Zara listened with nerves on edge as Vanessa spoke in quiet words of praise and gentle questions to her grandchildren, her instincts ready to step in at a moment's notice though she knew it would not be needed. These were her blood, her daughter's children. Zarabeth lived her entire childhood watching her do the same with Amelia, her patient and caring facade thrown aside at the drop of a hat if Zara so much as stepped aside without permission. No, the children would never know this side of her. They could be thankful for that.

Delbert stumbled up the stairs with all four of his mother-in-law's cases in hand, never asking for help from either Amelia or Jim. He knew better. Neither of them would be willing to leave Zara alone with Vanessa. Even after he had come back down to join them in the living room, Amelia hadn't moved, always keeping a few feet behind her mother, eyes shifting between her children and Zarabeth.

After what seemed like so much longer than the mere minutes they were, Vanessa moved to fix a loose strand of Elizabeth's hair as she nodded toward the discarded playthings she could see in the next room. "I should go see to my quarters, so you children run along back to your games. Maybe I'll join you for a little while before supper."

Once the Doppler children had moved into the adjoining room, Amelia's mother straightened up to her full height, eyes turning back towards her daughter and son-in-law without so much as acknowledging either Jim or Zarabeth's presence. They might as well have been invisible.

"Thank you Delbert, I'm afraid I had to pack a little more extensively than I usually do. Long voyage."

"Longer stay?" Delbert's mumbled reply was cut short by the sharp jab of Amelia's elbow at his side, the canine-man's look relaxing into as natural a smile as he could manage. "No trouble, Mrs. Smollett. We can show you to your room now if you'd like."

"I would like that, but first, tea. I feel the need to bring some warmth back into these old bones of mine."

"Of course, mother. Lemon Balm or Passionflower?"

"The latter, thank you." Vanessa smiled gratefully as Delbert offered to take her drenched coat and gloves, the woman's attention suddenly drawn back to her daughter as she caught her walking toward the kitchen. "Oh darling, let the service get it. We can catch up a little by the-I assume you have a good fire?"

Amelia's intentions instantly paused, the feline woman turned to address her mother as she took a few steps closer to Zarabeth and Jim, holding the girl's neglected hand in both of her own. "Mother? We have no service. I proudly run this home all on my own, oh well, with Delbert's help of course."

Vanessa froze in place, a single brow raised in suspicion as she looked over the couple in front of her as if she were seeing them for the first time.

"You. I remember you."