The second hand on the clock completed another inexorable turn around its face. The time was now 1:35 AM. My eyes felt gritty instead of droopy, and my mind somehow managed to be sluggish while it raced in circles. The sanitary white tiles and florescent bulbs made the waiting room one of the most boring places I could think of. To complete the room, there was a line of uncomfortable plastic chairs and two plastic plants with absolutely no character whatsoever to break up the monotony.

I wouldn't have believed it if I had not had to sit through at least part of it. Right now they were basically deciding what sort of thing they would eventually decide and when they would decide it. Then they would decide what they were going to do with me in the meantime. They had refused to let me go back to my home to sleep. Not that I really wanted to. In my mind, it was a foregone conclusion that I would probably crash on uncle Jason's couch for a few nights until they had decided whatever it was they were going to decide.

Uncle Myrddin hadn't been happy with my trying to get away from the PRT agents. They were there to help me. I shouldn't have endangered my self like that. Bleugh. I knew on that balcony when uncle Jason had arrived that I was stuck. I couldn't run away from him. Now I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about the whole situation. I knew he still cared for me, but a seed of doubt had started to wriggle in my mind. Why couldn't he have helped me? Or even just let me go? It seemed like he cared more about following the letter of the law and making "The System" help me instead of looking at the situation and just helping me himself.

Was he keeping me at arms length? Was it possible that he was merely going through the motions of trying to get the system to help me because he felt some sense of responsibility, but he wasn't going to risk anything to help because he didn't actually care? What if he knew about the Simurgh's influence? I was pretty sure that they had come to pick up dad because he had made such a disturbance when I left, but what if dad had been so beside himself that he exposed the secret he and mom had been hiding? Was I going to be quarantined next?

Maybe that's why it was taking so long: they had to secure an area that was cordoned off and quarantined from everyone else so that her influence couldn't spread past me. I sighed heavily, glancing back up at the clock. It had continued its slow inevitable march forward while I was ruminating. These chairs really weren't very comfortable. My leg itched; my eyes felt scratchy; and my whole body ached. What was going to happen to dad? If he had to be held, could he at least get in where he could see mom? Would he disappear from my life as completely as she had?

Finally, the door opened. First out of the door was a lean blonde man. He had been introduced to me as a psychiatrist, but I couldn't remember his name anymore. Not that I was going to try terribly hard tonight. Mr. Blonde Psychiatrist held the door open as uncle Jason, Director McCurdy, and a female lawyer whose name I also couldn't recall exited the room. It was a bit unnerving how they were all looking at me, but I told myself that it probably wasn't anything bad, just my mind being paranoid.

Finally taking the initiative when it became apparent that nobody else was going to start speaking, uncle Jason said "Well, you'll be staying with me for now Lily. We can figure everything else out in the future, but Director McCurdy is happy to have you as a probationary member of the Wards until..." his voice softened as he sat down next to me, "...until I can become your legal guardian."

My stomach suddenly churned and the grittiness in my eyes quickly vanished as they were flooded with moisture. Mom and dad were my guardians. This wasn't something I really wanted to think about right now. My mind was anything but clear, and I was exhausted down to the very core of my being. That stupid blonde psychiatrist was staring at me. Probably trying to psychoanalyze me for a report that he could submit to his precious PRT for my file. And the bimbo lawyer was looking on with pity. Her face looked stupid and pathetic. I didn't want her sympathy and I certainly didn't want that freaking psychiatrist analyzing me.

Uncle Jason seemed to pick up on my distress, because he put a hand on my shoulder. I almost tried to shrug it off, but I couldn't really see the point. What good would being belligerent about it do? I wasn't getting my father back, and I certainly wasn't getting my mother out of whatever deep hole they had hidden her away and forgotten about her in. Uncle Jason spoke up again. "Hey, we can talk about this later. We're all tired, so for now, lets just go home." He said, moving his hand from my shoulder to rustle my hair. The petulant part of me wanted to object to his use of the word 'home', but he was right. I was just tired. I nodded my head in silent acquiescence.

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The flight home had been fairly quiet and uneventful. That is to say that there were no events, just a sort of lingering awkward silence where neither uncle Jason nor I was sure what our relationship was going to be like. Now in his apartment, we had to communicate, even if it was just to figure out the sleeping arrangements.

"I figured you could probably sleep on the couch for the night, and we can figure something better out for you tomorrow." Uncle Jason said. I had spent the night at my uncle's before. It wasn't really something I did very often, but he had a comfortable plush couch that was just about perfect for napping. Of course, it was still a couch, and so getting a full night of restful sleep was sometimes a chore.

Instead of answering him, I trudged to the living room. "I got my bed." I said, managing a small smile. Within a small flourish of my right hand I had my bed-frame appear, then my box springs and finally my mattress, all within the span of a second. Uncle Jason actually took a step back. Apparently the sudden appearance of a full bed between his couch and his small TV was enough to get a surprise response from him.

"Well. 'guess that solves that, then." He said with the glimmer of a smile of his own. He paused, apparently taking stock of the situation. "Need some blankets, then?" He finally asked.

In response, I lazily reached down and unbagged a set of sheets, a pillow (and case), and a blanket. I think my powers did a better job of making my bed than I had ever managed; it looked pristine. After admiring my handiwork, I turned back around to him without really trying to suppress the smirk making its way to my face.

He rolled his eyes, and then started to head back toward his bedroom. "I'm going to get ready for bed, Guera. Don't forget to brush your teeth."

I wasn't sure why he had always focused on tooth-brushing as his hygienic activity of choice, but for some reason he would say it to me most times we would part company for an evening. Strangely, this time, it actually applied directly. His familiar expression did a lot to ease some of the awkwardness that had developed between us. But then I began to wonder: what if that was his intention? As the head of the Protectorate North he would probably have a lot of practice easing tension. Who's to say this wasn't calculated to do just that?

I had begun to relax slightly, seeing that uncle Jason and I could interact like we had before again and being in a familiar place. With the thought that uncle Jason may be just trying to play me like he probably did villains or politicians, all the anxiety and tension came back. I knew it was ridiculous. I had to be able to trust somebody sometime. If I couldn't trust anybody, then I wouldn't get anywhere, and uncle Jason had earned my trust over the course of my entire lifetime. He had earned it right up until he had become complacent in locking away my father and throwing away the key.

I heard his bedroom door close behind him, so I bagged all my clothes then unbagged my PJs, then made my way to his bathroom. At least what he had reminded me to do hadn't been up for questioning. My toothbrush appeared in one hand, my toothpaste in the other, and I began brushing my teeth. The same thought that always goes through my mind when brushing my teeth didn't fail this time. People brushing their teeth make absolutely ridiculous faces.

After cleaning my teeth, brushing my hair, and washing my face, I made my way back to his living room where my bed was. Uncle Jason didn't take much longer to finish his own evening ritual before he came back out. He went into the kitchen and got a glass of water, then made his way to his kitchen table where he would have a view of me sitting on my bed, pulled the chair from under the table to face the living-room instead, and sat.

The layout of the one-bedroom apartments was a bit different than the two-bedrooms, but the kitchen, dining room, and living room was nearly the same. The chair that uncle Jason had chosen corresponded pretty directly to the place my father had occupied the last time I had seen him. When he had told me I was Simurgh-tainted. When I had walked out on his desperate pleas.

I pushed the association from my mind, trying to pay attention as uncle Jason began to speak.

"So, um. Don't go trying to run off again, okay Lily? I don't want to have to chase you down again. Alright?" He said, scratching his bearded neck as he broached the subject that he obviously would have preferred not to talk about.

I stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded. "I won't," I said.

"Okay." He said, obviously a bit relieved and just as obviously not sure that he believed me. "Anything else you need?"

"No, I'm good." I said, grabbing the covers to my bed and sliding myself in. "Night uncle Jason."

"Night Guera. Wake me up if there's anything you need." He said, getting up and putting his glass in the sink. He turned off the light, then walked over and briefly placed a hand on my head. I could just make his form out as it disappeared into the hallway. I heard the shuffling of his feet as he made his way to his bedroom, then the creaking of his bed as he got into it, and then the only sound I could hear came from the city far below.