Dale frowned and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel of the truck. He hated being outside of Fablehaven. As isolated as it felt from the rest of the world, they couldn't do everything on their own. Every two weeks they had to go into town and run some errands. Get some groceries, work materials that they were running low on or needed to replace, and pick up the mail.

Years ago Dale's mom had been more than happy to do the errands. She had married into this life, and was more than comfortable among other people. Dale hadn't taken after her in that sense. He hated leaving Fablehaven, even for something as simple as grocery shopping. Ever since his parents had accepted that stupid mission from the Knights of the Dawn and gone missing and/or died, they'd all had to take over those responsibilities.

Because Dale and Stan always had work to do around Fablehaven, and Lena liked to avoid leaving the preserve unless it was absolutely necessary, Ruth was usually the one to go. Sometimes though Lena insisted that Dale needed to get out of his comfort zone and encouraged him to go into town, even if just for a little bit. Dale hated it so much. It may not be nearly as hard as working in the yard, but in Dale's opinion it was a lot worse.

On the bright side, at least he was almost done. He just had to pick up some mail and he could go home. Dale sighed and parked the truck in front of the post office. He turned off the ignition more aggressively than he had to and stepped out of the truck. Dale clutched the keys to the truck and P.O. box and entered the building. He ignored everybody that he passed and just headed straight towards their P.O. box. Dale used his keys to open the box and grab the mail. There wasn't a lot in there, as very few people knew about Fablehaven at all, but that just meant that most everything that they received in the mail was pretty important.

Dale understood why they had their mail sent to a P.O. box, but he didn't know if it was the best plan. They couldn't reveal Fablehaven's location to many people, which meant that if they wanted to get mail, it was safest to give them a different address to send things to. The problem with this plan was that they might not receive important mail for up to two weeks later, because it just wasn't feasible for them to pick up the mail every single day. Even if what was sent wasn't time sensitive, they still left letters that talked about magic and creatures. Dale just didn't think it was very smart to keep these things in a public place.

Nothing had gone wrong yet, so maybe it was okay.

As important as these letters probably were, Dale's only interest in them was that they were the last thing that he had to pick up. Letters in hand, Dale closed the P.O. box and made his way back to the truck. Dale got into the truck and tossed the letters onto the passenger seat. Dale was just about to turn the truck on when he got a glimpse of one of the letters. It had an insignia on it that Dale was all too familiar with. It was a letter from the Knights of the Dawn.

Dale knew that they were the good guys, but he couldn't help but feel suspicion and slight anger when he saw that letter. What did they want this time? Were they trying to convince Stan to come out of his retirement? It wouldn't be the first time. Dale scowled and pushed aside all of the other letters so he could get a look at the letter from the Knights of the Dawn. He froze when he saw who the letter was addressed to.

Warren Patton Burgess.

What could the Knights of the Dawn possibly want with Warren? He was just a child, though Warren would likely kick his butt the next time they sparred if he knew that he still thought of him as a kid. Warren was fifteen now. Dale still saw Warren as his baby brother, and he always would, but he was learning to recognize that Warren wasn't a little kid anymore.

However, that didn't mean that he was an adult either. He certainly wasn't nearly old enough for Dale to feel comfortable with the fact that the Knights of the Dawn knew who Warren was, let alone that they were contacting him.

Without hesitating for a moment Dale picked up the letter and opened it. He knew that this was technically illegal, and he was sure that Warren would be more than happy to tell him about the contents in the letter. But Dale wasn't just about to hand this letter to Warren, not unless he knew just what the Knights of the Dawn wanted with his little brother.

Dale opened the letter with shaky hands and quickly read it over. He tightened his grip on the paper when he read, and then reread what was inside. He didn't want to believe the words, but he wasn't foolish enough to think that he was misunderstanding them. The letter made it perfectly clear that the Knights of the Dawn wanted to recruit Warren.

An 'internship' they called it. The opportunity to train under master fighters, and professional treasure hunters. The very people that Warren looked up to and wanted to be like. Warren hadn't actually said anything about his future goals as an adventurer for nearly ten years, and he certainly hadn't said anything about joining the Knights of the Dawn. Warren pretended to be content to just stay in Fablehaven and dream, but Dale could see how anxious he was getting for something more. Dale understood that, and he had been trying really hard to be okay with it, to trust his brother to keep himself safe out there, but this...this was not okay.

Dale crumpled up the note in his hands and stuffed it in his pockets, fuming. Who did the Knights of the Dawn think they were? Offering to train a boy who just so happened to be the great nephew of the legendary Patton Burgess. They weren't interested in Warren, they were interested in a young Burgess that they could mold into being an ideal little Knight, and Dale wasn't going to stand for it. This was not okay.

Dale was so furious and worried about what could happen to his brother that he only half paid attention to what he was doing as he drove home, which probably wasn't safe, but he couldn't help it. He was desperate to get home. Desperate to see his brother. Desperate to figure out just how the Knights of the Dawn knew that Warren would be interested in what they had to offer.

All too soon Dale was pulling up the driveway and parking the truck near the house. Dale sighed and turned off the ignition. He sat silently for a moment, glaring at the steering wheel. Dale was still for a moment before letting out a shout of fury and slamming his hands on the wheel, causing the horn to blare loudly. Despite the noise, Dale didn't take his hands away, he just left the horn going for nearly thirty seconds.

Dale pushed down at the wheel with all his might before he finally pulled away, only to bring his hands to his hair and pull at it. He curled slightly in on himself and closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't do this. His brother...his brother…

"Dale," He tensed but otherwise didn't move when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Lena. "Did something happen?"

"They can't have him," Dale shuddered and tightened his grip at his hair. "They took away your parents, and now they want to...they want…" Dale whimpered and tried to curl even more on himself. Lena gently took Dale's hands and brought them away from his face. She pulled Dale's hands and guided him to turn his legs so he was sitting sideways in his seat, facing out the door of the truck, which Lena had opened.

"Who wants Warren?" Lena asked quietly. She sounded concerned, but Dale didn't know if she was worried about him, or about Warren.

Dale grimaced and reached into his pocket again, pulling out the letter, which he handed to Lena. She uncrumpled it and began to read it. She didn't read the whole thing, she didn't have to. It was very clear what was being said in the first couple of paragraphs.

"The Knights of the Dawn are offering to train your brother," Lena commented. She lowered the note and looked at Dale. "You know they're not bad people. They really are trying to do good in the world."

"I know," Dale groaned in frustration. He hated the Knights of the Dawn, but it would be petty and stupid of him to let his own personal feelings influence his judgement. The Knights were trying to keep the world, and the magical preserves, safe, nothing else. "But they shouldn't need Warren."

Lena smiled and rubbed her thumbs over Dale's hands. "They're not out to hurt you, Dale, or Warren. They just want to help him get stronger and become all he was meant to be."

"How are they supposed to help him when they don't know him at all?" Dale growled. "They just want to use him,"

"Yes, in a few years they'll probably try to convince him to join the Knights," Lena admitted. She ran a gentle hand through his hair. Dale sighed and leaned into her touch. His mother used to stroke his hair when he was sick or particularly distressed. Lena had done it occasionally too, but it had been a few years. It made him feel like a little kid again, but in the good kind of way. The way that made him feel like he was being taken care of.

"They wouldn't force anybody to join them though," Lena said. She pulled Dale close and held him tightly. "But Dale, you can't force him to not join them either. Ultimately, it's going to be Warren's decision."

"And he's going to choose them," Dale's shoulder's fell. He knew his brother. Warren may not have shown any interest in joining the Knights of the Dawn, but he was eager to follow in their great-uncle's footsteps and be an adventurer. Warren was so persistent in practicing his weapon use, because he was trying to prepare himself for future circumstances that he just might stumble upon.

There were so many reasons why Warren would probably accept the Knights of the Dawn's offer. They said they would train him, and Warren was always looking for a way to learn a new skill. He would get to be around people who had seen many preserves and creatures that they'd never even heard of before, and Warren loved to hear about other places.

And, worst of all, in a few years they would give him the chance to do some good in the world and experience new things for himself. There was no way that Warren was going to let an opportunity like this pass him by.

"I'm not ready for this," Dale muttered and shook his head. He felt his eyes grow wet with tears, and he couldn't bring himself to care. "I'm not ready to let him go." Just thinking about his brother taking the Knights of the Dawn up on their offer made him sick to his stomach, and he felt like he was going to be sick when he thought about Warren actually joining them in just a few short years.

"Letting him go?" Lena pulled back and looked at Dale in confusion. "It's not as though he would be leaving forever. His training would just be for a few weeks at a time, and then he'll be back. The same would be true if he was a true Knight." Dale knew this, but it still felt like if he let Warren leave then would have to say goodbye to him forever.

And if he didn't say goodbye to Warren, then at the very least he would have to say goodbye to the part of himself that still hoped that Warren would stay at Fablehaven forever and be happy here. If Warren left, Dale knew that he would quickly see just how much he was missing, and he wouldn't want to let any of it go. Warren would come back to Fablehaven to visit, of course. He wouldn't just forget about them. But Dale could tell even know that Fablehaven just wouldn't be his home anymore, it would become just another place.

Dale didn't want his home to just be a place where Warren chose to squat while he eagerly looked for a new adventure.

Dale stared numbly at the ground, looking for reassurance that he knew weren't there. "...Were you ever afraid that Patton would want to go on more adventures and just leave you?"

Lena hummed quietly. "Sometimes," She admitted. "He accomplished so much before we'd even met. He loved to talk about his adventures, and I loved to listen to him. He always had a spark of light in his eyes when he talked about all he'd seen." Lena laughed slightly. "I've been seeing that same spark reflected in Warren's eyes more and more lately."

Dale shifted uncomfortably. He knew that Lena saw a lot of similarities between her deceased husband and Warren, he just didn't like it when she brought it up. Dale didn't have anything against Patton, he actually admired the man who had done so much for their world, but he didn't want Warren to be given any ideas. Patton may have lived a long and happy life, but that didn't mean that the same would be true for Warren if he chose to follow in his footsteps.

"What did you do about it?" Dale asked. He wanted to know how he could make these paranoid feelings go away. "How do I stop holding him back?"

"Now, you stop it right there, Dale Burgess," Lena said sharply. Dale lifted his head and was shocked at how stern her gaze was. "You are not holding your brother back, do you understand me?" Dale nodded quickly and Lena's gaze softened. "Caring about someone doesn't make you a burden."

"But I don't want him to leave," Dale said. "I know this is a great opportunity for him, and I still don't want him to go. How is that not me holding him back?"

"It just makes you human and a little selfish," Lena said, as though it was a good thing to be selfish. "There's nothing wrong with wanting something. The important thing, and the hardest thing, is that you let Warren make this decision on his own. If he chooses to leave, it's not because you chased him away, and if he stays it's not because you're forcing him too. He'll choose what he wants the most." Lena's tone implied that she was speaking from existence. Dale thought that she probably worried about Patton leaving a little more often than just 'sometimes'.

"But you have a choice to make too, Dale," Lena said, looking Dale straight in the eyes. She returned Warren's letter back to him. Dale frowned and looked at the letter. He still hated it, and he still didn't want his little brother to leave, but Lena was right, he did have a choice to make.

The choice to keep things the way they were, or to back off and let Warren make his own decisions,.

It really was a hard choice to make, even when he knew which option would be best..

Dale sighed and carefully folded the letter. He got to his feet and looked towards the barn. It wasn't too late in the afternoon, but by this time of day Warren was usually done with his work and was training.

"I'll go take this to Warren," Dale said. Lena smiled and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"You're doing a good thing," Lena said, sounding proud.

"I still feel lousy about it," Dale said, but he knew he would feel lousy if he just kept this whole thing a secret from Warren and pretended that he had never gotten a letter from the Knights of the Dawn.

Lena was right, this was Warren's life, and he had a right to have a say in where it went from here. Dale would still prefer for his brother to stay home, but if Warren was going to leave, he just hoped that no harm came to him, because if it did he didn't know if he would be able to make this same decision to let Warren make these choices for himself.

Dale just wanted Warren to be safe, but he wanted him to be happy too. Sometimes people couldn't be both safe and happy with their lives. Dale hoped that Warren was someone that could, because he deserved both, and Dale was going to do everything that he could to make sure that Warren got everything that he deserved, and more.

It was what big brothers were for.


A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't repetitive or had too many mistakes towards the end. I'm really tired and practically falling asleep right now, but I really wanted to finish this chapter, since I was almost done with it.

As a side note, I don't actually know if Patton continued going on adventures after he married Lena, or if she went on any adventures with him. Patton is kinda talked about all over the place in the books, and while it says he did a lot, I can't remember whether Lena was ever with him during these adventures, or if he did them all before he met her, or if he just left her at the preserve as he went on adventures. I just don't know. I could believe any of them to be the case.