AN: This chapter was originally longer, much longer. It was close to 4000 words and still not finished yet. So, rather than make everyone wait, I decided to chop it in half and share the first part with you!

~AS

The afternoon passed without any other surprises; Harris avoided the Wharf, Marcus stayed in his room as Norah had requested, no drunken guests hit on her, and no one else appeared out of nowhere claiming they were from another planet.

They counted the money - which was even down to the last penny - put it away in the safe hidden underneath the floorboards, locked the stand up, and then made their way back to the Stewes. Norah unlaced her bodice as she walked, taking a deep breath as soon as it was loose enough and relishing the ability to breathe without fabric and steel boning restricting her. Next to taking a nice hot shower, undressing and freeing herself from the layers of clothing was one of her favorite things to do after a long day of Faire.

She caught Domick watching her with a strange expression as she stepped out of her skirts and picked them up. "What?"

He quickly looked away. "Is it... acceptable for women here to walk around half dressed?"

"Most do." She glanced down at her body; she was still wearing her chemise, which came down to her knees, her bloomers, socks and shoes. Funny how he found this scandalous compared to when she wore jeans and a t-shirt. The material was a little bit thinner though, and if the sun caught it just right... She clutched her bodice and skirts against her chest. "If you think this is bad, I can't wait to see your expression when you see what some of the girls wear during summer."

His eyebrows rose slightly as he considered that.

"Hello dears." Bliss greeted them as they walked inside the Stewes. She sat in the living room, a game of checkers spread out between her and Marcus on the coffee table. "I found this poor boy locked up all alone in here, playing one of those bloody video games."

"He was not locked up, and I was checking on him every hour so he wasn't really alone."

"Still those video games can rot your brain."

Norah dropped her garb on the back of the couch and walked to where her son was sitting. She put a hand on the boy's head and squeezed it gently. "I don't know. Feels pretty solid to me." She tilted his head back and peered into his eyes, then surprised him by tickling his armpits. He giggled and swatted her hands away. "Yup, still good."

"What is a video game?" Domick asked.

"How do you not know what a video game is?" Marcus gaped at him.

"Because..." Norah drawled out the word as she struggled to think of an explanation for her son. She knew Domick hated to be reminded of his amnesia, but she couldn't just say he was from a different world. Her mother would really have a fit if she heard that! "He doesn't remember them."

"How can he not remember..."

"Not everyone is lucky enough as you to have a PSP, okay?"

Thankfully Bliss chose that moment to pluck one of Marcus's red checkers off the board. It distracted him for the moment, but Norah knew he would have questions later.

"Hey!" The boy complained.

Bliss just chuckled. "So what are you going to do with him tomorrow? You can't keep him locked up in here all the time."

"I was considering it." Norah sighed. "Do you happen to have any suggestions?"

"Well, Scabson's Finery arrived an hour or so ago. Fancy has a son about Marcus's age - maybe she would be willing to watch him." Bliss looked up at Domick, "You could take him with you and get him a doublet that fits properly."

"This is quite fine, thank you." Domick spoke up from where he leaned against the wall.

"Yes, but wouldn't you like to have something of your own?" Bliss suggested. "And Scabson's will give you a good price - and they'll tailor it to fit you if they need to. Maybe they'll have something in blue."

Norah did not understand what the importance of having something in blue was, however she noticed Domick wince at Bliss's words. "Perhaps."

"Hey, you know how I said a few days ago that Bliss was our boss and we had to do what she said, but not all the time?" Norah said and he nodded. "Well this is one of those times."

He smiled, but his expression was still pained.

"Scabson's is only out for a month and then they go to Colorado though." Norah sighed as she remembered Pembrokes schedule of vendors. "What would with him then?"

"Then you could put him with Court."

Norah said, "Oh, God, no," at the same time Marcus said, "I don't want to wear tights!"

"Tinker then? He needs an apprentice. Or the ploughboys..."

"No, ploughboys." They were even bawdier than the wharf at times. "Tinker might work though."

"He'll make me carry all of his stuff." Marcus whined.

"Maybe, but you know there's nothing in that pack of his. Just food and a couple of pots that he uses for his gigs." Norah reassured him.

"Besides, think of how funny it'll look. Especially if you whine loudly - like you're about to do right now." Bliss claimed another one of his checkers and the boy groaned. She smiled. "So what would you all like for dinner?"

"Something with strong alcohol."

Bliss glanced up at her niece in surprise. "Tough day?"

"It had it's moments."

"Marcus dear, why don't you go show Domick what a video game is?"

Norah shot a quick glance at Domick. "He doesn't..."

"Oh, nonsense. Go on now."

Marcus sighed and stood up, motioning for Domick to follow him. "C'mon, I got this new one where you're an assassin..."

Domick followed the boy down the hallway.

Bliss waited until they were out of earshot before she began speaking. "I couldn't help but notice this morning that Harris is back in town."

"Yes, he's made his presence known." Norah picked at the hem of her chemise absently. "He wants to be involved in Marcus's life now."

"Took him long enough." The old woman snorted. "Well, you know my lawyers are good people if you'd like to..."

"I can't afford to fight him!"

"Who says you'd be the one paying them?"

"Thank you," She sighed. The idea was tempting, but... "I want to try to keep this as peaceful as possible. He does have a point;. Marcus should know who his dad is."

"Hmph. I wonder what happened to make him suddenly remember he has a son."

Norah shrugged in reply.

"Will he be helping you out in other ways?"

"What do you mean?"

"Child support, of course."

"Oh, right." She had been so desperate to get away from him that hadn't thought to ask about that. Maybe she would need Bliss's lawyers after all...

The old woman patted her hand. "We'll get it figured out. We always do."

"One foot in front of the other." Norah murmured the familiar words again for the second time that day.

"Right."

"So what did my Mother have to say when she stopped by to visit?"

"Oh, the usual; I should sell this land and move to a nice retirement community. That I shouldn't take in so many homeless and crazy folks. That one of them will murder me in my bed one of these days." Bliss glanced at her niece with a raised eyebrow. The younger woman flushed and looked away. "She wanted to know how you were doing..."

"Funny. Marcus said she didn't want to talk to me until I got my act together - and I spoke to her last week, so she knows I'm alive." Norah did not mention that the phone call had been short and consisting of mainly one word answers.

"I tried to get him out of the house before he could hear that part." She sighed. "And she's your mother; she may be mad at you, Heaven's knows why, but she still cares about you." Now it was Norah's turn to raise her eyebrows. "Well, she does. How did Domick do today?" She asked, changing the subject.

"He did okay - The register balanced."

"What? Were you expecting him to steal from us?"

She snorted. "No, but I just taught him about money how many days ago? Two? Three? I was expecting to be over or short at least a couple of dollars."

Bliss just smiled.

"Speaking of him..." Norah turned her head towards the hallway. "It's awfully silent." She had learned with Marcus (though other parents had told her that it was the same with any child) that silence usually meant that he was up to something. "I should go check on them."

"Oh, for the love of... have a little faith in the man, Norah!"

"I promised to try to trust him and I am." She said as she started towards her son's room. "My son, however..." Once, when Marcus had been seven,, she had gone on a date and left him in Mud's care - only to come home and find Mud asleep and tied up in the living room while Marcus sat in the kitchen eating all the candy and sweets he could get his grubby little hands on.

She paused and shook her head; no, it was foolish of her to think that Marcus could trick Domick like he could with Mud. He was younger and faster, and he did not seem like the type to put up with any shenanigans.

Still she peered around the doorjamb into her son's room slowly, expecting to find the worst.

Instead she found that both Domick and Marcus were sitting on the bed. The boy had scooted as close to the man as he could and was explaining how the PSP and game worked to him patiently. "See, you do this and you can jump up here." Domick did not seem interested in what the characters on the screen were doing at all. However, he did not say so quickly enough, and Marcus took that as encouragement to continue. "If you do this, you can kill someone. Here, why don't you try?"

"Ah..." The man stared at the PSP the boy was handing to him as if it was a dangerous object.

"C'mon, you don't really kill anyone. It's just a game."

"Marcus," Norah spoke up from the doorway. "Why don't you put that away and let Domick go? I'm sure he probably wants to take a shower."

Domick did not seem pleased at her suggestion. In fact, he seemed a little offended, as if she might be questioning his hygiene. "I assure you, I am quite clean..."

"With all that dust that gets everywhere? Trust me, you need to take a shower." She raised her eyebrows, willing him to understand that she was giving him a way to escape her son and his games.

He stared at her, frowning. He stood and pushed past her through the hallway. "Fine."

Norah turned to follow him, wanting to explain, but Marcus had started to whine. "Mom, I don't have to put it away do I? You said that I can play with the PSP until 730!"

"On weeknights."

"So? It's the weekend - I can stay up later, so why I can't I play the PSP later?"

"Because you've been playing it all day." She stepped into the room. "And if you keep it up, you won't be able to play it at all for a month. Got it?"

He clutched it to his chest. "Yes."

She turned to leave, longing to take her own shower and change into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, but Marcus stopped her. "Mom?"

Norah sighed, "Yes?"

"Twenty more minutes, please? I'm almost to the end of this level..."

She sighed again. "Alright. But just this once..."

AN part two: Chemise are shirts or shifts that are worn under the clothing. The basic modern version resembles a peasant shirt without any embroidery, but they can be quite elaborate. Also, bodices are quite comfortable to wear if they are built properly - however, it is a pretty orgasmic feeling to be able to take it off at the end of the day!