A/N: Is it just me or is there some truly weird stuff coming out on TV recently?

Aubrey: Yes, it's coming to an end. I may do a few oneshots between this and the 4th, but I won't be introducing the 4th until I've moved house.

Saberin: LOVE THOSE!

Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan. And still not Australian.

"I need to get back to Redmont soon," Liam said as his girls assembled at the table for a meal. All three of them. It'd been too long since their last family meal. He didn't realize how much he missed it. "Knowing Halt, Will and I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on and the tour of the fief is coming up. And Mason's been under Halt since we left."

All eyes fell on Scout. She took a slow bite. It wasn't unusual for her parents to pick back up on work the moment they were back from a mission abroad, but she wouldn't be going to Redmont from Castle Araluen. She and Sean would be heading for Hibernia directly, leaving little time for her to spend with her Araluen family.

"I'll talk to Sean about when we're going back," she said. She wondered if this was how it felt for Kane, Daniel, and Carissa when they all left their homes. William's wedding was in four days. It wouldn't be the mass ceremony originally planned but official nonetheless. Anamaria's family were now all either imprisoned or back in Iberion. She'd been disinherited but threats from Horace and Cassandra ensured she was cut off quietly rather than publically.

"Let's just get through the wedding first," Lina said. Scout sighed with relief. After being whisked away the last thing she wanted to think about leaving her family again.

Daniel walked with Gilan through the woods. He'd already been granted permission to stay until after William's wedding but his commandant had requested a private meeting. It took some work to get away from his parents, particularly his father. Gilan had instructed him to keep the meeting a secret. Both had to dance around Will to actually make it without being followed.

"You missed this year's Gathering. The Ranger watching over your fief right now is one of the graduates. He's been doing well. He has one of the Battalion ladies helping him."

Daniel nodded. "That's a good thing, right?"

"It is." Gilan faced him directly. Daniel wondered how often his family had been to the very spot. It was among the Rangers' best kept secrets. If Gilan brought a man to the clearing, either incredibly good or incredibly bad news was about to be dealt. Daniel felt uneasy being there. It was his first time to be called away to a secret meeting in the special clearing. "Daniel, I moved Lowry to your fief permanently. He was there a month on probation and did impressive work. I took your belongings to one of the dorm rooms in the Ranger's wing here. You can collect them whenever you like."

Daniel blinked several times. He'd worked hard at Hogarth fief. It'd become like home to him and he hadn't been away that long. He thought he'd been doing a good job. What crucial task had he missed that got him kicked off? "I don't understand."

"I want you to be on the Special Task Force."

Daniel took a deep breath. The Special Task Force, made up of elite members from all branches of service, was sacred. Both his parents were on it as were his aunt and uncle. He wondered if Kane had made it yet. A placement like that wasn't one someone flaunted even to family. "Really?"

Gilan laughed.

"Yes, really. Do you accept or not? I recommend you do because you no longer have a fief and the other option is helping me with paperwork."

"Accepted," Daniel said quickly before Gilan could change his mind.

"Good because I have your first assignment. I need you to go to Iberion and make sure they aren't planning to retaliate against Araluen in any way. Princess Adrian was supposed to take over so if anyone but her is wearing a crown we need to raise alarm. Once you finish there I need you to make a stop in Hibernia. Sean's going to send his men to scope out the old Academy and make sure nothing's amiss. He promised me a report so that we can go on watch if need be. I'd feel a lot better if a Ranger ferried that particular report back."

Gabby held Pauline's arm as they walked down to Jenny's restaurant. Liam had plans to return to Redmont soon but for now they still stayed together. They were meeting with Crowley for dinner. Gabby didn't know Crowley well but always recognized his voice. The few times they'd met he'd been kind to her.

"Ouch!" Gabby hissed as her shoulder hit something made of stone. She felt Pauline stop and turn.

"I'm so sorry, Gabby," the older woman said quickly. "Are you alright? There's such a crowd I thought it'd be better if we kept to the side. I suppose that was wrong."

Gabby and Pauline had been adjusting to each other for a while now. Mistakes happened. Sometimes, especially in crowds, even Kane couldn't help leading her into something unpleasant. It was something that even happened to sighted people. Still, Gabby felt only a few brushes against strangers and this incident could have been prevented. Gabby took a deep breath. She wasn't angry, really. Pauline was still learning. Gabby knew better than to fault someone who tried their best over something so trivial. "It's fine," she assured her. "Just an accident, right?"

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Just a bruise. I've had worse."

Soon they were walking again but this time at a slower pace. Gabby silently wished Kane would come back soon. She needed him.

Kane walked with Elizabet towards the room the child shared with her mother. Kineta had been fighting to regain a decent appetite since her captivity. She'd eaten less than the others and practically starved herself over the weeks they'd been captive. It was enough time to do serious damage and while the others improved she seemed to only get worse. She'd become dizzy that morning when they ate breakfast. It took Talia and Kane a full hour of coaxing before she'd drink a decent amount of broth and then Talia made her go to bed. It was noon now and Elizabet refused to be separated any longer. Elizabet slid open the door and ran to the mat Kineta lay on. The queen hugged her daughter tightly before looking up at Kane. "I haven't been allowed to get up," she told him.

"Starvation causes weakness," he shrugged as he sat on the ground. He poked Elizabet's arm playfully. She grinned and retreated to the other side of her mother. It'd taken a lot of work (and bribes) to get her to like him. He was glad she finally felt comfortable with him. He could take her out to play while her mother and Talia rested. "Why did you take so little while you were captive?"

"I'm trained to go without. The only other one with that kind of training carries someone who isn't." Kineta kissed Elizabet's forehead. "Thanks for watching over her."

Kane nodded. He hesitated in the room. He sensed there was more he wasn't being told. Kineta stroked Elizabet's hair several times as though she were struggling inwardly with something. "Is there something I can do for you?" he asked. It seemed like the logical thing to ask.

Kineta kissed Elizabet's cheek. "What's Talia doing now?"

"She's in her room talking to the midwife. They think she'll have it in the next few days."

Kineta nodded. She kissed Elizabet again. The little girl just wrapped her arms around her mother tight. "When she's finished would you mind asking her to come here? And then take Elizabet for another hour or so?"

Elizabet jerked back and stared at her. Kane just nodded. He didn't want to ask too many questions about the private conversations of women…especially when those women were his birthmother and the queen of Hibernia. He simply went and tapped lightly on the thin sliding door of his mother's room. "Come in," her voice said on the other side. He entered slowly, not wanting to walk in on an examination of any kind. Talia was resting on the bed alone.

"I thought you had an appointment?" he said as he went inside.

"It didn't last long," Talia shrugged. "Are you alright?"

"I just came from taking Elizabet back to her mother."

"How's Kineta?"

Kane shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure but she wants to see you. She was ordered to stay lying down."

Talia struggled to push herself into a sitting position. Kane had trouble believing someone so fit could get so big in such a short amount of time. "I really hope her starving didn't cause a lasting problem."

Kane let her use his arm to pull herself to her feet. "I don't know."

"I assume you're taking the girl?"

"Of course."

It wasn't the first time Talia and Kineta needed a moment alone…though this time would be for Kineta's sake and that was new. Now that Elizabet no longer panicked when left alone with Kane they were taking full advantage of his services as a babysitter.

Kineta seemed to have successfully convinced Elizabet more time apart wasn't so bad. The little girl took Kane's hand with her journal and pencil secured under her arm and pulled him towards the hallway. Kane went along wondering exactly what she had planned.

Talia slowly lowered herself to sit next to Kineta's mat. She didn't know how women in Nihon-Ja could be so close to the ground all the time. Getting up from a normal bed was hard enough. Kineta rested against a pillow. The moment the door slid closed the queen's face etched with worry. Talia filled with concern. She'd grown to respect Kineta deeply during captivity. The others had been too focused on her and Elizabet to notice how little Kineta took for herself or how often she went with nothing. Sean and Scout just saw her chewing and assumed she had a fair share of their rations. But Talia knew all the tricks Kineta had used. She felt guilty as she watched the queen thin out dramatically.

"What's wrong?" Talia demanded. Tears threatened to spill out of Kineta's eyes.

"I'm pregnant."

Rather than being excited, Talia's heart fell. "You ate hardly anything all that time…it could have…"

"There's a reason we adopted Scout and Elizabet, Talia," Kineta whispered between sobs. Suddenly her face felt too hot and the room blurred. "We miscarried so many times times…I miscarried…"

With a great deal of strength Talia scooted closer to her. She rubbed Kineta's arm reassuringly. "How far are you?"

"About four and a half months, maybe five. She couldn't tell for sure."

"What's the farthest you've gotten before?"

The tears fell heavily as Kineta took a deep breath. "Four…all but one was lost in the fourth month."

Talia was usually able to keep her emotions in check but she'd begun crying to. "If you need anything…"

"Convince Elizabet to sleep with either you or Kane."

"What?"

"She doesn't need to be around when…that happens. Please? I'd rather her see you go into labor than me when I lose…"

Talia squeezed Kineta's hands so she wouldn't have to finish. "I'll do whatever you need me to."

Kineta pulled her hands away from Talia to run her hands through her hair. "We tried so hard to keep from conceiving another one."

Talia bit her lip wondering how to convince Elizabet, a child terrified of her own shadow, to spend even more time away from the one she loved most. "It's alright. I'll tell Kane so you don't have to say it again. And I'll convince Elizabet to sleep with me for now. If you ever need her to get away tell her to come check on me. If she comes I'll think of something to get her to stay until you send word you want her to go back."

She could tell Kineta was only half-listening. Talia rubbed her friend's shoulder wondering if she should leave. She'd known of Kineta's silent jealousy ever since they were in Araluen waiting for William to marry the Iberion princess. Talia understood the jealousy. Kineta deserved a child of her own but she never got one. Kineta was in the best of circumstances, a comfortable life with an attentive lover, to be a parent and nature mocked her for it. Now she'd starved herself over two months in those important early stages. For the first time since learning about her second child Talia considered giving it up for adoption and handing it over to Kineta. It was only a moment though. In the end Talia knew she couldn't lose another child. Looking at Kineta's eyes, though, she wondered if her friend could either.