Since joining the journey to reach Gohtza, and eventually confront Gongora, Sarah had not a moment to sit down with the strange mortal magician in the group. Even though everyone was a stranger to her, she managed to get acquainted quickly and easily with the other immortals and her grandchildren, though Jansen seemed to give her a wide berth. He hardly looked at her on their way through the Black Cave and the cursed Saman. In all this time he had probably said only five sentences to her.

Curiosity got the better of her. As the group was getting settled onto the Samanese ship they had boarded, she turned to her husband—still a bit shy and foreign to think of the man beside her that way—and asked, "just who is this Jansen fellow?"

Kaim pinched the bridge of his nose, "a headache," he replied. A beat, and then, "but a decent spellcaster."

"I did notice that," she said, eyes turning to the mortal in discussion. He was talking to the Immortal Queen, and Sarah noticed a small smile on his face. "He's been avoiding me."

"No doubt because of Seth."

"Seth?"

Kaim turned to their pirate companion, and Sarah's body followed. Said pirate was leaning down whispering to their grandchildren, plotting by the looks of it. "Jansen's got…quite the mouth on him. He can come off kind of…" He paused. Sarah wondered if he was going to leave it at that, but then he sighed. "He can come off coy."

"Ah."

"Seth has taken it upon herself to make sure he doesn't go too far with Ming. And you, also."

"You're not worried?" she asked, not quite meeting his eye.

"Not at all." Kaim glanced over to her, a little embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head. "I know I can trust you."

Even though I can't trust my own memory, and you've barely got a control on your own, Sarah thought to herself. She knew, though. She knew that she wouldn't ever stray from Kaim even if she couldn't remember it. It was etched deep down somewhere in herself. Sarah was devoted, even if Kaim and their relationship was all new to her in memory.

"Besides, he knows I'd kill him if he tried anything stupid," Kaim added with a straight face. Sarah laughed.

They watched as Mack and Cooke left Seth's side and interrupted Ming and Jansen's conversation, eventually pulling the former away and showing her something they found. Sarah took that as her cue and got up from her seat. She turned to Kaim, who looked at her inquisitively, saying, "I'm going to ask some questions."

Kaim snorted. Sarah furrowed her brow. "From what I can remember, you always have questions."

"Well." Sarah blushed, and stumbled on what to say. She knew she was curious, but he didn't have to tease her that way. Ah, but Kaim is a teaser. You wrote about that remember? It's something you've known for centuries now, she thought to herself. Instead, she turned away and tried to fight the blush worsening on her cheeks as she heard Kaim chuckle behind her.

"Jansen…?" she said probably a little too loudly and sat where the queen had just left.

"I, uh. Friedh." Jansen's eyes darted towards the mercenary she just left. They both turned their head towards Kaim. Jansen seemed to visibly gulp when Kaim glared at him.

"Ignore him." Sarah watched as Jansen flinched at Kaim's more intense expression before finally turning back towards her. "I have some questions if you have a moment."

"Ma'am, I'll answer anything as long as your husband doesn't come over."

"He won't." Jansen seemed to relax. "I need to know some personal information." Jansen tensed right back up. "Where were you born? Why are you a magician? How did you get entangled with Gongora?" Each question had his shoulders rising higher and higher, as if he was trying to become a turtle in his tall collar.

"You-you see, I um. I…well…what?" They heard Kaim bark out a laugh from across the ship, and Jansen squinted at Sarah then. "Why?"

"If you hadn't noticed, I have forgotten everything. My past, some if not most of this world, and I only had a few journals that made a lot of sense." Sarah leaned in. Jansen leaned back. "You worked for Gongora, and I need to know you can be trusted."

"Woah, lady!" Jansen held up his hands. "I think the man's a bastard as much as you do!

"Oh, well, that still proves nothing. First question." Sarah watched as Jansen looked around in a panic, possibly searching for another way out of this to no avail. "Where were you born?"

"There's no way out of this is there?" Jansen asked. Sarah just stared. He sighed. "I was born in Uhra."

Sarah pulled out a notebook from her satchel along with a lead pencil. She wrote a J, asked him how to spell Friedh, and then added that next to his initial and underlined it. "Uhra," she parroted back to him.

"What are you doing?"

"In case I forget."

"Are you going to write everything down?"

Sarah frowned and looked over her glasses. "Is that a problem?"

"No, ma'am." Jansen's lips shut into a thin line. Sarah continued.

"Why are you a magician? Where did you receive your training?"

"I uh, didn't." Jansen began to tap his fingers on the bottom of the wooden chair he sat on. Sarah looked up again, hoping her expression would keep him going. He swallowed again. "Why all this interrogation nonsense," he muttered under his breath.

"I need to know if I can trust you."

Jansen dramatically threw his head backwards with an audible groan. "I didn't learn from anyone, okay?" He lowered himself further into his seat, crossed his arms and tapped his toes. "I grew up in this Magic Industrial Revolution thing and kinda just picked it up."

"Magic Industrial Revolution. So, you're saying you just could do it?"

"Not really initially," Jansen answered, shrugging his shoulders. He looked like a sulking child. "But when I was young and it was just me and my ma and grandpa, I needed to pull my own weight."

"You worked?"

"Look. I've been on the streets since I was like ten."

Sarah paused, face melting into pity. Jansen rolled his eyes. "No don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Better if you just glare at me again."

"I can't. You were young."

"Well, when you're poor growin' up, not much else to do." Jansen sighed and sat up a little straighter. "I was able to bring something to the table doing odds and ends and tricks with my magic."

"Did you ever lose control?"

"No. Not once." Jansen seemed a little proud of that. He leaned in, one brow up, lowering his voice to a stage whisper. "Helped me out a lot in my teenage years."

There was a loud ahem, and Jansen paled when he noticed it coming from the other side of the boat. He sat up straight in his chair. Sarah bit her lip to keep herself from laughing and jotted down a few things. "Well, from what I saw you're very talented."

"You don't say?" Jansen was easy to fluster, she noticed. Noting that in her head. "I'm no mage like you, or Ming." He said Ming's name with such endearment that she knew instantly he had fallen for her.

"The queen, huh?"

"What—what about her?" Jansen tried his hardest not to look over at Ming or the children talking excitedly in the corner. "I don't know what…what you're getting at!"

"It's written on your face." Sarah held her notebook close and pretended to write something down. It did exactly what she predicted it would, and Jansen leaned forward in his chair. Sarah leaned back, snapping the book closed with a thump.

"Hey. Hey! Just because it's written on my face doesn't mean I want it written in your diary!"

"It's a journal and I can write what I want." Jansen opened his mouth like a fish out of water trying to get something out past his lips, and Sarah leaned in. She met held up her hand with the book in it to block Kaim's view and whispered, "it's safe with me."

"What!" Jansen screeched. He then lowered his voice. "What is safe?"

"Your secret," she said with a wink. She laughed at the way Jansen's face bloomed crimson and stood up from the small area. She made her way back to Kaim, who was smiling just so slightly as he watched her saunter over.

"I think that's the first time I've seen him completely speechless."

"Ah, well. He thinks no one has noticed." She motioned towards Ming.

Kaim rolled his eyes. "I'm sure the whole group knows." He looked down at her. He nodded over to where the captain was outside on the deck of the ship. "Let's go check on our destination." Sarah tilted her head, and walked towards the steps with Kaim.

. . .

The next time Sarah found herself talking to Jansen was just on the outskirts of the Ice Canyon. The group was taking a short break to make sure everyone was warm in their heavy jackets and cloaks. Kaim busied himself making sure Cooke and Mack were bundled up when Jansen tapped Sarah on the shoulder. "Hey, uh."

"You can just call me Sarah. I don't believe you have said it yet."

"Well, yeah, okay, Sarah." Jansen looked over at Kaim. "I just don't want your husband to wring my neck."

"He won't. Unless you give him reason to." Sarah smiled at the mortal and he grimaced. "Besides. You should be more worried about me."

Jansen took a small step backwards and Sarah laughed. He frowned. "Ha ha."

"What do you need, Jansen?"

"You never asked me about Gongora." He looked away momentarily, adjusting his collar against the scarf he threw around himself. His cheeks stung red, but Sarah could tell it was from the biting wind coming from the canyon. "You asked me three questions."

"I asked those questions two weeks ago, but I did, didn't I?" Sarah noticed the group was getting ready to move forward. She made sure her staff was secured to her pack and motioned for Jansen to keep up. "I think I can trust you after everything that happened at the Experimental Staff."

"Ah, Gongora actually showed his true colors there." Jansen folded his arms into his cloak as the air grew colder around them. "He's really just the worst."

"I don't remember." Sarah felt her boots slip around, and cursed the ice bellow her. She steadied herself. "I don't remember him, other than he was a researcher in our thousand years of living."

"He's done just a little bit more than that," Jansen said.

"You were close?"

"Not extremely." Jansen rubbed his nose with a gloved hand. His brow furrowed as their climb started to steepen. Ahead of them Kaim was gently helping everyone move forward over the slippery ice and snow. He briefly held onto Sarah's elbow as she climbed up the hill and she thanked him. Once they got past the entrance, Jansen spoke up again. "He gave me something that permanently boosted my magic."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Before that I was a quick learner, but I didn't have much force behind it. I mean my flares could singe your eyebrows off sure, but nothing more than sparks. We made a deal, and I thought he was going to teach me, but instead he just gave me this weird potion that made my magic stronger. More concentrated."

"I think I read somewhere about his drinks and tonics. Well, I mean, I wrote about them. They must have a different effect when mortals drink them."

"Maybe?" Jansen shrugged his shoulders and tucked his chin down. His poor cheeks were chapped against the frigidness around them. "Damn this cold air!"

"Toughen up!" Seth called from beside him, bumping his shoulder. "This is just the beginning!"

"Of course, you know how to move through this ice you summer sea pirate!" Jansen exclaimed, slipping in the process. He fell right onto his backside and didn't move.

Sarah laughed and held out her hand. Jansen took it, looking slightly embarrassed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now come on. We can talk after we stop."

.

Sarah watched as Jansen got to work. At the end of the Ice Canyon came a large prehistoric beast and one of the scariest Sarah had seen, or at least read about. It burst through the ice, scaring all of them, but quickly getting them into formation for a long battle. While Kaim and Seth hacked away when they could with their swords, the rest of them were supporting with magic.

Sarah stood in front of Cooke and together they kept everyone healed and ready. Ming, still a little unsteady in her battling feet though very powerful when she conjured her spells, sent her composite magic when the opening arose. Mack powered them up on the side, and Jansen fought with his own magic.

Jansen was completely calm, and surprisingly fast. His magic came to him and passed through his staff in mere milliseconds after he thought of it. Not even Ming or Sarah could keep up that quickly with their own black magic. He was swift on his feet so he got close to the Dinozaoro, surprisingly within a few feet Sarah observed, and would do what he could with his spells before leaping back away from a tail or sharp tooth.

Jansen may not have the power that the immortals had, but he certainly could hold his own. It was a constant flarus or groundus magic before backing away and repeating. The beast of an enemy did not like how quickly Jansen moved and was constantly distracted by him. She could hear Jansen laughing when the monster missed its mark again. "All tooth, no bite!"

The roar was ferocious, but not lasting. Kaim and Sarah finally got through its hide, felling the monster in matching strikes. Dinozaoro crashed into the ice and snow.

"Phew!" Jansen tugged the scarf away from his neck. "It's hot all the sudden!"

"Here." Ming was closest to him and laid a gentle hand on his arm. Zephyr no doubt curing away any aches. "I'm sure you're sore."

"You were hopping all over the place, Jansen!" Mack commented. "You were fast!"

"Well, ah!" Sarah saw his blush despite the cold and laughed quietly to herself. "Let's go! Please!"

Kaim looped his sword to his belt and Seth joined them soon after making sure the beast was truly dead, and they made their way towards the end of the canyon. Sarah stayed close to Kaim and the children, watching as Jansen nervously talked to the queen beside him. "He's really outdone himself."

"I'm sure he's really exhausted under that cheer," Kaim said, agreeing with her. "He helped out a lot this time. Can't let that get to his head."

"I think he mostly can't take a compliment." Sarah looked towards the trailing couple, Ming laughing at something witty Jansen had said. "Maybe we can rest after we get out of here?"

"There's a forest outside of the canyon. We can stop there."

. . .

Sarah walked over to Jansen to hand him a bowl of stew. It was dark out, most of the camp sat around the fire talking, though the one who talked the most was not sitting near. Sarah nudged the mortal, shaking him out of his mind when she handed him the warm bowl.

"I didn't know I was this hungry," he said. "Thank you," he added.

"Why don't you come around the fire? Even though we're out of that Ice Canyon, it's still a bit nippy over here." Sarah ran gloved fingers over her arms.

"Isn't it weird?" Jansen asked, then blew on the spoon. He put the spoon in his mouth, forgetting immediately where he was going with this conversation after the taste hit his tongue. "This is good!"

"Wasn't me." Sarah motioned towards the group. "Kaim made it."

"He can cook?"

"He was the better of the two of us." She turned away back towards the group. "From what I have written."

"Must suck, huh?" Jansen followed her towards the group. "Not remembering?"

"It is…unfortunate." Sarah shrugged. "But we have a bigger task on our hands. No time to sit and be upset about it."

"That's true," Jansen said around a mouthful of stew. "I'm going to have to ask Kaim to cook for us more often!"

"I'm sure he'll truly appreciate that conversation." Sarah laughed at the face Jansen made.

They made it back and Sarah made her way to her grandchildren. Cooke sat next to her brother, warming their feet at the fire and enjoying a second helping of stew. She watched as they argued about the battle they just finished. "It was definitely as big as the arthosaurus statue outside of our house!"

"I say bigger!" Cooke shook her spoon at her brother. "You're too short to judge!"

"I am not!" Mack pushed her spoon away with his own.

Sarah laughed at her grandchildren's antics.

. . .

"I can't thank you enough for saving the children from the train and snow," Sarah said to Jansen when they had a moment to rest. They were on their way to Numara to get the White Boa. The last task in taking down Gongora was tricky and they would need the massive ship to do it.

Jansen waved his hand. "We had to come save you. There's no way I could raise those little mons…ah well." Jansen gave her a goofy smile and she couldn't help but to sigh and shake her head. "They're a handful. Even just the week I spent with them."

"They definitely have a lot of energy," Sarah said fondly.

They sat in silence a moment, Jansen watching Ming across the cabin of the Nautilus, Sarah watching Kaim. She took her eyes off her husband a moment and looked over at the younger mortal. "So, when are you going to talk to her?"

"Huh, what now?" Jansen jerked out of his reverie, then turned quickly away from Sarah scratching his nose. "You love to get into my business," he muttered.

Sarah giggled. "We are getting closer to the end of our journey together. It would be a shame if you missed the opportunity."

"But Ming is." Jansen looked over to the immortal of their discussion. "She's a queen. I'm basically the lowest of the lowest. A petty trickster."

"I don't think she sees you that way." Sarah leaned forward trying to look around to his face. It was cherry red and avoiding her gaze. "I think she thinks very highly of you. Now that she has her memories back, I'm sure if she was interested in anyone else before you, she would be avoiding you. But I see the way she sneaks looks."

"What are you!" Jansen whispered harshly. "In public! We are in public! You're embarrassing me!"

"I am observant," Sarah said proudly. "I take my watching seriously."

"Voyeur," Jansen hissed. "You take pleasure in it. In making me so uncomfortable. This whole journey! Shoo. Begone!" He flapped his hands at her.

Sarah laughed, but stayed put. Jansen turned away from her, but moments later, was turned back. "How do you know?"

"Jansen, Ming looks at you when you're not looking. Not unlike the way you do her. She finds reasons to stick close to you when we are traveling or resting at an inn. Even when we are outside, her blanket is inches closer to yours than any of ours. Must I go on?"

"Weirdo! And they call me strange!" Jansen was red in the face again. "I can't—have you just been watching us this whole time?"

"Not just you. Everyone. I need to write down our journey in case Gongora gets to us again. We can't afford to lose our memories for a second time." Jansen sighed, understanding, then made a face when Sarah added, "seeing blossoming love is just an added end note to my writing."

"I'm out of here." Jansen shook his head and hopped onto his feet. Before he could move away from the cabin, Ming's voice rang out.

"Jansen, come over! I just wanted to discuss some things with you."

"Go on!" Sarah nudged him. He sent her the meanest glare he could muster, before walking towards the Immortal Queen. Kaim must have caught sight of his face and made his way over to Sarah. She giggled behind her hand.

"What's so funny?"

"Jansen." Kaim took Jansen's empty seat. She turned towards him with a smile. "He's in love with Ming."

"It's more than a crush now?"

"Definitely. Just look."

They sat and watched as Ming fussed over Jansen's cheeks, and he wildly gesticulated in return. His face never settled out of its blush. Kaim snorted. "I see."

Sarah leaned back in her seat. "He's easy to tease. But I hope it works out for him in the end. Ming could use a companion, and Jansen is one to follow her to the ends of time if he could."

Kaim agreed.

. . .

The final battle loomed over them. The tension in the air was heavy in the cabin of the White Boa. They had made it to where Grand Staff sat, but wanted one more night's rest before making their way in. Kaim was going over strategy with Ming, Tolten and Seth. Cooke and Mack were talking quietly in their sleeping quarters. Sed was talking to the captain of the ship, no doubt swapping stories. Sarah sat in a quiet area on the top deck of the White Boa, listening as the waves crashed into the hull. It was dark but you could see Grand Staff lit up, the magic energy giving it a glow that lit the dark space and water around it.

Sarah had studied the thing, but there didn't seem anything abnormal about it, other than the magic that pulsed from it like it was a living thing. She was almost drawn to it, but it also made her shudder. Would they be able to beat Gongora? Would the mirrors beckon them home? What would happen to Cooke and Mack? Jansen, Sed and Tolten? It was all too hard to bear, and she was starting to get a sense of what it felt like losing Lirum.

She shook her head away from her thoughts. Despair couldn't win before anything even happened.

"It's too bleak up here alone."

She turned to see Jansen and gave him a smile. Their relationship was an unlikely friendship. Roguish mage and meek sorceress; but in the months they had been traveling together they really grew closer. Sarah couldn't imagine them getting this far without him. "I'm glad you've come to see me, then."

He sat next to her on the wooden steps and they both looked at Grand Staff. Jansen clicked his tongue. "Boy. Gongora knows how to be dramatic. Look at that thing!"

Sarah hummed in agreement. The mad man in the tower really did have a way to be over-the-top. "To think we came from the same place."

"You ever remember what it was like on the other side."

"You are truly asking the wrong immortal."

"Ah. Sorry, sorry. My bad." Jansen leaned his elbows back onto the steps behind him, stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankle. "It's just weird to think that there are some magic mirrors that will teleport you to who knows where."

"I don't think the others really remember what it's like either." Sarah sighed and pushed her glasses up her nose. "All we know is that we had a mission to gather information. Whoever is on the other side gave us one thousand years here, a year over there."

"And you've gone over?"

"By almost thirty-one years. May only be a few days over there, but…" Sarah looked over to her companion. "Not like we knew that we were needed. The mirror is calling." She looked up into the night sky. Somewhere above Grand Staff there was a pull. Like gravity was a little stronger and she could almost float towards it. "I'm not sure what's going to happen up there."

"Well, whatever happens, happens right?" Jansen shrugged his shoulders. "All we can do is hope for the best when we take Gongora down."

"I agree." She thought again about her grandchildren below and felt a twinge of anxiety cling to her insides. "Jansen," she said quieter than she was before.

"Sarah."

"Can you promise me one thing." She looked back to him, wanting to make eye contact. His brow was raised and waiting. "I can't talk to Kaim about this, because he doesn't want to hear it or consider it, but…if…anything were to happen to us up there. Me and Kaim. Could you make sure…Cooke and Mack—"

"Don't worry." Jansen sat up and placed a hand on her shoulder. She was comforted by the weight of it. "Yeah, no. Don't worry about that."

"I just don't want them to be alone." Sarah fought the tears that sprang to her eyes. "They only just lost their mother a few months ago and I…I cannot stand to think they would lose us too, but in case."

"They'll be fine. I'll look after them myself if I have to." Jansen laughed. "I'm not sure how that'll turn out though."

Sarah smiled. "Oh, I'm sure you'd be a good father."

"Eh." Jansen lifted a brow. Sarah lifted her own, and they began to laugh.

. . .

Sarah finished the last breakfast dish and set it on the rack to dry. It was springtime in Numara, which really meant the air warmed up and the sea breeze was slightly more heated. She watched as Kaim made his way down the path to Numara with Mack, no doubt the young man telling his grandfather about recent adventures he had.

It was nice to get the family together. Sarah glanced on the shelf near the sink at their most recent photo taken a few years before. Cooke stood beside her in the picture. She was a headstrong woman, but still very graceful. She may not have become the pirate she dreamed to be in her youth but, nonetheless, made a very good sea captain in Numara's Navy. Sarah looked next to Kaim and remembered that Mack had just gotten back from his second summer during his Uhran studies and still had his boyish cheeks.

Those chubby cheeks were gone now. Mack was almost as tall as Kaim, she noticed as she watched them walk further away from the house. Cooke would be coming back to Numara any day now and then the real celebration would begin.

Sarah turned away from the sink and sat at the table in the adjacent room. Her tea had cooled but with a snap of her fingers, it was back to the right temperature. Sarah pulled the paper around, reading the latest from the Grand State she lived in.

It must have been about ten minutes later when she heard a knock at her door. "Kaim and Mack wouldn't knock. Wonder who it is?" she asked herself.

She got up from where she sat and went to the front door. She opened it to see a very hidden figure, head bent down low. She reached up and with one finger lifted the hood to reveal the face. "Jansen."

"Hiya!"

Jansen slid the hood down fully, giving Sarah a wink. She rolled her eyes, but stepped aside to let him in. "Why are you dressed that way?"

"Hey! King's gotta slip on by his royal subjects somehow!" Jansen said with a laugh. Sarah shut the door behind him.

"You come here normally any other time."

"Well, I guess today I wanted to get here fast. Kaim?"

"Took Mack into town to get a few things for the weekend. You must have just missed them." Sarah lead him into the dinning room, pulling another cup from the cabinet. "Cooke'll be here soon."

"Ah, how's that little monkey?"

"You should know!" Sarah exclaimed with a laugh. She poured Jansen a cup of tea and brought it with her to the table. "Isn't that your department?"

"Too many departments for me to remember," Jansen replied, accepting the tea with a smile. "Lately, I've been on toddler duty."

"I bet that is a nice break from all your Kingly Responsibilities."

"It truly is, mostly," Jansen agreed, taking a long sip of tea. Sarah watched as eyes closed, the wrinkles creasing the sides of them. Jansen's hair was starting to gray a little on the sides and she was reminded just how life could fly past them so quickly. She didn't dwell on it for too long. The time to wonder about what life would be like without him in it would be saved for a far later date. "Although, I suppose being almost four isn't a toddler anymore," he said after a beat.

"Almost, but not quite." Sarah took her seat. "What brings the King of Numara to the country?"

"A visit before introductions. I thought I'd sneak over and see what this was all about."

"Does Ming know?"

"Of course." Jansen said, eyebrow lifted over his cup.

"Does she even know you're out of the castle right now?"

"Ming'll understand."

"She's too easy on you," Sarah said with a laugh. Jansen joined in. "Well then, let's start introductions."

Sarah stood up to retrieve what Jansen came here for. When she came back, he lifted his arms up automatically, cradling the bundle ever so carefully in his arms. "Well, she definitely takes after her mother!"

"Don't let Kaim hear that." Sarah said with a smile. She gently smoothed a finger over her small daughter's cheek. The little cooing sound in response melted Jansen's expression immediately.

"I'm sure there's some of your handsome husband in her somewhere. Perhaps she'll have the meanest attitude when she's like five."

"Really don't let Kaim hear that!" Sarah laughed. She sat down at the table, watching as Jansen rocked a little side to side. The baby opened her eyes then, and Jansen chuckled.

"Has Kaim's eyes. Knew there was something off."

Sarah playfully hit his arm but couldn't suppress the giggle.

"Name?"

"We've finally landed on Aster."

"Aster Argonar. I like it! Sounds like it took a while?"

"I don't know what it was this time around. We wanted to take our time thinking of it. While we were sitting outside with her a week ago, Kaim noticed that the asters were blooming a little earlier than expected this spring, and we both kind of just looked at each other. We thought it was perfect."

Aster fell asleep again, and Jansen smiled. "Makes you want to have another?" Sarah suggested.

Jansen's peaceful face scrunched up in horror. He maneuvered Aster to one arm, set his elbow on the table, and leaned his face into the palm of his hand. "Oh, absolutely not. Don't get me wrong, my children have changed my life for the better and I love them to the moon and back for that, but they are a disaster.

"No one warned me that three kids would be a lot to handle. In fact, when little Cole was born almost four years ago, making it not just three—" Jansen lifted his head from his hand to stick up three fingers and then added another. "—but four wild children, no one told me my oldest, my dear Piers, would rebel. And teenagers? Yikes!" Jansen stuck out his tongue. Sarah snickered. "I thought one was bad but then guess who turned thirteen and started ruining everyone in Numara's lives?"

"Young Hughrie?"

"Young Hughrie?" Jansen exclaimed, though quieter than he would have if Aster wasn't snuggled into the crook of his arm. "Young? Oh, he thinks he's all that. I outta show him what it was like when I was thirteen. Turn that kid right around."

"I should come visit. He'll settle probably immediately."

"You did always have him wrapped around your pinkie," Jansen said with a heavy sigh.

The Numara-Friedh clan was something to admire—from a far, far distance—but Sarah and Kaim and their grandchildren loved them so. Aster will too when she's old enough, Sarah thought.

"Do visit though. The six of us miss you guys."

"We will. We are, actually, this weekend," she reminded him.

"Right. Introductions, introductions." Jansen carefully passed the sleeping babe back into her mother's arms. "Ming is so very excited to meet her. She sends her love."

"So you did tell Ming you were sneaking away!"

"Of course! I'm not that kind of delinquent husband! I always get some time to sneak away if I need to, though I've been so wrapped up lately I had forgotten! She's the one who noticed my frazzled mind and told me to come visit."

"She takes good care of you. I hope you do the same."

"She definitely takes a child-free day every once and awhile and believe me that is equal enough most of the time." Jansen stood up setting his cup in her sink. "I better get back though. I don't want to leave her with those animals much longer."

"At least Livi is a quiet girl."

"Olivia is my saint," Jansen said with a small smile, thinking of his seven-year-old. "That girl can get her brothers to calm down with one look."

"Maybe she gets that from Kaim?"

Jansen shuddered. Sarah laughed behind her hand. She stood up carefully and together with Aster walked Jansen to the door. "The children can't wait to meet her."

"Keep her name a surprise. If you can."

"I'll keep it from the kids. Ming might be a different story. That woman can get me to tell her anything." Jansen took one last look at the baby and wrapped an arm around Sarah. Sarah hugged him back and then watched as he pulled his hood over his head to make his way back to Numara. He turned and waved, and Sarah waved Aster's little hand back. She watched until she couldn't see him over the hill, and quietly shut the door behind her.

She looked down to see her daughter looking at the room around her. "Alright, Aster. Let's get you fed and ready to greet papa and Uncle Mack when they get home."

Aster blinked up at her and Sarah beamed back.