Well, I promised...

My second Christmas Special Chapter.

Merry Christmas and don't let anybody or anything spoil your pleasure!

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Chapter Eleven: Problem Child

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Pemberley

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December 1823

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We did find where you lapsed…

I didn't lapse! Some outside thing happened that broke my focus, and I misconstrued a part of my equation. With the consequence you know.

No need to become angry, when in the *Link* we don't judge we don't do emotions and we don't judge. We are pure logic and computing power. Emotions are what makes us individuals. While within the *Link* we don't feel, we look and re-look over the data until we find what's holding us up. In the case of your equations, we test them until we discover what's checking the results.

Sorry about my outbreak. I'm a little antsy…

We know and it is rather surprising. You are, usually, the most self-restrained of all our cousins. What brought you out of your proverbial composure.

A problem with my parents. They want to take me with them to London and I would prefer to stay here. But, even if I'm way brighter than the both of them together they still are my parents, and it is their prerogative to force me…

At not yet eleven of age, you are legally still considered a child, Lionel. Teenagers stay under their parents' responsibility until they are of age. And to be of age you still must wait ten more years…

I do know that but my arguments should have convinced them easily. Who would be daft enough not to understand that having access to the best teachers in the whole of Great Britain is an astounding advantage every parent should want to grasp for their children.

We spied on them…

You did that? Haven't you promised to Mamma Jane that you would stop?

Technically the *Link* that promised wasn't the *Link* that spied. We had a very different combination when we promised.

That's shitty legalese and you know it.

One could look at it this way but doing so would reduce us to only one entity which we are not. Depending on who's at the center of the *Link* we are not the same. And technically we didn't break our word and that's important for us and Mamma Jane. We wouldn't want to hurt her feelings.

Still legalese… What did you learn?

It's your mother who wants to have you with her. She longs at building a relation with you. She thinks that if you are together, you'll open up and reciprocate the love she feels for you.

Why does she believe that I don't love her? I do love her a lot more than anybody else but Mamma Jane.

You should learn to show it, then! Yesterday when she arrived, you didn't even stay with her half an hour.

I was awfully busy. I was just about to resolve the third strain…

You could have told her.

I tried and it always failed. They have all no idea about how to even speak about the things I love.

Not your math problem, that you love her…

How can she not know it?

Because you don't send out the usual signals, Lionel. Other children, even us when we are not linked, like to be hugged and kissed and to be cuddled. And parents love to be hugged and kissed too. You never do that…

It's a waste of time…

It's a bonding process. Most people don't have the power to feel the other's feeling. Your mother is still learning how to do it without feeling guilty about it. And, to be very frank with you, your feelings when dealing with your parents are not the clearest one can meet. Whatever you pretend you don't love your mother with the same intensity you feel for Mamma Jane.

It's not the same… Mamma Jane never judges me. She understands me and the fact that I'm odd has never stopped her showing that she was happy to be with me.

She's happy to be with everyone of us, Lionel. She likes people like nobody else we know is able to like people. That's what you feel and that's why it is, with her, easier to show your affection.

There was a break in the demonstration and Lionel felt the transformation of *Link*.

James and Cassandra just unlinked, said the new *Link*. Mamma Jane wants to speak with them. It's about their elder sister and her child. She wants to know what we could do to help her communicate with the unborn child.

*Link* could have answered too, wouldn't you agree?

Indeed, but what *Link* knows all of its parts know too. So, it isn't a real problem and Mamma Jane loves to cuddle James and Cassandra as much as they love being cuddled. And not being linked is more satisfying when you have physical interactions.

We digressed…

No we didn't, countered *Link*. Once more you refuse to consider what you could -and perhaps should- do to convince your mother that your aloofness and indifference are not based on an absence of feelings. Normal people need to get, regularly, proof of being loved. Even you, you need it and when it happens you go to Mamma Jane or Rob Roy. So, while your mother is here you should stop working and take the time to convince her that you love her.

But I love her…

We know it but she fears that it isn't the case. So, you need to show her that you do love her.

By hugging and cuddling? I'm very bad at those things.

No, you are not! Has Mamma Jane ever complained that you are a bad hugger? No! She knows you are not the most expressive of her children, so she's learned to wait for the moment when you want to cuddle. But your mother has none of that crucial knowledge. She has no idea that she needs to tame you first.

What do you mean, tame? I'm not a wild animal…

No but you are a very unreasonable kid.

I'm no…

Yes, you are, cut *Link*. We are all still kids. Which means that our body is not yet completely efficient. We are, we more than you, entering a phase when our bodies go through huge changes. The only organ that is, more or less, at its normal Human size is the brain. Everything else is changing daily and will change for at least a decade more. So, yes you are still a kid and you need to remember it daily. You need especially to stop forgetting that your body needs to be given the best chances to grow into something you will be proud of. Now, especially for you, comes the time to train your body…

I already train what I am best at…

And you should train what you are bad at. You are already enhanced but the bug in you won't teach to be agile or strong. That part is up to you. You should ask Uncle Geoff to get a martial art trainer, Lionel. It would help you to focus even better and it would give your body a chance to become as athletic as Uncle Geoff.

I don't need…

You can't lie to us, you know that, don't you? We know that you admire Uncle Geoff's brawniness and even more his martial artist's skills. Ask him next time he's here. Now that he has become a Sensei, he has the right to open schools. He could open one in Pemberley or at the University in Lambton. And that means that he will have lots of followers. One of them will be surely be extremely pleased to get a chance to work for the family. We do pay our retainers handsomely.

Lionel took a few seconds to think about *Link*'s comments. It was right! He was envying those who had athletic bodies. But right now he had no desire to speak about that. Time to change the topic.

I'll do it but you accused me of having had a lapse in judgement. Could you be more precise?

Not a lapse in judgment, just a lapse in coherence. You have been so focused on creating the false mathematical narrative to lose your competitors that you've misjudged one of your initial equations. You deemed it secondary when it is, when reformulated, the real breakthrough. I do think that your demonstration proves that there are more than one world sharing a same place. We believe that that equation is the foundation of a new Science. What could be called the Multiverse Trigger…

What do you mean with Mutiverse Trigger?

We think that you have worked out the theoretical background that will prove that our Universe is only one amongst thousands or more.

That part I already fathomed. Why the trigger part?

Because of that forlorn equation you undervalued. That equation gives an insight of what the Universes is made of. And since it points very sharply at vibrations we think it should be, by using vibrations, able to adjust a small part of our reality to share the same place as another reality. And the main tool to affect the reality and to force it to embrace one of its sisters would be to induce the place's vibration to evolve to become an overlay of both Realities' vibrations.

You mean mixing vibrations?

Not a mix, which would be a new different vibration, but a cohabitation between both vibrations. And should you be able to find a way to make those vibrations coexist together while not evolving into a synthesis of both, you would have the means to move objects, or perhaps even beings, from one Reality to the other and back.

Lionel forced himself to stay calm. It could indeed be! But how could he make vibrations coexist while avoiding that they merge into another one?

I could use two different fluids to bring vibrations to coexist at the same place while not merging.

You'll have to try a lot of things before succeeding. Engineering is very different from science. You'll need time to cover every scientific nuance and finances to build the machines you need. We don't see, yet, how you will achieve it.

Neither do I, and you are right the key world is 'yet'! But I will look for the necessary means as soon as possible.

Don't be in too much a hurry. There is still a lot of theoretical knowledge to work over. Focus on that and we will help you. We will be attentive to spot any coming opportunities. We are sure that it can be done.

So am I… Thanks for your support.

It's always a pleasure, try to think about those other matters you don't like but that are even more important for your personal success.

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- He won't like it at all…

- You said that he had no friends, Jane. Why would he refuse to follow us to London?

- I said that he had no friend his age. He's very near to Rob Roy who has a very…

She stopped her comment.

- Let's say interesting influence on your son.

- What do you mean with interesting? That doesn't seem very favorable.

- Well that because it isn't. Rob Roy, when all is said and told, plays in the same group where your husband was excelling until a certain number of circumstances forced him to become reasonable.

- You mean that he is a cad?

- Or a scoundrel or a rogue, whatever term you prefer. And he is a warlock! Which means that he has a magical knowledge that is very real and, because he is the only one we've been able to find, crucial for the boys' education and the pond's balance. Not the best company you or I would wish for our offspring but a lot more exciting than most other people who live here in Pemberley. He has that roguish aura that pulls in every boy who has heard his story.

She smiled that very peculiar smile that came up on her lips when she thought about Geoffrey.

- In this matter he plays in the same league as my husband. The boys here love them and love even more the impish stories they are able to tell. They are easily fascinated by such stories. But Geoffrey is around only a few days a month while Rob is present every day of the week.

- He had problems with the justice, I suppose…

- Indeed but justice has never really worried him. His talents always gave him an out from incarceration. No, his real problems are the bad people out there who want him dead… So, Pemberley is the perfect place for him to stay alive. Not really a prison but he knows perfectly well that here he's safe.

She winked at her cousin.

- And since the Estate is full of young females who find a rogue like him supremely fascinating, he has everything he needs to find it bearable.

- If I remember well our own rogues, they do tend to like diversity and won't stay for very long at the same place.

- Until they find the female who's able to remind them of those other values a family can offer. And I think he's found just that here…

- So, he's Lionel's hero?

- No, that would be Geoffrey, said Jane with a proud smile. But he is Lionel's trusted friend, and he is the only teacher we've got who's really able to present what he teaches in such a manner that even Lionel stays and goes on listening. And Rob, even if he is the archetypical rogue, is a fabulous teacher. I've seen him ensnare a group of six very boisterous boys for hours to make them understand the subtle difference you'll find between a successful spellcasting and an awful failure. So, he is necessary here, I can't let him go and not having him as a teacher won't help with your son's inability to socialize easily.

She shook her head while looking at Anne.

- I don't understand how with you and George as parents he could become this introverted mistrustful child! You are both masters in manipulating people to do your biddings…

- I think it comes from my father, said Anne. He was a very introverted man who lacked in most social matters. Had mamma not decided that she wanted him he would have ended his life a bachelor…

- Knowing your mother, I'm no sure that having her at his side had been a boon.

- You didn't know them while they were together. Mamma was very protective of him. As you know, she is overbearing, not manipulative. But she really loved the small smart and educated man who caught her eye. And even if she loves madly the Rosing Estate it wasn't to get it that she married Pappa. As you probably know, on Mamma's side of the family there is a lot more wealth than what the de Bourghs ever had. She brought the money and the managerial skills that saved the Estate. And since Arthur seems a lot more social than Lionel -who already has the Saumur Estate your husband gave him and who doesn't want Rosings- it will probably be him who will end with the Earl de Bourgh title.

- Did the fact that your mother has a soft spot for little Arthur play a role in your decision?

Anne laughed out aloud.

- Of course, it did! Young Arthur's bright smile when she took him the first time in her arms did the trick. Mamma who never was a dotting Human Being is now a doting grand mother and I already know that George and I will have huge troubles to prevent mamma spoiling him… It's the first time, but she's in full grandmamma gear. Luckily for us her political career holds her in London. Or you would have her here all year long.

- She's always welcome here. Even Lizzy has found it in herself to act in a civilized manner when your mother's present.

- I thought they overcame their quarrel years ago…

- They signed a truce years ago, but you know how strongminded females who don't like each other can hold grudges for decades, don't you? So, yes they are able to look like civilized people while sharing a room with each other but that's only a façade! Deep down Lizzy will never forget the words your mother used in Longbourn. Some words are sharper and more deadly than swords. Those of your mother were of that exact kind and Lizzy is still able to recall them word for word. I did try to make her understand that without your mother she would have never known that Fitzwilliam was still in love with her and that it was because of her that they finally find to each other, but in vain.

- I have no problem imagining them while in the same room. It happens every Christmas, you remember. I did feel the tension between them but I really wouldn't have thought that it comes from so far away.

- Smart doesn't always mean reasonable. I think the whole family, Lionel included, has developed a strategy to make sure that those two never stay alone with each other. I'm quite sure that most of the time nothing would happen. But there are circumstances when even tiny gestures can be badly interpreted and have awfully large proportions.

Jane's smile changed just a little.

- I think that it is Mamma who's the most attentive to smother any chance of open opposition. She's your mother's best friend, and it is, I feel, reciprocated, and Lizzy, even if she's not Mamma's favorite, still is her daughter. She will do a lot to avoid that what has, almost, been overcome could resurface and become a feud. And to come back to your reason to be here, you should forget your prerogatives as parents when dealing with Lionel and really begin to think about him as the very special being he is.

Once more she shook her head.

- You cannot come in guns flaring to take him out of his cocoon.

- He's my son and he's old enough to understand that he belongs with his parents.

- Come here and live with us…

- I can't I have too…

- …Many obligations, finished Jane. Which is true and wrong at the same time. Just say a word and you'll have your own very personal bunker somewhere under Pemberley's woods.

Anne tried to refute Jane's argument but wasn't allowed to speak.

- And don't come with your usual excuses about your staff and your accommodations in Rosings. We have telephones and wireless now, and you could easily have your usual interactions with your staff also from here. Notwithstanding that we have all the manpower and the skills to secretly build you a headquarters even more sophisticated than your Rosings one. And you would be with all of your children. Not just Joan who loves to be with you in Rosings…

Anne let out a long and rather desperate sigh.

- I do try to be a good mother but even Joan is not happy with my motherhood attempts. She loves to be with me not because I'm a good mother but because she is prodigiously interested in my work.

She made a little grimace.

- Which is, I will confess it, a little weird.

- Not weird at all, said Jane. She's not the technical genius Lionel is but she's as smart as him and, being a girl, she prefers dealing with people and lets the machines to her brother. I do understand that collecting data like you do and making prognosis about everything could look like an interesting endeavor…

- Could look like? It is the most interesting endeavor ever…

- If you ask me the most interesting endeavor ever is being a mother and making little ones -or not so little ones- happy and satisfied. We all have our specialties and preferences. I know what to do to make the children happy and obedient… You don't. You know how to make a synthesis of what happened somewhere and extrapolate what's about to happen. I can't do that and will never be even if I would be so foolish as to want to become something I'm not…

There was a silence.

- What you are alluding at, said finally Anne, is that I will never be a good mother?

- Being a good mother is an extremely hazardous concept. It depends on too many factors. But I can sum it up for you. Would you accept to spend the next two or three years to be taught all the skills I've mastered to be me?

- Of course, not… Those skills do not really interest me and from what I see and from what Joan has told me, you are a lot better at it than anybody else I know. And, you can believe me when I say that I know a buzzilion of people all around the world. So, trying to be you is not a thing I think possible.

- Well since you admit that you wouldn't be able to give Lionel what I give him every day, why even try? Use your very fine mind to find the best solution while not making it more difficult for all involved. Just do what is possible and what is possible is you moving here with your inner staff while the rest of your organization stays hidden under Rosings. I have followed Charles' Scientists progress when it comes to create ways to send information from one place to another and I know that you could be here and all your staff in Rosings and you still would be able to manage the whole thing.

- Telephone wires can be tapped and spied on…

- Which is a technical problem Charles' scientists will probably be able to solve if you ask -and finance- them. And if you really must see your people face to face, let us remind you that we have gyrocopters that are able to cross the distance between here and Rosings in less than two hours.

Anne shook her head vehemently.

- I wouldn't like to seem paranoid but getting rid of me while I fly over the English countryside is a lot easier than getting at me in my very personal dungeon bunker.

- I agree, said Jane, and you are not paranoid, I do have the same fears about Geoffrey's frequent journeys. So, do we agree that you living here would be the best compromise between your vocation as Masterspy and your obligations as a mother?

Reluctantly Ann nodded.

- So, what we need to get you here is a way to be sure that what you send on the wires between here and Rosings cannot be spied on. It Is perhaps an easy problem to solve. We should ask Charles if they don't already have found a solution, don't you think?

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- Why would you need more than what already exists?

Clearly Charles was surprised.

- Because we think about giving Anne the opportunity to be with her children while going on doing her job.

They could hear Charles saying "Hmm-Hmm" while nodding.

- We already have that in place, said he finally. Remember that Pemberley is the second most protected place in GGB and the place where quite a few very sensitive political decisions are made. Political decisions that need, often, to have people from London or elsewhere, join the round. And, of course, we have pulled non-shared special wires between Pemberley and every other place of power on the Islands. And the cable the company has placed between Pemberley and London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Rosings are as safe and secure as possible.

- If I remember well the briefing I got, said Anne, those cables are in specially built masoned tunnels to provide an easier way to maintain the cables. People could easily use those tunnels to get to the cables.

- They could indeed, and I don't say that it is impossible to get to those cables to put some listening device in proximity of the cables -and to say the truth, it has already happened thrice- but we have anticipated those attempts and are monitoring the signal at both extremities of the cable. I won't try to explain how it is done but know that we've created those cables specially to provide the best possible security. And when a listening device is inserted in the cable's it can only be done by cutting into the rubber surrounding it. Which provokes an alteration of a secondary signal that is transmitted through tiny wires hidden within the rubber protection. Nobody in the factories that produce those cables knows about the secret use of the rubber wiring. It exists in every cable, but it is only used when the cable is placed between sensitive locations. So, it isn't special cable, it is just the normal cable but who's used a little bit differently when security is at a prime. Each time we have found out about a meddling we've been able to solve the problem within hours of the tapping.

He stopped to let his words sink in.

- And the tunnels have another advantage, they can be used by military patrols to survey the cables. And, believe me, between Pemberley and London there are hourly patrols looking for intruders.

- So, said Jane, what you say is that it is safe to use those cables…

- As safe as possible within our current possibilities. Not as secured as all participants being in Rosings, that's for certain, but if you want to balance your life as a mother and those not known extra-curricular activities the cables' security shouldn't stop you, Anne.

There was a rather lengthy silence.

- Thanks a lot, said finally Ann while sighing, Charles for your precision, it will have to suffice. And there still is the possibility to encipher the really special stuff

She turned to look at Jane.

- Where could I put my bags?

- I do have a place in mind but we will have to ask Fitzwilliam. It's his Estate and it would change quite a few things here. Let's go and ask him. Thanks Charles for your time and insight.

- It's always a pleasure to be disturbed by a Bennet…

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- You really envision leaving Rosings?

- At least for the coming years, said Anne. I'm not the best mother around but I still feel the void in my heart when I'm not with my babies. And I really need to find a way to Lionel's awareness. I'm quite sure that he knows that I love him and I feel that he loves me but it's so very different from what Joan and I we share. I'd like to have the same with Lionel and to get that I have only two solutions, taking him with me…

The grimace on Fitzwilliam's face was a clear indication that he had no doubt that that solution wouldn't be successful.

- Or coming here to have at least the opportunity to spend a few hours with him and the little ones. And my organization didn't collapse while I was here awaiting the birth, so I believe it could be done…

- Of course, it could be done, dear, said Fitzwilliam. And I already know where to place your new headquarter. There is even a rather interesting building that exists over it. You remember the Cochran Abbey we've visited when you came to Pemberley when you were young?

- I do, impressive ruins…

- Indeed, and they could easily be rebuilt and restored into something very useful for you. I have had a few propositions to transform it in a high-quality hotel that we could use as a front for your new headquarter. And the Pemberley Lambton subway runs just a few yards outside of the Abbey's cellar. It shouldn't be difficult to create a mid-way station to get people discreetly into the underlying structure.

- You've already thought about it?

- Not about you coming here but Richard and I we've discussed about a military base in Pemberley's surroundings. But we've finally opted for a more visible base between Lambton and Pemberley. Military people tend to have huge families and said families, for reasons unknown, prefer sun and daylight to the unhealthy and damp atmosphere of subterranean bunkers. So, we stopped dreaming about underground bases to create a very normal military base with airfield, hospital, swimming pool and shopping center. We were both very depressed…

- I'll have you an apartment installed in the very deepest part of the base, said Anne. You'll love it…

- And he'll probably spend a few nights a month there, sighed Lizzy. He does have an emergency underground level under Pemberley, you now…

- In case of an air-attack, it would come handy, said Fitzwilliam.

- Pemberley is not on any border and Britain is an Island equipped with the best radars in the world. No air ship or plane will arrive here without having been shot at!

- It still is an elementary precaution to protect my people, insisted Fitzwilliam.

Lizzy was about to insist when she saw Jane and Anne shaking their heads.

She sighed.

They were right! There were a few things a sane female couldn't tell to any boy around her. And their fascination for underground dwellings was one of them.

- Well, you'll have an even greater bunker in Pemberley's vicinity, then, said Anne. I'll call my architects and we'll have a first draft within a week. The ground is safe there I suppose?

- Good healthy Derby limestone, said Fitzwilliam with a smile. You'll find no better place to burrow a base than there! Solid but still easy to work on. I still have the Heidelberg's Geologists' reports and maps in my library. We needed them for the tube, but they did a very thorough job under the Abbey. It should give your architects a good base to plan their work.

- I'll send a few of my specialists to make copies. Once I have the plans we'll speak about the costs and how to finance it… I hope you'll participate… The more money you contribute and the more palatial and damp your hidey-hole in the lower levels will be!

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- I wouldn't have thought that…

- No need to thank me, dear. I couldn't let you be pulled out of here in such a manner. But it will come with a price, you know that, don't you?

He nodded.

- You'll have to spend a few moments with your mother each day. It could be measured in hours, you know, and I won't accept any excuses. She's been very reasonable and is ready to make a lot of sacrifices to get to know you better. So, I do ask for some efforts on your side too.

Lionel couldn't help but made a face.

- It will be so boring, and I still have a lot of reckoning to do…

- Your mother wants to know you better, that doesn't mean that she will have all the choice about your topics of discussion. Think about topics that interest you and that could interest her should you be able to explain it to her. You are the smart guy here, it's up to you to explain the topics in such a way that it won't be boring for her. Ask your teachers and your friends to get ideas and be as good as you believe you are!

- I am good, protested Lionel.

- Then we have a deal, prove it!

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- He doesn't like it…

- I have probably been to lenient with him, admitted Jane. I let pass quite a lot when dealing with him. It won't be easy to pull him out of his little bubble but he needs it a lot more than you. I've given him all my love but he's at the age where he needs to be recognized for what he is. You need to be a lot more open and praising than you've ever been with Joan. He literally needs to hear you admit that he is smart and special. Even if he grates on your nerves you still have to praise him for his accomplishments. Not his efforts; never his efforts. Don't ever look like patronizing him. He will freak out immediately…

Anne couldn't help but sigh.

- Is it worth all those efforts?

- Depends what you want him to become. Do you want another sociopath like Geoff and George within the family? Or would you prefer a man who's able to feel at least a little empathy for his fellow human beings? It will be very easy to let him glide all the way into spite and resentment. He's very ready to settle there. But if you want, like I do, to kindle the little flame of humanity that is somewhere in his heart, you'll have to do the necessary efforts.

Jane shook her head.

- We cannot afford a brilliant mind like his to become shrouded by a false assessment of the people surrounding him. He's already very aware that a huge majority of the people surrounding him are dumb! Literally dumb which means unable to understand what has always been evident for him. What we need to teach him is that the smart ones who do see the world in a real light, have a duty to help and protect those other, sorry to say it in those terms, idiots around him.

She took Anne's hand and smiled at her.

- Your son is a genius. A mind so brilliant that he's really not able to understand what normal people are driven by. He has probably difficulties to understand why they go on living while being in such a state of total ignorance!

She sighed.

- It's up to you to follow in my footsteps. You need to convince him that other people are worthy beings who just happen to live on another level of understanding. He must become aware that those idiots are feeling and living things he's unable to unders…

She stopped and shook her head.

- No, not understand. Never say that he doesn't understand a thing. Understanding is his forte and he knows it so don't ever try to allude at a lack of understanding. It will immediately shake him into mistrusting you. Because he knows that nobody knows how to understand things like him. What you need to teach him is that we, you, most of the others we have more than just a brain but also a heart who is feeling in a way his brain isn't allowing his heart to feel.

- Isn't that a bit too convoluted?

- No, because it is the truth. He's pulled himself into a level of understanding we will never be able to understand… It's not a judgment, it's just the reality in which he lives. His mind is so overwhelmingly smothering that he has no hint that other ways to comprehend his fellow human beings exist.

She looked into Anne's eyes.

- I fear, whatever our efforts, that we will never be able to teach him to feel, Anne. I do hope that there's a female out there who has the needed skill, but I wouldn't bet on it. You must be aware of his very low empathy threshold. His brain will not let him do such blatantly foolish things. But we could succeed in teaching him to understand that the brain is not the only way to apprehend the Universe. That less intelligent people have developed other means to become aware of their environment. Means he has no idea about.

Anne frowned at her cousin and sister.

- Do you believe he could be dangerous?

- If we aren't very prudent, he could very well be a danger for other people, yes. Not because he is inherently evil or anything of the sort but because he could, at some point along the way, decide that normal people are not worth caring for. Like some people decide that animals aren't worth caring for. That they are there to be useful tools. And tolls are not something most people respect.

She took a long deep breath.

- It will be a challenge, Anne, but I promise that I will be there to help you wholeheartedly.

Anne tightened her grip on Jane's fingers.

- I know that, Jane, but it still scares me. How can it be that my own son has become a stranger?

- He is no stranger, dear. He is just different from all those other kids. And we cannot ask him to feel what's wrong. He just hasn't the tools to do that. It's up to us to make him aware of the love we feel even if love is for him a very difficult concept to grasp. We can just show him what it means to be loved and hope that, some day, he will find the key to his feelings.

- You believe it possible?

Jane nodded enthusiastically.

- We've succeeded with those husbands of ours, haven't we? We are the most skilled persons around in this very specialized field. And even if Lionel will be a lot more difficult to awake, why should we fear the task? We've done it before and this time it is a child who needs us. How could we not raise up to the challenge?

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Soon to come… A Chapter about light and shadows and the In-between

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