"…You better leave now or else we'll both be sorry," Jim finished, slamming his hands down on the table beside her and glaring at Ms. Nomura.

Barbara was shocked. She'd never seen him behave that way. Jim had always been one of the sweetest, kindest teens she knew and that wasn't just her bias as his Mom speaking.

"Jim! She's our guest," Barbara, started. A wave of wooziness hit her. "What's gotten into you?"

She barely managed to finish before she collapsed onto the table.

"Mom!" She heard Jim call her, but she couldn't respond.

Her body felt so heavy and numb. Her mind was flickering on the edge of sleep and wakefulness.

"That speech was very moving," Ms. Nomura was saying. "Too bad she won't remember it when she wakes up and finds your body."

What?!

Fear pulled her back from the edge of unconsciousness, but she still couldn't move. For a moment she vividly remembered Nomura asking if she could make the tea. She had stated that she was a bit particular so Barbara, aware of her rather questionable skills regarding food and drink, had allowed her.

She must have drugged me, Barbara realized in horror.

There was a pause then the sound of quick steps. Jim cried out and there was a thud from the kitchen. He made a grunt that sounded painful.

"Looking for these?" Ms. Numura's tone was taunting. Was her voice lower?

Metal clanged against metal. Barbara tried to get up again. She had to protect her son. But she couldn't move. All she could do was listen as the person she'd let into their house tried to kill her son.

The scuffle continued, passing by her toward the stairs.

There was a strange sound like a microwave dinging and a thud then things quieted. Jim's footsteps sounded going up the stairs and a door closed.

Something skittered up the stairs after him. It had to be Nomura, but… but it hadn't sounded human.

Barbara struggled with all her will, desperate, but her body remained inert.

Oh God, Barbara thought, fear truly setting in. I'm going to be too late.

By the time this wore off Jim would be dead and she'd find his body. Her mind conjured up horrific images based on what she'd seen over the course of her career. There were times she really hated being a doctor.

A haunting whistled melody reached her ears. A door slammed open. The melody cut off.

"You can't hide forever," Ms. Nomura said, sending shivers down her spine. "Trust me I'd know."

A door knob rattled.

There was a loud bang followed by a roar and Ms. Nomura's yells. Something large passed Barbara by and the fight continued in the yard. Someone new was talking, but she couldn't hear what was being said.

Where was Jim?

Another roar and the fight continued for a few more minutes before quieting abruptly.

Barbara waited a tense second before she heard Jim's voice. If she could have moved she would have wept in relief.

The newcomer entered the house. His heavy footsteps followed by Jim's softer ones. They stopped beside her.

"I am," The stranger said voice low and rumbling. He paused to sniff something loudly.

She finally managed to open her eyes just in time to see a large blue finger flip her teacup off the table. It hit the floor with a crash.

"But you," He continued, presumably talking to Jim. "Your battles won't always be waged in arenas."

What battles?

"You won't have time to prepare, to study your opponent for weaknesses like you did me."

What?

"You are the Trollhunter. It is time to start being afraid."

The stranger sighed.

"Since I cannot go back to Trollmarket, I will guard your home."

"Uh, I don't think my mother would be down for that," Jim said.

Jim approached and took off her glasses. He must not have looked at her face or he would have noticed her eyes were open.

His and the stranger's footsteps faded down the stairs, she could just faintly hear them talking.

She tried to move again and her fingers twitched this time.

She focused on moving them, while she tried to process what just happened.

Jim had been acting strange lately. The museum break in. The missed classes. The late nights. The bruises.

Yes. She had noticed those.

She had thought it was some sort of a teenaged rebellion. All the parents at work talked like it was a normal thing.

But this wasn't.

Teenaged rebellions didn't result in museum curators showing up at the house with murderous intent. They didn't involve whatever the stranger who was now in their house was.

She managed to turn her head a little and move her hand.

The stranger had called Jim "Trollhunter". It sounded like some sort of a title. Just what had her son gotten himself into?

Slowly she struggled to get up. Her whole body felt tingly now. She hoped there wouldn't be any lasting effects.

"Mom!"

Barbara turned just in time to see Jim drop his broom. He rushed to her side, hands going to her back and shoulders to steady her and ease her into an upright position.

"Are you okay? How do you feel?"

His eyes were darting across her face. He looked relieved, but worried.

"I should be asking you that," She murmured weakly.

His eyes widened and his breath quickened.

"W-What do you mean?"

He was scared. Scared of her knowing what was going on. She was scared too.

"I heard what happened. The fight with Ms. Nomura. Whoever that was who's in our basement now calling you… 'Trollhunter'," She struggled to straighten in her chair and raised a weak hand to his cheek. "Please Jim, tell me what is going on."

Jim's brow's furrowed painfully and he leaned into her touch. She could see him wavering.

"Please." She repeated. She tried to put all the desperation that she had felt in the past minutes into her voice.

She needed to know. Barbara couldn't bear it if something happened to Jim. She couldn't stand the thought of him out there fighting alone. He was her son and she loved him.

He looked into her eyes and his breath hitched. His soft blue eyes glistened with tears.

"Okay," He whispered, bringing his hand up to hers. "But let's get you comfortable first. It's a long story."

Author Note:

Anesthesia, and I assume other methods of putting people to sleep, tend to be pretty particular. People also have different reactions to drugs. So I figured it would have been interesting to explore what would have happened had Barbara remembered the whole thing.

Also... How was Jim planning to follow up on threatening Nomura in front of his Mom? The boy has no subtlety.