After dinner, they all sat around the sitting room – what was it for, after all? – and took turns reading out loud, by candlelight if necessary. Some nights, they just shared stories or thoughts, getting into friendly debates. Jim and Selena usually shared the couch, and Hannah generally chose the armchair, curling her legs under her, never minding the dust that had settled on the massively overstuffed thing.

They'd found quite a few books in one of the rooms of the cottage, and sure, some were old and boring as hell, but it was better than nothing. Not to mention that Selena demanded that Hannah continue some form of education; during the day, she tried to remember old school lessons and share them with the girl, so her mind wouldn't get soft.

Hannah interrupted Jim with a yawn. She'd been looking sleepy for a while, but tried to stay interested in the story. "Sorry, but I'm gonna go to bed… Good night."

Selena stood and gave the girl a hug before she left the room, then sat back down beside Jim, who tossed the book on the table beside the couch. He blew out one of the candles; no sense in wasting them.

"That girl sleeps so much, it's insane," he commented. He wondered if it was the Shakespeare that bored her.

"She doesn't sleep much at night," Selena replied quietly.

"I thought she was getting better…"

"She is, but... She's usually awake… I sit up with her some nights."

Jim was completely unaware of that. He always thought that if Selena left the bed, it would surely wake him up. He was upset that she could leave him and he wouldn;t notice; he'd had dreams where she left the bed, but he blew them off as dreams. He certainly didn't want that to happen when he was awake.

He leaned over and wrapped his arms around her, the day's fashion, pulled her over to him; she was leaning sideways on him, heads resting on shoulders on heads. Jim never wanted to let go.

"Do you wanna go to bed, too?"

Jim nodded silently.

Selena hid a smile. He didn't know how much she loved his random boyish shyness.

She stood, took his hand and they walked to their room, the master bedroom. It felt right, as they tried playing the role of the parents. Hannah's room was across the hall, and hardly any smaller. They kicked off their shoes – they wore them inside because the bare floors were cold – and climbed into bed, pulled the covers up. For once, Jim lay on his side, and Selena on her back, and he rested his head on her shoulder, his hand settling on her stomach, under her shirt. He pondered about babies.

He kissed her lips once, then her shoulder. "There might not be any wings, but…"

Selena sighed contentedly. Her eyes were full of tears but she made no move to wipe them away. She put an arm under his neck so she could run her fingers through his short hair.

"Love you, 'Lena."

She smiled, closed her eyes; happy tears fell down her cheeks. "Love you, James."