Note: Here it is, finally, another chapter! I'm so sorry about the wait, but I moved and then I went to camp and then school started and general busyness, but here it is at last. Thank you zillions to everyone who reviewed, and there's a few of you I want to say things personally to.

Joey K. Baxter: I'm probably not going to add Lyra's point of view; this story is about Will, but thanks for the thought!

Muse daughter: the hourglass/teeth thing was one of the symbols on the alethiometer…I don't believe it is in any way related to a museum.

Everyone else, I really do appreciate your reviews, please keep sending them! I just don't want to tie you up with stuff to read before the chapter…so without further ado, here it is!

Chapter 3

Lyra stared at him reproachfully. Tears shone in her eyes. "Why, Will, my love?" she whispered. The alethiometer hung in its little bag over her shoulder. She sat under one of the tall trees in the groves of the mulefa's world; the place where they had realized their love for one another. Pantalaimon was draped over her neck, giving him the same reproachful look as Lyra. Will tried to protest, that she had indirectly approved, so long ago, but she cut him off every time, asking why. He couldn't stand to see her so upset with him. He would die rather than hurt her. Desperately, he moved towards her, reached to kiss her. She pulled away. He cried out her name, weeping. Suddenly she stood, and Will knew she was going, though where he could not have said. He reached out once more -

And he was in bed, panting, at home in his Oxford. "Java," he whispered. He needed his dæ mon's comforting presence. She sensed it and was already there, leaping gently onto his chest from the foot of the bed where she slept. Will hugged her gratefully.

"She asked me why," Will whispered. "And wouldn't let me kiss her. I still love her, so much I do." There was no need to say who 'she' was. Kirjava also knew that he loved her still. She missed Pantalaimon just as much as he missed Lyra. Kirjava comforted him, the two staying awake talking of the pair they loved - was Lyra still running about on the roofs of Jordan? Or had she married? And Pan - was his shape remarked upon? And had they hidden the fact they could be separated? No matter how many questions they could come up with, there were never answers. Finally, though, it was 6:30 and, stopping the restless questioning, Will got up and went to work.

Tired and worried about Lyra, he found it hard to concentrate. His eyes were half-closed as he checked his email, but suddenly they widened in surprise. Top on the list was an email from Vanessa.

Though he was anxious to read it, Will forced himself to work in chronological order as he always did, bottom to top, making Vanessa's last. The other seven or eight messages, all work-related, seemed to take hours to deal with. Yes, he knew there was a shortage of Lord of the Rings and he had notified Duffy. No, Disney movies hadn't been selling too well - DreamWorks sales were much higher. He liked his job well enough, but sometimes he was amazed at the minutiae of the inner workings of a marketing website like

At last he was done and could read Vanessa's email. Nervously he clicked the subject line - "I've thought" - and waited for it to load. A little scared of what he would find, he nevertheless read eagerly.

Will -

You told me to go home and think, and I did. I thought of little else. How, I asked myself, could I marry someone who hid something so clearly important to him? But then (around 4 a.m., I think) the thought dawned that perhaps it wasn't so much hidden as just private. I can respect that. We all have something we don't wish to share, I suppose. My first thought, of course, what made me so hostile yesterday, was of another woman, but I have since realized that that made no sense. I am sorry for the way I acted. Please forgive me.

In any case, I shall not ask you about that day again, and I don't expect I shall see you then. In return I do ask something of you, however; I want an answer if I ask you anything else. If you agree, you cans how it now by answering this once again: Will you marry me?

Hurry with a reply. I can think of nothing else.

I love you always,

Vanessa

Will read it three times, just to make sure. Even after the third reading, he couldn't fully absorb that she had accepted so quickly. Mostly, he felt an immense relief. The possibility that his Midsummer's 'engagement' involved another woman would not again be seriously considered. Her thoughts would not touch Lyra. No doubt she thought it something involving his parents; she knew about his father's disappearance, if not his death, and about his mother's suicide a year after entering a mental care institute. Will didn't really care what Vanessa thought. All that mattered was that she still wanted to marry him and wouldn't ask about Midsummer's Day. Remembering the last paragraph of her email, he wrote back.

Vanessa darling he wrote

Of course I will marry you. I do not think I shall ever be able to adequately express my thanks that you have decided not to press me about Midsummer's Day. But I can and shall try, starting by agreeing to your request. You may ask me anything else and be answered.

You asked that I hurry, so I will end this here and send it.

Love from,

Will

He only felt a twinge of guilt over that last. He did love her, after all, he just wasn't in love with her like he was Lyra. As far as answering her questions, eh could lie if the true answer would elad to Lyra. She hadn't actually asked that he answered truthfully. He would feel awful about it, but compared to the disaster if she found out about Lyra…It was a small price to pay.

Smiling, he clicked 'send.' His smile soon faded as he went through the day, but one happy thought remained in his head: Midsummer's Day is coming.

Well that chapter was a bit shorter! Hope you liked it and please let me know in a review!