Author's Note: Hey, look, I updated again! I'm on a roll, huh? Anyway, I do apologize for the error in the last chapter. HAA, you are correct; the Tucks cannot sustain injuries. I apologize for scene involving Tuck's cut hand. It was somewhat essential for the chapter, so I can't exactly correct it now, but I will keep it in mind for future chapters. I'm balancing so many rules and facts that it is hard to focus on the big ones sometimes. One more thing: I have never taken ideas from any of the other stories on fanfiction.net. I have only seen the movie once and do not plan on watching it again until this story is finished. I am trying really hard to use only my own ideas and I think I have succeeded. If anyone wants to talk with me about that, then I would not mind at all. Just email me if you have any problems (or even if you just want to ask a question or talk- I love letters). Keep reviewing on this site, though! If you read the chapter, then review, even if it's just a line. I like to know that people are still interested in the story, or else what's the point of posting?

Also, this chapter and the next one may seem kind of slow, but I have to set some things in place before I can dive headlong into some serious action. Trust me, it's coming...

Chapter Twenty-nine: Family

Dinner that evening was quiet as usual, but the uncomfortable feeling that surrounded them the previous nights was mysteriously absent. Winnie seemed to be the only one present who was deep in thought. The others ate heartily, concentrating on the meal before them. Winnie picked at her food and moved it around the plate so Mae would not be offended that she didn't like her cooking.

Tuck made eye contact with Winnie as he set his fork on his empty plate. He seemed to sense her melancholy. Clearing his throat, he said, "You know, I think it's time we added a touch of entertainment to our evenings. Winnie is our guest and it would look bad on us if she were bored. What do you think, Mae?"

Mae shrugged and smiled at Winnie. "I don't see why not."

"Could we play chess?" Jesse leapt up from the table, dropping his napkin on the floor and nearly taking the plate with him. He blushed and sat down hurriedly. "I'm sorry, ma'am. May I go get the chess set?"

Winnie and Mae laughed, and she nodded. He jumped up again and the table tottered, but he was gone from the room before he could notice. Tuck steadied the piece of furniture with his hands and stood up slowly. "I'll make sure the rest of the house stays intact." He winked at his wife and left through the doorway Jesse had gone through a few seconds before.

Winnie helped Mae take the dishes into the kitchen to be washed later. Miles disappeared upstairs. Jesse and Tuck entered the living room with a large, flat chessboard and a flour sack. Tuck laid the board on the table in the center of the room as Jesse turned the sack upside down. Small wooden pieces tumbled onto the floor. Winnie joined Jesse on the floor and examined the fallen knights and pawns. She ran her fingers over the rough edges and smooth contours, marveling at the handiwork. "Oh, they're beautiful!"

"Pa made 'em," said Jesse proudly.

Winnie looked up at Angus Tuck and smiled. "Did you really?"

Tuck shrugged, but he looked pleased. Winnie looked back at the bishop that she held in her hand as Jesse began setting up the board. "We have a chess set at home, but it's nothing like this."

"Do you play, Winnie?"

"Yes, my father taught me when I was very young."

"Are you any good?"

Winnie cast a sidelong glance at Jesse and smirked. "I should say so. I've been playing for 12 years."

Jesse grinned. "Care to play a round?"

"You don't know what you're getting into, Jesse Tuck."

"I don't think Jess ever knows what he's getting into." Winnie turned to see Miles walking up behind her, hands behind his back. He raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge to Jesse, then smiled at Winnie. "You could beat him."

"Is that so, Miles? We'll see about that." He waved his hands over the board like a magician. "Ladies first."

Winnie giggled and moved a pawn. The game had officially begun. Before long, the entire family was gathered around the board watching them and making comments. They all made it very clear who they were rooting for.

"Nice move, Winnie."

"Yes, very clever. It would appear that his queen is cornered."

"It looks like she's got you beat, brother."

Jesse scowled at his mother and brother, then turned back to the game. Winnie watched his perfect fingers alight onto a piece, then flutter away indecisively. After a few minutes, his eyes snapped over to the far corner of the board, where her king waited patiently for his men to defeat the opposing forces. Without a word, Jesse picked up his bishop and moved it diagonally all the way across the board. Every pair of eyes in the room followed the move, including Winnie's. With a smug smile, Jesse knocked over Winnie's pawn, which was protecting the king. "Check."

Mae gasped. "Oh, my."

Miles winced. "I guess I was wrong."

Winnie scanned the board for possible moves, but found none. She sighed resignedly and moved her rook over to guard the king. It didn't matter, though. Three moves later, Winnie's king was down and Jesse was accepting reluctant congratulations from his family.

When Jesse turned to her, Winnie bowed her head in acknowledgment of his greatness. "I guess you are a better chess player."

Jesse grinned. "Maybe, but it does help that I've been playing for about eighty years."

Winnie laughed and a funny idea popped into her head. She wondered if those eighty years would matter very much if the two of them played against one another for a few more centuries. For once, the thought of immortality did not seem so serious.

Jesse challenged his father to a second game and Tuck accepted. As they began setting up the pieces again, Miles pulled a small harmonica from his pocket. "Anyone ready for a song?"

Winnie jumped up excitedly and sat beside him in a chair brought in from the eating area. "Can you really play that, Miles? What songs do you know?"

"Just about anything probably." Miles put the instrument to his lips, creating a low whistle. A few seconds later, the notes came together in a quick dance song that was popular when she was young. Mae and Winnie began clapping along with their hands as Miles tapped the beat on the floor with his shoe. The men involved with the chess game glanced up when the music started, but quickly returned to the game.

"What else do you know, Miles? Anything with words?" He nodded and put the harmonica to his lips again. The song was much slower than the others were. It was a hymn Winnie remembered from church in Treegap. Beside her, Mae began filling in the words. Too pleased to be embarrassed, Winnie joined in, filling the air with the sound of her sweet soprano voice. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound they made and the words she knew by heart.

When the song ended, she sighed contentedly. Her eyes fluttered open dreamily and focused on the first thing in her view: Jesse. Their eyes met and she knew that he had been watching her as she sang. There was something in the way that he looked at her that reminded her of their afternoon in the rain. His lips were parted slightly, but she couldn't look at his lips. All she could see were his eyes, which burned brightly in the semi-darkness of the room.

Tuck leaned forward and tapped Jesse on the hand. He jumped at the touch and looked at his father, bewildered. Tuck smiled gently and motioned to the chessboard. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I have check mate."

Jesse looked down at the board, confused, while Winnie cleared her throat, feeling much the same way. Mae told her that she had a beautiful singing voice and she accepted the compliment with subdued humility. Miles rose from his chair and slipped the harmonica into his pocket. He pecked his mother on the cheek and placed a hand on his father's shoulder, then said good night to everyone before ascending the stairs to the loft.

"I'm going to pick berries for the jam tomorrow, Winnie. Do you want to help me?" Mae pushed her chair into the dining room and blew out the candle on the table.

"That sounds wonderful."

"Good." Mae kissed her other son good night and disappeared into the bedroom. Jesse could barely look Winnie in the eye as he said good night as well, but he did manage a sort of embarrassed half smile before following his brother's lead.

Tuck finished putting away the chess pieces and left the board and bag on the table. He started walking towards the bedroom door, but stopped a few steps away from the doorway. He paused thoughtfully and looked at Winnie. "You did well tonight, girl." Without another word, Tuck stepped into the bedroom and closed the door.

Winnie stood in the half-darkness, letting the silence settle around her. She let her eyes wander past the table with the abandoned chess set and the chair Mae forgot to put away. A thousand stars were visible through the window. She settled into the couch that was her bed and closed her eyes, the words of a familiar old hymn fading into unconsciousness.