"Annie!"

Grace held her arms open as her daughter ran to her. Annie wasn't quick to tear, but she crumbled in her mother's arms.

"Oh, sweetheart," Grace soothed, "it's all right now. You're safe."

"I was so scared I was never gonna see you again," she whimpered.

"So was I," she laughed though tears brimmed her eyes. "Especially when Hannah and Molly came back without you."

Annie stepped back and ran her arm over her eyes. Molly and Hannah were standing by them now, and she turned and grabbed each of their hands. "Are you guys okay?"

Molly threw herself at Annie. "I thought she was going to kill us all."

"Did she hurt you?"

"She tried."

"I thought England was all royalty and castles," Hannah said. "Castles without dungeons."

Oliver, who had been hanging back by the door, joined the group now, putting a hand on Annie and Hannah's shoulders. "Tomorrow we'll enjoy the royal bit."

"Leapin' lizards," Annie breathed, "I nearly forgot."

"Oliver," Grace said, "the knighting is in a few hours."

Eyes wide, he looked at his watch. "Good heavens."

"Are you three still up to it?" she asked the kids. "I'm sure you haven't gotten a wink of sleep."

"Are you kidding?" Annie said, bouncing back to her normal, spunky self. "I didn't come all the way to England and wind up kidnapped to not meet the king!"

Hannah nodded. "My dress is so pretty. Where else am I going to get to wear it?"

"I want to go, too!" Molly said.

"Well then," said Oliver, "you have just enough time to wash up and take a nap."

Hannah and Molly started for the door, but Annie hung back. "Are you still coming, Mom?"

"Of course, sweetheart."

"You've been so sick… I wasn't sure. Are you feeling better?"

Grace glanced at Oliver. A silent conversation transpired, ending with a nod from Oliver.

"You girls run along," he said to the other two. "Give us a moment to speak with Annie."

"Hyde Park was my idea," Molly confessed.

"And it was mine to avoid dinner with Mrs. Lewis!" Hannah added.

Oliver chuckled. "None of you are in trouble. Don't you worry."

Relieved, though still skeptical, Hannah and Molly nodded, exiting the room.

"This is bad, isn't it?" Annie said nervously.

"No, it's a good thing," Grace assured, squeezing Annie's hands. "At least, I hope you think so."

Oliver came to his wife's side and placed a hand on her back, nudging her to go on.

"We aren't certain yet…" She looked up at Oliver for a final confirmation, which he gave. "…but we think I might be having a baby."

Annie's mouth fell open. "A… baby?"

"It's very early which is why we haven't said anything before now," Oliver explained.

"I don't want you to keep worrying."

"Wow…"

Now Grace looked up at Oliver fretfully, her gaze saying, "Too much too soon?"

"Are you all right?" Oliver asked.

Trying to perk up, she replied, "Oh, yes! It's just… weird, you know? Having thought Mrs. Lewis' daughter was my sister… and what Molly heard about Mrs. Lewis saying I wasn't your real daughter…"

Taking Annie's hand and walking her over to the bed, Oliver lifted her up and set her on the foot, crouching down so he could meet her eye. "You are our real daughter, Annie. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Grace added, "Especially not somebody who would stoop low enough to lie about their child belonging to someone else, let alone despicable enough to resort to kidnapping someone else's children to make a quick buck."

"I guess that's true."

Stroking Annie's hair, Grace said, "You might not be related to us by blood, but we love you as much as we would if you were."

"If not more."

"How could you love me more?" she questioned.

"You changed our lives," Oliver said. "You're the reason Grace and I are married in the first place."

"But I'm always getting into trouble."

"Kids are supposed to get into trouble."

"I'd rather have a rambunctious child than one who's lost her spirit," Grace said. "You've gone through so much – and are still going through it. I wouldn't change a thing about you."

Annie sniffed. "Really?"

"Really."

Annie leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Grace's waist. "I am happy for you, Mommy. Really."

Grace bent down and kissed her head.

Sitting back again, Annie said, "You know, it's funny. Michael and I were talking about siblings when we were in the dungeon."

"I'm sure he knows a lot about that subject," Grace chuckled.

"He said that his parents love him and all of his brothers the same, even when it's different."

"That sounds about right."

Oliver nudged Annie's cheek with his knuckle. "As far as I can tell, you'll be too busy with Michael to notice a baby around the house."

Annie rolled her eyes but couldn't stop herself from blushing. "Don't be silly, Daddy. Michael lives here and I live in New York. We'll write and stuff but that's it."

Once again, Grace and Oliver shared a look.

"You think we should?"

"I don't know…"

"What is it?" Annie questioned.

Carefully, Oliver answered, "Let's just say that you don't need to worry about not getting to see the Webbs."

Annie raised her eyebrows. "What are you up to?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Grace giggled. "We'd hate to spoil the surprise."

"What surprise?!"

"Why don't you go tell Molly and Hannah about the baby?" Oliver suggested.

"But what's this about the Webbs?!" she continued to question as she hopped off the bed.

"You'll know soon enough."

"You guys are terrible at surprises."

"We know," Oliver said almost proudly.

"I'm surprised you were able to keep the baby a secret for this long."

Setting a hand on her stomach, Grace said, "That's a little bit different. Speaking of which, aside from Hannah and Molly, please keep this between us for now. I still need to confirm it with the doctor."

Annie agreed. "But are you sort of sure?"

"Almost sure," Grace smiled.

"Leapin' lizards…"

"You're sure you're not upset about all this?" Oliver questioned.

"No, I'm not upset," she answered in earnest. "It's just strange how things keep changing. First Molly's parents died, we got kidnapped, now you're about to be knighted, you're having a baby, and you're up to something with the Webbs."

Oliver and Grace laughed.

"At least some of those things are positives," Grace said.

"When will the baby be here?"

"Not for several months," she answered.

"Can I help decorate the room?"

Feeling a sense of relief from the budding anticipation, Grace nodded. "Absolutely!"

"And Molly and Hannah can help?"

"Of course."

"I'm gonna go tell them!" She ran to the door but turned around before turning the knob. "I'm still gonna figure out what the big secret is, though."

Oliver chuckled. "I expect nothing less."

She opened the door and took a step out, then turned once more. "Does this have to do with you getting Mr. Webb a job?"

"In a way," Oliver said.

With a hum, Annie closed the door behind her.

A moment after she'd gone, Oliver turned to Grace, reaching over to her and lightly taking her hand. "I'm sorry that announcement wasn't under happier circumstances."

"It's all right," she said with a shrug. "I'm just so happy to have her back. She'll come around. It'll be nice not having to keep the secret on the ship, either."

"That's true."

"How are you doing? Tell me everything that happened."

"That's a long story, my dear. Wouldn't you rather rest?"

"I couldn't possibly sleep," she said. "I'm so wound up. Although, I'm sure you're tired."

"A cup of coffee and I'll be good as new."

. . .

Oliver told the story of the children's rescue and the confrontation with Darlene over their coffee on their room's balcony. It didn't take long before Grace started asking herself why she wanted to know all of the details of what the girls and Michael had gone through. She listened without interruption nonetheless, though couldn't help but let a few tears slip by as she pictured her daughter locked in a literal dungeon with snakes and heaven knows what else.

"Well," she said with a huff when he was through, "I'm glad we can rule out my dislike for her as plain jealousy."

"Were you really jealous?"

"Yes… I guess I was in a way."

"But why? I know I was a blithering idiot, but do you really distrust my love for you?"

"It's not that," she sighed. "It's all the history there. Knowing that she knew you during a time when I didn't exist to you at all."

"But that's just the thing, Grace. I didn't know you."

"Can't I just blame the baby for making me over-emotional?"

He laughed.

"I'll say I was more scared than jealous. I was a little bit jealous by how much you wanted to spend time with her on the ship. It was when I saw you kissing her that it turned to pure anger... then fear. And then all that came out between us because of it…"

Oliver set his coffee down on the table and then leaned forward on his knees. "All of that stuff I said about our parenting differences… In light of what happened, can we put it behind us? We might not see eye to eye on everything, but when it comes down to it, we know we will fight like hell for our children."

"I think we've both learned a lot from this trip," she started. "Maybe if I learn to lighten up a bit Annie won't feel the need to make an adventure out of everything."

He nodded. "And maybe if I learn to be a little more protective my ex-girlfriends won't be in a position to kidnap her."

"Good grief, it sounds absolutely ridiculous when it's put into words."

"This entire trip has been ridiculous, darling. We started off with a concussed stowaway."

"And we found out so much that we didn't know from when the Fishers were alive."

Shaking his head, he leaned his chin on his knuckles. "I'd forgotten about all that."

"Do you think all of that is going to have an impact when the Webbs tell her they want to adopt her?"

"I don't know. I guess it's good we didn't tell Annie the entire truth."

"We've put that kid through the wringer, haven't we?"

"You know what they say, 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'."

Grace leaned back in her chair and let out a breath. "I know we've only just met them, but the Webbs seem like such wonderful people."

"I suppose I was so focused on finding people who could care for the children financially that I didn't stop to think about what kind of people they were."

"If Michael is any indication of what kind of man his father is, I think they're a safe choice."

"Yes…" he muttered.

"What's the matter?"

"Have you seen Annie and Michael together?"

Grace gave a knowing laugh. "We knew this day would come eventually."

"She's still so little…"

"It's puppy love, Oliver. All perfectly innocent."

"I suppose you're right."

"Wouldn't you rather her innocently call him her boyfriend now and let them grow up together rather than have to deal with her first boyfriend at sixteen when she's already in that mindset that she's an adult?"

He considered this a moment. "Very true."

"Michael's a good kid."

"He is, I have to say. He took good care of her in that dungeon."

Sitting up, Grace said, "Let that put your mind at ease for now. We've got a knighting to get ready for."

He glanced at his watch. "We've still got some time."

"You might, but I've got three girls to help plus get dressed myself."

"Fair enough."

"Are you sure you don't want to put your feet up for a bit?" she asked as she stood.

"I might. I haven't had any time to prepare for this."

As she passed him, she paused to kiss his cheek. "You've earned it."

"Funny how much more important this seemed before leaving New York. Now I'm just happy you're still here with me and the girls are all safe and sound."

"Oliver Warbucks… a true family man." She winked. "Who would have guessed it?"