A/N: "Love is not what takes you by surprise and leaves you totally breathless. That's called asthma."

TheRanger'sDaughter: Confusing family tree indeed! Have you seen Once Upon a Time? Now THAT is a confusing family tree!

AER: Oh smart phones...I ran one over with a tractor once. It still worked...same phone several months later was dropped on a tile floor. That busted something internally and I had to replace it. Otter Box withstood the tractor but gave in to a floor. Yeah, Hazen's not what Reese pictures him to be. People rarely are what we picture inside our heads.

Raider: You may want to give a good friend bail money before you go on one of those adventures of yours...Hazen does take his role too seriously. He hasn't figured out how to relax.

Aubrey: Most of this generation never got to meet Lina. She died when Gabe as a baby.

Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan.

For the first time since her wedding Elizabet wished she had the freedom to sleep where she chose. Her mother and cousin had warned her that day would come, but she hadn't expected it to come so quickly. Tonight was Tammy's first night of safety since…Elizabet had no way of knowing the last time Tammy felt safe. She'd known of her uncle's temper for a long time, but he hadn't directed it to his wife right away. Elizabet used to feel responsible for his anger until she realized it all started when Calvin's little sister, Elizabet's first mother, married her first father, a man Calvin felt was beneath them.

It spiked when he found their home burnt to ashes. Elizabet could still vaguely remember him rescuing her and taking her with him to Claymound. He was angry when he took her to the orphanage, and then grew even angrier when he learned she'd been adopted. His jealousy sparked his temper. He felt that, though he tried, he never measured up to those around him. It was almost like the way Reese sized himself next to Hazen, only Reese didn't have the tragic death of a beloved sibling on top of it.

He never got a handle on his temper. That seeped its way into his work and his marriage. Running a jail provided outlets for that anger. Being married to Tammy did not. Elizabet had offered Tammy positions in the castle before, hoping she'd leave on her own. She never did. Her own rocky past trapped her mind. Even with his faults, Calvin had been better to her than her first husband. He never struck her in public, which made it that much harder for anyone outside to help her. She wouldn't speak out, he saved his temper for a closed door. Elizabet's family, her adopted family, told her if Neil ever hurt her the way Calvin hurt Tammy they wouldn't wait for a mark or public scene.

Elizabet knew Neil would never hurt her though. Even back on his farm, he hesitated to kill a chicken or lamb for dinner. He could never raise his hand to strike a person. He was too gentle for that.

Now, Elizabet wanted to make sure her aunt was settled. She wanted to sit with her while Gabby made a final assessment before bed and help mix whatever tonic Tammy would take to help her sleep. Those duties fell to Alicia, who bitterly left Elizabet's bedroom without helping her undress. Elizabet changed into a nightgown on her own and combed out her hair. Neil joined her just as she began putting it into a loose braid for the night.

"Noah has Max staying with him tonight," he told her as he worked on the buttons of his jacket. "Captain Warden's on night watch and Lady Carissa is making a dress or something for Jasmine. Max wanted an escape."

"I'm sure the company will be good for him," Elizabet replied. Scout was out searching for Carissa's missing niece, and Carissa decided the best use of her time would be to make her daughter a dress? There had to be more to that. Elizabet put the thought aside. "Tammy's going to stay in one of my parents' guest rooms until Gabby deems her fit. After that she'll become one of our maids."

Neil came behind Elizabet as she tied off her braid. He rested his hands on her shoulders. "She doesn't have to work. She knows that, right?"

"She's like you. She insists."

Neil smiled a bit and sat next to Elizabet on the edge of her vanity's stool. "As soon as things calm down, I'd like to take Noah to the manor."

"The manor?" Elizabet asked. "It's not built yet."

"I know, but he's eleven. That's generally when we start teaching boys how to use their hands. I mean, he's helped with fencing and on small projects before, but I'd really like to teach him how to build a home."

"You don't expect to build the entire manor do you?" Elizabet asked with a raised eyebrow. Neil could manage a house and barn, but a manor?

"No," he laughed gently. He took her hands and ran his thumbs over them. "I just want him to help with the framing. Perhaps he and I could go for a couple of months and put together a cottage in the back of the property? I can field questions from the builders so they don't have to send a messenger up here every time something comes up and Noah would get to help with what will be primarily his home when he takes over the fief."

Elizabet nodded slowly. It made sense. It was something a father would do for his son, and now Neil had to be the one to teach Noah such things. Had he not married her, he'd be at his farm finding a chicken coop or lean-to or something he could do to teach Noah these skills. They were important, and he had the decency to phrase all this as a wish rather than something he'd already decided. She could say 'no' and he'd find something in Roscrea for Noah to work on.

"I want to come too," she finally said. "We can find a project to work on together."

Neil grinned at her. "You sure you're up for that, Princess?"

Elizabet laughed. "I'll expect all the comforts of home, naturally."

"Alright. We'll bring Alicia."

Elizabet made a face. Neil chuckled.

Will, Alyss, and Talia sat to the side quietly watching as Liam knelt next to Gabe. His lungs hadn't given him trouble in years, but they also hadn't been tested like this in years. He did everything the healers ordered him to. He religiously did breathing exercises every morning and night, even while traveling. He worked out four days a week, following a regimen the battlemaster created for recruits with similar deficiencies in their lungs. He drank a cup of herbal tea twice a day, sometimes more if he felt he needed it. He learned to monitor his symptoms and manage them without the need for a constant nurse, as he had when he was growing up.

Now, he'd caught a breath full of smoke from their campfire when the wind shifted and he found himself on his knees. Liam stayed by him, making him sit so his lungs were free to regain air. Once it passed Gabe, embarrassed, sat with his head in his hands.

"You sure you don't want to stay with Lorelei?" Liam asked. "We can…"

"No!" Gabe shouted, earning him another round of wheezing.

"You can't continue like this," Alyss tried. "It'll kill you."

"So long as the bastard who hurt Lorelei…"

There was a high pitched shriek from somewhere closer to the main path. They all paused and snapped their attention to its source. Will and Alyss glanced to one another then to the native Hibernians. The two headed off towards the shriek. Gabe attempted to stand but Liam pushed him back down.

"No," he ordered firmly. "You're resting."

"I…"

"You're resting," Talia repeated. "Will and Alyss will take care of that. We are going to set up camp for the night."

Gabe groaned.