A/N: I do believe Discovery will be the longest of all these stories (with the exception of Themes).

AER: You've cried? My work is complete.

TheRanger'sDaughter: You don't have to wonder about Daniel and Julia's reactions much longer.

Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan.

Robin walked with Mason and Scout through a garden outside the manor. Lady Loraine thought the two were vetting her to date their son, when in fact Mason and Scout both knew Robin would never really take a romantic interest in Hazen. Even if she did, they had known her all her life. Hazen had volunteered to accompany Sir Bartholomew to watch the men-at-arms train. Sir Bartholomew liked showing off the regimen he put into play when he moved to the manor. Hazen entering the village would also signal Daniel and Julia to make contact with Mason and Scout.

A few women had integrated into the men-at-arms, but Sir Bartholomew was so old fashioned he made it difficult for them to get in. Most around here weren't interested anyway, and those who were simply went to the neighboring village to volunteer. It wasn't fair, and those views were something both Kineta and Scout sought to change, but they knew trying to change Sir Bartholomew's mind was hopeless, as was the case with many in his generation. Besides, their time was better spent on other national matters. Girls of apprenticeship age were welcome to travel to sit entrance exams at the Academy. That was a large leap from where things used to be within itself.

As they walked, Robin went into detail recounting all that had happened with her search party. She tried not to squirm too much when she told them about the brothel and then all she and Hazen had attempted to find as they made their rounds. They chuckled when she admitted she only agreed to his plan if he spoiled her. Mason goodheartedly muttered something about expense while Scout commended her quick thinking. Robin felt relieved they weren't upset with her for taking advantage of Hazen, but then they knew her well enough they knew she'd never truly take advantage of him.

"So no leads on what they want?" Scout asked when Robin finished. Robin shook her head. The royal couple sighed. In the distance they could see Sir Bartholomew's carriage, Hazen riding his horse behind it. Robin couldn't help letting her mind go to his crown seeing him riding a horse like that. He did it in such a…princely way.

"One good thing came from all this," she told his parents. "I think Reese and Hazen found some common ground."

"I wish they'd found it under better circumstances," Mason said. "Let's go get packed. As soon as Daniel and Julia make contact we'll leave."

It didn't take long for them to make contact. Julia appeared just as Lady Loraine began to give Robin advice on growing out her hair, much to Robin's relief. They were packed and off just as Sir Bartholomew and Lady Loraine sat down to lunch. They met up with Daniel and shared dried meat and fruit while Mason filled the two in on Robin and Hazen's ventures.

"Had you two gotten anywhere in your search?" Scout asked Julia as they rode. Julia shook her head.

"It's like they disappeared."

They arrived in the next village just an hour later. They intended to just pass through, but a celebration in the tavern drove their curiosity too the detour. What could possibly be happening in a tavern in the middle of the day that would be cause for such celebration? Daniel went in to investigate.

He returned almost instantly.

"What was it?" Scout asked as he quickly mounted his short, shaggy horse.

"They say Mara's been found," he answered just before heeling his horse forward. Julia signaled her own horse after him without a word. The others followed, knowing there was nothing they could do to slow them down. What should have been a four day trip turned into two. They were all exhausted when they finally got back to Roscrea. They slipped in a back entrance. Robin had never run so much in her life as she raced to the courtroom. They found Sean, who directed them to Mara's bedroom.

They found Will, Alyss, Carissa, and Talia all sitting together on the foot of Mara's unmade bed. The three watched Maggie, Jasmine, and Anne play in the floor. Jasmine and Anne were dressed normally, their hair put into matching braids by Talia just that morning. Those two wore dresses with short sleeves and smocks to protect their clothes while they played. Jasmine and Anne giggled happily, too engrossed by their game to notice the door had opened.

Then there was Maggie. She didn't notice the door either, but not because she was focused on the game. Her hair was combed but hadn't been braided like the others. It was a dark shade closer to Mara's than her own, with the exception of her roots several shades lighter. It'd been trimmed to frame her face but was much shorter than even Robin's. She wore a sleeping gown instead of a dress and she was barefoot while the other two had their boots on.

While Jasmine and Anne focused on their game, Maggie kept looking to the hourglass on a table nearby. It was designed to time three hours rather than one. Leaders in Arrida sent it along with coffee and silk blankets when they received her birth announcement. The silk baby blankets had been passed on to younger cousins since then, but Mara still used the hourglass to track time and watch as she fell asleep. The newcomers paused in the doorway, watching Maggie as she slowly set her doll down. The sand ran out. Jasmine looked up to watch Maggie run over to Will with her palm up. Will already had a tablet in his hand. Maggie took it, stuck it in her mouth, reset the hourglass, and rejoined her cousins on the floor.

"Maggie?" Julia prompted, taking a step in. Maggie finally noticed the small crowd of newcomers in the doorway. She stood up, as though Julia were going to give her a chore to do. She didn't greet them or run into her mother's arms. She just stood and stared waiting for further instructions. Daniel stepped around his wife and knelt next to his daughter.

"Maggie," he said gently, searching her eyes.

"Maggie, that's your father," Will said. Maggie looked back to Will then to Daniel.

"Oh," she said.

Robin wove her way through and went to join Jasmine and Anne on the floor. "Anne," she said.

"Robin!" Anne squealed immediately. Her eyes were covered with her blindfold, but she excitedly swung her arms every which direction searching for her sister. "Robin, where are you?"

Anne's hand slapped Daniel's arm and then Maggie's in its search for her. Robin caught Anne's arm and pulled her into a hug, keeping her eyes on Maggie. Daniel had turned to acknowledge Anne before looking back to his daughter. Maggie barely reacted at all.

"Come," Talia announced. "Jasmine, Anne, let's go for a walk."

"I want to stay with Robin," Anne protested.

"I'm coming on the walk too," Robin promised, glancing back over to Maggie. Daniel and Julia were both on their knees ready to cry tears of joy upon being reunited with her. Maggie clearly couldn't care less. Something was wrong.

"Where are we walking to?" Jasmine asked once the four had broken away from the rest of the family. Now that Anne knew Robin was nearby she'd gone back to holding Jasmine's arm for guidance.

"The medical wing," Talia answered. Jasmine nodded and gleefully led the way, continuing whatever conversation she'd started with Anne during their game. Robin looked back towards the apartment as they turned a corner.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked in a whisper. Anne was too focused on whatever story Jasmine was telling her to pay attention to them.

"The man who kidnapped her used warmweed to control her," Talia answered. "She's still coming off it."

That would explain her lack of interest.

"She escaped her kidnapper with the help of Elizabet's aunt, who just happened across them. She ran to a Courier for help. The kidnapper killed the Courier in front of her and attacked Tammy. Tammy tells us Anne grabbed the Courier's kit and ran to the woods. Maggie hasn't talked about seeing any of this yet. The drug must be blocking her memory. On her own she cut and dyed her hair and changed into a new dress. I think she got that idea from hearing Alyss and Carissa tell her stories."

Robin nodded. "I'm sure Julia played a part in that too. My group found the dress and locks of hair."

"She did a good thing, but she was still coming off the warmweed. She found a child labor camp where a man promised children poppy candies would cure all their ailments. That took the edge off her warmweed withdrawals, but…" Talia sighed. "She was desperate, and she's not old enough to handle situations like that in general. Your mother has a plan to wean her off of them. It will take several weeks, but Maggie has already showed some progress with it. She's too weak to take extreme measures. Will says it would have been hard for him as a partially trained Ranger when he faced this. Maggie's too young to expect recovery miracles from."

"Maggie will have to deal with this the rest of her life," Robin whispered.

"She will."

Robin shook her head, looking to Anne. How easy it would have been for Anne to be in this same position. The very thought made her sick.

"How are you doing?" Talia asked.

Robin shrugged. "Alright, I guess."

"Did you learn anything from your search?"

Robin bit her lip. Yes, she had learned something. She learned the name of the man who could very well be Russ' birthfather, but now wasn't the time to talk about that. Besides, that was a conversation for Russ to have with Talia, not Robin.

"Not really," Robin finally responded.

Jasmine went to a specific room in the medical wing. Robin had expected them to be visiting Lorelei, who she thought was still being treated by her mother. She was wrong. Robin stared at her father in the bed, holding the hand of her mother's that wasn't in a sling.

"What?" Robin couldn't help wondering aloud. "What happened?"

"We were under attack," Talia explained, giving Robin a nudge towards her parents. "Again. Kane was injured defending Lorelei's room. Gabby's arm was broken in the breach."

Talia took Jasmine's hand and pulled her aside. Robin guided Anne to the bed, still staring at her father.

"Don't worry. It's not as bad as it looks," Kane assured her.

"So he says," Gabby added. Robin carefully touched her mother's shoulder so she'd know where she was, unsure how much pressure she could take with her bad arm.

"Are either of you in pain?" Robin asked carefully, watching Anne wrap her arms around Gabby's hips. Gabby stroked her hair with her good hand in return.

"We'll be fine," Kane assured her. "How are you, Robin?"

"I…"

Robin wasn't sure what she wanted to say, but even if she did she was interrupted by Russ joining them.

"Heard you made it back," he told his sister before walking around to stand on Kane's other side. Robin nodded. She glanced from Russ to Talia and back. Russ gave his head a single shake.

"Anne, why don't you sit with Jasmine outside?" Gabby suggested.

"Alright."

"Where's your cane?"

Anne didn't even have a hint of remorse or apology in her voice. "Mara's room."

Kane, Russ, Robin, and even Talia chuckled lightly. Talia came forward to lead Anne and Jasmine outside.

"Did you and Hazen find anything?" Russ asked.

"About that," Kane interjected. "Next time I want you staying with Robin, Russ. You're her brother. You need to look out for her."

Robin rolled her eyes.

"And leave Reese and Hazen alone? Think about that, Dad. One would kill the other and we'd be obligated to go to war with one of our best allies."

"He has a point," Robin agreed. She may have preferred to partner up with Reese, but Russ' judgement when he split them up made sense. Hazen could quietly travel in the company of a young woman. He couldn't do the same with another crown heir or uniformed Araluen Ranger. "We actually found King Mason and Queen Scout. They signaled Ranger Daniel and Lady Julia to come out of whatever they were working on and we were traveling together when we heard the news Mara, well Maggie had been found. We returned immediately after that."

"We're just happy you're safe," Gabby told her. "Aren't we, Kane?"

"Sure," Kane said. Clearly he had more he wanted to ask more, but took Gabby's cue to hold them.

Russ glanced over to the shut door. Robin circled her mother so she would be on her good side, wrapping her in a side hug. Gabby traced Robin's back up to her short hair.

"Alright," Kane gave in, looking from Robin to Russ. "What is it?"

Robin stared at Russ. If he wanted to evade their father's questioning, he had the skills to do it as the oldest and as a Ranger.

"Dad, Robin went undercover in a brothel."

Kane jerked up. Robin stepped out of his reach. "Good thing to lead with," Robin muttered. Kane groaned, having thrown his balance off center. Russ stepped forward to help him back down in the bed.

"She was in the kitchen," Russ quickly added as he eased Kane back. "She lifted a record book. We were trying to see if they'd dumped Maggie there or…if there were any clients matching the description of the man we were tracking."

"What's the point of telling us this?" Gabby asked. Robin felt her mother's arm tighten around her shoulders, bringing her back to her father's bedside.

"The records went back twenty-seven years," Russ went on. His voice dropped to a whisper, as though he were afraid of that their parents' reaction would be.

"I'm guessing you found Talia's name?" Kane asked. Robin felt her mother's arm tighten even more. Russ nodded.

"Yes," he answered aloud, glancing to Gabby.

"And?"

"You said my father's Iberion, right?"

"Yes."

"One of the names was Iberion."

Robin felt her mother's arm slid across her back until it came to a rest on her arm. "Let's give them some privacy," she whispered.

"No," Russ told them quickly. "Mum…Robin already knows all this. She's the one who found it and did the math."

"Russ," Kane said slowly. "Talia's the one you need to have this conversation with. I found her in Iberion and kept her as safe as I could. She had you in Nihon-Ja and she traveled to Araluen and then Hibernia while you were still young. She wasn't capable of being your mother. She gave it a good shot, but she wasn't ready. Gabby and I took you so you'd have a stable home."

"I know," Russ assured him. He reached across Kane's bed to touch Gabby's arm. He kept the touch light, as her closest arm was the broken one. "I'm still glad you did, it's just…well haven't you ever wondered, Dad?"

"Some. Not enough to get wound up over some name in a brothel's record book."

"But…when Talia gave me up, didn't she…"

"She didn't give you up," Gabby interrupted him. "She wanted to put you in our care temporarily."

Robin looked back to Russ. This part was new.

"And she never came back for me?" Russ guessed.

"No," Kane answered. "I told her either we took you for good or didn't take you at all. I made it clear if we took you we wouldn't give you back."

Russ took a moment to glance between all of them. "Why not?"

"She didn't have a choice when she was separated from me," Kane explained. "She thought I was dead, and I grew up thinking the same of her. She didn't re-enter my life until I was seven. It was by pure accident. My parents were kind enough to let her in my life, but it was one broken promise after another. She's gotten better, mind you. She's been a good mother to Jin. With us, however, she either didn't have a choice or she wasn't ready. What you're talking about is a part of her past she's put long behind her. If you want to go down this road, keep that in mind."

Russ swallowed hard. He stared at the ground, as though unsure how to process all this.

"Russ?" Gabby asked. They all knew that tone. Their mother hated the silence. Russ obediently circled the bed so he'd be at her side. He hugged her, careful of her arm.

Robin bit her lip uncertainly. Now she definitely wished she'd waited to tell Russ what she found. Growing up there had never been a divide between the siblings because of adoption. Philip and Catherine were one set of grandparents, Liam and Talia were the other. Russ and Holt were always her protective big brothers. They had Uncle Roman, Uncle Spence whom was talked about more than he was seen, Aunt Lucy, and Cousin Clara on their mother's side. So far Gabby was the only child of Philip and Catherine to hold a long term marriage. Uncle Spence went through wives like other men went through socks. Uncle Roman never married, instead focusing his time on raising Clara. Aunt Lucy was still young, younger than Gabby had been when she married Kane. Not by much, but still.

Kane had no siblings to speak of, but his family's circle was wide enough they were never at a loss for attention. Robin fit between Hazen and Holt in the grand chronological lineup, just a year older than Hazen but two years younger than her second brother. They'd grown up close. Robin shadowed her mother after Russ left home and took an interest in what was once Grandfather Philip's business. Aunt Lucy expanded it far beyond what Philip had ever dreamed of, and Robin wanted to be the one to continue that.

Robin had looked up to Russ all her life. She'd been proud when he became a Ranger. She still remembered his graduation ceremony, and how she'd gotten to be the one to present him with his silver leaf and kiss his cheek. The honor fell to her because it was no secret how much Russ doted on her…and Gilan, who had been on the verge of retirement at the time, knew it would anger his then-girlfriend whom everyone wanted gone anyway. The plan had worked incredibly well and Robin got to be part of her brother's special ceremony. They later learned, thanks to Will, the silver leaf given to Russ was the one Daideo Halt had worn when he was an active Ranger. Gilan swore he hadn't planned that, but Russ treasured his leaf all the more.

Their father always spoke highly of Halt, the grandfather Robin never met. The Araluen O'Carrick children actually had issues learning what adoption really meant because their father spoke of his adoptive parents as though he'd always been theirs. The entire concept of Talia confused them until they were old enough to hear the whole story.

"I've got to know," Russ finally said. "I'm sorry. I love all of you, I just…"

"You don't have to explain it to us," Gabby assured him. "We love you."