A/N: Any else crave something in another town at inconvenient times? Small town problem? Okay.

AER: You know...it's been awhile since I ended a night getting cursed out.

TheRanger'sDaughter: You'll hear more about Neil later. You are thinking along the same lines as Elizabet.

Raider: LOVE Drake and Josh! Drake's trolling on Twitter is hilarious. Elizabet developed into an optimist, so she just kept assuming Neil was caught up somewhere else in the castle. She had a lot to take care of first anyway. I AM NOT EVIL! Sure. He has a beard. If I cry writing it, I want it to be good enough the readers cry reading it. That's fair...isn't it? Lots going on right now indeed.

Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan.

When Elizabet woke, she was being placed in a bed in the medical wing. She lay there with her eyes shut just a bit longer, not wanting to face the world quite yet. A hand tilted her head up just enough to pull her hair up. The hands put a cool cloth behind her neck and then another on her forehead after gently laying her head back on the pillow. They then removed her boots and socks, carefully untying the laces as not to disturb her.

Elizabet couldn't keep herself together a moment more. The reality crashed back down all at once. Her husband was dead. She was a widow. The tears came back.

"Elizabet?"

She finally got her eyes to open. The person comforting her was Warden. She stared at him, trying to remember exactly what had happened.

"Elizabet, are you alright?" he asked.

More tears swelled. Warden went back to the head of the bed and took her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Caterpillar, say something. Did he hurt you?"

Her door swung open again. This time Gabe came in. He went directly to her bed and pulled her into a hug. "Mum just told me," he whispered to her. "I'm so sorry."

Warden released her hand. More people were at her door. He went to go talk to them. One must be someone who knew because when he returned to her side he said nothing. He simply stood there, which was enough for Elizabet as she sobbed into her brother's shoulder.

"Calvin's been detained quietly, as you ordered Captain," a guard said.

Calvin? What was Calvin doing here?

"Good. Get him something for is jaw. He'll be there awhile."

Oh. That was who Warden punched. Sean entered next. He rubbed her back while Gabe continued his hug. Elizabet knew she should feel safe in this moment. Her father, brother, and the guard who had protected her since she was a little girl would never let harm come to her. These were the three men she once cared about more than anyone.

Then she met Neil.

She fell in love with and married Neil.

Now Neil was gone.

New sobs racked through every fiber of her being.

A nurse came to her doorway. "Lorelei's waking up," she announced.

Elizabet felt Gabe's arms give her a final squeeze before slipping away. Her father gave her a quick hug as well. "Warden's going to stay with you until we get back," he promised before ducking out himself. Lorelei waking up. That was important. Elizabet should get up and go with them, but some invisible weight kept her from being able.

"You have to speak, Caterpillar," Warden whispered to her as he sat on the edge of her bed. "You can't be silent again. Not now that you have Noah."

Noah. Her brother-in-law. The brother-in-law she'd vowed to help Neil finish raising after their parents passed on. She'd have to finish raising him alone now.

It just wasn't fair.

"Please," Warden begged her. "Say something."

Elizabet stared at him for several moments. He tried asking a couple of questions, but she didn't hear them. The shock of losing her husband rushed back in a single second, followed by the fear of raising Noah alone. He was probably still back at the apartment destroying his room out of anger. How was she supposed to handle that? Throw hot lye at him? No. Elizabet needed a man there to go in, right the furniture, and then teach Noah how to deal with his anger however it was boys his age were supposed to deal with their anger. Elizabet needed Neil, and if Neil were there neither of them would be in this mess.

Why did he go to the ravine? He was supposed to be searching for a new post for Alicia.

Late that night, Gabby insisted she check on Maggie once more before going to bed. Robin volunteered to guide her while Russ went to collect Anne and tuck her in. They hated being separated from their father, but Kane wasn't able to move to a guest room yet. They'd just moved their things to Elizabet's guest room, but she clearly was in no condition to have extra people running around her apartment. They moved once again to a room in Mason and Scout's apartment instead, where Gabby could be close to Maggie. Even now that Scout had returned Carissa's main duty would be to mind the children. Mara and Anne both would be going with her daily until Maggie could travel back to Araluen. At some point Mara would reclaim her bedroom and Maggie would go to another one of the guest rooms in the royal apartment. All that they could decide on later. For now, Mara was perfectly happy sleeping with her parents while her bedroom remained a place of recovery for Maggie.

Robin led her mother across the entryway and sitting area to Mara's bedroom. She knocked on the door lightly before going inside. Maggie was still up, as sleep wasn't something that came easy when one was on warmweed. Will and Liam sat together in the window. Mara's room was filled with books and toys most children dreamed about. Maggie, as a Ranger's daughter, had a more humble upbringing in Araluen. Usually she played with Mara's things from sunrise to sunset when she visited Hibernia, but in this shell of herself she only cared for the hourglass. Robin led Gabby to Will and Liam, putting her good hand on Liam's shoulder before going to sit on the carpet with Maggie. Maggie didn't acknowledge her at all.

"How has she been?" Gabby asked, carefully following Liam's guidance to sit next to him.

"The same," Will sighed. "She just watches the hourglass and counts down to her next dose."

"She's not shaking though?" Gabby went on.

"No."

"That's good."

"I know you say it's better this way, but honestly I'd rather see her shake," Will admitted.

"Where are her parents?" Gabby asked.

"Assisting in the aftermath from earlier," Liam answered. "Will and I have been watching Maggie the past hour. All she does is stare at that glass."

"I have something to try," Gabby told them. "Could you bring her over here?"

"Maggie?" Robin tried when she heard her mother's request. "Maggie, my mum wants you to go see her."

Maggie didn't respond. She simply stared at the hourglass in front of her.

"You'll have to physically touch her if you want her attention," Will said. "It's like she's deaf to the world around her unless she's looking at you, and even then it's not consistent."

Robin took Maggie's arm as she would her mother's. Maggie looked over, keeping her eyes on the glass as long as possible before meeting Robin's gaze. Robin stood and led her over to her mother. Liam guided Gabby's hand to Maggie's arm.

"Maggie, do you know who I am?" Gabby asked. Maggie only stared at her. "Do you know who the man next to me is?" More staring. "What about the one next to him?"

"Grandpa," Maggie answered, her voice hollow and void.

"What do you do with Grandpa?"

"Grandpa gives me the stuff that keeps me from hurting."

There were a number of things Maggie could have listed as her answer. Will took her out to shoot a bow he made especially for her in secret (because Alyss was against a child so young learning. Daniel and Julia actually encouraged the lessons). He snuck sweets to her between meals, let her help him with snares, took her to markets, and was the sole grandchild of his who knew the secret password to ride Tug. He had a special bond with Maggie his other grandchildren based in Hibernia just didn't get the chance to enjoy. However, all Maggie cared about was her warmweed supply. It hurt seeing a girl her age in so deep. It hurt Will most.

"What happened to your arm?" Maggie asked. Everyone who could see stared at her. This was the first time she'd expressed interest in someone besides herself and Will since coming back.

"I broke it," Gabby answered.

"Does it hurt?"

It was as though Maggie was seeing Gabby's sling for the first time. Robin bit her lip, unsure if this concern was a good or a bad thing in terms of recovery.

"Some," Gabby replied. "I take medicine so it doesn't hurt too much. You do the same, don't you?"

Maggie nodded. Clearly she didn't remember Gabby being the one supplying Will with her 'medicine'. "Grandpa gives it to me."

"You know," Gabby went on. "As my arm heals I'll take less and less medicine until I'm not taking it at all. My arm may hurt a little bit, but it won't be so bad I need to take medicine. Will you stop taking your medicine when you stop hurting?"

Maggie shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever stop hurting," she answered. Every single one of their hearts sank as she returned to the hourglass in the window on the opposite wall. Then, she added something without looking at them. "I wish I would though."

The relief was almost visible, especially from Will, when she said those words.

"What would you do if you didn't hurt?" Gabby asked.

"Ride horses," Maggie answered without hesitation. "Dance with Daddy and cook with Mummy. I think I'd like to play with my cousins too. I miss playing with them."

"Many of them are here in Roscrea," Liam pointed out. "Jasmine and Anne came to play with you earlier, remember? Mara too."

Maggie shrugged. Her infatuation with the hourglass was coming back into play. "I have to watch the sand so Grandpa will give me my medicine. He forgets if I don't."

And with that, they lost her. She became as unresponsive as she was before.

"She'll wake up with time, won't she Ranger Will?" Robin asked. Will nodded.

"It was a strange experience for me. It was like one moment I was in the camp, beaten down and spent, and the next I was so weak I could barely function in a cabin with Cassandra. It took a long time to come back."

"Is there any way she could recover in Araluen?" Liam asked Gabby, reaching to touch her good arm. "She may do better at home."

"She could but I wouldn't recommend it," Gabby answered. "Here there are several eyes to watch her. There's an established supply of the 'medicine' and she knows the routine here. I'd say to wait at least a month before trying to move her. In Araluen she's too familiar with locals outside the family. She could try to find some on her own."

"She wouldn't know how," Liam said. "Would she?"

"If she became desperate, yes," Will answered. "I'd prefer to keep her here."

The door opened again. This time it was Scout and Julia. Julia carried a tray with milk and a plate of cookies. Daniel followed behind them completely distraught, as he always was when he visited his daughter. Like Will, he had a soft spot for Maggie. Seeing his little girl in this state destroyed him, not that it didn't upset Julia too. Julia simply came from a harsher background, where her peers did anything they could to cope. It wasn't the Academy that trained her to be that way. Her mindset came from being an orphan. Daniel's parents, both having grown up as orphans, made sure their own children never experienced the cruel realities they did. Carissa always had a mother to help her dress for her first round of balls, and Daniel and Quinlan both always had Will to teach them how to use tools and weapons.

Julia knelt next to the window with the milk and cookies. "Maggie?" she asked. Maggie looked at her. "Drink this milk before bed."

Maggie drank the milk as ordered. She took one of the cookies and nibbled on it, but not as the average girl her age would. She was too engrossed with the sand falling through the Arridi hourglass to notice much.

Mara came in behind them. She had borrowed a sleeping gown from someone, likely Jasmine, and was ready for bed. She went to Maggie with a sweet smile on her face. "I hope you feel better Maggie," she said. Everyone turned to Maggie, waiting to see what her reaction would be. She just nodded, never taking her eyes off the hourglass. Mara looked to her mother, confused.

"Come," Scout ordered. "We're off to bed. Maggie, Mara will come in the morning to get dressed. She promises to move quietly so she doesn't disturb you, don't you Mara?"

"Yes Mama," Mara agreed. Clearly she didn't understand why she had to be quiet. It was a fair concern. When all the girls had sleepovers, Maggie was generally up first. She typically rose with her early bird parents while the others slept in a bit longer like regular children.

With that, Mara took her mother's hand and left the room. She turned to wave to Maggie before disappearing to her parents' room, but Maggie didn't notice.

"I assume you two are staying with her?" Will asked Daniel and Julia. Both nodded. He palmed a sachet of the warmweed tablets Gabby had given him into Julia's hand. "For tonight. Remember, just one tablet every three hours. And only if she asks for it."

"If she wakes and you're both asleep she may go looking for it," Gabby warned them. "Keep it where she can't get it on her own."

Robin met her mother's searching hand. She stood up and then helped her mother up. Being blind with her dominant arm in a sling made her unsteady. Robin looped her hand through her arm and waited to be signaled to lead her back to the guest room they were staying in.

"Thank you Gabby," Julia said, touching Gabby's hand on Robin's arm. "For everything."

"Thanks to you too, Dad. We really appreciate it," Daniel told his father. Will simply nodded.

"I'd insist on staying as well, but after Elizabet's news today I'd like to be with your mother."