Barbara looked out the open door, watching as Walter drove away. A small tremble ran through her as she resigned herself to trusting the man. Even as she recognized that he had been lying to her about such a significant aspect of his life, she told herself that he would keep his word. Right now she didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't.

A throat clearing behind her startled her back to attention and she locked the door before turning to her son. Jim leaned awkwardly against the railing, halfway up the stairs, and regarding her with tight-lipped nervousness.

"So..." he began slowly, planning his words carefully even as he spoke, "are you and Mr. Strickler, like, a thing now?"

She felt her lips twitch upwards as she watched him wince at his own question. Knowing what she did now, it made far more sense that Jim would be disapproving of her seeing his teacher. He had more motivation than just a kid annoyed at his mother dating someone from his school's faculty.

"Things are complicated right now," she told him honestly. "We're friends."

They had been friends. She wasn't sure what this new agreement between them would allow for but a small part of her still wanted to continue to be his friend. He was the first person in years who she had thoroughly enjoyed spending her limited free time with. That he was intelligent, well mannered, and seemed to have infinite patience with her hectic schedule were all huge check-marks in her "yes" column when it came to the idea of ever dating again. Despite everything she had learned tonight, she didn't like the thought of giving all of that up. But she knew it might come down to it. Jim would always come first.

"Oh," he looked a little relieved. "So, you're not dating dating? Because, I have plenty other, more attractive, teachers to choose from!" His previously nervous smile shifted to teasing, "I'm pretty sure Señor Uhl is single."

Barbara smiled despite her earlier mood. Leave it to Jim to derail her brooding so effortlessly.

"Why, do you suddenly prefer Spanish over History?" She was glad for the diversion. Closing the distance between them, she gave him a pat on the head in passing as she continued up the stairs. "How about we not worry about my dating life or lack thereof, okay? And I wont ask you about yours. How is Claire, by the way?"

"She's fine, she- wait. How do you know I like Claire?" As she looked over her shoulder, Jim's deer-in-the-headlights expression was priceless and drew a genuine laugh from her. Honestly, Draal had been the one to confirm for her that particular detail but her son had mentioned the girl enough times during the lead up to his school play and spotting his crush was an easy enough thing to do.

"I'm your mother, Jim, I pay attention to these things," which was true enough. She did try to stay informed about his daily life, even before all of this Trollhunter business came along and complicated things. Yet, despite her best efforts, sometimes work and stress did tend to blur details that he would let slip over dinner.

A blush crept across his cheeks as he followed her the rest of the way up the stairs. "Yeah. I was kind of planning to ask her to the spring dance," he told her with adverted eyes and a shy smile.

"You should!" She pulled him in for a quick hug, "But you know what you need to do first?"

"What?" He looked so eager for advice that Barbara had to bite back a chuckle at his awkwardness.

"You need to go to bed. It's a school night. I know you're sixteen now but that doesn't mean you can just do whatever you please," usually she would have been more serious in the admonishment but knowing what she did about her son's unusual extracurricular activities, and her own distracted mood, she couldn't bring herself to belabor the matter.

A thump from downstairs briefly distracted both of them. Jim was the first to react, "Those raccoons are sure getting bold these days."

Barbara's smile didn't reach her eyes as she agreed with the quickly thought up cover. She wished she could tell her son that she knew about the troll in their basement. That she knew Walter was a Changeling and that he was the Trollhunter. But, for now, she would leave it unspoken. Too many things were uncertain at the moment. She would talk with Draal again as soon as Jim went to bed; maybe they could discuss the pros and cons of telling Jim everything.

"Goodnight, mom," he told her with a tight hug that she returned in full.

"Love you," she replied as she watched him shuffle into his room and kick off his shoes. Her soft smile faded as she turned down the hall and headed for the bathroom. Before she could feel ready for any more serious conversations she was going to need a nice, long shower first. The tension in her shoulders felt far more pronounced than it did most other nights. The idea of hot water and steam sounded heavenly after all the excitement of the evening.

Tired as she was, though, she did feel a sense of accomplishment from it all. She was going to make this work.

O-_-o-_-O

Draal looked up from sharpening an axe at the sound of the basement door opening. He was not surprised when Barbara came to sit by him. She tested the solidness of his barrel of ale before hopping up onto the top. He noticed her still damp hair was now plaited and resting over her shoulder, a style he rarely ever saw on her. Overall, he noticed that she looked exhausted. That fact cut off his original thoughts to critique her plans of working with the Impure.

"Thank you for finally telling me about Walter," she said as her fingers idly played with the end of her braid.

"I think you handled it well," he replied. Honestly, she had. If someone had betrayed him on such a level he knew he wouldn't have wanted to sit down and discuss it with them. Whether or not he thought it was the right course of action did not mean he didn't acknowledge that it was impressive.

She gave a little huff, "Did I, though?" All the self-confidence she had been wearing not half an hour earlier was replaced with second guessing and a fragility he had not seen since the night she made him tell her how he lost his arm. This was the woman he would have expected her to be all along, the woman her son worried about and who the changeling thought he could take advantage of. But he knew better. She was not fragile.

Draal's chest constricted in a flare of protectiveness. This was his dwelling to protect, now. This human was one of his and he wasn't going to let her add yet another worry to her already long list. He wouldn't let Stricklander hurt her if he could help it, and that meant emotionally as well.

"Yes, you did." He smirked and bumped her arm playfully, "I was particularly impressed with how quickly you were able to work with his ill-intended magic. I'm sure he wasn't expecting for the bond to be used against him like that."

She smiled and some of the earlier fire came back into her eyes at his praise. "Serves him right," she said, sitting up a little straighter. The mood was short lived as a new concern arose. "Do you know anything about this bond? Is it dangerous other than the surface stuff of feeling what each other feels? I'm not going to turn into a troll, am I?"

"No more than Stricklander is going to turn into a woman, I assume," Draal answered with a snort. When his joke didn't get a laugh he nodded and continued, "I'm not actually sure. This is dark magic and I have always been more of a warrior than a mage or scholar, and am not the best one to ask. Other than worrying about the Impure annoying the wrong person and dying, I don't think it will harm you. I do know someone who would know more. I intended to go and talk with Blinky tonight, anyway, but I will ask about this magic, too. Now that the Trollhunter is home I don't feel worried about leaving for a few hours. I need to know more about Angor Rot."

Barbara nodded, that was something she wanted to know more about too, and she told him so.

"Do you think you'll be out all night? I have to leave early in the morning so I'll probably be going to bed soon."

"Probably. When are you planing to talk with Stricklander again?"

"We said we would have lunch Thursday but I'm not sure if those are solid plans or just something made up on the spot for Jim's sake. I intend to hold him to it but I'm not really sure of anything, anymore."

There was that second guessing again. Draal stood up, looped the axe into its holster, and turned to face her. He thumped his knuckle against her chest above her heart.

"You are not giving yourself enough credit. You have too much strength for this much doubt. I will help you see this through. It is indeed a foolhardy plan, but if I've learned anything from living here on the surface it is that you humans are amazingly stubborn." His smirk was teasing, "And you tend to get your way."

Finally, the tension in her frame slowly drained away. Having the troll's vote of confidence did wonders to pull her out of her funk. She had already determined to make this work, somehow, she couldn't start worrying herself sick over it now.

Seeming to realize the conversation had come to a close, Draal nodded and turned around to move the shelf that blocked his self-made doorway. Barbara had originally been furious when she'd discovered the gaping hole in her basement wall but had eventually been persuaded to forgive him. Surprisingly, the house didn't lose any structural integrity and he had promised to compensate her for the spike in the electric bill it caused.

"I shall see you tomorrow," he said over his shoulder.

"Goodnight," she replied and hopped down from her perch. She hoped that he would be able to find what he was looking for.

O-_-o-_-O

Across town, Stricklander was making a detour on his drive home. It had taken him a try or two to track down the enigmatic troll but in the end he found him lurking by the high school.

"There has been a slight change in plans," he said without any preamble.

Angor Rot looked up from where he sat whittling yet another golem. Yellow eyes gazed at him dispassionately and waited for elaboration.

"Despite my previous instructions, I am going to have to ask that you hold off trying to kill the Trollhunter. I need him alive and well for the moment." He had been working to think of the best way to go about the request without it seeming out of character. If he phrased it just so, he could hopefully make it sound like he needed Jim for something else and could buy himself more time to think of a better way to call off the assassin.

The soulless troll wasn't fooled by his imperious tone and mockingly lifted a brow. "Does this have anything to do with that fleshbag you fancy?" He chuckled to himself and went back to carving. "I had wondered when that particular conflict of interests would come up. Trying to kill the boy while trying to woo his mother." The changeling bristled at the accusation and he squared his shoulders.

"We are going to let the boy live for now." He held up his hand and the Inferna Copula glowed ominously in the darkness, "Do we have an understanding?"

Angor Rot snarled at the implied threat and his eyes narrowed in bitter resentment at the symbol of his enslavement. The knife he had been carving with suddenly whistled by Strickler's ear and embedded itself into the trunk of a tree behind him. Pocketing the unfinished golem the other troll stood up and leveled a glare at the shorter male.

"Fine," he growled then roughly bumped his shoulder against Stricklander's as he sauntered by to pull his knife from the tree. He didn't look back as he continued on his way and the changeling heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he was gone.

He'd done what he could for now.