Even though she was used to working long shifts, somehow today felt never-ending. She knew a large part of that feeling came from her perpetual distraction over thoughts of her talk with Draal and Walter. The sun had long since set by the time she wearily pulled into her driveway. She could see that the kitchen light was on so she assumed Jim was already home. With a tired yawn she fumbled with her keys and let herself into the house.

She stopped abruptly at the sight of the strange man in her entryway. It looked as if he had just come down the stairs and was headed for the kitchen. As she opened the door with a startled gasp he turned to face her. Trolls she could handle but tonight she was not in the mood to deal with home invaders.

"I don't care what you think you're doing here but if you aren't out of my house in five seconds I have an orange belt in Krav Maga and I will use it."

The man seemed entirely unruffled by her statement and proceeded to hold up his hands in a friendly gesture, "Now, now, I can explain, if you'd just be so kind as-" He was cut off by a swift kick to the face followed immediately by a blow to his gut from her headbutting him. "Umph!" He hardly had time to process these new pains before she had shoved her fingers into his eyes.

"Aaah! My eyes! Please stop, you violent woman!"

"Barbara?" Draal came up from the basement at the noise but suddenly stopped at the sight before him.

"Draal! Call her off!" Blinky pleaded from the floor, all limbs extended in an attempt to keep the woman away from him.

"Wait, huh?" Barbara paused and looked down at the man she'd thought was a thief and then back at the troll whom they were apparently both acquainted with.

The large troll made a strangled sound and his cheeks puffed as he covered his mouth trying not to laugh. He didn't try very hard, though, because a second later he was nearly doubled over in his mirth. Blinky groaned and tried to sit up while Draal turned purple and attempted to catch his breath enough to explain.

"Bar- Barbara, this- this is Blinky! He has been turned into a human for a few days now and has not changed back." He snorted and wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes, "I should have warned you he would be coming."

Barbara was mortified as she hurriedly tried to help the not-troll to his feet again. "I am so sorry," she told him sincerely. "Here, let me go and get you some ice for your face."

"It's quite alright. Thank you." He turned to glare with a squint at Draal who was still chuckling quietly to himself. "Yes, it would have been nice if you had been given some forewarning. I am terribly sorry for the confusion." But he was a little bit impressed. As he limped his way over to the couch he commented, "I see that young Master Jim comes by his tenacity honestly."

Draal finally composed himself enough to go and shut the door and pull the curtains closed. It was surprising no neighbors had come by to check what all the commotion was about.

"Blinky has come at my request to try and help."

"Yes, I've been sworn to utmost secrecy by our mutual friend here," the shorter man explained and gestured to Draal as Barbara came back into the room with an ice-pack wrapped in a towel for him. "I wanted to meet you for myself and also to see if maybe there were any markings to indicate what kind of enchantment is on you. Also, I've been told that you wish to know more about Angor Rot."

The woman nodded and took a seat to give him her full attention.

O-_-o-_-O

Nearly two hours later and Barbara was once again sitting in the basement with Draal. A frown pulled down her lips as she sat on the old barrel where it had been left the previous night. It had not been long since they had seen Blinky off through the underground tunnel and they were now both thinking of what to do next.

Draal had been relieved that Stricklander's involvement had not come up during the conversation, and the fact that they were working with a changeling remained a secret. He supposed he should have taken the time to run his plans by Barbara before introducing her to Blinky, but at least it had worked out in the end.

He turned to his human friend and an indulgent smirk spread across his face. He wished he could have seen her in action rather than stumbling across the aftermath. The worried down tilt of her mouth helped him to remember his priorities.

"It is good to know that there will not be any other side effects due to your bond with the changeling," he said conversationally as he walked over to sit beside her. "It would be best if the others did not know about us collaborating with him. If word got out there would be an uproar."

Barbara nodded and shrugged, "Yes, I remember that bit. That's why I didn't say anything since it didn't seem like Blinky was going to bring it up. I assumed he didn't know. But, I've been thinking. I can see why you would want to keep it a secret that we're working with Walt but why are we still not telling Jim that I know what's going on? I meant to talk with you about it last night but I forgot."

Draal pondered her question for a moment and failed to come up with a good reason. At first it had been to shield the Trollhunter from further distractions, but since Claire had joined their ranks it seemed less important. They had been keeping the secret more out of habit, now. It might make Jim uncomfortable to know that his mother knew the truth but it would hardly be a detriment by this point in time. They had both had room to acclimate.

"If you wish to tell him the truth, then do," he said finally.

"I would rather they know that way if something were to happen and one of them got hurt they wouldn't try to hide it or downplay it. I'm a doctor, and if these kids are going to insist carrying on with all of this crazy, I should be able to openly help them," she told him. "Of course, I'm still strongly of the opinion that teenagers shouldn't have to be doing any of these things at all."

Draal smiled and shrugged, "They would surprise you."

"Oh, no doubt. Doesn't mean I can't still worry over them, though." She traced her bottom lip with her finger and her eyes went out of focus as she let her thoughts wonder. Sensing the mood, Draal simply fished out a cloth from where he'd last tucked it and dug through his growing pile of personal belongings to find his tin of polish. While his friend organized her thoughts he would treat his prosthetic to some maintenance.

Minutes fell by in companionable silence before Barbara spoke again. "What are your thoughts on what we should do about this Angor Rot?"

Draal grunted. "I do not think it should be a we in this instance. Angor Rot is a deadly enemy with untold kills to his name and I would not have you anywhere near him. But, the simple answer is to organize an ambush and kill him. With the Impure having his ring it would mean that he has some idea on how to find him."

"But," Barbara bit her lip and took off her glasses to clean them on her shirt, trying to buy time before finishing her sentence, "isn't his goal just to get his soul back?" Draal leveled her with a knowing look of disapproval as he realized where this train of thought was going. The woman ignored him and continued on, "From the way Blinky told it, he's been consuming souls to, as he put it, 'fill the void' so wouldn't it make sense to just give him back his soul?"

"He also said that he traded his soul for his magic. I do not think someone who would willingly seal their soul into a ring should be treated as sane enough to bargain with."

She waved off his counter and shifted to get more comfortable. "We're going to have to put a couch down here or something," she muttered to herself before returning back to the topic at hand, "But that doesn't make any sense. He called it a Faustian bargain and if whoever has the ring controls him why put it in a ring? Who was the Mephistopheles in this scenario?"

"Who?"

"Demon from a story, never mind. My point is, something isn't adding up." She fished her phone out of her pocked, "I wonder if Walt is still awake." The glowing numbers on the screen told her it was nearly eleven at night. "Hm, I'll be seeing him tomorrow for lunch anyway. I could just wait until then. Do you suppose Jim will be getting home soon?"

"I can go and retrieve him," Draal offered. "But, before I go, I should stress that you're suggesting something completely reckless and I do not advise you to continue on with that line of thinking. Of course, for all that he's a pain in the ass, Stricklander isn't stupid. He'll tell you himself that killing Angor Rot is the best course of action." He frowned, and having finished with his arm he put away the tin and cloth he'd used. "However, your compassion is admirable and I do not fault you for wanting to find another way. You humans are surprisingly relaxed with the concept of mercy. It is not a bad thing." He patted her arm with a smile.

"You have had a long day. I will get Jim, and you should consider going to bed."

"Yeah, work was hell and bed sounds fantastic," she said with a nod. "Don't tell Jim just yet, though, I want to be able to have an actual conversation with him. I'll talk to him in the morning. Try to get him home soon, his sleeping habits are starting to get ridiculous."

O-_-o-_-O

She had overslept.

In her tired and distracted state the previous night she had managed to forget to set her alarm. By the time she rolled out of bed Jim had already left for school with a note on the fridge saying he had made her lunch. She would have to talk with him later. With a sigh she went back upstairs to properly get ready for the day and to start planning her line of attack for the upcoming "lunch date."

After a quick shower she sent Walter a text to confirm that they would still be meeting. It made her a little nervous that she hadn't heard from him at all the day before and she could only hope that he would still be cooperative. Her phone beeped as she was taking out the bag Jim had prepared for her.

"Of course, when and where?"

Now there was a good question. Typically they met in town at the chic little cafe he had shown her, but this time around it wouldn't be an ordinary date and they were going to be talking about things other people really should not overhear. Before she answered she looked in the sack lunch and discovered a very generous helping of chicken salad in a tupperware bowl beside a sleeve of crackers and an apple. Sparing a quick glance at the clock she made up her mind.

"12:30 in Green Creek Park?"

"See you then."

Despite herself she felt a blush making its way across her cheeks. But damn it all, she was still a little attracted to the man. A few days ago such a text would have left her grinning like a fool and giddy with anticipation. However, the butterflies in her stomach now were of a different nature. This was no spontaneous meeting and there was a lot riding on the outcome. She steeled her nerves and then bent to look in the bottom cabinets for the seldom used picnic basket.

She eventually found it in the pantry closet and into it went the lunch Jim packed along with another apple and two bottles of water. It wasn't as if this was going to be an actual picnic but she wanted to keep up appearances. The clock read a quarter til noon by the time she felt she had everything in order. A quick peek down into the basement let her know that Draal was asleep for a change.

She still didn't know much about troll constitutions but it did appear that they slept far less than humans. She quietly shut the door and left a quick note for him to find should he wake up while she was out. In a way she was glad she was getting to leave without him reminding her to be safe; like she wasn't a grown and capable woman. It was a bit endearing the way he sometimes seemed to worry after her in the same fashion that Jim did. If she was honest she had begun feeling the same towards him. Somehow, without her knowing, it appeared that she'd managed to adopted a troll into her little family. Oh well.

The drive to the park was relatively short and she arrived before the agreed upon time. As she tugged the table cloth out of her backseat she heard a throat clearing behind her. She turned to find Walter who held out a hand solicitously.

"May I help?" If he was as nervous as she was it didn't show.

"Sure, if you could grab the basket?" She moved aside to give him access. He nodded and shut the door afterward, inclining his head to indicate she could lead the way.

"I don't remember the last time I went on a picnic," he told her with a small smirk.

"Really?"

"Really. It has been a very long time. It is a lovely day for one. Yet, I do wonder..." She stopped under a large tree that offered plenty of shade and shook the table cloth out to its full length.

"Wonder what?" She asked when he didn't finish his sentence.

"Are you not worried to be alone with me?" He had followed her over and idly kicked out a corner of the cloth to make it a little less lopsided before sitting the basket onto it.

Barbara turned to face him fully before answering, "No, I'm not. I'm still mad at you and feeling more than a little out of my depth but I'm not afraid of you."

The retort to say that she should be died on his lips. In its place came a relief he was not expecting.

She wasn't afraid of him.

She was facing him, alone, to talk and negotiate without a trace of fear, disgust or contempt. This was something he had not even realized he'd been craving. She had said herself that she wanted him to treat her like an equal and here she was in a semi-secluded park with no one working as backup. This was the woman he was risking everything for and he couldn't even bring himself to regret it.

The tight set of his shoulders loosened and he nodded. "So, on a picnic, is it customary to remove one's shoes before sitting on the blanket?"

Barbara let out a startled laugh at the non sequitur and she felt herself relax a little in turn.

"I guess it just depends on personal preference?"

Without hesitation he bent over to untie his laces and Barbara smiled as she kicked off her own shoes. Once seated, she pulled out the hastily packed lunch and could have laughed at the normality of it all. "It isn't much to split between two but it was kind of a last minute decision."

Walt shrugged and picked up one of the bottled waters. "It's hardly an important detail," he said, allowing for the earlier seriousness to seep back into his voice. They were here on business, after all.

"No, you're right. Still, at least it's something. I haven't even had breakfast yet," she told him while opening the crackers and popping open the tupperware. She was three scoops of chicken salad in before she held out her free hand to him.

Confused as to what she wanted, it took him a few seconds to respond. He hesitated a moment before placing his hand into hers. He was a little surprised when she pulled it closer to her face to examine the ring he wore. The center stone itself swirled with a visible shimmer as if it contained a tinted mist and there were a few strange markings engraved along the band. But to a casual observer it just appeared to be a very gaudy looking piece of costume jewelry.

"So, I think we should give this back to Angor Rot."

Caught completely off guard, Walter nearly choked on the mouthful of water he'd just taken a drink of. Some of it did manage to dribble down his face but at least he'd not to spit it everywhere. He wiped his chin on his sleeve before he forced out a hoarse, "What?!"

"You can't just keep someone's soul, Walter!"

Heaven help him. It was just his luck that he would manage to fall in love with someone who was absolutely crazy. He pulled his hand back from her only to smack himself in the face with it in an open show of disbelief.

This was going to be one hell of a picnic.