Once Col. Tavington had made sure that Jae, Jula, Brant, and Aidan were settled in, he wandered back to the master bedchamber and got dressed in his nightclothes, quickly checking on his baby daughter who lay asleep in a cradle next to his and his wife's four-poster, before slipping quietly into bed next to Mary.

"Who is here, William?"

The colonel startled slightly and turned to his wife, who looked back at him with sleepy eyes.

"You're awake..."

"I heard footsteps and voices.."

Col. Tavington gave her a lopsided smile and said, "Jae and Jula are back.."

"Well that is interesting.. you were time traveling again.."

"Yes.."

"William, so late... you're not going to get any sleep if you keep doing that. But is it just them? I'm sure I heard male voices and they didn't sound like any of your brothers."

"No, it isn't just the girls who are here."

"Well then, who else is it?"

"A couple of our descendants, Aidan and Brant Tavington."

"Ah, the twins you were talking to me about earlier.."

Col. Tavington nodded.

"But William, why have Jae and Jula returned? Because for one reason or another, I don't think it's just because they missed us and wanted to see us again.."

Inhaling deeply, the colonel thought quickly on how he could dodge the question, knowing full well that he would have to tell his wife later anyway.

But it's late, and I'd rather we both sleep at least a bit while the baby is asleep, and then tell her at a decent hour..

"It's a complicated issue, Mary. I shall tell you later; rest now while you can before the baby wakes up and needs to be fed."

Mary nodded and with a sleepy yawn, laid back down and was asleep again within minutes while the colonel lay awake for another thirty minutes before finally drifting off to sleep.

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The next morning at half past six, Jae awoke to sunlight streaming in through an open window in her room, her eyes widening slightly as she took in her surroundings.

Where am I... what am I doing in... Oh yeah, right, went back in time.. duh... Good god, Jae, no wonder no one wants to talk to you in the morning; you're absolutely STUPID when it comes to morning comprehension...

Taking a breath and shaking her head, Jae allowed herself a few minutes to

'wake up' before turning her head sharply towards her bedroom door as the knob turned and Jula walked in, nearly as sleepy looking as she was, but fully dressed.

"Morrring Jae..." she said with a yawn. "The lady woke me up about thirty minutes ago; she was going to wake you too, but the colonel told her to let you sleep for a short while longer; you'd better get dressed now though.."

Jae nodded wordlessly in reply, slowly swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing reluctantly.

"Alright, I'll meet you all downstairs when I'm dressed."

Jula nodded and vacated the room while Jae ambled over to a large wardrobe and opened it; to her surprise, there were several very presentable dresses hanging inside, along with a corset.

Hmm... the lady must have stuck these inside while I was still asleep...

Picking an emerald colored dress, Jae reluctantly got out of her clothes and got dressed, tying her hair back in a casual braid and went downstairs, where Col. Tavington, Mary and Brielle, Aidan, Brant, Braden and Jula were sitting in the sitting room that she had spent the night in the night before.

As soon as Jae entered the room, all eyes were trained upon her, even those of Aidan, who stared at her with a genuine attraction.

"Jae, you look... lovely.. stunning." he said, murmuring the last word to himself.

Jae smiled, blushing modestly.

"Thank you, Aidan."

Col. Tavington smiled.

"Good morning, my dear. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You're welcome. I see you found the dresses Mary left in the wardrobe for you and from the looks of you, they fit quite nicely, very presentable indeed."

Jae nodded.

"Yes, they are. Thank you, my lady."

Mary smiled.

"You're welcome.. well, now that you're awake, are you hungry for breakfast?"

Jae nodded, licking her lips hungrily, an eager look in her eyes.

Col. Tavington laughed softly.

"I'll take that as a yes.."

"Very well, William, if you watch Brielle for a while, I should be able to fix Jae a proper meal shortly."

"Are you sure, Mary?"

"I'll be fine, William. True, Brielle is only four days old, but I believe I can handle making a meal before resting again.."

"Alright, but if you need me to do anything..."

Mary smiled, shaking her head.

"I'll be fine..."

With that, she handed Brielle to Col. Tavington and left the room.

"So this is the little one.. she does look like her mother, right down to the petite bone structure and black hair."

Jae and Jula walked over to the colonel who sat rocking his newborn daughter in his arms while his son sat next to him looking on as she stared quietly up at them with emerald green eyes flecked with ice blue.

"My sis!" said Braden proudly.

Jula smiled.

"Yes Braden, your sister."

Braden looked over at Jula, his icy eyes swirling with a mixture of familiarity and puzzlement.

"Braden, this is Jula, and her sister, Jae." said the colonel, gesturing at the girls with a smile.

"Papa, they stay with us?"

Col. Tavington nodded.

"For a while, at least."

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Twenty minutes later, Jae's meal was ready and she went to the kitchen to eat.

"Well, you do like your eggs, don't you?" Aidan said, walking into the kitchen.

Jae smiled and shook her head.

"Honestly, I don't really like eggs, but the lady's cooking is a definite exception. Did you try these?"

Aidan nodded and licked his lips.

"Oh yes, excellent..."

"To say the least..." Jae replied, swallowing down a bite before looking over at Aidan with a smirk on her face.

Aidan cocked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"It's weird to see you all dressed up in 18th century clothing... but you can pull it off. Althogh I will say that the short hair does offset it a bit; Brant my have the upper hand on this one."

Aidan snorted.

"Well thank you, but I believe that you can carry it off better than the both of us."

Jae blushed slightly.

"Thank you." she replied modestly.

"It's true. You're quite beautiful, even with egg on your cheek..."

"Oh..."

Jae was about to wipe the egg off with a cloth but Aidan was faster and wiped it away for her, his hand brushing gently against the soft smooth skin of her cheek as his ice-blue eyes bore intensely into hers, his hand still on the side of her face while the silence between them thickened. Slowly, Aidan pulled his hand away and gave Jae a small smile, his face turning slightly red.

"Sorry, I-"

"No, it's fine. Just make sure the colonel doesn't catch you!" Jae said with a smirk.

Aidan laughed.

"Yes, that would not be a pretty sight.."

"Especially because he's like, two hundred plus years older than you.."

Aidan shuddered.

"Don't remind me, because he still seems like a more than capable adversary."

"That, he is indeed."

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Fifteen minutes, three more helpings of eggs and two sausages later, Jae was still conversing with Aidan when Brant came into the kitchen asking for his brother to help him on something.

"Can it wait?" Aidan asked his brother.

"Aidan, I've waited for the past fifteen minutes.."

Aidan sighed.

"Very well."

Reluctantly, he got up from the table.

"I'll meet you in the sitting room."

Brant nodded and left.

"Guess you've got to go.."

Aidan shrugged.

"I guess so. But perhaps later, if you don't mind, would you like to join me on a walk in the gardens?"

Jae smiled and nodded.

"Sure. I shall see you then."