PENELOPE

I'm laughing so hard I can barely talk.

"So then," I say, continuing my story, "Simon waltzes right up to the dryad and says, 'either you tell us where the hare is, or I'll burn this forest down.' And then the dryad goes, 'I'd like to see you try,' and punches him in the face." Micah howls with laughter and rolls on the floor like an idiot. Agatha can't stop giggling. Baz bursts out laughing and puts his arm around a red faced Simon.

"You never told me you got beat up by a dryad," Baz teases, giving Simon a little shake. "I even asked you where you got that black eye since you didn't get it from me."

"Why would I tell you that!?" Simon says, throwing his hands in the air. "You just would have made fun of me." Baz grins.

"You're right, I would have. And I'm still going to. I'm not going to let you live that one down." Simon groans, and we all laugh again.

"In Simon's defense," Agatha says, wiping tears from her eyes, "she was a particularly large dryad."

"How does that make it better?" Simon wails, but we're all too busy laughing to listen to him.

"Can we do something other than tell embarrassing stories about me?" Simon begs. "There have to better things to talk about."

"Nope," I say. "I can't think of anything."

"We could tell embarrassing stories about Baz," Simon says desperately.

"No we can't," Baz replies. "I don't have any embarrassing stories." Everyone laughs again, including Simon.

I'm not sure why we're reminiscing about Watford. It's not like Simon, Baz, and I talk about it all the time. We don't avoid the subject, (Simon and I are long past that), but it's just not a regular conversation topic (unless we're helping Simon brainstorm for his next book). But the addition of Agatha spurred us into storytelling, which devolved rather quickly into Simon bashing. I mean, there are plenty of amazing stories I could tell about Simon, about his heroism and bravery and unearthly feats of magic, but embarrassing stories are more fun, and right now that's exactly what I want. I want Agatha to have fun. She's here. Against all odds, sitting in my living room with me and Simon (and Micah and Baz), enjoying herself. It's been too long. Way too long. Whatever rift this is that has opened up between us all, I want to use this rare chance to try and fix it. And humor seems like the best way to do that. Even if it means embarrassing the hell out of Simon.

"Oh," Baz exclaims. "What about that time in Magic Words class? With the skunk?" Simon groans but Agatha laughs. I grin. This is perfect. This is exactly what I want.

"So," I begin. "It all started when Gareth asked us to do him a favor…"

SIMON

The party lasts late into the night, and by the time I climb into bed I'm so emotionally drained I can't keep my eyes open. Baz pulls me close and won't let go of me all night. I lean into him. I'm always hot and he's always cold, and it's relaxing and comforting to have him there. I know he's grateful that I agreed to take the baby, but I don't think he needs to be. I think I just needed some time to process the idea. Now that I've spent all night thinking about it, (when I wasn't being ruthlessly ripped apart by my dearest friends), I think I'm just as excited as he is.

The next morning, Baz and Penny kick Agatha and me out of the house.

"Go for a walk," Penny insists. "Spend some time together. It's been ages." I look over at Baz to make sure he's ok with this. He shrugs and reaches into the fridge to grab the orange juice.

"Just don't cheat on me," he says, but I can tell he wants me to go. Now it's my turn to be grateful to him. I do want to spend some time with Agatha. To see if we can salvage any of our friendship.

We walk along the corn field. It's springtime, so the cornstalks aren't too tall yet, and we can see for miles. The Midwest is unnaturally flat.

Neither of us say anything for a while, and it's awkward. I've never been particularly good at this, and Agatha's just not that much of a talker. I look over at her. She's beautiful. She's always beautiful. And for just a fraction of a second, I wonder what my life would be like if I had stayed with her (or I guess if she had stayed with me). That could be my baby in her belly. We'd probably be living in the English countryside, somewhere with lots of room to ride. No. That's what I used to think. That's not who she is anymore. Now she lives in California with Normals and has left the World of Mages. Just because I don't have any magic anymore doesn't mean I want to leave the World. Living with Baz means magic is still a part of my daily life.

Baz.

I love Baz. I love everything about Baz. I love Baz more completely and with more passion than I ever loved Agatha. Even if he lost his magic, or decided to leave the World of Mages (he wouldn't, but if he did), I would go with him in a heartbeat. I don't regret for one second choosing him over Agatha. I never have, but I'm acutely aware of it now, standing next to Agatha, watching the sun catch on her perfect hair.

"So," I say, deciding it's time we end this silence and actually have a conversation. "Tell me about California."

AGATHA

It is good to see him. It's always good to see him. It'd be a lie if I said I didn't think about him, or if I said I didn't miss him. I do. Penny keeps me updated on all the important things, but I miss the little things. The way his eyes crinkle at the corners when he laughs. The way he bumbles through a sentence when he gets flustered. The way all his emotions show so clearly on his face.

I look over at him now, and he looks a little uncomfortable, but happy. Really happy. And I wonder, just for a moment, what my life would have been like if I had stayed with him. If I had married him. Maybe Simon would have come to California with me. Penny said he was so broken up about losing the Mage that it took him half a year to get over it. I think I could have persuaded him to get the fuck out of there. We could have left the World of Mages together, seeing as he has no magic anymore (although Penny says he has wings. And a tail. If he does, Baz must be a wizard with invisibility spells, because I can't see them. But I guess he'd have to be.) Simon would like California. It's calm and peaceful, with plenty of good food. That's what he always said he wanted.

But Simon would be too much of a reminder, too close to the World I so desperately needed to get away from. We would talk about Watford, how could we not? We have too much shared history there. Last night was the most I've thought about Watford since I left. It was fun and all, (I don't hate everything about my childhood), but I couldn't do it every day. And Penny would play a more active role in my life, because she and Simon are still attached at the hip even though they're both married and have an ocean between them. And Baz…well, actually, I guess there would be no Baz. He and Simon wouldn't have started dating if we'd never broken up. It's ironic really, that I broke up with Simon for Baz (I didn't exactly, I mean, I wanted to break up with Simon anyway, but thinking about Baz made it easier for me to stomach,) and Simon ended up with him instead. (I still can't wrap my head around that one, even after all these years.) What a fine mess that turned out to be. But Simon and Baz look so happy together, happier than Simon and I ever were. It was so obvious during the party last night, how close they are and how much they care about each other. It was mildly disturbing, but also kind of sweet. I'm glad Simon's happy. I really, truly am. And I don't think he'd be as happy if he had ended up with me. I don't regret leaving him. I didn't want to marry him. But I can't help but wonder about it. He's still someone I think about, even after all these years.

He was the first one I thought of to turn to for help. When I felt magic inside me that wasn't my own, I panicked. I mean, I was already panicking. If I had a baby, a Normal, illegitimate baby, my parents would disown me. (They're going to disown me someday, when they find out I've left the World of Mages, but I'm not ready to say goodbye to them just yet.) But a Magickal illegitimate baby, with Normal father; I can't…I mean, I just can't. I can't have a baby with magic.

I thought of Simon in that moment. No matter what was wrong, or what kind of trouble I was in, I always asked Simon for help and he always delivered. It was the first time I had thought of him that way in years, but I felt a sudden need to see him and have him fix this.

And then I thought of Simon in a different light. Simon, who lost his magic. Simon, who's dating Baz. And I called Penny. I told her I needed to talk to Simon (I don't have his mobile number, he didn't have one at Watford), and she asked me why (obviously), and I told her I didn't want to tell her. And she said that was bullocks and insisted that I come see her this instant, or she was going to come to me (she doesn't know my address, but I have no doubt that she could find me anyway.) I really didn't want her coming to find me in California (what would my Normal flatmates say if Penelope Bunce showed up?) so I told her I'd come to her. And three days later I was sitting in her kitchen asking Simon and Baz to adopt my baby.

It's all been so surreal.

But I'm grateful to Simon. Really grateful. Even after all we've been through, he still dropped everything to come and see me, just because I asked him too. He didn't even question it. All these years of radio silence and he's still there for me when I need him. And he's taking the baby. I can never thank him enough for that.

Simon finally breaks the silence and asks me about California. So I tell him. I tell him about the beach, and the sun, and the breeze. I tell him about my job, (I'm an associate manager at a Mexican restaurant) and my new hobby (I'm an amateur photographer.) I tell him about my flatmates, Mary and Charlotte, and our very girly, very Normal existence. And he tells me about England, about his job as an author and his life with Baz.

He looks happy. Really happy. And I'm happy for him.