Sorry it's all taking so long still. I'm super busy, so just bear with me. By the way, thanks so much to everyone who has been following this story and reviewing it. I can't tell you how much all your reviews mean to me. Thanks so much!
Artemis stepped out of the Bentley, walking around to the other side and opening Holly's door. She stepped out as Finn climbed out of the back door after Artemis opened that one as well.
Holly took one step and tripped on a rock, falling towards Artemis, who caught her while holding Finn's door open.
Holly laughed. "You've certainly changed; you've never been this agile. And I guess I'm not used to being this tall yet."
Artemis smiled and closed Finn's door with one arm around Holly's waist. "Again, it's all thanks to Butler. Shall we?" He asked, motioning towards the forest looming in front of them.
Finn grasped Artemis's pant leg. "Daddy, it's dark."
Artemis flicked on a flashlight he had brought with him and handed it to Finn. "There you go."
Finn grinned and began shining the flashlight everywhere, the light rays bouncing off the trees and making them look quite a bit less foreboding.
The group trudged off into the forest. In about twenty minutes, they arrived at the spot where Artemis and Holly had 'met' (the term used very loosely). Artemis shook his head.
"It was so long ago."
"Almost thirteen years, or sixteen, depending on how you look at it," Holly said, looking up at him. She noted that he still looked worried, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. She placed a hand on his cheek. "Artemis, stop."
He glanced down at her. "Stop what?"
She smacked his chest lightly. "Don't do this! Don't think about it. It's over, gone, in the past."
Artemis exhaled and nodded, looking towards where Finn now sat, poking at a worm. It had recently rained and the worms had all come out. This rain also meant that the seat of Finn's pants was probably thoroughly soaked.
Holly looked over at Finn and laughed before breaking away from Artemis and walking over to the base of a tree trunk. She bent down and the moon reflected off her hair. Artemis couldn't help but stare at her. He was so in love.
Holly selected two smooth acorns from the ground and turned to Finn. "Finn, honey, come over here."
Finn obliged, leaving the worm to peace and crawled over to Holly, staining the knees of his pants as well. "What Mommy?"
Holly smiled and handed him an acorn. "If you bury this over there," she pointed at where Artemis stood, "then all the blue sparks will come back."
Finn's eyes widened and he got to his feet, walking over to Artemis. Holly followed him and both mother and son bent down, pushing the acorn into the earth.
Holly closed her eyes as she felt the magic rush back into her body. She loved running hot. She opened her eyes when it was over and looked at Finn. His eyes were wide and a grin was plastered on his face.
"That felt good Mommy."
Holly nodded. "Whenever you're low on magic, you come here and you do this and all the magic will come back."
"Alright," Finn said, crawling back to torture his worm.
Holly got her feet. "He can't be distracted for long, can he?" she asked, placing a hand on Artemis's arm.
He shook his head, still watching her. "Never has been. Sort of like you."
She laughed. "I suppose. I'm just really good at keeping to the task at hand. Like the fact that it's getting late and Finn has to go to bed soon."
Artemis glanced at his watch. "How did you know…?"
"Placement of the moon Artemis. It's nearing eleven o'clock." Holly walked over to Finn to try and get him to leave the worm alone so they could go.
Artemis frowned. Of course the placement of the moon would tell the time. He couldn't help but smile.
Holly finally persuaded Finn to leave the worm. Finn yawned hugely as he climbed to his feet. He walked over to Artemis and grabbed onto his hand and the little family walked back to the Bentley. Artemis drove home and once they got back to the manor, both Holly and Artemis brought Finn up to bed after changing him out of his wet pants. Artemis read him a quick story, but Finn was out before Artemis even finished. Holly smiled as the two got up and left the room.
"Goodnight Finn," she whispered.
