A/N: Thank you for the reviews :)

Mia tied her robe tighter around her waist and made her way to her grandmother's suite of rooms. She had to talk to her, and knew that she and Joe would be up by now. Knocking softly on the door, she was greeted with her grandmother's gentle face.

"Oh Mia." Clarisse pulled the girl into her arms. "You look like you didn't sleep well, and it's my fault. I'm sorry." She closed the door and led the girl over to the sofa.

Mia stayed in her grandmother's arms, her tears of the night before returning. "Oh Grandma. I'm so sorry," she cried as she clung to Clarisse.

A bewildered Clarisse looked from her granddaughter to her husband. "My darling girl, what have you to be sorry for?" She gently caressed the sobbing girl's back.

Mia looked up at her grandmother, her tear streaked face pale from lack of sleep. "For what…for…oh Grandma. How did you manage to forget what he did to you and become friends?"

Clarisse cupped Mia's face in her hands. Looking into her watery eyes, she saw confusion. "Oh sweet child," she whispered gently as she pulled her back against her chest. "I told you that your grandfather and I were friends because I didn't want to hurt you. It was wrong of me not to tell you the truth then. I should have told you the truth about what kind of man your grandfather was, and about the ritual, at the very beginning of that nightmare of Parliament's making. I would never have forgiven myself if you had gone through with the marriage and had to suffer through that unholy ritual." She rested her face against Mia's hair and let her own tears fall.

"I love you, Grandma." Mia whispered.

Clarisse held back a sob. "You aren't angry with me?"

Mia pulled back and looked at her with a frown. "Why would I be angry?"

"I lied to you, Mia. You could've," Clarisse looked away from her granddaughter's face.

"Grandma." Mia whispered. "I didn't, and I won't. I know all about it now, and with your help and Joe's, I never will and neither will any future queens." She leaned back into her grandmother's loving embrace. "I have to talk to Nick."

"You have to get some sleep first." Joe finally spoke from his place across the room. "Why don't you go climb in our bed and take a nap with your grandmother? She needs to rest some more, too." He smiled at his wife.

"I can't." Mia protested then promptly yawned. "I have too much to do today. So many papers to read and sign." She yawned again with so much force it shook her body.

"Come on, Mia. Please? For your favorite babysitter?" Joe grinned at her.

Mia yawned and giggled at the same time. "Alright, but only for a couple of hours."

Clarisse stood and held out her hand. "Come on, Darling." She paused by Joe, letting Mia go on ahead. "Thank you." She kissed him tenderly.

"You're welcome." He returned her kiss. "Now, go on. I'll be here."

CnJ

Joe frowned at the knock on the door. Hurriedly opening it, he found Charlotte on the other side. "Yes, Charlotte?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Joe, but I'm looking for Queen Mia."

"She's here, but she's asleep right now, and not to be disturbed."

"Very well." Charlotte nodded. "Oh, this came for you and," Charlotte frowned, she still wasn't sure what to call Clarisse.

"Charlotte, if you aren't comfortable calling her Clarisse, you can call her Mrs. Elizalde." Joe smiled at the small blonde.

"Thank you, Joe." Charlotte bowed then left.

Joe stared at the letter in his hand. He knew this handwriting, but why were they getting a letter from there? There was only one reason he could think of. Going to Clarisse's desk, he grabbed the letter opener and opened the letter. Frowning when he realized he'd left his glasses on the table by the sofa, he got up and moved over there, deciding that he could read the letter there just as easily.

"Oh god," he breathed as he finished reading the letter and let it fall to his lap. It was as he feared. Even though his aunt hadn't said what it was, the urgency of her words let him know that there was something seriously wrong. "I have to wake Clarisse," he sighed.

Folding the letter, he placed it on the table with his glasses and got up to go and wake his wife. They had some travel arrangements to make, and some excuses to think of to explain the sudden trip. Seeing how peaceful his wife was, Joe decided to make the travel arrangements and pack as much of their things as he could before waking her.

CnJ

"Wake up, Darling." Joe whispered as he caressed Clarisse's face.

Clarisse slowly opened her eyes and looked into the worried green eyes of her husband. Looking down at the sleeping form next to her, she carefully disentangled her arm from the girl and slid from the bed. Following Joseph to the sitting room, she closed the door then turned to face him. "What is it, Darling?"

Choosing to speak in Spanish as a precaution, Joe sighed and pulled Clarisse down next to him on the sofa. "Mientras que usted estaba dormido, Charlotte me trajo una letra. Es de tía Maria. Ella no dijo cuál es incorrecta, pero cerca el tono de la letra, una cierta cosa ha sucedido. Necesitamos irnos para España inmediatamente."

Clarisse felt her throat tightening with fear. Closing her eyes to gather her wits, she chose to respond in French after realizing what Joseph was trying to do. "Qu'est-ce que c'est ? Est-il," she stopped, the thought was just too unbearable.

"I don't know, Darling." He switched back to English the need for precaution gone. "I've arranged for everything. We leave in an hour."

"What about Mia? What do we tell her?"

"I thought we might tell her we've decided to take the honeymoon we never got the chance to. That should suffice."

Clarisse leaned into his arms. "I'm so frightened, Joseph."

Joe held her close, his hand caressing her back in a soothing motion. "Te quiero, mi querido."

"Je t'aime, aussi," she whispered. "I love it when you talk to me in Spanish."

"And I love to hear French whispered from your lips." Joe smiled at her. "You do realize that if anyone overheard us they would think we'd lost it."

"Yes, but at least this way it keeps them guessing." She looked up at him with a smile before kissing him softly.

"Mmm. Thank you." Joe breathed against her soft mouth. Breaking the contact, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I've packed my things, and a few of yours, but not all. Can you finish it with Mia still in the room?"

"Yes. There's no need to disturb her." Clarisse pulled back from the embrace and kissed his cheek. "I'll go and finish packing. We'll need to leave soon if we're going to get to the airport on time."

Joe watched Clarisse as she made her way quietly back into their bedroom. He was just as frightened as he knew she was, but for her sake he would keep his fear in check. She needed him to be strong.