A/N: I don't own Darquesse, Tanith, Ghastly, Dexter, Erskine, Anton, Donegan, Saracen,

Two decades passed in what seemed to be the blink of an eye, and the Midnight Hotel's staff changed dramatically. Tanith and Ghastly retired to his shop, their children now grown and off on their own. Dexter, deciding there was an adventure out there for him somewhere left too, and it wasn't long before Erskine joined him as a traveling partner.

Our children had grown up as well, and fully grown Gists were not quite like anyone else. They chose to stay on at the hotel, Teresa included, mainly because it kept them from running wild in the woods and hunting down humans. The children weren't evil, just learning to handle the aggression of a full grown Gist.

We'd stopped in a gloomy woods for two weeks, and I was getting used to the territorial screams and raging battles that would break out. The bad thing was that even Thaddeus and Anton found it hard to resist joining the children. They were all close to going feral, and I knew then there would be no reasoning with them. Sable, standing by my side as I looked out into the misty grey woods surrounding us sighed.

"We'll have to lock them all up tonight, in fact now would be a good idea, while they still have some reason left." She said. I looked at her sadly. She was right. We needed to find out why the adults were reacting to the young ones being aggressive, and why Sable alone kept calm.

I caught Anton by the arm, seeing his struggle and felt a stab of pity. "Chain us up, Darquesse." He managed. "Chain us up and lock the door."

And so we did. One of the last fully rational things he'd done was design a room that worked like a gaol cell at the Sanctuary. There would be no need to feed or look after them, and even their medical needs would be seen to. Still, my heart was heavy as I snapped the chains I'd imbued with Necromancy around his neck and arms.

Sable gently locked up her brother and Donegan locked up Teresa with tears in his eyes. Still the most rational, Thaddeus put on his own chains and smiled gently at me. "Close that door and lock it until you find a cure, Darquesse. We'll still retain our reason, but we will only want to use it to get out and kill all of you. Please, don't open that door until a cure is found."

I nodded, pulling back as our family members started to snarl then led the others outside and locked the door.

And now? Now we had to wait in these dripping woods because without Anton fully rational and keeping things going, the Midnight Hotel was offline. Sable had helped me go over all of Thaddeus's research for his new book, but there was nothing on Gist illnesses. And as much as we hated to admit it, they'd need to be treated at some point by a Sanctuary doctor.

Luckily I still had some sway with the Irish Sanctuary and Grand Mage Tipstaff sent out the best doctors to us. They had to tranquilize each person to do their exam and could only tell us it was a virus. Maybe it was like zombification, they didn't know. They would run further tests, run possible cures in mock-ups but they promised no cure.

I took the chance of sitting with our family as the drugs wore off, despite the doctor's warnings that a bite or scratch might be infectious. Anton came to first, and he whined in fear. It broke my heart not to go to my husband, but I could at least speak to him. "What's wrong with me?" He begged.

"They don't know, they think it's a virus. God only knows. One of you got bit or picked it up and it passed to the others somehow. I'm guessing the training sessions where you scratched one another up. Sable is fine because she never joined you." He nodded, then sank back against the wall. I heard him start to snarl, then he lifted his head to me, his teeth barred and all reason gone from his hateful expression. As he started to rise, growling, and the others awakened, their chains clanking ominously as they started to hone in on me like hungry predators, I left.

Donegan woke me up early the next morning, frantic. "They've escaped. I went to check on them and the door to their room was torn off its hinges. Front door too. I think they snapped their chains." I would have laughed at the idea at one time, but they'd only gotten stronger as their strange illness progress.

Illness, suddenly it clicked. "They're not sick, Donegan and we won't find them easily, but I know what's wrong now."

I waited until the others were up and dad had helped me repair the front door. Then with Donegan's help we got ready to get underway. Saracen was beside himself. "We just abandon them?"

"No." I said calmly. "But they are at the final stages of turning into full Gists, and apparently it's something they can transmit through bites or scratches until they stabilize. Which the Sanctuary already knows. We tranq them and put them back before the Sanctuary slaughters them. But we have to move now, daylight doesn't affect them, but they like hunting at night better, and so will the Sanctuary."

We were in a race with the Sanctuary trying to catch fully feral and combative Gists that still had their normal intelligence and no desire to be caught. So as we walked through the misty woods we'd hear snarls and see darting shapes. "They're herding us." Saracen said quietly and Donegan grunted agreement.

And they were, leading us into a trap we hoped we could reverse and take them by surprise. Sadly, we'd underestimated them. Both Antons, father and son were howling in the mist, and at times they'd run directly in front of us, too close to fire on. Then one of them bumped me from behind and the other had my tranq rifle.

I cursed and turned to Donegan who shrugged. Then with a startled yelp Saracen was drug away from behind us. Donegan and I stood back-to-back in the swirling mist when suddenly he dropped his rifle. "If you wanted us dead, we would be. You're still smart enough to know why we're here. The Sanctuary wants you and they won't waste a gaol cell on you. You're transforming, changing. Come back home willingly and we'll protect you."

Anton approached out of the mist, my rifle in one hand, an unconscious Saracen slung over his shoulder. "We'll do it." He said, and the others appeared out of the mist, surrounding us. Thaddeus appeared to be regaining control like Anton, but the children still looked dangerous and as they escorted us back, I had the distinct feeling we were their prisoners.

Within a few weeks they were all back to normal. Anton sat with me in to common room one night, an arm looped protectively around me. "You promised once that you'd stay, I never thought you would. I didn't think I'd ever be that loved." He looked at me, slight fear in his eyes, as if he thought I'd wait until he was rational to pack my bags.

"Hush, I told you I love both sides of you. Besides, you look fantastic." I teased, and he did. It was as if the infection had left him a man centuries younger. His frame was slightly more muscular and his beautiful jet black hair was full and lush as it hung to his shoulders. He smiled, then sighed.

"I guess this did it for Donegan. He and Gracious are leaving tomorrow and taking Teresa with them."

"We knew they would." I said soothingly, and we had. We hadn't expected our friends to stay forever and everything was working out well. Guests had returned, but the Midnight Hotel was smaller than it had been at one time, and that suited us just fine.

Abby, having remained with us, came in with a dessert cart laden with a coffee urn, cups and some desserts she was trying out. She was a full grown woman now, but she showed no interest in leaving her family just yet. "Hey, Sis, hope turnovers are OK. Blueberry." I smiled, mainly because Anton perked up.

He accepted his treat and coffee with gracious thanks, then looked at us both. "I think young Anton may leave us as well, along with Sable. Now that the danger is passed I think they want to work with the Sanctuary as detectives." I knew it killed him that they weren't staying, but such was life. We both knew that without him, it wasn't really the Midnight Hotel, and the kids knew it too.

We saw them off in the morning, Anton doing his best to look cheerful, even if he still hated the Sanctuary with a passion. He didn't blame me for seeking them out for a cure, but he was angry his children were being spirited away by them. Still, we had guests to pick up somewhere and a hotel to run. And, I expected, many more adventures awaiting us.

Well, there you have it. The kids are grown, the Gists have survived becoming adults (as did the rest of the staff) and everything is getting back to normal. And I figured Anton deserved some kind of reward after going feral and finding his way back. Hope you liked it!