AN~ Called it. As soon as I update, so do tons of other people. But anyway, a nice long chapter for you all. It'd be nice to recieve a nice long email telling me I got reviews in return, but...

Question of the day repeated, since nobody answered it last time: What is your favorite fanfic (other than this one)? People who tell me a good in-progress fanfic I haven't read yet will get a mention in the next chapter and a prize of their choice.

Agd: I can't. Stick to one thing, I mean. I'm sorry you're getting confused, and I'll try to clear up anything you have issues with, but I seriously want to get this finished by the time book 9 is out, because it's getting hugetastic, and if I stick with one thing for too long, it'll end up 200 chapters, at least. However, I have a compromise to suggest, because I also don't quite understand what you mean by sticking to one thing: you tell me what you think I should add, and I'll go back once I'm done and edit the chapters to make them longer and full of the stuff you think they need. Does that work? Rochelle is... yeah. She and the other new chick are friends. I don't know why, but I made most of the new kids kind of stuck up... No worries, I'd rather you tell me what needs work so I can improve than just lie that it's great and have me go out into the real world and be destroyed.

ANannyMouse: Maybe it was the fried elephants. They are quite enticing. It's characters', by the by. Thanks! It doesn't seem stilted or anything? Sabrina has always been my favorite. I've noticed that people fall into either the 'Sabrina sympathizers' or 'Daphne lovers' groups. While they aren't mutually exclusive, they tend to divide that way, and the people who like Sabrina usually have more in common with her. I've always been an obnoxious shy person. You flooded your GARAGE? Ouch. I love Peaseblossom, myself. I wish MB had actually put her in the story, and she wasn't an OC. I totally made up the 'everafters can be pregnant for ages' thing. It seemed to make sense, though. Toddler-Speak is HARD (you'd think it'd be easy, I've known so many). Your enjoying it made it worth it, though. If the Everafter capitalization is all you see wrong, by all means, tell me. If there are other, more prominent errors, those come first in my need to fix list. The song was 'Gone, Gone, Gone' from Rogers & Hammerstein's 'Porgy and Bess'. Good play, even if that song's a little operatic and inaccessible. I prefer 'Summertime' and 'It Ain't Necessarily So'.

Life settled into a pattern again, though it was different without Puck. At Granny's suggestion, they moved all of Puck's things into the basement, which Sabrina thought was just creepy enough that he'd love it, though she was a bit worried he'd bounce on the trampoline and hit his head- if he ever came back. Nobody had even seen him since Sabrina had talked to him in the woods.

Daphne had almost immediately made friends with all the children even relatively close to her age, unsurprisingly. Sabrina hadn't. She hung on the edges of groups when she had to, because Bella had gotten buddy-buddy with several of them, but she didn't make conversation really, or try to get to know any of them. She spent a lot of the time on the porch roof outside her house, searching the sky above the now-leafy trees for the silhouette of a winged boy.

The rest of the family got on with their new houseguests great, for the most part. There were still transportation issues (they hadn't figured out a way from Puck's old room into the outside world without going through the house yet, and there were still only two cars and a magic carpet to ride on), but they'd worked it out, and everyone but Red and Sabrina had made several friends.

There was a major skirmish in which several people were critically injured, including Ghepetto, who was on the verge of death, kept alive only by Uncle Jake's magic, and training kept on as usual. Sabrina found that she was way behind the other fairytale detective children where knowledge was concerned, but that she kept up with them all in skills. That was a relief. She'd have felt completely inferior, otherwise. She was socially awkward, not as pretty as most of them, and she didn't know as much about everafters or magic, even her own, but she could fight. And that was what counted.

In early May, there was a knock at the door. Sabrina, as usual, answered it, Daphne close behind her. She'd recently decided that opening the door and answering the phone ought to be her jobs, and she resented all attempts to change that. Sabrina, who had answered the door out of habit before, was now doing it because it was funny to watch Daphne's face get screwed up when she saw she'd been beaten again.

When she opened the door, though, the smile fell off her face. Standing on the porch, the sun streaming in behind him, was Puck.

"You're back." Sabrina said, expressionless.

Puck stood there awkwardly and said, "Yeah."

"Sort things out, then?" Sabrina asked.

Behind her, Daphne exploded, running down the hall screaming, "Puck's back! Granny, Mom, Red, Puck's Back!"

"Yeah." Puck nodded. "I think I did."

"And?" Sabrina asked.

The two of them seemed remarkably still, considering the commotion around them. Daphne's shouts had roused the household, and they were scurrying out of all the rooms to the hallway.

"I'm just going to let you see." Puck said, and smirked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I should smack you." She said, and walked off, hips swaying in the way that Bella had been teaching her. It probably didn't have the same effect, because her body shape was different, but when she glanced back to check and saw that Puck was watching her go, she decided that maybe it had worked better than she'd thought.

As soon as she was in the living room, though, she switched back to her normal walk, face flaming. How could girls do that all the time? It was so... gah!

"Oh, Puck, I'm so glad to- my goodness, you smell!" Granny's voice echoed through the hallway.

Sabrina smirked and sank onto the couch next to Uncle Jake, who was watching the news.

"I was expecting a longer reunion between you two." Uncle Jake commented, not looking away from the TV.

"He smells to high heaven." Sabrina said. "I'm not touching that 'til he's had a bath. Or five."

"But still." Uncle Jake said. "You could talk to him."

"From behind glass, yeah." Sabrina said. "Or wearing a gas mask."

Uncle Jake shut the TV off and rounded on Sabrina as the picture on the screen centered into a thin white line and died. "What's this about?" He demanded. "You've been moping after him for months, Sabrina, everyone could see it! And now he comes home and you ignore him?"

"He deserves it." Sabrina muttered. "Gone for a month and a half with no word at all... He could have been hurt or killed and we'd never have known, and he just shows up like nothing's wrong, like it was yesterday he left!"

Uncle Jake grinned. "All right, kiddo, I'll give you that. But... don't give him the cold shoulder for too long, OK? You two are only going to have so many shots at each other before one of you breaks the other's heart for good."

"Whatever you say." Sabrina said breezily, plucking the remote out of his hands and turning the TV back on.

"I'm serious, 'Brina." Uncle Jake said, pushing the power button on the remote around Sabrina's hand.

Sabrina sighed and looked at him. "Do we have to have this talk?" She asked.

"Yes." Uncle Jake said firmly. "Because someone has to, and no one else is stepping up to do it."

Sabrina made a face. "Fine."

"Look, I don't like it, either." Uncle Jake said. "I wish it was one of your parents, or my mom, or anyone but me."

"So let's get it over with, then." Sabrina said. "Then I can go back to having no friends my own age in peace."

"Still not fitting in with the human kids?" Uncle Jake asked sympathetically.

"No." Sabrina muttered. "They all know each other, and most of the girls my age are kind of stuck-up."

"Well, you have to understand that they all know each other, 'Brina." Uncle Jake said. "From before. They were friends and stuff well before the war, so it's understandable that they'd be a little close-knit."

"Why is that?" Sabrina asked. "They're from all over the place. How do they know each other?"

"The people who know about Everafters, especially the ones who come from a long line of people 'in the know', the rest of them, they're kind of like... contacts, for everafters. Most of the time they live kind of spread out and undercover, not like here, so they need people who can get them stuff from the human world, and that's the function fairy tale detective take in the world in general." Uncle Jake explained. "It's kind of this big elaborate undercover spy system, minus the spying, for the most part."

"That still doesn't explain why all the kids know each other." Sabrina said.

"They have these meetings, see?" Uncle Jake explained. "Once a year, every family who knows about Everafters is supposed to send a representative to get together at someone's house and talk about what's going on, to make sure everything's OK, and nobody needs any outside help or anything. A lot of the time they bring their kids so that they can hang out with other kids that they can be frank with. And the ones that live in Europe... it's a small place, 'Brina. They probably had playdates."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "I guess that makes sense. I'll just stick with Everafters, though." She paused. "Do you know how frustrating that is, for part of me? When I first came here, I hated all Everafters, thought they were weird, crazy, or evil. And now it turns out I fit in better with them than I do with normal people! I mean, I'm not shy with them!"

"Maybe it's because you didn't care at first." Uncle Jake suggested. "And then you found out they were cool after all, and by then they already knew what you were like, and you knew they liked you for it."

"Maybe." Sabrina said. "So how am I supposed to do that with these people? I do care if they think I'm stupid!"

"I don't know." Uncle Jake said. "Give it time? That's all I can think of. I've never had that shy issue you seem to."

"That's helpful." Sabrina said dryly, standing. "I'm going to go talk to someone who understands me, like my dad."

Uncle Jake laughed. "That's not something most teenage girls say. 'My dad understands me!'" He chuckled, then seeing Sabrina walk away, realization dawned on his face. "Wait a second!" He snapped, grabbing Sabrina's wrist and pulling her back onto the couch. "That was all just a ploy to distract me, wasn't it?"

Sabrina made a face and sat down. "Not just to distract you. I was genuinely curious. But yeah, it mostly was. And it almost worked, too!"

"Nice try." Uncle Jake said. "But I'm a little quicker on the uptake than you seem to think."

"Fine." Sabrina relented.

"Good." Uncle Jake said. "Listen. I know you like the prince over there, you know you like him, your mom knows, your sister knows, your friends know, your dad would know if he wasn't so fixated on keeping you a little kid, your grandma knows, pretty much everyone knows how you feel except him! So why don't you just tell him how you feel and get it over with?"

"Because he doesn't like me back!" Sabrina exclaimed, her voice full of 'duh'.

"How do you know if you don't ask?" Uncle Jake asked, smiling a bit.

"Because he doesn't like girls?" Sabrina suggested, her voice dripping with the same 'it's so obvious' tone. "He thinks we're all cootie-covered and going to infect him."

"Which is why he's growing up." Uncle Jake said, one eyebrow raised. "At the same rate as you, I might add."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Sabrina asked. "He doesn't like me, no matter how many people think otherwise, I can barely admit I like him to you... I mean, it's disgusting! And anyway, it would never work. His mom's not exactly fond of me."

"You can make excuses all you like, but we know the real reason is you're scared." Uncle Jake said calmly.

Oh no. He did not just go there. Sabrina almost snapped that fine, she'd do it, just to prove she wasn't a coward. In fact, she'd opened her mouth and almost begun to speak when she paused. "Wait a second." She accused. "You almost just played me like I tried to play you. Heck no!"

Uncle Jake snapped his fingers. "Dangit." He said, smiling. "I was close, too."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at him and, nose in the air, stood up and stalked out of the room.

Puck's welcome home hadn't been quite the way he pictured it. He'd never admit it to anyone else, but he'd half-hoped that Sabrina would wrap him in a hug so tight he wouldn't be able to hug back because his arms would be pinned to his sides. He hadn't expected that, of course, but he'd hoped for maybe an 'I missed you', or at least more than ten words! In fact, he was downright affronted that she'd been so cold. After all, he'd come back. And it was her fault. He'd planned to tell her what he'd figured out, but it was obvious that she didn't want to hear it.

And to top it off, they'd moved him into the basement! True, the basement was pretty darn awesome, but still! He was a prince! And they wanted him to start his chores and school and being clean right where he'd left off! The next day! Without even a day to recuperate.

But as the Old Lady fussed over him, and Daphne pestered him with questions while Red hovered in the background,he sighed happily. It was good to be back.

"Hey, has anyone seen Sabri- oh, you're back, Puck." Bella said, sticking her head around the corner. "Hi."

"Hey." Puck said, smiling crookedly. "Nice to know you missed me."

"I did." Bella said. "I just also think you should have come home sooner, and I'm looking for Sabrina. What do you want me to do? Jump all over you screaming?"

"Well, yeah." Puck grinned. "It'd be good for my ego."

"Your ego's big enough as it is." Bella told him sternly, turning to head back out.

Puck scrambled to a standing position and called, "Wait! I need to talk to you, actually." He hurried after her, noticing, a little miffed, that she didn't actually stop for him, she just walked slower.

"Wassup?" Bella asked, once they were halfway down the hall and he'd finally caught up to her.

"It's Sabrina." Puck said.

"What about her?" Bella asked. "Finally decide to ask her out?"

"What? Heck no!" Puck gave Bella a completely incredulous look. "I just want to know why she's like, ignoring me."

Bella sighed. "Well, you did just leave for a month before she was done getting over your betraying her. It's not exactly trust inducing." Puck opened his mouth to protest, and Bella held up a hand. "I know. You had reasons. And they were probably good ones."

"They were great reasons!" Puck said loftily, leaning against a stack of books that was almost flush with the wall.

Bella leaned against the opposite wall. "Yeah, Puck, but you know Sabrina. She doesn't trust easy. If you want her to open up to you, you've gotta stick around."

"I was planning on it." Puck said. "But other than not leaving again, how can I make her talk to me?"

"Get her by herself, I guess." Bella shrugged. "She usually hangs out on the porch roof after dinner. I guess 'cause she needs alone time. I've invited her to hang out with me and the houseguests in my room, but she never takes me up on it."

"Would you expect her to?" Puck asked.

"Well, no, not really." Bella said. "But she gets along fine with the study group for the most part! I don't get why she's so afraid of these people!"

"She's not." Puck said. "Sabrina's not afraid of anything. She probably just doesn't like them."

"Sure." Bella said. "That's... definitely it, Mr. I-Haven't-Been-Here-In-A-Month."

"Did you ask her?" Puck asked. "I bet I'm right."

"No." Bella asked. "She always changes the subject."

"Well, I'll ask her tonight, then." Puck said firmly.

Sabrina was lying on her stomach on the edge of the roof, her face and arms hanging out over the eave into emptiness, listening to Daphne and several of her little friends giggle in her bedroom. The first time she'd lain in this position, she'd sat up to find sections of her hair and a large portion of her chest covered in gutter-goo, so the next afternoon she'd offered to clean out the gutters for Granny in exchange for five dollars. She'd have done it for free, really, but she could use the cash. It was really quite peaceful, with the light from the window shining on the shingles next to her, and the crickets chirping in the forest nearby. If she could still control the weather, she'd think about living on the roof.

"Hey." A voice said from the ground below.

Sabrina focused on it, squinting into the shadows of the space between window-light. Puck stood in the lawn, looking up at her.

She waved lazily, half lifting her one hand, and didn't say anything.

"Mind if I come up?" Puck asked.

She shrugged. "Go right ahead."

He did so, his wings popping out of his back, flying almost silently to sit next to her in the rectangle of light from the window, his legs dangling in the air as he leaned against his palms. After a few seconds of silence he asked, "So what did I miss?"

Sabrina snorted. "I'm sure Granny told you."

"Some of it." Puck agreed. "But I want to hear it from you."

Refusing to be flattered, Sabrina took a deep breath and said, "Daphne had her tenth birthday party, and all her little friends showed up as well as the study group, Art and Tim got in a fight- I don't think they just hate each other 'cause Art thinks Tim's a fake anymore- I'm officially third best swordsperson in the school, I can't control elements anymore, Ghepetto's been in a coma for three weeks, Pinocchio disappeared right when that happened, Uncle Jake and Aunt Briar are thinking about moving back in with Buzzflower and Mallowbarb and letting mom, dad, and one of us kids move into the chicken house, and everyone's made friends with the humans except me and Red."

"Oh." Puck said. "So Art and Tim...?"

"Both have a thing for Daphne." Sabrina supplied, making a face. "Even though Tim's, like, sixteen and way too old for her, and Art isn't much better."

"And Briar and Jake?" Puck asked. "They're moving? How come?"

"Because they're tired of getting nagged, mostly." Sabrina said. "And it'll be good for Red to have some distance from all these people. She doesn't like to come in the house anymore. They're worried about her."

"She'll be fine." Puck said breezily. "She just needs to... I dunno. Open up a bit or something."

"You say that 'cause you've never been shy." Sabrina told him, scoffing.

They were silent for a few minutes, then Puck spoke again: "Did you miss me?" He asked.

Sabrina had a choice. She could tease him, or be honest, or lie. Thinking of what Uncle Jake had said to her earlier, she turned and, surprising even herself, wrapped her arms awkwardly around Puck's waist, saying, "I missed you like heck, potato-butt."