"Darling we should go."

Nicholas sighed, standing up from the grave. Another graveyard, another failure.

"Come on darling, it's getting cold." Nicholas ignored her as he crossed off another graveyard on the map of England. They'd spent the last seventy years travelling through the cities and counties trying to find Xabier's grave. While he wasn't incompetent enough to believe he would still be alive after two centuries, he was still surprised the young boy wasn't here to organise his schedule. And he couldn't even pay his respects to him.

"When are you going to stop looking?"

Nicholas sighed and glared over his shoulder at Perenelle. She looked worse for wear as he had been dragging her round the countries, refusing to stay in one place for more than a week, searching every nook and cranny of the tiny island. They were now back in London though their home was nothing as they had left it; the streets more crowded, smothered by shit and rotting meat. This place was dying and they were here to watch.

"I mean we should stop looking, it's been over a hundred years. Maybe we should settle down?"

"Never took you for a settling down type," he muttered as he crossed another graveyard,

"Time changes people."

He smirked, it had taken her five years to forgive him forgive him the young alchemist, a few seconds to Nicholas,

"Maybe somewhere near here."

"Nicholas' smirk vanished and frowned at Perenelle, turning to her,

"Why here?"

"It's loud and busy."

Nicholas shook his head, "Fine, you can stay here and I'll continue searching."

"Nicholas," she sighed, "You won't find him."

Nicholas chuckled, "We'll see."

He slammed the door hard behind him. Every graveyard in England and nothing! He screamed slamming his hard into the closest wall, white hot pain travelling through his hand as something crack. He cried out again in rage, never having felt this angry since his wife had died. Her too he had been unable to bury her, but that was because there was no body to bury. It made him wonder what happened to his young helper. A piercingly sharp punched hit him in the back, muscle tearing. He looked down to see a thin long sword through his chest. It was ripped from his body and he stumbled backwards onto the floor, the sound of his skull slamming against the stone, ringing in his ears.

"Oh shit! Nicholas!"

He grunted feeling the blood leak from his body. He wondered if he had been wrong all these and they could die. He hoped he was wrong. But he was never wrong.

"Good Lord Nicholas…I thought you were never coming back."

"Of course I would eventually."

Perenelle helped him up and slapped his across the face.

"Ten years Nicholas! Not a word."

"I was busy." He said through gritted teeth as he pulled down his jacket.

"Looking at graves meant you couldn't write for ten years,"

"Glad to see you missed me. You chose a nice house."

He started walking towards the stairs, Perenelle making angry tittering noises behind him.

"Yes well, when you have infinite gold anything's possible."

Perenelle didn't have infinite gold, just more than most, given Nicholas still had the stone constantly on his person, now making full use of its properties.

"I also found your precious circle."

"Really?" he shouted down from the top of the stairs.

"Yes but its no- third door on the left if you're looking for the bedroom,"

"I see."

Perenelle started climbing the grey stone steps as well, holding her dress up as she ran, "It's no longer called the circle, it the ministry of magic now,"

"How delightful," he drawled as he entered the bedroom. Perenelle had once again tried to have a red theme around the house, however with limited resources she had settled on having a maroon sheeted bed and compensating for the lack of carpet and curtains with red wild flowers. He surveyed the room once with slight curiosity before he started to undress.

"Er I'd also to ask something of you."

"I've never told you before." He fell down naked on the bed exhausted from his non-stop trip.

"I want a child."

He groaned, he was too tired for this,

"You truly want to subject a child to what."

"Well…maybe we could give our child a choice,"

"And you could live with your child dying before you."

She sighed, brushing her fingers through her hair, "You've been gone for ten years,"

"You've said that already."

It was odd waking up with Perenelle clinging on to him. For the first five minutes he lay immobile under Perenelle's weight, his legs aching from his constant walking. Finally, he tried to move but Perenelle dug her fingernails into his chest.

"Nicholas, I've been alone for ten years." She whispered,

Nicholas ignored her, praying she wouldn't bring up children again.

"and if you disappear again I'll have no one."

"And a child would help that?"

Perenelle groaned and got out of bed marching round to his side.

"Nicholas I…respect you and…oh fuck it! I hate you Nicholas! Ever since you did this to me, I've stopped living!"

Did she aspect this to hurt him?

"I want to have someone here, someone who I can talk to."

"A baby?"

"they won't be a baby for long."

She swiftly turned round her hands over her face.

"I always wanted a child, can you not give me this?"

His wife had always wanted a child, but Nicholas had never liked the idea of a child getting in the way of his work. He'd given into her wishes, his beautiful… he sat bolt upright. What was his wife's name? He got out of the bed. No, no, no. what was it? He had loved her since the moment they met, had been married to her for fifty years. What was her name? he stumbled on to the stairs, leaning over the side. What was his son's name?

"Nicholas?"

"I'll…do it…fine…happy now!?"

The next five years were exhausting, constant exhausted unneeded sex to keep Perenelle happy, the rest of his time spent in his office, playing with the stone and scrawling on his papers. Finally, she fell pregnant, though this did not end his suffering, having to listen to her constant demands. He tried to re-join the circle, however the 'come one come all' had completely disappeared, leaving a fascist hierarchy that had been tainted by money. He'd returned home spending two weeks locked away after that, wishing even more he had been able to finding Xabier's grave.

"I'm sorry, but we couldn't save your wife,"

"Oh no," Nicholas said, rolling his eyes, he spluttered quickly afterwards, realising he had to act upset to the doctor and the nuns, "God I can't believe it."

"She is in a better place." The nun beside the doctor stroking the cross the on her necklace. Nicholas nodded, wondering how long they had until Perenelle woke up again.

"But the baby," The doctor handed the bundle in his hand to Nicholas. He slowly pulled apart the cloth to the tiny sleeping baby. It had a slightly pruned face and pudgy cheeks. It started to mumble as a felt the cold air and tried to stretch out its weak arms.

"He's a boy."

His son opened his eyes to stare at his father.

"Indeed," he said quietly, entranced by the curious eyes, searching his, the arms still pushing against the linen. Nicholas dragged his eyes away from his son, snapping back into reality when he looked at the lingering doctor and nuns.

"Please I would like some time to myself."

"Of course," the doctor said looking at the floor, the nuns bowing, heading towards the door as the doctor lingered, "however unfortunate this is there is still the matter of the-"

"Yes here's your money." Nicholas snapped, throwing the man a bag of gold, holding the tiny baby in his hand and headed into the bedroom. Perenelle was definitely still dead. The room was humid with blood and the scent of disgusting bodily fluid. Her arms laid out limp on either side of the bed, her greasy hair clinging to her forehead. Her eyes were half closed staring blankly ahead. Nicholas sat down beside her, gently rocking his son. The red covers disguised the patch of blood that was seeping from Perenelle's legs, however he assumed underneath the covers were stained black with the amount of blood she must have lost. This could take a while. The baby started to coo.

"Shh, it's alright," he whispered, looking down at the small baby again. His face became scrunched up as he started to cry, "don't worry, she'll wake soon."

He rocked the baby firmer until he stopped crying and just babbled, trying to wrestle his away out of the blanket. He was a strong baby, perhaps- given both his parents were immortal- he too was strong enough live forever. Nicholas could work out if that was a bad thing or not. He turned back to his wife, stroking her ice cold wrist,

"Come on Perenelle, your son's waiting for you."