Over the next few days while waiting for Moffitt and his family, Troy and Shauna did their best to make their new guest comfortable. As Troy expected, the little girl spent most of her time around him. She didn't talk much since telling Troy where she came from.

It was Tully who suggested giving the girl a name. Troy argued against it at first, claiming that there was probably already a name on record for her. Then, Dietrich suggested a new name would help in easing the girl's fear of Shauna, since she was probably used to the lady who ran the orphanage shouting her name. Again, Troy wondered if that was a bit too far, and felt that the girl could just use her original name.

Despite his arguments, Troy wound up spending long hours poring over books in his office, trying to find a suitable name. Many of them hadn't been touched in years, and many more of them were over eighty years old, having been brought over by his grandparents when they arrived from Greece. They were the only remnants of his grandparents he had. David had a small collection of their belongings that were willed to him. The rest had been sold when Troy's mother had to sell the farm during the war, and neither brother was there to salvage anything.

And whose fault was that? Troy thought. Mine. Because I went and enlisted due to being miserable. He let out a sigh. At least I have these books. I haven't gone through them in years. The spiders have gotten more out of them than I have. He brushed away a cobweb when he carefully opened a rather ancient-looking volume.

His ears pricked when he heard someone coming down the stairs, and saw the little girl going over to the coat rack. Oh, no, you better not be thinking about running away again, Troy thought. He took one of his crutches, prepared to spring up if the girl was planning on making a run for it.

Instead of taking her jacket, the girl was slowly and carefully taking Troy's slouch hat from off the top of the rack. She studied it for a moment, turning it over in her hands, and running her fingers along the Australian Army badge that pinned up one side of the brim.

Troy had stood to get a better look. He leaned against the doorway, watching her continue looking over his hat. When she put it on her own head, Troy was fighting a smile. Come on, tough guy, don't think it. Just don't think it… Damn it, who cares? That's adorable. He allowed himself to smile, but had to say, "It's backwards, sweetie. Pinned side goes on your left."

The girl jumped when he spoke, but didn't make any attempt to run or hide. Instead, she turned the hat around.

"That's better," Troy said.

For the first time, the girl smiled.

See, now I can't send you back. I mean, I wasn't. I was starting to consider sending you to a different orphanage, but now I want to keep you around. No, I'm just going to feel like I'm not ready later on… Curse my soft heart. Troy sighed. "You can't keep that, you know. That's mine."

The girl nodded, but she was still smiling.

"Okay. Just… put it back when you're done." He went back into his office, looking through the books spread out over his desk, still in search of a good name for the girl.

Shauna had entered from the back door, bits of straw in her hair from managing their livestock. She went into the office. "Everything's been taken care of, Sam. I'll be collecting eggs from the chickens later and bringing them into town for sale."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Troy said.

Briefly, Shauna looked out into the living room. "Why's she wearing your hat?"

"I don't know. She's not hurting it. I showed her how to wear it, and she was actually smiling."

"Good."

Troy nodded, then lowered his voice. "I think I do want to adopt her."

Shauna folded her arms over her chest. "Sam—"

"Please?"

"She's still not used to me."

"We're working on it." Troy sighed again. "Give her time. I won't sign any paperwork without you. This is a decision we should make together."

"I'm not opposed to it, but I don't want to make her suffer."

"I don't, either."

Shauna began gently squeezing Troy's shoulders. "Have you found a good name for her yet?"

"Yes, actually, but I don't know if I want to use it if there's a possibility we're not going to adopt her."

"Let's hear it, Sam."

"Alright, alright. It's Antheia. Comes from an ancient Greek word for 'flower.'"

"You're sure that's what you want to call her?"

"You don't like it?"

"No, I like it. I just want to make sure that you're sure, because this will be permanent if we adopt her."

"She can change it if she wants. I'm not going to force it if she doesn't like it."

"Okay."

"Does it feel like I'm making all the decisions here?"

"No. If the girl didn't hate me, I'd be more involved, but she responds only to you. She's only happy with you. I don't want to ruin that."

"I don't want it to feel like I'm ignoring you in favor of her."

"It doesn't."

"Are you being honest?"

"Yes, Sam."

Troy wasn't sure. "Sweetheart, I know this has been difficult. It's not your fault—"

"I know it's not my fault."

"I can sense that this is really aggravating you."

Shauna fell silent. She looked at the floor, and rubbed her face. "I don't know what to do, Sam."

A sob from her prompted Troy to stand, completely ignoring his crutches, and hug her. "You're doing the best you can. I know you are."

"It doesn't feel like I am. This is why I told you I'd make a terrible mother. I can't get her comfortable around me."

"It's not something that's going to change overnight. I know it's stressful, but you just have to keep trying. You'll get there." Troy hugged Shauna a little tighter, and kissed the side of her head. "Please, don't cry, sweetheart. You're doing just fine." He stayed quiet for a moment, slowly rubbing his wife's back. "I love you so much. I told you years ago that even though we can't have children, I will always love you. Always. There's no one else in the world I'd rather have at my side than you."

Troy noticed the girl watching them in the corner of his eye. He didn't pay her any attention, not wanting her to know that he was aware of her presence. He kept his focus on Shauna, and held her for as long as she needed.

Another day passed before Moffitt and his family arrived. Troy kept the name he wanted to give the girl to himself for the moment, still unsure whether or not she would even be staying. He felt giving her the name would just make him more attached.

A grin crossed Troy's face when he saw Jules running up the sidewalk to the porch. He limped to the door, opened it, and braced himself for the inevitable tackle-hug. Surprisingly, Jules was gentle when he ran up to Troy, putting on the brakes rather quickly before throwing his arms around him.

"Dad says I have to be gentle, Mr. Troy," Jules said.

Troy looked over at Moffitt, who said, "Yes. Gentle until Troy isn't hobbling around on crutches."

"Four more months," Troy replied, sighing.

"How have you been doing, if you don't mind me asking?" Moffitt said.

"Been doing my best to stay off my leg, but sometimes I can't help myself."

"Of course not. Honestly, I'd be more worried if you had been sitting still the last month or so."

"Well, I'm not looking forward to February." Troy stepped aside to let Moffitt and Vanora in the house, with Jules still clinging to him.

"Oh? What's February?" Moffitt took off his jacket.

"I have an appointment with the damn X-ray machine."

"I don't blame you for not looking forward to it. I hate being in that dark, creepy little room. Worst of all, I can't bring Anah." Moffitt motioned to the cobra draped around his shoulders.

"Why can't you bring her?" Troy asked.

"Her magic aura is powerful enough to disrupt the machines, even if she isn't actively using magic."

Anah grinned, nuzzling Moffitt's cheek. "I can still go with you. I just cannot be in the creepy little room with you." Her grin faded. "I do remember not being allowed to go in when Jules was suspected of having broken his ankle a few years back. He was so frightened of that room. You being frightened as well did not help."

"Could we not discuss that, please?"

"Yes. Sorry."

"Speaking of frightened," Troy said, "you both know that we have a guest, right?"

Moffitt and Anah nodded.

"I asked her a few days ago what she thought of snakes. She said they look 'gross and slimy,' but she's not terrified of them."

"Have you made any progress with this girl and Shauna?" Moffitt asked.

"Minimal. She's stopped hiding behind me when Shauna's in the room, but she still refuses to interact with her."

"Ouch. I can't imagine this has been easy for Shauna."

"It hasn't. She broke down crying yesterday because of it."

"Is she alright now?"

"For the most part."

"Poor dear," Anah said. "I see why you wanted our help. Where is the girl?"

"Up in our bedroom. She found our photo album and has been enjoying looking through it for some reason. I have a feeling that's why she wanted to try on my hat yesterday."

Moffitt smirked a little. "Aww."

"Yeah, yeah, it was cute. Anyway, I went upstairs after, found the album on the bed, opened to a picture of me and Lieutenant Ponson, a week after I'd been released from the infirmary after… Beckmann happened. It was the day Ponson gave me that hat."

"You let her try on the hat?"

"I was watching her before she knew I was there. Granted, she put it on backwards, but I gave her a gentle pointer, and she spent the next couple of hours wearing it."

"It is sweet that you let her wear it. That hat means a great deal to you," Anah said.

"Yeah, but I figured there was no harm in it as long as she showed it respect." Troy glanced up the stairs. "I think you should meet her first, Moffitt?"

"Why me?" Moffitt asked.

"She'll probably respond best to you."

"You do have a comforting presence," Anah added. "Not as much as Dietrich, though."

Moffitt raised an eyebrow. "Why isn't Dietrich here? I'm surprised he isn't."

"He's kinda busy at the moment," Troy replied. "Expectant wife duties."

"Oh." Moffitt bit his tongue, glancing at Vanora. "Yes, those were indeed quite time-consuming." He smiled when Vanora glared at him. "Hello, darling."

"Are you saying I was time-consuming when I had our son?" Vanora asked.

"No, darling. Every moment was worth it. Time best consumed." Moffitt kept smiling until Vanora went to talk to Shauna, then mimed wiping sweat from his forehead. "Dodged a bullet there. My sympathies go out to Dietrich. Poor man. It'll be worth it in the end, though." Moffitt took Anah off his shoulders. "Could you keep Jules occupied while we go see the girl?"

"I can," Anah replied.

Troy led Moffitt upstairs, and opened the bedroom door. The girl was sitting cross-legged on the bed, the photo album in front of her. Moffitt gave Troy a sad and surprised look before whispering, "She's skinnier than me. You weren't joking."

Troy nodded. He went in the room first. "Hey, sweetie."

The girl looked up. She noticed Moffitt in the doorway, and didn't react.

"I've got some friends over. They have a kid about your age." Troy sat on the bed. "This is Jack Moffitt."

"You're in some of these pictures," the girl said, glancing at the photo album.

"I am," Moffitt replied. "Do you have a name?"

The girl shook her head.

"That's quite sad, honestly. I'm sure Troy will think of something for you."

The girl turned to Troy. "Have you?"

"Have I what?" Troy asked.

"Thought of a new name?"

"Uh… yeah. I have." Troy hesitated a moment, then gave a heavy sigh. "Antheia. It's Antheia."

"Antheia," Moffitt said. "That's Greek, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Means 'flower.'"

"There was a big garden at the orphanage that all the girls had to take care of in the springtime," the girl said. "I always liked going in there when we were outside, and be around the flowers. It was very colorful, very peaceful. Mountain bluebirds lived in it. I really liked spending time with the birds."

"Birds are fun to watch," Moffitt said. "I do a little birdwatching in my free time. Most people—" he gave Troy a look, "think it's boring."

"I don't think it's boring."

Moffitt smiled at Troy.

"I would go birdwatching if that's what she wants to do," Troy said.

"Would you? You yourself said it was the most boring thing you've ever done."

"Moffitt?"

"Yes?"

"Be quiet. I would go birdwatching with her."

"You will need some lessons in how not to terrify every single bird in the immediate vicinity, Troy."

"Says the man who once ruined his own birdwatching trip because he sneezed."

Moffitt gave Troy a grumpy look. "My allergies were acting up."

"And you were in a valley. That sneeze echoed for quite a bit."

"You know, sometimes I wish you and Anah still didn't like each other."

Troy gave him a lopsided smirk. "I actually enjoy our phone calls."

"Yes, she's often still blabbering away with you when I want to call Hitch or Tully or Dietrich. You two need to find something else to talk about other than me."

"We talk about a lot of things, just so you know."

Moffitt rolled his eyes before looking back at the girl. "So, what do you think? Do you like the name 'Antheia?'"

The girl nodded. "Is that going to be my new name forever?"

"It could be," Troy said. "If we decide to take you in."

"I thought you already have."

"Not… really. We're sheltering you until we know more about what happened."

"But I told you everything that happened."

"We need a little more. Not only that, if you're going to keep being afraid of Shauna, then it probably isn't a good idea to adopt you, because it won't be fair to you or Shauna." Troy stopped, realizing he probably shouldn't have said all that. Oh, crap.

"I thought you were different." The girl got off the bed, and pushed past Moffitt in order to run out into the hall and hide in the bathroom.

Moffitt bit his lip. "Well, that went swimmingly."

"I should've kept my mouth shut," Troy muttered, rubbing his face.

"Twenty years ago, that wouldn't have been the case. The last thing I ever would have expected to see or hear was you talking too much."

"Because so much has changed. Maybe they shouldn't have."

"Don't ever let Dietrich hear you say that."

"No. This wouldn't have been an issue if things hadn't changed!" Troy snapped. "I wouldn't have met Shauna, I wouldn't have had to worry about getting attached to the girl, I could've just given her to the sheriff and let him send her back to where she came from! This could've been over a long time ago!"

"Troy, you don't mean that."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

Moffitt gave him a flabbergasted look. "Troy, you know as well as I do that if things hadn't changed—"

"I know, I know. Dietrich would've died, and we all would've been killed in nuclear war. I get it!"

"You're frustrated about this particular situation—"

"None of this would've happened!"

Moffitt's eyes narrowed. He kept his tone calm. "Alright, that's enough." He shut the bedroom door and stood in front of it. "You're not leaving this room until you calm down. I refuse to let you take your frustration out on anyone else. Yell at me all you want, though. I know you, and I know you don't mean a word you just said."

Troy knew he wasn't going to get by Moffitt with a broken leg. His anger was already fading anyway. He looked over his shoulder at the open photo album, seeing pictures of himself and Dietrich at Moffitt's wedding reception. He was giving his biggest smile while his arm was around Dietrich, who looked a little embarrassed, but accepting of the affection.

Troy's anger melted swiftly, like an ice cube thrown into a hot frying pan, and he realized what he had said. He clenched his fists, and hunched over. "No, I don't mean what I said." He swallowed past a growing desire to cry. "Go get Anah. I want to talk to her alone."

Moffitt didn't argue. He left the room, and returned about a minute later, holding the Egyptian cobra. "Here." Moffitt set Anah on the bed, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Silence fell over the bedroom. Anah slithered over to Troy, and climbed up to his shoulders. "What happened?"

Troy took a moment to try and summarize what had actually happened. Anah listened, but she was also eyeing Troy's cast. When he finished talking, Anah crawled down to his right leg, and wrapped herself around his knee.

"I didn't break my knee, Anah," Troy said.

"I know. My healing is not as effective when I attempt it through casts, so I must get as close as possible."

"I also thought you said you can't heal broken bones."

"I cannot, but I can at least ease some of your pain. Getting worked up and stressed like this will slow the healing process for you. Take a deep breath and relax, dear." Anah became still, her eyes glowing a little.

Troy wanted to argue, but a cool feeling had begun spreading through his leg, like he finally took the cast off. The feeling dulled a little when Anah looked up at him. "Your decreased mobility has been contributing greatly to your stress, has it not?"

"It has," Troy replied.

"Unfortunately, it is something you have very little control over, beyond making sure you do not worsen your injury."

"Pretty much."

"The little girl is also stressing you."

"You know, you and her have something in common; you're both afraid of abandonment. In fact, both of you were abandoned at some point."

Anah ceased healing, but she remained around Troy's knee. "Indeed." She resumed healing, after tightening her coils around Troy's knee again. "The fact that she is afraid of Shauna has been frustrating you, too, because you care deeply for both the girl and your wife."

"My wife has to take priority. There's no arguing with that."

"But you cannot deny that you wish to take the girl into your care."

Troy sighed. "No, I can't. That, and Dietrich said he had a dream where he saw me walking with a girl who looked exactly like this one."

"Curious," Anah said. "Dietrich has, in the vast majority of cases, been correct in what he sees in his dreams."

"He's not a psychic, though."

"No. He just happens to have more dreams that could be considered visions than most non-magic users."

"Should I bother asking 'why?'"

"All I will tell you is that it was a gift, but it is a gift he cannot control, even though I would certainly trust him to have control over it."

"Is this a vision or a dream, though?"

"Only time will tell."

Troy groaned. "Anah, please—"

"Just like your relationship with the girl. Patience, dear."

There was no arguing with her on that. Troy leaned back, putting his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. The cool feeling had returned to his leg as Anah continued healing. Eventually, he said, "Was I wrong for what I said? For saying… that I wish things hadn't changed? Prophecy aside."

"I highly doubt you actually want to go back to the way things were, when all you did was suppress everything you felt. It was slowly poisoning you. Things would not have been easier. They would have been harder. Your loneliness would have eventually consumed you, and you would have been on a course similar to Dietrich. Your own abyss was not too far off." Anah became quiet for a moment. "I would not say that you are 'wrong' for what you said. You were under stress, angry, frustrated, and that was how you expressed it. Deep down, you are happy with where you are."

"Yeah. I just… want the best for the girl. I'm just wondering if she'd be better off somewhere else."

"She is extremely lucky that it was you and Shauna who found her." Anah uncoiled from Troy's knee, and slithered over to the bed. "You never truly accepted the fact that you and Shauna cannot have children naturally."

"No. Already established that with Dietrich."

Anah paused in front of the photo album, then turned to start crawling on Troy. "You have definitely improved on your patience over the years," she said.

"I'm starting to think that this has less to do with patience and more to do with the fact that this really upsets Shauna."

"That makes sense."

"What did you say?"

"I said, that makes sense."

"Really?" Troy sat up, taking Anah off of him and holding her by the middle of her body. "Something I said to you makes sense?"

Anah pulled herself up to Troy's arm. "Yes."

"Wow. I never thought I'd see the day. I should go write this down."

"No, we need to focus on helping you first."

"This is helping. It's making me laugh."

Anah sighed. "That is not what I meant. We have something we can work with—the fact that this upsets Shauna—now we—"

"I'm writing this down." Troy stood up, but Anah telekinetically pushed away his crutches. Before he could lose his balance, Troy sat back down on the bed. "Anah, seriously?"

"Yes."

"Give me my crutches, please."

Anah thought for a moment. "Hmm… Since you said 'please.'" She brought the crutches back over.

"Thank you." Troy left the room, carefully making his way downstairs with Anah around his shoulders.

"That was quick," Moffitt said when he saw them. "Are you cooled off, Troy?"

"I said something that made sense to Anah," Troy replied.

"Are you considering that an achievement of some kind?"

"Yes. In fact, I'm writing it down."

Moffitt rubbed his face. "Sometimes, I can't tell whether or not you two actually get along."

Troy ignored him while going into his office and finding a notebook planner. As he wrote down this momentous occasion, Anah was giving him a dirty look. "When you are done celebrating your tiniest of victories, dear, could we get back to the problem at hand?"

"Yes. Yes, we can," Troy replied. He closed the planner, and looked at Anah.

Moffitt appeared in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest. "What exactly did he say that made sense to you, Anah?"

The cobra started moving down Troy's arm, clearly indicating she wanted to be back on Moffitt. "The problem with the little girl has less to do with Troy's chronic impatience and more to do with the fact that it bothers Shauna," Anah said.

Moffitt held out his hand, letting Anah cross from Troy to him. "That actually does make sense."

"It does mean we cannot just duct tape Troy to a chair and make him wait."

"Didn't you suggest that during the Christmas party?"

"Yes, although it was Dietrich who suggested duct tape specifically."

Moffitt sighed. "Let's be serious—"

At the same time, Troy and Anah made mock serious expressions.

Moffitt sighed again. "You're both idiots sometimes. Anyway—please stop making those faces—how do we get the girl to be more comfortable around Shauna?"

"I can't really think of anything beyond showing the girl over time that Shauna's not like the people she's used to dealing with," Troy said.

"This is not that different to when you and Dietrich were first attempting to get along," Anah replied.

"It's plenty different," Moffitt said. "Dietrich is an adult and capable of understanding Troy was trying to help him. This little girl was orphaned at three and wasn't shown how to manage her fears and emotions properly."

"None of us were ever shown how to manage our emotions," Troy muttered. "Look at how long it took me. We all had to learn on our own."

"Maybe we should get Dietrich over here." Moffitt paused when a door opened on the floor above them.

They all heard Jules saying, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Who are you?" the girl asked.

"Jules. What's your name?"

No answer.

"How come you're crying?"

"I thought these grown-ups were different. They're just going to send me back."

Jules was quiet while listening to the girl talk, then said, "Mr. Troy won't send you back. I know he won't."

"How?"

"Because I've known him my whole life. He's one of Dad's best friends. They're like brothers. We're not related, but we're like a family. That's really special to us." Jules was quiet again. "Nobody's going to send you back to that awful place. You'll be really lucky to stay with Mr. Troy."

"What about his wife?"

"She's not like the people you used to be with. Far from it. She's really nice."

The girl became silent for a moment. "I heard her crying yesterday about how I don't like her."

Jules didn't respond at first.

"She hasn't been mean at all. I'm just afraid of that changing."

"That won't change. Honest."

"I'm so proud of him," Moffitt whispered.

"You mean that?" the girl asked.

"If there's one thing I've learned from everyone, it's to be honest and always tell the truth," Jules said. "I'd never lie to anyone."

"You're not just saying that? I've had promises to me broken before."

"We take promises seriously here. Mr. Troy especially takes promises seriously. You can trust him, and Dad, and Mum, and Mrs. Troy, and Miss Anah, and me."

More silence, then the girl said, "You promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay. If… If you say so."

When it sounded like the conversation ended, Troy turned his attention to Moffitt. "You raised that boy well."

"I did," Moffitt said, smiling. He smile quickly faded. "Hopefully, the girl takes what he said to heart."

"We'll see." Troy looked in the direction of the kitchen, where Shauna and Vanora were talking over coffee. We won't make a decision until the girl's comfortable around Shauna. If ever.