The Mandrake loomed large and forlorn in his den. Deeply shaken and despondent, he had retreated hours earlier after making a hasty exit from the kitchen. A hundred mixed emotions and thoughts swirled in his mind and he was trying to sort them out, to no avail. Something he had spent years yearning for had finally manifested when he had least expected: Rose had returned. He watched a scene play out in front of him as he stood in the middle of the room. He could see Rose and Dearwig chatting just outside the front garden gate. They behaved more like friends than family, so he surmised that Rose had not yet told Dearwig who she actually was. He deduced further that Rose must be planning to return at some point soon, especially seeing as how Bella had clearly not thrown her out hours ago. The two women must have mended fences, as it were, or at least tolerated each other's presence. He continued to watch as Rose climbed into a Morris Minor and drive off. He then waved his hand through the image being projected in front of his face, making it fade away.

As much as the Mandrake desired to see Rose again, he had also been fearful of her return. And this evening's surprise visit demonstrated exactly why he was so afraid. Seeing Rose walk through that door was more than he could contain. Surprise and overwhelming joy had erupted into a terrifying display of fire and heat. What an embarrassment… and to think Dearwig had been so excited to celebrate a holiday together, and he goes and does that. Not only did he frighten that little blonde lad, but he probably made Rose's blood run cold from shock. Blast this curse! It made it impossible for him to conceal any strong emotion, all of which manifested in the same manner, regardless of whether the emotion even warranted such a reaction. He'd already set fire to that evening's newspaper from the thrill of having received some long awaited recognition for his work. Joy, anger, excitement are all expressed the same way now and there was little he could do to about it. This resulted in the fear and intimidation of everyone around him. For a long while, he had stopped caring whether he frightened anyone. He self-isolated and insisted that everyone else fall in line with his demand of being undisturbed. And for the most, they did. Until the girl came into the house, that is. She had managed to upend all expectations within a few weeks of her arrival. As a result, he found himself more at ease, more productive in his distractions, more willing to interact and go on outings again. In summation, he was less lonely. But sadly, that didn't mean he could easily control the physical displays his features performed. Certainly, he could keep a lot of reactions and feelings in check, but when the emotions were especially strong, or something unexpected occurred, well, tonight was the typical outcome.

The Mandrake sat on down on the sofa in his den, staring at the gallery of pictures he had proudly curated of his musical career and time spent with his former bandmates. His gaze fell on Rose's face, her bewitching smile taunting him from the poster that hung there. Drat! What must she have thought, seeing him like that? And to make matters worse, she, herself, looked exactly the same! She hadn't changed at all, while he and Bella were probably near unrecognizable to her. He frowned and exhaled deeply through his nose. He could not help but reflect on how much Dearwig was so like her mother. She had quickly squirmed her way through the Mandrake's barriers, much like one of Bella's worms. The child had somehow managed to make him take an interest in life outside his den and library again, much like Rose had done when they first met. After Rose left, he wanted nothing more than to escape into other people's stories in order to forget his own. He had avoided music almost altogether as it only served to remind him of Rose, his time spent with her, the aspirations he had for the band, and the bond he once shared with his fellow magic-welding bandmates. Until one day the Fates seemed to intervene, when he and Bella cross paths with Erica Wigg. At first he had no idea who she was, only that she was magical, that he knew. She saw right through him, just like Rose had done, years before, although Dearwig likely saw a very different image of his inner self. Feigning disinterest, he pondered the child's identity the entire walk home from the orphanage while she scampered behind. He quickly began to conclude the possibility of who she was given some simple deductive reasoning: her age, location, physical appearance, and of course, her magical inclination. Even her name was practically an anagram, as if Rose was leaving a trail of crumbs for them to follow. Of course, he couldn't be absolutely certain Dearwig was his daughter, not initially anyway. But he kept an eye on her as if she was, nonetheless. When Rose returned, however, all doubt was vanquished. Even if for no other reason, Rose would return for the child. The Mandrake felt another streak of fear run through him, this one different than before. What if Rose was here only for the girl, and no other reason? What if he was no longer a factor in her return, at all? What if Rose wanted to take Dearwig away, leaving him again, this time not only without her love, but alsowithout his daughter? He didn't want to ponder the condition he would be in, if that should occur.

The next morning, the Mandrake was first to arrive in the kitchen. He sat himself down at the table and waited for Bella. Most mornings he would have his face buried in a book, both as an escape and as a means to avoid conversation. But this morning was atypical in that regard. He sat in his seat and bided his time by studying the pattern on the wallpaper. Why in Merlin's name had he allowed Bella to chose this pink color, he wondered. As if on cue, Bella walked in, looking a bit sleepy and detached. She walked over to the tea kettle and bought it to the sink to fill with water for the morning tea.

"Is she coming back, then?", Mandrake asked her in a flat voice. Bella could only assume he was referring to the previous night's unexpected visitor.

"Yes, I told her to come by after breakfast." Bella felt a bit nervous telling this to Mandrake, not knowing how he might take this news.

"Good. I'll wait for her." Bella was now fully awake, but she tried to conceal her curiosity. "Suit yourself", she replied apathetically. You always do, anyways, she thought to herself…

As the Mandrake's demons were making short work of the breakfast dishes, the family heard the doorbell ring. "That's her!", Erica jumped off her chair and ran down the hall to answer the front door. "Good Morning, lady!", she exclaimed in typical chipper fashion. She was quite intrigued to know what the redheaded witch wanted to talk about with her. Rose was ushered into the kitchen to find Bella and Mandrake sitting at the kitchen table again, staring at her. Here in the light of morning, Rose could not help but note to herself that they looked like a married couple awaiting their teenage daughter to explain why she was coming in so late after a long night out. Erica immediately took the opportunity to lift Thomas off the window sill where he had been taking a post-breakfast nap, and held him up for Rose to examine. "This is Thomas!", she stated proudly. Rose extended the back of fingertips to the top of Thomas' head.

"Oh, he's a lovely kitty.", she said sweetly. "You must be very good friends." Thomas surveyed the redhead, slightly taken aback that someone other than Erica was touching him kindly. He could detect that she was a witch, but her energy was so different from that of Bella or Mandrake. He began to purr gently and rub his head into her caress.

The Mandrake closely observed this entire exchange, unable to take his eyes off Rose.

"Dearwig", he started. "I've left some new manuscript chapters in the library for you to read. Please give us some time alone. We need to speak to Miss Scarlett." He kept his eyes on Rose, as he spoke, watching her reaction. Dearwig? Rose noted the endearing play on Erica's name given to her by Mandrake.

"But she, uh, we were…", Erica began, trying to explain the coming conversation she was to have with the red witch, only to see the Mandrake frown sternly at her in response. "Fiiiiine."

Rose watched Erica carry Thomas out of the kitchen.

"Sit down, Rose." Mandrake waited for Rose to take a seat at the table. She noticed he seemed cool and collected this morning, so different from the night before.

"You look…well today, Mandrake", she offered a bit timidly.

"Hmph." Mandrake inhaled sharply, grunting his response and looking away before regaining a sense of composure. "As do you, Rose. It's good to see you again." He seemed to offer this cordiality to the tabletop, rather than to Rose, herself.

"I suppose you're both wondering what has happened. I know I owe you a great many explanations…", Rose began, finding it awkward and not really knowing where to start. Why was this so difficult, she wondered? Both Bella and Mandrake were now looking at her pointedly, almost teetering on her words, as if waiting for a cracked sheet of glass to break.

"I want you to know that I wouldn't be here if I felt there was any danger in returning at this time. I've had to take a great many precautions along the way, but—"

"What's happened to the baby?", Bella broke in, cutting to what she really wanted to know first. After all, this was the very issue at the source of everything that had since occurred, and all the misery that came after. Rose looked at Bella and attempted to redirect her words to address this biggest of all elephants in the room.

"Well, that is a large part of the reason why I'm here. I couldn't very well go underground with an infant, in would be too dangerous. No child should have to endure that. So I left her, temporarily, or course", she emphasized, "somewhere I knew she would be safe—"

"St. Morvald's", the Mandrake finished. Rose brightened up a bit at his acuity.

"Yes, I thought it the best place for her. After all, I was well familiar with the home, given my own experience there. It seemed a natural fit, really." Bella and Mandrake continued to stare at her, their silence suggesting skepticism. "I had every intention of going back for her once it was safe to do to so", Rose pleaded, her eyes shifting back and forth between each of her bandmates. Bella wasn't so convinced, however.

"What if someone had adopted her before you could return?", she asked in a scrutinizing tone.

"Well, that's the beauty of it, you see! I took precautions against that happening, as well. I charmed her, to secure her location. No one would suspect, it was designed to keep her at the orphanage until I could retrieve her. That is, until, the two of you crossed her path…", Rose paused heavy with insinuation, looking pointedly at them. Bella's eyebrows furrowed, uncomprehending her meaning.

"Erica is my daughter."

Bella looked stunned at Rose's revelation. "Wha-?" She turned to look at the Mandrake, asking him sharply, "Did you know this?" The Mandrake remained calm and unflinching.

"I suspected it sometime ago, yes', he answered. Bella huffed under her breath, eyes wide, roiling in disbelief. She then shifted her stare sideways. Actually, she thought to herself, this explains a great deal…

"But don't you see what a perfect turn of events this has been?", Rose continued, marveling at the scenario. "Somehow, the charm was overridden by the two of you, allowing for her removal from that home. Perhaps on some subconscious level, I was hoping you would find her and take her into your care." Now it was the Mandrake's turn to huff through his nose and glare sideways. If only Rose knew under what pretense Bella had brought the girl into their house…He, himself, had been too preoccupied with escaping reality to even think about looking for his daughter. He had assumed she was still with her mother. He felt a twinge of guilt upon this reflection.

"Why didn't you just leave her with us, to begin with, then?', he asked. Rose looked at him with an exasperated expression.

"Because it would have been too dangerous for all of you! You know that, Mandrake! Coming to you would have been the first thing the council did', Rose explained before lowering her tone, "…and from what I understand, that's exactly what they did." The Mandrake flinched at that last remark. Bella must have told Rose what had happened after she left.

"We would have stood by you", he pressed, "we would have tried to protect you…" Bella's expression softened, apparently agreeing with this sentiment. They both looked at Rose, appearing hurt. Rose wasn't so sure about that, however. After all, the Mandrake had failed to protect even himself from the punishing curse the council laid upon him, or so it would seem anyway.

"Perhaps", she shrugged. "Maybe I was wrong…", Rose mused more to herself than to her friends, "Maybe things would have been different, I don't know. I just took what I thought was the best course of action at the time", her voiced trailed off as she considered this. Bella was feeling her temper flicker again. She still felt a considerable amount of resentment that had not yet had a chance to be aired.

"Couldn't you have done something to let us know your whereabouts? Years gone by without a scrap of news! Once the baby was secured safely you forgot all about us, is that it?", Bella barbed at Rose, glancing in Mandrake's direction. "You have no idea how this affected us, I suppose", she continued, sharply. Rose looked offended and surprised.

"That's not true!", she exclaimed. "Do you think me some kind of machine, without feeling? I didn't want to leave, but I wasn't going to let them take my child. I couldn't see any other way! And it was too dangerous to try to contact you! Those crones were just waiting for me to make contact. I couldn't risk the possibility of being found, or of drawing undue attention to you, either. And I especially didn't want them to find Ear—Erica. You know this, Bella!" Rose pled again with her fellow witch to understand the situation, who logically understood but still needed some outlet for this anger she felt at her perceived injustice. Rose ventured to explain further. "Do you think it was easy for me to leave the lot of you?", she asked. The typically cool and collected Rose felt her face grow warm with angry offense. Bella noticed Rose's eyes flash as the redheaded witch tried to explain herself. "How can you suggest that this wasn't painful for me, as well, or that I haven't had to make any sacrifices?" Her eyes grew wider now, with angry disbelief. "I gave up everything!" And with that admission, Rose began to list her losses, each one more painful than the last. "My career, my best friend", she said, looking intently at Bella. "The love of my life", her eyes shifted sideways to look at Mandrake. "My child…", and with that her words began to choke as she looked down, quickly bringing the back of her curled fingers to her mouth to stifle the sound of crying, emergent in her voice. The Mandrake sat in silence, absorbing her words. He stared at the tablecloth, fixating on the colored stripes until they began to blur with the tears that were beginning to form in his own eyes behind his thick glasses. He wanted so much reach over and comfort Rose, and himself, but all he could do was squeeze his hands into fists as they lay upon his lap. Rose, however, had never been one for dramatics, and she quickly regained her composure with a sharp sniff. She darted her head up with a curt shake, chin high, and inhaled sharply. Her eyes focused on nothing in particular on the wall behind Bella. With that, Mandrake took her cue and refocused himself, as well.

"Our apologies. We didn't mean to imply this ordeal hasn't been difficult for you, as well", the Mandrake looked over at Bella for a moment as he spoke. He still had many questions he wanted to ask Rose. "I assume you believe yourself to now be free of having any council members in pursuit of you, correct?"

"Yes, I believe so. It took quite awhile, longer that I had anticipated. I am sorry about that. There were so many times I wanted to come back sooner, but every time I thought it was safe, some new obstacle would arise, preventing me from doing so. I often felt like Ulysses trying to find his way home", she smiled sheepishly. Rose elaborated by explaining to her bandmates all the places she had been, where she had been staying, the people who had helped her, troubles she had encountered and things she had learned. The three talked and listened for hours even exchanging a few laughs and memories. Their reunion was abruptly interrupted by Erica charging through the kitchen door.

"You can't leave the children in the bell tower while the detective investigates the crime scene! That bit needs to be resolved before moving forward with the—"

"Dearwig!", the Mandrake sharply interrupted the girl's tirade. "We don't burst into rooms, disrupting conversations!" Erica looked stunned for a moment, remembering what she had left earlier that morning. She emitted a nervous laugh.

"Ah, haha, sorry, Sir. I got carried away, especially since the part about the recovered murder weapon was so fantastic!" The Mandrake frowned and reddened at the girl's praise. Rose watched this new reaction closely. "Please forgive my excitement," said Erica, slyly attempting to look demure and innocent. The Mandrake softened immediately.

"Very well. But you'll do well to remember it next time so as not to disturb others. Miss Scarlett is a guest and we don't want her to think you are without manners." Erica considered Mandrake's reproach.

"Thank you for the reminder. May I stay and join the conversation?"

"Actually", Rose countered, looking at Erica, "you and I are slated for a conversation, just between us."