Shortly after Karin had left with Luca and Tinker, Maurice stretched and sat down carefully on the edge of the healing nest. It was a relief that Sparrow let him get up and walk around a little bit. It killed time, if nothing else, while he waited anxiously for Karin and the others to return. But as thrilled as he was to be up and about, even briefly, the big orangutan was seriously considering feigning worse injury. No, not to keep Karin in the village longer, though he was considering that option as well, but to shorten this upcoming unpleasant meeting.

Gray's wife, Cedar, was not one of the most popular females, and for good reason. She even tried Maurice's seemingly inexhaustible store of patience, but she was nothing if not punctual. She arrived and was let in to the healing hut, and immediately rushed to Maurice's side, her eyes brimming with supposed concern.

"Teacher! How are you feeling?" the chimpanzee simpered. "You're up! This is wonderful! How may I help?" Cedar continued to gush.

Maurice ignored her first question about his health. "What You may do is sit, Cedar," Maurice told her bluntly. He had no tolerance for her act today.

Taken somewhat aback by his brisk tone, Cedar sat down and fell uncharacteristically silent.

"I know that your husband and Cornelia have spoken to you about your behavior towards Mary," Maurice signed seriously.

Cedar stiffened, looking indignant.

"If that human has been telling lies about me," her hands flashed before she could stop herself.

The deep rumble and a stern glare Maurice aimed at her froze Cedar's hands in place for a few seconds before she let them fall limply in to her lap.

"Her name is Karin," the orangutan said quietly to a now wide-eyed Cedar. Hardly anyone ever heard Maurice speak out loud, and this put more than a gentle emphasis on his every word. "She has nothing to do with this, Cedar. You have been warned twice. I am giving You the last warning. Stay away from Koba's daughter."

"But Maurice, I did not hurt that child," Cedar complained bitterly, her face taking on a petulant look. "I saw her and that, uh, and that Karin in your home, so I thought I would help and—"

"It is my business who I have in my home," Maurice signed to her. ". And I did not bring you hear to argue the issue. This is your final warning. Stay away from Koba's daughter, or next time—"

"Or next time," Cornelia put in, rising from behind the pile of supplies where she had concealed herself to watch and wait. "I will take my own measures."

Cedar gave a start of surprise. She turned towards her Queen and gave Cornelia an impudent stare. Taking a careful deep breath, Maurice had to remind himself sternly not to step in here. Cornelia was no longer the frightened little newly arrived chimp he used to have to occasionally defend at San Bruno. She could fend for herself long before she became Caesar's wife and their queen, long before their 'awakening', and she would not appreciate his interference. But old habits die hard, and it was a near thing, and so hard for him to resist his second nature.

"You would actually run to Caesar about this?" Cedar shot back incredulously.

Moving smoothly to stand before the impudent female, Cornelia gave the female chimp her sweetest smile.

"No," she signed softly but her eyes held Cedar's with a steely gaze. "Of course, I will not bother either my husband or yours, Cedar ... Next time, I will go straight to Mary's Father."

Cedar gasped and jerked back, her eyes going wide and obviously frightened.

"You wouldn't!" she exclaimed, turning instinctively to Maurice for help.

The normally kindly orangutan sat and stared at her as if carved from stone, and Both he and Cornelia remained silent and unmoved.

Cedar slumped in defeat.

"Yes, Cornelia," she muttered quietly, bowing her head, and offering a supplicating palm to her queen. "May I go now."

Cornelia let her hold that position for many long seconds before very lightly touching her hand. "You may. I wouldn't dream of keeping you from your duties, Cedar. And we're keeping Maurice from his rest, so the sooner the better. Just remember what we've told you," Cornelia dismissed the irritating female with a regal tilt of her head.

Cedar left the Healing hut without a backward glance at either of them.

"She blames everyone and everything for her troubles except herself. Will she ever learn?" Maurice signed wearily. "Cornelia, she will test your declaration," he advised his Queen and one of his oldest friends gravely.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Cornelia groaned. "She tests everything every day. At least, she does among the females. And I almost Hope she does. Because I meant every word, Maurice. I've been thinking... We probably made a mistake. We probably should have taken this matter directly to Koba a long time ago."

Cornelia gave a slow smile. "Who knows. Gray may even beat us to it."

Maurice gave a low rumbling chuckle.

"Gray loves Mary like a daughter. So, he might at that," the orangutan agreed.

"Well, never mind Cedar," Cornelia said lightly as she took her oldest friends' hand in her own and gave it a gentle squeeze then let it go. "Is there truly anything I can do to help, Maurice?"

"Look after Karin while she's out and about in the village," Maurice told Cornelia without hesitation.

She smiled patiently. "But I'm already doing that, Maurice. Don't worry. Mary, Tinker, and I have things well in hand. Karin is fine. There's nothing else?"

The orangutan gave her a mischievous grin. "Tell Sparrow to let me go home?" he suggested slyly. "I can rest just as well in my own nest, Cornelia."

The ape Queen returned his grin, but she shook her head in a firm no.

"And have Sparrow, Mary, and even your Karin all angry at me." Cornelia laughed. "Oh no, I'm sorry, my old friend. Not even for you will I be that foolish. There are two things I never do-I never overrule Sparrow in her healing duties any more than I overrule Tinker as head of our midwives."

"She is not my—" Maurice began his automatic protest. Cornelia squeezed his hand again, and he gave in with a sigh, but it was no less than he had expected from Cornelia. "As you say, mighty Queen," Maurice teased her, and laughed out loud as Cornelia pulled a fierce face on him.

"Still hurts a little, doesn't it?" Cornelia asked more subdued as she noticed him wincing and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Not as much as it did yesterday," Maurice replied truthfully. But he was quick to recline fully back in his healing nest. And just in the nick of time as Sparrow came bustling in, giving him a stern look.

"What's wrong with Cedar now?" she asked whoever wanted to answer. "She nearly trampled right over me."

"Just the usual," both Maurice and Cornelia signed to her.

"Oh." The Healer shrugged, immediately dismissing cedar from her mind, and Maurice gave Cornelia an annoyed look as she slipped out, leaving him alone with the overzealous little chimpanzee Healer.

later that afternoon, Karin arrived back at the ape village with her companions, everyone safe and sound, to find Maurice's healing hut filled with young ape women. Hiding the unexpected stab of annoyed jealousy that flared ever-so-briefly, Karin' gave Maurice a carefully questioning look. At least, she hoped it did not come off as 'who the hell are these girls?' to her orangutan friend.

The big ape only grinned back at her and motioned to the young females. They had all moved to a far corner of the hut where they huddled shyly together, but quickly one of their number was pushed forward by her companions.

"Blame Mary and Lake," Maurice rumbled quietly to her.

Now Karin was even more confused. She looked at the gathered ape women again, then frowned, finally noticing the one thing all these young apes had in common. There were gorillas, chimps, and orangutans in the group, but the one thing they all had in common was they had at least one newborn (or near newborn) infant in their arms or clinging to their pelts. They all seemed to be young Mothers.

"What's going on here?" Karin asked Maurice, wondering if he was supposed to bless these children or something. "Blame Mary and Lake for what, exactly?"

Maurice gave Karin a mischievous grin. "Gossiping females," he replied with a completely straight face. " "They all now know that you have lost a child," Maurice explained. All the ape women nodded, and he continued. "Most of these girls have also lost one baby as well. Or their Mother's or sisters have lost a child. They thought you might like to meet their babies, and perhaps hold or rock a few?"

"Oh," Karin murmured. She swallowed hard as her throat closed up and her eyes filled with joyful tears. "That's so ... so sweet of them." Now she felt even more ashamed for her first jealous reaction to these ape females.

Sitting down next to Maurice, Karin shyly beckoned the women closer. The one who had been pushed forward by her companions, a pretty almost violet-colored orangutan girl, did not get the chance to offer her baby to Karin. The tiny orang boy, only a few days old, eagerly squirmed out of his Mother's grasp and plopped in to Karin's lap and immediately began to examine her. Her face and her hands seem to particularly fascinate the child. Others were fascinated mostly by her hair, which she had pulled in to a loose braid before leaving home. The braid was a total loss before long, however.

In no time, she and Maurice and the healing nest were inundated with little ape babies. Many were naturally curious, and some were just unwilling to let their peers get all the attention. But there were two babies who clung insistently to their Mothers, and no amount of coaxing from the Mother or Karin or even Maurice could budge them. Karin beckoned these two Mothers, a young chimp who Maurice introduced as Zoe, and a young gorilla named Kenya, to sit down on either side of her. Maurice began to nudge little ones to either side to make room, and once the two Mothers had sat down, Karin managed to tease the nervous little chimpanzee in to fits of hoot panting with her funny faces. The baby gorilla was not going to remove her face from her Mother's fur, until Karin began to sing. She recalled a low and sweetly charming lullaby she sang to her own child when Lisa was a baby and at her fussiest while teething.

The human sang softly and sweetly. All ape eyes, adult, and children alike, were fixed on her. The frightened baby gorilla stopped clinging so fiercely to her Mother and crawled timidly onto Karin's shoulder. Karin nuzzled the baby's head against her cheek but kept right on singing.

She ended up repeating her song three times, for many of the younglings began to squeak and cry each time she stopped. Fortunately, sparrow, with Mary and Lake in toe, arrived and ended the impromptu concert/play group. The ape healer wanted to have a long conversation with Karin about what medicine she used on herself. This was partly for Mary's benefit, as the child was allergic to some of Sparrow's medicines, but it was also to satisfy her own burning curiosity.

"I'll be back Maurice," Karin assured him as she followed the ape healer to the other side of the room for a medical conference of sorts.

When sparrow drew the human to the other side of the hut, little Mary hopped up to sit next to her Uncle while Lake stood more sedately by the healing nest.

Leaning in close, Mary whispered, "Did she like it, Uncle Maurice? Did seeing all those babies make her feel better?"

With a fond smile, Maurice wrapped an arm around Koba's daughter. "I think she liked it very much," he informed kindhearted Mary.

The child grinned, and Maurice tapped her lower lip with one long finger. "It's not nice to gloat, my dear," he told her.

"But I'm not gloating for me, Uncle," Mary insisted, and beckoned Lake to join them. "It was really Lake's idea."

Lake blushed and shook her head at Mary, but the little ape girl pretended not to see the gesture.

"It was your idea, Lake," Mary insisted, reaching out and pulling her friend to sit with her and Maurice. "I don't know why you're so shy about it."

"It was our idea, Maurice," Lake signed insistently to the big orangutan. "Both of us, together. I talked to some Mothers and Mary talked to others. We didn't think most of them would agree. I was ... I was afraid if Koba found out, he'd be angry with Mary, that's all."

"You worry too much," Mary told her friend. "Papa's not an ogre, you know."

Lake gave a noticeable huff. "Good thing I do because you don't worry at all," Lake shot back. "Some day you're going to go too far testing your Father's patience, Mary, and we will all regret it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mary flared up at her friend, immediately defensive of her Father.

Lake opened her mouth, but Maurice held up a hand to stop the argument before it could really get going.

"It was very kind of both you girls to arrange all this," he told them both as he reached down and lightly stroked both their heads. "You both make a por old orangutan's heart lighter every single day."

Their disagreement averted for the time being, both young ape girls flashed shy smiles at Maurice. But then Lake slid quickly off the nest and walked out of the healing hut with hardly a backward glance at anyone.

"Was it something I said?" Maurice inquired of a now crest-fallen Mary.

"No," Mary groaned. "Lake thinks that Papa doesn't want her visiting our home anymore."

This took Maurice by surprise. "Now that's silly," he told Mary. But the young ape girl's face did not brighten up much. In fact, she seemed on the verge of tears.

"Is it? I'm not so sure she's wrong, not anymore," Mary confessed mournfully to Maurice.

Oh dear, Maurice fretted silently. What's gotten in to Koba's head now, I wonder? Why would he try and chase away Mary's closest friend her own sex and age? And Lake was one of the kindest young ape girls in the whole village, too.

Before Maurice could think of how to proceed, Mary kissed his cheek and also slid out of the healing nest. "I need to go meet Tinker," she told Maurice. "My midwifery lesson is soon, I think. If Tinker's not too tired after her trip."

"And you want to hear all about Karin's house too, I bet. I'm surprised you aren't grilling Luca for the details?" Maurice teased. He hoped to coax a smile out of the girl, but it did not really work.

"Send someone for me if you or Karin needs me, okay Uncle," was all that Mary said before she patted his cheek and left the hut.

Worrying about lake and Mary, worrying about everyone really, Maurice lay back and turned his head so he could watch Karin and Sparrow's huddle. Karin seemed to be showing Sparrow some things from her bag, and he just knew they were scheming over some new medical treatment for him again. But at least Sparrow had cheered up since the morning. That was something.

And as Sparrow finally left them alone and Karin returned to his side, Maurice felt happier, too.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Karin stayed close by Maurice's side, and old Percy brought his wife, Phoebe, around to meet and fawn over Karin, and to tell Maurice off for nearly getting himself killed, and in such an embarrassing way.

Karin particularly enjoyed watching that.

Phoebe was a stout and determined orangutan lady, but she softened noticeably when Karin delved into her duffle bag and presented her and Percy with a large gift of peppermint tea that she brought from home. Phoebe really loved peppermint tea.

"Thank your female for me. Maybe that will soften her morning disposition," Percy signed hopefully to Maurice, who automatically translated in a low whisper for Karin, leaving out the 'your female' bit. Not low enough, however.

Phoebe gave the males a stern glare that made them both sit a little straighter and smooth down their hair. Then she cast a sidelong wink at Karin, who took the hint. This is how you'd better learn to treat these males if you know what's good for you, seemed to be the elderly ladies' sage advice.

"Yes ma'am," Karin murmured appreciatively.

Phoebe gave Karin a huge orangutan hug before she collected her husband and they left.

"She takes no prisoners, doesn't she? Reminds me of my Grandma. And remind me to stay on her good side," Karin told Maurice.

"Thank you," Maurice replied. "Because you were here, I got Phoebe's short lecture.

"Bet I can fill in whatever she missed," Karin offered sweetly.

"Oh, please, do not," Maurice groaned, putting a hand on the most tender part of his ribs, and trying his best to look suddenly feeble.

Karin did not buy it.

"Cut the act, Maurice," Karin said. Her voice was still sweet, but her eyes were fiercer and more determined. "Sparrow told me all about how well you were walking around today. You'll be back to wrangling the little ones and filling their heads with good ape knowledge in no time."

Maurice took both her hands in his own, and looked deep in to her eyes, all hint of teasing now gone. "Is it so bad for you here? Are you really in such a hurry to leave... the village?" the big orangutan wanted to know. "If anyone in particular is being unfair or unkind, tell me who they are, and I will deal with them."

Karin widened her blue eyes so a few tears would not spill over. He means am I in such a hurry to leave him, she thought, knowing the pause in his speech was not a struggle for words this time. Oh God, is he serious?

But she knew he was very serious. Just as she knew he would not be deflected for long this time.

"Maurice," she began quietly. "You know I can't stay here permanently. This is an ape village—"

YOU told me that human beings are also great apes," Maurice put in. "Distant cousins is what you called us."

Karin raised her eyes to the hut's ceiling, anything to avoid looking in to Maurice's soulful green gaze. But sitting so close, she could not avoid looking in to his eyes for long.

"Yeah, distant by several million years. I need to be more careful what I tell you from now on. And that didn't mean I can move in to your ape village, Maurice. Don't let the others know I told you that. Some of them will run me out of town before you can say human."

The orangutan shook his head. "Do you really believe this?" he asked.

"Oh, you bet I do," Karin shot back. "you know it's true, Maurice. You're just being stubborn."

To her surprise, he nodded eagerly. "Yes, and I can be just as stubborn as any human... even you, my love."

Karin blinked, and even Maurice seemed a little taken aback by the word that came out of his own mouth. He did not look ready to take it back, though.

Karin's hands tightened on Maurice's big hands. "My dear," Karin said, her voice a hoarse whisper. "That's what you meant to say, isn't it, Maurice. My 'dear, not my... my—"

"Love," Maurice rumbled again. He released one of her hands so he could tenderly cup the side of her face with the other. This also made it impossible for her to look away from him now. "My speech. It is not always easy for me. I do not have knowledge or energy to say things I do not mean, Karin."

Part of her knew that she should pull away from his touch right now. But most of her could not do it. She found herself leaning in to his hand, in fact. He easily cradled not just the side of her face but most of that side of her head in his big hand.

Karin opened her mouth, but she had to clear her throat a few times before she could speak.

"Maurice," she began, speaking more carefully than she ever had in her whole life. "I do think I should leave the village soon. I don't think it's fair to ask so many of your people to have to live with a creature they openly fear, never mind hate. If Koba is any example, some of them have every reason to fear and hate humans and not want us around."

She shifted a little nearer to him. "But to answer your real unspoken question... I am in no hurry whatsoever to leave you, my, my lo—"

The animal skin door of the hut was pushed open. Karin jumped away as several shapes loomed in the doorway. Maurice groaned. "Student's parents. I forgot. I said I would see them today," he muttered to Karin.

"It's okay," she told him reaching out to pat one of his cheek pads. "we'll talk later. I don't want to interrupt the PTA meeting. Cornelia wanted me to come see her about something, anyway."

"Hey folks," Karin smiled at the gathered apes. Some of them gave her friendly greetings, a few just ignored her altogether, and one or two looked like they wanted to bear their teeth at her but did not dare show such hostility in front of Maurice.

Karin gave them a jaunty wave as she slipped out the door to go and find Cornelia.

At least the night's meal seemed a lot more organized, and she was not buried to the gills in food. This was good, but Luca approaching after dinner and bringing up the subject of a wall around her house was not. The idea appealed to Maurice as well, and Karin groaned inwardly.

"He's a sweet gorilla, but tell him no," Karin insisted after the big silver-back had left after discussing his latest brainstorm with a very interested Maurice, both of them all but ignoring her feeble protest.

"It is something to consider, Karin," Maurice insisted.

"No, it is not!" Karin flared. "Look, Maurice. It makes perfect sense for the village. You have loads of babies and small children and women, I mean females, who are having or tending small children to protect. I get it. It makes sense. But I'm just one lone human, no children and none in my future. I do not need all that protection, not anymore."

"But what can it hurt," Maurice persisted.

"What will it help?" Karin argued. "And, Caesar will never agree to it," she ventured, hoping that would do the trick and get the big orangutan to drop the subject once and for all.

Maurice grinned infuriatingly.

"He has already agreed," he told her.

Karin gasped, and fixed Maurice with a penetrating stare. "You didn't—" she began, and Maurice moved quickly to head her off.

"I didn't. I just found out myself," Maurice reminded her. "Luca has asked Caesar, and he also thinks it a good idea."

"Tell him... No, wait, tell them both no, Maurice," Karin repeated relentlessly.

"Why don't you ... Why don't you ... What is that human expression?" Maurice struggled for words.

"Sleep on it," Karin offered automatically.

The big orangutan grinned. "Yes, thank you, that is it. Why don't you sleep on it, Karin? Perhaps you will feel differently in the morning."

Karin jumped angrily to her feet. "No, for the last time, NO!" she declared emphatically. "Maurice, I am unmovable on this. The apes do not need to waste their time walling me in so just forget it. And if you won't tell Caesar and King Kong know then I will."

She turned furiously towards the door, but Maurice made a slightly startled sound, and her face softened as she turned back to him. His half-startled, half-concerned look made her feel even worse. Belatedly, she realized that she had been getting a little loud there.

"OH damn," Karin moaned, and flopped back down beside him. She bit her lip, and buried her face in her hands, feeling suddenly a little teary, and a lot more ashamed of herself.

Maurice reached over and touched her gently, and Karin jumped and gave a small cry. But she settled back beside him almost immediately, and he gently pried her hands away from her face.

"I'm so sorry Maurice," Karin apologized in a rush. "I didn't mean to shout at you like that, but please just forget about that wall, okay. It will only waste the ape's time."

"Why, Karin?" he asked gently.

"Why? I told you, it's-"

"No," Maurice rumbled gently. "Not the wall. Why did you jump away and cry out just now?"

He gently squeezed both her hands. "Please, tell me? Did I hurt you?"

"OH god! No, Maurice," Karin cried. She pulled her hands away, but instead of running away, she embraced him. It was not as fierce an embrace as she would have liked to give him. She did remember he was on the injured list, and all because of her. But she could not let him go on thinking she did not trust him, that she did not want to be near him.

He did not resist at all when Karin reached out to draw their heads gently together. She struggled to try and put a complicated situation into words for him.

"I didn't even think about it, Maurice. I just yelled at you, so I guess some part of me expected that you'd react... badly."

Maurice rumbled thoughtfully for a second, then he actually gasped. "Karin. You. You thought. You thought that I would strike you, is that it?"

"NO," she objected. "no, Maurice. I know you'd never do that. I just reacted, and I guess there was nothing to react too, that's all. Not making much sense, huh?" She heaved a deep sigh. "Guess I have more PTSD than I thought."

To her surprise, Maurice immediately disagreed. "Makes perfect sense to me," he told her. "I have seen many apes who have been struck and abused react to innocent gestures from those who love them exactly that way. I just... I just did not know that humans reacted that way, too. Who is it that has struck you, Karin?"

"Take it easy, Maurice. No one you can reach even with your massive arm span. Jeez, I don't even remember the whole list," she answered so honestly that it made Maurice wince. "No, not my Dad, and not the boys, my brothers I mean," she added quickly. "Well, there was one incident with my brother Tommy when he was totally hyped up on drugs and I wouldn't give him money, but that's not important."

The sound Maurice made deep in his chest told Karin that he thought it was important, so she went on fast. "I guess, when I was growing up, it was mostly Elizabeth who did it when I was a kid. Big Betty, my not-so-darling Mother, Elizabeth, and usually when I got a little loud and mouthy." Karin laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You can probably guess that it happened a lot for a while. Guess I still haven't learned to shut up."

Maurice said nothing. He only slid one long arm easily around her much smaller form and drew her closer, rumbling deep and low and soothingly at her.

"Yeah, you said it," Karin sighed.

"I—I also had a teeny argument with Cornelia," she admitted to Maurice sadly. "Don't worry, we're cool and everything. But she wants to give me my own personal full time, at least while I am in the village, gorilla guard. Don't worry. I won't even bother arguing with you about this because I know you think it's a great idea, right?"

Maurice gave a low chuckle. "Our Queen is wise beyond her years," he rumbled.

Karin let out a snort but did not press the issue. She would reluctantly admit defeat on the gorilla guard issue.

"Look, about this wall thin," she went on after a moment. "I'll compromise a little bit. I'll admit there is a whole lot of work that needs to be done around the outside of my house. The fence is falling down in so many places it might as well not even be there, for one thing, and the gate is in even worse shape. And there's loads more that needs to be done. Even I didn't realize it was so bad until I took Luca and Tinker there this morning. I won't ask for help, but if you and Luca and some of the others ever have the time, someday, a few more strong hands around the old place for one day would be nice."

Maurice smiled softly at her and tightened his arm just a little around her waist. She could see in his eyes that he understood what a hard admission that was for her.

"I still think a wall would be better, but I will speak with Luca and Caesar and we will arrange something," Maurice promised her. "Will this, Ease your mind?"

Karin blew out her breath in sheer relief and laid her head against
Maurice's shoulder.

"Does that mean yes?" Maurice teased.

"Silly old orangutan," Karin laughed. It was a real laugh this time with no brittle tearful edge to it. Impulsively, she pressed her lips tenderly against the nearest of his cheek pads and then the other. "Yes, that means yes. But you knew that already."

"I had to be sure. A little more clarification is always welcome and never hurts. Far from it, sometimes," the big orangutan rumbled. It was almost a purr.

Karin yawned before she could stop herself.

"So boring, am I?" Maurice cooed.

"N-No, I'm sorry, Maurice. But Sparrow gave me some small bitter tasting leave. She said it would help me sleep. You know, so Caesar and Luca won't have to walk lapse around the village with me again tonight. I-I didn't expect it to work so... so fast?" Karin yawned hugely again.

Without another word, Maurice wrapped his other arm around her and suddenly lay back in the nest, pulling her down beside him.

"What-What are you do-doing?" Karin was trying to resist the chimp healer's natural medical wonders even as Maurice fussed over and around her, making her comfortable.

"I know about Sparrow's sleeping medicine. It even put Koba to sleep for two days once. Don't fight it, Karin?"

"No... Not-not yet?" Karin complained drowsily even as her eyes were drifting closed. She tried to clutch desperately at Maurice, but he saved her the trouble by lying down and wrapping her up tight in his long orangutan embrace.

"But I have to tell you," she murmured. "I wanted to say—"

The big ape gently pressed her face in to his pelt. "Tell me in the morning," Maurice cooed. "Pleasant dreams, my little sweetings."

For one brief second, Karin's eyes popped open, but the lids felt so heavy. "Where'd you pick that one up?" she yawned at him.

"I read it in one of your story books," he answered her.

"I should have... have—"

Her eyelids snapped shut, her breathing evened out, and she snuggled against him with a long sigh.

Nuzzling his big face deep in to her long loose hair, Maurice also breathed deeply. He was not all that tired yet, but that was fine with him. He was perfectly happy lying there with Karin sleeping deeply in his arms. It would give him a little time to think before he dropped off to sleep, himself.

A/N:

To all my long suffering readers, I'm sorry these updates have taken an eternity. No real excuse except the usual, RL, technical issues, and my general bad habit of 'I'll do it tomorrow. Not necessarily in that order. :)

Anyway. feel free to comment, review, question, etc. And thanks to everyone and anyone who is still with me this far, with a special thanks to Estrella, who has given me strong encouragement recently.

Welcome to any newcomers, too. New readers are as precious as the old ones.