(A/N): We're back with Jo and Herc, who have a bit of a scare upon returning to the Ellwood Estate. This is the special chapter for my birthday (I don't think I wrote it with that in mind, I think it just worked out that way), and is again, another fairly fluffy chapter of Ellwood Clan goodness.

This chapter used to be chapter 511, and should be the last of the jumbled chapters- for now, at least.


Jo

Herc and I ran back to the Ellwood Estate- me having to having guide him, since he'd never been to the Folley's house before this point, and Shari had been the one to apparate them there in the first place. Technically, he could've apparated us both back home- it would've been quicker, certainly- but I refused to endure the hellish experience that particular magic entailed, and we weren't supposed to part ways, so... running it was. By the time we made it back to familiar- and reasonably safe- territory, it was approaching midday, and as we broke through the tree line at the edge of the front yard, my heart dropped into my stomach as I caught sight of the pile of bodies on the lawn, not too far from the front steps.

Immediately, I looked to Herc for help- reassurance, guidance, sanity, whatever you want to call it- but his face was... Clearly, he wasn't doing any better than I was, and as he started to move forward- about to run in, run to help- I grabbed his arm, and pulled him up short. He shot me a glare that conveyed a surprising amount of fear- surprising in that it shone through, not that it existed in the first place- and I took a deep breath to steady myself, even if it was technically unnecessary... and I'm glad I did, because all I could smell- beyond Herc's fear, mostly likely mingling with my own- was clan, and good emotions like happiness, calm, and something I thought might be pride.

Herc must have seen the change in my stance, seen me relax, because he paused as well, staring at me curiously. Knowing he wasn't going to run off, I dug deeper, and listened for the only sound I knew I would pretty much always be guaranteed to hear while Leo was home- his heartbeat. It threw me off to hear it so even and slow, and I thought maybe he'd fallen asleep again, before past Herc's shoulder, I saw one of the bodies sit up from the pile- blonde hair shining in the sun.

"You're back!" He exclaimed, and I heard it almost like he was standing right next to me. Beside me, Herc's entire body uncoiled, and Leo's joy at our return hit me at the same time Herc's relief flooded my nostrils. "Come join us!" It wouldn't typically have been my idea of fun, but given that not even twenty seconds ago I'd been worried that they were all dead, I was willing to look past Greygorry's presence- and Jerremyah's entire existence- and accompany Herc across the lawn, toward them. When we were about halfway to them, I saw Leo's face change- his nose scrunching up, and his eyebrows furrowing. "What's wrong?" He asked as we reached them, his face split between concern and confusion. "You smell-" Now that we were closer, I was hit with the scent Shari must have been referring to- the stench of terror, stubbornly peeking through all of the good smells like an iceberg through the surface of the water. Before either of us had the chance to say anything else about the way the other smelt, however, Herc collapsed on top of him, dragging him back to the earth via arms around his waist. Everything was quiet for a second as I sat down cross-legged by their heads. "O-oh," He said, and I ruffled his hair- the only part of him I could reach.

"We saw you all piled up on the grass and thought you were dead- we panicked a bit. All good now, though." He tilted his head back- up- to look at me, clearly skeptical. Then, he bent his knees and pushed with his feet- and suddenly, his head was in my lap. Oh. Oh, Leo...

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised when I realised at this point that Jerremyah was the one laying against Leo's left side- opposite Lisbet's position on his right- and more than that, that Jerremyah had one arm under his back- wrapped around him, even with his hand clasped in Lisbet's- and Leo seemed... perfectly comfortable with that? On Jerremyah's other side was Greygorry, also tucked under an arm, but to be honest, I didn't really care about him. On top of being Leo's trainer at school, and being a friend of Lisbet and Jerremyah's, he'd also apparently been content to spy on Leo up until recently- and even if I'd spent every moment here since he'd arrived, I doubted I'd be very fond of him, anyway. Still, no one else seemed to have a problem with him- although, Leo's opinion was pretty much the only one I really cared about, in this situation- so I did my best to ignore him.

I huffed out a laugh, and buried my fingers in his hair. "Why do I feel like this cuddle pile was your doing?" I asked him lightly, and he shrugged against my calves.

"While I must admit this isn't out of character for me, I have to disappoint you- technically, this was Greygorry's doing." ...really? I shot the man a questioning look, and his only response was to arch a single, dark brow at me. "To be fair, I was being- well..." He hesitated for a second, and I expected him to go silent- then, I saw Jerremyah butt his forehead against Leo's upper arm, and somehow, it worked to fortify him. Or at least, push him to continue. "Things got serious, and I was getting stuck too deep in my own head- Greygorry took it upon himself to distract me, which I'm grateful for." It- That was a lot, for Leo. Admitting that he needed help- or support, at least- and expressing gratitude for said help... Lisbet's pride was palpable.

"Well... that was nice of him." Greygorry didn't care much for such comments, clearly, and Leo looked vaguely uncomfortable, so I changed the subject; I wanted to ask about the nightmare, but I knew that would probably make things worse, so I pivoted in favor of a lighter topic. "I think Audrey found your letter distressing."

I felt him blink- felt his confusion briefly, and then something like concern, or maybe guilt- but before he had the chance to say anything, Lisbet spoke up. "That's probably my fault," She said. "I told her about- Well, we were both far more honest with her than I think she expected us to be, and our history with them- with that house- is probably rather confronting, for her." Leo frowned.

"Maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt," He said, and I expected Lisbet to try to reassure him, but before she could, Jerremyah beat her to it.

"You think pussyfooting around it would've made it easier to her to hear? The things you had to say- they were never going to be stomached easily, no matter how you said it." ...wow, that... I hated to admit it, but not only did he have a point, he obviously had Leo's ear, as well.

"Jer," Lisbet inserted, and I watched him lift and wiggle her hand around, fingers still interlocked with his.

Leo was having none of her attempts to protect his ears, instead choosing to parrot the older vampire's poor language. "Maybe I should've pussyfooted a little, though. Just a bit. Soften the blow, maybe?" Jerremyah turned his head to meet Leo's eyes more directly.

"You and I both know, there are some blows that hurt the same no matter how gently they're delivered." Leo winced. "Sometimes the punch hurts less than the handshake... you've just got to make sure you know which is which." I didn't particularly get this, but Leo seemed to understand perfectly, so I pushed past it.

"She swore into a pillow," I told him, and immediately, Leo's eyebrows shot up. "Of course, she remembered we were outside like, a second later, and apologised- and told us not to hold her potty mouth against her- but still. It was kind of funny."

He snorted quietly, and then for a few moments, he didn't say anything. Finally, he turned to Herc. "Danniel didn't want to come home?" ...wow, thanks, Leo- glad to know I'm wanted. Even Herc seemed slightly confused by this.

"He wasn't as eager as Jo, no."

Leo's face scrunched. "And you didn't want to stay?" I think we were all confused, and shocked, by that.

"...what do you mean?" Herc asked, sounding as puzzled as I felt. "You would trust me to- to stay? There? With Shari?" With only Shari, more like- practically unchecked, given her current state. If he wanted to hurt the Folley's, she certainly wouldn't be able to stop him.

Leo shrugged, apparently oblivious to the fact that we were all looking at him like he'd grown two heads- particularly Herc. "Of course," He told him easily. "You're my brother- and you've proven yourself to be one of the most trustworthy, reliable people I've ever met. I think if you want to take a shift or two- Well, it would be a huge help to us, and I know the Folley's will be more than safe under your care."


(A/N): Pussyfooting = to act in a cautious or non-committal way / to move stealthily or warily.

Pussyfooting isn't actually poor language, but is based around cats being sneaky, and light on their feet. Jo just assumed Lisbet must've reacted like that because of the poor language mandate, when in reality, it was because Jerremyah was being so blunt with Leo- and trying to curb his empathy (for his own good). Jury's still out as to whether Leo also thought it was poor language and that's why he parroted it, or if he knew the whole time, which is why he wasn't concerned at all.

Jo said Audrey told them not to hold her 'potty mouth' against her, when what Audrey actually said was 'foul language', because obviously, Jo got the message but most of the time, people aren't going to remember the exact words someone used to convey said message.

Jo was hurt after Leo asked if Danniel didn't want to come home, because she assumed that meant Leo would've preferred that Danniel come home instead of her, but quickly realised that wasn't the case as the conversation continued, and Leo basically went on to demonstrate that he liked all individuals involved (wanting Danniel home AS WELL as Jo, and trusting Herc with the Folley's, rather than him preferring to have Danniel home than Herc, since Danniel is the one that's part of the clan).

So, if you're wondering how Greygorry is so far away from Leo now (on Jerremyah's other side), it's because it's actually been a little while since that chapter happened. Greygorry moved off of Leo, Jerremyah moved slightly more out from under him so Leo was flatter on the ground, and they all started cloud gazing, pretty much. Time has passed, I didn't just forget and accidentally change their positions. Of course, now Herc is on top of Leo, so... Also, Jo is touched when Leo places his head in her lap because he's never done that before (and they don't have the MOST touchy-feely relationship in comparison to everyone else), and he was just so blatant about what he wanted that she's sort of like... shocked and proud? She probably wouldn't be anywhere near as shocked if she'd been home the past couple of days to see him getting all cuddly with Lisbet and Jerremyah, but yeah.

Also, Jo doesn't give a shit about Greygorry, does she? I didn't really think about it before writing this chapter, but since she hasn't spent any time with him, and he's Jerremyah's best friend, plus all the spying stuff, she's sort of split between 'who are you, again?' and 'I don't trust you, but if Leo's okay with you then I'll deal... I guess'. To be fair, Greygorry has complicated emotions about her and most likely Danniel, too, since his only real connection with them is 'the kids Jerremyah accidentally turned when I was supposed to be watching over him, but wasn't'. He isn't going to show that, though, because he's Greygorry.