(Recipe may be halved):
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 cups sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal**
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

** Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.

Mallory had borrowed her Mom's SUV for her date with Ryu. The going was rough as she drove over the long-grown over track, wincing slightly as branches scraped along the sides of the vehicle. She'd had Ryu get a picnic dinner from the bar, and she was taking care of the rest.

The early evening light should let Ryu see an abandoned house falling to ruin as they pass and the greenery becomes less dense. Their hour-long drive comes to an end beside a small pond ringed by tall trees, beside a grassy field. It's obvious that someone's been out recently to do a little bit of landscaping in the immediate area.

"A girl I went to high school with brought be out here a couple of times. Her grandfather apparently grew up in the house back there, and farmed the land until he retired. Her family still owns the land, but they haven't been able to decide what to do with it."

She smiles as she looks around.

"Just a mile or two south of here is a big public park that has fireworks, there's church that sets some off a way to the east, and to the northwest, there's more, but I don't know who sets them off. It should be a good show, once they start."

Mallory was in a good mood as she wandered the area surrounding the village. She had no real destination in mind, but was simply taking in the scenery and enjoying the peaceful afternoon. After a morning of weeding the flowers she'd planted in Ryu's garden and doing a little light housework while Ryu was working with his students, she felt she'd earned the free time.

The day was at it warmest by this time, and while she was relatively cool in the kimono she wore, she thought it would be refreshing to dangle her feet in the pond that was fed by a trickling stream from somewhere higher on the mountain. She couldn't help but give a startled cry when she saw a strange face under the surface of the water, looking up at her just as she was beginning to peel off her tabi socks.

Kneeling at the edge of the pond, she carefully looked down, prepared to spring backward, should the need arise. She wasn't sure what it was she was looking at, but it seemed just as interested in her as she was in it. Its body was somewhat humanoid, but with something akin to reptilian skin...almost like a frog, but it seemed to have what looked like a turtle shell on its back. The head looked like it had a large, round dent in it, like someone hed dropped a small canon ball on it, and a ring of seaweed-like hair floating around it like a halo. It had a weird sort of beak that was a cross between what you'd expect to see on a snapping turtle, and a duck bill. Mallory cursed herself for not bringing her phone so she could take a picture of it.

"I've never seen one of you before." She said, more to herself than to the creature. "Are you some kind of mini water troll?"

She didn't want to mess with it, since it was almost certainly a faerie of some sort. Without taking her eyes from it, she reached for her sandals and put them on. She would go and tell Ryu about it, and perhaps it would still be here when they came back together. She didn't know if he would be able to see it, and an invisible faerie in a commonly visited place in the village could mean Big Trouble.

As she got to her feet and began to back away, the thing surfaced and spit a stream of water at her that made her leap backward and let out an involuntary scream of surprise. She felt foolish for being so jumpy, but she had no idea how fast that thing could move, or if it could walk on land.

As she hurried away, she was almost sure she could hear it laughing.

Mallory enjoyed not having to worry about expenses as she planned the accommodations for herself and Ryu for the day before the fencing tournament, and for the remainder of the week. It was expensive, but she felt it was worth it when they arrived and were shown to their corner suite in their hotel, and had a gorgeous view of central park.

After the bellhop had delivered their bags and given them the tour of the room, he departed with a generous tip and a smile and left the two of them alone together.

"We're a little far from the tournament venue, but...wow! Is this amazing or what?"

The carriage house stands behind the Grace house, covered in snow in a quiet yard. A moment later, the door opens, and Mallory steps through, holding the door open for Ravin.

"There you go. Jared and Simon should be around here, somewhere. You know your way around; I've still got some things to do at Milliways."

Mallory is amused by her brother's crush on Ravin, and has decided to quell his constant questions about her by bringing the girl in question to visit for herself. Jared has no idea, of course, and the thought makes her cheerful.

"Jared's probably parked on the couch, playing video games or something. He'll be glad you've come."

Page one and page two from a scrapbook that has info on the dwarven mines

Pages scanned from the books with decriptions and Illustrations of what they will find inside the caverns for looting purposes.


Have fun!

Mallory lets the motley group through the door and into her backyard. To the casual observer, it would look like they were all exiting the carriage house.

A short walk across the lawn leads them toward a large Victorian house, where two identical boys (though different in hairstyle and dress) are waiting. Jared is the scruffier looking of the two, with his hair often in his face and his shirt untucked. Simon is neatly groomed and generally more uptight looking.

"These are my brothers, Jared and Simon." She makes introductions all round. "We'll split into group and drive to the quarry, so we'll have vehicles to take stuff out of there in.

"Once we get there, Dara will do her bit, and cast a spell to keep us from being noticed, and Ravin will work on getting us into the caverns. Once we get inside, try to stick with your group until you get a feel for your surroundings. There's a LOT of stuff in there, and
some could be dangerous, so just take care."

Jared and Simon roll their eyes behind her back, but nod. It only takes a few minutes to reach the quarry and park as close to the edge as they can. There are steep walls all around, but one side has a carved in sort of ramp that allows them to walk to the quarry floor with relative ease.

Mallory steps through the door and holds it open for Ben so that he can come through the door and out of the carriage house, as far as anyone watching would be concerned. The fall foliage is an explosion of color in every direction. Some of it seems dense with underbrush, and rings most of the property, with patches of lawn covered with scattered leaves. The house is ahead of them with a large expanse of lawn in between.

Before they can take more than a few steps, a small black puppy (doing a great impression of a prune or raisin) comes gamboling drunkenly toward them and pauses to sniff excitedly at Ben's shoe.

"Not again!" Mallory's tone is a groan as she looks at the dog with her hands on her hips. "Where did you come from?"

The morning of the wedding arrived, and everything was pretty chaotic as last minute details were taken care of.

Mallory hadn’t slept well because of the spongy spiral rollers she’d had in her hair all night. The results had been worth it though, now that she had dark springy curls tumbling down her back and tiny jeweled flowers pinned throughout. She was wearing a pretty blue batik sarong and a lei of fresh flowers as she sat sipping coffee in an out of the way armchair in the bride’s suite. She still wasn’t sure how or when she’d been wrangled into being in the bridal party, but she suspected it was because her brothers were standing up with their dad.

Mackenzie was sitting still while a woman Mallory hadn’t met applied artful eye makeup to the girl, whose sarong was very similar to Mallory’s. She had warned up a little to Mallory when they’d spent the previous evening in the hotel’s hot tub, discussing boys and the other mysteries of a teen aged girl’s life late into the night. It seemed that they’d bonded enough to be friendly with each other, anyway.

Susan was being attended to by her best friend, Joann, who had arrived the previous night. Joann’s sarong was the negative image of Mallory and Mackenzie’s and Susan’s was a lovely white silk. They were fussing over the crown of white orchids that Susan would be pinning to her hair in a few moments, and both women seemed to have started drinking mimosas quite a bit earlier, and were rather giggly.

In the end, everyone was ready and they lined up at the patio door at the back of the hotel that led to a private beach where chairs and an arch had been set up and decorated for the ceremony. Mallory had never been to a wedding where no one wore shoes, but it was kind of fun! When the music began to play (a small string quartet seated off to one side of the guests), Mallory dutifully walked out and took her place in the sand, to one side of the arch. Her father was there, dressed in beige slacks and a silk collarless white wedding shirt, looking very handsome and very nervous. Simon and Jared stood as groomsmen behind a man named Peter that they’d only met last night and were told was a friend of her dad’s. Peter’s shirt matched Joann’s sarong, and Jared and Simon’s shirts matched Mallory and Mackenzie’s sarongs. It should have been garish, really, but somehow managed to look striking.

Keeping a smile on her face as she waited for the rest of the bridal party to take their places, Mallory noticed that there were an impressive amount of guests for a wedding taking place so far from the couple’s home. Nearly one hundred people sat in in the chairs, most of them barefoot and wearing cheerful tropical clothing.

The wedding went off without a hitch. The sun was shining and the waves crashing gently as a backdrop to the paradisiacal setting. The reception was held in a large open room that opened onto a patio that overlooked the ocean. It was lovely, with plenty of dancing, toasts and laughter; Mallory enjoyed herself and met many of her father’s business associates, a handful of television celebrities, and a handful of Susan’s cousins. She danced, answered questions that curious people asked, fielded some flirtatious pick up lines and smiled until she felt her face would go numb from it. Everyone was friendly and gracious, and even her brothers behaved themselves, for the most part.

After about three hours, her brothers and their new step sister had had enough of the party and took off to ride jet-skis. Once she felt she could leave without it seeming offensive, Mallory wandered away for a walk on the beach .

A few hours later, the last of the guests departed and the happy couple disappeared to go spend the night in the honeymoon suite. Mallory had agreed to share her suite with Mackenzie and keep an eye on the girl in the meantime. It didn’t prove to be a hardship, since she spent most of that time in the boys’ adjoining suite playing video games with Jared.

Mallory wondered in amusement if Jared realized that Mackenzie had a huge crush one him, and decided not to tell him until later. Simon had met a girl his own age at some point in the past couple of days, and disappeared around dinnertime to go meet her in the hotel dining room. Mallory was happy to see him taking some time for himself and having a little romance, and didn’t tease him too much about it. It was their last night in Hawaii--how much trouble could he get into?

She had needed another suitcase to pack all of her new things in for the trip home, but before she went to sleep for the night, she managed to get everything packed. Mackenzie passed out around midnight, and Jared did the same in his suite not long after that. Mallory stayed up reading a novel she’d picked up in the gift shop until she heard the door of her brothers’ suite open and close, and glanced at the clock: one-thirty in the morning. She got up and went to the open doorway to check that it was Simon, and saw him leaning with his back against the wall near the door, a dopey smile on his face.

“You all right there, Loverboy?” she asked quietly, so as not to wake Jared.

Simon only grinned in answer for a moment, then belatedly thought to answer, “Yeah.”

Mallory chuckled, well familiar with the feeling her brother currently seemed to be experiencing. “All right. I’m going to bed, then. Don’t stay up to late.”

He nodded, already unbuttoning his shirt as he headed toward the bathroom.

Mallory closed the door between the rooms, and went to bed feeling content. Tomorrow she would be back at home and she could see Ryu, and wear a dopey smile of her own.

Mallory was relieved to see that Jared and Mackenzie’s ability to get along went a long way toward smoothing things over with her father…at least as far as Jared was concerned. Simon remained quiet and passively aggressive during tense moments, but he had confided to Mallory that he hoped things worked out for Susan and Mackenzie with Richard. He’d told her that maybe living with a new family would make him see what he’d thrown away six years ago, and Richard could begin mending the fences he’d torn down when he’d left his other kids.

Mallory simply rolled her eyes every time her father tried to convince her that Mackenzie was really excited to have a ‘new big sister’ to look up to. Mackenzie was a strong willed kid who hid her insecurities behind a crappy attitude when things weren’t going her way. It was a defense mechanism Mallory knew well, and she sort of admired the girl for her grit. Neither of them sought out the other’s company, but didn’t feel the need to avoid each other, either. Mackenzie seemed to prefer the company of her brothers, who were closer to her own age.

Susan, on the other hand, sought out Mallory at every opportunity, wanting to take her shopping, or to the spa, or to lunch at some trendy place she’d heard about. She always wore a bright smile and seemed to have an enthusiastic attitude about every minute of every day and intense interest in the most banal of comments. It was getting on Mallory’s nerves.

After a four hour shopping trip, where Susan had used Richard’s credit card indiscriminately to buy Mallory designer clothes, shoes and accessories from the best shops they could find, Mallory knew she had to say something. Every item Mallory had tried on had been ‘darling!’ or ‘exquisite!’ or ‘absolutely stunning!’ and every comment Mallory had made had been ‘so clever!’ or ‘True! Very true!’ and Mallory’s dedication to her fencing and her education was ‘inspiring!’ and Mallory was nearly ready to pull her hair out.

It was two days before the wedding and the two women had stopped for lunch. Mallory decided that enough was enough when she ordered pasta, and Susan had declared how lucky Mallory was to have such a svelte figure, and how she was fortunate to be able to eat such foods without having it go straight to her thighs!

“I’d have to do three hours of Pilates after eating anything with alfredo sauce on it!”

“I run five miles every morning, and do yoga three times a week.” Mallory said it bluntly, not believing for a minute that the well built woman envied her for her figure. She might have paid a lot of personal trainer and spent a lot more time in a gym than Mallory, but Susan’s figure was every bit as lean and fit as hers.

“Oh, and it shows! I thought Richard was exaggerating when he told me how beautiful you’d grown up to be, and how…”

Mallory interrupted what was shaping up to be another long string of compliments and cheerful claims of envy. “You don’t have to do that.”

Susan’s smile slipped a little, and she adopted a confused expression. “Do what?”

“You don’t have to tell me how great you think I am, or act cheerful and energetic and happy if you don’t feel like it. You don’t have to buy me a lot of stuff and entertain me like you’ve been doing. I know you’re trying to make me feel welcome and be friends, but….nobody acts like this all the time.”

Susan looked at Mallory appraisingly before giving her a genuine smile. “You’ve just been humoring me the past two days, haven’t you?”

“Pretty much,” Mallory admitted with a slight shrug. “I’ve been trying to be polite and not rock the boat. You don’t have to worry about my not liking you, or trying to be my best friend…Not that I’m complaining about all of the new stuff, because it’s fabulous, but it’s not necessary.”

“Richard was just so afraid that you’d be so upset about Mackenzie, you’d decide to write him off for good.”

Mallory found Susan’s honestly refreshing, and nodded. “I figured as much. I won’t lie; the fact that you have a daughter that’s around the same age I was when he left us was like a punch in the gut or a slap in the face. The truth is, it hurts to see him picking up with your daughter, kind of where he left off with me. It hurt more to find out he didn’t trust me enough to know that he could talk to me about it and had you work on me, instead. None of that is your fault, and certainly not your daughter’s.”

“I can understand that, and appreciate it, too. Mac’s father left me before she was even born; as soon as he found out I was pregnant. She knows this, and is all right with it, but there’s been a learning curve with her and Richard. It’s been just her and me for so long that she’s still kind of in the ‘freaking out’ stage of things. She likes him, but at the same time, she knows that he had kids that he left behind before, and she’s afraid he’ll do the same to her if she gets too attached.”

“Ouch.” Mallory could identify with that feeling. “Plus, she’s being uprooted from her home and school, and being tossed into unfamiliar surroundings. That’s hard. It was the same for us, when we moved to Connecticut.”

Susan nodded, and Mallory was glad to see that the other woman was being much more natural, and relating to her on a more realistic level. “We’re working on it. Richard isn’t always such an idiot as he’s been acting since you kids arrived. He’s out of his depth and he knows he’s screwed things up and doesn’t know how to fix it. He’s been acting like a coward, and I had to give him a boot in the rear. I guess I needed one too.”

Mallory just smiled and shook her head. “You’ve just been trying harder than you need to. You can’t fix his mistakes, and he can’t repair six years worth of problems in a few days. It will take time. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he’s been taking the boys and Mackenzie out and spoiling them every bit as much as you’ve been spoiling me the past couple of days.”

Susan nodded, and gave an embarrassed smile. “Mac’s always been a bit spoiled. I’ve tended to over compensate for the lack of a father figure in her life and my demanding career by indulging her whims for material things.”

“She knows you love her, and that’s the most important thing. But, just so she doesn’t get it into her head that I’m somehow going to replace her on this trip, why don’t you take her out for a mother-daughter day tomorrow, or something?”

“You know what, Mallory? You’re a lot more mature than I expected. You’re well grounded and know how to speak your mind. I think I actually like you, instead of just acting like it, because I wanted things to be perfect.”

“I think I like you, too. Nothing’s perfect, but we don’t have to make things worse than they need to be.”

“Agreed. Let’s enjoy lunch, and I’ll get out of your hair for a while and see what kind of trouble Mac’s getting into.”

Mallory enjoyed the last hour of that day with Susan more than she had the previous two days. Things were looking up.

Mallory had taken advantage of the long (first class) flight to Hawaii to study up on Japanese customs for trips to Tokyo and Hayabusa village with Ryu. She had used the internet to find a CD to teach her Japanese phrases--one geared toward children, since she was not very confident in her ability to follow anything more advanced. She listened to it through headphones, and tried committing what she heard to memory. Ryu was a very good teacher, and seemed to be endlessly patient with her, but she didn’t want to take up all of his time, when she could be learning on her own, as well. Cross the isle, Jared had fallen asleep with his iPod earphones in and Simon was absorbed in a novel of some sort.

None of them had mentioned their father’s wedding even once since leaving the house this morning. Simon didn’t seem to have a problem with the new turn in their dad’s life, but Jared had been making derisive little comments about it all week. The chip on his shoulder was considerably smaller than it had been when Richard Grace has left his kids behind to chase his dream career, but it wasn’t completely lifted. Mallory understood both of her brothers, and their reactions were pretty much what she’d expected they would be from the moment her father had said he was getting married.

Now they were all on their way to Kauai to attend the ceremony and to enjoy a few days in a tropical paradise. Mallory wished Ryu could have come.

Once they reached their final destination, Mallory was ready to stretch her legs and strode off of the plane with her brothers in her wake, looking for the direction of the baggage claim. Her father was supposed to meet them there, with his fiancée, to take them all to lunch, then the hotel. It was actually closer to dinner time for them, but the time zones they had crossed had bought them a few hours.

“Do you think dad’s new wife is as pretty as mom?”

Jared’s question surprised Mallory; she didn’t think he really knew how good looking their mom was, or noticed much else about stuff like that. She was about to answer him, when Simon piped up.

“Probably prettier, but in a more fake kind of way. You’ve seen the way dad looks now: designer clothes, shoes, car…his girlfriend will probably be the same--more polished and proper than mom.”

Another surprise; it seemed that both of her brothers had been giving the matter some serious observations and thought.

“It doesn’t matter what she looks like. Just be polite, and remember that she’s going to be our stepmother so we need to get along.” Mallory was lecturing herself as much as she was her brothers, in an effort to convince herself that it would be that simple. “We’re only going to see her every once in a while after this trip, so it shouldn’t be that hard.”

“There they are…whoa! She’s hot!” Jared’s quiet exclamation sounded impressed.

Mallory spotted her father, waving from beside a luggage carousel that was moving in circles, but still empty. She pasted a smile on, and looked to his left, where a woman about ten years younger than himself was standing with her arm through his, looking overly cheerful and nervous. To give her credit, she wasn’t trashy looking (which is what Mallory would expect to see in someone Jared considered hot).

Mallory noticed that Susan was the complete opposite of Helen Grace in looks. Where Helen had long dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin, Susan was had a sleek blonde bob that framed a tanned face with wide blue eyes. She was beautiful in just the way Simon had predicted: not a hair out of place, make-up perfect, designer everything from the Dior sunglasses atop her head, to the Prada heels on her perfectly pedicured feet. Everything about her screamed: pampered.

Richard smiled brilliantly at them, putting an arm around Susan and leading her forward to meet them.

“Susan, I’d like you to meet my children: Mallory, Simon and Jared. Kids, this is Susan.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet all of you!” Susan’s voice was enthusiastic and (in Mallory’s opinion) a lot like what one would use to address toddlers.

Mallory smiled indulgently, mentally reminding herself to set a good example for her brothers and to not disappoint their father. She stepped forward and offered her hand, managing not to wince at the weak, light palm touch that constituted Susan‘s handshake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Susan. Congratulations; my father’s said nice things about you.”

He hadn’t actually said much of anything about her, except that she wanted to get to know them all, and wanted to be friends. Those were nice things, weren’t they?

Jared and Simon each shook her hand politely, if a little awkwardly, and then looked at a loss for what they were supposed to do next. Mallory sighed at their cluelessness, and went to hug her father. They followed suit, and then were saved by the first suitcases beginning to come down the chute from their flight. The crowd around them pressed in, and they were all forced to stand closer together while they waited for their bags.

“Moooooom, the gift shop didn’t have any SmartWater! They just had some generic stuff.”

Mallory looked over at the whining voice at her right side, and froze when she saw it was a girl of about fourteen with blonde hair (professionally highlighted) and designer clothes that were supposed to look well-worn but were obviously new. The girl wouldn’t have given her a moment’s pause, except that the girl was talking to Susan.

“Mackenzie! There you are! Where on Earth have you been all of this time? You missed Richard’s kids arriving!” Susan scolded her daughter lightly, with equal parts exasperation and embarrassment.

“So? They’re going to be here for days. It’s not like a few minutes is going to make a difference.” Mackenzie didn’t seem to care that her mother was trying to make a good impression on the Grace children.

One glance at her father told her Richard Grace was waiting for an explosion from one or all of them at any moment. A look at the stunned looks on Jared and Simon’s faces told Mallory that they had been as unaware that Susan had a child as Mallory.

“You’ve got a kid?” Jared didn’t bother trying to hide his surprise and the beginning of his infamous temper as he pointed at Mackenzie.

Susan looked startled and confused at the question, and Mackenzie looked curious. Everyone looked at Richard expectantly.

“I wanted to surprise you kids! Mackenzie will be your new step-sister! She’s been looking forward to meeting you for weeks!” He kept his voice cheerful and enthusiastic, as if he was unveiling a wonderful surprise for them all.

“Oh, Richard….” Susan said, shaking her head in dismay.

“Dad, tell me you didn’t….” Mallory spoke at the same time as Susan.

“What the fuck?!”

Jared’s exclamation made a few people glance in his direction, and Mallory automatically reached over to smack the side of his head lightly. She was going to tell him to watch his mouth, but he swatted her hand away.

“Screw that! Tell me you’re joking. This is a joke, right? You didn‘t really bring us all the way here to pull this shit, did you?”

“Jared…I know it’s a surprise, but you’ll like Mackenzie! She’s a great girl, and…”

Simon just stood to the side and inched a little closer to Mallory and Jared than he had been. It was his way, Mallory knew, of showing his solidarity with them. Simon wasn’t given to outbursts like his twin; he felt Jared had enough bottled up anger for both of them.

“Look, Mackenzie? No offence to you, but this sucks. He didn’t tell us you even existed, because he was afraid we wouldn’t come if we knew about you.” Jared looked from the girl to his dad. “Isn’t that right, Dad? You thought if we found out that you had a family you actually wanted full-time that we’d be too pissed off to come to your wedding.”

Mackenzie looked fascinated by Jared’s outburst. Susan looked absolutely stricken, and Richard looked guilty.

Simon, in an uncharacteristic moment of bravado, spoke up. “That was really low, Dad. I would have been more willing to come here if you’d been more up front with us. How can we trust anything you do, if you don’t talk to us?”

Richard looked pleadingly at Mallory, who stood with her arms folded, watching the scene unfold. The people around them were eavesdropping on what probably seemed like a soap opera scene to them, but she didn’t particularly care. She was in full agreement with the spirit of what Jared was saying, if not his timing and delivery. She stared back at her father, not bothering to hide her disappointment and disgust at the way he’d chosen to handle things.

“Jared…” Susan sounded genuinely distressed. “I’m sorry you feel this way. I know Richard loves you very much--all of you. He never meant to hurt you, even if he did do a poor job relating all of the details to you. I’d like a chance to make it up to you, and maybe you’ll see it’s not as bad as you think.”

Mackenzie wasn‘t going to pass up an opportunity to speak her mind, either, and loosed her venom on Jared. “God! What is your problem? It’s not like we’re really brother and sister or anything! My mom and your dad will get married, and you’ll go home, and I’ll be stuck having to go to a new school, moving into a new house, with a new guy who’s gonna want to be all father-ish to me!”

“My heart bleeds.” Simon muttered quietly. He decided he’d had enough of the drama, and went to grab one of his bags from the luggage carousel.

Mallory watched him and knew that he was hurting every bit as much as Jared, but he wouldn’t allow his emotions to spill over. She would make sure he had the chance to talk about it, once they were in a more private place. For now, she put a hand on Jared’s arm to forestall any more harsh words until they’d had a chance to absorb this new turn of events.

“Oh, what a shame! The little rich girl will have TWO parents that want her! What happened to your real dad?”

Jared seemed to be on a roll, and Mallory decided it was time to put an end to it before he hurt an innocent kid with thoughtless words.

“Jared Grace, stop right now. Not another word. Mackenzie didn’t do anything to you, and you’re being an ass. Apologize to her.”

Richard and Susan had both looked shocked by Jared’s last question, but Jared had been too angry to notice. He did, now that Mallory was speaking up. Mackenzie looked hurt and angry.

“I’m sorry, Mackenzie. That was out of line. I’m mad at my dad, not at you.”

“Forget it.” Mackenzie practically spat the words before turning to her mother and saying she’d wait in the car.

“I’ll go and have a talk with her,” Susan said, starting to follow her daughter.

Mallory shook her head. “I think Jared should go, since he’s the one who upset her.”

Susan looked uncertain, and Richard looked about to protest, but Jared nodded.

“Mal’s right. I was a jerk. I’ll talk to her, and I promise not to upset her more.”

Mallory was so proud of him she could have burst, but she didn’t say anything as he followed after the girl; she would thank him later for doing the mature thing. Susan still looked torn and Mallory couldn’t really blame her.

“Don’t worry, Susan. Jared can be the worlds biggest pain, but his heart is usually in the right place. You can trust him to smooth things over with Mackenzie.”

Susan took a deep breath, nodded, and stepped up to the carousel. “Let’s get your bags and find a nice quiet place for lunch. Things haven’t exactly started off on the right foot, and I’d like to try to fix that.”

Mallory gave the woman credit for having more of a backbone than her father seemed to have. She saw that Simon had already managed to wrangle a porter to load their bags onto a trolley, and they were only waiting for one more suitcase. Richard stepped forward to help, but all three of them ignored him for the time being. Mallory had a feeling that the Grace children weren’t the only ones angry with Richard.

When they finally got the bags loaded into the car (the car being a stretch limo big enough for all of them), Simon pointed at Richard and told the Porter, “He’ll pay you.”

Mallory grinned as her father took out his wallet without hesitation and gave the man a sizeable tip while Simon looked on with a steely gaze. As she got into the limo, she smiled again to see that Jared and Mackenzie were sitting side by side, and the girl was giggling at something Jared had been telling her. Simon sat beside Jared, leaving Mallory to sit beside her father at Susan.

Was it really only lunch time?

Mallory was tired when she got home. She had left the house at seven that morning for school, gone straight from there to work and covered a double shift, and now just wanted to eat something and relax for an hour before tackling her class assignments.

She certainly wasn’t expecting to walk in the front door and find her father sitting in the parlor.

Seeing her father there was so out of place with her normal perception that she just stared at him for a moment. He had never been to this house before. Not once in the six years since her mother had moved her and her brothers here.

“Hello, Muffin.”

She had forgotten that he used to call her that.

“Hey, Dad.” She looked him over, a million thoughts and questions chasing themselves through her mind. She didn’t voice any of them. It was still just too weird seeing him here.

Richard Grace had left his family behind nearly seven years ago to pursue another life, without the encumbrance of a wife and children. She had seen him a since then, if course, but she and her brothers always went to visit him (when visits were arranged); mostly she kept in touch with him through e-mail the occasional phone call on special occasions. Her brothers talked to him more than she did.

When he stood up and held out his arms, she automatically crossed the room and gave him a hug. She was a little sad that she didn’t feel the warm rush of affection that she used to feel when she was younger, and she hadn‘t understood how complicated things were. How long had it been since the last time she’d seen him? A year? She wasn’t sure why she felt sad about it; he hadn’t exactly been the world’s most attentive father, and she’d grown up a lot in his absence.

“Aren’t you happy to see your old man?”

“I’m surprised to see you here, is all. I thought you were filming a mini-series in Seattle. Is everything all right?” She looked at him a little more critically than she had before, looking for any outward signs of illness or anything wrong. He looked great: professionally styled hair, designer clothes, Rolex watch; he actually looked the best she’d ever seen him. Life as Hollywood producer seemed to agree with him.

“Everything’s fine! Better than fine, even! The mini-series is on hiatus for a couple of weeks while one of the actors recovers from a bad ankle sprain. I’m here because I needed to discuss some things with your mother, and because I wanted to talk to you and your brothers.”

“I don’t think either Simon or Jared is home from work yet. Their car‘s not in the drive.“

“That’s all right. Come and have a seat and talk with me for a bit.” He sat back down on the sofa, and patted the spot beside him in invitation.

She would have really liked to find out where her mother was, and how she was handling having him here, but she took a seat beside him and toed off her sneakers. Her feet were killing her after her double shift. “It’s not like you to take a trip all the way out to the boonies like this just to talk to us. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Never better! I came because, well, because I’m getting married.” He had a fixed smile on his face, as if he expected an emotional outburst from her.

“Oh. Well, congratulations, I guess. Is it anyone I’d know?” She didn’t really feel anything in particular about this bit of news, other than a detached sort of concern that her mother might be upset about it.

“Her name is Susan, and we’ve been dating for a few months. I came out here to ask you and your brothers if you would come to the wedding.”

She wondered for a moment if he really wanted them there, or if it was just because he thought it would look bad if they didn’t come. It didn’t really matter, she supposed; if he wanted them there, her mother would probably urge them to go just to keep the peace.

“When is it going to be, and where?” Her summer classes will be over in three weeks, and then she’d have a couple of weeks off before the next semester got under way. She might be able to swing it, as long as it didn’t interfere with her classes.

He gave her a relieved sort of smile, as if he’d decided to take her interest (or at least her lack of a flat-out refusal) as a good sign. “In about a month. We’ll be having the ceremony on the island of Kauai. We’d fly you and your brothers there, of course, and pay all your expenses. You could even stay for a week or two and have a little vacation at the same time! You mother says you’ve been working hard!”

“We all have.” She wasn’t sure, but she thought her brothers would probably want to go. School would be back in by then for Jared and Simon, so anything longer than a few days would be out of the question. “I don’t see any reason why I couldn’t go, if my classes don't get in the way. If we left on Thursday night or a Friday morning, and go back by the next Tuesday, the boys wouldn’t have to miss more than a couple of days of school.”

“Well, I’m sure you could miss a day or two of classes, for your own father’s wedding!” He said it with a chuckle in his voice, as if it was a given that she’d rearrange her schedule for his convenience.

Annoyance trickled in, and she bit off a sarcastic reply. Instead, she simply shrugged and said, “Not really. I can’t afford to miss any classes, and I have work to think about. I’ve been working my butt off, and don’t want to fall behind.”

“I sent your mother a check to pay for your tuition,” he said, obviously trying hard to make it sound off-hand. “You shouldn’t have to work too hard.”

Mallory gave a little snort and shook her head. “You paid tuition, yeah, but I also have to buy books, clothes, various school supplies-- pay insurance on my car--which breaks down every other month and adds to the money I pay out.”

“Well, what’s your mother using the child support I send her for?” He sounded agitated, suddenly, like a petulant child.

“I don’t know, Dad. It might be spent on Jared and Simon’s clothes, extra curricular activities, car they share, the upkeep and insurance for it, maintenance on this house, feeding Simon’s animals…it’s not like we’re all living in the lap of luxury, here. You’ve never even been here before--you don’t get to act like we’re wasting the money you send for your own kids, when you’re living in a four bedroom house in the Hollywood Hills and driving a Bentley.” Her lecture was made all the more effective by the fact that she didn’t raise her voice or let her tone get emotional.

“I didn’t mean that, Mal. I just meant…” He realized that he didn’t really have a leg to stand on. “I didn’t realize that you had so many expenses, or that things were that tough.”

Mallory sighed and put a hand on her dad’s arm. She wanted him to understand, but she wasn’t sure that he even could. “Dad…you always send what the courts tell you to send, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all we need. Things aren’t so tough that we’re not getting everything we need, but they could be easier. Legally, you don’t have to send child support for me anymore--and I appreciate that you paid my tuition more than I can say. It means the difference between being able to go to school now, and having to save up for a couple of years. I don’t mind working to pay for the stuff I want or need, but focusing on school would be easier if I didn’t have to.”

“I had no idea…” He looked uncomfortable, and a little ashamed. “You’ve grown up so fast, and become a beautiful, strong young woman. I’ve always been so proud of you: your ambition, the way you charge at life and do things your own way, your fencing skill! I love hearing about all of the tournaments you compete in. It’s always amazed me that I helped create someone so great.”

“Dad, I haven’t fenced in a tournament in months. I just don’t have the time and extra money to keep up with that right now. I also don’t have the option of taking off for Kauai for a couple of weeks, if it means that I’d have to skip a semester of school because I couldn‘t meet the attendance requirement, or afford books or risking losing my job by taking vacation days I don‘t have coming to me.”

“I see.” He’d looked startled when she told him she hadn’t been competing. “I hadn’t considered that.”

She wasn’t trying to put him on a guilt trip (well, not too much), but she wasn’t going out of her way to spare his feelings, either. “I promise I’ll look into my school schedule once you give me the exact date of the wedding. I need to talk to Simon and Jared and find out how they feel about it, and to Mom, because I care what she has to say, too. I’ll come to your wedding, if there‘s a way to do it.”

“Fair enough.” He didn’t seem upset about not getting an immediate answer. It seemed like he listened to everything she said, and she hoped he took the time to really think about it. She leaned over and put her arms around him in a hug, and kissed his cheek. .

“I’m glad you’re happy, dad.” She heard the muffled bass of a stereo outside, and stood up. “It sounds like the boys are home. I’ll let you talk to them alone.”

She picked her sneakers, gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile, then went to see how her mother was coping. She had a lot to think about and check into.

Mallory lets Ryu carry her up to his room, though she is the one who should be taking care of him.

She's worried about him, and sad for the people she never had the chance to meet, but that Ryu loved. She's thinking more of what lies ahead for him, and wishing there was something more tangible she could do to help.

For now, that's not much more than offering him comfort.

“Mallory! Mal! Wake up!”

Mallory, having worked until after midnight, growled into her pillow and grumbled, “Go away.”

“Mallory, c’mon! Get up! Goblins got into the animal pens, and Simon’s gone off looking for them!”

“Crap!” Mallory sat straight up and swung her legs out of bed. It took her bleary eyes a moment to make out the time on her digital clock: seven thirty-eight.

Jared grabbed her rapier for her while she grabbed a pair of jeans from her drawer and pulled them on, then crammed her bare feet into a pair of sneakers by her bed. “How’d they get to them?”

“The rain washed away the salt lines around the cages.”

“Double crap.” She didn’t waste time with a top, since she was sleeping in an over-large t-shirt, anyway; she grabbed her rapier from Jared and ran down the stairs and out of the house.

Rain was still falling steadily, if not heavily, and the sky was bruised with dark clouds, with no signs of letting up. On the side of the house, she saw that three of the cages had been completely smashed, and the other three were empty.

“SIMON!” She yelled out for her brother, without any real hope that he’d used his common sense and stayed in the yard.

“He ran off toward the old goblin camp, near where we found Byron.” Jared said, speaking of the day they’d found a griffin injured by the side of the road. “He figured that was as good a place to look as any.

“That idiot. Did he even take a weapon.?”

“No. That’s why I came to get you. Let’s go!” Jared ran off, holding a baseball bat.

Mallory turned to follow, but paused when she heard a noise. A tiny mewling sound coming from near the carriage house. She was reminded that a stray cat had had kittens a couple of weeks ago, and they were staying in a basket in the carriage house stall. Upon further investigation, Mallory discovered that the basket was empty. When she followed the sound , she found a tiny marmalade kitten, soaked and shivering in the middle of the yard.

“You poor thing.” She scooped up the pitiful little kitten, and tucked it under her shirt, against her warm body. She ignored the cries and scratches and wriggling as she jogged in the direction her brothers had gone. She called their names as she went, hoping for a clue as to where they were.


She was nearly half way to the road when she heard one of the boys call out, “We’re here!“

Simon came back through the trees holding another kitten, his expression pained and miserable. Jared was behind him, looking angry and a bit green.

“Let’s go home.” Jared said it before Mallory could ask any questions, making it clear that there was nothing good to report. He put a brotherly hand on Simon’s shoulder, and Mallory’s shirt made a loud meow.

The kitten in Simon’s hands had been quiet up until that point, but hearing its sibling, it began to howl as well. Mallory pulled out the one she was carrying and offered it to Simon. “I found it in the yard.”

Simon nodded and took it from her, cuddling it up against it’s chest with the other one, and they headed for home.

Once they reached the yard, Simon quirked a bit of a sad smile to see a raccoon with a cone collar around it’s head sitting on a tree branch, trying to reach the bird feeder. A moment later, and Jared spotted a red squirrel with half a tail huddled by the back door of the house.

“That’s something, I guess. Four animals recovered out of ten.” Simon’s voice was strangely rough, as though he was fighting back tears.

Jared got both wild animals into the undamaged cages, and Mallory heaved a tired sigh.

“What should we do about the kittens? They aren’t old enough to be without their mother.” She wondered if they were all going to be taking turns feeding them with syringes. It wouldn’t be the first time they‘d all pitched in to nurse an animal.

“I can take them to work with me. We just got a mother cat and three kittens in…maybe she can be persuaded to feed--”

Simon was cut off by Jared, who shouted, “Look out!” and pushed his twin out of the way. A goblin lunged from behind a shrub, making a grab for the kittens.

Mallory jumped forward with her rapier, slashing at the goblin, and driving it off with stinging slices to its back and head. She yelped in surprise when another goblin dropped, seemingly out of nowhere, and landed on her back. It sunk sharp teeth into her shoulder, and its claws dug into her neck, arm and back.

“Hold still!”

At Jared’s terse shout, she did her best to freeze and not struggle, even though her first instinct was to get it off of her and kick the crap out of it. The dull thud of his baseball bat to the goblin’s head and the squeal it made were nearly drowned out by Mallory’s cry of pain as the goblin’s claws and teeth sank in deeper, then released her, taking some of her skin and hair with it.

Both goblins ran for the woods, and by the time Mallory had turned to beat at them with her rapier, Jared was already chasing after them with his bat.

“Jared! Come back! Don’t be stupid!” Mallory swore as Jared ignored her and disappeared back into the woods. She turned to Simon and snapped, “Stay. Here.”

Rapier in hand, she ran after Jared, knowing that his anger was spurring him on and making him act foolishly. He never seemed to think when he was angry…

She ran as fast as she dared in the wet grass and mud. She was paying such close attention to where she was putting her feet, that she didn’t realize that Jared had stopped running until she ran straight into his back, sending them both sprawling in the mud. She was about to shout at him for being stupid when he simply shook his head and pointed ahead. Her eyes followed the direction of his finger and her mouth fell open. They both started scooting backward, slowly.

The river troll had come out of the water--something it almost never did. Seeing it on (comparatively) dry land, Mallory decided that the darkness provided by the clouds and rain was too tempting to the giant faerie who couldn‘t abide sunlight. She could see that it was holding what appeared to be a dead goblin in its hand, and it was chewing on something--very likely the other goblin.

Mallory quickly put two and two together and scrambled backward while the troll was still busy with its goblin snack. She managed to haul herself to her feet using a low tree branch, then pulled Jared to his feet by his arm. He seemed to be transfixed, watching the troll as it casually tore the goblin in it’s hand in half and devoured the grisly torso in a single bite. Mallory could feel the contents of her stomach threatening to make an appearance, and she turned and pulled Jared back with her before she got sick.

“Run for it before it finishes with that and decides it‘s still hungry,” she hissed to Jared. She waited for him to precede her before she began running, herself.

The troll didn’t even attempt to give chase, or make any sign that it noticed them at all.

“Holy fuck! I thought that we were goners!” Jared said once they‘d reached the house. His hands were resting on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.

Mallory was breathing raggedly, and reached over to cuff her brother up the side of the head. “Watch your mouth, Jared Grace. Damn it! That was about most dumb-ass thing you could have done.”

“What happened?” Simon spoke up from where he was standing with the kittens. He shielded them from the lightly falling rain with his shirt.

Jared was glaring at Mallory until he realized something. “Shit, Mal, you’re bleeding. There’s blood all down the front of your shirt!”

“And down the back, too,” Simon added, sounding worried, “and it’s torn up pretty bad.”

“I said watch your mouth, Jared.” She sounded more tired than annoyed, then. Now that the adrenaline wasn’t pumping through her system, she was beginning to feel every painful scratch, scrape, puncture and bruise. She needed her mom; Mallory knew that if her mother was home, she’d have been out here with them, trying to help. “Where’s Mom?”

“She took Aunt Lucinda to the senior center for some breakfast thing before going to work.” Simon said. “Maybe we should get you to the clinic in town.”

“Yeah, because a giant bite mark on my shoulder isn’t going to raise any suspicions.” Mallory’s sarcasm was masking her fear and pain. A dozen different spots on her body were throbbing now. “There’s a clinic at Milliways. With luck, the doctor will be there to bandage me up. If not, I’m sure someone else will.”

“Can we come with you?” Jared asked eagerly, wanting real proof that the place even existed.

“Sure--as soon as you open that door and find something besides the tack room of the carriage house on the other side.”

She smirked at his scowl and headed toward the carriage house by herself.

“Say hi to your boyfriend! Make sure he kisses it all better for you!”

Jared’s mocking tone only made her smile. Mallory liked getting under Jared’s skin, and was really hoping that Ryu would be there. “Bite me!” she called back over her shoulder, making both Jared and Simon snort. “I’ll be back in a second.”

She opened the door, and stepped through to Milliways.

Mallory hated the night shift. It wasn’t just that she tended to get sleepy working until the small hours of the morning--she could handle that. It wasn’t that the customers were particularly bad--most of them were really nice: truckers stopping in for a bite or people coming off shift at the manufacturing plant down the road. It was one thing, and one thing only: Rick Miller.

Rick Miller was the night shift busboy and custodian at Family Restaurant, the glorified twenty-four hour diner where Mallory works as a waitress.

The place was as original its name, and boasted the world’s ugliest uniforms for the waitresses. Rick had been a fixture there for more than two years, and appeared to have no other ambition in life other than to clean up after customers and harass waitresses. Still, everyone agreed he was harmless--if annoying as all hell.

Mallory didn’t usually work the night shift, but the regular waitress had gotten married and was away for a week on her honeymoon. Mallory had agreed to cover her shift because it would give her more hours, and because all of the other waitresses had other obligations. With Milliways to escape to when things got too hectic or tiring, she felt that she could handle double shifts for a week. Most of the diners just wanted their meals delivered correctly and in good time, and their drinks to be refilled without having to flag someone down to do it. She did that, and did it with a cheerful attitude; she was usually rewarded with good tips.

On the first night of her late shift, she’d been running a little late. She had snatched her bag and dashed out of the house, carrying her shoes and apron in her hand. When she got to work she dug in her bag for a rubber band to tie her hair back with, and had been mortified to find a large box of condoms. She flushed crimson when she saw the sticky note with her mother’s writing that read: Be careful!

Pam, other night shift waitress, just happened to be in the back room when Mallory pulled out that box, and the older woman chuckled. “Expecting to get lucky?”

Mallory crammed the box back into her bag with a snort, intending to laugh it off.

Rick, who always seemed to turn up when you least wanted him to, stood in the doorway. “You wanna get lucky, Miss Mallory, I’m available!”

“I wonder why that is, Rick.” Pam adopted a puzzled tone as she got up on a stool to reach a box of coffee filters. “A twenty-nine year old busboy who still lives with his folks should have women lining up at his door.”

“His parent’s door.” Mallory added, tying her apron and grabbing an order pad and tray.

“Hey! That just means I don’t got as many bills! I can afford to take a lady out in style!” Rick seemed oblivious to the insults regularly heaped on him by every waitress that was forced to endure his company for very long. It was kind of a habit for all of them; no one took him seriously. “You go out with me, Mal, and I’ll treat you to a night you’ll never forget!”

“But I’d never stop trying. Thanks, but no thanks.” She pushed past him, and went to start her shift.

***

On the second night of the late shift, Pam asked about the condoms. It seemed curiosity had been nagging at her all day.

“I introduced my new boyfriend to my mother,” Mallory explained. “Now she’s being not-very-subtle.”

Pam got a good laugh out of that, and when there was a slow period where the restaurant was all but empty, Mallory and Pam took the opportunity to sit down and have some coffee and rest their feet.

“So what’s this new boyfriend’s name?”

“Ryu.” Mallory decided that keeping mostly to the truth was the best, though some fabrication would be necessary since she couldn’t exactly say that he lived in Tokyo and they met at the end of the universe.

“What kind of name is that? It sounds so…exotic!” Mallory knew that Pam read romance novels with regularity; it seemed she was an incurable romantic.

Rick stopped mopping the floor and leaned the handle of the mop on the counter in front of them while he got himself a cup of coffee.

“It’s Japanese. He’s a martial arts instructor.” Mallory can’t help but smile when she thinks about hit.

“You’re dating a Jap?” Rick’s rude question had Mallory looking at him with disdain.

“I’m dating an incredibly good-looking, talented and successful man. He happens to be Japanese.” Mallory turned back to Pam, pointedly dismissing Rick.

“Oooh. A martial artist! Where did you meet him?” Pam took her lead from Mallory and ignored Rick, although he continued to stand and blatantly eavesdrop.

“I met him at a party and we exchanged information and made a date to go dancing. Things kind of went from there, and before I knew it, we were a couple.”

“Well, I’ve gotta say, you seem happy; I don’t think your feet have touched the ground in the past two nights.”

“I am happy. He’s really amazing.”

The rest of the conversation was cut short when a couple of truckers came in and sat at one of Mallory’s tables, and a steady flow of customers followed.

At the end of her shift, Mallory was more than ready to go home. She was looking forward to shedding her uniform, and heading into Milliways to catch up on some sleep and schoolwork. The tips she’d collected during this shift were better than what she usually made on the day shift, and would be going straight into her rainy day fund (a large piggy bank on her dresser) when she got home.

The parking lot behind the restaurant was wet from the hosing down Rick gave it every night, so she was watching her feet as she walked. If she had seen Rick leaning against her car enjoying a cigarette, she would have gone back inside until he was finished. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with him any more tonight. As it was, he’d already seen her, and stood upright, flinging his cigarette butt away.

“So, Miss Mallory. Got yourself a boyfriend and now you’re too good for the likes of me, huh?”

“I don’t need a boyfriend to be too good for the likes of you, Rick. Now, please get away from my car; I’m tired, and I want to go home.”

“You think you’re too good for me?”

Rick looked genuinely offended, but Mallory didn’t care. She was still angry with the way he had called Ryu a ‘Jap’ earlier. She tossed her purse through the open window of her beat up car and reached for the door handle, intending to ignore him. He had other ideas, and pushed her door shut as soon as she got it open a few inches.

“Rick, go away. I’m not in the mood for this.” Her temper was growing short very quickly.

“What, you think your boyfriend is gonna go Kung-fu on me if I kiss his girlfriend?” He stepped up closer to her, invading her personal space and goading her into taking a step backward.

“I don’t know what he’d do, but I’ll sure as hell kick your ass if you try it. Now, are you going to move?”

“I’ll move if you kiss me first.”

“Fine.” Mallory turned to go back to the restaurant to get one of the cooks to walk her out. Rick was an ass, but he wouldn’t act this way in front of a witness.

“Hey, don’t walk away!” Rick grabbed her arm in an effort to keep her from going back inside.

Mallory had reached the limit of her patience, and when she felt him grab her arm she decided that enough was enough. With her free hand she turned and grabbed him just above the elbow of the arm he was using to stop her. She pressed the spot that Ryu had taught her about as hard as she could, and had the vicious satisfaction of hearing Rick yell out in pain; dating a martial arts master had definite advantages.

“It you ever touch me again,” she warned him in a low voice, “I’ll do a hell of a lot more than pinch you hard. Do you understand me?”

Rick’s high pitched shout of pain seemed to have attracted the attention of a pair of truckers coming out of the restaurant, because they were standing in a wash of light from one of the security lights, expressions concerned “You all right little lady?”

“Get this bitch off of me!” Rick called to them. “She just broke my fucking arm! I can’t move my fucking arm!”

Mallory smirked as the two men hurried over. “Oh, I did not, you big dumbass.”

“What’s going on here?” The truckers looked confused when they saw Mallory compared to Rick, who was at least four inches and a hundred pounds heavier than her.

“This jerk grabbed me, and I defended myself.” She said it in a brisk tone, letting go of Rick’s arm at last and standing upright..

“She broke my arm!” Rick told them plaintively.

“I pinched a nerve in his arm,” Mallory corrected, feeling smug when she saw the truckers looking at each other in amusement. “It’ll hurt like hell for a few hours, but there’s nothing wrong with it. Maybe it’ll teach him to keep his hands to himself.”

“Sounds like you messed with the wrong waitress, son.” The trucker reached down to haul Rick to his feet and nodded at Mallory with a look of respect.

The other trucker piped in, “I think you’d best get on back to work, and let this little lady get on her way.”

“Thank you.” Mallory was glad that the two men had come along.
She waited until they were satisfied that the truckers were going to make sure Rick wasn’t going to do anything stupid, and then got in her car and a started the engine.

She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped as she drove away. Maybe the night shift wouldn’t be so bad from now on.

Mallory leads Ryu through the door of Milliways, and they step out into the shady yard in front of the carriage house. The back of the house is before them, and Ryu can probably get a much better sense of how large it is than the last time he was here, in the pre-dawn hours.

The property is large, and sprawls over a couple of acres, though the house and carriage house are the only real buildings on it. The rest is grassy, with lots of wildflowers and trees along the borders and surrounding the house.

"Welcome back. Let me give you a little tour."

Mallory starts guiltily when she tries sneaking back into the house after spending so much time at Milliways with Ryu, and runs straight into her mother coming down the hall. She’d expected her mother to go back to sleep once she’d told her she was home from her date, and that she was just going to be gone for a few minutes while she saw Ryu back to the bar. Obviously her mother had had other plans.

“Mom! What are you doing up so early? I thought you‘d sleep for a couple more hours.”

“You just woke me up ten minutes ago… Or did you? You’re wearing different clothes, Mallory Grace; how long have you been gone?”

Crap. She resists the urge to look down herself. That would imply guilt. “I was super tired, and decided to stay the night at Milliways so I could catch up on the sleep I missed last night.”

“You spent the night at this bar you’re always going to…with this Ryu I still haven‘t met?”

“Mom…Ryu is a perfect gentleman. We slept the whole night. He didn’t do anything more than kiss me the whole night.” Mallory is lying my omission, of course. Her physical relationship with Ryu has gone far beyond that, but on that first night, and for a few nights after, he had been admirably restrained.

Her mother studies Mallory’s face, looking for something in her expression to tell her whether or not she needs to worry. Mallory keeps her expression a little bland, with a touch of disappointment that her mother would question her honesty. She hopes she's not over doing it.

“Mallory.”

Helen Grace pinches the bridge of her nose, and Mallory mentally braces herself for her mother’s disapproval.

“You don’t have to worry about me, mom.”

“Mallory, you’re my oldest child and my only daughter; I will never stop worrying about you. I just want to know that you’re being safe and smart.”

“I am. I trust and respect Ryu. He’s not going to hurt me.”

Helen puts her arm around Mallory and gives a squeeze. “Trust and respect are important, but just…don’t be in any hurry, okay? You‘re still my little girl.”

Mallory rolls her eyes but nods and hugs her mom. “I promise to make the best choices for myself.”

“Are you in love with him?” Helen’s expression is filled with both curiosity and concern.

Mallory shifts uncomfortably. “It’s too soon to tell. I like him a lot. He’s smart and funny and interesting. He has a strong sense of honor and tradition and responsibility. I think I could love him, eventually. Like you said--I don’t want to hurry anything.”

“That’s my girl.” Helen breathes a sigh of relief. "I still want to meet this young man."

Mallory is relieved when they get through the conversation without “the talk” about sex and birth control and all of that business. She’s still mortified and traumatized by the last time her mother had thought that conversation was necessary. She doesn’t think she will ever look at a banana the same way again, after watching her mother demonstrate the proper application of a condom. She can only imagine how horrifying it had been for her brothers, when she'd had "the talk" with them.

They go together to the kitchen, where Jared is standing in his pajamas looking gleeful as he begins in a sing-song voice: “Mallory’s got a boyfriend! Mallory’s got a boyfriend! Mallory’s got a boyfriend!”

“Hey Jared! Did I tell you my boyfriend is a martial arts instructor? Let me show you the new hold he showed me…”

Jared laughs and runs for it, Mallory in hot pursuit. Helen smiles contentedly and puts the coffee on to brew.

It's taken Mallory a lot longer than she expected to get some free time to take Ryu to New York, but she's finally managed it. It will be a long day, but it should be fun. She'd even gotten her mother to lend her her SUV for the trip, since her own car was less than reliable

"Welcome to Connecticut, Ryu."

She opens the door to the carriage house behind her home and a large yard.

"I'm afraid you won't get to see too much of it, if we want to make it to New York City in good time, but maybe another time you can come back and see it properly. It's about six-thirty in the morning here right now, and we have about a two hour drive ahead of us."