Mara was very careful not to let her amusement show. She knew, in a way Rob never would, that thoughts of marriage and babies came naturally to girls, especially when they were allowed to be a part of a happy family and watch it grow. "And how did that make you feel, Rob?" she asked him gently. "It's just an idea right now, but your feelings will always tell you whether it's a good idea or a bad one."

He shrugged again, unsure about that. He liked Maggie a lot. She was his closest friend in all the world, and it didn't matter to him that she was a girl either. They shared almost everything and enjoyed each other's company, though he sometimes worried she might find someone she liked better someday. "I think I want to be an actor someday. Will Papa be disappointed in me if I become an actor?" Rather than follow in his footsteps, it seemed. "Maggie said I could do both. Lots of people at the Shanachie do both. If I was going to marry anyone, I would probably pick Maggie, but that means I'd have to kiss her and stuff."

"There's no rush, love," his mother assured him in her gentle way, touching her cheek to his hair. "Don't be in such a hurry to grow up. You have plenty of time to make these decisions about your life - not just about who you might marry, but who you want to be, as well. And you have so many choices - choices that your father and I never had. If you want to be an actor, then be the best actor you can be. So long as you are happy, your father will burst with pride every time you take to the stage. I will, too. But no matter what you choose, love, I will always be proud of my little man."

"I liked being in Oliver. It was a lot of work, but it was fun! And everyone was so nice and helpful." And he had made some new friends - friends who shared his love of the theater. As fond as he was of Maggie, he got the feeling she only went to STARS because of him, and that made him frown a little. "You and Papa love each other but you don't do everything together, do you, Mama?" he asked, a little worried again. He didn't want to hold Maggie back from anything she wanted to do, but he was afraid of growing apart.

"Oh, sweetheart ....just because you love someone, it doesn't mean you need to be with them every single moment of every day," she chuckled gently. "It helps if you like the same sort of things, but you don't have to like them in the same way. Papa likes horses; he likes tending to them, and training them, and breeding them. I like to ride them with him. And I like my garden - I like weeding and planting and turning the soil. Papa likes the garden, but have you ever seen him pull up a weed without complaining about it?" She grinned down at her son. "We share each other's interests in very different ways, but we're not always together. You need to be your own person, but sometimes it can take years to find out what it is that you enjoy doing. Some people don't find out until they're older than Elise, but on the way, they try everything they possibly can."

All of that made perfect sense, and yet, he still wasn't sure. "But what if I want to be an actor, and Maggie wants to be something else?" he asked, though it wasn't so much their choice of future profession that worried him but the path each might take to get there. What if one of them went away to school somewhere or what if he joined a traveling acting troupe" "Why didn't Papa stay?" he asked, blurting the question that was perhaps at the heart of all his worries.

"Rob, lovely ....if you truly love each other, you'll find a way to be together," Mara told him with absolute confidence. After all, she and Duncan had managed it, eventually. His question, however, made her frown, tears pricking her eyes for her naivete and poor decision. "Papa had to leave, because I made him go," she told her son honestly. She had never lied to him, and she was not about to start now. "I loved him so much that I put him in danger from Stefan, and I was still a child in a lot of ways when Stefan made his move. He convinced me that the only way for Papa to survive was if I married Stefan, and I believed him. It was the worst decision I ever made, and I will always regret it, I will always feel guilty for it. I broke Papa's heart, and I did it deliberately, and I will never forgive myself for it."

Though he was still young and did not completely understand the ways of love, he understood the evil that was Stefan. He knew how the man had coveted his mother and how much he'd hated Rob's father. He knew that Stefan had hurt his mother, and that if it hadn't been for Stefan, his father might not have left. He knew all this somehow, and yet, he needed his mother to help him understand it. "But Papa loves you," Rob pointed out, gentling his voice. "And he came back."

"Yes, he came back," she nodded, sniffling back the tears that would always come when she remembered that terrible day. "And he saved us, both of us. He didn't just come for me, sweetheart. He came for you, too. Because he loves us both. Love is a very powerful thing, Rob. It can make us do some terrible things trying to protect the people we love. But it also makes us brave and strong, and soft and vulnerable. It is the best feeling in the world, to love someone and have them love you back."

"I love you and Papa and 'Lise and DeeDee," Rob said, as though needing to assure her of that, looking from his mother to his sister and back. "I promise I won't let anyone ever hurt her ....or Maggie or Caleb or anyone I care about," he said with a determination that was far above his age.

"I know you won't, love," Mara murmured, kissing his hair tenderly. "But I hope you never have to stand up to anyone who wants to hurt the people you love, and if you do have to, that we will be able to stand with you, and protect you while you protect us. Because we love you, too, and we feel the same way."

"I'm sorry about Stefan, Mama," he said with a frown. "I should have protected you," he murmured sadly, though what could he have done when he'd been just a small boy"

"No, sweetheart, you shouldn't have," she told him quite firmly. "I let Stefan do those things to me, because I was protecting you. I was protecting my sweet boy, because I had failed to protect his father. I know it seems strange, but I am very proud of the way I stood up to Stefan, in my own little ways, and making sure he didn't touch you was a little victory over him. Don't ever regret not knowing, love. You were never meant to know."

Ah, but he knew a little. He had not been so unaware not to know that his mother had suffered at Stefan's hand, though thankfully he did not know the extent of her injuries or he might have killed the man himself. "He can't hurt us anymore, can he, Mama" He can never hurt us again." Of course, there were other evils in the world and other threats, but in his innocence, Rob hoped the worst was over.

"No, love, he can never hurt us again," she promised him, and it was a promise she and Duncan had made certain of before ever leaving Shadokhan. Duncan had ended Stefan, and she had killed Leandra, and though she would always feel regret at having blood on her hands, she knew it had been the only choice. "He will never hurt us ever again."

He drew a deep breath, seeming almost relieved to hear that, though he'd certainly heard it before. The nightmares were slowly fading, and it was in good part due to his new life here at the Brambles. "I like it, Mama," he told her, almost shyly. "Mrs. Jodie said I can come to dinner anytime I like," he added, a little proudly.

Pleased to feel him relax a little under her arm, Mara kissed the cheek nearest to her. "Well then, you will have to tell Maggie that she is welcome to come to dinner here anytime she likes, too," she told her son fondly, glancing down at his little sister. "Would you like to burp her?"