"Going away again, son?"

Cian didn't have to turn around to know it was his father standing behind him, arms crossed as he took a lean in the doorway, watching him with sharp eyes that missed nothing. Cian folded a pair of trousers and laid them carefully in the trunk to join the rest of the clothing he'd already packed. "There's nothing for me here, Da."

"You can't keep running away from your problems, Ci," his father continued, and Cian could almost feel eyes boring into his back.

"I'm not running away from them. I'm going back to them," Cian explained quietly, long, slender fingers smoothing the folds in the trousers.

"Going back to whatever adventure you left unfinished?"

"I've been chasing a dream all my life, Da," Cian replied, turning to face his father. "A dream that will never come to me."

"What dream is that, lad" To be a hero and win the heart of a fair maiden?"

Cian winced, his father hitting too close to the mark. "I should never have come back here. Everyone thinks I'm a fool and a dreamer. They don't understand and they never will. I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago, and when I come back, they won't laugh anymore."

Gordon Granger arched a brow at his son. Cian had always been a dreamer, had always wanted a storybook life. Adventure, true love, happily-ever-afters, and Gordon had done nothing to squelch those dreams. He had, in fact, only encouraged them, sensing a longing and determination in the boy that he hid from the rest of the world behind a jester's mask. Wasn't that always the way of it' Those who laughed hardest, cried hardest.

"What about your sister?" Gordon interjected. He knew it was going to kill Gabi to say good-bye again.

Cian shrugged and turned back to his packing, grabbing a shirt and carefully folding sleeves against the shirtfront. "Gabi doesn't need me. Neither does Frank. I don't belong here, Da. I never have. I belong somewhere else. I'm not a boy anymore. I'm twenty-seven bloody years old, and I've nothing to show for it. What would you have me do' Take a job with the conglomerate?"

"What do you want to do?"

Now, there was the real question. Cian sighed, unsure he could put his feelings into words. "Have you ever seen the sunset over the ocean, Da" It's the most amazing thing. Nothing but sea and sky as far as the eye can see. Have you ever smelled the sea or felt the wind's caress" Have you ever felt truly free?"

Cian felt his father's hand against his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts, his dreams. "If that's what you want, then you have my blessing."

Cian turned to his father, eyes damp with tears, and clasped him in a tight embrace. Gordon Granger hugged his son tightly, knowing he couldn't hold onto him much longer. He never could. Cian had always been restless, even as a boy, and as much as he wished he'd stay, he always knew Cian's visits were temporary, at best.

"You will say good-bye to your brother and sister before you go, yes?" he asked his son, pulling away, holding him at arm's length. He was so like his mother it nearly broke his heart.

Cian nodded, frowning. He hated good-byes and avoided them whenever he could, but it was the least he could do. They were family, after all.

His father smiled and patted his son's cheek. "You'll find your dream one day, Cian. I have faith in you, son."

Cian smiled finally, glad to at least have his father's blessing. He wasn't so sure about his brother and sister.