By the time Duncan and Mara rejoined their family downstairs, Robert had been washed up and sat in pride of place at the head of the table in the kitchen, kicking his legs impatiently. The cold had faded from his cheeks, but he was no less excited for all that, eager to share his adventures from the afternoon with his parents and Elise, who had outdone herself with fresh baked bread and thick beef stew.

Duncan seemed happier than he had in a very long time, and why shouldn't he be? Everyone he loved most was right there in that room, safe and sound. They had a roof over their heads, food on the table, and clothes on their back. They were making new friends and starting a new life together in Rhy'Din. What wasn't there to be happy about' Duncan snuck up behind Elise and kissed her on the cheek, as he plucked up a slice of bread and dunked it into the gravy, a silly grin on his face.

The squawk that leapt from the older woman as she found herself kissed was enough to set both Mara and Robert to giggling as mother sat herself down at the table. Elise blushed, smiling indulgently at the man she'd once seen used as a practical tool for courtesan lessons, and elbowed Duncan in the ribs for his teasing. "Well, now, Master Mischief, I see you and the lady had a fair afternoon," she laughed, shooing Duncan away. "Near as fair as the little master's, I'm thinking."

"A fair afternoon, indeed," Duncan said with a grin, waggling his brows mischievously at Mara already sitting at the table. He claimed a seat for himself, happy to let Rob remain at the head of the table. "So, Master Robert, perhaps you would like to tell us what has you so excited that you had to pounce upon us while we were in bed?" he asked as he pulled his chair closer.

Brimful with excitement, all Rob needed was a little encouragement to get started. "Papa, Maggie has four mice and a little brother called Cal and a big house and they have a big tree inside that's all decorated with colored lights on it and Jodie who is like 'lise and toys and Mistress Marin has a thing called a piano that makes pretty music and she said she would teach me if I wanted to learn!"

"Oh?" was all Duncan said at first, with that single arched brow of his, taking it all in as he dunked his bread in his gravy before taking a bite. It was a lot to take in, after all. He wasn't quite sure what a piano was, but the rest of Rob's story mostly made sense. He knew a little about Yule celebrations from his friendship with Kirin, but it had been a long time since he'd had reason to celebrate anything much. "What would you like to do?" he inquired further. It was a given that they'd be sending him to school, but so far, no real decisions had been made regarding Rob.

The little boy blinked, not knowing quite how to answer. He'd never been asked that question before, not by the man who ruled his life. Stefan had forced him to abandon the things he loved without remorse, and yet here, his true Papa always asked him about everything. He swallowed a mouthful, looking uncertainly to the women at the table."I-I don't know, Papa."

"Well, you will go to school. That much is certain. Did Maggie mention where she goes to school?" he asked, assuming the girl attended school somewhere nearby, though he wasn't sure where. Whatever Rob chose to do with his life, Duncan wanted him to start out with a good education. The boy was too bright not to attend school. It was the one thing Stefan seemed to have done right.

Rob shook his head. "We didn't talk about school," he offered. "She's got a little brother, and he walks and talks funny, but he's got a toy and it's all purple and green and it's got big teeth and wings, and Maggie said it was a dragon, and she laughed when I asked what a dragon is and Cal hit her with it for laughing." He snickered into his stew, missing the hasty cough that was pressed into Mara's napkin. She found that little exchange only too easy to imagine.

Duncan smiled at both what Rob was telling them and at Mara's little fake cough. So, it seemed the Lassiters were an ordinary family, like any other. "It seems you and Maggie got off to a good start," he remarked as he scooped up a bit of the stew, realizing only then that he hadn't eaten since breakfast and was famished. He was glad Rob was making friends, even if it was only their first day there.

"Maggie's scared of fire," Rob went on, talking with his mouth full, but not scolded for it, for once. Elise and Mara had apparently already decided between them that he could get away with bad habits for one evening, given that he looked as though he might pass out into his stew at any moment. It had been a long journey on foot today, and the excitement of making new friends on top of it had exhausted the boy.

Duncan arched that curious brow of his again and darted a glance at Mara before looking back at Rob. "A wise thing to be wary of," he remarked, not knowing just what had caused Maggie's fear. "Would you like to learn how to play the....What did you say it was called again?"

"Piano," the little boy enunciated the word with almost patronising comedic timing. "It's got keys, like a harpsichord, but it doesn't make a stringy sound, it's like plinking notes, and it's got pedals, and Maggie can play something she said was called Three Blind Mice, but only with one finger, and she's not allowed to touch the piano unless her Mama says she can."

"I see," Duncan said, though he still wasn't quite sure what a piano was and probably wouldn't know until he saw one. "We've been asked to dinner, but we thought perhaps we'd wait until tomorrow. We've all had enough excitement for one day."

"We're going to go to dinner with them?" Rob seemed absolutely delighted with this news, pausing only briefly to stuff half a roll into his mouth before he went on. "Then you can meet Maggie and Cal, and Mistress Marin and Mistress Jodie, and see the piano and the house and the tree, and they have so many presents!"

"Nae, not going to dinner. We've been invited there for dinner." Or more accurately, supper, though there was little difference. Dinner was just a fancier version of supper, as far as Duncan was concerned. Duncan exchanged glances with Mara again, wondering if they should mimic what was going on in the main house. To be fair, they had already met Maggie and Marin, though briefly. It was the master of the house who had been absent, and Duncan wondered if Rob had met him, as yet.

Mara met Duncan's gaze, wondering almost the same thing herself, but thinking that perhaps they should wait and see how the routine of this place worked before trying to offer invitations of their own.

"Does that mean we still get dinner?" Rob asked around a fresh mouthful of bread, looking back and forth between the three adults sat with him.

"Of course it still means we get dinner," Duncan replied with a chuckle. It warmed his heard to see the boy so full of enthusiasm and happiness, especially after all the heartbreak he'd been through, but as yet, they still knew too little of this place to make any decisions or promises, just yet. "I'm quite certain you will be seeing much more of Miss Maggie, since we are neighbors."

"What's not fair?" Duncan asked, smirking as the boy wiped the kiss from his cheek. He'd had given anything to have a single moment like this with his father, but after his sister had died, the man had become cold and distant, not much of a father at all.

"You're bigger and stronger and Mama says you're not ticklish anymore," Robert complained mildly, though there was little rancor in his words. He loved to hear his mother laugh - she had done more of it since they had left Shadokhan than he had heard from her in his short lifetime.

"Aye, well, tell you a secret?" he asked, a conspiratorial smile on his face, with a brief darting glance at Mara. He leaned close and cupped a hand around his mouth so she couldn't hear what he was telling the boy - at least, in theory. "Your mother has never learned how to tickle properly."

Mara's jaw dropped indignantly as she heard that "whisper", laughing aloud as she dropped her napkin onto the table and rose to her feet, sweeping around the table to poke her fingers quite deliberately into the one place on Duncan she knew for certain was definitely still ticklish. "Never learned, did I?" she demanded playfully, stealing Rob off Duncan's lap to show the little boy where she was tickling his father.

Taken by surprise as he was, it was Duncan's turn to squeal as Mara's fingers found the one place that was definitely ticklish, despite all his years spent learning self-control. It was a good thing she snatched Rob off his father's lap because it wasn't long before Duncan was sliding off the chair onto the floor, laughing uncontrollably as he tried to catch her hands to stop her from tormenting him. It had been a long time since he had laughed as hard as this, and it was good for the little family to hear him do it.

Elise cackled from the other side of the table, moving to collect the empty dishes as Mara wrestled with Duncan, keeping his hands busy enough that he couldn't defend against Robert's little fingers tickling at the exact spot his mother had shown him. "Master of the house, indeed," Mara teased her lover playfully.

"Stop!" Duncan pleaded, laughing so hard there were tears streaming down his cheeks, so like the boy he'd once been in younger days that weren't as innocent as they ought to have been. "Stop! I'm warning you!" he told them both.

"Quick, Rob, run! I'll hold him off!"

Cackling with laughter, Robert turned tail and ran for it, though not too far. He stopped in the doorway, wanting to see what his father was going to do in retaliation for the very thorough tickling he had just received.

Duncan's options were limited. He couldn't very well take Mara over his shoulder and carry her off to bed, though that would have been his first choice. There was only one thing he could do and that was to give her a little of her own medicine. "Oh, ho! I see how it is. The two of you are in cahoots!" he said as he rolled to his feet. "The question is, which one of you should receive retribution!"

Mara backed away, laughing still, her hands held out in front of her as though she could somehow fend off the retribution of the man she loved, who coincidentally also happened to be very nearly twice the size of her. Hugging the doorframe, Robert giggled, absolutely delighted with the silly end to the meal, knowing that this was very much a new leaf for their family now.

Duncan stalked toward Mara, fingers curled in readiness, lunging toward her. Though he might be trying to look fierce, the gleam in his eyes told another story. But instead of sweeping Mara up in his arms, it was Rob who he caught, spinning the boy, tossing him easily into the air and over his shoulder. "What shall I do with him, Mara?"

The shriek Rob let out was enough to rattle the glass in the windows, rivaled only by the yelp that erupted from Mara as Elise landed a roundhouse smack on her younger mistress' rear end with the business end of a wooden spoon. "Out, all of you, before you destroy my kitchen," the older woman laughed, shooing at them. "Go and rough-house by the fire or I'll douse you in water from the well!"

Duncan smirked at the threat from Elise, but knew better than to push his luck. Though he might be the Master of the House, it was clear who it was that ran the roost. "Come along, then, and take your punishment!" Duncan exclaimed, without thinking that Rob just might take him seriously.

It was unfortunate that Duncan had chosen to use that word. Stefan was still too fresh in the boy's mind for there to be no fear of "punishment". The laughter abruptly stopped, wide eyes looking to Mara from where Rob hung over his father's shoulder. Punishment, as he knew it, was his books burned and his mother bleeding.

"No, sweetheart," she was quick to reassure him, a gentle hand on Duncan's back to urge him to join her in assuring his son that there would be no pain or upset. "Your Papa didn't mean it like that."

Duncan's face fell as he realized his mistake and he set the boy on his feet, crouching down in front of him so that they were nearly at eye level. "I'm sorry, Robert," he said, trying to soothe the boy's fears with mere words. He reached over to brush a stray lock of dark hair from his face, remorse and guilt written all over his face. "Your mother's right. I didn't mean it like that. I know you have no reason to trust me yet, but I swear I would never raise a hand in anger against you or your mother."

Mara crouched with him, drawing her arm about Duncan's shoulders as he spoke to their son; as Robert looked into his father's face, fear warring with the longing hope that it was true. "Stefan is long gone, sweetheart," she promised the little boy. "And I have done far worse to your Papa than tickle him too much, and never known him to be anything but warm and forgiving. There's no need to be afraid anymore, my little love. No one will ever hurt you that way again."

Duncan sighed, frowning sadly at the knowledge that he even had to have this conversation with his son - his son, not Stefan's. Never Stefan's. But Mara was right - Stefan was dead. He could never hurt them again, unless they let him. "Rob, I know I-I haven't been much of a father to you, and I know you have no way of knowing if what I say is the truth, but..." He sighed, unsure how to say what it was that he wanted to say. "I love you," he told him quietly, saying the words his father had never and could never say to him. "And I will always love you."

Such small words, but so powerful. Words that no one but his mother had ever spoken to him - not even Leandra had dared Mara's wrath with a lie so cruel to a child so young. Rob's face creased in a hopeful grimace as he lurched forward, tucking his arms tight about his father's neck. "I love you, too, Papa," he promised faithfully. "I didn't mean to make you sad."

Reluctantly, the lad nodded, picking at the laces on his jerkin uncomfortably with one lazy hand. A long journey, a new home, and a new friend seemed more than enough to have bled the energy from him entirely. His other hand, however, reached out to take hold of Duncan's shirt. "Don' go."

Duncan arched a brow at the request, but complied with his son's wishes, taking a seat on the bed beside him. "I'll help you change," he said, as if offering a reason for him to stay. He picked the laces loose on the boy's shirt and more gently than one might think possible of a man who'd once been a warrior, eased the boy's arms from the sleeves and pulled it over his head. He did the same with the trousers and hose, before fitting the nightshirt over Rob's head, working quickly against the chill, but as gently as he could.

As all sleepy children before him and all who would come after, Rob offered no help or hindrance to his father getting him changed for bed, climbing into Duncan's lap when it was done to settle close against his father's chest. "Love you, Papa."

Strange how the pair, who had never known each other until a few weeks ago, could feel such a tug of kinship and devotion so soon in their relationship. Was there some deeper connection between them that neither could deny, even though they had never known each other until recently' It was as if something deep in their hearts and their souls knew they were family, without ever having to be told. "I love you, too, son," Duncan whispered back, pressing a kiss against the boy's brow and hugging him close before laying him back against the pillows. "You've had a long day, but it was a good one, aye?"

Again, the answer was a sleepy nod as Rob wriggled about against his pillow, one hand wrapped very firmly around Duncan's. "Are we goin' to stay here now?" he asked quietly, some part of him not wanting to settle in until he knew for certain that they wouldn't move on again. "I like it here."

"Aye, I think we will," Duncan replied as he settled down beside his son, heads close together, like boys whispering confidences in the dark. "I like it here, too. It's peaceful." And peace was something Duncan had not known for a very long time.

"Are you and Mama going to make a new baby?" the little boy asked then, his voice quiet in the darkness as he hugged his father's hand close to his chest. The thought might never have occurred to him if he had not met Maggie that day, and met her little brother, but now it was there, bringing with it the worry that if there was a new baby, perhaps he, Rob, might not be so loved any longer.

Duncan fell silent a moment as he considered the question. He could not deny that he wanted another child - a whole houseful of them! But he also knew it was too soon, that Rob needed to feel secure in his place in the family and in their hearts before they brought another child into the family. "Perhaps, someday. There's no rush." His thoughts turned to that of his sister again, realizing that if they were to have a daughter, Rob would be in the same position that Duncan had been when he was a boy. "How would you feel about being a big brother?" he asked curiously, tucking the covers up around Rob.

There was silence for a long moment after the question was asked, long enough that Duncan might have been forgiven for thinking his son had fallen asleep before he could answer. But the grip on his hand tightened as the covers were tucked up about the boy's shoulders, a deep sigh resonating from the pillow. "Will you still love me if I was?"

"Of course I will still love you. You need never doubt that. I will always love you, no matter what, and your mother will, too. You're very special to me, Robert. I only wish..." Duncan trailed off, unsure if the boy really needed to know the rest of that thought. "There's nothing I would not do to keep you safe, lad. Nothing."

"Yes, Papa ..." A yawn took the end of the words and dragged them out far longer than they needed to be, the lad tucked up in bed already on the cusp of sleep. Perhaps tomorrow he would be awake enough to read to his father one of the stories he loved so well. "I miss Francois," he murmured, the words almost lost in a sleepy sigh as he cuddled into the pillow.

Duncan had no idea who Francois was, but assumed it was some friend or other of his that he'd made back home in Dreven. "You'll make new friends, lad. Lots of new friends," he assured the boy quietly as he watched him grow sleepy in the dark, remaining right where he was so long as he was needed there.

It didn't take long for Robert to succumb to sleep, the tight grip he held on his father's hand relaxing as the weary long day caught up to him. In many ways, he was still very young, and yet in others, he had a maturity beyond his years. Time spent in the company of his own peers would see him right, but he needed his family more, to learn the stability of a family who loved one another and who loved him without conditions. Duncan could give him that, with a little patience.

If there was anything Duncan had, it was patience, especially now that they were comfortably settled in a home where they could raise their boy in peace and safety and become the family they should, by rights, have been long ago. Duncan watched as the succumbed to sleep, studying his face in the moonlight until his own eyes grew heavy and he could fight sleep no longer. Father slept side by side with his son, both of them safe and peaceful in the knowledge that they had each other. ((Awww, aren't they cute" ;) What's next for our little family' Stay tuned to find out! As always, many thanks to my partner in crime for all the fun!))