She seemed a little nonplussed, but only for a moment, a smooth smile sliding into place on her pretty face as she reclaimed her hand. "Actually, tea would be nice, thank you," she smiled, and though it might not have been immediately obvious, this, too, was a part of her education. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I know I should probably have called before just dropping by, but your wife made it very clear that I was expected today. I just don't want to intrude."

"You're not intruding," Jon assured her. "Have you already had the grand tour?" he asked, patting his leg to wordlessly tell Cosmo to fall in behind them as he started toward the kitchen. If they were lucky, there wouldn't be anyone in there this time of day to insist on waiting on him hand and foot. He was quite capable of making tea - he had, after all, had a good teacher in his very English wife. "Emily is napping, and Humphrey insisted on playing Grampa, so I have a few hours."

"Actually, no," Dru chuckled quietly, falling into step with man and dog. "I've seen the study and a large amount of garden, but not the whole house. It is a beautiful piece of architecture. And it feels very homely, too. You must be very comfortable here."

"I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but yeah, I am. It feels like home. You'd think we'd want a place of our own, but it's like we have the best of both worlds here. We have a suite of rooms upstairs that gives us plenty of privacy, but....I don't know. I like being surrounded by family." Jon shrugged. His reasons went a little deeper than that, but he wasn't feeling comfortable enough with her yet to explain it. "This place really comes alive during the holidays. Humphrey loves having family around. The house is too big and too quiet without someone here to share it." That was about as close as he was going to come to telling her that he and Vicki were there more for Humphrey's sake than their own. He led her through the main rooms to the kitchen, as at home there as anywhere else in the house. "We can sit outside if you like," he said as he moved about the kitchen preparing tea.

Behind him, Dru was smiling to herself as he talked, privately thanking a tutor whose name she had completely forgotten for her etiquette lessons. "It must be nice, to have so much family so close at hand," she offered to further the conversation, her gaze taking in the elegant decoration of each room they passed through. "I assume this house has been in the family for a few generations. It has such a timeless feel, but it's so welcoming as well. I didn't feel at all intimidated when I first came here, although, to be fair, I was being escorted by several of the security men." She laughed quietly, knowing full well she could have given them the slip if she'd tried. When Jon suggested they sit outside, she smiled once again, putting her full array of learned charm on display. "I really don't mind where we sit. Wherever you're most comfortable."

"The garden, I think. Might as well take advantage of the nice weather while we have it." He busied himself for a few minutes putting together a tray, complete with tea pot, two cups, sugar, cream, and a plate of cookies. It was a lot to carry all at once, but he didn't seem to be having any trouble with it, so long as Cosmo didn't get underfoot. "Our security or yours?" he asked, having learned she came from royalty. That little fact had apparently not deterred his father from dipping his stick into the royal gene pool.

"That time, it was yours," she nodded, but the smile faltered a little. Ours or yours. It was them and us all over again, something she was well used to. She might be a Granger by blood, but Dru was beginning to realize she didn't really have any right to call herself a Granger at all. But those lessons were bred into her, and she was quick to raise her smile once again, taking charge of Cosmo as she moved to follow Jon out into the garden. "I was a little surprised at how much security you have here. Have there been many incidents?"

Thankfully, Jon was behind her and could hide the frown from his face at her question, at least for the moment. It was a bit of a loaded question and one he wasn't sure he wanted to answer, though she deserved to know the truth and was most likely accustomed to what life was like in the limelight. "There have been a few," he replied vaguely, unsure how much she knew about his own history, much less the rest of the family's. "Better safe than sorry, I guess. It took me a while to get used to it." Once they arrived in the garden, he set the tray down on a table and poured her a cup of tea, just as he'd learned to do from Vicki. "I was always a coffee drinker until I met my wife," he remarked, casually.

"Thank you." As she took the cup and saucer from him, Dru found a seat, automatically hooking one foot behind the other beneath the chair. Her posture was disturbingly perfect as she sipped her tea, lowering the cup to give Jon her full attention. "Why would you change something like that?" she asked curiously. "I understand that being in love requires compromises, but changing your preferred beverage?"

"A lot of things changed after I met Vicki," Jon replied. Though in all honesty, things had started changing before that, right about the time he lost his memory and had to start from scratch. He poured a cup for himself and took a seat across from her, Cosmo settling down at his master's feet. "Vicki's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm not just saying that. She really is."

"She must be a very special woman," Dru said quietly, a little envious of the close relationship that Jon obviously treasured with his wife. It was something she had no hope of achieving for herself, but all the same, love was a dream she shared with every teenager in the multiverse. "I hope I'm even half as lucky when my time comes."

"She is," he agreed, the smile on his face when he talked about his wife proof of his love and devotion - as much in love with her now as he was the day they got married. "I hope you are, too, but you don't have to worry about that now. You're young. You have lots of time. You should be having fun."

"It's a little hard to have fun when I always have a babysitter," she admitted with a faint shrug. It wasn't the whole reason, of course, but like Jon, she didn't think that was something she should share until she knew her siblings a little better. "Speaking of babysitter ....don't I have a niece that you're dying to talk about and gush over?"

She swallowed, looking down at her tea cup. "I've spent my whole life not knowing if anyone really likes me, or if they're being friendly because of what I am. And here, I'm just me. I'm just ....I'm scared that there isn't enough of me that anyone could like, and I'm really scared that I'm never going to fit in your family, Jon." She sighed softly, raising a hand to brush her blonde hair back from her face. "I don't know what to do. And all I'm doing here is making you feel bad about it, and it's really not your problem. It's mine."

He took in her answer, quietly and patiently, soaking it up and waiting until she was through to tell her what he thought. While it was true that they hardly knew each other, he thought it was silly to claim defeat before she'd hardly gotten started. "Okay, you want to know what I think?" he asked, not waiting for her answer before continuing. "First of all, you're not making me feel bad - I'm making me feel bad. And secondly, I think you should try to relax a little and give yourself a chance. No one here cares if you're royalty or not. We just want to get to know you for who you are. How can you be so sure you're not going to fit when you haven't even tried" How can we get to know you if you won't let us?"

"How can anyone get to know me when I don't know who me is?" she countered a little hopelessly. "I know what me is, I just don't know who. And it's not like I can talk to Helena about any of this - she's so wrapped up in her new boyfriend, I might as well not exist right now. And that's totally cool. I mean, he's obviously going to be around a lot longer than I will."

She wasn't going to get out of this so easily, he'd decided, and if he had to, he'd make it his personal business to make sure she felt like part of the family. "Well, maybe it's about time you find out who you are then," he offered with what could only be described as a brotherly smile, but then he realized he might be able to offer more than that. "Tell you a little secret?"

She didn't know how he'd done it, but with just one smile from Jon, Dru found herself relaxing a little, the corner of her mouth twitching upward shyly in answer. "That depends on the secret," she pointed out a little mischievously. "Is it going to corrupt me?"

"No," he replied with a small frown, wondering if he should even mention it. It might help her to realize she wasn't the only one who didn't know who she was, at least, at one point in time, but he wasn't sure if she needed to know that. "Never mind. It's not important." He pushed the plate of cookies closer. "Have a cookie. Vicki made them." Sure, they were supposed to be getting to know each other better, but he thought it was probably more about him getting to know her than the other way around really.

As quickly as it had offered to emerge, her shy smile faded as he retracted his offer of opening up a little to her, and for the briefest moment, disappointment was right there for him to see in brown eyes that were so like the Granger eyes he saw on so many of his cousins. But it was briefly there and swiftly gone, and Dru's early-learned politeness rose to the fore as he pushed the plate toward her. "All right," she agreed softly, reaching out to take one of the cookies. "Thank you."

He turned quiet himself, as he inwardly debated on whether or not to tell her about his amnesia and the struggle to rediscover who he was - or to reinvent himself, he wasn't sure which, but he wasn't really sure that was what she needed to hear right now. On the other hand, if he could do it, so could she. "I'm not sure how much you know about me," he said, tentatively as he chose a cookie for himself.

"I know you're an amazing actor," she offered in return, her voice just as quiet, just as tentative, wary of opening any more doors in case he slammed them closed on her once again. "And ....well, I know about the attack a few years ago. Helena told me. But you don't need to tell me anything. I haven't exactly earned your confidence."

He shrugged, wondering what else Lena had told her. He was about to tell her he didn't have any secrets - at least, not from his family - but that wasn't quite true. "How much did she tell you?" he asked, not wanting to repeat things she already knew.

"That you were shot, and that your life before the attack is almost a complete mystery to you," Dru told him, nibbling at her cookie. "I didn't mean to pry, and I'm sure she didn't mean to break any confidences. She adores you, Jon, she wouldn't have told me anything at all if I hadn't asked. So it's my fault, really."

"It's pretty common knowledge really, at least, among the family," Jon replied, glancing at the cookie in his hand that he was idly toying with. "The point is I didn't remember anything after that, not even my name. I didn't know who I was. I had to figure it out all over again, and....I've changed, I guess. I'm not the same person I was before. I don't even know who that Jon Granger was." He shrugged. "Sorry, I thought I had a point there somewhere. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I understand what it's like not to know who you are, and....I just want you to know that you're not alone."

There was a long pause as Dru tried to absorb all this, her pretty face creased into a small frown. "Thank you," she said finally, though she wasn't entirely sure what she was thanking him for. "I appreciate that." She glanced toward the garden thoughtfully, casting around for some other topic that might put him at his ease once again. "So ....why don't you tell me about Vicki and Emily?"

He frowned, worrying that he'd just made her all kinds of uncomfortable, especially how she was choosing to change the subject. Maybe he was trying too hard. He felt like he was failing and almost wished Vicki was there to help, but she wasn't. He had to do this all on his own. Normally, he would have loved to have talked about Vicki and Emily, but at the moment, he got the feeling she was changing the subject on purpose. He shrugged again as he set his cookie on a napkin and picked up his cup of tea. "What do you want to know?"

"Maybe you should stop worrying about being a princess for a little while, and just worry about being you," he suggested, gesturing with a hand to the chair once again. They really had a lot in common, if she could only see it and if he could make her understand. "I'd like to get to know you, if you'll let me."

"I'm wearing a school uniform with knee high socks, and I'm almost seventeen," she pointed out with a vaguely bemused frown. "Does that seem normal to you?" It was an odd segue into what might amount to a conversation, but it was the best she could come up with at short notice, sitting slowly down into the chair finally with a quizzical expression on her face. "Did Humphrey pick the right school" Or is he just pranking me?"

"It's normal for some people, I guess. Let me ask you this....Do you like it there, or would you rather go somewhere else?" He knew he was tempting fate asking her that question. He didn't really want to butt heads with Humphrey, but he didn't want her unhappy either.

She snorted softly, a half-smile touching her face as she shrugged one shoulder. "It's school," she reminded him. "I didn't think you were supposed to like it. I mean, it's got a good reputation and my grades are good, so I suppose it's doing what it's supposed to, right?" Namely get her into a good university when she was done there.

"Okay, let me ask you this....What do you do for fun?" He had a point he was trying to make, but it was going to take him a bit to get to it. The question wasn't so much about where she was going to school or if she should be wearing a uniform or not. It was more about making her feel more at home and comfortable with Rhy'Din.

It was a little heartbreaking that his sixteen-year-old sister genuinely didn't have an answer for that question. True, she enjoyed reading, and she enjoyed driving, but those were the only things she'd really ever been allowed to do on her own. Dru genuinely didn't know what she really enjoyed doing, and the longer that silence went on, the harder she blushed with embarrassment. "I ....I don't know how to answer that."

He waited patiently while she considered her answer, realizing she was a lot more like himself than she might care to admit. "Okay, well....I have an idea. You're probably gonna think it sounds crazy, but....Have you ever thought about acting?"

Her first reaction was the shake her head, but she stopped herself, reconsidering her response with a frustrated frown. "Actually ....I remember when I was little, I wanted to try out for the school play," she offered shyly. "But, um, I wasn't allowed to. Mostly because my family wouldn't have been able to come and see me perform - security and all - but also because my mum was worried that I'd be given a big part just because of who I was, and that I'd suck at it and be laughed at. So I never tried out, and I never really thought about trying out for any of the other shows."

There was that frown of his again, but this time it was contemplative. She had only mentioned her mother once, and though he didn't know much about her, he knew she had passed away recently. "I'm sorry about your mother," he said, unsure if he should ask about her or not broach that subject. "Do you wanna talk about her?" he asked, after a moment, trying hard to be a supportive brother, though he didn't really know how or think he was very good at it.

Suddenly her head shot up, the brown eyes that fixed on his filled with tears. "You're the first person to ask me that since it happened," Dru managed in a trembling voice, the shock of suddenly being thrust right out in the open with her grief too much to conceal. She'd lost not only her mother, but her second uncle and his wife, on that day, and no one had thought for a moment that she wouldn't be able to cope with that loss. Because she was the heir, and she had to be strong. But right here and now, she was just Dru, and her big brother was showing an interest in her and her feelings. Which was how Jon ended up with a sobbing sixteen-year-old. "I really miss her."

Jon, being the person he was, couldn't help feeling for her. His heart went out to her, sympathetic and compassionate and caring, not just because she was his little sister, but because he could sense the grief in her and maybe a need to let some of it go. He reached for her hand, but then she was crying, and he found himself wrapping her in a hug and trying to console her. "I know. I'm sorry," he said, wishing he could do more to ease her pain, but maybe it was enough just to be there, just to be willing to listen. He thought of his own mother and wished he could remember her. Everyone said they'd been close, but he couldn't even remember her, and while some people might think that not remembering made her death easier, it seemed to only make it harder.

It had been two months since the "accident" that had taken the family she'd known away from her, and Dru had done everything you were always told not to do. She'd made major changes to her life, she'd even changed the city she was living in, and she had not given herself even a moment to consider what it was she was trying not to think about.

The moment Jon mentioned it, there it was, aching in her chest, filling every facet of her being until she felt as though she could barely breathe, suffocated by the loss of her whole world ....and suddenly arms were around her, holding her, shutting out some of that isolation, that deep loss, with the knowledge that she had gained some of what she had lost with her impulsive escape from her home. It didn't matter that nothing he said could possibly make her feel better, or that no one could heal the damage that had been done in the space of just a few minutes. All that mattered was that someone had really looked at her and seen she was hurting, and stayed with her as she cried.

Instead of making him feel better, feel useful, her tears only made Jon feel worse, guilty that he'd said the wrong thing, that he'd made her cry. It never occurred to him that maybe she'd needed those tears, and that letting him see them was the first step toward healing the grief and building trust in a brother she'd never known. "I'm sorry, Dru," he apologized, stroking her hair as he held her close, both sympathizing with her loss and apologizing for his own awkward stupidity. He said nothing about the loss of his own mother, choosing to focus on her pain and not his. His was an old pain that had become so much a part of him that he hardly acknowledged it anymore, but this was something new and fresh for her, a bleeding wound that he had no idea how to heal.

Shy hope lit up the brown eyes that studied him as she twisted the napkin between her fingers. "Would I be able to do that and school as well?" she asked, obviously interested beyond the habit of putting people at their ease. Some part of her mind cut out his comment about his mother, knowing it wasn't really intended for her. She'd brought up an ache in his own life without meaning to. "I mean, assuming they'd want me, and assuming I have anything to offer, obviously."

"Well, I can't promise you a starring role. Not right away anyway, but we're always looking for promising newcomers. I'm pretty sure I can secure you a part in the chorus." He beamed a mischievous grin. "The theater owner happens to be my best friend."

Dru giggled, startled by the shift from serious to mischievous but delighted by it at the same time. "Well, nepotism does belong in the arts," she agreed with a small smile. "Thank you, Jon." She reached over to hug him, a little awkward, a little tentative, but venturing toward the kind of warmth she needed in her life.

He was more than happy to return that hug, readily, eagerly even. Though they'd started out on an awkward note, he was hopeful they were making progress. He knew they wouldn't become best friends in a day, but he was confident that with time and effort, they could build a strong relationship - the kind they both needed and longed for in their lives. "What do you say we go say hello to Vicki" She should be home by now and is probably itching to meet you. Besides, I have to check on Emily. It's about time for her to be waking up from her nap. You will stay for dinner, won't you? We'd love to have you!"

"I'd like that." And the smile that accompanied her answer was genuine, a reflection of the little girl she still was on the inside feeling wanted for the first time in weeks. "I mean, only if I won't be intruding, but ....yeah, I'd like to stay." There was a pause before she added, "I'm not sitting on Humphrey's knee, though."

He laughed at her added warning. "No, you're too big for that. We'll leave that for Emily," he said as he moved to his feet, collecting up the cups and plates and putting them back on the tray to take inside. "Come on then. Let's go say hello to the lady of the house," he flashed a smile, knowing Vicki was just as eager to meet his baby sister as he was to introduce her. She had been pestering him to ask her over for weeks now. "Oh, and I want to hear all about Lena's new boyfriend."

Snorting with laughter, Dru found her feet, gathering her bag onto her shoulder once again. "Which one?" she teased, happy to fall into talking about the one other member of the family she knew anything about. "You know she brought two home, right' And one of them is much cuter than the other one. Even more now he's shaved."

Cosmo had already grown bored and left ages ago to follow Vicki around the house and hope he got to play with his puppy for a while. Jon took up the tray, arching a brow at the news. He was as yet unaware that Lena had two boyfriends, and he wasn't all that well acquainted with Jasmin to know Dru was talking about Jack. "Two?" he echoed. "She has two boyfriends" I met Tommy. Who's the other?"

"She didn't tell you about Jack?" Dru's face lit up as she said the name. Apparently the second of Lena's friends from the 70's was a significant figure in her life, though it would take a bit more digging to find out why. "He's amazing. He's Tommy's best friend, and he plays the guitar, and he's seeing Jasmin. Lena set them up, and he seems really happy. And handsome. Shaving was a very good idea."

"Jack?" Jon echoed as he led her back toward the house, tray in hand. "How old is he?" he asked curiously. It sounded almost as if Dru was crushing on him, though she had clearly stated he was seeing Jasmin. Jon wondered if he should take Cosmo for a walk over near Ivy Lodge later and see if he could catch a glimpse. "Maybe we should have them over for dinner sometime."

"I don't know, maybe 25?" Dru grinned, holding the door open to let him get inside ahead of her. "He's funny, too. I mean, not that Tommy isn't, but Tommy's clearly all about Lena. He doesn't even see the rest of the world when she's in the room, and Jack was kind of a third wheel for about a day."

Jon found to his amazement that his little sister was suddenly gushing about a man who was only a few years younger than himself, but he wasn't sure if it was hero worship or a crush, or both, and he recalled Vicki when she was sixteen, crushing on a much older Jon. Jon was more interested in hearing about Tommy, since he was the one dating Lena, but he didn't say anything, letting Dru tell him whatever she wanted to. "Jack is dating Jasmin?" he asked, looking for confirmation as he stepped back inside and started toward the kitchen to drop off the tray.

"Yeah." There was obvious disappointment in her voice, but she shrugged it off. "Lena took them on a night out and they met up with Jasmin, and Jack's pretty much been living at Ivy Lodge since. And you know what?" She turned to look up at her big brother. "I really wanna be mad about that, but I can't. He's sickeningly happy with her. Seriously. They're almost as bad as Tommy and Lena, and I'm living with them."

Jon chuckled as he set the tray down and turned to face her. She had just confirmed his suspicions, but somehow, she didn't seem too upset about it. He reached over to touch a finger to her nose. "You have a crush on him!" he declared in a teasing voice.

"I do not!" Gone was the sensitive little girl - Jon had just managed to awaken the defensive teenager, and she was glaring at him for even daring to suggest that she might possibly find anyone even vaguely attractive. Much less have a crush on their cousin's boyfriend. "He's just cool, that's all!"

"Uh huh," he replied, the smirk on his face revealing that he didn't really believe her, but he'd let it go for now, not wanting to anger her by teasing her too much. Maybe hanging around the theater would be a good thing. She needed to meet some boys her own age, and there were a few in the chorus she might find interesting. He thought it best to change the subject, circling back to his other sister and her new boyfriend. "So, are you going to dish the dirt on Lena's new boyfriend, or do I have to tickle it out of you?"

"Ouch!" Jon exclaimed as Emily grabbed hold of a handful of his curls. "Vicki, help!" he called, chuckling a little as he tried to untangle his daughter's fingers from his hair. She was at the grabby stage where everything she could get her hands on invariably went into her mouth. It was probably a good time for Dru to make her escape.

As Dru did, indeed, make her escape, Vicki rose from her crouch, directing Cosmo toward his dinner. She grinned as Emily tugged on Jon's hair. "Aww, is Mama not playing fair tonight, Emmy?" she asked her daughter teasingly, earning another delighted cackle of laughter from the little person clinging to Jon's shirt. Chuckling, Vicki leaned over to kiss Jon affectionately as she gently untangled the tiny hand from his hair. "And did Mama have a good afternoon with his baby sister?"

"Very funny. Haha," Jon replied sarcastically, glaring at his wife the way he did when he was feigning annoyance. He wasn't an actor for nothing. "Did Daddy have a nice day at the office?" he quipped in return, trying hard to hide the smirk from his face. He shifted Emily from one hip to the other, turning toward her with a not very stern look. "No tugging on Daddy's hair. It hurts!"

Vicki didn't even blink, moving to take a look at what was in the oven for dinner. The staff at Maple Grove had finally got their heads around the routine now that Jon was living with his great-uncle - dinner was put in the oven or on the stove for them, and Vicki or Jon would serve it up to share with Humphrey when it was done. No more awkward encounters with the cook. "Yes, I had a good day, thank you," she answered her husband with a grin. "And you didn't answer the question. Did he" Bad Daddy!" This last was addressed to Emily as she was handed a stick of cooked carrot from the fridge, one pudgy hand wrapping around the treat as she proceeded to chew on it with her one tooth.

Jon's expression changed, turning serious as he finally addressed Vicki's question. "Yes, I had a good day, but I sort of made her cry," he admitted, a bit guiltily. Dru, not Emily. Emily was one of those rare children who rarely cried, unless she wasn't feeling well. "And how is Junior today?" he asked, changing the subject. It was going to become obvious before too long that baby number two was on his or her way.

"Junior is absolutely fine," Vicki assured him, lifting the hem of her sweater to show off the tiny bump that was their second child gestating for all it was worth. "I had a minor dippy moment, but Charles saved the day. And four of the ballet troupe, but I swear, that part wasn't really my fault." She smiled sweetly, deflecting the attention away by continuing with her query about Dru. "I saw the tears," she admitted. "What happened?"

He would have pressed her further, but she was circling back to how things had gone with Dru, and he knew he only had a short time before she rejoined them. He glanced toward the door to ensure their privacy, dropping his voice a little in case she did happen to barge in. "I don't know. She mentioned her mom and I asked if she wanted to talk about it, and the next thing I knew she was crying. I didn't mean to make her cry!" Jon looked as confused as ever when it came to women.

For a moment, Vicki looked as confused as he did, before remembering one very important fact about Dru. "Oh," she said, her smile turning a little apologetic. "You Rhy'Din folks, you don't really know about royalty and monarchy, do you?" Clearing her throat, she turned to lean beside him, gently poking her finger against Emily's nose even as she went on. "Being a royal, it's not something that you do, it's something that you are. And in as small a place as Tirisano, everyone knows Dru. Everyone. She doesn't get anonymity, she doesn't have anywhere she can hide and just go through what she needs to go through. Their entire royal family was attacked, and she and her uncle were the only survivors. So, to reassure the populace, she was in the spotlight, in public, constantly, from the moment her mother died, to the moment she ran away to Rhy'Din. And once she got here, she had so much else to deal with ....Jon, you're probably the first person who has actually approached her on a human level about the loss she's suffered. But that isn't a bad thing. She trusts you enough to cry on you and let you see that she's hurting. That tells me this afternoon went very well indeed."

Jon frowned thoughtfully as his wife explained what he mostly already knew but hadn't really thought that hard about. He wasn't quite so sure the afternoon had gone all that well. At least, it hadn't started out that way, but it seemed things were going better once he got over his own fears and focused on her. The fact that she'd trusted him enough to let him see a side of her that no one else had seen before was encouraging anyway. "It didn't start out so well," he admitted, getting that worried, anxious look he always did when he was unsure of himself. "She was asking about me, and....I didn't know how to answer. I mean....She doesn't seem to know who she is, other than being a princess, and....I was trying to relate, but it didn't go so well."

"But it obviously improved," Vicki pointed out mildly. She leaned in close to him, smoothing her fingers down his cheek - an encouraging gesture that was almost completely ruined by the 8-month-old in his arms then rubbing her half-chewed carrot stick against his cheek as well. "Jon, you can't hold onto the awkwardness and the negative. Yes, it was awkward, yes, it didn't start out well, but it improved. You were laughing together when I came in. Building blocks and baby steps, love."

"I know, Vicki, but I almost blew it. What if I blow it again, like I did with Lena?" he asked, still a little worriedly, though not as much so now as he had been before Dru had cried on his shoulder. "I'm not very good at this big brother stuff," he said, though oddly, he seemed perfectly well suited for parenthood. He brushed Emily's soggy carrot away from his cheek, taking it from her hand to hold it to her mouth so she could take a one-toothed bite.

"Jon, you're very good at it," his wife promised him assuredly. "You just haven't had much call to practice those skills in a long while. Dru needs someone to take an interest in her, and I think you're it. So stop stressing out about it, and just be yourself. No one's perfect."

"Yeah, I guess," Jon replied, not sounding much more confident in himself than he had a few minutes ago, but maybe with practice, he'd get better at the brothering thing. There was a time when he'd been scared to death to be a father, but that wasn't much more than a memory now. "I had a thought," he started, plucking one of the uneaten cookies from the tray and popping it into his mouth. "What do you think about her joining the theater company?"

"Yeah, but have you considered it might be good for both of them?" Both the deceased and the grieving. So far, there had been no signs he knew of that Dru's mother was hanging on, but he thought closure might be needed on both sides. Cian had told him what had happened when Frank died, and Jon knew it wasn't an impossibility, not on Rhy'Din. "I don't know if she'd even be interested, and I've no idea how to broach the subject, but it's something to consider."

"I'm not denying it might be good for both of them," Vicki said calmly. "But it has to be made clear that it will only happen once. I'm not going to help you inadvertently make your baby sister a necromancer, which I know is the furthest thing from your mind. You want to help her get some closure so she can move on - I agree, that is a good thing. But once it is done, she has to understand that door is closed and cannot be opened again, or she'll never grieve for her mother, she'll never grow past this moment in time." She shrugged lightly, shaking her head. "I know you don't like my practical side when you're focused on solving a problem that is ultimately emotional, Jon, but you have to know I'm right. Don't you?"

"No....I mean, yes, I agree completely!" Jon exclaimed, stifling a shudder at the very idea of his baby sister delving in the dark arts. There was that frown again, wondering if it was better to just leave well enough alone. "Vic, if you had a chance to see your mom one last time, would you take it?" he asked, needing an answer, though he believed too much time had passed for such a thing to be possible for either of them without fiddling with the past, which they both knew from experience was tricky at best, dangerous at worst.

She held his gaze for a long moment, doing him the courtesy of thinking over her answer before giving it to him. She'd gone over that very thought many times over her lifetime, but it was only recently that she'd found an answer she was comfortable with. "No," she told him softly, her blue eyes a little sad but content with her decision there. "I never knew her, and she missed a lot as I was growing up. But at the same time, she didn't miss any of it, because she's a part of me whether I recognize that or not." She shrugged once again, wrapping her arms about her waist. "I used to think I'd want to see her again and speak to her, but what can I tell her that she doesn't already know" I'm happy, with myself, with you, with Emily, with the sprog in here waiting to be born. I have everything she could have wished for me, and I'm happy. But what is right for me, isn't right for everyone."

He smiled, touched by her answer, though he realized comparing Vicki's loss to Dru's was like comparing apples to oranges. He stepped close, close enough that Emily was the only thing that came between them, the little girl reaching her arms out to her mother now that they were close. "I'm happy, too, love. I wouldn't change a thing." He leaned in to brush a soft kiss against his wife's lips, only falling more in love with her every day.

"Well, it's a little late for second thoughts now," she teased as he kissed her, unsurprised to find Emily's arms wrapped around her neck as she tried to draw back. Jon had had the little madam all day everyday for the last few weeks, and for the next couple of weeks, it was Vicki's turn to be the stay at home parent while Jon did the latest rep run at the theater. She laughed, easing Emily out of Jon's arms to cuddle with the 8-month-old who had lit up their lives so much. "Give it a little while before you mention this to Dru," she suggested mildly. "Let her get to know you first, and a little more time will make her a little more objective. And I love you."

"Yeah, I know, it's kind of creepy, isn't it?" He frowned, wondering if it was a bad idea. "Maybe I should look into it more first," he added, though he wasn't quite sure where to go with it. Maybe Lei or Rufus. They might at least be able to lead him in the right direction. He brushed a kiss against Emily's cheek. "She missed you today," he said, changing the subject.

"It's not creepy, it's just not what most sixteen-year-olds would expect to be suggested by their supposedly responsible big brother," she chuckled, tucking herself into his side comfortably. As he kissed Emily's cheek, the baby girl cooed happily, sucking on her fingers while Mummy and Daddy cuddled with her. "I missed her," Vicki admitted with a wry smile. "And I missed you. But I'm home now, and we can have a nice dinner together with Humph and Dru, and then when Emily's in bed, I'm going to hump your brains out."

He shrugged again, for the umpteenth time that day, it seemed. "What else am I supposed to tell her" Suck it up and move on?" He sighed, frustrated by the situation and wanting to help but feeling helpless to do so. In the end, all he could really do is be there for her sister if she needed him. It was hard to stay serious with Vicki around, and that was probably one of the things he loved most about her. She had a way of coming straight to the heart of a matter and then smoothing things over with a little humor. "I'm looking forward to that. The humping, I mean."

"Good, so am I," she grinned, rising up to kiss him lovingly, fully aware that Emily reached out in the same moment and got a firm grip on her father's collar. "And when it comes to Dru, try not to dwell on what she's lost. She'll talk about it when she's ready to, and until then, you just have to be you. Because I know she's going to love you, just the way you are."

"I hope so," he said, laughing as Emily got a grip on his shirt. He turned toward his daughter to pry the cloth out of her little fingers. "And you, young lady, are turning into a bundle of trouble," he teased, tickling his daughter and snatching her out of her mother's arms again. He supposed their serious talk was over and they should rejoin Humphrey and Dru before they wondered what had happened to them.

As Emily's happy little giggles filled the kitchen, Vicki chuckled along with them, never so happy as she was when she was with Jon and their little family. So that little family was a part of a bigger family, with all its triumphs and pitfalls, and it seemed to get bigger every year, but that was all part and parcel of being a Granger. It came with the good and the bad, but in her experience, the good was always what you remembered, what you cherished, what you held onto. And she knew, given a little time, Dru would come to see herself as a part of that bigger whole, thanks to the gentle perseverance of her second to eldest brother and his somewhat neurotic attention to all the little details everyone else seemed to take for granted. Jon was an amazing husband and father, and he was an incredible big brother. He just needed to believe in that part of himself again, and helping his baby sister to find out who she was would go a long way toward that. That was what family meant, after all.

((Could have gone better, could have been worse. Not bad, huh' Many thanks to Jon's player for being AWESOME!))