Summer was slowly giving way to fall. It was a beautiful day, soft and not too hot, so that Helena had most of the windows in the house open for the breeze. Glass wind chimes tinkled softly along the back of the house, their melody drifting in through the screens. Nonetheless, the days were growing cooler, and the evenings crisp. She'd had the pool drained yesterday and the winter cover put in place over it. The better part of her evenings over the past week were spent putting in mums and cleaning out the summer annuals from around the house. The 'cottage' was neat, orderly, quiet as always.

It was a perfect day for a walk, the sun shining brightly, a cool breeze blowing. Jon and Vicki set off hand in hand from the big house at Maple Grove for a casual stroll about the grounds and a stop at the cottage to say hello to Helena, the overgrown puppy of a dog Cosmo tagging along at their heels. Jon was in good spirits, his life finally coming together. Though he was a little nervous about the visit to his sister's, he was keeping it well hidden. They had had their differences in the past, but all he really wanted was for her to be happy for him and to find happiness for herself.

In the past week or so, it had become impossible for Vicki to hide the fact that she was pregnant, and becoming more so by the day. She'd even caved in and finally allowed herself to be taken shopping for maternity clothing, which she had to admit was far more comfortable than trying to hold everything together with string. But today was their first real free day since getting back to Rhy'Din, and that meant one thing only. It was time to do the rounds and make sure everyone who mattered knew what was coming in five months time. As they approached the cottage, she squeezed Jon's hand encouragingly. "Did you want to use me as a human shield, or are we sending the dog in first?"

Jon frowned a little at Vicki's question, unsure whether Cosmo would be welcome or not, especially in light of the fact that Ishy, Lena's long-time feline companion, had recently passed. "I'm not sure how she'll feel about Cosmo. She's a cat person," he replied, not really answering her question.

"I know," Vicki smiled, urging him toward the door as she carefully drew the little carrier she held behind her back. "Go on, love, before your nerve fails and all she sees of you is your arse as you run away screaming."

Jon scowled at his newlywed wife's teasing. "I'm not going to run away screaming. She's my sister, for God's sake." He darted a glance at the carrier she was attempting to hide behind her back, the scowl turning to a smirk. "At least you have something to hide that behind," he teased, in reference to the baby bump that was getting harder to hide.

"Stop stalling and knock on the damn door, stud muffin," his wife laughed, poking at his back. "Honestly, anyone would think you were scared of your own sister."

"They already know he is," Helena's voice drifted out from the hallway as she approached the door. "This is just going to confirm it."

He rolled his eyes and threw another look at his wife. "This is your fault," he said, sticking his tongue playfully out at her. Cosmo heard the unfamiliar voice and answered it with a bark. Who was this new person and did they want to play' "Why do I have to knock" She already knows we're here!" Jon exclaimed.

Vicki laughed, rolling her eyes. "No one would ever think you two aren't related," she chuckled, giving Cosmo a gentle tug back from the door by his collar.

The door swung open on that note, to reveal Lena, laughing at them both. "Come in, unless you'd rather stay out there and debate a bit longer. I can always go back to the kitchen and wait for you to finish."

"No, I think I'd better give up while I'm ahead. I know when I'm outnumbered," Jon grinned at them both as Lena pulled the door open. His smile softened at the sight of his sister, who held a special place in his heart, no matter what anyone else might think or say. He moved forward to wrap his arms around her and give her a hug. "Hey, Squirt."

Lena grinned in exasperation over his shoulder at Vicki, and gave into the hug, wrapping her arms around his waist for a squeeze-and-release. "About time you came home, Johnny."

Stepping back, Vicki winked at Lena over Jon's shoulder, grinning as she held Cosmo back from tackling his master's sister, whom he'd never yet met. "Ah, you see, that was my fault," she chuckled to her sister-in-law. "I distracted him with Cornwall."

"I know, I'm sorry. I've been busy." Busy was an understatement, what with working on a film, getting married, and making a baby. He returned her hug, his apology sincere before pulling away, stepping back to stand beside Vicki, his cheeks flushing a little and not from the cool autumn breeze. "You probably already know....We got married. Surprise!"

"You've been busy since the first time you left home," his sister pointed out gently, and stepped aside to usher them inside, giving them space to move. "And yes, I heard! Uncle Humphrey forwarded the telegram to everyone. Congratulations, both of you."

"He'll have to slow down a little in a few months' time," Vicki promised, again ushering Jon forward to pass through the door in front of her as she released Cosmo. And predictably enough, the collie leapt forward, skidding in through the door to sniff excitedly at Helena. "Thank you. And, uh ....meet Cosmo." She laughed, rolling her eyes. "He's not very well trained yet." Was she talking about Cosmo or Jon' The teasing flicker of her grin toward her husband suggested an answer to that.

Jon caught the hint of teasing in his wife's remark, but then, he was pretty used to Vicki's teasing by now. Her sense of humor was one of the things that had first attracted him to her. He lunged forward to grab hold of the dog. "Whoa, Cosmo! Easy. Don't tackle her." He smiled apologetically as he looked up at his sister. "He's harmless. Really. He's just a little excitable." He wrapped his arms around the dog's neck to keep him from knocking Lena over in his excitement. Jon relaxed a little as Cosmo and Lena made friends. He wasn't too sure what her reaction might be to the dog. He'd always wanted one but been denied by their father, and it was his first real experience with having a pet.

"Hello, Cosmo." Helena crouched down and offered both of her palms up for sniffing and licking before scruffling a scritchy-pet over his head and behind his ears.

Still amused by Jon's slightly over-eager approach to being a pet-owner, Vicki hung back in the doorway a while longer. She'd never had brothers or sisters, but she knew sometimes you just needed a few minutes to reconnect with someone you hadn't seen for a long while. She just hoped the second of their little surprises didn't give itself away before they had a chance to acknowledge the first one. Mind you, it was a little difficult to miss the first surprise, given that it was definitely standing proud from her formerly flat belly these days.

"She's got a point, love," Vicki agreed with a deceptively mild quirk of her lips. "At least the baby won't be screaming your name at the top of his lungs in the throes of absolute ecstasy." And yes, she was aiming to embarrass both siblings with that little comment.

There was another roll of his eyes at Vicki and with that said, he started toward the house. "I'm going to get a cup of tea. Either of you want anything?"

She turned a look back on them both, and played along. "He's a screamer?" she asked with an arch of her brow, clucking her tongue against the back of her teeth. "I'm so shocked."

"No, she is!" he tossed back as he ducked inside, chuckling to himself.

Snorting with laughter, Vicki almost missed the querilous little sound that made itself known from the carrier she held in her free hand under the cover of Jon's laughing exit. "Let's just say we're testing that soundproofing Humphrey had put in a couple of years ago on a regular basis and leave it at that, shall we?" she suggested with a smile. "We come bearing gifts, although now he's hiding in the kitchen, you may have to wait a little while longer to see what it is."

For some reason, she thought the carrier held things for the dog. It was a combination of the noise that came out of it just now and the mention of gifts that sent her from laughing after her brother's exit to a fading smile and a questioning and pointed look at the thing Vicki was carrying.

You wouldn't have thought it, but innocent was a look that Victoria Granger did very well indeed. Despite the scuffling and tiny sounds coming from her light little burden, she somehow managed to make it seem as though she was completely unaware of it. "So how are things going for you, Lena?" she asked, changing the subject with a glint in her eyes. Jon's idea, Jon had to be here for it. "Did you complete your degree yet, or is my information out of date?"

Jon knew his way around the little house pretty well, considering he had once lived there. It would be a few minutes before he re-emerged onto the patio with a tray laden with a small pot of tea, three cups, sugar, cream, and some cookies. He hoped Lena didn't mind that he made himself at home.

"I graduated a year ago..." she answered slowly, her suspicions climbing. Vicki was good. Very good. Lena was not fooled, however. She did innocent, too. She'd been just about to call for John when he came out bearing a tea tray. "Jeeves" What have you done?"

"Uh..." Jon arched both brows, unsure what the question was in reference to. He glanced to Vicki and noticed their little surprise had not been unveiled as yet. "I made tea?" he guessed, probably wrongly. "I hope you don't mind." He looked between them, coming to a halt with the tray in hand.

Vicki laughed softly, rolling her eyes at her husband's defensive response to his sister's suspicions, and lifted the little wicker carrier up, laying it gently on Lena's lap. That tiny little sound made itself known from inside once again, this time easily recognisable as a young kitten's meow. "Surprise," she smiled to her sister-in-law.

Jon set the tray down on the patio table and moved over to his wife's side, sliding an arm around her waist and smiling at his sister, hopeful she'd like the surprise, or else they were going to have to somehow convince Cosmo the kitten was not a new toy.

"Um." Lena rolled her lips in, both hands going automatically to either side of the carrier to steady it in place where Vicki set it. Her eyes could not have possibly gone any rounder. "Wow. Yeah. Surprise!" She bent her head to peek in through the gridded door at the tiny thing. Yup. It was alive.

The little face looking out through the barred door was dominated by tawny yellow eyes and a bright pink nose. The kitten was only just 13 weeks old, grey and white with white socks, big eyes curious as she looked up at her new owner. Vicki leaned into Jon, watching Lena hopefully. "We didn't name her. She's all yours, if you want her."

Jon watched nervously, knowing there was no way they could replace Ishmael and not wanting to, but he'd thought maybe a new furry bundle of love could ease the pain of Ishy's passing and keep her company at the cottage.

"I'm....I mean....I....Wow." She was struggling to decide exactly what she was feeling about the gift. The baby was a winsome thing, and she gave it a couple fingers to sniff and nibble on, but she was reeling just a little bit. What was she going to do about it when she lit out again? This was her primary concern. Helena cracked open the carrier door, after a few seconds' fumbling, to take it out and let her sit on her lap. The carrier went to the decking.

Studying Helena's reaction thoughtfully, Vicki thought she might have an idea of why her sister-in-law seemed so very surprised and shocked, hugging her arm about Jon's back gently. "If it's too much, I'm sure Humphrey wouldn't mind having her for a little while longer. He's a big softie for anything small."

Jon watched a moment as the kitten and Lena got acquainted, making himself busy by pouring three cups of tea, each made to their personal liking, since he did know what each of their personal likings were. Once poured, he set each cup on the table, thoughtfully quiet. He knew Lena had taken to making road trips, and he knew having a new pet might be a hindrance. "Maybe we can swap kitten sitting for babysitting," he suggested amicably.

"Maybe," she stroked the thing's fuzzy head as she began climbing up her shirt, hanging like a mountain climber by those little kitten claws halfway up. She sounded concerned, still. Perhaps because her 'road trips' lasted a couple of months at a go. "She's really sweet," she added hastily.

He tossed a concerned glance at Vicki, wondering if they'd made a mistake, but said nothing, letting Lena sort it out for herself. He didn't want her to feel obligated and yet he knew how much she missed Ishmael.

"I know it's a little soon after losing Ishmael," Vicki ventured softly. "Maybe too soon. We just couldn't think of anything that you might like." She met Jon's gaze worriedly herself, sensing a mistake that was not going to be gracefully rectified. "Humphrey's good at looking animals," she added hopefully. "He's had Cosmo for the last four months and nothing terrible happened."

"Okay," Jon replied, arching a brow, unsure if Lena was angry or bitter or just simply relaying the events of her latest adventure. It seemed to him that she had changed. What had happened to the sweet, innocent girl he'd known years ago' Apparently, she'd grown up and chosen her own path, though Jon wasn't sure he liked the path she'd chosen.

The boisterous play between redhead and collie had calmed while the siblings were talking, Vicki now crouched down beside a panting, out of breath Cosmo. She was listening in, naturally. And trying very hard not to react.

Jon's reaction got a gusting laugh from his sister and a shake of her head.

He wasn't really sure what to say to all that, a little bit in a state of shock at the amount of information that had been thrown at him. If Lena had wanted or needed anything, all she'd had to do was ask. "What's so funny?" he asked, at a loss as to what to say.

"Nothing." The energy went out of her and Lena shook her head again, turning her attention back to the kitten. "Nothing's funny, Johnny."

"Then why are you laughing" I think I missed the joke. If you want to go gallivanting around South America and putting yourself in danger, that's your business, but I don't really understand why it's so funny."

"I'll tell you what?s funny." But there was no humor in Vicki's expression as she straightened up, turning to look down at Lena where she sat. "You say Jon's made no effort to keep in contact with you, but you make no effort to keep in contact with him, either. When he tries to be friendly to you, you go out of your way to lay blame on him for things he either doesn't recall or has no control over. And you've just spent ten minutes detailing to him how reckless you've been with your own life and safety when you are all the close family he has left. You're going out of your way to hurt him, Helena, and it has to stop."

Jon glanced up at Vicki's outburst, frowning at the two of them. Maybe it was time to leave before things got too far out of hand. He hadn't come here to get into an argument.

"I'm not trying to hurt him. I'm trying to reach him. And failing, apparently." She furrowed a look at the kitten; she really was sweet. Lena bowed over the tiny thing and brushed a kiss to the crown of its head before holding it out and placing it gently in Jon's lap. "I'm sorry."

"Reach me?" Jon echoed. "I'm not sure what it is you're trying to tell me, Lena." He wrapped a hand around the kitten as it was placed back in his lap. "Just tell me."

"What do you think I should be like?" Helena asked softly. "When you think of me, who do you see?"

"I think you should be whatever you want to be," he replied honestly. "Who do you want to be, Lena?" he asked, curiously, fingers stroking the kitten's back, even as her claws dug into his jeans.

"I want not to be fourteen anymore. I want not to disappoint you. I want not to be 'that quiet Lena' or 'that sweet Lena' that no one thinks about outside of family dinners. It doesn't matter." Her eyes cut between Jon and Vicki and the dog, and she changed the subject altogether. "Do you know if it's going to be a boy or a girl" Have you picked names?"

"Don't change the subject," Jon said, catching her before she could turn the tables on him. "Why are you worried about disappointing me? I just want you to be happy. That's all. If you're happy being a foreign correspondent, then do it. Don't live your life to please me or anyone else, Lena. Live your life to please yourself."

"Obviously it does matter, Lena," Vicki said gently. "It matters to you and that makes it important. I know I don't really have a place in this conversation, but you're not that quiet Lena, or that sweet Lena, to me. You're Helena, my sister-in-law, whom I'd like to be friends with. Whom I'd like to know, properly, and who is always welcome to talk to me if she needs to. You need to know who you are and what you want before you can ask anyone to see that side of you. But that doesn't mean there's no one here to support you while you find out. Jon thinks about you every day, because you're his sister, and he loves you. No matter what happens between you, that is never going to change."

Jon really had nothing to add to that, allowing Vicki to say what he couldn't quite seem to be able to put into words. His fingers stroked the kitten's back while he awaited his sister's response, not wanting to open his mouth and insert foot.

Helena's cheeks burned faintly and she rolled her lips in as she nodded. Her eyes remained fixed on her hands clasped in her lap for a tick or two after that. "All right." She looked up, eyes sliding between the couple, and nodded again. "All right."

Vicki met her gaze with a gentle look in her blue eyes, more concerned for the younger woman than scolding. She hoped she hadn't gone too far, but some things, it seemed, needed to be said aloud for them to feel real. Her eyes flickered toward Jon for a moment, gauging her husband's mood in the wake of what had been said. "Of course," she added, with impishly sardonic humor, her gaze sliding back to Lena, "this could also be your cue to tell me to piss off and mind my own business." The grin she offered was self-effacing - she knew she'd probably crossed an entire militarised border with her last few statements.

Jon was a man and as such, he really wasn't comfortable with these kinds of heart to heart situations, but he did care about his sister more than she could possibly know and he wanted her to be happy. He kept his big mouth shut until Lena had a chance to absorb what Vicki had said and explain what exactly was going through her head.

Blue eyes ticked once again from Vicki to Jon and back. "I wouldn't do that. You're entitled to your opinions, and to say what you want. I don't want to fight with either of you. I'm tired of fighting with everyone all the time."

For the next few hours, the three of them chatted amicably, not just about babies, but about everything. It was a little awkward at first, but it got easier. By the time their visit was over, the three of them had agreed to meet for dinner once a week and to try and keep in touch better, especially now that Jon and Vicki were living in the big house at Maple Grove. Healing the rift between them would take time, but it was a start.

It was baby steps, to be sure, and there were bound to be bumps along the way to them meshing once again as the close siblings they had once been, but Lena and Jon had a lot going for them, not least of which was a determined redhead who wanted her new family to be as happy with each other as she was to be one of them. You had to learn to walk before you could run, and it was about time this branch of the Granger family tree stopped running. Maybe this time, no one would fall without someone there to catch them long before they hit the ground.

((Thank you to the players of Helena and Vicki for the above scene. Hopefully, the siblings are on their way to healing the rift between them and becoming a family again. :smile: ))