Stars End wasn't the usual type of place anyone would expect to find Caroline Granger, which was precisely why she'd arranged to meet Ollie here. They weren't likely to be interrupted by anyone, and it had been a long time since she'd cornered him long enough to do more than say hello and exchange pleasantries. The swish of the automatic door brought her into view, startled by its electronic efficiency enough to jump and laugh as she made her way through and into the bar itself.

In all his 30 years of living in Rhy'Din, Oliver had never once set foot in Star's End. Frankly, all that technology scared him. He was a confirmed Luddite, intimidated by bits and bytes, flashing electronic lights, and instantaneous information. He liked to do things slowly and linger over that which he enjoyed - reading a book, writing a letter, painting a picture. The fact that technology could do all of these things in a quarter of the time struck him as inhumane. But Caroline had been the one to drag him out into the hinterlands, and at this point in his life - surrounded by endless wedding talks, worries over his sisters, and a very grumpy but radiantly beautiful soon-to-be wife - he relished the chance to get away from things for a while. Plus he'd do just about anything for this particular cousin of his.

Though she'd only been to Stars End once or twice, Caro knew enough about the place to linger at the bar, diverting herself from patiently waiting for her cousin by arguing with a droid who only spoke binary. Well, she was amused; she doubted it was.

Dressed in clean, but ratty blue jeans, a white Oxford shirt, and brown leather wingtips, Ollie would have blended in perfectly anywhere in Rhy'Din city, but at the space port, he stuck out like a sore thumb. After being propositioned by no less than three prostitutes - none of which counted Man in their gene pool - he finally stuck his hands into his pockets, ducked his head, and kept his eyes on the road in front of him. Eventually, he came to the Star's End Bar and Grill and slipped inside gratefully. "Caroline," he said when he spotted her and made a beeline to her side.

"....and if I spoke binary, I'm sure I would feel sufficiently insulted. Nice talking to you." Grinning, Caroline turned as her cousin approached, her expression altering to the softer smile that everyone in the family could associate with her. "Well, hello there, stranger," she greeted him, rising from her lean to hug her wiry artist of a cousin warmly. "Want a drink?"

He hugged her back, kissed her temple, and then nodded. "Laphroaig, please. Double, neat," he said to the ....robot"! He frowned and looked back at Caroline. "What possible reason - other than making me squirm - did you have for wanting to meet all the way out here?"

"Privacy," she shrugged, trying very hard not to smile at his discomfort. "And the fact that no one would even think of looking for either of us here." She chuckled lightly, taking a sip of her pint. "I figured you could do with an hour or so of peace from everyone and their mother."

He accepted his drink with a nod to the robot bartender. "Especially their mother," he muttered and took an exceptionally long draught of his scotch before putting it down on the counter. "I do appreciate the opportunity to escape. You have no idea just how much, in fact."

She snorted, jerking her head toward one of the tables away from the technology-laden bar. "C'mon, let's sit down, and you can rant and rave all about it," she offered, turning in that direction. "Not getting cold feet, are you?"

"Oh, heavens no," he said as he went and sat at one of the tables. "But let's just say I know why people elope." He grinned and then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and lacing his spidery fingers together underneath his chin. "How are you?"

She echoed his lean, folding her arms on the table. "Tired," was her honest answer, and since Ollie rarely got anything but honesty from Caroline, that was to be expected. "But pretty good. Everything is under control, for once, which can only be a minor miracle. How about you? I hear there's a new girl in town who looks a lot like you." Which was a covert way of pointing out that Caroline knew all about all Junior's children.

He smiled happily and nodded. "Yes. Lola and I have a little sister. Her name's Paige and she's 19 or so. She's an amazing violinst." He frowned severely and took a sip of the scotch before saying in an angry, strained voice, "Or at least she was until Junior got his mitts on her."

Caroline, who had been smiling along with him as he described this late addition to their family, froze as his tone changed, her smile fading abruptly from her face. "What's happened?" she asked immediately, her attention fully on him now, drink forgotten. "What's that drunkard done to her?"

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "I'm not entirely certain. He kicked her out of the only home she's ever known, kept all of her things, and broke her hand. Oh, and then he had the temerity to bring her boyfriend up on charges related to the rescue of her cat."

There was a frightening air of stillness around Caroline whenever her temper was pushed that little bit too far. She didn't shout, usually, or become violent; she just got very still, very quiet, very focused. And that was exactly what had happened now. "On what grounds?" she asked with surprising calm. "What grounds did he give for throwing her out' He owns nothing anymore, not even his own clothes, and he knows it. Did he really think I wouldn't hear about this?"

Ollie shrugged. "I think he was counting on the fact that she's a very young, very innocent and naive girl who's frightened of her own shadow." He toyed idly with his glass for a moment before a wolfish grin took over his normally very hawish face. "I made an appointment with her to see Riley Lo."

"What about that Lord Byron person you were telling me about from Earth' The writer guy?" Caroline pointed out, smiling in thanks for her fresh drink. "He was a lord and an artist, wasn't he?"

"Oh. Huh. You're right, you know." Ollie chuckled softly. "He was the example that Junior always used when he tried to convince me I didn't want to be an artist. Him and Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde. Notorious mad men and hedonists, Junior would say. Why would I want to be anything like them?"

"I dunno, you've certainly loosened up since Piper arrived on the scene," she pointed out with mild wickedness. "Kaylee almost deafened me when she worked out you'd finally gotten your end away. She was going to hire you a prostitute if it didn't happen, you know."

"Oh, dear God," he said and immediately blushed bright red, trying - and failing spectacularly - to hide it in his drink.

Laughing at his discomfort in that evil manner close family had, Caroline milked it for as much as it was worth. "She might still do it, of course," she continued. "Just to find out if you're really serious about Piper or not. Did you know you can get ladies of easy virtue who can change their appearance at whim' Apparently there's one who can make herself the spitting image of Piper at a moment's notice."

All the colour drained from his face at that and his eyes grew as wide as dinner plates - yes, eight inches in diameter! "She wouldn't," he said in a horrified voice. "She wouldn't dare!"

"Well, if she tries, she'll have to ask me for the money, so ..." Caroline grinned at him, stringing out the moment of reassurance a while longer. "No, she won't be able to even if she wanted to."

"Oh, thank God," he said in a relieved rush, smacking the palm of his hand against the centre of his forehead. "I'm going to be having nightmares about that for weeks now."

She laughed, taking a long gulp of her drink as she watched him express his relief. "Just ask Piper to kiss it better, I'm sure she would. How's she coping with the prospect of becoming a Granger?"

"With the aplomb one would expect from the gentry, of course."

Caroline snorted, rolling her eyes. "That almost sounded as though you've forgiven her for being one of the "gentry", as you put it."

"If they were all as wonderful as she is, then yes, I might forgive them their narcissism due to an accident of birth."

"You know, I haven't seen you this effusive about anyone since Lily," she commented gently. "Don't fall too fast, Ollie. I don't want to see you get hurt again. And I'm not saying," she added hurriedly, "that Piper's a gold-digger or whatever, but even you have to admit that the circumstances around this marriage are unusual. Just be careful, alright?"

He nodded and gave her a tiny smile. "I'll be fine, Caroline. I believe that she's The One."

"One and a half," she corrected with absent amusement. His assurance was enough for her; she trusted Ollie's judgement. When certain others had complained about how quickly he had become engaged, she'd simply asked him once, and then dropped the issue. "Sure that loft's going to be big enough for the three of you?"

"We'll have to find a bigger place, but I think that can wait until just before the mite's walking. No need to rush three incredibly stressful events into such a short timespan."

She nodded. "I get it. Let me know when you start looking - Humph's got a fund laid by for buying private residences."

His brows rose. "Does he, now" Does that include Paige, too?"

"Does the pope sh*t in the woods ....no, wait, I've got that wrong ..." She'd managed to make herself giggle with the confused phrases, rubbing her temple even as she shook her head. "Humph's dying to meet Paige, but he doesn't want to make an issue of it. By the way, did Piper work out that it was him showing her around the grounds and not one of the gardeners yet?"

He laughed. "I think so. The spot they picked is amazing, you know. I'd all but forgotten about that spot. Jon and I used to sneak cigarettes and beer there."

"I know, I used to follow you and hide in the hydrangeas," she chuckled. "But yes, if Paige needs somewhere new, then we'll pay it off. No rent to worry about at all, just utilities. It's family, Ollie. And the same goes for you, too."

He nodded, filing this away to tell Paige the next time they saw each other. Then he glanced at his watch and grimaced. "I've got to go, Caro. I promised Piper I would be home for dinner and if I'm late, she'll shout at me." He paused for a moment. "She scares me," he admitted in a quiet voice.

"She's pregnant, she'll get over it," Caroline laughed, rising to her feet to hug him fondly. "Give her until Christmas, and she'll be the sweetie you met first time 'round again."

He gathered her into a tight hug, squeezing her tightly before brushing another kiss against her temple. "Christmas this year is going to be amazing, you know. New sister, new wife, new baby." He shook his head, still quite unable to wrap his head around all the good that had suddenly fallen into his lap. "It's mind-boggling."

"It's good for you," she smiled, patting her pocket to feel her car keys jangle. "In a few years, you're going to be surrounded by little Ollies and Pipers, and loving every minute of it. Need a lift anywhere?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, the Morris Minor is waiting."

"Race you to the crossroads," she suggested as they headed toward the exit. "And I bet I win, Granny-Driver."

"Granny-Driver?!" He took off at a sprint once they hit the doors, his long legs presenting an obvious advantage.

"Hey!" Caroline broke into a run to chase after him, laughing as they streaked through the car park like children, proving once and for all that no matter how old they got, some Grangers were never really going to grow up.

((Massive thank you to OH Granger for this little gem!))