"Actually, you know what?" It seemed as though Beth had thought of something constructive to bring to the conversation, rather than just rejecting the ideas that were flowing from her mother's genius mind. "Did you move all your swatches and stuff from New York yet' Because if you did, there's something in there that I really liked."

"Most of them. What did you have in mind?" Miranda asked, curiosity piqued. It wasn't that often that mother and daughter sat brainstorming fashion design. Beth had developed her own sense of style long ago, and Miranda had promised to butt out, but this was different. This was about what was supposed to be the most important and happiest day of her daughter's life, and she had to look perfect.

"Well ....you know that, um ..." Beth frowned, attempting to describe a fabric she had never learned the name for. "There's a ....it's kind of gauzy, and there's pretty beading on it, and you said it was an example of the top layer of some kind of poofy layer cake you were making for someone?" She stared at her mother for a long moment. "Hold on, I'll go find it." Patting Miranda's knee, she pushed herself up and slipped out of the room, heading straight for her mother's new studio to have a very good rummage.

"Organza?" Miranda took a guess at what her daughter was trying to describe. She slid off the couch, leaving her sketchbook behind, and sticking her pencil absentmindedly behind one ear, to follow her daughter curiously.

"No, it's not organza," Beth told her, already flipping through the careful filing system that held Miranda's precious swatches. "Organza's the one that you just layer up until people can't see through it, right' This is the one that you use, like, one layer over the top of another kind of fabric ....tulle!" She crowed suddenly, triumphant as she hit the section she'd been looking for. "You know, tulle over rough silk or satin, but with embroidery or beading or whatever on the tulle, not on the satin" Am I making any sense?"

"Oh!" Miranda exclaimed as the light-bulb went on in her brain. She smiled the kind of smile that was reserved for mothers who were puffing up with a sense of pride at their child's achievement. Apparently, some of Miranda's efforts in instilling a sense of style in her daughter had finally paid off. "I know just the one!" She searched through the samples before coming up with a couple that fit the bill. "Like these?" she asked, holding them up.

"Yes, just like those!" For all that she had a distinct lack of interest in fashion, it seemed as though Beth was getting a little excited at the prospect of her wedding dress. After all, how many times in her life was she going to have the opportunity to dress up like a princess and not have to say she was going to a costume party' She grinned as Miranda held out the swatches, delicately touching them. "I like this one," she admitted almost shyly, referring to the waterfall of vine-like beading on the second of the two. "Could-could the beading be in red, do you think?"

"Yes, of course!" Miranda replied, getting equally excited now that they were narrowing it down. An idea bloomed in her head and she beamed a smile at her daughter. "I have an idea!" And off she was back to the couch to transfer the idea onto paper before she lost it all together. When she was finished, what she had sketched was a white dress with a fitted bodice trimmed in beading, a red ribbon around the waist, the skirt covered in tulle with more beading cascading partway down the front. It was a rough sketch but she could almost visualize the finished product in her mind and her daughter wearing it. "With your hair down, I think, softly brushing your shoulders." Which were bare.

Left in the studio, Beth laughed to herself as she put the swatches away, following her mother back to the living room to sit down beside her as she sketched. They'd never really collaborated like this before - Miranda usually just poked her for suggestions about color, rather than style or material, but then, this was a special dress. Presented with the finished sketch, Beth felt her smile light up her face, bright and obviously delighted with what had bubbled up out of her mother's excitement. "Oh, Mom, that's beautiful," she gushed, not quite as able to picture the finished product, but very trusting that anything Miranda set her mind to would be gorgeous. "You really think I could pull that off?"

"Sweetheart," Miranda started, looking at her Beth with that look that showed how much she adored her daughter. She reached over to touch her daughter's hair and smooth it over her shoulder. "I don't think so, I know so. You're going to look lovely, and you're going to make Jason so happy." Tears of pride and joy were gathering in Miranda's eyes as she looked on her daughter, trying to remind herself that she wasn't losing a daughter but gaining a son in law. "Your father and I are so proud of you," she told her softly, tearfully even.

Beth's smile was just a little sad as she looked into her mother's eyes, touched by how tearful Miranda was becoming at just the thought of her getting married. "You know nothing's really gonna change, don't you, Mommy?" she asked, her voice just as soft. I haven't called her Mommy in years. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She shifted, curling her arms around Miranda to hug close. Her world just wouldn't be right without her mother, no matter how grown up she got.

Miranda felt herself choking up and it wasn't even close to the wedding day yet. She wrapped her daughter in a hug, sniffling back the tears mostly unsuccessfully. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but she become very sentimental the last few months. "I know, I know. I just can't believe how grown up you are. It seems like just yesterday I was teaching you how to tie your shoes."

"Well, I did only get out of my braces last year," Beth drawled fondly, drawing back to brush her mother's hair out of her eyes as she smiled. "I'm always gonna need my Mom. She's a huge part of my life, you know" And I want to make her even happier than she is right now with my Dad, if that's even possible, but she's gotta promise me not to get itchy for grandkids until I'm ready, okay?"

Curling up on the couch beside her mother, Beth curled an arm around Miranda's shoulders. "I think you did," she said gently. "Rhy'Din's your home, it always has been. Even if you weren't here with Dad, you'd still be happier here than you ever were in New York. But that doesn't mean I don't know how you feel." She hugged in close, pressing her cheek to her mother's shoulder with a gentle sigh. "I know I'm supposed to be a big girl now, and I've got Jason, but I miss my Mommy. I miss just being able to come across town and crash in on you whenever, you know?"

Miranda reached for her daughter's hand and held it in her own, remembering when that hand had been so tiny in hers, and now she was a grown woman with a life of her own and soon to be married. "You still can, you know, but you might have to bring Jason with you," she said with a smile as she tilted her head to rest against Beth's.

Long, clever fingers so like her own curled into Miranda's grasp as Beth cuddled close, part of her missing the days when she could climb into her mother's lap and be completely enveloped in the soft affection that had always been there between them. "I know," she mused softly. "I guess this juggling a boyfriend and his mom, and my family, and my job ....it's all so grown up. I don't have choice anymore, I have to be a grown up if I want to keep all the things, all the people I love."

"There's always a choice, Beth, and yes, grown up life is full of responsibilities, but that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy life. I know how much you love Jason. I would never hold you back from that." She brushed a tender kiss against her daughter's forehead and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "About Jason's mother..." she started, a little reluctant to bring up a sore subject, but it needed to be discussed. "Is she well enough to come to the wedding or is that out of the question?"

Beth bit her lip. She and Jason had been over this themselves, each of them uncertain in their own way about the same issues. "As she is now, even going to a wedding in New York would be incredibly traumatic for her," she admitted, lifting her head to look into her mother's eyes, letting Miranda see the guilt and distress that admission cost her. "I would never forgive myself if I agreed to let her be brought to Rhy'Din. The stress alone could kill her. And I haven't really had much chance to have a good look around here and see if anyone has a cure, temporary or otherwise, for Alzheimer's."

Miranda frowned, concern apparent in her eyes, though she had not yet met the woman. Despite her friendship with Jason, she had never known much about his personal life or that his mother had been ill. "I can look into that for you. Even if there isn't a cure, maybe there's a way of preventing her symptoms from getting worse."

"Thank you, Mom, I'd appreciate that." Beth's smile was gentle but sad as they spoke, loving concern for Jason foremost in her eyes. "It breaks his heart every time he goes to see her and she doesn't really even acknowledge his presence. I mean, I've been with him a couple of times, and I know a couple of tricks that get her lucid for a few minutes, but it's not enough. He so desperately wants his mother back, and I can't help."

"I wish I'd known," Miranda murmured, her own heart going out to her future son-in-law. Despite their own turbulent past, she held no animosity for him. He was, after all, Desmond's best friend and the man her daughter had fallen in love with. If it hadn't been for Rufus, something might have developed between them, but all of that was in the past now and no longer mattered. What was important was the future. "I can't make any promises, Bethany, but I can look into it. Your father may know someone." It stood to reason Rufus probably knew a healer or two, or at least knew where to start. And being a Granger, money was no object. She smiled fondly as she thought about Jason getting acquainted with Rufus and Lei and felt a little sorry for him. "I hope Rufus isn't being too hard on him." Though she was confident Jason was more than capable of taking care of himself, seeing as he was NYPD and all. "How is he dealing with Rhy'Din?" she asked as she reached for her glass and wine to take a small sip.

Her offer was met with a warmer smile, a kiss brushed to her cheek from her little girl before Beth reached for her own glass. "Thanks, Mom," she smiled affectionately. The mention of what was going on with her father and her fiance at that moment made her snort with laughter. "Personally, I'm kinda hoping that Shen Lei girl doesn't break any bones proving she's a bad *ss." She took a sip of her own wine, brushing her hair back out of her face. "I think he's taken most of it in his stride," she mused. "I mean, a lot of it is as much a surprise to me as it is to him, but he's coping okay. Hell, he met the fairies in Des' life without losing his rag, so that's good, right?"

"He's a good man," Miranda remarked with a smile. "If it wasn't for your father, I might have kept him for myself," she said, mostly teasing. It didn't really matter anymore. It had been one night of indiscretion after too much alcohol when both of them had been feeling vulnerable. Things had been awkward for a while and still were a little, but they were getting better now that Miranda had married the love of her life. "Oh, Beth, you should have seen Bali!" she exclaimed, changing the subject again. "It was amazing. A tropical paradise. You and Jason would love it!"

Startled by the change of subject, Beth laughed at the suddenly childlike enthusiasm radiating off her mother. "Dad didn't have the first clue where you should honeymoon," she chuckled, more than a little smug at having been the one to arrange it all. "I swear, I think he was genuinely considering taking you on a tour of the libraries of Europe." She snickered into her wine, glad to see that her mother had enjoyed her time away. "You have to tell me about it," she added. "Just not, you know, the really juicy details."

Miranda chuckled, eyes crinkling with good humor. "You mean you don't want to hear about how your father lost his trunks in the Pacific Ocean?" she smirked, eyes shining with happiness nearly every time she mentioned him. She hadn't forgotten about Jason's mother, but there was no use lingering on the subject. Actions spoke louder than words, after all, and Miranda intended to do whatever she could to help Jason's mother. "Have you two decided where you want to go yet?" There was that gleam in her eyes again that hinted at Miranda's own ideas for her daughter's honeymoon.

"Has he moved his library in here yet, or did you decide to leave all his work stuff at the office?" Beth asked curiously. She'd been to visit Rufus at his "office" a couple of times, and had been staggered by the sheer number of books he owned. Not only that, but he knew each of them by title and content, and could hunt out a pertinent passage of prose within an hour if he had to. She supposed she got that organizational thing from him. "I hope Lei isn't offended she wasn't asked to be a bridesmaid. I figured she wouldn't be comfortable dressing up and being on her best behavior all day."

Miranda sighed. It was one thing to move her studio into their home, but moving Rufus' "office" was another thing all together. "I think maybe it's better if your father keeps his work and private life separate as much as possible." It was time to refill the glass of wine, now that the subject had turned to subjects Miranda was less comfortable with, and she reached for the bottle to do just that.

Beth's brow furrowed as she frowned lightly. "Has something happened?" she asked worriedly. She knew her father's work was the reason it had taken her parents more than twenty years to get married in the first place, the reason she had been brought up by Miranda alone, but for some reason she never really equated danger with the quiet, awkward charm Rufus exuded.

"No, nothing's happened. I just....worry too much, I suppose. I trust him, I do. I always have, but sometimes I wish I'd fallen in love with a doctor or a..." She'd been about to say lawyer when she realized Des' profession wasn't always the safest either. Neither was Jason's, come to think of it. "Do you think it was wrong of me to ask him not to bring his work home with him?" she asked Beth, uncertainly. She might be her mother, but that didn't mean she was an expert on relationships. Far from it, in fact.

"No, of course it wasn't wrong of you," Beth jumped instantly to defend the decision she assumed her parents had made together. "I mean, he deals with the whole dark side of society stuff that I can't even fully imagine, because it's so surreal. There's nothing wrong with not wanting that to spill over into your home life, but ..." She paused, eying her mother thoughtfully. "Well, you might consider letting him bring something here. Just in case that dark stuff overspills, so he has something on hand to defend you with. I'm not saying it'd be necessary, but I know I'd feel a lot better if he had a crossbow on hand here."

Miranda frowned a little as she considered that, knowing her daughter was right. "I suppose," she admitted. "You can't really be too careful in his line of work, I suppose." She refilled her glass before setting the bottle back on the table with a sigh. "I just don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to him, Beth."

"I know that sounds silly after all these years of being apart. I know the risks. I've always known. It's why he stayed away for so long - to keep you safe, to keep us both safe, but what?s the point of being safe if you're lonely all the time?"

"I know." And to her credit, Beth did know, perhaps better than her mother did. She had experienced what it was to lose someone so very dear to her heart, albeit in a dream - a past life - remembering the pain of that loss with an ache that saddened her smile. "But Dad's a lot more hands off these days than he was when he met you, and when he first got Shen Lei as his Slayer. I mean, pretty much all he does is train with her and do the research. He told me himself, it's been over a year since he actually went on a hunt with her. If anything, he's safer now than he ever has been."

"A good thing, too. He's not getting any younger, you know," she pointed out, taking a sip of her wine. Neither was she, for that matter. The last twenty or so years had been about raising Bethany, and now that Bethany was a woman, she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself anymore. She didn't want to start over with another child. She was perfectly happy with the way things were, but she sometimes regretted that they hadn't become a family sooner. All their lives would have been different, but there was no guarantee they'd have been better off. The decision had been made, and it was too late to change things now. Miranda only hoped it wasn't too late and that she and Rufus still had plenty of years left to make up for lost time.

"What's really worrying you, Mom?" her daughter asked suddenly. It wasn't like Miranda to be concerned about nebulous maybes; when she worried, it was for a specific reason, however outrageous and unlikely it might be. "You're a newly-wed, you should be over-the-moon delirious and constantly loosening your panties for the man you married."

"I am!" she insisted, frowning a little as she tried to sort out her own worries. "I love your father more than I can say. I just worry sometimes. We're not young anymore, Bethany. I worry how many years we might have left together, and sometimes I regret the time we wasted. I know why we made the decision we did, but did we make the right one" I know what?s done is done, but....Time flies, and no one lives forever." Not even vampires.

"You're forgetting one kind of important thing," Beth pointed out gently, reaching over to brush her mother's hair back out of her eyes. "This isn't New York. This is Rhy'Din. Even if - God forbid - something awful does happen to him, his chance of survival is huge. He's got one of the family rings, right' And I'm sure he's got plenty of quick fixes to patch himself or Lei up and get them to a hospital. You're gonna have a whole lifetime together, provided you don't worry yourself into an early grave."

Miranda visibly paled at the very thought of anything bad happening to Rufus, despite her daughter's reassurances. "Gods, Bethany, that's the whole problem, isn't it' This isn't New York. It's Rhy'Din." With all the dangers that went along with living there. Not that there weren't dangers in New York, but those dangers were generally not that of vampires or other such creatures. She drained the wine glass, but did not yet pour another. She didn't normally drink that much and another might go straight to her head.

"And because this is Rhy'Din, people are aware of those dangers," Beth said pointedly. "They're not secret, there are cures for things that would kill or transform people on Earth. And more importantly, Dad's been dealing with this almost all his life. He knows what he's doing."

"Well, you'd better hope he doesn't come home wanting to prove his manliness, then, or you're gonna be taken advantage of by an uptight Englishman with impeccable manners," her daughter warned her, laughing as she sipped her second glass of wine. "I'm so glad you had the bedrooms here soundproofed, though. I love you, but there are some things I don't want to know. Like what you yell when you orgasm."

"Bethany May Granger!" Miranda exclaimed, feigning shock. "I do not yell anything when I orgasm! And you are not supposed to be listening." Okay, so maybe she did, but the fact that her daughter had inadvertently heard her made even Miranda blush a deep red.

"Yeehaw, Mom, that's all I gotta say on that." And with that, Beth dissolved into giggles, enjoying being able to mercilessly tease her mother, secure in the knowledge that at some point it would be turned back on her just as wickedly. After all, she'd got most of her sense of humor from Miranda - who else was going to be able to keep up with the sometimes bawdy young woman she'd turned out to be?

"I do not say yeehaw," Miranda insisted, rather matter-of-factly. "Your father is not a horse." Her smile dimpled into a teasing smirk. "But he is a stud," she added, tossing back a gulp of wine. "He just keeps getting better and better."

"Aged like a fine wine, huh?" It was out before Beth could stop it, despite her own somewhat squicked out reaction to hearing about her father's sexual prowess. But she could never resist a chance to embarrass her mother. "I figure he must have been pretty good when he was my age, or I wouldn't have turned out so good, would I" Takes premium sperm to make a catch like me!"

"You, my darling daughter, are....Oh, what?s the word?" She had to think a minute before it came to her. It was a decidedly English word that Rufus liked to say on occasion. "Incorrigible, that's it!" She giggled again at the sound of it. "There are times when your father is a little too English."

Cackling at the not quite insult handed down to her by her tipsy parent, it was a moment before Bethany responded to that one. "Why, does he say "Tally ho" before he makes his entrance?" she asked impishly. "Or does he insist on wearing his socks in bed?"

The wine was really starting to go to Miranda's head and she broke into giggles at Bethany's questions. "No, but when he fluffs in bed, he actually says in a very serious voice..." She cleared her throat before deepening her voice in an attempt to sound like her husband. "Pardon me, darling. I believe something I ate is disagreeing with me."

There was a brief moment of incredulous silence before Beth burst into uproarious giggles, laughing so hard she managed to tip herself off the couch and land between it and the coffee table, her wine miraculously unspilled. Clearly, Granger women had their priorities straight, even when they couldn't stay upright. "At least he apologizes!" she cackled merrily. "Last time Jason let one go, he rolled over and waved the blankets, and I swear, I nearly passed out!"

Miranda giggled again as Bethany let go of a little secret of her own. "Don't let him anywhere near a taco stand!" she warned, regarding Jason, as if she already knew the risk of that from past experience. "Is he still addicted to pizza" I have never known a man who loves pizza as much as he does."

"Yeah, he is. Had it on our second date," Beth confirmed with a grin, flailing for a moment to get a grip on the couch so she could clamber back up once again. "And when I dropped in on him after your wedding." She snickered softly. "Des thought he was gonna get yelled at for letting me stay in New York a little longer than was absolutely necessary. Their bromance is kinda cute, isn't it?"

Miranda offered her daughter a hand to help her back up onto the couch, stifling a little laughter that she'd fallen at all, the conversation shifting again and turning serious. "They've known each other a long time. Grew up together. Jason is one of the reasons Desmond went into law. Or his father is." Miranda thought about that a minute. The wine was starting to numb her thought process. It was going to be an early night.

"I figured that much. Jason doesn't really talk about his dad, though," Beth mused, breathing out a calming sigh as she settled, shoulder to shoulder with her mother. "I think he sort of resents a bit that my parents are alive and well, and he's lost his dad and almost lost his mom." She shrugged lightly. "I'm not sure what to do about that, aside from really look for some way to bring his mom back to him."

"I don't think he resents it," Miranda replied. Though Bethany was the one who was in love with Jason, Miranda had known him and Desmond a long time, or at least, longer than Beth had, and she thought she knew them both pretty well. "He misses them, Beth, that's all, and knowing you still have your parents just makes him miss them more. We'll see what we can do about his mother. We can at least do that much."

"Thanks, Mom." Beth brushed a kiss to Miranda's cheek, resting her own cheek against her mother's shoulder. She really didn't know what she would do without her mom. "You're the best."

"I'm not so sure about that, but I try," Miranda said, as she drained her glass and set it aside, to wrap an arm around her daughter's shoulders and brush a kiss against her cheek. "The happiest day of my life was the day you were born." Even happier than the day she got married, though the events were connected in a way, even if it took over twenty years for it to happen.

Beth's smile gentled once again at this little confession. She knew her mother had had a little too much to drink, but unlike a lot of people, alcohol was something of a truth-sayer drug for Miranda. The more inebriated she got, the more truths came out, and though this was one Beth had heard before, it was no less touching for that fact. She cuddled in close to her mother, warm and secure in the affection that bound them together, and smiled once more. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," Miranda said as she hugged her daughter close, eyes tearing up again as they shared an emotional - and slightly inebriated - moment. "No matter what happens, I will always be here for you. Always," she reminded her for what was likely the thousandth time.

Wrapped close around each other, mother and daughter shared their embrace, warm in the knowledge that despite everything that had happened, and everything that would happen, nothing was ever going to change the closeness of the bond they shared. Not even the Nexus could keep them apart, especially not with a wedding coming up. After all ....what were the odds that Miranda was ever going to get the chance to dress Bethany up like a princess again? Fairytales and wishes aside, they had everything they could ever need, but right there, at the heart of it all, they had each other. Always.

((I love this relationship. A Granger parent and child who don't have angst about their relationship! Shock! Horror! And loads of thanks to Miranda!))