Eterna watched Sera take off down the hall, and Cyrus appeared next to her. "They aren't ready."

"Were you any better at his age?"

"No," Cyrus said. "But I also didn't become Patriarch until I was forty."

"You also didn't have a woman like her supporting you."

"Neither does he, it seems."

"They'll work through it," Eterna said. "Neither of them can do it on their own, but together they are greater than anything that could stand against them."

"I think-"

"That you need to have a little more patience and grace," Eterna interrupted.

"Funny you should interrupt me to say that." Eterna blinked, and Cyrus smiled. "It is good to see you properly taking the role of mother."

"You're testing me? Now?"

He shrugged. "Why would I not want to see how my beloved daughter has grown and matured? Especially since you're the only one of my children who's brought me a grandchild, albeit in an unorthodox manner."

She sighed. "Dad..."

He turned serious. "When I asked Nick if he was still up to it earlier today, he said that I would not have chosen him if I didn't think he was. That statement is only partly true." He looked at his daughter. "I trust your judgement, and will until it is proven wrong."

Eterna looked over at him for a moment. "Thanks, dad."

He smiled. "Now for the hardest part of parenting: stepping back and letting them work it out themselves."

"Dad, what's going on?" A thunder cloaked man asked as he bolted next to them.

"Ah, Creasio," Cyrus said. "Thank you for coming down from your meditations. It should be fine in a moment. Please go through town and ensure everyone is alright. I'm sure Helia has already begun to do so, and I'll inspect the estate."

"What about Nick?" Creasio asked. "If the Heir Apparent isn't there to ease the tension-"

"Nick is at the source of the quake already," Cyrus said. "Tell the people that he and Sera are taking care of the cause, and will be back as soon as they've finished up."

Creasio nodded and looked to Eterna. "You coming, Sis?"

Eterna gave a single nod, cloaked herself in ice and followed him out. They flew into town, looking over the damage.

"It looks mostly superficial," Eterna reported.

"Agreed," Helia replied, and Eterna saw her fiery wings ignite as she took to the skies. "People are mostly just rattled. Do we know what happened?"

"Nick and Sera are checking it out," Eterna replied.

"Perhaps we should back them up," Creasio suggested. Eterna looked over at her younger brother as he started to fly in the direction the quakes had originated from.

"No."

"But if-"

"If they need help, Nick can easily reach out to us," Eterna said. "We need to make our presence here as big as possible to ease the people. When they ask, tell them we think it was a meteor that managed to slip through the Atmarrier, but it's being investigated."

Creasio stopped and hovered in the air, electricity crackling out from his body. "If you think that's best."

Eterna spotted Gafael and his family and flew down to them. "Are you alright?"

"Fine enough," Gafael said. "Is it over?"

"It should be," Eterna said. The ground shook again, though this time was far less than before. "Aftershocks."

He slightly nodded. "It's a good thing Sunspeak has such temperate weather, else we'd have been buried in an avalanche by now."

Eterna paused. "Yeah, it is. I'm going to do my rounds."

She took off. "I need every flame and ice capable Bren up in the mountains managing the snow. If the tremors keep up, we could have a serious problem. Everyone else, keep up the presence in town, and relay any communications to noble family leadership for me. Got it?"

She heard a number of affirmatives in her ear, then took off into the mountains.

Meanwhile, Sera followed the smell of burnt flesh that permeated the redwood forest. She kept going through, and stopped at the edge of a large crater. She looked down into it to see a massive, half formed human body. It's flesh and bones were charred, and Nick sat cross legged on its chest, a hole the size of him just beneath the monstrosity's collarbone. She made her way down the side of the crater and carefully approached, the heat radiating off of it making her sweat. She cast a fae spell to cut off her sense of smell, and continued. She looked up at the body, and jumped up onto it's forearm. She walked along until she was near Nick.

"What happened?"

He didn't move as he spoke. "I don't really have a stress point, because I'm always at it. It allows me to generally stay in control, but when I'm pushed too hard one of the runes burns out. The one that went today was designed to incinerate me if I snapped."

"Then this is..?"

"Me. I had to create another body around mine that took the rune with it, then separate from it. Apparently it was enough to fizzle out the rune, since all of the cells in this body are dead now." He shook his head. "I told you to leave it alone."

"Nick, I-"

He went rigid. "I said wait until December was over!" He stood up, his legs shaking as he did so. Her eyes widened as she saw how emaciated he was.

"Nick, let's just take it-"

"I needed you this month!" He shouted. He took a shaky step forward.

She silently stared at him, her lips trembling.

"I was stressing over the Jorhens, for the sake of your cousin's project, but you weren't there. I was in charge of managing the entirety of Christmas Week, and you weren't there. I'm coordinating all of the noble families."

"You gave up-"

"I want you to marry me!" Nick shouted. She blinked, and he took another step and collapsed. She was at his side in an instant. She started to pick him up, and she frowned.

He’s as light as Ashley...

"Get away!" He shouted.

"Nick, I'm not-"

He rolled to the side, and suddenly a massive spike of bone shot out of his chest, through the giant body and into the ground. It caused the ground to shake again. His breathing became incredibly short, his ribcage barely shifting with his quick breaths.

She walked over to him and gently pulled him up, but even then she felt one of his bones snap, and he grunted. She laid him back down and whispered in his ear. "Nick, I need you to calm down, okay?"

He began to shake violently, and she noticed the heat had since cooled. "What the..." She saw snow blast up from down the mountain. "Oh no."

She covered Nick with her own body to keep the snow from hitting him. She went to pull out her phone, then noticed the bump of Nick's crystal in his sternum. She lightly touched it. "Eterna, don't blow any of the snow towards the quake site! You'll kill Nick!"

"Sera?" Eterna's voice came back. "How are you talking to me?"

"Nick's lost most of his mass, I can feel the crystal through his skin. I need you to teleport us back to the estate."

"If you can communicate with me, then you can use it to teleport. Just think about where you want to go. I suggest the basement, room five."

She closed her eyes and thought it, and when she opened them they were in the room. "Thank you Eterna. We need to get food for Nick. Anything you can. His body will reach out and take what it needs without him needing to try, just bring it. Also stress that nobody should go near the epicenter of the quake, unless they're a mantle bearer."

"I'll get the food sent in," Eterna said. "I'll cleanse the site. We're telling people it was a meteor. Then I'll go get Ashley."

Sera felt a pinch on her wrist and recoiled. Tendrils had reached out from Nick's shoulder and scratched her. She took a step back, but the tendrils fell flat and were slowly pulled back towards his body. The door opened and Ithan came in with a cart of raw meat. "What do we do?"

Sera grabbed a large piece and held it out to the tendrils. They livened up, and slowly worked at the meat.

"Cut it into small pieces," she said as she ripped apart what she had in her hands.

Ithan did so, and once he was done he was about to give some of the meat when a tendril lashed out at him. He recoiled, and Sera looked up at him. "I'll handle the rest, Ithan. Thank you."

Ithan gave a single nod and rubbed his wrist. He noticed the wound on hers, and frowned before he left her to continue to care for Nick through the night.

"I want daddy!" Ashley exclaimed as Eterna held onto her in her room.

"I know you do, sweetheart, but he's healing right now."

"Then I want mom!"

"She's taking care of him," Eterna said. "I know it must be hard, but you'll see them both soon."

"When?" Ashley demanded.

Eterna let out a breath. "Tomorrow. No matter what."

Ashley sniffed. "Fine. But I'm not going to sleep until I see them!"

"Okay," Eterna said. "I'll even stay up with you."

Ashley nodded, her night time vigil begun, but it wasn't long until Eterna had to tuck her in. She got a chair and sat next to the bed, carrying Ashley's will through the night.

"Are we sticking with the meteor story?" Helia asked Cyrus, in his office.

Cyrus nodded. "We are. We can say Nick was out in that part of the forest for a walk, and saw it coming in. He used up a lot of his mass to lessen the impact, and is currently recovering."

"Considering it was the other side of the mountain, it should be plausible," she said. "And how do we handle Nick?"

"How do you mean?"

"He just... Exploded."

"So has every Bren child since time immemorial," Cyrus said. "I think he deserves to do it at least once."

"That's not what I mean," Helia said. "He's an incredibly calm and controlled individual: he'd have to be pushed pretty hard to reach this point."

"The situation is well in hand," Cyrus said. "And I doubt this will happen again."

Helia eyed him. "If you say so, father. But what if it does happen again?"

Cyrus went quiet for a moment. "Then I will take care of the problem myself, if Eterna doesn't. Just as she did for me."

Helia nodded to herself. "Alright. In any case, the town is ultimately fine. Eterna's instructions to handle the snow came just in time. Andrew and Vand stopped an avalanche in its tracks."

"Good," Cyrus stated. "Now, go get some rest. I'll take first emergency watch."

She nodded and left his office, and Cyrus let out a breath. He picked up one of the pictures on his desk. It was of him, Ashley, Eterna and Nick during some harvest event. He stared at it, and sighed.

Sera was still in the basement by the time the sun had risen, tiredly grasping at the cart. She paused, then looked over at it: it was empty. She looked back at Nick, who looked at least relatively normal again. She let out a breath, and tentatively reached out and touched his shoulder. He didn't respond, but neither did the tendrils. They all retreated into his body, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she went to pull him into a hug. She held tightly onto him, his frame still a little frail, but his bones didn't break. Tears started to fall from her eyes as she clung to him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I've pushed you to this twice. I-" she choked on the words, then let out a breath and lifted him up on her back. She carried him out of the basement, and made her way to their room. A few house staff noticed them as they went, and stayed back as tendrils roiled beneath the surface of his skin whenever one got near. She made it to their bedroom, and she laid him down on the bed, then left the room and closed the door behind her.

"Is that blood?"

Sera turned to see Ashley staring up at her. Before she could respond, Ashley went for the door, but Sera stepped in the way. "Not right now."

"I want to see daddy!"

"I need just a minute," Sera said.

"I don't care!" Ashley exclaimed as she tried to pull Sera's leg out of the way. Sera was about to grab her when she remembered the blood on her hands. "Ash-"

Ashley's eyes began to glow an icy blue. "Get out of the-"

"Ashley!" Sera shouted.

Ashley stumbled back and fell to the floor as if struck. The icy glow faded, and she stared up at Sera. Sera let out a breath. "I need to wash my hands. Then I can show him to you, but you can't get close until I say so. Got it?"

She slowly nodded, and Sera slumped slightly. "Come with me, okay?"

"I wanna wait here," Ashley said quietly.

"I'm sorry, but I need you to come with me."

"Why?"

"Because I think that the moment I leave you're going to try to get in there," Sera said. Ashley couldn't meet her gaze, but she stood up and walked towards the bathroom. Sera followed her there, and started to wash off the blood.

"Is that daddy's?"

"No," Sera said.

"Is it yours?"

"No," Sera repeated tiredly.

"Then whose is it?"

Sera closed her eyes for a moment. "Your dad absorbs meat and plants, and he uses that to make muscle and bone and stuff. Like how we do, but he has more control over it and can use all of it. He can gain a lot of weight and not look it, but if he uses up the muscle and bone, he loses it. He used up too much last night, so I've been giving him raw animal meat all night so he can make muscle and bone again."

"Why can't I get close?" Ashley asked.

"Because he's not in control of what he absorbs right now," Sera said. She noticed the wound on her wrist, and carefully cleaned it out. "I had to be really careful while I took care of him."

Her wound continued to bleed, so she muttered a spell over it, but nothing happened. She frowned and tried again, but again nothing happened. She kept it under the cold water as she rummaged under the sink and took out a first aid kit. She started to treat the wound.

"Did he do that to you?"

"Not intentionally," Sera said. "It was before I'd started to give him the meat. But I carried him to our room without a problem."

Ashley fell quiet and watched Sera finish wrapping a bandage around her wrist. She turned off the water and held out her hand to Ashley. She took it, and Sera led her back to her and Nick's room. She opened the door and they entered. She placed her hands on Ashley's shoulders, holding tight enough that she could keep her in place.

"He looks like when he was sick."

Sera nodded. "He does."

"Will he be okay?"

"Of course he will," Sera said. "He just needs a little more rest and food. He could even be up and about later today."

Ashley slowly nodded. "Okay."

Sera guided her out of the room. "And remember, don't go in there without me, okay?"

Ashley looked up at her. "I understand."

She wandered off down the hallway, and Sera let out a sigh. "Alright, a quick nap, then... Back at it."

Sera later awoke in an unfamiliar bed, and she looked around and sniffed the air. Eterna?

She got up and found her clothes folded on a chair next to the bed. She got dressed, then made her way through the house. She looked out the window: the sun had long since set. She got to her and Nick's room to find Eterna just leaving. She looked up at Sera. "Hey."

"Hey," Sera replied, her voice scratchy. She cleared her throat. "I hope I didn't sleep too long."

Eterna thought for a moment. "Well..."

"What?"

"I found you passed out in the hallway," Eterna said.

Sera blinked. "What?"

She nodded. "The two of you are pretty sleep deprived, so I'm surprised you hadn't dropped sooner."

"How long?" Sera repeated.

"I found you yesterday morning, so..." She looked down at her watch. "About forty hours."

Sera pinched the bridge of her nose. "Forty hours..." She shook her head. "Has he woken up?"

"He did," Eterna said. "He hasn't spoken much, except to Ashley, who's back to being... Well, Ashley. He did ask after you, though."

"Thank you."

Eterna nodded. "I think I'm going to take my bed back." She walked past her and Sera stepped up to the door. She took in a breath, let it out, then opened it up. Nick sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze on the floor as she stood in the doorway. He glanced her way. "Hey."

"Hey," she replied quietly.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

A chasm seemed to cry out between them, its voice as tangible and resolute as stone, yet only the sound of his breath and her heartbeat reached her ears. She swallowed, and took a step forward when he spoke.

"I wanted to work on this issue with you, to face it together like we promised."

She paused as he continued.

"But I couldn't handle working on that while doing everything else. Hell, I could barely handle everything else."

She kept her eyes locked on him.

"But instead, you didn't trust me, you went behind my back, and involved other people whom I also needed to handle other things for me."

"I shouldn't have looked into it."

"No," he said. "Doing some reading to prep wouldn't have bothered me. It was that you tried to hide it, and got Isaac, Leander, and your mother involved."

"You said I should spend time with her," Sera said. "So... I did. And she turned out to be pretty helpful."

"Did you do anything other than talk about my situation?"

"We had a good conversation before that," Sera said. "And when I said I had to go, she offered to help."

"I'm glad something went smoothly that day," he said quietly.

"Why didn't you ask for my help?" Sera asked gently. "You know I would have done anything."

He let out a breath. "At first I thought you were spending that time with your mom, until I talked to her myself. Then I had no idea what you were doing, but I didn't want to ask because... When I was raising my little brother, and then Ashley, I never asked for help because I thought it meant I wasn't fit to be their caretaker. I didn't want to ask because I thought it meant I wasn't fit to be patriarch, and I also didn't think it was fair to have you doing matriarch duties when we aren't married."

"Then let's change that," Sera said. "If that's holding us back, then let's do it. What have we been waiting for?"

"The end of this month," Nick said. She watched him. "Cyrus tapping me as heir apparent pushed back some of my plans. So I wanted this month to be for you to get to see what kind of life you'd have if we got married." He finally looked up at her. "I need to know that you truly understand what you're signing up for. Then, at the end of the month, after everything was wrapped up, I was going to explain everything about the runes, and if you were ready to accept both things, then I was going to propose."

"You..." She walked up to the edge of the bed. "You thought that far ahead?"

"I didn't want you to leap in head first and not realize there's no water in the pool," Nick said. "Because I can't... I don't want you to resent me."

"I'd never-"

"I resented you."

She blinked. "What?"

"I didn't want-" he paused, and looked past her. "Hey Ash, what's up?"

Sera didn't turn as he stood up and walked around.

"I had a nightmare," Ashley's voice came back. "And I heard voices."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Nick said. "Mom and I are just talking. C'mere." There was a pause as the sound of Ashley's nightgown brushed against Nick's shirt as he hummed. "Better?"

After a moment. "Better. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight," Nick echoed. He closed the door. Sera still stood in place. He walked back around to stand in front of her, though he was out of reach. Her gaze was on the floor, shadows concealing her eyes.

"So..." Nick said. He let out a breath. "I had thought that things would be better if I was gone. That was what was going through my head." Nick shifted slightly. "That everyone I ever came to know would be better off without me, so keeping them at arm's reach, as much as it may hurt them in the short term, would save them greater pain in the long term. Obviously I got a lot closer than I intended; Nayeli, Magnus. You."

"Bullshit," she muttered.

"I agree," he replied. "To think that way was incredibly self centered on my part."

She suddenly looked up at him, tears clinging to her eyes. "How can you say all of that so calmly? Like you're giving some class presentation?"

"I'm not calm, Sera," he said plainly. "I am terrified, and pissed off and ashamed. But the stronger the emotions, the calmer the front I put up, because otherwise what happened the other night happens again."

"So, what do you think now?" She asked tentatively.

He let out a breath and sat down on the bed. "I'm still petrified I'm going to screw up Ashley somehow, but Sterling says that that's called being a father."

"And about me? Us?"

He tilted his head back. "I always thought you were amazing. Your dedication, integrity. How you've got this raging inferno of passion inside you, that's just so... Infectious. How you flirt with me makes me feel so... Special. You've no idea how many times I wished you were Ashley's birth-mother."

Sera's eyes widened, the sharpness of her gaze smoothing out as he continued.

"What made me resent you was that, in spite of everything, you made me want to live," he said. "I've of course come to love that about you. But that resentment, it ate away at me. I don't want you to feel that way about me. I know you've said you're in it for the long haul, but-"

She closed the distance between them and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Nick, it isn't just words. I get that being matriarch may be a next step up from some of what we've been through since it'll be a constant instead of isolated incidents, but I think we've been through more than enough that when I say I love you, and I want you forever, I mean it. I don't know everything that the future holds, but I do know that we can face it together. So..." Her hands slid down his arms and she interlocked her fingers with his. "Remember that night when we got iced in?"

He eyed her. "Yeah..?"

"'No quips, no jokes, no room for interpretation'," she said. "I want to hear you say it."

"Sera, we-"

"We've talked about it like it's going to happen, but we haven't said that it's going to happen. I don't mind having to wait till the end of the month for it to be official because there is plenty of other stuff we need to focus on, but I want to hear it now."

He stared into her eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, and he pulled her into an embrace. "I am."

"Seraphina Aala, will you marry me?"

She smiled and held tightly to him. "I will."

She looked up at him. "There's something else we need to talk about."

"There's a lot we need to," Nick said. "But can it wait for tomorrow?"

"One half of it can," Sera said. "But the other half can't. Not before we go to bed."

Nick let out a breath. "Okay."

"I don't want to wake up without you anymore. If you wake up and have to go, wake me up. I don't care what time it is. I can't wake up and not see you there."

Nick watched her for a moment, then nodded. "I can't sleep without you, and I can't manage being patriarch without you. Will you be my matriarch?"

"I already said yes to marrying you," she said.

"Yeah," Nick said. "But until then, this is a separate position."

"What I mean is," Sera said as she kissed him. "I'm all in, for everything."

She gently pushed him down onto the bed and climbed on top of him.

The next morning Nick woke up to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He carefully got up and walked over to it and found Ithan standing there.

"Good to see you're feeling better," He said.

"Thank you," Nick replied. "What do you need?"

"First to confirm your guest list," Ithan said. "We've yet to find out if the Jorhens, Brakkens, and Mr. Aala and Ms. Galen are staying for Christmas week, or if anybody new is coming."

"Right," Nick said as he rubbed his eyes. "I'll talk to them all and get it sorted out. Thanks for the reminder."

"Of course," Ithan said. "The second is..." He gestured to the sides of his door, and Nick poked his head out to see flowers upon flowers lining the walls.

"Where did these come from?"

"People in town were worried about you," Ithan replied. "I have ensured they are all in water, but... What would you like me to do with them?"

Nick stared at the flowers for a moment. "Can they last until Christmas week?"

"If we care for them," Ithan said.

"Then we'll use them to decorate for that," Nick said. "Any notes or letters remove from them and leave them in my room, but find a way to add the sender's name to the bouquet."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate the thought," Ithan said. "Am I to understand, however, that I'm permitted to read a letter or note to find the name?"

"You are," Nick said. "I'll be back at it today-"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't let you," Ithan said.

Nick blinked. "Pardon?"

"I am under orders from Cyrus to not allow you to work today."

"But it's only one week until Christmas week starts," Nick said. "I can't waste any days."

"A day of recuperation is not a day wasted," Ithan said. "Or have my sick days or vacation days been a waste?"

Nick let out a short breath through his nose. "Of course not. Sorry, I just..."

Ithan smiled slightly and bowed. "There is no need to apologize, sir." He came back up with one of the bouquets. "Perhaps something for Sera?"

Nick paused, then looked through the bouquet. "Are there any-" he stopped as Ithan took out a stem of lavender from the back of the bouquet and held it out to him. Nick smiled. "Thanks. I'll take it easy today. But if a decision needs to be made-"

"Cyrus can handle it," Ithan said. "And if he is unsure, then he will contact you. Good day, sir."

Ithan promptly walked off with the bouquet of flowers and Nick watched him go, then shook his head and went back into the room. He climbed onto the bed, then watched Sera sleep for a moment before he held the lavender beneath her nose. She took in a breath, and her eyes fluttered open. She saw the flower, smiled, and took it from his hand. "Where'd you get this?"

"The hallway," he said as he kissed her. He got off of the bed and started to get dressed.

She turned and propped herself up on the bed. "So, where do we start?"

"I've been ordered to rest for today," Nick said. "So... We start with inviting the people we want to come out here, and take the day to have some fun." He sat on the edge of the bed and started to put on his shoes.

She crawled up behind him and walked her fingers along his arm and over his shoulder. "Last night was pretty fun..." her hand started to slide down his chest, and he caught it.

"It was." He kissed her hand. "But I think the Brakkens may be feeling a little neglected about now."

"Oh," she breathed into his ear. "You're right."

He let go and stood up as he looked back at her. His eyes followed the bare curves of her body for a moment. "As much as I love you like this, I'm not the only one that's got to get dressed."

She stood up and brushed past him, her tail smacking his leg as she went. "I know, I know." She glanced back at him. "We're not good at sharing."

He smiled and walked over to his dresser beside her as she got dressed. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he opened the top drawer and pulled out a box. He took it with him and sat back down on the bed. She put on the necklace he'd made for her, then turned back to him. "What's that?"

He glanced up at her, then opened the box. He took something out, then set the box to the side.

"C'mere."

She approached and stood in front of him. He took her hand and covered it with his, and she felt metal slide against her skin. He pulled his hand back slightly, and held on just to her fingers.

"We may not be officially announcing it till later," Nick said. "But it'd feel wrong not to do this."

She looked down at the rose gold ring that now twinkled on her finger. It held two small opals: one a deep, cloudy purple, the other a starry green. "Did you make these?"

Nick slipped on its partner ring that bore the same stones. "No. These were my parent's."

"I thought..."

"They left them behind the last time they came home," Nick said. "Originally I thought I'd pass them on to Ashley, but..." He smiled as he stood up. "You've given me a reason to use them myself."

She kissed him and held onto him. "I love you."

He returned the embrace. "I love you too." He pulled back. "We gotta go see the Jorhens before anything else."

"Probably for the best..." Sera said. She looked up at him. "We?"

"You said you wanted it all," Nick said. "That means meeting with other Noble families, when you're available, is a part of it."

"Why would I not be available?" She asked as they left their room.

"A variety of possible situations," Nick said. "But, aren't you going to finish your education?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I can't afford Marcellus anymore."

"Didn't you get a scholarship?" Nick asked.

She shook her head. "That only paid for my first year. Being president meant I didn't have to pay, but the money I made from it I put into a joint account with my father to help pay rent, and stuff. I'd still get a discount because dad works there, but that only puts it down to average cost."

"If you want," Nick said. "We can help."

She frowned. "I don't know..."

"It could be an idea to talk to Helia and get some pointers on good courses to take, and focus on those instead of completing the whole thing. I mean, considering what we're stepping into, a certificate from Marcellus isn't going to be necessary for upward mobility."

She laughed. "I suppose not... Why Helia?"

"She fulfilled matriarch duties after Cyrus' wife passed away," Nick said. "Well, not immediately, but she took it on, nonetheless."

"Then she's definitely someone I should be talking to," Sera said. She looked down at the ring on her hand, admiring it. "How did you size it to me?"

"I measured your finger while you slept," Nick said. She glanced at him. "But I ended up not needing it. I tried one on the other day, and it changed size to fit."

"Wait, so did you actually size my finger, or..?"

He took her hand in his and winked as he gently rubbed her ring finger. "Who knows?"

She frowned, and they reached the guest area and Nick knocked on the Jorhens' door. Gafael opened.

"Good morning, Nick!"

Nick smiled. "Good morning." He looked past him to see they were packing. "Leaving?"

Gafael looked back and nodded. "We are. We need to get back to our respective jobs." He returned his gaze to Nick. "I want to say that we deeply appreciated you having us come out here. I think I now know the kind of man you are."

Outwardly, Nick was patient, but Sera could feel his pulse quicken through his hand.

"And I'm sure you knew the outcome of all this right from the start, but I'll say it anyways: it would be my pleasure to work with the Bren family."

He held out his hand, and Nick shook it. "I'm glad to hear it. Send me a text when you're all ready to leave, and I'll take you home."

"Will do," Gafael said. "We're going to be going into town before we leave, though."

"What'll you be getting?" Sera asked.

"A family portrait," Gafael said. "My wife ran into Ulwar Nyressa while in town, and he offered to do a portrait of us at the Fire Keeper Inn."

"That's not an opportunity you want to pass up," Nick said with a smile. "In any case, I'll visit after Christmas to plan out programming, communications of weather data, and the construction of a broadcasting station here."

"Sounds like a plan," Gafael said. He started to turn back into the room, but paused. "And Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for helping me finally put my sons to rest."

Nick gave a single nod. "Of course."

Gafael closed the door, and Nick and Sera walked away.

"Couple of questions," Sera said.

"Shoot," Nick replied.

"Ulwar Nyressa. Isn't he some famous artist?"

"I thought the name sounded familiar," Nick said. "I guess he was visiting or something. I should probably track him down before he disappears."

"So you didn't set up Penny and him meeting?"

Nick shook his head. "As far as I'm aware, I've never met the man myself."

"Okay," she said. "And putting his sons to rest?"

"They died in combat saving squad mates and civilians," Nick said. "The Jorhens haven't had any closure because the squad mates are from Sunspeak, so they were hard for the Jorhens to find, and they're commoners, so they had no real means to get in touch with a noble family like the Jorhens. I connected them."

"You've been busy," Sera muttered.

Nick let out a breath. "You've no idea. But you're going to soon."

"So, Brakkens or invitations first?" Sera asked.

"Invitations, then Brakkens," Nick said. He took out his phone and they stopped walking. He put it on speaker.

"Good morning, Nick," Magnus said. "It has been a while."

"It has," Nick said. "And I'm sorry about that. Things have been incredibly crazy lately."

"It was not an accusation, merely an observation," Magnus replied. "Is there something you'd like to discuss?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "I-" he paused. "Sera and I were wondering if you wanted to come out to Sunspeak for the rest of the month."

"I would be honored," Magnus said. "However, I spend every Christmas with my family."

"Why not bring them?" Nick asked.

Magnus was silent for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"I am," Nick said. "There's a whole week for Christmas, and plenty to do between then and now, including swimming in a hot spring."

"I will teleport my family there with me as soon as we are ready.”

"Uh, shouldn't you talk about it with your parents?" Nick asked.

"They will accept," Magnus said.

"Okay," Nick replied hesitantly. "See you soon, then."

He hung up, and Sera spoke. "That almost sounded like he forgot to add an 'or else' afterwards."

"Yeah," Nick said. "I think he may be excited."

"Terraia's need some level of frequent interaction with their master," Sera said. "Else they feel purposeless. That's actually the leading cause in terraia depression."

"Heard that from your father?" Nick asked.

She nodded. "He's always looking into stuff like that. I mean, it is his job, but it's also his passion, so he likes to talk about it. Also, if he can teleport, then he’s got a sub-harbinger stone now?”

Nick nodded. “He’s in training under Leander now.”

“Okay,” Sera said. “Anyways, who's next?"

He made the call. "Hey Nayeli, I've got you on speaker with Sera."

"Oh, hey guys! How's the winter vacation going?"

"It's been pretty hectic, actually," Sera said. "But, there's still plenty of fun left, and we wanted to invite you and your family to come out for the rest of the month."

"And my family?" Nayeli asked. "Can't I just come alone..?"

"Jolie and Zain have both helped me out a fair bit," Nick said. He glanced at Sera. "And by extension Sera. I'd like to repay them in some way."

"I'll ask, one sec." The line went silent for a bit, and then she came back. "Mom and dad can't come out right away, but they'd love to be there for Christmas week itself."

"And what about you?" Nick asked.

"Oh, I'm game," Nayeli replied. "How do I get out there, though?"

"Go to Magnus," Nick said. "He'll be able to get you here."

"You called him first?" Nayeli asked, feigning hurt. "I thought we were friends first, and I never tried to kill you!"

"'M' comes before 'N' in the alphabet," Nick said.

"Fine, I'll forgive you two this time, but next time..."

"See you soon, Nayeli," Sera said. "And you'll want to let Magnus know he's bringing you, or else he may leave without you. And bring a swimsuit."

"Yeah, yeah," Nayeli said. "See you soon."

She hung up, and Nick went ahead and called Wyn, who happily agreed to come out with his girlfriend and child.

"Is Leander still in Sunspeak?" Nick asked Sera.

She shrugged. "I don't know... But I'm sure he'd be able to come back easily enough, considering."

"Right," Nick muttered. "Then I think..."

"Isaac's family," Sera said.

"I have something else in mind for them," Nick said. "Could you call Isaac and have him meet us on the corner of Firth and Copenhagen?"

She blinked, and he called Fernanda. She took out her own phone and called Isaac.

Fernanda answered Nick’s call. "Hey Nick! It's good to hear from you."

"Hey," Nick replied. "Is Saul with you?"

"He is," Fernanda said. "One sec."

"Hey Nick," Saul said.

"Hey," Nick replied. "So, Christmas week is coming up here in Sunspeak, and Sera and I wanted to invite you guys out. You could even come up now."

"Really?" Fernanda asked. "Are you sure?"

"I am."

"Oh, well, what do you think, honey?" Fernanda asked.

"Sounds like a blast," Saul replied. "But how would we get there?"

"Let me worry about that," Nick said. "Just let me know when you're ready to go."

"Alrighty," Saul replied. "See you soon!"

Nick hung up and looked to Sera.

"He's there."

Nick took her hand and they teleported to the town. Isaac looked up at them as they approached.

"I'm sorry, Nick," Isaac said.

Nick paused. "For what?"

"For looking into the runes without talking to you first," he said. "I hadn't initially realized how personal it likely was, and I got caught up in my own desire to pay you back for helping with my weather detection system, and it put you into a tough spot with the Jorhens."

Nick took in a breath. "That's alright. You just wanted to help, and it's done now. But that's not why I wanted to meet you here."

Isaac tilted his head, and his tail flicked to the side. "It's not?"

"Nope," Nick said. He gestured for Isaac to follow him, and they walked down the street until they came upon a nice two story house. "What do you think?"

Isaac blinked. "I don't know much about houses."

"Well," Nick began. "It's got five bedrooms, two bathrooms and an ensuite, full kitchen, living room, and a large basement. It's close enough to the town center that it's a reasonable walk, but far enough away that you don't have to deal with the noise."

He nodded. "It's a nice place."

"It is," Nick affirmed. "And I thought, and tell me if I'm wrong, that you may want to live somewhere other than your lab."

"It's convenient for me to be at my lab," Isaac said.

"Very true," Nick said. "But I think a little walk is worth having space for your mom and siblings to come live with you."

Isaac blinked, going still. "I-We couldn't-"

"Would you not benefit from having them here, instead of far away?" Nick asked.

"Well sure, but we can't afford a place like this," Isaac said.

"It is a necessary business expense to ensure you have the best possible environment to work in," Nick said. "Considering your relationship with the Bren family."

"You've already done so much," Isaac said. "I can't accept-"

Sera put a hand on his shoulder. "Isaac, as Nick said, this is part of making sure you can do your work to the best of your abilities."

"I know, but-"

"Is where Marion and the kids are a better place than Sunspeak?"

He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. "Nobody helps each other, or even talks to each other. It's a small house."

"And since aunt Marion can't work, Leander has to try to pay for everything, right?"

He nodded. "I wanted to use the money I made off of the weather system to buy a better house in a better place."

"Well, here's your chance," Sera said. "A better house, in a better place."

"But..." He fidgeted.

"Isaac." He looked up at Nick. "You've already earned this. The Jorhens have accepted our offer. I'm going to sit down with Gafael in January to hammer out the details, and I want you there for that."

Isaac stared at him. "But I'm not a noble."

"Yet Gafael wanted to meet you, nonetheless," Nick said. "So. Please stop trying to find ways to reject what I'm offering." He took the house key out of his pocket and held it out to Isaac. "Because I really, really don't like it when people refuse my help."

Isaac looked to Sera, who nodded knowingly. He looked back up at Nick, then took the key. "Then I accept. Thank you very much, Nick. I will do everything I can to repay you."

"Just keep doing what you're doing," Nick said. "Research and develop new technologies, make new discoveries, and don't let that massive brain of yours go to waste."

"I won't," Isaac said. "I... I should call mom."

"You do that," Nick said. He turned and started to walk away with Sera, and they heard Isaac start to talk.

"Mom! It worked out! Yeah, the system’s going to be used, and the Jorhens are going to broadcast it. I know, and that's not all. I have a big surprise for you."

"You really are Saint Nick," Sera said as she hugged his arm.

"I'm not a saint," he replied. "I'm just taking care of my people."

"That was more than just 'taking care of'," Sera said. "The two girls could share a room, as could Isaac and his brother. Not to mention everything else I've been hearing about."

"I wonder how many saints did what they did to make up for their past?" Nick asked absently.

She paused. "Nick?"

"I know, we've had this conversation before," he replied. "It was just a thought that popped into my head, nothing more."

"Okay," she said. "As long as that's all it is."

Nick nodded. "Say, when everybody gets here, how about we go swimming?"

"There's an indoor pool?" She asked.

"The spring that feeds the North River is hot," Nick said. "We can swim in it year round."

"Oh," she replied. "I forgot my swimsuit at home."

"I grabbed it and my shorts when I went to pick up your parents," Nick said.

"I... Don't know how to swim."

"I remember," Nick said. "And I said I'd teach you."

"In front of everybody?" She asked.

"It's not like everyone will be watching us," Nick replied. "And I wouldn't be surprised if some of the other adults don't know either. I get the feeling Saul may not know..."

Sera looked off to the side. "Alright."

He kissed her cheek. "It'll be fun."