Title: Aftershocks 

Author/pseudonym: Fluffy Rabbit

Fandom: Sentinel, Simon/OFC, Jim/Blair

Rating: NC17 in some places

Status: New WIP

Archive: To WWOMB

Series/Sequel: fourth in series sequel to Secrets, Revenge and Burying the Past

Other websites: No

Disclaimers: The Sentinel guys belong to Petfly, the rest are mine.

Notes: Unbetaed, anyone willing please let me know.

Summary:

Aftershocks
by Fluffy Rabbit

Two weeks out of the hospital and she was acting as if she was back to normal, Simon thought, watching Saffron struggling to push the Hoover around the living room. Perhaps they should have stayed with Bill and Sally until she was stronger, but she'd insisted that they get a home of their own so that life could get back to normal as soon as possible for Daryl's sake. What had surprised him had been the speed with which that they'd not only been able to buy their new home but have it redecorated to eradicate every trace of pink in it. Even the pink flowers in the garden had been replaced with blues one. That saying about money talking was certainly true in their case.

He couldn't let her keep trying to do everything by herself thought. Both he and Daryl had offered to take over the housework until she was stronger, an offer which had met with strong resistance from Saffron. She saw it as her job to look after them not the other way around. If he didn't do something and soon she was going to end up back in hospital. The three weeks that she'd been in there had been difficult enough for him to deal with without him having to go through a repeat performance. Although, Bill hadn't been quite as bad as he'd expected him to be. No matter what he personally thought about the man he was trying to do the best that he could for his children. Still, it was probably thirty years too late in the cases of Jim and Stephen, still you had to give credit to the man for trying to be the father he had never been before.

"That's enough for today." he growled.

"I haven't finished yet." Saffron protested.

"You have now," he replied, unplugging the hoover, "You're supposed to be resting."

"But..." she began.

"No buts," he said firmly, "Go to bed." He knew that as soon as her head hit the pillow that would be it for the next couple of hours. She wasn't sleeping too well at night, she had nightmares about being blown up.

"I'm not tired and someone has to do it." Saffron said.

"Then we'll get someone in because I'm not just going to stand by and watch you make yourself ill." This was the one time when she was going to listen to him whether she liked it or not.

"Get someone in?" she asked.

"Just for a while," he assured her, "until you're stronger." A couple of weeks, maybe a month, that was all he was suggesting. Hell, he'd even pay for the help if she didn't want to.

"But it's my job to take care of you and Daryl." Saffron said.

"And it's my job to look after you." he said. "so let me do that."

"Okay, but I have to approve of them." she said reluctantly.

"Do I have to go to bed alone?" she asked.

"No." he replied. They were sharing a bed but that was all. She wasn't in any condition to do anything other than kiss and touch Him. At times he'd had to admit that he'd been tempted to go beyond that. Even with her cropped hair and still fading bruises she was still beautiful.

"Good, because I could really use a cuddle." she smiled.

"I still say that she shouldn't have discharged herself early." William said as he helped Sally in the kitchen.

"The doctors said that she would be fine," she reminded him, "you know that she's much happier being at home with Simon." As soon as she'd gotten out of hospital and back with Simon, Saffron's health had really started to improve. Of course, William didn't see it that way. Almost losing her because of what his ex wife had done had really shaken him up. Some people might think that he was uncaring but when it came to his children he would do everything that he could to protect them.

"Of course, I do," he replied, "I just think that she's trying to take too much on too soon. If she's not careful she's going to end up back in hospital."

"Simon won't let that happen," Sally assured him, "if she listens to anyone it will be him."

"I don't know where she gets her stubbornness from," he said.

"Don't you?" she asked. If there was one quality that William and his children shared it was stubbornness. A quality that had caused a lot of problems between him and his sons over the years.

"She doesn't get it from me." he protested.

"William, they all get it from you," Sally smiled, "in varying degrees."

"I suppose that they do." he admitted somewhat reluctantly.

"It wasn't meant as an insult," she said, "Saffron wouldn't still be here if it wasn't for it."

"She wouldn't would she." he smiled.

"No, she wouldn't," she said, "you have three children that you can be very proud of. How many of your friends at the country club can say the same."

"We have," he said correcting her, "and not many. I also have two wonderful sons in laws and a very well mannered grandson."

"Perhaps you could tell them that," Sally suggested, "because I'm sure that they'd like to know."

"I think I will," William said, "I'd like Simon to know that I regard his son as my grandson even if he and Saffron aren't married."

"William, don't start another argument," she warned him, "they'll make their minds up about that when they're ready to." Marriage wasn't something that be entered into lightly in her opinion and Saffron needed time to recover from what had happened to her before she started making any wedding plans.

When his dad had said that things would be okay after their house had blown up he hadn't thought that they would be this okay, Daryl thought entering the house. He was still having trouble getting used to the fact that he lived in a mansion now. His dad and Saffron had done their best to replace everything that he'd lost, but there were just some things that couldn't be replaced and Saffron had lost not only everything of hers but of her family's as well.

Some of the kids at school were pretty envious of the fact that he now lived in such a big house and had such a cool step mom to be who would buy him anything that he wanted. She would as well if his dad didn't stop her. But to get where they were now she'd nearly died. Seeing his dad that scared was something that he never wanted to see again, and things just weren't worth someone's life. He knew that it was going to be a long time before Saffron was really well again. He did what he could to try and help out around the house but it was pretty big. Besides, Saffron liked doing to by herself. Something that his dad kept trying to talk her out of doing because she was going to make herself sick. He really didn't want her getting sick because his dad had really gotten stressed out while she'd been in hospital. Probably because his dad had not only been worried about her but because there had been the house to sort out including al the stuff in his room. Now he had the latest computer and games consoles and so many games to play that he could have opened a shop with them. His allowance had more than doubled and his clothes all had designer labels on. The only house rule that Saffron had set was that nothing pink was ever to be brought into the house. He'd thought that it was a pretty dumb rule until his dad had explained why Saffron didn't like the colour, then it hadn't seemed so dumb after all.

This was what she really needed to make her feel better, Saffron thought, snuggling up against Simon. Maybe she had been overdoing things recently, not that she was going to admit it to anyone. Instead, she'd go ahead with Simon's idea of getting someone in to do the cleaning, but only for a week or two because by then she'd be able to manage things on her own again. She'd still do all the cooking though and anything to do with Daryl because she wasn't going to hand over responsibility for her family to anyone.

"Daryl's home." she said.

"You should be asleep," Simon said.

"I'm not tired," she replied, "I told you that I wasn't." running a hand down over his chest.

"Saffron..." he began.

"What?" she asked.

"You just said that Daryl's home." he reminded her.

"I don't think that he's going to walk in on us again." she said. She'd be able to hear him if he came upstairs. Besides, Daryl knew to knock before entering either of their bedrooms.

"I just don't feel conformable about him seeing us like this," Simon said.

"Would you feel any different if we were married?" Saffron asked. She really didn't understand why he was so worried about what Daryl thought. Daryl knew that they were going to get married eventually and that they'd made a commitment to each other even though it wasn't a formal one.

"Of course I would," he replied, "I just don't want him thinking that this is the right way to do things."

"He knows that," she said, "if it would make you feel better we could say that we're engaged."

"Engaged," he said, "you know that Bill would expect me to ask his permission first."

"He's not the one you're going to be marrying," she said, "or sleeping with, having children with."

"Children?" he said.

"I know that you'd like more." she said. She remembered the way that he'd looked at the baby store window. She also knew that Simon wasn't the sort of man who would want to have children out of wedlock, she wouldn't want to have them that way either. Although she wouldn't mind practising a lot beforehand.

"Watson, you need a ring and..." he began.

"Use the credit card I gave you," she said, "That's why I gave you it." She was going to have to do something about his reluctance to spend her money on himself. Although, she knew that losing his house had put him in a difficult position financially he didn't seem to understand that everything she had was his as well.

"It's your money." Simon said.

"It's both of ours," she said, "I want you to spend it. Ellise's books are selling really well."

"You already pay for everything," he said, "I do still have some pride left."

"I know you do," she assured him, "but I wouldn't hesitate to spend your money if things were the other way around." As a sentinel it was her duty to take care of her guide even though he didn't exactly make it easy for her to do that.

"Yes you would," he said, "and you would insist on paying me back."

"So you can pay me back if you feel like it," she smiled, "and it doesn't have to be an expensive one."

"I can just imagine what Bill would say about that," Simon frowned, "that I couldn't afford to provide for you properly, and it's true, I can't."

"Simon, you know that money's not important to me," she said, "sure it can buy nice things but not the really important things in life."

This was a much more suitable house for her William thought walking up the path of Saffron's house. It reflected her position in society not that his daughter seemed to care a great deal about such things. Still, it was her life and as long as she was happy he'd do his best to try and not interfere with it, something that wasn't easy for him to do. Besides, that wasn't why he was here. There'd been a lot of hostility between him and Simon after Saffron had gotten hurt, although things had settled down while Simon and his son had been staying with him and Sally. During those three weeks he'd gotten to know the man his daughter was involved with a lot better. Simon was a decent man and he knew from some of the horror stories he'd heard at the country club that there weren't that many out there.

Sally had been right, he had three children that he could be proud of. Apart from Saffron's recent difficulties they were all doing very well and more importantly they were happy and in contact with him. Some of his friends didn't talk to their children because of some mistake that they'd made. He knew that he might not have the best relationship possible with his children but they were on speaking terms and he was trying to make up for all the things that he'd done in the past.

After knocking on the door he waited for a reply from inside.

"I'm coming," Daryl said, his mouth half full with sandwich. It was probably Detective Ellison and Blair, he thought heading towards the front door. Since moving into the house they'd been pretty regular visitors. Not many of his dad's friends had dropped by though. He supposed that it was because they didn't think that they would fit in now that his dad was living in such a big house. His dad was still the same person he'd always been though.

"Mr. Ellison," he said after opening the door. Something had to be wrong for Saffron's dad to be here.

"Daryl," William smiled, "I thought I'd drop by and see how you were doing."

"Fine, come in," he said, stepping to one side to let him into the house. "I think Saffron's resting." He assumed that she was because neither her or his dad had been downstairs when he'd got home from school.

"That's all right," William assured him, "she needs to rest."

"My dad makes her," Daryl said, "because she doesn't like to." Not unless his dad was with her. He knew that they were sleeping together even if his dad did go into what was supposed to be his room every night.

"She can be very stubborn when she wants to be," William smiled, "Sally says that she gets it off me."

"I can go get my dad..." he began.

"That's all right, there's no need to disturb him." William said.

"Would you like something to drink?" Daryl asked. His dad would never forgive him if he forgot his manners.

"A cup of coffee would be nice, but only if it's not trouble." William replied.

"It's not," he said, "there's always coffee, my dad can't function without it." he added leading the way to the kitchen.

"So how do you like living here?" William asked.

"It's great," he replied, "my dad and Saffron have bought me some really cool stuff."

"How are you and Saffron getting on?" William said.

"Great, when her and my dad get married I'm going to have the coolest step mom ever." Daryl grinned.

"Have they said when that might be?" William asked.

"I don't think that it's going to be for a while." he admitted, "Saffron's got to get better first." Which could be a long time if she didn't start taking better care of herself and start listening to his dad when he told her to sit down and rest.

"She was very lucky," William said, "something that we should all be very grateful for."

"Real lucky," Daryl said. His dad would have been totally shattered if Saffron hadn't made it. Even he could tell that his dad really loved her and with any luck one day he'd meet someone just like Saffron.

"I was even luckier the day that you and your father become a part of my family." William smiled, "I want you to know that if there's anything that I can do for you, you shouldn't be afraid to ask."

Maybe he was letting his pride get in the way, Simon thought, carefully easing a half asleep Saffron off him, but he didn't want people thinking that he was taking advantage of her. Especially while she was still recovering. Still, would it really be so wrong to use what she'd given him to buy her something? But that wasn't the sort of example that he wanted to set Daryl though. His son had to know that it you wanted something then you had to work for it. Still, they would be married one day and then what was hers would also be his. He had to admit that he was having a few problems concerning money not that he'd let Saffron know that. As soon as the insurance company settled his claim for his house then things would be fine. Then he could start paying her back for everything that she'd done for him and Daryl. Getting her to take money wasn't going to be easy though. Saffron took her job of taking care of them very seriously, a little too seriously at times and she'd developed a habit of spoiling Daryl every chance that she got. She didn't seem to understand that she didn't need to buy his affection because Daryl liked her for who she was.

He was going to get her a ring, if only because it was traditional that he did and he wanted to make a romantic gesture, even if he really couldn't afford to. After everything that had happened to her Saffron deserved to have something nice happen to her for a change. She'd been right about children, he would like to have another child. It was something that he and Joan had discussed while they'd still been married but she had been totally against the idea. Saffron had brought the subject up first though, after all it was only natural that someone as young as her would want to have children. He wasn't exactly over the hill but then again he wasn't just starting out in life either. He also had Daryl to consider, he wasn't sure how his son would react to there being an addition to the family. It was something that they were going to have to talk about though.

"Hi dad," Daryl grinned when his father entered the kitchen, "Mr. Ellison just dropped by to see how Saffron was doing."

"She's sleeping," Simon said, "So try to keep your music down while she is."

"I wasn't going to play any." Daryl replied.

"Daryl and I have been having a nice talk," William said, "he's certainly a credit to you." Before meeting Daryl his impression of teenagers hadn't exactly been a favourable one. But after talking to Daryl and spending time with him that had changed considerably. Daryl was the sort of young man who would go far in life because he had both the manners and the brains to get there. He wasn't averse to dropping Daryl's name in the right places once he'd decided what he wanted to do career wise. He'd helped Stephen's career even though they hadn't been on speaking terms at the time and he would have done the same for Jimmy if he'd gone into business. Saffron on the other hand had gotten where she was by her own hard work and talent. Of course, her grandfather's money had been there for her to fall back on but he could still say that he was proud of her. Even though some people at his country club were more than a little shocked that an Ellison had written those sort of books. She was a real writer now though, with a very respectable book coming out soon that nobody would be embarrassed at leaving out on their coffee table.

"I'm very proud of him," Simon said.

"I suppose that Saffron's been overdoing it again," William said, "Sally says that she gets her stubbornness from me."

"We're going to be hiring someone to do the cleaning." Simon said.

"Cool, we're getting servants." Daryl grinned.

"It's to help Saffron and only until she's better." Simon said.

"You want to make sure that whoever you hire fits in with your family, not the other way around," William said, "and check their references."

"I intend to," Simon replied, "and Saffron is going to have the final say."

"That's how it should be," he smiled, "she's going to have more contact with them than you are."

"What you mean is that this is her house." Simon growled.

"No, it's not," he said, "Saffron's going to be home most of the time. A good housekeeper should keep out of her way unless she's needed."

"Or he," Daryl said, "one of my friends parents have this guy who does it all for them."

"There were only women doing the job when I found Sally," William said, "still times have changed," His family was proof of that.

Simon was downstairs and her dad was here, Saffron thought when she heard voices in the house. Once Simon got up she always woke up. Besides, she didn't like sleeping because she had nightmares about being blown up. Maybe she would go and talk to H's wife if they carried on for much longer. Then again she supposed that it was only natural that she was having nightmares after what had happened to her. What she really needed to do was start writing again, put everything down on paper and see where it went. Even if it didn't turn out to be her next book she'd at least feel better for having done something about the way she felt. Hopefully, Gabby would call soon and say that he'd sold her latest book. Still, Ellise's books were selling very well and it wasn't as if she needed the money. Simon would probably have something to say about her starting writing again.

Being sick was really hard for her to deal with. She wasn't used to struggling when she tried to do even the simplest thing. At times she felt as if she was letting both Simon and Daryl down because she wasn't able to look after them the way she should. The least that she could do today was cook them a nice supper even though it would take her a lot longer than normal. Simon was right though, they did need someone to come in and help with the cleaning. She wasn't going to have time to do everything when she was writing again or when her and Simon were married and had children. Which she hoped wouldn't be too far off in the future. Maybe that was something that she could start planning for now.

"I thought that you were still asleep," Simon said when Saffron entered the kitchen.

"I woke up," she replied.

"You've just missed Bill." he said.

"Did I," Saffron smiled, "that's a pity."

"You're not going to start cleaning again are you," he asked. Because if she was then he was going to stop her.

"No," she assured him, "I thought I'd go shopping. We could use a few things and some fresh air would probably do me good."

"Are you sure that you're feeling up to it?" Simon asked. She didn't look very well and if she went out then he wasn't going to stop worrying about her until she got home.

"I'm sure," Saffron replied, "I'll get a cab there and back so that you don't have to worry about me driving."

"How about you have some coffee then we'll talk about you going out." he said. If he had to he'd go with her. That would be a lot better than letting her go by herself. William hadn't said it but the interference was there that he wasn't taking care of her. He'd like William try to get her to do something that she didn't want to.

"Coffee's good, but I'll get it," she said, "So why don't you sit down."

"I can get coffee you know." Simon growled.

"I love it when you do that." she smiled.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Growl," she replied, "it always sends a shiver down my spine."

"You're not changing the subject," Simon said, "We're still going to talk about you going out."

"I'm not trying to change it," Saffron protested, "but I could really use some fresh air and it's been a while since I've seen any of the guys from the station."

"They're all fine," he assured her, "if you want to see them they know that they can come over anytime they want." Although, Jim and Blair had been the only ones to visit so far. He supposed that the others were staying away because Saffron was still recovering.

"We could have a party," she suggested, "there's enough room." she added pouring two mugs of coffee.

"First we need to get a housekeeper," Simon said, "then we can have a party." It had to be that way around otherwise he'd find her organising everything.

He supposed that he should find this sort of thing really gross, Daryl thought entering the kitchen to find Saffron sitting on his dad's lap, but he didn't. It was like her and his dad were supposed to be together and it wasn't as if they were always doing stuff like this in front of him.

"Before you ask I'm not asleep." Saffron said, "and I hope that I'm not setting a bad example."

"You couldn't even if you tried," he replied. Compared to a lot of his friends parents Saffron was a saint. In fact, she reminded him of the moms you saw in really old films. She stayed at home to take care of them. He knew that if he ever got sick at school she'd rush straight there to pick him up and take him to the doctors. She didn't even drink a great deal, but he supposed that was because she was still on painkillers.

"I told you," she smiled, "Your dad thinks that I am by doing this."

"Actually I think it's pretty cool." Daryl grinned.

"So how was school?" Simon asked.

"Okay, I have to write a report on what my mom does for a living," he said, "Or whatever the second parent is. My teacher said that it would be okay if I wrote about Saffron."

"Well, at the moment I'm not doing a great deal because your dad won't let me," Saffron said, "but I'm sure that I can come up with something for your report."

"You are allowed to do things as long as you don't overdo it." Simon said.

"Great, when can we start?" Daryl asked. He was going to hand in the best report paper ever. Nobody else had a famous step mom to be so anything that he wrote was bound to be great.

"How about in the morning," Saffron suggested, "but I should warn you that being a writer isn't all that interesting to watch."

"You have to do research, right?" he asked.

"Sometimes," she replied, "but it tends to be a pretty lonely occupation. I suppose that we could always go out to the lake and you could see my other business at work."

"I don't think that you're up to driving all the way out there just yet." Simon said, "why don't you wait until my next day off and we'll all go out there."

"I could drive." Daryl suggested.

"You don't even have a learners permit." Simon reminded him.

"It's okay, I'll ask Stephen to take us," Saffron said, "I think he's taken the me nearly dying thing really hard."

"He's not the only one." Simon admitted.

She was his little sister, Stephen thought, pouring himself another large drink so why couldn't he bring himself to go and see how she was doing? Maybe because the last time that he'd seen her he'd been afraid that she would die and that somehow it would all be his fault. After all he did have that woman's blood in him. So did Jimmy, but at least Jimmy had something in common with Saffron whereas he had nothing. Dad would say that he was a coward and he was probably right. How could he look her in the eye and ask how she was doing after what had happened to her. She'd lost everything that she'd owned. Her and Simon had had to start from scratch. although from what he'd heard they were doing okay now.

Perhaps he should go and see her. After all, she was bound to be wondering why he hadn't been to see her before now. He could afford to take some time off work to spend with her. He knew that Simon had had to go back to work because his job didn't really allow him to take extended time off. If he wanted to he could quit tomorrow and never have to worry about money again. The same could be said for Saffron but he doubted that she would give up writing for anything. He had to admit that he was very proud of her and she was the only creative one out of the three of them. That was something that she obviously didn't get from their father.

For some reason since her near brush with death she'd found shopping very relaxing, Saffron thought, as Simon drove them to the mall. Or maybe it was the fact that she'd had to do so much of it recently that she'd gotten used to it. She really didn't know what she would have done without Blair's help. He'd done a lot of the running around and organising for her. She certainly owed him a huge debt for everything that he'd done for her recently.

"Simon, does Jim have any time off left?"

"He always has vacation time left," he replied, "why?"

"I was just thinking that he and Blair could use a vacation." she said.

"Saffron, if they want a vacation I'm sure that they can afford to pay for one." he said.

"It was just an idea." she protested. Not that it would stop her from buying the both of them something nice.

"Make sure that's all it is." he growled.

"Yea Simon." she said. She had the money and she was entitled to spend it on her family if she wanted to. Still, when her and Simon got married she's spend as much as she liked on that and on any children they had. More importantly their children would have the one thing that she'd never had, a mother who would always love them and do everything in her power to protect them from all the bad things in the world. She more than most people knew just how bad a place the world could be, or rather how some people in it could act when they were at their worst.

"And Daryl doesn't need anymore video games," he said, "he's already got more than he's ever going to play with."

"Okay, no more games," she said, "but we're going to have to get some stuff for the picnic at the weekend."

"Are you sure that you're up to going?" Simon asked, "there are going to be a lot of people there."

"Simon, I'm really looking forward to going," she said, "my dad and Stephen are going. I've never been to a picnic with my whole family before."

"We'll go, but I don't want you spending the next couple of days in the kitchen." he said.

"I'm not going to break," she said, "you don't have to keep trying to protect me, I'm more than capable of doing it myself." He had absolutely no idea of how stifling it was being hovered over all the time.

"Watson, you almost died," he said, "I nearly lost you. Do you have any idea how that felt?"

"You didn't though, and nothing like that is ever going to happen again," she said. The next time that she came across a bomb she'd run as fast as she could away from it.

"Dad!" Jim said in surprise when he opened the loft door to find his father standing on the other side of it. "Saffron?" He could smell Simon's cigars on him.

"She was sleeping when I left her and Simon's," William assured him, "So is it all right if I come in?"

"Sure," he replied, stepping to one side to let his father in. There had to be something wrong for his dad to pay him a visit, but if it wasn't Saffron, what was it?

"How's Blair?" William asked, "the two of you should come to dinner soon."

"He's fine," Jim replied, "he's not her right now though. Things are pretty busy at Rainier at the moment."

"Have you seen anything of Stephen recently?" William asked, "you know that he moved back into his apartment, don't you."

"I haven't seen anything since just before Saffron got out of hospital," he said. Which was more that a little strange considering how concerned he had been about her.

"Jimmy, I'm worried about him," William said, "according to his secretary he hasn't been to work in the past fortnight."

"Dad, he might have decided to take a vacation," he said, "it's been pretty rough on all of use recently."

"I've been to his apartment twice, I know he's in there but he's not answering the door." William said.

"Dad, what do you expect me to do?" Jim asked.

"Go over there and talk to him," William replied, "he'll listen to you."

"The chances are that he won't open the door to me either." he said. He'd try but if Stephen wanted to be left alone then there wasn't a great deal that he could do about it. Getting people to open up was more Blair's forte than his.

"Just try Jimmy," William said, "I don't want things going back to the way they were before we got Saffron back."

"They won't," he assured him. Not if he had anything to do with it. They'd all gotten along better since Saffron had rejoined the family. He certainly got on with her a lot better now than he had ever done when they'd been kids.

He hated his job, Stephen thought, pouring himself yet another drink. Every day it was the same, he went in to work only to find that every idea he'd put forward had been rejected. Recently there'd even been a suggestion that he had lost his edge when it came to business. Maybe he had but he had other more important things on his mind like Saffron being hurt. That happening had taught him one thing and that was life was too short to devote all your time to work. Especially, if you didn't enjoy what you were doing for a living.

Both Jimmy and Saffron had turned their backs on family tradition and were a lot happier for it. Perhaps it was time that he stopped trying to be the perfect son and did what he wanted for a change. His dad wasn't going to be too happy about that but it was time that he started to put himself first rather than the family name. After all, the Ellison name didn't make him any happier than anyone else's surname made them. The last time that he'd felt even remotely happy was when he'd spent time with Saffron at the track. He had to admit that she would probably be disappointed with him if she could see him right now. She wouldn't let something like this get her down. Maybe if he called her she'd tell him how she did it. Because he didn't know how to be a real Ellison even though he'd spent his entire life trying to be one. Unfortunately, he'd learned the hard way that perfection didn't bring happiness. For all his striving to get to the top of the corporate ladder he didn't have anyone to come home to at night, not even a cat.

He had to admit that life would be a lot easier if he let Saffron pay for everything, Simon thought, but that wasn't the way that he'd been raised, neither did he want Daryl thinking that it was all right to let a woman keep you. It was hard enough to instil the right sort of values in his son without him setting a bad example. Not that Saffron seemed to realise that. Perhaps when they had children together she'd see just how difficult it was to be a parent. Still, she had grown up to all intents and purposes without parents and it was a little late for Bill to be the father she'd never had while growing up. Still, he had to give the man credit for trying. He wasn't sure that he would have been able to forgive Bill if he'd been his father.?

So far his family was something that Saffron hadn't asked him about, but he supposed that she would at some point especially when they decided to get married. No doubt Bill would push for them to have a big wedding, which meant that he was going to have to come up with some sort of explanation as to why his side of the church would be empty except for Daryl and his cousin. Saffron would understand about families not getting on, that sometimes even when you said sorry it wasn't enough for them to forgive you. He wasn't ashamed that he came from a small town, in fact he'd gone back there for his high school reunion, but he'd avoided seeing any of the remaining members of his family while he'd been there. Not even Joel knew that any of his family were still alive, and they'd been friends since they'd both joined the force. It was something that Saffron needed to know now rather than later. After everything that had happened to her recently he knew that keeping secrets was not a good thing. He could just imagine what her first reaction was going to be, he would be angry that he had kept something like this from her and then she would want to go after the people who had caused him so much pain in the past.

Maybe once they had someone to do the housework his dad would let him have a party of a few friends to sleep over, Daryl thought, as he washed what few dishes there were. He had to admit that it would be cool to have someone waiting on him hand and foot as long as it didn't mean that Saffron stopped making cookies for him. Still, he supposed that with her planning to start writing again she wouldn't have time to do everything for them like she had been doing. As soon as she'd got home from the hospital she'd started working on making sure that they had a home of their own again. Not that he'd really minded staying at Mr. Ellison's, for an old guy he wasn't too bad. Still, it couldn't have been too easy for him to have had two virtual strangers staying with him.

Tomorrow he'd be spending the whole day with Saffron so they'd have a chance to talk without his dad being there. Sure, they'd talked when he was around but it wasn't the same. There were some things that he just couldn't talk about in front of his dad, like girls. His dad had given him a lot of great advice about them but Saffron was bound to know what they looked for in a guy a lot better than his dad did. After all, she had written all those books so maybe he could use some of it to get a girl to like him. Not that he had anyone in particular in mind. Even if she couldn't help him he'd still be able to get a great paper from the day. Saffron might even write it for him.

"You know Saffron's not the only one who's been through a lot recently," Blair said as Jim pulled up to the exclusive apartment block where Stephen lived.

"I know that Chief," Jim said, "but I don't know what to say to him."

"Maybe you should listen to what he has to say," he said. That was if Stephen would talk to him. For Jim's dad to be so worried there had to be something seriously wrong with Stephen, which was why when Jim had rung him he'd offered to come and help him.

"He hasn't been to see Saffron since he knew that she was going to be okay," Jim said, "he hasn't even called the house to see how she's doing."

"They were getting on before so we just have to work out why he's avoiding her now," Blair said, "we know that Saf hasn't said anything to him so it had to be the way that Stephen sees things that's changed."

"And that means?" Jim asked.

"Stephen's always been the perfect son, followed your dad into big business," Blair replied, "while you and Saf have done your own thing, now the two of you are getting all the attention."

"You mean he feels like he's being pushed out?" Jim said.

"That and the fact that the guy who blew Simon's house looked a lot like him," he said, "he probably thinks that you guys won't want to have anything to do with him now, especially Saf."

"Chief, that's stupid," Jim said, "she doesn't hate him."

"I didn't say that she did," Blair said, "just that Stephen might think that she does."

"So how do we fix it?" Jim asked.

"That's the tough part," Blair admitted, "the three of you are still getting to know each other. Maybe if you all spent some time together that would help." Most families grew up together whereas they'd never had a chance to do that through no fault of their own.

"You know we've never done anything as a family before," Jim said, "now dad's retired we can get him involved."

"Jim, I meant you, Saf and Stephen spending some time together, with your dad there none of you would feel relaxed enough to talk." he said, "besides, he's kind of protective where Saf's concerned at the moment."

"He's not the only one," Jim said, "Simon is as well."

"Which mean that by now she could probably use a break," Blair grinned, "the three of you could go up to her cabin for a couple of days and just hang out."

Simon hadn't said anything about her not buying either her dad or Stephen something, Saffron thought, but if she bought them something it would only be fair to buy Jim something as well or he was going to feel left out. So what could she buy them that Simon wouldn't object to her spending money on. Not that it was his money to begin with; although, it could be if he just accepted it. Besides, without him letting her go into the station there wouldn't have been any new book let alone one that was going to have her real name on the front cover. Gabby, her agent was really confident that it was going to even outsell the most popular Ellise De Sade books by a long way. She could spend whatever she liked because it wasn't as if she was going to run out of money any time soon and she could always write another couple of Ellise books if she had to. she just wished that Simon would let her take care of him the way she wanted to.

Of course, she understood that he had his pride, but did he really have to let it get in the way all the time. It wasn't as if she was asking him to give up his career so that he could stay home all the time. Just that he let her help him out financially until his insurance company finally settled the claim for his house. They were certainly taking their time doing that. Maybe she should try approaching the subject with him when he was relaxed. The question was how to get him so relaxed that he would agree to almost anything. She had a few ideas, all of which could be a lot of fun for the both of them.

"Go away," Stephen shouted when there was a knock on his apartment door. Why couldn't people just leave him alone.

"Stephen, it's Jim, open the door," came a voice from the other side of the door. "We need to talk."

"I don't want to talk to anyone," he shouted, "especially you." It was obvious that Jimmy had only come because their dad had been to see him. Well, he didn't need his big brother interfering in his self pity.

"You either talk to me or I'll go get Saffron," Jim warned him, "if you upset her you're going to have Simon on you."

"I'll open the door." he said reluctantly. Maybe once Jim had said what he had to he'd leave. The last person he wanted to see right now was Saffron. She knew what he'd said about her and Simon being together, that a part of him was like that man who had tried to kill them. She was never going to forgive him even though he'd apologised for what he'd said,. "What do you want?" he added opening the door.

"I thought I'd drop by and see how you're doing," Jim said pushing past Stephen with Blair following him.

"I'm fine." he replied.

"Stephen, don't lie to me," Jim said, "you're not fine, none of us are. Our little sister nearly died."

"I know that," he snapped, "I was at the hospital, I saw what he did to her." It was something that he was never going to forget as long as he lived.

"Don't you think that you should have visited her once she got home?" Jim asked, "or don't you care about her?"

"Of course, I care," he said, "that's why I've stayed away." Seeing her would only serve to remind her of what had happened to her.

"Stephen, you're not responsible for what he did," Jim said, "and she knows you're not. She doesn't hate you, none of us do."

"Jimmy, he looked like me," he said, "we have the same mother."

"So do I," Jim said, "I'm nothing like him and neither are you. We both have too much of dad in us to be. And that woman didn't raise us, Sally did."

"You know what you need, don't you," Blair said, "to get away from Cascade for a while."

"And go where?" Stephen asked. As if a vacation was really going to do him any good.

"Saf's cabin," Blair said, "it's still in one piece."

"That's not funny," Jim said, "but he's right it would give us all a chance to get to know each other better."

"What makes you think that Saffron would want to get to know me?" Stephen asked. Because he wasn't exactly the nicest person to be around at the moment.

"Because we're family," Jim replied, "now the only question is how do we persuade Simon to let her go."

"That's easy," Blair grinned, "you guys are going to make her rest."

"Could I look at some engagement rings?" Simon asked, he was only looking, he had absolutely no intention of buying one but he wanted some sort of idea of what they had ready for when he did want to buy one. Getting engaged was a big step for him to be taking, not that it was one that he didn't want to take. It was just that he was a little old-fashioned about some things like being able to provide for his family and that was something that he was having a little trouble doing at the moment. His insurance company was taking it's time about settling his claim and until it had Saffron was keeping both him and Daryl because just because the house had gone it didn't mean that the mortgage didn't still need to be paid. Then there was his car, he was dreading the repair bill for that.

"Any particular price range?" the sales assistant asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied. He didn't want to spend a small fortune on it but he also knew that he was going to be judged by how much he spent on it. As if the more money he spent the greater his love for Saffron. She wouldn't care about something like that but other people would. Other people's opinions always counted for so much.

Growing up he'd had to fight against other people's opinions just because he'd been born in the wrong part of town. He'd proved everyone wrong though because most of the people who had put him down hadn't done nearly as well as he had. And they certainly didn't have anyone like Saffron in their lives. He'd certainly gotten damned lucky the day that she'd walked into the Bullpen.

"Jimmy, are you sure that you've got the right house," Stephen asked as Jim pulled up in front of Saffron's house.

"Yeah," Jim replied, "she bought it when she got out of hospital."

"Boy, did Simon get a shock the first time he saw it," Blair grinned, "he was expecting the usual suburban house."

"Do you have any idea of how much a place like this costs?" Stephen asked.

"No, and Saffron doesn't like to boast about how much it cost," Jim said. Money wasn't something that she liked to talk about a great deal but there was no denying that it had come in useful for her and Simon recently.

"And this time it's insured." Blair said.

"Dad made sure that was the first thing she did." he said. He also suspected that their dad had encouraged the sale of the house to go through a lot faster than it normally would have.

"Along with having Jim make sure that there wasn't a single trace of pink in the house." Blair said.

"What's wrong with pink?" Stephen asked.

"Saf's mom wore it all the time," Blair replied, "so she has a major phobias about it."

"Fortunately, Simon's never worn a lot of pink." Jim grinned.

"You're kidding." Stephen said.

"Stephen, it's not joke," he said, "the colour terrifies her." It was hardly surprising after what her mother had put her through. Of all three of them Saffron was probably the most resilient, which was why she'd come through everything that had happened to her recently reasonably intact emotionally.

"I didn't know," Stephen said, "there's a lot that I don't know about her."

"That's why I think that the three of us getting away for a few days would be a good idea," Jim said. Blair was right, the three of them spending time together would give them a chance to get to know each other like they should have had a chance to do while growing up.

"And you're sure that Simon's going to let her go off with us?" Stephen asked.

"He will once I've persuaded him that it would be good for her." Blair grinned, "besides he could probably use a break from her fussing over him."

"But she was the one who was nearly killed." Stephen said.

"Saf takes care of him because she wants to," Blair said, "and it's almost impossible to get her to change her mind once it's made up."

"William, I'm sure that Jimmy will be able to talk some sense into Stephen." Sally said.

"I hope so," he said, "Stephen's not been himself recently, I thought that things would get better not worse."

"They will given time," she assured him, "it's something that they have to work through on their own." If William interfered he could end up making things even worse, she thought. Her family had been through a lot recently but they were still together and she wanted them to remain that way.

"Stephen was always closer to his mother than Jimmy was," he said, "I should have told them both about her before, Saffron wouldn't have nearly..."

"What happened wasn't your fault," Sally said, "even if you had told them that woman would still have done what she did." Mrs. Ellison had never cared for the boys like she had. She was the one who had always been there for them, loved them. Then she'd been there for Saffron when she'd needed her.

"I loved that woman at one point," William said, "and all she's ever done is cause this family pain and trouble."

"William, she's gone," she said, "we should be looking forward to the future. One day Saffron is going to marry Simon and then you're going to have grandchildren to worry about."

"I already have one grandson," he said, "and he is a wonderful young man, a credit to our family."

"They went shopping," Daryl said, "but they should be back soon. It's the first time that Saffron's been out of the house since she got out of hospital."

"She is okay, isn't she?" Stephen asked, his voice full of concern.

"Yeah, she just gets tired easily," he replied, "my dad keeps telling her to rest but she doesn't."

"Saf can be pretty stubborn when she wants to be." Blair said.

"She probably gets that off dad," Stephen said. If she was tired she obviously wasn't getting any better. So he really couldn't see Simon letting her go with him and Jim.

"Don't tell dad though." Jim grinned.

"Your dad was here earlier." Daryl said.

"He was?" Stephen said. He hadn't really expected their dad to go and see Saffron now that she was living with Simon again.

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl asked, "all you guys are welcome here."

"I'm here now," he said. Still, he knew that he should have come before now. What sort of brother was he if he couldn't be there for his sister when she needed him.

"You should have been here when she got out of hospital," Daryl said, "because she kept wondering where you were."

"I had some business to take care of," Stephen replied, "Now I can spend time with her." That was if she wanted to spend time with him. He certainly wasn't going to force her if she didn't want to.

"Business isn't as important as people," Daryl said, "Saffron's really important to me and my dad so don't upset her."

"I'm not planning to." he assured him. For one thing he didn't want to have to face an angry Simon and for another their dad wouldn't be too happy with him if he did upset her.

Something had to be wrong, for both Jim and Stephen to have come to the house, Saffron thought as Simon pulled up next to Jim's truck. It had to be their dad because she hadn't seen or heard from Stephen since she'd been in hospital. Even then he hadn't exactly hung around once he'd discovered that she was going to make it. She couldn't lose her dad, not when she'd just started to get to know him. They still had a lot to catch up on just like she did with Jim and Stephen. At least Jim was willing to give it a shot whereas Stephen seemed intent on avoiding her like the plague.

"I knew that going shopping would be too much for you," Simon said as he switched the engine off.

"I'm fine," she assured him. Maybe it had been too much for her but she wasn't going to admit it to him.

"We're going to start looking for a housekeeper tomorrow," he said.

"Not tomorrow," Saffron said, "because I'm taking Daryl out to the lake." Although, if there was something wrong with her dad she wouldn't be able to do that because he had to come first. Even if it meant that Daryl was disappointed.

"You know you don't have to do that," Simon said, "I'm sure that Daryl will be able to find someone else to write a paper about."

"Maybe, but they won't be as interesting as me," she said. Recent events had given her enough material for several books if she ever got the chance to write them. At some point she knew that she was going to have to ensure her family's financial future.

"Hey Sis," Stephen said.

"Is everything okay?" Saffron asked looking at Jim.

"Everything is fine," he assured her, "we just came to see if you'd like to spend a couple of days away with us." He was giving her a choice so that she wouldn't feel pressured into going with them if she really didn't want to.

"When?" she asked.

"We'd go tomorrow morning and come back Friday night," Jim replied.

"I can't tomorrow," she said, "I'm taking Daryl to the rental business for a school project."

"That's not a problem," he said, "because we'd be staying at your cabin." Or they'd rent one if she wouldn't let them stay there, although he couldn't think of a reason why she wouldn't.

"I don't think that going out there is a good idea," Simon said, "she's still recovering."

"That's why now is the perfect time," Blair said, "with the two of them looking after her she'll recover a lot faster."

"Are you saying that I'm not looking after her properly?" Simon growled.

"Nobody's saying that." Blair assured him.

"We just thought that you might like a break," Stephen said, "and I'd really like a chance to get to know my little sister better."

"You knew where she was while she was in the hospital, but you didn't visit her once." Simon said.

"Holmes, not everyone likes hospitals," Saffron said, "and I think it's a great idea as long as dad's not going."

"He's not," Jim said, "this trip is just for the three of us."

"What time do we go?" she asked.

"Maybe you should leave it a couple of days..." Simon began.

"I'm going, besides there's some stuff that I left out there." she said.

"What sort of stuff?" Stephen asked hesitantly.

"Just some things from my Ellise De Sade days." she replied.

She was going to leave him, Simon thought as he got ready for bed that night. He should have known that she would get tired of having to support him and Daryl, he just hadn't expected it to happen so soon. She hadn't even come to his room as she usually did. He'd really been hoping that things wouldn't have turned out the way that they had with Joan. Still, Saffron was a lot younger than him and he wasn't exactly the best catch in the world. The two of them had obviously been through a lot recently and it had gotten to her.

"Mind if I come in?" Saffron asked, standing in the doorway.

"No." he replied.

"You're upset because I'm going away, aren't you," she said, walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it.

"If you want to go you can," Simon said. Saying no wasn't going to make her change her mind.

"I'm only going for a couple of days," Saffron said, "and I'm going to miss you every second that I'm gone."

"First it's a few days and then..." he began.

"And then?" she asked.

"You'll decide to go somewhere else." he said.

"I might, but only if you go with me," she replied, "so do you want to tell me what the real problem is?"

"Money," he admitted, "I can't support you..."

"Simon, I'm tired of this," she said, "if my having money is such a big problem for you I'll give it away because it doesn't mean as much to me as you do."

"I'm just worried that you're going to get tired of taking care of me and Daryl." he said. She should be out having fun not worrying about whether he would be coming home or going to the morgue.

"I could never do that," she said, "now why don't you get into bed because I have a surprise for you."

"What?" he asked.

"You'll have to wait and see." she replied as she stood up.

It was pretty obvious what his dad and Saffron were doing, Daryl thought, when he heard the noise coming from the direction of his dad's room. He was fine with them touching and kissing in front of him but this was weird. Still, it had to mean that they'd made up. He really didn't understand why his dad was so against her going away with her brothers for a couple of days. It wasn't as if she was going off with a couple of total strangers like his mom had used to do all the time. Besides, his dad needed to quit worrying about her so much because she was doing a lot better than she had been when she'd first gotten out of hospital. She still tended to overdo it though, like making all those cookies for his school fund-raiser, which had sold out in the first ten minutes because they'd been so good. No doubt she'd be making something really great for the picnic. Some of his friends were pretty surprised that Saffron could cook because it wasn't something that they'd expected her to do. For some reason they still thought that she was Ellise De Sade, but she was a normal person, the only difference was that she wrote books.

Unless they quit making all that noise he was never going to get to sleep. Maybe it should be his dad who he asked for advice about girls from because he had to know something to get Saffron to go out with him in the first place. His dad hadn't told him where he'd met Saffron but Blair had probably introduced them. It was a good thing that he had because he had been worried about his dad being on his own when he went off to college. Now his dad had Saffron and she wasn't just going to take off one day like his mom had and leave his dad with a broken heart. Maybe if his mom had been more like Saffron then her and his dad might not have got divorced.

"I told you that I had a surprise for you," Saffron said the following morning as she trailed a hand down over Simon's chest. She'd certainly gotten one as well. Now she knew what she'd been missing for the past seven years. By making love with him she had hopefully laid a lot of the doubts that she knew he had to rest.

"We didn't..." Simon began.

"It's all right," she assured him. They'd talked about having children but last night she had taken the first step to making that a reality. Besides, he could have said no at any point, although she really hadn't given him much choice once she'd made her mind up.

"I hurt you," he said, "I have never..."

"I'm fine," she smiled, "so fine that I'd do it again if we didn't have to get up." Last night she's discovered one of the advantages of being a sentinel.

"Daryl… He had to have heard us." Simon said.

"I know" Saffron said. She wasn't embarrassed by that but she knew that Simon was. Daryl had to know that they were sharing a bed and that they weren't just going to sleep in it. "And I was the one doing the screaming," she added, "because you are so hot." One of her hands wrapped itself around his penis and began stroking it.

"Watson, I'm sorry but it's not going to rise to the occasion again." he said.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

"I'm not as young as I used to be." Simon said.

"That didn't stop you last night," she reminded him. She wanted to leave him with a good memory to think about while she was away.

It was a good idea, Stephen told himself as he packed a bag, but he couldn't help but wonder what they were going to talk about. He really didn't have anything in common with either Jim or Saffron. Still, it was a free vacation and a chance to get to know his brother and sister a lot better. Dad wasn't going to be too happy about it though; still, if he'd tried harder Saffron would have been raised with him and Jim. Although both he and Jim had never really made her feel like part of the family when they'd been kids. She didn't seem to hold it against them though. He really wished that there was some way that he could make it up to her. Maybe there was; he had some contacts in the insurance business who might be able to push Simon's claim through faster because he knew how long it took to sort those sort of things out.

Besides, he did owe the man something for taking such good care of his little sister. He still didn't know Simon all that well but he loved Saffron and if that was good enough for their dad then it was good enough for him. He had to admit that he wished he could find someone special like both his siblings had. The problem was that all the women he met were the same. They were only interested in how much money he made and what he could do for them career wise. Maybe he was looking in the wrong places for Miss Right or maybe she didn't exist for him. Saffron had been right when she'd called him an asshole, he'd always put his career first, along with the way he looked to the outside world. But that was something that he'd been taught from a very early age. However, it wasn't making him happy, if he had ever been happy to begin with. He had all the trappings that a man of his social position had but they didn't mean as much to him as they once had. What was the point in having an expensive car, designer suits and an apartment that a lot of people would kill for if you had no-one to share them with.

"Chief, about this cabin." Jim said, "just how bad a state was it in the last time that you were out there."

"Pretty bad," Blair admitted, "but Saf said that she'd had it renovated."

"Which means what exactly?" he asked. Different people were willing to put up with different living conditions.

"If she was using the place to write in then it has to be okay," Blair said, "at the very least it's going to have power and indoor plumbing."

"That's something," he said. Although he was prepared to rough it, he seriously doubted that Simon would let Saffron stay anywhere that was less than a five star hotel at the moment, not that he could blame him. She was still recovering so there wouldn't be any hiking going on because he didn't want to have to be the one who explained to Simon why she was back in hospital.

"There's some great fishing up there," Blair said, "maybe you could teach Saffron to fish."

"I think her grandfather tried once," Jim said, "she couldn't sit still for long and Stephen threatened to put worms in her hair." Knowing what he knew now, that had been a very sick thing to threaten to do, "We didn't know what was being done to her when we weren't there." he added.

"You couldn't have done anything even if you had known." Blair said.

"We could have been nicer to her," he said, "and not pushed her around when no-one was looking." Both he and Stephen had done their best to make her life hell because they'd been jealous of all the attention that their dad had paid her.

"You were just kids," Blair said, "Saf's forgiven you so you have to forgive yourself."

"Maybe that's something that we need to talk about." Jim said. After all, the past did have a huge impact on their lives and their futures.

"Just be careful how you bring the subject up," Blair said, "because Saf's going to have some memories that she won't want to talk about."

"I do have some tact, Chief," he said. He didn't want to cause her any more pain because she'd already been through enough to last anyone a lifetime. "And we all have things that we'd rather not talk about." he added.

"I made some questionnaires for you guys," Blair said, "they're to get the ball rolling if you're having trouble talking to each other."

"What sort of questions do they have?" he asked.

"They start off with pretty simple ones like favourite foods, colours," Blair replied, "stuff that you guys should already know about each other. Some of the later ones are more personal."

"I'm not discussing our sex life with them." Jim said. That was something that he drew the line at doing.

"Jim, I wouldn't expect you to, but you all have a lot of catching up to do. So it would be easier if you were open and honest with each other," Blair said, "and I seriously doubt that either you or Stephen could say anything that might embarrass Saffron."

"There are just some things that I don't want to share with anyone," he said. His sex life was one of those things and he really didn't want to listen to Saffron describe what her and Simon got up to in bed.

"In that case, just ask the questions you would feel comfortable answering," Blair said.

She was going to kill him, but he would die a very happy man, Simon thought as he laid staring up at the ceiling. He'd made love more times in the last twelve hours than he had in the previous three years. He'd never even been able to do it that often when he had been Daryl's age.

"That was so..." Saffron began.

"Do you really have to go?" he asked because he was really going to miss being able to sleep next to her and hold her.

"Yeah," she replied, "but it's just for a couple of days and this is something that we really need to do."

"I'm going to miss you." he said.

"I'll call you every couple of hours," Saffron said, "and when I get back we can do this all over again."

"Promise me that you'll get some rest while you're there," Simon said.

"I will as long as you promise me that you'll be careful because I don't want anything happening to you." she said.

"I'm always careful," he replied. It wasn't as if he was out on the streets everyday like Jim was. The most dangerous thing that he had to do most days was drive to and from work.

"And no eating junk food all the time," she said, "there's food in the freezer so cook it."

"Yes Watson." he said, stroking her hair.

"I've been thinking about writing again," she said, "maybe bring Ellise out of retirement."

"I thought that the books were selling well," he said, "and what about your new one?"

"Gabby hasn't called about it yet," Saffron replied, "and they are selling really well but..."

"You need the money," Simon said. The house hadn't been cheap and she had to have spent a small fortune on furnishing it and replacing everything else that they'd lost.

"I don't, but writing is my career," she said, "I'm not the sort of person who can just sit around all day doing nothing."

"If you want to carry on writing then do it," he said. He didn't want her to give up her career for him and Daryl.

"I'm just worried that it might cause problems for you." Saffron said, "People know who Ellise is now and I know that some people at my dad's country club are shocked by what I write." she added.

"I'm not and I just want you to be happy," he said. He didn't care what comments people made about her because she was nothing like Ellise De Sade.

"They're not up yet," Daryl said when he opened the front door to find Stephen standing, "and I don't know when they will be." Probably not for a couple of hours if the noises coming from his dad's bedroom as he'd come down stairs were anything to go by.

"So are you looking forward to today?" Stephen asked as he entered the house without being invited.

"It should be cool," he replied, "and with Saffron's help I'm bound to get an A." Especially, if he could convince her to write the paper for him. Although, his dad wouldn't be too pleased if she did all the work for him.

"You must like living here, it's a lot bigger than your old house." Stephen said.

"Our old house had all my stuff in it," Daryl said, "There's just some stuff that you can't replace no matter how much money you have."

"Saffron lost everything as well," Stephen said, "the only thing that they managed to find at her house was a glass jar."

"Her cent jar," he said, "it's in a cabinet in the living room. She says that her dad, your dad used to put cents in it. It was a little strange that she would keep an old cracked jar, but it obviously meant a great deal to her.

"And Jimmy and I used to take them out." Stephen admitted.

"That wasn't a very nice thing to do," Daryl said, "you were a lot bigger and older than her."

"Maybe it wasn't, but I wasn't the one who pushed her over and broke her arm," Stephen said, "Jimmy was always a lot rougher with her than I was."

"You get rough with her now and you'll have me and my dad to deal with." he said.

"I would never do it now," Stephen assured him, "but at the time we didn't understand why she was getting all the attention because dad never paid us much."

"With a mom like hers she needed it," Daryl said. His mom wasn't that great but she'd never abused him like Saffron's mom had her. He was lucky that he didn't know anyone at school whose parents would do that sort of thing to them.

"I might have been a lousy brother then but I'm trying to be a great one now." Stephen said.

"You could have started when she got out of the hospital," Daryl said, "being a brother means you're there for everything." Not that he knew from personal experience because he was an only child, but some of his friends had told him what it was like to be a big brother. He wasn't sure that he would want to be one but if his dad and Saffron decided to have a baby once they were married he wouldn't have a great deal of say in the matter.

"Looks like Stephen beat you here." Blair said Jim pulled up outside of Saffron's house. That was definitely a good thing, he thought because he'd had some serious doubts about whether Stephen would actually show up. He hadn't mentioned those doubts to Jim though because he knew how much Jim wanted to not only get to know Saffron but Stephen as well.

"If my dad asks what are you going to tell him?" Jim asked.

"That the three of you have gone away and I don't know where," he replied, "I don't think that Simon's likely to tell him where you are." The last thing that they needed was for their dad to show up.

"He won't unless there's an emergency." Jim said.

"Just remember what I said," Blair said, "don't push Saf into talking about anything that she doesn't want to."

"And what if she starts talking about her and Simon?" Jim asked.

"That's a little more difficult," he admitted, "so grit your teeth and let it wash over you."

"She's my little sister," Jim said, "it's strange knowing that they're..."

"Jim, it's not stranger than them knowing that we are," Blair said, "if you feel really uncomfortable just say so. Saf is not going to be offended." Although, he really couldn't see her wanting to divulge all the intimate secrets of her life with Simon.

"Are you sure about that?" Jim asked.

"I'm sure," he assured him, "now go and have a great time."

"You're not going to miss me, are you?" Jim said.

"Of course, I am," Blair replied, "but this is something that you guys need to do." He could live without Jim for a couple of days but Saffron might have a bigger problem.

"Daryl, I hope you're ready to go because Saffron will be down soon," Simon said, as he entered the kitchen, "and you two had better take good care of her." he added looking at Jim and Stephen.

"I am ready." Daryl said,

"And we will." Jim assured him.

"You'd better," he growled, "she's only going because it will do her good."

"Not to mention the fact that she could probably use a break from dad fussing over her all the time." Daryl said.

"Someone has to," he said glaring at Stephen.

"I've already apologised for that," Stephen said, "and I'm going to make it up to her." Not that he was going to be allowed to forget the fact that he hadn't been to see her before yesterday for a long time to come. The next time that he saw their dad he was probably going to get a long lecture on family unity. "And been forgiven." he added.

"Not by me," Simon said, "she was upset that you didn't come to see her."

"Simon, Saffron's forgiven him," Jim said, "and I'm sure that Stephen would have done things differently if he'd known how upset she would be."

"I would have," he said, "it was never my intention to upset her." He really did care about what happened to her.

"Just remember that you have me to answer to if she's upset again." Simon growled.

"She won't be." Stephen promised him. At least, she wouldn't be by him. If anyone else tried, then he would stop them before they had a chance to because she was his little sister. Once the two of them had had a chance to get to know each other better then Simon would realise that there was no need for him to worry abut the way Saffron would be treated by him.

She knew that Simon would probably think that she was nuts for taking some of his dirty clothes with her but she was going to feel a lot better about being away if she had something of his with her, and she couldn't exactly stuff him in a suitcase and take him with her, no matter how much she might want to. Still, she would be able to call him and talk to him every day if she wanted to and if it got too rough she could come home. The house where they lived was home even if it had felt strange at first.

Simon was pretty reluctant to let anyone just drop by at the moment. She could understand him wanting to protect her after what had happened but she was doing fine now. It was just going to take someone other than her to convince him of that fact. Hopefully, Jim and Stephen would allow her to do more than she had been recently. Although, she seriously doubted it after having heard what had been said downstairs. At least they would have a chance to get to know each other better while they were away. It was strange to think that they'd been living only just over an hour's drive away from each other for most of her life, but they'd never made any effort to come and see her. Not hat she could blame them, her grandfather probably wouldn't have made them feel very welcome if they'd tried to. She'd always thought that he had been a good person but it had turned out that he hadn't been after all.

They'd be fine, Blair thought, just as long as Jim didn't raise any subjects that Saffron wasn't going to be comfortable talking about. The big problem was that nobody really knew what she didn't want to talk about. Another problem was going to be Simon, he'd never admit it to anyone but he was going to miss Saffron while she was away. Maybe he could invite him over for dinner so that Simon could have a decent meal, after all he wasn't exactly known for his culinary skills and Saffron was not going to be happy if she came back to find that he'd been eating junk food all the time that she'd been gone.

Of course, he was going to have to warn the guys in the Bullpen that Saffron was away because Simon was likely to be short-tempered while she was. All it was going to take to set him off was Rafe saying the wrong thing and Simon would be jumping down his throat. He had to admit that Rafe had calmed down his interest in Saffron but not enough for his liking. That could be the reason why Simon hadn't invited any of the guys to the house, or maybe he hadn't in order to spare Saffron from too many obvious stares. She looked a lot better than she had when she'd first gotten out of hospital but some of the bruises were still there and would be for some time to come. Anyone looking at her and not knowing what had happened would jump to the conclusion that she had been badly beaten up.

"You shouldn't be carrying that," Simon said when he caught Saffron coming downstairs with a bulging backpack.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because, it's too heavy," he replied, "you are going to end up back in hospital if you're not careful."

"It's not heavy and I'm not going to," Saffron replied, "and if you don't stop worrying about me all the time you're going to be the one in there."

"The only reason why the doctors let you out early was because you promised them that you would take it easy," he reminded her, "and you haven't." Instead, she'd rushed around getting the house ready and making sure that they had everything that they would need for it. He'd tried to stop her but she hadn't listened to him. Being a guide wasn't easy and he had to admit that his admiration of Blair had grown while he'd been trying to deal with Saffron’s stubbornness. When she was determined to do something that she knew that he wasn't going to approve of she got the same look in her eyes that Jim did. Fortunately, he had several years of experience of dealing with Jim to fall back on. However, it wasn't easy to chastise someone that you loved.

"I don't have time to be sick because I have too much to do," Saffron said, "besides, you look so hot in that nurses uniform I bought you."

"That's not true and it's not funny." he growled. He knew perfectly well that Jim could hear what she was saying and that he would probably get a great deal of pleasure teasing him about it at some later date.

"You're right, you're hot no matter what you wear," She smiled as she dropped the backpack that she was holding, "so why don't you come over here and kiss me because it's the last chance you're going to get for a few days."

"Don't remind me." he said, "and it's not too late to change your mind about going." he added as he walked over to where she was stood.

"I need to go," she said wrapping her arms around his neck, "there's a lot that we have to find out about each other. Stuff that we would have found out if we'd grown up together."

"If you had, the chances are that we wouldn't have met." Simon said, "and that would have been a great shame."

"And I'm supposed to be the one with raging hormones," Daryl said, when he Jim and Stephen entered the hall, "if he caught me doing that I'd be in serious trouble."

"I think that we should go and wait outside," Stephen suggested.

"Yeah." Jim agreed. There was something more than a little disturbing about seeing them kiss like that. He had the overwhelming urge to drag Simon off her and punch his lights out for daring to touch his little sister like that. Although, Saffron wouldn't be too pleased if he did that and it could cause him problems at work if he hit Simon.

"So have you ever been to the cabin rental business before?" Daryl asked as he head towards the front door.

"No," Stephen replied, "but we used to go up to the lake when we visited her. Remember that Jim?"

"How could I forget," he replied, "she feel in it one year. Dad nearly had a heart attack when he saw her."

"Which one of you jumped in and saved her?" Daryl asked.

"Neither of us," Stephen admitted.

"The guy who runs the rental business did," Jim said, "turned out that someone had thrown her bear into the lake and she's tried to get it," he added, "and it wasn't either of us who did that." when he saw the look on Daryl's face. They might not have been the perfect bigger brothers to her, hell at the time they'd resented the fact that she'd been getting all the attention.

"She worshipped Jimmy though," Stephen said, "was always following him everywhere. It was him that she was crying for when..."

"I know what happened to her," Daryl said, "my dad explained it to me."

"Daryl, the only person who knows what really happened to her is Saffron," Jim said, "but it wasn't good." He'd had nightmares for weeks after they'd found her but every time that he'd tried asking his dad about her he'd been told that she wasn't anything to do with them anymore.

"Why didn't her dad do something?" Daryl asked, "because there's no way that my dad would ever leave me somewhere that I would get hurt."

"Because he didn't have any choice," Jim said, "her grandfather was a very powerful man and child abuse wasn't something that was talked about then." Not that it would have done much good even if it had been because her grandfather would have made sure that it was never made public.

Nobody had called him to tell him what was going on as far as Stephen was concerned, William thought. Obviously Jimmy hadn't been able to get through to him or he would have been in touch. Perhaps he should go and see how Saffron was doing. He could walk round, that was the advantage of her living just around the corner, not that that had probably anything to do with her choosing that particular house. Still, he was glad that she lived so close to him because for too many years they hadn't had any contact at all. They still didn't have a proper father daughter relationship but they were slowly getting there. She knew that he'd tried to get custody of her because they'd really had a chance to talk while she'd been in hospital. His daughter was a very special person, he just wished that Stephen would find the same sort of happiness that she'd found with Simon and that Jimmy had found with Blair.

Several people at his country club had not only made comments about Jimmy being constantly seen with a man but about Simon as well. He'd soon set them straight about Simon, not that they had liked what he'd had to say. The only reason why he was going to renew his membership was so that he would know what people were saying about him. He would also putting both Simon and Blair forward for membership, that would show certain people that he was deadly serious when he said that he considered them to be members of his family. Besides, if Simon was a member of the country club then it certainly wouldn't do his career any harm, not to mention that he would always be able to get a table in the restaurant when he wanted to take Saffron out for the evening. Perhaps they could all go the next charity auction together. It had been a long time since he'd last bought any of his children something other than clothes. He had a lot of birthdays and Christmases to catch up on and they deserved something special to make up for all the years that he'd missed out on their lives.

It was like they were total strangers, Daryl thought when they finally arrived at the cabin rental business. They'd hardly said two words to each other during the journey there, or maybe they just didn't want to talk in front of him in case he reported what they said back to his dad. Not that he would because he really liked Saffron even though she and his dad had kept him up half the night with all the noise that they'd been making. Still, his dad had been in a really good mood this morning.

"So what is it that you do here?" Daryl asked.

"Nothing." Saffron replied, "Peter runs it all for me."

"Then what am I doing here?" he said.

"You didn't really think that I'd let you help me do research for an Ellise De Sade novel, did you?" Saffron smiled, "your dad would kill me. Besides, you could learn a lot from Peter."

"I'm supposed to spend the day with a parent," he said, "and that's you." If he'd known that he was going to be conned like this then he would have gone into work with his dad because at least there he would have been able to play computer games. Here all there was was a lot of nature, which to be honest he wasn't all that fond of. "There's nothing for me to do out here." he added.

"Maybe you could learn to appreciate nature," she suggested, "or you could talk to some of the girls staying here. But if you really don't want to be here I'll call a cab to take you home."

"I guess that nature could be cool," he smiled, "but if I run into any girls what's the best thing to say to them?" He might as well pump her for some advice while he had the chance to.

"Your name is usually a good place to start," Saffron replied, "followed by a question that shows that you're interested in them."

"Is that what my dad did?" he asked.

"Not exactly," she admitted, "he made me laugh the first time that I saw him. A sense of humour is a good thing for a guy to have. And it had been a long time since I'd last laughed."

"What did he do that was so funny?" Daryl said. Because his dad wasn't exactly the funniest guy around.

"He fell into the lake and laughed about it," Saffron replied, "that's when I thought that I might like to get to know him better."

"So do you have any idea what the three of us are supposed to talk about?" Stephen asked looking across at Saffron.

"Not really," Jim admitted, "But Blair's made up some questionnaires to get us started."

"That's good because I have no idea what I'm supposed to say to her." he said. He supposed that he could start by trying to apologise for all the stuff that he'd done to her when she'd been a kid.

"Anything that you want to," Jim replied, "the whole purpose of this is so that we get the chance to get to know each other better without dad being around.

"He does have a way of turning everything into a competition," Stephen said. Only this time he was the loser instead of it being Jim and it was obvious who the favourite in the family was, Saffron.

"She's the only one he hasn't done it to." Jim said.

"Because he never had a chance to," he said, "I have to admit that I'm jealous that she didn't have to go through all that."

"What she went through was worse," Jim reminded him, "Dad might have been a total bastard but he never physically hurt us."

"No, he just ignored us unless we screwed up," he said bitterly, "didn't you ever get sick of always having to be perfect."

"All the time," Jim admitted, "and that's something that we should talk about later with her."

"I guess it is," Stephen said. It would be interesting to see what Saffron had to say on the matter.

Blair had warned him that Simon might be in a less than happy mood, Joel thought, but his friend looked totally depressed. If this was the effect Saffron had when she went away for a few days he dreaded to think about the state that Simon would be in if she went away for longer or left him completely. He supposed that he should do the right thing and talk to his friend, not that he was entirely sure what he would say to him.

Simon was a fairly private person, he always had been but recently he seemed to have opened up more and Saffron was obviously the reason for that. He still didn't know all the reasons as to why she'd started staying with Simon in the first place, but he was glad that she had. Ever since Simon's divorce he'd been worried about his friend, Saffron had been a good influence on his friend. In fact, Simon was probably the happiest that he'd ever seen him. The fact that Daryl liked her helped matters as well. It was just a pity that they'd had a rough time of it recently, hopefully things would be a lot easier for them from now on.

"Is he going to be okay by himself?" Stephen asked as Saffron drove the three of them to her cabin.

"He'll be fine," she replied, "Peter'll keep an eye on him and put him in cab when it's time to go home," she added. She really wouldn't have left Daryl if she hadn't thought that he would be perfectly safe, "until then there are at least ten girls his own age for him to talk to."

"I'd say that he's going to be fine." Jim grinned.

"Why didn't anything like that ever happen to us when we were his age?" Stephen asked.

"Because you didn't have me around then." Saffron said.

"And how would you have make a difference in our dating prospects?" Stephen said.

"Women like guys who like kids," she said, "especially guys who stare longingly into baby store windows." Simon wanted to be a father as much if not more than she wanted to become a mother. With any luck either last night or this morning they'd taken the first step in making that a reality. Even if they hadn't it had still been a great deal of fun and an experience that she hoped to repeat as often as she could.

"Simon?" Jim said with more than a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah," she smiled, "I know he growls a lot but he's really a big cuddly teddy bear." She liked to sit on his lap with his arms wrapped around her because that was when she really felt at peace with herself.

"Cuddly, isn't a word that I'd use to describe Simon." Jim said.

"That's because you've never sat on his lap." she said.

"Somehow I don't that Blair would be too pleased if he did." Stephen laughed.

"She's only going to be away until the weekend," Simon said, as he handed Joel a mug of coffee, "she'll be back for the picnic."

"Will she be bringing anything?" Joel asked.

"I don't think so," he admitted, "they have a lot to talk about." Probably including him. He had a pretty good idea of why Stephen hadn't been to see Saffron and it had to do with him.

"How do you catch up on someone's life in a few days?" Joel asked, "if you and Daryl would like to come over to the house you're more than welcome."

"She left the freezer full, all I have to do is defrost something and heat it up." Simon said. Saffron was very organised when it came to making sure that there was always plenty to eat in the house, but home cooked meals weren't the only thing that he was going to miss, "and I have enough clean shirts to last me a month." he added.

"The offers there if you want to take it." Joel said.

"I'll think about it," he said.

"Do you want to talk about what else is bothering you?" Joel asked, "and don't tell me that it's nothing because we've been friends too long for you to start lying to me now."

"And in all that time we've never talked about my family, have we?" he said. "I've been half expecting them to get in touch with all the publicity about Saffron." It was starting to get to the point where he had to stop himself from jumping every time that the phone rang at home. Saffron had to have noticed but she hadn't said anything about it yet.

"Would it be a bad thing if they did?" Joel asked.

"I'm not sure," Simon admitted, "it's been a long time since I last talked to them and even longer since I saw them." His last meeting with his family hadn't gone smoothly, a lot of things had been said and his attempts to apologise had been met with even harsher words. They'd never seen Daryl and the letters he'd sent had been returned unopened so they knew where he was but didn't want any sort of contact with him. "I just know that at some point I'm going to have to explain it to Saffron," he added, "and she's not going to be happy about it."

"It was a real shame what happened to Saffron," Peter said, "I was out at the house afterwards, things were all over the place. Couldn't save much though." he added, looking at Daryl.

"All she has is this jar," Daryl said, "I don't understand how they could do that."

"Because you've been raised in a time where the colour of your skin don't matter," Peter said, "lest it's not supposed to. It weren't always that way though."

"We learned about that in school," Daryl said, "and my dad told me what it was like when he was growing up. It wasn't very nice and I think that he was making some of it up." Sure, bad stuff happened, it had happened to his family, but things like that didn't happen all the time anymore.

"I can remember more things that your father's probably forgotten," Peter said, "I knew Saffron's grandfather, we grew up together, which at the time wasn't something that was as accepted as it is now."

"She doesn't talk about him much," he said, "what was he like?"

"He was a good man, but he had his faults like anyone else," Peter replied, "and he always stood up for his friends even when they were in trouble. He gave me this job for life, even when people stopped coming because I was in charge he didn't fire me."

"And now Saffron's your boss," Daryl said, "I'm not sure that I'd be able to work for a woman."

"She doesn't interfere in the way I do things," Peter said, "just like her grandfather didn't. So I don't really work for her and everyone has to work for someone. Saffron included."

"Sis, are you okay?" Stephen asked, when Saffron stopped the truck at what had once been her former home. It felt strange calling her that, but he supposed that in time he would get used to it.

"Yeah," Saffron replied not too convincingly. "This is the first time that I've seen what's left."

"Not a lot," he said, "sorry." he added when he saw the look on Jim's face. He was going to have to be careful about what he said.

"It's okay," she said, "I wanted to come out here before but Simon didn't think that it was a good idea."

"He was probably right," Jim said, "there wasn't a great deal left of it."?

"Or mom." Stephen said. He probably should have felt something knowing that this was the place where his mother had died, but he didn't. She was just a stranger who had died. He didn't even have a photo of her and he wasn't sure that he wanted one. "Not that she's important."

"Our mom is at home with dad," Jim said, "her name is Sally."

"Yeah," Saffron smiled, "and she is the best mom in the world because she's always loved us and never done anything to hurt us."

"It's something that she chose to do for us," Stephen said, "and we are very grateful for that. I think that I should call mom and tell her not to worry about me because I have you guys looking out for me."

"We always will." Jim said.

"Even if you are an arrogant jerk at times." Saffron said.

"You forgot vain." Jim said.

"I'm not vain." Stephen protested. Just because he took pride in the way he looked that didn't mean that he was vain.

"You are," Saffron said, "but we're the only ones allowed to say it. If anyone else does, we kick the crap out of them."

Cabin didn't even come close to describing it, Jim thought when they finally reached the cabin. He could certainly understand why Saffron hadn't wanted to sell it. The view was amazing, he could see for miles. He just hoped that Blair's assumption about it having running water and electricity were right or they were going to be in for a rough time.

"I think that I should warn you that nobody's been inside for a while so it might be dusty." Saffron said.

"I can handle dust," Stephen said, "just as long as there isn't anything living in there."

"There isn't," Jim said. It was pretty obvious that Stephen and nature weren't going to get along unless nature came neatly packaged up.

"But some of my research material is probably laying around," she said, "when I left it was in a hurry and I didn't have time to tidy up."

"What sort of research material?" Jim asked. Considering what she'd written there was probably good reason for him to be concerned.

"Sex toys," Saffron replied, "if you guys want to help yourself go right ahead."

"I don't think so." Jim said. If Blair was here he'd probably be taking armfuls home. He on the other hand was more discreet about such things.

"So are you going to be taking any home?" Stephen asked.

"That's for me to know and Simon to find out." she replied.

"That is..." Jim began. He wasn't going to pretend that she and Simon weren't sleeping together because he could smell Simon all over her.

"I haven't used any of them," Saffron said, when she saw the look on his face, "I only bought them for accuracy."

"I really don't want to know." he said.

"Fine." Saffron said.

They should have been there about an hour by now, Simon thought, so why hadn't Saffron called to let him know that she'd arrived safely. She'd said that she would call him at least once a day, even if it was just to say hi and that she missed him. Maybe she wasn't missing him and that was why she hadn't called. He'd really thought that it would be different with her than it had been with Joan. Joan had often come up with reasons why she'd had to go away for a few days only she hadn't been bonding with her family, she'd been seeing another man. No matter how many times he told himself that Saffron wasn't like Joan there was always that doubt at the back of his mind that she would turn out to be just like her.

She wanted to make a proper commitment to him but he'd let his pride get in the way of that. He really wished that his insurance company would pay out so that he could buy her a ring. Of course, she'd offered to pay for it and other men would have let her do that, but that wasn't the right way to do things. He might be broke but he still had his principals and a fat lot of good they were going to do him if she decided that they got in the way. He supposed that he could always borrow the money and pay it back later. However, he really didn't like going into debt and at the moment the bank wasn't very likely to lend him anything. There was the credit card that Saffron had given him, she had said that he could use it because everything that she had was his as well. She'd worked hard for the money she had so it didn't feel right to spend it. Her books were selling well but that didn't mean that they would continue to do so in the future. If she wanted to write more books then he certainly wasn't going to stop her, writing was what she did for a living and he knew that she wouldn't be happy if she couldn't do that.

The whole learning how a business ran was turning out to be a lot better than he'd thought it would be, Daryl thought. Peter was really cool and he had lots of great stories about Saffron when she'd been a little girl; all of which he was going to tell his dad when he got home. He'd already learned a lot about what it must have been like for his dad growing up. It was hard to believe that if his dad had met Saffron at his age he could have been beaten up or worse. That was something that he didn't have to worry about though. Talking to Peter had raised some questions about his dad. Like why didn't he have any relatives from his dad's family that he could go and see. His mom had always been making him go and see her parents during the holidays. Not that he'd enjoyed staying with them because all they ever did was bad mouth his dad. Saffron's dad was a pretty okay guy and he was trying his best to be a grandfather, but he still had to learn how to be a dad first. He couldn't imagine not only not seeing his dad for most of his life but not remembering him as well, but that was what had happened to Saffron. Still, she had found her family again, so he had two uncles when his dad married Saffron. After the amount of noise that they'd been making last night and this morning that wasn't going to be too far off. Then he'd probably end up with either a little brother or sister, or even both.

"She's got your cell phone number," Blair said entering Simon's office, "so you don't have to sit there all day waiting for the phone to ring."

"I'm not waiting for it to ring," Simon said, "I just have a lot of paperwork to do."

"Simon, it's okay to admit that you miss her," he said, "every time that Jim goes somewhere and I'm left behind I miss him but I always know that he'll be back." Of course, he wasn't always in the same state he'd been in when he'd left but that really didn't matter as long as he came back.

"She shouldn't even have been out of the hospital yet," Simon said, "let alone go off into the wilderness. What if she gets sick?"

"Jim was a medic in the army," Blair reminded him, "and it's not really the wilderness, there's a proper road up there and they all have cell phones." He could understand Simon being worried about Saffron's health but getting out of the city would probably do her a great deal more good than anything that the doctors could prescribe for her. While she'd been in hospital more than once he'd discovered that she was being given medication that Jim had severe reactions to. Fortunately, Bill had backed him up so that they'd double checked everything that they wanted to give her with him first. "Besides, she's spent a lot of time up there on her own," he added, "including times when she was snowed in."

"Like she was with you." Simon said.

"That is ancient history," he said, "and it should stay that way because talking about it won't do anyone any good." He was perfectly happy with Jim so there was no need for Simon to worry about him ever trying to get back together with Saffron, "she loves you," he said, "she has to put up with your sunny disposition. So why don't you think about what you're going to do when she gets back."

Well, it looked as if she was going to be on kitchen duty, Saffron thought as she filled the kettle. Not that she really minded because somehow she really couldn't see Stephen being at home in a kitchen, simply because there were too many things in it that he could get messed up by. She'd seen the way that he ate an hot dog and it just wasn't any fun at all, that was going to change though because she was going to make sure that it did. Out of the three of them he was the one who was most like dad and she really pitied him for that. No doubt dad had been a lot harder on him than he had been on Jim. After all, he'd wanted one of his sons to follow him into business. The strange thing was that she didn't have to put in the hours Stephen did and she was worth considerably more than he was. When her latest book was published then she'd be worth even more. Not that money mattered as much to her as it did to some people. Still, it was nice to know that she could provide for her family without having to worry about it.

"He's not happy, is he?" she asked when she heard Jim behind her.

"No," he replied, "he feels left out."

"I can understand that," she said, "he's the only one who did what dad wanted and we're the ones getting the attention."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Jim asked.

"I'm not sure," Saffron admitted, "you know him better than I do."

"But for fifteen years I didn't see or talk to him." Jim replied.

"And for nearly twenty years I didn't exist as far as you guys were concerned." she said.

"Dad never talked about you after..." he began, "the few times we asked he said that you weren't anything to do with us anymore. I always thought that it meant you'd moved away."

"If you'd known the truth would you have come to see me?" Saffron asked.

"I would have tried to." he replied.

She was bound to be here, William thought as he entered the Bullpen. After all, this was where Simon was. If she wasn't here then he would demand to know where she was. As her father he had a right to know that, especially as she was still recovering from her injuries. No matter what anyone, including Sally, said he still didn't think that Saffron should have discharged herself from hospital as soon as she had. What if there were complications? And he knew that she hadn't been resting, so the sooner that she hired a housekeeper the better.

"Blair, is Jimmy here?" he asked stopping by his son's desk.

"No," Blair replied, "he's taking a few days off."

"I see." he said. It was a little strange that his son was taking time off while Blair was still working. Perhaps it had something to do with Stephen. "In that case I'll talk to Saffron." he added.

"She's not here either." Blair said.

"Where is she?" he asked. Obviously the problem with Stephen was a lot more serious than he'd thought it was if both of them weren't here.

"I don't know," Blair replied, "the three of them decided to go away for a few days."

"I take it that Simon knows where they are." William said. Saffron would go anywhere without telling Simon first.

"He doesn't," Blair said, "And I really wouldn't disturb him at the moment if I were you because he is in a foul mood."

"Do you have any idea when they'll be back?" he asked, Blair knew where they were but he wasn't going to tell him.

"Before Saturday morning," Blair replied, "they just needed to get away for a couple of days."

"From me." he said. He'd tried his best to be a better father but obviously it hadn't been good enough for them.

"No, not from you," Blair assured him, "actually it was my idea that they go away. I thought that they could use some time to get to know each other better."

"Well, I'm sure that I'll hear from them when they decide to call me." William said.

He was being left out again, Stephen thought, when he heard Saffron and Jim talking in the kitchen. They probably didn't even realise that they were doing it which made it worse than if they were doing it deliberately. No matter how hard he tried he just wasn't ever going to be like them and he really wanted to be. Their lives were so much better than his because they had someone to share things with. All he'd ever had in his life were a string of very glamorous but dull women. People in his social circle didn't get lonely and if they did then they certainly never mentioned it to anyone. Maybe he should tell them what the problem was. Not that he was really expecting them to be able to help him. After all, how could he not be happy when he had it all. Only he wasn't and he hadn't been for a long time.

Dad had a lot to answer for. If it wasn't for him he probably would have chosen another career but that hadn't been allowed. God forbid that an Ellison wouldn't follow family tradition. Perhaps he should have escaped when he'd had a chance to like Jim had. It would have been hard to make it on his own, but he could have done it instead of letting his surname open doors for him. Jim hadn't relied on his surname to get where he was and Saffron had relied on her talent. He'd always wanted to do something creative but he didn't know what or even how to start. Still, it wasn't too late for him to work that out. He could afford to quit his job while he decided that he was going to do. No doubt his dad would have some objections to that, but he only had one life and from now on he needed to live it his way.

It had been a really great day, even if he hadn't spent it with Saffron, Daryl thought. His dad wasn't going to be too happy about that, even though he'd been well looked after by Peter. Maybe he should just leave that part out so that his dad wouldn't get upset with Saffron. The last thing that he wanted was for them to argue and Saffron to leave his dad. For a long time after his parents had gotten divorced his dad hadn't dated anyone, or if he had he hadn't told him about them. He had to admit that he had been more than a little surprised that first morning he'd met Saffron. She'd looked young enough to be his girlfriend but then he'd seen the way that she treated his dad. It was a lot better than his mom ever had.

Everything that Saffron had done so far had been for him and his dad. Even if it had meant her going to a lot of trouble, like buying the house that they were living in. He didn't know how much it had cost but it had to have been a lot. His dad had a few problems with Saffron paying for everything but that was just his pride getting in the way. After all, this was the nineties and women sometimes earned a lot more than men did. And it wasn't as if his dad wasn't paying his share because he was. He was hardly going to go out with someone just because they had a lot of money like Saffron did. Somehow he doubted that Saffron had told his dad just how much money had she when she'd first met him. Even he knew that it wasn't safe to do something like that. There were a lot of people out there who would try and take advantage of someone just because they had money.

They were supposed to be talking to each other but nobody was saying anything, Jim thought. Maybe it was time to break out not only the questionnaires that Blair had given him but the beer he'd brought with him. Getting drunk probably wasn't what Blair had planned when he'd suggested this weekend but it could be the one thing that got them to open up to each other, because otherwise they would end up swapping pleasantries the whole time they were there. And it wasn't as if anyone of them would be driving anywhere tonight.

"Either of you want a beer?" he asked.

"Sure." Saffron replied.

"Why not," Stephen said, "have you got anything to go with it?"

"There are some peanuts in the kitchen," Saffron replied, "I haven't gotten around to baking any cookies yet."

"You don't have to cook while you're here," Jim said, "we can take it in turns." He got the feeling that if he let her she wouldn't leave the kitchen.

"I don't cook,." Stephen said.

"He doesn't iron his own shirts either." she said.

"We'll teach you," Jim said, "Saffron has mom's recipe for chocolate chip cookies." Calling Sally mom had been a great idea, one that Blair would have approved of. None of them would admit it but they needed a mom, one who would never hurt them. Even after he'd joined the army he'd still stayed in touch with Sally. His dad didn't know about that and he doubted that Sally had told him.

"Why did you get the recipe?" Stephen asked.

"Because she gave me it," she replied, " and a recipe isn't any good if you don't know how to cook."

"And I suppose that Simon can cook?" Stephen said.

"As a matter of fact he can," Saffron said, "and Daryl knows how to cook a few things as well. Even dad can cook."

"You do everything for yourself, don't you," Stephen said, "I bet you even cleaned that house, didn't you."

"I had to because there was no one else to do it," she snapped, "I didn't have mom to take care of me. I had a grandfather who told me that dad never wanted me and an uncle who tried to kill me god only knows how many times."

"He said that?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, and I always thought that it was my fault that bitch left," Saffron replied, "until I broke into his safe and read his diary I had no idea that dad had always wanted me."

"I didn't know." Stephen said.

"Which is why we needed to come for this weekend," Jim said, "now are the two of you going to be behave long enough for me to get that beer?"

"I'm not the one who started it." Saffron said.

"I'll behave if she does." Stephen said.

"If you both don't behave I'm going to call mom." he warned them. He was obviously going to have to be the disciplinarian when they started arguing. Still, he supposed that it was a lot better than them not talking at all.

The only reason why he'd come home early was because he hadn't been able to think about Saffron, Simon thought as he entered the house. He'd had trouble sleeping while she'd been in hospital so he knew that he was going to get very little sleep tonight. How was he supposed to sleep in their bed while remembering that they'd done both last night and this morning. His body knew what it felt like to not only embrace hers but to be surrounded by it as well. It had still surprised him that he had been the first man to touch her like that in a long time. Knowing that had only served to inflame his desire for her further. She had chosen him to be her partner, the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and bear children for. The latter was definitely a serious possibility now. Even if she wasn't pregnant now she could be in the near future if they didn't take precautions when they made love. He knew that they should have last night but in the heat of the moment he had forgotten about it, or rather Saffron hadn't given him a chance to remember to use something.

She was right though, he did want to be a father again,. It was something that he'd often thought about but hadn't expected to happen. Then Saffron had barged into his life and things had taken a turn for the interesting. Not that he was complaining because he liked the way his life was now. He was the happiest that he had been in years. The only thing was that he wanted to be married before he brought another child into the world and he didn't want anyone claiming that they'd had to get married. As it was some of the mud that had been thrown at Saffron had stuck to him. He hadn't told her that, though, because she'd had enough to worry about recovering from her injuries. Besides, there wasn't anything that she could do to change the way that some people thought about him. He could live with it as long as they didn't start attacking Saffron, because that wasn't something that he was just going to stand by and let happen.

She was definitely drunk, Saffron thought as she finished her fourth beer, but she didn't care. It wasn't as if she was going to have to start cooking or anything and she certainly wouldn't be going anywhere until the morning.

"So are we going to do these questionnaires or not?" she asked putting her empty bottle to one side.

"I suppose that we should after all the trouble Blair went to making them." Jim replied as he dug into his back pocket and took out several sheets of folded paper.

"I haven't got a pen." Stephen said.

"I do," Saffron said, "unless they got stolen or blown up." When she'd first entered the cabin she hadn't seen any signs of Jake having been there at all. So if she was lucky her pens would still be where she'd left them the last time she'd been to the cabin. Stationary was something that she always kept plenty of laying around because she never knew when an idea would come to her. Simon had been more than a little surprised by how much she'd bought to stock her study with, but that hadn't stopped him from borrowing some and not replacing it. "But I want it back when you've finished with it." she added.

"I hardly think that Stephen's going to steal it," Jim said, as he separated the sheets of paper before handing them to Saffron and Stephen.

"I'm losing at least two pens a day at home," she said, "I think it's the pen fairy because neither Simon or Daryl are doing it according to them."

"That's a lot of pens." Jim said.

"And very expensive," she said, "I don't buy cheap pens." Which was why they were probably going missing.

"Jim, have you seen some of these questions?" Stephen asked.

"I had a quick look," Jim admitted, "you only have to answer the questions you feel comfortable with."

"That's most of them." Stephen said.

"Well, there's only one that I'm not going to answer because it could cause problems." Saffron said.

"And how many would Simon want you not to answer?" Jim asked.

"A lot of them," she replied, "but I'm not going to tell him if you don't." She wasn't embarrassed to answer really personal questions even if her brothers were.

"William, I'm sure that they are all fine," Sally said.

"They went away without telling anyone where they were going," he said, "and I think that Stephen is in some sort of trouble."

"If he is then Jimmy and Saffron will sort it out," she assured him, "and they do have a right to go away if they want to." She could understand why he was upset but the three of them were more than capable of taking care of themselves if they had to. In fact, it would do them good to spend some time away. This would be the perfect opportunity for them to get to know each other.

"I'm his father," William said, "I should be the one sorting it out."

"He knows that, but maybe he feels more comfortable talking about it to Jimmy and Saffron," Sally suggested, "the three of them need to be siblings for a while. And we both know that Stephen had a difficult time of it while Saffron was in hospital."

"It wasn't easy for me either," he said, "there were a lot of bad memories brought up."

"William, the man who did that to Saffron looked like Stephen," she said, "and Stephen was always a lot closer to his mother than Jimmy was." Not that Grace Ellison had been close to either of her sons. To that woman her children had been something that she could use against William and she had done that as often as possible. She could still remember the day that Grace Ellison had left, she'd just packed and gone without saying goodbye to either Jimmy or Stephen. Of course, she'd remembered to take all her jewelry including several pieces that had belonged to William's mother.

"God knows why, because she never gave a damned about either of them," William said, "Jessica was just the same. But I wouldn't be without the boys and Saffron for anything."

"I know," she smiled. She just wished that he'd been able to show it more as Jimmy and Stephen had been growing up because then there might not have been so many problems between them.

Jim hadn't called, so that had to be good news, Blair thought, although he had been expecting him to just so that he would know that they had all arrived safely. When anyone did call it was likely to be Saffron complaining about Jim's attitude towards her relationship with Simon. Looking at it from Jim's point of view he could understand that he wouldn't want to think about his little sister sleeping with anyone let alone someone who was not only his boss but his friend as well. Then there was the fact that he'd had a relationship with Saffron, but that had been along time ago and Jim didn't seem to have a problem with it. Simon on the other hand, well, he'd been expecting him to ask for details. That was something that he would never talk about even if Saffron gave him permission to because it could cause a lot of problems between them.

Neither of then had said anything to him but he got the feeling that despite outward appearances things were still awkward for them. Simon had some serious issues about the fact that Saffron earned a great deal more than him, and her age. Saffron was certainly going to have her work cut out for her convincing him that she wasn't going to leave him the moment that a better offer came along. Even if one did Saffron wouldn't take it because she loved Simon. Maybe he should have told him about the conversation he'd had with Saffron when she'd decided to go to her house for a couple of days. Then again it might not do any good at all. Simon's ex wife had a lot to answer for and it was Saffron who was paying the price. He just hoped that Saffron remembered to call Simon or he was likely to go charging out there to find out what was happening to her.

"Hi dad," Daryl said, "what's for dinner?" His dad didn't look at all happy which meant that Saffron hadn't called.

"Lasagna," Simon replied, "so did you enjoy your day with Saffron?"

"Yeah," he replied, "she introduced me to the guy who really runs the business and he showed me around."

"Why didn't Saffron do it?" Simon asked.

"Because she doesn't know how things work," Daryl said, "he was a really great guy and I learned a lot from him." A lot more than he'd expected to. "he knew Saffron when she was a kid," he added when he saw the look on Simon's face. He'd gone and said the wrong thing when he hadn't meant to. Now his dad was going to be mad with Saffron.

"She dumped you on some stranger." Simon said.

"I had a choice," he said, "besides, there were all these girls there and..."

"Saffron was responsible for you, I knew that her going out there was a bad idea," Simon said, "she couldn't even be bothered to call and let me know that you'd arrived safely."

"Dad, it was my idea to go with that guy," Daryl said, "I figured that the more time that Saffron spent with her brothers the better." So that wasn't the whole truth but his dad didn't want to know that because it would only make matters worse.

"Daryl, she was supposed to be looking after you," Simon said, "she knew that I was trusting her to do that and she didn't."

"I'm not a little kid," he said, "I can take care of myself." He was way too old to need a baby sitter anymore and if he'd asked her to Saffron would have spent the whole day with him.

"This is about trust," Simon growled, "if I can't trust her to do this then..."

"Nothing happened to me," Daryl protested, "and she's not mom. If she was going to leave she would have by now." After everything that had happened including his mom's involvement with those people Saffron was still with his dad.

"I know she's not." Simon said.

"And instead of waiting for her to call you why don't you call her." he suggested. His dad was being really dumb about not trusting Saffron because it wasn't as if she was going out partying every night. In fact, she never went out without his dad and his dad knew everyone who came to the house.

"Maybe I should drive out there and surprise her," Simon suggested, "she forgot to take her painkillers with her."

"If you want to go I'll be fine here." Daryl said, "and I can get myself to school in the morning." Like his dad was going to drive all the way out there and not spend the night with Saffron. At least he wouldn't have to listen to them making up.

They'd all probably drunk too much beer, Jim thought, laughing at something Stephen had just said, but there was no harm in that because they needed to relax. Once Stephen had dropped the arrogance he was a funny guy. That was something that he'd never realised about his brother before. It looked as if the three of them did have more in common than just having the same parents. "What is the one thing you've always wanted to do if money was no object." he added.

"It's not," Saffron laughed, "but Simon thinks that my having too much money is a problem."

"You can never have too much money," Stephen said, "that's what dad's always said."

"Having money is nice but it's not that important." Jim said. There were more important things in life like having someone in your life who loved you unconditionally like Blair did him.

"I agree," she said, "and what I've always wanted to do is take a limo through a drive in burger place."

"Why?" Stephen asked.

"Because it'd be fun," Saffron replied, "can you imagine the looks on people's faces when you pull in and order a milkshake."

"So why don't you do it?" Jim asked. She could afford it and even he had to admit that it sounded like fun.

"Maybe I should," she said, "but I don't think that Simon would be too happy if I did."

"He couldn't object that much," Stephen said, "and it's your money so you can spend it how you want."

"It would be frivolous," she said, "and I love him too much to upset him over something silly."

"Is everything okay between the two of you?" Jim asked. If Simon was giving her a hard time then he wanted to know about it so that he could try and do something about it. She was his little sister and he didn't like the thought of her either being hurt or taken advantage of.

"We're fine," Saffron replied, "I just wish that he would relax about money because I've got more than enough for the both of us and it's not going to run out anytime soon."

"Simon has his pride," he said, "and Joan used money as a weapon against him." He didn't know how much Simon had told her about his first marriage but this was something that she needed to know. and it certainly couldn't hurt to talk to Simon and make him understand that Saffron was only trying to follow her instincts in taking care of her guide. It was a lot easier for him to take care of Blair because Blair understood that.

It had taken a lot to swallow his pride and make this journey, Edward Banks thought, but it was time to put and end to the estrangement with his son. He had to admit that it had been the newspaper reports that had prompted his actions but he had been considering doing this for some time. Finding out that not only his son but the grandson that he'd never seen had almost been blown up had caused him to do a great deal of soul searching. Finding out where his son was living had been a relatively easy thing to do, and it looked as if his son had done well for himself despite being married to that woman. If he was being honest with himself and he was trying to be, she had been the reason why he hadn't spoken or seen his son in years.

She had made it quite clear the first time that Simon had brought her home that she looked down on them. Not that Simon had believed him when he'd told him some of the comments that she'd made. His attempts to try and reconcile with his son after that had led to even more arguments and that woman had encouraged Simon to cut all contact with his family. He was under absolutely no illusions about the welcome that he was likely to receive from his son, but he was prepared to have the door slammed in his face.

Pressing the doorbell he waited for someone to answer it.

"Yeah," a young man in his late teens said as he opened the door.

"I'm looking for Simon Banks," Edward said, "I was told that he lived here."

"Dad, someone for you," Daryl shouted, "it's a good thing that you came now because another five minutes and you would have missed him." he added as he stepped to one side to let their visitor in.

"I've missed him for a long time." Edward said as he entered the house and looked around the hall.

"Daryl, you know that you're not supposed to..." Simon began as he came down the stairs. It was then that he saw the man with his son. He was the last person he had expected to see. He couldn't help but wonder what he wanted. "Why don't you go and check on that lasagna." he added. He didn't want Daryl to hear what he had to stay to their visitor.

"Sure dad," Daryl said, "you want me to make you some coffee?"

"Please." he replied. He wasn't sure how long this was going to take and it was going to be a long drive to see Saffron afterwards. But nothing was going to stop him from checking on her.

"He looks like you," Edward said after Daryl had gone into the kitchen, "a little shorter though."

"Why are you here?" Simon asked. He had a right to know especially as his father had never bothered to contact him before.

"I saw the newspaper reports," Edward admitted, "I was worried about you."

"As you can see I'm fine and so is my son." Simon said.

"You certainly seem to be doing all right for yourself," Edward said, "they must be paying police officers a lot more than I thought they did."

"I'm a captain now and my fiancé bought the house," he said. Not that it was anybody's business as to how he could afford a house like this.

"You're engaged? I didn't realise that you were no longer married." Edward said.

"There's a lot about me that you don't know." Simon said.

"I'd like a chance to find out," Edward said, "and to get to know my grandson."

"Don't you think that it's a little too late for that?" he said.

"Simon, until a few minutes ago I thought that you were still married to her," Edward said, "we both know that she didn't make it easy for us to stay in touch."

"I tried, but you sent my letters back, started another argument when I called you." he said. He'd tried but once his attempts had been thrown back in his face yet again he'd stopped trying.

"I had my pride," Edward said, "and until now it wouldn't allow me to come. If you want me to leave I will."

"I need time to think about this," Simon said. He was also going to have to talk to Saffron about this because it would affect her as well. "and I was going to see someone before you arrived." he added. The longer that he stood there the less time that he would be able to spend with Saffron. "Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"I've a hotel room booked," Edward replied, "and I'm planning on staying in Cascade for a few days."

"That should be enough time for me to come to a decision." Simon said.

"You can reach me at the Royal," Edward said, "and I hope that we'll have a chance to talk properly soon."

"We'll see." he said. At the moment he wasn't sure what he was going to do other than go and see Saffron. He was also going to need to provide Daryl with some sort of explanation as to who his visitor had been. Not that it was going to be easy to tell his son that he hadn't spoken to his family in almost twenty years because of things that they'd said about Joan. With hindsight he'd come to realise that they had been right but by then it had been too late to do anything about it. Now he was being given a chance and all he had to do was take it.

Something was wrong with her and it wasn't just the fact that she'd drunk too much, Saffron thought as a searing pain streaked through her skull. Maybe everyone had been right and she shouldn't have discharged herself from hospital so soon because now she could be paying the price for her stubbornness. But at the time Simon had needed her and it was a sentinel's duty to protect their guide even when said guide didn't make it easy for them to do that properly. Then again whatever was wrong with her could be caused by something else because Jim seemed to be affected by it as well.

"Make it stop," she screamed as the pain washed over her again, "make the noise stop."

"What noise?" Stephen asked, "I can't hear anything."

"Get Blair." Jim growled clasping his hands tightly over his ears.

"The grounds moving," Saffron said. She could see small ripples appearing in the carpet and she suspected that it would only be a matter of time before they grew bigger. This was not good news but she wasn't sure what to do about it, all she did know was that she wanted Simon.

"Oh shit!" Stephen exclaimed as the room started to shake, "I think that we should get the hell out of here."

"I'm coming," Saffron said struggling to get to her feet as the shaking grew more violent. They couldn't stay here because there was a real danger that the cabin could come down around them and then they would be trapped.

"It's okay, I've got you." Stephen said as he half dragged her towards the front door of the cabin.

"Jimmy," she said casting a glance behind her. She couldn't leave him behind because Blair would never forgive her if she did.

"He's coming as well," he said, pushing the front door open and shoving her outside.

"I'm here," Jim assured her as he joined them outside.

"We should get away from here," Saffron said. She had a bad feeling that things were going to get a lot worse before it was over. "I have to get to Simon." she added. She couldn't protect her guide while she was away from him, "He..."

"Sis, listen to me," Stephen said, "we'll go back to Cascade and check on everyone. So you don't have to worry."

"It's going to be a long walk," Jim said, looking at what was left of his truck, "so we might as well start back now."

"If we get to the cabin's we can borrow a couple of bikes off Peter." she said.

It was just his imagination playing tricks, Daryl thought when he saw a cup start to wobble on the kitchen table. He wasn't used to being in the house alone. The fact that his dad thought that he'd be okay meant that he couldn't throw a party for his friends. Maybe he could ask Saffron when she got back if it would be okay if he had one, after all it was her house. She wouldn't be too pleased if she came back to find that his friends had trashed the place. That was the sort of thing that would get him grounded until he was like sixty.

Hearing glass break he went to investigate while hoping that whatever had just broken wasn't going to be expensive to either replace or fix because it would be coming out of his allowance.

"Oh no," he said when he entered the living room and saw the big cabinet in it face down on the floor. There was no way that his dad was going to believe that he hadn't done this. Well, he hadn't because he knew how much the things in meant to both Saffron and his dad. Even if he cleaned the mess up there was no way that he could explain how it had fallen over, and the stuff in it couldn't be replaced. As he stood there looking at the mess he could see the light fitting start to sway; that wasn't normal, so what the hell was going on? Whatever it was right now he didn't think that he should be in the house alone so maybe he should grab a bag and go stay at Saffron's dad's until his got back. At least that way he wouldn't be alone if something happened. He'd leave a note just in case anyone came to check up on him.

"What the hell..." William began as he felt the ground shake and pieces of plaster started to fall from the ceiling. If he didn't know better he would have said that there was an earthquake happening, but he'd lived in Cascade his whole life and hadn't felt so much as a single tremor before now. Still something strange was going on and being a cautious man it was probably better if he and Sally went outside away from any buildings until this was over.

"William..." Sally began, her face pale with shock.

"It's going to be all right," he assured her, "but I think that it would be a good idea if we went outside until we know what's going on."

"The children?" she said,.

"Are safe wherever they are," he replied. At least, he hoped that they were. Jimmy was very resourceful and he was certain that Stephen could handle any emergency that occurred, however it was Saffron that he was really worried about. She was the youngest and he wasn't sure how she would cope with something like this. Already she'd been through a lot more than anyone her age should have had to.

"I'll pack a bag." Sally said.

"There's no time," he said. They would just have to make do for the time being. Hopefully, there would be a chance to collect some personal items later. However, he had learned a very important lesson from recent events, people were more important that things. He would much rather have his family safe and well than all the money that he had made during his lifetime in business.

He had no choice but to slam the brakes on and hope that he didn't hit anyone, Simon thought, because there was no way that he would be able to drive through all this chaos. As it was he had been lucky to have kept control of his car when the road had started moving. Pulling out his cell phone as soon as the car had stopped he hit one on the speed dial and hoped that Saffron had her cell phone with her. Getting no reply he decided to try the house next because Daryl had to be wondering what was going on. Not that he could tell him much at the moment because he wasn't entirely sure of that himself. He kept telling himself that there was no need to worry if he didn't get a reply from the house because the phone lines were bound to have been affected by what was going on.

Right now though he was torn between going and checking on the welfare of his family and going to the station to see what he could do to help. They were going to need every officer who could report in because it was only a matter of time before people started to panic and a situation like this tended to bring out the worst in some people. They were going to have to mount rescue attempts because there were bound to be some buildings down in the city. Just how bad it was he wouldn't know for certain until he'd gotten to the station and reported in. After making sure that his gun was loaded he started to walk in the direction of the station.

He had to admit that he had been more than a little jealous that both Jim and Saffron had supersenses, but after seeing one of the drawbacks he was really glad that he didn't have them as well. The two of them had obviously suffered a great deal of pain when they had heard that noise, but if they hadn't then they could have all been caught unprepared for what had happened. As it was it had been a close thing and until they got back to Cascade he was going to have to keep a close eye on the both of them and try to help them if anything like that happened again. Not that he had any idea of how he was supposed to do that. If he'd still had his cell phone he could have called Blair and asked him how to do that, but it was back at the cabin and he didn't think that Jim would be too pleased if he suggested that they went back and got it.

"Was that it or are there going to be more?" he asked.

"More and probably worse," Saffron replied, "so it might be better if you stayed at the cabins with Peter."

"I might not be a super hero like you but I can handle it." he said.

"Stephen, the city is going to be in chaos," Jim said, "things are going to get rough."

"Jim, I do know how to handle myself," Stephen protested, "besides, we're in this together." He wasn't just going to abandon them and run for safety when the going got rough.

"Don't say that we didn't warn you," Saffron said, "and be careful because something like this will bring out the worst in people."

"Mom and dad are going to be okay, aren't they?" he asked.

"They should be," Jim replied, "it's everyone else that we should be worried about."

"Simon'll go to the station," Saffron said, "so that's the first place I'm going when we get back. And then I'm never going to leave him again, ever."

"Don't you think that's a bit drastic?" Stephen said.

"A sentinel protects their guide." Jim said.

"The guide always comes first," Saffron said, "and there has to be someone special that you want to check up on."

"There isn't." he replied. He didn't even have any close friends to worry about. If he died the only people who would miss him would be his family.

It was starting again, Daryl thought, stuffing some clothes into a backpack. So now would be a really good time to get out of the house. Not that it was going to be easy because the house was really shaking now. He had to admit that he was scared, almost as scared as he had been when the old house had blown up. He really wished that his dad was here because he'd know what to do.

Grabbing the backpack and throwing it over one shoulder he ran out of his bedroom and started to make his way down the stairs when a huge shock wave hit the house knocking him off his feet. He fell forward landing at the bottom of the stairs face down. He lay there motionless as a huge crack appeared in the ceiling above him. A few moments later a huge chunk of plaster fell down pinning him down by his legs.

"Dear god!" Sally said as a part of the house collapsed. If William hadn't told her to leave she would still have been in there. He'd saved her life but their home was gone. That really didn't matter at the moment though because she was worried about the boys and Saffron. She really wished that she could share William's optimism that they were safe but she had a bad feeling that they weren't. If they were safe they would have called to say that they were. So for the time being she was going to pray that her family made it through this in one piece.

"It's just a house," William said, "it can be replaced."

"What about the memories it held?" she asked. There had been some happy ones even though at times it hadn't felt like it.

"We still have those," he assured her, "but your life is more important that the house."

"Do we stay here or go somewhere?" she asked.

"I think that we should go and check on Saffron's house," he said, "Simon and Daryl might be there and it's the first place Saffron would go."

"You don't think that they could be hurt, do you?" she said. Saffron's house was just around the corner something that William had been pleased about that but now it was possible that the house was gone and that Saffron had lost both Simon and Daryl.

"No," he lied, "Simon is trained to deal with this sort of thing so I'm sure that both he and Daryl are fine."

Walking was not going to get them there fast enough, Saffron thought as she quickened her pace. The sooner that they got to the cabins then the sooner she'd be able to get to Cascade and her guide. She should never have left him alone, he hadn't wanted her to come and she should have listened to him because he'd turned out to be right. Right now he could be laying either dead or badly injured and it was all her fault because she hadn't been there to protect him.

"What if..." she began.

"Don't go there," Jim warned her, "thinking the worst isn't going to do you any good."

"I can't help it," she said, "I abandoned him and now..."

"Saffron, you didn't abandon him," he assured her, "and Blair is back there as well. But they are both survivors. You'll see that they're fine as soon as we get back."

"You're probably right," she said, "I can see him puffing on his cigar and growling at Rafe." If Jim thought that Simon was going to be okay then it had to be true.

"Why Rafe?" Jim asked.

"Because he's still Ellise's biggest fan, which Simon doesn't like," she replied.

"He loves you," Jim grinned, "Blair's the same. It works both ways."

"Simon won't let me protect him or take care of him the way I want," Saffron said. That was what led to their arguments about money.

"You just have to be sneaky about it, Blair is," he said, "of course, I know what he's up to but I don't let him know that I know."

"Nothing gets past Simon," she said, "it has to be all those years of keeping you and Blair in line."

He had one hell of a headache, Blair thought when he came round and the loft looked as if someone had totally trashed it. Jim was not going to be happy when he came back and saw the state of it. The mess was not something that he could clean up and put right in a couple of days. Still, Jim would understand that it hadn't been his fault. Getting to his feet he decided to see what other damage had been done to the loft and outside. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened and he knew that it could be some time before Jim got back to Cascade.

Smelling gas he decided that it might be a lot better idea if he looked outside first, just in case. Because it was always a lot better to be safe rather than sorry in cases like this and Jim wouldn't want him to take any risks with his life.

After grabbing his backpack he made his way out of the loft. It was not a pleasant scene that greeted him. The stairs were partially blocked by fallen masonry. He was going to have to be very careful when he made his way down them. If it was this bad inside then he hated to think about what it must be like outside. The guys at the station were going to need all the help that they could get and Jim knew that was where he would go if the loft wasn't safe to stay in. It was going to take him some time to get to the station if the roads were blocked. Still, the walk would do him good and he would feel better knowing that he was doing something to help.

They'd evacuated the hotel but they hadn't told him where he was supposed to go, Edward thought, so he would go to the one place where he might be able to do some good. His son was bound to need an extra pair of hands and he intended to provide them. Sitting around idly was not something that he was used to doing and his son was the same even if he denied that they were in any way alike. Perhaps the reason why they had fought so much in the past was because they were so alike. They both had their pride which they found very difficult to swallow at times. His son had been glad to see him earlier even if he hadn't shown it. Maybe while he was helping his son out he could point out all the good times that they'd had in the past. They might even be able to compare notes on parenting. Although, if appearances were anything to go by his grandson was a fine young man that he could turn out to be very proud of.

He certainly couldn't wait to meet the woman that his son was going to marry, but if she turned out to be anything like Joan then he was going to have a hard time holding his tongue. Obviously, whoever she was she had a great deal of money and taste. Yet the house hadn't felt like a museum or a showcase when he'd entered it. It was a real home, one that belonged to a family, one that he would like to be a part of if he was given a chance to be. He supposed that as long as Simon was happy then he should be as well, but Simon had always insisted that he was happy with Joan and just look at how that had turned out.

The more that he saw of the devastation the more that he wanted to turn round and go check on Daryl, Simon thought, but he was almost at the station and Daryl was smart enough to know that was where he would go. He really didn't like the thought of Daryl walking through the streets to get to the station, especially as it was getting dark. Still, with any luck the house would still be in one piece and safe enough for Daryl to stay in. Failing that Bill was just around the corner and Daryl knew that he could go there if he had any serious problems.

He had to give Bill a lot of credit for taking on the role of grandfather without being asked to do so. It was a role that his father had been offered and had rejected several times. Now he wanted to be a part of his life and take up where he'd left off nearly twenty years ago. If his father had seen the story about him and Daryl nearly getting killed then why hadn't he gotten in touch any of the other times that they'd been in the news. There had certainly been enough of them recently for his father to have found it difficult to ignore. Saffron would say that he should give him a chance, that was if she knew about it, which she didn't. What if his father didn't like Saffron? He wasn't going to allow anyone including his own father start attacking her because she was too important to him to let that happen.

"Help." Daryl said weakly as he tried to move only to discover that he couldn't because his legs were trapped by something. This was just great, nobody was going to come and rescue him so he was stuck there and the rest of the ceiling could come down at any moment. He should have known that packing a bag was a stupid idea but he hadn't wanted to lose everything he owned again. Saffron and his dad were going to totally freak out when they found out what had happened and his dad would probably blame himself for it. Not that his dad could have known what was going to happen. From what he'd seen and felt there had either been a huge explosion or an earthquake, but an explosion wouldn't have hit the house twice though. Still, it wasn't going to do him a lot of good knowing what had happened if he couldn't get free and out of the house. At least he could still feel his legs which was a good sign.

Looking up he could see where the window had once been, it as really starting to get dark out there. So he could be laying there for some time. If he was lucky the rest of the ceiling would stay up until he'd gotten out. Although, at the moment he couldn't see how he was going to do that. If he'd had a little more room he might have been able to turn over and use his hands to get free.

Stephen was doing a good job of keeping up with him and Saffron, Jim thought as they ran towards the cabins. He had to admit that he was very apprehensive about what they were going to find once they got there. From what he could see at this distance things didn't look that good. He would do what he could to help but his main priority was getting back to Cascade and his guide.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Just about," Stephen replied, more than a little out of breath.

"I'm fine," Saffron said, "but Simon is going to kill me when he finds out about this."

"If you want to slow down we can," Jim said. He didn't want to be the one responsible for her ending up back in hospital.

"I can keep going," she said, "and if either of you tell Simon about me running I'll deny it."

"He's only trying to look after you." Jim said. She was like him in the respect that she had to do everything herself even when she was still recovering. and Simon could probably be as stubborn as Saffron when he wanted to be about something. Which meant that they were going to have some very interesting arguments.

"And when I try to do the same for him he doesn't like it." she said.

"He has his pride," he said, "and it got well and truly battered during his marriage to Joan." He'd heard some of the arguments that his friend had had with Joan in the past and the woman had been a vindictive bitch. What she had tried to do to Saffron had only reinforced that opinion of her. However, the way that she had treated Simon was bound to colour his attitude towards his relationship with Saffron. He knew that he'd tried hard not to make the same mistakes with Blair as he had when he'd been married, but Blair was a lot more forgiving than Caroline had ever been.

"It's still standing so that's a good sign," William said. All the windows were gone and there was a large crack running up the front wall but apart from that it didn't look that bad. He supposed that was something to be grateful for. He didn't think that there was anyone inside but he was going to have to make sure that there wasn't for his own piece of mind. Besides, Saffron would never forgive him if he didn't check and either Daryl or Simon were inside.

"You will be careful, won't you?" Sally asked.

"Of course I will," he assured her. He wasn't going to take any chances with his own safety, not when his family needed him.

"William, perhaps you should wait until someone comes." she suggested.

"Who?" he asked. The neighbourhood had been hit pretty hard so it wasn't hard for him to imagine what it had to be like in the centre of the city. The emergency services were going to be busy, so for the time being they were just going to have to manage on their own.

"There has to be someone," Sally said, "one of the neighbours."

"They probably have enough to deal with," William said. He'd noticed a lack of people on the streets but hadn't mentioned it to her in case it upset her. Sally wasn't used to having to deal with situations like this. Admittedly he wasn't either, but he did know slightly more about the world that she did and he had had a life before going into business. During his childhood his family had gone through some very tough times.

It was going to take a major miracle to get any sort of organisation going, Simon thought. The station was gone, well almost. But what was left wasn't safe and there were people trapped inside. A rescue effort had been started before he'd arrived but it was going to be a long time before they found anyone. What he could really use right now were Jim's senses because at least then he would know whether there was anyone left alive to dig out. He'd feel a lot better knowing how his family were doing but he didn't have anyone to spare who could go and check on Daryl.

"I thought that you could use this," Joel said handing him a mug of coffee, "any word yet?"

"No," he replied, "I should have gone back to check on him." If anything had happened to Daryl he was never going to be able to forgive himself.

"And Saffron?" Joel said.

"She still hasn't called," Simon said, "I'm hoping that either she or Jim will soon." It could just be a simple matter of them not having charged their cell phones, but that wasn't like Jim though. The longer they went without calling the more likely it was that something had happened to them.

"They could be on their way back," Joel said, "and we both know how good Jim is at surviving difficult situations. And Saffron is tough."

"Not as tough as she liked to make out." he said. "but she definitely has that stubborn streak just like Jim." It was obviously a family trait because Stephen had it as well. Although when you looked at the three of them together it was hard to see any sort of physical resemblance.

"Sis, maybe you should wait here," Stephen suggested when they finally reached the cabins and saw the devastation. Not one of the buildings he'd seen earlier was left standing and there didn't seem to be any sign of life.

"Why?" Saffron asked, "I've seen dead bodies before and I was almost one."

"There are some things that I don't want my little sister seeing." he said. Not that he really wanted to see what had happened to the people in those buildings either.

"Stephen, nobody is going to be seeing dead bodies," Jim said, "we're here to get the bikes, that's all."

"You mean they're all..." he began.

"Including Peter," Saffron said, "we can't do anything for them."

"How can you be so callous?" Stephen demanded. He knew that he had a reputation for being cold when it came to business but couldn't believe that they were just going to leave people where they'd died.

"She's not being callous," Jim said, "just practical. Our main priority has to be helping the living, but if you want to dig them out and then bury then that's up to you."

"We have to do something about them," he said, "say a prayer, anything." It just didn't feel right to do nothing when people had died.

"Fine," Jim said, "go ahead and say one while I find those bikes."

"They were in that building over there," Saffron said pointing to a pile of rubble,

"Could we have a minutes silence to pay our respects to the people who died here," Stephen said. He hadn't known any of them personally but that didn't mean that he could just ignore the fact that there were dead.

William had been a long time, Sally thought, and she had to admit that she was worried. He wasn't a young man anymore but you couldn't tell him that because he would just go out of his way to prove that he was. Despite the grey in his hair he was still a very attractive man, she'd never told him that though because she worked for him. There were a lot of women at the country club who were interested in him but William had never shown any sign of wanting to start a relationship with anyone since Saffron's mother. Still, he was bound to have some reservations after both women who he had given his heart to had treated him so badly. and he seemed perfectly content to remain single. And it wasn't as if he was totally alone in the world, he had his children and her.

"William," she said, her voice full of relief when she saw him coming out of the house supporting Daryl.

"He was trapped," William said, "I don't think that he'd too badly hurt but I can't be sure."

"I'm fine," Daryl said, "my legs are just sore."

"We should get you to a hospital," Sally said. Although she wasn't sure how they were going to do that with the roads being blocked and darkness rapidly falling.

"That's if there's still a hospital." Daryl said.

"I'm sure that there is," William said, "but it's not going to be safe to wander around in the dark, that's how accidents will happen."

"The house isn't too bad, so we could stay in tonight." Daryl suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Sally said. If there was another quake the house could come down and they would all be trapped, "We’ll just have to manage until it's light." she added. It wasn't raining so that was something that they should be grateful for and spending one night outside wasn't going to do them any harm.

He would have gotten to the station sooner but for the fact that he had stopped to help people on his way there, Blair thought. Still, he was in one piece which was more than could be said for the station. It was going to be a long time, if ever, before it would be useable again. If Jim hadn't gone to the cabin with Saffron and Stephen then there was a good chance that they would have been in the station when the first quake hit. He knew that it was possible that Simon had been at work so he was relieved to see him standing there looking at what was left of the station. However, there was no sign of Daryl so he hoped that didn't mean that something happened to him. Saf had really grown fond of Daryl, something that Simon was pleased about. Still, there wasn't that big an age gap between them, something that was bound to raise more than a few eyebrows when the three of them went out in public together.

"Daryl okay?" he asked placing a hand on the taller man's back.

"Do I know you?" Edward asked turning to look at the man next to him.

"Sorry," Blair said, "I thought you were someone else." Form the back it looked like Simon and there weren't many guys of his height around, especially not ones who wore coats like that.

"My son worked in there," Edward said, "he was a captain."

"Maybe he got out in time," he said, "if you tell me his name I might be able to find something out for you.," At least, he'd try to. Someone had to know who had been in there at the time and who was either still missing or dead.

"Are you a police officer?" Edward asked.

"I'm a consultant with Major Crimes," Blair replied, "My names Blair Sandburg."

"Edward Banks," Edward said, "My son's name is Simon..."

"You're Simon's dad!" Blair exclaimed. He should have realised that he was because the resemblance was there for anyone to see. In all the time that he'd known Simon he'd never heard him mention his family, so he'd just assumed that they were dead. "I work for him." he added.

"I'm not sure whether he was at work or not," Edward said, "he was going to see someone."

"Then he probably wasn't in there at the time." he said. But he had a pretty good idea of who Simon had been going to see. With any luck he would have been well on his way to Saf's cabin by the time that the quake had hit.

Stephen didn't seem to understand there were was no time for the normal civilities of life in a situation like this, Jim thought, still this was probably the first time that Stephen had ever been faced with something like that. Saffron knew differently though, that there would be plenty of time to mourn for the people they'd lost once the living had been taken care of. He just hoped that his guide and family weren't among those who had been lost in this disaster.

"I found this," Saffron said from behind him, "the battery's nearly dead but it should be good for one call." handing him the cell phone that she was holding.

"So who do we call?" he asked. If they chose the wrong person and didn't get an answer they could have wasted their once chance to tell the people that they cared about that they were safe and on their way home.

"I don't know," she admitted, "Simon will probably have gone to the station so..."

"Blair could have been there as well," he said, "but he doesn't always keep his phone charged."

"Simon's is never far from him," Saffron said, "he even takes it to bed with him."

"Call him," Jim said, "he'll be able to pass a message on to Blair." That was if Blair made it to the station. He'd told her that thinking the worst wasn't going to do any good, but Blair did tend to attract trouble even in the most innocent of circumstances.

"As much as I want to I'm afraid to in case there isn't an answer." she said, "he didn't want me to come and maybe I shouldn't have because looks what happened."

"This isn't your fault," he assured her, "it's nature’s."

"You don't understand," Saffron said, "I saw it happen in a dream and Simon was dead."

"He's not dead," he said, "and just because you saw it in a dream doesn't mean that it's true." He hadn't realised that she had visions. It was something that they were going to have to talk about once they'd gotten back to Cascade and things had settled down, which could be some time.

So far he'd been lucky and hadn't lost anyone from his department, Simon thought, but he did recognise a lot of names on the missing list. He and Joel seemed to have things under control for the time being but they were going to need outside help if they were to make any sort of real rescue effort. There hadn't been any sign of that sort of help arriving yet, but with the phone network down and the roads blocked contact with the outside world was going to be difficult for the time being.

"Simon, there's someone who wants to talk to you." Blair said from behind him.

"Sandburg, can't you see that I'm busy." he snapped.

"I can see that," Edward said, "but I'm here to help."

"Dad!" Simon said. He didn't have time to deal with him on top of everything else.

"I'll leave you guys to talk," Blair said, "Joel looks as if he could use some help." He then left the two men standing there.

"So what can I do to help?" Edward asked.

"Have you got any way of getting around the city?" Simon asked. If his father wanted to help then he was more than willing to find him something to do so that he wouldn't be under his feet.

"I should be able to find a car," Edward said, "although it might be difficult getting through some streets. What is it that you want me to do?"

"My son was at home when this happened and I haven't been able to contact him yet," Simon replied. He didn't care what his father thought about him leaving Daryl home while he went out because Daryl was old enough to take care of himself under normal circumstances.

"I know where the house is." Edward said.

"If he's not there he'll be at Saffron's father's, it's just around the corner," he said. A fact that he was now thankful for. If Bill and Sally had survived then they would have gone to check on Daryl to make sure that he was all right, "It's a big white house with Ellison on the mail box, assuming that it's still standing." he added.

"This Saffron is your fiancé?" Edward asked.

"Yes she is," he replied. He hadn't actually asked her to marry him yet but he would when this was all over and he certainly wasn't planning on getting married in a years time, he had a lot sooner than that it mind. Even though Bill probably had plans for a huge society wedding.

"This reminds me of my childhood," William said as he and Daryl gathered wood to make a fire with.

"How does it?" he asked. Saffron's dad was rich and lived, or had lived, in a big house so he really couldn't see him ever having done something like this before.

"I used to collect wood for the fire," William said, "a lot of people did that because it was free and we didn't have much money."

"You didn't?" Daryl said. Now that was something that did surprise him.

"No, everything that I have I've worked hard for," William said, "there were times when I walked to school with holes in my shoes because my parents couldn't afford to buy me new ones, and as soon as I was old enough to work and get paid for it I did."

"My dad used to work in a hotel while he was in school." Daryl said. That wasn't the same thing but he knew that he was lucky not to have to work for his allowance.

"I made sure that both Jimmy and Stephen never had to go through what I did," William said, "I never wanted them to have to worry about money, but I forgot that money isn't as important as some things."

"What about Saffron?" Daryl asked. She was his daughter but he seemed to be more worried about his sons than her.

"She worked at her grandfather's cabin rental business for a while," William said, "her grandfather was a very wealthy man so there was never any chance that she would ever go without money. He did love her, if he hadn't he wouldn't have fought so hard for her."

"My dad would never have given up fighting for me." Daryl said. Even when his mom had made it really hard for his dad to see him he hadn't given up trying.

They weren't going to get back to Cascade before morning now, Stephen thought, which meant that they were going to have to spend the night surrounded by dead bodies. He had to admit that wasn't a prospect that he was looking forward to. It was all right for Jimmy and Saffron they didn't seem to be bothered by their surroundings but he wasn't used to the outdoors like they were. He'd been planning to spend a couple of days getting to know them. Instead he was faced with having to survive miles from anywhere that even came close to being civilised. He'd never particularly enjoyed those weekends he and Jimmy had been dragged to see Saffron because they'd always ended up going fishing, but it had been the only time that their dad had spent with them so he had forced himself to look as if he was enjoying it. Personally, he preferred someone else to have caught his fish and for it to be served in a nice sauce ready to eat.

He really wished that he hadn't thought about fish because he was hungry and it was probably going to be some time before they found anything to eat. Even then he doubted that it would be very appetizing. Still, under the circumstances he could hardly complain that they wouldn't be sitting down to a home cooked meal. A couple of make do meals wasn't going to do him any harm, although Saffron really couldn't afford to skip any more meals because she was already a lot skinnier than most women her height were. He couldn't help but wonder if she had some sort of eating disorder. A lot of women he'd dated had problems eating, it was almost as if that extra lettuce leaf would add forty pounds. There was no way that he could raise the subject with her without either offending her or putting her on the offensive.

"So that was Simon's father." Joel said, "he's the last person I would have expected to see here."

"Why?" Blair asked. There was obviously a story as to why he was and he intended to find out what it was.

"He and Simon haven't spoken since long before Daryl was born," Joel replied, "and until today I've never seen the man."

"Then what is he doing here?" he asked.

"I don't know," Joel admitted, "but I wouldn't try asking Simon at the moment if I were you."

"I wasn't going to," Blair assured him,. Not if he still wanted to be in one piece when Jim got back to Cascade. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that Jim was on his way back right now. Still, depending on the state of the road back form Saffron's cabin it could be at least morning before he got back. He hoped that Jim had Saffron with him because Simon looked as if he could use a hug but Saffron was the only one who could get away with doing that other than Daryl.

"The sooner Daryl or Saffron get in touch the better," Joel said, "you haven't heard from Jim, have you?"

"No," Blair replied, "but if I did, Simon would be the first person I'd tell." Although, it might not be good news if Jim did call.

She supposed that she should get it over with and call Simon, Saffron thought as she dialed the number for Simon's cell phone. She had to admit that she was more than a little worried about what she would do if there wasn't a reply. Her heart beat faster as she waited for someone to answer the phone at the other end.

"Simon," she said, a huge smile lighting up her face when she heard his voice, "We're all fine, we'll be heading home soon, I love you and..." her voice trailed off when the line went dead. She'd known that the battery might not last but there'd been a lot more that she had wanted to say to him. Still, at least he knew that she was on her way back to him. Maybe she'd find another phone and be able to call him again.

He hadn't said where he was but she'd heard him shout Blair. That had to mean that they were at the station and that Blair was okay. Jim would be pleased about that because she knew that he'd been worried about him. She did feel sorry for Stephen though because he didn't have anyone to worry about except for mom and dad. It was a pity that she didn't have any female friends that she could have introduced him to. He really wasn't that bad once you got to know him. Beneath that smug exterior there was a really nice guy. Unfortunately, he could also be a total jerk at times and he wasn't used to roughing it. She was going to have to keep a close eye on him to make sure that he didn't get himself into any sort of trouble.

The house didn't look too badly damaged, Edward thought as he pulled up outside of it, but he couldn't tell anything about the state of the interior until he'd had a look for himself. There were three people standing around a small fire, he couldn't see too clearly who they were but he hoped that one of them was his grandson because he didn't want to have to break bad news to his son. Switching the engine off he got out of the car. It had been tough going through some of the streets but he had reached his destination in one piece. Now all he had to do was find his grandson and take him back to his father. He carefully made his way to where the three people were standing. There was no point in him having gotten this far only for him to injure himself by falling over something in the dark.

"Daryl," he said cautiously, "your father sent to me fetch you." he added as he dug into his pocket for the cigar that his son had given him as proof that he was on the level.

"Yeah," Daryl said, "you're that guy who was here earlier."

"That's me," Edward said, "he told me to give you this so that you'd know that he sent me." he added handing the cigar case that he was holding to Daryl.

"I gave him this for his birthday a couple of years ago," Daryl said.

"Have you seen anything of his fiancé's father?" he asked. If Daryl had seen them then that would save him having to drive around trying to find someone that he had never met before.

"That would be me," William said, "but I wasn't aware that they were engaged."

"But you're..." Edward began. His son was engaged to a white woman!

"Very cold," William said, "has Saffron been in touch with Simon yet?"

"She hadn't been before I left." he replied, "I'm supposed to take you with me." He was going to have to talk with his son about his fiancee because it was entirely possible that this woman was only using him as some sort of status symbol and would soon get bored with him. However, he was going to have to be very careful about how he raised the subject because he didn't want to upset his son.

"We're not going to be back before morning are we?" Stephen asked.

"No." Jim replied. But it certainly wouldn't be through a lack of trying. The bikes that they'd hoped to use were currently buried in rubble and even if they could dig them out he didn't think that there was much chance of them still being rideable.

"So what do we do now?" Stephen asked, "because it's cold and I'm hungry."

"We'll camp out here tonight and make a fresh start in the morning." he replied. He'd been in tough situations before but Stephen had never been very fond of the outdoors.

"Jim, what if we get back and..." Stephen began, "I mean..."

"Simon's alive and so is Blair," he said, "I found a cell phone and made Saffron call him." It was much better that he said that it had been his idea for her to call Simon, that way Stephen wouldn't think that he was being left out again.

"Why not have her phone dad?" Stephen asked, "or aren't you bothered about whether he's alive or not?"

"Of course, I'm bothered," Jim snapped, "but Simon is in a lot better position to help us than dad is. He might be able to send someone out to pick us up, failing that he can pass a message on to mom and dad that we're okay." Not to mention the fact that Simon would be able to focus a lot better on the job he had to do knowing that Saffron was alive and well.

"All three of them are okay," Simon said.

"Are you sure?" Blair asked.

"I spoke to Saffron and she said that they'd bee heading back soon." he said. Knowing that she was safe made things a little easier for him but he was still worried about Daryl.

"I knew that they would be." Blair lied, "Something probably happened to Jim's truck, that's why it's taking them so long."

"She didn't say whether it had or not," he said, "the battery went before she had a chance to say exactly where they were." She'd said that she loved him rather than where she was. As much as he'd liked the sentiment he would much rather have known where she was.

"They're probably with Peter," Blair said, "Saffron would want to check on him and the people staying up there. Besides, they'd need supplies."

"What about transport?" Simon asked,

"They have trail bikes which would be perfect if the road's bad. But I doubt that Jim's going to risk heading back until it's light."

"Does Saffron know how to ride a trail bike?" Simon asked.

"Sure, she does," Blair grinned, "but she hasn't been on a bike since her grandfather died. Probably because she was supposed to be on the back of it the night he died. She's never had an accident riding alone though." he added.

"I didn't even know that she could ride one," Simon admitted. It was something that he should have known about her.

"It's not something that she advertises," Blair said, "and she would never do anything dangerous now that you're together."

"She wouldn't." he agreed. Although, he really couldn't see Saffron racing through the streets on a motorcycle.

"Dad," Daryl shouted scrambling out of the car and rushing over to where his father stood. He hated to admit it but there had been the thought at the back of his mind that his dad might be dead. That had really scared him because he knew that if that happened then he would have to go and live with his mom until he was eighteen instead of staying with Saffron. Yeah, right, like he really wanted to go and live with his mom after everything that she'd put his dad and Saffron through.

"Daryl," Simon said wrapping his arms around his son and hugging him, "Are you at all hurt?"

"Just bruises and sore," he replied, "I was trapped but Bill rescued me." For an old guy Saffron's dad was pretty strong.

"Son, I'm sorry that I..." Simon began as he let go of Daryl.

"Is Saffron here?" he asked.

"No, but she called to say that she was fine and would be back soon." Simon said.

"Great," Daryl smiled, "and it's okay, I figured that you'd be pretty busy helping other people." Besides, he was old enough to take care of himself even if he had been dumb enough to pack a bag before leaving the house, "and when did you ask Saffron to marry you?" he added. He'd heard his dad and Saffron talking about getting married but he'd thought that he would be the first person to know once they'd decided to not some stranger.

"I haven't yet." Simon admitted.

"But that guy said..." he began.

"That man is your grandfather," Simon said, "and I told him that Saffron and I were engaged because it was the easiest way to explain things."

"So you guys aren't going to get married then?" Daryl asked.

"We are, there are just a few things that we need to sort out first." Simon said, "like asking her."

"I think that he was pretty surprised when he saw Bill," Daryl said, "and it wasn't a nice surprise." Well, his dad's dad was going to be even more surprised when he saw Saffron.

"You'd think that someone would have had the decency to tell me that my own daughter had gotten engaged," William said, "Still at least he is willing to marry her."

"William, I'm sure that they intended to tell you," Sally assured him, "and I think that's he's always been willing to. He was just waiting for Saffron to recover from what's happened to her. Marriage is a very big step to take and you wouldn't want her to rush into it and make a mistake would you?"

"Of course not," he said, "but it would be nice to know about these things in advance so that I'd know what to tell people if they asked." Besides, this was a very important step that Saffron was taking and he wanted to be able to celebrate it in style. She was his only daughter and he had every right to make a fuss over the fact that she was engaged to be married. Although, he should have been asked for his permission first.

"Perhaps it was spur of the moment thing," she suggested, "I'm sure that they were going to tell you when the time was right."

"I still should have been asked first," he said, "it's traditional."

"William, I'm sure that once we know whether Saffron and the boys are all right there will be plenty of time to discuss this." Sally said.

"Of course they're all right," he said, "if Jimmy can survive eighteen months in a jungle then an earthquake isn't going to be a problem for him." His son was a survivor and if Jimmy made it then so would Stephen and Saffron.

"I hope you're right." she said.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Stephen asked as Saffron passed the candy bar he'd just offered her to Jim.

"I'm not hungry." she replied.

"Have you eaten anything today?" Jim asked.

"No." Saffron admitted.

"Sis, you have to eat something," Stephen said, "if you don't you're going to get sick."

"He's right." Jim said, "and you know who's going to get the blame if you do."

"I'm not going to get sick," she snapped, "and don't tell me that the both of you are afraid of Simon."

"Let's just say that I have a very healthy respect for anyone who is not only bigger than me but carries a gun," Stephen said. There was no way that he would upset Simon because he'd made it quite clear to him that he didn't like him.

"I have to work for him," Jim said, "and he bellows at me enough without me giving him another reason to."

"He never shouts at me," she said, "but then I'm likely to shout back at him."

"Aren't you ever worried that..." Stephen began. Simon was a big guy and from what he'd seen he wasn't a very patient man. Saffron could be annoying at times but he wasn't the one sharing a house with her.

"Simon's a pussycat," Saffron smiled, "he'll do anything for me."

"You should still eat something." Jim said.

"Why?" she asked, "I've skipped meals before."

"Because we might have to walk all the way back to Cascade," Stephen replied, "and I'm not carrying you if you pass out from hunger." not that she was going to be any great weight to carry.

He was going to have to make the time to talk to his father, Simon thought, but it wasn't going to be easy. Not only had he seen the looks he'd kept giving Bill but Daryl had warned him that he'd been surprised to discover that Saffron's father was white. He'd never thought of her as being anything other than the woman he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Although he knew that other people did and unfortunately they could cause problems for them.

"I wish that I had a photo of her to show you," he said, "but I don't. She's waiting for the bruises to go before she has one taken." And when she did have one taken it would be a family photo.

"Bruises?" Edward said.

"She was hurt when the house was blown up," he said, "I thought that she was dead when I found her."

"Son, I understand that you feel that you owe this woman something but..." Edward began.

"Saffron is great woman," Simon said, "Daryl likes her and they get on." If they hadn't then he certainly wouldn't have allowed her to stay with him or have pursued any sort of relationship with her.

"I take it that she has money," Edward said, "that house was not cheap."

"She earned that money legally," he said, "she didn't have to rip anyone apart in a court room to get it." Saffron could never act that way no matter how hard she tried. It just wasn't in her nature to be that nasty, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't stand up for herself if she had to.

"What is it that she does for a living?" Edward asked.

"She's a writer," he replied proudly, "all her books are selling very well and she has a new book out soon." He hadn't told her that he was proud of her but he intended to when he saw her next. "One that has me in it." he added.

"I suppose that you know what you're doing," Edward said, "It's not as if she's some twenty year..."

"She's twenty four," Simon said, "and we will be getting married."

She ached all over and she'd hardly gotten any sleep, Saffron thought as she tried to keep up with both Jim and Stephen the following morning as they made their way back to Cascade. She didn't mind walking but she really hoped that they would meet someone on the road who would be willing to give them a lift. Still, even if they didn't in a couple of hours they would be back in Cascade and she'd be able to see Simon. Hearing his voice the previous day had assured her that at least he was alive but she really needed to know that he was uninjured as well. Then there was Daryl, if she hadn't agreed to go to the cabin she would have been at home when the quake hit and then she would have been able to make sure that he was safe. Instead she was left wondering about what had happened to him. He had to be all right otherwise she was never going to forgive herself for leaving him.

"Jim..." she began. There wasn't anything that he could say that would help to make her feel better but at least he had a lot better idea of what she was feeling than Stephen would.

"Just a little further and we'll take a break." he said,

"I can keep walking," she said, "I just wanted to talk to you." She'd keep walking all day if she had to because her family needed her.

"They're all fine." Jim assured her.

"Including Daryl?" she asked.

"He's a smart kid," Jim said, "by now he's with Simon."

"If I hadn't come I would have..." she began.

"There are no guilt trips allowed," he said, "this is something that nobody could have predicted. You being at home wouldn't have changed a thing."

"I guess you're right." Saffron admitted reluctantly.

"I know I am," he said, "and when we stop you're going to have something to eat."

"I'm still not hungry." she said. At the moment she felt that if she ate anything she would bring it straight back up.

"You'll eat or you'll get left behind is that clear?" he growled.

"Yeah." she said. If she did throw up then it would be his fault because she'd told him that she wasn't hungry.

He was doing his best to help out, Daryl thought as he handed out another pack of sandwiches. People still needed to eat, especially working hard to save people. He just wished that his dad would let him help out like Blair was, but it probably wasn't safe for him to. He couldn't wait for Saffron to get back because then his dad might sit down for more than five minutes. As far as he knew his dad hadn't had any sleep at all last night and that couldn't be good for him. He didn't understand why his dad didn't delegate some of the stuff that he was doing to other people, because there were a lot willing to help out. He'd even seen some guys in military uniforms queuing up for coffee; it had to be really bad if they'd been called in to help out and he supposed that things could be a lot worse than what they were. All his family was safe even if Saffron wasn't with them and eventually they'd be able to go home again and make it liveable. The only thing that they wouldn't be able to do was replace Saffron's glass jar, even with a lot of glue and patience it wasn't repairable.

Then there was the matter of his grandfather. His dad hadn't said anything but he'd definitely gotten the impression that there was some sort of argument brewing between them, that was probably why his dad had never mentioned him before. To be honest he'd always thought that his dad had been an orphan because he'd never seen any photos of his dad's parents. Obviously whatever argument they'd had in the past had been a big one for them not to have talked since. Now it looked as if they were going to have another one, probably over Saffron. He hadn't said anything to his dad but his mom's parents had been in touch with him and as usual they'd blamed his dad for what his mom had done. Like his dad had put a gun to her head and forced her to do all that stuff. What they'd said about Saffron hadn't been very nice either. She wasn't the reason why his parents had split up but they didn't see it that way. Still, there wasn't a lot that they could do because his mom had just taken off without leaving a forwarding address. Not that he would want to talk to her if she did get in touch with him. She hadn't been anywhere near as good a mom to him as Saffron had been and his dad was a lot happier without her around to cause trouble for him.

He'd certainly put a lot of younger men to shame, William thought as he took a drink of water. Nobody would ever call him old again after seeing him work all night without stopping. Of course, Sally had been worried about his overdoing it, but he felt a lot better than he had in a long time. Besides, keeping busy helped to fill in the time until his children got back. He had to admit that despite the reassurances he'd given Sally about them being all right he was worried about their safety. Not knowing where they were only made matters worse. He had been tempted to borrow a car and go looking for them himself; he still might consider doing that if they hadn't been in touch by lunch time.

The man who had brought them here last night had been deliberately avoiding him since then. He'd seen him talking to Simon but after that he'd kept well out of his way. If something was bothering Simon then he wanted to know about it because Simon was a part of his family. He might have been reluctant to accept him as such in the beginning but that had been before he'd gotten to know him. Now he couldn't be happier about the fact that Saffron had gotten herself involved with him. The only one of his children who hadn't found the right partner yet was Stephen. Still, what did he expect when the only women that he mixed with had absolutely no morals at all. Those were not the sort of women you married and had children with. He already had one grandson but it would be nice to have more. He'd already made provisions in his will for Daryl, but most of his estate would be going to Sally. She'd been a very good friend to him over the years, had raised his children for him and had never been afraid to tell him exactly what she thought of him when he was wrong about something. It was only due to her that he had any sort of relationship with his children.

"You're worried about her as well, aren't you?" Stephen asked when they stopped for a rest.

"Yeah," Jim replied, "but there's not a lot that we can do about it at the moment."

"Just how serious do you think it is between her and Simon?" he said. From the way she'd been talking the other night it had sounded pretty serious to him. You didn't mention looking in maternity store windows unless it was important. Right now his little sister could be…

"She's not," Jim said, "Simon would want to be married before they had children."

"I suppose that I'd better get to know him better then." Stephen said. Not that it was going to be easy to do that considering what he'd said about Simon in the past. Still, he had apologised to him for that and he had only been pointing out the harsh reality that there were going to be a lot of people who wouldn't think that it was right for her to be with Simon. Unfortunately, one of those people had turned out to be his own mother.

"Stephen, I know that it's strange knowing that our little sister is..." Jim began.

"It is," he admitted, "and I think that I'd feel that way no matter who she was with. There are just some things that you don't like to think of your little sister doing."

"Like writing those books." Jim grinned.

"Or posing on the covers of them." he said. It wasn't right that she was showing off so much flesh. He'd had to get rid of all his Elise De Sade books because he'd felt bad about looking at the covers knowing that this was his sister.

"She didn't pose for them," Jim said, "they only used her eyes. You've read her books, haven't you."

"I had the entire collection," Stephen said, "you know what really surprised me was that dad didn't freak out when he discovered what she did for a living."

"He's a lot more flexible than we give him credit for." Jim said, "and we should be setting off soon."

"Looks like Saffron's already decided to do that." he said. She was in a hurry to get back and they were going to have to run in order to catch up with her.

"I wish that William would stop pushing himself so hard," Sally said, "he's not a young man anymore but he won't listen when you try to tell him that."

"Sounds a lot like Jim," Blair grinned.

"All three of them get their stubbornness off their father," she said, "and fortunately none of them inherited anything from their mothers, Except Stephen and it's only his eye colour."

"You probably had a lot to do with the way that Jim and Stephen turned out," he said, "I know that you were a very big influence on Jim." Jim had always spoken very fondly of Sally, even when he hadn't been speaking to his father. "and Saffron probably owes you her life."

"Jimmy heard her long before we got to the house," Sally said, "and he knew exactly where to find her. But they didn't always get on as children. She looked up to him and he found it difficult to deal with the fact that she got all the attention from William."

"He told me about breaking her arm," Blair said, "and that she didn't tell on him."

"William knew though," she said, "it was written all over Jimmy's face, but William forgave him when he saw the state Jimmy was in after saving her from some other children."

"So which of them is his favourite?" he asked.

"Probably Saffron," she admitted, "although Stephen is a lot more like his father than either her or Jimmy. But he is very proud of all three of them and worried."

"You heard what Simon said, that Saffron called and that they were all fine." Blair said.

"I think that William would feel a lot better if he knew where they were when this happened." she said.

"Saffron's cabin," he said.

That man couldn't approve of his daughter's relationship with his son anymore than he did, Edward thought, so perhaps they could get together and persuade them that it would be better if they ended their relationship. A young woman with money was only engaged to his son for one reason, as some sort of statement. His son had been used once by Joan and he didn't want to see that happen again. Simon claimed that he was happy but a man of his age should be dating someone his own age. A nice respectable woman with a steady job and not some writer who could lose everything if her next book didn't sell. What Simon didn't seem to realise what that he had to think about Daryl's future as well as his own.

"Mr. Fountaine," he said, "I was wondering if you had time to talk."

"It's Ellison and I suppose that I could spare you a few minutes." William said.

"I'm Simon's father, Edward Banks," he said.

"I can see the resemblance," William said, "so what do you want to talk about?"

"My son being engaged to your daughter." Edward replied.

"It was somewhat of a surprise to have the news broken like that but it wasn't unexpected." William said.

"I take it that you aren't happy about it either," he said. He could see the disapproval in the man's eyes.

"Of course I approve," William said, "Simon is a good man and he makes Saffron very happy."

"Surely you can see that it's not going to work, there is a very big age gap," Edward said.

"Age has nothing to do with it," William said, "and you obviously have no idea of how your son feels about Saffron."

"I can see that they are storing up a lot of trouble for themselves," he said. The fact that this relationship had already cost his son and grandson their home was proof of that.

"They've already been through a lot of problems," William said, "and they are still together."

They were just about to reach the city limits, Saffron thought, and so far all she'd seen where destroyed buildings. If it was this bad on the outskirts then she could only imagine how much worse it would be in the centre of the city. Quickening her pace she began to run. It wouldn't take her long to find Simon if she ran the rest of the way. He was bound to be in the thick of things and that meant that he needed protecting. No doubt he had been working flat out since this whole disaster had started. Well, as soon as she reached him she was going to make sure that he got something decent to eat and then got some sleep, even if she had to climb into bed with him in front of everyone to make sure that he did.

She wasn't used to sleeping on her own anymore. For the past month she'd slept in the same bed as Simon, woken up wrapped in his arms. Did Jim have problems sleeping when Blair wasn't there she wondered. Or maybe it was just her who had them. It was something that she was going to have to try and overcome because eventually he would have to work a night shift from time to time. The only alternative would be to go into work with him, that wouldn't be so bad and she had done it before. But if he had to go to a crime scene then she would be left behind. Of course, when they had children she wouldn't be able to go with him. She'd already decided that she would prefer a boy to a girl, although she knew that she would have to take what nature decided to give her. But if she did have a girl then it would never be able to wear pink because the colour filled her with total dread. Fortunately, Simon understood that and didn't bring anything pink into the house. It was going to be a littler harder for Daryl though, he was going to be dating soon and most girls liked to wear pink at some point during their life.

"Simon, why don't you get some rest," Joel said. His friend looked as if he was about to collapse. Things were under control, well as much as they could be. Help had started to arrive from outside the city so there was no reason why they couldn't grab some rest.

"There's still a lot to do," Simon said, "I'll rest when it's done."

"Saffron is not going to be happy if she comes back to you passed out through exhaustion," he said.

"All right, I'll stop for five minutes." Simon said reluctantly.

"You're going to need more than five minutes," Joel said, "Maybe later you'll be able to go home and check on things."

"According to Daryl the house is still standing but it's damaged," Simon said, "part of the ceiling came down while he was trying to get out of the house. If Bill and Sally hadn't decided to check on him..."

"He's fine," Joel said, "and you should be very proud of the way he's acted through this." A lot of kids Daryl's age wouldn't have handled this nearly as well as he had.

"I am," Simon replied, "but I wish that my dad would just go. He was talking to Bill earlier and he didn't look happy."

"Does he know about Saffron?" Joel asked.

"Yeah, I told him that I was going to marry her," Simon said.

"And are you?" he said. Although, he couldn't see his friend saying something like that if he didn't intend to carry through with it.

"As soon as I can arrange it," Simon smiled, "because I can't imagine life without her."

"She's good for you, a lot better than..." Joel began.

"She's also good for Daryl because she take more of an interest in him than Joan ever did." Simon said.

"Where the hell does she get all that energy from?" Stephen asked as he and Jim struggled to keep up with Saffron.

"I don't know," Jim admitted, "but she's going to pay for it later." She'd be lucky if she was still standing five minutes after reaching Simon. He wanted to get to Blair as much as she wanted to get to Simon but he knew that pushing himself too hard wasn't going to do him any good in the long run.

"How does she even know where to find him?" Stephen asked.

"She's tracking him down," he replied. Already he could sense Blair and they were probably still more than a dozen blocks away from where he was.

"Am I ever going to understand how the two of you do that?" Stephen said.

"I'll get Blair to explain it to you," he grinned, "but you have life easy compared to us. You don't have to worry about what reactions you might have every time that you try something new." He didn't have too many adverse reactions now, but that was only because Blair had done a great deal of research.

"Maybe not," Stephen said, "but I also don't have anyone special in my life like the two of you do."

"I never figured out that I would end up with Blair." Jim admitted.

"Then how did you?" Stephen asked.

"Saffron," he replied, "she said something by accident and made me see that I might have a chance with him after all." He'd never said thank you to her for doing that.

"Think she could do the same for me?" Stephen asked.

"Maybe, but you might end up with someone that you'd normally never think about dating." Jim warned him.

"Believe me that wouldn't bother me as much as it would have done once," Stephen said, "I just want to find someone special."

"Simon's father doesn't approve of Saffron," William said when he joined Sally for a cup of coffee, "What gives him the right to do that?"

"William, you didn't approve in the beginning either," she reminded him, "I'm sure that once he's met her and gotten to know her that will change." If he could change his opinion of Simon then that man was likely to change his mind about Saffron. Even if he didn't, it wasn't the end of the world because Simon was not the sort of man who would alter his opinion of someone that he cared about just because his father suggested that he did.

"And what if he doesn't?" he asked,.

"Then that is his choice," she said, "but it is not going to make any difference to Simon, just like it wouldn't to Saffron if you still didn't approve of him. So why don't you think about what you're going to say to the boys and Saffron when they get here?" Distracting him with something more pleasant to think about always worked and it was one of the reasons why she'd been able to deal with his various moods over the years. He was a good man even if at times he did have a great deal of difficulty in showing his emotions. There had been a time when he'd had no problems doing that with Saffron but then he'd been prevented from seeing her and he'd shut himself off from people just like he had when Grace had left him.

"I'm going to hug them," William said, "or do you think that the boys are too old to be hugged now?"

"They're never going to be too old to be hugged," Sally smiled. Although, they were going to be more than a little surprised when he did that. Still actions were said to speak louder than words.

Maybe he should have gotten some proper rest, Simon thought, because he was hearing Saffron shout his name when he knew that she couldn't possibly be doing that. Of course, he wanted her back with him as soon as possible but it was a long way from her cabin to Cascade and who knew what state the roads were in. It could be hours before she arrived so why was he hearing her voice so clearly that it was almost as if she was behind him. However, he knew that if he turned around she wasn't going to be there and he was going to be disappointed. Still, he couldn't stop himself from turning around. He then found himself almost knocked off his feet as Saffron threw herself at him.

"I'm sorry that I went away." she said bursting into tears as she hugged him.

"It's all right," he said, wrapping his arms around her, "everyone in the family is fine." Although, he probably looked terrible but not as bad as she did. He'd been surrounded by people since it had happened but she'd been out there with just Jim and Stephen for company. Somehow he couldn't see Stephen being much help in a situation like this.

"Peter's dead, they're all dead." Saffron sobbed.

"Watson, I'm so sorry," he said. She shouldn't have had to see that. "Come on we'll find you somewhere to lie down." he added. Getting her something to eat and drink would be a good idea as well.

"I'm..." she began. Then she went limp in his arms.

"Someone help." Simon shouted as he shifted his hold on her so that he was cradling her in his arms. She was still breathing, but she was so pale. Obviously it had been too much for her. The next time that she wanted to go anywhere without him he would put his foot down and insist that he either went with her or she stayed home where he could keep a close eye on her.

Jim couldn't be that far away if Saffron was back, Blair thought, because he wouldn't let her go far in that state unless something had happened to him, that was. If Jim hadn't arrived in five minutes then he was going to go and look for him. He had to admit that he was worried about Saffron because she hadn't looked good. Obviously she'd been through a lot and had probably worried about Simon and Daryl the whole time. A great deal of stress was not good for a sentinel and Saffron had been under a great deal of it for the past couple of months. She still had bruises from the explosion that had destroyed Simon's house. He probably should have done a better job of keeping an eye on her, dropped by while Simon was at work so that he could have made sure that she wasn't overdoing it. But Jim had needed his help at the station so he hadn't done that.

"Jim!" his face lighting up in a huge grin when he saw him.

"Chief, do you have any idea how good it is to see you?" Jim said.

"Probably as good as it is to see you," Blair said, "Saffron passed out not long after she got here."

"I tried stopping her from pushing herself too hard," Jim said, "I couldn't even get her to eat anything."

"Jim, she's going to be fine," Blair assured him, "your dad and Sally are here. He's been really amazing through all this, and worried."

"Worried?" Jim said.

"Yeah, he didn't know whether the three of you were still alive or not until Simon told him," Blair said. If Jim had been able to see the look on Bill's face when he'd heard the news he would have known that for himself. "and he rescued Daryl." he added.

"I'm just glad that you're all right," Jim said hugging him.

He should have known that everyone would be where Saffron was, Stephen thought. Nobody seemed to care that he had been through just as much as she had, but she was the favourite so she got all the attention again.

"Stevie," Sally said, "we have been so worried about you."

"You have?" he asked.

"Of course we have," she replied, "Your father would have been here but Saffron collapsed."

"She did?" he said. He hadn't known that and now he felt really bad. "Simon must be very worried."

"He is," she said, "and your father was worried that she might have been doing too much before this happened."

"She did push herself getting back here," he said, "we tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen." But perhaps they could have tried a little harder because as her big brothers they were supposed to protect her, even if it meant protecting her from herself.

"Nobody is going to blame you and Jimmy," Sally assured him, "all she needs is rest and some decent food inside of her."

"She wouldn't eat anything on the way back," Stephen said, "and I don't think that she got any sleep last night." Not that he'd gotten that much either because he wasn't used to roughing it like that and he hoped that it was an experience that he would never have to repeat.

"You must be hungry as well," she said, "why don't we get you some food and coffee."

"A hot bath would be nice as well," he said. Although, he wasn't likely to be able to have one anytime soon. He probably didn't even have a home to go back to.

They'd said that she was just exhausted and that she was would be fine, but that didn't meant that he was going to stop worrying about her, William thought. Still, things could have been a lot worse, all his children had made it back safely.

"Honey, you are going to have to start taking things a lot easier," he said, "because I don't like seeing you like this."

"Neither do I," Simon said, "and I'm tired of telling you to slow down."

"I thought that if she was going to listen to anyone it would have been you." William said.

"She only listens when it suits her," Simon said, "the rest of the time she does exactly what she wants."

"Like getting engaged without telling me." William said. He had to admit that did hurt because he'd thought that they were building a good relationship, one where she would be able to tell him things like that rather than letting him find out from strangers.

"I haven't asked her yet," Simon admitted, "but if she says yes then it's not going to be a long engagement."

"There isn't much point in waiting considering the circumstances," he said. They were already living as man and wife. Still, he did want to put on a good wedding so that people could see that he approved of her marrying Simon. And anyone who dared to suggest that he didn't would soon learn that he still had some influence that could be brought to bear on them.

"What circumstances?" Simon asked.

"That you're together for good and I can't see anything happening to change that, can you?" he said.

"Nothing ever will." Simon said.

"Of course, I will be paying for the wedding," he said, "it's traditional and she is my only daughter." Nobody was going to cheat him out of the moment that he walked her down the aisle, "but there will be plenty of time to arrange it once she's better." Besides, it would probably be some time before the city was up to hosting the sort of wedding that he wanted to give her.

His son was going to make a total fool of himself with that woman, just like he had done with Joan; that was if he didn't do something about it, Edward thought. Her father was obviously blind if he couldn't see that their relationship was never going to work out in the long run. As soon as she got bored she'd move onto someone else leaving his son heartbroken. He might not have been there for his son but that didn't mean that he was just going to stand by and let that happen. Simon had never been that wise when it came to understanding women, because if he had been then he certainly would never have married Joan. He'd been able to tell straight away that she'd only been interested in Simon for what he could do for her. Well, look at how that had turned out. This was going to be repeat of that if he didn't do something about it and fast. It was just a matter of deciding what he was going to do about it without his son finding out.

The last thing that he wanted to do was publicly humiliate him but there had to be something in that woman's background that he could use to persuade his son to call it a day with her. There were plenty of women out there a lot closer not only to his son's age but his social background who would be only too happy to have a man like Simon enter their life. All he had to do was introduce some of them to his son and he would soon see that he was a lot better off with someone like that than a child not much older than Daryl.

It had been a really long fortnight, Saffron thought, surveying what remained of the living room, but finally she was home. Even if home was going to need a lot of work to get it back into shape. The major repairs would have to be done while everyone was in the house because hers was the only one left that was reasonably livable after the quake. Now all she had to do was work out where she was going to put everyone and to make matters worse she hadn't been feeling too good for the past couple of days, still there were a lot of bugs going round so it was highly likely that she'd caught one.

"Don't even think about cleaning this up by yourself." Simon said from behind her.

"I wasn't," she said, "but I am going to try and salvage some of it." She was going to have to do that in every room of the house, and whatever she was able to salvage was going to have to be cleaned., That was going to take time and she really wanted to start writing again so that she would have some money coming in.

"Why don't you just supervise," he suggested, "because you're sick."

"I know," Saffron said. This morning she'd thrown up twice not that there had been much to bring up. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go and throw up again." she added before dashing off in the direction of the nearest bathroom.

"Whatever is wrong with her is more than just a bug," William said looking at Jim, "I think that she needs to go to hospital."

"Dad, you're right it isn't just a bug." Jim said. He knew exactly what was wrong with Saffron but it wasn't something that he could tell his dad before Simon knew.

"Then what has she got?" William demanded.

"Nothing serious or life threatening," he assured him. He was just surprised that Saffron hadn't worked out for herself what was wrong with her. Someone else who was going to be surprised was Simon. Still, Saffron had said that he wanted to be a father again. "but it would be a good idea if we made sure that she got plenty of rest." he added.

"Well there are enough of us to make sure that happens," William said, "now about the sleeping arrangements. Obviously you'll be sleeping with Blair, Sally is going to need a room of her own as is Saffron..." he started to add.

"Dad, she sleeps with Simon," Jim said. The fact that she was throwing up in the mornings was proof of that and proof that they hadn't been careful, "and I don't think that she's going to pretend that she doesn't for your sake." It was strange that their dad would accept his sleeping with Blair but had a problem when it came to Saffron sleeping with Simon.

"I know that these things go on," William said, "but it's different when it's Saffron. She's my daughter."

"And Simon's sentinel." he reminded him. That was something that their dad kept forgetting, probably because it was easier to accept Saffron and Simon's relationship in romantic terms.

"I know that," William said, "but that doesn't alter the fact that you are both still my children. Believe it or not I'm very proud of the three of you."

"Maybe you could tell Stephen that because he doesn't think that you are," Jim said, "at least not of him." He could understand why Stephen felt like that even if it wasn't true.

"Again?" Sally asked when she saw the concerned look on Simon's face.

"Yes." he replied.

"I'll go and check on her," she said. Saffron might feel better if she saw to her rather than Simon. Besides, she suspected that she knew what was wrong with Saffron but didn't want to say anything for the time being in case she was wrong.

"Maybe you can persuade her that she needs to see a doctor." Simon said.

"I'll do my best," she assured him. If she was right then Saffron would need to see one to have it confirmed officially. There would certainly be some celebrating going on if she was and she and William would have a wedding to plan.

"I'll make her some tea." he said.

"And some plain toast, she might be able to keep that down." Sally said. But even she knew that it was important to make sure that Saffron was drinking plenty of fluids. "Try not to worry too much,." she added.

"It's hard not to," he admitted, "and she's not a very good patient."

"She can't be any worse than Jimmy and William when they're sick." Sally smiled. She'd taken care of all three of them at some point or another. It had been her who had taken care of Saffron while she'd recovered from being locked in the closet.

"Mom, what's wrong with me?" Saffron asked when she heard Sally enter the bathroom.

"Is it possible that you're pregnant?" Sally asked, "I'm only asking because..."

"It's possible," she admitted. Her period was late but she had put it down to stress. Still, she and Simon hadn't used any sort of protection when they'd made love. "Am I going to feel this bad all the time?" she added.

"Only if you're very unlucky," Sally replied, "and don't worry about your father. He'll be happy no matter what you decide to do."

"I already know what I'm going to do if I am," Saffron said. She was going to have it regardless of what anyone said.

"The only way to know for certain is to do a test," Sally said, "I could go out and buy one."

"There's no need to do that," she said, "Jim can probably tell." With his senses he'd probably known the instant that she was, so why hadn't she thought of that possibility instead of thinking that she'd caught a bug.

"When are you going to tell Simon?" Sally asked, "because he has a right to know."

"As soon as I know for certain," she replied. She had to admit that she wasn't entirely sure what Simon's reaction would be if she was pregnant. They'd talked about having children but there was a huge difference between talking about it and actually having them.

"Why don't you go for a lie down," Sally suggested, "and I'll ask Jimmy to come up and see you."

"It's all right, he already knows to do that." she said. Some times she got the feeling that he was listening to what she was saying, although she couldn't prove it.

He was going to take her to see a doctor even if Sally couldn't persuade her that it would be a good idea, Simon thought. Things could not go on the way that they had been concerning Saffron's health. If something wasn't done and soon she could suffer long term effects from this bug because her health hadn't been that good before she'd caught it. The doctor had wanted to keep her in for observation after she had collapsed but Saffron had insisted that she was fine, now she was paying the price for her stubbornness. The worst part was he would have to go back to work in the morning and leave the others to look after her. They would take good care of her but that was his job and he hadn't been doing it very well recently. But that really hadn't been his fault, the earthquake had done a lot of damage to the city, even now they were still recovering bodies from what had been the central police station. For the time being Major Crimes had been relocated to one of the less damaged stations on the outskirts of the city.

Daryl wouldn't be going back to school until at least the middle of the week because they still had to make sure that the school was structurally sound. Jim was doing a good job of checking buildings for unseen damage but he was just one man. Saffron had offered to help but he couldn't allow her to do that in her current condition. He had to admit that he was dreading bed time because everyone would know for certain that he was sharing a bed with her. It wasn't that he was ashamed, just embarrassed because Jim would be able to hear everything that they did. Not that they would be doing a great deal because Saffron was sick.

"Feeling better now?" Jim asked as he entered the bedroom where Saffron was. She looked terrible but she'd just thrown up for the third time so how was she supposed to look?

"No," she replied, "but then you know what's wrong with me, don't you?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "but I didn't want to say anything." This was something that she should have found out by herself.

"So am I?" Saffron asked, "you know..."

"Yeah," he grinned, "is it good news?" She didn't look very happy but then it could just be the shock.

"I'm not sure," Saffron admitted, "I'll let you know once I've told Simon."

"Sis, from what you told me at the cabin Simon's going to be happy about this," he said. If he wasn't then he would take him down a dark alley and persuade him that he was going to be happy or else.

"I guess that I'm just worried about what sort of mom I'm going to be." she said, "what if I turn out like mine?"

"If you're anything like mom downstairs you'll be a great one." Jim said. However, he could understand why she would be worried.

"But what if I do end up like her," she said, "I don't want to be like that."

"Then you won't be," he assured her, "if you were going to turn out like her you would have shown some sign of it by now." She was never going to be like the woman who had given birth to her just like he and Stephen were never going to be like Grace Ellison. They all had too much of their father in them to be anything other than decent people, "and you have people around you who love you."

"You love me?" Saffron asked.

"Of course I do," he grinned, "you're my sister. Now why don't I send Simon up here so that you can tell him the news."

"If you know what's wrong with Saffron tell me." William said looking at Sally.

"William, I can't tell you," she said, "other people need to know first."

"Who?" he demanded,. He was her father and had a right to know whatever was going on.

"Simon." she replied.

"And why did she want to see Jimmy?" he asked.

"Because he has medical training," Sally said, "now drink your coffee before it goes cold."

"I won't be patronised," he said. Whatever was wrong with Saffron he would find the best experts and make sure that she was cured.

"It's not contagious nor is it incurable," she said, "in a few weeks she'll be feeling a lot better, hopefully."

"Then what is wrong with her?" William said.

"I've already said too much," Sally smiled, "so why don't you think about Saffron's wedding. After all you do want it to be a happy event for everyone."

"A happy event." he said. That could mean a lot more than just a wedding, he thought, like a baby. "I'm going to be a..."

"It's a strong possibility," she said, "but you're not supposed to know until they announce it so pretend to be surprised when they do."

"Of course I will," he said. It was certainly good news but it also meant that they were going to have to hurry up and get the wedding planned, "now she is going to have to hire someone to help out around the house." he added. He'd make sure that she did, after all she had to take extra special care of herself from now on.

It couldn't be that serious if Jim was grinning like a demented Cheshire cat as he'd passed him on the stairs, Simon thought, but it had to be important if Saffron wanted to talk to him alone.

"You look better." he lied.

"I feel better now that I know what's wrong with me," Saffron said.

"So what is it, food poisoning?" he asked. That would certainly explain the throwing up.

"No, it's something a little longer term than that," she said.

"How much longer term?" he asked, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"About nine months," Saffron smiled.

"Nine… You're..." Simon grinned.

"Yeah," she said, "I know that we didn't plan this but..."

"This is wonderful news," he said wrapping his arms around her and hugging her. He was going to be a dad again. They'd talked about having children hut he'd never expected it to happen so soon. "how far along..."

"Not very, a couple of weeks at the most." she said, "you are happy about this, aren't you?"

"Of course, I am," he assured her, "and it explains why Jim was grinning."

"He could tell me straight away whether I was or not," Saffron said, "you're not angry about that are you?"

"No, I'd rather know from the beginning," he said, "and I'm going to be there with you every step of the way." He hadn't been when Daryl had been on the way, but this time he was going to do things very differently. Now the department had more family friendly policies, there was paternity leave and he could take time off to attend doctor's appointments with her.

"I'm still going to write." she said.

"As long as you don't overdo it you can," he said. They were all going to have to keep a much closer eye on her because the minute his back was turned she would start trying to do everything by herself.

"Trust me at the moment I don't feel like doing anything, let alone overdoing it," Saffron assured him, "besides, I have to get the house sorted out before I can do anything else."

"You will not be doing that by yourself," he said, "because you have another person to think about now."

"Okay, what's going on?" Blair asked when he entered the kitchen.

"Nothing." Jim replied.

"You're in too good a mood for it to be nothing." he said. Jim just didn't grin like that for no reason at all.

"Saffron has some good news to tell us." Sally said.

"Some very good news," William said, "but we have to wait for the announcement."

"She's pregnant?" Blair said, "her and Simon must be totally rapped."

"They are." Jim grinned.

"We’re not supposed to know." Sally said.

"Saf probably knows that you know by now," he said. That didn't alter the fact that it was great news though. Saf was going to make a great mom and Simon was going to have his hands full taking care of her, "I'm going to have to do some research." he added. Although, nothing he'd read about sentinels so far had mentioned anything about pregnant ones. Still, all Burton's notes had been written during the Victorian era, a time when women were still considered to be the weaker sex and pregnancy wasn't discussed in polite society.

"Research," William said, "I will not have Saffron being treated like some lab animal."

"Dad, Blair would never treat her like that." Jim assured him.

"Of course, I wouldn't," Blair said, "I'm just thinking along the lines of finding out what things she might have problems with because there are going to be a whole range of things that Jim wouldn't come into contact everyday." he added. Like disposable nappies, baby powder and all the other paraphernalia that was attached to raising a baby.

"Such as?" William asked.

"Toys, baby food," he replied, "and if the baby turns out to be a sentinel then that is a whole set of different problems."

"This baby is not a problem." Simon growled from the kitchen doorway.

"Well that's spoiled the announcement," Saffron said, "but then you already knew."

"Saffron, you should be sitting down in your condition." William said.

"Dad, standing isn't going to do me any harm," she said. It would have been nice if her dad had congratulated her and Simon before starting on her about taking better care of herself.

"I think that it's wonderful news," Sally smiled, "a baby is just what our family needs."

"Thanks mom," she said, "and I really will try and take good care of myself from now on." Not that it was going to be easy to do that while she was being sick.

"Saffron, I'm very happy for the both of you," William said, "it's been a long time since I last held a baby and that was you. I suppose that things have changed a great deal since you were born." he added.

"I wouldn't know." she admitted. She didn't know anything about having a baby but she was going to learn everything that she could about it.

"They've probably changed for the better," William said, "when both Jimmy and Stephen were born I wasn't expected to be at the hospital until they were looking presentable."

"And when I was born?" Saffron asked.

"By the time that I got to your grandfather's house you'd already come into the world," William replied, "I was the fourth person to hold you."

"Naomi was the first." Blair said,.

"And she gave you those names." William frowned.

"Hey, I picked Rainbow," Blair said.

"Your middle name is Rainbow?" Jim laughed.

"I have two middle names," Saffron said, "Rainbow Crystal." She was going to have to think very carefully about what names her and Simon chose for their baby.

"Your middle name was supposed to have been Elizabeth after my mother." William said looking at Blair.

"I was six at the time," Blair said, "I liked rainbows and it was Naomi's fault."

"Dad, rainbows are beautiful," Saffron said, "and he taught me to read and write."

"I still have some of your early attempts at writing." William said.

"Actually dad..." Jim began.

They all seemed to be having a good time, Daryl thought, it was strange that they were all laughing when the house was in such a bad state. Still, he supposed that it was a lot better than they were doing that than sitting around complaining about the way things were. Some of his friends parents were really upset because they'd lost a few things in the quake when there were people out there who'd lost everything including the people that they cared about. His family had been lucky that they had only lost stuff, although Saffron was sick again. He'd found out the hard way that if she was heading towards the bathroom you got out of the way otherwise you were likely to end up with your trainers covered in vomit. It wasn't her fault that she was being sick all the time, he hadn't felt too good for a couple of days after the quake. A lot of people had felt pretty rough after it because it had been a huge shock that something like that could happen in Cascade.

"You're feeling better, right?" he asked looking at Saffron. She still looked pretty pale though.

"Now that I know what's wrong with me I do," Saffron replied, "and I shouldn't be sick for much longer."

"That's good," he smiled, "so what's wrong with you?"

"I think that I should tell Daryl in private." Simon said.

"It's that serious?" Daryl said. Of course it was otherwise his dad would have told him in front of everyone else. Why was this happening just when things were starting to get back on track for his family.

"It's okay." Saffron assured him.

The only reason why he'd stayed in Cascade for the past two weeks was so that he could have a chance to try and talk his son out of the mess that he was making of his life. Not that he'd been given that chance yet because his son seemed to be constantly busy either with his work or taking care of that woman that he was involved with. It was very convenient that she had gotten sick just when he'd wanted to talk to his son. No doubt she'd planned it so that he wouldn't be able to.

Joan had pulled the same trick and he wasn't going to fall for it a second time. He had every right to talk to his son if he wanted to and no little girl was going to get in the way of his doing that. Knocking on the front door he waited for someone to come and answer it. The sooner that he got his son away from that girl the better. She was going to end up being a very bad influence on his grandson. He'd done some checking into her background and discovered when she wrote. Who knew what sort of perverted people someone like that would introduce his son to. Simon probably wasn't the only man that she was sleeping with. What sort of example was that setting his grandson. Someone had to put a stop to what was going on and as her family weren't going to he would have to.

"Saffron and I are..." Simon began. He was going to have to admit to his son that he and Saffron hadn't been as careful as they could have been. "That is..." he started to add.

"You're getting married," Daryl said, "I thought that you would eventually. Can I be the best man?"

"Yes, but there's something else that's going to happen," he said, "there's going to be a new arrival in the family." This was turning out to be a lot harder than he'd expected it to be. Maybe he should just come out and say it, only he was worried about how Daryl would take the news. Up until this point Daryl had been an only child.

"You mean a baby?" Daryl grinned, "That's so… Are you getting married before the baby's here?"

"Of course we are," Simon said. It was the right thing to so and he wanted to be married to Saffron.

"This is so cool." Daryl said.

"Just wait until the baby is crying all night," he said, "you won't think it's cool then." That was something that he wasn't looking forward to but it was part and parcel of being a parent.

"Babies don't cry all the time, do they?" Daryl said.

"No, just when you're trying to sleep or sit down to eat," Simon replied. At least he would be home most nights to help Saffron with that. When Daryl had been a baby he'd had to work a lot of night shifts. Fortunately, there were very few nights now when he had to work, "but you don't have to worry about that, and just because there's going to be a baby it doesn't mean that I'll love you any the less." he added.

"What do you want?" William asked when he answered the door to find Edward Banks standing on the doorstep. The man was here to cause trouble, he thought, because he'd made it quite clear in earlier conversations that he didn't approve of Simon's relationship with Saffron. Well he wasn't about to let anyone ruin the happy mood that everyone was in.

"I'd like to see my son." Edward replied.

"I don't think that he wants to see you," he said. Simon hadn't made any attempt to get in contact with his father during the previous fortnight and if he'd wanted to speak to him he would have.

"That's his decision to make not yours," Edward said frowning at him, "I think that there are a few things that my son needs to know about your daughter."

"My daughter has a name, it's Saffron," William said, "and this is her home."

"Bought with the profits of sin no doubt," Edward said, "aren't you ashamed of the fact that she earns her living by porn. If she was my daughter I would disown her."

"She's not, she's mine," he said, "And I'm very proud of her and I still would be regardless of what she did for a living." While he might not personally approve of what she wrote she wasn't breaking any laws and she was very good at what she did. It wasn't as if people were forced to read what she wrote.

"I still want to see my son," Edward said trying to push past him so that he could enter the house.

"You're not welcome here," William said firmly, "and I'm only asking you to leave once." After which he would use force to make the man leave.

"Stay here," Jim said as he stood up. It sounded as if his dad needed his help with Simon's father, he thought. He didn't know what had gone on between Simon and his father but nobody was going to treat his dad like that.

"Jim..." Saffron began.

"I'll take care of it,." he said.

"Be careful." she said.

"I'll go with him." Blair said, "and you should relax because stress is not good for you."

"It's a bit too late to tell me that." Saffron said as he and Jim left the kitchen.

"I want you to stay out of this," Jim said, If Simon's father wasn't happy about Simon being with Saffron then he would probably be even less happy to discover that they were having a child together. Personally, he thought that it was great news, even if Saffron did have some doubts about what sort of mother she would turn out to be.

"They're my friends as well." Blair said, "and I've known Saf a lot longer than you have."

"She's my sister," he growled. As her big brother and the Sentinel of the Great City it was his job to protect her from anyone who might threaten her or her child. Besides, she could hear what Simon's father was saying about her so the sooner that he got him to leave the better that it would be for everyone concerned.

"It's okay," Blair said, "and it's probably a good thing that Simon can't hear him."

"I wouldn't bet on that if I were you Chief." Jim said.

"Dad, what's going on?" Daryl asked as Simon left the room that they were in. He'd heard raised voices so he supposed that he should follow his dad in case it had something to do with Saffron.

"You're grandfather is here." Simon growled.

"He was in the kitchen the last time I saw him." he said. He might as well call Saffron's dad that because he was going to be one to his little brother or sister when they arrived.

"My father not Saffron's." Simon said.

"Oh." Daryl said. That was a problem because his dad's dad had made his feelings about Saffron pretty clear. He didn't see what was wrong with them being together, she really made his dad happy. "What's he doing here?" he added.

"It's not to apologise," Simon said, "that's why he came the first time."

"Why doesn't he like Saffron?" he asked. His dad had always told him that you couldn't judge someone without getting to know them properly first. His grandfather hadn't bothered to get to know Saffron because if he had he would have found out that she was a good person.

"It's hard to explain," Simon said, "but she isn't what he expected. Just like I wasn't what Bill had expected for Saffron."

"But he likes you now, right?" Daryl said. That was because he'd gotten to know his dad.

"We're getting there," Simon replied, "the fact that we both love Saffron helps."

"Simon," Edward Banks said when he saw his son. It was about time that he showed his face. Now hopefully thing would be sorted out in a civilised manner, "they said that you didn't want to talk to me," That of course was not true, they just didn't want him telling Simon the truth about the woman he'd gotten involved with.

"I don't," Simon replied, "not after what I've heard you say about Saffron."

"But..." Edward began. His son had once again chosen a worthless whore over his family. He had been more than willing to forgive him for his past mistakes but not anymore.

"No buts," Simon growled, "you don't talk about the mother to be of my child that way."

"Are you sure that it's yours?" he asked. The next thing that he knew he was flat on his back outside the house with blood pouring from his nose. Simon had hit him, he hadn't expected that to happen. Picking himself up off the floor he could see that the front door had been closed. Simon had made his choice for now but he certainly wasn't just going to let him get away with this. Eventually his son would realise that he'd made a terrible mistake then he would come begging for his forgiveness. If that didn't happen then he would prompt him to even if that took some time to do.

"Did you hurt your hand?" Saffron asked when she saw Simon rubbing one of his hands. She's heard what he'd done and she had to admit that she was proud of him but a part of her wished that he hadn't had to resort to violence.

"No," Simon assured her, "and he won't be back."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Watson, you have nothing to be sorry about," he said, "he shouldn't have said what he did. I'm just sorry that you had to hear it."

"But he's your dad," Saffron said. Her relationship with her dad had been rocky in the beginning but they'd worked things out.

"We haven't talked in a long time," Simon admitted, "he wasn't even interested in getting to know you. He judged you by what you do for a living."

"That's not the first time it's happened," she said, "and it probably won't be the last." People thought that she would be like Ellise De Sade and they tended to be very disappointed when they met her because she wasn't. "I can kill her off if you like." she added.

"You don't have to do that," he said, "I'm very proud that you have to the guts to write what you do."

"It's not guts, it's the need to tell a story any way I can,." she said. Her latest book proved that she didn't have to write sex scenes to produce a good book that a lot of people would enjoy reading. "Besides, by the time this one is old enough to go to college think what it's going to cost." she added placing a hand on her stomach.

"I have never seen Simon like that." Blair said.

"Probably because nobody's ever dared to say anything like that about Saffron in front of him before." Jim said.

"I was going to hit him," William said, "even though Sally would have killed me if I had."

"Why didn't you?" Blair asked.

"Because I don't like using violence to solve problems," he replied, "only in this case it was the only solution left." In fact, he probably would have been very disappointed if Simon hadn't hit that man. There were just some things that you didn't stand for. However, he knew that Simon would never use that sort of violence against Saffron. Somehow though he seriously doubted that they had heard the last from that man. "This isn't going to cause problems for Simon at work, is it?" he added.

"I doubt it," Jim said, "not after what Simon's done for the city recently."

"Still, I don't suppose that it would do any harm to have a word with a few people," William said, "remind them that he is a part of this family." After all, it never hurt to remind people that you could either help them or stop their career in it's tracks by mentioning them to the right people.

"Dad, I think that Simon would like to deal with any problems by himself," Jim said.

"Well, I suppose that I could wait a while before doing anything." Which didn't mean that he wasn't going to have someone follow that man just to make sure that he knew what he was up to. There was no need for his family to know what he was planning to do just yet but he had every right to make sure that they had plenty of advanced warning if he was going to do something.

He'd finally done it, Stephen thought, he's quit the job that he'd hated for so long. What he was going to do from now on he didn't have a clue but at least he felt happier than he had been in a long time. Of course telling his dad that he had quit his job wasn't going to be easy but he had to do what was best for him. Besides, Saffron could probably use some help in getting the house sorted out, and he was going to be staying with her until his apartment was repaired so it was only right that he did something to repay her. Anyway it would give them a chance to talk like they were supposed to have done at the cabin. There had been some things that he had wanted to say to her but had been too busy trying to stay alive to.

"You'll never guess what I did..." he began as he entered the house through the back door, "why do I get the feeling that I've missed something important?" he added when he saw the looks on everyone's faces.

"You did, Uncle Stephen." Blair grinned.

"Uncle! I'm going to be an uncle," he grinned, "That's great news, how..."

"If you don't know that by now son, I'm not going to tell you." William laughed.

"I meant how long before I get to tell people that I'm an uncle." he said wondering when his father had gotten a sense of humour.

"About eight and a half months," Saffron replied, "so you have plenty of time to get ready."

"Just tell me what to do and I'll do it," Stephen said. He might not have been a very good brother to her so far but that didn't mean that he couldn't be a great uncle.

"So are you going to tell us what you did?" Jim said.

"I quit my job." he said.

"Why?" William asked.

"Because I hated it," Stephen replied, "it's not as if I have to work."

"So what are you going to do?" Saffron asked.

"I don't know," he admitted, "but anything has to be better than sitting in that damned office every day." He'd find something else to do, something that he would enjoy doing.

"As long as you're happy that's the important thing." William said.

"So you're not going to lecture me about being irresponsible and a disappointment to you?" he asked.

"No," William said, "it's your life so you should live it the way you want. Now we have a wedding to plan."

"How about we elope?" Saffron suggested as she laid snuggled up in Simon's arms, "because I don't think that I can go through with the wedding my dad wants."

"We're not eloping," he replied, "and he's probably been thinking about the day he walks you down the aisle for a long time." Admittedly, it wasn't the sort of day he wanted either, but the important thing was that they got married with all their family around them. Only in his case there would just be Daryl.

"I was expecting him to be angry," she said, "to shout..."

"Watson, he couldn't be happier about this and neither could I," he said, placing a hand on her stomach, "we're having a baby." It was something that meant that they were going to be a real family in just under nine months time.

"I know." she smiled placing a hand on top of his, "I just hope that he turns out to be as handsome as you."

"He might be a she," Simon said. Personally he didn't care what sex the baby was as long as both it and Saffron were healthy.

"I'd prefer a boy." Saffron said.

"We'll just have to wait and see what we've been given." he said. He'd prefer it to be a secret until he met his child for the first time, "and you should arrange to see a doctor to make sure that everything's all right. I'll go with you when you have an appointment."

"You don't have to do that." she said.

"I want to," Simon said, "and maybe now you'll be able to let me take care of you the way I want."

"William, I think that you're going a little overboard with Saffron's wedding." Sally said.

"She seemed perfectly fine with the arrangements I wanted to make," he said, "and this is a very important day in her life. She will only be getting married once."

"I know it is," she said, "but do you have to have a full orchestra? Why don't you find a nice quartet?"

"I'm only going to be able to give her one wedding," he said, "and I won't have anyone saying that I cut corners on it."

"So you're going to let your pride get in the way of what her and Simon want?" she asked.

"Of course not," he protested, "but you know how people talk. The way that they count backwards to see when a child was conceived."

"It's not unusual for couples to have children before they get married these days," Sally said, "you had Saffron and didn't marry her mother."

"Only because she wouldn't marry me," he said, "I asked her more than once to."

"I know," she said, "but wouldn't it be better if you scaled the wedding down and used the money to set a trust fund up for your grandchildren?"

"I was going to do that," he said, "I made sure that Saffron had money from me even if she didn't know where it came from until recently. I just want to make up for all the things I was never allowed to give her."

Now that she knew why she was being sick she actually felt better, Saffron thought the following morning but she really hoped that she would stop being sick soon because she couldn't do a great deal to sort the house out when just about everything set her stomach churning. Still, with any luck this would only last a couple more weeks and then she'd be fine. Once she'd been to see a doctor she'd probably have a lot better idea of how to cope with being sick. Being tired was something else that she had to deal with now. For only the second time since she'd met Simon and started living with him she hadn't woken up the same time that he had, even his going to work hadn't woken her up. How was she supposed to protect her guide when she barely had the energy to get out of bed.

"Morning Honey," William said as he entered her bedroom carrying a tray, "we all thought that you could use a lie in today." he added walking towards the bed, "and Sally made you some tea and toast."

"I'm not sure that I'll be able to keep it down," she said. Although it was a very nice gesture.

"I thought that we could talk about your wedding, if you're feeling up to it." he said as she sat up in bed.

"What's to talk about?" Saffron asked. Her dad had made his mind up and her and Simon were just going to have to go along with it.

"Maybe I was over ambitious about the wedding," William admitted, "because the important thing is that you love each other."

"It was a little over the top," she smiled, "We'd be perfectly happy with a judge marrying us, but I can understand why you want to give me a big wedding."

"To show off," he said, "so that nobody could say that I was ashamed of you because I'm not."

"But you are disappointed, aren't you?" she asked, "about the baby."

"Hell, no," he said, "I'm looking forward to being a grandfather again, and if you need anyone to go to the doctors with you all you have to do is ask."

"I'll remember that." she said.

"I thought that you could use this," Joel said handing Simon a mug of coffee. But that wasn't the real reason why he'd come to see his friend. Everyone wanted to know why Simon was in such a good mood and he'd volunteered to find out the reason why.

"You'll find out soon enough," Simon said, "Saffron's pregnant."

"That's..." Joel began. He wasn't entirely sure what to say to his friend but it was obviously good news from the look on Simon's face. "Congratulations." he added.

"We're both happy about it," Simon said, "Bill's already making plans for a wedding."

"Is that what you want?" Joel asked.

"Believe it or not it is," Simon replied, "we'd talked about it before and I was planning to ask her but the quake happened and..."

"What does Daryl think of it?" he said.

"He thinks it's pretty cool," Simon grinned, "of course he's not the one who has to deal with a sick Saffron."

"She's got morning sickness." he said. When his wife had been pregnant she hadn't gotten that until she'd been two months pregnant, so Saffron had to be that far along.

"It's more like all day sickness at the moment," Simon said, "she's lost a lot of weight."

"Has she seen a doctor yet?" Joel asked.

"No, she's going to make an appointment to see one today," Simon replied, "I'll be going with her when she has one."

"Things will probably have changed a lot since Daryl was born," he said, "they have all sorts of tests these days." While he was happy for his friend he couldn't help but wonder whether Simon really knew what he was getting himself into. At this point in his friends life he should be looking forward to sending Daryl off to college and having his life back. Instead he was going to be facing sleepless nights and diaper changing.

"You don't sound happy about it," Simon said.

"It's just a surprise that's all." he admitted, "and you've already done the sleepless nights once."

"And I'm looking forward to doing it a second time," Simon said.

He was glad to be going home, Edward thought, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't be back though. His son would soon realise that he was being taken for a ride by that young girl, but there wasn't a great deal that he could do about it at the moment. No, he was going to have to wait until she'd had the baby. Once Simon saw that there was absolutely no resemblance to him then he would demand a DNA test, after which everyone would know the truth because he would make sure that they did.

He'd thought that Joan had been bad for Simon but this young woman who was claiming to be pregnant with his grandchild was worse. At least Joan had been employed in a perfectly respectable job. What sort of career was writing porn? He'd raised Simon to know that some things were just not right and that was one of them. Obviously Simon didn't realise what sort of danger he could be putting his son in. Who knew what sort of people his grandson was coming into contact on a regular basis with. If this was the way that his son was acting all the time then it was no wonder that Joan had divorced him. He wasn't entirely sure where she was but it couldn't be in Cascade otherwise she would have had Daryl with her. And he certainly wouldn't have put it past that young woman to have run Joan off so that she could sink her claws into Simon. He'd met women like her before; as soon as her money ran out she would expect Simon to pay for everything until he was broke and in debt then she would move on to someone else and do the same thing to them. Well, he was going to have to find Joan and hope that they could put past differences behind them so that they could save Simon from his own stupidity. At the very least they'd be able to get Daryl away from the danger that he was in.

Now that he didn't have to go to work anymore he could devote all his time and energy to helping Saffron get the house straightened out, Stephen thought, because she wasn't going to be able to do a great deal in her current condition. Being an uncle to be was a very important role although he wasn't entirely sure what that role entailed yet apart from trying to make sure that Saffron didn't do too much the moment everyone's backs were turned. That was not going to be easy because she could be pretty damned stubborn when she wanted to be. He'd seen for himself just how far that stubbornness would get her, back to Cascade and the man that she loved. He on the other hand was still looking for that elusive someone who would help to make his life complete.

Admittedly, he hadn't had that many chances to meet women recently, but that was going to change once he'd started to mix socially with the people that his sister knew. She was bound to know some women that he could date; if she didn't then she might know a nice guy that he could hang out with until he'd decided what he was going to do. Maybe he'd meet someone when he was doing uncle to be things for Saffron. After all, maternity stores did tend to be full of women and once he'd explained that he wanted to buy something for his sister they'd be only too willing to help him find something suitable for her. And not every woman who went shopping in a store like that was going to be a mother to be. So there was a pretty good chance that he'd be able to meet someone single.

"I never thought that I'd be buying these," Jim said as he placed a huge stack of baby magazines on the kitchen table.

"At least there aren't any more of them." Sally smiled.

"There are," he said, "and by the time Saffron's read them all the baby will be starting school."

"They're for your father," she said, "he needs distraction or otherwise he'll be there every time your sister turns round. Because your father isn't the sort of man who can sit in a chair all day doing nothing." she added.

"That sounds like Saffron." he grinned.

"And I thought that it was only her stubbornness that she'd inherited from your father." she smiled. Simon was going to need a great deal of patience in order to deal with Saffron over the next few months. Still, he would have the support of her family.

"Mom, she only thought about one thing when we were coming back." he said.

"Jimmy, is Simon's father going to cause problems for them?" she asked.

"I don't know," he admitted, "but it's not something that you should worry about, mom."

"You're my children so of course I'm going to worry." she said. William referred to the boys and Saffron as being their children and it looked as if they'd picked up on that fact. She had to admit that she was very honoured that they'd decided to call her mom. It was a role that she had always been more than willing to take on.

"We all decided that you were our mom," Jim said, "because you've always been there for us, you chose to..."

"And I'm very proud to have three such wonderful children," Sally smiled, hugging him, "even your father thinks of me as being the other parent." Which was hardly surprising considering the fact that she had taken on the role of mother to both Stephen and Jimmy a long time ago. "I just wish that I could have been there more for Saffron." she added.

"That wasn't your fault," he assured her, "you did what you could for her and she knows that."

"Now I'm going to be a grandmother." she said.

"And a mother of the bride." he grinned.

"I'm trying to persuade your father that a huge society wedding is not what Simon and your sister want," she said, "it's just that she's his only daughter."

"Dad, could I ask you something?" Saffron said as she followed William down the stairs.

"Of course you can." he replied.

"Why don't you have a lady friend?" she said.

"What makes you think that I don't have one?" he said. He had to admit that it was somewhat of an unusual question for a daughter to ask her father, but then Saffron wasn't a typical daughter.

"Because you've never mentioned anyone," she replied, "and the only woman you ever smell of is mom."

"Well, you're right, there isn't anyone," William said, "but I'm very happy with the way things are." After his past experiences he really didn't want to invest a lot of time and effort in something that was likely to fail. At his age it was much better to enjoy the life that he had rather than long for something that he couldn't have. "Besides, who would want an old man like me?" he added.

"You're not old, you're mature," Saffron said, "and there is Viagra..."

"Saffron." he warned her.

"Not that you would need it or anything." she said.

"Honey, there are just some things that fathers and daughters should not discuss and that is one of them," he said.

"Why is it?" she asked.

"Because it's embarrassing," he replied, "I was raised to believe that there were just some things that you don't discuss. It's not something that I would talk to your brothers about either."

"It must have been a hell of a shock to end up with me as a daughter then." she smiled.

"You are a wonderful daughter," he assured her, "but I am glad that you've decided to stop writing that material."

"I haven't," Saffron admitted, "I've just been taking a break from it. As soon as my study's up and running the next Ellise De Sade book will be in production."

"And what does Simon think of that?" he asked.

"As long as I'm happy he's fine with it," she replied, "and it's something that I can continue to do even after the baby's born."

"Jim, you're going to have to give me a hand with the research on this stuff," Blair said flicking through a magazine, "because there's too much to test on just Saf." Besides, he didn't want to run the risk of her zoning out in case it hurt the baby. This was totally uncharted territory and he wanted to make sure that by the time that Saffron had the baby they had checked out everything that either she or the baby could come into contact with and have a reaction to.

"You mean tests, don't you." Jim said.

"Yeah," he replied. He knew how much Jim hated doing tests but that was the only way that they were going to find out what Saffron was likely to have problems with.

"Chief, what are the odds of the baby being a sentinel?" Jim asked.

"At least 50/50," Blair said, "it could be higher because two out of the three of you are." Genetics obviously played a huge part in deciding who became a sentinel and who didn't, but there had to be other factors involved as well like Jim's isolation in Peru and Saf's..

"What?" Jim said when he saw Blair's eyes light up.

"We know that you were born a sentinel so your dad and Sally might have a lot of information that we could use." he grinned. They'd also be able to tell him what Saf had been like as a baby.

"Ask away Chief, but anything you find out stays in the family." Jim said.

"I'm only going to be asking to help Saf." Blair said.

He supposed that he should join in the mood that everyone else was in, Daryl thought, but after having thought about it most of the night he wasn't so sure that it was a good idea for his dad to have another baby despite the fact that his dad was really happy about it. He had to admit that it was going to be pretty embarrassing telling his friends that he was going to be a big brother. Maybe he could tell them that his dad and Saffron were adopting a baby because then people wouldn't know that his dad was still doing it at his age. And with any luck now that Saffron was pregnant they wouldn't be doing it again. He knew that they hadn't last night because there hadn't been any noises coming from his dad's room. Still, there was a house full of people so that was probably stopping them from doing anything.

"I have a couple of questions to ask you about the baby." he said looking at Saffron.

"Ask away," she said, "but I should warn you that there's a lot about it I don't know myself."

"I'm not going to have to look after it, am I?" Daryl asked. Because he wasn't about to become a free baby-sitter for anyone.

"I don't know," she admitted, "but there might be time when you have to for a few minutes."

"Okay, but there is no way that I'm going to change diapers," he said, "and this is going to be the only one you have right?" He was pretty sure that he could handle one baby but any more than that and he was going to have to say something.

"Maybe," Saffron replied, "but it's not something that me and your dad have really talked about. And I'd like to get this one brought into the world first before thinking about any more."

The mother to be of his child deserved a ring, Simon thought, taking out the credit card and looking at it. Using it was the only way that he would be able to afford to buy her one at the moment. Besides, Saffron knew how much he loved her. A ring was just a symbol of that love, something that other people could see and know that she belonged to him. God, that made her sound like a piece of property when she was anything but that. Perhaps chosen to be with him was a better way of putting it. Naturally whatever ring he bought would have to pass Bill's close inspection. On the whole it might be better if he just bought her a wedding ring because she was going to need one in the next few weeks. No doubt Bill had already made most of the arrangements even though Saffron wasn't exactly overjoyed at the thought of their special day becoming the society wedding of the decade.

Still, he supposed that Bill was only going over the top in order to try and make up for all the important events that he'd missed in her life. Not that Saffron expected him to do that. Besides, he supposed that every father wanted to make sure that their daughter had the best wedding possible, and in twenty something years time it could be his daughter who was getting married. By then he would be in his sixties and Daryl would probably be married with children of his own. What if he was too old to become a father again? He might have more time and patience than when Daryl had been a baby but that didn't mean that he had the energy. He was probably worrying about nothing so there was no need for him to say anything, especially to Saffron because it would only upset her.

"I think that these are much better wedding plans," Sally smiled, "but there is the question of the dress." Traditionally white was worn but under the circumstances…

"Dark blue," Saffron said, "I already have a dress like that."

"Your wedding dress is supposed to be special," Sally said, "I'm sure that your father would be more than willing to pay for a dress to be made for you." William was not going to say no to anything Saffron asked for.

"Mom, I'm going to wear the dress that I already have," Saffron said, "I don't think that people are going to be paying all that much attention to what I'm wearing."

"Trust me, they will," she said, "this wedding will be in the papers regardless of whether you want it to be or not." she said. It would because it was an Ellison getting married, well Fountaine but William was her father so Saffron would just have to accept that there would be some press coverage of her wedding.

"You know Simon has a tuxedo," Saffron said, "but I think that he'd look much better in one of his suits."

"Saffron, you have to have some formality at a wedding," Sally said, "it's expected and people like being able to dress up for an occasion."

"I'm just not a very dressy sort of person." Saffron said, "and the chances are that at some point during the proceedings I'm going to be dashing for the bathroom."

"Not necessarily," she said, "by then you might have stopped being sick all the time." If Saffron was still being sick they could always pass it off as a virus because there was no need for anyone else to know that she was pregnant just yet, there would be plenty of time to break the news later on.

"Have you read any of these?" William asked looking at the row of books with Elise De Sade's name on the spines. Until now he hadn't realised that Saffron had written so many books as that woman.

"Yes," Stephen admitted, "But I got rid of my collection when I found out that she was my sister."

"Are they any good?" he asked. He wanted to know why Stephen had decided to throw his career away because there had to be a lot more to it than just the reason his son had given him the previous day.

"Good enough for me to write her a fan letter," Stephen said, "the only one I've ever written."

"Don't worry, I won't tell Simon," William assured him. He would never have imagined that his son would write a fan letter to anyone. Still, he didn't know all that much about Stephen's life and that was something that he intended to rectify. "So have you given any thought as to what you're going to do with your life?" he added.

"Apart from being an uncle, no," Stephen replied, "but there's no rush to decide anything. It's not as if I have ever have to work again."

"Son, you need to have a purpose in life," William said, "I can understand that you need a break from your career but it's hard to get back on the ladder once you've gotten off it."

"Dad, I'm not getting back on it," Stephen said, "I never wanted to be on the damned thing in the first place."

"Then why didn't you say something?" he asked.

"Because you never gave me any choice in the matter," Stephen snapped, "one of us had to be the perfect Ellison son and with Jim gone it was obvious that it was going to have to be me."

"Stephen, I'm sorry," William said, "I know that's not going to make up for the way I've treated you in the past but..."

"Believe it or not I'm jealous of them because they got to do what they wanted with their lives," Stephen said, "well, now it's my turn to do that and if you don't like that then that is just tough."

"All I ever wanted was for you to be happy," William said.

"Well, I've never been that and it's not something that money can buy." Stephen said.

He'd never realised that there were so many different baby products on the market, Jim thought as Blair loaded one of each into the trolley.

"Chief, no food," he said, "it's not going to need it to begin with and no diapers."

"But they're going to come into contact with bare flesh," Blair said, "as for the food, do you have any idea how many chemicals there are in baby food."

"I'm pretty sure that Saffron will want to make her own." he said. She was the sort of person who would do that. "And who's picking the bill up for all this lot?" he added.

"I'm short at the moment," Blair said, "Saf will probably pay you back later, or maybe you could write it off as your first act as an uncle."

"That usually happens when the baby is here not eight and a half months in advance." Jim said. Still this was something that only he could do for both Saffron and his niece or nephew to be.

"You wouldn't want to expose Saf or the baby to anything that could cause a reaction, would you?" Blair said, "Because anything that Saf comes into contact with could be dangerous to the baby. A normal pregnancy has risks but there's plenty of information about those..." he began to add.

"Chief, I might not have been a very good big brother while we were growing up," Jim said, "but I will do everything that I can to make sure that she's protected now."

"A lot of this stuff you're only going to have to test on your arm," Blair said, "if we do a couple every day then it shouldn't be too much for you."

It was probably a good idea for him to get out of the house for a while, Daryl thought, because all everyone was talking about was either the baby or the wedding. As much as he wanted to get hyped up over the fact that his dad was going to marry Saffron, he couldn't. He was happy that his dad had finally decided to marry her but there had been a lot of changes recently and there would be a lot more to come. Things would probably get a lot easier once he was back at school with his friends. He would never admit it but he missed school, maybe it had something to do with routine.

Once everyone went back to their homes it would be back to the way it had been before the earthquake. But not for long because in a few months the baby would be here and everything would get turned upside down again. He got the feeling that his dad hadn't thought through the whole baby thing properly. He didn't seem to have realised the impact that it would have on his life. How was he supposed to review for exams with a baby crying all the time and his friends wouldn't want to drop by when they found out that they had to keep the noise down. Not that any of them had dropped by yet.

She supposed that she should call Simon and tell him about her dad's scaled down plans for their wedding because he hadn't exactly been overjoyed at the thought of being a major player in the society wedding of the year. She had to admit that she was relieved that things were going to be more informal. What really mattered to her was that she and Simon were married. Of course, she thought about having the traditional huge wedding but it just wasn't practical and she really didn't want to attract anyone's attention either to herself or her family. As it was there would no doubt be a lot of speculation as to why they'd chosen this particular moment in time. Her answer to that question would be that it was the right time. The fact that she was pregnant had absolutely nothing to do with it as far as she was concerned. A lot of women were pregnant when they got married and it didn't make the slightest bit of difference to their relationship with their husband. Still, she and Simon did have an added dimension to their relationship.

The thought that the baby she was carrying could turn out to be a sentinel had crossed her mind and Blair and Jim had discussed it. Was it right for her to put her child through what she'd gone through while looking for her guide? Just because she'd found her guide and it had worked out for her it didn't mean that it would for her child. Even with Simon's help she still found life difficult to deal with at times. Which was why she tended to keep her senses at the lower end of the range unless she was forced to turn them up. She had to admit that she was more than a little worried about just how exactly having enhanced senses were going to affect her baby because it wasn't as if she could just come out and tell whatever doctor she saw the truth because they were likely to think that she was making it up. Besides, there were probably people out there who wouldn't hesitate to grab a baby that they thought could be of some use to them.

"That one," Simon said pointing to a wedding ring. He was going to have to guess what size she was going to need, but her fingers weren't that big. But what if she had a reaction to something in the metal. That was possible. He supposed that he really should have asked Blair for advice before getting a ring for Saffron but it was something that he wanted to do by himself. He had to admit that he hadn't read any of Blair's dissertation on Sentinels and now he wouldn't have a chance to because the copy that Saffron had had been destroyed when his house had been blown up. He really wished that he had read it now because he would have had a lot better idea of what could happen to her senses while she was pregnant. Although, it was entirely possible that Blair had no idea of what might happen to her. As much as he wanted to be a father again there was no way that he would want her to put her own life at risk.

"This particular ring is two thousand dollars," the sales assistant said.

"It's perfect," he said, "I'm not sure what size it should be." He hated it when people thought that he couldn't afford to buy something expensive just by looking at him. "You do have an exchanges policy, don't you?"

"Of course, we do, Sir," they replied, "but wouldn't be a lot easier if the young lady came in with you."

"I want this to be a surprise," Simon said. In fact, he couldn't wait to see the look on Saffron's face when she saw the ring. And not even Bill would be able to complain about the fact that he had spent so much money on it. It was just a shame that it wasn't his money paying for it.

"What is all that stuff?" Daryl asked as Blair and Jim unloaded bags from Jim's truck.

"Baby stuff." Blair replied.

"Already?" he said. Saffron had only just found out that she was pregnant so why did she need anything for the baby. Not to mention the fact that they had nowhere to put anything with so many people in the house and there was no way any of it was going in his room.

"Saf has some allergies," Blair said, "so we need to know what baby stuff she's going to have problems with."

"I didn't know that," Daryl said. And he'd never seen any sign of her having allergies before.

"It's one of those things that she doesn't like to talk about," Blair said, "and she's very careful about what she comes into contact with."

"Well, it's not going in my room." he said.

"You're going to be a big brother in eight months time," Jim said, "so now would be a good time to start acting like one."

"I'll probably be a lot better one than you were," Daryl said. He certainly couldn't be a worse one. "And I didn't ask my dad to..."

"Daryl, your dad is under a lot of stress at work," Blair said, "and now he's going to be worried about Saffron so the last thing that he needs is you acting up." he added.

"I'm not," Daryl protested, "I just don't see why everyone is making a fuss over her." Okay, she was being sick a lot but that would soon stop.

"Because we love her," Jim growled, "and you're always nice to pregnant women."

He wasn't sure what sort of health insurance Saffron had but after her recent hospitalization she might find it difficult to claim for her pregnancy, William thought. She deserved the best care because she was his daughter. There were several doctors who were members of his country club so perhaps they could recommend someone that she could go and see. He just hoped that she wouldn't be difficult and would do as the doctor said for the baby's sake. Still, he really couldn't see her doing anything that would put either herself or the baby in danger. She was going to be a wonderful mother and he would be there to support her every step of the way.

Once he and Sally were back in their own home he would have a nursery created ready for when the baby arrived. Naturally there would be times when the baby would be left with him and Sally, like when Saffron and Simon wanted some time alone or they wanted to go away for a few days. He'd already given some thought as to what the baby should be called, but the final decision would rest with Saffron and Simon. However, he hoped that they would be sensible and not choose anything too frivolous, as the poor child would be teased about it when it went to school. That was something else that they were going to have to talk about. All the best schools had long waiting lists so they were going to have to decide which lists they wanted to be put on. Of course, his name would carry some weight but they would still have to go through the interview process.

"Jimmy, you can't bring those things in here," Sally said, "it's bad luck to buy anything for the baby too early."

"Mom, that's just superstition," Jim said, "and if we don't test this… it could be bad for Saffron and the baby."

"You never had any problems when you were a baby," she said, "Stephen on the other hand… He was a very difficult baby, always crying."

"Sounds to me as if he hasn't changed all that much." Jim grinned.

"That is not a very nice thing to say about your brother," she said, "as the eldest you're supposed to be the mature one."

"So where is Stephen?" he asked. His brother would know that he was only joking. Everyone living under the same roof was working out a lot better than he'd thought it would but it was still early days yet.

"The last time I saw him he was going to tidy Saffron's study up," she replied, "and your father was outside somewhere if you'd like to talk to him."

"I was just wondering." Jim said.

"You know your father is very excited about the prospect of being a grandfather again." Sally said.

"And how do you feel about becoming a grandmother?" he said.

"I think that it's wonderful," she smiled, "but I always thought that it would be either you or Stephen who had the first grandchild."

"Well, it's not going to happen for me," he said, "and Stevie's not seeing anyone." He and Blair hadn't discussed children but then it hadn't been something that he'd given a great deal of thought to while he'd been married to Caroline either.

"I'm sure that you'll make a wonderful uncle instead," she said, "and you weren't that terrible to Saffron when she was small. The past sometimes isn't as bad as you remember it."

"I heard," Saffron said when Blair entered her study.

"Heard what?" Stephen asked. No matter how many times he saw either her or Jim do that he still wasn't used to it yet.

"Daryl was mouthing off," Blair said, "he didn't mean it. He just needs time to adjust to the whole idea of being a big brother."

"He was okay about it last night." she said.

"Sis, I'll talk to him," he said, "explain that it doesn't have to be a bad thing. Besides, he has a lot longer to get used to the idea than Jim and I did." Their dad hadn't exactly done a good job of breaking the news to them. For them it had been a matter of this is your baby sister and you will be nice to her or else.

"I think that this is something that Simon and I should talk to him about," Saffron said, "but thank you for the offer."

"Anything for my little sister," he smiled, "and I mean that. I don't want you worrying about anything." He was going to make it his sole purpose in life for the next eight months to make sure that his niece or nephew came into the world healthy and happy. "You want cookies and pickles at three in the morning call me and I'll bring them straight over." he added.

"Stephen, don't mention food around me, okay," Saffron said, "or I might just throw up over you."

"I'll try not to." he said.

"Well?" Simon asked as Joel looked at the ring that he'd bought for Saffron.

"It's..." Joel began, "expensive." What did his friend expect him to say. He wasn't an expert on jewellery and it wasn't his opinion that would ultimately matter. But then what woman would be unhappy about receiving a ring like this.

"Saffron deserves the best," Simon said, "and I can finally provide that."

"The money from your insurance claim finally came through." he said. He knew that his friend had been waiting for it. Not that any amount of money could possibly compensate for everything that he and Daryl had lost.

"No, I found the money from somewhere else," Simon said, "and with the wedding Bill's planning it's a good thing that I did."

"I take it that it's going to be a big one." Joel said.

"Think society wedding of the decade," Simon said, "he's talking country club and pre wedding breakfasts."

"Where as you had courthouse and a nice restaurant in mind." Joel said.

"It's what Saffron wanted as well," Simon said, "she even suggested that we elope which would not have gone down too well with Bill. So instead we're going to go along with his wishes."

"She is his only daughter." he said. As a father he could certainly understand that, "and in the circumstances..." he started to add.

"Meaning she's pregnant," Simon said, "that's not something we regret and believe it or not Bill couldn't be happier about having another grandchild.

"You will be pleased to know that the wedding's been scaled down," William said when Jim joined him in the garden, "and your sister hasn't been sick while you've been out."

"That's good," Jim said, "but we're still going to have to keep a close eye on her."

"Stephen and I had a long talk," he said, "did you know that he never wanted to go into business?"

"He hinted as much," Jim said.

"I've ruined his life by making him do something that he didn't want to," he said, "why didn't he say something to me?"

"Because you've never been very approachable until recently," Jim replied, "and Stephen's an adult. He could have changed careers any time that he wanted to."

"Then why didn't he?" William asked. He'd thought that he was starting to get to know all his children properly but how could he when Stephen had kept something like this from him?

"Because he wanted to be the perfect son," Jim said, "seeing you accept mine and Saffron's careers has made him do a lot of thinking."

"I never wanted you to be perfect," he said, "just never in a position where you'd have to struggle through life, wondering whether you'd be able to pay the rent."

"Dad..." Jim began.

"My father worked every hour god sent him and there were times when I went hungry," he said, "that is not the sort of life that I wanted for my children."

"I hardly think that Stephen's going to end up in a homeless shelter any time soon," Jim assured him, "but Stephen has a more serious problems."

"Drugs?" William asked.

"No, he's lonely," Jim replied, "he doesn't have anyone to share his life with."

"So what is he going to do to change that?" he said.

"We're going to let Saffron find someone for him," Jim grinned.

"Are you sure that's wise?" William asked. He could only guess at what sort of friends his daughter had.

"I don't know whether it is or not," Jim admitted, "but at least he won't be able to complain that he's bored."

Saffron needed proper food inside of her, Sally thought, tea and toast were not enough to make sure that both her and the baby would be healthy. She'd also noticed that Saffron had a habit of not eating unless someone reminded her to, and she was certain that it was a long standing habit. Well, until she and William were able to return to their home she would be able to make sure that Saffron ate proper meals even if she objected to having to do so. Her daughter, it felt good to be able to call her that without anyone else in the family thinking that it was strange, was far too thin as it was. She had strong suspicions that Saffron had some sort of eating disorder. She certainly wouldn’t be the first young woman to have one. And it wasn't a new thing either. One of her cousins had literally starved herself to death trying to make her more attractive for some man that she had fallen in love with. However, Simon wasn't the sort of man who would insist that Saffron lost weight. In fact, he seemed to have noticed that she barely ate most of the time as well. That was going to have to change if Saffron didn't want to end up causing serious damage to her health.

Telling William about Saffron's problem was not going to be easy but as her father he had a right to know. But first she would talk to Saffron and see if she couldn't find out what the problem was. There had to be something causing it. It was even possible that Saffron didn't realise that she had problem. After all, she had had a very traumatic childhood and she certainly wouldn't put it past Jessica Fountaine to have made comments about the way that Saffron had looked as a little girl. Not that Saffron had ever been overweight. Still, children did tend to remember things that had been said to them long after everyone else had forgotten.

She supposed that she should make an appointment so that it would be out of the way as soon as possible, Saffron thought, as she picked up the phone and dialed in a number. Besides, Simon would need to know when it was so that he could go with her. She had to admit that she wasn't entirely sure that was a good idea because she knew how some people reacted when they saw her and Simon together. Still, it was his baby as well and he would need to know what was going on in case there were any problems. She really hoped that there weren't any because she really wanted this baby. Even if Daryl wasn't too happy about becoming a big brother now. She really didn't understand why he'd changed his mind overnight.. Still, she was pretty sure that once Simon had talked to him they would be able to sort out whatever the problem was. But if they couldn't then they were going to have a very difficult eight months until the baby arrived.

"I'd like to make an appointment, please," she said when she heard a voice on the other end of the line. "Saffron Fountaine, about two weeks," she added, "yes I'm sure and I really would like to see her as soon as possible. Three o'clock today, yes I can make that, is there anything that I need to bring with me? I'll see you then." She then put the phone down. Now all she had to do was call Simon and let him know what time her appointment was and with who. He'd probably want to know why she'd chosen that particular doctor. Well, she was going to have to admit that she'd chosen her at random, besides she'd probably feel a lot more comfortable with a woman doctor. Of course Simon would want to pay for her medical care but she had better insurance than he did and that was something else that they were going to have to talk about. The importance of having good medical insurance was something that her grandfather had always impressed on her and she was certainly grateful that he had after recent events.

A simpler wedding was a lot easier to plan, William thought as he put the phone down. The fact that you could do everything with one phone call made it even easier. Now all he had to do was write his speech and make sure that Saffron got to the country club on time and in one piece. Of course the happy couple were going to need to know when they were getting married. He just hoped that Saturday was far enough away for them to invite any guests that they wanted to come.

"What?" he asked when he saw the looks on both Sally and Jim's faces.

"William, this isn't your wedding day," Sally said, "don't you think that you should have consulted either Saffron or Simon before making any arrangements."

"I'm just trying to help," he replied, "Saffron is not well and Simon is very busy at work." He was the one paying for it and Saffron had told him what she wanted.

"I'm sure that Simon will have something to say about you organising his wedding." Jim said.

"Jimmy, it was your mother who persuaded me to scale down the wedding," William said, "and this is along the lines of what your sister wanted. A nice simple ceremony followed by dinner at the country club." He'd heard all his children call Sally mom over the past fortnight. It was certainly a title that she deserved and he would be more than happy to tell anyone who asked that she was the mother of his children. "All anyone has to do is turn up." he added.

"What about Saffron's dress?" Sally asked, "the flowers and the cake."

"Saffron can buy a dress if she doesn't already have a suitable one," he replied, "as for everything else that has all been taken care of. And yes they know that nothing pink is to be included in the wedding." As if he wouldn't make sure that particular colour was avoided at all costs. Even as a small child Saffron had hated the colour pink which was hardly surprising considering that it was the only colour that Jessica Fountaine had worn. He had to admit that it wasn't his favourite colour either.

"Could you teach me how to help Jimmy and Saffron?" Stephen asked, "because there are going to be times when Simon's not here and..."

"Sure, I can," Blair grinned, "and it would probably take a lot of weight off Simon's shoulders knowing that there was someone else to keep an eye on her." Everyone else would be pleased to know that as well and Stephen was probably the best person to do that because there was no way that his touching Saffron could be misconstrued as anything other than a brother helping his sister.

"They heard the quake before it happened," Stephen said, "if they hadn't..."

"But you were the one who got them out of the cabin in one piece," he said, "there are a lot of drawbacks to having enhanced senses, that's why they need someone to help them."

"Is that why Saffron started seeing Simon?" Stephen asked.

"No, she didn't know what he was the first time she saw him," he replied, "and Saf is smart enough to know that it isn't any sort of basis to build a relationship on." Still, to look at them she and Simon didn't seem to have that much in common, but they had a really great relationship that would only get stronger now that they were going to be parents.

"I was just wondering," Stephen said.

"You know she is probably one of the few people who can shout at Simon and get away with it scot free," Blair grinned, "in fact the first time that she met him she really let him have it." Perhaps that was one of the reasons why they got on so well. Saffron was someone that Simon could have a good conversation with.

"You've known Saffron a long time, haven't you," Stephen said.

"Yeah, for a long time I was the only friend she had," he replied. Even now she didn't have that many friends.

"Is she eating less now than she used to?" Stephen asked, "because she doesn't seem to be eating anything."

"Saf's never eaten a great deal," he said, "even as a kid she didn't."

"I think that she might have some sort of eating disorder." Stephen said, "I know that at the minute food's not a very good subject to mention around her but I'm worried about her."

"I'll talk to her," Blair assured him, "but there's probably nothing to be worried about."

"Are you going somewhere?" Jim asked when Saffron entered the kitchen and got her car keys.

"I thought I'd go for a drive," she replied, "maybe drop by and see Simon."

"Don't you think that you should have something to eat first?" he asked. Stephen was right, she hardly ate anything so why hadn't Simon noticed? But he really would have thought that Simon would have taken an added interest in how she was doing, especially now that she was pregnant.

"I'll grab something later," Saffron replied, "Will you tell mom that I probably won't be back until after dinner."

"Which is it?" Jim asked.

"Which is what?" she said more than a little confused.

"The eating disorder you have." he said. There was no point in beating about the bush because her health could be in danger.

"I don't have an eating disorder," Saffron replied, "why would you think that I had one?"

"Maybe it's the fact that you don't eat enough to feed a mouse most of the time." he replied.

"Jim, I eat, but I've never eaten a lot," she said, "even before I got hurt I didn't. You can ask Simon if you don't believe me."

"I do, but you have to take better care of yourself because of the baby." he said.

"I will and I have an appointment with a doctor this afternoon," Saffron said, "she'll probably give me a diet sheet and you can make sure that I follow it if it'll make you feel any better."

"It would," Jim admitted. The doctor was going to take one look at her and see that she needed to put weight on.

"And as for the wedding I think dad's done a great job of planning it," she smiled, "because Simon and I were considering eloping."

"Well, if you change your mind and decide to I'll find you a ladder." he joked.

"You have some nerve," Stephen said joining Daryl outside, "especially when she was so worried about you."

"What am I supposed to have done?" Daryl asked.

"Your attitude," Stephen said, "Saffron knows what you said because she heard you."

"How could she do that?" he asked. She hadn't been anywhere nearby when Blair and Detective Ellison had come back so she couldn't have heard what he'd said.

"You'll have to ask her or your dad that," Stephen said, "but I think that you should know that being a big brother is a great job."

"So?" he asked. That didn't alter the fact that he thought that his dad and Saffron should have talked to him before deciding to have a baby.

"I never had a chance to get to know her until recently," Stephen said, "if I had it might have been better for all of us. You have a chance to be there from the beginning and you shouldn't waste it."

"I don't mind them getting married," Daryl said, "but it's going to be so embarrassing when people find out that my dad's having another kid at his age." By the time that the baby was his age his dad would be in his sixties.

"Our dad was older than yours when Saffron was born," Stephen said, "and think about the advantages."

"What advantages?" he asked.

"Girls, or women," Stephen smiled, "they like babies, plus extra cash from baby-sitting."

"I'd get paid for it?" Daryl said. He wasn't ever short of cash but having extra money was always good.

"Sure you will," Stephen assured him, "Sally always gave me and Jimmy an extra couple of bucks when we had to spend time looking after Saffron."

"I'm here to see Captain Banks," Saffron said. This station wasn't nearly as friendly as the old one. She hoped that they decided to rebuild it. Simon hadn't said anything but she knew that he minded not having his own space.

"And you are?" the desk sergeant asked.

"Saffron Fountaine, his fiancée," she replied. She supposed that she should get used to calling herself that, not that she would be doing it for long.

"Third floor and don't go wandering around." he said.

"He's the only thing I'm interested in here." she said. She knew better than to go wandering around a building filled with armed men. Besides, she really didn't have any time to waste sticking her nose into things that didn't concern her. If Simon couldn't go to the doctors with her then she would go by herself. Not that she was looking forward to having to do that because she wasn't sure what sort of questions she should ask the doctor. Simon would have a lot better idea of what they needed to know.

It would be a lot easier if she followed his lead as far as parenting was concerned because he had the experience and Daryl was proof that he'd done a good job of it. To be honest she hadn't had a very good example set for her by Jessica Fountaine. In fact, a total stranger would have made a better parent than her. Even Jim's assurances that she wasn't anything like that woman hadn't made her feel any better about what sort of mother she would be. What really worried her was what memories might resurface when she became a mother. There were probably a lot of things that had been done to her that she couldn't remember. Still, she did have over eight months to work out her worries and put them into context. Arranging to see Dr. Brown would be a good place to start, because she was a neutral person and she had probably dealt with a lot of problems similar to hers.

"She's missed another meal," Sally said, "I'm worried about her doing that."

"You're not the only one." Stephen said.

"For the record she doesn't have an eating disorder," Jim said, "I asked her and she denied it."

"Of course she would." Stephen said.

"Jimmy, people don't like admitting that there's something like that wrong with them," Sally said.

"Mom, I would know if she was lying to me." Jim said.

"Then why doesn't she eat anything?" Sally asked, "she has to know that not eating isn't good for her."

"I think that she just forgets to eat when she has more important things to do." Jim said.

"Like what?" Stephen asked.

"Trying to take care of everyone else," he replied, "even with mom doing all the cooking she won't stop doing things." If they let her she'd do everything by herself and not complain about it, "I don't know how Simon copes with her." he added. It was something that was only going to get worse when she had the baby.

"Your sister has always been very independent." Sally said.

"Because she had to be," Stephen said, "we always had you to take care of us, who did she have?"

"No one," Jim said, "the question is how do we get her to slow down and start eating properly." Talking to her wasn't going to do any good because she would only go on the defensive and deny that there was anything wrong.

"I don't see how we can." Stephen said.

"Maybe she'll realise that she can't do everything once the fact that she's going to be a mother sinks in," Sally suggested, "because I can't see her doing anything that would harm the baby."

"She wouldn't," Jim assured her, "and Simon would put a stop to it the minute she tried, but until then we are going to have to persuade her to let other people help her." Not that it was going to be easy to get her to do that because the sentinel in her wanted to protect everyone around her.

Now what, Simon thought when he heard the commotion going on outside of his temporary office. It was bad enough that his officers had to work in such cramped conditions without them being constantly disturbed. He supposed that he should go and find out what was going on so that he could hopefully put a stop to it. Just because the city was still in disarray after the quake it didn't meant that their jobs as police officers stopped, if anything they were needed now more than ever to make sure that people knew that the due process of law was still working even if it was a little slower than before.

"What is..." he began as he exited his office.

"Hi," Saffron smiled, "I just thought that I'd drop by and see how you were doing."

"I'm fine," Simon replied, "why don't you come into my office." There had to be a reason for her dropping by other than to see how he was doing.

"That would be nice," she said, "are there any pineapple danish going?"

"I'm afraid not," he replied, "the best that I can offer you at the moment is second rate coffee."

"That's okay," Saffron said, "and I'll see you guys again soon." as she headed towards his office.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as he closed his office door behind her.

"Everything is fine," she assured him, "I just thought that you would like to know that I have my first doctor's appointment at three."

"Today?" he said. He hadn't had a chance to add her to his health insurance yet.

"Yeah," Saffron replied, "I thought that it would be best to get it out of the way now rather than later. My insurance will cover it."

"I'll get Joel to cover for me." he said. This was too important for him to miss. If anyone higher up in the chain of command didn't like the fact that he was taking some personal time then that was just tough.

"What are you going to tell him?" she asked.

"The truth," he replied, "he already knows about the baby and us getting married."

"Well, you can tell him and everyone else that it's going to be on Saturday at the country club at one p.m."

"I thought that Bill had a huge society wedding in mind," Simon said. At least that was what he'd been talking about last night.

"Mom talked to him and he decided that it would be better to go with what we wanted," she said, "so all we have to do is turn up."

"I suppose that I'm going to have to wear a tuxedo." he said. Not that he minded because it was a special occasion and Saffron had bought him a very nice tuxedo.

"That's up to you," she said, "but I'm not planning to buy a traditional wedding dress to wear."

"So what are you going to wear?" he asked. Although, he knew that it was supposed to be bad luck to see what the bride was wearing until you were actually at the altar.

"Probably something blue," she admitted, "but I haven't decided yet. And we are going to have to buy wedding rings."

"I've already bought yours," he smiled reaching into his jacket pocket and taking out a small box, "I just hope that you like it," he added opening the box up and showing her it's contents.

"Its beautiful," Saffron smiled, "can I try it on?"

"Of course you can," he replied, "I had to guess the size." At least she liked it and that was the important thing.

"It fits," Saffron said after taking the ring out of the box and slipping it on her finger, "and the next time it's on it stays on for good." she added taking the ring off and putting it back in the box.

So maybe he had been selfish, Daryl thought, but it had been a shock that his dad had been so careless after all the lectures he'd given him about safe sex and not letting his emotions run away from him. And although, he would never admit it to his dad he had read some of Saffron's books so she should have known better. His dad was not going to be happy when he found out about what he'd said. He really wished that he hadn't said it now because Stephen had made his realise that he should give being a big brother a chance before complaining. That was something that he wouldn't be able to do for another eight months. By then the embarrassment factor might have worn off and he wasn't going to be the only guy at his school whose dad was not only getting married but going to have another baby. At least there would be no chance that he would be pushed out of his dad's life for the baby. He'd seen some of his friends go through that, their dads had had another family and hadn't wanted anything more to do with them.

After everything that his dad and Saffron had been through they deserved some happiness so it wouldn't be very fair of him to try and spoil things for them by pulling an attitude. Besides, he'd be going off to college next year so having a baby in the house wasn't going to cramp his style too much. And it wasn't as if his dad wouldn't be able to afford to still send him with a baby to take care of. Although, he knew that it was Saffron who had all the money at the moment. Not that it made all that much difference to him because he knew that she'd worked hard to earn it.

"Saturday!" Joel said, "that's soon." He'd been expecting a date to be announced after Simon had told him about the baby but not that soon. Still, he supposed that they didn't want to make it look as if they had to get married.

"It was my dad's idea," Saffron said, "and after the run of luck we've had he didn't want to take the chance that something major would happen to either of us if we had a long engagement."

"And the country club can provide everything for the wedding," Simon said, "it's also a compromise."

"So who's going to be your best man?" Joel asked. Not that he was angling for the role, but he was Simon's oldest friend, and it was traditional for someone who had known the groom to be for a long time to take on the role.

"I'd like to you to be." Simon said.

"I'd be honoured to do it," Joel smiled.

"Does this mean that Ellise isn't going to be coming out of retirement now?" Rafe asked.

"She'll be back as soon as I start writing again," Saffron assured him.

"And you're all right with that?" Joel asked looking at Simon. The book of hers that she'd written while at the station had been very good so he'd thought that she would have stopped writing the other sort of books.

"As long as Saffron's happy I am," Simon replied, "her career has nothing to do with me. She had it a long time before we met."

"And have you seen how much he eats," Saffron said jokingly, "the pizza guy is relying on our tips to put him through college."

"Daryl's the one who orders pizza not me," Simon said, "and we should be going."

"Going anywhere nice?" Rafe asked.

"Doctor's appointment," Saffron replied, "it should be the last one for a while."

"We hope," Simon said, "Joel, if anyone needs me you know how to get in contact with me."

"I hope that everything's all right." Joel said.

"So do I," saffron said, "because I'm tired of being sick."

"How am I supposed to write a speech when I can't find a pen," William asked, "you'd think that Saffron would have some being a writer."

"The pen fairy probably ate them," Stephen joked, "she said that it takes them and doesn't return them."

"That still doesn't help me," he said. This was a very important speech and he wanted to make sure that it was word perfect.

"Maybe Blair's got one," Stephen suggested, "and I'm sure that Saffron has more important things to do than worry about pens."

"The baby," William said, "it's going to mean a lot of changes for her and Simon. Being a parent isn't easy." And it wasn't a job that he had been particularly good at either. Still, the circumstances that Saffron would raise her child in would be very different to the ones that the boys and Saffron had been raised in. She was going to make a wonderful mother.

"Is that why you did such a bad job with me and Jim?" Stephen asked.

"Probably," he admitted, "your mother leaving."

"Our mom has never left us," Stephen said, "and she's always been there for us."

"When Grace left she took my heart with her," William said, "it had taken me a long time to trust her, she took that trust and destroyed it. Looking back it was wrong of me to take it out on you and Jimmy." It was something that he deeply regretted.

"So we had to suffer for it," Stephen said, "why didn't you put Saffron through it as well?"

"Because she was supposed to be my chance to do it right," he replied, "to put my family back together. And then she was taken away from me. So I lost someone else that I cared about." The only person who had been a constant in his life had been Sally. He had to admit that at times he'd wondered why she'd stayed with him after he had driven the boys away. "All I could do was hope that your sister would come to see me when she was an adult, but she didn't know that I'd always wanted her." he added. That was probably the cruelest blow that her grandfather could have struck against him.

This was definitely going well beyond the normal role of a big brother, Jim thought as he sneezed again. So far he and Blair had only found two things that he didn't have a reaction to. At the rate that they were going the baby would be here by the time that they'd found anything that Saffron could use safely.

"Chief, no more," he sneezed. There was no need for them to test everything in one day.

"Okay," Blair said, handing him a tissue, "this is turning out to be more difficult than I expected it to be."

"Tell me about it," Jim said. He was the one who was sneezing.

"How can they put some of this stuff on babies?" Blair asked, "if we can't find safe alternatives Saf is going to be in serious trouble."

"Not to mention the baby." he said, "what if it has different reactions to us?"

"Don't even go there," Blair said, "I'm going to have to do a lot of winging it before this is over."

"Couldn't she use all organic?" Jim asked. He used a lot of it because it was safe for him, so it would make sense for her to do the same.

"Sure, but what happens when I can't find an organic alternative?" Blair said, "and what about when it's old enough to go to school?"

"We'll help them to cross that bridge when they come to it." Jim said. At the moment they needed to take it one step at a time, "and they do change the formulas." he added. He'd come to dread the words new and improved on something that he used because it usually meant that he wouldn't be able to any more.

"That is going to be me in a few months," Saffron said, looking at a heavily pregnant woman in the doctors waiting room.

"So?" Simon said.

"I'm going to get fat." she said. She wasn't vain about her appearance like Stephen was, although he hadn't had much chance to be recently, but people knew who she was and so expected her to look a certain way.

"It doesn't bother me how fat you get," he said, "not that you're likely to with the amount you eat."

"Not you as well," she frowned, "why is everyone so hung up over my eating habits."

"Watson, I've seen how much you eat," Simon said, "I have to admit that I'm worried about it. If you don't eat properly..."

"Simon, it's not as if I never eat," she said, "I just don't have a very big appetite. I never have." But if everyone was saying the same thing then maybe they were right and she did have some sort of problem when it came to eating.

"But it hasn't gotten any better," he said, "and you need to eat properly because of the baby."

"I know that," Saffron said, "and you have to know that I would never do anything that would put the baby at risk."

"Of course I do," he assured her, "but I would feel better if you talked to someone about it."

"I'm planning to," she said, "because there are a few other things that I need to sort out before the baby's here." As soon as all her doubts had been cleared up she would feel reassured that she would be a good mother.

"Such as?" he asked, "if there is something bothering you then I need to know."

"There isn't," she lied, "but after everything that we've been through it's probably better to err on the side of caution and having a baby is probably going to be very stressful. I'm even thinking about asking Blair to teach me some meditation techniques."

"Fine, but the moment anything bothers you I want to you tell me," Simon said, "because you and the baby are very important to me."

"Don't worry I will." she smiled.

Saffron had very good taste and some very nice things, Sally thought, including more than one dress that would be suitable to get married in. Of course, she still had a wardrobe full of clothes at her and William's home but they were pastel shades whereas Saffron obviously preferred more vibrant colours. That being the case she would have thought that Saffron would have chosen to wear some of the smarter clothes she owned instead of jeans and t shirts all the time. Still, that was her choice, although she looked very beautiful when she was dressed up.

She was going to have to buy something suitable to wear as the mother of the bride, it was expected that she would. And William was going to need a suit of some sort because they couldn't return home to collect more clothes. They only had the clothes that they were now wearing because Jimmy had gone into the house to get them. As much as she was enjoying having the whole family under the same roof for the first time ever she knew that there would come a point when Saffron and Simon would start to want their privacy back. It was only natural that they would want some, especially when the baby arrived and William still didn't have any idea as to when their home would be repaired. If it was going to take a considerable length of time then it would probably be a good idea if they found somewhere else to stay until they could go home. Of course, both Saffron and Simon would insist that there was no need for them to do that, and William would agree. Besides, she really missed being in her own kitchen and she was rather surprised that Saffron had handed over control of it to her. Still, once Saffron was feeling better no doubt she would want to get back into it.

"The blood test will confirm whether you are pregnant or not," Dr. Holland said, "but the over the counter tests you buy are very reliable."

"I did two of them." Saffron replied.

"I take it that this is a happy occasion?" Holland asked looking at Simon.

"Very happy," he growled. Why did people assume that it wasn't. "We both want this baby very much."

"In that case you, young lady, are going to have to start taking much better care of yourself," Holland said, "you're at least twenty pounds underweight. Which is not good for the baby because it relies on you to make sure that it gets everything that it needs to thrive."

"I have told her that she needs to eat more," Simon said, "but she won't listen to me." Twenty pounds was a lot of weight for someone Saffron's height to be under by. But it wasn't as if he could force her to eat.

"Unfortunately, a lot of women I see think that putting on weight is something that should be avoided at all costs," Holland said, "either that or they're afraid that they won't be able to lose the weight afterwards."

"I just don't feel very hungry," Saffron said.

"Have you tried eating smaller meals?" Holland asked, "they're often easier to keep down and there is no harm in indulging yourself as long as it's within moderation."

"Is there anything that she should avoid doing?" Simon asked.

"Well, I wouldn't suggest that she suddenly take up running marathons," Holland smiled, "but a little moderate exercise won't do any harm, and if you have any questions at all don't hesitate to contact me."

"We won't." Simon said.

"I also suggest that you start thinking about what sort of birth you want," Holland said, "because it's never too early to start planning these things."

END