In a week, Ariel was beginning to once again regret her clothing options. The air had turned colder, and the sun seemed to have disappeared behind an endless cloud of grey. Everyone had been talking of snow and all were eager to see the first snowflakes of the season.

Ariel couldn't care less about the snow. All she could think about was her thick blue coat hanging in her cupboard at home. Fat lot of good it was doing there. Maybe she could ask Amelia to go back and get it for her.

"Ariel? Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry?" Shaken from thoughts of warmth, she turned her attention back to the Doc. She was sitting in his office for another session. This time, she didn't choose the seat by the window, but the one closest to the small heater that wasn't radiating enough heat to warm even her little toe.

"I was asking you how your lessons with Ben have been progressing, but I can understand how the heater is more deserving of your attention."

She flushed. "Sorry, my bad. You could use a bigger heater though. We aren't all used to your cold weather, you know? Ben has been good, a little crankier since I started teaching him, but I'm guessing my novelty has worn off now I'm the one trying to force knowledge into his brain."

"Indeed," he appeared more concerned, than thoughtful. "I'd like you to try and keep your classes indoors for awhile in case the weather gets bad."

"Sure okay." She thought about her promise to take Ben out that day for a special class. It would have to be their last class outside, not that she was going to complain. Any reason to stay by the fire in the library was a good reason to her.

"How are you enjoying teaching?"

"I do like it. It's nice to see Ben's progress and know I'm helping him achieve that."

The Doc nodded, scratching something into his notebook. "Teaching is certainly quite rewarding. Have you given any consideration to looking into further study in the area?"

"Like going to Uni?" She rubbed her chest. "I have thought about it... but I don't know if I want to do it permanently. I mean, I do enjoy it, but I don't want to settle for the first thing I try, only to find out I hate it ten years down the road."

"I understand your concern, Ariel. Choosing a career can be quite difficult for some and easy for others."

"Did you always want to be a psychiatrist, doctor...thing?"

He smiled. "When I was about Ben's age, I wanted to become a fireman. I used to watch all those old American television programs and I thought they were great heroes."

"Why'd you settle for this then?"

"I grew up. I saw the work my father did in a new light as my understanding of the world around me grew. I never saw this as settling, but rather finding something I enjoyed doing. I may not be a hero, but I still look forward to getting up every morning and coming downstairs to help all of you."

"Not every hero saves us from the world, Doc. Some save us from ourselves." He blushed and Ariel squirmed in her seat, feeling weird for saying something so corny. "Let's change the subject before I start singing Bette Midler."

He laughed, closing his notebook. "I'm surprised you even know who she is."

"Please! If I didn't know who she was, my Gramps would have disowned me." Pain flared through her chest and she grabbed at her shoulder bag with one hand, while pressing her knuckles into her chest with the other.

Doc turned away and grabbed his cup of tea from the desk. "You still can't bring yourself to touch it again?"

She glared. "Would you want to touch it if it caused you pain?"

"Pain is something we must learn to overcome, Ariel," he ignored her question. "We can't just ignore it forever. I understand the crack in your heart causes you great distress, but I believe that while the physical aspect cannot be mended, the pain it left can be."

"I'm not touching my heart," she replied weakly. "The pain is still there."

"Will you look at it?" He reached out for her bag, and after a long moment of hesitation, she passed it to him, along with the key. He took the small box out and unlocked it. She jumped as his fingers touched it. It was the first time someone had held it since Amelia had placed it into it's new home. The Doc carefully took it out, his steady hands holding it gently. She closed her eyes as he held it before her.

"I'd like you to look at it, Ariel. For one minute."

"Can't we do something else? Don't you have a physical test like running or something for me to do?"

"This is a test, Ariel – an important one. Look, please."

Inhaling deeply, she opened her eyes. Her heart looked tiny in the Doc's hands. The light reflected off it, highlighting the edges of the aortic valve and the small crystal veins running along the surface. She followed the line of a small crystal vein, until it reached a jagged split in the surface –

Her eyes closed and the scar on her chest grew tight.

"Open your eyes, Ariel. You can do this."

"Is this really important?" she asked.

"Yes. Confronting your feelings is an essential part of life. You can't simply bury them and pretend they aren't there. If you do that, then you'll never heal and I worry that this crack may become something bigger."

Her eyes flew open. "What?" she breathed.

"It's simply a hypothetical, Ariel." He assured her. "Breathe. As I have already explained, someone in your situation cannot afford to bottle everything up. We have to learn to control your emotions and deal with the pain you are keeping in here." He held up her heart. "I know that by doing this, you are reliving a pain that is still quite fresh, but I fear the longer we leave it, the deeper your own fear of it will grow. We will take it slow, but I am afraid I must push you on this. Now look again."

Calming her breaths, she looked again, doing her best to avoid the spot that caused her scar to ache with remembrance. Thirty seconds in, she realized she was holding her breath and inhaled shakily. Tears stung the corners of her eyes and her fingernails dug deeply into her palms as she forced herself not to look away.

"Okay, Ariel that will be enough for today."

Her head dropped to her chest as the air whooshed from her lungs. There was a strange sensation coursing through her body, and she now knew that lost feeling. She was emotionally worked up. She looked at the Doc.

"How fast is it beating?" she whispered.

"Quite fast. Not as fast as thirty seconds ago, but still above average. Do you want to hold it?"

"No!" She waved her hands. "Just put it back in the box." She watched him carefully place it back into the box and turn the key. Putting it back in her bag, he handed it all back to her. Her hands were shaking as she took them and she shoved the necklace over her head before clasping her hands together on top of the bag on her lap.

"You did well, Ariel. I would like to ask that you try to look at it, at least once a day. Try for one minute, but if you cannot handle that, then thirty seconds will be acceptable."

"Okay, sure." She would rather go and stand in the cold everyday.

Leaving the Doc, she went back up to her bedroom. On the stairs, she could hear Autumn and Emily talking from Autumn's room and she followed the noise, needing distraction. They were sitting on Autumn's bed, watching a movie on a laptop Autumn's parents had sent her a few days ago.

"What are you watching?" she asked, plopping down next to Emily.

"A documentary about murderers." Emily moved the blankets so Ariel could put her legs under them.

"How morbid. Turn the volume up."

By the time lunchtime rolled around, the weather outside had improved. The sun was streaming through breaks in the clouds and there was no sign that rain or snow was going to fall anytime soon.

Making herself a sandwich of chicken and lettuce, she nearly tripped over Ben who had snuck up on her in the kitchen.

"Are we still going outside today?" he asked.

"Do you still want to?" She glanced outside. "It might rain."

"It will be fine! Dad says it's not going to rain."

"Speaking of your Dad," she put the lettuce and chicken back in the fridge. "He told me he doesn't want your lessons outside."

His little face fell. "But you promised."

Her fingers tightened on the fridge door handle. "I did, so today will have to be the last one for awhile, okay? Just don't tell your Dad!"

"I won't!" He beamed. "I'm going to go and get my raincoat."

He raced out of the room and she sighed. If the Doc found out she hoped he wouldn't be too annoyed. She had made the promise before he asked her to keep Ben inside. Damn Ben and his crestfallen face!

"What are you keeping secret from the Doc?"

She jumped. Lucas was standing in the doorway leading to the sitting room. "How do you do that?" she snapped.

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on me all the time! I mean, someone you're size shouldn't be so good at sneaking."

He scowled. "Would you rather I scrape my claws along the wall?"

"No! Did I say anything like that?" she said tersely. "A simple cough or creaking floorboard would be enough."

"I don't know if I can control the floorboards, but I'll see if I can try to sort something out with them."

"You know what I meant," she muttered. Grabbing her sandwich, she slapped it on a plate. She watched Lucas' eyes follow the plate and her own rolled. "Here."

Sliding the plate across the island, she grabbed another plate and started to get everything out again.

"I didn't ask for that – "

"Just shut up and eat it, okay?"

He ate the sandwich quietly and watched her make another for herself. "So what are you hiding from the Doc?"

"It's nothing."

"It isn't? Oh good, then I'll ask him about your outside class today –"

"Don't!" Not thinking, she threw the bag of bread, hitting him in the face. His mouth had been open and the plastic pierced one of his bottom canines, hanging from his mouth.

He grunted and quickly ripped it away. Ariel ducked her head, trying her best to keep the laughter bubbling in her chest from escaping. The image was burned into her brain and her ribs started to hurt as her shoulders shook.

"Just laugh!" He growled.

Putting her best straight face on, she raised her head. "I'm not laughing." A smile started to stretch across her face and she quickly looked down again.

"It's okay," he said gruffly. "You can laugh. I know you want to."

"I do," she admitted. "But I told you I was going to get better at controlling that stuff around you. So I won't laugh."

Clearing her throat, she tried to think of something else that would stop the urge to laugh. She quickly thought about some of the murder scenes the documentary had shown that morning and the urge to laughter dimmed.

Thinking of those scenes also ruined her appetite, and she pushed her new sandwich towards Lucas too. "So, um please don't tell the Doc. He wanted to have a class outside and I promised him last week we could do it."

"What are you going to do?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. Since it's his last class outside, it should be something fun, but what's fun to a ten year old boy?"

"Why don't you take him down to the pond? You could teach him about the plants and fishes down there."

"To do that I'd actually have to know about water plants and fishes that live in ponds."

"I can teach him."

"What?" She stared at him in shock. "What do you know about pond life?"

"A fair bit," he finished off the second sandwich. "My mother is a Zoologist. She used to teach me about this stuff when I was Ben's age."

Ariel reached over and grabbed the fallen bag, rearranging the slices of bread. "You wouldn't mind? You don't have something else to do today?"

"No, in case you haven't realized yet, this place is quieter than a library. I don't mind hanging out with Ben."

"You do realize you would have to hang out with me as well?"

She saw his furry eyebrow raise, distorting his face in a creepy way. "And?"

"Well... won't that be weird?" The bread bag twisted in her hands. "What if we start fighting in front of Ben?"

"Then don't tick me off and we'll be fine."

Footsteps sounded on the landing and Ben ran into the kitchen. "I had to have lunch first," he explained breathlessly. "But I snuck out while mum was doing the dishes. Let's go!"

"Okay, sure," she smiled. "Just let me grab my scarf."

She passed Autumn on the stairs and explained what she was doing. "Do you want to come?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I don't think so. It's too cold for me, and I haven't been feeling well lately." Autumn's eyes twinkled. "It should be a good chance for you and Lucas to clear the air between you two."

Ariel frowned and looked away. "W-whatever."

Autumn's laughter followed her up the stairs and grabbed her scarf. Emily was sitting by the window, looking outside miserably. Ariel thought of inviting her, but she knew what the answer would be. She wanted to figure out a way to help Emily feel less sad about winter. Having a miserable roommate was making the atmosphere in their room too gloomy for her to handle.

Ben and Lucas were waiting just outside the back door. Ben was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Let's go, let's go!" Without waiting, he took off down the path, and out of sight.

"What the hell? Did Harriet give him sugar for lunch or something?"

They followed behind at a steadier pace. The air still carried a nasty bite and Ariel wrapped the scarf tighter around her neck, tucking it into her jacket to try and block any chances for the cold air to seep in. A slight breeze started to blow from the North as the path moved into the small group of trees and she shivered, digging her hands deeper into her pockets. Lucas shifted, stepping around her with his large frame and stood on her other side, creating a wind block.

"You don't have to do that." Her teeth chattered. "You're wearing less than me you have to be freezing!"

"I don't feel it," he shrugged. "Something about my fur helps to keep my body warm. It's probably like the polar bears."

"What do you mean?"

"Well they have an underfur which acts as an insulator to keep them warm. I don't know for sure if I'm the same, but it's the only thing I can think of that makes sense."

With the cold wind no longer trying to freeze her to death, her body's tremors began to subside. "You do remember that magic was involved in all this –" she waved her hands up and down his body "– did you stop to think that might have something to do with it?"

He growled. "Of course I did. I'm not an idiot. I just prefer to think of something normal being the cause, rather than something unnatural."

"What's the point in that?" she muttered. "Just suck it up and face it."

"Oh? Like you're facing the problem with your heart?"

Her feet stopped moving. "What?"

He stopping too, his shoulders hunched realizing he had gone too far. "Just forget it –"

"No I won't! What do you know about my heart?"

He was silent. Ariel was considering how much it would hurt herself to kick him in the shins when he finally replied. "Autumn said you won't look at your heart. Every time someone talks about it you clam up."

"Autumn! That girl needs to stop sticking her nose in other people's business and deal with her own issues." Too angry to say anything more, she stomped ahead, her anger keeping her warm.

Lucas' footsteps soon caught up to her and he grabbed her arm. "Don't blame Autumn, Ariel. I'm just saying, what's the point in giving out advice if you can't take it yourself?"

She hated that he was right. Shaking his arm off, she took off up the path. The urge to kick him was still strong and if she did that their shaky truce would be shattered.

Lucas kept behind her – she thought he could probably sense her violent thoughts – all the way to the pond. Ben was running around the edge, splashing the water whenever he saw a fish by the time they arrived.

"Calm down!" Ariel grabbed him and dragged him away from the water. "If you fall in, you'll freeze to death."

"No I won't, I'm a great swimmer!" He declared.

Ariel's fingertips tingled. "How fast did you run here? You're sweating more than a whor – you're sweating a lot."

Lucas snorted she glared at him. Ben, oblivious to the tension, looked as though he'd had an injection of sugar and caffeine. His eyes were bright, unable to sit still on one object for long. Ariel worried that being cooped up inside for so long had sent him crazy.

"Ben - pay attention. Lucas is going to teach you some stuff today."

"Oh cool! Are we going to learn how to catch fish like bears? He could swipe them out of the water easy with his paws."

Ariel didn't have to look to know Lucas had flinched. She gave his arm a little shake. Not cool, Ben. "Apologise."

"For what?" he pouted.

"For calling Lucas a bear."

"I didn't –"

"You implied it, so apologise or we go back home right now."

"Fine, I'm sorry!" He snapped. He wrenched free of Ariel's grasp and she stumbled back, falling onto her bottom.

Lucas helped her to her feet and they both watched the young boy sulk by the water. "Is he always this cranky?" Lucas asked.

Not usually, she murmured, rubbing her fingers. The strength he'd used to rip his arm away surprised her. "I think he's on a sugar high or something."

Finding a flat rock, Ariel took a seat and drew her knees up to her chest. Lucas approached Ben and started teaching him about the different plants and insects that lived around the pond. She listened quietly; surprised Lucas actually knew what he was talking about. She'd thought he was making some of it up.

Her hand drifted over her bag, and her fingers reached inside, brushing along the edges of the box. Doc's orders that morning made sense to her on a logical level. She had to face her fears and realize that there was pain in life and we shouldn't push it to the side, etcetera. Why then was it so hard to just look at the damn thing?

Less than a month ago it was all she wanted to do; take it out and stare at it, feeling it's comforting pulse and that sensation of wholeness, which she missed.

A small moan interrupted her thoughts and she looked up. Ben was bent over the water's edge, his arms wrapped around his stomach. Lucas motioned for her to come over.

"I think he's coming down from that sugar high now."

"Ben?" She bent down, putting her hand on his shoulder. Within seconds she quickly let go. "Holy crap, you're burning up! Why didn't you say you were unwell?"

He whimpered in response, burying his head between his legs. His moans got louder and Ariel rubbed his back gently. "We need to get him back to the house."

As Lucas stepped forward to pick him, Ben screamed. Alarmed, Ariel wrapped her arm around his frame. His body was like a furnace. Heat rolled off him and she jumped as he started convulsing.

She was starting to panic when Lucas grabbed her, yanking her away from Ben. "What are you doing?" she cried. "We need to help him!"

Lucas didn't release his grip on her arm. "Stop! Look at him!"

She looked again and her eyes widened. His hair had started to grow, spreading down the nape of his neck and she saw it starting to appear along his forearms. His screams got louder and immediately she tried to step forward again.

"Stay back, Ariel," Lucas growled, shaking her arm. "We need to go and get help."

"We can't leave him here," she snapped, turning to look at him. "He's just a little boy! I don't know what's happening but I'm not leaving him alone."

All at once, the screaming stopped. They both turned back to Ben. He whimpered, slowly uncurling his small frame. His body was trembling and Ariel knew he must be terrified of whatever had just happened to him. She didn't even know what had happened. Ariel yanked her arm free of Lucas' hold and took a step forward. Her chest ached painfully and she ignored it, reaching with a shaking hand towards Ben.

"Ben? It's okay –"

He spun, faster than she had been anticipating and she stumbled back. His face resembled that of a wolf. His elongated nose was scrunched as he bared his sharp teeth. A low growl started deep in his chest and Ariel stopped breathing.

Ben?

Hey guys! Sorry this one was a bit late. I did actually have it finished by Sunday, but I didn't have time to post it. This one was a bit difficult to write, but I got there :)