The sun slowly started to peak over the horizon. Rays of light streamed through the fog crawling along the ground, looking like beams of fire.

Ariel sat by the window, watching the sun rise slowly. Her suitcase was by the foot of her bed, everything neatly packed inside. Emily had stayed up with her, trying to reassure her that packing wasn't necessary, but Ariel knew she was going to be kicked out. Even if the Doc agreed to let her stay, it would be awkward. Knowing Harriet hated her for what happened to Ben, and the Doc wouldn't likely trust her again. It would be for the best if she just went home. She thought she could handle being at home. Her anxiety over her heart wasn't as bad as it used to be. She had gotten better at controlling her temper and she wrote in the journal from time to time. She could survive at home while the Doc worked on her curse here – if he would still work on finding a cure for it.

"Morning." Emily rolled over, buried under her blankets. "Did you get any sleep?"

"A little," Ariel said quietly. Her tailbone had been sore from sitting on the floor all night, but it had gone numb an hour ago and wasn't bothering her as much anymore unless she moved.

Emily climbed out of bed to use the bathroom, and Ariel looked back at her suitcase, resting her head on her knees. She wondered how Ben was doing. She'd lost count of the number of times she had wanted to go upstairs and ask if he was okay.

A claw scraped on the floor in the hallway and Lucas appeared at the doorway with Autumn. The bandage on his arm had come loose and she could see the tears in the fabric where he had tried to fix it himself.

Autumn, was leaning on his good arm. She was wearing skin tight clothing, accentuating her slight frame. She looked like she needed a good meal. She walked in, carefully lowering herself beside Ariel.

"Are you okay?" Autumn asked. "You look like you haven't slept."

"I'm fine," she tried to smile, but her mouth refused to work. "Are you okay? You look worse than me. No offense."

Autumn smiled. "I'm good. Just feeling a little brittle at the moment, forgive the pun."

Ariel saw past the levity in her voice. The leaves on her face were crinkled, crackling as she spoke. Her hair was covering half of her face, and her hand continually reached for it, as if she worried it might reveal what was hidden underneath. She looked terrible, and Ariel felt a spark of anger towards the monster who had given her such a horrible curse.

"Winter sucks," she finally said. She didn't want to show Autumn pity.

Autumn grinned, and a leaf at the corner of her mouth ripped. "It does suck."

Lucas kicked her suitcase. "I thought we told you; you aren't leaving."

"You don't know that for sure," Ariel glared at him.

"I do," he growled. "We won't let them kick you out. Autumn and I talked with Samson and Amelia this morning and they said you wouldn't be leaving."

"Last time I checked it was the Doc's name on this place and it was his kid I royally screwed over," she muttered. "Sammy and Amelia won't have much say in my case."

"You're wrong," Autumn said. "Amelia has been with this family for years. The Doc would never ignore her advice and Samson has also been with the Grimm's for many years. He's not necessarily a patient here, but rather a..." she floundered, trying to find the right word "– a carer, I think? He keeps an eye on us and I know he's helped the Doc with some cases before."

"If he's not a patient then why does he stay in one of the patient rooms?" Ariel asked.

"I think he started out here as a patient, but when nothing could be done for him, he just kind of stayed on. I know he sometimes goes down to the Summer house, but generally he's always been here, or at least he has been since I first came here."

"You've been here too long," Ariel replied. "You know too much."

"I have been here a long time," she admitted.

Emily came running back in on her tiptoes. "The Doc and Harriet are coming!" She whispered.

Ariel's stomach did a somersault. This was it. They were coming to give her an eviction notice. Her scar stretched painfully and she hit it a couple of times.

The Doc stood in the doorway, surprised to find so many people in the bedroom. "Good morning," he said. Dark shadows hung under his eyes and Ariel felt a new wave of guilt wash over her. "Ariel, can I speak with you in my office, please?"

Ariel nodded, unfolding her body. Her body protested after being still for so long. She started falling back against the window and Lucas pulled her up. Thanking him, she grabbed her shoulder bag and slowly walked to the door. The Doc moved away and she saw Harriet standing by the top of the stairs.

"Good morning, Ariel," she smiled. If it was possible, she looked more nervous than Ariel felt. Ariel started to step backwards, and hit something hard. Lucas had followed her to the door. She felt him give her a push forward and she stumbled. Avoiding Harriet's gaze, she quickly walked past her and down the stairs.

Once they were in the office, she took her favourite seat by the window. The Doc looked at Lucas with exhausted bemusement. "Lucas?"

"What?" He stared at the Doc, folding his arms. They looked at each other for a few seconds before the Doc sighed and closed the door. Ariel didn't know why he had invited himself along to her eviction, but she felt safer knowing there was someone who was at least on her side. Harriet took a seat next to the Doc at the desk, wringing her hands together.

"Now –" The Doc began when the door banged open.

Amelia strode in, slamming the door behind her. Seeing Lucas, she snorted and elbowed him, knocking him sideways. "Hey Luke –"

"Lucas."

"I knew that." She leant against the wall beside him. "So, what's this morning party about?"

"We're trying to apologise to Ariel –" the Doc started.

"I'm getting kicked out," Ariel said over him.

"What?" They both said simultaneously.

"You're apologizing?" She said in disbelief.

"We're not kicking you out," Doc said.

"I don't understand," Ariel said slowly. Lucas was standing smugly by the door, happy he had been correct. "Why would you be apologizing to me? I got Ben hurt –"

"You didn't," he sighed. "What happened yesterday was something we'd been dreading for some time. We weren't sure if it would ever happen, but the curse is still alive."

"Curse? You're cursed?"

"The family line is," Amelia said darkly.

"Are you serious?" Ariel asked.

The Doc folded his arms, looking weary. "Our family was cursed over three hundred years ago. Our family business started with the sole purpose of breaking our curse. The desire to help others who were like us came afterwards."

"So, you have a werewolf curse?" Ariel asked hesitantly. "I mean, he did turn into a werewolf, didn't he?"

"Essentially. The curse is passed to the eldest son in Grimm family line and so on and so forth. When they reach manhood – which varies depending on genetics and environmental factors – the curse comes into effect. They are like werewolves, but the normal things you usually associated with a wolf don't affect us – for example, we don't turn on a full moon. We change when there is no moon in the sky."

"So, you're a monster too?" Lucas asked.

"No," the Doc shook his head.

Ariel looked confused and Amelia pushed off the wall. "The Doc's not the eldest in his family. He had an older brother, Zachary."

"What happened to him?" Ariel asked.

The Doc looked away. "He died when I was younger. Suicide."

Ariel's fingers curled into fists. "I'm sorry."

"That's why we thought the curse was broken." Amelia explained. "With Zachary gone, we thought there would be no one to pass it onto. The eldest son had never died before without producing an heir. Apparently the old hag took into consideration when she cast the curse."

Ariel remembered a previous conversation with Amelia and looked at the witch. "Does their curse have something to do with your debts?"

Amelia tapped her nose. Lucas looked between them both questioningly. Amelia walked over to the Doc and slapped his shoulder. "The old hag who cursed his family was me mother."

"What?" Ariel exclaimed. "And you're helping them?"

She nodded, flipping her black hair over her shoulder. "I was still pretty young when she cursed them, but even I knew that her reasons were horse crap. She had too much power and she was always greedy for more. She hurt a lot of people and I swore I wouldn't follow the same path. When I found the Grimm's after she died, I vowed to help them find a way to break the curse. Course, I've been failing pretty hard on that vow, but I'll keep trying."

The Doc patted her hand. "Amelia has helped our family make great breakthroughs with some difficult curses. She's also helped to develop some potions that minimize the effects of our curse and allow us to remain more human while in beastly form. Something that will help Ben adjust to his new life."

"I-is Ben okay?" Ariel asked nervously. She'd been dying to ask since she'd walked into the office, but broaching the subject made her throat dry up. She kept her gaze on Amelia, pointedly avoiding the Grimm's eyes.

"He's sleeping," Harriet said quietly. "It will take him some time to adjust, but I know Amelia and Brad will do everything they can for him. Public school will definitely be impossible now."

"Ariel," the Doc stood up and walked over to Ariel, crouching by her chair. "Yesterday we were understandably upset by the situation, but we were wrong to take it out on you. Without giving you a proper explanation about our worries, we failed you and Benjamin. I know harsh words were spoken, but I hope you can forgive us."

She looked at him warily. It wasn't the Doc she was nervous about. Harriet's words still rung in her ears. Still, she knew the Doc wanted her to forgive them. He wanted her to forgive everyone. Her scar pulled tight again and her fingers twitched, wanting to rub it. The skin was bruised again after hitting it repeatedly yesterday and throughout the night.

When she didn't say anything, Harriet walked over too, and Ariel shrunk away. "I'm sorry, Ariel," Harriet whispered. "I was worried for my son. I didn't mean anything I said. Yelling at a child is not something I'm proud of. I'm so sorry."

She glanced at Lucas, unsure what to say. He motioned for her to talk and she opened her mouth, forcing the words to come out. "I forgive you."

They both relaxed. Patting her knee, the Doc got up and went back to his chair. Harriet still remained close and Ariel silently willed her to move away.

"I-I should still go though, shouldn't I?"

"No, why?" The Doc asked.

"Because... I mean, I know you guys are sorry and all, but you must still blame me on some level right? Won't it be hard for you to see me everyday, and know I was the reason your son went... like that?"

"Ariel, we just explained –"

"I know!" She spoke over the Doc, feeling flustered. Her scar was pulling tighter and unable to stop herself she slammed her fist into it, pressing her knuckles into the bruised skin. "But you'll still blame me on some level. I don't want to make things uncomfortable for everyone. It's probably better if I just go back home – or what about that summer house? Autumn said something about a summer house this morning –"

Harriet grabbed for her fist and Ariel recoiled, pressing into the chair. The Doc motioned for her to step back. Lucas had taken a step forward when Ariel moved away and Amelia grabbed his arm, yanking him back against the wall.

"Ariel," the Doc said gently. "Do you want to leave?"

"No." The word flew out of her mouth before she could think. "N-not without a cure."

"Then you stay," he said firmly. "You won't make anyone feel uncomfortable and we don't blame you for anything. End of discussion."

Ariel nodded. "If you say so..."

Sighing, the Doc started shuffling some papers. "Take some time to think about it. Harriet and I will be taking Ben away for a few days to help him understand what is happening to him. Amelia will be in charge while we're gone and will take over your cases with Zeke's assistance."

"I ain't no Doc, but I'll still give it me best," Amelia grinned. She hit Lucas again and he growled, his knees buckling. Ariel opened her mouth to say something Zeke actually being helpful but quickly clamped it shut.

"I'll come back to check on everyone Friday," Doc explained. "I'd like you to take some time and if you still feel uncomfortable, Ariel, then we will try to figure out something that works for you, agreed?"

Murmuring an agreement, she got up to leave. She could still feel Harriet's eyes burning into the side of her head, but she ignored them and walked out the door. Lucas made to follow, but the Doc called him back to change his dressings.

Amelia followed Ariel out, grabbing her arm. "You want me to take a look at those?"

She pointed to the dressings on Ariel's palms and Ariel shook her head. "They'll be fine, it was nothing major."

"Right. Good to see you're making some more friends."

"What do you mean?" Ariel walked into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Amelia followed her. "With the big fella back there. Thought you guys had a vendetta against each other, but something's changed since we came from ya homeland."

"We've come to a mutual understanding," she grabbed a clean cup from the sink. "I don't know if we're friends."

Amelia laughed. "He basically invited himself into that room this morning, because he knew you were scared. That's something a friend does. They have each other's backs. You've clearly forgotten what it's like to have real friends."

Ariel smiled wryly. "I guess you're right. My choice in friends hasn't exactly been good this last year."

"That's alright," Amelia grabbed a banana. "You seem to have fixed that problem here. Just don't screw it up."

Amelia left and Ariel continued making coffee and breakfast, a silly smile on her face as she thought of the people she'd met here and how differently she thought of them now than when she had first arrived. A few months ago, if someone had told her she would be friends with a mermaid, a snake man, a girl made of leaves and a beast, she would have laughed in their face and called them morons.

Staring into her coffee, she felt a strange peace settle in her mind.

"Moron," she whispered, grabbing her cup and plate to go and have breakfast with her friends.

That afternoon, she sat with Autumn, watching a movie in her bedroom. Emily was on the phone to her older brother and Michael had gone to check the post in town. Kestral, Lucas and Samson were playing board games in the library. Ariel would have joined them, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with Kestral, who continuously just sent her death glares since Ariel had barged in on her session the day before. Autumn still looked exhausted, and Ariel felt as though she needed to keep an eye on her in case she passed out.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Autumn finally said.

"I'm not," Ariel quickly looked at the laptop screen.

"I'm not stupid, Ariel, I know you keep looking at me."

"Fine," she closed the laptop. "I do keep looking at you, because I'm freaking out you're going to collapse or something. You look terrible."

"Well thank you," Autumn said dryly.

"No, I mean really terrible."

"I get the picture, Ariel. I look bad."

"No, it's just – I get it; winter is all bad for leaves and stuff, but this is like extreme. You said you've had this curse for years. Has it always been this bad in winter?"

"Yes and no," Autumn gently repositioned herself. "Some winters are worse than others."

"Shouldn't the Doc stay to take care of you though? Or you should go with him."

"The Doc has more pressing problems than my curse. Besides, Amelia is here if I need her."

"If?" Ariel stared at her in disbelief. "What do you mean, 'if'?"

"I mean, if," Autumn said firmly. "I've told you, Ariel there's nothing the Doc can do for me at the moment. It will pass."

"You're lying," Ariel glared at her.

"No I'm not."

An idea came to Ariel. "Okay, how about this? If you give me an honest answer about how you're really doing at the moment, then I will tell you about Lucas and myself."

Ariel could see she'd spiked Autumn's interest. The girl was the worst meddler she'd ever seen. "Has something happened with you and Lucas?"

"Maybe, but I'm not telling until you tell me the truth first."

Autumn fell silent, considering her options. "You tell me first."

Groaning, Ariel collapsed into the chair at Kestral's desk. A book titled, Faeries, Sprites and Changelings: A beginners guide to the world Fae, was lying on the top of the desk and she grabbed it, flicking randomly through the pages.

"We talked, and things are cool between us."

Autumn leaned forward, smiling widely. "You finally talked! I knew you two would get along if you just tried."

"Calm down, it's not like we're best friends or anything. We just... understand each other now," Ariel closed her eyes. Why was she being forced to explain this to everyone today?

Closing the book, she threw it back onto the desk and folded her arms. "Your turn. Oh, also don't tell Lucas I told you. We both promised not to tell you and I don't want him to know I owe him."

"You're making promises!" Her eyes twinkled in delight and Ariel's own rolled.

"Can we please just get to the part where you tell me the truth now?"

Autumn sat back. "When you say you want the truth, how much do you want?"

"What kind of question is that?" Ariel snapped. "I want the whole truth dammit. Tell me what's really going on with you! Geez, it's not that bloody difficult a question..."

"I'm dying."

Ariel's inner monologue of frustration disappeared. She stared at Autumn, not sure she'd heard her correctly. "What now?"

Autumn smiled weakly, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm dying."

Finally! I know this chapter is a little late, but I've been busy trying to catch up on some reading of my own in the last week and I got hella distracted lol! Let me know your thoughts below :)