Raising Johanna was not something I ever thought would happen for me, but I was happier than I could ever imagine being. In my spare time, I wrote history essays under the pseudonym, Alexander Conrad, and no one was any the wiser, although I did hear several good things about my writings, which was truly amazing. Roger and I would constantly compare notes on what we recalled from the future, and I was very careful not to write anything that hadn't happened yet, or what was deemed to be too controversial.

"We bought Mama a book about Scotland and its history," Brianna said, practically bouncing up and down with excitement as she watched me work, whilst Jemmy toddled around the room babbling merrily, and Johanna lay upon the floor upon a blanket. "She said it would have been better had she had the book the first time around. What are you writing?"

I looked over my shoulder at Brianna and smirked; I'd come to the cabin she and Roger lived in with the intention of working, but found I wasn't getting much of it done. Autumn had come to the Ridge and things were steadily growing colder, but the fireplace was lit, and that made the entirety of the cabin warm and welcoming, although Brianna and I made sure that neither Jemmy nor Johanna got too terribly close to it.

"Well, if you must know," I joked with Brianna.

Brianna grinned, getting to her feet from where she was sat beside Johanna on the floor, and spread her impressive green skirts. "Oh, I must know, Lady Grey, I must!"

I laughed aloud, getting to my feet and curtsying back to her, my own skirts a beautiful shade of blue that cold afternoon. "Well, of course I shall tell you, then, Mistress MacKenzie," I said with a dramatic, low voice. "I am writing a letter to Eliza Robertson."

Brianna's attention was immediately caught. "Really?" she asked, coming close to the desk I was currently borrowing and looking over my shoulder. "I thought Da was going to send it?"

"Da was making inquiries about Eliza to figure out if we were related, which would mean that she would have had to have gone through the stones," I replied, returning to my seat at the desk and looking down at what I'd written so far.

Brianna considered that for a moment. "Roger and I always figured it was something you were born with," she mused. "But, wouldn't it be a bit odd if it was just your aunt?"

"Erica could have been a traveler as well, but she never utilized her gifts, even if she had them, and thank goodness she didn't," I said quietly, and Brianna nodded in agreement. "As far as I know, Erica moved from Scotland as a teenager to find work in London, where she met Raymond, and the pair of them heard about Hitler from the news."

Brianna sighed, coming up completely behind me and wrapping her arms around my shoulders, knowing how I felt about discussing that faction of my family. "It wouldn't have been too terribly hard to hear about it," she observed. "Mama herself served as a combat nurse during the war as well..."

I scoffed, reaching up and clutching at Brianna's hands. "I wonder if they ever crossed paths and, if they did, what was said."

Brianna buried her face into my shoulder. "Most of me doesn't even want to consider it, and Mama barely talks about what she faced in the war," she said quietly.

I nodded. "I don't blame her," I said. "Isaac and Sebastian barely talked about it, until it all just came spilling out one day. All we knew about it was that they were in the same unit, and then we just got a phone call one day that they were coming home. Once they were back, President Eisenhower awarded them both Purple Hearts, meaning that they were wounded in battle, but they refused to talk about it."

"Shell-shocked?" Brianna asked.

"Probably, yes," I responded. "They were normal with all of us, though, for such a long time, and then they told us what really happened to them... Well, me. I don't know if the rest of the family knows yet."

"When did you find out?" Brianna wanted to know.

"In the two weeks it took me to get here," I whispered.

Brianna promptly yanked me out of the chair and hauled me over to the ground, easing me down onto it, and handed Johanna to me, knowing just when I needed something calming. "How is that even possible?" she whispered.

I sighed, inhaling the silky, raven-haired head of my daughter, who seemed to snuggle even closer into my arms. "They left me a note in my bag."

Brianna's jaw dropped. "They what?"

I nodded. "I know, it's silly. I hardly ever carry bags, except for the one I brought with me, and I think they snuck it in there in March, when they came over spontaneously for dinner. We just weren't that kind of family. I mean, it was like that with Toby and Layla, because they lived so close, but Isaac and Sebastian weren't nearly as close to us."

"I won't pretend to understand your family's dynamics," Brianna said softly.

I laughed. "Nor would I ask you to," I told her. "Anyhow, the note from Isaac and Sebastian told me that Headmaster Radclyffe's sons were in their unit, too, and, one day, there was an explosion, and Isaac went in with them to rescue Sebastian, who was covered in rubble. They had to drag him out to safety, and Sebastian ended up losing his leg." I shook my head then, trying and failing to shut the pictures my mind created of the scene. "I didn't even know my own brother lost his goddamn leg..."

Brianna leaned forward at that. "There's more to it, isn't there?"

I nodded. "There is. Two of my boss's sons didn't make it out; the roof of the explosion caved in on them and killed them instantly. Isaac got severe burns, which we did know about, but he had to be flown home because of them."

"And the third son?" Brianna asked, remembering that Headmaster and Mrs. Radclyffe were the parents of three boys.

"Smoke inhalation," I whispered, "caused by going back in to the danger zone to try and get Sebastian out of there. He died later on in the hospital."

Brianna dragged a hand down her face. "And you think that your boss held all of this against you?" she asked.

I sighed. "I think he held it against Isaac and Sebastian for damn sure, but perhaps he figured that they had suffered enough already. Perhaps he wanted to inflict damage on someone he had easy access to, someone he could target without arising too much suspicion."

Brianna looked disgusted. "Do you think he accounted for your father standing up for you and doing everything in his power to see him thwarted?"

"Who knows?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders. "At the end of the day, none of them even exist in this world yet. All I care about is right here, right now, and this little angel," I whispered, looking down at my daughter, and pressing a kiss to her forehead as her eyes fluttered. "I'll never let anyone hurt her, Brianna. I won't."

"I know," Brianna said quietly back. "It's part of being a mother."

I looked up her and smiled. "And part of being a sister means the same for you," I said, reaching out towards her and offering my hand.

Brianna grinned back and accepted my hand. "I'll always be here for you, Alexandra."

I squeezed her hand. "So will I, Brianna," I replied.

~*~

Johanna grew bigger and stronger every day, and was frequently babbling in the language of babies about something or other, and it was the most beautiful music my ears had ever heard. As soon as she began talking, at the age of nine months, I began instructing her in English and French, because, at the end of the day, she was a proper lady, and I wanted to be sure that she was educated as such, as much as I could, that is. Her hair grew longer and, when she began walking, even her steps were graceful, and I was pleased that my needlework had improved to the point where I could make her beautiful little dresses, so she looked every inch a proper lady, at least, in my eyes.

It was four days before Christmas in when Johanna and I ventured out into the snow, as bundled up as we could possibly be, and we danced through the snowflakes together, Johanna on her chubby little legs and squealing with delight. I told her that no two snowflakes were alike, and she stared at me with those beautiful, round eyes of hers, taking in my every word. Roger, Brianna, and Jemmy came outside shortly thereafter, and Jemmy ran towards Johanna, every inch a cousin, and took her hand, making sure that she didn't fall. I smiled at the interaction and turned to regard Brianna and Roger.

"Thank you for being the sister I never had, and the brother I always wanted," I said to the both of them.

Brianna grinned at me. "You're welcome," she replied, and then she giggled.

"What?" I asked, completely confused.

"I ken why she's laughing, lass," Roger responded, and I turned to look over at him. "'Tis because ye have snowflakes in yer hair!"

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "So do you!" I challenged, grinning back at Brianna.

Ian came into our sights soon thereafter, Rollo by his side, who barked in excitement at spotting Jemmy and Johanna in the snow, and dashed over to them, sitting down and permitting the little ones to greet him properly. Ian dismounted from his horse, handing its reins to Mr. Bug, and stepped forward, grinning at the both of us. "I ken ye missed me, but I was trading with the Cherokee," he explained with a grin.

"Find anything interesting?" Roger asked, his interest obviously piqued.

Ian dove into his jacket, pulling out something from about his neck. "This opal," he said proudly, and showed it off to us, and something about it drew resonance for me, and I looked over at Roger and Brianna, and could sense that they felt it, too.

I found myself stepping towards Ian, Roger and Brianna with me every step of the way, and I reached out to examine it first, before they got there, and, from the moment it came into contact with the palm of my hand, I let out a soft shriek and released it. "How can you wear that?" I cried out then, examining my palm, which boasted a welt upon it.

"Oh, my god, are you all right?" Brianna asked, as Roger himself moved to inspect it, which directly caused him to hiss. "Roger!" Brianna cried, looking over at her husband, while all the while, Ian was looking between me and Roger. Brianna bit down hard on her lower lip before she, too reached out and took ahold of the opal, and it promptly burned her as well. "What in God's name is that thing?" she demanded, and I noticed that each of our palms now sported identical burn marks.

"Ian!" Jamie called, coming out of the big house all bundled up, Claire just behind him in very much the same attire, and they rushed forward to greet him, Rollo barking excitedly. "Tha's a pretty wee thing," Jamie continued, and took ahold of it into his hand, not remarking about the temperature. "Get it from the Cherokee, then?"

"Why isn't it burning you?" Brianna asked, seemingly before she could stop herself.

"'Tis no' hot!" Ian cried out staunchly.

"I feel nae heat, leannán," Jamie told Brianna, obviously confused at her words.

I shook my head. "Da, you don't understand," I said, still grimacing as the cool air cut into the welt upon my palm. "It burned all of us!" I told him, and he looked mightily concerned as Roger and Brianna nodded vigorously at my words.

Claire stepped forward, noticing that we were all gripping upon our respective wrists, and she looked shocked at the identical burns we all sported.

"The opal burned you?" Claire asked, clearly amazed.

Roger nodded. "Aye, it did," he confirmed.

Claire turned around then and inspected the opal for another moment, before she herself tested it with her fingertips and gasped, immediately dropping it. "It's very hot," she said quietly, and it was then that Roger, Brianna, and I looked at one another.

"Oh," I whispered then, and we all knew what that meant—the opal would feel warm for those who had the ability to travel through the stones.

"Why 'tis it burning ye, then?" Ian asked, looking at the four of us. "What are ye?" he whispered, something flashing from within his eyes.

"Mama..." I said softly, and Claire gaped at me, wondering why I would choose now of all times to call her that.

"Mama, you don't have to," Brianna said quickly.

Claire turned and regarded Ian for a moment. "We're not fairies," she said softly.

Ian shuffled from foot to foot in the snow. "All righ'," he said, still obviously quite confused as he looked at all of us in turn. "But why did the opal burn ye, auntie? Why did the opal burn all of ye?"

Claire looked at Jamie for a moment, who nodded his head at her, before she turned to regard Ian once again. "Let us go inside," she said.

Ian whistled for Rollo, who promptly came, and I turned around to take Johanna into my arms, while Roger caught Jemmy. We ventured inside the big house, where Claire immediately began pacing in front of the fireplace, Jamie just beside her to ground her if need be. Brianna and I sat upon the couch in front of the fire, Jemmy and Johanna in our respective arms, while Roger shut the door behind us all and came to stand behind the couch, next to where Ian was awkwardly standing, Rollo just beside him.

Claire turned to look at Ian for a moment before she spoke again. "We... That is, Brianna, Roger, Alexandra, and I, we... We all come from the future, two hundred years from now."

Ian stared at us, open mouthed. "Tha' was why ye disappeared after Culloden, Auntie Claire, was it no'?" he asked.

Claire gave a slight nod at that. "Yes," she confirmed. "Your uncle forced me to return to my time because I was with child. I was carrying Brianna at the time, and, because I had previously lost a baby, we believed it would have been safer for me to deliver a child in the late-1940s versus the mid-1740s."

"What 'tis it like, then?" Ian asked, looking at us all. "Are things easier?"

I sighed. "In some ways," I replied. "There are these things called automobiles, or cars, and, when you're sixteen, you can legally drive one, after passing an exam and obtaining something called a driver's license. You could drive from North Carolina, where we are, to New York, in around eight hours."

"The food is quite different, too," Brianna put in. "Two popular foods of note are called pizza and hamburgers. Pizza is made from dough, like bread, and then you put something called tomato sauce on top of it, and lots of cheese; the most popular kind is mozzarella. You bake it in an oven, and it's delicious. You can also put vegetables on it, or other kinds of sauces and cheese, the possibilities are endless."

Ian turned to regard Roger. "And wha' 'tis this hamburger they speak of?"

"Hamburgers, or cheeseburgers, are delicious," Roger said, smiling wistfully at that. "'Tis ground beef, between two slices of bread, called a bun. Ye add cheddar cheese tae make it a cheeseburger, and ye can add lettuce, tomato, and onions to make it a deluxe. 'Tis quite a delicious food."

"Another thing Claire told me about were airplanes," Jamie said quietly.

Ian whirled around and stared at Claire. "What 'tis an airplane?"

Claire smiled, and I pictured her telling a younger Jamie all about them, as well as me informing John what an airplane was. "An airplane is a flying machine," she said quietly. "It is quite like a bird with wings, although people fit inside it, and it can fly you all around the world. A flight from here to Scotland would take less than a day, around fourteen hours or so."

"Can I go, then?" Ian asked, looking excited.

Claire looked saddened then and shook her head. "It is something you're born with, Ian," she said quietly. "As in, you need a family member, a blood relation, in order to be able to travel through time. I don't know where I inherited my gift from, because I didn't know my parents at all, only an uncle. Brianna can go, because she is my daughter. Roger can go, because he has some MacKenzie ancestors who could travel..."

"And I can go," I said, speaking about it for the first time, "because my mother's twin sister, Eliza, could travel, which means my biological mother, Erica, could likely travel as well, even though she never used her gift."

"So, that is yer connection, then, lass," Jamie said.

I smiled at him. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Da."

"'Tis all righ'," he assured me.

"So, I cannae go?" Ian said, looking a bit distraught, knowing that he would likely never fly in an airplane, ride in a car, or taste true pizza and hamburgers.

Claire shook her head at him. "I don't believe so, no, Ian. I am truly sorry."

Ian lowered his eyes, and Rollo hurried to his hurt master's side. "'Tis all righ'," he said, forcing a smile onto his face, before he opened the doors behind him and walked out of the room.

Claire was silent for a few moments before she spoke again. "Well, I had better take a good look at your palms," she said quickly, always the healer, and bustled towards her surgery, her hand beckoning us to follow her.

~*~

I decided that in the New Year I would begin taking Johanna for short rides upon one of the tamer mares that Jamie and Claire had in their stables. Thinking that it was a wonderful idea, Claire helped me stitch a riding habit, while Jamie inspected the horses for the best one. When the day arrived, two weeks after the incident with the opal, Johanna and I began riding at a slow pace across the Ridge, and my daughter couldn't be happier. She felt heavier in my arms with each passing day, and at nearly sixteen months old, she was progressing more than I ever thought possible for a daughter to do in this time period.

Johanna giggled at the bumpy movements of the horse galloping slowly, and I knew that I would do everything in my power to teach my dear little girl how to ride. I couldn't see myself denying her anything, even one more story at night, one more song, one more this, one more that. It was quite endearing at this stage, and while Johanna had every luxury and comfort she could possibly want, as this life was the only one she knew, I also made it a point not to spoil her overtly, not wanting to have a child on my hands that demanded everything for nothing.

I pressed a kiss onto the crown of her head, and Johanna turned and looked up at me, my heart momentarily seizing at it always did as John's eyes blinked up at me. "I love you, my little princess," I told her.

Johanna grinned up at me. "I love you, Mama!" she cried out happily.

I smiled down at her and turned the horse about, ready to make another trek, when movement in the trees caught my attention and, just a moment later, but it was merely a rabbit presumably looking for its dinner. Shaking my head, but nevertheless done with the ride for the day, I promptly brought the horse back to the stables, knowing that suppertime would soon be on the horizon, and certainly didn't wish to keep Claire, Jamie, Brianna, Roger, Jemmy, and Ian waiting. We trooped back to the stables on the mares' back, and I quickly could detect disappointment in my daughter. I smiled at that, pleased that she had liked her first riding lesson, and got down, lifting her into my arms as I led the mare back into her respective stall, locking it behind her.

"Tomorrow?" Johanna wanted to know, and I smiled, for it was a word that Jemmy himself had taught her.

"Perhaps," I replied, and Johanna seemed satisfied with that, wriggling a bit within my arms, a clear sign she wanted to walk up to the big house unaided.

As we stepped out of the stables, and I set Johanna carefully onto the ground, I noticed a lone rider came out from the grove of trees beyond, and my jaw dropped at who was riding. There, in all his glory, was my husband, Lord John William Bertram Armstrong Grey, and, when he saw me, his eyes flashed with something I couldn't quite put my finger on, and he spurred his mount, charging forward. I did my best to shield Johanna, unknowing how he would react to the notion that he had a little girl who would be two the following autumn, and hoped that he wouldn't notice her, but...

"Mama, supper?" Johanna asked from behind the confines of my riding habit, and John looked shocked at the words, dropping down off his horse a few feet away from us and stepped forward, my daughter hearing the footsteps and peeking around my skirts, while my husband's eyes widened at the sight of her.

"Alexandra?" he breathed, looking from Johanna to me and back again.

"John..." I whispered, positively trembling.

Johanna tugged at my skirts, and I promptly bent down and took her into my arms again, needing the comfort that only my daughter was capable of bringing to me. "Mama, why crying?" she asked, patting my cheeks.

"Mama?" John whispered, and this caught Johanna's attention, and she turned to regard John, my husband, her father, and yet, a stranger.

"Darling, this is Lord John Grey," I said quietly to Johanna, and she turned to regard the man a second time, something within her expression that seemed to be akin to recognition.

"Hello, Lord," she said, giggling.

John's bit his lips, a habit I'd noticed before, wherein he was attempting not to smile. "It is a pleasure, my dear," he replied.

"John, this is Johanna," I said softly, and John's eyes locked to mine, as I spoke the words that would change everything forever, "our daughter."

~*~

"We have a daughter?"

It was the same four words that John had asked, and asked repeatedly, over and over again, ever since I'd properly introduced Johanna to him. Considerately, once everyone knew that John had arrived, Brianna and Roger took charge, telling Jemmy that they were going to play with Johanna for a while, and Claire and Jamie swore to delay supper as long as possible. I brought John upstairs to my bedroom without protest from anyone, likely due to the fact that we were married, and shut the door behind us.

"Alexandra..."

"Look," I said quietly, turning around to face him, riddled with worry, "I'm sure you're plenty angry at me, but please don't take it out on Johanna; she is innocent in all of this. Yes, she is your daughter."

"Alexandra..."

I held up my hand. "No, I didn't know I was expecting her when I came back here. That was a mistake, I promise you; I just wanted to talk to you properly, and I was so frightened that you would leave before I had the chance to tell you something important, so I rushed forward and tried to grab you, but I tripped, and accidentally pushed you out of the way, and came back here myself." I gritted my teeth in an effort to keep ahold of myself, although it was proving to be quite difficult. "I walked through the woods for two weeks until I came here, and I showed them photographs of us, and talked about the twentieth century, so they believed me when I told them how I knew you. Claire diagnosed my pregnancy soon thereafter, and I did my best to keep Johanna healthy and happy within me until I gave birth, although there were some complications along the way..."

John was immediately on the offensive. "What complications?" he asked.

I swallowed then, my eyes filling with tears as I remembered that day—Lionel Brown's whiskey breath in my face, his gnarled hands pinning me against the tree, all the blood running down my legs afterwards, me shooting him... "I was raped," I whispered, forcing the words through my throat and out my lips.

John looked crushed at the prospect and immediately stepped towards me. "Oh, dear God in heaven, Alexandra, I—"

"Wait, please," I said, wrapping my arms around myself. "I need to tell you everything, please, because this is still quite a raw discussion, despite it happening over a year ago..."

John nodded his head. "By all means."

"His name was Lionel Brown," I whispered.

"Was?"

I nodded jerkily. "Was. It was within weeks of my arrival, and D–Jamie heard that I knew how to hunt, so he took me hunting here. I shot down a buck on my first try," I said, chuckling a bit at that, but shook my head, knowing that that wasn't the point of the story. "It was too big for him to carry, so he suggested that I venture back down to ask Roger, Fergus, and Ian to assist him in bringing it back, and I agreed... I came down here, and, ultimately, was overpowered by a man from Brownsville... I couldn't stop him... I'm so sorry, John..."

John shook his head. "Don't apologize for that. It wasn't your fault, Alexandra."

"I knew I couldn't let him kill me, for Johanna's sake. I let him do what he wanted, because I was afraid that he would find out I was pregnant and hurt me further. I distracted him long enough to get the gun away from him, and then everyone came out to make sure I was all right and to get him away from me. Claire brought me into her surgery, because I had some bleeding, but I went back outside and I... I killed him, John..."

John sighed. "Were he alive today, I would have torn him apart with my bare hands."

"That's comforting," I whispered. "But it was all for Johanna. She's everything to me, John, my entire world..."

John swallowed. "And how old is she now?"

"Sixteen months, nearly," I replied. "She was born at the end of September, five months after I traveled back here."

"So, our wedding night?" John whispered.

I sighed, rolling my shoulders. "I think so," I responded.

"You called her 'Johanna'..."

I nodded. "Yes. I named her after you. Her full name is Johanna Victoria Katherine Grey. She is yours," I said again, more firmly this time, "but, if you don't want to see her, or me, ever again, I completely understand."

John blinked. "What?"

"I stopped you from coming back to William when you wanted to," I said brokenly. "You wanted to leave me, because of how different we were. As soon as I can figure out if Johanna can travel like we can, I will take her back with me. People look upon single mothers more favorably in the twentieth-century, of course."

"Alexandra..."

"I will agree to an annulment, or a divorce, whichever you prefer," I continued. "I won't ask for any of your money or your property. I just want Johanna..."

"And what is Johanna wishes to know her father?" John asked. "What then?"

"I won't let her go, or give her up," I whispered. "I cannot. I gave you up, and it broke me. I am never going to heal from that wound, John, I'm not. To give up our daughter would kill me, and I was very nearly dead for quite a long time when I came back here. Johanna brought me back to life, John, and she is the only thing sustaining me completely..."

John stepped forward then and yanked my chin up, and I saw a rare fire in his eyes that made me tremble completely. "You appear to be under the misapprehension that I gave you up willingly, Alexandra," he said softly.

I swallowed, finding that I rejoiced in his closeness to me. "You... You didn't?"

"No, I did not," John told me firmly. "I made a promise to raise William as my own and I did so, but you threw a wrench into the plans, Alexandra. I never felt feelings for a woman that I have for you, and never anticipated that I would. When I suggested marrying you, it was bred of the notion that I wouldn't, couldn't, let anyone else have you. Yes, I wanted your career to be saved, naturally, but I didn't want it saved at the expense of you signing your life away to a man who would treat you horribly, expect you to keep his name and bear his children, give up your career entirely, and never be independent over the course of your entire life. I didn't realize I wanted you for myself so badly until we kissed for the first time, and then it all went to hell with Grayson and..." He shook his head. "All I wanted to do on the night before our wedding was to tear off your robe and make love to you in your bedrooms' doorway, your parents' and tradition be damned. And then, the following night when you gave yourself to me for the first time, I knew you were giving me all of yourself, with no questions asked, despite you truly believing that I would never have any feelings for you other than friendship. You have no idea how wrong you were, Alexandra."

I gasped aloud then at the passion he evoked with every word. "Please... I need this to be real," I begged him, nearly going limp in his arms.

"It is very real, Alexandra," John informed me, his gaze heated. "I want you to be with me, here with Johanna, in the eighteenth-century. I want you to meet William eventually and be a proper stepmother to him. I want you to be Lady Grey, and move with me and our daughter to Virginia where my home is. I want you to come to England with me and meet my bothersome older brother and my well-meaning sister-in-law. I want you to meet my overbearing but loving mother, who will force us both to attend parties and gush over how happy the pair of us look. I want all this, Alexandra, and more, because you are my wife, until death do us part, and I love you, more than I expected to love anyone."

I shut my ears, tears flowing from them as he drew me closer. "You love me," I whispered, and never felt so wonderful in my life to hear those words. "Say it again, please..."

"I love you," John replied, smiling down at me.

"I love you, John," I whispered, leaning backwards, and John's lips met mine, and I wove my arms around his neck, not wanting to break the kiss for anything.

"Marry me again," John whispered, and I snapped open my eyes. "Become my wife in this time, so as the world will know that you are mine and I am yours."

I smiled, the grin nearly threatening to break my face in two at the rush of happiness which all but screamed through my senses. "Yes, John. Yes, always yes to you. I would be honored to become your wife," I declared, wrapping my arms around him again, and feeling my toes curl as he leaned down to kiss me again. "Wait..."

"Yes?" John asked.

"When did you come back?" I whispered.

"June," he admitted, and I felt my jaw drop. "I went immediately to my home in Virginia, which was no easy feat, mind you, and got my things in order. I managed to stop William from leaving his boarding school by setting sail immediately for London. It turns out that he had been thinking leaving the institution, but only because I had not been writing him, and he had been missing me terribly, and had considered venturing off on his own to look for me. At least, that was the story he gave to me... You know how fourteen year old boys can be..."

I chuckled. "Yes," I assured him. "That I do."

"I told him about you," John whispered then, and my eyes widened.

"You did what?" I demanded.

"I told him I had remarried to a wonderful woman who I was terribly in love with, and he was actually happy for me, and is eager to meet you," John said persuasively. "I stated you had remained behind at Fraser's Ridge, as you wanted to give him ample opportunity to grow used to the idea before meeting him properly. He was touched by your consideration, and begged me to bring you next time we went to London."

I nodded my head at him. "I would love nothing more than to meet my stepson, although I suppose he is also my brother now, too."

John blinked. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

I grinned at John. "Oh, my love, how much you have missed," I responded, wrapping my arms around him and standing on my toes for a moment, before I wrapped my legs around his torso and smirked up at him.

John's eyes widened. "Alexandra..."

I bit my bottom lip and stared up at him from beneath my eyelashes. "Are you saying 'no', then?" I asked him.

John shook his head. "I am not saying 'no'. However, I don't wish to push you into something you may not be ready for," he replied.

I nodded my head. "I appreciate that," I replied. "What if, at any time, if I feel uncomfortable, I tell you to 'stop', and you could, perhaps, finish on your own steam?"

John considered that for a moment. "I can do that, yes."

I smiled up at him again, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him for all he was worth. "I love you, John William Bertram Armstrong Grey."

"And I love you, Alexandra Conradina Grey, until death do us do part," he replied, permitting his lips to meet mine, and we fell into my borrowed bed together, not emerging from my guest room until the sun hung even lower in the sky.