"We'll be back in a few to get our stuff, alright?" The driver held a hand up and turned back to the windshield as Angus closed the car door. All their luggage was still in the back of the car, Angus' extra sweaters shoved again in the tight suitcases. Angus' guitar of course, had the special place of honor on his lap, being picked and played all the way home from the airport. 

He lugged it after him, trying futilely to keep up with Hannah's worried pace, practically knocking down anything that got in her way. Apologizing to anyone he passed in case Hannah had forgotten her manners, he ran several feet behind her up to their apartment. Susan had greeted them at the car as it pulled up, explaining vaguely Hermione's condition. Hannah's beloved Hermione. Anything could have happened to her. What if the two returned from a heavenly honeymoon only to return to the less than bliss state of reality, and mortality?

Kicking the door open after it almost closed on his face, he set his guitar down beside the living room couch and made his way to the hutch. Susan made room for him to see, Hannah leaning rather close as well. Of all possibilities his imagination conjured, he never would have guessed to see what he did. There, among a bed of shavings and fur, along with a soft blanket Susan placed inside for her upon vet recommendation, was Hermione, sniffing and licking away, much smaller than she had been, along with three very small, very wet, and very brown baby bunnies. 

Glancing at Hannah to see her reaction, his heart skipped a beat seeing the smile he missed for so long spread across her face. He looked to Susan, who had been looking at him as well. Turning red she looked away, giving her attention to the new mother in the Young apartment. "Hermione!" Hannah said.

"I called the vet as soon as she started acting funny," Susan explained placing a hand on her back. "He came over and gave me all kinds of instructions, and before I knew it she had three children." Her face turned sour after this comment. "Actually she had four but...one-one didn't make it."

Hannah's smiled dropped as well. "Oh no..." Hannah left the room to search the closet for a small knit blanket they kept on the top shelf. Pulling it down along with some other various blankets, she brought it back to the hutch and placed it over the cage, dimming the light for the babies and giving the new mother some privacy with her children. 

"What did the vet say about that, was it born like that, or..." Angus stopped, unsure of how to word his question. 

"She died minutes after, he said she was born too small and couldn't survive outside very well. But-the other three are okay, and the mother is too," Susan said, trying to pick their spirits up. "One is a boy, and the other two are girls."

Hannah pulled a chair from the kitchen table and sat down, Angus immediately sitting next to her. "I don't understand how this happened," she said putting a hand to her chin. "Who did this to her?"

"You said you took her to a rabbit park, didn't you?" Susan asked.

"For an hour or two, at the most!" Hannah explained. "I never let her out of my sight! Whose tomcat rabbit is responsible for this?" Hannah turned to Angus as if he knew the answer to such mysteries. 

He shrugged and half smiled and said, "Maybe we weren't watching as closely as we thought. Now what I don't understand is how none of knew she wasn't fixed. I mean, we bought her, yeah? An' they never told us or nothin', an' we jus' assumed she was an' all?"

Susan took a seat across from Angus at the table. "That must be where all the weight she gained came from," she said smiling. "I sure know how that feels."

"How've ya' been?" Angus asked.

"Better than most my size, I guess," she said. "Sleeping hasn't been great but that's to be expected. I know I might go into labor any day now and that's kind of daunting to think about." Hannah squeezed Angus' hand that was next to hers and stood from the table. 

"Would you like something to eat or drink for a bit before you go?" she asked. "We'd hate to send you off so quick and it'd be good to catch up." Susan waved her hand.

"You two just got back, I don't want to keep you up if you're tired or anything." This time Angus stood up. 

"Aw come on now, we'd love to have ya' for company. You two can chat for a bit an' I'll go get our stuff from the car."

He turned a bright shade of red as he tripped over his guitar case on his way to the front door, Hannah and Susan snickering behind him. 

When he returned he found the two women laughing over a cup of tea, Susan drinking water instead. Neither one noticed his approach, and he kicked the door closed behind him. Stepping around his guitar case, he brought both suitcases to the couch and set them down, rubbing his shoulder afterwards. "You ladies talkin' about me over there?" he asked gaining their attention.

"Unless you were one of the drunk men parading around a few nights ago banging on a trashcan on the head of his friend, then no, we aren't," Susan replied still smiling. "Didn't get much sleep that night, and they finally left around one in the morning."

"Do you know who it was?" Angus asked grabbing a mug from the cupboard. The kettle was still hot. 

"No, I couldn't see from the window, and it was too dark anyway. Could have been someone from out of town, or a neighbor, anyone." Pouring his tea into a mug filled with an inch of milk, he brought it to the table and sat next to Hannah, who pulled a chair out for him. 

"Thanks, sweetheart," he mentioned as he sat down.

"I eventually fell asleep, and they were gone the next morning. I didn't look into it, I couldn't be bothered. As long as they're not hurting anyone."

"Doesn't mean you want a couple a pricks runnin' around keepin' ya' from gettin' any sleep, ya' know?" Angus asked her taking a drink from his cup. She smiled at him, grateful he was still willing to talk to her, let alone stand up for her after all those years. Allowed her to stay at his house while he was gone, sit at his table. She wasn't a nobody to him like she was to Johnny. "God knows I'd have given 'em a word or two."

"They would have been too drunk to mind," Susan said. "It's over and done now anyways." She drank the rest of her water and set it aside, declining when Hannah offered her more. "So how was your trip?"

"Very cold," Hannah said. "I know it's winter and all over there, but I'm not used to the seasons changing all the time. In America it's the same, winter in December. And living there for a while it threw me off when I came back to Australia."

"But it's always warm inside," Angus said. "They make sure their citizens don't turn to snowmen ya' know. The food is pretty good, their desserts anyway." He grinned at Hannah who shrugged sheepishly. 

"Angus and I ate a lot of dessert there," she said. "It must have been really warm in that building, the bank or whatever it was. It was on fire." Susan gasped, looking to both of them for an explanation. 

"Dunno what started it," Angus said. "We uh, we got out of the way pretty quick, not wantin' to be around all that, ya' know." He looked at Hannah who played with the her wedding ring. Angus found it gave her comfort to look at it and feel it, making sure it was real, and not the ring Travis gave her. "Was pretty bad."

"Oh my goodness," Susan said. "Was anybody hurt?" Angus answered, seeing Hannah not too eager to reply.

"Not too bad, that we saw anyway," he said. "People were hurt yeah, but we don't think anyone died or nothin'."

"That's good. Sounds like it's been busy for all of us." She looked toward the hutch where the blanket hung. "Even Hermione."

At the mention of her beloved rabbit, Hannah snapped out of her trance and walked toward the hutch, pulling the blanket away from one side, allowing the three humans to peer inside and see a mother with her new children. Angus snickered to himself at the sudden thought in his head. "You're a grandma, sweetheart."

Hannah turned around with some snark in her voice. "Speak for yourself, Pops, she's your rabbit too."

Angus hummed to himself. "How do you like that? Ya' go off for a honeymoon an' you come back with grandchildren."

Susan turned to him. "Are you gonna name them?"

"Not even sure we're gonna keep 'em," he said standing up from his spot to get a closer look. He coughed into his hand a few times, raising it when asked if he was okay. "This place doesn't like pets, ya' know, an' we have one already. Four is a lot."

"Well if we're gonna give them away we can't pull a stunt like the pet store and not have them fixed and vaccinated and what not," Hannah said. "And Hermione ought to be fixed too so this doesn't happen again. My poor little girl. What if she tried to tell him no?" Angus wrapped an arm lazily around her.

"I don't know as animals really have that idea," he said. "When it's time, it's time, ya' know." Hannah narrowed her eyes at him and the arm around her. 

"Hmmm..."

That second, a third chair scraped the floor and Susan slowly stood up, pushing it back in and walking around the kitchen table. "It's been really good to see you both," she said leaning over to give Hannah a hug. Hannah returned it, albeit confused. 

"You're not leaving, are you?"

"I know, but you two just got back and need some rest, and I've got a child coming to get ready for. It's best if I'm home for that. And with Victor and the family." Hannah stepped aside to allow room for Angus to say his goodbye. Susan hugged him, surprising him yet again with her height. Why were suddenly all his female friends so much taller than him? Angus almost took his arms away until he felt Susan's embrace tighten. She carried a new warmth with her, a new friendliness he'd never seen or felt before. In school she had always brushed him aside for someone else, never giving him a chance to even say hello. Here and now, in this one hug alone, she seemed to apologize for every harsh word or every turn of the head that may have hurt him. Finally she pulled away first, giving him a long, genuine smile. "It's good to see you again, Angus," she said.

"Good to have ya'," he replied. "An' good to have you watch the place, ya' know."

"Thank you, Susan, I know the trip must have been the last thing you wanted to make," Hannah said, apologetically. 

"Like I said, it's been good to be away from taking care of three kids and a husband. Someday you're gonna be in my shoes, and you'll be making trips left and right to get away from it all." Hannah looked down at her shoes, away from the mirthful look of Angus. "My things are already packed, I can just grab them and go."

"Let me help you," Hannah said following Susan into the bedroom. Angus took Susan's water glass and checked Hannah's tea mug. Still having a few drinks left he left it, and set the glass in the sink, washing it out. Angus never thought he'd see the day where Susan Lockhart would spend an entire few weeks at his house, even if he wasn't there with her. In high school he would have wanted nothing more, and would have given Malcolm a smug look whenever he could. Malcolm...It was time he saw his brother again. Time to see the band again. Two weeks taken for vacation and now he had to get back to the studio to record their next album. When Malcolm got married he was beginning to think he wasn't coming back from the honeymoon it took so long to get back to work. Angus couldn't ever get away with that.

Susan and Hannah came out of the bedroom, each holding a suitcase. Angus offered to take them, Susan needing all the help she could get and Hannah being a present lady all the same. She denied his offer, Angus completely okay with it. With a last goodbye, Susan's car parked right at the curb where the previous had been, and her suitcases were placed in the trunk behind her. Hannah was given one last hug, while Angus received a kiss on the cheek. The spot was still warm as the car drove away, Hannah watching it turn around the corner. He smiled. Turning his head to see his new wife standing next to him, his smile grew. It quickly turned into another cough, and a slight headache. "Angus?" He looked at her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he managed. "Got a little sore throat is all, an' a cough to drive a man nuts. It's nothin', I'm fine. Need a little sleep is all."

"The tea isn't keeping you awake?" Hannah asked returning the one arm hug and walking with him back to their room. Angus kicked a rock and coughed again. 

"It might, but I'll try to sleep anyway. Goin' back to the studio tomorrow, ya' know, I need the sleep." He nuzzled her neck, grinning when she laughed. "You need the sleep too, ya' know."

"I'll sleep, after I look after Hermione and the children for a bit," Hannah replied. "I still can't believe someone did that to my rabbit."

"Well ya' know how rabbits are," Angus laughed. "Funny enough. We got a friend over here to watch the place who's havin' a baby any day now an' now our own rabbit had three kids of her own."

"Four," Hannah corrected sadly. Angus nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Everyone's havin' kids around here, next thing we know an' Mal's gonna be havin' a kid." Hannah leaned against him, less than responsive that minute. With everyone around her having children, a mob of people would soon encircle her asking when it was going to be her turn. Being honest with herself, Angus and her had never even talked about it. And thoughts of turning out just like her own mother worried her. Thoughts of being a bad parent and bringing up a child who wanted nothing to do with her frightened her. Having a child alone, being pregnant and all that frightened her. Even her own rabbit was braver than she seemed to be. Angus didn't carry on with the subject and for that she was grateful. She knew he must have wanted children some day. Even as kids themselves he had a soft spot for those younger than them. 

Angus opened the door to the apartment, letting Hannah enter first. The first fresh feeling of home sweet home fell upon the two of them, and they both suddenly felt exhausted. They fell on the couch, Angus stepping around his guitar case again, and cuddled for a minute or two. Any underlying romantic interactions between the two were scared away by Angus' coughing. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Ya' know when you have a cough, an' it gets worse at night, ya' know?" He turned his head away from Hannah, coughing into his arm. His throat burned. Hannah looked at the clock on the wall. 

"It's hardly seven."

"Still." He cleared his throat a few times, and exhaled deeply when he figured he was finished. 

"I thought you were going to get some sleep."

"I am," he said remaining where he was on the couch, eyes closed. "But like you said it's only seven."

"I can make dinner first if you prefer," Hannah suggested standing up. "Anything specific you want?"

"Can you make those foods at that bakery?" he asked opening his eyes to look at her. 

"If I could we'd be eating them all the time," she answered going to the kitchen to wash her hands. Angus stood from the couch and stretched, soon following after. His tea was still on the table and he took it eagerly. "Anything else?"

"Nah, I'm not really that hungry anyway," he said wiping his lips. "Travellin' takes away the appetite as it were."

"Tea will do it too," Hannah said eyeing the cup in Angus' hands. "I guess I'm not too hungry either. Maybe I'll just go to bed too."

Angus took Hannah's tea cup from the table, wordlessly offered it to her, and after a shake of her head, he set both mugs in the sink to wash later. He held his arms out to her. "Come 'ere, I'll give you a lift." Wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a second guessing look, he nodded with reassurance, and she hopped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. He stumbled back a few steps, and regained his balance. "There we go, ain't so bad, huh?"

"You sure I'm not too heavy?"

"Please, you're lighter than a feather." Angus wasn't kidding, Hannah really was very light. He understood she was smaller than most women, but it still concerned him. He wanted to make sure she ate enough, knowing Travis would never have allowed it. Suddenly he had the urge to do everything Travis wouldn't, and forget anything he would. "You can have dinner if you want it ya' know, don't let me stop you."

"Really, Angus, I'm not too hungry. I hate planes you know, and travelling makes me ill." He gave her a half smile. 

"Alright then," he spoke softly, and after stealing a few quick kisses from her lips, he began the short trek to the bedroom. "Well my love, off we go."

It was two in the morning when Hannah woke up. Darkness covered the entire room, one hardly able to see their hand in front of their face. She blinked rapidly, trying to stay away from the second bout of sleep taking over. Her vision was blurry, her head spinning. Her persistence to fight off the sleep stemmed from a small sound she heard, suddenly anything but small now. Sitting up, she held her head to stop the spinning, trying to concentrate on where the noise was coming from. She turned her head to see Angus, who wasn't there. In his place were a couple of turned over sheets. The sound became clearer with every minute that passed. Hannah could hear a loud yet muffled coughing from the hall, turning into a horrible retching. Turning the sheets over on her side of the bed, she slipped into her slippers, arms around herself. Angus' sweater was a bit large on her, giving her room to move, as Angus put it. She didn't mind, the knit material was enough to fall in love with on its own. 

Upon reaching the hallway the noise grew louder, one of the spare doors closed. It was the main bathroom, and a little light could be seen shining under the door. Hannah knocked quietly, unsure if Angus heard her. The noises behind it implied he couldn't come to the door right that minute, so she felt her way to the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet, filling it with water. The walk back to the bathroom wasn't as bad, Hannah's eyes having time to adjust to the darkness. She knocked again, receiving no answer. The door wasn't locked, and she opened it. 

Angus was kneeling on the floor, holding his head over the toilet. The retching had lessened, but only some, as his body was shaking, and he didn't look up when the door opened. Hannah closed the door after her, kneeling on the floor next to him with the glass of water in her hands. She placed a hand to his back, using her nails to draw circles of comfort. After a few minutes his throwing up turned to a heavy breathing, and he pushed the handle, grabbing  a tissue to wipe his mouth with. He turned to see Hannah next to him, offering him the glass. "Drink this," she whispered, brushing his hair away from his face. It was soaked with sweat, and pale as could be. Angus managed a few small sips and gave the glass back, shutting his eyes. Hannah took the glass away, setting it on the floor next to her. He leaned against the wall, still shivering terribly. She gathered him into her arms, letting him rest against her instead of a wall. Putting a hand to his forehead she frowned. He had a fever. "How long have you been up?" 

"An hour," he mumbled. His voice was hoarse and awfully quiet. She hardly heard him. "Maybe two."

"I think you have the flu," she whispered back, pushing his long hair behind his ears. 

"Fuck," Angus muttered. He put a hand to his face and coughed again, looking and sounding miserable. Hannah pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth, lingering there for a bit before pulling away. No, his breath didn't smell the best, and maybe it was best she didn't get so close to a sick man. But...she didn't care. Her best friend felt bad enough without having everyone abandon him like a leper. He gazed at her, instantly closing his eyes again from the bright light. A few minutes later he leaned forward again, the sickness taking over his body once again. 

Any hair falling in his face she brushed back. Any shivering or shaking she held still, and any sweating she wiped away. As soon as he was done he wiped his mouth again, and Hannah sat there waiting with the water glass in her hands. Little by little he took a little more, even taking some when he hadn't thrown up. Each time he'd hand the glass back and lean against the wall, she'd give him another little kiss in the same spot. His fever was still awfully high, every inch of skin Hannah could feel burning. She stood up from her spot on the floor and opened the cabinet, grabbing a small blue washcloth. She turned on the sink and doused it in water, sitting back down next to Angus. "Let me see you," she said tilting his head up. He blinked at her, trying to focus on a face he couldn't see. She placed the washcloth on his face, painting it with the cold water. He sighed, seeming to relax under the relief it brought to his fever. He leaned into her, resting his head against her shoulder. After a few minutes of silence, Hannah set the washcloth on the counter and held the glass of water up to him. He took a few sips and cleared his throat. 

"I think I'm done," Angus mumbled, licking his lips. Setting the glass on the counter, Hannah stood up, and held her arms out for him, much like he did for her hours ago. Standing up with Hannah's help, he hugged her waist as she led him out of the bathroom and back down the hall to the bedroom. It was about four in the morning when they finally went back to bed, the black night fading into a light blue. Angus collapsed into bed, shivering again, grasping at the blankets, desperate to cover himself in warmth. Hannah grabbed the glass from the bathroom and placed it on the table next to Angus' side of the bed before climbing in next to him. 

Disregarding the fact that he was sick and likely contagious, she embraced him under the blankets and buried her face in his neck, Angus' heart speeding up at this sudden show of affection. He returned the gesture, eager to stay as warm as possible. "You shouldn't sit so close," he whispered kissing her forehead. "You could get sick too."

"I don't care about that now, I'll worry about it later," she said pulling the blankets up so he was covered. Fighting to stay awake just a few minutes longer, Angus yawned, then coughed a few times, his eyes fluttering. 

"Thanks for stayin' up with me," he said, his voice as hoarse as ever. "You didn't have to."

"In sickness and in health," she responded moving his hair away again. Angus helped, tucking his curls behind his ear. "I'll call Malcolm tomorrow and tell him. You ought to stay home and rest."

Angus didn't argue. He lost his battle against sleep, and answered only with long, steady breathing, his hot breath hitting her skin. A few minutes later Hannah followed after.

Mrs. Young answered the doorbell to see Hannah standing outside the door, dribbling a red rubber ball. "Hannah, hello! I wasn't expecting anyone to come over today, you need something?"

"Is Angus home?" Mrs. Young bit her lip and nodded.

"He is home, but he's got a cold worse than an iceberg," she replied. "He doesn't get sick very often but when he does it's all I can do to keep the roof on the house when he sneezes. Did you two have plans today?"

"We were going to the park to play ball, but I can come back some other time," Hannah responded. Mrs. Young shook her head.

"Oh that's alright dear, I'm sure he wouldn't mind a bit of company for a few minutes. He's upstairs in his room, and Malcolm should be home from his band practice soon enough for lunch." Hannah entered the house, finding the stairs quickly and knocking on Angus' door. 

"Come in." Hannah giggled at the most pitiful sounding voice she'd ever heard on the other side. 

She opened the door to see a sort of morgue inside. The window curtain closed, the lights off, and a more dead than alive (according to him) Angus on the bed, lying almost flat with his eyes closed, blankets tucked up to his chin. A bowl of soup sat on the nightstand, steam pouring off of it. 

"Mum, call an ambulance, I think I'm dyin'," Angus said. Hannah turned the light on, Angus opening his eyes. "You?!"

"Good to see you too, Angus," Hannah said dribbling the ball on his floor. He covered his ears at the noise, pulling the blanket over him. 

"Will you please cut that out? I have a headache bigger than Mal's head an' that ball ain't doin' nothin' right for it." Hannah caught the ball from the air, setting it on the floor by his carelessly tossed shoes. Angus sighed from under the blankets. "And turn off that light while you're at it."

Hannah huffed and turned off the light switch. "It doesn't help to sit in the dark, Angus," she said sitting on the edge of his bed. Angus rolled over. 

"It helps me. This cold is gonna kill me."

"You looked dead when I came in the room, how much worse could it possibly be?" Hannah grinned in succeeding at getting Angus to come out from under the covers, even if it was only to frown at her. He retreated back under the covers while Hannah kicked her feet back and forth, too short to reach the ground. 

"What are you doin' here anyway?"

"We were supposed to play ball in the park, remember? But you never showed up. I came over and your mom said you were sick." Angus looked at her from under the blankets.

"That was today?" he asked his voice raising. "Shit, I'm sorry." He sneezed earning a look of disgust from Hannah, which turned to one of sympathy. "I woke up sick as a dog an' forgot all about it."

"It's alright, don't worry about it." He didn't answer to that, still feeling bad. Hannah looked around his bedroom, it being an absolute mess."We could do something else."

"Like what? There's not much to do when you're sick except lay in bed and feel sorry for yourself."

"You can't do that all day," Hannah said. 

"I can and I will." The fourteen year old girl rolled her eyes. 

"We could..." Nothing around his room seemed interesting for both of them, especially someone as sick as Angus pretended to be. "We could read some of your comics."

"I've read them all."

"Oh, well we could...we could watch the television downstairs."

"My dad always likes it on his channels an' gets upset if one of us changes it, and the shows on now are all old westerns," Angus explained. "Besides, the TV doesn't work too good anymore anyways."

Hannah sighed. "Then what do you suggest we do?"Angus glanced at the bowl of soup.

"You could feed me, that might make me feel better." Hannah tickled his neck earning a very real but very hoarse laugh. "Okay, maybe not."

"Anything else?"

"You could persuade Susan Lockhart to show up, come to my room and give me a private 'Get Well Dance'. That would make me feel a lot better," he suggested with a silly grin on his face. Something whacked him where the grin used to be, his nose throbbing. "Ow! A man can have his fantasies, can't he?" He rubbed his nose, feeling he had some drool stuck to his chin. He quickly wiped it off.

"How about something realistic to work with, Young?" Hannah asked setting Angus' pillow back on the bed. He lay down on it holding a hand to his nose where the pillow hit him. 

"How about we just sit here quietly like good friends should. No soup, no television, no lap dances," he muttered.  He closed his eyes, keeping very quiet as if he was trying to fall asleep. Hannah crossed her arms and stood from the bed, ready to grab her ball and leave. But...she and Angus were supposed to spend the day together, and it wouldn't be very nice to leave him sick like this. Without saying a word, she pulled the covers back and crawled into bed next to him, stirring him from his peace. She pulled him in for a hug, closing her eyes and relaxing in the warmth of his bed, and, though she'd never admit it, him. Angus looked at her, slightly frowning. "What...are you doin'?"

"Keeping you company," she stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Angus felt himself grow hot at their proximity, this being the first time he'd ever had a girl in his bed. Sure, there were a few other lovely women he'd rather have in there with him first, Susan Lockhart in particular, but this was all entirely new to him. And he wasn't gonna complain. 

"Ya' know, my mum is gonna get suspicious if you're up here too long, she wouldn't like us in bed like this." His face grew even hotter after the sentence slipped from his mouth, almost positive the fever had nothing to do with it. 

"Keep quiet, then she won't." Angus wasn't sure it worked that way. Hannah fixed herself into a comfortable position and sighed. "Besides, I'm just doing what a good friend should, there's nothing to be suspicious about," she stated matter of factly. Angus started to rethink the way he worded his sentences. "And we are good friends, aren't we?"

Something in Angus' stomach churned and flipped, and he wasn't sure whether he should feel sick or not. Hannah was his best friend, there was no doubt about that. But something about the way she threw that pair of words back at him was unsettling. He looked down at her, her brown hair sprawled out behind her, down from its usual school ponytail. Her clothes were the kinds normal people wore, but still pressed to perfection. Her lashes fell on her cheeks like butterfly wings, lightly fluttering every now and again. 

There was a girl in his bed. A real girl in his bed.

Wait till Malcolm found out about this.

Smiling because he just couldn't help himself, he leaned in closer relaxing in her warmth as well, smoothing back her hair. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Just good friends..." In minutes he was asleep. 

With six hours of sleep in her eyes, Hannah crept around the apartment towards the phone on the coffee table. Hermione tended to her children, licking each of them as they panned for a breakfast of milk. The kettle sat on the stove, Hannah keeping a close eye on it so the shrill noise wouldn't wake Angus. The man was still in bed, sleeping off his sickness from the night before. He hadn't woken up since she first heard him, and she did everything in her power to keep it that way. He looked a lot better, but he still wasn't up to snuff to write songs and be around so many other people. Surely they would understand, especially his brother. Dialing his number, Hannah held the phone to her ear and waited. A voice picked up, one familiar and one she missed so much. "Yeah?"

"Malcolm? Angus won't be able to make it in today. He's sick."