"They're here Mommy!" Luka smiles widely, as they approached Dix and Jordan who were standing ready to welcome them. Jordan picked up Luka and spun him around in the air, Luka giggling and whooping at the same time, cackling as Jordan began to tickle him hard. "Hey Alex." Dix embraced her friend and whispered in her ear "Jordan's really happy that Luka's first word was "pie", he's been feeding Luka an insane amount of it though and I need you to convince him that pie is not nutritious for snacks all the time."

Alex grinned "That's not going to go down well." "They'll just have to deal with it. I'm not joking you know, Ms. Gribbles business is mainly comprised of Jordan and Luka."

"When's Bear and Declan coming?" Kaiden asked, hoisting Niyx a little higher onto his hip. "Later today. They had a problem with William." Jordan answered a little worriedly, casting his mind back to their audio TCD call a few hours ago. "He's not adjusting well to his new environment and Bear and Dec haven't got much experience with foster kids. He'll adjust though." Dix said confidently, only to receive a message from Bear. HELP. WHAT DO I DO?? WILLIAMS HAVING A TANTRUM AND HES NOT ADJUSTING. HEBSIEBSHSJBDHSHWGWIOWNWGS  The all caps message had Dix worried, mainly as it completely opposed her earlier statement. She typed back. Hey, Bear calm down. Just tell him we'll get something from Ms.Gribbles for him. All kids like sweet stuff. She had barely pressed send when Beat sent back. Thanks Dix. I'm worried tho, I thought since he'd been with us for over a year he would have at least accepted us as his family. Dix smiles a little sadly. People thought that her relationship with Bear was minimal, but she was the one who was there for him when Jordan was Claimed, when he needed advice about Declan and when his dad died. You'll be fine Bear. Now hurry up, the kids are getting impatient.

A few moments later, a bubbledoor appeared and Bear and Declan stepped through. "Oh god." were the only words that Dix spoke. Bear and Declan both sported bags underneath their eyes, and despite their looks it did not hide the fact that they needed to sleep. For two days. Their disheveled hair and rumpled clothes, combined with an overfilled bag that seemed to be chucked full of random stuff. For example, their toaster. Before Dix could get there though, Jordan spoke up "You look a bit tired, mate." Bear chuckled, and in a weary voice said "Bit of an understatement." He stepped aside to reveal William, seemed to have some sort of harness attached to him, which lead to ... Bear's hand. "Is that really necessary?" Alex waved a hand towards the harness. Declan nodded "You don't want to seem him without it." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. Will gnashed his teeth together  fiercely, and when anyone just looked at him he stared at them, his eyes boring into yours, never breaking his gaze or blinking. The child was terrorizing. As much as Alex wanted to ask Bear about how they'd been coping, she knew there was a time and a place for it. Which was not now.

"C'mon." Dix gestured towards the palace. "Let's go and show you your rooms." And with that the party of nine trooped inside, Niyx clutching Kaiden's hand, and Luka skipping ahead, with William dragging his heels into the ground in stubborn protest. The black whirling mass slinked into the shadows of the garden, found a nice mossy spot  and sat itself down contentedly on a smooth rock.