Chapter 12

–

Endymion's cellphone was out and against his ear as he directed the suitcases with his free hand, he hitched up a shoulder to hold it and held the door open for Serenity as she came out with one that was almost larger than her. He didn't remember packing that one-, his brows drew down as he watched her waddle with it to the van.

Then the woman on the other end of the line shouted something and it startled him. "Raye!" He grouched back. "I'm leaving to go abroad again. You know this, after taking up my post officially last weekend, it isn't like I can stay in England. I'm sorry if it annoys you and disrupts your plans for this weekend. I told you I wasn't sure." He paused as she overrode his words and then he spoke again. "No, I did not plan it especially to avoid you. I had caught up with all of my work and things just ended up the way they did."

Serenity was looking at him curiously and he gave her an annoyed expression and she giggled, taking it how it was meant, that he wanted to get Raye off the line and help them, though it was going a lot faster than it usually did, even with all the extra stuff that the five others needed to bring with them. Honestly though it was Zed and Serenity who were weighing the van down the most.

He grinned at her as Raye spoke again. He nodded though his cousin couldn't see him. "I know this is one of the last weekends you'll have in England before you return to Greece for the next few months. Look, one of the stops I have is Athens, I'll see if I can't finagle a weekend away to visit with you. Yes, I'm aware your birthday is coming up. Oh all right, we'll plan on that then. No, I do promise. Really, I do. Now that I can't promise. Raye, it's not up to me. She might be bored with me by then." Endymion huffed a sigh and held the phone away from him as Raye yelled. "I'll ask!" He shouted back into the phone.

"Serenity!" He shouted to the girl who was moving away from him at the moment and she turned back around. "Raye wants you to promise to still be dating me in a month's time when we attend her birthday party in Corfu."

Well, I can't promise that." Serenity put her hands on her hips in mock consternation. "One never knows if you'll say something to me that just pushes things over the limit!" Her voice was on a falsetto yell, just so Raye could hear her.

Raye said something sharp to him and he laughed between the two women. "Ok, I'll try not to say anything outrageous." He listened to Raye berate him a bit more before he sighed heavily. "I'll ask her that, it might result in getting your way. Raye wants to know if you'll at least promise to attend her birthday party no matter what our status is at the time."

Serenity pretended to think about that one and Endymion's gaze was pleading, if she didn't say yes now or anytime soon, he'd have to contend with Raye's wrath and really he wanted to stay on her good side. "I suppose I can make that promise, but only for Raye, she seemed like such a sweet girl."

Endymion put the phone back against his ear. "Did you hear that? She agreed. Now can I get back to packing and be forgiven for the mistake about this upcoming weekend? I'd had a few things to attend to this week that were a bit out of the norm for me." Endymion reminded Raye about what she was told earlier in the week, shortly after it happened. She was concerned and wanted to come to help, but he assured her it was all right now and there were plenty of people there at the time. Now, after her shock, she realized that he was leaving and had given him a piece of her mind about ditching out on the party he had 'promised' to attend. Though he had no recollection of giving his word. This time nor any of the others she tried to rope him into.

Thankfully this time wouldn't be intending to find him a girlfriend, with Serenity there, these kinds of things were now foisted onto another unsuspecting cousin.

"So... in a month, Corfu?" Jeb asked casually by the door, leaning on it and looking at him as Endymion turned to go in. The blond man startled him and he took a second to get his baring back. Jeb was as bouncy as Serenity at times and it surprised him whenever either could get in and out without alerting him of their presence. Though with Serenity it was like he had a sixth sense with her and always knew instinctively when she was around.

"For Raye's birthday." Endymion responded.

"Whose Raye?"

"My cousin." Endymion responded automatically. "You didn't meet her the other day, you had it off or something. She's hard to miss. Where Serenity's perky, she's sharp. Where Serenity has compliments, she has a wicked tongue."

Jeb's features twisted into a smirk. "Sounds exciting."

"Only a fool would think so. She's had several of them though, I suppose, so perhaps you'd be right."

"Many boyfriends?"

"Her hand-full were more than enough to sour my taste in her choice of men. The latest one was a rocker by the name of Chadsworth. His band was horribly contrite and he yelled more than sang, it barely got off the ground and that's only because he had familial backing." Endymion scowled. "Raye adored him. She thought if you'll excuse the pun, the cat's meow. That's what he sounded like, you see, a cat dying."

Jeb's face twisted more and it looked like he was in pain. Serenity materialized at his elbow and she drew a face as well. "Looks like you've gotten him so worked up that he's incapable of laughing but wants to but knows he shouldn't."

"You're more than welcome." Endymion invited. "If someone can, that's great."

Then Jeb let it rip and the laughter could be heard around the entire house. When he finally stopped Serenity tilted her head and grinned. "We're able to leave now, if you'd like."

"That's the perfect thing to leave this house with, merriment. The way it should be." Endymion swung around towards Serenity and hooked an arm about her waist and dragged her towards the car. "Let's get going!"

He was excited to start work soon and he got to have Serenity there with him the entire way. He ignored the fact that someone he didn't know would be keeping an eye on this place while they were gone, he thought that was a bit of an overkill, but Serenity hadn't been moved on the point and really it was Kai he had argued with, who had told him it in the first place. Now he was going to put that out of his head and enjoy the time he had with these five people, they had proven themselves to be a good group to be around and he didn't know how long that was going to last. His life was settling back into a routine he knew and would have for a long time to come. For the next foreseeable future, he'd have people to share it with, everywhere he went. He pushed away the notion that it was only because they were paid to do so. He'd had his fair share of nannies, they were paid as well, but that didn't stop them from caring about him and him returning their feelings. In a way that's all they were, but in another they were becoming his friends and he was looking forward to having people travel with him and being there in each country the set foot into.

First up, Ireland and while that wasn't too far away, it was still another spot in which they'd be outside of his home comforts.

–

Ireland, well that was sort of a bust. Not that they didn't like him reasonably well, but he was always compared with that young diplomat that had made his mark on their territory for a long time now. He'd assured them that the man would still be working here, Endymion was just visiting and would be making frequent trips back to handle the higher issues and more complicated political spectrum.

The weather was also atrocious. He hadn't realized how lucky and spoiled they'd gotten over the last few weeks in England. Compared to usual, it hardly rained at all. And compared to this last week here, England's reputation was like a calm summer's day compared to what they'd had. Even the locals had made a comment and had been annoyed when it didn't let up for a minute. The roads were all washed out and nobody got from car to building without being drenched, despite all plans and preparations. The fact that the heaters in the government buildings were on the brink, only added to everyone's misery.

Even Serenity's chipper mood started to sour after a few days of this. Though she continued trying to be bright and on positive side, she became withdrawn and out of sight a lot of the days they were in Ireland. This was expected though, as it was the beginnings of Spring. Just the rocky shores and impossible climb, which the cars had difficulty with, in all directions seemed to damper even the most illustrious personalities. There was no where to go to get away from the pock-pock-pock of the heavy drops on roofs and windows.

If that hadn't been bad enough, coldness seemed to cling like a second skin. No amount of clothing or heat helped to dispel with the chill. He'd seen Serenity huddled with blankets piled upon her and warm beverages in her hands whenever he did see her. It wasn't too often, as mostly she was just trying to stay warm and cocooned. She didn't have much to do with his protection detail this week. Jeb had finally dumped her in front of a fire and came in every hour to refill the pit and stroke the flames back into roaring heat. She had been ordered not to move from that spot until they left.

She hadn't been around much for publicity and the Irish had held that against him as well, though it was their climate that had done her in, but he was wise enough not to say that. She looked absolutely wretched whenever he saw her, and wisely didn't say anything about that either.

He had it on good authority that she slept on the couch by the fire most nights, though there were fire pits in several of the other rooms in the hotel, hers didn't have it. Neither did Jebs. In fact none of them had one except Endymion. Most of those rooms had been converted to fit the growing needs of the tourist industry. The original rooms all still had the fires but the newest ones hadn't. Apparently it was all the rage to visit this remote part of Ireland during high summer. The rest of the year it was pretty much deserted except for the locals.

Endymion was down there now, with Serenity. The locals wanted Serenity to greet them before she left and he wanted to ask her personally. He doubted she would. Not because she didn't want to, but because it seemed impossible to get her to move. She was looking sleepy when he sat by her to talk. "A few of the people I was talking to are great fans of yours. Apparently they had all your films and records." He lifted a brow at that. "You hadn't told me you sang as well."

"My parents thought I could be a Brady-bunch or Jackson Five or, oh whatever some of those others were that completed the whole package and preformed on the spot for all who wanted me to, like a trained monkey." She was more bitter than he expected and her honesty surprised him. "I vowed that I would choose when and where I showcased my talents when I turned sixteen and had a say in it. By then I'd been paraded in front of thousands of movies and audiences across the world. Doing tricks, singing, dancing, acting, you name it, I was forced to do it. If I wasn't a natural or showed any interest, I was put into grueling rehearsals until I learned it perfectly. Needless to say, I stopped acting and singing. In front of paying audiences at any rate."

That made sense at least, he wasn't a paying audience, she was still acting but in a very different way. He wondered what she'd be like if she was still just an actress. But she was never that and she never would be. "I don't recall seeing your in any films or hearing you on the radio."

She gave a short laugh. "No, I suppose not, but you were too busy learning this trade. Sometimes I think you were no better off than I was."

"I don't think our horrible childhoods need to be a competition." He said gently, reaching out to brush aside a lock of her hair that fell into her forehead. She would have to struggle to reach up and do it herself, but his flesh touched hers and he realized that the heat she was emitting wasn't a reflection from the fire, but one from inside of her and it was only getting warmer. "Are you all right?"

"I'm dreadfully unhappy here. Please tell me this is the only place with this environment that we're stopping at?"

He nodded, but he was already concerned and he laid the back of his hand against her forehead. "You're burning up. How are you feeling physically?"

"Like I can't get warm, that jumping into the fire has been a fantasy of mine for the last several days and I would too, if I thought that would help. It probably won't, and I'll have ruined clothes."

"Have you told Jeb?" Endymion asked, pulling the blankets tighter around Serenity's body, though now on closer inspection he saw she was sweating.

"Frankly I haven't seen much of him since Wednesday." Serenity tried to shrug but failed. "I didn't want to bother him with this. They've all had to pick up my slack but its better that then me stopping every five seconds to huddle in piles of rugs."

Endymion tilted her head to see if he could see her earpiece and then turned it the other way, not seeing it there either. "How good are they at hiding?"

"Very." Serenity indicated the first ear again by tilting her head and she was wondering what he wanted.

Endymion leaned in and was careful not to speak too loudly that would hurt Serenity's eardrum, but clear enough that the ones on the other end would understand. "Jeb, I'd like for you to come to the library as soon as you can tear yourself away from whatever it is you're doing."

He arrived instantly. "Something wrong with Serenity? Is she unresponsive? Why would she give you-" Then he stopped, looking between them, Serenity sitting on the couch and Endymion kneeling at her side. "You look wretched!"

"I feel wretched." She responded as glibly as she could but still seeming weak and didn't give much heart into it.

"What is it?" He knew enough that Endymion was concerned about Serenity's well-being and came forward to put his hand against her head. "Gods Sere, you're burning up!"

"There's another obvious remark." She burrowed further into the blankets. She offered a protest when Jeb started stripping them off of her.

"You have to get into a cold bath." He told her firmly. "Kai, draw one up."

"No!" She cried, clinging to the blanket. "I'm cold!"

Endymion too wondered how smart this plan was. Jeb was shaking his head though, struggling with the blanket. She had a pretty good grasp on it and it was an effort to remove it without hurting her in the process. "Zed, anti-inflammatories, there's some in my pack upstairs." Jeb looked firmly at Serenity, holding her gaze, even though her lids were heavy. "It wouldn't have come to this if you'd told me straight away. Your temperature is skyrocketing! I'm only pleased that we caught it in time."

"But a cold bath?" She mewled and Endymion felt like he had walked in onto a private moment. This wasn't a conversation for him, they had practically forgotten that he was there. He wished that he was the one to be taking care of her, and in any other normal situation, he probably would be. But then again in those normal situations he wouldn't be her client, she wouldn't be a bodyguard and her boyfriend wouldn't be kneeling at her side.

"It'll shock the body, its overheating, you're feeling cold because its going to all the wrong places. Its working overtime to try and cool you down. We're going to relieve it of its duties for a little while, help contain the illness and hope it doesn't come to hospitalization."

"That's possible?" Endymion stepped in, concern paramount in his tone.

"Only if she's higher than 40." Jeb didn't do anything to waylay Endymion's concern, even stirring it up as he lifted Serenity off the couch fluidly and she clung to the blond.

"It'll be all right, Endymion." She reassured him and she managed to throw a smile onto her face for him. Then she buried it in Jeb's shoulder, shivering violently.

"Zed, grab the thermometer as well." Endymion followed Jeb and Serenity up the stairs to the bathroom, Jeb transferred Serenity over to Kai's arms and then ripped the last blanket from her before she knew what was going on. Underneath she had on sweats and more sweats. Setting Serenity against the vanity, they started stripping the layers of clothing from her. Zed appeared and nobody seemed concerned over the fact that Serenity was almost nude and there were four men looking at her. Zed pushed the thermometer into Serenity's mouth and Kai bent to take off her socks, many layers of those too. Jed checked the temperature of the water and then nodded. He looked at the stick in her mouth and he blanched. Kai took that as a go ahead to dumping Serenity into the chilly water.

She gasped and struggled out of it, unprepared for the shock to her system. Kai and Jeb held her down, so she was almost to her pretty neck. "Stay put!" Jeb warned. "It's going to help you get better."

Serenity was still struggling, wanting to get out, get warm. She was now more alert and awake but that only meant she had more energy to thrash and fight to get her way. Endymion couldn't stand to watch this, but he couldn't pull himself away either. He had to make sure she was all right, that this was helping. The adrenaline rush was subsiding and she relaxed into the cold bath, her body shaking and Endymion wanted to push them all aside and wrap her in fluffy warm towels. He stomped on that notion, Jeb was a doctor, and he wouldn't put his girlfriend at risk in this unnecessary way unless it was needed. Zed popped a few doses of Tylenol into her mouth and she swallowed it down, not seeming to care any more. Her eyes closed and she seemed to drift away for awhile.

Once that happened, Jeb and Kai pulled her out of the tub and wrapped her in those towels to shick the moisture away from her and then put her in a robe. He tried to advert his eyes, but he was too concerned to look away for long. He'd never seen her so quiet and immobile. It was just plain wrong. How had she gotten this way in the first place? She seemed infinitely strong. They moved her up to her bedroom and draped a sheet over her body, but nothing more. He tried to ask about the blankets but Jeb shook his head, knowing best.

Endymion sat at her bedside while the others walked in and out of the room. He even held her hand as he waited for her temperature to go down. Concern wracked his every breath, watching the sweat bead on her temples and he exchanged her cold compress for another. Jeb came in to try and rouse her enough to feed her another Tylenol. She swallowed it down but passed out again. "You know, you don't have to sit here the whole time. She's got plenty of supervisors. Now that we know she's not just wimping out on us, she'll be well cared for."

"Serenity wimps out?" Endymion couldn't believe his ears and Jeb smiled ruefully, knowing he'd been caught in a lie. "This happens a lot?" He questioned instead.

"No." Jeb shook his head, looking down at Serenity with a tender gaze and it sat uncomfortably in Endymion's gut. "She's been pushing it too much these days though." Jeb shook his head. "But you try telling that to her and you know what you'll get?"

"Severe frost bite?"

"If you're lucky!" Jeb laughed, brushing her bangs off her sticky forehead and he frowned. "We might have to do another round of ice baths if it doesn't break soon, or at least lessen. Some fevers are good, but they're mild in comparison." His tenderness increased as he looked at the woman-child in the bed, looking younger and more fragile at the moment. "Nobody would expect it out of her, would they?"

Jeb's thoughts must have been echoing along with Endymion and he shook his head in amusement. "None of it, I'm sure. I sure didn't. She fooled me into thinking she was this calm, poised, high sophistication woman."

Jeb's lips pressed to stop the smile from blossoming. "That's not as much act as you seem to believe. That's been bred into her from the day she was born. Though a lot of her abilities are natural, the finesse you see was roughly obtained."

"How long have you known each other? I got the feeling from Andrew that you're a new addition."

Jeb shrugged. "Sometimes it feels as we've always been together. Others, like knowing the suffering she'd gone through at her nannies hands, not long enough. I should have been there to defend her or at least shoulder the burden."

"You were a child yourself, and as you say, you couldn't have known or been there. Serenity doesn't see it that way, she thinks she actually gets her sweetness from her father."

A scowl crossed Jeb's lips. "Oh, she would. She rebelled well enough, but she still holds her father to high esteem. He's always been the sweetest man with her mother and Serenity's still innocent enough to think he's a sweet man."

"She rebelled?"

"Oh did she ever!"

"Against her father? Not her mother? Wasn't she responsible for some of this?"

Jeb shook his head. " Well... I guess in a way she was. Her mother didn't know about it, that rests solely on her father's head. He didn't know how to deal with children and so he handed her off to the nursery whenever her mother was away. His explicit instructions were that she never embarrass him." A wry grin split across his face. "That only lasted until she was old enough to drive, she was given a flashy car as all Hollywood girls received in our generation and she ended up wrapping it around a tree. On purpose."

"Why? She could have hurt herself!"

"It was her way of proving to her father that he couldn't control her anymore. That she wouldn't be bought off. She filed for emancipation rights the next day."

"So she's always been a little spit-fire? That underneath her apt naming she's got claws and teeth?"

"Boy does she ever. You just haven't seen her in action yet." Jeb laughed and when she winced at the loud noise he stopped apologetically. "There's a reason she's the boss."

"I take it I don't want to see?"

"You probably won't." Jeb reassured. "She usually only saves it for people who really try her patience. You amuse her more than anything else."

"I'm glad I can be so accommodating." He responded dryly, wondering if everything he did was just so amusing. He couldn't even explain why he was upset, probably hoping for a stronger feeling from her than that.

Jeb shook his head again. "To be able to amuse her, you must count your blessings. She may pretend, but she isn't so easily won over."

"You've managed." Endymion couldn't help but lash out at that point. "Though your amusements seem vastly different than my own."

"That's because I'm special, isn't it? If I weren't, I highly doubt my antics would amuse her, but I know that my position is safe and so I got to go to great lengths to make her laugh."

"I've never seen that be a problem for her in the past." He heard her laugh frequently.

"Only by those that amuse her." Jeb insisted. "At least her real ones. In all honesty though, I think she would be more amused by me if she didn't think it would get me into trouble. She takes her role more seriously than she lets people see. It gnaws on her, thinking she's responsible for everyone. Though what also annoys her is my concern over her. Since she's the leader, she can't depend on anyone else, but they're all supposed to depend on her. It kind of goes back to her lifestyle that she was born into, easy to make and maintain shallow friendships that appear deep when you need something attainable, but if its something outrageous, she doesn't know how many would truly stick around. Personally, I think a good portion would, they can see her character at its core and would go to bat for her."

Endymion began to wonder which laughs were real and which were fake. He found it inconceivable, but he'd have to watch her closer to find out. None had really seemed disingenuous to him and thinking now about it, Endymion still couldn't really pick out any that had struck a false cord in him. Jeb's other words made him realize that there was even more depth to her than he had already discovered but in some ways he was only echoing his earlier thoughts as well. He knew that about Serenity, knew she took it seriously. Had to have to have such a successful record, and to work as hard as she did on a daily basis. Appearing not to be concerned was actually one of the ways she showed her clients not to worry, that everything was under control. He had to admit, up until the attack with the shell-fish make-up, he hadn't really believed there was a danger at all. Serenity's quick thinking had possibly saved his life. Jeb gave him a lot to think about.

"At any rate, you're here to work, this isn't that." Jeb continued as if Endymion hadn't gone into his own mental meanderings. It took Endymion a moment to realize what Jeb was getting at and Endymion shook his head.

"No."

"Suit yourself." Jeb stretched out his limbs as he got to his feet. "I'll be back up shortly to see if further action is necessary." Then the blond man was gone. Endymion reached out and held her hand.

Thankfully, sometime in the next few hours Serenity's fever broke.

–

Endymion was the first to know about it. He must have fallen asleep after her second bath and his head lulled forward so it landed on the bed. Her fingers were shifting through his dark head of hair and when he lifted it off the bed, she was blinking slowly, as if trying to put everything into order. "Endymion." He said, reminding her of the name which she was probably trying to figure out.

A smile slid across her face and she held his gaze. Each of the actions were slow, but deliberately so. "I know your name. I was just trying to figure out why you're here and what happened."

"You've had a severe fever for the last several hours, possibly longer. Nobody really noticed it earlier though your symptoms were synonymous with at least a lower grade one for the last several days."

She nodded, thinking about his words. "And you stayed here, with me?"

"Since I found out you were sick." He confirmed. "I didn't want to leave you on your own."

"The others were here. I wouldn't have been alone." And that was true enough, he couldn't say about the last few hours, but they'd popped in frequently throughout the day, checking on her, changing the water for him so he'd always have a cool compress, forcing her to take the pills that she was vaguely aware of being given.

"No, that's true." Endymion wasn't pleased to give that point. "I thought it'd be nice to take special care of you. I canceled my appointments for the day."

"That was very kind of you. But you should have just let Jeb or one of the others handle my care. We're here for you, not the other way around."

Serenity struggled to a sitting position and he helped her, bringing the blanket up around her shoulders once she was leaning back against the headboard. "Yes, you do seem to depend on them a lot. What exactly is your relationship with them?"

"They're my family." Serenity had only the thinnest thread of defense about his question, as it wasn't quite an accusation.

"Yes but-"

"No buts Endymion. We've been through so much together, I trust each and everyone of them with my life and my happiness. I'd give up a lot for them. If they asked me to drop everything and run to help them, I would."

Endymion never having a relationship like that with anyone besides Andrew couldn't argue any more. He couldn't argue that it was odd with more than one of your own gender and he couldn't argue about the other either. He had no real examples to base any of his opinions on and he'd have to take her at her word. "It must be nice." He hadn't meant to say it out loud but Serenity nodded as if he had.

"I think so." Serenity reached a shaky hand up to push her bangs off her forehead. Endymion watched it with his gut twisting. Serenity's eyes sought his out. "Thank you Endymion, truly."

"You're welcome."

"Now go back to work." She pointed towards the door but her hand was swaying wildly that it was impossible to know just by looking at it if that's where she meant.

"Can't." He grinned, leaning back into his chair. "You'll have me for the rest of the night. I told you I canceled my appointments and now its too late in the day to go anywhere."

"You planned this, didn't you?"

"Of course I did, I just wanted to get you sick so I could get out of working and not have you boss me around for awhile." Actually, that didn't sound half bad.

Serenity scowled at him before relenting. "Fine, but tomorrow you go back to work."

"And you go back to being boss."

"Yo soy es jefe." Serenity responded cheekily.

"You must be feeling better." Endymion observed ruefully. "You're making jokes in Spanish."

"Not much of a joke." Serenity returned.

"No, perhaps not. Which brings me to another point. I came in search for you today because the Irish are not pleased that I've come without my beautiful girlfriend. They're refusing to cooperate nicely until you've come to talk to them."

"That's a little rude. I'm not the reason you're here. You're the ambassador." Serenity frowned lightly at the idea.

"I know, but they're in love with the diplomat that was here last week and even though I've reassured them that he will continue being their diplomat, I'm just his boss, they're holding out for an incentive. That happens to be you."

"If it will make things easier for you." Serenity sighed dramatically. "The things I go through just for you. If I had known you'd be such a media hog, pulling me into these events and into the public's eye... well I don't think I would have agree to take you on."

Endymion started laughing in earnest as she turned the tables back on him. "Ok, I admit, I was a bit too harsh on you about the whole picture thing. I understand now why you did it and why you thought it was necessary. They're starting to wonder if I've stuffed you into a sack and refuse to let you out to play with anyone else."

"It's not that bad!" Serenity denied on a gasp of shock. "They wouldn't think something like that?"

"They have and they are. That's why you need to get some rest, get better so that tomorrow we can go out and present an united front." Endymion rolled his eyes. "Really, I sometimes think my own countrymen are more backwards than the places we've deemed as 'third world'. At least when I was there, nobody thought it odd that I did not bring a wife or girlfriend with me. That as a man I wasn't whole without one."

"Maybe, maybe not..." She agreed with a small smile. "But you didn't have a girlfriend then, if you had, perhaps they might have thought the same way."

"Or they've have shunned me for bringing a girlfriend and not a wife." He countered and she shrugged in return, not fighting him on this. "Now sleep." He helped her settle back down and covered her with the blanket, she wasn't sweating anymore so thought it would be all right.

Her eyes closed almost instantly and he walked out, seeing Jeb in the hallway. The blond man nodded and took his place. Endymion needed to get some sleep as well and now that he knew that Serenity would be all right, went to go get some.

The rest of the Ireland trip, which only lasted another two days, went off without any major hitches. Mostly do to Serenity charming all of them. She apologized for being under the weather for the beginning half and while she was still tired and a little weak, she put on a good show. Then the next day just as they were leaving the sun broke out and gave them a few minutes of warmth. A peaceful parting, rather than a bad omen. They'd weathered the storm and came out of it.

They had a private plane taking them to Russia. As soon as Serenity sat down, she was out and sleeping so heavily nobody could wake her. Or at least she pretended to. There was no real way to tell if she was faking so she could be left alone. Nobody really disturbed her, knowing she needed the sleep.