I do not own TrollHunters. A big thank you to Tunafishprincess for her support and for beta reading.

The cul de sac was quiet except for the hum of nighttime from the far off highways and the chirping of insects. There was the soft crunch of rubber on asphalt as the blue sedan pulled up into the driveway across the street. "The eagle has landed," Toby announced through the walkie talkie.

Claire's voice answered, "let us know when she's heading in."

The walkie talkie clicked as he reported. "It could be a while. She's been spending more and more time in her car when she gets home."

"It's okay, we don't want to rush this on her."

"Roger."

•••

Jim sighed, tilting his head back enough that even with the hood up he could see the stars through the leaves.

"You okay, Jim?" She looked so enchanting, postured to maintain her balance on the branches, the ambient glow enhanced by his vision causing her blue streak to shine and her eyes to sparkle.

"I'm great," he sighed. "Thanks for doing this for me."

"A Trollhunter always answers the call."

A beep from the walkie talkie shifted their focus. "The eagle is approaching the nest. I repeat, the eagle is approaching the nest."

"Showtime," Claire answered into the walkie talkie.

"War hammer out."

Jim took another deep breath and exhaled. Daintily Claire swung her legs together, flipped backwards from her roost and swung by her arms before dropping onto the ground. Jim gingerly dropped his satchel into her arms before backflipping dramatically, cloak whipping from the descent. "Show off," she chided coyly.

•••

"Doctor L!"

"Oh, hi Toby." He noted her somber demeanor, the way she hung on her frame from the weight of her mind the same way Jim did. "Isn't it late?"

"Um, yeah, but I had something really important that couldn't wait."

"Oh, okay. Do you want to come inside?" Though she was was eager to retire despite that sleep wouldn't grant her reprieve, she couldn't turn Toby away.

"Thank you, Doctor L!" He walked ahead of her to the living room as she shut the door.

"What's this about?" When she caught up, he'd pulled out the chair closest to the kitchen for her.

"You're going to want to sit down."

"Okay?" She did so, too tired from work to argue. Truth be told, functioning itself became a labor since… not right now, she instructed herself. His best friend needs support, too, and she was the grown up.

Toby stepped around in front of her and waved to the direction of the back door. She was about to rise from her chair when he fanned a hand in her direction. Claire stepped from around the wall. Politely she folded her hands together, bouncing nervously on her toes. "Hi, Doctor Lake."

"Claire, is everything okay?"

"Better than you can believe!" She brushed her hair back behind her ear as she glanced at Toby, who nodded encouragingly. "We wanted to show you something, but it's a really, really big secret. No one else can know."

Barbara was uncomfortable with making such a promise without knowing the premise. If a classmate were injured and needed patching, for instance, she couldn't legally practice medicine outside of work. But their demeanor did not imply that anyone was dying. She decided that the only way to discover what they wanted was to go along with it. "Okay," she nodded. Curiously, Claire now waved toward the back door.

He stepped slowly, cautiously, around the wall, his eyes locked on hers.

"...mom."

A hand flew to her mouth, then her chest, then both hands to her mouth. She was dreaming again. Except when he went to embrace her she leapt from her seat and could feel him in her arms. "Oh, Jim!"

"Mom!" his tears stained her scrubs. This was real. Or a very convincing dream she never wanted to wake up from. "I missed you so much."

"Is it really you? I thought you were-" her voice choked at the last word. She held him back to examine his face.

"I'm alright, mom." She pressed her hands to the sides of his face and frowned at the sensation under her fingers. Was there an invisible ridge? He quickly pulled her hands down and held them.

"What happened? I don't understand."

The three of them stuttered, wells and ums exchanged as they glanced at each other. "It was a political stunt," Jim explained. "As far as anyone else knows, I don't exist. This isn't happening."

"Are you okay? Is someone after you?"

"I'll be fine, mom. I just really had to see you again."

"TP, let's get some air," Claire suggested, and the two went through the back to sit on the steps.

"So, what happened?" Barbara pulled her hands back out of his to pat his shoulders, touch his face, brush aside his bangs, feel that he was physically there in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I can't talk about it, it would put you in danger. I wanted to come earlier, too, but I had to wait for the dust to settle." An image of Bular as he crumbled to rubble in front of them filled his mind momentarily.

"Does this mean you can visit me, at least?"

He glanced at his friends through the door, their backs turned to him and answered softly, "I would like that."

"Do you want a drink?" with a hand on his shoulder she guided him with her to the kitchen. She felt that if she left him alone in the room, the apparition would end. His eyes lit up.

"I could make us hot chocolate. Like when we used to star gaze together. Do we have any mini marshmallows left?"

"I always keep a stash of mini marshmallows and whipped cream. Not the healthiest diet, I know."

"You haven't been eating at all," he remarked, having observed her slender frame when they hugged. Instead of commenting she pat his cheek affectionately.

He smiled to himself with the nostalgia of cooking, even if it was simply heating milk in a saucepan with a few ingredients. It was endearing to him to find utensils put away in the wrong drawers. He was home but he wasn't home, like he came from another timeline. He wanted to tell her everything, but it would complicate things and endanger her. After having his plans foiled, where would Strickler go? Not to mention the Janus Order itself wanted Jim's head for his betrayal. "I think it goes without saying I lost the leadership position, but I'm actually in a better place now. I have a different mentor, and I'll resume my studies, but they're a bit unconventional. And I've made more friends." Sort of, he added to himself.

"I'm relieved to hear," she leaned against the counter.

"I've also picked up on a few languages," he looked warily at the doorway before saying something she didn't understand.

"Impressive! What language is that?"

"It's old. Like, stone age old. You won't hear people using it."

"That's neat." He pointed at the cabinet and she took out a mug for each of them. He served them each warm, rich hot chocolate and topped each with marshmallows and whipped cream. "I miss your cooking."

"I miss cooking. It's been a while since I had a decent kitchen to work in."

"Well, anytime you're able, you can stop by. Make yourself a meal or whatever you want."

He liked this idea. He could continue to make enough for two so he could leave a serving for her. Maybe then she could gain her weight back. But this was so risky.

"Thanks." He sipped from his mug, the whipped cream so rich his lips couldn't reach his drink. He wondered how she would handle his mutations were he to reveal them. He wanted to preserve her memory of him as her human son, so he considered the idea and did no more.

"Claire and Toby, and now me, we're the only ones who know you're… back?"

"Pretty much." And Mary and Darci, but that wasn't really important.

"Are they going to be okay?"

"Yeah. They each actually have their own bodyguards. And Claire and I have a personal trainer so we can learn how to defend ourselves."

His intent seemed to do the inverse of what he aimed for, and concern filled her again. "I can't pretend to know what you're going through if you won't tell me, but I want you to know I love you very much. And I have to know you're taking care of yourself."

"I am! I promise. C'mon, drink some."

She did, and smirked. "So you and Claire. Are you guys a thing?"

"Mom."

"I'm relieved. I wish I didn't let you go to that school. Maybe then all you'd have to worry about is your grades and girls and normal boy things, not, I don't know, assassinations and "political stunts" or whatever is going on."

"I'm fulfilling a greater purpose. Really."

"You're no good to anyone if you're dead. Someone famous said it. It's true, you know."

Ew, she got that from Strickler, he realized. "Yeah, I've heard that before."

•••

Toby waved goodbye and headed back across the street to his home. Claire and Jim hopped the fence toward the canals. Barbara waited a moment before sneaking to the fence to peer over it. Next to Claire in Jim's place was a hooded figure that walked with a spring in their step. They tapped Claire in the shoulder and sprinted ahead, and Claire ran after them. Was that still Jim? Where did the cloak come from? And where were they headed? Curiously just as the trees shrouded them she thought she saw a flash of blue light.