Swindon was only about an hour and a half from London on a clear day. But what had been a few inches of snow in the city turned out to be almost a foot once we left the city behind, and it was still snowing. The roads were slippery, and on three occasions we had to stop while overturned carts (or cars) were dealt with. In the end, it was almost four hours before the motorway poured us into downtown Swindon.

If you've never been there, Swindon is kind of a curious place. It's halfway to nowhere in particular, and not on a direct line to anywhere if you're traveling south-west from London…unless you’re following Ley Lines, of which there are two small ones and one large one that cross there. Yet somehow it managed to become a hub of travel and commerce alike, hosting train and airship stations, a warehouse district for companies that moved cargo, and all manner of stores and services. It was what Jonathan called semi-urban, and what mom jokingly referred to as 'not as awful as an actual city.'

Because it's essentially an enormous crossroads - and because of the conjunction of Ley Lines - it's also kind of a hub of general weirdness. Crossroads have always been a magnet for supernatural entities and events, so a city that's both literally and metaphorically a crossroads for travel and industry naturally (pardon the pun) attracts the supernatural. Swindon had one of the highest concentrations of hauntings in the country, at least two werewolf packs (possibly three) made their homes there, and no less than a half-dozen European vampires lived within a few blocks of one another rather than hundreds of miles apart, as was their usual modus operandi.

That's not to say it isn't a safe place to live. Quite the contrary. There was, as I understood it, the same sort of tacit agreement between the natural and supernatural communities of the city which existed in London (and many other large cities in Greater Britannia). Basically, it was in everyone’s best interest to live together peacefully, so live and let live.

Additionally, as nothing had come of the extended investigations surrounding our encounter there in late September - that is, no trace of similar creatures or any kind of lair or den had been found - it had been concluded that the creature had to have been a magical construct of some sort. The people trying to find out why it had been created or summoned, and who had done it, had completely dead-ended.

Since nobody except me had actually been hurt by it, the case was effectively closed and set aside for intellectual study by specialists at the Central Library.

Swindon was, therefore, perfectly safe.

Ben turned into the driveway of my parents’ new home and pulled his car into an empty bay in the open-front carriage house that sat to one side. Only one other bay was occupied: Jonathan's car, nearly identical to the one Ben had borrowed from the Scotland Yard motor pool.

The overgrown yard - which would have to wait for spring to really be cleaned up - was now buried under more than a foot of freshly fallen snow, giving the grounds a pristine look. Warm, inviting lights glowed from the house's windows, and a heavily cloaked figure wearing a broad black fedora and a red scarf strode briskly across the cleared drive towards us.

Jonathan. He really loved that look.

He lifted a gloved hand in greeting and arrived at the car just as I was trying to get my right knee - stiff from the long drive - to behave. He tugged down his scarf and gave me a warm smile. "Need a hand?"

I sighed, shifted my cane to my left hand and held out my right. "Stupid cold weather four hour drive idiot moron drivers…" I went on like that for a good thirty seconds as he helped me out of the car and balanced me while I got my knee working again. "Thanks, Jonathan."

To my surprise, he gave me a hug. "Any time, Alys." He stepped back and looked me over. "That's a different look for you."

"I lost a bet. Ben chose the outfit. What do you think?"

"It's very fetching on you," he said. "Hello, Ben!"

"Sir," Ben said politely with a nod, coming around the car with his bag slung over one shoulder. "Thanks for the invitation, it means a lot to me."

Jonathan smiled and shook his hand. "You're practically part of the family. I imagine it won't be too long before one of you decides to make it official."

Ben turned a fabulous shade of red, and I very deftly brought my cane down on Jonathan's shin, making him grunt and hop a little.

"Well," Athena said from behind Jonathan, "At least I know where Alys got it from."

Jonathan turned and smiled. "What's that?"

"Her burning desire to tease Ben," she grinned, briefly displaying her cute little fangs. "Hi, Jonathan."

"Hello, Athena." Her face took on the same look of surprise I imagine mine had as he gave her a hug, then bent to ruffle Artemis's ears. "And hello to you too, Artemis." He straightened a looked around at us, smiling. "All joking aside, I'm very glad you're here. Come inside where it's warm. We've got a blaze going in the kitchen hearth, and we'll give you the grand tour after lunch."

Ben fell in beside him as he headed back towards the house, the two most important men in my life (sorry, Hollis). Shaking my head a little in amusement, I started after them, leaning heavily on my cane with Athena and Artemis walking on either side of me.

"How was the drive?" Jonathan asked in the foyer as we all shed our heavy coats and boots.

"Lousy," Ben replied honestly, taking my jacket and hanging it beside his. "Three accidents...a car, a truck, and - swear to god - a huge caravan that was being drawn by a pair of hippogriffs. The roads are miserable."

I settled creakily into a chair to remove my boots. I missed being able to take my shoes off standing up. "It could have been worse. It could have been ice instead of snow. We'd still be in London."

"Good point," Ben and Jonathan said at the same time. They gave one another bemused looks.

> Athena murmured as she knelt to help me with my right boot. My knee was stiff enough that I couldn't bend my leg far enough to reach the damned thing.

"Thanks, sis," I said out loud, silently adding, >

She smiled up at me, set my boots beside hers, then took my hands and pulled me to my feet again.

Ben and Jonathan had watched this little performance with similar looks of concern. I glared at them. "Stop it, both of you. I'm not a frail, delicate little flower…"

"No," Ben said, handing me my cane from where I'd leaned it against the wall. "You're a strong willow tree that was bent but unbowed." He gave me a little kiss, holding my hands. "It's just taking you a bit to spring back."

I smiled up at him, wondering - not for the first time - how he always knew the right thing to say.

Jonathan was giving him an amused look. "What happened to the stammering, shy and uncertain young man I worked with six years ago?"

Ben turned a little, not releasing my hands. He nodded in my direction, smiling warmly. "She happened."

I laughed. "Flatterer."

"Guilty," Ben said, gave me another kiss, then released my hands.

Athena was shaking with silent laughter. Artemis just looked bored.

Jonathan smiled. "Good answer. Come on, the kitchen's nice and toasty. Once you warm up, I'm sure your knee will feel better," he added to me before setting off down the hallway.

We followed him, almost silent now except for the thump of my cane, having left our boots behind. I should have known to expect something slightly out of the ordinary as Jonathan opened a door and gestured us into the kitchen. He, like most wizards, is very precise in his use of language. The words 'blaze' and 'hearth' should have tipped me off.

The kitchen was a large room, and probably had become my mother's domain. It felt like her...earthy and warm, filled with a vibrant but restful sort of energy. The cabinets and floor were some darkly-stained hardwood, the counter tops dark marble shot through with veins of quartz. There was a butcher block style island at one end of the big room near the stove and oven, a round table in the middle of the room...and the other end of the room was dominated by a fireplace that went from wall to wall and was large enough for me to stand up in (I tested it the next morning while helping mom get the fire started, and just barely had to bend to keep from brushing my head against the brick). It most assuredly had a blaze in it, warming the whole room effortlessly, but it was a relatively small one that left plenty of room on either side for old-fashioned hooks to hang pots and kettles from.

Mom probably loved it...she'd always enjoyed cooking over an open fire, and now she'd be able to do it year-round. She was just rising from taking a steaming kettle from a hook and smiled at us. "Tea's up. Come and sit down." She moved towards the table where five mugs sat in a small circle. I spotted her familiar - Apollo, a snowy owl - perched on top of one of the cabinets, watching us curiously.

"Great Thor," I murmured, awed by the size of the fireplace. "That's...wow."

"You could cook a whole cow in that," Ben said, sounding just as awed.

"I was thinking about trying," mom said, smiling as she poured the tea. "But I have no idea what we'd do with all of it."

Artemis prowled towards the hearth, looking back and forth at the breadth of it in something like wonder...then flopped over on the heated floor in front of it, purring happily. >

I snorted a laugh. "Where would we put it?"

Everyone but Athena - who giggled - gave me strange looks. I gestured to Artemis. "She wants us to get one."

Ben grinned. Jonathan laughed and Mom came to me, hugging me tightly before stepping back with her hands on my shoulders, looking at me closely. "You look more yourself," she said finally, smiling warmly. "How's your knee?"

"It's a pain in the arse," I said frankly, thumping my cane on the floor for emphasis. "It gets stiff when it's cold, aches when it rains, and the post-PT exercises are getting tiresome." I smiled. "But it's better than it was, so…"

"Everything balances out in the end," Mom said with a smile and a nod. "Come and sit, have some tea. That outfit is really very attractive, but it's not your usual style…" she added in a leading tone.

"She lost a bet," Ben said with a grin as he came over. "I got to pick it. It even includes a new protective bodysuit...lighter, thinner, and tougher than her usual one."

"More comfortable, too," I confirmed.

She smiled up at Ben and gave him a hug. "Well done on winning the bet and making her break out of her fashion mold. And thank you for taking such good care of her."

"It's entirely self-serving, I assure you," he joked, then grew serious. "I couldn't help her when she needed me...that won't happen again."

Mom reached up and patted his cheek. "That's sweet. But don't make promises you might not be able to keep."

He looked embarrassed. "Well...let me rephrase, then. Even if I can't be there to help, at least I'll know I did something to help protect her."

"Not a delicate flower," I reminded them, but smiled when I said it.

Mom laughed and Ben smiled. "Never said you were, love," he said, then nudged me towards the table. I sat down between him and Athena as Mom finished pouring the tea.

"How're you getting settled in?" I asked a few minutes later, once I felt like I'd defrosted suitably. The ache in my knee had dulled to a faint throb as the heat from the fire sank into it, relaxing the muscles, and my mood had improved accordingly.

Jonathan smiled. "Well, this place has quite a bit more room than my old house, so we're still trying to figure out how to decorate some of the rooms."

"But some of it fell right into place," Mom added, smiling at her new husband. "Like your study."

Jonathan grinned and nodded. "There's a room at the back of the house on the first floor that looks out on the garden. I'll be able to watch your mom gardening while I'm working."

The dichotomy of a Druid and a Wizard living together struck me, not for the first time. Mom was and always had been part of the Druidic culture, if not always the most traditional of druids. Jonathan was a life-long member of the Order of Hermetic Wizardry. He did most of his work indoors, she did the vast majority of hers under the open sky. I grinned. "It's important to find that balance, right mom?"

"Precisely, dear," she smiled and nodded. "And maybe I'll get Jonathan to come outside and help me plant come spring. He could do with a bit of sun," she added teasingly.

"I'm not half as pale as Alys," Jonathan retorted with mock defensiveness.

"I come by it naturally," I replied placidly.

"And I find it very attractive," Ben added, shifting his chair closer to mine and draping his arm across my shoulders. For someone who'd been joking about being afraid of my parents, he wasn't shy about showing his affection for me.

I leaned against him a little. "I thought it was the pointed ears."

"Those too," he agreed, reaching up to trace his index finger along the upper edge of my ear to its delicate point. The sensation sent a pleasant shiver down my spine. "Honestly, it's the whole package," he added a moment later, so quickly that it sounded like he was backpedaling to make sure I didn't think it was any single feature that drew him to me.

I smiled up at him. "There's the flattery again. You don't need to flatter me, Ben…"

"But don't stop," Athena interjected with a teasing smile. "It makes her feel good."

"Snitch," I said without any malice and without looking away from Ben.

Athena simply purred contentedly and hid a smile behind her tea mug.

"Perhaps we should give them one room instead of two," Jonathan said thoughtfully.

"That might not be a bad idea," Mom replied. "It would save space...”

Ben blushed. "Th-that's really not necessary," he stammered, his hand dropping back to my shoulder as if he'd suddenly realized we weren't alone in the room.

I watched him carefully out of the corner of my eyes, waiting until he had taken a sip of his tea to hide his embarrassment before murmuring "Might be fun, though."

Ben almost sprayed the mouthful of tea across the table, covering his mouth at the last moment and swallowing hard, blushing furiously and unable to look at any of us.

Athena's full-throated laughter mixed with mom's, Jonathan grinned and passed a napkin across to Ben, while I sat back in my chair and smiled smugly. "My work here is done," I said contentedly.

"One day, little girl," Ben said warningly, "I'm going to get you back for that."

"Do your worst, big boy," I replied comfortably, leaning against his side.

Mom wiped tears of laughter from her eyes and smiled across the table at us. "It's so easy for me to forget that you're not an innocent little girl anymore, Alys."

"Oh, there's nothing innocent about this little imp," Ben said lightly, giving me a one-armed hug. "She delights in making me blush."

"You turn such fascinating shades of red," Athena said with absolute and unassailable innocence. Then grinned. "You two are so much fun to watch together, and Alys always feels better when you're around."

"Just give me enough warning to plan the wedding," Mom said with an impish grin. At least I knew that I came by it honestly.

"I think we'd better elope," Ben stage-whispered to me, making Jonathan laugh as my mom brandished a spoon threateningly in Ben's direction.

"Don't you dare!" She said, then laughed and set the spoon down again. "Well, that's some time off, I imagine."

"Some," Ben and I agreed at the same time. Athena snickered.

> Artemis commented from her lazy sprawl in front of the huge fireplace. >

Athena snorted. Neither of us bothered translating that one for the others. The idea of me having children would probably make both my mom and Jonathan faint. Or maybe try to kill Ben. Either way, it wasn't worth mentioning.

"Honestly," I said, "Things haven't been settled enough to give it any thought."

"I do plan to propose," Ben admitted, "But not until Alys feels completely comfortable in her own skin again." He looked down at me and smiled. "Maybe I should get you a promise ring."

I laughed. "Maybe you should!"

The laughter was good. The camaraderie was better. Best of all was the love that filled the room.

Family. They're the ones who're there for you no matter what. They share in your joys and increase them. They share in your pain and help ease it.

My mother and I had always been close, but now I had a step-father, sisters, and a boyfriend too. My boss was more like a tolerant uncle than an employer, and he was in my thoughts even if he wasn't there with us.

I looked around the kitchen and felt something inside me I hadn't realized was tense and knotted unwind and relax a little bit. Maybe this trip home - to a new home that already felt like home - for Yule was going to be even better for me than I'd thought.