In which Tim and the others settle in.....

"What's that?" One of the nice things about a bookcase is that some of our taller friends fit.

"It's an archway for my roof garden," I said. According to Maddy, my bookcase is in a perfect winter spot for houseplants - so we're planning on converting the top into a roof garden. We found the arch and a couple of small outdoor tables in a bin of fairy garden supplies today. The benches they had were a bit too small, but I already have a nice bench.

"You Hittys have it made," Tim said. "You get houses and everything."

"Maddy's fixing up a place for you and Rich," John reminded him.

"I know. And I'm insanely grateful, believe me," Tim said with a wan but genuine smile.

"You didn't want to find your other people?" I said.

He shook his head. "Not to sound nasty, but they packed me and and Ed in a freaking box and shipped us to India with all the other crap they were sending ahead of time. And they didn't bother to doublecheck the address. You can kind of see where we stood. The only ones of the lot who got to travel with them were the 1D dolls and the Justin Beiber one." He rolled his eyes at that.

"What's One D?"

"One Direction. Some kind of boy band," Maddy said, coming in. "I thought those went out of style when N'Sync broke up."

"You were into them?" John-John Kilburne said.

"Not really. I didn't hate them, but I wasn't into them. How old was this girl, Tim?"

"Twelve, I think. Around there."

She shook her head. "When I was twelve, I was into Cheap Trick and the Ramones. Those were my versions of a boy band."

~*~

Sohalia, as it turns out, was a souvenir doll.

"It was a shop that sold things for tourists to take home," she explained. "I was in the window at the time and I saw Tim and Edward. I let them in around the back of the shop and hid them out in the stockroom. Tim was able to use the shop's computer to find his brother, who came to get him."

"I wasn't going to leave Ed behind, and I certainly couldn't at least offer to bring Sohalia," Rich said. "She rescued my brother. I knew I could find her a home somewhere, even if it was at Miskatonic."

"I knew I was better off with them than I was staying at the shop," she said.

"Are you and your brother going to stay here?" Maddy asked Richard.

He looked at John. "I think so, at least for now. I'm really tired of traveling so much."

"Right now I don't want to even leave this house," Tim said.

~*~

Maddy talked the two of them into at least going out to the backyard for a family portrait, though.

A good shot of Percy. I keep meaning to ask her if Persephone was the name she was given or if she picked it herself. I have a feeling she picked it.

Shel, looking handsome....


















~*~

And remember that weird little bottle Maddy found? We showed it to Rich. He has no idea what it is, either, but he overnighted it to Dr. Armitage. Maybe he can tell us something....