Page 6 of Forging Bonds: Part One

"I'm off, Ethel," I announce as I walk into the kitchen.

She sighs, which is a bit weird coming from a skull that doesn't have a body and therefore doesn't breathe, "I know, Dear. I do wish that you didn't have to leave so soon."

"I know, I hate leaving too. I think we're going to come back after the Choosing, and everything has calmed down. Griff and the guys are going to help me figure out who owns House so that I can officially own it and stop panicking that someone is going to take House away from me."

Ethel chuckles, "I know that it doesn't matter what I say. You are going to insist on looking for the official owner, so I'm not going to bother telling you that House is yours again. Especially since I love seeing you, and this mystery will keep you coming back."

House flickers the lights on and off in agreement.

"Ethel, I would come back anyway, you know that. I'm actually hoping that now that I work for SID, I will be able to come and visit more. I want to see if I can convince the guys to help me sort the gardens out."

"Oh, that would be lovely. I am sure that House would appreciate that too," Ethel replies with warmth in her voice.

The cupboards start to open and close rapidly, and the lights flash on and off quickly, portraying House's excitement.

"I think that is House's way of saying that he agrees," I chuckle.

"It definitely is," Ethel replies and then adds, "you best get going, those handsome men of yours are waiting."

"They aren't my men, Ethel," I reply with a smile.

She hums before she replies, "Are you sure about that?"

I smile and decide it's not worth arguing with her as I reply, "Bye, Ethel."

I leave the room with Ethel's cackle following me out. Before I head through the front door for the last time this visit, I stop in the hallway and put my hand on the wall.

"Until next time, old friend. I won't leave it as long between visits again," I frown, "okay, well, I've got the Choosing and the hybrid shit, so it may be that long, but I'm going to try to come back sooner."

A buzz of magic tickles my palm from the wall, and I smile softly. Finally, I take my hand off the wall and walk out of the door, closing it quietly behind me.

When I get behind the wheel of the van and start the drive back to Niamh's pub, Evander reaches across the front seat and takes my hand in his.

"Are you okay?" he asks me.

I nod and smile, "Yeah, I'm okay. I always get a little bit sad when I leave here, especially when I don't know when I'm going to be able to come back."

"I get that. This place feels like you. I know you haven't really spent much time here, but it is very definitely yours," River says, his words making me smile.

"Well, hopefully, when we do manage to come back, I can make sure that it is actually mine," I reply.

Griff frowns slightly, "We will figure it out."

"I like it here. I'm happy to come back for an extended vacation when everything has calmed down," Ransom agrees.

"Me too," Reed adds.

The van falls silent.

After a moment, Raiden says, "I just had a thought."

"Careful," Griff teases, and Raiden promptly flips him the bird.

"Haha. When the cave was flooding, in theory, we could have called on the kelpies, and they would have helped us," he explains.

I frown, "Would they have been able to come to us though? I mean, we're on the other side of the world."

Raiden shrugs and then looks at Griff, "You did the most research on them. Did anything mention limitations when it comes to being called by us?"

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