Archive of Our Own ^beta

Tommy and Billy grumbled a bit over bedtime being moved up a half-hour, but they put up no real fight. Agatha was just walking downstairs again from tucking them in when the doorbell rang. She checked her watch. 9:02. Rio always was one to cut rules as close as possible.

Whatever Rio promised, Agatha certainly felt something being held against her.

"You're packing?"

"I... Yeah. I do, a lot of days. It's not a sex thing, I swear. It..."

"I know. I remember."

Rio kissed her again, a bit more softly.

"Should I leave, querida?"

"P-please don't."

"Should I take you to bed?"

"I... I want it. But I..."

"We don't have to. It's okay. We... We don't want things to get messy, right?"

"I think we're a little late for that."

Agatha woke to a sensation of cool air against her back. Shivering, she turned over and saw that Rio was sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"Rio? What..."

"Just gotta use the bathroom, querida."

She watched Rio trudge across the room, and she smiled. Yes, this was sort of an awkward situation, but it was not a bad one. The moment they kissed, Agatha had known there was a chance for something to return between them, and when she let Rio take her to bed, she had felt like someone given a key to paradise after ages of torment.

Maybe they could try this out for a while. Try to see if they still worked as a couple in most ways. Sexually, as far as Agatha was concerned, they were still as compatible as ever. Everything else...

Well, they could take their time with that.

When Rio returned from the bathroom, Agatha sat up and smiled at her. A weak little smile was given in return, but instead of getting back into the bed, Rio paused at the foot and crouched down, starting to collect her clothes.

"Rio, what are you doing?"

"Getting ready to head out."

"But you... You could stay 'til later. Stay for breakfast, at least. You could meet the boys."

"I... I don't wanna screw anything up for you, Agatha."

"You're not. You won't. Please, Rio, I know it's been a long time, but you're here now, and you could... You could stay."

"You don't want me here, querida."

"What? I... How can you think that?"

"You don't want me around."

"I think I would know better than anyone what I want. If I didn't want you here, why did I let you come over? Why did I stop you from leaving earlier? Why did I let you fuck my damned brains out just a couple of hours ago?"

Smirking, Rio dropped her shirt and jeans again and sat near Agatha on the edge of the bed.

"You," she said, tapping a finger against Agatha's forehead, "don't want me."

"I..."

"You don't want me," Rio repeated, and this time she tapped the finger toward the left side of Agatha's chest, just over the heart.

What was she on about?

"Your body," Rio said finally, "made you think you want me."

As she finished the sentence, she pressed her hand firmly against Agatha's lower belly.

"Are... Are you saying I'm just a horny fool?"

"I'm saying your cycle has always been regular as clockwork, mi amor. I know what day this is, I know how you get, and I know what I felt and tasted when we had sex. You're ovulating."

"I... I don't... You can't be sure of that!"

"I can. We were together for a long while, and even if I wasn't always sure before, I definitely learned when we... When..."

Rio trailed off, pulling her hand away and standing again.

"That's all ridiculous, Rio. I... I mean, you're not wrong about my cycle, but I'm capable of making rational decisions. I want you to stay."

"Why would you want me here now, Agatha," Rio muttered, "if you didn't want me around after... You didn't want me there when you were in the hospital."

"I... Yes I did! You didn't come visit me between that first night and when you picked me up when they released me three days later!"

"I showed up every day, Agatha! I showed up and I tried to see you, and I was told you didn't wanna see me."

"Who told you that?"

"I dunno. Some guy. A nurse or whatever. He said you asked that I not visit you. I still came back every day, but..."

"I never told anyone I didn't want to see you! I was so desperate to see you I felt like I was falling apart. But you never..."

"Like I said, I was there every day. The guy said..."

"Why wouldn't I want you there when my only other regular visitor was my rancid bitch of a mother?"

"You... Wait. Evanora was..."

"She was there the day after... After it all started. I let her visit because, I dunno, I was feeling down and a little loopy and I thought maybe she could be a decent person for once. Instead I had two and a half days of her shoving tracts at me and telling me Nicky dying was God's punishment against me!"

"Wh-why didn't you tell me?"

"I... I just wanted to forget. But every day, I asked for you. I asked if you'd visited; I thought maybe I kept missing you, because I was sleeping so much. I didn't have my phone..."

"I had it. With your stuff that I went back and grabbed from the venue."

"Rio, I... I swear I wanted to see you. I needed to see you."

"I... You... You asked for me?"

"All the time," Agatha choked, feeling the threat of tears.

"Querida," Rio said, and reached down to cup Agatha's chin in her hand.

"I... I did ask for you. I thought you didn't visit because you... I thought you were angry at me. That you hated me."

"Why?"

"Because I failed you. Failed us. Because my body turned traitor and killed our baby. I..."

"Agatha, you were not to blame for what happened to Nicky. He... If anything, it was probably my genetics in the mix that doomed him. For all we know, my whole family has all sorts of problems. Just because we found one healthy cousin who was willing to donate..."

"If it wasn't my fault, it wasn't your fault."

"Everything has been my fault, querida."

"No it hasn't. You saved my life, Rio. So many times."

"How?"

"You got me out of my mother's house. You were loving, supportive..."

"Not enough. Never enough."

"Rio," Agatha sobbed, "you made me happy."

When Agatha woke next, she found herself alone in the bed again, and tears sprang to her eyes. Rio had left. Rio had comforted her, had lulled her back to sleep, and then had actually left.

"Rio, why?" she sighed aloud.

"Why what?"

Rio came slowly out of the bathroom, clearly freshly showered.

"You found your old clothes?" Agatha asked.

"Back of the closet. Where you stuffed 'em after we split up, I guess."

It was true. When Rio left back in the day, around the time they were ending the marriage, she had left some clothing behind, and Agatha had tucked it all away in a storage tote.

"Not bad for washed and put away almost a decade," Rio said.

She looked good. The jeans were a little loose now, but that worked, and the hoodie... Well, she always had favored things like that to be oversized.

"You... Are you staying?" Agatha whispered.

"Only for breakfast, querida. I got work later."

"Oh?"

"Mm-hmm. Got a couple sessions to sit in on over at Bucky's."

"You're recording there?"

"Well, someone who needs a drummer is."

"That's where we're recording my next album."

"Yeah? Cool. Don't suppose you guys are starting today?"

"No. Next week."

Rio nodded.

"Well, anyhow, I'll stay for breakfast if that's okay."

"Please, stay! And you could... You could come here any time you want."

Now Rio looked shy again, gaze dropping to the floor.

"I don't wanna fuck anything up. I don't wanna..."

"You won't. Here, let me get up and shower and... And I'll make breakfast for all of us."

"Can I cook, actually? I... Been a long time since I cooked for you."

Agatha smiled.

"Maybe we could work together."

"I'd like that," Rio said.

"Tommy, Billy, this is Rio," Agatha explained.

"Hey," Rio nodded, continuing to keep an eye on the scrambled eggs.

"Rio's a... A good friend. She knew your mother, too."

"You knew Mom?" Tommy asked.

"Yup. I was in the same band with Agatha and your mom."

"Did you know us when we were babies?"  Billy asked.

"Uh, well, I was around a little when your mom was first expecting you. I... I was living somewhere else by the time you were born, though."

That was enough to finally lure the twins all the way into the kitchen to sit. Well, Tommy sat, but Billy wandered over to stare at Rio.

"You're in the picture."

"Picture?"

"The one Aunt Agatha keeps by the piano down in her practice room in the basement. There's a picture there of you and her."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh."

Rio looked over at Agatha and smirked.

"You kept a picture of us?"

"Hey, Billy, orange juice or grape juice?" Agatha said, by way of diverting the topic.

Once everyone was settled down to breakfast, Rio kept gently bumping her feet against Agatha's under the table.

"So, you guys go to school?" Rio asked the boys.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "of course."

"Cool. I hardly ever went to school when I was your age."

"Did you not have to?"

"Nah. That was hundreds of years ago."

Agatha kicked Rio in the shin lightly, then looked to the boys, who were both staring at Rio in confusion.

"Rio's being silly," Agatha explained.

"She said..."

"I heard. Rio's only a year older than me. She went to school and everything. In fact, we met in school."

Breakfast passed mostly without incident after that. Sharon arrived around 9:30 to take the boys to their usual Saturday morning activities — judo for Tommy, chess for Billy — and Agatha went straight into washing the dishes.

"I'd appreciate you not just whipping out the old band lore in front of the boys," she groused.

"Ah, doll, I was just playin'," Rio said, wrapping her arms around Agatha's waist from behind.

"Still..."

"They're, what, ten? They didn't believe that stuff. Just threw 'em off for a second. Besides, the lore was half the fun. At least the good bits."

Rio hummed softly, placing a gentle kiss on the back of Agatha's neck.

"What's this picture of us you kept?" she asked.

"Just... Just a nice one. I look really good in it, so..."

"Still, thought you'd got rid of any pictures of me. Even if you looked good..."

"It's not technically just us in the picture."

"Ah. Picture of the band?"

"It's... Remember that weekend in Vermont? The cabin? The weekend I told you..."

Rio pulled away now.

"Oh. I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been..."

"It's fine."

"Can... Can I go look?"

"If you like."

Once Rio had padded out of the kitchen, Agatha let her guard drop and allowed a few tears to fall. As nice as some of last night had been, there was still so much to talk about.

The new album was shaping up to be a good one. Everything in the studio had been going well, and there was a lot of excitement from fans even this far ahead of the release. Of course, there was a lot of excitement around the mooted Coven True reunion as well.

Pietro had been in touch a few more times regarding the idea. Agatha had even invited him to dinner one night, ostensibly so they could talk, but really so he could see the boys. It had gone well, and both Tommy and Billy were cautiously interested in getting to know their uncle.

It had been a month since the night with Rio. There had been no contact between them since, and even Pietro said he had not heard from her much in that time. Once, down at Bucky's studio, Agatha had seen Rio at the end of a hall, hanging with some other session musicians. They had exchanged nods, but that had been all.

By now, it was very clear to Agatha that their night together had meant nothing deeper to Rio than a chance to get off. Maybe she was finally living up to that old fan-bestowed persona of the player with a different girl every night. It had never been true back in the day — well, to Agatha's knowledge it had not — but it had given a lot of fans a sense of hope they might have a chance.

The twins were doing homework at the kitchen table while Agatha prepared dinner. When the house phone rang, Billy ran to answer it.

"It's for you," the boy reported.

Wiping her hands quickly, Agatha went and took the call.

"Hello?"

"Agatha Harkness?"

"Yep. That's me."

The person on the other end of the phone rattled away at a brisk, business-like clip, but they said one things that Agatha was sure she must have heard wrong.

"I'm sorry, I... Did you say I'm the emergency contact?"

"Uh, yes ma'am. You're Ms. Vidal's emergency contact. As I said, she was brought in an hour ago with..."

"I caught that part. I'm just a little... I'll be down as soon as possible."

Hanging up, Agatha rushed into the kitchen.

"Boys, how would you like Sharon to come and stay with you for a little while? There's something I have to go take care of."

"Yes!" the twins chorused.

Agatha was well aware that Sharon often let the boys stay up a bit past bedtime if she took care of them for the evening, but that was a small price to pay.

Shoveling the ingredients for dinner into containers, Agatha stowed everything in the fridge — it could wait until tomorrow.

"You boys want pizza for dinner?"

"Can we have chicken instead?" Billy asked.

"If your brother wants that too."

"I love chicken," Tommy said.

"Chicken it is."

She called Sharon first, then placed the order for food delivery.

"Where do you have to go?" Tommy asked.

"A friend's had an emergency. I'll be back soon, I promise."

Sharon was over in a flash, thankfully.

"I hate to call you up so spur of the moment, Sharon..."

"Oh, Agatha, it's fine. You know I love helping with the boys."

"There's dinner on the way. They can have some of the sorbet that's in the freezer for dessert, if they finish their homework without complaining too much."

"Got it."

"I shouldn't be more than an hour or two, but I'll call if there are issues."

Then Agatha hugged the boys and headed out. She took just a moment to breathe in the car, trying to calm herself before backing down the driveway. Even so, she was panicking most of the way, and she drove a little faster than was strictly legal.

At the hospital, she parked and almost ran inside.

"Agatha Harkness, here to see Rio Vidal?"

The woman behind the desk looked at her, and she recognized the glazed look that came into their eyes.

"Rio Vidal?" they repeated, and their eyes seemed to glaze up even further.

Oh, this was an old fan.

"She's in room 602."

"Thanks."

"I... Ms. Harkness, I really shouldn't, but would you mind..."

Agatha sighed as the woman handed her a random sheet of paper and a pen.

"Who do I make this out to?"

"Mary Jane."

Agatha wrote out a quick 'To Mary Jane, Merry Meet and Merry Part, Agatha Harkness' and that was enough to finally get the woman to tell her how to get to room 602.

Agatha hurried off. As she reached her destination, a doctor was just emerging, and she stopped him.

"I'm here to see Rio. I'm her... I'm her emergency contact. Is she..."

"Ms. Vidal is just fine, for now. She suffered a serious seizure earlier and struck her head. We're keeping her for 24 hours, just to monitor things."

"Can I..."

"Go right in. She's awake at the moment."

Stepping past the doctor, Agatha entered the room and paused. Rio was in the bed, looking very worn out. In a chair in the corner sat Bucky, their old mutual friend whose studio they had both been recording at of late.

"Agatha," he said, and offered the same warm, easy grin he always did.

"Bucky, they called me. Rio, what..."

"She had a seizure at the studio tonight," Bucky said.

Going to the bedside, Agatha took Rio's hand.

"Rio, you said you hadn't had a seizure in months..."

"Eight months, before tonight," Rio nodded.

"It was a big one," Bucky said, "and it scared the fuck out of me."

"How long?" Agatha asked.

"Six minutes. Hit her head against the wall going down, too."

"Christ! Rio, what the fuck happened?"

"I... I dunno," Rio said.

She would not make eye contact with Agatha.

"Have you been seeing your doctor? Have you..."

"Hey, Agatha, can I talk to you a minute?" Bucky sighed.

Agatha stepped with him into the hall just outside of Rio's room.

"Bucky, what's up?"

"Something's been off with Rio for almost a month now. I thought at first it... Well, look, have you talked to Pietro lately?"

"About his goofy idea to get both bands back together and touring again? Uh, yeah, it's come up."

"At first, I thought whatever's up with Rio had to do with that, but... I dunno. Like I say, for almost a month she's been acting kind of weird. More down on herself than even usual, not hanging around to talk as much. In fact, outside studio hours, none of us have seen her much."

"She does have her reclusive streak, sometimes."

"That's not all. She hasn't been eating right, either. We have dinner together a few times a month with some other old friends and she's been a no-show lately, plus she won't eat when we do lunch and stuff for the other session folks at the studio."

"Maybe she's been unwell."

"Could be. I tried talking to her, but you know how averse she is to talking stuff out sometimes."

Bucky paused, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I was scared," he went on "when she had that seizure tonight. We were leaving the studio together, 'cause I finally got her to agree to go to dinner and talk about stuff. Some part of my mind was convinced she'd rather die than discuss whatever's bothering her."

Agatha sighed.

"I have an inkling or two of what's bothering her. Thank you, Bucky. Thank you for looking out for her."

"I try," Bucky said.

"Guess I better get in there and talk to her, seeing as she left me as her emergency contact for almost a decade after we broke up."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm gonna go grab a coffee and let you two talk."

Bucky hugged Agatha quickly, then sauntered off along the hall. Turning on her heel, Agatha re-entered the room.

"Are you being crazy?" she asked.

"Doll, what? I..."

"Bucky says you've been acting off for a while now. Not eating right, sort of self-isolating. Have you... Look, is something wrong?"

Rio frowned, looking like a pouty child.

"M'okay," she muttered.

"No you're not. You had a six minute seizure, you hit your head, you've been behaving..."

"I miss you."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I miss you," Rio repeated, a little louder.

"I... Rio, what in..."

"That night a month ago. You let me stay 'til morning and then... Then I fucked up and had to leave and... And you hate me, so who cares what happens to me?"

"Rio, I don't hate you."

"Wish you did. That'd mean you felt something."

"Rio, I care about you, and about what happens to you. You... You have been one of the most important people in my life. You were my partner, my spouse, my... For over a decade, you were basically my everything."

Stepping closer to the bedside, Agatha took Rio's hand again.

"I do care, Rio. Very much. Now, care to tell me why I, your ex-wife, am still your emergency contact?"

Rio mumbled something, turning her face away.

"What was that?"

"You never change your phone number if you can help it."

"Oh, is that all?"

"And I know you'll kick ass and take names to make sure I get the right help."

"Of course. But Rio, you... You have to take care of yourself, you know?"

"Why? I just fuck shit up."

"No you don't. Rio, you matter. There are people in the world who care about you, and you're scaring several of them at the moment, myself included."

Finally, Rio made eye contact.

"¿Perdóname?" she whispered.

Agatha squeezed Rio's hand.

"Necesitas perdonarte también, mi amor."

It was a matter of a few hours getting Rio checked out of the hospital the next evening.

"Let's get you home," Agatha said once they were finally in the car.

"I'll tell you the way as we go," Rio nodded, and Agatha reached across to take her hand.

"Rio, you're staying at my place until I'm convinced you're okay again."

"Agatha..."

"Rio, you need help for now. Someone has to make sure you're eating and taking your medication and not just giving up!"

"But you're busy. Your album, the boys..."

"I can look after you and the boys at the same time. Anyway, they're always busy with school and extracurriculars. As for the album, that's easy. You can come to the studio with me. Hell, maybe we'll get you to drum on a few tracks, huh?"

"Ooh, a charity job."

"No. It's a possible offer of work. Nothing charitable about it. I expect the best on my albums, and you're the best."

"Am I?" Rio smirked.

"Well, the best I've known. Your timing and rhythm are impeccable..."

"Hmm. I remember that was always what you liked best about me."

"Rio! None of that."

"What? We were talking drumming, and I was simply commenting..."

"I'm just bright enough to catch your double entendre, thank you. Now, we're heading to my place. What do you need from yours?"

Rio shrugged.

"Nothin'."

"Well, you must need clothes, belongings..."

"I'm getting kicked out in a week anyway. The landlord can store my shit or sell it or whatever."

"Rio, you... You've just let everything fall apart, haven't you? What's going on with you?"

"Doll, I been lettin' things fall apart for a decade now. Nothin' new."

"Rio Vidal, have you completely lost whatever sense you had? Christ!"

Slinking down lower in the passenger seat, Rio looked distinctly like a puppy being reprimanded after messing on the carpet. Agatha reached over and patted her shoulder, then started the car.

"It's all right. We'll take care of this. For now, let's get you home."

"Home?"

"Home, Rio. Mi hogar es tu hogar."

"You've gotten very comfortable with your Spanish."

"Well, I had a great teacher for a number of years."

"Great, you say?"

"Very hands on."

"What was the first lesson?"

"Follar."

Agatha stole a glance at Rio, saw her sit up a little straighter in the seat.

"Well, seems a little advanced."

"Oh, they were very into immersion."

Rio had dozed off in the car, but she was awake enough to walk slowly into the house. The boys were in the living room, being allowed a little pre-bedtime television by Sharon, but they crept out to look as Agatha and Rio entered.

Rio waved at them, a sad little smile on her face.

"Are you sick?" Tommy asked.

"Rio's been a little unwell lately and so she's staying here until she's better," Agatha explained.

The boys retreated back to the living room, and Agatha led Rio upstairs.

"Your room?" Rio asked as they entered the main suite.

"Of course. Have to keep an eye on you. Here, sit on the bed."

Going to the tote Rio had dug up a month ago, Agatha rooted around and pulled out an old pair of pajamas.

"Now, let's get you changed."

"Can I have a shower first?"

"Good idea. Hold on. Just stay right there and I'll run down, get your things out of the car, and be back."

On her way past the living room again, Agatha stopped in.

"Sharon, you can head out if you want. And boys, head up and start getting ready for bed."

"Aw, Aunt Agatha..."

"Now, boys."

Agatha walked Sharon out, apologetic.

"So sorry to call on you two nights running like this..."

"Oh, it's no big deal. The boys and I like to chill, as the kids say."

Once Sharon had driven off, Agatha stopped at her own car and grabbed the little bag with Rio's belongings. Back in the house, she hurried upstairs. Rio had remained sitting on the edge of the bed, and Agatha smiled.

"Let me make sure the boys get to bed all right and then we'll see about getting you that shower."

"Agatha, I can shower myself."

"I wanna be aware, though. Just so I can keep an eye on you."

"Still not over me yet, eh?" Rio smirked, leaning back on her elbows.

"Oh, you wish, tough guy. Just wait for me, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

With a sigh, Agatha went to check the boys. They were already in pajamas and were busily brushing their teeth.

"Okay, guys. Quick family meeting. Rio's gonna be here a little while. She's gonna stay in my room for now, because she needs some help."

"Is she gonna die like our mom?" Tommy asked.

"I... What? No."

"Well, she looks all skinny and pale, like Mom was before she died."

"No. This is... Rio has seizures, like Billy. She just had a really bad one after a long time with none, so she needs some help."

"Mom used to have sort of seizures too," Billy nodded, "but just when she took her shots and stuff. Then we had to call the ambulance and you."

"I... None of this is like your mom," Agatha said, barely keeping her cool.

Somehow, she had convinced herself that the boys, being so young when Wanda died, did not recall the worse aspects of their mother's addiction.

"I just want you boys to be nice to Rio, okay? She's... She deserves to be treated nicely."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Billy asked.

"She... We've known each other a long time."

"In that picture down in your practice room, she's hugging you like she's your girlfriend."

"Look, if you must know, Rio and I were married for a little while, okay? It was before you were born."

"You got divorced?" Tommy asked.

"Yes."

"Was she bad to you? Like, did she hit you? 'Cause if she did, me an' Billy'll beat her up."

"Yeah," Billy said, "we'll beat her up!"

"She was never bad to me, and she never hit me. We just... Sometimes people change."

As soon as the boys were done brushing, Agatha tucked them in.

"G'night, Aunt Agatha," Billy muttered.

"Night," Tommy added.

Trudging back to her room, Agatha was a little worried when at first she saw no sign of Rio on the bed. Checking the bathroom, she found Rio using the toilet.

"Sorry," she said, and started to back out.

"Nothing you haven't seen before," Rio smirked, finishing up and moving to wash her hands.

"I just... I... Are you going to take that shower?"

"Yup. If that's okay."

"It's fine. You know where the towels..."

"I do. Take it easy, mi ángel. I'll be okay."

It struck Agatha to the heart every time Rio called her by any familiar old endearment. It reminded her of all the time that had passed, all the days gone by with no one looking at her in the way Rio always seemed to.

"I'll be right out here if you need me," Agatha said.

"I mean, if you're so worried, you could join me," Rio said, cocking a brow.

"Don't tempt me."

Agatha tried to keep her tone light and joking, but if she was honest, there really was a temptation. When they spent the night together the month before, Rio had not even gotten entirely naked when they made love, and Agatha was interested to see what changes time might have made to her ex's body. She knew of at least one change thanks to the mutual acquaintance rumor mill, but she wanted to completely see Rio again. Still, to push things right now, when Rio was not entirely healthy seemed manipulative.

"Agatha? Agatha, you okay?"

Rio's hand, very warm, was on her cheek.

"Uh, sorry. I..."

"You look like you were a million miles away, mi ángel."

"I... I just..."

"My offer stands," Rio said, "as far as the shower goes."

"I... I'll wait in bed for you," Agatha said, realizing as the words left her mouth what they could imply.

"See you there, then," Rio said with a wink.

When Rio was done with showering, she entered the bedroom slow, pajama bottoms on, towel draped around her neck. Agatha tried to observe her without being obvious, noting what looked like faint scarring on Rio's chest. So, that was true, then. She wondered what things looked like under the ends of the towel.

Rio seemed even thinner than she remembered. There was still the familiar lean muscularity, perhaps a bit softened with time. Rio's abs, however, seemed slightly more defined, and Agatha fought down a sense of excitement born of the thought of running her fingers over them.

"Like whatcha see?" Rio muttered, crossing to the bed and picking up the pajama top.

"Just keeping an eye on you."

Rio tossed the towel aside. The work looked good.

"Well, look all ya want babe. Looking's free."

"Oh? And would anything else cost me?"

Rio knelt on the bed a moment, then crawled over to kiss Agatha on the cheek.

"Only your heart, mi ángel. Think you can afford that?"

Agatha whimpered.

"That a yes?" Rio rasped.

Even as she wondered if it would be wrong, Agatha nodded, fingers brushing the back of one of Rio's hands. Suddenly, Rio was the one to pull away, shuffling down and kneeling on the foot of the bed again.

"Tired tonight, querida. Let's rest for now."

She pulled the pajama top on, but did not button it, then lay beside Agatha.

"C-can I be close to you?" Agatha asked.

"You can be wherever you need to be. Your bed, after all."

"But... But it..."

"It's your bed. I'm just here until your pity runs out."

Why? Why had things shifted back to distance so abruptly? Agatha sighed, scooting close enough to reach out and carefully take Rio's hand.

"Okay?" she whispered.

"Of course. Promised myself to you body and soul a long time ago, Agatha."

"I... I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not. Are you hurt?"

Agatha did not know how to answer that. Everything lately was so confusing. She wanted life to go back to the way it had been a month ago, but she also wished she could turn back and repair the damage done a decade ago.

"C'mere, mi corazón," Rio whispered, turning on her side and pulling Agatha close.

That felt good. It felt right to be in their bed, wrapped in Rio's arms. It felt like old times. Sighing, Agatha snuggled in, tucking her head under Rio's chin.

"My good girl," Rio murmured, stroking Agatha's hair.

Then Rio was humming softly, just bits and pieces of their old songs. She paused now and then to shift a little and kiss the top of Agatha's head.

"I... I'm supposed to be taking care of you," Agatha said.

"I'm well. Let me take care of you a little. Been too long since I really had the chance."

This felt so good, but suddenly a sense of terror wormed its way into Agatha's heart.

"Don't leave," she breathed.

"I'm here, mi ángel. I'm not leaving you tonight."

She wanted to correct her words, wanted to say that what she had meant was "Don't die," because Rio seemed so strong and yet so fragile at the same time. Suppose something happened? Suppose things got worse, and Rio could not be really well again? Suppose all those years apart were capped off with complete and total loss just as they reached the edge of reuniting?

"You're tense, Agatha. Just relax and try to sleep."

"I... Rio..."

"Shh, love. Rest. It'll all seem better in the morning. Just rest."

The scent of Rio so close, the feel of those strong arms around her, finally calmed Agatha enough that she allowed her eyes to close. As she drifted off, the only thoughts in her head were of Rio, and of trying to make things work again.

Dreams took her quickly, drawing her down into a pit of horror. Darkness, relived memories of growing up in that horrible house with her horrible mother. That old, hard sensation of self-loathing that was so familiar it felt like if it ever somehow faded, there would be none of her left.

"Wake up, Agatha. Wake up. Hey, you're safe. I've got you."

Agatha's eyes fluttered open, and she found herself clinging to Rio, never wanting to let go.

"Deep breath, mi ángel. Slow and easy. That's my girl."

"Sorry," Agatha breathed.

"It's okay. You wanna talk about it?"

"I... I'm so stupid. Just all the old stuff bubbling up."

"You're not stupid, Agatha. You're hurt."

"I... I just..."

She trailed off, dared to let her fingers trace lightly over the hint of a scar she had seen earlier.

"You had the surgery."

"I did. That a problem?"

"No. I know how you always wanted it. Looks good on you. Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Good."

The silence that fell between them was soft. Safe. Warm. It was not a silence of distance, but of companionship, with perhaps a hint of longing.

"Rio?"

"Hmm?"

"I think maybe we should do it."

Agatha felt Rio startle in her embrace.

"Uh, do it?"

"Get the band together again. Just this once."

"Oh. Yeah, that... That'd be great. Fun, like the old days."

"But first..."

Running her hand down Rio's abs, Agatha toyed with the drawstring of the pajama bottoms.

"Agatha," Rio said, voice half warning, half needy.

"First, right now, would you maybe want to make love to me?"

Rio had an appointment with the neurologist two days after she was out of the hospital. Agatha hatched a plan; Bucky took Rio to the appointment while Pietro and some other friends of Rio's went to her apartment to collect all her stuff and deliver it to Agatha's house.

It turned out Rio didn't have much stuff. When it was all loaded in, Agatha was sort of shocked how little there was. A worn out armchair — the one bit of furniture Rio had taken when they split up — was brought in first, followed by a wooden chair, a folding table, a mattress and box spring, a few boxes of clothes and assorted belongings, and of course Rio's drum kit.

"You're sure this was everything?" Agatha asked.

"Yup," Pietro nodded.

"But she... This..."

"Rio's lived light since she left you, Ag. She always says she doesn't need much."

"Well, thanks for getting it all."

"Not a problem. And hey, thanks for agreeing to the reunion deal."

Together, Agatha and Pietro hauled the wooden chair, the table, mattress, and box spring down to the storage room in the basement and stowed the various parts of the drum kit in the practice room.

"She'll want to put it all back together herself," Agatha said.

The armchair they managed to tote up to the main suite, where it went back in the corner it had once occupied years before. The boxes all went up there too, into Rio's half of the closet, for later unpacking. Pietro and the others were happily paid off with $50 each plus pizza, then left just as Bucky was dropping Rio back at the house.

"What were that gang all around here for?" Rio asked.

"Oh, I needed their help with some things. How was your appointment?"

"Pretty good. Got kind of a telling off once I admitted I was pretty sure the breakthrough happened because I kind of got sloppy about taking my meds and stuff. I felt kinda like a dumbass kid again in a way, so it was sorta nostalgic."

Agatha laughed, despite herself.

"Lunch?" she asked.

"What're we having?"

"Whatever you want. I've got plenty of stuff on hand, and we can always order something if you want."

Rio leaned against the wall near the front door.

"Horiatiki? You got the stuff for that?"

"Can you imagine me not having the stuff for that?"

"Nope," Rio grinned, "but I like teasing you."

Working together in the kitchen was another of those things Agatha had really missed about their relationship. Rio always seemed so quick and sure about everything when preparing food, and she chattered away the whole time, telling little jokes or just saying whatever things popped into her head. It was fun to just be in the room with her when she was like that.

When they had eaten, Agatha stood and beckoned for Rio to follow her down to the basement.

"Help me with something?"

"Sure," Rio shrugged, padding obediently along after.

Passing through the rec room, Rio seemed very interested by the available entertainments.

"You got an air hockey table and a pinball machine? Lucky."

"Well, they're for the boys, but you can certainly use them any time you want."

"Sweet!"

As they entered the practice room, Agatha waited to turn the overhead light until the last possible moment. She was rewarded by seeing an expression of shocked glee spread over Rio's face.

"My kit! Doll, when..."

"While you were at your appointment. That's why Pietro and the others were here. They went and got all of your things. Some of your furniture is in the storage room, but the armchair and boxes of your stuff are up in our room."

"You mean your room?" Rio asked.

"I mean our room."

"Agatha, I... Why would you do this? Why... Why would you let me..."

"I didn't want to risk you losing everything."

"But I... I'll have to go somewhere else eventually. I can just start over and..."

"If and when a day comes that you want to leave, I'll help you figure things out. For now, however, I'm asking you to please stay here. You belong here, Rio. This was our home together. I want it to be that again."

Rio was staring at the floor, and when she dared to look at Agatha, there were tears in her eyes.

"You don't have to feel sorry for me."

"This isn't pity, or charity, or anything like that, Rio. This is... I... You were the first person I ever felt loved me, really loved me, unconditionally. There've been times I was too stuck in my own feelings to notice yours, and I need to do what I can to try and make up for that."

"Mi ángel..." Rio croaked out.

She closed the distance between them and pulled Agatha close.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Agatha. There's so much to... There's so much. I... Fuck, I love you."

"How come they're not real loud?" he asked once.

"Oh, I've got these things on all the stuff, see? These are mutes. Means I can practice quiet."

"Cool. But what's it sound like loud?"

Rio smirked, looking over at Agatha.

"Doll, you take the boys out in the rec room?"

"Got it," Agatha nodded.

"But I wanna stand right here an' hear you play real loud!" Tommy said.

After a moment, Rio leaned down and dug through her gear bag, breaking out the big hearing protection.

"Put these on, buddy."

Tommy slipped the headphones on as Rio began to remove the mutes from the kit. Agatha, meanwhile, ushered Billy through into the rec room. A moment later, Agatha heard Rio start up a beat, simple at first, building and building. Billy, hands clamped over his ears, seemed rather pleased with even a distant demonstration.

"It's so cool, Aunt Agatha!" he declared.

Rio played for maybe two minutes, and when Tommy emerged from the practice room, headphones still on, he looked delighted.

"Did you guys hear that‽" he shouted.

"We did," Agatha assured him.

"It was so cool! Rio's prob'ly the best drummer in the world, I bet!"

Rio emerged from the practice room just in time to hear that, and she grinned proudly.

"I can teach you to play, if you want," she said.

The twins were both ecstatic about that possibility.

"Can we learn drums, Aunt Agatha?" Billy asked.

"Please?" Tommy threw in.

"I don't think that would be a problem, since Rio's offering."

"Can we start right now?" Tommy begged.

"Not right now. Homework first, okay? We'll save drum lessons for free time on the weekends, I think."

The boys both rolled their eyes about that, trudging upstairs. Agatha watched them go, shaking her head and smiling. When she turned back to Rio, though, her heart dropped.

"Rio? What's wrong? You..."

"I just... I'm sorry if... I didn't mean to do anything wrong."

"You haven't done anything wrong. Kids get overexcited about things. You know that."

"Yeah, but... I dunno. I'm afraid I'll fuck something up."

"Relax, Rio. You're doing fine. We're gonna be okay. All of us."

After dinner, Tommy and Billy were dispatched to the living room to spend some free time doing what they wished while Agatha and Rio cleaned up the kitchen.

"Ya know, they're good kids," Rio said, stacking the last of the dishes in the sink.

"They really are. It was difficult just after Wanda died, but with a lot of work and help, they're doing so well."

"Poor little guys. At least they landed in a safe place, with you."

Agatha smiled.

"I do my best. I've known them all their lives, and I love them like they're my own."

"You ever... You ever think of having one of your own? Trying again, I mean?"

"Oh, I thought about it. But I... Well, I felt too alone. I don't want to go through a pregnancy without a partner."

"What, in the last decade you never dated someone who you thought..."

"I haven't dated at all, since the divorce."

"Not even once?"

Shaking her head, Agatha began wiping down the table.

"Just never seemed to feel like it. How about you? You must've had your fair share of dates since we broke up."

"I had offers. Loads of groupies, and some old Coven True fans who still remember me as Death Herself and wanted to live out their youthful fantasies."

"And you must have taken a few of them up on those offers, right?"

"Nah. Been busy. Never felt right. I don't... I'm not one to sleep around."

"Never? That's not what I heard."

Rio turned from the sink and crossed her arms.

"Oh? And what have you heard, m'lady?"

"Well, I mean, you had such a reputation in high school..."

"Agatha, I had sex with exactly one person before you, and it was no one from school. Any classmates who claimed I slept with them were doing a lot of wishful thinking."

"Be that as it may, you certainly weren't totally faithful in our early relationship."

"What? Yes I was! From the first time we were together, I never even thought about being with anyone else."

"Oh? Never? Not even, say, one night on the second tour?"

Crossing the kitchen, Rio sat down at the table, then pointed to one of the other chairs.

"Sit. Sit and tell me what you're talking about."

"Well, if you can't even remember..."

"Agatha, I swear, I never, ever cheated on you. Sit and talk to me so we can figure out what this is."

Agatha sat.

"Once," she said, "just after you and I divorced, Wanda was over here, very distraught. She was high, very out of sorts. She said she felt responsible in some way for our breakup."

"Why the fuck should she feel responsible?"

"She figured I must have found out about the time the two of you slept together during the band's second tour."

"Slept to... Agatha, I really never slept with anyone but you while we were together. Not with Wanda or anyone."

"Wanda insisted you had. Said it was during a tour stop in Indiana. After the show one night, she went out with a couple of locals to get high. They ended up buying some random pills and stuff at someone's house. Wanda said you were there, and that you fucked her."

"Maybe Wanda made a mistake. I mean, she was fucked up on who knows what that night. She told you as much. And I can guarantee I wasn't in any position to fuck her that night."

"Oh?"

"Second tour, right?"

Agatha nodded, and Rio smirked at her

"We played one fuckin' show in Indiana on the second tour. One show in a dinky town. And I know for a fact I was back in our hotel room with you all night after."

"How?"

"Well, first, I can prove the one stop thing from the tour calendar on all the damn merch. Second, I know that night really well. We made love; of course, we did that nearly every night, being a pair of horny little shits at 19 and 20. You said some stuff that night that is permanently engraved on my brain."

"Like what?"

"Like how you wanted to be with me forever. How you wanted to have my babies someday. That was the first time that sort of thing ever came up for us, and I always remembered. Years later, the night you seriously said you wanted to start trying for a baby, remember what my first reaction was?"

It was painful to think back to that time, to the events that led to Nicky, but Agatha let her mind drift. That night, they had been in bed, cuddling after sex, and she had told Rio she thought it might be a good time to really start trying to have a family. And Rio...

"You said 'Finally,'" Agatha nodded slowly.

"Exactly. Because I had been waiting almost seven years for you to say you were ready to go for it for real."

"So, you... You didn't sleep with Wanda?"

"Agatha, I didn't."

"And you never, I dunno, fucked any groupies or anything?"

"Hell no. You were my one and only. Did you ever fuck around on me?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why would you believe I would fuck around on you?"

"I... Because you... Well why wouldn't you, given the chance?"

Rio actually burst out laughing at that.

"That... That's like asking why I wouldn't drink poison if someone offered. Shit, Agatha, you're all I could ever want or need in a lover. You're fucking gorgeous, you're witty, smart... For me, you're the total package."

Standing, Rio moved to stand behind Agatha's chair, leaning down.

"I may be a bad boy, love," she whispered, "but I'm not stupid or cruel."

"Whatcha workin' on?"

Agatha looked up and saw Rio in the practice room doorway, smiling at her.

"Oh, just a song. Just... Something, I hope."

"Next solo album?"

"I'm thinking maybe the Coven True reunion album. If the reunion happens after all."

"Ah, Jen's basically said yes. Alice... Well, once she finishes this stint in rehab, I bet she'll agree."

"Hope so. Then there's the matter of who takes over for Wanda. Who's our new Scarlet Witch?"

"Maybe not a new Scarlet Witch," Rio shrugged.

"Well, the lore..."

"Who says we can't evolve the lore? Wanda... She was your best friend, Agatha. Would you wanna say even a character she played can be replaced?"

"No. I... I just don't know what to do."

"We'll figure it out. Can I..."

"Sure. Of course."

Agatha scooted over on the piano bench, inviting Rio to sit.

"I've been working with this old bit," Agatha said.

She played a few notes, and instantly Rio slipped an arm around her waist.

"I know this one!"

"Uh-huh. Had the tune in my head for years."

"You used to hum it as we were falling asleep a lot," Rio said, "and later you... Well, yeah, you've definitely been holding on to this one."

"I think it's got a lot more Coven True vibes than anything I do for my solo stuff. It's kinda witchy."

"Hmm. Yeah."

Agatha started to play again, trying to concentrate on the music and not on the warmth of Rio's arm resting against her body. When she had looped through the melody a few times, Rio shifted away.

"Give ya a beat?"

"That'd be good."

Rio hurried over to her drums and sat, listening to Agatha play the first bit of the music again. Soon, she was drumming along smoothly. Agatha watched her over the piano, smiling, amazed as ever at the speed and precision of Rio's movements. The sight of this person she loved, so happily in their natural element, made Agatha's heart beat faster, and she felt a happy-nervous sense of affection tingling through her.

"What's wrong?" Rio asked after a moment, noticing that Agatha had stopped playing.

"Nothing. I just... I..."

Sliding out from behind the drums, Rio hurried over and knelt by the piano bench, taking Agatha's hand.

"You feel okay, mi ángel?"

"I feel stupid."

"Why? You're not stupid. You're wonderful, Agatha."

"Well, I feel like a lovesick teenager, then. Seeing you there behind the kit..."

"Ah. Same way you fell in love with me, huh? I remember the day we properly met. You were so pretty. Now, you're gorgeous."

Rio stood, pulled Agatha to her feet as well, and hugged her.

"You can feel any way you feel, Agatha. You're safe with me."

"It's only ten in the morning, but..."

"But what?"

"But I want you. I want you like crazy."

"You can have me, princess," Rio murmured.

"Remember our first time?"

"Sure do. You invited me over for the weekend, since you were in the house alone. We watched a crappy horror movie, then I took you up to bed, and you let me touch you and then... I was so surprised, 'cause I figured you wouldn't give anything up for someone like me."

"But I did. You were so sweet and gentle with me."

"Didn't wanna scare you, or hurt you. I just wanted you to feel good. I wanted you to feel safe."

"I did. You still... In spite of all that's happened, you make me feel safe. I... Please, would you take me to bed again? Please?"

Until recently, Agatha had almost forgotten how good it was to be kissed. Rio's lips were so soft and warm, and it felt like a special treat to be kissed by her, like a promise of even sweeter things ahead.

"Hey. Hey, I don't need a lot to be okay. What I need most is to be certain you're safe and happy."

Alice was waiting just inside the place as they pulled up. A counselor walked her out to the car, helping to heft her bag into the trunk. Agatha watched in the rear view as he said something to Alice, offered a hug and a handshake, and was quickly rebuffed. A moment later, Alice slid into the back seat.

"Get me out of here before I set someone on fire."

"Nice to see you too, Alice," Agatha said.

"Haha, very funny Harkness."

"What? I mean, we were friends, once upon a time."

"Actually, me an' Alice were more friends," Rio pointed out, twisting around and smiling back at Alice.

"Vidal, you nut. Harkness conned you into this crazy getting-the-band-back-together shit too?"

"Actually, Petey Maximoff conned me into it, and I conned Agatha."

"I bet you conned her, you old dog."

"Oh, I did. I conned her right out of her..."

"Okay, no more talking!" Agatha sharped.

"Jeez," Rio sighed, "two old friends can't even have a little fun and banter?"

"Anymore banter like that, and neither of you gets any greasy fast food to enjoy on the way home."

Agatha barely held back a laugh as Rio did the old zip-the-lips motion.

Since both passengers were relatively well behaved after that, they did indeed stop at Kwikkee Burger on the way to Agatha's and load up on obscene amounts of junk.

"Ugh," Agatha said, passing one of the bags back to Alice, "I'm reminded why I never agree to take the boys here for lunch."

"Boys?"

"Tommy and Billy. Wanda's sons."

"Oh, right. You got them after..."

"Mm-hmm."

"Sucks about Wanda. She was a good drinking buddy. And a good friend."

At the house, Rio grabbed Alice's stuff from the trunk, while Agatha and Alice were left to tote the food. The boys, being home as it was a Saturday, went wild when they saw the forbidden Kwikkee Burger bags.

"Aunt Agatha, do we get..."

"I got you each a burger, and there are fries to share."

Agatha handed over the appropriate bag and the boys wrestled it over to their side of the kitchen table, leaving a little trail of grease and fries across the surface.

Alice was in the kitchen doorway, looking a little less than enthused.

"Boys," Agatha said, "this is Alice. She used to be in the band, and she's staying here a few days."

"Is she your girlfriend too?" Billy asked, a fry halfway to his mouth.

"Ha!" Alice barked.

"No, she's not and never has been," Agatha explained.

She wondered if, when the day came to give the boys The Talk, she should explain it through the lens of the old band dynamics. 'Sometimes a family is two people who are in love and a bunch of their weird friends,' or something.

"Alice is the reason your Aunt Agatha and I emptied out the liquor cabinet last week," Rio explained, sauntering into the kitchen at last after having seen Sharon off.

"Does she not like alcohol?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, kid," Alice said, "I love alcohol. Just a little too much."

Agatha rolled her eyes. This was in no way about to be an easy weekend.

Agatha looked up to see Rio watching her from the bathroom doorway.

"I'm fine."

"You sure? You were really quiet at dinner."

"Just... Thinking about things."

Rio came and got into bed, taking Agatha's hand.

"Therapy going okay?"

"Mm-hmm. Actually, I... I've been meaning to ask..."

"Ask away, mi ángel."

"Well, Monica thought... See, there's some stuff and... Would you be willing to come with me to therapy next week?"

"Sure, love. Anything you need, I'll gladly do."

"It's just it... I... I wasn't sure how you'd feel."

"I mean, I've been to therapy."

"Yeah?"

"Yep. For about five years after we split up. Helped a lot."

"Good. I'm glad. Some stuff that's been coming up lately had... Well, Monica thinks I could benefit from you being there to discuss part of it."

"Okay. Like I said, I'll gladly help. Anything for you."

Agatha relaxed at last, cuddling into Rio's embrace. It had not entirely been easy to get used to this again. Some nights it was simple, but others she felt afraid, or worried, or sad. They were both still so broken over a lot of things.

The household was being disrupted again, even if only for a few days. That worried Agatha. Was she hurting the boys, bringing new people in all the time? They had started to bond with Rio, and that was good, but Alice was not exactly a kid person.

Well, Alice would be back at her own place by Tuesday, as soon as the place was cleaned up and the new help had settled in.

Still, Agatha worried. She had fought so hard all these years to protect the boys. Hell, she had actually first had custody of them within two days of their birth, since Wanda tested positive for heroin and cocaine at the hospital. Ever since then, Agatha had been protecting Tommy and Billy. She had not entirely tried to prevent them from knowing danger and hardship, but she had tried to make things easier for them.

But they seemed happy, mostly. They did well in school, they liked all of their extracurricular activities — the drum lessons from Rio currently holding first place — and they got on well with the therapist they had been seeing since they were five.

The last thing Agatha ever wanted to be was a bad parent. Well, guardian. She had sworn to herself a long time ago that she would never treat any child in her care like her mother had treated her. Evanora Harkness had been a cold, manipulative bitch, obsessed with appearances. Agatha tried to simply accept the boys, to let them know they were loved and cared for, and to let them make decisions for themselves where possible. Obviously she had the right to overrule anything extreme or dangerous, but she wanted them to have freedom.

When Tommy decided a year ago that he wanted to call her just Agatha, she had allowed it. Billy still called her Aunt Agatha. Both choices were fine with her.

She had noted slowly, over the last few weeks, that both boys had settled on what they preferred to call Rio. She had thought at first they were both just saying Rio, but when she had listened more carefully, she had realised that Billy was saying Tio sometimes. When she had asked him why, he had shrugged.

"You're my aunt, and she's my tio," he had said, as if it were obvious.

"Why?"

"Cause she speaks Spanish a lot."

Agatha had thought to ask Rio if the choice of a masculine word bothered her at all.

"With my whole gender thing? No way. I think it's kinda cool, actually."

So, that was that. The boys had managed to fit Rio neatly into the scheme of the family, and Rio seemed happy with her place in it.

Maybe things were working. Maybe it would all be okay.

"Agatha! Good to see you again. And you must be Rio."

Rio had sidled into the room quietly after Agatha, and she nodded to Monica shyly.

"Yup."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to join us."

"Agatha said maybe there was some stuff to talk about. I wanna help her."

"That's excellent. Why don't you both just take a seat?"

Agatha took Rio's hand and led her over to the low, plush couch at the far side of the room.

"So," Monica said, closing the door, "Agatha. How've things been this week?"

"Pretty good. We had a guest last weekend, just for a few days. An old friend."

"Nice. A good experience, I hope?"

"Yeah, actually. It was really good."

"Glad to hear it."

Monica pulled her chair around and sat down across from them.

"So, Rio. I have to admit, I've been interested in meeting you."

"Yeah?"

"You come up quite a bit in our visits."

"Hope mostly in a good way"

"Very much so."

Agatha felt Rio squeeze her hand softly, and she returned the pressure.

"I do first want to say that Agatha has given me complete consent to discuss these things with you; is that correct, Agatha?"

"Totally correct," Agatha nodded.

"Rio, the reason I asked if you'd join us today is because some things have come up in session that pertain particularly to your relationship with Agatha, past and present. I feel discussing these matters with you in this environment could be useful in Agatha's therapy."

"Like I said, I wanna help Agatha. I'm glad to be here."

"Mm-hmm. Agatha and I have discussed your divorce quite extensively. That it was precipitated by many factors; especially, she feels, by the loss of a child."

Rio nodded.

"Nicky. I... A lot of relationships break up over that sort of thing."

"They do, yes."

"There was so much going on, then, but I have to agree with Agatha that losing Nicky was... It was the worst."

Monica shifted slightly in her chair.

"Agatha has stated that your recent reconciliation began with a somewhat traumatic incident regarding Nicky."

Rio nodded slowly.

"We... It was a couple months ago now. A friend and I paid Agatha a visit to discuss some business stuff. I... I overstepped a pretty big boundary without totally realizing it, and I hurt Agatha in the process."

"There's the first issue I want to discuss. Agatha has stated that she feels guilty about her reaction to the incident."

"She shouldn't. I went into a room without her permission, and I hurt her by doing that. She's allowed to be upset with me. Even angry."

"What exactly led you to cross the line?"

"I... I just wondered what she had done with this one room — the room we had been setting up to be the nursery while we were expecting Nicky. I thought she must have done something with it, and I was curious."

"And when you discovered it unchanged?"

"I was sorta shocked. I mean, I know how much losing the baby hurt her, but I thought... I mean, she's always had it more together than I do. I figured she would have at least put away the crib and things."

"Are you bothered at all that she didn't?"

"No! No, of course not. That... She was the mother of our baby. She's allowed to mourn him however she needs to, as long as she needs to."

"Mm-hmm."

"And I... I should never've gone in there, but I... I dunno. I miss him too, or really I miss the life we were planning as a family. I wondered if maybe the room was something new now, but maybe she still kept something of him in there. There were pictures they took of him in the hospital for us, and he... We had him cremated. I dunno. It was a dumb thing to do, going in there."

"Agatha, would you like to say something to Rio about this?"

"Rio, it wasn't dumb of you to want to go into Nicky's room. I overreacted. You lost Nicky too."

"You were his mommy. You told me after that his room is a sacred space for you, and I violated that. I hurt you."

"Why can't it be a sacred space for you too?"

"Because it's yours. Because you had to carry death in you for a little while, and you suffered that. Because it's my fault you could have died with him."

"Rio," Monica cut in, "why do you say that?"

"Because I should have done more when Agatha was feeling unwell a few days before we knew what happened. I should have made her go to a hospital or something."

"Agatha's told me you did try to encourage her to go to a doctor."

"Sure, tried. But I didn't push her. Maybe if I had... Maybe Nicky would still be gone, but it would have been easier on her physically."

"Why do you feel it was your responsibility to get her to seek medical help then?"

"Because we were married. Because even before that, I always said I'd protect her, and that when we had kids, I'd protect them too. I failed her. I failed our son. I was a bad partner."

"Rio, you were never a bad partner," Agatha said.

Rio shrugged.

"Sure I was. I didn't do enough, and now you have to hurt forever because our baby died."

"Did you keep any mementos of Nicky for yourself, Rio?" Monica asked.

"Oh, no. Those I left with Agatha. She needed them so much."

"I feel like I've hoarded Nicky away from you," Agatha said.

"No, princess. No. You needed those things. You were hurting. You needed them."

"We never grieved together properly."

"Sure we did. We cried together in the hospital that first night. We cried together later on back home a little."

"But I never let you mourn him! I never... I made it all about me."

"It was all about you," Rio shrugged.

"Do you miss Nicky?"

"All the time. Every day."

"So how is it fair to you that I kept every little bit of what we had of him for myself?"

"You didn't keep everything. I have pictures of you pregnant. Any time I want, I can look at those and remember how much we loved him. How much we wanted him. How much it hurt when he had to go away."

"I didn't even let you keep a share of the ashes after he was cremated."

"Well, he was so tiny, there wasn't much. You needed him. You needed what remained."

"Why? Why don't you deserve him?"

"I do deserve him. He was mine too. But I have the memories. I have the pictures of you. Agatha, some people need a physical reminder of things. You need that. For me, most of it is in my head."

"If Nicky's room is my sacred space, why don't you deserve a space?"

"I have it, Agatha. My heart is my sacred space, because it's full of my love for you and Nicky."

"Hey."

Rio looked at her, smiled, and went on with the work.

"You okay, princess?"

"Mm-hmm. Can you come with me for a minute?"

"Sure. Yeah."

Agatha took Rio's hand and led the way upstairs, to the door of Nicky's room.

"You have the right to go in, Rio, if you want to."

"It's okay, mi ángel. I don't want to disturb..."

"You won't disturb anything. I know you won't. I trust you, Rio. Always have."

"That's your place, though. It... It was his..."

"And maybe it won't always be. What if we have another baby? They'll need a room, and we'll want them close to us. Someday, this might not be Nicky's room anymore. While it still is, you have a right to go inside. You have a right to remember the time we spent planning and preparing. You painted the walls. You assembled the furniture."

"You carried our son. You nearly died with him. I... You're the one who suffered all that pain."

"Please, Rio. Please? Come with me in there and maybe we can talk? Or... We don't have to talk."

Agatha opened the door and entered, then looked back to see Rio in the doorway, seemingly afraid to enter. Holding out a hand, Agatha smiled.

"C'mon, my love."

"It'll hurt you..."

"No. No it won't. I love you. I trust you."

Rio stepped into the room slowly, eyes fixed on the floor as if looking around would result in death. She reached out and took Agatha's hand, allowed herself to be pulled into a hug, and sighed.

"Okay?" she whispered.

"It's okay, my love."

It hurt to be in this room and to think about what had happened, but now, with Rio, the pain seemed less sharp.

"Do you remember him?" Agatha asked.

"Course I do. I remember how... I remember he was so, so tiny. So perfect."

Agatha rested her head on Rio's shoulder.

"He was a beautiful baby," Rio whispered, "and we loved him so much."

It was so difficult not to cry, but Agatha was determined, for now, not to. She was not going to make this about her. Not again. But it was so difficult. So painful. She felt her legs almost buckle as a sob tore through her, and then they were sitting on the floor, much as they had that day a few months ago, Agatha on Rio's lap.

For a long time, they wept together.

"Why not Lilia, though? She was in a few bands back in her day. Hell, she filled in with my mom's band during the Salad Days tour back in '82."

Agatha looked at Alice and smirked.

"I mean, do you think she can still keep up? She's no spring chicken."

"Besides," Rio mumbled, mouth full of noodles, "how do we work her into the lore?"

"Oh, I dunno," Alice snarked, "however will we work a new member into our totally sane and not at all weird band lore, Death Herself?"

"Hey. We were edgy teens when we came up with this shit. Gimme a break."

"I guess Lilia's an option," Agatha allowed, "if we can talk her into it."

Alice stretched her arms over her head, cracking her knuckles in the process.

"Lemme handle it. She can't say no to me, since she's basically my second mom."

Rio opened her mouth to comment, but Agatha discreetly nudged her knee under the table.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Agatha nodded.

Later on, in the car, Rio reached over and took Agatha's hand.

"Doll?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you really wanna go through with this?"

"With what, the reunion? Of course I do. Even if I didn't, things are already in motion."

"Okay. Okay. Just checking in."

"Do you wanna go through with it?"

"Love, I was the first one on board. I'm ready to rock this shit."

"Mmm. Now there is the person I fell in love with. The tough go-getter."

"I was a pathetic, underachieving loser in high school."

"No you weren't. And when it came to the band, you never failed to give it your all."

"In between giving you my all," Rio said with a wink.

"Yes, well, those were wild days."

"Billy?" Agatha gasped, already rolling out of bed and throwing on her robe.

The younger of the twins was right outside the door of their bedroom, crying his heart out, by the time Agatha reached him.

"Billy? Baby, what's wrong?"

The boy sobbed and wailed incoherently, even as Agatha led him into the room and had him sit on the edge of the bed. Glancing out into the hall as she went to close the door again, she saw Tommy, blinking sleepily.

"Is Billy okay? He just started screaming."

"Probably just a nightmare, buddy. Can you go back to bed?"

"I wanna see Billy."

"Okay. Okay, come on in."

Rio was sitting beside Billy, a hand gently patting his back and whispering.

"Tranquilo, hijo. Aquí no pasa nada malo. Estás a salvo, hijo. No tengas miedo."

Agatha went and joined them, sitting on the other side of Billy.

"Billy, what happened?"

"Mommy woke up! She was still all funny colors and cold but she woke up and she was gonna hurt me!"

"Billy, your mom never would have hurt you. She loved you so, so much. She would never hurt you."

"T-Tommy says if she loved us she wouldn't be dead. If she loved us she wouldn't have taken drugs and died."

Agatha looked at Tommy, standing in the corner and scuffing his foot on the carpet.

"Tommy, did you say that to your brother?"

"Yeah," the boy shrugged.

"Why would you say that?"

"'Cause it's true. If she loved us..."

"Your mother loved you with her whole heart! Her taking drugs had nothing to do with you. She was sick. She tried and tried to get better, but for some people... Well, some people just can't stop."

Tommy continued to stare at the floor. Agatha put her arm around Billy and hugged him close, trying to calm him down. To her surprise, Rio went and crouched beside Tommy.

"You know, Tom, your mother was actually a good person."

"'S a lie."

"No, it's not. I knew her a long time. She was kind, and smart. She just had problems. Everyone has some problems, sometimes. Different people do different things about problems. Some people run away, some people fight. Some people try to hide in different ways. Your mom tried to hide by taking stuff so she wouldn't have to think about her problems. But that doesn't mean she was a bad person, or that she didn't love you and Billy more than anything."

Tommy looked at Rio, then at Billy and Agatha, then back at the floor.

"If people really love you, they don't go away."

"Hey. Sometimes people go. It's what happens. They leave, or they push you away from them, or they die. It doesn't always mean they don't love you, or that they never did. It just means things change."

Rio shifted from crouching to sitting.

"When I was a baby, my dad got real sick and died, and my mom was so hurt that she couldn't really take care of me. For a long time I lived with my grandma, until she died because she was very old. Then I lived with a lot of different people until I was old enough to sort of be on my own. My mom got to see me, sometimes, but she was never well enough to take care of me. I still know she loved me."

"How?"

"'Cause she told me, every time we got to see each other."

"People can lie."

"Sure. But I don't think my mom was lying. She always sent me things for birthdays and stuff when she could, and she always wanted to see me. She just wasn't great at being a mom."

Tommy sort of sagged in place, then sat on the floor beside Rio.

"I miss Mom," he whispered, and then burst into tears.

"Okay. It's okay to miss her. It's okay to miss people. And it's okay to love someone, even when they're gone."

Both boys cried themselves back to sleep, and Rio carried them one after the other back to their beds, Agatha following after to see that they were properly tucked in.

"Our poor boys," Rio said as she and Agatha returned to bed.

"You're so good with them," Agatha said, "especially Tommy."

"Yeah, well, I know what it is to be an angry kid who thinks the world is out to get 'em."

"Still feel that way?"

"About the world? Ah, sometimes. But you know, since I came home, I feel it less and less."

Agatha had awakened quite suddenly from some troubling dream she could now scarcely recall. When she found the other side of the bed empty, she panicked at first. Then she remembered the packages that arrived that morning and decided to check for Rio downstairs.

Rio's kit was pretty small and standard, at least as it had been brought from her former apartment. In the old days, when they had first lived in this house and the rec room was not yet a rec room, she had kept a full kit duplicating her live performance set-up there, but she sold off or gave away a lot of the extra pieces during and after the divorce.

Lately, she had purchased a lot of new gear again, and so it was that Agatha found her in the practice room, moving things around.

"Are you all right?"

Rio looked up from her work and nodded.

"I'm good. You?"

"I'm fine, but... Rio, it's three in the morning. Why are you working on this right now?"

"No reason. Just not tired."

The set-up was still not as extensive as what she would be using on the tour, but it definitely was beginning to come close. Agatha went and lightly tapped her fingernails on the edge of the small gong.

"For 'Westward Driven' I presume?"

"Uh-huh," Rio nodded, "and that new bit we worked out for... For one of the other old songs."

"You can say the title, you know. I'm not so fragile."

"Fine. It's for 'Lost Forest' too."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"Perfectly. You okay?"

"It's lonely without you."

"In your own room?"

"Maybe I've been spoiled, having you around again."

"Hmm. Well, I'm not tired, but I guess, if it's a matter of keeping my woman from being lonely..."

Rio slid out from behind the kit, getting a gentle grip on Agatha's waist and backing her up against the wall.

"Good boy," Agatha murmured.

Smirking, Rio pressed closer.

"What can I possibly do, love, to ease your loneliness?"

"Kiss me?"

It was fast, hot, a lot like the quick, stolen kisses of their early relationship. Of course, this time they were in their own home and not sneaking around somewhere inappropriate, but there was still a strange thrill to it, like they were doing something forbidden.

"Anything else?" Rio asked, trailing little kisses down along Agatha's jaw and neck.

"I miss having you inside me."

Rio paused, hands working to bunch up Agatha's nightgown.

"You miss that?"

"Of course. The feel of you kissing me, touching me, filling me up. I miss all of it."

"I have been... Doing some of that. Kissing you. Touching you."

"But the last part..."

"Well, didn't wanna rush you."

"Please, you fucked me with a cock the third time we ever had sex. I'd hardly call going back to it rushing."

"We were precocious, weren't we?"

"We were horny teenagers and you lived over a sex toy emporium. We learned quick."

Rio groaned, slipping a hand between Agatha's legs.

"Damn. You're wanting something, mi ángel."

"So why don't we go up to bed and you can give me what I want. That is, if you're in a giving mood."

"Oh, I'm always in a giving mood when it comes to you."

"Lap," she said.

Agatha moved to straddle her and, with no further preamble, sank onto the cock.

"Holy shit," Rio hissed, "don't take your time or anything."

"Why wait? Life is short."

"Just... Just be careful."

For a moment, Agatha cradled Rio's face between her hands and smiled.

"I won't break, my love."

"Won't you?" Rio rasped.

"Not with you. You won't let me."

Then for a moment she moved as if she might leave, but only to shift her legs so that they were wrapped around Rio's hips. This pulled things a bit closer, and Agatha relaxed against Rio.

"When was the last time we just enjoyed this kind of closeness?"

"Total closeness, or only physical?"

"Hmm?" Agatha hummed.

Rio sighed.

"Total was in Japan. The first leg of the final tour. Physical was four days after the divorce was final."

"I never should have let you go," Agatha whispered.

Rio rocked them slightly, hands playing with the ends of Agatha's hair.

"You were so hurt. You pull away from people when you hurt. Just how things are."

"But I never should have pulled away from you."

"That's over. All over. I'm here now."

Then they were just sitting there in the dark, no movement, no frantic desire. Just togetherness. Just peace.

Agatha found Rio in the living room, sitting in her old favorite chair, reading.

"Well, look who we have here," Agatha said.

Rio looked up, looked around, then gestured toward herself.

"Are you talking..."

"About you, yes."

Moving around behind the chair, Agatha ran her hands down over the back to lightly squeeze Rio's shoulders.

"So, it's Saturday."

"Last I checked, yup."

"The boys are off at lessons until after one. Jen and Alice won't be by to discuss the tour until after three. Which means..."

"We should throw a rager of a party," Rio suggested, "and then when the boys get home and discover what we've done, they'll ground us for at least two weeks."

"You absolute weirdo," Agatha sighed, lightly smacking Rio's right shoulder.

"So what were you going for, then?"

"We have almost four hours all to ourselves. We could do anything."

"Anything?

"Anything."

"Great, I'll go get the whips and chains."

"Rio!"

"Joking, mi ángel. Joking."

Putting the book she had been reading on the coffee table, Rio stood for a moment, then turned around and knelt on the chair.

"Kiss me?"

Something about the tone of the question, and the facial expression that went with it, absolutely melted Agatha's heart. Leaning in, she let her lips barely brush across Rio's. As she began to pull away, Rio raised a hand to caress her cheek.

"Beautiful," Rio breathed.

Then the hand on Agatha's cheek slid down to cup her chin, drawing her back in for another kiss. This one was more passionate, yet somehow still felt achingly delicate.

"Rio..."

"Can I take you to bed?"

"I was hoping you might."

"Off, off, off," Rio was muttering, struggling out of her clothes.

"Does somebody wanna get off?" Agatha teased.

"Wanna get you off. Wanna..."

With a grumble, Rio kicked off her sweatpants with enough force to fling them across the room, then focused on helping Agatha free herself from the annoyance of garments as well.

"Easy, my love. We have time."

"Never enough," Rio whispered, leaning down to nuzzle the side of Agatha's neck.

"Has my handsome boy been feeling frustrated? Has she been lonesome for me?"

"Just need you all the time," Rio said.

"Well, we have to take our time where we find it."

"Please can I taste you?"

"I am completely unopposed to that idea, my love."

Rio winked and kissed Agatha.

"Thought you might be."

Then Rio was on the move, kissing her way down. She paused for a while to lightly bite and suck at the skin of Agatha's neck, no doubt doing her best to leave the first mark of their renewed relationship. The sensation got Agatha moaning, and then Rio moved on, pattering a trail of kisses along the collarbones, between the breasts—with another bit of delay to lavish each breast with attention.

"Do you have any idea," she asked suddenly, "how fucking hot you are?"

"I'll take your word for it."

"I mean it. You're just... You're so well put together. Everything's just right."

Agatha stroked Rio's hair fondly.

"Thank you, my love."

"Mmm," Rio grunted, nuzzling her way down along Agatha's abdomen.

Once she reached her intended destination, Rio wasted no time, diving right in, tongue sliding between slick folds, nose bumping Agatha's clit.

"Oh, fuck," Agatha gasped, one hand clutching at the sheets, the other going to grip Rio's hair tightly.

It all felt deliciously right. Rio seemed to still have Agatha memorized, to know all the perfect spots and correct actions to get whatever reaction was most desirable at any given moment.

Slipping three fingers inside, Rio curled them at the same moment she latched on to Agatha's clit and sucked it gently. Agatha's hips shot up off the bed, but Rio maintained contact, keeping up the careful motions even as Agatha's thighs clamped against the sides of her head.

"Fuck! Yes, that... Right there! Don't stop, don't... Yes!"

Agatha trembled, pleasure washing over her, and pulled a little harder on Rio's hair to try and tighten the contact. When the wave passed, her legs fell limp.

"Tan hermosa, mi ángel," Rio said, peppering kisses along Agatha's inner thighs.

Groaning, Agatha released her grip on Rio's hair.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"For what? Love, you know I've never minded things being a little rough."

Rio placed a gentle kiss on Agatha's clit, and Agatha shivered, hips bucking up again.

They paused a moment, took a breath, and then Rio went right back to work, getting two more orgasms out of Agatha before moving up the bed and spooning her.

"Feel better, mi ángel?"

"Mm-hmm. I... I'm so glad I have you back, Rio."

"Missed the sex, huh?" Rio teased.

"I missed you, my love. I missed us."

"Missed you too. So much. God, we wasted a decade, didn't we?"

"We have plenty of time ahead."

"Good. 'Cause we got a lot of lost time to make up for."

Agatha glanced at the clock on the nightstand.

"We've still got a few hours if we really wanna get started."

"Hey, Jen. So, how's every old thing?"

"I don't know. How are you?"

Agatha kept a bright smile on her face. She was only two months older than Jen, but that had never kept her former bandmate from snarking about the age gap as if it were decades wide.

"I'm just great, actually. Why don't we just go join Rio and Alice in the living room."

Leading the way, Agatha found herself still grinning fixedly. This little meeting was going to suck so much.

In the living room, Rio was sprawled in her chair and Alice was sitting at one end of the sofa. Jen made her way to the opposite end of the sofa and sat, posture stiff, a blank expression on her face.

"Hey, Kale," Alice said, "what's shakin'?"

"Alice. Hello."

"Can I get anyone anything to drink?" Agatha offered.

"Water's fine," Alice said.

"Great. Jen?"

"What's your strongest booze?"

"Oh, uh, we don't have any alcohol in the house right now. We do have tea, coffee, soda..."

"Guess I'll just drink what I brought," Jen said, digging in her purse and pulling out a tiny bottle of wine.

"You just... Carry wine around in your purse?" Alice asked.

"Of course."

"Woof. And I thought I was a drunk."

"I run an organic vineyard, Alice. I carry samples of product with me on the off chance I meet someone with good taste and high standards."

"Sure. Totally sounds legit."

"So," Rio cut in, saving the day, "should we get down to business?"

"Good idea," Jen said.

"I think we're all pretty much in agreement about the plan," Agatha said.

"The old songs are getting a lot of airplay again," Rio nodded, "and there's plenty of nostalgia among our original fanbase, besides the fact that kids seem to be into the stuff lately."

"Edgy, gothed out theater kids," Jen scoffed.

"Fans are fans, Jen. New ones, old ones..."

"Look, I'm willing to go along with this shit. New album, best of album, whatever. I'm down for the tour too. But is there any way we can, I dunno, ditch the old witchy trappings and shit?"

"The witchy trappings were the whole gimmick, Jen," Agatha said.

"I just feel like we could extend our reach as far as fans go by toning down the stage personas and shit and going with a more mainstream angle."

"The band is literally called Coven True. The witchy stuff is pretty much baked in."

"So? We could rename the band."

"Kinda feel like that would defeat a lot of the nostalgia vibes shit," Alice muttered.

"Who asked you, booze hound?" Jen snapped.

"Christ, would you guys COOL IT‽" Agatha shrieked.

Everyone froze and stared at her, and a few moments later there was the sound of the basement door opening.

"Aunt Agatha?" Billy called.

Agatha stepped out of the living room and smiled at the boy.

"It's okay, buddy. We're just having a little disagreement up here. You go and play, all right?"

"You sure you're okay?"

"We're all good. We'll be done soon, I promise."

She waited to watch the child return back downstairs, then spun on her heel and returned to the living room.

"Can we try to get through this with a modicum of dignity, please?" she asked.

"Look, all I'm saying is I feel like we've outgrown the whole witchy gimmick," Jen said.

"Well the fans haven't," Rio said.

"She's right," Alice nodded.

Jen sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Then maybe the fans are a lot of..."

"They're our fans," Agatha cut in, "and they want us out there performing and recording again. Our music made an impact on them; we made an impact."

"Fuck, I've gotten letters and shit from fans talking about our music got them through the lowest points of their lives," Rio said.

"Oh, what, someone cried themselves out of a funk over their crush rejecting them when they were 16?" Jen asked.

Rio stared at her.

"It's more than that, for some people. A lot more. Maybe you don't care. Maybe I shouldn't care. But I care. And shit, even with all the hassle and stress, sometimes I miss performing live."

"Besides, Jen," Agatha said, "think of the money. New album, new tour, new merch. And all that sweet, sweet press coverage, during which I'm sure you can find a way to plug your other work."

Silence. Jen slumped back with a sigh.

"I mean, I guess if it's for the fans."

Agatha looked over to Rio and shrugged.

"I have my moments."

They were making dinner, enjoying the peaceful aura that had descended once Jen and Alice left.

"You know, I remember Alice and Jen not liking each other much ever," Agatha said, "especially not as things wound down, but I don't remember there being so much tension between them that it was nearly visible in the room."

"Some people just can't get on together," Rio chuckled.

"Just seems like they've gotten worse with time, is all."

"Well, it's been a while for all of us since we were regularly together. I mean, you and I weren't exactly buddy-buddy for most of the last decade."

The conversation was interrupted by Billy rushing into the kitchen.

"Tommy's throwing stuff again!"

With a sigh, Agatha stepped away from the counter.

"He broken anything yet?" she asked.

"All the glass on the pinball machine."

"Oh, for..."

Agatha and Rio raced out of the kitchen and down to the basement, arriving just in time to see Tommy trying, with all of his might, to tip the pinball machine onto its side.

"Thomas Shepherd Maximoff, don't you dare," Agatha said.

"YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

"Yes I can, and I'm telling you to leave it!"

Tommy frowned defiantly, still trying to push the machine over. Rio crossed the room in a few strides and picked the boy up under her arm.

"That's not something we do in this house, bud," she said.

Tommy flailed for a while, trying to kick Rio in the back or punch her in the ribs. A few hits landed, but Rio showed no reaction as she hauled him over toward the stairs.

"Lemme down! Damn it, lemme down!"

"You gonna chill out?"

"Fuck you!"

"Not the right answer, bud."

He struggled on for a minute more, then suddenly went dead-fish limp, face red with anger. Rio sat on the fourth step, making him sit beside her as she checked to see if he had hurt himself.

"Love," she said to Agatha, "go get the first aid kit, will ya please? Looks like we got some superficial cuts and stuff to deal with."

Puffing out a breath, Agatha trudged all the way up to the main bathroom, gathering up the requested kit and a few other items and carrying them back down.

"Thanks, mi ángel. Now, Tom, you gonna hold still and let me take care of your hands?"

"You don't fucking care about me."

"Yeah I do, actually. Here, lemme see."

Agatha sat three steps above, Billy eventually wandering down to join her, and watched as Rio carefully tweezed a few bits of glass from Tommy's hands.

"Almost done, bud. Just hang in there."

Tommy sat, stone-faced as he always was once he had expressed his outrage as far as he felt necessary. He seemed to not care about any discomfort that might be caused as Rio cleaned and bandaged his hands.

"Gonna be okay, bud. We'll get it all handled."

And then, as Rio closed up the first air kit, Tommy slumped against her side, sobbing. Rio put an arm around him.

"Está bien, hijo. Vas a estar bien."

Setting the kit to the side, Rio stood and helped Tommy up.

"You wanna go rest a while, bud? Think about what happened?"

"Y-yeah."

"Your auntie'll go with you, okay? I'm gonna clean up down here."

Tommy basically flung himself at Agatha. She stayed seated a moment, letting him cry it out, then stood and carried him upstairs.

"Go put on your pajamas, okay? Then we need to talk."

Tommy nodded and padded into the twins' room. Agatha waited in the hall until she heard the boy call to her.

"Aunt Agatha?"

That was a little bit of a shock. He had not called her 'Aunt Agatha' in a year. When she went into the room, she saw Tommy sitting on his bed, still tearful.

"Wanna tell me what set you off tonight, buddy?"

"I... I don't feel good."

"I'm sure you don't. Is that why you got so angry?"

"No. Billy beat me at air hockey again."

"Was he making fun of you?"

"No."

"You just didn't like it that he won?"

"Yeah."

"We've talked about that, haven't we? And you've talked about it with Dr. Chavez. It's not fun when you don't get something you want, but you have to try not to lash out about things."

"I just don't feel good now."

"Tummy ache?"

"A little."

"Headache?"

Tommy nodded.

"Sounds like usual. Wanna lie down until dinner?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay."

Agatha turned and started to leave the room.

"Aunt Agatha?"

"Hmm?"

"Rio's nice."

"She is."

"Will she always stay?"

"I hope she will, buddy. Now, get some rest. I'll let you know when dinner's ready, if you want to eat."

Back down in the kitchen, Agatha finished preparing the meal alone, with Billy sitting at the kitchen table and chattering away about school. When dinner was ready, Billy went and called Rio and Tommy to the table, and Tommy arrived in a hurry, clearly hungry. Rio was a little slower to turn up, wanting to get more of a jump on cleaning up the rec room. When she did arrive, she really only picked at her food, seemingly deep in thought.

After the meal, Tommy went back upstairs, and Billy went to the living room. Agatha and Rio did the dishes together, as had become routine, and then Agatha went to make sure Billy got to bed and that Tommy was all right. By the time she returned down to the kitchen, Rio had disappeared back down to the rec room to continue cleaning.

"Are you all right?" Agatha asked her, standing halfway up the basement steps.

"Yeah. I just... I've never seen the kid that angry before. Like, upset, sure, but angry like that..."

"He's had anger issues for a long time. This is the first major outburst he's had in a while."

"I used to be sorta like that as a kid sometimes. Kinda weird to see it from the other side."

"Want some help down here?"

"I'm good. There's still some glass around. Don't want you getting hurt."

"What if I don't want you getting hurt?"

Rio grinned.

"I've got work gloves. Why don't you go and relax? I'll be up in a while."

"You sure? I could just keep you company."

"You don't have to, love."

"Well what if I want to?"

Rolling her eyes, Rio shook her head.

"Fine. Just... I dunno. Just talk at me, I guess."

So Agatha sat on the steps and talked. She talked about anything and everything: about how the meeting with Jen and Alice had gone, about ideas she had for the new album, about things she needed to pick up at the store the next week. Rio nodded along, sweeping up the glass right around the machine and dumping it in the little trash bin from the corner.

The only time the talking stopped was when Rio took to vacuuming up little bits of glass that had scattered over to the carpeted area of the room. That done, she sighed and removed her gloves.

"I'll take care of the rest tomorrow, best I can."

She looked shaky, her gait more wobbly than usual, and as she moved to walk up the steps, she paused and sat down beside Agatha.

"Tired?" Agatha asked.

"Kinda. I think I just... I dunno. Did I do all right? Ya know, handling Tommy when he was angry?"

"You did great."

"I wanna be good to the boys. They're great kids. I wanna be as good with them as you are."

"You're wonderful with them. They both think the world of you."

"Hmm."

Rio sighed, leaning against Agatha.

"I wish... I mean, do you think if..."

"If what?"

"Never mind. Let's go to bed."

"Rio..."

"I just wonder, if we had Nicky, if he had lived, do you think I'd've been a good dad to him?"

Agatha nodded.

"You'd be the best."

"Can you repeat that last bit again? Like the last maybe ten bars?"

Agatha nodded and played the last couple of phrases of the piece again. Rio was listening intently, rocking slightly to the music.

"Anything?" Agatha asked.

"I think... What do you think about chimes over that last phrase and a half? Kind of a throwback to..."

"I know what you mean. Could work, but can you get it together live?"

"Love, you're talking to the person who managed to make it through 85 god-damned consecutive shows doing that insane bell plate and slapaphone part we came up with for 'Hateful and Holy' without screwing up."

"But you were exhausted afterward."

"Sure, but... Okay, I have no defense. I was gonna go with 'I was 24 back then,' and then I remembered I'm 37 now and holy shit what even is time?"

"Time's a bitch, that's what," Agatha said.

Sighing, Rio extricated herself from behind the kit and padded across to the piano, joining Agatha on the bench.

"Time never changes you, mi ángel. You're still as gorgeous as the day we met."

"The day we met I was 16 and having one of the worst acne breakouts of all time."

"And I was 17 with one of the other worst acne breakouts of all time."

Leaning over, Rio kissed Agatha's cheek.

"We were meant to be, babe. You and me. We're eternal or something."

"You're a true romantic, my love."

Rio rested a hand at the small of Agatha's back.

"Hey, um, can we... Can we talk about something?" she asked.

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Remember the last gig of the Pure Spirit tour? The end of the show?"

Agatha laughed.

"Of course. We drove all the fundies even crazier than usual with that little stunt."

That had been quite a night, all right. Playing into the band's witchy aesthetic, Agatha and Rio had gone through a handfasting ceremony live on stage to end the show and the tour. It had been a few years before their legal marriage, but it had, to both of them, been a sign of true intent.

If Coven True had gathered a smattering of haters among certain conservative religious circles before that night, they gained a whole mob of them after.

"I've been thinking about that a lot," Rio said, "and about what we did later to make things official and I..."

"You what, my love?"

Rio was frowning down at the keys of the piano, and then she stood abruptly.

"Stay here a sec, okay? I'll be right back."

"Rio..."

"I'll be right back!"

Sighing, Agatha stood, twisting at the waist a bit to stretch her back. She was seated again by the time Rio returned, a little winded, and knelt by the bench.

"So... I... I've been thinking," Rio repeated, "and I... I mean, if you want, and if you're into the idea..."

Rio was shivering, twitching a little nervously, and Agatha reached out to briefly rest a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, my love. What's all this about?"

"I... I know maybe this is a weird time, and I wanted to do it... I dunno. Better or something. But, anyhow..."

Rio fumbled a small box out of the pocket of her sweatpants, flipping it open as she offered it to Agatha.

"Would you ever possibly consider marrying me again?"

Agatha looked at the ring in the box, then looked to Rio, then back to the ring.

"Is... I... Rio, I..."

"You... You don't have to say yes. Or say anything. If this isn't what you want, or if you..."

"Rio, I want this. I do, so much. But I... I don't know that I deserve it. The ring, the proposal, you. I don't..."

"You deserve the world, Agatha. I probably can't give you that, but I've always wanted to give you as much as I can, every day of my life."

Pulling the ring from the box, Rio slipped it onto Agatha's finger.

"A perfect fit. I mean, it should be. I measured one of the rings you already have, so..."

"Rio, it's gorgeous."

It was a simple partial channel white gold band set with alternating amethysts and emeralds, but there was one stone of a different shade.

"The amethysts are for me, I know, and the emeralds for you, but what's the blue stone in the center?"

"Oh, uh... Th-that," Rio stammered, "can be changed, I..."

Realization hit Agatha.

"Nicky?" she whispered, and Rio nodded.

Their son had been due to be born in September. Sapphire would have been his birthstone.

"Like I said, we can change it if you don't like it," Rio said, eyes downcast.

"No. No, I... Rio, it's perfect. It's us."

Rio was still looking down, and Agatha reached out to stroke her cheek.

"My love, it really is perfect. I love it. I love you."

Looking up at last, Rio smiled.

"You're happy with it?"

"I'm more than happy with it, Rio."

"So, someday, we can get married again?"

Agatha nodded.

"The sooner the better, I'd say. Probably before the tour. Just something quick, so it's all legal."

"Okay. Whatever you want, whenever you want, but... Why before the tour?"

"Well, once we get back, we'll want to take a few months to rest and unwind and get back into a routine, and then..."

Agatha trailed off, half afraid to say what she was thinking.

"And then what?" Rio asked, getting up off her knees to sit on the bench again.

"And then, well, I was hoping we could... Maybe we could think about trying for a baby again."

"You... You're sure?"

"Totally."

"I mean, if... We have some time, you shouldn't feel too rushed, we..."

"Remember how you told me you could remember the first night I ever said I wanted to have children with you one day?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, that may have been the first time I told you, but it wasn't the first time I thought of it."

"No?"

Agatha shook her head.

"So, like, what," Rio said, "you'd been thinking about it a few months before that? A year?"

"I'd been thinking about it almost since the first time we were intimate."

"So, in a way, you've always wanted to have my babies?"

"Basically."

Rio smirked.

"That's kind of flattering."

"Is it?"

"Yeah. In fact, if you're not careful, you're gonna flatter me right out of my pants."

"We should tell the boys about the engagement before anyone else," Agatha said.

Rio just smiled and nodded.

"Of course we'll tell our boys first."

"I just... Don't know how they'll react."

"Agatha, the boys love you, and they get along with me well enough. I bet they'll be happy."

"I hope so."

"Why wouldn't they be? This means we'll always be a family. They ask me sometimes if I'm always gonna stay here, with you and them, and this should prove to them that I fully intend to."

"But they know we were divorced before."

"Sure, but if they worry about that, we'll talk through it with them. They're bright kids. They'll understand."

"I don't think we should tell them right away. Let's wait a few days. Until it's properly the weekend, maybe."

"Hey, maybe we could take them somewhere this weekend. Sort of celebrate as a family, ya know?"

"That could be nice. If they want to."

"Of course. Mi ángel, I would never try to force something on you, or on our boys. You're my family. I love you. I wanna take care of you."

"Rio, you're so sweet."

Agatha felt gentle arms wrap around her from behind.

"Easy to be sweet with you."

"I don't see how. I was awful to you for a good long while."

"No you weren't. You were scared and hurting. You lashed out. It... Everyone gets screwed up sometimes."

"I was still pretty cruel to you."

"Life's been cruel to you, mi ángel. If sometimes some of that old hurt breaks through, I understand it."

"I try so hard to be a good person."

Rio shifted, guiding Agatha to turn around in her arms.

"Love, you are a good person. You're good. Believe that. A lot of people, they wouldn't, couldn't, do the things you have to help those you care about. You're a good person; even good people have bad times."

Agatha leaned into the embrace, closing her eyes as Rio rubbed her back.

"Thank you, by the way."

"For what?" Agatha murmured.

"For saying you'll be my wife again. For taking me back. For... For just everything."

"I should be thanking you for still caring about me after all this time."

"You still care about me. I don't think we could ever stop caring for each other, mi ángel. We were made for each other."

"They might notice it on and ask about it, and if we're waiting to tell them, this'll be easier."

"But I... I don't want your feelings to be hurt."

"That won't be a problem. I know what we have, and I know the promises we make to each other are more than just a ring. I just want things to be easier for you."

So the ring was tucked neatly away, and the boys came home from school and the afternoon and evening went relatively normally.

Except Agatha could feel herself smiling all evening. Not just smiling: grinning. Not that she was someone who never expressed happiness via facial expression, but she knew she did not generally smile this much. Not constantly.

For a while, she figured she was getting away with it. Neither boy remarked on her apparent overwhelming joy, or on the fact that she was acting particularly giddy any time she and Rio made even the most glancing physical contact—their fingers brushing as Agatha passed Rio the peas at dinner nearly led to peas all over the table. No, Tommy and Billy went about things as if it were any other afternoon. It was not until a little after the boys' usual bedtime that either of them mentioned anything.

Even though it was Wednesday, Agatha allowed the boys to stay up a bit later than usual. School was out for the next two days, and so it seemed fine to allow Tommy and Billy to get a little jump on their four day weekend. Around ten that night, Agatha went to tell the boys to get ready for bed at last. She found them sitting on the floor, being assisted by Rio in putting together a massive track for their toy cars.

"See, this part is supposed to go like this," Rio said, squinting at the instructions.

"Then where does this go?" Tommy asked, pointing to a small pile of pieces.

"Uh... I don't know."

Billy looked up and noticed Agatha in the doorway. Standing, he shuffled over toward her.

"You boys should start winding it down and getting ready for bed," she told him.

"Aunt Agatha, are you okay?"

"Of course. Why?"

"You've been really smiley all night, but you act kind of scared and stuff. Like shaking a lot."

"I'm fine, buddy. Just have a lot on my mind."

"Is it scary stuff?"

"Not really," Agatha said, and ruffled the child's hair.

That was partially a lie. She was actually a little scared. Sure, she and Rio had essentially been together again for months, but to get engaged, to be planning to remarry...

"Sure you're okay?" Billy asked.

"I'm fine, sweetie. Go get your PJs. Tommy, you too. Bedtime."

Tommy whined a little, but Rio whispered something to him that seemed to help, and soon he and Billy had gone off to their bathroom to get ready for bed.

"You okay, mi ángel?" Rio asked, standing a little clumsily.

"I'm fine. Honestly. Just a little tired, maybe."

Rio moved closer, her gaze locking onto Agatha's. After a moment, she reached out to take Agatha's hand.

"Are you happy, Agatha?"

"Happy? What's not to be happy about? I'm home with the people I love, I just got engaged to the sexiest drummer on the planet, the band's basically back together. Everything's great."

"And it's going to keep being that way," Rio nodded.

"Hope so."

"It will, Agatha. I'll do everything to make the rest of our lives as happy and wonderful as possible."

"Shouldn't I have a hand in that as well?"

Rio shrugged.

"You already make me endlessly happy, mi ángel. You're so beautiful and loving. You're a great mom to the boys, you're gonna be a great mom to our baby, you... You're amazing."

"Am I?"

"Completely amazing."

Agatha drew in a deep breath.

"I am worried about things, Rio."

"Like what?"

"Like what if everything falls apart again? What if the band implodes, what if I somehow mess up raising the boys, what if I push you away again..."

"You won't. I know you won't."

Rio pulled Agatha into a tight hug.

"What if I can't have a baby?" Agatha whispered.

"You will, love. I mean, remember how easily we conceived Nicky?"

"That was a decade ago. What if there's something wrong? What if it's too late?"

"Well, from what I've seen since we've been back together, your cycle's still right on schedule. Of course, you're probably gonna get everything checked out before we start trying again, right?"

"I'm so scared."

"Don't be. You're fine. We're fine. Even if somehow we don't have a baby, it'll be okay. I don't just want to marry you again so maybe we can start a family. I want to marry you again because I've never once stopped loving you."

"Never?"

"Not once in the twenty years since I first saw you when I turned up to tryout for the band. The moment I saw you, I forgot everyone and everything else in the room."

"So is that why you just sort of sat there behind that borrowed drum kit for two minutes staring at nothing?"

"No. It's why I tripped and almost fell over the drum kit before I could sit down. The staring was an absence seizure. Though the copious drool was pretty much a 50/50 thing."

Agatha laughed.

"I love you so much, you weirdo."

"Okay, let's hastily cobble this shit together."

"Chill, Jen," Alice muttered.

Agatha took a deep breath.

"This is just a little practice, people. See if we still got it. If we still work as a unit together."

Rio muttered something from behind the drum kit.

"What was that, oh love of my life?" Agatha asked.

"I said 'My unit's still got it.'"

"Welp, at least now we can confirm that after twenty years, a part of you still thinks like a teenager. Can we just try the song now?"

This was just a run through of some old material and a couple of the new songs. Nothing too wild. The band was not even technically complete today. While Lilia had agreed to bring herself out of musical retirement to take over for Wanda, she was still busy swapping around her client load so as to be free come the tour.

She was also more than a little peeved they had cast her as The Elder in the band lore, but she did seem to be slowly accepting it.

Agatha would be handling lead guitar today as well as lead vocal, but it was nothing she had not done before. There had been more than a few instances back in the "glory days" when Wanda had been too smashed to even stand on stage and mime along to the backing track and there was no other fill in, so Agatha had taken over.

They struggled their way through 'Linden Tree' and 'On Elder Paths,' but then actually smashed it out of the park with a couple of the newer pieces that were not even technically titled yet. Agatha figured that, on the older songs, experience was making them cocky and no one was acknowledging that most of them had not played these songs regularly in over a decade.

"Wanna do 'Lost Forest' and see what we got?" Rio suggested.

"We can but try," Agatha nodded.

As she turned back front, she noted but did not address a weighted glance that passed between Jen and Alice, and she sighed to herself. Yes, 'Lost Forest' had been the last song they ever played (mostly) live together as the original incarnation of Coven True. Yes, it was the song that Agatha had collapsed during. That did not mean they could never do it again, or that the mere mention of it would wreck her.

The first portion of the song went smoothly. A missed note here, a weird chord there, but they actually kept it together. They got to the bridge, made it through, and Agatha a very basic version of Wanda's old solo before they swung into the last portion of the song.

It was good. It worked. This song had been the theme of the final tour, and it seemed like it had really stuck with all of them. Probably, in Agatha's opinion, because it was one of her better compositions, simple yet elegant.

That or the last live(ish) performance of it had just trauma stamped it into all of their brains.

By the end of the song, the atmosphere had changed a little. Even Jen seemed into this, into the idea of revisiting the old days.

As they were all heading out, they ran into Pietro, Tony, and a few others from Qwyksylvyr.

"Well, what a surprise!" Pietro crowed.

"Yeah, imagine," Agatha said, "the band you conned into getting back together to work as support on your band's comeback tour is rehearsing in the same space."

"Hey, it's not a comeback tour," Tony cut in, "since we never officially called it quits."

"Right, right. How's the dick, Stark?"

Tony stepped back, hands clasped over the front of his jeans. It never hurt to remind him of the excesses that had gotten him tossed from Qwyksylvyr a few years before the band essentially went into stasis.

"I would like to point out," Pietro said, "that I wasn't the only one behind the idea of both bands starting up again."

He nodded to Rio.

"Pete's right," Rio said.

"He was the brains," Agatha smirked, "and you, my love, were the charm."

"I can be charming," Pietro said.

"And sometimes I do good with the thinkings," Rio added.

Everyone froze up for a moment, then descended into a maelstrom of laughter and reminiscence. The antagonism between the groups was an old, baked-in thing the press had started up, when really most of the people involved had been friends since childhood. Playing into the perceived loathing was just a game, even in private.

"Heads up before you guys leave," Tony said, "but there's some press outside, and some fans. Old, old fans."

"Shit," Jen hissed.

"Any clear exits?" Rio asked.

"Bucky went around a while ago. They're mobbing the place. Coven True fans seem to be stationed mostly around the south and east exits, if that's any help."

"It is," Agatha nodded.

The antagonism between the members of the bands was, by and large, a gag, but the fans...

Well, the fans thought it was real, occasionally to dangerous effect.

"East exit," Agatha nodded to Jen and Alice, already texting the driver who had hauled them all here.

"Sounds good," Alice sighed.

Rio, slipping on her sunglasses, went into bodyguard mode, half-jokingly.

"Let's get a move on, people! Secure the package!"

"I'll secure your package," Agatha muttered.

"That can wait, love. Though not too long, I hope."

"Can you two wait until I'm not around to start getting handsy with each other?" Jen scoffed.

Alice laughed.

"What's the matter, Kale? Had enough of walking in on these two in dressing rooms back in the day?"

"Dressing rooms, green rooms, bathrooms, hospitality suites..."

"So we were horny kids," Rio said.

"It lasted well past the time any of us could be called kids, Vidal."

"Sorry you've never been deeply, deeply in love."

"In love. Is that what we're calling Agatha's..."

Alice managed to leap onto Jen's back and cover her mouth with one hand.

"Let's not set Harkness off. She's been known to charge at random."

As they reached the exit, they could see the fans and press massed outside the doors.

"We're doomed," Jen muttered.

Luckily, the driver had the van waiting, and so it was a quick gauntlet to run, signing a few things, posing for a photo or two, and 'no commenting' the hell out of the press. There was very little major misbehavior of a major sort, and they all made it to the car mostly intact, plus a few little gifts fans had handed over.

"Cannot wait to get home," Agatha sighed, leaning against Rio.

"Home, home, home," Rio muttered.

"Kids," Agatha sighed, starting to get up off the sofa.

"Let's tuck 'em in after," Rio said, tugging Agatha back down.

When the film had ended, the boys grudgingly allowed themselves to be awakened enough to go upstairs, put on their pajamas, and be tucked in.

Back downstairs, Agatha started on the dishes from dinner, but Rio stopped her.

"Come on and let's go to bed, mi ángel. I'll do all the dishes in the morning."

"If I let them fall behind..."

"One night won't hurt. C'mon. We had a long day."

Agatha, for reasons she could not fully understand, had decided to delay telling Tommy and Billy about the engagement. She really had meant to do it that first weekend, but some little prickle of fear held her back. Rio had asked, once or twice, when they would tell the boys the news, but seemed to have picked up on Agatha's reluctance and not brought it up again for a few weeks.

Finally, one night as they went to bed, the subject was broached again.

"Think we oughta tell the boys soon?" Rio asked.

"I... Soon." Agatha said.

"Mi ángel, you said you want us to be married before things really ramp up, but that the boys need to know before anyone else. What's going on?"

"Nothing, I just..."

"Do you not want to get married?"

"I do! I swear, I do."

"It's okay, love, if you've changed your mind. I'd understand."

"I haven't. I want to be your wife again. I just... I worry the boys will be upset."

"Why?"

"What if the change in things is too much?"

"I don't think us making things legal will change all that much around here," Rio shrugged.

"But, I mean, the boys... They went through so much, and Wanda... Wanda didn't have a lot of common sense when it came to relationships. Do you know how many times I had to go pick the boys up because she'd overdosed, or nearly so, and when I got to their place I'd find whatever guy Wanda was seeing practically looting the house?"

"Uh, well, I have no intention of looting the place, and you..."

"I just mean that the boys might associate our relationship with memories of that."

"What, did Wanda get engaged to all these guys?"

"Not to my knowledge."

Sitting beside Agatha on the edge of the bed, Rio sighed.

"Agatha, I know how much you want to protect the boys. How much you want to do all the right things. I don't want to do anything to hurt them or you. The three of you are my family. I want Tommy and Billy to feel protected and loved just as much as you do."

Now Rio slid off the bed onto her knees, turning to look up at Agatha and take her hands.

"I swear to you, I will never, ever hurt you, or our boys. Everything I can do to protect you all, I'll do. And if, in the end, you don't want to get married, I understand. I do. I love you with all of my heart and soul. I don't need a piece of paper to prove it."

"Rio, I... I just don't want to fail them."

"You won't, Agatha. You won't. Look how much you've done for them, how much you've helped them their whole lives. Those boys have overcome so much, because you've done everything you can to help them."

Standing, Rio pulled Agatha to her feet and hugged her.

"Whatever you decide, it will be the best decision for all of us."

"It's not just my decision, though, Rio. You're the person I love, we're engaged, and all of it effects you too."

"It does, true. But what effects me most is your happiness. All I've wanted since I was 17 years old is to make you happy."

"All you've wanted?"

"Well, that and a Grammy award. But, a person can't have everything, and by far the more important thing is knowing my woman is happy."

Agatha sighed, resting her forehead against Rio's shoulder.

"You know, it's kind of hot when you call me your woman."

"Oh? See, I figured it bothered you but you were too polite to say anything."

"Trust me, if it bothered me in any sort of negative way, you'd know."

Laughing softly, Rio stroked Agatha's hair and kissed the top of her head.

"Would my woman care to sleep now? Things might seem easier in the morning."

Agatha knocked at the door and peered into the room. Tommy was on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as if deep in thought. Billy, meanwhile, was on the floor, racing cars around the finally fully assembled little track.

"Can you boys come downstairs for just a little while?" Agatha asked.

"Are we in trouble?" Billy countered.

"Not to my knowledge. Should you be?"

"No."

"Good. Anyway, it's just for a little family meeting, all right?"

Tommy sat up and yawned, then got off of his bed and walked to the doorway. To Agatha's great surprise, he hugged her. She hugged him back, ruffling his hair.

"You feel okay, buddy?"

"Yeah."

Once Billy tore himself away from the cars, Agatha led the boys downstairs to the living room, where Rio was waiting, sitting in her favorite chair. The boys went and settled on the sofa, and Agatha sat between them.

"So, you guys know Rio's been living here with us for a few months now."

Tommy and Billy both nodded.

"And you know Rio and I used to be married a long time ago."

"Yuh-huh," Billy nodded, "but then your little baby died and you were both really sad and stuff."

"His name was Nicky," Tommy pointed out.

Agatha closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed the threat of tears.

"A lot of things happened that... That made Rio and I decide we couldn't be married anymore. But now, see, after all this time, we understand that we still care about each other, very much, so..."

Agatha trailed off, looking to Rio for strength. The soft smile and tender gaze she found buoyed her spirit.

"Well, we've realized after all this time that we still love each other. That we really never stopped loving each other. So, we're going to get married again."

"You can do that?" Tommy asked.

"Sure. People have been divorced and then gotten married to each other again before."

"But I thought a divorce was permanent."

"For a lot of people, it is. Rio and I thought it was for us, but it turns out we were wrong. That sort of thing happens."

"If you get married," Billy said, "will you have a new baby?"

"We would like to, one day. But that won't be for a while."

"When are you getting back married?"

Agatha sighed.

"We haven't decided on that just yet, but it'll be soon. And you boys, if you want, can be there."

"We can go to your wedding?"

"If you want. It won't be a big, fancy thing, but we might have a little party after, just for some family and friends."

"Is there gonna be cake?" Tommy asked.

"The greatest cake of all time," Rio nodded.

"Do we get some of the cake?"

"Of course."

The boys looked at each other, then nodded.

"We'll be there, then," Billy said, "since we wouldn't want any cake to go to waste."

"Hmm?" Rio purred.

"Telling the boys. They didn't seem bothered or anything."

"Told you they'd be okay. They're good kids."

Agatha let herself relax in Rio's arms. The boys were long since in bed, but she and Rio had stayed up talking, snuggled together on the sofa.

"Wanna head to bed?" Agatha whispered.

"Depends," Rio said.

"On what?"

"Do we have to go right to sleep?"

"Well, no. We could stay up a little longer. We could talk, or just snuggle, or..."

"Can we practice?"

"Practice what?"

"Me putting a baby in you," Rio chuckled.

"Oh," Agatha said, "that is definitely something I'm willing to consider."

"...and so we're thinking for this next one..."

Rio nodded against Agatha's shoulder, and Agatha nudged her gently.

"Try to stay awake, my love."

"But these setups take so long," Rio whined. "Besides, they're focusing on Alice and Jen right now."

"Sure, but we could be up again any moment."

"I mean, I'm up right now," Rio said, hips bumping forward against Agatha.

"You little shit."

"Aw, but I'm your little shit. Wanna sneak over to the dressing area for a quickie? I'll touch your..."

"Rio, it's time for work now."

"Mmm, but princess, you never minded mixing business and pleasure a little back in the day."

"We were younger then. More prone to risk taking."

"What's risky? Just a quick little sneak away and we take care of each other."

Despite herself, Agatha pressed back against Rio, teasing a little.

"When we get home," she murmured, "you can take me to bed first thing, okay? We'll have an hour or two."

"Promise?"

"Promise, my handsome boy. Now, be good."

"Yes ma'am."

"Come on, slugger," Agatha said as they walked in, "let's get you some fuel and put you to bed."

"You comin' to bed with me?"

"Yes, I am. Now, what do you want to eat?"

Rio leaned against the kitchen table and there was a look on her face that immediately tipped Agatha off that this was about to be more than regular upset.

"I... I didn't like that photographer. I didn't like some of those setups."

"Rio, it's just promo stuff. You know that."

"Felt like he was mocking us. Mocking you. Mocking..."

Rio's words cut off, her hands white-knuckled on the back of a chair.

"Rio..."

"He... He was making a mockery... A mockery of our boy."

There had been three setups at the shoot that, in posing and props, had clearly been meant to reference the loss of Nicky. It had hurt Agatha as well to see that, but she had soldiered through because that was what you did. Rio, however, clearly was not ready to let it go.

"My love," Agatha said, "we have final approval on photos. If we nix all of the ones that..."

"They'll still be out there! The guy shoots digital. Everything gets out from digital. I won't have... I won't have you hurt like that! I won't have us hurt like that!"

Rio was so upset now that she had rocked the chair up and down about a half inch on the last few words for emphasis. Her eyes were also going glassy in a way that Agatha did not like.

"Living room, now," Agatha said, and actively steered Rio there by the shoulders.

They reached the room just in time, Rio's legs buckling as she stepped onto the carpet. Agatha managed to carefully lower her to the floor and get a pillow under her head before everything fully got underway.

It was a short seizure, barely over two minutes, and as Rio came out of it, wheezy and confused, she curled into a fetal position.

"Sleepy," she rasped.

"Okay, my love," Agatha whispered, "you can sleep if you need to."

"Where are we?"

"We're home. You're safe. You had a seizure."

"Did Nicky see?"

"What?"

"Sorry if I scared him."

"Can you get up, my love? Here, I'll help."

Agatha eases Rio into sitting up, then eventually to her knees, and they shuffled together to the sofa. Rio scrambled onto it by herself, curling up into a fetal position facing the back of it.

Rio has said a lot of odd or illogical things in postictal confusion, but to Agatha's own knowledge, this is only the fourth time she has mentioned Nicky in a manner implying he is alive.

Once was after a seizure two weeks after they lost him. Rio had that one in the kitchen, trying to make tea for Agatha. Luckily, a friend had been over and had taken charge so Rio was not injured. In the aftermath, Rio was more worried that Agatha would be upset and that could "hurt our boy."

The second time was at a meeting to discuss terms of the divorce. Agatha had been the one to notice Rio looked like a seizure was oncoming and had scrambled to help her, guiding her from her chair down to the floor. After, Agatha had stayed down with her and rested Rio's head on her lap, and when Rio asked what was happening, where they were, Agatha told her: "You had a seizure. We're in this place to talk about the divorce, remember?" And Rio had gotten all weepy and said she was sorry, what had she done? Was Agatha still going to let her see Nicky after the divorce? "He's just a baby. What if he's scared I don't love 'im anymore?"

(Agatha's lawyer had accused Rio of faking that seizure as a sympathy seeking maneuver and Agatha had fired the guy on the spot, then hired another. What she should have done, she realized now, was 86 the idea of a divorce altogether.)

Bucky recently told Agatha, in passing conversation, about the immediate aftermath of Rio's big seizure, the one that brought her home in the end.

"She kept saying she had to get home, that you would be upset if she was late for dinner. You and Nicky."

And now this. Clearly, Nicky was persistent enough in Rio's mind that if he had been a focus of her thoughts recently before a seizure, the idea of him lingered after.

It hurt Agatha like hell to think of Nicky, but she did so often, remembering the plans they had for him, the life they wanted to give him, wondering what he would be like now as a kid, if he would get on with Tommy and Billy. Clearly, Rio thought of their son too. He was the one thought neither of them could shut out.

They were run ragged for weeks. The press had gone nuts now that Coven True were confirmed to be reuniting, and everyone wanted some scoop, some exclusive. It was especially bad once it became more widely known that Rio and Agatha were an item again, and once Agatha's new ring had caught some attention. The fans were going nuts online, and a particular type of wacky fan mail had started to be prevalent again.

Once upon a time, they had decided it was funny to have copies of some of the weirder mail forwarded to them from the service. Nowadays, however, some of the messages were painful.

"Another sixteen letters from some of the more into it fans," Rio grumbled.

"More apologies about casting spells back in the day to cause our breakup?" Agatha asked.

"Mostly. And a few... Well, a few of the real shit ones."

Agatha knew precisely what that meant. She stopped by the table to look down at the selection of mail, and Rio leaned over, her head against Agatha's hip.

"Christ," Agatha said, "maybe Jen's right. Maybe the fanbase are insane."

"Well, some of 'em are kooky, at least," Rio nodded.

"We probably should have them just stop forwarding these."

"But the kooky mail used to be fun," Rio sighed.

"Sure, but it... Well, with everything happening, we don't need more stress."

Agatha stroked Rio's hair, getting a throaty growl in response.

"Well, someone's happy today," Agatha teased.

"Happy with you. Just sleepy."

Rio had been through another medication adjustment, and she was still settling in. She had been quieter than ever lately, even contemplative, prone to wanting to spend every moment of available free time with Agatha and the boys as a family.

"Wanna take a nap, my love? You know you can."

"Not without you."

"I'll cuddle you if you want."

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I'm bad. I'm bad at everything."

"Rio, you're not bad. You're just tired. I'm tired. We're all tired. Frankly, we should be taking whatever rest we can get."

"So many things to do."

"I know. Make you a deal. You come and take a nap with me, and later we can, I dunno, ritually burn these in the fireplace."

"Can we toast marshmallows over the flames?"

"Why not? Feels nice and ritual to me."

"And can we have cocoa?"

"Sure."

"And popcorn?"

"Is this a ritual purging of weird fan mail or some sort of youth group campout we're planning?"

"I just really like popcorn," Rio groused.

"Fine, fine. Marshmallows and cocoa and popcorn while we ritually burn the kooky fan mail."

"Huzzah."

(But they were fair; they were fair! They let the boys have popcorn, plus cocoa with marshmallows, before bed, under the guise of snacks for family movie night.)

They burn all the copies of letters saying that if Coven True gets back together, spells will be cast to ensure the failure of the new album and of the tour.

They burn all the copies of letters saying that spells had been cast back in the day leading to the dissolution of the band and of their relationship.

Most gleefully of all  they burn all the copies of letters from fans who claim to have, out of jealousy or strange misplaced outrage, cast spells which led to the loss of Nicky.

Their child was with them, unborn, for most of five months. Then something went wrong, and the potential of his life was halted, and Agatha's body forced out a tiny corpse. As much as Agatha and Rio, down the decade since, have blamed nature and time and themselves for Nicky not being able to live, they have not truly blamed each other, nor have they truly blamed others.

To see strangers, people who have enjoyed their music and their performances, people who have claimed to admire or even adore them, take responsibility for the loss of something, of someone, so badly wanted, is somehow almost as painful as the years of self-doubt.

To see strangers admit they were so jealous of the love that Rio and Agatha shared, that they wished so much they had such a love, or a chance to themselves somehow disrupt that love, they did things which, in their belief and practice, might be considered a way to shrivel the fruit of love, is like a small shockwave to the soul.

Almost as bad are the ones who admit that their fear Nicky's existence would hamper the band's recording and touring schedule led them to call upon powers they believe in to destroy something that total strangers so badly desired to know. Even at the time the problems between personnel were well known to be leading to the slow demise of the band. Losing Nicky was just the final, agonous strike that made both Rio and Agatha know it was time to move to a new phase in their lives.

Their child was with them, unborn, for most of five months. Two weeks after they announced to the world his impending arrival—oh, how careful they had been before that to hide signs of him, all of Agatha's costumes cut and fitted to conceal the slowly growing bulge of her belly, to keep sweet secret the joy that they knew—something went wrong.

There was pain, and blood, and terror, and a tiny corpse wrapped in a surgical towel. There were two people, already knowing themselves to be parents, torn apart inside over having a precious treasure, a little someone who would be a mark of how deeply they loved each other, ripped from them before they could truly know him.

For strangers to lay claim to any part of that, to any part of Nicky, his existence, or the end of his existence, was like being gutted with some ancient blade, dull and rusty, so that those strangers could plunge in careless hands and pull out their innards to pass around like party favors.

By the end of their little ritual, Agatha and Rio both felt less heartsick, though quite messy from the marshmallows and the weeping. They went together and showered, then took to their bed thinking that they might find some shred of comfort in closeness and affection and sleep.

"Think we need to take that one again," Bucky said from behind the board.

"What was..."

"You were about a half-beat off on the last few bars."

"Can I just... Can we take five?" Agatha asked.

"Sure thing."

Pulling off the headphones, Agatha racked them and headed out into the hall. Rio was there, settled back on one of the little alcove benches and bullshitting with Alice, who was leaning against the far wall.

"You okay, mi ángel?" Rio asked, standing and guiding Agatha to sit where she had been.

"I just... Feel off. Something's missing in this new song. The vocal... I can't nail it."

Leaning forward, elbows on knees, Agatha buried her head in her hands.

"Maybe I'm washed up. Maybe I can't..."

"Oh my God, you're not washed up," Alice scoffed.

"She's right," Rio nodded.

"How would you two know?"

"Agatha, I've known you since we were ten years old," Alice said, "and I know how you get when you're down. You'll figure it out."

Turning, Alice wandered off along the hall.

"If you need me, I'll be waiting outside of B to torment Jennifer when she's done with that new bassline."

Agatha snorted out a laugh, leaning back against the wall. She heard Rio laughing as well, and looked up.

Rio looked so well today. She had settled in from the newest med adjustment at last, and since they had been in the studio with most of the old gang back together, she had seemed so lively. Her energy, her exuberance, made Agatha's heart feel light.

"You feel a little better?" Rio asked.

"Mm-hmm. Wanna... Go get a soda or something?"

"Or something," Rio murmured, stroking Agatha's hair.

Standing, Agatha took Rio's hand.

"G's empty, I think. C'mon."

Now they lay on the floor in an empty booth, Rio's jacket spread under their heads as a pillow. They were half-clothed and lost to bliss, kissing now and then, mostly just enjoying the closeness of the moment.

"I fuckin' love you," Rio whispered.

"And I fuckin' love you," Agatha chuckled.

Rio sat up suddenly, looking down at Agatha.

"Can... Can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"I... You know how some of my seizures, I mention Nicky when I'm still out of it after?"

"Mm-hmm. Are you..."

"Nah, I'm okay now. Just... It's just..."

Reaching for her jeans, Rio flopped back down next to Agatha and slid them on.

"He changed a lot about us, before and after he... He had to go away. Like, he... A while after we lost him, even though he never... He never took a breath, he never cried, now when a seizure's coming on, I think... I think I hear a baby crying. And part of me always thinks it's our boy. Our Nicky."

They held each other a while longer there on the floor, crying a bit, until Agatha's phone buzzed.

"We... We have to go back. Bucky wants to try that vocal again."

Rio nodded, smoothing Agatha's hair back from her face.

"Sorry I got all sad and shit."

"It's all right, Rio. I'm glad you told me."

"I just... I didn't wanna keep it from you."

They helped each other up, and Agatha slumped back into her slacks.

"Back to the salt mines," she muttered, and Rio draped an arm around her shoulders as they left the booth.

"Nervous?" Agatha whispered.

"As shit," Jen said.

Alice nodded, arms crossed.

"Feels like I'm gonna piss myself, and I'm not even drunk this time!"

"I cannot believe you... You youngsters talked me into this!"

The three of them turned and looked to Lilia. The older woman was pacing nervously around the dressing room, hands shaking.

"You'll be fine, Lil," Rio laughed.

"I haven't been on a stage to perform in 38 years! Literally longer than you've been alive!"

Rio had been slouched comfortably on a couch, but now she stood and went to pat the agent on the back.

"You'll do great. I have faith in you."

"It's faith in myself I need!"

Ignoring her, Rio crossed to Agatha, hugging her from behind.

"How are you not nervous about this?" Agatha asked.

"Oh, doll, I'm nervous as hell, but the energy does me good. Plus, remember, this is a stripped back show with mostly old fans. This is nothing compared to what's coming up on tour."

"How reassuring."

"Tell you what," Rio whispered, her breath hot against Agatha's neck.
"When we get home tonight, we'll take a nice, hot shower together, and then I'll take you to bed and fuck any leftover tension out of you. Pound you straight into the..."

"You're whispering really, really loudly," Jen said, glaring at Rio.

"Aw, Jennifer, do you envy the happiness Agatha and I share?"

"Not a bit, you sick fuck."

Chuckling, Rio nuzzled against the side of Agatha's neck.

"We get through this," she muttered, "we're one step closer to getting through the tour. To all of this being past. Then it's just you and me and the kids, happy and settled. Fuck, I love you."

"I love you too," Agatha sighed, and felt Rio reach down and squeeze her hand.

Someone came along to conduct them to the stage, and for a moment Rio hugged Agatha a touch tighter.

"Agatha, you are my love. My life."

And then they were rushing to their places, waiting for their moment to begin.

There was a rumble from the crowd beyond the sheer curtain, crackles of conversation, an energy that Agatha realized she had missed for a decade. Sure, her solo shows had lively crowds, including a share of the old Coven True crowd, but the feeling tonight...

Electric.

They were announced with a level of bombast that none of them had perhaps anticipated, and the lights came up around them, the audience going wild. They powered straight into 'Gate Through Time'—the label had decided this was to be the sure hit from the new album—and Agatha felt as if she were being powered up, as if the energy of the crowd and her bandmates was giving her a strength she thought she had lost.

As they crashed through the last few bars of the song, the sheers flew up, leaving nothing but air—and the security team—between Coven True and their fans. The crowd was roaring, moving, really getting into things.

"So I take it from your reactions," Agatha purred into the mic, "that a few of you out there are fans."

Rapturous cheering and applause at that. Agatha went on.

"A lot has happened since we all met up. A lot has changed. But I'm glad to say one thing that has remained is how grateful we are for the support and the love that you guys offer us! The coven lives!"

On with the show, a packed list of classics and stuff from the new album plus a few bits that they had thrown together just for live surprises. They dedicated a few songs to old friends; lost friends. Now and then there was a break for banter. The audience loved it, Agatha loved it, and looking around her on the stage, she knew the others loved it too.

"Okay, guys, we got time for one more. Since this is the venue where we played our last live show a decade ago, I think it's fitting we close the show with the last song we ever attempted to perform live. We didn't make it through last time, but maybe this time we got it. This one's for Nicholas. We love you, baby boy."

It sent a little thrill of hurt through Agatha, hearing those opening chords to 'Lost Forest' ring out in this space. Not totally unexpected, but it jolted her as she fell into the song. She sang her heart out, trying in a way to exorcise her vague memories of that last night, and the clearer memories of the video the boys had seen.

When they made it through, actually made it through to the end, she felt tears welling in her eyes and she sort of lost herself to the moment. When she came back to herself, she was backstage with the others, Rio holding her close.

"Amazing!" Jen called out, and for a moment she and Alice hugged as if they could stand each other.

"I remember why I used to love performing now," Lilia said.

"You okay, mi ángel?" Rio murmured close to Agatha's ear.

"I'm okay. You?"

"I'm great. C'mon. Let's pull it all together and head home, okay?"

"Can't believe you married me again," Rio grinned, shutting the bedroom door and moving to join Agatha in bed.

"Well, you asked, so..."

"Yeah, but I... I just can't believe you agreed. That you're really my wife again, that we're really together again and building a life together."

"I think of it as rebuilding the thing that never should have fallen apart."

Turning onto her side, Agatha pulled Rio close.

"I'm so sorry I broke us."

"Sweetheart, that's all over," Rio said, kissing her forehead.

"But it..."

"It's over. We're gonna work hard to communicate, and we're gonna be as happy as ever. Hell, happier. We're gonna live our lives, really live, with the boys right alongside us and... And someday, maybe a new baby or two."

"You're... Really, really okay with the idea of us trying again after the tour?"

"Agatha, if I could get you pregnant right this moment, even before the tour, I would."

The thought made Agatha chuckle, and she ran a finger along Rio's collarbones.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"I, uh... I mean, I don't... Well, fuck, yeah. I would. I don't think you understand how gorgeous you are, or how much more gorgeous you got while you were pregnant. Of course, this time we gotta put it off. Taking no risks, no chances..."

"I know, my love. Thank you so much for caring about me."

Rio shrugged.

"You're the person who matters most to me in this world, Agatha. I want only wonderful things for you. For our family."

They made love slowly that night, and the act felt almost sacred, like their remarriage being sanctified on a deep level. When it was over and Rio spooned against her back, whispering sweet nothings, Agatha fell asleep feeling that the future was assured.

In the end, Vis knew their old shows, and he helped design the new shows because, asshole though he may be, he knew his stuff.

Still, Agatha could never forget that he had been one of Wanda's major suppliers back in the day. She could never forget Wanda insisting that it was love when everyone else could see that, to Vis, it was a semi-regular hookup that made him a little cash on the side. Most of all, Agatha could not shake the memory of the last time, to her knowledge, that Wanda had been around Vis. She had been missing for days a few months after the end of the final tour and Agatha had found her at Vis's place, drugged out of her mind and clearly having been badly used, probably not just even by Vis.

At least Vis still showed no interest in the boys. The one time, just before this tour started, that Pietro convinced Agatha to sit down and discuss them with Vis, the reaction had been... Poor.

"Why the fuck would I wanna know Wanda's brats?"

"Because they're likely your sons," Agatha explained.

"Prove it. Show me a paternity test."

"Wanda was in love with you, Vis," Pietro said.

"Sure. And she was a junkie slut who would do anything for her next fix. Those little shits could be anyone's. Not my problem."

Agatha had wanted to deck the guy, or at least scream at him, but something held her back. She had seen Pietro as they walked away, fists clenched at his sides, also clearly wanting to further confront the asshole and defend Wanda's honor, but he too restrained himself.

Still, otherwise the beginning of the tour went as it should. They performed, did press, and slept a lot. The shows had a new flare, a feel that was at once up-to-date and fresh, yet still comforting.

Tommy and Billy were adapting quickly to life on the road, thanks to Sharon's ever-calming presence and the rapport they developed with May Parker, their new tutor. Agatha had been so worried about the disruption to routine, but the boys seemed to be thriving. On off days, she and Rio made the effort to spend as much time with the boys as possible, taking them to museums and exhibitions and anything else interesting, with Sharon and May along for the ride.

It was four stops into the initial U.S. leg of the tour before Agatha and Rio began to worry in earnest. There had already been a number of sobriety slip-ups among members of Qwyksylvyr, but now Agatha at least was convinced that Alice was drinking again. Rio was a little leas inclined to be definite about it, but she agreed something was up.

Alice had been groggy in a weird way in the mornings, a way that reminded them both of hangovers she sometimes had in her drinking days. When they tried to gently broach the subject, she swore she was still sober, that she was checking in regularly with her therapist and that she was just having to get used to touring life again. Agatha hoped that was it.

By the sixth stop, Agatha was so sure that Alice was somehow getting her hands on alcohol that she called a meeting on an off day. Alice, Jen, and Lilia trooped into the suite Rio and Agatha were sharing and sat, waiting, while Agatha made certain that Sharon, May, and the boys headed out safely to a museum. That done, she strode back into the suite and looked around at everyone.

"Where are you getting the booze, Alice?"

"Booze? Agatha, I swear to you that I'm still dry. I swear. I haven't touched a drop since before my last time in rehab."

"Seriously? Alice, you've been all dragged out in the mornings, grumbly and glaring in the same way you always used to when you were hung over. Now, we already pre-arranged with every stop along the tour so that there won't be any alcohol in your rooms, and we have Happy go in and check..."

"I'm not back to drinking, Agatha. I don't want to be."

"Then what the fuck is up?"

"I've seen you sneaking into Jen's room more than once," Lilia said.

Agatha groaned.

"Jen, have you been letting her..."

"No way. I know we can't risk that shit. I've been letting her hang out in my room is all, but only when I'm there. We talk, we catch up..."

"But you two could never stand each other," Rio pointed out.

"Yeah, well, we don't have to be able to stand each other to go back to fucking like in the old days," Alice blurted.

Everyone in the room fell dead silent for almost a minute. It was Agatha who at last spoke again.

"Fu... Fucking? You two are fucking?"

At the same moment Rio shook her head.

"You two were fucking? Back in the day?"

Alice and Jen looked absolutely confounded.

"Yeah," Alice said, "Jen and I used to hook up all the time."

"You guys didn't know?" Jen smirked.

Agatha and Rio shook their heads, and Jen laughed.

"C'mon, it was so obvious! We were always sneaking to each other's rooms on tour, sneaking off during recording sessions... You guys honestly didn't know?"

"How were we supposed to, Jennifer?" Agatha asked.
"You two always acted like just being around each other was akin to being set on fire."

"Like Alice said, you don't have to like someone to fuck them."

More silence, and then Agatha turned back to Alice.

"I am so sorry we questioned your sobriety."

"No, I get it. I've fallen off the wagon so much before, no wonder you guys thought something was up."

"So you sneaking into Jen's rooms..."

"Well, the first few times I was tempted to raid her mini bar, but she's kept me pretty well distracted."

The meeting broke up quickly after that, and Agatha slumped on the edge of the bed.

"Shit, I can't believe those two..."

"Stranger things have happened," Rio said.
"Tony says Bucky and Steve are already back at it with their weird games of gay chicken, and apparently Darcy and Thor have a mutual groupie following them from stop to stop."

"Christ. How... How did any of us make it through our youth marginally sane?"

"Maybe we didn't, mi ángel. Maybe we didn't."

After the last Pittsburgh show, everyone was pretty wound up. It had been a good performance, as close to flawless as they had gotten so far on this tour, and the audience had been amazing. Everyone from both bands finally felt like they had at last fallen into the groove of things.

Of course, Agatha was inclined to credit fooling around a little in the dressing room before the show for her own great performance, and Rio's as well. They had not fucked or anything, but they had known they would when they got back to the hotel, and the anticipation made all the difference. They had actually abstained sexually for most of the tour so far, but now the feelings were too high, the tension too strong.

They made it through the lobby, into the elevator, and managed to stay chill all the way up to the right floor. They even made it into their suite, and Agatha stepped through into the other bedroom to check on the boys. When she returned, Rio was in a chair near the bed, watching her walk back in.

"Good. Glad they're doing so well with all of this."

"Oh, I intend to. Fully intend to. But for now, just for a moment, I want to hold you and feel you and breathe you in."

It was wonderful to sit there, being close, feeling the warmth of each other's bodies.

"Wanna hit the showers?" Rio asked.

"I guess we should."

"Yup. C'mon, mi ángel. Let's get cleaned up and then get dirty."

The shower ended up taking longer than intended, just given how desperate they both were for each other. Rio had Agatha back against the wall at one point, fingering her through two orgasms while biting and sucking to mark her neck as thoroughly as possible. Agatha, in turn, managed to get Rio off three times.

"Forgot how hair trigger you get from road stress," she murmured when Rio was leaning against her, panting.

"Oh, this... This is all you, doll. Shit, you still know just what I like."

The minute they got into bed after their shower, Rio was between Agatha's legs, kissing her inner thighs, teasing her with little touches and licks, then suddenly sucking gently on her clit, fingering her in a way that reminded her of their youth, their early days, with a rough, hungry pressure that made Agatha's back arch desperately.

At some point she came, hard, then rolled directly into another climax, and when that one ended she was shaking, so wrung out and feeling a little lost until Rio settled beside her and pulled her close.

"Mi ángel Ágata," Rio whispered, and kissed her cheek, her neck, her lips.

For the hundredth time in the past few months, Agatha wondered how she had ever given this up. How had she ever pushed away this person who clearly loved her so deeply and completely? How had she been so lost in her pain and grief that she could not allow the one person who might have lightened the burden stay with her?

Rio just kept holding her, kissing her, petting her, telling her how beautiful and good and loved she was. It was almost too much, and Agatha burst into tears.

"Hey," Rio whispered, "hey, beautiful, what's wrong?"

"I still can't believe how much you love me."

"Why?"

"I was awful to you so many times. Even before we totally fell apart, I yelled, I picked fights..."

"And most of those were because you thought you'd lose me. Because you thought you weren't good enough. You didn't pick those fights, Agatha. Everyone who hurt you, who told you that you were bad or useless or unworthy, did that."

"But I still let all of that get to me."

"And then you went to therapy, and now look at you. Award winning musical artist, loving mother figure, cherished wife..."

"Had to start over on that last bit," Agatha laughed softly.

"Nah. You were always my cherished wife, even when we weren't married anymore. I thought of you every day, and I hoped you were happy and safe."

"You know, I never stopped thinking of you either."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm. I... I was always asking after you among our mutual friends. There were times I heard you were having a hard time, or were sick, and I wanted to go and check on you, but..."

"You've had your hands pretty full in the last decade. Wanda and the boys, trying to sustain your solo career until it took off..."

"But I could have made time for you. I should have."

"No. No. We were together from the time we were kids. We needed to learn to be apart a bit too."

"How are you so wise?"

Rio shrugged.

"Hard times. You grow up quick in foster care and all that."

Agatha looked into Rio's eyes and saw every hurt, every deprivation, and felt horror at the knowledge she had put Rio through any bad or upsetting time on top of the childhood that had come before. Sure, Agatha's own childhood had been shit, but by the time she escaped her mother, parts of her had hardened over. She had become inured to aspects of the same old pain and abuse day in and day out. Rio had gone through so many years never knowing what might be next.

"I never want to make you hurt again," she said, smoothing back a stray lock of hair from Rio's face.

"You won't, Agatha. I know that because I know what we are. What we have. I'll love you forever, and you feel the same for me. We're meant to be."

Smiling, Rio kissed her.

"We will always find our way back to each other, love. Every time."

Not all of the tour went ideally, of course. Even before they left the U.S. they had the usual SNAFU here and venue issue there. Contract riders were messed up or ignored, there were protests at some performances (the usual split of "Metal music is of the Devil!" folks for Qwyksylvyr and "Witchcraft!" folks for Coven True, with an horrific new little fleet of people accusing Rio of being some sort of sexual predator since she had opened up about her gender identity in the press) and all the usual stuff.

When they hit the international leg, however, things took a real slump. Multiple people picked up some sort of stomach bug on one of the flights to the UK. Luckily they had a three day lay-off before their first show, because there was a swathe of vital personnel down upon arrival. Alice was packed up, Pietro was basically writing his will, multiple roadies were sobbing messes...

And of course there were the extra members of the tour. Tommy and Billy were not the only children along, and several of them got the bug as well. The worst for Agatha and Rio was poor Billy. He lay sadly in the second bedroom of the suite for the first two days, his little body barely able to keep anything in. Luckily, by the third day, he was on the mend like the others, but he still needed to rest.

"We could take just Tommy somewhere for the afternoon," Rio suggested, "since he's getting a little cooped up in here. You've said both boys need some individual time. If Billy's up to it during the lay-off on Belgium, we'll take him somewhere on his own."

"Not a bad idea," Agatha agreed.

"Go ask the boys if they're okay with that and..."

There was a knock at the door connecting their room to the suite living room, and when Agatha answered, Tommy was there.

"Me an' Billy want a family meeting."

"Oh. Well, Rio and I will be right there, okay?"

Tommy nodded and marched back over into the other bedroom.

"Whatcha suppose our boys got in store?" Rio asked.

"Probably lobbying for later bedtimes or shorter lessons or something. Suppose we better go."

When they entered the boys' bedroom, Tommy nodded to Sharon and May, who ducked out to go get coffee. Then he went and took Agatha and Rio each by the hands and made them sit on the little sofa.

"Me an' Tommy been talkin'," Billy said, "and we want some changes."

Agatha smiled and looked to Rio, a what-did-I-tell-you look, then looked back at the boys.

"Well, let's see what we can do about that."

"We figure, since you an' Rio take care of us, since we all live together an' everything, since you two are married..."

"We wanna call you Mom and Dad," Tommy blurted.

Agatha felt a shock go through her, and Rio gripped her hand.

"You boys know you can call us whatever you like, but..."

Agatha trailed off.

"But you don't have to call us Mom and Dad," Rio supplied.

"But we wanna," Billy said, "since Mommy died and our dad doesn't want us."

"Who told you that?" Agatha asked.

"We heard Uncle Pete talking to Steve back in Cleveland. He said Vis is our dad, but doesn't want us. So we figured, our mom died and our dad doesn't want us, but you take care of us and love us like you're our mom and dad."

"Now we know," Tommy said, hands up like a little salesman closing in for the hard sell, "that we're not Nicky who went away. But we could be good sons. We can keep our room clean, and I been workin' real hard on staying calm."

"And I had no seizures the whole tour so far," Billy added.

"Boys, we... Of course we think of you like your our own sons, but you... Well, what if Rio wants to be called something other than Dad?"

"Dad's fine," Rio nodded, eyes wide.
"I can be Dad."

"Good," Tommy nodded, "and if Aunt Agatha wants to be our mom..."

"Boys, of course if you want that... Of course."

Billy smiled.

"And when we get back to 'Merica, you can adopt us. That way, when you have a new baby, we'll completely be the brothers!"

Rio's grip on Agatha's hand tightened just a smidge.

"Okay! Well, I think... Hey, it's sorta rainy outside. Who wants a family movie day?"

Agatha looked at her wife, sort of shocked at how quickly Rio was accepting all of this. Standing, she smiled.

"You boys wait here a minute while Rio and I go and discuss something."

She nearly dragged Rio back to their room.

"So we're just going with all of this? Writing Wanda out of the boys' lives?"

"Agatha, this isn't writing her out. She'll always be their mother. They'll always remember her, and we can always keep her memory alive. This is about the boys wanting to feel secure in our family unit."

"But... But what if I'm no good as a mom to them?"

Rio chuckled.

"You've basically been their mom for most of their lives, mi ángel. Who took custody of them straight from the hospital when Wanda tested positive for drugs when the boys were born? Who was always there to take them in when she OD'd and shit? Who's always, always been there to love and protect them."

Pulling Agatha close, Rio kissed her forehead.

"You're their mom, Agatha. We won't pretend Wanda never existed. Hell, if we get home and the boys still want to be adopted, we can let them keep Maximoff as an extra middle name or something."

"But what if... Rio, we were planning to try for a baby after the tour."

"Yeah. I mean, the boys brought that up."

"What if we do and then they see that as us replacing them?"

"My love, they already said if we have a baby, they want to be its brothers. Just like Nicky'll always be our kid's brother. Moving on isn't forgetting, Agatha. It's looking ahead. You can still hang on."

"And you don't mind them calling you dad?"

Rio shrugged.

"Course not. Billy was already calling me tio. I don't think those words have to be gendered for me, and besides, I'm sort of in-between anyhow. And those kids, our kids, could exclusively address me as 'that old fathead' and I'd be cool with it. I love 'em, Agatha. I'm Nicky's dad, I can be Tommy and Billy's dad, and I'll be dad for any more children we have."

"I just... I know all your gender stuff..."

"Hey, if it bothers you..."

"It doesn't! Never has. But I... Well, I know the flack you've been getting has been a lot."

"Sure. But I figure, if Death Herself can't play around with gender, who can? I mean, remember back before... Before Nicky? When we finally told everyone we were having a baby, and we were gonna work that into the lore? Death can father a child on a gorgeous witch and still be whoever the fuck she wants to be."

"So... We're Mom and Dad, I guess."

"We have been for a while. Just got two more kids on our hands now that we can be that for."

Relaxing a little more into Rio's arms, Agatha sighed.

"Why is it all working out? Now, after all this time, does it finally seem like it's all working out for us?"

"Maybe we're due a run of good times. Of course, there's still a good bit of tour to go. Anything can happen."

"I just... I love you. I love our boys. After everything that happened a decade ago I... I never thought I'd feel this way again."

"Never give up, mi ángel. I'll always be here, and we'll always find our way to each other, and we'll be happy."

Agatha almost started crying, but she composed herself and sighed against Rio's shoulder.

"Well. I guess we promised our sons we'd watch some movies, huh?"

Rio laughed.

"There's my girl. You go get our sons settled and I'll order up a mess of room service. Get some nice, simple stuff we can all enjoy, huh?"

Agatha went through to the boys' bedroom and found them there with Sharon and May.

"Hey," she said to the nanny and the tutor, "why don't you two take a little afternoon off and go enjoy yourselves? Rio and I can handle the boys."

"You're sure?" Sharon asked.

"Of course. Go. Have a good time. Lots to see around Blackpool."

Billy was still feeling sort of weak, so Agatha picked him up and hauled him into the living room.

"Mom?" he asked as she settled him on the sofa.

"Uh, yeah?" Agatha said, still getting used to the new honorific.

"Are you and Dad really happy to be our mom and dad?"

"Course we are, Billy. You know we love the two of you so much."

"I'm glad. I... I remember Mommy, an' I love her, but I'm glad you're my mom now too. An' I'm glad I got Rio for a dad, 'cause she's cool."

"Rio's about the best dad ever," Tommy said, "'cause she lets us play the drums with her and she knows all kinds of stuff about trees and stuff."

"Rio's pretty cool," Agatha agreed.

"When you an' her have a new baby," Tommy said, "can we try to help pick a name for it?"

"Sure. Of course."

"Good. Because I think maybe we could pick a pretty good one."

Things tanked out a bit in Germany. Two members of Qwyksylvyr ended up relapsing into old addiction habits hard, and someone called Steve's wife back in the U.S. and told her he and Bucky had been getting a bit more than friendly. Steve ended up heading straight back to the U.S. to try and find some way of not ending up in divorce court.

On the Coven True end of things, Jen and Alice had a blowout fight in Hamburg that meant they were definitely not going to be up to sharing any stage banter for a while. That was workable, since Agatha handled a lot of that shtick anyhow, but then Lilia tried to broker a peace and also ended up in the fight, so now 3/5 of the band were not speaking to each other. Excellent.

On the night of the last German show, Agatha snapped just a little. Right after sound check, she grabbed Jen and Alice and dragged them into the dressing room, while Rio took Lilia aside.

"You two are gonna listen to me and you're gonna listen good," Agatha said.
"This whole tour is a slowly dissolving pile of cardboard stuck at the bottom of the rain barrel, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you two knock the barrel over and set it on fire!"

"That is... Just the weirdest possible metaphor," Jen said.

"Yeah, and I'd argue if anything set the tour on fire, it was the whole Steve and Bucky thing," Alice nodded.

"Look, we are gonna go out there tonight with smiles on our faces, we are gonna perform like we have everything left to give, and the we're gonna keep doing so for the REST OF THE MOTHERFUCKING TOUR!"

Alice grimaced.

"Fuck, Agatha, chill. Jen and I have always bitched each other out. You know that. Doesn't stop us being able to perform together."

"Yeah, well you two being a mess was a huge part of what broke the band up last time. I am NOT letting that be something that crashes this tour."

"I mean, other things also contributed..." Jen started.

"SHUT IT, KALE! Just... Just get out there and act like everything's cool."

And then Agatha collapsed.

When she came to, she was in a hospital bed, Rio standing nearby.

"R-rio?"

"Don't move, okay my love?"

"What..."

A doctor came in, very polite and quiet.

"Ms. Harkness, you were brought in very dehydrated. Your partner tells us you've not been sleeping well lately, or eating much."

"There's a lot of stress, doctor. On the road, you know."

"Yes, well, this is the problem. You're exhausted. We wish to keep you here under observation overnight, just to monitor things properly. It might also be advisable, if possible, to find some way to alter your touring plans so as to allow for more rest."

"I don't know if..."

Rio gripped Agatha's hand a little more firmly.

"We'll work on it, doc."

Once they were alone again, Rio leaned over the bed and brushed a lock of hair back from Agatha's face.

"Sweetheart, I... Fuck, I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, I... I can't lose you. I can't."

"I'm sorry. I've just been so... Everything's been so much lately. I guess I just let things get away from me. I'm really sorry."

"Just it... Usually it's me who'd end up in a place like this, you know? Agatha, you've got to rest more. You've got to keep healthy. For yourself and the boys."

"And for you too. I'm so sorry, Rio. I... I..."

"Shh. Listen, you try to rest. You'll be out of here tomorrow, and we're gonna keep everything cool and relaxed, as far as we can."

"Are the boys..."

"They're just fine at the hotel with Sharon and May. I called and talked to them and said you got sick. They're worried, but I told 'em it'll all be okay. I told 'em their mom'll be fine."

"Christ, this is gonna be so awful for them."

"It's gonna be all right, Agatha. They're just worried about you is all. They, uh, did ask a couple weird questions..."

"Oh, shit, did they ask if I took drugs?"

"No, actually. They just asked if you had a seizure, of course, and they... Well, just goofy stuff."

"Such as?"

"They asked if... Look, probably this one is upsetting, so..."

"Just tell me, Rio. I'm a big girl."

"They... They asked if it was like Nicky again. If you were gonna have a baby but it had to go away. And, uh, Tommy said if it did, they're sorry if it went away because maybe it thought we didn't want it, since we let them call us mom and dad now."

Agatha blinked hard, raising a hand to her forehead.

"Fuck. Rio, are we screwing them up?"

"They're just scared, confused kids, sweetheart. They try to make connections with things in their mind."

"Well, I hope you helped them unmake that little connection."

"I did, I promise. I explained that you were a little sick because you needed to rest more."

"Good."

"They did offer to let you have Billy's teddy bear and Tommy's favorite dinosaur if it will help you sleep."

"Ha. Our boys."

"They're good. You've done good with 'em. It's all gonna be okay."

Agatha fell asleep not long after that, Rio still by her side. When she woke again, it was morning and Rio was, for the moment, not in her room. There was, however, a nurse, who said that Rio had gone back to check on things at the hotel but would be back soon. Sure enough, Rio was back within the hour, assuring her that the boys were fine and that the tour schedule was being worked on.

"We're gonna get it all covered, doll. Things are gonna work out."

They released her from the hospital a little after noon, and she was taken straight back to the hotel, where Rio tucked her right into bed.

"You wanna see the boys before you have some lunch and rest?"

"Yes. Gotta see our boys."

Tommy and Billy seemed timid as Rio ushered them in, and Agatha tried to seem reassuring.

"Hey, guys. Heard you were really worried about me. I was worried about you too."

"We thought you were gonna die!" Billy wailed, and he flung himself on the bed.

Rio reached as if to haul the boy back, but Agatha waved her off.

"I'm okay, sweetie. I just haven't been sleeping very well and things. I'm gonna be all right, I promise."

She let Billy cuddle up to her side while Tommy went and sat on the edge of the bed.

"You sure you're all right?" Tommy asked.

"Right as rain. I'm gonna take it easy for a couple of days and try to relax more while we're still traveling. I'll definitely be all better once we go home and go back to our old routines."

The boys stayed with her while she ate—Rio ordered extra food so really the boys ate lunch with Agatha—and then ran back off to their own room to play and catch up on lessons while she rested.

Once they were alone, Rio shut the curtains, turned off the lamp, and crawled into bed at Agatha's side.

"Mmm. Gonna join me for nap time?" Agatha yawned.

"Kinda. Just call me the nap enforcer. I'm here to make sure you actually sleep a bit. I know the one true secret to making you rest easy."

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"Plenty of cuddles and closeness. Now, c'mere."

Rio spread her arms wide, and Agatha eagerly snuggled into her embrace.

"Well, you might be onto something," Agatha said.

"Told you so."

The tour wound shakily on, the personnel issues handled with the help of old associates from the various places the tour passed through, plus a few specially brought out from the U.S. Agatha still was stressed and panicked at every turn, but Rio kept an eye on her. Rio made certain she ate properly, rested whenever possible, and generally felt safe.

"Once this is all over," Rio asked one evening in Tokyo, "think we oughta just retire the coven? You stick to your solo stuff, me an' Alice carry on with session work, Jen can do whatever she wants, Lilia can go back to just agenting..."

"Sounds like a plan," Agatha sighed.

It would be bittersweet, putting all this behind them again, but this time it would be a natural conclusion not purely brought about by pain and loss and strife. This time, it would be a softer choice. It would be about looking to a different future; a future with each other and their children.

That night, as they had lain close to sleep, Rio had huffed out a little breath and scooted even closer to Agatha, pressing a hand to the flat of her belly.

"Can't wait," she murmured, "to see you pregnant with our child again."

Agatha found herself happily anticipating that very much as well. Of course there was the fear, the worry something could go wrong again like it had with Nicky. Still, more than anything she felt joy over the possibility that they would at last continue to build the family they had always longed for.

Other things shifted as the tour wound on. Jen and Alice got over their weird little fight, and lately they were just as likely, if not more likely, to hold up preparation and planning as Agatha and Rio had been known to do, often for the same reasons of fooling around together. Whether they might last back in the life outside of this remained to be seen, but Agatha and Rio both found themselves rooting for things to work out.

Tommy and Billy were eager to be home again, missing their friends and their old routine at home and school. Of course, they also were still eager for certain changes; Agatha had reached out to her attorney already to discuss formal adoption. The boys very much wanted to be legally the children of herself and Rio.

They would, as Rio bad suggested, keep Maximoff as a secondary middle name.

Pietro, struggling to keep Qwyksylvyr together beyond this tour, was one of the few who did not seem excited about things riding to an end. Still, when Rio and Agatha took him aside and told him about the boys, that seemed to cheer him.

"Those little guys need stability," he said, "and they need it in a way they can always recognize. Wanda and I didn't have a lot of that growing up and, well, I'd say it didn't go great for us."

He did ask if he might be allowed to stay in the lives of his nephews. Over the course of the tour, he had spent a lot of time with them, and he realized what he had missed out on, not being in their lives while he wrestled with his demons.

"Of course you'll be in their lives," Agatha assured him.
"You're their uncle. Rio and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Good, 'cause... Well, I mean, maybe in the past I wasn't the ideal person to be around them, but I've cleaned up my act and intend to keep it that way."

Once the tour returned to the States, it split, Qwyksylvyr going to perform their last few gigs in Oregon and Washington, Coven True winding toward home through a few California shows.

Coven True performed their last show, what might well be their last one ever, at the same venue where their last performance before the breakup had happened a decade before, and where they had performed to kick off this tour as well.

"So, we meet again," Agatha smirked right after the first song.

The crowd went wild.

"We had an interesting tour, to say the least," she went on, "and it's good to be home. Before we go on with the show, we do wanna bring out a couple of special guests just to say hi. You all may be somewhat aware of them; in a way they were born of the coven."

Rio had stepped out from behind the kit, and she went and ushered the boys onto the stage gently, then herded them over to Agatha.

"Everyone, this is Tommy, and this is Billy. They're the sons of our own late and much lamented Scarlet Witch, Wanda. They've both had a great time on tour with us, and a our fans worldwide have been so kind as to let them just be kids, but they asked if tonight they couldn't come out and just say hi to everyone."

Pulling the mic from the stand, Agatha offered it to Tommy, who took it cautiously.

"Hi," he said, "thanks for coming to hear the music."

He handed the mic to Billy, who suddenly turned shy and buried his face against Rio's side and offered her the mic.

"Billy says hi too and... And he says he's glad you're all here."

Giving the mic back to Agatha, Rio herded the boys back off the stage to a waiting Sharon, who was going to drive them home for an early dinner. As Agatha clamped the mic back into place, Rio came rushing over.

"Wait, wait!" she said, and gestured for the mic again.

With a roll of the eyes, Agatha handed the mic to Rio, who turned and looked out over the crowd.

"So listen, as Death, I just wanted to remind all of you to be careful after the show tonight heading home. Have a designated driver, use a reputable rideshare, whatever it takes to get you home safe tonight. You're our fans, the extended part of our coven, and we want you all to be okay."

She paused and smiled as the crowd roared acknowledgment, then went on.

"Also, see, I really don't wanna have to be out collecting a bunch of souls after this show, because I was really just hoping to take my beloved Agatha home and to just absolutely rail..."

Agatha grabbed the mic.

"Thanks a lot, hon," she gritted, and Rio shuffled off back behind the kit.

The rest of the show went well. The audience were responsive and jubilant, singing along to a lot of the songs and generally being really kind. At some point, someone tossed a couple of t-shirts from Coven True's first ever tour back in the day up onto the stage. Agatha saw them and smiled.

"You all have been reading the press, huh?" she laughed.

There was a roar of assurances.

"Can I keep these?" she said, and someone in the crowd shrieked "Yeah!"

She had mentioned, early on doing press ahead of the tour, that she personally had no merch from the first tour, and she regretted it. Now, some kind soul sought to rectify the matter.

Once the show was over, everyone headed home—finally, actually home.

Though Agatha did note, to her great amusement, that Jen and Alice headed home together. Maybe something there was going to work.

Once Agatha and Rio were back at the house, they said good night to Sharon, went up and peeked in on the sleeping boys, then headed to their own room. Most of their luggage from the tour was still downstairs by the door, and they had a long weekend ahead of unpacking and sorting everything, so a (relatively) early night seemed in order.

They showered, and then Rio sat on the edge of the bed, watching Agatha take care of a few little things before joining her. When Agatha did at last approach the bed, she stood just between Rio's knees, hands on Rio's shoulders.

"Home," she said.
"For the first time in ages, we're really home."

Rio smiled, wrapping strong arms around Agatha's hips and pulling her in closer.

"You've always been my home, mi ángel. I'm real glad I finally get to be back with you, that we get to try again. We're together, we got our boys, and well..."

Rio leaned in and nuzzled at the fabric of Agatha's t-shirt right where it covered her lower belly.

"I can't wait until we're on our way to welcoming a new little someone."

Laughing softly, Agatha stroked Rio's hair.

"We have a future, Rio. A future together. I always dreamed of that, and then I thought it was gone forever, but now... Now, it's real again."

They managed, with a little pre-planning and a few frantic phone calls from the hospital, to get home followed by a minimum of press. The driver knew all the right side streets, all the little tricks to lose any possibly tail. Once they were at the house, Rio got out first, helping Agatha from the car carefully, then leaning in and lifting the newest addition to the family from the little car seat.

"Here she goes," Rio said softly.
"Our little princess, right into her mommy's arms."

The driver hauled in Agatha's bag for them and left it and the baby seat just inside the front door before he departed. Rio made certain the door was locked, then helped Agatha up the stairs to their room.

They had decided the baby would sleep in their room for the first few months, then be moved into the nursery. For now, their little girl was settled into her bassinet, and Rio got Agatha settled in bed.

"Okay. Sharon and I coordinated," Rio said, "and she'll be back with the boys in an hour. You, mi ángel, should rest in the meantime. Do you need anything?"

"Some water, maybe?"

"I can get you that," Rio grinned, leaning down and kissing Agatha's forehead.

Once Rio left the room, Agatha turned carefully onto her side and looked at the baby, slumbering peacefully. She was a sweet little thing already, with a shock of very dark hair and a tendency to seem to look at everything with big, solemn eyes. Of course, the apparent staring was probably just a newborn inability to clearly see much of anything, but still, the little girl had an aura of calm somehow.

"Oh, baby girl," Agatha whispered, "welcome home."

The pregnancy had gone really well, though Agatha had spent the whole time with a terrible hint of fear clawing at the back of her mind. Her sleep was haunted, especially in the early months, by nightmares recalling how her last pregnancy had ended. When they had finally gone through and redecorated the nursery, she had a mini-meltdown and had to schedule a few extra sessions with her therapist, as well as a spate of couple's counseling for herself and Rio. The boys had been a bit of a handful as well, Billy developing some anxiety about the possibility the baby would not like him, for some reason, and Tommy worrying that the baby would get all the attention. It took a lot of work to reassure them, but by now, with their adoption official and both Agatha and Rio doing everything to show that they were all a family, things had calmed down.

Rio returned with the water, helping Agatha to sit up and take a few sips, then setting the bottle on the nightstand and sitting cautiously on the edge of the bed.

"I'm so glad you made it through so well," Rio said, "and I'm really sorry if I was no help. I try, I just..."

"Rio, I know I said some things during labor that were less than ideal. I'm sorry. The whole thing, the pain and all, made me a little out of my head."

"I know. I just... Well, I wanna know I'm doing enough for you. For the family."

The baby woke not long after, fussing quietly to be fed. Agatha got her settled in to nurse, and Rio sat by, marveling at the sight.

"Look at that. You're a natural at this mom stuff, Agatha."

"Probably helps that our little girl is pretty much a natural at the baby side of things."

Rio chuckled.

"Yup. Our baby is an expert on being tiny and perfect, huh?"

"That she is."

Once the baby had her fill, Rio carefully held her and burped her, then rocked her back to sleep and settled her once more. Agatha, watching on happily, dozed, falling more deeply into sleep when she felt Rio lie down beside her and hold her hand.

They woke together, the two of them, to the soft buzz of Rio's phone. It was a message from Sharon, saying she was nearly home with the boys. Rio went and moved the bag and the car seat from their place near the front door, then rushed back upstairs and helped Agatha freshen up a little.

"You don't have to look perfect," Rio assured.

"Of course, but I don't want to look a mess either. Don't want to scare the boys."

When the front door could be heard opening and closing downstairs, Rio grinned, lifted the baby carefully into Agatha's arms, and went to collect the boys. Agatha smiled down at her little daughter, who sighed and shifted a little in her sleep, and tried to relax.

"...so remember, we gotta be a little quiet and careful," Rio said, entering the bedroom with the boys in tow.

"Mom!" Tommy said in a loud whisper, running to the bedside.

"Hey, bud. Have a nice day out with Sharon?"

"Yeah, we went to two movies and the arcade. Is this..."

"This is your new little sister."

The 12 year old peered warily at the sleeping baby, then crossed his arms and grinned.

"She looks like Dad. What's her name?"

Agatha smiled.

"Rebecca."

"Does she cry a lot?"

"Not terribly much so far. But don't worry, even if she does, we'll make sure she doesn't disturb you guys too much."

"Ah, it's fine. Babies cry. It's their whole thing."

Turning to Rio, Tommy nodded.

"Dad, can I go practice my drums now?"

"Uh, well," Rio said, looking to Agatha for assent, "sure, dude. Go on."

Tommy turned and hurried out of the bedroom, clattering down the stairs.

Billy, this whole time, had stayed back by the bedroom door, and now Rio went and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You wanna come meet your sister, buddy?"

"What if she doesn't like me?" Billy shrugged.

"I'm sure she'll love you," Agatha said.

Slowly, Billy approached the bedside. He looked at the baby, then at Agatha.

"Did it hurt when you had her? Only I heard it hurts to have a baby."

"It did hurt, yeah, but I'm okay now."

For a moment, Billy frowned, but then he looked at the baby again and smiled.

"She's real little."

"Yeah, babies are, at first. You and Tommy were even smaller when you were born. Remember those pictures you've seen?"

Billy nodded.

"She's cool, I think," he said.

"Well, I'm glad you approve."

"Can I hold her someday? Not now, but, like, someday?"

"Of course. You're one of her big brothers."

Smiling, Billy gently reached out and patted the the swaddle approximately where the baby's feet were.

"You okay, Mom?" he asked.

"I'm pretty well now. Have to rest for a few days to really get back to the usual."

"Well, if you need anything, let me know," he said, then turned and wandered over to Rio for a high five before leaving the room.

Shaking her head, Rio moved to sit on the edge of the bed again as she had earlier.

"Well, they took that all pretty chill," she said.

"They're growing up," Agatha said.

"Now we just gotta grow this one up."

"She'll get there. She landed in a pretty good family for learning how to grow up, I think."