#rivervale_lodge

"Can I come in?" Kerri asks. "I want to make sure that you get into your pajamas to say hi to Gerd before you get too sleepy."

A smile on Jack's face "Okay. that's funny"

Gerd paces..

Sylvi grins at Dagmar. "Yeah, Jack, watch. Hey, Dagmar...I absolutely adore monster trucks racing."

"Gack!" Lie-eye twitch and a grab at her heart.

Sylvi giggles a bit.

"HA! " Then "Hey What's wrong with monster truck racing?" Jack says

“...Okay.” Connor is out of the bath and wrapped up in one of Gerd’s bathrobes. “I’m just tired’s all.”

"Well, I could give you a list..." Sylvi says. "But let's just call it a personal preference."

"I think they're kinda fun."

"You must be!" Kerri says. "Being worried for a friend is exhausting, and being scared and confused is even moreso."

She has brought in his pajamas.

Jack nods "They can be... MONSTER TRUCK rallies SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY"

He nods, but his bottom lip quivers. “I couldn’t help.”

Sylvi's turn to make a twitch-face. "Ugh."

Gerd looks up the stairs "They've been up there awhile"

"Miss Kerri is... probably just doing the Kerri thing."

"She's a safe person."

Kerri kneels down and reaches out to offer Connor a hug.

"I know you would have if you could, but that was a scary situation."

"I know i know I just.." Gerd says "If I'd been here. All the jokes I make about dropping folks in lakes and the one time it could have maybe helped... and I'm not here... poor Connor. "

He hugs Kerri gratefully. “I don’t think I’m a very good ember.”

"Well, you'll help Connor now, dammit. Can't change the what ifs."

"Oh, honey...it's not the Ember's job to fight. It's the Ember's job to warm those who need comfort."

"We stopped the wizard guy. It was scary, but we won."

"Can't talk ourselves into mourning a victory. I mean, I get it. I've done it."

“Jack tried to fight, but I was... It was ADAM. Even my nose said it was. And you are supposed to trust your friends. Butt if your friends are bad then what do you do?”

"But.. man, we gotta remember that we won and nobody was seriously hurt. Nobody died. This is a win."

"I know. It was Adam's body. And can I tell you a secret?" She whispers. "When I got home, and I didn't understand what was going on, I was scared, too."

"I guess... yeah" Gerd says "I just... I can't help Connor when I'm not here and he's going to be shaking and 'I' should be up there"

He looks stunned. “But you’re Big and strong. You can’t be fraid of anything.”

"Well... give Kerri a minute, then call up and let Connor know you're here."

"I can't? Sure felt like it. But we're okay now. And we'll be better tomorrow. Come on, now...I'll leave so you can get in pajamas and see Gerd."

Jack Flap says "Okay.. you are one dedicated sister," To Gerd. "I was originally going to do without one, but now I'm seeing the benefits" Then to Dagmar and Sylvi "You'd be good too"

He grabs her hand. “But what if someone else is secretly a monster? How can we know?”

"Well.... I hope so. Not a lot of sister practice." A glance at Gerd and then a sort-of smile. "A little, now."

She pauses. "Sometimes we might not know right away," she says honestly. "But isn't it good we have Gwydions around who can help? And when they're not...you know how your friends should act, so when they act differently, start asking questions. But those are big questions for a small person, and right now your friend needs to see you. And I'm very sure it's Gerd," she reassures him.

He nods and reaches for his pajamas. And one last guilty wince. “Someone got scared... and peed my pants. It wasn’t me. Because I’m not a baby. I put them in the tub with the soap. ... Gerd doesn’t have to know? And not Jack neither?”

Gerd smiles back, then calls up "Hey, Connor. I got a new book to read and no one to read it too"

“Coming! Don’t come up!” He calls, pulling the pajamas over his wet hair quickly.

"Nobody has to know," Kerri reassures, turning away as he changes.

And gathering up the suspect clothing in a used towel.

"I'll see you downstairs."

As Kerri heads down the stairs with an armload of laundry, she tells Gerd, "He's still nervous, but he's on the way."

Gerd nods "Thanks, Hearth." And she waits

He obediently troops down the stairs, damp hair sticking out haphazardly around fluffy ears. “...a story?”

Kerri vanishes into the kitchen (en route to the laundry).

"Hey Connor." She sniffs. "Yup. You smell like bubbles."

“It was Paw Patrol. They police away dirt and grime, and leave you poochy clean.” Too many commercials?

"Yup" Gerd picks him up "I got a book to read to you"