"Willow, he's fine," Jacques says, reaching over and squeezing my knee reassuringly. "As are Weiss and Winter."

I sigh heavily, raking a hand through my hair. "Whitley is only four years old, Weiss eight, and Winter's only fifteen. Even with —"

"Klein and the rest of the staff are keeping an eye on them," He reminds me. "Right now, what I want to know, is why our barely legal daughter is associating herself with felons."

I send him a dark look. "Aubrey Ironwood isn't a felon, she's sixteen and rebellious."

Jacques scoffs. "She stole James' car two weeks ago, didn't she?"

"I'm not defending that," I reply irritably. "But Aubrey, for all her faults, has stood by Cate through hell and —"

"We got rid of the problems she got herself into," He says and I can already see the leniency he has always given her in his eyes. From her being the exception in how we named our children, to her sharp nature, to her being almost a perfect physical cross between us with pale skin, naturally dark (but artificially blonde) hair, and my eyes and delicate features, she has always been his favorite even when he's gotten angry with her. "Both of the messes she made, too," He adds. "We threw money at the problems and one is never going to find her and the other is going to be behind bars for a very long time after what they threatened to do to her with that whore."

I flinch at the memory but say nothing. The car stops only a minute later in front of the Ironwoods house, where, sure enough, my eldest daughter is sitting barefoot in a tree with Aubrey grinning madly and screaming something incoherent from on top of her father's car. Our driver lets us out quickly, at about the same time Glynda Goodwitch — James' wife — pulls up into the driveway and all but tears the door off her car as soon as she sees her daughter.

"Aubrey!" She snaps. "You are in enough trouble as it is, get down from there before —"

"But mom…" She protests.

"You heard me," Glynda says sharply. "I thought we had already discussed why what you did was irresponsible, but, maybe…"

She trails off, noticing me and Jacques, while Aubrey grudgingly skids off the top of the car.

"Willow," She says calmly. "Jacques. What are you doing here?"

"Retrieving Cate," I tell her, glancing over my shoulder and watching Jacques start towards where our daughter is sitting in the tree.

"Cate Lynn Schnee!" Jacques scowls at her once he knows she'll be able to hear him. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Get down from there!"

She sighs, her short blonde waves glistening in the sunlight when she tosses it back.

"Fine," She mutters.

I take a small step back upon her, rather nonchalantly, jumping down and not even flinching on impact. Already, Jacques looks noticiably annoyed and she looks more than a little guilty.

"Nice fall!" A boy across the street hollers at her, flipping his skateboard up.

"Keep it all in your pants, boy!" Cate yells back, smirking and tapping the rim of her perfectly round glasses. "You ain't got a chance, boy!"

I don't know what's made her so reckless, but she balances it surprisingly well even if it's a result of paranoia. It wasn't the first, nor the first example of her impulse, but it —

"Willow?" Jacques sharply draws me from my thoughts and I almost spill my wine on myself because of it.

I glance to him, about to respond in anger from what happened last night with Weiss' birthday and what he said to me.

"Sorry I'm late getting home," Cate chirps, stepping into the library and smiling first at Winter, Weiss, and Whitley. "My class ran long and then Aubrey insisted on taking me out to A Simple Wok for a tofu wok, of course, and I —"

She stops suddenly, looking between me and Jacques for a long moment. It is then I realize that, since she began university, she has managed to come home late every night she's been avoiding her father.

"It's good to see you," Winter finally says, breaking the silence with a smile. "Especially considering that you're in class year-round, it seems, and I'm at Atlas Academy."

Jacques frowns. "I still don't believe that's the right thing for you. You are still the heiress to the SDC, after all."

Winter retorts quickly but hangs her head in shame almost immediately.

"Well, I think it's great Win's planning to pursue a military career," Cate says defiantly, crossing her arms.

"Cate," I say tiredly. "Please don't start again. You are just twenty years old —"

"And I'm going to start law school in a year," She reminds me. "I am well within my rights to argue with him like I would a legal case."

Weiss turns to her in surprise, while Whitley shifts uncomfortably, fidgeting with his hands.

"But you need my money," Jacques smoothly replies. "Don't you, Cate Lynn?"

Her eyes widen for a moment and she fingers her purse anxiously.

"You wouldn't," She finally says. "You know I'd be damn broke without —"

"Then I suggest you start being on time for dinner every night," Jacques says evenly. "And stop playing with fire, unless of course you want your credit cards frozen."

I stare blankly into my wine, a bit startled by my swirling reflection before I begin to sip it again.

"I…" She looks to her feet for a few seconds and then sighs heavily. "Alright," She concedes. "Sorry."

Jacques leans back, looking smug.

"Miss Schnee," Klein breaks the silence by handing Cate a full glass of her favorite Cabernet Sauvignon. "Has your day been well?"

"I suppose," She says tiredly, taking a small sip and then taking back half of her wine. "I have too much on my mind, and it's been draining."

"Are you sure you should be —" Winter starts, looking at her in concern.

"I'm fine," She says quickly, taking back the rest of her drink. "Really."

Jacques looks to her disapprovingly. "Draining the glass like that was unnecessary."

"That depends," She mused while Klein pours her another drink. "Are you on the Council yet or are you still just levying your money?"

He bristles and squeezes my hand painfully hard.

"I have done neither of those," He tersely replies. "Should you really be drinking so much?"

She scowls behind her glasses. "I'm perfectly fine."

He shakes his head. "So you say."

I hate to admit it, but, in this moment, I know that he is right.