It's about halfway through January when Marie calls M'gann, asking her what the hell she did to her son.

It's a good thing Batman and J'onn are around to help do damage control, because M'gann feels so guilty she can barely even speak, let alone think. After a long, drawn out discussion in which Batman and J'onn assure Marie that trying to 'heal' Gar will only do more damage than good, J'onn proposes M'gann go about training Garfield. This way, his newfound powers will be in check from the beginning.

M'gann, of course, is eager to make up for her mistake—she never meant to change Gar so drastically, and certainly didn't think her blood would do such a thing.

Marie asks why J'onn can't do it, but he explains that he simply doesn't have the time to give Garfield the attention he needs. And, logically, she's left with little option but to agree.

Not that she's pleased, and "understandably so" M'gann tells the team, because every time she comes back frustrated or upset they insist she "have it out" (Wally's words) with Ms. Logan. But M'gann just shakes her head and goes back every week, same as usual.

Garfield, bless his heart, is thrilled. Suddenly he's capable of turning into the animals he loves so much, "and what's so bad about that?" he frequently asks his mother (Marie only frowns in response, unwilling to have the same argument over again). It's not long before he starts referring to M'gann as his sister—"your blood is part of me now, after all!"

All in all, the kid's enthusiasm is hard to ignore, and M'gann finds herself enjoying her time spent with him.

And it's thanks to Gar's spirit that Marie and M'gann patched up at all. After one training session went late, it was Gar that insisted M'gann stay for dinner. Marie, in the name of courtesy, agrees (she doesn't admit that it was because she was already beginning to warm up to the martian girl). It's only after M'gann insists on helping with everything, fixing everything, asking "does everyone have enough to drink" and "do you want me to pass the rolls" that Marie finally stills the girl and asks if they can start over.

Friendly M'gann is far more tolerable than guilty and apologetic M'gann, it seems.

M'gann, with a smile that could power the house's generator for months, agrees in an instant.

With her relationship with Marie repaired, M'gann relaxes a little more. Where she used to keep team business from Gar—she didn't want to risk Marie's disapproval—now, she tells him a good bit. She tells him about their missions, about the way Wally and Artemis look at each other when they think no one's looking—"Ew, Sis, that's gross!"—about Robin's humor.

She ends up talking about Conner a lot, too.

"You loooooveee him," Gar teases. "Megan and Conner sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I—"

That's usually when she goes to tackle him. "C'mere you little loudmouth!"

Garfield is an insistent little brat sometimes.

Because, really, he shouldn't want Conner to come over this much.

"Dude, I wanna make sure this guy is treating my sis okay!"

"You don't have to worry, Gar!" she says, laughing. "He and I are perfect for each other."

"I believe I'll be the judge of that!"

Conner already knows plenty about Gar—M'gann spends a good amount of time gushing about him. It's wonderful, because M'gann's pretty sure most boyfriends would be annoyed with their girlfriends going on and on about some little kid, but Conner—Conner just smiles and listens.

"It's good that you two care about each other so much," he tells her when she asks him if he minds. "He's… good for you. You're brighter when you talk about him."

That's when she decides it's okay to bring Conner back to the Logans' sanctuary. She's quietly terrified about dinner, because she's learned that awkward small talk at the table is one of her least favorite things in the world.

It's not long before she realizes her stress was for naught—after Conner passes Gar's 'exam' (over which Marie and M'gann share stifled laughter, because Conner's expressions really are priceless), the two get along spectacularly.

Honestly, she's never seen Conner talk to someone so much. It's different, because usually she's the one involved in conversation with him, but now that she's the one observing, she can pick out all his habits and mannerisms she never consciously noticed before.

He's come a long way since that pod.

When they return to the cave, hand-in-hand, she turns to him with a smile. "He's good for you too."

Conner just laughs. "So it would seem. You weren't exaggerating about him."

"I told you he was a bit crazy."

"Just like his sister."

"I am not!"

"Keep telling yourself that." He kisses her before heading to his room.

M'gann watches him go fondly before doing the same.

It's at the one year mark.

That's when the warm, glowing image of a family—the one M'gann was building with such care, polishing and oiling until it shown and gleamed—

That's when it first shows signs of fading.

The team is just getting back from a mission, exuberant and flushed with a victory. They go to the main room for debriefing; Robin spots him first.

"Garfield?"

M'gann looks up and over to see Robin isn't mistaken.

But why did he sound so concerned—

Oh.

Seeing his puffy and swollen eyes, it isn't a stretch to realize that something terrible happened.

Batman is there to explain, and all M'gann can do is hold her little brother close as he relays how "Marie Logan lost control of her truck" that morning in Qurac.

Until they work out what to do, Garfield is staying with the team.

Not that M'gann would have it any other way.

For that first week, everyone is very gentle.

Zatanna and Rocket are complete angels to him, making sure he was coddled just enough, but not to an overbearing extent.

Kaldur always treats Garfield like gold—easy conversation, gentle tone and even pitch.

Wally, remembering how M'gann told him how Gar ate almost as much as he did, made sure the kid never ran out of food (even if he barely touched it).

After Garfield gives her bow a dark look, Artemis is sure to teach him basic techniques—"it's not like you're shooting animals, kid." The distraction is a good outlet for him.

Robin, somehow just by being around Garfield, helps the boy get a little better—as though he understands on a level unknown to any of them. M'gann knows there's something he isn't telling her when she asks how he does it, but she can hardly complain.

Conner goes out of his way to make sure the kid is happy—puts on his favorite shows (though chancing on the Hello Megan! rerun was painful for all involved), teaches him how to fix up the Supercyle and the other bikes, and pretty much anything else he can think of. She can never thank him enough.

M'gann, for her part, just works to be his big sister—she mourns with him, cries with him, holds him on the nights he can't sleep. And she has to hope it will be enough.

Watching him get better is the most beautiful transformation she's ever seen.

Watching him become an official member of the team is the proudest moment of her life.

Watching him face Queen Bee, listen to the story she weaves about the way his mother was so easy to knock off course, making him become that innocent little boy again—

That's the angriest she's ever been.

The decision that followed is one she still doesn't regret—even if Conner still doesn't approve.

AN: no, this will not be continued.