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Diane carefully crawled out of bed, trying not to disturb her husband. She got in the shower and washed, trying to forget the night before. As she finished her clean routine and got dressed, she put a smile on her face and told herself it's a new day.

She checked in on her daughter. Kristine was already out of bed and playing quietly, "Good morning, sweetie. Would you like some breakfast?" Her daughter continued playing and she closed the door, heading to the kitchen to start cooking.

After breakfast, she cleaned up as her husband and daughter went their separate ways, then opened her computer to check her messages.

CanaryJane [Your train leaves at 3:46pm. Check your email for the details. I'll see you tonight.]

That was fast! How was she going to tell Brandon that quickly? She had to do it Jane's way.

She went to her daughter's room and opened the door, "Honey, pack a bag for 3 days. We're going to visit your aunt Jane."

"Really?" The young girl bounced off the floor excitedly, "Is she throwing a party?"

"Not this time. She's sick and we need to go take care of her."

"Oh no! What's wrong?"

"She wouldn't tell me. Now, get packed. We're taking a train after lunch." She didn't like lying to her daughter, but she couldn't risk Kristine saying the wrong thing to her father.

She walked downstairs and stared at the door to her husband's study. She needed to tell him sooner, rather than later, or he might not let her go. She would have plenty of time to take care of anything he needed her to do before she left. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she knocked, firmly enough to be heard, but hopefully not too hard to sound insistent. She waited, but heard nothing. She wondered if he was taking a nap or had his headphones on. She jumped as the door swung open quickly.

Brandon stood in the opening to the dark room behind her with an irritated glare on his face. She caught her breath and tried not to sound scared, even though her heart was pounding in her chest, "I ... My sister, Jane; she needs me to come out and stay with her for a while. She, she already bought the train tickets. They're for three this afternoon. ..."

His face told her he wasn't happy, but she knew he wouldn't be. "She sick again? Weren't you just out there a couple months ago?"

She tried to stay strong and focused and not give in to his disappointment. "Th ... there's plenty of food for you until I get back and the pizza fund should have enough if you don't want to use the kitchen. Y-you can have the house to yourself, nice and quiet. ..."

"You'll be back Monday."

"I'll ... have to find out what my sister needs from me. I don't ..."

"That wasn't a question." He closed the door and she stared at it in surprise.

She had expected him to resist or make her do things for him before she left, but he was almost telling her to go. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or scared. She decided to make sure everything was taken care of and hurried about the house taking care of laundry and dishes and dusting and lunch anything else she could think of in the six hours before they left. Brandon took his lunch quietly back to his study and didn't say another word to her, even when their cab arrived and she said goodbye to him through the closed door.

Kristine was excited and her mother wished she could share it, but she couldn't help worrying about what would be waiting when they got back. "Mom? Is aunt Jane going to be okay?"

Diane wrapped her arm around her daughter, "Of course, sweetie."

"Then why are we going to see her?"

She sighed, not sure how to explain the situation to a nine year old. "Your aunt Jane decided that you and I need to visit with her for a while."

"So, she misses us and seeing us will make her all better."

"Of course she misses you, sweetie, and she'll be very happy to see you." She kissed her daughter's head and held her close.

The cab ride felt like forever, but the train ride was four times as long and for every second that ticked by, she worried if she was doing the right thing. By the time they arrived, she was feeling sick to her stomach and thinking she should just turn around and go home.

Kristine spotted her aunt and broke away to run to her, "Aunt Jane!"

The tall, blonde woman caught her niece and picked her up, spinning around before putting her back down, "How's my Special K?"

"I'm here to make you happy."

"Oh! And you're so good at it."

"Are you feeling better already?"

"Absolutely!"

Kristine looked sad, "Does that mean we have to leave?"

She forced a stern frown, "Absolutely not. You've got a lot of work to do. You're going to be here all weekend and maybe longer."

Diane sighed and put their bags down, "I have to be back Monday, Jane. Brandon said so."

"Brandon can say whatever he wants, but I'm not letting you leave here until I feel it's safe."

"Jane, I can't just walk out on him like that."

"Watch how easy it is," with a smile, she picked up Kristine's bag, took her niece's hand, and headed for the parking lot.

Diane sighed and followed. She would have to spend the weekend convincing her sister that she was safe in her own home. That would be a challenge, since part of her wasn't so sure that it was as true as she wanted it to be.

Jane seemed even more wired than usual, if that were possible, "This is just perfect timing. I think you are both going to have a wonderful weekend."

"Jane, where's your car?" She was starting to notice the large number of morphs around.

"Oh, it's up here at the convention center, just a couple blocks, but I got us a room at the hotel."

"Why aren't we staying at your place?" There were so many different species and they were all happy to see each other. She felt out of place and it made her even more uncomfortable. She tried not to look at them as hurried by.

"Oh, it's too far. We'd be spending the weekend driving instead of having fun."

"But why do we have to be here? What's going on?" She gasped as a lion with a large mane brushed her arm and looked over her shoulder to make sure he kept walking.

Jane stopped and directed her sister's attention to the sidewalk in front of the hotel and the sea of fur mingling around. "It's Anthrocon, of course."

She looked in awe at all the species, lit by the fading sun and tried to tame the anxiety that was trying to take hold of her. She turned to her sister and whispered sharply, "Jane, we shouldn't be here."

"Why not? Just look at how excited Kristine is."

"Mom, can I go play with them?"

She looked down at her daughter's smile as she still tried to grasp the situation, "No, sweetie. There are too many ..."

Jane smirked at her sister's pause, "They're people, sis."

"I know. I've just ... never seen so many all at once."

"Diane, you've never seen so many in your whole life. This is the biggest convention for morphs and furries in the country. World Morph Day down in Australia is the only bigger one in the world and that's only because the whole towns are mostly morphs."

"And you know what happened down there. What if something like that happens here. Kristine could be in danger."

"Relax, sis. Nothing like that is going to happen. That was almost ten years ago and there have been no major problems in the six years since the con restarted. Pittsburgh loves Anthrocon."

"But we're not morphs."

"You don't have to be. Part of what this is all about is that we can all get along, no matter what species we are."

"I don't know..."

"Jane!" A grey cat in a blue dress suit pushed out of the crowd and hurried over to hug her. "There you are."

"Danvil. Glad you could make it this year."

"I just got here. Can you believe the crowd this year? I hope they didn't give away my reservation. Maybe I could stay with you?"

Diane watched the cat rub against her sister and purr.

Jane pushed him back a little, "Sorry, not this time; my room is full. Dan, this is my sister, Diane, and her daughter, Kristine."

He offered a paw with a polite smile. Diane nervously took it and he shook her hand, then let go as Kristine tugged on his sleeve. He knelt down to her level, "Well, hello there."

"Are you a real cat?"

He chuckled, "Yes, I am. It's hard to tell around here. There are some pretty good fursuits."

"I like your suit. It's pretty."

"Thank you," he smiled and straightened his jacket as he stood up.

"They've had a long trip and this is their first time seeing this much fur. It'd probably be a good idea to get them up to the room to rest for tomorrow."

"You already have your room, then?"

"Of course."

"Just a moment," Dan stepped to the edge of the crowd and scanned for a moment, then waved his arm, "Ebyn! Ebyn!"

A tall, black-haired human stretched his neck and looked around until he spotted the cat waving to him.

"Ebyn, we need a path to the elevators!"

Ebyn gave him a thumbs up, then started herding the mass of bodies, coordinating with others in red shirts, and parting the sea of fur.

Dan grabbed Jane's hand and pulled her in with Kristine and her mother following close. He put his paws on Diane's shoulders and guided her through, with a nod to Ebyn as they passed. They waited their turn, then squeezed into an elevator and rode up to their floor. He kept a paw on Diane's shoulder as they walked to their room. "Well, you ladies get some sleep. I know where you live now, so I'll come by in the morning and help you get registered as soon as it opens."

"I already took care of that for them earlier."

"Oh, well look at you. Guess you don't need me, then."

"Oh, I still have a use for you. You wait right there." Jane opened the door and led her sister in. "Alright, settle in, get some rest. I've got a few more things to take care of tonight. I'll be back in an hour or two." She stopped and looked at the familiar stressed expression on her sister's face, then wrapped her arms around her, "I'm so glad you're here, sis. As much as I love this weekend, I think you need it more." She let go and reached down to rub her niece's hair, "G'night K-bob. See you in the morning for more fun."

"Can I go with you? I want to see all the morphs."

"I've got work to do, but they'll be here all weekend, so get some rest tonight so you don't fall asleep tomorrow."

"Okay, aunt Jane."

She rubbed the girl's hair again, then headed out, stopping at the door to give her a wink.

Diane looked around the room, stopping on her daughter, then sat down and pulled her into a hug. She felt like her sister had once again flipped her whole world upside down.

"Mom, are you crying?"

"No, sweetie, I ... Yes, I guess I am."

"Don't worry, mom, the monster won't get us here with all the morphs to protect us."

She held her daughter tight and couldn't stop the tears. She missed the man she married and wondered when he became the monster that scared her now.