The fire crackled in the young boy's ears as he hovered between dream and wake. His cheek was pressed hard into the couch pillow, his small hands gripping the tattered blanket covering him. Groggy questions murmured at the back of his mind, and faintly he heard low voices; they seemed distant and as unfocused as a blurry camera lense, but slowly became more distinct...

"...He was up for hours waiting for you, Leland, sitting outside in the cold... where have you been?"

"We've been through this already... I've had to stay overtime at work; we need that extra money. And there's been cutbacks, they're closing off a new level every day..."

"I understand this, and I know you have the best intentions, but… we need you, Leland. You can't keep doing this... think of how it's affecting your son... how it affects us..."

"But… please, Sarah, listen to me... if I lose my job, all we've got is the Inn... we won't be able to live off that, can't you see?"

"Maybe we won't and perhaps we will, but that's a problem we'll face together when it comes. For now you have to think of what's most important… you don't even notice your own son anymore. He admires you, and he loves you so much, but all he ever sees is your back… you have to decide if these couple extra credits are more important than losing your family."

"I am thinking about what's most important." Heavy footsteps thudded against the wooden floor towards the couch. Jim's somber blue eyes fluttered open, and he looked up to see the shadowed form of his father above him. "Good morning, my solar flare..." Leland whispered as he picked the sleepy boy up and cradled him in his arms, strong arms massive and comforting to the boy.

"Daddy... you're home..." Jim said quietly, still half asleep. He smiled up at his father's face, his round cheeks returning some of their color. "I waited for you."

"Mommy told me you did... what did you see in the stars last night?" Leland began to climb the stairs to Jim's room. Sarah was still standing at the door, watching the two disappear, knees shaking. With a trembling sigh she stumbled over to the couch and sank down into it, taking the ratty blanket into her hands.

Jim grew weary of speaking, trying to describe all the adventures he had gone on during the long day past. He fought to stay awake as his father slipped him into bed, desperate to keep his father's uneasy face into view; he was afraid he'd close his eyes and his daddy would disappear. He sunk into the mattress with a fatigued sigh, vision clouding and voice fading, until sleep finally swept him off to dreams filled with flying space galleons and glittering treasure. Leland paused, kneeling next to the bed looking on his son's peaceful face; then quickly he rose, slipping out the room. The inn was silent the rest of the night, those few hours before the dawn came and day started anew in town of Benbow, Montressor.