It was late afternoon on a hot muggy Friday.  Merry was upstairs 
asleep, with Bea, her dog.  The dog had been a gift from Barinthus 
when Merry had resurfaced, and was now fully grown.  Bea had the 
privilage of sleeping with Merry on those rare occasions that she 
demanded to be left alone.
 
All the Ravens were gathered in the living room of the house.  Galen 
was messing around in the kitchen area.  Doyle leaned against the 
wall in a corner where he could see out the windows to the driveway.  
Rhys was on the couch, Nicca in a chair.  Kitto was actually out of 
his tent, sitting on the rug in the middle of the room.  Frost was 
pacing circles around Kitto.
 
"What could I do, Doyle?" Frost asked.  "We were in her office.  
There were others present, including a police officer and a  
reporter.  They had just finished a meeting about what would be 
released to the newspapers on this last case.  Merry looked at her 
watch, stood up and said she was late for an appointment.  I stood 
up to go with her.  She ordered me to stay and work on the new case.  

In front of the reporter and the policeman.  What could I do?  If I 
had argued, the reporter could have added a section to the society 
page entitled 'The Princess Who Can't Even Command Her Guard'," Frost 
ended bitterly.
 
"She is home safe, Frost," Doyle said softly.  "It's okay."
 
"At least she took the dog with her," Galen chimmed in as he came out 
of the kitchen.
 
"We just have to make certain she doesn't put us in that type of 
position again,"  Doyle said, looking at each of the guards.
 
Just then the phone rang.  Rhys reached over to the table next to 
him to check the caller I.D. before he answered it.  He froze.  "It's 
not a name we know."
 
"Let the machine get it," Doyle said.  He moved away from the corner 
to look at the caller I.D.  It said 'unavailable'.  Just then, the 
machine clicked to life.
 
"Ms. Gentry, this is Dr. Frase.  The pregnancy test came back 
positive.  Please call my office to schedule another appointment."
 
The machine clicked off.  The guards looked at each other stunned.