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Belle is with Luc, going over the differences between the four enchanting power sources (a pentagon could give him skill, but would not allow her to evaluate his trustworthiness and responsibility en route, nor would it do him any favors if he wants to teach students of his own one day), when the Janepoint begins to make worrying sounds.

Beast is likely nearer the beeping than Belle is. Mon cœur, do you know what is making that noise? she asks.
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No, ma belle.

He goes and looks.

It's Jane, he concludes. She is - not here. There is a message.
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Belle sits up abruptly.

"Go on reading," she says to Luc, and she strides through the castle towards the Janepoint to see for herself.
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The Beast points out the message.

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Belle reads.

She squeezes his hand.

"I shouldn't have waited to fetch Renée," she murmurs.
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He hugs her.

"I'm sorry, ma belle."
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Belle holds him. "I have occasionally wondered if Bells are too hasty. It seems this is not the case in all times and places."

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The Beast changes to his beast-shape, so he can hug her more fluffily.

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Fluff.

"Quite apart from that I worry for Jane herself. I had thought that the advantage of the ansible was indelible connection - that this was why it persisted regardless of what worlds each end was in."
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"Maybe... maybe something happened to the ansibles?" he suggests.

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"Jane told me once that even when the physical piece of an ansible is destroyed, her connection is still there, it just can't be used for anything. If the other ends of these ansibles were ruined -" She touches her handflower, and the ansible rack of the Janepoint. "Then I would expect it to last for a moment or two, while Aegis or Sue went and replaced the pieces."

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"Maybe they stopped working."

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"Maybe. I don't know enough about the technology to say."

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"Nor do I," he sighs.

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"At least I never spoke to Charlie about the possibility of bringing Renée back to life, and he will not be disappointed that I can no longer do so."

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The Beast hugs her some more.

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Hugs.

"I suppose there is work aplenty to be done in Rêverie alone," she says. "And however short our time with the others was, we've come away with more tools."

(Neither she nor Beast has ever found a conventional Milliways door. The possibility is not so salient.)
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"And maybe someday they will come back," he says, snuggling her.

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"Yes. But goodness only knows how long that might take."

It takes a long time.

It takes long enough that one idle afternoon, after coming home from enchanting an orphanage that was having trouble making ends meet and will now never lack for the ability to feed resident mouths, Belle asks her husband:

"Do you want to have a baby?"
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"...I don't know," he says. "Do you?"

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"It might be nice. A little boy or girl."

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"Or something," he says agreeably. "Hmm."

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"We have all the time in the world to think about it."

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"We do!"

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Snuggles.

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Snuggly snuggles.

And... he thinks about it.
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