"Okay, I'll ask her then," says Kerron, and he hops off his chair and trots over to the door.

The bat lady goes back to staring out the window.

Kerron goes back to to where his family lives, looking for Mummy.

"Hi!" says Kerron. "On my way home from magic lessons I found Milliways! I met a lady whose colorshapes had lots of black bat shapes in them flying round and round and she had colorshapes that were about you, Mummy, so I went and talked to her."

"You're okay?" Nathan says. "Did you tell her who your mummy is - what happened?"

"She asked and I said," Kerron blinks. "I'm okay. We just talked. She's a human, she can't hurt me, why are you scared?"

"Your daddy and the bat lady don't like each other much," the Joker puts in, glancing up from his sewing. "What'd you talk about?"

"That! But she wouldn't say why," says Kerron. "And I told her you didn't have any colorshapes about any cities so she didn't have to worry about that, and she said she didn't understand you but she met you once, and she met the Empress one time, and she wanted to know how you could be my mummy and I told her magic, and she explained what a complex is and why Jasper thought I was going to have one but I don't 'cause I know you love me."

"And she said that mass murderers don't turn into doting parents but I said obviously they do, like, all the time," says Kerron, nodding to himself. "And I explained about how half-vampires grow, and she said the first drink is free so I got a synthetic thing that looked like a pina colada but it tasted totally different and it was really good, and I told her about the Ultra Olympics, and there's no magic in her world at all and that's sad, and -" Then he repeats the part of the conversation about why Nathan might not like the batlady. Verbatim, including the part where he quoted Addy about how Mummy turning would simplify things.

"You've never wanted to turn," Nathan says. "Kerron, kiddo, even if something like that happens, you'll be fine, okay? We both love you."

"Henry and Lily and Brandon don't have to even worry about it," Kerron says.

"Henry and Lily and Brandon don't have me for a mother," he says. "That's life. Wanna hug, munchkin?"

Kerron jumps into his mummy's lap.

"Yeah," sighs Kerron.

"Good," he says, kissing the top of Kerron's head again.

"You know, it's not just humans who don't have mate bonds, it's half-vampires too," Nathan says. "When you get older -"

"EW-EW-EW," says Kerron, clapping his hands over his ears.

He snickers and ruffles Kerron's hair.

"I'm just saying, if this is the kind of thing that worries you -"

"EW," says Kerron loudly. "Nope I'm gonna grow up and be like Addy instead because EW."