There was a little girl crying.  Usually that wouldn't bother her very much; little girls cried with such frequency, as did girls in general.  But this one looked quite alone, and no one had yet bothered to notice besides herself.

'Seems like an awful silly thing to need my help.' The young woman thought, and then thought she was thinking too much of herself.  Maybe having everyone else think that way about her was rubbing off.  Rising with the glow of the sun on her face, she walked flightless through the courtyard and knelt down beside the girl, who sat with her hands covering her weeping eyes.

"Are you all right?"

Sensibly, the girl was not surprised by the voice, and surprisingly, she did not look up.  "No."  The child responded without moving, and then cried some more.  This actually pleased Carius, who was getting quite exasperated with being treated like a miracle.  But it didn't make her leave.

"I thought so."  Said the woman, Carius, and sat down legs crossed next to the small girl, clasping her hands together.  "So I also thought you might need some help."

"No."

"Well, then.  I suppose I'll just go -"

"No!"

Half risen, Carius looked down at the little girl who was now grasping on to her pant leg.  She smiled and sat back down, looking over at the child.  "What's your name?"  She asked politely.

"Carius."

Carius... the older Carius... blinked, surprised.  "That's funny."  She commented.  "That's my name, too."  It was really more than funny.  Last she checked, it wasn't exactly a common name.  She didn't know this girl.  She didn't really know anyone, and hadn't for a while, not since...

"Tell me, Carius, do you know your last name too?"  The woman asked.

The girl sniffed a little.  "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."  She declared.

'A little late for that.'  Carius thought.  "Oh, no need to worry about that.  If I'm right, we're not strangers at all."  There was a wryness in her voice lost completely on one so young.

"Douglas."  Said Carius Douglas in a small voice.

'Well that does it then.'  No coincidences ran this deep.  "Okay, then, Miss Carius Douglas.  My name is Miss Carius LaFontae.  Now, what's the last place you saw your Mom?  Or your Dad?"

"We were walking."  The young girl said.  "By the waterfront.  And then she disappeared."

"Oh, I doubt that."  Said her companion, and sighed.  "All right.  Come along, let's get up and go find your parents."

She offered the girl a hand and they both stood, fists grasped protectively together.  Neither spoke as they walked - the smaller Carius too shy and the larger too philosophical.  Carius LaFontae was too busy thinking to talk, mostly about how long it had been since she walked with someone like this, and about that someone.  And about how long it had been, period.  She didn't think about time the way most people did, but it had been years no matter how you looked at it.  The little girl holding onto her hand like it was a life raft being living proof.  For the first time in all of those years, she wondered how they were getting along.  The evidence beside her suggested that they were well, but she didn't know for sure.  And what about the rest of them?  She'd felt a bit uneasy about leaving Mouse like that, even though she hadn't had a choice.

Now that she did, though, she was thinking about it.  Contact with another human, personal contact, after half a decade without, seemed an absurd concept.  But strengthening too, in a way.  Warming.  They probably remembered her - definitely, really, judging by the little girl.  They were probably worried.  They'd probably appreciate it.

But she couldn't, anyway.

"Carius?"

The child looked up, unsure which of them the address was meant for.  But since the older girl, the other Carius, was looking at her it was evidently a question for her.

The woman smiled.  "We're here."

Looking around, the girl saw she was right; after what felt like a very short time, they were back where she had left her mother.  Maybe she hadn't been quite so lost after all.

The older Carius bent down to the ground, taking a piece of paper and a pen from her pocket and scrawling a message on it quickly.  After a few moments, she scooped the parchment off the ground, folded it in half, and handed it to the younger Carius.  "Now, listen to me.  I'm going to go now.  Your mother is sitting on a bench just that way."  She pointed.

"Why can't you come with me?"  Asked the child.

Carius LaFontae was silent for a rare moment before answering.  "It's complicated.  But the short version is that you don't need me too... and the slightly longer version is that she doesn't either.  But there is something I need you to do for me.  Just a little favor."

"What?"

"Give that paper to your mother for me."

The small girl frowned.  "That's all?"

"That's all."

"Thank you for rescuing me."  Said Carius Douglas, the comment coming from apparently nowhere.

The woman was taken aback, and for a moment she was made quiet again at how familiar these words sounded.  "It's no problem, dear.  Now go.  You shouldn't keep Camelia waiting."

"How do you know her name?"

The older girl smiled and put a finger to the child's lips, shushing her.  "Because I do."  She responded cryptically.  And without saying a word of good-bye, she stood up, turned around, and walked away.  So quickly, it looked like she was flying.

***

Camelia Douglas was beside herself.  Granted, her daughter had been missing for a grand total of fifteen minutes, but they were the worst fifteen minutes she'd ever spent (and she'd encountered some rather unpleasant time spans.)  What's more, anything could happen in fifteen minutes... well maybe not anything, but it felt like that.  She wanted to be up and searching, doing something, but 'Miah had insisted she stay in case their daughter returned.  She suspected he was also concerned that if she stood up, she would faint, and then he'd have even more to worry about.  Not an illegitimate concern, but now she was alone without husband or child, and that was not a comfortable state to be in.

"Mommy?"

Jolted, Camelia looked up.  Just a few feet away, her daughter looked back at her.

"Carius!"  The mother exclaimed, and leaped up, running to the girl and smothering her in an embrace.  "Oh, Carrie, honey, you're safe... oh, thank God you're safe..."  She muttered between tears, desperately stroking the girl's auburn locks.

The two of them were quiet together like that for a few minutes, Lia clinging to her child for dear life.  After some time, she moved back, holding her at arm's length and reining back her tears.  "Oh, baby... where were you, darling?  How did you -"

"I got lost."  Explained Carius earnestly, with childish innocence.  "But someone found me."

"Someone... honey, are you all right?  Did they hurt you, did..."

"No, not at all."  Declared Carius.  "She helped.  And she told me to give you this."

Camelia retracted her arms, surprised to see her daughter hold out to her a small, folded piece of paper.  Confused, she took the offered object and unfolded it, looking over the note.  Her eyes widened as they followed the text.

"Lia,

Keep a better watch on your children.  And for goodness sake, find better role models to name them after.

-Carius"

"Mommy?"

Lia looked up from the note, hearing Carius - her daughter's - voice.

"Is something wrong?"  Asked the girl.

Camelia smiled, a bit sadly, a bit wistfully, but these nuances were invisible to a four year old.  "Yes dear.  I'm fine.  Just relieved.  Now come on.  We don't want your father worrying."

"All right."  Carius agreed, and they stood up, keeping hands held.  For a moment, as they began to walk, Lia thought upon the grand irony of her leading Carius to Fox.  But she didn't think too hard on it.  Maybe Carrie was finally getting her way after all.