"Oh." Jason sounded dejected. "I'm really sorry. That doesn't happen back home any more. They can save every kid no matter what. They could probably fix what's wrong with your mom's body, too. I know life sucks, but that's…that's just awful."

She looked over at him again. "Father almost died, too," Kira said, not knowing why she was finally sharing something she had rarely been able to talk about. "He tried to heal Danel with his Mage skills. He kept trying, getting weaker and weaker, and Mother was the only one who could break his focus and save him. She had to rise from the birth bed and shake him out of it. They've never told me that. A couple of other people who were there did."

"He nearly killed himself trying to save his son?" To her surprise, Jason laughed, the sound full of pain. "Oh, man, my dad would've done a happy dance if I'd died at birth."

Kira stared at him in shock. "Jason, I know you've said he's awful, but that can't be true."

"It is." Jason sighed. "There's a guy named Tolstoy who wrote stories, and he said that all happy families are the same, but every unhappy family is unhappy in a different way. Something like that. I guess that's true. Look at you and me."

"My family isn't unhappy," Kira denied.

"You don't seem happy whenever you talk about them."

"I—" Kira frowned down at the river. "Really?"

"Yeah. Any idea why?"

"I don't know." She felt her frown deepening as she thought. "They're so happy together. I mean, sometimes they argue. Mother has…well, I inherited her temper. But they love each other so much." Kira paused, trying to find the right words. "Maybe it bothers me that…I know it sounds stupid and selfish, but how could I ever find someone like that, someone I would risk dying for and someone who would risk death to save me?"

"Why do you think that'd be hard for you?" Jason scoffed. "I'll never find that. But you… You're you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kira demanded, feeling defensive and upset even though she wasn't sure why.

"It means you'll find that person," Jason said, his voice growing brusque at her reaction.

"No, I won't."

"You will," Jason insisted.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Not in a million years." Kira glanced at him again. "You can keep trying, but I'm going to get the last word on this."

To her surprise, his grumpiness shifted to a laugh. "How can you do that? I was all ready to sulk again for the rest of the day and you made me laugh."

"It's a gift, I guess," Kira said, finding herself smiling slightly.

"You'll find that guy, Kira."

"No, I won't."

"Yes, you will."

"No."

"Yes."

"Maybe."

He laughed again. Even though Jason didn't say anything else, he seemed cheerful.