Elijah shook his head. "I'm never getting married, and I have no reason to go anywhere unless it's just a short trip. I will always come back.' Of course if he died that was another matter, but it was best to not think about it.

"Okay. Good. I'm glad you'll always be here," the boy said with a smile and he continued to walk with the constable.

Elijah nodded and smiled. "I will hopefully grow to be an old constable that no one listens to.' He laughed at the mental image as he walked the boy towards his home.

"I listen to you!" Bram said. Well, to the extent he ever listened to anyone. He entered Elijah's home like it was his own and sat on the sofa.

Elijah smiled and nodded, "But what if it's forty years in the future and you have your own family and are too busy? I might even spend most of my time rambling on about how much better things used to be."

Bram thought. "Then I'll be as old as father!" he said. He couldn't really imagine being that old. "You'll still be my brother," he said.

And a nicer brother than Will, too, he added in thought.

Elijah smiled and ruffled his hair. "We will always be brothers" he agreed.

Bram smiled. He settled comfortably into the sofa, and soon his eyelids became heavy. It had been an eventful day, with a lot of emotion, and they had all slept late the night before. Now that he sat down at last, sleep came fast.