Tim, Liza's creepy brother

John whirled in surprise, to find Tim, his soon-to-be-brother-in-law, standing in the living room in the dark.

"How did you-" he began, then broke off. He didn't want to scare the boy.

"Tim?" John began gently, cautiously. He needed to deal with the boy carefully - Tim was not completely right in the head. Liza had said it had something to do with her and Tim having been adopted by different sets of parents, but the boy refused to talk about his past. All he had wanted to talk about, ever since he had sought John out a year or so ago, was this crazy notion that in some past life, John had been a WOMAN, of all things, and how the two of them had been in some sort of relationship. John would have been happy to break off all ties with the young man, but once he met Liz, that had become impossible.

Tim could get very disturbing when he started talking about how he and John were bound together by fate, but John knew that with the right care Tim would come around. In fact, Tim had been behaving quite well since the marriage was announced, and John had high hopes that this could serve as the 'bond' Tim was looking for. John had even taken him along during the last expedition, and Tim had proven to have a knack for finding secret chambers and hidden artifacts.

"What are you doing here Tim?"

"I've come to…" The boy blinked. "I've come with the rings. My sister said you have to… try them on, before the wedding."

"Oh," John replied, feeling relieved that Tim had come on an actual errand. The boy handed him an ornate box. "Thank you Tim."

John opened the box, then raised an eyebrow as he saw the slim, golden ring, capped by a tiny emerald gem, nested within the container. "This doesn't look like the ring we ordered."

Tim just shrugged, shuffling his feet. "You know how they are," he said. "Women, I mean."