The Boy Who Disappeared

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July 94

Today was Hadrian's birthday. He was five years old, and he was not as happy as he should have been. He was desperately missing his Papa. Hadrian didn't understand why his Papa had been gone for so long.

"Hadrian, my little Love, what is the matter? It is your birthday today and Uncle Mooney made all of your favorite things for breakfast," Regulus said as he pulled a sulking Hadrian into his lap. He had just been sitting at the table pushing his food around. Hadrian had never been sullen on his birthday before. Regulus didn't like it.

"I miss Papa, he is always here to wake me up on my birthday with you. He has been gone for so long Daddy," Hadrian said with tears in his eyes. Regulus held him tighter.

"I know, little Love. I am so sorry that your Papa isn't here. He wants to be here, Hadrian. He loves you so much and you know he would be here if he could be," Regulus told his upset son. Hadrian sniffled and rubbed his eyes.

"Plus, Little Pup, you get to have all of your friends here to play with you. Isn't that fun?" Remus tried helping. Hadrian didn't seem to take it very well. He looked up at Regulus and burst into tears.

"I don't want to have a party without Papa," Then Hadrian ran out of the dining room and up to his room. He closed his door softly even though he wanted to slam it, because his Papa didn't like it when he slammed the doors. Then he threw himself on his bed with the stuffed snake his Papa had gotten for him.

"Well, that could have gone better," Regulus said with a frown. His heart was breaking. They should have waited to get Sirius out until after Hadrian's birthday. He had just thought it would be really exciting for Hadrian to get his Uncle back as a birthday gift. He didn't think that Severus would have still been gone.

Remus walked over and put a comforting hand on Regulus' shoulder. He waved the other hand and placed all of the food in a stasis to keep it warm.

"Just give him a little time, Reggie. He is just a little boy who misses his dad. Severus hasn't been away from him for longer than a workday since you all moved here. When was Severus supposed to be back?" Remus asked his upset brother-in-law.

"He was supposed to be back last night. I am kinda worried. I haven't heard from him since he let me know that they were leaving Britain and heading here. Maybe something went wrong at MACUSA," Regulus said despondently.

"Everything is going to be fine, Reggie," Remus said confidently.

"I hope you're right, Remus," Regulus said sadly.

"Come on, let's make sure everything is all set up for the party. Give Hades a few more minutes and then go and talk to him. Use Bella and Jake, he will come down," Remus offered with a grin. Regulus laughed.

"Yeah, that will get him down. Those three are closer than you, Sirius, and James could have ever hoped to be," Remus gave him a playful push and they went about setting up the party.

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Severus was pissed. Fuming. He was ready to burn MACUSA to the ground and remove the worker's head that had caused all of the mess that they had barely managed to get out of. He and Sirius had come in last night and reported to MACUSA as they were instructed. Except, the idiot at the front desk was a British native and took one look at Sirius and caused a panic.

Sirius had ended up in a cell and it had taken Severus all night and into the morning to show all of the proper documentation and then get the lawyer there to help smooth things over. Severus had raged about them making him miss waking his son up on his birthday and Sirius had begged Severus to leave him so that he could be with Hadrian and then come back later and sort him out. But Severus had refused. He wasn't leaving Sirius in another cell for something that he didn't do.

Finally, they had gotten everything worked out when the next shift came on and their MACUSA representative showed up and fixed everything. Sirius was released, paperwork was completed, the idiot at the front desk had been given a month of unpaid leave, and he had been handed a wrapped box for Hadrian for his birthday. He and Sirius had also been extended one favor from the government to make up for the issue. It was well after breakfast before they finally flooed home.

"Nice office," Sirius said looking around. Severus grunted and tossed his robe and suitcase onto his desk.

He was going to find his son. Turns out he didn't have to find him. Moments after they got home the door was thrown open and the small boy was launching himself into Severus' arms.

"Papa!!!" Hadrian sobbed and wrapped his arms tight around Severus' neck. "I missed you so much. Never leave like that again. Promise, Papa. Promise you won't go away so long again," Hadrian just continued to sob in Severus' arms. The potion master just held his boy tightly and let him cry it out for a few minutes. He knew that being gone this long would have been really hard on Hadrian.

Soon the sobs tapered off and Hadrian was making small hiccupping noises. He pulled back and looked up at Severus with his sad little eyes.

"I am sorry that I was gone so long, Hadrian. I missed you so much and Papa promises to never be gone for so long again ok?" Severus soothed his boy. Hadrian nodded.

"You can't break promises, Papa or Lady Magic will steal your magic," Hadrian said with conviction while wiping his eyes. Severus grinned.

"Of course, she will. Happy Birthday, Darling. How old are you again? Three?" Severus teased. Hadrian giggled and hugged Severus tightly again.

"No, Papa you know I'm five now. I get to start school this year. I am a big kid," Hadrian giggled again.

Then he seemed to realize they weren't the only ones in the room. He looked at the new man. Then he looked up at his papa and grinned.

"You brought me Uncle Siri for my birthday." Then Hadrian squirmed and Severus put him down. The small boy walked straight up to the other man and raised his arms to be picked up. Sirius, who had tears streaming down his face, leaned down and picked him up.

"Hi, Pup," Sirius said with a watery smile. Hadrian smiled brighter.

"That's what Uncle Mooney calls me," Hadrian stated happily. Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, that's what we called you when you were so tiny I could hold you in one hand. Happy Birthday, Hadrian," Sirius said. He was so happy. Thinking of Hadrian had helped him stay mostly sane in Azkaban.

"Thanks, Uncle Siri," Then he once again squirmed to get down. He grabbed his Papa and Uncle by a hand each and smiled up at them. "Daddy and Uncle Mooney are going to be so happy." Then Hadrian was pulling the two adults out of the room and then out into the backyard.

"DADDY, UNCLE MOONEY," Hadrian yelled as soon as he was in the backyard. Both men dropped what they were doing and turned at the yell. "I FOUND PAPA AND UNCLE SIRI," he yelled again. This was the best birthday ever. He had his Papa, Daddy, and both of his Uncles.

Remus went straight to Sirius and pulled him into his arms. The two of them clung to each other desperately. Regulus came to Severus and Hadrian. Severus lifted Hadrian into his arms and wrapped the other arm around Regulus. He pressed a loving kiss to both of their heads and held them tightly. He had missed his family so much. Severus was never leaving them for that long again. It may have only been a week, but it felt like a lifetime.

Once Remus finally let go of Sirius, the Black brothers shared their own hug and both sobbed.

"All right, let's pull ourselves together. We have a birthday party to finish getting together. Our birthday boy deserves the best," Severus finally announced. Hadrian grinned at his Papa. He had been very content to be held and showed no signs of being separated from Severus.

Hadrian spent the rest of the day either touching Severus in some way or making sure that he was in his eyesight. At one point, when Hadrian had been playing with Jake and Bella, he looked up to make sure that his Papa was still where he could see him. But he wasn't. Hadrian walked the whole backyard and couldn't find him and ended up sobbing sitting on the grass with his knees to his chest.

Regulus had asked him what was wrong and Hadrian explained to him that he couldn't find his Papa, that he had left again. Regulus had soothed his son and let him know that his Papa had only gone to the bathroom.

Hadrian hadn't truly calmed down until Severus had strolled back into the yard and soothed him, himself. After that, he went back to running around and playing like normal. Severus had made sure to always be in sight for the rest of the party.

When the evening came, Severus spent a little longer than usual reading to Hadrian, and then when Hadrian finally fell asleep, he left the room to go to his own. He and Regulus barely had time to put on pajamas and crawl into bed before there was a soft knock and little sniffles on the other side of the door. Severus let his boy into the room and let him crawl in the bed between himself and Regulus. The three of them fell asleep and cuddled together.

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Sirius was so happy. This had been a wonderful day. He was reunited with his husband and family. He got to spend his first birthday with Hadrian, his beautiful nephew. Now, he was curled up in his husband's arms in a nice bed. Everything was perfect. He was going to be happy here in Forks, Washington.

"Siri, I have to tell you something," Remus said softly. Sirius made a noise to let him know that he was listening. He had no intention of moving from Remus' arms at all.

"There is a potion. Severus gave it to me. He opened an apothecary and took on an assistant. For her Masters, she created a potion for werewolves. It has been tested and proven to work Sirius. It will break my ties with the moon and merge me and Mooney as one. I will basically become an Animagus. I will have complete control of my transformations, and I will one hundred percent be myself," Remus carefully told his husband. Sirius took a moment to think about what he had just been told then he pulled back and looked Remus in the eyes.

"What you are telling me is that someone made a cure, or as close to a cure as we have ever had?" Sirius asked cautiously. Remus nodded. Then they both grinned. "Have you taken it?" Remus shook his head no.

"It has to be done on the day of the full moon, which is tomorrow. I have to take it tomorrow and then I have to take it again on the next full moon and it will be complete. That will be it, Siri. No more tearing myself to pieces on a full moon. No more days of recovery. My body won't permanently ache all the time anymore. Severus says that I will still transform this full moon. But after this one, I will never transform again unless I want to. He has also already made up a batch of potions to help me heal my bones and organs from all of the damage that I have suffered from transforming each month." Remus told his husband. Sirius was still in awe of what he had just been told.

"This is wonderful Remus. Our lives are truly going to be so much better here. We can live our lives happily with our family. Maybe without the threat of Mooney, we can start a family of our own. Once we settle of course. We can't keep living here, we will need a place of our own so that we can truly settle," Sirius stated. Remus nodded.

"I have an idea of what I want to do, Sirius," Remus ventured to tell his husband. Sirius indicated for him to continue. "Well, Regulus and I have been looking into buildings in town and I think that I have found one that I want to purchase. I want to open a bookstore/coffee shop. A muggle one. Then I want to get my teaching degree here and start teaching at the school."

"That sounds perfect Mooney. I like that plan very much. Severus told me that he and Regulus already had all of my accounts moved here. He said you have the card and key linked to our accounts already. We will get you anything you want and set you up for the life that you want to have. I will figure out what I want to do as well. I was an auror before being thrown in Azkaban maybe I will join Regulus' friend Charlie on his police force or maybe I will do private investigator work for muggles and Magical folks," Sirius exclaimed in excitement.

"Yeah, that sounds great Siri. You have always been really good at that sort of thing," Remus replied.
"So, Severus brews and has his own shop, what does Reg do?" Sirius asked. His brother was always going to take over the family stuff. Sirius had been disowned, and Regulus had never made plans outside of being Lord Black and going into politics. Remus smiled.

"Reggie is a stay-at-home dad. He is wonderful at it too. He helps organize events for the town, like fundraisers and bake sales. He is definitely in a role that I never would have guessed he would thrive in. But he is certainly thriving. It is wonderful to see. He is almost never without a smile and Hadrian is the happiest kid I have ever seen. Being here for the past month has been eye-opening about the life we were manipulated into back in Britain," Remus told his husband. Sirius grinned.

"Life here is going to be amazing. I can't wait to start living it," Sirius stated with a contented sigh. Remus pulled him close and then two of them finally drifted off to sleep.

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September 94

Exactly a month later, Remus, Sirius, Severus, and Regulus were all standing outside of Forks Elementary. Hadrian had just kissed each of them goodbye and was now happily chatting with his new teacher as he walked into the school for his first day.

He had not cried or begged not to go. Hadrian had been looking forward to this day all summer. He was sad that Bella had to go back to her mom and that Jake wouldn't be starting school yet, but he was happy to make new friends and learn new things.

Regulus and Sirius seemed to be struggling with the situation the most. Sirius wanted to grab Hadrian and take him home. Regulus didn't know what he was going to do with himself.

"Pureblood families have been homeschooling their heirs for centuries. He is the Heir to multiple houses, we should stick to tradition and teach him at home," Sirius demanded as Remus pulled him away from the school.

Remus was trying really hard not to laugh at his husband’s distress. Regulus was just very quietly wringing his hands together. He and Hadrian had been together every day since he had gotten him back.

"Going to muggle school will be good for him Siri. He will make a lot of new friends and learn everything he needs to succeed in life," Remus insisted again.

It was a conversation that they had had often since Sirius found out that Regulus and Severus were going to be sending Hadrian to school. Remus still thought it was hilarious. So did Severus. Remus and Severus were both half-bloods and had gone to muggle primary school.

"Reg and I didn't go to muggle school and we turned out just fine," Sirius argued.

"Need I point out that Remus and I both scored higher than the two of you on OWLS and NEWTS. It isn't like he isn't going to be taught magic. He is going to do both. Hadrian will be properly educated in both the muggle world and the magical world. This is what will offer him the best possible opportunities for his future," Severus pointed out. He wrapped his arm around Regulus, who was still very quietly fretting.

"He is going to do great Reg. He is so excited to go, and he already knows most of the kids he will be in class with. You will see when he comes home and tells you all about his day. Just try and keep busy with the shop today, it will help," Severus told his husband quietly. Regulus smiled and kissed Severus on the cheek.

"I know you are right Sev. This is what is best for him, and he is so excited for school. I will stay busy, don't worry about me, okay? Get to work before your new apprentice burns the building down," Regulus laughed at the look on Severus' face. He had chosen a new apprentice now that Kira was gone to teach at Ilvermorny.

The new guy, Travis, was taken on as a favor. He was the grandson of the elderly potion master Severus had working the front of the apothecary. He had asked Severus to at least look at the boy's application and Severus had decided that he might have potential.

He had been working for Severus for a year, and he could brew at a master's level, but he was the most accident-prone person Severus had ever met. It was a toss-up each day on whether he would brew flawlessly or burn the building down.

"He almost did that yesterday so today we should be fine," Severus said as he rolled his eyes. Remus, Sirius, and Regulus all laughed at the exasperated tone of his voice.

The four of them made it to the building that Sirius and Remus had just purchased. Remus and Regulus were going to be working on the place to get it ready to open and Sirius was going to go with Severus to Pike's Place Alley to talk to MACUSA about becoming a certified PI. All four were going to stay busy and Severus was going to get off work early enough so that they could all be there when Hadrian came home for his first day of school.

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Remus and Regulus looked around at all of the progress they had made that day. All of the shelves were in place for the books to start arriving tomorrow. The coffee shop area had all been set up nicely. Regulus was going to work with Remus until he hired someone and even then he might stay on part-time to keep himself busy when Hadrian was in school.

"Well Remus, everything looks amazing. Now we just need to wait for all of the book orders to start coming in so we can fill your shelves," Regulus said. They were waiting for Severus and Sirius to floo over so that the four of them could head to the school and pick up Hadrian. They had been busy all day, but Regulus had still missed his baby all day long.

Severus and Sirius flooed into the shop about ten minutes later and the four of them quickly headed for the school to wait for Hadrian to be released from his first day.

Hadrian was super excited as he came out of the school building looking for his family. He ran out of the school and straight into Regulus' arms. He hugged each of his favorite people and then proceeded to talk their ears off about his first day of school.

The four adults smiled and listened. After seeing and hearing about how great Hadrian's day was and how happy he was to go back, they knew that sending him to muggle school had been the best choice.

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December 94

Sirius came home from a particularly awful assignment one day right after Thanksgiving. He was not alone though. He had a small set of one year old twin girls clinging to him.

"What happened?" Remus and Regulus asked at the same time. Sirius shook his head and led them to the living room and sat down settling the clearly traumatized girls in his lap.

"You remember my assignment for the past month has been child abductions right?" Sirius asked them.

They nodded. A few high profile Wixen children had been going missing, and Sirius had asked to be let in on the team that was working on finding and retrieving them. The man had been working long hours to help find the children and return them to their families.

"Well, we found them. They were all found and sent home to their parents. These two little lovelies were not abducted children. They belong to the couple that was doing the abducting. I found them being kept separate from the other children. They were chained up like dogs in an upstairs bedroom. It was awful. They went completely mental if anyone else tried to touch them or when I put them down."

"So, I guess that means they are ours until they settle," Remus stated calmly. Regulus nodded his head in agreement.

"Where they examined by a healer?" Regulus asked.

"No, they wouldn't let anyone else near them," Sirius said. He seemed so exhausted.

"We will keep things around here calm and hopefully we can get Severus to look them over. Even if we have to wait until they are asleep. How old are they Siri? They look small," Regulus asked. He was remembering Hadrian when they had first gotten him back and it was upsetting. He hated when children weren’t treated right.

"From the records we found in the house, they were born December 5th. So they are almost a year old," Sirius informed them.

"I will floo over to Severus and go shopping for some things for them. We can get Hadrian’s old crib out of storage and set it up for them to sleep in for now. We will all look after them. It is going to be fine. I will take Hadrian with me so that he doesn't startle them," Regulus said and headed out the back door to get Hadrian from the backyard and then floo to Severus.

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The twins ended up taking to Remus as well.

When dinner time came, Remus was allowed to feed one of the girls while Sirius fed the other. They did not allow Severus to do an exam on them without going into hysterics, so Severus waited until they went to bed that night, and did it while they were sleeping.

He determined that both girls were severely dehydrated and malnourished. They didn't have any broken bones or signs of being beaten but they did show severe signs of long-term neglect. The only visible wounds were the ones caused by whatever shackles they had been using on their little legs to keep them from wandering.

Severus spent that night and into the next morning brewing nutrient potions and other medical potions that they would need to get the girls healthy again. Hadrian adored them and the girls took to him instantly. He was eager to help them and to play with them when they allowed it.

They had not been given names and there was no record of their births other than the one that had their birthdate on it. Tests had been done to locate family for them but the uncle that was found refused to have anything to do with them and the girls became wards of the government. Sirius and Remus talked with Regulus and Severus and it was agreed that for now, the girls would stay with them.

Sirius decided that they would give the girls their official names and went with Black family tradition and stuck with names that had to do with the stars. So, they were named Cassiopeia and Corina. Cassiopeia was a star and Corina was the constellation that contained the second brightest star in the sky.

The girls spent Christmas with them and when January came around Sirius and Remus decided to get a place of their own finally and they would be taking the girls with them. They bought the property that bordered Regulus and Severus' land and had a house built on it that suited their needs. Using a bit of magic it was built in less than two months.

Once their home was built they furnished it with everything that they needed and set up a room for the girls as well and fully supplied it with clothes and everything that they would ever need. Then, when they were settled, they petitioned MACUSA for the right to adopt them. Remus and Sirius had fallen so in love with the girls and had already talked about starting a family.

They officially adopted the girls in May. Six months after bringing them into their lives.

Remus was planning on starting his studies to become a teacher the next September and Sirius was going to continue working as a PI/Auror for MACUSA. Regulus took over the care of watching the girls during the day while everyone was working or in school. He quite enjoyed staying at home and caring for the little ones, especially since Hadrian had started school.

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July 97

Life was good for the Black and Black-Prince families. Hadrian continued to spend his free time with Jake, who had quickly become his best friend since Bella was no longer around through the year, and his summers were spent with both Jake and Bella together. The summer that Hadrian turned eight, they all got a bit of a surprise.

Bella and Hadrian were playing in Hadrian's backyard with Cassy and Cory. Bella and Hadrian had decided to see who could climb higher in the trees. Charlie, Regulus and Sirius were keeping an eye on the three-year-old twins and only paying half attention to the older two. Bella had managed to outclimb Hadrian but when she grabbed the next branch it snapped and she lost her footing.

Hadrian screamed out for help as Bella fell, but before anyone could do anything she disappeared with a crack right before hitting the ground and reappeared on her hands and knees throwing up next to the adults. Hadrian quickly climbed down from his tree and ran over to the now-shocked adults.

"Dad, did you see? Bella did magic. She is just like us," Hadrian exclaimed excitedly. Sirius ran into the house to grab a glass of water for the poor girl to clean her mouth with, while Regulus sat Charlie down in a chair.

"Of course, she didn't. Magic isn't real," Charlie said quietly. He had no idea what he had just seen. Hadrian was now bouncing up and down with Bella who seemed to take to the idea of magic being real very easily. But honestly, what seven year old wouldn’t? They spent the next ten minutes trying to explain to Charlie what magic was and what it would mean for Bella. Severus came into the backyard with a friendly-looking woman.

"This is Mrs. Bea Wallanby she works for MACUSA in their children's department. She is here because of the accidental magic. She can explain it to you better," Severus announced the woman.

"As he said, I am Bea Wallanby but just Bea is fine. We have a system set up here in America that alerts us to new witches and wizards when they have their first real experience with accidental magic. Their names and locations are recorded so that someone can be sent out to explain things quickly before things can get out of hand. Looks like we all got lucky that Mrs. Swan's accident happened in a Wixen home," Bea explained. Charlie had been quite shocked to find out that their entire family were wizards and used magic daily.

"So, what does that mean for Bella?" Charlie asked. Hadrian had pulled Bella off to play with her. He could show her all of his magical toys now. So, the two of them were up in his room. Hadrian knew that the adults would need a few minutes to talk about things together without him and Bella there.

"It means that if you choose for her to learn, she can magic at one of the private boarding schools that we have available here and that Bella, you, and her mother now can access all of the magical alleys and other things as well. Lord Sirius Black and Lord Regulus Black-Prince are from an Ancient and Noble pureblood family, they can answer any questions about everyday things. I have pamphlets for the schools that are available here. She would need to start when she turns eleven. Maybe she can go to school with Heir Black-Prince since the two of them are close," Bea told Charlie.

"Our Hadrian isn't going to school. His dad and I have decided that he is going to stay in Muggle school to get a full education and he is going to be homeschooled and have tutors for all of the magical stuff. We have already cleared everything with MACUSA for it," Severus informed Bea.

"Well, even so for Bella, school would be a good idea. Since neither you nor her mother are Wixen. She will need every opportunity to succeed in the magical world now that she is part of it. We even offer classes that start before school that will help her learn the basics of the magical world," Bea told the Sheriff and handed him a few pamphlets and a couple of books. The sheriff was quiet and seemed to be a little overwhelmed by everything that was going on.

"The books are for you and her mother. They will help the two of you to understand what is happening and the world that your daughter is now a part of." Charlie took everything he was handed and knew that he was going to have to call Renee to come sooner so that they could talk about all of this.

They talked with Bea a few minutes longer before she excused herself. After that, Regulus and the other three sat together with Charlie to answer any questions that he had about things and to help sooth his anxiety about the turn their life had suddenly taken. It would be a lot for anyone to process.

A few minutes after Bea left Hadrian came running back downstairs with Bella running excitedly behind him. He was carrying his kid's broom and had his kid's wand tucked in his pocket that Mr. Hart had given him for his birthday last year. He was gonna show Bella how to ride a broom.

"Dad, Papa, Mr. Swan can I show Bella how to ride a broom?" Hadrian asked.

The two eight-year-olds were bouncing in place with how excited they both were. Bella having magic meant that Hadrian didn't have to keep anything from one of his closest friends in the whole world. She was a witch, and they could share everything now. Charlie agreed but only after Regulus assured him that it barely came off the ground and was perfectly normal for kids their age to have one.

They spent the rest of the afternoon watching Hadrian teach Bella everything that he knew about magic so far. Regulus was so happy that Hadrian finally had a friend that he could share everything with. It was however going to make her going back home even harder for their boy.

Regulus had been right, of course. When Bella went back home to Florida at the end of the Summer, Hadrian cried and then moped around for the entire week before school started back. Jacob Black was the only person that Hadrian bothered to really be friends with. He was friendly to everyone but was only truly friends with Jake. Regulus would be worried but Hadrian didn't seem to be having issues.

Bella called Hadrian two months later to let him know that she was going to be going to Ilvermorny when she turned eleven. She also informed him that it meant that she wasn't going to be allowed to spend her entire summer in Forks anymore. She was going to have to spend a month with her mom and a month with her dad. Hadrian had not taken that news very well either. He had tried convincing his dads to let him go to Ilvermorny also but they were not budging on what they had already decided.

Hadrian had been upset for a month before he realized that being upset about it wasn't going to change their minds. Once he was done being mad about it Regulus and Severus sat down with him and explained to him why it was important that he was educated in the muggle world and the magical. They just wanted him to have the whole world open to him no matter where he lived or where he worked. He was only eight but he did understand that his parents were doing this because they loved him.

Regulus and Severus figured their first big issue with Hadrian was taken care of properly and they could move on and enjoy life until the next speed bump tripped them up. They were fairly confident that they could handle it.