Ascot disagreed with Rose's diagnosis of darkness as a disease; he knew from his studies at Disney Town that Joshua would have to accept his own small-d darkness in order to succeed, but let's just say that this was not a matter to broach with his future mother, not when she's had bad experiences with her own darkness, and not when she was otherwise a kind person.

"Yes," spoke Ascot in response to Rose's question. "For seven years now, I've been without family, or at least, I've been without parents. I've had parental figures and friends, but, none of them can fill the void, since, in the end, my own home is alone; no one there stays with me. I want to live in a normal house again, with parents and two sisters and a warm fire in the hearth."

"That said, though, I'll have to come back to my homeworld every six months; I still have friends there, and responsibilities, too. That also means that, should you choose to adopt me, I'll have to leave you and Elyse alone for half the year. Would that be all right with you?"