Where the Forest Meets the Stars

The next day, Gabe helps Jo and Ursa in the field. Jo carefully marks the data, crediting Gabe for the discovery of several nests. Eventually, they make it to the final study area, which is Ursa’s magic forest. Gabe tells Ursa he feels the magic, and the two trade stories about the magical creatures they’ve seen. Their enthusiasm endears Jo.

While Jo and Gabe eat sandwiches, Ursa swims. Jo and Gabe talk about Ursa’s lack of discipline. Gabe thinks Ursa is too smart to need discipline. Jo thinks Ursa should tell them where she’s from. He argues that maybe she has. He’s beginning to believe her stories because of how different she is from other children. Jo says she still can’t find Ursa on any missing children pages, but she worries that if she does, Ursa will have to return to bad people. They have a serious discussion about how much longer they can keep Ursa before they must involve the police.

Gabe tells Jo about his morning. Before their research outing, he went home to change clothes and encountered an angry Lacey and a surprised mother. Jo tries to console him, observing that Lacey and Katherine won’t allow Gabe time off to recover.