"I be prettiest and strongest and animals love me!"

"There's always someone stronger than you, Bethie," the older Beth corrects the little girl with her name and face. "But if you listen and practice, you'll grow up to be very strong."

The little girl nods and sits down on Smith's lap, laying back against his chest. The young woman sitting across from them both laughs softly, almost giggling. "Something like that. I wouldn't try to reach through the mirror; you might come through and I don't know what that would do to the space-time continuum. I like existing, I don't want to vanish."