Author's Note: This takes place three years after Predators ends. Royce and Isabelle finally are home and are going back to a semblance of normal life but Royce has left Isabella to pick up his old life hoping that she will take him back. He just doesn't know what happened after he disappeared.
Disclaimer: I only own Dante Lennox, Jesse Lennox, Ricky Lennox, and Thomas Lennox.
Royce stood outside the house knowing immediately that she had at least moved in where they had planned to move. He walked up to the door and figured if he knew her well enough the spare key would be under the mat and he moved the mat aside. He smirked when he found the key. He opened the door and walked into the house closing the door behind him. He was shocked by how quiet it was and that was when he heard the sound of a shower coming from the back of the house. He walked toward the sound but stopped and walked further down the hall past the bathroom into one of the rooms with a door open. He looked in and saw to his shock three small beds pushed against the wall. Each had a carefully traced and painted letter above the bed. He thought for a second what the J, R, and T could stand for before he walked out and walked into the bathroom. Under the sound of water hitting the tile and flesh he could hear the soft sounds of crying. He walked further into the bathroom and saw an ocean scene with dolphins but he could see the vague outline of a women standing under the spray.
"Dante-Angel?" He called. He heard the water shut off immediately and he held his breath as the shower curtain peeled back to show him the one women that had accepted him. She had gained just a little bit of weight to her probably due to having those three children. She grabbed a towel from the lid of the toilet and wrapped it around her body and stared at him.
"Am I dreaming?" She asked.
"No I'm back." He answered as he took in how much longer her white blonde hair had gotten including the solid streaks of pink and red in the front and how different she looked. She stood there for a few more seconds before she ran into his arms.
"What happened to you?" She asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He answered.
"Try me Royce." She replied as she pulled back to look him in the face.
"I was taken to a different planet and hunted by these creatures." He stated with no emotion. She raised one eyebrow before she left him standing there in the bathroom. He was about to follow after her when he caught sight of a pistol sitting on the bathroom counter.
"Wonders never cease." He muttered as he followed after her. He saw the light on across from the bathroom and he walked into what he could only guess was her bedroom. He saw her crouched by a box digging through it. She looked up at him before she handed a sketchbook to him. He looked down at the sketch and froze.
"Did it look like that?" She asked quietly.
"Where did you get this?" He asked.
"My adopted father Dallas told me about a time when he saw one in his town of Gunnison, Colorado." She answered.
"So you drew it?" He asked.
"Yeah so I could remember it and that way I knew what I had trained to fight against." She answered. Royce sighed before he sank onto the edge of the bed.
"I don't think you're crazy and I wouldn't be amazed if you thought I was crazy." She muttered as she looked at him before getting up to get a tank top and sleep pants on. He watched her before he looked away from her.
"Who is the father of those kids?" He asked quietly not wanting to hear the answer.
"You actually." She answered as she sat on the bed behind him. Royce looked at her and gauged the truth to what she said.
"How old are they?" He asked.
"You've been gone for four years…they're about three years old." She answered. Royce didn't say anything but he looked away and caught sight of the ring on her left ring finger.
"You still wear it." He whispered.
"Always…well except for when I work out or take a shower." She stated.
"I haven't asked yet but names and genders?" He asked.
"Two boys and one girl. The girl is Jesse Gwyneth Lennox, one of the boys is Ricky Dallas Lennox, and the other boy is Thomas Royce Lennox." Dante answered as she lay down on the bed. Royce suddenly stood and turned around to look at her. She raised an eyebrow at him but reached her hand behind her head.
"How can you be so calm with what I just told you?" He asked. Dante shrugged and looked at him.
"These are the stories I've heard all my life and honestly it doesn't bother me. I mean I trained to fight these things if I had to." Dante said. Royce sighed and was about to say something but crying cut him off. Dante got off the bed lazily and headed down the hall. Royce looked at the dresser that sat by the bed and smiled when he recognized the picture that her father had taken at one of his family gatherings. It was of the two of them. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and she was facing forward with a smile on her face and he had a ghost of a smile on his. He turned around to see Dante walk back in with a little girl wrapped around her neck with the same white blonde hair that feel to her shoulders.
"Sh it's okay baby." Dante cooed. Royce watched as the little girl raised her head and looked at him with the same hazel eyes he had.
"Who is he?" She whispered.
"That is your daddy Jesse." Dante answered stroking her back. Royce wasn't sure what to do and was shocked when the little girl got out of her mother's grasp and tottered over to him. Jesse looked back at her mother with big eyes questioning if it was okay.
"Go ahead he doesn't bite baby." Dante stated a she leaned against the doorframe to watch. Royce took the first step and picked her up. Royce was still in shock that something this small and perfect could be his.
"Is she the oldest, middle, or youngest?" Royce asked.
"She's the middle with Ricky behind and Thomas in front." Dante answered.
"Will you read?" Jesse asked. Royce looked at Dante who smiled at him.
"I guess I can." Royce answered.
"Which book do you want tonight?" Dante asked.
"Bears." Jesse answered with a smile. Royce was confused but after Dante left and came back with Goldilocks and the Three Bears he understood. Dante went to the bed and stretched out on it on her stomach. Royce sat on the edge of the bed and Jesse got off his lap to lie down in the middle of the bed.
"We don't bite Royce feel free to lie on the bed." Dante said with a smile. Royce still unsure about how easy and simple this seemed stretched out on the bed and took the book Dante held out to him. He opened it and held it so that Jesse could see the pictures and started to read. Royce had almost made it to the end of the book when Dante touched his arm.
"She's asleep." She whispered. Royce looked down and saw that Jesse had fallen asleep curled into him. Royce looked at Jesse for a few minutes before he looked back at Dante.
"You can go put her in bed if you want." Dante whispered. Royce closed the book and set it on the bed and carefully getting off the bed he reached down and picked Jesse up and cradled her to his chest before he went down the hall to her room. He put her down in her bed and tucked her in and just watched her sleep along with her brothers. None of this had sunk in for him yet and he wasn't sure it ever would. He quietly backed out of the room and headed back into Dante's room. He saw her sitting up in the bed with the pistol in front of her.
"Why do you carry it?" He asked.
"Protection because I'm the only one to take care of them." She answered without looking up.
"I'm sorry." He said. Dante's head jerked up and she laughed.
"Don't be I figured either I had screwed something up between us or you didn't want to see me or you had gotten called away somewhere." Dante stated. Royce raised an eyebrow.
"I may have screwed something up actually." Royce admitted.
"What do you mean?" Dante asked.
"There was a girl with me and on our way back I may have slept with her." Royce muttered. Dante chuckled and smiled at him.
"Well do you want your ring back?" She asked. Royce stared at her easy going manner utterly confused with how well she was taking this.
"No I don't want it back I figured you'd throw it at me." Royce admitted. Dante rolled her eyes.
"When are you going to learn I'm not that kind of girl?" Dante asked. Royce shrugged and moved closer to Dante. Dante glanced at the clock.
"It's late and I have to go to work in the morning." Dante said.
"I can sleep on the couch if you want." Royce suggested. Dante shook her head.
"Please stay with me. I haven't seen you in years and I miss being held." Dante admitted as she looked up at him her green-gold eyes shining with unshed tears. Royce's breath stopped at the sight of her in tears because of him. He hadn't ever expected someone to care that much about him. He walked toward her and sat behind her gathering her into his arms.
"My poor Angel." He whispered against her neck. Dante stroked his forearm.
"My poor Hunter." She responded with a small smile on her face. She reached out and grabbing the gun she turned away from him to put it on the dresser beside her. She looked up at him once before she kissed him lightly. It was the first contact they had like that in years and honestly it felt good. She got out of his arms and crossed the room to the light switch so she could turn it off. Royce fell back onto the bed and within seconds he felt Dante wrap an arm around his waist and laid her head on his chest.
"Goodnight." She said.
"Goodnight Dante." He said as he kissed the top of her head. He adjusted her just enough so he could get the blankets over the two of them before he looked up at the ceiling. He felt her breath even out and he continued to look up at the ceiling. Never in all of his dreams of coming home back to Dante had he seen three kids and the fact he could be open with her about what he had seen and lived through. He released a sigh before he thought about how different his life was compared to when he left. He let his eyes close but he knew he wouldn't relax enough to go to sleep he was still too keyed up over the being hunted instead of the hunter to ever relax. With Dante nestled in his arms though and knowledge that nothing would hurt them he found himself relaxing and falling asleep. Not even one of those half asleep half awake sleeps but a true sleep and that hadn't happened in years. The last thought to drift through his head was the fact that Dante made all the difference like she normally did.