At supper Kate was finally able to meet Mr. Wilkinson, Kitty's dad, who had been in the field's working all day. Kate thought he was nice overall, and enjoyed hearing his stories as well.

But, all to soon, she had to take a bath then go to bed.

"Donte, I want you to tuck the little darling in." Olive had said, from behind a kitchen counter. She always seemed to be baking something...

Donte blinked, not seeming too thrilled about the idea, "Alright... if you insist..."

"And make sure she brushes her teeth."

"I will."

"And says her prayers."

"I know."

"And-"

Donte stopped Olive short, "I get it; get Kate ready for bed, then get her into bed... I know, I know..."

Olive sighed and rolled her eyes, "Well apparently you don't know, because Kate just wandered outside..." and she motioned to the open door behind him.

Donte turned quickly to the open door, "Oh for crying out loud..." and he quickly went out into the darkness, and onto the path that lead down to the road.

Kate, was just standing there in her night gown, staring down at the forest she had seen early, that was full of black trees.

"Hey, get inside; it's to late for you to be out here-..." Donte stopped, seeing the little girl was clearly ignoring him, still just watching the treeline, "... You okay kid?"

Kate snapped out of her trance, and turned to look up at Don. He could see she looked frightened.

"I saw... there was... a man, completely black, like a shadow... traveling past the house and into the forest..." Kate stuttered silently, "Who was he?"

Donte looked around quickly, seeing if he could see it anywhere, and then taking a deep breath said, "A spirit."

Kate's eyes widened with fear, "A g-ghost?"

Donte shook his head, as he looked at the moon, and then the treeline, "More of a phantom... The forest is evil; All I'm going to say. It's haunted with the souls of the fallen... Never, go in there."

The six year old gripped to his leg; she was terrified at this point, "I-I... want my mom..." she was almost at the point of tears.

Don could see he had frightened the poor little girl to death, and his eyes widened with the realization, "Hey... it's okay..." and he knelt down, gently prying the girl off him, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. And don't worry, I wont let anything happen to you."

Kate looked up at him, "You promise?"

"I promise." and he picked her up into his arms, "Now, let's get you inside and into bed before Olive has a fit..."

Kathrine nodded, just holding onto Donte, and she stared back at the forest; just in time to see a shadow pass in between the trees...

A phantom? Really? What did Auntie Kitty go through when she was a kid? was the main thought that went through Kate's head.

Donte had tried to pull Survivor off the bed, but the full grown male lion didn't want to budge. So, Surv still laying on the bed, huffed, as if he was laughing at Donte and his attempts on trying to get him off.

"Okay, off!" Donte scolded for about the sixteenth time.

Survivor hissed, and buried his head and furry mane under a pillow.

"Don't you hiss at me, mister!"

Kate yawned, as she sat in the pile of stuffed animals from earlier. How long was this going to go on? Finally, she decided it would be best just to hop in bed anyway.

So, she climbed into bed, right next to Survivor, "It's fine." she said, "I'm use to Survivor laying on my bed."

Donte rolled his eyes and gave up, "Alright, but if he rolls over and crushes you in the middle of the night, it's not my fault..."

"He wouldn't do that..." Kate said with a smile, and she kissed Surv's forehead. Survivor purred, and looked up at Donte.

Donte huffed, "Don't look at me; I'm not gonna kiss ya..."

Kate giggled, "You're funny."

Don smiled slightly, and sighed, "Well, goodnight kid..." and he reached for the lamp.

"Wait!" Kate said quickly.

"What?"

"Can you get me my stuffed animal butterfly from my bag?"

"But you have all those ones over there..." Donte motioned to the pile of stuffed animals.

"Well, I want MINE. Not one of those." Kate insisted.

Donte sighed, and opened her suitcase, taking out a a stuffed butterfly, with a pink outer rim with green lining, and a black body with baby-pink wings, "I'm guessing this is it?"

Kate nodded, and reached over taking it from him, "Her name's Anna."

"Anna looks a bit worn... how long have you had it?" Donte asked.

Kathrine leaned on Survivor, laying her head in his mane, "Ummmm... forever, I guess. Dad says mommy gave it to me when I was born. Anna's the only friend I had when..." Kate stopped in mid sentence, she didn't want to go there. She gave a sad expression.

She never really knew her mother, and she wished she had. But it was okay, she had a new mother that loved her now. And a team- no, a family, to love and look after her. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Donte though, was still waiting for a response, "When?"

Kate shook her head, "It's nothing... just that, I really never... knew my mom... I don't even know what happened to her."

Donte sat down in a chair, across from the bed, with a comforting smile, "Get in line."

Kate blinked, "What?"

"I don't know what happened to my mom either."

"You don't? How come?"

"Well, let's just say my mother went on a business trip... and she went missin'... a few months after, we got a police report; She was found dead." His smile decreased greatly as he said this, "We never knew how she died..."

Kate looked down, and ran her hand through Surv's fur, "I'm sorry... how old were you when she died?"

"Sixteen." he took a deep breath, "My sister was seven."

Kate didn't know what to say; it all seemed so sad. But yawning, she started dozing off, and soon she was asleep against Survivor. Donte sighed and got up, pulling the blanket over Kate.

Survivor hummed.

"You're a lion," Donte whispered with a smirk, "You don't need a blanket." and he left the room, turning off the lamp.

That chapter was sweet! ^^ And also... slightly frightening... O_o

Return of Blackwillow anyone? :D (from Season's Prankings)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed! And I need those reviews people! ^^