I hope you all had a nice holiday, and are going to have a happy new year. Anyway, hope you like the new chapter. I've been looking forward to writing this one for a while. Enjoy!

Their plane didn't take off until 4 AM the next morning, so Johnny and Mavis were able to get a good day's rest. They were also able to enjoy a huge banquet that night. Not only was it for them, but it was for everyone else there, to keep their spirits up.

By midnight, things were winding down and by two o'clock, the couple was ready to go to the airport. All of the monsters came down to the lobby to wish them good luck, handing out goodbye hugs and telling the couple to be safe and have fun. Soon, there was only one monster to say goodbye to.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Dracula asked.

"Yep, I've got everything," Mavis said, holding up her hot pink suitcase, "Double checked before I zipped it up this morning."

"Good," Dracula said, "And when will you be arriving?"

"7 PM Pacific time," Mavis recited, "Johnny says by the time we get to his place, the sun should be completely down if it's not when we land." Dracula appreciated that Jonathan always made sure that their plane would always arrive at night or early in the morning.

"And, when are you going to tell his family?"

Mavis stayed silent for just a moment before giving her father a confident smile. "Well, I have to meet them first," she said jokingly, "but, I think we'll know when the time is right."

"Alright," he said with a small smile. Dracula was still a bit nervous, but things would never change if someone never takes the first step. He also knew how important this was for Mavis.

"I'll call as soon as we land," Mavis said before wrapping her arms around Dracula in a hug, which he didn't hesitate to return. "Love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Princess." The two smiled at each other before letting go.

"Hey guys!" Looking across the lobby over by Frank and Murray, they saw Johnny walking towards them, wearing his trusty backpack and ready to go.

"I was wondering when they would let you leave," Dracula joked.

"Better late than never," Johnny replied, "Oh, and Drac. Thanks, you know for letting me stay here and, well, for everything." The vampire smiled at the human.

"No thanks is needed," he said simply, and the two shared a smile.

"Well, I guess we better get going," Mavis said, grabbing the handle on her suitcase. The two waved goodbye as they walked out the door and into the open hearse, the zombies putting their bags in the back.

Airport security went by without any problems, and a couple hours later they were on the plane (all the shades on the windows closed since the airport was alerted about Mavis's 'skin condition') and ready to go.

"I haven't felt this excited since, well, the first time I rode in one of these," Mavis stated.

"Yeah," Johnny said, "I kinda feel the same way." Ever since he started travelling, he had only communicated with his family using letters and phone calls. Since there were so many places to see, and it would cost more to go to America and back rather than just travelling around Europe, it was easier to just stay. His parents and brothers understood this, and didn't complain or force him to come home.

But at the same time, there were times where Johnny really did miss his home. His house, his room, his family, everything. He was usually able to shake this feeling within a day or so, to say he wasn't excited to be visiting home would be a complete understatement.

'All roads lead to home I guess,' he mused with a small smile, 'even the ones thousands of miles away.'

The engines began to roll, and they both took one last look at the dark ground before the plane took off into the slowly brightening sky.

()()()()()()()

When the plane landed, it was around six thirty. Mavis still had to use her parasol, but it was mostly safe. In the parking lot, she could see roads leading different ways, but the one that most people used lead to a brightly lit city. From the horizon, she could see the glowing lights of LA. She was also easily able to see white letters that spelled out Hollywood, sitting on a hill like a welcome banner.

"So, what do you think" Johnny asked, smiling at the sight as well.

"Amazing," Mavis replied, excitement filling her voice. She longed to fly up and get a better view, but settled for standing there a few moments longer before going inside the airport to get their luggage.

Like most of their nighttime landings, the airport was bustling with tired travelers, anxious to grab their luggage and get to their hotel. Johnny and Mavis were probably the only ones who didn't try to rush.

"Are we taking a taxi to your house?" Mavis asked as they got their luggage.

"No, the taxis only go to the airport and back to LA," Johnny replied, turning his head as if he was looking for something, or someone. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall, redheaded man lazily holding up a homemade sign with the words 'Johnny and Mavis' on it. "But, we do have our own chauffeur," Johnny said with a grin, quickly pulling Mavis along.

"Well, about time you got here," the man said with a smile, "Nice to see you haven't changed too much."

"I could say the same thing," Johnny replied as the two gave each other a quick hug. Mavis quickly recognized the man as one of Johnny's brothers from the picture he showed her. If she remembered correctly, he was the oldest, and he definitely looked the part.

He had the same hair color as Johnny, but his face seemed a little more mature. While Johnny could maybe pass as a teenager, his brother looked more his age. He was also muscular, but at the same time looked friendly and not too intimidating. He was wearing a black tank top and an old pair of jeans.

"So, are you gonna introduce me?" the man asked.

"I was getting there," Johnny said. He turned to Mavis. "Mavis, this is my oldest brother, Matt. Matt, this is my awesome girlfriend, Mavis."

"Nice to meet you," Mavis greeted, giving him a small wave.

"Same here," Matt said, "So, you've been traveling with Johnny? Hope he hasn't caused too much trouble." Pouting a little, Johnny gave him a light shove, but Matt just laughed it off. Well, come on, Mom will kill me if I don't get you guys back in time for dinner. Follow me."

The three walked outside, the sun nearly set now. Sitting in the parking lot was an old blue car. It could easily sit a family of ten, and despite looking a little worn, it looked like a good car.

"You can put your stuff in the trunk," Matt said, opening it up for them. When Johnny put his backpack in, Matt looked surprised. "You still have that thing?"

"Hey," Johnny replied, "It's a good backpack."

"If you say so."

Matt took the driver's seat while Mavis and Johnny sat in the seats behind it. Getting on the road that pointed away from the big city, the bright lights soon faded, leaving only small lights on the highway to guide the way.

As Johnny and Matt reconnected, Mavis watched the road and flat pieces of land to pass her by. She smiled to herself. 'I bet the pups would love a place like this,' she thought, 'lots of open space, and plenty of room to run and cause all sorts of mischief.' She giggled. 'And Wayne would hate it because he would never be able to find them all. Plus, no dark places to hide in.'

"So, have you ever been to the states, Mavis?" Matt asked, getting her attention.

"Well, only Hiwe- er, Hawaii," Mavis replied, quickly correcting herself, "and that was only for a couple weeks. But I loved every minute of it." As she said this, she looked at Johnny, who smiled at her.

It was their first big trip, and one they would never forget. "We were thinking of maybe stopping by New York in a few months," Johnny added, "But there's still a lot in Europe left to see."

"Oh, and don't forget places like Japan and China, I've heard those places are incredible!" Some of the monsters from those places had even visited the hotel, but she left out that part.

"I haven't been to Asia yet," Johnny said, "But it's definitely next on the list."

Matt watched the two, either glancing over his shoulder or using the rear-view mirror (Although Mavis must have been out of the way enough since he never saw her in the mirror). The way they practically finished each other's sentences, how they were so excited about traveling and experiencing new things, not just for themselves, but together. The way their eyes practically lit up just by looking at one another.

He smirked. It looked like his little brother had found someone truly special. 'Way to go, bro', he thought as he turned onto an exit.

Buildings began to appear again, at first only a few like a gas station or a house, and then whole streets of them. A sign let them know that they had arrived:

Welcome to Glen Ellen.

Shops and restaurants were there, but there was also a lot of space and grassy areas. Johnny wasn't exaggerating when he said it was a small town, compared to some of the cities in Europe, it was downright puny. But, there was also a certain charm about it. Like a village, just more modern.

Soon Matt turned onto another street, which was just one long row of houses. It took another few minutes before the blue car pulled into a gravel covered driveway, leading up a medium sized house.

"Home sweet home."

Mavis got out of the car. The air was filled with the sound of cicadas and the tiny lights of fireflies. It was warm, but not muggy, plus there was a slight breeze. Looking up at the house, it was painted brown and had two floors, with several windows that helped light up the front of the house. She could hear voices coming from inside, laughing and talking. It made her smile.

"I know it's kinda small compared to the hotel," Johnny said, rubbing his neck.

"I think it's great," Mavis stated, looking at her boyfriend, "But, I'd like to see what the inside looks like." With that, they happily took each other's hand and walked forward.

But before they could get too far, a small black figure walked out in front of them. It looked up with glowing yellow eyes, that were bright yet uninterested. "Mrow," it said, not sounding too friendly.

"Hey, we still have Mojo?" Johnny said.

"Yep," Matt replied as he locked the car, "still as grouchy as ever." Johnny bent down and held out his hand.

"Hey Mojo, how you been?" The cat growled, and turned away, more interested in licking his paw than saying hello. "Nice to see you too," Johnny said, still happy to see him.

Mavis couldn't help but be a little nervous. According to old stories, pets like cats and dogs or farm animals would react when a monster was near, and tip off any monster-hunting humans. Mavis never really believed it, but if it was true, Mojo could maybe reveal her secret to the family before she was ready to tell them.

Staying calm, Mavis walked alongside the two brothers as they went up to the front door. When she got closer, the cat looked up at her. Mavis froze, and waited for the cat to start growling or hissing.

She waited one second, two, three-

"Meow." The cat lazily walked up to Mavis and laid down in front of her. A bit surprised, Mavis bent down and petted him. There was no growling or hissing, he even purred a little!

"So he can purr," Matt commented, "That's a shocker." He continued walking. "Come on, Mojo will probably follow us in." Giving the cat one last pet, Mavis stood up and the three walked inside.

They entered into a hallway that led to the living room, the kitchen and another hallway. The walls were painted a golden yellow, and the floor was a dark brown carpet. "Hey, this place hasn't changed a bit," Johnny commented happily.

"Bro, is that you?" asked a voice from the living room.

Following her boyfriend, Mavis saw four more brothers sitting in the living room. On light brown couch was a blonde man who was wearing a blue tee shirt and dark blue shorts. He got up and quickly greeted them. His face was friendly, and his skin was tan, so it was easy to figure out that he spent most of the time outdoors. "Glad to see you finally came to visit," he said.

"Says the guy who's gone most of the day," Matt commented.

"I can't help it if there's tons of stuff to do during the day," the blonde said in his defense.

"Mavis, this is Alvin," Johnny said, "Alvin, my girlfriend Mavis." Alvin gave a friendly wave, and Mavis waved back.

"Hey guys, come say hi," Matt said. The second boy who was sitting on the couch (a teenager with curly red hair) and the boy who was sitting in the chair reading (about the same age as Johnny, with dark brown hair and glasses) both stood up. The remaining brother, a boy that was around the same age as the other brothers with light brownish-red hair and who was playing a video game, stayed sitting.

"James," said Matt, "Get up, dude."

"I'll say hi after I kill this thing," James replied, wildly pressing buttons and leaning towards the screen.

"Since that won't be for a while, I'll just introduce him," said the brunette, "that's James, Johnny's twin if you can believe it. I'm David-" he pointed to the teenager "and this is Jake."

"Nice to meet you guys," Mavis said with a friendly smile, "I'm Mavis."

"Are you goth?" Jake asked. Matt and David gave him a look. "What, it's cool if she is, I'm just curious."

"Um, no?" Mavis replied, not really sure what 'goth' meant.

"Yes! Freaking finally!" A digital explosion appeared on the tv screen, followed by the words 'Boss Defeated'. "Took long enough." With his virtual enemy defeated, James stood up and held out his hand. "Forget what Davy told you, just call me Jim."

"Okay, Jim," Mavis smiled, shaking his hand. All of Johnny's brothers seemed different from each other, but in a way, seemed like they were connected.

"So, are you gonna tell us about all your trips?" Alvin asked his younger brother.

"Yeah, you've been gone for nearly three years so I figured at least one exciting thing happened," David added.

"For your information, a lot of exciting and cool stuff happened," Johnny retorted. 'Does discovering a hotel for monsters count as exciting?' he mentally added.

"Well, before you start sharing stories," Matt interrupted, "You may want to go find Mom. I think she went upstairs for something, but she should be down soon."

"Okay," Johnny said. He turned to Mavis. "Ready to go meet her face-to-face?"

"Yep," Mavis replied, feeling completely confident. His family had already given her such warm welcome, she didn't really have a reason to worry. Following Johnny into the kitchen, she couldn't help but compare it to the kitchen at the hotel.

Not that their kitchen was small or shabby. It was very nice and cozy, and the room was filled with delicious smells that could even warm the abominable snowman. But that's what made it so different from the hotel's kitchen.

It was well lit whether than just getting light from a small fire. The oven was square and shiny instead of coal black and pot-bellied. There were no pots and pans hanging from rusty chains, and a lot of the spices Mavis was use to seeing were gone. No huge butcher knives or miniature guillotines use to cut meat and veggies. And everything was so clean and inviting! It definitely didn't give off the 'creepy dungeon' vibe that Quasimodo's kitchen had. This was also the first time she had seen a kitchen and a dining room combined into just one room, with the table and chairs in the middle and all the kitchen things by the walls.

Like a lot of human things she had seen, it was different but Mavis liked it.

"Johnny!" Turning around, Mavis could see a tall woman in the doorway, looking like she was ready to burst with happiness.

"Mom!" Johnny quickly greeted her with a hug. "Hey, how are you?"

"Fine," she replied, "it's about time you visited."

"That's what everyone's been telling me. It's nice to see you again, Mom."

"Same here, sweetie." The two let go and smiled at each other. They shared the same color of eyes, and Johnny was only a couple inches shorter than his mother. She had long, curly red hair that was tied with a black scrunchy, and was wearing a red tee shirt and dark blue pants.

Looking up, she smiled at Mavis. "And it's nice to finally meet you in person," she said, walking over to the girl, "You remember me, right?"

"Of course, Ma'am," Mavis replied.

"Oh don't call me that, it makes me feel like an old lady," she replied, "Remember, Madison."

"Right," Mavis said. 'Definitely a lot like Auntie Eunice'.

"Well, I suppose you two are tired from the plane ride," Madison said, "I still can't believe they couldn't give you a better time. Oh well, dinner will be done in a few minutes, until then you can relax in the living room, or at least try to. By the way, Johnny, I'm making your favorite."

"Really?" Johnny said, "Aw, you are like the best!" He turned to Mavis. "She's making her homemade chicken, and for dessert chocolate cake." He turned back to his mother. "You are making chocolate cake right?"

"What do you think?" Madison answered. Johnny grinned and Mavis giggled.

With all the welcomes out of the way, the two went back to the living room. Jim invited Johnny to play a round of some fighting game while Mavis either watched or talked with one of Johnny's brothers. They all seemed nice, and Jake and Alvin seemed like the ones who talked the most. Matt, David and Jim would comment every once in a while, but they mostly did their own thing (Matt watching the game, Jim playing and David reading his book), but that didn't mean they weren't friendly.

As for Johnny, he was happy to see his brothers again. They might have been a few years older, but they were still all a wild bunch of kids, teasing and joking around with each other.

"Matt, Alvin," Madison called from the kitchen, "Come help me set the table- and get this cat off of it. Go on, scat!" "Mrow." Everyone laughed, and the two brothers got up.

"I'll go help too," she told Johnny before getting up and going to the next room. Matt took care of the glasses, Alvin had the silverware, Mavis placed the plates and Madison started setting the mouth-watering food in the middle of the table.

As Mavis continued putting the plates on the table, she bumped one and nearly dropped it on the floor. But in a flash she grabbed it. 'Phew,' she thought.

"Wow." The vampire looked up. "Nice reflexes," Alvin commented.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Mavis replied, glad that he didn't think of it as anything more than that.

Once the table was set and the dishes were placed, everyone was called out to the table. Mavis of course sat down next to Johnny, while his brothers and Madison sat down around him. But when everyone was sitting, Mavis noticed two empty chairs.

"Freddie, I said dinner!" Madison called again. They heard footsteps from the second floor, and then from down the hall. "Coming," said a small voice.

A small boy, looking about nine years old, walked into the kitchen. He had red hair like his mother and two of his brothers, but it was flat and neatly combed. "Hi there," Mavis said cheerfully.

Freddie looked at her, surprised. "Um, Hi," he replied.

"Hey Freddie, I was wondering when I'd get to see you," Johnny said. Freddie smiled a little at his brother and then got into his seat.

"Alright," said Madison, now that all her sons were present, "Dig in!"

Several arms reached for the middle of the table, grabbing prime pieces of chicken and spooning side dishes onto her plate. It caught Mavis a little offguard, especially since she was used to the food either already being plated and brought to her or heated up in a hotel room microwave.

But she was also a hunter, and in a flash, she was able to get her own food before it was all taken. As for the taste...

'Wow! No wonder it's Johnny's favorite!' Mavis thought as she ate another piece off the chicken leg. She had ate chicken before at restaurants, but she mostly stuck to red meat like beef or (when she was hunting with her dad) small animals and scorpions. But this, she had a feeling one bite of it would make her father want to hire her as the hotel's new chef.

The food vanished almost as quickly as it was placed, filling everyone's stomachs and earning positive complements. Of course, as with every family meal, there was conversation, and questions.

"So Mavis, you met Johnny in Romania?" Madison asked.

"Yep," Johnny replied happily.

"He stayed at my house for a few days, and then my dad decided to let me travel with him," Mavis added, "it was a dream come true actually."

"What does your father do?" she asked. Mavis was prepared for this question.

"He just, runs a small inn," the vampire replied. Well, it was the half truth.

"And your mother?" Mavis' smile faltered, but she was prepared for this question too.

"Actually, my mother passed away when I was little," she answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Madison said apologetically.

"It's alright, she's still here in a way," Mavis replied with a smile, thinking of the homemade book in her backpack, and how it had ultimately helped in the end.

Deciding to lighten up the conversation, questions were asked about their travels, which Johnny and Mavis happily answered. There were comments and jokes between the seven brothers, all taken with good humor and Mavis just laughed along with them. By the time it was time to bring out the dessert, Mavis felt like she was apart of the family. Of course there was still one more thing she would have to eventually do, but for now, she was going to enjoy the moment.

*Knock knock*

"Of course," Madison huffed, "always in the middle of dinner."

"I'll get it, Mom," Johnny offered. Probably just a neighbor or something. The redhead got up from the table and walked to the front door. Opening it, he saw a tall man wearing an old grey tee shirt and blue jeans. He had messy blonde hair, and bright, friendly brown eyes. Behind him, was a semi truck parked in front of their house.

"Hope I didn't miss too much, John," he said, his voice having a slight Californian accent.

Johnny grinned. "Dad!"

Bit of a cliffhanger there, but hopefully it won't take long for the next chapter.

Anyway, sorry that it was a bit short compared to the past two chapters. Also, since it was mostly introductions, so I hope it wasn't too boring. Also, I have never been to California (though I do live in a small town so I know the feel of that), so if any of my readers live in California and it doesn't feel like I'm doing a good job of writing it, I'm sorry.

Anyway, have a happy new year, and I'll see you next time!