The doctor came in and informed them that she would be discharged later that evening to go home since there were no complications to her surgery. They were extremely relieved by this bit of news and began to pack things so they would be ready to go when the time came. Charlie had dozed off to take a bit of a nap while they worked on her discharge papers; some of which required Tommy to leave the room. He felt that he might have been worried about leaving her had Samuel not been in there, having a trusted friend present meant he knew his younger sister was safe. He had also learned Samuel's mate, Nicolette had come with him. Tommy had met Nicolette before back in the Tri-Cities but he felt he didn't know her as well as he could have as Samuel and Nicolette moved not too long after their relationship got serious and it became clear their wolves had chosen each other as mates. He had learned she was a navy veteran and was currently a paramedic with Missoula fire rescue where she did her best to hide her werewolf nature from her coworkers for fear she would lose her job if they knew what she was.

After a few hours Tommy was finally cleared to take Charlie home and he couldn't wait to get her out of there and to the safety and comfort of their home.

"Do you want to stop and pick up dinner or see if we can just get something at home?" he asked her.

"If we can afford it let's just get take out." She replied clearly still very tired.

Tommy figured at this point she wasn't too particular about what she ate as long as she ate something. He had checked with her coach and Crystal had said that perhaps during the early stages of recovery they could be more lenient on her diet plan though she advised that they didn't go crazy with that. Before he could figure a place to go Hayley called and told them she had something for them to eat at home and he decided to go with that instead.

They got home and ate then Charlie went to her temporary bed room and went to sleep. They had set her up there because she couldn't get into her loft bed without the use of her knee she wouldn't be back in her own bed until she could use a ladder which wouldn't be for several weeks. The doctor wasn't too concerned about the fact that she was still tired; he said to let her rest as much as she felt she needed to that particular day as he could also tell she was slightly sleep deprived due to several factors surrounding her knee and worrying about the surgery as she had never had any form of surgery before.

Hayley gave a soft smile as Tommy sat at the kitchen bar his elbows resting on the bar and his head in his hands.

"I can't believe this… today… it's been so stressful." He said his eyes never leaving the bar and with him being an alpha that had a huge impact and Hayley knew that.

"I know, but at least now she can recover and return to her dream of figure skating." She assured him.

"True, without this that would have been a career ending injury." Tommy replied leaning back in a way that he was looking at her and only one elbow remained on the bar, "but this is not going to be an easy time for her, the physical therapy is going to be unpleasant at best."

"True, but she's strong, she can handle it." Hayley assured him.

"I know…" he sighed.

Jason and Samuel entered the room minutes later.

"I take it this whole day has taken a toll on Charlie." Samuel said.

"It has, she was exhausted when we got home. She ate a good meal then went to bed. I'm not going to force her to stay up after all of that." Tommy replied. "It took a toll on us all, Samuel… watching her stress over surgery and knowing there was so little I could say to make her feel better about this situation… it was hard."

"I can't even imagine. It's good that she is resting now, it will help her heal, physical therapy is going to be rough; I'm not going to lie… some of this is going to hurt, especially at first but she is the type of driven personality that will become stronger through it."

"That's what I've heard, I don't like it but she needs it." Tommy sighed.

Jason watched as Tommy and Samuel planned what the next few weeks would look like for Charlie, he was getting to know Samuel and think of him as a friend. He wasn't surprised Tommy and Samuel became friends quickly, they had similar personalities and we're both extremely empathetic and would pay lay down their lives for those they cared for. Samuel was extremely old and was a fountain of wisdom that seemed really open for Tommy to access when he needed it. He was a good mentor figure for Tommy and gave them ties to the Marrok and a way to learn how to be the best alpha he could possibly be from the Marrok himself.

Hayley had been slightly caught off guard when the Marrok began to ask some unusual questions of Tommy. It began to make sense when she learned that Bran was looking for a pack to take his granddaughter when she went off to pastry school. From early on he and Samuel had both had a very good feeling about Tommy and the newly revamped Golden Gate Pack. They felt that a wolf as submissive as SeoHyun, Bran's granddaughter, would do well in this pack where it was clear she would be well cared for and well loved. He had seen first-hand how submissives were treated under Tommy's care compared to

Time passed and physical therapy proved to be unpleasant at best, but the fact that it could be done, for the most part, at home, made it less of a chore for the family to keep up with. It got easier on her as time went on and Charlie was looking forward to getting back on the ice and achieving her dream of Olympic gold.

Charlie also found this gave her time to really talk with Tommy about the family he grew up with and learn more about him. She felt that she was really growing close to her brother, something that she had really wanted to do. Moving to California had been a jarring experience and having to live with people who were total strangers made it that much more difficult. Now that she had time to talk with Tommy, his wife and get the chance to play with her little niece she was really feeling comfortable and this was her family.

Therapy went great and Charlotte was looking to the future with enthusiasm.

Tommy had decided in the last few months that Charlie was down with her knee that physical public school was not going to work with her figure skating schedule and it was with a heavy heart he withdrew her from the high school and enrolled her in online public school for the next school year.

Hayley did days-worth of research to find an online school that would work with the rigorous schedule set by figure skating at the level Charlotte was at. Tommy had decided that it was best to leave that in Hayley's capable hands because she had more time to actually spend on looking at the schools, talk to people and find the right school for Charlotte. She stumbled on one quite by accident and soon grew to love this particular school, it was accredited in California which meant that she would get a diploma that would be worth something.

Amanda was sad that Charlotte wouldn't be attending the next year of school with her but at the same time she understood why Tommy made the decision that he did concerning her education. Charlie had a busy schedule and out of state competitions meant missing school at a physical campus, online all they needed was an internet connection and she could participate from anywhere in the country or world.

One night close to school starting Tommy found himself standing in his sister's doorway just watching her sleep. He couldn't believe how fast life could change, how quickly it felt like his sister was finally where she always belonged even though he had known about her for less than one year.

"Sleep well sis, and know I will always be here for you…always." He whispered before easing the door shut and going to his own room to go to bed.

The End.