CHAPTER TEN: Minia Reunites With Her Mates
This chapter took longer than I'd hoped. I spent several days typing up detailed notes for each character in the story—well, the ones I didn't kill ;) My good friend, Gia, influenced me to finally look for pictures to represent my Spencer, Derek, and Aaron. Derek was the easiest, Spencer was easier than I expected, especially considering my deep fangirl love for MGG. Aaron was the hardest, which surprised me. I also found Aurora (Rossi's mate), and Minia and her mates. I made several cover arts for the different mates/groups. I'll post them on Facebook (Kat Moreid), tumblr (reid-morgan2123), and hopefully in its own chapter on Ao3.
Everyone settles into their seats and the pilot takes off. Once in the safely in the air, Emily immediately goes into the prayer room to give thanks. Spencer had been protected, just as she had prayed for.
Minia and her children are quickly introduced to Derek's pack. Rayna, ever the budding Alpha, pulls all the children into a game. It not only will help pass the time but also keep their minds busy and away from their worries.
Rossi notices Minia's anxiety but before he can ask anything she asks, "Are you mated?"
"Yes, I am. Very happily to two extremely different but equally wonderful people."
"How did you find them, if I can ask?" Minia inquires tentatively.
Like her children, Minia needs to get her mind off the coming reunion. Dave is happy to regale Minia with the story of his own mates. "I have two mates and they could not be more different," Dave admits with a smile. "Aurora is every bit a unicorn: regal, wild, strong, fierce, untamable. In her unicorn form, her coat is a shiny, deep chocolate brown as is her horn. Aurora's mane and tail are mostly the palest gold. Her eyes are a startling glowing silver color. In her human form, her skin is a warm henna color. Her eyes are a gleaming silver-blue that can only be found in unicorns. Her flowing hair is shining silver and it constantly moves as if by an invisible breeze."
"She sounds like a stunner," Minia remarks.
Dave smiles fondly. "She is. Aurora truly is gorgeous, both inside and out." He chuckles quietly. "Our mating was shocking for us both. Unicorns and dragons have been rivals for centuries. Our beginning was not surprisingly fraught with difficulties. Our creature heritage had been a lot to overcome. I'm a drachian, which is a human-dragon hybrid. Like all my dragon ancestors, drachians are constantly at war with unicorns. It's an ancient feud that continues to bleed into modern day relations between dragon creatures and unicorns." The feud is one of those societal norms that individuals simply continue without any thought. Aurora and he being mates is what opened their eyes; the feud has no real justification other than continuing tradition.
"Like the old story, Romeo and Juliet, except I anticipate yours has a happier ending."
"Thankfully, it does. When we first met, Aurora and I fought passionately with each other and against the bond we both felt, not that either of us would admit to feeling the bond. Add in teenage hormones, and emotions were high. It's a little surprising we didn't kill each other actually," Dave admits, chuckling.
Minia smiles back.
"We were thrown together over and over until neither of us could deny that the fates were bringing us together. With time, we overcame our prejudices and fell in love. But that was only half the battle. Next, we had to tell our parents." Rossi shakes his head as he remembers telling their parents. "I was a bit surprised at how well my own parents took the news. They supported us from the start. All they asked was if we were sure. Mona, Aurora's mother…wow, did she loathe me in the beginning. She threatened to cast Aurora out if she didn't promise to stay away from me."
"Oh, no!" Minia cries. She can't imagine forcing one of her children to choose between her and a mate.
Dave grins, remembering how proud he'd been of Aurora. "Mona underestimated her though. My Aurora is stubborn. She looked Mona straight in the eyes, said okay and left. Packed up her stuff and moved in with me and my parents. They already promised to take her in if her parents reacted poorly. Mona expected her to come crawling back but Aurora is not the type to break under pressure."
Minia surmises, "She sounds like my kind of woman. Did Mona come around?"
"Mona's as stubborn as Aurora. It took her over a year to realize that Aurora wasn't going bend to her will and come crawling back. Hart, Aurora's father, agreed with Mona in the beginning but conceded three months in. He's no fool and realized that Aurora is too stubborn and too sure to change her mind about me," Rossi says fondly. "It took work and time for us to reconcile with her parents. But it was worth it."
Minia's lips curve in a smile. She thinks of her own parents and her mates' parents. Her smile falters at the remembered pain. "One of my mates, Kinji, his parents disowned him because of who his mates were. They wanted Kinji to be mated to another werejaguar. They did everything they could to break us apart, even trying to force an arranged bond. Kinji cut all ties with them. They'll never meet their grandchildren," Minia explains sadly.
Dave squeezes her hand in sympathy, vowing, "Their loss."
"I know." Minia smiles, a little regretfully. She knows Kinji has never regretted choosing his mates over his parents. Shaking off the memories, Minia asks, "What about your other mate?"
Dave chuckles at the thought of his Milo. "Milo Stormdancer, he's as whimsical as his name. Aurora and I found him ten years ago. He is a rare male naiad nymph. He's definitely a pretty boy. Milo has striking blue eyes, pouty pink lips, and naturally bronzed skin. His sable brown hair is perpetually darkened by water, typical of a naiad." Being a fire drachian, David shouldn't be fond of the water but Milo's charmed him into enjoying it. "Mischievous and playful, Milo is nothing like Aurora or me. We both pretend Milo annoys us but he makes us laugh and is the light of our lives. Milo keeps us young. He's our glue and our life." He deliberately omits the fact that the naiad craves sex like he's an incubus and that their fake annoyance only gets Milo naked faster.
"He sounds a little like Sin," Minia admits.
Dave is curious about Minia's mates but can see she isn't ready to talk about them. Soon enough she will see them again and recognize that this is real. He doesn't blame her for being cautious after all she has gone through. Hope is needed for survival but it can be painful to have hope during the darkest of days.
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Aaron, Derek, and Spencer slip away from the others to the small feeding room. Spencer sways dangerously as he enters, knocking into Derek ahead of him. Aaron's arms come around him just in time as Spencer falls limp from exhaustion. "Spencer!" Aaron cries.
Derek whips around; lifting Spencer's face, he realizes that he is still awake. "What's wrong, Baby?!"
"Hungry. Tired," Spencer explains. Activating and maintaining the Wächter Demon has consumed vast amounts of his energy.
"Strip," Aaron demands. Derek meets his eyes, quickly divesting of his clothing. He then strips Spencer. Derek helps situate Spencer in Aaron's arms, the incubus pliant to their manhandling. Spencer's chest to chest with Aaron, his legs held around the vampire's hips. Spencer tucks his face into Aaron's neck, inhaling the reassuring scent of his vampire mate while releasing pheromones of his own, making both his mates groan. Derek's fingers probe his entrance, the incubus's natural lubrication slicking the way. Derek swiftly and efficiently stretches Spencer before pushing into his mate steadily. Spencer sighs contently at being filled. The werewolf wishes he could take his time but Spencer needs to be fed more than anything else. Derek's hips jackhammer into Spencer mercilessly, chasing his orgasm with determined fervor. Aaron holds Spencer steady as Derek fucks him brutally. Surrounded by Spencer's heat and with the pheromones teasing his senses, Derek's knot starts to swell within minutes. Spencer mewls softly as they are locked together. A few careful thrusts and Derek fills Spencer with his seed. Spencer moans, his sharp hunger lessening with the abundance of semen inside him.
Derek slumps forward, resting his forehead on the back of Spencer's neck. He takes a minute to catch his breath. With Aaron's help, Derek settles in a chair with Spencer on his lap.
Spencer's newly alert swirling violet-blue eyes find Aaron's. "More." Even Derek's loads of cum aren't enough to satisfy his burning hunger.
Aaron stares at him questioningly.
Spencer reaches forward, unbuckling Aaron's belt. His nimble fingers open his pants, shoving them and the boxers down. Spencer licks his lips in anticipation. Aaron's leaking and ready for him. Spencer tugs him closer and laps at the pre-come, humming at the taste. "Mmmmh." He sucks hard on the head tearing a groan from Aaron. The vampire grasps Spencer by the hair, guiding his cock deeper and deeper into his mate's mouth. This is exactly what Spencer wants, what he needs right now. His mouth and his ass filled by his mates. Derek's fingers begin to play with and pinch Spencer's nipples while his other hand strokes Spencer's cock. Spencer makes happy and increasingly desperate little sounds at the overwhelming waves of pleasure crashing through him.
Aaron is driven mad by the noises coming from the incubus. His grip tightens and without complaint Spencer sucks harder. "That's it, fuck! Your mouth is perfect! Wanna fuck your pretty mouth. Take me deep, Pretty!" Aaron feeds Spencer his cock, closing his eyes as the head hits the back of Spencer's throat. "Yes! Swallow around me." Aaron holds his unresisting mate there for a beat, savoring the feeling of Spencer's throat flexing around him. Then he guides Spencer back, allowing him to breathe. Aaron looks down at Spencer, who has a look of rapture on his face. "Look at me, Pretty," Aaron orders. Spencer tilts his head back to meet Aaron's eyes. "Good boy," Aaron praises, his cock twitching at the sight. "I'm gonna cum down your pretty throat and watch while you drink it down." Spencer moans around Aaron's dick. One more stroke from Derek's hand and Spencer comes. Aaron fucks his lax mouth shallowly, ignoring his own burning need to give Spencer time to come down from his orgasm. Moments later, Spencer starts sucking in earnest, grabbing Aaron's bottom and pulling him deeper into his throat. All Aaron can do is clutch Spencer's soft hair as he's hurled over the edge. He groans long and deep as Spencer drinks his seed with zeal.
Spencer hums contently, not releasing Aaron's limp dick until his mate slowly pulls out. His deep hunger is at last satiated. Spencer pulls Aaron down for a quick, dirty kiss and then twists to give Derek a similar kiss. His eyes grow heavy; he leans back against Derek and falls asleep.
Aaron's lips curve up into a smile at the sight: Spencer smiling in his sleep and still tied with Derek. He is infinitely lucky to have such sexy, strong, and smart mates. He stoops and kisses Derek slow and deeply. Aaron's heart flutters at Derek's grin. Not wanting to stray far from his mates, Aaron sinks down to the floor between their spread legs. He rests his head on Derek and Spencer's thighs, the touch calming him. Aaron closes his eyes. Derek reaches down and combs his fingers through Aaron's hair. The vampire melts at the touch, allowing himself to doze lightly. Derek strokes the hair of his mates slowly as he drifts to sleep.
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JJ supervises the specialized dryad removal team. They are efficient and skilled, removing each dryad's tree with respect and a care that is near reverent. Jennifer's eyes flick over the dryads. Lilacia is remarkably calm, soothing and supporting her anxious children. JJ is not surprised by the anxiety of the younger dryads, their trees are their lifelines. But with the team's care and Lilacia's encouragement, each dryad's tree is delicately removed.
Mystia, her children, and her mates stay until the last tree is eased out of the ground. Then they say their goodbyes. Mystia and her children are all smiles. Kylan has a smiling Quartz on his shoulders, while Mystia and Finna hold hands and the twins, Mica and Mercury, bounce happily around the adults. JJ smiles, her worries about Mystia and her children have vanished by watching Kylan and Finna with them. They have a home with Kylan and Finna, by the looks of it a very loving one. Jennifer doesn't doubt that the two Norwegians will ensure Mystia and the three children have a happy and loving home.
JJ cannot image what it was like for all the ex-mates of the Maleficum's but seeing the happiness in their eyes warms her heart. They are all free and the fates are rewarding them for the trauma they endured. Jennifer is certain that the fates had a hand in what happened. Too many coincidences to be chance: Aaron and Derek finding Spencer at the raid, Obsidian choosing Spencer, Dave's gargoyle expert, Lilacia finding poison, Spencer's strange changes, Mystia finding her mates among the Canadian team, and her own resemblance to Siirist's Haellea. If anyone deserves a happy ending, it is this group.
With the trees ready to travel, they are finally able to leave this awful place. Siirist is unsurprisingly especially eager to leave. Siirist would rather face the fear of the unknown out there than staying here. The memories and scars will stay with him for a long time but at least he has the opportunity to start to heal.
The trip home to Siirist's clan seems to take an eternity. The children are equal parts anxious and excited. Lilacia's children are worried about their trees while Siirist's are worried that their father's elven clan will reject them for their gargoyle heritage. Siirist sticks close to JJ, the strange noises scare him and he feels exposed and vulnerable outside of his familiar, if horrible, environment. Before long he is on the floor leaning against her legs, Siirist goes boneless as his goddess strokes his short hair. The elf falls asleep, secure in the knowledge that Haellea will protect him.
JJ has tears in her eyes at the trust Siirist has in her. This man, who she suspects has been brought to the brink of death and back again and again for Onyx's sick pleasure, is sleeping peacefully because of her. She can feel the grateful smiles from the others shoot in her direction. Siirist is the most traumatized of the group and the thought of him doing this alone, without her, makes her shiver. Haellea is working through her to help Siirist, Jennifer takes comfort in that. She whispers a prayer of thanks to Haellea.
With care not to disturb Siirist, Jennifer takes out her phone and calls Will. She barely has to say a word before her mate realizes what she needs. Jennifer lets his warm, Cajun voice wash over her as he fills her in on what their two children have been up to. Feeling better after hearing Will's voice, Jennifer says a quiet goodbye.
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Taking a deep and admittedly shaky breath, Minia steps off the jet. Her porcelain skin glows in the sunlight. Her once dull red hair has brightened to a glowing cherry red on its own in anticipation for her reunion with her mates. For first time in years, she will see her mates. A part of her fears that they won't want her anymore. Their bond was broken, at least on her side, through force but broken all the same. Minia looks over her children; she loves them all more than life, even despite their sire. Can her mates accept them as they said they would? Minia cannot be sure but soon she will know.
Minia's blue eyes search frantically for her mates, her heart pounding in anticipation. This is it. Knowing they are close, she has to fight to leap into the air to find them.
"Minia!"
Her head snaps toward Kinji's voice, one she hasn't heard in far too long. Just the sound of it makes her sob. Minia had forgotten how it sounded.
"Minia! Minia! Mama!" her family yells, Tide and Sin and her children.
Minia can't move, tears falling faster as her eyes find her family. They all look beautiful, familiar, and happy.
Kinji looks the same, his gorgeous black hair still silky and tumbling over his shoulders. His brown eyes so intensely dark they are almost black. His skin is as flawless as ever, warm honey in color. She's always drooled over his cheekbones and that hasn't changed because they are to die for. His beard surrounds his plump, red lips, drawing the eye to them. He doesn't look like he's aged in the last fifteen years. Kinji is quick to shift into his jaguar form and sprints on four legs toward her. Minia only gets a glimpse of his stunning cat form; the dark rosettes can be seen against his dark gray and black coat. Kinji leaps, shifting back mid-jump to close his arms around her. The moment he touches her, their bond reawakens. The Maleficum's spell hadn't broken it after all; it was merely dormant. Minia goes limp and Kinji easily lifts her into his arms. Their lips meet and it is magical.
Dave, Kate, Spencer, Aaron, and Derek all grin at the sight of the kiss. It's more beautiful than the ones they have in movies when mates reunite because it is genuine.
"My Minia, oh baby, I missed you so much. We never stopped looking for you, our Phoenix. Love you!"
Minia laughs and sobs, her emotions swinging wildly. Suddenly, Tide is at her side, taking her into his arms and kissing her with fervor. Their bond flares to life at the touch of their lips and it is like he's unlocked the second key to her heart. He's as beautiful as she remembered. When she pulls back, she traces over his strong masculine features and his full, pink lips with a finger. Minia stares into his brilliant sea green eyes, the ones she used to drown in. His eyes, she remembers, are the same shade as his merman tail. Minia presses another kiss to his lips, caressing his warm caramel skin. Happy tears wet his beautiful face, mixing with Minia's. "Minia, my beautiful mate!" he cries. Tide cups her face with a trembling hand, "I feared I would never see you again, Love." Fifteen years is a long time to keep hope.
Before she can respond Sin begins his approach. Her third mate is heavy with child and glowing with happiness. With slow but steady progress, Sin walks toward her on his strong goat-like legs, which are covered in dark brown fur. The familiar sound of his black hoofs tapping against the cement makes her smile. Minia uses the time to study his once familiar features. His dark brown hair is just as wild, tumbling over his forehead and his goat-like ears. Sin's horns are the darkest of brown and curl behind his head. They have grown some since she saw him last and the tips now curling away from his face. Sin's ever changing eyes are a stormy gray-blue at the moment and wet with tears. She remembers how easily they can change color. Minia's eyes run over her beloved's pale peach colored skin, his cheeks covered by a scruffy beard. She licks her lips in anticipation, aching to kiss his dark pink lips.
Sin finally reaches her side and Tide sets her down. Minia stares into his striking eyes before pulling his face to hers even as their bond surges, the final key turns and her heart is at last complete once more. The kiss is sweet and slow. Minia doesn't care that their kiss is salty with tears; it only serves to make it feel more real. She eases back, smiling at Sin. Her hands reach out to rub his enormous belly.
Sin smiles at the tender touch. "She's coming any day now."
"A girl?"
"Yes, we are thinking of calling her Mira."
Minia leans close to his belly. "Hello Mira." The obvious love on her face for the child inside of Sin is beautiful to see. She's never seen her mates pregnant before and the sight of Sin happily pregnant is slightly bittersweet. Minia wishes she could have been there for every second of it. She has missed so much in the last fifteen years: her children growing up, pregnancies, and new children. But she is glad that she'll at least get to be there for the birth of this little one. Minia hopes she'll be able to know who her children have become and bond with the ones she has yet to meet.
If the onlookers hadn't started crying before, they all are now. Minia is quite literally glowing, her happiness and joy making the phoenix's light and fire within shine through her skin radiantly. It is the moment she has waited fifteen long years for and Minia is clearly basking in it. Whatever happened before is forgotten, at least for a time. Only the clear love between the four mates can be seen, the rest is pushed aside to hold onto the moment's happiness with everything within them.
Derek, Aaron, and Spencer all instinctively reach to cup the tiny life growing inside of Spencer's belly. One day not too long from now, Spencer will look like Sin. He'll be happy and huge, excited and nervous to bring their first child into the world. Love pulses through their bond, all three men joyful at Spencer's pregnancy. A child they will love with all their hearts.
Kinji gathers his three mates close. At last, their bond is complete once again. The three men had each other and their children to cling to when Minia disappeared. But their beloved phoenix had been alone. It'd been hard for them to adjust to the absence of Minia and the balance that she provided to their foursome. Each of them had broken down, more than once, and only the support of the other two brought them out of it. Kinji doesn't know if he could be as strong as Minia, to survive for years, alone and captive. How she could kept hope in her lengthy captivity astounds him. She's simply incredible.
Unknowingly, Tide is echoing his thoughts. The merman marvels at Minia's strength. She survived her ordeal in a way that he isn't sure he would be able to. Without Sin and Kinji at his side, Tide isn't sure he would have survived the aching emptiness left by Minia's disappearance. Yet, their Minia had done it. She'd kept going long after he would have given up in her place. Minia is the strongest person he knows, far stronger than he could ever be.
Sin still cannot believe Minia is back with them. Their beautiful, strong phoenix, she's back where she belongs. Of the four of them, Minia is the only one smart enough to bide her time. Kinji and Tide both have alpha personalities. Neither would have the patience or cunning to wait and plot. No, Sin realizes that his two mates would never be able to fake subservience necessary in forced captivity situations like Minia's. Kinji and Tide would fight—and likely die in the process. Sin doesn't think he'd survive long either. More submissive than Kinji and Tide but in the end, his sarcastic nature would probably get him killed. Minia, though, she is cunning and has an unshakeable will. She survived because of who she is. Sin rubs his belly soothingly. The excitement of the reunion is making his and Tide's daughter kick energetically.
The moment is filled with emotion: love, hope, joy. There is not a single dry eye in the group.
Kate is crying silently, her ever present glasses hiding her eyes but not the tears falling down her cheeks. Even her head full of snakes are touched by the sight of Minia with her mates. She yearns for her own mate and children. Kate realizes that when she does see her mate and children, she'll cling a little tighter than usual.
Dave's heart swells as he watches Minia reunite with her mates. She looks happy and complete, exactly how he'd hoped she would be. Minia deserves it after her years of captivity. David imagines how he'd feel to be forcibly separated for fifteen years or heck even five years or a single year and it makes his heart ache. The thought of his bond with his mates being broken, of being isolated and held captive against his will, away from Aurora and Milo is terrifying. Dave wants nothing more than to be reassured by the touch of his mates. He craves Aurora and Milo's presence, their touch intensely. Dave won't dally when they finally land in DC, he needs his mates. He needs their love.
Aaron and Derek are unknowingly thinking the same thought: how hard it must have been to have lost the bond of her three mates and to have to live with the fear of never being reunited with them. Both men are unashamed of the tears trickling down their faces. They lost Spencer for mere moments in comparison and every second of it was torture. It isn't something they would wish on anyone. They each have a greater understanding for how the victim's mate(s) feel in the cases they investigate after Spencer's kidnapping and how Strauss feels after her mate died. It isn't something that can be understood until a person is mated. The bond is truly a living thing and it connects people in a way no other relationship can match.
Spencer finds himself sandwiched between Aaron and Derek, his mates' grip on him slightly desperate in strength. He doesn't mind their clinginess; Spencer is feeling the same need to be close to his mates. He has a gentle smile on his lips as he watches the reunion of Minia and her men. Spencer remembers seeing Aaron and Derek again for the first time, the relief and joy he'd felt. Wächter had faded because he'd known he was safe and so was the life growing within him. They'd been separated for days, hours really but Minia had been without her mates for years, the first mate stolen by a Maleficum brother. The thought makes his heart ache with sympathy. Spencer, like everyone else, can't stop from crying at the poignant scene. Minia deserves this reunion, to feel the love and touch of her mates again after too many years.
Emily watches Minia with her mates with a touch of envy. She is happy for Minia and her mates of course but the scene only serves to remind her that she hasn't found her mate yet. With every passing year, her fear that she will never find her mate only grows. It is difficult at times to be the only one of her team to be unmated. Supernatural creatures seem to have an easier time finding their mates than humans do. Far more humans died unmated than non-humans. At least Emily has her lord, Anubis, should she die alone. Still, a part of her wishes for that special person, the one that will complete her as only a mate can. Emily's smile is bittersweet just like her tears. Slow tears tinged with fear and sadness fall among the happy ones for Minia and her family.
Rayna, Tasha, and Marcus are among Minia's children. The budding Alpha uses her presence to help calm the group. Tasha and Marcus do their own part comforting the obviously anxious children.
Ember is attempting to be strong for her siblings. She's absolutely thrilled for her mama. Yet, she's afraid she and her siblings will be rejected or at the very least be more of a burden than a joy. She, Barak, and Erez may be phoenixes like their mother but Tempest, Skylark, Fye, Stone, and Topaz are all gargoyles. None of them can hide their heritage, Slate sired them all and there is no way to change that. Their sire will always be the man that kidnapped Minia and mated with her against her will. They will always be Slate's children and Ember wonders if her mother's mates will be able to see past their parentage. Deep down, she fears they won't. That her mother's mates will look at the eight of them and see Slate and what had been done to Minia. Ember carefully hides her tremble of fear, not wanting to make her siblings pick up on her anxiety. She is the oldest and she must be the strong one.
Tide, Kinji, and Sin each kiss Minia one last time, then turn toward the anxious group of the children and smile warmly. "Minia, introduce us to our children," Tide says. Minia's children can't help but relax at the obvious adoration and love in the three men's faces. Minia introduces each of her children, watching with fondness as each of her three mates hug and kiss her eight children. They even tenderly wipe away the children's happy and relieved tears. Finally, her children will have fathers to be proud of. Her mates will love them as their own; she knows it deep in her heart.
Once Minia's eight are welcomed to the family with hugs and kisses, Minia finally turns her attention to the other group of children. The six children she'd been forced to leave behind have grown so much. The triplets: Akira, Keiko, and Taiki are adults now. Minia missed most of their lives; they'd been only five when she was taken. Adra's an adult as well, at nineteen. Scorch and Cinder likely have no memories of her as they were only two and eleven months old the last they saw her.
Minia rushes toward them. The first she gets in her arms is Scorch; he's nearly grown. He could be her twin with how similar he looks to her. Next are Adra and one of the triplets, Keiko. Then the remaining triplets Akira and Taiki and last is Cinder. She spots four others hovering in the background. Two, a girl and a boy, she can tell are offspring of Kinji and Tide. Another boy is Kinji's clone except he's a faun with little horn nubs. The last boy has Tide's gorgeous eyes and Sin's lips. Minia smiles at them before turning to her mates, "Introduce me to my new daughter and sons."
Another round of hugs and the entire, exceedingly large family has finally been introduced and welcomed. Minia has missed much of their lives but at least now they have an opportunity to get to know each other. And her children sired from Slate will have many siblings and three loving fathers as they grow.
The BAU has been mostly ignored up to this point. Finally, Kinji, Tide, and Sin turn their attention to Minia's rescuers. Each picks a different person to thank. Kinji chooses Aaron, shaking his hand firmly. Tide, more of a hugger, embraces Emily and gives her a kiss. Sin finds Dave, hugging the drachian a tad awkwardly with his large belly getting in the way. Each team member gets a greeting and a thank you, despite their protests that they hadn't done much. Spencer, however, is given special attention after Minia and several of the children vow that without him, the outcome would not have been as positive.
The large group soon intermingles. Minia's children with Slate bonding with the other children, even Derek's pack enters the mix. The BAU also spreads throughout the group. It's chaos but a happy one filled with lots of laughter and joy.
A half hour later, Aaron reluctantly announces they need to leave. The BAU feels confident that Minia and her children will be quite happy with Kinji, Tide, Sin, and the other children. Spencer's certain this won't be the last he sees of Minia and her family. After an exchange of contact information, the BAU re-boards the plane and are at last flying home.
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