It had finally arrived. They were going to the ball at Romatech. JJ was nervous somehow she needed to find the courage to meet the man who had changed Gregori on top of introduce him to her family. No big deal, yeah and Attila the Hun was as kind as Santa.

JJ fiddled with her dress for the hundredth time as Gregori walked her to Romatech for the ball. She was trying to come up with a plan to remain unnoticed by her family until she could introduce Gregori. So far, other than running home she had come up with nothing.

Suddenly Gregori took her hand and brought it to his lips. "Relax. They'll love you."

JJ stopped dead in her tracks when what he had said registered in her head. "They? What do you mean they? I didn't sign up for a they I signed up for a him." JJ turned and headed back to the car, mortified at the idea of meeting more than one person.

Gregori gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her back against his chest and hugged her to him. "Relax. It's just him and his wife. I promise no one else." He turned her around to look at her and cupped her cheek in his hand. "We okay?"

JJ nodded and allowed Gregori to lead her into the building. Within moments they were in the ballroom Gregori was leading her through the crowd. JJ wasn't paying attention to where they were going she was too busy looking for her sister, brothers, parents, uncle, aunt, anyone she wasn't ready to meet yet. Suddenly she heard Gregori's voice and it snapped her attention back what was going on in front of her.

"So here he is the man who saved my life and his beautiful wife."

JJ turned around and let out a laugh when she realized who Gregori was introducing her to. "You've got to be kidding me. Roman you actually turned someone in the last hundred years?"

Gregori looked at her confused. "You know each other."

"Gregori meet my sister Shanna and her husband Roman." JJ laughed.

"You mean I've been dating-" He looked at Roman who merely smirked. JJ didn't have to be a genius to know that that expression held relief that he knew her mystery boyfriend could be trusted with his sister. Then Gregori looked at Shanna. "Please don't hurt me."

Shanna laughed. "Ha, I wouldn't worry about me. The one you should be worry about is-"

"Dad!" JJ called cutting Shanna off mid-sentence and ran around Shanna.

Roman came to stand beside Gregori and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck."

"Why-" Then Gregori noticed who JJ had launched herself at. "SHIT! Anyone but him. Why did it have to be Angus? Why couldn't it have been Jean-Luc or Zoltan or Jack? Why not someone who doesn't already hate me?" He said as JJ led Angus over to them.

"You'd be surprised the calming effect she has on him." Roman whispered before taking Shanna's hand and leading her to the dance floor.

"Daddy, this is my boyfriend, Gregori Holstein. Gregori this is my dad Angus McKay."

"We've met." Angus gritted out.

"Yep." Gregori replied quickly. He was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet scanning the crowd. "Where's the Mrs.? You usually resist the urge to kill me when Emma's around."

"He won't kill you. Will you daddy?" JJ laughed.

"No. But really? Ye'd want to date him? I thought ye'd better taste lass."

"Dad! Don't make me find mum." JJ threatened glaring at Angus.

Gregori starred shocked at Angus as he wrapped an arm around JJ's shoulders and kissed her temple. Gregori noted that the action was filled with the same love that he had only ever seen Angus show Emma and Constantine.

"I was just joking. The lad is a good man, an annoying one but a good one." He turned his attention to Gregori. "But if ye hurt her-"

"I'd kill myself for it before you would even know about." Gregori said sincerely. He couldn't imagine hurting JJ ever, but if he ever did he wouldn't be able to live with himself. Angus nodded at the words.

"Gregori! You muz danz wiz me!" Simone called when she suddenly appeared and practically jumped him.

Gregori quickly untangled himself from her. "Sorry Simone but my dance card has already been filled for the night and hopefully will remain so." He said starring at JJ. He held out his hand to her. "May I?"

JJ placed her hand in his and followed him to the dance floor. When Gregori started twirling her around she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Roman being my brother. I thought it might change things between us. I was scarred it would scare you off."

"It's okay. I didn't tell you Roman was the one who turned me because I didn't want you to think it was the only reason I got the job and I didn't want you to think less of me."

JJ squeezed him tighter. "I don't care how you got the job or who turned you. I love you just the way you are."

"I don't care who your brother or sister or dad is. I love you too." He said before kissing her head. "So who else do you know?"

"Hmm, well Connor, Robby, Ian, Toni, Dougal, Phineas, Phil, and Jack obviously working for dad and all. Phil, Robby, Phineas and Jack are actually my best friends and well I consider them all brothers. I know Jean-Luc and Heather Echarpe, but its uncle Jean-Luc and aunt Heather to me. Obviously Bethany. I know Zoltan and call him uncle but I don't really know him nearly as well as I know the others because I see them a lot more often. I talk to Darcy and Austin Erickson a lot too." She paused. "I'd met Jedrek." She whispered but Gregori heard her.

"What?" He quietly exclaimed as he stopped turning her. JJ could see the recognition in his eyes. He remembered the name from the incident at the DVN with Toni and Ian.

"Can we go to the gardens?"

Gregori nodded and lead her out to the garden. When they got there they settled on a bench. Gregori sat first and pulled JJ onto his lap. JJ let Gregori wrap his arms around her middle and laid her head on his chest under his chin.

"Remember on our first date I told you that the reason I was adopted was a long story?" She felt Gregori nod. "Well it has to do with Casimir, well more specifically his men, and it'll also explain way I can't look at Sean Wheldon as anything other than a selfish, arrogant bastard."

"Why would you look at him any other way?" Gregori asked sounding confused.

JJ started playing with the lapel of Gregori's suit jacket. "Well Shanna isn't just my sister because I've always considered Roman a brother. Biologically Shanna and I are sisters. Sean Wheldon is my biological father. And also the reason I was held captive by Jedrek's men for months before dad found me."

"You have to understand my childhood first. My family moved around a lot. As kids, Shanna, me and our brother were fed this story about our dad working for the state department. I don't know if our mother ever knew the truth. Anyway from about the age of 10 I realized that I had psychic powers. They negated anything Sean tried to pull on me. Which pissed him off, and I would get punished for it. Sometimes physically sometimes I just had to do everything around the house."

"Shanna was the only one who ever stood up for me and she paid for it. Sean sent her to boarding school because he couldn't control her. I was always told she had left because she hated me. It was the only thing he had that would hurt me and he used it better than a lion tamer uses a whip. I didn't find out until Shanna and I reconnected that it wasn't true."

JJ sighed. Telling Gregori about her childhood was the easy part of this conversation. The next part of her store was the hard part. It was the make or break part of her story.

"When I was sixteen and our family was living in Russia. One night Sean and I got into a fight and I left. He had hit me and I saw no other option. He knew there were vampires around but because he couldn't control me he let me leave figuring that if I was attacked it was my own fault and it would finally teach me a lesson. I was walking for about an hour when all of a sudden somebody was in front of me."

"Later I found out it was Jedrek Janow. The next thing I knew I was in some room lying on a bed, my wrists and ankles tied to the bedposts. He was in room with me. He was on the phone with someone and they gave him permission for him and his men to continue. I know now that it was Casimir."

"For three weeks Jedrek and his men starved and beat me. During that time he and his men feed on me making sure it was as painful as possible and raped me. I screamed in agony like crazy for the first week, and then I realized that it only made it worse. So I decided to take everything quietly and wait until I had an opening to run. After another two weeks I managed to escape. I was so out of it I don't know how I got out. I started running, it was about 8am when I left and I ran all day and most of the night."

"That night I ran into Angus somewhere near the Siberian boarder, which means I had made it about 50km. To this day dad can't figure how in the condition I was in I made it that far. I guess desperation makes a person invincible. Anyway when I found him I knew what he was; I sensed it with my powers. Even though I knew what he was I knew he wouldn't hurt me. He read my mind and saw what had happened to me. He told me I was safe and that he would take care of me. Angus teleported me to Scotland and for a month he nursed me back to health, which was fairly easy for him since I was used to sleeping days and being tortured all night. He took care of my schooling, helped me get into NYU, paid for school, arranged for half of my schooling to be split between NYU and Edinburgh, and he reunited me with Shanna."

"While I lived with Angus slowly and carefully introduced me to everyone. First Roman came to Scotland. Then Jean-Luc came to visit, then Connor and Phil. After that I met Zoltan, Robby, Ian, and Jack. It's because of them that I'm okay now." JJ squeezed Gregori. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before but-"

"It's fine. I know it must be hard for you. I love you and I will always love you. I won't let anyone hurt you again, ever."

"I know. I love you too. Let's get back to the party?" JJ suggested.

"Yeah, Angus has probably told everyone who you're dating. I'm going to have to face them all sooner or later might as well get it over with."

JJ smiled and stood up. Once Gregori stood he wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back to the party.