Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers, and I am only borrowing them. There are some original characters that are mine, and I claim them as mine.

Spoilers:Anything from books 1-19 might be used, so if you haven't read them all, you might want to wait to read this story.

This is an AU story with a mix of characters in canon as well.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who review as guest as well as those of you who don't allow PMs. I love the reviews and want to tell you that I read and appreciate them all. Thank you all. Special thanks to JenRar for coming along as Beta on this one. I appreciate all your help.

Chapter 12: Joining

Bree's POV:

I stood at the deck railing looking out over the ocean as the breeze washed over me. Feeling Lester's presence beside me, there was a hum of electricity coming off him as I closed my eyes and lifted my head to the sky. The feeling that if Lester hadn't found me, I might not have made it back was a strong one. For some inexplicable reason, the feeling I had was that the coming battle would be fought within us as much as physically. The leader—if that's truly what he was—claimed to know our deepest fears. I had a strong feeling those terrors were going to be used against us. We needed to find a way to combat that. And if the increased sense of danger I felt was any indication, we'd need to hurry.

I opened my eyes and turned to look at Lester as his hand came to rest on my waist. My breathing picked up as the look in his eyes gave me a warm feeling all over. I felt excitement bustle through me as he lowered his head marginally. Just when I thought his mouth might join mine, there was a noise from behind us and he stiffened before straightening back up. I let out a frustrated sigh and turned to see Micha and Hector joining us on the deck. Rolling my eyes, I let out the frustrated sigh at being interrupted.

At the sound of Micha's low chuckle I glared at him, which only made his smile widen. Stopping beside me, he kissed my forehead. "Hector and I are heading to Atlantic City. We're going to take a closer look around and see if we can find out more than what we already know."

I bit my lip as I nodded. "Be careful."

He winked at me and replied, "Hector and I'll have each other's backs, Boo."

Resting my hand on his forearm, I said, "I know you will." After a moment's hesitation, I continued, "I can't explain it yet, but I have a feeling whoever is behind this plans to use our own fears against us."

All three men stilled and looked at each other before turning back to me.

It was Lester who broke the silence. "I had a feeling we could've lost you if I hadn't found you. Wherever you were, it felt real."

I met his gaze and replied, "Yes. That's the same way I felt."

Hector let out a curse in Spanish and then asked, "So what are you suggesting?"

I looked out at the ocean for several seconds before turning back to the guys. "I think we should work in groups. If Lester doesn't mind, we could go with you to Atlantic City and the four of us could look together. We could cover more ground that way."

All three guys hesitated. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know why Micha and Hector were undecided. I could hear them debating back and forth how to get me to stay here where it was safe. I couldn't read Lester's thoughts though, so I had no clue what the dark look he was sporting hid until he finally spoke up.

"I think she should come with us."

The look on their faces as they gaped at Lester almost made me laugh, like they thought he was crazy.

Les held up a hand. "Before you go there, Bree has abilities the rest of us don't. I don't want her in danger any more than you do. But I don't think she'll be safer here without me. What if she has another vision and no one is around to see she's in trouble? For some reason, I feel like the only place she'll be safe is with me."

They studied us both for several seconds before reluctantly agreeing. It was Hector who said, "Then you'd best do an outstanding job of keeping her safe."

Les let loose with one of his more potent smiles and replied, "No worries, man. I'll keep her attached to my hip."

I nudged him with my elbow and suggested, "It's getting late. Dinner'll be ready in a few minutes. What do you say we plan on getting an early start in the morning?"

The guys all nodded their heads in agreement.

Just then, Alex opened the sliding glass doors leading into the great room and called, "Dinner's ready."

We headed inside.

Alex had an odd look on his face when I reached where he was standing. I tilted my head, giving him a puzzled look as I wondered what he was thinking. His eyes met mine, and there was intenseness to them as he spoke. "You'll need to distract them from your real mission." His eyes went to each of us in turn before he added, "A wedding might divert their attention so they don't realize the real reason you are there."

We looked at each other, and I could see the wheels turning. Micha looked at Hector and their eyes heated. I glanced at Les and caught the twinkle in his eyes. On my way past Alex, I sent him a wink and he gave me an answering grin. We enjoyed the wonderful meal Donella made for us and read the others into our plans for the next day.

Stephanie's eyes widened as we discussed our reasons for going. She added, "This needs to be bigger."

Ranger raised an eyebrow as he studied her. "Explain, Babe."

"If there's going to be a wedding, then that would explain their presence. But if the plan is to search the area, we need to make it look more like a fun day turned into an impromptu wedding." She looked around at the blank looks on all the guys' faces, rolling her eyes before continuing. "It's really simple. Pay attention here. We get a large group together and hit the boardwalk. We split up into twos, except Ranger and I will stick with the twins and I'd like Tank, Cal, and Ram in our group. The other groups will be Mary Alice and Binkie, Bella and Hal, Jace and Julie, Bree and Lester, and Micha and Hector. Diesel, Woody, Angel, Milo, and Bobby will remain at the house with Hobbit and Sky's new little friend."

Hobbit looked upset at being left behind until Sky placed her hand on his arm and said, "I need you to watch over Pen while I'm gone. I couldn't trust him to anyone else."

Hobbit seemed to puff up before nodding and turning to Tank. "You will keep the little one safe."

Tank nodded. "I'll protect her with my life."

"Hobbit accepts."

Milo was frowning and, after looking circumspectly around the table, braved asking, "Why so many?"

Before Stephanie could reply, Alex spoke up. "We'd be creating distractions. By dividing into so many groups, it looks like we're just there for a day of fun. Then in the excitement of the day, someone decides to get married, which will allow us to check areas we would otherwise miss."

Milo didn't look impressed. I believed it had more to do with him wanting to be part of the group going than anything else. I got a picture of cotton candy and smiled.

My eyes twinkled as I told him, "For being a good sport and staying here with the others, how about if I bring you back a bag of cotton candy?"

Milo blushed as he muttered, "I guess I'll have to settle for that."

I tilted my head slightly as the vision played out. The little boy was begging a too harsh caregiver for a taste of her cotton candy. She gave him a look of disgust as she shooed him away. I felt eyes on me as the vision cleared and I was once more in the room with the others. Ranger was watching me. I lifted an eyebrow in question, but he shook his head as the words, Not this time, popped into my mind. I lifted my head in acknowledgement, and in no time, we were saying our good nights.

As Lester walked me to my bedroom door, I was reluctant to let him go. We stood at the doorway, and he cupped my jaw in the palm of his hand. I felt the heat pooling in my nether regions as he brushed up and down with his thumb. I met his gaze, and all the longing I felt was bared for him to see. His lids drooped over the fire in his eyes, and the next thing I knew, I was airborne. His mouth covered mine, and that was my last coherent thought till I was lying on my bed with Lester above me.

As he lay against me, I pulled my legs up to cradle his body and wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips moved to my neck, and I arched to give him better access. Finding where his shirt was tucked into his pants, I started tugging. As if he knew what I was after, Les sat back on his haunches and lifted the offending garment over his head, tossing it onto the floor before lowering himself back into my embrace. His mouth returned to mine as his hands kneaded and caressed my breasts as he worked on removing my top and bra.

His mouth had just moved down to my breast when there was a knock on the door. We stilled and I prayed whoever was there would go away. When the doorknob turned, I couldn't believe my eyes. Damnit! If that was Micha or Hector, I was going to let them have it. There was just enough time for us to cover ourselves and move into seated positions before the door opened and Diesel walked in.

There was a smug, knowing smile on his face as he stopped before us. "Believe me, I'd love nothing more than to let you two continue. However, I'm being guilted into making you aware of something important."

Giving him an eye roll, I asked, "And just what would that be?"

A grin slowly took over one side of his face. "Do you remember what you told Stephanie ten years ago after she and Ranger got together? About the perfect time for a baby to be made?"

My eyes widened. "It's the wrong time for me."

Diesel shook his head. "If the two of you get together, epic things will happen. That's all we know. I wanted to let you find out on your own. I was overruled—something about the two of you needing to make a conscious decision."

I studied him for several minutes before nodding with my head toward the door. "We've been warned."

With a haughty salute, he turned and left us alone once more.

I turned to Lester, wondering if what Diesel had said put paid to our activities of the night. Lester's eyes were just as dark with desire, and I waited for him to make the first move. I was in this no matter what, but I needed to know he was just as invested in this too.

Diesel's POV:

Making my way onto the deck, I walked over and leaned against the railing as I let my gaze go out to sea. The breeze started to pick up, which caused me to smile. There was a mild shaking of the ground and the waves grew choppier. An odd glow was reflected onto the ocean, and from the angle, I knew it originated from a particular part of the castle behind me. The scene grew stormier as I watched, as if man, woman, and nature had become one and were now moving in sync as they reached the crescendo of the final act. There was a cry of rapture, and the joy that was palpable in the air brought tears to my eyes. At that precise moment, there was an inhuman roar of rage and a giant tail came out of the water, only to crash back down again. I smiled. The deed was done and there was no going back now.

"Thank you, Diesel."

Without turning, I gave a slight nod before replying, "I was honored, Angelina."

"You'll keep her safe until I can get here?"

"I'll keep her safe."

"Ranger has two men outside my door. I imagine they'll be the ones to bring me."

I swallowed hard, making sure I had a handle on my emotions. "Yes. Bones and Erik will bring you here. Are you finally going to tell her who you are?"

There was a pause. "The time is right. I'll tell her."

I didn't need to turn to know she was no longer with me. My heart hurt for what couldn't be. I closed my eyes to capture the last of her essence before turning and making my way inside.

As I walked inside the house, I was mildly surprised to see a large group in the great room. My eyes widened as what they were saying registered. I couldn't help the smile that took over my face.

Julie's POV:

I felt a buzz of excitement when Stephanie named me as part of the group going to Atlantic City tomorrow, even more so when she suggested Jace and I as a team. I knew Mary Alice and Bella would be equally thrilled because they'd been paired with the guys they had crushes on. We'd spent a lot of time talking about guys over the past four years, and they'd been goners from the minute they were fourteen and took notice of Binkie and Hal.

I stripped out of my clothes and into one of the satin camisole top and short sets that was my usual bedtime attire. This one was in a lime green. I went through my nightly ritual, ending with brushing my hair, before crawling into bed. I wasn't really tired, but I knew we'd have a long day ahead of us and I wanted to be fresh. Deciding to run through some relaxation techniques to wind down enough to sleep, I turned out my light.

Twenty minutes later, I was close to my desired goal, when I felt the house humming as it shook. My eyes widened as I debated whether we were actually having an earthquake or if there was some other explanation for what I was experiencing. When inhuman roars joined in the party, I jumped out of bed and ran from the room, snagging my robe on the way. I slipped into it on the run, not sure whether to wake one of the guys or just get to the great room. I'd just cleared my door and was near the last bedroom when the three guys joined me, guns in their hands.

Without thinking, I made a beeline for Jace, and it wasn't until I was wrapped in his arms that I felt safe. The four of us made our way to the great room, where the others were gathering as well. Seemed we'd all been woken by the same thing. The last ones joining the group were Mooner and Sally, who had funny little smiles on their faces, and Randy, who was scowling.

Stephanie was fighting a laugh as she watched the three, and I had to admit, they looked pretty funny. Sally was dressed in a hot pink, lady's negligee and his hair was rolled up in curlers. His size eleven feet were crammed into size nine bunny slippers, and he looked like Sasquatch in drag. Mooner was wearing a monk's robe and giggling about the fun that was in store now that the joining had occurred.

Randy was wearing a pair of Cars pajamas, still looked like he was half asleep, wishing he were still in bed. His hair was standing straight up and there were dark circles under his eyes. He glared at Stephanie as he groused, "Last night it was the Dynamic Duo, and now tonight it's the Earth Shakers. Is that all you people think about?"

There was a sound from the doorway, and I turned to see Diesel standing there with an amused smile on his face. He winked at me and my eyes widened as I distinctly heard, You're next.

I felt Jace's chest shaking and looked up at him. There was a knowing twinkle in his eyes and he leaned in to whisper, "Looks like someone was doing the horizontal tango, and that's what's behind whatever's happening."

I quickly glanced around the room to see who was missing. I wasn't the only one, judging by the facial expressions on Micha, Hector, and Stephanie. Although Steph was smiling, the other two had hard expressions on their faces that didn't bode well for Lester. They made a move in the direction of their wing, but Stephanie's voice stopped them.

"No! She's a grown adult and you need to treat her as such. Let them deal with whatever is between them."

Micha and Hector exchanged glances and reluctantly stayed where they were.

Steph looked around at the rest of us before adding, "We have a long day ahead of us. Why don't we head back to bed?"

I stayed where I was beside Jace for several minutes, watching the others leave the room. When it was just the two of us left, Jace placed his hand on the back of my neck and said, "Come on, love. Time for bed."