Chapter 26

"She's different." Meylan said diplomatically as he and Daniela sat up in bed the next morning. She was wearing one of his T-shirts and looked fucking delectable in it with her hair up in a messy bun. He had a hand rested on her thigh that she had draped over his lap, his thumb slowly and softly stroking her skin while his other hand held a cup of coffee.

They were talking about Daniela and Wolf's mother and last night. A conversation topic that had drifted in as they were planning their weekend. Daniela clutched her own coffee with her good hand looking rather shell shocked. It was strange to see her so dazed but understood why. he was grappling with her own identity and getting truly acclimated to life. Yesterday, she had met her mother but she hadn't been ready.

"I don't think I can go back to my apartment." Daniela said honestly as she felt stressed every time she thought about the woman. She had dealt with many unlikable people but she hadn't figured her mother being one of them. "I always imagined what she would be like, how it would feel to meet her. I had her investigated, she was so loving and kind to her other children. I wanted to get to know her and she's just so self righteous, rude and hurtful. Wolf kills people for a living and he's perfect. But me? I'm the equivalent of Hitler in her eyes and I didn't even commit genocide." Daniela said in disbelief.

"I doubt she thinks that." Meylan said, Daniela threw him a look of disbelief. But he continued on, "She just needs time to get over the past and realise it can't be changed. Maybe, if she can do that, then she might get the chance to know the woman I know and love." Meylan assured her, he set his coffee cup aside and pulled her closer.

"She can't look past the fact that I'm a criminal." Daniela said, it hurt her deeply to be rejected by a woman she barely knew beyond an investigation report.

"Was a criminal, you did your time and honoured your agreements. That means something." Meylan told her.

"If she won't except me, then how will your family be? They'll hate me too." Daniela said as she started to Paddy plow the whole scenario in her head but Meylan caught her free hand before it rubbed the skin at her temple raw. He brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"My family is different, all they'll care about is if you make me happy and that you want to have a lot of babies as my Dad wants loads of grandkids." Meylan said, it earned him a slight smile at the gender reversal on his parents' wishes but it was true. His Dad wanted him to have a parcel of kids adopted or born. The old man didn't care while his Mom wanted him to just follow his dreams but have a stable job.

"What about your Mom?" Daniela asked.

"She wants me to have a stable job and be happy." Meylan assured her.

"They both sound amazing compared to my Mum. God, she felt you up." Daniela said, her eyes wide as she looked like she was panicking. Meylan took her cup away from her and placed it next to his.

"That was uncomfortable for me too." he admitted, he lifted her into his lap; so she was straddling him, "But you respected my personal and work space until I was ready to be felt up." he added with a sly smile. It earned him a slight curling of Daniela's lips before he continued. "You both needed to meet in a very different way." he said in a more serious manner.

"She's going to be here for a whole month. Would it be ok if I stayed here?" she asked him in a whisper.

"Yeah, of course." He answered without hesitation. It wasn't the hurt or distress that made him say 'yes'. It was purely that he wanted her by his side when he went to be bed and to be with him when he was at home.

"Thank you." Daniela said, relieved by his answer; she smoothed her hands down the front of his chest enjoying the feel of his skin. "Can I ask you a question?" she asked.

"Sure," Meylan replied.

"Are you married?" Daniela asked him, she knew he didn't wear a ring but she had seen how he'd frozen at dinner last night.

"No, widowed over two years now." He answered as he wanted to tell her, there just no way of bringing up naturally in conversation. He also didn't want to delve deeply into it but he knew at some point he'd take her to San Diego to meet his parents. She would find out then, so it was better for him to tell her first as it wasn't a secret.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She told him sincerely.

"Thank you." He said, he cleared his throat and pasted on a smile as he didn't want to think of his loss. It was in the past, while Daniela was here. "I was thinking you'll need some wardrobe space and a couple drawers. Something we can do today, after breakfast." he said as he rubbed his hands up her back. She gave him a small beautiful smile like she had been offered the world.

"I'd love that." she told him.

"That arm cast stinks." Meylan informed her, lightening the conversation even further.

"Your fault." she said with a chuckle.

"My fault?" he asked her.

"You made me sweaty with all the hot sex." Daniela explained to him, Meylan smiled before he wore a 'aha' expression.

"Right, yeah all my fault." he said proudly.

Tom pulled his sneakers on and looked at Bruno who sat before him. He gave Tom big puppy dog eyes and wagged his tail obviously wanting something. What that was? Tom did not know.

"Hey Bruno, you want to go for a run?" Tom asked him, he could have sworn Bruno smiled at him and raced to front door, his tail wagging excitedly." I guess that's a yes." Tom mumbled to himself. He picked up the leash from the side dresser in the hallway and clipped it onto the dog's collar. "Ok, come on buddy, let's go." He said as he opened the door. Bruno pulled on his lead and looked at Tom impatiently for him to catch up.

He chuckled at the dog's exuberance "I'm coming, relax." he told the dog, but Bruno was not one to relax. Now he was on a leash and outside, he wanted to explore.

"Coffee?" Gabe asked as he walked into the bedroom with two cups. Damn, he looked good in her house; he was still the image of masculinity even in nothing but her floral silk robe and his hair mussed up.

"Thank you." Andrea said as she pushed up in her bed, keeping the blanket and sheet to her chest. She pushed her bed hair away from her face and took the cup of coffee on offer and drank a sip. Savouring the flavour as the caffeine kicked in. They were riding on less than two hours sleep. Something she wasn't going to complain about or regret as she had relished the entire evening.

"Should I have snuck out after midnight like a Cinderfella?" he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed, smiling like a very satisfied man.

"No, it's just been a while. I'm not one to jump into bed with man on the first date." she admitted before she took another sip. She purposefully looked into her cup so she wouldn't see his reaction. Her cheeks were burning as he was the first man she had slept with since her husband. He was also the first man who had taken her out for a date since she had become a widow. She had to admit, she had forgotten what it was like to be genuinely attracted to another man and vice versa. She wasn't fooled by the lust some sailors suffered during long deployments. As she knew it was just hormones and stress, nothing tangible but what happened last night. It was mind blowing, beautiful and pleasurable in every sense of the word.

"I'm honoured." he said half amused and sincere.

"Don't get a big head over it." Andrea told him, he gave her a slightly upset and serious expression but his eyes twinkled with humour.

"I'm going home to write in my diary about this, would it be weird if I took your last name?" he asked her, Andrea rolled her eyes at him, "I dot my name with Hearts." he added. Andrea picked up her pillow smacked him over the head with it, which only made him laugh and snatch it away from her.

"Morning Mum," Wolf said as he handed her the coffee he poured for himself.

"Thank you Sweetie." Cynthia said as she took the cup of coffee and saturated with sugar and milk before taking a sip. "Your Sister didn't come home last night." she remarked, though it sounded like an accusation.

"Didn't expect her to." Wolf said as he poured a second cup for himself and took a sip.

"She really didn't like me." Cynthia stated, Wolf snorted a laugh as that was an understatement.

"I'm not getting between you two. I'm not going to be your middle man. You really had it coming last night, you were cruel and I've never seen you be cruel before." Wolf informed her.

"You don't understand." Cynthia told him, how could she possibly explain how her past came back to the present. Emotions she had long since buried where pulled back to the surface and emphasised.

"You can't pull some bullshit about I'll know how it feels when I have kids of my own. It's wrong to paint her with the brush as our father." Wolf told her.

"He was not your father and you don't know who he is." Cynthia told him.

"Neither do you. You knew him from over 40 years ago. Right now, He's dead and I do know who he was and Daniela isn't him. She's her own person and sure we mucked up the whole reunion but I think now it's best we just keep to our corners." Wolf told her.

"I agree, I should go home." Cynthia said agreeing.

"No, you're here. I want you to stay." Wolf said, he did and he knew Daniela would understand. She wasn't one to demand a person take sides otherwise she would have done so last night. "Please?" he asked his Mum.

"Ok, I'm sorry." she told him.

"We all have our issues Mum. We'll figure out how to bring Daniela into the Taylor fold but for now, I think it's best we all just-"

"Keep our distance. I agree." Cynthia finished.

"You could write her an apology letter." Wolf added.

"I thought you were going to stay out of it?" Cynthia drawled mockingly, Wolf smiled and gave a shrug.

"Do we have to hang out with Sasha all weekend?" Ashley asked Tom over breakfast. Tom paused in his eating to look at his daughter. He had thought Ashley and Sammy liked Sasha.

"No, I didn't plan anything with her." Tom replied, which was true. He had tried to plan something but Sasha had told him that the first few visits should be about him and the kids gelling together as a family. She shouldn't be there as he didn't need her as a buffer. Something she had really pegged him on as he'd hoped she could act as the 'normal' adult and relate to the kids when he couldn't.

"Good," Ashley said, she then amended herself as she saw Tom's expression, "I mean, I like her, Dad. She's cool but I want to spend time more time with you. Just you, me and Sammy." Ashley said, Tom couldn't be upset about that as he'd been used to Ashley being all about her Mom and hanging out with her.

"You feel the same?" he asked Sammy, the kid looked up from his comics and gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Sasha's cool but yeah, it'd be cool if we got to hang out." Sammy said.

"Ok, not a problem, it'll just be the three of us." Tom said.

"Cool," Sammy said, "Can we go to the park and through frisbee with Bruno?" he asked.

"Sure, we'll pack a picnic and make a day of it." Tom said with a smile.

"I sent in reinforcements as you Military people would say to get my clothes but knowing my luck I'll end up with nothing but lingerie." Daniela quipped as Meylan came out of the shower.

"I'm happy with that." Meylan said with a chuckle.

"My work might not like that though." Daniela mused, Meylan grinned as he pulled on some clothes. "You know, you could stay naked and hang out with me." she offered.

"Wish I could, but I got to wrap up a few things at work. I'll only be a couple hours." he told her.

"Ok, don't enjoy yourself too much." she told him, before he gave her a long, enjoyable kiss goodbye.

"Azima, you're here for Daniela?" Wolf said in surprise as he opened the door to find her there. He wondered how she got past security and then remembered it was Azima. The one thing he learned about working with her was that she always got her way.

"I need an outfit and Daniela said I could raid her closet. You mind if I get it? I didn't want to disturb her weekend with the Captain." Azima said, Wolf knew she wasn't here to raid Daniela's wardrobe for herself but to save Daniela from facing their mother.

"By all means, come in." Wolf said, he made a mental note to send Azima out the door with Daniela's purse. "Azima Kandie, My mum; Cynthia." he said making introduction.

"Aren't you a glamorous amazon." Cynthia said with a smile. Wolf cringed as he wished his mum would just act normal around his people.

"Thank you," Azima said preening from the compliment.

"Mum." Wolf warned.

"It's a compliment. How do you know one another?" Cynthia asked looking between Wolf and Azima.

"Daniela's friend and we work together." Wolf explained.

"We're not friends?" Azima asked Wolf, "You told me, that we were a well oiled machine and your dreams-"

"We're friends. You were getting a jacket." Wolf said cutting Azima off before she gave his Mum any ideas of them being a couple. Especially given Azima hadn't given him the time of day when they were on the ship let alone when they were off it. Though, he had been shot and in critical condition. So not his A-Game.

"Actually I want to raid her closet. Daniela constantly borrows my clothes which is great as it saves me doing laundry." Azima corrected him, but she looked at his mother with amusement. "But it can wait, as I'm sure Mrs Taylor has many stories I'd love to hear." Azima said with a grin.

A couple hours later,

"Thank you." Daniela said to Azima as the woman handed over a duffel bag of her belongings to her as well as her purse. The woman was a life saver in letting Daniela be a complete coward in avoiding her mother.

"It's ok, your Mumma is a lot fun." Azima told her as she sat down on the lounge next to her with her usual flair. Much like a graceful cat laying down.

"Like a water boarding session." Daniela mumbled as she looked through the bag taking stock. She had enough to get by for the a while.

"I would be grateful to have my family back." Azima said.

"I know, I'm sorry but it's complicated." Daniela told her as she closed the bag and placed it on the ground.

"I know, she told me everything about what happened between her and your father to last night." Azima said with empathy.

"Yet, she knows nothing of me." Daniela told her.

"She thought you were dead, she tried to find you but she lost you. It happens. The world is cruel to it's children. But you know that you don't owe her anything, just as she owes you nothing." Azima said laying it out for her, in a way allowing Daniela to release a burden she had felt laying heavily on her shoulders.

"Yeah, it's tough for me. I didn't grow up like everyone else. I had privilege but no real sense of family or home. Family and friends are people you use and vice versa. You don't care for them beyond what they can do for your status and business. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Thank you for this." Daniela told her.

"Anytime." Azima told her.

"Are you going to marry Sasha?" Ashley asked Tom as they watched Sammy and Bruno mess around on the grass in the park. It was a beautiful day even if it was a little chilly.

"At some point, yes but nothing is set in stone." Tom replied, figuring honesty was best in this situation. "Would it bother you?" he asked.

"Not sure, she's cool but I don't know her. I don't want another Mom." Ashley told him.

"I would be marry Sasha because I love her, not to give you another mother. You had Mom, not for as long as I'd like, and I'd never try to replace her for you. You also have plenty of strong female role models to mirror. If you needed them, I have friends who are adults and female who'd be more than happy to talk to you about girl stuff." Tom said, the last part coming out awkwardly. He knew he'd have to put on his big boy pants and at some point have to talk about periods, boys and sex. But today wasn't that day, he hoped as he just wanted her to be his little girl for as long as he could.

"I'm trying to be open minded. Andrea told me that it was unrealistic to expect you to be alone forever. That you're allowed to have girlfriends and stuff." Ashley told him.

"It's also not easy that I disappeared and came back with a girlfriend?" Tom offered.

"No," she replied, she gave a huff, "But I get it, I mean I don't understand completely but I think I deserve the truth." Ashley told him.

"Ashley, it's a lot to take in." Tom told her.

"I don't care. You were gone for months-"

"I was kidnapped and held prisoner. I became addicted to drugs, I was saved by Sasha and the Nathan James. I'm working with the help of a sponsor and a few other people to get myself back in order. It's not been easy and I didn't want you or Sammy to see it." Tom told her, telling her part of the truth but not all of it.

"Oh." Ashley said as she digested what he was saying.

"Yeah, I'm not perfect but I'm doing my best to be here and be the father you both need. I'd prefer Sammy not know, not yet but that's the gist of it all." He told her.

"But you said drugs are bad." Ashley said as she tried to rationalise what he had shared with her and the father she'd known. The rules he had put in place that he had involuntarily flouted.

"Yes, they still are and you shouldn't do them. I just want to put the past behind me and move on with you guys." he told her.