Thank you. Everyone. Thank you for reading my fic. I wrote this at the beginning of my dad's final trial in life. But now we have come to the end. My dad is resting and I will finish the last chapters in this fic.

Thank you.

Trials of a Family

Earlier... Cullen Residence

"Come, stop your crying. It will be alright. Just take my hand and hold on tight. I will protect you from all around you. I'll be here don't you cry." Edward felt the shudders of his daughter's body becoming less erratic. The snow fur that covered her face receded. She burrowed deeper into her mother's chocolate fur.

Edward rubbed her back until she fell asleep and then gently extracted her from him and carried her in his cold arms. "For one so small you seem so strong. My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can't be broken. I'll be here, don't you cry."

Eventually, the other wolves shifted back. Jacob opted not to. Thee vampires watched patiently; though, none more so than Nahuel, Alistair, and Eleazar.

Esme grabbed a blanket from inside and used it to cover Edie's body. "I'm going to take my family home," Edward declared.

"You could stay. When things like this happen," Esme countered.

"I don't believe there is any protocol for a situation like this," the father murmured. Jacob put himself in front of his mother-in-law and silently demanded his wishes.

She nodded empathically. "Of course." She gave them clothes for Edie to wear later and watched them walk away with her granddaughter in their arms.

Now... Edward & Jacob's Cabin

After they got home and Jacob dressed, he joined his husband and daughter in his bed. He cuddled up to her side and brushed her hair away from her face the way his mom used to do for him all while he listened to his husband hum a tune.

"She's so tiny. When you see her like this…how is it possible that this tiny girl did all that she did, survived what she survived?"

"I don't know. But, when I look at her mother, the picture becomes a little bit clearer."

"There's no way I could do all that."

"Don't sell yourself short. You are the most powerful wolf in existence, the Supplanter."

Jacob smirked slightly. "Man, we were so wrong about that Ulrika shit."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Well, whatever. I don't wanna think about it. We have our kid right here with us."

"She is so beautiful, isn't she?" He was aware that his mate's eyes were drooping. He played with the baby hairs sticking out of his hairline. "Just like you."

"You sap."

Hours later, Edward sensed that his family would eventually wake up, so he started breakfast. It wasn't much later that Jacob joined him. "Good morning, my love."

Jacob gave him a chaste kiss, "Morning, Beautiful."

'Yes, and I'm the sap,' Edward teased.

'Yup, you are.' Jacob gave him another kiss. They heard light footsteps approach them. Edie's hair was brushed back behind her ears. Her arms crossed her chest. "Good morning."

"Good morning," her voice was rough.

"There's pancakes if you want some."

"Thanks," she sat on one of the wooden chairs by the circular table. Edward watched them eat. After a short period, "So, yesterday…did it really happen?"

"Yes," Edward answered.

"What do you want to know?"

"To be honest, everything. But we don't need to."

"We can talk about anything you want," Jacob urged. They continued their silent breakfast. Edward helped Jacob with the dishes. They decided to watch a movie after their meal.

"I don't know what to say," Edie finally spoke after the second movie. "Should I start at the beginning?"

"How about something easier," the wolf suggested. "We can talk about Charlie."

"Are you sure?" The question was for Edward, mostly.

"Charlie is important to you," he answered.

She settled in her seat. "From the beginning, it was easy to talk to him. We both lost people and we were both lost ourselves. Charlie wasn't the first person to care about me, to love me, but he was the first person I believed."

"What about your Imprint," asked Jacob.

"I didn't believe him. He lost his wife and for a long time and sometimes now, I thought that I was a consolation prize he got for being alone all that time. With Charlie," she sighed. "Charlie had no reason to care for me. He pitied me and I pitied him, but more than that, he was there. He was never far from me when I needed him. Eventually, the pity disappeared. We became important to each other. He loves me and I love him."

"Do you think that maybe because of the changes in the timeline, he may be your new Imprint?"

"No. I think my Imprint is the same person still."

"How do you know?"

"I wish I could tell you some exaggerated answer that would explain it, but I don't have one. My soul knows and that's enough for me." She put her elbows on her knees and twiddled her thumbs.

"Do you know other things?"

"Yeah, but, I'm not sure you should know. It's nothing bad. It's just…"

"You don't have to tell us, Edward," Edward reassured her.

"Thanks." She didn't correct him on his usage of her name.

"Man, what was I thinking," Jacob asked rhetorically. "What was it? Edward Esme…"

With a hint of a smile, "It's Edward Sarah-Elizabeth Esme Cullen Black. I think Mom was trying to find a way to honor the important people in his life."

"Yeah, well, I went a little overboard. Don't ya think?"

She shrugged. "I like it. But, if you want, you can change it. It doesn't, I mean, no matter what, I'll still be me."

"We'll think about it," he peered over to his vampire as he said so. "Why Riley and Bree? Why save them? Sorry, it's just, if we sit here and wait for things to happen, we could be here for years–"

"It's okay! I'm the same way. I like things to go at my pace or at least, as quickly as possible. It's no big deal," she giggled. Hearing her response relaxed the couple. "I chose them because, well, Bree came to me and that alone shows a strength of character, and I chose Riley because we were in similar situations. He couldn't go back to his parents and tell them he was okay and at the time, I couldn't tell mine."

"How come," the question came from her father.

"Well, it's not some bullshit about future consequences. I pretty much blew all that when you guys, well, you know," she blushed. Jacob coughed and Edward covered half his face. "I couldn't tell you guys because I guess, deep down, I couldn't trust you."

"Why not?" Her father leaned a bit closer.

"Well, it's like…Okay, okay!" She straightened herself on the cloth couch. "Part of me wants to be exactly who I showed you guys; a friend from the future that came here to change it so you could live. That's the part of me that I realized that I was using as an excuse for um…" Edward grazed his thumb over her knuckles. He was grateful when she didn't pull away. "I used that Edie as an excuse to not deal with the fact that I ha," shallow exhale. "I hated you. So much that it started to burn me from the inside. Like dry ice."

It was quiet for a while. This is the second time she ever admitted this out loud. "Charlie," she croaked. "Talking to Charlie made me realize that hate and love are the same ; that we only hate those that have gotten close enough to touch our hearts. He resented his parents a lot just like I resented both of you for a long time.

"I thought that it was just me missing you, and in a way, it was, but," she felt Jacob sift through her dark bronze locks. "That anger, that hate was there and it felt like I was punishing you for every lonely minute, for every time I needed you by my side, for every joy you were never a part of, and for every moment of my life where I felt less than complete because I didn't have what most children had. And because of all those things, I couldn't trust you with my most guarded self."

"Do you, um," the alpha tried to keep himself from trembling. "Do you still feel that way?"

"No. Not completely. I know that you guys aren't them." The couple know to whom she was referring. "Your histories aren't the same. It was ridiculous for me to punish you when you haven't done anything that reaped that kind of animosity."

"But, then," Edward interrupted. "I broke our promise. That's what set you off."

"Yeah."

Another short silence. "What do you mean by you blew it?" No answer. "Why did you want to kill yourself, Sunshine?"

"Jeez," she scoffed and walked across the living room. "I didn't want to kill myself, I just didn't want to exist. There's a huge difference."

"Not from where I see it."

"Well, there is. Killing myself means that some part of me was alive. Being alive means that I had an influence in life, but never existing doesn't have the same consequences. Not bad ones; at least, none due to me."

"Did you ever try to get Jacob to miscarriage?"

"No! God, no! I couldn't do that to you guys. And besides, it was pointless because if the Imprint didn't kill me before, what would make me think that it could kill me now?"

"What was your plan in case you were successful, and you weren't conceived?"

She answered her father, "If I wasn't conceived, then everything would be better, and the biggest threat would be gone. You would forget about me and things would be moderately better."

"And then all this responsibility to save us and the world would no longer be on your shoulders and you could be free," Edward concluded. Edie's mind offered affirmation. Cold stone hands grabbed her shoulders and thumbs rubbed circles over her clavicles. "My darling, it's okay to feel this way. You are so, so young. It's not fair to you, but My Life, my sweet child, that's life." He grabbed her defined chin to have her face him. "You have to stand when you've fought your hardest and been beaten until the idea of lifting yourself seems inconceivable. It's only when you allow yourself to wither that the evil wins."

"I know that, intellectually, but emotionally, I can't, couldn't fathom another solution. So," she sighed. Her fingers twisted over her the part of her shirt that was over her rings. "So, I started researching myself. I went to an old werewolf house in California and a witch coven."

"Why there," Jacob asked.

"I went to Nana's grave and I found wolfsbane. When I arrived at the property, there were these odd symbols everywhere and they made me think that maybe my idea of going to a witch coven was right."

"What did the symbols look like?" Edward returned with a pencil and paper.

Edie drew three circle swirls that connected. "It's called a triskelion. It's Wicca, so I thought that I would ask the witches, but all I got was some family history about a pack called the Hales."

"What about the Wildes," Edward asked.

"No, I mean, I could have, probably, but any information that I could have on them probably went with the fire that killed the werewolf pack."

Edward took off his wedding ring. "The symbol you found, matches this one on my ring."

"It was my grandpa's. My mom's dad," Jacob clarified. "Do you think we could be related to that pack?"

"Maybe? I mean, I didn't exactly know a lot about your side of my family." She reached to the area under her chest and over her shirt, she fondled her rings.

"Why does your necklace say, Bonnie & Clyde?"

"Alec gave it to me. Those two went down in a storm of bullets. We'd do the same if we could. He gave this necklace to me so that I could have them close to me whenever I felt lonely; but lately, it's just not working." She pulled at it and revealed her rings. The familiar gold beckoned her father.

"This. This is my mother's ring."

"He proposed to me with it. I thought that he got it from one of the Volturi treasures. But then I saw you looking at it on your wedding day and…he must have gotten it from the rubble."

"Where is your Imprint, Edie?"

"He's in Italy. He's one of their prisoners."

"What's he like," her mother asked. The ended back on the couch at some point.

The smile from which she got her nickname appeared on Edie's face, only brighter. "He's old fashioned, but not like 'recent' old fashioned, where this sort of machismo thing that old guys now have. He's like old old fashioned. To him, I'm his other half. He doesn't let me, like, wallow in my issues. Which, if you knew him, you would know was super hypocritical. But, whatever, we try to make each other better. He's always encouraging me to be better without making me feel valueless. He, he draws me in," she laughed shyly.

"He's always calling me 'love' or 'amore mio', and with him, when he calls me that I know that he means it as if I'm the one that is honoring him by being with him like I'm his equal." Her smiled softened. "We have our problems. I have my trust issues and he has his problems with self-worth to deal with, but we know. We just, know that we belong together. Just like you two."

Jacob sniffled. "That's fucking beautiful! Sorry, it's the goddamn hormones. They're making me cry like crazy. Shit! I'm not supposed to say fuck to the baby. Oh, shit, fuck! I did it again, fucking shit."

Edward couldn't contain himself, "Bfff HA Ha-ha haha." He set off Edie and now she was laughing as well and just as hard. Soon, they were all laughing. It took a long while for them to stop. "Oh, God. Why are we laughing?"

"I don't know." 'God, I love you,' Jacob heard, to which he responded in kind.

A moment later, mother and daughter were hungry, so Edward went to get them some jerky per Jacob's cravings. "I have a question," he directed to his daughter. "Why don't you like venison?"

Her face twisted like she was sucking on a lemon. "It's just nasty. It's like vegetable flavored meat. I mean, if you're gonna do that you might as well eat actual vegetables. Grandma asked me the same thing when I was like twelve and until then, I hadn't eaten anything like that; so, for her I ate some and I was right that stuff was eughh."

Every facial expression, every time she tucked her hair behind her ear, every sound coming from her mouth, mesmerized them. She noticed them staring. 'What?' She raised her thin eyebrow.

He zoomed the bookshelves and back. "Here." Inside the book were the faded sepia pictures of Edward's childhood. As the family went through the album, he pointed out various pictures.

"Is this my grandfather?" She pointed at the stoic man with dark locks that were combed back and hidden under a bowler hat and a thick mustache that curled at the ends. His suit resembled that of a working-class man, perhaps a banker, in his time. When she saw the picture, Edie noticed what everyone did, the resemblance between mother and son, but also, "Wow. She was wrong." She traced the details of the photo.

"Who was?"

"Grandma. She said that I had your eyes and I guess I do. But, even if we do have Elizabeth's color, her eyes don't have that intensity that yours have."

Edward took the album from her to ascertain her claim. "If you look very closely, then you can see the determination, ambition, and strength that Grandfather Edward had. It shows his passion and will."

Edward never had a close relationship with his father. They were emotionally distant from each other and that never bothered Edward seeing as he was much closer to his mother.

Jacob asked, "You can tell all that from just a picture?"

Edie faced her mother, "For a short period in my life, my powers became too much for me, so I stopped using them. I learned how to read people that way I would know just how much to share with them."

"When did you start using them again?"

"After I was released from the dungeons." She didn't dwell on those long-gone memories. Edward had pulled her to his side and melted her against him. There was a split second where she thought of pulling away, but them the comfortable cold of her father's hold won out.

Jacob decided to start lunch while the other two looked through the pictures. He decided that sandwiches were the way to go and was joined by his husband and daughter when they sensed that their meal was ready. 'It's still weird. I have a daughter. I guess I'll get used to it.' He rubbed the mini-version inside him.

In their lull, he pondered, "So, what did you know about us?"

"Not a lot. Grandma didn't know anything about the wolves except for your pack. Even after she died, I never thought about coming here. I was really angry at the tribe that would banish you like that just for loving Dad."

"What about us?" The question came from her father.

"When I was little, she would tell me stories about this family that lived together in the woods way before I was born. Their names were Soldier, Pixie, Bear, Doctor and my favorite was Puma."

"I'm guessing that was Rosalie. What did you like about her?"

"I guess it was the fact that we both overcame a loss of who we thought we were and grieved our mortality more than the rest of the family."

"What do you mean?" Jacob leaned in closer.

"Well, before I turned nineteen, I was human. I aged like humans aged and breathed and did human things, I guess? I was just a little bit stronger than most. Then, my vampire genes presented when I matured, I guess."

"Did it hurt?"

"Yeah, but it was more like, not to sound gross or anything, having my period times like a thousand. Every part of me hurt. When I stopped, Grandma told me what had happened. I shifted to see if I could still do it and I could, but my fur changed. It used to be the color of my hair, but now it's white and sparkly."

"That explains it. When we were on our vision quests for our wolves, I saw a cub with dark reddish-brown fur. I thought it was you, but then I remembered your fur was white and well, I guess that answers that."

"What was mine? What was my name in the stories?" Edward switched back topics.

"Edward or Father, depending on the story," she grinned slightly. "There wasn't a lot of stories about you and less about Mom. I got all the memories I could from him, but by the time I was immortal, some of the little details became fuzzy." Jacob took the opportunity to clean the table. "I never realized just how much I wanted to know you guys until I came here. Once I did, realize it, I mean, it became harder to be your friend, so I became your commanding officer. But doing it just made me miserable. And then, you got pregnant."

Edie reached for her mother's hand. "I think that the pregnancy is slowly turning you and you are becoming immortal."

"But, if that's true, then why didn't it happen before. I mean, I died!"

Edward answered this, "Not everyone survives the bite. If you were weakened enough, close to the point of death, it might not have taken."

"My theory," Edie intervened, "is that your pregnancy and my birth gave you enough energy to sustain life but not for anything long-term. Now that you have your Imprint, it may be possible that after I'm born, you will be able to be eternally young without having to shift."

"Will I be a hybrid, too?"

"I don't think so," Edie affirmed to Jacob. "In the old texts within Volterra, werewolves were originally immortal. They're not anymore. I don't know whether it's because of natural selection or whatever Darwinian theory, but wolves now are so different from wolves then. Not in the essential, basic stuff, they're still slaves to the full moon. But, over time, that raw potential thinned out and then you get hunters involved…"

"Hunters!" They chorused.

"Not important right now. The point is that you're not gonna age anymore."

"How did you come up with all these theories," Edward wondered.

"I developed them while I was with the Volturi. They don't know about the werewolves of this age. Everything I know about them, I learned from first-hand experience. Drifting from place to place.

"I accepted the reality of one of my plans failing and I moved past it. Then you got engaged and I thought of another contingency plan and then another and another. It never stopped and finally, I blew up." She sighed. "That night, I relived two of the worst memories I've ever had. I wanted to forget so badly. Charlie let me, but I could tell that he disapproved. He wanted me to stay home for a while longer, but I needed to work. I needed to save–"

"You don't need to do anything," Edward proclaimed. "Listen to me, you are a child. No, it's my turn to talk. You are our child. We are supposed to take care of you, not the other way around. I know that by saying this, I'm opening a can of worms–"

"So, I'll say it. Edie, as much as we appreciate what you've done and how much you have saved our lives, you shouldn't've come here."

Edie's chair fell to the floor. "You wouldn't've even known about the Volturi's plans if it weren't for me. How can you be grateful for something one minute and then admonish it the next? What the hell?"

"Sit down," Edward commanded. "We are discussing this calmly and rationally." When she obeyed, he continued, "Being here has done you more harm than good. You are so stressed that it is killing you on many levels. As your friends, we were concerned. But as your parents, we are devastated to see how this has affected you and we just want to fix things so that you will be okay again."

"Baby girl," Jacob held her hands. "The way parents love their kids, the way we love you, it's… it's…"

"Immeasurable. Knowing that we created a life…a life as precious as yours, we are resolved to go beyond God's power to keep you good, happy, safe."

Edie took her hands back and dropped them on her lap. "But, don't you remember? Don't you remember being in my position? Don't you remember being a child who loves their parent?" She leveled her head, "You'd do anything to protect Pops and you'd do the same for Grandma and Grandpa, both sets! Yeah, I underestimated just how much being here would affect me. But, putting all that aside, look me in the eyes and tell me that it wasn't worth it," she dared them. "Tell me it wasn't worth it …meeting me." She lowered her eyes.

"Hey," Jacob lifted her chin with his finger. "I wouldn't trade meeting you for anything."

"Same goes for me," Edward brushed her hair and tucked it over her ear. "We're just concerned. What's to stop you from using it again the next time the world is in crisis? You can't keep going back."

"I won't. I promise I won't. I know that I won't do anything unless it's necessary. Do you know why? Because you two will teach me. You will guide me and instill in me the consequences of my actions."

"What if this is just like a parallel universe," Jacob objected. "How did you come back in time? How do you know you didn't create another alternate universe when you came here? In a lot of sci-fi, time travel always had those downsides."

"I didn't use a machine or any sort of device or spell to travel here. I used my own power."

"There's something else, isn't there. There's another reason why you're so sure of yourself," Edward suspected.

"Yes."

They let it go. Whatever it was, they would need to trust that their daughter knew what was needed to know. "So, what have you been doing while we've been training with Riley and Bree?" Jacob selected their next movie saga.

"I've been training on my own. The day I was conceived, She came out. By She, I mean the Queen or Ulrika, as the legends call her. I've always known she existed, but I was too scared to let her out, so I locked her away."

"Do you think, that being close to a big event, like your conception, broke her out," Edward wondered.

"I thought so. I just, she kept annoying me. Then, time passed, events happened, and I realized that we were the same person. I could deny her, but then it would be like denying my true self. Charlie taught me that I can't be what you need me to be until I can be myself for me…does that make sense?"

"I mean," Jacob got comfortable on the couch. "Yeah…I guess? It's like another way of saying being yourself is the best thing you can do to help others."

"Yeah, it's like that," she put her head on his lap and her legs on Edward's. "I knew Riley and Bree could whip you guys into shape without me there, so I trained on my own and I allowed myself to become the Queen."

The family ended up watching more movies and eating a light dinner before journeying to the master bedroom.

They talk about the Ulrika legend. "A couple of years after I left the dungeon, I got curious about some of the thoughts in Marcus' head. I wondered if there was anything to them, so I went to the library and read some ancient texts. With enough practice, I was able to understand them. They talked about an awesome power and whoever controlled the power would be proclaimed Ulrika, Herrscher der Tiere. That roughly translates to Ulrika, the Ruler of Beasts."

"Wow, you're a little nerd, aren't ya?"

"And proud of it!"

"Of Lilith. Of Hecate. Of Remus and Romulus," Edward recited. "Royalty born; royalty made. Born of Claw and Fang given freely. Claw of Legacy. Fang of Magic. Fruit of the Supplanter. Sired by the Wealthy Guardian."

She shifted higher against the headboard. "That verse only talks about my heritage, my claim to power, so to speak. The Volturi and at least one of the surviving Moon Children held the next clues for Ulrika's creation."

"Why did Eleazar call you Queen instead of the Ulrika," Edward queried.

"Well, the next verse talks about that. I'm guessing that a long time ago, someone decided that the whole of the legend was too much for any side to control, so it was split among the 'important parties' or whatever.

"It goes like this: The Queen and the Moon are One. Created in a bed of Blood. A lion in exchange for a wolf, the Guardian in exchange for the Supplanter. They must surrender before the Marking. Only by the Mated Marking, may the Queen be created. Under the Blood Moon, the Queen comes as fruit in the womb of the Supplanter and as her father before her, she too will be a Wealthy Guardian."

Jacob and Edward meticulously took in every piece of information. "Part of the reason Aro agreed to Caius' cause for eradication was that he wanted to know what they knew. By that time, the legend had already been hundreds of years old and the true meanings were forgotten. Once he got it, he killed every wolf he could because he was afraid."

"If he was afraid, then why didn't he kill you when he captured you or keep you locked away."

"Aro is very adaptable to a situation when he thinks he has all the pieces of information. He decided that since he couldn't destroy me, he would use me. He used my blood." She lowered her head to her knees and was tucked under Edward's arm. They reassured her that she didn't have to say anything else. "Alistair was the first. There were so many more…I read Aro on the last– on the," her breath hitched. "On the last day of my torture, I read Aro's memories.

"You see, Aro once believed that I was the Ulrika but that he would be the actual ruler of monsters. He believed that by using my blood and creating all those creatures, that he would rule the world. For years, he believed this, but after so long, he wanted more. More power, more prestige. He injected more blood, ordered more experiments, anything he could think of to enhance his mutants; yet, it wasn't enough. Therefore, he changed his mind. He decided that I wasn't the Ulrika. I was in fact, the Supplanter and he was the Guardian.

"He," a wet breath. Edward pulled his daughter further onto himself. A raging Jacob wrapped himself around both of them. "My Imprint ripped him away and saved me. After I was rescued, I removed those memories from him. The real ones having to do with my release."

The family retreated under the covers. It was Jacob's turn to hold her. "Lilith is the mother of vampires. Hecate is the goddess of magic. Remus and Romulus were brothers that could turn into wolf-like creatures; but while Remus fathers Children of the Moon, Romulus expanded his powers to other kinds of shifting. His teachings were brought to the Quileute tribe where he and Remus would be reunited in the Supplanter."

"In me. Why is the Supplanter such a big deal?"

"Mom, you…you overthrew a regime. Yeah, it was your blood right, but Sam was a wolf for a lot longer. He had established lines of expectations and a sense of normalcy within the present tribe. It doesn't matter that you are Ephraim's heir. The tribe can't just hand you the power you need to lead. That power comes from you." A little later, "and just so you know, Jacob means the usurper and that is what a supplanter is."

"I wouldn't've been able to do any of it if it weren't for you."

Edward contested, "You did it without her before, in the other timeline. You turned away from Sam, from your tribe, and started a pack by yourself. You found something to fight for and you…every time you do it, you take my breath away." Pink settled on the alpha's face.

"Jeez," he tried to hide his face. "Enough about me. What about you, Mr. Guardian? You're pretty special with your pointy hat and fangs."

"Mother must have been a witch maybe even a practicing one. It may be how she knew she could ask Carlisle to do what he did. She passed her powers onto me and when I Changed, both of those lines merged in me. It was fate that brought us together, Love."

"The Guardian and the Supplanter, you and me. You, me, and our Sunshine. We keep asking why. Maybe we should stop. I'm not saying we shouldn't look for answers, but it's time we just accept that we were put together and we should do the most simple thing."

"And that would be?"

"This. What we're doing now is the most simple thing. We're together. We're a family. We should just be one." He was awarded simple kiss that overflowed with all the love, intimacy, and respect that Edward could pour into it.

Edie burrowed further into Jacob but not before draping her father over herself as well. She undid her burial the next morning. She notified Edward, "I need to make a phone call."

Swan Residence

Riley and Bree had told him where his pseudo-daughter was. Still, waiting for her to give him a call was agony for the Chief of Police. The phone barely rang before it was answered, "Edie?"

"Hi, Charlie. Good morning."

"Good morning. So…. How was it?"

"Less painful than I thought. We mostly sat on the sofa watching movies. Mom called them the classics."

"Well, that's…good…"

Silence. "I told them as much as they could handle. Most of it."

"Did you tell them about your…condition?"

"It's not really a condition, Charlie." More silence.

"When are you going to be home?"

"I'll sneak out when I can." There was another voice in the background. "Hold on, Charlie. Looks like I can come after breakfast."

"See you then." He got an alert from his group text. "Meet home in 1 hr." FangGirl

"Got it" Saber

"C U there" YinYang

"Stop changing the names on my phone." #1Human 'Seriously?!'