Jared

Who are we waiting on? I asked.

Embry, Jacob answered. I sighed. We both sat. There was no telling how long he would be. It was nice that we could have smaller patrols now. It was quieter, and it made Seth's absence less painfully obvious. An ache rather than a stab. We could almost pretend the silence where his thoughts should be was because he was off duty, asleep in his bed rather than gone, though not quite. And I was uncomfortable being alone with Jacob, and he was uncomfortable being alone with me. We probably would have been fine if we were both human. As humans, we had the luxury of keeping painful thoughts to ourselves, and not putting uncomfortable thoughts into words. As wolves we did not. We ached for Seth, and Jacob was trying, and failing, not to think about how he had taken Kim to his house to heal his father back when she was glass-eyed and silent. I tried not to think about how I had attacked him after. But trying not to think only made thoughts louder.

I sighed. How're you doing?

Jacob thought about that. Better. It's uh- It's nice to have a house again. Will you tell Kim I said thank you? When you see her?

Yeah, sure.

Also… Jacob stared at his paws. Will you tell her I'm sorry? About… Jacob pictured it in more detail than I'd seen before. How he'd hid in the trees by her house, waiting for me to run outside. How he'd found her, licking out that carton of ice cream. How he'd pulled her to his car, buckled her into the passenger seat, and drove her to his place. He remembered the confused look on his father's face, then the eerie concentration on Kim's, then his father's pain, then his wonder. He remembered how cold Kim got, and how guilty he felt as she trembled in his arms. He remembered wondering if she might die.

I shuddered. She's not mad. I wanted him to stop picturing that day. It hurt to remember her like that. We talked about it. You were right. She would have wanted to help.

You talked about it?

We talked about all of it, I explained. She wanted to know everything that she'd missed.

It was hard. After she told me about her magic fantasy time in the "canvas," I told her about my time on good old, shitty planet Earth. I focused on the major events. How we'd found her house in one piece, how we'd found her by the cliffs, how she'd healed Emily, how Crimson showed up, and all the chaos that followed. I didn't tell her anything that went on inside my head and she didn't pry. I wasn't embarrassed about falling apart, I just didn't want to make her feel any worse then she did. She just looked so damn fragile. Like a plume of smoke that would disperse at any moment. I could see the guilt and pain in her eyes when I told her about how she'd disappeared into the sea. When I told her how Seth died.

Then we started on the apologies, each insisting over and over that we were the one to blame, tears spilling as the sorries tumbled out one on top of the other. But when I told her about how Jacob had taken her, how he had used her as a toy, when I apologized for not being able to protect her, she just smiled, sad, sweet, sympathy in her eyes. Oh Jared, she'd said. It's ok. I wasn't really there. And I would have helped him anyway, if I was.

We were both silent for a long time, Kim's words echoing in our heads.

How about you? Jacob asked. How are you doing?

Better.

Jacob knew without me having to explain it. It was a different world, having her alive and alert and whole in my arms at night. I felt like a ghost before, haunting the world she'd left behind. At least I felt like a person again. I'd finally gotten my miracle. The first night we'd slept together after she came back, after I'd slept off the exhaustion of the last few weeks, I lay awake at night, watching as she slept in my arms. But now that I had her back, part of me was just waiting for her to disappear again. Now I had something to lose.

Some of the others relaxed considerably after Kim's return. The three leeches that had been terrorizing the town were dead, meaning we were able to sleep, which drastically improved most of our moods. But as vibrant and full of life as Kim was now, I couldn't stop seeing her as a ghost, like she was a waking dream or a shooting star bound to vanish from sight without warning. Every time her face went blank, even if only because her mind was wandering, I pushed down fear that she was slipping away again. It didn't help that she was always cold now, no matter how long I held her. It didn't help that she smelled different, a hint of static that I couldn't place. She tasted different too. When I kissed her, I couldn't help but picture a copper penny, hidden somewhere under her tongue. She just had a certain charge about her now. I felt tremors every time I had to leave her alone. I'd promised to protect her. She'd rolled her eyes every time I'd said it, and I'd promised anyway. Then I'd failed. When she came back I promised not to let it happen again, and this time I was determined to keep my promise.

When Sam ordered me back into the patrol schedule, Kim played it off so well that I hadn't realized it was her idea until I phased. Sam had to order me to stay so I wouldn't run right back to her. I freaked out, thinking that she had made a plan to get me out of her way so she could slip away again. I felt sympathy from everyone except Leah who thought, she's not plotting anything, she just needs space, dumbass! I then tried to stifle my embarrassment while Leah got so annoyed that she ditched patrol to go smoke on the beach.

After the initial panic, it felt good to run again, and there was nothing like a direct link to five other minds for a little perspective. Quil was worried about Kim too, but he didn't think she was likely to disappear. He was also unsurprised that Kim would scheme her way into getting alone time instead of just asking for it and advised me to take the hint. Sam was also invested in keeping Kim close and safe. He thought Kim had joined the pack for a reason and that we would need her help again. Since I'd so rarely been apart from her since she returned, I hadn't been aware of that little subset of pack planning, but the others had been thinking about it on patrols. How do we get her talking? How do we find out how much she can do? How do we convince her to help? Leah and Paul were in the tough love camp to varying degrees. Sam and Embry thought she needed time and space. Quil wanted to let her retire.

She's done enough, he'd thought. I agreed with Quil, but I knew Kim wouldn't.

So I'd been working on giving her space. Quil and Leah were right about that. Treating her like glass would only freak her out more. Mostly, I knew I needed to count my blessings. The last few weeks were better. She was alive. She was here. We were together. We would work through the rest.

I froze, suddenly hyper-aware of Jacob, sitting next to me. I tried not to think of Bella and what my pain my celebration might have caused. Sorry.

It's ok, he said. I know it's not the same.

He never talked that way. Bella had always been on his mind, day and night. Maybe it wasn't the same as imprinting, but that didn't mean his feelings weren't strong. We all knew how he felt. I wondered what had changed.

That's not… I didn't just mean imprinting. Jacob stumbled over his words. She never… What I meant was... it's not like what you and Kim have because Kim cares about you as much as you care about her and… Bella never loved me back like that. So it's not the same. It's ok. I know it's not the same.

I sat, shocked, expecting Jacob to think back on his unbalanced love for Bella Swan at bitter length, but he kept it short. Jacob thought of how her easy smiles and casual touches, all intended to show friendship took on a different shape in his mind. But he thought he could live with that now, because mostly, Jacob thought about those violent words nailed on that tree, about his frantic run towards the house that he watched bloom into flames through my eyes. He thought about collapsing in the woods, consumed by the unbearable pain of thinking he had lost someone who really loved him.

Jacob reflected on earlier memories in brief flashes. Growing up. The accident that took his mother's life and his father's mobility. The departure of his older sisters at their earliest opportunities. He remembered pain, and joy, and boredom, and little celebrations over the last seventeen years he and his father spent together, cooking for each other, giving each other shit and tough love, and taking care of each other. Although he couldn't put his thoughts into words yet, Jacob had decided to slow down. He realized he wanted to give his love to people who wanted it. To people who could give their love back.

Embry phased in, scattering our thoughts.

Late! Jacob hounded, though he was teasing.

Oh, sorry, your royal Beta-ness, Embry drawled as he ran towards us.

Jacob mentally snickered. All good man. What kept you?

All the action at the Conweller's place.

Action!? Kim's place!? I hopped to my feet, gripped by a sudden panic that I didn't bother trying to hide.

Easy, Embry teased. He thought I looked like a cartoon character. I didn't care. He pictured Kim's house, and the boxes that were piling up outside.

What is she doing? A low whine escaped me.

I figured you knew, he thought. Quil said Kim's mom is moving in with them. I guess they had to sell the house? Quil went to help them move.

I frowned, picturing Quil's house. It wasn't that big. Is Kim moving in with them too?

Quil didn't say anything about Kim. Maybe you should get over there?

You guys are cool on your own right? I was already running, not willing to wait for an answer.

I skidded to a stop in the trees across the street from Kim's house. I watched from the woods as she crammed an overflowing box into the already packed trunk of a white hatchback car with dealer plates. I noticed some silverware, a framed photo, a book, and a piece of fabric all poking out of the box in her arms. I was about to phase back when I saw Quil and Leah trying to maneuver the sofa out the front door.

"Should we keep it?" Quil called to Kim.

"If you want it!" She called back.

"It's nicer than ours!"

"Keep it then!" Kim called. "We'll need a truck to haul it over though, so just leave it in the yard for now."

"Can't you shrink it down or something?" Quil asked.

"Oh haha!"

I phased back and jogged across the street. Kim's whole face lit up when she saw me making my stomach do cartwheels. Maybe space was good for something after all.

"Hey." She pulled me into a hug. "I thought you were on patrol?"

"Uh, Jacob let me out early." Not technically true but not technically a lie either.

"Great! So you're here to help?"

"Sure."

"Ok awesome," she said, rubbing her hands together. "We're just about to drive this load over and then we'll come back for more. My mom's doing the decision-making, I'm the organizer, and you, Quil, and Leah are on the heavy lifting team."

I smiled. "You're the organizer, huh? I guess that explains why you put dishes in with the laundry." I pointed my chin at a clear trash that was stuffed liberally with both.

Her face grew serious. "Please don't question my process." I laughed, then followed her back into the house. It looked like a bomb had gone off inside. Laina squinted at a small pile of clothing that she was sorting into boxes labeled "keep" and "sell."

"Is this one ready, mom?" Kim asked, pointing at a trash bag filled with bedsheets. Laina nodded. "Great. That might be all we can fit actually. We'll drive these over but we'll be back soon."

"Ok, Kim." Laina smiled at her. It was so odd seeing her this lucid. I tried to erase the image in my mind of her lying on the couch with a wine bottle nearby.

Kim grabbed the trash bag and started dragging it across the floor. "Can you help?"

I took it from her, trying to hide that I had spaced out. "Heavy lifting, right?" I said. Kim grinned. "Ow!"

"What's wrong?" Kim asked, eyes wide. I looked down. There was a single fork in with the tangled bedsheets that had poked me. Kim winced when she saw it. "Sorry!"

I stuffed the trash bag in the back and eventually managed to get the trunk shut. "I don't know if you'll fit," Kim said, as I came around to the passenger side.

"Who's going to help you unload at Quil's then?" I asked.

"Ugh, you're right," she smacked her forehead. "Wow, some organizer I am. Think you can squeeze? We can also save some of this stuff for the next load."

I managed to clamber into the unfamiliar car while holding a box of yarn, rolls of quarters, and a single potted succulent on my lap as she drove. Somehow Quil and Leah managed to squeeze into Laina's car. As she drove, I ran a hand over the leather seat and eyed the touchscreen on the console, which appeared to have better resolution than my TV. "So… you bought a car?"

"This?" She laughed. "No, I'm not made of money. It was a gift."

"From who?"

"The Cullens."

I nearly dropped my yarn, quarters, and succulent box. Or I would have, had there been space to do so. "What?!"

"Yeah," she said. "Another item on my ever increasing, thank-you-for-saving-our-lives gift registry."

"So did you use your powers to track them down?"

"Yeah."

I thought about that for a minute. "What relic did you have that was important to the Cullens?"

"Relic?" She asked. "Oh. Uh… I used Bella's old copy of Wuthering Heights."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"So you tracked them down to ask them for a car?"

Kim laughed. "No. I tracked them down to see if they knew anything about Crimson. Or any other corporate vampires. They said they didn't know anything, but they promised to look into it. I told them what happened and they were shocked. They said they'd let us know if they find out anything. I told them about the drilling project and they said they'd try to help with that too. Jasper knows a legal team. He's going to persuade them to help with the lawsuit."

Then, as if she read my mind she said, "I know, I know, no secrets. I promise I'm not sitting on anything major. But it happened kind of quickly, you know? Also I didn't want you to worry, and I didn't want the whole pack to think I was stepping all over all of your cute little bean toes. I wanted to give you space to do your jobs, you know? And I didn't want to run everything by you because most of my ideas have been like a total bust." She threw up one hand in frustration. The other stayed firmly on the wheel. "Like my anti-vampire fence idea, my vampire repellent, my vampire detector… all a total, trash-fire level failure! Edward beat them all. It was infuriating. Gosh his little, smug little, gloaty smirks made me so angry I thought I was going to phase again, but I didn't."

I wracked my brain, trying to think of when she would have had time to do all of this. All this time, the whole pack, myself included, thought she was taking a break. I guess I should have known that wasn't like her. Then I felt a chill as another thought occurred to me. "Before they left, Bella said the psychic leech couldn't see the future anymore. They said it was because something bad was coming. They didn't know what. If it wasn't Crimson, then what was it?"

Kim shook her head, a smile I couldn't understand twisting her lips. "It was me."

I froze. Stillness seemed the only natural response. She didn't look at me. Her eyes were trained on the road. "It makes sense if you think about it. Alice can't see werewolves. They're too far from her own understanding. And I guess I'm... even farther." She trailed off as if the thought saddened her. "It makes sense that I leave an even bigger blind spot. She can't see anything I've touched. And anything I do with the canvas, leaves a kind of um, fissure, in her vision. Some bigger than others. After the battle, she thought it was a fluke, but the more I did, the more her blindspots grew. It scared them all. They thought something was dissolving their powers."

"Is that why they ended up changing Bella?" I asked.

Kim winced and bit her lip. "No. That was kind of... unrelated. The battle with Victoria and Riley on the mountain sort of set things in motion. Edward had always promised to keep her safe. Bella had just started to show an interest in humanity, and the kind of experiences that came with it that immortality could cost her. But after the battle, Edward's promises to keep her safe kind of started to fall flat. And suddenly, human experiences lost their appeal to her."

I sucked in a breath at the sorrow in her voice. "There's nothing you could have done." It was instinct to protect her from pain.

To my surprise she said, "I know." She took a deep breath too. "Some things just happen. I think I need to accept that some things are out of my control. And that I'm not perfect. And that there will always be things I can't fix."

I stared at Kim. Usually she wasn't one to accept things that upset her. To set aside problems, even if they didn't belong to her. For some reason, Kim's willingness to set aside Bella felt like a promising step, but I wasn't sure she was ready to hear that yet, so I changed the subject. "So you guys are moving in with Quil, huh?"

"Oh, no just my mom," she said. "Quil's house is tiny."

"What about you?"

"Road trip!" Kim practically sang the words.

"Road trip?" I asked. My voice came out higher than normal and I coughed to cover it. "What? Where? New York?"

"New York?" She asked, squinting a little at me. "Oh right. I forgot about Columbia. Oh my god, so much has happened!" She laughed. "No, I'm still deferred, thankfully, don't have to think about that now. Hopefully I'll be able to go next year."

"Then where?"

"There are others out there like me," she said, eyes widening with wonder. "I can see where some of them are. I just have to get to them. Maybe they'll be able to teach me. I need to start building up my skills. I have to be ready in case…" She trailed off. Maybe she saw my expression. I didn't care enough to try to hide it.

"Jared-" she sighed. "I can't just... sit around here waiting and doing nothing. If they come back, I need to be ready." Her voice was so soft and serious that I felt myself starting to shake. I fought for control. I wasn't paranoid. I hadn't been imagining it. She really was restless, just biding time before slipping away again. "Are you ok?!"

I couldn't stop shaking. I fought to hide the anger, and the hurt, but then I wondered what good that would do. "You-you just got back."

"I know but, I really can't put this off-"

"You can't just-" I ground my teeth, fighting panic. I couldn't tell her what to do. If I pushed too hard, it might push her farther away. I just had to wait. I focused on my breathing. I needed to get Leah and Quil to help talk her down. Together we could convince her. I took another deep breath, willing the shaking to slow. "I just-after everything, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be setting off on your own."

"Oh, I won't be alone," she said. "Leah's coming with me."

"You invited Leah!" I almost shouted. A tremor rolled through me but I forced it down.

"Yes, of course!" Kim laughed again, which didn't help my mood. "I was hoping you would come too. Did you even read my text?"

I stopped shaking. "Text?" I hadn't checked my phone since yesterday. I'd forgotten to plug it in overnight and left to patrol before I had time to charge it.

"Yeah, you know, that four-paragraph explanation of how my mom was moving in with Tina and the Quils, and how Leah and I wanted to go off and learn canvas-magic, and the full-on persuasive letter I sent you about why you should come, and how much fun it would be, with all the sight-seeing, and all the cool food we would try, and camping, and quality time together…"

"Pull over."

"What?"

"Please?"

Kim eased the car onto the gravel shoulder and put it in park. She looked at me, her eyes wide and a little sheepish. I leaned over and kissed her. I'd meant for it to be quick, but her lips kept moving under mine, and she knotted her fingers in my hair. When we eventually broke apart, we were both panting. Quil honked at us as he and Leah drove by. Kim flipped him off.

"That couldn't wait until we got to Quil's?"

I grinned. "Nope."

"So… is that a yes?"

"Definitely a yes."

"Yay!" She cheered. "Road trip! It really will be fun, I promise. We'll make time for fun stuff between all the tedious driving, and random meetings with all of the other...magic doers. Wizards?" Her eyes went round and her face lit up. "Do you think I can call myself a wizard!?" She put the car back in drive. "You scared the shit out of me though. Pull over!" Kim made her voice deep in a loose impersonation of mine. "I thought I was being arrested. Also I thought you were going to cry or explode or something when I said Leah was coming. What was that about?"

"Well I'm not totally thrilled that she's coming," I admitted. The image of Leah lurking nearby kind of sullied the rosy picture Kim painted, but I could handle it. They were friends. Both Kim and Leah needed to be near friends now.

The car lurched to a stop before we even made it off the shoulder. Kim gawked at me.

"What?" I asked. "She's not like my favorite person-"

"Did you seriously think you weren't invited?" Kim asked, mouth agape. I froze. "You did, didn't you! That's why you were freaking out!"

I wanted to deny it, but Kim had already seen through me. I nodded.

"Aw Jared!" Kim whined. "Did you really think I would go anywhere without you?" Kim pouted at me for a moment before shaking her head and pulling back into the road. "Seriously, did you really think I would want to plan a trip without you? Now? Ever?" She rolled her eyes. "Gosh it would have been so awkward if you had said no, because then I would have had to kidnap you against your will-"

"Aren't all kidnappings against someone's will?" I asked.

"Oh you know what I mean." She waved her hand, unconcerned by the minor technicalities of kidnappings.

I felt something warm building inside of me. Hope. I didn't realize how relieved I would feel to let myself feel hopeful. How letting hope bloom inside of me could push out the fear.

Quil's parents hosted a goodbye barbecue, pack and family only. My parents and Laina were locked in conversation with Sue, who smiled occasionally even though it looked forced. Quil's dad and Billy crowded the grill. Sam, Emily, and Jacob stood in a tight circle by the driveway, talking strategy. Leah slouched in a lawn chair, glassy-eyed. Rachel went to try to pull her into the circle. Paul came over to join Quil, Embry, and I at the little card table they'd set up.

"We'll miss you man," he said.

I laughed. "Sure."

"How long do you think it'll be?" Paul asked.

"The road trip?" I asked. "Well Kim's the one planning, so I'd say anywhere from four days to fourteen years."

Quil laughed. "Sounds about right." Then he sighed. "Be careful out there."

"She's going to be ok," I said. "She's got this."

"It's not her I'm worried about," he muttered.

"What the fuck man?" I asked, laughing at the offensive implication, but then I realized based on his expression that it wasn't a dig at me. He tipped his head towards Leah. I looked over at her. Rachel was still trying to talk to her but she wouldn't look up or respond. There was an untouched plate on her lap that someone else must have put there. It was hard to look at her, because of her pain, because of the reminder that Seth was gone, and because her listlessness reminded me of Kim after she stopped speaking. I shuddered.

Quil leaned in and lowered his voice further. "There's nothing Leah won't do. She's on a mission. Kim too, but Leah might get her carried away. You've got to be the voice of reason."

"Oh you know me," I said, grinning.

"Jared's the voice of reason?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow. He sighed and looked back at his plate. "They're so fucked." I loaded my fork and flicked a bit of potato salad at him which he caught in his mouth. Stupid, obnoxiously coordinated Paul.

"Where is Kim?" Embry asked.

"Late," Quil said. "Should I text her?"

"I did," I said. "She didn't respond."

She was probably fine, but she was usually pretty good about answering her phone. When Laina arrived she'd said Kim had some things to take care of and would be here later, but she didn't know what things Kim was taking care of. I tried to stay calm as I stared at my phone, wondering if I should text her again, when I heard a high pitched bark from the woods. Everyone in the pack looked up at the same time. Emily, Rachel, and the adults didn't seem to notice. I stood and slipped off into the woods, following the sound. There was another bark, and then I saw her.

I gasped at the fluffy little white wolf. She was panting, which made it look like she was smiling, and her tail was wagging so fast the movement made her whole body sway. She barked again.

"Oh uh… you want me to phase." Kim nodded, her movements comically clear. "Ok just a sec."

She stared up at me as I took my shirt off, tongue out, drooling. I smirked and rolled my eyes. Knowing Kim, she was doing it on purpose for laughs. I phased.

Her thoughts were incoherent with excitement. I tried to get a read on them but had to wait for her to compile her thoughts.

The reasons I have summoned you here today are as follows, she announced. Then she shook her head. Oh wait, that's too formal. This was really meant to be a casual, low stress thing. A little... mental check in. I tried not to laugh at her little struggle. I didn't want to derail her. Oh it's fine, I'm derailing myself.

How'd you do it? I asked.

Three guesses, she thought, but then couldn't refrain from thinking the word canvas over and over, leaving me no time to guess. I think I misunderstood what it is, she thought. What it's for.

I gasped as she thought back to her journey with the raven. The story she'd told me that I'd assumed was a dream came to life in her mind with searing color and sound. I could see and feel all of it in her mind. She showed me the canvas, reminding me of how it came to her, through fear and anger, but then she started to show me what it was: her taxilit. It was a line, no, a surface. No. It filled all the space around her, connecting her to everything around her. To her past. Her heritage. Her tribe. The land beneath her feet. Her family, her whole pack, and especially to me. Through her mind, I could see the canvas, and the thousands of little pinpricks of light on our bodies on that page, like a beautiful constellation of stars, and eventually the shimmering lines between us that cast them. They looked like fishing lines at first. Or like sunbeams rendered visible by smoke. Curious, I began to circle her. The little waving lines followed, connecting us always. They stretched as I stepped away, unstrained by distance, and condensed when I got close, pooling around our bodies.

It doesn't really matter what causes them. Or where they came from. Or whether they were put there by some higher power, or by science, or fate, or by ourselves. What matters is, they're real. They're permanent. I repeated her words back to myself, causing an echo. I felt the knot in my chest relax more and more as I watched the threads of light between us. I wanted to show you, Kim thought. I remembered what it felt like that first time. When you showed me what it felt like to get rawked. Remember that?

Yes. I remembered when she first phased and bullied her way into my mind. I remembered how scared I was to let her know exactly how I felt. I was afraid that I would scare her off because there was no way she felt exactly the same way. Then I remembered how happy she was-how relieved she was to know just how deep my feelings for her went-and how I'd spent nights awake regretting not finding a way to tell her sooner.

I remembered how that felt, she thought. Like a weight off of my shoulder to know for sure how you felt. I know how much you've been through because of me and… and… and I wanted you to see. I was too touched to form words. My thoughts were incoherent. So whenever we start feeling anxious, we can just phase together and check in. That way we'll always be on the same page…

Yeah. We can also talk to each other, I teased. You know, like couples do.

Oh yeah, definitely that too, she thought, giggling a little. I won't be far. Just in the driver's seat.

I laughed. Not the whole time though right? And then I laughed again because I could tell as she pictured that little white car that she did intend on being the only one driving. Seriously? You're not going to let me or Leah drive at all? Kim, you're going to get so tired!

Well maybe for a bit, she thought, pretending to consider it.

I rolled my eyes. I thought Jacob was the car nut. You're in love with that suburban-mom-car?!

Don't bash Sheila! Kim growled her fluffy fur bristling to impressive heights.

Oh my god, it has a name!?

She's brand new!

I would never dream of letting anything happen to Sheila, I thought, solemnly. Especially not when she'll be carrying such precious cargo.

I could feel Kim's resolve starting to crack. You can drive, she amended. But not Leah. I've been in a car with her. It's terrifying. She's a little speed-demon and we have to keep her away from the wheel at all costs.

Deal. I looked back towards the barbecue. Should we go back to the party? Did you bring your patrol dress? I pictured the long, flowy dress she always wore.

How did you know!? She asked. Oh, I guess I do wear it a lot. Yeah, we should get back.

Say our goodbyes?

More like our 'see you laters,' Kim thought. We'll be back.

Four days later or fourteen years later?

Definitely somewhere in that range.

We phased back and got dressed. Kim curled her hand around mine as we walked. I squeezed back. Whatever life threw our way, big or small, bedlam or barbecues, we were in this together. Everything was going to be ok. Kim would get stronger, and I would get stronger with her. We would protect each other, and when we were ready, we would come back and protect our people and our home. And if luck or fate wasn't in our favor, we'd still be ok. From now on, we'd make our own.

*The End*

One Last Author's Note:

Thank you all for coming along on this ride. I can't thank you enough for reading! I laughed and cried with Kim and Jared and friends as I wrote, and I hope you did too as you read. If any of you are at all interested in reading more from me, let me know! I'm currently working on a YA Fantasy novel, and if you are interested in Beta reading, or if you are a writer looking for a critique partner, please message me or leave a comment or review that you are interested! I would be so grateful to anyone who is willing to read and offer feedback or looking for a revision partner to exchange pages with!

Thank you all for finding this story, and thank you so much for making it to the end. For everyone who commented or reviewed, thank you especially for making me feel like I was sharing something with real people and not just shouting into some far corner of the internet void. I heard that fan fiction sites got a lot more traffic during the pandemic, and it's easy to see why. It's kind of lovely to turn to fantasy to escape from a bleak reality, to work some modern values into a problematic children's book, and to make beautiful, tenuous connections with strangers around the world, especially in these unprecedented and otherwise isolating times. Thank you all.