~~-Yellow Maidens-~~

Jaune sat back on the hard metal bench of the bullhead and let his eyes roam across the other 5 people sat opposite him. They all wore the same uniforms. White jackets and porcelain Grimm masks. None of them were armed, but then again neither was he. He couldn't really see their eyes clearly, but he had a feeling they were all staring at him. It was not a completely unfamiliar feeling; it was honestly a lot like high school. He had plenty of experience at being the odd man out there too.

He brought his eyes back to the spider Faunus opposite him. She didn't bother with a mask. It wouldn't have done much to hide her identity anyway. The silvery grey veins crisscrossing her body were a very identifiable trait that would be hard to cover up. He found himself shying away from holding eye contact. Staring at her rapidly twiddling fingers instead. Trifa for her part made no effort to hide the fact that she was watching him intently. Studying him like a bug. And Jaune knew exactly what spiders liked to do with bugs.

No one spoke, the only sound was from the constant thrum of the engines. Jaune sighed and started drumming his own fingers on his thigh nervously. Blake and Velvet both simultaneously realizing his discomfort patted his arm and leg respectively from their positions on either side. Ilia too looked past Blake to check up on him. He gave them all a smile to let them know he was okay. He felt bad for Ilia especially, she was put in a tough spot. As the only person who straddled the line between the two groups, she was the only one that was still armed, everyone else had been asked to lock their weapons in a storage bay on the outside of the ship. But the way the White Fang Members kept flicking their eyes to her meant they didn't completely trust her, and having your loyalties questioned was never a fun experience for anybody.

At least things had gone smoothly up until this point. The empty deck of the cargo ship had left plenty of room to maneuver. The White Fang had all been gathered on the bow and when they landed. And the Ace Ops had unfettered access to the bridge and the crew in the stern of the ship. With Jaune's little escort party in the middle. The Ace Ops and White Fang really had not interacted with each other at all. They were only on the deck for mere moments, and Jaune had just had to stand there, Ilia had done all the talking and convinced them to relinquish their weapons. Jaune was just a bystander, until now.

The flight over had been easy too, Beacon had provided the bullhead, Jaune still didn't know who was piloting it as they had kept the cockpit sealed. It had simply landed in Ansel at precisely 6:30 and picked them up, the Ace Ops were already on board. And while the flight had been tense, it was friendly, and he had been more preoccupied worrying about the unknown scenarios they could encounter and planning for them. Now though, everything was tense in a different and decidedly unfriendly way, and he had nothing to occupy his mind or distract from the uncomfortable atmosphere. Currently the only thing he was thankful of was that having Aura had been hugely effective at combatting his motion sickness. He just sat there, painfully aware of how awkward he was, as the bullhead flew them across the ocean to rendezvous with a White Fang contingent from Mistral.

Jaune sighed again. The silence kept dragging on and on. His eyes found themselves inexplicably drawn back to the dark grey, constantly moving, hands of the spider Faunus across from him.

"Can you stop staring at my hands?" Trifa broke the silence moving her hands from her lap, practically sitting on them so they would be less visible.

"Sorry. It's just… you can shoot webbing from your hands! Which is awesome! I can think of hundreds of ways where that could be useful. But don't spiders have their spinnerets on their butts? So, I can't help but wonder if that means you have butts on your hands, or how that all works…. It's just, Faunus biology is so fascinating and confusing… Right? …..Sorry. Shutting up now." Juane trailed off to a mumble as he realized everyone was staring at him, it felt like most of them with something close to hatred. Even his friends had this look like 'what are you thinking?'

"Typical human." One of the grunts scoffed.

"Come on Bradley, like you haven't wondered the same thing." Ilia scolded the man across from her.

"Hey! Don't use my real name!" The Faunus glared at Ilia before turning to look at Jaune with concern.

"Like Jaune cares." Ilia crossed her arms.

"I don't get you at all." Trifa leaned forward staring at Jaune again. "Why? Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" Jaune finally met her eyes, with a look of pure confusion.

"You saved Sienna Kahn, then argued for her to spare me from a punishment I wholly deserved. And now Sienna said you attacked the SDC, masterminded a hostile takeover, and negotiated a pay raise for the Faunus. And here you are, putting yourself in danger needlessly. You shouldn't be sitting here awkwardly, worried more about starting a conversation than us attacking you. You shouldn't trust us, you definitely shouldn't trust me. Why do you? Why would you do any of those things?" Trifa gestured wildly, the rest of the White Fang ogled him with wide eyes and a newfound respect.

"I was in a position to help. So, I did." Jaune shrugged.

"But why? I can get the SDC, you could have done that to impress your girlfriend." Trifa gestured at Blake who blushed a bit. "And you are friends with the Schnee girl. Saving Sienna could have been a way to gain leverage, or to garner power and influence. But then to immediately argue for her to spare me and Yuma? That makes no sense. We weren't important, we were your enemy. And you were potentially squandering your favor with Sienna. There was no reason for you to say anything at all!"

"If you had the power to help someone, would you?" Jaune looked at Trifa, for the first time looking like a hardened Huntsman and not some dumb kid.

"Not if they were my enemy!" Trifa leaned away, seeking confirmation from her comrades who were all watching on intently.

"But you aren't my enemy. You just stood there when Adam attacked." Jaune looked honestly confused.

"Yes, I am! I'm White Fang, we attacked your school, we killed people. We are terrorists! Enemies to all of humanity. And I… I was one of Adams closest followers." Trifa gestured to herself with aggressive jabs of her thumbs while looking wildly around at her equally confused squad mates. But Jaune didn't look tense or worried at all.

"But you're people too." Jaune squeezed Blake's hand, reminding her of a long conversation they once had, as he looked them all in the eye.

"Ehhh?" Trifa's confusion was mirrored by the rest of the White Fang grunts.

"People generally do things for some kind of reasons, usually pretty compelling ones. But honestly, who am I to judge you? Faunus, Humans, we are all just people. Not all of us are good, but I like to think most of us are. And I can understand wanting to stand up against the people who are bullying you." Jaune sat back, the terrorists, slash freedom fighters, across from him found their prior assumptions uncomfortably challenged.

"But… Sienna… We were… are terrorists. Aren't we?" Bradley was looking at Jaune like he was seeing something for the first time, his eyes blinking rapidly from behind his mask.

"I'm a big believer in second chances. Yeah, Sienna Kahn took the White Fang in a dangerous direction, but I don't think it was with bad intentions. She wasn't a bad person for wanting to force the world to change for the better. Someone had to stand up and fight for the Faunus's rights." Jaune looked honestly confused as to why he was the one defending the White Fang, to the White Fang.

"But we have… the White Fang has hurt, no killed people. Lots of people. You can't just gloss that over." This time it was Blake who voiced her objection to Jaune's casual acceptance. She didn't want him looking at her with rose colored glasses, she didn't think she could bear it if one day the way he looked at her suddenly changed.

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean everyone who wore the mask was a bad person." He gave Ilia and Blake a soft smile. While the other White Fang members looked between themselves.

"But that said, there ARE some truly bad people out there as well. Humans and Faunus alike, people who don't care about making the world better, and would gladly watch it burn if it helps them get what they want. People who don't mind if others suffer, maybe even take some sick pleasure in it. People like Adam and Jacques. If I can stop them from hurting people, I will. But I feel like everybody should do that, if you have the power to do something, then you have the responsibility as a person to do it, even if not everyone will like what you are doing. That's just what a good person does." Jaune shrugged nonchalantly, while Blake was awestruck, her heart swelling with pride and admiration, but her emotions were swirling with some lingering guilt and remorse as well.

"With great power comes great responsibility." Trifa mumbled it to herself, causing Jaune to quirk an eyebrow.

"It's something my uncle used to tell me." Trifa looked up and made eye contact one last time before bringing her hands back to her lap. She continued to stare down at them, like she was seeing something there for the first time.

"I'm really hoping the White Fang can keep a lid on the more radical members who only want to hurt people. And can work towards actually achieving the goal of equality and acceptance. After all we are all people, and the Grimm are our true enemies." Jaune may not have known it, but as he was talking, he had been sitting straighter, looking more determined, and looking every bit like a true Huntsman to everyone onboard.

Silence descended once again as Trifa and the other Fang members seemed to lose themselves in thought, the previous animosity and tension in the air was mostly gone now, replaced with a more quietly introspective atmosphere. And soon enough the aircraft began to bank and descend. Trifa was still quiet and withdrawn as she led her troops out of the bullhead. Ilia went with them to retrieve their weapons.

"You really believe that don't you. That Faunus and humans are all just people?" Velvet spoke, but both her and Blake turned to Jaune.

"Well, yeah. We are, aren't we? I mean, I get that we are different too. I just don't understand why people are so hateful though. Maybe they are jealous? You guys have these cool bonus abilities, like supper hearing or like how Ilia can disguise herself or Trifa's webs. It's like a second semblance! And you have night vision too. But despite our differences, we are the same where it matters most." Velvet smiled and gave Jaune a hug, but Blake held back a little.

"Jaune, why did you want to be a huntsman so badly?" Blake was watching his eyes intently, her hand resting gently on his own.

"To be a hero." Blake tilted her head as she considered his response.

"And what is a hero to you?" Velvet joined Blake as, both watched intently as Jaune thought about his answer.

"Someone who makes a difference. Who fights for what's right, no matter what." Ilia froze at the back of the ship, as the door behind her closed. She had only heard the tail end of the conversation, but it was enough. She just stood there, holding her friends' weapons, as she considered the simple yet profound words.

Inside the cockpit, Dr. Oobleck adjusted his glasses, a wide smile on his face as he reached over and flicked off the microphone in the passenger compartment.

The goodbyes with his family had been quick, and not as emotional as he had expected. Jaune had once again left his home for Beacon Academy. Only this time it was not in the dead of night and with a heavy heart. And this time he wasn't alone. In fact, the bullhead was rather crowded, with 13 people and their gear.

His mother and sisters had made them all a pack lunch, so everyone was digging through their paper bags and munching happily.

Jaune for one was looking forward to the mundanity of regular classes and homework. It had been a rather adventurous couple of months that had him globetrotting around Remnant, accidently solving the world's problems while trying to keep his friends safe. After all that had happened worries about grades and homework deadlines seemed so simple.

As the Bullhead came over Beacon the pilot made a spiraling descent, waiting for clearance to land and giving them all ample time to take in the appearance of the school.

The crater from the Grimm dragon was the most obvious reminder of the attack on Beacon. A large scar in the forest with the charred blackened wreckage of the once proud Atlesian battleship. It stood out like a hellish sundial in the otherwise pristine Emerald Forest. But even in that, there were signs of life as patches of green could be seen as they flew lower. Saplings springing up in patches, vines growing over the blackened metal. The forest moving quickly to reclaim the destroyed landscape and swallow the wrecked ship.

The rest of the school had been rebuilt, and repaired, for the most part. Some of the gardens and lawns were still a little torn up. But the buildings all looked great, only some scaffolding around the cafeteria remained, but the building itself looked to be nearly fully restored. Likely due in no small part to Glynda Goodwitch's handywork.

They came closer and circled around again as they waited for the landing pads to clear. Students could be seen, milling about enjoying the warm weather.

"Wait, what day of the week is it?" Jaune looked expectantly at Weiss, along with everyone else.

"Friday. Honestly, am I the only responsible one here?" Weiss huffed, her focus going back to her scroll, busily reviewing another set of documents for the SDC.

"So did we miss a lot of classes?" Jaune turned back to continue peering out the window. Weiss growled in aggravation, feeling the many sets of eyes shifting her way. Abandoning her scroll and accepting that everyone was looking at her for answers, she glared at the back of Jaune's head.

"Did no one read the itinerary Ms. Goodwitch sent us?" She received nothing but blank stares and slow blinks. "Really none of you? It was in the E-mail she sent."

"Ms. Goodwitch sent us something?" Ruby opened her scroll and flipped through her messages.

"All I got was a memo saying the school was opening back up, and initiation would proceed as normal." Coco shrugged looking over her sunglasses.

"It was an attachment detailing the specific scheduling of the reopening and the start of classes." Weiss looked around being met with total confusion from Coco and Ruby, the supposed team leaders.

"Ahh, an attachment. I always figure, if it isn't in the body of the E-mail it isn't important." Coco waved her hand as Velvet shook her head apologizing wordlessly to Weiss for her leader's actions.

Weiss just dragged her hand down over her face. "Review classes began last week, we and other students working on missions, and the like, were exempted. Starting Monday, we complete the final two weeks of courses to finish the curriculum and provide time to study, and then a week of finals to conclude the semester. After that a weeklong break, where they will hold initiation for next year's class, before we officially begin our second year."

"Soo, sounds like a light couple weeks before we gotta start cramming. Sweet." Yang looked up from her scroll game to fist bump Nora.

"Yang! I expect you to spend your free time studying. I will be personally creating study prep schedules and mock tests to ensure you are fully prepared. Finals are almost here! I will not allow you to pull down team RWBY's academic standing." Weiss glared at Yang who just rolled her eyes, waving her off. Ruby ducked down pulling up her hood and trying to look as small as possible as she hid her face with her scroll.

"What's this about housing being reassigned?" Ruby suddenly jerked up, waving her scroll in emphasis.

"I didn't see anything about that." Weiss quickly clicked back scanning her E-mails.

"It was only sent to me." Ruby stuck out her chin at Weiss grinning smugly.

"I got that too." Jaune caused Ruby to deflate.

"What room are you in? We are going to be in Roland West room 3." Ruby and not just the girl, the entire team RWBY as well as Nora looked to Jaune with bated breath.

"Same building, Room 4." Everyone let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, how about that, neighbor." Coco grinned at how excited Velvet was.

"We aren't moving?" Velvet looked radiant with her wide hopeful smile.

"Nope, you get to sleep right next door to your boy toy." Velvet blushed furiously.

"We are in room 2. Roland West. Rooms 3 and 4 are across the hall from each other. Next to the common room." Yatsuhashi helped clear up the confusion as Coco cackled madly and Velvet rained down halfhearted punches and slaps.

"Oh, hey… And Ilia gets room 1 all to herself." Jaune shocked the quiet Faunus girl from her thoughts.

"What? But I'm not even enrolled." Ilia had been looking at the amazing school wistfully. Slowly growing sadder as she heard them discussing their transition back to school life. She hadn't really considered before what that would entail for her and was just realizing that this might mean she had to strike off on her own again.

"Yeah. That's why Ms. Goodwitch couldn't send you the details. She asked me to forward them on. And apparently there are a lot of forms you will need to fill out once we get settled." Jaune gestured to the wide-eyed girl as she looked down to her vibrating scroll to see an incoming message. She looked wildly around at the smiling faces of her new friends; her heart so full of joy she was afraid it might burst.

"Yes! Team 'Arc's Brain Squad' is staying together!" Nora raised a triumphant fist.

For everyone else they could hear crickets chirp as they stopped and turned, blinking as they tried and failed to re-interpret Noraspeak into English. Nora looked back in disappointment and disbelief at the confused stairs of her friends, even Ren was looking at her funny.

"A-R-X-B-R-A-I-N-N-S-C-W-D. Our new combined team name. You know like: Arc, Ruby, Xiao Long, Blake, Ren, Alistair, Ilia, Nora, Nikos, Scarlatina, Coco, Weiss, Dachi. ARX BRAINN SCWD." Nora had her hands on her hips, looking at her friends as if she were talking to children.

After a long pause Ren came over and patted her on the head causing her to relax a bit, but she didn't immediately return to her typical bubbly personality.

"I'm sorry Nora, I appreciate the effort, but we will not be using that as a team name." Weiss shook her head.

"Yeah, and I thought RWBY was pushing it using a 'W' as a 'U', but you really are trying to force it in there with the 'X' and 'double N', not to mention using a 'CW' to replace a 'Q', 'U' and an 'A'. I mean that is almost taking it to a next level." Yang laughed as Nora stuck out her tongue at her.

"I don't see anyone else trying. It's really hard to find a name that uses all thirteen of us…" Nora grumbled to herself as Ren continued giving her comforting head pats.

"Well, whatever we call ourselves, I'm glad that Ms. Goodwitch tried to keep our group together. I'm really looking forward to training and getting closer to you guys next year. Hopefully we can go a whole year without some world changing events taking place." Coco held back Velvet easily, her rare moment of sincerity taking all the fight out of her.

As the aircraft landed, the students gathered themselves. Their eyes shining and spirits high. Everyone was excited for what the new year would bring.

Jaune punched the door release, allowing the loading ramp to open. Checking once outside he turned back and gestured to Coco. "Alright, team CFVY, mind leading the way?"

Ilia sat on the bed and leaned back against the wall. She looked at the Beacon uniform she had laid out on one of the middle bunks.

She reached over to the inside of her elbow and viciously twisted the skin there. Yeah, definitely not a dream, because that hurt like hell.

It still felt like a dream. Before the White Fang, back when her parents were still alive, she had dreamed of coming to a school like this. Not Beacon of course, she had always been a pragmatic child, even in her wildest dreams she never thought she would be able to attend Beacon. She assumed she would end up at Shade.

Her parents had worked so hard to make her dream possible. They somehow managed to get her into that Atlas Prep school. Even though Atlas Academy had started accepting Faunus 4 years ago, none of the local combat schools allowed Faunus to attend. She still didn't know how they managed that.

Then all her dreams were shattered in one fell swoop. One small spark triggered a dust explosion that would, not only snatch away her entire family, but her hopes and dreams for her future as well.

Then suddenly, just when she thought happiness was out of her reach, and the world was out to make everyone as miserable as possible. Blake had come crashing back into her life, and she brought Ruby and Jaune with her. They offered her a family to belong to, and now had dragged her back into an impossible dream. She looked at the three empty beds with a little melancholy dampening her spirit.

She was still all alone though, the only one without a team. She was in Beacon, but would it feel the same without a team to work with?

A loud rapping on the door drew her out of the sudden dark turn her thoughts had taken.

"Come in!" Ilia quickly scooped up the uniform on the bed and dusted herself down trying to ensure she was presentable.

Ruby stuck her head in the door. "Do you mind having visitors?"

"No!" Ilia winced at how desperately eager she sounded.

"Sooo, is that a no you don't want visitors? Or is it; no, you don't mind?" Ruby pulled her head halfway back, managing to simultaneously look both hopeful and disappointed. She stumbled forward, arms flapping as she tried to maintain her balance, obviously having been pushed from behind.

The door swung open to reveal the rest of team RWBY, Yang clearly being the one to have pushed both Ruby and the door.

"If it is a bad time for visitors, we can come back in 10 minutes." Weiss side stepped a charging Ruby who slammed ineffectually into Yang who ignored her, holding her off one handed, as Ruby flailed about with arms wind milling.

"No, no, please come in!" Ilia stepped back making some more space as Blake slipped in next to Weiss. Yang sauntered in after suddenly releasing Ruby and dodging to the side as the girl lurched past her. Ruby was the last to enter, her head hung low. But once she was inside her positivity returned ten-fold.

"Isn't this great? Everybody's together. We have the whole building! At least there is no one on the first floor yet." Ruby's words came out fast and blended together in her excitement.

"Ms. G really went above and beyond. You need to scan your scroll to get in the building, and there is an extra set of scroll scanners just to get on our floor, so we can all leave our dorm rooms open. It's gonna be like a frat house, and I know who is going to have the hangout room! We can take out a couple of beds and put in a table and a couple couches. It'll be awesome." Yang held her hands up forming a square to look through as if that somehow helped measure the space for furnishings.

"Yang! You can't just take over her room. You need to at least discuss it with her first. Maybe she doesn't want that, and maybe I don't want to buy any couches." Weiss sent Ilia an apologetic look before turning on Yang.

"No, that sounds great actually." Ilia was nodding happily.

"I was thinking we'd use the couches from the unused common room downstairs. But since you are offering. Maybe we could get an air hockey table or something for down there once the couches come out?" Yang gave the annoyed heiress her best impression of Ruby's puppy dog eyes, they were nowhere near effective.

"Oh, hey Ilia, I got your cloths from my bag here. And Blake, I put yours on your bunk." Jaune stuck his head in and left some neatly folded black clothes on the closest bed before popping his head back out.

"Yeah, that's right. You sort of joined up with us with only the cloths on your back. We should go into Vale tomorrow and get you some new stuff." Ruby looked at the miniscule pile on the bed then back at Ilia.

"Look at you! Suggesting we go on a shopping trip with the girls. My little Rubaby is all grown up." Yang's wiped away fake tears as she clutched a struggling Ruby to her chest.

"Did someone say shopping trip?" Coco stuck her head in with a wide and excited grin.

"Yeah tomorrow, Ilia needs new duds." Yang released a gasping Ruby to turn toward the door.

"Umm. I don't think I can do that…" Ilia trailed off looking to the side.

"Ohhh, yeah, you probably have to spend all day filling out forms and junk for Ms. Goodwitch." Ruby looked at her with pity.

"No, it isn't that. I don't really… I don't have any…" Ilia struggled not knowing how to articulate it without sounding like she was asking for charity. As it turns out she needn't have worried.

"Bahh, don't worry about that. I know I'm planning on taking you into a few of my favorite boutiques, and I plan on forcing you to get some stuff you'd probably never buy on your own. And we can't have your gear holding you back, so between your Beacon stipend, Weiss, and myself, we'll have you covered. I doubt being a terrorist paid very well." Coco waved a hand.

"It's Weiss and I… No wait… my apologies, that was a force of habit, what you said was correct. …On both accounts." Coco gave her a look causing Weiss to blush in embarrassment at her gaff.

The outpouring of generosity proved to be the last push that broke the poor chameleon's emotional dam. She didn't break down and start bawling or anything, but she did get all choked up and was unable to form words.

Yang was by her side in an instant. "Hey, hey, it's okay. We don't have to go to Vale. We aren't trying to force you into something you don't want to do. In fact, now that I think of it, did anyone even ask if you want to be here at Beacon? Or did we all just assume it?" Yang's mothering side was replaced with anger at herself for possibly overstepping things.

Ilia wiped at her eyes and smiled weakly. "Thanks guys. I'm alright, just a little overwhelmed by everything. Honestly, it's like a dream come true. But it's all happening so fast."

"Don't sweat it. We are here for ya, all of us." Yang's gesture encompassed not just the smiling faces of team RWBY but JNPR and CFVY as well.

"It's going to be hard for you though. Having to train with 3 different teams." Ruby shook her head pityingly, but her smile told a different story.

When everyone looked to her in confusion, especially Ilia, Ruby stopped trying to be sarcastic and immediately started explaining. "Ilia is going to be a fifth member of one of our teams when we go on missions. Most times as JNIPR, but sometimes it might be as part of RWBAY, or CFVAY depending on mission parameters. She will need to be able slot into any of those teams, typically in the scout and mobility roles alongside Blake, Velvet, or Ren. If we are all competing in something that requires four-man teams like a festival or tournament, then Pyrrha will sit out or fight solo and you'll fight as team RAIN, to keep things fair."

"When did you decide all this?" Yang looked at her younger sister with a proud look.

"Argus." Ruby shrugged back, Ilia was shocked that they had planned it out so far back, before she was even really part of the group.

"That doesn't seem fair to Pyrrha though." Ilia tried weekly arguing, feeling bad that she would be taking Pyrrha's spot.

"Pyrrha can handle herself. She took down an entire team single handedly in combat class." Yang tried to reassure Ilia.

"It was team CRDL though." Weiss added dismissively.

"Don't discount team CRDL. They made the doubles round, so they are in the top half of all teams on Remnant." Blake gave a mild chastising look at Weiss.

"Blakey, it's unlike you to defend Cardin of all people." Yang gave her partner a playful grin.

"I'm just saying don't cheapen what Pyrrha can do when she goes all out. She really is on a whole different level than the rest of us when fighting other Hunters. And don't worry Ilia, you won't have any trouble keeping up. You are already well beyond where Jaune was just a few months ago." Blake sat a little awkwardly on Ilia's other side.

"What I think everyone is trying to say. Is welcome to Beacon, we are honored to have you as a class and teammate." The smile on Weiss's face was warm and welcoming. Ilia thought it should look out of place, but it didn't.

The Ilia of two weeks ago would have been shocked by what today's Ilia thought of as normal.

She smiled and closed her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy. Everything was turning out beyond her wildest hopes. She just had this feeling that this is where she belonged, and everything was going to be amazing.

As Yang leaned up against her to prod at Blake. Ilia realized the position she was in, squished between the two gorgeous huntresses. She could only chuckle at her thoughts, 'Jaune is one lucky guy.'

~~-Yellow Maidens-~~

AN: Thus begins the new Beacon story arc. Updates will continue to progress sporadically. I actually wrote this chapter two month ago but did not get a chance to read it to my daughter until last night. We have both been really busy. She has started doing archery classes, so we do that together in our limited spare time. Which is awesome. And we were both working really hard to put the finishing touches on our kitchen remodel and clean the house before thanksgiving.

And it's a rule that she gets to hear it before I post, her rule not mine, and I have no veto power. So, updates will continue to be sporadic, but the story will continue. She is still excited to hear more, and I have plans that will probably cover another 20 chapters at least.