Smashing Expectations

by Rakusa

They always seemed to miss each other by minutes but one email changed all of that.

14. Chapter 14: 28- 29

Chapter 14: 28- 29

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Since Serenity was still sleeping when they arrived, he decided that it was best to spend the first few hours of their Saturday at the London flat. They arrived at 4 a.m. and it didn't make much sense to bother heading towards their hometown until daylight at least broke across the horizon.

It was only an hour and a half to Linton anyway, so they could even push it to 10 if they needed to. Their parents weren't expecting them home, they'd just decided to drop in on them and surprise them, with more than just a visit. He tucked Serenity into his bed and dropped a kiss onto her forehead. His hand covered her belly and a smile that was never far away, since the day she said yes to marrying him, crossed his lips and it was even larger than normal. This was the family he'd always dreamed of when he allowed himself to dream of it and it was all coming true. Things were just starting but he let those dreams run wild. It wouldn't matter if they all came true or not, because the most important parts already were.

He went into the kitchen and set the coffee maker to 8, so they'd have plenty of time to enjoy it and a light breakfast before heading home. He frowned and turned back to it when he was just about to leave the room and wondered if Serenity was even allowed to have coffee now. He had absolutely no idea what she could and couldn't have. He looked through his cabinets and fridge to see what the landlady had stocked for him. He'd asked for her to keep the basics around and to use anything that was on the verge of going bad. He didn't spend much time cooking but knew that if either Serenity or himself came back here, that he wanted there to be something to eat.

He pulled out the crackers, knowing that any time anyone was sick with a stomach virus, crackers were usually the one thing they could eat. He checked to make sure there was fresh bread too. Maybe she'd be able to eat that. He didn't think she would know much more than he did, she wasn't a nutritionist, especially not one for expecting mothers. She dealt with talking about appropriate food for different types of patients occasionally, but wasn't an expert.

Endymion then went to his office and powered up his desktop and spent the next hour or so searching the internet and trying to become an expert about pregnant women. Anytime it had to do with Serenity, he suddenly became an expert on it.

It was just after 6 when he heard the security system chime softly, notifying him that the front door had opened but the security system was quickly quieted and he figured it was one of the bodyguards. He didn't hear much in his office, it was a quiet space with some windows that offered him a view whenever he needed to rest his eyes. It was tucked away from the main part of the apartment and he doubted Serenity even really knew about it. She hadn't spent much time just exploring the place, she knew where the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, TV room and laundry room were and the balcony. The rest of the apartment was mainly left unexplored since she had often worked long shifts and came home to crash before heading out with friends.

With the way technology was these days, she had very little use for a computer, she often just looked things up quickly on her phone as she headed out. Serenity didn't have much paper work to do at home, but he did. He just didn't do much of it when they had their fleeting time together in the past. Now he had a lot of research to do and so he utilized the office.

It wasn't long after he heard the chime stop before he heard Serenity scream and then he heard a thump. He jumped to his feet and ran out of the office and headed for his bedroom, it wasn't far and he slammed his hand down on the light switch when he entered. It blinded everyone for a second and when his vision cleared, his heart was in his throat but it slowly, slowly settled back into place as he realized there was no danger here.

His brother laid on the floor with his hand on his head and was groaning. Endymion was thankful that it wasn't Serenity on the ground, the fall might have hurt her or the baby. He walked around his brother and slid onto the bed so he could pull Serenity into his arms. "What happened? Are you all right?" He asked her.

"I'm the one she reamed." Helios complained from his spot on the floor, Endymion hadn't even bothered checking on him. Had he even noticed?

"He groped me." Serenity admitted and shivered in disgust. Endymion turned to his brother with a snarl turning up his upper lip.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Endymion started to move away from Serenity but she latched on to his arms, knowing that he would regret any actions he took here.

"I didn't know it was Serenity! I wasn't expecting either of you to be here this morning." Helios sat up and started to struggle to his feet. He just reeked of alcohol. "What are the two of you doing here anyway, together?"

"It's my flat." Endymion hissed.

"You just grope any girl you find in your bed?" Serenity asked confused.

Helios blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't grope just any girl, no, but you have a very nice figure and I thought you were one of the girls I was hitting on earlier tonight. Some of them are pretty forward and wily."

"You've been giving out the code?" Endymion did stand up this time and Serenity didn't stop him. She was actually feeling pretty gross sleeping in this bed, knowing what Helios was like and that he'd moved from the guest room to the master was not exactly close to ok.

"No." Helios sighed and ran a hand through his blond locks. Serenity couldn't remember seeing these two stand this close together in the past. "I haven't been, but that doesn't mean a smart and capable girl couldn't figure out the code and enter if she had a strong enough motivation."

"So you just get into bed with her when you should be calling the police on her? She's the last kind of girl you should be messing around with."

"I disagree. It shows me that she's incredibly talented and driven and if focused in the right way... it could be quite beneficial."

Endymion groaned at his brother's attitude. "This is my flat and I let you use it out of the goodness of my heart. I do not like it that you're abusing the privilege. You should find your own place for your future use. Sam will also have to find another place if he decides to come down now. I do not want anyone I haven't approved of in this flat from now on."

"Speaking of unexpected visitors, what's Serenity doing here?" He repeated his earlier question.

"She has privileges here." Endymion neatly sidestepped the implications.

"Ok, but why is she in your bed?" Helios had a sly look blooming but Endymion wanted to put a stop to those thoughts quickly.

"She was given my room when I moved to the US since she lived here permanently for awhile and whenever she returns from her DWBs rotations she stays here in this room as well. I am unlikely to use it at the same time and today we happened to be here together. I didn't expect you to be here this weekend and you should be using the guest room."

"This flat sits empty 90% of the year. Why shouldn't I get the master and the two of you the guest room when you happen to deem it worthy of a period of time to come home? Even when you're in England you're not always staying in London."

"That's true, we were actually heading to Linton in a few hours. We'd like you to join us. The question of you staying in the Master's is immaterial now that you no longer have access to this place."

"Endymion..." Serenity didn't think it was a good idea to ask for a favor in the same breath as kicking someone out.

"It's ok doll." Helios winked at her and Endymion growled in response and Helios' smile spiked upward at the noise, also maybe a mistake on Endymion's part. "I'll happily ride with the two of you back to Linton. This scene's been played anyway. I could use a rest at home."

She doubted that he'd get that and she looked over to Endymion a bit worried about his brother riding with them. They hadn't talked yet about how they were going to tell their parents' the news. Would they announce it to everyone the minute they stepped onto either property or would they have a party or break it to each family separately. Perhaps to each member on their own?

"Man you hauled out and had a good blow to my face. I can still feel it." He touched his cheek and his hand came away with some blood. It wasn't bleeding but there was an indentation. "It felt like you were wearing knuckle rings. It was very gangster." He grabbed Serenity's hands before she knew what he was planning and before Endymion could stop him. "Woah, huge rock."

Endymion grabbed his brother by the collar and pulled him away from Serenity. "Don't you have any manners at all?"

"Wait, did our dear little neighbor get married? To whom?" Helios was suddenly trying to pry himself from Endymion's hand and to gossip with Serenity. "Do your parents know who he is yet? Have you told them? Geez, your mom is going to blow a gasket and your father- yeesh, I don't want to be there when you tell either of them!"

"You've gotten to know my parents fairly well, haven't you?"

"Well once you went off to university, they became more chummy with the two of us, we were the closest children for miles." Helios shrugged. "We were older though and so it's just an occasional tea or dinner."

Serenity was amazed, her mother never said anything about the boys coming over.

Endymion grabbed Helios' arm and pulled him to the door. "Why don't we give her a few minutes to collect herself. You woke her up early in the morning and it's not only rude but it's disjointing. We'll head back to Linton in a half hour, is that ok?" He tossed the question to Serenity who nodded, she felt more awake before he pulled Helios away, but perhaps it was just adrenaline wanning.

She forced herself to her feet and got ready as much as she could, she changed into a new outfit after taking a shower and brushing her teeth and hair. She didn't wash her hair because she didn't really have time but she'd washed it not too long ago. She still had some clothes here and it was nice to see that they were untouched by neither Endymion nor his brother's girls. It also gave her an opportunity to shop her closet.

Serenity came out and the boys were ready as well and she stifled the yawn. Helios reached to grab her a coffee mug to go but Endymion stopped him. "She's not drinking coffee anymore."

"Some kind of health kick?" Helios looked at Serenity in mild concern. "It's nothing serious, is it?" For Helios that was anthem to freaking out and she shook her head.

"I'm doing a lot better."

"Better?" Helios asked in confusion and she sent a glance to Endymion, apparently he didn't share much with his family about her or their connection. She didn't talk about her friendship with him much either but she at least shared vital information with her parents. Although, she hadn't told them about being sick either...

"Serenity's been staying with me in New York for the last few months because she caught a bug in South America and I was the closest to a good hospital and she's just been granted flight abilities once more. Otherwise she'd have been in Norway or something."

"Doesn't she have any other friends to stay with? She's stayed here, she's stayed there... is there a place she hasn't lived with you in?"

"Chicago." They said at the same time and laughed and Endymion wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders. "She's been my best friend for most of my life. I would have been offended had she stayed anywhere else."

"Don't tell mom and dad about it, just say that it was a coincidence that the two of you came back together, when neither of you actually need to be here. They'll start thinking all sorts of unseemly things about her. Just like they do with any of my girlfriends."

Endymion made a face and Serenity bit her lip in worry. She knew it wasn't the same thing at all and Endymion and Helios were about as far apart as two brothers could be in personalities, but... what if they did look on her poorly? "Serenity's been their neighbor for as long as she's been alive and she's from an upstanding family and they know her well. They won't think ill of her."

"I thought you were going to say it didn't matter because she was just a friend?" Helios looked between them. "Right?"

They might as well tell him first because they were going to tell him in a few hours anyway. "She's not my girlfriend." Endymion started and Helios laughed.

"I knew it! You two will never admit to your shared feelings! Why do you torment each other and yourselves so much?"

The two shared a look again and Endymion shook his head at Serenity's look, knowing what she wanted but when she insisted, he gave in. "She's not my girlfriend nor just my friend but she will always be my friend. She's my wife."

Helios was quiet and it was probably the first time Serenity had ever witnessed him not cracking a joke or talking about something borderline offensive. Endymion's arm was still about his shoulders but Helios was staring at Serenity, as if he were waiting and she nodded, confirming what Endymion said. Helios shrugged off Endymion's arm and swept Serenity up into a hug, pulling her off her feet and spun her around in joy. She laughed in pleasure of not only his actions but his warm reception to the idea. On days she had pined for Endymion before she headed off to university herself, she had idly thought that Helios would make a great brother-in-law. He had always been kind to her and she had liked him, despite what his family found to be his flaws, she found it somewhat endearing. "I'm glad he came to his senses and did what I thought he never would do. He made the perfect choice with you but you, why on Earth would you agree to marry that ugly mug?"

Serenity laughed and threw her arms around him. "I married him for his family! You in particular."

Endymion shook his head as he leaned against the fridge and watched them make fools of themselves in their joy of becoming a family officially. He was glad now that he'd told Helios here and now. No matter what happened in the future, they were assured that at least 2 of their family members were happy for them; Andrew and Helios. "Be careful with her, she's precious cargo."

"Of course she is! If anything were to happen to you, she'd still be officially family and if you were to get a divorce, I'd chose her in the settlement."

"Har har, it's nice to know that I have such a loving and loyal brother." Endymion intoned dryly but his eyes were on Serenity's face and her happiness had gone from sheer joy to nauseous. He pulled her from his brother's embrace and sent her in the direction of the bathroom and closed the door behind her and cut off Helios' path to bring her into another round of hugs. "More, later, once the rest of the family knows."

"What's going on? Is she still sick?" Helios tried to look around Endymion but to no avail, the door was firmly shut. "Why the secret wedding, anyway? The families would have wanted to attend."

"I wanted to make sure that we tied the knot." Endymion firmed his stance when Helios started moving about the kitchen. "Who knew if she'd choose marriage over another DWB assignment once she got better and we could properly plan a wedding." It was only partly true. He also didn't want to spend another second being anything other than her husband if he could help it.

"How long have you two been seeing each other?" Helios implied 'intimately' in that question because for him, they weren't able to have a relationship unless it was intimate, no matter how close they were mentally and emotionally. It's why he'd never find true love or at least be able to recognize it.

For Endymion and Serenity though, they were friends and they had faux dates before they were ever intimate but they were definitely intimate before they'd made it official. He didn't really know how to answer Helios' question because even after that first time, they hadn't actually been official. Had they ever been, up until they got married? They'd been exclusive and had dated but had never made it public knowledge or even shared the information with anyone but their bodyguards. Those were sworn to secrecy and Lita's family who had no baring with their relations or friends... but it was right around the time he'd broken off things with Mara, and Lita getting shot. That's when they were as official as they could be but he'd never really called her 'girlfriend' and she hadn't called him 'boyfriend'. He groaned internally and gave a number that would satisfy everyone to an extent. "Two years."

Helios' eyes were large and disbelieving. "You've been dating her for two years and you are just going to spring that knowledge on everyone now that you're married? I mean I was trying to push you towards her back then but damn man, you should have at least told me that you two got together after my helpful advice."

Endymion rolled his eyes. "It's far more complicated than you realize."

"Are you announcing your marriage today or just that you two have been bumping uglies?"

Endymion didn't know what came over him. One minute he was standing in front of the door to the bathroom and the next he was standing over Helios who would have a matching black eye to the one Serenity gave him earlier. He looked down at his fist and disgust washed over him, followed by a black fear that had him turning his head towards the door. Not to see if she had come in and seen what he'd done but a fear that he could possibly lose control and harm her.

He didn't even say anything to his brother, neither to threat about watching his mouth when it came to Serenity nor apology for hitting him. In his mind, his brother deserved both hits but he had never raised his hand to anyone and for it to just come out of him without a warning terrified him.

Endymion strode from the room and went out onto the balcony to pull in great gulps of cool air. He couldn't say it was exactly fresh air, here in London. His heart was racing and inside he was panicking. He'd married Serenity, got her pregnant and tied her irreversibly to him and passed on that demon seed. What if his child was just like him and grew up and harmed Serenity? What if the child harmed her before it was even born?

The late night perusal of the internet had taught him that several things could go wrong in a pregnancy that would kill the mother if not both the mother and child. His breath was coming in short waves and his chest starting moving erratically. He was having trouble breathing and he sank onto a chair and put his head into his hands and groaned. What had he done? It was why he had held off on pursuing a relationship with her but his greedy nature had won out and had done so. He thought he had conquered these fears and that part of him but this just proved he hadn't, that it had been lying in wait.

He was tempted to just take her back to New York and tell her to forget about telling their families, that they should just have a quiet divorce and never see each other again. On that note, he could just leave her here in England where she could be protected and cared for by her family and friends. But that child... that child tied them together forever and he couldn't let the child hurt her in any way.

Serenity's surprisingly long fingered hand found his shoulder and he jerked in surprise but held himself in tightly so as not to startle or harm her in any way. He looked up at her, trying to push all his fears down but she read him too easily. She saw the fear and guilt that had blanched his features far too easily and concern grew instantaneously inside her. "What is it?" She moved her hand off his shoulder and came around to kneel in front of him and took his face in her hands.

He instantly reached out to lift her off the ground but froze before he could touch her. "You shouldn't be on the ground like that. Sit here." He moved out of her way so she could have the chair he'd warmed up. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the other one and wrapped it around her. "You shouldn't even be out here." He nudged her gently into the chair using the blanket to soften his touch without ever once touching her.

She didn't like it and he could see that, but it wasn't because he was harming her physically, but emotionally. Emotionally he could deal with better but it still ate away at his gut. "Endymion, please tell me what's wrong." She grabbed his hands before he could move them away and he stiffened. "What's changed in the last few minutes?" She raked her eyes over his face. "Is it being home? Are you worried about something? Helios has fully accepted our relationship and I'm not worried about anything anyone else will say."

"You should be." He had so much he hadn't told her and now he was regretting it. He should have told her from the very beginning, when she was just 17 and he'd noticed her looking at him with those eyes that wanted more than the distant friendship he'd offered while he was at school. They should have just met on those occasions when they were both required to attend a noblemen dinner or event and never have shared anything beyond polite conversation there and definitely nothing behind closed doors.

She must not have seen Helios and he wondered where his pig of a brother was. How could Helios embrace pretty much everything Endymion had spent his whole life trying to avoid? He'd always had such a rigid hold on himself and yet Helios flaunted his playboy ways and uncaring attitude towards women's feelings so effortlessly and almost viciously. He'd met a few that had not realized what they were in for and had sobbed their complaints to Endymion. Most women though that Helios chose, were in it for the same reasons he was and when time came to part, they were often the ones walking out the door first.

It was Helios that brought up all these feelings that he had thought he'd buried a long time ago, mostly with Serenity's help, although she hadn't known it. No, that wasn't true, he'd realized he still felt this way about himself when he told Serenity it was probably best not to tell his family when they became official. He knew what his parents would say and do and the looks they'd give him about that choice and hadn't wanted them to ruin his relationship with this wonderful, wonderful woman. He just thought that in time it wouldn't matter to him anymore, both from himself and from them. They'd be right to give him those looks and would have been right to warn Serenity away and end this relationship before it got this far.

Yet, there was nothing he could do about it now. He'd made his bed and they'd both have to lie in it. What was important was to continue protecting Serenity from any type of harm, emotional, physical or otherwise. He'd make sure to keep his parents from telling Serenity what only the 3 of them knew about him. So to keep this promise to himself he had to pull himself together and lie well right now and to assure her that nothing was wrong. It was going to be a difficult feat since she'd seen him nearly break down but for her, he'd do it.

He shook his head to make it look like he was clearing his thoughts even though he'd already done so and although he didn't trust his hands he leaned in to kiss her without touching her with anything but his mouth. She was mildly reassured by that touch, she knew it wasn't her that he was disgusted by and he pulled her up and out of the seat with the blanket. "I'm sorry about earlier. I was feeling incredibly guilty about punching my brother after he made a very rude comment about us."

Serenity laughed. "He's going to end up changing his mind about supporting our relationship if he's going to be on the receiving end of both our fists." Though she laughed and joked, he knew things weren't quite back to normal for her either.

"Come on, let's go get a lecture about how our families weren't invited to our very special day." He guided her from the balcony with a hand behind the small of her back but he didn't touch her, it just hovered there. His other hand fisted in his pocket until he was sure he was going to break it, trying to control his wayward emotions. He couldn't break down in front of her and share all. He could do this, he could do this for her. He just had to keep reminding himself that his needs were no longer important, in truth they had never been, but now more than any other time was especially true.

"You know, I was thinking about that... we could always have a small ceremony or reception here, this weekend or sometime this month. We don't necessarily have to go back to New York tomorrow. You can work from here and we can send a plane to pick up Andrew and have him attend as well. I think it's important that he's here."

"That's a good idea, let's suggest it to the family once they've had time to digest the news."

"We'll also have to make an announcement to the papers." Serenity bit her lip. "They'll be mad to think that we've duped them all this time."

"Only you would be worried about what the press has to say about not telling them earlier. That's why you're England's Darling." Endymion laughed and rolled his eyes and as he pretended with her that he wasn't worried about his previous actions and possible future ones. It got easier and he started to believe it himself.

"I thought it was 'Sweetheart' or something like that." Serenity teased.

"Either/or, they all love you and they'll forgive you for not announcing your private affairs to them. They'll be speculating though about which picture they've taken of us and haven't used in the past would best represent the shift in our feelings."

"They'd have to go back to a time they don't have any pictures of us. I fell for you hard the day we met. I just didn't realize my feelings at the time because I was having grandiose thoughts about life not love at that point."

"I'd realized my feelings that day, you were a strange little wood nymph that I fell for the moment you swung down from that tree upside down and challenged me at such a young age. Until then I had never spoken to you and had only seen you from a distance. I realized what I had been missing before that and vowed to never go a day without at least seeing you."

"That's why you spent so much time away from me without a word when you went to university?" She questioned dryly.

"That was self-imposed exile. I thought you were too young to know my feelings and at that age it was incredibly hard not to show them. I still have trouble with that with you and I definitely can't control them any better but I can make it less obvious to others."

She laughed as she realized what he was saying and she shook her head. "I wish I had known that sooner." Though he was probably right, even if they had been able to express their love and devotion to each other at that age, it might have harmed them in the end, they had so many dreams to follow and if they had been in a serious relationship since early on then they might not have followed those dreams and in the end they had been together and had gotten together and they were still young and could do so much more, together, even if they had gotten older before they finally got married.

She definitely would have felt that something was missing in her life and would have never known the satisfaction and pride she got from being a doctor, especially one without borders. He might not have expanded to different countries or would have expanded too quickly. Wanting to support his family as quickly and as securely as possible and his ventures might not have succeeded and she was really proud of how he handled himself and the business.

Serenity laughed internally as she remembered the child inside her could have come about much earlier too and might even be 9 right now with some siblings following in their footsteps. She dwelled on that for a moment and didn't know if she regretted that part or not, it was hard to regret it since it had worked itself out and they were in such a good place right now. There were no guarantees that she'd have gotten pregnant once in those last 10 years and she hadn't really desired a child of her own until it happened. She hadn't not wanted one either. She decided it was worthless to regret actions not taken because she had taken actions that she didn't regret one bit. Except for maybe getting involved with Bose; but she'd also learned a hard but vital lesson from him.

Serenity left Endymion to check on Helios in the kitchen but the middle brother wasn't there. She rejoined Endymion, he hadn't wanted to face his brother in the kitchen again since it was the scene of the crime and she understood that. She shrugged. "He wasn't in there."

He was, however, waiting in the car and when questioned about his disappearance he glowered at Endymion and Serenity. "I wanted some witnesses other than the married couple who don't have to testify against each other the next time one of you takes a swing at me." His heat though was directed towards his brother. While neither had apologized, Serenity's had been more legitimate in reasoning. He had groped her and she had socked him as a reaction when woken from slumber by that action. He'd been in the wrong twice-over with that move.

His brother on the other hand was well versed in how he spoke about people in general, not just women and hadn't had as startled of a reaction to go all out and haul one at him. He gave him a bit of leeway because he had insulted Endymion's wife with that comment and had gotten off easy because he was a brother. However, Endymion hadn't even seemed to notice and just left him there; not even checking to make sure that Helios hadn't been seriously hurt. True it was on the back of groping his wife accidentally/on purpose but he was still his brother! Even after an hour of their car ride home, Endymion still hadn't apologized.

Serenity kicked Helios in the shin as he glared at his brother yet again. Endymion had let her lean up against him and snuggle in and so had seen all those glares. She ignored the fact that Endymion didn't so much as put his arm around her and it gave her a bigger appreciation of Helios' anger. "You know you haven't apologized to either of us either."

"I didn't hit either of you."

"No and you're never hitting Serenity-" Endymion finally spoke but Serenity ignored him to counter Helios' claim on her own.

"A given." Helios got in before Serenity spoke.

"You're right, we both hit you but you were the one that caused both situations and acted in the wrong first. We both may have overreacted to the situation but it's not up to us to apologize first." She hoped that the 'both' being stressed would help open Endymion up to an apology, if not giving one than at least accepting one graciously.

"Serenity is far more forgiving and kind than you deserve." Helios tried to antagonize his brother but Endymion didn't rise to the bait. He would try even harder than normal not to rise to the bait ever again.

"I know but do remember that she is my wife and I don't take rude comments about her lightly." Endymion glowered at his brother and his brother glowered right back and Serenity huffed in annoyance.

"The two of you are more alike than I thought! Both of you can be downright stubborn!" She grabbed Endymion's hand closest to her and pulled it up and around her and snuggled into his chest at an even better angle. "I'm done trying to mediate between the two of you. Either sort it out amongst yourselves over the next half hour or find something else to occupy your time and mind than to throw dirty looks at one another."

She pulled out her phone and started reading a book. Endymion's hand flexed on her upper arm at being dismissed like that and he was partly amused too and so against his better judgment he ran his hand soothingly up and down her bicep. She smiled as she read her book and made a soft sound of appreciation without intending to. She relaxed further against him and laid her head on his shoulder.

Helios about gagged at the gooeyness of their relationship. "How could anyone not know that you two are in some kind of honeymoon stage?"

Endymion grinned at the description and for a brief moment in that car ride he forgot what his brother had stirred up in him again and he was allowed to just be. "We had a two week honeymoon on a tropical island as she recovered from the worst of her illness."

"You took advantage of a sick woman?" Helios asked in disbelief and Endymion shook his head.

"After two years of being exclusive, I would hardly say that it was taking advantage of her. Her bodyguards who are like brothers (and sister) to her stood by as we said our 'I Do's and they even got us gifts. I think everyone involved was well aware of their choices. Serenity, do you regret marrying me?"

"Hmm?" She looked up from her book and purposefully feigned ignorance. "What was that? Regret marrying you?" She thought about it. "Not once, not for a single millisecond."

This part of the conversation could have sent him into a spiral once again but with her leaning up against him like that, he was perfectly content and self-assured. Maybe it's where he needed her to be all the time so he wouldn't ever again question himself or their relationship. He didn't think either of them would mind that.

Helios rolled his eyes, just like his brother was prone to do on occasion about his behavior. "Fine, I will do it. I apologize for groping you, Serenity and for speaking lewdly about your actions with your wife, Endymion."

"Apologies accepted." Serenity spoke for both of them while Endymion grumbled about 'about time'. "I'm sorry you had to be hit, twice, to learn your lessons; hopefully you'll never do it again so it won't have to get to that point in the future."

Endymion suddenly laughed and grinned down at Serenity while Helios complained. "What type of apology was that? I was sincere but you didn't even actually apologize. That was a man type of an apology." Helios glared at her. "It's the type of apology that you'd never let anyone else get away with."

Serenity shrugged. "I'm not really sorry for hitting you and I doubt Endymion is either."

He used his free hand to tilt it side to side to show that he was 'sort of' sorry. Serenity laughed at his action and buried her face into his chest to lessen her insult to Helios. Endymion bent his neck so he could kiss the top of her head and after feeling that pressure she raised her face to get a proper kiss.

"Ugh, I should have gone home with my own bodyguards." Helios looked away and looked towards the bodyguards in front. "How can you stomach it all the time?"

"You get used to it." Mikhail responded tightly, having not gotten used to it despite the amount of time he'd known they been together. Jax shrugged, he didn't care, despite being described in the exact opposite way that he'd said to Endymion not too long ago. Endymion's description was probably closer to the truth after having spent so much time with her since meeting her in Africa. He wasn't sure he'd admit it any time soon. He just didn't have a problem with their relationship, having never seen them any other way together.

Even though silence reigned for the next 15 minutes to their destination, it was a lot more amicable and Endymion even fell asleep for that short remaining distance and time. His sleep though wasn't peaceful and he fidgeted and called out in his sleep without any words and even woke with a start when they'd reached their destination and the car pulled to a stop.

He realized that Serenity was still against his chest and he pulled her into a tight hug to reassure himself and to help him calm down. She ran her hand through his hair in a soothing motion and frowned at him in concern. "You haven't had sleep like that in years." Or at least not as far as she knew. The last time she'd seen him have dreams like this was really early on in their physical relationship and it had only been a few nights and then it was gone.

She'd like to believe that it went away because of her; but why had it come back, now of all times? He was worried about something, no, not worried; terrified. She was trying really hard to understand but they hadn't really had a chance to be alone to talk about it. She just didn't want to let too much time or distance get between them because he'd close up again and pretend it hadn't happened. He did it 10 over years ago when something was bothering him and she didn't push and he did it again at least 2 years ago. She didn't know if he'd done it other times too and she just wasn't there to witness it. She held his hand tightly as the front doors of both their childhood homes opened. Mikhail had parked between the two houses because he had passengers from both residencies and they hadn't really discussed how to handle this situation.

Helios jumped out of the car first and Endymion went out after him and then helped Serenity alight from the car. His parents reached them first. "Wow, a triple treat; it's so nice to see both my adventurous boys." She hugged Endymion first and then tugged on Helios' ear. "Have you been good?" She asked the one that didn't live too far away.

"Mostly." He looked sheepishly at the newlyweds.

"Well your eyes tell me that you've gotten into a fight or something." His mother chided.

"Nah, I just got punched by two different people, both were cheap shots." He laughed. "Although I probably deserved them."

The boys' mother nodded, sure of it herself. "Go on inside you troublemaker." She turned to Serenity. "And you my dear, such a pleasure to see you again! I haven't heard from you in awhile and it's so nice to see you in the flesh." She hugged Serenity tightly and then moved back a little. "Have you been taking care of yourself? You look done-in."

Serenity had been hearing that quite often and she thought she had been looking healthier. Endymion must have been lying to her every time he said she looked gorgeous. She sent him a look that clearly told him that she thought he was a traitor for those words. He shook his head, he stood by what he said. "I've been sick for the last few months, it's slow going but I have been the healthiest I've been for awhile."

"Oh dear." She shook her head and hugged Serenity again. "Make sure you come over for some tea and we'll fatten you up and make you healthy again."

Serenity laughed. "I don't know if I want to get fat..." She was already worrying about that because of the pregnancy, most women bloated terribly and some didn't lose the baby weight even after a year. She didn't care so much about looks but she didn't want to lose a step when it came to physical activity, she liked being active.

Endymion shook his head at her, even if she did, he'd find her incredibly beautiful. "You could do with gaining a bit of weight. Even with all the sleep you've been having you still look tired." It was Jax that spoke and Endymion sent him a disbelieving look, did he really just say that? If it had come from Mikhail it would have been viewed as endearing by Serenity but Jax saying it just spiked her usually underdeveloped self-consciousness. She touched the skin under her eyes in worry. "But you're very pretty." He said quickly to cover his tracks and Endymion snickered internally at the grief Jax would be getting later.

Her parents had finally reached them. Her mother had seen Serenity and then had to go find her father which took a bit of time but she didn't want to go to Serenity alone, she didn't want him to miss their daughter's unexpected homecoming.

They converged on her as one and both wrapped their arms around her, surprising her by coming up behind. She leaned forward at the combined attack moved her slightly and she grinned as she put her hands on their arms and then turned to wrap and arm around each and the three had a little family hug. She reached for Endymion and he wrapped his arms around all three of them and they opened their arms to encircle him in the hug as well. "Such a wonderful surprise!" Her dad commented and kissed the top of her head and held out his hand to shake Endymion's. "I imagine that you're responsible for bringing her back this time. If she had her way she'd stay up in London during her visits and have us come see her for a day before sending us home again."

Serenity shook her head. "That's not true but I'm just usually pretty busy with the rounds of conferences whenever I'm home. Having some shifts and taking classes myself on occasion to keep up with the new techniques and technologies. I want to make sure I see you guys but you've always said it's easier for you to come down to me than have me come up to you."

"No, you're right, it is." Serenity's mother wrapped her arms around her daughter again. "It's so nice to have you come visit us though, nonetheless."

"I'm sorry." Lucas, Endymion's father interjected. "I just can't get over how you both happen to to have returned home at the same time and brought Helios with you."

"Actually..." Serenity looked to Endymion, she really wished they'd planned this better. "Where's Samuel?"

"He's inside where we've sent Helios." Joyce, his mother responded with a light frown. "Why?"

Helios was probably already blabbing to Samuel and so they might as well come clean now and if he wasn't, then at least they could tell him afterward.

"Helios was purely an accident but Serenity and I arrived this morning, together, from New York. She's been living there, with me, for the last few months."

"I thought you were in South America somewhere." Irene frowned and tilted her head.

Serenity swallowed and nodded. "I was but I got sick and got medivac'd to Baltimore and stayed there for about a week and Endymion came out to meet me there."

Irene looked a tad angry. "Why you and not us?"

"One of my coworkers found an open email on my phone that I was writing to Endymion so he just finished it with information about my condition. I was unconscious at the time so I didn't contact anyone myself." Serenity defended herself.

"That doesn't explain why the bodyguards didn't call us. Mikhail?"

Mikhail held up his hands in surrender. "I listen to Serenity and Serenity only." He passed the buck back to her and she sent him a look of 'thanks' and he shrugged unrepentant.

"Serenity, that was months ago, why didn't you call us since then?" Irene took her hands into hers.

Serenity sighed. "I didn't want you guys to worry. I was sick but I was getting better and I was given the green light to travel again a couple of days ago. So we came here right away to be with you and to tell you in person so you could see for yourself that I'm fine."

"We would still have rather known that you were sick and we're your parents, it's our right to worry. What would have happened if you took a turn for the worse? We would have lost the chance to say goodbye or we could have helped to monitor you and would have been able to save your life! Instead you involved our neighbor's son and for what?"

"He was my best friend and he was only an hour away." Serenity argued.

"More than that," Endymion interjected, "we've been seeing each other for the last two years." It was the number he'd given Helios and he used it again. She looked at him startled by how he measured their time together and he tried to reassure her with his look that he'd explain later. "I never once thought that my place should be anywhere but her side."

"There's more." Serenity continued but her mother had felt the rings and interrupted.

"These are wedding rings." She pulled Serenity's hand up to her face to make sure that she had the rings on the left hand. "Yes, they're wedding rings. Did you two-?"

"We did." Serenity confirmed. "That's another reason we wanted to come here. We wanted to tell you that we got married."

"When?" Joyce practically screeched. "You're the only son of mine that's likely to get married and you've gone and done it behind our back?"

Endymion pulled Serenity into his side and held her there protectively even though he knew his mother was unlikely to attack either of them. "It was kind of an impulse decision. I could have lost her if the doctors didn't move fast enough to get her to the hospital in Baltimore. I always knew we would get married one day but it just spurred me into action because I had no idea why I would have waited so long to make it permanent. We're sorry we didn't involve the rest of you in the ceremony."

Serenity nodded. "We just got swept up in the occasion and we didn't want to wait any longer, it was hard to say if we would have gotten the chance later on but we knew we wanted it, for however long we have. It just brought home for both of us that life is short and precious and we should grab every opportunity as soon as possible." She put her hand against her chest. "We talked about it after the fact and we felt guilty not to include you guys. So we thought maybe we'd stay in London for the next month and possibly plan another ceremony here so you can attend and be a part of it?"

"How long have you two been married?" Irene asked slowly.

Serenity looked to Endymion to deal with this, this time. "About 2 months now."

"But you were taken ill 2 months ago?" Kenneth, her father, asked. They both nodded and were not expecting her father to hit him in the gut. Endymion doubled over with an 'oof' and Serenity bent over him to make sure he was all right. "You jerk, you took advantage of my daughter!"

"No he didn't, daddy. I would have said yes at anytime over the last two years, even earlier, probably. I haven't regretted saying yes either."

Kenneth frowned but didn't apologize and Endymion understood and didn't hold it against him. "You haven't exactly made the best first impression on me in terms of being with my daughter. But you are now married and I don't have any say in it and nothing can be done but so help me, if you hurt her-"

"Sir, if I ever harm her, you have my full permission to reign down unholy hell upon me and punish me in any way you see fit but no matter what you choose, it will never be as bad as the hell that I will have created for myself."

Serenity stood in between her father and Endymion. "Daddy, I love him with my whole being. Please don't hold this against him because I am just as culpable of this as he is. He asked me and I agreed and I was more than willing to get married instantaneously. It was a joint decision."

"You never even told us you were dating him!" It was Irene now that was angry. "You have been dating him for 2 whole years and never breathed one word of it! How do we know that what you've just said is even the truth? How do we know it hasn't been for longer, or shorter? Did he push himself on you? Did he knock you up?"

It surprised both of the newlyweds that it was her parents that were behind the objections, his parents were fairly quiet. "No!" Serenity denied hotly. "We've been officially dating for 2 years and we got married 2 months ago!" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her parents.

"Come on inside Serenity, we need to chat." Irene latched on to Serenity's elbow and tugged her towards the house. The others moved to join them but she shook her head. "No. Only Serenity."

"That's not happening." Endymion denied.

"You've had 2 straight months of her life all to yourself, you can't spare her for a few hours?" Irene stared Endymion down and he stared right back. "You've effectively taken time we could have had with her away from us."

Serenity shook her head. "Wait. I agree we do need to talk but he's my husband now and I think we all need to discuss things rationally before we split up, even temporarily. I'm worried that there will be some mis-communication otherwise."

"How early did you seduce my daughter? You've been living next door for her entire life. I knew you guys were friendly pretty early on, but how friendly were you really?" Irene asked pointedly. They weren't listening to either of them.

"He didn't." Serenity tried one more time but they had shut her out. "I know that we kind of sprung this on everyone, but isn't someone happy for us?" She looked away from them and muttered. "Helios and Andrew were..."

"Serenity dear, go in with your parents. You're their only child." Lucas said calmly and kindly. "It's going to take them a bit to get used to the idea. Not only are you their only child but you're their daughter. Their natural instinct is to protect you, even from our incredibly respectable son and you kind of robbed them of all the things they would do with a girl. I know you want to recreate it and it might be ok down the line, it's probably the best decision but right now, they need to sit with it."

Serenity looked to Endymion and neither were entirely sure that splitting up was the right thing to do. They had kind of forgotten that the rest of the world existed and they had to be culpable to more than just each other. They held each other's hand and then slowly released and went with their families into their respective houses.

Mikhail and Jax followed behind Serenity's family slowly but each gave Endymion a shoulder squeeze for support. Endymion reluctantly followed his parents into his house and he braced himself for all the reasons why he shouldn't have married her or had any type of relationship with others. To hear about how he shouldn't be near another individual without a desk between them.

–

Serenity followed her parents into the brightly decorated sitting room and Mikhail and Jax stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame on opposite sides. Trying not to be intrusive but wanting to be nearby, their job didn't end just because Serenity was in her country home with her parents. They didn't think that her parents would harm her but she might need something else from them. It went Serenity, Endymion then her parents in terms of who they listened to and complied with.

The walls in this room were painted buttercup yellow and it had white trim with white couches and light blue curtains surrounding the window overlooking the private garden. This room was used mainly with the family but on occasion close friends. Endymion and his parents had never been invited into this room. Being in here now, reminded her of that fact.

"Look, Serenity..." Her mother started than stopped and looked to her husband for help.

"It's not-" Kenneth began and stopped too, unsure what to say.

"He's not right - - - for you." Her mother finally said and that time between was clear as day to Serenity, her parents had something against Endymion but had decided to frame it in a different way.

"Why?" Her parents shared a look between them but neither spoke. "What's wrong with Endymion?" They still had no intention of telling her. "Would you have objected if my feelings were for Helios or Samuel?"

"No, of course not." Her father spoke without meaning to say it that way and he tried to quickly cover it up. "It's not a matter of which brother you're choosing but... well, it's a matter of family."

"What's wrong with the Tellus family?" It was pronounced 'tell loose' not 'tell us'.

"Nothing!" Irene reassured. "They're just not the right family to marry into when you have such a prestigious background, like ours."

Serenity stared at her parents as if they'd lost their minds. "Their background is just as good as ours. His mother has had her title passed down for centuries, longer than ours has. While his father didn't have one, he came from money, fairly old money, in fact, their company and family wealth has existed for 5 generations. They are wealthier than we are by far." Serenity stood up and started pacing and Mikhail started to go towards her but Jax put a restraining hand on his elbow and shook his head; Serenity was fine. "This really doesn't make any sense. I thought you would be pleased by my choice, their family has a very fine lineage and everyone has envied our two families. Why not join with them?" She turned towards her parents and put her hands on her hips. "Endymion himself couldn't be a finer man. He's got a history, of course he does, if he didn't, I'd be more worried; but it's not a terrible history. We've been very open and honest with each other about our pasts. I'm sure he still has some secrets from me but I probably still have secrets he doesn't know too. That's fine because I know whatever his secrets are, they're not going to be insurmountable or harmful to me; I trust him fully. He's opened his own business completely separate from his father and has made it incredibly successful all on his own with very little help from his family and none after he finished university. He's been incredibly giving to charities and has helped small businesses get a firm footing and has even done volunteer work every year. He treats me with kindness, tenderness and the most amazing respect and he loves me with his whole being. What could you possibly find fault in?"

She would wait her parents out if she had to. They were not going to leave this room until she had her answers. They were being completely unreasonable.

"I'm sorry if you're angry that I didn't tell you about him. We just feared that if we told you then we'd have to tell the public and we were happy to be out and about with nobody badgering us about our future. The press and the public still thinks we're just really good friends and they leave us alone. Once they know it's more, then everyone they see us with will be gossiped about. Are we having an affair with our secret lover, regardless of gender or position? If the press knows about me and Endymion then when they see me with Mikhail they'll wonder if I've fallen for my bodyguard and cheating on Endymion with him. Or if they see me with my parents, is there a lover's quarrel or do they just not like him? Right now there's peace and quiet and we won't have that for much longer." She wasn't even thinking of the baby bump she'd be sporting soon enough that would give it away.

She was just thinking that sooner or later their luck would run out and someone would see the not-so-platonic looks or touches they gave each other. Actually Endymion had warned her that once they told their parents then they'd be getting backlash about it from them and he didn't want to risk anything rocking their lovely boat on a now clear and calm lake. She couldn't believe he was actually right, she had thought he was just being paranoid but he was right. "Also, with increased scrutiny about our relationship, he worried that the press releases would find unsavory types in the countries I was working in. That would then create a target on my back that doesn't currently really exist. He's well known in more countries and news of our relationship would be bigger gossip than just me alone."

"When did your relationship with him actually start?" Irene finally asked after possibly 10 minutes of silence from them while she poured her heart out and waited between each argument for something. This wasn't something but it was a valid question.

"Let's see... I'm 28 now... I would say our relationship truly changed for the first time when I was 21, so 7 years." She was completely honest with them now and she held her ground as they absorbed that information.

"He never pressured you into anything before that?" Her father asked and she shook her head no.

"I wanted him to but he refused to even hint at it. I didn't know he liked me more than as a neighbor until then. Whereas I always felt embarrassed after seeing him since I was a little girl because I thought my feelings were plastered all over my face, even when I was trying to hide them."

Irene laughed to herself, finding something funny in that, that Serenity couldn't understand. "Oh, I knew you had a crush on him in your teen years but I thought you had gotten over that; I definitely didn't know you still harbored feelings for him over all these years." Serenity wouldn't say she 'harbored' those feelings but she didn't interrupt her mother. "I really, truly thought the two of you were just friends these last 10 years. I knew you had caught his attention those years too before he went to university and then we hadn't heard from him at all while he was there and you didn't mention any letters or anything else. Except for seeing him by chance during one of the noble dinners and then you mentioned him more often again but nothing more than just a vague comment here or there. We started seeing him more often again too and whenever we saw you two together, we never saw the slightest clue that you were together or had an interest in one another. You were very good at hiding it once you left our homes. We would never have let you stayed in his apartment had we known otherwise." Had he really never stolen glances towards her during those rare chances when they were all home together? Or had her parents just not seen it? Because she definitely looked his way whenever she thought she could. She had a hard time not looking at him.

Serenity didn't comment on what her mother just said. She felt a little guilty that she had effectively lied to them all this time about Endymion. It hadn't been her intention but their relationship was never one that was completely in the open and so she couldn't announce to them all that she had a boyfriend and he was it. She had mentioned Shawn a few times but told them that she ended up breaking up with him because they would likely never see each other again on their journeys around this planet. Despite the issues they had, she usually told her mother practically everything, but now more and more things were kept a secret. She didn't mean to, she just didn't want her mother to worry about things that Serenity wouldn't stop doing.

"Have you been with him all this time?" Her father asked.

"No." She was honest with this answer too. "We have been on and off again for the last 7 years but it's only been in the last 2 that we've committed to each other and we haven't broken up since." Even though she had done a vanishing act on him for several months in there, afraid that he would break up with her and she didn't think she could handle it again. Of course he wanted to go the opposite way and now she wished she hadn't done that either. This marriage was what she wanted, she wanted to be with him forever.

"How do you know it won't be off again?" Her father asked calmly.

"Because it's in the open now. It's difficult to explain everything that's gone on but there were reasons we never really became official before. Mostly it had to do with timing, we were never in the same place for long and we didn't think we could do the long distant relationship but despite everything that's transpired, we basically have and so it came to this point. The marriage might have been quick in your eyes but it was a long time coming in ours. We are sorry about how things appear to you and it wasn't our intention. Our relationship has been mainly between the two of us and my bodyguards for so long that it felt right that our wedding was too but we don't want the marriage to be. We want to be open and honest with you about us and we want you to be a part of it." Serenity ran her hands through the ends of her long hair in agitation. "I'm not sure I'm explaining this right to you; but please don't hold my decisions against Endymion. At any time I could have broken that unspoken silence and told you but I chose not to, however unconsciously but I did insist that we tell you now and in person. If I hadn't been sick for as long as I was, then I would have insisted earlier."

She was saying so much but she didn't know if she was getting through to them. She felt like she was trying to justify what she was doing to get a lighter punishment in a court trial. She knew what she had done was wrong even if it was for the right reasons and so she would take whatever punishment they decided upon now that they had all the facts she could give them. But Endymion didn't deserve their ire.

"Serenity." Her mother caught and held her attention. "There are reasons we don't want you with Endymion that have nothing to do with what you've told us and we are disappointed in your behavior. We do not want to tell you at this time what our reasons are but we do agree that Endymion is overall a very good boy, he's just not the right one for you."

"He's the only one for me." Serenity objected. "I will never marry another and I will not divorce Endymion."

Her mother shook her head. "You don't know what you're saying. There are things that haven't come to light yet that will shock you and you'll want to divorce him. Until you know those things, you will not spend the night with him again."

Serenity laughed. "How will you stop that? He's my husband and I'm an adult."

"We will disown you." Her mother's words came out without thinking and her father looked at his wife in shock and she wanted to take those words back instantly but Serenity only shrugged.

"Ok. Like I said, I'm an adult and Endymion's even better off than you are and even if I was alone, I have my own source of income to live comfortably." Serenity rubbed her eye, they were just going in circles. "Just tell me what's so wrong with Endymion that you would do this? You've been so nice and caring to him all these years, even just now before you learned of our marriage you were all warmth and kindness to him."

"Only the five of us know, his parents, the two of us and Endymion. It is theirs to tell and they don't even know that we know."

"If they never told you, then how can you be sure you know what you know is correct?"

They shared one of those blasted looks again and it was her father that spoke this time. "We know it is and we can't tell you what it is."

Serenity threw up her hands in frustration. "Ok, fine, whatever. When you two settle down and have a few minutes to process this, then you'll realize how irrational you've been and will come around. If not, then I'm sorry, I really am, for all of us but I will be going back with Endymion sometime this weekend to London. Whether or not that's where we'll be staying for the next month or so will be up to you." She left the room at a graceful speed, annoyed at them but not throwing a tantrum.

Jax followed behind but gave her privacy as she went into her old room. Mikhail stayed behind for a bit longer and her parents turned to look at him, waiting for what he had to say. He shook his head at them, he'd practically grown up in this house too as he learned from his mentor and had seen Serenity grow into the woman she'd become. "She really cannot love another as much as she loves him and the same is true in reverse. Nothing is going to break them up now." Or, for both their sakes, he hoped nothing could or would.

"Mikhail, you've been with them for these last several years in all of their locations and have kept tabs on Endymion, do you know what it is we're not telling Serenity?"

"This one is a mystery to me. I haven't the slightest idea what it could be. Are you willing to tell me? I could tell you whether or not it will make one iota of a difference to Serenity; and it probably won't." He hesitated. "Unless he somehow already has another wife and hasn't divorced her yet and he's responsible for his children in that relationship. Nothing short of that, even murder in the right circumstances, could sway her from her position."

They shook their heads. "It's nothing that he's done."

Mikhail shrugged. "Then you better get used to introducing Endymion as your son-in-law or at the very least Serenity's husband."

They sighed as a collective and sent Mikhail away. They wanted to talk to each other in private and he let them. They needed to come around and quickly or they'd lose their daughter for a while and if something happened to her, then they'd regret not repairing their relationship before it was too late or even having this big of a strife to begin with, for any length of time. And it was Serenity's parents that needed to come around, he wouldn't even bother talking to Serenity to try to see it from their view point, she'd already done that. He wouldn't say that they were in the wrong necessarily but they did need time to come to terms with everything that was sprung on them.

He smiled as he walked up the stairs to send Jax on a walk around the grounds; he was surprised Serenity had lasted as long as she had without needing to use the toilet. Both an hour and a half long drive and at least an hour of greetings and arguments. He sent Jax off and leaned against the wall next to her bedroom and the smile disappeared as he heard her throwing up in her bathroom, it hadn't been as long as he'd hoped. He worried that she wouldn't be able to keep anything down and die from malnutrition and dehydration.

He spotted a staff member coming out of one of the other rooms and sent him to get some water and toast. Mikhail would make sure Serenity at least replenished what she threw up. The pregnancy gave him a security concern he could actually deal with. Since they'd been in New York, he felt surplus to needs sometimes with all the other bodyguards on the grounds. He had gotten used to the 2 person team and he felt like there were too many people overseeing their safety in New York when nobody had any interest in either of them for any reason. Jax was probably feeling that way too and he worried that the other man would be going off on his next adventure soon. He wasn't big on 1st world security, especially when many people could do what he did there. His specialty really was in dealing with foreign policies and situations with a lot more guns involved. There was no way he could convince Jax to stick around for another year when there was absolutely no threat to Serenity, no matter how much he'd grown to care for her.

Mikhail would have to rethink their bodyguard organization now that they were back to stay for awhile. The situation was brand new and he might have to make another deal with Jax. Maybe he could just suspend their current arrangement and pick it up again once Serenity started going back out into the field, if she did. Mikhail would be happier if she didn't but it was still one big giant question mark. He wondered if Lachlan had taken on another job or retired yet. He hadn't really contacted the other man in a few years. He'd discuss all of this with Serenity once the family situation got sorted out.

–

Endymion was led into the kitchenette and found his brothers already sitting in there. "What's going on? I heard a lot of arguing but I couldn't hear what was being said." Samuel looked over to their neighbor's house in concern. "I saw Serenity get out of the car with you two as well but just as I was about to come out, Helios dragged me back in. Is she ok?" Samuel's eyes narrowed on their middle brother. "Did you do something to her and then run away?"

"Me?" Helios asked in shock. "I didn't... well I did, but by accident but nothing serious!" He defended himself and looked to Endymion. "Was it about me?" He hadn't heard the argument either, there had been too many people involved already.

"No, it was all about me." Endymion answered moodily. "I'm not good enough for her."

"That's preposterous!" Helios objected.

"For her?" Samuel asked unsure what that meant.

"Helios didn't tell you?" Endymion asked back in surprise. "I thought for sure he'd have told you before I got the chance. Serenity and I are married."

"NO!" Samuel pushed to his feet. "That has to be a lie!"

Helios started cracking up as everyone else stared at the youngest Tellus son. "What are you objecting to, exactly?" Endymion asked cautiously.

"She was going to marry me! I was going to marry her and help her take care of that house and we were going to live there with all of our children. Pass it on to them when the time came and everything would continue on the way it always has. Who knows what you'll do to these properties now that you have both! You'll probably demo everything and build a golf course or mall." Samuel was passionate about the fantasy worlds he'd just created.

"On what planet would Serenity marry you? You're several years younger and I doubt that she even really notices you. You've never really spoken to her." Helios put his younger brother down. If Serenity thought two brothers couldn't be more unalike as Endymion and Helios, then she must have forgotten about Samuel. Or had never seen the younger two side by side when arguing over many different things. Helios and Endymion had similarities in terms of stubbornness, familial bonds and having been with more than one woman. Samuel and Endymion had similarities too, far more than any they shared with Helios but Helios and Samuel only shared physical characteristics. Even those differed greatly as the years went on as they treated their bodies differently, both good and bad. Only Endymion truly took care of his body. Helios drank and partied excessively all too often and Samuel was far too sedentary although he wasn't overweight really, just very underdeveloped and had a slight paunch on his stomach. The only reason he wasn't greatly overweight was because he didn't eat very much. Light meals when he did eat and sometimes he just clean forgot to eat for a day or two as he got wrapped up in his work and studies. His parents had to watch him otherwise he might just starve to death.

"She and I speak all the time. She's been supporting a lot of my projects over the years and-"

"Damn it!" Endymion interjected. "I told her to stop giving you money!"

"You knew about that?" Samuel was caught up short, he didn't think his brother knew much about him at all. It did show him though that Serenity had spent far more time with his brother than he had realized.

"Of course I did. She never told me but I knew she was doing it. I spoke to her about how I was also financing you and how she should spend her money on other things that she deemed important. I thought she stopped."

"She didn't think you were giving me enough." Samuel admitted to having a conversation about that too. "Although she never said she discussed that with you. I had told her all of my backers and she said she was giving me money because she believed in me and wanted to make sure that I didn't feel constrained by the others, including you. She told me to push the boundaries as far as I saw fit." Samuel rubbed that paunchy belly of his. "Still-"

"She was giving you money because you're like a pesky little brother to her." Helios teased.

"No, she believes in what he's doing, it's why I'm giving him money, because she was so moved. I wouldn't have given you anything if it weren't for her intuition about people's capabilities. She hasn't steered me wrong yet with other ventures. I just wanted her to invest in something a bit more sound. She admitted that you weren't as strong business-wise as others but the ideas were there." Endymion shook his head. "She may or may not view you as my little brother or her neighbor or a friend but she also views you as a good investment. However, there are no romantic feelings towards you little bro, I'm sorry."

Helios whooped and started laughing again. Joyce smacked him across the back of his head. "You're entirely too rude."

"Ow!" Helios rubbed his head where she smacked him. "Mummie, I've been hit on the head 3 times today now. Why'd you do that? I thought I was your little prince."

She snorted. "You're my little devil. Say sorry to your brother and then leave the room. We need to talk to Endymion alone."

"Sorry Endymion." Helios droned but Endymion saw the mischief in his eyes.

"Wrong brother." Joyce smacked him again.

"Stop it!" Helios complained and held his hands over his head to protect it from further abuse. "I'm sorry Sammy. You have a right to your feelings and imagination."

Joyce raised her hand again in a threatening manner toward Helios. "That was a terrible apology."

"At least it was one and it was true. It was a fantasy from start to finish, none of it could ever possibly come true." Helios defended himself and Joyce lowered her hand with annoyance evident. She couldn't argue against that stance though.

Samuel looked at his family. "You really are married then, aren't you?"

"Sorry to disappoint you Sam, but yeah." Endymion couldn't help the widening of his lips that bared his teeth, just saying the words sparked the reaction. "I really have married Serenity Pika."

"Oh, he's too much!" Helios shielded his eyes. "I had to put up with this lovely-dovey-dopey-sack for the last 2 hours!" He stood. "I'm so leaving! Call me Endymion when you get over this bug that makes you break out into unnatural smiles all the time." He left the room without waiting to hear a response. Endymion smiled a fair amount before, hadn't he? With a look at his parents, his smile dimmed a bit, no, he probably hadn't. His secret had hung around his neck like an anchor all those years he'd been in this house. All the years that his younger brothers had seen him in their youth while growing up, and it was only after he left had he managed to lighten the weight. Was able to breath normally and be the type of boy others were and even then it was usually only with Serenity or a select few mates. Helios' behavior was starting to make sense to him, he had been the middle child to two sullen, serious brothers. Usually it was the middle child that was studious and serious but in this family there were already too many to fight with for attention in that manner so he'd broken free of their behavior and had taken on a wild-child personality.

"Sammy, honey, we'll talk more with you later about this. but please congratulate your brother on his nuptials. It's a very big deal and we should be happy for him." Joyce ran her hand along Sammy's hair, stroking it in a soothing manner. She was always the softest with her youngest.

Endymion was surprised how much he needed to hear his mother say that, even though she hadn't herself, it was a way of showing him that she would, eventually, that she already felt that way. She said it to him now in a round about way, like she'd done most of his life with most of his big life changes/accomplishments or milestones. It was typical of her and he had many reasons to resent her from being unable to say it directly to him. It was also comforting and pleasing to know she hadn't changed much and that she was proud of him in her own way.

His father had been quiet the whole time again and it had been shocking to have him be the one to diffuse the situation earlier with Serenity's parents. He hadn't said much leading up to that moment and he hadn't spoken since. Endymion hadn't expected even that much from his father. This was the father that didn't even praise him in a round about way. He only listened as news was shared, if he was listening at all, and then said 'ok' or nodded when the mood struck him to be so cordial. He wasn't a man of a lot of words while Endymion was growing up and even now that he was nearly 30, he hadn't heard his father say much to anyone.

Some might say he was a quiet man and he was and he didn't drink or smoke or gamble. He went to work and came home and read his paper or a book or watched TV. Although every other Thursday he came home later than the rest of the week; often well after 2 a.m. and nobody ever told Endymion what his father did those nights. After awhile Endymion didn't even notice or care and frankly at one point he forgot that it was part of his father's routine.

He'd even gone to work in his father's office when he was 14 as an after school job that lasted 2 years. His father always left earlier from work on those Thursdays and Endymion had to find his own way home. Not that it was particularly hard, he was often driven home by his bodyguards. His father wasn't much more talkative at work than home but he did have to talk some so others could know what he wanted them to do; especially if it was something different than routine.

It just never pushed things far enough in Endymion's mind. He wanted to go a more creative route than his father and that's why he split away and so he could stand on his own two feet, never to be beholden to this man that raised him; more than he had to be. The only real family time he could remember were the Sunday BBQs and the summers at the lake, of which his father would be there only on the weekends and not even the entire weekend or every weekend.

Endymion looked at his father when his second brother also left the room. Joyce sat down in Samuel's vacant chair and patted the spot next to her for Endymion. He reluctantly joined her and they waited for his father to sit too.

Lucas didn't, he just stood still and quiet about a foot away from the table but if he wanted to he could reach out and rest his hands on the back of the chair in front of him. None of the three spoke for a few minutes and then Endymion cleared his throat. "Well this is productive." He was channeling Helios wuth that comment and Joyce frowned at him, displeased by his attitude. "Sorry."

She nodded and folded her hands on the table. "We understand why you waited to tell us about Serenity. She's always been a flighty girl and definitely not the type of girl we thought you'd end up with."

"I didn't tell you about Serenity, not because of her, but because of you." Endymion defended his love. "She's not flighty."

Joyce's mouth twisted as if she bit into a lemon. "She's not serious."

"She's a doctor, a very well respected doctor. There's no way she could have gotten to that position or prestige without being serious." He knew many people thought that about her too when they just met her in different settings because she was so light and infused with such kindness and joy for life. However, he had never heard one doctor criticize her seriousness nor a patient who worried about whether or not she was the most capable person for the job. She was not a Patch Adams type of doctor but almost all of her patients were instantly at ease with her and she always won over the rest fairly quickly.

He was surprised at the direction his mother was going, he thought for sure the problem would have rested with him, not her in his parents' eyes. "Why?" His father asked all of a sudden and Endymion looked to him in confusion. "You said because of us, not her, why?"

"I didn't think you'd approve of my marrying anyone."

Joyce shook her head. "Of course we want you to marry, we just don't want you to marry into the Pika family. It was fine when you were just friends but this is too much! We were disappointed that you broke up with Mara. She was the right woman for you."

"Mara was many things, all of them good but she wasn't meant for me." He had a suspicion these days about her too that remained unfounded but her parting words had bothered him in their strangeness. "I wasn't meant for her either."

"Any woman, except for Serenity Pika is the right woman for you." Joyce was insistent. "She's a sweet girl and except for her flightiness there's nothing wrong with her but she's the wrong choice. You need to divorce her as soon as you can and never see her again."

Endymion shook his head at his mother. "I don't understand you. How can any girl be right but Serenity is not? It's crazy but with the way you're going on about this, one would think that she's my half-sister or something."

Joyce's eyes grew huge at the idea and she shuddered. "I definitely pray that she isn't! What a terrible insinuation!"

Endymion felt bad, he hadn't meant to say those words, hadn't thought out the ramification of saying or even thinking those words and now he had hurt his parents with them as well as himself. He tried to settle the feelings that were just waking up again and were threatening to go crazy. He reached out to hold his mother's hand to apologize but it wasn't her hand that he wanted to hold right now. "I'm sorry, it was a poor joke. The way you were so against her could easily be interpreted that way by outsiders. I know it can't be true." She squeezed his hand back. "What's the real reason you're against her?"

"I don't have reason to believe that she knows but her parents do. They've never treated us poorly because of it but there's no way they will want their daughter married into this family with our skeleton hanging so close to the closet door. We want our neighbors to think we're perfect."

Endymion swallowed hard, she was right, if they knew the truth, they definitely wouldn't want Serenity married to him. "Think of it this way, now that they're part of this stained family, there's no way that they'd share what they know about us to anyone else. That threat is gone now because to paint us with that brush would be to paint themselves in the same stroke."

Joyce gave him that and as she thought about it, the truer it became in her mind and he was right. "I guess she's the only girl you could have married. The perfect choice." Joyce started to smile and it looked like a boulder was taken from the pile on his shoulders and he was glad for it. There was probably more than one boulder taken from the weight that he carried he just didn't examine it that closely at the moment. "We'll never have to worry about gossip again because no one else has even an inkling!"

"Dymion." Lucas moved to sit down and he covered his wife's and son's joined hands on the table. "Explain it to me, if you will. Why did you believe that we would be against you marrying anyone?"

Endymion felt like he had slipped into a dark hole and he wasn't sure where to go or how, every direction looked the same. He had never outright spoken to his parents about this. He had learned the truth of it when he was 16 and it had been an accident how he'd come to know. His parents had tried to talk to him then but he was unable to bear it and had pulled away from everyone in Linton and shortly after learning about it, he was able to move away also. He wished he could have pulled away from himself too but that hadn't been an option. It had been far harder to live with the one person he couldn't leave than surrounded by everyone else that knew him. When he found out about it though, it put everything else into much clearer context; especially his parents' behavior towards him growing up.

The topic hadn't been broached since and he thought it was because they were trying to bury it. That it was too painful and he didn't know how he could say it all now but they were waiting and he had to come clean, finally. "Because of who I am."

"You're an amazing man." Joyce commented automatically and he was surprised by the direct praise.

"I am because I've worked very hard to be a good one." Endymion rubbed his free hand against his brow. "I know how disgusted you both are by my existence and I wanted to lessen my burden on you. To be someone whom, when spoken about, if at all, then only being able to say good things about. I cannot change my origin but I can control the rest of the story, or at least I've tried. It's only recently that I've realized that I cannot escape my nature, I'm a beast in nice clothing."

His mother was quick to shake her head. "No way, you're not a beast. You're my son and you've always been a good boy, such a sweet nature and countenance when you'd let people see you. You have never, not once, been anything but good. I thought sometimes you were shy or quiet and reserved, but I never, ever, thought one bad thing about you."

"You're my mother, you have to say that. Aren't you afraid of what I might do to someone who lives with me full time? I am."

"I agree 100% with your mother." Lucas squeezed Endymion's hand tightly. "You're my son too and I have never been anything but proud of you. I could never fear you or fear for anyone in your vicinity."

"I can't see how you can say that." Endymion shook his head and pulled his hand away. "You've never said anything or brought this up in the years between. I thought you hated my existence."

"We didn't bring it up, that's true, but because we were afraid you'd leave again. We didn't want to lose you." Joyce explained. "We waited for you to say something to us and then we'd talk about it but you never did, so we left it alone."

"I don't hate your existence. I love you so much, son." Lucas reached out and rested a hand on Endymion's shoulder. "It's true that I hate how it affected your mother and what happened to her but from the moment I held you in my arms, none of my ill feelings were directed towards you."

Endymion looked away, he couldn't hold eye contact with either of them. He'd come expecting to give them a lot of surprise revelations but he'd be leaving them with more surprises from them. He could feel his eyes burning and he swiped at the moisture before a single tear could fall or even gather along his lower lid.

"I... I have been living my life for so longer under the pretext that you both hated me, or at least hated a good portion of my very being. I was afraid that you'd condemn my marriage to Serenity as poisoning her lineage and fearful of what I could possibly do to her with my own hands. It's why I convinced her time and again not to tell her parents, why we couldn't tell any of you until just now when she insisted on doing it together otherwise she'd do it on her own. I haven't told her why I refused and for awhile it caused a rift between us as she thought I was embarrassed because of her. Or that I wanted to break up with her because she wasn't good enough for me, wasn't enough to keep me. We sorted that part out but I know she's still hurt, somewhere in her heart by my refusal to make our relationship public knowledge. I just didn't want her to become tainted with my sins; I was afraid that you two would disapprove of our relationship because of me and would try to break us up for her sake."

"No, no, no." Joyce was beside herself with this new knowledge. "We've only ever wanted the best for you, for you to be happy. We've all been walking on eggshells since you found out our secret but we can't do that anymore. We have to be honest from now on with each other. It was rough going at first but you've always been the rare diamond in the lump of coal I got in my stocking. You were the best thing about that time of my life."

Lucas nodded. "You were and always have been very precious to us." He squeezed Endymion's shoulder. "We only want you to be happy and if Serenity's what makes you happy then you should tell her everything. We won't try to stop you and whatever you need from us, just ask and we'll do it. If you want us to tell her our portion of the story, we'll do so. If you want us to shower her with flowers and gifts and affection, we'll do that too. Just never, ever, ever believe that you are any less than perfect in our eyes and even if we weren't biased, you'd still be the ideal man. Good comes from very ugly situations and evil can come from the best of places. Everyone has both in them to varying degrees; it's only actions and choices that change the script and you've shown without this self-imposed control that you're good. Even before you knew, you were the good boy, the one who was kind, courteous and helpful to strangers."

"If I was, it was only because you taught me to be." He included both of them in that and he swallowed down all the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. "Are you sure you've always felt this way? Growing up, I always felt a sort of distance-"

"Oh no." Joyce stood up and came around and hugged her son. "If there was, it wasn't because your actions. We were dealing with our own inner struggles and situations and we never meant to take it out on you or the others. I wonder if they feel the same way. I sincerely hope not."

Lucas leaned forward and hugged both of them too. "I've always been an introvert. I will make a stronger effort to speak to you directly about my thoughts and feelings. You will be surprised by how proud I am of you every day of my life for everything you do."

"I hit Helios today without even realizing I was going to." Endymion admitted in terms of full disclosure. "He was saying some really nasty things about Serenity and me and I hit him, hard. I had no control over it. What if -"

"He deserved it." Joyce soothed and kissed Endymion's cheek.

"You are allowed to protect the woman you love with everything in you. I would say your actions suited the situation and you didn't go overboard and start beating him up or nearly killing him with your own hands. It was one punch."

"I could have killed him with that though, had I hit him in the nose instead." Endymion was trying really hard without being aware he was doing it until just then. He wanted them to condemn him, to show him that he was right all these years about how they viewed him. It was easier to accept their malice than to be shown he was wrong and that they loved him unconditionally. He'd have wasted so much time and potential for love with all of them if he were wrong all these years. He didn't feel like he deserved that kind of love. He was trying to tear himself down in their eyes, as if who he was wasn't enough to do it for him but they weren't rising to the bait, didn't even notice it.

"You didn't and it's again all about actions, you didn't hit him in the nose, which didn't kill him. Everyone does the same thing every day, everyone's actions have consequences and sometimes there's intention behind the actions and sometimes it's an accident. He's not dead and so it doesn't matter. Even if you had accidentally killed him, we'd be upset at his death but we probably wouldn't have blamed you, or at least not for long. You're our son and nothing will change that or our feelings towards you. We'll always have your back." His father spoke so much more today than he ever had.

"Are you sure that evil won't be passed on to any child I might have?" Endymion was fearful of that more than anything.

"We can't make promises but a problem child can come about from any union. Look at Helios for heaven's sake. I don't know where that boy came from." His mother laughed. "I just can't imagine though any child who has you for a father could turn out bad and if it's Serenity's too, well, that child just won the biggest lottery possible."

Endymion wanted to cry but that wasn't very British of him, all these years he'd thought poorly of himself and thought his parents did too and with one conversation most of that was wiped away. It wasn't gone completely and some of those fears would never go away but it was good to know that his family was behind him 100% and never held any of his past against him. It would take awhile of sitting on it and self-reflecting to overcome a majority of those shortfalls he had with himself and his self-esteem but he could already feel that black cloud dissipating. He saw sunshine for the first time in a long time break through that cloud and it had gotten even darker today, almost like an eclipse, leading up to this conversation. He never thought he'd have believed in that expression so much – 'it's always darkest before the dawn'.

He still had to talk to Serenity about it but he at least had this conversation to rely on and fall back on in the future if he felt it welling up trying to overwhelm him again. If another situation arose where he questioned himself and his character, this would definitely help to assuage those fears. Or he could always call them and hear from them once more what they said here today, reassure him that he didn't make it up. They were right, choices made the man or woman and it was repeating those choices again and again and never having the slightest inkling or desire to do certain actions helped as well. Feeling guilt for certain actions also informed a person about who they were.

"Shall I get you a cup of tea?" His mother asked and didn't wait for an answer, she went to get a pot ready for all 3 of them. They sat in comfortable and familiar silence for a good while, even after the tea was ready and they had some finger foods as well. He worried about Serenity and wanted to check on her, make sure that she was eating about now too and that she wasn't overdoing anything. He still didn't believe her doctor when he'd announced that Serenity could travel, that she was cleared of any traces of that disease. Yes, her pregnancy had a lot of similar symptoms but it still seemed like too much to him. Could it reemerge and hit her again, harder even? If so, what effect would the pregnancy have on it? Would she lose the baby if she relapsed or would it even possibly kill Serenity, because she was pregnant? She seemed even more tired now than she had after she'd been released from the hospital. At least it wasn't as bad as while she was staying there. For the first few days she could barely even keep her eyes open.

He was anxiously awaiting the time he could force his way into the Pika house and find his wife. At least she wasn't trying to actively stay away from him.

"We're happy for you, truly." Lucas said, pulling his thoughts back to his kitchenette.

"Now that we've had- I've had-." Joyce corrected herself because Lucas had been supportive early on. "- time to think about it, I've realized what a nice influence she's had on you over the years and the joy that's just poured out of you since stepping out of the car. I even heard some of that good humor in your voice over the last few years when we've talked on the phone. I didn't know why or why your mood went so dark for awhile there this year but I get it now. You hinge on her and she's generally a source of happiness for you; a happiness I haven't seen since you were a little boy or since the first day you met her."

Lucas nodded. "I had never seen you whistle until you were entering the house that day and it was only at dinner did you mention the curious girl you found next door. Now, I see that's when you started to change into the man you've become. You were always a kind boy but that day sparked an inner light... no, you always had that. It just turned up the wattage so most people could start to see it too rather than just those who had the patience to get to know you and see through your reserved nature."

"Thank you, honestly, thank you. I'm so glad to hear that you approve of my marriage. I only hope Serenity's parents will come around. She doesn't need that strife in her life, right now more than ever. I hope they don't think too poorly of me and can overcome any of those ill feelings for her."

"We'll work on them when you're in London and you two can work on them while you're here during your plentiful visits over the next month or so; but they know you're a good man too." Joyce reassured.

Endymion nodded and stood up with a screech of his chair. "Thank you and I'm sorry but I want to go check on her. I'll see if I can bring her back for dinner or if I can't, then I'll let you know where we're having dinner and you can join us." He was out the door before either could say anything else.

Joyce turned to Lucas. "The Pikas don't realize how lucky their daughter is to have a man like Endymion."

"They're extremely lucky to have each other, dear. Her parents were a love match, they'll be able to see that in the children eventually also. They'll come around; it's too infectious of a relationship to deny for long." Lucas smiled to himself as he reflected on the tenderness he'd seen shared between them. "Who would ever want to part those two?"

"Hopefully nothing ever will." Joyce agreed and stood up herself. "Now, let me go find our other two sons and give them both a lecture on how to behave when hearing good news."

"I think Helios actually did a good job with that."

"Maybe, but it was on the back of doing something inappropriate to Serenity. He needs a reminder on how to treat women." Joyce wandered out of the kitchenette and Lucas wasn't going to miss that conversation for the world and followed after her. He might not say anything during the berating but he would definitely enjoy listening to it.