SNOWSWEPT

by CuddleFae

Dr. Lauren Lewis has been assigned to oversee the opening of a new hospital. Overwhelmed by all there is to know and learn in an unfamiliar land, she crosses paths with a mysterious woman with a dark past - a past that has caused her to live by one rule. Trust no one. Thrown into a desperate struggle, can they overcome the barriers between them in their fight to survive?

56. Chapter 56: Childhood Dreams

A/N: Happy to hear so many of you have enjoyed the double chapter updates for travel by plane, train and what else… automobile! Those of you reading at work... make sure the boss isn't watching!

This update is only a single chapter, but it's still extra-long.

If Twitter disappears, I'll let you know where I am in my next update. Not mentally ready to learn any new tricks right now!

As always, thank you for the reviews, follows and DM's. You give me a reason to continue with this writing thing. Yes, I'll post to AO3 at some point – again, not learning new tricks right now but hopefully over one of the many winter holidays.

I'm eyeing the end of this and heading into the promised sequel to FOW – hoping I can get past the block that made me push it aside.

Be well everyone! Now, let's get back to Boston!

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CHAPTER 56: CHILDHOOD DREAMS

Lauren's Beach house, Campfire

Everyone had known about the surprise Lauren had planned, so Kurt was especially interested to know all about the plane. He was clearly disappointed that they didn't plan to buy it – until Bo unloaded the possible baggage it could mean for Lauren.

Patrick was quick to point out that the proverbial baggage could land on Bo as well since she would likely be held to big expectations as the pilot.

"Well, that's never going to happen. I may have committed to Lauren, my family, friends, and businesses, but no rich bastard is going to tell me when I have to fly to Boston and back."

Patrick smiled, "Especially since – knowing your luck – it would be during the Iditarod."

Bo laughed, "Yea, well then you can tell him to come and find me."

Betsy burst out laughing, all eyes turning to her, "What? That's hysterical."

"Oh?" Stephen said.

Betsy's face grew red as she glanced up at Lauren. The blonde cocked her head and raised her eyebrows, so Betsy came clean with a heavy sigh,

"Do you remember when I told you that, like Lauren, my parents had a 'Patrick' all lined up for me when I was young?"

Stephen nodded, "Yes, but what does that have to do with…"

Betsy shook her head and blurted out, "Sebastian Worthington was the guy."

Everyone originally from Boston was wide-eyed at Betsy's confession, but she was more concerned with the look on Stephen's face,

"So, the Christmas Party ever year and…"

"Family obligation, Stephen. I assure you. Nothing more. As I said, he was my Patrick. We were dear friend with no romantic interest in each other whatsoever."

"And when he married Sophia, we stopped going…"

"Stephen, seriously?" Betsy asked, rolling her eyes, "Remember – Sophia was the new and improved model of his first wife. I could not and would not betray her by continuing to attend his events. We had become good friends over the years."

Tamsin pumped her fist, "Woohoo! Solidarity! I like it! You go Bets!"

She smiled, turning to Stephen, "If Bo ever hurt Lauren, could you still be her friend?"

It was an awkward question to have to answer in present company and Bo knew it, so she let him off the hook,

"That answer would be no, Stephen. I wouldn't expect you to. As a matter of fact, I would expect you to find me and kick my ass if you couldn't talk some sense into me."

Stephen laughed, "As if I could kick your ass at my age... or even fifty years younger."

Kyle shrugged, "We could kidnap all of her dogs. That would do it."

Bo's head spun to Kyle, her eyes glaring at the thought. Kyle smiled,

"Or not."

Betsy laughed, "Okay – I think this conversation has gone way off the rails, so let me sum this up. Being from the Carnegie family is a huge weight – one that Lauren and Patrick understand all too well."

Lauren shook her head, "Um, I'd say our families are definitely one or two steps down from yours, so I don't think we fully understand the weight at all. However, the fact that you moved to that little remote part of the Cape to open your Bed and Breakfast, the fact that you now live in Alaska and the fact that you have constantly traveled…"

Betsy nodded, "I've always said that staying one place was an awful waste of space, but the truth is, traveling allowed me to avoid my family and all of the baggage that came with it. The endless Gala events, the endless meetings with charities, the dating before I met Stephen – Lord, the dating. Did he go out with me for me or my money?"

"Are you saying you were happy to be with a poor schoolteacher in your sunset years?"

Betsy laughed, "I was happy to be with someone who was normal – who had character, generosity, compassion, intelligence and a world view of humanity no matter our ages."

Stephen looked up at the group, "It was love at first sight – after about a week of asking her out until she finally agreed to a coffee meeting – not date – meeting."

Everyone laughed as Lauren added, "And she still wouldn't call their next coffee meeting a date! It took five coffee meetings until she agreed to lunch – not dinner – lunch!"

Stephen smiled, "She was a tough sell. I was a bit of a hobbit."

"I liked my independence, and I had trust issues with men after what Worthington did to Ingrid," Betsy said of Sebastian's first wife, "So I swore off marriage and took control of my life. I would date, but not let things get to serious and then move on."

"Still, you did what you had to do to protect yourself," Shannie said, "Nothing wrong with that."

Betsy nodded, "That's how I saw it – until Stephen. Oh, how this man frustrated me! He could sit in one room researching and reading for days on end. I wanted to see the world, but I wanted to see it with him. When I realized I wasn't going to change him, I found a group of women to travel with and we had a blast!"

She smiled at Stephen, "But I always came home to my bookworm. He would tell me all about the infant born with a tricky hole in their heart or the quintuple bypass surgery in the forty-year-old man with three kids and a wife who adored him or… well, you get the idea. He may have retired as a surgeon at the time, but when a doctor called, he was there with advice and – if necessary – to help in the operating room."

Lauren laughed, "And a lot of those surgeries were mine."

"Oh, that was early on in my retirement. Once you came into your own, you were doing things I never would have thought to do," Stephen countered.

"Well, I'm happy you decided to come out of retirement for one last hoorah with a scalpel."

Betsy smiled, "And I'm happy that you decided that seeing the world with me was worth pulling yourself away from your books every now and then."

Stephen cocked his head, his mouth curving into a slow smile, "You know, I haven't cracked a single book since I've been here! I brought five with me and haven't touched one!"

Lauren grinned, "That's a good thing, Stephen. Learning to let go is the first step in a true retirement."

"And the second step?"

"Walking out of your last surgery and never going back," Lauren said, "A day that will both sadden and please me."

"I second that!" Kate shouted, raising her glass.

Kenzi rolled her eyes at Bo, shaking off the beer Kate had just spilled on her as she said,

"It's all right," she gripped Kate's arm and slowly lowered it, "Someone's had one too many."

Anna shook her head, "Someone had three beers. She's a lightweight."

"Hey! I'm no lightweight! I'm completely coherent! I mean, I wouldn't want me performing surgery on anyone right now, but I'm all here! Go on, Lauren. Ask me anything!"

Rudy sat up, "What's the name of the road that goes to The Homestead back home?"

She youngster giggled at Bo, then looked back at Kate, awaiting an answer.

"I've driven down that road a hundred times! I must have seen the street sign!"

She closed her eyes, "Okay, from the hospital, Grange… Denali… Main… then left onto… see it… see it… I know it's in my brain somewhere…"

Anna saw her fiancé scrunch up her face and shook her head,

"Well, don't hurt yourself."

She exhaled, opening her eyes, "I don't know, Squirt. What is it?"

Rudy looked at Bo who smiled, "Bo's driveway."

"What?"

Bo smiled, "All of the land is mine. The road is technically just a really, really long driveway to the house."

"Bo's Way!" Kate said, "We'll call it Bo's Way!"

"We will?" Bo asked.

"Uh… I mean… if you want… I mean, it's yours so… whatev's, ya know?"

Everyone laughed as Kate shook her head and buried it in Anna's shoulder,

"Why didn't you stop me?"

Anna laughed, "What can I say, Love? You were on a roll."

Everyone continued to laugh until a calm silence pressed through the group. The goodnights began slowly at first with a bit of clean up in between. S'mores sticks were put in the shed, towels and blankets were hung on the line in the backyard so they would reap the morning sun, and the boats were put on their lifts, so they were out of the water given the strong winds and thunderstorms forecast for early morning.

Tamsin and Kyle were heading into town to meet with their new friends, Alicia, Bev and Ronnie for a late-night crab feast on the beach. They carried with them Bo and Lauren's regrets given the two had a long day in the city.

Mary and Molly took the girls in while Mark, Tosh and LJ went out to check the crab traps, but admittedly were just looking for an excuse to take out the speedboat so they could sit, float and look at the stars.

Shannie and Lynnie had left for a walk a bit earlier. They returned and waved to the group, ready for an off-duty evening alone since Tosh was with his son and grandson.

"I've asked you all to stay so we could talk about what we've learned today. Jake can help us with background checks so we can figure out if we're being manipulated," Lauren explained, "I'm sorry to keep you up so late when I know our vacation is almost over, but I don't want these people to get ahead of me and have it crash down on all of us."

Kate smiled, waving a hand, "It's cool, Lauren. We totally have your back!"

Lauren looked at Anna who shook her head, "I know it doesn't actually reverse the side effects, but I'm going to go get that fire pit coffee pot."

Anna hurried off with Patrick shouting, "Bring a lot of mugs… and coffee!"

Lauren turned to Kate, "Are you sure you're okay to participate in this discussion? I mean, will you remember all of this in the morning?"

"Completely," Kate said, pointing to her head, "This thing is a steel trap. Nothing gets lost up here… although it is a bit dark in there at times… but then I just flip on the light and everything's clear again."

She smiled brightly, her eyes slightly glassy, "Seriously, I'm good, Lauren. Really. I really am. Seriously."

The blonde looked at Bo who laughed and shook her head, "Well, the conversation won't be dull."

Anna came out, carrying a box and placed it by the fire. Bo helped her with the coffee so that she could pass out the mugs,

"I think everyone here drinks it black – yes? Lauren and Bo, there's two tea bags in there for you guys. Bo, here's that teapot you used on the fire the other night."

Bo put the pot on the grate, closing the spout, then finished setting up the coffee pot. Anna and Bo sat back, turning their attention to Jake who waved his phone at the group,

Jake waved his phone, "I already did a soft search through some colleagues at the bureau. Lauren, have you ever heard of a corporation called Fees and Sample?"

Lauren shook her head, "Never."

"Okay. Do you recognize any of these names – Franklin, Elizabeth, Elsa and Sebastian?"

"I don't know an Elsa, but the other three I'm sure you realize are familiar after our earlier conversation."

Jake nodded, "And since you mentioned Sophia Worthington earlier…"

Lauren nodded, "Yes, as Betsy said, she's Sebastian's wife. The one in heart failure."

Jake sighed, "Did you run a toxicology report on her?"

Nodding her head, Lauren replied, "I ran new scans and a full blood panel on her, but toxicology was not warranted based on the report I received from her previous doctor."

"Apparently that doctor went to the FBI with a toxicology report that he personally removed from her file,"

Lauren, Kate, Anna and Stephen all sat up on the edge of their chairs, the blonde speaking first,

"He falsified her report?!"

Kate shook her head, "What the actual fuck!"

Stephen nodded, "What she said."

Jake sighed, "It appears that Sebastian had been confronted by her former physician…"

"Wait… the physician that sent me the report?" Lauren asked.

He shook his head, responding to Lauren, "Yes…"

He turned to the group, "That doctor confronted Sebastian about the results the toxicology report and Worthington threatened the physician with – let's just say physical harm - if he revealed the information to anyone. The next day, the doc told Sebastian there was nothing else he could do for his wife and added her name to the transplant list. He never saw either of them again."

Lauren looked at Kate who leaned forward, speaking with a single finger pointed at Jake to emphasize her question, "So this doctor took the toxicology report from Sophia's medical file?"

Jake nodded, "He was blackmailed into doing so… well, threatened. According to him, he was to make the report go away or his wife and two children would be in a horrible accident. We've got the family in witness protection."

Bo sighed, "Oh, here we go again. Are you kidding me?"

Jake held out his hands, "Try to stay calm, Bo. Right now, there is an open case on this guy. Just tell me that you didn't sign any paperwork on that plane."

She shook her head, "None."

"No agreement of sale, nothing binding?"

Bo shook her head, "I never put pen to paper on that plane."

"Lauren?"

She shook her head, "I was arranging for transportation from the science center back here for tonight during a video call with them. Sebastian told me to hang up the phone, wanting to talk to Burton alone, but then said he had a better idea. That's when he told me about the plane and his attempt to sell it."

"Do you know where Burton was going after he landed?"

"To a hotel. He's logged too many hours to pilot another flight anywhere tonight," Bo said.

"I don't suppose you know where he was staying?"

Bo took the folder and Patrick's pen and wrote down a hotel name,

"I don't know how you pronounce that but it's the hotel room key card that was sticking out from his shirt pocket."

Jake grinned, "Nice detective skills, Bo."

"Jake? What's going on?"

Lauren smiled, "That plane has a black box in it, right Bo?"

The brunette nodded, "That and a helluva lot more. It's a luxury liner that must be worth close to three hundred grand with the modifications and customizations Burton told me his boss had done. He tried to take me down to the engineering level so I could see the locked storage…"

Bo's eyes went wide as she looked at Lauren, then back to Jake,

"Locked storage… he said something about things I might not want customs to find."

"Yes!" Jake said, pumping his fist and picking up his phone,

"Acacia? Yea, it's me. Sorry if it's late where you are. I didn't look at the clock. Take control of that plane now. Don't wait. There's supposedly a locked storage compartment in the engineering level beneath the plane. Look there."

He was silent, the group watching him trying to piece together what was happening, as he told the Special Agent on the line the name of the hotel where they would find the pilot.

Jake listened for some time, then spoke again, "I'm going to assume he's got people working on his estate. I'd take a full strike force."

He paused again, listening to his boss.

"I'm sure this Burton guy would have called and told him Bo rejected his deal. That means he's running out of time to get the heat off of him."

Another pause…

"I'll have my phone in my hand… great… yes Ma'am."

He ended the call and looked up at Lauren, "This is all very confidential… let's call it a 'family matter'?"

Everyone nodded as Patrick stepped, "Fees and Sample is a shell corporation – one of many – that your parents set up with the help of my former legal partners."

Jake continued, "Since arresting your parents, we had Patrick go back through his former business records. Thankfully, my lover is super smart and was sharp enough to take copies of those records with him just in case he was countersued as part of a previous legal case."

"So complimentary, isn't he?" Patrick said, looking adoringly at Jake before he continued, "Anyway, buried in the digital records was this corporation, Fees and Sample."

Jake explained, "They had all received payments from this company, but Patrick had not."

Patrick nodded, "Naturally, I had asked about it when I became partner, but they said the deal was struck before I was partner, so I wouldn't receive any of the benefits that came with being part of that particular acquisition."

"So, who is Sample?" Lauren asked, knowing who Fee was.

"Sid, Ace, Mic, Pimp, Lil and Eddie."

"Who are they?" Lauren asked.

"Six drug dealers from six different districts in Boston. They're selling fentanyl."

Lauren's eyes went wide as she turned to Penelope and Stephen, her mentor explaining, "Before we left for this trip, I told Jake about the missing shipment that Oncology had ordered and never received."

Jake nodded, "I went to Stephen because a ship had come into port in Alaska but was overdue to depart. When the local port authority boarded it, they found three dead bodies – all from gunshot wounds – and seventeen boxes of prescription grade fentanyl missing including one earmarked for your hospital… a ship your parents had just been on."

Lauren sat, paralyzed in her seat, her body shaking as she shoved her hands deep into her coat pockets. Her eyes drifted from her friend's partner to the fire. Patrick stood from his seat and walked over to his friend, placing his hand on her knee,

"I want to tell you everything tonight, Lauren. I don't want you to have to hear more tomorrow, unless you don't think you can hear it all now."

She kept her eyes on the fire as she nodded, "Tell me."

He looked at Bo, shaking his head. She stood, "A moment, Patrick?"

As she stood, Lauren reached out and grabbed her wrist. Her fingers turned white with the tight grip she held,

"No, Bo. I need this to be over. You need this to be over. Tomorrow, the girls will be around and… drugs, Bo… this is serious. It can't wait."

The brunette nodded, moving over to the Adirondack love seat that Molly and Mary had occupied with the girls earlier,

"Sit with me," she said, leading Lauren to the seat.

They got settled, Betsy handing Patrick a blanket which was immediately passed to Bo. Once settled, he placed a hand on Lauren's knee and spoke slowly,

"Mic… it's Michael… your brother."

She took a deep breath that caught in her throat. Her eyes welled with tears that immediately spilled over. Pulling a shaky hand from her pocket, she reached over to Bo who took her hand in both of hers and held it tightly. She squeezed, hoping it would anchor her to the planet as her world spun helplessly out of control. She managed to move her eyes back to Patrick's,

"Is he… was he one of the people… on the ship?"

Patrick shook his head, "No. He's one of the houses the FBI is entering right now in a synchronized assault."

Lauren looked up at Jake, "Will they kill him?"

He sighed, looking at Patrick who spoke softly to his friend, "If he is armed and resists, they'll defend themselves, Lauren."

She nodded slowly, her eyes drifting back to the fire, "So I made a deal with a drug dealer?"

Patrick chuckled, "No. You made a deal with a drug kingpin. He's the boss of Sample along with the rest of…"

"Fees," Lauren concluded, "Hey – go big or go home, right?"

Two SUV's pulled into the driveway… black, tinted windows, fog lights… two agents stepped out of the vehicle and approached the fire. As they came into the dim orange light, Lauren heaved a sigh of relief.

"Have two extra chairs?" Acacia said, Adam walking closely behind as always.

Kate stood with Anna, wavng to their seats, "You can have ours."

Acacia shook her head, "Sorry, Kate. We're going to need you to stay since you're also a surgeon on this case."

Kate looked at Anna, taking her hand. They both look worried, and Acacia could see it. She felt something behind her legs and turned to see a bench,

"Thanks, Jake."

"No problem, Acacia."

"Anna, please stay. Kate will want your support."

They sat side-by-side, Adam speaking first, "It's nice to see all of you. I guess you know now why we couldn't come along on this trip until now."

Bo smiled, "We've missed the two of you. Rudy's not happy with you for backing out, Adam."

He smiled, removing his FBI ballcap, "I trust she'll forgive me eventually."

"I'm sure she will," Bo said.

"Well, you all know the drill… well, all but Kate and Anna. Welcome to the world of FBI investigations. We're just going to ask you some questions that will help us to make our case against the people we are currently bringing to justice."

He shrugged, "Naturally, we have some concerns about your safety since these are drug-involved cases but by removing the top and the second tier of leadership in one fell swoop, it will take a while for the underlings to decide who the new rulers of the trade will be. They, of course, won't care about you since you will have helped them come into power."

"Great," Kate said.

"You're leaving tomorrow for…"

"Somewhere!" Bo shouted, shaking her head at Acacia who nodded.

"Of course, somewhere and you'll be safe there. Then, when you return home, the poor bastards will be on Bo's turf again, so Gods help them if they try to come out there and mess with you and your fifty dogs, the bears and the wolves."

"I suppose there will be a detail again?" Bo asked.

Acacia nodded, "And for that reason, we are hoping that Kate and Anna might stay in one of the houses along the river."

Bo sighed, "Tosh will be staying with Shannie and Lynnie, so they can stay there or if they'd prefer, they can stay with my mom and Rudy. I'm sure my mom would appreciate the help around the house."

"Bo…"

She turned to Lauren, "The cottage will be finished when we get home, Sweetie. It was going to be your wedding present."

The blonde smiled, "Really?"

Bo nodded, "Really. I've brought in another construction company to help my guys. Their owner owed me a favor… actually three favors, so I'm still holding two in reserve," she looked up at Anna and Kate, "If you want a house by the river, the offer still stands. I can have Slate and Path move their crew over to the land I set aside for you when they're finished at the cottage."

Anna smiled, "We actually just talked about that last night."

"Oh?" Bo asked.

She nodded, "Nothing against all of you, but before this trip, we knew that you always said we were part of the family, but that fine line between employee and friend was always there. This week, we've felt like sisters to all of you. It's truly a special thing we have found and we would love nothing more than to join the neighborhood on the river."

Patrick shuffled through a stack of papers, finally pulling out a stapled bundle, "Your deed of sale."

"What?"

"Well, you have to buy it from Bo for it to be yours."

Anna and Kate frowned, Kate fumbling with her words, "Oh. I thought that…" she looked at where Anna was pointing, "Wait… one dollar?"

Patrick laughed, "You didn't really expect her to give you the house and land for free, did you?"

The couple laughed, looking at Bo as Patrick explained, "It's a business thing. Just trust me."

Kate looked at Acacia who smiled, "And it's perfectly legal."

The two smiled, tucking the papers into their hands as Patrick smiled and said, "Read it, sign it and we'll get you started. Remember that Bo is selling you the house, so you're still responsible for all expenses from here on out including your portion of taxes on the land just like everyone else."

Kate nodded, "Of course."

Anna shook her head, "We've got so much to learn."

Bo nodded, "And that's why staying with my mom and Rudy would be a great idea. One hundred and seventy-eight inches of snow per year. Skill sessions with Mary are a must now. No more dodging them."

"So, now that living arrangements are settled, let's get to the questioning. Lauren, if you don't mind, I'd like to start with you first."

The blonde nodded.

"Okay. First question. When was the last time you saw your brother, Michael Lewis."

Lauren's eyes moved to the flames, but her mind…

Michael Lewis stood atop the table in the childhood playroom, his little sister Lauren dressed in her favorite Disney Princess costume. Truth be known, the young girl didn't like the costumes, but her Grandmother and Nanny bought them for her, so she wore them to make them happy. On occasions when her brother wanted to play the knight, she also humored him.

He drew his cardboard sword and held it overhead as he fought the life-sized F.A.O. Schwartz teddy bear with the big red bowtie in the corner. The bear had been disguised as a mild-mannered gentleman who'd come seeking his little sister's hand in marriage. He wanted to make her his princess, but Michael didn't trust him, and his instincts would prove correct. Eventually he would discover that the gentleman was actually a villain in disguise. Michael parried and advanced before the bear swung his sword high, bringing it down on top of the knighted young Lewis, but he blocked it with his sword. He fell to his knee under the strain of the blade against his own, pressing back.

Lauren faked her best scream, her brother turning to see her distraught face. He summoned his courage to push back the evil bear and finally thrust his sword into his stuffed, swollen belly… his imaginary life coming to an end.

Michael turned, bowing to Lauren, "Princess, I have defeated your enemy. I shall return you to your castle and remain by your side for all eternity to protect you."

And he had, Lauren remembered… until he hadn't. Back then, when the bullies came for the freakishly smart girl, he defended her. When she beat out Sara Jiminy for the singles boat on the Varsity Crew Team and Sara cornered her in the boathouse, Michael was there to tell her she was just a poor loser because a freshman had beaten her.

When Andrew Bonner left her at the prom after she'd spent so much time doing her hair, he was there to dance with her when no other guys would. When her mom and dad criticized her for getting a B on an exam after Andrew broke up with her, he was there, telling his parents that there are some things more important than grades,

"You two are a real piece of work, you know? Stand up straight, children. Clean your rooms, children. This isn't a country club, it's a home, children. You will be at the party, children and you will be on time and behave as a Lewis should behave. Pose for this picture and that picture, children. Be on time for dinner, children. Jessica just isn't Lewis family material, Michael! Now, we've talked to her parents and they will steer her towards someone more suitable!"

Lauren could see his hands ball into fists as her own hands did the same. He shouted again, "You took the only woman I have ever loved! You have ruined my life for the last time! I am done! Done!"

He ran upstairs to his room and Lauren followed, always the dutiful sister. She remembered his face as he turned towards her. His eyes red and swollen with angry tears as he reached out his hand for hers,

"I'm sorry. I just can't stay here anymore. I'll call you and let you know where I am. I promise. One day, we'll be together again. I promise. I just can't stay here with them anymore. If I do, I'll do something horrible. I just know it."

He went into the bathroom, tossing his necessities into a duffle bag, then he walked to his picture in the hallway and pulled the right side back, revealing his wall safe. He lined up his eye and it opened. He emptied it and closed it. With one last look back at Lauren, he turned and headed down the hallway to his room.

She stood, staring at the picture on the wall of his senior year in high school. His blonde hair was longer then, and it swept off to the side. He was very blonde and his eyes were blue like their mother's. He smiled brightly – a warm, genuine smile. It was because when the picture was snapped, he had been looking at Jessica Rydell, his girlfriend of four years. They'd dated all through college and planned to marry as soon as he had passed the bar.

This was a different Michael. Since losing Jessica, he'd become hard. Sure, he was still kind and sweet to Lauren, but he was reckless, disobedient, outspoken and hanging out with people Lauren didn't know. He drank a lot, and she was fairly certain he might have been smoking pot. They were like two ships that passed in the night now. She was home every other weekend from college, and he was only home when she was home, but even then, only for a few hours at a time.

She thought back to her grandmother's funeral. He had come, but sat alone at the back of the church. At the cemetery, he stood by a tree far away from where the mourners had gathered around the grave. He left immediately after giving Lauren a hug. He'd whispered in her ear,

"I know how much she meant to you, Lauren. I'm sorry. I love you, Princess. Goodbye."

The last time she had seen him, he had asked her if she knew how to make pipe bombs. She had showed him how. Several weeks later, there was a protest and news reports flooded the airwaves about the explosives that were used… pipe bombs... her pipe bombs. She couldn't be sure, but she had a gut feeling that her brother had been at the center of the tragedy. Eleven people had died. They hadn't caught the perpetrators…

She felt a hand on her shoulder… there was a hand on her shoulder… a hand… a voice… a muffled voice…

Where was she?

What happened? She looked around, recognizing her home in Boston. Bo. Her wife. She was married. She was holding her hand. She gave it a squeeze and felt Bo's hand squeeze hers. Provincetown. Her anchor.

She opened her eyes, seeing the stars against a black night sky. She felt the fire warm beside her. She felt the sand, cool beneath her. She saw Bo's eyes looking down into hers… a smile. A perfect smile. Her wife's smile.

"Hello, wife," Lauren said, a weak smile following.

"Hello, Mrs. Dennis," Bo smiled, "You had us quite worried."

Her eyes welled with tears, "My childhood… I was there… my brother… Michael. He was… he was my protector, Bo. They took Jessica… his fiancé from him. He loved her, Bo. He loved her so much. They pushed her away and he changed. He changed so much. He left me. He left me alone with them. He promised he would call, but he never did. He left me."

Anna looked up at Acacia who was standing with Kate and Stephen, taking their statements. She caught the agent's eye. Acacia nodded to Lauren, but Anna shook her head. She smiled, mouthing 'tomorrow'. Anna nodded, turning back to her friend and patient,

"Let's get her up, Bo. Slowly."

Bo nodded, looking down at her wife, "Think you can get up in the chair, sleepy?"

Lauren looked left and right, now understanding, "I passed out?"

Anna smiled, "Honestly, I think I might have dropped too. That was a lot to take in."

"I was… I was talking?" Lauren asked, her embarrassment showing. She didn't like talking about her childhood – especially details and especially now that her parents were in prison and front-page news. Still, the mythos of the Lewis Family had finally been shattered and this was her new family… her real family,

"How much did you hear?"

"I suppose all of it," Anna smiled, "Teddy Bear fights and parent plights. You have a brother Michael?"

Lauren lowered her eyes, "Yes."

"Well, like I said, that was a lot to take in," Anna smiled.

"Tell me about it," Lauren said.

"Can you get up?" Anna asked.

"Yes, I think so," Lauren said, taking the offered hands to get to her feet, then falling back into the chair, "Wow. I feel so… exhausted," She looked up at Anna, "Thanks."

"Of course," Anna smiled, "Do you want to talk about… that?"

Lauren shook her head, now seeing the group gathered by the SUV's. She saw Acacia and Adam turn to walk away, so she yelled out to them,

"Acacia! Adam! Now, please!"

Acacia looked at Anna who looked at Lauren, "Are you sure, Lauren? You already passed out once."

"It was… I didn't know that my brother was alive, Anna. Now, I know that I'm either going to be told he's alive and going to prison or he's dead, killed in a drug bust. I have to talk about it… about what my parents did to him. I know it's no excuse, but I want it on the record. Michael was good," she smiled, "He was my hero… my protector until they…"

She shook her head, a tear betraying the will she tried to steel against the boiling emotions of her past.

"What did they do to him, Lauren?" Acacia asked.

The blonde took a deep breath, reaching out to grip Bo's hand once again. She looked at her wife who smiled that brilliant smile before she leaned down and kissed her cheek. She whispered,

"The truth will always set us free. I'm here with you and I will never let you go."

Lauren's eyes filled with tears. Bo wrapped her arms around her wife, lifting her hand to her wife's cheek and jaw. She put a whisper of a kiss on her temple before Lauren lifted her head, turning to Acacia. She took a long, deep breath and nodded towards the chair across from her,

"Sit. This is going to take a while," Lauren said, looking up at Anna and taking her hand. The friend and confidant took a seat beside her, placing her hand on Lauren's. The blonde smiled, "Stay with me, please?"

"I'm here, Lauren. We're both here," she said, looking up at Bo who smiled at her wife,

"And we're never leaving you, Sweetie, no matter what happened in your past. You are not your parents, and neither is Michael. Now, you say what you have to say."

With a glance back to Anna and one more at Bo, Lauren began the story that would implicate her parents in her brother's life as a drug dealer. She knew the fourteen years of cryptic messages he had sent her must have been hints or breadcrumbs of what had happened after he'd left home. She'd never deleted a single one.

She hadn't looked at them for years, but she knew they were still there. Maybe the FBI held the missing pieces of the puzzle that could put her parents behind bars but help her brother out of the life he had been living. One thing was for certain, she had to try even though she knew he may be too far gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

THE LAST DAY…

It had been a great last day at the Beach House. It began when the family had all walked the streets of Provincetown in the morning, going to Alicia's for a special breakfast since her restaurant didn't open on weekdays until dinner.

They had done some fishing off the wharf and the beach, something everyone in the family enjoyed. Bo had taught Ronnie how to tie flies so that when she came to Alaska, she would have a healthy supply so they could get out on the river first thing.

Bev had invited the family to her bookstore to use her newly implemented friends and family discount on any reading material they might need for their next flight. Everyone walked to the store after breakfast to find something and while they shopped, Lauren drilled everyone in the group on where they were going next.

Naturally, no one gave up one iota of information, threatened by the wrath of Rudy and Elise, the event planners.

The girls found picture books of Boston, Provincetown, and Cape Cod while Kurt found a book on inboard boat engines.

Kenzi bought a book about marketing for her hotel and Hale bought a mystery novel.

Tosh, in a wheelchair for the day, found a book on fishing Cape Cod and LJ found a book on East Coast travel.

Molly and Mary found Boston cookbooks and patterns for knitting and crocheting beautiful hats and scarves.

Kate, Anna, Kelly, Carolyn, and Shannon raided the lesbian fiction aisle and bought steamy romance novels, secretly purchasing one for Lauren as well.

Mark bought a book on finance that he promised to share with Bo after he was finished, and Bo bought a book on wooden boat building.

"You're going to build a boat?" Lauren asked, eyeing the book in Bo's hand when she came to the register.

Bo smiled, "I figured I would set it up in the back corner of the business property and work on it for maybe an hour or two each day. At that rate, I'll have it finished in ten years."

"If the weather doesn't rot it out first. Remember, it snows in Alaska."

Bo shrugged, "Then maybe I'll build it here in your big boat garage and work on it when we come here to visit."

Lauren smiled, "While I surf and run, you can work on the boat."

Bo nodded, "I was thinking that while you are in the city for all of your meetings I can work on the boat. Once this knee is healed, I plan to learn to surf and take us out on our new wooden boat. I'm not so sure about the running since I'd rather run a sled… of course, I could build one of those here too."

"Really?" Lauren asked.

Bo shrugged, "Why not?"

Ronnie walked up to the counter, "Especially since we'd like to get three dogs that she can teach to run in front of a sled."

"Really?" Lauren asked.

Bev nodded, "This woman has been wanting to do this since I met her. She's threatened to take me to Maine or Minnesota many times. Now, we know a pro in Alaska who can hook us up at a great hotel. I don't think I'm going to be able to dodge this trip anymore. Fly fishing and dog sledding for her, wilderness adventures for me."

"I think I picked the dog breed that can handle both our winters and our summers, so…"

Bo shook her head, "Remember though, I told you a mixed breed would be best. Please be sure we talk before you buy. I'd like to know about the breeder and the bloodline before you pay."

Lauren explained, "Bo has taught me that a lot of breeders price their dogs based on what they see others charging without regard for breeding, so you can end up paying twice what a dog is actually worth."

"Oh, so you don't want us to get ripped off."

Bo shook her head, "It's more than that. Not only will you pay twice as much up front, but the vet bills that follow from poor breeding can be quite costly - not to mention being stuck with a dog who can't be trained."

"Wow. I didn't realize," Ronnie said.

"It's complicated. That's why I would rather help you to pick your pups."

Ronnie looked at Bev who turned back to Bo, "Maybe we could buy when you come for your next visit – after we've had a chance to do more research?"

Bo nodded, "That's a good idea. I didn't really notice how much land you have behind your house. If you're going to have three dogs, it's a good idea to have about an acre for them to run and play."

Bev smiled, "Our property is actually three acres, though a little less than an acre is open space. The rest is a small grove of pine trees that open up to the beach and the bay on the other two sides. That's where we would take the dogs to the beach."

Lauren nodded towards the front window of the store, "There's really no open beach here. It's all businesses and fishing piers since they're not quite at the center of town or near the residential area."

"I see. Well, that sounds like a good set up, anyway. You'll need to put some type of fencing in."

"We have geofencing that we installed for our last dog," Bev explained.

Ronnie nodded towards the picture on the wall, "Tess. She was fifteen when she died. Good old girl."

Bo grinned, "She's beautiful."

"She was about two there," Bev explained, "Border Collie. She scared away all of the critters that came after the chickens. She was great."

Bo rubbed her chin and with a cock of her head, suggested, "I wonder what kind of mix that would be."

"Border Collie-Husky?" Ronnie asked.

Bo nodded, "I'll have to do some research. Of course, you have to decide what you want these dogs to do. If you want sled dogs, you can't train them to chase chickens unless you want them running after anything that distracts them when they're attached to the sled. As for the geofencing, sled dogs need to be trained to visual boundaries. I would recommend using the geofencing as a boundary beyond a regular fence."

"I guess that makes sense – of course, I've never trained a sled dog."

Lauren smiled, "Well, we'll be back in a few months, so let's chat more then."

"Start looking for breeders as well," Bo suggested, "If you find someone you think you might like, give them a call, and feel them out. Let me know if your gut tells you they may be on the up and up. If so, we'll call them part of your 'maybe' list."

"Sounds good."

The rest of the family checked out at the register before they all said their goodbyes and headed off for more shopping. Everyone bought a souvenir. There were a lot of sweatshirts on sale since spring and summer were coming but they were something they could use all year in Alaska.

Beach hats, Boston memorabilia and Whale Watch merchandise were also big. LJ and Kyle commented on how many different items could possibly have the name of Lauren's town on them, but in the end suggested that this was something they needed to add to their own store.

Bo gave a rousing 'no' to the idea of putting her face on a T-shirt but agreed that a book on sledding and raising dogs might be an option. They kicked around the idea with Lauren finally suggesting that she dictate and have their now-favorite reporter – Gwen – write the books. Bo promised to give it some serious consideration.

They finally headed back to Lauren's house with takeout food for a late lunch before jumping into the trucks and heading to their next activity – Meena and Maeve's science vessel tour. They were greeted on the two large ships by the women, who immediately expressed a need for the family to board quickly and don their lifejackets.

Tosh was pushed to the wheelhouse where his wheelchair was clamped into the floor. While Bo had her reservations about leaving him there alone, he assured his sister that it was the thrill of a lifetime to be behind the captain at the helm of such a huge ship in the open seas.

The two became fast friends as the Captain was clearly happy to have Tosh firing off question after question like a kid in a candy store, so Bo left and headed back to where the family was getting information from Meena on where they were headed.

"We will rendezvous with The Edmund at the site of a stranded whale. We will do a quick check of her vital signs and then, if we find that she's healthy, work together to get her back into the water."

Rudy's hand shot up, "But if she's healthy, why would she swim up on the beach?"

Meena smiled, "Hi Rudy. It's nice to have you aboard. You too, Elise. Nice to see you again."

Elise waved before Meena answered Rudy's question,

"We've seen dolphins, whales, sea turtles and even sharks beach themselves. Research shows that if it's a single, living animal, they're usually sick or injured. That's why you should always call for professional help if you find a beached ocean mammal. Without veterinary support, you're putting them back into the water where they will surely die without treatment."

"So, what if they're not sick or injured?" Elise asked.

Meena smiled, "The other reasons we've found include bad weather, old age, navigation errors or hunting too close to shore."

"You mean they try to catch a fish and when they jump to catch it, they land on the beach?"

"Remember, whales are big, so they don't have to be on the beach, only in water that's too shallow for them to float. Whales don't turn well, so they need deeper water to turn around and head back out to sea. Think of turning around a dog sled. Can you do it in just a few feet?"

Rudy laughed, "Only if there's no dogs attached."

Meena smiled, "I'll take your word for it."

"Meena, I think I read something about sonar impacting whales?" Lauren asked.

The rescue biologist nodded, "That is true. There are an awful lot of sonar and GPS devices being used by humans nowadays, so those are growing factors. The effects of sonar and other loud underwater noises can cause hemorrhaging in animals that are exposed to those sounds."

She shook her head, "As you can imagine, it inflicts great pain, so they beach themselves to escape the sound. Mid-frequency sonar has proven quite harmful to Cuvier's beaked whales by causing decompression sickness that leads to tissue damage from gas bubble lesions."

Lauren scowled, "That's terrible."

Meena nodded, "People just don't know enough about whales to know that they are causing them pain. I get frustrated by whale tours that go out to give people a view of these majestic creatures, but don't talk to them about how they can help them to live in peace with humankind."

"We should tell them," Elise said, frowning, "It's not fair."

Meena smiled, "I agree and we're doing just that through the Institute, the Hospital, and our fleet of ships. We take people out with us so that we can teach them in a way the whale tours don't."

"I won't ever go on a whale tour again," Elise said, crossing her arms.

Meena grinned, "Well, I have to be honest – I would never give up a chance to see whales even on one of those boats. I figure that while I'm out there, I can make idle conversation with the people on board about what I know. You'd be surprised at how many people will share the lessons they've learned from strangers with the people they know and love."

"Like whisper down the lane?" Elise asked.

Meena nodded, "Exactly – but the good kind," she replied, her gaze moving to Rudy who seemed to be analyzing the empty rear of the ship.

"Rudy?" she asked, "Something on your mind?"

"Well, how will we fit the whale on the ship? That doesn't look big enough to hold a whale."

Meena smiled, "Well, if she's well, we will use both boats to tow her out to deep water. If she's not well, we'll use floats to tow her slowly back to our aquarium if we don't have our trucks available at the time."

"Can't you just wait for the trucks?" Rudy asked.

Meena shook her head, "Remember that we had you all hop on the ship because we were in a hurry?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, that's because the longer a whale is on the beach, the less likely they are to survive."

Rudy held up a finger, "Because they can't breathe out of the water?"

Meena shook her head, "You remember that they surface to breath and do so through their blowholes, right?"

"Oh, that's right! They're mammals!" she smiled, "But wait – then why do they die on land?"

"Well, whales have a lot of blubber on them, right?"

"Yea, but I don't eat that stuff. Sister and the rest of my family do. They like Eskimo Ice Cream. I think it's disgusting."

Meena smiled, "Well, some foods are simply an acquired taste."

"What's that mean?"

"It means you have to eat them for a while in order for your tastebuds to decide that they're good."

"I don't think my tastebuds will ever like that stuff."

Meena chuckled, "That's entirely possible. Anyway, whales have thick blubber that serves to insulate them from the cold just like you wear layers to protect you when you're sledding, right?"

"Yup. A lot of layers – especially when I first moved here from Hawai'i. I was used to being in hot, so I was super cold."

"I'm sure I'll feel the same way when I visit Alaska," she replied, "Now that thick blubber keeps whales warm no matter how cold the water is, but on land, it can cause them to overheat."

"So they run a fever?" Elise asked.

Meena nodded, "Yes, you can say that. They'll eventually dehydrate and when the tide rises, they'll be too weak to move and will likely drown."

"Then there's a dead whale on the beach?" Rudy asked.

Meena nodded, "Yes and they can be a hazard to the public."

"A dead whale can hurt us?" Elise asked.

Meena nodded, "This is pretty gross, but when a whale dies, all of these gasses build up inside the whale and then they let out what's called the 'death burp', only sometimes they don't just burp out the gas. Sometimes the temperatures and gasses are so high inside that the whale can actually explode."

"Great. A whale gut shower," Bo said, twisting her face to reflect the image in her mind.

"At best. At worst, if people are standing too close… well, let's just say that whales are heavy and their carcass exploding outwards could harm a mere human."

"So how are we gonna keep their temperature down when they're on the beach in the hot sun?" Rudy asked.

Meena smiled, turning and pointing to the top of the ship, "First, we're going to keep hosing them down. Second, we're going to keep cool towels on their skin to protect it from the sun's UV rays. Third, we're going to dig a trench around the whale to take some of the weight off of their organs so they can breathe a bit easier."

"A trench?"

Meena nodded, "Let's do this. Rudy, you lay down on the deck, then Elise, you lay on top of her."

A wicked grin stretched across Elise's face before she pounced on Rudy, causing her friend to let out a grunt. The pair laughed, until Meena asked LJ to take Rudy's hands and try to pull her free.

LJ did as asked, but Rudy didn't move, she only groaned, eventually asking him to stop because it hurt.

Meena had the two sit up, "Now, what happened, Rudy? What hurt?"

"Well, it's hard to explain. It was like my outsides were going with LJ, but my insides were staying with Elise."

Meena nodded, "Now, imagine you're the whale and a bunch of humans start pushing you backwards out to sea. All of your organs are staying on the beach while they push your head towards the ocean. To them, it literally feels like all of their organs are going to come out of their heads."

Elise frowned, "But their heads already hurt because of the sonar noises."

Meena nodded, "Or just from dehydration from being on land. They're lungs are also struggling and pushing them just makes breathing more difficult. So, digging that trench first is really important. Pulling them out when the tide is higher is important as well, but we also want to make sure that they have the strength to swim. If they don't, they'll just drown."

"So, what do we do?" Elise asked, her face filled with worry.

Meena smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Look over there. My team is prepping these big boons which we'll put around the whale. The net goes underneath. When we tow her out of the trench, the boons will help the next float up under her to support her while we tow her out."

She smiled, "Once she's back in deeper water, the water will begin to cool her, and her blowhole will be above the waterline. By the time we get her out to sea, she'll be ready to swim out on her own. If she's not, we'll just keep going and tow her back to our aquarium where we can help her get strong enough to be released again."

Elise smiled, "That would make me happy."

"Me too, Elise. Me too," Meena smiled.

Meena stood, facing her group, "Now, I must warn you that there is a possibility that we are coming into a situation where multiple whales are stranded. We received twelve different reports on this situation with conflicting stories. There may be as many as three whales, two adults and a calf."

"Why in the world would a whole family be on the beach?" Rudy asked, setting her hands on her hips.

Meena laughed at the child's seemingly adult mannerisms, "Actually, a group stranding was first observed in Argentina in the 1970's in a group of Orca's."

"My whales!" Rudy shouted as Elise turned to take pictures of the other ship, waving to Anna and Kate.

Meena cocked her head, "Your whales?"

Rudy smiled, making sure Elise wasn't listening, "In Hawai'i," she leaned in and whispered to Meena, "I actually know a lot about whales. I just don't want Elise to think I'm a know-it-all, so I'm asking a lot of questions."

Meena smiled and whispered back, "Your secret is safe with me."

"So, Orcas are known to hunt on the shore by intentionally beaching themselves, lunging at seals and then riding the next wave safely back out into deeper waters. Since that time, they've found other pods of Orca's that hunt in similar fashion."

"Wow. I didn't know there were Orcas in Cape Cod," Rudy said.

"They are found worldwide, but usually in the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean rather than the Northwestern Atlantic."

"Where's that?" Rudy asked.

Meena waved the group over to the map mounted at the back entrance to the wheelhouse,

"Here's where we are and here is where the orcas usually are. Since about 2014, we've had sightings of our northern friends swimming in our more southerly waters to hunt tuna. We're guessing as ocean temperatures change, all species of fish are acclimating by tolerating warmer waters in order to feed, then swimming back up north to rest."

"In Hawai'i, we don't have a ton of whales around unless you're on the east coast. We have sharks though."

Meena smiled, "But they're not mammals – they're fish – so they tend to eat what's in the water whereas Orcas prefer land mammals that also swim."

"The whales we have just eat krill. Most of our fish are too big."

"Oh?" Meena asked.

Rudy smiled, "We have Ahi, Aku, Blue Marlin, Mahi Mahi, Ono, Sailfish and Striped Marlin. If you're hungry, they're going to make it super hard for you to put them on your menu."

Bo laughed, "Good one, Roo."

Giggling, Rudy ran to her sister, giving her the offered high five before spotting the beach coming into view,

"Is that the beach where the whale is?"

Meena nodded, banging three times on the wheelhouse. The captain came over the speaker,

"I see them, Meena. Am I dropping anchor?"

Meena banged three times again.

"Okay, give me a bang when I'm where you want me."

Turning to the group, Meena waved to her crew, "Okay, folks. This is where we get into our assigned boats and head to shore. Rudy and Elise, stick with Shannie and Lynnie, okay?"

The pair nodded, running over to the two women. Meena walked to Bo and Lauren,

"One more time, Bo. If you help with this, I cannot guarantee your knee's safety. This whale could thrash and knock you off your feet since you're not very mobile. You can stay and watch from the ship with your brother or stand with Rudy and Elise on land. You're a big girl. It's your call."

Bo nodded, "I'm going to head to shore and sit with the girls. I'm afraid they'll get too close if someone isn't with them, and I know that my mom and Molly both plan to help with the rescue. This isn't my mom's first rodeo with this sort of thing."

"Fair enough," Meena nodded, "Lauren, you're helping Kurt with crowd control, right? The people who want to help need to listen to the rescue team. If there is someone you two feel may not be safe to help, bring them to…"

Lauren nodded, "Ken or Lisa's attention and they will kindly offer them a spot in the spectator section. I remember."

"Great. I just don't want anyone to get hurt even though we need all the muscle we can get. There's only so much room around the whale, so we need the strongest people helping in those spots."

"Varsity only. Got it."

Meena smiled, banging once on the wheelhouse. The boat's anchor released, a deckhand watching as the chain ran through the hoist mechanism. It splashed into the water and seconds later, he gave a nod to Meena who gave another bang on the wheelhouse. The boat moved forward until the anchor grabbed, coming to a full stop. The captain's voice sounded,

"Boats away. Good luck everyone. Stay safe."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Beach House

After rescuing an adult female humpback and her calf, the family returned home for some recreational fun on the beach. All of the water toys were out including the wakeboards, tubes, wave runners, small sailboats, the surfboards and finally, Lauren and Patrick's catamarans.

They raced for the point, Shannie now in their boat with Rudy and Elise who were laying down on the hammock with their friends' arms across them, her fingers gripping the ropes to hold them all in place when the sail popped. Bo sat in the outrigger next to Shannie and the girls, as prepared as she could be by Lauren's instructions on how to counterbalance the craft.

As the sail snapped full, the winds that flowed across the cloth hit Bo square in the face. Her hair billowed back as she squinted into the sting of the fresh saltwater spray. Using all of her training and experience, Lauren expertly guided the craft so that it would sop up every spare puff of breeze until her wife was flying high above the water, leaning out to keep them the catamaran from tipping over.

She looked down to see Rudy and Elise screaming in delight as the boat moved faster and faster until it's bow edged in front of Patrick's at the buoy. Both boats turned, Lauren's coming out in the lead.

"Now!" Lauren shouted as she skillfully flipped the boom, the sail opening in the other direction.

Shannie reminded the girls to hold on before she lept across Lauren's hull to the opposite hammock. Bo made her move to Rudy and Elise, helping each of them across Lauren's center section to Shannie who held them until Bo came to replace her.

Shannie continued her path to the opposite outrigger and gave Lauren a nod. The blonde spied the ripples in the water,

"Tac… there you are…" she snickered, turning her rutter and looking up the mast, "Here we go! Hold on!"

Shannie stayed low, standing on her feet until her section of the boat rose up out of the water. She gripped the rope and hung out over the side, leaning back as Lauren brought more and more speed to the boat.

"How ya doin' up there, Shannie? You with us?"

"All the way, Lauren! Got another gear? I can handle it!"

Lauren smiled, cranking the sail up full mast until the familiar 'POP' was heard. The girls cheered with Bo, the brunette holding tight to the rope hammock beneath each as the boat turned on its' side,

"THIS IS AMAZING, SISTER!" Rudy shouted.

"FASTER THAN A SLED! WAY FASTER!" Elise shouted back.

Bo grinned, her love for these two little daredevils striking at her heart. They were so incredibly happy. She needed to find a way to give them more time in the ocean. This was something she just couldn't match in Alaska. Well, she could, but they would be miserably cold – especially Lauren. She would figure it out.

Bo closed her eyes, feeling the wind and salt air rush through her hair and lungs. This was the first time in her life that she had found something as exhilarating as driving a sled down a mountain of freshly fallen powder in the quiet of the abandoned lands not far from The Homestead. She could get used to this and she was sure they could manage to spend a good chunk of time here in her off-season at the very least.

She heard Rudy and Elise protest and snapped out of her thoughts, watching as Patrick's boat came along side. He yelled to Lauren,

"You gave me permission!"

She scowled as he moved up to keep pace with them, the girls shouting,

"No! That's not fair! No! Lauren, go faster! How do we go faster?"

Lauren smiled, "We've got full sail and the best position to the wind, girls. We can only go as fast as we can against his boat. Sorry! I guess you'll have to figure out how to beat him next time!"

Lauren's boat crossed the finish line about two yards behind Patrick's, but the girls still cheered and declared themselves champions of the old boats.

Bo looked towards shore and saw Harper sitting obediently next to her big brother and wondered… if she were on the open tundra and she had Lauren steer with a tailfin carving into the snow behind them, could a sled with a sail be a kind of tundra catamaran?

She smiled, thinking of one of Patrick's favorite movies from family movie night, Field of Dreams, and whispered to herself,

"If you build it, they will come," she smiled, staring up at the mast, "Hmmm."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once everything was washed down and put away, the family retired to the two houses and the outdoor pool house to shower and change. Of course, it was a hot day and now that they were on land, everyone was feeling it. Rudy and Elise insisted on one final swim in Lauren's pool. Giving them permission to get in was easy, but Mary found that getting them out was much more difficult. After a short burst of pre-teen angst, she got them out of the pool and into the shower so they wouldn't make everyone late for dinner.

Once everyone was ready, the group went for one last walk in town, surprised Nana with pit-fire cake courtesy of Bo, headed to the Wharf for the chowder, fish and chips that Alicia had said they must have before they go, then looped around to cross the bridge. The view over the water was magnificent and Lauren gave Elise and Rudy F-stop lessons to help them to take night pictures of the view.

Once home, they gathered by the fire for a short while with Bo and Lauren, but the group quickly dispersed, some still having packing to do, others trying to finish one of the many board games started during the week before tomorrow's departure.

Bo and Lauren were surprised to suddenly find themselves alone at the campfire but assumed people would come back out after games were finished and chores completed. Bo threw the last shovel of dirt on a pit fire meal she was planning to contribute to breakfast in the morning. It would slow cook over night and hopefully, hit the spot before the big trip.

In truth, Mary had reminded everyone that it was Bo and Lauren's last night here, that the property was special to them and that it was their honeymoon. Everyone agreed to close their doors and windows to give them privacy until tomorrow's family breakfast.

Of course, Bo and Lauren were unaware of the courtesy their family had provided, but regardless, any alone time this week was time they took. Tonight, they talked about the week, but mostly about the wonders of the today's amazing race… until they couldn't avoid the other topic any longer.

"Lauren, riding on that catamaran was like flying. I felt like a little kid again."

The blonde smiled, "I hoped you would love it. Is your knee, okay?"

She nodded, "Perfect. I kept my weight on my other leg and relied on my arms just like you said."

"Well, you did great and I'm glad you enjoyed your flight," Lauren chuckled, circling a length of rope on the deck of her big sailboat.

"Why not leave the lines on the boats?" Bo asked.

"Dry rot, salt air – same as the lines on our sleds."

Bo nodded, "Of course. You know, sailing like that made me miss the dogs because it was such a similar feeling to flying down a hill on fresh powder. When the wind caught the sail and lifted me out of the water, it was… just… incredible. I mean, I was literally looking down on you guys. Rudy and Elise were screaming their full heads off."

Lauren laughed, "Rudy was definitely the loudest. Faster! Faster! Make us go faster!"

Bo shook her head, "That little girl does love her speed."

"Yea. Too bad we weren't fast enough. Patrick didn't tell me he bought that new boat. It's a beauty and it is really fast. Of course, he also had Kurt and Kelly. Kurt may not have any experience, but he's strong and he caught on fast."

"Well, to be fair, you agreed to the substitutions and to allow him to use his new boat," Bo smiled.

Lauren shrugged, "The girls are more important than the win. As long as they had fun, that's all that matters. I can live with the loss."

"Really?"

Lauren laughed, "I pout like a child and then I move on… for now."

It was Bo's turn to laugh, and she did, "You mean you shout, you pout, and then you move on. And what did you mean by 'for now'?"

"Well, he did cut me off when we went around the buoy, so he cheated. I'm entitled to pout and say 'no fair' because it wasn't. He knows the right of way rules," she shrugged, "As for the 'for now', in keeping with acting like a child, I have to get my revenge. I don't like to lose twice."

Bo shrugged, "You let him get between you and the buoy. You gave him just enough room."

"I know. I'm out of practice. It won't happen again and I'm going to start looking for a trade up."

Bo smiled, "But…"

"Only if we don't buy a new plane."

Bo nodded, "But…"

"Not the one we flew in last night."

Bo smiled, "I have a feeling that's going to be confiscated by the FBI for good anyway."

Lauren nodded, "I suppose."

Bo sighed, looking at her wife, "So, are you going to tell me about that little meeting you had with Tamsin, Acacia and Adam before you got on the boat earlier?"

"Michael is in custody. He's agreed to testify against my parents. He's verified that all of what he called the 'Heads of Districts' are in custody and that my Dad was the kingpin. There was a big surprise in the mix."

Bo nodded, "Patrick's family?"

"How did you know?" Lauren asked.

"I saw him by the pool house. He was crying and Jake was holding him."

"His dad was my dad's partner in all of this, and his cousin was a hit man for the organization. Michael and one of those other so-called Heads of Districts are going to testify against them."

"So, one of the heads that worked under each kingpin?" Bo asked.

Lauren nodded, "They found about five-hundred and fifty-thousand dollars' worth of fentanyl with a street value almost triple that."

"So that's how your parents planned to bail out their debt?"

"That's the assumption. After all, the illegal drug business is still more lucrative than the legal pharmaceutical business," Lauren said sarcastically, "Acacia also warned me that the headlines coming out of the papers this morning hinted at my absence from the FBI's charges. They want to know what I was doing all of these years… Patrick too, especially since we were engaged and broke it off."

"What does your broken engagement have to do with anything?" Bo asked.

Lauren shrugged, stating sarcastically, "Naturally, we broke it off because one of us didn't want to be a part of the family business, but the other did. The one that didn't, must have traded favors for their silence."

"These people are ridiculous!"

Lauren nodded, "Tamsin got a call from Gwen Sharp."

"That reporter from the Iditarod?" Bo asked.

"That reporter from the Boston National Reporter," Lauren corrected "She wants to help."

"Lauren…"

"Bo, I know, but look at what we thought about her during the Iditarod. She lost her job refusing to write lies and now she's written another great piece about you in Alaska Magazine. Of course, her former boss must be fuming over that one."

"Hey, how did she do that, anyway? I thought that one of the conditions of that editor not suing her for breach of contract was that she does not write for an Alaska newspaper."

Lauren smirked, "As Tamsin put it, the word newspaper was specifically written into the agreement. Alaska Magazine is just that – a magazine, not a newspaper."

"But that woman owns a magazine and a newspaper."

Lauren shrugged, "I think she was just so peeved at Gwen for refusing to submit the newspaper article that she wanted her to write that she forgot to add the word magazine to the contract."

"Nice… and good for Gwen," Bo said.

"So, you agree?"

Bo shrugged, "Well, it sounds like she can't do any more damage."

"And Tamsin said that Gwen believes that since her side will be 'new' news, that it will sell and bring at least some doubt to the minds of the public."

"Are you going to be on trial, Lauren?"

The blonde shook her head, "Now, don't be upset. Acacia and Adam were there when it happened, but our home, the hospital, our workplace and our employee workplaces were all thoroughly – yet carefully – searched by the FBI while we were here."

"What?" Bo asked, sitting upright.

"Bo, they had a warrant and conducted the search within the legal confines of the law. Apparently, Scout gave them a little trouble back at The Homestead, claiming your right to trial by native and tribal law, but Tamsin was able to convince him that it was unnecessary to take that step."

Bo's eyes went wide, "The Cottage? Sharynne – her husband's secrets…"

Lauren smiled, "All safe. Tamsin leaned against the wall in the hallway where the door to the underground is located, so they never knew there was anything beneath the house. They thought she was just standing on a carpet waiting."

"Go Tamsin," Bo said.

Lauren nodded, "Acacia made sure that the Judge spread the word to a few neighborhood gossip queens that the house was thoroughly searched in connection with a crime from the 1920's and produced nothing."

"Why the twenties?" Bo asked.

Lauren grinned, "So that the surviving Windwalker family members would not be implicated by the press for the unspecified crime."

Bo sighed, her shoulders visibly relaxing. Lauren smiled, laying her head on Bo's lap. She reached up, placing her fingers on her neck and cupping her chin with the palm of her hand,

"The Judge knows how important it is to you that Sharynne's family secrets and privacy be protected."

Bo smiled, running a finger over Lauren's collar bone to the necklace laying in the center of her chest, "I'll have to thank him. Has he found her yet?"

"He said he has news for us when we return."

Bo sighed, "That doesn't sound good."

"Actually, he said he has interesting news for us, so I'd say it could be good."

"So, no sense worrying about something out of our control?" Bo said.

Lauren grinned, nodding, "It is good advice, after all."

"Very," Bo smiled, "Do you remember when I gave you this necklace?"

Lauren smiled, "Like it was yesterday. I also remember the first time your mom spotted it on me and how she immediately looked for the bracelet."

Bo reached up to Lauren's wrist, twisting the mentioned jewelry, "She is happy that you're the one I chose to give it to."

"She told me," Lauren smiled, "I'm so proud to be a Dennis, Bo. I hope you know that."

"It's nice to hear," Bo smiled, "For so long, I was led to believe my name was more worthless than panned dirt. Now, here it is, about to be on signs and in magazines for good reasons. It's like it's been sprinkled with stardust."

Lauren grinned, "For all of the good you and your mom have done for others, it's deserved. I hope I continue to do the name proud which, by the way, makes me wonder if I should keep the Lewis name until after this business with my family is resolved. I can backtrack if you or your Mom are worried."

Bo shrugged, "That's your call, Lauren. The media does this to make a buck and I will not let them to take control of the life you choose. We know the truth, so does our town and that's all that matters."

"But I do have a national business and employees to protect, Bo. As much as I'd like to make it all about me…"

"It's just not who you are," Bo smiled.

Lauren shrugged, "So, you're on board with me using Gwen?"

"Yes," Bo smiled, leaning down to capture Lauren's mouth in a soft kiss.

The blonde slid her hand to the back of Bo's head, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss as she began to roll her body onto Lauren's,

"Ahh! Shit!"

Lauren smiled, "What do you say to me being on top?"

"I guess that's a good idea. I forgot about my knee for a minute."

"Apparently," The blonde smiled, slowly moving onto her wife, "I can't wait for you to be fully healed," she said, planting featherlight kisses along Bo's neck.

"Tell me about it," Bo mumbled, watching Lauren's fingers manipulate the buttons on her shirt, spreading the sides open,

"Mmmm… this body… I'll never stop enjoying this body…" she hummed.

"If I could, I'd flip you onto your back right now and ravage your body," Bo said, watching the blonde pull down the top of her bra, exposing one breast.

"Lucky for me, you are too incapacitated to do so," Lauren grinned.

"I love you, Lauren… I want you…" Bo said, lifting her head to see…

'BAM'

When they heard the door slam, Lauren pushed herself up, sitting in front of Bo who quickly covered her breast and began buttoning up her shirt. The blonde scanned the area, the firelight projecting a faint glow and a shadow.

She stood, "Bo – that's Elise. Where is she going?"

The brunette sighed and mumbled her frustration, "To bed without supper when I get my hands on her."

Lauren turned to her wife, hands on her hips, scowling. Bo shook her head, apologizing,

"I know, I know. She's just a kid," Bo said, ashamed of her reaction and knowing that bringing their family and friends on this trip had been her idea, "I'm going to be her parent, she comes first," she added, pointing in the same direction Elise had gone, "Well, you'd better follow her. I'll walk to catch up as fast as I can."

Lauren stepped around the chairs and ran towards the side of the house where she had last seen the child. Bo turned towards the fire, making sure everything was in the fire before putting the large domed screen over it before following Lauren's footprints in the sand.

"Elise?" Lauren called as she saw the little girl walk quickly into the large boat house. She began to run knowing that there were things in there that she could get hurt on. Why wasn't she reacting to her voice?

She walked through the door just in time to see the small mop of blonde curls disappear under the rear tarp that covered the old wooden sailboat. It that had been in dry dock in the corner of the boathouse for about seven years. Lauren was confused. They hadn't taken that boat out while they had been here. It wasn't dangerous, but it was dry-docked because it needed hull work. Maybe Elise was curious about it, but why now?

Lauren walked quickly to the boat, pulling the tarp off and hurrying up the ladder. She gripped the rail, pausing at the feel of the wood beneath her grip before she remembered why she was boarding. She looked left, then right, walking towards the wheelhouse. She opened the door, the smell of polished old teakwood hitting her senses. She had a man that came to keep the wood conditioned every six months, but this was the first time she had verified that he was doing the job in two years.

She ran her fingers over the dashboard that held the old manual gauges for determining course, direction and speed. She'd bought the boat on a whim, taken in by its charm and the fact that it was a seventy-year-old boat that was still seaworthy. She really should spend more time working on it.

For a moment, she wondered how much it would cost to have it shipped to Alaska. Did people even sail in Alaska? It was in that moment that she'd realized that she'd left such a large part of herself behind – a part that had always soothed her in times of strife and stress. She also realized that she had never even thought to explore the oceans that surrounded her new state beyond the whale watch trip Bo had arranged.

She heard a voice and immediately took the steps down to the cabin below. She found Elise pointing and talking to the old broken desk,

"But you promised, Mommy. You said we would go for my birthday and now you are breaking your promise. You said we never break a promise."

Lauren's eyes brimmed with tears as she realized that Elise was sleep walking. She felt Bo's arms around her waist,

"What do we do?" she whispered.

Lauren sighed, "We can't wake her. We have to figure out how to get her to go back to bed."

"No, Mommy. I'm not waiting until next year. It's not fair. You and Daddy just work, work, work. You never have any time for me!"

"Did you know?" Bo asked.

Lauren could only shake her head.

"If you don't want me, why was I even born!"

The little girl fell to her knees and Lauren rushed to her, holding her tightly, "I'm sorry, Sweetie. I'm so sorry."

Elise pushed away, turning to Lauren, "You're not sorry! You're never sorry! You didn't even remember my birthday! You were too busy working! You didn't even get me a cake!"

Lauren's eyes filled with tears, "I'm sorry, Elise. I'm really sorry. Let me make it up to you."

"You always say that!"

Lauren shook her head, "We'll go make a cake together. Right now. Can we do that?"

"You mean it?" Elise asked, suddenly calming down a bit.

"Yes. Let's go into the house."

"I want to stay on the boat. You promised me we would be on the boat for my birthday."

Lauren looked up at Bo, shaking her head.

Bo smiled at Elise, "We don't have a working oven on the boat, Elise. If we go back into the house, we can bake your cake in the kitchen and then bring it back out to celebrate your big day."

"Will you bake the cake with us too, Daddy?"

Bo chuckled, "Sure, Baby Girl. Come on. Let's go make your birthday cake."

A smile stretched across the youngster's face as she climbed into the bed in the berth, curled up and closed her eyes. Bo joined Lauren on the floor, stretching her leg out as she leaned against the bunk on the opposite side.

"So… no cake?"

Lauren stood, looking down at her wife, "Will you stay here with her?"

"Sure. Where are you going?"

"To bake a birthday cake."

"Really?"

Lauren nodded, "Do you think it's a coincidence that she's upset with her parents for not taking her on a boat ride for her birthday?"

"You think that being on a boat this week triggered a memory? Like a real memory?"

Lauren shrugged, "It's not a big stretch, Bo. I've seen plenty of doctors miss important occasions because they were working. I mean, you saw that I didn't adopt her because of my job."

"Yea, but you're making good on that now."

Lauren shook her head, "But I did exactly what her parents may have done to her, Bo. I put work before her just like they did… apparently. Dreams come from our most suppressed memories."

"Do you think this sleep walking thing happens a lot?"

Lauren shrugged, "Molly never mentioned it."

"Well, we live on a river, Lauren. If we're going to have a sleepwalking child in the house, then we need to take some precautions."

The blonde shrugged, "Put locks on the doors."

Bo shook her head, "She knows how to unlock a door. She's ten."

Lauren sighed, "What if she's eleven already? What if we don't know her real birthdate."

"That's ridiculous. It was on the paperwork, wasn't it?" Bo asked.

Lauren shook her head, "Mary was talking with Rudy about plans for her birthday party and she asked Elise when her birthday was. She said it was two weeks after Rudy's."

"And?"

"She didn't give her a date. Mary just added ten days and Elise said yes."

"But I thought her birth certificate was in the paperwork," Bo said.

"Judge Payne said it was handwritten and it just wasn't legible. All of our hospital records here are electronic but I suppose in Alaska – particularly if she was born off-grid where they were living – the local doctor probably dropped by to fill it out after she was born."

Bo nodded, "Maybe if we go back to the house, we can find something that has the actual date on it."

"I suppose we could take a drive there and see what we can find. As far as I know, the property hasn't sold."

"Do we take her along?"

Lauren shook her head, "Not without Anna's okay."

"Well, I think it would be a good idea to take Anna with us… or Faith."

"Agreed," Lauren said, pulling off her coat and laying it carefully over Elise, "I'm going to go bake her cake."

"Breakfast cake?"

"It will be a great way to start the conversation," Lauren smiled, "I'll text Anna in the morning."

Bo nodded, "Okay."

The blonde leaned down and kissed the top of her wife's head, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Bo asked.

"That we were interrupted again."

Bo smiled, "Lauren, I want to be clear on this. First, I'm the one that invited your friends and my family on this trip. Second, you're not in this adoption alone. This isn't all on you. Yes, I know she was left to you, but you're my wife now and that means she is my daughter. I love her and I want to be her second mom. She is our priority. In seven or eight years, she'll be the one telling us what she's going to do so until then, I'm going to be here, by your side, helping you to guide her, support her and – most importantly, love her with all that I am."

Lauren sighed, smiling "That means more to me than you could ever imagine."

"I think I understand. I seem to remember a time when you signed the legal guardian papers for one Rudy Dennis should my mom die before she reaches adulthood."

Lauren smiled, "And I stand by that signature."

Bo nodded, "I know you do and I'm grateful for it."

Lauren reached out, her fingers pushing a stray hair from Bo's face before traveling down her cheek, "I love you, Bo Dennis."

"I love you, Lauren Dennis."

The blonde smiled, turning to take one last look at Elise. She leaned down, kissing her cheek and then headed up the stairs.

Bo watched her go, her eyes traveling back to Elise. She pulled herself up and slid in behind the child, pulling Lauren's jacket up to her neck. She placed her arm over her torso and closed her eyes, letting sleep claim her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Next Morning…

"Sister," Rudy whispered, tapping Bo on the shoulder. There was no response.

"Sister," Rudy whispered again, using her hand to rock her sister awake.

Bo opened her eyes, looking over her shoulder to see Rudy standing there, "What are… where…"

"Lauren sent me out to get you and Elise. She said to tell you everything is all set."

"What?"

"Elise's birthday cake!" Rudy whispered excitedly.

"Oh! Oh, right!" she said, turning to Elise, "Hey Baby girl. You ready to get up?"

"Mumphidootalym."

"Right and I completely agree, but Lauren baked you a cake and she requests our presence in the kitchen."

"Muntobapulopus."

"I hate to disagree, but kitchen. Us. Go. Come on, kid," Bo said, giving her a shake.

Elise opened her eyes, rolling over to see Bo looking down at her, "Good morning, Baby girl."

Elise smiled, "Hi."

"Hi. Do you know where you are?"

Elise looked around shaking her head, "No. Where am I?"

Bo smiled, "This may come as a surprise, but last night after you went to bed, you got up and walked out of the big house to the big boat house. This is a very old wooden boat that Lauren has had in storage for a very long time."

"Really?"

Bo shrugged, "Actually, I don't know for sure. I mean, she didn't tell me anything about this boat but since it was covered with tarps and we didn't take it out this week, that's my best guess."

"No, not the boat. I walked here by myself?"

Bo nodded, "Yup. Have you done that before?"

Elise shook her head, "Not for a really long time. I used to sleepwalk at home… back when my parents… you know. They hung bells on the doors so that they would hear me if I got up."

"I see. So, you haven't slept walk since you got here with us?"

"I don't think so."

Rudy tapped Bo on the shoulder, "She did."

"She did?"

Rudy nodded, "Three times. I walked with her to make sure she was safe. Once she went to the bathroom outside and went right back to bed. Once she walked upstairs to your bedroom. She told me she wanted to be near Lauren."

"The night we found you on the floor in our room."

Rudy nodded, "And the other time we slept with the dogs."

"I remember that one too," Bo said, "So she was asleep all of those times?"

Rudy nodded, "Doctor Faith told me not to wake her up, so I didn't. I just followed her."

Bo smiled, "Okay. But if it happens again, you have to tell us."

"But I'm not supposed to leave her alone. How do I tell you and still stay with her?"

"I mean tell us once she's settled and asleep again, okay?"

"Okay," Rudy said, looking at her friend, "Are you okay?"

Elise shrugged, "Sure. I don't remember a thing but this mattress kinda smells."

Bo nodded, "It's old and probably a little moldy. Let's get up and go take a shower."

"Can we just jump in the pool?" Elise asked.

Bo looked between the two hopeful faces and smiled, "Sounds the same as a shower to me."

"Hooray!" they cheered in unison as they hurried up the stairs with Bo moving slowly behind them.

The brunette smiled, "This is one of those days when I just can't believe this is my life. You must be rolling over in your grave at how much love is in my life now, Dad. Fuck you. Fuck you very much."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Breakfast

When Bo arrived, she found the whole family had gathered around the large cake that Lauren had spent the night baking. Beside it were two apple pies, courtesy of Bo. Lauren whispered,

"I dug up your pit to find these two delicious treats. Breakfast pie, I take it?"

Bo shrugged, "It has fruit in it, so why not?"

Lauren chuckled and shook her head, watching as Elise ran to the table, kneeling on the chair in front of the cake,

"It's wonderful!" she smiled, her eyes wide at the sight. She counted, "One, two, three…"

Bo sidled up next to Lauren, "You've outdone yourself, my love."

"Well, I can make a white cake from scratch and there were a lot of eggs and milk to use before we leave. We had all of that whipped cream you bought and all the strawberries, so strawberry shortcake made sense."

Bo grinned, "So fruit on a cake is an acceptable breakfast food?"

Lauren nodded, "Why yes it is, though I did bake a spinach quiche, a ham and cheese quiche, a broccoli cheddar quiche, a bacon and cheese quiche, a spinach and sweet potato quiche, and vegetable quiches."

"Did you sleep?"

Lauren shook her head, "Only while they were in the oven. I pulled them out to cool and then I decorated the cake. The sun was coming up, so I thought I'd get in a last surf."

Bo smiled, "It's okay, Sweetie. I know you must have been dying for some solitude this week."

The blonde nodded, "You know me well."

"Do you feel better?"

She sighed, "I don't know, actually. Being on that boat last night and surfing this morning… I've lost a big part of myself, Bo. I need to figure out a way to get it back."

"Move to Boston?"

Lauren smiled, "As much fun as this has been…"

"…and it has been fun, Lauren," Bo smiled.

"And I'm grateful you enjoyed yourself this time, believe me, but I miss our home, Bo. I miss the life we've built there together and… well, look at them, Bo. I would miss our family and friends. Wouldn't you?"

"Terribly."

Lauren nodded, her words resolute, "I won't leave Rudy and your mom, Bo, so unless they came with us, I couldn't move back here."

"So, what are you thinking?" Bo asked.

Lauren smiled, "I bring a little Boston to Alaska."

"How?"

The blonde grinned, "Well, you wanted to build a boat. What if you renovated the one that you stayed on last night?"

"But it's finished," Bo replied.

Lauren shook her head, "There's a hole in the hull, some of the boards are cracked from age, the wooden mast needs to be replaced and, well it's complicated but that boat steers using a rudder hung from the stern post and controlled by a tiller. It's basically a small version of Elijah's boat with a lot less size and sail."

"Oh. I was starting to think the job would be difficult," she shook her head, "But now it's bordering on impossible. Lauren, I don't know anything about ships."

Lauren smiled, "All of the parts are there, Bo. You just have to replace or repair them. I know how they work so between the two of us, I'm sure we can do it."

"And then what? We sail the boat from Boston around the states to Alaska?"

Lauren's eyes lit up as a smile stretched across her face, "We'd need Patrick and he would want to bring Jake, but we would teach him. We would also need Shannon who would want to bring Carolyn and of course, we could use Kelly's sailing experience which would also bring Kurt who might be able to rig an engine to the old girl… and the ship needs a name because it was decommissioned."

"Decommissioned?" Bo asked.

Lauren nodded, "Well, I bought the boat because it was an old top secret military sailing vessel from the pre-civil war era. Apparently, it was sailed by a small crew who would infiltrate enemy posts and then sneak out in the dead of night to report back to military commanders on larger vessels."

"Wow. That's kind of… cool."

"I thought so too which is why I bought it. I sailed it here with some effort and it's been in dry dock ever since."

"You found all of the needed repairs on your trip?" Bo asked.

"Almost sunk finding them too. Luckily, our ingenuity rose above the challenge."

"Our?"

Lauren nodded, "Patrick sailed with me as well as a kind old man named Norman and his son, Liam."

"So, you're serious about this? Sailing this boat to Alaska? I mean, that's a trip all the way around the country, Lauren."

"Can we have cake now, Sister?" Rudy asked Bo.

Lauren smiled, "We have to sing happy birthday first, right?"

"Yes!"

Lauren moved to the table, striking a match, and lighting the eleven candles she had set atop the cake. The family sang together as Elise sat, her bright smile telling Lauren that staying up all night to bake had been worth the effort. This was her reward and if she could spend a lifetime seeing a smile on Elise's face after all the tragedy, everything she was about to endure as her mother would be worth it.

"Blow out the candles, Elise!" Rudy encouraged.

The youngster closed her eyes, making her wish before taking a deep breath and blowing out all of her candles in one try.

"Hooray!" the family cheered.

"Speech!" Tosh yelled.

Elise giggled, "Well, I'm only eleven so I don't really know much about birthday speeches. All I know is that if this really is my real birthday day, I sure am glad that I have all of you with me," her eyes welled with tears as she spoke, "I miss my mom and dad every day but I'm glad to have all of you," she turned to Rudy, "Especially my best friend and sister."

Rudy wrapped her arms around her friend and then pulled back, "Sisters for life."

"Sisters for life," Elise nodded as they linked pinky fingers and giggled.

"Now we cut the cake!" Lauren said, "Elise, you cut the first piece."

She handed the youngster the knife and watched as she cut herself a big piece, adding two extra strawberries to the top, then cut a similar piece for her friend. She put the knife down and smiled,

"Okay. You guys can have the rest," she smiled, getting down from her chair. She and Rudy grabbed their cake, "We're going outside to eat. The sun's out and it's our last day!"

Mary raised a hand, "Last half day and you need to come back to have a real breakfast! Remember, we have to leave the house in three hours."

Rudy grinned, "I'm so excited!"

Elise smiled, "Me too! Come on! Let's go. We can surf once more too!"

"Not without an adult!" Lauren called after them.

"We know!" They said in unison as they headed outside.

"Now, for all of you adults who would rather have breakfast food before dessert, there are a few quiches over on the countertops that are fresh out of the oven," Lauren announced.

"Child, did you bake all night?" Mary asked, moving to Lauren's side as the rest of the family headed to the kitchen counters.

Lauren gave in to her fatigue, taking a seat at the bar,

"You didn't see her, Mary. I got a glimpse of her life with her parents and… well, it broke my heart. She didn't only miss her parents after they had died. She was missing them before they died as well. Their work didn't allow them to spend time with her. I don't know if she was repeating conversations, she had with them or saying things that she had wanted to say but never had the chance. Either way, they had promised her they would spend her birthday on their boat, but they broke that promise."

Mary nodded, "And that's why she has bonded with our family so easily."

Lauren nodded, "We have a strict no-broken-promises rule."

"Well, we might be able to bump back our flights."

Lauren shook her head, "Not if it's going to cost more money, Mary."

The woman nodded, "Let's just wait and see. Get her out on your sailboat once more. Hopefully there will be enough minutes to do all that she wants to do."

Lauren smiled, "Food, surfing, really quick sail, shower, change and go."

"Well, you have your agenda then. Let's get to it, shall we?"

Lauren nodded, "I can sleep on the plane. Any chance you can tell me how long the flight will be?"

Mary grinned, "Ah, trying to get information again? I'll only say that you can sleep when we arrive if the flight is not long enough."

Lauren smiled, getting to her feet, "Food first."

Mary watched as Lauren walked away before moving to stand beside Penelope. She leaned over and whispered,

"What are the chances that thing we talked about last night could happen today?"

"But we're flying out at three. Why would we need…"

"What if Bo, Lauren, Patrick, Jake and the girls had to stay behind for a few extra hours?"

"They do?"

Mary smiled, "Let me explain…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sailboat

Elise hurried back to Lauren to show her the fish dangling from her rod, "Look! Look! Patrick says it's a 'she bass'!"

Lauren chuckled, "I think you mean a sea bass. It's beautiful, Sweetie."

"He said it's too small to keep. We have to put her back so she can grow up and have fish babies… you know, so the sea doesn't run out of she basses."

"Sea bass and that's a great idea. Go put her back now, Sweetie."

"Okay."

She rushed off, running to Jake who helped her take the fish safely off the hook. She gave it a kiss on its lips – one of Patrick's fishing rules – before Jake lay it carefully in the water. The two leaned over the side, watching for the tail to move before he released it to swim away.

She rushed back to the bait bucket and grabbed another small fish. Her tongue hung from the corner of her mouth as she carefully baited the hook as she was taught. She picked up the rod just inches above the deck and reeled the line up, then lifted it all the way and moved over to the side of the boat. She looked all around her to be sure no one was nearby, then – tongue out again – she cast her hook into the sea.

The day had been filled with laughter and Patrick had kindly taken each of the girls up the mast before they started fishing. Bo had rigged a harness to their friend so that if the girls slipped, they didn't fall to the deck. They had each had a chance to work the sails and had even steered the boat with Lauren. They'd gone for a swim in the ocean when it go hot on deck, seen a pod of dolphin and a few humpback whales, cooked fish on the deck using the small hibachi grill, then watched the sun go down.

Lauren had continued to ask Bo why they hadn't left with the rest of the family, but all Bo would say was that it was all part of the plan. Finally, it was time to head back home to get to the airport for their evening flight. Lauren was exhausted but was happy for the day. Her need for sleep had disappeared under the rush of adrenalin, but it was slowly returning. She couldn't wait to be on the plane just so she could get some sleep.

When they returned, Patrick and Bo helped Lauren to get the boat into the trailer before she drove it back to the boathouse. She and Patrick bathed the boat in fresh water, making sure to rinse all of the seaweed and salt into the floor drain at the center of the building. They worked quietly, packing the sails and wiping down the lines so the boat would be in good working order when they returned in a few months.

When all was finished, they turned to leave, but Lauren eyed the wooden boat in the corner for a long moment. Patrick noticed and stepped back towards her,

"Checking out the Nameless again?"

Lauren smiled, "I really do have to give her a name. Maybe once she's finished, I'll have a better idea."

"Finished? Are you actually going to finish her?"

Lauren nodded, "We are."

"We?"

"Bo and I are. You're welcome to help if you're interested."

"Interested? Hell yes! You know I've wanted to get this tub running for an eternity! You know, Jake worked as a welder and a carpenter when he lived in Alaska as a kid."

"He did?"

Patrick nodded, "His grandfather was a Master Craftsman. He built homesteads, did wood carvings with a chainsaw and helped Jake build these cool wooden go-carts."

"Wooden go-carts?"

"Yea. He used old lawnmower or tractor engines. I love hearing him talk about the guy. His eyes light up like you wouldn't believe. That man was his hero. I think that losing him is what made him want to be a Federal Agent."

"That's not the story we heard."

Patrick nodded, "Me either, but the more I listen and learn, the more I think that's what happened. Since we've been here, he's opened up more and more, Lauren. It's like I'm meeting a guy I never knew."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, of course not. I mean, I love him now more than ever."

"You love him?" Lauren asked.

Patrick's eyes brimmed with tears, "Geezus, Lauren. I'm in love. It's the real deal. I mean… this wasn't supposed to happen again. I was done with love. I just wanted a good banging now and then, ya know? But this guy – I can't breathe when he's not around. Every time he goes out on a job, I worry… I mean… I know he's around bullets."

Lauren smiled, "Actually, he told me that most of the time, he's not around bullets. He gathers evidence, passes it off to a lead agent and then he disappears into thin air other than giving his recorded confidential testimony to the judge and… well, some kind of jury that's not with the defendant in the courtroom."

Patrick sighed, "Yea, I guess so."

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I understand. When Bo goes out into the wild, I have dreams about the wounds I've stitched up. Bear attacks, bullet wounds, frozen limbs. She's so reckless with her own body. This knee injury was a blessing this year."

"A blessing?" Patrick asked.

"Yea. She's been forced to sit on her ass during the spring awakening. Not to mention this trip," she smiled, "Speaking of… where are we going?"

Patrick grinned, "Now you know I can't tell you that."

"But the plans were all made. We were all leaving and then all of a sudden, they left and we didn't."

"But we are – in an hour. Penelope and Carolyn switched our flight so that we could get Elise her day on the sailboat. The rest of the crew is on their way elsewhere as planned."

"So, we'll see them tomorrow?"

Patrick sighed, "Okay, I'll give you this much. The rest of the group is elsewhere. We're going to a different somewhere just for a day and a half."

"We as in you, me, Bo, Jake and the girls?"

"Exactly."

Lauren grinned, "Okay, so where are we going?"

Patrick shook his head, "No. Now, tell me about Nameless. What's your plan?"

"Do you remember that cruise ship that sailed from somewhere on the east coast through the Northwest Passage to Alaska for the first time in… I think it was 2016 or so?"

"Uh…" he snapped his fingers as he tried to come up with the name, "The Crystal Serenity, right? It was an expedition-style luxury cruise. They did it in the summer and sailed north of the Arctic Circle."

Lauren nodded, "They did it in thirty-two days and it was a big sluggish cruise ship. When that happened, I went back and did some research. There was a Norwegian polar explorer who did it first."

"Right – I remember you telling me about that. Roald something was his name."

Lauren nodded, "Amundsen. He did it on a sailboat in 1903. Now, it took him three years, but I'm fairly certain he never used any engine power given the time period. I'd have to do more research on the vessel to know for sure."

Patrick pulled out his phone, "Do you remember the name of the ship?"

"The Gjøa was the name of the boat," Lauren said, "You should be able to look it up as the first vessel to travel through the passage. Anyway… and I would never mention this to Bo since it's thanks to climate change and ice melt that it's possible, but that cruise ship sailed right through Canada – no icebreaker necessary."

"Really," Patrick said, half asking though he knew it was a statement of fact.

"I don't even know if we could find the month or so it would take, but what an adventure it would be to board the Nameless and sail her through there to home."

Patrick grinned, "It would be an adventure."

Lauren nodded, "And all of the stops we make, Bo could go for training runs so that she would still be ready for the Iditarod when we got back."

"Take her dogs?"

Lauren nodded, "We could build one long strip of kennels, separate walls but a common mechanism to free all of them at once should the ship get into trouble."

"I guess that would be Bo's call," Patrick suggested.

"To some extent, yes but we know the physics of what happens to a boat when it capsizes, so we'll know best where to put them and how to be sure they have their own space but can still be freed quickly."

Patrick nodded, "When are you thinking about doing this?"

"Next summer?" Lauren said, half asking.

"Well, that would give us over a year to get our proverbial ducks in a row with work and get the boat fixed… maybe. I mean, she's in bad shape, Lauren."

"I know, but Bo had decided she wanted to build a boat of her own and last night I mentioned renovating Nameless instead."

"So, she's on board?"

"Um, we got distracted by…" she blushed, but had another excuse, "…well, Elise's sleepwalking, so never finished the conversation, but I can't imagine that she could resist once she we started working on it. You know her and wood."

Patrick chuckled, "Well, to the best of my knowledge, she's given up wood for you."

"Ha. Ha," Lauren said, "You're so funny."

"Hysterical. I know," Patrick said, "And I'm also good looking and a lawyer. Triple threat."

"Okay Mr. Triple Threat. So, are you on board?"

"So to speak, yes," Patrick smiled, "I'll have to talk to Jake and see what he can do about going. He doesn't exactly work normal hours as an undercover agent."

Lauren nodded, turning to the door when Bo called her name, "What's up, Sweetie?"

"You have a fax from the hospital," Bo said, waving papers at her wife, "Noah's test results."

Bo walked over to the boat where they were standing, her eyes moving along the handrail, then the wooden sides,

"I didn't notice last night… this boat is… it's amazing," she leaned down, eyeing the line of the wood from one end of the handrail to the other, "The craftsmanship and… this was made with wooden bolts! I mean… this is incredible."

Lauren took the pages, looking up at Patrick who smiled and whispered,

"She's hooked. She's in."

Nodding, the blonde smiled. She walked over to stand directly under the light, then read through the pages, shaking her head.

"Something wrong?" Patrick asked.

"I need to see the scans. They didn't tell me all I need to know," she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket and calling Elijah.

"Lauren?"

"Hey Eli. I just got Noah's test results. We're leaving in an hour, so I don't have much time. I need you to do me a favor. I need the actual images from the scans. They just sent me the Radiologist's written diagnosis. Can Aaliyah have those sent to me electronically?"

"Well, can you tell me what you found?"

She sighed, "I hate to say this, Eli but you're neither the parent nor the patient."

"Really, Lauren?"

The doctor sighed, "Really, Eli. They're called HIPPA Laws and I am bound by them, so please. Can I speak to Aaliyah?"

He paused, "She's not onboard right now. She took the dog for a walk."

"Okay, so when do you expect her back?"

"She just left about thirty minutes ago. Maybe another thirty minutes to an hour?"

Lauren nodded, "Okay. Well, by then I'll be at the airport, but I'm pretty sure we're just getting there in time for check-in, so we probably won't leave for an hour or two after we get there. Have her give me a call when she gets back. If we can't connect, I'll call her in the morning, but make sure she gets those scans sent my way, okay?"

"Okay," he said, "Lauren, are you sure you can't at least tell me good news or bad news?"

Lauren paused, choosing her words carefully, "Well, that depends on if my theory is right or wrong, but I won't know which until I see the scans."

"Fine."

"I'm sorry, Elijah. I'm working within the confines of the law."

"Yea, well the law sucks."

"Have the scans sent. Goodbye, Elijah."

"Bye Lauren."

She checked the time then locked her phone screen, shaking her head as she walked back over to Bo and Patrick,

"Hey, you two – I just saw the time. Aren't we in a bit of a hurry?"

"Ohmagosh! Yes! Let's get going," Patrick said, "Mary will kill me if I don't get you all out of here on time. She made me pinky swear!"

Bo smiled, "Mom told me this is the first trip she has ever taken where she hasn't flown with her Roo. She's just a nervous mother bear."

He smiled, "Understandable. Precious cargo there with those two."

Patrick hit the switch on the doors, and they immediately began to come down. Lauren threw the breaker turning off the lights, then headed for the door with Patrick and Bo. Before she stepped through, Lauren took one last look back at the ship and smiled,

"See you soon, Ysabeau," she smiled, thinking of what Bo said about the quality of the wood craftsmanship, "Hmmm… that may be a perfect fit."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An Hour Later – Private Plane

Shortly before take-off, Lauren had received the scans from the lab where Noah's tests were done. She examined them closely before sending them off to Kate for a second opinion. Kate called and they discussed the case and the other results Lauren had received before coming to consensus. She hung up with Kate and called Elijah's phone, asking to talk to Aaliyah who was on the phone quickly.

Lauren explained,

"Noah has a heart defect known as an Atrial Septal Defect or ASD. Usually, these are caught in childhood and may heal on their own if they're small enough. Unfortunately, Noah's is significant, and it has gone unnoticed. That's why he's so exhausted all of the time. The damage being done to his heart due to the hole isn't the only concern. There is likely damage to his lungs as well. So, to avoid the need for a heart-lung transplant, we need to fix this hole as soon as possible."

"But Elijah says you're not in Boston."

Lauren smiled, "I'm not, but the cardiothoracic surgeon who I'm going to send you to is in Boston and he is the Chief of Pediatric Medicine and a Cardiothoracic Specialist in our Childhood Congenital Heart Defects Department."

"Lauren, we want you to do the surgery," Eli said.

Lauren shook her head, "I take it I'm on speaker phone. Nice to hear your voice, Elijah. This is not my area of expertise, but it is Doctor Zanders' area. Replay that part about his qualifications I just reviewed, Elijah. I'm not the right person for this job."

"But…"

"Elijah! You're not listening to me. If this were Elise, Doctor Zander is the man I would have do the procedure – without hesitation. I do transplants on all ages, but things like this I do on adults."

She took a breath, "Now, please – they are prepping for you now. You will go to the Emergency Room Entrance of the hospital and Doctor Zander's surgical nurse will meet you there. They will get Noah prepped for the procedure, then the doctor will be down to talk to you. He's in another surgery at this time."

"So, he'll be tired! Lauren, please! I'm begging you to do this surgery."

"Aaliyah, can you please take me off speaker phone?"

She heard Eli shout before she heard his voice, "Dammit, Lauren! I'm demanding that…"

Lauren took two deep breaths, closing her eyes and leaning back against the soft leather seat. She waited for the phone to ring and then picked it up. As soon as she heard Elijah's voice, she hung up again. He called twice more until finally, Aaliyah called,

"Lauren? It's me."

"Am I on speakerphone?"

"No, and I'm below deck. Elijah is watching Noah above."

"Thank you. Aaliyah, you are the parent and Noah is the patient. By law, Elijah has no say in this matter and I believe that there is a personal element to his behavior."

"He just said that you're not doing the surgery to get back at him."

"I hope you realize how ridiculous that statement is. He can be such a child sometimes."

"Oh, believe me. I am well aware. I tell him it's his mean girl side. He hates when I say that."

"Well, you're not far off. He sounds like a damn teenage girl – actually, it's offensive to teen girls for me to call him that since he's much worse. Aaliyah, saving hearts and lives has been my life. If I were the best person for this job, I would be on the first flight back to Boston."

"You're really not in Boston?"

Lauren smiled, "As I told Eli when I spoke with him earlier, we were on our way to the airport when I called him to have the scans sent."

There was a pause before she spoke again, "I have to apologize for him, Lauren. Eli and Noah have grown very close in a short time. He's taking all of this quite personally. I sometimes wonder if I'm actually the biological parent between the two of us."

Lauren nodded, "He is a very passionate person."

"Honestly, he can be a bit much at times."

"Stand your ground, Aaliyah and don't be afraid to speak your mind. If he's coming on too strong, let him know. Remember that the name of his ship is all about loss and being on it is a daily reminder of that loss. There are times when I wish he would buy a house on land so he would come back to the land of the living."

"Actually, I've brought that very point up to him recently. No house, no relationship. I want Noah to grow up in a school with other kids. The only reason I kept him at sea was to avoid him being exposed to sick kids. The doctor said one cold could kill him."

"He's not wrong about that. I must warn you that his heart failure could be caused by a bacterial or viral infection that seeded itself in his heart because his condition prevents all of the blood from leaving the chamber with each beat."

"So, he may still need a transplant?"

Lauren nodded, "Yes, but this surgery would buy him years of life to get that transplant. Then again, the hole may be the only cause of his symptoms and if that's the case, the repair should have him feeling much better in twenty-four hours."

"That's music to my ears."

"Yes, well then, what do you say you get him over to the hospital?"

"Yes, Lauren. I'll get him there right away."

"Perfect. I'm going to be on this plane for… actually, I don't know how long I'll be on this plane since I still don't know where we're going. But call me if you have questions or concerns. Doctor Zander will call me after the surgery as well. Take care and good luck."

"Thank you again for getting all of this done so quickly, Lauren."

"I'm happy to help. Give my best to Elijah and tell him to stop being such a nag."

"I'll tell him," she said, laughing.

Lauren hung up the phone and leaned back in her seat. She looked out the window and saw nothing but blackness. They must be over the ocean, she thought. She stood and walked over to Jake, taking a seat across from him,

"So, can you tell me anything about why we're on this private jet?"

He smiled, "Because a boat or car would have taken too long."

Lauren smiled, "Okay, so can you tell me why Bo is in the cockpit?"

Patrick shrugged, "Bo likes to fly planes?"

"After all these years, you're still a lousy liar."

"Look… Lauren, it's not my place to say. I'm just part of the friends and family package."

Two little girls came running down the aisle from the cockpit with Jake close behind. He carried three packages - a long, small thin box, a very long wide box and a small square box. Elise jumped up on Lauren's lap and Rudy jumped up on Patrick's lap, Elise talking excitedly to Jake,

"Give her the small one first, Jake! Just the small one!"

Jake smiled, "Yes, Ma'am," he said bowing before Lauren before Rudy stood so that he could take knee.

He smiled, "Your newly wedded wife has asked that we deliver these three gifts to her bride. She is currently pre-occupied with getting us to our destination safely but assumed that by now you would be getting annoyingly frustrated with those of us traveling with you in the cabin."

Lauren smirked, "Well, she's right about that."

He held out the small box, bowing his head, "Doctor Dennis, I present gift number one. This one is from your daughter-to-be and newly wedded sister-in-law."

Rudy clapped her hands, "Open it! Open it! We designed it ourselves! It took us hours in the store!"

Elise smiled, "The lady called us a handful. A handful of what? It's a weird thing to say."

Lauren looked at Patrick who winked as she opened the wrapping paper, finding a small box with the logo of the jewelry shop where she once bought a beautiful pair of earrings. She smiled and flipped the lid, surprised to find a ring,

Rudy explained, "We figgered if Bo gave you a ring to get married that we should give you a ring to marry us! You see? There's a stone in there for me, Elise, Tosh, Bo, LJ and Mom cause we're the Dennis Family."

Elise nodded, "I'm not a Dennis yet, but when I get adopted, I will be!"

Lauren frowned, "Elise, you don't have to give up your last name to be a Dennis."

"But I want to. Tosh is giving up his name and LJ is giving up his name. I want to be a Dennis, so I want to give up my name too. I was thinking I could add my parents name as my middle name," she paused, her bottom lip starting to quiver, "Unless you don't want me to be a Dennis?"

Lauren's eyes went wide, "Oh, no, no, Baby Girl! Don't think that! I would love for you to share our last name. It would make me very happy – all of us. But I want you to be sure you don't want to keep that part of your parents. You've missed them so much lately and…"

"I miss them, but they're always in my heart, right? Besides, I heard LJ talking to Tosh about how he has to move forward and leave the Morton name behind because he's not like them. I feel the same way… I mean, not that I'm not like my parents because I want to be a doggie doctor like my dad was a people doctor but the rest of me is a lot like you. Bo and Mom Dennis even say so."

Lauren smiled, "Well, if you're sure then we'll make sure Judge Payne changes it on the adoption papers."

"Oh, that's…"

Patrick cleared his throat, eyeing Elise whose eyes went wide. She turned back to Lauren, "That's important… that he change it on the papers."

"Did you want Patrick to do it?" Lauren asked, noticing that she was looking at him.

"I mean, that would be nice, but I don't want Judge Payne to think I don't like him."

Lauren grinned, "I don't think he would ever think that. So, tell me about this ring."

"Well, it has two diamonds for us because Momma said those are our birthstones," Rudy explained, "She said that even with Elise's new birthday, it's still a diamond."

Elise nodded, "And those are everybody else's. The two small stones in the middle are an opal and a tourmaline since your birthday has two birthstones. You're lucky."

Lauren smiled, "I suppose I am lucky but not because of my birthstones."

"Really?" Elise asked.

Lauren nodded, "I'm lucky because I have an amazing sister-in-law and an amazing daughter-to-be! Come here, Rudy."

The youngster scrambled across the floor and jumped up on Lauren's lap, the two girls tucking their heads into her shoulders as she held them tightly,

"Thank you, girls. I absolutely love it."

"Okay! Let's put it on you!" Rudy said, taking it out of the box and handing it to Elise who smiled,

"Hold out your hand," she said, speaking as she pushed the ring to her knuckle, "With this ring, I take you as my Dennis mother."

Rudy pushed the ring from the knuckle to her hand, "With this ring, I take you as my sister-in-law!"

Lauren smiled, hugging the two girls again before stretching out her hand to Patrick and Jake, "Isn't it beautiful?"

Patrick leaned over and took Lauren's hand, "Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. These girls have very fine taste in jewelry."

Rudy laughed, "He's just saying that because he was with us when we picked it out. Mom made him come since he knows your taste in clothes and jewelry."

Jake smiled, "And he's so modest."

Patrick slapped his behind, causing Jake to yelp. The girls laughed and laughed until Rudy finally decided it was time for another present.

Patrick stood and Jake took the seat, pulling Rudy onto his lap as Patrick knelt before them,

"Doctor Dennis, this is a gift from your wife. She decided you would likely have questions about our mode of transportation. This should answer those."

He handed Lauren the small thin box which she unwrapped and opened, "Um… it's a pen."

Patrick held up a finger, "Right. Because you need it to sign…"

He handed Lauren the third box, "What's in here."

She put the pen between her lips and unwrapped the third box. She opened it and found a large model plane. She cocked her head,

"Okay, so we're flying on a plane to wherever. How does this answer any of my questions?"

Patrick smiled, "Below the plane is a document you need to sign.

Lauren handed the plane to Elise who handed it to Rudy. She dug beneath the tissue and found a packet of papers. She flipped through, looking for the usual yellow highlighted marks Patrick made where he needed her signature and signed, handing them back to him.

She looked around, wondering what was supposed to happen now,

"Still don't know any more than I did before."

"You know, if I ever need heart surgery, please don't let her do it. She's not very observant," Patrick said to Jake.

"Not observant at all. I thought she was some sort of genius," Jake said to Rudy.

"Supposed to be," Rudy shrugged, looking at Elise who let out a giggle before she looked at Lauren,

"You're not too smart."

"I beg your pardon!"

Elise laughed again, "Look closer at what you just opened, Silly!"

Lauren looked at the pen, her eyes going wide, "Swift Aviation of Dennis, Incorporated."

She looked up at Patrick, "Before the flight you arranged the other night, Bo and Kurt had already set out to start an aviation business. Stephen, Penelope and I have been talking about it for months since shuttling back and forth to Boston has been drudgery traveling commercial. Between the flight from Anchorage to Seattle and Seattle to Toronto, the layover time, the check-in time, baggage check… well, you know."

"So what? She just kind of humored me?"

Patrick shrugged, "That's why she wasn't really big on flying the plane. She was afraid she would like it better and then regret her decision."

"Her decision?" Lauren asked.

Patrick nodded, "About a month or two before the Iditarod, Bo went on a one-week solo training run. Remember?"

"She did a couple of those as well as one with me and one with Rudy."

"That's right, but what you don't know is that during that week, she took her dogs to Kurt's farm, and I gave him the week off. They went to flight school to learn how to fly this plane and get their licenses upgraded. That's why Bo was able to handle that jet so well the other night."

Lauren smiled, shaking her head, "So are you saying this is our plane?"

He nodded, "Since you're married to Bo and she is the primary stockholder in Dennis, Inc. for right now, you could say you own the plane as well, yes. Of course, Kurt is a fifty percent owner in the company that bears his name."

Lauren grinned, "That's wonderful."

Patrick nodded, holding out the pages she had signed, "Like Penelope keeps telling you – it's time you start reading what we put in front of you."

Looking down at the cover page, she saw that it said Swift Aviation of Dennis, Incorporated. As she paged through, she noticed it was the agreement for the purchase of the plane.

"Wow. That's a hefty price tag," Lauren said.

Patrick nodded, "Yes, but you know that every east coast client that has come here has had to charter a jet to get to us. Now, we can be the air taxi and make the money ourselves rather than have other people making money off of our company."

"Make sense," Lauren nodded.

Patrick smiled, "It was actually Stephen's idea. He said if you were going to have to cater to their petty needs, your company should make the money from doing the catering. We're also going to start housing their families at Kenzi's hotel or, if they want higher end housing, in one of our townhouses by the hospital."

Jake added, "Although Betsy believes your rich clients will find her train cars a 'quaint snippet of history' – Betsy's words, not mine…"

"…although she seemed to be mocking them as she said it," Patrick added.

Lauren laughed, "Betsy is far from your typical heiress."

Jake nodded, "So I'm learning."

"So you said partnership? Who else is in this new corporation?" Lauren asked.

Patrick smiled, "Kenzi has bought into both Swift and Dennis, as has Vex. Stephen and Betsy have bought into Dennis, but have a meeting scheduled with Kurt to talk terms when we return to Alaska. Naturally Kyle in with Swift as is Tosh."

"Tosh?"

Patrick shrugged, "He's closing and selling the Anchorage store and doesn't want to pay capital gains taxes. Remember, he's not just selling the property – he's got massive amounts of stock, so he's selling the business as well. Penelope already leaked an unofficial – well, let's just call it a rumor – that he was selling, and Mark received two calls asking if it was true."

"Really?"

Patrick nodded, "They've made offers and Lauren, they're big. One is a group of Tosh's old friends who want to build a corporation of their own. They've promised not to build another store in or near Talkeetna or Point Siku since he's keeping those stores running."

Lauren cocked her head, "He's keeping Point Siku open? I thought he closed that after what happened with the village."

He shook his head, "Tosh met with the Elders who explained that any and all who had followed Big Jim's ways have been exiled from the village both physically and spiritually. They broke their sacred laws."

"I see. Does Bo know that?"

Patrick shrugged, "I assumed she did."

Lauren slowly shook her head, "I don't think she does. So, Tosh is still running it?"

Patrick shook his head, "He has a similar agreement with his manager to what Bo has with Path and Slate. He's twenty-eight, has a pregnant girlfriend who he's marrying in September. They've just bought a house and Tosh has been trying to help him out."

"That's very kind of him," Lauren said, "Not that I'm surprised. He and Bo are quite a lot alike."

Patrick nodded, "So the airline is a plus for everyone involved – except maybe the environment which Bo was quick to point out. So, Penelope is going to come up with a viable budget, fixed pricing for flights and a schedule of flights and destinations – the idea being that we fly only as much as we absolutely must. Otherwise, you're flying commercial."

Jake held up a hand, "There is an exception for sick patients you are transporting to or from your hospital for care. If the chopper can't handle the distance, they'll be flown on these new planes."

"Of course, but the hospital pays those transportation fees, not Swift airlines. Penelope is clear on that, yes?"

Patrick nodded watching the wheels turning in Lauren's head before she asked,

"Planes - as in plural?"

Jake shrugged, "Eventually, yes. That's Kurt's plan and Penelope said it's a good one. Relying on one plane to do the job would finish this baby off in a decade. Planes only survive if they have time to stay on the ground… think of this as Kurt's patient. We don't just run forever."

Lauren smiled, "Point taken. It sounds like a great idea. So, if someone flies here for a surgery, our pilot must go there, pick them up and then fly them back before coming back here again? That's a lot of flying."

Patrick nodded, "Yes and there is required sleep intervals for flights as well, so the travel could get long. So, to prevent that from being Bo and Kurt all the time, we interviewed twenty pilots this past week and last week who are choosing to live a bi-coastal life."

Jake smiled, "They hired five pilots, two are part time. Bo and Kurt will likely fly our family and friends when they have to go since they've agreed to fly us for free. If it's okay with you, that select group would stay at your beach house when they need to be in Boston and be responsible for any chores, errands or work you need done in exchange for the free vacation home and flight."

Lauren smiled, "I must say that the help would be a personal perk for me."

"I thought you would think so, but it's also savings for the company since we don't have to pay for hotels and travel expenses." Patrick smiled.

"Who interviewed the pilots?"

"Me, Jake, Stephen, Penelope and Kurt."

Jake nodded, "I ran background checks on each of the candidates. We started with forty-seven applicants which is why I was in the room."

Lauren shook her head, "No need to explain. Even without the laptop, I appreciate you being in the room to sniff out any potential troublemakers."

"So, what do you think?" Patrick asked.

"It's a beautiful plane."

He nodded, "The other would have been cheaper and accomplished the same goal."

Lauren sighed, "Yes, but did you factor in the expenses to the company had Bo actually flown a plane full of drugs to anywhere but into the hands of the FBI?"

Patrick smiled, "Well, thankfully, your dad blew up what could have been a very bad situation."

She looked at Rudy and Elise who had fallen asleep together on the ground, "I guess that's what's stuck in my gut right now. Bo and Kurt have to pay millions for planes because…"

Patrick shook his head, "Thousands, Lauren. Not millions. We're buying used planes, Lauren. Everyone wants the latest technology these days, so Kurt intentionally looked for a plane that came out just before that Gulfstream G600 and G650."

"Why?"

"The Gulfstreams can go seven thousand nautical miles without refueling. You are in a Citation Longitude which can only fly half of that distance. Still, for us, it's enough because we can do a refuel no matter which of our hospitals we're flying into or out of and not deal with baggage claims and hours of waiting for a plane to arrive."

Lauren nodded, "And maybe at some point, the business will be able to build up enough capital to buy the Gulfstreams."

Patrick smiled, "At full price so your conscience is clear and your pride intact?"

Lauren nodded, "You know me so well."

"Well, that's no way to live," Jake smiled, "I can get you the manufacturing price of any plane, then you can decide how much profit you think they should make, add the numbers together and make an offer. They won't sell all of their inventory, so if you go in prepared with a promise of replacing your fleet every ten years, they should be happy."

"Really?" Lauren asked.

"Really," Jake replied.

Lauren looked at Patrick who smiled and added, "Did I mention he's a licensed pilot?"

The blonde smiled and nodded, "And that's why he was up in the cockpit with Bo."

Jake grinned, "Logging hours. All agents with my skill set have to log periodic flight hours to stay licensed. I just can't commit to flights because of work unless I'm on vacation."

Lauren shook her head, "I would never expect you to work for us on your vacation."

"I know, but I've got to get to where I'm going, so having a plane to do that isn't a bad trade off."

"True," Lauren said, handing Patrick the paperwork before looking down at her new ring, "The ring really is beautiful."

Patrick nodded, "I thought you would like it. The girls came up with the idea. They just didn't know how to choose the stones, so I helped with that bit."

Jake stood and pulled a box from the overhead compartment, "This is another gift from Bo. I'm going to go help out with the approach checklist."

Patrick stood, "Hey – help me with the girls first?"

"Sure," Jake said, smiling down at the pair. He lifted Rudy into his arms and took her over to the reclined seats, laying her in one while Patrick laid Elise in the other. They covered the pair before Patrick placed a light kiss on his lover's lips. Jake smiled, heading up to the cockpit.

Patrick turned back to see Lauren holding up a string bikini. He covered his mouth to prevent the laughter from coming out as he walked back to her,

"Whoops. I guess that was more a gift for Bo than a gift for you."

Lauren shook her head, "You know how much I hate these things."

"Apparently Bo loves them."

"With the life she's lived, I find it hard to believe she's ever seen one," Lauren replied.

"Actually, while we were in Boston, she was reading the old magazines you had laying around the house. They were leftover summer editions of Time, Life and Cosmopolitan. I had no idea you were into…"

Lauren shook her head, "There was a feature article on our Plastic Surgeon that I wanted to read."

"Right. Oh, she loved the National Geographic Magazines, too. Anyway, that Cosmo taught her a lot about the fashion world. She took it with her to give it to Kenzi. Of course, that was after she saw the swimsuits that would be hot for summer."

"Well, it is our honeymoon. I suppose I should cooperate but there's no way I'm putting this on in front of our family."

"Well, you have a few days until you see them again."

"Really?" Lauren asked, "You were serious?"

Patrick smiled, "Absolutely."

"So do I need this for here?"

Patrick shrugged, "Well, there will be less people you know here and since you know Jake and I aren't interested – although we do appreciate a fine female body as much as anyone – you have no one to hide from. Besides, wouldn't you want to see Bo in that suit?"

Lauren looked down at the cups of the top and imagined Bo's breasts spilling out of the small triangles. She licked her lips and swallowed hard while Patrick shook his head and laughed,

"Uh… you're drooling."

Lauren's head snapped up as her friend cocked his head, reminding her that she knew he was right. She grinned,

"Have you seen my wife's body?"

"Actually, no."

Lauren grinned, "You simply must come by one morning when she's working out. She wears these short little black tights made of spandex and polyester that hugs her firm ass so nicely and she wears her black sports bra. She does push-ups and pull ups before she climbs up into the rafters of the house over the family room, puts her legs over the beam and does hanging sit ups."

She looked up at Patrick, "I'm telling you that every muscle of her eight abdominals is like it was chiseled from granite. Then she lowers the rings and does more pull ups and iron crosses. I mean, it's incredible."

Patrick smiled, "I'll take your word for it. Besides, if I come to watch Bo's workout, I'll miss Jakes and his is just… luscious."

A wicked grin spread across Lauren's face, "Maybe we can get them to work out together while we watch."

"Now that would be fun," Patrick smiled, "I'll be right back."

Lauren looked down, picking up the plane that Bo had given her. She held it up, looking at the lines and the colors on the jet. Up front, she could see the Swift Aviation logo. It was very well done, and the Swift family name fit the airline perfectly.

Patrick returned with his small bag in hand. He opened it up and pulled out a bag from the swimwear shop in Provincetown,

"What's this?"

Patrick smiled, "When Bo showed me what she got you for the trip, I decided it was only fair you get a little eye candy as well. You owe me fifty bucks."

Lauren smiled, opening the bag. She pulled out a red bikini only the bottoms were a thong,

"Wow. This will be…"

Patrick smiled, "Exactly what the doctor ordered."

"To say the least," Lauren grinned.

"Well, you never stop talking about her butt, so I figured you would appreciate it."

"I do. Believe me."

Patrick nodded, knowingly, "You're welcome."

"Are we there yet?" Lauren asked.

Patrick chuckled, "I'm sure we'll be there soon enough. You need to get a little more sleep. This is going to be a marathon. As a matter of fact, out of all the hours Rudy and Elise planned for this trip, the next twelve hours were the only ones they planned specifically for something they wanted. Otherwise, the entire trip was planned for the two of you and all of us found things to do in the planned location."

"I love those little buggers so much. I shouldn't be surprised at how self-less they've been but part of me is. It would have been so easy for them to plan some little girl fun."

"Are you kidding me? They're having a blast, Lauren."

"Are you sure?"

"I am," Patrick smiled, "They've done nothing but rave about everything they've been doing, Lauren. They're very happy."

She walked to the girls, tucking each of them in and giving them a kiss on the cheek. She lifted her head, turning to Patrick,

"I never thought…"

"You're a mom, Lauren. A mom through and through whether she's adopted or your own biological child."

The blonde nodded, "My heart explodes every time I look at the two of them."

He smiled, "Now that I've gotten to know them even better, I understand why you feel the way you do. They're amazing kids."

Lauren nodded, "You know, Mary asked me if I minded spending so much time with Rudy. She felt bad that she was getting more of a vacation on our honeymoon than I was. I reminded her that she's been working day and night for over ten years now – that I was happy to take her for as many hours as I could get while we're away."

"Mary and Molly sure are having fun while they're here."

"They are, aren't they?" Lauren smiled.

"And when Shannon, Carolyn and Kelly took Mary and Molly out to that bar the other night, Mary came back smashed. It was hysterical."

"What?" Lauren asked.

"Oops. Maybe you and Bo weren't supposed to know about that," Patrick said, his lips covered.

"We already knew that Molly loved to get her groove on, but none of them had ever seen Mary dance – not even at your wedding other than spinning Rudy in circles and a slow dance with that guy - I think his name was Troop?"

Lauren nodded, "He works for Bo's company."

"Well, they said Mary was on the dance floor all night dancing with women young and old. She was a big hit. Some people even knew who Bo was, so when they found out she was her mother, they were asking for autographs in exchange for drinks. She thought it would be rude to turn them down."

Lauren shook her head, "Always the proper woman."

"I think dignified and honorable are better words to describe her."

"Very true," Lauren smiled, "And damn can that woman handle a long board."

Patrick nodded, "She's quite a gem, our Mary."

"She is and I couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law."

"Speaking of mothers… how are you handling all of that?"

Lauren shrugged, "How are you?"

"I'm became an expert at saying 'no comment' when I was about five, so I'm fine. Of course, I had my anger as a kid. You need to get a little of that… in my opinion."

Lauren nodded, "You know, you might be right about that."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We will be making our approach to our destination airport momentarily. At this time, please return to your seats, straighten your seatbacks, and buckle up as a precaution for landing. Stow away any loose items, especially that little string bikini so it doesn't get lost. That's all for now."

Lauren shook her head, "She's incorrigible."

"She's your wife."

"Lucky me," Lauren smiled, walking to the girls, "Hey girls, time to get up."

"Are we there?"

"No, but we're getting ready for landing, so you need to sit up, okay?"

"Okay."

Lauren helped them with their seatbacks before helping Patrick with the cabin clean up. When they were finished, they took a seat across from each other and buckled in. Rudy and Elise left their seats and came running over to where Lauren and Patrick were, jumping into the seats next to them. The adults made sure their belts were snug just as Bo announced they were making their descent.

It didn't take long for Lauren to see the familiar landmark below. She turned to Elise and Rudy,

"We're going to Disney World?"

The two girls grinned and giggled, not saying a word.

"We're going to Disney World!" Lauren shouted, truly excited, "I've never been to Disney World!"

"Really?" Rudy asked.

"You two met my Mom and Dad. Did you really think they would have brought me here as a child? Of course not! I'm finally going to Disney!"

Patrick and the girls laughed as Lauren stared out the window, seeing the Disney Castle that she was certain Bo had intentionally made sure they could see.

She whispered, "If you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are…" she smiled, "Childhood dreams really do come true... it just takes a little longer for some."

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