All characters that are from the TWILIGHT saga by Stephanie Meyer belong to Stephanie Meyer. All others belong to me. I do not receive profit for these stories except for the joyous enjoyment of reviews.

This story follows right after When I'm Gone: Third Installment to GONE Saga, so if you haven't read that one or the two before, please do.

The timeline of the story will coincide with Gabriel Michael Laskaris' growing up years, starting at Seth and Rosa's wedding day, April 12th and will progress from there.

AN: Oh my goodness! Another update so soon! Y'all know these aren't free, right? I expect lots of reviews...basically, if you read, leave a review even if it's just to say 'good chapter'

Gaby -the whole thing at the end changed...there will be no slapping. Love you!

Moani, Chelsea, Lette, Inosolan -you are all awesome for leaving me reviews! Thank you and I love you!

As always, enjoy as you read and please review.

Chapter Twenty-Nine
March 22nd
New York City

The swell of the audience's cheers and applause died down as Ellen DeGeneres moved towards the sitting area in the stage, waving a hand over her head, "Thank you. It's always good to be here in New York –I love this city."

Sitting down in her armchair, she gave the audience and cameras her big smile, "We have some special guests today –I've interviewed them separately before but this time…they're here together. Everyone welcome –Lian Young and July Star!"

The applause was loud, almost thunderous as they walked in from backstage, holding hands, both of them giving the audience a wave as they moved towards the loveseat catty-corner from Ellen's chair.

"It's so good to have you two here," Ellen stood up, hugging Julie then Lian before all three sat down, "It's been about a year since either of you have been on my show."

"Fourteen months, seven weeks, three days and sixteen hours," Lian's smile was big as he settled his arm across the back of the couch, his hand resting on Julie's shoulder, "Too long since I've seen you, Ellen."

Ellen laughed, Julie chuckling along with her as she crossed her long legs which looked amazing in shiny black skinny jeans, "It's so sweet you've been counting the passing time."

"Of course," Lian lifted his right foot to rest his ankle on his knee as he looked over at Julie with a teasing smile, "How long has it been for you?"

The audience laughed, Ellen shaking her head as Julie's face flushed, her eyes swinging over to their host, "Too long. How have you been, Ellen?"

"Wonderful," Ellen leaned into the arm of the couch, "It's been ten years –did you see the celebration episode?"

"We did," Julie grinned as she looked at Lian before turning her smile to Ellen, "We made a real production of it –popped popcorn and all."

"I wonder about the all," Ellen said with a chuckle that escalated into a laugh as Julie turned her head to bury her face into Lian's shoulder, his hand moving from her shoulder to the back of her head, "Now, it hasn't been made official but everyone's wondering if you two are a couple so I'm thinking –since we're great friends and among great friends –you can announce it here in my show. How about it?"

Lian and Julie laughed as he slid his hand down her arm, cupping her elbow as he took one of her hands in his other one, "You mean we haven't been obvious enough?"

Julie bumped his side with her shoulder, placing her hand over their joined ones resting on her lap, "In all honesty, Ellen, he hasn't even asked."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to do the asking," Lian arched an eyebrow, watching her purple eyes dance as she laughed, "You could ask me, you know."

Julie's hair tumbled over her shoulder as she threw her head back in laughter, Ellen watching them both with a big smile, "Okay, I see where this is going. Neither one of you is going to say it out loud so I'm going to ask questions and I expect honest answers."

"Yikes," Julie cringed, shifting slightly so she could lean back into Lian's chest, "This could get us in trouble."

Lian's laughter vibrated against her back as Ellen moved to lean back into the couch, "Okay, first relationship question –do you let her drive your car?"

"Are you kidding me," Lian laughed as he let go of her hand to squeeze her knee, "My car's a classic –I don't let anybody drive it."

Julie hit his chest with the back of her hand, "He won't even let me turn on the radio."

"Okay, that's for completely different reasons," Lian reached up to tuck a long red-brown curl behind her ear with the hand on her shoulder, "But in all seriousness –July doesn't have a car here and I've never seen her license…I don't even know if she can drive."

Julie's shoulders shook as she laughed, tilting her head back to look at him, "So if I show you my license, you'll let me drive?"

She could read the apprehension in his eyes, her smile growing at the way he let slip one of the many hints concerning their relationship status in his response, "Baby, it's a 1966 Thunderbird Ford –I wouldn't let my mother drive it."

Ellen laughed, crossing her legs as she waited for the audience to calm down, "Okay, so now let's move on to question number two –do you have keys to each others' place?"

"Keys," Lian laughed as he lifted off the seat to dig into the pocket of his jeans, "Well, let's see…there's this key –is this it?"

Julie looked at the key he held up, laughing as she took his keys from him, "No!"

"Oops," Lian gave a dramatic wince, chuckling as Julie turned her nose up at him, setting his keys on the small table beside the couch, "My bad."

Ellen laughed, shaking her head as she leaned forward, resting her forearm on her thigh, "Tsk, tsk, Lian. Okay, let's see if I can get a straight answer out of this one –are you two working on a duo CD?"

"Actually, we are," Lian grinned, his hand back on Julie's knee, his fingers stroking the inside seam of her jeans, "We've drawn up a new contract with our label and…it's been an interesting ride."

"It's been difficult, really," Julie reached up to swipe a wisp of hair out of her face, "We merged our bands together to create a third band –it's been hard to work on our own individual projects along with this one but we're managing pretty well, I think."

"We are."

"One of your guitarists has been missing for quite a bit," Ellen pointed at Julie, tilting her head to the side, "Didn't you two have something going on?"

"That was just a rumor based on nothing," Julie's smile was small, Lian pulling her in as close as possible without moving her into his lap, "He's –he found another band to play with and…our new guitarist is fitting in quite nicely."

"Wasn't he your guitarist," she pointed at Lian, smiling as he nodded, noticing how he gave Julie a look filled with tenderness before looking at her, "Yes, he was. Mitch is amazingly talented but he very much prefers July's music genre over my own –no hard feelings."

"With this new CD you two are working on," Ellen set her elbow on the armchair to rest her chin on her fist, "It's a whole new style of music –how are you working that out?"

"It's been a musical challenge, for sure," Lian stretched out his legs, shifting to get comfortable, "But we're both willing to work hard at it –and this woman is amazing when it comes to music."

"Oh, shut up," Julie elbowed him in the stomach, her nose wrinkling slightly before looking at Ellen, "Lian's actually very versatile –he's been doing very well in compromising to somehow meld my jazz with his country."

Lian's mouth tilted into a one-sided smile, "We're calling it jazztry."

The audience laughed, Julie shaking her head as Ellen got that look on her face, "Why not counazz? Or cojazz?"

Julie buried her face into her hands, her shoulders shaking as Lian shook his head, his laughter deep, "You're kidding, right? Oh, God, that would get us parental advised for sure."

Ellen laughed, several seconds passing before the audience quieted down, "Right, right. Jazztry it is. Now, Julie, I believe your sister's graduating this year, right?"

Julie took a breath, brushing her hair back as she nodded with a proud smile, "Yes, she is. Graduating top of her class from medical school –she and her husband are going to be doing their internship in one of Seattle's top hospitals."

"Oh, wow," Ellen nodded as she uncrossed her legs, shifting in her seat, "Your baby sister married and ready to become a doctor. Does that make you feel old?"

Julie couldn't hold back the burst of laughter, uncrossing her legs to shift in her seat, her hand staying on Lian's thigh, "Well, I'm two years away from hitting the three-o…sometimes it feels like it's too close and then at others like it'll never get me. Know what I mean?"

"I sure do," Ellen leaned into the corner of the armchair as she tucked her feet under her, "You two are the same age, right?"

"Just about," Lian ran his fingers up and down Julie's arm, "She's a week older than me, actually –it's all good, though, 'cause older women know how to live it up."

Julie laughed, bumping her shoulder into his side, "Oh, please –on my part, it's exhausting being around younger people."

"Good thing it's just a week, uh," Ellen teased, laughing as they both nodded with smiles, "Okay, time's almost up but I still have one more question."

"O-kay," the word dragged out as Julie bit her lip before smiling, reaching to take Lian's hand, their fingers lacing together.

"This one's a truth or dare question," Ellen wagged her eyebrows as Lian and Julie winced simultaneously, "Whichever you pick, you have to do. Deal?"

"Oh, sheesh," Julie chuckled as she gave Lian a look before looking at Ellen, "This kind of scares me."

"Come on," Ellen opened her arms as she teased them, "Live a little."

"Well…" she bit her lip as Lian leaned in to whisper something into her ear, a giggle escaping her before she gave Ellen a nod, looking up at him, "Alright then…you pick."

Lian laughed as he looked at Ellen, "We pick dare."

Ellen laughed as she leaned back into her chair, the audience cheering and applauding loudly.

Nodding as she leaned forward, she pointed at them, "Okay, then, here's your dare. You two have to kiss for no less than ten seconds."

Lian and Julie laughed, the blush stealing across her high cheekbones as Ellen raised her eyebrows, "Well…"

"No less than ten seconds, right," Lian gave Ellen and the audience a wink before looking into Julie's eyes, reaching up to lift her chin, his thumb moving over her bottom lip before he dipped his head, his lips brushing over hers lightly before settling in place.

As soon as his mouth touched hers, Julie completely forgot everything and everyone, her hand reaching up to curve around the side of his neck as she opened her lips, his tongue moving over hers.

They both lost track of time, finally pulling apart as the cheers and yells from the audience increased, Ellen laughing as Julie's face lit up bright, "That answered our question! Well, thank you both for joining me –I really hope to see you two again."

"Thank you for having us here," Julie and Lian answered in unison, the audience clapping as the green light turned red, letting them know the cameras had stopped running.

Ellen leaned forward to give Julie's knee a pat, "You two make a cute couple."

Julie laughed, reaching up with both hands to tuck her hair behind her ear, "I can't believe you had us kiss on live television."

Ellen chuckled as they stood up, Lian's arm around her waist as Ellen asked with a smile, "Is he a good kisser?"

Julie laughed as the stage technicians came onto the stage to help them remove their microphones, "Oh, yes…very good."


April 14th
La Push, Washington

"Good morning, baby. Look at you, wide awake," Rick reached into the crib, lifting Tyra into his arms, "Are you excited about your birthday party?"

"Ca-e," the word came out high as she blinked big brown-green eyes at him, her sandy blond hair a halo of curls around her small face, "Ca-e."

"Your Aunt Emily's making the cake," he walked out of the bedroom, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Emmie –not that it mattered being his five year old slept too deeply for anything to wake her up, "And Granma is bringing ice cream."

"I-cre," Tyra gave him a hopeful look as he walked into the kitchen, her eyes moving around the room in search for the ice cream, "Eat."

"We'll get to eat ice cream and cake for your birthday party," Rick sat her on the high chair, grinning as she lifted her arms up for him to lock the tray in place, "How old are you today, Tyra?"

She tilted her head to the side, patting her little hands against the tray, her eyes watching him as he began making breakfast –it was part of his morning routine while Leah's involved getting the older ones ready for school.

"Can you show Daddy how old you are," Rick moved to the refrigerator to take out what he needed for waffles, looking over his shoulder to watch as his baby girl held up two tiny fingers, her giggles sweet as he moved to kiss her forehead, "That's right! You're two years old, koritsaki. You're a big girl now."

Tyra shook her head as she sucked on her finger, letting out a joyful squeal when he placed a handful of blueberries on her tray, "Eat. Eat."

"I'll make your waffle first," Rick set everything on the counter, pulling down the kids' plates as he looked at the clock over the stove, "Your mama's going to be getting Gabe and Emmie ready for school soon."

"Za," she looked up at him as she took a small handful of blueberries and stuffed them into her mouth, the juice staining her hand, lips and cheeks.

"She'll get Zaky up after Gabe and Emmie go to school," he set the whisk aside, taking a ladle to pour the batter into the hot waffle griddle, "Zaky's going to school this year. Isn't that great?"

She shook her head at him, kicking her bare feet as she chewed another handful of berries, a purple smudge on her button nose, "Za. Za."

"You'll miss him, I know," he chuckled as she nodded, cutting the waffle into bite size pieces, making sure they weren't too hot before placing them on her tray, watching her attack them with gusto as she nodded again, "But at least you'll still have Alyx and Andrey to keep you company."

"Ba Aly," she frowned up at him, her dark blond eyebrows lowering as she scrunched up her nose, looking over the side of her chair, resuming her breakfast once she was satisfied Alyx wasn't around to tickle her feet –he thought it was funny because she didn't like it.

Rick chuckled as he popped out the waffle and placed it on a plate, pouring batter for the next one, "He drives you crazy, uh?"

Tyra nodded as she finished the last of her waffle pieces, taking the sippy cup of milk Rick had set in the tray's cup holder, "Aty."

"The party's going to be after your brother and sister get home from school," he placed the plates on the table, able to hear Leah getting Gabe out of bed, Emmie chattering as she got herself ready –it was always the same thing every school day, Emmie up early and eager to go while Leah had to coax Gabe out of bed for a good five minutes, "Looks like the day's ready to start, glikia mou."

Tyra's eyes widened as she missed the cup holder, leaning over to watch her cup clatter to the floor as the twins toddled into the kitchen, dragging their rabbit along the floor by its long ears.

Wiggling in her seat, she turned to look at her brothers as they chattered to each other in their own twin language, lifting her feet as soon as Alyx looked up at her.

His naughty laugh had her trying to tuck her feet out of reach but Alyx still got to them, his little fingers tugging at her toes as she screeched, "No Aly! Ba Aly! Da-e!"

"Alyx," Rick looked at his son, lifting an eyebrow in a quiet demand for him to leave his sister alone, "She doesn't like you doing that."

With an impish smile, he gave Tyra's toe one last tug, dropping his rabbit's ear to run to Leah as she walked into the kitchen with Zaky in her arms.

Rick popped the waffle out of the griddle and onto a plate before moving across the kitchen, Tyra's cries dying down as soon as she saw Zaky.

Pulling Alyx off Leah's legs -his little hands frantically clutching at them -he lifted him up into his arms, small back to broad chest, "I told you not to do it but you did it anyway so you and I are going to have a talk."

"No," Alyx screeched, kicking his feet as Rick moved around Leah, giving her a kiss and a good morning before heading down the hall, Emmie stopping on her way to the kitchen to look up at them, "What did he do?"

"There's no reason for you to know," he tweaked her nose, Gabe ducking a flying foot as he skirted around him towards the kitchen, "Go eat your breakfast."

"But I want to know what he do."

"Emerie," Rick stopped to give her the look, "You're a child, not an adult –you may want to know but you don't need too. Now go eat your breakfast."

Emmie's mouth twisted as she fought back her natural curiosity, rubbing the toe of her shoe against the wooden floor as he headed towards the boys' room, her whisper not as quiet as she thought, "Mou would tell me."

"Emerie Rachel Laskaris."

"I'm going," she ran to the kitchen, not wanting to have Daddy give her a talk, the butterfly backpack bouncing against her small back.

And so began another day in the Laskaris household.


First Week of May

"Why would the first grade teacher want to speak to us when there's only one more week of school left," Leah looked up at Rick, her hand in his as they made their way down the hallway towards Emerie's first grade classroom, students having been released for the day already.

"I'm sure she'll explain when we get there," Rick gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, his mouth spreading into a smile as Leah kept talking as if he hadn't spoken out loud, "She loves school –granted, it was mentioned at the last teacher-parent conference that she tended to talk but she's enthusiastic and curious. She does all her homework –even homework the teacher doesn't give her. She's a perfect student, why would they want to meet with us?"

"I'm sure it's not to tell us they're kicking her out of school," Rick teased as they reached the first grade classroom, reaching to turn the doorknob as he gave her an arched look, "Let the teacher talk."

Leah lowered her eyebrows as her bottom lip poked out in a pout, her brown-green eyes dancing with amusement, "What are you trying to say?"

"That Emmie's need to constantly vocalize doesn't come from me," Rick dropped a kiss on her open mouth, opening the door before she could respond, his smile growing at the sight of his daughter sitting at her desk, talking a mile a minute at her teacher as she colored on a piece of paper.

Rick's smile turned polite as the first grade teacher stood up, her eyes wide as she blatantly looked him over, Leah's amusement evident in her voice as she spoke up, "You haven't met my husband, have you, Miss Romo?"

She cleared her throat, reaching up to push back her dark hair, "No –I'm Emerie's first grade teacher, Georgiana Romo."

He briefly shook her hand, catching movement from the corner of his eye, looking over at his daughter and responding to her frantic wave –she had learned to not talk when the adults were talking…that had been a hard lesson to teach.

She moved around her desk, gesturing towards the chairs around the table where Emmie sat, "I'm sorry I don't have more comfortable chairs for you to sit in, Mr. Laskaris."

"I'm fine," Rick pulled out one of the kid sized chairs, swallowing back a chuckle as Leah sat down, the dress she wore riding up her toned thighs as she wrapper her arms around her drawn up knees, "These chairs are just perfect, as a matter of fact."

Leah pinched his thigh as she looked up at him, seeing where his eyes were currently focused –the man had no shame, "Will you sit down?"

Pulling out another chair, he set it beside her, Emmie getting out of her chair and climbing onto his lap as soon as he sat down.

Leah could feel the heat climbing up her back as Miss Romo continued to stare at her husband, his hand in hers keeping her calm –normally, she found it amusing the way other women gawked at her husband but this was starting to get ridiculous –the woman had still to look at her, "I know my husband's lovely to look at but perhaps you can tell us why you asked for this meeting?"

Rick looked down at his daughter to hide his amusement as Miss Romo cleared her throat, shifting in the small chair she sat in, "I'm sorry…I asked you to come to discuss Emerie's learning capabilities."

"What's wrong with her capabilities," Leah arched an eyebrow, her brown-green eyes hard as she stared at this woman who had the audacity to question her daughter's intelligence after drooling all over her husband.

"It's not that there's something wrong with her capabilities," Miss Romo bit her bottom lip as she knotted her fingers, her hands resting on her thighs –she liked Mrs. Laskaris, considered her one of the sweetest moms she had but right now…the woman was scaring the crap out of her, "It's that I honestly feel she would benefit from a higher learning level."

"What exactly do you mean by higher learning level," Rick spoke up, able to see his wife was just about ready to bite the poor girl's head off.

"I've discussed this with the principal as well as school counselor and they agree Emerie would benefit, intellectually as well as psychologically, if we were to place her in third grade next year."

"You want to skip her a year," Leah's surprise was evident in her voice as she looked at Rick with a touch of concern in her eyes, "She's…she's so small –don't they need to have learned their additions and subtractions by third grade? That's something taught in second grade, if I recall."

Miss Romo smiled before looking at her student, "Emerie, what's nine plus five?"

Emmie looked at her for a few seconds, "Fourteen."

"You have fifteen lollipops and two friends –how many do each of you get?"

"Me too," she pointed at her small chest, answering a few seconds after Miss Romo nodded, "We each get five lollipops."

"If you have twenty lollipops and you give eight away, how many do you have left?"

This time, she tilted her small head back to look at the ceiling before looking at her teacher, the white ribbon that held her hair in a ponytail fluttering against her cheek, "I have twelve lollipops left."

"I have a pie and I cut it into eight pieces and give you two –what fraction of the pie do you now have?"

This time, it took a whole minute before she straightened her back, giving a slight hop on Rick's lap along with her answer, "I have one fourth of the pie."

"Oh my God," Leah stared at her daughter with amazement, blinking as Miss Romo asked her another question, "How many continents do we have?"

Emmie ticked them off on her small fingers, the difficult words broken into syllables, "North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Aus-tra-lia, An-tarc-tica and Europe –we have seven con-ti-nents."

"My baby's a genius," Leah's smile grew as she looked at her husband, "She's got your brains, Rick!"

"My brains," Rick scoffed as he looked away from Emmie, feeling just as awed as Leah, "What she has is Embry teaching her things way beyond her abilities."

"That's the thing," Miss Romo interrupted them, feeling much more comfortable now that she was focused on getting them to understand the gifted child that was their daughter, "Most children her age don't have the ability to learn or understand these things –memorize them, yes, but Emerie actually understands –Emerie, tell me what you need to make a sentence."

Emmie looked at her mother then up at her father, obvious indecision expressed on her small face melting into a smile as Rick gently urged her, "Go on, Emmie. Tell Miss Romo what you need to make a sentence."

"I need a subject and a pre-di-cate."

"Can you give me a sentence with both," Rick's hand was warm and steady against her small back, his smile encouraging as she thought for a minute or two before giving them a big smile, "The girl laughed. 'The girl' is the subject and 'laughed' is the pre-di-cate…it's also called a verb."

Leah's hand covered her mouth as she blinked to keep herself from crying –it was a tumultuous storm of emotions inside her that she was doing her best to control.

Emmie looked up at her father, blue eyes wide and serious, "Mí̱po̱s káno̱ mamá lypi̱ménos?" *Did I make mama sad?*

Rick cupped her small face in his hand, his thumb stroking over her round cheek, "Óchi, mo̱ró korítsi , af̱tí̱ eínai akrivó̱s tóso perí̱fani̱ gia séna pou den boreí na to kratí̱sei mesa." *No, baby girl, she's just so proud of you she can't hold it in.*

Emmie's rosebud mouth spread into a big smile as she looked at her mother, scrambling off Rick's lap to get into her arms, "I'm gonna be very smart, mama, and make you proud."

Leah pressed a kiss against her small forehead, hugging her tight, "You already are, sweetie."

Miss Romo smiled at the beautiful picture they made, Emmie cuddled in her mother's arms while her father kept his own arm around his wife's shoulders, "I know this is a very important decision you need to discuss and thing over –you're more than welcome to consult with our principal as well as the school counselor. If you decide to advance her into third grade, know that we'll be monitoring her progress closely –academically as well as psychologically."

Leah kissed the top of her daughter's head, the smell of the baby shampoo making her feel slightly apprehensive, "She'll need to make friends –it won't be easy what with her classmates being older than her."

"And we are aware of that," Miss Romo gave them an encouraging smile, "Considering she has an older brother, I believe she'll do fine in that department. If you decide against advancing her, she'll be in a situation that could potentially breed behavioral problems –something that usually happens with gifted children that aren't challenged enough. We don't have a gifted program so the next best solution is advancing them a year."

They both nodded, Rick letting out a soft breath before looking at Leah, running his fingers through her hair in a silent gesture that let her know everything was going to be alright, "We need to discuss this but I'm certain we'll both be in agreement as to what's best for Emerie."

"Daddy," Emmie wiggled in Leah's lap to face her father, "I want to learn more –teacher doesn't teach the other kids what Mou teaches me."

Rick reached to cup her small chin, blue eyes staring intently into each other, "You understand what Miss Romo is suggesting we do, right?"

"Uh-hu," Emmie tried to nod but his hand held her small face in place, "She wants me to be with the bigger kids –their teacher teaches them things I don't know yet. I want to learn more things, Daddy. So I can be smart and get my de-grees."

Rick smiled at her, blinking a couple of times to relieve the burning sensation in his eyes, "You're right, pedhaki mou, you need to learn more things to get your degrees but your mama and I need to talk about this, okay?"

"But I want to go to the bigger kids' class."

"Emerie," Rick lifted her from Leah's lap and into his arms, her small hands on either side of his face, "You're growing up too fast but you're still a child and as long as you're a child, your mama and I will decide what's best for you."

"But –"

"No arguing," Rick gave her the look, Emmie's small mouth closing with an audible snap, "Now, we know you want to go to third grade –we'll keep that in mind when we talk about it, okay?"

Emmie nodded, wrapping her small arms around his neck as he pulled her into a hug, his arms tight around her –he just didn't like the fact that his baby girl was growing up too fast, and although he wanted to blame it on Embry he knew he couldn't -this wasn't going to be any easier for him either.

"Daddy."

"Yes Emerie."

"I can't breathe."


May 12th
Tacoma, Washington

The cheers were loud, the applause thunderous as several sharp whistles filled the air.

The new crop of doctors –twenty two out of the thirty that had started the program four years ago –had been given their degrees and released into the world to do what they had learned to do.

Julie stood beside Lian, her hand warm in his as they moved through the crowd towards the doors that lead to the outside pavilion, the graduates still inside.

"Your sister's quite impressive," Lian grinned down at her as he led them towards a tree, letting go of her hand to wrap his arms around her, "First in her class with accolades and awards up the wazzoo."

Julie laughed as she reached up to straighten the lapels of his button down shirt, "She wouldn't appreciate the wazzoo part. You know, what most impresses me is that she's the same age I was when I got my bachelor's."

"Yes, but look at what you've accomplished as well," Lian leaned his forehead against hers, the tip of their noses brushing, "Five years in the music business and you have twelve Grammies, three platinum records and two golds. That in itself is unheard of."

Julie's lips stretched into a smile as she reached up to frame his face in her long-fingered hands, their lips briefly touching before a shout interrupted them.

"Julian!"

Looking to his left, he blinked before a smile broke across his face, "Emily! What are you doing here?"

Emily and Sam moved towards them, Lili in her father's arms while the twins held each of Emily's hands, "Collin's a friend of ours –he graduated second in his class."

"Ah, I see," Lian chuckled as he let go of Julie to hug his sister, giving Sam a friendly punch on the shoulder before crouching down to look at Bailey and Bradley, "Dear God, you two have gotten big. What are you now? Five?"

Brad laughed as Bailey stuck her tongue out at him, answering in a snooty voice, "We're gonna be ten –Lili's the one that's five."

Straightening, he grinned at his youngest niece, laughing when she hid her face into Sam's neck, her little arms holding on tight to her father, "Still shy around me, I see. When are you going to give me a kiss, Lili-bug?"

Lili giggled as Lian's fingers tickled her side, her head popping up as she threw herself into Lian's arms, her giggles high as he held her up above his head, "You're still as light as a feather. So can I have my kiss?"

Lili nodded, kissing his cheek as soon as he brought her down into his arms, "I like your doll, Uncle Lian."

Lian laughed as he looked over his shoulder at Julie, turning to stretch an arm out to her, "She's cute, uh?"

Lili nodded, her straight black hair held back by pink heart shaped clips, "Her dress is pretty –and I like her shoes."

"Lili's into fashion already," Lian pulled Julie into his side before looking over at his sister and brother-in-law, "I believe you all know each other, right?"

"Yeah," Emily gave Julie a slightly awkward hug, moving back to stand beside Sam, "How have you been, Julie?"

"I've been doing great," Julie gave her a smile, the light in her eyes making something inside Emily relax, "It was so good to see my sister walk across the stage –again."

"She's an amazing girl," Emily nodded, her smile dimming slightly as she looked over their heads, "Oh…hey guys."

Julie and Lian turned around to see who was behind them, her shoulders pulling back slightly as Rose and Seth approached them, Vivi in Seth's arms as Marc held on to his aunt's hand.

"Hey," Seth gave Julie a tentative smile before his dark eyes swung over to Lian, "I didn't know you were coming into town."

"Lyn send two tickets so I came with July," Lian lowered Lili onto the ground, thinking it would come in handy to have both hands free –just in case.

"Right," Seth nodded as Vivi squirmed to get down, watching as the little girl ran the few feet separating them towards Julie, who crouched down to talk to her, "You two are an item now."

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing," Seth shrugged, looking down to give Rose a smile before looking at his cousin, "Just don't hurt her."

"Like you did?"

"Lian," Rose looked up at him, her hazel eyes wide as she softly explained, "Seth didn't mean to purposefully hurt –"

"Rose," Lian interrupted her, burying his fingers into the pockets of his slacks, "No offense but Seth's a big boy –he needs to do his own apologizing."

"You're right, I do," Seth dropped his arm from around Rose's waist, "So while you apologize to my wife for talking to her that way I'll apologize to your girl."

Lian watched as Seth approached Julie, saying something to Vivi before he and Julie walked a few steps away.

Julie crossed her arms over her chest, taking a deep breath as Seth stopped and turned to her, his brown-green eyes on her face, "I'm sorry."

Julie nodded, the curls gathered at the back of her head brushing her neck and shoulders, "So am I."

"I'll never regret anything more than that night," Seth slid his hands into the pockets of his khaki pants, shifting his weight slightly, "Especially because everything I told you before…everything you knew I felt…it was all cancelled out by what I said."

Julie nodded, closing her eyes briefly before she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, "You hurt my pride, Seth. I seriously thought we'd end up being the best of friends…but I realize now it wouldn't have been good for me…I would have kept hanging on to the memories of you –of us –and I never would have moved on."

Seth gave a brief nod, "There's nothing I would like more than for you to find happiness, Jules…to find true love before its too late."

Julie smiled sadly as she looked over at Lian, her lips stretching into a tender smile as she caught his eyes on her, "I already have…but there are still some things that need to be dealt with –but all in its own time."

"Julie," Seth looked over at Lian, letting out a breath as he fought back the urge to explain to her that his cousin was not the true love kind of guy, "I'm sure…my cousin isn't…just…" he let out a deep breath as he reminded himself he had no place to stand on when it came to protecting Julie's heart, "Give each other a chance. I'm sure you two will find something meaningful in each other –you're both very special after all."

She stared at him, letting out a breath before a smile bloomed across her face, "I thought I was going to have to slap you…I was actually looking forward to it but…you never cease to surprise me, Seth. Just when I think I know what you're going to say, you go an entire different route."

Seth lifted a shoulder in a gesture of nonchalance, "Being married to Rose has taught me a lot…she's…she makes me a better man."

"That's good," Julie dropped her arms; her shoulders relaxed as she reached out to give his arm a squeeze, "Make her happy Seth –because you're a total ass without her."

Seth threw back his head in laughter, his shoulders shaking as he reached out to pull her into a hug, "We'll be okay, Jules."

"Of course we will," Julie hugged him before pulling back, her smile impish, "We may be family someday…I hope."

"Everything alright," Lian approached them, his arm curving around Julie's waist as she moved to his side, her own arm snaking around his waist as she smiled up at him, "Yes, everything's fine."

"You got yourself a good one, Lian," Seth gave his cousin's shoulder a soft punch, "Don't mess it up."

"I won't," Lian punched Seth back, although not as lightly, "I've got the brains in the family after all."