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: Sorry this took so long! I had difficulty with a certain point of view of one of my favorite kiddoes. His quiet nature made it so hard for me to get into his head but I finally did it...as for the kiddoes and ages, there's just too many of them mentioned in this long (long because it's been two weeks since the last update) chapter, please refer to the Family Tree chapter, which is CHAPTER FIVE. It's been updated with ages and school grades.

Please leave a review, it inspires me...as for the next chapter, patience is necessary -I'm drawing a blank although I am currently contemplating a suggestion concerning the Laskaris boys during a full moon in full action which would mean one thing one...nomad vampire. I suppose we'll see.

Enjoy as you read and once again, feed my muse and REVIEW!

Chapter Fifty-Seven Part 2 (13yrs old)

First Day of July

It was an unusually hot day, the sun bright against a clear blue sky but what made it almost unbearable was the suffocating humidity in the air, making it impossible to enjoy the day outside, even at the beach.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem since most of the homes in the reservation were air conditioned except, due to an altercation involving two boys who just didn't comprehend the roof was off limits, the Laskaris home where there were currently nine people slowly reaching their limit.

"Stop it!"

Laughter rang down the hall as Tyra's shrill voice kept demanding for the twins' to cease and desist but being who they were, it wasn't going to happen without intervention.

"Will you be quiet," Emmie stuck her head out of her room to yell down the hall, loud music from the second floor causing the very air to vibrate, "Gabriel! Shut your music off! I'm trying to study!"

"Take a break, you nerd," Gabe's loud voice echoed down the stairs, the volume of his music increasing just a bit more.

Zak let out a sigh as he pointed the remote towards the television, increasing the volume to the show he and Xavier were watching, both of them sitting side by side on the long couch as Emmie ran down the hall and up the stairs to bang against Gabriel's bedroom door, "Can't you be quiet! I can't concentrate!"

"It's the summer break," Gabriel yelled without opening the door, his voice loud enough to be heard all the way downstairs as Tyra screeched at Alyx and Andrey, "You are rotten boys!"

"I have to get ready for science camp!"

"That's at the end of the month! Summer break is totally wasted on you!"

"He's getting a dunking!"

"Give him back! Aly, don't you dare!"

Laughter echoed as the twins ran down the hall, skirting around Erick who was crawling along, and into the bathroom, Alyx holding Tyra's teddy bear as Tyra chased after them. Stopping to take her shoe off, she threw it with accurate enough aim to be able to sweep in and rescue her brown bear from being dunked into the toilet.

Rick walked into his house, letting out a surprised huff at the heat greeting him despite the wide open windows in the living room, "Whoa! It's hot as hell in here. Where's your mother?"

Zak looked up at his dad, arching an eyebrow as he pointed towards the kitchen, turning his attention back to the television as Xavier yawned, taking a froze orange slice from the bowl between him and his older brother and sucking on it –they were glad dad was home but it was just too hot to make a big deal about it.

Rick made his way across the living room and into the kitchen where he found Leah, standing at the fridge with the freezer wide open, "Leah, why is it so hot in here?"

"Why," Leah slammed the freezer as she turned to glare at her husband, "I'll tell you why. Those hellions of yours got up to the roof and tripped over whatever the hell makes the damn air-conditioner work. I called the company but they can't come until Friday. It's too damn hot outside and there's no breeze coming through the open windows and your children are driving me up the fucking wall!"

Rick stared at her wide eyed, the sound of running feet down the stairs in the background as he carefully asked, "Is that why you had your head in the freezer?"

Leah's mouth dropped open as she gave him a look of incredulity, "Did you not hear me? It's hot –I swear to god I'm having hot flashes and when I stick my head in the freezer, I can't hear the screaming."

He could see the frustration on her face, could understand why she was sounding so frazzled although, he silently told himself, hot and frazzled looked good on her. Needless to say, he needed to give her an outlet to let go of all her frustration –one that didn't involve tender feelings and guilt trips.

"I'm moving out."

Leah's eyes widened at his sudden announcement, her breath rushing out in a long breath as she fought back tears, "What?"

"I'm moving out," Rick took her hand, having to give it a little tug to get her closer, "Come with me. We'll get an apartment in Forks. Just you and me."

Leah stared up at him in surprise, a small giggle escaping her as she relaxed in his arms, "Are you serious?"

"Sure," Rick touched his nose to hers, the look on his face as serious as the tone of his voice, "We can let the kids keep the house –it's what they want, anyway."

Leah laughed, framing his face in her hands, "You're insane."

Rick's mouth quirked into a one-sided smile, the appearance of the dimple Alyx and Andrey had inherited from him having her heart skip a beat, "You laughed –that's all I wanted."

Leah's smile dropped as she looked into his blue eyes, "You weren't serious?"

Rick knew she was teasing him, could see it in the way her brown-green eyes danced, "Baby, just say the word and we're outta here."

Pulling his head down, she gave him an open mouthed kiss, his arms wrapping tight around her as he tilted his head to delve deep into her mouth, the sweet taste that was uniquely Leah flooding his senses.

A tug on his jeans had him looking down, his eyebrows arching as Erick rocked back on his knees to grin up at him, a single tooth poking out of his bottom gums, "Uh…Leah –"

"I know," she threw her hands up in the air, unable to keep from smiling as she looked down at her baby; "He won't keep his diaper on."

"So you're letting him crawl around naked," Rick crouched down to pick him up, cuddling the six month old into his side but Erick pushed against his chest, all the while shaking his head, "No, no."

"You don't want me to hold you," Rick asked, reaching up to push back the blond hair stuck to his forehead, grinning at the way the blue eyes of his youngest child sparkled as he wiggled to be put down, all the while babbling, "Ot! Ot! Ot!"

Rick shook his head as he laughed, standing up as Erick crawled out of the kitchen, about to offer Leah a couple of hours to herself when Tyra ran in, one shoe on her foot, the other in her hand, "Daddy!"

"Hey, moro mou," Rick lifted her up, kissing her cheek as he settled her on his arm, "Why are you running around without your shoe?"

"I had to rescue Gruff," Tyra kept her shoe in her hand, kicking out her socked foot as she looked at him with those big brown-green eyes he loved so much, "I learned to tie my shoe. Wanna see?"

"Sure," Rick set her down, laughing as she tugged at his arm, "You gotta get closer to see, Daddy."

Kneeling, he grimaced as he realized Erick had left behind a puddle, giving Tyra his undivided attention as she sat back on her bottom and pulled her shoe on before taking her bright blue shoelaces in her small hands, "Build a tee pee…come inside. Close it tight so we can hide. Over the mountain…and around we go –here's my arrow and…here's my…bow!"

Rick laughed as she looked up at him with a triumphant smile, "Look at that! You tied your shoe all by yourself!"

Tyra nodded, grinning as she scrambled onto her feet, "Mama taught me how, Daddy."

"Well," Rick stood up, looking down at the wet denim clinging to his knee, "Your mama's a smart lady."

"You're just saying that 'cause you want a Popsicle," Leah teased him as she gave Tyra a red Popsicle, "Here, baby. Go tell your brothers and sister to come get one."

"'K," Tyra nodded, giving her icy treat a lick before she turned to run out of the kitchen, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Mama's got popsicles!"

Seconds later, the kitchen was flooded with kids, Gabriel walking in with Erick in his arms, a towel wrapped around his bottom, "He shouldn't be naked. He's not housebroken yet."

"Ot! Ot! Ot!" Erick wiggled, trying to pull off the towel without success as Gabe handed him over to his dad before taking the Popsicle his mother handed him, "Thanks mama."

"You're welcome," Leah closed the freezer as all of her eight kids sucked on their frozen pops, "I'm going to get Erick in the tub and you," she gave her husband a pointed look as she took their baby from him, "Are going to fix the air conditioner."

"I don't know how to fix air conditioners."

"Figure it out."

"Ot! Ot! Ot!"


Second Week of July, Tuesday
Jetty Kid Surf Kontest
South Mission Beach, CA

There were no clouds, the sun's rays warming the fine sand stretched for miles along the seacoast, people meandering about, shrieks of laughter and voices filling the air as little kids ran alongside the shore, some of them even chasing after the waves before turning around to be chased by them.

Methodically rubbing wax into his board –it actually wasn't his but Uncle Seth's while he saved up his chore money and allowance to buy one of his own –Zak watched the people around him, occasionally smiling at the sight little boys and girls playing some feet away. He wasn't too far from the shore, just far enough to give him a dry place to prepare the board for its first surfing competition…with him, at least.

Uncle Seth had mentioned how Grandpa Harry had competed when he was alive and younger, occasionally bringing home first place prize. Uncle Seth himself, though he enjoyed surfing, never had the desire to compete and in all honesty, neither did Zak. The only reason he was here was because Uncle Seth had mentioned the possibility of top of the line surfboards being handed out as prizes to those with top scores.

Dipping his rag into the wax, he went back to rubbing it into the smooth wood of his board, watching two little girls as they worked together to build a sandcastle.

"Are you surfing for the competition?"

Zak looked up at a girl about his age, the sun catching in her red hair as she looked at him quizzically, "Yeah."

The girl gave him a big smile as she pointed over his shoulder, "So is my brother. He's the kid over there, by the blue surfboard."

Zak dutifully looked to where she was pointing, seeing a boy about sixteen standing by a blue patterned board while talking to a blond girl in a pink two piece suit, "Cool."

"Yeah, he's been surfing since he was, like, ten and this is the second time he's gotten to compete. He wants to get sponsored so he can go into the bigger competitions like in Hawaii and Australia. Wouldn't that be cool?"

Zak nodded, letting silence reign as he went back to waxing his board, certain the girl would keep on talking whether he responded or not. Sure enough, after several minutes of her yapping away, she stopped long enough to watch him before asking, "You don't talk much, do you?"

Zak looked up at her, lifting a shoulder in a shrug, "Not really."

"Are you shy or something?"

Looking at her, he wondered why people seemed to need an explanation for his quiet nature. He wasn't shy, that much he knew because it never bothered him to meet new people or go to new places or encounter new situations. He just didn't care much for chatter and never felt the need to talk about things that didn't matter to him.

"Not really."

She watched him, her bright green eyes unnaturally large on her triangular face, freckles sprinkled liberally over her nose and cheeks, "You're weird."

Zak's eyebrows lowered over blue eyes as he looked up at her, hands still on his board as he quietly pointed out, "Maybe, but then again, I'm not the one talking to someone who doesn't want to talk."

The girl sniffed indignantly before stomping off, leaving deep footprints in the sand behind her, Zak watching her go for a few seconds before turning his attention back to his board.

"Making new friends?"

He looked up as his Uncle Seth joined him, having finished registering Zak for the competition, "Not really."

"She was cute," he teased, elbowing Zak on the side but all he did was shrug, looking out at the glittering ocean, the sun's warmth falling across his shoulders.

Looking back at his Uncle, he just smiled as he gave a simple explanation, "She talked too much."

Uncle Seth laughed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he watched Zak continue waxing his board, "That's right –you don't like the talkers."

Zak shrugged again, seeing no need to confirm Uncle Seth's statement being he knew it to be true. Zak didn't really like people who felt a need to chatter about unimportant things simply because they couldn't stand the silence. For him, there was more said in the silence than there was in a conversation of useless words and meaningless sentences.

No, he didn't like the talkers except for the one person who always had something of interest to say and that was his best friend, Abigail Holmes.

It was like he had conjured her, his head snapping up at the sound of her voice calling out his name, his eyes brightening as he grinned at the sight of her some yards away, waving at him before she took off running, her family following behind her at a more sedate pace.

"You made it," Zak grinned as she reached their spot, her long brown hair pulled back from her face by a wide headband, the curls tumbling over her shoulders as she moved to sit next to him, green eyes twinkling as she took the second rag from his toolbox where he kept everything needed to maintain a surfboard in tip-top condition.

Seth stood up, his grin showing the surprise he felt at seeing his old college friend and her family, "Mattie! Lance! What are you guys doing here?"

Mattie laughed as she hugged Seth, swatting his hand away when it dropped to rub her five month pregnant belly, "Zak e-mailed Abby about the competition and she wouldn't let up, so we thought we'd bring her so she could cheer him on."

Seth laughed, shaking hands with Lance before turning to the seventeen year old boy beside Mattie, her hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Nick, how are you?"

Nick smiled without making eye contact, not saying anything as he turned his attention to the people around him, humming under his breath and slightly oscillating where he stood.

"So where's Lucy," Seth asked after their adoptive daughter, Nick's older sister. Lucy and Nick had been Mattie and Lance's first foster kids, the couple deciding after several months of having them in their home to put in a request for adoption, which went through when Lucy was fifteen and Nick was eleven, the long delay due to Nick's special needs.

"She decided to get started on her Master's right away," Lance's voice carried a hint of pride as he grinned at Seth, his arm around his wife's waist, "She graduated summa cum laude second week of May –kept a four point o GPA all four years."

Seth laughed as he looked over at his nephew –he and Abby were talking –well, she was doing most of the talking while Zak nodded, occasionally commenting on something Abby said, "Well, I'm glad you guys came down. Zak doesn't get to see as much of Abby as he would like."

"Oh, it wasn't a problem at all," Mattie grinned as she watched her baby girl chatting away, "Zak is a wonderful boy and Abby loves him to pieces. We didn't have anything planned so we thought, why not. It'll do her good to spend some time with her best friend and we could use some time away from the hustle and bustle of Seattle."

Seth nodded as he shifted his weight, the sand under his bare feet shifting with him, "So have you guys found out if it's a boy or girl?"

Lance grinned as he placed his large hand on Mattie's round stomach, the turquoise fabric of her summer dress bringing out her tan and making her brown eyes stand out even more, "It's going to be a girl. Abby's excited about having a baby sister."

"What about you," Mattie leaned into her husband's side, never once letting go of Nick's shoulder, knowing the sudden lack of contact could send him into a fit what with being in a new environment, "Rose is, what, seven months along now?"

"About," Seth's grin was so big Mattie was sure there was nothing that could take it away, "We've decided to be surprised with this one too. I'm sure it's going to be a girl."

Mattie laughed, her eyes dancing as she teased him, "Rose said you're hoping it's a girl so you won't have to go through the pregnancy thing again."

"Oh, god, yes," Seth dropped his head back in a silent plea before looking at Mattie again, "I'm the one that gets morning sickness, so it would be nice if this one were a girl so we can have one of each and be done with it."

"Imagine if, on top of morning sickness, you had to push the baby out too?"

Seth grimaced, Mattie laughing as she placed her free hand over Lance's, both of them silently overjoyed with the rippling movement of their daughter moving, "Not nice, Mattie."

"Then stop whining. So how long are you two staying here?"

"Well," Seth looked over at his nephew, placing his hands on his lean hips as he looked around the crowded beach, "The competitions start this afternoon and go into Thursday morning, with the prizes handed out in the evening. I was thinking of heading back on Saturday morning."

"Well," Lance smiled at his baby girl when she looked over at him, laughing when she fluttered her eyelashes in a silent message only the two of them knew the meaning of before turning her attention back to Zak, "We were planning on going to Disneyland on Friday. You're both welcomed to join us –our treat."

"Sheesh, Lance, I can't let you do that."

"Sure you can," Lance gave him a cocky grin, the same one that always made Mattie's heart beat fast and her hands sweat with anticipation, "I'm the district attorney of the city of Seattle. I make a shitload of money and it won't hurt to pay two more entrance fees."

Mattie shook her head as she rolled her eyes, giving her husband an indulgent smile before looking over at Seth, "Abby would really enjoy spending the time with Zak, so what do you say? It won't add days to your trip so Leah and Rose won't mind."

"Well –"

"Cool! Uncle Seth," Zak looked over at his uncle, blue eyes bright with excitement, "Are we going?"

"Looks like Abby beat me to it," Seth chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at his nephew, "You want to go?"

Zak nodded, high-fiving Abby when Seth answered, "I don't see why not, then."


Tuesday, Third Week of July
La Push

"I'm not getting on that! I'll break my neck."

Nika laughed as she slipped on the elbow guards, having already strapped the knee pads over her washed out skinny jeans, "Come on Vivi. Where's your sense of adventure?"

Brand and Gabe laughed as Vivi gave Nika a look of affront, "What makes you think I even have one?"

"Seriously," Nika took the wrist guard gloves Brad held out for her, slipping them on as she arched an eyebrow at her best friend, "You're from Spain where the conquistadors come from. They're all about adventure."

"I happen to be half Irish –"

"I'm sure the reason Irish are believed to be lucky has to do with adventure otherwise, there would be no way to prove their luck."

Vivi rolled her eyes, Gabe laughing as Brad handed a dark blue helmet to Nika, the redhead planting her hands on her hips, "You may have a point with that but I'm still not doing it."

Nika lifted a shoulder in a shrug as she took the helmet from Brad, "Your loss," turning the helmet in her hands, she looked over at Brad with a one sided smile, "Where did you get this stuff?"

Brad gave her a grin as he took the helmet from her, "They're Bailey's."

"Ah," Nika's smile spread across her face as she pointed at the back of the helmet, "That explains the fuck off logo."

Vivi gave Nika a look of shock, the boys laughing as Brad placed the protective headgear on Nika's head, "I think you look cute with it on," he made sure the helmet was on right before taking the straps in his hands, Nika's cheeks flushing a dull pink as he moved closer to her, "Let me tighten the chin strap for you –I think you have a smaller face than Bales."

Vivi giggled at the look on Nika's face, turning to look at Gabriel when he called out to her, feeling a little apprehensive at what he was offering.

"I'll drive you around. All you have to do is sit on the handlebars."

Vivi nibbled on her bottom lip as she eyed Gabriel's new BMX all terrain bike, a birthday gift from the Cullens' –specifically speaking Emmett –to replace his old one, "What if you drop me?"

Gabe laughed as he rocked back on his heels, his hands on the leather grip handles as the breeze tugged at the loose curls framing her face, the rest of her long hair in a thick braid down her back –he was certain there was no prettier girl in the world than her –well, except for his mama, "I'm not going to drop you. I promise I'll be careful."

"Well…"

"Alright, you're all set," Brad gently slapped Nika's helmet, flipping his skateboard up into his open hand by stepping on the deck hard enough for it to stand vertical, "Alright, girl –let it rip."

Nika laughed as she took the offered board, dropping it as she jumped on it with both feet, landing right in the middle of the board and sending it rolling towards the edge of the half pipe ramp.

They were at the new bike and skate park, construction completed earlier in the summer of that year. Some of the residents of Forks had suggested a safe alternative for their children other than going into Port Angeles. Thanks to an anonymous donation covering the costs, Forks put forth the plans the year before, following through when the Chamber of Commerce agreed with the proposal.

Having been opened to the public since the beginning of June, it was being put to good use, especially by Gabriel and his cousins.

Brad let out a whoop as Nika executed a perfect one eighty turn several feet above the lip of the ramp before coming back down, rolling at top speed towards the other end of the ramp where she did a one-hand handstand, using the other to keep the skateboard in place.

"Wow," Vivi was in awe of her best friend as she sped back down the ramp, "I had no idea she could do that."

"I've seen her and Ian turning tricks on his skateboard before," Gabe wheeled his bike back and forth, watching his cousin cheer on Monika, "So are you getting on?"

Vivi eyed his bicycle for several seconds before asking the obvious question, "How?"

He held back the desire to roll his eyes –sometimes girls just didn't get the obvious so he supposed he should explain it to her, "Just turn around and straddle the tire then pull yourself up and hold on."

Vivi turned her back to him, glad she had decided to wear her denim Capri pants along with pink Converse sneakers and a brown and pink top instead of the skirt and peasant blouse she had considered first.

"Don't go over into the slopes," Vivi kept a tight grip on the bar she was sitting on, her feet hanging on either side of the front tire as Gabe pushed off the ground, the bike a bit wobbly due to the extra weight.

"Of course not," Gabe steered towards the concrete edge of the park's perimeter, laughing at the squeal she let out as he weaved the bike from side to side.

All four had a few hours of fun, talking and joking around as Brad and Nika took turns on the skateboard with the occasional spill onto the smooth concrete as they tried doing more complicated tricks.

Vivi was the one to remind them all they needed to start heading back to the reservation, the sun already making its way towards the horizon.

Their return to La Push was an interesting entourage involving four of them and two modes of transportation not including walking. While Vivi stayed seated on the handlebar of Gabriel's bike, Nika stood towards the front of the skateboard while Brad, who had one foot in the middle with the other propelling him forward, his hands on her shoulders keeping them both balanced.

They dropped off Nika first, Brad waving good-bye to his cousin and Vivi before heading off to his place, his sister's protective gear in a black drawstring bag slung over his shoulder.

Vivi badgered Gabriel into letting her ride his bike and after hemming and hawing –it was a brand new bike after all and he didn't even know if she knew how to ride one –he let her have at it for the last couple of blocks before getting to her place.

He kept pace with her, laughing as she tried to keep a straight course without success, coming to her rescue when she couldn't figure out how to stop the bike as they reached their destination.

Gabe kept his hold on the handlebar, both of them laughing as she got off rather awkwardly due to the bike being the correct height for Gabe but a bit too tall for Vivi despite her long legs.

"I had fun today," Vivi smiled at him as he leaned the black and red bike up against the porch railing before following her up onto the porch.

"Yeah," Gabe agreed as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans, the green polo shirt he wore stretching over his shoulders, "I had fun too…not having your brother breathing down my neck kind of helped."

Vivi's low laugh had him feeling a good kind of weird as he moved into her personal space, watching her watch him as she leaned back against the closed front door, "I don't know why you two can't get along."

"Oh, we get along just fine," Gabe leaned his shoulder against the door, dipping his head to get a bit closer to her face as he gave her a one sided grin, "Except when he tries to tell me what to do."

Vivi bit her lip, slipping her hands behind her back to keep their shaking from him, her stomach quivering with thousands of flapping butterflies, "He only tries to tell you what to do when it comes to me."

"Exactly," Gabe reached up to stroke her cheek, his breath brushing over her shiny pink lips as the brief thought of what they would taste like flitted through his mind, "And I really…really like you so…"

She held her breath as he moved closer, his lips brushing hers once, twice before she felt the slight wet feel of his tongue touching her bottom lip, causing her heart to race faster.

The front door opened without warning, both of them stumbling to keep their balance as they moved away from each other, Marc's dark eyes moving from one to the other as he held tight to the door, "Dinner's going to be ready in thirty minutes."

Vivi couldn't keep her face from flushing, rubbing her sweaty palms against her pants, "Thank you Marc. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Marc arched an eyebrow as he looked over at Gabriel before turning to sneer at his sister, "¿Crees que voy a dejar que te bese fuera de nuestra casa?" *You think I'm going to let him kiss you outside our house?*

Gabe could tell whatever Marc had said ticked off Vivi as she threw back her shoulders, scowling at her brother, "No es asunto tuyo lo que hago con él. *Its none of your business what I do with him.*

Marc scoffed as he shifted his weight, "Claro que es mi asunto –eres mi hermana." *Of course its my business –you're my sister.*

"Sere tu hermana pero eso no te da derecho a dictar lo que hago," Vivi hissed, her hands fisted at her sides as Marc rolled his eyes, which just served to get her angrier. *I may be your sister but it doesn't give you the right to dictate what I do.*

Gabe wasn't exactly sure what Marc's reply was but he knew it was meant to hurt because Vivi's gold-brown eyes widened before they started filling with tears and the sight of it just didn't sit right with him so he stepped forward, giving Marc's shoulder a shove, "Fuck off, Marc."

Marc's jaw tightened as he let go of the door, shoving Gabe back with both hands, the porch railing keeping him from tumbling back onto the flowerbed beside the walkway, "You stay the fuck out of it."

"Stop it," Vivi reached out to pull Marc back as Gabriel found his footing, "You two need to stop doing this!"

"Hey, hey," Seth's deep voice boomed, keeping Gabe from lunging towards Marc as he came out into the porch, reaching out to pull Vivi into his side, "What the hell is going on out here?"

Gabe and Marc glared at each other, the tension thick between them and Seth did his best not to roll his eyes, silently wondering what kind of shit was going to hit the fan if they ever did come head to head for real instead of the squabbles, "Okay, you two –knock it off. Marc, your aunt needs help setting the table."

Marc gave Gabe one final glare before he went into the house, Seth hugging Vivi and dropping a kiss on the crown of her head, "Say your good-nights, Ladybug. Gabe needs to get home for dinner."

"Okay, Tio Seth," Vivi gave him a grateful smile, reaching up to wipe at her eyes as he reached out to ruffle his nephew's dark hair before turning to go back into the house, leaving the front door open.

Gabe reached out to take her hand, giving it a tug to move her away from the open doorway, "What did he say to you?"

Vivi shook her head, her bottom lip quivering slightly as she gave him a small smile, "Don't worry about it –it's just big brother stuff."

Gabe nodded, well aware of what big brother stuff consisted of –it wasn't like he and Emmie never fought or made each other angry after all, "I'm sorry…"

"You don't need to be," Vivi let out a sigh, the ringing of the phone cutting off what she was thinking of saying, "That's probably your mom. You should go."

Gabe nodded, leaning down and placing a kiss on her cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay."

Gabe watched her go into the house, giving her a final wave before she closed the door, whistling under his breath as he bounded off the porch and got his bike, taking a running leap onto it and heading up the street towards his house.

Despite the incident with Marc, he couldn't keep himself from whistling as the breeze pushed back his hair, smiling as he licked his bottom lip, the taste of her lip gloss still there.

Strawberry bubblegum…his new favorite.


Monday, Last Week of July
Auburn, WA

Rick looked up at the rearview mirror, watching his little girl as she stared out the window, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth as he drove the last few miles to the science camp where he would be leaving her in the care of others.

He was a bit apprehensive –something he didn't let Leah see or she would have refused to let her go, her own apprehension much more obvious –about this, being the first time Emmie would be away from them for longer than a school day or a sleepover. The only reason he agreed with it was because he knew it would benefit her to be in the company of kids her age who were equally interested in science as she was.

Not only that but with Embry working at the camp as one of the counselors, it was an opportunity to see if Emmie was ready to have him back in her everyday life.

"What if they don't like me, Daddy?"

Rick smiled as he turned left, the signs leading to the camp on the side of the road letting him know he was going the right way, "Why won't they like you, agapemeni?"

Emmie shrugged, her hands pressed to her stomach as the butterflies she felt in there flapped their wings even harder, "The kids at school don't like me."

It hurt Rick that his baby girl didn't have friends at school although it didn't surprise him –she was, after all, two years younger than the rest of her classmates, not to mention many steps ahead of them intellectually. It was for that reason he and Leah had refused to skip her into high school come this new school year, despite the teacher's assurance it would be academically beneficial for her.

He knew it would be but he didn't think it would be beneficial for her, socially speaking. Despite the fact if they skipped her into high school she would be starting along with Gabe, Rick felt it would just single her out more for the teasing older kids bestowed on her.

"Moro, these kids are special, just like you. Most of them enjoy science as much as you and some of them are just as smart as you are. I spoke to the camp director and she told me three of the kids in your group have also been advanced in school, just like you."

Emmie looked away from the view outside as her Daddy pulled up to the parking lot, taking a hitching breath as he put the car in park, "So I won't be a freak like I am at school?"

Rick sucked in a breath, battling down the anger at the ignorance of her classmates in their treatment of his little girl. Stepping out of the car, he opened the back passenger door, crouching to look her in the eye as soon as she stepped out, "You are not a freak, Emerie. I don't ever want to hear you say that of yourself. You're a very special girl and sometimes, people don't understand how to deal with that. Now here…you won't be the only one that's special. Get to know them, Emmie…you may make a friend or two."

Emmie looked at the kids and parents around them, unthinkingly nibbling on her fingernail, a habit she had gotten rid of some years back, "Is Embry going to be here?"

Rick smiled at her, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, "Yes but he's here to work, moro mou, while you're here to have fun. I don't want you to be following him around or be rude to anyone interacting with him. Remember, he's an adult with a life of his own and you need to let him be just like he lets you be, okay?"

Emmie nodded as a woman in khaki shorts and bright yellow t-shirt approached them, her long blond hair in a ponytail threaded through the back of a beige baseball hat, "Hello! I'm Sandy, the camp director."

"Nice to meet you, Sandy," Rick straightened up, shaking her offered hand before placing it on Emmie's shoulder, "I'm Rick Laskaris and this is my daughter Emerie."

"Emerie Laskaris," Sandy looked at the clipboard she was holding for a few seconds before checking something off, "She's going to be in cabin four with Cherish as her camp counselor. You're welcomed to take her bag, just follow that path up around the playground and past the canteen."

"Thank you," Rick gave her a smile before turning to take the purple duffel bag along with the sleeping bag they'd bought her, "Alright, Emmie, let's get you to your cabin."

Emmie nodded, feeling unusually shy as she took her Daddy's hand, watching as Sandy approached another family, checking off more names from her list.

Halfway up the path, she caught sight of Embry standing outside a cabin with a big number eight painted on the side in bright red, a clipboard in hand as parents and boy campers of about ten or eleven approached him.

She kept watching him, letting her Daddy tow her up the path towards her own cabin, a smile breaking across her face when he looked up and caught sight of her. Waving at him, she couldn't help her heart from skipping when he gave her a huge grin, waving back at her and she could see he was happy to see her, something she had been secretly worrying about.

Feeling much more secure, she skipped to get in step with her father as they reached cabin number four, a talk brunette wearing the same khaki shorts and yellow t-shirt as Sandy and Embry standing outside the door with a clipboard in her hand, "Hi! I'm Cherish. Can I have your name?"

Emmie smiled up at her as she let go of her Daddy's hand, "I'm Emerie Laskaris but I prefer Emmie."

"Well, Emmie," her smile was big and her brown eyes sparkling, Emmie liking her right away, "I'm your camp counselor for this week and you're going to be on bunk bed number four. Go on in and your Dad can help you set up your sleeping bag and put your duffel bag under the bed, okay?"

Emmie gave a nod as she skipped into the cabin, looking around with interest at the other girls setting up their sleeping bags with their parents' help.

Finding the bunk, she took the sleeping bag her Daddy handed her, unsnapping the ties and spreading to over the bottom bunk bed as he placed her duffel bag under the bed after taking out her pillow to hand it to her.

"You're all set, moro mou," Rick smiled at her as he dropped to one knee, stroking a finger over her bangs, "Want me to stay a bit longer?"

"Na-ah," Emmie shook her head, giving him a big smile before she hugged his neck, "I'm okay, Daddy. You can go."

"Okay, then," Rick hugged her tight, kissing her cheek before pulling away to look into her bright blue eyes, "S 'agapó̱, mo̱ró mou kai xéro̱ óti tha kánei thav̱másia." *I love you, baby and I know you'll do wonderful.*

"Tha sas kánei na eímaste yperí̱fanoi, bampás," her smile was big as he laughed, kissing her forehead before giving her his usual response, "Échete í̱di̱ kánei, koritsáki." *I'll make you proud, Daddy.*You already do, baby girl.*

Emmie watched her father walk out of the cabin, stopping to say something to her camp counselor who nodded before he turned to give her one last wave.

Waving at him, she sat at the edge of her bed and watched the other little girls in the cabin, lost in her own thoughts as parents said their good-byes and left.

"I'm Carissa," a high pitched voice cut into her thoughts, blue eyes swing up to meet green eyes, the girl pushing her duffel bag under the bed before tossing her sleeping bag up onto the bunk above Emmie's, "What's your name?"

"Emerie," she answered, watched as the girl tossed a pillow up on the top bunk, her straight blue-black hair brushing the tops of her shoulders as she looked down at her from the bottom rung where she stood, "That's a strange name."

"So is Carissa," Emmie responded, standing up as the girl jumped off the rung, one of her sneakers untied.

"It's a family name," Carissa shrugged as she blew a piece of hair out of her face, "I prefer to go by Cari."

"Mine's a family name too," Emmie stuck her hands into the pockets of her jean shorts, "And I go by Emmie."

Cari stared at her for a whole minute before smiling, her green eyes dancing as she stuck out her hand, "Nice to meet you Emmie. We're going to be great friends."

"We are?" Emmie gave her hand a tentative shake, her own smile appearing as Cari gave a very decisive nod, "Yup, we are totally going to be the best of friends. What do you prefer, science or math?"

"I like both but science is more my thing."

"I'm totally a math geek although Chemistry totally rocks," Cari sat on Emmie's bottom bunk with a bounce, pulling up her knee to tie her shoe, "I want to be a nuclear chemist when I grow up. You?"

Emmie sat down beside her, crossing her ankles as she looked at the other five bunks, which were quickly filling up, "I want to do botany, mineralogy and entomology."

"Cool," Cari grinned as she dropped her foot, "My dad's a bio-chemist in the NAVY. He's always going places and it's all top secret stuff so we don't know what he does but he's always bringing me things from everywhere."

"That sounds like fun," Emmie tugged at the corner of her sleeping bag as the last bunk, across from theirs, was taking by an Asian girl, "My Daddy teaches at the high school. He's got a doctorate in Greek Languages and History."

"Why Greek?"

"'Cause he's from Greece," Emmie and Cari looked up as the counselor walked in, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention, "Alright girls! Let's get to know each others' names then we're heading out for a tour of the camp before dinner, followed by a campfire. I'll start first. I'm Cherish and I'll be your counselor for the entire week."

She looked to her left which meant the Asian girl that had arrived last, her voice soft as she quickly glanced around the room, "I'm Angie."

Following Angie was Hope, Marissa, Lizbeth, Annie, Martha, Bethany and Claire.

"I'm Cari, I love Chemistry and I'm from Tacoma."

All the other girls looked at Cari, a bit surprised at the information given being no one else had supplied anything other than their names.

Emmie smiled at her new friend, liking her outspoken nature, before she looked at the other girls, "I'm Emmie, I love science and I'm from La Push."

Marissa, a petite blond with brown eyes, tilted her head to the side, "Isn't that the reservation outside of Forks?"

"Yes," Emmie nodded, already knowing she wasn't going to like this girl, "It's the Quileute reservation."

"How come you live there?"

"My mama is Quileute," Emmie answered, narrowing her eyes when Marissa wrinkled her nose, "So you're Indian?"

Cherish was about to intervene but Emmie stood up, her hands fisted at her sides as she scowled at Marissa; "The correct term is Native American. Indians are from India."

Clapping her hands, Cherish stepped in between the girls, mentally taking note to make sure and keep those two on opposite sides at all times, "Alright girls, let's get going, daylight's burning!"

The rest of the day was uneventful, the girls following behind Cherish like a row of ducks, Cari and Emmie sticking to each other as the other girls straggled along, a couple of them pairing up.

A fifteen minute tour accompanied by camp rules followed by dinner then a camp wide campfire that included the makings of S'mores had them all tuckered out by the time they arrived at their cabin.

The sound of zippers being pulled, chatting and laughing as they got their toiletries and pajamas before heading to the bathroom where they got showered and dressed for bed.

Emmie hummed as she brushed her teeth, feeling certain the week ahead was going to be one of the best. Spitting into the sink, she laughed at the sound of Cari singing at the top of her lungs while showering.

Putting everything into her toiletry bag, she picked up her dirty clothes, moving towards Cari's shower stall, "I'm heading to bed."

"'Kay," Cari yelled out before going back to her song, the smell of apple blending in with the other smells in the bathroom, including Emmie's own lily of the valley shampoo smell.

Walking down the aisle towards her bunk, she felt the day had been a good one except for one thing –although she had seen Embry and he had seen her, she hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him and that put a bit of a downer on her spirits.

She had spent most of her summer wondering if he missed her, if he even thought about her. Daddy had explained, time and again, how Embry was an adult and had a life of his own outside of her but what Emmie didn't like was the possibility that life would push her out of his mind.

Reaching her bed, she stood there for several seconds, staring at the item on her pillow in surprise before a smile spread across her face as she dropped everything she held on the floor to pick it up.

A yellow rubber ducky with a pink and white tiara on its head…he still thought about her.


First Week of August

"Another summer gone."

Rick scoffed as he looked over at Sam, the Quileute Alpha manning the grill while he kept company, "Another summer survived."

Sam laughed as he looked over his shoulder, watching as his family –and those of his pack –set out tables and chairs, all the while avoiding the little ones running around the beach, the older ones out by the surf playing with a Frisbee, "We've done well, Rick –you and I."

Rick laughed as he tipped back his beer bottle, fingers of his other hand in the pocket of his board shorts, "Not bad at all, Sam, although it can still be considered too soon to tell."

Watching as Bailey, Brad, Marc, Gabe, Nika and Vivi continued on their boys versus girls Frisbee game, his attention was caught by Tyra as she ran around people and tables, Alyx and Andrey chasing after her with clumps of wet seaweed.

Zak was out on the water, taking his new surfboard for a test ride while Marilynn and Skye build a sand castle with the help of Eden Marie who much preferred the clump look over the smooth one the older girls were looking for.

Erick was bouncing on his grandfather's knee while simultaneously trying to catch his mustache, Sue and Emily laughing at his antics.

Xavier, along with William and Carlos, were chasing Einstein around in circles, while Emmie and Lili walked along the seashore, filling up a bucket with seashells.

Lian sat by the campfire, accompanied by Julie, Lyn, Collin, Daisy and Brandon as little Jillian bounced and bobbed to the song her parents were singing.

Rose was arguing with Seth, who was trying to get her to sit down and put her feet up but she kept telling him she would do so when she was damn well and ready, Leah laughing as her sister-in-law gave her little brother hell for being so damn bossy.

Yeah…it was definitely still too soon to tell.