I walked in to my room with my 'children' and once the last one was in, I closed the door and motioned for them to follow me to the bed. Once we all sat down on it, it was Bram who broke the silence. "Father, you seemed to be lost in thought through breakfast and lunch...and then at Dinner, you seemed to be so far lost in thought, I thought someone was going to need to give you a map. Then, you ask us to meet you in your room. What's going on?"

"I have decided on something very important, and I'm not exactly sure how to go about it. I made the decision while I was helping Emily cook breakfast and we ended up dancing in the kitchen without music...and through lunch and dinner...I had tried to..."

"Wait..." Nimbus interrupted with hopeful eyes. "...are you finally going to confess to Mother?"

I gave him a wide and tooth smile as I nodded my head. "Yes, I am."

"That's great!" Mesi and Adara chimed together with pure excitement.

"It's about time!" Abungu laughed out.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Summer nodded his head with a proud look in his eyes.

"Wait...you came to a decision...what was the deciding factor? What finally did it?" Autumn questioned as she crossed her arms with patient eyes.

"Well, it was just the two of us in the kitchen and I was cutting the tops off of the strawberries while she was working on eggs. She was humming a song we danced to a couple years ago and she was swaying to the the upbeat tune, and as I heard her hum it, I realized I had never heard her sing or hum before...and it was such a beautiful sound...I couldn't do anything. Well, at the very least, I couldn't focus on cutting fruit. I watched her sway a little longer, and listened to her hum the melody some more. When she finished the eggs, I took her hands and I started dancing with her. I didn't ask, I didn't bow, I didn't...well, I didn't do anything I usually do. I just grabbed her hands and began to dance with her, and she didn't mind at all. In fact, it was almost as if she wanted to do the same. It wasn't fast paced or anything, but there was no music, and somehow it was more than perfect. It was just the two of us...and the kitchen was our ballroom. She took the lead for a bit and turned around to where her back was facing my front, and she made my arms wrap around her as she continued to sway some more. My breath was caught in my throat. I was speechless, but I continued to dance with her. She then twirled herself back around to face me and we continued like that for a bit, but when we ended the dance...I almost said it, because we were alone and she was so beautiful and her laughter filled the air in the best way...but...I was about to say, 'I love you' and then I changed it to, 'I love...it when we dance together.' She agreed, and didn't catch my almost slip up, but it also had me thinking...if I was that close to saying it, I really need to tell her soon. Then, I started thinking on how I was going to tell her. After that, I fought my own nerves, and my self consciousness until I decided to ask for your help."

"Oh my goodness." Mesi started with a gasp as she placed her hands over her smiling face.

"Father is really and truly in love with Mother." Adara commented.

"How long have you had feelings for her again?" Isla questioned with a slight smirk and narrowing eyes.

"She's had my heart since 1732." I answered as I remembered our first dance and I couldn't help but grin stupidly at the memory.

"Right, and you would think he would've confessed years ago." Nimbus smirked. "Now, it's been exactly one hundred years since they first danced."

"So, we knew you've been in love for a hundred years now, but why haven't you confessed?" Autumn questioned with a furrowed brow.

"I...she's just...she's just so perfect and wonderful and beautiful and...she's kind, graceful, funny, intelligent, fierce, wild, and when we dance together...I fall in love all over again every time...but also...I fall even further in love. We've danced a lot since then, and this last dance...it almost got me to blurt it out. I...she deserves so much better than me. She deserves the world and then some...but she already pretty much has the world...she's MOTHER NATURE!"

"Then perhaps..." Abungu started with a comforting smile. "...you are the 'and then some' part."

"I don't know..." I told him as I ran my hand through the side of my hair before rubbing the back of my neck. "...but either way...I know I won't be able to hold back saying it for much longer. I just don't know how to say it and I..." A knock at my door interrupted my words, and we all looked at each other with confused looks.

"May I come in?" Emily questioned politely.

I got up to open the door for her. "Are you alright, Emily?" I asked her cautiously. "You never come to my room this late..." I opened the door open just a bit more to allow her to walk in.

She leaned in and looked at my bed, and leaned back to where she was. "Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you, but you have company so..."

"We were just leaving." Nimbus and Bram chorused together in an all too innocent way, which usually meant they had nothing innocent planned. Then, apparently everyone agreed with him and they got up and walked out of the room. I looked outside my door and watched them go down the stairs without another word.

"Well then...I guess come in." I chuckled nervously, and made my way towards the bed once more. Once I sat down, I noticed Emily had done the same. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I just wanted to ask you if you were alright...but I'm sure the others have taken care of that question."

"Hmm..." I trailed off as I clutched my staff tightly, and let out a heavy sigh, knowing they probably left us like this on purpose, and they were basically telling me that now was a perfect time and that I had to figure it out on my own. "Well, they did and didn't help. You see...I'm a bit worried and nervous about something. Perhaps you could help me. They didn't really get the chance to."

"Oh, of course. What's troubling you."

"Well, there's this spirit I really like...no, that's not quite right. I've fallen in love with them."

"You have?" She asked, and not looking at her, I could hear something that sounded like worry mixed with concern.

"I have." I lightly scoffed. "The worst part is...I've been in love with them for a little over ninety years."

"What um...what do you need advice on?"

"I want to tell her how much I love her, but I'm not sure how."

"Why not?"

"Well...because she deserves someone...that's more than what I am."

I looked up at her and noticed her heavily confused expression. "And what do you mean by what you are?"

"Well, I mean...look at me!" I scoffed as I stood up from my bed and gestured to all of me. "I look like a fourteen year old, and I'll ALWAYS look like this. Not to mention I'm trouble. I play pranks, I'm mischievous, I make a mess of things most of the time, I'm childish, and I have nothing to offer her. The only thing I can give her is my heart, and she's had that for a very long time."

"My..." She started and her voice cracked slightly, and I wasn't entirely sure why, but I was hoping it was because she thought I was talking about someone else. "...you are truly in love with this person, but...those things you think are negative about you...if she loved you as much as you say you love her, then she wouldn't care about any of those things. In fact, she should actually enjoy those things about you."

"A-And if she doesn't?" I asked, because my heart did a back flip in my chest with her words, because I hoped they were true for her.

"Then she doesn't deserve you, Jack. Tell me..." She trailed off with a thoughtful, but saddened expression, and the way she was sitting, I knew she was trying to hold back tears. It gave me a flicker of hope, but I wasn't going to dare it yet. "...what do you truly think of her?"

'Now or never.' I thought quickly, knowing she can't read my thoughts in here. I sat back down on my bed next to her, and found the grass very interesting while I spoke. "She's magnificent..." I told her with a small smile that she couldn't see with how low my head was. "...she's wonderful, beautiful, wild, fierce, remarkable...she's strong, hard headed, and when she laughs or even so much as chuckles it makes my legs feel weak. However, when she cries, it twists my heart in ugly ways, and I want nothing more than to be there for her, but sometimes I can't, and there was one time where I was the reason for her tears, and it broke my heart. Oh, and the way her hair moves in the wind...there's no words for how beautiful it looks. Then, there's the fact that I almost told her 'I love you', but I didn't, and now I'm not sure what to do, because my self control is breaking. I want to tell her so bad, but I want to know the right moment when, and I want to know the right way to tell her..." I looked up at her, and saw how wide her eyes were, and for once, I couldn't tell what was behind them. So, I continued. "...and the only way I could think of telling her just how in love I am with her...was to explain it as if I was talking about someone else, and as she sits next to me right now, I'm wondering with a pounding heart what her answer might be to my feelings."

I heard her gasp and she quickly placed her hands over her mouth in shock while her eyes widened a great deal. "J-Jack...I..."

"So...you don't feel the same?"

"N-No...I..."

And that was all I needed to hear, because without hearing what else she had to say I ran out the door, ignoring her calls of my name as I ran towards the stairs, but I was stopped by Nimbus. "What happened?"

"I was right...there was no way she'd feel the same. I told her, but...look, I gotta go!" I ran past him and quickly made my way further down the stairs, but then I was stopped by Bram. "Move, Bram."

"Humor me, Jack." He requested, and with how serious he looked at the moment, I couldn't deny him. "Look, Nimbus just went into your room, and he left the door cracked slightly. C'mon."

We quietly rushed up the stairs and I stood against the wall, listening to what was going to be said, and was grateful that I could see a little too, but at the same time I wasn't, because I could see and hear her crying. "Mother, are you alright?" I heard Nimbus ask as he sat next to her on my bed.

"N-No...I-I'm not. J-Jack he...and I couldn't...but I..."

"Mother, please...breathe and tell me what happened. Jack just ran down the stairs and he told me that he told you something...but then he ran further down the stairs."

"H-He...said he was i-in love w-with me."

"And I'm guessing this upset you, and you told him you couldn't return his feelings, and now your both upset."

"I-I..."

"Mother, can I ask you...how did the conversation go exactly? I want to help, so can you please tell me?"

"I...he..." She breathed in and out slowly, trying to catch her breath. "He told me he tried to get your advice along with the others, but that you all didn't get the chance to help...and he started talking about a woman he was in love with. He then said that she deserved someone more than he was, and that alone seemed ridiculous to me I mean he's...anyway, I asked him to tell me about her...and I knew what I was asking, but I wasn't expecting it to hurt so much with everything he said about her. As I listened to him talk about her, all I could think was, 'Wow...he really does love her. He really is in love.' It hurt so much hearing it...and then he said that the woman he was talking about was me, and I...I couldn't believe it. He asked me, 'So...you don't feel the same?' And I tried to tell him 'No I do!' but I didn't get the last word out, and I wanted to tell him that I felt the same, but I only ended up ruining everything. I was overjoyed and I nearly cried tears of joy from his words, but I..."

My ears stopped hearing, my heart stopped beating, my breath stopped breathing, and in all the happiness I felt, my sight was the last thing to go along with my consciousness as I fell backwards.

oOoOoOoOoOo

As my consciousness returned slowly, I realized I was in my nest. My head was pounding, my ears were ringing, and when I tried to open my eyes briefly, the light made the headache that much worse. "Oh..." I groaned out, and almost immediately I could hear footsteps coming towards me, and someone had shifted on my nest next to me.

"Jack?" I heard Bram question, and he was apparently the one sitting on the bed next to me.

I struggled to open my eyes, but once I did, I pushed past the pain, and lifted a hand to my head. I focused some of my magic on my headache, and surprisingly enough it worked, and the light didn't hurt as much. I then took a good look around my room, and I noticed that Nimbus had walked forward, Bram was sitting next to me, but Emily was standing closer to the door with tears streaming down her face, despite her attempts at holding her composure. "Wh-What happened?"

"You fainted." Bram answered with a half frown. "When you fell to the floor, you got a concussion. You were awake for a bit, but you weren't exactly all there."

"Bram...Nimbus...can you leave the room so I can talk to Emily, please?"

"Of course. We'll be just outside if you need anything." He patted me lightly on the shoulder and left the room with Nimbus.

Once the door clicked behind them I looked at Emily and gave her a small smile. "Can you come here, please?"

"I...I'm not sure if I..."

"Please, Emily." At my words, she nodded her head and with her arms hugging her tightly she walked over and sat on the right side of my nest-bed. "Did Bram tell you why I fainted?"

"No...he just busted through the door with you limp in his arms and he said you fainted and hit your head hard. I was so worried, and then when you woke up briefly...the three of us could easily determine that you had a concussion, but we couldn't keep you awake. You were out for an hour."

"Alright...well...after I ran from you..."

"Jack I..."

"Let me finish please..." She nodded her head and looked at her hands that were now in her lap rather than wrapped around her. "Good. Now, after I ran from you, I was stopped by Nimbus, I told him that I was right...that there was no way you could feel the same, that I told you how I felt, and I told him I had to go..." At my words she held a hand to her mouth and gently sobbed as she looked down at the grass, and even though I wanted to tell her it was okay, I had to continue. "...then as I was running down the stairs Bram stopped me. He showed me that Nimbus was going into my room, and he asked me to humor him and to go listen in on your conversation, because Nimbus left the door cracked open a bit. I heard you say that you felt the same for me, and that I left before you could tell me. I need to know...how long have you felt the same? Because for me...you stole my heart when we first danced together."

"I-It was the same for me." She whispered out as she dried her tears. "I...I don't know how much of our conversation you heard before Bram brought you in, but I told Nimbus that I didn't think you could ever love someone like me."

"WHAT!?" I questioned, completely dumbfounded by her words. I sat up straight in my nest and I stared at her wide eyed. "Why would you think that?"

"Because...because I'm too wild, too brash, I'm loud, I'm dangerous because of everything I can do, I don't socialize much other than with those of my domain, and I'm Mother Nature for crying out loud."

"Okay, first off, I love it all. I love your wild side, your brashness and bluntness, I love that you're loud, and yes you are dangerous and fierce, but you do it for the people of the world and for your children, which actually makes you selflessly kind, brave, and strong. Then there's also the fact about the socializing...you don't exactly have time for it sometimes, but you always had time for me and the others, and that means more than you think, but um...you're gonna have to explain that last one to me." As my head started to ache, I repeated my earlier action and basically put a magical ice pack around the head, which was invisible to everyone, but hey, it worked.

"Jack..." She rolled her eyes with a saddened expression in her eyes, but she had a slight smile on her face, and for now that was good enough. "...I'm from another planet, which...isn't exactly common knowledge, but I told you once, so that counts in this conversation...anyway, and I have children...a lot of them! Then there's..."

I quickly shook my head and placed my hand over her's, catching her attention. "Emily...I love all of it. I love you."

She looked at me with wide eyes and an even wider smile. "I love you too."

I felt her words all over my body and it left me feeling incredibly warm all over, and it made my heart ache with happiness, which I didn't know was possible. At her words, I forgot all about my concussion and thankfully she was just close enough that I could do it. I placed my hand on the right side of her cheek and I leaned forward, capturing her lips with my own, which instantly made me dizzy, and I knew it wasn't from the concussion. I heard her sigh as she wrapped her arms around my neck, and I put my hand on the back of her head, threading her silky ebony hair through my fingers. I ran my tongue along the bottom of her lip, and as she gasped I let myself in, and I couldn't help the moan that left me as her tongue touched mine and I found out quickly that she tasted of mint and lavender. She then returned the kiss with her own tongue exploring my mouth and I moaned again at the feel of her. I desperately didn't want it to end, but I knew if we both kept it up, it would end with a lot less clothes, or at the very least, that's what it felt like at the moment.

I ended the kiss and when my eyes opened to see her, her entire face was red, and she was having to catch her breath. "That...that was..." She started as she held the tips of her fingers to her lips. "That was incredible."

"I'd have to agree." I chuckled low as I could still feel her on my lips despite no longer being attached to them. I leaned back and sat on my bed where I was, and I smiled at her. "Considering that was my first kiss...I hope I didn't disappoint."

"Not at all." She breathed out with a wide grin on her face. "That was...if we kept going like that...I don't think I would've been able to stop."

"I felt the same." I took in how I felt during the kiss, the fact that she now knew that I loved her, and I remembered that it took a full century just to decide to tell her. With that being said, I didn't want to risk waiting another century for what was in my heart, and since I had the courage to do it, I was going to use what I had while it was there. I got out of my bed, and I moved to stand in front of her. She gave me a questioning look, but I ignored it. I knelt down on one knee and I placed my hands on the knee that was pointing up, and I looked into her shocked eyes. "I know it may be incredibly sudden, but I don't want to risk waiting another century to gather up the courage to do this, and I know I may be asking for far more than I deserve, but you've already given me more than words can say. I...no one should be allotted this much happiness, but if you...if you answer like I hope you'll answer, I vow to make you happy. I vow to dance with you in the kitchen when there's no music." I laughed lightly and so did she as tears started to fall from her eyes, giving me her answer, but I truly wanted to finish. "I vow that even though I don't have much I will love you with all that I have. I vow that...i-if you sh-should accept...I vow that I would love your children as my own. I vow to be anything and everything you need for however long you need me. I vow to do all these things if...if you would marry me. So, please allow me to ask...will you marry me?"

"YES!" She shouted in shock, and I immediately got up and kissed her again. When I left the kiss, I realized I was crying. She stood up and wiped away my tears. "Yes." She repeated and wrapped her arms around me.

"We should tell Nimbus and Bram."

"No, tell them to gather the other seven of your nine."

"My nine?"

"They stick to you like sap to a tree, Jack. They're as much yours as they are mine."

"Then that would make them our nine."

"Either way..." She rolled her eyes with a smile. "...go tell them."

I nodded my head and opened the door, and immediately noticed I didn't have to worry about getting the others. "Come in everyone." They all came in after I walked away, and it was Bram who was the last one in.

He closed the door behind him and looked at Emily and I. "Is everything alright?"

"Better than alright." Emily answered and I sat on the bed next to her and held her hand in mine with the biggest smile I've ever had.

"Y-You told her!?" Abungu questioned with a smile threatening to cross his features.

"Oh, he did, and so did I, but now that raises a more interesting question. How long have the nine of you known?"

"Oh...you know...only one hundred years." Nimbus answered.

"Yeah, Adara and I saw how you were when the three of you came back, so we went to talk with Bram and Nimbus when they were done with Jack, and they told us what they saw. That's when we came to talk to you, and even though we didn't tell you what we knew you told us how you felt during the dance."

"Wait, you two knew how she felt?"

"Yes, and so did everyone else before you set your icy glare on just us. We told them. Nimbus, Bram, Adara, and I got together and talked to the other five so that were all on the same secret page."

"Nimbus?"

He shrugged his shoulders with a proud smirk. "It was why I told you that if you didn't tell her before 1850 I was going to do it for you. I couldn't watch it much longer."

"Okay, now that makes much more sense."

"Yes, it certainly does." Emily smiled. "But there's something we need to tell you."

"Okay...what is it?" Isla asked with a curious tone.

"Jack did more than just confess to me. He proposed...he asked me to marry him and I said yes."

There was a stunned but joyful silence for a moment then Nimbus came flying at me, tackling me to the nest. "Father!"

"NIMBUS!" The rest of them shouted in shock and worry.

"They're getting married! It should be okay now! Oh this is so great!"

"Wait a minute, we had a discussion about this once. You admitted that they treated you like a Father to them, and you saw them as your children, but you didn't tell me they called you Father."

"For a long while now. Is it um...is it okay that they say it openly now? Well, at least in the domain?"

"Yes, it's fine with me." She chuckled lightly as I sat back up. "I enjoy it." She told me as she intertwined our fingers.

"S-So...Mother and Father are really going to get married?" I heard Flora ask as carefully as she could.

"Yes." Emily answered joyfully. "The only thing is, neither Jack or myself can wear rings. It would cause people to ask questions or even assume...and though they may assume correctly, it would put others in danger."

"This is so great!" Bram shouted and then everyone started cheering and hugging us.

"So...when is the wedding?" Summer asked.

"Oh! Decorations!" Isla shouted.

"Food!" Mesi and Adara chimed together.

"Music and dancing!" Autumn commented happily.

"Seriously, when is the wedding?" Summer asked again as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

I looked at Emily and smiled brightly. "When do you want to get married?"

"Oh! As soon as possible I hope!" Autumn squealed. "The two of you have been in love for longer than a century you know."

Emily then turned her smiling face to me and her eyes gave me a soft and loving look. "We have, haven't we?"

"Since the day I met you." I confirmed. "...but I think the real thing that made me realize it was..."

"...our first dance." She finished.

"Oh, the two of you have no idea how happy we are that you've finally admitted and confessed your feelings for one another!" Nimbus cheered as he gave me a tight hug. "Can we help with the wedding? Oh, who's going to be your best man!? Can it be me!?"

"Well, aren't you excited!?" I bellowed out a laugh and nodded my head. "Yes, you can be my best man Nimbus."

"Oh, are we picking that now? Hmm...we'll have an uneven number..."

"No we won't..." I grinned and patted Flora on the shoulder. "Flora, would you like to be the flower girl? I can't think of anyone better."

"YES!" She shouted in excitement.

"Good." I chuckled and looked back at Emily. "And that just leaves the order of things. Who'll be your made of honor?"

"Hmm...well...Mesi and Adara both came to me asking me questions, but it was Mesi who asked me why I was blushing...so I'll have Mesi as my made of honor...if you don't mind that is."

"Of course I don't mind!" Mesi answered with a wide grin.

"Okay, so we've got Nimbus as my best man and Mesi as your made of honor...let's see...Next for me would be Bram, then Abungu, and then finally Summer."

"That sounds like a good line up. Mine will be Mesi as my made of honor...then Adara, then Isla, and finally Autumn."

"Sounds perfect." I told her with an honest smile.

"We need to start planning!" Nimbus cheered with pure excitement in his eyes. "Father, you and I will discuss everything that involves you at the wedding, and Mesi will do the same for Mother, but there are some rules."

"Oh?"

"Yes!" Abungu grinned. "You cannot know of anything involving Mother. You cannot know of her dress, her looks, and most importantly, you cannot see her the night before the wedding."

"The same goes for Mother." Summer mentioned

"Oh! I can't wait!" Flora jumped up and down in excitement and quickly wrapped her arms around Emily.