Sorry, this chapter has taken so long. I've been trying to work out how exactly to get this story where it is I want it to go. I know where it's going, it's just getting it there that has me stumped. The next few chapters may take a while as well. I apologize in advance.

As always, I do not own Ghost Hunt. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 22

The first couple of days in London were fairly peaceful. Luella wanted to take Mai and the twins everywhere, but Martin had convinced her to relax for a couple of days to let them settle in and adjust. Now, it was Saturday, and Luella had almost had enough. She didn't know what Oliver had done, but, obviously, he had messed everything up, somehow. Mai had spent most of the last 3 days hiding in their library. The only time she smiled was with the twins. If Oliver entered a room, Mai left. She wouldn't speak to him or even look at him. Luella had tried to ask Mai about it, but Mai had just started crying and run back to her room.

That was something that had surprised both Luella and Martin. As soon as they had arrived at their home, Oliver had their butler take Mai up to a room. They didn't even realize at first that she was in a separate room from Oliver. They had assumed, and accepted, that the two of them would share a room.

Luella had had enough. She finally managed to track down Mai while she was hiding in the library after dinner. The twins had already been tucked into their beds, so she locked the doors behind her to keep them from being interrupted by Oliver or Martin.

"Mai," she gently prodded. She waited a moment for Mai to put down the book she had been reading. "What happened?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"With you and Oliver, what happened? And please don't run off again, I truly want to help."

"There's nothing you can do to help," she suddenly sobbed. "I was a fool!"

"What do you mean? How could you have been a fool?"

Collapsing into a nearby chair, Mai struggled to hold back tears. "He...he told...me...he lo...loved...me, and...and I, I believed...him," she sobbed.

Luella knelt in front of the chair Mai was on and hugged her, saying "Of course, you believed him, this is Oliver we're talking about. He's not good at the whole feelings thing, and he always says what he means. He does love you, why would you think he doesn't?"

"I thought...but then...," Mai couldn't quite get the words out.

"Slow down, take a few deep breaths, then try," Luella calmly told her. "I'm going to grab us a couple of cups of tea, will you wait here for me?" She waited for Mai to nod yes before getting up to go get the tea. "I'm going to lock the door on my way out, just so Oliver can't come in, okay? He doesn't have a key," she winked. Again, she waited for Mai to nod before exiting the room.

When Luella returned about 10 minutes later, Mai had calmed down considerably. She still had a few tears escaping, and the occasional hiccup, but her breathing was almost normal. Luella sat a tea tray down on a stand next to Mai and pulled a chair over to sit next to her. Holding Mai's hand, she asked, "You ready to try again?"

Taking a sip of the chamomile Luella made for her, Mai began slowly, "Before we left Japan," she paused and blushed, "Oliver and I slept together."

"It's okay, dear. I know this may be a bit uncomfortable for you to say, but I'm not going to judge you."

"Thanks for that. Anyway, I thought maybe things would be okay for us. We were so close for that week we were together in Japan. Then, we get here...not even here, really. Before the plane landed he told me "your room will be next to the twins". I thought he'd want to stay together, but apparently not," she started crying again. "I know I'm 'damaged goods' now, is that why he doesn't want to be with me? Am I too damaged for him to want me? And I practically threw myself at him! How could I have been so stupid?!"

"Oh, honey!" Luella hugged her tight. "That's not it at all! He thought you would want some privacy. He was afraid Martin and I wouldn't be okay with you, an unmarried woman, sleeping in the same bed as him. We get it. It's not like we're living in the '70s or something anymore. Even Martin and I were...well, nevermind that. We were both surprised you had a separate room. We expected the two of you to be together.

"He's probably still trying to come to terms with the fact that he's a father. Then there's what was done to you...he's been so angry, mostly at himself. He seems to think that if he had been there, none of it would have happened. Mai, dear, he's so protective of you. He's never shown so many emotions about anyone as he does you, not even when Gene died."

Mai took a couple of minutes to think through what Luella was telling her. She supposed it could be true. Deciding to think more on it later, she looked to Luella and said, "Well, I guess I've got even more to think on now. I was wondering, though, what are the plans for next week?"

Sitting back in her chair, Luella had to think for a moment. "Martin and Oliver aren't scheduled to go back to work until Wednesday. I was hoping to take you and Cissa and Gene around to some more of the touristy type places. What would you like to do, though?"

"To be honest, I just want to go to BSPR and look at the archives. This whole thing with my family, and what happened to me, it's hard to explain. I'm really hoping that there's something in the archives there that will help explain what's happening."

"Understandable. Probably not somewhere to take two very psychic 3-year-olds, though," Luella laughed.

Laughing, Mai agreed. "I'm sure they would like to see where their dad and grandfather work. As much as Naru may hate the idea, they do need to have some tests done. We need to know what they can safely do, and if there's things we will need to do to keep them safe when they use their gifts."

"You're right about that. Martin and Oliver have already been arguing over what will be the best for them. Martin and I will gladly take the 3 of you in on Monday to meet everyone, and arrange some of the tests. But, Mai dear, please don't allow any tests without Oliver there."

"Don't worry. No matter what is going on between the two of us, they are his children. I wouldn't cut him out like that. I tried so hard to reach him before they were born. I didn't try to keep them away from him, and I never will."

"I know, dear," Luella patted Mai's hand. "It was all in the letter your former boss brought to Martin. No, Oliver hasn't seen that letter. Martin thought it best to let him work it out on his own," she laughed.

"Oh, dear! I wish I could have seen his face when he realized who their father was!" Mai laughed.

"Right? It was something, that's for sure. Your letter explained it all. How you tried to reach BSPR and everything. I'm so sorry you went through that all alone. We're together now, though."

Mai couldn't find the words, so she just nodded her head. Then, after a moment, she asked, "What about tomorrow? Are there any plans?"

"Are you religious, at all?"

"Not particularly. Why do you ask?"

"Well, there's Westminster Abbey, of course. Lots of history, there, and the architecture is stunning."

"Oh, yes! I have always wanted to see it!"

"Well, then that settles that," Luella giggled. "What else have you wanted to see?"

"To be honest, Stonehedge has always fascinated me. Of course, the Tower of London, and Windsor Castle. I'm sure the twins would love a castle. What about Leeds Castle? Or Canterbury Cathedral? Do you think they would enjoy those?"

"Canterbury, yes. A lot of history there. Leeds, though, that's a tough one. Maybe we can plan a visit to Leeds, but then spend the night at Hever Castle. It's not too far away, and as nice as our mansion is, I think everyone would enjoy a night in a real castle. How does that sound?"

"That's possible?" Mai asked, surprised.

"Oh, yes. There are several castles around that have been turned into hotels. You can really spend the night in a real castle."

"That sounds amazing. That will probably take a few days to arrange everything, so no rush on that," Mai laughed.

Laughing with her, Luella glanced across the room. "Oh, my!" she startled. "It's nearly midnight!"

"What? Where did the time go?" Mai gasped.

"Well, I guess we'd better be getting to bed. Martin's probably wondering where I disappeared to," she laughed. "Mai, don't worry so much. Oliver loves you, and I'm sure he'll pull his head from his rear soon enough."

"Thank you, Luella. Have a good night," Mai told her as she headed out the door and to bed herself.