"Have you noticed anything, I dunno, weird lately?" Desmond questions the rest of the men, Altair laying down on the couch asleep with Cas. Once the Arabic man got comfortable with the child, that was after Megan had him hold her several more times and even letting him feed her, he found that he could get out of doing anything by holding her and going to sleep. If ever Megan couldn't find Cascade asleep in her room, she would find her asleep on the Syrian.

Malik looks up from his book, having been absently eating slices of honeydew melon (which he had to thank the woman for), and thinks over the question provided by the youngest assassin. "Some things of both the Novice and I have gone missing now that you have raised such a question."

Desmond wipes off his hands with the rag he used to clean off the counters and bar, after having done the dishes. It was just the three of them, the two Italians having gone with Shaun to shop for food, Alex was off in the woods hunting, and Connor was doing much the same. Megan was upstairs, sleeping, since she had been up all night with both her children; the other being Leo who had managed to get a mild cold. So today she had pretty much disinfected the whole house and had shoved different types of medications down his throat before she let him out of the house. "Like what?" He questions, throwing the rag in the sink. The dishwasher rumbles quietly after he turns it on and goes around the bar, filching a piece of melon on his way,

Malik looks down at his plate then over to the younger man with an unhappy glare, marking his place and setting the book down. "Clothing mostly, though I am missing a throwing dagger."

"Huh. I noticed some of my things gone too. I think the rest have said something about it." Desmond says, flopping gently into the seat so as not to make much noise. They learned the hard way that waking the child resulted in much crying and either a very cranky Megan or angry Alex coming to fetch the baby to calm her. He looks over at the two and gives a quiet snort, Malik returning to his melon and book, as he thinks the sleeping girl looks like a white blob against the dark complexion of his skin.

Megan stirred, somewhere between awakening and still dreaming, and she just laid there in a bundle of warmth and happiness while relishing in the dredges of her dreams. She couldn't remember what the dream was about but she could recall the feeling of happiness and safety. Finally after having lain for a while she gets up, stretching her arms above her head and making contented noises, she gets up and changes clothes after showering. While she still did not enjoy leaving her child for very long, she did know that those she put in charge of Cas were capable. Megan exits her and Alex's room, heading downstairs, to the quiet. That was the new thing to her, the quiet; after having had the men around for 2 years and finding noise always around, it was a little disconcerting to her and a bit hard to swallow as well. She liked noise but understood that quiet was what the child needed.

Of course the scene that greeted her when she made it to the living room wasn't what she was expecting. Instead of Altair asleep on the couch with Cascade it was Malik. The one armed man was relaxed, the current book he was reading on the end table, and the baby on his chest curled up in a ball with her blanket covering her and some of him. She quiets a giggle that threatened to escape from her and walks into the living room. Altair was drinking a cup of something, in one of her mugs at that she had a sinking suspicion held some of her precious hot chocolate if the aroma wafting from the kitchen meant anything, with Desmond's back to her as he leaned against the bar talking in hushed tones with the older man. She slows down, her steps quieting, as she listens to them. They were talking about if they would be able to go home, even after being in this world for 2 years.

She stops.

They didn't want to be here anymore?

Her mind swam with the thought. If they didn't, then did Alex feel the same? Would she be able to be happy if they did?

"Hey Meg." She starts, surprised by Desmond being right in front of her waving his hand inches from her face, and takes a step back.

"Sorry, wondered off in my mind." She shakes her head a little, the plait her hair was in hitting her shoulder blades. "Did you need something?"

"Nah, just saw you standing there with a blank look." He pokes her shoulder and she swats his arm.

"Do…" She stops herself. Did really want to breach this? But with the look Desmond and Altair were giving her she knew she had to. "Do you guys miss home?" They look at one another, now knowing she had heard some part of their conversation.

"Megan. We will always miss where we came from. But we have found another home here." Altair answers sincerely. He gives her one of his rare little smiles, one that she had caught him giving when no one was looking, and she returns it full blast.

"So what happened?" She questions as she goes to the bar and sits down while motioning to the former Bureau Leader. Desmond covers his mouth, stopping the flow of tea that was leaking out of his nose. She looks at the mess he made. "Um, ew."

Desmond makes a chokes laugh, reaching for the roll of paper towels to clean up the counter and himself.

"It was nothing." Altair shoots a look over to Desmond.

"Was not." He counters to the older man and then turns to Megan. "Ok, this is what happened. Cas woke up 'bout an hour ago cause she was hungry right." Megan nods in agreement after looking at the clock on the stove. "Well Altair here tried to feed her." He chuckles and looks down, the muscles in his neck popping out briefly from the laugh, and then looks back up. "She wasn't having it. And she wouldn't let me either." Oh great, her daughter already had picked her favorites at almost two months. "So then Malik tries his hand."

"And she let him." Megan finishes for him as he tries to squash his laughter. He nods in the positive.

"She finishes eating and then Malik goes to pass her off to Altair. The moment his fingers touch him she starts crying." At this Altair's dark look turns murderous and Megan truly feared that the young Assassin had just pushed his luck to far. "He fell out of the chair." And then Desmond's head falls to the recently cleaned counter, laughter causing his body to shake. Megan's eyebrows shoot up and she looks over at Altair. This man never fell, or well she never saw him fall. Granted Malik had told her a few stories about him when they were kids but all kids fall.

"You, uh, you fell out," she clears her throat quietly, "of the chair?" And she could tell that when the look transferred to her, causing the little hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms to stand up, she knew it was true. She bites her lower lip and quickly looks over to Desmond, once more swatting at him.

"So, what happened after that." She forces her voice to be even, pointedly ignoring the older man. If she looked over at him, she would laugh and then she would have to run so she didn't die. Desmond stands up, still leaned over the counter, and looks right at her.

"Malik couldn't stop laughing."

"So that's why he's lying on the on the couch sleeping." She once more bites her lip. Ah, she loved these men. They kept her life interesting.

Altair makes an unhappy noise and when she finally looks over at him, his eye was twitching. This did not bode well. "Come. We need to restart your training." This time Megan's head drops to the counter. She could hear him walking around the counter and takes her wrist, pulling her out of the chair and towards the door that led to her backyard. She did manage to get him to release her long enough to give her daughter a kiss on the head and grab a jacket and then she was out the door.

"I do not like you." Megan moans from the floor, spread eagle, her legs and arms aching from exertion and from the cold leaving her person. The world outside was still covered in snow but that certainly wasn't going to stop Altair from getting her whipped into shape once more. She kinda had to admit that she was glad for it. She was turning into a marshmallow. At this thought she sits up quickly, ignoring the hurting it caused, and looks over to the kitchen. "Gimme hot chocolate." She more or less commands the Arab. A single brow rises. "Please." She amends with a roll of her eyes after he turns away to do so.

"Here, take Cascade." Alex says with a low chuckle, standing up and going upstairs. Megan tickles the baby who squeals loudly, arms and legs flailing in all directions and her eyes lighting up happily. She had her momma. Megan takes the mug of liquid chocolate and sets it down beside her but far enough away that she wouldn't knock it over, going back to playing with her child. Alex comes back to Megan blowing raspberries on the little girl's stomach and the girl laughing. Hell, everyone was laughing after the little girl did.

A grin breaks out over his face. While he knew Megan was a dork, he had to admit she was a good mother. Well, ok he knew she would be seeing as she had 7 'men-child's' she had been caring for two years, but he couldn't help that single grain of worry that had cropped up in the back of his mind. But once the drugs had left her system she was taking care of the baby like she had been doing so for her whole life. He was proud to have found someone that could easily devote her attention to another being without worry.

He sits down beside her on the floor, just watching her play. Finally Connor passes the two of them food which Alex takes and just sets to the side. She wasn't interested with the food, now busy with feeding the little girl.

The baby was excited with this prospect; she loved when her mommy fed her best. Her daddy was second best and the rest of these people were after the two. She may not know a lot about this world she had lived in for such a short time but she did know that all of these people loved her very much. They played with her, changed her, and let her sleep on them. That was the second best; she loved when she got to sleep on them. She was warm and comfortable and she would hear the 'thu-thump' that she had known before she came here. Her mommy was the most comfortable to sleep on.

Finally, after the baby had eaten and had been placed in her bouncer, does Megan take her plate and eat. They all chat and converse, laughing once more over Altair's failure from earlier and over Megan's renewed training for the day. It had been really only cardio but she had done very well anyways. Alex was volunteered for dishes and Megan takes Cascade upstairs for a bath, and then puts her to bed. Alex finds her in their room, the baby monitor on and right beside her as she typed away on her newest story that she needed to get out. Her mind was full of things that wanted to burst out onto the computer but she dedicated the day time to her child and the night to getting written what she could. His lips twitch as he remembers the heated conversation she had had with her agent not even a week ago about her not having written anything. If anything she was getting annoyed with the man and had almost requested a new agent by calling the headquarters.

She pauses, pushing her glasses up and rubbing her eyes and yawns, then looks over to Alex. "Oh!" She squeaks out, jumping slightly. "Don't do that." She gives a short laugh, closing the lid of the machine and setting it aside. She stretches, her shoulders popping and she gives a quiet groan in comfort, and then pats the spot on the bed beside her. "Get in here and keep me warm." She commands with a slight grin, taking off her glasses and chewing on the end of one. His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and a grin takes over his face, him closing the door quietly. He could do that.

The baby monitor gives a static crackle, footsteps barely hearable, before a female voice breaks out over the noise. It was dry and haggard, full of false sympathy. "Hush now little one, do not cry. Suri's here." A shushing noise makes it over the baby's quiet fussing and the child goes quiet. "Good little one, your mother must be proud of such a good child. But I must have something from you. I have taken from the others and now must do the same against you. Don't worry. The Hydra will not harm you. I will rid you and the Princess of it and that horrible Black Knight." The sound of something being cut is heard.

Megan turns over in her sleep, clutching her pillow tighter, and her face scrunching up from her dream.

"Hush now, go back to sleep. But I will visit again little one." Footsteps once more and the sound of a door closing crackling over the monitor; Megan pushes up off the bed, breathing heavy and her eyes darting around in the gloom. Something was off, she could feel it. She throws off the covers and gets up, putting on her robe. For some reason she needed to check on Cascade, her instincts were telling her to check on her daughter. She leaves their room and crosses the hall to her child's room. She enters and reaches over to turn on the pale light they had put in to help her see when she went to check on her in the middle of the night. She stands over the crib, looking down at Cascade, when she notices something off.

There were little hairs upon the mattress.

Megan's eyes widen and her hands fly up to her mouth. Her eyes go straight to the monitor and she grabs it, turning away from the little girl to near yell in it to call for Alex. The man in question walks in, covering a yawn of his own, and giving her a tired but questioning look. "What's wrong?" He whispers quietly, almost to the point of just mouthing the words. At the rather frightened look she had on her face does he awaken. "What happened?" He questions a little louder, eyes burning.

"Someone was in here. Look." She gently scoops up the few hairs and shows them to him. "Whoever it was cut her hair off, there's even a little bald spot from it."

He takes the hairs from her, scrutinizing them, before looking inside for himself. The biomass that made up his person shifts about his face but otherwise he doesn't change. "Did you touch the crib?"

"No." She answers. His brows turn into a single line nearly covering his eyes. He looks down at the floor and then opens the door to look out. He gives a displeased grunt.

"You're right. Someone was in here. The thermal prints are to small to be the Assassins but to large to be yours." The same shifting of biomass happens again and then he looks over to her. "She isn't staying in this room anymore."

Megan had turned away from him and picked up Cascade, clutching her to her chest and rubbing her head and back; she turns back to him when he says this and nods in agreement, fear griping her heart.

"Texas?" Megan nods. Desmond and Shaun give her incredulous looks before Desmond sighs heavily. "Why Texas?" The young man questions, setting his cup down.

Megan was seated on the couch, her daughter in her arms. She looked tired and frightened. "Because something is going on and I don't like it. I don't feel safe. I have never felt like that here before. All I can think to do is to go home."

"But is this not your home?" Connor questions from the other couch. Megan shakes her head slightly.

"That's not what I mean. I mean back to the home I grew up in. My parent's house." She answers then kisses the top of Cascades head when the little girl gives a sigh. Alex was nowhere to be seen at the moment. She had told them what had happened and all were rather angry with themselves that they never even noticed anything. It was also then that they told her about them noticing that there were a few items of theirs that was missing. This made her even more worried. If whoever was getting inside, who knew how long they had been doing it. Altair comes back inside, closing the door quickly after himself, Malik, and Ezio enter. They had immediately grabbed their weapons and ran outside, looking for any signs they could track.

In a way she knew that they were all blaming themselves for getting to comfortable. Even she had done the same, though she knew that it was to happen. In all the time she had lived in the house she couldn't think that anything like this would have happened. For the first time in a long time she really, really missed her family. She would always miss them but now she was scared and wanted them around. Alex comes downstairs with several suitcases that he sets down beside the door. He looks immediately to the three older Assassins.

"Anything?"

"No, nothing." Ezio answers, his accent thickened by his anger. Leo pats Megan's leg in a soothing manner when she flinches slightly. This was not good.

Alex gives a low growl, his eyes darkening but also growing brighter at the same time. He had tried all night to track the foot prints but snow had fallen and covered over anything that may have been left behind.

Desmond heaves an unhappy sigh. Even he had to admit this was in the category of Bad. "When do we leave?"

Megan turns to him slightly, her eyes connecting with his. "Today."

Yes, another chapter finished! -does happy dance-

Ahem, sorry about that. He heh. Well, I got another chapter out and I feel really good about it. I liked how this one turned out. I couldn't stop writing it and when I went to look over my chapters I realized that I had gotten ahead of myself. But never fear, I fixed it.

So, on to the reviewers!

Raychaell Dionzeros: Well Megan told me that she threatened all of them to not cuss infront of her child. She wont tell me exactly what she told them and neither will they so it must have been good. And Alex said that any man who wants to date her will not be found. The Assassin boys were yelling in agreement in the background. Lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter dear!

Your-watery-grave: I'm so glad you find it cute and you enjoy re-reading it. I like the change in Alex too, more human. He's difficult to write when so distant from his humanity. And thank you for saying my writing style is freaking awesome, I got a little squee from reading that. And Megan said thank you. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait! (Oh, just you wait my dear. -evil grin- You might have actually missed something in chapter 22)

Hack Generation: That would be an adorable scene! Just keep a look out for it! I might use it!

Alrighty, I will try to get the next chapter out as quickly as possible. I can't guarantee that I will be updating during the week since I am still job hunting. -sighs- Being an adult sometimes is overrated. But I need to get a job so I can haz money to pay for Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. The game looks so fun!

As always, you can reach me via email, pm, review, skype, tumblr, twitter (I hate to say but I don't tweet often tho if you do talk to me I will answer); you can also favorite and follow this story and me. Have a great week everyone!