Author's Note: I had trouble finding a way to end the story. If you finish and have ideas of improvement, don't be afraid to let me know. I am open to rewriting if need be.

Chapter 10: Making it Out and Conversations About Heaven

Somehow we make it out. In the process we are all thrown to the deck. I land with a grunt, falling on the same side as earlier. Luckily I was able to keep from hitting my head again. We are all breathing heavily, our adrenaline beginning to fade.

"O'Connell, you almost got me killed," are the first words out of Izzy's mouth.

"At least you didn't get shot," I reason leaning against the side. Izzy has nothing to reply to this. Evy runs up to him and starts kissing him on the cheek. Dad comes over to me and kneels down. He brushes my hair back and inspects my wound. "How bad is it?" I ask.

"You're lucky you don't need stitches," he says. "That wasn't the smartest move ever."

"Can I claim I am my father's daughter?" I question with a smile. He gives me a smile in return.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he says. "You know my heart stopped for a second when you were thrown. I don't think it started again until Evy helped you sit up," I can see the truth in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I should have never taken my eyes off him." He nods in agreement.

"Nothing we can do about that now. Just imagine your mother's reaction if she had been there." He says giving me a look.

"She was. From what I could tell through blurry vision, she was none too pleased." He leans down and plants a kiss on my head.

"I am glad you can finally call her that, think of her in that way. For a while, that was all she would worry about." I look over to see Evy and Alex hugging each other.

"Me too," I say.

"O'Connell, who the hell have you been messing with this time?" Izzy asks after Evy steps away.

"You know the usual. Mummies, pigmies, big bugs," Dad explains. I hear a horse whinny and turn around on my knees to look over the side. Ardeth is waving to us. I wave back. I look up to see Evy and dad standing next to each other. Alex comes and sits next to me.

"I thought we almost lost you there," dad says looking from Evy to Alex. I nod in agreement.

"For a moment there, you did," is Evy's reply. She is looking at me with gratitude. "Would you like to know what heaven looks like?" she questions looking into dad's eyes.

"Later," dad says as he pulls her into a kiss.

"Oh, please," Alex and I say together and giggle. They just ignore us and continue. I look to Alex and motion with my head. We get up and move to the back of the craft. Alex promptly puts his arms around me and buries his head in my shirt.

"Alex, are you okay?" I question as I pull back. He looks up at me with tears in his eyes.

"I missed you," is all he says before he leans into me again.

"I missed you, too." We stay like that for a couple more seconds before he pulls back and sits down. I sit down next to him.

"It was really cool. The way you caught that spear," he says a few moments later with admiration in his voice.

"It was stupid. Things could have ended much worse," I say pointing at my head.

"Yeah, that was scary. You didn't move for a minute."

"That's because I had been knocked out. Sorry that it scared you." We lapse in to a comfortable silence. It feels good to just be with each other again. We stay in silence as the sun slowly fades behind us…

EOEOEOEOEO

There you have it, the story of my first adventure with my new family. I hope in the future we have many more adventures. Hopefully, they won't be as dramatic. Knowing my family, it might just get worse. We have been home a week, but I thought it important to write it down now while the memory is still fresh in my mind…

Putting my pencil down, I look over to my bed and see the small sleeping form of my brother. Since returning home, he has been coming to my room every night. I don't mind it for now.

There is a soft knock on my door. I blow out the candle on my desk and quietly make my way to the door. When I open it, I am greeted by Evy. She looks in and sees Alex sleeping. She puts a finger to her lips and nods towards the stairs. I follow her. After getting situated in the sitting room, Evy begins the conversation.

"I've been meaning to talk to you. I just don't know how to begin," she pauses to look at me.

"Whatever it is, just say it," I finally say. "Whatever you have to say can't be that bad." She smiles.

"You are too much like your father," she says while laughing. "Do you remember me asking him if he wanted to know what heaven looked like?" I nod my head. "Do you?" I realize why she was having problems approaching me about this.

"Absolutely," I say without hesitation.

"I saw your mother," she watches for my reaction. I blink my eyes a couple times out of shock.

"Really?" I question in a small voice. A nod from her affirms my question. "Did you talk?" I am now a little worried about what they discussed.

"Don't worry. There was no revealing of embarrassing moments." I breathe a sigh of relief.

"What did you talk about then?"

"You, she wanted me to give you a message. She wanted you to know that she is proud of you," I nod. I already know that. "I know she told you that before. She is proud of you for a different reason. Your mother is proud that you finally opened up your heart again. That you were open to feeling loss again."

"I have no doubt that she is." There is nothing else to say to that.

"I also wanted to tell you that I am proud of you, too. Stepping up the way you did, by remembering the Book of the Dead. Alex and I would not be here if you had not."

"I had to make sure you kept your promise," I reply.

"Now, onto that little stunt with the spear," before I can say anything she puts her hand up to stop me. "I expected nothing less from you. After meeting your mother and knowing your father, I can see why. You have two very brave people for parents."

"Three," I say jumping over her words. "I have three very brave people for parents." She looks away for a second and then back. There are tears in her eyes as she stands up. With a few quick strides she is in front of my chair. She bends down and plants a kiss on my forehead.

"Get some sleep." I nod as she heads up the stairs. Life couldn't be any better…