AN: I own nothing, no vampires are mine, no wolves, either. They either belong to SM or to Ninadoll, most especially the incredible Scar, a creation of Nina! However, Abby, Ava, Ashley, and Mitch belong to me!

A very special thanks to Ninadoll for betaing, creating the universe, and for her support. She puts up with my constant worry and always helps to make me feel better about my writing ability. Please check out her stories The Rest of Forever and Love You For Always and Ninadoll's How Wonderful Life Is, Now You're in the World. She is extraordinarily talented and I'm honored to be a part of her universe! Check out her stories and you won't be disappointed.

To see pictures of Ava and her sisters' lives, please check out my blog at liljenrocks{dot}blogspot{dot}com or my homepage atliljenrocks{dot}web{dot}com. Including pictures of Ava's outfit, the Survivor Tree and other things from this chapter.

Please, please, please review! Thank you to all of you who added me or the story to your favorites. You guys rock! I apologize if my review replies are delayed!

And…Nina and I have both been nominated for a Pup and Leech Award at http://thepupandleechawards{dot}webs{dot}com/ We would both really appreciate your votes!

I hope you enjoy! Thank you again!

CHAPTER 4: THE DAY WE WERE A FAMILY AGAIN

AVA'S POV

"Well, that went nicely," I rolled my eyes.

At present, Abby lay on one couch, passed out from the shock of seeing Seth transform into a giant wolf, while Seth lay on the other, as a result of Scar punching him in the jaw. I was trying, really hard to focus on the present and to stop visualizing a naked Scar, but let's face it. He's hot and I saw him naked and for just the slightest bit, I think I glimpsed what I'm now calling a "not-so-little Scar." Just friends…just friends…just friends.

"Do I have to take a nap too?" Ashley asked with a look of disgust.

Scar chuckled. "No," he turned to look at me. "Sorry, I just couldn't handle that. He knows that baby's his and I won't have him disrespecting Abby like that."

Against my better judgment, I threw myself at him, hugging his neck tightly. "Thank you for that," I whispered in his ear and I swear I felt him shiver a little. I pulled away as Scar looked at me funny. "What?"

"The baby's awake," he answered.

How he knew that, I had no idea. It was completely quiet. "How do you know that?"

"I can hear him. He's just kinda making a little noise, kinda like a kitten," he pursed his. "We should go get him."

My eyebrows rose. I looked at the couch, Abby out cold, Seth out cold. "Okay, here's the gameplan," I giggled. "I'll get the baby and you stay here and watch the two unconscious people," I giggled again and then shot up the stairs while I heard Scar scoff. I rounded the corner and could almost feel a difference in the atmosphere as I got closer to the bedroom that I knew Abby had been staying in, it was warmer, almost gentler. I pushed on the door, hearing a little sound coming from the bassinet next to the bed.

I took a deep breath, hearing a little whimper and leaned down. There was my baby, my little nephew, Liam, thrashing a little to get out of his burrito-wrapped blanket. His dark brown eyes looked up at me. "Hey, Liam," I whispered before I lifted him up and held him to my chest while he stared at me.

"He's probably going, 'Who the hell are you and where's my Mommy?'" Scar said from behind me. I turned around to stick my tongue out then turned back to Liam.

"I'm Aunt Ava. Just to let you know, I'm really cool and I'll buy you your first beer when you're 21 and introduce you to all the hot girls," I leaned down and kissed his forehead and then turned back to Scar. "This is Uncle Scar. He's pretty cool, however, you should know, he just punched your Daddy in the jaw." I stuck Liam out for Scar to take.

"Ha, ha, very funny," he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Hold him," I demanded.

"No," his arms fell from his chest.

"Ugh!" I groaned, pulling my perfect nephew to me. "I think he needs his diaper changed."

"Good luck with that," Scar said, flatly.

It wasn't normal for him to act this way. He leaned his back against the wall while I carried Liam over to the changing table and got to work. "What crawled up your ass?" I spat while Liam kicked his legs a little.

"Nothing," he said, again with almost no emotion in his voice at all.

"Sure, right," I unhooked the outfit Liam was wearing and slid it off him, then removed the diaper. "How bout you quit being a pain in my ass and see if you can find some pajamas for him around here somewhere. Check that drawer over there," I pointed to the top drawer of the dresser in the room.

He pushed off the wall and did as I asked. "What kind of pajamas?"

I scoffed. "I don't know, a little white onesie or something." His attitude was starting to piss me off. A lot. Scar handed me a light blue onesie with a puppy dog on it, almost shoving it into my hands. "Ear muffs, baby Liam," I said, putting my hands over his tiny ears. I swear the kid was less than a week old and he had Abby's disapproving look down to a tee. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, just forget it," he flopped on the bed.

"No, I won't. You're being an asshole and I'm trying to revel in the fact that I'm an aunt to a pretty kick-ass little boy," I snapped the onesie up and then held Liam, turning him to face Scar. "See?!"

"Don't you see? I'll never get to be "Uncle Scar" to a kick ass anyone." I clutched Liam closer to me as I wondered if I was going to watch Scar phase for a second time that day. "That privilege was taken from me…the day… the day Megan d-d-died."

That's what was eating at him. This was a reminder of what he'd lost. He hadn't just lost his sister that day. He'd lost her future, his chances of being an overprotective brother-in-law or the cool uncle. He'd been robbed of more than just this sister.

"Scar, I'm sorry, I didn't even think," I held Liam, looking down to see him squirm a little. "I just thought…" I wanted to tell him something really intelligent, some psychological explanation about how it was important for a child to have an extended family, but I stopped. He was still sitting on the bed, hunched over.

"I won't get to be Uncle Scar," he whispered.

"I want you to be Liam's Uncle Scar," I heard a voice say and turned to see Abby standing there with Ashley. She walked over to Scar and sat on the bed next to him. "He's going to need someone to help him keep things from his parents and do crazy things with his awesome uncle. I need you to do that for him, Scar."

Scar shook his head. "It's not right, and I don't want you to—"

"Stop. Let me put it this way," Abby took his hand. "I owe you, big time. I don't know what Seth would've done if you hadn't been there. You protected me, and Liam."

"I just did what—" she cut him off again.

"Nonsense. He needs an Uncle and you need a nephew, so there you go," Abby got up. "Is he awake?"

I nodded. "I just changed his diaper and put his jammies on and he's decided that I'm the most coolest person on the planet!" There was something about realizing I was an aunt and holding the precious little mini-Seth that made me all giddy. "He pretty well agrees." I smiled widely.

Scar walked over to me. "Can I hold him now?" I handed him to Scar who cradled him. I'd seen him hold Griffin before, but this was different. Seeing him hold my own flesh and blood, seeing the way he held Liam like a piece of porcelain, was, well, sexy. "He's pretty cute." Scar kinda chuckled. "Especially to be related to Seth."

"Oh, hush," Abby said as she took him back from Scar. "I should go down and wait for him to wake up." I looked at Scar again with a little bit of panic. What would happen if his rage at being punched in the face was enough to make him phase and hurt Abby and Liam?

"We should probably go down with you," Scar said.

"It's okay," Abby said, holding Liam to her chest and kissing his forehead. She turned to me. "Why don't you show Scar to his room?"

Part of me really wanted to be in on the drama that I knew was going to ensue, but I figured this was Abby's way of telling me she wanted to deal with it on her own. "Come on, Crabby Pants," I grabbed Scar's hand and pulled him down the hall to the guest room with two twin beds. "This is where Ash and I will be staying. I'm assuming Seth will be on the couch since he's in the doghouse." I couldn't help but laugh at my wittiness there. "Get it? He's a wolf, like a dog?" I sniggered to myself.

"Sure, sure," Scar was hiding a smile.

I walked just a bit down the hall to the big master bedroom. "This is your room," I said, opening the double doors to show him. It was a large room, with a king-size bed and a separate sitting area.

"Wow," he mouthed, looking around like a kid in a candy store. It was a pretty magnificent room. It was the largest master bedroom I'd ever seen but I guess owning a major recording studio could do that for you.

"So you approve?" I asked, dropping his hand as he walked around.

"Hell, yeah," he said.

I watched him look the room over and then glanced at my watch. It was well past time for bed and I knew Scar had to be exhausted. Lord knows I was. Abby and Seth were talking downstairs and I heard Ashley in the room we would be staying in, getting herself ready for bed. "So, I'm gonna head to bed. If you need anything, we'll be down the hall."

Scar walked quickly to get next to me. "Thanks for bringing me along." He leaned down and kissed my cheek.

While I stood there, Scar's mouth hovering over my ear, my thoughts drifted to him, laying in that huge bed, probably very scantily clad. And then thinking that he'd probably shower before and his hair would be wet and his body would be all smooth and muscled and…

"You okay?" Scar asked.

"Uh, yeah, uh, y-you're welcome," I stuttered knowing my face was red like a tomato at the thought of seeing him naked. Oh, geez! Just friends…just friends…just friends...I turned around to walk out, hoping I hadn't just completely mortified myself.

"Good night," he followed me out then made a quick run downstairs. I listened for a minute for the noise downstairs and Seth seemed to be enjoying fatherhood, though he sounded beyond pissed with Abby. That made it impossible to fall asleep.

I didn't like the idea of Seth being so short and snappy with Abby and that night wouldn't be the last I tossed and turned worrying that he might never forgive her. But I was even more upset seeing the pain in Abby's eyes. I knew she must have felt like she got Seth back, but at what cost? The upside was that even though he was being an ass, Seth never left her side, and every now and then I would swear that when Abby wasn't looking, I could see that same look of love and adoration in his eyes that had been there before.

I let it go for one day and I think Scar knew it was bothering me. So after the first full day we had been back in Oklahoma, Scar suggested we take a look around the city, to all my old stomping grounds. It was a terrific idea and the perfect distraction from all the drama going on around us.

"Ash, you wanna go with us?" I asked her while she leaned over Liam's bassinet while sitting on the edge of Abby's bed, Abby napping in the bed and Seth asleep in the rocking chair in the corner. Ashley's little feet were swinging while she sang softly, a song I didn't recognize.

"No, I think I should stay here in case the baby needs me," Ashley said.

I raised my eyebrows. "What do you think he might need?"

"I don't know. Abby looks really tired and Seth's not being normal," she said. Ashley looked really serious for a second and then looked at me with sadness in her face. "Are we ever going to be a family again?"

"Oh, Ash," I walked over to sit next to her and I could see the tears starting in her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

She turned her head into my chest and she started crying. "I thought that when we came back Dr. Seth would love Abby again and we'd get to be happy. But I don't think he likes her anymore."

"That's not true," I rubbed her back while she cried. "He loves her but he's confused right now."

She sniffled and looked at me. "But they have Liam. They have to love each other because he needs them to love him. I don't have a Mommy and a Daddy anymore and I want him to." A few tiny teardrops ran down her cheeks and I wiped them away with my thumb.

"Ash, he will. Seth loves Abby, and they both love Liam very, very much, and they both love you, you know that," I said, Ashley looking up at me. "Families don't disappear that fast."

Ashley shook her head. "Ours did. They died and we weren't a family anymore."

I put my finger over her mouth while she choked out a sob. "No. We're always a family, always. I've told you that, Seth's told you that, and Abby's told you that. Seth loves Abby, Abby loves Seth, we love Liam, and we all love you. That's all you need for a family, sweetie, just love," I kissed her forehead and rocked her. Abby had been asleep in the bed that Ashley was sitting on and she stirred a little, grabbing my hand.

"I'm so sorry that I let you down," Abby said, rubbing her thumb over my hand.

"You didn't, Abbs. We just…we have to put our pieces back together," I said. Abby scooted over and Ashley and I lay on the bed with her.

"I promise, I'll make this better. We're gonna be okay," Abby said, wrapping her arm around both of us as she looked at Seth. "I promise."

Ashley rolled over so she could face us. "But you still love Dr. Seth, right?"

"Oh God, I love him so much, Ashley. I love him so much it hurts me sometimes," Abby started to run her fingers through Ashley's brown hair. "And I know that no matter what, he'll always want you to be his friend."

"But I want him to love you, too. I want us to be a family," Ashley said a little louder and Abby and I both looked up at Seth who was still snoozing.

"We will, just give it time. I have a lot I need to make right before Seth and I are okay. But I can promise you that I love him and that I have faith that he will love me too someday," Abby said.

"But you keep telling him you're sorry, I hear you. All the time, and he doesn't accept," Ash was getting riled up and it was actually very cute to see her so wrapped up in the debate at hand.

"Sweetie, sometimes you have to say more than sorry to make everything okay," this was a way for Abby to tell her it was a big deal, she couldn't come out and tell her the exact details because she probably wouldn't understand. But just that little bit of information put it into context for Ashley. "And we're together now, right?"

"And we have Liam," Ashley smiled widely.

"And we have Liam," Abby repeated, her smile matching Ash's. It made me want to punch Seth in the face though. Abby was sorry, she'd told him that. And there were so many woulda, coulda, shoulda's going around, that it made no sense they were still not together. I knew that Seth loved Liam too. He was enthralled with him and whenever Liam was awake, Seth was by his side, holding him if he could.

"Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if you were ready, Ava," I heard Scar say and I broke my hold from Abby and Ashley.

"I'm ready," I said sitting up. I looked at Abby's eyes and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "He does love you, Abbs. He always has and he always will."

"I hope so," she answered. As I walked out I listened to Ash talking to Abby about the baby, different things like his favorite color, which Abby had to explain to Ashley he was too young to know. Luckily, we had Chloe's Audi A5, white with a convertible top to drive around. Sure, I know I could have used Abby's car but she'd been complaining that it hadn't been running properly and the last thing I wanted was to be stranded, alone, with Scar, and the way my imagination had been going lately, that could be dastardly!

"Where to first?" I asked Scar, putting my seat belt on.

Scar shrugged. "It's your town, you lead the way."

I thought hard about all the places I could take him. It was hard to come up with all the places, so I started simple. Our first stop would be Mercy High. We drove with the top down, the weather still warm at the end of September. It was a Wednesday and I knew that while I should've been in school in Washington, a visit with my sister was more important. And if I couldn't be at Forks High, then maybe visiting my old high school would make up for it.

"It's big," he said, looking up at the belfry topped with a cross.

I nodded. "The first two floors are only classrooms. The basement's the cafeteria, and the third floor's where the nuns live. That floor's supposed to be haunted."

Scar raised his eyebrow. "Really?"

"That's what they say. One time when Mitch and I were making out under the bleachers at the football field, I looked up and I swear I saw a face in one of the windows," I was serious. It was a true event that happened not long after I joined the school newspaper and is what led to my eventual decision to make out in Mitch's car instead of under the bleachers.

"Very interesting," he grinned, looking up on the third floor.

He held my hand as we walked the campus, not really seeing anyone else. We walked together through the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, both stopping to admire the Survivor Tree.

"I love this tree," I said, turning my head to the side to see Scar's face. "It was the only tree in what used to be the parking lot, and it's over 100 years old. When the bomb went off, it blackened the tree trunk and it was embedded with glass and metal. Everyone thought it would die, but it didn't. The next spring, it flowered. It kept going, just like the people that survived."

"Just like you and me," Scar said. "We have to keep going. We may not be showing it now, but one day we'll flower again." God, I loved this boy…

He wrapped his arm around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "What would I do without you?" I asked quietly.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that now, do you? Because you're my best friend and I'll always be here for you," he said softly and I turned in his arms to hug him.

He would be here for me, but a part of me was scared. What would happen to us if he imprinted? I would lose him, he would belong to someone else and I would become irrelevant. Someone else would hold his center of gravity. I wanted to say that, I wanted to tell him it could end really quickly, all it would take is one look from the right girl and I wouldn't matter. And deep inside, that pissed me off. He was my best friend but I felt something for him. I would never tell him that, I would never tell him that I loved him more than just being my best friend.

We stood in the spot under the tree while I pondered how to make it okay. We must have stood there for at least an hour, our arms around each other, just standing. I could've stood there longer too but Scar's stomach had other ideas and it let out a loud growl.

"Sorry," he chuckled. I pulled away.

"How about we get some dinner? We can go to the lake," I said, smiling and hoping he'd be up for dinner for just the two of us.

"Sure, sure," Scar said, keeping his arm around me as we walked to the car then headed to Lake Hefner together for a sunset dinner by the lighthouse that only led sailboats into the harbor. My plan was to get food and then take it to a nice spot by the water.

"Now, I'm going to take you to another Oklahoma institution," I smiled and pulled into a stall. "Welcome to Sonic Drive-In!"

"What?" he furrowed his brow.

"Sonic, started in the great metropolis of Shawnee, Oklahoma, it has over a thousand combinations of drinks from slushes to sodas," I smiled bigger, happy to be sharing this with him. After ordering and receiving our food from a roller skating carhop, we headed to the lake and settled on a place right next to the lighthouse. It was nice and it gave us a chance to just enjoy each other's company. Scar's appetite was as large as ever and he dove into two double cheeseburgers and all the fries that went with it.

After dinner, Scar held my hand protectively as we walked back to the Audi. "You know that things are tense back home, right?"

"Yeah," I answered knowing that something big was happening.

"When we get back, there could be some major shit happen and I want to make sure you're protected, Ave," he said when we got in the car. "It's going to be very dangerous, very, very dangerous."

"What about Abby and Ashley?"

"Seth will take care of them, he'll make sure they and the baby are okay," he said. I pulled out of the parking lot, not saying anything on the drive home, trying to process what was going to happen. What would we do if something happened? What if Seth didn't forgive Abby and he went off to war not knowing how much she loved him? This was all too complicated.

I was on autopilot now, walking into the house and going straight up the stairs and into the bedroom that Ashley and I shared. The sun was down and it was past nine. Ashley was asleep and I dropped down on the bed. Scar knew something had happened. He had gone to his own room and even though I got ready for bed, the thoughts of death for any of the people that had become family wouldn't let me relax enough to sleep.

What seemed like hours later, there was a soft knock on the door and I got out of bed, opening the door to see Scar. "Can we talk for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure," I said as he put his hand out for me. We walked down the hall and I stopped when I saw an unfamiliar scene in Abby's bedroom. The door was open and Abby was laying with her head on Seth's chest. "What happened?"

Scar chuckled. "Apparently Seth had that change of heart. They were making out in the kitchen earlier, but I don't think Seth knew I could see them."

I couldn't help but smile widely at that, they were back together and even if it all went to shit, they would have each other. But that put me back in my present train of thought. Not thinking at all, I just let it out. "You can't die, Scar. I won't let you go with them to fight, you can't."

He was serious too when he looked at me. "I have to, Ave. For my family, to protect us all," he put his arm around my shoulder.

"But what if it goes wrong? I can't lose you. Damn me for being so selfish, but I can't. I won't," I started to cry a little.

Scar slid his large finger under my chin and pulled it up to look at him. "You don't think we're all going to try our damnedest to come home? We will. But that battles not going to happen today or tomorrow. So we have to be happy together now, during this time, before it happens."

I almost threw my arms around his neck again and he knew I needed to be hugged. Part of me wondered if he did too. I cried and Scar tried to comfort me, but I was scared. "You are the best friend I have ever dreamed of having," I tried to hold back a sob.

"And you're my best friend, Ava. And the pack and you and your sisters, you guys are my family and I will always protect my family," he said and I slowed my tears. "I wanted to tell you that."

I let go of him and looked up at his eyes. "Thank you. I promise I'll try not to breakdown anymore. I'll be strong, like I need to be."

Scar shook his head. "Strong but don't you hide your emotions, Ave. If you're scared, you tell me and we'll talk it out." I nodded as he looked at the clock. "Now, it's two in the morning. Abby and Seth and Liam are snug in bed and I thought maybe in the morning, we might celebrate our family being back together by making breakfast. What'd you think?"

I smiled wide at him saying "our family" and nodded. "That would be great. I know Abby would appreciate it."

And so we did. That night, we went to bed in our own rooms, Scar waking up early to help me get things ready for breakfast and Ashley announcing to us that Seth and Abby were now getting married. I was excited for them, and I wondered if Abby knew the danger that our family would be preparing for. Then hours later, we would find out we were headed back to Washington, the danger getting closer and closer. But I was okay with that. We could go to Timbuktu or Mars for all I cared. We could face anything because we were together and we were a family again.

I hope you guys like this! And I hope it give you a little insight to life in the big OKC. The story about the Survivor Tree is true and, as I told Nina, I drove by it today for inspiration. It is very full and starting to bloom.