Shout out to my one follower now! It was like asking for a piece of bread and getting a cake! Just warning that I am getting near to the end of my prewritten chapters and will be needing some inspiration on where to continue, so please review and you can help influence the story. Thanks to all the faithful readers thus far and to any new people too!

The Next Morning: 10:30AM

I awoke to an empty bed, making me question if Chloe's return had all been a dream and that her absence was really starting to take its toll on my mental state. However, I was reassured otherwise by the still present smell of her vanilla and honey scent on the pillow. That, and the smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen.

"Is that really bacon?" I questioned as I strolled into the living area to find Jasmin sitting at the bar while Chloe stood on the other side of the island, spatula in hand over a giant frying pan of bacon. There was also a stack of fresh pancakes and cut fruit laid out.

"Well good morning bedhead." Chloe cheerfully called to me before turning to Jasmin saying in a 'whisper' voice that I could completely hear, "See, told you the smell of bacon would rouse him."

"Hey, I was getting up! Just so happens that that bed is tempurpedic and someone kicked me in the stomach last night, so I was a little more worn out than usual." I replied, smirking at Chloe. Internally I was stunned on how easy it was to return to teasing and bantering with her, but then again, it was probably because being around her felt utterly and completely natural despite how long we were apart.

"And someone was trying to take a certain red journal he has been told explicitly multiple times not to read and I was out of towels to throw at him." Chloe countered with a grin across of her face. Jasmin just smiled into her cup of coffee.

"You should be honored that out of all the books in the world, I find your writing skills worthy of reading. So what exactly is the bacon for?" I asked as I poured my own cup of black coffee, leaning up against the counter within reaching distance of Chloe. I was testing the boundaries of how close she would allow me to get, that is outside the bedroom, which she was showing no indication of having shared last night.

"What do you mean?" she replied. It did not go unnoticed by me how she moved away slightly, maintaining a certain distance. But her eyes still darted up and down my bare chest since I had come out in nothing but some black sweats. Again, another test to see where we stood.

"I mean, I know that bacon is your go to apology or big news food. The morning you told us you wanted to go to Berkley- bacon. That summer you wanted to road trip it across the country with no major protection- bacon. You use that trick on us just like your mom used..." but I stopped abruptly not wanting to open old wounds. Because the last time we saw each other was that night, the night her mother was killed.

A flicker of pain crossed Chloe's face and I promptly received quite the glare from Jasmin. But then Chloe took a deep breath and a slightly strained grin returned to her face.

"No, you're right. That woman knew the fastest way to someone's good side was through bacon." She paused again, closing her eyes as I could tell she was trying to push down the memories. "I guess I didn't know what to say to you two. It's been… a while, so I thought I would let the bacon do the talking for me."

"Chloe," Jas started saying, "this whole situation is weird for all of us. But we're just happy you're here in the moment. We'll get over this awkwardness." She reached out and grabbed Chloe's hand, once again showing an uncharacteristically comforting Jasmin. All I could do was watch from the sidelines.

"I just don't know where to start, so much has happened."

"How about we grab some of this delicious bacon and other food and then you just start at the beginning?" suggested Jasmin. Chloe nodded, dividing the bacon into three portions. Jas must have told the other Mai who normally hung around in the apartment to scram for the time being, giving the three of us time to catch up and set the facts straight. Once we were seated at the dining room table with our brunch, Chloe took a moment to collect her thoughts and then started speaking.

"I know you guys have a lot of questions to why I ran off and I will explain; it becomes clearer later on, but in the moment when I first left my reason was because I just knew I had to. I can't really explain how, but I knew I needed to leave to be by myself and that night was finally the moment. It was sorta like the sensation I feel when I get an empathy hit, but it was from the world in a way. Anyway, I used the emergency cash and passport you guys gave me, hopped on a bus to Sacramento to momentarily throw you off my trail and then flew to the Ukraine. I didn't know where I was supposed to go, but I thought my birth country was a good of a place as any to start."

I hung on every word she said, searching her tone and facial features for a clue to what was going on in her head. Although she was speaking the truth, I could sense that there was something more, some piece of information about the reason for her departure that she was withholding. Only time would tell if Chloe was going to divulge all the facts, in the mean time I listened contently to what she said. My entire demeanor had shifted since her arrival. I knew I should be mad and hurt and demanding answers, but honestly I was too relieved that she was here and I didn't want to spend the time we had together fighting over that.

It there was one thing I had learned about Chloe over the years it was that she was her own person and no one and nothing could stop her from her goal. That had to be a quality of the Uniter after all.

"Maybe we taught you a little too good." I interrupted her, "Jas and I had every Mai in the state of California on look out, but taking a bus to Sacramento was tricky. Never would have thought." I actually felt a little pride that she was that clever, but also guilt for not finding her five years ago.

"Yeah, it took some forethought, trying to give you protectors the slip is probably the hardest thing I've had to do." Chloe grinned. "There was a point I really thought you would catch up to me. I almost didn't send the letter, but I didn't want you guys to worry. There was the chance you could track it, and I knew I needed to do it…"

"Alone." Jasmin finished the sentence for her. She had been quiet up until that point, but was once again glaring at me. "We understand Chloe. Though we were not happy and extremely worried, there's nothing we can do to change the past. Please continue, and without interruptions." Another piercing look at me.

"Oh yes, right, I poked around the ruins of the city I was born in," Chloe continued, "and tried to find any remaining Mai, but it was a complete dead end. The massacre that happened when I was two years old wiped out the entire area. It was a safe haven for Mai at the time, well hidden from the Order, and it was destroyed." Tears were starting to form in her eyes, I wanted to pull her into my arms again to comfort her. "And there were absolutely no signs of my birth parents. None."

I settled instead for reaching out setting my hand on top of hers. She let out a small breath as my larger hand covered her petite one. Though they may be small, they were fighting machines. Her gaze shifted from our hands to meet my eyes. There was a moment when they connected were we both felt a sense of understanding. If there was any one who had unresolved business with their birth parents, it was me. And out of all the people on the planet, Chloe was the only one who truly understood how I felt.