Christmas Day, Rester Family Home, San Antonio, Texas

Adila sat in the window seat of her bedroom staring out at the bright green pine trees covering the backyard. They were not called evergreens for nothing. Their dark grown shown brilliantly against the deep blue sky in the dazzling winter sun. White Christmases were a rare and almost nonexistent novelty here. It snowed in Japan. She missed it. Unfortunately, there were other things there that she did not miss. Teru had called and texted a few times. Even Shuichi had attempted to contact her. She ignored them both. Her father had talked to Teru once, and she almost felt sorry for the man on the other end of the call half way across the world. She would be receiving her clothes and other items in about a month. He offered to pay for all of the shipping fees, and she was more than happy to allow him to do so.

Adila had spent the last several days moping around the house, allowing herself time to grieve over the lost relationships as well as the lost dream. All she had done since she had been home was think and cry. Her head hurt constantly and so did her eyes. Today was the first day she had not shed a single tear. She wanted to be happy today. It was Christmas after all. She now felt adrift and disconnected, not sure what to do. Her Uncle Tony would be arriving in a few hours. She could talk to him about a job at the FBI office in Los Angeles and enroll in the spring semester of classes at UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles). She could pursue a double major in psychology and law with the heavier concentration in psychology, possibly continuing to receive a doctorate degree. Some of her plans had not changed.

"Come in," she responded to the soft knocking on the door without asking who it was. She knew it was her mother.

"How are you feeling?" Kalyani asked her daughter, handing her the steaming mug of her favorite homemade dark chocolate cocoa.

"I'm all right," she answered, giving her mother the brightest smile possible. It still felt forced and fake. "Thank you."

"I made it just for you with imported chocolate." She sat down in the window seat with her daughter. "I even made the marshmallows. It was really easy. We could – "

"No, Mama," she interrupted, placing her hand over her mother's. "Thank you for not saying I told you so."

"Oh." Kalyani never knew until now that sometimes saying nothing at all was more important than always having so called 'words of wisdom' to impart. Occasionally those wise words were just harsh statements that made the speaker feel better but could crush the spirit of the hearer. Cam had always told her that silence was the best course of action in some situations. Although she would never tell him he was right, she found his advice was correct.

Adila told her mother of the plans she had been mulling over in her head. She laughed at her mother when the woman sighed with resignation and asked her why she was so determined to leave home. Her mother should be happy really. At least this time she would still be within the United States and only two states away. In comparison to her last move and university location, she won't be far away at all.

"Hey, there are my two favorite girls!" Cam exclaimed, poking his blond head around the corner of the door. "Come on downstairs. The family is starting to arrive."

Adila was able to wear a genuine smile of joy as she went downstairs to greet the family. It was like a meeting of the gods on Mount Olympus. Everyone was tall, blond, and had finely chiseled physiques, including the wives and children. Besides, Uncle Tony, there was another brother who had flown in for the occasion with his family. Even the grandparents still looked incredibly fit and younger than their sixty something years in age. Adila and her mother were different from the rest of the family and looked like refugees who had been taken in by them. However, they were loved just as much as the other members and treated no differently. At least now she had the distraction of her big, noisy family to keep her occupied and busy.

...

Adila was sitting in the motionless swing on the back porch wrapped in a blanket to shut out the chill. She needed a moment to escape the clamor and activity of her family. The last year and a half had been pretty quiet for her, and she was not accustomed being in the middle of this much commotion for an extended length of time.

"Did you need to talk to me?" her Uncle Anthony inquired, sitting down beside her on the swing.

Adila looked at him, silently regarding him for a moment. He looked exactly like her father with the exception of being several inches taller and a little less wide. Surprisingly, he was actually the younger brother by about five years. She had always speculated what his life was like working for the FBI. He would tell the family his stories sometimes. It was hard to tell which parts he made up and which were real. He loved a good story as most Texans do and had the talent for embellishing when necessary.

"Could you get me a job at your field office? I also want to start back to university when the next semester begins. I still want to be a criminal profiler and psychologist," she gushed, watching a slow smile spread across his face.

"I can help you with all of those," he answered, pushing off with his foot to set the swing into motion. "Are you sure you don't want to take a break for at least a semester? You could start during the summer when the campus is a little less crowded. It would also give you time to get over Te-"

"I'm over it!" she barked like a rabid dog. She did not want to hear that name. Offering him a shy smile and a blush in apology, she started talking in a much calmer voice. "I'm over it. I'm ready to get on with my life. The sooner I get back to accomplishing my goals the faster I can forget."

"You are your mother's child. You would rather work through the pain and overlook it than just grieve and truly release it, wouldn't you? Don't run from it too hard or it will catch up with you someday," he warned her, reminding her even more of her father. To be single and have no children, he was incredibly wise.

'I'm not running,' she thought to herself stubbornly as she watched him walk back into the house. For a moment the dull roar of the family talking and giggling met her ears. When he closed the glass sliding door behind him the sound was gone. Is everything in life so temporary? Not meant to last but a short time, only to be enjoyed for a split second.

Adila sighed, allowing it to devolve into a growl directed at herself. It was time to suck it up and get over it. How could she have been stupid enough to think it would last forever? Her eyes focused on a white speck falling from the sky. More joined it in the air, reminding her of the dandelion fluff of summer that was sometimes carried on the hot breeze. A cold wind stung her cheeks making her notice the sudden drop in temperature that had transpired. She watched as the air filled with the white specks that began gathering on the ground. It was going to be white Christmas in Texas this year. Well, miracles still do happen.

~\..'../~

Three months later, 3rd Floor of FBI Field Office, Los Angeles, California

"Gofer!" a man yelled, slapping her on the behind as she walked by.

How Adila hated him. Unfortunately she was indeed the resident servant since she was a newbie and a part timer. Gofer – as in 'go for a cup of coffee,' 'go for this file,' or 'go for whatever I tell you to go for.' She tended to a floor full of overgrown babies who suddenly could not do a damn thing for themselves since she arrived. It astonished her that none of them had asked her to assist them in the bathroom with things. Looking back at the man who had just given her the flirty smack on the butt, she was sure he would be the most likely candidate to do just that.

"Hey, look guys, we've got another one!" someone bellowed when a pretty woman about Adila's age appeared.

Adila glanced up from the to-do list they had made for her that day to see a young woman with black hair and dark brown eyes standing beside her Uncle. She walked to them after he beckoned her over with a wave of his hand.

"Adila, this Naomi Misora. She is starting today as a Gofer, uh, I-I mean as an intern and administrative assistant like you. She is going to be one of our field investigators. You should get to know each other. I think you will find you have a lot in common," he said, giving them both a winning smile before leaving them alone.

"I'm ignoring that derogatory use of Gofer. You should be ashamed," Adila rebuked him before he was able to run away. "By the way, Jensen slapped me on the ass again."

"Oh, really?" Uncle Tony asked, his blue eyes glittering devilishly. "I'll see to it that he gets another special assignment."

The last time Agent Jensen touched her inappropriately, he was sent to guard the men's bathrooms at the Metro Red Line, the LA subway, when they were searching for a serial rapist who had been lurking there for years. It actually wound up working his favor because he nabbed the guy and became a hero. This time Anthony was determined to find him assignment that would not end up in victory and hopefully quite a bit of humiliation. He turned on his heel and purposefully strode away from the females without a good-bye.

"Hi, Naomi! Nice to meet you. That's my Uncle. He will look out for us," she explained when Naomi only stared at her in wide eyed shock.

"Oh," the stunned woman replied.

"Be careful of that guy over there," she warned, pointing to the black haired lecher at the corner desk.

Jensen waved pleasantly when he saw them both looking at him. Adila stuck her tongue out at him. He rewarded her with a nasty gesture of sticking his fingers in a v over his mouth and licking between them suggestively.

"Ewww! Gross!" Naomi muttered, grimacing with disgust.

"See what I mean. The rest of the guys aren't so bad, but he's terrible. Stay as far away from him as you can. I'll try to handle him as much as possible," she offered, looking back at her list of files they wanted her to retrieve. "Come on, I'll show you the file room."

"Whoa!" Naomi gasped when they walked into the sprawling area.

It was a massive room dedicated to the floor to ceiling metal filing cabinets that appeared to be shelves with doors. They slid on metal tracks anchored to the floor and ceiling and moved back and forth with the wheels on the end. The wheel that moved them looked the steering wheel of an old fashioned ship. Naomi watched with fascination as Adila gripped one of the knobs and spun the wheel as if she were on a game show. The cabinet slowly moved away from the one beside it, allowing them enough room to walk between the metal shelves.

"Are you afraid of getting crushed between them?" she asked suddenly while Adila searched for a file.

"No. The thought had never occurred to me really. I'm the only one who ever comes in here so I'm not really worried about it," she said, handing the file to Naomi and moving further down to find the next one.

"How much more schooling do you have left?" she inquired, reaching for the file when it was handed to her.

"About two years. I'm going straight through the summers so I can obtain my master's degree earlier so I can continue on with my doctorate in psychology. Criminals have always fascinated me. I wonder why they do the things they do, what caused them to be that way...those kinds of questions. It's also quite amazing how you can form a picture of a person's personality by how they do things, what they like...heck even their handwriting offers clues to what a mess their psyche really is. It's possible to build a personality profile of an unknown murderer just taking into account how he kills his victims. It's amazing really and – " She paused when she saw the glazed over look in Naomi's eyes. "And I'm boring the crap out of you. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's okay really. I'm just a little overwhelmed in general since it is my first day. In two years I'll be an agent. I'm really excited and looking forward to it. This has been a long time dream of mine," she gushed with enthusiasm.

"Yeah. I know what you mean," Adila returned because she knew exactly how her colleague felt.

The young women continued to talk as they searched for the files on the long list. The conversation eventually got around to complaining about their present living arrangements. Both of them were living on campus in dorms and neither one was pleased about it. They discussed the idea of searching for an apartment together and decided that would be a more positive solution than living in the student housing where they have to deal with constant racket and nonsense. Noisy neighbors would be bearable in comparison to the constant annoying issues of parties at all hours of the day and night, a roommate that likes to have sex and a lot of it, and having to share a communal bathroom in the coed dorm. Those nightmares would make thunderous footsteps overhead or the next door neighbor's radio being up too loud seem like no big deal and not even worth complaining about.

They found a nice two bedroom apartment straddling the border between a good and not so good neighborhood. Since the area was a little questionable that made the rent for the apartment affordable so they took it. Soon after they moved in, Adila's parents arrived with a housewarming gift of a big basket of food. Both women were glad to see it. There was not much money left over for food after the bills were paid. Her parents even took them out for dinner during their visit.

"Adila," her father called to her after they returned to the apartment, satisfied from a large meal.

Adila immediately developed a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could hear a difference in the tone of his voice that made dread and sadness invade her consciousness. Her eyes fell on the large manila envelope that her mother pulled out of her purse and handed to her father.

"What is it?" she asked, retreating to the privacy of her bedroom. It was obvious that this was a delicate matter and required seclusion. She was stunned that her mother had chosen to stay in the living room with Naomi.

"Just open it," he said, handing her the envelope.

Adila stared at the name and return address on the front of the envelope. Teru Mikami. He was still living in the same apartment. After taking a few slow deep breaths, she opened the envelope. It contained her jade juzu bead bracelet, the dragon ring, and a three page letter. In the beginning of the letter, he was simply filling her in how he was doing with classes and how his job at the law firm was going. He had written about their past, reminding her of some of their more intimate moments and how they had loved each other. The declarations of love and begging her to come back followed after that. The last paragraph of the letter was somewhat threatening and frightening.

You will be mine again someday. I completely believe in providence and fate which have both determined that you are mine. You are my goddess and the love of my life. You were sent to me by God himself to be my wife. I have not let go of that fact any more than I have let go of you. Be ready my love because one day we will be together again.

Adila shivered and threw everything on the floor as if she had been holding a snake in her hands. Was that meant to be a threat or a promise? It distinctly felt like both, and it terrified her. She covered her mouth to keep from crying out when her father stooped to pick up the items. Her eyes observed him cautiously as he curiously looked at the ring and bracelet before laying them on her dresser.

"No! Don't read that!" she yelled, lunging to snatch the letter out of his hands when looked down at it.

Her father held the letter up, way up, above his head where she had no hope of reaching it. "I think I should, Adila. You're pale and look ready to faint. I want to know what the bastard said."

Helplessly, she watched as her father read the very personal letter. She was not sure if his face reddened out of anger or embarrassment but most likely both. Turning her back on him, she could not watch any longer as he got to the last page.

"I'll have your Uncle take care of this problem," he murmured, the fury evident in his slightly trembling voice as he fought for control.

"No. Please don't. He's only doing something stupid out of love. He would never hurt me," she said, not really believing the words as she spoke them.

"Adila, I –"

"Dad, I'm a grown up. You said it yourself, my life is my own and it's up to me now. Mistakes and all, whatever I choose to do, the decisions are mine to make. I love you, Dad and I'll always be your little girl, but…" Her words faltered when the tears came. "But it's my life and you can't always protect me no matter how much you want to."

Cam released a defeated sigh. She was right. He and her uncle would not always be there save her and she would have to stand on her own two feet eventually. It was better that she be prepared to fight rather than be at a disadvantage and rely on a hero to save her.

"All right. Just be careful and be smart. Learn to take care of yourself."

"I will. I have three really great teachers in you, Mama, and Uncle Tony. I'll be fine."

'Be ready my love because one day we will be together again.'The last line of the letter bounced around in her skull. Her temples throbbed with the oncoming headache from the tension in her neck muscles. She had learned to take life as it comes and that not all possibilities can be planned for or prepared for. What could possibly lay in store for her? It was up to providence and fate now. A cold chill ran through her body from thinking about his words. Teru would show back up in her life one day, she was sure of it even before his thinly veiled threat. She would heed his warning and be ready when it happened.