Ok, give it a couple more chapters then things will get interesting.

I promise.

This chapter is dedicated to purplenutella cos i know she's going through a tough time.

Chapter 10

And How They Loved

Part V

Marian

I breathed deeply and stepped out of the car.

Vick came around and shouldered his bag. Together we started walking towards the group 50 yards away.

About a zillion scenarios went through my head. His mum hating me. His dad hating me. His brothers hating me…

Hey, calm down. They'll love you.He said.

You say that a lot.I answered.

I mean it.

I smiled and he grinned back.

"Vick!" We heard a woman shout and a small blonde barrelled into him.

"Vick!" A choir of voices shouted and we were swamped by people.

A tiny dark haired woman showered kisses all over his face and a tall man with salt and pepper hair pulled him into a bear hug.

"You're back!" The tiny woman wailed.

Vick laughed. "Yes, Mum. I'm back."

He pulled me forward from where I was standing at the back, hoping they had forgotten about me.

"This is Marian."

The small woman came forward and pulled me into a hug. "I'm Karla. Victor's mother. Are you from the base as well?"

I smiled, already liking her. "No, I live in Nebraska with my Dad but most of my time I'm in Afghanistan. That's where I met Vick."

A tall girl standing at the back of the group gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth. She immediately ran forward and said. "Hi, I'm Crystal. Xav's girlfriend." She gestured at a tall, lanky looking guy at the back. He waved and grinned.

I smiled and shook her hand. "I'm Marian, and aren't you Xav's soulfinder? Not girlfriend." I remembered what Vick had told me about her. She was a soulseeker.

Her eyes widened. "I knew it!"

"What?" I asked.

Are you Vick's soulfinder?

I smiled at her. Maybe.

I give you your weight in chocolate if you say yes.

I'll hold you to that.

So you are?

The one and only.

She squealed and hugged me. The others looked confused.

The older looking man came forward. "Hello Marian, I'm Saul, Vick's father."

I shook his hand and was swamped by 6 tall guys.

They introduced themselves as Trace, Uriel, Will, Xav, Yves and Zed.

Will decided to bash into my head. Vick told me.

About us?

Yup. Thanks for coming.

It's nice. You all seem so much more friendly than I thought you would.

He grinned. A glamorous woman stepped forward and passed Trace a tiny bundle. "Hi Marian, I'm Diamond. Trace's wife. These are our boys Magnus and Nico."

Trace passed one of them to me and I cooed for a bit over the tiny baby.

The boys introduced me to their soulfinders, Kate, Crystal, Phee and Sky.

Xav chatted to me about the army and they all seemed quite impressed. My confidence grew and I was at ease at last.

"So, Marian, what's it like in Afghanistan?" Sky poured a cup of fizzy water from the basket at her side and handed it to me.

"Dusty." I said and she laughed. "It's hot too. But is pretty."

"And are you near any people?"

I nodded. "There's a village quite near us, so the people at the base go there a lot."

She grinned. "It must be really exciting."

"It is, terrifying, knowing you could get blown to pieces any minute. It happened a week ago to us. I was in the village with Vick, I was meant to be showing him around. But someone shot me."

Vick immediately cringed and started being hit by Karla as she berated him for not staying safe.

"Awesome!" Xav crawled over the blanket on the floor and propped up in front of us. "Was it fun? Did it hurt?"

I pointed to the centre of my chest. "It hit me right here. But I was wearing a bullet proof vest."

Vick opened the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small piece of metal. He handed it to me and I saw it was the bullet.

I passed it over to Xav. He stared at it then passed it to Zed.

"You kept it?" I asked Vick.

He shrugged. "It was a good story to tell."

Diamond handed me the baby again and he crabbed my metal dog tags hanging around my neck. I laughed and pulled then off, handing them to him.

Sky leaned forward and read the inscription. "Marian B Turner."

I nodded. "B for Bryce."

Saul cleared his throat. "So, you're a Savant?"

I nodded. "Yup. I can make people like me. It's useful; I don't have any enemies as far as I know which is a lot more comforting. And I can sense a bit of danger."

Vick patted my shoulder. "That's how you stopped a load of kids being killed in that blast."

Everyone gasped. "It wasn't me!" I protested.

Vick snorted. "Yeah right. You felt the danger and got the kids out of the way before ou were shot. You saved so many lives."

I grinned at him. "Fine, so I'm amazingly awesome. Did it take you this long to realise?"

They laughed and suddenly Karla froze.

"Vick, what was that?"

He stared at her. "What?"

She started smiling. "I think I just picked up something I wasn't meant to."

He glanced at me. "Mum?"

She sat back. "Don't hide it now I know Victor Benedict. If you've got something to tell us, then please do."

He started mumbling a bit so I cut to the chase.

"I'm Vick's soulfinder."

"I knew it!" Crystal shouted and Xav whooped loudly.

"We are gonna have possibly one of the coolest sisters ever!" Zed swung me round in a hug.

Karla came and kissed my cheek. Thanking me for coming to her son's aid.

Told you they'd love you. Vick said.

Oh shut up and kiss me. I shot back.

Yes ma'am.

Hope you liked it!

Might be a bit slow for the week cos i have school. But there is always next weekend.