Rose pushed her hands out, warming them against the crackling fire. It was their last night at the cottage and she didn't want to leave. Though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred during their stay – it was four friends hanging out, goofing off, and having fun – they had been some of the best few days of her life. And she had needed it. She fully embraced the responsibilities that came with being Huntsmistress and running the Clan, but it had been nice to take a break after the pressures of the past year.

"Cold?" Jake asked her.

Rose folded herself back into his embrace. "No, not cold; just enjoying the warmth."

She leaned her head against him, not saying much of anything but neither was he. They didn't need to. Despite being apart so much in the past year, they still had not lost their rhythm of being together. Rose didn't know if she would ever be able to forget how to be with him.

Jake watched as the fire began to die down to the embers. He didn't want to add to the flames; he was finished with sitting by the fire. He just didn't know if Rose was.

"Ready to go in?" He asked, when she showed no sign of movement.

"Uh-huh," she sighed softly. She stood up and then helped pull him to his feet – Jake was always surprised by how strong she was, not because he underestimated her, but because she never looked it. "Are you going to put it out?"

Jake shook his head. "It's protected and Trixie and Spud might want to build it back up when they come back from the lake."

Rose shook her head. "I'll never understand why they wanted to go swimming at midnight."

Jake, feeling thoroughly grossed out about his next words, answered her with, "If it helps, they're actually skinny-dipping."

Rose pulled a face. "Thanks; I could have lived without picturing that."

"Ah," Jake said, threading their hands together and pulling her toward the cottage, "I've bet you've seen worse."

"True," Rose mused. "Your face was pretty bad when we woke up this morning."

"Hey," Jake groaned, "I'm offended."

Rose giggled at him. "Maybe you should be," she trilled, leaving his side and heading upstairs to where they were sleeping.

Jake rolled his eyes as she slipped away from him. He could chase after her, but he knew from experience that even at a walk she was faster than him on foot. If he really wanted to surprise her, though, there was something he could do.

"Wings of the dragon," he murmured so that she wouldn't hear.

He felt the tug on his shoulder blades – his wings emerging. His transformations, which had once been so easy when he had first begun his changes into a dragon, had become extremely difficult after his long months of using drugs and his extended hiatus from the dragon life. His first transformation after all of those difficulties had been excruciating. Now, though still painful, it was becoming easier for him to do.

Jake jumped lightly into the air, his wings spreading and lifting him before he could fall back down to the floor. He flew until he was nearly touching the roof and began to descend to the top of the stairs, just to where Rose was about to step. He dropped down before she got there, letting out a small growl. Rose stiffened, blinking at him, her hands curling into fists. Jake hoped she wouldn't let her reflexive instinct take over – he'd end up being punched in the face if she did.

"Are you trying to scare me?" She accused.

Jake shrugged, winking at her. "Maybe," he admitted.

"Fool," Rose laughed. "You can't scare me."

"Well, you can't get past me," Jake countered, though he very much doubted that it was true.

Rose gave him a look that told him she knew the same thing he did before tensing her legs, jumping straight into the air and, using his shoulder for leverage, flipped into the hallway behind him. She gave him a look over her shoulder that clearly said 'you thought wrong' before continuing on her way. Jake watched her go, smiling to himself.

He would never find anyone better than her.

With that thought, Jake bounced to his feet and headed after her.

(-.-)

"That was fun," Spud commented, signalling back into traffic after dropping Rose back off at the still wildly intimidating Huntsquarters.

"Totally," Trixie agreed. "I like having another girl around."

"We're not enough?" Jake teased.

"Y'all all right … for boys, that is," Trixie bantered in return. "We should hang as a group more often though – I missed her while she was gone."

"Bet I missed her more," Jake laughed.

"Probably," Trixie sighed. She twisted around in the passenger seat so that she was facing Jake, who was directly behind her. "So, spill," she prompted.

Jake frowned at her, confused. "Spill what?"

"Details," Spud supplied while Trixie continued to stare expectantly.

"Details about what?" Jake asked, "How much I missed her? I'm quite sure I whined to the two of you enough about that particular subject the entire time she was gone."

"Sometimes I miss the days you were mute," Trixie reminisced, slightly sidetracked from her goal, though she wouldn't stay that way for long. "But no, not those details."

"Then what details do you want?"

"Are you really that dumb?" Trixie exclaimed, "Boys. So, you and Rose, in a room together, you know, you've been together for a while … do you get where I'm going with this?"

Jake stared back at her. "Rose and I haven't slept together."

"Why not?" Spud asked.

"It's just never been right. I've told you that before when you asked."

"I just thought this weekend might put you in the mood."

"Trixie, why do you Rose and I to have sex so bad?"

"I don't!" Trixie scoffed. "It's just … most people have. And I know, I know, 'everyone is allowed to make their own choices' yada, yada, yada. I'm just curious. I don't think that's a bad thing."

Jake shrugged. "Think about it. When we first met, I was hardly in a space to even get to know someone – I still don't know why she liked me when I was like that. Then we had to get over the whole 'oh, there's a prophecy that says we have to kill each other' stage. For the past several months, we've been dealing with the fact that we weren't even in the same country. And now, we're just seeing each other again. It's hardly the time to fall into bed with one another."

"Fine, fine!" Trixie turned back around, admitting surrender. "I see your point. I was just hoping for some cute Jake-Rose babies."

Jake nearly choked on his own tongue. "Some what?"

"Don't worry Trix," Spud was quick to say. "They're going on the Council meeting – the secret island in the tropics." He winked at Jake in the rearview mirror.

Jake threw himself against the back of seat dramatically, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "You are all hopeless."

"You're the one still talking to us," Spud pointed out.

Jake continued to brood in complete silence until they dropped him off at Gramps'.

Whistling under his breath, he sauntered into the shop that he still called home. Despite all of the time that had passed, and despite how much he had healed and changed within that time period, Jake had never returned, fully, to his family home. He visited often – sometimes overnight, sometimes just for dinner – but he felt much more comfortable at Gramps' than he did in the Long family home. His mother had never told his father the truth about her family – that is, that the vast majority of them were dragons – and it made Jake uncomfortable to know that he was hiding something big from his dad, even more so now that he had come so close to dying (mere inches from gems that could have turned him into one of them for eternity) because of the world his father was oblivious to.

"Welcome home, kid!" Fu called from behind the counter, "How was the weekend?"

"Weekend was good," Jake grinned.

"I'm glad; you've been doing so good – getting back into your dragon duties and such – that you deserved a break like that." Fu leaned on the counter, propping his saggy face up on his front paws. "And how's Rose?"

"Rose is good." Jake's smile grew at the mention of his girlfriend.

"She back for good now?" Fu inquired.

Jake nodded. "Yep; unless a crisis springs up somewhere, of course."

"The old man wanted to speak to you," Fu mentioned, "But he stepped out somewhere. I'm not sure where though. He's probably not going to be long though, you know how he is, he hates being out in public."

"He's just crotchety," Jake mused. "What did he want? Do you know?"

"I'm assuming it's about the Dragon Council. I could be wrong there, though."

"Nah, you're probably right." Jake's face twisted as he thought, "If we're talking about the Council, should Rose be here to? As of right now, she's still kind of ignorant on the topic."

"Good idea," Fu agreed, quickly. "Do you want to invite her for dinner?"

"Sure, though I don't know if she'll want to see me after spending the weekend with me," he joked.

"But this is for business, not pleasure," Fu paused. "And tell her to bring her minions."

Jake raised his eyebrows at the dog. "Her minions?"

"Yeah, the other people."

"Do you have any idea just how many people are in that Clan? You're going to have to be more specific when you say 'minions'."

"The other ones we had in our basement with her last year – her right hands."

"88 and 89, in the old Clan order. Now they're Nicholas and Kyle."

"Well, bring them over here too."

"Why do you want them here?" Jake asked.

"We got more details on the Council meeting yesterday. Lao Shi will want to go over it with you, so I won't say much now, but one of the things we learned is that two new people have been added to summons list: Nicholas and Kyle."

"Great," Jake mumbled, chewing on his lower lip. "What do they want with them?"

"I'm leaving all that to the old man to talk to you about," Fu groaned.

"Okay. I'll call Rose and then I'm getting in the shower before dinner."

"Go for it," Fu said, returning to the newspaper he'd been browsing before Jake had walked in the door.

Jake grabbed the house phone off the kitchen counter as he passed by, dialing Rose's personal line at the Huntsclan as he went. He entered his bedroom and dropped his bag on his bed. He tucked the phone in the crook of his neck as he began to sort through the dirty clothes and assorted belongings he'd taken to the cottage with him.

"Huntsmistress Rose speaking. Please state your name and business."

"Hi, my name is Jake. I think you might be holding my girlfriend hostage in your scary looking skyscraper."

"Miss me already?" Rose teased, her business tone dropping in favour of a warmer one.

"Maybe." Jake sucked in a breath. "But I'll never tell."

"Hmm, maybe I have ways of making you talk…" Rose let her suggestion hang.

Jake cleared his throat. "You sound tired. What's up?"

"I've been home for an hour and a half and it's been crisis after crisis. Come on, I went around the world for months and everything was handled just fine. I go out of cell range for not even three whole days and the apocalypse has begun."

"That bad?"

"No; I'm just easily stressed. Kyle and Nicholas handled things very well, but the Swedish branch was having an issue only I could deal with. But that doesn't matter right now. What's happening on your end?"

"We have new information on the Council proceedings. We'd like you, Nicholas, and Kyle to come over for dinner and discuss it."

"Nicholas and Kyle?" Rose gaped, "Why?"

"The Council has summoned them as well as you."

"I see," Rose breathed. "Well, better to be informed, I suppose. We'll see you at 6:30?"

"Perfect. See you then."

I don't own anything recognizable. Thanks to my beta: Gift Of The Dragons.

~TLL~