Hello Everyone! I wanted to take this time to again thank you for reading my story. I also wanted to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas. I hope Santa brings you everything your heart desires, except of course Seth,he's mine wink wink:). I hope you have a great time with your family's I know I will. And party hardy for the New Year but be safe. Peace out!

The closer they got to their destination, the quieter The Raven became. She hardly said anything during their 4 hour flight to California. He had gotten their luggage and loaded it into a cab. The ride to the hospital was filled with silence. She sat far away from him at the other end of the cab starring out the window. He did not like this distance between them, he reached out to her and placed a hand on her hip and pulled her closer to him. She stared up at him with sad hazel eyes and then rested her head on his chest. He put his arm around her and looked down at her concerned by her mood.

"What are you thinking?", he asked gently.

"I know my grandfather is old and he has led a long life, but I am not ready to say good-bye to him." Her voice cracked with emotion. "I don't want him to die, Seth." She buried her face in his chest and began to weep softly.

Seth rubbed her back trying to console her.

Once they walked into the waiting room, The Raven was greeted by her relatives. Andrea was the first to kiss her on the cheek and hug her. "Oh my god Raven I so glad you are here. I have been trying to reach you."

"I had to turn my phone off on the plane, I think I still have it off. What has happened? Am I too late?" Her heart skipped a beat in fear, thinking she was too late and that her grandfather had died.

Seth put a hand on The Raven's shoulder offering his support. Andrea looked at the man that stood behind her. He was handsome and tall. His dark curly hair hung loosely at his shoulders, part of his hair was dyed blond. This must be Seth, she thought, Raven had described him enough times to know it was him.

"Everything is fine Raven. Your grandfather took the wrong dose of medication which caused him to get really sick. But the doctors have stabilized him and he will be released in a while."

The Raven breathed a sigh of relief at Andrea's words. She hugged her again this time with happiness at the good news. She was then greeted by her brother Alex, Uncle Anton and some of her cousins.

Seth stood behind her watching her interact with her family. There was at least a dozen of them present. Some of them looked at her with disdain and some were genuinely happy to see her. There was a man at the other end of the room that did not look too happy she was there. He had the same hazel eyes and dark hair like The Raven but unlike her dark skin his was fair. As if he couldn't stand her presences any longer the man suddenly got up and briskly walked out of the room not saying a word to anyone. Seth could see the anger in his eyes as he pushed past him to leave.

"I am sorry Raven I meant to warn you that your brother Maximiliano would be here." Andrea looked at Raven sympathetically.

"Its ok Andrea, I am use to it by now.", The Raven said sadly, as she watched her oldest brother leave the room. The Raven decide to change the subject. "Where is Apollo Jr.?

"He is at a friend's birthday/slumber party. I didn't want him to worry, unless it was necessary."

"You must be Seth? I am her Uncle Anton. It's finally nice to meet you." Her uncle smiled at Seth and held his hand out. Seth returned the smile and shook his hand. "Seth Rollins, nice to meet you too."

"Oh I'm sorry." The Raven immediately went to Seth's side and introduced him to the rest of her family. "And this is my brother, Alex."

Alex was about 6 feet tall and in good shape from being in the military. He had fair skin and brown eyes and hair. He was about the same age as Seth. Seth could see the disapproval in his eyes as Alex looked him up and down. He held his hand out for Alex to shake, but Alex just looked at him.

"Don't be rude Alexander shake his hand.", her Uncle Anton said sternly. Alex did as he was told and said hi to Seth begrudgingly. Her brother then made an excuse and left the room.

"Why don't you two go to the house and settle in? We have to fill out some paperwork and your grandfather will be released into our care." Anton said.

"Ok but I want to say hi to him before I go."

"He is resting right now, just let him rest."

She hesitated but finally agreed. "Ok, then I will see you at the house."

As the cab drove through the neighborhood and the windy roads, the lawns became more immaculate the houses got more expensive. They had finally reached their destination. Like all the other houses, the lawn was flawless, except for the rose bushes in front of the windows and a small tree on the left side of the lawn. Seth could see the house was a 2 story with earth tone colors and a ceramic roof top, part of the house's facade was covered with stone adding to it's elegance. The front door was painted red with steps that led to it.

The Raven went to her room and to put her luggage way. Then showed Seth the room he would be staying in which was across from hers. "I wish we could share the same room.", Seth whined.

She laughingly said, "That is not going to happen, not with my family under the same roof."

"Well, they are not here now.", he said as he kissed her.

Seth walked out to the porch to join The Raven's Grandfather and Uncle. He had a beer in hand as he took a seat next to Anton. The Raven, Andrea and Alex were inside making dinner.

"You know you are the first young man she has ever called boyfriend or brought home for us to meet?", Anton stated.

"You mean other than Ethan." Seth corrected.

"No, Ethan was never her boyfriend, he was more of school girl crush. Plus, whenever she talks about you her entire face lights up and we have not seen her this happy in a long time. You must be very special.", Anton said.

Seth blushed embarrassed by what Anton was saying, but thrilled that he had that affect on her. He was also relieved to hear Ethan was not as important to her as he had thought. "She is the one that is special."

"So does that mean you plan on marrying her?", Grandfather asked, as he looked directly at Seth. He looked frail from the past 24 hours but his mind was sharp. He wanted to know if this young man was serious about his granddaughter.

Seth hadn't thought about marriage since Danielle and he wasn't sure how The Raven would react to a proposal. She would probably freak out like she did when he asked her to be his girlfriend. He wasn't sure if he was even ready to talk about marriage, it was still to soon in their relationship. He knew he liked The Raven a lot and they had a lot in common, but he wasn't sure if it was love yet. Also they had yet to tell the other "I Love You " or express how they feel for each other, other than their attraction. Seth cleared his throat, "We have not talked about marriage, but yes I can see myself marrying her." He answered honestly. This seemed to satisfy her Grandfather, as they moved on to safer subjects.

The Raven was glad Seth went out on the porch with her Grandpa and Uncle, because her brother was being a total ass about him. She dragged Alex into the living room hoping they could not hear their conversation on the porch.

"Why him Raven? Of all the men you could have, WHY HIM?" He was frustrated with his sister. Why did everything have to change? Why couldn't some things be like they should be? Like Raven with Ethan.

"Alexander you don't even know him and you have already judged him. And why not him?", she asked with irritation.

"Look at him for petes sake! What kind of man dyes part of his hair blond? How will he support you, when he can't wrestle anymore?", he asked with disgust.

"For your information, he plans on opening a wrestling school near his hometown." It was something Seth had told her on more than one occasion and he was even looking for partners to help run the school. "And he dyes his hair blond because it is part of his ring persona."

"Raven he doesn't even have a college education and he comes from some heck town."

"Alex! Will you stop badgering her. Will you let her just be happy.", Andrea interrupted.

"Alexander when did you become such a snob?" She could feel herself getting angry and losing patients with her brother.

"WHY HIM RAVEN?", he yelled demanding an answer.

"Because -", she really didn't know what to say, she wasn't ready to admit to herself the feelings she had for Seth, but her brother wasn't backing down.

"Because why?", he shouted at her.

"Because I can't help how I feel. How he makes me feel. He accepts me for who I am, not for what I should have been." The Raven felt cornered and didn't want to think about her feelings for Seth because the thought of losing him the way she lost most of her family was to much to bare, she ended the argument by leaving the room.

The next day

Seth hoped today would be a better day in regards to Alex. Anton, her Grandfather and Andrea seem to like him well enough but he could tell that Alex felt he was not good enough for his sister. At dinner, he sensed a tense between Alex and The Raven. He tried asking her about it but she brush it off saying nothing was wrong.

He woke up early, showered and changed, he was in the living room looking at a family portrait that hung on the wall. In the middle of the portrait were her parents with the three oldest standing behind them and the youngest on each side of them. Her father and her brothers all wore a dark blue suit and yellow tie with a white shirt. The Raven and her mother were both wearing similar yellow dresses. They all seemed happy especially The Raven, her eyes were bright and filled with joy. Her smile beamed from ear to ear, as her hand rested on her father's shoulder. She looked about 10 or 11 years old.

"Good Morning", Andrea greeted Seth.

"Good Morning"

"The Duran Family, that portrait was taken six months before their parents died. That of course is Carlos and Bernadette, Raven's parents. This is Alex, standing beside his mother and behind her is Maximiliano, John and Apollo. Apollo Jr.'s father.", Andrea said as her eyes caressed the picture of the man she once loved.

Seth could tell Andrea had still not gotten over Apollo's death. He looked a lot like The Raven, he had dark hair, skin and the same hazel eyes. Their facial features were similar, but The Raven's were softer and smaller. Apollo was the brother The Raven was the closest to, he remembered her mentioning him a couple of times. The octagon pendent she wear, Apollo had given to her the last time she saw him. "The Raven looks very happy there", he finally said.

"They were very close until their parents died. It was so unexpected. I mean they didn't lose just one of them but both their parents. They didn't know how to handle it, instead of comforting each other, they felt they had to do something about their deaths. So John, Apollo and Alex joined the army, of course Apollo and Alex had to wait until they were old enough and Max, he blamed Raven. He blames her even more after John and Apollo were killed in action." Andrea shook her head sadden by the events that took place after their parents' death.

"That's why he acted they way he did at the hospital." Seth would have thought that their parents death would have brought them closer together.

"Yes I am afraid so. He needed someone or something to blame and unfortunately it was Raven."

Day 3

The house had been busy with visitors since yesterday. Uncles, aunts, cousins and friends came to visit her grandfather to see how he was doing. Since her grandfather was busy. The Raven decided to show Seth the high school she graduated from and some of the places she would hangout with her brothers. They then went to a local gym to workout. When they return to the house all the visitors were gone. They took a shower and started to pack their things, they would be leaving tonight to head to the next venue for Monday Night Raw.

They was having an early dinner with her family because Seth and her would have to leave soon. Alex had decided to join them. His mood had not really improved, he treated Seth with indifference, but The Raven was hopeful the reason he came tonight was to try and get to know Seth better. They had manage to make it through dinner without an argument.

"Do you have to go Raven?", whined her six year old nephew.

"I am afraid I do, but I will be back next week.", She said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"And will you come with her?", Apollo asked Seth, his little face filled with hope. He had a lot of fun playing with Seth.

"I am afraid not next week. I have some business to take care of at home.", he said as he ruffled Apollo's raven hair. "But I promise the following week I will come with The Raven."

"Really what kind of business?", Alex asked condescendingly . The Raven gave her brother warning look, she hoped he didn't start anything. Seth looked at Alex, he was surprised Alex was even acknowledging him much less asking him a question.

"I plan on opening a wrestling school and the realtor I am working with has some potential sites for me to see."

"I see, so you plan on staying in your hometown? What about my sister?" The Raven looked at her brother but his eyes were completely on Seth. She reached for Seth's hand.

"What about her?", Seth asked cautionly, as he did not waver from Alex's stare.

"My sister is not use to living in heck town and were it is 30 below about 6 months out of the year. And she will be away from her family.", he said contemptuously.

The Raven could see Seth's jaw stiffen and his grip on her hand tighten. He took a deep breathe trying to calm himself, he knew The Raven's brother was trying to antagonize him. "Well, that is none of your business. The Raven and I have not talked about things like that but when we do we will let you know."

Alex stood up from his chair, placed his hand on the edge of the table and leaned forward. "I see so you can sleep with her but not talk about your living arrangements."

"ALEX!", The Raven shouted as well as her uncle. Andrea took Apollo and left the room she did not want her son to see his aunt and uncle fight.

"Look, I know you don't like me, so why don't you just say whatever it is you have to say." Seth wanted him to get it all out and be done with it.

"I don't think you are good enough for my sister. She has a college education, can speak more than one language, plays musical instruments and she is beautiful. She has a lot to offer someone but you on the other hand, what you have only a high school education and you run around in tights. With a career that can come to an end at anytime.", he scornfully said.

Seth stood up from his chair abruptly knocking it to the floor as he faced her brother. If he had been anyone else he would have punched his lights out by now. "You know you haven't even tried to get to know me. I know my career can come to an end at anytime, but you don't have to worry about your sister. I will make sure she is taken care of, unlike you." Seth knew it was a low blow but he was tired of being nice and being crapped on by this bastard.

Alex swung at Seth, but he quickly moved out of the way thankful that the table was between them or Alex would have found his mark. He was about to lunge at him when The Raven stood in front of him with her hands on his chest. "Seth please, please don't do this.", she begged.

"What your pretty boy can't defend himself?", her brother taunted.

The Raven spun around. "WHAT you think I am protecting him from you? Are you serious? He is a professionally trained athlete and has fought and won guys twice his size. Do you honestly think you stand a chance against him? No brother dear, I am protecting you from him.", she said astonished by her brother's stupidity and arrogance. Seth grinned as he looked down at The Raven, her outrage at her brother's statement and her defending his honor and her belief in him warmed him deep inside.

"He's just a wrestler, I can take him." After all he had military training.

The Raven's mouth dropped open and she turn to Seth, "Seth teach him a thing or two."

Seth blinked a few times, her cheeks were red with anger and her eyes told him yes she was serious. "And you are not going to get mad?", he asked skeptically.

"Only if you lose.", she said angrily.

"Not in a million years.", he confidently stated as he walked out to the backyard with her brother hot on his heels. He turned to her one more time to make sure she had not changed her mind. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Do it swiftly." She wanted Seth to get it over with quickly, she did not want him to toy with her brother. However, Alex needed to be taught a lesson in respect and this seem to be the only way.

Seth then turned his attention to her brother. The Raven went to stand by her Uncle and Grandfather. "Raven, he is not going to hurt your brother is he?", Anton asked worriedly.

"Well no. I mean not that much anyway." Her words did nothing to easy his anxiety as they looked at the two men on the grass circling each other. It was Alex that made the first move, he lunged toward Seth and within, 4 short moves, Seth had her brother demobilized. Alex was flat on his stomach with the wind knocked out of him with Seth's knee in the middle of his back with both arms pulled behind him. When Alex tried to move, Seth applied more pressure to his arms to stop him.

"Have you had enough, man? Say you have or I will break both your damn arms.", Seth was upset that it had to come to this. The Raven kinda felt sorry for her brother, his face was red with anger and embarrassment but he brought this on himself.

"Stop being so damn stubborn Alexander and tell him you have had enough.", bellowed her Uncle Anton.

Alex stopped struggling and Seth asked again, "Have you had enough?" Alex shook his head yes. Seth released him and stepped back. Alex got slowly to his feet, he was breathing heavy and his face was red as he stormed out of the house. All four watched as he left. The Raven turned to Seth and hugged him. "I am sorry.", she said.

"I am the one that is sorry, I didn't want to have to do that." Seth felt guilty.

"He gave you no choice, you have nothing to feel guilty about. But you two need to get going before you miss your flight." Her Uncle then hugged her and shook Seth's hand. She went to her Grandfather and kissed him on the cheek and hugged him good-bye.

"Raven, maybe you shouldn't come home next week. I will be fine. I think you need to give your brother time to cool down."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I love you."

The Raven did not like to say those words, but her Grandfather was already so close to death and she didn't want him to die thinking she did not love him. So, for him she said them softly for only his ears to hear. "I love you too."