Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing.
"Still Baby Boy, you went all of that way and saw her and you're telling me that there was nothing that happened?" It was obvious that his best friend was not going to believe that he gone through all of that work without getting some kind of pay out. It was one of the things that probably annoyed him the most about Reid. The guy was a womanizer; who had been raised by a womanizer and never known different and so could not respect women.
Finally rolling his eyes Tyler said, "I'm not you Reid. I am not going to cheapen something like that. I want anything like that to be special. I let myself kiss her when I dropped her off before getting ready to come back and that was it." Reid smirked at this remark knowing full well that it explained the smile that he had caught sight of as the youngest got off of the plane. It also explained the determination that he had in him to stand up to Caleb. Especially since he knew that afterwards Tyler would have to deal with his father. Of the father's, Glen Simms was probably the strictest about use. The eldest of the elder line he could be stricter and harder to deal with than Caleb was.
As the boys entered the Colony house they found things the same as they always were. Portraits of ancestors hanging on the walls the same old stairwells that lead down to the basement where they held their meetings. The candles and lighting along their way upon the son's entrance. As Tyler, Reid and Pogue took their seats Caleb moved to the center and a fire roared to life.
As Caleb took his seat he found that he was not pleased to know that Tyler had revealed the secret that they guarded with their lives. It came out in a roaring blaze just like the heat of the fire that kept them warm when they were here. "Tyler, you know that we don't tell our secret to anyone. Those are the rules, only a woman who marries into the Covenant is allowed to know of its existence. I'm not sure that you have taken seriously to consequences of what could happen to you, to all of us."
Tyler locked his eyes on the oldest son and forced himself to maintain contact knowing that it was the eldest that he needed to get through too in this instance. "Bella has known our secret for years and never told anyone. I told her when I received them because I was scared out of my wits about what was about to happen to me. I also knew that I need her to understand what the future entailed. We had plans to be together through college and marry eventually. Her future includes being the mother of my heir. She needs to know what that means. She wears a ring on her finger even now. She's as good as a part of things. Besides Caleb, isn't the pot calling the kettle black. You told Sarah and still aren't engaged or even pledged. She could walk away at any moment."
Caleb's jaw clenched and his body went ridged at the mention of his telling Sarah. He knew that Baby Boy had a valid point and he hated it. If Tyler's girl was as good as he said then they had nothing to fear and he had broken the rule too. There was no getting around that.
As the boys waited for the eldest to come to a conclusion as to what was going to happen there was complete and utter silence. Finally, Caleb nodded acknowledging that Tyler was correct and his point was more than fair and valid. There was only one thing left that he could do. So, with finality to his words Caleb asked, "So, when do we get to meet her?"
Tyler smiled, "we arranged it so that she will be joining me for ball but if that is not soon enough I can always call and ask if she'd come out say for Christmas. The other sons were stunned. None of them had ever hoped that they would get to meet her that soon. Caleb nodded, "I would like it if you would do that. The sooner we meet her honestly the better."
As the boys slowly began to rise from their seats Tyler caught a very subtly thumbs up given to him by Pogue. It warmed him to know that at least two of his brothers were fully on board with where he was going with his relationship. He had known the instant that he met her that this would be no casual fling. If he wanted her in his life then it was necessary to be open and develop a strong relationship with the girl had every intention of making the mother of his heir and his wife.
That evening Tyler went home for dinner for the first time in several months. When he arrived his mother was surprised to say the least. As he went into his father's office he knew that he would probably receive the riot act initially just like with Caleb but he was determined to face it head on. As he entered he could see his father was seated behind his desk reading the day's paper. Tyler knew that it was now or never so he took a deep breath before speaking, "Dad, can I talk to you?"
Glen Simms looked up from his paper and nodded toward the chair on the other side of his desk. The relationship between them had always been better than between most within the Covenant but it was still strained. So, it was somewhat reluctantly that Tyler began explaining about having told Bella about him and about the last weekend. At the beginning Glen Simms had seemed as though he might in fact go unhinged and use on his own son. However, at the mention of Bella's faithfulness with regards to the Covenant and her long standing agreement with Tyler the black began to fade from his eyes. Once finished Tyler found that he was indeed looking into blue eyes that mirrored his own perfectly and knew that for now at least he was safe.
Lastly and finally Tyler asked, "Would it be alright if I was to invite Bella and her parents here for Christmas?" At his father's nod of approval he left knowing that the conversation would be over. He spent dinner upstairs with his mother and then took some down to his father before leaving to go back to the dorms.
That same night Bella was more than a little sad she found that she missed having the opportunity to see Tyler and talk to him face to face. She pulled out her cell phone thinking that she would call and put in on to speaker so that they could talk while she prepared dinner for her and Charlie that evening. Finding that she went to his voicemail Bella decided to leave a message to let him know that she had called. Putting the lasagna into bake in the oven Bella went to put a load of laundry into the wash and set the table. She was so busy trying to get everything ready for when Charlie got in that she did not even notice that she had received a text message.
Bella had a pleasant and routine evening of homework dinner with Charlie followed by doing the dishes. She made her way upstairs to get ready to go to bed and noticed that she had a new text message. She looked at the ID attached to it and saw that it was Tyler. That brought a rather pleasant smile to Bella's face. It read: I talked with Caleb as well as my Dad and you are officially invited along with Charlie, Renee and Phil to spend Christmas here. That sent Bella into panic mode after all it was sooner than she had thought she would be seeing everyone and she wanted to do well and impress them. So, first things first she needed to talk with Charlie and email Renee and Phil and see if that was possible.
[A/n: I am sorry that it took me a while to get this posted. I enjoyed getting to write this section though. As always please review any an all thoughts are appreciated. Did you love it or hate it? What should I maybe do differently here?]