Sooooo... I decided to split this chapter up into two chapters. That means this ISN'T the last chapter after all. Sorry for the confusion!

Black Zora mentioned (more or less) that Tawny is being a real brat toward David. I'm glad that was brought up because that's kind of the whole point of this story. Tawny and David's relationship has always been complicated and that's mostly due to Tawny's self righteous attitude. In the last story, their relationship was strained because she was too stubborn and prideful for it to be anything else. Tawny needed a big wake up call if they were ever going to mend what was broken and the best way for that to happen was for her to come to the realization that good and bad are only relative terms and that nobody is perfect, especially her. She's certainly beginning to learn that. Now we'll just have to see if it will do her any good...

Enjoy!

I had decided to stay in Santa Carla after bringing John and Lily back. I told myself that it was so I could be right there in case David decided to pull any more stunts but if I was honest with myself, it was so I could be close to him and the kids.

The first couple months were lonely, watching them be a family and trying my hardest to keep my distance. It was for the best, I told myself. I needed to just be content. Somebody was bringing bags of frozen blood to me and leaving them on the front porch every week. I had plenty enough to be sustained and I really had no reason to ever leave the house. That was fine. I knew if I left the house I'd just be too tempted to go and get the kids so I always stayed inside. But one night, for whatever reason, I felt compelled to go out. That was the night I opened the door and saw him standing there.

"Tawny..." David said quietly, his face reflecting shock as though he hadn't expected me to be there at all. "H-hey. How's it going?"

I looked to him, blinking widely as I noticed the bag of blood in his hands. I couldn't fight the slight curvature to my lips upon seeing him hold the bag. "So it's you that's been leaving the little treats."

"Who else would it be?" David said with a shrug, eyes watching me in uncertainty. "Tell me you're not just pouring it down the drain."

"No." I said, shaking my head quickly. "No, I've been drinking it. It's been helpful. Thank you. But, can I ask why?"

"I... I have to provide for my family." David replied and before I could protest like I normally would, he elaborated. "I know we're not a family in the strictest sense. I just mean that I turned you so I'm responsible for you, especially since you never wanted any of this."

"It's okay." I said softly. "I know what you meant. It's respectable."

A small smile flashed across David's face then as he handed the frozen bag over to me. "I'm glad you see it that way." He stood staring at me for a moment before taking a step backwards. "Well, I should go. The kids are waiting on me."

"Tell them I said hi? Please?" I asked hopefully as I watched him back away.

"Sure thing." He nodded to me before turning away. I watched him for a few seconds before turning back into the house but before I was all the way inside he called out to me. "Hey, Tawny?"

I whirled around and looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. For some reason, there was a feeling of excitement racing through me. "Yeah?"

He looked at me in silence for a bit as though he was deep in thought before he sucked in a quick breath and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm taking the kids to play mini golf at the boardwalk. If you're not too busy, I could use a hand with them. Lily's a little spitfire and I'm having a hard time keeping up with her in my old age."

I couldn't fight the bright smile that came to my face at David's joke and his invitation. I nodded almost instantly, far too eager to be reunited with the three of them. "Sure. Let me just go put this away."

I carried the blood inside and stashed it in the freezer, hurrying to get back outside so that I didn't keep David waiting. I didn't want him to change his mind. I grabbed my jacket and pulled it on, exiting the front door to see David sitting on his bike. An overwhelming feeling of nostalgia took hold of me at the sight and I had to fight the tears that were coming to my eyes. I hurried over to him and climbed onto the back of the bike.

You know that old saying, that something fits like a glove?

It was the world's biggest understatement. Climbing on the back of that bike and wrapping my arms around David's waist was more like finding a favorite old glove that had been lost for a really, really long time and slipping it on to find that it fit just as it always had. I pressed my face against his back and held tightly to him as we rocketed off down the street.

We picked the kids up from Max's house, taking the new car David had bought to the boardwalk where we spent a majority of the night golfing and playing games in the arcade. When everything closed down, we went back to the house and watched movies until the wee hours of the morning and the kids began to tucker out, their tiny bodies too weak to last a full night. I helped David put them to bed and kissed their heads gently.

"I've missed them." I said quietly as I exited Lily's room, taking one last glance at her before I closed the door.

"I know what you mean." David replied quietly and I knew he was talking about those years that I had kept Lily and John from him.

I looked to him apologetically and let out a heavy sigh as we walked from the hallway back into the living room. "David, I'm sorry. I never should have taken them away from you."

"You were just trying to do what you felt was best." David said with a shrug. "There's no hard feelings. You brought them back."

"Yes, but it still doesn't make it right." I sighed again and looked away from him. "This whole time I thought I was being so damn righteous and it turns out, I was just being a hypocrite. I was so mad at you, I looked down upon you as though you were so much lesser than me. The truth is, I'm no better than you or Max or any other vampire out there. When I was faced with the same choices you were given, I did the exact same thing you did. I'm sorry for judging you. That was wrong of me."

"I forgive you." David said with a smile, nudging my chin with his hand gently so that I would look up at him. "And hey, don't sweat the small stuff. We have the rest of eternity to make up for all that stupid fighting."

"Yeah, I guess." I returned David's smile, staring at him for a moment before I realized it was very early in the morning and the sun would be coming up soon. "Anyway, I should be going. I gotta get home before the sun comes up." I turned to grab my jacket off the couch but I felt David catch me by my wrist. It wasn't rough or forceful like it had been the last few times he had grabbed me. I turned back to look up at him in curiosity and there was a strange expression on his face.

"Stay." He muttered, his hand slipping slowly from my wrist. "Please."

I shook my head in habit of protest and inhaled deeply. "David I-"

"Please, Tawny. The kids miss you and... I do too." He released his grip on me completely and stared calmly at me. "Look, I know you feel like if you stay it will just be letting me win and then you wouldn't have taught me any sort of lesson but don't you think enough time has gone by? I've learned my lesson. You don't need to punish me anymore."

"I'm not trying to punish you." I replied, my voice scarcely above a whisper. I didn't know what else to say to him then. He was expecting a response to his proposal and I couldn't give him an answer. I wanted to be true to myself but I was at a loss for what that even meant. Did it mean continuing to be stubborn and fight him every step of the way because that was what I had always done? Or did it mean giving in to what I really wanted and becoming a part of a family unit, spending eternity with the people I cared for? "So much has happened, David."

"That's true." David said with a shrug before he placed his hands on my shoulders and smiled down at me. "But that's just a very small part of the rest of forever."

I stood there staring up at him. There was so much hope on his face as he continued to smile at me. It almost broke my heart. I stepped forward and draped my arms over his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. He returned my embrace and I stood on tiptoe, pressing my lips to his cheek before I pulled away. "Tell the kids I love them." I said softly. "Tell them that I love them and I'm sorry."

David shook his head, his brow furrowing. "Tawny-"

"Don't come by my mother's house, don't bring me any blood, don't come looking for me at all." I stepped toward the door, the look on David's face one of disbelief as I started to exit the home. "Goodbye, David."