All familiar characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine alone.

"Permission to come aboard?" Mary Alice called from below us, as she stood on the dock waiting for the rest of her family to catch up to her.

Steph, I, our girls, and my parents, arrived early to inspect the yacht, talk to Nemit and discuss our route, and eliminate any potential safety risks. To prevent the obvious ones, Olivia will be sleeping with us in our room again. And Julie suggested bunking with Mary Alice and Angie in the cabin almost the size of ours for bonding purposes and to make sure Steph's nieces remain safe and sound. Having to shoot someone to save my and Steph's lives has given Julie the same sense of responsibility I've built my life and career around.

She survived a kidnapping, having to watch the father she wanted to get to know almost bleed out in front of her, and was then forced to point a gun and pull the trigger without hesitation on an active threat. My daughter figured out fast that she's not only special, but strong as fucking hell. And she continues to be for those not equipped with her life experiences or nerves of steel. Lisa will be with Valerie and Albert in the room beside Edna's, which left possibly Frank's cabin before the end of the hall that's reserved for the men accompanying us. Their hearing and reflexes are almost as fine-tuned as mine, and if any passenger is on the move, they'll be checking it out a beat after I get up.

"Permission for you is always granted," I promised my niece.

"What about me?" Edna shouted, moving through the small crowd that formed when Tank and Bobby arrived moments apart with the passengers they were sent to pick up this morning.

"It wouldn't be a party without you, Edna."

"You're darn tootin'! Come on, Frank. Get a move on," she shouted over her shoulder, "before they leave without us."

"He came," I heard Steph say beside me.

She'd said it so softly, it felt more like a breath than two distinct words.

"I don't know why you sound so surprised. I've told you many times, Babe, that you're a woman impossible to walk away from even if you're convinced it's the right thing to do and mistakenly believe you can."

"You are nothing like my dad. Even when you weren't with Julie, you were always there for her. Plus you were attracted to me on top of liking me, so you had more reason to stick around."

"You know how beautiful and sexy I think you are, but your physical appearance pales in comparison to the friendship and partnership you've provided for me. I have a feeling your father finally figured out that your life, and the compassion you've formed because - and in spite - of it, has made you the only one he can speak freely with. The same discovery I and my men made soon after meeting you. In a way, Frank only met a few weeks ago the woman his daughter has become."

She hefted Olivia up higher on her hip and turned towards the gangway. "Thank you for talking me through this. I really hope you're right about a change of heart and the outcome of this trip, but I guess we're about to find out if you are or not."

"This is going to be fun," Julie said, appearing behind us after wrapping up her own tour of the ship with my mother and Tank.

She slid a slim arm around both Steph and I, and I found myself believing her.

"Hey, Aunt Steph!" Mary Alice called when they joined us on deck.

"Hey back at you. I'm glad you guys could all come. As Julie just said, this is going to be fun."

Since we're still technically 'enjoying' Winter no matter the unseasonable temperature today, Olivia had been dressed in what looks and feels like a combination lined tracksuit and snowsuit, so she wouldn't feel chilled. But the windproof material has made her harder to hold onto than usual. Add in a large group of familiar faces, and she's ready to hit the ground running.

"And not to mention exhausting," my wife added, unsuccessfully trying to wrangle our baby who had it in her head to get down and run around.

I reached for Olive and then sat her on my shoulders so she would remain with us but still feel like she's doing something somewhat exciting, being a head taller than everyone except her GodTank.

"Dad saves the day," Julie told our group, leaning forward to gently tug on her sister's shoe in order to get a grin out of Olivia. "I just scoped out everything we have onboard. Mary Alice, if you an Angie need a snack, drink, or prime 'Bon Voyage' waving spot, I've got you covered."

"How about we help your cousins and their parents bring their things to their rooms before we do anything else?" My father suggested.

Stephanie and I knew the reason he and my mother were immediately luring some of the newcomers away. They wanted to give us, Edna, and Frank, a chance to talk to get a sense of where we're at as a family.

"Albert," Valerie said to Kloughn, "can you go ahead with the girls and the Manosos and put Lisa's things in our room? I'll be there in a minute."

Tank led the way with Bobby bookending the group. We watched until the girls, our men, my parents, and Albert, were out of sight and out of earshot.

Olivia was content to watch the birds flying overhead, believing she could catch them if she just stretched her arms out an inch further, so I tightened my grip on her and waited for Steph to break the silence.

"Okay, you can tell me what's wrong now," she told her family.

"Five seconds before we left, Mom told Dad not to come back if he left with me and Grandma Mazur," Valerie shared.

"Damn it," my wife said so only I would hear her.

I moved my body and our daughter closer to act as a grounding tool if Stephanie felt that she needed one.

"Your mother's got a doozy of a stick up her behind," Edna said. "I could tell by the way her eyes popped outta her head that she was thinking it, but hadn't meant to let that slip out. She don't want no one to get used to living their lives without her. I think she got that this is gonna cost her because she did say it out loud and in front of us. Your sister and I ain't about to let this one go."

"It's your house too, Dad. She can't just kick you out of it for no reason except that she's mad at the world right now," Steph said to Frank.

"Maybe she can't, but I can choose not to go home right away."

"You know you have an apartment at Rangeman if you want to call her bluff or just get a break from her for a few more days after we get back."

"Valerie offered to let me stay with her and Kloughn," he replied, taking his time about it I noticed.

"Of course she did. No doubt Val gave Grandma that option too, but you'll both have your own spaces at Rangeman with no Kloughns in sight."

As she'd hoped, Frank's face relaxed into an almost smile. "Sharing a bathroom with your Grandmother's bad enough, I hate to picture Albert added into our routine."

"I sure as heck wasn't going back until she apologized to both of us," Edna added, "so if you've got room ..."

"I own multiple properties for a reason," I told them, pausing to glance heavenward as Olivia leaned forward to look at me upside down. I gave her a kiss and then refocused on my father and grandmother-in-law. "You can stay in our building or in apartments in another one, you just have to decide what your course of action is going to be and tell Stephanie and I how we can help you."

"You have a few days to think about it," Steph reminded them. "You don't want to ruin your vacation by dreading what's going to happen after it. We can hammer out those details later. We didn't ask you guys to come with us to ruin your lives. Ranger and I were just hoping to give you a different perspective on what it could include, and give you a chance to know your granddaughters if you feel you're missing out by not being part of their lives."

"Your mother's ultimatum isn't your fault, Babe."

"I know. This is all about her not getting her way and not being able to handle it, but I hate that I'm once again the catalyst for an ultimatum being issued."

"You aren't, Steph," Valerie told her. "You invited us here, but Mary Alice is the one who got Dad onboard with one overheard comment."

"Really? Do tell," my wife said.

"Your sister relayed the message Mama Manoso gave her to pass along to Mary Alice," Edna reported.

"Which was that she would help Mary Alice catch the biggest fish the Atlantic had to offer if no one else could," Val continued. "Dad suddenly made up his mind that he wasn't going to miss this fishing trip."

All eyes turned to Frank and he visibly squirmed under our undivided attention.

"Someone stepping in and doing what you haven't so far was the clincher?" Stephanie asked him.

"Teaching my granddaughters to fish is my job," he said after a few uncomfortable beats. "No one else's."

I held his eyes and made sure he was listening before I spoke. "I wouldn't advise saying that where my mother can hear you, but it is about time you took a stand and carved yourself out a place in our family."