"Hanna do you want to meet my best friend?" Marius asked, grabbing her hand as she and Gaius walked into the house.
"Buddy give her some time to get settled why don't you" Gaius said laughing at his son's joy at having a sister.
"It's fine dad" she said happily, looking back at Gaius and then back at her brother. "I would love to meet his Marius!"
"Great!" Marius said joyfully grabbing her hand.
"Wait just a minute Marius." Gaius gestured to his son before pulling his daughter close, his forehead on her's. "You okay after that whole thing back there?"
Hanna sighed and nodded, kissing her dad's cheek. "Yeah I'll be fine."
She smiled and let Marius pull her in the direction of his room where another boy was sitting with a book.
"Evo this is Hanna!" he exclaimed, pulling the girl along, making her laugh.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Hanna" Evo said politely, grinning up at her.
"The pleasure is all mine Evo!" Hanna said happily as she sat down on the bed next to him.
She could tell the boys were different, but somehow she knew not to mention it. Instead she looked over Evo's shoulder and pulled Marius into her lap. She could get used to being a big sister.
"What are you reading there?" she asked curiously.
"Oh just a book for school" Evo said placing the book aside so he could focus on Hanna and Marius.
"Gaius tells me you're his new daughter" he said excitedly.
"Yeah. I couldn't ask for a better father" Hanna laughed happily. She never believed she would say those words again after two years.
Just then Livia walked in and smiled. "I see you three are getting acquainted" she said with a smile, sitting in a chair across from the three.
"So Hanna tell me more about yourself" she said kindly. And Hanna spent a whole half hour telling her tale to her new family and by the end of it the three had tears in their eyes.
"Those people are mean!" Marius said angrily, ready to defend his sister.
"Yeah! They should be ashamed!" Evo said wrapping an arm around Hanna.
Livia reached out and took Hanna's hand. "You'll be happier here dear. I promise you. And I hear you've caught the eye of the Praetor."
Hanna blushed and shook her head. "I don't know how that would even work" she said honestly before Gaius walked in and leaned against the door, gazing at his family.
"Oh it's too early to think about that" he said laughing as he caught Hanna's eye. "I want to keep my little girl close for as long as possible."
And then just as they were all laughing there was a knock at the door, making Gaius roll his eyes. "I'll be back."
They were all talking and laughing once more when Hanna heard her dad's voice from downstairs. "Hey Hanna come down here sweetie!" Gaius called up to her.
"Hmm...I wonder what's up?" Hanna said as she kissed her brother's head and set him on the bed next to Evo. "I'll be back."
That very moment Matthew led Maya and their dog Ben up to a hill overlooking the sea. It was quite a romantic view if Maya did say so herself, but she knew that there had to be another reason Matthew led them there.
"What are we doing here?" Maya asked curiously, sitting down next to Matthew, taking his hand in her's.
"Quintus asked me to spy on Simon Peter" he answered, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "And I thought it could be a good date for us too. Take our mind off of things."
He kissed her cheek and nose, making her giggle and lean into him. "Why Matthew I didn't know you could be so romantic!"
"I can be many things Maya" he said, kissing her gently, placing a hand on her cheek.
"Well I do hope you brought snacks since this is a stake out" Maya said laughing into his lips.
"You read my mind" he said as he pulled out her favorite nuts. Pistachios and cashews.
The two sat there eating, talking and watching Simon from afar. So far he wasn't catching any fish.
"And you say he's a good fisherman?" she asked, gazing over at Matthew and then back at the man on the boat.
"I would say he isn't very good" Matthew said as Maya leaned into him, her head on his shoulder. "I don't trust him one bit."
Pretty soon another boat came and more men started to help Simon fish. "Okay this is getting good" Maya teased as she gazed up at Matthew.
"We must be a pretty boring couple if we use this for entertainment" Matthew commented, kissing her forehead. Maya simply shook her head, taking Matthew's hand as she closed her eyes.
"No. You're just doing you're job and you brought me along" she said yawning a bit as she leaned into him more, her eyes closing slowly.
Matthew looked down at Maya and examined her a little. Her curly black hair and her long eyelashes. She was beautiful and he couldn't believe that she was his.
"Sleep my beauty" he said softly, wrapping his arm around her protectively as he continued to watch Simon and his friends.
Hanna was surprised to see Quintus standing next to her father as she walked down the stairs. "Quintus! Hi!"
"Hello Hanna" he simply replied, taking her hand and kissing it once more. "I was wondering if you and I could have a little chat."
Hanna looked to her father and back at Quintus. "That is if that's okay with you're father."
She looked back to her dad, looking into his eyes. He looked back at her with a loving expression. "That is fine by me. You're curfew is 12 AM" he said looking over at Quintus. "And that's me being generous."
Hanna laughed and hugged her father, kissing his cheek. "I'll have her back by then" Quintus said as he offered his arm to Hanna who took hold of it, her nerves going out the window for once.
As the two stepped outside, Quintus was the first one to speak. "I was hoping I would get another moment with you alone" he said smiling down at her.
"Well you have me! What do you want to talk about?" Hanna asked curiously as they walked along the street.
Quintus laughed and stopped so that he was standing in front of her, tilting her head up so she could look him in the eye. "Us" he said simply.
Hanna blushed, but she couldn't turn away from his eyes. "What about us?" she asked now, placing her hands on his forearms. "That's a pretty bold subject."
"I know this is pretty soon, but Hanna...You've captured my attention. I was wondering if I could see you from time to time."
She thought for a moment before gazing back up at him. "You can see me whenever you want" she said surprising herself.
Usually she wouldn't say that because of her trust issues, but she saw the way Quintus looked at her. She trusted him.
He smiled at her answer, brushing some hair out of her face before offering his arm again for her to take.
They continued to walk for some time, getting to know eachother better and by the time 12 AM came around, she felt as though she knew him the way Matthew knew Maya. "Goodnight Hanna" Quintus said, kissing her hand once more before walking away.
Hanna walked into the house and there sat her father on one of the benches in the foyer. It felt nice to have a parent that cared for her once more. "You've been sitting there the whole time haven't you?" she asked, sitting down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I'm you're father Hanna. I wouldn't be a good one if I didn't wait up for you" he said, kissing her head gently. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah I did" she said happily, gazing up at her father.
"Just don't go getting married on me when I just adopted you" Gaius joked, holding Hanna close.
"You don't have to worry about that" she said softly as she closed her eyes.
Gaius noticed this and swiftly picked her up, carrying her up the stairs to her room. He tucked her in gently and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight my beautiful girl" he whispered softly before blowing out a candle and walking out into the hallway. It was good to have a daughter.
AN: Okay Jesus is coming soon. I PROMISE! I just wanted to get this chapter up before bed.
