Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

133. Chapter 133

Chapter 133

*June 12, 1944 – 1:12 am*

Guards patrolled Dachau, ready to shoot anything suspicious on site. But it was no issue. He could sneak around without being detected. The trouble came in the baby's cry. He muffled it by covering the boy's face with blankets. It didn't get rid of the sound, but it did at least lower it. The boy had not stopped crying since his birth and it was beginning to wear on his father's nerves. He reminded himself that his son was just a baby. Babies cry. It is to be expected. He'd calmed slightly when an inmate was given to him to feed off of, but the moment the boy was finished and had tried with all his might to look around the room, he began to cry again.

"It'll be alright," the man said to his son and tried to gently shush him while swaddling the boy in an effort t comfort him, but it was of little use.

He pulled aside the blanket to look at him and he was as he'd hoped he'd be. He'd not been wrong in his hopes for the Jewish woman. She gave him a son that was, truly, a model of Aryan perfection. Pale with blonde hair, clearly inheriting his father's handsome face, though his eyes where that strange purple. He'd not expected that, but such things could be disregarded. While the boy's tiny arm bore a number despite his father's insistence to Dr. Keller that one not be administered, it could always be removed. He'd take care of that as soon as they were somewhere safe.

"I was not wrong to put faith in your mother," he said before covering the boy's face again and charging for the fence.

Just as he jumped the electrified fence, he heard a woman's voice in a foreign tongue but before he had a chance to react, he was grabbed from behind and another grabbed his son right from his arms. When he saw the woman that had taken his child, he couldn't believe his eyes. He'd killed her. He knew he'd killed her. A Jew from Auschwitz who'd been made an example of in the camps.

"How are you-"

"It doesn't matter," the woman answered. She glanced down at the boy, clearly surprised by his presence, but she returned her attention to the restrained man. "I will be your comeuppance for the evening," she said coldly.

"You release me and unhand my son," he ordered of the woman, but she smirked.

"You hold no power this night. I will see you pay for what you did to me," she answered.

"You unhand my son," he repeated. "He's done nothing; you release him!"

"I made the same plea to you for my little Antanas. For my husband and son! Do you recall your reply?" He remembered well what happened: she'd been discovered as having a baby in the camps – pregnant when she'd been brought to Auschwitz – the baby, naturally, was unwanted but she'd hidden the child. An informant had come forward revealing she'd been hiding a baby, so her husband and elder son were reprimanded and hanged. Afterwards, he'd taken her baby from her, thrown the child in the air and shot him. When she'd charged at him, he shot her in the stomach and ordered her thrown into the furnace to burn alive. Her bright red eyes revealed how she managed to live through such a death sentence.

"Don't you hurt him," he ordered.

"I will not harm an innocent child," she answered. "You will not be so lucky." He looked at his son in the woman's arms who'd continued to cry the whole time. He was beaten and he knew it. Whomever had a hold of him was strong and keeping him in place, so he resigned himself to his fate.

"Tell my son-"

"No," the woman interrupted. "Your son will not know your name. You will fade from his memory as you deserve." Then, before he could answer, the man was torn to pieces. The woman and her accomplice wasted no time getting his body to the furnace and ensuring he was set ablaze. Some confusion began among the guards upon the furnace releasing a purple smoke, but they did not concern themselves with it and began to walk away from the camp.

"Niele," the man said to her after they'd thrown the other man into the fire. "What do we do about the child?" She looked up at the man, Mykolas, unsure what to say. She'd not expected this at all. She pulled aside the blanket to look at the baby who continued to cry. He was such a cute little baby. She checked briefly to find he was a boy before immediately covering him back up and getting him comfortable.

"It is the worst cruelty he could have inflicted," Niele said. "A man that wanted a child to so cruelly rob others of their own."

"We can't abandon the baby," Mykolas reasoned and she was in agreement. She looked at the baby hoping to bond. He would not be her little Antanas, but he would still be hers. Yet, there was no pull of motherly love. Affection for an innocent baby, of course, but no bond of a mother to her son. All she could see was his father's face as the boy cried. She'd lost her own sons and husband so recently and all in one day. No one would ever mend such a hole in her heart, least of all one that bared the face of the man responsible.

"We will take him," Niele answered despite her sorrowful realization. She looked at the boy a moment longer. She looked at his arm to see the number he'd been given and recognized it. The woman that Commander Schneider had taken to and who'd been forcefully removed from the camps at Auschwitz. Just days before her family had been executed. If the number was to be believed, she was this little boy's mother. Without a doubt.

"What of his mother?" Mykolas asked. "Perhaps we can save his mother."

"His mother is dead," Niele answered. "Either by infection from delivery or their cruelty. Whichever she succumbs to first." Mykolas nodded remorsefully.

"What shall we call him?"

"Anatoli," Niele said. "I think Anatoli Rimsa will do. With such a name, no one will ever suspect he's not Lithuanian or that his mother was Jewish. We'll keep him safe." Mykolas smiled a little for Niele giving the boy his name.

"Can I hold him?" he asked and Niele handed the boy over to him. "I've always wanted a son." Niele didn't answer. He bounced Anatoli up and down finally managing to calm the boy even if only slightly. Then he looked at Niele with longing eyes. "Niele-"

"Please," she shook her head, "Don't say anything." Then, there was an awkward silence between that was palatable. Eventually, she finally said, "We'll run to Klaipeda. No one will know either of us there or recognize us from our human years. Anatoli will be safe there."

"Agreed," Mykolas answered awkwardly. With their destination agreed upon, the two of them ran from Germany to make the journey back to Lithuania to start anew.

*Present*

Kevin stared at Amber still trying to process what just happened. If this was all true, the only way his conception would be possible were if his father were one of the guards at Dachau or Auschwitz. The knowledge made him recoil with rage. If he was Amber's son, he was a bitter, cruel reminder of everything that happened. She had enough reminders of what happened. Now? She had yet another that walked, talked and dared to call her 'Mama'. It was a mistake, Kevin resolved. A number meant nothing. It was circumstantial at best. He had blonde hair, but so did millions of other people in the world. He held nothing of Amber in his face. He was only his father and Kevin could tell in an instant. And he hated him for it. Something in him told him he needed to let Amber and this boy be alone, but Kevin put the thought between his toes and stayed firmly in place. He'd not leave Amber alone with this stranger for any reason.

Meanwhile, Amber had no doubt in her mind. If she was right about when he'd been born, no earlier than June, then he was 19. She had a 19 year old son and she'd missed his whole life. She had so many questions. How did he survive? What happened after Nazi Germany fell to the Allied Powers? Who looked after him? What was his name? That last question hit hard. She didn't even know her son's name. The privilege of naming him had been robbed from her, yet now it didn't matter. He was alive and he was safe now. No matter what happened before, he was safe now and she'd love him no matter what name he'd been given no matter who'd given that name to him. Amber gently rubbed his back to get his attention.

"Wie heißen Sie?" (What is your name?) Amber asked him gently. She recalled the maid saying his German left a lot to be desired, at least according some other person. She hoped, at least, he'd understand her most burning question. He lifted his head enough to tilt it.

"Anatoli," he answered. Anatoli. Amber smiled at the name. She highly doubted whomever named him had this intent in mind, but it made her think of her own mother Anna. "Ich versuche Deutsch zu sprechen," (I try to speak German) he continued. "Ich Nicht sehr gut." (I not very good). He had such a thick accent that she had never heard before, but she could understand him all the same.

"Du versuchst es. Das ist was zählt," (You're trying. That's what matters) Amber praised and hugged him tighter. "Was ist deine Muttersprache?" (what is your first language) Amber asked. He didn't answer for a moment, likely trying to think about what she'd asked. She repeated herself more slowly and that seemed to help.

"Ich weiß es nicht auf Deutsch," (I don't know in German) he started. "Lietuviškai." She didn't know the German word for that language. She only knew he meant Lithuanian because of the maid and his little sign.

"How did you escape Soviet Europe?" Amber asked. Anatoli didn't say anything but he did look up at her. He hadn't understood her. "Deutsch oder Französisch?" (German or French) Amber asked, wanting first to know what language he would be most comfortable in. It seemed the answer was neither.

"Mehr Übung mit Deutsch," (more practice with German) he finally answered.

"Okay," Amber smiled gently and had Anatoli sit beside her on the park bench so they were more comfortable. "Wie erinnerst du dich an mich?" (How do you remember me)

"Erinnere dich?" (Remember you?) he asked and then smiled with a hint of sadness. "Dein Gesicht. Ich erinnere. Ist meine erste Erinnerung" (Your face. I remember. Is my first memory). "Ich suche dich," (I look for you).

"Wie hast du mich gefunden?" (How did you find me?) She kept her questions simple but realized there was no way it was a simple answer. Thankfully he understood her question but didn't know how to answer.

"Niele," Anatoli started, "Sie sagt mir, starte Dachau." (She tell me. Start Dachau)

"Niele?" Amber asked.

"Sie nimmt mich," (She take me) Anatoli said. Amber assumed he meant this woman raised him but it begged the question of how Niele came to raise Anatoli. "Ich gehe nach Dachau. Finde dich nicht." (I go to Dachau. Not find you.) he continued. Why would he look at Dachau at all? She asked herself. In fact, how had he even known she was alive? He reached into a satchel he had with him and pulled out an old newspaper clipping. "Ich gehe nach München. Lehrer sagen, suche nach ihm," (I go to Munich. Teacher said look for him).

Amber accepted the clipping and saw Kevin. It was a German newspaper talking of an American that had, caring for one Jew only, forced his way into Dachau and came out carrying her. It was hard to see, but one picture was definitely of him carrying her out of the camp and into a car. Another was a picture of him somewhere else. She wasn't sure where. The man she saw in the picture was a man that made her heart flutter yet filled her with fear. He looked so serious. Deadly serious. As though should anyone be foolish enough to cross him it would be the last thing that person did.

"Ich weiß, dass du dich finden must," (I know must find you) Anatoli said. "Ich kenne ihn amerikanisch," (I know he American).

He'd been trying to get to America Amber realized. She still had so many questions but the language barrier made them impossible to ask. She couldn't believe he'd gone through what she could only imagine was a world of grueling travel and research to find her. A woman that, when he'd been born, was nothing of her real self and must have appeared like a monster to him.

"Wie bist du aus Osteuropa geflohen?" (How did you escape Eastern Europe) Amber finally asked him. This time, he looked as though he understood her questions but, once again, he didn't know how to answer.

"Ein Freund. Ich weiß nicht wie auf Deutsch zu sagen ist. Išeiti iš vizos. Er macht für mich. Ich schleiche mich in Westdeutschland. Schleiche in den Zug. Ich gehe nach Dachau." (A friend. I don't know how say in German. Išeiti iš vizos. He make for me. I sneak into West Germany. Sneak onto train. I go to Dachau.)

"Woher weißt du, dass ich am Leben bin?" (How did you know I was alive) Amber asked. The question appeared to surprise Anatoli and immediately sadden him.

"ich weiß nicht," (I not know) he answered and then seemed to choke up a little. "Aš maniau, kad esi miręs. Aš norėjau jus grąžinti, bet ten nebuvo. Aš negalėjau tavęs rasti." Amber stopped him, putting her hand on his and bringing him to her in a hug. One, because he was becoming visibly upset and two because she couldn't understand him anyway. "Man reikia žinoti, kur esi buvęs ir ar esi laimingas."

"Versuche Deutsch für mich zu sprechen, Anatoli," (Try to speak German for me) Amber said gently to him.

"Es tut mir leid," (I'm sorry) he managed.

"Sei nicht traurig, Anatoli," (Don't be sorry) Amber said and kissed the top of his head. That got him to cry that much more and hug her tighter.

"Ich Angst, du mich nicht liebst," (I scared you not love me) he said.

"Denk das nicht. Natürlich Ich liebe dich," (Don't think that. Of course I love you) Amber reassured with her own tears forming. She rocked him back and forth in her arms for a moment to comfort him while he cried. "Lass uns zurück zum Hotel gehen. Ich werde dich deiner Familie vorstellen." (Let's go back to the hotel. I'll introduce you to your family). That got Anatoli's attention and he managed to stop crying enough to look up at her.

"Wahrheitsgemäß?" (Really?) he asked. Amber nodded, kissed his forehead and stood from the park bench guiding Anatoli to stand as well. He grabbed his things so they could leave but after hearing Amber talk about introducing this stranger to the family, Kevin finally stepped in. As Kevin approached, Anatoli was the first to notice and he looked at him with wonder. "Tu esate leitenantas Black," he said.

"Amber, we need to talk," Kevin said firmly.

"Kevin," Amber smiled and approached him so she could properly introduce the two of them. "This is Anatoli."

"Yes, Amber, I heard," Kevin said, getting straight to the point. "We're not introducing him to anyone. We don't know this kid and frankly a number is proof of nothing."

"Kevin, what are you saying? He's my son."

"So he says," Kevin said.

"Are you telling me I don't know my own son?"

"You sure as shit didn't just hours ago," Kevin bit back and he knew before the words even left his lips that he would be speaking hurtfully and the look on Amber's face was the proof, but he didn't trust this boy. "You realize, if he's telling the truth, that his father was a guard from the camps."

"I know who his father is, Kevin," Amber said. "I won't blame him for what happened and neither should you."

"That doesn't mean we should accept this at face value either," Kevin said.

"What are you suggesting I do? Turn my back on him?"

"I'm suggesting a number doesn't prove anything," Kevin said. "It's circumstantial."

"Fine," Amber said and then turned to look at Anatoli. "Dein Großonkel ist Arzt. Er wird beweisen können, dass du mein Sohn bist." (Your great Uncle is a Doctor. He'll be able to prove you're my son).

"Carlisle isn't his great uncle, Amber," Kevin said bitterly and looked at Anatoli. The boy looked so nervous.

"Leutnant?" (Lieutenant) he said, "Danke für die Hilfe, die du meiner Mama gibst." (Thank you for the help you give my mother).

Kevin didn't answer. Instead he turned to begin the trip back to the hotel. Amber encouraged Anatoli to follow them and apologized for Kevin's cold reaction. "Er ist dein Mann?" (He is your husband) Anatoli asked Amber and she answered with a smile and a nod. She was well aware how his whole situation must seem to Kevin, so she understood why he was so distant. She just hoped that once Carlisle proved Anatoli was her son that everything would be okay. Anatoli tried to ask how his great uncle – Kevin cleared his throat as means of correcting him – then asked how Amber's relative would be able to determine he was her son. She did her best to explain in as simple of terms as possible letting him know it involved comparing blood.

Once they left the park, Kevin got them a taxi and they made the trip in bitter silence to the hotel. Kevin wouldn't even look at Anatoli which made Anatoli that much more nervous. He wound up pulling out the newspaper article he'd received and did his best to read it again. Once he had, he smiled a little at Kevin but made sure not to do so for too long. The man clearly had nothing but ill feeling towards him at the moment. Once they made it to the hotel, Kevin was livid to see Levi Sr., Anna, Embry and all the Cullens were already downstairs. Once they were noticed, Anna nearly ran to them having been worried sick from Amber bolting out of the hotel. She was about to say something to Amber but noticed Anatoli.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"No one," Kevin answered. Amber was about to have her piece with him over that insult, but he started talking to Carlisle first. "Carlisle, we have an unusual situation." Then Kevin pushed the thought into Carlisle's head. Indeed, he was in agreement the situation was extremely unusual.

"I see," Carlisle said.

"What's going on? Who is this boy?" Levi asked.

"I'll know as soon as I do a blood test," Carlisle said to Levi and then looked at Kevin. "I don't have my equipment, but I'll obtain what I need and have the results within 2 hours." Carlisle left the hotel to get the things he needed and once he was gone, there was a bitter awkwardness.

"Amber, what's going on? I demand an explanation," Anna said. "You scared your father and I to death! What on earth were you thinking running away from the hotel in the middle of the night? And in your unmentionables no less. You could have gotten hurt. You're lucky Kevin ran after you."

"I agree, mother, you deserve an explanation," Amber answered and looked at Kevin almost critically. Kevin was silent, so she proceeded. "I think we should sit down." Anna calmed down enough to agree to the sentiment and they all returned to the center of the lobby where they'd been sitting before. Kevin, on the other hand, stayed toward the entrance and Embry stayed by Kevin's side. Once Amber and everyone were seated, she had Anatoli sitting next to her and she realized he was shaking. "Hab keine Angst, Anatoli," (Don't be scared) Amber said to him.

"Amber, who is this boy?" Levi asked. Amber looked at them and was suddenly nervous herself that her parents would react to Anatoli the same way Kevin had thus far.

"His name is Anatoli. He's my son," Amber answered and everyone gawked.

"I beg pardon?" Anna asked and looked more closely at Anatoli. "Wait," she started, suddenly realizing why his face was so familiar. "He…"

"I know who his father is," Amber was quick to say. "It doesn't matter. What happened to me isn't his fault. I won't blame him for what his father did."

"Amber, why didn't you ever tell us you'd…." Anna started but seemed to come to the conclusion it was a stupid question. "How do you know?"

"I had forgotten so much about what happened while I was imprisoned at Dachau," Amber said. "I'd not wanted to remember anything and given how they'd treated me and the state it put me in, that was extremely easy. But then, when we had done that assembly for Heather and Levi at their school, it forced me to recall those days. Ever since then I had this empty feeling in my heart. Like something was missing. I would have these nightmares, but it was grey and all I could feel was pain. Then while we were at the Eiffel Tower, I saw Anatoli and at first, I'd thought I saw his father. When we came back to the hotel, when I could finally get some sleep, I suddenly remembered everything. At least from when he was born. When he was born, they took him away from me and when I fought, they shot me and I don't remember anything after that."

"Amber," Anna said teary eyed.

"When I realized what happened and what I had forgotten all these years, I felt so ashamed. I had forgotten my own son. I ran from the hotel because I just couldn't stand to face everyone. I ended up in the park and Anatoli had been walking down the path. He showed me this." Amber indicated to Anatoli to lift his sleeve to present the number. Clearly, it had grown awkwardly. It looked as though, at one point, the number had been neater but now it was stretched, faded and lopsided, but it was definitely Amber's number just with a J added at the end.

"Are you sure?" Levi asked, stunned and at a loss of what else to say.

"I'm positive," Amber nodded.

They were silent. Neither Levi or Anna knew what to say or even what to think about the situation. If this was true, regardless of who the boy's father was, he was their grandson. Yet Levi was, at least for the moment, completely in agreement with Kevin. A number didn't prove this boy was Amber's son. A blood test would. Embry didn't need to ask Kevin what happened since he listened to what Amber told everyone. Even if he'd asked, he suspected Kevin wouldn't have wanted to talk about it at all. Finally, Carlisle returned with everything he needed and they all went upstairs to his and Esme's room. He had Amber and Anatoli sit on the end of the bed and Amber asked Carlisle to take her blood first so Anatoli would see and so she could explain. Carlisle worked quickly and while he drew blood from Anatoli, Amber ensured he was kept distracted. When Carlisle started, she gently guided his chin until he was looking at her instead of at Carlisle.

"Wo bist du aufgewachsen?" (Where were you raised) Amber asked.

"Klaipeda," he answered. "Ist an der Wasserlinie," (Is at water line) he said.

"Hat es dir dort gefallen?" (Did you like it there)

"Klaipeda schön," (Klaipeda nice) he said. "Sehr hübsch, aber Russen machen es unangenehm." (It pretty but Russians make unpleasant) Amber rubbed Anatoli's hand, unable to imagine what it must have been like to live behind the Iron Curtain. Naturally, so little was known about Stalin aside from his ruthlessness and Godlessness. She'd heard some claim the man was equal to or worse than Hitler. Such an accusation was in itself unsettling.

"War es gefährlich?" (Was it dangerous) Amber asked. Anatoli hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.

"Du deutsch bist, gehst du weg. Du… lenkai bist, gehst du weg. Wenn rebellisch sind, gehen Sie weg," (If German, you go away. If lenkai, you go away. If rebellious, you go away) Anatoli managed but at the end it took him a moment to think of the right word to use to express rebelliousness. "Ist besser nach Stalin Tod, aber sehr wenig." (It better after Stalin die, but very little).

"Es wird besser in Amerika sein," (It'll be better in America) Amber promised. That promise made Kevin rigid, but he said nothing. The promise surprised Anatoli. Amber couldn't believe he seemed so shocked she would want him to come back to America with them. Then he glanced at Kevin, saw the look on the man's face, and that seemed to discourage him even more.

By then, Carlisle had already finished drawing blood and was already comparing the samples with the equipment he'd stolen from a local hospital. There was such a heavy, unsettling tension in the air while they all stared at Carlisle waiting on him. While they waited, Amber glanced at Anatoli's clothes and realized they were extremely old. They were clean is seemed, but there were spots where the fabric was clearly beginning to wear out. His shoes looked new, but the rest was nearing the end of its usefulness.

"Hast du noch andere Klamotten?" (Do you have any other clothes?) Amber asked.

"Ein anderes Paar," (One other pair) Anatoli said. "Marie habe sie." (Marie have them)

"Marie?"

"Ein Freund. Sie hilft mir, Deutsch zu lernen," (A friend. She help me learn German) Anatoli said.

"Wann hast du die bekommen?" (When did you get those?) Amber asked.

"Ich habe….. Litauen verlassen," (I have before leaving…Lithuania) Anatoli said, eventually remembering the name of the country in German. Amber only nodded. Then she noticed Carlisle stand up from his work space so he could face everyone. He appeared truly surprised and Kevin was rigid as if willing Carlisle to say there was a mistake and this stranger was just that: a stranger.

Rather than beat around the bush, Carlisle said bluntly, "He's your son, Amber."

Amber already knew of course, but she was thrilled with the confirmation and told Anatoli that Carlisle's blood test had proven that she was his mother. Anatoli finally relaxed a little and just hugged her. She hugged him back and started petting his hair. Kevin, on the other hand, felt like he might have a heart attack. He was feeling so many things at once and not a one of them good. He glanced at Levi and Anna assuming they would be as horrified by the situation as him. While they were still in a state of shock, not sure how to feel, they certainly weren't so upset as Kevin. They seemed resolved to accept it.

"Well," Anna finally managed to say, "It sounds like we have a lot of lost time to make up for." Levi didn't answer, but he did nod gently.

Anna was the first to approach Anatoli and formally introduce herself to Anatoli as his grandmother and then Levi as his grandfather. Amber had to remind Anna to speak slower when Anatoli was clearly beginning to have a hard time following her when she started talking about his little sister and brother that he needed to meet and another little brother or sister on the way. Although once he understood her, he was thrilled that he was about to have another brother or sister and was eager to meet the two he already had. Eventually Levi finally approached but continued with Anna being the primary speaker.

"Kevin," Amber said. "Would you be able to lend Anatoli a pair of clothes?"

Anatoli didn't understand Amber's request and kept paying attention to Anna. Kevin took the deepest breath he'd ever had to take in his life and after a brief hesitation finally walked out of the room without a word. After a minute, Kevin finally returned with pants, a belt and a shirt and tossed them at Anatoli who'd not been expecting the clothes and jumped a little when they landed in his lap.

"If they don't fit, tough shit," Kevin said and left the hotel room again. Amber stood from the edge of the bed and followed after Kevin and Embry hurried behind her. Kevin was already well down the hall from the room by the time Embry caught up with Amber and stopped her.

"Amber, let me handle this," Embry said.

"I won't let him treat Anatoli that way," Amber said.

"I understand Amber, but I'll handle it. Trust me. Just let me handle this," Embry insisted. "Go back to Carlisle's room and do whatever you guys need to do. I'll take care of Kevin. Okay?" After a moment of hesitation, Amber finally agreed with a nod and returned to Carlisle's room while Embry chased after Kevin. By the time he finally caught up with Kevin, he was already at the bar of the hotel with a glass of bourbon in his hand. Embry sat next to him at the bar and then ordered a beer for himself.

"So tonight was a bit of a shock," Embry finally said.

"A shock? That's a mild interpretation." Kevin took a swig of his bourbon while Embry watched in silence. "His father was an SS officer."

"So it would seem," Embry said.

"I always wondered," Kevin continued, "how I would react if I ever came face to face with one of the men responsible. Let her kill two of them, then she spares the third over a sob story about having a new son. Now? I'm faced with a product of what happened to her and what does she do? Embraces him like nothing happened."

"Kevin, in all fairness to Anatoli-"

"He looks exactly like his father," Kevin said knowingly. He certainly didn't look like Amber. The blonde hair may have been the only thing of Amber he had. The purple eyes were creepy and the rest of his face was his father. Totally and completely. "All I see is his father. It doesn't matter what that kid did or didn't do. He's a successfully produced Aryan little shit and Amber expects me to be alright with all this."

"So what will you do?"

"What can I do?" Kevin asked. "Amber wants him. Carlisle proving he's her son only made that worse. Nothing I say will convince her of anything."

"So he's coming to America with us?" Embry said.

"It won't be on my time or my dime," Kevin said bitterly. "By the time I was his age, I was in college after serving in the army and if I wanted anything, I did it my-fucking-self. He's a grown ass man. He can take care of himself."

"I know this is extremely hard," Embry said, "But try to think of this rationally. What happened to Amber isn't your fault or his. So he's a product of abuse. Fair enough. But if Amber can love him, maybe the best thing to do is try to accept him."

"Accept him?" Kevin asked. "You want to me accept the son of one of my wife's abusers?" Suddenly, Kevin's glass shattered in his hand grabbing everyone's attention, especially the bartender who rushed over with a clean rag and a panic.

"Sir, are you alright?" the bartender asked as blood already covered the bar top.

"I'm fine," Kevin muttered. It was already healing anyway. "I'm sorry; I'll pay for the glass."

"I will get a first aid kit," the bartender said and rushed to get one. Once he returned, Kevin took it figuring it was best to keep the bartender occupied with cleaning the bar while Kevin attended to his already healing hand. "Are you sure you're alright, sir? Should I call a doctor?"

"I'm fine, really. I've already taken care of it."

"Can I get you some water?"

"Bourbon," Kevin said. "On the rocks."

"Sir, I'm not sure you should.." he began but the look in Kevin's eyes was enough to scare the bartender. "Right away, sir," he finally said, poured Kevin a glass and handed it over. Kevin gulped it down in one go before putting it down demanding another, but Embry put his hand over the glass.

"He's had enough," Embry said. Thankfully, the bartender was happy to agree and took the glass walking away to have it cleaned. "You're irrational right now as it is. No telling what you'll do if you're drunk." Another silence passed while Kevin stared blankly ahead.

"Why can't we just move on?" Kevin finally asked. "We finally put all this shit behind us; we got married, started our family…then this shit happens. Why does the past have to keeping rearing its ugly head?"

"It's life I guess," Embry sighed. "If it'll make this easier, he can live with me for a while. Hell, I may even be able to give him work. He must have some prior skills that could be put to good use."

"If he comes to America, he does it himself," Kevin grumbled.

"Kevin, remember how long it took for Amber, Anna and Levi to get into America? And their citizenship as Germans was well documented and accounted for. Imagine the hoops that boy would have to jump through as a Lithuanian refugee."

"That's not my problem," Kevin said.

"I hate to break this to you, but it is," Embry answered. "He's your wife's son. Sometimes, Kevin, when you marry a woman that already has children-"

"Don't you talk as if I'm the one walking into a pre-established family uninvited," Kevin muttered bitterly. "He shows up out of fucking nowhere, shows a fucking number on his wrist and now he thinks I'm going to-"

"Kevin, keep your voice down," Embry interrupted. "Kevin, you heard Carlisle as much as I did. He's her son. Blood doesn't lie. This isn't him only having a number anymore. And I'm sorry, but you can't just abandon him. It's not the right thing to do and you know it. It wouldn't make Amber happy either."

"I've done nothing but make Amber happy," Kevin bit back. "I've done everything for her. Given her everything! I fought a war for her Got Damn it!"

"That's right; you have. You've gone through hell to make her happy." Embry said. "But she's been through hell too. Far worse I dare say. Her whole life was taken from her."

"I gave her a new life; the life I always promised her," Kevin countered.

"You did, but it was after five years of hiding, imprisonment and torture. Is it a wonder that something like this happened?"

"So this is my fault," Kevin answered rather than asked.

"That's not what I said. What I'm saying is after what Amber was put through, given that they seemed to figure out Amber was different, I'm not shocked they thought to try using her to make a Master Race or whatever shit they were trying to pull. It's just one of a laundry list of things Amber and her fellow inmates were put through. What I'm saying is what happened, happened. It can't be helped at this point. So you can either sit here like a little bitch sulking over something you had no control over to begin with or you can help Amber through what is probably a traumatic moment for her. How do you think she feels realizing that she has a 20 year old son that was forced from her after his birth and taken God only knows where and she'd forgotten all about him? What I'm saying is you need to put your own feelings aside on this because all you're feeling is a bruised ego and that's nothing by comparison."

"You wouldn't be saying that if it was your imprint that said she wanted you to accept the son of the man who raped her," Kevin said.

"I probably wouldn't," Embry said, "Which is why I would hope you'd be saying the same thing to me as what I'm saying to you now."

"You realize if Amber had been able to come into America and hadn't been turned away, that boy would be mine," Kevin spat back but something occurred to him and it made the whole thing hurt worse. "The first time we ever flipped a coin to see if we would have a boy or girl for our first child, the coin said we'd have a boy." Kevin started shaking and rested his face in his bandaged but long since healed hand. "He should have been ours….he should have been my son."

"Then let him be your son," Embry said. "Fuck his birth father. Wherever he is, may he rot like the sack of shit he is. I'll bet you anything Anatoli wants nothing to do with his birth father. He wanted his mother and now he needs a real man to be his father."

"He's a grown ass man," Kevin glowered.

"So? I'm a grown ass man and I still look to my parents all the time even if all I need is someone to tell me everything will be alright when life bites me in the ass for this, that or the other. Just because he's an adult doesn't mean he doesn't need a mother or a father. Frankly, given his situation, he needs that more than ever in his life."

"I don't think I can do that, Embry," Kevin said.

"I think you can," Embry said and started rubbing Kevin's back.

Back upstairs, Amber encouraged Anatoli to take a shower figuring he deserved one. While he was in the shower, Carlisle took the equipment that could be returned back to the hospital and everyone else used the time to talk.

"We'll take care of getting him into America," Alice said. "Once we've snuck him into the country, we'll obtain the necessary documentation for him to be a citizen."

"I don't want to just leave him here," Amber said.

"You won't have to," Jasper said. "The hard part will be sneaking him onto the plane, but you let us worry about that. I know someone that can take care of his documentation. Should we change his name?"

"I would rather let him decide on that," Amber said. "I doubt Kevin will allow us to change his name to Black."

"Perhaps Dymek," Anna suggested.

"I think he's like that actually," Amber smiled. "In the morning, we'll introduce him to everyone."

"How exactly will we do that?" Levi asked. "While I'm sure they won't react as Kevin has, it will still be extremely strange for Heather and Levi."

"We'll just introduce them and see how it goes from there," Amber said. "Heather and Levi can speak to him in German so they can still get to know one another."

"What about his things?" Anna asked and gestured toward the small satchel, tiny instrument and sign. "I can't imagine this is all he brought with him to Paris."

"We'll ask," Amber said and reached over to take out the newspaper article, but more things came out when she pulled at it.

She saw a few 100 ruble notes and heard some coins jostle around and there was a corner of a picture. She took out the picture to look at saw Anatoli with two other people. He appeared happy with these two people. One was a man appearing in his early forties or so and an elderly woman dressed conservatively with a little scarf around her head. She turned over the picture but she couldn't understand what was written on the back. There were two inscriptions; one in what she assumed was Lithuanian and another that appeared to be in Russian.

Анато́лий с Борисом и Баба Надешкa / Anatolijus su Borisu ir Baba Nadeška

"Do you think this woman is Niele?" Amber asked.

"Who?" Anna asked.

"Anatoli said that a woman named Niele took care of him," Amber said.

"Perhaps," Anna said, "but how could this frail woman save a baby from a Nazi death camp?"

"Perhaps she was a sympathizer and took pity on Anatoli," Levi suggested.

"How would he end up in Lithuania then?" Amber asked. Edward walked over and, while he didn't speak Russian or Lithuanian, he was at least able to deduce the names.

"I think their names are Boris and Baba Nadeshka," Edward said. "Who they are I don't know, but I don't think this woman is Niele. I think these people are Russians that were living in Lithuania."

"I suppose we'll ask," Amber said and then her eyes went wide when a thought occurred to her. "Wait, do you think Anatoli speaks Russian? Evalynn and Caleb speak Russian right? They might be able to break the language barrier. We could ask him more questions! It might even help make teaching him English easier."

"We'll ask him when he's out of the shower," Anna said. Edward was guessing Anatoli must know Russian given Lithuania's place as a puppet state, but given the boy's thoughts were entirely in Lithuanian, he couldn't be sure.

Eventually Anatoli came out of the bathroom dressed in the fresh clothes but still drying out his hair. It reached just below his cheeks and waved naturally but as soon as he had run a towel over his hair a few times, he tied it back up the way he'd had it. Indeed Kevin's pants were too long on him given Anatoli was only 5'11" compared to Kevin's towering height, but the pants fit around the waist and the belt helped keep the pants secure. He had the cuffs of the sleeves left unbuttoned but he had the shirt tucked into the pants so it wouldn't look too big, or at least not so much as it would otherwise. He would need new clothes. Kevin's clothes were simply too big for him but they could worry about that later. They would do for now. At the moment, he was barefoot but Esme grabbed a pair of Carlisle's socks that he could use. Once he had back on his shoes, he sat on the edge of the bed so he could lace them up.

"Anatoli," Amber said, "Sprichst du russisch?" (Do you speak Russian?"

"Russisch?" Anatoli asked, appeared thoughtful a moment and then said, "Rusiškai? Ja, ich spreche Russisch." (Yes, I speak Russian)

"Gut," (good) Amber smiled. "Meine Nichte und Neffe sprechen Russisch. Sie können uns helfen zu kommunizieren." (My niece and nephew speak Russian. They will be able to help us communicate) When Anatoli appeared to not understand everything she said, Amber repeated herself more slowly and that seemed to help.

Even though he was dressed, Amber insisted that he get some sleep and Esme agreed he could use their room. Amber returned to hers and Kevin's room to get some much deserved sleep. After their talk at the bar of the hotel, Kevin finally returned upstairs going to his and Amber's room. He took off his shoes and got into bed, but he couldn't sleep. By the time dawn came around, he'd not slept a wink and Amber woke feeling better than she had in a while. She noticed Kevin was in bed with her and turned in bed so she was facing him.

"Did you and Embry talk?" Amber asked. Kevin's only response was to nod. "I won't pretend that your upset over the situation isn't understandable, but please don't be cruel to Anatoli. No matter what happened to me, he's not at fault. I don't want you treating him like he is."

"Amber," Kevin finally spoke, "I get what you're saying. But I need you to understand what I'm saying too."

"I do," Amber said and went closer to him.

"No, Amber, I don't think you do," Kevin said. "Do you remember years ago when we'd first gotten engaged? Do you remember when we had gone dancing together with your friends?" Amber smiled pleasantly at the memory. "Do you remember, the morning after, how you'd asked me what our child would have been if we'd had one by that time?"

"I do," Amber nodded. "The coin said we'd have had a boy."

"Exactly," Kevin said. "I acknowledge that this is completely irrational of me. But if you had not been turned away on the St. Louis, he would have been mine. Whoever his father was, everything you were put through took this from me. We talked about children so much and I wanted to start a family with you. Yet your first child, while it was not within your power, was with someone else. An SS officer or a guard or whatever he was."

"He should have been yours," Amber agreed, knowing where he was going. "He should have been yours. I still want him to be yours." Kevin was quiet again. Kevin rubbed his face with frustration and Amber came the last bit closer to him so her head rested on his shoulder.

"I'm trying to put it from my mind," Kevin finally said. "I really am. But how can I ever think of him as mine?"

"Because I know you can," Amber said. "You're the greatest man I've ever known, Kevin, and I'm lucky enough that you love me."

"You overestimate my worth," Kevin muttered forlornly.

"No I don't," Amber insisted. "Believe me, Kevin; the fact that Anatoli was conceived in the manner he'd been breaks my heart. If I could change what happened, he would have been your son. He should have been. But even if he was conceived at Dachau, Anatoli is nothing like his father."

"How do you know?"

"Because I remember his eyes. There was nothing good in them. All I ever saw in his red eyes was cruelty and sadistic pleasure. Anatoli isn't like that. When I look into his eyes, I don't see his father. I see my little boy that was taken from me and who suffered in ways I can't even begin to imagine all because I couldn't protect him. I see a young man that by some miracle knew that I wasn't the monster he almost certainly saw when he was born. I want to be the mother that I never got to be for him; that I'm able to be for Heather and Levi. I want you to be his father like you should have been from the start." Kevin was quiet again as he wrapped his arm around Amber. Despite anything he was feeling, Amber's plea tugged at his heart. So much had been taken from her and he'd spent their whole marriage trying to give her back everything that was robbed from her. Anatoli was just one more thing that she deserved to have back.

"I'll try," Kevin finally said. "I promise I'll try." Amber smiled at him and held him tight kissing his cheek.

"Thank you," Amber said. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Since it was morning and everyone was already waking up for the day, a number of them began meeting downstairs. Heather was eager to go about their plans for the day and go to the Eiffel Tower again so they could go to the top, but Anna insisted they needed to remain at the hotel for now as there was someone very important that they all needed to be introduced to. This, of course, led to the children trying to guess who they could possibly need to be introduced to but all who were informed of the situation remained quiet.

"What's going on?" Scarlet asked Bella.

"I think it'll be best if we just wait for Amber to tell us," Bella said.

"Is everything okay?" Jaedynn asked. "I mean, she couldn't possibly have had the baby already, so who are we meeting?"

"Like I said: I think it's best we wait for Amber," Bella insisted again. Embry Sr. and Caevia looked right at Embry assuming if anyone knew anything it would be him, but he held up his hands.

"Like she said: wait on Amber," Embry said.

After Kevin and Amber had properly spoken about the situation and come to an agreement, they dressed for the day and Amber went to Carlisle's and Esme's room to check on Anatoli. He was still sound asleep when she stepped in. She smiled a little and sat on the edge of the bed gently brushing away a stray hair from his face.

"Anatoli," Amber said gently as she patted his chest, "Anatoli, aufwachen. Es ist Zeit, deine Familie zu treffen." (Wake up. It's time to meet your family)

"Darbai per anksti, mama," Anatoli answered in a mumble. She didn't understand him, but she smiled all the same.

"Auf Deutsch, mein Lieber," (In German, my dear) Amber said.

"Dar per anksti taip pat ir vokiečių," he answered. She truly wished she could understand him. Lithuanian was such a pretty language. This time, however, Anatoli got himself sitting up in bed and rubbed his face.

"Guten Morgen, Anatoli. Wie hast du geschlafen?" (Good Morning, Anatoli. How did you sleep?)

"In Ordung," (alright) Anatoli said.

"Let's get downstairs," Kevin said to Amber, stepping into the room. He noticed Anatoli seem to come to immediate attention as soon as Kevin was in the room, instantly nervous. Kevin kept reminding himself, 'he's not his father, he's just Anatoli' over and over again.

"Danke für Kleidung, Leutnant," (Thank you for clothes, Lieutenant) Anatoli said.

"Du kannst mich Kevin nennen," (You can call me Kevin) Kevin said. Amber smiled reassuringly at Kevin. It was a step forward at least.

"Danke," Anatoli answered, getting to his feet to address him more formally.

"I'll meet you downstairs," Kevin said to Amber and left. Once he was gone, Anatoli sat back down and grabbed his shoes to start lacing them up.

"Er hasst mich," (He hates me) Anatoli said in a sad tone.

"Das ist nur ein Schock für ihn. Er braucht Zeit. Das ist alles," (This is only a shock for him. He needs time. That's all) Amber reassured and rubbed his arm. Anatoli seemed as though he was hesitant to believe that, but he smiled at her and nodded before returning his attention to the laces of his shoes. When Kevin came downstairs alone, all eyes were on him.

"Daddy, who are we meeting?" Heather asked. "Embry won't tell me anything."

"Good," Kevin sighed. "I'll just get straight to the point. You know your mother used to be an inmate at Dachau concentration camp?"

"Yes," Heather said hesitantly.

"What does that have to do with who we're meeting?" Embry Sr. asked.

"It's to do with the matte of…..look, the point is what happened ultimately culminated in….fuck," Kevin groaned.

"Kevin, the children," Renesmee scolded gently.

"Just say it, daddy," Heather said. He looked at Heather and then at Levi a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Turns out the two of you have an older brother," Kevin said.

"Huh?" Heather gawked.

"I have a brother?!" Levi asked. Kevin was a little surprised to see Levi so excited for the prospect though Heather seemed dubious. "What's his name?"

"And why are we only now meeting him?" Heather continued. He noticed everyone in the group just learning of the situation was just as flabbergasted as he'd been.

"I don't know the whole story," Kevin said. "Is German was barely passible so we can't get much out of him. Although he says he can speak Russian evidently."

"Oh! Good! Evalynn and I can work with that!" Caleb said eagerly.

"Where has he been all this time?" Renesmee asked.

"Lithuania apparently."

"Where the hell's that?" Jacob asked.

"It's a small Baltic nation that's north of Poland. Or Northwest I suppose. It's a puppet state of the Soviet Union," Edward answered.

"How the hell did he end up there?" Embry Sr. asked.

"That's the part we don't know," Kevin said. "All we know so far is he was apparently raised by a woman named Niele, he lived in Klaipeda and somehow he escaped Eastern Europe through Germany, found out about me and deduced he needed to find me in order to find Amber and he's been here the past few months trying to raise enough money to get into America."

"Shit," Jaedynn said, impressed, before Renesmee swatted her arm for swearing.

"Daddy?" Heather said, "You seemed upset. Is he nice?"

"I'm fine, Heather, but thank you for asking. I haven't really talked to him all that much, but I'm sure he's fine."

"Heather, Levi, while we don't know the full story, I can promise you he's been through quite a bit just getting here much less what his life was like in Lithuania. You are to be very nice to your brother and you welcome him with open arms. Is that understood?" Anna said to Heather and Levi Jr.

"Yes, Oma," Heather and Levi answered. Heather looked at Kevin again and he finally smiled at her.

"I'm fine, Heather. This'll just take some getting used to is all," Kevin said.

"What's his name?" Renesmee asked.

"Anatoli," Kevin said.

"Russian name if ever I heard one," Kai said.

"Being nice to him goes to you too," Anna said and Kai nodded. Finally, Amber came downstairs with Anatoli at her side. Kevin noticed right away he looked so nervous.

Once Amber and Anatoli was in the lobby with everyone, she introduced everyone as slowly as possible letting Anatoli know who was who and how they were related albeit the majority was relation by marriage only. Levi Jr. was quick to take advantage of the introduction and started talking to Anatoli right away but it was in English first so Anatoli was at a loss at what he'd just said. Caleb came forward to the rescue.

"Вы говорите по-русски, да?" (Vy govorite po-russki, da?/You speak Russian, yes?) Caleb asked.

"да," (Da/Yes) Anatoli answered.

"Good," Caleb said and took Anatoli's hand so as to get him to a spot on the couch. "Okay, Aunt Amber. What do you want me to ask him first?"

"Hey, I want to ask him a few things," Levi said.

"Could you ask him what happened? I mean after he was taken from Dachau?" Amber finally asked. Caleb nodded and began speaking so quickly to Anatoli it all went by in a blur. It was the first time, however, that she'd seen Anatoli appear completely comfortable speaking with someone and then speak so eloquently and with no issue.

"Alright," Caleb said once Anatoli finished. "So according to him, he was born either June 11th or 12th 1944. He assumes the 11th based on what Niele told him."

"Who's Niele?" Anna asked.

"According to him, she was a Lithuanian woman that had been in the camps. She'd been there with her husband and son, she was pregnant and when the Nazis found out she was hiding her baby, her husband and both sons were executed."

"Wait! I know who she is!" Anna said. "She'd been shot and thrown in the furnace after her husband and boys were killed."

"One second," Caleb said to Anna and then started speaking to Anatoli again. They spoke for a minute before Caleb translated. "From what he knows, Niele was saved from the incinerators by a guy named Mykolas Rimsa. He says their relationship is extremely complicated and didn't really know where to begin; only that he saved her and when she was done shifting, she wanted revenge for what happened. When they got the chance to do just that, the officer responsible was fleeing Dachau with Anatoli. He said Niele and Mykolas took him back to Klaipeda and raised him as their son. Как долго вы с ними живете?" (Kak dolgo vy s nimi zhivete?/How long did you live with them?) Caleb asked, shifting his attention to Anatoli who proceeded to explain. They spoke for a while longer until Amber asked a question.

"What happened after they brought him to Klaipeda?" Amber asked.

"He said he was with them for about five years. He said that Niele was always very distant with him and Mykolas was as much a parent as he could be but his relationship with Niele was always strained and caused problems. Что ты сказал?" (Chto ty skazal?/What were you saying) Caleb asked, returning to what Anatoli had previously been saying. Then Anatoli said something that made Caleb, and Evalynn for that matter, do a double take. Evalynn started talking to him and that was the point where Amber could no longer stand being out of the loop.

"What's the matter?" Amber asked.

"He said that Niele was always very distant with him but things got worse after he brought her family back," Evalynn said while Anatoli and Caleb were still talking.

"Wait, what do you mean 'he brought her family back'?" Kevin asked.

"It sounds like he brought them back to life," Evalynn said.

"What?" Kevin asked, slack jawed. "How's that even possible?"

"He doesn't know. He said he is just able to do it," Evalynn said.

"I suppose that explains why he bothered looking for me in Dachau," Amber mumbled, shocked by the revelation herself. "Caleb, what else has he said?" Caleb stopped what they were talking about and looked at Amber.

"He said that, after he brought back Niele's family, she didn't get to be with them. Apparently Niele and her husband Nikolai agreed that, given her state, it would be for the best for their sons that she remain at a distance. Nikolai changed his and his sons' names so they wouldn't be known as Jews anymore and moved on with their lives and Niele had to stay at a distance. Even though she'd agreed to this, she never quite came to terms with this emotionally and she became that much more distant with Anatoli. He thinks she blames him for the sadness she suffered for having to not be a part of her children's lives."

"Was she at least good to him?" Amber asked. Caleb posed the question to Anatoli and provided his answer.

"He said Niele was as good as she could be," Caleb said. "According to Anatoli, that had more or less been the last straw for him I guess and he ran away to Vilnius. He said he kept in touch with Mykolas a little, but Mykolas was always more concerned with Niele. He said by the time he'd gone to Vilnius, there was still a huge resistance group trying to fight off the Soviets, but ultimately they were all killed or sent to the Goulogs."

"The Goulogs?" Amber asked.

"Think of them as Concentration camps in Siberia," Evalynn answered seeing as Anatoli had already explained this in his synopsis.

"Was he ever involved?" Amber dared to ask. Caleb started talking to Anatoli again and they spoke for a while until Caleb had enough information to continue.

"He said he tried to keep out of it. Apparently, there are ethnic minorities in Lithuania that were sent away if they were found out. It would have been bad enough for him if they'd found out he was actually German. Although he says in that case he'd be sent back to East Germany. The bigger concern was anyone finding his number. If that were found, he'd be sent to the Goulogs for being Jewish."

"Was he raised Jewish?" Anna asked. Caleb presented the question and Anatoli appeared to feel guilty before he proceeded with his explanation.

"He said that Niele gave him some teachings in Judaism, but he is not qualified to be a practitioner since he could never got a Bris. Apparently Mykolas was Catholic and partially raised him with Catholic sentiments, but even that was heavily limited. Apparently there are heavy penalties for those practicing religion in any fashion that hasn't been approved by the state. Even religion approved by the state was heavily regulated. Then he said when he was living in Vilnius there was a family that he shared a home with in which the mother was heavily religious and was a devote Orthodox. Apparently that was the closest to a proper 'Religious Upbringing' as he put it that he'd ever received."

"That woman; would she happened to be called Baba Nadeshka?" Amber asked. Caleb posed the question and wound up having Anatoli speaking for another few minutes before Caleb translated.

"He said that when he came to Vilnius he was able to find work as an electrician. That's his specialty anyway. He shared a home with about twenty people, but the two he was closest with were a man named Boris Aleyev and his mother Nadeshka. Anatoli says Nadeshka was like the house grandma. There were seven kids in the apartment I think he said and Nadeshka treated them all kindly, but he says he was her favorite. Apparently Boris had lost his wife and son when the Nazis attacked Stalingrad and Anatoli was about Sergei's age. Or what age he'd have been had he lived. He was only one in the house that called her Baba. The other kids either called her Babushka or senelė."

"What made him decide to leave Lithuania to search for Amber?" Kevin asked. Caleb asked and had Anatoli speaking for another five minutes telling what happened.

"Okay," Caleb said, "I'm going to just go through it exactly as he told me. So he says that when he was growing up, all he had was his number and the memory of Amber's face. The only thing Niele really ever told him was that they'd taken him from Dachau and that his mother was almost certainly dead. So for years, Anatoli assumed that was true. When he realized he was able to bring back the dead, he'd told Niele about it which led to that situation I'd told you about earlier. While his experience with Niele on that matter left him hesitant, he still wanted to at least try, but he needed to get out of Lithuania. When he got to Vilnius, that's when he found out he needed an Exit Visa, so he was trying to obtain one. That's how he started working and living with Boris and his mother as well as everyone else that had been living in that home.

"He said that he was trying to earn that Visa, but in order to get one, you need permission from not only your boss, but the State, in his case Lithuania, and then that would need to be approved in Moscow. As you can imagine, that is a long process and given that he had so little information as to his birth and so on, getting that Visa was next to impossible. He said things changed when Baba Nedeshka died. Her final wish had been to be buried in Moscow beside her husband and Boris had apparently gone through all the necessary hoops well in advance to make that happen. He said that the night after Baba Nadeshka died, Boris was in a room with his mother crying over her body and Anatoli joined him. He begged that he be able to go with Boris if only to pay his respects. He wound up letting it slip to Boris more about Anatoli's background but more importantly his ability to bring back the dead. He said he'd offered to try bringing Baba Nadeshka back."

"Anatoli says that," Evalynn took over, "while Boris had said Baba Nadeshka lived a long and fruitful life, the same could not have been said for his wife and son that had been taken from him during the war. He says that Boris requested, or begged more appropriately, that Anatoli bring back his wife and son. He says he was extremely hesitant to do so given what happened with Niele, but when Boris promised to help him get an Exit Visa for his efforts, Anatoli agreed. They made the trip to Moscow to burry Baba Nadeshka and he says that Boris had made another request."

"According to Anatoli, Boris had said he never wanted to be rendered useless as he had been when his wife and son were killed and asked that Anatoli change him to a vampire. He evidently planned to do the same for his wife and son. Anatoli says he explained what that would entail but Boris was insistent, so he changed Boris to a vampire."

"How old was the son?" Carlisle immediately asked. Evalynn asked and Anatoli answered.

"He says that Sergei was three when he died," Evalynn asked.

"Boris didn't change his son," Caleb quickly added. "He says that while he'd changed Boris, when they went to Stalingrad to bring back his wife and son, Anatoli discovered that Illyana, Boris's wife, had been pregnant when she died. So when Anatoli brought her and Sergei back, Boris agreed it was best not to change them."

"What happened with Boris and Illyana?" Renesmee asked.

"He says that when Illyana realized what happened and she and Boris had a chance to talk, she said she basically wanted them to start over as if the war had never happened. They had a young son and another child on the way and she didn't want their children not knowing Boris," Evalynn answered. "Anatoli had said their happy ending was the real catalyst for deciding he wanted to leave East Europe and bring back Aunt Amber. He said that they were a family and really happy. He said he wanted that too."

"Anatoli said he'd stayed with Boris and Illyana until she had the baby she'd been pregnant with. Boris apparently decided he wouldn't change his wife or their children. At least not now. Anatoli says that Boris may very well change his mind though Illyana has apparently still not voiced her opinion on the matter. At least not as far as he knows. Boris held up his end of the agreement and got Anatoli a forged Exit Visa making sure it looked authentic and that it would get him as far as East Berlin. He says from there, he snuck into West Berlin, got on a train into West Germany, then got on a train to Munich where he went straight to Dachau. He'd assumed he'd find you dead, would bring you back and the rest would take care of itself, but when he couldn't find you, he panicked. He says he went to a University not knowing where else to start and found a professor that could speak Russian who was able to help him figure out what happened based on Anatoli's number and the newspaper clipping with Uncle Kevin. So he came to Paris and he's been here ever since trying to get a passport and the money to go to America."

"Tell him we'll take care of all the paperwork," Jasper said and Caleb translated to Anatoli. Anatoli was surprised by the offer and tried to refuse, but with Caleb's assistance with translating, Jasper insisted and Anatoli eventually agreed but couldn't help but glance nervously at Kevin.

"Don't worry about it," Kevin said, trying to be as sincere as he could. Caleb translated for Kevin and then relayed to him Anatoli's appreciation. "What about this Marie woman? He said he was staying with someone?" Caleb proceeded to ask and then answered.

"He said he doesn't have much but his things are at a little apartment he's sharing with Marie and five other vampires. Apparently they're kind of a coven but not really. It's hard to explain. Anyway, Anatoli was trying to find someone that could teach him English and Marie happened to also speak German so when he explained his situation, at least as best as his German would allow, Marie agreed to help him."

"Should we go get his things?" Amber asked, looking at Kevin.

"Embry and I will take Anatoli and get that taken care of," Kevin said. "The rest of you, go about with plans for today. This is still Heather's Bat Mitzvah party, so you all have fun."

"Can Anatoli come with us?" Levi Jr. asked.

"Maybe tomorrow," Kevin said. "I think right now we just need to get his things and decide what we're going to do. Or how we're going to do it I guess."

"Can I come with you?" Amber asked.

"Let me and Embry take care of this," Kevin said. "You've been through enough stress over the past 24 hours. I'd rather you take it easy for a while."

"Oh! Does Anatoli know mom's having a baby?" Levi asked Caleb who asked Anatoli.

"He says Grandma Anna mentioned it and he's excited for the baby," Caleb said. "Uncle Kevin, do you want me to come with?"

"No, Anatoli knows enough German that we'll be fine. Just make sure he knows what we're doing," Kevin said. "Let's get this done with, Embry." Kevin and Embry started leaving the hotel and, once Caleb explained what was happening, Anatoli followed after them.

"So you and Amber were able to talk about this?" Embry asked Kevin once they were outside.

"Yeah," Kevin said and groaned a little. "She wants me to try to accept Anatoli as if he were my own. I told her I'd try."

"It's a good start," Embry said and then glanced over his shoulder at Anatoli. He was at least five paces behind them so Embry waved him over. "Come on, Anatoli. We won't bite you." While Anatoli didn't understand what Embry had said, he at least understood the gesture and ran to get in step with them. "So tell me Anatoli, do you only drink blood or do you eat food?"

"Ich verstehe nicht," (I don't understand) Anatoli finally said.

"Er fragte, ob Sie essen oder Blut trinken," (He's asking if you eat food or drink blood) Kevin translated.

"Oh," Anatoli started, "Beide." (Both)

"Beide?" Kevin repeated.

"Ich mag etwas zu essen. Ich mag Juka," (I like some food. I like Juka) Anatoli answered seemingly excited that Kevin was speaking to him.

"Was zum Teufel ist Juka?" (What the fuck is Juka) Kevin asked.

"Um," Anatoli started, "Auf Deutsch ist Blutsuppe." (In German is Blood Soup)

"Of course you like blood soup," Kevin said.

"That's a thing?" Embry asked, scrunching his nose a little.

"I guess so," Kevin said. "Noch etwas? Das schließt Blut nicht ein?" (Anything else? That doesn't include blood?)

"Ich mag Balandeliai," (I like Balandeliai).

"Was ist das?" (What's that) Kevin asked. Anatoli seemed thoughtful, trying to think of the word but he didn't know it.

"Weiß nicht auf Deutsch," (I don't know in German) Anatoli said.

"Can't be worse than blood soup I guess," Kevin said. "Geh voraus, Anatoli," (Lead the way, Anatoli) Kevin said, stopping so Anatoli could step ahead of them. They stayed close with Anatoli leading the way through the city until they eventually made it to a large building that looked, by all intents and purposes, completely normal.

"Dachgeschoss," (top floor) Anatoli said and went to the door. He rummaged through his satchel and got out a key with which he gave them entry into the building. Just as they entered, an elderly man came out of his apartment and noticed Anatoli immediately.

"Monsieur Rimsa!" the elderly man said, "Mes lumières sont cassées." (My lights are broken)

"Um," Anatoli started, trying to think what he'd said but only understanding lights. "Plus lentement s'il vous plaît?" (Slower please)

The elderly man sighed heavily and just waved for Anatoli to come into his apartment. Kevin followed after Anatoli and stayed at the entryway of the house while the elderly man pointed at what he'd been talking about. The two of them pantomimed for a moment until Anatoli understood what exactly the issue was and once he did, Anatoli left the apartment to grab a latter so Anatoli could get to work on the lights. While Anatoli was working, the elderly man sat down listening to the radio. Embry went into the apartment and thankfully the elderly man didn't say anything, but he was sure to keep an eye on Embry while he watched Anatoli work.

"Lumière. Éteindre. Trop de choses se passent," (Lights. Turn off. Too much happen) Anatoli managed.

"J'ai besoin que tu sois plus clair Anatoli," (I need you to be clearer, Anatoli) the elderly man said.

"Je pense qu'il essaie de dire que le circuit est trop court," (I think he's saying that the circuit short fused) Kevin said.

"Oui! Le circuit est trop court," (Yes! The circuit short fused) Anatoli nodded.

"Qu'est-ce qui l'a fait faire ça?" (What made it do that?) the elderly man asked. Thankfully Anatoli understood his question and seemed to know exactly what the problem was, pointing at a fan that was plugged in next to the elderly man's fridge.

"Giving him a job might not be so hard," Embry said to Kevin. "He looks like he knows what he's talking about."

"Now all that's left is to get past that language barrier," Kevin shrugged.

"Yeah, we'll have to get that taken care of," Embry said.

Once Anatoli had finally gotten his point across about what had caused the elderly man's lights had gone out, the elderly man let Anatoli leave so they could go upstairs where Anatoli's things evidently were. Once they were upstairs, Anatoli opened the door to the unit he was staying in and a woman's voice came speaking in rapid German. Kevin overheard her asking where he'd been, if he was okay, why do the hallways smell like wet dog and so on. Anatoli started explaining as best he could while Kevin and Embry stayed outside the apartment. The vampiric clawing sweet smell was overwhelming and they couldn't go inside. Eventually they saw a young woman with wavy brown hair in the apartment. She helped Anatoli gather some of his things but also went to the door to see Kevin and Embry.

"So you're the source of that smell," she said teasingly.

"I could say the same thing about you," Kevin said, keeping his tone the same as hers.

"You must be the Lieutenant in Anatoli's little newspaper clipping."

"It would appear so," Kevin said. "You must be Marie. On my wife's behalf, thank you for the help you've offered him."

"It was my pleasure," Marie said. "I'm happy to hear his mother married her knight and shining armor. Tell your wife I said her son is a most agreeable young man that's quite handy around the house."

"Yes, I got to see him help one of your neighbors with his electricity."

"Monsieur Du Gant I assume," Marie giggled. "The poor dear will be so unhappy when he finds out his handyman has left. I can't believe the luck; him finding his mother in Paris."

"Neither can we," Kevin said, his voice a little heavy.

"He worked very hard to get this far, Lieutenant," Marie said, "and I don't mind telling you he thinks very highly of you."

"Thanks," Kevin said passively.

"I'm afraid I've not accomplished much in teaching him English, but he knows enough German that I think you'll be able to get further with him."

"Thanks for that," Kevin said. Then Anatoli emerged with what looked like a laundry back strapped to his back. He looked at Marie and smiled.

"Danke für Ihre Hilfe," (Thank you for your help) he said to Marie.

"Es war mir eine Freude, Sie kennenzulernen. Viel Glück, Anatoli. Ich wünsche dir alles Glück auf der Welt," (It was my pleasure to meet you. Good luck to you, Anatoli. I wish you all the luck in the world) Marie smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek. Anatoli kissed her other cheek and handed back his key before saying one last goodbye and leaving the building.

They made the trip back to the hotel in relative silence. Embry tried to ask Anatoli about his past work experience, but the language barrier and Anatoli's limited vocabulary made it difficult. Ultimately Embry decided it was best to wait until either Caleb or Evalynn were around to help them. They went back up to Carlisle's and Esme's room so Anatoli could drop off his things. He had the one other pair of clothes that he'd told Amber about before and they were in no better condition than the previous outfit they'd gotten rid of.

"Anatoli," Kevin said and grabbed his attention. "Wenn du bereit bist, werden wir dir neue Kleider kaufen." (When you are ready we will go buy you some new clothes).

"Jawohl," (Yes, sir) Anatoli answered after a brief moment of making sure he'd understood what Kevin said. Kevin sighed but otherwise said nothing. Then he noticed Anatoli start to rummage through his bag until he found a box that he revealed to be filled with Francs.

"Mach dir keine Sorgen darüber. Ich werde dafür bezahlen," (Don't worry about it. I'll pay for it) Kevin said.

"Oh, nein Herr. Ich kann," (Oh, no sir. I can) Anatoli said.

"Ich sagte, ich werde mich darum kümmern," (I said I'll take care of it) Kevin said in admittedly a snappier tone than he'd intended. When he realized his error, he rubbed his face a moment and then said, "Und du kannst mich Kevin nennen." (And you can call me Kevin)

"Jawohl," (Yes, sir) Anatoli answered and then, when Kevin gave Anatoli a look of irritation, corrected nervously, "Ja, Kevin."

"Gut," (good) Kevin said. "Wir gehen in zehn Minuten." (We leave in ten minutes) Kevin and Embry left the room so Anatoli could finish whatever he needed to and went downstairs to wait for him. "He's like a timid puppy."

"Well, you are a bit intimidating," Embry teased.

"He'd best get over it," Kevin groaned and leaned back in the couch. Thankfully, they only waited a few minutes for Anatoli to come back downstairs but he'd changed into his own clothes.

"Ich halte Kleider im Zimmer," (I keep clothes in room) Anatoli said.

"Alright," Kevin said. "Lass uns nur neue Klamotten holen, bevor Amber sieht, wie du unordentlich aussiehst.." (Let's just get you new clothes before Amber sees you looking this disheveled.)

Anatoli hurried behind Kevin and Embry after they'd left the hotel and made it to a store nearby that sold men's clothes. He made sure to get him enough clothes that it would last him at least a few days and when they needed to be cleaned they could just go to a Laundromat. Anatoli tried to offer to pay Kevin back for his generosity, but he always refused telling him not to worry about it. By the time they returned to the hotel after getting Anatoli some new clothes, everyone had returned to the hotel and were getting ready for dinner. Kevin told Anatoli to go back to Carlisle's room to get changed while Kevin went back to the room he and Amber were sharing. When he came into the room, Amber looked like she was taking a nap, but Kevin opening the door must have woken her.

"Did you get Anatoli's things?" Amber asked, opening her eyes and sitting up in bed.

"We got his things and I got him some new clothes. It's not much but it'll get him through the trip until we can get him to Washington. He kept asking to pay me back," Kevin said.

"You told him no, right?" Amber asked.

"Of course I told him no," Kevin said. "So did you guys have fun today?"

"We did," Amber said. "Heather got to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower to view the city. Levi kept asking if we could take Anatoli with us touring tomorrow."

"I don't know if there's anything for him to tour. He's been here for two months at least," Kevin said.

"Still, it might be a good opportunity for Heather and Levi to get to know Anatoli. Levi's really excited about having an older brother."

"And Heather?"

"She seems like you: apprehensive of the situation," Amber said. "Truly a daddy's girl."

"God damn right she is," Kevin said with a humored smile and sat on the edge of the bed beside Amber. "I told him to get dressed for dinner, so Caleb and Evalynn can help him get more acquainted with everyone."

"They need to start teaching him English," Kevin said.

"They will, Kevin, but don't rush him. I know from personal experience that English is an extremely hard language to learn."

"Well, German's a good start for preparing him to learn English I guess," Kevin said. Amber smiled lovingly at him. "What?"

"Thank you for this," Amber said. While it was weak, Kevin did smile back at her and took her hand in his taking it up to his lips to give it a kiss. He glanced down at her belly despite the fact that she still wasn't showing yet. He reached over and placed his hand there and Amber put her hand over his.

"How are you feeling?" Kevin asked.

"Tired, but I'm feeling a lot better," Amber said. "I was feeling a little sick while we were out but mom had me sit down until I was feeling better."

"You don't think what's been going on has hurt the baby do you?" Kevin asked.

"No, the baby's fine," Amber said. "Carlisle said as much remember?"

"After you woke up from a nightmare," Kevin answered grimly. "Would you be willing to let Carlisle do another physical to make sure the baby's okay? Just for my peace of mind?"

"Of course," Amber smiled and leaned over to kiss him.

Since their party was so large, those that were eating opted to go to different shops in town to get what they wanted and met up at the park so they could have plenty of room and so the kids could run around together if they wanted to, but Levi Jr. and Caleb were focused almost entirely on Anatoli the whole time they were in the park. When Heather was initially a little standoffish, Anna encouraged Heather to talk to Anatoli and get to know him. She eventually did sit next to Anatoli with Evalynn nearby to act as a translator.

"Caleb, Evalynn," Kevin said to get the children to look at him, "start trying to teach Anatoli English, alright?"

"Okay," Evalynn and Caleb said and went about the task though starting extremely slow.

With Caleb's and Evalynn's help Anatoli was able to comfortably get to know his little half-brother and sister. As the evening progressed, Heather started to like Anatoli more and more, but she kept looking at Kevin as if trying to gage what he thought about the situation. Kevin could only smile at her and promise that everything was fine and to get to know Anatoli.

"Can you ask him what Lithuania is like?" Levi asked. Caleb translated the question and Anatoli seemed to ask one of his own.

"He's asking if there's anything specific you want to know about," Caleb asked.

"I guess what was it like living there? What did he do for work? What was his social life like?" Caleb nodded at Levi's questions and clarified to Anatoli. Once the questions had been answered, Caleb translated.

"He said it depends on where he was living," Caleb said. "When he lived in Klaipeda, he was still with Niele and Mykolas and he didn't have much in the way of a social life. He was kept confined more or less until he wasn't growing anymore and then he could start working. He said when he lived in Klaipeda, he worked for a state phone company for a little while before going to Vilnius where he started working for…the way he explained it, it sounds like an electric company but it's owned by the state and it handles the buildings in a particular neighborhood. He lived in one of those apartment blocks and that's when he was living with Boris, Baba Nadeshka and anyone else living in that particular unit. He said it was him, Boris and his mother and one other couple that had a lot of kids. He was the only one in that apartment that wasn't Russian apparently."

"So was he only friends with Russians or something?" Heather asked. Caleb asked and then translated what Anatoli said.

"He said that Russians were the people he saw most often since he lived in a Russian apartment block. He said Boris was really the only Russian that he considered a real friend. Otherwise he's not too keen on Russians in general. Considers them oppressors and uninvited tenants that couldn't be bothered to learn Lithuanian. He said he had some people that he was friends with outside of work and his apartment block, but not very many. Evidently his eye color, big shock, tends to draw a lot of attention so he wasn't really social with anyone except Boris and Baba Nadeshka."

"What about this…bringing back the dead thing?" Heather asked. "That's a pretty bold claim." Evalynn went ahead and translated that, asking her own questions about the matter while she was at it. She ended up asking him to show it, perhaps with a small animal. Though hesitantly, Anatoli agreed and led the kids with him around the park.

"What are they doing?" Kevin asked more or less to himself but Amber heard him.

He started following after them while Anatoli seemed to be looking around for something. Eventually he seemed to find what he was looking for and kneeled down near a tree but there was enough open space that the kids surrounded him so that what he was doing would be out of view. Kevin made it in time to see Anatoli put his hand to the ground and feel a strange beat, a heartbeat, resound under his feet as if from a scene out of Tell Tale Heart. After that, Anatoli stood up and Kevin came closer. What he saw nearly made his heart stop. It seemed as though bones were forming. Those bones began to form into a small animal's shape. Then as soon as the bones had formed, organs and soft tissue began to form. By now, all the kids were gawking at what was happening before their eyes. When the soft tissue started to form, sounds started coming from the creature. Bizarre sounds like the animal was in pain. This continued until skin and fur finally formed and what was now clearly a squirrel looked like it was no longer being stretched and looked around before running away between Heather's legs making her jump.

"Sweet fucking Christ," Kevin muttered and looked at Anatoli. "How did you find out you could do that?" Anatoli looked at Kevin, not understand what had been asked of him. Caleb translated, Anatoli answered and Caleb translated the answer.

"He said he realized early on that he would see people's faces or animal's faces but he'd not understood why. He says one day, he approached one of those faces – he says it was a cat – and he just thought of the creature, felt a heartbeat spring from his hand and suddenly the cat returned to life just as we saw with that squirrel."

"And he's done this for people?" Kevin asked.

"For Niele's husband and sons as well as Boris' wife, their son and their unborn son." Caleb took a moment to double check that with Anatoli who nodded. "Okay, yes, for Niele's husband and two sons and Boris' wife and children."

"Is that it?"

"He says so, yes," Caleb answered. Kevin stared at Anatoli and then in the direction of the squirrel that had run off. Amber approached having seen the squirrel rush away from the group.

"What happened?" Amber asked when she saw the look on Kevin's face.

"He brought a dead squirrel to life," Kevin muttered quietly. Amber looked at Anatoli who glanced between her and Kevin suddenly nervous. Amber smiled reassuringly at Anatoli and gently took his hand to rub the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Halten Sie dies nur zwischen der Familie," (Keep this between family only) she said to him and Anatoli just nodded at her. Amber then looked at the children. "Remember we keep this between us, alright?" The kids all nodded at her as well. "Let's go back to the group. What were you talking about before you asked Anatoli for a demonstration?"

"I asked him what Lithuania was like," Levi said.

"How about you bring me up to speed on what he's told you so far?" Amber asked. Caleb relayed what Anatoli had told them and by the time they rejoined the group Amber was asking her own questions of Anatoli that Caleb or Evalynn were translating and helping him answer.