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.

165. Chapter 165

Chapter 165

Whether the outcome was what they wanted or not, the matter with Alex was resolved and Nathan wanted Jaedynn back home. So she put in her last few days at the law firm and made sure she was packed and ready to leave. Roshad did the same. He'd already been looking into the housing market with a little help from Kevin and had a few homes he was preparing to see, but he wanted Jaedynn to be involved with the process. Jaedynn decided that, when she was ready to return to work, she wanted to work for Kevin again so Roshad focused his attention on homes for sale in the Seattle area. When Jaedynn returned home, it was to condolences over what happened but, more importantly, open arms welcoming her back home at last. A few days after, Roshad was introduced to the remainder of her extended family who all very much enjoyed meeting him.

It wasn't a tribal-wide party, but the Cullens did invite anyone to their home that wanted to come to meet Roshad. Knowing there would be food, he made sure to make his own contributions to dinner including saffron rice with Tahdig, Fesenjan and Ghrome Sabzi. All his things were in storage at the moment but anything that was food based he had with him in his hotel room. Seeing as Amber still had loads of saffron, Roshad showed her step by step how to make rice with it the way he normally would. It was several days' worth of Roshad meeting and getting to know everyone and vice versa and Jaedynn had stood back and watched for the most part. It was a joy to watch him with everyone. After his first week, though, he needed to get down to the business of finding a permanent residence. He was currently in a rental car and intended to buy a car for himself, but he wanted to wait until he had a house first; the plan being for Jaedynn and Roshad to buy their cars at the same time. So that Monday, Roshad came to pick up Jaedynn at her parents' house and they started the trip into Seattle.

"My family adores you," Jaedynn smiled.

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you," Roshad smiled.

"Ariel still wants a rematch of your soccer game the other day."

"And he will get it, I promise," Roshad smirked. "The outcome will be the same, but I'm happy to have a rematch."

"I swear, you two," Jaedynn giggled. "So what's the plan for this week?"

"House hunting," Roshad said. "There's a house on Lake Washington Blvd. that I saw pictures of and the Realtor claims its 'right up my alley' as he worded it. Its downtown Seattle but the neighborhood's called Denny Blaine as I'm being told."

"Isn't that the hoity toity neighborhood?"

"I suppose we'll see," Roshad said. "Anyway, from what I've seen of the pictures, it has a Mediterranean style to it and its right by the water so my hopes are high we'll be lucky and find our dream house first try."

"Hold on: it's by the water? How much is this place?"

"The Realtor said the current owners want $150,000 for it," Roshad said.

"They want how much?!" Jaedynn practically shrieked.

"They want $150,000 but I will get them to lower the price; don't you worry."

"Is this place made out of solid gold?" Jaedynn asked sarcastically.

"No," Roshad chuckled, "but it is a very nice home. It was built recently as I'm told – in the last two years. It has five bedrooms, so plenty of space for us, the children and family if they wish to visit."

"Your mother isn't moving it with us is she?" Jaedynn asked, suddenly intensely uncomfortable thinking about the possibility.

"No; absolutely not," Roshad said. "Maman would never stay in a home with me when I'm married for obvious reasons. Neither would Bastet and Rashida. Maman may want to move here to be with her grandchildren, but she will be in her own home."

"How does she feel about moving here?"

"She…um….I haven't made that clear to her yet," Roshad admitted.

"What do you mean you haven't made that clear?"

"She's under the impression you'll move back to Iran with me," Roshad said and Jaedynn stared at him. When he realized she was expecting an explanation, he proceeded. "At this point, my only option is to appease her. All I've been doing is appeasing her and she's beginning to lose her patience with me."

"But you're not going to move me to Iran. Right?"

"No, I would not ask that of you," Roshad said. "I've already put in my application for a Green Card. Which reminds me: I did admit reasoning being due to meeting someone, planning a wedding and expecting a child on the way. Kevin warned that some immigration agents will want to talk to us to make sure we're not abusing the system. The accusation of 'Anchor baby' may come up as he warns, but so long as we prove we're really in love and planning to start a family, everything will be fine."

"Will they demand a paternity test?" Jaedynn asked nervously.

"No," Roshad said, "even if they do, the fact will remain that we want to get married and the Green Card is still wanted. Everything will be alright; I promise."

"What will Ashti say when she finds out you're planning to stay here?"

"You let me worry about that," Roshad said and pulled her hand up to give it a kiss.

"You keep saying that but she's going to bring her wrath out on me eventually," Jaedynn said.

"I'll not permit her to," Roshad said. "The hardest part will be getting maman to accept our set of circumstances. Once that has been resolved and she sits down and gets to know you, she will adore you. I swear it. Until then, I need her at arm's length if I'm going to be part of Kamron's birth the way I want to be. If you are comfortable speaking with her sometime soon, it would do wonders to reassure her."

"Okay," Jaedynn said nervously. "I'd technically be talking to Bastet right?"

"Yes, he would interpret," Roshad said.

"Alright," Jaedynn said, "Next time you call your mother, I'll speak with her."

"That'll be tonight. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I need to confront her eventually," Jaedynn said.

"Jaedynn," Roshad said gently, "my mother is nothing like Rita. She's a wonderful woman contrary to what I'm sure it must seem like right now. She's simply involved and can be a touch overbearing at times – it's only because she cares. I want you to love her as I do just as I want her to love you."

"I know. I'm sorry that I'm being unfair, but I'm so scared she won't like me."

"She will," Roshad promised and kissed her hand again. "So after we've viewed this house for today, I will take you to dinner, then I'll take you home and we'll sit down together and call my mother. She will be delighted to finally speak with you, even if it's through Bastet."

"Okay," Jaedynn said.

"And thank you," Roshad said.

"So obviously no mention of me being pregnant at the moment. Is there anything else I should make a point to omit?"

"I know you wouldn't anyway, but no mention of our intimacy. It's extent anyway."

"Don't tell her we've slept together; got it," Jaedynn said.

"And don't let her know we'll be living together. Worst case scenario, I will rent you a nice place nearby for the duration of maman's stay, but I assume it's more likely you'd return to Nathan's home. We can figure that part out later."

"Won't she think it's suspicious that my things are there and Kamron's room is there?"

"Kamron's room I can easily explain; I will just tell her the truth. I knew about the baby beforehand, we decided that I would be this child's father and I've made a place in my home for my son. So long as I can convince her you've not been living there, we will be alright."

"And if she finds my things?"

"You stay for extended periods because of Kamron," Roshad answered. "Bastet will kindly act as a filter if he needs to."

"Does Bastet know the whole story?"

"Yes, he does," Roshad said. "I needed to speak to him in Arabic so maman wouldn't know, but he knows the full story."

"What does he say?"

"He just says 'I told you so'," Roshad chuckled.

"I'm sorry?"

"Before I left, Bastet prayed to Hathor," Roshad said. "She is a goddess of love among other things. She takes the image of a pure white cow in some depictions of her. He prayed to her to find me a wife and…well, here we are. Or will be very soon." Jaedynn smiled and blushed a little. "Anyway, it was a white cow that showed me the way to the Cajun restaurant in my dream. Bastet is a touch smug over the opinion that his prayers were answered. I'll not complain."

"I see," Jaedynn said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why haven't you proposed yet?" Jaedynn asked. It was a question Ivory had presented. Granted, she'd been teasing. "The man's so head over heels – why hasn't he popped the question yet?" she'd joked, but it had been playing in Jaedynn's brain since Ivory said it.

"Because I want to do this right," Roshad said. "That means our family's meet, I offer gifts to prove I'm worthy of your hand, and when your father and my mother agree to uniting our families we can set a date in stone. I will have to sit down with Nathan and explain mehrieh to him."

"Is that like a dowry or something?"

"Not necessarily," Roshad said. "It's more so an offer in which I present gold to you and your family. It's like an insurance policy so if anything happens to me or we divorce, you are still entitled to that money. This can be discussed either the night before the wedding or weeks in advance. It depends on the family."

"It sounds like prenuptial agreement," Jaedynn said.

"I know it sounds strange compared to customs you're used to. I can tell maman we will not be engaging in that practice if you prefer."

Jaedynn looked at Roshad a moment before finally saying, "I'll ask daddy. If it's tradition, I don't want to step on your toes over it. We have our own traditions you need to follow. It's only fair."

"You have a similar practice, no? I present a bracelet to you, I go before your father and he gives me conditions for his approval?"

"Yeah," Jaedynn said, "It's just money isn't typically one of the conditions. Usually the father of the bride expects the groom to help the mother of the bride, bring the family fish or venison, anything that proves he'll be a good provider. Honestly, I think you've already gone above and beyond in that respect."

"I will ask your father to be sure," Roshad smiled. "So I can present a bracelet at any time, yes?"

"Yeah, you can present it at any time," Jaedynn said.

"Good," Roshad smiled.

When they finally made it into the city, Roshad got them to the house just barely on the dot of when their appointment was set. Roshad came around the car as Jaedynn was opening the door and he took her hand to help her out of the car. Right off the bat, watching the neighborhood as they passed had been overwhelming. It was a tiny area, but all the houses in that area were enormous. The house Roshad stopped in front of looked extremely cozy. She could see the lake from the street they were on and there was a long stairway leading up to the entrance of the house. It had a little patio surrounding the front door and the house itself was a pale color between white and yellow. It was two stories that she could immediately see and there was a fence surrounding the back of the property to allow for a private yard.

"First impressions: what do you think?" Roshad asked as they stared at the front of the house.

"It's intimidating," Jaedynn said.

"Well that wasn't the first impression I was looking for," Roshad chuckled a little and squeezed her hand.

"It's just really opulent looking," Jaedynn said, "I'm not used to this sort of thing."

"Do you still want to see it?"

"Yeah, we'll see it," Jaedynn said. "I grew up next to the ocean, so a house next to the lake is wonderful."

"Yes, after spending the summers by the sea for the past hundred years, I didn't want to give that up," Roshad said and then checked his watch. "We had better get inside before we run the risk of being fashionably late."

"Yeah, there's no 'fashionably late' when it's someone's work," Jaedynn said and they walked up the stairs to the house. She kept looking around the front entrance taking in the scenery. Once they stepped onto the patio, Roshad knocked on the door and a moment later, a man in a grey suit opened the door.

"Good afternoon," the man answered with a smile. "You're Mr. Roshad Javadi?"

"Yes; you must be Mr. Michael Sinclair. We spoke on the phone," Roshad smiled and shook the man's hand. "This is my fiancé Jaedynn Black. I feel it is fair to warn you: she's the one you need to impress."

"In that case, Miss Black, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please, come inside and I'll show you around. I have some coffee with cream or some hot water and tea if you like."

"Some tea would be lovely, thank you," Jaedynn said as they stepped inside. Mr. Sinclair stepped away for a moment then returned with a porcelain mug with hot tea in it that he handed to Jaedynn. She wore a dress that concealed her bump, so thankfully he was none the wiser. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he said, "So when's the wedding?"

"We're still working on the logistics of our wedding I'm afraid," Roshad said. "You see, we're having a wedding with her family in Forks, but we're also having a ceremony in Iran. The wedding here is much easier to set up than a wedding on the other side of the world."

"I can imagine," Mr. Sinclair said. "So you were born in Iran?"

"Yes, Tabriz to be exact," Roshad smiled. "I lived in Tehran most of my life."

"So that's where you want the wedding I take it?"

"Actually, I want to have the wedding in Isfahan. When Persia was an empire, Isfahan was a cultural center of the world. I have always wanted to marry in Isfahan."

"Sounds exotic," Mr. Sinclair said, "and expensive."

"It's no trouble," Roshad said. "The planning of it will be the hardest part."

"I'm sure. Congratulations to you both," he said. "Well Mr. Javadi, Miss Black, let's get down to business. This is the entryway as you can see. There's a coat closet to your left over here," he indicated a heavy wooden door to their left, "and to your right and left are living room areas and the kitchen will be in the back. We'll return here once we've seen the full downstairs space. Everything is either tile or light color wood."

"Are all the walls white?"

"Yes, Miss Black, they are," Mr. Sinclair said, "it's strictly for presenting purposes. I've gathered your fiancé is a man that likes a lot of color, but sadly some do not feel the same."

"We can always correct the wall color later," Roshad said. "You said the kitchen is in the back?"

"Yes, it overlooks the lake," Mr. Sinclair said. "How about we go to the right and we'll come back around to the upstairs?" Roshad and Jaedynn nodded and the realtor proceeded to show them the first floor of the house.

The first room he showed off was an enormous living room space. All the floors were a pale hard wood and the white walls and ceiling lights made the room extremely bright. She could picture the room filling with family members when Roshad inevitably threw their house warming party. Roshad looked the room (and the rest of the house as they went along) up and down for anything that could possibly be wrong but everything looked to be in order. Mr. Sinclair then led them to the back of the room which brought them to an enormous kitchen area to their left. It was a completely open kitchen and the windows across the walls looked out onto the lake and made the room feel even bigger. He led them into the kitchen space and there was an island in the center of the kitchen that had a sink and even had a dishwasher with marble countertops that had enough room for chairs to be placed for people to sit down and eat. The fridge was closest to the living room against the wall with even more marble countertops, a stove and oven and there was a giant archway that she could see on that same wall. Once they made it to that part of the room, she could see it was a walk in pantry space with plenty of shelving and space for other countertop appliances they might need. There was a large light fixture in the middle of the kitchen that was close to the high ceiling and it lit up the room. The view was the best part, though. She could see the back yard and the wooden walkway that peaked out onto the water for anyone that wanted a boat which, to her, seemed a little silly but she liked the walkway all the same.

There were glass French doors that led outside and he opened those doors so they could step out to take in the view. There wasn't very much grass per se but there was enough yard to add a small playground should they choose as Mr. Sinclair suggested. The patio right outside the kitchen was yet another space to have guests and she could tell why Roshad had been interested in the house. The apartment in New York had not felt like him at all. This house, on the other hand, felt like a space he could thrive in. Plenty of room for guests, an enormous kitchen overlooking the lake and a back patio space that would be perfect for the spring, summer and fall and she could already picture children roasting marshmallows outside. Then they were guided down some stairs on that patio to the grassy area and around where Mr. Sinclair showed doors that led to a basement area. When they walked in, it was a full basement that was smaller compared to other parts of the house but it had a powder room. It instantly made her think of toys everywhere for a play area or desks and bookcases for a study. Either would work is seemed. Then he led them to another set of stairs on the other side of the room that led back up to the first floor of the house on the other side of the entrance. This side of the house had a fireplace and Mr. Sinclair suggested this space as a dining room. He showed them another powder room that was across the way from the door that led to the basement and it was very large for a powder room. Further down to the right closer to the backyard area was another large door that, when opened, revealed a walk in wine cellar. Again, it seemed silly given Roshad didn't drink but then, that didn't mean their guests didn't drink. It was also a good space to keep Rosé to share with Ivory on her almost certain to be frequent visits.

Mr. Sinclair led them back to the entrance then led them up the staircase which had a tiny landing a few steps up so the stairs could wind around to reach the second floor. It was completely open so once they reached the top of the landing Jaedynn could look down at the front door. There were doors on either side all of which were open save for a linen closet that Mr. Sinclair pointed out for them. He showed two large full bathrooms on either side of the landing with two bedrooms on each side of the bathroom. Mr. Sinclair saved the master bedroom for last, opening a set of double doors that opened into what she could only describe as a bedroom suite. The room had a rounded wall and more windows that looked out onto the backyard and lake. To the left of the entrance was a vanity space and an archway that went into a walk-in closet. The whole upstairs, like downstairs, was hardwood floors and the bathroom was tile with a giant bathtub that she could already picture herself soaking in and a shower in one corner as well as his and hers sinks and another vanity on the other side of that.

"What do you think?" Roshad asked. Jaedynn realized Mr. Sinclair had left the bathroom and gone back into the bedroom to give them some privacy.

"It feels like a palace," Jaedynn said.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it," Jaedynn finally said, and she really did. Despite the opulence of the home overwhelming her for a moment, she really did like the house. "Can we see the other bedrooms? I want to decide where Kamron's room will be."

She felt Roshad smile against her head before kissing her and he led her out of the master bathroom to the bedroom and back to the landing so they could view the other bedrooms. They'd already seen the bedrooms so she gravitated towards one in particular she remembered liking. It was extremely spacious, as were all the bedrooms, with its own closet space and plenty of room for a crib, a changing table, a rocking chair and she could picture it being packed with toys. There were two windows that looked out to the neighbor's house, so it wasn't the lake view, but it helped make the room feel bigger.

"This one," Jaedynn said. "This is Kamron's room."

"As you wish, my love," Roshad whispered, kissed her cheek and then left her to go speak with the realtor.

She could hear Roshad talking to Mr. Sinclair expressing their interest in the home and right away he began negotiating. In the meantime, Jaedynn walked back downstairs and walked around the area again. Without really thinking, she started humming as she took in each room and started deciding how they should decorate, what colors they could choose for the walls and so on. She felt like a princess in that moment and was rubbing her belly affectionately. She stepped outside to look out on the lake and took a deep breath. It smelled like home: fresh water filling the air, trees nearby to freshen it and the cold fall breeze tightening her skin. The longer she was there, the more she loved it.

"I can't sing otherwise I would reciprocate," Roshad said and Jaedynn turned around to look at him.

"That's not true. I've heard you sing," Jaedynn smiled.

"When I'm in the shower alone with no one to judge me," Roshad chuckled and approached her. "I got them to lower the price to $139,555."

"You look so proud," Jaedynn said.

"I am."

"Honestly, you can materialize money out of sand and still you're frugal."

"A penny saved is a penny earned, remember?" Roshad smiled and came to hug her.

"True," Jaedynn said. "So it's ours?"

"The house is ours," Roshad said and kissed her. "I go to his office tomorrow to finalize all the paperwork and then we can move in the 24th of November."

"Just in time of Thanksgiving," Jaedynn said. "We always have Thanksgiving at my great grandparents' house. Maybe we can host Christmas."

"We have to have a house warming party," Roshad said.

"We can have my sister and uncle's family over for a house warming, but let's save a huge party for Christmas. In fact, Christmas Eve would be best. My cousin Jae Sun's birthday is on Christmas and Eun Mi always makes him Ox Bone stew as his birthday present."

"Christmas Eve it is," Roshad said.

After leaving, Roshad took Jaedynn to dinner as promised and then they drove back to Forks so he could bring her back home. While she talked to her parents and Ariel about the house, Roshad asked if she was alright with him calling home and, as always, Roshad promised to pay Nathan for any fees that would come from the calls to Iran. Ashti was the one to answer and they spoke for a while before he finally relayed that Jaedynn was available if she wanted to speak with her. Bastet was summoned to come to the phone and once he took over, Roshad called Jaedynn over.

"Nathan, do you mind if I put Bastet on speaker?"

"That's fine," Nathan said and Roshad pressed the buttons necessary until it sounded like the speaker was on.

"Bastet, can you hear me?" Roshad asked in English.

"Yes, I hear you," Bastet's voice came from the speaker, his accent as thick as Roshad's but slightly different. "You say Jaedynn is there?"

"Yeah, I'm right here," Jaedynn said. "I'm so sorry for it taking so long for us to finally talk."

"Is fine, is fine; Ashti just happy to talk," Bastet said and then she heard him say something in Farsi. A woman's voice followed after which Bastet proceeded. "She ask how you and Roshad meet."

"We met at a Cajun restaurant in Harlem. I was upset about something that happened at work that day and Roshad was kind enough to cheer me up. We've been seeing one another ever since," Jaedynn said. Bastet started speaking in Farsi again, then Ashti spoke.

"She ask what work you do," Bastet said.

"I work for my uncle at his law firm. I'm a receptionist," Jaedynn said. Granted, she wasn't working at the moment, but she did plan to work for him again and it's what she'd been doing when she and Roshad met.

Another exchange later, Bastet said, "You have sibling, yes?"

"I have two sisters and two brothers," Jaedynn said.

"Your father is police officer, your mother own bar, yes?" Bastet said.

"Correct," Jaedynn said and Bastet relayed the information.

"She ask when she can meet you," Bastet asked. Roshad took over, speaking in Farsi and directing the conversation to his mother though Bastet spoke up here and there. Jaedynn waited until Roshad looked at her and smiled gently.

"I told her they're welcome to come in the summer," Roshad said.

"Okay," Jaedynn said.

"We all look forward to meeting you," Bastet said. Ashti said something to Bastet which he translated. "She ask if you and Roshad discuss giving her grandchildren."

"We have," Jaedynn said. "I don't know if it'll be ten, but she'll definitely be getting grandchildren." Bastet relayed Jaedynn's reply and when Jaedynn heard Ashti's light, gentle laugh, it made her smile.

"She ask where you grow up." Bastet relayed.

"I was born and raised in Washington State," Jaedynn said. "I moved to New York for work." Bastet translated then Ashti said something else.

"What of education?"

"I have a high school diploma. I didn't go to college if that's what she's enquiring about."

Bastet relayed the information and Ashti spoke with him again for a moment. "I explain is different in America but she want to know if you stop work when there are children."

"I would like to return to work if I can," Jaedynn said and Bastet translated. Another exchange occurred between Bastet and Ashti, but this time, Roshad stepped in. For a moment, it sounded as though Ashti was upset and Roshad was saying 'maman' over and over in a gentle tone as if trying to calm her down. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is alright; it was just not the answer she anticipated," Roshad said.

"Jaedynn," Bastet said, "please forgive our long talk."

"It's alright," Jaedynn said. "I just hope I didn't offend her."

"Is no offense," Bastet said. Ashti said something and Bastet translated, "She ask how old are you."

"I'm 27," Jaedynn said. Bastet translated and for another moment, Ashti, Bastet and Roshad had a private discussion in Farsi after Ashti seemingly asked a question that either wasn't necessarily directed at Jaedynn or was something Roshad didn't want to answer yet. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no, maman is asking how much your father want for mehrieh. I am explaining that has not been discussed yet and she'd pushing," Roshad said.

"What does 'Mehrieh' mean?" Nathan asked and came to the kitchen seeing as the question was apparently directed to him.

"It's an agreed upon sum that I pay to you in order for Jaedynn and I to marry and it's in a sense her insurance policy that, if we were to divorce, she still keeps that money," Roshad said.

"So it's a pre-nup?" Nathan said.

"It's one way to look at it, but I'm trying to explain American law handles such matters differently and she's not impressed with my answers. Typically, a Mehrieh needs to be agreed upon between the parents of the bride and groom before a wedding can take place," Roshad said. He then continued to speak with his mother about what he was doing instead as far as earning Nathan's approval for marriage. He explained the customs Jaedynn's family have in place and that he was already engaging in said customs.

"Just tell her that you're already providing a home for her and her son and that I've approved and agreed to a wedding taking place," Nathan said. Roshad continued talking, omitting the mention of a son.

"I've told her we will discuss this in more detail next summer when they visit," Roshad finally said.

"I mean if she's insisting there has to be some kind of money exchange, fine, but I'm saying it's not necessary," Nathan said.

"Is okay, is okay, we discuss later," Bastet spoke up. "She ask your nationality."

"You mean besides American?"

"Yes," Bastet said.

"On my dad's side, I'm Quileute Native American, Scottish and English and on my birth mother's side, I'm French," Jaedynn answered.

"Her birth mother's side?" Bastet asked.

"Just say 'mother' – I've already explained that to maman," Roshad said and finally Bastet translated Jaedynn's answer. Ashti said something to Bastet afterwards.

"Bastet?" Jaedynn said and waited until she knew he was listening. "Roshad says it's thanks to you that we met."

Bastet chuckled on the other end while Roshad just smiled, "Yes, is thanks to me. I pray for it and same night Roshad had dream of you."

"Well, you have my gratitude," Jaedynn said.

Ashti said something and there was a moment where the two talked and based on Bastet's tone, she assumed he must have been bragging. Based on the fact Roshad was clearly trying not to laugh, she was pretty certain that was the case. Bastet said something and Roshad took over the conversation for a moment. Jaedynn waited for either Bastet or Roshad to say something to her in English.

"Jaedynn," Bastet finally asked for her attention, "tell more about yourself. I translate as best as possible."

"What would she want to know?" Jaedynn asked Roshad.

"Tell her about your education, childhood memories – anything you want. Maman wants to get to know you more personally," Roshad said.

"Oh," Jaedynn said and had to think about it for a moment.

Eventually she talked about what it was like growing up in the tribe, she told about the small community life and everyone knowing everything about everyone, she talked about the yearly trips to Brazil where her mother was from, she talked about her brothers and sisters, her sister growing up in Las Vegas and anything else that came to mind . When Ashti finally seemed satisfied with the introduction, Roshad took over the conversation for a moment before the call finally ended. Bastet relayed Ashti's message that it was a pleasure to speak with her, Bastet said the same and Jaedynn released a breath of relief once Roshad hung up the phone.

"Do you think she liked me?" Jaedynn asked.

"Yes, she likes you," Roshad smiled and rubbed his thumb over her cheek tenderly. "She said she plans to have Bastet and Rashida teach her English so she could speak with you personally."

"So she wants to speak with me again?"

"Yes, she'll want to talk to you again, but she will at least be less insistent now that you've been introduced. I suspect maman was beginning to think you were a figment of my imagination."

"I'm happy to be of service," Jaedynn said.

Shortly thereafter, Jaedynn and Roshad were able to move into their house together. It still felt like it wasn't her house as she was moving her things alongside him. But as soon as their things were in the house, Roshad was moving things around so they could paint the walls. It consumed their first week after moving in. The few walls in the kitchen were painting a deep burgundy color while the rest of the floor stayed white, however the furniture they moved in made up for the white walls with bright warm colors that complimented the color of the wall in the kitchen. Their outdoor space was decorated with pale blues, purples and yellows in the form of furniture and flowers. The basement was converted to a prayer room which all of Roshad's homes always had. He installed a bookshelf that took up a whole wall that he filled with literature he'd brought from home, the Quran, some candles and several other decorative pieces like glass pomegranates, jade flowers and candles. His red Persian rug went into that space as well.

"I don't think I've ever lived anywhere that had a prayer room," Jaedynn said once that part of the house was completed.

"I always have one," Roshad said. "Despite my fall from grace if you will, I always retreat to my prayer room when I want peace and quiet. And, of course, if I didn't have one, maman would be furious with me."

"I suspected as much," Jaedynn smiled. "So this room is more for Ashti's benefit whenever she's visiting?"

"Yes, exactly," Roshad said. "It even has a view of the water like our prayer room in Chalus, so she's guaranteed to love it."

"All that's left is to finally start working on the upstairs," Jaedynn smiled. For the past two days, they'd been sleeping on a mattress in the center of their bedroom with their boxes surrounding it and far away from the walls. Kamron's room was completely empty and would stay that way until after Jaedynn's baby shower, but they still needed to get the guest bedrooms put together upstairs.

"How are you feeling by the way?"

"I'm alright," Jaedynn said, "just a little tired. Kamron woke me up this morning with his kicking."

"At least we know he's healthy," Roshad said and walked over to give her a hug. While she was definitely showing, she still didn't look as far along as she actually was courtesy of her height. He reached a hand to her belly hoping to feel Kamron kicking but there was nothing. "Seems like he's sleeping."

"I think so," Jaedynn said. "He'll pep up in the middle of the night and the morning again." A comfortable silence passed between them as Roshad continued to rub her belly but the moment was interrupted when they heard the phone ring. "I'll go answer that," she said.

"I'll get started painting our bedroom," Roshad said and kissed her before walking up the stairs ahead of her. Jaedynn followed and went to the phone in the kitchen while Roshad walked upstairs to their bedroom to start painting. By the time Jaedynn was in the kitchen, Roshad was upstairs and Jaedynn just barely got to the phone in time to answer it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey, Buttercup," Alex said and for a moment she was completely stiff.

"How did you get this number?" Jaedynn finally asked.

"That's not important," Alex said. "Look, I called for a reason. You owe it to me to talk to me."

"I don't owe you a damn thing," Jaedynn said.

"Don't hang up," Alex ordered, somehow sensing she was about to do just that. "And yes, you do owe me. You owe me something very important: an explanation."

"I'm hanging up now, Alex," Jaedynn said.

"I said don't fucking hang up," Alex ordered again. "You realize if I really wanted to I could just escape from prison right? Fortunately for you, I kind of like it here. Rita hasn't spoken to me since I told her to help me with the knife and my clothes – if not for what happened between us, I'd be completely at peace. Problem is there's still something between us."

"There's nothing between us, Alex. I don't want you contacting me again."

"You're carrying my baby, Buttercup," Alex pointed out. "Unless you're telling me I'm not the father."

"You're not the father," Jaedynn was quick to say. "Roshad's the father."

"You're going to stand there and lie to me?"

"What does it matter, Alex? If I say it's yours you'll call be a liar and if I say it's Roshad's you'll call me a liar!"

"Jaedynn?" Roshad said and came into the kitchen, having heard her yelling, "What's the matter?"

"Is that him?" Alex asked, hearing Roshad's voice.

"I'll only say this once: don't ever call me again," Jaedynn said and finally hung up the phone. She could hear Alex demand again that she not hang up on him but she willed herself not to listen to him this time.

"Who was that?"

"It was Alex," Jaedynn said and rubbed a tear from her eye. "I'm so sorry; I don't know how he got our number."

"I'll change it," Roshad said, "and I'll contact Kevin to make sure he's reported for violating the restraining order." Jaedynn nodded and took a deep breath feeling herself starting to cry more. "Did he threaten you?"

"He said he could easily escape if he wanted to but I was fortunate that he likes it there," Jaedynn said. "I lied to him; I said the baby's yours."

"Let him think it," Roshad said and went to the phone to immediately call Kevin to tell him what happened. Jaedynn called Nathan as well to let him know what happened and while he was extremely angry over it, knowing she's already involved Kevin had given him some relief.

Jaedynn was shaken up for the remainder of the day following Alex's call. Kevin called the authorities in New York that same day reporting Alex's violation of the restraining order and, as soon as he had them, forwarded phone records to prove it. Meanwhile Roshad had the number to their house changed and, upon consulting the phone company, made sure the number that Alex called from was blocked so they wouldn't receive calls from him again. By the end of the week, their house was put together save for the baby's room, but Jaedynn was having trouble enjoying it. She felt anxious despite everyone's assurances that every step possible – short of killing the man much to Nathan's chagrin especially – was being taken to make sure Alex didn't contact her again. In an effort to improve her mood, Roshad asked Ivory to take Jaedynn shopping. So that Saturday, Ivory took Jaedynn to Macys to buy some maternity clothes.

"How about this one?" Ivory asked, showing off a floral pattern wrap dress with an empire waist.

"It's cute," Jaedynn said but she was lacking in enthusiasm.

"You don't look sold," Ivory said.

"Really, it's fine. I'll try it on," Jaedynn said. Ivory sighed a little and put that dress on her arm along with all the other clothes she'd pointed out and gotten a tepid response to.

"You haven't gotten another call right?"

"No," Jaedynn said. "Roshad already had the number changed and he's had the number to the prison blocked."

"Good. It's a start," Ivory said. "So do you think he'll back off now that you've told him Roshad's the father?"

"No, he won't," Jaedynn lamented. "When I told him that, he called me a liar. I don't know if he believes that or he wants proof or he just wants to get back at me. It's probably all of the above honestly."

"He sets foot in Washington, he's not leaving," Ivory said. "Just take comfort in that."

"I don't think he'll come to Washington," Jaedynn said. "He's not stupid. He knows if he comes to Washington it'll be the last thing he ever does. He'll find another way to get back at me I'm sure." Jaedynn became thoughtful and started rubbing her eyes.

"Jaedynn?" Ivory asked.

"I'm sorry," Jaedynn said. "I'm alright." Then she started to feel kicking and put her hand on her belly, finally smiling. "I think Kamron's trying to make me feel better."

"Can I feel?" Ivory asked and Jaedynn moved her hand so Ivory could touch. When she felt the kick, she smiled. "There's my nephew," she said and leaned down so she was closer to Jaedynn's belly.

"He's not usually active this time of day," Jaedynn said.

"He knows his Aunt Ivory's here and wants to say hi," Ivory smiled. Once Kamron wasn't kicking anymore, Ivory stood back up straight and said, "Now let's try some of these one. Roshad's paying and you're getting my employee discount."

"Okay," Jaedynn smiled and followed Ivory to a dressing room. By the time they were done, Jaedynn had more bags than she could carry.

"So when are you and Roshad going to buy yourselves new cars?"

"He wants to do that Monday," Jaedynn said. "I told Roshad I need a used car I can pay for in full or an inexpensive new car. I don't know when I'll be able to return to work and I can't really afford a car payment at the moment."

"How are you going to afford a car if you're not going to work any time soon?" Ivory said.

"I'll figure it out," Jaedynn said. "I made my bed; I have to lie in it."

"It's not your fault that your ex stole your car," Ivory said. "Why isn't Roshad buying you a car?"

"Because I've expressly asked him not to," Jaedynn said.

"Jaedynn, you're not currently working: Roshad, on the other hand, literally shits money."

"Can you not be so vulgar?"

"My point is you aren't in a position to buy a car and pay the insurance on it at the moment. If I'm honest, I say have Roshad buy one car, make it the family car, have him pay for it and once you're able to and comfortable with working again, then you can buy your own car." Jaedynn was quiet as she plopped her bags into the back of Ivory's car. "Don't be upset with me for being right."

"I will be upset," Jaedynn said and got seated in the front passenger's seat.

"I'm just looking out for you, Jaedynn."

"I know," Jaedynn sighed. "I know."

"You know that man would happily buy you a car," Ivory said.

"That's not the point," Jaedynn said.

"I know, but until you're able to work again, you're better off having a family car under Roshad's name, then you can buy a car later once you're working."

"Alright, fine: you're right," Jaedynn said. "But I'm still helping pay for that car."

"Hey, make that clear to him," Ivory said, "Nothing wrong with helping pay for the family car."

"Exactly," Jaedynn said. Once they made it back to the house, Ivory helped Jaedynn get the shopping bags into the house and Roshad walked downstairs to meet her.

"Did you have a good time?" Roshad asked, "Oh, remember: shoes off in the house," he then reminded her and Jaedynn.

"I did. It was just what I needed," Jaedynn said as she took off her shoes. She was still getting used to the new status quo of removing her shoes before entering. She'd asked him before why it hadn't mattered at the apartment in New York and he just told her he didn't feel at home so he didn't treat it like home. "Roshad, do you mind if we talk about what we're doing on Monday?"

"You mean buying a car?"

"Yeah," Jaedynn said.

"Sure," Roshad said, "but first I want to show you something."

He took her hand and led her upstairs. Ivory followed, already knowing what he was up to, as Roshad guided Jaedynn with him to Kamron's bedroom. He let go of her hand and opened the door, revealing what he'd been up to all day. They'd painted the room a pale yellow before but now there were images of characters from Winnie the Pooh in strategic spots. There was now a changing table, a crib and a rocking chair in the room all with the same white painted wood and hunter green fabric with lighter green leaves patterned in. There was a green, Persian rug in the middle that had the image of a tree in the center and an intricate design surrounding it and when she stepped inside to look into the crib, the little Eeyore crochet doll she'd bought before her first ultrasound was there surrounded by the other dolls that had been in the collection. Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Owl, Tigger, Rabbit – all of the characters where there except Christopher Robin.

"Wow, Roshad, you outdid yourself," Ivory said when she entered the room and took a look around.

"Do you like it?" Roshad asked Jaedynn.

"It's precious," Jaedynn said and started tearing up. Roshad took her in his arms and hugged her.

"Good thing no one's bought you furniture yet," Ivory said.

Jaedynn was barely listening to Ivory by then. This had been exactly what she needed: a reminder that everything would be okay and, no matter how big a mistake she'd made, her son wouldn't have to suffer the consequences for it and be without a loving father. Ivory stayed for a few more hours before finally returning home and when she left, Jaedynn mentioned what she and Ivory had discussed regarding the car. As she suspected, Roshad affirmed he had no problem with buying her a car but Jaedynn insisted she wanted to help pay for it. That Monday, as planned, they went to the dealership to buy a car. Roshad already returned the rented car and Ivory dropped them off in the morning before going to work herself and within moments they were met by a sales rep.

"Good morning, sir, ma'am," the rep said with more energy than should be allowed so early in the morning, "My name's Eric Rickman; is there anything I can help you find?"

"There are two things you can help us find," Roshad said. "Firstly and most importantly, we need a family car. We're expecting our first child, so we need safe and reliable."

"That's wonderful; congratulations. I've got plenty of models for you to see," Mr. Rickman said. "And what's the second thing I can help you find?"

"That I will decide once we've looked around," Roshad said. "Start with the family cars you have available."

"Absolutely, sir," Mr. Rickman smiled, "And before we start looking, is there a price range you wish to remain within?" Roshad looked at Jaedynn who smiled at him and he smiled back before returning his attention to the rep.

"Nothing above $4,000," Roshad said.

"Absolutely, sir. And do you want used or new?"

"Either so long as the car is in good condition," Roshad said.

"Absolutely, sir," Mr. Rickman said and took them to an area of the lot that featured a number of vans and larger cars none of which Jaedynn initially liked. He started walking up to a yellowish Ford E200 Econoline Van right away.

"Mr. Rickman?" Jaedynn said.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"No Mystery Machine, okay?" Jaedynn said and he started laughing.

"We'll move on, then," he said, no offense taken thankfully, and led them through the lot to a few different options. He explained the pros and cons to each vehicle, what made each one unique and made sure he stuck to cars in the price range he was given which Jaedynn appreciated. Among the cars in the lot that caught Jaedynn's attention was a powder blue 1973 Jeep Wagoneer.

"How much is this one?" Jaedynn asked, pointing at the Jeep.

"That is $3,800," the rep answered, swerving from what he'd been about to show her and came over to the car she was looking at. "It's a brand new car, no previous owners, four door as you can see, plenty of space in the back seat of kids and it's fully automatic – the first of its kind."

"May I test drive it?" Jaedynn asked.

"You most certainly can. Hop right in and we'll take her for a spin," Mr. Rickman said and got into the passenger's side, Roshad took a seat in the back and Jaedynn sat in the driver's seat. Mr. Rickman got the keys out of the glove compartment and handed them over to her but took several minutes to explain some of the car's features before they finally drove off. She drove the car around for about ten minutes getting a feel for the car before they returned to the lot. "So how do you like it?"

"I like it a lot," Jaedynn said. "You said it's $3,800?"

"Yes, ma'am – right within budget," Mr. Rickman said.

"In that case, I'll take it," Jaedynn said.

"Great choice, Mrs. Javadi," Mr. Rickman said and then looked in the back seat at Roshad all while Jaedynn blushed, not caring to correct him. "So, Mr. Javadi, while we were looking, did you see anything you like?"

"I'm afraid not," Roshad said. "Do you have, uh, what are they called in English? They have no roof on them."

"Convertibles? Absolutely! Let me mark this car as purchased and I'll show you our selection," Mr. Rickman said and the three of them got out of the car. "Any specific model you were considering?"

"Do you sell Porsche cars?" Roshad asked and instantly the rep deflated.

"No, I'm afraid not. I wish we did – I hear the 911 Series Porsche is going to be spectacular but it's too high powered for sale in the US," Mr. Rickman said, "but I can show you what we have on the lot. In fact, I've got a red Ford Mustang you might like."

"Sure, let's see it," Roshad said with a shrug.

They followed after Mr. Rickman and while they did, Jaedynn took Roshad's hand in hers and said, "A Porsche?"

Roshad shrugged and smiled, "I love a Porsche; what can I say?"

"Because they're really good cars or you like to show off?"

"Both," Roshad said with a chuckle and lifted Jaedynn's hand to kiss it. "I'm also a sucker for corvettes."

"We do have corvettes I can show you!" Mr. Rickman spoke up eagerly.

"Excellent; I'd like to see them," Roshad said and Mr. Rickman guided them in another direction.

"If I didn't know better, I'd assume you were compensating for something," Jaedynn smiled but Roshad looked a little confused.

"Compensating for what?" Roshad asked.

"Nothing," Jaedynn said, a little flustered.

"No, tell me," Roshad asked gently, amused now.

"It's…..there's a stereotype that says a man that buys a corvette or fancy sports cars are old men trying to win affection from much younger women and they're always under endowed," she started blushing as she spoke and, the moment 'endowed' came out, she quickly said, "The joke is they can't get a woman by their own merits so they buy flashy cars to do the talking for them."

"Is that so?" Roshad asked with a gentle laugh.

"Like I said: it's a stereotype. It doesn't apply to you," Jaedynn said.

"Well," Roshad said jokingly, "I am quite a bit older than you." He kissed her hand and then kissed her on the lips making her smile.

Mr. Rickman eventually brought them to the dealership's selection of Corvettes, asking if there was a price range Roshad wanted to stay within. When Roshad said it didn't matter, Mr. Rickman looked as though it were Christmas come early. He brought them to a brand spanking new, fresh from the factory 1973 Corvette Stingray. He was quick to tell Roshad that, should he want to test the car, he would be the first customer to drive it. It was only a two seat car so Jaedynn waited inside while Roshad took it for a test drive with the rep in the passenger's seat. He kept the consultation quick since Jaedynn was waiting but once he returned, Roshad took some time to look at other cars. Partially to be sure he wanted it but also to see if perhaps Mr. Rickman might reduce the price to win the sale. Ultimately, Roshad decided to buy the Corvette and even with the price being reduced to $11,000 that coupled with the Jeep was a good sale for the rep.

"How much was that car beforehand?" Jaedynn asked once the two of them were handed their keys so they could drive off.

"$14,000," Roshad smiled proudly.

"I don't know how you do it," Jaedynn smiled and Roshad leaned down to give her a kiss. "I'll see you at the house?"

"I will see you at the house," Roshad answered and they parted to their respective cars so they could drive home. Roshad made it home first and waited a few minutes in their driveway before Jaedynn returned. It wasn't raining out so Roshad had the top down on the corvette and whistled at Jaedynn when she stepped out of the car. "Miss?" Jaedynn, now realizing he was still in the driveway, looked at him strangely and approached. He spun the keys around on his finger before grabbing them and pulling down the sunglasses he was wearing but, given the overcast, didn't need. "It's the keys to my red corvette."

"I can see that," Jaedynn said, half smiling, half unsure what he was doing.

"I thought, if you're free, I could take you for a ride?" Roshad said charmingly and, with his double entendre, she finally got what he was doing and started giggling.

"I don't know, sir. I was told never to get into a car with a stranger," Jaedynn said.

"Understandable," Roshad said, "although I'm sure you were also told to listen to your elders."

Jaedynn laughed a little harder than shrugged, "That is true; I was told that."

"Then get in the car, young lady," Roshad smirked, put his sunglasses back up on his nose, and got the keys in the ignition while Jaedynn walked around the car to the passenger's side and sat in the leather seat. Roshad backed out and they started driving down the road and he made his way to the highway so they could drive fast like he wanted.

"I see you love your new toy," Jaedynn smiled when Roshad kicked the car into high gear.

"It's not a Porsche, but it's certainly a fun car to drive," Roshad said and Jaedynn smiled.

"I can't believe it's so smooth," Jaedynn said. "For how low to the ground it is, I'd think this thing would be a nightmare on the road."

"It's the sign of a quality car," Roshad said. Jaedynn looked up at the sky and saw the clouds coming in.

"I hate to steal your thunder, but it's about to rain," Jaedynn said. Roshad shrugged and pressed a button on the dash that made the roof come up to cover them just before it started raining. "Automatic? How fancy," she giggled.

"I seek to impress," Roshad smiled, returning to the previous teasing. "So shall I treat you to lunch so we're no longer strangers?"

"I suppose I can make time for that," Jaedynn played along. Roshad smiled and reached his hand over to touch her knee affectionately, but Jaedynn pushed it away. "Excuse me, sir, but I barely know you."

"Of course; my apologies, miss," Roshad played along.

Though it was inconsistently, the two of them continued their little game for the remainder of the afternoon. Roshad took Jaedynn somewhere nice for lunch after spending a few hours driving through the city and remote areas and after that, Roshad spent several minutes pretending to try to convince Jaedynn to come home with him and after her initial half-hearted refusals, she eventually agreed. When they finally returned home, they went up to the front door together holding hands as if on an illicit first date that was moving scandalously fast. To continue the charade, Roshad used his key to enter the house and even directed her to remove her shoes like he would were he addressing a new guest.

"Your house is so fancy," Jaedynn continued their game.

"This old thing? You're too kind," Roshad said and this time Jaedynn laughed out loud. Roshad laughed with her but soon took her in his arms so she was looking at him. "Come upstairs with me," he said.

"Mr. Javadi, you're trying to seduce me," Jaedynn smiled, though she wasn't even sure if Roshad got the reference. Whether he did or not, he smiled at her and leaned forward so their foreheads would touch. His hands started to trail sensually over her body and it made her sigh.

"How long has it been?" Roshad asked.

"Since New York," Jaedynn said, referring to the first night they'd ever been together. Between what happened with Alex, the stress of a trial, her family and everything else, it had been the only time they'd been together. Even when they'd moved in together, they'd spent all this time decorating the house to make their home and it had left her drained and tired at the end of the day. If Roshad had wanted intimacy at any point, he'd not said it and would just carry her up to bed for the night. "It really has been a while hasn't it?" Jaedynn trailed her hands up his chest and around his neck so she could bring him closer while his hands went to her thighs and pulled them up so he could wrap her legs around his hips.

Without another word, he carried her upstairs to their bedroom and planted her atop their bed. The pale blue walls with white crown molding was a soothing cool color and their white sheets and comforter lightened the room that much more. The room was dimmed thanks to the overcast outside and it made Jaedynn's skin seem like a deeper color against the white comforter but her pale skin still contrasted with his tan. For a moment all he could do was stare at her. She was wearing one of her maternity wrap dresses with a colorful pattern and white socks. He untied the bow that was securing her dress and pulled it aside like it were a robe. Her bra and panties were flesh tones and her belly poked forward sweetly. He rubbed his hand over her belly and stopped when Jaedynn covered that hand with her own. It was an instant of overwhelming sensations: staring down at the woman he loved – previously thinking he'd never love again – almost nude in front of him while his hand rested over her swollen belly carrying their baby. Yes, he thought to himself: their baby. Whether by blood or no, Kamron was his son. He'd never see it any other way.

"عاشقت هستم," (Āšeqetam) Roshad whispered to her and, remembering what it meant, Jaedynn smiled longingly at him.

"I love you too," Jaedynn answered. She started to lean up off the bed so she could kiss him but he averted her, going to his knees on the floor before her.

"I want to give you something," Roshad said. He reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet and retrieved a coin; specifically, a nickel.

"Mr. Javadi, I am not for sale," Jaedynn teased and made Roshad chuckle.

"No, no, Miss Black – it's not like that," Roshad said and closed his hand around the nickel while putting his wallet back in his pocket.

He held up his closed hand that held the nickel and thought of what to offer her. Then the perfect image came to mind and he changed the coin to what was in his head. Once it was completed, Roshad opened his hand so she could see what he'd created. It was a ring; the band was yellow gold and the centerpiece of the ring was like nothing she'd ever seen before. In the center was a burgundy jade dahlia that was secured into the band by tiny gold forget-me-nots with four tiny diamonds in the center of each clustered flower. Jaedynn stared at the ring in awe of it, having never seen anything quite like it before.

"Roshad," Jaedynn mumbled, unable to form any other words.

"Forgive my weakness; I'm impatient," Roshad said. "I know we cannot move forward now, but it would warm my heart if you were to wear my ring." Jaedynn went misty eyed and nodded her head. Roshad slipped the ring onto her finger, but then said, "It's missing something." He reached back into his wallet for another coin, put his wallet back and placed the coin, a quarter this time, onto the top of her wrist. Then he closed his hands around her wrist and Jaedynn could feel the coin changing shape against her skin. When Roshad took his hand away, the coin was replaced with a replica of the ring he'd just given her: a burgundy dahlia made from jade, gold forget-me-nots clustered around it for security with diamonds in the middle of the forget-me-not flowers and the band of the bracelet was like thick gold chainmail secured at the base by two thin yet strong bands of gold that latched into one another and clasps over that.

"They're so beautiful," Jaedynn murmured as she stared at the ring and bracelet. They took her breath away, but not just from their beauty. More importantly, it was the way he'd given them to her. She'd never felt more like a princess. Perhaps it was juvenile, but she felt like her prince charming had swooped in and proclaimed his undying love. All that was missing at this point was a Disney love song. The thought made her laugh a little to herself.

"What's funny?" Roshad asked, holding her left hand lovingly.

"I'm sorry," Jaedynn said, "I was just thinking I feel like a princess hearing her prince charming proclaim his love and I thought all that was missing was Disney music."

"I'm afraid I don't have a Disney record," Roshad said, "But I am happy to be your prince so long as you're my princess."

"I would love nothing more," Jaedynn said.

Roshad smiled back at her and stood back up pressing her onto the bed so he was hovering above her before finally pressing his lips to hers. Roshad reached under her to the clasps of her bra and Jaedynn tilted her back upward for ease. Once he undid the clasp, Jaedynn pulled her bra off tossing it to one side all while never taking her lips away from his. Once he'd undone her bra, Roshad's hands trailed further down to pull her panties off and this time he pulled away from their kiss so he could remove her panties and then her socks. He took a hold of her foot pressing a kiss to her ankle then continuing a trail of kisses down her calf to her knee. With his other hand he touched her intimately, using his fingers to slip inside her then pull out to check her readiness. She moaned from his touch and sat up so she could bring her hand around the back of his neck and pull him down so he was on top of her. He released her leg so she could cradle his hips and lifted her by her hips to could carry her further onto the bed.

While they kissed, Jaedynn started maneuvering her arms out from the sleeves of her dress and once she was free, her hands trailed over the buttons of his shirt undoing them one at a time. She tugged the shirt free from the security of his pants and belt along with the white undershirt he wore. Roshad sat up so he could pull his shirts off over his head tossing them aside before returning down to Jaedynn's level. His hands went to her breasts to caress them lovingly while he kissed her on the lips, then her chin and down her neck until he kissed the valley between her breasts. Staying as gentle as possible, being mindful she was sensitive, Roshad kissed his way over her left breast with the stubble of his facial hair tickling her skin along the way and took her nipple in his mouth as soon as he'd reached it. His tongue trailed around the area slowly and languidly before sucking tenderly sucking at her skin, causing her to shiver beneath him all while gently moaning his name. He stayed there for a few minutes until kissing his way to her right breast to do the same thing.

While his attention was on her right breast, Roshad reached between them to touch Jaedynn again. He trailed his fingers over her entrance and up to the apex where her clitoris rested, giving attention to the sensitive flesh to offer her more pleasure. He slipped two fingers inside her and used his thumb against her clitoris to guide her towards her climax. He started kissing down her midriff over her belly and to her hip where he started to suck at her skin. He would stay in one spot for a few seconds before moving to one side until he reached her other hip all while his fingers and thumb continued to pleasure her. Jaedynn's hands laced through his hair while he planted his kisses to her hips with his tongue trailing over her skin.

Soon Roshad found an area inside her that, when he pressed it with his fingers, especially pleased her and he kept applying pressure while he kissed his way down her hip to her thigh. His stubble tickled her inner thigh and made her giggle and moan all at once from the sensation. He moved to her next thigh continuing to tease her and she shivered from the tickling sensation. By the time he was kissing his way to her center, she was already on the brink of release. When he was a breath away, he replaced this thumb with his tongue, swirling around her clitoris while he continued to use his fingers and moments later, she finally reached her climax. She whimpered and squirmed under him with her fingers laced through his hair as he guided her through release. When her body started to relax, Roshad removed his fingers and turned his attention to unbuckling his belt. Jaedynn sat up to unbutton then unzip his pants and pulled them and his briefs down as soon as his belt was unbuckled. Once his erection sprang free, Jaedynn took a hold of him and stroked it tenderly. Roshad stepped away so he could remove the remainder of his clothes and then came back to her, lifting Jaedynn's legs in his arms to maneuver her so she was on her back and legs spread.

He guided his erection to her entrance and grabbed onto her hips for control as he slipped in. She was still sensitive from her climax and when he thrust forward it made her cry out gently and grab a hold of his forearms. He started a rhythm that was slow at first and Jaedynn trailed her hands up his arms over his shoulders and to his chest until she was touching his pectoral muscles. She trailed her nails and fingertips over the muscle, enjoying the feel of his chest hair under her touch. Roshad liked it too and began to move faster. Jaedynn moaned with her head back as Roshad moved, loving how he felt inside her and loving it more when he started going harder. He kept himself elevated so he wasn't pressing against her belly and kept a consistent and steady rhythm. Then he started to increase his speed when Jaedynn's moans started to taper off and she cried out with renewed enthusiasm. After a few minutes, Roshad slowed his movements so as to savor the moment longer and then pulled away so he could lift Jaedynn up so she was on her hands and knees, being both gentle and rough all at once. Once she was positioned, Roshad grabbed her hips again and guided her onto his erection. He stayed still for a moment once he was inside her just to enjoy the feel of her inner walls until Jaedynn started moving her hips back and forth against him. After that he took over again, thrusting into her over and over with enough force to bounce her forward with each movement. His grip on her was the only thing keeping her body stationary. They were both getting closer and closer to release and Jaedynn tried to reach down so she could touch herself, but her swollen belly made it harder to reach.

Jaedynn whimpered his name and when she did, Roshad leaned forward bringing his hand around her body resting his hand on her breast before lifting her up so her back was against his chest. His other hand reached down to touch her between her legs and once she moaned, affirming he'd found a proper pressure and rhythm, he returned to his previous thrusting motion while Jaedynn's hands held his over her breast and between her legs. Jaedynn could feel her whole body start to tighten as Roshad brought her closer and closer to release all over again and when she climaxed, Roshad's hold on her tightened as he reached his own orgasm along with her. His lips were on her neck and he sucked her skin as he rode out his orgasm all while Jaedynn sighed as she came down from her own release. Eventually his grip on her loosened and when it did, Roshad fell onto his side taking Jaedynn with so she was against his chest. She sighed contentedly and rested her arms over Roshad's which he had tucked under her breasts. He kissed her neck and, his other arm already tucked under her hip, lifted Jaedynn as he turned onto his back so Jaedynn was resting on top of him. Jaedynn's head fell back resting beside Roshad's face and she tilted her head to one side when he started kissing her neck again. Roshad took her left hand and lifted it up so they could both stare at her ring and bracelet.

"Soon, Jaedynn," Roshad said, "soon we'll get married. And I want to have our wedding in Iran; in Isfahan."

"I want a traditional Quileute wedding first," Jaedynn said.

"Yes," Roshad said, already having had the ceremony described to him. "A ceremony on the beach with our family present. After our families meet, you and I will have our moon ceremony and marry on the night tradition dictates. Then we'll have our wedding in Isfahan: a wedding fit for a princess."

"And what would that entail?" Jaedynn asked with a sigh.

"First, you and your family will spend a few days at the palace in Tehran. While you're there, I will send you gifts and presents in preparation for our wedding. Then you'll come to Isfahan – you'll stay at the finest hotel I can find and we'll have a ceremony and reception in a beautiful garden with a large fountain. You and I will sit before the Sofreh Aghd with a silk clothe above our heads that our family members will fill with sugar to sweeten our marriage."

"What's the Sofreh Aghd?" Jaedynn asked.

"It's a table filled with blessings. It'll have seven types of herbs, seven types of pastries, mirrors and candles, blessed bread, gold coins, fruits of fertility and fruits of heaven, the Qur'an, I will want to include a book of Rumi's poetry and we will sit upon a prayer rug. You and I will both wear white, your sisters will wear burgundy and gold, and Rashida will perform a knife dance with the knife we will use to cut our cake. I must warn you: Rashida will insist on belly dancing. Every wedding I've had, she has performed the knife dance and done so as a belly dance. Every time, maman begs her not to and every time, Rashida does it anyway." Roshad chuckled a little. "Rashida cannot help herself. She's a woman that's well aware of her beauty and can never resist flaunting it."

"Sounds like my mom," Jaedynn smiled. "So why Isfahan?"

"I've never married there," Roshad said. "My first wedding, I married in Tabriz – maman insisted on the location because it's where I was born. My second wedding was in Sari – it was the capital at the time and where the majority of the royal family stayed. Then for my third wedding, I married in Baghdad where Miriam's family was. I've never been able to choose for myself where I wanted to get married. This time I want to be able to choose."

"You said Aida and Fatimeh were Persian but Miriam was Arab right?"

"Yes," Roshad nodded. Roshad pulled himself further up on the bed with Jaedynn on top of him and when he sat up, he rotated Jaedynn so she was sitting on his lap and able to look at him. "It might have been the only time maman was not thrilled to see me married. It's well before her time, but as I understand it, her grandfather was a boy when the Arabs still had control over Persia so he held to some very harsh feelings. A number of people did I'm sure. She warmed up to Miriam when she finally met her, but she suffered the same circumstances she does with you: Miriam did not speak Farsi at the time and maman does not know Arabic. Miriam did her best to learn Farsi, but she was never fully fluent."

"I'm curious; how did you meet them? I've always wanted to ask but I felt weird doing so. I guess there's a small part of me that gets a little jealous." Roshad smiled and pressed a kiss to Jaedynn's lips tenderly.

"I promise there's no need for jealousy," he said reassuringly. "Aida I had only heard of previously. She was daughter to a very wealthy merchant, so naturally she was a desirable match for any man that could win her father's blessing. I was still very young; not even twenty I think. Of course, I'd been an adult much longer than that, but you know how that goes. Anyway, news spread that Aida was of age and her father was seeking a suitable husband for her. I wanted a way to really establish myself into society more so than being this random jewelry merchant no one had ever heard of, so I road to Shiraz in the Fars Province to try winning her affections. I knew there would be plenty of other suitors so in an effort to stand out, I rode into Shiraz on an elephant and went to her father's home to express my desire to marry his daughter bringing elaborately decorated chests filled with fine jewelry and trinkets along with anything else I thought might impress him. As I predicted, I was one of many suitors and a few nights after I arrived, her father hosted a party for all the suitors to meet Aida and effectively plead their case of what made us so special. I focused my efforts on speaking with Aida and getting to know her. By the end of the evening, Aida had spoken to me more than any of the other men at the party, but there were still several more weeks of sending gifts, meeting with her father to establish who I am and that I was indeed as wealthy as I claimed, and when her father was confident he'd give me his blessing, he sent people to my home in Tabriz to view my estate. Once he was satisfied, I asked Aida to marry me and she accepted."

"What about Fatimeh? How did you and she meet?"

"A party," Roshad said. "Since inheriting my father-in-law's business, it put me in contact with the aristocracy. It was a time when I was reemerging as a benefactor of my business and I'd been invited to a gathering the sultan was hosting. Obviously all his children – at least the children he was on passing good terms with – and his grandchildren were there and that's when I'd met Fatimeh. I enquired as to whether or not she was married, I found out she was not and expressed a desire to court her. Her father permitted me to pursue her and within a few months, she and I married."

"So I'm guessing you also met Miriam at a party?" Jaedynn asked.

"Actually no," Roshad said with a light chuckle. "I was in Baghdad traveling for work. I was establishing a shop in the Bazaar to sell Saffron and while I was there, I saw a shop that made and sold pottery. Her father was outside selling his wares and Miriam stepped out from inside to put some new pieces on display. To this day I can't explain why, but when I saw her, I wanted so badly to speak with her. So I told my vendor to hold on for me a moment, went to the pottery stand and started talking to her. Once her father found out I was a wealthy saffron vendor, he openly encouraged us courting. I stayed in Baghdad far longer than I'd originally intended because of Miriam. I sent word to maman that I had met a young woman, was deeply in love and fully intended to marry her, so maman came to Baghdad along with Bastet and Rashida so they could meet Miriam and her family. A week after our families met, Miriam and I were married."

"It sounds so romantic," Jaedynn said and rested her head against his shoulders. "So first Tabriz, then Sari, then Baghdad. Now Isfahan?"

"Yes," Roshad said, "I want to marry my princess in the Emerald of the Persian Empire."

Jaedynn blushed at his words and they continued cuddling in bed together for another hour before finally leaving their bed and going to take a bath together. It was an extremely busy time for the whole family given the holiday was coming up, so once their house was in order, Jaedynn's immediate family as well as family that lived in the city were all that came to the house for a little house warming party. While Ivory had been to the house previously, the rest of the family had not seen it yet so getting the grand tour and seeing everything was quite overwhelming. The only other enormous house in the family belonged to the Cullens while everyone else's home were more or less your typical family homes. Ada María and Kai especially loved the outdoor space. It was far too cold right now, but Kai suggested once summer rolled around, all the kids in the family could come to the house for a big party and go swimming which Roshad was all for. It was brought up that Jaedynn and Roshad wanted to have one part of their wedding in Iran and, while there were no complaints, it was explained that not many people from Jaedynn's side would be able to come. Nathan and Ada María would obviously be there. Gabriel and Ariel would insist on being there as would Ivory and Scarlet. Jacob and Renesmee would come of course as would the rest of the Cullens. For the rest of the family, it would depend on personal circumstances, but for Jaedynn that was fine. Her entire family would be at her Quileute wedding, so she was willing to deal with not everyone being at the Iranian wedding.

"Remind me again when you're family is scheduled to come out here?" Nathan asked while he was in the kitchen with Roshad waiting for the food to finish cooking.

"After Kamron's born; so closer to June," Roshad said. "I haven't given a specific date since the tickets have not been purchased. At least not to my knowledge. I'm sure if maman had her way, she'd have been on a plane by now but Bastet and keeping her patient."

"And Jaedynn and Kamron will be staying with us for the duration of their visit?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, if it's not too much trouble," Roshad said.

"You know, Roshad, if I were you I'd man up and tell your mother that you and Jaedynn have been living together," Nathan said and Roshad gave Nathan a slightly critical look.

"Forgive me, Nathan, but you do not know my mother," Roshad said. "She'll already be furious when she finds out about Kamron. Anything I can do to improve maman's opinion I will do it. That does mean not letting her know Jaedynn and I are living together. It will only be for however long it takes for us to have our moon ceremony and Quileute wedding. After that, we can return to normal."

"And what about going to Iran for another wedding? How exactly is that going to play out?"

"With my family's help, about as long as it takes to plan any other wedding but we will have everything set up as quickly as we possibly can. Bastet and Rashida already know the full story and they know I want to marry in Isfahan, so by now I'm sure they already have a few venues to consider."

"Ones that you and Jaedynn haven't seen?" Nathan asked.

"They will bring pictures so we can decide," Roshad said.

"And how big would this wedding be?" Nathan asked.

"Extremely large," Roshad said. "I will have an obligation to invite my associates and that will include their families. I doubt he'd come, but I will need to invite the Shah and his family."

"The Shah? You want to invite the King of Iran?" Nathan asked.

"'Want' is a strong word. The word is 'obligated'. If I do not invite him, then I'm being rude. If I do not invite my business friends and colleagues, then I'm being rude. Our Quileute wedding will be our opportunity to have a small, family only wedding where it's relaxed. The wedding in Iran will be for us but it will need to include hundreds more people. I told Jaedynn and she assured me that so long as she wasn't required to remember who anyone was, she would be fine with it."

"Alright," Nathan shrugged and rubbed his face. He was about to say he would not be the one paying for this wedding but, then, realized even if he offered Roshad would refuse out of politeness alone. "So long as Jaedynn is alright with it."

"I promise, we've talked about it. If she wasn't happy, you have my word the plans would be changed to fit both our needs. I want to give her a wedding fit for a princess. Can you fault me that?"

"No, I don't," Nathan said. "Just keep us all posted, send everyone their save-the-dates as early as possible so anyone that wants to go can make the necessary arrangements."

"Absolutely," Roshad smiled.

In the meantime back at the tribe, Ahiga had been coming a long way since moving to Washington and was even able to afford a home and some luxuries for Haseya who was a frequent visitor and was even starting to learn Quileute and English with greater proficiency. However, in recent months his nightmares not only persisted but were getting worse and worse. They were always involving Barka in one way or another whether it was the day Ahiga been thrown from the Pedestal or any other instances of abuse that followed. And there were numerous instances. He was becoming irritable because of them and while he'd been trying his best not to take it out on Nesia, there would be times where he would snap at her over nothing then leave the house because he knew his temper was getting the best of him and he felt bad for yelling at her. It had gotten to the point where JJ pulled Ahiga aside and said, "Either you do something about the way you're acting or I'll give you something to bitch about".

Ahiga had already known he wasn't acting the way he should but JJ pulling him aside and telling him in no uncertain terms that his recent behavior was unacceptable and would not be tolerated had been his turning point. Nesia had been so kind and patient and understanding, doing everything she could to help him, but when JJ put that line in the sand, Ahiga realized that he really needed to do something about it. He wasn't making any progress taking advantage of Nesia's patience and kindness and that's what he felt like: he felt like he was taking advantage of her and that made him feel worse than anything else. He started by going to therapy. He of course couldn't go to someone in Port Angeles since he couldn't be completely honest with them, so he went to Edward. From then on, twice a week, Edward and Ahiga would sit down together and Ahiga would just talk. It had been really hard for him at first and it was a few sessions before he could really start talking, but the more he talked, the more he started to realize that despite all his hard work and what he'd accomplished so far, he still felt worthless. He was still the bastard son that was only spared because he turned to a bird. He still felt like nothing. At one point, he started to break down crying about it while he was talking to Edward.

"Ahiga," Edward said after Ahiga had spoken about his most recent nightmare that had brought him to tears, "I think you need a hobby or a passion."

"What do you mean?" Ahiga asked after he'd taken a moment to get a hold of himself.

"You've told me about work, you've told me about bills and paying said bills, you've told me about your father and his treatment of you, you've told me about you and Nesia, but when I asked you about your interests, you just told me 'I don't know'. I don't think you were ever given the chance to really be yourself and discover what you love to do."

"I mean…I guess that's true," Ahiga said thoughtfully. "My father had me focusing on flying and learning how to cooperate with the flock above anything else."

"Exactly. Your father made his interests a top priority and never allowed you to explore your own. Among a number of other things obviously. I think what you need to do is try to find an activity that makes you happy. So for example, Blu Jae loves playing music. Desarae started to love it too and now that's something they do together. Bear in mind, just because something interests you does not mean your partner needs to love it too. Just take JJ and Eun Mi. Eun Mi loves gardening and taking care of chickens while JJ would just as soon rather not do that. However, what's important is that your partner allows you to explore your interests and personal pursuits. So here's what I want you to do: next time you have a free day, I want you to take a day to yourself and explore town, either Forks or Port Angeles. Maybe find a sport you like or go to a game store; maybe puzzles will be more your thing."

"Puzzles? Really?"

"I'm just throwing out suggestions," Edward said. "My point is you had the right idea when you told Nesia that you wanted to be self-sufficient before the two of you entertained marriage or starting a family. I couldn't agree with you more. But you need to start looking into personal growth. You've made strides in professional growth and independence and that's fantastic. Now it's time to just be 'you'. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Ahiga said and started down at the floor.

"I know it's much easier said than done; obviously this isn't going to happen overnight and that's okay. Just keep trying: something will speak to you and when it does, I think it'll help."

"Okay," Ahiga said with a light nod. They finished up their session and agreed on another appointment date before Ahiga left the Cullen house and started walking back home thinking about Edward's suggestion.

When Thanksgiving finally came everyone that lived in the city drove down to La Push so as to have Thanksgiving at the Cullen house. Roshad and Jaedynn's brothers used that time to have a soccer game. Gabriel and Ariel were on one team while Roshad and Ada María were on another and anyone that wanted to play was welcome to join the game, however it was best for everyone to stay out of the way while Roshad, Ariel and Gabriel got really competitive. Some nasty words were exchanged, some low blows made and numerous kicks to the shins but ultimately Gabriel and Ariel's team won the game by one point. They enjoyed a boisterous victory lap around the Cullens' back yard and shared a beer to celebrate while Roshad 'humbly' accepted his defeat. Jaedynn watched him play against her brothers and just smiled, enjoying the sight of Roshad getting along so well with her brothers and Ada María. Nadeshka and Emma Leigh were outside watching the game but weren't quite so interested in the spectacle, concerning themselves instead with talking to each other. By the time they all sat down for dinner, Roshad had recovered his wounded pride and was already arranging for another day they could all get together to play.

During dinner, Caleb and Ashley announced that they finally saved up enough to buy themselves a house of their own and, the moment that house was purchased, they would sit down with Kyle for their moon ceremony and they'd be married by beginning of next year. They were shooting for February ideally but it would depend on when they could buy themselves a house. Later on in the night, Caleb called east first calling Evalynn to tell her the news. She was thrilled for him and promised she'd not miss her baby brother's wedding for the world. He then called Levi to relay the news and was given the same congratulations and promise that he would happily be there. That wasn't the end of the announcements for the holiday however. When Esme walked around the large group offering some wine, beer or mix drinks and she got to Desarae, she declined to have a drink.

"I'm afraid I can't have any alcohol right now," she said to Esme.

"Wait," Blu Jae said and just like that, what she was saying clicked, "really? Oh my God!" Blu Jae took her in his arms to hug her tight and kissed her. "When did you find out?"

"This morning," Desarae smiled. They'd been trying for quite some time and, finally, Kyle affirmed for her that morning that she was pregnant.

"You're pregnant?" Natalie asked and Desarae nodded with a teary eye and a smile, "Oh, Desarae, that's fantastic!" Natalie gushed and went right to Desarae to give her a hug and kiss. Then she moved on to Blu Jae and gave him a hug and kiss. Suerro went right to Blu Jae and gave him a hug congratulating him and Desarae for the baby.

"That's great, you two; congratulations," JJ said.

"Congratulations, Birdie," Salem smiled and patted his little brother's shoulder, "you'll never get a full night's sleep ever again." Yvonne giggled and glanced at Mae, sitting up all on her own playing on the rug with Archer and Caden.

"Speaking of never getting a full night's sleep, this one," Taraq said, pointing his foot so his toe was directed at Caden, "woke us up at two in the damn morning screaming. Now, here I'm thinking he's hungry or dirty or there's an intruder in the room; no, he just wanted to cuddle. He'd already climbed out of his crib and was waddling his way to our room as I opened the door to our bedroom." Caden looked over his shoulder at Taraq with big, innocent eyes. "Don't you look at me like that. You know what you did." Uilette smiled and got down on the floor when Caden started babbling.

"Hey, at least you didn't have to tear up the house trying to look for him," Bayaq said. "I told you Archer escaped his crib after his nap and wasn't making a peep?"

"Yeah, I remember; Cid called you crying hysterically that she couldn't find Archer."

"Yeah," Bayaq said, "turns out he was outside in the yard playing with the garden hose. Even figured out how to turn the damn thing on. By the time I got home and we'd found him, the boy was soaked to the bone and could've caught a damn cold!" By then, Bayaq was looking right at Archer who had a big block of wood in his mouth chewing on it. Then, as if to prove Bayaq's point, Archer sneezed and spit out the block getting his chin even wetter with drool. Uilette went to her nephew and cleaned up his chin and nose.

"Honestly, you're both too hard on my poor grandchildren," Caevia said.

"That's rich coming from you, mom," Bayaq said. "If I'd done that, you'd have smacked me so hard I'd have seen stars."

"No she wouldn't have," Embry Jr. said. "I ran away to join to army and even for that she only hit me once."

"It would have been more if I'd been able to get you off the train and back home," Embry Sr. said.

"Hey, it could be worse," Lee said. "At least no one's ever tried to sell him."

"You wouldn't stop crying!" Sergei yelled. "I was a ten year old being asked to take a toddler with me to the market to buy boots and you wouldn't stop crying! You don't even remember that so don't pretend!"

"That's not the point, Sergei; you tried to sell me," Lee said, but he was laughing.

"And no one took me up on my offer so stop complaining," Sergei said.

"Yeah, our neighbor caught you and dragged you home by your ear!" Lee said.

"It was by my collar," Sergei said as he rolled his eyes.

"Ты не должен был пытаться продать своего брата," (Ty ne dolzhen byl pytat'sya prodat' svoyego brata / you should not have tried to sell your brother) Illyana said from another room.

"You should not have made your ten year old son take a toddler to the market," Sergei mumbled.

"Did you say something, Sergei?" Boris said, suddenly standing right behind Sergei where he was sitting on the couch "Because it sounded like you were back talking your mother."

"No, sir," Sergei answered. "I wasn't; I promise."

"Good," Boris said, "Just being sure."

However, Boris still swatted Sergei across the head while his hand was covered by an oven mitt to ensure his stony hand didn't inflict damage. Lee stuck his tongue out at Sergei who swatted his little brother across the shoulder, Lee punched Sergei and then Sergei grabbed Lee by the neck with his arm and they started wrestling on the floor. Since the babies were on the floor, they tried getting involved in the commotion too and Uilette rushed into the sway of it to make sure Sergei and Lee didn't accidently hurt the kids. Mae, on the contrary, was mostly uninterested in the rough housing and got onto her feet and went to Salem, clasping and unclasping her hands over and over saying 'dada' so he'd pick her up.

"Come here, baby girl," Salem said to Mae as he lifted her up to the couch. She was standing for a moment then wrapped her arms around Salem's neck and plopped down so she was sitting on his leg. "It's a shame my little cousins aren't so well behaved as you," Salem said.

"Bullshit – that kid gets in plenty of trouble; she just does it with Yvonne and not you," Embry Sr. laughed.

"No, not my little Mae," Salem smiled and rubbed her back.

"I hate to break it to you, Salem, but she can get pretty misbehaved," Yvonne said, "she just knows if she's on her best behavior when daddy's home, she can get away with anything. Isn't that right, Mae?"

"Is that true, Mae? Are you bad when you're with mommy?" Salem asked but Mae didn't answer.

"She's pleading the fifth I see," JJ laughed. "So Yvonne, are you excited for your tattoo?"

"Yes, extremely," Yvonne smiled. "Jae Sun's been practicing my tattoo for months and he says he's finally confident putting it on me."

"It's about time," Salem said. "I'm hoping once he applies a tattoo to Yvonne he'll finally feel comfortable taking on clients here and there."

"There's more commitment to a tattoo than just drawing something on paper," JJ shrugged. "When's the appointment again?"

"Tomorrow," Yvonne smiled. "Mae will stay with Natalie and Suerro for the day and hopefully he can complete it in one appointment."

"For how much he's practiced, that won't be a problem," Salem said.

"I can't wait to see it once it's done," Cidelle said.

The evening progressed and anyone that was too tired to go home slept over at the Cullen house. Jae Sun spent the night with Salem and Yvonne so they could go to the shop together bright and early for Yvonne's appointment. Since they would be returning to the city, Jaedynn and Roshad agreed they would stay the night at Jae Sun's place to look after Poki. Come morning, they all had a big cup of coffee with some breakfast and Yvonne made a point to drink plenty of water along with her tea and breakfast. Salem opened the shop two hours early so Jae Sun could get his station ready and the tattoo outline onto some transfer paper. As Jae Sun was putting together his tattooing needle, he was actually trembling a little.

"Jae Sun, breathe," Salem said, "You'll do fantastic. Just take a deep breath."

"Okay," Jae Sun said and took a few deep, long breaths so he would stop shaking. Once his equipment was ready and Jae Sun had all his colors laid out and three cups of water, he got the transfer paper applied to Yvonne's left side. The whole tattoo would go from just below her armpit all the way down to her hip. "How do you like that placement?" Jae Sun asked once it was down.

"It looks great," Yvonne said when she saw the outline on her side in the mirror. Salem helped Yvonne onto the narrow bed so that she was lying on her side and Jae Sun took his seat behind her.

"Okay," Jae Sun took some deep breaths again, "Here goes nothing." He turned on the tattoo gun and the loud buzzing filled the room. "If you need me to stop, Yvonne, just tell me, okay?"

"I will," Yvonne said.

She was already holding Salem's hand working through her own nerves and mentally preparing herself for the pain she knew was coming. Jae Sun made a point to start somewhere more fleshy to ease her into it and while it still hurt, starting at her hip closer to her butt was the easiest part out of it all.

"How are you doing, Yvonne?" Jae Sun asked.

"Peachy," she answered and Salem chuckled and kissed Yvonne's hand.

Not wanting to break his concentration, Salem and Yvonne didn't try to engage Jae Sun in conversation. He was already nervous and didn't need the distraction. Arturo, already aware of the appointment, didn't say anything when he came into the shop for the same reason. He and the other artists got their clients through their appointments for the day while leaving Jae Sun alone to work. Her ribs and hip were easily the worst parts and she had to ask for a break after he'd finished the section on her ribcage. She almost begged for a break when Jae Sun started working on her hip but she soldiered through and just squeezed Salem's hand. As predicted, the tattoo wound up taking Jae Sun all day to complete but once he was done, he breathed a sigh of relief and even smiled.

"You're done?" Salem asked.

"Yeah," Jae Sun said, "Holy shit; I did it." Salem stood to look at the finished product.

"Damn straight you did," Salem smiled. "Wait until you see it, Yvonne. You'll love it."

"Give me a second to recover," she said, still holding Salem's hand. Arturo came over as did the other artists.

"Hot damn; Jason, that looks fantastic," one of the artists said. Jae Sun had given up correcting that artist a long time ago and at the moment he was just basking in the accomplishment and beating this milestone.

"You did great, Jae Sun," Arturo praised and patted Jae Sun's shoulder.

"Okay, I want to see it now," Yvonne said and Salem helped her off the bed and to the mirror.

She had her dress up and her panties lowered on one side so she could see and it was exactly what she'd wanted. It was extremely colorful: there were flowers of all colors going up and down her side and throughout all those flowers were Polaroid pictures all of which she and Salem had either taken together or pictures she wanted. There was a picture of her towards the bottom from when she'd been twenty five weeks pregnant with Mae, there were three pictures of her and Salem together like the two of them lying on the beach together during their vacation in Florida, a picture of them in bed together without anything showing except their faces and a picture of them with their daughter Mae right after she'd been born. Another was a picture of Salem as a wolf and the one at the very top was a picture of Salem in his uniform when he'd first joined the Navy.

"Jae Sun, it's perfect," Yvonne smiled and finally dropped her dress so she could run to Jae Sun and give him a hug.

"You don't mind if I take a picture for my portfolio right?" Jae Sun asked, making sure he was being mindful of her tattoo when he hugged her back.

"Absolutely," she said and lifted her dress back up so they could take a few pictures for Jae Sun's and the shop's portfolio. He also took a picture that he planned to forward to Andy.

"Thanks for being my first human canvas, Yvonne. You've been really patient," Jae Sun said as he was applying the after care and bandaging.

"Hey, it was all worth it," Yvonne said. "I guarantee you'll get a slew of new clients thanks to this."

"I'm looking forward to it," Salem said and gave Yvonne a quick kiss. "Once you're ready, we'll go to mom's house and pick up Mae. See what she thinks about your new tattoo."

"She's not going to care," Yvonne said with a small laugh.

"She'll appreciate it once she's a little older," their other artist said. "So Jason, we'll be seeing more of you at the shop I hope?"

"Here's hoping," Jae Sun said.

They all finally closed shop and Salem and Yvonne went to the tribe to pick up Mae while Jae Sun made the long drive back to Seattle. Roshad and Jaedynn were on the couch watching TV together when he returned and, seeing that he was visibly exhausted, they only stayed long enough to ask how everything turned out. Poki clearly missed him and came to Jae Sun purring loudly and rubbing against his legs.

Before leaving, Roshad said, "The cat is a liar; he's been fed."

"Yeah, I know," Jae Sun answered with a groggy laugh and bent down to lift Poki into his arms. Poki continued his purring once Jae Sun was holding him. "Thanks for looking after Poki. How was he?"

"Annoying," Jaedynn answered bluntly but she was scratching Poki's chin. "We bought you more toilet paper. Poki tore up three rolls in the row despite having several perfectly good scratching posts."

"Just three?" Jae Sun asked and looked at Poki, "I'd say that's an improvement."

"Otherwise, he was good," Roshad said. "I brought some food for you and put it in your fridge, so it's ready for you when you are."

"I appreciate it," Jae Sun said.

Roshad and Jaedynn left so Jae Sun could finally go to bed. It wasn't until the next morning, but he noticed as he was brewing his coffee that Roshad and Jaedynn had cleaned up his apartment for him. He made a mental note to call them later and thank them properly. He cooked himself some rice, got out the kimchi Eun Mi had sent him home with most recently and cooked up a sunny side up egg for his breakfast. All the while, despite having put out Poki's food and it being gobbled down quickly, Poki hovered over Jae Sun as he cooked. He let Poki have a small piece of egg white as he was assembling his breakfast into a bowl and, taking his bowl with him so Poki wouldn't get it, stepped outside quickly to grab the newspaper and returned inside to read. As he was reading, he felt Poki's paw patting his forearm. He looked at Poki who was sitting on the chair beside him.

"What?" Jae Sun said and Poki's answer was a loud 'meow'. "I already fed you," Jae Sun said as he put down his paper to scratch behind Poki's ear and his chin. It distracted Poki enough that Jae Sun returned to eating his breakfast.

He lounged around the remainder of his Saturday using a piece of string to play with Poki. Sunday was used to do grocery shopping, get laundry done and mailed one of the pictures of Yvonne's tattoo out to Andy so he could see Jae Sun's first tattoo on human skin. Monday arrived and Jae Sun returned to work and business as usual. He also started planning out Christmas gifts and intended to go shopping Friday after work since he'd be working that Saturday. Then it was Thursday. He was at work hunched over a drawing table working on his assigned two minutes for the cartoon that was scheduled to premier Saturday morning before every artist in the building would start working overtime in preparation for not only the regularly scheduled programs but also the Christmas Special that would air on Christmas Eve.

"Jae Sun," Jae Sun looked up from his table at his manager, "your mother's on the phone. She said she needs to speak with you immediately; she sounds really upset." Jae Sun put down his pencil and went to the manager's office where Eun Mi was on hold.

"Mom? Is everything okay?" Jae Sun asked once he answered the phone.

"I just got a call from Yon. Tae Woon passed away," Eun Mi said, doing her best to relay the information as calmly as she possibly could. "Your father is already working on getting plane tickets. Tae Woon's funeral is this Sunday so we need to leave no later than tonight."

"Okay mom," Jae Sun mumbled, "Tell dad not to worry about buying my ticket. I'll pay for it."

"Let your father buy it then you can pay him back later. I want us all on the same flight," Eun Mi said.

"I'll go home and pack, so call my apartment once dad has the tickets and let me know what it costs so I can write him a check," Jae Sun said.

"I'll let your father know," Eun Mi said.

Jae Sun and Eun Mi ended their call and Jae Sun relayed to his manager that there was a family emergency and he needed to leave for Korea. Once he'd notified his boss, he grabbed what he needed and went back home as fast as he could to pack. He called Roshad and Jaedynn asking if they'd be willing to look after Poki for him while he was gone and they confirmed they'd take care of him. He received another call from Eun Mi an hour later to let him know JJ had bought all their tickets and to meet them at the airport. Roshad and Jaedynn affirmed they'd be at Jae Sun's house by that evening in time to feed Poki and would stop by his place frequently until he returned from Korea. He drove as fast as he could to the airport and they all met outside before going in to baggage claims and finally onto the plane.

"Mae Sun," Jae Sun asked, sitting next to his brother on the plane. Eun Mi and JJ were further in the back of the plane, Eun So, Hae Li and the twins were more so in the center of the plane while Mae Sun and Jae Sun were up front. "Did Grandma Yon say what happened?"

"She'd said he had gotten sick but it had seemed like just a cold; then he started getting sicker and by the time they saw a doctor, it had already progressed to pneumonia. He was given medicine for it and that seemed like it was helping, but then Grandpa was in bed taking a nap and just never woke up."

"How is grandma?"

"She was crying on the phone when she called mom," Mae Sun said. JJ looked over his shoulder toward the back of the plane at Eun Mi and JJ. She wasn't crying anymore but she was still visibly upset and JJ was doing what he could to comfort her.

"Does she have someone that can help her once we leave?" Jae Sun asked.

"We'll just have to ask," Mae Sun said. "It's a tiny farming community; I'm sure her neighbors will happily help her."

Jae Sun was quiet a moment before saying, "I guess we'll have to talk to her about it. After the funeral I mean."

"Yeah; after," Mae Sun agreed.

The flight was the longest 13 hours of their lives. They had to stop in Hawaii which took up about two hours then finally made it all the way to Seoul. Once they made it to Seoul, it was Saturday evening and Eun Mi helped JJ communicate with the dealers so they could rent a car. Then they loaded up and made the hour long drive out to the countryside. By the time they'd made it to their little house, it was midnight and they all felt like the walking dead. All the kids slept in one room while JJ and Eun Mi slept in their bedroom and Eun Mi was the first one awake and getting things ready for the day. She let everyone sleep off their jetlag while she walked to Yon's house just over 1 mile away. By the time she made it, there were already several people there bright and early with breakfast, rice wine and anything else they could bring to lift Yon's spirits. Once the first person noticed Eun Mi's arrival, it was spread to Yon who came to the entryway and hugged Eun Mi tight.

"I'm so sorry, Yon," Eun Mi said to her after they'd been hugging for several seconds. "I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner."

"You got here; that's what matters," Yon said and stepped back to rub her eyes, having started crying again once she saw Eun Mi. Then she looked at Eun Mi a moment and smiled gently. "You look beautiful, Eun Mi."

"What about you? How are you feeling?" Eun Mi asked.

"I miss him," Yon whimpered and started crying again, so Eun Mi took Yon back in her arms to comfort her. They went into the house after Eun Mi removed her shoes and sat together with the other mourners. Another two hours passed before JJ and the kids arrived at Yon's house and when Yon, really all the villagers, saw the boys – Jae Sun especially – they couldn't believe their eyes. Eun Mi waived them all to come to where she was sitting with Yon and when she saw them, she stood up and hugged all six of them. "널 너무보고 싶었어," (neol neomubogo sip-eoss-eo / I missed you all so much) Yon cried when she was hugging all the kids.

"우리도보고 싶었어 할머니," (ulidobogo sip-eoss-eo halmeoni / We missed you too, grandma) Jae Sun said.

"기분이 어떻습니까? 괜찮아?" (gibun-i eotteohseubnikka? Gwaenchanh-a? / How do you feel? Are you okay?) Eun So asked.

"할아버지가 그리워," (hal-abeojiga geuliwo / I just miss your grandpa) Yon said and looked at Jae Sun, Mae Sun, and Eun So who'd already shifted long before and had shot up in height for it while Hae Li was still under six feet at the moment despite also awakening to his wolf very recently. "당신은 모두 너무 커졌습니다! 재순, 당신은 당신의 아버지보다 키가 큽니다!" (dangsin-eun modu neomu keojyeossseubnida! Jae Sun, dangsin-eun dangsin-ui abeojiboda kiga keubnida! / You've all gotten so big! Jae Sun, you're taller than your father!)

"예, 할머니는 알고 있습니다. 당신의 도어 프레임은 도중에 내 머리를 부딪쳤다,"(ye, halmeonineun algo issseubnida. dangsin-ui do-eo peuleim-eun dojung-e nae meolileul budijchyeossda / Yes, grandma, I know; your door frame bumped my head on the way in) Jae Sun joked and Yon managed a small laugh. "배가 고파요? 나는 부엌에서 많은 음식을 보았다. 내가 가져와 줄까?" (baega gopayo? naneun bueok-eseo manh-eun eumsig-eul boassda. naega gajyeowa julkka? / Are you hungry? I saw a bunch of food in the kitchen. Do you want me to bring you anything?)

"괜찮습니다. 재순, 여러분은 음식에 오신 것을 환영합니다. 여행 후에 굶주리게 될 것입니다,"(gwaenchanhseubnida. Jae Sun, yeoleobun-eun eumsig-e osin geos-eul hwan-yeonghabnida. yeohaeng hue gulmjulige doel geos-ibnida / I'm alright, Jae Sun, but you're all welcome to some food. I'm sure you're starving after your trip) Yon said.

"난 괜찮아요, 할머니 걱정마," (nan gwaenchanh-ayo, halmeoni geogjeongma / I'm alright, grandma. Don't worry) Jae Sun said then looked at his siblings. "If you guys want anything, go help yourself okay?"

"Sure," they all affirmed and the twins went to the kitchen to see what was available and then reported back. Jae Sun stayed with Eun Mi, Yon and JJ while the others got themselves some breakfast before returning to the group.

The funeral was held that afternoon. Everyone that had come to Yon's house joined her to the cemetery where a shrine had been erect decades prior when their daughter had passed away. Tae Woon's ashes joined their daughter's within the shrine and, when it was her time, Yon's ashes would go in that shrine as well. Prayers were said, incense were burned and Yon wrote her husband's name in red on the piece of paper that was tucked within the shrine. Above Tae Woon's name was their daughter: Mun Bam. Now under that was Mun Tae Woon. After the funeral, they all returned to Yon's house where the food that had been brought was enjoyed by all the attendants while Yon thanked everyone for their support. Jae Sun gave Yon some space since she was likely overwhelmed by all the guests. He listened carefully to find out if anyone was offering her assistance. There was, of course, plenty of offers for making her food and visiting, but no one offering to help around the house, help with yard work or any other chores that needed doing. It irritated him at first but as he had a chance to really speak with the guests, it became apparent that while plenty of the villagers had children, most of them were firmly rooted in Seoul and were not likely to come back to this tiny farming town and drop everything to help on someone else's farm. The plane for the family was to leave Monday and be back in Washington by Tuesday, but Jae Sun didn't feel right about it.

"할머니?" (halmeoni? / Grandma?) Jae Sun said to her once she finally seemed to have received about five minutes alone.

"예, 재순?" (Ye/yes Jae Sun)

"누군가 도와 주었습니까? 나는 당신에게 음식을 가져다주는 것을 의미하지 않습니다. 집안일과 농장 일에 대한 실질적인 도움을 의미합니다." (nugunga dowa jueossseubnikka? naneun dangsin-ege eumsig-eul gajyeodajuneun geos-eul uimihaji anhseubnida. jib-an-ilgwa nongjang il-e daehan siljiljeog-in doum-eul uimihabnida / Has anyone offered you help? I don't mean bringing you food; I mean actual help with chores and farm work).

"도와 드릴게요,"(dowa deulilgeyo / I'll have help with it) Yon said.

"할머니," (halmeoni / Grandma) Jae Sun continued, "도움없이 당신을 여기에두고 싶지 않습니다. 나는 당신이 당신이 도움을 받는다는 말을 알고 있지만, 집을 정리하면서 집안일을 도와 줄 사람이 아니라 당신에게 말한 모든 사람의 말을 들었습니다." (doum-eobs-i dangsin-eul yeogiedugo sipji anhseubnida. naneun dangsin-i dangsin-i doum-eul badneundaneun mal-eul algo issjiman, jib-eul jeonglihamyeonseo jib-an-il-eul dowa jul salam-i anila dangsin-ege malhan modeun salam-ui mal-eul deul-eossseubnida. / I don't want to leave you here without help. I know you're saying you'll have help, but I listened to every person that spoke to you and not one offered to help you with chores, keeping the house in order: anything.)

"재순, 대부분의 이웃은 내 나이 이상입니다. 나는 그들의 땅을위한 그들 자신의 일과 함께 내 땅을 향해 더 많은 노동을하도록 요청할 수 없다." (Jae Sun, daebubun-ui ius-eun nae nai isang-ibnida. naneun geudeul-ui ttang-eul-wihan geudeul jasin-ui ilgwa hamkke nae ttang-eul hyanghae deo manh-eun nodong-eulhadolog yocheonghal su eobsda / Jae Sun, most of my neighbors are my age or older. I can't ask them to exert more labor towards my land along with their own work for their land)

"알아,"(al-a / I know) Jae Sun said, "그래서 내가 여기 와서 당신과 함께 있으면 가장 좋을 것 같아요." (geulaeseo naega yeogi waseo dangsingwa hamkke iss-eumyeon gajang joh-eul geos gat-ayo / So I think it would be best if I came here to stay with you)

"그렇게하라고 요청할 수 없습니다," (geuleohgehalago yocheonghal su eobs-seubnida / I can't ask you to do that)Yon said. "워싱턴에서 경력이 있습니다. 당신은 당신의 자신의 집이 있습니다. 난 당신이 나를 돕기 위해 갑자기 중간에 올 모든 것을 포기하지 않습니다." (wosingteon-eseo gyeonglyeog-i issseubnida. dangsin-eun dangsin-ui jasin-ui jib-i issseubnida. nan dangsin-i naleul dobgi wihae gabjagi jung-gan-e ol modeun geos-eul pogihaji anhseubnida / You have a career in Washington; you have your own home. I won't have you drop everything to come to the middle of nowhere to help me).

"뼈에 작용 한 수십 명의 애니메이터 중 하나라는 것은 거의 경력이 아닙니다," (ppyeoe jag-yong han susib myeong-ui aenimeiteo jung hanalaneun geos-eun geoui gyeonglyeog-i anibnida / Being one of dozens of animators worked to the bone is hardly a career) Jae Sun said, though he was just a little sad. Sure the hours could be insane, especially around holidays when they would have specials, but he loved it. Regardless, Yon needed his help more. "나는 내일 모두와 함께 집으로 돌아갈 것이지만 필요한 일을하고 돌아올 것입니다. 집과 농장에서해야 할 일을 말해 주시면 완료하겠습니다." (naneun naeil moduwa hamkke jib-eulo dol-agal geos-ijiman pil-yohan il-eulhago dol-aol geos-ibnida. jibgwa nongjang-eseohaeya hal il-eul malhae jusimyeon wanlyohagessseubnida / I'll return home with everyone tomorrow, but I'll do what I need to and come back. Just tell me what needs to be done around the house and on the farm and I'll get it done).

"재순, 농장을 운영하는 방법을 알고 있습니까?" (Jae Sun, nongjang-eul un-yeonghaneun bangbeob-eul algo issseubnikka? / Jae Sun, do you know how to run a farm?)

"알아낼 게요," (al-anael geyo / I'll figure it out) Jae Sun insisted. "할머니, 제발 난 당신을 여기 혼자두고 싶지 않아요." (halmeoni, jebal nan dangsin-eul yeogi honjadugo sipji anh-ayo / Please, grandma; I don't want to leave you here all by yourself.)

Yon wanted to object, but if she was honest with herself, she really did need all the help she could get. In recent years, she and Tae Woon had been having a lot of trouble keeping up with their work by sheer virtue of their age catching up with them. The idea of running the land herself was extremely daunting so Jae Sun's offer was tempting. She'd thought about perhaps selling the farm, but she wasn't confident she'd get anything close to what its value was. Most people were moving into the city; farmland that needed love and care was hardly marketable least of all for anyone that could actually afford to buy it.

"먼저 어머니와 아버지와 대화하십시오," (meonjeo eomeoniwa abeojiwa daehwahasibsio / Talk to your mother and father first) Yon said, "그들이 승인한다면-" (geudeul-i seung-inhandamyeon- / If they approve-).

"할머니의 승인이 필요 없습니다. 나는 성인입니다." (halmeoniui seung-in-i pil-yo eobs-seubnida. naneun seong-in-ibnida / I don't need approval, grandma. I'm an adult).

Yon smiled weakly, "나는 그것이 사실이라고 생각합니다. 주석 주전자를 혼자 가지고 다니는 것을 자랑스럽게 생각하는 어린 소년이었을 때도 아직도 기억합니다." (naneun geugeos-i sasil-ilago saeng-gaghabnida. juseog jujeonjaleul honja gajigo danineun geos-eul jalangseuleobge saeng-gaghaneun eolin sonyeon-ieoss-eul ttaedo ajigdo gieoghabnida / I suppose that's true. I still remember when you were just a little boy who was proud of himself for carrying a tin kettle all by himself).

"이제 깡통 주전자보다 더 많이 가지고 갈 게요," (ije kkangtong jujeonjaboda deo manh-i gajigo gal geyo / I'll carry a lot more than a tin kettle now)Jae Sun smiled and when Yon became misty eyed, he closed the distance and gave her a hug. "모든 것이 괜찮아요, 할머니 확인하겠습니다." (modeun geos-i gwaenchanh-ayo, halmeoni hwag-inhagessseubnida / Everything will be alright, grandma. I'll make sure of it).

"당신이 할 줄 알아," (dangsin-i hal jul al-a / I know you will) Yon said and patted Jae Sun's back.

After speaking with Yon, Jae Sun waited until all the guests had left before sitting down with JJ and Eun Mi letting them know he'd be moving to Korea to help Yon. JJ and Eun Mi weren't terribly surprised. If anything, Eun Mi had planned to ask Jae Sun if he was alright with doing so. The fact that he'd taken the initiative and offered of his own accord filled her with a deep sense of pride. Come Monday, Yon said goodbye to everyone but said to Jae Sun she'd see him again soon and then they all drove back into Seoul to catch their flight back to Washington. By the time Jae Sun returned home, he was exhausted. Roshad and Jaedynn weren't there but Poki was. He saw evidence that Roshad and Jaedynn had been to his place in the form of a cleaned litter box as well as a note from Roshad that said, "The cat's a liar: he was fed this morning," with that day's date and the time. It gave Jae Sun the laugh he desperately needed. Poki welcomed him home with loud meows and purrs and rubbing against his legs until Jae Sun picked him up and started scratching his chin. He took a look around his apartment and felt his shoulders slump. Helping his mother in her garden here and there was a far cry from what he'd be taking on but it had to be done. Jae Sun used the day to just be; enjoying being in his apartment with his cat drawing little sketches here and there for his little comic featuring Popo and Blu. When he returned to work the next day, he was welcomed back by his coworkers who asked how everything went, but he saved any mention of his move for when he spoke with his manager.

"When are you leaving?" his manager asked after Jae Sun requested to speak with the man privately.

"As soon as possible," Jae Sun said. "I need to make arrangements for Poki and what not and I need to get my things packed. My furniture I'll just sell except for Poki's cat stuff. If I can leave for Korea in the next two weeks, I'll consider that a win."

"Okay," his manager said, "do you think you could work until then? I know this is extremely difficult on you and I admire you for what you're doing but we do have a deadline to meet. I know it's asking a lot, but if you can get your times animated and done while we look for a new hire, it would be a huge help."

"That'll be fine so long as I have time to make arrangements for my move," Jae Sun said, "and thank you for understanding. I know this is sudden."

"Hey, I get it. Family first," his manager said. "I'm just sad to see you go; especially under these circumstances. You're a valuable member of the team. I don't relish the task of finding someone else."

"Thank you for saying," Jae Sun said with a weak smile. "I'll get everything done as fast as I can."

"Thank you, Jae Sun. It's been a pleasure working with you," his manager said, "and good luck to you. I know going from a city boy to a farmhand is quite a leap."

Jae Sun shrugged, "I'll make it work."

Jae Sun worked tirelessly both to get all his remaining assigned work drawn out both for the upcoming Saturday morning episode as well as the Christmas special and to make the arrangements for his move. Eun Mi did a lot to help him: scheduling a day for the movers, taking Poki to the vet to make sure he was current on his shots and would be able to travel with him, getting things packed, etc. While Eun Mi was extremely proud of him, she was sad the whole time she was packing his things and setting things up for him. She'd felt this sadness when he'd moved out of the house, but at the time, he was just going to the city. He was just a drive away. This time he was moving overseas. She couldn't pop in on him to check on him, make a giant batch of kimchi and bring it to him or call him just because she felt like it. Jae Sun bought his ticket back to Korea as soon as he could and the day before he was set to leave, he was given his final paycheck from work, his coworkers hosted a little party for him wishing him farewell and then he drove down to the tribe so he could say goodbye. It would be a while before he could see everyone again.

"Make sure you shift as often as possible so we can check on you," JJ instructed.

"I will," Jae Sun said. "I'm sure I'll be fine. You don't need to worry."

"You know that's not how this works," JJ said with a sad smile.

"Jae Sun," Salem said as he handed over a hardcover binder, "take this with you."

"What's this?"

"It's your portfolio," Salem said as Jae Sun was opening it. Yvonne's tattoo was front and center, but all the tattoos he'd applied to pig skin that came out really good were in the portfolio as well. "I don't know if there are people chomping at the bit for tattoos or not, but if there are, you've got a reference to prove you know what you're doing."

"Thanks, Uncle Salem," Jae Sun said. "I don't suspect I'll be able to but still good to have it. How's her tattoo healing?"

"All's normal," Salem said. "She's a little sore in spots but she's following the care instructions and it's healing great."

"Good to know," Jae Sun said. "How did Mae like it when she saw it?"

"I think she looked at it all of 30 seconds before she decided she wanted her dinner," Salem chuckled. "Don't let Mae's lack of enthusiasm discourage you. Yvonne loves how it turned out."

He made sure to talk to everyone that evening and anyone he missed was sure to come to him. As a going away present and an early birthday present, Eun Mi made Jae Sun's favorite Ox Bone stew for dinner. He returned home late at night to an empty apartment. Everything he needed to bring with him was packed in suitcases. Anything he couldn't take or didn't need had been sold or donated. He needed to be out of the apartment by 9 the next morning when the landlord would come to collect his key and turn off the lights and water. Poki was not adjusting very well to the drastic change. He'd started to notice Jae Sun getting rid of things and packing and it made Poki antsy and clingy. So when he returned home from his farewell party, Poki not only welcomed him at the door like he normally would but leaped into his arms.

"It's okay, Poki," Jae Sun said, "things will settle back down once we've moved."

Jae Sun sat down on the floor of his living room with his back to the wall. His mattress and bed frame were gone so he'd been sleeping on the floor since their removal. The next day, he woke up to Poki licking his face for his breakfast, so Jae Sun got Poki's food ready, put some food in his carrier as well as his favorite blanket, his favorite toy and a cushy pillow for comfort while a corner spot was reserved for pee and poop. Thankfully the carrier was enormous so there was plenty of room for Poki to distance himself from the litter and he put in plenty of baking soda to control the smell both for Poki's sake and the sake of anyone that would be nearby. The carrier he'd bought was big enough that Jae Sun decided it was easier to just buy two seats so Poki could be right by his feet; drastically more expensive, but easier. Once Poki was fed and in his carrier, Jae Sun gave the landlord his key, then he met his parents outside to help with his luggage and they drove him to the airport helping with his luggage and getting it to baggage claims.

"You'll call the moment you land, right?" JJ said.

"I will," Jae Sun said.

"No matter the hour, you call," Eun Mi said. "Thank you for doing this Jae Sun."

"I'm happy to do it," Jae Sun said. "Tell everyone again I said goodbye and I love them. I'll come home next chance I get okay?"

"We'll come visit you too," Eun Mi promised and made Jae Sun lean down so she could give him a kiss.

Jae Sun hugged both his parents and finally got all his carry-on luggage to the waiting area. He waited two hours before he could finally board the plane. Once he found his seat, he got Poki's carrier on the floor in front of the extra chair and did his best to sooth him. Poki had been meowing incessantly and he knew the other passengers' patience would only last so long. The longer it went on, Jae Sun could feel the other passengers' eyes on him getting annoyed with his cat. While he was leaned over trying to sooth Poki through the door of the carrier, he felt a little finger poke his shoulder and when he looked up, it was a little Korean boy.

"Is that your kitty, Mister?" the little boy asked.

"Yeah," Jae Sun said, "sorry if the noise is bugging you. He's never been on a plane before and he's really nervous."

"Can I pet your cat?" the little boy asked innocently and Jae Sun was hesitant. He wasn't sure Poki would like being petted by a stranger at the moment.

"I don't know if he'd like that right now. He's really anxious," Jae Sun said.

"Tommy," a woman's voice said in a commanding voice and the little boy looked at another Korean woman that was approaching. "Come on; we need to get to our seats."

"But Eomma, I want to pet the kitty," the little boy said.

"No, Tommy; we need to sit down," the woman said and bowed at Jae Sun. "Please forgive the trouble."

"Hey, it's no trouble," Jae Sun said pleasantly.

The little boy did as his mother said and went with her to their seats and another thirty minutes later, the plane finally took off. Poki became louder as the plane ascended so Jae Sun, desperate to keep Poki quiet, opened the cage, took a hold of Poki's scruff with another hand under his belly and lifted Poki into his arms to cuddle him. That finally calmed Poki down enough that he wasn't meowing so loud, but he was still making tiny noises in his chest. Jae Sun scratched Poki's chin and behind his ear and that thankfully seemed to help. Once the plane was in the air, Jae Sun took a deep breath of relief.

"Sir?" he looked up at a young woman with brown hair, "I'm so sorry, but your cat will need to return to his cage."

"Sorry," Jae Sun said, "I just want to make sure he's calm before I put him back."

"I understand, sir, but we can't have the cat out of his carrier and risk him walking freely through the plane. It's a hazard," the stewardess explained as politely as possible.

"I know; I'm sorry. I'll put him back in just a moment," Jae Sun said. The stewardess waited by Jae Sun's side until he finally gently put Poki back in his carrier.

The rest of the flight was, thankfully, mostly uneventful. The little boy came back once or twice really wanting to meet Poki but his mother was always quick to reprimand him and bring him back to their seats. When the Stewardesses were walking by taking people's orders, Jae Sun made sure to put more food in the little bowl in Poki's cage before the Stewardess got to him. When they had to stop in Hawaii to refuel, Jae Sun held Poki while descending and ascending again to calm him down and make sure he wasn't meowing so loud. The stewardess would come over to remind him to put Poki back in his cage but she remained very polite about it given the cat was clearly distressed otherwise. When they landed in Seoul, he suspected every passenger on that plane wanted to kick him off so he got off as fast as he possibly could. He got a trolley for all his luggage and Poki's carrier and went outside with all his luggage. He looked at all the taxis that were available but realized there was no way he'd get all his stuff in their car and get them to drive him all the way out to the boonies. So he went to find a phone and, firstly, called home to let them know he'd landed and was alright. Secondly, he called Yon's home to find out if anyone could come get him. She said she'd find someone and as fast as she could and to call back if there was no one there by noon. It was one in the morning at the time he called and Jae Sun groaned a little to himself. He planned everything but this it seemed. So he told Yon he'd stay the night at a hotel in Seoul and call her when he knew where he'd be and then someone could drive up to get him from the hotel.

Of course, when he arrived to the nearest hotel with a cat, he was turned away. He spent the better part of two hours walking up and down a few streets in Seoul looking for a hotel but no one would let him in because he had a cat with him. He wound up sitting on the side walk in front of one of those hotels like a homeless person. He considered for a moment renting a car back at the airport, but he didn't want to spend the extra money. So he picked a hotel, used a payphone to call Yon and let her know where he was and then sat by his luggage. It was absolutely freezing by most people's standards, but 10 degrees was nothing he wasn't used to. Poki, however, was obviously cold so Jae Sun took Poki out of the carrier and tucked Poki under his shirt to keep him warm. He waited several more hours before a large truck with a wooden bed behind it pulled up.

"Jae Sun?" Yon said and got out of the car as Jae Sun was standing, "how long were you out here?"

"A few hours," Jae Sun said. "I guess I should have figured hotels wouldn't allow cats."

"How have you not frozen to death?" Yon asked as she rubbed Jae Sun's arms through his heavy jacket.

"Come on, grandma, I come from hardier stock than that," Jae Sun joked.

"Thank goodness for that," Yon scolded. "I'll help you get your things in the truck."

"Do you mind if Poki's in the cab with us?"

"That's fine," Yon said and helped Jae Sun get his luggage into the back of the truck. Poki stayed cuddled under Jae Sun's shirt and jacket and once they were in the truck, Poki had his head rested on Jae Sun's chest and released a loud meow. Yon giggled, "Like mother like son."

"I hope it's okay that I brought Poki. I couldn't just leave him."

"It's alright, Jae Sun," Yon said. "I just hope Poki adjusts. He's not used to being a country cat is he?"

"He may have been born under our porch, but he's been an indoor cat since he was a kitten," Jae Sun said and pulled his collar forward so he could look down his shirt at Poki.

"Poki certainly has you prepared for kids," Yon teased.

"Let me worry about finding a girl first before you start demanding great grandchildren," Jae Sun smiled.

"Were you seeing anyone?" Yon asked.

"No," Jae Sun said, "not recently anyway."

"I can't believe it," Yon said, "a handsome young man like you I'm sure has ladies lined out the door."

"You're biased, grandma," Jae Sun smiled. "I don't get a lot of time to meet people. Last girl I was seeing, we were set up on a blind date by one of my coworkers."

"How long were you seeing her?"

"A few months," Jae Sun said, "but we weren't compatible. More importantly, grandma, how are you feeling? Have you gotten any help?"

"I still miss your grandpa," Yon said sorrowfully. "I've gotten some help from a few people but the farm is a little neglected at the moment."

"I'll get to work first thing tomorrow morning. Just let me know what to do," Jae Sun said.

"Thank you again for coming to stay with me. I know this is a huge disruption but-"

"Nonsense, grandma; it's no disruption," Jae Sun insisted. "Just let me know what you need done and I'll get to work."

"Thank you," Yon said with a light smile. When she reached a stop light, she reached over to touch his cheek so he'd look at her. "You're so much like your mother."

"I try to be," Jae Sun answered.

After that was the hour long drive into the country. Jae Sun slept through most of it and Yon stayed quiet so he could sleep. She brought Jae Sun to the house his parents owned and helped him get all his bags inside. He assured he could stay at her house but she swore that wasn't necessary. He was only helping her work the farm, she reasoned. She was not in such poor health to require constant monitoring. So Jae Sun relented and agreed he'd stay in his parents' house. Poki was extremely apprehensive of the new space but he sniffed around trying to get accustomed. Jae Sun set up all Poki's cat towers, his favorite cubby bed complete with his blanket, a basket that held his toys and several cat tower scratching posts. Even with that, it took Poki several days to finally get comfortable and move around the house freely. When he started eating normally, wandering around the house jumping on furniture and returned to his usual beggar self – pestering him for food and attention when Jae Sun was trying to eat his breakfast – he knew Poki was finally comfortable.

In the meantime, the winter weather allowed for Jae Sun to start rather slow with farm work. Jae Sun already knew his way around the care for a chicken coop, so he took care of that while Yon tended to the ducks she had. Once the animals were tended to, they shifted their attention to the garden. Compared to Eun Mi's little patch in their backyard, Yon's garden was enormous. It stretched for a full mile and included patches and rows of all sorts of winter vegetables. There were several rows of vegetables Jae Sun was very familiar with while there were rows of vegetables he was not familiar with. He was surprised to find out she'd started growing potatoes which Jae Sun was looking forward to harvesting. Lastly, he met their Ox – she was young, less than five, and she was currently tucked away in a hut staying warm and out of the cold. Yon and Jae Sun took her out so she could move around and graze if she pleased, giving her about three hours to roam around before they returned her to the hut for warmth. By the afternoon, all the work was done which Yon was very grateful for. It had been a long time since she and Tae Woon had been able to get farm work done with such efficiency. While Jae Sun still had a lot to learn, she was confident he'd be invaluable.

Come January, Caleb and Ashley finally bought themselves a house. It was a single family home locked in Forks so they were both close to work, but would still be able to send their kids to the tribe for schooling once the time came. They moved themselves in together with the help of family and once they were settled, Caleb and Ashley went to Kyle so they could receive their moon ceremony. Once their cycle of the moon was determined, they set their date for February as planned so as to give family a chance to make arrangements to be there. Namely, Evalynn and Levi. Once they got the news, they made their instructors and, in Levi's case, his employer aware and made the arrangements to fly out to Washington for the wedding.

"Cheers to your baby brother getting married!" Lady Marmalade cheered and they all rose their glasses together before taking a gulp. "So when's your turn old gal?" The whole group laughed as did Evalynn.

"Probably never," Evalynn said with a shrug and a light smile. "Besides, I've got better things to do than worry about dating much less getting married."

"Says the woman still sobbing over Caroline," Jessie teased and Evalynn hit her arm.

"Hey, I'm not sobbing," Evalynn said, "things didn't work out; life goes on. Sure I miss what we had but I'm not crying over it. We're still friends and that's what matters."

"That's the spirit!" Fran Tier cheered.

"It's easy to move on when there's take out on the menu every other night," Jessie said lifting her brows suggestively and everyone laughed. "So if you need a date to this wedding, I'm happy to join you."

"No, no, I'm not bringing a date. My cousin Levi can be my date. Last thing I want is to try explaining our relationship to people."

"Just say we're fuck buddies; it's not a lie," Jessie laughed and so did Evalynn.

"I'll pass," Evalynn said and sipped her drink, "but don't worry. I'll only be gone for a few days. You'll barely have time to miss me."

"Do you know what you're going to wear?" Susie Q asked.

"It's a beach wedding, so nothing too fancy," Evalynn said. "We'll probably all be wearing jeans and t-shirts to be honest."

"That would never fly at my wedding, girl," Lady Marmalade said.

"I'll tell you what: when you get married, I'll wear a ball gown," Evalynn said.

"I'm holding you to it," Lady Marmalade said and they clinked their drinks together.

All through this time, Ahiga was trying his best to take Edward's advice. Find a hobby or passion. He didn't even know where to start at first. However, he'd done what Edward said and went to Forks and just wandered around over the weekend. He felt really stupid as he did it. He'd been in and out of Forks since he started working for the lumber mill. He was always focused on his tasks and, given the hands on labor involved, there wasn't always much time to just talk to his coworkers outside of their lunch breaks and even then, nothing they talked about really interested him all that much. He would try watching the same TV shows they did, but they usually just bored him. Even if he found entertainment, all it offered him was the ability to contribute to conversations with his coworkers. He started going out for drinks with his coworkers after work here and there, but it was much the same as when they were on their lunch breaks: he just felt like an outsider. It started to wear on him but with Edward's and Nesia's encouragement, he kept going out just to be alone. By the time the holidays had come along, he'd felt more discouraged than ever and he didn't really interact with anyone during Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Shortly after Christmas, Ahiga had gone up to Port Angeles to be alone. This time it really had been just a need to be alone. He'd continued seeing Edward twice a week and while he'd gotten much better about not snapping at Nesia, the alternative was he was just quiet and clearly depressed. It was starting to scare Nesia a lot. She was stressed and it was making him stressed. He was stressed at work, the hard labor wore him down and he felt like he was always on edge. She had asked him a simple, unassuming question: "How was work today?" His response had been, "What does it fucking matter?" and he regretted it the moment the words left his lips. He just stared at Nesia realizing he'd clearly hurt her feelings. He apologized to her profusely but it wasn't good enough; not to him anyway. Nesia had assured it was okay, but it wasn't. It just wasn't. He'd told Nesia he needed to take a walk and clear his head. It turned into him getting into his car and driving up to Port Angeles. He drove through the streets until he found an empty parking lot to a store that was closed and once he was parked, he just started crying. "She's too good for you," he thought to himself over and over again. Barka's words started to ring in his ear. Bastard son. Bastard son. All you are is the bastard son. Just like that, he started getting angry. Really angry. He stopped crying and lifted his head and when he did, across the street was a gym. It had an Open sign in the door and from his car he could see that it specialized in fighting listing several styles that they trained in: boxing, kick boxing, wrestling and more.

Ahiga got out of his car and went across the street to the gym. Then he let himself inside and there were a few men there practicing their own thing. One guy was in the corner punching a large bag hanging in front of him, there was a fighting ring to one side in which there were two guys boxing and a group surrounding them waiting for their turn and there were weight lifting machines at the other end. There was a door that, from what he could tell, led to a completely different room that had a piece of paper up saying 'Wrestling Practice in Progress'. He returned his attention to the ring when he heard a particularly loud punching sound and realized the sound was from the gloves hitting each other. Their match ended a few seconds later than an older guy stepped up presenting the combatants and lifted one guy's arm up announcing he was the winner and there was a round of applause from the others. He overheard that same guy tell the fighters to give him a minute and return to practice before he got out of the ring and approached Ahiga. The man was older – probably in his fifties – and he was a grizzled kind of guy to say the least. He was wearing blue jeans and a white sweatshirt with U.S. Army written across the front.

"Can I help you, kid?" that man asked once he approached Ahiga.

"I don't really know. I saw this place across the street and just wanted to come in," Ahiga said.

"We're not a department store, kid. Nothing for you to really browse."

"No, I know," Ahiga said. "It was a bit of a rough night."

"Yeah, I can tell: your eyes are still red," the man said. "Sorry but this isn't the place to come crying about your problems either."

"All I've done the past few months is cry about my fucking problems. Hasn't done me any good," Ahiga said.

"Crying never fixes shit, kid," the man said. There was a silence that passed before he finally offered a hand and said, "Name's Eugene Wallace."

Ahiga accepted his hand, "Ahiga Washington."

"Nice to meet you Ahiga," Eugene said. "Thursday nights are usually reserved for training, same with Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons, but I'll make an exception this time. You look like you have a lot on your mind so I'll comp you today. Go ahead and beat the shit out of them punching bags over there to your heart's content. They can take a lot. If this helped you, feel free to come back and I'll give you our schedules when you can come in. It's $4 per visit or you can sign up for our membership which would charge you monthly. All up to you. For today, just take a deep breath and unwind."

"Thanks, Mr. Wallace," Ahiga said.

"Just call me Boss, kid," Eugene said and then walked away returning to the ring.

Ahiga went to the back where all the punching bags were. At first he didn't really know what to do with himself. He glanced at the guy that was there before him but he was taking a break now. So he just looked at the bag and threw a punch as hard as he could. The bag was much firmer than he expected but it went back from his punch. He grabbed it when it swung back at him and he realized that had felt really good to do. So he did it again. He punched the bag as hard as he could, then again and again and again.

"That bag owe you money or something?" the guy to Ahiga's left said. It was then that Ahiga realized he'd been effectively wailing on this bag for about three straight minutes in a fury.

"Sorry. Just a bad day," Ahiga said.

"Don't be sorry. But if you keep punching like that, you're just going to injure yourself," the man said.

"How was I punching it?"

"Like a madman," he answered and stood back in front of his own bag. "You don't wail on something. It just gets you tired and opens you up to get your ass whopped once you run out of fuel. When you throw a punch, you do it with purpose and you mean it. Watch me."

Ahiga paid close attention as the man got into position. First thing he noticed was the man's stance. His hips were turned to the side with his feet about a foot and a half apart (his right foot furthest away from the punching bag with his left foot closest) and his knees slightly bent with his head facing the punching back and his arms bent and close to his sides, his chin tucked down and his fists level with his chin. He also noticed the man wasn't clenching his firsts. Instead, his fingers were curled but not enough that the tips of his fingers were pressing into his palm. Ahiga could see the man's palms and his knuckled were wrapped for protection.

"You see how I'm standing?" the man asked and Ahiga nodded. "Now focus on how I've got my hands. You don't want your firsts in a ball: it just weakens your punch and makes it more likely you'll injure yourself. Have your fists like this," the man twitched his fists for emphasis, "and it'll put more force behind your punch while alleviating any strain on your hand." The man then proceeded to throw a few punches and, indeed, they were more controlled and calculated and his posture was much, much better. He moved his feet in accordance with the punches he was throwing but also like he was trying to move away then come right back to the bag to throw another punch. "When you throw your punch," he went on the explain and then straightened his arm keeping it extended, "you keep your feet facing the direction I've got them in now and move your hips. Footwork is extremely important and it'll offer your punch more force. And you position yourself based on your dominant hand. I'm right handed, so my right hand will be in the back like I have it now." Ahiga looked at the man's right arm which was tucked near his chest with his fist at chin level. "So if your right handed, your left hand will be in the lead and your right hand will be tucked back."

"Okay," Ahiga nodded.

"So your arm will straighten like I've got it now, but you need to retract as fast as possible. No lazy punches or you'll just open yourself up for an attack," the man explained and threw a few more punches for demonstration. "Got it?"

"Yeah, I think I do," Ahiga said and got himself into position with his left hand leading. He realized his hands were balled, so he took a second to unfurl his fingers. The man walked around so he could see Ahiga's form.

"Feet a bit further apart," he instructed and Ahiga did as directed, "now bend your knees slightly." Ahiga did as instructed. "Now let's see what you've got." Ahiga nodded before throwing a few punches. He was right: keeping his fingers unfurled as he threw his punches was dramatically more comfortable.

"Much better," the man said after Ahiga threw a few hits, "but you're still really tense. Don't punch with just muscle. Use your feet and hip movement to gain momentum behind. Watch me." The man returned to the other bag, got into position and started punching, twisting his feet with each punch. "Try again."

Ahiga did just that and started moving his feet and hips as he punched. Once he started, he didn't stop for several minutes. He felt focused and in control; he loved it. He didn't stop until he got a little tired and when he did stop, only then did he realize the guy had walked back around to keep an eye on his form and the man clapped.

"That was much better," the man said. Ahiga smiled a little as he was taking a few deep breaths. "How about a match?"

"Sure," Ahiga answered. The man smiled and patted Ahiga's shoulder while leading him away from the bags and to the ring.

"Hey Boss!" the man yelled.

"What?!" Eugene, or Boss, yelled back having been interrupted from a discussion with one of the boxers.

"I've got a combatant; can I use the ring?"

"Go ahead!" Boss yelled and returned to his conversation.

Ahiga got in the ring with the guy, who before they fought finally introduced himself as Freddie – a fair haired guy that was muscular but lean above all else, and was given boxing gloves, a head guard and a spare pair of teeth guards. Freddie explained to Ahiga that since he was wearing gloves to make sure to tighten his hand around the cushions of the glove for better control. Boss came into the ring staying in one corner and once Ahiga was in the correct position, a tiny bell was rung and the fight began. Ahiga threw the first punch, getting too eager, and Freddie was able to land a punch to his side. Ahiga needed a second to recover and from there proceeded more cautiously. Freddie eventually threw a punch and Ahiga did the same, both of them landing hits on one another to the face and shoulder. Freddie started backing away and Ahiga followed cautiously, breaking stance at one point which Freddie tried to take advantage of. Ahiga caught himself in time to defend himself and throw a punch to Freddie's side. There was no room between them for a few seconds and they both held defensive stances waiting for the other to break so they could strike. Ahiga's impatience got the best of him and he tried to hit, but Freddie caught him and got an upper cut on Ahiga. Ahiga quickly recovered and returned to proper stance and started hitting. The match lasted three minutes, far too long for any professional match, but Boss was observing. At the three minute mark, he rang the bell and they both stopped.

"You did good for your first time," Freddie said, out of breath.

"Thanks," Ahiga said and Boss approached them. He took both their hands presenting them to the group and then lifted Freddie's arm to indicate he was the victor and the men in the group clapped.

"Good fight, newbie," one guy said. Boss put down their arms and told Freddie to get back to his prior exercises.

"Let's get out of the ring," Boss said. "George, Hank! You two spar!" Boss led Ahiga out of the ring while George and Hank entered and put on their equipment to start fighting. Once they were out, Boss said, "Have you ever boxed before, kid?"

"Not like that, no," Ahiga said.

"That wasn't half bad for a newbie," Boss said. "You've got spunk; I like that. Some trainers focus too much on making their boys physically strong but they can't move for shit; too fucking muscular. Lean and fast is the way to go. How did you enjoy your first fight?"

"I liked it a lot," Ahiga said, and really he had. It had been exhilarating and fun. "Freddie was nice enough to show me how to stand."

"Freddie's a good instructor type," Boss said. "He's got a hell of a lot more patience than I do."

"Well, thank you for letting us fight," Ahiga said.

"It was a pleasure to watch," Boss said. "Do you think you'll be coming back?"

"Definitely," Ahiga said and pulled off the head guard and gloves, "how much for that monthly rate you mentioned?"

"It's $15 a month," Boss said.

"Okay, I can do that," Ahiga said. "Do you have actual boxing classes that I could attend?"

"Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday," Boss said. "Freddie teaches those classes; one of my best fighters. Won himself a Gold Medal this year in the local tournament so you'll be in very good hands."

"So all the guys here compete?"

"Sure do," Boss said. "Our customers are always given advance notice so if you want to come watch the fight, you get a little discount on your entry tickets."

"Sounds great," Ahiga said. "So how do I sign up for that membership?"

"Let's go to my office," Boss said and led Ahiga to a room further back behind the ring.

Since it was the beginning of the month, Ahiga was able to pay just that month's fee for membership and Boss confirmed he'd get a notice in the mail when a payment was due and he could either mail the check or provide it in person, whichever was easier for him. After everything was set and done, Ahiga stayed another hour wanting to watch the other guys spar. There were seven in total, all of varying heights and builds. He got a chance to speak with Freddie a moment and let him know he'd be joining the classes starting Monday. When he finally left and got in his car, he actually released a contented sigh. He felt better than he had in months. He glanced at the clock and realized he'd been gone well over three hours and suddenly his spirits fell again. Nesia was probably worried sick about him. So he went back inside and asked Boss if he could burrow his phone to call home and Boss gave the okay. He kept the door to Boss's office ajar and dialed the number to the house.

"Hello?" Nesia answered. It was clear from her voice she'd been crying earlier.

"Hey," Ahiga said, "I'm really sorry about earlier."

"Where are you?" she asked frantically.

"I'm up in Port Angeles," Ahiga said. "I just needed to get out and I was driving around town for a bit."

"For a bit? Ahiga, you said you were going to a walk! Then I hear you driving away, you're gone for over three hours; you scared the hell out of me!" Nesia yelled. Her reaction took him by surprise. He knew she was upset but she'd never yelled at him over it before, although realistically he deserved it.

"I know and I'm really sorry. I just wanted to call you and let you know I'm okay and I'm on my way home," Ahiga said.

"Okay," Nesia said after taking a deep breath. "Okay. I'll see you when you get home."

"I love you," Ahiga said.

"I love you too," she answered without hesitation, though there was that hiccup in her voice from her previous crying. They hung up and Ahiga walked out of Boss's office and went back to his car outside to drive home. Once he'd returned, the lights were still on in the house and when he stepped inside, Nesia was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and she looked up at him when he entered.

"Hey," Ahiga said weakly as he took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack. Nesia didn't say anything. It seemed as though she was doing her best not to be angry. Right now, she just looked hurt. "I'm really sorry."

"Where were you?" Nesia asked.

"Port Angeles," he answered again then continued, "once I got to the city, I just found a place to park and started crying." Nesia didn't really respond. She just looked down at her coffee cup. Ahiga walked over to the kitchen table and took a seat beside her. "I didn't mean to snap at you earlier. I regretted it the moment I said it and I had to get out of the house."

A tear fell from her eye that she brushed away, "I don't know what to do anymore, Ahiga. I've tried everything I can think but it's not helping. I feel like I'm losing you."

"You're not, Nesia," Ahiga insisted and went to his knees on the floor in front of her, "you could never lose me, Nesia. You're the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I love you." Nesia started crying again and covered her eyes with her hand. Ahiga put his hands on her knees. "Nesia, please don't cry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything."

"I know you are," Nesia managed. "I know you're sorry and I know you aren't trying to be hurtful. I know but.."

"Come here," he said gently and went up on his knees so he could wrap his arms around her waist and Nesia followed, wrapping her arms around his neck, tucking her face into his shirt and following him onto the floor. Ahiga lifted her legs in his arm so he could adjust to sit cross legged on the floor and rested her in his lap. "I really am sorry. I know you've heard that from me a lot but it's the only thing I can say, but I think I may have finally found something I can do." Ahiga reached into his back pocket and pulled out the schedule, receipt and terms and conditions from his membership to the gym in Port Angeles and presented it to her.

"What is this?" she asked.

"I told you I parked somewhere and had cried right? The whole time I kept thinking about how I'd spoken to you and I felt horrible. Then I started thinking about dad and it made me angry. Then I noticed this gym across the street from where I was parked so I walked in. I started hitting a punching bag, this guy showed me a proper boxing stance and we had a fight in the ring the gym has. It was amazing! I felt this spark and three hours flew by like they were nothing just from me fighting and watching the other guys there box. I think I finally found a passion just like Edward said! That guy I spared with teaches boxing three days a week so I decided I'd sign up."

"You're going to take boxing courses?" Nesia asked.

"Yeah," Ahiga said, "I think it'll be great for me." Nesia watched Ahiga as he'd talked about his night and there was an excitement in his eyes that she wasn't sure she'd ever seen before. She took the papers in Ahiga's hand to get a better look and read through everything. There was a class list with a bunch of teacher's names for boxing, kick boxing and wrestling.

"So you're going to start going to Port Angeles after work three times a week?" Nesia asked.

"Yeah," Ahiga said. "While I was there, Nesia, I felt amazing. I had a great time and I was able to just punch away my frustration." Nesia looked at all the papers again and glanced at the address on the paperwork. She didn't recognize the area off the top of her head.

"I guess it doesn't hurt to try," Nesia finally said. Ahiga hugged her tighter and she tucked her head under his chin as he did.

"I promise, Nesia, I swear I'm trying," Ahiga said. "I love you so much and I really want to be better. I'll never be able to repay you for how patient you've been but I want to try."

"I just want you to be happy, Ahiga," Nesia said as she started sobbing again. "You've been so unhappy and I didn't know what to do about it."

"It was never you, Nesia, it was always me," Ahiga said and started rocking back and forth. "It was my demons, my problems that were making me unhappy. It wasn't you. It was never you. I'm the one that was making you unhappy and I'll never be able to forgive myself for that. I want to finally make it right." Nesia kept crying into Ahiga's shoulder and he continued rocking back and forth with her on the floor soothingly.

Eventually, she stopped crying long enough to say, "Just promise you'll never do that again okay? Please don't leave the house suddenly like that anymore. Every time you do, it makes me feel like one of these days you won't come back."

"I'll always come back, Nesia," Ahiga said, "You never have to worry about that, I promise. I love you, Nesia. I just want to be the man you deserve. I don't want to feel worthless anymore."

"Ahiga, you're not worthless," Nesia whimpered. "I just want you to see what I see when I look at you."

"I want to see it too," Ahiga answered.

Nesia started to cry anew and Ahiga lifted her in his arms as he stood up from the floor and carried her upstairs. They'd both had a very long night and by this point, it was time to go to bed. He kicked off his shoes before getting the both of them in bed under the covers never bothering to change out of their clothes. He knew he must stink from all the sweating he'd done, but Nesia didn't say a word about it as she snuggled up to him in their bed. The next morning, desperate to apologize for the previous night, Ahiga made Nesia a big pancake breakfast with coffee and a side of cream and maple syrup that he had ready on the table when she came downstairs. He even fed the cats, cleaned their litter box and cleaned up the kitchen and dishes so that when Nesia came downstairs, all she had to do was enjoy her breakfast.

"I know this doesn't count for much-"

"Don't say that; this means a lot," Nesia interrupted and put her hand on his on the table. Ahiga smiled back at her and brought her hand to his lips to give it a kiss.

Before they could start eating, there was a knock at the door and when Ahiga went to answer it, there was Haseya who, at first, looked relieved to see him, but immediately looked extremely upset and demanded he come outside so they could talk. She proceeded to scold him for several minutes about Nesia calling her crying asking if she knew where he was. Ahiga told her about what happened, where he'd gone and about the gym he'd found. He told her about his plan to start going three times a week hoping it would help him and Haseya was extremely supportive of the endeavor; she was supportive of anything that would help him. Ahiga would suffer night terrors before, but it had never been this bad. So anything that helped make them stop was okay in her book.

And so Ahiga started a new routine. He would go to the gym after work three times a week and the two days he didn't go, he would have his usual sessions with Edward. So every night he was returning home late. However it wasn't long before Nesia didn't mind it at all. He would usually come home to grab something to eat and get his gym bag with the gear he'd bought but if he had an especially bad nightmare, he would take his gym bag with him and call Nesia after work to let her know he was going straight to the gym and by the time he'd finished his class, he would feel leagues better. Edward was thrilled with Ahiga's progress, especially when he reported he wasn't getting nightmares as much as he used to. He still did from time to time, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before. He started to have a much better control over his temper and he stopped snapping at Nesia altogether.

For Nesia, though, the best side effect of all came one night after he'd been going to this class for about three weeks. He'd stopped back home to get something to eat, given her a kiss before he left and promised he'd be back in a few hours. Much later that night, she was in bed going over some tests that her class had taken that day making corrections and grading when Ahiga came back home, his shirt practically soaked through with sweat.

"How'd class go today?" she asked when he came in.

"Great," Ahiga smiled, "I got to spar with Freddie tonight and I even won a round!"

"That's fantastic!" Nesia replied with a smile.

"He said he would be sparing with me directly from now on," Ahiga said with excitement as he kicked off his shoes and approached the bed. He plopped into bed, sweaty clothes and all, and sighed. Nesia rubbed his arm affectionately, feeling the muscle that was becoming more and more pronounced.

"Have you lost weight?"

"According to the scale, just a pound, but I've gone down one notch on my belt. Whatever I'm losing in fat I've gained in muscle," Ahiga said. "I feel better than I did when I used to fly all the time."

"I'm glad to hear it," Nesia said, continuing to rub his arm. "Have any of your coworkers said anything?"

"They don't notice when their wives change their hair, babe. They aren't going to notice me losing weight," Ahiga chuckled. "Besides, they're hardly the ones who's opinion I care about." He opened his eyes so they were looking at one another and then shifted so he was on his side facing her. "Why are you so beautiful tonight?" he asked and Nesia giggled.

"I don't know," she said. Ahiga came closer to her until he was sitting up against the headboard beside her and wrapped his arm around her while his other hand went to her bare knee.

"Can you take a break?" he asked, glancing briefly at the tests in front of her and then back at her.

"I need to get these graded for tomorrow; I really should work on them," Nesia said, but by now Ahiga was already kissing her neck and it was making her tremble. It had felt like forever since the last time he'd touched her like this. Between the night terrors, his mood swings and the depression it had all brought on him, he'd barely kissed her much less initiated any intimacy.

"Am I distracting you?" he asked playfully as his hands started to trail down her inner thigh. All she could do was nod, but she also started spreading her legs to allow him access with a soft moan. The tests in her lap and her pen fell to the floor and Ahiga used his arm around her shoulder to guide her to lay down on the bed. He came up a little so he was hovering over her as he was kissing her neck.

Her hands went to his damp shirt and she started tugging at it, trying to get it off. Ahiga helped pull off his shirt and toss it to one side before immediately returning to kissing her neck then moving to her shoulder and the slight elevation of her clavicle bone under her skin. He began trailing his tongue over the line until her reached the base of her neck where the bones met then starting a heated trail up her neck. He kissed under her chin, directly on her chin and under her lip before he finally kissed her lips which instantly became passionate. He poked out his tongue against her lips and she instantly opened for him so their tongues met as they kissed.

His hand finally reached between her legs so he could rub his fingers over her core that was still obstructed by her panties. Seconds after he rubbed his fingers over her core, he lifted his hand further up her midriff so he could then slipped his hand under the fabric of her panties. His fingers rubbed over her clitoris first, making her moan, then trailed further until he could slip his fingers inside her. She moaned again louder this time as his fingers started to thrust in and out of her. Nesia trailed her hands over his chest. His skin was grimy from all the dried sweat from his workout but there was something so erotic about it. His nipples were at attention against her touch and he groaned into their kiss. She started moving her hands further down until she reached his gym shorts. The elastic was what kept his shorts up so she was able to easily slip her hands inside them to take a hold of his erection. She began to stroke it and he thrust his hips forward into her hands. Her right hand continued stroking his erection while her left hand went further to cup his balls.

"Fuck, Nesia," he moaned against her lips and then took his arm out from under her so he could lift her oversized night shirt to reveal her naked breasts. Once they were uncovered, Ahiga went down to take a nipple in his mouth which he started sucking and twirling his tongue around sensually.

Nesia continued to touch Ahiga as he was sucking on her nipple. Then he turned his attention straight to her other breast giving it the same treatment. He kept moving his hips into her hand all while his fingers continued to move inside her. Then he sat up on his knees with her legs up him. He pulled off her shirt and tossed it aside, then he pulled her panties down after which he grabbed her right leg and lifted and bent it so her leg was removed from her panties and out from under him. He moved her leg over so her hips were twisted onto her side while her back stayed planted on the bed so she was looking up at him. He bent down to kiss her hip and thigh and even bit her which made her start giggling. Then she moaned through that laughter when his kisses and nips had brought him to her vaginal lips where he licked her. He nipped her hip again before he came back up. He pulled his gym shorts down so his erection sprang out which Nesia grabbed a hold of and started stroking. His left hand went on her hip rubbing her tenderly while his right hand grabbed her breast with the same tenderness.

"I'm sorry to interrupt the mood, but do you think it would be safe to go without a condom?" he asked.

"It was end of December," Nesia answered, "so according to my calendar it's safe."

"Great," he said and came down to give her a loving kiss as he was guiding his erection to her entrance. She started trembling just from the pressure of the head of his dick pressing against her. He pressed his tongue through her lips just as he slipped inside her. When he did, Nesia moaned louder through their kiss than she had at any other time during their coupling.

"Ahiga," she moaned his name through their kiss and was silenced when Ahiga deepened their kiss again.

He started to thrust, but it was slow at first. He wanted to savor the feel of her warm, wet flesh around him. However, it wasn't long before he could no longer continue the slow pace and instead came back up, his left hand still on her hips while his right hand held her breast, then started to move with more speed and force. He built up a little bit at a time, at first going just a little faster than he'd been going when he was hunched over her. But then she started to moan and it encouraged him to go faster and harder. The more she cried with pleasure, the harder he went until the sound of the mattress squeaking under them and the headboard slamming against the wall filled the room, but Nesia didn't care. The bed frame could collapse under them and she wouldn't have cared in the least. She was enveloped with the intense pleasure of his vigor and passion that she'd missed so much.

He did eventually slow down after nearly a minute of continuous humping, but for it seemed to go by in an instant and right away Nesia wanted more. She ran her left hand up his arm while her right hand rested over his that held her breast. She moaned his name, begging him to keep going and just like that, he returned to his previous powerful strokes, nearly making her scream. Once again, he lasted for nearly a minute long burst of energy before he slowed his movements again and this time when he slowed down, Nesia used her leg to push him onto his back. He fell out of her and she got up on the bed so she could then straddle his hips. She guided his erection back inside her, planted her hands on his defined pectoral muscles and started to bounce her hips up and down on him. His hands grabbed at the rounded flesh of her ass guiding her movements so that she was going just as hard as he had.

At one point he pulled her down so her body was on his chest and gripped her ass tighter as he took over once again. Nesia brought a hand up against the headboard so she would remain stationary under Ahiga's assault. But then Ahiga slowed down again. He wanted this to last as long as possible. So he tossed Nesia off him suddenly so she was on her back and then came back over dipping his head between her legs proceeding to run his tongue over her entrance. Nesia shivered and provided the same moans of approval as his tongue made its up over her slit up to her clitoris which he swirled around. Nesia ran her fingers through his short hair that was a little greasy. He needed a shower bad, but right now she wanted him to stay where he was. He brought a hand around so as to slip two fingers inside her to simulate his dick inside her and made her cry out again. Her body clenched and tightened with each stroke of his fingers and tongue until she reached her peak and convulsed from her orgasm. Her core became impossibly tighter and the fine line between intense pleasure and cramping came together. Ahiga groaned against her flesh when he felt her body contract in waves and he didn't stop what he was doing until the last of the convulsions passed.

"Ahiga," Nesia moaned and whimpered at the same time.

"Did that feel good, Nesia?" he asked with a smug smirk on his face.

"Yes," Nesia answered, "Oh, Ahiga that was incredible."

"We're not done yet, babe," Ahiga said in a low, sultry voice as he sat back again and grabbed her legs.

He moved so that he was off the bed and standing while Nesia was laid down, her hips just off the edge of the bed with only Ahiga's hands keeping her upward. He positioned her so that her calves rested on his shoulders and pressed his balled fists into the mattress before he began to thrust again, this time start off with going hard and fast. This time Nesia was practically screaming. She was still tender and sensitive and the feel of his dick so hard and fast made her feel delirious. Her mind went back and all she could do was feel. She felt yet another orgasm start to build and she reached between her legs to touch herself and encourage the release to come sooner. Ahiga swore under his breath and started to move impossibly fast.

"That's it, Nesia," he said in a gruff voice strained from hard breathing, "Cum for me, baby. Cum on my cock."

For some reason, something about what he'd said and how he'd said it – carnal and heavy with longing – sent her over the edge and she cried out as she reached her release yet again. She couldn't help swearing under her breath and Ahiga slowed his movements, but they were no gentler. He continued to pound her but it single bursts to offer a sharp and sudden pleasure to make her orgasm more intense and last just a little bit longer. When the last wave of her orgasm passed, she felt like mush. She couldn't move and frankly she didn't want to. She just wanted to bask in the bliss of her aftermath, but there was still more. Ahiga began moving again, but he was gentle this time as if trying to stave off his own release. However, he eventually returned to a faster pace and started pounding again. He pushed her further onto the bed come up with her all while never leaving her body. Once there, he had her thighs pressed into her chest while he was on top of her and he started moving again. He leaned his head down so he could kiss her and Nesia wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him close. The pleasure continued to build inside him and this time he wasn't stopping or slowing down. His grip on her skin began to tighten and he pulled away his lips to look into her eyes.

"I love you, Nesia," he said with passion.

"I love you too," Nesia moaned back. She brought a hand down to touch his cheek and, hoping to give him the same pleasure it had given her, she echoed his words and said, "Cum for me, Ahiga. I want you to cum inside me."

She said it with a breathy moan and Ahiga groaned before resting his head onto her shoulder. He continued his thrusts and started to suck on her skin until he finally reached his own peak and grabbed onto her so tight he nearly bruised her. He was deep inside her and he practically locked in place as he groaned and swore into her skin as he rode out his orgasm. It was his turn for his mind to go completely blank. His grip eventually softened when he started to come down from his high and then he started kissing along her neck until he reach her lips and kissed her. They kissed for a minute in a state of bliss until Nesia realized she still had a pile of tests to grade that were now on the floor.

"Ahiga," she moaned as she pulled her lips away, "I need to get back to those tests."

"Just a moment," Ahiga said as he was still kissing her cheek and all over her face, "just one more moment."

One more moment turned into the two of them making out for several minutes before finally falling asleep in each other's arms. Ahiga was out of bed the next morning bright and early with a spring in his step. He showered before leaving for work and kissed Nesia goodbye before he left. Nesia, once awake, looked at the pile of tests on her bedside floor and realized she'd only gotten four or five of them graded before Ahiga came home. She looked at her clock, but she only had an hour before she would need to be at the school. She sighed a little in annoyance knowing she'd never get the tests graded before then. She decided she'd not give her class homework that day as an apology for the delay on their tests. She figured they wouldn't be terribly heartbroken. Regardless, she was smiling as she laid in bed. Last night had been amazing. Ahiga was finally returning to his normal self. It started to become rather routine that Ahiga would get home from the gym and the two of them would make passionate love right before bed. It wasn't every single time, but it was definitely often and it was a routine Nesia was more than happy to fall into.

The Tuesday before Caleb's and Ashley's wedding, Evalynn and Levi met at his parents' apartment in Manhattan and got themselves on a flight the next day to Washington. Roshad and Jaedynn were the ones to pick them up from the airport and, given they had all the extra room, offered to let them stay at their home for the duration of their visit. After hearing about the place, they both agreed.

"You look fantastic, Jaedynn. How are you feeling? Is the baby doing alright?" Evalynn asked once they met outside the airport and were hugging each other.

"Honestly, I'm ready for it to be over," Jaedynn said. She was finally really showing and in her most recent appointment with Kyle, Kamron was growing fine and, according to Kyle's measurements, would more likely be born in April. "I've started having to sleep sitting up because I can't get comfortable any other way. I hate it."

"At least it's only 2 more months," Evalynn reassured and then looked at Roshad. "So are you excited for the baby?"

"Yes, very much," Roshad smiled. "The baby shower isn't for another two weeks otherwise I would ask if the both of you were coming, but I assume you aren't going to be staying in Washington that long this visit."

"No, I'm afraid we fly back on Saturday. Daddy sent me your registry, so I'll send you two a gift; it won't be much, but it'll be a gift," Evalynn said.

"Same," Levi said with a smile. "So let's get going. I've heard an earful from dad about this house and I'm curious."

"Yes, of course," Roshad smiled and finished putting the suitcases in the back of the jeep while everyone got into the car.

Once they were on the road, Levi asked, "So you two want to get married in Iran I hear?"

"We want to have a Quileute wedding first, then we'll have another wedding in Iran. I doubt many people from my side will be able to come, but the more the merrier," Jaedynn said.

"Is this going to be a summer wedding?" Evalynn said.

"I was thinking spring if I'm honest," Jaedynn said. "Thankfully, the weather isn't terrible in the summer. You said it'll usually stay within 90 degrees right?"

"Yes, it does not usually exceed that," Roshad confirmed. "If having the wedding in summer means your cousins can attend, I think it's worth considering."

"True," Jaedynn said.

"And how much would it cost to fly out to Iran?" Evalynn asked.

"If the price is too steep, I can take care of it," Roshad said. "I will be covering any hotel accommodations as well."

"Well, if that's the case, I'll happily go," Levi said. "I should probably renew my passport while I'm at it."

"Same," Evalynn said. "But nothing's set in stone yet?"

"Not until our families meet," Roshad said. "My mother, Bastet and Rashida will be here end of May so we'll have more information after that."

"But you definitely aren't getting married at least until next year right?"

"Right," Jaedynn said, "So June 1974 if we can help it."

"June 1974 works," Evalynn said.

"Glad you could work us into your schedule," Jaedynn poked fun.

"What can I say? I'm a busy woman," Evalynn smiled. "So Levi, how are things going with that girl? What was her name?"

"Teagan," Levi said, "and it's fine."

"Who's Teagan?" Jaedynn asked.

"Some girl he met at school. Go ahead and tell the story," Evalynn said.

Levi shrugged, "We met in Calculus and I thought her accent was really cute. She has this really thick Irish accent. Anyway, I didn't end up talking to her but one day while I was at work, she was checking out at my register. She asked if we were in the same class, I said yes, and a few weeks later I asked if she wanted to get dinner together. Nothing special honestly."

"Nothing special?" Jaedynn asked.

"Nah; just fun," Levi said.

"Look at you Mr. Casanova," Jaedynn poked fun. "Is she a redhead?"

"Yup. Redheaded, pale and freckles all over her nose," Levi said. "Catholic as can be but thankfully not so Catholic that protection's out the window if you catch my drift."

"Imagine the scandal back home if she had a child by a Jewish boy," Evalynn teased. "She's aware you're Jewish right?"

"Yes and that coupled with being a third Native American makes her think I'm 'exotic' to use her words." Everyone in the car laughed out loud. "What?!"

"Levi, for someone that's 1/3rd Native American, you're about as white as they come," Jaedynn said.

"Look who's talking!" Levi said and Jaedynn swatted Levi's knee playfully from the front passenger's seat of the car.

Once they'd made it to the house, Evalynn and Levi took a good hard look at it in awe. They were beginning to see what all the fuss had been about. Then they were showed to their rooms and it felt like they were at a hotel. They stayed a few hours to relax before they all drove down to La Push to visit with family. Thankfully, the whole tribe would be helping with the preparations as per tradition, so everything was running smoothly. Evalynn and Levi helped with everything they could that needed to be done that day and used that time to catch up. Lee was doing great with his hockey team and had even won a silver medal for a local tournament he and his team had played in. Ahiga was still going to his boxing classes and was at his class that night. He'd had a bad dream the night before so he'd gone straight to the gym after work instead of going home first.

"You know class doesn't start until 6:30, right?" Freddie teased when Ahiga arrived at class early.

"I know," Ahiga said. "I had a bad night."

"Nightmares again?" Freddie asked knowingly and Ahiga nodded. He'd, of course, not told Freddie or Boss the full story, but they were well aware of certain important aspects: namely his father's abuse and how, at least to him, it felt like he couldn't 'handle' it like his brothers did. Oscar and Oliver just lived their lives without the night terrors or feelings of worthlessness that Ahiga lived with. At least that's how he felt. If Oscar and Oliver did suffer those things, they never expressed it to him. "Get your gloves on and we'll start with the bags," Freddie said. Ahiga, having already changed into his shorts and shirt before leaving work, put on his boxing gloves and followed Freddie to the back where the punching bags were. "In position," Freddie directed and Ahiga got into the proper stance, "go." Ahiga let out a large burst, punching the bag harder and harder each time. However he never broke proper posture so Freddie didn't stop him. Boss was watching from the other side of the gym while Ahiga wailed on the punching bag. Eventually he stopped, his heart pounding in his ears and the sweat starting to bead on his skin. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know," Ahiga admitted. Some of the other students were beginning to funnel into class by then.

"Will Nesia be upset if you're late?" Freddie asked.

"As long as I call her first, I should be fine," Ahiga said. "Why?"

"Because I think you could use some one on one," Freddie said and patted Ahiga's shoulder.

Class proceeded as it normally would. They started with their usual warm-ups and exercises before proceeding to the last half of class which included partnering up and sparing. As had become the norm, Ahiga fought against Freddie and by that time, Ahiga was cooled down and the fight went smoothly with no outbursts of aggression that had been used up on the punching bag. After class ended, Freddie said goodnight to everyone but told Ahiga to meet him in the ring once he finished calling Nesia to let her know he'd be late. He went to Boss's office to use his phone and notified Nesia he'd be late but promised he'd be home no later than 11 and once they disconnected Ahiga went back out to join Freddie in the ring. By now, Ahiga had ripped off his shirt to help cool down and he'd taken off the headgear for the same reason, but not until class was over. Boss came into the ring as well with large pads on his hands. He stood across from Ahiga, smacked the cushions together causing a loud popping sound and then presented the cushions to Ahiga. He got in position and started punching.

"How are things at home?" Freddie asked from one side.

"Everything's fine. Home isn't my problem," Ahiga said and threw a few more punches.

"Your girlfriend's name is Nesia, right?" Freddie asked and Ahiga replied with affirmation. "You two didn't argue or anything that might have triggered a bad night?"

"No," Ahiga said through his next round of punches, "Nesia has the patience of a saint. She's too good for me frankly."

"You said she's an elementary school teacher, right?" Freddie asked and Ahiga affirmed again. "Do you know what leads to you having these nightmares?"

"They just happen," Ahiga said. "Before I started training here, it got so bad I was having night terrors almost every other night; really fucked me up. It's gotten better with this and therapy but they still happen. I don't know what if anything triggers them."

"And it's always about your dad?"

"Yeah," Ahiga answered and stopped punching to take a quick break.

"Have you talked to your brothers about it?"

"I haven't seen them in a while, so no. I don't really know what good it would do. Oscar had it 'easy' compared to Oliver and I, but that doesn't really count for much. I just want to forget the rotten son of a bitch. Sometimes it feels like I'm starting to, but then I'll have another nightmare."

"Forgetting about what happened won't fix anything," Boss spoke up. "Take it from a man that's seen limbs fly off men who were shot or stepped on land mines: you don't get over that shit without help. Hell, you never get over it. You just learn to deal with it. That's what you need to learn to do. You need to come to terms with how you were treated and move on."

"That's what I'm trying to do," Ahiga said.

"We know you are, but I think it would be worth it to confront your father," Freddie suggested.

"I can't; he's dead," Ahiga reminded them.

"Doesn't mean you can't confront him," Freddie said and Ahiga stared at the man confused as he took the cushions from Boss and took his place across from Ahiga. "Alright," Freddie said and slammed the cushions together before presenting them to Ahiga, "Pretend I'm your dad. What do you want to say to me? Just let it all out."

"Freddie, I can't address you as though you're my dad," Ahiga said and glanced around, relieved that none of the other guys from the class were there. Aside from him, Freddie and Boss, the gym was completely empty.

"Sure you can," Freddie said and slammed the cushions together again. "Come on, Ahiga. What do you have to say?" Ahiga didn't comply at first, thinking this was extremely stupid. But he got into position and tried to imagine it wasn't Freddie standing across from him, but that was hard. So he just started slow.

"You're an asshole," Ahiga said and threw a punch.

"Is that all you've got to fucking say to me?" Freddie said aggressively and slammed the cushions together again. "You can't be that mad at me if that's all you've got to say."

"Fuck you!" Ahiga barked back and threw a few more punches.

"Then tell me what's on your mind, boy!" Freddie yelled back, and while he didn't sound like Barka, the term 'boy' sent a chill down Ahiga's spine that triggered a rage in him. "If you've got something to fucking say to me, blurt it out!"

"I never asked to be your son!" Ahiga screamed but then stopped himself and cleared his throat.

"I never asked to be your father," Freddie bit back. It was exactly the sort of thing Barka would say and just like that, Ahiga's composure was gone and he threw several punches at Freddie who needed to move the cushions around to catch Ahiga's throws.

"This was your fault! All of it was your fault!" Ahiga started screaming again all while throwing punches, his form going completely out the window. Now that Ahiga was yelling in Tistilal, Freddie couldn't respond and instead let Ahiga wail. "Mom never wanted your affections! You forced her! I didn't make a Bastard of me; you did!" Ahiga stopped talking and continued to just punch.

"Nothing else to say, boy? Is that all you've got?" Freddie said when Ahiga hadn't spoken for several seconds and clearly wasn't done.

"I've got nothing!" Ahiga screamed and threw an especially hard punch that actually caused Freddie to break guard and he had to back away so he could recover before Ahiga could hit again. "You took everything from me! I may have been a slave's son but I was happy! I was happy! Then you took that away from me! You robbed me of my name!" Ahiga threw a hard punch that Freddie just barely managed to hold against. "You took away my home and forced me to be an outcast! You robbed me of my security!" Ahiga threw yet another especially hard punch. "But worst of all, you took away my sanity!" Ahiga threw one more punch, but this time was going to Freddie's chest which he blocked but the force of Ahiga's punch caused him to fall back on his ass. Boss was about to step forward but Freddie told him to stay back and remained on the floor. "You mother fucker," Ahiga said trying his best not to start crying, "you fucking psychopath," he continued. "You never loved me! You never cared about me! Why won't you just let me live!" After that outburst, it was like reality came back and he remembered that he'd been screaming at Freddie this whole time who he'd also knocked on his ass. He stood back up when it was clear the spell was broken and started to approach Ahiga.

"I'm sorry," Freddie said.

"My father's never been sorry about a fucking thing in his life," Ahiga muttered and felt his eyes burning.

"No, I'm sorry," Freddie clarified. He'd not understood most of what Ahiga had yelled, but the hurt translated loud and clear. Ahiga's head hung low as Freddie's hand planted itself on Ahiga's shoulder.

"I hate him so much," Ahiga finally said. "When I was a child, mom never told me much about who my father was. She just said it was best I didn't know, but I wondered about him. Now that I know, I wish I'd never found out."

"You have to let it go, Ahiga," Freddie said. "He won't let you live because you haven't let go of your hatred."

"I'll never forgive him," Ahiga said. "I'll never forgive him for what he's done to me; to my mom and my brothers. I'll never forgive him."

"Then don't, Ahiga," Boss said. "Instead, you be better! You be everything he never was; what you couldn't be when you were under his heel!"

"That's what I've been doing," Ahiga said and rubbed his eye, refusing to cry in front of Freddie and Boss. "I learned to read, I came to Washington and found work, I take care of mom and I take care of myself; he still haunts me."

"That's all stuff that comes with entering into society," Freddie said. "We're saying you need to shoot for something most don't even consider possible. You've got talent, Ahiga. You proved that the first time you came here and since then, you've only gotten better and stronger. We wanted to ask you if you were interested in competing."

"Competing? You mean like what you do?"

"Exactly," Freddie said. "It's a labor of love; you need to eat really healthy and follow a strict diet so you stay in your weight bracket, but since you started, you've improved leaps and bounds in every way. I really think you've got what it takes to compete. If you work really hard, you could even be a champion."

"Do you think so?" Ahiga asked.

"I know so," Boss said. "All we need to do is determine your weight class and get you prepared for competition. Next there's a tournament, we'll sign you up as a rookie. If you do good and keep it up, you'll be able to get into the big leagues where the real competition is. You could even win the opportunity to compete in Boxing Tournaments all over the free world. Last year? Freddy here won silver at a Boxing Tournament in Mexico City. National and international tournaments are where the real money is. And if you're competing for our gym, then that monthly fee you pay? Out the window. Gone."

"So what do you say, Ahiga?" Freddie asked and offered Ahiga a hand. Ahiga looked at the both of them. He was flattered they thought so highly of him. 'I want you to see what I see,' Nesia's words rang in his ear. Now? They were doing the same thing: asking him to see what they did. He really, really wanted to.

"I say sign me up," Ahiga finally answered and accepted Freddie's hand. Freddie's smile brightened and he brought Ahiga to him in a quick hug.

"Welcome to the league, kid," Boss said and patted Ahiga's shoulder. "Now get home and tell that girlfriend of yours the good news."

"Thank you," Ahiga said. "Both of you."

"You can thank me when you've got a Champion's Belt in your hands," Freddie smiled.

Ahiga packed his things, put his shirt back on and drove back home. His blood was still rushing with excitement. He'd be starting his new routine Friday after the wedding and he couldn't wait. When he parked in front of the house, Nesia's car was there, but the lights were off. He figured she was probably still helping out with wedding preparation. He went inside, turned on the lights and got to work. First he went upstairs to shower. He dried off as fast as possible and put on some clean jeans and a white t-shirt before going downstairs putting out two wine glasses and getting the red wine on the table. He got the bottle opened so the wine could breathe while he waited for Nesia to come home. When she finally did, she looked beat but smiled when she saw him. Then she noticed the wine glasses and wine.

"What's all this for?" she asked.

"Freddie and Boss want me to start competing," Ahiga said.

"Wait, really?" Nesia asked.

"Yeah. They're going to determine my weight class and get me entered into a rookie tournament as soon as they can and if I do well, I'll get into better tournaments for better prizes," Ahiga said.

"Ahiga, that's amazing!" Nesia cheered and ran over to go into his arms once he'd stood from the table. "Oh, Ahiga, I'm so proud of you."

"You just wait until I can start fighting the pros," Ahiga said and hugged her tight.

Once he released her, Ahiga poured them both some wine to celebrate. The wedding was the following day, but since it wasn't until nightfall, Caleb went to work for one more day before he went on a two week vacation three days of which would be spent home with his new wife before driving to California to stay at the beach house Kevin had so generously let them burrow for a week. Ashley took that day off so she could be sewn into the rabbit fur dress, have her hair curled with her mother and her grandmother there and have her makeup done. Alice kept Ashley's look very natural with warm tones that complimented her skin tone and a deep brown lipstick. Once Caleb, Sergei and Ahiga all returned home from work, Caleb went to his parents' house to get showered and ready. Any last minute wedding preparations and decorating were handled before nightfall and there was plenty of food being prepared for all the guests.

"This is it, Caleb," Levi said while they all relaxed at Kyle's house waiting for it to be time to go to the beach. "Are you excited?"

"Yes," Caleb smiled, feeling anxious and ready for everything to finally start. He was in his own traditional garb and was pacing the living room a little. "You've got Ashley's ring?"

"Yes, I have it in my pocket ready when you are," Levi said and quickly patted the breast pocket of his dress shirt that he wore with jeans.

"Okay," Caleb said and took a deep breath.

They waited another hour after that before Evalina came to get Caleb letting him know he could come out to the site for the bonfire. Caleb sat before the wood pyre with Kyle and Jacob on the other side from him and waited for Ashley. He looked back at Ashley when she started to approach, Henry leading her to the pyre as a proud father. Once Ashley was seated, Caleb took her hand in his and smiled lovingly at her. She returned his smile and rested her head against his shoulder. Kyle and Jacob proceeded with the ceremony, telling the tale of the wolves who became human and birthed their tribe. While the ceremony was going on, Evalynn looked on at her little brother feeling so happy for him. That smile on his face through the whole ceremony was unmistakable and it warmed her heart.

After Jacob and Kyle finished the ceremony, women with infant sons danced for good luck and fertility. Then finally the bonfire was lit to signal the start of their marriage and all the guests were encouraged to stand and dance around the pyre. Evalynn got up and danced along with all the other guests making sure she snuck a dance in with Heather around the pyre. Then she danced with her little brother congratulating him and wishing him and Ashley all the happiness in the world. After she'd danced with those she wanted to dance with, she sat out and watched everyone, but then one person in particular caught her eye. She was clearly very young, pre-teens at most. One side of her head had extremely short hair that looked to be dyed a vibrant purple while the other side was really long and she had it braded to one side. She wore bellbottom jeans with an oversized tank top and something pink underneath that all of which was covered by a leather jacket. Evalynn felt this tug and when the young woman finally looked in her direction, Evalynn felt her whole world shift. The young woman realized she was staring at her and waived at Evalynn. She waived back and got up from her spot to sit beside the young woman.

"Who might you be? I can't say I've seen you around?" the young woman asked Evalynn once she was seated beside her.

"Evalynn Black. I'm Kyle Black's daughter," Evalynn answered.

"Ah," she smiled, "You're part of the 'Royal Family'."

"I guess in a manner," Evalynn said. "What's your name?"

"Name's Shyann Barker," Shyann answered. She had quite the abundance of confidence with her shoulders back and her head high, but Evalynn noticed her feelings for Shyann weren't romantic. She didn't feel a sexual attraction to her; what she felt was platonic. It was actually a really nice feeling. "I'm one of the Tistilal kids that came here for an education. Granddaughter to the Tistilal chief as a matter of fact."

"Nice to meet you," Evalynn said with an amused smile. "I'm sorry to not have met any of you sooner. I live out east for school."

"You go to…Yale it was, right?"

"Yeah. I'm studying medicine now and once I've done that, it's on to my law degree," Evalynn said. "So how old are you?"

"14," Shyann answered. "What about you?"

"I'm 21," Evalynn answered. "So how do you like it here in Washington?"

"It's fine when we can have some fun, but we have chaperones at the dorms and they're such killjoys," Shyann said.

"Why do you say that?"

"We always have to be in bed by a certain time, if we want to go out somewhere, we are required to be back by a certain time and we can only go if there's someone with us so we always have to go out as large groups, if we're in each other's rooms, the door has to stay open, and the girls and boys aren't allowed to be in the same room together. So if I want to hang out with my brother or my cousins or whatever, it has to be in the communal area."

"Sounds like a strict dormitory. I guess with all those rules it just makes you miss home?"

"No, my parents are strict so it's nothing weird. When dad said I would be joining Dakota up here for school, I thought I could finally have some freedom but nope: just more rules."

"That's life when you're a kid," Evalynn shrugged.

"I'm not a kid," Shyann said and sat up straighter so her chest was out trying to show off her breasts. Albeit they were very small as one would expect for someone of her age. She was still very slim and lanky and the breasts she was trying to show off weren't really proving her point. "Kids don't have boobs." Evalynn had to bite her lip so she wasn't laughing.

"I don't know, Shyann. I started filling out around your age and I was still very much a kid at the time," Evalynn said.

"Not my fault I mature fast," Shyann insisted and once again Evalynn had to make a point not to laugh. "The moment I'm able, I'm going to find work so I can move into my own place. That way only I can say what I can and cannot do."

"You've got two years to go on that one, Shyann," Evalynn smiled.

"I can always get my parents to sign that waver thing giving me permission to work at 15," Shyann said confidently.

"Don't be too eager to grow up, Shyann," Evalynn said. "There's value in being young and irresponsible."

"There's more value in having my own money to spend and my own roof over my head that I set the rules for," Shyann argued and stretched, lifting her arms above her head before falling back onto the damp ground.

"So aside from having no interest in flying off to Neverland, what else do you like to do?" Evalynn teased.

"I like things that are fun," Shyann answered.

"Well that narrows it down," Evalynn said sarcastically but couldn't help a small laugh. "What do you consider fun?"

"I love doing makeup," Shyann said, "I like styling men's clothes to fit me. Like this little tank top? This used to be a man's Beatles t-shirt that I cut up." Evalynn looked more closely at the shirt in question and all she could see were the feet of the band members walking down Abbey Road while the rest of the t-shirt was mostly white. It was given a plunging scoop neckline that was frayed from the scissors cutting across the fabric and the sleeves were completely gone, replaced by giant holes where her arms went through. The pink fabric she wore underneath, Evalynn realized, was a two piece halter cut bathing suit top. The leather jacket obstructed the remainder of the fabric.

"Aren't you freezing?" Evalynn inevitably asked.

"I've gotten used to this chilly weather," Shyann said proudly, but Evalynn saw her shivering a little. She sighed and took the zipper of her leather jacket and pulled it up so she was covered. Shyann stared at Evalynn critically and pulled the zipper down opening her jacket again in an act of defiance.

"So what else do you like to do?" Evalynn said, ignoring what Shyann did.

"I like gymnastics," she answered. "Now that Miss Desarae is pregnant, she can't demonstrate but she's a great teacher."

"Yes, I hear she, Uilette and Cidelle are really good at that," Evalynn said. "I'm afraid I'm not limber enough for that."

"I'm sure if the other girls in my school can learn to do it so can you," Shyann said. "You're not such an old dog that you can't learn new tricks." Evalynn was speechless for a moment. She wasn't sure if Shyann had actually intentionally insulted her or if she'd just put her foot in her mouth not realizing what she'd said had come off as rude. She wasn't looking at her in a strange way which led her to believe it was the later.

"I'm not that old, kid," Evalynn said.

"Hey, I'm not a kid," Shyann insisted. Evalynn answered with a humored smile.

"If you say so," Evalynn said. "I admit I'm not really interested in fashion or make-up."

"What do you do for fun then?"

"Most of the time I'm doing homework and studying, but when I want to really unwind, I go to The Marmalade Bar. It's a nightclub near where I live."

"That's better than nothing," Shyann said. "Honestly, though, I think you just need someone to teach you how to put on make-up."

"I know how. I just don't like to," Evalynn said.

"Please," Shyann said, rolling her eyes, and then stood up. "I already ate and nothing interesting's going on, so I'll take you to my dorm and show you how to do it."

"Shyann, I already know how."

"Trust me: you don't," Shyann said. "Come on, Evalynn. Off we go." Shyann was already walking away and Evalynn eventually stood up to follow her.

She couldn't believe she was being bossed around by a 14 year old, but hey: the wolf is what his/her imprint needs right? The dorms were mostly empty since just about everyone was at the wedding at the moment. Once they made it to Shyann's dorm, Evalynn stepped in once invited and was….overwhelmed to say the least. Her bed sheets were this, dare she say, obnoxious shade of pink. The only description that seemed to fit was 'bubble gum pink'. She had a white shag rug in the center of the room, a little desk on the other side of the room from her bed that had a type writer and her school books and journals. The walls were white but she compensated for the bland wall color by plastering the walls with posters, artwork either she'd made or other people had made, the Arizona Flag and she had a bookshelf lined both with books, a record player, loads of vinyl records, cactus plants and succulent plants. Raquel Welch in her cave man outfit from One Million Years B.C was right above her bed. The covers of her vinyl records surrounded that picture on the walls and the flag she had was above her desk.

"Huh," was all Evalynn said when she entered the room and had taken a look around. "So what's your favorite Raquel Welch movie?"

"What?" Shyann asked and Evalynn pointed at the poster above her bed. "Oh, I've never seen any. I just saw the poster and really liked it."

"Ah," Evalynn said. Shyann went to a giant chest that she opened to reveal more makeup than one girl should reasonably be able to use. "Do you use all that?"

"Yes," Shyann said and waved for Evalynn to come over. "Come on and take a seat at my desk." Evalynn sighed quietly and took a seat as directed. Shyann stared at Evalynn for a few seconds. "You have really pretty eyes. Your complexion is gorgeous too."

"Thank you," Evalynn said. Shyann started comparing her concealers to Evalynn's skin tone but it was clear they were all too dark for her so she ditched that initial idea. "I take it I'm too pale for your makeup?"

"It's fine; your skin's flawless so we can go without. I'm not going to lie: I kind of hate you for it right now."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Evalynn said and Shyann smiled.

Shyann returned to her attention to the case with all her makeup and took out the shadows, lip sticks, glosses and brushes. Evalynn sat back and let Shyann do her thing. She focused on earthy tones like green and brown. Once Shyann was done, she grabbed her mirror and held it in front of Evalynn so she could see the end result. It wasn't awful – the shading was done very well and it even looked really nice with her eye color and the pale pink lipstick didn't look half bad – but it felt weird.

"You don't look thrilled," Shyann said with a small laugh.

"It looks fine; I'm just not really one that wears makeup."

"Well, I say you look really pretty," Shyann said and all Evalynn could do was smile.

"That's sweet of you to say," Evalynn said.

Shyann insisted that Evalynn do her next so they switched positions and Evalynn searched through Shyann's vast makeup collection. Shyann ended up having to help her look for some things and it was a while before she finally got started. She kept the makeup very simple like what she would do on the few days she ever did wear makeup, but when Shyann saw the final result, she wasn't impressed and suggested Evalynn do more with the eye shadows. So Evalynn added more eye shadow mixing the colors but really having no clue what she was doing. Once she was done and Shyann saw the second attempt, she started giggling but that giggling turned to full on laughing. Evalynn had used blue and green but it wasn't blended right and the fallout from the brush was under her eyes making it look really messy.

"You sound impressed," Evalynn joked.

"I'm delighted. I take back everything I said," Shyann said through her laughter. "This is really awful," she finally said.

"I know," Evalynn sighed and put all the makeup away. She'd never done anything like this even with Heather so despite her lack of enthusiasm for the project, Evalynn was happy she'd gone along with it. It gave Evalynn a chance to get to know Shyann a little. One thing was very clear, though: Shyann had a lot of growing up to do.