The Ancient did not meet with Kwai Chang Caine in the astral as often as he had in the beginning. There was a distance there that he did not think was wise, but they were both busy men and it was often difficult to find times when they were both meditating. It had been months since they had last met.

He was pleased to find him available now. "It is good to see you, my old friend."

" I too am glad to see you. How is Peter?" He asked

"He is doing well. He grows more fully into the priest we knew he could be every day."

"Truly?" Caine asked. He had doubts that it would be an easy road for his son, who was so often consumed by his anger and impulsiveness even though he had a kind heart.

"Truly. It is likely due to the woman he is dating."

Caine gave the ancient a look that spoke to his disbelief. "How long have they been seeing one another?" His son did not have much luck with women.

"Three months now. You have met her. She is the young woman who would play Xiangqi with me on Wednesday afternoons."

"I remember that there was a young woman but I do not remember her face. She is Chinese?"

"She is of mixed heritage. From Hong Kong. She is a social worker who uses tai chi to teach peace and self-control to her clients. Now she and Peter are opening a kwoon together."

"Is Peter in love?"

"I believe he is, yes." The Ancient said. "I do not know if he realizes it yet." He laughed quietly "The old women are jealous and call her fox spirit."

Caine smiled "Fox spirits do not breed peace and contentment. It is a good match?"

"It would appear to be." He said. "He is more at peace but he is also harder for me to see into."

"A sign of growth perhaps. He protects himself better than he has before because he has someone else to protect."

"And you, Kwai Chang Caine, how are you, and your quest."

"I am... troubled." He said "As Peter is growing more at peace with himself, I become less so. I have found nothing in Paris. I begin to think I have wasted my time being here."

"Do you plan to return to Chinatown?"

"I do not know. I must meditate upon it. Do I continue my search in France or do I return to my son without his mother... again."

"I wish that there was an easier path for you."

"As do I my friend. As do I."

()o()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()0()

Leanne ran her fingers through Peter's hair as he lay sleeping on her bed. It had taken a century to come to this place, to where she was touching the descendant of her traitorous love. She liked Peter. She truly did. More than like if she were honest. Much more. She was glad because she would be spending eternity with him at her side. Her grandfather insisted. With him the line of Kwai Chang would Merge with that of Yulong Yeoh and Peter would take his place as the head of her grandfather's line as his great-grandfather should have done... if she had found him. She found this thought more pleasing with each passing day. The more time she spent with Peter Caine the less she thought of his ancestor and her failed quest… and the more she worried about him and his safety. She hated to admit it but she began to wonder if her grandfather wasn't perhaps the source of danger that she had been sensing.

She slipped out of bed and into the room hidden behind her closet. Her apothecary. She mixed the herbs and ink and wove protective spells into it. She returned to her bed where Peter lay sprawled on his stomach, sleeping deeply.

She painted on his back in delicate lines of shimmering green the Chinese dragon. Peter's fearlessness, fiery spirit, and deep sense of honor made him perfect. He was the dragon to her Phoenix as well as the completion of her oath to her grandfather. She intoned the spell and the green faded into his flesh only visible to herself and those who could see his qi. For now, she masked it behind spells, to protect him. That was a task she was pleased to do. She would protect him always. Even if he eventually rejected her when the truth of her identity was revealed.

She took the bowl and brush back into her secret apothecary and cleaned them, put them away, then returned to Peter's side and slid between the sheets next to him.

He hummed softly and opened his eyes. "Hey." He said quietly.

She smiled "Hey." She answered and brushed a lock of brown hair from his brow. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay." He said turning onto his side and pulling her close. "I dreamed I was flying. I was so far up in the sky that my breath was turning to ice." He kissed her hair.

"That is an amazing dream," she said sliding her arm around him. She liked it in his arms. She was certain that this was why her journey had taken so long.

"I love you." He whispered, almost afraid she'd hear.

"I love you too." She whispered back, and meant it.

"It scares me how much I love you." He told her honestly. "I'm not very good at holding onto relationships."

"I'm not going anywhere." She promised him.

"That's good because I want to take you to meet my Mother and sisters." He said.

"I'd like that." She told him.

Wednesday afternoon she was seated across the table from Lo Si, She studied the game board before making her move.

"I have often wondered where you learned to play Xiangqi." He said and took a drink of his tea.

"My grandfather taught me long ago." She said "When my parents died, my brother and I went to live with him. He used the game, and Kung Fu to distract us from our grief. We spent our evenings after dinner playing this game. My brother lost interest but I wanted to learn everything he had to teach. I was determined to beat him one day." She made her move.

"Did you ever win?" He asked.

"No, but when I play, I feel close to him."

The Ancient smiled indulgently "You do him honor, to preserve his memory. You would make him proud."

"I hope so." She said honestly. "I miss him so much." The man she had grown up with had changed so dramatically since the day her brother died that he was barely recognizable any longer. He was demanding and forceful. Sometimes he scared her.

"Did your brother remain in Hong Kong?"

"My brother was murdered." She said simply. She had told Peter the truth of it, mostly, there was no reason not to tell Lo Si.

"You need not be alone any longer." He said it was rare that he got a glimpse through to her qi. The loneliness he saw there was overwhelming. "Peter is a good man and he has many people who love him, they will in turn learn to love you as well. "

She smiled "He's taking me to meet his adoptive family tomorrow." she told him. "If nothing comes up. He has been very busy lately." There was no resentment or jealousy in her tone because she felt none, what she felt was pride. He was a priest. He was among the people to serve them as he should be.

Lo Si nodded. "There have been dark forces at play. There almost always is here."

"It is the same in Hong Kong." She said with a nod. "I think it is the same the world over and always has been."

"Humanity is not the most humane of creatures." He said with a nod of his own, and he made his move.

"Most people want to be good." She said, "Some that do evil think they are doing good because of their broken thinking... broken hearts." She studied the board "I think you may win this time."

"It is still early in the game. Sometimes we gain more through losing than winning." He said.

She laughed lightly "You gain through my losing because then I come and cook for you." She teased.

"Ah but you gain the joy of my company while we eat."

Peter approached with three hot cups of tea and set two of them on the table for his mentor and girlfriend. "Her cooking is a prize worth winning." He said as he sat down to watch the game.

"Thank you." She said and made her move. "Shall we have Dim sum on Sunday?" She asked. "The three of us."

"Sounds great," Peter said.

"I would enjoy this." The Ancient said. There was something he could not see. Something that danced at the edge of his 'vision' then flitted away.

"You've been missing my father, too," Peter said.

Lo Si nodded.

"How is he?" Peter asked. He knew that his father had not found his mother yet. If he had he would have sent word, surely. Even his father wouldn't keep that secret.

"He is... Kwai Chang Caine." The ancient said as though that explained everything.

To Leanne it did. It said everything. Peter's father was like his namesake. Always moving, always running from something or toward it. Some men found peace in wandering. She wondered if Peter's father did.

"In other words, " Peter said, "He's not telling you anything either." He smiled a little sadly as she rested her hand over his in a comforting gesture.

"Your father loves you, Peter." Lo Si said.

"I have never once doubted that." He said. He didn't. He just didn't think that mattered in the end. When his father was on a mission nothing mattered but that mission.

"He is a man." Lo Si said. "Despite all that he has achieved or shall achieve, he is still just a man. Flawed like the rest of us."

Peter nodded. He supposed it would be easier to take if both of his fathers had not disappeared and not communicated with him since. Annie, his adopted mother, received the occasional cryptic message from Paul Blaisdell, and Lo Si received the occasional contact from Kwai Chang Caine. Neither of them contacted Peter or sent word to him directly. It was nice that they both were reputed to ask after him, it said that they hadn't forgotten him. But would it have been so hard for his father to write him a letter at least once in the 18 months he'd been gone?

"Yeah, I know." He said. "Believe me I know." He finished his tea as they played their game. "I am going to leave the two of you to it, while I take a walk around china town." He leaned in to kiss Leanne "Dinner tonight?"

She nodded "I'll be at your place, I'll make dinner."

He smiled "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The ancient smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. There was that... whatever it was that was dancing in and out of his senses again. He knew he should speak with Peter about it. He had been actively a priest for a year and a half. He was more than competent. But something told him to stay silent. Lo Si had learned long ago, before Peter's father was born, to listen to those instincts.

As Peter rounded the corner at the end of the block Leanne frowned. " Did you hear that?" She asked The Ancient.

He frowned and tilted his head "What did you hear?"

"Growling." She said, "Like a … big cat." She got to her feet. "I'm sorry, Lo Si, I need to follow him."

He nodded "I will go with you. If that sound is what I think it is... Peter is in grave danger."

"Sing Wah." She said under her breath.

The ancient nodded and wondered if she knew what they were because Peter had told her of his past encounters or if it was from a more personal experience. Why was it she could hear the tiger growl? Usually, the Sing Wah only revealed themselves to those they wanted to hear, or those too powerful to prevent them from hearing.

Leanne did not look to see if The Ancient was keeping up with her as she ran, at the moment he was not her concern. Peter was. He could not be allowed to die. As far as she knew he was the last of his line. The last of the legitimate line of his great-grandfather. Alright, fine, she didn't want him to die because she loved the man deeply. She understood him, and in time he would understand her when she could tell him the truth. That would not happen if he died.

Peter knew the Sing Wah well. Even before he had finished his training he had fought against them alongside his father. He could sense them even before he heard the tiger's growl. He led them away from the crowded streets of China Town's merchant district and toward a more deserted street, then he stopped and turned to wait for the inevitable strike.

"There you are." He said as they came out of hiding and circled him "Only four of you? I'm insulted. What do you want?" He asked bluntly.

"For once it is not you or your father. We want the woman."

"Which woman? I know so many." Peter said, "You know what, it doesn't matter because I'm not letting you have anyone."

"Then we will have to send our message another way."

The four of them converged on Peter at once. He fought against them, holding his own but making no headway against them. "okay maybe I'm not insulted. " He muttered as Leanne and Lo Si rounded the corner. "Get out of here." He yelled to them.

Leanne shook her head and advanced instead leaping over the Sing Wah to join her lover in the center. "Go back where you came from." She told them, touching Peter's back lightly as she moved to position herself directly behind him.

Peter thought to tell her to leave again but then he remembered all the times his father had shut him out when all he had wanted to do was help. So he said nothing.

Lo Si moved quickly and more smoothly than a man of his age should. He too would join in this fight.

"Stop this foolishness, Li Na. Come with us and we will let your priest return to his duties."

"I would sooner die than go with your kind."

Lo Si watched as Leanne and Peter began to fight as one. Their movements practiced and strong. No longer was the woman using Tai Chi to fight, she fought with a solid leopard form, suited to a smaller combatant, designed to be deadly. Even against the tiger. He was relieved to see that she did not take the killing blow, even though it was evident to him at least that she had considered it. He drew one of the assailants away from the young couple, fighting with the strength of a man half his age.

The four Sing Wah fled once they realized they were not going to win the fight, leaving the three of them standing alone in the alleyway.

Peter closed his arms around her and kissed her hair. "Thank you." He said, "But I need you not to put yourself in harm's way for me."

"If not for you, then who else?" She asked "Besides. they were looking for me." She had come too far to flee into the night as she had done before when the Sing Wa had found her. If she left now could she trust that Peter would continue the bloodline as others before him had done? At best she would have to start over again with the next male in the Caine bloodline. At worst she would fail her grandfather completely. "I'm sorry, Peter." No... at worst she would lose him.

It wasn't hard to read the look in her eyes, even if not the thoughts behind them. "You are not leaving me because of the Sing Wah." He said "This isn't the first time I've fought them. It won't be the last."

"It could very easily be just that." She argued. Was this sense of fear, not for herself, but for the safety of another why his great-grandfather had left her so long ago? Had she misjudged him?

"Perhaps this is a conversation best had in private." Lo Si suggested.

She nodded.

"Let us retire to my home."

It was a short walk, and once there Lo Si went into his kitchen to start the water boiling for tea, then rejoined the couple in his living room. "Now, perhaps you will grace us with your true name." He said gently.

She looked at Peter apologetically and was relieved when he simply squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"I was born Li Na Yeoh." It was the truth. "But my name is legally Leanne Garret." This was also the truth.

Lo Si nodded. "Did the Sing Wah murder your family?"

"My parents." She said "But not my brother. It was little more than a mob that took him from me. The Sing Wah want my grandfather's books."

"What books?" Peter asked.

"He was a brilliant Apothecary and alchemist. He succeeded at things, mystical things, that others have not. Even if his work was not too dangerous to be in the hands of the Sing Wah, and they are, they are my responsibility to safeguard."

Lo Si's brow furrowed "What was your grandfather's name, child." He asked gently.

"Yulong Yeoh." Again she told the truth.

"Descended from Yulong Yeoh, the Shambala master?" He asked.

She shook her head "No. The same Yulong Yeoh. Now you understand why I must keep his books safe."

"Your grandfather was a Shambala master?" Peter asked.

"And apparently more Ancient than I." Well, no, but there were things Peter was not ready to hear.

"No offense but how is that even possible?"

Leanne took a deep breath. Nothing for it but to be honest. There was no hiding it now. Not all of it anyway. "He had been tasked to find the secrets of immortality for the Emperor. But by the time he succeeded, he realized how immoral the Emperor was and would not turn it over to him. So he fled China for America."

Sometime before your great-grandfather made that same route of escape, but it was the same Emperor who hunted them both." Lo Si said.

She said nothing but looked at Peter quizzically.

"My great grandfather, the original Kwai Chang Caine, was a Shaolin priest in China during the 1870s. He had left the temple to see his former teacher, Master Po in the Forbidden City. The Emperor's nephew killed Master Po, and my great-grandfather in a very non- Shaolin moment of rage returned the favor. And after that, he was on the run from the Emperor's bounty hunters."

"My parents were killed to try and force my Grandfather to give up his research to the Sing Wah. I don't know anything about his life before then, other than he was in service to the Emperor and why. My brother Jian and I were only five years old when they were killed. My mother was American, my father was Chinese. At any rate, I later moved to Hong Kong, the rest is as I have already told you."

Lo Si nodded. He knew this well. " By all accounts, he was a brilliant and compassionate man in his youth."

"As much as I don't want to leave, I cannot stay here and endanger you. They were going to use you against me. I know their ways. They would have killed you no matter what I did."

"I know," Peter said. "But you're not going anywhere without me. I love you, Leanne Garret, Li Na Yeoh, or anyone else you might have been. So, let's try to take care of this here before we go on the run. I think there has been enough running in both of our family trees to cover the next 5 generations."

She laughed quietly, nervously. "Alright, but if they harm you..."

"As long as they don't kill me, I will get up again, and again. I was doing that before I had finished my training."

"With the occasional assistance from myself and his father." Lo Si said, giving Peter an amused look. "If I may suggest, perhaps Shambala would be the appropriate place for your grandfather's life work. They can keep it safe from those who would seek to use it inappropriately."

"Unless they are the ones seeking to use it inappropriately." She countered and shook her head. "If a Shaolin Priest can give into the temptation to kill, then a Shambala Master can give into the temptation of eternal youth. No. It is my responsibility to keep them safe, and to pass that responsibility on to my descendants." Another look to Peter.

He nodded. He could take on that responsibility if it meant that those descendants were also his. There was a thought… he hadn't ever let himself think about what it would be to be a father before. "Then that is what we will do. Together." He said, "For now, let's go back to your place and make sure things are secure there."

She nodded "Yes, We should." She said. "Thank you for listening and giving advice, Lo Si. Please do not take that I do not heed that advice as a lack of respect."

"You are not the first young person to not heed my warnings. I doubt you shall be the last."

"Then I shall see you, Sunday, for dim sum."

The couple left and Lo Si went to lock the door behind them. "This is disturbing. Most disturbing indeed," He opened the portal to Shambala and walked through.

Peter unlocked her apartment door and looked inside before motioning her to join him.

"I am sorry, Peter. I never should have kept this from you."

"We've only known each other a few months." Peter said "I have close friends on the police force that didn't even know I was Buddhist until I quit the force to be a full-time priest. People are allowed to be cautious about who they share things with."

"I know how you hate secrets."

"I don't hate secrets. I hate people keeping secrets when it's something I need to know. When I needed to know you didn't hesitate to tell me. So you have nothing to apologize for." He said pulling her into his arms. "I also know there are some things you are honor bound to keep in the family."

"Thank you for understanding." She said resting her head against his chest. "I love you, Peter."

"I love you too, Leanne."

He stayed with her that night and the following day, leaving only long enough to clean up for dinner at his mother's house.

They were greeted at the door by Kelly Blaisdell, who hugged her older brother tightly. "I've missed you." She said.

"I was just here... what... last week?"

"Last week? Peter your last week is everyone else's last month." She said with a frown.

"I didn't miss your graduation... did I?" He asked worriedly.

"No. That's in two weeks. So don't go mixing up weeks and months again okay."

"Okay," Peter said. "So, Kelly, this is Leanne, Leanne, this is my baby sister Kelly."

Leanne smiled and offered her hand to the younger woman. "It's good to meet you. Peter has told me a lot about you."

Kelly shook her hand. "Knowing Peter it's two years out of date and is probably more about Carolyn than me."

"Hey, I'm not that bad." Peter insisted.

"Yes, you are," Carolyn said as she came closer to hug Peter as well. "Trust me, you can't believe a word he says about us."

"I know what brothers are like," Leanne said, smiling as she was greeted by the elder sister.

"Don't worry, we'll fill you in on everything there is to know about Peter," Kelly said.

"Hey... now – no. She does not want to know what I was like at 15." Peter said

"Yes, I do."

"Ye,s she does." Carolyn and Leanne said simultaneously.

"Shouldn't you be I don't know... keeping Todd company?" Peter said.

"My husband is working late tonight so I have all the time in the world to keep your girlfriend company." She teased.

"Girls, behave," Annie said as she entered the living room.

Peter smiled "How are you, Mom." He said going to kiss her cheek.

"I'm alright." She said "You sound like your old self. That's good... isn't it."

"I think so." He said. "So, Mom, I'd like you to meet Leanne."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Blaisdell."

"Oh please, call me Annie. " She said laughing. She followed the woman's voice until she stood before her and offered her hand. "It's nice to meet you. I was beginning to think he was hiding you from us."

"I wasn't hiding anything," Peter exclaimed.

Leanne laughed."Is he always this easy to fluster?"

"Oh yes." Annie said "Especially when Carolyn has a go at him. I wasn't certain what to make for dinner. I've been trying out vegetarian dishes all week to get the hang of it." she said leading Leanne toward the dining room.

"I am certain whatever you have made will be delicious. If you are still interested in vegetarian cooking I can come over and teach you a few recipes."

"I wouldn't know where to begin with all the different cooking pots and things for Chinese cooking," Annie said.

"It doesn't have to be Chinese. Every grandmother in Chinatown thinks it's their sole mission in life to keep him fed. I have it on good authority he likes non-Chinese food as often as possible."

" It doesn't have to be fancy. I still like mashed potatoes. I've even learned to like broccoli." He said

"Broccoli? What witchcraft is this?" Annie teased "If you've gotten my son to sit up and eat his broccoli I think I like you already."

"Well, I'm still working on the sitting up part." Leanne teased back and winked at Peter.

"Are you sure Todd is working late? Really? " he sighed when Carolyn told him yes. "Outnumbered is an understatement. I begin to understand why Paul wanted to adopt me."

Dinner went well, and the conversation became less teasing although there was much laughter. Annie excused herself to the kitchen to get dessert and Kelly followed.

"I like her." She whispered to her mother as she got down the dessert plates.

"Isn't she a bit old for him though?" Annie asked.

"Old? Mom, they're the same age," Kelly said with a laugh.

"Really?" Annie said and blushed "And here I thought he'd found himself a cougar." She said softly "And don't you say one word about it either Kelly Blaisdell or that senior trip you are looking forward to could be forgotten about."

"Yes, Mom." She said and rolled her eyes.

An hour later with all the dishes washed and put away, Peter bade his mother and sisters goodbye and walked Leanne out to his car. "I think that went well., he said. "I wish Paul could have been here. He'd like you I think."

"Well, I like the parts of your family that I have met very much." She said. She smiled as he opened the door for her. She had missed such things. Which ever of his fathers had taught him to be a gentleman and had done a very good job.

"I get the feeling they like you too. Which is good since they are the family I have left." He said.

"You speak as though your fathers have passed on."

"They may as well have, for all that I hear from them." He said with a frown. "But don't mind me I apparently have issues."

"Everyone has issues, Peter."

"I suppose." He said as he started the car, and pulled out of his mother's driveway.