Stolen Future

Chapter Two: Two Paths

"Please, Lin, please!" Suyin whined, dragging out the last please.

"No, Su, we're not wasting money on some charlatan!" Lin snapped at her little sister, as she dragged the girl along with her through the crowded, lantern lit, streets.

It was long ago in the days of their youth. Before Lin had joined the Police Academy. It was back in the days when she often kept her wavy hair down and was known to wear something other than her uniform and workout clothes. Long before her face was scarred by the sister that she had loved so dearly. Right now, Suyin did not yet reach her shoulder and was still the most precious thing in the world to her. She loved Tenzin greatly, but he could take care of himself; Su was her little sister in need of protection and guidance, and with their mother's lack of attention, Lin had taken up the job.

Republic city was having it's annual Harmony Festival, and Suyin had insisted on going. Originally, Lin had not planned on attending, but upon realizing that her mother was going to allow the eleven year old to attend unsupervised, she changed her plans. Even with police patrolling the event, Lin did not trust that her little sister could stay out of trouble. As much as she loved the girl, it could not be denied that she had a propensity for trouble. Countless injuries, accidents, messes and confusion had proven that Suyin Beifong needed constant attention.

"But she's the real deal!" The young girl argued. "Everybody's saying it!"

"And what proof do they have, Su?" Lin demanded. "You can't just believe everything you're told. You need to check for evidence and decide from there whether or not it's true."

"Yumi said that her grandmother was Aunt Wu's apprentice!"

"Aunt Wu?" Lin asked.

"Yeah! The lady who said that Katara and Aang would get married, and that Sokka would hurt himself a lot!"

"I know who she is, Su. In fact I seem to recall that she predicted that that volcano wouldn't erupt."

"No, she said that it wouldn't destroy the village and it didn't!" Su reminded her older sister.

The older girl rolled her eyes and was about to respond when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her close into a man's side.

"Hey!" Tenzin greeted. "I got us some food!"

He handed the sisters their meat filled kebabs, and kept the vegetarian one for himself.

"You would not believe how hard it was for me to order those!" He told them. "Apparently the guy knew that Airbenders don't eat meat, so he thought that he had misheard me and kept trying to sell me three vegetarian kebabs. It took awhile but I managed to explain to him that it was for my carnivorous girlfriend and her monstrous sister."

"Hey!" Su exclaimed, indignantly, as she chewed on a chunk of meat.

Lin rolled her eyes and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek.

"My hero." She said in a tone of mock adoration, before taking a bite of her own kebab.

"So what were you two talking about while I was gone?" Tenzin asked.

"Su was trying to talk me into seeing a fortune teller." Lin informed him.

"Her grandma was an apprentice of Aunt Wu!" Suyin told him.

"You know she predicted that my parents would get married and that Uncle Sokka would hurt himself a lot."

"Both of which are easy to predict!" Lin pointed out in exasperation.

"Oh come on, Lin!" He said. "What's the harm in seeing her? Especially if you don't believe anything she says."

"What's the point in seeing her?" Lin retorted.

"You would be creating another memory with your sister before you join the Police Academy." Tenzin said in a soothing voice.

"Please?" Suyin begged again, doing her best to give her older sister puppy eyes.

"Fine." Lin said begrudgingly.

Suyin pumped a fist in the air and gave a cry of victory.

"Only if you promise me that it's only for fun and that you won't take anything she says seriously."

"I promise, I promise!" Suyin gushed as she maneuvered herself in front of her sister and jumped up and down in excitement. "It will just be for fun! We'll just ask silly questions about who we'll marry and how many babies we'll have, and we'll giggle like little girls. I promise not to believe any of it!"

"Except for the part about marrying a handsome Airbender." Tenzin interjected. "You should definitely listen to that part."

"Aww, Tenzin," Lin said as she turned to smile at her boyfriend, "you're father is already taken!"

Tenzin's cheeks turned red as Suyin began to cackle at her sister's joke.

"Well then you'll just have to settle for me." Tenzin replied calmly.

"Well that's a relief." Lin replied. "Your dad is nice and all, but he would never buy me meat."

Lin leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek, which instantly calmed the embarrassed young man.

"You think I'm handsome too, right?" he asked.

"A little less so, without your hair, but the beard makes up for it."

"I still think he'd look better with hair." Suyin supplied.

"Thank you Su." Tenzin said sarcastically "You're a real charmer."

"I try." Suyin said with a shrug before pulling on Lin's hand. "Now let's go! I want to know if I'll meet someone who gives me the same googly eyes that Tenzin gives you!"

Suyin led the way to an ornate wagon, that almost resembled a home, and insisted that Tenzin stay outside. "Beifong Sisters only!" She had declared. Lin gave him an amused smile as her sister led her into the fortune teller's domain. The inside of the wagon was filled with the heavy aroma of incense and tea, and looked like a small room filled with art, trinkets and the typical tools of a fortune teller. A woman, who's brown hair was swept up in a large glossy bun, entered the room from behind a curtain while carrying a teapot and sat at the round table.

"Welcome Lin and Su. I am Aunt Jun. Please, have a seat. I've been waiting for you." She said as she motioned for them to sit in the two seats in front of her table.

Lin rolled her eyes as her sister let out a small squeal if excitement.

"She knew we were coming Lin! How cool is that?"

"Su, remember our agreement. If you take this too seriously, we're leaving."

Suyin quickly schooled her features into a poker face.

"Right, right." The preteen girl agreed. "There are a like a hundred ways that she could have known we were coming and what our names are. . . like seeing into the future!"

Lin glared at her sister who quickly put her hands in the air in a show of innocence.

"Joking!" She sang.

"Let's just get this over with." Lin grumbled as she moved to sit down.

Suyin happily followed her sister to sit down in front of the fortune teller. The glamorous woman poured two cups of tea, she pushed one towards the younger girl and lifted the other to her own lips. Suyin was about to take a sip of her own tea when she suddenly realized that her scowling sister had not been given a cup. She gently put the cup down and looked at Aunt Jun.

"Why didn't you pour tea for Lin?" The young girl asked.

"Lin won't drink any tea that I give her," Aunt Jun replied, "even if it is her favorite."

Lin rolled her eyes as her sister quickly took a sip of the tea.

"She's right, Lin, it is your favorite!" She exclaimed before holding the cup towards her sister. "Here, wanna try?"

"No." Lin scoffed. "One of us needs to be able to get help if it's been laced with anything."

"Poisoning my customers would be bad for my business, Lin." Aunt Jun replied with a chuckled.

"Can we just get on with this fortune thing?" Lin snapped. "I have better things to do with my night."

"Like making out with Tenzin?" Suyin asked.

Lin's face turned red.

"SU!" She yelled.

"They won't be making out tonight." The fortune-teller chuckled, as she spoke to the younger girl in a wistful tone. "I saw this day, long ago; your sister's love is mature and tonight will be a night of discussion and care. The kisses they share tonight will be innocent." Suddenly she leaned closer to the preteen girl and spoke with a lowered voice. "However, I've also seen a few days from now, they will not be so innocent then -especially when-"

"Okay!" Lin interrupted. "That's enough! Are we done here?"

"We haven't even started." Aunt Jun replied with a smile.

"Yeah! I wanna know if I'm getting married or if I'll be a single-mother like Mom!" Suyin declared, causing her older sister to stare at her in shock.

Lin had no idea that Suyin worried about these things. She always seemed so care free. It never occurred to Lin that this wild child would be worried about her future children. Lin looked to the fortune teller and hoped that the woman, who Suyin believed so strongly in, would give her sister words of hope for a good future. A charlatan would only tell you what you want to hear, she reasoned.

"Go ahead." Lin said with a wave of her hand.

The woman reached out and took the child's hand in her own and began to examine the palm.

"I see many children." The woman finally told the girl.

"Will they all have the same dad?" Suyin asked, causing Lin to feel her heart break a little.

"Yes, he won't be very strong, but he will be an intelligent and caring man who stands his ground."

"So he'll stay with us?"

"Of course he will, dear. He'll be your husband, after all."

Suyin's face began to light up.

"He will love you and your children more than anything in the world."

"Really?!" Suyin gasped with a huge smile on her face.

The older woman chuckled.

"Oh, yes, and you will love him so dearly."

"When will I meet him?!" She asked anxiously.

Lin arched an eyebrow, concerned that her sister's newfound enthusiasm could lead to a series of poor choices.

"You already have," Aunt Jun replied, "but you won't know it for many years. Soon you will be started down a long road that will take you away from him and your family, but eventually the two of you will meet again."

Suyin's smile dropped a bit.

"I'll be taken from my family?" She asked, quietly. "Why?!"

"It will be for your own good."

"But Lin takes good care of me!" The young girl declared. "And Mom teaches me how to defend myself! How can it be good to be separated from them!?"

"You will understand someday." Was the only response that Suyin was given as the fortune teller released her hand.

Lin was horrified at how quickly Suyin's fortune had turned from a happy fantasy to a dark nightmare. She saw her little sister's eye widen and her mouth drop open in shocked silence. As a protective older sister, she had had enough.

"That's it." Lin said as she stood up and grabbed her sister's shoulder. "We're leaving."

Suyin nodded her head and began to stand as Lin reached into her pocket and pulled out the charlatan's payment, not wanting to give the woman an excuse to follow them.

"Wait!" The woman exclaimed. "You haven't heard your future yet!"

"You already told my sister; remember? I'm not making out with Tenzin tonight, but I will in a few days. Thanks!" She snapped as she slammed the coins down and jerked Suyin away from the table.

"I would think that the woman who carries the future of an entire nation would wish to know more about her future." Aunt Jun said calmly.

"Wow! I'm going to be the mother of the new Air Nation!" Lin snapped sarcastically. "I haven't heard that before!"

"Your future is not yet set in stone, Lin Beifong." The oracle said in a serious voice. "There are two paths in front of you and the first step has already been taken. The next step will determine which path you take. One will be filled with joy and new life, the other will be filled with heartbreak and anger as you lose all that you care about."

"I'll keep that in mind. Now if you don't mind, I have to reassure my sister that you're a fraud and that no one is taking her away from me!" Lin snapped as she held Suyin close and pulled her to the exit.

Tenzin looked up when he heard the two girls exiting the wagon. His girlfriend's scowling face was no surprise, but upon seeing her younger sister sobbing, he rushed forward. Lin was was rubbing the young girl's arms, as they walked, and whispering to her.

"Tenzin, can you help me get her down the stairs?"

Tenzin quickly reached up and grasped Suyin's arms and supported her weight while Lin directed her sister from behind. When they finally reached the grass, Lin led them a few feet away from the wagon before stopping and moving to stand in front of the sobbing girl. She motioned for Tenzin to let go, before crouching down and firmly resting her hands on Suyin's shoulders.

"Look at me Su." Lin said gently.

Suyin did not comply, instead she continued to keep her head down as she cried.

"What happened in there?" Tenzin asked.

Lin ignored his question and grabbed her sister's face with both hands. She moved the girl's head until she was forced to look her in the eyes.

"Listen to me Su. That was all nonsense. Okay?" Lin said as she pushed Suyin's curls out of her face with one hand. "It was complete nonsense. I know that you believe that some fortune tellers know what they're talking about, but she's not one of them. She's a fraud."

"H-how can you be sure?" Suyin asked.

"Because I'm your big sister, Su, I love you and nothing can ever separate us. Do you understand me?"

Suyin sniffled a little more as she tried to nod. Lin sighed and pulled her in for a hug, prompting the younger girl to sob into her shoulder as Lin rubbed her back.

"Sh, sh. It's okay. It was all nonsense, remember? Just for fun."

Suyin continued crying.

"You know what, I can even prove it to you. Do you want me to make out with Tenzin right now, just to show you that she's wrong?"

Tenzin's face turned bright red.

"Lin?! What are you-"

Suyin started laughing, causing her tears to slow down.

"Tenzin, I may need your assistance." She called to her boyfriend.

The flustered Tenzin was struggling to get out a response.

"Wha- Not here! Why- Lin! I can't-"

Suyin's laughter grew as she pulled back and started rubbing her eyes.

"It's okay. You don't have to do that." She said.

"Are you sure? It's a sacrifice that I'm willing to make."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tenzin asked. "I thought you liked-"

Lin cut off her boyfriend's sentence.

"I think we can both agree that it would be uncomfortable to have anybody watching us -especially my eleven year old sister." Lin stated.

"Oh, yes. Yes you are correct." Tenzin agreed, still a little red in the face.

He paused for a moment before asking the question that he was really curious about.

"Why, exactly, would us making out help Su?"

"Because Aunt Jun said that you guys wouldn't make out tonight."

". . .Right." He replied, deciding that he'd get the full story, from Lin, later.

"How about we get something sweet to eat." Lin suggested. "Does that sound good?"

Suyin nodded. She was no longer laughing, but she was not crying either, which Lin took as a good sign. Lin stood up and started walking, but soon noticed that her sister was not keeping up and seemed to stay a few paces behind. Tenzin seemed to notice as well, and after making eye contact with Lin, he walked back to her sister and scooped her up. The young girl did not fight back and instead curled up a bit and rested her head against his chest.

Lin found a stall selling warm fruit tarts and bought two of them. Suyin slowly nibbled on hers, while Lin and Tenzin took turns eating the tart that they were sharing. As Tenzin's arms were still occupied with carrying Suyin, Lin would have to hold the treat up to his mouth whenever he wanted a bite. They walked in silence for a few minutes until Suyin finally spoke.

"That wasn't very fun." She mumbled.

"No, it wasn't." Lin agreed.

Shortly afterwards they decided to head back to Air Temple Island, where the Beifong sisters had been invited to spend the night. Katara, having seen Oogi arrive earlier than expected, hurried outside to see what had happened. She was surprised to see Tenzin helping Lin get her sister down from the saddle. Usually Suyin was trying to jump from the saddle before the bison even touched the ground and Lin would have to hold her back. Tonight. Suyin was unusually quiet, as she clung to her older sister.

"What happened?" Katara asked as she rushed forward to check on the girl. "Are you okay Suyin? Did you get hurt?"

"She's fine." Lin said. "Just a little shaken up."

"Why? What happened?" Katara asked as she reached out and stroked Suyin's curly hair.

"She talked us into seeing a fortune-teller and didn't like what she heard." Lin replied.

"Oh honey, let's get you inside." Katara insisted as she took Suyin's shoulders and began to usher her to the house.

"We'll meet you inside in a bit, Mother." Tenzin said as he took Lin's hand. "We're just gonna bring Oogi back to the stables first."

"Okay, don't be long, I'm making some tea!" The older woman called back as she waved and continued on her way.

Suyin looked over her shoulder at her sister, clearly upset that she was not following.

"I'll be back soon, Su!" Lin reassured her. "Be good for Katara!"

When Suyin nodded and turned back towards the home that she was being led to, Lin felt Tenzin squeeze her hand. She looked up and smiled at him before the two began to make their way towards the stables, with the sky bison following.

"So... do you mind telling me what happened in there?" Tenzin asked. "Everything seemed fine when you two went in; but then you came out angrier than a viper bat -which I suppose isn't all that unexpected-"

Lin raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend's statement.

"-but Suyin was crying, and then I hear you started talking about being separated and making out with me... or not -I'm really confused about how it all relates,"

Lin let out a small laugh.

"Flameo, that must have sounded bad out of context."

"Yes, and I think that I've been rather patient, but context would be really nice."

Lin let out a sigh before telling Tenzin about the events that had transpired.

"Lets see, we got inside and the woman was trying to act all mysterious and was talking about how she had been waiting for us. Suyin -obviously- lapped it up. I tried to hurry it along, so Su tells her that it's because I was planning to make out with you -which we both know is untrue."

"Yeah, you don't have me scheduled in until Monday while our parents are busy and Su is in school!"

"I did not schedule anything! I just said that it was the ideal time to get some some alone time and that. . . we might not use that time wisely."

Tenzin chuckled at his girlfriend's logical approach to their love life.

"Although, if I did schedule it, that would explain how she knew." Lin grumbled.

"So you have been thinking about it?"

"Thinking about what? How she put together such a convincing act or kissing you?"

"The second one." He answered with a small smile.

"I'll admit that kissing you is not unpleasant." Lin replied as she swung his hand a bit and continued to look ahead.

"I should hope not." Tenzin replied as he pulled on her hand so that she turned to face him, before he leaned down to give her a light kiss on the lips.

Lin gave him a small smile when he pulled back. She raised herself up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss in return.

"We should finish putting Oogi away." She reminded him.

"You're really terrible at romance, you know that?" Tenzin informed his girlfriend, as he watched her walk inside the stable.

The teenage girl laughed.

"You've met my mother, what do you expect?"

Tenzin rolled his eyes as he motioned for the giant sky bison to follow him.

"Come along Oogi."

When they got inside, he saw that Lin was already filling the feeding trough with hay. He quickly grabbed the other pitchfork and began to help her.

"So what happened after the prediction of our future make out session?"

"Can we just call it a date?!" Lin snapped.

"Fine, our future date. What happened afterwards? Why does Suyin think that you guys are going to be separated?"

"She started asking if she was gonna be a single mom."

Tenzin looked at Lin in surprise.

"I didn't know that she was worried about that. She's only eleven."

"I was surprised too, but apparently it's weighing heavily on her mind."

"And?"

"And the lady told her that she would marry a nice, weak man and have lots of babies."

"Really?"

"Really."

Lin put the pitchfork away and began using her metal bending to heft a large basin off the wall and fling it outside. She and Tenzin walked in the direction of the basin.

"Somehow I'm having trouble imagining Su with a bunch of kids." He confessed.

"Tenzin, could you at least pretend that you don't believe this nonsense?" Lin requested.

"Sorry, Lin, but when you're father is the Avatar, it's kind of hard to be skeptical about such things." Tenzin told her as he stopped by the basin that now sat underneath a pump and she leaned against a nearby tree.

"Well for tonight you're gonna have to humor me." Lin demanded as he began to pump water into the basin. "Because the next thing the charlatan told her is that she's gonna be separated from us."

"Lin. . ."

"Don't stop pumping the water, airhead!" She snapped. "Oogi is thirsty!"

Tenzin sighed and continued to move the handle up and down.

"It bothers you, doesn't it?" He asked.

Lin's arms were crossed and refused to make eye contact.

"It's ridiculous." She stated. "Between me, my mom, your parents and the police force; nobody is taking Su away from us. It was a stupid thing for that fraud to say."

"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself, more than anyone else." Tenzin said.

Lin remained quiet. Tenzin finished pumping the water and walked over to his girlfriend. She was still looking in the opposite direction and keeping her arms wrapped tightly around herself. He sighed as he reached out pulled her against his chest.

"There's a part of you that believes it, isn't there?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair.

Lin let out a small sob.

"I don't want to." She spoke into his shoulder.

"But you do."

"Like you said, your dad is the Avatar. We've grown up knowing about things that most people would consider nonsense."

Lin suddenly pushed against Tenzin's chest and looked him in the eyes.

"What if she's right, Tenzin? What if I lose Su? What if I lose you? What if I lose everyone?"

"What else did she say?" Tenzin asked.

Lin was quiet.

"Lin. What did she say?" Tenzin repeated firmly.

". . .She said that I have two paths, and that one of them would lead to me losing everyone that I care about."

Tenzin sighed when he saw tears begin to slip out of Lin's eyes. He moved his hands up to cup her head and pulled it forward to press a kiss to her forehead, before resting theirs brows against each other.

"Aunt Wu told my father that one can shape their own destiny." He told her. "So even if she really did see the future, look to the positive. She said that Su would marrying a nice man and have a wonderful family, so even if you are separated for a time, she'll be happy in the end."

He pulled back and made eye contact with his girlfriend again.

"As for you, she said that you have two paths. What was the other one?"

"She said that other one was full of joy and life."

Tenzin smiled at her.

"Then let's work towards that path. Together."

Lin smiled back at him, but before she could say anything, they felt a shift in the wind. The young couple looked up to see the Avatar's sky bison approaching them from above. They quickly separated before Appa landed a few feet away from them. Aang jumped down from the giant creature's neck and was soon followed by Toph, who was sliding down from the saddle and still wearing her armor.

"Mom!" Lin exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on duty all night."

"Katara called. She said that Suyin was really upset and uncharacteristically quiet, so I asked Han if he could take over for the night."

"I'm so sorry Mom!" Lin said. "I shouldn't have taken her to see that fortune teller, but she was so insistent and-"

"Lin." Toph interrupted, laying a hand on her elder daughter's shoulder. "I'm not upset with you. It was Su's choice, I'm glad that you let her and that you were there for her when she needed you."

"But you had to leave work."

"I'm sure that Han can handle it," Toph said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "and if anybody has a problem with me taking the night off, I'll just kick their butts. Now how about you help get the bison settled in for the night while I check on your sister?"

Toph began to make her way up the path towards the house.

"Thanks for the ride Twinkle-Toes!" She called without looking back.

"You're welcome Toph! Let Katara know that Sokka and Suki will be over in the morning!"

Aang turned back to the young couple and smiled.

"Good evening, Lin. It's nice to see you." He greeted as he opened his arms for a hug.

Lin smiled and launched herself into the hug.

"It's nice to see you too, Uncle."

"Is my son treating you well?" He asked as he released her.

"He's been behaving tonight. I'm sorry that we didn't make it to your presentation, but. . . well, I guess you know what happened."

"It's more than alright, Lin, You had something more important to take care of -besides, it wasn't anything that you haven't heard before. Now how about we get Appa and Oogi taken care of and head back to the house?"

The three of them returned to their efforts of ensuring that the two bison had enough food and water to last them until morning, and taking off their saddles before heading back to the house. As they drew closer, they heard the unmistakable noise of earthbending. Unsurprisingly, Toph had decided that her youngest daughter had needed a bit of action to snap her out of stupor and had dragged her out of the house to spar.

"She promised to put it all back together when they finish." Katara said as they watched Suyin destroy a boulder that her mother had chucked at her, before flipping up in the air.

The fight continued until Toph was satisfied with her daughter's energy and took her away to talk. Lin never knew what her mother said to the young girl, but when they came back into the kitchen where the others were drinking tea and snacking, Suyin seemed more like herself. She was a little clingy with their mother, but otherwise, seemed fine.

That night, Toph slept over on Air Temple Island. Lin remembered watching from the doorway as her mother lay in bed, hugging Suyin and whispering to her as they fell asleep. She turned away from the scene and made her way to the Meditation Pavilion where Tenzin sat, waiting for her. She joined him on the ground, where he hugged her close as they gazed at the stars until they fell asleep. When Lin woke up the next morning, she quickly hurried back to the room that she was supposed to have shared with her mother and sister. Lin tried to be quiet as she made her way into the unoccupied bed.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Katara and Aang what you and Junior were up to." Toph said without opening her eyes.

Lin blushed, in embarrassment, knowing that her mother had jumped to the wrong conclusion about her and Tenzin's late night.

A few days later everything had gone back to normal. On the surface, it seemed that Aunt Jun's predictions had been forgotten. Nobody really spoke about the incident and Suyin was back to her carefree antics. Toph was leaving the girls to their own devices, as usual, and Lin began to refocus on her preparations for the Police Academy.

All seemed to be going well until Lin began her studies at the Police Academy. It was around that time that Tenzin and Aang left for a long term trip around the world. Lin became engrossed in her courses but still made sure to check in on Suyin, who's behavior was becoming more challenging. It started with bouts of moodiness which Lin wrote off as teenage mood swings. Soon Suyin was slacking off, staying out past curfew, skipping school, running around town and hanging around with questionable friends.

Lin still held out hope that she could push Suyin back on the right path, but when she became a police officer it only seemed to get worse. Lin felt like she was always fighting with her sister over something; whether it was Suyin's academics, friends, late nights or the alcohol that Lin could clearly smell on the young girl's breath. The worst part was that their mother did not seem to care, she would simply brush off Lin's concerns and tell her to let Suyin figure it out herself.

Then came the day when everything changed. It was the day that Lin caught her fifteen year old sister driving the getaway car for the Terra Triad. It was the day that Lin had decided to put a stop to Suyin's reckless behavior once and for all. It was the day that her face was scarred by her sister. It was the day that Toph Beifong covered up her youngest child's crime and sent her away. It was on that day Lin started calling Suyin her half-sister.

That night, she stayed on Air Temple Island, where Katara tried to heal the wounds on her cheek. She did not go to the pavilion that night. Instead she hid herself away with Tenzin in his old room and cried into his shoulder as he held her tight and tried to comfort her. The only thing she heard that night were the words that Aunt Jun had spoken to a young Suyin, four years ago.

"Soon you will be started down a long road that will take you away from him and your family."

I will admit to getting lazy in the last few paragraphs.

I will also admit that after waking up the next day and reading what I posted, I noticed several typos and went back to fix them.