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AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Happy Wednesday my wonderful readers. So as you might have noticed, I've been having problems getting this story updated on time. And it's not just this story, it's all my stories, and quite frankly that's unacceptable. So, as much as I don't want to do this, I'm going to take a little break from posting in the new year. Now, before anyone freaks out, it should only be for a week. I would like to build some of my chapters up so I have that reservoir of chapters behind me if I get stuck again. I'm thinking after a week I'll have enough chapters to start publishing again but I'm not sure. So it might take the whole month, I'm hoping NOT to take the whole month. I know that's not what anyone wants to hear, but I honestly just want to make sure that everything gets posted on time, not just this story.

As for this chapter, we'll be skipping over Episode 20 entirely in favour of Steven's b-day and right now it's split up into 3 chapters cause they do a lot. This is all just supposed to be cute, no drama so I hope you guys enjoy it! As always don't forget to leave a review and thanks for the understanding!

Chapter 377

Steve woke up to his wife on top of him and a lazy smile on his face.

It was his birthday today.

Last night they had sort of half combined Nahele and Steve's party. Nahele wanted to have a family party and a friend party. The family one on his birthday and, tonight, he'd be spending his birthday with his friends, instead of with Steven on his birthday. He had asked, over and over if that was okay, and Steve kept saying that it was. But Nahele clearly didn't believe him.

Steve just couldn't believe that his son was officially 17.

Last night they had gone out for dinner. Not just a family dinner for Nahele, but combined with STeves as well. They exchanged gifts, and that was him spending part of his birthday with his son.

Today, Rowan clearly was going to get him all to herself. And she was super excited about that.

He was certain, since he woke up to his wife straddling him, that this was the start of birthday sex, only to find that his wife was already awake and ready for the day.

And by that he meant that she was dressed, with make up and everything.

When the hell had she gotten up? How had he missed her leaving his bed?

"Come on, Nahele's leaving for the day, come say good-bye."

So… they were going to have birthday sex later? No, they were going to have it now.

He grabbed a hold of her hips and ground up, and though that elicited a moan from his wife, she put her hands to his chest and pushed him down and her up.

"No Steven. Not now," she hissed. "Nahele's waiting for you downstairs."

"Aww… but… my birthday gift…"

"Is not me this year," she said and his heart dropped. What? Why? But that… that was his favourite part.

"Trust me I have something better planned this year."

"Better then sex?" There was nothing better than sex. It was free to give, and their sex was fucking phenomenal. So…what the hell was she talking about?

"Oh, just get up."

And then she clamoured off of him, off of the bed and then out of the room. Steve found himself just lying there wondering what the hell had just happened?

Still, he did as he was told, moaning and groaning as he went. He got a shirt on, and went about looking for a pair of pants he could use to cover up his raging his boner. He settled on his grey pair of cargo pants. They went with his muted blue shirt and effectively hid what was going on in his pants.

He pounded down the stairs and found Nahele with his back pack ready, and his surfboard under his arm.

They were going to the beach.

"Who's driving?" Steve asked right away because both of them weren't going to be there and Nahele didn't have his learner's permit yet. They agreed to let him go for it in the summer so he wouldn't be distracted during school.

"Kai's mom," he said. "It's only gonna be me, Kai and Makani. I uhm… after everything didn't really want to invite my other friends."

Beside him Rowan winced because it was her fault, except his friend's parents had all been ready to tell the cops that he was a thief. He had kind of pulled away from those friends. Nahele kept saying that he didn't blame Rowan, it was all his friend's and their shitty parents' faults, but she blamed herself anyway. Spoiled him more than usual to make up for it.

This year she had bought him a new gaming laptop and a new pair of headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre. Steve didn't know who that was but she got the special edition red pair which was twice the price of the regulars.

Both of which completely overshadowing the small gift Steve had gotten him. Or well, handed down to him.

He had given him the watch his dad had bought him when he got into the SEALs. That dive watch had been with him through everything, and since Wo had gotten him a new one, he thought Nahele might like to have his.

And he had put it on right away, but Steve felt bad, because while he went for sentimental, Rowan had got for the flashy price tag. And yes, she had let Steve put his name on all her gifts, he still felt a little miffed that he hadn't gotten Nahele something better.

Except, neither of her gifts were leaving with Nahele that day. He was still wearing that watch.

He glanced to Rowan and her wince and he smiled. "There are some more people who might join us for the bonfire, I made it an open invite, but I don't really care about attendance, you know?"

He then turned to Steve. "And you're sure you don't mind? Me not being here today? I know mom said she has plans but…"

"Hey, no, no, kid, it's okay," he said, putting a hand to his shoulder. "We did all our stuff yesterday and I am perfectly fine with that. You're growing up, you don't have to spend the actual day with me. So again. I am fine, have fun, send us lots of pictures."

Nahele moved in to hug him and Steve accepted it right away. "You have a good day okay?" he whispered to him.

"You too dad," he whispered back.

He eventually let Steve go to hug Rowan and as he was hugging her a horn sounded outside. He said goodbye and rushed out leaving them alone in the house.

And an empty house was a house they could fuck in. And this was the kind of fucking that could be done anywhere, at any volume. So basically, the freaky, kinky sex he barely got anymore.

"Alright, so," he said turning to his wife, his hands darting out of her waist so he could pull her back to him. "Now that Nahele's gone can we…"

"Nope," Rowan said twisting out of his grasp. "I told you, this year I'm not the gift."

"Rowan!" Steve found himself whining, sounding much like a petulant child. "What about my birthday sex!"

Rowan pinned him with a dry glare and he glared right back. If she said she had something better than birthday sex, he was gonna shake her.

"You will still get birthday sex, just not right now. And I didn't buy any sets for you this year."

Aw but that was the best part. Stripping her out of that bra and pantie set. Why the hell would she deprive him of something new to unwrap her out of?

"Oh my god, why do you look so disappointed?" Rowan asked. "Is that all you want me for? Sex?"

"No. I just… I like having sex with you, and it's my birthday which means I can do whatever I want!" Her glare was darkening and he realized that they were going to end up arguing on his birthday. He didn't want to argue.

Also, he was whining like a petulant child. That had to be terribly unattractive, which was not helping his case.

"Okay, sorry. I'm sorry. I'm horny and I got excited and… I'm sure you have something amazing planned so let's go. What did you want to do today?"

A smile finally widened on Rowan's face. "A lot. So, go change into jeans and a nice shirt, cause we're taking lots of pictures and I'm going to pack the backpack."

Steve sighed. He had picked the cargo pants because he had a raging boner, which had not gone away. But he went upstairs to change into the jeans she wanted him in, and while he was at it, he put on his boots, cause he had no idea where he was going or what they were doing.

When he got back down the stairs, she had the backpack on her back and hand outstretched to him. He knew right away that they were going to be jumping today and he was sort of super excited for a void adventure.

So, he took her hand and let her lead him into that portal.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

They were in a washroom. A handicapped washroom.

Rowan was looking at her watch. A rose gold Rolex he didn't realize she owned. But it was clearly mechanical because it had survived the jump.

"Alright, it should be open by now, let me just double check."

Oh my god. Had she jumped them into a place that wasn't open? Were they trespassing right now?

He did not want to commit a crime on his birthday.

Rowan opened the bathroom door and poked a head out of it.

"Yep, it's open, let's go."

She offered him a hand that he took immediately. She pulled him out into the hallway and he found himself frozen.

They were in the Louvre.

Rowan stopped walking when she realized he had and she turned back to him. "Are you coming?"

Steve looked around. The place was filled with light. Marble stairs and polished stone hallways. There wasn't anything in this part of the Louvre, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

"Paris," he whispered. "We're in… we're in Paris."

"We are. We're in the Louvre," she said. Which he already knew. "What would you like to see first?"

"I uhm… I don't know."

"Right, well how about I show you my favourites?"

Steve nodded and let her pull him along.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

He saw all the famous pieces of work that the Louvre had to offer. Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Psyche revived by Eros' kiss, which was Rowan's favourite. He saw them all.

And when they were done, she brought him to the gift store where he went through looking for a souvenir.

He wanted to pick up a miniature version of Psyche being revived as it was Rowan's favourite statue, but apparently when she was there last she had "bought" one. And since the last time she was there was the heist he knew that meant that she had really stolen it.

After some searching, he picked a thick book for their coffee table. Only because it had all these beautiful pictures for their company to look through.

Once he had picked and Rowan had paid, she took him out of the Louvre. Steve wanted to argue, but her paying for everything was part of the deal. His birthday, everything was her treat. Plus, she had the Euros.

The next stop was the Eifel tower. She paid for them to go up, where they had breakfast at a little café there. Croissants and coffee.

When they were done, she took him to the spot where Wo Fat had taken that picture of her and they took a picture together.

Then it was time for him to pick another souvenir from the gift shop.

That time, he picked a picture from for that picture they took.

"Are we all good for Paris?" she asked and he nodded. Put his hand in hers and let her take him through another portal.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

They came out in a hotel washroom. This swanky washroom made out of Italian tiles, with golden gilded trims and a painted ceiling. This was not a disabled washroom, but a men's. He figured the girl's was probably taken.

She took him out of the hotel and onto the bustling street. She was once again looking at her watch which was fine because he had paused only to look back at the name of it.

The Hotel Danieli loomed above him in beautiful gold cursive on a green awning. He turned and there across from him was the water.

They were in Venice.

"Right, so this is going to be a shorter stop," she said

The water was only a few steps away from them. The Piazza San Marco was only a three-minute walk.

"Was that where you were staying?" he asked.

Rowan nodded to him. "Yep, we had the Doge Dandolo Royal Suite. It was most expensive room in the place."

Steve rolled his eyes, he knew Wo balled out for her that whole trip but every time he heard about it he got jealous. Because he knew he could never afford to treat her the way Wo Fat did.

Granted neither could Wo Fat, cause it bankrupted him but still. He should have been the one to take her to all these places.

She checked her watch. "We're a little early," she said. "So, let's wander a bit."

Steve nodded and let her drag him through the square.

"That's Café Florian," she said pointing to a little shop. "Best High Tea in Venice, and the first one I did with Con."

The shop looked 100 years old but still elegant and expensive. Probably couldn't have afforded this place either.

Then she took him across the square to a little jewelry shop. "And this is where I found my ring."

The shop had all sorts of types of rings, but she was pointing to a display hand that had ruby rings on each finger.

"It was right there, and every day when we went walking, I would stop and look at it," she said. "Eventually Con caught on, asked me why I didn't buy it. But…" she paused and looked at the ring on her hand, that looked wonderful with her little golden wedding band. "It was an engagement ring to me. It wouldn't have made sense if I bought it for myself. Plus, we had just broken up and… well… if I wasn't getting a ring from you, I didn't want one from anyone else."

"And then Wo bought it for you."

"Well, he did, but I didn't know that yet. I found that out on Christmas when Con tried to give it to me…"

"I'm sorry… Con. Conejo. Sin Nombre… he proposed to you?"

Rowan turned a narrowed look at him. "No. Stupid. He tried to give it to me as a Christmas gift. Said they had gotten it for me so I was supposed to get it. Wo said he bought it to give the next guy an advantage." She then smiled up to Steve. "But he gave it to you. So, it worked out."

Steve took that hand of hers and held it tightly. Yes, it had worked out, hadn't it?

Rowan checked her watch again. "We've still got time do you want to pick your souvenir now?"

Steve nodded and then went to all the different carts that were stationed in the Piazza. He kept looking around and finally settled on a sweater. It was Navy blue with white rope stitching along the edges. It had a very naval theme and he liked it. That and it said Venice across the chest.

She purchased it in his size, put it in the backpack with his book and then checked her watch again.

It was clearly they were no longer done waiting because she turned smile up to him. "It's time! Come on," she said dragging him back to the water's edge.

She brought him to where the canal met the sea, where a line of gondolas was all waiting for customers. She went up to one and waved.

"Hello! I'm McGarrett for two."

"Ah. Signorina McGarrett, come, come."

Steve grabbed her hand immediately and helped her down the steep stone steps, once she was in the gondola, he began his own descent down. Rowan didn't let him go until he was in the little boat, and then they sat down.

Once they were settled, the man pushed off and Steve threw an arm around Rowan's shoulders.

"So… who uh… who did you do the gondola ride with last time?"

"Wo. Con doesn't like boats. Which I coincidentally found out here. Took him on a boat cruise of Murano and Burano and it was a complete disaster. No more boats for him after that."

Steve nodded. That was right. She did a lot of the romantic things with Wo Fat. He wondered if she ever really recognized that. How borderline romantic their relationship really was. He figured she didn't and since it wasn't hurting anyone, and he knew for a fact there was a shred of romantic interest from both parties, he wasn't going to tell her.

Instead, they sat back, took in the singing and the sights, like the Rialto bridge and all the beautiful buildings there were drifting by.

Rowan and Steve took another selfie and when they got off, he went in search of another picture frame. He was sensing a recurring theme.

Once he had his picture frame, they went to the next place.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

This washroom was in a train station. One look at the crazy names around him and he knew where they were.

Berlin.

Well, he assumed Germany, only when he asked where in Germany they were, did Rowan tell him they were in Berlin.

She was leading him somewhere, so she obviously knew where she was going.

"I would have popped us in there, but I've never been," she said and Steve found himself staring at her.

"Really? Why?"

"Well Berlin was cut short. Armando called and needed assistance and Wo Fat owed him one, you know cause he loaned Wo the plane, the guns and the men to come and rescue me. So, we went down to Colombia before I could do all I wanted to do and well, it wasn't really all that important, so I never came back."

Steve nodded, ah so he'd be doing something with her today that Wo Fat never did. Why did that make him feel better?

"And where were you staying when you were here? Somewhere super posh I bet."

"Yep. The Adlon Kempinski," she said and he nodded. Yeah, the most expensive hotel there. Why was he surprised? "But uh… we caused major damage to the room and we're banned for life. We were using fake names at that point though, one of Wo's anyways, I might be able to get another res but I bet they have our pictures on file under do not let back in."

Steve shook his head. He was both curious and not about the time she spent away from him. It was clearly she was a wild child, party girl that drank everything and fucked all the guys. He both wanted to know that girl and didn't.

He had a feeling that girl would have destroyed his heart if he had met her instead of his lovely Rowan.

Their next stop was the Pergamon Museum of art. They spent about an hour there. They spent twenty minutes of that hour staring at the Domed Roof Palacio del Partal alone. They also so the Telephos Frieze, the Quran Box and a statue of Athena.

That too was Rowan's favourite and he was starting to realize that she had a thing for Greek Mythology. Or at least he characters that played in it.

When they were done with the museum, and the gift shop where Steve bought another book for their coffee table, they were supposed to be heading back to the train station for their next jump. Except Rowan stopped at a street vendor selling art prints and canvases.

Steve had picked the art book for their coffee table cause he was going with a theme. He wanted to show everyone who came to his house that he was cultured and had been to these places. Granted he wouldn't be able to explain how he went to all of those places without technically leaving the country, or having any proof that he left. But hey as long as they didn't ask when he went on that trip, he'd be fine.

"Do you mind if we stop?" Rowan asked. Like he'd care.

"No, course not," he said. "But… uh… I uh… I thought you got everything the first time you went to these places."

At that Rowan winced. "Well, actually, I never managed to get my souvenir from Berlin. I only got something for Nahele. So I was going to pick something for me too."

"Okay? Well that's fine. Did… is there somewhere you wanted to go?"

"Well, I wanted to get an art print, and then I though maybe we could both get one as a matching set, you know, to go with all the pictures we're taking."

"Yeah? That sounds like plan."

"Oh great," Rowan cried already starting to go through the prints and canvases that this particular artist had to offer. "I was also thinking that we can put them all up on the wall by the front door. Not just he canvases but all the pictures. Wouldn't that be cute?"

Yes, it would. And it would be the first thing that he saw when he came home.

They were quiet for a bit as they both looked and eventually, they found pictures that they liked.

His was a bunch of triangles, red and gold with a rustic gunmetal grey mixed in. It reminded him of his dog tags, of the inner belly of naval ships, and the buttons on his dress blues.

Rowan's was a water color. It was this flowing marbled look, like it was food coloring dancing on water. It started with this greyish blue in the left corner that flowed into a greyish purple and then into a pink which faded into white in the right corner. It was exactly her aesthetic. It was just missing the veins of gold.

But neither of them picked prints. They picked Canvases, which meant Rowan was going to have to pop them home.

So, they went back to the train station. Rowan opened a door that led to their room, put their new canvases on their bed, including the two new picture frames, the art book and his

"Do we still have more to do?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Oh yes. We're not even close to being done yet."

Steve just smiled

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Where they ended up coming out the sun was already setting.

This one was a bedroom. It was clearly supposed to be a girl's room. With a vanity set, and a large wardrobe with a full-sized mirror and a canopy bed. She led him out of the room and down the stairs.

They were in this mansion in the middle of the jungle, but people were clearly expecting them.

"The car is reading for you Miss. Pierce," the servant waiting for them at the door had said.

Steve turned to her, waiting for her to correct the man, because she was not a Miss. Nor was she Pierce anymore. But she said nothing. She thanked the man and led Steve out to a black Audi that was waiting for them.

This courtyard was made entirely of red clay stones and for some reason. There was no centerpiece, no central piece of grass, but a row of hedges lined the property, and in those hedges was a black wrought iron fence.

And all of it looked so very familiar.

"Ro… where are we?" he asked, refusing to get into that car.

"Don't worry, just come on," she said sliding into the car.

Steve sighed but did as he was told, sliding into the back after her and then they were driving.

It was a mansion in the middle of the jungle. Like literally, they were on the dirt road for two minutes and that white walled glistening mansion was gone.

"Rowan," he growled, because he was starting to get an idea of where they were and he really didn't want to be back there.

Rowan put her hand in his. "Trust me," was all she said and he sighed. Right, so he was going to have to try and trust her, he could do that.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at their destination.

It was rustic looking town, with brightly colored walled rundown buildings with terracotta roofs. There were stalls

"Welcome to Villa De Leyva," she said. "We're about 2 hours from Bogota, and this is the little town I did most of my shopping in. It's also where…"

"Rowan!" came a little scream. "It's Miss. Ro. It's Miss. Ro!"

And then they were surrounded by children, all jumbling around her, jumping around to hug her. "Oh hello! Hello!"

A man left his stall, coming towards the children that were all bounding around her. Steve wished he had his gun, because she had taken him to Colombia and he didn't know if there was still a man hunt going on for her. It definitely wasn't safe for her to be there.

But the man came up, he was also smiling, and he had his arms out to get a hug, which Rowan gave him right away. When they were done hugging, she turned back to Steve with a grin.

"This Raul, and these are my finders. I got pick pocketed, well almost pick pocketed, Con stopped it. And I came up with the idea for the finders."

Steve stared at her not sure what to say.

She took a wad of American bills out of her pocket. "Who's on duty?"

"I am!" came the cry of a few voices.

"And who wants a last-minute job? I need three kids."

Every single kid said yes, even the ones that weren't working, as if they were excited to work just for her.

"Right, so this here is Steven, he's my husband," she said and he got a resounding Hi Steven from all the little kids around them. "It's his birthday today and I was hoping that you guys could find him a birthday present."

A little girl came forward. "My name is Lupita, I'm Ro's favourite but she can't admit that. Did you really marry her?"

She was looking up at him starstruck and he found himself mutely nodding. She then turned to Rowan. "He's so handsome!" she cried. "But Mr. Bunny was cuter."

Steve turned to Rowan who sort of winced at him and she turned back to her. "Lupita, do you remember…"

"Oh, sorry," she said and then turned back to Steve. "What are you looking for?"

Steve turned to Rowan who just smiled at him. "Uhm… I unno, how about you just find me the coolest thing here."

She nodded, took the money from Rowan and then ran off.

Then two boys came forward.

"Right, you two. We'd like street corn, empanadas, cocadas, raspao and then something for dessert. You know what my flavours are, Steve?"

Steve stared at her and then turned back to the boys. "I'm good with anything."

The two boys nodded, both taking the money from Rowan and then rushing off.

It was going to be weird having lunch at what should be dinner time, but Steve didn't mind. So long as Rowan was with him.

The kids all dispersed and once they were alone Rowan turned to Raul. "And how's business."

"Wonderful!" he said. "The kids are happy. We're pulling in good numbers. We got featured in a few travel blogs so now we're getting people who are coming here just to try it. They're opening up other chapters in other cities, so Armando is branching his business out to those places to ensure the kid's safety."

"Aw that's great! I'm so happy for you."

"This was her idea, you know," Raul said to him. They were walking towards the square. It had all of these little tables under umbrellas for the to sit at and already he could see two kids holding a table for them. "She gave it to me when she left Colombia."

Yeah, that sounded like Rowan. Just giving someone a sustainable business model and a business that was already set up and clearly flourishing without asking for a piece of profits.

"Well, I was leaving, and probably not coming back, so I figured, why hold onto it? I only did it to give the kids something other then pick pocketing to help make money for their families."

They made it to the table and Raul pulled out the seat for Rowan. "Right, I'll leave you to your date. Happy Birthday!"

As soon as he was gone the two little boys that had been holding their table for them bounced up to Steve.

"Do you have a cool job like Mr. Bunny?" the one of the little boys asked.

"Uh… yes, I head my own Task Force in Hawaii," he said and when the kids just stared at him, he added: "And uh… I was a Navy SEAL."

"SO COOL!" the kids cried and then ran over to give Rowan one more hug before running off.

"So uh… this is it, this is where Wo Fat had stashed you?"

"Yep. That uh… that house was where it happened. The first Colombia incident," she said. "Armando had to completely remodel the first floor."

"Really?"

"Well yeah… I flooded it. Can't even tell that a natural disaster happened there."

Steve had sort of felt it. This lingering feeling that covered the place and had sunk into his bones. Like the void had left the imprint and his feelings for his wife had brought it alive again.

"It seems, smaller than I thought it was," he said and she shrugged. He reached out to take her hand. "You don't have to think about it anymore. Okay?"

She nodded and he smiled looking around at the little village. He could imagine Rowan wandering around here with Con following behind her. She probably drove him crazy.

They were luckily distracted by the appearance of two of the kids who Rowan had sent off.

The first boy had the street corn and empanadas, that he put down on the table. And the second had the cocadas, which looked like lumps of coconut, and raspao. Rowan's was in a snow cone shaped, while his was in a to-go cup. When they had everything on the table, they both went into their pockets. One boy brought out two bars of chocolate, the other brought the change.

"Keep it," she said. "It's your tip."

"Thanks Miss. Ro!" the boys said. "We hope you like everything. Mr. Steven. Your empanadas are beef by the way! One spicy one regular!"

"Thank you," he called as they both ran away.

"So that's how it works, huh?"

"Yeah, it'll be a bit different with your souvenir though."

Steve wanted to ask more but she was already tucking into the food they had brought so he did the same. He had just finished the corn when the little girl came back, her arms filled with this.

"Hi Miss. Ro, hi Mr. Steven, want to see what I found?"

Steve quickly swallowed the last bit of his corn and said: "Of course!"

The little girl carefully put everything into his lap, except for one thing which she put on the table.

"The first this is a Chiva bus, I had them paint it in blues to match you, but the added some whites and greens to make it pop more. And I had them put your name on it too," she said. The Chiva bus was a ceramic little bus, already he was thinking he could put it on his dresser on either side of the sugar skull painted cat and unicorn that Rowan had.

"Then I got you a Wayuu mochila bag. I got you the most colorful one," she said putting a little cylindrical bag into his hands. It was definitely multi colored with a diamond pattern. "It's hand made!"

"It's very pretty."

"And the last thing, it's also hand made, is this Wayuu Hammock! I got it in black and white, and it has real turquoise beats on the tassels."

Steve took it all in, this was a lot, he glanced at Rowan who was just smiling at them both and Steve sighed.

"Well… they're all so pretty I guess I'll have to take them all."

"Really? All?" she cried. "Oh wonderful!"

She then went to Rowan to give her a big hug. "I know I was supposed to give you change, but I bought you something too!"

"Oh Lupita, you didn't have to," she said, but the little girl brought this beaded necklace all in turquoise blues and whites.

"Oh thank you! It's beautiful!" she cried, hugging the girl again.

"I miss you when you're not here! I hope you come back soon!"

"I will do my best," she said. Once Lupita had run off, she turned to Steve. "So, all three huh?"

"What can I say? I couldn't say no. She was so cute," he said.

"God forbid we have a daughter," Rowan grumbled and that just gave him the mental image of a cute little version of Lupita with Rowan's blue eye and his stomach turned over in excitement. She wasn't even real and already he was smitten. She'd have him wrap around her finger right away. "So, what usually happens?"

"Well, they bring back what they bought, the person chooses, they keep what's left over to sell at the shop, and they give the change back. The person leaves a tip if they feel like it."

"Huh, that's a good idea."

"Yes, I believe they've added price limits and item limits now. 50 for three items or one large one, the patron specifies."

"Wow, you really thought it through."

She nodded again and he smiled. He couldn't wait to set up this hammock in the back yard. Couldn't wait to be cuddling Rowan in it. The bag could be decoration. Hang it in his office at work, put a plant in it or something.

They finished up their lunch, stuffed what they could into Rowan's bag and then headed back to the car.

The car took them back to that mansion compound and Steve took a good long look at the place Rowan had spent her Christmas that year she was away. And her New Years. And her Birthday. And Valentines Day.

Other then that safe house, this was the place she spent the most amount of time.

Wo Fat had barely been around, she had said. This place had been a gilded bird cage. She couldn't leave without Con, and she sent Con to Hawaii halfway through the trip. He knew how much Rowan hated being contained, he still couldn't believe she wandered off.

"How did he keep you here?" he asked her. "The village, it's a half hour walk. You… I know you, why didn't you walk it?"

"Well I got attacked and kidnapped, both on separate occasions, while I had Con with me," she said with a shrug and Steve froze, because he hadn't heard those stories. "Con kept saying that I was in Cholo country, and well… Wo was barely here, and I sent Con to Hawaii before Christmas… and we owed Armando so…"

"So you actually stayed still?"

"Yep. Wo said I was the least problematic in Colombia. You know, until I had that… incident," she said. The car pulled up to the house and she got out.

"You ready for the next stop?" she asked as they headed into the house and up what he now knew had been her room.

"Do we still have places to go?" he asked her and she nodded. As he put his hand in hers, he realized just what it was she was doing.

She was taking him through everything she did during the year of Deceit. Doing it all over with him.

Steve just smiled and let her pull him through the next portal.