Nat grimaced, rolling her eyes at her own reaction to the question. "Lailah insisted on making me sit down with a glass of water before she took all those people away," she told him. "She had been waiting for you to send me away from the basement, and she made no attempt to soften how useless I was feeling because of it." Though that was more because of the social graces angels lacked than any malice, she was sure. "I was alone much of the time you were down there. She did not return."

"Just because you didn't see her doesn't mean she wasn't there," he said, stating the obvious. Lailah was his guardian angel, after all, though that made him wonder if she was Nat's now, as well. "You're not useless, Nat," he continued. "You're pregnant. There's a difference. I'm the brawn, and you're the brains," he added, smiling over at her, hoping a little bit of humor would smooth over her feelings of uselessness.

"But I was a liability last night," she pointed out. "I was an easily made threat, a weakness that you cannot afford to show to demons, because I could not have defended myself." She shrugged, sighed, and finally admitted what had been playing on her mind. "I will not engage in any hunt until I am able to defend myself once again. It is too risky."

He was a little surprised by her admission, and yet, he was also relieved by it. If it hadn't been for the demons living in Dylan's house, none of this would have happened in the first place. It would have just been a road trip to Pennsylvania for a few days and back again. That stirred another thought that had been playing on his mind, but had not yet expressed. "No, I agree. You shouldn't be hunting anyway. You're a thief, not a hunter. You're-you're the Priestess of Avalon. I'm the Champion."

"I am not going to let you use that as an excuse to keep me out of every fight, milaya," she chuckled gently, reaching over to touch his thigh with tender affection. "But you are right. I am not suited to such engagements, though I am capable. I was very frightened last night, even if I did not want to show it."

"I wouldn't have let her hurt you, Nat," he pointed out, glancing her way momentarily, while they were stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. There was no question whose life he would have chosen, if he'd had to make a choice. "I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you or our daughter. You can believe that."

"I do believe that," she promised him. "But in protecting me, you could have been harmed, and that I do not find acceptable. So my decision is made, and you can stop trying to get Bethany and Gina to talk me into taking it easy." She smirked over at him impishly. "But we were talking about Aurelia."

"Who, me?" he gaped, feigning shock, though there was a hint of a smirk on his face. Would he do that' Hell, yes, he would, but he'd never admit it. Fortunately for her, he hadn't gotten the Lady involved. "Aurelia, right," he repeated, pulling forward as the light turned green. "Don't you find it a little ironic that she ended up at Dylan's house, of all places?"

"Perhaps the Lady had a hand in it, somehow," Nat mused thoughtfully. "Or perhaps it truly is a coincidence. I do not know, and I do not think it serves any purpose to wonder. What is done is done, and she has been returned to you as she was, offering you a way to make Dylan's house a place of welcome once again. I think that is all that truly matters, milaya."

"It's not a coincidence," Rhys replied. There was no way it could be a coincidence. The chances that out of the entire multiverse, Aurelia would end up here had to be ridiculously slim. It was just too ironic. It could have been the Lady who'd had a hand in it, or it could be someone or something else. "Do you believe in Fate?"

"I am not certain," his wife answered as honestly as she could. "I do not like to think that I have one path to walk and no way to change it, but there are things that have happened in my life that could only have happened if they were intended to happen right from the start. So I do not know, Rhys. Why do you ask?"

"You're not gonna believe me if I tell you," he started, though there was really no reason for her not to believe him, considering all the crazy things they'd seen and done all their lives. The fact was that if anyone was going to believe him, Nat was the most likely. Even more likely than Adam.

She stared at him for a long moment, wondering if he had even heard himself speak there. "Rhys, do I need to list all the "unbelievable" things you have told me in the past years" Or the things we have done?"

She was right, and he knew it. In fact, he'd known it was a stupid thing to say as soon as he'd said it. He turned the Chevelle off the main road and onto a more rural road heading away from town. "Sorry, force of habit," he apologized. How many times had he prefaced something he was going to tell somewhere with those very words: You're not gonna believe me. "Okay, what if I told you that I think I once knew one of the Fates" Not knew in Biblical terms, but knew as a friend."

"My darling, you were an angel," she pointed out. "Why should I disbelieve that you have met one of those beings who have some control over the lives of every mortal born" And besides, our meeting was so unpredicted, unexpected ....it is one of those times I believe someone had a hand in my life without my knowing it."

"Yeah, well, I always thought it was the Lady who had a hand in that, but now I'm not so sure," he replied thoughtfully as they neared the road that would lead them to the old homestead. He frowned a little, as another thought came to mind. He'd spent a good deal of time thinking this over, but he wasn't sure this was the best time or place to discuss it.

"This ....Fate ..." Nat mused softly, and there was the jealous sting, despite his reassurance. "She was a good friend to you?"

"She saved my *ss a couple of times," he replied. Though there had been times when she hadn't come to his rescue, too. Or maybe she had and he just hadn't realized it at the time. "It's kind of a long story," he continued, unsure if he wanted to relate it here and now. He had a theory about something, and if he was right, then this was definitely not the time or the place. "It might have been angels who had a hand in us meeting. I'm not sure. Lailah won't tell me sh*t, and I can't..." He trailed off as another thought came to mind.

Rhys cackled good-naturedly. "I knew it!" he exclaimed, still chuckling as Nat took the bag of groceries. "There was ten years worth of grime in here!" Ten years, give or take, since Dylan had died and he'd left home brokenhearted, not to mention terrified, hoping to disappear amidst the crowds of the Big Apple, but things hadn't quite turned out that way. "Are you gonna charge me for cleaning services?" he teased.

The witch hit him with the cloth she still held, but her smile was warm and genuine as she leaned a hip against the window sill. "I would do the whole house, if I had the opportunity," she told him, truly sincere in her wish. "Plant a herb garden, cultivate a lawn, clear the driveway, fix the roof. It is a beautiful place, Rhys. And peaceful ....for me, at least."

He smirked as he got smacked with the cloth. Despite the fact that they had only known each other for a few days at most, there was a certain camaraderie between them, like they were old friends. "Who's stopping you?" he asked, curious to see what she'd say to that.

Aurelia met his gaze with a knowing smile. "It is not my home to do with as I would wish," she reminded him regretfully. "This place ....it is yours. I feel that; it belongs to you, it knows you. I am a stranger. Worse, I am a stranger that brought evil into this place. I do not think it is a forgivable action."

Rhys' smile faded as she turned serious, saddened by the thought that she might turn his offer down and that the house might never know happiness again. "It's not mine. It was Dylan's. I haven't lived here in years. I just own the deed, that's all." He paused a moment to look around at his surroundings, feeling more certain than ever that he was doing the right thing in offering it to her. There was nothing left for him here anymore but memories. He had already moved on. "You didn't bring the evil into this place. The demon did. The truth is this place has seen more than its share of sadness. It would be nice to have someone live here who could make it a proper home again." There was a little sadness in his voice as he spoke, but nothing could be done about what had already passed.

"I wish I could be that person," she said softly. "But I have nothing. I cannot pay for rent, I cannot even repay you for what you have already bought for me. Somehow I must find a job that will pay enough quickly enough for me to be able to live, and I do not know this world. It is ....frightening."

Rhys glanced over at Nat in the kitchen a moment. They had discussed this a little already on the way over, and he didn't think he'd be assuming too much if he let Aurelia know what they'd been discussing. "Why can't you be that person?" he asked, looking back at her. "You don't have to pay any rent to live here. Stay as long as you like. Seriously, you'd be doing me a favor. It's been vacant for years. I just haven't had the heart to sell it."

"And before you think to object," Nat added from where she was sorting perishables from non-perishables, "we are more than able to support you here. Money is not an issue for us. Looking after our friends is." She looked to Rhys, brows rising just a little. He had to make the pitch to Aurelia in full, now, or the witch might find some way to talk herself out of something she truly wanted.

"Agreed," Rhys backed his wife up. "We've already discussed it and decided, so you can't very well say no. Besides, my wife is very persistent when she wants something." He offered a warm, friendly smile. "Please, Aurelia. It would make us both happy if you stayed."

Aurelia stared at them both, caught between deep gratitude and astonished incredulity, not entirely able to absorb what it was they were telling her. "You-you would do that, for me?" she asked, close to dumbstruck by their offer. "You would allow me to live here, you would support me until I can support myself" It would take me years to repay you such kindnesses, but ....if you are willing, I will apply myself to it. I would be very honored to make this house a home again."

Rhys exchanged glances with his wife, a knowing smile on his lips before looking back at Aurelia. "You don't have to pay us back, but if you really want to, maybe we'll ask you for a spell now and then." He didn't think he had to explain further than that, since she already knew he was a hunter. It would take a little time for her to acclimate to this Earth, and there was a lot they had to tell her.

"I will always be happy to work a spell or potion for you," Aurelia was quick to assure him, her warm smile rising once more as she looked back and forth between the hunter and his wife. "I am not one to stand on my pride. I need help, and you are very generous in giving it. I will gladly accept, and I will honor this place as best I can."

At the counter, Nat smirked triumphantly, shooting Rhys a look that clearly said "I told you so". She'd almost finished unpacking the groceries, but she had a feeling that there were a few things that needed to be said without her presence. Sweeping the toiletries up in one arm, she winked at Aurelia. "I am going to pretend to be busy elsewhere for a while," she informed her husband and his friend. "Rhys, make sure she eats something."

Rhys' mouth dropped open a moment at his wife's proclamation, wondering what it was she was up to. Anything he had to say to Aurelia, he could say in front of his wife, though it was true that she might feel a little lost if they brought up the subject of Rhy'Din. "Yes, dear," he quipped back at her for the umpteenth time in a few days. It was becoming a habit. "It seems I'm being relegated to the kitchen again. What do you feel like" I make a pretty mean omelet." It didn't hurt that he'd worked as a short-order cook in a diner for a while after the accident.

Aurelia blinked as Nat skipped out of the kitchen, a little startled by that announcement and how unabashed the woman was in making it. Her dark eyes turned to Rhys, slightly bemused. "I-I will eat whatever I am given," she managed through her confusion, turning to wipe the various pieces of crockery and cutlery and other kitchen necessaries fully dry to keep her hands busy. "She is a lovely woman, Rhys," she said softly. "You both keep the darkness at bay, don't you?"

"I know it sounds cliched, but she's the best thing that ever happened to me," Rhys replied with a soft smile at the mention of his wife. He paused a moment at the question, looking a little thoughtful. "I guess you could say that. It's a really long story. So, how'd you end up here anyway?" he asked, turning the tables on her as he went to the fridge to retrieve some of the items that Nat had just stowed there.

"I would imagine there are a lot of things I do not know about you, Rhys," she pointed out. "We spoke only a handful of times when we were on Rhy'Din. That is why your effort here to help me is so astonishing. It would have been so much easier to simply kill me."

"It would have been, but..." There was another short pause as he slid the omelet onto a pan. "I have enough blood on my hands." So, maybe they weren't so different, after all. "Sometimes you don't have much choice. I had a choice where you were concerned."

"I am deeply grateful you chose this way for me." Aurelia reached out, gently touching her fingers to his arm, drawing his gaze to her own. "I truly mean it when I say there is no way I can repay you for it."

Her touch drew his gaze to hers, warm but serious. "And I truly mean it when I say you don't have to. This is sort of what I do, Aurelia. What Nat and I do. Maybe the demon was drawn here because of me, maybe not. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that you're you again, and we can never let the demon take control again."

"She won't." There was too much confidence in Aurelia's response for her to simply be putting faith in her own new-found determination not to make the same mistakes again. But she didn't go on, not wanting to alarm him with the spells she had already worked on herself to make absolutely certain her demonic half would never take control and hurt others again.

"I know she won't. I trust you." He didn't really have to know what she had done or needed to do to keep the demon at bay. Though it had been set loose once, he had a feeling Aurelia would rather die than let that happen again. He knew the feeling. "There's a lot you don't know. You have a lot of catching up to do," he warned her, as he popped the toast up himself without relying on the toaster and buttered it.

"I am sure there is, and a lot more than I cannot be told," she smiled, mentally taking notes on the way he handled the stove and the toaster. After all, if she really was going to live here, she was going to have to know these tricks or chance never eating a properly cooked meal ever again. "But that will take time. It is good to be so isolated out here."

"Sometimes it can seem a little too isolated," he remarked as he added the toast to the omelet on the plate. "Voila! Breakfast a la Rhys," he declared with a smile as he held up the plate for her inspection, obviously proud of his creation.

Aurelia could feel her mouth watering as she looked at the meal he had prepared for her, definitely not too proud to accept it and begin eating as soon as she got to the table. "If you were not already married, I might have to marry you myself just for your cooking expertise," she chuckled through a mouthful, the food fortifying her weary self a little more.

He laughed at her remark, finding it humorous, not only because he didn't really have any cooking expertise: because there was a time when he might have taken her up on that, but that time had passed. "I did a stint as a short-order before the Nexus took me to Rhy'Din." Not to mention the fact that he'd been taking care of himself a long time and part of that had been learning how to cook. "You know, I came pretty close to asking you on a date before I realized you were already spoken for." Not that it mattered now, but for some reason, he found it amusing.

She smiled as she ate, flattered that she had almost snared him, deliberately keeping her mind away from thoughts of Matthieu. Her whitelighter had loved her, and she had been exceedingly fond of him, but clarity and distance brought the painful truth that it had not been love for her. "Perhaps you should find another broken hunter to ask me out instead, then," she teased Rhys laughingly, not really meaning it. Not yet, anyway.

"I would if I knew any!" he teased back, slumping into a chair at the table and turning serious as he went over several names in his mind. He'd lost touch with most of the hunters he'd once known over the years, though the Lady had said something about organizing them so they could find and capture the rest of the rogue demons who'd been trapped on Earth when the Gates of Hell were sealed shut. "You know, I just had a thought." Though he had not yet said what that thought was.

"A thought?" Aurelia's smile turned a little playful, glad to be away from the difficult topics that could have blighted their conversation. She was feeling oddly content - good company, and good food, were a balm to her spirit. "Should I be concerned?"

"Maybe, maybe not," he mused, though he wasn't quite sure he was ready to share that thought, not wanting to dampen the mood again with serious talk, though they were going to have to breach the subject of demons again at some point. "Nat and I are going to have to leave in a few days. Would you mind if I had someone check in on you?"

"No, not at all," the witch agreed easily enough. There was plenty of work to do on the cabin to keep her busy during daylight hours, but it would be better to have someone to talk to. "You have someone in mind?"

"Maybe. I'll have to make a few phone calls and see." He wasn't saying who or what he had in mind just yet. He had a feeling they were overdue for a trip to Avalon again, too. There were some things he needed to discuss with Nat where little angel ears couldn't eavesdrop, and he wanted to talk to the Lady about something, as well.

"Very mysterious."

As Aurelia chuckled, chewing on a mouthful of toast, Nat made a fresh appearance, flushed but smiling, moving to ease herself down into a seat at the table with them. "What is mysterious?" she asked, incorrigibly curious as she looked back and forth between Rhys and his friend.

"Yeah, well, I can promise you this - It won't be an..." He broke off as Nat unexpectedly rejoined them, though not because of her. "I was just telling Aurelia I might arrange to have someone check on her now and then," he explained.

"Oh, that would be nice," his wife agreed, nodding. She leaned back in her seat, rubbing her hand over the high curve of her belly absently. "You are truly decided then, Aurelia" You will stay?"

Aurelia nodded, finishing her last mouthful as she pushed the plate away. "I will stay," she promised warmly.

Nat beamed in a manner that Rhys knew to mean she had plans. "Wonderful!"

"It is if you're going to be living here," Rhys argued. "I slept on that couch a few years ago, and I know how uncomfortable it is!" he added with a smile. "Besides, we'd have to do the same thing if we ever want to make this place livable again."

Nat chuckled at the slightly trapped look on Aurelia's face. "I will not force you to fill the entire cabin in a single day," she assured the witch. "Just what is needed, and you can do the rest over time. Besides, there will be plenty of other things we will need to pick up. A decent coffee-maker springs to mind." She flashed Aurelia a teasing smile, and to her surprise, the witch actually laughed.

"Along with a decent bed," Rhys added, knowing first hand how old and worn-out the furniture was. He smiled at the two women, glad they seemed to be getting along so far. Nat needed some friends, and Aurelia was all alone here. It would do them both good. He wrapped a hand around his mug and sipped at his coffee, drinking it black. He winced at the taste of it and chuckled. "Definitely a new coffee-maker!"

"Curtains, rugs, couch, desk, chair, bed," Nat listed on her fingers. "That is what I think for the furniture side of things. The appliances are easily selected with a trip to a single store, though you may be happier to do that shopping for yourself. We will get you a computer, and arrange for you to be connected to the Internet."

Aurelia grimaced at her own coffee as she listened, genuinely impressed by a woman who seemed to function in the normal world just as well as she did in the supernatural one. It was a rare gift on this Earth, she had already found. "You are proposing to spend a lot of money in a single day," she pointed out quietly, a little worried for their finances. "The bare minimum is all I need."

Rhys thought this was a matter better suited for his wife to comment on, but she had made clear that it was not just her money anymore, but their money, and there was no lack of it. "Trust me, we can afford it. We're not really hurting for money." He wondered what she'd say when Nat insisted on buying the witch a car.

"He is right," Nat assured Aurelia before the witch could object further. "This will not make a dent in our resources, I promise you. It is old money."

From one European to another, it seemed that the use of that phrase made perfect sense. Aurelia's frown cleared, and she nodded in understand. "I see," she murmured. "Then I will stop arguing."

Rhys arched a brow. It seemed the two women understood each other better than he thought, maybe even better than he did. Old money' Nat had mentioned that before. What did that mean exactly' He wasn't sure he wanted to know. "That's decided, then. Tomorrow. I have some business I have to take care of, while you two go shopping."

At this, Aurelia's eyes widened, and it was obvious what was going through her head. You are trusting me to spend a day alone with your heavily pregnant wife"

Natalya smirked at the expression on the woman's face, but turned an inquiring smile onto Rhys, challenging him to reassure his friend about the plans for the next day.

"What?" he asked, looking between the two women, one gaping and one smirking. He really never would understand women. Weren't they just talking about going on a shopping trip" When did Aurelia think that was going to happen exactly' And what was it Natalya expected him to say' Should he tell Aurelia that if the demon tried anything, she'd likely have a few knights to deal with or worse"

Finally, Aurelia managed to speak up. "What if ....something ....happens?" she asked, gesturing awkwardly toward Nat and her rounded belly, making it clear that she wasn't worried about the demon, oh no. It was the pregnancy that was worrying her.

Rhys chuckled as he realized what it was Aurelia was worried about. "Nothing's going to happen, and if it does, that's what hospitals are for."

"I am not so far along as you seem to think, sestrenka," Nat assured their friend with a grin. "We will have a lovely time, and in just a few days, you will have a foundation to begin building your life upon."

Backed, it seemed, into a corner, Aurelia could only smile helplessly and laugh. "Then I am entirely in your hands."

"It's decided then!" Rhys proclaimed, refusing to take no for an answer, even if Aurelia insisted on giving him one. "We have nothing pressing at home. We can stick around until you're settled." And until he was sure there was someone nearby who could keep an eye on her. The big question there seemed to be who. And he still had the matter of saying good-bye to Dylan to deal with, though he'd been slightly distracted by Aurelia's unexpected appearance.

"You should not waste so much time on me," the witch pointed out softly, smiling at the enthusiasm from both of them. She wasn't entirely sure what Natalya had just called her, but from Rhys' reaction, it hadn't been an insult. "If you remain here at the cabin, I will find things for you to do."

Nat snorted with laughter, quickly covering the expression with as innocent a smile as she could manage. The thought of Rhys doing as much heavy lifting as Aurelia could find for him was a funny one. "I would not say no to being told what to do for once," she offered impishly.

Rhys didn't bat an eye when Natalya addressed Aurelia in her native Russian, knowing she had just called her sister. He smiled at the thought of the two of them becoming friends, and he couldn't help but think Aurelia might prove a valuable ally. "Only one problem there," he pointed out helpfully, brooking no argument about the prospect of helping. It would help him to feel useful for once. "Where do we sleep?" he asked. There was no way Natalya was sleeping on a broken down couch and he wasn't too sure what shape the beds were in after so many years.

Aurelia raised a brow, slightly concerned that he seemed to want to babysit her every hour of the day. "I would imagine the same place you slept last night," she pointed out with a smile. "I do not believe these walls are particularly thick, and I have no wish to listen to you recreating the moment of conception."

"Stubborn and stupid," he replied, rubbing a thumb against the frame lovingly. This was something that was going to come home with him, not remain here. He had no photos or memorabilia left of Dylan at all - it had all been left behind at the cabin, forgotten or more accurately, ignored and avoided until now. "He used to remind me of that all the time," Rhys added. "If it hadn't been for him, I probably wouldn't have survived." In fact, he was sure of it.

Nat said nothing, leaning her cheek against his shoulder. She knew these memories, good though they were, would be difficult for him to navigate, but there was nothing she could say to help him. All she could do was be there, as present as she could be, and let him navigate them with the knowledge that he was not alone.

There were two other photos on the nightstand - one of a man who had to be Dylan, a woman and a small boy that wasn't Rhys, but looked similar enough that he could be a brother. The third photo - the one that was cracked - was another photo of Rhys, but this time with a very young Adam beside him.

"My dad took me to my first baseball game before he....before he died," he said, still ruminating on the photo in his hand. He was smiling back at the camera, a sprinkling of freckles across his nose and cheeks, a Phillies baseball hat on his head. He chuckled a little at another memory. "Dylan hated baseball. Football was more his thing, but when he found out how much I loved baseball, he insisted we go to a game."

Nat's eyes skimmed over the photos, what little he had told her helping her to identify those she didn't recognize - Dylan's wife, and his son. Her fingers played in and out of the hair at Rhys' nape as he talked, content to listen, to be his confessor however long he needed her to be. "And you will take our children to baseball games," she promised him softly. "Continue the tradition started by your father and carried on by Dylan."

"I'd like that, but I'm not so sure Ana will be interested in baseball. Maybe Micah," he replied, smiling further at the thought of carrying on the tradition shared by so many American fathers and sons - and even some daughters. He very carefully set the photo back on the nightstand and picked up another - the one of himself and Adam. "I completely forgot about this one." Adam appeared to be a teenager in the photo, already on the cusp of manhood, while Rhys was still very much a boy.

"Micah and Dylan," she reminded him softly of their second son, promised to her in that vision at Christmas. She smiled, even more glad now that they would honor the man who raised Rhys through his hardest years by giving his name to their youngest child. Her eyes dropped to the picture of him and Adam, and she couldn't contain a small chuckle. "At least Adam grew into his Adam's apple," she pointed out. As a teenager, it looked as though their friend had been all angles.

"Dylan, right," Rhys admitted. He hadn't forgotten about the second son promised them, but in his own vision, a third child had only been hinted at, not born yet. "He got tall before he had a chance to fill out. He used to get jealous because I got more attention from girls than he did." And that had remained true even as adults, though it might have had more to do with the difference in their personalities than their looks. But he hadn't come here to reminisce about Adam. This was supposed to be about Dylan, and yet, Adam and David had always been there, too, and Rhys had always considered them family. "I wonder if there's a photo of David around here somewhere."

Nat chuckled softly, finding it only too easy to imagine Adam and Rhys as teenagers. Gina had taken her through the embarrassing photos months ago, but it was always nice to see them again. As Rhys mused on the idea of a photograph of David, her eyes lit on a book laid carefully on the dresser, a little out of place as it was. She reached out to touch the cover, opening it to the first page to find a scrapbook of pictures and notes. "There may be one or two in here, milaya," she said softly, drawing his attention to it.

"What's that?" Rhys asked with interest, setting the photo of himself and Adam back on the table and turning to look at what Natalya had found.

She lifted it from the dresser, stroking her fingers over the cover once again as she offered it to him. "Memories," she said simply. "Dylan's memories, of everything that mattered. And you are in there, with them."

"What?" Rhys asked again, brows arching as he leaned close to see what it was she'd found on the table. "I didn't know Dylan had a scrapbook." In fact, Rhys wouldn't have expected it at all, not from Dylan. He wouldn't have expected him to be sentimental enough for that, but it seemed he might have been wrong.

"Perhaps this was his own way of keeping a journal," Nat mused softly. "Not for hunting, or for anything like that. Keeping a journal of his family, of the people he loved. Rather than write down his feelings, he took pictures, and cut out newspaper clippings, kept school reports and such. Why don't you look?"

From the look on his face, Nat might as well have asked him to fight a horde of demons, rather than simply look through a book filled with Dylan's most precious memories, but wasn't that what they were here for" "Now?" he asked, thinking it might be better to wait until later, until they were back at the inn and alone, though even he knew he was just prolonging the inevitable. What was he afraid of exactly' Of breaking down in front of Natalya" Of appearing less than masculine" Or was he afraid that if he showed any kind of softening, she'd leave him the way Riley once had.

"Now, or later," she told him, understanding that it might be something he would prefer to look at in better privacy. "But you will keep this, Rhys. If you do not, then I will. It is important."

"I will, Nat. I promise, but..." He glanced at the door, though he knew Aurelia had gracefully given them privacy. "Later. I-I can't do it now." He closed the book and set it aside, before reaching to take the photos off the table and add them to the pile of Dylan's personal belongings he intended to take away with him. He paused a moment as he looked at the photo of Dylan with his wife and son. "He was as much an orphan as I was," he mused quietly.

"But you had each other," she reminded him, standing guard over the little pile of things he had gathered together. "No matter how bad it got, you had each other, and without Dylan, you would never have met David and Adam. Adam would never have met Gina. The smallest action can have far-reaching consequences. If it were not for Dylan, your two closest friends would never have found each other."

He looked at the photo thoughtfully, even as he took in her words, knowing she was right, as always. "I sometimes think there are forces at work in my life that are bigger than angels." Whatever you wanted to call it, it seemed every path Rhys had taken had led him to this very moment, just as Adam's had led to Gina. "I just hope I made him proud," he said quietly, fighting back the tears that wanted to make themselves known. There'd be time for that later, in private.

Sensing those tears close beneath the surface, Nat stroked her fingers tenderly against his cheek, knowing he wouldn't want to break down here and now. "I feel certain that you did, milaya," she promised, kissing his jaw affectionately. "And you will keep on making him proud, by being an excellent father, and raising a family, the way he was denied."

"In a way I was lucky, Nat," he admitted, turning a teary-eyed gaze at her, taking comfort in her tender touch and words of comfort. "I had two fathers, and I loved them both. How many kids get to say that?" One might even argue he had three, as David was at least as close as an uncle, not only to Adam, but to Rhys, as well. As a man who was about to become a father himself, he finally understood the sacrifice the two men had made. They had died trying to protect those they loved, and he knew in his heart, he'd have done the same thing had he been in their place. They died, but they died with honor and courage, and what more could anyone ask for than that"

"You were blessed," she said in her quiet voice, curling her arm about his waist as they talked, leaning into him comfortably. In her womb, their daughter turned and kicked, discernible against Rhys' ribs, almost as though she were reminding them that she was there, too.

He smiled softly at his wife as she leaned into him and he felt their daughter make herself known against his ribs. "I'm still blessed, Nat. I'm blessed to have you and Ana, and Adam and Gina and Joey, and..." He laughed realizing the list of friends and family was slowly getting longer. Rachel and Zach, Jason and Bethany and Bethany's parents, Aurelia, the Lady, Sir Lionel, and even Lailah counted among them. Yes, he was truly blessed, even more than he had realized.

And it was all, in a way, because of Dylan. That simple act of taking in a boy who had almost been broken by demons, too young to understand why, too hurt to want to listen, had paved the way for everything that had happened afterward. Dylan had set Rhys on the path that had brought him to this moment in time, the path that had brought his sister back to him, that had given him a wife and promised him a daughter all too soon. What better way to honor the man than by continuing on that path among the family and friends he would not have had without Dylan's influence on his life" And in just a few years' time, there would be another Dylan running around the place, the grandson the original Dylan would never have had. All because of one act of kindness, a long time ago.

((Two birds with one stone, it seems. Dylan's house is sacrosanct once again, Aurelia is herself again, and Rhys has finally faced his memories. Not bad for a week's work, huh?