"Rhys, don't be such an idiot." Only a sister could say something like that when he was in full-blown self-beration mode and get away with it. "You know Zach and I have argued. We hurt each other a lot with our misunderstandings last year, but we're still here, aren't we" One argument isn't going to tear you and Natalya apart, not unless you let it. So stop feeling sorry for yourself, man up, and apologize to her when she comes by. Properly. No jokes or excuses. Just apologize, and let things move on from there."

He wasn't going to defend himself against that. He knew he was an idiot, and what he'd done only a short while ago only served to proved his point. "I don't want to hurt her, Rachel. I never want to hurt her again. She's been through so much. We all have. All I want to do is love her. That's all." He was still feeling a good amount of self-pity and self-deprecation. Why, he wasn't quite sure. Maybe Riley was right, after all. Maybe he did need a therapist.

"So love her," his little sister said, as though it was the simplest solution in the world. "She loves you. Hell, Rhys, she married you. You're holding the daughter you made with her. You really think one little argument is going to rip all that to pieces?" She leaned forward onto the table, trying to approach the problem the way her own husband would and no doubt failing badly. "Do you want her to punish you? Do you want her to leave you, and to be all alone again?"

"I do love her," he pointed out, furrowing his brows in confusion, his expression darkening at her very pointed questions. "No, of course not!" he replied vehemently, though in truth, he thought maybe he deserved to be punished. "Why am I such an *ss, sis?" he asked with a sigh, rubbing at his temple with a headache was starting to form. She was right about one thing - it had been a long day, and he couldn't even remember half of it.

"Then stop behaving like you expect it to happen," Rachel told him ruthlessly. "If you expect her to leave you after every little argument, eventually she's going to do it because she'll think that's what you want. It's a bump in the road, it isn't a dead end." She leaned back, brushing her blonde hair back from her face. "You're not an *ss all the time. You just ....you have really bad timing. You kinda gotta learn when making a joke like that is a bad idea. Think about it - what happens after you two have had a big old adventure" You reconnect. She thought she was helping you, and you made a joke that made her feel really isolated, no matter how brief that was. Of course she was pissed. But it won't last."

"I hope so," Rhys replied quietly. "I hope you're right." It would take time for him to understand that all couples had these little tiffs from time to time, and every little mistake wasn't going to send Nat packing her bags. It had been a long time since she'd been this angry at him, but he was more worried about her feelings than his own. "How do I make it up to her?" he wondered aloud. Should he make her breakfast in bed" Bring her flowers" Buy her flowers" Rub her feet' Make love to her" Or was apologizing enough"

"Apologize," his little sister told him again. "You'd be amazed at what taking responsibility for a mistake and putting the next step in her court will do. That, and it's the mature thing to do. Kids make excuses and try to justify what they've done. Adults take responsibility and admit when they're in the wrong."

"I wasn't gonna make excuses. Truth is, I'm not sure why I said it. I just....did. I was feeling happy and....I suppose I picked the wrong time to tease her," he admitted, trying to think it through. "I guess it was a stupid thing to do." No, it definitely was a stupid thing to do. He just hoped Nat would forgive him. He looked down at the little dozing bundle in his arms and tipped his head downward to press a tender kiss to the top of his daughter's head. Something inside his heart twisted a little, at some memory or other that wouldn't quite make itself known. He was glad of that. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he ever lost any of them, Rachel included. His sister seemed to have grown up almost over night, since the last time he'd seen her. He lifted his head to offer a grateful smile her way. "Since when did you get so wise anyway?"

The baby girl sighed happily, cuddling into her Papa's arms as she dozed. Rachel smiled, more than a little envious of the fact that Rhys had a baby, but reassured in the knowledge that she would have one of her own some time soon. His query made her laugh. "I married an angel, remember" He's got wise dripping out of his ears, some of it had to splash off on me eventually."

Rhys laughed a little, his heart a little lighter, though he wouldn't feel like his old self until Nat forgave him. "Wise in some ways, innocent in others," Rhys remarked, mostly to himself. "Are you two gonna stay in Avalon permanently?" he asked curiously, reaching for the mug of mulled wine to take a sip, which did its part to warm and relax him.

"I think so," she sighed, regretful only in that she thought her answer would disappoint him. "I like New York, but ....it scares me, Rhys. So many people, and so many things that I don't know anything about, and ....I don't think I could handle it. I don't think Zach could. We're happy here, and we have a purpose. I mean, mine isn't really so obvious as his, but I'm really happy here, Rhys."

Rhys set the mug down and reached for his sister's hand. "That's all I want, Rach. I just want you to be happy. It's easy to be happy here, isn't it' It's peaceful." He frowned, envying her a little but knowing, too, that if he and Nat were to stay here too long, they'd only become lazy. This was their respite and their refuge, but it wasn't home. Maybe it would be someday, but not yet. There was too much they still had to do yet. "Where's Zach' I heard he was helping out in the library."

"The Lady says that our sons will be great men," she offered very quietly, revealing that Elaine was maintaining a friendship with Rhys' sister that was unprecedented on the Isle. "That one of them will be the Grand Master for Ana's daughter." Her green eyes sparkled with delight at that thought as she squeezed his hand. "He is at the library. He's been translating the Enochian texts there, no one here has a very good grasp on it."

"Oh," Rhys replied, remembering a little of what Elaine had told him, but it made sense that news of his future nephews was meant for his sister and not so much himself. He wondered if this was Rachel's main purpose - to raise two sons to manhood, so that they could carry on the traditions of Avalon once their predecessors were gone. He realized in that moment just how important his bloodline - their bloodline - must be to Avalon and the Lady, if she could see so far into the future. It seemed that Ana wasn't the only one of his bloodline whose fate was tied up with Avalon. "Enochian texts?" he echoed, curiously. "You mean....written by angels?" he asked, almost incredulously, though little about Avalon really surprised him anymore. He was an angel himself, or had been one once, but he no more knew anything about Enochian than he did about Russian.

"Mmhmm." She nodded, moving to stir the stew once again. Dipping a spoon in, she pulled out a potato slathered in gravy, dropping it into a little bowl and mashing it into a pulp as they talked. "Sir Lionel asked him to look at this whole section that nobody could read, and it turned out it was all in angel-ese. He's gonna be working on it for years."