Nate paces by the desk, shooting glances at the kitchen door. "Can ye fuckin' believe this?!" he hissed at Eire. "Graves... nice home, nice family... and .. Saffron? Fuck..." he muttered softly. Eire muttered a gaelic curse before hanging up the phone, unable to get an answer. He looked at Nate. "Aye, I fuckin' believe, alright, it's jus the way things are..." he said, before sighing. "Aye...it figures Saffron'd be with Graves...Death Elemental...Necromancer..." Nate groaned softly and moved to sit down on the nearest chair. "How can ye be so fuckin' alright with this?" he asked, belatedly remembering to lower his voice. "I mean... fer fucks sake, E'... she's yer fuckin' girlfriend! An' she's in there with GRAVES!" Eire growled softly, giving Nate a look. "Obviously, she was 'is, before she was mine." He said softly. He wondered over to where the fire place was, with hit's mantel after hanging up the phone, only to see a small wedding picture. "Not much I can do, mate..." He said softly to Nate. Nate looked at Eire in disbelief. "So tha's it? Yer just... walkin' away?" he asked. "Are ye bloody daft!? I know ye, E'.. ye don't just 'date'... if ye care enough to keep seein' someone, then yer serious about them... An' I've seen her with ye, mate.. she cares about ye too. Ye should fight fer her! Aye she WAS his.. but tha's gone.. erased! Yer her present.. he's her past!" Eire sighed, moving back toward the couch and flopping down, before sitting forward on the edge and looked at Nate. "Considerin' the shit she's been through Nate, I can't do that t' her, I can't hurt 'er any more then she already is. An', on top o' that, she's a mother..." He said, his voice rather soft. "Aye .. she's a mother." Nate said softly. "An' ye heard th' man himself say she was feelin' over whelmed by it all... so maybe she wasnae all tha' happy? All I know, mate.. is tha' she was happy bein' with ye.... ye cannae seriously just walk away from tha' ?" "Nate...she could'a been jus' as happy 'ere...if not more. As much as I don't like the idea...it's 'er damned choice. She's got the right t' make the choice fer 'er self." Eire said softly. "Aye .. but IS she?" Nate asked softly, his voice dropping lower. "Is she makin' her own choice, E'? Graves is hoverin' over her pretty close, an' ye know she has a soft spot fer kids... LiVed himself could hold a kid out t' her an' she'd go 'willingly' with him fer th' kids sake.. ye know tha'..." Nate sighed heavily and moved to sit on the arm of the couch close to his best friend. "All I'm sayin'... is don' give up. He's lettin' her know what she had... lettin' her know how he feels... fine. But ye do th' same. Let her know tha' yer still here an' feel th' same." Eire snorted softly, giving Nate a half amused, half irritated look. He had his own thoughts on the matter, but yet in the end, he really did know it was Saffron's choice. "We'll see." He said simply before standing. "I'm goin' fer a run...if ye don't see me again t' night, I'll be back by mornin'." He added, heading for the door. Nate snorted softly. "Aye .. fine.. go on. "he said softly. "E'... Ye know I just want ye t' be happy, right? It's just.. I havenae seen ye as happy as ye have been with Saff in.. in a long time, mate.." Eire snorted softly, glancing back at Nate as he paused near the door. "Aye, I know, I know. But this jus' ain't 'bout me, mate, it's 'bout her." He said, glancing back toward the kitchen.     "Might be a good idea..." Saffron said softly, as they left the kitchen. She blinked, seeing Eire nearing the front door. "Eire...wait." She said, just loud enough.    Eire paused, biting back the groan, and turned back. He watched Saffron hand the toddler off to Matt, before approaching him. "Can I talk to you for a moment, Eire..." Saffron said softly.    Eire smirked, slightly weary. "Yeah, ye know ye can...ye wanna do it 'ere, or outside...?" He asked.    Saffron bit her lip, before glancing back at Matt. "Outside is probably best..." She answered.    Eire nodded, before turning and opening the door, waiting for Saffron, who followed him. He pulled the door shut behind him as they stepped outside. "Ye stayin'?" Eire asked, looking at her.    Saffron looked around for a moment. "I think...for awhile...I should..." She said softly, looking back at Eire.    Eire watched her for a moment, before nodding. "I figured ye would..." He took a step closer, lowering his voice. "Look, Saff...its yer choice...jus'...ye know...I'm 'ere, when ye need me..." He said, reaching out to caress her cheek a moment.    Saffron smiled softly. "I know...and thank you for that, Eire...really." "I'm gonna go fer a run." Eire told Saffron as he started off the porch. "Told Nate iffin ye didn't see me again t' night, I'd be back by mornin'." He added.    "Just...be careful Eire..." she said softly, watching him.    Eire looked back at her with a smirk. "Always am," He said, before shifting into wolf form and took off running, toward the wooded area across the street. Saffron watched him go, before sighing, and turned and went back into the house.     Caleb had woken up at being handed over to his father and Matt had to rub his back to sooth him back to sleep. He stood a moment watching the door then looked at Nate. "So.. you guys decided where you want to sleep?" he asked, trying not to growl the words. He caught the look Nate was giving him and cursed softly. "Look... Nate." he said, realizing it was probably the first time he'd ever said the man's name. "I know you don't like me.. but I'm not a fucking monster, alright? I'm an asshole at work.. and around a lot of people, but I love my family and would and HAVE done anything for them. You and .. Eire.. are.. friends of my wife, so.. you're welcome here. Just.. don't make dropping by a habit or anything.." he added in a grumble.   Nate knew he was blushing as Matt spoke. "Thank ye." he finally said softly. "Yer right.. I don't care fer ye personally... but ye have a nice family.. an' a nice home. By th' sounds of it, E's plannin' on stayin' furry fer a while, so... " "Fine.. then you can have the guest room. Downstairs, first door on the right. Bathrooms next door down. Just remember to keep it down with the kids down there too." Matt said simply. "You want anything to eat, help yourself." he added as Saffron came back inside. "Everything alright?" he asked her, Caleb giving a sleepy whimper. Saffron smiled softly. "Actually yus..."She said softly, before moving back toward Matt, taking Caleb from him gently, when she reached him. She looked at Nate. "I imagine he did tell you he was going to be out for a while, didn't he?" She asked him. "aye..." Nate said, eoing her for a moment before giving a soft smirk. "If ye don' mind. I guess ill see if i cannae find a quick bit t' eat before I head down t' bed then." he said then looked ta Matt. "first door on th' right, aye?"   Matt nodded. "Yeah... like I said.. help yourself to the kitchen. You'd better lock the bathroom door if you're in there.... and knock before you go in... the girls consider the one down there their territory..."   Nate nodded before looking back at Saffron. "Are ye... are ye sleepin'...?"   Matt smirked softly sensing his discomfort. "She's sleeping upstairs with our son." he said simply.   Nate knew he was blushing but nodded. "Well.. good night, Saff. Graves." he said, then made his escape into the kitchen. "Good night, Nate..." Saffron before heading for the staircase, oddly surprised at herself for knowing where she was going. She sighed softly, looking down at Caleb a moment as she climbed, before reaching the top of the stairs. For a moment, she looked around. She could almost remember..., she did remember some of it.  In fact, she moved over to the one window, shifting Caleb and managing to pull the curtain back some, looking down at the cemetery. She stood there a moment, just thinking, before letting go of the curtain, and moving back toward the bed. She lay Caleb down near the middle, before sitting on the edge, kicking off her shoes. Matt had followed her up and now stood and watched her. With a deep breath he made himself move, going to her dresser. "What do you want? Gown, pants or shorts...?" he asked, as he opened her pj drawer. "Or should I just leave so you can get your own?" "Do I have that much of a selection?" She asked softly with a slight smile, watching him. She glanced at Caleb, to make sure he was asleep, which he was, before she got up, making her way over slowly to his side. She stood a moment, looking down into the drawer, before blushing slightly. "I guess I did..." She said softly, before grabbing a long sleep shirt, which had a gothic angel on it.   Out of curiosity, she opened the drawer below the one he had open, only to blush even more, considering there was a selection of lingerie, more then the usual bras and panties. Matt smirked. "Yeah... lingerie shopping is fun." he said with a slight blush. And you and the girls went pj shopping.. pants for the cooler nights and lounging... shorts for the warmer nights..." he turned and slipped his arm around her pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're home safe, baby..." "Well I wouldn't say safe...but...I suppose I am home..." Saffron said softly, for the moment, not pulling away from Matt. She sighed softly, for the moment, just leaning against him. "So many things forgotten..." She said softly, sadly. "I hate LiVed now, more then I ever did before..." "We all do." he said softly slipping his other arm around her as well. He held her for a moment longer then sighed heavily. "I'd better go before I lose the ability to." he said with a soft smirk, letting her go. "Sweet dreams, angel." he said, kissing her softly before she could avoid it, then turning to his dresser and pulling out a pair of lounge pants and a clean t-shirt to wear. "I'll be on the couch if you need anything... just call out... I'll hear you." Saffron sighed softly; she'd raised a hand to touch her lips after the last kiss, almost as if she could still feel his lips against hers and she blushed softly, but smiled softly as well. "Thank you... Matt...for... everything..." She said softly, watching him, before grabbing a change of knickers from her drawer as well. She moved back toward the bed, undoing her jeans and sliding them off, before pulling off the t-shirt she was wearing. There were newer scars, cutting into the wings across her back. And more scars lower, almost across her butt, then along the back of her legs.    In the six weeks that LiVed had had her, he'd whipped her more then he had when she'd been growing up in the Black Court. The only thing she'd been thankful for, was the fact that LiVed wouldn't let Right any where near her. He didn't want Right 'spoiling' her. Right had not been happy, but he'd obeyed LiVed's word. Saffron changed into the sleep shirt, but moved back over to the window for the moment, looking out again. It felt...natural, to be here like this. Almost natural anyway, it seemed like there was still something missing, and she had a good idea that was Matt.    She toyed with the chain, around her neck, the ring on it circling around the thin chain, until she paused, looking at the ring again. LiVed had taken it off of her, but she'd recovered it from where he'd thrown it, not really knowing why it was so important at the time. Instead, she'd simply taken to wearing it on a chain, around her neck, thinking it'd come to her eventually.    Now she under stood and she took it off the chain, before slipping it on to her left hand, looking at it for a long moment.     Matt listened to the sound of her undressing as he headed down the stairs, determined not to look back no matter how much he wanted to. After slipping into the bathroom to change, he headed down stairs to check on the girls and make sure they were at least in their room and was surprised to find both asleep and in the same bed; the twins rarely got along that well. Obviously Saffron's homecoming effected them more then he'd thought.    Nate was coming down the stairs just as he started up and he stepped aside to let the man pass. "Good night, MacDonnell. Don't worry.. I'll be on the couch so I'll hear the furball come in and let him know where to find you." he said as he headed up to the main floor. He'd snitched a spare blanket and pillow from the closet in the guest room, even though he was tempted to stay with the girls; Mercey's bed was empty and if this was that hard on them… but he'd told Saff he'd be on the couch.   With a soft sigh he headed up to make sure the doors weren't locked so Eire could get in .. although the temptation to lock them anyhow was fairly strong. Matt lay on his back on the longer of the two sofas and listened to the sounds of the place; the song of crickets and frogs from outside, the slight rustle of wind in the bushes and trees, the odd creak of the building settling.. along with the quiet sounds of the people sleeping there. Thanks to his fae ears, he could heat Saffron especially; every rustle of sheets and soft sigh or whimper had him wanting to rush upstairs to check on her. And when she was quiet it was even worse... because then he wondered if it had been a dream and wanted to run up and check on her...   Every time he dozed off he'd awake suddenly sure that she was gone again, and finally he gave up. Gathering the blanket up, he quietly padded upstairs and checked on her, then settled down in her rocking chair.     Saffron was only aware it was morning when a shaft of sun light hit her in the face when she turned over in the bed. She frowned, waking up slowly, aware of the small body curled up against her and as she woke up more fully, she remembered the night before...and the fact that that body was her son. Her lips turned up in a smile slowly as she yawned, and opened her eyes.  She moved to sit up slightly, glancing around the bed room only to see Matt asleep in the rocking chair. She wondered how he could actually be comfortable, and shook her head. The rest of the house was rather quiet, and she wondered if Eire was back yet. Matt opened his eyes at some small noise and blinked at the light before his gaze fixed on Saffron. He smiled softly seeing her still there and settled back into the chair. Aside from being a bit stiff, he'd slept better knowing she was right there. It took him a moment to realize she was awake and watching him and he blushed slightly, sitting up. "Sorry..." he said softly, not wanting to wake Caleb. "I just ... needed to be close..." Saffron yawned, before moving to sat up more and shook her head, her left hand brushing the hair back from her face. She'd forgotten she'd put the ring back on her hand the night before. "You don't have to apologize..." She said softly. Matt smirked softly. "Yeah I..." he froze as the light glinted off the ring and he felt his heart catch. He shoved the blanket aside and crossed to the bed to kneel on the mattress beside her. He caught hold of her hand, his fingers brushing over the ring, his eyes full. "Where...?" he asked softly before looking up at her, Caleb sleeping between them, cuddled against her. "You weren't wearing this last night..." "Well...I was...in a way..." Saffron said softly, blushing. "I was wearing it on a chain...around my neck..." She explained. "I didn't...I didn't know why I had it... when LiVed took it from me...but I felt I had to get it back...so I recovered it..." She added, looking up at him. "I kept it...on a chain, so he wouldn't know I had it...He was furious when he first saw it on my hand...he'd taken it off and thrown it..." Matt brushed his fingers over the ring one more time before lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing her fingers. "When I didn't see it.. I thought .. I thought it was gone forever...." he said softly. "I was wondering if we'd be able to find another one like it.. when you were ready..." he added. "I suppose it's a good thing I felt it was so important, and managed to find and keep it again..." Saffron replied softly, with a slight smile, looking up at him again. She looked at him for a long moment, a few more scattered memories returning as she did, of her life with him, here...and the kids... Matt found himself leaning in to kiss her softly, his hand moving from hers to cradle her face tenderly. "gods i love you so much, baby.. I've missed you so much..." he whispered softly through the kiss. Saffron started to kiss him back, wanting to. Except there was a soft giggle from between them, before Caleb moved, crawling to his knees, between them. Saffron pulled back with a touch of surprise, looking down at the toddler, who was grinning, a bit sleepily, but obviously awake. Matt gave a soft snort and sighed as he looked donw at their son. "Morning, squirt. You got a big hug and kiss good morning for mumma?" he asked. "I bet she'd really love one.." he said and helped the toddler to his feet, holding him around the waist as he wobbled on the matress.    Caleb grinned and thew his arms open as he leaned into Saffron, planting a big kiss on her. Matt smiled softly. "Don't you have the prettiest mum ever, Cal?" he asked softly, watching her. Saffron blushed, but smiled softly, laying a kiss on Caleb's forehead, before looking back up at Matt. "It will take some time...for me to get used to all this...again..." She said softly. "But...I really want to remember... I think...no...I know I was happy here..." She said softly. "You were, sweetheart." Matt said softly. "Despite the stress of dealing with two teen age daughters and a step son as well as an infant... not too mention a husband who can be less than helpful at times.." he added with a sheepish smirk. "You really were happy. We both were. Hell... we were talking about whether we should start trying for a baby sister for Caleb or if we should wait a year or so..." "The fates have never been much for letting me have peace for a long time..." Saffron said softly with a sad smile. "Same with Lex after all..." She added. "Who knows how long it'll last this time...but I'll take any bit I can get..." "I won't let you go again." Matt said softly. "I was a fool for not running after you... I should've found someone to look after the kids and never rested until I found you..." He shifted to sit next to her, pulling Caleb onto his lap. "Hey Cal... daddy's turn." he said softly before cradling her face in his hand and kissing her again.  Saffron smiled softly, letting him kiss her, but she shook her head, when she pulled back. "You had kids to look after, Matt...and besides...LiVed was keeping me well hidden this time..." She said softly, letting her fingers brush over Caleb's black hair.  Matt sighed. "Doesn't matter. I still feel responsible for not trying harder... for not trying to contact your family.... If I had.. I would've found you there at least.." he said then sighed. "I should head down and see if our guests are awake and hungry. No doubt Caleb is ..." tbc...   < < PREVIOUS     NEXT > >

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 Skye, Ruex, Sage,Washu &  Miss Frost .
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