Aegis 3.0

[Scripted Away]

Mac grinned widely, but then frowned sorrowfully just a few seconds later.
"We just have to find a way to make sure the kids won't freak out about it. They've seen what has happened to their cousins, and who knows how much it affected them? How will we make it clear that we will only be gone for a few days and definitely return?"
He sighed soundlessly.
"I don't want to hurt them, y'know?''

Rey just smiled sadly, hugging him for comfort and softly ran her nosetip over his neck.
"Honey you could be afraid of midges and pencils and I wouldn't think you are a coward. All I will do because of your fears is to help you get over them."
She smiled surprised at the sigh of snow slowly starting to fall.
"Honey, remember you've told me you have never seen snow?", She mumbled, her face still cuddled against his neck.
"Look up."

Bailey chuckled softly as she gently ruffled Cole's hair and nodded determined.
"I know you will be a great dad. Already just because you'd never want your kids to go through the same crap you have been put through. And I don't mind you already worrying about that. I actually find it quite cute."

Ava laughed softly as she caught enough flakes to shape a ball and dropped it on Mike's head, laughing like a kid for a moment, until her eyes widened for a moment. "Wow, I haven't laughed like that anymore in years!", She giggled, swatting Mike's shoulder. "This is awesome!"

 

[Wyosch]

"Well we could visit them every evening and say them goodnight?", Hunter suggested, frowning thoughtfully. "I honestly don't really know. I mean... you think they were affected by what happened to their cousins? Like, we've never done anything like that before... right?"

Jim raised an eyebrow as Rachel mentioned snow, and then his expression changed to the one of a small kid.
Huge, excited eyes, glittering with curiosity.
Snow.
For the first time in 25 years - snow.
"It's so... cold?", he mumbled, slightly tilting his head - like a puppy does when it doesn't understand something.
"Is it always this white? This cold? It's nice though."
He sticked out his tongue, catching a couple of snowflakes on his tongue, shaking his head afterwards.
"It tastes quite... weird."

"You do?", Cole asked, grinning softly, frowning as something white fell onto his head.
Rain?
No.
Snow?
"Is that snow? Here? In Montana?", he asked, seeming to be just as surprised as all the others around.
"Wow."

Mike raised an eyebrow at Ava, yet smirked evily as she came closer to him - and threw a snowball directly into her face.
"Don't fire me now!", he called, already making a few steps backwards - shaping his new snowball.

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac lifted his shoulders as he ran his hand through his hair once.
"Well but they saw what it did to Jim's kids, and just keep in mind how incredibly empathetic they all are. I'm sure it left it's marks on them too..."
He sighed silently.
"Maybe we should ask them if it's okay for them if we come to say good night every evening. And if they aren't, try to find a solution together."

Rachel giggled softly as she saw how excited Jim was about the snow, shifted into a beautiful reddish brown wolf and jumped around Jim, laughing happily.
"Come on, let's play!", She giggled. "For once just be young and crazy!"

Bailey's eyes widened as she carefully touched one of the snowflakes.
"Whoa, I've never seen snow before...", She mumbled baffled. "It's cold!"
A slight grin formed on her face. "Do you think it will be enough to build a snowman?!"

"Ooohhh that was a mistake!", Ava laughed as she picked up two new snowball, fired them at Mike, tripped over her own feet and fell right against him, throwing him over into the snow.
Half laying on him, she giggled softly, stroked a streak of hair out of her face and looked down at Mike with happily sparkling eyes. "I'm really considering firing you...", She mumbled pouting, however winked at Mike. "Think you can convince me to keep me? Or do you want to be fired so you can chill around in your apartment all day instead of working hard for this company?"
She was still laughing, however there was a hint of curiosity and sorrow hidden below her happy chuckling.
What would he choose if he had the choice?

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter nodded at Macon's suggestion, a soft smile on her face.
"That's a good idea. And maybe if Levi comes to babysit them, they'll be too busy playing to really worry about anything.", she lifted her shoulders, until her eyes widened all of a sudden and her jaw dropped.
"The kids! They're still at the wedding and still think something's wrong!"

Jim raised an eyebrow at Rachel, surprised by her new shift, yet lastly just shifted into his wolf form too.
"Play?", he repeated, tilting his head, one of his ears flopping down.
"Eh... I'll probably be really bad at this.", he mumbled, slightly ashamed, until he sneezed because a snowflake fell into his nostril and he fell back so hard he was lying on the floor, laughing.
"That was very akward. And cold!", he chuckled, stood up again and went into the usual-dog-wanna-play-pose.
"And now I do what?"

"Good thing I'm not the only one who's never seen snow before! Lived in Florida for 15 years.", Cole replied, smiling softly as Bailey suggested building a snowman.
"I'll build a snow-you!", he chuckled, gently kissing Bailey's cheek, a loving smile as a snowflake fell on her nose and he kissed it off.
"You're so cute."

"Well you'll need someone to make sure you won't trip over your own feet.", Mike replied, laughing as well. "And I'm the only one who doesn't treat you like some evil fantasy thing, but like a person. A great person."

 

[Scripted Away]

"hnng!" Mac faceplamed, immediately teleporting Hunter and himself back to the wedding, just to look up in surprise.
"Natural snow here in Montana?", He mumbled surprised, catching a flake with his hand, letting it grow and grow until it was big enough to see the intricate structures and patterns clearly.
"You know what this means? We might have a white Christmas! Now where are the kids...?"

Rachel giggled softly as she gently bit 8nto his ear for a second, then jumped up and caught her own tail.
"Just do whatever you want!", She laughed with a soft smile, poking his shoulder with her nose before she jumped around like a foal, trying to catch the snowflakes with her mouth and lastly just dropped into the snow beside Jim, laying on her back and licking her paws warm again.
"Just have fun! Don't think about it too much, dummy."

Bailey chuckled softly as she kissed a snowflake off Cole's nosetip as well and cuddled against him, watching with big, happy eyes how the fluffy white flakes danced towards the- by now- white ground.
"They're so beautiful", she mumbled happily, a soft smirk forming on her face as she mischievous raised one eyebrow.
"This will be our first Christmas together. She should really get a Christmas tree for our apartment, maybe invite our families over...we could make it real, beautiful family celebration. Who knows, maybe even your little sister will already be there then!"

Ava smiled softly.
Although his last sentence had slightly hurt her, she was touched by how Mike had made it sound as if he wanted to stay at AF to be with her, although that of course was bullshit.
It was nice of him regardless.
She rolled over, using his arm as pillow, and looked up into the sky with a peaceful smile.
"The last person who could bare with me for so long was my twin brother Hel... But he's gone back to Russia about four years ago, so-"
She shrugged, and before she could even stop herself, Ava had slightly scooted closer to Mike, her head resting just between shoulder and chest by now.
"Look, Mike, I-" she broke off, sighing silently.
"Please just do me one favor- don't pretend, okay? You don't have to be nice to me or act like we're friends just because I'm your boss and can beat your ass up. I won't, unless you screw up at work. If you want me to leave or so, or if you want things between us to stay completely professional and office only, just tell me. I can take it, and I would'n't go harder on you because of it. I just want you to know that..."

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter's eyes widened excitedly, letting out some creepy-sounding giggles until she happily kissed Macon's lips.
"SNOW! Natural snow!", she cheered, immediately making some snowflakes herself too.
"It's been so long since I've last seen snow!"
She stopped cheering as she heard the voice of their daughter calling them, and it didn't take long before she came running, Misha following.
"Found the kids."

Jim just kept staring at the snowflakes falling down onto his black fur, whining sadly as Rachel let herself fall down next to him. Rolling onto his belly, so he'd be able to look at her, his ears hanging down and lay his head down onto Rachel.
"But what if I don't know how to play?", he whispered, not only feeling quite embarrassed and akward, but sad as well. How would he play with his own children if he didn't know how to play himself?
"I suck at fun.", he mumbled silently, burying his face into Rachel's soft belly now, wishing he could for once not disappoint anyone at doing all day tasks.

Cole was grinning widely at everything that Bailey said to him, his excitement only growing.
"Oh and we'll have a super nice christmas dinner with lots of presents for everyone! And we'll sing christmas songs all together!"
He happily kissed her cheek, already looking forward to his awesome christmas, and just hugged her tightly.
"I'll buy you one of those ugly christmas sweaters!"

"Wait, what?", Mike mumbled, not moving a single inch - because he honestly liked his boss cuddling against him, it was nice and warm... not that he was interested in her or so.
"Why would I pretend? I really want to stay at AF.", he replied, a soft smile on his face.
"I'd love to be your friend, I mean ... you're the only one who's ever tried to understand me, and I don't want you to think I'm only being nice to you because you're my boss. You're a great person, that's why."

 

[Scripted Away]

"more like the kids found us", Mac chuckled as he went to his heels to greet Misha and Heather, at the same time wondering where the heck Noah was-- until he spotted his oldest son in the crowd, showing everyone his pirate parrot.
"It's been ages since I've last seen natural snow", Mac said with a happy smirk, frowning slightly right after. "...or since I've last celebrated Christmas...actually...this would bey first real Christmas. The last two years it just kind of...fell away, oddly enough.."

Rachel sighed soundlessly, rolled over onto her side and ran her nose over Jim's shoulder.
"Don't think about it, honey", she mumbled with a soft smile. "Playing isn't about thinking everything through and making a sense of everything. It's just about fun. It's a-"
She broke off apruptly as she saw a cat strolling past them in a couple of feet distance.
"Ever chased a cat?", She giggled with an evil grin, pointing her nose at the clueless furball in the distance.
"Trust the dog inside you!"

Bailey laughed at Cole's last comment and ruffled his hair all over the place.
"Alright, then I'll buy you one of those dancing santas, who sing a Christmas song and wiggle their butt to it!", She giggled. Slowly, her face gained a dreamy expression. "And I could make grandpa's famous Christmas turkey. We could decorate the apartment and bake cookies together..."

Ava smiled happily as she looked up into Mike's eyes, slowly stroking a streak of hair out of her face. "you have no clue how much it means to me to hear that", she mumbled softly, her eyes sparkling.
Over the last minutes, her lips had turned slightly blue, and goosebumps had appeared all over her body.
"It's getting pretty cold...", She mumbled shivering, but then her eyes widened and she facepalmed.
"Oh no! I forgot my keys at home, and my house it Teleport-Proof! Not even I can teleport into it! Urgh great..."

 

[Wyosch]

"Well we were quite busy the last two years. And honey, we actually did celebrate christmas... but you were too busy with Jim being gone to Afghanistan again that you didn't notice. I mean, you were calling me 'Jim' and seemed to have totally forgotten about me being pregnant with our daughter.", Hunter replied, an akward smile on her face, which soon turned into a big grin.
"Buuuuut this time the kids can help and we'll bake cookies for Santa!"
"But I want some cookies too!", Misha replied, Heather agreeing with a nod.
"We'll bake cookies for everyone, okay?"
"Can we make them animal-shaped?", Heather asked, her eyes sparkling excitedly.
"And planet-shaped! No wait... they'll all be round then.", Misha mumbled, his tongue sticked out the entire time to catch snowflakes.
"Snow tastes like chocolate!"
"What?", Hunter raised an eyebrow at him, but then remembered that she too always said snow tasted like something she liked to eat.

"But I'm a wolf.", Jim replied, totally clueless - until he remembered that Delta used to run off after cats and coyotes too, and only for fun as she never harmed them.
He got up, stared at the cat for a moment, then at Rachel and lastly finally ran off to chase the cat.
"Am I supposed to give it a headstart?!", he called over, finding it quite difficult to run in the slippery snow.

"Oh god no! Jasmine used to torture me with those things all the time!", Cole replied, laughing, his eyes starting to sparkle as Bailey started talking about everything they'd do.
"And we'll hang up socks with everyone's name on there and put chocolate in them!"

"Well we could crash at my place?", Mike suggested, running his hand through his hair. "I mean I've just 'moved in' but... yeah?", he smiled softly, goosebumps appearing all over his body too.
"So... yeah?"

 

[Scripted Away]

"we'll make loads of cookies for everyone, in whatever shape you want", Mac said with a soft smile, for now pushing aside that he had probably ruined last Christmas.
Turning to Misha, he smirked. "I might actually have an idea for planet and space cookies! And what do you think what cookies Uncle Jim might like? Car-cookies?"
Winking, he just sat down in the snow and smirked mischievously.
"So...who of you would like to help me get a Christmas tree from the forest later?"
Turning to Hunter, he lifted his finger.
"I know, I know, but that one Christmas I had, Niko took me out into the forest to get a tree, and we had a blast. And I will continue his crazy tradition."

Rachel would have facepalmed if she would have been in her human form right now, bad just ran after Jim and the cat, barking like a dog.
"Move your furry ass and just chase it!", She laughed, snapping at the cat's tail but intentionally missing it.
"Just turn your head off for once and stop thinking about every step you do! It's- what?"
She laughed surprised as a tiny, fluffy, grey wolf raced past her, constantly stumbling over it's own big paws, getting like a rubberduck. "William?!"

Bailey grinned happily, wrapping her arms tightly around Cole, and sighed. "I can't wait for it. Now that that hack madness is over and all the family drama has settled a bit, we can finally enjoy life, and just have a great time for once."

Ava nodded, her teeth chittering as she slowly got up and just pushed herself against mike, under his jacket, wrapping that one around both of them tightly, for at least a bit warmth.
"I forgot how cold snow is...", She chuckled freezingly. "And that it's a stupid idea to lay in it. My clothes are soaked."
Looking up at Mike, she smiled weakly. "Hey, thanks for letting me crash at yours. I'd be a snowball by next morning."

 

[Wyosch]

"Car-cookies!", Misha replied, grinning widely. "Can we make snow cookies too? Like mommy!"
As Macon mentioned getting a tree from the forest, Hunter just smiled at him.
"I would've done that too hadn't we had a plastic tree.", she replied, Heather already making snow angels.
"Can I come with you?", Misha asked, clinging onto his father's arm. "Maybe we'll see some deer!"

Jim let out a silent growl at what Rachel called to him, but sped up when he saw William running in his wolf form too.
"Look how fluffy he is!", he chuckled, finally being able to run like a normal wolf once he had get used to the snow, and catching up with Rachel, the cat, and their son.
"Hey Willie! Wanna play?", he asked, tilting his head and going back into the dog-wanna-play-position, letting his tongue hang out of his mouth to catch snowflakes.
"Looks like you came after daddy with your shift! Can you run like daddy too?"

"We'll have a great time forever, as long as we're together.", Cole replied, laughing. "That sounded like a song lyric, didn't it?"
He stared back up at the sky, closing his eyes and just letting the snow cover his face.
"Imagine how cute you'll look in fluffy eskimo boots and a thick winter jacket with a huge, soft scarf!"

"You can lend some clothes of mine until you find a way to get back into your apartment. I'll just give you a shirt and my joggers.", Mike suggested, nervously fidgeting around with his fingers.
"Can you teleport to my apartment?"

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac smirked softly as he nodded at Misha, before looking at Noah. "And you, big boy?"
"I'll come with you too! You need a big, strong boy to help you carry the tree, after all!"
Mac chuckled at Noah's explanation, but didn't talk back, and smiled thankfully at Hunter, glad that she understood.
"Okay, so, car cookies for uncle Jim, snow cookies for mommy, planet cookies for Misha, animal cookies for Heather-"
"I wanna make Christmas cookies!"
"-christmas cookies for Noah...anyone have an idea what cookies to make for aunt Rey?'

William instantly dropped down into the same playing position, still trying to bark with his high-pitched, squeaky voice, his little tail wiggling excitedly before he jumped up, jumped on his head, ran down his back and jumped around, trying to catch his father's tail with his paws, until he fell over bad head-first into the snow.
Covered in white flakes, the little wolf jumped up again, still trying to somehow get a hold of that long fluffy thing up there, his deep brown eyes sparkling excitedly even though he couldn't see a thing.

Bailey grinned happily at that thought, at least until she went to hug herself.
"Not to disturb the happy mood or so, but it's cold as hell and I'm only wearing a really airy dress here", she chuckled. "What about we settle for a hot cup of cocoa and a nice, hot shower at home? I'm turning into an icicle here."

"I'll try, it's just harder when I'm barely able to move from freezing", Ava mumbled, closing her eyes...
Luckily she managed to teleport into Mike's apartment, but still stayed under his jacket, still trembling slightly.
"You need an interior designer here", she chuckled, motioning towards the blank walls and floor.
Rubbing her cold hands together, she sighed. "Now I remember why I moved to America in the first place- it's like this in Russia every year. Brr!"
As she finally let go of Mike and his jacket, she walked around to his back, turned around and took off her soaked shirt.
Looking back at him over her shoulder, she smiled... Kind of shyly?
"Don't look!", She mumbled silently, still smiling however. "And, thanks. For lending me clothes. I could make us some got soup or so to warn up."

 

[Wyosch]

"Sun cookies!", Heather called, Misha shaking his head.
"Big yellow thing cookies!"
"That's the sun, you stupid!", his sister replied, laughing, making Misha blush akwardly.
"Oh."
"Heather, don't cuss at your brother.", Hunter mumbled, smiling softly at her youngest son. "Honey, didn't you know that then?"
"I did but I keep forgetting words because there are SO MANY I need to remember!"
Misha just cuddled against his father's leg, scooping some snow onto his hand and pushing it against his father's knee.
"I'll make a snow pizza of your knee now! But I won't eat it, you have to keep your knee."

Jim was laughing at William's attempt to catch his tail, and finally let it down a bit more so his son could easily catch it now.
"Oh no, you caught my tail! You got me!"
He turned his face to Rachel, his eyes sparkling lovingly. "You think you can be a big boy and catch mommy's tail too, Willie?"

Cole looked around at the crowd, which was mostly all about to leave and just saying goodbye to the freshly wed couple.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. My ears are about to fall off.", he replied, chuckling. "I'll make you some hot chocolate with marshmallows while you take a hot bath, and then we'll cuddle together under our fluffy blanket, sounds good?"

Mike immediately blushed to a deep red as Ava took off her shirt, gulping nervously - yet turning around as she told him to.
"Yeah eh okay I'll take the clothes for you and yeah eh yeah.", he mumbled, grabbing his bag and taking out his joggers and a yankees shirt, throwing them over at Ava while keeping his eyes shut.

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac scoffed in amusement as he watched Misha cover his knee in snow.
"So, it looks like no one of you is freezing, hm?", He asked with a curious gaze, before he shot Heather a gentle, but warning gaze.
"Heather, Misha is not stupid. It's normal to forget things sometimes."
"But you never forget", Noah threw in with a confused gaze, causing Mac to look at the ground for a moment, protectively wrapping his wing around Misha.
"Yes, but that isn't normal."
Softly smiling down at his youngest son, he gently ran his hand over his back once. "That's right, I still need my knee. But If you want we could sometimes make real pizza together."

William just squeaked again, looking at his dad with his Fluffy black tail tickling his little nose.
He sneezed, so hard he fell back on his back, and looked up at his father with big, surprised eyes, running his paw over his nose.
"Dada!"

Bailey smiled happily, nodding at Cole's suggestion. "That sounds heavenly", she sighed, quickly teleported home, planted a small kiss on Cole's cheek and headed for the bathroom.
"Oh, hot stuff-"
She came back from the bathroom once more, already only in her underwear, and smiled softly at Cole, her eyes sparkling.
"Thank you. You make the best hot chocolate ice ever had. You're the best."
And she quickly disappeared into the bathroom again.

Ava quickly put on the new clothes and chuckled silently when she saw how red Mike was.
"It's okay, you can turn around again", she said with a soft smile, her make up gone, her hair messed up...making her look so much younger and different from how she looked at work.
"As a little thank you and welcoming gift...", She mumbled gently, while all of a sudden, the empty, desolate interior changed.
"I hope you like it."

 

[Wyosch]

"I don't forget things either.", Misha replied, an akward blush on his face as he stopped covering his father's knee with his hand and just stared down at the snow.
"There are just so many words I know, that I just have to say other stuff because else there'd be this huge pause while I'd try to find the word.", he explained, Heather just raising an eyebrow at him again.
"You're not like dad!"
"I am!"
"You're not!"
"I want to be!"
"But you aren't because daddy is cool and you're not."
"Heather, enough.", Hunter's tone was sharp and her gaze said enough to make the young girl silence. "You're not behaving very nicely to your brother. Apologize."
"No."
"Don't make me count to three."
"No."
"One."
"I won't."
"Two."
"Nooo!"
"Three-", just in that exact same moment, Heather turned to her brother and quickly whispered a silent 'sorry' to him.

Jim's eyes widened as there was a sound that had come out of his son's mouth.
"Daddy, yes!", he replied, his tail wagging excitedly, his ears happily standing up.
"Rey! Rey come here! He talked!"

Cole sighed happily as Bailey disappeared into the bathroom again, changed his suit to a white shirt and his black joggers, and went off to the kitchen preparing Bailey's hot chocolate.
>>Damn. I really did it.<<, he thought to himself, a proud smirk on his face. >>I asked her. Oh my god. I'll be her husband. My wife. AHH!<<

Mike gasped, at first at the sight of Ava, and then at the sight of his new apartment.
"Oh my... wow.", he mumbled, running his hand through his hair, still not believing what Ava had done like that. "This looks amazing. Everything. Thank you."

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac frowned slightly at Heather's behavior, but he knew he at first should take care of Misha.
"In fact, I think you are a whole lot like me, my angel", he said with a proud smile while he gently stroked some snow out of his son's clothes.
"You know, I was actually planning to give it to you next time we go into my lab for one or two experiments, but hey, why not now."
Out of a cloud of mist, he made a tiny lab coat appear, just like the one he always wore, even with the same 'M.Gale' on the name tag. "Look, we even have the same initials", he chuckled, gently ruffling Misha's hair. "It's a special coat. It grows with you and It keeps itself clean and whole. Means it will still fit you when you're way bigger and older. Now you are a real scientist."
Turning to Heather, he furrowed his eyebrows.
"Hunter, honey, would you be so nice to take Misha and Noah for a little walk? I think Heather and I should have a word."

Rey immediately came over, her eyes wide and excited.
"What? What did he say?"
"Dada!"
Rey grinned happily.
"Aww. Yes. Daddy. That's your daddy, isn't he?"
"Dada!!" The little grey wolf pup stumbled to his feet, rubbing his head on his father's foreleg a bit like a cat, cashing Rey to go 'awww!'
"Look how he loves his daddy", she sighed happily.

As Bailey came back in her blue shirt and grey joggers after a while she immediately went to hug Cole from behind with a happy grin.
"How's it going, my fiance?", She asked with a soft smirk on her face.
"Can I help you somehow?"

Ava blushed slightly at how excited Mike was about his new interior, and just somehow tried to get her messy hair back into some order...which however failed pretty much.
"No problem", she said with a gentle smile, looking around.
"So...what should we do with the beginning evening now...?"

 

[Wyosch]

Misha hugged his father tightly, giggling happily.
"Thank you so much, daddy! I love it! Can we do experiments now?"
"We'll first go for a little walk. You boys coming?", Hunter asked, walking towards the buffet with their sons, while Heather stayed behind with her father.
"Daddy...?", she asked, smiling innocently at him. "Something wrong?"

Jim's smile only widened even more, gently nuzzling his nosetip into William's fur before he gently leaned against Rachel.
"Is it just me, or is he like really fluffy?", he asked, chuckling silently.
After another while of staring at his son, he turned to his wife and gently licked her cheek.
"I love you."

Cole put one hand on Bailey's, holding her cup of hot chocolate in his other.
"Nope, I just finished. Had a nice shower?", he asked, giving her a kiss on her cheek.
"Mmmhhh now you smell even better than before."

Mike shook his head to get back to focus, and just smiled akwardly at Ava's question.
"Do you want to watch a movie? I got netflix, so you can just choose to watch a movie there, if you want.", he suggested. "I think I'll quickly go shower."

 

[Scripted Away]

"yes Heather, and you know what I mean", Mac said, his voice gentle, his gaze however strict.
"All the time I see you picking on your little brother. You never do that to Noah though, and don't think I don't know what's going on, young lady."
He frowned.
"Noah is spending a lot of time with his friends from kindergarten, so he is no threat, right?"
With a silent sigh, Mac closed his eyes to keep calm, even though he indeed was a tad angry. "Heather-"
Pulling his daughter into a gentle hug, he shook his head. "I know I'm spending a lot of time with Misha. It's because we share an interest I'm good at. I know more about science than anyone else, and it's easy for me to get into the experiments. However I... Man I can't believe I'm asking this now..."
Gently stroking through Heather's hair, he sighed once again.
"I've never in my entire life played with plushies, or made tea parties or so. That's why I'm probably spending less time playing with you. It's just... It's that I'm a bit scared to disappoint you, you know? But that doesn't mean I love anyone of you more or less than anyone else. You're all the light of my life, and I'd be happy if you'd show me how to do a tea party or play with plushies, if you want. But the picking on Misha has to stop, okay princess?"

"I love you too", Rachel chuckled with a happy smile, cuddling her head against Jim's fluffy chest while she watched William try to push the leg in his way away.
"We all do, honey."

Ava nodded with a soft smile, watching Mike for a moment before she went past him to the couch.
When the back of her hand brushed his hand while walking, a slight blush appeared on her face and she quickly walked on.
"I'll just... Watch supernatural while you're showing.... Have fun... Our so. Eh...yeah..."

 

[Wyosch]

Heather sadly looked down at the floor, her mean expression entirely gone now.
"You don't need to play with me if you don't want to, but... you're just giving Misha so much attention and spending so much time with him and you hardly do anything with me...", she whispered sadly, looking away from her father and wiping a small tear away as it rolled down her cheek.
"Is it because I'm a girl and you like boys more?"

"I know.", Jim replied, gently ruffling William's head with his paw.
"Honey, not to ruin this but... I'm actually quite freezing. Not used to cold weather like this, especially not as a Texan.", he mumbled, smirking akwardly.
"Should we grab the kids and go home?"

((you forgot to reply to Cole xD))

Mike just blushed to a deep red again while speeding up his pace and making his way to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Damn.
What on earth was happening to him?
Why was he so damn akward? He usually wasn't like that! Was he?
He just took off his clothes and quickly stepped into the shower, happy to wash the dirt from the pyramid off his hair.

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac's eyes widened to the size of saucers at Heather's question, and slowly, a few tears gathered in them as he pulled his daughter into a tight hug.
"No! Don't you ever think something like that, Heather. I love you so much my little princess."
Look I..."
He tried to find words, reasons, to explain himself, but at the same time he understood that she was right, and there was no excuse.
"Okay...", He whispered, sounding slightly scared while he actually was terrified to the core.
"I...look, it's... It's just that I'm scared to be a bad dad...", He sighed silently, sounding like a beaten boy.
"Misha reminds me very much of myself. Look, when I was a little baby, I was very very sick. Nobody thought I'd survive, and my dad, Grandpa James, was so desperate to save me that he gave to a man he thought could save me. And he did, I survived, but that man wasn't good. He turned me from a little baby into a teenager in about one single month. I have never been a little boy, and Misha is so much how I imagine I would have been. Seeing your little brother reminds me of everything I never had, and so I'm trying to give him the childhood I never had, the childhood I would have dreamed of, with a supportive, loving father..."
He sighed sadly, locking his eyes to the sky for a moment as a tear ran down his face.
"I've been so caught up in in my past and trying to undo it that I've just... Grown blind to everyone else's needs. Your mommy can kick my butt if necessary, and tell me to wake up from my daydreaming... But you can't..."
Softly stroking over Heather's cheek, he looked deep into her eyes, his full of love and regret.
"I should have been a better dad for you, and I'm endlessly sorry I hurt you so much, my princess. But please believe me when I say that I love you just as much as your brothers, and I will do my very very best to be a better dad for you, from now on. I promise."
He planted a soft kiss on Heather's forehead, gently wrapping his wings around her as he hugged her.
"Do you think you can give me a second chance, my princess?"

Rachel chuckled softly as she nodded at Jim and shifted back into her human form.
"I'll go find Rose, Kai and angel, and you take William and go to find jack, alright?", She suggested with a gentle smirk. "Meet you in a minute at home then."
She planted a kiss on his cheek, before heading to the crowd, calling for her kids.

((Damn! )
"Yeah, nice and warm and unfreezing", Bailey said with a happy smile, resting her chin on Cole's shoulder.
"Guess I should get myself a winter jacket, beanie, gloves, scarf and some warm boots tomorrow or so. Would've never guessed it to snow."
She leaned forwards to kiss his neck, cheek, and lastly lips, and smirked as he said she smelled even better than before. "Aww you're so sweet to me baby. How do I even deserve someone as great as you?"

Ava was just re-watching episode 1, when her phone rang.
"Fox, what's-
...
W-
...
No, you- you are kidding me, right?!
...
Please tell me this is just a bad joke!
...
I understand...goodbye..."
With an empty Gaze, she slowly put her phone on the small table in front of her and just stared at it for a good few minutes, before tears gathered in her eyes.
She knew she was supposed to be strong.
She knew she couldn't afford being weak.
She knew it would be unbelievably inappropriate if Mike would see her like this.
But she just couldn't.
At first her family not wanting to have anything to do with her anymore, banning her completely from their life, then her brother, moving back to Russia because he didn't want to see her anymore for what she had done, then her father, only four weeks ago, dying in a car crash, and now-
"Bethany...", She whimpered with a heartbreaking pain in her voice as she clenched her hands in front of her chest, feeling as if her heart was breaking in two.
Now she was all alone.
All on her own in a world that was getting it's revenge for what she had done to it.
Not that she was pitying herself. She probably deserved it.
But the thought of having absolutely no one terrified her to the core, and ripped her in two, together with the loss of her only friend, Bethany.
While the tears steamed down her face, she just hugged herself, but it didn't bring any comfort, and she wouldn't force Mike to help her with this. He'd probably rather throw his hand on a blade...

 

[Wyosch]

Heather was hugging her father as tightly as possible, nodding slowly as he asked her if she would give him a second chance.
"Yes, daddy.", she replied, wiping some of his tears away with her hands.
"I could teach you how to play with plushies... and maybe mommy could help you learn that too!"
She was smiling again by now, her big eyes sparkling softly.
"You're not a bad daddy. You just... forgot about me. It's okay."

Jim shifted back into his human form as well, holding William in his arms, calling out for Jack - but he stopped when he saw his little boy stealing other people's food from their plates.
"That's my boy - but he should stop doing that.", he mumbled to himself, walking over to his son. "Jackie, you coming home?", he asked, Jack nodding excitedly. "Can I eat then?"
"Sure!"
Jim grabbed Jack's hand and teleported him and his sons into their living room.

"We can go buy those things tomorrow. Somewhere. Not sure if they sell stuff like that here though...", Cole replied, smirking as Bailey kissed him.
"And I'm not sweet, I'm just telling the truth. Like damn...", he sniffed her neck, gently kissing it and walking up to her lips with more.
"You are awesome."

Mike walked into the living room wearing only his joggers, having totally forgotten that Ava was staying over, and immediately flinched when he saw her.
Just as he wanted to turn around to get himself a shirt, he heard some crying noises.
Was that Ava?
"Ava?", he whispered, slowly making his way into the living room, stopping confusedly as he saw her crying.
"Are you- what's wrong?", he asked, tilting his head at her, his eyes sorrowful. "What happened?"

 

[Scripted Away]

"no it's not...", Mac sighed sadly, but then smiled softly at his little daughter. "Regardless, I'm thankful that you're giving me a second chance, honey."
As he stood up again, he shifted into his ice bear, carefully picked Heather up and sat her down on his back.
"How's the view from up there?", He chuckled, while trotting towards the rest of his family.
"I don't know about you all, but I really think we should go have some ice cream and then go to the pet shop and have a look at a few fish. Whatcha think?"

Rachel teleported home as soon as she had managed to separate Rose and Luis, who had started to play hide and seek with a bunch of other kids.
"One, two, three, four, five-", she counted quickly, nodding at herself. All the kids there. Excepting her adult son and daughter of course.
Jeez.
>>I'm too young to have adult kids.<<
"Who wants pizza?"

Bailey shuddered slightly as Cole kissed her neck and grinned at him cheekily.
"I'm not responsible for what happens if you do that again", she chuckled, playing around with her fiance's hands, her eyes sparkling lovingly as she scoffed silently in amusement.
"I just had to think of that picture I've seen on Pinterest yesterday: 'a lover tells you how sexy you are when you are wearing your hottest Dessous- but the right one calls you cute even in your baggiest bummer shirt'. Immediately made me think of you. It's funny..."
She smiled softly as she looked up into his eyes, the sparkling in them just growing brighter and brighter.
"When I had that accident, and lost the feeling in both my legs, it freaked me out, sure, but there wasn't a second that I was afraid that you'd leave me alone because of it. Strange, isn't it?"

Ava just curled up tighter, pressing her eyes shut tightly and clenching her teeth, desperately trying to stop crying.
It had no sense.
She knew the pain wouldn't stop, and even the surprise about the sudden strength of her own feelings couldn't distract her.
Needless to say that also left her unable to play pretend.
"B-Bethany-!", She half whispered, half shouted; what an odd sound.
As she just felt herself breaking even more, she stumbled to her feet, actually to run away and lock herself in the bathroom or so, so Mike wouldn't see her like that. She however tripped over the rug's edge, and fell right into Mike's arms, where she just kept hanging, weeping into his bare chest.
"Car-", she sobbed, hoping Mike would be able to put the rest together from those two words she had managed to get over her trembling lips, as she was barely able to think straight, let alone speak clearly. Mike's warmth was slightly comforting her, but the pain remained, together with an all-embracing, suffocating, back-breaking loneliness.
Why why did she even try? The world hated her anyway, so why should she keep on acting? Should they see her how she was, she had nothing to lose anymore.

 

[Wyosch]

Heather was giggling happily when she rode on her father's back, her eyes widening to the size of saucers when her dad mentioned getting some fish.
"Fish!", she called, a huge grin on her face as she hugged her father tightly.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Hunter was smiling softly, looked at her daughter for a moment and then at her husband.
"Was war denn los mit ihr, dass sie so gemein war?", she asked him, looking at Noah with a gaze that told him he shouldn't say anything as he understood and talked German himself - somehow.

While all the kids happily cheered at the word of pizza, Jim frowned painfully for a moment, smiling softly as they had silenced. His hearing had been quite sensitive for the past few days, though he didn't know why. Perhaps because he'd had four months of entire silence?
"Emma was really pretty!", Angel said, Kai nodding agreeingly.
"I loved Sam's expression!"
"The pie was nice.", Jack mumbled, Jim ruffling his hair.
"True, but I don't want to see you stealing any more food of others, okay? We don't steal, that's very bad."
"Okay, daddy."
"Good.", Jim winked at Rachel, knowing how crazy that must've sounded for her - knowing about his past of stealing.

"It's true though... you're beautiful in your hottest dessous, but just as beautiful in your baggy clothes. Hell, you're even beautiful when you wake up, your hair a mess and with your makeup all over your face.", Cole explained dreamily, a loving smile on his face. "And of course I wouldn't leave you. I knew it would be hard... but look at you now. Walking. I'm so proud of you."
He remembered what Bailey told him when he had kissed her neck, and just smirked mischievously, pinning her against the wall and kissing her passionately, before he walked down to her neck and lastly collarbones.
"You're so sexy in your joggers."

Mike didn't have any time to react as Ava immediately seemed to have rushed into his arms, and just gently wrapped his arms around her to hopefully comfort her a bit.
He didn't know what to say. What do people say when something like that happens?
'I'm sorry' ? No. That wasn't good enough, so mainstream.
He just decided not to say anything and to just be there for her, slightly tightening his grip around her, stroking over her back.
"Cry as much as you need to. It's fine. I'm so incredibly sorry for you, Ava. I can only imagine how you must feel right now... but I'm here for you.", he whispered silently, actually wanting to facepalm himself afterwards. Hadn't he decided to not say anything? Oh well. At least she knew he cared now. Even though his attempt at comforting her was terrible, it's about the thought, right?

 

[Scripted Away]

"sie dachte ich hätte Misha lieber als sie", Mac sighed, clearly with an edge of remorse in his voice as he looked at Hunter with puppy eyes, but then smiled again for Heather. "But you have to promise me to take good care of it, okay young lady?", He asked seriously as he bent his head backwards to look at Heather with an actually quite funny expression.
"They are living beings like you and me, so they gotta be treated well, deal?"

Rachel could just suppress an amused snort, when rose spoke up.
"There were so many people! At first I didn't even know where to look, but then I met some nice kids and we played all the time. And Emma looked like an angel. So beautiful. I hope we will get to know the baby when it comes. uncle Sam told me they want to name her Hope."
Smiling happily, she made her way to the stairs
"I want a pizza Hawaii! Can you call me when the pizza man brought them? I still have to shower and change, and then do my physics hokework."
She had explained the last few words while she was already heading upstairs, but came back down once more. "Daddyyy~? I might need your help later. Miss Peregrine tried to explain how an engine works, but honestly it's all Greek to me..."

Bailey smiled softly as she cuddled against Cole, goosebumps covering her entire body.
"Mr.Anderson, don't you do that when I smell hot chocolate!", She giggled. "That's officially torture!"
With a slight grin, she planted a small kiss on his neck and ran her fingers through his hair once.
God, would she ever get used to his sheer presence? Even after all this time the butterflies just hadn't become less, and now that they were engaged, Cole having expressed his love do undoubtedly and clearly, it was even harder to believe that this all was real, and it would last forever.
"I love you hot stuff", she sighed with happily sparkling eyes.

Ava suddenly stilled, as if she had turned to stone, before she desperately pushed Mike away, as far as she could, bending over as if she was suffering worst stomach aches or so.
"I'm losing it-", she groaned, while a darkness gathered around her, gripping her tight, until it turned her into something far less pretty.
"No, no, no-!", She moaned as all of a sudden, the entire world seemed to warp into the craziest shapes, thick, black mist covering the ground.
Her face still covered in tears, she looked up at Mike with pure fear in her eyes.
But when her eyes met his, she felt a good part of the fear subsiding.
The warmth in his voice rushed back into her chaotic mind, soothing her soul like a warm summer day.
For whatever reason, Mike had said he was here for her. He hadn't pushed her away or let her drop to the ground when she had fallen into his arms.
He was there.
It was incredibly hard, but with the help of Mike's calming presence, she slowly managed to normalize at first the world and then herself.
Breathing heavily, she leaned on the next wall, with a sheepish gaze in Mike's direction.
"...s-sorry..."

 

[Wyosch]

"Wieso würde sie denn sowas denken?", Hunter asked, smiling sadly at Heather - who was looking at her father with a strange expression.
"Of course! Why shouldn't I treat them well?", the little girl asked, raising both of her eyebrows at her dad.
"Can I have some fish too?"

Jim smiled softly at Rose, nodding at his daughter.
"Sure, sweetie! Just call me when you're starting on your homework, okay?"
She needed him. She wanted him to help her. She could've asked Rachel. One of her friends. But she asked him.
"Alright, now for the others - what pizzas would you like?"
"Mozzarella!", Jack called, grinning. He loved food.
"Bolognese for me.", Kai replied, quickly giving his mother and father a hug before going upstairs too. "I'm quickly gonna change and then make my maths homework. Dad, weren't you pretty good at stuff like that?"
"Were? Still am, boy. If you need help, just call me.", Jim replied, his eyes sparkling proudly by now, while he was grinning widely.
"Can I have pizza?", Angel asked, looking up at her parents with big eyes.
"Normal pizza?"
"Yes!"
"Okidoki.", Jim replied, winking, and then turned to Rachel. "So it's two Hawaii, one Bolognese, one Mozzarella, one Marguerita, and for you? Hawaii too?"

Cole smiled lovingly, his eyes showing the most beautiful nightsky.
"I love you too, baby.", he mumbled, hugging her tightly while burying his face into her neck. "Sooooo much!"
He spread his arms as wide as possible, chuckling. "They never touch, because my love for you is unconditional."
With an akward smile, he ran his hand through his messy hair and quickly kissed Bailey's cheek.
"I'm really cheesy, aren't I?", he asked, staring deep into his fiancée's mesmerizing eyes.
He could stare at her all day and never get bored. He loved her very few freckles, he loved her birthmark, he loved her dimple in her leg that she only had when sitting down, he just loved every inch of her. There was nothing that wasn't perfect on her. Her outward beauty, her inner beauty - perfect. Such an amazing person, with a personality he had fallen in love with at their first meeting.
"Do you know how perfect you are to me?"

Mike didn't think about what had just happened to her, but immediately just wrapped his arms around Ava again, gently resting his chin on her head.
"Hey, it's fine. I get it.", he mumbled softly.
"Just try to breathe. Follow my heartbeat and try to calm down a bit."
He closed his eyes so he could concentrate on keeping his heartbeat slow and steady so she could calm down easier.
"And don't apologize, please. It's not your fault. I know what it's like to lose someone you cared about deeply. I'm really sorry. I wish I could do something to make you feel better, even if it would just be a bit. What about I'll get you some ice cream? Would that help you a bit?"

 

[Scripted Away]

"weil ich so viel mehr Zeit mit Misha als mit ihr verbracht hab...", Mac sighed, actually just wanting to finally drop that topic.
Turning to his daughter once more, he lifted his furry shoulders. "Because I've seen it often enough that people don't consider the work and responsibility a pet brings. A tank needs to be cleaned, the fish need to be fed..."

"You just know me so well", Rachel said with a soft smirk as she nodded at Jim's question. "Hawaii would be wonderful."
It didn't take long until Rose came downstairs again with her schoolbag, wearing her grey joggers and her school's baseball team shirt, spelling her name over the back, and showing a red jet on the front, under it 'West Junior Jets'.
Her wet hair almost looked as red as the writing as it hung out of the back of the baseball cap in a messy ponytail.
Sitting down at the table in the living room with a sigh, she rested her chin on her palm.
"Seriously, why does it explode", she mumbled to herself. "And how is that transferred into energy..."

Bailey smirked softly as she ran her fingers through Cole's hair once and planted a small kiss on his nosetip.
"You are, but I like cheesy", she chuckled, gently leaning against his chest while she took a joyful sip of her hot chocolate.
As he mentioned her being perfect to him, she looked up into his eyes with a loving smile and softly stroked over his cheek.
"I guess just as perfect as you are to me, hot stuff", she sighed happily.
"My cheesy, cute, sexy, breathtaking fiance."

Ava slightly shook her head, just pushing herself tighter against Mike.
"I don't think I get anything down right now...", She whispered brokenly, her leaning by now rather turning into a cuddling as she sought comfort in his closeness and warmth.
"What if I manage to scare you off as well? Bethany was all I had left, the only one who loved me despite... Me starting the whole HACK-madness..."
She sighed brokenly, her head resting at his chest. "I'm scared...I don't want to be all alone again..."