The Wanderer

[Demeter]

Rhea muttered under her breath while she cruised the snowy streets of Point Hope. she could have been home with Chas, the guys and the kids but she was out in the cold darkness of the Polar night looking for a sixteen year old runaway. The social services rep in Barrow had called five hours ago, around three in the afternoon, to report Ellie Moreno as a runaway.

Something about this whole situation just didn't sit well with Rhea. Why was the caseworker calling it in instead of Ellie's foster parents? After getting the call, Rhea sent her deputies out to search for the teen while she interviewed Ellie's foster parents and friends. On her way over to the Yang's house, she'd called home to tell Chas that she might not make it back for dinner. She told Chas that Ellie Moreno had gone missing and that her caseworker had called it in. Chas, hemming and hawing, had then told her something that worried her greatly.

Normally one to honor Doctor-Patient privilege, Chas had told her that Ellie had been in the clinic for a delicate situation the day before. Sighing, Chas told Rhea that the teen was three months pregnant and didn't want to talk about the baby or the bruising Chas had found during the physical exam. And then Chas told her that just a few hours ago, Ellie had come by the office and spoken words that that worried her greatly. And now, knowing that the girl was missing, Chas spilled everything she knew and that caused a feeling of dread settled in Rhea's stomach as her wife spoke to her.

Armed with that information, she'd set out to speak with anyone who might have seen Ellie. And the conflicting accounts worried her. According to Mrs. Yang, a woman Rhea had never liked, Ellie was a disruptive, undisciplined young woman who slept around - that's why she wouldn't say who the father was. Mrs. Yang was sure that Ellie had left to take care of the problem and would be back soon but wouldn't be welcome in that house anymore. The Yang's neighbor, Aluki Smith, had said that she'd heard shouting from the house before seeing Ellie rush out in tears and without a coat. Mrs. Yang's description of Ellie didn't jive with what Rhea knew of Ellie. Over the last two years, Ellie had been out to babysit the boys several times and Rhea knew her to be a responsible young woman. She wouldn't have trusted a disruptive, undisciplined girl to watch her boys.

Rhea continued to ask the townspeople about Ellie and the accounts from Ellie's schoolmates differed from each other but they all had one thing in common - Ellie didn't have a boyfriend. And all the young men her age had denied having a sexual relationship with her. And the teachers she'd spoken with said that the once bright and out-going girl had become withdrawn over the past three months and was having some trouble in school. Even Isis, Ellie's weekend employer, said the girl had been late several times and been overly apologetic over a few minutes.

All these things made Rhea very worried about Ellie but first she had to find the girl. It was creeping up on nine o'clock and there still hadn't been any sight or sign of the girl. She knew that others had joined the search but Rhea kept close to the town. She inched along the snow packed streets, shining her light on the surroundings.

When her cell rang, Rhea slowed to a stop and picked up the slim phone. The read out indicated that the call was being forwarded from the station. She punched a few buttons. "Chief Volkov speaking. How can I help you?"

"Chief, it's Sam Woolson, down at the cemetery."

"Evening, Sam. How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm doing okay. This cold snap is making bones ache. I was at the drug store today, picking up some of that fancy medication your girl told me to get. I heard about that Moreno girl going missing. You find her yet?"

"No, Sam; no one has found Ellie Moreno yet. Have you seen her?"

"Oh, damn, I was hoping it was a dog or bear that's lying out in the headstones. Chief, there's something out in the yard; been there for a while and I can't make out what it is. Could be a girl. Could still be a bear for all I know."

Rhea cursed. "Stay inside, Sam, it might be a bear yet. I'll be right out to check it out," after hanging up the phone, Rhea hurried out to the cemetery. On the way, she radioed her deputies, telling them that she had a lead. She parked outside of the cemetery fence and, standing on the Jeep's running boards, she angled the spotlight and her flashlight over the graves. With a deep sigh, Rhea jumped off the boards and took a few steps towards the fencing. she crunched through the snow, shining her light between the rows. Halfway through, she caught sight of something curled up at the base of a double grave, Rhea recognized the red hair and blue sweater.

Ellie.

Rhea stomped back to the jeep and pulled a blanket from the stack she kept in the back. With the blanket tossed over her shoulder, Rhea went and re-found Ellie. After covering her, and looking for signs of life, Rhea flashed the light over the carved crosses. Val and Mike Moreno. She'd gone to her parents' graves but the crossed could only offer cold comfort.

Flicking off her light, the spotlight on the Jeep gave off enough light, Rhea wrapped her arms around Ellie and tired to haul her away. "Come on, Ellie let's get you warmed up."

The moment she tried to move Ellie, the girl cried out and scrambled to cling to the crosses. Rhea had to pry the sobbing girl away the grave and drag her, struggling all the way, to the Jeep. "Stay put," she said to the girl after getting her into the jeep. She hurried around to the other side and climbed in. With the dome light on, Rhea could see that Ellie's face was chapped from the cold and from crying. The girl just looked pitiful, she thought while turning over the jeep's engine and putting it into gear. "Let's get you home."

"I'm not going back to the Yangs. You can't make me go back."

"All right," Rhea kept her gaze on the snowy road. She leaned forward and flicked the Jeep's heater up a notch. "You can come out to my house for a couple of nights while we figure out what to do with you."

Ellie wanted nothing more then curl up and die. The chief's house was way outside of town and the drive was quiet. Too quiet. Every noise she made sounded like thunder. Ellie glanced at the Chief; she didn't know the woman well but the term 'cool' was usually applied to her. Even the woman's lover and the two men who lived with them were always labeled as cool.

Ellie wanted to be like them someday.

Except she didn't know if that would ever happen now. Ellie squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around her belly. She didn't know what to do.

Rhea glanced at Ellie when she turned from the main road. "We'll figure it out, Ellie. Everything will be okay."

Ellie looked at Rhea, dread filling her stomach. "Oh God, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Chastity, Doc MacKenna, told me but your foster mother was burning up the phone lines as well. Ellie, the entire town knows by now."

Ellie groaned before dropping her head into her hands and sobbing. "You must think me so stupid to end up this way."

Rhea fished a packet of tissues from her pocket and passed them to Ellie. "No, sometimes things happen that are out of our control. Ellie, the father, was he some teenage boy you were fooling around with or did someone hurt you? You can tell me, Ellie and you don't have to be scared."

Ellie remained quiet and Rhea sighed as she pulled into her driveway. She brightened when she saw the SUV parked alongside Chas' Subaru. Sometimes, guardian angels appeared right when a person needed them. That was Finn's SUV and if he couldn't get a name out of her, no one could.

She ushered Ellie out of the car and through the enclosed back porch to a brightly lit and warm kitchen. A kitchen that was currently filled with people. Cameo was pouring a drink for Finn, was standing next to a sink, supervising Sev as he washed dishes. Grae was sitting at the kitchen table with Keena on his lap and was brushing out her wet, tangled hair and Chas was berating troublemaker Brant over something.

Ellie stayed by the door, watching as the family interacted. Rhea glanced at her and then moved over to Chas. "Can you get her warmed up? I found her out by the cemetery, huddled next to her parent's graves. I don't know how long she was out there."

Rhea watched as Chastity wrapped her arms around Ellie and led her from the kitchen. Rhea turned to Finn. The man was her brother-in-law and friend. She pulled him aside "I'm going to have to cut your vacation short, Finn. That girl is three months pregnant and she won't tell me what happened. I don't think whatever happened was consensual but she won't tell me anything. Or Chastity, for that matter. Do you think you can get anything out of her?

Upstairs in the guest bathroom, as the tub was filling with warm water, Ellie clung to Doc MacKenna and sobbed.

[Maira]

Worry had been eating away at Chastity since her appointment with Ellie the day before, and then after her unexpected visit with the girl just that afternoon she had nearly made the call to the Sheriff's office herself to have either Rhea or one of her deputies go out to the Yang house to check on the girl. Only Rhea had called her first to tell her she might be missing dinner because she needed to hunt down the girl who had apparently disappeared. Scared that she had waited too long, her worries about the girl and the condition she was in spilled out of her mouth. Rhea had thanked her for the information and they had hung up. That was the last Chastity heard from her wife before she walked through the back door with a very cold looking Ellie in tow.

In an instant, Brant's trouble-making was forgotten and she shooed him on his way to go wreak havoc in the other room. When Rhea walked over to her and asked if she could get the girl warmed up and told her she'd found Ellie in the graveyard, Chastity nodded and with a warm, relieved smile she walked over to the girl and escorted her out of the busy kitchen.

Once they were upstairs, Chastity lead Ellie down the hall past all of the kids' rooms to the guest room across from her and Rhea's room. It wasn't big but it was warm and welcoming and it had its own bathroom with a full sized tub. It actually had Finn's bags sitting in one corner, but he could shack up on the couch this visit. Chastity directed Ellie towards the bed, then she hauled Finn's bags out to the hallway and shut the door behind her. Once Ellie's privacy was guaranteed, Chastity told her, "Alright Ellie sweety, I'm going to go get you a warm bath running and then I'll need to make sure you didn't get any frostbite while you were laying in the snow."

It didn't take her long to get the bath started and when she came back, she found the girl had taken off her sweater, shoes and socks. She hadn't been wearing any gloves so Chastity would have started her inspection of the girl's extremities there but as soon as she sat on the bed next to her, Ellie just looked at her. Knowing that the examination could wait, Chastity opened her arms and Ellie flung herself into them, sobbing. Chastity wrapped her arms around the girl protectively and whispered words of comfort in her ear over and over.

*****

Finn had rolled into town shortly before Rhea's call had come in to warn Chas that she might not be home for dinner. Because he had been sitting only two feet form his sister when she spilled the beans on the pregnant runaway he already had a feeling that Rhea would be asking him for his help with the girl if she were found alive. So, when the Sheriff told him she'd be cutting his vacation short he answered nonchalantly, "Chas already gave me the girl's background and other pertinent info, as soon as she's warmed up, fed, and feels safe enough, I'll see what I can do. You know I'll do my best to help, but I make no promises."

Already though, Finn could feel the will of his Goddess on this case. He knew that before all was said and done he would be bringing whoever had hurt Ellie, emotionally, physically or sexually, to justice. If what Chas thought had happened to the girl was actually the case, the man would be getting off easy with the human justice system. There were times that Finn missed being able to hunt the people who hurt children down with a pack of dogs like the filthy rabid animals they were.

*****

When Chastity finally left the girl and went back downstairs she had to slip quietly out of the guest room because Ellie had cried herself out in Chastity's arms. Before leaving, she had gotten Ellie tucked into bed with an electric blanket on low, just enough to slowly get her warmed back up. Then she'd pulled the plug on the tub and let it drain as she had quietly scoured the cupboards for any of Finn's razors that he left here for his visits. Once she deemed the guest room safe for a possibly suicidal girl she had left. She almost grabbed Finn's bags to take downstairs but decided to leave them where they sat outside the bedroom door. She knew already that Rhea would have asked him for his help with the girl, and that even if she didn't he would have volunteered his help anyway. It was what he did and leaving the bags where they were would give him a perfect excuse to come up and talk to the girl when she woke up.

As she re-entered the kitchen, all of the eyes in the room (adult only now) fell on her and she answered their unasked questions, "She didn't tell me anything else but she fell asleep crying in my arms. I've got her tucked in with the electric blanket on to warm her up since I never managed to get her into the bath." That said, she went over to the fridge, opened the cupboard above it, and grabbed one of Grae's bottles of whisky before she walked out of the kitchen and across the livingroom to her study. She shut the door behind her but she didn't lock it, fully expecting her brother to follow her.

And he did.

Without even knocking, Finn let himself in and then shut the door. He -did- lock it. Then he walked over to his sister, took the bottle of liquor out of her hand and set it on her desk before he wrapped her up in a bear hug. "Caireen has charged me with protecting this girl and you know I never fail. Whoever hurt her will pay for it Chas, I promise you," he told her in a quiet, fierce tone. Then, with one last extra tight squeeze he let her go and opened the bottle downing a mouthful before handing it to her. Chas took it and followed his lead. Gods she hated whisky.

Finn took one more swallow from the bottle and then told his sister, "Don't find too much comfort in that bottle tonight, Ellie is going to need all of us tomorrow and while she may be my Goddess-give charge, she knows you a lot better than she does me and she already trusts you." At Chastity's nod, Finn unlocked the door of the study and then let himself back out to go and properly distract the kids from the turmoil in the house that night.

When Uncle Finn came to stay, the kids were always ready to hog his attention with their newest toys or video games, or ask him to tell them stories about his travels and what it was like to be a fox. Their favorite game to play, though, was hide and hunt. Finn would shift into his fox form, and the kids would shift into their dragon forms and they would have to use their dragon senses to find him. Whoever found him first always got a special "secret" desert. The truth was, he had asked permission long ago to give the kids "secret" sweets and after minimal arguments about spoiling them he had won. The only real secret was that all four parents were totally in on the secret.

Finn thought tonight might be a great night for hide and hunt and before he even went looking for the kids he shifted into the form of an arctic fox, poked his head into the kitchen and yipped to get Rhea, Grae, and Cameo's attention. When the trio saw him, Grae laughed and told him, "Good thinking, and with you looking like that they'll have to work extra hard." Finn yipped again and lolled his tongue out the side of his mouth in a foxy grin, then he slipped out of the kitchen to find the children. He found them in their playroom and when they saw him, they all giggled with glee and started stripping out of their clothes and racing for the front door. As soon as the door opened, Finn darted out of it into the snowy night. As it took them a while to shift, by the time they did he would be well away and hidden.

*****

A couple hours later, the kids completely exhausted and tucked into bed by Uncle Finn, he then made his way down the hallway to get his bags. He blinked in surprise when he heard sobbing in what was normally his room. Not sure if now was the best time, Finn risked it and knocked gently on the door. The crying stopped and before it could start again Finn knocked once more then he waited to see if the girl would answer.

[Demeter]

Ellie stopped crying when she heard the knock at the door. She held her breathe and kept quiet until she heard foot steps heading away from the door. She waited until she was certain that no one else was in the hallway before turn to her side and curling up. Her life was a mess but it wasn't her own doing. She'd fought him, hasn't she? But he'd overpowered her each time and had threatened her every time not to tell. And good girls did what they were told, didn't they?

Swallowing back a whimper, Ellie snuggled into the bedding and tried to get some sleep. She did eventually get some sleep but her dreams were haunted by nightmares about what the towns people would think of her. In the early morning and dressed in yesterday's clothing, Ellie peered outside the bedroom door. When she saw no one around, she crept down the stairs and turned down the hall towards the kitchen. At the entrance of the kitchen, Ellie pulled up short and stared.

She'd always know that this family was special; it was a known fact that Rhea and Chas were an item while the two men they lived with were also an exclusive couple. But she'd never actually seen two men kissing before. She watched as Cameo and Grae kissed by the backdoor. When they broke apart, Ellie just blinked when Cameo said good bye to Grae and, armed with lunch bag and thermos, left the house. Part of her mind told her that he must be the one working at the clinic today but she was still trying to process watching two men kiss.

She shook her head and lingered in the entryway. When Grae turned and offered her a good morning, Ellie smiled at him. The man was a teacher at the school but she'd never taken any of his classes. "Good Morning."

Comfortable in the kitchen, Ellie crossed to get a glass and the milk out of the fridge. At the sight of the food in the fridge, her stomach growled and she blushed. She hadn't eaten since lunch at school yesterday. At that point, Rhea wandered in, dressed in a robe with her hair in a tangled knot. She got Grae to make breakfast and Ellie tucked into the scrambled eggs that had been set before her with enthusiasm.

After eating, she wandered into the living room and stared at the man sprawled over the big couch. She'd gotten the barest glimpse of him last night. She knew who he was because there were plenty of family pictures that included him spread over the house. The kids called him Uncle Finn. She peered into the playroom, grinning when she saw the oldest boy, Sev, seated on the floor, quietly playing video games. She wandered in and sat next to him. She watched him worked through the level, content just to sit for the moment. The flashing lights and sharp sounds distracted her mind from her problems; at least for a little while.

After an hour of just watching Sev play, Rhea called her into her office and explained what would happen next. She'd already contacted the case worker in Barrow and the emergency foster care of Rhea and Chastity had been approved. But her case worker would be coming down to talk with her. Rhea had been obligated to tell him what had been going on and she assured Ellie that there would be an investigation unless she could tell them it wasn't needed.

When Ellie didn't say anything, Rhea sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Ellie, you don't have to be scared of us. We want to help but we can't if you won't tell us anything."

Still, Ellie looked at the ground and kept her mouth shut. He could cause problems for this family if she told. "I'm sorry, Chief, I can't say anything," she said before bolting from the room. She ran straight into Uncle Finn, apologized and went running to the guest room.

Rhea leaned against her office doorway and sighed again. "She still won't say anything and her case worker wants to launch an investigation. She's scared, Finn."

[Maira]

Finn had been semi-dozing on the couch when Rhea called Ellie into her office. His heightened fox hearing enabled him to eavesdrop from right where he was. He heard Rhea tell the girl that she would be staying here at least through the impending investigation and heard the Sheriff try and convince the girl to open up so that they could help her. He knew what the answer was going be and when he heard the girl say absolutely nothing he wasn't surprised. Wanting to talk to both of them before Ellie bolted, Finn got up off the couch and headed toward the office. Only he wasn't fast enough and just as he reached Rhea's office door Ellie ran smack into him. He had a feeling she wouldn't want to be touched by a strange man so he didn't even try to steady her or keep her there so he could talk to her, he just stepped out of the way as she ran around him and up the stairs.

When he heard the guest room door slam, Finn sighed and turned his attention to Rhea where she was now leaning against her office doorway. At Rhea's words, Finn nodded his agreement, Ellie was most definitely scared. Mostly thinking out loud, Finn told Rhea, "From my experience, its the girls that get pregnant by force that the ones who are genuinely scared and don't want to talk about it. If they've got a secret boyfriend they might keep quiet for a while but eventually their pride will get the better of them and they'll spill."

After a moment, Finn asked, "When is her case worker supposed to arrive? I've got my paperwork with me to assume any case I feel fits my specialty so I should be able to keep him from ever talking to her and scaring her more." When Rhea told him that the man wouldn't be out until the next day, Finn grinned and added, "Good, that'll give him time to get her entire file for me because I'll need everything on her if I'm going to do this right." With that, Finn kissed Rhea on the cheek and with a huge grin on his face hurried out of the house to get his briefcase containing the proper paperwork out of his SUV.

*****

It had taken him less than an hour to transfer Ellie's case to him once he'd gotten the paperwork filled out and when the fax came in on Chas's machine, he snagged it and practically bounced into Rhea's office and plopped it on her desk. "Alright Sheriff, your are officially free to tell me everything you know about Ellie." He took a seat at the extra chair in front of her desk and listened as she did just that. When she was done, Finn's brow was creased in thought. So far what Rhea knew didn't really give him any clear direction. Unless he could get Ellie to talk, this was going to take a really long time to get to the bottom of. Like six more months until the baby was born for a DNA test kind of long. And it wouldn't be cheap as probably more than one possible father would need to be tested as well.

Finn thanked Rhea for the information and took back the paper declaring him in charge of Ellie's case, and went off in search of the girl. May as well let her know right away that he would be the one working with her now. He found her once again in the playroom, this time playing hotwheels with Brant and pointedly not looking Keena playing with her baby dolls in the corner.

He had heard Rhea try the gentle approach to get Ellie to open up, and he knew that Chas wouldn't be able to anything other than that either. That approach hadn't gotten any results so Finn was going to try something else instead. He was going to try the same thing he did with Chas because the gentle approach hadn't worked with her either and while Ellie wasn't nearly as old as Chas had been when she'd come to his family, she was still old enough to understand cold hard facts. He didn't want to just dump things on her though so he started out by just sitting down with her and Brant, helping them build a city to drive the cars through. When the boy lost interested and went to play with something else, Ellie started to go with him but Finn stopped her by gently saying, "Ellie, wait a minute okay?"

The looks she gave him was a cross between glaring daggers at him, and being scared out of her mind. He'd gotten that same look from Chas until he finally sat her down and explained just what it was he did. In the kids' playroom wasn't the best place for that conversation, so instead Finn just slipped her the same paper he'd showed Rhea. After she'd had a chance to look at it he asked her, "Do you know what that means?"

Ellie looked at the paper, the glanced up at him, then back down to the paper before answering, "It means you're my case worker now right? Does that mean you'll be doing the investigation now too?"

Her voice was quiet so as not to alert Brant and Keena, and it trembled just a little bit at the word, "investigation," but Finn just pretended not to notice. He nodded affirmatively in answer to both of her questions and then told her in the same quiet tone she'd used, "I want to tell you some things about how I work, and just what it is that I do that allowed me to assume your case. I'm not going to ask you any questions right now, or probably even for a couple days. I want you to feel safe here, and comfortable with me, before we start trying to work together okay?" When Ellie nodded her understanding he added, "But part of that process is going to be you listening to me tell you some things about me okay? I want you to understand why I wanted your case, and why I will do my best to keep you safe no matter what okay?" Again Ellie nodded.
"Good, now, when you're done in here with these guys can you come find me please so we can talk? I'm going to go raid the pantry for the cookies that Chastity baked yesterday while she was waiting to hear news about you."

With that, Finn got up, went to Brant and Keena and smooched the tops of both of their heads, and then he strolled calmly out of the playroom and toward the kitchen. He would wait in the kitchen for a while, but then he planned on commandeering Chas's study because he had a lot to do and Ellie's old caseworker had said that he would be emailing her file to him instead of driving all the way down just to hand over a file and leave.

[Demeter]

Not even cookies were enough to tempt Ellie at the moment. She had some serious work to do, writing down all of the things she wanted from the Yang's house. She wanted everything that was hers because she was not going back there. After Finn had spoken with her, Rhea had wandered by the play room and leaned on the half wall. She'd asked Ellie if there was anything she wanted from her old foster home and to write it down. Rhea would send one of her deputies over to collect the items.

Except she couldn't remember everything and she knew the Yangs had some of her parents things in storage. Biting her lip, Ellie knocked on Rhea's office door. When the woman beckoned her in, Ellie handed the list over. "I don't remember everything and I know they have some of my parents things too but I don't know what is what."

Rhea glanced at the list. "I have an idea, if you are willing to go through with it. You could go over to the house, with Finn, myself and Vitali Kozluv, he was your parent's lawyer, and we could get everything that is yours. I could send my deputies over to clear the Yang's out of the house. Would that be okay, Ellie? We'd be right there with you, every step of the way and you won't have to worry about them. Never liked that woman anyways."

Ellie took a few minutes to think it over but she nodded and Rhea got the ball rolling. She called up her deputies and sent them over before recruiting Vitali. Then she roped Finn into her plan. While everyone was pulling on outer gear, borrowed in Ellie's case, Rhea said that she had to swing by and pick Vitali up but Ellie could ride with Finn. She told them to stay in the car until she showed up with the lawyer.

Ellie nodded and climbed into the passenger seat of Finn's SUV. Except for giving him directions to the house, the trip was quiet. It was the new year and the polar night was coming to an end here in Point Hope so there wasn't total darkness and she could see the Yangs standing out in their yard. Ellie slouched down in the seat and kept her gaze fixed on Finn.

It wasn't long before Rhea and the lawyer pulled up and they all went inside. When they past they past the Yangs, and Mr. Yang gave Ellie a hard stare, Ellie actually pressed up against Finn.

[Maira]

He was disappointed, but not surprised, that Ellie never came to find him. Life had been hard for her lately and she clearly just wasn't comfortable with him yet and that was okay. He was a patient man when need be, and clearly this was a case where he would need to be.

He lost track of time while he was reading Ellie's file and when Rhea came in to recruit him to go with her and Ellie to the Yang house to pick up Ellie's stuff, he noted down what page of her file he was on and then shut down his computer. What he'd read so far had given Finn a lot of good information about the girl's background, and was beginning to paint a picture of her more recent past with the Yangs. He wasn't sure what he thought about them and he would reserve his opinion until he actually met them. Much as he wanted to get a feel for the couple himself, he really hoped for Ellie's sake that they weren't at the house when they all got there.

As soon as he was ready, Rhea told him that he and Ellie would be going in his vehicle while she went to pick up Ellie's parents' lawyer. She also told them to wait in the car until she got there. This worried Finn a bit as it indicated that the Yangs would probably still be at the house. He did his best not to grumble at that possibility and quickly got his cold-weather gear on and got him and Ellie loaded up into his SUV. He followed the girl's directions to her foster-parents' house and when the arrived he noted Ellie slumping down into her seat at the same time he saw a couple, accompanied by some of Rhea's deputies, standing outside.

"Its okay Ellie, we'll wait until Rhea is here. And her deputies are here too. You are completely safe." Finn tried to reassure the girl gently as he put the SUV in park. It didn't take long before Rhea pulled in next to him and she and a tall man got out. He waited until Rhea came to Ellie's side of the SUV before getting out, and then the four of them headed into the house. As they walked past the Yangs', Ellie was suddenly pressed up against him and he followed her gaze and caught the cold stare that Mr. Yang was directing at the girl. Suddenly, Finn's protective instincts flared and he shot a hot deadly glare at the other man as he slipped an arm around Ellie's shoulders and hurried her inside.

Once inside and out of sight of the Yangs, Ellie pulled away from him and he let her go. He followed her at a short distance and tried to catch Rhea's eye. When he succeeded, she walked over to him and he leaned in and told her barely above a whisper, "If you want a suspect, my money is on Mr. Yang. A man doesn't look at a woman like that unless he is holding something big over her, and what's bigger than a baby?"

[Demeter]

Rhea raised any eyebrow and turned to look out the window at the man in question. She cold see him chatting with a curious neighbor. "You think so? I wouldn't be shocked. He assaulted Chas a few years back. Now, don't go all big brother on me just yet; Chas took care of it and smacked him with a bedpan. Later on, Grae put the fear of the gods into him. And Cameo is none too gentle with his exams."

Rhea sighed. "He even grabbed me once. It was before Chas. I'd been relaxing at the bar and he just swaggered up and grabbed my breasts, said something about it being a shame and squeezed. I kneed him in the ball sack and dealt him an uppercut. And I know he's tried to charm other women in town as well. Tried to start something with Isis," she mentioned her sister-in-law of sorts, "but all that got him was Ben and Lilia on his ass." Rhea narrowed her eyes. "I wonder if he's moved onto younger, more malleable prey."

Rhea sighed again and shook herself. "Save that for later, until we can get a name out of Ellie. Right now, let's get her stuff packed up. Can you help Vitali with the paperwork? I'll help Elli pack up. We may need more help to get this done quickly. Could you call Grae for me as well? He can round up some troops to help out."

They went their separate ways, Finn to the office where Vitali, his nephew-in-law, was rooting through documents to find anything relating to Elli, and Rhea to help the girl pack. She reached the room that was serving as Ellie's bedroom to find it already loaded with half a dozen sloppily packed boxes. Ellie was holding the broken pieces of a music box and sniffling. She looked over her shoulder and gave a helpless little shrug. "It was my grandmother's. They just tossed it into a box."

Rhea knelt down and took the pieces from Ellie. "It's not such a bad break. We can fix it with a little glue. It'll be stronger after that." Rhea wrapped the pieces in a shirt and carefully stowed the bundle in a box. "Come on, Ellie, let's get this unpacked so we can repack it properly. What about this furniture? Is it yours?"

Ellie sniffled and managed a weak smile. She nodded and reached into the box in front of her. Slowly, more people showed up to help pack the girl up. Chas showed up, with Grae and Cameo in the truck. Maria, Vitali's wife, appeared along with her in-laws Ivan and Asiah. Even Isis, Lilia and Ben came by to help haul stuff. Many more stopped by to offer encouraging words to Ellie.

With all the help, they had the girl, her stuff and her paperwork, packed up in hours. They went back to Rhea's place to reverse the process but first they hauled out the furniture in the spare room, stashed it in the garage and tucked Ellie's bedroom set into the room. And then they hauled in the boxes and bags. And then, because it had become a family gathering, everyone stayed to eat and help unpack. It was Grae who fixed the music box for Ellie.

Two days later, still a little stunned by all the people who'd stopped around to show their support for her, Ellie knocked on Chas' office door. The woman was down at the clinic but she knew Finn was using the space. She peered around the door. "Mr. MacKenna? Can we talk?

[Maira]

Knowing that Rhea operated best when she was delegating duties, Finn didn't take any offense at being bossed around by her. She was Sheriff, it was her job to be "bossy", especially if it meant getting things done quickly and safely. And considering the dark glares Mr. Yang kept shooting toward the house, the quicker they got Ellie and her things out of the house the better off everybody would be.

When she was done giving him instructions, Finn dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed Grae. He explained the situation to the Brood and ended with, "Bring as many people as are willing and able to come, but only people who will be sympathetic to Ellie. We need help, but she needs support even more."

More than happy to help himself, Grae agreed to be the "Rescue Ellie" phone tree operator and as soon as Finn hung up he started putting out calls to all of their family and closest friends. As soon as he finished with his calls, Grae went and picked up Chas and Cameo from the clinic and then the three of them headed over to join the moving party.

It didn't take terribly long, as moves go, to get Ellie packed up and out of the Yangs' house and then moved into theirs. Once all the furniture was shifted around and all of Ellie's things were settled in her new room, Grae took custody of the poor broken music box and took it out to his workbench in the garage. He wasn't out there long before coming back inside.

Only once everybody had eaten and Ellie disappeared back upstairs to her new room to unpack did Grae go back out to the garage to get the music box. He tested it to make sure the glue was dry and that the break was now solidly fixed, then when he deemed it nice and sturdy he took it inside to their new foster daughter. Her door was open so he just knocked lightly and then poked his head inside. "Ellie honey, I've got your music box for you," he said softly when he spotted her sitting on her bed surrounded by boxes and bags of her personal belongings.

When she looked up at him, he couldn't quite read the look on her face but it seemed like nothing so much as surprise that somebody cared enough to fix the music box for her. Not to mention the huge crowd of family that had come crawling out of the woodworks to help the poor girl. When Grae asked if he could come into her room, Ellie just nodded and watched him. Cautiously Grae padded into the room, arm outstretched with her grandmother's music box in hand, and he said soothingly, "The music still works and the break is nice and sturdy. If you have anymore problems with it let me know and I'll see what I can do. Welcome home Ellie, let us know if we can do anything else to help okay?" This last was said with a warm, gentle smile and then Grae turned and left.

*****

Even if Chas had been home, Finn had stolen her office. She would have had to either use Rhea's office or one of the two mens' offices if she needed to do any work but nothing pressing (work related anyway) had come up so they hadn't had to play musical offices. Having his sister's office to use as his own was a huge relief because poor Ellie had quite the history and file and he needed the space to go over everything. When a soft yet familiar voice asked to talk to him from around the slightly open door, Finn was shaken from his thoughts and he looked up to see Ellie looking at him nervously.

Not wanting to frighten her away, Finn just nodded and waited for her to come to him. There would be no shutting the door, no entering her personal space, no restrictions on her whatsoever. Ellie had come to him and he wasn't about to jeopardize that. All he did do was gather up the papers he'd been reading and tucked them into a new manila folder. He'd been reorganizing her last caseworker's notes, they were so jumbled it was hard to follow her case properly.

When she'd finally taken the seat across from him, Finn smiled again and asked seriously but as casually as he could, "What did you want to talk about Ellie?"

[Demeter]

Ellie stood in the doorway and wondered if she really wanted to do this. Before, when her parents had still been alive, she would have said something right away. At least she'd like to think she would have. After the first time her foster father has touched her, she'd gone to her foster mother but Mrs. Yang had slapped her for telling lies. Everyone here had been telling her that it was okay to say what had happened and she was starting to believe it. 

The months that she been the Yang's ward had been very restricted. They'd griped about her having employment at the pharmacy but also taking babysitting jobs. Her phone calls and visits with friends had been monitored by one or both of the Yangs. With no way to say anything and threats if she told anyone about being mistreated, she'd withdrawn and tried to deal with it herself. 

And now with the baby, she worried about what others would say. Most of the town believed that the Yangs were good, upstanding people. Why would they believe her over them? Earlier when they'd gone to get her stuff, she'd felt Mr. Yang's gaze on her and her skin had positively crawled. When he'd come into her room the night before she'd run away, Ellie had told him about the baby. He'd been pleased, she remembered, as if he'd actually been trying for that result. When she'd threatened to tell if he came near her again, he grabbed her by the chin and instead of threatening her life, he'd warned her that if she told anyone, he'd counter that he'd been a faithful husband and that she was just trying to get money out of him. 

Now, Ellie stared across the office at Finn. He'd drawn her close when Mr. Yang had glared at her. He'd protected her. Swallowing against the lump in her throat, Ellie stepped farther into the office. "I want to say what happened."

Finn made her wait until he had Rhea in the room as well. Once the Sheriff was in the room, Ellie told the both of them how Mr. and Mrs. Yang had abused her. He by raping her repeatedly and she by telling her to keep quiet about it. 

Afterwards, Rhea called Doc McKenna into the office and asked her to sit with Ellie for a few minutes before dragging Finn from the room. She hauled him down the hall and into her own office where she used her dragon strength to pin him to a chair. While Ellie had been relating her tale, she'd seen him becoming angrier and angrier as the seconds ticked by. At the end, he'd been positively vibrating with anger and about to snap his pen in two. Not what Ellie needed right now. 

She now had an angry Alati/fox hybrid in her office and she had to stop him from creating trouble. In order to keep him in place, she sat on her brother-in-law. "Finn," she said, "you need to listen to me. I know you want to go out there and rip him apart but you can't do it. Not in this town.

"This is a small town full if mortals. If the Yangs just vanish overnight, it will be noticed and everyone will assume that Ellie did something. We have to do this through mortal legal channels, at least part way. We can press charges for her and have taken onto custody and have them transported. Their transport vanish on the way and you can do what you do and seek retribution. I'll make sure that the driver is one of us."

She looked down at the man she was sitting on. "If I let you up, do you promise to wait until they are out of town before mauling them?"

[Maira]

She made him promise to wait. His blood was practically singing for their punishment but Rhea wouldn't let him dish it out while they were still in the tiny town of Point Hope. He understood her logic, not wanting to draw any scrutiny onto the sheriff and her interesting family situation, or any of the other non-mortals in town. It would just make things harder for Ellie too.

As much as he didn't like it, Finn agreed to wait and let the justice system of the town handle things. he took advantage of the wait time by finalizing the fostering paperwork to keep Ellie right where she was with Rhea, Chastity, Grae and Cameo.

It had been nearly a month since Ellie's statement had revealed that her ex-foster father had raped her, fathering on her the child she still carried, and that her ex-foster mother had been verbally and emotionally abusive. He was out cold when somebody tossed his boots onto his stomach, waking him with a jolt. His eyes flew open and they immediately landed on Rhea, a fierce gleam in her eyes. "They have left city limits and are being transported to their separate detention facilities. There will be a transfer in roughly three hours, slitting them up. The first driver is from the Holding." Her message delivered, Rhea turned and left Finn to his own devices. He knew she didn't want to see him leave so he made sure to wait until he heard her bedroom door close.

In a flash he was up and throwing on clothes, his boots and his coat. He was out the door in less than fifteen minutes and on the road in less than twenty. He had figured out the route that the driver would take weeks ago and it didn't take him more than half an hour to catch up to the transport vehicle. They were definitely outside of town, technically Finn could have meted out his justice as soon as he caught up to them. However, the roads were still too good here and what he had planned wouldn't work. instead he passed the van and drove on out of sight.

As soon as the roads got a bit more rough and he was in an area he knew wolves roamed in, he slammed on his brakes and swerved off the road into the ditch. When the county officers investigated why the transport van had stopped, it would look as though Finn had been avoiding an animal.

Wrecking his SUV and getting some new bumps and bruises were worth the trouble if it meant that he'd have his chance at Ellie's old foster parents. After the SUV slammed to a stop in the bank of snow, Finn eased the door open and shifted to his fox form before dropping to the ground and running across the road, leaving the "proof" of the animal he was swerving to avoid.

When he reached the other side of the road, he ran into the trees and sent his mind searching for the local wolves. He'd already primed them in the past few weeks by visiting and sharing his need of their help with them. They weren't his dogs, those were back home in Ireland, but they still understood the need to protect a pack's young (Ellie) from the vicious rogues (the Yangs).

The wolves joined him at the tree line in short order and they waited with him for the arrival of the transport van. When the van stopped a short distance from his SUV, parking on the shoulder closest to the trees, and the driver got out to check on the driver of the crashed SUV, Finn slipped back down to the road and after shifting back to his human form he pulled lock picks from his pocket and popped the lock on the back door. He knew from his questioning of Rhea that they would be cuffed but otherwise able to move about the back of the van. When he heard them moving toward the now unlocked door he smirked, wiped clean the picks before tossing them away, and then shifted back into his fox form and running back to the trees. He had just reached the trees again when the Yangs stumbled out of the back of the van. Mr. Yang looked around and saw the nearby trees and directed his wife to run for them. Seeing them coming their way, Finn had the wolves spread out and hide in wait.

After the pair was well past the wolves, and out of sight of the driver down at the road, Finn released them to hunt with the only instruction being not to kill them until he'd hand a chance to show them his human form. He wanted them to know just who was hunting them. He wanted them to realize the real reason they were about to become a meal for hungry, angry wolves. He wanted them to know that justice was being served.

*****

The baying and howling of wolves alerted the transport driver to the "escape" of his charges. He smiled, knowing that Rhea's brother-in-law was delivering true justice for Ellie. Before the hunt was over, the driver was on the phone to the drivers of the other transports asking for help and explaining his situation.

*****

When help finally arrived at Finn's accident, he was back in his wrecked SUV and the driver of the transport van was monitoring his vitals and instructing him not to move "just in case". The EMTs took good care of Finn and too his statement about swerving to miss a fox. The police investigators were off in the trees and in short order were calling back for body bags and talking about the stupidity of wandering the woods during a hard winter when the wolves would be hungry.

Over all, the case was open and shut. The only troubling part of the whole thing was how they'd gotten out of the van. The only thing that could be guessed was that somehow somebody had forgotten to lock it when they were put in. As it was the transport driver who had signed for that step, he was formally reprimanded and fined.

[Demeter]

Rhea sat on the porch, immune to the cold, and waited for Finn's return. She was at war with herself. One part, that portion of her that was neatly labeled sheriff, raged at she'd allowed two criminals to be killed outside of the law. She'd become the sheriff of this town because she believed in the justice system. The cool logic of courts, juries and lawmakers appealed to her.

The other part of her, the one labeled Brood, told her that this was a crime against an innocent member of the otherworld, perpetuated by other members of the otherworld. The Yangs had been tried, judged and found wanting by the otherworld and so their punishment satisfied the laws of that world.

And there was still young Ellie to consider. The vicious, gossiping housewives of Point Hope were already digging their claws into the girl. What was it about mortals that made them blame the victim in cases such as this?

Rhea would never understand why many were placing the blame squarely on the teenager instead of the man who'd raped her and the woman who'd covered it up. She needed to get Ellie out of this town before they destroyed her.

To that end, she'd been speaking with Chastity's parents and they'd agreed to take Ellie on as a foster child, so long as the state agreed. The state was being fussy about sending Ellie across the globe to the United Kingdom.

Rhea was still pondering the issue when Finn appeared. She frowned at his condition. "It's done then?"

When he nodded, Rhea patted the stair next to her. "Ellie can't remain here. The mortals will destroy her. Your parents have agreed to take her on. What can you do, as her case worker, to get the state to agree?"

[Maira]

Luckily for Finn, Grae's sister was married to the town's mechanic. He'd been able to drop off his banged up SUV, snag a loaner car, and be on his merry way back to talk to Rhea in minimal time. As he pulled into the drive, Finn could see Rhea sitting on the porch and even before he got out of the car he could tell that she was more tense than he thought the situation warranted. He understood her misgivings about his form of justice, so he expected a bit of stress on her part but something bigger was bothering her.

When she patted the step next to her and started talking, he finally understood her tension. Even with the Yangs out of the way, poor Ellie was still in danger. Maybe not physically, but the emotional damage that could be inflicted by the small town's gossip could be even worse in the long run. Physical wounds would heal in time, emotional ones rarely fully did. He thought about Rhea's question for a moment before answering, "In all honesty, it probably would have been easier for her to just 'run away' and wind up in Ireland with my parents. The state wouldn't have thought to look for her there. As it is, if you've already started the process through the courts, the best I can offer is to go along as a representative of the state to make sure she settles in and go over her legal standing with a foster worker in Ireland. If they want more than that, I am willing to take her in myself with the caveat that I will be travelling back to Ireland in the near future. It isn't terribly unusual for foster workers to take in a charge that needs special assistance after all."

He hoped that one of the options he relayed to Rhea would be enough to satisfy her need to protect Ellie, and that if they were to try and do things legally instead of letting the girl "run away" that the state would be satisfied by one of his offers to personally see to her wellbeing.

[Demeter]

It took some snarling and some threats but, in the end, Ellie became the ward of Chastity's parents. For the next two years, their home was a sanctuary for her and her daughter Emily. The little girl was a favorite of the residents of that house but she only had one favorite person.

When that person wasn't around, Emily made due with her Momma. When that person was around, Momma was pretty much lower then chopped liver and the creator of evil things like bath and nap time. Those things took away time from being with that person.

Right now, Emily bounced on her nearly two year old toes, impatiently waiting for him to get out of his car, climb up the steps, unlock that dratted baby gate and pick her up. She happily chanted his name on each bounce.

In the kitchen, Ellie listened to her baby's happy voice calling out to Finn. Stepping away from the stove were she was turning strawberries into jam, Ellie tossed her dishrag and called down the cellar stairs to Misaki. Within seconds of being told that her baby had finally decided to turn up, the woman was sprinting up the stairs. She was just fast enough to see Misaki leap over the baby gate and all but tackle her son with a hug.

Misaki had an amazing ability to love; its what made her an excellent foster mother but Ellie supposed that Finn, as her natural child, held a special place. Gods knew that Emily was special and would always be so. Thinking that, Ellie scooped the baby up and undid the latch.

Emily, now desperate for her person, strained against her mother's arm and, with Finn just out of reach, she all but sobbed his name.

Rolling her eyes, Ellie handed her daughter to Finn. "Here," she said while taking his bags, "her Highness wants you and I have jam to finish making."

Misaki watched Ellie flounce back up the stairs and into the house. She turned to Finn and swatted his arm. "You're late. Any later and dinner would be ruined. I need you to do something for me while you're home. I need to you to go over to Bobby Mahoney's place and put the fear of the gods into him so that he behaves like a gentleman when steps out with Ellie. I've never liked that look in his eye."

***

Ellie spied on mother and son and used her dishrag to smother a giggle. Her plan seemed to be working. She was only stepping out with Bobby Mahoney to make Finn jealous.

The first time she'd met Finn, he'd automatically become the hero of her story, rescuing her from the Yangs and arranging their execution. The second time, she'd had a newborn baby and gender hadn't registered. He'd simply been another pair of hands to hold Emily while she'd managed a five minute nap at the kitchen table. The third and fourth times, she'd still been too tired to really take notice but she'd been awake on his last visit.

And now, she was determined that he would notice her. If she had to let that sleezeball Bobby paw at her a little in order to catch Finn's attention. So be it.

[Maira]

Getting Ellie situated in Ireland with his parents turned out to be trickier than he had expected. Once everything was settled legally, however, Ellie herself settled in quite smoothly at his parents' house with all of their other charges. Even when the baby came, a little girl who quickly wrapped Finn around her little finger, Ellie knew she was safe secure and loved.

When Finn eventually traveled back to the US, it was harder for him to leave than he expected. Not only had Emily claimed his heart, but he had worked so hard to see to Ellie's safety that he felt more strongly attached to her than he had to any of his other charges. He never mentioned this to anybody partly because he wasn't sure just what his feelings toward the girl were, and partly because of her age. If it became common knowledge that he had anything even slightly resembling attraction or romantic feelings toward a minor who had been in his care he would lose all of his qualifications and any respect in the social work community.

As was always his norm, Finn made periodic trips home to visit his parents and the growing brood of foster siblings. Each time he returned home, his feelings toward both Ellie and Emily grew stronger. If he didn't think Ellie would shoot down his offer, he would have asked shortly after Emily was born if he could have a larger part in the baby girl's life.

It wasn't until the most recent visit, his arms full of a happily babbling Emily, when his mother asked him to scare the neighbor boy straight in his relations with Ellie that Finn gave up and admitted to himself his feelings toward the toddler's mother. A slight snarl escaped him before he could stop it and both his mother and Emily looked at him strangely. Misaki's raised eyebrow asked a question that Finn wasn't willing to answer, so he just asked one of his own instead. "When is Ellie supposed to step out with him again?" He would follow them. He would watch and see how the boy treated Ellie. If need be he would intervene.

[Demeter]

Ellie couldn't imagine anything more boring then Sleezeball Bobby's speech about car parts. She really didn't care what Arthur Montgomery had done to his transmission. She was more curious about the fact that ten minutes after sitting down in a booth, Finn had appeared at the pub's bar.

Many of the girls that Finn's parents took in had had similar experiences to hers. Many couldn't imagine wanting to be with a man ever again. Okay, to be fair, most had had far worse experiences and some hadn't had any positive relationships to draw on.

Also, those girls didn't have an exhausting toddler. Even if she wasn't interested in Finn, she'd want him simply because Emily adored him. Her devil child was a sweet little angel for Finn. Just not fair, Ellie thought.

She sighed as Bobby scooted closer to her. Ellie scooted away, sliding out of the booth. "Excuse me, Bobby, I'll be right back. I want to call and check on Emily."

Bobby groused but settled. No one could fault Ellie on her parenting skills. He wasn't to pleased that Finn was back in town though. He choked on his Guinness when he saw Finn, scowling up a storm, on the approach.

[Maira]

He had followed Ellie and Bobby out to the local pub after dinner his first night home. Little Emily wasn't pleased to see him go, but Misaki had distracted her with the toddler's favorite movie and a snack and Finn was able to slip out the door mostly unnoticed. He sat at the bar while Ellie and Bobby sat at one of the booths and as soon as the girl slipped out to tend to something, Finn stalked over to where Bobby was still sitting.

The look of fear and annoyance was clear on Bobby's face and that just riled Finn up more. When he reached the booth he just helped himself to the seat across from the boy and started in, "Ellie has had it rough. If I discover you've made things rough for her again, Bobby, you won't be sitting so comfortably next time I see you." Bobby nodded anxiously, then shook his head, clearly confused as to what answer Finn was looking for. Pleased at having cowed the younger man, for now at least, Finn nodded once and made his way back to the bar. He wasn't leaving until Ellie and Bobby did, he wanted to make sure his words had time to sink in with the boy.

*****

After the young couple had left the pub, Finn had followed and was pleased to see that Bobby took Ellie straight home. When he walked up to the house as they were saying goodnight, Finn held the door for Ellie and smiled pleasantly as Bobby practically ran off the front steps back to his car. Ellie looked at him funny once they were inside and Finn just kissed her on the forehead and wandered off to his bedroom.

In his room, Finn locked the door and immediately slumped into the chair next to his window. He tangled his fingers in the hair at his temples and gave a yank, muttering to himself, "What the -hell- are you doing?!" He had never laid his lips on Ellie's skin in the years they'd known each other, and if he hadn't immediately left to his room he wasn't sure his actions would have stopped an an innocent kiss on the girl's forehead.

[Demeter]

Finn was an incredibility dense and stubborn man, Ellie thought as she watched the man from her window. He was out in the garden, playing with Emily, and hadn’t spoken more than four words to her since the night of her date with Sleezeball. When he’d chased off Sleezeball and kissed her forehead.

Apparently, she was going to have to use a more direct approach because being subtle about it wasn’t working. Tonight would be the perfect chance as Finn’s parents were going out. Besides, Emily, Finn and herself, there was only one other person in the house right now. Jenny wasn’t a new resident and she often stayed in her room after dinner. Yes, tonight after Emily was put down, she’d launch plan Capture-Finn.

***

Ellie crept out of the room she shared with Emily. The baby had fought going down for the night, because Finn was home, but she’d eventually drifted off to sleep. In the hallway, Ellie took a moment to straighten out her tank top and tug her leggings straight. That done, she trotted into the bathroom to check on her hair. Jenny was there, digging through a drawer.

“I’ve got beef in my teeth. Can’t find any floss. So, you’re really doing this?” the girl said as she shut one drawer and opened another.

Ellie opened the medicine cabinet and tossed a pack of floss at Jenny. “Yes, I’m really going to try and seduce him.”

“In that?”

Ellie peered at her clothing. “I’m trying to not be obvious about it. If I trot down there in some skimpy dress, he’s gonna bolt for the door.”

Jenny laughed and wished her luck and that she’d keep an ear open for Emily. Grinning, Ellie straightened her hair and headed for the stairs. She plopped down on the couch, next to Finn, and snagged his bowl of popcorn. “So, you talk to Rhea and Chas lately? I miss them; they don’t get over here much.”

Ellie kept the chatter light for a little while before leaning over to snag the remote and turn the tv off. “Finn, can I talk to you about something serious? So, I have this friend and she likes this guy but he’s a stubborn one. He just doesn’t seem to get it. Does she have to beat him over the head with a stick before he gets it?”

[Maira]

Gods help him, Finn thought as Ellie plopped down next to him on the couch and stole his bowl of popcorn. The girl's hand brushed his own as she grabbed the bowl and that was enough for his already heightened instincts to kick into overdrive. There were times that being part kitsune had their disadvantages and now was one of those times. The damn fox side of him had excellent sense of smell and hearing. He could smell the pheromones pouring off of Ellie, and the sound of her heart beat increasing right as she leaned over him to grab the remote was nearly enough to send him scampering from the room.

As it was, the only thing that kept him in place was her request to talk to him about something important. He couldn't help but hope her increased heart rate was just from the stress of not knowing how to ask him something, and not what her pheromones were indicating. He was almost certain his mother would kill him faster than the neighbor boy she'd asked him to scare off if he so much as laid a finger on Ellie.

At Ellie's words, Finn couldn't help the lump that formed in his throat. He hoped to all the gods that she was talking about them, but at the same time he was hoping that she wasn't. He didn't fancy the idea of dying at his mother's hands... Swallowing past the lump, Finn turned toward Ellie slightly and before he knew he was doing it he took her hands in his as he answered her, "Some guys aren't as oblivious as they look Ellie, sometimes they're just overly cautious because they don't want to hurt the girl that they have feelings for in return." The words that came pouring out of his mouth before he could think on them much brought a spark to Ellie's eyes and this time it was his heart rate that increased.

When Ellie smiled at him in response to his words, Finn knew two things. First, the girl had indeed been talking about them. Second, he was a goner and he'd likely be dead by morning if his mother found out what he was about to do. Before his better judgement could stop him, Finn finally gave into the tension between himself and the young woman sitting next to him on the couch. He leaned slowly forward, watching Ellie's smile grow triumphant as he did, and closed his eyes right before his lips touched hers. The first kiss was chaste and sweet, if a bit awkward. Finn tried to leave it at that but when Ellie reached her arms up around his neck to keep him from pulling away Finn moaned and gave in. He put his hands on her hips and lifted her into his lap and then pulled her body close to his. He kissed her gently at first, but when she pushed to intensify things he followed her lead.

[Demeter]

Ellie gave a little yelp as she was lifted up and settled in Finn’s lap. She grinned and hauled the man closer. “So glad that you aren’t as oblivious as I thought. I was starting to wonder. I’ve wanted this since Christmas. Now, take me upstairs.”

Ellie laughed as she was hauled up and tossed over Finn’s shoulder. Now, she had the perfect view of his backside. She lightly swatted that backside, laughing as Finn hustled up the stairs.

***

Misaki watched as Finn’s leased Jeep went past her driveway to the next one down. Gone were the days where home meant her house, she thought with a grin. She bounced Emily, now officially her granddaughter, on her hip and turned to go back in the house. After six months of marriage to Ellie, Finn’s home was now down the road on the land she and Declan had given the couple as a wedding present.

Sure, the relationship between her son and Ellie had been a bit shocking but the two just seemed to fit together. Also, it meant that Ellie’s darling baby was her grandchild and there was plenty of hope that more would follow. It also meant that Finn was around more often now. Grinning, she bounced the baby again. She was watching the baby so that Finn and Ellie could have a night to themselves and maybe start making those grandbabies.

***

Ellie was ever thankful that her in-laws were willing to watch Emily. It meant that she got first crack at Finn after his trip. She imagined that the perfect wife would greet her traveling husband with the perfect meal on the table while wearing the perfect dress. Ellie preferred leggings, one of Finn’s shirts over a tank top to serve the slightly overdone lasagna in.

When Finn’s Jeep came to a stop, Ellie jumped him the second he was out of the vehicle. The unexpected leap had Finn stumbling back against the Jeep while Ellie kissed him. She recalled the discussion they’d had before his trip. “Take me to our room, Finn. I want to give Emily a sibling. I want your baby.”

[Maira]

From that first night that Ellie ordered him to take her to bed, Finn was hers. He never looked back and never second guessed what was happening. Apparently his parents had gotten home sometime while him and Ellie were still occupied in each other and the next morning his dad had smirked knowingly at him. The fire engine red color that his face turned had apparently been enough to convince Misaki not to kill him, because she too just smirked as she sipped her morning tea. Having their support, even if unspoken at first, had made the transition from social worker and foster brother to boyfriend, fiance, and then husband almost effortless.

Chastity gave him no end of playful grief after finally falling for one of his rescued damsels, Rhea wasn't much better when she found out, and his friends in the town his parents lived in all thought it was a perfect fit for him. After all, they'd seen him with both Ellie and Emily on numerous occasions. They knew how much Finn doted on both girls even before he and Ellie had become involved. Finn found out later, on his stag night, that if he hadn't swooped in when he did to claim Ellie as his own his friends had all sworn to pursue her just to keep her and Emily safe from jerks like Bobby Mahoney.

After six months, Finn was still more than eager to get home to his wife (no matter how long or short his trip away), and he was still more than a little surprised that despite his travelling that she hadn't lost interest in him yet. When he finally turned down the road that his parents' home, and now his with Ellie and Emily, was on Finn couldn't keep the smile from his face. As he drove past, he saw his mother in her front yard and it only took a moment to notice Emily being bounced on the older woman's hip and that just made his smile grow even more. Miskaki was thrilled to have a granddaughter that she could dote on, and he was almost certain that it meant he was going to have Ellie to himself tonight.

As soon as he parked his jeep and got out, he had his arms full of a flying Ellie. He'd seen her standing there, knew that she was likely to hurry to greet him, but he hadn't expected her to launch herself at him quite so enthusiastically. As his body fell backwards into the jeep, the wind got knocked from him. Trying to catch his breath while Ellie smothered him in kisses was nearly impossible and when she demanded he take her to bed and give her another baby, what breath he had managed to get back he promptly choked on again.

After the coughing fit passed, Finn gawked at Ellie for a few moments until a silly smile turned up one corner of his mouth. Curious, he asked, "Now, Ellie? So soon?" He knew she wanted to have more children, and he wanted their family to grow too, but he hadn't realized she wanted them so soon. A strange, giddy feeling rushed through him when she nodded with a smile. Forgetting his bags in the back of the jeep, Finn swooped up his wife and happily carried her into the house. He barely managed to get the front door shut with his foot before Ellie started shucking her clothes and pulling at his own.