"Camila, you need to breathe." Alistair said with a soft laugh, wrapping his arm around my waist. He pulled me against him like it was the most casual thing in the world. Like we were just a normal couple going through the airport in Bratislava- the Slovakia capital- and our vacation had come to an end. He was the picture of calmness.

But I couldn't breathe. My muscles were all bunched up unbearably and my hands were clammy at my sides. I couldn't believe that we were just strutting around an airport so blatantly. People were looking for us. My violent ex was trying to hunt me down. The Canadian government had been going after my companion for committing treason. We had been in hiding for months now, traveling only by train and never using our real names. And now we were trying to get on a direct flight back to Ottawa.

"We need to get on this plane." Alistair murmured to a woman who was helping passengers begin boarding.

She opened her mouth to deny him, looking bored with the entire situation. Alistair slid his government access card onto the service desk wordlessly, his strong green eyes meeting hers evenly. I cringed internally, thinking she would sound an alarm and this dream-like event would come crashing down.

Her expression faltered immediately and she opened and closed her mouth several times before nodding slowly, "Right this way, Mr. Kingsley. The attendant at the door will make sure they find you a seat."

I numbly followed him onto the plane, still in disbelief. As promised Alistair flashed his access card once more and the attendant quickly guided us to two first class seats.

"This is crazy." I whispered to myself once I had sat down.

My hands carefully cradled my head as I tried to stop the tears flooding my eyes. The anxiety and stress were conquering all of my other emotions and I felt like it would be an impossible feat to keep myself calm.

"Camila, it's alright." Alistair murmured, sliding one arm around me again. "Look around, no one knows who you are and if they do no one cares. No one is raising their pitchforks against you. This is what we wanted. We needed Sophie to find a loophole, to find dirt on Josh and she did. Whatever watch lists we were on have been cleared thanks to her. We're untouchable now. We're going home."

I had dreamed of this moment over and over again. I wanted nothing more to go home as a free woman. I had been so sick of running, so sick of hiding my face, and sick of learning to respond to a name that was not my own. I wanted to be Camila Lopez again, more than anything. I thought nothing could make me happier.

But the day we got the phone call my anxiety had shot through the roof. The battle had been so long and so treacherous, there was no way this could be the end, and I suppose it wasn't completely over. But I wasn't a wanted woman anymore. Every time Alistair casually tossed around my name I grew pensive, thinking that someone would recognize me and report me. I expected to be tackled to the ground frequently. The fact that it wasn't happening was almost unnerving.

And wouldn't Josh be after me even more aggressively now? Wouldn't he want to stop me from coming home by any means necessary? Did he know that I was coming home? If he didn't then we certainly shouldn't have been throwing my name around so recklessly.

Alistair, as usual, was right though and the entire day leading us here had proved him correct over and over again.

No one noticed me at the train station when we boarded in the little village and made our way to the city. No one blinked when we roved around the airport in the capital city of Slovakia. I didn't raise any eyebrows when we boarded the plane with nothing but a ratty carry-on bag. There were no sirens sounding when Alistair stated his name proudly as often as he could, like he had forgotten how good his real last name had sounded to his own ears.

He slept soundly for the majority of the flight. Though being in first class certainly added to my levels of comfort I was not quite so ready to sleep. I flipped through books, but read nothing. I tried to zone into movies but could only think about my own fate.

I thought when we landed in Ottawa that would be it. That would be the end of the road for us. There was no way that this could possibly be this easy. I was certain that there would be hundreds of armed officers waiting on the tarmac for us. Some would board the plane and physically remove us before we could do any harm to the other passengers on the plane. We would be dragged out and photographed by all the press before we were thrown into armored cars that would take us to prison. There had to be some kind of wild battle to get through this.

But we landed and left the airport without a single blip. Alistair led me through customs and out the airport, into one of the parking lots. He moved like he knew what he was looking for when I repeatedly asked him if we should get someone to call us a taxi. But he just ignored me, hunted down a worker patrolling the lot and returned with a set of car keys.

"My God I missed this." Alistair groaned when he slipped into a stunning coupe.

"Where did this come from?" I asked, almost afraid to sit on the leather seat.

"My parents dropped it off for us last night. They offered to pick us up but I told them that I was sick of being driven around and hopping on and off of trains." He explained.

With one hand he tossed my carryon bag in the tiny back seat then patted the smooth leather. I simply complied and fell into the car, exhausted from the grueling eleven hour flight. But I was still unable to accept that this was all over. My battle of six years could not end so quickly.

Alistair didn't seem to share any of my concerns, which was fair. I trusted no one in this world like I had trusted Sophie and I know that he had become the same way in terms of technological knowledge. She wouldn't tell us to come home if she thought there was even the slightest chance that something was left to chance. Still, when Alistair turned on the radio and sang along- horribly- with a rock band I just stared out the window.

I was home. I was in snow covered Canada. But it just didn't feel right. I wasn't ready to come out of hiding. Not yet.

"Do you want me to drop you off at your condo?" Alistair asked softly after about twenty minutes of silent driving.

"No." I replied thoughtlessly. I didn't know where I would go, but I knew that the empty condo was not a place I could be in right now.

"How about I drop you off at my parents' house. It's just a couple minutes away."

I just nodded my head, not even really hearing what he suggested.

Alistair drove confidently on the icy roads- a little fast but I never said anything- and we made it into a neighborhood close without any issues. I almost laughed a little bit when I saw all of the extravagant houses that towered over us. Though these houses were beautiful they were nothing compared to the houses that Alistair's parents had all over the world.

And Alistair's parents had the most understated home in the lavish close. It was a small, but modern home with a triple car garage, but nothing else that was noteworthy.

As we exited the sports coupe my eyes drifted over the plethora of cars in the driveway. A stunning all-wheel drive sedan that cost as much as a first house. A fully loaded truck with a trailer hitch for towing. A brilliant SUV that celebrities were notorious for driving. Their house might've been discrete but their cars certainly weren't. As we walked by I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows when I saw several toys strewn across the back seat of the massive SUV and a booster seat.

Alistair's hand slipped into mine, sweetly guiding me to the front door.

"What is it?" he questioned when he felt me stop just short of the door.

I knew it was absurd. I had already met them. They helped me when I needed it most. They had opened up their homes to me and assured me that their son could take care of me. Then, they worked alongside my best friend to bring me home. They had given me a world of support when I needed it most.

But I had put their son in danger. And now we were romantically involved, though I wasn't sure to what extent. We never discussed what would happen when we came home. In addition to this the last time one of their sons had been with someone it ended up badly. So very badly.

When it came to any other man in the world I couldn't fathom being insecure like this. I was young and successful beyond so many people my age and I no longer felt like I needed a man or his family to support me. But this was so very different.

"Hey." Alistair murmured, "They already think so highly of you. And if you don't believe that then just tell yourself their doing their job."

"Welcoming me into their lavish suburb home is not in the job description." I shot back.

"Not specifically, but it happens more often than you might think." his hand progressed from my hand to the small of my back as it always did. "Now come on, I'm not used to the Canadian cold anymore."

We entered the house together, his hand still against my back. A team. And the first thing I noticed was the smell of cookies and the warm brown colors of the wall. It smelt like and felt like home, even if it was not my own. It instantly reminded me of Alistair's mother, Emma.

"Uncle Star!" a little voice shouted.

Then there were the sounds of tiny, stomping footsteps as a young boy no older than five raced towards Alistair.

"Hey Dallas." He said with a soft grin, crouching down to the young boy's level. They shared a brief conversation that I was unable to hear as I took off my shoes, careful to not get slush on anything in the grand house. When I straightened Alistair was still whispering something to the young boy that made him laugh in delight, then dart away, deeper into the home.

"Alistair." Emma greeted as she floated towards us, "Camila, come in." she had an apron cinched around her waist just like last time.

"I can't. I have to go meet up with Sophie."

"I'll come with you." I blurted, already reaching for my runners.

"No, you stay here."

"This is my life, Alistair." I replied hotly.

"I know." He brought my attention back to him by smoothly brushing my hair behind my ear, "But the worst of it is over, if it wasn't we would both be in handcuffs right now. This is just going to be a conversation about the legality of the situation and making sure that there isn't a single loophole that anyone could use against us. It will be very boring and tedious, I promise. Besides, you hardly slept at all on the plane. You must be very exhausted."

"Alistair I want to come with you."

"I'll be back before you know it, ma chérie." He interrupted. "Stay here for a while, put your feet up and relax. And when you're ready they can call you a cab to take you home or you can wait for me to come back."

He leaned forward and pressed a light kiss against my cheek.

Then he was out the door, waving good bye and I was left alone with his family.