Nathan

I did my best to stifle the chuckle as I watched Avery wince when she sat in the front seat of the car. Kota had left bruises on her pale skin, and then we had spent most of the night making love. He had left just after breakfast for his first class while we had a few hours left. She looked at her neck in the car mirror. "Feck, I look like I've been mauled by wild animals," she grumbled.

I ran my hand over one of the hickies, "I didn't hear you complaining last night." She blushed and gently pushed my hand away. "Matter of fact, I recall lots of moaning and begging." Avery groaned and rolled her eyes. "Ahh, Cariño, you protest, but you know you love it. Besides, Victor will be here this weekend and you'll just end up with more love bites."

Her face lit up at his name. Then she frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't, well, I haven't told them about us. What if they get mad?" she whispered.

I reached out and took her hand, "Cariño, Gabe is the one who kept telling me to pull my head out of my ass. I think they all saw it coming honestly. I was just the stubborn one as usual. Seems I'm always scared of my own shadow when it comes to romance." She gave me a hopeful look. "How about you call them after class, okay, or better yet, do a video chat."

She grinned and when the car stopped, she reached over and hugged me tightly. "Thank you for understanding!"

I hugged her back and kissed her cheek, "Always, baby. Now, let's get you to class." I stepped out and came around to open her door, then walked her to the classroom door. Once she was inside, I sat on a nearby bench. My phone camera was clicking away as I took dozens of surveillance photos of the area and the guy, Shane, who had creeped her out. Once he'd gone into the class, I began heading to the area where Megan had been attacked. I scoffed at the lack of Guarda presence. I think Kota was right and the university was trying to downplay it. There was no crime scene tape or barriers. Hell, students were walking all over the place, destroying any and all evidence that might still exist. I did my best to get photos, then headed to Kota's office.

"Nate, come on in," he said as I knocked lightly on the door. "Get anything?"

"About a hundred shots. Not sure if they'll be worth much, but at least I got some good angles of that guy Shane. He was chummy with another male student - tall, dark complexion, and a muscular build. He didn't go into the class with him at the same time, but a few minutes later. The alleged crime scene is a joke. They haven't closed it off at all. Any hope for evidence will be lost by now." I handed him my phone and he scrolled through, rubbing his chin in frustration.

"So do we think blind incompetence or a coverup?" he asked honestly.

"I'm thinking a bit of both. I'm going to send these to Owen. Maybe his guy can get something out of them. By the way, Avery was worried about the others being upset that I'm in the mix now. She's going to video call Victor after class," I told him.

He chuckled, "Yeah, I don't think they will be surprised. Guess North still gets to be last." My cheeks flushed and I groaned.

Avery

"Due to recent withdrawals, we will need to do some rearranging of our project groups. Please check the roster to see if your partners have changed," my professor said as she handed out the papers. I shivered when I noticed Megan's name had been removed and replaced with Mike Miller. Both Shane and Jennifer were still in the group with me. I looked around the room trying to figure out who this new guy was. I didn't remember hearing his name before, but then again, I didn't exactly pay much attention outside my projects. "In light of the changes, I'm giving you the remainder of the class to work with your new groups. Remember, the first draft is due next week. All projects must be submitted before the spring holiday."

Shane and Jennifer suggested we go to the coffee house on campus as the new guy Mike just grunted his agreement. Gathering my bag, I sent a quick message to Nathan. Slight change of plans, the professor gave us a project workday. I have a new group member - Mike Miller. We are headed to the coffeehouse on campus. Not sure how long I'll be. We have the first draft due next week.

Nathan: Okay, Cariño. I'll be there shortly. Don't go anywhere alone or with anyone who makes you uncomfortable.

Avery: I won't A mhuirnín. See you soon.

The coffeehouse was packed, but we managed to find a corner booth with space to spread out our materials. We had been working for a while, well Shane, Jennifer, and I had been working. The new guy, Mike, just sat and nodded his agreement, but didn't add anything to the project. "So Mike, what is your area of study?" Jennifer finally asked, "You don't seem to be invested in this course and I can't afford to fail."

"Don't worry about it woman, just tell me what to do and I'll do it," he gruffed.

Her eyes widened then narrowed, "Listen here, buddy, you're the one that got dumped on us. If you aren't capable of contributing or don't know the material, please admit it now so we can get you kicked out of the group. The three of us have already put in hours on this thing. And another thing, don't pull that macho alpha male crap on me. I am not impressed!"

He leaned forward, his expression darkening as his fist clenched, "Social-emotional development can be delayed and or shaped by early childhood trauma. This can also be seen in cases of Stockholm Syndrome in adults both male and female. Does that answer your question, Jennifer?" He hissed out her name, then stood up. "I'm going to grab a drink. Anyone else want one - I'll buy?"

Shane and Jennifer accepted after she apologized, but I declined. He stared at me for a moment as if waiting for me to change my mind, then went up to the bar. He sat down with four drinks in covered mugs. "Spiked hot chocolate," he said as he passed them out.

"Oh, no thank you," I said, "I don't drink alcohol."

"Bullshit," Jennifer snarked, "I've seen you throw back a pint or two after finals. Unless..." she drawled, "Hmm...seem to have a few love marks there, Avery. Could you be expecting?"

My cheeks burned as I lowered my head slightly. Mike reached out and pulled the cup back. "My apologies. Just trying to be friendly."

"Thank you," I answered, then hissed at Jennifer, "All right Ms. Nosypants, I might be. It's a bit too early to be sure."

"You should go to the clinic," Shane suggested. "They do free screenings so I'm sure they could do a pregnancy test too. At least then you'd know."

I smiled at him, "That's a really good idea. I guess I just was so busy with classes and my trip that it didn't cross my mind. Thanks, Shane." His face lit up at my comment and he patted my hand.

"If you are, we can all throw you a baby shower. We could even include your progress in the project," he chuckled. I gave a forced grin even though his comment made my skin crawl. I jumped when I felt my phone vibrate.

Nate: Do you want me to rescue you? I've been here for a while now.

I scanned the room and felt my whole body relax as my eyes landed on him. I didn't even have to answer as he approached the table with an unopened bottle of water. "Here you are, Cariño. I thought I'd missed you." He handed me the water and kissed the top of my head.

"Nathan, these are my classmates - Jennifer, Mike, and Shane, but I think you've already met before. This is my boyfriend, Nathan." They all shook hands and moved over allowing him to sit next to me. I opened the bottle and took a long drink, just then realizing how thirsty I was.

Mike passed him the cup I'd refused. "I bought it for her, but she said she's not drinking these days. Might as well have it."

"Thanks, but I don't drink alcohol, Mike," Nathan said easily and placed his hand over mine. Mike just shrugged and pulled it back toward his cup. "Are you about ready to head home?"

I nodded, then turned to Jennifer. Something was telling me to get her away from these two guys. "Hey, why don't we give you a lift?"

"Oh, yeah, that sounds great. I have no idea what they spiked this with, but damn..." she flushed.

The three of us stood and Jennifer swayed a bit. Mike put his hand out to steady her and chuckled, "Woman, you're a lightweight."

"Shut it, macho man," she snipped but smiled.

Shane and Mike walked us out to the car and helped Jennifer in the back, while Nathan helped me into the front seat. Jennifer had passed out quickly. Nate stopped the car a few blocks from where Jennifer lived and pulled into a driveway out of sight.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Testing a theory," he muttered. "Those two were chummy before your class started. I've been doing a bit of surveillance of the area while you were in class. Did they acknowledge knowing each other?"

I thought for a moment, then frowned, "No, but they didn't deny it either. Shane and Jennifer suggested the coffeehouse. Mike really didn't talk much until she confronted him. Then it was like a total personality shift. One minute he's all broody and scary, then he's trying to be this funny friendly guy."

"Yeah, I noticed the behavior shift too. Does Jennifer get drunk this easily usually?"

I shook my head, "Not that I've ever seen. I mean we've only gone out a couple of times for a couple of pints of Guinness, but even then she didn't act drunk...hell not even tipsy. Just what the feck was in that hot chocolate?"

He looked back at Jennifer as she snored lightly. "I'm not sure, but I almost wonder if she's been roofied. I'd have to have a blood sample to be sure, and I'm not confident that she would be okay with that."

I felt the blood drain from my face, "You think they are involved in the rapes, don't you?"

He gave me a remorseful look, "Yeah, Kota and I both suspected Shane. Now, this new guy makes me even more worried." He stopped talking when a dark sedan drove by and parked near Jennifer's driveway. No one got out and the plates were blacked out. "Damnit," he muttered. The car drove off.

He pulled out his phone. "Owen, I need you to run that second guy. He's going by the name of Mike Miller. See if there's any connection to a dark sedan. No..no the plates were blacked out. Yeah, I'll call Vic now. Yeah, hang on." He held the phone out to me. "Owen would like to talk to you."

"Hello?"

"Avery, are you okay?" Owen's concerned voice came through the line.

"I am. Nathan and Kota are keeping an eye on me. Have you heard from Sean yet?" I asked him.

"Nothing yet, but that's fairly normal in war zones. He'll probably take a week or so to get to a radio-clear location. He'll be fine, love. Right now, I'm more worried about you. I feel helpless not being there with you."

"Owen," I sniffled, "I'm okay, I promise. But I won't lie and say I don't miss you terribly."

"I miss you too, love. I know Victor is visiting this weekend, but I will try and come up soon as well. I just don't want to distract you from your courses, although, I'm sure this situation isn't helping."

I gave a sad laugh, "Yeah, it does tend to mess with my concentration. Um, Owen, did Nathan tell you...um, we.."

"He didn't tell me anything, love, but based on the stammering, I'm going to take a leap and say our family is intact once again all thanks to you."

I sniffled again, tears running down my cheeks, "Thank you for understanding, Owen."

"Oh to the contrary, my dear. Thank you for being such a pure love in our lives that you pulled us all back together. Don't you see, Avery...you've saved us all," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "I love you, my sweet girl."

"I love you too, Owen," I said, then handed the phone back to Nathan who was smiling gently at me.

He put the phone to his ear, "Yeah, I know. Thanks, man. Let me know what you find. I think we're gonna take her friend to our place. I don't trust them to not come back for her. Yeah...okay, bye." He let out a sigh. "Well, I think we'll head back to the house. So do we give her your room or mine?"

"We can put her in mine," I grinned. "So, would you take me to the clinic tomorrow after my class? I think I should see if I'm pregnant or not."

He let out a low laugh, "Oh, Cariño, if you aren't now, you will be soon. You seem to bring out the fire in all of us. Are you sure you're ready for kids?"

"Honestly, I didn't think I would want children at this age, especially not after just finishing school, but when Sean slipped and the way everyone was so encouraging...well, it made me realize I do want kids now. I always wanted a large family and with all of you, I'm fairly certain that won't be an issue," I giggled.

He kissed my hand, "Well, practice makes perfect."  

Author's Notes:  Folks it is going to go quite dark for a while, just trust that this is an HEA...eventually.