The Road Back Home

In a different situation, Felix's response would have made her laugh. As he went to respond to her brief sum of all that had gone on, a loud clash of thunder made him look to the window. "That's weird, I didn't know it was going to storm." As soon as he finished his sentence, Nora's high pitch scream made him stand. He didn't go running up, because one, she'd called for Serenity, and two, it was storming and because he hadn't been there long enough for her to tell the difference between her father and some stranger. Felix had no intentions on giving them nightmares.

"MOMMY!" Nora's high pitch cry rang throughout her room and down the stairs a moment after she'd heard the thunder. She gave another scream when the second clash came, followed by lightning. She quickly dove under the covers. "MOMMY! WHERE ARE YOU!" Her tears came quickly as she cowered in the dark. Putting her hands over her ears, she tried to drown out the sound of the storm.

Serenity blinked at the crash of thunder, but quickly got up off the couch at the sound of Nora's scream. She gave Felix a glance as she passed by him on her way up the stairs, but it was because she understood why he hadn't ran upstairs. When she got to the girl's room, she turned on the light and went between their beds. She was glad now that they'd moved the beds closer together when they'd been painting because now she could get to both of them at the same time. But since Nora was the one that screamed, she picked her up first. "Hey, I'm right here," she said comfortingly. When she looked to Kiara, she noticed that the more hyper of the twins hadn't screamed, but was tightly hugging her purple unicorn, with tears flowing down her face. Serenity sat on the edge of Kiara's bed while holding Nora. "Come on, it's alright, it's just a bit of thunder," she whispered, while Kiara slowly climbed over and hugged Serenity from the side as her mom rubbed both their backs gently. "Shh...it's okay..." she said. However, another roar of thunder made Kiara give a small squeak and bury her face into Serenity's side.

Felix decided not to go upstairs. Instead he sat on the stairs and tried to ignore Nora's screams. His blue eyes closed slowly. He was a bit tired and wouldn't mind going to sleep. The only reason he didn't go to sleep was because he wasn't sure if Serenity wanted to continue talking to him. So he stayed put.

Nora didn't think it was okay. The thunder was so loud. "But it's not a bit of thunder, it's a lot of thunder. It's loud and it shakes the whole house." She clung to her mother's neck with a fierce grip. "Make it stop momma."

Serenity couldn't say she was surprised her little girls were so scared at the thunder. She'd gone through the same thing with Shaira, actually. When Kiara and Nora clung to her, asking her to make it stop. After taking a breath, Serenity started to sing a lullaby to them. Her voice was soft as she sang, yet somehow it carried easily.

Nora listened to her mother sing until she found her way back to sleep. It was like there was a storm, but then the singing started and the storm was gone. Her grip loosened and before you knew it, the blond girl was out like a light, the storm no longer keeping her away. She was glad her mommy would always be there for her.

Serenity sang until she was sure both girls were asleep. Surprisingly, it didn't take so long. She'd noticed that Kiara had taken a bit longer than Nora to fall asleep. Still holding Nora, Serenity gently tucked Kiara back into bed, so as to not wake her up, and then carefully got up and put Nora into her own bed. She gently covered both girls and turned off the light, quietly going out of the room after one last glance to make sure they were still asleep. Going back downstairs, Serenity gave Felix a small smile. "They're asleep again," she told him, sounding a bit relieved. She was tired herself. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs though, and knelt down in front of Felix, sitting on her feet and looking at him for a moment before speaking. "You've got a new scar," she said lightly, looking at his eye with what seemed to be a soft sigh. She'd been tempted to trace her finger over it, but kept herself from doing so.

Felix nodded when she told him the kids were sleep. "That's good," he said. His blue eyes shinned when she knelt down and pointed out his eyes. He went to say, 'There's more than a scar.' However, Felix new her well enough not to do such a foolish thing. "Yeah, that's what happens when you go on transfer missions. Someone's always trying to make you lose an eye." He gave a small shrug. "No big deal though, it didn't even hurt and it healed fairly well if you ask me." He gave a small grin. "You're not about to go all nurse on me, are you?"

Serenity couldn't really tell if Felix was joking when he said that's what happened when you went on transfer missions. She didn't think it was funny either way, she didn't like the idea of him getting hurt. How could getting your eye gashed not hurt? Liar, she thought, holding back from giving a pout, and making herself look silly. She looked off to the side when he asked if she was about to go all nurse on him. "No...but...I-I mean...it wouldn't be hard for me to heal it the rest of the way...if you wanted," she said, trying not to sound like she was insisting, but at the same time trying to keep from sounding as if she was being stubborn. How did he know her so well? She wasn't that predictable.

Felix could tell she wasn't happy about his scar, but he didn't care. He was a ninja, crap happened. What he wanted her to do was heal the burn wound on his side. It was scarred over terribly. Those damn ANBU had no remorse for him. Probably because he'd insulted their leader. He gave a small smirk at the thought. "I guess it wouldn't kill me. I'm sure it'd make you happy to." He gave a small gin. "Do as you wish Nurse Serenity."

Serenity glanced at Felix, but then looked to the side again in embarrassment when he grinned at her and called her Nurse Serenity. "You gotta call me that?" she asked, trying not to sound embarrassed. It was a silly nickname, really. Either way, she was glad he was letting her heal him. Her hand glowing blue, she pushed his hair away from his eye and looked at the scar a moment before gently placing her hand over it. It'd been so long since the last time she'd healed him. And unfortunately, she was sure it wouldn't be the last. She could only imagine how many more scars he had that she couldn't see....

(too many to count)

"Only because it fits you," he said. He gave a small chuckle and then sat still, letting her heal his eye. It would be easier to let her just heal all the old wounds, but he didn't want her to freak out. He didn't need her going all crazy and he sure as hell didn't need one the kids coming down and witnessing all the damage that had been done to him. After all, Felix still had wounds from before he was an immortal. "So, has Hunter seen them," he asked.

Serenity nodded. "He stops by whenever he has the chance," she told him with a small smile. "They've started calling him uncle Hunter. I think it's a trip," she said with a small giggle. His eye was already just about done healing. It wasn't too bad a scar, really.

Felix grinned. That was good he supposed. They needed someone around to call uncle, someone to be family. Neither him nor Serenity had family left alive. It would be odd if the girls didn't have someone to have as extended family. Whether through blood or friendship, it was always good to have someone around. "Uncle Hunter. I should drop by and see how he's doing sometime soon. It's been a while." Him and Hunter didn't see eye to eye in the beginning, but now everything was good, sorta. Why not just hang out and catch up?

Serenity smiled when she saw Felix grin. "Last time he was here, he mentioned that he was wondering how you were doing too," she told him. After another few moments, Serenity took her hand away, smiling lightly. "All done." A pause. "The girls also call Megan aunty. Do you remember her? She spoils them a bit," Serenity said with a giggle. "Same with Thomas, they call him uncle too." She paused. "Now that I think of it, I'm not sure you've ever met him," she mentioned thoughtfully.

Felix had heard of Megan before, but never of Thomas. "Good, means I can bother him and not have to hear about why I'm mysteriously stopping by to strangle him for trying to steal you away in my absence." This conversation was killing him. "And yes, I remember Megan. I've never met her before, but I remember you mentioning her once or twice. Mainly when you were gossiping away on the phone like Tara." Felix gave a shrug. "As for Thomas, no, I've never met him." But he was curious to meet this new person. As Felix had told Kymin, males weren't exactly kind to him. They were either in competition, trying to kill him, or out right hated his guts. He wondered which one this guy would be.

Serenity giggled lightly at Felix's statement about Hunter. "Play nice when you go see him," she told him. "I can invite him over if you want to meet him," she said. "Though I'm not sure if he's still away on a mission," she said thoughtfully.

So she knows that he's on a mission ay? No biggie. "I solemnly swear to behave when I go to visit Hunter. I also swear not to forget that I am swearing to behave. I will play nice and be friends even if it destroys my very soul." He gave an innocent grin. "Scouts honor." The silver haired shinobi shrugged. "Sure thing, anyone who's a friend of my kids is a friend of mine. Unless I think they're shady," he added jokingly. "You should invite Megan over to, it'd be nice to meet her as well. In fact, how about a little get together. And we can invite Hunter so you don't think I'm lying about behaving."

Serenity smiled, still sitting on her feet when Felix said he'd behave. "Good to hear. But I'm sure you can be nice without destroying your soul in the process," she joked with the same smile. She tilted her head and blinked when he said that they should have a get together. "Hm? You, suggesting a get together? Are you feeling well?" she asked, feeling his forehead playfully with the back of her hand.

Felix gave a small smirk at her actions. Maybe it did sound unlike him, but hey, he was home and it was time for a change. "I'm quitting as a ninja, I should start somewhere. Making friends will make this a lot easier, so I'm not bored all the time." He took her hand and grinned. "Which means I'm not sick Nurse Serenity." He stood up, taking her with him. "Remember, my immunity level is very high. I rarely get sick and it would be a bummer to start now."

Serenity lowered her hand from Felix's forehead as he said he was quitting as a ninja. She seemed genuinely surprised. For as long as she'd known him, he'd been a ninja. "R-really?" Since she'd been caught off guard, a small blush crossed her face when he called her Nurse Serenity again, standing up when he pulled her up with him. She gave a small smile nonetheless. "At least I won't have to worry about you getting hurt," she said. She was honestly happy about that. As if she could get any happier that day.

Why was he not surprised that she seemed happy. "Yes," he answered. "I want to spend my time with the kids and you," he said. "It's not every day I'm going to be able to have two kids by the girl of my dreams." You just lied through your teeth. These kids aren't even yours and to add on to the lie, she is not the girl of your dreams. You sound like an ignorant love struck teen. She is nothing compared to Meridian. You must have forgotten your conversation with Suki. Felix blinked twice before speaking. "And no more worrying about injures." How am I going to survive this? Being a ninja is all I've ever know. This is a big step for fatherhood. Not sure if four years was enough separation. How can I not see past the things that brought me here to began with. I would have never did anything with Serenity because she's an immortal. How could she have been so blind?

Serenity smiled when he said that he wanted to spend time with her and the kids. What he said next nearly wiped the smile clean off, at least on the inside. On the outside, she merely smiled a bit wider, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm glad," she said softly when he said no more worrying about injuries. She paused a moment before giving a sigh. "I didn't even ask...you have to be exhausted, you just got back, and the Rock is so far away." Another small pause. "I didn't touch your room, except to dust every now and then," she told him with a smile. The girl of his dreams. Yeah right. She knew better than to believe such nonsense.

Felix gave a grin. "I know you are." Felix raised a brow. "I thought you'd never ask," he joked lightly. "I'm kidding, but yeah, I am kind of tired. I just wasn't sure if you wanted to talk some more or not, after you but Kiara and Nora to sleep that is." Felix had to stifle a yawn at the thought of wanting to sleep. He was ready to curl up under the sheets and sleep for days. "And you could have done whatever you wanted," he said. "It's your house." He gave a shrug. "But it'll be nice being back in there."

Serenity gave a small chuckle, looking a bit embarrassed. "I should've asked sooner," she said apologetically. "You didn't have to wait up, we have time," she told him lightly. Though she was glad he did stay up. She didn't say anything about his comment on it being her house. He practically lived there as it was. "I'll let you get to bed," she told him with a small smile. Now that he was back, as tired as she was, she had a lot to think about. Like the fact of how funny it was that Felix said untrue things just to make her feel happy. It was strange how she was only starting to notice it now.

Felix gave a shrug. "But I did, it was only the right thing to do," he said as he started up the stairs. I'll see you in the morning," he said as he waved goodbye. Once upstairs he locked the door, took off his shirt and climbed into bed. He was exhausted. He hoped no one woke him up too early. He needed to sleep in to recover from the trip.