Okay Ladies and Gents, here's the second part of

'Sylvia's Solitary Soldier' Chapter Five. Hopefully

my readers can understand the reason for the split

chapter. I apologize about the split.

Sylvia's Solitary Soldier

Chapter 5

A Tanisius Family Christmas

(Part Two).

December 25, A.C. 201. Tanisius Family Colony

Downstairs in the large kitchen, Devon was running between the two stoves, two of the three ovens, (The third one had a

Christmas turkey basting in it), the sink, and the microwave trying to prepare a surprise breakfast for his family. Gwendolyn was keeping Silesia and Millennia entertained while Rhahorus and Isis were content to lay by the sliding glass door that led out to the backyard. Even though his family lived on their own colony, they tried to keep it as Earth normal as possible. From the recycled air, to the artificially created breezes, and the occasional light winter snowstorm (one of which was planned to start in a few minutes so that the families living on this small colony could have their own White Christmas according to the colony weather control.) Devon could already see a few snow flakes starting to fall as he cooked.

Taking a break from his cooking after checking on everything, Devon took another drink from his mug of Mandarin Orange Tea. He'd had a long shuttle flight and he was a bit tired but he wanted to cook for his family. Seeing the ears on his pet panthers prick up, Devon turned his attention to the entryway where Gwendolyn was returning after showing her great-granddaughters around the house and having them put their presents under the ten foot tall Christmas tree in the living room.

"I can hear everyone moving around upstairs, Devon. They should be getting ready to come down soon. When they get a whiff of the food it will be sooner. Why don't you go take a shower and put on something nice? The girls and I will keep and eye on the food. To keep Morgan and Owen from figuring out you're here, use the shower in the guest bedroom. Of course you remember it's right down the hall I take it.", commented Gwendolyn as she took Devon's place in front of the number one stove and turning down the heat on the large pot of grits he was cooking.

Devon started to protest but saw the look in her eyes and consented to her bidding. Taking off his apron and oven mitts, Devon passed them over to Gwendolyn, finished his tea, and headed in the direction indicated. Stopping only to have a quick word with the twins and to scratch Isis behind the ear, Devon picked up his suitcase and made his way to the bedroom in question. Once in the bedroom, Devon headed for the bathroom and stripped out of his clothes. Setting the water temperature of the shower to his desired temperature and pulse, the sniper took a twenty minute slow relaxing shower and even had time to wash his hair. When he was through, Devon shut off the water, wrapped a towel around his hips and studied his face in the mirror. Seeing the stubble on his chin, Devon unknowingly imitated Owen in choosing to shave later. Minutes later, a fully dressed and refreshed Devon re-entered the kitchen and retook his place over the stove. He was about to check on the food when his grandmother told him that everything was ready.

"I finished cooking ten minutes ago. Now everything is on the buffet being kept warm until the others come down for breakfast. Go and help the twins set the table while I set out the food. Your parents should be coming down the stairs shortly. They got a bit noisy during their shared shower but what the hell, what happens in the master bedroom, stays in the master bedroom. That is until my son and daughter-in-law start acting like teenagers again. Ah here comes someone now.", commented Gwendolyn as she heard the footsteps coming down the stairs.

Devon grinned as he listened to his grandmother and called his daughters into the dining room. When the twins came scampering in, Devon asked them to go wait by the stairs and surprise whomever it was. Silesia and Millennia agreed with big bright smiles lighting up their faces and scampered off to an admonishment from their great-grandmother about running in the house. The two eleven year old girls slowed down and walked over to the stairs and waited while Gwen watched her grandson try and hide the look of pride crossing his face.

"Hey you! Four-eyes; get over there with your daughters. Everything's just about finished here. I can finish setting the last bit of silverware out for breakfast.", growled Gwendolyn.

"But grandmother…", protested Devon before seeing the determined look on Gwen's face.

"No buts, get over there. Now, bright eyes.", growled Gwendolyn as she shook a fist in his direction.

Sighing to himself and straightening his clothes, Devon made his way over to the stairs and took his daughters hands and waited for the appearance of their family.

Jordan Victoria Tanisius yawned as she came down the stairs to partake of the breakfast her nose was telling her had been prepared. Wearing a calf-length skirt, t-shirt, and her house shoes; Jordan had gotten partially dressed for the Christmas morning church service the family attended every year. Nearing the bottom of the flight of stairs, a flash of black velvet caught her eyes and she wondered what it was. Curious by nature, but wary of a possible attack, Jordan lengthened her stride so she could reach the bottom of the staircase and assuage her curiosity. As she neared the bottom of the stairs, Jordan's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of who it was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Merry Christmas Aunt Jordan!", came the synchronized chorus from her identically dressed nieces standing at the bottom of the steps with their father.

"Merry Christmas, sis.", added Devon as he grinned at her astonishment.

There standing in front of her, though she didn't believe it at first, was her older brother. Jordan started to scream in delight but Devon hurriedly clasped his hand over her mouth to squelch the shout that was working its way from her throat.

"Don't Jordan. We want to surprise the entire family as they come down. Breakfast is ready and waiting on the table and grandmother's waiting.", commented Devon as he pulled his hand from Jordan's mouth.

Before she could answer and express her joy, the voices of their older sister and their mother carried to their ears. And from the sound of it, Brianna was laying down the law to her eldest child and Adrienne wasn't happy about it.

"Listen young lady, you're going to church today and that's final! You know that this is a family tradition that we haven't missed in years. That means I want you to take off that business suit and put on something more appropriate for church. And remember, if you are wearing a skirt or dress to church, the hem has to be below the knees. I don't give a good gawddamn if your fiancée is there and he says he likes to see your legs. He can admire them later but not in church. That's final!", growled the present matriarch of the family.

"But mom, I still have at least five reports I need to finish before the end of the year! I need to get into the office, even if it's just for a few hours so I can get caught up!", retorted Adrienne shrilly while wisely not mentioning anything about her fiancée wanting to see her legs more often.

Jordan and Devon just looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Mom, Adrienne. Grandmother says hurry up, breakfast is getting cold. She also told me to tell you to cease your bickering or she'll stop it for you.", called Jordan with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

There was nothing but silence from the two bickering women upstairs and Jordan smirked as she turned to face her brother, only to jump when she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. Glancing over her shoulder, Jordan resigned herself to her fate when she saw her grandmother's disapproving glare. Her expression changed when Gwendolyn's face morphed from a glare into one of her rare smiles.

"Good girl. At least some of my training got through that thick skull of yours.", commented the retired assassin as she turned back towards the dining room.

Before she completely left, Gwen called up the stairs.

"If the food that I cooked gets cold before everyone else gets down here. I will not be happy. And you already know what happens when I'm not happy."

There was a great clattering of feet as each family member still upstairs came rushing down the stairs. First to come down were Adrienne and Brianna. Like Jordan, they stopped as they saw the three people waiting for them at the bottom of the steps.

"Grandmother! Aunt Adrienne! Merry Christmas!", Silesia and Millennia called out as the two women reached the bottom of the steps.

Adrienne was wearing a black, knee-length skirt and grey blouse while Brianna had on a bright yellow housedress. Both of them stopped to talk but stopped when the sound of thudding feet told them who was on their way down the stairs in a hurry.

"Here comes the thundering heard. We better get out of the way if we don't want to get hurt.", stated Devon calmly as he motioned for his sisters, mother, and daughters to move out of the way.

They complied and it was a good thing they did because Leopold, Owen, and Morgan came crashing down the stairs only to hit the floor and skid halfway across the room. Groans of minor pain were interlaced with expletives and exclamations of surprise as the three men untangled themselves and straightened up and dusted off the dirt from their slacks. Before they could speak, Gwendolyn's raised voice came at them through the door to the dining room.

"Okay, now that everyone is here I want all nine of you to come to the table and eat. Greetings and stuff can come later. Devon prepared this meal and it's getting cold. And I for one am hungry. Leo, once everyone is seated, you say the grace and bless the table, is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am.", Leopold replied to his mother.

Two hours later Brianna, Jordan, and Adrienne were finishing up the dishes while Leopold, Owen, and Morgan were wiping down the table, counters, and stove. Devon, as the cook, was relaxing on the couch in front of the Christmas tree as his two daughters napped; one on each side. That was the scene when Gwendolyn Tanisius entered the room attired in a long calf-length skirt, the light blue silk blouse her son and daughter-in-law had purchased while on L-5 for business, and an apron more suited for cooking than what she was planning on doing. Seeing that everyone was busy, Gwendolyn went over to a well-hidden closet door and opened it before delving inside. When she found what she was looking for, the previous matriarch of the Tanisius Clan brought it out and placed it on the rug by the sliding glass door to the backyard.

"Devon, get over here. Brianna, I need a pot of hot water. Adrienne go look in my room and bring me the leather bag sitting on the counter in the bathroom. Jordan go get me a towel.", the seventy-eight year old woman barked.

"Mother, what's going on? Why do you need these things?", asked Brianna as she entered the family room while drying her hands on a handy dish towel she'd slung over her shoulder.

"I take it that you either did not notice or noticed and let pass the stubbly cheeks of your husband and three sons. Now I don't know how you do it but I will not allow my son and grandsons to go to church with stubbly faces. Do you have that pan of water I asked for? You do, good; pour it in here.", stated a slightly peeved Gwendolyn as she indicated the old granite basin she'd pulled out of the closet.

Leopold Tanisius figured out what his mother planned to do before anyone else and commented it.

"I remember that tub, mom, you used to use it to give dad a shave every Sunday before church. What are you doing with it now?", asked Leo.

"What do you think I'm going to do with it smartass! Now bring me a chair, Devon needs a shave and I'm going to give him one. Adrienne where is that bag I asked you to get?"

"Here it is grandmother. What do you need out of it?", replied Adrienne.

"You'll see, now go get me a hand towel and place it in the water your mother poured into the basin. Once that is done, I want you, your mother, and your sister to gather round. I'm going to teach the three of you something that a woman needs to know.", answered Gwendolyn as she dipped the bristled end of a small brush in the boiling hot water and placed it inside a coffee-style cup sitting on a handy end table.

Leopold was suddenly hit by a feeling of déjà vu. He had a feeling that his mother was going to use an extremely old method of shaving to give Devon the shave she said he needed. That feeling grew stronger when Gwendolyn reached into the bag and pulled out a folded, ivory-handled straight razor she flipped open and started stropping against a leather strap that had appeared out of nowhere. Turning to his son, he could see the small indication of fear on Devon's face. Sighing to himself the present family patriarch pulled Devon to his feet with one powerful hand and dragged him over to the chair now situated in front of the basin. Gently but forcibly pushing Devon into the seat, Leo leaned in and gave Devon a piece of advice.

"Whatever you do during this, don't piss your grandmother off. If you did, I wouldn't put it past her to 'accidentally' nick you with that razor she's sharpening."

"Ye…ye… yes father. I understand. There is no way I'm gonna upset grandmother while she has that…that…implement of death at my throat. I actually want to live through this.", stammered Devon.

"One thing I will tell you though: this'll probably be the best shave you could ever get. Your grandfather loved it when your grandmother shaved him. And she never cut him once. She's extremely good at this."

"I heard that Leo! Extremely good my seventy-eight year old ass! I'm the best when it comes to shaving a man with a straight razor. Even though I've been out of practice for years, I don't think I've lost my touch. Now Devon, don't worry. This isn't going to hurt; well after I take this towel off it isn't going to hurt. The water this towel is sitting in is extremely hot.", commented Gwendolyn as she squeezed the excess hot water out of the towel she'd gotten out of the water and quickly slapped it against Devon's face.

Devon stifled a shout as the steaming towel was placed against his stubble. His grandmother had understated how hot the towel was by a long shot! The damn thing felt as if it was burning his face off! The intense heat from the soaked towel lasted for a couple of minutes before the towel was yanked away and deposited in a waiting plastic bag. Seconds after the towel was removed, Devon heard what he categorized was a quiet tapping sound he surmised was the sound of the soft-haired brush being whisked around the inside of the coffee cup where he guessed the foaming bar of old-fashioned shaving cream sat. His guess was rewarded when the scent of sandalwood floated into his nostrils. The scent increased in potency when he heard the cessation of the tapping and felt the shaving cream covered soft bristles start brushing across his face.

Beside the chair where Devon sat with his head leaned back; Brianna, Adrienne, and Jordan sat looking on with an intense concentration as Gwendolyn explained to the trio of women what she was doing. When she was finished lathering Devon's face up, Gwendolyn took up her straight razor, shook out her hands to loosen them up, and proceeded to gently place the sharp blade against Devon's face right in front of his ear where the sideburn stubble began. Angling the blade juusst right, Gwendolyn continued her lecture in a casual tone of voice.

As her class of three listened with rapt attention to her lecture, Gwendolyn slowly and gently started to scrape away at the stubble covering her grandson's face with short strokes. She knew that it had been a long time since she'd last done this and had wanted to pass the technique down to Brianna when Leopold got married but she was a bit worried about how her daughter-in-law would take to the idea. Gwendolyn knew from experience that when a wife shaves her husband it brings the two closer together and demonstrates the trust one must place in their spouse. With a straight razor, the trust is strengthened even more. A man who lets his wife use a straight razor to shave him is basically giving control of his life to her. If the trust is not there, then the bond between man and wife is not as strong as it could be. When her husband, Sebastian Mikael Tanisius was alive, Gwendolyn knew without a doubt that he loved her enough to basically place his life in her hands each and every time she used a straight razor to give him a shave and trim his moustache. Several times, Sebastian would grow his beard out just so that she'd shave him. A slight blush appeared on her soft caramel skin as she remembered one such day she'd given her husband a shave and the events that happened after.

Leo saw the blush on his mother's face and knew she was remembering his father. When he was younger, he'd always loved watching his parents when his mother shaved his father. Sitting on the porch, a sheet covering his suit, and tied at the back of his neck, the late Sebastian Mikael Tanisius was a role model for his young son as he learned how a man should trust his wife no matter what. Leopold thought back to the day they buried his father. It was an extremely rainy day a few years after Morgan was born. In his life, Leopold had never seen his mom so emotionally drained. She had barely acknowledged the mourners as they slowly filed by the gravesite and passed on their condolences as she gazed at the shining black casket where her perpetual love lay in repose before they lowered him into his place of eternal rest. Leopold remembered that before they closed the casket and sealed his father in, his mother had risen from her seat and stepped up to the casket and placed within it the one thing that had solidified their loving bond for over fifty years:

An old straight razor with a cracked ivory handle.

A few days after the funeral and internment of his father, Leopold had finally gotten up the nerve to ask Gwendolyn about the razor. Her answer surprised him and showed him the love that his parents had for each other.

"That razor has been with us ever since we first started dating, son. Your father once told me that he loved me as much as he loved that razor. The night before our tenth anniversary, I couldn't find that razor and went out and bought a new one. Your father was so furious with me for doing that and we got into an extremely loud argument. The next day, I was feeling so bad that I almost didn't react when your grandparents showed up and threw us a surprise party. After everyone had left, your father and I gave each other our gifts. Imagine my surprise when I opened up this small box and there sat the razor I had misplaced. Your father, the crazy man, had gone out two days before and had gotten our names engraved into the handle in gold. From then on, I made sure to always keep that razor with me where ever we went. Even when times were bad and we had to sell some of our things to get by, I never even gave a thought to selling that razor. It was what kept our marriage strong.", Gwendolyn had replied that day.

Leopold came out of his reverie as Gwendolyn completed her final stroke and started to clean her razor in a small pan of fresh boiling water her eldest granddaughter had brought over. Watching as the former matriarch of the family wiped the last few splotches of shaving cream from her grandson's face, Leopold couldn't help but grin. That grin increased in size exponentially when, Gwendolyn splashed some old-style aftershave lotion on Devon's face.

Devon screamed bloody murder when the alcohol based lotion hit the freshly shorn skin of his cheeks. He received a slap to the back of his head for his actions.

"Don't be such a crybaby, Devon. That was your grandfather's favorite aftershave lotion. Now get up, I'm finished with you.", snapped the retired assassin known as Sabretooth.

Devon started to retort but it was silenced as he felt how smooth his cheeks were. Never in his life had he had a shave this close. Looking at his grandmother in wonderment, Devon didn't fail to catch the 'I-told-you-so' gleam in his grandmothers' eyes before she turned and snapped at her son and daughter-in-law.

"Leopold Sebastian Tanisius, have a seat; you're next. Brianna Etienne Tanisius, step up to the plate! It's your turn. Prove to me that you can do this.", commented Gwendolyn as she reached into her little bag and pulled out an unopened straight razor and gave it to her daughter-in-law.

Brianna accepted the implement a little hesitantly at first but relaxed as she felt a strong, familiar hand on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw that her husband was gazing at her intensely. In his eyes, she saw her reassurance. The dark brown eyes of her husband told her that he trusted her implicitly. They spoke to her, passionately. They said:

"No matter what happens, I trust you with my life and my love."

As her husband sat down in the recently vacated chair, Brianna felt her confidence return. She could do this. She could shave her husband with a straight razor and not cut him. She would do it to prove to her mother-in-law that her love for Leopold equaled and surpassed the love Gwendolyn had held and still held for her late husband, Leo's father, and her father-in-law: Sebastian Mikael Tanisius.

Watching the visual interplay between her son and daughter-in-law, Gwendolyn saw the trust Leo had for Brianna and decided that it was time for the new matriarch and patriarch of the Tanisius Clan to receive the gift she'd been holding for them for almost thirty years. Of course, she'd only present them with this gift after she saw how well Brianna wielded the generic brand straight razor she'd given her.

Thirty minutes later, Brianna was about to start her finishing stroke when her mother-in-law stopped her and quietly held out her hand for the razor Brianna presently held. It caught the present matriarch of the family by surprise and irritated her a bit but Brianna held her tongue and handed the requested object over. She was about to step away from the chair when Gwendolyn tapped her on the shoulder and held out a new razor. The fifty-three year old woman did a double take as she gazed down at the object now resting in the palm of her delicate hand. The polished ivory handle softly shining as the names engraved in gold on the handle glistened in the light. Brianna jerked her head up and gazed at the preceding matriarch of the Tanisius Family spoke.

"I've had that ever since your wedding. I wanted to give it to you then but I wasn't sure at the time that you were right for my son. My husband convinced me that you were and we made plans to present it to you upon your anniversary but it never seemed to be the right time. Today as I observed you and him, I knew that it was high time for the both of you to receive this gift."

Brianna couldn't speak as she held the razor gently and firmly in her hands. Carefully opening the blade and waiting for Gwendolyn to give her permission to continue, Brianna saw the loving look her fifty-six year old husband gave her and mentally vowed to keep the gift in the family forever. Instinctively, Brianna knew that the girt they'd just be given was to be used by them and them alone. And when it was time, she'd imitate her mother-in-law and let the gift be buried with her husband when his time came. Hopefully that wouldn't be for several more decades yet.

Nodding her thanks to Gwendolyn, Brianna turned back to her task and used the brand new razor to scrape the remnants of Leopold's stubble from his cheeks and trim his thick moustache. When she was finished, Brianna reverently cleaned the razor with a loving care and gently folded it closed and placing it in a monogrammed case that had appeared out of nowhere and fit the dimensions of the implement perfectly. Once the precious gift was safely and securely put away, Brianna reached for the old-fashioned bottle of aftershave lotion and splashed some in her hands. Rubbing her small palms together, she gently placed her hands along her husbands' newly shorn cheeks and rubbed the lotion in. Unlike her son, Brianna's husband didn't even bark a word of protest when he felt the familiar sting of an alcohol based lotion. Rising from his seat, Leo turned to his three boys and gave in to the urge to tease his boys a little bit.

"A real man holds his protests in when the woman he loves splashes aftershave lotion on their cheeks."

Their reactions were hilarious to observe: Devon snorted in annoyance while both Owen and Morgan cast worried looks at each other before gazing at their sisters (who suddenly looked extremely interested in what was going on.). They knew what going to happen next and neither would put it past Adrienne and Jordan to 'accidentally' nick them while they sat in the chair helpless.

After the straight razor demonstration, it took the family another hour or so before they were completely ready to attend the Christmas Day service. The four Tanisius men were all wearing double-breasted suits in shades of navy blue and grey with offsetting neckties. Each man had a black diamond glinting from its position secured to their left earlobe. The four were waiting for their remaining family members to make their appearances. Owen and Morgan were holding a conversation by the front door, Leopold was sitting in a chair reading the paper, and Devon was explaining to his daughters how the family went to church.

The clicking of high heels coming down the stairs soon heralded the appearance of the missing members of the family as they met the men in the living room. Jordan Victoria Tanisius was the first one to appear. Wearing a peach colored calf length dress with matching waistcoat and low-heeled shoes, she made her way over to where Owen and Morgan were talking and joined the conversation.

Next to arrive was Adrienne Nicole Tanisius. Adrienne was attired in a grey long-sleeved dress that conformed to her mother's demands that it have the hem below her knees. Adrienne had tucked her clutch purse under her arm as she fussed with the platinum band of her dress watch. In comparison to the grey, Adrienne's engagement ring glimmered as it gleamed brightly in contrast with the dark dove grey dress. A silver necklace glinted occasionally from Adrienne's neck as she moved over to the window and gazed outside at the snow that was drifting down to cover the lawn.

Shortly after her eldest came down, Brianna made her appearance in the living room. As the matriarch of the family came down the stairs, it was apparent to all that she was conversing with her mother-in-law as they went over the menu for dinner. Both Brianna Etienne Tanisius and Gwendolyn Tanisius were wearing colorful church dresses with the elder woman adding a matching hat to her outfit to set it off. At the foot of the stairs, Gwendolyn saw her son sitting down and reading the paper and read him a quiet riot act before demanding that he get their coats out of the coat closet by the door. Minutes later the family of ten made their way out the door. Since the church that the Tanisius Family attended was within walking distance, the patriarch and matriarch of the family decided that it would be easier to just walk to church.

Striding casually down the snow-covered sidewalks and conversing with those they saw along the way, the Tanisius Clan headed towards one of the many colony churches. Devon remembered how the family used to walk to church when he was younger and saw that not much had changed during his sixteen year absence. As they trailed their relatives to the stone edifice, the suspended sniper was pointing out things of interest to his daughters and laughing as Silesia and Millennia took it all in and realized how fortunate they were to be adopted into a family who owned their own colony and whose fellow residents treated them as members of the family. Since the press wasn't allowed on this colony unless invited, Devon and his twins had no worries about their visages being seen anywhere else in the Earthsphere. Add to that fact that the residents were notoriously tight-lipped (even more so than the people of Mars and the resort where the Peacecrafts and the Yuy's had gone for their honeymoons), Devon was confident that no one on Earth would know he had even been here when he and his daughter returned home. The twins could tell their classmates that their father had been invited to spend Christmas with Morgan Tanisius and his family and they wouldn't be stretching the truth too much.

Up at the front of the gaggle of Tanisius', Brianna slipped her arm through the arm of her husband and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked down the boulevard with their family behind them. Leo was stopping every so often to talk to some of the residents who went to some of the other churches on the colony or weren't feeling well enough to attend church. Often he would stop and write somebody a nice-sized check on the spot and wished them a Merry Christmas. A little further up the street and it would start all over again. Looking behind her, Brianna saw that her mother-in-law was chatting with Adrienne and Jordan about something inconsequential while Morgan and Owen conversed with friends they saw as they walked. Although in Owen's case it was more women than men. Brianna sighed in resignation as her eldest son gently turned down most of the invitations tossed his way by some of the unmarried women in his age group on the colony. Shifting her sight to her son and granddaughters, Brianna cooed in happiness as she saw Devon pointing out familiar sights to the twins and just enjoying his time with them. Nudging Leopold with her elbow and jerking her head in Devon's direction, Brianna saw a smile of contentment come across that strong and proud face she loved to caress so much. Seeing that her family was nearing its destination, Brianna called Silesia and her twin sister to her and when they arrived, took their hands in her own as they climbed the stairs to the sanctuary.

Standing at the door was the pastor welcoming members to the Christmas Day service with a smile and a holiday salutations. When he saw the family whose largess kept the colony together, his smile became even larger. He said as such to Leopold and the patriarch of the Clan grinned back and introduced Devon and the twins to the priest before opening the door and leading his family inside the church. Since the Tanisius Family had requested the church be built on the colony before even Leopold had been born, the family had a pew reserved for them which they rarely used without inviting others to sit with them. Leo and Brianna had asked that the pew not be reserved but the rest of the congregation wouldn't hear of it.

The Christmas service was two hours long and Devon observed as his daughters fit in with the rest of the family. The elders of the church were glad that he had returned to the colony and were ecstatic that he had adopted two orphans and given them the family name. After the service had ended, Devon and the rest of the family accepted the adulations at his survival and return to the fold with a modest grace as they were leaving the sanctuary and heading back home.

It was midafternoon and the members of the Tanisius Family had returned home from church. Brianna had relented and allowed Adrienne to run to the Headquarters of the family business to take care of the stuff she needed to get done but gave her eldest daughter a four hour deadline. If Adrienne wasn't able to get the work finished in that time frame, she was to leave whatever was left until after the holiday. His sister grumbled but acquiesced to their mother's demand and agreed to be back in time for dinner. Before she left for the office, Devon presented Adrienne with her Christmas gift.

When the full grown tigress made its appearance as Devon brought her in; Adrienne gazed at the massive beast with a look of awe on her face. Giggling like a little girl, the eldest of the Tanisius brood exclaimed that she was taking her new pet to work with her. The family watched as Adrienne clasped the collar control device on her wrist reverently before making her excuses to the rest of her the family, accepting the leash from Devon, and heading for the office to get her work done.

The rest of the watches were distributed to the new owners and Devon smirked as he watched the reactions of his family as their gift made its appearance. Owen did a gleeful little dance that had the entire family laughing as his cougar was brought to him; Jordan walked over and darn near snatched her cheetah's leash from Devon possessively. Morgan asked his parents if he could bring his mountain lion with him to school when he returned to Earth. Of course Leo and Brianna said no but relented when he promised to have his mountain lion taken to the family house in Brussels.

When the patriarch and matriarch of the family received their gifts, the two shared a laugh with each other as they realized that they would have to enclose part of the property so the lion and lioness could walk freely about without bothering the numerous guests they occasionally received during the rest of the year since the compound was off limits to anyone but family during the winter holidays.

A few hours later, Devon was sitting on the couch looking outside at the falling snow as he relaxed for the first time in a long time. There was a large fire roaring in the massive fireplace across the room that filled the house with warmth as the family enjoyed their togetherness. The twins had fallen asleep some time after dinner and had been taken upstairs by Jordan so they could take a bath and get ready for bed. Adrienne had returned in time for dinner (barely beating her mother's deadline) and had washed the dishes before heading for her home office to take care of some inconsequential things that needed to be done. Brianna and Gwendolyn were sitting at the table in the breakfast nook discussing some of the gossip they had overheard after church while Leopold finished reading the paper. Seeing that his brothers weren't doing anything, Devon turned to them and made a suggestion.

"Owen, Morgan, why don't we go outside and build a snowman just for the hell of it?"

"I dunno, Devon, Owen's waiting for his girlfriend Fatima Winner to call. For what reason, I don't know since he spent Christmas Eve at the Winner Family Compound. He even got to meet Quatre Winner and the two of them split a bottle of scotch, right Owen?", replied Morgan as he looked up from the magazine he was perusing.

"Yeah, that's true Morgan. Mr. Winner and I did split a bottle of scotch in his office. As I made my way to the limo that was going to bring me to the shuttle port, I told him that if he decided to visit my office I'd bring the Scotch.", Owen commented as he shifted his position in his chair.

"I see. For as long as I've been with Preventors, Winner has always been the voice of reason between Maxwell and Chang as well as Yuy and Maxwell. It doesn't hurt anything that his wife, Duchess Catalonia, is a very good friend of Foreign Minister Yuy. In fact, Dorothy, Quatre, Heero, and Relena all went to Saint Gabriel's Institute during the latter part of the First Gundam War. I think Maxwell might have gone there for a bit as well.", responded Devon as he leaned back against the couch.

His brothers were about to comment when Adrienne appeared at the end of the hallway with Devon's laptop case in her hands. Walking over to her brother with a frown on her face, Adrienne placed the case on the table in front of the couch and bent down to look Devon in the eye.

"I was in the middle of some important business Devon when the case for your laptop started making some noise and wouldn't stop. I retrieved it and decided to bring it in here so you can take care of it. Now, if you don't mind, I need you to attend to your laptop.", growled the twenty-five year old businesswoman.

Devon lifted an eyebrow. This was unusual to say the least. Although he hadn't told anyone on the message board that he was going on vacation, Devon had told them that he was going to be incommunicado for awhile over the Christmas Holidays. Straightening up, Devon gestured for Adrienne to step back so he could open the case. He mentioned that his laptop and the secrets carried within its thin case were protected by a real nasty aerosol spray and he was the only one who knew how to disarm the alert system.

Disarming the security system and opening the bag so he could retrieve the thin computer, Devon checked some of his other telltales that told him if anyone had messed with this particular laptop. Seeing that none of his measures had been tampered with, Devon went ahead and activated the computer after pulling it out and placing it on the table in front of his seat. Once his welcome screen came up and he was where he needed to be, the sniper opened one of the ancillary programs he'd added to the laptop when he first got it and set it up so nobody could figure out where he was. As he did this he explained the program to his family.

"This helps me keep my whereabouts a secret from those searching for the Panther. Yuy of the Preventors as well as Hilde Maxwell have been sniffing around in cyberspace trying to latch on to my trail. It also keeps prospective clients from finding out where the Panther lives. Preventor has tried a few times to infiltrate my system but each time they've failed. So, they keep their search going hoping one day to luck into some speck of evidence to find me. They do know that the Panther eschews face to face meetings and prefers to handle his business online. My question is, who wants to get in touch with me or to be more precise; who wants to get in touch with the Panther?"

Each member of his family looked at Devon for an explanation but got nothing as Devon set his computer down on the table, plugged its power cord in to a handy outlet buried in the floor, and powered it up. Quickly and efficiently, Devon tasked his laptop to connect to the internet and run a scrambler program. As he did this, he explained what he was doing.

"Right now I'm running a program I modified to keep the website where my alter ego accepts or rejects clients pretty secure. When I log on, this particular program checks the web addresses of those requesting my services every two minutes to make sure they aren't unknowingly hiding the shadowy footsteps of a Preventors tech team established to uncover the my identity. Usually everyone is clean but every so often, the program catches Preventors trying to sneak in. When it does, this program automatically initiates a back hack and gives me overt and covert access to their files. I use that to my advantage and get them to halt their activities. My little cyber guard program once caught the foreign ministers' husband poking around and alerted me to the fact. I sent a semi-harmless little virus back to his access point and it caused the nexus he was using to lock him out and crash his system. He came to work the next day in a foul mood that had the Executive Protection Department walking around on eggshells.", explained Devon.

Leopold came over to observe his son's handiwork with a thoughtful look on his face. He had an idea bubbling in his mind. This program Devon had modified seemed like it would be an impressive addition to the Tanisius Security Technologies LTD and he asked but Devon demurred explaining that if family business started using the exact same program as the assassin known as The Black Panther, the Preventors would put the family under a close scrutiny they couldn't afford.

"Dad what I can do is, have the company purchase the software and I modify it, with help from T.S.T. personnel, into a similar program for the company. In fact, I could start the modifications and pass it on to Morgan to finish and meld into the T.S.T. systems since he probably knows that network better than I do."

"That could work but how would you get your work to him without anyone tumbling to your identity?", asked Leo.

"Oh, let me worry about that. Next month go ahead and purchase the software and get it to Morgan. He can pass it on to me and I can work on it while I'm at home. Once I've cracked the program code and start writing my modifications, I can build another computer and bring it to the house where Morgan can work to combine the programs before making a master copy and giving it to the tech department of T.S.T. Those techs could upload it to the system under Morgan's supervision and get it up and running in no time.", answered Devon as his laptop softly alerted him that everything was clear and he could log on to the message board.

Punching in another password, Devon waited for the main screen of his message board to pop up. Checking the stats, he saw that several people were already online and searching for him. Observing the messages first to get a read on who was there, Devon lurked on the site under another nickname while his family gathered around and leaned in to watch. Seeing a familiar name on the screen, Devon lifted an eyebrow and made an uncomplimentary exclamation.

"What the hell is he doing here? I thought I explained to him that I wasn't interested in accepting another job from him. The one job I did accept from him almost got me killed.", grumbled Devon as he read the request.

"Who is that guy, Devon and why don't you like accepting a contract from him.", asked Owen.

"He's an underworld figure I did a job for once a few years back. That one acceptance thinks it gives him the right to order the Panther around as if I'm his own personal enforcer. I've tried to be nice to the guy and elucidate him to the truth that the Panther only takes the jobs he thinks are worthy. Now since he's still acting as if he's the boss, it looks as if the panther may need to take him out. Or at least let him know that he does not appreciate being ordered to do a hit."

While his family watched, Devon revealed his alter ego to the names on the screen and was immediately bombarded by messages from everyone at once. Since Devon had set up the website so those who were there couldn't see requests made by others (though he could see them all) he sent each possible client a private message telling them that he was still not accepting any contracts until he was ready. When he came to the message from the client he'd been talking about, Devon composed a short and to the point message.

-"I thought I told you that I was never going to accept another job from you."- Devon.

-"Well, I can't have you refusing my generous offers. If you refuse this job, you won't like my response." - Client.

-"Once I turn down a contract, my other clients know not to bring it up again. I don't give a damn about your response." – Devon.

-"We'll see about that Panther. We'll see about that. You've made a big mistake in refusing this job." – Client.

Devon growled at the words on the screen and mentally plotted to rid himself of this annoyance. Gathered around him, his family felt the suppressed anger as it rolled off of Devon in thick waves. They knew that this client had just signed his own death certificate. Pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger, Devon composed himself and checked the profile of the client.

"Morgan, I want you memorize that address. When you have let me know.", stated Devon.

The youngest Tanisius child leaned further forward and read the address on the screen. Firmly fixing it in his mind, he nodded to his big brother. Devon saw the nod and closed out the profile. Noticing that the client was still waiting for an answer to his threat, Devon sighed and with one keystroke ended the conversation and banned the client from his website. Continuing to monitor the screen, Devon read over the rest of requests and told the clients that his alter ego wouldn't be available till after the holidays. Some grumbled about the delay while others accepted it without comment. They knew that once he accepted the contract, the target was as good as dead.

As he was preparing to log off, Devon saw a request that caught his eyes. Reading through it a few times, he felt that he could pass on this hit to somebody else. Turning to face his family, Devon directed his gaze at his older brother.

"Owen, you still do the occasional assassination on L-4 right?", Devon asked.

"Yeah I do. I don't do many since I'm usually busy with the company. Though every once in awhile I have to clean up some of the trash. Why do you ask?", answered Owen.

"Well, I have a request to take out somebody on L-4 and there is no way I can do it myself with my present schedule. If I were to set up a hidden account for you and get you the information you need on the target, do you think you could fulfill the contract?"

"Yeah, I can do it as long as the target is righteous."

"Oh this target is righteous. Preventors have a warrant out for his arrest. He's a rotten piece of work this one. Preventors have him on several charges of human, weapons, and drug smuggling. He's also suspected of murdering some of his cargo. I've heard through the grapevine that the many of the most notorious criminals out there want this guy caught or dead. I don't have to tell you that they'd prefer the latter but if he's caught and convicted they won't shed a tear for him."

Owen read the details of the contract as it was sent to his brother. He was a bit surprised to see that the client making the request had gotten it notarized somewhere to make it a legitimate binding contract once it was signed and accepted. Once he got the gist of the contract and the time line, Owen nodded at Devon who turned back to the screen and passed on to the client that even though he couldn't do the job he knew somebody who did. When the client wanted to know who that individual was, Devon admonished him to not pry into things that weren't his concern lest he pay the consequences. Getting an acknowledgment from the client, Devon requested that he get as much information on the target as he could and pass it on to him so he and the other party could research the target. The client agreed and information on the target was sent to a website where it would be held until Devon could get to it. Devon ended the conversation by telling the client that the job would be taken care of after the holidays before cutting the connection and returning to his lurking.

The senior members of the Tanisius family looked on in pride and respect at the way Devon handled the business and kept his identity secure. Gwen, Leo, and Brianna suspected that it would be several days before Devon went and retrieved the information and passed it on to Owen so he could act on it and said so.

"Yeah, it helps to keep the information on ice for a bit before actually retrieving it. That way, Owen could do his own research and compare it to what he'd already been given. That is how my alter ego works. He's meticulous and plans for every contingency. That meticulousness is why Panther commands such a high fee and why he doesn't take every contract he's offered. It's also the reason why I only accept those contracts against those who threaten this peace the E.S.U.N. is creating. I help protect the innocent and do what others can't.", replied Devon with a slight show of emotion.

In his seat, Morgan wondered why his brother wanted him to memorize that address. He suspected he knew what it was for but he wanted to make sure. Before he could ask, Devon turned to him after logging out and shutting off his laptop.

"Morgan, I bet you're wondering why I had you memorize that address, aren't you. The reason I had you memorize it is because I want you to eliminate that thorn in my side. You don't have to take care of him the way the rest of us take care of our targets and enemies. You're the bomb expert in the family. I've used some of your creations before during the turbulent times after both Gundam Wars. I would like you to create a small bomb to eliminate this problem. My only request is that the bomb you create not cause civilian casualties. You build it; I'll put it in place. Are you up to it?", asked Devon as he looked at his younger brother with an unparalleled intensity.

"Yes, I can do it Devon. When do you need it?"

"Morgan, don't take this lightly. If you create this bomb, you'll be contributing to the murder of an individual. I don't want that on your conscious. Adrienne, Owen, and I know the feeling and we don't want you to suffer like we had to when we took our first lives. Even Jordan has dealt with that feeling. Yes we do come from a family of assassins, good assassins. However, we do not take our heritage lightly. I bet mom, dad, and grandmother all still have dreams about the first target. I know I do. If you want, you can refuse this and leave it to me. Inside there is part of me that wishes you do exactly that. You're an excellent student at one of the most prestigious schools in the entire Earth Sphere and I don't want to spoil that innocence by causing you to cover your hands in blood living up to the family legacy. Think on this for a long time before you answer."

Morgan looked as his family as they sat around the room. Even though he knew he could refuse the job without repercussion, Morgan felt that it was his familial duty to help his brother out of this predicament. Looking Devon directly in his eyes and with an unwavering voice he gave him his answer.

"I'll do it. I'll make the bomb. Don't try to discourage me. There are times at night when I hear the anguish their actions cause and see the effect it has on them. Adrienne sniffling in her sleep as she ponders whether or not she's done the right thing; Owen isolating himself from the rest of the family after he spills the blood of someone taking ruthless advantage of an innocent, and Jordan mentally torturing herself as she remembers. I see how it affects the others; I hear their muffled shouts at night as they see the faces of their targets in their dreams as they sleep. In time they all come to the same conclusion why they did what they did: 'It was necessary to protect the innocent'. Now I want to protect the innocent. I want to do everything necessary to help those who can't help themselves. I know you could get rid of that guy without a doubt, but I also know that you'd worry about the innocent getting in the crossfire if you missed. You couldn't live with the death of an innocent indirectly at your hands. So I want to do this for the same reason you do it. For the same reason Addy, Owen, and Jordan do it. I want to do this for the same reason mom, dad, and grandmother did. Not because it's the legacy of the Tanisius, but because it's the right thing to do.", stated Morgan with an undertone of determination in his voice.

Devon looked at his brother and saw in his eyes that nothing he could say would change his mind. Reaching out, he placed his hand on Morgan's head and ruffled his hair. Everyone chuckled as the youngest of the five grumbled at the movement.

"Alright kid, since you're determined to do this. I guess there's nothing I or anyone can say to change your mind. I'll do the same thing I did for Owen for you and create a hidden bank account and get you all the information I have on this guy. When you return to Earth and start classes again, we'll talk about what's needed then. Is that okay, squirt?"

"Yeah, that's fine and who're you calling squirt?"

The members of the family that were still awake laughed as the middle child and the youngest one got into a brotherly tussle in the middle of the floor. Gwendolyn Tanisius looked at her grandsons with a grin on her face and just shook her head. After sixteen years, now things were back to normal. She couldn't wait to see how things were going to play out over the next week and a half while Devon and his family were here. It wasn't going to be boring, she was sure of that.

Covering a yawning mouth with her hand, the former matriarch of the Tanisius Family decided that she'd been up long enough and was going to go to bed. When she announced her intentions, Gwen wasn't surprised to see her son and daughter-in-law follow suit. Catching the look in Leo's eyes, Gwendolyn was sure that whatever he and Brianna had planned, it wasn't to go to sleep right away. Gwen could see both Jordan and Adrienne smother tandem groans and check the clock. Her granddaughters gave each other looks of despair as they correctly guessed that they wouldn't be able to get to sleep if they headed upstairs now. They decided to stay downstairs for a bit so when they did head upstairs, they would be able to drop into bed and drift right off into dreamland.

Owen watched as his grandmother and parents headed to their respective bedrooms as he entered the kitchen and fixed himself another piece of pie. Bringing his plate back out into the family room, the second child of Leo and Brianna dropped into his seat and returned his attention to the television show he'd been watching. Within minutes he was so engrossed in the show that he almost didn't hear the phone ring. He only became aware of it when Devon held the handset out to him.

"Owen, it's for you. I think it's the call you've been waiting for.", said Devon before stretching and turning in the direction of the bedroom.

'Thanks brother dear. I appreciate you answering it."

"It was of no consequence. Jordan and Adrienne were caught up in their chess match and Morgan had already gone to bed. I'm headed that way myself because I'm exhausted. Leaving Earth early this morning, arriving here, and then being up all day; my energy is just about gone and I need to get some sleep so I can be ready for the twins in the morning. You won't believe how active they'll be when they wake up."

"I can imagine. Good night Devon."

"Night Owen, see you in the morning."

Owen nodded before turning his attention to the handset and bringing it to his ear. Hearing the familiar voice on the other end, the twenty-three year old stretched out and started to relax. Across the way, his sisters looked in his direction once then returned their attention to the chess board and the cutthroat game they were playing against each other. Owen blocked them out and concentrated on the conversation with his beloved. A few hours later he glanced up and saw that he was the only one left downstairs. Apparently Jordan and Adrienne had finished their match and figured that they could finally head upstairs and get some sleep.

"Fatima, love it looks like I'm the only one still left up and I'm fading fast here.", yawned Owen.

"I know how you feel. The only reason I'm still up is because Schezy and her husband wanted some alone time and left the kids with me. All my other sisters are either sleeping or otherwise preoccupied; even Quatre and Dorothy have called it a night and gone up to their room with little Jamal. He's talking and trying to walk now and I know that delights the two of them to no end but with all their work they rarely have time to spend as a family. I'm going to have to talk to Schezy and Iria to see if between the three of us we can get those two to go on a family vacation or something. They deserve it. I don't think that the two of them have had a proper vacation since the wedding and the birth.", returned Fatima as she watched her nieces and nephews as they watched a movie.

"Yeah, I'll probably be worrying like that when my elder sister finally gets married and has her own children. I'm already slated to take over for Adrienne until she returns from her honeymoon so that means that in two months we won't have as much time to spend with each other. Already my workload is starting to increase in preparation for that happy day."

"Hehehe, after we left the party on Christmas Eve, I could see that it was already starting to take a toll on you. You nodded off while I was giving you your Christmas present."

"Oh, ahm sorry about that, didn't mean to fall asleep like that.", slurred Owen as the level of his fatigue started to reach its saturation point.

Fatima Dinarzade Winner could hear the pronounced exhaustion in her boyfriend's voice and knew that he was moments away from going to sleep. Yawning herself, as she watched the action bewitching her charges on the big screen TV, Fatima decided to finish the conversation and let Owen go to bed. The Tanisius Family Colony followed a different time zone than Colony L-4 and it showed each time Owen either left to fly home or returned to L-4. He had to adjust each time.

"Owen, since you're so tired I'll let you go. I don't want you to fall asleep while on the phone with me. Go and get some sleep baby, you need it."

"Thanks Fatima. I hate to do this to you but I'm just so tired. I'll call you sometime later this week. I love you, good night.", murmured Owen sleepily.

"Good night darling. I love you too. I'll be waiting for your call.", Fatima returned with a lovers' softness before hanging up.

Owen hung up the phone after Fatima disconnected and headed upstairs. His eyes were fighting to stay open and give him enough time to dim the lights and make his way to his room. Making it into his part of the suite he shared with Morgan, Owen looked across at his bed and decided to not worry about changing into his pajamas. The sweat pants and t-shirt he had on would do fine for sleeping in just this once. Once his head hit the pillow, Owen Richard Tanisius, twenty-three years old drifted off into the land of slumber. And with that, all was quiet in the Tanisius Household.

Several hours later, the only sounds emanating from the Tanisius Mansion were the sounds of the deeply asleep. As the night time symphony crescendoed, a figure attired in black made his way down the hallway towards the family room. His footsteps were quiet and didn't echo throughout the house to wake anyone up. When the figure entered the family room, he stopped and allowed his head to track across the room looking for something or someone. When he saw who he was looking for, a soft sound came from his throat and two heads alertly turned in his direction. They'd been expecting him to show up for some time now and one could tell that it was all they could do to keep their bodies from quivering in excitement. The figure quietly chuckled as he saw the heads turn in his direction.

"I should've guessed you two would be waiting for me by now. I bet you either heard me or scented me waking up and waited for me to arrive.", muttered Devon in a quiet voice as he strode across the family room to the sliding glass door that lead out on the patio and into the large backyard.

Devon reached the door and disarmed the security system before unlocking the door with a soft 'click' of its latch. Easing the door open along its track, Devon wasn't surprised at the smoothness the door moved with as he slid it open. Giving another soft whistle, he stepped outside and waited while his two pets, Rhahorus and Isis, followed. Without looking, Devon reached down and patted the soft black fur of both panthers for a bit before straightening up and stretching his long limbs to wash the remnants of sleep away. The bitterly cold air and whirling snow programmed in by the colony's weather division helped banish the last vestiges of sleep from Devon's eyes. Taking a deep breath of and exhaling it, Devon started doing some exercises to keep him in shape and to raise his core body temperature by several degrees.

Wearing a pair of thin black sweat pants and a black short-sleeved shirt to combat the manmade elements, Devon soon found himself working up a light sweat. Finishing his present set of exercises, Devon looked back at Isis and Rhahorus. He could see their excitement and determination. Cracking a big grin, Devon gave the two cats a couple of hands signals followed by some slight verbalizations. He was rewarded when he saw their ears perk up and point inquisitively in his direction. Bending down into a pouncing crouch, Devon leaned forward and gave a quiet growl and saw the two panthers imitate his movements.

Casting a quick glance at the house to see if all was still dark, Devon saw that his family was still asleep. Not wanting to waste anymore time and conscious of the attention spans of his cats, Devon exploded forward in a blur of motion. Within a few yards of his starting point, the assassin was at full stride and just about to reach his top running speed. Behind him, the two panthers loped along behind him still building up steam as their black coats expanded and retracted with each step. If somebody had been watching they would have been astounded at how the bodies of the two big cats and the lone human moved effortlessly atop the snow. The three mammals were conserving their energy, stamina, and strength. Muscles coiled and uncoiled, feet and paws struck the ground with a minimum of noise. The arms and legs of the lone human and the legs of his two running buddies moved in conjunction with each other. It was like watching a trio of fine-tuned mammalian machines expressing their joy at the freedom being awarded to them.

Devon mentally chuckled as he changed direction again and heard Isis and Rhahorus do the same to keep him in pouncing range. This was something he missed doing when he stayed at his apartment. Running free and playing with his pets. This mutual exercise was a combination of fun and exercise. It kept the instincts of Rhahorus and Isis at their peak and trained Devon to enhance his own extraneous senses. The darkness impeded his sight and forced the suspended Preventor to rely on his hearing, his smell, and his feel instead of just using his eyesight and sense of taste. Devon could feel the change in air pressure as it flowed across his skin as he ran. He could hear the synchronized breathing of his cats as they changed direction with him with a minimum of wasted movement, he could smell the sweat starting to roll of his body thus giving his pets another advantage in this chase.

Devon changed direction again and started a zigzag pattern back towards the house and felt the pounding feet of his cats change direction with him. Sensing a change in their location, the sniper knew that Isis and Rhahorus were ready to finish their playtime and let it devolve into their usual after exercise tussling. His senses weren't sharp enough to pick out which of his pets had split of from the trio but Devon knew that one of them had and closed his eyes to allow his other sense free reign to try and figure it out. It wasn't until he was almost back to the patio and felt the hundred plus pounds of pouncing black panther connect with his back was he able to tell which one had ambushed him. Rolling with the sudden addition of weight Devon dropped to the ground and tumbled over onto his back and saw that this time Isis had been the one to spring the ambush and knock him to the ground.

Devon laughed as Rhahorus ran up and, in an exceptional example of feline acrobatics, and added his weight to the pile of human and feline flesh and fur on the ground. Keeping his eyes open and rising to his knees, Devon stared at the two panthers as they crouched and prepared to pounce again. Isis was the first to jump in his direction and Devon met her playful attack head on as her weight collided with his chest and almost knocked the air from his lungs. Since hew as expecting it, Devon shook off the attack and wrapped his arms around the female panther and took her off her feet. Pinning her beneath his body, Devon leaned in and nipped at her neck with his teeth before letting go and allowing Isis to get away and set up for another attack.

Turning to face his older, wiser, bigger, and sneakier pet, Devon prepared for the rough housing he knew was coming his way. He almost didn't complete his turn when almost three hundred pounds of Black Panther smashed into his chest at a considerable rate of speed and bowled him over onto his back. Relaxing a bit as his back hit the ground; Devon used his abilities to turn the roll into a flip that brought him back to his knees. Rotating quickly to track Rhahorus, Devon grumbled good-naturedly as the dark fur of the cat allowed him to almost disappear into the darkness surrounding the house. Taking a deep breath, Devon chuckled and got to his feet so he could use his senses to search for his four-legged furry friend. Unbeknownst to Devon, he had an audience observing the antics between him and his pets.

Devon's sister Jordan stood by the window in the suite of rooms she shared with her older sister and watched as her brother and his two cats continued their play. The nineteen year old college beauty had woken up after experiencing a vivid nightmare that had her breathing hard and sweating bullets. Yanking the sheets off of her body, Jordan had gotten out of bed, donned her favorite robe and house shoes before going downstairs to get a glass of milk to help her get back to sleep. As she'd left the kitchen, Jordan had noticed that the sliding glass door had been opened but not fully closed when a gust of cold air blew into the house.

Confused and wary of a possible intruder, the fourth child of Leopold and Brianna Tanisius had found returned to her room and retrieved one of her suppressed .380 caliber pistols to protect herself and her sister if the intruder made it upstairs to the bedrooms. She'd been crossing in front of the window when she'd seen a flash of movement outside. Curious and wanting to identify the poor bastard who'd had the balls to break in and rob the colony's first family (much less even think about it), Jordan had gone over to her desk and opened the drawer where she remembered she had a pair of night vision binoculars (violently suppressing the memories of her using those binoculars to spy on her sister when she was younger).

Carrying the binoculars to the window, Jordan brought them up to her eyes and focused them on the action going on in the backyard. When the image appeared as bright as day in her eyepieces, Jordan gasped as she recognized her brother Devon as he ran around and played with his cats. Observing for a moment, the youngest Tanisius daughter sighed in happiness as she saw the look of pure bliss on his face. Mentally vowing to remember to play with her cheetah, Jordan entered Adrienne's room and walked over to the queen-sized bed where her big sister snored the remainder of the night away.

Knowing what would happen if she shook Adrienne awake (Adrienne was known for being quick on the trigger when awoken from a deep sleep), Jordan gently tapped her sister on the shoulder. An interrupted snore was her only response. Frowning at that response, Jordan tapped Adrienne's uncovered shoulder harder. The eldest Tanisius child just grunted and turned over onto the shoulder in question.

Gritting her teeth in sisterly frustration, Jordan clasped the other shoulder and squeezed while at the same time using her voice to let Adrienne know who it was attempting to wake her up.

"Addy. Addy wake up! Come on big sis wake up or you'll miss what's going on outside."

"Go 'way Jordan. An stop callin' me Addy! I thought I'd told ya a million times to quit shortening my name, Vicky!", growled Adrienne in her sleep.

Jordan glared at her sister for a minute before letting her binoculars hang from the strap around her neck and grabbing the comforter her sister was presently snuggled under and yanking it off the bed. Much to her embarrassment, Adrienne was sleeping in one of their mothers' almost not there nightgowns. Quickly jumping back from the mattress as her sister woke up and sleepily aimed a devastating punch in her direction, Jordan put her sister in a full nelson and waited for Adrienne to come to full wakefulness and stop struggling. When she did, she released her and stepped back as Adrienne climbed out of the bed with an angry expression on her sleep marred face.

"Jordan Victoria Tanisius, do you know what fucking time it is? After the day I had today I am dead tired and really wanted to get some sleep. You better have a good damn reason for waking me up at 3 in the morning.", growled Adrienne as she hastily tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes while casting a pain-promising glare at her younger sister.

To her credit, Jordan didn't flinch when the look was leveled in her direction. She just grabbed Adrienne's arm and pulled her to the window before handing her the binoculars. Adrienne looked dubiously from the object in her hands to her sister. Jordan saw the confused look and pointed out the window.

"Take a look Adrienne. I had a nightmare and woke up to get something to drink. As I was leaving the kitchen I noticed that the sliding glass door wasn't fully closed and the alarm system was off. I came upstairs and to grab a weapon. However, as I passed the window I caught a glimpse of movement outside and went to find my binoculars. You'll never believe what I saw outside. Now before you ask any questions, take a look outside.", pleaded Jordan quietly.

Grumbling to herself about fidgety sisters who can't allow their elder siblings to sleep, Adrienne put the binocs to her eyes and looked outside. It took her a minute to find what Jordan meant but when she did, Adrienne inhaled and exclaimed at the figure playing around outside. Letting the binocs drop and turning to Jordan, Adrienne asked her a breathless question.

"Is…..is that our brother Devon? Ohmigawd, he looks so…so…so…free and happy! I mean, just look at the smile on his face. It's as if a great weight has been lifted off of his shoulders!", exclaimed Adrienne as she turned back to the window.

"Yes, that is our brother. That's our Devon, the lost cub. Do you see how easily he's moving? Just look at his body, it flows with little wasted effort from one movement to another. It's like he actually is a panther.", answered Jordan as Adrienne nodded in agreement.

"It's just that…Damn! He is sooo fine. Now I see what the V.F.M. sees in him! When he's moving like that, Devon looks like an ebony god. Crap, I almost wish we weren't related right now!", growled Adrienne.

"I know, I feel the same way. Did you see how the women at church ogled him when Papa reintroduced him to the congregation? I was sure I saw their eyes light up with interest as Devon made his way to the pulpit. Damn and a lot of those women are the biggest gossips on the colony!"

"Shit that means that every single woman on the colony eighteen and over will be stopping by the house while he's here! Still, he looks like he's at peace with himself and he sure looks like he's having fun, doesn't he, Jordan?"

"Yeah, I already promised myself that I would get to know my cheetah as well as he knows his panthers. I want that kind of bond.", replied Jordan as she crossed her arms and leaned against the window frame while watching the movements of the trio outside.

Adrienne nodded to herself as she pressed her forehead against the cold pane of glass. With the binoculars to her eyes, she could see that her brother was wearing only a short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. This was a moment she wanted to catch on film to cherish forever. Making a decision, Adrienne handed the binoculars to her sister and left their suite of rooms. Jordan looked in askance as Adrienne headed down the hallway to the master bedroom. Shrugging her shoulders and returning her attention to the trio frolicking outside in the snow, she pushed the thoughts of what could possibly happen to her sister out of her mind.

Down the hall in front of the master bedroom, Adrienne took a deep breath. She knew that what she was about to do could get her in serious trouble with her parents but she decided that the pros about waking her parents up to see their son outweighed the cons of waking the patriarch and matriarch of the family up from a deep sleep. Taking the door knob in her hand and slowly twisting it and opening the door, the eldest daughter of the clan stepped into the massive master bedroom and padded over to the king sized bed where her parents slept on soundless feet. Deciding to wake her father up first, Adrienne went to his side of the bed and placed a hand on his shoulder. Adrienne knew that if she attempted to wake up her mother first, it wouldn't go well. At least with her father awake, he could keep her mother from sleepily lashing out with the always sharp stiletto Adrienne knew she kept under her pillow.

"Daddy, wake up daddy.", Adrienne called while trying to roust her sleeping father.

Leopold Tanisius had been having a good dream until he felt himself being shaken. Opening his eyes, the former assassin allowed them to adjust to the darkness as he looked around trying to pinpoint the source of the shaking and the voice he was hearing in his ear. Feeling a weight on his chest, Leo looked down and saw that his wife was happily snoozing away as she pillowed her head in its usual spot. Looking around to see the interloper, Leo turned his head to the right and saw his eldest child standing next to the bed.

"Adrienne do you know what time it is and what will happen if you wake up your mother now? What is it you want?", complained Leo as he sat up.

"Dad, I'm sorry for waking you up. There's something I wanna show you outside.", stated Adrienne while looking at the floor.

Leo sighed as he saw his daughter hang her head. Wondering what it was that would cause her to wake him, the fifty-six year old head of the family started to reach behind the headrest for what he kept on the floor back there but stopped when Adrienne shook her head and told him he wouldn't need it.

"Leave whatever it is you have hidden there dad, you won't need it. You might want to get your camera though."

"Hmmm? Camera, why would I need a camera?"

"Devon's outside playing with his cats and he has such a carefree expression on his face that I thought you'd want to see."

Leo lifted an eyebrow at that and decided that this would be worth a look. Gently lifting Brianna's head from where it rested on his chest, he laid it on the stack of pillow his wife usually slept on. Turning back to face his daughter, Leo-now able to fully see what she was wearing-lifted quirked an eyebrow at her attire. Adrienne saw the tick and had the wherewithal to look sheepish. Shaking his leonine head and muttering something not quite too complimentary, Leopold climbed out of bed and headed for the enormous window. Behind him, Adrienne whirled around in embarrassment as she realized the main reason why her father had been in such a deep sleep.

Ignoring the hastily muttered apologies from his daughter, Leo looked outside and gazed at the antics of Devon and his pets. Behind him, Adrienne saw a soft smile appear on his face that she remembered from times past. Deciding to take the better part of valor and quietly exit the den of her parents, Adrienne started to slowly back away only to come to a stop when a familiar and somewhat menacing (in Adrienne's mind) sound floated to her ears. Wincing and turning her attention to the figure of her mother stretched out on the bed, Adrienne was demoralized to see a pair of soft green eyes staring intently at the nightgown she was wearing.

"There are two things I want to know right now before you take another step towards that door, young lady. First, what are you doing in my room this early in the morning? And second, why are you wearing one of my nightgowns?", came the voice of Brianna Etienne Tanisius in a tone that Adrienne knew all too well.

Adrienne sighed in resignation before explaining her reason for wearing one of her mother's nightgowns. The entire time she was giving her explanation, the twenty-five year old businesswoman and assassin remained well out of the reach of her predecessor; Brianna 'The Lioness' Tanisius.

Within twenty minutes of the short discussion between mother and daughter, the entire Tanisius household was awake (with two notable exceptions).

While their Aunt Adrienne was explaining her choice of night attire to their grandmother (and then again to their great grandmother who definitely wasn't happy about being woken up by Adrienne wearing one of Brianna's nightgowns), Silesia and Millennia Tanisius (nee Wildstar) happily dreamt the night away.

After a brisk two hours of playing with his cats, Devon reentered the house. As he closed and relocked the sliding glass door and reset the security system, Devon became aware that he was being observed from the staircase. Turning around to face his observers, the twenty-one year old sniper was startled when a bright flash temporarily lit the room up. Blinking his eyes to clear the after images, Devon started to swear until he saw the reason for the flash. Standing on the staircase with a camera in his hands was the patriarch of the clan. Leo grinned at Devon as he wound the camera again and prepared to snap another photo.

"Awww dad, you brought the camera out. Come on, I still don't like being the subject in a picture. Can you put the camera away please?", grumbled Devon as he headed for the stairs.

"You can blame your sisters for this one, son. If you didn't like being in pictures you shouldn't have gotten up to frolic in the snow with your pets. Jordan saw that you had left the door open slightly when she came downstairs to get a drink. She reacted like a true Tanisius and went looking for a weapon until she looked out the window and saw you. She woke up Adrienne to show her the scene. Adrienne came and woke me up a few minutes later. Of course, Adrienne being Adrienne, your sister couldn't escape from the master bedroom when my dear wife woke up and questioned your sister about her reason for being in the master bedroom at this time in the morning and having the chutzpah to be wearing one of your mother's nightgowns. I hate to think about what your grandmother had to say about that.", retorted Leo as he took another picture before starting back up the stairs.

"Oh great, Adrienne getting talked to by grandmother after waking her up in the morning does not bode well for me. I might as well stay down here and sleep."

Leo laughed at his son's statement before looking back down the stairs.

"Don't worry about it, son. Everyone's returned to bed for now. After watching your actions for the past hour or so, they were exhausted and returned to dreamland. I'm still up because I just had to get those pictures for the family album. I got some good video of your actions as well: especially when Isis caught you by surprise while you were tussling with Rhahorus shortly before you tripped over your own feet. Oh, I bet everyone's gonna enjoy watching that tumble over and over again.", teased Leopold before he vanished as he neared the top of the stairs.

Devon grumbled a bit more before shrugging his shoulders in resignation and heading into the kitchen to partake of an ice cold glass of water to quell the flash of embarrassment warmth he felt spreading through his body. Once he was finished with his drink, the young man headed for his room where he had his second laptop open to his email account. Seeing that Sylvia had sent him an email with several attachments, Devon opened it up to read the message. He stopped midway through the letter when the first attached photos finished loading. A lifted eyebrow was his only visible reaction to the risqué pictures until he grabbed his headset and plugged it into the data-transfer port on the side of the laptop case and hurriedly dialed Sylvia's direct number at Noventa Manor. After a few heart wrenching moments punctuated by a change in his breathing patterns as he scrolled through the remaining photos, his call was answered. From the awareness in Sylvia's voice, Devon knew she'd been expecting his call around this time.

"Hello."

"Hello my dark sniper lover-man! By the rapid intake of breath and the fact that it is quite early in the morning wherever you are, I take it that you just got the email and are seeing the picture 'essay' I emailed you.", came the coquettish voice of his lover from Noventa Manor.

Devon nearly choked on his words as he scrolled through the next series of photos that exposed how extremely 'limber' the Thirteenth Noventa Baroness was much to her amusement. When he got his voice back, Devon surmised that Sylvia had gone Christmas shopping and bought herself a few new 'outfits' to tempt him with when he returned home. Sylvia had admitted that she had gone shopping but said that she'd gone with her grandmother whose sense of style was a bit eclectic. Sylvia also stated that The Eleventh Baroness of the Noventa Barony was responsible for the more risqué items in Sylvia's boudoir.

"Oh yeah, we ran into both of the Peacecraft Princesses while we were out. And Noin parted with the most closely guarded secret among Peacecraft Palace. This secret is so secret neither Zechs nor Heero know it. Even that grandmaster prankster Duo Maxwell is in the dark about this.", Sylvia said excitedly.

Devon, who had guessed the secret awhile back, took the bait.

"Really, what is this super top secret, secret that the princess is keeping from her husband and brother-in-law? Is it the secret that she's pregnant?", replied Devon.

He grinned as he recognized Sylvia's audible pout on the other end of the line. He could tell she wanted to be the one to break the news to him. When she asked how in the hell did he know the secret when nobody else (not even her sister-in-law) knew, Devon could only give an answer that sounded comedic.

"Elementary my dear Vice Foreign Minister, Elementary!"

"Smartass!", retorted Sylvia.

"It was actually fairly easy to figure out once you get right down to it. You'll kick yourself for not noticing earlier. Princess Lucrezia has been canceling a lot of personal appearances lately. If one were naturally curious and liked to dig into stuff to find things out, he or she would have seen that the majority of the appearances Noin canceled were ones where she would've been standing and giving a speech or where she would be appearing on days when Dr. Po was busy. I've also noticed that the bold style she was known for during the First Gundam War is not as prevalent as it once was. I put two and two together and figured that she had something to hide. I just ran down my mental list of what it could possibly be and came up with the strongest possibility.", replied Devon as he leaned back against the headboard.

Sylvia fumed at her boyfriend's sense of reasoning while she gave a catlike stretch across her queen-sized bed. She wasn't particularly fond of his occasional superior attitude when he figured something out before she did. It happened a lot when they were able to go out to the movies as a couple (he wearing his 'Ivan Wildstar' eye-patch to keep up the farce that she was dating the reclusive multi-billionaire businessman who was rarely in town) and she couldn't figure the plot of the movie until near the end of the show. Devon usually figured it out within the first forty-five minutes.

Looking at the screen of her laptop and noticing that her beloved had yet to activate the visual part of the program, Sylvia sighed. She was wearing one of her new purchases and wanted to see his reaction to it. This outfit was the most revealing of the ones she bought the other day as a Christmas present to herself (the outfit in question was so revealing that her grandmother had gotten old-fashioned and almost banned her successor to the Noventa Barony from ever wearing it).

On his family's colony, Devon heard Sylvia's sigh and wondered what caused it. Gazing out the window, the sniper caught sight of the flashing red light that indicated that the other party had activated the visual feed from their end of the connection. Activating his own feed, Devon returned his gaze to the window. It took a few seconds for the activated visual feed to appear on his screen so he figured that he could finish his stargazing before seeing his girlfriend in the flesh (okay not 'in the flesh per se' but you get the idea). However, when he returned his attention to the screen, all thoughts about stargazing or anything else fled from his mind to be replaced by his more primal thoughts. Namely, wishing she were here now and how quick he could get her out of the outfit she was wearing; or to be more precise, how quickly he could get her out of the filmy little nothing scrap of materials covering her treasures. The semi-transparent scraps of fabric could be called an outfit in the broadest (the very broadest) stretch of the definition.

Sylvia saw Devon's eyes go wide; wider than she'd ever seen them go before and his breathing noticeably changed. She rejoiced in the effect she and her…outfit had on the young sniper.

"Do you like?", Sylvia asked coyly.

For some odd reason it seemed that his throat had tightened up and was preventing him from speaking. All Devon could do was nod, which he did quite vigorously, much to Sylvia's amusement. Her delicate peal of laughter rang out over the line and he could feel the heat rushing to his face again. Knowing that with his light brown skin, he was partial to the occasional blush, Devon ducked his head down to hide his flushed cheeks and the telltale splash of dusky red that suddenly appeared.

"I could tell what you were thinking just then, my love. And I can say, I don't blame you a bit! Just wait till our vacation. When we aren't out hunting, I have several ideas about how we can spend the time and the outfits to go with the time we plan to spend together.", teased Sylvia again as she took a deep breath and stretched her arms over her head knowing what it would do to him.

"Dammit, she's doing this to me on purpose. She knows she's doing it and she couldn't care less. If she and that…outfit of hers were here right now, I'd be lost. Hell, she's several thousand miles away and I'm still lost. Right now with her dressed like that, I want to be there rather than here. I want to be there extricating her out of the flimsy little nothing and ravishing her body till we both were exhausted!", thought Devon as his imagination ran wild with what he could be doing at that very moment if he was at Noventa Manor or she was on the colony.

Sylvia watched with rapt fascination as her boyfriends' triple x-rated thoughts fled across his face at the speed of light. She was about to comment more on his apparent distraction when her ears detected the soft sound of footsteps approaching her room. Recognizing the steps as those of her cousin Dyane, Sylvia swore sulpheriously under her breath. She did not want her cousin finding out about the relationship between her and the sniper. Dyane was still nursing her crush on the young man and if she tumbled to the fact that her cousin was intimately involved with her crush, she would do everything she could to break it up and take Devon for herself and there was no way in the deepest, darkest levels of hell Sylvia was going to let anyone take her man away from her.

"Devon, honey; I have to go for now. My cousin Dyane is snooping around the manor trying to find out about my personal life again. I don't want her finding out about us right now, maybe when she's mature enough to accept it and not get pissed off at me.", stated Sylvia as she leaned against the headboard of her bed.

"I understand, Sylvia. It would be better for her to find out later. From what you've told me about your cousin, she seems like quite the vindictive little vixen and who knows what she'd pull if she found out about us."

"Yeah, besides its getting late and I'm still recovering from The Annual Noventa Manor Christmas Ball my grandmother throws every year. I'll talk to you later and see you when you get home. I love you, Devon. Goodnight.", Sylvia said earnestly.

"Goodnight love. Go ahead and get your rest and I'll call again soon. Love you too and Merry Christmas.", replied Devon absently.

Sylvia's breath caught in her throat. Did her beloved sniper man actually say what she'd been waiting to hear for the past few months? Those three little words that gave her pleasant dreams and made her tingle all over when she spoke them aloud.

"He did say 'love you too' did he? Even if it was a bit apathetic, he still did say those words I've been waiting so long to hear? What'll I do, what'll I say, what should I do now that I've heard those words from him. Should I play it off as if I didn't hear them or should I bring them to his attention?", Sylvia thought frantically as she gazed at the computer image of her beloved.

Shaking herself out of her verbally induced trance she'd put herself into after hearing those words, Sylvia returned Devon's wishes before disconnecting the line. Shutting down her laptop's communications program, Sylvia opened up another screen that displayed her non-official email messages and was ready when her cousin knocked on her door.

"Come in, Dyane. The door's open."

"Thanks, Sylvia."

"What brings you around this late at night? You're usually asleep by now."

"I couldn't sleep and was just sitting in the family room thinking."

Sylvia nodded as she sat back and waited for her cousin to get around to what brought her up her in the first place. She believed she had an inkling of what Dyane wanted to talk about but decided to wait and let her cousin get around to broaching the subject.

Back on his family's colony, Devon thought back to his conversation with Sylvia and wondered about the little hitch in her throat she had before she ended the conversation and disconnected. It took him a few minutes to replay the last parts of the conversation in his head before he realized what she was reacting too. When it became apparent to him, Devon blanched and his imagination went rampant with the myriad of images of the effect those three words could have on their relationship.

"Do I or do I not love her? I just don't know. I know she loves me as many times as she's told me that since we've been involved. Ah great, this'll bother me for the rest of the night. Screw it, I'll talk to dad and Owen tomorrow about this situation and see what they say.", muttered Devon as he shut down his laptop and stripped off his sweat pants.

Climbing out of bed and walking across the room to grab a pair of shorts and turn out the light, Devon felt the return of his tiredness and yawned. Checking the clock and seeing that it was nearing six in the morning, Devon hoped that somebody in his family would be awake to handle his daughters when they woke up. He figured that after how busy it had been on Christmas Day, the family would want to do nothing but relax and stay at home so as to enjoy the closeness of family for a bit before allowing family friends and extended family members to visit their home for the eventual after Christmas Family Reunion.

Closing his eyes as laying his head on the pillows after putting his glasses on the nightstand, Devon wondered how he would react to the site of seeing all of the cousins he remembered from before his kidnapping and how they would react to seeing him. He was both looking forward to the meetings and dreading them. Devon was also worried about how the rest of the extended Tanisius Family would take to his daughters. He hadn't been happy with some of the reactions from some of the family members he saw at church but had put them out of his mind. Now those worries came back with a great ferocity and he hoped that Silesia and Millennia bowled over their possible detractors with their politeness and their abilities. Devon could guess that Adrienne, as acting head of the family business, was already devising positions in the company when her nieces were old enough to get part-time jobs. Of course, Devon (as Ivan Wildstar) already had them listed as project managers with his company Wildstar Technologies Unlimited. And with those thoughts rampaging through his mind, Devon let the comforting arms of Mr. Sandman take him away to dreamland.

Eventually, as with all good things, the week and a half long vacation with their family came to an end and Devon, Silesia, and Millennia found themselves reboarding the Tanisius Security Technologies LTD Executive Shuttle that had carried them to the colony. With its holds full of Christmas gifts from their family as well as some of those who lived on the colony, bystanders could see that the shuttle sat heavily on its landing gear.

Devon gazed at the shuttle while standing with his parents and watching his siblings as they said their goodbyes to their nieces; outwardly he was looking calm and enjoying the touching scene while inwardly his mind was running through all of the calculations he would need to pilot the fully loaded shuttle back to Earth. It was going to take a masterful touch to lift off from the shuttleports' runway and maneuver through the airlock into space. Finishing his mental calculations just as his sister walked up, Devon caught the knowing smirk on her face and sighed.

The morning after Christmas the family had been sitting down for brunch when the doorbell rang. Adrienne had left the dining room to answer the bell and had returned with a smirk of superiority on her face. When he saw her smug look focusing in his direction, Devon had felt slightly uncomfortable as he cut another piece from his omelet with his fork and eaten it. When asked who was at the door, Adrienne had answered that it was one of the single women on the colony asking if 'Master Devon' was available for a friendly get together celebrating his return to the colony later. Brianna had given Devon a look that spoke wonders before sighing and returning her attention to her plate.

Before his grandmother could even look in his direction from her position at the other end of the breakfast table, Devon had hurriedly risen from his seat and gone to see his guest. When he followed Adrienne into the other room to greet the guest, Devon had stopped cold. At that point he knew that Adrienne was going to start her 'protective older sister' scheming. All he could do was gaze at Adrienne with a look of intense displeasure. Of course Adrienne didn't acknowledge his gaze and continued looking as innocent as an angel (the Tanisius sisters had-somehow- picked up the look of complete innocent from their mother).

In addition to the one woman, Adrienne had conveniently neglected to inform her brother that there were an additional fourteen young women in his age bracket vying for his undivided attention.

When Devon had brought this up, the family reactions had been unexpected. Owen had cursed, Morgan had looked as if he wanted to hide, and Jordan laughed uproariously while his parents and grandmother had studiously ignored his bleats of outrage. Millennia and her sister didn't know what to make of the situation so they just cast confused glances around the table before returning their attention to their plates.

Grandmother Brianna sure knew how to make the best waffles ever.

Standing on the tarmac, Devon choked back a chuckle as he remembered the attempts by the women of the colony to get his attention. A few enterprising young ladies (with help, he suspected, from his sisters) had managed to make their way into the off-limits part of the family home where they were caught by his mother and grandmother. Jordan and Adrienne expressed their innocence (of course) in 'assisting' the perpetrators when confronted about it by their brother after the house had been cleared.

"Adrienne I know that either you or Jordan were the ones who let those women in the house the other night", commented Devon as his sister walked up to him as he stood next to their parents.

"Who me; I wouldn't do something like that dear brother. I know that my darling younger sister wouldn't do anything like that either.", Adrienne replied in a faux innocent voice.

Devon sighed as his 'dear sister' again denied having anything to do with the events of that night before returning his attention to his daughters as they chatted with the new friends they'd made on the colony. The sniper narrowed his eyes behind his ever-present glasses as he watched as some of the participants in that night's activities discussed him with his daughters. He thought he had made it clear to the women that his daughters were off-limits in their futile pursuit of him. Devon started to storm over in the direction of the scheming women when he felt something on his shoulder. Looking back, Devon saw that his mother had placed a hand there to arrest his movement. Knowing that if he attempted to continue his motions, the deceptive strength that lay hidden in his mothers' svelte and petite form would come to the fore and in addition to a heavy load, Devon would have a bruised shoulder to deal with while piloting the shuttle home.

"Let it go, Devon. They must know that they're attempts to convince Silesia and Millennia to talk about you will be futile. They're just saving face in front of the others. Besides, if you'd observe the proceedings a bit before acting, you'd see that those women are just expressing their hope that your twins return to the colony so they could give them a more in-depth tour of the place.", commented Brianna as she felt the tension bubbling just beneath the surface of his skin.

"Alright mom, I'll let it drop this once but if I find out from Silesia and Millennia that those women had more than just a passing interest in them, they will pay for it."

"You don't worry your pretty little head about that. Your grandmother and I will make sure that the conversation doesn't change from the subject at hand. Are you going to let the twins come here for their Spring Break?"

"Yes. I might as well. They like it here and if they spent it at home on Earth, there would be no end to the press camping out in my yard and watching how the two of them interact with Vice Foreign Minister Noventa.", answered Devon.

"Not to mention that it would give Baroness Sylvia and yourself some privacy.", teased Leo as he rubbed his son's head with a massive palm.

"Oh fer cryin' out loud Dad, our relationship isn't like that!", exclaimed Devon as he felt the familiar burn of embarrassment.

"Oh, it isn't? Then something's not right. The V.F.M. is attractive and powerful. And she comes from one of the more prominent families of the old Romafeller Foundation. She's also in line to become the next Noventa Baroness when her grandmother, Baroness Sophia Ophelia Noventa either steps down or, god forbid, passes away. It would be a marriage greater than the Catalonia-Winner marriage, the scion of the Noventa Family marrying the middle son of the First Family of Assassination. Son, don't let her go. Baroness Sylvia Rene Noelle Noventa is very beautiful. If I remember correctly, Noventa is one of the Twenty-Five most beautiful women in the Earth Sphere United Nation. However, let me change the subject before something happens. Your mother isn't looking happy right now.", replied Leopold as he saw the glint of anger in his wife's green eyes.

Devon laughed as he watched his father suffer from a storm of blows from h is mother as she reminded her husband that his occasional teasing comments weren't greatly appreciated at the moment. The sniper noticed that even though Brianna had pulled some of her punches, his father still winced whenever he felt a punch that wasn't pulled. When all the hilarity died down, Devon noticed that Adrienne was no longer standing nearby. Looking around the area, he spotted his older sister embracing a young man a few yards away.

"Hmm, oh that must be her fiancé, I haven't met him yet. He didn't show up at the house at all while I was here. Even when mom and dad invited a lot of the population over to the house for a bit a couple days after Christmas.", thought Devon as he started to make his way in the direction of the embracing couple.

Behind their son, Leopold and Brianna watched as he headed in Adrienne' direction. Like Devon, they too had wondered why the young man hadn't put in an appearance at the house to meet Devon and his daughters. It was unlike him. Adrienne's fiancé usually made it up to the house once or twice a week. Casting concerned looks at each other, the two proud parents observed the developing interplay.

Oblivious to the approach of her younger brother, Adrienne leaned further into the kiss her fiancé was giving her. Now that her brother had been found, the plans for her marriage to her fiancé could go forward to its culmination. In his arms, Adrienne could feel the relief he had felt since she'd called him while she was at the office on Christmas Day and informed them that she'd found her missing younger brother and that he was presently on the colony.

Pulling away from the warmth of his lips, Adrienne shivered when she felt her fiancé's roaming hands grab and squeeze her ass. She was used to that and loved it when the strong hands of her fiancé gave her a massage. Adrienne's happiness was interrupted by the discreet clearing of a throat and a familiar voice.

"Pardon me, but I don't believe I've met you yet. I'm Devon Tanisius, Adrienne's younger brother. Who are you?", said Devon.

Adrienne could hear the slight hostility in Devon's voice as she whirled around to face him. When she faced her brother fully, she couldn't see the emotion flashing in his bespectacled eyes. Feeling her fiancé grip her hand tighter, the head of Tanisius Security Technologies LTD's planet bound headquarters gently extricated her hand from his after giving it a slight squeeze.

"I'm sorry Devon. I forgot to introduce you. This is my fiancé, Xavier Barkley. He's one of the department heads for the family business here on the colony and works under mom and dad on occasion. Xavier, this is my younger brother Devon Tanisius. Xavier, Devon is a Preventor Agent on Earth and occasionally instructs at the Preventors Academy.", squeaked Adrienne.

Devon gazed unflinchingly at the man who was engaged to h is sister while extending his hand. When he saw that his gaze subtly unnerved the other man, Devon felt that he had accomplished something. Shaking Xavier's hand Devon told his soon to be brother in law that it was nice to meet him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Tanisius. Since Adrienne and I have been dating, she used to talk about you all the time. It got to the point where I was wondering if I would have to compete with you for her affections for the rest of our lives.", responded Xavier in an unbelievingly annoying tenor.

Devon just nodded at let the man ramble on for a few more moments before politely cutting him off with a nod. Extracting his hand Devon turned to his sister and smiled. However, Adrienne could tell that it wasn't one of Devon's genuine smiles. It was more of a half smile that didn't reach Devon's eyes. That look put Adrienne on guard and she wondered what caught Devon's disapproval. Shaking her head, Adrienne told herself not to worry about it right now. She didn't care what Devon thought. Xavier was her fiancé and come hell or high water, she was going to marry him.

"Congratulations Adrienne. He seems like a nice guy. It looks like you have a good man there, sister dear. I'm happy for you.", commented Devon as he gave his sister a hug.

Hearing the not so hidden disapproval in her brother's voice, Adrienne let it slide and accepted the hug in the spirit it was given while thanking her brother for his kind words. Stepping back from her brother, Adrienne watched as Devon turned to her fiancé and leaned in closer to him as if to pass on a men-only secret.

Devon leaned in and beckoned to Xavier. When the other man had leaned in far enough so that the words he was about to speak weren't heard by his sister, Devon quietly spoke.

"Next time I catch you squeezing my sisters' ass at a family gathering, I will not hesitate to deal with you in a manner most befitting your lapse in good judgment. Don't let it happen again. Do we understand each other?", Devon stated while exerting an astounding amount of painful pressure on the man's hand.

Devon saw Xavier wince and released the pressure. It wouldn't do to have Adrienne pissed off at him for breaking her fiancé's hand Seeing Xavier trying to mask his pain under a smile, Devon let go and stepped back from the other man. Seeing Xavier's subtle nod of understanding, Devon shifted his attention to his watch and saw that it was nearing the departure time for his daughters and himself. Calling the twins over from where they were standing with their Uncle Morgan and chatting with his friends, Devon informed them that it was time for them to board the shuttle. They dilly-dallied for a bit before acceding to his wishes and scampering up the shuttles' boarding stairs after hugging their grandparents, great-grandmother, and all of their uncles and aunts good bye.

Devon watched the pair climb the stairs until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Swinging his head to look, he saw that it was one of the ground crewmen who had helped with the loading of the shuttle. In his hands were the ends of the two leashes keeping his pair of panthers from running amok around the shuttleport. Behind him, Devon heard the crowd of well-wishers express their astonishment at the diamond studded collars gracing the necks of Rhahorus and Isis. Accepting the leashes from the young man, Devon turned to his parents to say his goodbyes but the words caught in his throat as he witnessed the tears Brianna refused to shed glinting in the corner of her proud eyes. Feeling the firm hand of his father on his shoulder, Devon turned to Leo and saw that his parents understood what he wanted to say but couldn't.

"Don't worry about it son. We'll see you again, either here on the colony or on Earth. Even if your mother and grandmother can't say it, all of us are proud of you. We're thankful that you're alive and well and have a successful life. We are also proud of the responsibility you assigned yourself in taking care of our granddaughters. You've done a good job with them. You and they are the future of this family, as are your sisters and brothers. Take care and we'll see you in a couple of months for Adrienne's wedding. Have a safe trip son.", stated Leopold.

"Don't forget to call us when you land, Devon. We'll be waiting for it. And we expect you to keep an eye on Morgan as he studies at the St. Gabriel's Institute. If he needs a good swift kick in the butt because of his grades, I expect you'll take care of that.", added Brianna as she gave her son a hug.

"I'll take care of that when it's needed mom. Thanks for those words dad. I will call when we land back on Earth."

"You'd better or I'm gonna take the first shuttle to Earth and reprimand you for forgetting.", growled Gwendolyn as she embraced her prodigal grandson.

Devon nodded and stepped back. After exchanging a few words with his siblings and telling Morgan he'd be there to meet him when he returned to school from Christmas vacation, Devon started climbing the shuttle's boarding stairs. Once he was in the door of the cabin airlock, Devon turned around and faced his family. Behind them, the sniper could see the colony's police force keeping the populace back from the family as they stood at the bottom of the steps, allowing them this moment of family time.

Releasing Isis and Rhahorus into the cabin, Devon called Silesia and Millennia over to the hatch. Together the three of them waved to their family and the crowd there to witness their departure. As they waved, the father and daughters heard a loud cheer given by the crowd. Then with one last smile and wave, Devon entered the shuttle and closed the hatch.

"Alright you two get Rhahorus and Isis settled in. It's going to be a long flight home. Once those two are situated, come on up to the flight deck. Just this once I'll let the two of you experience a shuttle takeoff from up here. However, once we're through the airlock and out in space, the two of you have to return to your seats in the cabin. Is that understood?", stated Devon as he busied himself with checking his instruments.

"Yes father. We understand.", replied the twins.

Outside the shuttle, Brianna and Leopold moved their family over to one of the electric trucks that rumbled around the shuttleport. As Devon taxied the shuttle towards the runway, they were going to take the truck over to airlock and watch as Devon made the transition from the atmosphere of the colony to the vacuum of space. It was only a few minutes before the family had to don ear protection as Devon started the engines on the shuttle.

Inside the shuttle, Devon was in contact with the tower. In the tower was the same man who'd been on duty when he landed.

"Tanisius Colony Control, this is T.S.T Limited Executive Shuttle Three Alpha requesting clearance to taxi for launch."

"T.S.T Shuttle Three Alpha, This is Colony Control. You're cleared to taxi out of Sector One-Zulu to runway Three-Four Left. Once on runway Three-Four Left, you are cleared for takeoff and departure through Airlock Echo."

"Copy that Colony Control. Shuttle Three Alpha cleared out of Sector One-Zulu to runway Three-Four Left. Once on runway, Shuttle Three Alpha cleared for take-off and departure through airlock Echo, Three Alpha copies. Colony Control, thanks for the service and we'll see you next time."

"Three Alpha; you're welcome. It's our job here to make sure your trip is a pleasant one. Have a safe trip and we'll see you in a few months. Tanisius Colony Control out."

"T.S.T. Shuttle Three Alpha out.", replied Devon as he pushed the shuttles throttles to minimum power to get the shuttle moving.

On the ramp, the Tanisius Family and almost every resident on the colony watched as the decoratively painted shuttle moved along the taxiway in its slow and stately manner. When it reached the end of the taxiway and turned on to the active runway, the shuttle stopped for a moment. The crowd cheered as the shuttle pilot caused the streamlined spacecraft to bob on its nose gear as if bowing. Once the extraneous movement had stopped, four shuttleport fire engines pulled up on each side of the runway. In the cockpit, Devon arched an eyebrow in confusion as he wondered what the fire engines were for. Putting it out of his mind, the Preventor sniper pushed the throttles forward to the stops and released the brakes.

With the brakes released the shuttle started moving down the runway, picking up speed with each passing second. Aboard the number one fire engine, the chief of the colony fire department waited for the right moment. When it came, he activated his radio handset and barked out a series of orders.

With one eye on his airspeed indicator and one eye on the runway, Devon was a bit startled to see a watery mist appear in front of him. It took him a second to realize what it was and when he did, the sniper figured out why the fire engines were there. Going along with the show, Devon flipped on all of the shuttles running lights for the gathered crowd. The effect was so breathtaking that the crowd ceased their cheering for a moment to watch as the brightly lit shuttle thundered down the runway and through the curtain of illuminated water being thrown forth by the high pressure water washdown nozzles situated on the tops of the fire engines and manned by the firemen.

Over in the family gathering, Leopold M. Tanisius glowed with fatherly pride His once prodigal son was receiving the honor he should have been afforded when he landed two weeks previously. The colony residents were celebrating the fact that their 'ruling family' was complete once again.

Out of the corner of his left eye, Leo could see the tears of pride running down the faces of his mother, wife, and daughters. Even though Devon was leaving them again, he and his daughters would be back.

"And when the three of them return, the turnout for that celebration will far outweigh the turnout for his departure. I vow today on the healed souls of my family that when Devon, Silesia, and Millennia return here, I will have the entire colony on hand to great them. Even if I have to declare that day a holiday.", the patriarch of the Tanisius Clan mentally promised.

Leopold returned his attention to the departing shuttle as it glittered and gleamed in the mist with all its lights ablaze in time to see the shuttle's nose gear start to lift off from the runway and to hear a loud 'hurrah' from the crowd. When the main gear of the shuttle followed suit and lifted off the steel tarmac, Leopold made sure that his voice was heard over everyone else's as he led his family and the crowd in three cheers.

As the shuttle started to disappear into the airlock, many in the crowd broke away and ran over to the large transparent plastisteel windows to catch a glimpse of the Tanisius Security Technologies Limited Executive Shuttle Three Alpha transition from the airlock into the cold vacuum of space for its transit back to Earth. Many in the crowd hoped, wished, and prayed that Shuttle Three Alpha did its duty and carried the second son of the second wealthiest family in the Earth Sphere United Nation and his burgeoning family home safely. Those residents prayed that in a few months time, T.S.T. Limited Executive Shuttle Three Alpha would retrace its flight path and bring the twenty-one year old heir and his eleven year old mismatched adopted twin daughters back to the colony to participate in and celebrate the nuptials of the eldest Tanisius child.

Aboard the shuttle, Devon attended to his instruments and set up his autopilot to perform the calculations that would give itself the correct flight paths to navigate for Earth. Knowing it would take several hours before the family to even reach Earth orbit, Devon rose from his seat and headed back into the cabin. He wanted to spend some time with his daughters before they went to sleep. Entering the main cabin, he saw that the twins were splitting their attention between the sight of the colony owned by their adopted family outside the viewport and the entertainment center where the first information disc about their family played. Their Grandmother wanted Silesia and Millennia to come up to speed on the traditions and heritage of their new family as well as learn about their new cousins. Brianna had figured that Devon had given the twins the benefit of his knowledge but some of that knowledge was seriously outdated.

Deciding not to bother the twins, Devon entered the galley to prepare a quick meal to replenish the energy spent during the impromptu festival brought about by their impending departure. Retrieving his chosen ingredients from the restocked larder, Devon stepped over to a counter and started putting together a trio of deli-style sandwiches for them to eat. They'd had a light breakfast with their relatives that morning. Finishing the hoagies, he turned his attention to preparing a salad. Once the food was prepared, Devon carried the three plates over to a table and deposited the plates accordingly. Going back into the galley, Devon reached back into the refrigerator, grabbed the sealed carafe of orange juice, and filled three tall glasses before replacing the juice and returning to the table. Once the glasses were situated, Devon reentered the galley and stepped over to the sink to wash his hands. Drying them on a handy towel (with the Tanisius Security Technologies, Limited logo embroidered on it), Devon headed for his seat.

"Silesia, Millennia come to the table. Time to eat.", Devon called to the twins as he sat down.

The two preteens paused the video they were watching and turned their attention away from the viewport as the colony disappeared behind the shuttle and entered the small dining area. Once through the door, they took their seats at the table. Before they got comfortable, their father gave them a familiar look. It took them a second to realize what the look meant but when they did; they went and washed their own hands. They returned to the table and saw the unspoken praise their father gave them before he returned to his sandwich.

As they ate, the conversation casually drifted between them. Devon was mostly listening as his daughters expressed their interest and excitement at some of the sights they'd seen on the colony and wondered why he hadn't mentioned it to them before. He replied by saying that it had been a long time since he was last on the colony and couldn't remember it well enough to describe it. Although he did remember a good deal more than he gave himself credit for. When the food was finished and the dishes had been taken care of, the three returned to the cabin and sat down to watch another disk about the colony.

Devon watched for a bit before telling the girls he had to return to the controls. As he turned to go, his youngest adopted daughter asked him a question.

"Dad, I know that when we make it back to Earth it is going to be fairly late at night and you're going to be too tired to drive back home but I'm wondering what we're going to do. Are we going over to Wildstar Tower and spend the remainder of the night there?", asked Millennia.

"I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing and in most cases you'd be right. However, tonight we're not going to be staying at the apartment in Wildstar Tower, I've made arrangements to stay somewhere else tonight. I'm not going to tell you where, though. It'll be a surprise.", teased Devon as he entered the cockpit.

Millennia frowned as she realized that her father had given her one of his evasive answers and cast a look at her older sister. She saw that Silesia had caught the same vibe as she had and had figured out that their father again wanted them to figure his answer out. It was a game they played before and usually they enjoyed it. In fact these verbal jousting games where their father would evade the question were extremely fun and did forced the twins to think and figure out what their father wasn't saying. Usually they figured it out, but sometimes they had problems getting to the answer their father wanted. They didn't realize it but that familial jousting had brought the level of their reasoning skills up to the level of college sophomores. All of their professors at St. Gabriel's were extremely impressed with their ability to figure out correct answers to some of the hardest questions on their exams. When they did, Silesia and Millennia pushed their classmates to improve their own grades.

There were even rumors making the rounds of the institute faculty and staff that the soft-spoken elder Wildstar twin, Silesia, had answered an exam question that even the present E.S.U.N. Foreign Minister hadn't been able to answer during her time at the institute. The only thing that frustrated the professors was that neither sister thought that their reasoning skills were that high. They assumed that their ability was normal for students their age. When asked how they had learned how to figure things out like the do, both Silesia and Millennia could only shrug their shoulders and say that whenever their father, Ivan Wildstar was in town, he often drew them into conversations where they had to figure stuff out.

Now with their father being his usual self and not giving them a solid answer, a part of Millennia's mind started the process of unraveling the conundrum posed to her by their father. Next to her Millennia could feel the invisible vibe flowing off of her older (by forty-five seconds) sister that told her Silesia was feeling the same way. Settling down next to Silesia, Millennia tasked her subconsicousness to work on the evasive answer their father had given to her question. Confident in her ability and with her sister's input that they would reach an answer by the time they landed on Earth, Millennia Tanisius and her older sister settled in to watch the video given to them by their grandmother.

Hours later, Devon passed through the cabin on his way to the lavatory. Checking on his daughters, he wasn't surprised to find the pair fast asleep in their seats. Stifling a chuckle and continuing on his quest, Devon reminded himself to get a pair of blankets from the closet to cover the twins as they slumbered in their reclined seats. With a fatherly smile, Devon continued on his way to the aft end of the shuttle. A few minutes later when he returned to the cabin, Devon stopped and covered the sleeping girls with their favorite blankets. He saw from the looks on their sleeping faces that they fell asleep thinking about his evasive answer to Millennia's question earlier. Once he was sure that the girls would be warm as they slept, Devon placed a fatherly kiss on their foreheads and stepped over to the galley and pulled a bottle of soda out of the fridge to assuage his thirst and keep him alert. Hearing a sound, he turned around and saw Silesia with a sleepy look on her face.

"Daddy, I was a bit thirsty and came to get something to drink.", yawned Silesia.

"It's okay. I'll fix you a cup of juice to drink. I'll fix one for Millennia also since I know that she'll probably be waking up thirsty herself soon. After you finish your juice I want you to go ahead and go back to sleep. The two of you need your rest.", answered Devon as he poured two cups of juice and placed them on the counter.

"Okay dad. I'll do that. I'll leave a note for Millennia to come and get her cup when she wakes up.", yawned Silesia again as she reached for the cup her father handed her.

Finishing her drink, Silesia headed back to her seat. Devon watched as she dropped into her chair and drifted off almost immediately. Taking the time to observe his daughters while the slept, Devon sipped his soda. Finishing it and tossing the bottle in the trash, the Preventor made his way back to the cockpit and sat down in the left seat. Strapping himself in again, Devon brought up his course on one of his secondary nav screens and saw that the autopilot would be making a course change and entering the Earth orbit shuttle lanes in an hour. Sighing to himself, he prepared to contact orbit control on their assigned frequency and let them know he was in their area of responsibility until he went for atmospheric insertion. The radio chirped at the assigned time with the orbit controller.

"Tanisius Security Technologies, Limited Executive Shuttle Three Alpha, Orbit Control. State your departure point, flight plan, and destination for verification.", came the almost robotic voice of the controller.

"Orbit Control, T.S.T., Limited Shuttle Three Alpha. I departed from Tanisius Colony four hours ago. I filed an executive instrument flight plan through proprietary company space. My destination is Brussels Shuttleport on Earth. Brussels, Belgium.", replied Devon as he adjusted the controls for the cockpit climate.

"Shuttle Three Alpha, Orbit Control. Wait one while I verify your flight plan."

"Copy that."

A few minutes later, the controller called Devon with his verification of Devon's flight plan and directed him to join one of the busy space transit lanes for orbital insertion. The controller slotted Devon's shuttle in between a private shuttle headed to Earth from Colony L-2 and a bulk ore carrying shuttle from the mines on Mars. When Devon slipped the shuttle into his assigned space without any problems, the controller goggled at the feat. Usually it took those Executive Shuttle pilots forever to get the approach vectors right and get into position. This pilot didn't need any unnecessary calls to guide him in to place.

"Well those T.S.T. Limited shuttle pilots are supposed to be the best. I haven't seen any of them make any mistakes in my years of pulling this duty. Man I wonder how much trouble the controllers on that colony have to deal with? I bet they make a respectable salary thought. Maybe I should see if they have any job openings.", mused the controller as he watched the blip that denoted T.S.T. Limited Executive Shuttle Three Alpha on his screen continue on its way before turning his attention to the next shuttle in line.

The controller sighed as he recognized the approaching shuttle. The pilots from this shuttle line always had problems and he probably would need to baby-sit the moronic crew and make sure they did everything right, again. Psyching himself up for the battle of wills he was about to undergo, the controller looked at the clock to see how much time he had left in his shift. As usual, the damn clock was acting up again and it looked like he had three more hours to go.

Back aboard Shuttle Three Alpha, Devon reset the flight clock to Earth Normal Time from the time it was set to on the colony. When the clock synchronized with the time on Earth, he leaned back in his seat and continued to monitor his instrument panel for any warning lights. So far the autopilot had been doing a good job and he was loath to upset its programming with a macho display of hand flying the shuttle through space. Devon wasn't one to fall prey to that fatal habit. He had too many better things to do in his life than to become victim to pride.

Seeing that everything was alright with his craft, Devon returned his attention to the windscreen in front of him. In the distance he could make out the lights of the shuttle from L-2 several thousand kilometers ahead. Just beyond it, he could see the side of the planet that was presently at night as Earth rotated on its axis. Each time he saw his home planet from space, it gave him chills of wonder and awe. Earth represented the past, present, and future for all of humankind. Yes there were inhabited colonies in space and settlements on Mars, but Earth was the birth place of mankind and home to all people no matter where they lived.

The beeping of the autopilot as it began its course correction jarred Devon from his study of the wondrous sight that was Earth as it looked from space. A quick glance at the clock showed Devon that he'd been lost in his stargazing for over an hour and that realization startled him. He usually didn't allow his mind to wander off like that. Sitting up and stretching in his seat, Devon cracked his knuckles as he prepared to program the final autopilot course changes for entrance into the Earth's atmosphere. Once that was done, the Preventor got out of his seat and went back to the galley to fill his coffee mug. Returning to the cockpit, Devon saw that everything was alright. Reaching into his pocket, Devon pulled out his phone and dialed a number from memory.

"Hello"

"It's me. I'm just calling to let you know that we'll be landing at the shuttleport in about two and a half hours. The twins are asleep in the back and don't know where we're going to spend the remainder of the night. They asked but I evaded the question. Before they drifted off, they were trying to figure it out. I didn't give them any hints but I can tell they're curious and want to figure out the answer.", answered Devon as he heard the familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"You're a cruel bastard Devon. Making the girls think like that. You should've just told them. I mean, it's not every night a preteen gets to spend the night in an honest to god castle. No matter how small it is."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to surprise them. The two of them did pretty well on their final exams and from what I can gather when they think I'm not listening, they had a blast at the Institute's Winter Ball. Of course, I think that bit of excitement was the fact that they were escorted by Morgan Tanisius and he treated them extremely well."

The voice on the other end of the line chuckled as its owner remembered a Christmas conversation with Lady Une and her daughter Duchess Khushrenada. Marimaia had been laughing about how pissed off her friend Aziza Barkari had been when it became apparent that her plan to get the young duchess hooked up with the quietly dashing young man many girls at St. Gabriel's Institute wanted had been foiled by the father of the Wildstar Twins.

"So, when are you going to tell them?"

"I'm not. They'll realize where we are when they wake up. They've seen pictures of your families' home online, on the television, in the paper, etc. Once they wake up and are given ample enough time to look around, they'll figure it out."

"It'll be a little bit intimidating to them at first, like it was for me when I first moved here so many years ago. But I believe they'll adapt to it fairly well."

"Of course they will! In six years, they've adapted to everything life has thrown at them. Remember, after their parents died when they were young, the two of them adapted to living on their own pretty well even if they couldn't speak each other's language until I taught them to.", replied Devon with a knowing tone to his voice.

Devon double checked his instruments and saw that his final course change was coming up and mentioned it to his conversation partner. The voice on the other end acknowledged his point and let Devon close out the conversation so he could concentrate on taking the shuttle off of autopilot and hand flying it in for landing. When the headset was replaced on its base, the other participant in the conversation turned to the left and faced the elderly gentleman standing there whose uniform-despite the late hour-still looked as if it had came right off the ironing board.

"Thomas, they're about two and a half hours out and should be coming up on atmospheric insertion in preparation for a turn to the runway heading and commencing their final approach. Please prepare the car. Remember, you're to bypass the Tanisius Security Technologies, Limited hanger, park in front of the Vigilante Aerial Photography hanger, and turn off the lights. We don't want those incompetent idiots from the press sniffing around tonight.", stated the seated figure.

"Yes milady. The limousine is ready and waiting. Shall we depart for the shuttleport ma'am?", replied Thomas as he executed a very formal half bow and extended his hand to help the lady of the house to her feet.

"Yes we shall. I want to be there waiting for them when they disembark from the shuttle. The bedroom for the twins, is it ready for them? They're asleep right now but when they land they may awaken for a bit. I would like their transition from the car to their room to be done with the minimum of fuss. You'll probably have to help Mr. Wildstar with his daughters when we arrive at the manor. Wake-up Jan and have her lay out some of my old night dresses for the twins to use while they are here."

"Yes milady. I'll ring Jan straight away and have her prepare the garments you request for the young mistresses. Pardon my rudeness milady, but in which room will Mr. Wildstar be staying while he and his family are here?", asked Thomas as he led the way to the side entrance where the limo waited.

The Thirteenth Baroness of the Noventa Barony glanced at her butler with a smirk of superiority.

"Do you even have to ask, Thomas? Ivan Wildstar will be staying and sleeping in my room while they are here of course.", replied Sylvia Rene Noelle Noventa as she smoothed the fabric of the ankle-length skirt she was wearing.

In response, Thomas just shook his head. He should've known that Baroness Sylvia was going to say that. Thomas knew who Ivan Wildstar really was. In fact it had been the butler's idea for the young couple to use Tanisius' alter ego persona whenever they wanted to be together. He'd talked to his friend Pagan about it in passing and the young whippersnapper had agreed although he didn't know what he was agreeing to. Sighing to himself as he opened the door for the young woman a few steps behind him, Thomas exited Noventa Manor and looked around as he made his way to the door of the idling limousine and opened the door for the Vice Foreign Minister.

Holding the massive door open as Sylvia maneuvered her voluptuously lithe and full-figured body into the cavernous backseat, Thomas waited for V.F.M. Noventa to situate herself before closing the door and making his way to the driver's door and settling his elderly frame behind the steering wheel with the ease of someone many years his junior. Putting his seat belt on and making sure his sidearm was secured under the dash within reach, Thomas put the big vehicle in gear and gave it a little bit of gas. Pulling through the double iron gates with the Noventa Family Crest centered in the middle, the old butler pointed the vehicle in the direction of the Brussels Shuttleport.

Back aboard the shuttle, Devon was hand flying the shuttle through the wind currents he knew were present in the atmosphere. Presently, the shuttle was approaching its final approach several miles behind a cargo shuttle stopping in Brussels midway through its flight from L-5 to New York. The weather was fine with low speed winds blowing down the runway heading that was causing a slight burble at the end of the runway.

Keeping his head moving from his instrument panel to his view out the windscreen was starting to affect Devon's exhausted body and it was taking him milliseconds longer to refocus on each instrument as his gaze slid over them. Yawning, Devon brought his attention back out from the cockpit to the view outside in the dark sky. A few miles ahead, he could see the anti-collision beacons of the heavy shuttle flashing in their repetitive patterns the bigger shuttle shouldered its way through the sky. Though he was in contact with Brussels Tower, Devon was waiting for the right time before calling them and checking in. From what he could hear, they were fairly busy and he didn't want to impinge upon that right at the moment. His little hiatus from contacting the tower didn't last long though. One of the controllers gave him a call.

"Tanisius Security Technologies, Limited Executive Shuttle Three Alpha, Brussels Tower, can you squawk three-seven-three-one and identify."

"T.S.T. Shuttle Three Alpha, squawking three-seven-three-one for identification, Tower. Everything alright, you guys sound busy down there.", answered Devon as he punched in the four number code that would identify him on their radar screens.

"Three Alpha you wouldn't believe how our night has gone so far. Due to a heavy storm over the ocean, we're getting a lot of flights that are diverting around the storm and into our area of responsibility. Plus a couple of cancellations on the ground here due to circumstances that weren't passed on to us.", complained the controller as he checked his screen for the blip that saw Tanisius Security Technologies, Limited Executive Shuttle Three Alpha.

When he found it, the controller saw that whoever the pilot of shuttle Three Alpha was knew his business and had the shuttle within a few feet of where the arrival controllers had slipped him into the conga line of departing and arriving aircraft and shuttles. On the shuttle, Devon activated his landing lights and lowered his gear and flaps. As the shuttle dropped a few feet, he smoothly gave it a nudge of power to keep him on the glide path.

"Brussels Tower, T.S.T. Shuttle Three Alpha, my gear is down and locked requesting permission to land."

"Shuttle Three Alpha, you're cleared to land on runway One-Four Left. I confirm your gear is down and locked. Once you are on the ground, contact ground control for the vector towards the T.S.T. Limited Executive Shuttle Hangar. Watch for taxiing traffic at your four o'clock when you turn off of active runway on to taxiway Alpha-Seven. Three Alpha, easy on the brakes tonight, we got patches of ice on runway and taxiways. Be careful and welcome home."

"Three Alpha copies, One-Four Left to taxiway Alpha-Seven. Watch for ice on runway and taxiways. Thanks Tower, it's good to be home. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year.", replied Devon as he eased the shuttle down on to the concrete and asphalt runway with a gentle touch so as to not hit any unseen ice.

The controller double clicked his mic in acknowledgement before turning his attention to the next shuttle in line. The flight crew looked like they had their hands full and with a macabre chuckle; the controller saw that the shuttle was painted in the livery of one of the shuttle lines tied to the Winner Corporation.

Across the field, Devon was turning on to his assigned taxiway and easing the shuttle along under minimal power. With a tap of the brakes to see if they would hold if needed, Devon turned his attention to his post-flight checks and shutdown checklist. Midway through his mental processes, the sniper turned the shuttle on to the Tanisius Security Technologies, Limited Shuttle ramp area and started looking for the pair of lighted wands that signified his parking space. Spotting the linesman with the wands and following his directions, Devon turned the shuttle with the nose wheel steering apparatus and followed his directions. Devon was a little concerned when the linesman, after a few minutes of guiding him, passed Devon off to another linesman standing just inside the hangar with his own pair of wands up over his head. Cursing to himself and tired from all the flying, Devon steered the shuttle into the hangar and pulled the shuttle into the spot where he saw another group of linesmen ready with three sets of chocks and a conveyor belt for the bags. Standing next to the group was a trio of animal handlers just for his panthers.

Following the directions given to him by the movement of the lighted wands, Devon brought the shuttle to a stop in exactly the place indicated by the handler. Holding the brakes with his feet while waiting to receive the signal that told him his wheels were chocked, Devon started the engine shut down checklist. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the correct signal given and acknowledged it with a raised thumb before lifting his feet off of the brakes and switching the power systems over from the auxiliary power unit to the ground power unit. Once that task was completed, Devon unstrapped himself from the pilots' seat and exited the shuttles flight deck.

Entering the cabin, the Preventor Agent made his way over and undid the latches that kept the hatch securely closed but didn't open it. He wanted to wait until the ground crew rolled the stairs up to the hatchway. They wouldn't do that until the baggage compartment was halfway empty. When they did bring the stairs around to the door, Devon was waiting for the knock on the door that signified the ground crew was ready to open the hatchway.

Answering their knock with one of his own, Devon strode towards the back of the cabin and retrieved the carry on bags and the leashes for Rhahorus and Isis. Snapping the leashes on and leading them to the main cabin, Devon passed the leashes to the waiting handlers and watched as his two panthers were loaded into large cages for transfer to the quarantine area for the requisite sixty day stay until they could be returned to his place of residence. Returning to the cabin where he'd dropped the carry on bags, Devon rooted around in his bag for the eye patch he was going to wear for the remainder of the night.

Waking up Silesia and Millennia, Devon led the girls to the hatchway where they had to stand aside and let the ground crew enter the shuttle to clean and sanitize the shuttle so that the employees of Tanisius Security Technologies who usually used this particular shuttle wouldn't know who had used it. Once the stairs were cleared, Devon led his daughters out the hatchway and down the stairs to the waiting van that was going to transport them over to the other side of the shuttleport where they ride would be waiting. Climbing into the shuttle van and leaning back in his seat while his daughters situated themselves in their seats and returned to dreamland, Devon sighed to himself. He was happy he didn't have to drive his family across the tarmac; he was too tired to do that.

The trip across the tarmac didn't take long and before Devon knew it, the crew van pulled up to the hanger of his alter ego's Vigilante Aerial Photography hangar. Using the key left for him by Chester the manager of the hanger, Devon unlocked the door and motioned the van to pull inside the hanger. When the van had stopped by the doors opening onto the front lawn of the business, Devon unlocked the front door and glanced out. Seeing the waiting limo, he motioned for the driver to come and give him a hand. Devon smothered a grin when he saw the elderly Noventa butler climb out of the vehicle and start in his direction.

"Mr. Wildstar, welcome home and how nice to see you again. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas with the Tanisius Family.", commented the butler as he helped the van driver open and unload the luggage from the back of the van.

"Thank you Thomas. Indeed we did enjoy the Christmas with the Tanisius Family. They treated my daughters and I as if we were a part of the family. How was your Christmas, did the vice foreign minister enjoy her holiday?"

"Yes she did even though Foreign Minister Yuy did phone and verbally reprimand her about her actions the other week. Lady Sylvia and Baroness Sophia were extremely delighted to receive their presents. I believe that they were a bit surprised when the Tanisius Security Technologies, Limited courier delivered the items on Christmas morning an hour after the baroness and her granddaughter had risen for the day. Of course he seemed to be in an extremely good mood for a courier delivering a package on a holiday.", said Thomas a bit leadingly as he closed the limo's trunk.

Devon sniggered a bit before replying.

"Thomas, the gentleman who couriered those gifts here wasn't a courier per se, he is one of the senior vice presidents of T.S.T, Limited. When he was asked to make the delivery by Mr. Tanisius, he agreed even though it meant that he would miss Christmas with his own family. Mr. Tanisius compensated him extremely well and promised him and his family a two month long vacation for his work. The gentleman departed the Tanisius Colony the night before on a special executive shuttle.", answered Devon as he returned to the van to extricate his daughters from its interior.

For the first time in his life, Thomas was at a loss for words. A senior vice president from one of the top private security firms in the E.S.U.N., personally left the colony owned by the company and delivered a package to Earth on a holiday for a non-family member? That was inconceivable to him with all of his years of experience dealing with the Noventa Family and the place in hierarchy of Romafeller Foundation Families. For the first time in a long time, Thomas' interest for useful intelligence was peaked. Just who was Ivan Wildstar (a.k.a. Devon Tanisius) to have one of the most private families he's known to do something like they did. From that point on Thomas started looking at Lady Sylvia's chosen in a new light.

Devon cast a glance at the elder man and saw the look that flared behind those inquisitive and steel green eyes and knew what Thomas was thinking. Catching the other man's eye, Devon gave him a subtle shake of his head to warn him off of speculating about the state of his relationship (as Ivan Wildstar) with the Tanisius Family. Closing the door once Silesia and Millennia were sleepily standing outside the van, the sniper made his way to the butler standing by limo's door. Putting a questioning tone in his voice, Devon asked the butler a question.

"Thomas, did Lady Sylvia come with you or is she asleep at the manor?"

"Sir, I believe you know the answer to that question already.", replied Thomas in a teasing voice as he opened the rear door of the vehicle.

Devon was about to say more when a delicate heel attached to a set of long familiar legs covered by a skirt stepped out of the car and on to the hard packed snow on the ground. It was followed by its identical twin and soon the five foot eleven inch and full-figured Earth Sphere United Nation Vice Foreign Minister was standing demurely next to the limo with her hands clasped in front of her. Around her neck glinted the exquisitely designed choker necklace, Devon had commissioned a few months before. It consisted of a large emerald in a setting of small carat diamonds. At the four corners of the emerald sat four medium-sized black diamonds. Devon had chosen the stones and the setting to set off Sylvia's dark green eyes. He chose the black and white diamonds to complement, yet no take away from, the brilliant emerald gleaming in the center of the necklace.

"Welcome home Mon Chevalier Noir Affectueux.", stated Sylvia in the sultry voice that promised many things he remembered so well.

"Thank you La Mia Principessa Eterea DellAvorio. It is good to be home.", answered Devon in the mellow baritone she'd dreamt about over the course of the last two weeks.

Thomas watched the non-verbal interaction between his charge and her lover as he comfortably situated the pair of sleepy preteens inside the limo. Shaking his head twice, the elderly butler averted his gaze as the two star struck lovers slowly came together in a passionate embrace. When he'd finished buckling the twins in, Thomas pulled his head out of the vehicles' interior and stood by the open door waiting. It wasn't long before the VFM and her lover were pulling themselves inside the limo giggling like teenagers. Clearing his throat, Thomas reminded the pair of twenty-one year olds to restrain from certain affectionate displays and to keep their noise down since Mistress Silesia and Mistress Millennia were still asleep. Sylvia and Devon acknowledged the reprimand in their own ways: the young baroness pouted in frustration while beau yawned in exhaustion.

Closing the door behind the two, Thomas made his way back up to the front of the car and climbed in to the driver's seat. He buckled himself in and started the engine for the trip back to Noventa Manor while activating the radio system and raising the privacy curtain between the front and back of the limousine. The trip back to the Noventa Family Estate took less than thirty minutes. Once Thomas shut off the engine and climbed out of the vehicle in the circular driveway, the car was besieged by a trio of his subordinates. Making his way to the rear door of the vehicle so Baroness Sylvia and her chosen one could disembark, Thomas was joined by Lady Sylvia's personal maid Jan.

"Thomas."

"Jan."

"Did Lady Sylvia behave herself? Are the young mistresses alright?", asked the maid with a slightly apprehensive tone in her voice.

Thomas chuckled humorously. It so in character for the personal maid to the Thirteenth Baroness of the Noventa Barony to worry about her charge even on a short trip to the shuttleport to pick up the baronesses lover.

"Don't worry Jan, Lady Sylvia behaved wonderfully. She stayed in the vehicle until we finished loading the luggage. On the ride back, I couldn't hear anything coming from the rear of the car. I had to remind them about their decorum at first but I think they understood. Lady Sylvia pouted a bit though. Mistress Silesia Wildstar and Mistress Millennia Wildstar are fine. They are more than likely asleep since Mr. Wildstar and I had to wake them up to get them into the limo.", replied Thomas as he unlatched the door.

Jan nodded and waved over two of her subordinates to help with the two young ladies they'd been informed were arriving with Mr. Wildstar. Bending down to help the twins exit the limo Jan opened her mouth to speak but shut it when she saw the tableau that awaited her inside. Her quiet exhalation of surprise floated on whispered wings to those in the immediate vicinity of the open door. Thomas heard the exhalation and looked inside. He had to stifle a laugh as he saw the four people seated in the back of the limo.

Sylvia Rene Noelle Noventa; the Thirteenth Baroness of the Noventa Barony was sitting with her arm draped around her beloved as he soundly slept with his head resting on Sylvia's shoulder . Snuggled up beside the baroness were her beloved's sleeping twin daughters, Silesia and Millennia Wildstar.

Jan looked at her charge and saw the love in the dark green irises signaling her not to say anything to disturb the setting. Sighing to herself, Jan shook her head. She approved of the young man Lady Sylvia had chosen to be with and knew that in the future lay the possibility of a beautiful wedding between the two.

"Jan, wake up the twins and have them escorted to their quarters. They're only eleven years old and they need as much sleep as they can get. Thomas, help get this big sleeping oaf of a man upstairs. Once he's upstairs your duties to me have been discharged for the remainder of what's left of the night. I want the both of you and your subordinates to go home and get some sleep. I'll take care of Mr. Wildstar by myself.", commanded Sylvia quietly.

Jan was about to protest when she saw the stubborn look in Sylvia's eyes and caught the rapid shake of the head from Thomas. In the hierarchy of the servants, Thomas was the ultimate authority. Shrugging her shoulders and assisting the two maids assigned to her, Jan was able to wake up the preteen girls and start them moving towards the manor. Returning her attention to the limo, Jan helped Sylvia exit then moved out of the way as her twenty-one year old mistress turned back to the car and helped Thomas extricate Mr. Wildstar from the vehicle. Once Wildstar was (somewhat) steady on his feet; Jan followed Sylvia as she led the exhausted pilot (with a little help from the butler) into the manor and up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, Jan excused herself and made her way down the hall to check on the twins. When she entered the room set aside for their use, her assistant informed her that everything was alright and the twins had been given the nightdresses laid aside for them, climbed into their respective beds, and drifted right back off to dreamland. Nodding her acknowledgment of the report, Jan told her aide that she was finished for the day and to go home and be with her own family. Waiting for the sound of the assistants footsteps to float down the hallway, Jan entered the room and checked on the sleeping twins herself. Seeing that the little girls were fine, Jan smiled and closed the door behind her as she exited the room. The twenty-nine year old servant to the VFM happily sighed to herself. Straightening up from her slight slouch, Jan left the area and hustled up the hall to where Lady Sylvia's room was. She arrived in time to see Sylvia lead Mr. Wildstar (a bit more awake this time) into her room and dismiss Thomas and his assistants for the evening.

"Jan, I need for you to one thing for us before you leave for the evening. Can you retrieve that package I brought home the other day and bring it up here? Once you have, leave instructions for the morning shift to not disturb us till after ten in the morning. Also, I don't know what time the twins will wake up but tell the morning crew to have the chef or one of her assistants prepare breakfast.", Sylvia said as she helped Devon over to her bed and started to undo the button on his shirt."

"Yes milady. I'll take care of that.", started Jan, only to be interrupted by another voice.

"Jan, don't worry about having the chef cook breakfast. Let the chef sleep, I'll cook breakfast for Mr. Wildstar's daughters. Just have the morning shift let me know when the wake up. Now why don't you go ahead and retrieve that package my granddaughter asked you to get and bring it here. Once you have, go home and spend the rest of the night with your family. Tomorrow consider yourself and the rest of your contemporaries on vacation for the next week or so.", floated the cultured voice of Sophia Ophelia Noventa from behind her.

Jan whirled around and started to curtsy but a soft hand on her shoulder bade her to stand. Behind her, Jan heard Sylvia grunt as she rose to her feet and hauled her semi-awake but aware lover to her side.

"Grandmother! What are you doing awake?"

"I heard the car leave earlier and wondered where Thomas could be going that late at night. The sudden activity caused by your return was almost impossible to ignore. My personal maid told me what was transpiring and here I am.", stated Sophia with a twinkle in her eyes.

Jan watched as the younger baroness glared at her grandmother. It was a comical sight as Mr. Wildstar blearily glanced from one baroness to the other while Lady Sylvia thought on her predecessors words. Jan almost choked when her charge replied.

"Pardon me for saying this grandmother but your explanation was bullshit."

Sophia lifted an eyebrow in humor before chuckling and retorting to the accusation.

"You're right Sylvia dear; I just wanted to see the man to whom you've given your heart, among other things. Goodnight dear, I'll see you later today and we can talk some more. Goodnight Mr. Wildstar.", said the Eleventh Baroness of the Noventa Barony before turning and gliding off like a majestic cruise ship in the night with barely a rustle from her robes.

"Goodnight Milady and I thank you for allowing my daughters and I to stay here tonight.", came the slightly slurred reply from Ivan Wildstar.

Sophia Noventa stopped, glanced back once and nodded at the young man with another twinkle in her eyes before reminding Jan about her orders before continuing on to her suite of rooms. Jan acknowledged the orders and headed downstairs while Sylvia continued undressing her chosen one. A few minutes later, Jan had returned and dropped off the package with her charge before heading for her little cottage on the grounds of the estate. Her husband was waiting for her.

Once her personal maid was gone for the evening, Sylvia sighed in relief. Now she could spend time with her beloved in her own room. Casting a quick glance at the door to her bathroom where Devon was presently taking a warm shower to wash off the grit from his flight, Sylvia opened the package and placed the new garments on the bed. Slipping out of the skirt and shirt she wore to the airport, she slipped into the robe lying across the chair of her dressing table.

"Devon.", called Sylvia.

"Yes."

"I have something for you."

"Just place it on the counter and I'll be right out."

"Okay."

Sylvia opened the door to the sink area of the bathroom and laid the package on the counter next to one of the sinks. Closing the door and stepping back over to the bed, she waited.

When Devon climbed out of the shower and dried off, he stepped over to the sink and saw the package Sylvia had mentioned to him. Stifling a smile as he opened the wrapping, Devon chuckled as he slipped his legs into the dark blue satin pajama pants. Putting on the matching shirt and leaving it unbuttoned, Devon stepped from the bathroom and stopped. Sylvia stood beside the bed waiting for him. He noticed that she'd lit some candles while he'd been in the shower. Turning to his lover (who was rapidly become something more in his mind), Devon allowed a gasp to slip out as Sylvia undid her robe and let it slip silently off of her shoulders. He took in the sight in front of him with a noticeable hitch in his breathing.

Sylvia was wearing her Christmas gift and nothing else.

On silent feet that had minds of their own; Devon slowly stepped over to the beauty in front of h im. Taking one look at her firm skin and searching eyes of green, he scooped his goddess in to his arms and carefully laid her down on the silk sheets. Once Sylvia was positioned on the bed, he climbed in himself. As he climbed in, Sylvia reached up and captured his lips with her own and pulled him down to her supine form.

"Merry Christmas, my love. And welcome home.", whispered Sylvia as her hands slowly, teasingly, gently slipped the sleeping shirt off of his shoulders and the pants down his legs.

When skin met skin, the ancient and familiar tango of passion delayed began.

A couple hours later, Sylvia disentangled her nude form from her sleeping lover and climbed out of the queen-sized bed. Padding over to the box on whisper quiet feet, Sylvia removed the item within and gazed at it with a soft smile. Slipping into a short night dress that matched the pajamas she'd bought for Devon, Sylvia returned to the side of the bed and looked down. Sighing at wait awaited her, the vice foreign minister and thirteenth baroness of the Noventa Barony attempted to get her chosen back into the pajamas he'd discarded when they made love.

After several tries, a slightly vexed Sylvia finally got her boyfriend into his night clothes. Looking down at the sleeping body in her bed, she let her anger dissipate as she watched his gentle snoring. Absentmindedly brushing an errant curl off of his forehead, Sylva climbed in to bed and settled herself comfortable in her usual position. Closing her eyes, she let herself start to drift off into slumber. Before she was completely under the spell of sleep, her subconsicousness felt her mattress move as Devon shifted his position and wrapped his arms around her as he dreamed on. Unknown to either of them, their breathing synchronized as they both settled into a deeper sleep.

That was the tableau that presented itself to The Eleventh Baroness of the Noventa Barony, Sophia Ophelia Noventa, when she quietly entered the bedroom a few hours later to check on her granddaughter and her granddaughters chosen. Seeing that the sleeping couple had somehow kicked off the comforter covering them as they slept, Baroness Sophia stepped over to the bed and replaced the blanket over the couple after offering up a warm grandmotherly grin at the sight of the matching pajamas the two were attired in. Returning to Sylvia's nightstand to retrieve the camera she'd placed there, the elderly baroness brought the camera to her eyes and waited for the right moment to take the picture. When it came, Sophia snapped the photo and quietly withdrew from the room after kissing the sleeping couple on their foreheads.

"Goodnight Baroness Sylvia Rene Noelle Noventa. Goodnight Ivan Wildstar. I hope you have sweet dreams.", murmured Sophia as she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

With the hem of her red velvet robe brushing along the top of the carpet, Baroness Sophia Ophelia Noventa returned to her bedroom with a soft smile on her face. She'd develop the pictures she'd taken that night later during the day. Once they were developed, she'd place them in her photo album of treasured family memories that wouldn't be shown to anyone outside of the family. Within its ancient bindings, that album had over three hundred years of Noventa Family memories. From births, to graduations, to marriages, to deaths, every member of the Noventa Family for the last three hundred plus years had at least one picture in the album. With the new pictures she'd taken of Sylvia, her boyfriend, and her boyfriends' twin daughters, Sophia was sure the Noventa Family line had an exceedingly bright future.

Entering her bedroom, the sixty-five year old head of the household placed the camera on her dresser, slipped out of her classically magnificent robe and climbed into her king-sized bed. Covering herself with the handmade quilt with its embroidered design of her and her late husband on their wedding day, Baroness Sophia Ophelia Noventa drifted off to sleep. She needed her rest if she was going to be up to cook breakfast with the precocious pair of eleven year young ladies asleep in their bedroom.

Back in the bedroom of the Vice Foreign Minister, Devon opened one eye and sleepily looked around the room. His senses had detected the presence of another person in the room earlier and he wanted to see who it was. Not seeing anybody, Devon closed his eye, tossed his late awareness up to exhaustion, nuzzled back down in the sheets (to a much appreciated sound from the sleeping Sylvia) and returned to dreamland. Once he was again settled, quiet reigned supreme in Noventa Manor.

Besides, isn't that how things should be for long-separated lovers?

Wow, almost two years and ninety-two pages and Chapter Five of 'Sylvia's Solitary Soldier' is finished! This chapter was not supposed to be this lengthy and take this long to bring out to those readers who're wondering what in the heck is taking the Knightewolfe so long to continue the Saga of Baroness Sylvia Rene Noelle Noventa and Devon Tanisius. Well here it is and I hope you enjoy it.

Truthfully, this chapter was supposed to be out (like Chapter 4) in between 2005 and 2006. I actually started this chapter in mid to late 2006 after I had nearly finished Chapter 4. As we now know, I was a little bit late in getting Chapter Four out to you (insert sarcastic comments about my severely messed up sense of time here) but what can I say, things like this happen. I apologize most wholeheartedly about getting this chapter out to you almost two years behind schedule.

The first part of this chapter (as I explained in the end chapter notes of Chapter 4) was supposed to be a slight continuation of Chapter 4. It was, I just got over-descriptive again and added a lot of extra stuff. Oh well, my mistake, hopefully you enjoyed it regardless. At least I did get Devon's adopted daughters introduced and accepted into their new family. As I continued my pre-reading and editing while adding new parts to this chapter, I got the feeling that the extra narration helped in the story itself and the developing family dynamic. At least I did get to the main plot of this chapter (i.e. getting the Tanisius Clan together for Christmas). I would've added more to the vacation itself but I couldn't think of anything to add: Devon had returned to his family's colony with a family of his own. So IMHYBO (In My Humble Yet Biased Opinion) I wrote what I set out to write.

Now the last part of the chapter (i.e. the return home and arrival at Noventa Manor) was a spur of the moment add on. I wanted to show the closeness that is developing between Devon and Sylvia, Sylvia and Devon's daughters, and the burgeoning sense of family between Devon, Sylvia's Grandmother, and the rest of those in Noventa Manor. It isn't much but I hope it works. Let me know what you think by either reviewing or by private message. I'll answer no matter how long it takes.

Now somewhere in this narrative, I referred to Devon as one of the princes by those who live on the Tanisius Family Colony (which, btw, needs a name. If any of you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to send them to me). Let me explain the breakdown of the Tanisius Family real quick-like:

Leopold Sebastian & Brianna Etienne Tanisius: Present Patriarch and Matriarch of the Tanisius Family; CEO and ACEO of Tanisius Security Technologies, Limited. Fifty-six and Fifty-three years old respectively; also known as the Lion and Lioness. Semi-retired assassins. The King and Queen of the entire Tanisius Family.

Gwendolyn Tanisius: Past Matriarch of the Tanisius Family; Former Head of T.S.T. Limited: Seventy-Eight years old. Formerly known as the Sabretooth. Retired assassin. The Empress of the Family. Member of the family council of Elders (passing mentions of them will be made in the upcoming chapters.)

Adrienne Nicole Tanisius: Eldest Offspring of the Tanisius Family; President of the all T.S.T, Limited Operations Twenty-Five years old; engaged to be married soon: both Interstellar and International. Known as the Tigress; part-time assassin. Heir apparent and Future head of the family with her husband. Crown Princess of the Family.

Owen Richard Tanisius: Eldest Son of the Tanisius Family; Vice President of Operations for T.S.T, Limited; Head of T.S.T., Limited offices on Colony L-4; Point of contact between The Winner and Tanisius Families in matters pertaining to the purchase of the Tanisius Family Colony; Twenty-Three years old; soon to be engaged to Fatima Dinarzade Winner. Known as the Leopard. Part-Time Assassin. Second in line to head family with whomever he marries. Crown Prince of the family.

Devon R., Tanisius: Second Son of the Tanisius Family; Preventor Sniper; Owner of Wildstar Technologies Unlimited as Ivan Wildstar. Twenty-One years old; Assassin known as The Panther. Prodigal Prince of the family; Will be Third in Line to head family. Middle Name will be revealed later.

Jordan Victoria Tanisius: Youngest Daughter of the Tanisius Family. College Student on L-1; Will become Vice President of Research and Development for T.S.T., Limited upon her graduation and five years of experience as R&D manager. Nineteen Years Old; Assassin; Known as the Cheetah. Blade Princess of the Family; Fourth in Line to head family.

Morgan Rupert Tanisius: Youngest Offspring of the Tanisius Family. Senior at Saint Gabriel's Institute. Classmate of Duchess Marimaia Khushrenada; has tentative plans to attended college on L-3; Will become Vice President of Science and Technology upon his graduation from college and five years of experience as head scientist. Explosives Prince of the Family. Last in line to head Family after siblings step down.

I hope that clears up a lot of the mystery about how the members relate to monarchy among those on their colony. If you still have questions, don't hesitate to drop me a line by message and ask.

Next chapter (Tentatively titled: Wildstar Awakened) is going to deal with the aftermath of Devon and Sylvia's actions after they return from their New Year's vacation as well as the early parts of the next year in their lives. One thing I can tell you now is that the enmity between Heero and Devon is going to come to and even greater head and Devon is going to leave Preventors in a wholly unexpected manner. I may also lay the ground for a relationship between Morgan Tanisius and Marimaia Khushrenada (I haven't decided yet). Finally the wedding of Adrienne Nicole Tanisius will be described.

This time I won't take over a year to get the next chapter out AND it won't be as long as this chapter.

For all of those who read this saga, keep the reviews coming. Whether they are good or bad, I'll still answer them when I can. Once again I deeply apologize for taking so long to write this chapter. I also apologize for making this chapter as long as it is. Thank you very much for your patience. I appreciate it more than I can put into words.

Keep writing, reading, and reviewing!

The Knightewolfe had left the building. But he will return!

Knightewolfe.

Knightewolfe's Lair

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