The father, Roma, made it very clear that he was in no way offended at the way Simone acted. If anything, he was impressed that there was someone who had so much devotion for Lewis. The fact that Lewis looked so much like his mother was all the proof he needed that his son was well and alive.

Xeik made the decision that, between the three of them, they could handle a single man, and released the sands that were binding him. At once, Roma was up, and looking at Lewis with a variety of mixed emotions.

“You’re creeping me out,” Lewis said, taking a step back.

“My wife passed away a few years ago, but…well, we never truly loved each other. It was an arranged thing…” he said, almost as if he had been asked.

“I really don’t care,” the assassin replied. “I’d rather just go home now.”

Roma seemed to ignore him, and continued. “There was a maidservant…Leto. I won’t bore you with the details, but…we loved each other very much, and you were the result of that. I…made a lot of enemies throughout my life, and somehow they found out about Leto and you. And…”

Xeik sighed. “She was killed. A tale as old as time…” He looked to Lewis, who was rolling his eyes. “So, the question is…what’s going on now? Why has this all been brought to light? If they had just let Lewis be, nothing would have changed, and-”

Lewis cleared his throat. “Look…I don’t really care who, or why. I’m going home. And then I’ll track down the bastards who did this. And then I’ll kill them. It’s simple. Elegant.” It was clear that he was getting annoyed.

“The fact that you’re still alive is…” Roma was still in awe. “I have so much to tell you. And I want to know how you’ve been! What you’ve been doing! You have a loving wife, and one with a hell of a right hook,” he said with a chuckle. “I just want to-”

“I’d take it easy there,” Xeik said as a warning. “Lewis isn’t the kind of man to be sentimental like that.”

That caused Roma to frown. “Ah…I see. He has gone his entire life without me…I cannot blame him for wanting nothing to do with me at this point.”

“Good, can we go now?” Lewis replied hastily.

Simone looked between her husband and her father-in-law. She took a big breath and got between them. Maybe, someday when Lewis wasn’t being overwhelmed… They could talk. “He’s just overwhelmed.” For once, Simone had a very soft smile on her face. “It’s obvious that we have enemies near you too now. He’s apprehensive probably not only because he didn’t know about you but also because we have children.” He could at least know that much. “We only have our twins that would be a blood relation to you but… Just know they exist and that we’re protecting them. If they found out they existed can imagine how much pain we would have?”

She crossed her arms and it was one of the few times that Simone was being soft in front of others. “I know how my father would react in this situation. He would be happy to know I was alive and that I have wonderful children and a lovely spouse. I’m not saying that we can’t in the future produce something… but for now… for THEIR safety… We need to stay away.”

Her gray eyes were staring into Roma’s. “I’m sure you would have done the same with Leto if it meant she could live. It’s going to hurt but… This is the best option for everyone right now. I would put the papers in a safe place and pretend we never made it this far. Enemies are around.” She looked at Xeik.

“I’m… going to take Lewis home. Will you be okay? To go get Yelena and Rhenakos?” He had been through too much… She wanted to get him home now. The portal was quick to open and Simone gently moved Lewis through. The twins were right there to greet him. They were sitting up on the floor with some blocks. Ezili wasn’t too far from them and they released squeals as soon as they saw Lewis and Simone.

“Hey, you little monsters,” Simone came in and swooped them both up closing the portal behind her. “We got it from here,” she smiled at Ezili who left. She handed Lila to Lewis, “Wanna go upstairs? Put the twins down for a nap? Bath?” She kissed his forehead. “You said we had to talk.”

Roma was reluctant to let this opportunity slide, but when he saw how genuine Simone was, and how much Lewis didn’t want to be there, he finally relented. As the two left, Xeik and Roma started discussing a many heavy topic, which also included the man’s safety as well as the safety of those whom he had affected.

“It’s gonna be a long night,” Xeik said.

–

When Lewis came through the portal, Lucas and Ezili were both happy to see him. Even Rex in the corner perked up, happy that his adoptive father had come home. They all wanted to ask what had happened, but the look that Simone gave them was one of ‘not now,’ and they backed off.

As Lila was handed to him, his entire mood and demeanor shifted, and it was all smiles and snuggled from him to his wonderful daughter. Fiori, Everett, and Alshaya came up to him as well, and it was suddenly a cuddle pile on top of their father, all of them happy to have him home. As Simone asked if they wanted to go upstairs, the older children scattered, hearing that a talk was needed. He nodded, and put his nose to Lila’s.

“Let’s…” The two put Lila and Janus to sleep, and moments later, they were sinking into the warm bathwater. Lewis let out a deep, relaxed sigh as the water soaked into his weary form.

He was quiet for a moment as he shut his eyes. Simone felt something…strange, as if he were searching her memories. Finally, he smiled, and without opening his eyes, started to speak.

““Stay, I said
to the cut flowers.
They bowed
their heads lower.

Stay, I said to the spider,
who fled…”

He said aloud the remainder of the poem, and a few others, the last being of nightingales who hid amongst lavender peonies. He opened his eyes, eager to see what her face looked like.

“A poem, by Everett Booker, right?” he said. “Or what about Janus Webb’s, Lila?” Lewis sighed. “We know the most intimate things about each other, yet there are still new things for us to learn about each other. Your love of poetry…and my knack for surprises…” There was a sad look on his face.

“It got ruined. But…I’m not mad. It lead you straight to me…”

Simone smirked at all the children who piled on their father. They knew what would make him happy. She stood back with Janus who was watching the utter chaos. Like Lewis, Janus looked up at his mother and just clung to her instead.

It took nothing to get the twins down for bed. They were almost instantly tuckered from the excitement in the room. Simone hovered over their crib and sang a light lullaby for them. Out like lights, easy as pie. She closed the door with Lewis and they headed to their room.

Sinking into the tub with him she smiled up at him. It was odd to feel him searching her memories, it was something he had never done before with her. Did he finally want to know more? She looked a bit shocked as he continued on and finally she just smirked. “You’ve learned a lot. You’ve never asked before… Where the names for the children came from.”

She took his face and kissed him. “You should have seen my face when I found them though… I loved them but I love you more.” She snuggled into him and relaxed. “Alshaya was the name of a weeping willow in a poem about a man who loved his tree. He protected her all his life and he named her Alshaya. When he finally died he got to meet the spirit of the tree who loved her name. Alshaya was born of love… Perfect for our Alshaya.”

Simone closed her eyes a bit, “Fiori means flowers… After the island and all the hard work, we put into it. Our life is a bouquet after all of many different things. Different experiences, people… All flowers in some way. Our Ezili was named after a Goddess of Benin in a story, I told you that though. Fiori though is the only one not named after a story or a poem but if you think about it… Flowers are the language of love… A language we speak pretty well,” she tilted her head back and looked up at him. “Even if it isn’t out loud… No one loves like we love.” She took his hands in her own and squeezed them.

“You talked to her… In your illusion. How was it?”

Lewis thought on how best to answer. At first, he wanted to just show her what it was like, but he hesitated. They relied so much on thought instead of words, but there was something special about speaking to one another that he didn’t quite get from their mental interactions.

“It felt like you, but…it wasn’t. I knew she wasn’t you, but the way she spoke and acted was something that the old you would have done.” Lewis furrowed his brow. It was so hard to explain. “It’s not making sense…it was like…a memory of you, but mixed with the current you. Whatever spell they used drew a basic scenario, but pulled a lot of the intricacies from my memories…” He ruffled his own hair.

“I don’t get it. It’s too hard to explain.” He sighed. “It made me realize…we rarely talk. We take advantage of our bond, and by no means do I think there’s a problem with that, but…” He thought for a moment. “I like hearing your voice. Sometimes, it’s more soothing than a thought…” He moved over to where she was, and floated into her lap, curling up against her chest.

“It’s like being intimate. Feeling the warmth of your skin instead of seeing it…” He closed his eyes. “Does that make sense?”

Simone listened and smiled as she moved her hand to pet his hair. It was a soft stroke and she actually laughed a bit. “The town of Benin thinks we hate each other by the way,” there was a smirk on her face. “I never realized it was because we spend most of our time communicating through the link. Even when we are just joking or saying I love you. We talk in front of the kids but after that… You know?” She wrapped herself around him and kissed the top of his head.

“You can hear my voice whenever you want though… You can just ask me and I’ll always find something to say even if it’s just a poem or two.” She sank into the water and leaned against the side of the tub.

“I… realized that we go forward so much without ever talking about the past that eventually it all catches up. Like the situation with Llywellyn… You never knew he even existed or that he was a safe person. You don’t know about my life before I became like this. Sometimes I don’t know if you would like to hear it… but then I realized how little I know of you two before the second dream dive. How much we actually don’t talk or know about each other.”

She pulled him closer and closed her eyes. “Even though we know each other we don’t actually know about each other. We know what we’ve made and how we are but not how we got there. Not really. Maybe we do need to spend more time talking about it so we stop getting so… slapped in the face by our pasts?” She found it hard to phrase it because it wasn’t like it was a bad thing. “Not everything in my past was bad. Not really. There are lots of good memories that just get hidden but if I focus I am sure I can find them and share them with you. Will you do the same with me?”

It was a touching moment between the two, and one that they rarely had like this. Lewis was exhausted, and drifting off as they spoke, but he was hanging off of every word she said, barely holding on. “It’s so hard to focus on the good, isn’t it?” he said sleepily. “There was once this girl that we rescued from a life of slavery…she was to be sold to a noble and used for…gods could only know what. She couldn’t have been much older than Fiori…”

“I think…her name was Emma. A lot of the boys in the guild found her cute, but…she came to me with a flower. Flowers were hard to come by on Hoja…but she found one, and picked it for me. I didn’t know at the time what it meant…” He opened his eyes, and smiled at Simone. “It was a thank you…” He closed his eyes again, and nuzzled closer to Simone. “Xeik had me put the flower in a leftover ink jar, and put water in it. I hadn’t the slightest idea what to do with it…but…”

“It made me happy.” He hadn’t told anyone this. Ever. When he was younger, he saw it as a weakness, but now…

“I’ll share every happy moment with you, Simone…” He yawned. “Because I love you more than anything…more than life itself. Beyond death…”

Simone smiled and nuzzled his face softly. “I’ll give you a hundred flowers every day,” she sang to him and she snuggled him. “A hundred flowers every day as a thank you~” The life they had wouldn’t have happened had it not been for Lewis going to Angela. Their children… Their twins… Their marriage. She kissed the top of his head. “You’ll wake up covered in them.”

She got them out of the bath, dried them, and snuggled up in bed. “I love you more than anything… Ever.” She repeated it but didn’t get as far as him as she drifted off to sleep. In the morning, just before first light, Simone snuck out of bed easily enough.

She put on her nightdress and her robe and left the room leaving the door wide open. Lewis was out like a light and it was that good deep sleep he only got when he was home. Once morning light was up for an hour or two Simone came upstairs with a breakfast tray with food and a glass of juice. “Lewis, honey wake up.”

What he would find though was… a hundred wildflowers covering him. “I made you breakfast. It’s probably not the greatest thing in the whole world. I’m still not the best cook ever, something about not honing the skills and practicing it.” She winked at him. “Silva is better than I am but I figured you would appreciate it more if I did it for once.”

She came over to his side of the bed and set the food down on the nightstand he had.

Lewis was half conscious as Simone helped him get ready for bed, and the moment he hit the sheets, he drifted away. He fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of a beautiful garden with Simone at its center, her voice ringing out as she read more poetry. The children were all there, relaxing in the garden. Ezili and Lucas were leaning against each other, sitting on an ornate, stone bench. Alshaya and Everett were chasing each other through the lavender peonies, their laughter echoing. Janus and Lila were beside Simone in a cradle, gently being rocked. Fiori was dancing with a handsomely dressed squirrel in the perfect shades of green, a content look about her face, while Mira was talking to her ‘friends’, trying to show them how important it was to listen to their mother. Even Rex was there, lazing about behind Simone, resting in front of a beautiful fountain with a statue of a night phoenix rising from below…

The dream was wonderful, but it had to end. He stirred at the real Simone’s voice, and he opened his eyes. Waking up to her this way was…different. The bed felt so soft and comforting, and he was well rested. He yawned, and sat up, noticing that flowers had started to fall off of him.

“W-what’s this?” he asked, confused as he looked around. “One hundred flowers…” He didn’t have to count. He looked at her as she put the tray of breakfast at his night stand. “What…what is all of this?” he asked again. There was a smile spreading across his face. He took a bite of the eggs that she had made.

It was true that they were not as good as Silva’s, but they were still delicious. If anything, the love that she poured into them was more important than the taste. “They’re amazing, Simone…” He once again looked at Simone.

“What about you…have you eaten yet?”

There was a laugh and a snort as she tried to contain herself as he sat up. “Just a thank you,” she chimed in as he smiled. “I’m glad you like them…” She kissed his forehead and plopped by him. “I haven’t eaten, I’m not hungry,” she shook her head. Her body was weird and some days she was hungry and some days she wasn’t. She did eat to keep her strength up when she needed to though and she found herself looking out the window. “Should have seen Rex’s face when he caught me carrying them. Baskets full of them. I stole the laundry baskets,” she chuckled. “Hopefully, the maids aren’t too upset.” She stuck her tongue out lightly.

She kicked her feet off the side bed in a relaxed state as she thought, “I’ll eat after I feed the babies… How about that?” She knew he worried about her. “They were up for a little bit but I managed to get them to go back to sleep without feeding them. You know them… Little gluttons.”

Simone rubbed at her breasts and made a face, “They got teeth now you know? They are biting. This is the worst part of it,” she complained before throwing herself backwards and looking up at him. “I suddenly feel bad for that wet nurse we had for Everett and Alshaya… She had to deal with them both,” she chuckled a bit more. She settled into the flowers and closed her eyes.

“Janus… He has your smile you know. Also your tolerance for crowds.”