SURPRISE!

Okay, so like... I posted this on another site and decided... what the Hell; why not.

Enjoy!

~Speklez

Stepping off the plane, Isabella wrapped her arms around herself, more in comfort than anything. She let her eyes roam the crowd, searching for something that wasn't there, but was unable to stop herself. Despite the warmth in the air, the humidity clamming up her skin, she felt cold, like ice water had replaced her blood. She knew it was irrational to feel such a thing, but she couldn't help it.

She was a long way from home and knew she could never go back.

A light sigh of regret and heartache escaped her lips as her shoulders fell a little in memory. She had only left the only place she had ever known a few hours ago, but she already missed it. Eyes lifting to the ceiling, she wondered if this was a good idea, if it was the right road to take; if running was the only option she really had. She knew that it wasn't safe to stay, but there were so many things that made her second guess the decision to leave behind everyone and everything she had to start all over.

She was still young. It wasn't like 23 was middle age or anything, but she had a good life, a great job she adored and friends she had known since diapers she wasn't sure she could live without… all over 1500 miles away from where she now stood.

Her eyes closed as they filled with tears. That was something she swore to herself she wouldn't do, not again. She had cried enough tears over the stupid son of a bitch. She refused to let even a single one more fall. Blinking them back, Isabella once again lowered her eyes to the crowd, this time looking for a face that was supposed to be there, that knew she was as well.

A small smile pulled her lips when she spotted her Uncle Marshal across the room from her, looking like he came right from the fields to the airport. Even from the distance she still was from him, she could see the grass stains on his shirt and the dirt smudges on his forehead from using his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow. Say what you will about backwoods country bumpkins, they were simple folk with a work ethic and hearts of gold.

Making her way over to him, her carry on hit the floor when she was swept off her feet into the surprisingly big and strong arms of her uncle. Suppressing the cringe at the feel of his sweat covered skin and the thought of the filth on his clothing transferring to her pristinely clean ones, she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the hug.

After a minute or so, her uncle set her back on her feet and, with his hands on her shoulders, held her out at arms length, his blue eyes as vibrant as the sky and a wide, easy and affectionate smile in his face. Giving her a quick once over, "You look good, Sug." His eyes flattened ever so little as he asked his next question, his voice losing just a bit of the gruffness that it always had, "How you doin', Isa-Bee?"

Heart giving a little flutter at the nickname he had given her when she was nothing but a kid, Isabella gave a half-hearted smile and a little shrug of her shoulder, "Honestly, I have been better, Uncle Marsh." Sighing again, she blinked a few times to once again battle her tears that brimmed her eyes, "I just… I mean…" Shaking her head in defeat, she didn't continue the thought, not really having a good enough one to finish with. In truth, she was doing really shitty and wasn't sure that that was going to be up for change anytime soon.

Understanding blossomed behind her uncle's eyes as he gave her a little nod of his head. Pulling her back to him, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed a light kiss to her forehead, "Well, you ain't got nothing to worry 'bout now, Youngin." Pulling back just a tad so he could see her eyes, Marshal smirked a little, "The only way that boy gonna be getting to you is through me and huntin' rifle, ya hear?"

Despite the situation, a little giggle climbed free of her throat and a little bigger of a smile parted her lips, showing the first real smile that she has shown in over a year. "I love you, Uncle Marsh."

Releasing her and bending to pick up her tote, Marshal winked at his niece, "With all my heart, Isa-bee. Com'on, Your Aunt Steffy gonna be sendin' the dogs on us if we don't be gettin' back soon."

Isabella blinked at her uncle a few times, trying to figure out what the fuck he just said, when he set his hand on the small of her back and began to pull her through the mass of people to baggage claim for her luggage before they headed out to the old truck that she personally thought was WAY passed its prime.

She settled herself into the front seat as commanded while her uncle loaded the two suitcases into the bed. Once her uncle was beside her in the cab, she twisted in her seat and looked at him, "Don't you think it might be time for a new truck, Uncle Marsh? I mean, this thing is a pile of rust." Seeing the look on his face, Isabella backtracked a bit, "no offence."

Shooting his niece a grin, Marshal gave the dash a hard pat, "ol' girl might not be pretty, but she still got some life in 'er yet. Ain't no need to be replacin' nothin' that ain't broken, Sug." Cranking the engine to life, he caressed the steering wheel with a loving touch before looking back at his niece, "You big city girls got a lot to learn 'bout us little backtown folk. Just 'cause somethin' gets 'ol don't mean you replace it." Then a sly look overtook his features, "If that were true, I wouldn't still be with your Aunt Steffy."

Isabella snorted hard before she broke out in laughter. If there was one thing that she could always count on, it was her Uncle Marsh making everything that seemed absolutely horrible not quite so bad.

*X*

It took over an hour and a half to get from the airport to her uncle's farm. During the ride, Isabella and her uncle talked about all matter of things, from how she had done in her last semester of college to what in the name of fuck there was to do in the area. Though Isabella couldn't say anything that her uncle listed sounded like anything she would actually be interested in doing, at least she did find out that there was a bigger city not quite as far away from the farm as the one she was picked up at, meaning that she wouldn't completely lose her mind from boredom while she was there.

When they turned off the main road onto a dirt drive, there was what seemed like a pack of wild dogs jumping up the side of the truck, whining and barking for attention. Isabella, startled at the actions, let out a squeak and slid away from the open window when she felt the cold, wet nose of one of the bigger dogs.

Head whipping around at the sound of her uncle's chuckle, she looked at him with wide eyes, "Seriously?"

Still chuckling a little, Marshal glanced at her a moment before turning back to the drive so he didn't end up hitting one of the pups but didn't say anything to her. He knew that the girl wasn't the world's biggest fan on dogs, but he was a hunter and every one of the pooches were as well. It wasn't like there were a lot of them, there was only four.

Pulling up to the house, Marshal cut the engine and smirked at his niece, "Awe, com'on now, Isa-bee. It ain't all that bad. You'll be gettin' used to 'em in no time. 'Member Sug, you were sent here by your Momma for protection till that piece of shit ex of yours is caught and there ain't no better warning on God's green earth better than these pups. Ain't no one gonna git on my land without them lettin' me know they here."

Still not liking the fact that there was a bunch of dogs running around, Isabella conceded to that and turned to get out of the truck. It was a fight against Kujo it seemed, but she came out the victor when she told the dog to get back. Blinking a little when it actually listened to her, she slowed opened the door, just in case the huge fucker tried any funny business.

Once she got out of the cab, she followed after her uncle up to the porch, tripping more than once over a dog that got under her feet. Since she had taken to looking down so she didn't actually end up falling, she didn't see her aunt come out to greet them, she did hear her though.

"Mercy me; did you bring home the wrong girl, Marshal? This cannot be my little Isa-bee."

Isabella looked up from the ground and smiled wide at the sight her Aunt Steffy. No longer caring about the little four legged pest, she darted through the mass of fur and up the steps, throwing herself into her aunt's arms, returning her hug without hesitation. "I missed you, Aunt Steffy."

Bell like laughter sounded in the air as Steff squeezed the life out of her niece. After a long moment, she pulled back and held Isabella at arms-length and gave her a very deliberate once over before shaking her head with a tisk, "My Lord have mercy, don't you eat, Child? You ain't nothing but skin and bone. Don't you fret none Isa-Bee, Auntie Steffy gonna fatten you right up. Com'on now, dinner is on the table gettin' cold while we out here yappin' like fools."

Isabella pressed her lips together trying to contain her laughter before shaking her head, "I ate on the plane Aunt Steffy."

There was a look on Steff's face that Isabella hadn't seen since she was five and she didn't like it now either. "I don't recall askin' you if you ate on the plane, Youngin. I said dinner is on the table."

Isabella had to actually put effort into not groaning out loud at that. No, she hadn't actually eaten on the plane, because let's face it that shit will make you sicker than hell, but she really wasn't hungry. All she wanted to do was take a shower and got to bed. However, she knew that her aunt wasn't about to let her go to bed without eating at least one plate of food so she just nodded and followed her aunt inside and into the dining room.

Taking a seat at the table, Isabella took a look around the room, taking in all the knickknacks, trinkets and pageant trophies that her aunt had won when she was younger. There were lace curtains over the windows, the walls were a soft cream color that matched most of the rest of house. The table that took up most of the room was oak and had certainly seen better days. She had to admit, the room was homey and inviting, just like her aunt was.

Her aunt came back in the room with a plate for her and her uncle, nearly overflowing, with mashed potatoes, corn and fried chicken. Looking up at her aunt she thanked her before turning back to the food that turned her stomach. It wasn't that she didn't want it because it smelled like a slice of heaven, but her stomach was tied in knots and she was afraid that she would end up throwing it all back up if she ate.

Once her aunt was sitting with them, she looked at the two hands that were now lying on the table by her, confused as to what the hell they were doing. Looking at her uncle, she just cocked a brow at him, waiting for him to explain.

Marshal smirked at her a little, "Your Mamma might not have made you, but in this house we say grace before eating."

Swallowing a groan at that, she set her fork back on the table and took hands with them, following their lead and closing her eyes and bowing her head as her uncle said grace. Repeating 'Ah, men' once he was done, Isabella pick her fork back up and began to poke at her potatoes but not ever taking a bite.

"You alright, Sugar?"

Head popping up at the question, Isabella looked at her Aunt with slightly wide eyes before nodding, "Yeah, I'm fine. This smells wonderful, Aunt Steffy; thank you."

Her uncle Marsh seemed to beam with pride when he turned to his wife, "you just wait till you taste it, Isa-Bee; You in for a treat. Your Aunt's chicken was voted best in three counties."

Isabella looked at her uncle with wide eyes before looking back at her slightly blushing aunt, "Really?"

Steff waved a dismissive hand in the air, "It ain't nothin' special."

Scoffing a little, Isabella looked at her aunt, "Yea it is. Aunt Steffy, that is amazing."

Marshal snorted, "That ain't nothin'. Her pecan pie won this year's state fair. Her pie beat out over fifty others."

Giving her aunt a huge smile, Isabella gushed, "congratulations Aunt Steffy. Good for you."

Steff waved a hand to fan her burning face, "lands sake you two, it's only food. Now, hush, the both of ya, and eat your damn diner."

Things settled into easy conversation after that and once Isabella actually took a bite, she realized just how hungry she really was and ended up asking for seconds. It really was some good fucking chicken.

Once dinner was done, Marshal showed Isabella to her new room while Steff cleaned up the mess, stopping to point out the bathroom and linen closet where she would find towels and rags. Once he got to the door of her room, there was a look of trepidation on his face as he rested his hand on the knob, "when we talked to your mamma about you stayin' here, she wasn't a real big help in tellin' us what you liked and didn't. Since you gonna be here a time, you're certainly welcome to do what you will with it."

Nodding to him, Isabella glanced in the room when he finally opened the door, her breath catching in her throat a bit at the sight… in a good way. Three walls were a robin's egg blue while there was a very bold, dark royal blue on the remaining wall where a cheery wood framed bed was centered with a nightstand on either side where her suitcases waited for her. There was a desk under one of the two windows with a padded bench under the other. There was a rocking chair in the far corner with a little table and lamp next to it. The bedding was a striking metallic blue and different color shapes and designs embroidered on it. There was no dresser in the room and she found out why when she opened the closet door… it was fucking huge with built in shelving and cupboards. It was perfect.

She turned to still see her uncle leaning on the door jam, watching her as she explored her new dwelling, that same almost scared look in his eyes. He cleared his throat a little and rubbed the back of his neck, "I know it ain't much, Isa-Bee, but…"

Isabella darted across the room and through her arms around his neck, squeezing the shit out of him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Pulling back and giving him a radiant smile, "It's perfect Uncle Marsh. Thank you so much."

Finally giving her one of his real smiles, Marshal ruffled her hair a bit before turning from the room, "you go'n and git settled in Isa-Bee. I suggest you get some sleep, punken. We got church in the mornin'."

This time Isabella did groan a little. "Oh come on, Uncle Marsh. Haven't you ever heard of jet lag? Besides, Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest."

Marshal chuckled a little as he closed her door behind him, "cock crows early, Sug."

Isabella gagged at little at the closed door, "Oh, gross. I really didn't need to know that you fuck my aunt early in the morning." Then she crossed her arms, "isn't it a sin to get laid on Sunday?" Giving her head a little shake, she turned and went to her suitcase to grab her shower stuff and pajamas before heading off to get a shower and get for bed.

*X*

Lying in bed a little over an hour later, Isabella just laid there staring at the ceiling, her mind refusing to go silent and letting her get some sleep. Her thoughts were flying a mile a minute and wouldn't be thwarted no matter what she did. She thought about her friends that she knew she wasn't going to see again for a very long time, if ever again. She thought about the job she left and her heart constricted a little. It wasn't the job itself, it was everything she put into it, how far she climbed the ladder completely on her own. She put everything she had into it and lost it all… all because of a jackass she should have known better than to get involved with.

Rolling onto her side, her eyes went distant as he surfaced in her mind's eye. She pictured his perfect face, his tousled penny colored hair that he never did anything with but it always looked fuckhot. His eyes that looked like sea foam with specks of gold.

She had met Edward in high school and had an instant connection though they didn't start dating until their second year of college. In the beginning, it was perfect. He was just the right amount of clingy to make her feel wanted without feeling smothered. He was soft and caring, loving and gentle. He was her best friend. Things were beyond imagining for so long; so, so long. Then, everything changed.

Flashback

She had gone to visit her father for a long weekend from school since it had been nearly a year since she had had the time since she had taken summer courses to graduate early. While she was there, she had met up with some old friends from high school and went out to the bar.

It was there that the turning point in her life had started.

A very old family friend was out celebrating his 21st birthday with some of the other guys that she had known since they were all kids. She had excused herself from the group she had come with to go over and buy him a drink as she had promised she would the last time she saw him… when he asked her to buy him a bottle since he wasn't old enough to do so on his own quite yet. There was no way to know that he was already hammered since she hadn't talked to him yet. She expected drunk because she knew that particular group of natives VERY well, but not sloshed like he was.

When she reached the table to say hi and ask what he wanted to drink, Jake had cheered at the sight of her before leaping from his chair, grabbing her by the back of the neck and pulling her to him, crashing his lips to hers in what was the wettest, sloppiest kiss she had ever been a part of. With wide eyes, she tried to push him away but the damage had already been done.

One of the guys that she had gone out with was on the football team with Edward and they were still homeboys. The moment he saw her with her lips locked with some other guy, he had pulled out his phone, taken a picture and sent it off to Edward without ever waiting on an explanation on what the fuck that was. Man, did he feel like shit when as soon as he hit send she kneed Jake in the balls before laying into him about how she had a boyfriend and that was completely fucking uncalled for. However, not bad enough to tell her he did that though so she could head it off at the pass, call Edward and explain it to him THEN instead of looking like she was trying to hide it from him.

That was the first time he hit her.

She had gotten back from her trip, all excited to see him at the airport only to be disappointed that he wasn't there. So she took a cab home and called him once she got to her dorm. He was already there waiting. Not expecting anything to be wrong, she had ran as fast as she could through the halls to her room, threw the door open and darted into his arms… or tried to anyways.

She remembered the look in his eyes and on his face when she looked up at him to ask what was wrong, the coldness there. It still send ice down her spine. His voice was dark, flat when he finally spoke, "Do you have anything you want to tell me, Love?"

She had blinked at the cruelty in his tone but couldn't think of a thing other than how much she missed him, and told him as much. She would never forget how badly the back of his hand felt against her cheek or the growl that seemed to take over his voice when he spoke to her again and the fear that flooded her chest as she looked up at him from the floor.

"Do NOT lie to me, Isabella. I saw it. I saw the fucking picture of you being a goddamn whore with that piece of shit from the reservation." He had walked, well more like stalked, over to her before crouching down and grabbing a handful of her hair, yanking it back so she would look in his eyes, crying out from the pain in her scalp. His face was dark and dangerous, his voice quiet and full of promise, "You are mine, do you understand me? If you so much as ever LOOK at another man again, I will rip your fucking eyes out. You belong to me and I swear to god, if ANY man EVER touches you like that again, I will kill him. Do you understand me you little bitch?"

Her body was vibrating with fear as she tried to nod, her voice so soft that it was nearly lost to wind, "Yes, I understand Edward."

The smirk on his perfect face was nothing but that of a demon as he stared at her for a second before shoving her away from him by the grip he still had on her hair. As he stood, he looked down his nose at her, "Good girl. We have reservations for dinner tonight at 6."

Then he left without another word.

End flashback

Sniffling softly and wiping the tears from her cheeks, Isabella rolled over and curled into a ball as other times he abused her assaulted her. There were so many and every one was worse than the last. For six months it went on and over that time she had gotten broken ribs, cuts, bruises, broken arms and sprained wrists. Sure, she had tried to defend herself a few times in the beginning, who the fuck wouldn't? But she was ten inches shorter than he was and about a hundred or more pounds lighter; she never really stood a chance in hell against him. The last time Edward was physical like that with her was the first time she tried to leave, and that was the reason she was where she was now.

Flashback

Family and friends had come up for graduation… and that had included Jake. She tried to keep her distance, tried her damnedest to not get too close to him and stuck by Edward's side the whole time. That wasn't the world's best plan she knew, but it was the only one she had to work with when she saw him come into the room with her dad. Thankfully Jake had gone over to the buffet nearly immediately so she was able to go say hi to her dad and it not look like something it wasn't.

Everything was going well and she was having so much fun that she had forgotten, for only a moment, that nothing was alright and said hi to Jake when he had come over with her father when they were getting ready to leave. She honestly hadn't given it a thought at that one moment. She really should have.

Edward had ended up seeing them.

It was three hours later that they had left the party, her still on her happy high of finally graduating college, getting to see everyone and knowing that in only a few days she would be off to the other side of the world on a vacation that her parents had gone in on together for her.

She didn't see the warning signs until it was too late.

Once they got back to the apartment that they had gotten together, the second the door closed, she found herself slammed into the wall with an irate Edward in her face, sneering and glaring at her. All she could do was stare back, uncomprehending as to what she had done to cause this. Fear flooded her being as he continued to look in her eyes, a sick, twisted satisfaction entering his eyes at the terror in hers.

Time seemed to crawl in slow motion as she saw his hand come up only to speed up as that hand came flying at her face, connecting and snapping her head to the side and back into the wall, a cry ripping from her lips that she couldn't silence if she tried.

She didn't remember hitting the floor but looking up from the middle of the living room carpet she took a guess at how she got there. Wide eyed and terrified, she stared at Edward from her position as he continued to glare at her. Lips trembling she tried to get her tongue to work, to ask what brought on his anger this time, but she never got the chance.

A blood curdling scream ripped from her throat as Edward dove at her. She scrambled back, but wasn't fast enough to get completely out of the way. She dug her fingers into the carpet when she felt Edward grab her ankle. She jerked against him, trying to get free but felt herself get drug back.

She couldn't describe the feeling of petrification that gripped her, she couldn't tell anyone how terrified she had been of the look in his wild eyes when she looked over her shoulder. She didn't know what it was that came over her in that moment, but she rolled to her back and used the foot that wasn't in his grip and kicked with everything she had. The sole of her shoe connected with his forehead. It wasn't what she was aiming for, but it had the desired effect. He let her go and she took her chances, rolling to her feet and getting out of the house before she got really hurt. She got out the door. She got to the end of the balcony. She got to the top of the steps.

That was as far as she got.

She felt his hand grab her by the hair and yank her back from her only exit point before she hit the concrete walkway. She screamed again when she felt her shoulder crack before the side of her head met the pavement.

She must have lost her sight for a minute or two because when she looked up, she expected to see Edward over her, but it wasn't him. It was one of the guys that lived on the floor below them that she had seen at the mailbox a time or two. She saw his lips moving but couldn't hear the word coming out of his mouth. She saw the anger and concern warring in his eyes but couldn't react to it.

She did however jump a mile out of her skin when he touched her though.

All the sound that was muted was now roaring in her ears as the reality of the situation crashed into her. She tried to push herself up a sitting position, crying out when the shoulder that was popped out of its socket was moved. When the guy, Matt she thought, reached to help her, she jerked back out of reflex, looking at him in complete terror.

He gave her an nonthreatening smile and held his hand up, "I'm not going to hurt you, Sweetheart. I'm just going to help you sit up." He had moved with exaggerated slowness pausing a little right before he touched her, and gently slid an arm under her ribs and pulled her into a sitting position, keeping hold of her when she swayed a bit. He had dipped his head to catch her eyes and when she saw her looking back at him, he spoke quietly, "We heard you scream. The police are on their way." Then he broke off eye contact and glanced over his shoulder at his roommate that had taken it upon himself to restrain the son of a bitch before turning back to Isabella, "do you think you can walk?"

Blinking and confused, she just looked at him, no understanding what was going on at the moment. All she knew was that her shoulder hurt, her head hurt and her face was killing her. When she didn't say anything, the guy sighed a little before changing how he was holding on to her, slipping an arm under her bent knees and the other behind her back and, being extremely mindful of her shoulder, lifted her from the ground into his arms and carried her down to the other end of the walkway to the other set of steps and down into the courtyard.

As he was setting her down on one of the benches, one of the other tenants made their way over having heard the commotion from the rescue. "Is everything alright?"

Both she and Matt turned to the new voice, the surfacing bruise on her face catching the old lady's attention, Matt seeing it out of the corner of his eye again. He turned back her for a second before looking at his neighbor, "I think she's in shock, Miss Adams. Can you get her a glass of water?" Once the old lady went to fetch a bottle of water from her fridge, Matt turned back to her, snapping his fingers in front of her face to see the reaction it had.

She screamed and jerked away, nearly falling backwards off the bench.

Matt caught her before that could happen, apologized and told her that everything was going to alright now, told her that she was safe. She didn't even know what that word meant any more. She would never be safe again.

While she was in her own little world, Matt was looking up at the balcony where his roommate had the son of bitch pinned to the ground, holding his face to the hard and unforgiving concrete by the fucked up hair on his head with a knee in his back. Patrick's mother was in this kind of relationship for years and Pat didn't play that fucking game. He took a massive amount of pleasure in beating the shit out of guys that got their rocks off hitting a woman that was half their size, much like the girl he was tending to was in comparison to the guy that was making out with the floor. It was five minutes later that they heard the sounds of the sirens coming down their street.

End flashback

Isabella brought her hand up to her face, gently touching the cheek that was still bruised and tender from the hit she took that was hard enough to crack the bone.

Seven minutes. It took them seven minutes to get to the apartment after the 911 call was made and she shuddered to think about what might have happened had Matt and Patrick not been home that night. She had been taken to the hospital, treated and released that night.

She had called Jake to pick her up.

The next morning she was in a courtroom for Edward's arraignment on charges of domestic violence and assault 1. She was granted a restraining order. He was granted bail. An hour later, he was nowhere to be found. Two hours after that she was on a plane to the middle of BFE Texas to stay with her mother's brother that Edward didn't know about in a small little town that no one ever heard of until Edward was found.

Since the charges were not that severe in the overall eyes of the law, no one was hoping for a manhunt to last for more than a day or two, not with murders and rapists running around the country. Plus, Edward had the means to be just about anywhere by the time that he was discovered to have run. Her father had some friends that owned him a favor or two from his time on the force, so he was able to call some of those in and get Edward's face on the news a few times before they too would stop.

She had to leave everything back home that could be used to find her. Her car, credit cards, cell phone. She only had her money because she closed her account and got cash instead of a cashier's check. She lost everything while he was probably lying on a fucking beach somewhere.

Isabella sighed as she hugged herself tighter. She was here by her own choice. She knew, without a doubt in her mind, that if Edward found her, he would kill her; restraining order be damned. Edward was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, raised to think he was better than everyone, above the law.

He would walk right through it and she would never walk again.

A rough sob shook her frame as more tears tracked down her cheeks. She had thought she was being quiet, that she couldn't be heard… she was wrong. There was only a short rap on the door for a warning before the door was open, the light from the hall flooding her room, illuminating her face and the horrendous discoloration of her skin that went from hairline to chin and ear to over her nose and she wasn't fast enough to hide before her aunt saw it.

Steff's hand came to her mouth to catch the gasp before she dropped it to her chest, "gracious Isa-Bee." Moving faster than she had ever known her aunt to move, Steff was sitting on the edge of her bed and pulling her into her arms, holding her tight to her chest.

Isabella was, at that point, tired of trying to be strong anymore. Fisting her hands in a white knuckle grip on her aunt's nightgown, she broke down, crying hard, body shaking sobs.

Steff just held her niece tightly to her, running her fingers through her hair and down her back, letting her get it all out, rocking her back and forth like she did when the girl was just a tiny tike. It had been over fifteen years since the last time she had seen Isa-Bee and this was the very last reason she would have ever wanted too. She turned to the doorway at the feeling of being watched and saw her husband standing there, his normally bright, sky blue eyes darker than the deepest part of the ocean. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him so angry, or even if she ever had. This little angel in her arms was his sugar, his little Isa-bee. She couldn't even imagine what he was feeling at the moment as his only niece bawled like a babe in her arms over something that should NEVER have occurred.

Both of them knew there was more to the story than what they were told when they were called out of the blue to find out if she could stay with them for a while but neither one of them had any intention of asking her about it. If it came out that was one thing, but by the sight of her face, they were not going to be the ones to cause her even more pain that she was in.

Isabella cried in her aunt's arms for what felt like ages before she finally ended up crying herself to sleep. Steff held her a few moments longer before very slowly and carefully laying her down and pulling her covers up to her chin. Brushing her bangs out of her face, she bent down and kissed her forehead softly so she didn't hurt her before standing and leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

Leaning back against it, she closed her eyes and sighed lightly before looking at her husband, "What are we gonna do for that girl, Marshal?"

Looking to the ceiling, asking God for the patience of a saint, he looked at his wife a short moment before nodding down the hall to their room, "We gonna let her rest for as long as she wants for now, figure things out better than that later when we ain't so upset."

As Steff walked with her husband to go to bed, her head snapped up to look at him, "what about church?"

Cocking a brow at his wife, "How many time you think that girl asked God for help and it never came? If she gits out of bed early enough and wants to go then fine, but I ain't about to be forcing her to do nothin' she don't wanna, ya hear? You ain't either. She got enough shit on her plate to deal with, she don't be needin' that too."

*X*

The next morning, a very groggy and drained Isabella was pulled out of the land of dreams but the mouthwatering aroma of cinnamon. Pushing herself up, wincing slightly at the protest of her still hurt shoulder, she took a breath of the scent she missed like you wouldn't believe.

Aunt Steff's homemade from scratch sticky buns.

All but leaping out of bed, she grabbed her brush and darted to the bathroom to take care of business, using the brush to style her hair in a way to cover the worst of the bruise. The way she figured it, they had seen it last night so there was no reason to spend forever covering it with make up when this would take care of the worst of it. Plus, those sticky buns where the fucking bomb right out of the oven. She just hoped that they were still within ten minutes of getting taken out. That was when they were her favorite.

Thundering down the steps, she slid across the wood floors into the dining room, slipping on a rug but catching herself before she fell before continuing on into the kitchen just in time to see her Aunt pull a try out. Bouncing on the tips of her toes, she squealed out loud before shouting, "I call the center bun!"

Her aunt's laughter rang out in the kitchen as she turned to look at her niece, taking in the childlike excitement over something so simple as the center sticky bun. Smiling wide, "Mercy, Punken, it's just a…"

Isabella was already shaking her head, "It isn't JUST anything but the greatest thing in the whole world, Aunt Steffy." Then her bangs flew up her forehead, "wait, Uncle Marsh didn't call it did he? I swear I'll piss in his Wheaties if he called my sticky bun."

There was a deep laugh behind her calling her attention, her GLARING attention, over her shoulder at her uncle was standing leaning a hip on the counter, "You'll do what now, Isa-bee?"

Isabella cocked a brow at her uncle, "I said I'll piss in your Wheaties if you called my sticky bun."

Snorting hard and shaking his head, he waved his hand to the tray, "You're Aunt Steffy baked them up special for you, Sug. That whole batch is yours."

Squealing like a pig in heat, she whipped back around and pounced on her aunt, repeatedly kissing her cheek and saying 'thank you' between every one before grabbing a plate off the counter, grabbing the tongs and fishing out her favorite one before the time of perfection passed.

Once she had it out and took her first bit of it, Marshal cleared his throat a bit to call her attention to him. Once he had it, "Your aunt and I are gonna be headin' off to church here in a few minutes. If you rather not go, that's just fine."

Pausing with her teeth half way through the sticky bun, she thought about it for a moment before taking her bite. Once she swallowed she looked at her uncle, "I would really rather not."

Giving her an understanding smile, Marshal nodded, "well, maybe next week?"

Doubtful, she thought but still smiled back, "maybe next week."