AN: NOTE that I have posted TWO chapters right in a row. Some of you miss chapters when I do this at times so please, note the chapter numbers and don't skip the last chapter before this one!

Again, I can't stress enough... you WANT this music when you read. It just adds so much more to the story. To me, this story without music is like watching a film without any sound. - Wild

Music for this chapter (on repeat): To Where You Are by Josh Groban, The Way of The Sword by Hans Zimmer, Prayer Lizzie West, You've Got the Love by The Source ft. Candi Stanton, Gladiator (Techno Remix)by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, Myth, Power and Beauty by Nick Glennie-Smith, The Final Charge by Hans Zimmer, Escape (Mt. Eden edit) by Craig Armstrong, PM's Love Theme by Craig Armstrong, Only Time by Enya, Somewhere In Time by John Barry, Adieu Romeo & Juliet (Farewell Love Theme) by Nino Rota, Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve, I Will Always Return by Bryan Adams.

SEVENTY-FIVE

o

*To Where You Are*

Pasadena, California

Jack had dinner with his children when they arrived and when they all left him that night he found himself sitting on the porch swing and running his hand over the smooth wood where Irina normally sat beside him. He hadn't cried since the funeral so emotionally exhausted and felt the tears returning to him as her face flashed before his eyes in all the times they'd spent together on this swing.

The first night they'd moved into the house, feeling Sydney kicking inside of her when she was pregnant, and the twins. Rocking with Ria when she was colicky and had finally fallen asleep like an angel against them. He couldn't stop the smile through his sad snort of laughter remember Lena suddenly appearing before them hanging from the porch of the roof with wide eyes sneaking out in a time that wasn't funny then, but funny now when he thought of how long ago that seemed now. He could still smell Irina's perfume lingering in his nose, feel the delicate skin of her neck against his lips seeing himself nuzzling down into the crook of her shoulder and hear her soft laughter.

This house held so many memories for him in his life with and without her and he couldn't bare the thought of spending another twenty years without her again.

"I need you…" He whispered into the darkness, "I can't do this again without you."

'You can,' she answered in the stillness and beat of his heart, 'They need you, Jack.'

"I want to be with you," He wiped at the corner of his eye where the tears were threatening to fall and the bench swayed slightly when he pushed off with his toes.

'You will be and until then…I'm here…just a breath away,' She answered and he swore he felt her warm breath against his ear when he closed his eyes.

"I love you…" he kept his eyes closed seeing her face before him and wanting to reach out and hold her.

'And I love you…never forget that.' She smiled softly at him and he felt his heart flutter.

"Never again…" He shook his head with new tears thinking about how he could ever have doubted she loved him before, "Am I the only one you're talking to? The only one that hears you?" He asked after a minute wiping his tears wondering if she'd been speaking with their children as well.

'No…I've spoken with our children but Lena has stopped listening…she's shutting me out.' Her voice sounded disheartened and Jack swallowed hard.

"Why?" He asked quietly with his hand lying over his heart.

'For the same reason I stopped listening to my mother when she was trying to speak to me…I didn't think I deserved to hear what she was saying and it hurt too much.'

"Why would Lena think she didn't deserve to hear you?" Jack sniffled feeling his chest tighten with concern for his daughter.

'She blames herself for my death…'

"She needs you."

'I'm with her…and she knows it…she just won't 'see' me or hear me.'

"She's stubborn like you." He laughed softly through his tears having heard her exasperation in her voice and sigh. "I'll try and talk to her." He sobered with a soft sigh, "I love you, My Love…and I miss you terribly."

'I love you too…forever and always.'

St. Petersburg, Russia – Alexander Palace

"You're just going to leave?" Arman asked with a heavy heart shifting the baby in his arms as she started to fuss with hunger.

"I'll come back." Lena looked at him helplessly and saw the fear in his eyes, "I'm not leaving you…I just need to get a way for a little while…alone… to clear my head."

"To where? Where are you going?" He asked with his own thick tears handing her the baby who was crying out right now and Lena sat on the edge of their bed to nurse her and calm her down.

*The Way of The Sword*

"To Japan." Lena answered softly helping her daughter to latch on when she began to snort in frustration.

"Japan…" Arman repeated feeling the weight of the world crushing down on him remembering the last time Lena had gone to Japan to grieve she was gone for months. He sat heavily down beside her on the bed scrubbing his hands over his face, "And you're going to take her with you?"

As much as it pained him to let them both go, he desperately wanted Lena to have time to bond with their baby which she hadn't really had the chance to do since their worlds came crashing down. She fed her and changed her and took care of all her necessary needs but never once had he seen his wife just holding her to hold her, snuggle or cuddle her, stare into her tiny eyes or look at all her little features. Lena's face was almost completely lost in her own world when she wasn't crying and it scared him to see her withdrawing so much.

"I have to…" Lena swallowed hard with a slight shrug looking down at the baby nursing in her arms and his heart sank a little more, knowing she was saying that strictly out of nutritional necessity for the baby and not because Lena was thinking of anything more in her own depression.

Nara, Japan

Lena stood in the doorway of the darkened room of the mountain top monastery looking at her sensei, whom was a tiny frail man of one hundred and two. The baby was swaddled in blankets and in the crook of her arm as she stared at the man before her and tears welled in her eyes.

"The Light Warrior…I've been expecting you." He spoke with a calming voice puffing on his long pipe.

"Did you know this was going to happen? Did you know my mother was going to die saving my life?" Lena asked with a choked voice.

"Your mother fulfilled her destiny." He spoke quietly and Lena immediately dropped to her knees with a strangled cry of pain and rage.

"You knew and you never said anything! Why didn't you warn us or her at least this was going to happen?" She cried and the baby in her arms began to cry as well, scared from her mother's wails.

"Your mother was told of her destiny many years ago…that she would have to give her life so that her daughter would live. She knew this and accepted this." He continued to speak softly with eyes going to the crying baby in her arms. "Now you will be able to fulfill your destiny, and your daughter will fulfill hers' as well."

He watched them carefully for a moment and the interaction between the two, the way the baby was screaming for her mother's attention and how Lena reacted to her with barely any emotion not really hearing her cries in what she was trying to say.

"Your mother fulfilled all the things the stars had written for her life and it was time for her to move on," He set his pipe aside.

"She promised she'd never leave me," Lena sobbed trying to get her baby to stop crying with a pacifier but Irina wouldn't have it.

"And she kept her promise." Sensei answered in an almost scolding tone catching her eyes, "You're just refusing to see what's right in front of you. You're closing your eyes in the darkness not wanting to see the light that will guide you from it." He paused shaking his head softly to see the wailing baby turning red and staring up at her mother who only continued to stare at him, "She's trying to help you and you're refusing to hear her."

"What are you talking about, Sensei? I don't understand…" Lena cried shaking her head with a sob as she was emotionally drained.

"Why is it that you won't look into her eyes when she cries for you?" He asked nodding towards the baby and Lena's eyes snapped to the baby screaming in her arms glancing over her and then quickly away. "Its because you know whose reflection you'll see staring back at you, isn't it?" He paused, "Why do you think she cries so much?" He asked when she didn't answer.

"I don't know." Lena sobbed with head hung in shame and feeling like a failure as a mother already.

"You do know, you just won't listen…you're holding your mother's heart in your hands and yet, you do not hear it." He spoke softly nodding at the baby and watched Lena's eyes flash up to him then the baby and away again before sobbing. "Look into her eyes, Lena." He commanded softly, "Listen to what she's trying to tell you."

Lena cried slowly turning her head to look at her baby in her hands, her little head red from crying and hands balled into tiny fists by her head, Lena stare at her face for the first time for more then a few seconds and cried harder when their eyes met and held. Her tiny little gaze wasn't supposed to be able to see anything but light and shadows so new to the world but Lena knew she saw her, felt like she could see right through her and into her soul and after a moment Irina's cries tapered off as the two remained staring at each other and gradually Lena's did too after Irina was completely still, wide awake and just staring at her.

'I'm right here…and I need you, too.' Her mother's voice rang through her heart in an instant like a loud gong stealing her breath.

"An endless chain never to be broken," Sensei spoke quietly and startled Lena when she realized he was now right beside her down at the baby in her hands whose eyes were firmly held on Lena's. "Your light out of the darkness," He nodded towards the baby softly, "Can you see it now?" He asked with a gentle hand on her arm, skin almost as soft in his very old age as the newborn in her hands.

Lena sniffled and nodded slightly trying to hold back a sob while he continued to speak and she went back to staring into her daughter's eyes.

"The daughter becomes the mother. She is your light as you were once hers. Your life prior to this moment has prepared you for what is to come…just as your mother's life prepared her for the rest of the destiny she needed to fulfill…now it is your time to shine, Lena…you are the light that will lead your people forward and towards a greater destiny."

"But why did she have to die?" Lena cried softly with hand gently cupping her baby's head and thumb gently caressing her downy hair.

"We all have to die at some point. Without death, we cannot be reborn with another chance to live again." He smiled at her softly with eyes shifting to the baby. "Death is not the end, is just another beginning. Your mother was a woman of great honor…she fulfilled the destiny she was fated to in this last life and she will fulfill another in this continuous cycle." His gentle eyes locked with Lena's, "You must move forward towards fulfilling your own. It will not be easy but you will never be alone…she's always with you."

Lena looked back at the baby holding her dark imploring eyes for a moment before flashing back to where sensei had been to find herself alone with Irina in the dark room. She swallowed hard looking back at her baby and lifted her gently to kiss her forehead while tears fell down her face. She rested her forehead against Irina's teeny tiny little one and then scooped her up against her chest, heart to heart walked to her room, lying on her bed with her awake but still baby against her chest and closed her eyes to listen.

'I love you to the moon and back,' Lena thought with concentration on her heartbeat and the tiny ball of warmth against her chest.

'More than the stars in the Heavens,' She heard her mother's voice respond and Lena inhaled a sob with eyes remaining close and hand palming her daughter's back gently.

"And grains of sand on earth…I love you." Lena responded softly with pounding heart.

'Forever and always.' She heard her voice again. 'I'm always with you…I'll never leave you.'

"I need you…" Lena cried softly and kissed the top of her baby's head holding her tiny hand with her fingers and caressing the back with small circles from her fingertip.

'I'm here…we'll get through this together.'

Lena spent two weeks at the monastery channeling the unimaginable devastating grief into love in getting to know her baby, memorizing all her perfect details, inspecting her over and over. Learning her cries and noises and feeling the energy she emitted with every tiny heartbeat thundering against her own. Before, Irina had seemed to cry all the time and by the end of the first week, Lena had noticed that she hardly cried at all now…she had gotten her mother's attention, and that was seemingly all she wanted, was to be heard. Her baby became the balm to her soul and soon, hardly put her down unless she had to. She knew from prior experience that whether you wanted it to or not, life went on and hers' would to… she didn't have the option to stand still when others needed her…she had to trudge forward through her grief one step at a time.

*Prayer*

When she arrived home her family had already returned from Los Angeles and after reuniting with Arman, hugging and kissing him, holding him tightly she saw the relief flash through his eyes.

"I told you I'd come back." Lena smiled softly at him through her tears palming his cheek with one hand and holding Irina in the other. "I love you, Sailor." She leaned up with noses brushing.

"I love you, Space Critter." He smiled through his own tears seeing the change in her eyes and especially the way she held and looked at their baby. Something had definitely changed. They kissed and when they pulled back he tucked the hair behind her ear, "What happened while you were there?" He asked softly wondering what brought the change.

"I looked into her eyes," She looked down to the baby asleep and so peaceful swaddled in the blankets in her arms, "And knew everything would be okay…"

When they finished talking she felt tired and told him she was off to take a nap and walked to her parents room and set eyes upon it for the first time since her mother died. She cried softly readjusting the baby on her chest as she sat carefully down on her mothers side of the bed and then laid down with Irina lying on her chest with tiny ear over her heartbeat falling asleep the steady beating drum she recognized and was comforted by.

The pillows Lena was lying back against still held traces of her mother's scent and she inhaled deeply with eyes closed seeing the flash of them just days before her death when they'd fallen asleep together in this same spot, with her head on her mother's chest the way Irina's was on hers' now.

Jack walked in quietly and stopped suddenly seeing Lena in Irina's spot and sucked in a sharp breath, blinking hard for a moment again at believing he was seeing her mother when he looked at his daughter who looked so much like her. He smiled softly at her seeing the baby on her chest and saw flashes of Irina lying with Lena as a baby on her chest in the same way. Now the roles had changed with Irina sleeping on Lena's chest falling asleep to the beat of her heart.

"I'm sorry, Daddy I didn't know you were home from town and just wanted to lay down a few minutes-" She started to get up with tears rolling from her eyes and Jack waived her back down.

"Its all right, you don't have to explain." He smiled at her softly walking towards the bed, "I was just coming to do the same…Would you mind if I lie with the two of you, Peanut?" He asked noticing the change in the way she handled the baby, not more gently but more intimately and he felt his heart smile.

"Yes, of course Daddy…It's your bed." She sniffled with a soft smile and he lay down his exhausted body on the massive Imperial bed.

"She seems much more calm now," He feathered his fingers with a smile over Irina's tiny head reaching across the space that separated them on his fishing expedition.

"Yes," Lena nodded softly with lips gently brushing against the top of her baby's head, "I wasn't paying attention before…" she spoke quietly with gaze staring off in a daze.

"So she got through to you, then?" He smiled at her eyes flashing slightly with surprise, "She told me you weren't listening to her. You should have heard the exasperation in her tone." He laughed softly through new tears and Lena gasped softly.

"You can hear her, too? She told you that?" Lena asked in barely a whisper with hand palming gently over her baby's back.

"Yes…she said you weren't 'seeing her," He paused with eyes softly going to the gorgeous baby asleep so peacefully, "Or hearing her because you felt guilty over her death." He swallowed hard, "She understood…because she did the same after her own mother's death in refusing to listen to her."

"But Babushka's death wasn't Mama's fault," Lena shook her head softly, "The KGB were responsible…not Mama."

"And you weren't responsible either for your mother's death." Jack spoke quietly with a sigh, "It was just meant to be…I hate it…but it was meant to be." He stared at the ceiling with tears running from his eyes into the pillow.

"Hey," Sydney appeared with Nadia and Elektra in the doorway both looking a bit surprised to see Lena with the baby lying there as well and smiled, "We just thought we'd come take a nap with you if that's okay?" Neither of them said it, but they felt closer to their mother when they were in her room, lying on her bed as they all used to do.

Jack smiled through his tears thinking 'more of you for me to love' when he looked at his daughters and granddaughter and how when they were all together and near him he felt even closer to Irina. He patted the bed and the three quickly crawled up with Lena scooting towards the middle with Elektra beside her wanting to be close to the baby and Nadia spooned behind her and then Jack with Sydney on the other side of him.

They were barely settled when Anya arrived with Eva and Lara and just behind them, Ria and Isolde. Their own babies were already down and sleeping in their nurseries and all had tears in their eyes in missing Irina and wanting to be close to her, and together. They didn't need to ask or say anything with Jack waving them in and everyone scooted again a little more to make room. Sydney's girls filed into spoon formation behind her on the bed while Ria and Isolde filed in behind Nadia surrounding Jack and Lena who had baby Irina sleeping on her chest.

"I miss Babushka," Elektra's little voice broke the silence with a quiver and teary eyes, having slept with her babushka many times in this bed and this being the first time without her here to snuggle with.

"We miss her too, Baby." Nadia kissed her little ear snuggled up behind her with new tears of her own. "But she's still with you…there's a piece of her heart right here." She placed her palm over Elektra's chest and large beating heart of her own, a Dominate Trait now passed down to all of Irina's grandchildren.

"There's a piece of Babushka's heart in me?" Elektra asked with wide eyes feeling her chest.

"Yes, Wiggle Bug. There is a piece of Babushka's heart in all of you." Jack smiled softly at her.

"In all of us?" Elektra looked around with wide eyes at all the people in the bed with them.

"Yes." Jack nodded with a teary-smile at the thought and feeling Irina's love thundering around him surrounded by all the pieces of her heart.

"Babushka's heart must have been 'really' big."

They all laughed softly at her innocence.

"Yes, Sweetheart…it was." Jack smiled over at her, staring into her big brown eyes.

*You've Got the Love*

Time marched on and a month before the Olympics, Lara told them all quietly one morning at breakfast when asked if she was getting nervous for the games, that she was no longer going to run. She was withdrawing she told them through teary sobs leaving them all stunned.

"Why?" Sydney reached over clasping her daughter's hand with tears in her eyes.

"I can't do it without Babushka…she was my coach…she taught me to run, I can't do it without her now." Lara started sobbing and Sydney left her chair immediately to hold her daughter tightly.

"Oh Sweetheart, you have to run…you were born to run just like Babushka…just like Lena," She smiled over at her sister who was looking at them through tear-filled eyes of her own.

"I don't want to do it alone." Lara shook her head hiccupping and sniffling tired of running alone now and missing the smile and laughter of her running buddy, her Babushka.

"You won't be alone…I'll be right there waiting for you at the end." Sydney tried to wipe her child's tears away.

"And so will I." Lena added softy surprising everyone and she smiled softly as her tears fell looking at Lara, "As soon as I'm cleared to run again…I'll run with you." She nodded and the whole table cried silently watching her step up and fill Irina's shoes in another aspect, one not so monumental to the outside world as her becoming the next Tsar but monumental for her family. She was the light that would lead them out of this dark storm of despair.

One week later, Lena had been cleared five weeks after giving birth to resume her workouts and took a deep breath in her running clothes in the early twilight of morning as she raised her fist and knocked softly on Lara's door.

"Are you ready?" Lena asked with a soft smile and forcing back the tears when Lara answered wearing the same expression. Lara nodded and the two set off into the darkness, running on a path Lena knew blindfolded having ran it so many times in her life with her mother showing her the way. She was wearing black and Lara in red and Sydney cried watching them go from her balcony feeling Vaughn's arms wrap around her from behind.

"Black and red," Vaughn whispered against her ear, "Looks like you and your mother down there." He smiled softly with new tears and heart aching as he too, greatly missed Irina and couldn't help but see her more everyday in Lena.

They ran together every morning or evening alternating workouts at the opposite times and everyone else helping out and each other when they could all finding their new purpose and first test were these Olympics, hosting them for the first time without Irina's leadership and getting Lara through them without her guidance.

"It's almost eerie at times, Mom," Lara smiled over at her mother while packing her back getting ready to go to the Olympic Village a little less then a month later.

"What's almost eerie?" Sydney asked handing her youngest the folded clothes she was stuffing into her Olympic gym bag.

"How running with Aunt Lena…working out with her…just sometimes, I look over and I think I'm seeing Babushka…or hear her laugh or smile," She shook her head with tears in her eyes and smile, "Or the way they both know exactly how to egg me on and push me further then I think I can go."

Sydney smiled widely with a tightlipped grin wiping at her falling tears looking up at her beautiful daughter.

"Lena says I need to do this…I need to run and remember Babushka and the happiness and fun we used to have together running." Lara wiped at her eyes zipping her bag closed.

"She's right. You can do this…and I have no doubt in my mind that your Babushka will be running right beside you as she always has." Sydney smiled at her cupping her cheek and then kissing it before hugging her tightly.

"Mom," Lara sniffled when she stepped back with a smile wiping at her eyes, "Will you stay with me in the village?"

"Of course, I will." Sydney smiled with new tears at another tradition continuing. "I love you to the moon and back..."

"More than the stars in the Heavens and grains of sand on Earth," Lara smiled widely.

"Forever and always…I love you." Sydney finished with brimming tears at yet something else that had been engrained into her children's very being just as it had in hers and all starting with her mother.

These were the small but large things that let her know, her mother was truly living on in all of them; her love would see them through and she would forever and always be with them. Just as she always promised.

*Gladiator Techno remix of (Now We Are Free)*

St. Petersburg, Russia - Summer Olympics

They all waited anxiously in the packed stadium for the last torch barer to bring in the flame that would begin the games. The Imperial Family was dressed in their Imperial Regalia for the first time since Irina's funeral two months ago tonight' celebration of the Opening Games officially marking the end of the time in mourning for the nation.

"Here she comes," Sydney gasped through her tears from the platform the entire Imperial Family was once again perched upon and cried with cheers along with the thunderous roar of everyone else when Lara came running into the stadium with the Olympic torch in hand.

Her image was immediately broadcast up onto a series of massive screens surrounding the top of the stadium walls showing her running profile to all and they all gasped with new tears and smiles when the alternating screens suddenly flashed to old footage of Lena at the same age running in the same profile shot at the Moscow Olympics, and then everyone burst into tears when the screens shifted again and the footage of Irina at about the same age running in the Soviet Nationals lit up the screens in the same profile shot. The final image in the sequence was of all three of them running in the Marathon for All Mankind last year and finishing together, stride for stride with matching smiles. Three generations running together around the stadium on the massive screens with their exact same strides in sync with each other and causing everyone to sob especially Lara who was running with blinding tears.

'I'm right here…right beside you.' She heard her Babushka's voice thunder threw her pounding heart and ran on with head held high.

"You're not alone, Baby Girl," Sydney cried with tears of happiness having been the one to plan this part as a tribute to her mother and family and a perfect ending to show that they would all go forward, they would all succeed and celebrate the brilliance she brought to the world.

Lena met Lara on the lower platform and took over her mother's duties, she kissed Lara's forehead with a confident tear-filled smile and took the golden bow and flaming arrow, aiming into the stars she pulled back and let go…send the arrow soaring through the night sky and into the caldron illuminating the darkness with a burst of light and everyone roared with cheers.

When Lena replaced the bow the cameras were still on her and with a smile and nod, tears streaming down her face, she reached up and released the black band around her upper arm to officially end the period of mourning and everyone in her family and the Russian team followed her lead by releasing the black bands of mourning from their own arms. The sky burst into booming fireworks of color and Irina's image was shown one last time in tribute on the massive screens.

Days later, Lara flew around the track and into the arms of her mother and then Lena after winning the Gold in the 1500m and continuing the legacy of her family with a raging smile. Standing on the podium and kissing her Gold medal with tears in her eyes, she felt Irina right there with her.

*Myth, Power and Beauty*

September 2028

"Have any of you seen Lena?' Arman asked popping his head into the living room the night before the Coronation with his stomach tied in knots with nervousness. He'd just put the baby down to sleep after Lena finished nursing her and now he couldn't find his wife anywhere.

Everyone else shared quick worrisome glances that she would suddenly disappear without telling anyone.

"Is she out running? Clearing her mind for tomorrow maybe?" Bella asked bouncing her great-granddaughter Iribella on her lap.

"Her running shoes are still upstairs," Arman smiled at her softly, "First thing I checked." He added knowing his wife well enough to know that was the first place to look if she disappeared.

"I saw her not that long ago," Jaxx offered, "She looked really stressed out and anxious so I didn't ask where she was going when she told me she'd be back in a while." He looked at Arman apologetically.

Jack sighed heavily scrubbing his hand over his face, "I know where she is…I'll go get her." He stood with all eyes on him.

"Where is she?" Arman asked quietly worried for his wife knowing how upset and stressed she had been and it was escalating the closer the Coronation day came.

"I don't know for certain…but I'm guessing she went to see her mother." Jack answered and a soft gasp went around the room with tears flooding their eyes instantly. "Irina did the same the night before her Coronation." He clasped Arman's shoulder in support, "I'll go talk to her." He spoke quietly feeling it in his heart he was supposed to go.

When he walked into the cathedral he instantly saw Lena kneeling at the base of her mothers' tomb, her arms were folded over her head and her face was buried into them with forehead resting against the cool marble stone. She was in almost the exact same position Irina had been in twenty-five years before when he found her like this, just one tomb over to the right.

Lena's eyes flashed up to his brimming with tears and burning red when he kneeled down beside her.

"Hi," He smiled softly at her finger her hair behind her ear. "I had a feeling you'd be here." He shook his head with smile grow with welling tears staring at her, "You're so much like your mother, even in this."

"What do you mean?" Lena sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

"That she was nervous about becoming the Tsar of Imperial Russia and came here," He looked around at the massive structure and then to Anastasia's tomb just behind Lena, "To speak to her mother about her worries…afraid she wasn't going to be a good Tsar."

Lena shook her head at how preposterous that sounded, as her mother was amazing in her role.

"Mama was the best…I have no idea what I'm doing, Daddy…she was supposed to be here to show me…I don't want to fail them…fail her." She cried.

"You do know what you're doing…you've been doing it these last few months in taking over things and keeping them running smoothly…in conducting the Games and leading Lara and the nation through it…you became the Tsar the moment your mother died," He cried softly reaching of her hand, "All eyes turned to you because you're the light everyone needs to lead them through their sorrow…to show them it will be okay and you've been doing that."

"I haven't really done anything…just implemented things Mama already had going and kept them going from what I learned from her about them." Lena shook her head softly looking down and fingering the hair over her other ear. "That wasn't difficult."

"It wasn't difficult for you…because you were born to do this. You've been taught by the best teacher there is in how to do this job and do it well." Jack tilted her chin up with his fingers. "She's been teaching you your whole life preparing you for this, Lena. She believed you could do it now…she kept telling me that night we talked about her stepping down that she felt it in her heart that you were ready and it was your time to take over." He smiled at her softly with pained tears and reached into his pocket removing a small stack of pictures and handing them to her.

The first was of Lena as a baby asleep against Irina's chest while Irina sat behind her desk in the Kremlin on the phone conducting business, the second was of Lena about a year and a half old with crayon in hand and color wildly while Irina read over documents, the next was of Irina reading more documents with Lena asleep at her feet under the giant Imperial desk clutching Mr. Yellow Bear, the next was of Irina in the Oval Office with President Bush and the first lady playing Go-Fish with Lena, another had her onboard Imperial One asleep on the sofa with her head in Irina's lap after returning from some foreign trip, another was of her playing with children in Somalia having accompanied her mother on another trip, the pictures were all the same in that they were a photographic documentary of how Lena had one way or another been preparing for this role under Irina's guidance all her life.

The last picture in the series was of Lena and Irina sitting side by side at the Press Conference with Irina announcing that morning she was going to be stepping down and Lena taking over.

"You're ready," Jack spoke quietly while Lena stared at the first and last photographs with streaming tears in silence. "You're ready." He resounded and pulled her into his arms, kissing her head while she cried and he closed his eyes sitting together at the end of Irina's tomb.

*The Way of the Sword*

Lena hadn't been able to sleep at all that night and got out of bed before the sun rose, throwing on her running clothes needing to burn off some adrenaline and try to sort through all that was running through her mind. Arman was sleeping soundly in the bed and she paused hovering over him with a teary smile, dropping a kiss to the space before his temple and whispering, "I love you," before making her way to her baby and doing the same. She would be back before Irina woke up hungry and wanting to be fed and took one last look at her with tears starting to fall, kissing her little cheek and feathering her tiny dark Mohawk before leaving the room quietly.

She quietly made her way down the stairs and fingered the locket her mother had given her when she was little, a locket that held both of their birthstones, baby Antony's and now, her daughter's as well.

She stretched out as she walked past the lake and towards the ruins, squatting down to brush her hand over the gravestone, kissing her fingers and whispering "I love you" to both of them before heading off past the trees.

Lena slowly moved at first, beginning with a walk as she passed through the massive grounds of the estate and thought about all that her mother had taught her over the years, the more she thought about the more tears began to fall recalling conversations, lessons and laughter as her mother had made it all fun, even when they were sparring. With the moonlight lighting the way, her speed gradually increased with the rapidness of which memories began flying back to her and she ran on with blinding tears and a mix of emotions running through the forest, in and out of the shadows as hard as she could run and finally breaking into the open field of rolling hills.

Her heart was thundering in her ears and against the walls of her chest while she pumped her arms rapidly running her heart out and racing the ghost inside her with a smile and tears that eventually came, knowing her mother was right there beside her.

'You can do this, Sweetheart…I believe in you.' She heard her mothers' voice echo through her soul and Lena inhaled a sob pressing on and pushing harder. 'I'm right here with you, forever and always.'

"I know you are." Lena finally admitted with blinding tears feeling her mother's presence all around her and in her heart, "I hear you, Mama…" She cried and then screamed as she ran with hair whipping wildly behind her letting go of the last of the rage inside her over her mother's death and being thrown into this position.

The past could not be changed and she was responsible for moving them forward in what was going to be the most difficult, trying, and rewarding time of her life. She had her own destiny to fulfill and she would keep running towards it.

*Escape (Mt. Eden Edit)*

The horse carriage pulled slowly up in front of St. Isaacs Cathedral and Lena exited under the eyes of many who were torn between this being a happy and sad occasion under the circumstances, watching her walk forward. Arman walked beside her carrying baby Irina and everyone gasped as she past with spectacular beauty in her long golden robe and white and gold dress.

Everyone else was already seated inside and her family instantly had tears in their eyes to see her walking towards them at the front of the cathedral. Jack was already seated in his throne beside the one Irina had always occupied now void of her presence and waiting for the new ruler to take her place.

Arman stepped aside with the baby and Lena stood alone, with tears welling in her eyes as they landed on the portrait of her mother before her and giving her strength and becoming her focal point in getting her through this.

The ceremony began with the priests recognizing Irina as the last Imperial Tsar and speaking of her reign and legacy and then onto the official ceremony with Lena standing before them all for the first half hour as she took several serious oaths about her commitments to God and country.

She lifted her arms straight out at her sides while they removed her golden robe and then dress, leaving her to stand before them all in only her white slip preparing her for communion in the symbolic gesture of purifying her. When she was finished her ladies in waiting redressed her in the gorgeous white and gold gown and the priest attached the blue sash and the Order of St. Andrew.

The red pillow was set before her feet and the rest of the regalia her mother once wore and had not been seen since Lena had removed it at her funeral was brought out with each remarkable piece resting on its own pillow and with their sight bringing tears to everyone's eyes seeing only 'Irina.' Lena kneeled before the priest and placed her hand on the bible reciting her oath and then removed the Order of St. Andrew.

The purple robe her mother had worn was placed around her shoulders and after came the diamond chain of the Order of St. Andrew that belonged to the 'Tsar.' After receiving the two prayers and the sign of the cross the metropolitan of St. Petersburg approached her with the crown. With tears stinging her eyes she reached out for it and took it, placing it on her head while her family cried. The scepter was placed in her right hand and the orb in her left and with that, she stood and took her seat for the first time on the Imperial Throne of Russia beside her father who was crying silently beside her with a soft smile and Jack couldn't stop thinking about how much she looked just like her mother sitting beside him.

When the priest was finished with his prayers Lena stepped forward once more handing her regalia to her attendant and summoned Arman holding their baby. He was smiling and crying with tears of pride in her when she motioned for him to kneel before her, she winked at him with a smile and took her crown off, touching it to his head just as Irina had when welcoming him into the family and then did the same to their baby Irina who was wide-awake by silent swaddled in her white satin blankets and gowns staring up at her mother with big dark eyes. Arman already wore the blue Imperial sash and Order of St. Andrew and held his daughter up so that she could receive her own tiny new one.

Lena smiled at them both picking up his crown from the pillow first and kissing before she placed it on his head and then did the same with the teeny-tiny tiara for her daughter. The baby never made a sound as if she'd gone through this experience everyday of her life and Lena kissed her head before she summoned Arman to stand before her.

*PM's Love Theme*

When the first notes of the song rang through the cathedral everyone was sobbing through their smiles to hear it being played for their new Tsar and cheered thunderously while Lena was handed her regalia back and went to sit back on the throne beside her father with Arman sitting on the other side holding Irina II.

Lena's eyes flashed over her family's who were all standing and applauding in their own beautiful Imperial dress and crying for her feeling for the first time looking at her, that everything truly would be all right. She was glowing with a radiant smile from ear to ear and a true representation of 'the light'…the light of a new day who would break through the dark clouds and take them forward into history.

She smiled accepting her husband's arm when they walked down the center aisle of the cathedral with her father holding baby Irina coming just behind them and then the rest of the family before they all loaded into the coaches heading towards Peterhof for the celebration.

"You look amazing, Your Majesty." Arman kissed her hand with tears in his eyes after helping her into her coach and addressing her as such for the first time had her inhale with a sharp laugh and simultaneous cry leaning over to his lips and then took her baby from her father. Arman mounted his own white steed as a member of Her Majesty's Life-Guards and nodded at Jack with a smile before leading the way.

*Only Time*

Lena was still wearing her gorgeous gown and tiara while she rocked her baby to sleep that night in the dimly lit nursery with the fairies she was once mesmerized by circling the ceiling in a light parade, she'd recited Good Night Moon holding her daughter's rapt attention while she nursed her and then sang her to sleep with The Russian Lullaby while Jack watched quietly from the doorway with a smile and tears that they were going to be okay.

Lena was already the amazing mother her own mother had been to her and watching her with the baby now brought back a flood of memories for Jack. Without interrupting them, he began to close the door and smiled when he heard Lena whisper, "Alright My Little Moonbeam, its time for bed."

He paused while she put the sleeping baby down and began to recite, "I love you to the moon and back, more than the stars in the Heavens and grains of sand on Earth, I love you…forever and always, Irina…I love you, My Little Love." He saw the smile on her face and the tears in her eyes as she bent over and kissed her baby gently and he smiled in turn, walking away from the door still wearing the smile and feeling the tears in his eyes.

The next few weeks flew by in flash with Lena jumping straight into the deep end of the pool and taking over flawlessly with Arman by her side. Their new motto was Carpe Diem, 'seize the day,' and every moment she wasn't working, she was spending him and their baby and family trying to live by the legacy her mother had set down before her: Strength, dignity and laughter…and gradually the laughter had come back and sharing their favorite funny memories of Irina had become a nightly occurrence during dinner to make them all laugh.

Her very first act as Tsar after the coronation came two days later, when she went to the psychiatric hospital to see her mother's assassin, the man who had been trying to kill her, and though she desperately wanted him to die for taking her mother away, she also found herself sympathizing with his situation. She listened to her heart and responded with her mothers' wishes, knowing it was the right thing to do and pardoned him of his Death Sentence giving him his absolution standing face to face with him, her mother's killer.

He would get to spend the remainder of his life in a nice psychiatric prison facility where his family could come and go as they pleased and his wife could stay there with him but where he'd be monitored around the clock for his disease.

Sydney had decided it was time to fulfill a dream she set out to do long ago now that her last child was graduated and in college, she too went back to college, as an English Literature Professor at St. Petersburg University. It was a position that the Academic Dean and friend of her mother's had tried to get Irina to accept for years before she became Tsar and was now, equally thrilled to have Sydney onboard.

One of the first things Lena had done as Tsar was to ask her big brother Julian to take over as the family's philanthropist, helping her donate funds around the world and Russia in the same ways their mother always had. He was stunned and nervous at first clearly remembering his biological father doing the same for Irina and it turned out badly but everything was different now and Lena trusted him explicitly and he'd do anything for his little sister. In accepting his new position, he passed on the business side of the family matters to his own younger brother, Nicholas.

Nadia continued with her extensive research and excavation of ancient ruins, finding another new promising secret in the depths of the ocean floor when she found a golden chalice in sifting through Cleopatra's barge that held the symbol of Rambaldi. The writing the on the magnificent was in ancient Atlantean, a society previously only believed to be a myth of 'perfect beings' that disappeared thousands of years ago and spoke of The Chosen One who would bring 'peace' and 'prosperity' to all mankind. She revealed the night of Lena's Coronation that she was pregnant again and that they were expecting another baby…a baby conceived on the Anniversary of her own conception, May 15th…having made a baby the same morning her mother had eventually lost her life and her niece was born. Nicholas and Isabella smiled widely looking at each other and then he shook his head in laughter, breaking their own news that they too were expecting another baby, also conceived that morning. The news had everyone thrilled and crying all over again at the way things worked out in their' lives. Irina had lost her life that day but three were given to them in return.

October 2028

Jack walked into his empty bedroom and sat heavily on the bed. It had been a month since the Coronation and so far, his children were thriving; and though they were still overwhelmed with aching hearts of sadness in missing Irina, they had purpose and things to look forward in their lives. as happy as he was for them, his heart ached for Irina. He had nothing to look forward to in his life without her.

The truth of the matter was, Irina couldn't live without her children…and Jack couldn't live without Irina. Her children were her everything, and she was his.

He lay on their bed rolling on his side with arm stretching out to cover the empty space beside him where she was supposed to be. Her scent had disappeared long ago from there sheets after finally having to break down and wash them though it lingered in the room invading his senses and causing him to ache for her more. Nights were always the worst for him, as he couldn't fall asleep without his security blanket draped over his chest, her weight had kept him grounded and now he felt like he was spinning out of control and drifting out of his mind without her.

Most of the time he passed the long hours until he fell asleep by reading her journals of books of love sonnets and Shakespeare that had always been her favorite and tried to do so again on this night, reading the farewell sonnet in Romeo and Juliet and crying silently in missing his own 'Juliet.'

*Somewhere In Time*

"When can I come home? I'm tired…I can't do this anymore without you," He asked pulled the book into his chest in the stillness and waiting for her to answer. Home had always been wherever she was.

'Whenever you're ready…I'll be waiting.' Her voice answered and he felt his heart jump madly with excitement having expecting her to tell him 'not yet' again and that their children needed him.

"What about our children?" He asked swallowing hard finding his mouth going drying and his chest squeezing tightly with anticipation.

'They're okay now…they'll take care of each other…if you're ready…come find me, Jack.' She whispered back to him and she stole his breath away with her request.

His eyes dropped shut softly and he felt his heart stop inside his chest and knew what was happening but wasn't scared. He watched his soul leaving his body below on the bed and then stepped into the darkness. He turned around several times finding it pitch black and a tiny hint of fear crept though him until he saw it, off in the distance a white light that was growing brighter until he had to shield his eyes with his arm a bit having never seen anything ever before like it.

When he dropped his arm with eyes adjusting his eyes flooded with tears and he inhaled sharply with a smile to see Irina walking towards him looking more beautiful then he'd ever seen her in his life and smiled, unable to take his eyes off of her.

"You came for me," Irina smiled standing just before him looking up into his eyes with her penetrating dark brown pools shimmering with flecks of gold.

"I'll always come for you," Jack whispered leaning in with breath against her lips, his hands reaching up to cup the side of her neck and face and cried with a smile feeling it warm beneath his touch, "I told you I'd follow you anywhere." He smiled and held her eyes when their lips first met and then closed deepening the kiss slightly and holding it, letting it linger, "I've missed you, My Love."

"As I've missed you." She smiled kissing him again softly and then turning softly in his arms and Jack followed her line of sight. Just behind them a gorgeous woman with long dark hair that Jack knew had to be her mother, Anastasia, was holding the hands of two little boys, one blonde that he knew instantly was his grandson and the other, with dark curly hair that looked just like Jaxx when he was little, his son…Jack.

"Come here, Sweetheart." Irina motioned with her fingers and a soft smile and the little boy came tearing over to her and she scooped him up before Jack who was looking at them both with tears streaming from his eyes. the gorgeous little boy wrapped his arms around her neck and smiled at Jack while she made introductions, "Jack…I'd like to introduce you to our son, Jack…Sweetheart," she smiled brushing her fingertips over his sweet little face, "This is your, Daddy."

"Hello," Jack gasped with a smile and breathless whisper looking at his son and flooding tears and inhaled sharply when his son launched from Irina's arms into his holding him fiercely. Irina was smiling madly at the two of them and nodded softly telling him it was okay and he held their son tightly kissing his head.

Little Jack pulled back with a raging smile and giggle perched in his father's strong arms and covered his eyes with his little hands, sweeping them gently over his father's face, "No more tears, Daddy…you're home." He smiled and placed a sloppy kiss on Jack's lips with a peel of laughter.

"No more tears." Jack smiled and looked over at Irina feeling his heart erupting with happiness and love and a feeling of peace he'd never felt before in his life.

"Hello Jack," Her voice caught his ear first as he looked over and saw Irina's mother standing next to him now with Antony on her hip.

"Hello Anya," He smiled when she kissed his cheek, "Thank you…for your daughter…for our second chance."

"In that life," Anya smiled widely at him and laughed softly seeing his brows knit a little, "You'll have many chances in life, Jack…You are soul-mates…you'll always find each other." She smiled over at her daughter curled into his side. "Come now…let's go home…my husband is waiting to meet you." She smiled widely with the same eyes and smile as Irina. His fingers of his free hand linked with Irina's as they walked after her mother and Antony towards the light and he couldn't stop smiling looking between his wife, son, grandson and Anastasia. "I'm finally home." He whispered again to Irina and kissed her smiling lips as they trailed behind her mother.

*Adieu Romeo and Juliet*

Sydney ascended the staircase slowly in morning with a mix of emotions flooding through her as she approached her parent's bedroom. Her father had not been down for breakfast and she volunteered to go see what was keeping him. The closer she came to the door, the more the sense of foreboding took over and her eyes pricked with tears when she slowly turned the knob.

"Dad," she called out seeing him lying on the bed with his back to her and her tears started welling furiously when he didn't responds. "Daddy…" She called out again and cried seeing one arm clutching the book to his chest and his other arm stretched out over the empty space her mother should have been in. She inhaled a sob when he still didn't move and she took in his pale color.

With trembling fingers she touched his neck and gasped feeling his already cold skin. Her hand flew to her mouth as she sat heavily on the edge of the bed beside him crying that he was gone. She sobbed while she removed the book from his hand and turned it over to see what he'd been reading as her heart cried and she gasped seeing what it was.

"Remember not the pathos of our plight, or the tears of our too-youthful end. Mourn us not, for we became light, Eden shining still through deathless night, on all who first pure love would comprehend. Judge us not, although we chose to die, Undone by beauty such as few have known, love so perfect one could not reply in words less meteoric then its own. Each life must wend its way towards death and pain. Though we died young, our story will remain."

"Oh, Daddy," She cried folding herself over his form and holding on while she cried.

*Bittersweet Symphony*

"You're smiling?" Vaughn asked surprised with a hint of his own tear-filled smile staring at his beautiful wife in the twilight of the setting sun of this sad day.

"Because they're together again…" Sydney's teary smile widened staring at the shades of pink and deep purple on the horizon in the most spectacular sunset they'd seen in years, "Forever…and always."

"I could have you arrested for stalking me."

"I'm not stalking you."

"Newlyweds. Can't keep their hands off each other."

"Though I have passed a kidney stone once…"

"Not even close, asshole!"

"And that my friends, is why she's so deadly with a knife! …Cheer for Mommy!"

"Your parents are having a stripper showdown cousin!"

"Sweet Jesus, Mary and Joseph…"

"How can you survive that woman and not go into heart failure on a constant basis?"

"Oh My God! You guys did it on the kitchen table on top of my Cookie Monster painting!"

"Sydney knew she was leaping out to save her sanity before I threw you down and had my way with you in front of her!"

"What are you doing? Irina, I won't be able stop if you keep this up."

"Then don't. Merry Christmas.""

"Siberian Tiger's on the move. She's good."

"You have no idea…"

"Jack…I am not adorable! Our baby is adorable…I am many things, but never adorable! Never!"

"Mangoes! You're pregnant again!"

"You want to adopt me?"

"And the name of the foul shall be…Legs!"

"Hit me with your best shot Daddy! Fire away!"

"If I wasn't obsessed with her before, I am now…"

"She sleeps with knives under her pillow for Christ-sake, Jack! You do it!"

"Lena may be my second chance, but you are my saving grace…"

"Ok, ok…I get your point."

"I'll wear my Kevlar next time."

"Next time?"

"Suddenly children's toys have occupations? Whatever happened to Cookie Monster?"

"Who the fuck, are you? James Bond?"

"Oh My God… My Sharona, is right!"

"Jose Cuervo and I have parted ways for good."

"Panama Jack, wanna pass me the potatoes?"

"You should know better Alexei, I am too stubborn to die."

"Hol-ly hell! Is that-"

"Irina Derevko. Your shooter and Sydney's mother."

"Yeow! Hot Ma-ma!"

"The same fish packers' I've always used."

"Lena, Who is this?"

"Nee-nee."

"She's currently possessed by some demon."

"So what are we calling them until their born? Girl twin and boy twin? Twin A and Twin B? American and Russian? Yank and the Russkie? Cowboy and Cossack?"

"Dear God…they're Fem-bots!"

"Holy sssshit…I've died and gone to heaven, Syd, Sophia and Irrrrina all wet…and going wild in front of me…"

"Yes, sir in labor. Director Kendall said she was 'leaking,' …I assume that means her water broke."

"Ah, ah, what'chya doing there?"

"I guess they're worried I will try escaping by offing three thousand sailors and commandeering this ship."

"Wow…she can cook too? She really is impressive."

"Do to Jack Bristow's intimate knowledge of the fugitive in question…"

"Of course I remember almost dying…but she didn't actually shoot me remember? It was the screwdriver."

"Derevko women never blush about that! We are women hear us roar! Be proud, be loud…that's what I always say!"

"I can't believe you just said that."

"My own mother telling me to plow over an old man with a single can of beans in his cart!"

"I didn't say plow over him! I said don't slow down. You're super spy, whip around him, cut in front of him…do something besides wait patiently for him to cross in front of you!"

"Shakespeare not your cup of tea Mr. Peterson?"

"Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson."

"I can't believe I'm on Oprah!"

"I've given you a gift…and all you get from me…is one."

"War!"

"Oh brother…some things never change."

"Impressive. It only took four of you to bring her down."

"Stop! I don't want to know what they're doing."

"Well what do you think they're doing in there?"

"Playing Scrabble."

"Lena…where is the milk?"

"Ma ma mama ma mama!"

"You are being very enigmatic, Mama."

"I heard Bangkok was pretty interesting as well."

"Irina is not normal…"

"That was bitchin' Your Majesty!"

"Are you impressed now Mr. Corey?"

"Apparently, there was a lot about me that annoyed you back then."

"Protection…and I made a vow not to kill, I never said anything about inflicting debilitating damage."

"Except…she didn't eat the people she killed."

"It was obstructing my view…I'll buy you another one tomorrow."

"My God, you're bossy!"

"You two raced shopping carts?!"

"I think this family needs more action and soon."

"This is the most bizarre and fun wedding…I've ever been to."

"This is Irina Derevko we're talking about; she came prepared. She shot me..."

"Put 'Panama Jack' away so we can leave please!"

"We'll bring him out to 'play' at the park again another day, I promise!"

"I don't know… I think she looks hot and badass!"

"Sweetheart, there wasn't exactly time to steal his bike and his helmet."

"He forgot to use gel."

"Now stop being an ass and drink up!"

"You don't know who 'The Man' is?"

"Be quiet Jack Bristow, or you're going to get carrot in your ear!"

"Like when she's looking at you with those eyes of hers, like you're doing to me now. Like a feral cat about to pounce."

"We convinced her you were more 'intimidating' then 'scary."

"This is certainly never a position I thought I would ever be in with you Michael."

"I'm convinced there isn't anything this women can't do and do it well."

"Shit! She's like Super Woman!"

"Mom, your shirt is on inside out."

"Ok Irina…another little kiss, right here."

"I bet they're going to go make-out in the sand."

"If you were anyone else…I would have shot you for that!"

"I'm never going to look at Santa or the innocence of Christmas again!"

"Mom, you have to teach me how to do that!"

"Seriously…that is one woman, I would not fuck with!"

"Irina Derevko begging me to stop tickling her…if the world only knew."

"Tell them we were on a mission and I died…"

"Irina would spit nails if she heard you say she was 'adorable.'"

"I am still having a hard time with the fact you're a super spy and not an English Professor."

"I am both Dr. Peterson."

"Sydney…the answer to that question lies in the category of…'stop giving me mental pictures,' along with 'how' your father actually planted the passive tracker."

"Would you like me to cover your eyes with my hands until it's over like I did when you were little?"

"Your heart sounds like our washing machine, Mommy."

"I'm never going to believe anyone is ever 'really' dead again unless I see them die and see their bodies, and even then it's still questionable…I need another drink."

"Maybe you should kiss my hand too…If I am 'the Godfather."

"Balance children, balance."

"All right Mom, prepare to eat your 'balance!"

"The Kinky Sex Goddess…That is my mother. Her nickname and appropriately so, I guess."

"Irina that was kick-ass!"

"1994. The Congo. Machete. Deranged Tour Guide."

"She's always had a way with words."

"Russian tease."

"Are you sure its not laced with Arsenic?"

"Buy her a Screwdriver!"

"She likes my boobs, Jack. Don't take it too hard."

"I don't blame her. I like your boobs too."

"Well either she changed into the gown that Sophia, Katya and my mom got for her, or she's running around this hospital naked as the day she was born."

"I wonder if each of them has any idea of what is going on in the opposite bathroom."

"Mom…you're funny!"

"Funny now! But at the time she creeped the shit out of me!"

"I think you fucked me…sober, Agent Brissss-tow."

"Holy shit! Did your dad just hug Sark?"

"You married a helluva woman Jack…best of luck to you there!"

"Ah Tupac, breaking cultural barriers everywhere!"

"Tiger we're almost a mile and a half away!"

"Your point?"

"Why are all of them missing teeth?"

"Well her espionage tactics were present from birth."

"She broke my nose and dislocated my arm."

"Now I know why she's so deadly with a knife."

"Holy Hades, Irina…Talk about Mrs. Robinson!"

"I told you she played a mean piano."

"Nice shot."

"I learned from the best."

"Yes, she's quite the teacher."

"They're adrenaline junkies."

"I promise I didn't burn the toast this time, or make you eat eggs with shells in them."

"Thank you but I don't know how gorgeous one can be after five hours in a grain bin. I smelled like barley…"

"You looked so beautiful, and your wild hair and brewery scent only enticed me more…"

"Marshall said you were like Bruce Lee, Rocky and Rambo all rolled into one."

"Lesbian lust for Professor Bristow! That's hot!"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah…"

"Your heart still sounds like a washing machine."

"She was a spy! She's very good at escaping right under people's noses!"

"Its genetic obviously…the need and ability to escape… we can't fight it so we might as well applaud it."

"Mom…what did you do to Eric?"

"Easy for you to say, you've only got to deal with Babushka. I have to deal with Babushka 'and' my mom!"

"Nadia! You mustn't bother Mama while she's Tsar-ing!"

"Whatever you do, don't leave your Cookie Monster painting on the kitchen table."

"Someone else is living in my body! And I want it out! Now!"

"Oh you're one to talk 'Miss Glass Cell Smut' on the friggin' CIA's monitors!"

"Where is that Cerebral Clorox?"

"Find a happy place! Find a happy place!"

"I'd say Jack's found a happy place…"

"My husband sells airplane parts! Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes. But I am recently adopted. Unlike you, I was not created by such vigorous activities between the two."

"Relax? Listen Buddy, until you've given birth or have a Volkswagon come out of your penis without any pain drugs don't you dare lecture me on pain…"

"Dear Over Sexed Parental Units,"

"I've given you a gift and all you get from me, is one."

"I would say that Panama was the most successful failure in CIA history."

Five Years Later... The Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., December 15, 2033

*I Will Always Return*

She saw him watching her and carefully she looked over her shoulder and caught his eyes and then looked away. He walked closer and stood beside her as she stuffed her hands into her pockets looking at the gargantuan elephant's feet in front of her.

"Why are you following me?" She turned her dark eyes to look at him with a slanted brow and pursed determined lips.

"I'm not following you." He shook his head with eyebrows rising. "I just wanted to look at Ted…he's an African Bull Elephant…he's from Africa."

"I know that Ted is from Africa…" She flashed her dark eyes at him and pushed her hair over her ear, "I've seen real Teds in Africa!" She smiled at him.

"Wow... I wish I could see some real Teds." He scuffed his foot on the carpeting. "Do you live in Africa?" He asked the mysterious exotic girl. "You talk kind of funny."

"I do not talk funny!" She flashed her slanted eyebrow at him again and walked around to the other side of Ted but he followed. "No, I'm not from Africa. I'm from Russia."

"Oh…that's a big place too." His little eyes widened. "I like your Siberian Tigers."

"Me too." She smiled widely and then held her hands up like claws growling and he laughed. "You should come see our tigers. They're so pretty."

"My Daddy goes to Russia all the time on Business…he's a dip-lo-mat," he took his time pronouncing that word, "But he never says I can come too…" He looked down sadly and then eyes flashed up again, "He did take me to Panama this year though. And we stayed in a fun hotel. Have you ever been to Panama?"

"I don't remember. I go a lot of places with my Mama." She shrugged biting her lip.

"You would remember if you went to Panama. It's really hot." He nodded vigorously with a wide smile, "Do you come to the museum a lot? I come here all the time…I live in Virginia." He asked with a shy excited giggle.

"I've been here a couple of times but my Mama says that we come here every year on my Babushka's birthday and today is her birthday, to see Ted because this is where my Babushka met my Papa." She rambled and smiled brightly, "Right here in this spot!" She dashed over a few feet and jumped excitedly on a spot on the ground as if it were marked with an 'x.'

"Do you want to come to my house to play? My Mommy let me open a Christmas present last night early and I got a really neat racecar that goes really fast. Do you want to come play?" He asked shyly with a smile completely smitten with the exotic funny talking girl with the pretty dark eyes and long hair.

"I have to ask my Mama first because we are staying as gu-ests," She slowed her speech to pronounce the word correctly, "In the big white house." She smiled at him grabbing his hand. "Let's ask her!" She wheeled around to where her mother and aunt were looking at the exhibit just behind her, "Mama, can I go play with him?" She asked batting her long dark eyelashes.

"Who is him, Moonbeam?" Lena smiled kneeling next to her daughter and the little boy whose cheeks were turning red with embarrassment and widening eyes.

"Your name is Moonbeam?" He asked looking at her strangely with the same wide eyes of wonder. "Are you from space?" He asked with eyes narrowing.

"No," She shook her head giggling, "I told you already!" She sighed with exasperation and shifted her weight on her little long legs, "I'm from Russia! My name is not Moonbeam silly; that is my nickname! My name is Irina!"

"Ohh," He giggled shaking his head, "I have a name and a nickname too! My real name is Jonathan but only my Mama calls me that and everyone else calls me by my nickname, Jack." He smiled widely.

Lena and Sydney both gasped loudly staring at the two children in front of them and then to the elephant behind them in the lobby of the Smithsonian and then at each other with tears building of disbelief and awe. While they couldn't believe what they were seeing, the two children were getting along fabulously and Irina pulling on Lena's hand asking if she could go play at his house.

"Sweetheart, you can't go play at his house but he's more than welcome to come play with you at the White House this afternoon if he wants to," Lena finally found her astonished voice staring at the two children who were nodding vigorously they wanted to play, they didn't care where in front of her wide-teary eyes. "Let's ask his Mama if that's okay?"

"Okay!" Irina yelped jumping with excitement, "Do you want to get some coffee ice cream with me too, Jack? It's my favorite!" They bound off rapidly towards a mother looking at another exhibit in the same room, hand in hand, and leaving Lena and Sydney staring at them with mouths agape and streaming tears.

"Soul-mates." Lena whispered through her smiling cry.

Sydney's head whipped to her sister flashing the same sparkling eyes. "Forever and always."

~ fin~

AN: Thank you for taking another wild ride with me:) I hope you enjoyed the journey and reread it many times! This story is so near and dear to my heart having written it a few years ago as a tribute to my grandmother, mother and daughter who are all waiting for me on the other side. Someday, I will see them again. But not yet. Not yet!

If I haven't heard from you before, I would love to now. All the best! -Wild

PS: I'm toying with the idea of writing a sequel to this one, or at the very least snippets of their lives in the future. If there is actually enough interest. Let me know if that's something anyone is interested in.