Absolute Power

Chapter 19, Epilogue

Three years later

"MOMMY!" "DADDY!" Rick and Kate were getting it in stereo yet again. They would be getting it in triple stereo if such a thing was even possible except Autumn was with Jim and Jo, not that that saved those two any.

The flight had gone off pretty well since none of the three had ever flown before. The children had spent most of the time reveling in just being in the air. Though that eventually turned into fighting over who got the window to look out of.

Thankfully once they got high enough all they saw was a lot of nothing which minutes later had put all three kids to sleep.

That was followed by a seven hour layover in New Delhi which was where things really got worse.

As much as Kate wasn't happy to be surrounded by people all over the place, the kids were just the opposite. They wanted to meet everyone especially since so many of them didn't look anything like them and a lot of them had these red dots on their head.

"Mommy, dot." Autumn wanted one since a lot of women had one and even a few men.

"No, sweetheart, you can't have a dot," Kate told her which didn't go over well.

Autumn tried again. "MOMMY, DOT!"

"This is an airport, little love, you can't get one of those here. Maybe at the hotel or in the city. You're just going to have to wait." Kate lifted her up to carry her. What they were all looking for was a place to eat. One that catered to English-speakers since none of the different way of writing that they used told them anything.

Finally finding one that had the menu out front that was also in English they chose that before the kids had had enough and decided that a temper tantrum was what was called for.

Unfortunately they had to wait for a table that could seat seven. Then came the really hard part. "Babe, what is all this stuff?" She could read the words well enough, it was just most of it didn't make any sense to her.

Even worse was when Rick shrugged. He hadn't ever eaten Indian cuisine. Thankfully their waiter was very helpful. He had served people who only spoke English before.

In the end they mostly ordered what he had suggested that wasn't too spicy or just plain weird sounding. What they got kind of looked like what had been talked about but only just.

It took some work and they were all soon taking stuff from their plate and giving it to someone else who got some of what was on theirs as they all kept taste testing what was on their plates.

It may have looked rather comical but if it kept the kids happy and they actually ate what was on their plate it was a win in their eyes. Now they just had to wait to see if any of this gave anyone diarrhea, which sadly, was possible.

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The kids slept in their seats while waiting for the next plane as did Jim and Johanna.

"How are you doing?" Rick knew all of this might be overwhelming her since she wasn't a fan of big crowds plus New Delhi wasn't a small city.

"A little on edge but I'm fine. You're sure no one knows that we're all shifters?" They were sitting in one long row of seats watching people coming and going left and right, then right and left.

"They all have tunnel vision and don't even see us. Watch them. Do any of them even look our way? Do you see anyone in uniforms with weapons running toward us?" They only looked their way to see if this was their gate or not, and even then they were looking for a place to seat down that wasn't right next to someone.

Kate watched and saw that he was right. They were all mostly interested in where they were going and not running into someone along the way. Their big group barely even got a glance. They were just a tired-of-flying family waiting for a plane.

She watched people buy things then walk away. Most everyone was doing what they had been doing. Walking while carrying or dragging a carry-on, and everyone, literally everyone, was dressed so very differently from everyone else.

It didn't take much to spot the Americans out of the group. They were all dressed differently and they were ALL overweight. Not to say that Kate didn't see other fat people, because she did. It also had her wondering how some of them sat in those seats on the plane. They were all flying first class so their seats were rather large, however, she had gotten a peek at the really narrow seats further back in the plane. That was when she spotted it.

"BABE, your book!" Kate pointed to where it was sitting. In big bold letters in English it said Richard Castle. It had her smiling, knowing that even here they sold his books. His money was all the money they had, though granted until he became a part of their lives they had only emergency money that mostly never got spent.

Kate was still producing some milk for which she was thankful since Rick had commented that he really liked the size of her breasts now. He had even managed to get some milk out of them. She was happy that all of the baby fat as a tiger had left her when she shifted to human. So she was mostly back to being tall and thin. Just with all new bras that fit her.

"It's a little over an hour until our plane leaves. Bathroom break. You get your mother and take Autumn and I'll get Jim and we'll take the boys." Rick was hoping that doing it now meant they didn't have to get up and use the tiny lavatory on the plane. Especially when they had been informed on the previous flight that one of the toilets at the back of the plane was now out of order. There were four total so now there were three. There was only the one forward in first class.

Getting sleepy kids to wake up and into the bathroom AND to actually do something was the first challenge. Getting them to not fight over who got the window seats was the next one.

Just being on the ground while watching all the other planes and all the workers doing things kept them interested. Then came trying to keep them from all changing seats to get a different view.

Thankfully with the first class flight attendant helping to lay down the law when the plane was ready to start moving, the three of them stayed in their seats with seat belts on. Then all three of them were straining to look out their respective windows to see the ground disappear beneath them.

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The Kohinoor Suite was for Rick, Kate, and the boys. It came with a living room, dining room, master bedroom with its own bathroom, two twin bed suites that each had their own bathroom and their own private pool. For swimming lessons since neither boy could swim.

One Luxury Suite was for Jim, Johanna, and Autumn. It came with a living room, dining room, master bedroom with its own bathroom, one twin bed suite with its own bathroom, and their own private pool. There would be swimming lessons for Autumn as well since she couldn't swim, either.

Both were amazing and luxurious and completely different from home. "I could learn to like this." Jo was liking what she was seeing.

"GRAMS, COME SEE!" She just had to see this. Jo and Jim walked into the living room where Autumn was holding up a picture.

They had all seen the pictures of the place that Rick had shown them. The bar, the lounge area, being able to take a boat out onto the lake, the painting school, the yoga area, the traditional workshop, astrology reading, Safa tying class, henna painting, camel riding, working with clay, junior cooking class, a treasure hunt, block painting, a magic show, pot painting, and even a kite making and flying contest.

It was what had gotten them to choose this place. It was a place to both get married and yet keep the kids entertained almost twenty-four hours a day. It was also a place where Kate could go shopping for a dress that she hadn't known she had to have for the ceremony. Rick could go into town to shop for a ring. It was just about perfect.

"What have you got there?" Jo took it from her and looked. It was the one thing Rick hadn't shown them if there had been one. It was an aerial view of the entire compound and to say this place was large would be understating it. She handed it to her husband.

"I never even knew a place like this existed." This place was so far outside of their league. It was only because of Rick's money that they were there. Or better yet that their daughter had run into him on a rainy night that was far away from here. Jim was still impressed by it all.

"Let's go find your parents, we have work to do." Rick and Kate were getting married in two days and that didn't leave a lot of time. Plus everyone needed something to wear to the wedding.

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Kate, Jo, and Autumn went looking for wedding dresses and soon found themselves swimming in choices. Kate did her best to pare it down to just three choices before being allowed to try each one on.

One was a true sari. It had a short-sleeved top called a choli that was all red and gold that left her midriff bare. The white fabric that made up the skirt was also embroidered with red and gold and wrapped around her waist where it was pleated in the front and tucked in. The fabric continued around her body and was draped over her shoulder to make a sort of train down the back.

Another was full of soft colors of red, green, and gold in a very intricate pattern that started at her waist and flared out until it reached the floor. It came with what was basically a bra using a similar pattern that had lace sleeves down to her elbow. It too left her midriff bare.

The third had a skirt made of silk that was a soft pink color and over that was a sheer pink skirt that had a design woven in in gold. The top was more of a cropped blazer with long sleeves. She kept calling it pink while the sales lady kept correcting her calling it ice passion pink. The top was a mix of both materials that made up the bottom. Like all of them they exposed her midriff. It too had a sash that went over the shoulder and became a train.

Her hair when Rick had first met her had been very short almost a boy cut being that the back was so short. It was mostly because it was the best her parents could do plus she didn't need long hair getting in the way when she went hunting.

However, she didn't go hunting any longer. She left that to Rick and her father and even they only went hunting every October. Now her hair was much longer and curled naturally in large wavy curls.

"Mom?" She stood there in the last one totally confused.

"Sweetheart?" She was willing to listen to her daughter as well.

"Not a fan of the second one, maybe a little too busy for my taste, but it's your wedding. So the first one or this one." Jo at least removed one of them. Autumn was simply standing there nodding her head.

Jewelry for the third gown was next. She selected one that was a circle over her head and had a lovely set that rested on her forehead. Then she found out about fake piercings that went on her belly button. One that looked like a diamond that hung from a loop that pinched her belly button.

Next they had to find Jo and Autumn something to wear. Something that would fit in for the location.

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Rick soon found that the local suits didn't look anything like the ones in the U.S. Certainly nothing like the ones his father wore.

Without knowing it he had narrowed his choices down to three much like Kate had done.

First was one coral colored coat with a Mandarin collar. It had five cloth and gold buttons and flared out at the front. Under that was a pair of pants that flared way out and tapered down to a tight fit around the ankles. The ensemble finished with slippers that had upturned pointed toes and were the same color as the pants.

Second was a beige and gold jacket that was equally long with gold embroidery. Under that were skinny bright red pants that ended with simple beige colored slippers. He had a sash that he had to hold his arm at his waist for that draped over it, looped across the back and up over his left shoulder and down to the bottom of his jacket. It was red and beige.

Third was a really long jacket that was a light cream with a gold design repeated all over it with long sleeves. It too had the same style collar as the other two. Under that were unornamented narrow beige pants and finished with plain beige slippers. It was simple yet elegant.

"What do you three think?" Jim and the boys had been watching it all.

"I think the red one is out unless you want to hold your arm like that all day." Jim threw that one out easily. Rick nodded. He really didn't want to do that either. That left two.

"I guess do you want some color even if it is kind of a pinkish orange in color or something more simple?" It was the best Jim was willing to do.

"Boys?" They had been amazingly quiet given that they never sat still for anything.

"This one, Daddy," Oliver said while Noah just bobbed his head in agreement.

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Rings were next on the list. This was where he found out that India was different here as well. None of them looked anything like that gigantic thing that was on his mother's finger.

A few looked more like they were meant to cut her finger off since the stones went all the way around the ring. He ignored those.

He finally settled on a simple platinum band that had fifteen diamonds embedded into the band that were each 0.300 carat. Fifty-five thousand one hundred six Indian rupees turned out to be seven hundred seventy-four dollars and two cents. He chose a matching ring for himself but with only a single diamond at a cost of eight hundred ten rupees and fifty-seven cents.

Next they had to go shopping for Jim and the boys. Since he and likely Kate were going to be dressed locally so should they.

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The hotel was willing to make a small change to what they normally do. They had six venues in total that ranged from seating for twenty-five indoors to one hundred fifty outdoors. However they only had seven people in total and that included three children.

So they took a small pavilion with a dome which had a gorgeous blue roof that normally was used as a simple seating area, had those seats moved away, and had flowers added around the room. The man that officiated most of their ceremonies simply stood in the middle with Rick and Kate in front of him and the others were spread out where they pleased to stand.

First, though, Rick, Kate and the others learned that the wedding was basically a two day affair. The night before the actual ceremony there was a party where the parents of the bride and groom met each other. They were supposed to dance and have fun.

Since Rick's family wasn't invited they had the party and danced without them. Food was not involved since the parents were supposed to remain pure for the ceremony the next day.

The next day was the actual wedding.

The bride's saree (alternate spelling for sari) is tied to the groom's scarf to symbolize the union of the souls. During a similar ceremony, a cord is tied around the couple's necks to protect them from evil and they are typically tied by elders of the bride and groom.

One fun ceremony is called mangal pheras. This is when the bride and groom circle the sacred fire four times to represent dharma, artha, kama, and moksha and they run to their seats—whoever gets there first will rule the household.

In Saptapadi, the groom helps the bride touch seven betel nuts with her right toe while they recite seven vows. Finally, seven married women from the bride's side pass by the couple and whisper blessings in the bride's right ear. After the wedding, the bride is carried out by her brothers.

The bride then leaves for the groom's home where her mother-in-law has placed a vessel filled with rice at the entrance of the home. The bride is supposed to spill the rice by touching it with her right foot to signify wealth and that the bride accepts her new responsibilities.

Another fun game for the newlyweds is called Aeki Beki where a tray of water is mixed with milk and sindoor (vermillion) and it is filled with coins and a ring. Whoever finds the ring four out of seven times will rule the household. The day is then concluded with prayers to God requesting happiness and love for the newlyweds.

Kate ended up kicking out the seat from under Rick in order to win so they tried something else. Since Rick's parents weren't present that eliminated one of the games.

Also Kate didn't have seven married women from her side attending the wedding so that only left one game left to try.

"AH HA!" Kate held up her ring for the fourth time and according to the game gets to rule the household. "I still love you…, husband." She kissed him; it was just a game, even if it had been fun.

Next came the food for all along with the more American traditional dancing and having still more fun.

Kate found her mother in front of her with tears in her eyes. "I never thought today was ever going to come. I just wanted you to have a chance to live a long life." Now she was doing so much more. A now crying Kate hugged her.

"I love him, Mom, I love him more than anything." Kate was with her in that she had never seen this day coming. The world, with America in particular, was just far too dangerous for shifters.

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"Hi, Dad, movie tonight?" Their place had a movie screen out in the ocean just off the beach that was there for everyone. They showed a movie weekly. They had to take their chances on just what they got, but that was part of the fun.

"I'll get the food if you get the drinks," Josh said and began searching for just what they had followed by their basket to put it all into.

"You ready for school?" he asked as they laid down a blanket to sit on. That was the part of where they lived that was difficult. They walked off their deck onto their boat and then across the water to the city each and every day for her to attend school. …TWICE PER DAY!

Becca groaned little. "Yeah." It wasn't so much going to school, though that was part of it. It was that to make it in time by traveling by boat she had to get up very early in the morning. That and she really didn't have all that much time when she got back home.

Josh had stayed in town until school was out a lot when she was younger, though he still did that from time to time. Or he would come home and putter around the house.

Between what Jackson had paid him along with what he'd made from his other jobs, he didn't need to work. Though he had found something to keep himself busy during the day. He didn't earn any money doing it but he thought he was getting better at it.

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"Is this your newest one?" Kim asked as she sipped then drank half of it in one big swallow. Before they came here she wasn't sure she was a beer drinker. She was now, though, and she was enjoying it.

"Like it, do you?" Will smiled since she was still drinking it.

She had to swallow first. "It's good. One of your best yet. Maybe this one will actually be accepted by Marcus." She had learned to hate that man. He thought HE knew beer and what her husband made was swill! She rolled her eyes at the very idea.

"Time will tell. Maybe if I add a little arsenic." Will was teasing since anything like that was in his past now.

She chided him. "Will!"

"I was only joking. Now comes the fun part. Cleaning out the kettles for this beer and not allowing the previous beer to taint it." His kettles weren't the largest in the world. But then the amount of beer he brewed wasn't all that much anyway. His place truly was a real micro-brewery.

"How are your beds doing?" They augmented what they bought with what his wife, who had always had a green thumb, grew for them.

"We could really use a dog, honey. Something's getting into the garden and into the raised beds. It's not burrowing in so it's either getting through the fence somehow or over it. Or someone is leaving the gate open." She glared at him since he was her primary suspect.

Will caved, not that he didn't want a dog. "I'll go looking for a puppy for you tomorrow. You can spend all your free time training him or her to your heart's content."

"A nice big one, not one of those miniature things." Those were NOT dogs so far as she was concerned. This was a working place, not a lazy, yappy, lap dog kind of place.

"Just so long as he or she," Will gave that to her as well, "learns to like to drink beer. …In small amounts," he added hastily when he saw the look she was giving him.

Satisfied that she'd gotten her way, she drank the rest of her beer and got up to get another one. She couldn't drink him under the table yet, or maybe never, but it wasn't from a lack of trying.

Instead of sitting down with her beer she went next to him and kissed his cheek. "I'm glad we moved here. It was a good idea after all." She had been a little dubious at first. "Maybe later we can work on that family?" Kim gave him a come-hither look.

"Good thing we're out of condoms," Will replied with a grin and this time got kissed soundly for his response. He took her by the hand and they disappeared into the master bedroom for a little…practice.

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Jackson had just flown back into his summer home and entered the library to find Martha with her nose buried in a book. "What are you reading now?" Ever since his son had run out on him she had taken to reading most days and now their library was filled with hardback books. Some that she had read and that she hadn't yet read.

"It's a new one. He's pretty good. You should find time to read one of them." Martha held it up for him to see the cover.

"Richard Castle? Never heard of him and I have more important things to do than read fiction." He didn't read for pleasure. He read for work and he had a lot to read of his own today.

"Still no luck?" Jackson knew just what she was talking about.

"No." He wasn't even all that angry about it any longer. He had work to do to come up with a plan B. What did still have him furious was the fact that Will Sorenson had run out on him. Though that paled in comparison as to what Josh Davidson had done. He'd actually had the balls to steal a hundred million pounds from him in untraceable cash then vanish.

Those two were the absolute best he could find at finding people outside of the States. Now he was down to using two lesser guys to try and find all three of them. Or any one of them.

Will, he would just simply kill if he came back to him alive. Josh, well he would make sure he suffered and screamed for days before he killed him. As for his son, that dream was gone. He was going to literally skin his son alive and let him linger before he slowly died.

Martha's only child was Richard and now both of them were too old while in their human shape to have another one. Even he didn't dare have Martha shift to see if he could impregnate her that way for another chance. He had made being a shifter so damn dangerous that it would be suicide for either of them to shift. Not with all the staff and guards he had around each of their homes.

"You really should find time for this writer, Jackson. He's very good." Martha went back to reading her book by Richard Castle.