Chapter II

Luna sat on the floor in the ER with her legs pulled up trying to catch her breath and she stood up out of instinct when someone called in a name and injury, and she tried to function through the haze.

"Luna, where is your asthma pump?" Colson asked coming in with a police officer and a little boy.

"I don't know." Luna said in a forced voice. "I'm okay."

"Sit down." Colson said.

Luna shook her head and she tried to take deep breaths.

"Is this asthma related?" The police officer asked.

"No." Colson said, and he placed the little boy on the table. "Sit still, I will be right back."

The little boy nodded, and he waved at Luna.

Luna gave a small wave back and took the pump from Colson when he came in and she carried on trying to take a deep breath.

"Luna." Colson said. "Use the pump."

"She isn't going to be able to use the pump if she cannot breathe enough." The police officer said, and he took an oxygen mask and some surgical tape and built a quick gadget before he pulled it over Luna's face and used it to get her medicine into her system. "How is that?"

Luna nodded and she began coughing as soon as her chest opened up.

"Her dad usually handles this." Colson said. "But she changed her schedule when she got back to work so her dad isn't at the hospital every time she is on duty."

"Luna, you should've clocked out an hour ago already." An older man said coming in.

Luna nodded and she went into another coughing fit.

"Do you need someone to take you home?" The police officer asked.

"We are still going to be a while with this little guy." Colson said.

"It's my nephew. My sister should be here any minute." The police officer said. "I was on-call for the babysitter. She isn't allowed to call my sister and brother-in-law during a date night if I'm around, especially if I am on duty because date night is the one night in the month where they leave the kids at home and go do something. They make sure the kids are with someone who can handle them if they are sick, otherwise the usual babysitter takes them. Tonight this little dude decided he was superman and when the babysitter turned her head to make sure the twin doesn't fall off the slide, he decided to jump off the jungle gym and fly."

"Fair enough." Colson said and he smiled when a young woman came in with another nurse, looking scared out of her wits. "Hi, I am assuming you are this little superhero's mom."

"Yeah." The young lady said, and she hugged her son when Colson gave her a nod. "You scared me, young man."

"Was flying." The little boy said.

"Flying or falling?" Colson asked.

The little boy shrugged, and he held his injured arm out to his mom. "Ouchy."

"He is a little drugged." The police officer said.

"What did you give him?" The young woman asked.

"I'm innocent." The police officer said.

"Our Anesthesiologist gave him a regional anesthetic and he had some nurofen. He came in with his arm full of blood, so we had to do something to clean up the arm first, only to find that it was a small scrape and nothing too serious." Colson said.

"Sarah, I need to bounce." The police officer said. "I got permission to stick around until you and Joel arrived."

"Thanks little brother." Sarah said and she gave him a hug and then looked at Luna. "You do not look too well either."

"I'm fine." Luna said in a wheezy voice.

"Let's go." The police officer said, and he placed his hand on Luna's lower back and followed her to the staff break room.

"I'm fine." Luna said.

"I'm sure you are, but it is my job to make sure everyone stays safe." The police officer said, and he followed her outside after she had her bag. "And to be honest, whether you are my sister or just a stranger, I wouldn't trust you behind the wheel of a car sounding like that."

"I'm okay. I just need to get out and get some fresh air." Luna said.

"You are outside." The police officer said. "Let's go to the station. If you can play basketball or volleyball, you could spend some time there, once you sound fine, I will bring you back to get your car. I will feel at ease, and you get to get away from your usual routine. My partner is also waiting in the car, so you don't have to worry about me taking you off to some weird place."

"Okay." Luna said softly and she followed him and felt relieved when neither of the two officers really spoke in the car. She went into the station with them and looked at the young man when they entered a gym and he whistled sharply.

"You guys are in charge of keeping an eye on Luna. She is a nurse or something at the hospital, and had a respiratory attack, which apparently seems to be normal, but I wasn't keen on letting her drive home, so keep her entertained for an hour or so, make sure she is really as fine as she seems. I have some reports to finish up before I can play around tonight." The police officer said, and he left.

Luna looked at everyone and then crossed her arms over her chest. "Hi."

"Hi. I am Joyce Colton, or just Joy. He probably didn't introduce himself, but that is Chase Colton, my younger brother. He was on call for Sarah's kids. Sarah and I are born in the same year, but eleven months apart, and I am the younger one." Joy said. "But in my defense, I was born at seven and a half months, so like ten weeks early."

"Luna Stone." Luna said softly and she took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Joy asked.

"I'm fine." Luna said and even though she wouldn't admit it to them, she felt a ton better after Joy and a few of the other female officers each gave her a hug.

"Let's go play. Cason! Where is Colt?" Joy asked.

Cason, one of the other officers looked around and then shrugged before he left.

"Who is Colt?" Luna asked.

"You will see." Joy said and she smiled when Cason came back in with a pitch-black young German Shepherd. "He is unfit for being a K9 but we don't have the heart to get rid of him. He is like seconds too slow in response, but other than that, he fits the mark perfectly. We said we might find him a home where he is needed one day, but until then, he is our dog. We make turns taking him home and feeding him, but he is mostly Chase's baby. Chase literally sneaks him into his apartment because he is actually not allowed to have animals at his flat."

"It is the only reason he isn't Chase's dog." Cason said and he crouched. "Colt, this is Luna. Luna, this is Colt."

"Hey boy." Luna said while crouching and she allowed the dog to sniff her hand before she petted him and then kissed his nose when he held it up to her. "You are so beautiful."

"Let's go play." Joy said.

Luna nodded and she placed her bags one side and enjoyed playing with the officers until they had to go out on patrol. "It's only you and me now, boy."

Colt looked at her and sat down next to her, while looking up at her.

Luna smiled and she took a tennis ball from the basket and began playing with him, enjoying his test of skill and eventually just curled up with him and drifted off to sleep. She woke up when Colt gave a growl that she felt more than heard and then looked at Chase. "Sorry, it's been a long day."

"It's fine." Chase said and he crouched. "Come here, Colt."

Colt looked at him and then at Luna before he went to Chase looking like the cat stole his food.

"Hey, you are not supposed to fall in love with a girl while on duty." Chase said.

"I thought he wasn't a K9." Luna said.

"No, he isn't." Chase said. "But he is our best friend."

"Seems like our best friend made a new one." Joy said coming in.

"How long was I sleeping?" Luna asked.

"No idea." Joy said. "But it looks like it did you the worlds good."

"I cannot remember when last I fell asleep that easily." Luna said and she stood up. "I need to get home. By this time my parents are probably worried to bits about me."

"You could have mentioned that you stay with them." Chase said.

"You didn't ask, and I wasn't thinking clearly, let alone breathing properly at that time." Luna said and she got her stuff.

"Come on, boy. We are going to drop Miss Luna off and then go to the park and have ice cream before going home." Chase said and he took the leash and harness from a peg at the door.

Luna gave Joy a hug and then followed Chase to his car and she got in. "You drive a police car even when you are off duty?"

"To and from work, yes." Chase said. "And I recently found out that my landlord can't do anything to me if Colt has a K9 vest or service dog vest on and so on, so he has his own vest, and a letter stating that he is with me for a few days while they wait for him to get his placement as a service dog, but the kennels are full."

"Fair enough." Luna said and she smiled when the beautiful dog just slid into the vest and then lay down on the seat as if it was a common occurrence. "He is such a beautiful dog."

"Yeah." Chase said and he climbed into the car and reversed out. "Do you want to go and fetch your car, or should I take you home and you and your dad can fetch it?"

"I just want to go home." Luna said. "It's not uncommon for my car to stand there for a day or two since my dad is a doctor."

"Fair enough." Chase said and he drove as she directed. "You might not be interested, but Joy mentioned that you really seemed to be enjoying the company last night. We have a barbeque tonight at my parents' place. 'We' being our shift, basically everyone you played with last night and a few others. My dad is the chief of police for a couple more years."

"Wow." Luna said. "I started my job as an ER tech because I wasn't sure what I wanted. Did I want to follow in my dad's footsteps or be a cop, and at the moment I still sort of enjoy my work at the hospital enough."

Chase smiled and he pulled up to the gate.

"I forgot my family would be here." Luna said when she saw all the cars standing outside and in the yard.

"This is a pretty decent yard." Chase said.

"Yeah, but on some days, it isn't big enough." Luna said and she climbed out and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I sound like a jerk right now. I love my family."

"Some days we just don't feel like being around people who can read us like a book." Chase said and he took Colt out. "I would like to meet your parents and apologize if I scared them a bit by 'forgetting' about you at the station, because well I did forget about you. We had to rush out to a car accident and by the time we got back, I had forgotten all about you. Joy asked where Colt was when I was getting ready to leave, and then we both remembered he was probably still with you."

"It's okay." Luna said. "I might have slept on the floor, but I'm honest when I say that I haven't slept that well in a long time."

"Well then I refuse to feel too bad." Chase said and he smiled before they went in when the gate opened, and he smiled when June came running out and hugged her sister.

"We were worried about you. Dad even drove to the hospital to find out if you didn't maybe crash out there or something. One of the guards said you left with a police officer." June said.

"I semi-abducted your sister because I didn't trust her to climb in behind the wheel of a car." Chase said. "Had I thought of asking, I would've known she stayed with her parents still, so I probably would've called your father to fetch her."

"It's okay." June said. "Dad felt better when he heard Luna had left with a police officer, even though he was a little skeptical about it. You know."

"I understand completely." Chase said and he looked at Colt when he sniffed June over.

"Hey." June said and she crouched and allowed the dog to sniff her over. "He is beautiful."

"Thanks." Chase said. "He is a station dog; he doesn't really belong to me."

"He is still beautiful." June said. "Would you mind if I go and put some water down for him?"

"Go ahead. His name is Colt." Chase said and he took the leash off and then followed Luna in and he smiled when both her parents seemed relieved to have her home, and he held his hand out to Jeremy once he had let Luna go. "Chase Colton. I accidently made your daughter spend the night at the station. The plan was to take her there until she felt better and looked capable of driving herself home, and then my job happened and I forgot about her until my sister asked where this beautiful boy was when we clocked out, and we remembered that we still had a guest."

"As long as she was safe and had some fun." Jeremy said. "Thanks for thinking of her safety and acting on that, rather than just believing her."

"You are welcome." Jeremy said and he looked at Colt when he sat down in front of Luna when some other adults came into the house. "Colton Junior."

Colt looked at him but made no move to leave Luna alone.

"Are we still going to the park for ice cream?" Chase asked and he watched as the dog seemed to ignore him. "Oh okay, so you found a girl who is more important than ice cream in the park. Sure, have it your way."

"Someone is a little jealous." June said.

"I need to go and change." Luna said when her cousins came in.

"Just say hi first." One of the men said.

"Hi." Luna said and she left with Colt right on her heels.

"Seems you are minus a dog for a while." Jeremy said.

"Probably." Chase said. "He is obviously sensing something we are not, and he is trained, and he doesn't have a specific owner or handler right now, so I cannot really deny him the chance to do what he is trained to do. All of our K9 dogs get the K9 training, and they get trained for anxiety attacks, panic attacks, asthma attacks, you name it. It just means if we arrive at an accident scene, they can help calm the kids or even adults down, they can inform us of diabetes if the person is unconscious and you know. The only reason he isn't a K9 is because his reaction time in police training is seconds too slow. Seconds is the difference between life and death."

"I understand that completely." Jeremy said. "By the way, I am Jeremy Stone, and my wife, Rachel went off somewhere again. We usually have a big do for the kids' sixteenth birthdays, but last year stuff went wrong in almost every family when June turned sixteen, so we postponed it by a year and this year she is getting a massive do for her seventeenth."

"Sounds fun." Chase said and he smiled when June came in with a couple of girls. "Hey, I hear it is your birthday."

"It was yesterday." June said.

"Well it is your party today, so it is still your birthday. Happy birthday." Chase said.

"Thanks." June said. "I am going to go and see if my sister needs my help. You girls go on back so long. Cory is inflating the pool stuff already."

"I will walk you out, I need some fresh air away from squealing girls." Jeremy said.

"Thanks." Chase said and he gave Rachel a wave when she passed briefly and then went out to his car. "I will fetch Colt in about an hour. I need to grab some breakfast."

"Okay and thanks again." Jeremy said.

"You are welcome. I did give her an invite to join the shift at my parents' house this afternoon for a barbeque. She played basketball with them while I had reports to fill out, and according to my sister, she had a blast and should be invited, but that was before I knew it was her sister's birthday party today." Chase said.

"She might still join you guys. She hasn't been sticking around at family events for long the last year." Jeremy said. "Long story."

"And meant for another day, if ever." Chase said. "I will respect her privacy."

"Thanks." Jeremy said. "Drive safely."

"Always." Chase said and he got into his car.

Jeremy waved at him when he drove off and then went into the house and he went to the kitchen to help put chips and sweets into bowls, and he smiled impressed when his eldest daughter seemed a whole lot less stressed and on edge with everyone moving around all about her, the young dog seeming to be ignored by everyone yet he knew everyone noticed him and respected his presence. He took Rachel into the pantry when Luna hugged everyone who still arrived of the friend and family June invited. "Do you see what I see?"

"She is like the old Luna again." Rachel said. "There have been moments when she would tense but as soon as she drops her hand he would be right there for her just for a pet, or he would hand her the asthma pump or literally whatever she needs. It is like watching magic unfold."

"Yeah." Jeremy said. "It is amazing, but it means I need to find her a service dog at least until she managed to deal with all this."

Rachel nodded and she laid her head on his shoulder. "He gave us hope for our daughter."

"He did." Jeremy said and he kissed her head. "Chase will be here any minute."

Rachel nodded and she hugged him and then went back into the kitchen.

Jeremy took a deep breath and then left the pantry and he kissed his eldest daughter's cheek, smiling when she smiled at him, and then he went to the lounge when June called.

"Chase is back." June said. "I don't want him to take Colt away."

"I know, but we will see about getting Luna a service dog as soon as possible." Jeremy said.

June nodded and she handed him the remote. "I need to go to my friends again."

"Have fun." Jeremy said and he kissed her head before he went outside and opened the gate for Chase and an older man. "Jeremy Stone."

"Bryon Colten. I'm Chase's dad." Bryon said. "And chief of police, but that is irrelevant right now. I had to help him pick out some meats for the barbeque, so I just tagged along when he said he had to fetch Colt."

"It is no problem. It is a bit busy inside as it is my seventeen-year-old daughter's birthday, but you guys are welcome to come in and have some coffee, and maybe see if she will share some cupcakes a little earlier than planned." Jeremy said and he showed them in and took them through the house to the back yard.

"Hi." June said when they came out while she was at the juice station. "I am June Stone."

"It is nice to meet you. I am Bryon Colton." Bryon said. "I do believe I heard it is your birthday, right?"

"Yes sir." June said.

"Well happy birthday." Bryon said and he took a small envelope from his pocket. "I heard about it a little earlier than just from your dad, so that is a little something for you."

"Thank you." June said. "Should I open it now, or should I open it later with the rest?"

"Whenever you please." Bryon said.

June looked at her dad and then opened it when he gave a nod and she took the card out and opened it, and then looked at Bryon when she saw the beautiful silver necklace.

"It is a claddagh style necklace. All my girls got rings like that for their sixteenth birthdays, but as I am not your father, I went for a necklace. It is to remind you that you are a princess, you should keep your heart pure, that is why the heart is white, and you should let God hold your heart and he will give it to the right man, okay?" Bryon said.

"Thank you, sir." June said and she placed it back in the envelope. "I love it, but as it is a pool party, I will leave it in here for now."

"Good idea. Maybe go put it in your room." Chase said.

June nodded and she hugged Bryon before she ran off.

"That is a very good idea actually." Jeremy said.

"My grandfather was Irish, and he only had girls, so each of them got a claddagh ring when they were sixteen, and then he did the same for his granddaughters, but then when the boys got married, he did the same style necklaces for their wives, and my wife still cherishes her necklace to this day, so we did the same for our girls, and if we go to any sixteen to twenty-one party for a girl, it is a tradition to buy the girl a necklace." Bryon said.

"I am impressed." Jeremy said and he looked at Cory when he came out of the house with Colt on a leash. "Where is Luna?"

"She is in her room. She asked me to bring Colt out and pretty much had a meltdown shortly after I had him away from her. Nana came in and hugged her at the wrong time. Probably the worst time right now." Cory said. "They did just arrive, and Luna has been doing very well."

"Go call your sister for me." Chase said.

"She won't come out. At least not until everyone has left, unless she is going to leave the property." Cory said.

"Well take Colt back to her and tell her your mom sent you on an errand or something and we are having coffee with your dad." Chase said and he handed Cory some money. "Go get more sodas or something."

"Okay." Cory said and he went back in when his dad nodded.

"I do not want to put her under too much emotional stress right now." Chase said. "But I want to try something."

"It's okay." Jeremy said and he took them to the outdoor coffee bar and made them some coffee. "Jennifer, tell Luna I said she needs to come outside quickly. Tell her ten minutes max."

"Sure, Uncle Jer." Ten-year-old Jennifer said, and she went inside.

Jeremy sat down next to the two men and enjoyed stories from the police force, and he looked at Luna when she came outside with Colt staying right next to her, regardless of the leash.

"Luna, this is my father, Bryon. Dad, this is Luna, Colt's new girlfriend." Chase said and he smiled when Luna smiled a little.

"It is nice to meet you." Bryon said. "I heard this guy got a little attached."

Luna nodded and she handed the leash to Chase. "You should go. I think I'm going to go and take a nap."

Chase looked at her and then opened the bag with him and he changed Colt's K9 vest for that of a service dog with an aquamarine 'service dog' label on the side. He handed her a shirt in a plastic bag and some neckerchiefs. "Open the shirt and see if it fits."

Luna looked at him and then opened the shirt and she pulled it over her head and then looked at the front before she took it off and looked at the back. "Not all battles are fought on the battlefield."

"And here is another one." Chase said.

Luna opened it up and looked at the back. "Not all wounds are visible. Thank you."

"You are welcome." Chase said and he handed her the bag. "There are a couple of bracelets in there and some more neckerchiefs. The larger ones are for Colt like if you are going to a movie or something, to keep him looking clean and stuff, especially in winter when you cannot bath him as much."

"He isn't mine." Luna said.

"Look in the front of the bag." Chase said.

Luna looked at him and then opened the front pocket and she took the ID card and registration papers out before she took the vet booklet out. She looked at everything and then opened the vet booklet and placed her hand over her mouth and began crying when she saw her name and ID number written inside.

"He deserves to have one family, and one family alone." Chase said. "He wasn't trained just to be at a different house every day."

Luna nodded and she allowed Bryon to hug her and just buried her face into his chest and cried for a few minutes before she was able to pull herself together. She hugged Colt and kissed his muzzle before she stood up and hugged Chase. "Thank you."

"You are welcome." Chase said. "But you have to promise to bring him for a visit at least once a week, everyone is going to miss him. I did put one of Joy's business cards in as well, so you can call her if you want to figure out a day to visit, and she said you can call her even if you just need a friend to go out for coffee with."

Luna nodded and she wiped her cheeks. "It really means a lot to me."

"I know." Chase said and he smiled at her. "I knew it from the moment he stepped in between you and your sister and then I definitely knew it when he calmed you down when your family entered the house."

Luna smiled and she looked at Cory when he joined them with grocery bags.

"Mom said we needed more coffee for this machine." Cory said. "Hey, you came out of your room."

Luna nodded and she petted Colt. "Yeah."

"Great. Can I interest you in some coffee while you are here?" Cory asked.

"Does mom still buy my coffee?" Luna asked.

"There has been traces of some of that coffee around here somewhere." Cory said and he pretended to search before he threw a box at her. "Salted caramel cappuccino."

"Thanks little brother." Luna said.

"That sounds interesting." Chase said.

Luna smiled and she handed him a sachet and held the box out to Bryon.

"I prefer my old school percolated coffee with milk, thank you." Bryon said.

Luna smiled and she handed the box to Cory and turned when Chase called June.

"Dad, mom asks when you are going to start the fire. She doesn't want to start the garlic bread too soon." June said.

"We will start soon." Jeremy said.

"Okay." June said and she looked at Chase. "You called."

"I hope you don't mind that I got your sister a rather large gift on your birthday." Chase said.

"Nope. We were supposed to have a combined party last year, I am two weeks away from being exactly five years younger than my sister, so we are used to getting gifts on each other's birthday, because my grandparents send us both gifts at the same time, sometimes it arrives on my birthday, and sometimes it arrives on Luna's birthday, so we have one official birthday, and one unofficial birthday every year." June said. "But I am really curious as to what you got her?"

"Maybe not what I got her, but more what I gave her." Chase said.

Luna smiled and she handed her sister the vet booklet.

June looked at it and then opened it and she squealed when she saw Luna's name and ID number listed as Colt's owner. "You are kidding."

Chase shook his head and he smiled at her. "That is why my dad is actually here. Colt did belong to the police force, not just me, so my dad had to do all the paperwork and stuff."

"You are the best ever." Cory said when he saw the papers.

"He doesn't have to wear the vest at home, as long as you do not have guests over. Once your family is used to him, he shouldn't need to wear it when they are here, any other time, he needs to wear the vest. Even the hospital cannot deny you his presence at work. When you are dealing with a patient, yes he needs to stay outside the room, but that is why you will find a blood pressure monitor in the bag with a small clip-on monitor. There is a data cable in there for both of them, they are rechargeable and there is software that you load on your computer and then you program the little monitor what is average, what is low and what is high, and then you choose a tone, then monitor is made for dogs to use specifically, so you might not be able to hear it properly without special equipment, but you need to pick a tone for high and stick to it, and do the same for low, and then teach him what each one means, and in that way he can determine if you need him or not when you are in an exam room and he needs to wait outside." Chase said.

"It is already arranged with your employer and the staff will be informed as well." Bryon said.

"You guys are amazing." Cory said. "This is like, Massive."

"Hey, you guys only get to see your cousins once or twice a year, go play." Rachel said coming to them. "Hi. I am Rachel Stone."

"Bryon Colton. Chase is my son." Bryon said.

"I guess you guys are taking Colt home." Rachel said.

"They're not." Luna said softly.

"What? Why?" Rachel asked.

"Because he is mine." Luna said.

"Really?" Rachel asked and she looked at the three men.

"Yeah. Really." Chase said. "He didn't belong to anyone specific because he failed his K9 training, but he is an excellent service dog. The station took turns to take care of him, but he needed to find a family soon, or we were afraid he would battle. None of us could take him, I wanted to, but I am not allowed pets. The only reason I could watch him every once in a while, was because he is a K9 for all anyone else knew."

"So you gave him to my daughter?" Rachel asked.

"Well my dad did, but yes, he was going to be mine once I could find a new apartment that allowed pets, but I think he is needed here much more." Chase said.

"Wow." Rachel said and she looked at her daughter.

"Mom, you're going to swallow a fly just now." Luna said and she smiled when Cory took the papers and stuff from her and unclipped the leash.

"I will place these on your desk." Cory said. "And you should go and play in the pool a little."

"Thanks Cor." Luna said, and she hugged Chase and Bryon when they stood up, saying they had to go. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome." Chase said and he petted Colt. "I will hopefully see you from time to time, buddy."

Colt licked his hand and then looked up at Luna.

"Good boy." Chase said and he hugged Jeremy and Rachel before he left with his dad.

"How do you feel right now?" Rachel asked looking at her daughter.

"I don't know, maybe just a little hope that maybe there is just a flicker of light every now and then." Luna said. "Maybe I just didn't look hard enough."

"Maybe you are right." Rachel said and she kissed her daughter's cheek. "Maybe go have a nap. You look drained."

Luna nodded and she went into the house with Colt and looked at the police car standing outside before she went outside. "Chase."

"Hey." Chase said.

"I would like to go to the barbeque later. I really enjoyed spending time with your friends and your sister." Luna said.

"Sure. I will fetch you between three and four. Don't worry about being fancy. My parents have a massive pool and a basketball court, plus a volleyball court." Chase said. "So a swimsuit that covers everything, like no immodest clothing, and some shorts is all you need."

"And some trainers. The basketball court gets really hot." Bryon said.

"Yeah." Chase said. "I will see you later."

"Thank you." Luna said and she smiled when her dad hugged her before she went into the house and to the kitchen where she heard her sister and some of the cousins. "June."

"Hey." June said and she handed her sister a plate with some watermelon on. "Mom said you went to take a nap."

"It is somewhere on the plan." Luna said. "You don't mind if I leave sometime after three, do you?"

"No. You have rarely been out of the house other than going to work, so go, have fun." June said. "You deserve it, and I will keep some treats out for you."

"Thanks little sister." Luna said and she hugged her sister before she went to her room and climbed on the bed. She smiled when Colt climbed on the bed with her, and she fell asleep with him lying with his head on her back. She woke up when Colt moved and looked at the time on her watch before she sat up and kissed his nose. She went to the bathroom and had a shower, and then got dressed in her favorite aquamarine tankini top and the bottoms with some shorts over it and then pulled the PTSD awareness shirt on over it and she tied the one neckerchief around her left wrist and put the blood pressure monitor on the same wrist, glad when she saw it was more like a super fancy smart watch. She linked it with her phone and installed the app, and then clipped the special monitor to Colt's harness under the vest. She did her makeup and then set up the app before she brushed her hair and tied it up into a ponytail. She put her swim bag together and added some extra towels for Colt before she placed it at the front door and went outside.

"Slept well?" Rachel asked.

"Very." Luna said and she sat down on her gran's lap and watched the teens and her cousins playing in the water.

"How is my big girl doing, Luna?" Addy asked.

"I'm okay for now, nana." Luna said and she petted Colt. "And hopefully with Colt around, it will just keep on getting better."

"Good." Addy said and she hugged her granddaughter. "You need to enjoy tonight."

"Thanks." Luna said and she smiled when Chase came out the door with her dad, still in his uniform. "Someone is obsessed with his uniform."

"Maybe." Rachel said.

"Well, that is my cue." Luna said and she stood up and hugged her gran and her mom before she went to her dad and Chase. "Hey."

"Hey." Chase said. "You look comfy, but beautiful."

"Thanks." Luna said. "Let's go."

"Okay." Chase said. "But I am going to greet your mom first."

"Sure." Luna said and she smiled when June ran to Chase with a cupcake. She looked at her dad when he wrapped his arms around her, and she smiled up at him. "What?"

"I'm not saying anything." Jeremy said.

"Dad." Luna said.

"Okay, if you insist, but don't say I didn't warn you." Jeremy said. "He is a nice guy, and he is being respectful, to everyone, but especially to you."

Luna nodded and she smiled at her dad. "We have only just found the key to get me back on my feet and out of the house. Let's not rush this whole healing process."

"Your life, your choices." Jeremy said. "But I'm just saying, if he walks into my house and asks to marry my daughter, I cannot find a single reason to say no right now."

Luna smiled and she kissed his cheek and then left with Chase after he greeted her dad. "Was I supposed to bring anything?"

"No." Chase said. "You have Colt, and that is good enough."

Luna smiled and she got Colt into the back and then got into the front and she watched as he drove to a large estate on the outskirts of town. "Wow."

"It is beautiful, right?" Chase asked.

"It is amazing." Luna said and she climbed out at the front door and got Chase out, and she smiled when he took her bags out. "Thanks."

"You are welcome." Chase said and he took her in. "My mom's dad is loaded, so his wedding present to them was the estate and the house of their dreams built on it. He did it for each of his two daughters, and each of the kids could get the room of their dreams once they turned twelve and he paid for everything. I have six other siblings. Sarah, Joy, me, Titus, Faye, Austin and Jet."

"Jet?" Luna asked.

"Yeah. Jenifer Edeline Tenacity Colton, AKA Jet. She is four. Her kindergarten class consists of two other girls with the name Jenifer, different spelling, but still, so one day she got home and said she was going to be called Jet from now on, because her teacher started calling them by their initials, because there was a boy with the name Colton in class. Her best friend's name is Jennifer Emily Nicole, which is Jen, ironically. So it is Jen and Jet, we stuck with it, because it works. The other little girl's initials are JC, Jennifer Caroline." Chase said. "So you can imagine the confusion if you are trying to call one of them, but they are all the same."

"Yeah." Luna said and she admired the beautiful house. "The house is big, but seven kids?"

"My grandfather built on when mom got pregnant with Titus. She wanted a bathroom for each bedroom, and a family room, study, craft room, gaming room, basically a room for the consoles and stuff, and a playroom, where all the toys and stuff are put away. So when Titus arrived, they would've had to change the nursery for him, and my grandfather wouldn't have any of that. So he built on to the house. The house forms a right angle, not entirely an L, but you know what I mean. So because we were still under twelve then, my parents moved us there one by one and we got our rooms that side, and Faye and the two young ones still sleep in the original building, closer to mom and dad. Sarah moved out when she and Joel got married, Joy moved out when she got engaged to Kaylo, my dad wasn't too impressed about that, but they are getting married in summer, they just felt like they were running in different circles because Kaylo had to go to England for three months just before they got engaged, and then proposed at the airport the night he landed back, and life went hectic crazy after that. He had to have a life changing op done on his back yet in the same time his sister and her husband was having a baby and they stay in England and his parents were going to be there for Christmas that year, and so on, so he made arrangements to go have the surgery in England where he could be close to his sister with the arrival of the baby, and so forth. Dad sent Joy over for Christmas and it was the first Christmas our family wasn't all together, but then they got back and he had to go for physio still and he had to get back into work and all that stuff, so eventually she moved in with him so that they could just get time to do the planning, and despite it all, they haven't slept together, except apparently a few times they crashed out on the couch after supper while watching a movie." Chase said and he smiled at her. "Come on, I will show you to the kitchen and introduce you to my mom and then you can go and swim with the others."

Luna smiled and she followed him to the massive kitchen and then looked at him. "Wow."

"I am glad you like it." A middle-aged lady said coming out of the pantry.

"Mom, this is Luna. Luna, this is my mom, Sephira." Chase said.

"It is nice to meet you, ma'am." Luna said.

"You can cut the formalities." Sephira said. "It's just Seph, or Mrs. Seph or something like that."

Luna nodded and she smiled when the middle-aged lady hugged her close.

"Chasey!" A little whirlwind squealed while running in.

"Hi Jet." Chase said and he picked her up and hugged her before he kissed her cheek. "Be nice."

"Hi. My name is Jet." Jet said.

"Hi Jet. I am Luna." Luna said.

"Cool." Jet said. "Chase you got to see. I can swim on my own now."

"Wow." Chase said. "Isn't it a little early to be swimming already?"

"Not really." Jet said. "It is a heated pool."

Chase smiled and he placed her on the floor. "Go on."

Jet giggled and she ran out again.

"Little monkey." Chase said. "Let me go and show you the pool area."

Luna touched Colt's head when he came and stood against her and she walked out with Chase and admired the beautiful garden and the massive pool. "Wow."

"It is pretty decent." Chase said and he introduced her to his siblings that were there and then excused himself to go and change.

"Is he always stuck in his uniform?" Luna asked when Joy came and sat next to her.

"Sometimes. But today he dropped dad off again after having been by you and then went and did his shopping for his own apartment before he fetched you again." Joy said. "He will easily go a day with walking around in his uniform and not even think about it."

Luna smiled and she watched the kids playing in the pool and before long there were adults everywhere and she enjoyed doing sports with them and had a glorious meal at seven.

"Time to clean up and go home." Chase said when everyone was satisfied and busy packing up.

"Do you have to?" Jet asked climbing on his lap.

"Yes." Chase said. "It is up early tomorrow for church, little Miss Jet."

"But I had to share you with everyone else today." Jet said.

"And how is that a problem?" Chase asked. "These people are my friends, and you will see me again tomorrow for lunch."

"But I want to play with you now." Jet said.

"No Jet." Chase said and he stood up and placed her on her feet. "It is already seven, and I have to help my friends clean up. You need to go and have a bath and your bedtime is at eight, you know that."

"But Chase..." Jet said.

"Jenifer Colton." Chase said firmly. "Go bath."

"I don't want to." Jet said.

Chase looked at her and then took her hand and went into the house.

"Okay. Let's get all this stuff into the house." Joy said and she began clearing off the tables.

Luna helped where she could, and she just enjoyed being around everyone and having fun listening to their tall tales and jokes.

"Chase, I will take Luna home." Joy said taking her car keys. "It is on my side of town."

"Thanks." Chase said and he hugged Luna. "Take care."

"I will. Thanks for inviting me." Luna said.

"You are welcome." Chase said and he smiled at her.

Luna smiled back and then took her stuff and she left with Joy. She hugged the young woman once they stopped at the Stone Residence, and then went in. "Thanks."

"You are more than welcome. I need to go. Kaylo is waiting for me." Joy said. "But I will send you an invite next time we have a get together like that."

"Thank you." Luna said and she petted Colt.

"And take good care of our boy." Joy said.

"I will." Luna said and she waved at her and then closed the gate and went into the house.

"I thought I heard the gate." Jeremy said. "Where is Chase?"

"Joy, his older sister, brought me home. She stays close by apparently." Luna said and she hugged her dad. "I'm tired."

"Good." Jeremy said and he kissed her head. "Did you have fun?"

"I did." Luna said and she kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Sleep well." Jeremy said and he smiled at her and then left again.

Luna smiled and she went to her room and lay down on the bed and fell asleep within minutes while looking at the ceiling.