“Your cat is the worst flyer in existence,” Teodoro groaned, handing me Hobbes’ carrier as soon as I found them at the airport, “the medicine that you left for him did nothing after a while. I even gave him more at the second stop and he still woke up yelling halfway to Auckland. I had to try and calm him through the crate.”

“Sorry, Dad,” sighing, I hugged him tight, “are you good to stay?”

“Yeah for two weeks or so. I could stay 12 but I don't know about that. How is Jacob handling this?”

A small sound I couldn't place came from my throat and I shook my head, “I forgot you were on the plane so you never got my messages. He's gone, Dad.”

“He was sick too?” Teodoro gasped, following me to Alexander's truck as I had borrowed it to come and get him.

“No. Ended things himself. Harvey and Alexi told me about Jake's suicidal ideations. He's tried a lot to do this. Got out of the hospital and…”

“Oh my God,” Teodoro gasped again, covering his mouth, “what does that mean for Zeke?”

“We'll talk about it with Alexander. His Uncle Harvey should have arrived a few hours ago with his grandma, and I know Jake's parents just got there. They were arriving when I left. I haven't met any of them yet.”

“Let's get to the house then. I want to help how I can.”

“Just being here helps. Alexi needs it I think,” I started the truck after setting the GPS and headed back to Alexander's house, “we’re going to Alexi’s. Oh, I guess it's my house too. He spent all morning at his parents getting stuff for Zeke and it's too much for him right now. I made him come home before I came to get you. Anyway, welcome to New Zealand. I just wish it was for a positive reason.”

“It's so beautiful,” Teodoro smiled, studying the landscape around us, “how far from Auckland is Taupaki?”

“30 minutes kind of? Taupaki is technically part of the province of Auckland. It's confusing. Oh uh… Cyrus wants to move out here too. Alexi is already on board, we're going to get a house and put it at the back of the property. Cy wants to get a job on the same oil rig as Alexi’s Uncle.”

“That would be amazing. Thank you,” he squeezed my forearm and I nodded, “You’ve always taken such great care of him. I tried, Cae. I really did.”

“I know Dad. I just… after everything that’s happened I want to save Cyrus from himself. All of my other siblings will be okay. They’re safe and stable in their lives. But Cyrus isn’t. This was the only thing I could think to do. We’re selling the house Papa left me and already have plans for the money. Alexi wants to use the money he got to pay off his parents' farm but I think we’re giving it to Harvey,” I turned down the dirt road that led to our house with a sigh, “he doesn’t want Ezekiel to grow up and think he’s stuck running the farm. Zeke wants to be a cop and Alexi is planning to make that happen for him, however needed.”

“Good.”

The house came into view and I stopped the truck, gripping the steering wheel as Scout came running from the house, Ezekiel right behind him.

“Tuakana!” Ezekiel giggled when he saw me and I gave him a soft hug, “Is that Hobbes?”

“Mhm. I’ll let him out in a minute. Zeke, this is my dad, Teddy. Dad,” I pulled Teodoro over as he set his bag on the ground, “this is Alexi’s little brother Zeke.”

“You’re so pretty,” Ezekiel whispered, his eyes wide as he stared at my father, “wow.”

“Oh, aren’t you cute?” Teodoro snorted, pinching Ezekiel gently on the cheek, “It’s so nice to meet you. Caelan told me what happened. I am so sorry,” he gently hugged Ezekiel.

“It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. Mum got sick and Dad's brain was mean to him. That’s how Alexi explained it to me. I had to save my Dad one time from it. Uncle Harvey taught me CPR and I did that.”

“Well… you never should have had to,” Teodoro squatted down as I scratched Scout between the ears, “but you’re a great son for saving him when you could.”

“Thank you, Mr. Teddy.”

“Just Teddy is okay. No need for Mister.”

“Mhm. Um… oh Tuakana! Alexi is in the backyard with my Tipuna and Grammy Bea. They wanted to meet you.”

“Let me take my dad inside, get things where they need to be, and I’ll be right there. Thanks, Zeke,” I ruffled his hair and Ezekiel raced around the side of the house, Scout right behind him, “Welcome to our home.”

“It’s precious,” Teodoro laughed as we went inside and I led him to Alexander’s office.

“This is the best we have right now. I went to the store this morning and got an extra bed for you. It’s not great, but it’ll work. I’d have had you use the spare room but that’s Ezekiel’s now.”

“Can I ask something you might not know the answer to?” he set his suitcase on the floor near the bed and I nodded, “Why is his name so biblical? Alexander’s too actually.”

“Their parents were Catholic. They took Ezekiel to church every Sunday. But they definitely disagreed with some of the teachings of the church. So you have Ezekiel Samuel and Alexander Thierry. I don’t really know what his middle name means though.”

“Ah! I actually do, I’ve heard it before. It’s French,” Teodoro smiled as we headed toward the backyard, “if I remember correctly, it means ruler of the people.”

“It’s fitting,” I laughed softly, wiping my eyes, “sorry. I wanted you to meet Ruthie and Jake. This is so strange for me.”

“I know. But it’s good you’re here for Alexi.”

“He told me he loved me last night,” I whispered.

“Really? What did you say?” he gripped both of my arms and I smiled.

“I told him I love him too. Because I do. I did it, Dad. I fell in love.”

“Oh I am so proud of you,” he smiled gently, kissing my forehead.

“Teddy?” Alexander came into the house, his eyes a bit red, the sweatsuit he wore crumpled and Teodoro wrapped him in a hug without another word, rubbing his back gently, “Thank you. For coming out here.”

“Anything for you, kid. What can I do?”

“Um… I have no idea. Why don’t you let Hobbes out to explore, honey?” Alexander kissed me softly, “that way he’s comfortable before we bring Scout inside. I set up everything he needs in the kitchen or bathroom. He can find it if you let him be.”

“Okay,” I set the carrier down and Hobbes came out, blinking a few times before meowing loudly and rubbing against Alexander’s leg, “I told you, he loves you more than me.”

“No he doesn’t,” Alexander finally laughed, squatting to pet Hobbes who kept rubbing against him, “but he missed me. You’re home to stay, bud. No more flights.”

Hobbes blinked a few times before trotting off toward the living room and we followed Alexander outside to the deck. Ezekiel was playing in the yard with Scout as Harvey talked to three people that I knew had to be Jacob and Ruthie’s parents.

“Kui,” Alexander called softly, and a beautiful woman with soft brown hair and eyes looked over, her skin deeply tan, “this is my boyfriend Caelan and his father Teddy. Cae, this is my Kui Aroha.”

“Hello,” I smiled, gently shaking her hand, “it’s so nice to meet you. Alexi talks about you a lot.”

“Oh aren’t you beautiful,” she laughed, “I love your hair.”

“Thank you. I’m the only one of my siblings to be a redhead.”

“Koro?” Alexander called and Wiremu never looked over, watching Ezekiel, “Kui, did he take off his hearing aids?”

“Always does,” Aroha sighed and kicked Wiremu who finally looked over.

Teodoro smiled and waved, “Hello. My name is Teddy. Caelan is my son, I just arrived from Montana.”

“Ah,” Wiremu nodded, reaching into his pocket and sliding his hearing aids back on, “American sign language and New Zealand is a little different but I get what you’re sayin’. Nice to meet you both.”

Wiremu and Alexander looked even more similar than Alexander and Jacob and I blinked a few times, making Alexander laugh at my expression.

“The Bennett genes are strong,” Alexander shrugged, sitting next to Beatrice, “hi Grammy.”

“Hi,” Beatrice smiled, turning to look at me, “Harvey talked about you, Caelan. The entire flight here. He is so happy Alexi met you. It's lovely to meet you as well.”

“I’m happy I met you too. We’re hair twins,” I laughed, hugging Beatrice gently and smiling at the way her auburn hair blended with mine, “I am so sorry,” I whispered in her ear and she rubbed my back.

“I know. But we don’t need to keep apologizing for what happened. There’s no one to blame.”

“Bea,” Aroha sighed and Beatrice shook her head, “I hope you know we don’t blame Ruthie for Jake finally… getting his wish. She did everything she could to keep him alive.”

“Yes. She was good at that. Alexi, how did he get away from you?”

“I tried grabbing him,” Alexander sighed and I sat next to him, Alexander now sandwiched between Beatrice and myself, “but he smacked me full force across the face. Left me in a daze and took that opportunity to run. The last… the last thing he did was blame me for not being here. I was in Montana, helping Cae through the loss of his grandfather. I didn’t know how sick Mum was until I was already there. But I wanted to stay and help the Hope family.”

“Your last name is Hope? How beautiful,” Aroha smiled at Teodoro as he took the chair next to her, Harvey the last to join us as he leaned against the railing.

“Well, my married name is, yes. My husband Remington’s last name is Hope. Mine was Solorio. My father is from Portugal. Alexi? Look at me, kid.”

Alexander raised his head, staring at Teodoro who smiled gently, reaching over to hold Alexander’s hand.

“No one blames you,” Teodoro whispered and Alexander’s eyes grew wide, “I can see it on your face. You think everyone is blaming you for what happened. But you did nothing wrong. Ruthie had cancer. You may work with cancer patients, but you know better than anyone that there can come a point you can’t stop it. Jake making the choice he did was never your responsibility. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. Jake made his choice, and no matter how you feel about it, it was never your fault. Do not sit here and blame yourself. None of us want that because it would be unnecessary. You did the best you could in a horrible situation no one should be put into. Your entire life is different now. But you aren’t doing it alone.”

“I know. I have Caelan,” Alexander hiccuped and I laid my head on his shoulder.

“Yes but not just him. You have three lovely grandparents, my entire family, Harvey, and Ezekiel. We’re here. Every step of the way. I’ll be in Taupaki for two weeks.”

“We’re staying a week,” Wiremu nodded, “for the funerals… god this is weird. I never…”

“No one can be prepared to lose their children,” Beatrice shook her head, “no one expects us to be. But we will get things sorted as a family over the next week. Teddy, Caelan? We welcome you in as ours as well. This is all I have left.”

“I have six children,” Teodoro laughed softly, “8 grandchildren. All of my children but one has a partner of some kind. Married or dating. Our family is large and you’re more than welcome into it as well. That’s what the Hopes do. When I… uh… a lot of bad things happened to me before I met Caelan’s father. But his parents were friends with mine and they let me live in their guest house for a long time. They became family and we all combined down the line. All we’re doing is bringing you in. No big deal or skin off my back.”

“How are Athena and Artemis?” I smiled.

“Big girls but sweet. They look like Sunny.”

“How in the hell?” I snorted.

“Is Sunny one of your siblings?” Beatrice smiled at me.

“My brother-in-law. All my sibling's names start with a C like me. Sunny is the most unique person besides my brother Cruz I have ever seen. He’s French-Canadian and Ghanaian. Blonde hair, hazel eyes that I swear are yellow, and deep mahogany skin. He’s really tall too. About Alexi’s size. So the fact that the twins they adopted look like him is surprising. Their oldest daughter, Cosette, is blonde with green eyes. A common thing in our family.”

“Most of my children don’t look like each other even if they have the same fathers. I’m trans,” Teodoro laughed, “sorry if that goes against any beliefs, but it’s who I am.”

“Oh we don’t care,” Aroha shrugged and Wiremu nodded in agreement.

“Glad to hear it. I have three brunettes, one blonde, one redhead, and my youngest was born with white hair, the same as my parent Hyacinth.”

“Wow. Your family is interesting!” Beatrice gasped.

“Honey?” Alexander whispered in my ear and I nodded, “I can’t do this anymore. Are you okay if I go inside?”

“Sure. Why don’t you take Hobbes and get some sleep? I’ll check on you in a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” he kissed me softly, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Alexander headed into the house as I watched, my heart low. Beatrice rubbed my arm gently and I wiped my nose, staring at the ground as I did.

“He’ll be okay,” she whispered and I nodded, “I promise he will. He’s just confused. I think the best thing we can do is make a plan for the future and run it by him. See what he wants changed. He can’t make those decisions and calls for himself right now and no one blames him for that.”

“He already called about Ezekiel this morning. To take custody and let the school know that Zeke will be out until next week. Being in Jake and Ruthie’s house was too much for him. All the photos of them as a family haunted him. He cried for a long time before hiding it as soon as Zeke came into the house again. I don’t know if he can handle the farm. Being there at all.”

“We’re going to figure it out,” Harvey finally spoke and I nodded, “I told you, I’m here.”

“I know, Harvey. Thank you.”

“Anytime, kiddo. Hey, Teddy?”

“Yep,” Teodoro nodded.

“How old are you?”

“Ah… well… 57. My husband is as well.”

“Oh, you had Caelan a lot older than I thought!”

“Rude. I didn’t have his older brother until I was 28. All my kids are about a year and a half apart.”

“Didn’t mean it rude,” Harvey laughed, “I thought we were around the same age. I’m 44. You look young.”

“Always have. Cae, why don’t you go lie down with Alexi? We’ve got Zeke.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

I nodded and headed to the master bedroom where I found Alexander lying on his back, Hobbes cuddled down on his chest. After kicking my shoes off, I climbed into bed with them and rested my chin on his shoulder.

“Don’t you want to talk with everyone?” Alexander sighed and I gently kissed his arm.

“I already did. You’re my priority.”

“Okay. Um… can you… can… I need you to help me make decisions because right now I want to say fuck it, sell everything we have in Taupaki, and move to Queenstown to be closer to my Tipuna so Zeke has them too.”

“We can realistically do that, Alexi,” I smiled, “we can sell all the properties and find a new house there. New jobs. We have great credentials and I can work anywhere in the country. So tell me, what do you want?”

“I don’t know right now. That’s not really what I want. This is our home,” he sniffled, “I’m just so confused.”

“We’re going to figure it out as a family. There’s no reason to panic or try and solve things today. We have time.”

“Promise?”

“Oh of course I do.”

“I love you,” he kissed me softly, making Hobbes meow as Alexander had to roll a bit.

“I love you too,” I laughed softly.