"You were really ready to leave?" Mel and I are having lunch. She and the kids came over for the day so she can help me with the fabric samples and color swatches I got for the house.

I laugh and nod, "I was packed. Had all my things by the door when he got home."

"Damn, I had no idea you guys were getting off to such a rough start," Melissa takes a drink of her water and cranes her neck to check on the boys.

"They're fine, there's nothing out there they can hurt," I laugh.

The boys are endless balls of energy-- curious energy-- but the living room just doesn't have much in it yet, just Bear's old furniture from the little cabin he rented before he built the house. There's nothing those two boys can destroy in the front room that would matter.

Mel gives me a skeptical frown, "I think you're underestimating their powers," she tells me, only half joking. "So tell me what changed?"

"Oh!" I almost choke on the diet soda I've been sipping, "Well, he took me to bed for starters."

My friend looks at me with an unspoken question in the tilt of her head, "He waited a whole week?" She finally asks, "It's just that-- when you guys were over at the house the first night, it really seemed like you had chemistry. I thought for sure you guys would be all over each other as soon as he got you back here."

I shake my head, "Oh no. Barrett clammed up as soon as we got home. Gave me a tour of the house as formal as a museum guide and then showed me to the guest room."

"The what?" Melissa laughs, and picks Tundra up from her play pen, "He put you in the guest room? Why?"

With a shrug I start picking up our lunch dishes, "You know Barrett," I tell her, "He's so shy. He was just trying to be a gentleman, not come off like he thought I was some mail order bride he ordered online."

"You know we weren't supposed to let you two drink anything that night," Mel mentioned off hand, "It's one of Raven's rules for first meetings. We didn't even think about it till you guys were gone."

"Not that a couple of beers made a difference," I tell her, "maybe we should have had Luke bring us home and gotten shit faced over at your place."

We laugh.

Yeah, that might have helped matters a lot, I think to myself, but in the end it worked out. Bear and I are on the same page now; working on getting his house finished with all the final touches that make it a home. Our home.

Maybe working off the sexual tension earlier would have opened up our communication from the beginning or maybe it would have taken longer before we discovered we weren't really communicating.

"So you like this one?" Melissa holds up a fabric sample in a dark green.

"I don't know, I like the color, but I'm worried the cloth is going to stain easily."

After all, if all goes according to plan, Melissa and Rogue's kids won't be the only forces of nature running wild in this house.

It's been 2 weeks since Bear and I finally got things figured out and back on track. We've talked a lot about our plans for the future since then and we agree that children are a top priority.

I guess we'll throw in a wedding somewhere along the way too but it seems a lot easier to make babies than it will be to organize a date that works with the weather here in Alaska and allows both families to gather in one place.

At least I know a few good bush pilots that can help out!

Melissa mumbles as she separates the swatches by fabric instead of color the way we had them, "Trust me, nothing is stain proof," she tells me, "but these are going to be as close as you can get."

I look over the small pile of squares she's set aside.

We already picked out window treatments and decided on rugs instead of carpeting for the front room.

Barrett's house is a beautiful modern log cabin-- albeit an expansive one-- with knotty pine boards lining the walls and some really nice wood flooring. I decided to go with carpet through most of the house just for the insulation, but out in the great room that overlooks the mountains in the distance, I definitely want to leave the floors visible.

Right now we're trying to figure out what upholstery to go with for the furniture.

"So everything's good now?" Melissa asks, a hint of concern in her voice, "You two are on the same page and planning on going through with the wedding?"

I nod, "Yeah, it's just a matter of figuring out when and where I guess."

"So it's official?" Mel nods toward my left hand with a raised eyebrow.

My eyes follow hers down to my bare ring finger and I shrug, "Oh. Well, I guess it's not that official yet. We've been so busy getting the house done and stuff," I clear my throat meaningfully, "I mean, we've discussed what time of year would be best for the wedding, and we'll probably fly everyone from here down to the lower 48 because it's easier and cheaper than them coming up here but..."

I trail off and Melissa jumps up and runs to the living room, chasing a crash and a couple of boys yelling at each other.

Truth of the matter is that Barrett hasn't officially proposed to me yet. I'm not sure why that matters to me. Intellectually I know we're planning on getting married and maybe it's silly of me to expect a traditional proposal but I guess there's still some trace of a starry eyed little girl left in me that had her hopes up.

Melissa appears at the edge of the kitchen with a broken lamp in one hand and a terrified looking Pilot in the other.

"I'm sorry," the boy mumbles, "Jackson made me do it."

From the look on Mel's face I can tell she won't be at all pleased if I burst out laughing, so I do my best to look every bit as grave as the 3 year old she's holding by the scruff of the neck, "How did your brother 'make' you break the lamp, Pilot?" I am dying to hear this.

Pilot looks up at his mother and then cranks his head around in search of his brother, who is sitting on the corner of the sofa looking pitiful.

"He made me break the lamp because he was a dinosaur." Pilot is so serious it breaks my heart that he's in trouble.

I nod, as if I understand perfectly, "OK, well then," I look past Pilot's shoulder to his brother in the other room, "obviously dinosaurs do not belong in the house then."

Jackson nods sullenly.

Melissa looks like she's done, "I think we're headed home," she says, "I'll replace the lamp, I'm sorry."

She begins packing up Tuna's things-- it's Bear's nickname for her and it was an easy habit to get into, I have to apologize to Mel every time I say it aloud-- and ushering the boys toward the front door.

"Mel it's no big deal," I laugh as I take the baby from her, "I told you there's nothing in that room that mattered."

"I know," she sighs, "but I can't just let them go breaking things and not replace them."

Walking with her to her car I assure her, "They're boys, young ones. If it's that important to you send them over one day and I'll put them to work to earn their way out of it."

"What are you going to do with a 3 and 4 year old?" Mel laughs as she buckles everyone into their car seats.

"I have ideas," I tell her giving the boys a wicked glare and loving the way they both look at me like they're scared.

Truth is I'll probably make them help me make cookies. Which means making a bigger mess for me to clean up than a broken lamp while rewarding them with sugary sweets at the same time. I'm not about to tell their mom that though.

Melissa and her brood pull out of the driveway and the now familiar sound of a single engine plane flying overhead brings my thoughts back to Bear.