"Are you sure you'll be alright? You don't want to call Keesha?"

I shook my head. We'd already talked about this. Now that Kemar was out of the picture, I had to learn to get back to normality. To find my old life and feel safe again. And what better opportunity was there than being home alone with them literally being a few doors down? It would take dad two minutes to run from our neighbor's house down the street. Tops. Also, since it was a Christmas party with lots of people, there would be plenty of backups if it turned out that I was in trouble. Mom promised to keep her phone close at all times, which I trusted her to do, since she probably was more anxious about this than I was. So yes, I was sure I would be safe.

"Absolutely positive. He can't hurt me anymore. I'm safe. Besides, I need to get comfortable being on my own again. I'm an adult. I'm not a baby anymore."

Mom sighed and gave me a hug.

"I know, dear. But after everything you've been through, we totally underst..."

"Mom!" I cut in. "Go and have fun at the Christmas party. Keesha is busy, and I'm gonna read anyway. I'm in the middle of this great novel about... Never mind. Just go. I'll be fine."

Dad called for her from the outside, and eventually mom grabbed her purse and prepared to follow.

"Call if you need us, okay?"

"I will. See you later. I might be asleep when you get home, though. I'm tired."

She nodded and gave me one final kiss on the forehead, and as soon as they'd left, and I was quick to lock the door and check all the windows. It was better to be safe than sorry, after all.

A door won't stop a demon!

"No!" I said out loud to the unwelcomed thought. I needed to control my paranoia better. That's what my therapist said, and that's what I kept telling myself. If I wanted to feel safe again, the first step is to take control over your mindset. But I couldn't stop the sting of sadness that flushed through me at the thought of Jared. No one had ever made me feel as safe as he did. We barely knew each other, yet I somehow knew he would protect me from everything. Probably even the demon.

"We'll be safe, little one," I whispered and stroked my belly. Then I sat down with my book, wrapped a thick blanket around me and tried to read, but it was like all the letters floated around on the page and made me unable to make any sense of it at all. I tried for the longest, just to keep my mind occupied from my paranoid thoughts, until my eyelids became heavier and heavier. And after a while I drifted off to sleep.

*****

There was a knock on the door.

At first, I wasn't sure if I'd dreamed it or not, but it felt real enough for me to sit up and listen. There it was again, and the unwanted memory of Kemar standing outside with a bouquet of roses made me curl up in protection of myself and the baby.

"Skylar? Are you in there?"

I frowned. The voice was deeper than expected and sounded strangely familiar. I knew for sure it wasn't Kemar. Besides, a demon wouldn't bother to knock on the door and ask for me. That would be absolutely ridiculous. Then why was I scared?

"Skylar?"

The man knocked on the door again, and it made me wonder why he didn't use the doorbell. Then I got curious. Maybe it was Simon? After all, he knew I was home alone, so maybe he'd decided to keep me with company? Yeah. That must be it. It would be hella weird being alone with him though, but I found that I could handle awkwardness better than the rapidly increasing anxiousness I felt right now.

"I'm coming!" I shouted. Then I got up from the couch and silently cursed at my outfit, that had been chosen solely out of laziness. I'd recently discovered that yoga pants actually were quite comfortable if you rolled them under your stomach. And if you had a long t-shirt or top, no one would notice anyway. So that had more or less become my everyday outfit, and I wasn't going to change for Simon. However, I did take a detour to my room before I opened the door. Not to change clothes or fix my hair, but to grab the knife from under my pillow. Then I went back to the door, unlocked it, and peeked out.

And...

My heart made somersaults in my chest, and instead of saying hello, I gasped.

"Jared?"

For several seconds I just stood there with a gaping mouth and wide-open eyes, until I saw him shift his weight from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. Then I quickly gathered myself and welcomed him into the house. The only problem was that I had so many questions that nothing of what I said made any sense. I just pulled him inside and locked the door behind us.

"How did you... I thought that... Oh, my God, Jared. Is it really you?"

I stopped talking and just looked at him. The man I thought I'd never see again was really here! The abnormally tall man with deep brown eyes surrounded by long eyelashes and bushy eyebrows. His soft, plump lips that had once kissed me so tenderly. His strong jaw that used to be covered with beard stubbled was now neatly shaved, and his wild mane was combed back and gathered in a ponytail. It even looked like all his clothes were brand new. He looked like a totally different person! But there was no doubt in my mind. It really was Jared.

Suddenly I got overwhelmed with emotions, and all the memories of us together welled up like if I saw it in a movie. My eyes teared up and my chest started heaving for air, and it was hard to breathe properly, until I finally drew a deep sigh that ended in a sob. And when Jared smiled at me and opened his arms, I threw myself into his embrace and closed my eyes. I didn't need to see him. I could feel it with my entire body. It was like my heart became whole again after missing a large piece for a very long time.

"I thought you were dead," I whispered while my tears flowed uncontrollably, and felt his strong arms gently stroking my back, pulling me as close to him as possible without hurting me. Then he smelled my hair.

"Oh, God... I've missed your scent," he murmured with a voice so deep and raw that it didn't even sound like him. But then I smelled him, too. Though it wasn't as strong as it used to be, since he'd obviously showered, the familiar wet dog-smell I'd grown to love could not be mistaken. I giggled and opened up our embrace so I could look at him, and I was stunned by the amount of love I could see in his eyes.

"How did you find me?"

He smiled coyly and looked away for a moment, and I could even see him blush.

"I remembered you told me that you were from Chicago."

"But Chicago is huge!" I giggled and smiled against his chest when he hugged me again.

"I tracked down your smell."

I giggled again and tried to stop crying. If anyone else had said that to me, I'd be utterly offended. But with Jared it was completely different.

"After searching for weeks, I finally found you. Yesterday. But your mother was there, so..."

"That was you?" I exclaimed and wiped my cheeks with a sleeve. Our eyes met, and once more I felt myself drowning in his aura. "You were the one who was watching me?"

He nodded.

"And today I've been waiting all day, trying to find the best moment to talk to you."

He bit his lip and his intense eyes bore themselves deep into my soul.

"That morning when you took a bath... I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, Skylar. I wanted so badly to see you again. To hold you. Smell you. Just be close to you. It almost drove me crazy."

He paused.

"I got injured. And it took some time to recover."

"Was it bad?"

My heart sank when he refused to look at me and I cradled his jaw in my palm. But he still didn't meet my gaze, and eventually he simply closed them.

"It doesn't matter. I just knew that I needed you, and I hated myself for letting you go. I hated myself for not doing what I wanted to, even though I knew it was the right thing. But I also knew that thinking like that would only make it worse."

He sighed, and I searched his eyes for answers.

"Make what worse?" I asked eventually.

"Letting you go."

He paused again, and there was no doubt this was hard for him. I didn't fully understand why, though.

"But I can't. We belonged together and I believe we still do," he stated, and I frowned a bit.

"What do you mean?"

"We belonged together," he repeated. "You don't remember this, and you probably won't believe me, but we met hundreds of years ago and drifted apart for several reasons. Until the universe brought us back together. And I simply couldn't let you go when I first found you. If you don't want me in your life, then fine. But I'll still keep an eye on you from a distance. Even if it's just to make sure you're doing okay."

He cradled his hand around the back of my head and hugged me again when new tears started rolling down my cheeks. Was this true? I didn't really understand how or why he would make that up, but if it really was true, why didn't I remember it? Then Jared grabbed my hand and carefully put it on his chest right where his heart was.

"Your mind doesn't remember. But your heart does," he whispered and placed a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"I love you, Skylar. I always have. And I've found a way that we can be together without..."

He hesitated, as if he was trying to find a way to rephrase what he had in mind.

"I need to go back, when..."

"...when it's full moon," I finished for him after adding it up, and he nodded.

"That is, if you want me?"

I started crying even harder, and it was all happy tears. My cheeks were smiling so hard they ached, and I couldn't stop touching him just to make sure he was really there and not just fantasy.

"Of course I do! And I can live with that... You know. With you going away for a while now and then. Just as long as I get to see you."

I looked at him and hoped he could see how much he meant to me.

"Because I love you too."

The very second I said that, he kissed me and it was like the room exploded in a furor of beautiful sparks and colors. He made me feel complete in a way I knew only he could do. I was safe again as long as I was in his arms, and to feel his lips moving so softly against mine, made me moan from the overwhelming feeling that spread in my body. It was like we needed each other to live. We could never be apart again, and I knew without a doubt that what he'd told me was true.

Our kiss deepened and became greedier, and he pulled me closer by my hips. But then he froze. His eyes scanned mine before his gaze fell on my stomach. I just smiled.

"Y-you're pregnant?"

He looked confused and swallowed heavily.

"I am. You're gonna be a dad," I whispered and was a bit nervous about how to interpret his reaction. He was unreadable for a moment, and he kept searching my eyes for the information he needed.

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent."

It took a few minutes where he just stared at me, and it looked like he'd stopped breathing. Was he mad? But just as I was about to ask, he let out a short laugh in disbelief.

"You're pregnant."

"I'm pregnant," I confirmed, and started to feel sad. Until his face changed into a big smile.

"We're gonna be parents?"

I nodded again and squealed in surprise when he suddenly lifted me up in the air and spun us around in circles. His eyes were so full of love and joy that it took my breath away, and he kept chuckling and showering me with butterfly kisses like I'd given him the present of a lifetime. Then he finally let me down. However, he didn't let me go. He kept holding me and leaned his forehead against mine while he stroked his large hands over the bump that was hiding our little treasure, and I prayed that this moment would never end.

"I'm gonna be a dad," he smiled, and I saw a little tear roll down his cheek right before he attacked me with his lips.

Reunited by the universe.