The next five days, i spend day and night with Marianne and the twins. I don't go home, except to shower and change. I practically live at the hospital. Spending my nights on the hospital chair next to her, but i am not complaining.

Everyday i have several meetings, in the waiting room next to their hospital room. Mostly about this case, but occasionally, about work. I am not sure when i will be able to get back to work fully, but i can already feel everyone slowly working me up to deal with more and more work stuff.

But today, we finally get to go home. Both Marianne and the twins have been cleared to go and i couldn't be happier, my body is longing to finally sleep in my bed again. But it will also be a chance for Marianne and i to be alone.

Here at the hospital, we were never short of visitors, one after the other, plus the medical stuff constantly coming in to check on her or the twins meant that we barely had any time for a private conversation. So that's something else i am really looking forward to.

*

I drop my window down as we drive home from the hospital. I close my eyes briefly and let the window blow on my face. Angelo is driving, and when i open my eyes, i see him look at me through the rare view mirror, his disapproval of my action evident.

"Just for minute" I murmur.

He nod and looks away, paying attention to the road again.

I turn to look out the window aswell. Sitting next to me, is Lana, her eyes glued to a book. Jade is in the passenger seat next to Angelo, busy on his phone. In The car behind us is AJ and Sam, along with Mom and Lora and the twins. There is a another car behind them, and another one infront of us with security in both.

I look up at the rear view mirror and see Angelo concentrating on the road. His elbow is pressed against the window, and his fingers are on his chin, his eyebrows furrowed, he looks to be deep in thought.

The last couple of days have been... taxing. I appreciate the fact that he stayed with me almost the whole time, but that didn't mean he wasn't busy. There was meeting after meeting, all day. And at night, he barely sleeps. Sometimes, i would wake up randomly in the middle of the night, and i would find him already awake. I hope things change when we get home.

As for what happened in the last six months, he doesn't want to talk too much about the details of his everyday life and after trying to push it for a while, i let it go. I imagine from his insomnia, that it wasn't too pleasant. So i really hope that being at home will help him get his guard down, and provide an atmosphere that will enable him to open up to me abit more.

When i look at the mirror again, this time, he looks back at me and smiles. I realise, he must have adjusted it just so he could see me clearly, the thought making me smile.

Walking into the house, i am pleasantly surprised to find the foyer and corridors, adorned with floors and balloons, and a 'Welcome home, Mommy, Luna and Leevi' sign on top. It reminds me of that time he travelled to Ukraine and had the whole bottom floor of our apartment decorated with floors and presents.

For the first time in months, the house actually feels like homey, especially with him around.

Angelo stands behind me, his arm across my shoulders as everyone claps and chants their welcome to all of us.

"Was this your idea?" I ask.

"What can i say, i am a very romantic guy" he says, and i laugh.

With most of our family here right now, there are plenty of hands to help with the twins, so i find that i have some free time and i look around for Angelo so i can spend it with him, but i don't see him anywhere.

" Hey, have you seen Angelo anywhere?" I ask Mario.

" Yes Ma'am, i saw him go outside on the phone" he says.

I walk outside through the back door where Mario pointed, and look around but i don't see him. I walk away from the house and finally spot him at a distance, walking down the steps towards the garden, on the further part of the estate, with his hands in his pockets, his head hanging low.

I come up behind him and throw my hands around his shoulders, hugging him from the back.

I thought i would startle him, but he must have heard me coming, because he doesn't seem surprised at my action, and just chuckles, holding my hand, he moves me to walk beside him.

"Hey" I say.

"Hai" he responds, intertwining our fingers.

"Running away from everyone?" I ask, as we continue to walk.

"I was on the phone, then the fresh air felt good, I thought i would walk around a little bit, before coming back inside" he says.

I nod, as we continue to walk in silence, enjoying the cool breeze and beautiful scenery.

"Are you ok?" I ask after a while.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You just seem.... I don't know....seem abit...distant."

'Troubled' is what i want to say.

" Did something happened, apart from the usual" I ask nervously.

He stops walking.

"No" he responds, facing me.

"I just......." He says,running his fingers through his hair.

"This whole thing just feels really stupid...I can't believe what happened to me....to us....I missed out on alot of things, things that i will never get back.....I let that happened.....I let you down. I let myself down" he says, restlessly.

"Hey.. don't beat yourself up about that..sometimes, things just happen that are out of our control.. that's life.....you can't always control everything.....What you can control is what you do after life knocks you down...You are literally the strongest person i know, I know nothing can keep you down..Besides, we are together now, you just need to let it go......." I say.

" .......by the way, i don't blame you for anything......I am always proud of you and i love you so much" I add.

He smiles and holds me close to him in a tight embrace, his hands scheming over my back and shoulders lovingly.

I missed this, feeling the strength in his touch, in his embrace. The past few days, he has treated me like glass, always so gentle and careful when he is around me....but right now, his embrace is strong and possessive.

We pull apart and start walking again.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Where ever our heart take us" he smiles and I roll my eyes at his attempt at being romantic.

"I missed this place" he murmurs softly.

"Really? I grew to hate it." I confess.

"Yeah? Why is that?" he asks, drawing his eyebrows together.

"It just.. it felt like a police station or crime scene....the police and so many security personnel walking around on every inch of this place. I was always being watched and followed. I couldn't be alone anywhere for ten minutes without somebody showing up." I admit.

He squeezes my hand and stands infront of me again, and i realise, we have now reached my favorite spot.

"I am sorry you had to go through all that because me" he says, pulling me closer by my waist.

"It's a small price to pay for our love right" I chuckle.

He smiles, then lowers his head to mine, his lips warm and soft against mine. This is the first time we have actually kissed, like tongue and all, since that first night at the hospital, and it feels really nice and intimate.

His hand travels up my back and over my shoulders, the other grabbing a handful of my hair to deepen the kiss when he tilts his head to the side. I didn't expect the kiss to ignite this much passion, but there it is, our heads turning again, as we devour each other hungrily, my arms now placed around his neck.

After we pull away, we both smile and rest our foreheads together.

I didn't expect that, and neither did he, i think...but i liked it very much.

Burying my head in the crook of his neck, I relax and i feel his hands stoking my back soothingly again.

I could do this all day..just stay here and make out for as long as we can.

But we are not on the same page, because he pulls away.

"Let's get back inside" he says, kissing the top of my head.

We walk back to the house hand in hand.

*

Even though we are back home, we quickly realise that nothing will ever be the same again, as Luna and Leevi take center stage. It's one thing to have one baby in the house, but two is crazy, so i am very thankful that we have so many people at the moment that are more than willing to help us with settling in and taking care of them.

And tonight being our first day back, everyone has decided that we should take some time for ourselves and not worry about the twins, because they are being taken care of. We have only seen them occasionally, when Marianne needs to breastfeed them, after which, they are taken away again.

After a nice warm shower, i craddle Marianne in my arms, and she falls asleep almost immediately. I watch her sleep for a few minutes, watching the way her now expansive chest is rising and falling heavily.

She didn't gain alot of baby weight, but apparently, her chest didn't get the memo. It's not abnormally bigger than usual, but it's significantly larger than it used to be. If she wasn't complaining about them being so tender and sore all the time, i would have been tempted to get a handful of them.

I am struggling to sleep, as usual, so i pick up my laptop and headsets. Lana had provided me with list of videos she took over the past months.

I watch a few random videos and then clique on the one with Marianne's name and a date on it.

I intended to watch one or two before trying to get myself to sleep, but i find myself watching the fourth video.

This was a particularly difficult day, she speaks a little, running her fingers through her hair after and starts crying, then later apologies for it. I stop the video and look back at her now sleeping peacefully.

This is not helping me relax. Just a reminder of how much i failed.

I stand up and walk to the babies room, and find them sleeping, then walk back to our room and finally join Marianne in bed again. She shifts in her sleep and i slide a leg between hers, pressing her back firmly into me, and feel myself finally relax, and before long, i too fall into a deep restful sleep.

*

Sounds of voices echo in my head and i groggily open my eyes.

Marianne is walking around the room with one of the twins.

"Sorry, did we wake you" she murmurs apologetically.

I sit up and motion for her to come closer.

"What time is it?" I ask, as she drawls nearer.

"Somewhere past 9am." she answers.

"Nine?" I repeat.. surprised i slept in that late.

"You should have woken me up babe" I complain.

" You looked like you needed the rest." She says, handing me the baby.

"Who do we have here....well hello princess...why didn't you wake daddy up?" I murmur to little Luna.

" Because she needed daddy to get as much rest as he could" Marianne answers.

"Where is your brother?" I ask as i make funny faces at my daughter, who in turn looks unimpressed with my antics.

"With Mom." Marianne says.

I finally look up at her in take in her attire. She is wearing black loose shorts that go halfway down her thighs, and a matching jumper with a zip infront.

"Did anyone call me, i have a couple of appointments, and i need to meet with Ben later"

"Yes..and Speaking of Ben, how's your relationship with him?" She says, handing me my phone.

"I guess with this whole thing with Steph, things have become abit.... awkward, maybe more than the usual" I chuckle.

"No, i mean generally"

"What do you mean? It's as normal as any relationship between brothers can be, i guess " I reply, not sure where she is going with this.

" Yeah, well....I just noticed that you too are not as close as you are with Andre, or Nick, and......"

"What is that supposed to mean? You have a problem with my friendship with Nick now?"

" No, quite the contrary.....but i think Ben does" she says and i scoff in response.

"I am serious babe. And quite frankly, I don't blame him" she says.

"Marianne, what is this?"

"It's just.....you and Nick are as thick as thieves and that's great...i think Ben envies that kind of relationship with you" he says.

"Look,Ben and i are fine, but if by some chance we were not, that's all on him, growing up, i looked up to him as my big brother and tried to be closer to him...he shunned that. I Met Nick in my early twenties and we just..clicked. I will not apologize for that. But Ben is my brother, and there is no denying how much i care for him...But my friendship with Nick is equally as important." I explain, letting her take Luna away from me because she is now crying.

"I am not saying that you should change anything about your relationship with Nick, just that maybe you could try to improve the one you have with Ben. I just felt like he really wants that.....Anyway, it was just an observation... it's up to you." She says.

"Ok"

" Ok what?" She asks.

" I will try and work on my relationship with Ben." I say and she smiles.

"Okay"

She walks to the door and stops.

" By the way, we have dinner with everyone tonight.....so what ever you need to get done, you have until 6pm to finish." She says, before walking out of the door.

*

I don't know if it's my return, or the twins, but there is an electric energy in the house. I have come to learn that Natalie and Jade have been living with Marianne in my absence. Lana too. I am grateful for that. Atleast she wasn't alone. Selene too is also full time now and stays here at a different section of the estate with her family. Same with Mario. Add that to a few other workers constantly walking around the property, and you have more people than i anticipated when first moved here.

But for what it's worth, i like it. Everyone looks happy and i more than happy for the extra hands to help with the twins.

"Knock knock" someone says behind me.

I turn around and see Natalie approach me. She is alone, which is surprising, because everytime i have seen her lately, she always has one of the twins with her.

"Hello" I say.

"Hai" she responds, coming to stand next to me.

We are on the Terrence, overlooking the front yard. I keep my hands firmly planted in my pockets, as we both maintain our gaze infront of us.

"I just.....". We both say at the same time and smile.

"After you..." I offer.

"Well, I just wanted to say again, how happy i am to have you back.....The past six months were a reminder for me of so many things. It reminded me of my husband passing.. and seeing what Arie was going through now, I imagined what it must have been like with her father and she was all alone...But Arie.....she is so strong....she has been through a lot, over and over again....i have so much respect for her, for the woman she is now.....she has grown up alot, and I realise, some of that is because of you. You are good for her, you balance her out in all the ways that she needs. I can't imagine a better partner for her and nothing makes me happier than seeing you two together again, starting your own family. You are bother fairly stubborn, so i imagine you will have bumps along the way....but i can't imagine a better pairing than you two." She says.

That sounds like i am finally getting her blessing.

"Thank you. That means lot, coming from you. I do love her more than my own life...and I will always endeavor to make her happy, because that's where my happiness lies too." I say truthfully.

" I have no doubt about that, and i wish you two all the best" she says.

"Sounds like you are saying goodbye" I utter.

"Well, we can't stay here forever" she chuckles.

"Arie is in good hands......plus i am sure you two need your space as you should, the last thing you need is us getting all up in your faces at every corner." She says.

" Natalie... Speaking for myself, but i am sure Arie will agree. I would really appreciate it if you stayed. We could really use your help with the twins, it would really put me at ease knowing you are around. I personally don't mind if you stayed much longer. Please consider it my invitation". I ask her.

" Well, I don't know, you two.... "

" Will be able to spend some more time together, if we have more help with the twins, whom i believe they will benefit greatly from your presence around the house. Please stay." I ask again.

"If you are sure we won't be in the way...... "

"I am sure."

"Well, ok, i guess we can stay. For a while"

*

Later that night, once again it's a full house. Our families and friends, walking around, talking and laughing with each other, and it's just perfect. It's like our families are now blended into one. I look at Marianne and it feels like we are married already. The thought comes and lingers in my head.

Wouldn't that be something.

It would be the only thing that would make everything complete, if we got married. It's what Marianne has always wanted. And after everything we have been through...I think nothing will make me happier than to formally legalize our relationship, forever.

*

Since Angelo has been around, we haven't had the chance to talk about the case in detail. Quite frankly, i haven't wanted to ask, to know. After what he said to me that first day, it just kind of annoys me to think about how everything happened. I have wanted him to open up to me about it, and when he didn't, I didn't push for details, just wanting everything to go away so we can focus on our future.

And today, at this special dinner held in his honor, as i expected, while everyone enjoys deserts and drinks in the other room, he and a few others suddenly disappear onto the Terrance, discussing work and probably the case. As i draw near, i hear their conversation and confirm my suspicions.

I was going to ask them to join everyone else inside, but their point of discussion catches my attention.

" 'Mental health institution'? You want her to go to rehab? That's her punishment?" I ask, and they all turn around to face me.

Angelo sighs and runs his fingers through his hair.

"It's a consideration" he says softly.

Ben, Nick and Ivan just stare at me.

"You were abducted for six months, and she gets a pat on the back and some therapy sessions...... Is this how you are handling it?" I mutter, feeling angry.

"She has a mental problem, she always has" he responds.

"Wow, how very understanding of you?" I utter, feeling rage now.

"We got Max, he has more cases against him than he can count, he will be in jail for a long time."

"It's just his sister you care about so much that you don't want to hurt her in anyway, despite the fact that what she did is criminal." I say.

" It's not like that" he responds.

I turn around to leave.

"Look, i am trying to figure out what's best for everyone....." I hear him say behind me, and i turn around again.

"Uhhmmm.... we will be inside..." Ivan Says, trying to push Ben and Nick inside the house with him.

"No. You stay!" I say, stretching my hand and fingers towards them to indicate that they don't move, and they stop, and stand there awkwardly.

"Do you really care about her so much, that you are willing to forgive anything that she will do to you??" I ask.