I'm awoken from my slumber by a soft father-son conversation. "You really do love her, don't you?" Jeff asks.

"I do father. Why, is it a problem?" John asks.

"No, no, I'm just happy. I thought that your mother's death would affect you boys throughout your lives. I'm glad it didn't. Now, how about some breakfast." Jeff explains as he leaves. John smiles as he gets up. I quickly reached out and grabbed John's sleeve. He turns and looks down at me. "Hey," I mumble.

"Morning sleeping beauty. Did you enjoy your nap?" He asks.

"I did, but how did I get here?" I inquire.

"You fell asleep on my shoulder down in TB6's hangar. I brought you back here soon afterwards." John explains.

"Oh, thanks." I smile. Just then, Scott pokes his head into my room.

"Dad wants you two lovebirds downstairs for breakfast, sooner rather than later," Scott smirks before running off.

"I'm gonna kill him!" John growls.

"Don't, we'll get back at him later," I whisper.

"We'll need some help though." John smile.

"After breakfast." I butt in.

"Ok, let's go before dad comes up looking for us." John says.

"Too late. Downstairs. Now." Jeff commands. We walk downstairs and sit at the table where Kyrano had kindly made us chocolate chip pancakes and blueberry muffins. Within five minutes, all of the food was gone, and I had none. Those Tracy's sure can eat a lot. John and Gordon, who had been informed of the plan, meet me upstairs for planning the prank but before the meeting could commence, John dragged me over to his cupboards. He opened one of the bottom ones where a mini fridge was uncovered. John stuck his hand into the cupboard and took out some bagels.

"I noticed that you didn't get any breakfast. Here's some of my bagels." John smiles.

"Thanks John. Where's Gordo?" I ask, noticing the prankster had disappeared

"Getting Alan. He's needed for the prank. Here they come now." John states, as Alan and Gordon walk through the door. Gordon closes the door behind them.

"We'll have to be quiet. I think Scott knows something's up." Gordon whispers.

"Ok, so what's the plan?" I ask John. As he starts explaining, Alan sits behind me before starting to play with my hair. Gordon began talking but I didn't pay attention as Alan did my hair in a braid. The braid was sloppy and messy from no practice, but it was the thought that counts. "Phoenix! Are you listening?" Gordon asks.

"Um, nope." I reply.

"Ok, so you have to help guide Alan through the vents, as he is the only one small enough to fit in them. He'll be carrying a bag of paint bombs and we'll be carrying water guns." John explains.

"So Ali attacks from the vents and when Scott leaves his room, we'll attack." Gordon grins.

"Sounds good. When do we put the plan into action?" I ask.

"Today, so go get ready." John commands before pushing Allie and Gordo out of the room.

"Help me pick some colours for the paint bombs. Ones that would make Scott embarrassed." John grins.

"Neon blue, pink, red and silver." I reply.

"Oh, good ones. Those will surely embarrass the manly Scott. I'll get them ready and the plan will be put into action tonight." John explains.

"Very well then. I'll see you later." I smile, kissing John on his cheek before wandering off into the maze of a house. After wandering for about an hour, I find Virgil coming out of the music room. Virgil and I have always had a bond since I saved him in the avalanche just over 10 years ago. He can come to me for nearly anything, but rarely does so. "Hey Virgil. I need some help. Where's Alan?" I ask.

"Oh, he's in the cinema room. I'm assuming that you don't know where that is, so follow me." Virgil replies.

"Thanks!" I smile. Virgil leads me down the corridor and into a room with a large screen which currently had a racing game on it. Alan was sitting right in front of the TV, entranced by what his brother was doing with the console and car.

I turn to look at his brother. It's Gordon. I sit down beside Alan and watch until we're called for tea. Thankfully it's Kyrano who's made a wonderful tea of pancakes and muffins. He introduces me to his daughter, Kayo, who just returned from the Air Force to help out in IR. When tea is over, John signals to Gordon and I. I take Alan's hand and lead him out of the room with John and Gordon following. We gather our gear before meeting up in John's room, which is right next to Scott's room. John opens the vents and Gordon helps Alan climb into the tight space. I whisper instructions to Alan over his comm, directing him towards Scott's room. Once Allie is at the opening in Scott's room, I signal to the two men and we hide in the corridor outside Scott's room. Once we're in place and Scott's in his room, I open my comm and announce to Alan "Bombs away!"

Within a few seconds, we can hear Scott's girly screams emanating from his bedroom. He runs out, covered head to toe in paint. We spring out of our hiding spots and start firing our water guns. Scott continues down the corridor, bumping into Jeff, who must have heard his girly cry. Once past his dad, Scott jumps out the window at the end of the hall, surprising us all. Shocked, we run over to the window and look out to see a funny sight. Scott, was floundering in the pool, turning the water from a crystal blue to a dark, murky colour. We spy Virgil and Kayo soaked on the loungers, laughing at what had occurred. The five of us rush down the stairs and run onto the patio. When we emerge onto the patio, there's no sign of Scott in the pool, or of Kayo and Virgil. Suddenly, a battle cry sounds behind us, and John, Gordon and Alan are pushed into the pool by Scott, Virgil and Kayo. I laugh at their shocked faces , as they splashed around in the pool. John turns towards me. "So you think this is funny? Well, then, is this funny?" He asks, tugging my leg so I fall into the pool beside him. I squeal as I crash into the water. When my head comes up, I'm splashed in the face by Gordon, who soon realises his mistake when I douse him in water. This leads to a full on water fight.

The fight ends when Jeff, Scott and Kayo leave to change into dry clothes, Virgil joins us in the pool. We start to play water games, Alan on Gordon's shoulders, and me on John's. Virgil is the referee. It's very close, but John and I dominate over Alan and Gordon. When we go to get out of the pool and the sun begins to set, it's around 8:30pm, Jeff passes us. "Time to fire up the BBQ!" He exclaims.

"Why don't you just fire up TB1?" Virgil asks. Jeff turns to look at him, puzzled.

"You'd get the same results." Gordon continues. Jeff looks even more confused.

"Charred burgers!" The two finish in unison, high fiving. I facepalm, John and Scott laugh, Jeff looks mad and Alan just yells "Ohhh!! Dad just got burned!!" This seems to make Jeff even madder, as he yells "Fine then! No BBQ. Just make yourselves sandwiches, I've got work to do!" The happy, light hearted atmosphere that surrounded Tracy Island all day, faded, one of anger and tension replacing it. Everyone freezes as Jeff storms inside. The slamming of his office door echoes around the house and breaks everyone out of their reverie. Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Kayo retreat to their rooms as John and I go to put Alan to bed.

Once Alan has settled down for the night, John and I retreat into my room. We sit on my balcony as I strum the acoustic guitar that my father had given me before she died. It was an old melody, one that most people have forgotten about. We sat in comfortable silence before John speaks up. "I'm sorry that you had to see that. I thought that dad would have turned over a new leaf when you decided to live here, but it seems that it was only for a day. He's normally like this, very easy to anger, consumed by his work. I've tried to keep Alan from bothering him, but there's the few times I've neglected him and dad decides that he'll yell at Alan. Are you ok, Nix?" John explains.

I sigh. "I'm fine, just a bit shaken up, that's all. I'm glad that you've kept Alan away from him, it's not good to be surrounded by negativity. I just hope that it doesn't affect his attitude in any way. I'm glad I came here, though." I clarify. "I'm actually we're alone now. I've been meaning to talk to you..."

John turns to face me. "Nothing bad, I hope." He hints.

"Depends which light you see it in." I take a deep breath before I start to explain my predicament. "As you know, I turn 18 in 6 days. The only thing is, my 18th birthday is different than any other birthdays. Ever wondered why my temperature was higher than normal? Or why when I get extremely mad, something nearby combusts? It's because of a trait my dad passed down to me. He's left me a notebook full of ways to help me understand and control this trait." I pause.

"Whatever it is, I'll support you, just tell me what it is." John sincerely states.

"Ok, well, I'm a phoenix! My father was one, and he passed the trait down to me. It develops properly on my 18th birthday." I explain.

"Ok, then. What do you mean by develop properly? Also, did your mother know?" John inquires.

"Well, I have a few powers, but they're really weak until my 18th. Yes, my mother did know, she was a human until she met my father. He took one look at her and knew she was his soulmate. I'll explain soulmates in a moment. They bonded a year later, but got married two years after bonding and had me three years after marriage. Alright, so when a phoenix meets their soulmate, they will feel complete, like they've found a missing piece of themselves. Then, after both soulmates turn 18, they can bond and form an everlasting bond between the two. If the phoenix's soulmate is human, like my mother, then the phoenix can change the human to a phoenix with their permission."

"Also, all phoenix's have an element, their soulmates having an element to reflect their soulmate. My element is fire, it burns bright within me. My mother had water and my father had air. In order to transform into our bird forms and for our powers to stay strong, we must drink the tea from the flower of our element. I have a bag of seeds for all types of flowers. They grow within two to three hours. I'll plant them tomorrow. Now, any questions?" I ask.

"Yes, two as a matter of fact. One - How do two soulmates bond? - and Two - Have you found your soulmate?" John asks, amazed by all the information he's receiving.

"One - Soulmates bond by taking an oath together, with at least two other people to witness. It's sorta like a human marriage, but a phoenix can have only one soulmate, so no second marriage. Two - Yes, I have found my soulmate. As a matter of fact, he's sitting right next to me." I hint.

"Your soulmate is that plant? How does that work?" John jokes.

"You're so silly, love. No, it's you!" I smile.

"Oh, ok. So when do you wanna bond?" John inquires.

"You're ok with it! Well, um, we can't bond until I'm 18 too, so the night of my 18th birthday?" I suggest.

"That's a good idea. Let's do that. Now, it's getting cold, let's head inside." John exclaims. I nod, finishing the melody. We head inside, not realising that a certain musical Tracy had been eavesdropping from his balcony.

We close the balcony doors and sit down on my bed, to continue chatting about random things. Soon, the clock is striking 11pm. It's late, but we're both used to it due to all the late night revision sessions we would have in college. It's around 11:15pm when my door creaks open, a shivering figure tiptoeing through the door. "Alan? What are you doing up this late?" John asks.

"I had a nightmare. It was horrible." Alan cries out, starting to sob. He flops onto my bed, between John and I. The two of us move so that we are on either side of Alan, and start to cuddle him. Stroking his hair, I tell him to explain what the nightmare was and that he was safe with us. It took a while, but soon Alan stopped crying and fell asleep. Still stroking his hair, I whisper to John "Poor thing, has he been having nightmares for long?"

"Yeah, he has them at least once a week. He comes to me when they come and I let him stay with me for the rest for the night. They rarely come twice in the same night, though." John explains.

"Poor Alan. Well, I'm exhausted, let's go to sleep. Night John." I yawn.

"Night Phoenix." John says. We both lie down on my bed beside Alan and slowly, but surely, I fall asleep.