I wake up, rejuvenated and relaxed. As I slowly open my eyes, I notice someone's arm wrapped around my waist, as I lean on someone's chest. Without even looking, I know it's John. When I go through yesterday's memories, I remember that when we returned from the mission yesterday, we passed out on the sofa. I close my eyes as I hear footsteps approaching us. "Look at them, should we wake them up? It is almost four in the afternoon." I hear Jeff whisper.

"No! You really aren't one for romance, are you?" I hear Penny giggle.

"It's not that, I just want to talk to them about what happened yesterday in the bank, don't you?" Jeff inquires.

"While I am curious, I feel that they should tell us at their own pace, it is their secret after all." Penny wisely states. Suddenly, I feel movement behind me, it's John waking up. I stay motionless, as John becomes aware of his surroundings. His arm moves from my waist to stroke my hair. He doesn't register his dad and Penny's presence until Jeff coughs. "Oh, how long have you been standing there?" John asks.

"Only a few minutes, how long are you intending to stay there? I was hoping to watch some TV." Jeff asks.

"Well, until Nix wakes up, but knowing her, that won't be for a good while." John chuckles. "Why don't you just watch TV in your office. That's what you've always done, anyways." I hear Virgil join the conversation. The atmosphere turns sour, so I decide to 'wake up'. John notices my stirring and hushes everyone.

I open my eyes, to see everyone in the room staring at me. "What'd I do wrong this time?" I blearly ask.

"You're not in trouble, sleepyhead. Let's head upstairs, so dad can watch TV." John smiles.

"Why would your dad watch TV in here? He always watches it in his office." I question, noticing how Jeffs face fell when he realises how much he has pushed his family away.

"Let's not dwell on that matter, for now, let's make some of our tea." John says, helping me up the stairs, leaving everyone in the living room. Once we were in my room, I sit on the bed as John gets the tea ready. "You can drop the sleeping fàcade, I know you weren't sleeping. Your body was too stiff, but you fooled everyone else." John grins.

"Dang it! I can't fool you can I?" I giggle, walking over to him, before giving him a massive hug. "How's the arm?"

"Due to the Phoenix regeneration powers, my arm is completely healed, but Virgil wants to keep an eye on it, just in case." John explains, before handing me my tea. Our watches ding as Jeff sends us all a text. 'Family dinner starts at Eight, no excuses, we're all going to be there.' I turn to John "Well, we're all going to be dead if your dad makes us eat your Grandmother's cooking." Suddenly, another text appears. 'Don't worry, Nix is cooking, not Grandma." I groan. "I don't wanna cook! Why did I have to be picked?!"

"Well, knowing you, it's going to be delicious. Why don't you get started now, remember that Alan and I are on hand if you need a helping hand, we'll be up here practicing some music. You can listen in if you want." John suggests.

"Ok, but Gordon has to do the dishes after dinner." I giggle.

"I don't agree, I won't do the dishes!" Gordon exclaims as he walks past.

"You will if you want my chocolate brownie cheesecake." I call down the corridor.

"I'll do the dishes!" He exclaims.

"I better get started, if i see Ali, I'll send him up." I give John a quick kiss before heading down to the kitchen. I spot Ali beside the pool, so I sit beside him, dangling my feet in the water. "What's up, kiddo?" I ask.

"Will we have talk about our phoenix thing at dinner?" Ali asks.

"Probably, why do you ask?" I inquire.

"I just don't want anyone to get mad at the two of you adopting me. Can we keep that part a secret?" He sighs.

"Go ask John, but knowing him, he'll probably agree as well. I've got to go make dinner, so I'll see you in a bit." I suggest, before getting up and walking into the kitchen. I immediately get started on my infamous chocolate brownie cheesecake, which takes a while to make. Once finished, I place it in the fridge before starting on Miso soup, the starter and the spicy pasta Bolognese, the main course. By the time the two meals were done, it was almost eight. I had been listening to Ali and John's music lesson over my phone and headphones, so I recruited them to set the table. I put the bolognese in the warming drawer before serving the soup into bowls. As everyone sits down at the table, John and I set out the soup infront of everyone. The dining room is silent as we begin eating, except for the 'clink' of spoons. Silent until Jeff asks the question I was dreading.

"What was that in the bank?" He asks.

"I believe that's called arresting a bad man." I sarcastically reply.

"He means the whole... bird thing." Scott sternly corrects Jeff.

"Oh, that. Well, to start off, it's not a 'bird thing', I'm called a phoenix. What else do you want me to say?" I ask.

"Well, how could John and Alan turn into phoenix's too, why did John refer to himself as your soulmate, why were you all different forms and why isn't Virgil surprised?" Gordon questions.

"Ok, so first, cool it with the questions, fish! Secondly, 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, John and I have already done this. If the phoenix's soulmate is human, like my mother was, then the phoenix can change the human to a phoenix with their permission. Third, all phoenix's have an element, their soulmates having an element to reflect their soulmate. Alan accidentally became a phoenix after drinking some leftover tea. My element is fire, it burns bright within me. John has water and Ali has earth. Each phoenix represents their element, hence my red, fire form, John's blue, water form and Alan's green, earth form. Virgil isn't surprised as he overheard my explanation to John and was the second witness to John and I's bonding ceremony, so yeah, any more questions." I finish.

Jeff, Scott, Gordon and Grandma are silent as they comprehend what I just explained to them. Seeing as we were all done the soup, I collected the bowls and set them in the sink. Then I open the warming drawer, and with John and Virgil's aid, we set out the main course. Still taking in all that I've said, they subconsciously start eating, not realising what they were taking a bite of, well, except for Grandma. With a discrete smile directed to John, I watch as the trio jump up from their seats. Jeff, being very wise, immediately runs to the fridge to grab the milk, while the two unwise brothers grab the jug of water I had set in the centre of the table. As Jeff calmed down, his mouth no longer burning, Scott and Gordon's erratic movements increase as their mouths get even hotter. It isn't until Jeff hands them a glass of milk, that they calm down. At this stage, Ali is on the floor laughing, as John, Virgil and I are secretly videoing the whole thing, smiling.

When they calm down, the room returns to its silence, but this time, it's not awkward silence, but a calm silence instead. We finish the meal with my cheesecake, which got raving results, before everyone went to bed. After a few hours of tossing and turning, however, I still couldn't sleep, something was off. I get up and throw on my night robe before leaving my room. Ali was sound asleep in his room, when I check, but when I push open John's door, I'm quickly pinned to the wall, a knife to my throat. I squeak in surprise. After a few seconds, the person with a knife realises who I am. They release me, turning the bedside lamp on. It's John. He slides the knife back into its sheath before placing it under his pillow. Then he walks out onto his balcony, gripping the rail extremely tight. I walk out and stand beside him. "I'm sorry." John says. In those two words, I can hear the stress, anxiety and pure terror in his voice. I give him a massive hug, whispering into his ear. "It's fine but are you ok?"

"I'm not sure. Brains gave me the news that TB5 should be up and running again before the end of this month. I don't particularly want to go back to the place where I almost lost my family, where I almost lost you. Not to mention that I've been having nightmares about the Hood returning and killing you all. That's why I had that knife. I'm sorry, I'm just on edge." John rants, stroking my hair as we stand on my balcony. "It's fine, we're all a bit on edge." I say.

As we stand, looking at the stars, I grow weary, swaying slightly. John notices this and pulls me to his bed. He settles me down on one side of the bed, before laying down on the other side. I settle my head on his chest as he continues to stroke my hair, until I fall asleep