Today was the day Miranda had long been awaiting. No, it wasn't a wedding or an anniversary or a holiday of any kind. Today was the day Bethany and Jason were going to meet Kaylee and Taylor. As far as Miranda was concerned, Taylor was as close to a son as she was ever going to get. He was Rufus' nephew, the son of his once beloved sister. She knew how much he meant to Rufus, and as such, she had opened both their home and her heart to the young man. To say she was thrilled beyond belief that he was dating Kaylee, who was like another daughter to her, was something of an understatement. In light of the gathering, she had spared no expense.

The small cottage she shared with Rufus and her cat - the pair of whom barely tolerated each other - was spic and span from top to bottom. She was even wearing an apron over her dress, just like a regular Suzy Homemaker, a roast in the oven and the dining room put to good use, rather than just as a catch-all place for so many of their belongings.

"Rufus!" she called from the kitchen. "Can you come take the garbage out, love, before the guests arrive?"

Of course, Miranda's culinary talents had improved somewhat since she'd married Rufus, or she would never have even considered cooking a roast. Rufus himself had been delegated cleaning duties for the morning, given the responsibility of making sure that the room in which Jason, Bethany and the twins were going to stay was spotless, and that every bathroom in the place could essentially host the dinner being prepared. He wasn't surprised, then, to hear his lovely wife calling out fresh duties for him, chuckling to himself as he thumped down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Beth would laugh herself silly to hear you calling her a guest," he pointed out to Miranda, pausing to lay his hand against her back and kiss her cheek. "Rubbish, you say' How have you managed to fill that bin already?"

Even if her culinary talents hadn't yet come anywhere near as close to Kaylee's, she was at least trying. And because Kaylee was so good at cooking and had been since she was a youngster, it only made Miranda all that more determined to impress her younger cousin. She smiled as Rufus came up behind her and kissed her cheek. She was in high spirits and wasn't going to let anything ruin her mood. Not today - today was too important to her. She was going to have her whole family in one place at one time - at least, those who were or she thought of as her own children. "Well, they don't live here so they are guests, whether they like it or not."

"Is everything prepared, oh mighty temptress of the culinary arts?" her husband asked, unleashing his charm with a grin and twinkle in his eye as he patted her rear end fondly before turning to deal with the trash.

She chuckled at her husband's remark. "Just about, oh master of the boudoir....or is it the universe?" She giggled at her own sense of humor, imagining him in a He-Man costume and wondering if she could somehow wrangle him into wearing one for Halloween.

"Master of the universe," he agreed with a chuckle, pulling the bag out of the bin and swiftly replacing it with one fresh. "Which, naturally, contains your boudoir, and simply makes me even more awe-inspiring as I prance around in a posing pouch." She was never going to get him in one of those, but it was fun to tease.

She rolled her eyes at him, the thought of him in one of those making her giggle again. "Maybe, if you're lucky, Mrs. Claus will put one in your Christmas stocking." Although, that might be more of a gift for her than for him. She could just imagine Rufus prancing around in one and feeling ridiculous.

He snorted. "I could always make you wear it," he suggested, making his way toward the front door. "And nothing else." There was a pause as he juggled the front door with the rubbish bag. "At the Christmas party!" he added, stepping outside briefly to toss the bag into the trashcan.

"Don't be silly. I don't have anything to put in it!" She wondered if she should just fill all the Granger mens' stockings with g-strings of various colors - and sizes, though that might take a little more scrutiny than she would have liked. "I have an idea. What do you think about having a Halloween party at the big house this year?"

There was a thump as the door closed behind him. "Everyone in costume, you mean?" he asked, returning to the kitchen curiously. Leaning in the doorway, he watched his wife flutter about, wondering if she even realized how adorable she was when she got nervous. "Would this be an attempt to get every single child under the age of forty into something ridiculously cutesy for photographs and blackmail?"

"That is the point of a Halloween party, Rufio," she pointed out the obvious to her dear but occasionally dense husband. She leaned over to open the oven and pull out the roast in order to baste it. It was her very first roast and she wanted it to be perfect. "No, this would be an attempt to do something fun. You remember what fun is, right?"

"Are you suggesting that I am not enough fun for you, angel?" Rufus asked, shamelessly enjoying the sight of his wife's rear end as she pulled the roast from the oven. "You didn't seem to have any complaints last night. Or the night before. And I didn't hear any protest at all about how boring our night in the park turned out." He smirked, knowing this wasn't what she was talking about; as highly driven as his libido was, they did spend a lot of time together, doing all sorts of other things.

"You, my dear husband, are a shameless exhibitionist," she countered, tit for tat. She basted the roast as best as she could and as she'd read how to do in the Idiot's Guide to Cooking, unaware that he might be ogling her from behind as she did so. "What do you think about Tarzan and Jane?" she asked, out of the blue, wondering what he'd look like dressed in what amounted to a loin cloth.

"How do you feel about Bond and Moneypenny?" he countered with a chuckle, pushing out of his lean to pinch her rear just because he could. The idea of wandering around in a loin cloth at a party was not the most appealing to his mind. "You should stop waving that at me if you don't want our daughter to catch us enjoying the kitchen in ways not intended by its builder."

"But Moneypenny never got her man, and I got mine," she pointed out as she shoved the roast back in the oven and straightened, turning to him with a playful smirk on her face and batting at his pinching hand with an oven-mitt. She laughed outright at his last remark. "We have christened every room of this house more than once. Do you really think Bethany doesn't know that?"

"Knowing and seeing are two very different things," he intoned teasingly. One finger rose to play with the ruffle that lined the neck of her apron. "This is a very silly little thing. You should bring it to bed some night." He grinned, bending to kiss her. "All right, I'll behave myself. Will I do, or have you bought something ridiculously expensive for me to wear so I don't embarrass you?"

"Don't flatter me, Beth. I raised you, but it wasn't easy doing it alone. It was easier once you were in school. You just don't remember the nannies who came and went when you were little," Miranda said with a small frown as she settled herself on the couch to start unwrapping Brody from his coat. "They really don't need that much wrapping, Bethany!" she remarked with a chuckle as she started undressing the little boy, though she quickly bit her lip. "Sorry, I promised myself I wouldn't be that buttinsky know-it-all grandmother."

"Aw, c'mon, you wouldn't be you if you didn't comment on it," Beth grinned, not taking offense at her mother's amused comment on the coats. "They're still a little under weight, I'm not taking any chances." With Evie freed from her coat and supported in one arm, Beth twitched a padded quilt from the bag nearest to her and spread it out on the floor, gently laying the baby girl down. "At least they're roughly the same size now, though," she added with a grin. "Nice apron, by the way."

"What?" Miranda remarked, arching one perfectly-shaped eyebrow. "Oh!" she exclaimed, glancing down at the apron she was still wearing. "I didn't want to ruin my dress. It's designer, you know!" Of course it was. If Miranda had her way, the twins would be in designer baby-wear as soon as they were able. "I'm making a roast," she admitted a bit sheepishly.

Beth had the decency to withhold her initial reaction to that news. "You're cooking?" she asked instead, her smile gently teasing. "Good for you! And Dad kept his big nose out of it?"

"I'll have you know, Bethany, that I do not have a big nose," her father pointed out as he returned, leaving the luggage in the hallway for now. "And your mother is an excellent cook when she isn't distracted."

Miranda smiled over at her husband for coming to her rescue just then. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, darling," she replied, without a single drop of sarcasm. "But I guess the roast will prove whether I'm a success or we end up ordering out." Of course, she'd be successful. She was successful at most anything she put her mind to, so long as Rufus didn't distract her from it. "Oh, look at you!" she exclaimed as she turned her attention back to the tiny bundle in front of you. "Aren't you adorable! You and Jason must be doing something right. They're already grown."

Jason smiled from the doorway, Lucky at his heels. He set down a couple more bags near the ones Rufus had brought in.

"Where's your mom?" Miranda asked, glancing his way. "She's family, too!"

Jason frowned a little at the question. "She wasn't feeling up to traveling. I'm sorry."

"Next time," Rufus promised, gently touching Jason's shoulder. He understood a little of how it felt to know someone you loved was living on borrowed time. "Now then ....drinks" Tea, coffee, water?" He winked at his wife, refusing to offer alcohol to new parents who looked about ready to fall asleep then and there.

Beth chuckled, leaning back against the couch as Lucky padded into the room, sniffing curiously at Miranda and Brody for a moment before returning to Jason's side. "Do you do beer in IV form?" she asked as sweetly as she could manage, laughing at her own poor joke. "What's the occasion, anyway' You said something about a big family meal, but there's no way all the Grangers can fit in this house."

To her credit, Miranda didn't so much as flinch when Lucky came over to investigate, though she felt a little bit nervous. Maybe there was hope for her yet, but she was still a long way from adopting a dog of their own. Maybe a poodle or a little dog of some sort. Nothing so imposing as a German Shepard. "The occasion?" Miranda echoed, as Beth turned her attention back to the present. "Oh!" She exchanged a knowing glance with her husband. "It's, uh....sort of a surprise. And I have another surprise for you!" A playful smile appeared on her face. "Dru is engaged!"

"What?" Beth sat up a little, genuinely surprised. "To Josh' And they let her" Wow, Mom, you're gonna have royalty on your books!" She laughed, leaning over to scratch Lucky's ears gently as the dog yawned. She'd become good friends with the German Shepherd, especially since the twins had been born. "Have they set a date yet?"

"October," Miranda replied, frowning a little, as she knew it didn't give her much time. "It doesn't give me much time. I may have to travel there to make sure it all gets done in time. I'm not sure yet who's being invited. No one there knows about David....I mean, her father."

Jason looked a little uncomfortable standing there while his wife and her mother chatted about family affairs. "Where would you like the bags, Rufus?" he asked his father-in-law, who he had yet to refer to as "Dad".

"Mm?" Rufus looked up from where he was constructing a trap of random drinks in the kitchen. "Oh, you're the third door on the left at the top of the stairs," he answered Jason's query warmly. "Want a hand?"

"No, I've got it!" Jason replied, as he hefted as many bags as he could carry at once and started toward the stairs, leaving Rufus to take care of the refreshments and the women to chit chat.

On the couch, Beth smiled at her mother's worried look. "Mom, this is Dru," she pointed out. "Princess or not, she's not gonna overwhelm you. Maybe you should wait to talk to her before you freak out about it."

"Maybe I shouldn't assume," Miranda replied. "I mean, she is a princess. She probably has half a dozen advisors and designers at her beck and call."

"Yeah, and she's also a Granger," Beth pointed out with a smile. "You've already made dresses she's worn, at two different weddings. I know who I'd ask, in her shoes." She chuckled, reaching over to gently squeeze her mother's hand. "So the other guests are a surprise, too, huh' Let me guess - they don't know we're here either."

"Yes, but they don't know she's a Granger and no one there can find out," Miranda replied with a frown. "So, I won't be there as....family." It seemed she shared the same worry as Jonathan, though it didn't really much matter. Here in Rhy'Din Dru was family, and that was what really mattered. Once again, Bethany drew her mother out of her own thoughts and worries. "Hmm' Oh..." She glanced at the clock and then at the kitchen, as if Rufus might know the answer to that question better than she would. "They should be here soon, I think."

"Just like their grandmother," Rufus murmured, leaning down to kiss her temple.

Across from them, Beth grinned into her coffee cup, trying not to draw attention to how lovey-dovey her parents were being in company. "You know, if I told them to get a room, they'd probably ground me for a month," she commented to Jason playfully.

Jason chuckled and reached for his wife's hand. "They'd probably abandon us and go upstairs for a while," he teased before taking a swallow of his own coffee, grateful for the caffeine.

"Not today, they won't," she assured him, lowering her voice a little to fill him in on who was expected and how important it was to her parents that they all at least get along.

Playing with Miranda's hair, Rufus was utterly entranced by the twins sleeping together on the quilt, truly enchanted by the way the little hands clutched at one another as they smacked their lips and sighed in their sleep. He'd missed so much of Beth; he was determined not to miss her children.

Jason listened quietly and attentively. The only sign that he was surprised by the news was the slight upward shift of an eyebrow. He nodded his head, assuring her he'd be on his best behavior, but then when wasn't he"

Beth had absolute faith that Jason would be perfectly all right in this situation, but felt it was only right to warn him in advance what was expected. She nuzzled against his cheek, sighing contentedly, and took another sip of her coffee, trying not to giggle at the sight of both her parents going gooey over the sleeping twins. There wasn't much opportunity to enjoy that sight, however - the doorbell rang just a few minutes later, announcing the guests of honor who had no idea what had been planned.

Miranda - the eternal optimist - beamed a smile at her husband when she heard the doorbell rang and rose from the floor, pausing a moment to smooth out her skirt before reaching for his hand to tug him to his feet. "It's now or never, Rufio!" she declared with that optimistic smile of hers, even if she was just a little nervous. She had a feeling this would be a good thing for all of them, but most of all for Taylor and Kaylee. "We'll be right back!" she told Jason and Beth as she tugged Rufus toward the door, leaving the small family alone for a moment.

Given no option but to greet their guests with his wife, whether he wanted to abandon his vigil over the sleeping twins or not, Rufus chuckled, shrugging helplessly at the other couple as he was tugged to the front door. "Calm down, angel," he suggested to his wife warmly. "No one is going to be angry with you for this."

"I'm just not sure if they're ready for this yet," Miranda explained as she and Rufus made their way toward the door, but then, if someone didn't give Taylor and Kaylee a gentle shove, they might never be ready, and it was only a small gathering. She wasn't planning on inundating them with the entire Granger clan just yet.

"They're ready," he promised her, and he should know - he'd been training with both of them over the past months, when he wasn't with Des or Shen Lei. "They might be a little vulnerable, but they can handle this, angel. Have a little faith."

"It's Kaylee I'm worried about," she confessed quietly. Taylor had had longer to come to grips with what he'd been through. For Kaylee, it was all still too fresh, but Miranda had a feeling she needed this. She needed to know that life went on and that she had a family who loved and cared for her.

"This would be the Kaylee who almost put my back out last week, yes?" Rufus smiled, gently stroking his wife's cheek. "She'll be fine, love. But not if you don't open the door."

"All right, all right. Don't rush me!" she told him with a chuckle, followed by a deep breath to gather her courage. It was just Taylor and Kaylee on the other side of that door - two people she loved and adored almost as much as her own daughter. And then she was pulling open the door and smothering the befuddled couple with a welcome full of hugs and kisses.

Rufus stayed back to watch as Miranda swooped on the young couple waiting on the doorstep, a small smile playing about his lips. He truly was inordinately proud of Taylor, not just for his mother's sake but for his own. They had been through the worst together and come out fighting, and it was a privilege to see him finally beginning to look beyond his revenge with the young woman who had caught his heart. He nodded to them over Miranda's shoulder, chuckling as Kaylee laughed at the effusive welcome.

"Good grief, Miranda, anyone would think you hadn't seen us in a few years," she teased her cousin, kissing the older woman's cheek affectionately. A few more months had worked wonders on the young woman - she was still a little haunted, still wary of the darkness and of strangers, but there was no more fragility in her physical appearance, and a new light in her eyes. Taylor had, quite simply, worked a miracle on her.

"Oh, you look lovely, darling!" Miranda told Kaylee, taking her in from head to toe. It wasn't just the way she was dressed, but there was an inner light that was shining through to help banish the darkness of what she'd been through. Miranda wasn't sure if it was Taylor who was responsible for the change, but she thought he was likely a good part of it. As for Taylor, he, too, seemed less brooding, less moody. There was a light in him that was shining through that had only been a spark before. "Hello, Taylor. As handsome as ever, I see," she grinned up at him.

"I think you'll find that is good genes and a young lady prepared to whisk him out of them whenever the mood takes her," Rufus commented with a wry smirk, ignoring Kaylee's blush to lean in and kiss her cheek. He clasped Taylor's hand firmly, hugging the younger man. "Come inside," he told them, stepping back to allow room for that maneuver.

"Are we talking about his DNA or his pants, love?" Miranda teased back, eyes twinkling with amusement and affection for her husband and the children that brightened their lives.

Taylor chuckled at both Miranda and Rufus' remarks, returning her hug and clasping his hand with a firm grasp of his own. Unlike the other couple who'd arrived a little while ago, they brought no overnight bags of any kind, since they lived on Rhy'Din, a short distance from Maple Grove.

"Whatever you're cooking smells delicious," Taylor remarked as they stepped inside.

"Oh my goodness! The roast!" Miranda exclaimed with a gasp. "Make yourselves at home! I'll be right back!"

"Wait, you're cooking a roast?" Kaylee stared after her cousin, fidgeting for a moment, and gave in, squeezing Taylor's hand. She did love to cook, after all. "This I have to see. Be right back." And with that, she scurried after Miranda to see if she could help out with anything.

Beth didn't really know how to answer him for a moment, bending to retrieve Brody before he could fuss at being left alone on the floor. Tucking her son against her shoulder, she turned back to Taylor with soft eyes. "Because I never had a chance to know my family or where I came from until a year ago," she said quietly. "I want my children to have that link that I didn't have, to know that they're connected to the family that aren't around anymore. Evelyn Anna, for your mom and Jason's, and Brody's second name is Daniel, for Jason's dad. I hope you don't mind, I ....I guess I should have asked first."

"No, I don't mind," he assured her, lowering himself into a chair now that he didn't tower over her, the tiny baby still cradled in his arms. It felt strange to hold such a small helpless creature as this, knowing she was not just any child, but that of his own flesh and blood. "It's a little old fashioned," he said, though he didn't think that mattered. "She died when I was a teenager," he explained, though he assumed she already knew that.

"I think it's a beautiful name," Beth said softly, lowering herself down to sit once again as he did so. "A little grown up for her right now, but one day she'll progress from Evie to Evelyn, and it'll suit her perfectly." It was a relief to know that Taylor wasn't angry that his mother's name had been given to her daughter; she had been worrying over that for several weeks now. "I couldn't imagine losing my mom," she admitted quietly. "You know you're welcome to visit us anytime, you and Kaylee. We're not as scary as most of the rest of the family."

He turned his gaze back to the small bundle in his arms, offering her an index finger and watching as she curled tiny fingers around it to hold it tightly in her small hand. He had never thought much of children, had never so much as considered having any of his own. Even now, he wasn't sure what he thought of the idea of starting a family. He didn't dare think too far ahead, though he and Kaylee had promised each other to honeymoon in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. It seemed almost as though his life had ended when his mother had died, and that it had begun again when he'd met Kaylee. "I'm not afraid of your family, Bethany," he told her quietly, his gaze unwavering from the small child in his arms.

"I am," she told him with a smile. "Well, not scared exactly. Intimidated. There are a lot of them, after all. But they're a good bunch, most of them. Just a little much to take, all at the same time." She watched him with Evie, delighted by the way the little girl seemed able to charm just about anyone without seeming to try. "Call me Beth."

He knew from experience that there were far worse things to be scared of than family, than other people. There were monsters - real monsters - evil the likes of which she couldn't possibly fathom. That was what was to be feared, but he had vowed to conquer at least one of those evils, so that it couldn't hurt anyone ever again, but how could he tell her that' Her father was Rufus Bennett. She must know all this already, didn't she" "Taylor," he offered in return, tipping his head to regard her. "You don't mind that I'm..." He paused a moment, as if he was unsure of the question or of how he was phrasing it. "You should know that Rufus is like a father to me."

Beth shook her head, aware of what he was trying to say without being too blunt. Her father had been a father to him when it had been too dangerous to even acknowledge her. "No, I don't mind," she assured him gently. "I understand. And I'm glad he had someone. Me and Mom, we had each other. I always thought Dad was all alone. I'm glad he wasn't."

"I was in a pretty bad place after Mom died," he explained further. That was before he'd been abducted by some monstrous evil and endured seven months of torment, but he didn't want to talk about that, not as far as he was concerned, anyway. "He's always been there for me. I honestly don't know what would have happened to me if it wasn't for Rufus. I just want you to know, I'm not trying to take your place. I don't think anyone could ever take your place in his heart."

"He thinks of you like a son," she told her cousin, still quiet and gentle. If she felt any resentment for the time he had had with her father, it didn't show at all. "And, to be honest, I don't think of you as a cousin. I'd like it very much if we could be like a brother and sister. If that isn't asking too much."

Taylor's eyes widened a little when she made that request, surprised that she'd want such a thing from him, given the fact that they hardly knew each other, and yet, it made total sense. He felt his eyes growing damp again, a small knot forming in his throat, as he nodded his head in ascent. "I'd like that," he admitted, pausing a moment before adding, "Beth."

Beth's smile could light up a whole room when she truly meant it, and she really did mean it this time. Whatever tension she had been holding relaxed out of her as she beamed at Taylor. "Then you're my brother," she nodded firmly, as though that settled everything. "So tell me about your girlfriend." Though there was a faint suggestion of a tease about her eyes, it was a genuine question, and she thought he might be more easily drawn on the young woman who was discussing the meal with Miranda in the kitchen.

As simply as that, Taylor was officially adopted into the family, though if anyone had thought to ask Miranda or Rufus, they would have said that he was already family - that he'd always been family. He let go of the tiny girl's hand so he could brush at the wetness that had gathered in the corners of his eyes. "Girlfriend seems such an inadequate word to describe Kaylee," he said with a small chuckle, that was still tinged with tears.

"Oh, really?" Beth relaxed where she sat, leaning back against the cushions to settle Brody on her lap, lolling back against her chest comfortably. "What word would be better, I wonder?" she mused thoughtfully. "Lover" Or maybe ....fiancee?"

"Not officially," he said, as he tried to relax, taking his cues from her, settling the small sleeping bundle against his lap. "I mean, we haven't made an official announcement, but we're hoping to get married in New Orleans next February."

She chuckled a little at that. "You might end up with Mom hitching a ride," she warned him. "She's mad for seeing everyone she loves getting married. I don't think Jason and I ever officially announced our engagement. It was just accepted that we were going that way. Of course, we kinda got there less than a month after we started seeing each other, so some people thought we rushed into it."

It was true - right up until she'd mentioned Kaylee's affinity to children, he'd been the mature one. He prided himself on his strength, his resilience. He had been through hell and back, and he'd survived, just like Kaylee had. He'd lived so long with no other thought but for revenge and justice. He hadn't really thought much about what he'd do after. It was because of Kaylee that he thought about these things. It was Kaylee who made him want to go on. What was it about the thought of children that seemed to undo all his self-control" "I haven't really thought that far ahead," he admitted, though he was starting to. "She deserves to be happy."

"So do you," she reminded him. "You don't have to look a long way ahead, and you don't have to make plans. Just ....don't shut the door to anything, okay' In a year or two, you might find yourself wanting something that right now you can't even imagine. Look at me. This time last year I was a workaholic who couldn't even get through a single date."

"I used to..." he started. "Before..." Before what? Before his mother died" Before he'd come to live with Rufus" Before he'd been tortured and left for dead" It wasn't so long ago that he couldn't still remember what it had been like to live a normal life, though it seemed like a very long time ago. Another lifetime ago. He looked at the child in his arms with tear-filled eyes, angry at himself for letting her get to him the way she was, but maybe it was necessary. If they succeeded, and he wasn't going to give up until they did, then what? "I don't know if....If I know how to do normal anymore."

"Normal doesn't exist," Beth told him firmly, believing in that statement as fully as she could believe in anything. "Besides, look at Dad. With his job and his life, did you ever think he'd come close to what passes for normal" And yet here he is, married and living with the woman he loves, and still protecting her from everything bad that comes to his attention."

He nodded his head quietly a moment. She was right. Rufus' life was anything but normal, and yet, somehow, he'd made it work. He had married the woman he loved and they'd made a life together, despite the dark side of his life or maybe in spite of it or because of it. Don't give in to the darkness or all is lost. "They say children are God's way of saying life should go on."

"The people who say that have obviously forgotten what it's like to be up at four in the morning with a crying newborn," Beth drawled. She loved her children, she truly did, but when both of them got going in the wee smalls, she and Jason had shared certain murderous thoughts that would never be acted upon. What parent hadn't felt that way at some point' "Life goes on, anyway. You just need to find the person who makes you want it to, and it sounds like you have. Anything else that comes to you is a bonus."

He blinked the tears away and lifted his head to offer a smile, both amused by her comment regarding parenthood and touched by her advice about life. "Yeah, I have. She's my light in the darkness." Though Beth might not understand completely, nothing could be more truthful than that.

"Then don't worry about the future," was Beth's advice as she shrugged gently. "It has a tendency to work itself out without us doing much about it." Glancing down at Brody, she missed the sight of Kaylee peering into the living room from the kitchen, shy and a little gobsmacked by the view she had of Taylor cuddling a baby.

He might have disagreed with that. He might have argued that the future didn't just work itself out, not for him anyway. Not for Kaylee, either. Oh, sure, they could have chosen to just go on with their lives and try to leave the past behind, but what then" What would happen seven years in the future" Others would have to suffer what they'd suffered, and he just couldn't live with that. He might have argued that fact if he'd had the words.

"He's a good man, Kaylee," Miranda said quietly as she glanced over her cousin's shoulder to the scene taking place in the living room. "I hope you can forgive me for not telling you Jason and Beth were coming. I thought if you knew, you might not come."

Kaylee jumped, startled to find Miranda so close behind her, and whirled to face her cousin, blushing and just a little bit wild-eyed. "No, I-I get it, I just ..." She drew in a deep breath, shrugging a little helplessly. "I'm really not good with people any more. I'm just gonna disappoint you, and I really don't want to do that." She didn't need to be told that Taylor was a good man; she knew, in a way that was etched on her fragile heart.

"Sweetheart," Miranda started, reaching out to touch her cousin's cheek, a soft, loving smile on her face. "Nothing you do - or don't do - will ever disappoint me. Beth is Taylor's flesh and blood. She's yours, too. In a way, she's the connection that binds you together. Do I find it ironic that you two are together" That you found each other?" She shrugged. "If you were meant to be together, then you were meant to be together." Miranda didn't really believe that Jason and Beth were anything extraordinary, despite Rufus' claims that they were soul mates. She knew in her heart that Rufus was her soul mate, just as Beth was Jason's and Taylor was Kaylee's. "When your heart knows its other half, there's no denying it, Kaylee."

Kaylee hesitated, letting herself enjoy being touched by someone other than Taylor for the first time in a long time. "I'd still be completely broken without him," she confessed in a soft voice. "He put me back together again. And I know I don't have the best track record, but ....I really do love him, Miranda. If I lost him now, I ..." She couldn't finish that sentence, so horrified by that thought that tears sprang up in her eyes as she shook her head helplessly.

"Why would you think you might lose him?" Miranda asked, her voice softening as she saw the tears gathering in Kaylee's eyes. She had been told some of what the young woman had been through and thought she was one of the strongest people she knew, but that wasn't what Kaylee needed to hear right now. She gathered her into her arms, despite the possibility that she might pull away, offering nothing but acceptance and love. "You're not going to lose him, Kaylee. I promise. He means too much to Rufus. He'd never let that happen."

Though Kaylee froze as Miranda's arms went about her, the young woman relaxed enough to lean into the offered embrace, sniffling just a little as she drew that thin veneer of control over herself once again. "I know," she whispered. "I just ....I have nightmares about it. It's scary."

"Life is scary, Kaylee. I can only imagine what you've been through, but I do know that life is scarier when you're all alone. You aren't alone, Kaylee. Not anymore," she assured the young woman, stroking her hair gently, like one might a child while she held her close. "You're not my daughter by blood, and Taylor isn't my son, but since when does blood matter" We're family now, linked through Rufus. Taylor is like a son to him, and that makes you a daughter," she explained further.

"You've always been more like a mom to me than Jay ever was," Kaylee admitted, lifting her head to meet Miranda's gaze trustingly. "Wouldn't Beth mind, though' She's had you all to herself for years."

Of course, they were already family. Cousins by definition, but what did that matter" Miranda had strong maternal tendencies, though she'd had one child of her own. Miranda smiled softly as she looked back at Kaylee. "Perhaps we should ask her," Miranda suggested, though she already knew Beth wouldn't mind sharing, secure in the knowledge of her mother's love.

"Later." It was as much borne of being nervous of meeting Bethany as not quite feeling right in a house with strangers, but Kaylee hadn't said no. That was far better than it could have been. She wiped her cheeks dry, brushing her hair back out of her face, and let out a swift breath. "Weren't we supposed to be looking at the roast?"

"The roast will be fine. You're more important," Miranda told her, watching as Kaylee wiped away her tears and pushed her hair away from her face. "Remember you're a Granger, and Grangers never give up." She could name all the Grangers who'd been broken through the years, but who'd gone on to overcome and conquer their demons, just like Kaylee would. "All I'm saying is that you have a family who loves you and cares about you. Both of you." She touched Kaylee's cheek again, with that soft maternal smile. "Now, let's see if we can save the roast."

((And finally Taylor meets Beth! Woohoo! Many, many, many thanks winging their way to my partner in crime!)