One good thing about moving into a house in a new country was the lack of moving vans. The downside, however, was that everything had to be bought new, and though Natalya was enjoying being a homemaker with her husband, there had been a few clashes on that front. His insistence that they didn't need certain things against her certainty that they did, and vice versa, for example. One of those things Rhys had been iffy about was the twelve piece dining set that Nat was unpacking right now. She'd insisted, though - she'd seen how full their house was going to get over the years, and figured she'd be ready well in advance. "Rhys?" she called out, rising onto her toes to put the plates into a cupboard above her head. "Did I bring the box of cutlery through here, or is it still in the hall?"

Rhys, like any typical male, was busy getting his own part of the house situated to his liking - namely, the Man Cave or as he liked to call it, the "Rhys Cave". He was currently flipping through channels on the TV remote, making sure everything was in proper working order. The room was mostly in order, though there were no pictures on the walls yet. A brand new recliner couch occupied one wall of the room, across from the entertainment center he'd insisted upon. Who needed a dozen dishes when it was just the two of them' All the essentials he needed were right here. "Uh..." he replied uncertainly from the living room. So much for TV. Thankfully, the Superbowl wasn't on until the following weekend. "Want me to check?" he asked, almost hoping she'd say no.

"Please, milaya," she answered, her smile easily audible. She knew he was flicking through the channels rather than doing anything else, but since they had plenty of time on their hands, she didn't mind so much. But that box was heavy, and she was acutely aware of the little bump that was finally making itself known as she slipped into her second trimester.

He sighed. How could he say no to that' He did love her and care about her, after all, even if she was a slave driver when it came to housework sometimes. Why did the laundry have to be done every other day when all it did was pile up again anyway' The same thing for the dishes. Why not just wait til you had a full load in the dishwasher before running the thing" He didn't really get housework and wasn't really accustomed to taking care of anyone but himself, until recently. He was adjusting though, albeit slowly, and despite his desire to spend a lazy afternoon watching TV, he wanted to be helpful. Besides, she was pregnant. He flicked off the TV and set the remote aside. It would just have to wait a little while longer. He started toward the hallway to see if he could locate the box in question, among all the other boxes they were still waiting to be opened and gone through.

"I've got it!" he called from the hallway, easily hefting the box of cutlery in his arms to lug it into the kitchen. "You know we get hundreds of channels on TV here" There are at least half a dozen sports channels." Maybe more, he hadn't counted them all yet.

"Ah, then you will never again be able to complain that there is nothing on," she teased him affectionately, setting the last of the plates away as he stepped into the kitchen. She lowered from her stretch, turning to look at him with a fond smile. "Spasibo, dusha moya." Moving to him, she kissed his cheek, stroking her hand against his jaw lovingly for a moment.

Like any other red-blooded straight male, that kiss made it all worthwhile and was rewarded with a smile, even as his arms were starting to ache from the heavy box he was holding between them. "Pazhalooysta," he replied, with an American accent on the Russian. "Where would you like this?" he asked, regarding the box of cutlery.

She giggled softly, releasing him. "Otlichno, well done," she congratulated him, even if the accent was appalling. "Just put it on the counter for now. I am very nearly done with the kitchen."

He set the box down on the counter before turning back to take a look around at their new digs. "You know, I think I kinda like it here." For anyone else, it might have been a strange statement to make, but for Rhys to admit that he was enjoying settling down and having a home of their own, it was something. He'd never really had a place of his own before, other than for the crappy apartment in Brooklyn where he'd lived for a while after the car accident. He liked the house in Avalon just fine, but it was pretty stark compared to this. This was the first time he was really feeling like they had a place they could call their own.

She smiled, resting one hip against the counter. "I am very glad that you do, because we are going to be here for a very long time," she assured him warmly. "With little people to fill the house up so we never rattle around in it." The thought of little people reminded her of the thickening at her waist, one hand touching the gentle swell of her womb. It seemed as though it had taken an age already for that bump to finally begin growing, but Gina assured her that in just a few weeks' time, she'd wonder why she was ever in such a hurry to have a bump at all.

His smile widened, warming at the mention of little ones. Though the firstborn was still in the oven, so to speak, he'd seen a glimpse of the future and knew they had more to come after this one. "And how is our little girl doing today?" he asked, as he slid his arms around her and glanced down at the small swell of her stomach. No matter what she told him, he always insisted the firstborn was going to be a girl.

"No heartburn, no constipation, no fatigue," Nat reeled off the list of things that had been bothering her over the last few weeks which had reduced a little recently. Her arms slid around Rhys' shoulders as she grinned happily. "She is being a little angel, just like her Papa."

"I think my halo's a bit crooked, but I won't argue with that," he teased back, an amused smile on his face. He was glad to hear she was feeling better, and undeniably glad it wasn't him that had to suffer through pregnancy and childbirth. If he had to do it, there was a pretty good chance they'd never have children. "You need any help with anything in here?"

"I will later, if you let me attempt to cook at all," she laughed, the tip of her nose nudging his as they lingered together, just enjoying the closeness and the lack of instant danger all around them for once. "I know I will learn how to make a decent meal eventually - I made cookies in that vision of the future and you were eating them without making a face." But, of course, right now even the thought of eating something Nat had made tended to bring out a childlike grimace.

"We could always order a pizza," he suggested all too readily, though he was more than capable of whipping them up a meal. He had learned how to take care of himself years ago out of necessity and cooking was one of the skills that he'd mostly mastered, though he was by no means, a gourmet. Still, they'd spent most of the day trying to get settled in, and he didn't want her to overwork herself, besides the fact that he loved pizza.

Rhys couldn't help but overhear the echo from outside, his curiosity as to their new neighbors piqued at the nearly identical admonition coming from a muffled, but definitely female, voice. "Looks like our next-door neighbors have arrived. Should we check them out and make sure they're not vampires or something?" Though that thought was ridiculous as it was still light outside, and everyone knew vampires only came out at night.

"Why not?" Nat agreed with a soft chuckle, easily distracted from finishing that one box of unpacking with the prospect of meeting their new neighbors. She was hoping to at least get on friendly terms with some normal people at some point, and neighbors were a good start. Tucking her cardigan around herself, she gave him a nudge toward the door. "Let us find out who we are sharing a sidewalk with."

Rhys snagged his beer before Nat nudged him towards the door, hoping their neighbors were just another normal couple like themselves moving into the new development, though there was really nothing normal about them. He took a swig of his beer before pulling the door open, the winter chill sweeping into the room.

There was, indeed, a large hired van sitting out in front of their next door neighbors' house, and a couple of boxes already sat on the steps leading up to the front door. A shapely rear end was visible sticking out of the back of the van, the owner of which was that female voice as she spoke up again. "Hey, baby, where in here did the box with the sheets go again?"

Rhys couldn't help but whistle at the view, though he most likely risked getting an elbow in the gut for his cheekiness. He had never been able to resist admiring a shapely rear, though he preferred his wife's, and had learned to look and not touch.

A man's voice was heard coming from somewhere inside the van in answer to the woman's query. "I've got it!" the voice said and after a moment, a tall man with curly dark hair was seen climbing out of the back of the van and glancing curiously toward the sound of the whistling. "Friends of yours?" Jason asked his wife upon spying another couple peering at them from the house next door.

"Hey!" Nat laughed, poking at Rhys for his open appreciation of another woman's backside, though she was only amused rather than offended. She knew his favorite rear end belonged to her, after all.

As Jason reappeared with the box she'd been looking for, Bethany straightened up, looking toward the other house with a grin. "Not yet," she told her husband with impish good humor, her own arms full with another box heavily marked "Bedroom". "Shall we introduce ourselves?"

"Might as well. We're gonna have to do it sooner or later," grumbled Jason, unsure how he felt about another man appreciating his wife's rear in such an only approving manner.

Rhys slid a possessive arm around Nat's waist, holding up the beer, as if to greet the other couple. "Hey," he said with a nod of his head. "Looks like we're neighbors." Always leave it to Rhys to state the obvious.

"Hey," Beth nudged her husband affectionately. "You're the only one who gets to touch, remember" Plus we've got that whole connection over the centuries deal going on, quit being a grouch." She juggled the box to rest on one raised knee, raising her hand to wave to the other couple. "Hey," she called back. "Looks like, huh?"

Jason climbed out of the van, took the box from his wife, and set it on the floor of the truck. He'd manhandle the box in himself as soon as they were done socializing. He didn't want to get off on the wrong foot, considering they'd just moved in and might have to live with these people for a while.

"Why don't you step inside for a few and say hello' It's freezing out here. In fact," Rhys continued amicably. "We were just gonna order a pizza. You're welcome to join us."

"Uh ..." Beth laughed, pleasantly surprised by the friendly offer as she glanced at Jason to make sure he was okay with that. "Uh, sure," she agreed for both of them. "Just give us a coupla minutes to lock up the van and get these inside, and we'll come over. Thank you!"

Nat smiled, hugging Rhys' about the waist, proud of her husband for extending the hand of friendship. Perhaps it was a little odd that she hadn't spoken, but she was wary of speaking too loudly outside their home without putting on her best American accent. It was easier to introduce people to the Russian in her in a more private setting.

"Sounds good!" Rhys replied with a smile. "I hope you like anchovies!" He paused a moment to see their reaction before adding, "Just kidding!" Quietly to Natalya, he whispered, "See" I can be friendly."

Jason wasn't smiling or looking half as amicable as Rhys or Bethany. "Do you really think that's a good idea?" he asked her quietly, his suspicious nature coming to the fore, though he really had no reason to feel suspicious.

"You can be evil at times, too," Nat murmured back to Rhys, snickering softly as she hugged him and shivered. "It's cold, I will wait inside for them."

By the van, Beth was eying her own husband with sardonic amusement. "Baby, I seriously doubt they're anything but nice normal people who want to make friends with their neighbors," she pointed out. "Besides, she's obviously pregnant. Any stress will upset her and put the baby in danger, and no expectant dad wants that, so we're all good." She turned, kissing him fondly. "C'mon, let's get these boxes in, and then we can make nice with the neighbors."

"Yes, dear," Rhys replied as Nat ducked back inside. "We'll just be inside!" he called over to the other couple before ducking inside with her to order the pizza, hoping he was doing the right thing and that their new neighbors weren't kooks.

"She's pregnant?" Jason echoed, not having noticed that, despite his powers of observation as a police detective. That reassured him a little, unless the guy was one of those weirdos who had a collection of kids from different women. Besides, once Jason had a name, he could run it through the police database and see what came up.

Nat smiled herself, pulling the door wider to invite them both inside. "Come in," she gestured to them to cross the threshold. "We are still living out of boxes a little, but we have seats."

"Oh, lord," Jason muttered at his wife's cheesy grin, rolling his eyes again. He told himself that he was doing this for her, but deep inside he was missing Desmond and had already decided that no one could ever replace him. Jason let Bethany take the lead, as she was generally the more sociable one.

"You like beer?" Rhys called from the kitchen when he heard Nat letting their new neighbors inside. He no longer felt the need to test everyone he met to see if they were demons, and they'd been out in daylight, so he wasn't too worried about them being vampires. So far, they seemed normal enough that he wasn't too worried.

"Uh, I'm good with water, but my charming husband will have one if you're offering," Beth called back toward the kitchen, prodding Jason in that direction. She turned her smile once again onto the other woman. "I'm Beth," she introduced herself, "and this is Jason. Thank you for inviting us over."

Nat chuckled at the response to Rhys' query, noting the names as they were offered to her. "It is our pleasure," she assured them. "Moving house is stressful enough without worrying about food on the first night as well. Please, go through. The husband who likes to whistle and shout from a distance is Rhys. I am Natalya." As she said her own name, that Russian accent she had to remind herself not to hide was very obvious. She was just hoping it didn't make her too much of a curiosity.

"You're....Russian?" Jason guessed, recognizing the accent, though not from experience so much as James Bond movies. From the sound of her accent, she had been born there, and though he was naturally curious, he didn't want to appear too nosy, at least, not at first.

Rhys came back out of the kitchen with a second beer in hand, which he handed off to Jason with a friendly smile. "I just ordered the pizza. It should be here in about a half hour or so." Once he had handed the beer off, his free arm went around his wife's waist rather possessively and protectively, as Beth had already noticed.

"Yes, I am from St Petersburg," Nat offered up, relieved when Rhys joined them in the living room. She had a feeling she knew what Jason did for a living already. "Can I take your coats?"

Beth didn't comment on Jason's opening words, though she was sorely tempted to, instead lifting a fresh smile for Rhys as he entered, reiterating their names for his benefit. "I was just saying to Natalya, thank you so much for inviting us over here," she repeated herself warmly. "It's nice to have friendly neighbors."

"It's nice to have neighbors," Rhys replied, returning the compliment in a slightly different way. There had been a time when he'd been exactly like Jason, suspicious of everyone he met, but that time had passed. He was still careful, of course, but Natalya and Avalon had changed him. Or maybe it was simply the fact that he no longer felt he had to spend his life looking over his shoulder and watching out for demons.

"How long have you two been living here?" Jason asked, merely curious. From the looks of things, they hadn't been there much longer than he and Bethany, a few days maybe. He shrugged his jacket from his shoulders and offered it to Natalya, revealing the NYPD t-shirt he was wearing beneath. "Thanks."

Beth's smile turned wry at the slight twist on her compliment, but she didn't take offense. After everything they'd seen a few months back, it was a fair statement. Shrugging out of her own jacket, there was no big reveal in her clothing, aside from bare arms, a sure sign that she had dressed for heavy lifting in her jacket today.

"We moved in two days ago," Nat answer Jason's curious query as she took their coats. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. I think there is a couch under the boxes. Isn't there?" She looked up at Rhys hopefully, encouraging him to be welcoming as she stepped away to hang up their visitors' coats.

And of course, the first thing Rhys noticed was the t-shirt with the NYPD logo emblazoned on the front. He was a little surprised, but not unpleasantly so. There were worse things to have for neighbors than cops, though he hoped the guy wasn't too nosy. Rhys being Rhys, he said the first thing that came to mind, blurting, "You're a cop?"

Jason visibly cringed, not because his line of work was any secret or he was ashamed of what he did for a living, but because he always felt the need to correct people when they made that assumption, just as Beth had upon their first meeting. "Detective actually. Precinct One."

The information didn't seem to bother Rhys either way. "My best friend's a Federal Agent," he replied as he took Nat's advice and stepped into the living room to clear the boxes off the couch.

As Rhys and Jason actually talked to each other for the first time, Beth took the opportunity to reassure Natalya, moving with her to hang up the coats. "He didn't mean to make that sound like an accusation," she explained quietly. "He just finds it hard to turn off the professional curiosity, you know?"

Surprised to be reassured so warmly, Nat nodded, pushing the door of the closet closed. "Thank you," she sighed softly, admitting to her wariness with a faint smile. "I am a little on edge when people jump straight to my origins."

Beth chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Personally, I think your accent is sexy," she commented cheerfully, loud enough for the boys to hear as they re-entered the living room.

Luckily for Rhys, they had a cover story, though it hadn't occurred to Natalya to actually tell him what it was. She smiled confidently down at him, rubbing her fingers through his hair reassuringly as she answered Jason's query. "We are buyers for the Institute of Avalon," she told him, knowing this could be checked on and come back with nothing incriminating attached to their names. Thank the gods for the Templar presence on Earth. "We hunt down artifacts and historical objects of note that our employers are interested in acquiring and adding to their collection."

"Oh, like art consultants?" Beth asked, unwittingly providing confirmation for a cover story that actually piqued her interest. "That must be fascinating. What kind of stuff do you collect for them?"

More like art thieves, Rhys thought, but said nothing. He sure as hell didn't want a police detective poking his nose into all their business. He said nothing, letting Nat field the questions regarding their supposed profession.

Jason was watching quietly, noting the slight nervousness that seemed to come over one of their hosts, but he knew it was probably nothing. You could bet your *ss he was going to be doing a little research later though. "So, who's your friend?" he asked Rhys out of the blue, interrupting Beth's question, which was just as well as far as Rhys was concerned.

"His name is Adam. Adam Sparrowhawk. You know him?"

Interrupted, Beth bit her lip, frowning just a little at the odd interrogatory tone of Jason's question. They were supposed to be making friends, not performing an inquisition.

Nat, however, chose not to acknowledge Jason's segue into another topic of conversation, leaning forward to engage Beth, since the other woman was interested. "They are interested in artifacts to do with the divine and the magical - you know, mythology," she explained. "There are so many scattered all over the world, that they have agents everywhere. The Institute is the biggest private collector I know of."

"God, that sounds like fun," Beth enthused, happy to be kept out of the shop talk going on beside her. "How do you know what?s real and what isn't' I mean, there's supposed to be enough pieces of the real cross in the world to make thousands of the things, aren't there?"

"Sparrowhawk," Jason repeated. "Sounds familiar. I'll have to check." There was something about the guy that seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It wasn't that he was suspicious of the guy or anything, but if they were going to live next door, he wanted to make sure they were on the up and up.

"Maybe he knows of you," Rhys countered, stepping carefully, but letting the other man subtly know that he had friends in high places. Higher than Detective Jason Daly could ever imagine, but he didn't need to know that.

Jason only shrugged and took another swig of his beer. "Maybe." Adam Sparrowhawk was another name that was getting put on his research list. Hopefully, it would all come back clean, and then he could relax a little. "You a football fan?" he asked the other man, turning the subject back to his earlier question, allowing the two women to discuss art on their own.

Rhys shrugged. "I prefer baseball, but yeah. I played quarterback for a year on the high school football team. Well, backup quarterback really."

"There are tests," Nat explained to Beth, though she purposely kept it vague. "Specialized equipment, that sort of thing." She blinked as Rhys offered up information to Jason she'd never heard before, looking down at him in amusement. "What, exactly, is a quarterback?" she asked with a low chuckle. "It sounds like some sort of special name for a horse, or maybe a cow."

Rhys chuckled at Nat's misunderstanding of the word and her obvious lack of knowledge regarding football. Not soccer - football, a decidedly American sport. "It's what they call the person who throws the ball in football, Nat." He turned back to Jason and Beth with a smile. "We're having Adam and his wife over for the Superbowl next Sunday, if you'd like to join us." Let Jason meet Adam in person and see what he thought of that.

"Uh," Jason glanced at Beth uncertainly, unsure what they were doing next weekend yet.

As taken by surprise as he was, Beth held Jason's glance for a moment before answering Rhys for him. "We'll have to see what we've got on," she offered in a friendly tone. "You know, newly moved in, there's the ever present threat of our parents dropping in to visit and all. But if we're welcome to, I'm sure we can drop round, even if they are here. What do you think, baby?"

Rhys had left the part out about the first string quarterback being Gina's ex-boyfriend and Joey's father. She'd ended up having to get a restraining order to keep him away, but that was Gina's story to tell, not his. He'd never explained much about the lost year or two he'd spent in New York, and she'd never asked.

As far as Jason was concerned, his mind had turned back to Desmond at the talk of football, remembering his own high school years and the camaraderie the two of them had once shared. He shrugged his shoulders in reply. "I'm game if you are," he replied. Whether or not he and this Rhys fellow would become friends remained to be seen, but he didn't want to hold Beth back from making friends, and the man's wife seemed friendly enough.

"Haha, funny man," Beth replied to Jason's unintentional pun with a chuckle, nodding to Rhys. "You're on. Anything you want us to bring with us?"

Nat smiled, rolling her eyes at the beautiful stereotype of manly American men proposing to bond over televised sports.

"No, I think we can handle it," Rhys replied, just as the doorbell rang. "That'll be the pizza. Excuse me a minute," he said, moving to his feet to answer the door.

"How far along are you?" Jason asked, as soon as Rhys was out of earshot. He really wasn't trying to be nosy, just interested.

"He was so nervous about flying, he was trying to get himself drunk before he got on board," Nat volunteered, taking her plate from Rhys with a fond smile. "I had him upgraded and put next to me. He looked sweet." After all, that was innocent enough. The details of the flight weren't something to be shared, though.

Beth leaned herself back against the wall, chewing and swallowing before she spoke. "That's a really nice story," she complimented them. "Love at first sight, huh?"

"More like love at first flight," Rhys replied, tossing a knowing glance Nat's way, but not revealing any details of what else had happened on board that plane. That was for them to know and no one else to find out.

"Afraid of flying, huh?" Jason asked, taking something else from the story than his lovely wife had. "It's a pretty common phobia."

"Yeah," Rhys replied. "I'm not sure why really." Though he had his theories, he wasn't about to share them with practical strangers.

"God, everyone's scared of something," Beth interjected cheerfully. "Look at me. I'm twenty-four years old, and I'm still scared of the dark." Again, with good reason, but not something she was going to share at a first meeting.

Sensing the solidarity in what Beth said, Nat piped up with her own phobia. "I am afraid of water," she offered. "Though not so much water, as drowning."

Jason had nothing to say to this, making no attempt to add a phobia of his own to the list. The only thing he was really afraid of was losing Bethany, though for some reason, the lifetime they'd shared in Ancient Rome flooded his memory if only for a moment, and he couldn't help but shudder with the memory of it, though he'd more than likely blame it on the cold.

Even Rhys had gone momentarily silent, mostly at the mention of drowning from his wife. The subject had turned a little too morose for him, and he was trying to think of a way to dig themselves out of it.

The shudder didn't go unnoticed, but Nat didn't comment on it. Some fears just shouldn't be shared. So she threw caution to the wind a little - Rhys was familiar with her sense of humor; these two might not react so well. "So when are you due, Beth?" she asked innocently, impish humor flickering in her eyes as she smiled sweetly, a smile her husband knew all too well.

"When am I ....excuse me?" Beth laughed incredulously, actually looking down at herself in concern. "Wait, do I look like I am?"

The question drew Jason out of his thoughts of a past death that was more nightmare than memory. He lowered the plate, looking over at Bethany with a quizzical look on his face. "Are you?" he asked, curiously. He'd rather not have found out this way, but now that the subject had come up, he needed to know whether it was true or not.

Rhys interrupted in an unnecessary attempt to diffuse the situation. "So, how do you guys like the pizza" Anyone want another slice?"

"No, I'm not!" Beth protested laughingly, turning accusing eyes onto Nat, who promptly hid herself behind Rhys with a very audible giggle. "Oooh, you have a naughty sense of humor, woman." Snickering, Beth rolled her eyes, glancing down at her pizza. "I'm good," she told Rhys with a grin. "Where did you order this, I'm gonna have to get their number."

"Beth, are you?" Jason repeated, needing to know for sure. He wouldn't have minded if she was, even if they weren't quite ready yet. Was anyone ever really ready to have a baby'

Rhys was watching the other two a moment, even as Nat tried to change the subject, and he drew his wife aside, taking their slices of pizza with them. "Would you excuse us a moment' There's something I need to discuss with my wife." Somehow he sensed the other couple needed a few minutes alone to sort this out without them there to butt in.

"Sure," Beth grinned cheerfully as Rhys drew Nat away, wondering if he was going to tell her off for starting something between their neighbors. As the other couple turned away, she looked up at Jason. "Baby, if I am pregnant, I sure as hell don't know about it yet," she tried to reassure him. "It's a little soon for us, don't you think?"

"I don't know, is it?" Jason asked, setting his plate down and turning her to face him. "You wouldn't lie to me about something like this, right?" he asked, knowing she wouldn't, at least, not knowingly, but if she even suspected she might be pregnant, he wanted to know about it.

Her own plate landed beside his as he turned her to face him, no sense of deception radiating from her at all. "Well, it's not something I've really even thought about," she told him, sighing softly as she did a quick calculation. "I'm a little late, I suppose, but not by more than a coupla days. If you want, I can get a kit tomorrow and check it out, but I really don't think I'm pregnant, baby."

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry. I just..." He sighed, drawing her close, unsure what was bothering him exactly. When Nat had mentioned that Beth might be pregnant, he'd felt his heart skip a beat and butterflies in his stomach, just like he had the first time he'd met her. Sure, they were planning on having a family someday, but he'd never thought it would happen this quickly, and now that she'd mentioned it, he almost felt disappointed that it wasn't true. "I don't know what?s the matter with me today, Beth."

"Hey." She stepped close as he drew his arms around her, curling her hands to his cheeks as she smiled gently. "It's a lot of changes, Jase, and we haven't really settled into things yet. New house, I've got a new job, you requested a transfer, and you know, we're married now." She smiled, rising onto her toes to brush the tip of her nose to his. "And I really don't know if I'm pregnant or not. Like I said, I'm a coupla days late. It could be the stress of moving, it could be an early sign. So I'll swing by the ER tomorrow and get a kit from there. Those sticks are way more accurate than anything from a drugstore."

"Originally?" Rhys echoed, not really wanting to share too much of his past with what amounted to practically a stranger, and a cop at that. "Iowa, originally. I've moved around a lot. I spent a few years in New York as a teenager, and it always kinda felt like home."

Jason nodded, but didn't pry further. So, Rhys' family had either moved around a lot or something else had happened, but he thought he'd pried enough for one day. He turned his attention back to the women as Beth tried to draw the men back into the conversation.

Rhys took a seat on the arm of the couch, nearly Nat and leaned over to press a kiss against the top of her head, as if to silently encourage and reassure her and remind her that he loved her. Jason didn't miss the gesture and smiled a little. One thing was certain - the other couple shared a bond as deep and loving as the one he shared with Bethany.

Nat leaned into Rhys as he settled down and kissed her hair, relaxing slowly as the conversation moved on and away from the topic that she had inadvertently made so uncomfortable. "I have traveled over most of Europe," she shared with a gentle shrug. "But America is my home now, here with Rhys."

Beth smiled, too, sharing that expression with Jason as she noted the closeness between the other couple. It was sort of familiar - they might not have had the lasting connection that she shared with her own husband, but there was something powerful in that bond, all the same. It was that sense of similarity, no doubt, that lifted the guard off her tongue unexpectedly. "Furthest I've been from home is Rhy'Din," she admitted, and almost immediately realized her mistake. But she couldn't really admit to it without making an issue of the place name she'd dropped.

Jason moved to take a seat on a chair nearby, quietly listening to the other converse, allowing Beth to work her charm while he finished off what was left of the pizza on his plate. When she mentioned the word Rhy'Din, he very nearly choked.

Rhys, too, remained quiet, preferring not to have to explain how he'd ended up in New York or that he'd been a drifter most of his life, until Beth made mention of place he hadn't thought of in a very long time. He had to have misheard her. She couldn't possibly had said what he thought she'd said. "I beg your pardon?" he asked, arching a brow and glancing toward Jason to see if he was all right.

"Uh ..." Beth glanced at Jason, quick to decide to just brazen it out. If they'd heard of the place, it was one less secret to keep; if they hadn't, she could bluff with the best of them. "My family's from Rhy'Din, so that's kind of the furthest from New York I've ever been. You ever been there?" This was directed at Rhys, since he was the one who seemed to have recognized the name. Nat, on the other hand, looked lost, frowning curiously up at her husband.

Jason was shaking his head at his wife, but it was too late. She'd already dropped the bomb and was now trying to cover her mistake. Beth was good at a lot of things, but lying wasn't really one of them.

"Rhy'Din," Rhys repeated. "You mean, Rhy'Din Rhy'Din?" he asked. In all his years, he'd only heard of one Rhy'Din, and it was definitely not located on Earth.

Beth grimaced back at Jason. She knew she'd put her foot in it, big time, but the other couple didn't seem to have noticed much wrong with what she'd said. She looked back at Rhys, rubbing a hand through her hair. "There's only one Rhy'Din."

Rhys had been to a lot of strange places, but if Bethany was talking about the same Rhy'Din he'd been to, she was the first person he'd ever met on Earth to have shared the experience. "I haven't thought about Rhy'Din in a really long time," he mused quietly to himself.

Jason leaned forward, brows furrowed. He'd never met anyone else outside of their own little circle who'd ever heard of the place. "Wait, you've been to Rhy'Din?"

Beth smiled a little ruefully, shrugging one shoulder in acknowledgement. It was weird to come across someone else in New York who was aware of Rhy'Din. What were the odds that it would be their new next-door neighbor" As for Natalya, she had no idea what they were talking about, glancing between them all in quiet confusion.

"Yeah," Rhys continued, looking between them, still wondering if they were all talking about the same place. He was aware of the portals that led to other worlds, other realities, but unlike Beth and Jason, he had never really made much use of them or learned how to master them. His life wasn't about Rhy'Din anymore. There was nothing left for him there. He had found where he belonged and that was with Natalya here and in Avalon. He had no regrets. "It was a long time ago." Though in reality, it had only been a few years, it seemed like another lifetime ago.

"Well, that's where my family is," Beth offered, more confident than Jason was when it came to sharing the secret. "You might have met some of them, there's a whole load. Ever meet anyone with the surname Granger?"

Rhys hadn't thought about Rhy'Din in a very long time and had to give his memory a very hard search. It had been a few years since he'd been to Rhy'Din, and the place had left a sour taste in his mouth. He had no real desire to ever go back there and had put it from his mind entirely, until now. "Granger," he mused quietly. He'd met a lot of people in his short time there, and he seemed to recall that the surname Granger had been associated with a large, affluent family. Was Beth connected to those Grangers" "There was one, I think. A girl. Brunette. Hell if I can remember her name. Katie" Kathy?"

"You know, there's not a whole lot of trust happening here if all you're gonna do is repeat what I'm saying," Beth started to say, before Rhys came up with something else to add onto his musing. "Um ....there's a Kaylee," she offered up mildly. "I met her over the summer. Small, pretty, kinda the biggest flirt you ever did see?"

Nat's frown deepened as they spoke, understanding now that this was that blank period of Rhys' life he had told her he didn't want to talk about. But what was Rhy'Din, and why hadn't she heard of it before now"

There were actually a lot of periods of Rhys' life that he didn't want to talk about, for various reasons. He saw no real point in dredging up a past that was painful and opening old wounds that were better left alone, and yet, every now and then the past came back to haunt him, the way it was doing right now. "Kaylee, yeah. I think that was it. It was right after I arrived." He gave Beth a hard look, as if he was trying to determine how much to say and whether or not she really was talking about the same place that he was. "I've never met anyone who's ever been there before."

"Not many people know about it," Jason interjected, glancing to Nat and wondering if she was one of those people. And those who did, rarely if ever spoke of it.

"Evidently not," Nat agreed with Jason quietly, a smile lighting up her face that only Rhys could tell wasn't entirely genuine. This was not the way she would have wanted to find out about Rhy'Din, certainly.

Meanwhile, Beth was holding that hard look Rhys was giving her, open and honest in her answer. "I went for the first time last year," she told him. "My mom came to New York while she was pregnant, and she kept me a secret because of how dangerous my dad's job is. They didn't want me exposed to the things that go bump in the night."

Rhys seemed oblivious to Nat's reaction to the mention of a place and a past she'd heard nothing of. He hadn't thought it necessary to tell her about it, since he had no plans of ever going back there, and with good reason. Besides, if he'd explained about Rhy'Din, he would have had no choice but to mention his ex, and he knew that was a sore subject with Natalya. Rhys' brow arched higher as Beth continued with her explanation. The things that go bump in the night... There were plenty of those things in Rhy'Din....and on Earth, too, for that matter. "I think you better start from the beginning," he said, looking to both Bethany and Jason for a clearer explanation.

"A thief," Jason echoed, feeling a little thunderstruck by this news. He'd known something wasn't right. He'd felt it in gut, but he hadn't expected it to be this. He mirrored Beth, sitting down heavily beside her, his wheels spinning with the implications of Natalya's disclosure. She had just put her trust in him by telling him the truth, and now he had to decide what to do not only with that information, but also that trust. "If I look, will I find a warrant for your arrest?" he asked, looking between them, as he was addressing them both.

Rhys gave Nat's hand a pat, drawing a deep breath as he finally got a hold of himself. The question was a loaded one. As far as Rhys knew, Adam had already taken care of all of that, though if Jason dug deep enough, he'd find a few unsavory things about both their pasts better left unknown. Rhys' gaze darted to Nat's at the detective's question, his first instinct to protect her. "You gonna arrest us, detective?"

Nat's hand enclosed Rhys' gently. Strangely, she felt no concern now, no worry that Jason might do something regrettable. But then, she had been under Avalon's protection far longer than Rhys had. She knew they wouldn't allow either of them to be placed in such an untenable position. "You had already decided to run a check on us before you ever entered our house," she said calmly, wrapping Rhys' hand in both her own as she spoke. "When you look, you may find the personal secrets we hold close, secrets that other people would have to earn trust to know about. But you will find no warrants for our arrests, nor will you find hard evidence to link us to anything underhand. We do as we must, and we will never cross the line that divides good and evil. We are trusting you, Jason. Is that trust misplaced?"

Rhys' reaction was naturally defensive. He'd been on the defensive all his life, constantly looking over his shoulder for one thing or another, whether it be demons, vampires, monsters, cops, or even other hunters. He'd never before felt as safe as he did now that he was under the Lady's protection. There was no way she was going to let anything happen to him or Natalya, but that protective and defensive streak was hard to break. "We just want to live in peace, like everyone else," Rhys explained, swallowing a little of his pride as he retook his place beside Natalya and wrapped a protective arm around her.

Jason looked between the two of them a long moment before he spoke. He could see the love there, the undying devotion. They weren't so different really. Though their lives were a little unorthodox and he didn't really know them very well, his gut told him that they were the good guys. "I'm a cop," he started with a small shrug. "It's my job to be suspicious. I took an oath to uphold the law and keep people safe, but it seems to me you're trying to do the same thing. Just a different way of doing it."

"Thank you." Natalya smiled at Jason, relieved to find that her odd instinct for when to tell the truth was still going strong. She leaned into Rhys affectionately, turning her gaze now onto Beth, who had been silent for this exchange.

The other woman was still smarting a little from Rhys' reaction to her own truth, but seeing as Nat had laid out a pretty huge secret in front of them, Beth didn't see any point in holding onto that sting. "So where does this put us?" she asked warily, sliding her fingers between Jason's.

It was a little harder for Rhys to trust than it was for Nat. He'd been betrayed one too many times, but unless they wanted to live the rest of their lives in hiding, sooner or later, he had to learn to trust, and what better allies to have then their next-door neighbors - one of whom was a cop and the other had ties to a vampire hunter. He had turned dead serious as soon as Nat had started relaying their story, all irony aside. "You tell us," Rhys replied, turning from Beth to Jason, leaving the ball in his court.

"Well, it's not like any of us is gonna run around sharing secrets," Beth pointed out quietly. "The only reason I mentioned Rhy'Din at all is because ....well, I feel comfortable with you guys. That doesn't happen a whole lot."

Natalya nodded. "I think this is a good thing," she offered to the room at large. "We do not need to be so guarded with one another. Though we cannot tell you about our employer, for want of a better word, there is little else we have to hide. And I agree. I am comfortable with you, as well. It would be nice to have a friend I do not have to lie to."

A friend, thought Rhys skeptically. How many friends had he lost over the years to death or betrayal" Friends were something Rhys had always had few of, purposely keeping to himself and not letting anyone in, though it seemed the list was slowly growing again, especially now that he was with Natalya. Nat, though....Nat needed friends. He'd taken an instant liking to Bethany, hoping she and Nat could be friends, but Jason' He wasn't so sure. It wasn't that he didn't like the guy. He just didn't want to accidentally get him killed. "Would you excuse me?" he asked the trio with a strained smile as he moved to his feet. "I'm just gonna get another beer." And off he went toward the kitchen, though the bottle in his hand wasn't quite empty yet.

"Was it something I said?" Beth asked as Rhys left them to it, turning slightly concerned eyes onto Natalya. "I didn't mean to offend him."

Nat's smile was a little sad as she watched her husband slip out of sight, shaking her head reassuringly. "No, it was something I said," she assured them. "Rhys has lost many friends to the things your parents wanted to keep you safe from. There will always be the fear that knowing us will get you killed, one way or another, and you deserve to know that is a concern. But you are also familiar with some of those things, which gives me hope."

Jason seemed to sense the other man's change in mood, though he respected him enough to let him have his moment alone, for whatever reason. Unlike Rhys, Jason hadn't lost a lot of people in his life, but he had lost a few, and he understood what it was to put your life on the line so you could do the right thing. He had no way of knowing what kind of sacrifices the pair in front of him had made, but he thought if their lives were anything like Rufus', they were stronger and braver than he had originally given them credit for. "You don't have to explain," Jason told Nat. "Beth's father tried to protect her by staying away. I think we understand."

"And we're not afraid," Beth added. "Just tell us what we need to do, as a baseline to stay safe. I'd rather have a friend who is a little on the wild side than give up any chance of getting to know you guys because you're too worried about us." She glanced at Jason, hoping she had that right. She didn't want to speak for him if he wasn't comfortable with this.

"I'll say," Beth grinned, waving her empty glass in Rhys' direction even as her hand captured Jason's once again. It was a good start to their new life together, making friends who were just a little weird, like them.

"I like that toast," Nat agreed with them, raising her glass of juice to join in. "To new friendships." Friendship was something she sorely needed, just as Rhys suspected, and she liked the Dalys. It might take time to settle into something closer than just acquaintance, but the foundations had already been laid. Maybe it would be good for all of them.

Jason was the last to reply. It seemed to him that the decision regarding this potential friendship rested solely on his shoulders now, but how could he say no' Beth was clearly fond of Natalya, and she needed a friend as much as Nat did. Rhys was a little off-kilter, but not in a bad way, and he couldn't deny that he was missing his friendship with Desmond. Though he might never become as close to Rhys as he was to Desmond, making new friends didn't hurt, and he couldn't deny that it was better to be on friendly terms with their new neighbors than the opposite. He hesitated a moment as he looked from one hopeful face to the other before finally joining them. "I'm a little outnumbered," he admitted with a chuckle before clinking his bottle to Rhys'. "To new friends," he said, hoping to hell he wasn't going to regret this.

"Awesome!" Beth crowed happily, fully aware she owed Jason at least a full week of orgasms to make up for backing him into that one. "Okay, so ....where's the cards" Up for a little girls vs boys poker?"

Jason laughed at his wife's cheekiness. "I think we'd better get going before you lose your panties again. We still have to get settled for the night and get up early to finish unloading the truck. How about a raincheck?" he asked, turning to Rhys and Nat with a smile, feeling far more relaxed now than he had a short while ago.

"Raincheck's good," Rhys replied. "If you need any help unloading, let me know. I should be around." Though he and Nat still had to get settled themselves, he knew she wouldn't mind if he offered to help.

"Yes, we can help if you need us to," Nat added, knowing she was in a room with three people who would no doubt try and put her on bed rest if she gave them even a hint that she needed a moment or two.

"Not a chance, lady, you're brewing a baby," Beth reminded her. "You can help me pick out colors for the rooms if you want." She moved to her feet with a smile. "Thank you so much for inviting us over. I think we needed this."

Jason drained what was left of his beer and got to his feet, moving to collect the empty plates that he and Beth had left there. "Leave it. We'll get it," Rhys told him, as he, too, moved to his feet. He offered a hand to the other man in a gesture of friendship. "Nice to meet you, Jason."

Jason set the plates back down, along with his empty beer bottle and took the other man's hand in his own, a little surprised by the gesture. "Likewise," he said, shaking Rhys' hand briefly. "Thanks for the pizza. We'll have to return the favor sometime."

Beside the men as they shook hands, Nat and Beth eyed each other for a moment, neither one entirely sure how to proceed at this point. That is, until Beth threw caution to the wind and wrapped the smaller woman up in a warm hug. "It's been lovely to meet you, Natalya," she smiled, drawing back with a slightly embarrassed flush on her cheeks. "I hope we have more time to spend together."

Nat giggled, equally embarrassed by the unexpected hug. "I agree," she nodded merrily. "I think we are going to be very good friends."

"Not too good!" Rhys exclaimed, catching Nat's remark as the women gave each other a hug. "We don't want them knowing all our secrets." Rhys tossed Beth another playful wink, letting her guess just what secrets he might be alluding to.

Jason's hand found the small of Bethany's back with a small chuckle. "And on that note..."

"Oh, hadn't you heard" Girls talk about everything," Beth teased Rhys cheerfully, stepping away into the curve of Jason's arm as they turned toward the door.

Wrapping her own arm around Rhys' back, Nat moved to escort them in that direction, opening up the closet to extract their jackets. "We'll see you soon. It has been a pleasure."

Rhys detached himself from Nat and scooted past the trio to the kitchen, where he divvied out what remained of the pizza equally into two boxes. "Here," he offered Jason one of the boxes. "You might as well take some home with you. We won't eat it all." That wasn't quite true. Rhys had been known to go on late night leftover eating binges, but he figured there was enough to go around.

"Are you sure?" Jason asked, as he collected their jackets, helping Beth on with hers before donning his own.

"Of course," Nat agreed with her husband, gesturing for the other pair to take the box Rhys offered them. "You have only just arrived, you have no food in your house. We have, at least, been to the grocery store recently."

"See, you shouldn't have said that," Beth chuckled as she flicked her hair out of her collar, turning to face them with one hand on the door handle. "I might well be around tomorrow asking for breakfast."

"I just gave you breakfast!" Rhys countered with a smirk as he wound an arm around Natalya's waist.

"We'll see you soon. Thanks again for the pizza!" Jason said, waiting for Bethany to let them both out. Thankfully, all they had to do was walk next door.

"Have a good night - we'll try not to make too much noise getting to know the house," Beth laughed, pulling the door open and stepping outside, hand in hand with Jason.

Jason followed her out, feeling much better now than he had when they'd first arrived, though he was still going to do a little digging on his own regarding their new neighbors, if only to satisfy his own curiosity and confirm their story. Truth or not, the sleuth in him couldn't help but want to do a little digging.

Leaning in the doorway to watch them down the steps and into their own home, Nat leaned back into Rhys' arms, smiling with soft delight at the success. "I think we just made our first married couple friends," she murmured to her husband, tilting her head back to look up at him. "Should we celebrate, do you think?"

"How very domestic of you, Mrs. Bristol," Rhys said with a smirk as he drew his wife away from the door and closed it with a click of the lock. The other couple would make it home without them watching over them. It was only next door, after all. "I think yes," he replied, reaching for her hand to draw her away from the kitchen so that they could celebrate properly and in the privacy of their own bedroom. Alone at last.

((Oh, what a tangled web we weave - the Bristols are now living next door to the Dalys! Woohoo! Loads of fun to play out!))