Nostalgia

**Aileen POV**

"I'm gonna throw up if you don't start driving more carefully!" Some things never change. No matter how long I stayed in this dimension, car rides would be a horrifying experience for me. It didn't help that my brother drove like we were being chased by some group of thugs.
He glared at me, taking his eyes off the fecking road! "Do not throw up in my baby! You should have passed the God damn morning sickness by now. Can't your body figure that out!"
"It's not my body's fault asshole! Anyone would get ill with your driving!"
That was our entire car ride to the restaurant. Trevor would speed up and take curves way too sharp, I would threaten to decorate his seats, and he would back off the gas pedal. If we weren't adoptive siblings then we definitely would have killed each other by now. Heck, as kids we did a few times! I'm ashamed to say that most of the time he did tend to win the fights. In my defense, he was an elemental and older. What was a kid me supposed to do against a bigger boy flinging powers all around? The answer turned out to be simple. I would get close to him and spit at him. Trevor would get so disgusted that he would lose focus. Little kid me would give a mighty yell and tackle him to the ground. After I figured that out, more victories started coming my way.
Mr. and Mrs. Hemmer didn't appreciate our fighting, or my cleverness. We both got in trouble...a lot.
"Back to spacing out our we. Seriously, way to bring back deja vu!"
Trevor's laugh was so light and airy; he was actually causing me to forget about everything going on. Rather than all the uncertainties cloudy my mind, I was actually reminiscing on good memories. I guess that would make my eventual exit from this dimension all the harder. If I was already getting this nostalgic about my time here, what would happen the day I actually leave?
The car stopped in a tight parking spot. Having a big bump made the already small space I had to get out damn near impossible. Trevor grumbled something under his breath. He pushed me back into my seat and ordered me to shut my car door. Prior to my door completely shutting, he roared the engine back to life and drove to the front of the building.
"Get out prego princess. I'm going back to park, I'll be right back."
So I stood waiting outside. The snow had melted away awaiting Spring's arrival. Little animals would start waking up from their hibernation soon with renewed energy and life. A gentle breeze sent little goosebumps crawling up my arms, reminding winter was still here for a little while longer. But soon, oh so soon we would be entering the best season of the year. Spring is for turning a new leaf and just like the slumbering little crittles, I couldn't wait.
"Sorry to keep you waiting for your hot date. You ready to go in?"
I smiled and let him lead me into Longhorn. Upon entry I noticed a small sign on the host's stand. There was a beautiful portrait of Sam. Written down were basic facts about her appearance, last outfit worn, and where she was last seen. In large bold black letters were the words 'Have You Seen Me?' Of course people would be searching for her. There was probably a panic over her disappearance. It wasn't like she just went missing. Sam had mentioned that Shiuku killed some girl in her apartment. That would escalate the immediate level of danger she was in.
"Guess Sam won't be our waitress this time." At least Trevor didn't have that puppy dog lovestruck face looking at her picture. I guess he finally got the hint she would never return his feelings and was happy with Rena.
I nudged him with an elbow and joked, "a shame, you won't be able to creep her out with your horrid flirting this time."
"Next time you want to insult me, pick something believable. I know the ladies love my dashing personality. Their eyes dilate, hearts burst in their chest, and fall all over me when I enchant them."
I rolled my eyes, "right you're a real Prince in disguise as a knight." Back in my dimension that was every girls daydream growing up. Find a handsome knight who would die to protect us and then in the dark of night right before the kiss, the attractive knight reveals himself to be a prince.
My brother snorted as the host led us to a table in the back. A giant fake skull of a bull hung on the wall beside us. I tried not to stare into his hollow eye sockets. I loved the food here, but dead animals, even fake, unsettled me. Personally, I would have prefered a table near the picture of high school kids posing for a sport called Baseball. At least they were probably still all alive.
"Do you remember the last time we were here? You were convinced the Kaibec was evil and plotting something."
My turn to snort. "Well as I found out, he had been working for Shiuku for some time. He just ended up wising up and betraying him."
The waiter came with a basket of bread. With no hesitation, my brother informed the waiter to keep em coming. This basket was not lasting much longer than it would take him to bring us our drinks. The waiter nodded and headed back with our drink order.
"Thanks to Kaibec you might be able to go back home. He was also the one to lead us to Shiuku's hideout." Trevor shoved his face full of bread. Hopefully he didn't do this on a real date. When he spoke, little crumbs flew from his mouth. "You always did have trust issues. Kaibec turned out to be an asset."
"So what's the reason you wanted to come out here again? Are we going to go on another outing together? Perhaps to see Demon Lord Kuzon with Kaibec ourselves?" I hated that he never was interested in initiating anything after taking me out. He would really need to work on that, otherwise he'd never become a squad leader. I knew he strove to be a great one like his Father was. He was even fortunate enough to get a squad leader as strong as Tom to guide him...
Tom... I still hadn't talked to him about threatening my child's life like that. Tom was always known to be serious and to the point. He had a reputation of taking the hardest line. Still, I never would have thought he would wager an unborn baby.
"If you say outing while we're out to eat one more time, I swear I will pretend to be a victim and make you out to be a gang member. I'll laugh while the police put you in handcuffs."
I snickered, "well it turns out, I kinda like that. I would rather Dev be the only one to restrain me, so I will banish that word from my vocabulary here."
"Absolutely no talking about Devon. It's rude to talk about another man in another's company."
My brother was arrogant, but I wasn't fooled with his little charade. He just didn't want me asking any more about Devon. Trevor made himself clear he was not speaking to me about whatever happened to Devon. Anyway, I was starving and wondering what was going on with Devon could lead to loss of appetite.
I grabbed my fork and stabbed it down near Trevor's hand. He was about to munch on the last slice of bread. Like hell was he going to get the last one while the waiter took his time getting back here. My loving brother must have forgotten that I was pregnant with a half demon. He snatched it up and licked the entire slice like a four year old.
"Are you fucking kidding me! You control yourself most of the time we're being attacked, but I lick one piece of bread and your eyes glow red! The hell Aileen?!"
I started laughing quietly. Truthfully, I had let the baby's aura consome me just to scare Trevor for a moment. I closed my eyes when the waiter came back with drinks and bread. He took our orders and walked away.
"Okay, are we good now? Open." He ordered waiting to see what color my eyes were. "Okay, so how badly do you want to go home? Do you really want to leave all the freedom and progression we've had behind? And imagine all the good food you'll be leaving."
So he was thinking about the same things haunting my mind today.
"Yes, I will be bringing some of the ideas in this dimension back to mine. I want to bring free education first and women's suffrage. Father and I will also work on getting our dimension used to the idea of elementals. I don't want my child to have to hide how gifted he is." I paused to steady my breaking heart. "Besides this won't be goodbye. I'll be back in a few years."
Barely, I held back my tears while our salads arrived. *I'll miss you more than you'll ever know Trevor. Life won't be the same without you.*

**Devon POV**

"And what was so urgent I had to come to your hospital room Devon?"
I gave him a slight bow, unsure how low a Lord would incline his head to a King. "As soon as my condition is stable the DSS will be sending me to a cell until my trial. I have many crimes to answer for."
"I do not like all this preamble. Get to your reason." King Ulrich watched me behind emotionless orbs. I could see why his citizens may fear him.
"With all the facts and if Aileen is willing to give me those documents proving I was sold, I don't think I'll be executed at least. Squad Leader Tom has already visited me and told me he will take my side. He finally forgave me for Squad Leader Nye's death."
"And hitting on his wife?" The King smirked triumphantly.
That was an easy question. "Nope."
"My smart daughter spent the last month at Shiuku's packing up all information and documents. Between Rena, Sekai, Sam, and that water demon woman; everything was safely transported here. I shall have Sekai dig for your birth certificate and anything that proves you were sold."
"Thank you."
There was a deathly silence following my gratitude. The King sat with his legs crossed beside my bed, observing any slight movement I made. He was like a wolf waiting to strike down his prey. Well that wasn't too comforting.
I shifted in my bed trying to sit up. Pain spiked up my spine and fell back down. At least I wouldn't be leaving here anytime soon. That jackass Demon Lord Darren may have done me a favor, injuring my spine so brutally. I would spend less time in a cell and more time in rehab.
The silence was starting to kill me. Aileen had done this when she wanted an answer without asking for it. I guess her dear old man is where she got it from. Damn them, I should just get this off my chest. In the last several years I had joined the DSS, caused the death of a squad leader, lost all my friends I had just gained, abducted my true love for another man, fell in love, been tortured for that love, been tortured by my Father, and fought him; yet this was the hardest thing I had done. I couldn't get a solid reading on King Ulrich to know how he would react. I was sweating as if I just finished a cross country race.
"May I have your daughter's hand in marriage? I love her and that child more than life itself."
He leaned back against the wall as if contemplating my words. We both knew full well he was aware of why I asked him here.
"No." He said void of emotion. "It is not that easy."
"What?" I was confused. "I am a Lord now thanks to you...Your Majesty."
"Kissing my royal buttocks will not help in this. As of now my answer is no. There are still two things you must do."
I gritted my teeth. All I wanted was to be with my innocent girl lost in the woods at last. "What do I need to do? You're blessing will mean the world to her. I have to get it."
"Figure it out yourself half demon. You wish to become my son in law? Show me how intelligent and determined you can be, Lord of Vernen."