EPILOGUE Tennyson

One week later…

Tennyson stood at the kitchen sink doing the dinner dishes. Ronan had taken the kids into the living room where they were watching Finding Nemo for what felt like the hundredth time in the last week. Ten was sure they hadn't watched the movie that much. He'd taken the kids out to play a time or two, surely. Maybe not.

Things had been crazy busy since the fire at the fundraiser.

Not only had Tennyson been back and forth to visit Spencer, who spent two days in the hospital being treated for smoke inhalation, but he'd also taken Everly to the pediatrician to make sure everything with her face was okay.

Her cheek was bruised from where she'd hit the ground and she'd woken up the next morning with a black eye.

Ronan joked that Everly looked like she'd gone ten rounds with Rocky Balboa, which led to Ronan showing her Rocky III and Rocky IV .

Ten hadn't been thrilled with the idea, especially when Apollo died, but his daughter had been sullen since the accident and watching movies with Ronan lifted her spirits.

Ten had also insisted that Ronan see his doctor as well. Spencer had been inside the burning food truck for much longer than Ronan, but he wanted to be sure there weren't any lasting effects from the smoke. Ronan got a clean bill of health and then insisted Ten get checked too.

The only lasting effects from that day seemed to be the nightmares both Ezra and Everly were having. After the second night in a row of his babies screaming in the middle of the night, Ten had insisted they sleep with him and Ronan. There hadn't been any terrors the night before and Ten was hoping they'd be able to go back to their own beds in a few days.

He felt like he'd aged ten years over the last week, but aside from Everly's shiner and a few sleepless nights, his family was safe.

"Tennyson?"

a familiar voice asked from behind him.

Ten turned to see Effy Lou Josephine standing behind him. "Hey, how are you?"

Effy Lou smiled. "The bigger question is how are you? I've been spending time with Spencer in the hospital and overheard the doctors talking about what happened to you and your little girl."

"We're okay."

Ten managed a smile. "Everly's got a black eye from hitting the ground, but she's taking it all in stride. Her classmates think she's a badass now. I'm not sure what to think of that. I suppose I'm okay with it so long as she doesn't say ‘badass' out loud again.

Effy Lou laughed. "She's a warrior, that's for sure."

"After what your nephew did to save the chef, I think we can put Spencer in the badass category too."

Ten had spent a lot of time sitting with Spencer in the hospital. He'd been there for breathing treatments, chest x-rays, blood draws, and Spencer had taken it all like a real champ.

"Who would ever have believed that?"

Effy Lou grinned brightly.

"You, apparently,"

Ten shot back. "If you didn't think he had some kind of potential inside him, you never would have put those conditions in your will."

It had taken Ten a little while to figure out why Effy Lou had made Spencer jump through hoops to get his inheritance, but it finally dawned on him that she'd done it to show Spencer what he was made of, not to torture the young man.

"Well, you know how it goes. Kids nowadays don't want to listen to anything we say, so instead of filling his head with his greatness, I needed to show him I believed in him all along."

"You certainly did that,"

Ten agreed.

"I can't believe he's got not one job now, but two. Please thank your husband for me."

"All Ronan did was tell Spencer that Carson and Cassie were hiring. He did the rest, acing his interviews and proving he was a dependable worker."

Ten had gone into West Side Sweets yesterday and had been pleasantly surprised by the service he'd gotten from Spencer. He'd been affable, got his order right and gave the correct change.

Effy nodded.

"Is there something I can do to help you, Effy Lou?"

Ten could see there was something else on her mind.

"I hope so."

Effy Lou took a seat at the table. "I thought that as soon as Spencer straightened up, I would see the light. I know your little girl did everything she could to make it appear for me, but I'm at a complete loss. What else do I have to do for it to appear? I miss Blue. All I want is to see my husband again, even if its just for a minute. I don't even care if he is hooking up with Janis Joplin. I just need to know he's okay."

Ten sighed. He was able to see a lot of things with his gift, but not what a person needed to accomplish in order to cross over.

"Daddy? Can I have a popsicle?"

Everly asked, walking into the kitchen. "Oh, hi, Miss Effy Lou."

"Hello, sweetheart. My goodness that eye makes you look badass."

Effy Lou winked at Tennyson.

"I know, right!"

Everly grinned brightly at the spirit. "I want to try to help you again. I can feel how much you miss Blue."

"Are you sure?"

Effy Lou's eyes teared up.

Everly nodded and climbed into the seat next to her. She held out her hand to Effy Lou and the other to her father. Ten was quick to complete the circle. Everly's eyes slid shut.

Ten watched, fascinated as Everly's lips started to move. He had no idea what she was chanting, but moments later, the white light appeared, illuminating the kitchen.

"Well, it's about dang time you showed up, Effy Lou, honey!"

a kind voice called out from the light.

"Blue? Is that really you?"

Effy Lou gasped in obvious shock.

"Sure is! Now come give me some sugar."

Blue held his arms open.

"I don't know how you did this, Everly, but thank you so much."

With a nod to Tennyson, Effy Lou flew into the light and into Blue's arms. Blue waved and the light slowly faded.

"How did you do that?"

Ten asked Everly, who for the first time since the fire looked like her old self.

"Promise not to ground me until I'm fifty?"

Everly asked with a giggle.

"Undetermined."

Ten knew he wasn't going to ground his daughter no matter what she'd done to make the light appear.

"Well, I might have been shouting at Blue to stop messing around with Spanish Joplin and get his mangy ass over here to see his wife."

Ten snorted. "His mangy ass? Where the hell did you hear that?"

Everly rolled her eyes. "Don't be mad, but from Nana Kaye. She was taking to one of her girlfriends back in Kansas, Margo, about her no good husband staying out all night and coming home drunk. Nana Kaye told the friend to tell Skipper to get his mangy ass home. It worked. Margo called the next day to say thank you. If it worked for Nana Kaye's friend, I had a feeling it would work on Blue."

Ten shook his head. "Do you think you Blue made the light appear or do you think you did?"

"Undetermined,"

Everly said with a laugh, throwing Ten's earlier answer back at him. "I think it was a little bit of both. If it's okay with you and Dad, I want to keep practicing."

Ten wasn't sure what he thought. "Do you think it's dangerous to mess with that?"

"I don't think so, but you told me that I needed to be totally honest about my gift and that's what I'm doing."

"Okay, keep practicing. If there's anything that you think any of us can do to help you, let me know, okay?"

"Okay. Can I have a popsicle now?"

Everly climbed off the chair and ran to the freezer as if she knew Ten was going to say yes.

"Grab some for the rest of us too. Grape is Dad's favorite."

Everly dove into the freezer draw and pulled out a handful of treats. "Come watch Nemo with us, it's almost the part where Dory talks to the whale."

That scene was Tennyson's favorite. Ronan would walk around the house making whale noises and Ten always cracked up.

Taking Everly's hand, he walked into the living room with her to find Ronan and Ezra laughing at Dory's antics. He snuggled on the couch next to his husband and unwrapped Ezra's popsicle. His son climbed out of Ronan's lap and plopped himself into Ten's. Wrapping an arm around Everly and hugging Ezra to his chest, Ten knew he was the luckiest man alive.

THE END