After one of the quickest showers she had ever taken, Mandy followed the sound of her mother’s and Tyler’s voices to the kitchen and found Tyler pouring her a cup of coffee that he placed next to a plate with a sandwich on it.

“This will have to see you through until we grab something in town, OK?”

“Sure.”  Mandy answered him just before she breathed in another mouthful, making him chuckle at her while she just rolled her eyes at him playfully.

“Do you want to see what I have done at our place first, or do you want to go into town now?”

Watching her closely, he could not decide what she wanted to do first.  Perhaps she did not mind either way.

“Not sure, how about we go out first, and then we can spend the rest of the day at our place.”  Saying the words made him smile like an idiot.  It sounded so good when she said: ‘our place’ that he wanted her to say it over and over again.

He was happy when Mandy agreed to his suggestion, but he also did not miss the quick frown on Dinah’s face.  Sighing, Tyler felt glad that he was in such a good mood that Dinah’s concern for Mandy did not irritate him.

When he had stepped into the kitchen after coming out of Mandy’s room; Dinah had stiffened.  She had kept up a firm wall in her mind and his good manners were too ingrained for him to probe deeply into why she had tensed up like that.  Dinah had kept the conversation light but he had seen the way she kept glancing towards the door, waiting for Mandy to come in.  Now that Mandy was here, Dinah seemed more at ease, but she was still tense whenever he spoke and it was starting to bother him.  Holding back his irritation, he told Mandy to hurry up.  Why would she choose to start eating like a lady today of all days when normally she couldn’t breathe in her food fast enough?

And just as he was contemplating dragging her away, she went and proved again just how unpredictable she could be.

“So Mom, what do you think of his eyes?  Way out, right?”

Tyler felt like face-palming himself.

Of course Dinah was going to be all weird around him now that he had changed.  Again.  Mandy really knew him too well if she had guessed that he was totally clueless as to why her mother was behaving so strangely.  Her wolf would have sensed the change in him but would not know what and why it had happened.

Hell, he did not even know why it had happened.  Regardless; he was very pleased that it had happened.  He had never felt this balanced in his whole life and he imagined that the only way his newfound equilibrium could be improved upon; would be when he has completed the mating process with Mandy.

Dinah cleared her throat nervously, and flashed him a quick glance.  “Rather.  How did that happen?”

Tyler tried to organize his thoughts into a coherent way, but Mandy barged right through.  “Ty thinks his two halves MERGED.”

Tyler and Dinah both laughed at the way she said it and immediately the atmosphere relaxed.  He shot Mandy a loving and grateful look that she replied to with a saucy wink.  With one ear he listened as Mandy explained what they thought had happened while most of his mind was busy cataloging all the many reasons he was blessed to have her as his.

He realized now that he sometimes got so involved in the situation that he did not see what was happening right in front of him.  Luckily Mandy saw that her mother was unsettled and she knew straight away why.  Mandy was just so perfect for him.  The sound of their laughter brought him back from his mental walk-about.

“What?”  He asked; still feeling dazed from contemplating about how amazing Mandy is.

Mandy struggled very hard to keep the laughter from bubbling up. The goofy expression on his face was clearing up and changing to one of confusion.  She put down the empty cup and walked over to him.  With one hand she tenderly combed back a few strands of his hair off of his forehead.

“I love you.”  She said softly just before her lips brushed the spot between his eyes.

Tyler allowed himself a moment to bask in the knowledge that she loved him.  Then he stood up, said goodbye to Dinah and dragged Mandy to the car.

They spent more time in town than he thought they would, but it was just so much fun shopping for furniture with her that he could not stop.  He did remember to feed her when they passed a hot dog stand and he discovered he rather enjoyed kissing away the tiny bit of mustard on her lips.  Because it was rather late, he let Rudi know that he was going to keep Mandy with him and perhaps take her to a movie or something like that.

[Just have her back by midnight.]  Rudi replied absentmindedly.

At first Tyler felt slightly ticked off, but then remembered that Mandy was only sixteen.  Sighing, he twined his fingers in hers.

“What would you like to do before we have dinner; there should be enough time to see a movie?”

“Do you think we could just take a stroll in the mall and see the movie after dinner?  There is a new place that has the loveliest crockery and I would like you to look at it before I decide what to get.”

Kissing her fingers he smiled at her.  “Hmm, that should be fun.”

“Fun?”  She asked him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes. Shopping for stuff for our house with you is tons of fun.”  With one hand he unlocked the car and reluctantly let go of her hand.

The drive to the mall was short and silent as they both enjoyed the simple pleasure of being in each others company.  At the mall Mandy took him to the little boutique type shop that had a selected range in designs.  Tyler liked them all except for one ghastly looking pink mess and he nearly had a heart attack when Mandy told him that that particular one was her favorite.

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her in shocked surprise.  “It is?”  ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘it will mostly be covered in food; so if it makes her happy…’  He traced the pink swirly pattern that almost resembled melted ice cream with a big finger.

“If this is the one you want; this is the one we...”  An unknown voice interrupted him.

“But I thought you hated that one!”

Tyler swung his head around and saw a girl more or less Mandy’s age gaping at her while stealing glances at him.

“Abigail!”  Mandy stomped her foot and pouted at the girl.

Then the penny dropped.  Mandy had him fooled!

“Thank goodness.”  He muttered softly, but not soft enough.  Mandy heard and frowned at him.

The girl Abigail walked up to Mandy and gave her a hug.  A hug that Mandy at first did not return, but Abigail stubbornly refused to let go until Mandy returned the hug.

“Annoying, interfering friend.”  Mandy accused Abigail as they parted.

“Ah-ah-ah!”  Abigail corrected her.  “Annoying, interfering BEST friend.”

Mandy rolled her eyes, but eventually agreed.  “Annoying, interfering best friend.”

The best friend status reaffirmed, Abigail turned to him.  “So,” she asked while measuring him with her eyes; “is this him?”

Mandy only nodded her head, her eyes shining brightly.  Then her eyes almost popped out when Abigail unceremoniously thumped Tyler on his shoulder.

“That is for making her cry!”

Mandy pulled Abigail away from Tyler as she shot him an apologetic smile.  “Abigail!  That is long past already!”

Abigail sniffed disdainfully.  “Now, it is.”

Tyler could not help but smile, knowing that she had such a good friend outside the pack made him feel a lot better.  He had always known that the other kids her age had never understood why she had hung around him.  As a result, she did not have any real close friends at the pack except for his sisters; and they did not really count because they were practically family anyway.

“So, this is the friend I keep hearing about?”  Tyler repeated her words to Mandy.

Mandy nodded, pleased that she could finally introduce her best friend to the most important person in her life.  “Tyler, this is my best friend, Abigail Mathews; and Abigail; this is Tyler;” smiled up at him brightly; “my … boyfriend.”

To someone who did not know better, it would only seem as if she had paused for dramatic effect; but Tyler knew she had almost said ‘mate’.

He stretched his hand to her.  “I am very happy to have met you.  Eventually.”  He shook her small hand.

“Same here.”  Abigail said as she looked around the store.  “Come to choose your dinner service?”

“Yes!”  Mandy almost clapped her hands she was so excited.

Tyler watched indulgently as she and Abigail went through the different designs.  And although she was talking to her friend non-stop; she kept his hand in hers and checked him constantly to see his reactions.  In the end there were two designs that they both preferred, and Tyler told her to get a set of each.

“But that is silly.  What if the whole family gets together at our place?  We should rather get two of the same sets.”

Mentally Tyler counted how many people they were talking about.  When he got to thirty; after including some of his cousins; he stopped counting.  “You are right.  But two sets will not be enough.  How about we get five sets with ten settings each of the same, and then one more set of the other with just one setting of ten?”

Abigail made a choking sound.  “Fifty?”

“Sounds about right to me.”  Mandy agreed with him as she smirked at her friend.

After they had made their choice and informed the sales lady; Tyler paid for their purchase.  The lady told them that their order should be ready within five days and that they would deliver.

The three of them left the store and Mandy looked around.  “Are you here with your parents?”

“Yes.”  Abigail answered with a sigh.

Mandy laughed at her and tugged Tyler of to the other side he had been walking in.  When she reached a bookstore, Mandy had to drag Abigail in.  Once inside, she wandered up and down the isles until she found who she had been looking for.

“Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Mathews.”

“Mandy!”  The older lady called out; and wrapped Mandy in a warm hug.  Spotting her daughter, she burst out laughing.  “What did you threaten Abigail with to come in here?”

“Oh, nothing.”  Mandy said as Abigail’s father patted her on the head clumsily.

“Hello there dear.”

They chatted briefly before Mandy introduced him to Mr. and Mrs. Mathews.  Mr. Mathews scrutinized him for a while before shaking his head.

“He doesn’t look that old.”

Tyler flashed Mandy a quick look of worry, but she smiled and winked at him to reassure him.

“He is only twenty three Mr. Mathews.”

“Still,” Mrs. Mathews shook her head; “that’s seven years older.  Doesn’t that bother you?”  She did not give Mandy time to respond.  “Doesn’t it bother your parents?”

“No.”  Mandy shrugged.  “I have known Tyler my whole life; and so have my parents.”

“Kids today.”  Mr. Mathews mumbled as he pulled a book from the shelf.  “I should warn you that I know some very unsavory people who can take care of you if you hurt her again.”

“Henry!  You can’t go around making threats like that!”  His wife protested hotly.

“Humph!”  He snorted.  “It’s not a threat.  It’s a promise.”

Mrs. Mathews’ eyes almost popped out and she stuttered for words.

“Well, we will see you again sometime.”  Mandy interrupted.

“Abigail,” Tyler addressed the young girl; “if you do not have anything planned, would you care to join Mandy and myself.  We are going to have something to eat and then hope to catch a movie afterwards?”

Abigail shook her lightly.  “I don’t want to interfere with your time together.  You guys have fun.”

Tyler shook his head.  “No, I insist.  I would really like to get to know you better.”

It took a bit of convincing; but eventually Abigail agreed to have dinner with them.  She did however decline watching the movie with them as she had an early morning planned and did not want to stay out too late.

In the end, they just had a long dinner and by the time they dropped Abigail off at her home; Tyler felt that he honestly could get to like Mandy’s human friend.  They went straight home after that seeing as it was too late to go to the movies and be back before midnight.

Back at the pack grounds Tyler had some coffee with Mandy before he set off to his parents home.  His dad was still awake and they sat up and chatted a while as they discussed what had happened to him.  As with everything else, Alex did not know what advice to give.  He was just extremely grateful that Tyler did not try to shut him out.

Alex knew that Tyler felt much closer to Mandy than he did to him or Cassy, but that was to be expected after all.  He was aware that Cassy was slightly jealous of Mandy, but he thought it was only because Tyler was her eldest and although she loved her children equally, Tyler would always be special to both of them for completely different reasons.  A small part of him still ached that Tyler would not be alpha after him.  Tyler’s decision was the right one, no matter his feelings or opinion and Sean definitely fitted into the vacant position with such ease that he could not find any fault in Tyler’s decision.

Through the pack link, he tried so sense the extent of the change in Tyler; but after spending some time at it, he had to give up.  He could not get anything other than a sense of such depth that he felt small in comparison.

Shaking his head at Tyler he stood up.  “I can not get anything that will give me a solid answer.  I can sense that there is a wholeness where as with other shifters it is fairly easy to get a very distinct sense of the two different sides.  I also sense that the new unity has strengthened you.  Whether it is because it is now combined; or if it is intensified because it is combined is difficult to say because I have never really been able to test the limit of your strength before.”

Gripping Tyler’s shoulder, he gave his son a lopsided grin.  “In my honest opinion, you should do exactly what you have always done when you have discovered something new about yourself.  Nothing.  You said that you have found a balance; accept it.  Work with it.  Make it work for you.  You have always managed to sort through this type of situation before and I am positive that you can do it now.”

Tyler weighed his father’s words as they climbed up the stairs together.  As usual his father was right.  Not that he expected a major revelation; it was just good to know that he was not wrong.  And that he could still talk to his dad and discuss this type of thing with him.  Smiling, he suddenly realized something about the most important people in his life.

Mandy accepted him, unconditionally.  His father questioned him, making things clearer.  His mother challenged him, encouraging him to find a better path.  He could see a future for himself where one day he could find the questions and path on his own; but for now it was so good to know that he could still rely on his parents for that.

“Thank you dad.”  He said as they reached his room.

“Any time Tyler.  No matter how big or old you get.  When I see you, I still have that picture of the tiny baby I held in my arms for the first time.  You and your brothers and sisters.  That will never change for me.  I will always love you.”

“I love you too dad.”  Tyler said as he hugged his father tightly.  “G’night.”

Tyler spent the next three days with Mandy.  They spent a lot of time in their own place building day dreams of their future together.  On the morning of the fourth day Connell let him know that Quinn would be coming over to show him what they had come up with.  He would be going home for a short visit before joining them.

Quinn did not arrive before late that Friday afternoon.  Mandy had made arrangements with Abigail that they would be watching that movie they never got to see, so Tyler asked Quinn to join them.  The movie theatre they were going to; was next to an old music store and Quinn popped in there quickly to see if he could get his mother a CD she had been looking for.  By the time he rejoined them, Abigail had arrived and she and Mandy had gone to the ladies before they went into the theatre.

When the girls came out, Tyler and Quinn were standing in the queue to buy the snacks so Mandy and Abigail sat down on the fake leather chairs and waited for them.  Tyler was the first to spot them and he shouldered Quinn in the right direction.  He greeted Abigail and handed her a box of popcorn before introducing her to his cousin.

“Abigail, this is my cousin Quinn.”  He nodded his head in Quinn’s direction.

Quinn waited until the girl had rearranged her clutch bag and popcorn into one hand before stretching his hand out to her.

“Hey there.”  He said as he watched her lift up her face as she reached for his hand while she balanced the popcorn carefully.  They always managed to fill the boxes until they were overflowing.

“Hi Quinn.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Quinn hardly heard what she said.  He was too busy trying to keep his arms from folding around her and holding her as close to him as he could.