"Ah, I see Maggie found you." My mom said once we got to the table. Maggie had moved off my shoulder and was currently nestled in my hood. She used to do this a lot when she was a kitten.

"Yeah, how has she been?" I asked.

"I imagine she's missed you terribly." She laughed a bit. "She even sleeps in your bed every night."

I shook my head. I felt my old cat purring on my neck.

"So," my father started, "who's this?" He gestured over to Tyler.

"I'm Tyler. Her, uh, boyfriend." He stated.

My mom nodded approvingly. "Very handsome."

"Thank you ma'am." He smiled.

She nodded and muttered an 'excuse me' as she left the room. She came back with a lunch. It was some sort of sandwich and some salad. I knew for a fact whatever was in that sandwich was homemade, or at the very least, from our neighbor, an old woman who spent her days gardening.

"Well, what have you been up to since you left?" My father looked at me expectedly.

I shrugged. "Oh, nothing too exciting. I work at an office in Los Santos," when I mentioned Los Santos, their eyes went wide.

"Los Santos? Honey, that's a dangerous place."

I shook my head. "It's not too bad." Silence. "Anyway, so Tyler and I called you the other day," her eyes went a little wide, "and, you know. After that, Tyler encouraged me and took me to visit you. I can't thank him enough."

"Oh, honey. You could've visited anytime, our arms are always open."

"I know."

There was a bit of silence as everyone was busy eating. I was in the middle of a bite when my mom spoke up again.

"So, can we be expecting grandkids anytime soon?"

As soon as those words left her mouth, I inhaled what was in my mouth, causing me to go into a coughing fit.

Tyler started patting my back. "G-grandkids?"

"Well, why not? I was twenty-three when I had you. You're twenty-three."

I shook my head. I glanced at Tyler, who had a goofy smile on his face. Clearly, he was enjoying this. "Sorry, Mom. I don't think that will happen anytime soon. I'm very happy at my job and that wouldn't be fair for the child if I spent more time at an office than with them." I paused. "And like you said, Los Santos isn't a good place, and it would be worse for a child."

She seemed to take this into consideration. "Well, we could always help. Or you could move back here. Maybe not in this house, because I know you like your privacy, but perhaps somewhere near. I know Mrs. Miranda is moving soon, and she likes you, so perhaps you could swindle down the price a little bit." She winked at that last part.

I laughed. "Thank you, but I'm pretty happy where I am."

She nodded. "Well, you should visit more often. Feel free to bring Tyler along anytime."

...

I said my final goodbyes to my family, and closed the car door behind me. Tyler got in a few seconds later.

"Hey," he said gently. "How are you feeling."

I smiled. "That went a lot better than I thought it would." I laughed. "Besides the baby part."

He nodded. "Not right now. A gang is no place for a child."

I nodded in agreement. I didn't like the 'Not right now' part, as that implied later, and I don't see myself with a child. Ever.

"I kind of feel bad." I sighed. "It's like 'Hey! Haven't seen you for nine years, but here I am!' And they just accepted me. Not even the least bit mad."

He patted my leg. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"I feel the need to have some sort of punishment for doing that. I can't imagine having a child disappear for that many years. Thinking they're dead. All that jazz." I sighed and looked out the window. "This blows."

"At least you got to see them again." Tyler paused. "Shit!" He hit the steering wheel. "Evan is going to be pissed."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"He keeps track of all the members' by their phones. I didn't turn off tracking, so he knows where we went. He knows that's your family's home." He shook his head. "We're not supposed to have connections to our family. That's one of his more important rules."

...

"Why the hell were you guys with her family?" Evan's voice was loud, and it made me flinch. "Pip, you're new, so consider this a warning. Tyler, I expect you to follow the rules."

"Don't yell at him." I spoke up between his lectures. "It's my fault. I was mad, and he wanted to cheer me up. If anything, it's my fault for being pissy."

He shook his head. "Whatever. Go to your rooms. Now."

We walked towards where the rooms were. "Since when did he sound like a nagging mom?" I joked.

Tyler sighed. "I don't know." He stopped in front of my door. "Guess I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, see you later." I quickly pecked his lips before closing the door.

_____

I'm sick. :(