"Are you sure it's alright for me to come along?" Tessa asked for the umpteenth time as Daniel put the bags into the back of his Honda, putting his hand on the trunk before sighing with his head lowered.

"Would you rather I leave you here alone for ten days, huh, Bambi?" He countered her question, closing the trunk of the car.

"No, but-"

"-Tessa you've asked me this question over a thousand times since the last week and my answer won't change." Daniel tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she stood before him in yoga pants and a large sweatshirt, fiddling with her fingers. "You're more than welcome at home,"

Fidgeting uncomfortably for a second - not entirely believing him - she moved along nonetheless when he nudged her towards the passenger side of the car before he settled behind the wheel. Starting the vehicle, they began to drive down the road with the sound of the radio between them.

"So, tell me about your family," Tessa spoke up after they had exited the busy city traffic, the cars slowly thinning out around them. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to my parent's farm in Virginia," Daniel informed her. "And well, as I've told you, I'm the youngest of fiv-four. Youngest of four brothers."

"My eldest brother is Anthony, or as we call him: Tony. He's married to Harper and they both have a beautiful baby girl named Olivia,"

"You're an uncle?"

"Yes I am," He grinned with pride. "Then there is Lucas with his wife, Allison, and then there is Nathan with his current girlfriend Delilah." Daniel informed, changing lanes.

"What do they do?"

"Well, Tony is a professor of History at George Washington University in D.C. His wife, was a reputation manager once, but decided to stay at home once Olivia was born. Luke is an architect, working with NK Architects in New Jersey, meanwhile Allison is an Interpreter, working for some company whose name I can never remember for the life of me."

Tessa had to giggle at his words as a small smile overcame his face before he continued to tell her about his family.

"Nate is a Sport Agent for the New York Mets while Delilah works in the fashion industry. My parents retired a couple of years back. My dad was a diplomat while my mom was a police officer."

"An officer?"

"Yup. It's because of her that I chose my career. Following in her footsteps."

"That's...unexpected. A woman for an officer."

"It's actually not so uncommon, my current partner is a woman." He enlightened as Tessa looked at him surprise. "We're a very feminist family, we had to be even if we didn't want to because of mom's iron fist over our heads." He stated lightheartedly at the memory of his family.

"I'm joking. No, we believe that a woman deserves just as much right as we men do."

"You must have had quite the childhood, then." Tessa mused as she snuggled into her seat. The laugh which escaped him gave her the answer she had thought, the smile soft and nostalgic.

"As kids...we were always at each other's throats." He reminisced. "Beat the crap out of each other, and we all had our preferred weapons, too."

"Ouch."

"Tony use to come at us with an encyclopedia that must have weighed a ton or something, Luke had a wrench on most occasions, or whatever tool he found, while Nate used to hit with a baseball bat."

"And you?"

"Me? Well..." He grinned deviously as she watched him in amusement. "I always had my hands around mom's metallic baton."

Tessa visibly winced before laughing uneasily. "You guys didn't hit each other, right?"

"Hit each other?" Daniel echoed in disbelief. "Baby, the hospital had a special hotline just for us Robertson boys."

The two continued talking with Daniel telling her small things about his family, like how they kept on moving and had hit a rough patch in the middle when work wasn't going too good. He told her the story of how his parents had simply planned Anthony and Lucas, and assumed for Nathan to be a girl, refusing to be told the gender, while Daniel himself was a surprise.

"So you were a mistake?"

"A "regret" if I am to believe what my elder brothers tell me," He laughed. "God, I miss them."

They talked for a while on the drive until a lull fell in the conversation, the only sound between them being that of the music playing on the radio. The gentle rumble of the car and soft music forced Tessa to feel drowsy, her eyes coming to a close without her realizing it.

She had no idea how long she had been asleep but jumped awake when she realized the car had come to a halt and thought they had arrived. Sitting up in the seat she rubbed her eyes and looked up, her gaze turning confused to see the sunset before her, having sworn she had been asleep for only a few minutes. She looked around at the gas station before her and realized the driver's side was vacant of Daniel's presence. Looking towards the store, she found him stepping out with a coffee in hand and typing on his phone, having changed from his sweatpants and t-shirt into denim jeans with a white t-shirt under a grey button up left open over it, his sunglasses glinting in the setting sun.

"Morning," He greeted her once he settled behind the wheel, starting the car. "You've been asleep for the past 3 hours,"

"3 hours?"

"Yup," Tessa scratched at her hair in confusion, having sworn she had just been asleep for no more than 10 minutes. "How long until we get there?"

"30-40 minutes and then we'll be there,"

Nodding, she sat back in her seat, silently watching the scenery pass them, noticing how they left the city behind them once more and drove past small towns for a while before they finally approached a large two-story house with windows covering the front and a triangular tiled roof, a wooden patio with a swing and a sunroom extending from the house to her left.

Tessa noticed the various cars lining the driveway, including trucks, sedans, and a jeep. Although, she was a little more concerned about the fact that Daniel was practically jumping in his seat, a huge grin on his face as he turned off the engine and jumped out the car. The girl stepping out and calling after him that the bags are still in the trunk, but her calls met a deaf ear as he bounded up the stairs and onto the patio. Knocking at the door, he was jumping on the balls of his feet. With a defeated sigh, she followed after him but stopped mid-way when a cacophony of sounds reached her.

The cry of "Danny", dogs barking, and jumbled chatter along with the babbling of a child. Looking up at the patio she watched how Daniel was being tackled by various people as they all laughed and talked together, five dogs circling at their feet and barking up at them before the men pulling away as a woman in her mid-forties stood before them with her hands on her hips, an amused smile on her face and her shoulder length blonde hair pulled into a messy ponytail at the back of her head.

"Daniel," She smiled at him as the man's smile grew wider, if that was possible.

"Mama," He grinned, leaning down to dwarf her frame in a hug. "Pops," He pulled away from her and hugged the broad build man beside her.

"Tessa," Daniel's voice called out to her as she jumped up in surprise, looking up at all the eyes looking at her, her heart instantly dropping to her feet in her fright.

"Oh! Come here!" Daniel's mom bounded down the stairs and walked over to the girl as she resisted the urge to run the other way, taken aback by the older woman's arms around her. "Welcome to our humble abode,"

"Thank you," She managed out in a small voice, her cheeks flushing in her embarrassment.

"Aren't you a precious little thing?" She chuckled and led her towards the patio and into the house, the smell of pot roast being the first thing she noticed followed by the changing lights of the muted T.V playing with a little girl sitting on the rug and bubbling with joy.

"I'm Andrew," The broad man with the grey hair and welcoming blue eyes introduced himself, holding out his hand towards her with a wide smile and Tessa realized that Daniel had the exact same smile. "Their dad,"

"Hello," She took hold of his large hand, noticing how tiny she was compared to him and offered a polite smile. "I'm Tessa,"

"Welcome, Tessa,"

"Thank you,"

"Bambi," Daniel called out to her as she turned back towards him, finding him at her back before he grasped her shoulder and turned her to be facing the other people gathered. "This is Tony and his wife, Harper," He gestured to the man with the spiked blonde hair and glasses and the woman with flowing golden hair and grey eyes crinkled at the edges with her smile.

"Hello," She greeted with a smile, holding out her hand to them.

"Oh, we're huggers here, sweetheart," Harper laughed and wrapped her arms around her.

"That's Lucas" Daniel pointed her towards a daunting looking man with brown hair and corresponding eyes looking at her with an unnerving gaze, a dark stubble sported across his jaw and a scar across his eyebrow, his arm wrapped around a woman's waist. "And his wife, Allison," She was beautiful with a glowing complexion and brown wavy hair and welcoming chocolate eyes, a wide smile sported on her lips as Tessa was taken aback by how opposite they looked. Him in dark jeans and a black button up while Allison wore a vibrant floral dress.

Tessa didn't even get a chance to speak before both Allison pulled her in for hugs, the girl chuckling uneasily before pulling away and taking a step back, not used to so many hugs and bumping into Daniel's chest.

"That's Nathan and-" Daniel trailed pointing towards another couple.

"Delilah," The girl introduced and for some unknown reason, Tessa felt very self-conscious before her. She could not deny that she was the most beautiful out of all the woman before her with porcelain-like skin, plump pink lips and wide grey eyes with her hazel hair pinned back, wearing a beautiful emerald blouse with a black pencil skirt. "Pleasure meeting you Tessa," She smiled and Tessa could feel her cheeks flushing before nodding wordlessly.

Nathan on the other hand looked much like Luke, with serious expressions and brown hair and eyes, but he on the other hand had a longer face structure and much more welcoming smile than the older brother.

Once all the introductions were made, Tessa realized that she was very much out of place in a large sweatshirt and yoga pants with everyone dressed like they were all going out.

"Daniel," She whispered and tugged at his arm while everyone was talking to each other. "Is there somewhere I could get changed?" She asked when he leaned down.

Nodding he pointed her to a room which was going to be hers. 

It was the only bedroom on the ground floor with her bags already in there and had grey walls with a queen sized bed against the center of the wall to her left, covered in white sheets with various hues of pastel yellow pillows and a flower on the wall above the bed. There was a window before her covered by white curtains and looking out at the garden, a vanity table beside the door and another door leading into the washroom with wardrobes inside it.

Closing the door, she was momentarily taken aback by the yellow wreath on the back of the door but couldn't help and smile at how color coordinated it all seemed. Pulling open her luggage she pulled out clothes for herself before grabbing her toiletry pouch. Taking a quick shower, she got changed into a blue dress with white daisies all over it, a brown belt cinched around her waist and a white cardigan over it. Brushing the tangles out of her hair, she calmed herself and stepped out of the room, jumping back to see a black tricolor dog sitting before her.

Holding her breath, Tessa froze in her place and watched the dog tilt its head to the side, his big brown eyes looking at her with interest.

A small shriek escaped her when the dog stood from his seated position and approached her as she grasped the door frames to keep herself from falling or running away. He sniffed around her feet as she tried her hardest not to shake, feeling his fur lightly brush against her bare legs.

"Oscar," A voice called from down the hall and instantly the dog's attention was at the man at the end of the hallway. "Come here, Oscar," Daniel grinned at the Australian Shepherd and patted his thighs, the dog yapping in joy and running towards the police officer, jumping onto him and licking him.

"I missed you too, yeah, I missed you too," He cooed at the dog, "Who's a good girl? You are! Yes, you are!" Daniel got down to his knees and ruffled her fur, the dog wagging its tail with joy before nibbling at the treats in his hand.

"You alright?" He asked Tessa without looking up from the dog, the girl clutching onto the frame to keep standing with a hand against her chest.

"I'm fine," Her voice came out shrill before she cleared her throat and nodded. "I'm fine,"

"Come here," He stood up and beckoned her forward.

Hesitantly, she made her way to him, almost jumping back when Oscar stood up again.

"Come here, Bambi," Daniel laughed and grabbed hold of her arm, the girl struggling against him and wanting to run. "Hey, hey, hey! You trust me, don't you?" He held her shoulders and asked her, Tessa swallowing before nodding.

"Then trust me on this," He told her, making her stand with her back to his chest before taking hold of her hand and holding it before his dog, noticing her tense when Oscar stepped forward to sniff her. "Breath, she won't do anything, I promise."

Letting out a heavy exhale she shrieked and nearly jumped out of her skin when the Australian Shepard licked her hand, rubbing her head against her palm, wanting her to scratch her behind the ear. Letting out a shaky breath, she gently massaged her fingers through the dog's fur before scratching it behind the ear, the dog wagging its tail in joy with her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

A breathless laugh escaped Tessa to see the dog enjoying herself.

"See," Daniel chuckled beside her ear. "Nothing happened,"

After having been introduced to everyone once more and Tessa ensuring she knew everyone's name, she was introduced to the dogs. Her throat ran dry to see four more dogs before her, but for some odd reason Oscar stood beside her throughout the time she was being introduced to the parent's black and white border collie, Anthony's German Shepard, Lucas's black Rottweiler, and Nathan's brown Doberman Pinscher, she even jumped once or twice when Oscar began growling at the Rottweiler.

"Ceaser," Lucas's deep baritone spoke disapprovingly before the dog simply nudged her hand with his head, allowing her to pet him.

Tessa sat with everyone and talked to Daniel's family, initially having remained silent and watching in fascination as the police officer coddled the little infant girl in his arms, finding out she was Tony's and Harper's daughter, Olivia.

Eventually, she got dragged into the conversation as well, realizing that despite their large and intimidating looks, the brothers were all sweethearts – not only to their significant others' but to her as well – and she couldn't help but blush and smile every once in a while. Luke and Tony have taken an instant liking to her as did all the girls, but she was a little concerned about Nathan given the way he kept moving and fidgeting, seemingly on edge.

They all had a lavish dinner with pot roast, garlic bread, mashed potatoes, and gravy; and they even had an apple pie for dessert. Everyone eating and laughing together as Tessa couldn't help but marvel at how homely she felt and how cozy and welcoming everyone was.

It wasn't until Nathan stood up did things settle down.

"So I have kind of been waiting for everyone to get together," He chuckled looking back at his girlfriend who blushed delicately. "So I have news to share,"

"You got fired," Lucas spoke behind his beer bottle, the younger one shooting him a dirty look while Tony slapped him on the shoulder with the back of his hand.

"Luke, be nice," He scolded. "You're pursuing your Ph.D.?" He inquired.

"Not everyone is a nerd, Tony," Daniel shook his head at his brother.

"It's Doctor Tony to you,"

"Then it's officer to you, doc,"

"Oh! Shut up you three!" Delilah laughed at them, standing up when Nathan held out his hand to her.

"We're engaged," Nathan laughed with a bright red face as they showed everyone the white gold and solitaire diamond ring on her left ring finger. "We're to get married,"

An uproar of joy filled the room, everyone getting up and congratulating the couple, Tessa watching the mother give her son a teary eyed hug and clutching onto Delilah tightly.

"Welcome to the family," She sniffled, hugging the girl to her, and Tessa smiled before noticing Andrew and Lucas exchanging money from the corner of her eye, watching as Daniel stood beside his father and held out his hand as Andrew placed half the earnings in his hand, both of them smirking before pocketing the money.

"Congratulations," Tessa smiled at the couple as they both nodded, Delilah, pulling her in for a hug as she gasped before laughing and hugging back.

"A toast!" Daniel exclaimed over everyone, holding up his beer bottle as everyone held up their own, Tessa holding her glass of water in hand. "Nate, cherish her because she is way out of your league," He teased as everyone laughed.

"Actually, he's out of my league," Delilah retorted to Daniel's toast as people chuckled.

"May you two live a happy and healthy life together and have lots of kids," He grinned as the couple rolled their eyes at him. "To Nathan and Delilah!" Daniel raised his bottle, everyone following his lead.

"To Nathan and Delilah!" Rung through the lounge as they all clinked their drinks together before taking a swig, huge smiles on everyone's faces before hoots broke out when the newly engaged couple kissed each other, Tessa unable to contain her enjoyment, laughed and clapped along with the others.

Feeling right at home between them all.