Liam Galvin's brown eyes scanned his emails on his smartphone in his hands as he sat in a chair just outside the terminal of Heathrow Airport, London, England, a little past midnight.

Rose Galvin's brown eyes never left her sketchbook as she drew a beautiful yellow tulle dress. "Dad, did we have to move into Briarwood Manor?" She questioned, setting her colored pencil down and gathering her black coil hair into a puffy bun.

Liam Galvin's brown eyes never left his phone's screen, his finger swiped emails sending them off to the trash. "It's not debatable," He replied mindlessly, glancing at his watch again as he tapped his foot restlessly on the floor. 

"Dustin, Tyler, and I are all part of this family. Shouldn't we have gotten a say? It isn't fair we've uprooted our whole lives just to move to a town I've never even heard of before." Rose asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Liam turned off his phone screen and slid it into his pocket. "I'm the adult and your father. Therefore, I make decisions based on what I feel is best. Moving to Briarwood opens new opportunities for us and offers us all a fresh start."

"I don't want a fresh start."Dustin Galvin tossed a yellow and red bouncy ball in the air and caught it in his hand whilst protesting loudly - becoming arduous for the rest of the family. "I don't want to live in an old, dusty manor- I don't want tooooooooo!" He whined, drawing out the last word.

"Grow up, Dustin. You're thirteen." Rose snapped, pulling her legs up onto the chair and popping a bubble from her gum. "Don't act like a baby and whine. It's unbecoming."

Dustin fidgeted with his watch, frowning at his sister's scolding, but chose to ignore it. "But-but, it doesn't have any modern commodities!" He cried out dramatically. "And we'll be sleeping in either the truck or the estate car!"

Liam looked over at Rose and Dustin, giving a heavy sigh as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. "Our bedrooms are our first priority. I wouldn't dream of forcing you to sleep in them the whole time." He reassured his son, a disapproving frown displayed on his lips.

"How long will that take?" Dustin asked, stopping in his tracks as he missed the ball. It rolled across the floor, and he dashed after it. "The manor has to be in horrid condition after being left vacant for many centuries." He scooped up the ball in his hand and walked back over to where his father was.

Liam sighed softly, looking down at his youngest, Tyler, who shifted on his  lap, starting now to snore a bit. "I'm not sure. According to your uncle, it could take a few days."

Dustin looked down at his brother, envy growing in his chest, his eyes narrowing. "I wish I could sleep like Tyler right now," He rubbed his eyes, putting his bouncy ball away, and curled into a ball on the chairs. "Why can't we stay at the hotel while you wait here. Rose could have watched us. She's nearly an adult."

Liam tapped his foot on the floor, the sound soft against the marble. "We've been through this," He began, his tone growing exasperated. "I don't feel comfortable leaving you in the hotel by yourselves."

"But why do we have to wait? I'm tired, Dad, it's past my bedtime! I ought to be sleeping right now since you're gonna make us get up early instead of letting us sleep in." Dustin pouted, his tone learning towards a whine while he slumped his shoulders.

Liam pressed his lips into a thin line and inwardly sighed. "The Montgomerys are flying in from America. The least we can do is greet them when they come off the plane no matter how late they arrive. They are part of our family now, so we ought to treat them as such, and I expect you two, and Tyler, to treat them respectfully."

Rose huffed softly, crossing her arms and slouching in her chair. "We could do that in the morning. It's not like we're going to start chatting with them and being all chummy. We hardly even know them, let alone spoken to them before the wedding."

Liam could see her point. It was reasonable, after all. "That is true. I would have liked for you three to have interacted more with Victoria and Edwin, but, out of respect for Emmaline, I honored her request to not attempt contact with them."

"I find that odd she chose to keep it from them, you'd think she would have given them ample time to adjust to having a boyfriend, then a fiancé, and then a husband, but she did not. What is her deal anyway?" Rose bluntly asked, crossing her arms over her chest with a challenging look on her face.

Liam thought about it for a moment, tilting his head back and forth. ‘I haven't given much thought to that. I wonder why Emmaline had kept it from them, I suppose I could ask her about it. Whether she'd tell me or not, I don't know, I just want to know why I hadn't gotten a chance before to meet them and get to know them.’ He pondered, his eyes turning towards the floor.

Dustin pulled his knees up to his chest after having sat down and put the ball on the chair beside him. "I don't think I can keep my eyes open any longer." He muttered, giving a wide yawn and covering his mouth up with his hand.  

Liam looked over at his son and pursed his lips. "I will let you sleep in if that helps. I wouldn't dare for you to not get the adequate rest you need to function." He hoped that his words would make his children feel a bit better and not so jade.

Dustin's eyes lit up like a candle in a dark room at his father's words. "Honestly? Thank you, Dad." He beamed brightly, giving a toothy grin. Suddenly, it fell as a thought popped into his head. "Would we have to clean every room every day?" He asked hesitantly, treading lightly on his question. 

Liam shook his head, giving an amused smile at his son's hesitant inquiry. "No, we won't have to clean them every day. We only dusted our house once a week to maintain the cleanliness or as needed throughout the week." He replied, patting his son's leg with a small smile.

Rose raised her eyebrows and played with her fingers. "Isn't the manor way too big just for us and the Montgomery's? That's only seven people in a manor could fit, what? Hundreds of people? It's better if we sold it off for someone else to handle."

"We are not selling the manor, end of story." Liam glanced at his watch again, tapping his foot impatiently. "Emmaline and I have talked about turning the manor into something that can help out Briarwood after we fully restore it back to its prime."

Dustin had wide eyes that began to sparkle. He straightened his posture from his slouched slicked. "What are you going to turn it into?" He asked, enthralled with the ideas popping up in his mind like popcorn.

Liam chuckled, shaking his head slowly while reaching out and giving his son's leg a pat. "That is for another time. Emmaline for the manor. I have yet to talk more about our ideas and what is most reasonable to use the manor for whilst keeping it as a historic landmark." 

"Aww, but I wanna know now." Dustin whined, slouching in his seat and slumping his shoulders. "I hate waiting. All we do is wait. We waited for the wedding. We waited to move. We are waiting for our stepfamily. Why do you have to wait? We spend all our lives waiting! It's exhausting." He asked, looking over at his father with puppy eyes.

Liam frowned, furrowing his eyebrows while looking at his son. "Patience is a virtue, Dustin," He reminded his son in a gentle voice, gently prodding him. "Good things come to those who wait."

Dustin gave a cheeky smile, perking up a tad bit. "Can you give me a little hint?" He cutely asked, inching his way closer to his dad as he sat on the edge of his seat. "Just a small hint? Or even a few hints of the ideas you've come up with so far?" He asked, his eyes widening in anticipation.

Liam shook his head, chuckling at how childish Dustin was acting. "Sorry, son, you will have to wait." He said, glancing at his watch once again, looking up for when the plane arrived. "Nothing is set in stone."

Rose groaned, slouching in her chair and crossing her arms again. "Blimey, that means more work for us," She complained, once again wearing a frown. "After school, in our spare time, during the summer and when we have a break, we will be using that time to work! The only time we won't be on Sabbath is that it isn't that a bit unfair?"

"I promise it'll all be worth it in the end." Liam flashed his children a smile. "You'll look back and regret ever complaining once the manor is completely fixed up and livable. You'll feel pride about it and see the fruits of our labor."

The intercom came on and announced that the plane from Little Rock, Arkansas to London, England was landing. 

Liam slipped his phone into his pocket, running a hand over his short black hair. He picked up Tyler as he stood up, and Rose and Dustin followed, getting to their feet. "Come on, let's get to the gate to greet them." He said, perking up at the thought of seeing Emmaline again.

They soon merged with a small group of people clustered around the gate, waiting for the plane occupants to come out.

The Montgomerys walked with the other passengers out of the plane and into the airport terminal. 

Victoria huffed, rubbing her eye with her hand before putting her cheek a few times. "I hate flying." She grumbled in a groggy voice, letting out a wide yawn. "My butt is numb, my legs are aching, my back hurts, and my body feels like I've been run over by a train. I feel worse than when I rode horseback and went kayaking in the span of two days."

"Brighten up," Emmaline smiled brightly as she looked around, hardly containing her excitement to see her husband. "You'll get to sleep when we get to the hotel. We'll even sleep in soft, comfortable beds. How does that sound?" She inquired, her voice seemed as lively and perky as her eyes did.

Victoria nodded sleepily over at her mother, not entirely as lively as her mother was. "Sounds good." She mumbled, pushing some hair from her face. "I can't wait to sink into the hotel room's fluffy bed and drift off to sleep and sleep until I'm no longer tired."

Liam waved vigorously at his wife as they walked through the gate. "Emma!" His bright voice called out, shifting Tyler in his arms so that both of them would be more comfortable.

Emmaline smiled widely at him, hugging him back. "Liam!" She gave him a long kiss, which made their kids cringe. "It has been such a long time. I've missed you so much. It's good to finally be back together again."

Liam chuckled, pulling away from the hug, and nodded. "It has been a long time, hasn't it?" He inquired rhetorically, his eyes never leaving Emmaline's. "How was the flight? I hope it wasn't too grueling, of course, I've ever been on a flight before, so I can't say one way or another."

Emmaline glanced at her children and weakly smiled. "Well," She began, looking back at Liam and finishing her reply. "Edwin seemed excited, Victoria complained the whole flight. I was neutral about it, but I could hardly wait to see you again." She adjusted her grip on her duffle bag. "I've missed you."

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes as she popped a bubble with her gum. "Can we go now? Some of us would like to get to the before the sun comes up." She asked, looking at them and putting her hands on her hips. 

"Yes, Rose, we will," Liam shifted his gaze from his Rose to his stepchildren. "Hey, kiddos, it's nice to see you again." He greeted, seeing as both Victoria and Edwin were clearly extremely exhausted and barely staying awake.

Edwin nodded, holding back a yawn, which was a pretty funny expression on his face. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Liam," He said, rubbing his eyes. "I can't believe we're really here!" He looked over at his sister, who was falling asleep, standing up. "Stay awake, sleepyhead." He poked her cheek a few times.

Victoria jerked awake, having dozed off for a moment. "Hmm?" She asked, disassociated for a moment. "Can we go now," She asked in a soft, whiny voice, yawning once again, this time a jaw hurting one. 'I can't believe I dozed off standing up.'

"Well, Rose, Dustin, and I will get your bags and load them for you." He said, looking at his wife. "Emma, will you take Tyler out to the black estate car parked in front?" He asked to hand the sleepy child to his wife and also handed her the keys. 

"Of course," Emmaline took Tyler in her hands and took the jingling keys from her husband with a smile. "Come on, Tyler," She mumbled softly, adjusting the seven-year-old against her chest. "Just be careful with Victoria's luggage. She's been anal retentive about it since we left. Heaven knows why." She said, beginning to walk to the entrance. 

Edwin followed behind his mother, leading Victoria, whom he had to flick on the forehead to keep awake. "Don't fall asleep in the middle of the airport." He glanced back at Liam, Rose, and Dustin, who were getting the bags from the baggage claim.

Victoria groaned, sluggishly following after Edwin, trying her best to keep awake even with the muggy and damp London air eloping her in an uninvited hug. 

Once to the estate car, Emmaline put Tyler in his booster seat, strapping him in and making sure he was as comfortable as she could get him. "You can sleep through anything, can't you?" She rhetorically commented with a chuckle looking at the sleeping boy who began to snore. 

She got into the passenger side, leaning over she put the keys in the ignition and turned it on. She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes for a moment as she rested her head against the window.

Edwin looked out the window at the dark, unfamiliar territory. "Mom?" He asked, gaining a hum of acknowledgment from his mother. "Did the movers put all the furniture and boxes from our house and Liam's house in the manor?" 

Emmaline looked in the rearview mirror at her son. "They did. It was account draining for both of us, but Liam's brother supervised the movers as well as countinghis the boxes and making sure the number we sent off had been delivered," She replied, hoping to put her son's mind at ease. 

Edwin gave yet another nod, closing his eyes. "Good to know. I do not want my bike to get damaged. It was my last gift from Dad before him -" He looked down at  his lap as his tone was as melancholy as the growing expression on his face.

Emmaline stretched her legs in front of her to the best she could as she listened to her son. "I wouldn't dream of letting anything happen to your bike." She asked, fixing the clip keeping her hair in its French twist. "Edwin, you do know when we have the manor fixed up and everything I'll have Cassie send Precious to us, right?" 

Edwin nods his head, glancing over at his sister, casting a sad expression. "I know that," He hesitantly replies, twisting his watch back and forth on his wrist. "But I don't think Victoria believes you, though."

Emmaline frowned a bit at his comment, letting out a huff and opening her mouth to reply but was interrupted by Liam waking up with the luggage. "Do you need help?" She inquired after opening the door and leaning her body out.

Liam shook his head, throwing her a smile as he loaded the suitcases onto the roof. "Oh, no, we can handle this. It's honestly not a problem." He flashed her a smile, and soon he slipped in and closed the door, starting to pull out of the parking lot after his children had gotten in and buckled up. 

"The hotel!" Dustin whispered/cried out as the hotel came into view after a while of driving on the road. "Sleep, here I come," He softly exclaimed, feeling a little burst of energy at the mere thought of finally going to bed.

Once he had parked in the parking lot of the hotel, he got out and walked over to where Tyler was. He unbuckled his youngest son and picked him up, carrying him inside the hotel and checking them in..

Rose and Dustin who had their duffle bags of their clothes and followed Emmaline, who pulled the luggage off the roof. who was right beside Liam.

Edwin struggled with waking up his sleeping sister. "Victoria!" He kept shaking her shoulder and poking her cheek rapidly. "Wake up, Victoria." He groaned, blowing in her face to keep her away, to which she simply groaned. "Victoria was here!" He further persisted in his poking and prodding his sister.

"I'm up, I'm up," Victoria commented,  her voice groggy with sleep as she yawned widely and rubbed her eyes with her palms. She sluggishly gathered her items and trudged after her mother. 

Once inside, Rose walked over to Victoria, who was constantly yawning. "Dad got us a room together. The boys will share a room, while Emmaline and Dad will have their own room." She informed the half asleep girl who kept patting her cheeks.

"Oh goodie," Victoria deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest and yawning once again. She couldn't say she was pleased to share a room with her stepsister, who was practically a stranger to her. She couldn't only imagine the questions she'd ask once they were away from the others.

〰🔘〰🔘〰🔘〰🔘〰🔘〰🔘〰

A/N:
Sorry if it took a bit too long to publish, but I have been rather busy and had no motivation to do anything. I guess you can say I procrastinated a bit, trying to work on some other things I have been doing and writing. But I still forced myself to do it anyway and I am glad to have written it and yes I have added a bunch of it since I saved it all.

Chapter Talk:
The Montgomery's have arrived in England! This is the beginning and an exciting time there, full of -- um let's leave the anticipation there. But first they have to get over the jet lag, and get everything all settled in to the manor before things can start to happen.

I also have to admit, Edwin and Victoria are my sister and I when we get along, however she never lets me lean on her, but I let her do that sometimes. So their relationship is kinda based on some things my sister and I go through together.

Thanks for reading!