Lizzy and Tommy were ten years old by now, Allie seven and Zane five. Newt hadn't changed a thing. He literally had the exact same face! And Tommy was getting more stubborn through the years, which made me a bit scared on how he would act during his puberty.

Just as always, Lizzy stole Allie from Minho and put her on her lap, eating together. Logan turned out to be very happy with his kid and hadn't got angry once, but that also could've been because Zane was a very nice kid, though he talked your ears off like Liana. He had blue eyes like Logan and red hair like Liana, Allie had beautiful black hair like Minho, but just longer, and she had green eyes like Mivy.

Lizzy was almost Sonya's twin and Tommy, well, he was a male me, yet his personality was a mix of Newt, Thomas, and Minho, so I guessed they had a lot of influence on him. Lizzy was more like me.. quite sensitive, reticent, but kind.

"Tommy, don't throw the food." Newt ordered sweetly during dinner.

Tommy threw the food into Minho's face.

"I think he took his name a little too seriously and took over Thomas' way of listening when someone says something like, 'don't look back'." Minho blurted out, making all of us laugh as Minho wiped the smashed potatoes off his face.

"Don't hurt your sister." Newt added when Tommy was about to pinch Lizzy. And he did it anyways. "Tommy!"

Lizzy crossed her arms angrily after she gave Tommy a push too.

"Tommy, don't you-." Too late, he already pushed back ten times harder and if Lizzy didn't fall into my arms, she would've fallen off the bench.

"Tommy!"

"Tommy this, Tommy that." He mimicked, giving some of us a dirty glance before rushing away.

"I'll go after him." I said before Newt could. Soon I arrived in our hut, where I found Tommy sitting in the corner. His eyebrows furrowed deeply when he saw me and he pulled his knees up to his chest.

"You alright, buddy?" I bent down in front of him.

Tommy scoffed. "Just go bloody scream at me again."

"Why would I scream at you?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Cause everyone does when I do something."

"Then maybe you should listen to Dad." I suggested, giving him a crooked smile.

He didn't smile. "I bet Dad was just the same as me."

"The same?"

"Stubborn, annoying, and making a lot of trouble."

I sighed. "First of all, you're not annoying at all, Tommy." My heart always broke when I heard my kids talk about themselves like that.. kind of my worst fear, them ending up like me, with the same scars. "You're wrong, though. He wasn't the same."

"But he couldn't always be kind!"

"Yet he was." I smiled. "You know, Tommy. The way we grew up was way different than you two. We had to take care of ourselves from a young age, especially Dad, so he didn't have much time to have a fun teenage life in which he could do anything he wanted.. get drunk, party, go out.. stuff like that wasn't for us."

"Are you trying to flex?" Tommy grumbled.

I chuckled, but soon stopped. "I wished I had a life like you guys, trust me."

"Fighting Grievers, running in a maze, and using guns sounds pretty cool to me."

"Until you lose almost every single friend." I lowered my voice. "It's not as fun as it sounds."

Tommy scooted a bit so I had the chance to sit next to him. "Which friends did you lose?"

I swallowed. "Chuck. My cousin."

"You had a cousin?"

"Had, yes." I muttered.

"What happened to him?"

My eyes widened a bit. Telling Tommy about Gally killing Chuck wouldn't make him much more comfortable around Gally. "He got shot." I paused. "We lost our leader in the Glade, two of my best friends.. Clint and Jeff, Zart, Winston, Teresa, and almost me."

"You?"

I moved my shirt down a little bit and pointed at my scar of the knife, where all my skin was tightened a bit. "You see this?"

"Yeah." Tommy stared at it with wide eyes, face paling.

"You know the Flare, right?"

"Right."

"I had it." I started. "And I was slowly turning into one of those Cranks.. told Dad to kill me before I turned crazy all the way, but of course, he didn't accept that."

"What happened?"

"We were in the city I told you about. Dad was dragging me until he lost power, and-."

"Can he seriously not drag you?"

"Not as easy when I was resisting and not helping him walk at all." I smiled. "So he dropped me, I turned into a Crank for a few seconds and started fighting. Sometimes my mind would clear and I could act normal, until at some point I took a knife."

"Did you try to kill Dad?" Tommy gasped a bit.

I bit my lip. "When the Crank took over I tried to hurt Dad yes..." I trailed off, not knowing if I would tell a ten year old kid about everything.

"And what if your mind cleared?"

I sighed. "Well, you know, Tommy. Would you like to be a Crank?"

"Absolutely not." Tommy used one of his skills, talking British like Newt.

I laughed quickly. "I didn't either."

I didn't continue talking and waited for Tommy to realize what was I was trying to say.
"Did you try to— with the knife— yourself?" He stammered, the horror in his eyes.

I looked down in shame. "Tried, yes."

"And the stab in your chest then? Who did that?"

"I couldn't really tell." I muttered. "I only know that I was swinging the knife around and trying to hit Dad, until it landed in my chest when we bumped into each other."

Tommy's face was pale for a second. "Maybe I don't want to fight Cranks."

I scoffed. "Good that. Now, ready to go back again?"

Tommy pouted. "Only if I get to sleep on Dad's place tonight."

I shook my head. "We're not gonna threaten with conditions here. I thought you were a tough kid who can easily live without his parents, hmm?"

"I can!" Tommy lied, crossing his arms. "Your bed is just more comfortable and besides, you get to sleep next to Dad every single day."

"I don't think he even fits in your bed, honey." I laughed.

"Sucks for him!" Tommy jumped up from his seat. "I'm sleeping next to you tonight!"

And then he rushed away, leaving me with a smile planted on my face. He always managed to surprise me. I sat down with the others again, questions getting thrown at me. I assured everything was completely fine and soon finished my food.

"By the way, you're sleeping in Tommy's bed tonight." I grinned at Newt, eyes twinkling.

His eyebrows scrunched like always. "Why's that?"

"Tommy claimed your place."
Newt raised his eyebrows, his expression just enough for me to understand he did not like the idea, but would do it anyways.

"If that makes him happy." Newt shrugged before he continued talking to Allie, who sat on Minho's lap. Zane was playing with Liana's hair and she enjoyed it all too well.

~

"I want to sleep here too!" Lizzy pouted when Tommy and I arrived in the bed.

"You two are ten years old." I sighed.

"And you're an adult." Tommy seemed quite proud of his comeback. "So I think you can easily go without Dad for one bloody night, Mom." He paused, seeming thoughtful. "And that sounded very wrong."

"It's fine by me. Just ask Dad first."

Thomas cheered and ran over to Newt. Not even a second later he came back, a grin planted on his face. "He said it was fine!"

"He did?"

Thomas nodded deeply and jumped in the bed, Lizzy following. I shook my head, laughing at their craziness as I lay down too.

"One story? Please?" Lizzy pouted while Tommy made a beg movement with his hand.

"Dad's better at telling stories." I confirmed. "Want him to tell you one?"

"Okay." They nodded. In just a second Thomas pulled Newt in the bed too. Lizzy didn't hesitate to sit down on his lap. "Story, Dad."

"About what?" He chuckled.

"The Glade!"

"No! The Scorch!"

"Glade!" Tommy protested.

Lizzy gave him a push. "Scorch is more interesting!"

"Nerd!"

"Guys. If you keep going like this I won't tell a story." Newt said sternly. "Love, you give us an idea." He looked at me.

Before I could reply, Tommy did. "What about the things you did when you were our age?"

"Huh?" We frowned.

"Right now we're ten. What did you guys do when you were ten?" Lizzy added.

I swallowed as Newt started explaining he couldn't remember and how that was possible, but I only thought of how my old habit of cutting started at the age of then.

"What about you, Mom?" A shook on my shoulder woke my up from the shock.

"Sorry, what did you say, honey?" I looked down at Tommy.

"Do you remember what you did when you were ten?"

I couldn't lie to my kids, but they also couldn't know the horrible truth. "As I told Lizzy once.." I looked at the girl. "I'll tell you when you're thirteen."

"What's so special about thirteen?" Lizzy threw her head against Newt chest. "I'm curious!"

Newt turned nervous too. "Cause, love.. you're, first of all, too young. And I feel like our lives, or maybe just mine, actually started when I was thirteen because that's the only moment I could start remembering stuff again."

"I'm not too young." Tommy pulled a blanket over his body.

Suddenly Newt bursted out, raising his voice slightly. "If we tell you guys all the bloody things that happened to us since the moment we could remember, you'd be hiding under that blanket right now, Tommy. Trust me. I do not want to ruin your childhoods with the stupid stuff any of us did to ourselves. You should be living a nice life in the Safe Haven now, and not worry about what we, or I, did in the past." He moved Lizzy off him and got up. "Night."

A bit taken aback I watched Newt walk away, his limp very visible. I always noticed that. Whenever he was stressed or upset, his limp turned more visible.

"It's okay, guys." I whispered once I saw the worried faces on my kids. "Dad just doesn't want to scare you with the stories."

They just nodded and crawled under the blanket more. Tommy scooted toward me until he hit my body. "Night, Mommy."

~

"Wooh!!" Tommy screamed in the morning, three years later. "I'm thirteen!"

"Me too!" Lizzy yelled, bouncing on the side of Newt and I our bed.

"From above!" Tommy didn't hesitate to jump right on top of Newt. "Dad, it's our birthday!"

He groaned in pain, but soon fully woke up. "Happy birthday, love.. and love."

"Presents?" Tommy blurted out, staring around suspiciously.

I took two presents out of a drawer. I handed one to Tommy, who ripped it open immediately, and the other to Lizzy.

Tommy gasped loudly. "A pocket knife!" He inspected the thing we got from Vince.

Lizzy stayed silent and just attacked Newt with hugs. "Put it on, please." She peeped, excited about the golden necklace we made her.

I smiled, wishing them happy birthdays too. Later, right before Newt, Tommy, and Lizzy ran out of the hut, I asked Tommy to come talk for a second, which he agreed too.

"Alright." I motioned at the knife in his hands. "You get to keep that thing, but you gotta promise me one thing, Tommy."

"Which is?"

"Don't you ever, and I'm serious.. don't ever use that knife for something else than opening a package or cutting something other than a living thing. You got that?"

I was frightened by giving Tommy a knife, but also learned I had to trust them and not everyone would slip into my old habits when they got a knife.

"I promise, Mom." Tommy nodded. "I won't use it on a living thing."

"Good. Now let's celebrate your party, shall we?"

When we walked outside, Lizzy was already talking with Liana. They grew a good bond through the years. Allie sat next to Mivy, ten years old, and Zane, the eight year old, just ran around a bit.

"How can thirteen year old kids be this hyperactive?" I laughed.

"I think because you're their mom, and Chuck is your cousin, and he was also like thirteen years old, and most likely hyperactive too.. so that's why." Newt replied with a smile.

"Makes sense."

~

The years went on and the kids grew up, which was definitely noticeable. Puberty hit them hard, and maybe not in the best way.

By the time Tommy was fifteen, he got very stubborn and managed to get into a fight with at least one person every day.. and especially Newt was target, though they always made it up after.

And Lizzy turned very.. reticent. She barely came out of her room and if she did, she was either forced or it was time for a meal.

Those things broke me. It was nothing I had ever wished or even imagined for. I also totally forgot about the things I promised telling the kids after they turned thirteen.. until Lizzy sort of reminded me while Tommy and Newt were having a bonfire with Minho and Thomas.

"Mom?" She walked out of her room, head down and an oversized sweater covering half of her body.

"Yeah, honey?" I put my stuff down.

"Can we talk?" It was barely a whisper that came out of her mouth. I just nodded and motioned at the bed, not wanting to be too sticky on my daughter.

Together we sat down, our hands soon connecting. I waited patiently, my heart breaking by even seeing some tears run down Lizzy's cheeks. Something for sure was wrong.

"I did something." Lizzy talked quiet, still not daring to make eye contact.

Then my heart broke like the many times it did, but this it felt so real when Lizzy rolled up her sleeve and showed some fresh made cuts. The tears already burned in my eyes. My worst fear happened. My girl harmed herself, yet she did tell me.

"Oh, my love." I bit my lip and wrapped both of my arms around Lizzy as sobs started to escape from her mouth.

"Are you angry now?" She cried.

I abruptly stopped the hug and put my hands on her shoulders. "No. I'm not angry at you."

It was hard to deal and reply with. I simply didn't know what to do, so eventually just imagined what I would like the most.

"Do you want to tell me why you did that to yourself, sweetie?" I blinked some tears away. It would be worse for Lizzy to see me crying about her.

"I.. I don't know." She sobbed and clenched around my shirt. "Maybe because I thought- I-." She sniffed, cutting herself off.

"What were you thinking?" I sweetly wondered.

"I feel bad for you and Dad." Lizzy cleared her throat lightly. "Because you went through so much and Tommy and I- we.. we're acting like literal spoiled brats. We don't talk much and if we do, it's mostly fighting! But you only try your bests." She buried herself in my chest.

My voice broke multiple times as I talked. "You're not acting like spoiled brats, Liz. It's normal. You're in puberty and things aren't always easy. It's okay to feel down sometime." I paused. "And the fighting.. who cares? It might be more fun to laugh instead of fight, but it doesn't change how much I, or your father, loves you. Understood?"

She nodded hesitantly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, rolling up my sleeve. "Honey, look."

Lizzy took a long, good look at my scarred wrists, her eyes twitching everywhere until felt wet tears drop on my arms from them.

"Did you..." Lizzy looked at me, face just as broken as mine.

"I did." I whispered. "A lot of times, as you see."

Her lower lip started to tremble badly and soon mine did too. Together we cried in each others arms.

"Hey, Lizzie." I sniffed after a while, cupping her beautiful face. "Can you promise me you will never ever do this again?" I said slowly, hoping to make an impression.

She nodded quickly. "I promise, Mom." She whispered before attacking me with a hug again. "How did you stop doing that?"

"With Dad's help." I moved some of her hair out of her face. "Hey, but I'm so proud that you told me."

Lizzy nodded softly, her big brown eyes shining from tears.

"Also.." I cleared my throat, finding it hard to say the next thing. "Do I get permission to tell Dad? If not, that's okay, Sweetie."

She seemed hesitant in the first seconds, but then agreed. "You can tell him." She whispered. "But I don't want to be there."

"That's okay." I assured, knowing how hard it was to tell someone. "Oh, god.." I mumbled and took my daughter in my arms again, feeling nothing but pity, sadness, and especially guilt.

A thousand of thoughts flowed into my mind. I should've warned Lizzy like I promised to do when she was thirteen. I should've checked up on her earlier. I should've taken care of it. I should've known. I should've prevented my worst fear from happening!

"Mom?" Lizzy looked up a bit. "You okay?"

I noticed I was sobbing loudly. "Yeah, I'm fine." I sniffed.

She bit her lip, a habit she earned from me. "Can I- is it okay if I go?"

"Yeah, honey." I even had issues with holding eye contact and not bursting into tears. "That's okay. I'll see you later."

She placed a kiss on my mouth. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you." I replied before Lizzy walked off, leaving me stuck with my own mind.

~

Not long after Lizzy left, the door opened again. I still sat straight up on bed, but immediately got up once I noticed it was Newt. I hugged him tightly, tears wet his shirt.

"Hey, hey. What's going on?" He worried, rubbing my back soothingly as we made our way to the bed. I only cried louder, feeling so many guilt form in me.

"Lizzy- she- I..." I stammered, still buried in his shoulder. I didn't know how to say it and was so upset.

"Nora, breathe." Newt took my shoulders and looked my in the eyes. "Just calm down first, all right?"

I nodded and took deep breaths in and out as more tears ran down my cheeks like a waterfall.

"Now what happened?" He sweetly questioned.

"Lizzy." I cried. "She... she harmed herself, Newt." And there I went for the hug again.

"Harmed?"
The realization hadn't hit him yet.

"Like me." I sobbed even louder. I just couldn't help it.

Newt remained silent for a few long seconds, what I told him slowly getting through his head.
"Oh." He swallowed deeply. "What'd she say?"

Only the look in Newt's eyes broke me, but I could also see he was having a hard time processing it all. His face kept twitching into different emotions, from sad to confused.

"She told me voluntarily and promised she wouldn't do it again." I paused. "Asked how I managed to stop and said it was okay to tell you."

"That's good, honey." He nodded. "That's good."
I didn't reply and looked down, sniffing and quietly crying some more.
"Hey, love?"

"Hmm?" My head snapped back up.

"You don't think... you don't think it's your fault, do you?" Newt scooted closer to me. I averted my eyes from his in shame, knowing I did think it was my fault.

"Nora, look at me." He lifted up my chin and held a good grip on it. His eyes searched around my face for a few seconds. "It's not your fault. Why would you think that?"

I bit my lip. "I promised her I would explain where my scars came from when she was thirteen, but I never did that, Newt. So if I had warned her or... or-."

"Nor, you were trying to protect her, all right?" Newt confirmed. "I don't think any parent in the world would voluntary just tell their kid they used to harm theirselves unless the kid asks it. You got that?"

I let out a cry, and eventually, after hesitating long, nodded. "Is Tommy doing alright?"

Newt then laughed a bit. "Oh, he's fine, aka begging Minho if he can have a jar of Gally's drink."

"Well?" I wiped the tears off my cheeks.

"I said in about a year, but now that I left them to check up on you I'm pretty sure Minho gave him some sips anyway." He smiled. "But what can I do about it? I drank it too when I was fifteen."

"Grows some hair on his chest." I breathed, my heart warming up by the memory.

"About time." Newt confirmed with a smile still stuck on his face. "And Lizzy is with Allie right now. Liana is helping them sew their own clothes."

I got up from the bed and stretched my back. "Should we go outside too?"

"Yep." Newt popped the 'p' as usual and followed me out. Hand in hand, which still made me blush, we looked around. Most boys were around a bonfire and as Newt said, Liana, Allie, and even Mivy were sewing, but Lizzy was nowhere to be seen.

Worried I ran over to them, pulling Newt with me and asking where Lizzy was.

"Oh, she went somewhere over there. The beach." Mivy made a hand movement to the beach, where indeed Lizzy's figure sat... but strangely there was another figure next to her.

Newt put his hands on his hips. "Who's that?"

Unbothered Liana looked up. "Caleb or something. He helps his dad with working in the Med Hut. Nice kid."

"And attractive!" Allie peeped.

Mivy gasped. "Allie! You're twelve, he's almost turning sixteen!"

"I will have to admit that Allie is right." Liana winked.

"She is, though." Mivy agreed.

Shocked, with his mouth half open, Newt stared at them. "Y'all are practically married to Logan and Minho! And it's a teenager. You cannot drool over a teenager when you're this age."

"Oh, but Newt..." Mivy dramatically played with her hair. "Don't you think I look much younger than my actual age?"

"If anyone's looking younger than their actual age, then that's me." Newt replied, sassy and honest.

"Ohhh! So you should drool over that kid?" Liana teased, giggling. But Newt didn't seem to find any of it funny.

"He's a teenager and a boy." He said.

"So?" Mivy chuckled. "It's possible to be in love with the same gender."

"Do I have to remind you that my woman is right next to me?" Newt protectively took me by the waist. I blushed again, but laughed with the girls. Newt was so clueless and it was amazing.

"I'm sure you've had an eye on Thomas somewhere in your life." Liana added.

Newt opened his mouth, then closed it again. He seemed annoyed by the comments and later, rolled his eyes. "I'm visiting this Caleb kid." He snapped.

I took his arm and forced him to sit down on the bench of the wooden table. "Let Lizzy have some fun, Newt! We should leave her alone for a bit. Distraction, you know?"

"I might've been happy that I got Nora pregnant on accident, but if that happens to Lizzy I will-."

"Newt!" Liana yelped.

Mivy put her hands on Allie's ears. "There's kids around!"

"Exactly." Newt stated. He leaned on the table with his elbows. "Lizzy is a kid too."

"We were seventeen." I reminded him.

"Guys, this is getting too dirty!" Mivy warned.

Newt turned to me, triumphant. "What about education? Lizzy never got that."

"Do you think Rat Man gave us education then?" I giggled.

"Guys, guys." Mivy interrupted again. "She's just hanging out with a boy. That does not mean she'll get pregnant or something right away, Newt. I've seen the kid. He's nice and respectful, trust me. You should let Lizzy live her life and maybe watch Tommy more."

Newt spun his head toward the bonfire super fast. Tommy stood there, next to Minho, who casually handed him a beer. Newt's eyes widened and he roughly got up from his seat. "HEY!" He screamed.

I sighed and focused on the girls, instead of the hysterical screaming in the background. "So... What does he look like?" I grinned.

"He's got this beautiful skin. A few tints lighter than Fry's. His face is smooth, cute nose, fluffy afro hair that's hanging to his ears, tall, and strong muscles, but not so strong that he's able to scare you with them." Liana summarized. "His eyes are green, but not too bright."

"Lizzy has taste." I laughed. "And he's respectful?"

"Oh, yes he is. For sure." Mivy assured. "Didn't force her to go to the beach, took her hand, and told us they wouldn't drink or smoke without us even asking about that."

"There they are!" Allie pointed at Lizzy and a boy, Caleb. Both of them walked over to us, laughing. Lizzy's face was bright red from blushing, though the fire covered it a bit.

"Hi, Mom!" They stopped in front of us. "Caleb, this is my mom. Mom, this is Caleb."

The kid held out his hand politely, so I shook it. Liana's description fit him perfectly. He looked exactly like she said.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Caleb greeted, still polite.

"You too. And call me Nora, please." I gave him a nod, then winked at Lizzy.

"Yo!" Tommy stumbled over to us and gave Caleb a handshake. They must've seen each other before, because they knew how to do it perfectly.

"Tommy, did you drink?" Allie gasped at his way of acting.

"Minho allowed me to." He explained fast. At least he didn't slug his words. "Want some too, Cal?"

"No thanks, man." The boy rubbed his forehead. "Gotta wait 'till I'm at least sixteen."

That convinced me enough Caleb was a good kid, though of course he could've been lying.

"Oh, god." Lizzy muttered when Newt moved closer to us, staring at Caleb threateningly. The boy didn't change moods and just smiled at Newt, holding out his hand.

Newt looked at it as if it was a disgusting thing. "What do you want with my daughter?"

I grabbed Newt's wrist and forced him to shake the hand anyways.

"Nothing, sir." Caleb confirmed quickly. "Nothing that you won't allow."

"Well, I can think of some things, young man." Newt scrunched his nose.

"Uhh.. Dad, this is Caleb." Lizzy bit her lip. "Caleb this is my dad, Newt."

"Sir sounds perfectly fine with me." Newt crossed his arms.

"Newt!" I whisper-screamed, giving him a push in the shoulder.

Newt sniffed long and inspect Caleb's whole body. "How long have you known my daughter?"

"Two weeks, sir."

"Do I know your father?"

"I think you do, yes. He works in the Med Hut and I'm pretty sure he once treated Nora."

"Do you drink? Smoke?"

"No, sir."

"What's that then?" Newt looked at a bottle in Caleb's hands.

"This is alchohol, sir." Caleb admitted.

Newt raised his eyebrows. "I thought you didn't drink?"

"This is pure alcohol. To disinfect, I mean."

"Why do you carry that around, hm?"

Caleb leaned in and whispered something in Newt's ear. His face softened for a few seconds.

Then Newt whispered it in my ear too, "Said he helped Lizzy clean her cuts."

With that, Caleb earned my full trust. Cleaning the cuts was the best thing someone could do for Lizzy.

"Are we done now, Dad?" Lizzy exhaled.

Newt ignored her. "Are you two dating?"

Both their faces turned red. "No, sir."

Newt whispered something in Caleb's ear, and Caleb whispered something back.

"Then ask her!" Newt then blurted out, shouting.

Lizzy's face fell, and Caleb turned nervous before taking her arm and gently pulling her away from us all.

"Now... you." Newt pointed at Tommy. "Drinking?"

"But Dad!" The boy defended. "Minho said I could! And it was just some sips, trust me!"

Newt laughed and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "You could've invited me too, you know?"

His mouth dropped open. "What?"

"I'd like a drink too." Newt added. I chuckled at the whole situation. "So, Tommy... you're allowed to drink from now on, but not too much. One beer every six days is max!"

"I promise." Tommy peeped. He gave Newt a 'brother' hug. "Thanks, Dad."

Thomas stood next to Tommy. They were almost the same height by the time.

"Tommy... and Tommy." Newt stepped closer to them. "Shall we go back to Minho?"

They nodded and rushed away. Newt turned to me before he followed and kissed me deeply. I smiled at him, about to wave, until Newt stopped right in his tracks when Caleb and Lizzy came back.

"Tommy and Thomas will have to wait five more minutes." He muttered.

Both the kids had a bright red face with a deep smile glued onto it. "Well?"

"Are you a couple?" Allie yelped, making everyone laugh.

"We are." Lizzy confirmed. She took Caleb's hand.

"Alright." Newt gave Caleb a glance. "I will allow this too, but, there's some consequences."

"Dad, really?" Lizzy groaned.

"It's okay." Caleb nodded. "What is it, sir?"

And then it all came out of Newt's mouth like a waterfall.
"No sleepovers until you're both seventeen, door stays open three inches, I don't want to find any objects that belong to Caleb in my room, no kissing in front of me, if I ever see you do something my daughter doesn't like, I'll have a personal talk with you that involves physical stuff... you respect my family and everyone else, still no drinking or smoking, and lastly, keep up with your disinfection, please."

Caleb nodded again. "Yes, sir. I promise."

"Call me Newt." He answered. "Now go do something."

Before they left Newt forced Lizzy to give him a hug and then left too, toward Tommy, Thomas, and Minho.

A few months later Caleb was really part of the family and even got a good bond with Newt. Lizzy was happier, Tommy seemed less stubborn once the rules bent, and everyone was cheerful like usual.

And I loved them all.