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And what she had to say, was “Thank you.” as she nearly crushed me in a tight hug.

Her head didn’t even come up to my shoulder, and as I hesitantly hugged her back, I could feel the dense, thick muscles in her shoulders and back. This girl was incredibly fit, and probably had some magic power backing up those muscles.

She was also pleasantly squishy up front. My son was a lucky man.

I patted her on the shoulder a bit just before she jumped back, blushing a little as she looked up at me. “You took in my children even when you had no proof that they were related to you. And you took care of them anyways. Thank you.”

Then she did a quick little bow sort of thing. “My name is Yuki Caine. I have been married to your son for seventeen years. Thank you for welcoming me and my family into your home. We will defend it as our own.”

Okay, I had a handle on all of that until the last bit. Hopefully, someone was going to fill me in on whatever all that was. “Ah, you’re welcome here Yuki. I bought this place to be a family home, for all my family. You, your children, and even my son will always be welcome here.”

That got me another bone crushing hug. With her now seeming to lose a bit of the tenseness that I had felt in her before she stepped back again. Looking up and examining my face she remarked that, “John has his mother’s coloring, but he has your bones, just on a smaller scale.”

My boy managed to get in the patio door with bags in both hands and one hanging from his shoulder just in time to hear that. As my daughter in-law no doubt had planned.

Looking at him, I could see what she meant. His hair was a brownish red, but he was nearly ghostly white compared to the rest of my "spent some time in the sun" family.

Height wise. He had most of a head on his wife. Which brought him up to my nose, but his face did have the same shape as mine. With the same heavy brow and almost hooked nose.

In short, he looked like one of mine that needed to either wear sunscreen or stay in the shade.

He looked back and forth between me and his wife as Sara stood impatiently behind him at the door with some shopping bags. He finally shook his head. “I don’t want to know.”

Ami ran up to him and grabbed the shoulder bag from him. “I know where your room is. I can take you there. Grandpa even has his own elevator! And not because he's old, it was already part of the house.”

Yuki widened her eyes at her daughter. “Ami! Don’t call your grandfather old. He’s not even seventy yet.”

She half turned to look up at me again. “That isn’t old for you now right? You’re going to live a lot longer now that you’re all… werewolfy?”

Werewolfy? I was going to havr to think about being called that.

My daughter in-law reached up and tried to poke at my forehead. I managed to lean back out of her reach with a step back as she tried to reach me by standing on her tip toes. “No! No going off somewhere in the middle of a conversation. I already have a husband and two kids that do that.”

She looked over at my brother. “Is your whole damned family on the spectrum?”

Drew held up a finger like he was about to say something and then paused as he looked up and to the right, as if in deep thought about the question.

Charles crossed one arm under the other, as he rubbed at his chin with his hand. The picture of a man pondering something or other.

Sara walked past them with her bags heading for one of the only clear spots on the kitchen counter. “Don’t buy it mom, they got this instinctive comedy act thing going on, they even got Aran starting to imitate them.”

Yuki looked at all of us in disgust. “Oh god Sara, we’re outnumbered by the males now. Wait, are you cooking something now? What are you making? You aren't letting Sara pick the menu, are you?"

Her eldest looked betrayed. “Mommm!”

Drew started explaining as I started taking down the decorations, Sara joined me after a moment. “She’s probably really tired and shakey after worrying about us all this time.”

I nodded absentmindedly.

“She will be much more talkative and lively tomorrow after she’s had a chance to sleep.”

I paused for a second. “Oh, good.”

As I contemplated a day of mood swings and sudden hugs. I thought about how she had lost her home, had to send her kids off into an unknown fate, and now had both sides of her family try to take her child away from her.

“Sara. When your father comes back down, take him, your mom, your sister, and your brother and make everyone sit down and just be together for a bit. All without any people who are still strangers to your family standing around trying to make conversation or gawking at her."

" Give her some time with her family to let her break down without feeling like anyone is judging her.”

My grandchild looked up at me with wide eyes. My mother's hazel green eyes set into her mother’s face and nodded in understanding.

My home had been a safe haven for me and my grand kids. I might as well make it one for the generation in between as well.