Spring and Summer breaks have went by faster than expected, and before we know it, it's time for Alan, Tintin and Fermat to go back to school. John has returned to TB5 at the beginning of August, and is due back at Christmas. This week is to be hectic, as I have to take all three teens out school shopping, as well as attending a meeting at Alan's school. I'm awoken by my alarm clock, that rings so hard that it falls off my bedside cabinet. I sigh, sitting upright. I reach down and pick up the alarm clock, turn it off, and set it back on the cabinet. Getting up, I wander into my dressing room, picking out a comfortable outfit for shopping. I go to leave my room, but I'm distracted by my photo wall. (Which you can see in the pic above, if it's there). Looking at some of the photos, I chuckle at the memories that they bring. A majority of my favourites were taken by Virgil, on the beach. There's the two of John and I, the one of Alan on John's shoulders and me trying to make sure that he doesn't fall off. Then there's the one of John and I trying to teach Alan how to bodyboard. And my last, and most favourite of all, was one of John almost throwing me in the lake near my old house. That one was taken by Alan.I blink, as I'm brought back to reality by Alan shaking me. "Are you ok there, Nix? You were just staring off into space." He asks.

"It was fun, but we're leaving within the next 30 minutes to go school shopping, and you need breakfast, so downstairs you go." Alan commands. I laugh before heading out of my room, down the stairs and to the Kitchen. There, waiting for me is John, standing with a cup of tea. I gasp in surprise, before running over and giving him a massive hug. "Careful there! I do have hot tea in my hands." He exclaims.

"But, why are you here? I thought you weren't coming down until Christmas!" I exclaim.

"Well, dad and Scott thought that it wouldn't be fair if you were the only adult on this shopping trip, so they allowed me to come down until Alan goes back to school. They rerouted the emergency alerts to the island so Grandma can take control of them for now." John explains.

"That's wonderful! Now, we need to leave in the next 20 minutes, so if you round the trio up, I'll sort out my breakfast and I'll let Jeff know that we're leaving." I decide. John nods and walks off to find the three teens after handing me the mug. I pour the tea from the mug into a travel flask. I also grab two bagels and put them into a paper bag. I put them in my handbag that was sitting on the kitchen table before running up to Jeff's office. Both Jeff and Scott were in the office, so I let them know that we were leaving soon, before running back downstairs. I grab my handbag and the travel flask and run down the maintenance staircase hidden at the back of the house, down to the hangar where Tracy-1 is kept.

I enter the jet to see John trying to settle the three rowdy teens. I clear my throat and step into the cockpit. The teens immediately go quiet, knowing that Mama Phoenix is not someone you want to mess with. After checking that everyone's strapped in, I take my seat in the co-pilot's seat, as John prepares for take off. As we get into the air, John turns on the autopilot, allowing us all to relax for the next half hour. I reach into my bag and grab the paper bag containing the bagels. I pass one to John before drinking my tea while I eat my bagel. Alan, Tintin and Fermat all chat amongst each other, while John and I talk, keeping an eye on the controls. After The Hood's attack, we're all very precocious while flying. All too soon, it's time to land in London and we park the jet in the special Tracy hangar in the airport. Walking in the streets, we stop at multiple shops to gather clothes for different school events and just to update the teens wardrobes, but John and I did snag a few different outfits.

After a full morning of shopping, Penny and Parker collect us for lunch at the Creighton-Ward estate. We have a delightful lunch and Penny takes us shopping for a few more hours. As it becomes evening, Penny takes us all back to her estate. "I was wondering if the five of you would like to stay overnight. It means you and John could go on a date tonight." Penny asks us.

"Well, if Jeff allows us to, we'd love to stay." I reply.

"Well it's a good thing I was on the comms then. You can stay, as long as you come back tomorrow afternoon." Jeff agrees. John and I leave Penny and Jeff to talk while we tell the teens the news. The three teens almost immediately run to Penny's cinema room to have a movie marathon. I turn to John. "So, where are we going on our date?" I ask him.

"I was thinking L'amour sur Terre for dinner then going to Bedford Square Garden for a nice walk afterwards, how about that?" John suggests.

"Sounds amazing. What's the dress code for the restaurant?" I inquire.

"Formal casual, I didn't think about that. We didn't bring anything formal casual with us, did we." John moans.

"No, you didn't but I have lots of clothes you both can borrow." Penny intervenes.

"That would be amazing Penny! Thank you!" I exclaim.

After a bit of deliberation, and input from Tintin and Alan, we decide on a gorgeous navy dress with gold details. Penny does a little bit of makeup, just blush and eyeshadow. Soon, it's time to go. I descend the main stairs with Penny, John beside the door in a fancy blazer, shirt, jeans combo. He seems stunned with my outfit. Parker drives us to the restaurant and says that he'll pick us up when we need picked up. We have a wonderful time in the restaurant, and all too soon, we're in Bedford Square Garden. We walk around the garden for a bit, chatting and joking about. We reach a point in the garden where there's a bridge over a stream. We stop to talk on the bridge. "This year has just flown by." I sigh.

"Yeah. So much has happened and we still have 4 months of this year left." John agrees.

"I wonder what we'll be doing this time next year." I ponder, turning towards the moon.

"I have a general idea." John says behind me. I turn to ask him how he knows, only to see him kneeling, holding a ring box. My hands cover my mouth in shock. "Phoenix Rose Wren, I have been in love with you since we first met. When we started dating, it was a dream come true. You trusted me with everything, and I trusted you. We raised Alan together, and handled a long distance relationship together. We have relied on each other for almost four years now, and I hope for many more. Basically, even though we're married in phoenix terms, I was wondering if you could be my best friend for the rest of my life, and do me the honour of becoming my wife?" John asks.

"Of course!" I exclaim. John slips the ring onto my finger and sweeps me off my feet in a hug. Parker emerges from a nearby bush, John's phone in his hand. He had recorded it all. Parker immediately took us back to Penny's estate. The events of the day catch up to me, as I fall asleep almost instantaneously when I lie down on the bed.

I'm awakened by the sun's rays coming in through the window, shining on my eyes. John is already awake, but since my head is on his chest, he's lying down, reading a book. I sit upright before we both get up and change into some of our new clothes. We join the others for breakfast, and as John gets the three teens in the car, I show Penny the ring. She's over the moon with excitement, and tells me that she'll help me plan the wedding. Parker drives us back to the airport where Tracy-1 is waiting to take us home. When we arrive back home, there's a mad rush to get the new school stuff sorted and put in the correct rooms. By the time we can announce our news, it's dinnertime. John and I wait until everyone has finished eating before standing up. "We have an announcement to make." John declares. Gordon gasps. "No way! Is Phoenix pregnant?!" He exclaims.

"No, Phoenix is not expecting." John sighs. I grin and hold up my left hand, showing off the ring. "No way, you actually proposed!" Alan exclaims. We're swarmed with congratulations and hugs from the family. Once everyone is settled down, Grandma starts asking questions. "When is it? Where are you going to have it? Who's going to be invited? What are you going to wear?" She rambles.

"Grandma, calm down. We'll sort that out soon enough. Penelope has agreed to help too." I explain.

"That's ok, but my only question is, am I going to be an uncle any time soon?" Gordon asks.

"For goodness sake Gordon, why do you want to be an uncle so bad?" John inquires.

"Well, I want a niece or nephew to treat and prank with." Gordon sighs.

"Well Gordon, that will happen someday, just not within the next 9 months." I smile, as I stand up. I begin picking up the plates and bringing them to the kitchen. John follows me and begins to wash the dishes, while Virgil brings the rest of them in.

As John washes the dishes, I begin to dry them, and Alan puts the dry dishes away. This routine proves to be effective, as the dishes are done quicker than any other night. John Gordon decides to go swimming before bed, and Alan joins him. John and I, on the other hand, lie on the sun loungers. John continues his book from this morning and I scroll through instagram. Next thing I know, I'm soaked. Standing up, I set my phone on the table and march over to the pool. "Gordon! Alan! You should know the rules! No splashing people on the sun loungers, unless it's Scott, then it's ok." I yell.

"Hey! That's unfair!" Scott shouts from the kitchen.

"Sorry Nix, Gordon started it." Alan apologises, giving me puppy eyes.

"Ok then, Gordon, out of the pool, your banned for the rest of the week." I command.

"That's not fair! Alan started it!" Gordon whines, getting out of the pool.

John drops me into the pool without notice, before I can set our plan into action. I yelp in surprise as I go under, swallowing water in the process. This causes me to not have any air, and I begin to sink as it gets harder to swim. Being a fire phoenix doesn't really help either, as my throat and stomach begin to feel like they're burning. I can hear muffled yells before someone jumps into the pool beside me. I'm pulled into someone's arms as they lift me out of the water. I can feel the cold tiles of the poolside underneath me as I'm set down and I can feel someone pushing on my chest. Next thing I know, I'm coughing up water and I can breathe again. I blink the water out of my eyes before looking up. Virgil is sitting beside me, on the end of one of the sun loungers, John is on my other side, with no shirt on, his legs still in the water and Alan is still swimming but is holding onto the edge of the pool. "What exactly just happened?" Virgil asks.

"Well, John was messing around, threatening to drop me in the water. I was going to pull John in as well, with Alan's help, but before I could, John dropped me in. This took me by surprise, so I yelped, swallowing water. As you know, I am a phoenix of fire. By swallowing this chlorine water, my stomach began to feel like it was burning, then you know what happened next." I explain. John and Alan nod in agreement.

"Ok then, take it easy next time, ok?" Virgil commands.

"Ok, anyways, Alan, it's time for bed." I announce. Alan pulls himself out of the water and heads inside to dry off. Virgil heads inside too, but John makes me hang behind. "I'm sorry, Nix. I didn't mean to let that happen." He apologises.

"It's fine John. I know you wouldn't deliberately hurt me. Now, let's put Alan to bed before he decides to do something crazy to stay awake."

"Too late!" a shout from the roof makes us look up, to see Alan.

"Get down from there, young man!" John yells.

"Or what?"

"I'll get Grandma Tracy"

"She doesn't scare me."

"Then I'll get Jeff."

"Alright! I'm coming down!" John turns back to me, shaking his head.

"Was I that bad when I was younger?" He asks.

"No, but if anything, Alan got that from me. Now, let's head inside." I squeal as John scoops me up. Next thing I know, John and I are flying Tracy 1 to London to deliver the Kids to their school. On the flight home, I am silent. It is going to be a lonely few months, with John in TB5 and Alan at school.