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“Jesus, are you serious?” frowned Wilson.

“I’m afraid so. It’s just been us the last few years so it doesn’t happen as often for her. She has to physically touch the person, or they touch her.”

“And your gift?” asked Cruz.

“I can tell whether a man is good or evil by simply shaking his hand.”

“That’s how you knew that chieftain was going to set a trap for all of us,” nodded Ghost.

“Yes, sir. But I couldn’t tell you that. You’d think I was a lunatic,” smirked Kane.

“Probably,” he smiled. “What about you and your wife?” He nodded toward the doctor, Adam and he grinned at him.

“Another story,” said Adam.

About eighteen years ago…

“Are you alright? Can I give you a hand?” he asked. Fiona craned her neck looking up at the rain-soaked stranger. His black hair plastered to his head, his blue eyes glowing in the streetlight. She looked down at his hand and back up at him.

Gingerly, she took the masculine hand and he easily lifted her to her feet. Her backside was soaked through, her hands stinging and burning from the concrete. She wiggled her ankle and felt the twinge of pain, but knew it wasn’t severe.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“I saw everything if you’d like to make a police report,” he said smoothly.

“You’re American.” She said the words as a statement, not a question and he nodded ever so slightly.

“Guilty,” he smiled.

“Sorry, no guilt intended.”

He was still holding her hand and she looked up into his face, his eyes almost appeared as though they were calculating something. Fiona thought she should be nervous, but all she felt was warmth and security.

“It doesn’t seem that you have any serious injuries. Is your ankle painful?” he said.

“So, you’re a doctor then, are you?” she smiled jokingly.

“Actually, I am,” he replied. “I’m here on vacation for a friend’s wedding, but yes, I’m a doctor. A surgeon actually.”

“Impressive. Yes, I mean no. No serious injuries. The ankle will most likely be bruised and sore, but nothing I can’t live with.”

“I’m Adam, Adam Thorn,” he said still holding her hand.

“Hello Adam Thorn, and thank you, again. I’m Fiona Graham and I suppose I should probably take a taxi back home. That is, if you’ll give me back my hand.” Fiona smiled at the giant of a man.

“Why don’t I buy you dinner first so you can warm up and dry off? By that time, most of the evening traffic will have died down and you can catch a taxi home.”

“Alright, O’Neill’s is pretty good. Good Irish pub food, if you’re okay with that,” she said.

“I’m more than okay with that.” He held her elbow as they crossed the street and the warmth of his hand travelled up Fiona’s arm at an alarming rate. It was as if his hand was on fire and her body instantly warmed.

“You’re quite tall aren’t you?” she asked looking up at him. His eyes grew wide and a small grin escaped his beautiful lips.

“I suppose I am. I’m six foot two, but you’re pretty tall as well. Most women don’t reach my shoulders.”

“Aye, I am. Five feet nine in my bare feet. My parents were both tall. Da was six feet three and mam was five feet eight. I suppose it’s a curse and a blessing.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a curse. It’s a nice change for me.”

“Well, thank you. It’s harder for a tall woman though, most men don’t want to have a woman as tall or taller than him. I have to be careful with my shoes.”

Present day…

“Anyway, we discovered that we were meant to be together both through our gifts and romantic match. It didn’t matter. We already knew that.”

“So, you can see inside the body and assess damage?” asked Cruz with a perplexed expression.

“Yes. I can see just about everything and usually diagnose it without x-rays or scans. What I can’t see, Fiona usually can feel and she can heal it. She takes on the injury, the cancer, whatever it is and within minutes it’s gone from their body and into her body.”

“Holy shit, that has to be scary,” said Cruz.

“I didn’t want her to do it at first but we all know how that turned out for me,” he smirked.

“What about you, Flip?” asked Gaspar.

“My gift is simpler. I see something and I can move it. Just about anything. Boulders, weapons, vehicles, anything.” They all stared at him and he chuckled. “Watch.”

Standing he walked toward the edge of the grove, looking at the beautiful stone fountain. It easily weighed a ton or more. Lifting it, he moved it toward another path and set it back down.

“Phillip Cho! You best put my fountain back where it belongs right now!” yelled Mama Irene.

“Oh shoot. Sorry, ma’am. I’ll put it back.” He did exactly that and she smiled at him, nodding.

“Good man. I’ll get you an extra piece of cake for that.”

“I love cake,” smirked Flip.

“You’re gonna love it here,” laughed Tailor.

“Were you in service as well?” asked Ghost. Flip nodded. “I heard about you. They were afraid of you because of the things you could do. Flipping vehicles, even tanks, pulling weapons toward dying men, removing weapons from the reach of the enemy. They thought you were some sort of voodoo or witchdoctor magic.”

“People didn’t understand and were afraid of me. I tried to help that’s all,” he said.

“We understand those feelings,” said Nine. “We don’t have your gifts but it doesn’t change that sometimes trying to do something good doesn’t win you any friends.”

“Nat is a fire starter. If you anger her, watch out or you’ll get burned for sure,” he chuckled. They all frowned at him and he shook his head. “I’m kidding. She has great control now but she can definitely do some damage. We try to keep her and Nash somewhat close because he can bring the rains or water from any source.”

“Spook? What about you?” asked Ian.

“Unfortunately, my brain hears every wireless communication, airline call, trains, cell phones, e-mails, anything. If it’s digital data, wireless data, it passes through my head. Where we were in Wyoming, it was somewhat limited but as we were traveling, it was horrible.”

“Fucking hell,” muttered Nine. “I hate hearing the ping of a message on my cell phone. That has to be miserable.”

“It’s not bad here. I think because of the shields you have on the property it’s preventing some of it. I’ve felt much better. My wife, Valentina, she can turn hate into love, or love into hate. She feels it with people and is able to manipulate that but it can also make her sick if it’s too much. Especially the hate.”

“It’s just insane that we’re even talking about this,” said Ghost. “If I hadn’t seen it all for myself, I’d say you were crazy. What about the others?”

“Well,” said Kane with a long sigh. “Ivy can make plants grow. Anything that once inhabited the ground, she can bring to life again. It’s how we’ve been able to feed ourselves when things are lean. Kelly can blend in with any surrounding, camouflage herself and she’s literally unseen. Her husband, Juan can transport from one location to another just by visualizing where he’s going, but he’s naked when he does it. Not very convenient.”

“No, I don’t suppose it is,” laughed Ian.

“You saw some of what Garrett is capable of, the winds and Griffin and David, speed. Ashley & Akin can block sound, creating absolute silence.”

“I need them around Mama when she’s yelling at me,” smirked Gaspar.

“We’ve lost a few along the way. Some were with us for a while, others only briefly,” said Kane. He shook his head looking out over the grove.

“You did what you could, Kane,” said Adam.

“It wasn’t enough. I should have reached out for help sooner,” he said.

“Why didn’t you?” asked Ghost. “A brother never turns a brother away. Not in our house anyway.”

“We’ve not experienced that much in our history, Ghost. I could only hope that you would remember us, remember me and not turn us away. Honestly? I’m not sure what I would have done if you had. We’re about at the end of our rope and our energy.”

“I remembered you, brother, and this all explains a helluva lot.”

“Is there somewhere we can rest. We’re all pretty damn tired.”

“Of course,” said Gaspar. “Mama has cabins ready for you on an island where we live. Most of our children and grandchildren live here on the main property. The older team members moved to another island quite a while back. Something we’ll explain later. For now, let’s get you all to your new homes.”