Snow Day

[Colin Prescott]

Snow days shouldn't really be a thing when your school is within walking distance of your house. But because the school was Steve's, and he was an unexpectedly soft touch when his daughter pulled out the puppy eyes, today had been called a snow day for everyone who attended or worked at the Rogers School for the Enhanced. The Rogers themselves had gone on an expedition, as had the Storms, leaving the Prescotts to enjoy what might have started as a quiet day in the little bunched trio of houses on the Grove. That quiet, however, was shattered around mid-morning by an excited Lara bursting out through the back door and leaping straight into a couple of feet of snow, a very excitable Coco running along after her.

Colin stood at the door, watching the pair with a big grin on his face. There had been a time when his smiles were rare, but these days the little house he called home often rang with laughter, just as it was today. He'd decided to take the day off, which wasn't hard to do now that he was working for GrangerGuild Conglomerate and not MI5. There was a time when work was his life, but these days, family came first.

"Careful, or you'll get buried in snow!" he called to the four-year-old he'd come to think of as his own, despite the fact that she was not related to him by blood.

It wasn't as though GGC was going to object; it seemed as though the policy in Rhy'Din fell very much on the side of the person and not their productivity. A bump on the back of his leg announced the arrival of Alia, newly tottering, and bundled up so fully in her snowsuit she looked more like an escaped teddy bear than anything.

Startled by the bump at his legs, he turned and chuckled again at the sight of the toddler all bundled up and ready for her first adventure in the snow. "Hmm, now where do you think you're going, little miss?" he asked, sweeping her up into his arms and planting a kiss on her cheek.

From somewhere in the wrappings of scarf and hood came Alia's answer. "In der snoo," she informed her father, waving her hands excitedly. Behind her, Nat came into view, chuckling to herself. "Nap time is going to be so quiet today," she predicted impishly.

"Am I correct in assuming I'm supposed to partake in this little adventure?" he asked, his question aimed more at his wife than his daughter, as that was a lot of words for her to grasp.

"I was thinking more that we can watch and intervene if anyone gets buried," the redhead suggested in amusement. In his arms, Alia was squirming to get down, eager to go and join her big sister in the snow for a little while.

Colin chuckled at the toddler's efforts to escape her father's arms. "All right, all right. Patience is a virtue," he scolded her gently before setting her on her feet just outside the door.

Snoo," Alia insisted, her feet already pattering before she hit the porch. It was just as well the snow was deep enough to reach level with the porch; she had no concept of stairs just yet. There was a small poof as she went headlong into the first drift, but she was quick to pull herself out as Lara came running over to help her.

"She's bundled up so tightly, she's top heavy," he remarked as the toddler went head first into the snow. His initial instinct was to go to her rescue, but Lara beat him to it.

"She'll adjust," Nat said confidently, tucking her arms about his waist from behind as she watched the little girls over his shoulder. "We can't hover over them all the time, after all."

"Yes, well, I don't want her to get buried in the snow either," he remarked, though that was unlikely to happen while they were on watch. "They're good together, aren't they?" he said, glancing over his shoulder at the pretty redhead who'd found her way into his heart.

"They are," she murmured. Her heart always ached just a little when she watched their girls playing together, knowing just what Lara's true parents had done in the hope that she would find a safe and loving home without them. "They love their Papa, too."

Colin smiled at that. "I never thought I'd have kids," he confessed, not for the first time. In fact, a wife had been out of the question, too - until he'd met her. After that, everything had changed.

"Join the club." Her answer was offered in a wry drawl; just a couple of years ago, the mere thought of the Black Widow having even a husband, much less a child, would have been laughable. Even now, some of their friends couldn't quite believe it.

"It's not a bad thing, you know," he said, shifting his position so that he could slide an arm around her shoulders as he touched a kiss to her lips. "They love their Mama, too."

She smiled against his lips, content to hold and be held. "I know," she admitted in a low voice. "Can't help wondering if Fury would be proud of me for getting domesticated, though. I spent a long time as just as weapon."

"Fury," Colin echoed with a hint of disdain in his voice. He'd met the man a few times, but they'd never gotten very well acquainted. What he knew of the man was mostly just by reputation. "No doubt he'd be shocked," he remarked, but proud? He wasn't so sure about that.
 
"We never did find out what happened to him," she murmured, something that would no doubt play on her mind for years to come. "He could have had me imprisoned or killed when Clint brought me in. I owe both of them everything."
 
"Not everything," he reminded her quietly, pulling her close and touching an affectionate kiss to her forehead. He knew how close she was to Barton, who was more like a brother than a friend, but he wasn't the one who was married to her or the one who had given her a family.

Her smile softened as his arms tightened about her. "You know what I mean," she assured him. "You and me, we happened on our own. No one pushed us together."

"You don't think Coco had anything to do with it?" he asked, a teasing gleam in his blue eyes. He never seemed to tire of teasing her when he could. The little cocker spaniel barked in reply, as if knowing they were talking about her.

Nat laughed. "Well, she certainly charmed me," she conceded, glancing over at the little spaniel bouncing through the snow as Lara and Alia very seriously discussed the logistics of building a snowman together.

"Think I should help?" he asked, his expression a little too serious as he regarded the pair of girls. He didn't mind the snow so much, though he was feeling pretty content where he was.

"I'm not going to stop you going outside to play with your girls, you know," Nat assured him laughingly. "You're itching to get out there, aren't you?"

[Colin Prescott]

He chuckled. "Not really. I'm not overly fond of the cold, to be honest," he confessed, though the snow was tempting.

"It's always better when you have somewhere warm to cuddle up afterward," she pointed out with a smile. "I think we're going to have to get used to outings in the snow with those two."

"Then you'd better start knitting," he teased, with a gentle tweak of her nose. As a matter of fact, they already had adequate gear for winter, but he couldn't help teasing her.

Nat snorted with laughter, rolling her eyes. "I can't do crafting as well as everything else," she pointed out. "Put two sharp metal sticks in my hands, I only know one thing to do with them."

Colin chuckled, knowing her well enough to know exactly what she meant. "Go for the jugular?" he asked, with an amused twinkle in his eyes. Yes, she was a killer, but she was his killer.

She shook her head, her expression taking on a teasing cast of thoughtfulness. "Kidneys and spleen," she corrected him. "Takes longer to bleed out, more painful. You get more information out of them before they're useless."

He arched a brow at the information, which was probably more than he really needed to know. He'd been a soldier once, but never an assassin. "That's good to know, I guess," he remarked, thinking it was probably time to change the subject, but to what?

She laughed at his expression. "At least you know I never lie about this stuff," she offered by way of reassurance. A squawk from outside drew her attention to where Lara was face down in the snow with Alia sitting on top of her. "Okay, I think it's time I grab a coat."

Colin chuckled, too, as his attention was drawn to their children. "Well, at least, it's not the other way around," he remarked, as he ducked back inside to fetch both their coats. "I'll get them."

"All right." With Colin slipping inside, Nat couldn't resist showing off a little for Alia's benefit, somersaulting off the porch to land right next to the squealing baby girl and lift her up off Lara's back. "Hey, solnyshka, no burying your sister."

Instead of wrapping her arms around her mother's neck, Alia lunged toward her sister, obviously wanting back down. "Snow, Mama!" she declared, slurring the first word a little.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Nat drawled, dropping the tiny girl back down into the snow if only so she could reach down and lift Lara back onto her feet. "Look at you," she chuckled, brushing the soft, cold crystals off the miniature redhead's face and hood. "You okay, Lynska?"

"Papa, snow!" Alia called from the snow bank where she had decided to plop down, a happy grin on her face. After all, she wasn't the one who'd just gotten a faceful of snow. Colin chuckled as he rejoined his little family. "That it is, Lia!" he said, turning to regard their oldest. "Just a little snow," he said, smiling reassuringly, as if it was nothing. "How about if we all make a snowman?" he suggested, Nat's coat tossed over one arm.

Blowing her nose on the tissue Nat produced from her pocket, Lara grinned up at her parents. "C'n we make snow puppy?" she asked, only slightly muffled by the scarf being tucked back in place around her mouth and nose. Nat chuckled to herself, reaching to take ownership of her coat before she really started to feel the cold.

But not before Colin reached to draw the coat around her shoulders. "A snow puppy?" he echoed, letting Nat take care of the rest. "Why not?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

"Cos we got a Coco, an' we c'n make her a friend," Lara explained, looking very serious about this endeavour even as she gestured wildly over to said dog, who was very seriously eating snow.

At least it wasn't yellow snow. He thought Coco would appreciate a live friend better than one made out of snow, but that hardly mattered. "We can try!" he said. "But we're going to need lots of snow, so why don't you and Alia start gathering some up into a big snowball?"

"M'kay!" Lara reached out one mittened hand to grasp hold of Alia's hand, and the two little girls toddled off to find the best patch of snow to make a big snowball out of.

Is she okay?" Colin asked, once the girls had toddled away. He didn't think Alia had done anything on purpose to hurt Lara; the two girls were just having fun and had gotten a little carried away.

Nat nodded. "She's fine," she assured him. "A little chilly in the face and maybe a bit shocked by being stuck in the snow for a little bit, but she's a resilient kid. And we got to them quick."

"I don't think Alia meant to cause her any harm," he said, reaching over to help Nat zip up her coat. Maybe it was the fact that she was from Russia, but she had a bad habit of never zipping up her coat even in the coldest weather.

To her credit, Nat didn't argue with him as he zipped her up, amused and touched that his concern extended to keeping her warm when she was well suited for cold weather. "No, I don't think she did either," she agreed. "I think our little ray of sunshine doesn't know her own strength."

"She does take after her mother," he said. Both girls did really. Though Lara didn't share his DNA, he loved her no less for it. She had come to them via the Nexus, the orphaned love child of another universe's Steve and Nat, in need of a family and a good home. How could he deny her that? "They both do."

"Not entirely," she argued lightly, watching the young pair. "Lara does a lot more thinking it through than I do. She's definitely picking that up from you, Prescott."

He furrowed his brows at her, a little confused. "But Lara is ..." He trailed off. She was biologically Steve's daughter, not his, though he was the one raising her.

"She's your daughter," Nat told him firmly. "Alyona gave her the best gift we could have given her by gently changing what she remembers. She knows you're her dad, Colin. I mean, you're the one she crawls into bed with - I might as well be chopped liver after a nightmare." She grinned at him, hoping he could ease past that one little hurdle.

"So long as no one checks her DNA," he murmured, mostly to himself. What did it matter, after all? Plenty of children were raised by people who weren't their biological parents and never felt any less loved for it.

"Why would anyone do that?" she asked gently. "She loves you, Colin. That's all that really matters, isn't it? You know I won't let any harm come to our family.

[Colin Prescott]

"No, neither will I," he agreed. He was just as capable of protecting their family as she was and would do whatever he had to do keep them safe. He glanced over at the pair of girls, a smile finding its way onto his face. "They really are a blessing, aren't they?"

"Unexpected miracles," she agreed, bumping his arm with her own. "Kinda like you." It was unlikely Nat was ever going to take him for granted, given the lifetime that had lead up to meeting him.

The same could be said for him. He had long ago decided that he'd likely remain a bachelor for the rest of his days, until he'd met her. "That goes double," he told her, smirking as she bumped his arm. "Shall we go help with the snow-dog making?"

She chuckled. "Probably. Otherwise they'll get cold and bored, and not even cocoa can cure that." To be fair, the girls did have a sizeable mound that was about the height of Alia by now, but they were going to need some help to doggify it.

"Well, we can't have that," he said, smiling again, as if nothing had ever happened to steal that smile away. "Good work, girls!" he called over to the pair. Even Coco barked in seeming approval of the small mound of snow.

"Is we makin' a sittin' doggy, Papa?" Lara asked curiously, patting their mound of snow enthusiastically. It was more like a lump of ice at this point - this snow dog was going to take a long time to thaw.

"Hmm, that would probably be better, wouldn't it?" he asked, answering her question with one of his own. Easier to make anyway. He didn't think they needed it to be perfect so long as it resembled the shape of a dog anyway.

"I guess me and Alia should make the tail," Nat volunteered, going down on one knee in the snow beside the baby girl. "You two can handle the head, right?"

"I think we can manage that," Colin agreed. "What do you think, Lara?" he asked their eldest, not really expecting an argument.

"We can art!" Lara declared cheerfully, this time seizing Colin's hand happily. "Bestest snow doggy ever!"

"Definitely!" he agreed, chuckling at her enthusiasm, as the two of them went to work. The dog probably wasn't going to look much like a real dog, but it didn't really matter. All that really mattered was that they had fun.

With both parents recruited for the ceremonial creation of the snow dog, and Coco bounding back and forth between the two pairs, torn about who to spend the most time with, the next hour passed quickly and with a lot of laughter. By the time they were all back inside, there was a slightly lopsided attempt at a male version of Coco on the snowy lawn, complete with stick in her mouth.

Of course, they only knew it was a male because the girls had insisted Coco needed a boyfriend, not because he was anatomically correct. "So, what should we name him?" Colin asked, as he went about hanging coats and scarves and mittens up to dry.

"Cweem," Lara suggested fiercely, watching with one eye as Nat started on the cocoa with Alia on her hip. The youngest was all ready for her nap, slumped against mama's shoulder but unwilling to give in just yet.

Colin arched a brow at Lara's unusual suggestion. "Cweem?" he echoed, dubiously. "Why that name?" he asked curiously.

"Cos you put cweem in cocoa," the little redhead told him, carefully hanging her damp scarf and mittens next to the coats. Her nose was bright red after hours outside in the snow, but it couldn't overpower the bright grin on her face as she looked up at Colin.

"Oh, I see," he said, mirroring her grin. "Cream!" He wasn't sure Cream was an appropriate name for a dog, but it was only a snow dog, after all. "What do you think, Nat?"

"Hmm?" Nat looked up from where she was idly dancing around the kitchen with Alia, glancing a little suspiciously between the pair of them. "Those grins tell me I've missed something."

"Lara thinks we should name the snow dog Cream," he informed her, as he led the little girl further into the kitchen to join the other two. "Looks like someone is ready for a nap," he remarked, with a glance at the drooping Alia.

"Why Cream?" Nat asked, one hand setting out cups as she spoke. "Why not something like ... Stark? Or Sparkler? Or Papa?" She flashed Colin a teasing grin of her own.

"Because Cream ..." Colin trailed off, as a thought came to mind, derailing his explanation. "What about Cookie? Cookies goes with Coco, too!" he suggested.

"But cookies isn't white like snow," Lara pointed out, raising her hands in a silent request to be lifted up onto one of the stools at the kitchen island. "Marsmerrows is."

"That's true," Colin conceded, as he effortlessly swept her up from the floor to set her on a stool. "No wiggling," he warned, as stools were not quite as sturdy as chairs where little ones were concerned. "Shall we name him Marshmallow then?"

Obediently, Lara sat straight, her hands flat on the counter in front of her so she wouldn't wobble. "Will he melt in the sunshine?" she asked thoughtfully.

"If it gets warm enough, he will," Colin explained, not unlike a marshmallow really. "He's only made of snow, after all." And unlike Frosty, there was no magic to bring him to life - at least, none that he knew of.

"Marsmerrows melt," Lara pointed out, blinking a little sleepily at her father as the smell of warm cocoa wafted around the kitchen. On Nat's shoulder, Alia made a quiet sound of enjoyment but was almost certainly out for the count.

Warm milk - chocolate or not - was only going to make the pair sleepier. "I see a nap in someone's future," he murmured with a wink at Nat. "Here, let me take her," he said, reaching to relieve her of her burden.

"Not just one someone, either," she murmured back to him, easing Alia into his arms so she could finish off the cocoa and relieve Lara from her impatient patience a little.

[Colin Prescott]

"Why don't I lay her down while you finish up with the cocoa?" he suggested, though he wasn't sure she wanted him to leave her alone with a sleepy Lara.

"I think that is a very good idea," Nat agreed, brushing a gentle kiss to Alia's temple, and another to Colin's cheek, before turning to Lara. "Wanna snuggle on the couch, Lynshka?" Lara perked up near instantly, her eyes bright with delight. "Yus, pwease!"

He smirked as he caught that conversation before disappearing to lay the little one down for a nap. He had a feeling Lara would be the next one to nod off, once she was warm and toasty from the hot cocoa and snuggling comfortably against her mother's side. He was only gone a few minutes, just long enough to tuck Alia in and make sure she was asleep before returning to the kitchen to reclaim his own cup of cocoa.

Coco met him in the kitchen, tail wagging tiredly as she nuzzled against his leg, turning to lead him into the living room. There, he found Lara stubbornly insisting she was still awake while drinking her cocoa, slumping ever more heavily against Nat's side on the couch.

Colin leaned over to greet Coco with a ruffle of fur before he straightened his tall self and let her lead him into the living room. He smiled at the sight of Lara curled up against Nat, trying hard to stay awake. "Careful, love, or you'll spill your cocoa," he whispered, gently taking the mug from her hands.

"M'wake," the little girl mumbled, holding onto her mug insistently. "Gonna drin' m'cocoa." Nat smirked into her own cup. She knew exactly where Lara got that stubbornness from, and it wasn't Steve or Colin.

"Very well," he said, easing his fingers off the cup. She didn't seem to have much left in that cup anyway. "Do you mind if we make a Lara sandwich?" he asked, taking a seat on the other side of her, which put her between himself and Nat.

Snuggles," the little redhead agreed, tipping herself up just enough to be able to lean into both her parents. Nat gently stroked her curls off her forehead. "You're not going to miss anything by falling asleep," she murmured to their eldest. "We're very boring when you're not around."

"Yes, all we do is talk about grown-up things, like bills and politics. Very boring," Colin added, with a wink at Nat, as he snuggled closer. Whether Lara was his by birth or not, there was no mistaking that she had found a permanent place in his heart.

No'borin'," Lara insisted, although her sleepy slurring was definitely getting worse. She tipped the other way, unconsciously snuggling into Colin's chest as the mug started to slip out of her hand, deftly caught by Nat before it could spill.

Colin smiled, blue eyes warm with affection for this child of his heart. "Well, that was easy," he whispered, sliding an arm around Lara and taking a sip of his cocoa.

Nat chuckled softly. "She's almost more stubborn than me," she said in a low tone, slowly becoming aware of a vaguely jealous gaze from Coco. "And you are just a big furry baby," she added, patting her lap to invite the little spaniel up onto her lap.

"Well, she is your daughter," he reminded her. It hardly mattered which universe's version of Nat had birthed the little girl; it stood to reason that they all carried the same DNA.

"Which one?" she asked teasingly, setting the two mugs down on the side table to give Coco all the scritches the spaniel could possible want. "That one, or this one?"

"Traitor," he told Coco, though if the smile on his face was anything to go by, he didn't seem to mind too much. "There may be a slight family resemblance though," he teased Nat.

"You've obviously got a weakness for redheads," she countered through her grin. "I wonder what that says about you? Drawn to playing with fire, maybe?"

"Maybe, though I've never dated a redhead before I met you," he confessed. Redheads were more rare than blondes and brunettes, but that wasn't really the reason. He just had never met one he'd wanted to date before.

"To be fair, you didn't really date me," she pointed out laughingly. "We hung out until marriage was brought up, really."

He shrugged lightly, so as not to disturb the little one snuggled against him. "Dating is for teenagers. We're far too mature for that sort of thing," he said, with that teasing smirk of his. "Shall I take you on a proper date then?"

"That is a point," she mused. "You've never wined and dined me. I don't think you've even seen me in my LBD." She shook her head teasingly. "Poor you."

"Little black dress?" he echoed uncertainly. "I didn't even know you owned one." He had seen her in nothing at all, of course, but he couldn't deny that the thought of her wearing a skimpy black dress was appealing. "A formal date then. Fancy restaurant, wine, gourmet food, a little dancing."

"For you, I'd get a new one," she promised warmly. "One that doesn't come with the condition that I can fight in it if I have to." She flashed him a grin.

"Well, that never hurts. There are plenty of Bond girls who've kicked arse in an evening gown," he pointed out, though to the best of his knowledge, Bond was just a fictional person.

Oh, so you're thinking of an evening gown, not a cocktail dress? Good to know." No doubt certain other ladies of their acquaintance were going to be pulled into this little shopping trip - the kids were due a Dads day, anyway.

He shrugged lightly again. There wasn't much difference to him, other than the length of the dress. "I suppose the Little in Little Black Dress does imply a cocktail dress."

"It could refer to how much fabric is involved," she pointed out impishly. "You'd be amazed how elegant three strips of material can look from the right angle."

He chuckled, wondering why they were debating this. "Does it really matter?" he asked. "How about I pick the venue, you pick the outfit." It wasn't really a question.

"That sounds like a great compromise," she agreed. "One condition, though." She tilted her head, letting her eyes travel over the length of him for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "You wear a tux."

[Colin Prescott]

He couldn't help but smirk, not even bothering to argue. "Done. And you? Or is it a surprise?" he asked, not bothering to even drop a small hint about where he was planning on taking her.

"I will wear ... an appropriate LBD for the venue you decide upon," she informed him. Between them, Lara let out a deep sigh in her sleep, stretching before cuddling in again.

He turned his attention to the little girl between them. "Think I should lay her down, too?" he whispered, unsure whether Lara would take offense to that or not.

Nat considered this for a moment. "Yeah, I think she needs to go down for a bit," she agreed, almost reluctant to give up on the cuddling time. "She'll be a grumpy little snow baby later otherwise."

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" he asked, not expecting an answer. He set his cup of cocoa down and carefully eased Lara into his arms. "Come on, little love. It's sleepy time," he whispered soothingly as he tucked her against him.

The little girl grumbled softly, looping her arms about his neck as he settled her against him. Nat smiled, deeply pleased with how much trust had grown between the two of them in just a few months.

"I'll be right back," he assured Nat, though that much was obvious, before disappearing from the room again to tuck Lara in for a nap.

"Mmm, don't mind me," she murmured, tipping her head back to admire his rear end as he walked away. "Coco, your dad has the best ass this side of the portal."

Colin chuckled lightly, as he overheard Nat talking to Coco. After all, she hadn't made much effort to keep her voice down. It didn't take long to tuck Lara in and give her a kiss before he returned, and he couldn't help but comment on her remark. "Best arse, huh?" he asked, as he plopped back down beside her and drew her into his arms. "Is that just among the men or the women, too?"

"Oh, both," she assured him, laughing as his embrace enveloped both her and Coco. The little dog was so pleased to be included, she decided to kiss Colin enthusiastically, her tail hitting Nat in the nose as it wagged happily.

He laughed, gently shoving Coco away from his face, but rewarding her with a scritch behind her ears. "I know - you love me," he told the dog at her show of affection. "And you are biased," he added, for Nat's benefit. "Everyone knows Steve has the best arse this side of the portal."

"No, Steve has America's ass," she argued. "Other side of the portal, doesn't count." She leaned in, touching a kiss of her own to his high cheekbone. "And yes, I am totally biased."

"I am rather biased toward your arse, actually," he told her with a grin. Not to mention the fact that he preferred females.

"I have a bubble butt," she agreed. "It's shapely and grabbable by the right hands."

"Hopefully, those hands are mine," he said, brushing a soft kiss against her cheek that then wandered to her ear and down the side of her neck. Apparently, at least he wasn't tired.

She smiled her sensual smile as his lips travelled down to her neck, unconsciously tilting her head in silent invitation for more. "Always your hands," she promised tenderly. "No one else will ever get the opportunity."

"Anyone else dares touch you, I may have to kill them," he whispered back as his lips trailed lower. He wasn't really the possessive type, but he wasn't afraid to do what he had to do to protect those he loved.

There was a soft thump as Coco took the hint and jumped down, letting Nat twist into Colin's embrace fully. She drew her fingers over his cheeks, nose to nose with him, her eyes fierce and certain. "I'll hold your coat."

"Good to know," he smiled back before capturing her lips with hers in a soft kiss that quickly turned passionate. It wasn't often they had a little time to themselves in the middle of the day, so why not take advantage of it?

He had never been disappointed in the way his deadly wife responded to him, and today was no exception. The passion was always there, simmering just under the surface, urging her up to straddle his thighs as she answered his kisses with her own, just as possessive and protective and loving as he.

It was a good thing Coco had hopped down and the girls were sleeping because things were quickly getting pretty hot and heavy. Neither Colin nor Nat had ever really held back when it came to their desire for the other, and there was no reason to do so now.

Touches and kisses became quickly more intimate, more needy, stealing this time together while the girls napped away their exhaustion from the morning's exertions in the snow. It was a skill every parent learned at some point, and one they had embraced very quickly together.

It was a good thing they had learned how to take advantage of every moment alone together because they both knew it wasn't going to last. Unlike the vows they'd made to love and cherish for the rest of their lives - vows they intended to keep, no matter what.

A black widow was not supposed to mate for life, but this one had made her decision, and she was not going to let anything stand in the way of a lifetime with her chosen mate.