A/N:  So, get ready for the curveball and expect pretty much anything...

3060 words

When I come back into the main part of the plane each of my soulmates gives me a heated look. Even Jin who tends to be more coy with his lustful appraisal runs his eyes over me now. I don't know for certain if they are reacting to the sounds that were coming from the bedroom, or if my two youngest soulmates blurted the fact that I was currently going commando. That thought has me pinning Joon with a look that I hope clearly says how much trouble he is in.

I know it works when he holds his hands up in surrender and asks. "What did I do?"

I glare at him. "Well, it has everything to do with the fact that I am not wearing my dress right now. That should be enough of a clue for you I think."

He frowns in confusion. "No, that doesn't tell me anything, Baby. Why aren't you wearing your dress?"

"Because you left it in a heap on the floor. It's now exceptionally wrinkled, and I am not about to show up at the airport in a wrinkled Moschino dress!" I lean down to whisper at him. "You don't want me to bring up the topic regarding the other article of clothing that I'm not wearing."

He has the decency to blush when he remembers how he tore apart my panties in the heat of the moment, which tells me that the heated gazes I was getting had everything to do with the sounds coming from the bedroom and not my current lack of underwear. "Honey?" Yoongi calls out to grab my attention. I turn around and face him. "If you need something to wear it might be in the smaller suitcase over there." He points to where my smallest suitcase is at the end of the row of seats I started off sitting at.

I frown before turning toward Jk. I fold my arms over my chest as I begin to lose my patience. "Wait, did you know that I had a suitcase on the plane?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "To be honest, I thought maybe you knew what that particular suitcase held. I thought maybe it held just your toiletries or something."

I frown, because honestly I am not sure what exactly is in that suitcase myself since Hobi is the one that packed it. I turn to him. "Hobi? Do you remember what you put in that suitcase?"

He grins over at Jk, and I know that my Bunny is in trouble now. "Your panties, bras, shorts, and a few of your short sleeve shirts are in there."

I nod my head. Grab the suitcase and take it back in the bedroom to get changed. I quickly select the pretty floral top and jean shorts plus a new pair of panties. Once I am dressed and back in the main room I throw Jk's tee and shorts back in his face. Which was apparently the wrong thing to do when his eyes heat with desire as he takes in my scent from the shorts. Fuck! Why me?!? But I am able to wipe the look right off his face with my next words. "Due to that stunt, I won't be borrowing your clothes again for the foreseeable future, Jk." He pouts at me, and I find it exceptionally difficult not to melt at the sad look in his pretty doe-like eyes.

Tae comes over to my side with my meal, which I nearly forgot about honestly, but at the scent my stomach once again rumbles loudly. "I think I am glad that I didn't pack an extra set of clothes in my carry-on after all." He jokes, and I can't help but roll my eyes at him.

The meal is pretty simple. It's just rice and beef marinated in Korean seasonings, but it is crazy delicious and fills me up easily. Hell, I must have been ravenous because I eat the entire plateful rather quickly.

I grab my temporary phone and turn it back on now that it is fully charged. "You should probably put it in airplane mode once it turns on. I wouldn't change that setting until we get back on the ground either."

We are still an hour or two away before we have to land for our layover so the plane can refuel. I'm pleased that we won't have to get off the plane for that stop though. Hell, I honestly don't even remember where it is we are stopping exactly, and I don't really care that much either. "So, what can I do in airplane mode?" I find myself asking.

"You won't be able to browse the internet, send messages, or make phone calls, but you should be able to view your old messages." Yoongi informs me.

I nod. "I am sure I have a ton of messages waiting for me, that's honestly what I was planning on doing anyway."

There are at least a few messages from Candace that I missed so I scroll up to discover the first one I missed. It is dated June 21st. Which was the day after I had been kidnapped.

Candace: Shit, I don't want to do this over text but...

Fuck! It's important. The 13th, the same day I texted you about the weird shit going on with the government and how they waived the fees for the serum injection for women and what not. Well, that same day the CDC showed up at the door and took Rebecca. I've been trying to reach out to anyone for answers, and instead of getting them I got a fucking restraining order basically telling me to cease pestering them. I plan on getting with Brighton's soulmate, Asher, and ask him if they can do this. I'll need to get with him anyway regarding somehow making sure I am on the right side of the law when it comes to taking care of Joshua now.

I frown. I can't help but feel completely baffled by the information in front of me. I didn't even realize that Rebecca was that sick for certain. Plus if the CDC got involved wouldn't they need to also quarantine Joshua and Candace as well? Something, most definitely is not adding up.

I check the next message which is dated the following day.

Candace: Shit! I know you aren't going to get this right away because I just saw a big news report saying you have been kidnapped! You better fucking call me or text me when you are safe! You know I will fucking worry until you do!

I wish I could text her right now, but it will have to wait at least an hour. I look down and see that the next text is dated the 24th, my birthday.

Candace: I really fucking hate that someone has you hidden away on your birthday! Especially since this would have been your first one with your soulmates! This world is too fucking cruel!

The last message's date is yesterday, and my eyes well up as I read it. They are simply swimming, and I am not sure I can even get myself to fully comprehend what the words are even meaning despite the fact that everything is there staring at me in black and white as. It's when I can't hold back a whimper that every last one of my soulmates turn to look at me.

"Daisy? Princess? What's wrong?"

"Love? What is it?"

"Honey?"

"Angel?"

"Sweetheart?"

"Baby?"

"Petal?"

They all try to get my attention. They all try to sort out what is wrong. The problem is I can't do anything but cry. I hand off my phone. I don't even know which one of my soulmates takes it from me for certain. I just hope they understand that I want them to read it to make sure what I saw was real.

"It's from Candace." Yoongi announces. As he starts reading it to the others I pull up the mental picture in my mind. Seeing the news in black and white for myself all over again.

Candace: Well, it no longer matters regarding the restraining order any more. I really don't want to deliver the news this way, but you need to be aware of it as soon as possible. Before I get to all that though, I want you to know that they haven't yet told me if they learned what illness was plaguing her. I'm not sure they will honestly, but after today I will make sure to start researching it heavily because something fucked up is definitely going on.

There's a five minute break between messages before she continues.

Candace: Sorry, about that I had to go and check on Joshua. Well, and also blow my nose. Anyway, the reason I am contacting you right now is because the illness that Rebecca contracted was fatal. According to the person that came to our door last night... (The same fuckhead who took Rebecca if you were wondering.) ... Like I said he came to tell me that the illness was fatal, and she... Passed on seems too tame for when someone dies years before they should! The illness fucking killed her! It killed her, and left behind a sweet three year old that is too young to understand. A three year old that has a pair of grandparents that don't care about his existence. A three year old who has a father somewhere that doesn't even know he has a child.

Another break and she adds another text hours later.

Candace: Well, I just got back from a meeting with Asher. It's almost funny that I originally set up the meeting in regards to the restraining order, and I ended up talking with him about what will happen with Joshua now. Turns out he was able to cut some red tape and get a rush on the reading of the will for me. There wasn't much in it. She didn't have anything worth value outside of Joshua after all. But, he's the most important part of this equation isn't he? The point is that she left you custody over Joshua. So, now I really hope you are found soon so we can get all this worked out. Hell, there's something I forgot to tell you about that I need to anyway. It boils down to the fact that I am going to be relocating to Seoul myself. I had original reasons of my own, but I also want to keep an eye out over Joshua now too. I love the little guy as if he were a nephew, and I know you feel the same way.

I try my best to dry my eyes. Many of my soulmates' eyes are also wet after reading that. Jin pulls me from the chair I am sitting in and sits down placing me in his lap. I'm thankful that he has offered it up as my refuge of comfort right now. Too bad his wide shoulders can't hide me completely from the cruelty of the situation. I sigh to myself before I take a break to ask about our flight schedule. "How much longer until we have to stop to refuel now?"

Namjoon sniffles before answering me, "half an hour."

I nod, although the movement seems still and automatic; as if someone else were in the driver's seat controlling my actions right now. I can't compare this to how I felt after I lost my parents, but now it's Joshua that lost his mommy. I can't decide if I am sad that he will grow up not remembering her, or if I am relieved that as he grows up it won't be a tragic memory for him to have to relive over and over again. I'm partially thankful that he didn't have to see her suffer for long, although the fact that the CDC took her with no explanation definitely makes me angry. I can't help but be thankful that he at least has Candace there to take care of him right now since I can't.

The words in my head are hollow as they echo over and over again. But, I can't help but admit to myself that this is the last way I wanted our family to start growing. I know that it's not in me to love him any less than any children my soulmates and I might have together, and I know I will make sure that he remembers his mother. But, this all just feels so wrong...

Once the tires on the landing gear start rolling properly on solid ground I immediately pull out my phone again and turn off airplane mode. Once we are fully stopped I head to the back bedroom for some privacy while I call Candace. I don't bother to check what time it is over there because I honestly don't care about that right now. It's an insignificant worry at this present moment; I need her to know that I received her messages. I need to be able to grieve with her.

She answers on the second ring. "Oh my god, I have been going crazy. I saw the news hours ago, so I knew that you were safe. I just... Why didn't you call me sooner?"

I sigh. "It's so trivial in the grand scheme of things, but after all the kidnapping shit happened my cell phone felt like the last thing I needed to worry about. I found it as we were leaving Monte Carlo today. Or hell was it yesterday? I don't know, and it hardly matters. The point is when I did finally find it the battery was dead. I plugged it in once we got on the plane, and I only just now landed for a refuel. I couldn't respond until now since my phone was in airplane mode."

"I honestly just got back from the funeral." She sniffles for a moment and chuckles although there most definitely is no humor in the sound. "Well if you can call it that. It was only myself and a few of the people that worked with her at the diner. I'm going to look into what all I need to do to get over there with Joshua in tow as soon as possible. I know he needs a passport, but hell I don't know where to find all the necessary paperwork to get that shit started." Candace sighs over the phone.

"I do. There is a lockbox in her bedroom closet. The key is hidden in her music box on her dresser." I whimper as the tears start to build up again. "She told me where to find it in case something were to happen, but I honestly didn't know what she meant by that." I now know that she meant that she had already left custody to Joshua in her will to me, and that I would need that paperwork should something like this happen.

"I'm going to look into what I can do about rushing a passport too." I hear her starting to type away at her laptop.

"You might want to also make sure that you have what you need to get him one too."

"On it. In fact I will look that up first." She types a few more things on her keyboard. "Okay, for children under sixteen... Maybe that's the cut off because that's the age that most people get their driver's license." She is obviously thinking out loud so I don't interrupt her. "Proof of identity for the parents. Well, that's going to be difficult..."

"Maybe there is a number you can call and explain the uniqueness of the situation. If that doesn't work maybe Asher can help? Or maybe he can at least point you to a good family lawyer that can."

"Hmm. Maybe. Proof of citizenship. I imagine that would be his birth certificate."

"Yes, I remember having to use mine for that specifically."

"Evidence of the child's relationship to the parents or guardians. Oh, this mentions a court order. Yes, I probably will have to get with Asher then. He will probably have to legally grant me temporary guardianship until we make it to Seoul. I imagine you would also need some kind of document saying the same thing."

I bite my lower lip. "I think I might propose to my soulmates the possibility of officially adopting him as soon as possible. I realize it's just a piece of paper, but I want to reassure Joshua that he belongs with us."

"How do you think they will take it?" Candace asks.

"I... I don't know. I mean I don't see it going over poorly, but I...I literally only just learned about this myself an hour ago. Even I'm not 100% certain about what I am feeling."

"Yeah, I definitely get that." Candace goes back to her perusal. "It says I need a copy of the flight itinerary if I require a passport expediting service." She starts clicking on the keyboard again. "The international travel itinerary must be within 72 hours at the time of applying for an expedited passport and must be done at a travel agency."

"So, the first thing you need to focus on is getting the temporary guardianship paperwork, and look into what is needed to get my paperwork also since I probably won't be able to make it back to America just to get that." I sigh. These are all things