Two weeks after the incident in the kitchen, things had settled into a relatively normal routine. The guys spent their days working, travelling into the city for meetings, working out in the gym, or just hanging out and having fun. The most surprising thing for Ella was that she too was starting to have actual fun. More than once she'd caught herself laughing until her sides hurt, and she thought that it was a good sign her spirit was on the mend.

It was late on a Thursday afternoon when Storm came and sat down beside her on one of the wicker rocking chairs on the front deck of the farmhouse. Ella still couldn't get over the fact that they actually had real rocking chairs; they seemed out of place with the macho boys, but the guys all seemed to enjoy spending time outside on the chairs, taking in the peace and quiet of the forest around them.

"Whatcha doin' sweetheart?" Storm asked as he gave her a lazy grin, gently rocking back and forward beside her.

"Just enjoying the view," she replied with a smile of her own.

"You seem to be settling in here pretty well, are you happy?"

Ella looked up in surprise, "Of course I'm happy! You've all been so wonderful to me."

Storm nodded, "I just wanted to check in and see if you needed anything. All you have to do is ask, ok?"

Ella nodded.

"Good. Actually, there's something else the guys and I want to ask you. This Saturday is the annual County Cookout and we were wondering whether you might like to go?" Storm gave her an expectant look. "You've been here for a couple of weeks now and I thought you might like to get out and do something fun."

It was Storm's idea, she should've known. He was the sweetest and most thoughtful of the bunch, always looking out for her emotional wellbeing and checking in with her. His warmth and gentleness were what made him such an excellent doctor, she was sure of it.

"That sounds nice I guess," she said tentatively.

Despite having found a certain level of security and safety with the guys, she was still nervous about being out in the open, especially in town. She'd been into the small town of Crystal Creek twice more since the time Wolf and Hunter had taken her clothes shopping, and she was slowly growing more accustomed to the feeling of being out and about in the world once again. People were starting to say hello to her as they passed which was nice.

"It'll be good for you I think," Storm continued gently. "You've been doing so well going into town to get supplies with us, I reckon this'll be a good next step. We'll all be there with you, I promise."

"Even Wolf and Hunter?" Ella asked dubiously. "A county fair doesn't seem like the type of thing they'd be interested in."

Storm laughed. "Yeah you might have a point, however it's good business to keep the locals on side. Showing up to the town events and helping support the charities and stuff helps keep the locals from getting too nosey about us and our business. We're not doing anything illegal, but we like to keep things private up here, that's why we always have our meetings in the office."

It made sense, if they didn't seem mysterious then people wouldn't look too closely at them. Ella could appreciate not wanting people to pry into personal affairs, it was one of the reasons she'd initially run away from them when she'd overheard them talking about her.

She took a moment to think about what the fair might be like and whether she thought she'd enjoy it. Having the guys with her would definitely make it easier, and perhaps it was time for her to take the next step forward in re-joining the world.

"Ok, I'm in," she said with a smile.

"Great! It's this Saturday at the park. I'll let the others know," Storm grinned.

******

Three days later, Ella was sitting in the back seat of one of the enormous SUVs with Blaize while Wolf drove and Hunter rode shotgun. It was such good weather that Storm and Ryder had opted to take their gleaming black motorcycles instead of one of the other cars.

Blaize and Ella laughed and sang in the back seat while Wolf and Hunter talked up front, clearly not willing to be quite so carefree despite the image they wanted to project to the townspeople. Blaize was the youngest of the group and the biggest prankster. He often had Ella laughing and she was grateful for his efforts in keeping her spirits up and her mind away from darker thoughts.

As they pulled into the entrance of the park, Ella looked out and saw a sea of brightly coloured booths, rides and games in the distance and the smell of delicious food wafting in through the open windows. Wolf pulled the car into a parking space and they all piled out, Blaize immediately beginning to point out all the best foods to try. As they gathered at the front of the car, the sound of two rumbling engines drew their attention and they watched as Storm and Ryder pulled their hogs in beside the SUV.

Although Ella had seen all five of the brothers together for the past few weeks, she was still a little awestruck at the image they made when all of them stood side by side. Clearly she wasn't the only one, because from the moment they'd arrived every eye had been on them. The men were covertly shooting them impressed and envious looks whilst the women...well the women were just plain staring. Ella could understand why, because despite what she'd been through even she wasn't immune to their appeal.

"Alright darlin', what's first?" asked Storm, walking up and slinging an arm around her shoulders.

She gave the blonde Viking a warm smile as she looked up at him. He was almost a foot and a half taller than her and she felt like a kitten next to a stegosaurus, but for some reason she wasn't intimidated in the least.

"Chocolate, definitely chocolate," she answered with a grin.

Letting out a booming laugh, Storm tugged her forward, "Then chocolate you shall have!"

With that all six of them moved forward to begin Ella's very first experience at a county fair. Almost immediately they were swallowed up by the crowd; Wolf and Hunter were pulled aside to talk to the Mayor while Blaize and Storm suddenly had women crowding around and batting their eyelashes. Ella almost laughed at the look of resignation on Storm's face and the glee on Blaize's.

Over the next couple of hours Ella discovered that Ryder could win just about any game at the fair, Storm was a big softie when it came to puppies, and Blaize could eat his body weight in junk food.

"You're going to be running until your feet bleed to work all that crap off," warned Hunter to Blaize as they all watched him eat his fifth hotdog. Ella would've been impressed if she wasn't feeling slightly nauseated at the sheer quantity of food.

"It'll be so worth it," groaned Blaize with a blissed out look on his face.

Ella giggled as Storm rolled his eyes and Wolf shook his head in disgust. Blaize's food habits were well known in the household, and despite all the exercise he did, Ella still wasn't quite sure how he managed to keep his magnificent physique.

"What's next sweetheart?" asked Storm.

"How about the Ferris Wheel?" she asked, pointing to the red, white and blue ride.

"Sure thing. Blaize, you're staying down here. If you puke while you're fifty feet in the air we'll never be allowed to come back," Storm ordered.

"What? I'm not gonna puke!" Blaize argued through a mouthful of hotdog.

"Close your mouth when you're eating!" yelled Ryder and Storm at the same time.

Ella doubled over laughing as she watched them. Five of the biggest men she'd ever seen were standing in the middle of a county fair arguing about table manners. Ryder whacked Blaize over the head with a stuffed teddy that he'd won for Ella at the ring toss and shoved him aside.

"Let's go," he said, tugging Ella along by the hand.

They'd barely made it three steps before their path was blocked by a familiar redhead and her two friends.

"Fancy seeing you boys here, I was hoping I'd run into you," cooed Carly.

She was once again dressed in skin tight clothes, way too much makeup and enough hairspray to start jumpstart a bonfire. Just as she had when Ella had first seen her outside Carole's clothes shop, Carly was running her eyes over the fit bodies of the brothers, lingering a little longer on Wolf and Hunter.

"Storm, you remember Stacey don't you?" Carly said with a smile, indicating the blonde standing on her right.

"And Ryder I know you remember Jenn," she said, motioning to the brunette on her other side.

The meaning was not lost on Ella. Clearly the guys had been involved with these women at some point.

"Oh and I see you've still got your little friend with you. It's Emma right?" Carly asked as she ran her eyes over Ella's clothes. "I see your taste in fashion hasn't improved since last time. Points for trying though, at least this time you're actually wearing women's clothes."

Ella felt as though the air had been sucked from her lungs. She was used to people looking down on her, growing up in the foster system meant that her clothes and shoes were almost always second hand and she had cut her hair herself, not having the money to go to a salon. Her old feelings of anxiety and insecurity came flooding back, instantly making her shrink into herself. What she'd failed to remember though, was that she was no longer alone.

"What the hell did you just say?" growled an instantly furious Ryder from beside her.

There was absolute silence as everyone within ear shot seemed to freeze the moment the words left his lips. Carly realised her mistake immediately, turning her attention to Ryder and his brothers who were now crowding around Ella, glaring at the redhead as she attempted to make light of her cruel comments.

Carly let out a small laugh and waved her hand, "Oh she knows I'm just teasing. Girlfriends tease each other, right girls?"

Stacey and Jenn seemed to realise that Carly was on very thin ice and tried to distance themselves from her blunder, giving weak smiles before lowering their eyes to the ground.

"You're not friends with Ella," said Storm quietly. "That's her name by the way, Ella not Emma. But I think you already knew that didn't you?"

"Yes of course, Ella," Carly said with a false smile in Ella's direction.

The whole situation was making Ella feel sick, her stomach was rolling and her shoulders were so tense she was starting to get a headache. Just as she was about to stammer out an apology and beat it to the car, Hunter and Wolf pulled her back between them. They'd been standing should to shoulder directly behind her and now Wolf wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, leaning down and whispering, "Breathe, little one."

She buried her head against Wolf's chest and tried to take a deep breath as instructed, closing her eyes and letting his familiar scent comfort her.

"I think it's time we headed home," said Hunter.

"Yeah I'm done for the day," said Blaize with a furious look at Carly.

The audience that they'd attracted suddenly found themselves very busy as Hunter looked around at them and said, "Show's over."

Just like that everyone disappeared, leaving Ella, the guys and Carly and her friends. Seeming to realise that she was about to be dismissed, Carly tried one last time to get their attention.

"Are you guys sure you want to leave? You haven't even seen the fireworks yet! I've got a perfect picnic spot set up for us. Wolf, Hunter?"

Hunter turned his steady gaze to Carly and said quietly, "That's not going to happen, ever."

"There was a time when the two of you loved to spend time with me, especially when it was just the three of us," she said with a pout.

Ella flinched, not really understanding why but feeling as though the words had hurt her somehow. Wolf growled and Blaize made a sound of absolute disgust.

"I'm getting the hell out of here," he spat before he turned and stalked off towards the parking lot.

"Let's go," said Hunter with a final warning look at Carly. He ushered the rest of the group away from the three women and headed off after Blaize.

Wolf kept his arm wrapped around Ella's shoulders as they walked and Hunter took up his position on her other side. She instantly felt a little better having them with her again.

"I'm sorry about that," said Hunter quietly. "She should never have said any of that, especially to you."

"It's ok," said Ella softly. "If you want to go with her I won't mind, I promise. I can get a ride back with Blaize."

Hunter and Wolf instantly came to a halt, forcing Ella to stop as well. They turned her to face them, putting themselves between her and the gawkers at the fair behind them.

"Listen to me," said Wolf, "Hunter and I had a fling with Carly, once, a long time ago. I won't go into detail but it's over, and has been over for a long time. She just hasn't learned to let it go. You're our priority, you're who we want to spend time with. We come to these events to make an appearance, sure, but this one was all about you having a good time."

"We're sorry it ended the way it did, and we'll be having a word to Carly as well," added Wolf. "But don't misunderstand, there's nowhere we'd rather be than right beside you."

Ella felt that warm feeling bloom in her chest at their words and gave them a tremulous smile.

She didn't want to think about the fact that they'd clearly both been with Carly, quite possibly at the same time; and she didn't want to think about Ryder and Storm being with Stacey and Jenn either. Their past relationships were their business and she had no reason to be jealous, even if she was beginning to think of them all as 'hers'.

She took a moment to think about each of them in turn. Blaize was her prankster who loved a joke. Storm was her sweet defender, always looking out for her wellbeing. Ryder was her stegosaurus Viking who was a grumpy schoolboy in the morning and quick with a smile. And the twins, they were her warriors; dark, brooding, deadly. And all hers it seemed.

They had all taken her in, cared for her, protected her, and here they were doing it once again. How she'd been so lucky as to find them she didn't know, but they were here and they were hers.

Looking up at them with a feeling of such hope and acceptance, she gave them a gentle smile and said, "Let's go home."