They had been working hard all week to finish shooting on schedule. They only had the last scenes of the final episode to shoot and then they were done. It was a bittersweet feeling and Lily was hopeful that she would get to do it all again the following year but no promises had been made. Due to all of their hard work Mason had given them extra time off for the holiday weekend.

Now Lily was sitting by the Stevens pool enjoying her time with the kids cooling off while she played lifeguard. It was the 4th of July, and everyone felt festive this year as the Stevens descended en-mass to Savannah for a little holiday break. Their breaks tended to be organic and just happened. At least that was how it appeared to occur as one after the other began to arrive. Lee and Kate had also arrived, and between Stevens house and Evers house, the place was packed. Outside of herself and Henry, there were nine grandkids, and they made the place feel crowded. Fiona, Quinn and Dana Stevens's daughter was the oldest at twelve, and the youngest was Paul, Penny and Sam's son at four years old, who was sitting on Lily's lap asleep.

Lily watched from the sidelines as a rousing game of Marco-Polo was taking place with Colten, Penny and Sam's son who was eight years old, attempting to catch someone. He dodged left then right then ducked under the water and zoomed across the pool arms outstretched catching Mave, aged seven, who was one of Rainer and Alice Stevens's twins. Mave was found the most, primarily because of her bright red hair. When the kid's cheated by peeking, and they always peeked because it was the only way they could win the game, her hair was the first thing they saw in what for the most part was a sea of blonds.

"I got caught last time!" she cried.

"It doesn't matter Mave; if you're slow you're slow!" Alister, also seven years old, and Grace and Bryce Stevens's son yelled across the water. He was lanky with dark curly hair like his mother and the Stevens bright blue eyes. He was going to be a looker when he grew up.

"Don't yell at my sister!" Beth, Mave's twin, yelled from across the pool. She was as blond as the others since she had Mave were fraternal twins.

"I'll take Mave's turn," Sam Junior called as he moved to the center of the pool. Mave already thought Sam, Penny and Sam's oldest who was ten, hung the moon. The boy could do no wrong in her eyes.

Fiona rolled her eyes as she got out of the pool. She was twelve and had a massive crush on Henry.

That left Cassie and Mason's daughter, Aggie, who was also seven and had dark auburn curly hair like Cassie, and Ellie, who was five and Sam and Penny's second youngest. Ellie was hardly old enough to play, so they had let her start as Marco at the beginning of the game and then by agreement never tried to catch her again. It made her feel included but kept her safe. Her little brother, Paul, was still too young to play.

"Watermelon! Who wants a break?" Grace Stevens called as she brought out a giant tray of huge watermelon slices.

"Let's have a seed spitting contest!" Lily said as she managed to get up while holding Paul at the same time. He woke for a moment, looked around, then laid his head on Lily's shoulder, closing his eyes again.

"Not in the pool!" Quinn, Mason's brother called from inside the screen door.

Mason had five brothers, Bryce the oldest, Rainer, Quinn, Davis, and Caleb, and he also had a twin sister Lizzy, who intimidated Lily when she was around.

A line was set on the patio with a stick, and then the bets started as they began to all start talking smack to each other about who was better than who.

"It reminds me of when mine were little," Elizabeth Stevens the matriarch said behind Lily. Lily turned to smile at her and noticed that the rest of the family had gathered to watch the competition. Her gaze scanned the crowd with a smile, and her smile faded as she caught sight of Finn standing next to Uncle Lee in the back.

When had he arrived and why hadn't she been informed that he was coming?

Lily turned back to organize the kids, and they all started fighting about who would go first. Lily laid a few ground rules, chose the order they would go in, then lined them up. Ellie was once again too little, so she was given the very important job of marking everyone's seed when it landed.

Lily was doing her best to pretend that she wasn't standing around in a modest two-piece bathing suit. The bottoms had a little flirty skirt, and the top just about reached her bottoms, but she felt self-conscious as she kept her back to Finn.

The kids all participated, and Colten won with Fiona coming in second. Then more watermelon was ordered and the adult Stevens decided they were going to have a little competition of their own.

Lily decided that Paul needed to be put down for a nap, so she headed towards the house to find a place to leave him. The boy could sleep through anything; it probably came from having three very loud older siblings.

When she entered the kitchen, she smiled as she saw Mike sitting on a stool in the corner. "Hi Mike," she called, would you like to come with me and find a quiet place," she offered.

Mike jumped down and followed her out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"I know just the place," she said softly.

She ended up in the master bedroom that had a protected bay window with a window seat. She thought it might make him feel safe to have walls on three sides of him.

She laid Paul down, but as with most children; that was his sign to wake-up. "I want a story!" he cried as he cuddled against her when she sat on the bed.

"A story?" she asked, as her mind worked overtime to come up with something.

"Me too!"Ellie said as she entered the room with Mave trailing behind.

They were wet and sticky from the watermelon, but as one after the other piled in she gave up on trying to keep them off of the bed. It would be easier to change the bedding in the end.

"What kind of story?" Lily asked, settling back with all of the kids spread around the room in different places.

"Who are you?" Mave asked, looking at Mike.

"That's my friend Mike." Mave went to sit next to him, and he started to count as she approached.

"No, sweetie, Mike likes to sit by himself, he gets upset if anyone gets to close," she explained.

"That's weird!" Alister called.

"No more weird than you being afraid of clowns Alister," Lily said in reply, "or Colten not liking cheese, or Paul not liking dolls. You all have your likes and dislikes, and we don't judge we accept, got it!" Lily insisted.

They all nodded and then started calling for a story again.

"Alright, I have one." Lily began to tell the story about the man getting stuck up the chimney at Penny and Sam's house. It was a ghost story that was known through the entire town, but Lily told it as a love story, not a ghost story.

Halfway through she noticed Finn standing in the doorway watching her as she told it, but she did her best to ignore him. When she finished, most of the kids had fallen asleep. The only ones not asleep were Mike, Fiona, and Sam.

"That's really a ghost story, Lily!" Sam said as she stood, disgusted in a way only a ten-year-old by could be in her telling it.

"I want to hear the ghost story, tell it to me!" Fiona insisted.

"Not here, go across the hall where the little ones can't hear you." Lily insisted as she tried to disentangle herself from little legs and arms.

"Come on, Mike!" Fiona insisted, and to Lily's surprise, Mike followed her but at a distance.

Lily looked at Finn, shocked at what had just happened and Finn smiled and shrugged as they passed him and went into the room across the hall.

"I always thought he needed more people not less," Finn explained. "Do you have a minute? I wanted to run something by you. I have a favor to ask."

Lily tilted her head to one side and looked at him. "A favor, that's not really like you Finn. Do you want me to help you chase that skanky blond woman off like I did Mike's sitter?" she asked, hoping the answer was yes.

"No, Lana is not a skank," he shook his head.

"Been with a lot of skanks have you, you know enough to compare?" she started towards the door of the room, but as she reached it, he grabbed her arm.

"This is for Mike," he said gravely.

Lily felt her heart plummet. She liked Mike, and of course, she wanted to help him, but she would have preferred if it was Finn himself who needed her help.

*******

"Sure, let's talk," she agreed, leading the way to a bench at the end of the hall.

"Did she agree?" Lee asked as Finn joined him on the patio by the pool later that day.

"Yes, she'll move in with me for three weeks until summer ends and Mike goes back to school.

"Good, Henry is going back with me. He has decided that his school is not the right fit for him."

Henry had told Lee what had happened, and they had a long discussion on his next step. Henry also told Lee that Lily's mother was already in town and harassing her.

So they had devised the plan that if Lily stayed with Finn for a while, it would give them a chance to deal with her and keep Lily safe, and it would also help him take care of Mike, not that he needed the help because the show would be in hiatus by then.

Finn still wasn't sure what the story was with Lily and her mother, all he knew was that she needed to be protected from her mother, and that was all he needed to know although the idea of Lily living in his house set him on edge.

Finn nodded to show his understanding of the situation. "The rest is being dealt with?"

"Yes, Josh sent some guys who are following up on Henry's new acquaintances." Lee passed Finn a beer that he had brought out with them as they sat in a few lounge chairs.

After the research had been completed it turned out that all but one was on parole for something, and knowing the type of crowd they were, they weren't too keen on following laws. Josh was a friend Lee's SEAL team and a bit of a legend by the time Finn made it onto the scene. He ran a security firm and had the workforce to follow the kids until they broke parole. Then the plan was to call the police and report them. It would cause so much havoc that they would hopefully forget all about Henry and Lily. It was a plan that was amazingly simple and devious.

"Josh always was good at a plan," Lee said, holding out his beer so he and Finn could toast the absent Josh.

They sat in companionable silence as they sipped their beers.

"Lily won, didn't she?" Lee asked after a few moments.

"A few of the battles," Finn said gruffly, and he could feel Lee's eyes watching him, but his gaze wasn't judgemental or defensive in any way.

"Talk to her about her family sometime. It might help her win the war, and as much as your fighting it, I  think you want her to win the war."

"I can't see how," he insisted, looking over at his friend.

"She has survived a lot, and I think her story will prove to you that she is stronger than she looks and able to help you fight your battles." Lee's eyes met his.

"She has too much to experience in this life to bog herself down with me."

"That's the amazing thing about love, you think that you will do that, but if you love her, you will help her soar, help her win, and she'll do the same for you." Lee clapped him on the shoulder and stood.

"Now I'm going to go find my girl and snag a good spot for the fireworks."

Finn downed the rest of his beer, refusing to hear Lee's words. He sounded supportive, but when he made Lily miserable, he wouldn't be.

The screen door slammed open in the dusk and a kid rushed by him landing in the pool, then one after the other they followed.

"Is everything alright?" Lily asked, taking the seat that Lee had vacated.

"Sure," he said, watching the kids.

"Sure," she responded, then left him alone. One good thing about Lily was she knew when not to dig.

If Lily could have heard his thoughts she would have jumped for joy that he had thought the word when not if.