CHAPTER NINE

"…and that was what happened. I haven't set eyes on him since then, Tatiana and Dimitri have been of amazing help to me throughout the years. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry or worse…ask me to come home…"

I sat across from my parents, carefully watching their reactions to all that I've said, they just sat there. I don't know…my Mom hasn't changed her position since she sat down and my Dad, well, he was been, my Dad. They were silent for quite some time; I didn't know what to make of it.

"Well, that was quite the adventure."

"I still can't believe you did all that, and that you had to go through this all by yourself…"

"What are your plans, where do you go from here?"

"America. I'm going back to America. I got an internship with the FBI that pays, if I'm lucky and I get retained I get a pay increase. I already paid for an apartment in New York and I'm due there by next week."

My father stood up and walked over to me, he no longer had a blank look in his eyes, his eyes held warmth. He sat beside me and hugged me from the side.

"I'm pissed at you, I'm disappointed in you, I'm angry that all these things were going on in your life and you didn't think we should know about it. At the same time, I'm proud of you…you didn't let your situation bring you down."

I looked at my father to see if he meant what he said and I saw nothing but pure sincerity. The sincerity brought tears to my eyes. I threw my hands around him and cried, tears of relief.

"Well, I take it that all is well in paradise?"

Tatiana came in with Mikael on her hip, she placed him on the floor and he walked right past me to my mother and raised his hands for her to carry him. I watched as they bonded and was happy that I wasn't judged for my mistakes. And it was at that moment I remembered my mother's last words to me before I boarded the plane to Russia. 'If you ever lose your way, don't forget your home.'

***

My parents left a day before I did. The plane ride was stress-free, which is more than what I can say about my departure. First, Tatiana almost flooded the house with her tears which triggered mine because she was my first real friend and she will always have a special place in my heart, then she and Mikael had a touching farewell, he wouldn't stop crying even when she was out of sight. Thankfully, he slept most of the ride to America. I thought I would have trouble with him on the flight but no, in fact, he seemed excited to be on a plane. I had given her my address in New York and I know I would be seeing her soon.

Mikael was tired and a little cranky by the time we got to our new home, so I uncovered the furniture in his room, made his bed, and put him to sleep. I still had some daylight so I arranged the house, repositioned some things. There wasn't much to do except stock the fridge and pantry, which would be done tomorrow, the place was clean and everything was in place ready for my arrival. I had packed some cereal for Mikael from Russia so he was settled in for the night, I picked up my phone and ordered pizza, I quickly took a bath and sat in front of the TV. Hopefully, I can only go forward from here. I know that I can pull through.

***

It has been a year since I began my internship and just as I planned, I got retained. That meant an increase in pay and benefits. Mikael was three now, he just began kindergarten. He looks more and more like his father every single day, and speaking of the devil there hasn't been a whiff of his scent anywhere. Maybe he's dead.

I entered the lab and began my work; someone was murdered and the body was brought to us for examination. I quickly got to work and about an hour into my investigation, my supervisor entered the lab with another man in tow. I'm used to this so I normally just continue my work while he does the introductions and then I give my analysis.

"Miss Anderson, this is the agent in charge of the case. Agent Ian Harris, Ian, Miss Anderson."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Anderson."

I felt a sense of Déjà vu when I heard his voice, I instinctively looked up and saw the one person I thought I'd never see and quite frankly, the last person I wanted to see. Viktor Petrov.

"Arizona…"

"Viktor!!!"

I dropped everything in my hands and before anyone, including myself, could realize what was happening, I had kneed Viktor or Ian where the sun doesn't shine and he lay curled up on the floor holding his private part.

"What sort of behavior is this, Miss Anderson!?" My supervisor assisted Viktor back to his feet, I would have preferred if he just stayed on the floor. I wasn't sorry and I sure as hell wasn't apologizing "It's alright, Johnny. I think I deserved that."

"Of course, you did. Mr. John, if it is okay by you, I'd give you my report now so the air can be free for non-cheating humans to breath." I quickly ran through everything and thankfully, the volcano inside me didn't explode. And also, my supervisor said it was perfectly fine for me to leave early as there was no other work left for me to do. I knew Viktor…well, Ian would want to talk to me so I ran out of the building and after picking up Mikael from school I went straight home. Thankfully, Mikael was just as exhausted as I was, so he went straight to bed after lunch and a bath giving me ample time to cry away my frustrations in the shower. It was almost 6:00 pm when I managed to pull myself together, I went down to my living room with some pringles and water, settling down in front of the TV when the doorbell rang. I groaned and grudgingly carried myself to the front door, I opened the door without looking through the peephole and that proved to be a problem because standing before me was none other than Ian Harris in the flesh.

I closed the door with all my might but he pushed the door backward and forced himself and me into my living room. I quickly regained my balance and walked into the kitchen, more like stormed with him hot on my heels, I grabbed a root beer from the fridge and sat on the counter. Ian grabbed the bottle from me and stood so close to me, he was breathing down my neck.

"Are you going to say what you want or you're going to stare at me till the sun sets?"

"When were you going to tell me that I had a son?" The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood and I froze for a second. How did he even know about Mikael?

"Oh, that's his name. Mikael."

How did he know his name?

"You still have that adorable habit of thinking aloud. You are still as beautiful as ever, Arizona." We stared at each other; his eyes were still the same shade of awesomeness they were all those years ago. I quickly broke eye contact and reminded myself that I was still angry and disappointed in him.

"How did you know about Mikael?"

"I followed you home and to my greatest surprise, you stopped at a school and a boy who looks like me called you Mummy."

"Well, you didn't tell me about blondie. Was she a good fuck?"

"Fuck Arizona, that was more complicated than you think."

"Oh. What was so complicated? Fidelity or your cowardice?"

"It's a long story and it's classified. What I want to know is why you wouldn't tell me about my son."

"Why I wouldn't tell you about MY son is because his father cheated because he was so much of a coward to own up to his mistake and ran away. Because he never once called to check on the woman he claimed to love, you son of a bitch!!!"

"Shit, Arizona. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you how I did. I knew our relationship had limited time so I thought it best to not contact you, for you to heal and move on."

"What's going on here?"

We both looked towards the tiny voice, Mikael had woken up and he wasn't too happy. He was staring at Ian like he was about to beat him up, Ian on the other hand looked like he was about to cry.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I quickly jumped down from the kitchen counter and picked up Mikael. I placed him on the counter and fetched him a glass of milk, he just dropped it beside him and fixed his gaze on Ian. Ian walked over to him and put out his hand for a handshake.

"Hello Mikael, I'm Ian. I'm also mummy's old friend." Mikael didn't take his hand, instead, he folded his across his chest. Ian withdrew his and put them in his pockets.

"You were upsetting mummy. That's not what friends do." He stretched out his hands to me, I carried him down from the counter and handed him his glass of milk.

"I don't like people who make mummy sad. I don't like you." We both watched Mikael as he disappeared from our sight.

"I don't like you too so you can be on your way too."

"I'm not going anywhere till this is settled, missy. I want in on our son's life, and I'll do whatever to make that happen."

"Was that a threat, mister?"

"No, and I sincerely hope it doesn't get to it. I'm sorry for the things that happened in the past but I won't let it stop me from knowing my son."

And with that, Mr. hot and annoying was out of my house and regrettably not out of my life. I ran up to my room and called Tatiana to come over, she and Dimitri moved here temporarily because Dimitri was opening yet another club here in New York and also, they wanted an American wedding. Yes, they're getting married. At least one of us got their fairy tale ending.

I told her about everything that had happened in the last 24 hours and even before I finished talking, she hung up. I looked at my phone in shock and then I got a text from her.

"I'm on my way!!!"