"Lynne Dont you think its time to go to bed?" Said John his voice coming from  the bed. She did a double take. She was so mezmerized in her own past she forgot that she was currently a great grandmother. The quick turn of her head and subsequent ach in the neck was all it took to remind her.

      She looked at the clock and realized it was well past the time she would normally turn in for the night.

      "Rome wasn't built in a day." 

      She finished the remaining thought that she had in her improvised journal and headed to bed. By the time she had put on her pajamas and shut off the light. Her husband John had already fallen asleep. As she got into bed next to him she realized the distinction in her level of comfort between now and when she first met him.

      "It really is amazing how far I've come"

      With that comforting thought in mind she to fell asleep. Call it a mothers, no a grandmas, hell a great grandmother's intuition. Call it whatever, but what it was, was a foreboding feeling that her years of experiance would be needed come morning. She smiled, she couldn't quit place it, but for whatever reason this feeling always made her feel...Useful.

      Just like clock work as soon as she fell asleep it was time to get up. There was no alarm. No not in the Holland house, or even the Holland vacation home. There was no need. A screaming toddler and a rambunctious dog came busting in the room demanding pancakes. 

      Due to the fog of sleep in the early morning and their similarity in size. Lynne couldn't tell if the toddler Amari was yelling for breakfast or the dog Naavi. 

      "I'm up" said Lynne. After 2 kids and raising three of four grandchildren. All of which were hyper energenic in their own way. She learned that being quick on your feet wasn't a suggestion but a prerequisite to keeping a stable house that remained unburned to the ground. She still remembered when a 13 year old Dakota got his hand on some liquid Methane from chemistry class. 

      She shuddered at the memory of  how bad that little experiment almost went.

      "Mason still gets nervous around an open flame."

      She noticed her husband wasn't in the bed. He was already up and at em. Even on vacation he kept his clothes over a chair and ready to go before bed. He was halfway through buttoning up his shirt and heading to the kitchen by the time her covers were pulled back. She noticed he was wearing the blue hawain shirt, that she had thrown away at least three times before.

      Just as she was swinging her legs around the bed, and placing her feet on the floor. Mason popped his head in. 

      "Sorry grandma, I took a bathroom break and she bolted." 

      "It's no problem Dear." Said Lynne in response. Without realizing what she was doing. She looked over at the table she had spent most of the night at. 
      "I wonder what that's about?" 

     It took her a while to remember why  She had spent most of the night writing about her life. She was then  hit by another thought. She was in Brazil celebrating the marraige of her eldest and most socially inept grandchild. 

     "What a wonderful life it has been!"

      She got dressed in her usual attire. Grandma jeans, a loose blouse, and muted cardigan. She looked herself in the mirror, reminded herself that the extra cake she ate last night wouldn't be to much of a problem because the first thing she would do back at home. Would be to  finally buy an excercise bike and then headed to the kitchen. To enjoy her husband's famous pancakes. 

      Upon realizing the carb loaded breakfast she was about to enjoy. She decided to add an eliptical to the list of  excercise equipment.

      She shrugged her shoulders.

      "I'm sure they'll give me a discount."

      She didn't know how her husband did it. He, like all men, got a bit wider in the waist in his elder years, but for the most part he was still in relatively good shape. She was of course forgetting that the man spent most of his waking hours fixing some sort of automobile, and/or making sure every blade of grass in the yard was the perfect legnth.

      "Must be those German Genes of his. To stubborn to lose an argument, to stubborn to ask for directions, and to stubborn to gain weight." 

      She laughed to herself.

      "I should have gotten into comedy."

       At that moment a bird outside the window cocked it's head and flew away.

      "Everyone's a critic." 

      When she finally arrived at the large kitchen. The breakfast scene was alive and well. Immediately she went into mother, no grandma. She sighed, "Great Grandmother Mode," and went over her mental checklist of personel.

      "Husband check, great grandbaby and dog. Double check as the toddler was at the moment slipping the dog a piece of pancake from the table. Obviously unaware that her secret mission to feed Naavi human food was on full display for everyone to see. She got all the way through her list when she realized one was missing. The oldest one. 

      "That's odd, the kid was always the first one up...."

      Then it hit her like a truck. Her socially awkward oldest grandson who had always kept his interest in the fairer sex close to the vest. Much more interested in science and technology than the sins of the flesh. May very well be sleeping in after his first night with his new wife. She looked up at John to see what he thought. This was always going to be a touchy subject for them both. They learned with their own kids that teahcing abstinance until marraige was a great theory, but usually failed when put into application. As far as the second batch of kids. Well, Obviousily Mason hadn't taken the lesson to heart. The proof of that was currently sneaking a sausage to Naavi under the table, and Stacie. 

      Well her husband and she decided not to think about what kind of boys she was involved with as she traveled abroad.

      Dakota though, it's not that he was awkward about his feelings towards women. He had just never really had any. His wife of less than one day, just kind of showed up one day, and instantly hit it off with the family. Dakota had always been one to pave his own way, and the family had learned that if he made up his mind about something he was usually right. So they didn't really question his decision to date and then propose to her. 

      Who was she kidding. From the moment her and her own husband of 50+ years saw the giant and rare smile on Dakota's face after introducing her during a holiday celebration. Lynne knew she would end up loving this woman, and she did. She made him happy.

      Lynne just hoped she knew what she was doing in the romance area of a relationship. Lynne was fairly certain Dakota did not. Sure he knew all about anatomy but... She decided at that moment to stop thinking about it. Instead she remembered one of Dakota's more naive moments as a kid.

     He was 13 and she had just given him the talk about the Birds and the Bee's. She ended by telling him that when he got his first serious girlfriend he would need to buy protection. When he responded with. "Why would I need a bullet proof vest just to be with a girl?" She realized that he most likely wouldn't need the contraception after all.

     Her attention returned to the scene in front of her. Specifically on her husband. It was amazing after 50 + years of marraige. The guy was as oblivious as can be. Sure he'd react quick as a whip in an emergency, but when it came to keeping up with the family dynamic, he didn't know his front from his rear. She decided that she wouldn't say anything. After all her oldest, grandbaby was a man now. Even if she did feel a bit embarrassed. She wouldn't pry.

      It was then she realized a commotion in a side room with double glass doors. It appeared to be the villa's study. Inside the room was her eldest grandson and his wife. It couldn't be though because they appeared to be arguing.

      Her motherly instincts began to kick in and she started to stand up and head in that direction. When her own husband gave her a look communicating that she was not to interfere.

      "So apparantly he has learned to be more observant". She thought as she sat back down. Her pancakes having lost their luster. 

      This went on for several minutes. Her grandson wasn't one to lose his temper. As a kid he learned to deal with his emotions. Mostly because he rarely experianced any with any intensity. So it was incredibly rare to see him argue with someone. Most of the time he just stated his piece and walked away. 

      "He must really care about her."

      His new wife's hand gestures began to get more and more exagerated with the passing moments. As Lynne got more emmersed in the scene. A previously unnoticed Stacie came over and sat next to her. 

      "I think he's losing this one." She said as she took her grandma's uneaten pancakes. Cousin John and Mason put in their two cents. The prevailing theory was that Dakota was indeed losing the bout. 

      They listened for a few more minutes. The first round definetely went to Hannah. It appeared like she had him up against the ropes. He actually seemed to have gone slack jawed and unable to talk. It took him a while to get his head in the fight but he to built up a bit of steam. Being that Dakota was positioned in a 3 quarters profile mostly facing the window. They could kind of make out what he was saying. Things seemed to calm down a bit when Dakota uttered the last words you should ever say to an angry wife. 

      No one in the kitchen could believe what they were witnessing. They all knew him well enough to know there was no way he'd back down once he began.  Time seemed to slow as the words began forming on his lips. Even the toddler and dog knew something was a wry. This was made apparent when a bit of uneaten egg was left on the floor. Naavi's tail was between her legs and she seemed very confused. She wanted to protect her ignorant best friend, but even the dog knew that Dakota had crossed a line.

      "Just calm down." Were the words that came out of his mouth. Just three simple but deadly words. Responsible for more unhappy marraiges than ESPN, Vogue Magazine, and Michael Buble albums combined. The words every husband always thinks but knows never to say. They couldn't actually hear him say this but every syllable was clear as day as he said it.

      "He's dead" muttered John. They all unanimously bowed their heads praying that Dakota would live through and learn from this disaster.

      All of this happened in a mere number of seconds. Hannah for her part, managed to keep her cool and not kill him. Instead she did the rational thing and only slightly went berserk. She turned around now facing the windows and the subsequent audiance. Everyone turned away quickly, but it was rather obvious they were watching. 

      She threw up her hands after manhandling both doors open and slamming them behind her. She didn't seem to care that she had an audiance. Instead she muttered something about the nerve of her new husband and stormed out the door.

      For Dakota's part, well he was experiancing  the third F that most people don't know about regarding the fight or flight reaction model. That being freeze. The seconds where the brain was trying to decide what to do. Sort of a delayed reaciton if you will.

      "Well then" He said. Having also realized his whole family was watching. Hands in his pockets as he did. Lightly rocking back and forth. 

      "Were you that bad?" said Stacie. As always her complete inability to read or care about the atmosphere in the room on full display. Dakota just shook his head.

      "What was that all about?" asked Lynne. They had all learned that some of Stacie's more innapropriate comments were better off ignored. 

      He thought about it for a second. Trying to decide if he actually wanted to tell the whole room his predicament. He must've decided it couldn't hurt.

      "She seems to be worried that I won't be able to give her the life of excitement that she wants."

      This seemed like a rather odd argument to have the morning after getting married.

      "Didn't you guys talk about this before?" asked Lynne.

      "We did" said Dakota he sat down at the table to a fresh plate of pancakes. Even though his grandfather was spectating the argument like everyone else. He still managed to keep the griddle going.

        Dakota didn't actually eat them. He just moved them around a bit. His best friend finally coming to greet him. Snorting at the front door as she did. He wasn't sure if she was warding off Hannah or miffed that Hannah left without even a tummy rub. He also wasn't sure if she came to him to comfort him, or to beg for pancakes.

      "It's just this new job has the option to relocate to the company's headquarters in Japan. Along with that it would require a lot more travel to some of our other locations in different countries. We weren't going to talk about it until after the honeymoon, but she kind of sprung it on me last night, and again this morning. I don't want to move but she does." 

      Lynne didn't even have to ask. Growing up Dakota didn't even like people messing with his collectable cards as they could mess up his intricate organizational pattern. Moving to a foreign country where neither of them spoke the language. After building an impressive career in the states. Was something Hannah would do without a moments hesitation. Her grandson on the other hand. There was no way.

      "Opposites really do attract"

      That point was driven home as she looked over and up at John. He patted his grandson on the back. 

      "Yea kid, you certainly have a problem on your hands. Just remember an angry wife means an angry life." With that, the old man took his own place at the table with the biggest stack of pancakes yet and began eating. This was an old alpha's way of letting the lesser creatures know that while their problems were entertaining. Nobody interrupts a king at meal times. 

      The family took the hint and went to their seperate rooms to get ready for the days adventures. They were slated to visit the Statue of Jesus. The only ones left in the kitchen were Dakota and his grandpa. Neither one was much of a talker. Put them both in the same room and you were lucky to get full sentences. It's not that they didn't like to talk. It was actually quit the opposite. His grandfather was one of the first people, other than his grandma, to understand that Dakota was a bit different in regards to his method of communicating.

      He didn't like to mince words and small talk was something completely foreign to him. Because of this his grandpa never forced conversation. At this point the old man had pulled out his phone. Not able to pull up the news app on it. Either due to an inability to connect to the internet, or an inability to remember how apps work. Dakota didn't know.  He substituted the phone with a backup newspaper he brought with him. 

      After a silent minute or so. He lowered his glasses a touch. As well as the newspaper and cleared his throat. 

      "You know what you have to do right?"

       "I think so." Responded Dakota. Sighing a bit. At the moment he had no pancakes to play with. Stacie liberated them from him as she went to her room.

      "Well see that it's done. I won't have you messing up your grandma's trip to Rio. She's always wanted to visit Brazil. Me I don't care for it to much. You spend enough time crawling through Vietnam and suddenly all jungles look alike ya know?" 

      The quesiton was asked rhetorically and Dakota knew it. His grandfather lifted the Newspaper up and began reading again. His orders were given and he knew that Dakota would obey them. 

      As for his wife. Well John just hoped she'd stay out of it.

     "Highly unlikely"

      He shrugged the thought aside. After 5 kids and dealing with hundreds of investigative cases. He'd learned that you can't win every fight. It would all work out. Dakota was smart enough to know that he couldn't afford to lose Hannah, and Hannah was empathetic enough to figure out that she married a socially awkward man. Who didn't always understand the gravity of the things he said.

      "Man these pancakes are good!" He congradulated himself with an approving grunt. After all it was the little things in life that mattered.