Is this destiny?

After dinner, they gave medications to Master Hollow, helped him clean up, and tucked him in the bed in his cabin. 

Haru and Nala went to the hot spring to washup. The two of them are in the forest for days and need a good wash. And some lovey-dovey time in the hot spring during sunset is a bonus.

The three pups had their dinner and they slept off in the cabin where Sarah and Aiden will be sleeping.

Next to the fire, Sarah was telling Aiden, Bo, Wing, and Souta the details about the surgery and doctor\'s instructions related to the recuperation of Master Hollow. She made sure that his three disciples are aware that the old man\'s condition is serious.

"He is taking a lot of painkillers, so he thinks that he is fine, but he is not. He had a serious surgery and it is crucial that in the next few weeks he takes it slow."

"If it\'s that serious, why did doctor allow him to leave?", Wing asked.

Sarah shrugged helplessly. "Doctor was not willing to discharge him, but he insisted. You know that Master can be unreasonable."

"You said that his life is not in danger and the only thing he needs is to rest. We can take care of him.", Bo said while looking at Wing and Souta. All three of them were nodding to confirm this.

"That is true, but he needs to stay still and allow his body to heal. Other than that, he will need to take medications in the next few weeks, his bandages need to be changed often. A sterile environment with running water is preferred."

"You are saying that he should not stay here.", Wing picked up the meaning behind Sarah\'s words.

Sarah confirmed. "It would be best if he stayed in the hospital, but the second-best is that he gets care by the professionals in the city where electricity and other amenities are available. I want us all to agree on what to do, so that we can persuade him. If it\'s up to him, he will stay here and do everything as nothing happened."

Souta didn\'t see a problem with this. "If it\'s for master\'s health, I\'m in. What is the plan?"

Sarah glanced at Aiden. "I was thinking of getting them all to the Cliffside Villa. It\'s private, no one will know they are there, and we already have medical equipment available."

Aiden didn\'t object. He was happy that he reunited with Sarah, and everything else is fine.

It didn\'t take long to convince Bo, Souta, and Wing to come with them to Los Angeles. That was the easy part, considering that the three of them want to leave the mountain, with the only concern of Master Hollow being on his own. However, if he is coming, then there are no obstacles.

The hard part will be to convince Master Hollow, but that is the task for the morning.

"Was everything fine with Mr. Wang?", Aiden asked when Bo, Souta, and Wing left after wishing them a good night.

"Yes. He was polite. He told me to keep the jade token. And I gave him one of our Chaos tokens."

Sarah saw that Aiden is listening attentively, obviously expecting more details; and there is more to tell: "You won\'t believe this… In the hospital, I met Meili."

Aiden frowned. "Did she cause trouble?"

"She didn\'t get a chance. Unfortunately, her attitude didn\'t change. She is Mr. Wang\'s niece…", Sarah told him how Meili\'s parents sent Meili to Mr. Wang.

Sarah didn\'t want to talk about Meili because just thinking about that girl left Sarah with an unpleasant taste in her mouth. She focused on happier topics. "Because they gave me a laptop, I checked on Mishi\'s progress. He did a great job of exposing the people who were enabling the poachers. They are struggling with negative press, and several arrests were made…" When she talked about poachers, Sarah remembered Kitty\'s mother, and that means Kitty as well and her mood dropped.

"Hey…", Aiden called while nudging her. "Why are you sad?"

Sarah exhaled. "I know I shouldn\'t be. But I can\'t help it."

"We are still here. Kitty might show up anytime. And even if we don\'t see her now, we will come again to this area. Don\'t tell me that you lost hope about seeing her again." Aiden saw that Sarah nodded in agreement and he took her hand in his. "I believe the hot spring is available. I need to wash up. Will you join me?"

Sarah knows that he is trying to distract her, and she took a shower that morning in the hospital, but a hot spring with Aiden is impossible to decline.

The next morning…

After an extensive argument with Master Hollow, they convinced him to go with them.

Of course, the old man had several conditions.

First condition: he does not want to be on a stretcher. Sarah assured him that as soon as they reach Romania, he will be moved to a wheelchair.

His second condition was that as soon as he wants to leave, they will drop him off to a destination of his choice. Sarah added a clause that they will not keep him against his will, however, he needs to be cleared as recuperated by a doctor (aka JoAnna) before demanding to leave, and in that case, she agrees.

His third condition was: no hospitals. Sarah assured him that they have everything necessary in their home, but if he does not follow instructions and his condition worsens, he will be taken to the hospital.

Master Hollow huffed for some time, but then agreed to these conditions.

Bo, Souta, and Wing packed their things while Haru and Nala helped Master Hollow with packing. 

Bo brought a wooden crate from the storage room, and they put fur padding for the pups.

Master Hollow was secured on a stretcher. He complained about this, but Sarah told him that it\'s only three hours long ride until Romania (and there he will get to move to the wheelchair).

Haru was about to fire up the helicopter when Sarah asked him to wait a minute. Aiden exhaled. He knows that she hopes that Kitty will show up.

Aiden watched Sarah circle the South side of the clearing and observe bushes and trees carefully while calling for Kitty.

Aiden\'s heart cracked. He made his way toward Sarah, with an intention to tell her that it\'s time. Everyone is ready and waiting.

"Sarah…", he called, and he was surprised when at the same moment, Sarah leaped between two bushes. Aiden wondered, did she lose her mind from grief? Did she go to search for the leopard in the forest? Without GPS tracking, it\'s like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Aiden walked to the area where Sarah disappeared into and he paused at the sight of Sarah squatting and rubbing Kitty\'s head.

"Mommy and daddy are going home…", Sarah spoke softly. "Do you want to come with us, or stay here? If you stay here, we will visit you. I promise…", Sarah\'s shaky voice drifted away as Kitty rubbed her head against Sarah\'s hand.

Kitty inched closer and rested her head on Sarah\'s thighs with her paw on Sarah\'s knee.

"She is coming with us!", Sarah exclaimed happily toward Aiden while giving Kitty a big hug. "You mischievous Kitty… You gave mommy a scare… Where have you been? ... We didn\'t see you in more than a day! ... "

Aiden smiled. Sarah is scolding kitty with words, but her tone is full of love and it does not sound like scolding at all. "She should meet the pups before we head out. And we need to ensure that she is not hungry, otherwise, she will chew on things during the flight..."

Aiden was concerned that Kitty might think that pups are food. He is protective of the little ones who traveled the whole day inside his jacket.

When they left the poachers\' base, Aiden wanted to give them to others, to split the load, but the pups whined if Aiden was not the one carrying them, so he ended up with all three.

Sarah didn\'t share Aiden\'s concerns. She was overjoyed that Kitty is back. Just how Sarah can\'t imagine her life without Kitty, Kitty grew up with them and that is the only home she knows.

Sarah smiled brightly. Everything is in place. And they are going home.

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