Jonas had never seen someone so excited to be flying as he did when their plane took off. He was amazed at the small things he took for granted. Catherine’s excitement to be travelling to a foreign land was understood, but Jonah felt something deeper. He was going home. He was going to a land he called his. He was understood here, he would not be considered an outsider here. He turned the water on in the small cubicle that was considered the bathroom and washed his hands. The water was cold, and it stung slightly; moreover, it brought his mind back to the present, back to reality. He wasn’t sure what his family, neigh his friends were going to thing of Cat. This wasn’t the first time he had brought an American woman home and every single time before; it had been a fling. Jonah wasn’t serious about these women like he was about Cat. He genuinely cared for Cat, but the big sticking point was she wasn’t Swedish, and he wasn’t sure his family would approve of her as a match.<br/><br/>He heard the ding from the speakers as the lead flight attendant announced that the plane was beginning its descent into Stockholm. She repeated the message in both English and Swedish. There was something almost honey sweet about hearing his language in his home country that made him smile. He wasn’t sure how Cat would take to Sweden, but he was going to make sure she at least had a good time. He stood still for a moment taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He exited the bathroom and headed back to their seats. From a distance he noticed a man and a woman trying to comfort Cat. She seemed like she was in distress.<br/><br/>He closed his eyes and focused in on her energy. It wasn’t life threatening; she was just very scared and extremely nervous. He walked towards them slowly and thanked the man and sat beside Catherine. He placed his hand on the small of her back and whispered softly “It’s okay sweetheart, I am here” He rubbed her back softly in circles and exercised soft control over her emotional state to bring her out of this panic. The flight attendants brought over a moist towel and he accepted it gratefully.<br/><br/>He took the towel and placed it on Cat’s forehead massaging the cool water into her temples. “I keep forgetting you’ve never been on a transatlantic flight before” he said laughing softly. He buckled his seatbelt and hers as well as the plane landed with a deep thud as the wheels hit the tarmac.  As the plane came to a complete stop, he looked out the window. It was raining. Stockholm was usually rainy this time of year, but the forecast indicated that there was supposed to be a few sunny days during their two-week trip. He stood up and pulled Cat into his arms to help her up. “Welcome to Stockholm Sweden” He said leading her to the exit.<br/><br/>The airport was not like anything in America. To Jonas, America was characterized by controlled chaos. Everyone was everywhere and airports felt like military checkpoints. Of course, in the context of events that had taken place in the last 20 years in America, this made sense. But Sweden was relatively isolated by these events and everything here was done in complete order. He walked out into the airport arrivals area holding Cat’s hand. He showed her how everything was meticulously organized.<br/><br/>Everything was done in queues. No one was rushing and everyone took a ticket and waited their turn for almost everything. Jonas looked at Cat and smiled as he led her right past the ticketing booth and straight for the exit. He looked at Cat and reassured her. “not to worry we have people for that, by the time we get home, your things will already be in a bedroom neatly put away for you. He walked towards a man who smiled and pulled him into a hug. “Jonas nephew! Welcome home” he said almost choking Jonas with his hug. “Who is this lovely young lady you have brought home with you. Jonas smiled. “This is Catherine a friend from America. She has never been outside the US before and I thought it would be nice for her to see another way of life.”<br/><br/>His uncle smiled and nodded at Catherine. “Well young lady, I hope you enjoy Sweden. I am Rolf, Jonas’s uncle, and brother to Martin his father you might notice that there are a lot of people with the same name in this country and that is normal. Even we forget who we are now and again.”  He bellowed with laughter so loud that Jonas thought it might affect someone’s Nordic sensibilities. But at the end, no one seemed to notice. Maybe because it was an Akerlund, but everyone seemed to let it go. Jonas smiled happy to be home and led Cat outside. The air smelled of mossy earth, something that Jonas hadn’t experienced before anywhere else. He chalked it up to the fact that Stockholm wasn’t really a city in the traditional sense, but a collection of small islands strung together, and a sprawling city built on top.  Jonas stood outside their waiting car and breathed in a deep breath of the air. “It sure is wonderful to be home!” He remarked happily. He slumped into the warm town car and pulled Cat in with him.<br/><br/>Inside the car, there was a bottle of red wine and 3 glasses. One for Jonas, Cat and Rolf. Rolf poured a glass for each of them and toasted loudly “To the King! It sure is nice to have you back where you belong Jonas and with a lovely lady on your arm to boot. Birgitte will be happy to see you so…happy” Rolf paused at the number of times that he said happy. Birgitte was Jonas’ aunt and of the many matriarchs of the Akerlund family who took the place of Rolf and Martin’s mother when she passed away. The car pulled into traffic and took the long way through Stockholm. Nothing had changed. The rooftops were red, and the skyscrapers were larger than ever. A far cry from the small town of Wasilla. Jonas pointed out all the landmarks that he planned to show Cat in the next few days.<br/><br/>After about an hour, they arrived at a large sprawling Victorian style mansion on the outskirts of the city. The car pulled up to a gate and the gate slowly opened. The occupants of the car could hear the gentle movement of gravel on the pavement as the car pulled them towards the entrance. Jonas leaned into Cat and smiled. He jokingly whispered “Welcome to Wayne Manor” a clear reference to Gotham’s Wayne Family and Batman.<br/><br/>