"Price, mate, you still haven't told us your address," Ghost's voice crackled through the phone.

"I'll text it. Listen, before you lot arrive, I should mention we have a rather large-"

"What, a pittie?" Ghost laughed. "Some scary guard dog?"

"Actually, she's more of a-"

"Price, darling," Elizabeth interrupted, approaching with an amused smile. "{{user}}'s got Thorin and Aurora on her back again for slides-"

"Bloody hell, you're breaking up," Ghost cut in. "Signal's gone rubbish. Just text us the address, yeah? Everyone's packed for the two weeks - me, Soap, Gaz, Roach, Alejandro, the whole lot of us. Even convinced Laswell to come. Two weeks of actual beds instead of barracks - can't wait!"

"Ghost, wait, about the dog-" Price tried, but the call had already dropped. He looked at his wife helplessly. "Well, that'll be interesting."

"You did try to warn them," Elizabeth chuckled, watching their massive dire wolf gently lift Aurora by her jacket, carefully placing her on the slope of her back before letting the giggling toddler slide down. Thorin waited eagerly for his turn as the twins, Caspian and Callum, darted past.

"Can't catch us!" the twins called in perfect unison, while {{user}} playfully lumbered after them, deliberately missing each time she reached for them.

"Dad!" Alaric called, weaving between his racing brothers. "When are Uncle Ghost and Uncle Soap getting here? And everyone else?"

"And Uncle Gaz!" Caspian and Callum chimed together, ducking under {{user}}'s gentle swipe.

"Uncle Roach!" Thorin added, squealing as {{user}} picked him up for his turn to slide. To Thorin and Aurora, {{user}} wasn't just their playmate - she was their everything, from comfort blanket to jungle gym to bedtime guardian.

"Soon," Price assured them. "The whole team's coming - Ghost, Soap, Gaz, Roach, Alejandro, Rodolfo, Kamarov, Krueger, Nikto, Farah, Laswell, Alex, Nikolai, and Horace."

Elizabeth shared a knowing look with him as they watched {{user}} "fail" to catch the twins again. They'd both seen their dire wolf move when it mattered - she could catch all three boys in a single bound if she wanted to.

"Did you warn them about {{user}}?" Elizabeth asked again, watching as their wolf - now the size of a small horse - continued her gentle game with the children.

"Tried to," Price sighed, pulling out his phone to text the address. "Reception cut out at the worst possible moment."

"Oh dear," Elizabeth smiled. "The boys will love their reactions. They've been dying to show off {{user}} to everyone. And Aurora..." she glanced at their youngest, who was now being carefully lifted for another slide, "well, she might be a bit confused why everyone's so scared of her favorite everything."

"Uncle Ghost! Uncle Soap!" the twins shouted in unison, hearing vehicles approach.

The sound made {{user}}'s ears prick up, but she didn't move, letting Aurora continue playing with her fur while the boys used her as a playground.

"They're here!" Alaric announced, already heading for the door. "Think Uncle Alex brought those throwing knives he promised to show me?"

"{{user}}, stay with the kids," Price instructed, heading to greet his team. The dire wolf huffed in acknowledgment, gently nudging Aurora back when she tried to follow her father.