What a difference a year could make. Seren and Dorian had not exactly been without friends before Kit and Delilah decided to make their home here in Rhy'Din, but it had been a true delight to help them find a home right next door to their own, as well as watch them become teachers in the new Rosita De Luca School of Performing Arts. Not to mention having a front row seat for the birth of their first child. Though it came with a little heartache for the lupine couple, they were proud to be the trusted aunt and uncle of little Leo. And, of course, having a photographer for an aunt meant that the one year pictures were not only free, but done at home.

Seren laughed as Leo blew bubbles at her, rolling over onto his back just at the moment she pressed the button. "You, little lion, are just being deliberately obtuse now."

"He takes after his father," Delilah was quick to point out, perched nearby just in case she was needed, but out of view of the camera. Motherhood looked good on her, and though her figure was a little rounder than it had been before she'd had her son, she was aglow with happiness.

Seren grinned, lowering the camera to tweak Leo's nose as he rolled onto his front again. "I don't know, he's a lot like you, too," she pointed out, lifting the little boy back onto the warm fleece in the hope that he would stay there for a moment. "Full of mischief."

"He has my hair," Lilah admitted, reaching over to comb her fingers through her son's soft, dark hair. Kit's hair was lighter in color than Lilah's whose hair was nearly black. She laughed a little at her friend's remark. "And Kit isn't?" Full of mischief, she meant.

"Kit's less blatant about it," Seren said impishly, twisting just enough to catch the tender look on Delilah's face as she looked down at her son before snapping some more pictures of Leo. "You glory in your mischief. No wonder your students love you so much."

Lilah shrugged, as if there was nothing to apologize for. "If my students aren't having fun, they won't want to be there," she reasoned. She didn't understand why more teachers didn't try to engage their students and make learning enjoyable, instead of a chore.

"And are you having fun, being a teacher?" Seren asked, pulling a silly face as she spoke to get Leo to giggle. Seeing her friend so settled down was a joy, but she knew it was a big change from the life Lilah had lead before.

"You know, I wasn't sure I would, but I am," Delilah admitted after a moment's consideration. "I've been ready to settle down for a while. It was just convincing Kit really. Once Dorian settled here, it was only a matter of time before we did the same." She laughed. "We've been inseparable for so many years. It just wasn't the same without him."

"Well, at least I know that wasn't entirely my fault," Seren replied in amusement. "I share the blame for that with Neville." She opened her mouth in a wide smile for Leo ....and the baby boy toppled backwards from his sitting position to land on his back, kicking his feet and laughing uproariously. "Oh gods ....he is definitely your son."

Lilah laughed at both her son's antics and at her friend's reaction. "Well, I do distinctly remember carrying him around with me for nine months," she admitted with a grin. "And I don't blame Dorian. He needed to find his brother, and I needed a good excuse to get Kit to settle down."

"Worked out well for everyone then, didn't it?" Seren grinned, setting her camera aside as she reached over to tickle Leo. "You bored, bubba" It's okay, we're all done. More on another day."

"Very well," Delilah agreed. "But what about you, Seren?" she asked, her gaze drifting momentarily downward to the area of Seren's belly. She had been trying to help her friend get pregnant for some time with the aid of herbs and remedies common among her people.

Seren bit her lip, but she couldn't hide the hope in her eyes. "I, um ....well, my last heat was about a month ago, and ..." She met Lilah's eyes with a shy smile. "I think I might be pregnant."

The fact that Seren wasn't entirely human had complicated matters, but Delilah had been confident it was only a matter of time. "Might be?" Lilah echoed, brows arching upwards. "Have you taken a pregnancy test yet?"

"Not yet," Seren admitted. "I'm almost afraid to, in case I'm wrong. But, um ....I have been getting sick at random times, and my tits are so sore."

Delilah smiled. As sympathetic as she was, those were good signs. "That's good news!" she said, reaching over to scoop little Leo up into her arms. "Come along then. It's time to pee on a stick!" she insisted, though this wouldn't be the woman's first pee of the morning.

Seren snorted, pulling herself up onto her feet to set her camera and equipment safely to one side. "I don't think your boy there can aim too well right now," she teased, a little guilty she hadn't mentioned this to Dorian yet but glad Delilah was in this with her all the way.

Lilah giggled. "He's not the one that might be pregnant," she remarked regarding Leo's pee. With Leo balanced in one arm, she snagged Seren's hand to tug her toward the bathroom, knowing her way around her friend's house like it was her own. "You bought a test, yes?"

"Yes, I did buy a test." Seren let herself be tugged around her own house, smiling at Delilah's insistence on finding out right now whether it was a done deal or not. "You realize that if I am pregnant, it's your remedies that did it, right?"

"Nonsense. You and Dorian did it. I just helped," Lilah insisted. She knew she should make her friend wait until morning, but she had to know now, and she had a few tricks up her sleeve.

"It's nerve-wracking," Seren admitted, removing the plastic from the test box. "What if I'm wrong again? I've been wrong so many times before, Lilah."

"Then you try again," Delilah replied, not allowing her friend to give up hope just yet. "And you keep trying," she said, though she realized her friend couldn't keep trying forever without any results. "And if that doesn't work, there are other solutions."

"I know," Seren said softly. "I would very much like a pup, though. I don't even want to push my luck and hope for a litter. Just one would be enough."

"Feeling sick is a good sign," Delilah assured her hopefully. Or it could be the flu, but did lycanthropes even get sick like humans did? "Pee," she instructed her friend, sounding just a little bit bossy. "I'll be right outside," she added, stepping just outside the bathroom and pulling the door closed. She wasn't going to stand over the woman while she did her business, after all.

"Yes, mama bear." Flipping her friend a nervous smile, Seren slipped into the bathroom to do her business. In Delilah's arms, Leo garbled something incomprehensible, grabbed her face, and planted a very wet kiss on her chin.

Seren laughed at Lilah's mischievous expression, hugging Leo fondly. "You're wildly transparent, you know that?" she told her best friend affectionately.

"Shush," Lilah scolded, taking up her tea cup, picky extended, and trying to look nonchalant. "What were you saying, Seren?" she said, just as the back door opened and the two men stumbled inside, carrying a large evergreen tree between them.

Noticing the pinky, Seren opened her mouth to tease her friend, and caught a whiff of fresh pine. "What on earth ...?" She leaned back in her seat to get a look at the back door. Kit, bundled up in hat, coat, scarf, and gloves, gave her a wave, and turned his attention back to heaving on the tree to get it inside.

"Kit!" A familiar male voice was heard calling from the other side of the door. "Hurry up, will you? This thing is getting heavy!" the voice complained.

Delilah arched a brow as her husband led the way inside. "And just where do you think you're going to put that?" she asked him.

"In the living room," Kit informed her with a grin. "Don't worry, we've got one too!" He gave another almighty pull, and the tree made it through the door with Dorian on the other end.

"I thought you were just supposed to be looking for where the best place was to get them?" Seren asked in amusement.

Delilah rolled her eyes at her husband's reply. It was just like him to go a little overboard and just like Dorian to let him. "That is never going to fit in our living room," she told him, almost daring him to prove her wrong.

"Yes, it will!" Dorian argued. "And if it doesn't, we'll just cut it down a little."

Seren was grinning at this - she and Dorian were using to having a tree that was a little ....bent over these days. It was that, or stop him from getting the tree he wanted, and she could not bring herself to do that. "Do you need me to get the pot, baby?" she called to Dorian curiously.

"No, no, no," Lilah was complaining. "Put that thing down and take a break. Kit, help me put Leo down for a nap. Dorian, talk to your wife," she said, growing impatient with the men and their insistence on too-large Christmas trees.

Dorian merely looked from one face to another, looking confused. "Uh ..."

"Act natural, my arse," Seren muttered, handing Leo up into his mother's arms with a grin. "Wildly transparent."

Kit looked equally confused, obediently laying the tree down on its side as his wife advanced toward him.

"Shush," Delilah murmured as she took her son from her friend, her eyes sparkling with mischief. The sooner Seren told Dorian the news the better; then she wouldn't have to worry about accidentally spilling the beans. The kitchen floor was admittedly not a good place for a Christmas tree, but that would be rectified soon enough. "Come along, dear," she told Kit, curling a finger to beckon him.

"Yes, dear?" Kit looked over at Dorian and shrugged, following obediently behind Delilah. He was pretty confident she was going to tell him whatever Seren had to tell Dorian. Unless it was bad.

He was most likely right, as it was hard for Delilah to keep the news secret when she was so excited about it herself. As Delilah and Kit disappeared from the kitchen, Dorian turned a confused look at Seren. "What are we supposed to talk about?" he asked her curiously. Certainly it wasn't about the Christmas trees, was it"

"The fact that Lilah can't keep a secret to save her life?" Seren suggested. She couldn't quite think of how to tell him, instead reaching into her pocket to lay the two tests on the table in front of him.

"What's this?" he asked, as he stepped closer, fingers reaching to take up the plastic strips. He'd seen them before, but he wasn't sure why she was showing them to him now, nor did he know how to read them. He furrowed his brows as he glanced from the test strips to Seren. "Are you?" he asked, though he was almost afraid to do so.

She nodded, her eyes wide as she watched him. "I'm pretty sure," she said quietly. "I've been sick, and sore in the right places, and I did both just to be sure. We're going to have a pup."

Dorian blinked, the news not quite sinking into his brain at first. "What?" he asked, as he tried to wrap his head around it. He knew she wasn't talking about adopting a dog, but having a child of their own - one like them, a wolf pup.

She drew in a shaky breath. "I'm pregnant."

Dorian blinked again, the news slowly seeping into his brain. "You're pregnant?" he echoed in shock. "Are you sure?" he asked, though he was holding the proof in his own hands.

"A-as sure as I can be without seeing a doctor," she said, her hands twisting together on her lap. "Is it ....is that okay' You're not mad, or disappointed, are you?"

"Mad?" he echoed, blinking in confusion again. "Why would I be mad?" he asked, moving to his knees and turning her to face him. "You're really sure it's for real this time?" he asked her, more concerned for her than he was about anything else. He didn't want to see her heartbroken yet.

She nodded, her eyes wet with unshed tears once again as she looked down at him. "I feel different this time," she told him. "And my tits really hurt some days."

He blinked again, furrowing his brows at her statement, which was a little more than he needed to know. He wasn't sure how that was relevant, but then he wasn't female. He did trust her, however, to know her own body and to understand the signs. "Is that a good thing?" he asked, uncertainly.

"Yeah." She nodded, laughing at the look on his face. "It's a symptom. We made a baby, Dorian." The tears started falling again, a contrast to her bright smile as she squeezed his hands.

"Oh my gods," Dorian breathed in a hushed whisper, obviously shocked by the news, but it was a happy kind of shock. "We made a baby?" he asked, repeating her words back at her.

"At least one," she confirmed, still nodding as tears dripped off her nose and chin. "This time next year, we'll be looking forward to our first Christmas with our child."

"It's okay, Lilah, I got it," Seren called from inside. "Fancy having dinner with us tonight?"

Kit smiled, gently kissing the frown lines between his wife's brows. "I would never insult anyone in our family and mean it, pet."

The crease between Lilah's brows smoothed out as her husband appeased her, but the frown was still on her face. "You are still apologizing," she whispered, leaning in so that her lips were mere inches from his, a teasing smile of her own ghosting her lips.

"Fine," he conceded, grinning as he caught her lips with his own. "But only because you seem to need me to do it." He winked wickedly at her, turning to take hold of the tree. "So, Dorian ....where is this going?"

"On the veranda," Dorian replied, not wanting to get in the middle of his friends' debate. He'd known them long enough to have witnessed their squabbles before and there had never been a time when they hadn't reconciled.

"All right, this time you're in front." Kit lifted the trunk end of the tree, letting Dorian take the lead. He paused just long enough to murmur his apology to Seren, who just smiled back at him. She knew he hadn't meant anything by it.

Lilah waited until the men were out of earshot and maneuvering the tree onto the veranda. "That man is infuriating," she murmured, though there wasn't much ire in her voice. No matter what Kit did, no matter how he might irritate her, she couldn't help but adore him.

"You can't complain too much, you're the one who fell in love with him," Seren pointed out, wiping her face dry. "Did you remember to bring over the monitor?"

"Guilty as charged," Lilah replied with a shrug, holding up the monitor to show her friend that she hadn't forgotten. "He doesn't usually sleep too long," she said of her son, who she'd put down for a short nap. "So ..." she started, as she stepped into the house, letting the door fall close behind her. "Dinner?"

"Yeah." Seren beamed at her, all sense of worry banished by her talk with Dorian. "We could order in, or we could have a rummage through the cupboards and make something. What do you think?"

"How are you feeling" Is there anything that doesn't appeal to you?" Delilah asked, more concerned with her friend's wellness than her own appetite. She remembered how some things nauseated her when she was expecting Leo.

"I think chicken and cheese are a no-go tonight," Seren admitted ruefully. "Which sucks, because I really like cheesy mashed potatoes normally. This pup better appreciate me."

"How about I whip up some pasta?" Delilah suggested. "Quick, easy, and no chicken or cheese." And better than ordering in, in her opinion.

"Are you offering to cook in my kitchen again?" Seren asked in amusement. She didn't really give Delilah a chance to answer, spinning to hug her friend tightly with a huge grin. "He's so excited and happy, Lilah, thank you so much!"

"Or mine," Lilah replied, shrugging again before getting crushed by her friend's hug. She smiled, her irritation with Kit forgotten, at least for the moment. "I didn't do anything but give you a few herbs to help things along, Seren," she reminded her friend, with a warm smile. "But I'm very happy for you."

"I suppose we should rethink the getting a pet thing," Seren mused as she drew back, though her expression suggested she was still quite prepared to go through with that one. "What do you think?"

"I think it depends on the pet," Lilah replied, stepping past her friend to find her way around the kitchen, opening cupboards and gathering the items she'd need to make dinner. "You two do spend a little time each month on the furry side, too."

"I know." Seren knew enough to keep out of the way until Lilah told her to do something, leaning against the far counter as she considered their options. "Would it be weird for werewolves to have a couple of cats?"

Delilah laughed. "Darling, you're asking the wrong person!" she told her. What did she know about it anyway' All she knew about werewolves was what her friends told her. "Maybe you should ask your brother," she suggested, finding a large pot in the cupboard and taking it over to the sink to fill it with water.

"Well, it would be weirder to ask my husband or my brother to go furry so I can stroke them from time to time!" Seren laughed with her, knowing she had answered her own question there. Only certain breeds of dog would be comfortable in a house with wolves, but cats should be okay.

"Cats are more independent than dogs," Lilah remarked, as she moved about the kitchen. "No offense," she added, though she did not consider her friend to be a dog. In fact, as she understood it, calling a werewolf a dog was something of an insult.

"Lupine, not canine," Seren reminded her with a smile. "Can I do anything to help?" She pushed out of her lean, tucking her arms about Lilah from behind to rest her chin on the other woman's shoulder. Say what you like about wolves, but Seren was very tactile with those she considered family.

"Yes," Lilah replied, smiling back at the woman she considered to be her sister, even though they didn't share a bloodline. "You can keep those two rascals out of my way," she told her with a playful grin.

From the other side of the living room came a crash, and Kit's voice calling out, "It's fine, it's all fine, nothing's broken!"

Seren laughed, rolling her eyes. "I think they're busy for the time being."

Lilah winced at the racket coming from the other room, glad Leo wasn't there to hear it. He was a good baby and a sound sleeper, but the racket coming from the other room was enough to wake the dead.

"Try not to break anything, darling!" she called back to her husband.

There was a muffled curse, and a slightly shame-faced reply. "Too late! But I have glue, I can fix it!" Seren rolled her eyes above her wide grin, enjoying how relaxed everything felt after what had been quite an intense half hour.

"Dorian, you're gonna be fine," Kit promised him, straightening up to tuck his cold hands in his pockets once again. "You're amazing with Leo; just dial that up a notch with your own kid. What's got you twisted about Seren?"

Dorian shrugged at his friend's question. "Nothing specific. I just know having a baby isn't easy, and I want everything to go well for her." He knew how many things could go wrong, but he had no way of insuring everything went right.

"My advice, then" Baby books." Kit shrugged. "Read everything you can find, ask questions when you go see the doctor, get involved. The more you know, the more you can help her out when she's struggling - and she will struggle. And come talk to me, or Lilah, whenever you need to, okay?"

Dorian nodded, taking his friend's advice to heart. "Yeah, okay," he agreed. He wanted everything to go well for both Seren and the baby. "We've wanted this for so long, and now that it's happened, I'm terrified!"

"Yeah, well, you're not on your own, are you?" Kit pointed out, squeezing his friend's shoulder firmly. "You've got us, your brother, her brother, a whole theater of people who give a shit - you're in a good place to handle this."

"That's one way to put it," Dorian said with a chuckle at Kit's choice of words. "Thanks, Kit. We both appreciate your help ....and your friendship." He was especially grateful that Kit and Delilah had welcomed Seren into their hearts and lives as readily as they had.

"We missed you on the road, man," Kit admitted, drawing his hand back again. "Wasn't the same without you. And, you know, I'm getting too old for tents. It was just a case of convincing Lilah to settle down before she popped."

"Convincing Lilah?" Dorian echoed, chuckling again. "Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?" he asked, knowing it probably was, though Kit was unlikely to admit it.

"I may have waited for her to bring it up." That was all Kit was going to admit to, though his grin proved he knew exactly who had done the convincing. "Smells like they're putting together a good dinner in there. I should go and grab Leo before he wakes up and screams the place down."

"That would probably be a good idea," Dorian agreed. He'd heard the littlest Wiley scream his displeasure, and it wasn't something he was in a hurry to experience again.

"Want to come with?" Kit offered. "Get that practice in while you can?" He winked at his friend - Leo's diapers were almost as loud as his screams right now.

"Uh, do I have to?" Dorian asked, not sound too eager for the possibility of having to change a diaper. He didn't mind going along, but he wasn't sure he wanted a crash course in diapers, just yet.

Kit snorted with laughter. "You can watch, sissy," he teased his friend cheerfully. "C'mon, we can let the girls know we're getting the monster on the way back through your kitchen."

Dorian smirked at his friend's teasing, but didn't deny it. He was a sissy when it came to diapers, and he knew it. It was something he was going to have to get used to, he supposed, but it didn't have to be today. "If anyone had told me a few years ago that Kit Wylie would be married and settled down with a wife and baby, I wouldn't have believed them," he said. Or maybe he would. He'd known for years how Kit and Delilah felt about each other - maybe before they even knew it themselves.

"Well, that's because you're privileged to know just how stubborn we both are," Kit said, leading the way back through the living room and to the kitchen. "Hey, ladies, we're just going to wake the sleeping lion and get him settled so he can join us for dinner. That sound good?"

"Thank you, darling! Dinner will be ready soon!" Delilah called back, waving a wooden spoon his way to wave him onward. Dorian tossed Seren a wink before following Kit out of the kitchen.

"That is one of my favorite sentences ever," Kit commented to Dorian as they trekked out through the back door and across the four foot gap between their houses. "There's something fantastic about having someone making dinner for you of their own accord and not just because it's their turn."

"Doesn't Lilah do most of the cooking?" Dorian asked, not really sure how his friends split up the chores. It seemed to be Delilah who was in charge of dinner tonight, but Dorian assumed it was because she refused to let Seren lift a finger.

"Nah, it's whoever's in the kitchen at the right time, usually. Hey, are you saying I can't cook?" Kit threw him a grin over his shoulder, unlocking his own back door to welcome Dorian inside.

"Well, I have had your cooking," Dorian teased, mirroring his friend's grin. There had been a time when Dorian, Kit, and Delilah had been almost inseparable, until Dorian had made the decision to go in search of his brother. There wasn't much they didn't know about the other, including the fact that Kit's cooking left a little to be desired.

"I'm better at it now," Kit said defensively through his grin, closing the door behind them to keep in the warm before heading for the stairs to find the nursery.

"Uh huh," Dorian murmured. He'd believe it when he saw it - or rather, tasted it. Or maybe he'd just take Delilah's word for it. Of course, it probably didn't hurt that Kit had a real kitchen with modern appliances to cook in now. He kept his footsteps quiet as they started up the stairs, even though the goal was in waking the sleeping lion.

Shucking off his coat as they mounted the stairs, Kit hung it over the banister before peering into the nursery. "Huh," he said, pushing the door open to reveal Leo standing up in his crib, offering a bright grin toward his father and uncle as they appeared. "Have you been fooling your momma all this time, kiddo?"

"Don't you worry about him crawling out of his crib or something?" Dorian asked, unsure how comfortable he was with leaving a small child all alone with just a one-way walkie talkie to monitor what he was up to.

"He's not quite mobile enough for that yet," Kit assured him, bending to lift the cheerful infant up into his arms. "Hey, little lion, how's that toxic back end of yours doing?" Leo giggled as he was lifted up above Kit's head to allow his father to sniff his rear.

Dorian led the way next door, pausing at the back door. "Thanks, Kit. That goes double for me," he assured his friend with a smile, before pulling the door open to let Kit and Leo into the warmth of the kitchen.

"And look who we found!" Kit crowed as they walked into the kitchen, zooming Leo over to Delilah as the little boy cackled and waved his hands happily at the sight of her.

Seren stepped smartly out of the way, hands full of a salad bowl, and laughed at the playful little family.

Delilah grinned as her little boy came zooming toward her in his father's arms. "What a handsome little man! Where did you find him?" she asked, reaching out to tickle the little boy's tummy, once he got close enough.

"I think he broke into our house and made himself at home," Kit replied with a chuckle, dipping his head to kiss his wife affectionately as Leo threw his pudgy arms around her neck.

Lilah laughed at her husband's explanation, but before she could reply was cut off by his kiss.

Meanwhile, Dorian tossed Seren a cheeky wink while he doffed his coat and boots. Once that was done, he moved over to brush a kiss against her lips, that grin still on his face. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked her.

"Are you kidding" She only let me make a salad." Seren giggled, putting the bowl down on the table before wrapping her arms about Dorian's waist, hugging close as she watched their friends across the kitchen. "Next year, that'll be us."

"Well, almost," Dorian murmured back, as he wrapped Seren in his arms. It would take another year before their son or daughter was Leo's age, but he knew what she meant. "Love you, baby," he whispered, brushing his nose against hers and breathing her in.

She smiled up at him, nose to nose and deeply content. "Love you back," she whispered in answer, closing her eyes as she released a soft, happy sigh. After too long, finally their wish had been granted. They would finally have a child of their own. What better reason to give thanks"