The baby boy stuck his tongue out at his mother as she tucked a bib about his neck, giggling when she stuck her tongue out at him in return. Dale was laughing when she rejoined Eli at the sink, reaching to wash her own hands before eating. "You're as cheeky as each other."

"Like father, like son," Eli said, despite having denied it just a few minutes ago. He gently bumped his hip to hers before snagging a towel to wipe his hands dry. "The garden's coming along well," he said, praising her efforts.

"We'll have a good crop of vegetables to get us through the winter," she agreed, glad that her pet project was finally showing some progress. "Old Sam knocked up Nate's nanny goat, so there'll be kids soon enough, too."

"That's good news," Eli said, moving over to the table to share the noon meal with his family. He took a swallow of the cider before claiming his usual seat at the table, quenching his thirst from his long walk from town. "No recent mutant attacks," he told her as he filled a plate for himself and for her. That was good news, too.

"That's good to hear," Dale said, making no attempt to hide the relief in her voice as she sat with them. She scooped up a spoonful of the mush and inserted it into Noah's mouth, taking advantage of the time it took for him to swallow to fill her own mouth. "How's it coming with the fence" Any news when it'll be ready to put out and contain them?"

"It's coming along," he informed her, somewhat vaguely. "Reckon it should be finished before winter." That was good news, too. There was still the need for the militia and always would be so long as there were mutants and other dangers, but at least, they were making progress in finding ways to defend against those threats.

Dale smiled, glad they were making progress. "You know, Brona and Ember have been talkin' about studying a corpse one of these days," she said thoughtfully, tucking another spoonful between Noah's hungry lips. "They reckon there might be a way to sterilize the mutants so they can't breed no more."

"Studying a ..." Eli broke off, with a forkful of meat pie halfway to his mouth. He made a face at the thought of the women picking apart a dead mutant, though he knew it was for the greater good. "They mention how they expect to get hold of one?" he asked, shoveling the meat pie into his mouth at last.

"I don't know." She shrugged, putting her own loaded fork down to feed the baby again. "You are a hungry little monster today, ain'tcha?" Noah grinned, dribbling some of his mouthful happily. "I mean, how do they get the venom for some of their potions and things?" Dale went on, wiping the boy's chin gently. "I never thought to ask."

Eli turned quietly thoughtful. There was obviously something on his mind - something he never thought he'd think, much less say, considering how the mutants had been responsible for his parents' deaths. "You know, maybe Cody is right. It's not their fault they are what they are. Then again, they're dangerous."

"We're not the aggressors, darlin', they are," Dale pointed out in a gentle tone. "The mutants are the ones tryin' to make lunch outta every human they run across."

"But if we kill them in cold blood, are we any better than they are?" Eli asked. He'd been struggling with the morality of the problem for a few months now, at odds with his instinct to protect. "What do you do when there are wolves at the gate" Is it the wolves fault that they're hungry?" he asked.

"Isn't that why you and Mahon got the council and the valley leaders to start workin' on the fence in the first place?" Dale reminded him. "So's we don't have to kill them. Fence them away from folks, and there won't be so much trouble, right?"

"They're like wild animals," Eli said, not disagreeing with his wife. "I just don't think killing them is the solution. Maybe if we could manage them somehow?" he asked, with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It'd be easier if we could understand them," Dale mused, swallowing her mouthful to turn her attention back to Noah. "What, you don't want any more?" The baby boy grabbed for the spoon. "Oh, you do want more" Why's all that down your front then, huh?"

Eli smirked at their son's attempt to feed himself. If he was this fiercely independent already, what were they going to be in for when he was older" Eli wondered if the mutants were as protective of their own children. "Cody thinks they were like us once. In the Before Time," Eli mused aloud.

"How's that possible?" she asked. It wasn't that Dale was uneducated, but her education had been limited to keeping house, and hadn't had much opportunity to expand further over the years. "The same thing happened to everyone, right?"

Eli shrugged. His youngest brother was the smart one in the family, the one who devoured every book he could get his hands on. He had theories about what had happened in the past, but he'd never had much chance to explore or prove those theories.

"Cody says something happened to make them different from us, but he isn't sure what. Disease maybe. I dunno. If that's true, they aren't just mutants, Dale. They're people who became monsters."

"If that's true, then it ain't right they got hit that way," she said firmly. "But if they're people just in a different way, there's gotta be a way to talk to them, right?"

"I dunno," Eli replied, scooping up another forkful of meat pie. "It might be too late for that," he admitted. There had been a time when all he'd wanted to do was kill mutants, but wouldn't it be better if they could help them somehow" "I'm not saying we should keep them as pets or let them keep multiplying. They outnumber us already. But there has to be something we can do. Some humane way of dealing with them."

"But if it comes down to it and it's us or them ....I still say them," Dale said, only a faint note of regret in her voice. "At least we got some kinda quality in our lives. What've they got, when you break it down?"

"Nothing. They're like animals, just living to survive. And they might be too far gone for us to help them," Eli admitted sourly. If that was the case and nothing could be done to help them, then something had to at least be done to keep their numbers down until they died out.

"So we're back to containment and control," she murmured, wiping Noah's face clean. "There, you mucky mischief, all done now" Can I trust you to take a drink while I eat now?" The baby boy gurgled back at her, all bright smiles again now he'd eaten.

"I'll just put him to bed," Eli said. "Time for a nap, sleepyhead," he murmured to the boy, touching a kiss to his cheek before heading in the direction of the bedrooms.

Dale set herself to washing the dishes, pausing when movement through the window drew her attention to Millie across the way. The quietest of the Mullen wives was already out of the house following lunch, beating rugs and quilts, with little Ella helping her as best she could while Nate and Joe headed back to the mill. She couldn't help smiling at the sight of the toddler banging at nothing but air with her little beater.

It wasn't more than a few minutes before Eli rejoined his wife in the kitchen, taking up a towel to dry the dishes. They'd dry by themselves, given time, but this gave him a few quiet minutes to spend alone with his wife.

"So what are you applying yourself to this afternoon, husband mine?" she asked, tilting her head to smile up at him as he started drying the dishes beside her.

He peeped out the window at Millie and Ella vigorously going at the rugs and frowned. "I was gonna tend to the broken fence, but maybe I should go talk to Mahon." Or he could help Millie beat the rugs before she wore herself out.

"If you're goin' over to the Dugan farm, there's a basket of stuff packed up for Brona and Cody," Dale pointed out. "Hell, maybe you could take Ella with you to see Aedan and Liam while you're at it."

"I can do that, if she wants to go along," Eli replied, uncertainly. He wasn't too sure if Nate and Millie's little girl liked him very much, much less trusted him. She was a quiet little thing who followed her mother around like her shadow.

"Trust me," Dale assured him. "You just gotta flash her a smile and promise she'll see Nemone and Brona as well, and she'll be on that horse faster'n you."

"You think so?" he asked, still looking doubtful. It wasn't that the little girl didn't like him, as she was a little on the shy side. Or was it Eli who was a little scared of her" He'd only had brothers all his life and now a son. He had no idea what to do with a little girl.

"Yeah." Dale chuckled at his uncertainty. "She's a pretty fearless little thing, she just likes toddling around behind Millie. But you're her uncle, Eli. Smiling a little more at her will definitely help,"

"What if I get her a pony' Reckon she'd like me then?" he asked hopefully, only teasing a little. It wasn't beyond him to make that a reality, but she might be too little to really appreciate such a gift yet. It was one way of buying her love anyway.

"I think you could save yourself the effort by spending a little more time with her, that's all," she told him in amusement. "Like an afternoon visiting the other half of the family together."

Eli chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Okay, I get the hint," he told her, as he finished up with the dishes. "Reckon I'll be gone most of the afternoon then," he told her. Even if Millie didn't want to give Ella up, it would take a little while to reach the Dugan farm, and even longer to talk to Mahon.

Wiping her hands dry, Dale hung the cloth on the edge of the sink, turning to face him with a cheerful cast to her smile. "I guess you'll just have to make it up to me with an early night then," she countered impishly. "If you're up for it, of course."

Eli tossed the towel aside and swung his arms around his wife's waist, drawing her close. "Just when have I not been up for it?" he asked, mirroring that impish grin, and waggling his brows at her.

"Well, this is why I have to keep checking, to find out if it'll ever happen," she teased, hopping up onto her toes to pull him down into a soft kiss.

"Not lik-" His words were cut off by that kiss, but he wasn't complaining. She had certainly managed to tame the wildest of the Mullen brothers.

"Mmm ..." Dale's smile was still obvious as she drew back from that kiss. "Need me to come with you so you don't run away from the tiny girl, or do you think you can handle it?"

For a man who had fearlessly hunted mutants, it was almost ridiculous to think he might be frightened of one small girl. "I think I can handle it," he assured her, though for some strange reason, his stomach was tied up in knots just thinking about it.

"Go on, then." She patted his backside fondly. "The basket's by the door, all ready to go. You can strap it onto the horse easy enough."

He frowned at her, his expression a little reminiscent of little Noah when he was being scolded. "Yes, ma'am. I'm going," he told her, starting toward the door. "I'll be home for dinner."

"You better be." She waited until he wasn't looking at her before letting her grin shine forth. Eli's nerves when it came to being anywhere near Ella was absolutely hilarious to her.

Eli drew a deep breath as he stepped out the door. What was it about the little girl that frightened him so' Was it just the fact that he was uncomfortable around her" That he had no idea how to relate to girls, big or small" Dale was one thing; little Ella was quite another.

He was in time to see Ella aim her little beater at a corner of the rug, swing, miss by a mile and spin around to land on her backside with an uproarious cackle of laughter.

"You're havin' fun there, are you?" Millie asked her daughter, bending to hoist the toddler back onto her feet with a kiss.

Just how he'd gotten talked into taking Ella with him to the Dugans was beyond him, but there was no time like the present, he supposed. He drew another breath, pasted a smile on his face, and stepped off the porch toward Millie and Ella. "Afternoon, Millie!" he called over, lifting a hand in greeting.

Straightening up, Millie passed her beater from one hand to the other, tossing her braid back over her shoulder with a wide smile.

"Hey, Eli, what brings you this way before dark?" she asked warmly, chuckling as Ella garbled something randomly before adding,

"'lo, Unc'eelie."

"Is she okay?" Brona asked with a frown, looking up from the basket of baby supplies Eli had brought with him. "She's not ill, is she?"

"No," Eli replied with a frown. "At least, not yet. Dale and I think she's pushing herself too hard. Even with an apprentice, there's too much work at the mill for the two of them, considering how Old Man Green's getting on in age. We were wondering if you know of anyone in the village who might be willing to do a little housework in exchange for room and board."

Brona's eyes turned to Cody thoughtfully. "What about Verity Cooper?" she suggested. "Heard her pa talking the other day about getting her married off to have babies already, and she's only just sixteen. She could probably do with the job, and her ma would appreciate a little extra coming in."

Cody looked thoughtful a moment before nodding. "That might work. It would be good experience for her and good for Millie, too."

"Dale's kinda worried about her," Eli confessed, with a worried frown of his own. "I probably shouldn't ask this, but don't you think she should be pregnant by now?"

"Some women don't conceive for a long time," Brona said thoughtfully. "But if Millie's still doing a lot of heavy work around the place, she could have miscarried a few times without ever knowing she was pregnant."

Eli winced. He didn't want to butt into Nate and Millie's lives, but he knew how hard they worked and Brona's statement only proved that they had valid concerns.

"Which only proves that Millie needs help," he said.

"But how do we convince Millie?" Cody asked.

"I'd offer to bully her into it, but I think this is something she probably needs to hear from Nate and Harry, to be honest," Brona admitted ruefully. "It'd be better for her state of mind if she thought she was doing it for other people and not for herself. She's never been one to ask for help."

"But if it is affecting her ability to conceive, shouldn't she know that?" Eli asked uncertainly, looking from one to the other.

"Might do more harm than good telling her that," Cody admitted, looking to Brona for her thoughts on the matter.

"I wouldn't tell her," Brona said firmly. "Because if that's not the problem, it'd get her hopes up and I don't want to see her fall down that hole. No, if we can get Nate and Harry to get her to take Verity on out of her own compassion for the girl, I think it'd work out better for all concerned."

"I'll have to talk to Nate then," Eli said, frowning. And probably Harry. He was going to have to make it sound like it was about Verity, not Millie at all. Brona was right - he didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Nate about the fact that Millie might have been working herself too hard either. It would only make his brother worry.

Brona nodded in agreement. "They know her best," she conceded. "If anyone can convince Millie to take on help, it's her husband, after all. Besides, it could be she's working too hard for them to do the do after a long day's work, as well."

"Maybe. I know they're very happy with Ella," Eli pointed out. "We're just worried about her is all." He hoped he wasn't overstepping his boundaries as a brother-in-law by going to Brona and Cody for advice.

"And this is the good thing about being close to family," Brona replied with a smile. "All right, first step is to get Millie to agree, then one of us can approach the Coopers and offer Verity the place. I'm pretty sure she'd jump at it - but I didn't think there was another room at the mill house?"

"No, Dale and I were going to volunteer to let her stay with us," Eli informed her. "We have an extra room and that way she'll have a place to get away from work for a while."

"It sounds like a good plan," Cody said. "So long as Millie agrees."

"I think she will," Brona said confidently. "She's not stupid, she just doesn't like drawing attention to herself even if it's to ask for a little help. She's probably more than ready to have some help on hand for the heavy work during the day."

"At least, they don't live too far away," Cody remarked, relieved both his brothers were less than walking distance from the Dugan Farm these days.

"And close enough that Dale and I can keep an eye on them," Eli added. It wasn't that Nate and Millie needed babysitting, but it was hard giving up the job of looking out for his younger brothers.

"And it'll be good for Verity to get out of parents' house, too," Brona added. "Fists fly when her father drinks - doesn't happen too often, but often enough. She's the only daughter; the boys can take care of themselves. Her ma can, too."

Eli scowled at the thought of that, wondering if the man needed talking to, though he knew better than to butt into something that was none of his business.

"I didn't know that," Cody admitted with a frown of his own.

"Well, technically you still don't know," Brona pointed out. "But I've patched Verity up enough to make an educated guess." She shrugged; every village had its dark secrets, after all.

"Patched her up?" Eli echoed, expression darkening. "You mean he raised his hand to her?" he asked in a tone of voice that made no secret how he felt about that. He might have threatened Brona with a gun, but he had never had any intention of pulling the trigger, much less hurting her in any way.

Brona nodded, but didn't say any more. She wasn't going to tempt sending Eli over to the Coopers' in a rage just because he knew some of the injuries she had patched for young Verity since the girl started to show signs of being old enough to take the blows.

"Maybe that could be mentioned to Nate, too," she suggested. "He's at least as protective as you two are."

"So long as she's living under my roof, he's not going to lay a hand on her, father or not," Eli said, leaving no room for argument. "I'll say something to Nate," he added with a nod, though he knew his brother wasn't going to like it. "And we call mutants monsters," Eli murmured.

"It's all right, darlin'," he said, reaching to reassure her with a touch of his hand. "But Harry's right. You work too hard. There's a girl in the village looking for work. Eli and Dale are willing to put her up, if we're willing to hire her to lend a hand," he said, coming straight to the point.

Millie hesitated, glancing around the table at the men folk in her life. "Aren't ....aren't I keeping up with things?" she asked worriedly. "Did I forget something" I can always add it to the list."

Harry rolled his eyes, catching Nate's eye and closing his mouth before butting in.

"No, darlin'," Nate assured her, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "We just don't like to see you work so hard. You're up at dawn and don't turn in 'til dark. We hired Jonah to help with the mill, and he's working out fine. Now, it's time to hire someone to help with the household chores. 'Sides, it'll give you more time to spend with Ella," he reasoned.

Millie softened at the reassurance, turning her hand to link her fingers with his. "All right," she agreed, happy to agree to almost anything if it made her husband happier. "We'll try it out. Who's the girl?"

"Verity Cooper," Nate replied. He didn't know the girl very well, but if Brona had recommended her for the job, then that was good enough for him. He didn't want to tell Millie that giving Verity the job would help her escape an alcoholic father, but he would if it would help him convince her.

"Goodness, I don't blame her for wanting out of that house," Millie said innocently. "She's got too many brothers, that girl."

Harry's brows had knitted together; that wasn't usually the reason a girl wanted to go into service away from her home. But he wasn't going to mention his own suspicions. After all, he'd known the girl's grandfather. Some behaviors weren't born, they were learned.

Nate shifted slightly, a sign of nervousness. He was honest to a fault, but he didn't really want to share a secret that wasn't his to share, especially one that might prove hurtful.

"Should I tell Eli yes?" he asked, though it seemed Millie had already agreed to trying the girl out.

"Yeah, we should." Millie nodded as she agreed. "Are you sure Eli and Dale don't mind putting her up, though' I mean, we could probably make space." That was wishing on moonbeams, though.

"They don't mind," Nate assured her with a smile, giving her hand another squeeze, pleased she had agreed to the idea. "Now that's settled, I got something else to tell you," he said, the smile on his face widening. "Brona's having her baby!"

The gasp this ripped from his wife was totally drowned out by the cheer that rose from Harry across the table.

"Trust that girl to go early!" the old man chuckled, bouncing Ella on his knee as she sucked on her cooked carrots and giggled with him.

Even Jonah smiled, though he remained silent. He was a quiet young man who, like Harry, knew when not to butt in, but this was happy news.

"Eli said we can visit tomorrow," Nate was quick to add. "You're gonna have a new cousin, Ellabelle!" he told his daughter, reaching over to brush a finger against her cheek.

The toddler gabbled for a moment before producing something coherent. "Unca'eelie wen' horsie fast!"

Millie giggled quietly, already mentally tallying up what they could take over to the Dugans to make life easier on Brona and Cody for a few weeks as they ate.

Nate chuckled at his daughter's remark, and grinned over at Millie. "It's good news!" he said, glad he was able to share something to make her smile and do something that might make her life easier. "Uncle Cody and Auntie Brona are gonna have a baby!" he told his daughter, whether she understood or not. With any luck, by this time tomorrow, all the Mullen brothers would be fathers at long last.

Mouth full, Ella blinked her big blue eyes over Nate curiously. "Baby?" she asked, not quite understanding, but hopefully by tomorrow, she would.

Harry chuckled, taking the opportunity to shovel a forkful into his own mouth while the little girl was distracted.

"Yes, a baby!" Nate replied, laughing. In his opinion, it was about time Cody and Brona caught up to the rest of them, though they really weren't all that far behind.

"I can handle the mill myself tomorrow, if you wanna go visit," Jonah volunteered.

"We'll go in the afternoon," Millie said softly, smiling over at Jonah. "You might as well come with us - it's your day off the day after, so take the afternoon as well. Go see your ma for a bit."

Jonah smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you, ma'am. I will."

"What about you, Harry' You wanna come along?" Nate asked his wife's grandfather. The man was old, but it was simple enough to hook up the wagon so they could all go along, and it wasn't too far.

"I'll come along, if you're willing to humor an old man," Harry agreed. He was fond of all the Mullen boys, and the Dugans besides. It was good to be able to call them family. "I can make sure we don't overstay our welcome."

Millie rolled her eyes. "Maybe we should talk to Eli and Dale," she suggested. "All of us in one wagon."

"I'll talk to them after supper," Nate told her. He still had a few more chores to do before bed, but with Jonah's help, they wouldn't take long. It made sense for all of them to go in one wagon, rather than go separate, since they lived close by.

"Or in the morning," Millie said in her soft way, smiling over at him. "I don't think they're going to run off at the crack of dawn - Brona would try and kill them for arriving that early."

"I reckon you're right," Nate said, laughing at himself. "It's exciting news though, ain't it?" he asked, of both bits of news really. Brona was obviously going to give birth sometime; he just hadn't expected it today. It wasn't quite as unexpected as finding a baby on your doorstep, but as far as Nate was concerned, Ella was theirs through and through.