"DOM!" a woman's voice called from the vicinity of the living room. There was obvious panic in that voice, though the reason for that panic was unclear as yet. A moment later, and Elle was hunting him down, wherever he was in the house the two of them called home at Maple Grove that was quaintly known as Wisteria Cottage. "Dominic!" she called again, her voice edged with terror.

"Up here," Dom's voice answered from the playroom upstairs, but he appeared soon enough at the top of the stairs, Donovan fast asleep in the crook of one arm. He frowned in concern at the state of his wife. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

She had just woken from a nap and was feeling a little groggy and disoriented, but it was the nightmare that in part had her panicking. "Have you seen Daisy' She was due home a half hour ago," she asked, as she looked up at him from the bottom of the stairs, the look on her face enough to tell him how scared she was. Even after all these months, both she and Daisy sometimes awoke with nightmares, but thankfully, Dom was always there to chase them away.

"No, I haven't seen her yet," he said, his voice calm in the face of Elle's panic. "Have you called Ed, or Brynne" She might have stopped off with one of them to spend a little time with Lila or Zahan before she comes home." Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he wrapped an arm about her shoulders, kissing her temple.

"No one is answering their phone," she told him, a worried expression on her face. "What if ....what if they found us somehow and they have her again?" she asked, putting voice to her deepest, darkest fear - in part because they'd lived it. She knew that logically that was probably not the case, but when a mother was worried about her child, she often jumped to the worst conclusion first. There were tears in her eyes at the very thought of that. There was too much at stake here - not only Daisy, but a husband and son, too.

"Elle ....they can't," Dom reminded her gently, rubbing his hand against her arm. "I made absolutely certain that they couldn't. Even if, by some incredible remote chance, they got free of the cell I put them in, they would still be on a prison ship, in the middle of a nebula, floating light-years between stars and millions of light-years from their Earth. And besides, Daisy has her ring, and she has the coins, remember" We tested them with her only a couple of months ago. If she was in any kind of danger, she knows how to get home, and Jon or Vicki would have called us to tell her she's at the big house. They're probably stuck in traffic, sweetheart."

"Right," she said, trying to catch her breath and calm down, though her heart was racing with fear and tears of worry were threatening. "But what if ....what if they got stuck in one of those protests" Or what if someone set another bomb off?" Or what if any of another thousand things that could have happened, but weren't very likely. She turned to bury her face against his shoulder, sniffling to hold back her tears.

"All right, all right, calm down ..." Tucking her close, Dom found himself exchanging a look with his newborn son, who had decided to wake up because his mother was upset. Finding no wisdom in the unfocused stare sent back at him, Dom cleared his throat. "All right, then, this is what we'll do. We'll call Caroline, and find out if there have been any incidents or protests in the city today. She'll know, she's in the office. C'mon, come to the kitchen, hold your son, and I'll make you a cup of tea and make the call."

Elle nodded her head against his shoulder and sniffled again, knowing he was probably right. After all, he was the calmer head of the two of them in the worst of times - except maybe when she was giving birth. She took a deep breath, relieved he was there to take charge and to be the level head when she was obviously in a panic. "All right," she agreed, though her stomach was tied up in knots with worry.

"Come on, then." Gently, he steered her into the kitchen, settling her down at the table and handing her Donovan to keep her occupied while he filled the kettle and set it to boiling. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket, calling Caroline and setting it on speaker for Elle's peace of mind.

"Hello, extremely tired CEO and mother of two speaking," Caroline answered after four rings. "Is this the new daddy, or the second time around mommy?"

Elle laid little Donovan against her shoulder, jiggling him a little to keep him happy while they figured out what was keeping his big sister. "It's both of us, love," Elle replied to Caroline's question. "We're worried about Daisy. She hasn't come home from school yet. Have you heard anything?" she asked, unable to hide the worry from her voice, even though she tried.

"Howdy, both." As usual, Caroline sounded tired but pleased, always pleased to hear from family. "Uh, no, I haven't heard anything," she told them thoughtfully. "There haven't been any big bangs in town today, no protests that I know of. Brynne left on time to pick the girls up, too. It could be the weather - we did have a big blizzard a couple of hours ago, could be the plow hasn't finished on the main roads yet. I'd suggest calling Brynne, but she left her phone behind today."

"Oh," Elle replied, sounding almost relieved. Well, at least there was a halfway logical explanation for both Daisy not arriving home yet and Brynne not answering her phone. She glanced at Dom, still looking worried, still needing his reassurance, but not wanting Caroline to think she was being foolish. "All right. Thanks, we'll wait a while longer."

"Call again if you need to, and I can go take a look at what?s up, if you like," Caroline offered. "I'm sure they're all fine. See you later!"

As the call disconnected, Dom set a cup of tea down next to Elle's hand on the table, sitting himself down as well. "Did you call the school and ask if they were late out for any reason?" he asked his wife gently, wanting to make sure she'd checked everything.

"No," she replied, feeling more than a little embarrassed by her worries and her admission that she had not crossed every T or dotted every I. "I know I'm just being stupid. I'm sorry," she told him, unable to meet his gaze for fear he'd chastise her for it, though she thought she knew him better than that. "I had a bad dream and when I woke up, I just panicked."

To his credit, Dom didn't laugh or even crack a smile at her embarrassed admission. "Then we'll give it another twenty minutes," he told her. "If she's not back, or not called to tell us where she is by then, I'll call the school, and we'll head up to the big house to locate her via her ring. All right' Drink your tea, sweetheart."

She nodded again, still worried, but glad Dom was there to help her through it. And if, by some chance, something had happened to Daisy, she knew Dom wouldn't rest until he found her and brought her back home safely, no matter what it took. "I'm sorry, Dom. I know I'm being ridiculous. I know she's probably with Brynne and Lila, but I can't help it," she told him, trying to explain as best she could. Hopefully, he'd understand. She patted Donovan's back, relieved he was at least content for the moment.

Elle laughed at the two of them, relaxing a little now that Daisy was home and the crisis was averted. "You are cute, but I think she meant your son." She looked to Brynne expectantly. "Would you like to hold him?"

"Really?" Knowing she didn't have much time before Daisy came bouncing back in, Brynne leaped at the chance to snuggle a newborn. "It's been over ten years since I had one of these to cuddle," she confessed in amusement. "Lila grew up so fast!"

"Really' With all the babies being born around here?" Elle asked in amazement, as she carefully put baby Donnie into his aunt's - cousin's" - arms. "You're welcome to come by and snuggle with him anytime you like," she assured her.

"Really," Brynne chuckled, taking Donnie into her arms. She flicked her blonde hair back over her shoulder, hiking the little man up to take a good look at him. "Wow, Dom ....he looks like you do when you're hungover."

"Poor little fella," was Dom's wise response to that, glancing over at Elle with a soft smile. "I can hardly believe Lila's going to be twelve this year. You really should find yourself someone to keep your nethers in working order, Cub."

Elle tucked herself beneath Dom's arms as soon as she handed off Donovan to Brynne. "Maybe she just hasn't found the right someone yet," Elle pointed out helpfully, with a light nudge to Dom's side. After all, it had taken them both years before they found each other, and Brynne wasn't so old that there wasn't hope.

Brynne snickered. "Pretty sure there are bats nesting up there, to be honest," she said, not at all embarrassed by her lack of a love life. "Besides, if I was going to, it'd have to be something special. Like what you guys have. I already made a mess of my love life once. Maybe it's just not meant for me."

"Darling, if anyone made a mess of their love life it was me," Elle argued, though their pasts really didn't compare. "If I can have a happy ending, anyone can," she added, looking up at Dom with adoring eyes. From the looks of things, it was hard to tell they had a rocky start.

Dom answered that look with the same expression in his eyes, grinning as he heard Brynne speak to their son. "Dude, I know they love each other, but your parents are sickening," his cousin informed the newborn cheerfully. "Make them stop!" All she got for her efforts was a quiet blup of sound from the baby. "Oh, sure, take their side."

"Careful, or we'll escape and let you handle them both!" Elle warned with a grin, even as she snuggled into Dom. Baby Donovan was only a few weeks old, but she was pretty sure they'd be able to find something to do besides catch up on sleep, given the opportunity.

"Oh no, you don't." Laughing, Brynne handed Donnie back in a hurry; she wouldn't put it past Dom to pick his wife up and lock them both in the bedroom while she was holding the baby. "I'm on tween girlie duty for the evening, I do not need a baby too!"

"Party pooper," Elle teased, even going so far as to stick her tongue out as she took Donnie back from Brynne. "We'll have you and Lila over for dinner when I'm feeling better. Ed, and Lis, and Zahan, too!" she promised, though that probably wouldn't happen for a while yet. Come summer, there would be picnics and barbecues galore, but they had to get past winter first.

A thumping of feet on the stairs announced Daisy's return. "Ready!" she declared as she bounded back, full of youthful vigor.

"One hour, snowflake, and I need you to help me cook tonight," Dom reminded her, bending to squeeze the little miss he'd taken as his own daughter. "No one mashes potatoes like you do."

Laughing, Brynne stepped back toward the front door, ready to bring Daisy back to the car where the other girls had been waiting patiently.

Elle rolled her eyes, muttering quietly, "No one makes a mess like she does either." Though she was happy enough to let the two of them play in the kitchen so she could focus on Donovan.

"I'll be back later!" Daisy said, waving to them both and basking in Dom's attention.

"You are going to spoil that child," Elle told him as soon as the pair had stepped out the door.

"What?" he asked innocently. "I thought making her make dinner with me was a grown up thing! Should I make her chop wood for the fire instead?" He grinned at his wife, glad to see her calmer now she'd seen her daughter was safe and well.

"I wasn't talking about the potatoes," she said, but she didn't explain further. She was glad he and Daisy got along so well. Anyone who might see them together would likely never know she wasn't his by birth. "I love you, you know that?" she asked, lifting her chin to press a kiss against his lips, even as she snuggled their son.

Dom smiled into her kiss, enveloping them both in his arms as he swayed. "I should hope you love me," he pointed out. "I'm mad about you, wouldn't be fair if you didn't have a little crazy for me in that big heart of yours."

"I have a lot of crazy for you," Elle replied, grinning up at him. She couldn't help but feel better now that Daisy was home safe and sound. "So, what?s for dinner besides mashed potatoes?" she asked as she snuggled against him, letting him wrap them both up in his arms, just as long as he wanted.

"Well, don't tell Daisy, but I thought ....chili, cheesy mash in jackets, and salad, what do you think?" He raised one brow as he looked down at them fondly, waiting to be told whether or not his meal plan was a good one. Learning how to portion for three had proved something of a struggle for Dom, but he was definitely getting better at it.

"I think that sounds disgustingly perfect," Elle said with a laugh. "And I should probably take advantage of the quiet to feed the little man so he doesn't interrupt our dinner again," she told him, though their son looked pretty content for the time being. "By the way, I can't wait until I can shag your brains out again," she added with a grin.

"Evil woman," he laughed, nipping the end of her nose. "I was doing so well not thinking about that the last couple of weeks, as well. Despite how sexy it is when you feed our son." How was that for a very male interpretation of something very natural for a mother"

"You've been very good about sharing," she remarked, reaching up to reward him with a pat on his cheek, like a good boy. Of course, there were better ways she could reward him, and if she was still awake after they got Daisy and Donovan to bed, she might just surprise him.

"I was raised with two demanding sisters, I learned that one early," he chuckled, dipping his head to kiss her once again. "Go on, see to the little master while I get the chili on and the potatoes in. Hopefully they'll be baked enough for scooping and mashing when Daisy staggers back in."

"Tell her to try not to get it all over the wall this time!" she told him with a warm smile just for him. She touched a last kiss to his lips before starting toward the bedroom to make herself comfortable and tend to their son.

Dom's laughter followed her into the bedroom; a warm, rich sound that had seen the light of day far more often since he and Elle had gotten together. Most of his cousins didn't recognize him as the stern, taciturn man he had become after Gwen's death - this was the Dom they remembered growing up with, and everyone was pleased to have him back. No wonder the rift between himself and Izzy had been so easy to smooth over.

There was no arguing the fact that both their lives had changed for the better since they'd met and fallen in love, as unexpectedly as any two people might. Stranger things had been known to happen, and Elle hadn't given up hope for Brynne, though she wasn't about to play matchmaker. Elle could not deny that the lives of herself and her daughter were much better because of Dom.

And yet he still believed he had gotten the better end of the deal. He had gone from all alone, to being a husband and a father, to being a father again, when he had never thought he would ever have a family after Gwen's death. He gloried in it, no matter the upsets or the panics or the tears that came with it. They were a part of normal, everyday life, and he loved every second. Especially when those seconds were spent with his wife, and his children. Even if Daisy was in a mood, and Elle was snippy, and Dom was as grumpy as a badly named dwarf, they still had something that none of them had thought they would have again.

Family definitely wasn't something to be sniffed at. Family was the one thing that had alluded them both, until now. With any luck, this was their happy ending.