There were definite advantages to being part of a big family currently in the throes of popping out babies like nobody's business. For all that Vicki often felt a little less than perfect enough to be a part of the Grangers, she couldn't deny that it was a blessed relief to be able to just pick up a phone and call Piper, or Caroline, or even Gabi, and arrange an hour's respite from being cooped up indoors with the baby. She loved Jon, but if he didn't start sleeping when Emily did soon, he was going to be a member of the walking undead.

Today was the first in a long time when the sun was shining, the wind wasn't too cold, and both Caroline and Piper were free. Well, maybe not free, but prepared to throw their significant others to the four winds and come to relieve a little of Vicki's stress. Besides, she had a question preying on her mind, one she was not prepared to ask Jon outright and frankly, the thought of discussing it with her doctor was deeply embarrassing. Gabi had elected not to join them, citing her inability to move faster than a snail with her enormous belly weighing her down as her excuse this time.

The ladies had laid out a blanket on one of the Grove's vast lawns, removed the leashes from the babies - figuratively speaking - and settled in for some serious girltime. Emily was dozing in her basket, shielded from the sun, and Lyneth was introducing Jack to the wonders of fairies, albeit keeping a beady eye on him in case he decided that wings looked better off their owners' backs. It was, in theory, a play date for the children, but while they were otherwise occupied, Vicki, Piper, and Caroline were indulging in a little long overdue gossip and chat.

"....somewhere in America, on Earth," Caroline was saying, shucking out of her coat to enjoy the long-anticipated spring sunshine. "According to Correy, she's a major success, but she hasn't breathed a word of it to anyone else."

Piper laughed cheerfully. "I know, it's amazing, isn't it?" she remarked. "Kaylee's usually the first to blow her own trumpet, but I didn't even know she had a contract, much less released her first album yet."

"How long is this tour of hers supposed to take, do you know?" Caroline asked, all kinds of curious. It wasn't like the wildchild of the family to keep such a huge secret, after all.

Piper shrugged, glancing to where Vicki was lying on her back, listening and dozing at the same time. "I think she said something about being done by the end of August," she offered, not entirely certain herself. "I know she's planning on being back here for Lynnie's birthday, at least."

"Gives her a couple of months' leeway," Vicki murmured, lifting her hand to shield her eyes as she looked over at her cousins-in-law with a half-smile. "I am awake, you know, you don't have to talk quietly."

As if to make her point, Jack suddenly let out a squawk of delighted laughter. Only Piper saw the multitude of little people that had taken wing, dancing through the air around the eight-month-old boy under Lyneth's playful directions, but all three mothers smiled indulgently, enjoying the sight and sound of the little ones playing without mishap.

"Speaking of a couple of months' leeway," Caroline mused, turning her attention away from her cackling son to look down at Vicki with a faint smirk, "you got the all clear a while back. Any progress?"

If only Jon could have been there to see the blush that lit up his wife's face. Vicki's blushes were few and far between usually, but for some reason having a topic like this come out of left field from Caroline of all people had thrown her for a loop. She looked to Piper, but there was no rescue from that quarter. The sable-haired woman was grinning, as interested in the answer as Caroline. Vicki took refuge in deliberate misunderstanding of the question. "I'm not sure what you mean."

As Caroline snorted wildly at the dissembling, Piper shook her head with a laugh. "Victoria Granger, you know exactly what we mean," she informed her friend merrily. "Have you done the deed yet' Don't make me get creative with my euphemisms," she added warningly. "You know what I'm like."

"Oh, for goodness' ..." Vicki trailed off, pushing herself to sit upright with a glance into the basket, as though wanting to be sure Emily was asleep. "No, we haven't."

Caroline's brows rose into her hairline. "Really?" She was astonished. "I would have thought you and Jon would have been at it like rabbits all over again by now."

"It's a little difficult to do that when Emily's still in the room," Vicki tried to argue, but Piper interrupted her.

"She's nine weeks old," she reminded the newest mother in the group. "So long as you don't make too much noise, she won't even notice."

"It doesn't feel right, with her right there," the redhead offered as an excuse, but this was shot down, too.

"So put her in the next room for an hour or so," Caroline said without mercy. "That daft dog of yours can keep an eye on her. Or get Jon to do you hard against a wall in the bathroom - doesn't take long, and it's fun."

"Not very comfortable for the first time after a long break, though," Piper pointed out with a smile, and Caroline was forced to concede that point, nodding with a thoughtful frown. Both women pinned Vicki with an expectant look, knowing exactly what the real problem was and just waiting for her to confess to it.

She didn't disappoint, having learned long ago that it was hopeless to try and keep a worry like this a secret around determined Grangers. At least she could be certain that they wouldn't recycle it as gossip elsewhere. "Well, it's not Jon," she sighed, shaking her head. "He's wonderful, and he's being so patient with me, but ....whenever we have time, I'm falling asleep, or there's laundry to do, or I need to wash, or ..." She stuttered into silence, finally giving up the goods. "I just don't feel sexy anymore."

Caroline and Piper nodded in sympathy. It could be any number of things making the redhead feel that way, but somewhere near the top of the list were lurking tiredness and the lingering post-baby belly. No woman felt sexy when contending with those monsters, no matter how many times their lover told them how beautiful they were. It was just a case of getting on with it, rather than shying away.

"I have no idea what to do," Vicki admitted uncomfortably. "I know Jon has to be feeling it, but he's almost too considerate, you know" He doesn't want to push me, and well, without a push, I'm going to keep saying no. It's not like we don't make time for each other - we're doing everything short of actual physical intimacy. And I do want to get back in the saddle, so to speak, I just ....I have no idea how."

The other two women looked at one another, unspoken words passing between them in that lock of gazes. "Date night," Piper said, and Caroline nodded in agreement. "Absolutely," she confirmed. "Date night."

Vicki stared at them. "I beg your pardon?"

Piper grinned cheerfully. "You and Jon need a date night," she clarified for her friend. "Get dressed up, get out of the manor, and book a hotel somewhere."

"But what about -"

Caroline laid a finger firmly against Vicki's lips. "Don't use her as an excuse," she told the redhead sternly. "You have a brand new pair of newly-weds you can drop her off with overnight, or any of us. It's not like anything is going to happen to her in one night, Vicki, and believe me, you'll be happier for it."

"Even if nothing happens, it's still time for you and Jon away from being parents for a night," Piper added. "No pressure at all, just an opportunity."

"And if you're really that worried about the way your waistline looks," Caroline finished off, "then you and me need to go and investigate SPANX for the new mommy."

Vicki stared at the pair of them a little helplessly. They knew what they were talking about, obviously, but it was a little much to take in. Not only the getting dressed up part, but the being away from Emily overnight part. That was something she wasn't sure she could do, but then again, if she didn't do it soon, she was going to be a nightmare mother. She drew in a short breath, biting at her lower lip. "So ....you think I should talk to Jon about us taking a night off?" she asked, and was surprised to find Caroline shaking her head, while Piper hesitated.

"No, I think you should arrange it as a surprise," the older woman said confidently, knowing a little more about her cousin than most people gave her credit for. "He'll worry and toy with cancelling otherwise, you know what he's like."

"Maybe if you tell Humphrey or Des what you have planned, they could ease Jon toward thinking about doing it himself," Piper suggested thoughtfully. "That way, he won't be quite so ..."

"Angsty," Caroline supplied, and all three women shared a quiet laugh. They each loved Jon in their own way, but they all knew him, too.

"I was going to say uncomfortable," Piper chuckled cheerfully. "Won't be quite so uncomfortable about it when you spring the surprise on him."

A yell floated back to them from across the lawn, and Vicki was treated to the sight of both Caroline and Piper shooting up from their comfortable reclining and accelerating across the lawn to where Lyneth and Jack were in imminent danger of toppling headfirst into the nearest pond. She laughed, relaxing down onto her elbow beside the basket that contained her thankfully immobile daughter, watching as the rescue mission turned into a tickle-fight, filling the air with wild laughter from all four parties.

"What do you think, little girl?" she asked the dozing baby, stroking her fingertip over Emily's cheek as she looked into the basket. Blue eyes opened to blink up at her, the tiny baby content to lie and stare at the familiar face that was smiling down at her, and listen to the voice she'd been listening to for months from the womb. "Should I whisk your Daddy away and seduce him again?"

It was a tempting thought, and all the more tempting the more she thought about it. The truth was she missed being so close to Jon. Holding him as she slept, sharing kisses in the darkness; they were all very well, but they didn't offer up an orgasm, or the satisfaction of knowing that she'd given him one. If anything, the little interludes they were sharing right now were only adding to the frustration. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, the post-baby bulge had severely dampened her ability to feel confident in her own skin. She needed the contact to reassure her, but at the same time, she needed to feel reassured before she could allow the contact.

A date night was sounding more and more like the perfect solution, and despite knowing that springing the surprise of abandoning his daughter to Liv and Johnny for twenty-four hours was going to prematurely age Jon for a few hours, it was the sort of thing he was used to from his sunny wife. She'd surprised him with a fair once before, why shouldn't she surprise him with a dirty weekend now"

Her mind made up, she bent down to brush a kiss over Emily's nose, laughing softly at the grimace that would someday soon become a smile as tiny hands made a spirited grab for her hair. Across the lawn, the laughter was dying down, but there was something very enjoyable about just being in this little group of mothers and babies. Soon Gabi would be one of them, and in more need of the respite having other mothers around could provide, dealing as she would be with twin boys. Someone was going to have to have another girl, just to even the score. Just so long as it wasn't Vicki. Not yet, anyway. Sex was the next thing on her to-do list; the consequences ....well, they could wait at least a year before she tried that again.