"Send out an all-points-bulletin, more like," Vicki snorted cheerfully. She eyed her friend's little bump enviously, stroking her palm over her own bump, which was decidedly bigger. "Oh, please, you aren't fat. You want fat, give me a couple more months. I'm going to be enormous, and I'll stay enormous until they get out."

Elle laughed at her friend's statement before realizing something with a gasp. "They?" she echoed. "Victoria Bernadette Granger, are you having twins?" She paused to give her friend's bump a better look. "It's not triplets, is it?"

"Oh god, no!" Laughing uproariously, Vicki shook her head. "Triplets would, I think, have put Jon in the morgue. Twins was enough of a shock." She offered her grin to Elle once again. "Maybe I should have said four under five earlier."

"Does anyone else know?" Elle asked, curiously, withholding her congratulations for now, until she was sure how her friend felt about it. There were twins in the family, so there was always a chance, but if Elle had the choice, she'd prefer dealing with one baby at a time.

"Humph does," Vicki told her with a faint smile. "Jon needed a stiff drink for the both of us when we got back from the scan. But, no, we haven't told anyone else. We want to tell my dad, and Lena and Des, before letting anyone else start spreading the news."

"My lips are sealed, love," Elle replied, miming locking her lips and throwing away the key. "Dom will be thrilled for you. He might not say so, but he adores you both, you know. You will be fine," she added, sensing her friends uncertainly and reaching over to pat her hand with a warm smile. "You will have plenty of help."

"We're going to need it," Vicki predicted. Elle knew her well enough to know that she needed to laugh about it. If Vicki started openly worrying, there would be an unsettling lack of lightness in the big house for a long time to come. "Besides, Dom is over the moon about your little bundle. I hear he and Daisy went and ransacked Ash Cottage in search of his old baby things."

Elle rolled her eyes at that and laughed. "Yes, even after I asked whether he wanted his child wearing moth-eaten, antique, hand-me-downs. And what if it's girl" He found an old teddybear with no fur left and only one eye. Do you know what the bear's name" Humpy!" She laughed again at the thought of that.

"Well, you know that it isn't a girl," Vicki pointed out with a warm smile, absentmindedly holding out her arm as Ben came toddling back over to them to thump down onto the blanket next to her and cuddle her bump. "He called his teddybear Humpy' That's so cute! Oh, we should get it re-stuffed and furred or whatever they do."

"We definitely should," Elle replied with a smile, as she reached over to affectionately ruffle Ben's hair. She had become unexpectedly close to Vicki and her children in the last few months. "Daisy is over the moon. I just hope she doesn't get too jealous when we bring the baby home."

"Well, speaking as someone who weathered Emily's displeasure at having a baby brother, I can heartily recommend bribery," the redhead said cheerfully, watching as Ben lifted his head and crawled over to hug Elle's little bump, too. "It worked a treat last time. Although maybe Daisy can be reasoned with. Piper and Des are a better bet for advice there, though - they managed to get through Lynnie's jealous moments when Dylan was tiny."

"Oh, you can be sure I'll be asking for Piper's advice, too," Elle said, smiling as Ben hugged her bump. "He really is too sweet. You are a very lucky girl, Vicki." Not just because of Ben, but Emily and Jon and the soon-to-be twins, too. She might have been a little jealous herself if she didn't have a husband and little family of her own to adore.

"Well, he makes up for his sister being a minor monster when she doesn't get her way," Vicki grinned, handing a juice carton to Ben just as the little boy opened his mouth. He stared at her, wide-eyed, as he started to drink. "I know, I'm magic, aren't I?" she said to the toddler, waggling her brows as he giggled around his drink. "Where's your sister?" One small hand pointed toward the pond. Vicki rolled her eyes, looking that way to find Emily poised on the edge with Cosmo, looking as though both of them were preparing to jump in. "Emily Rose Granger, don't you dare!"

"Would you like me to go get her?" Elle asked, turning her head toward Emily and Cosmo with a worried frown. She wasn't entirely aware of Vicki's history, but it worried her that Emily was so close to the water, even if she had learned to swim.

The three year old had looked up, almost daring her mother to scold her. Vicki held that look, having perfected the maternal art of promising all manner of dire consequences without needing to say a word. She did, however, have an ace that was rarely played. "Neither of us would get there before she jumped in," she said quietly. "Watch this, though." Raising her voice, still holding her naughty daughter's gaze, she called to the dog. "Cosmo! Fetch Ems!"

The collie looked up in delight, took hold of Emily's dress with his teeth, and started pulling the toddler back toward her mother, ignoring any and all protests.

Elle laughed as Cosmo started practically dragging the three-year-old back toward the safety of the blanket. "I'd like to see what he's going to do when she's older," she mused aloud. "Maybe we should get a dog," she added, thoughtfully.

"Maybe you should," Vicki smiled, confident that Cosmo would bring Emily over to them to be talked to sternly. "I can heartily recommend collies. Cosmo was a rescue, but you'd never know it these days."

Beside her, Ben put his juice carton into Elle's hand. "Want to pick flowers," he said hopefully.

Vicki's smile softened for her son. "Why don't you go over there," she pointed to a safe spot, "and pick a bunch of flowers for Elle and Daisy to enjoy?"

Beaming, the little boy pushed himself onto his feet and toddled off in that direction.

Elle smiled as she watched the little boy toddle off, the juice box now in her safe keeping. She wondered if her own son would be even half as cute as Ben. "I'm not sure how Dom would feel about a dog," she said, still watching the little boy, even as Cosmo made his way toward them with Emily in tow.

"Why not ask him?" Vicki suggested. "You're the one who said you didn't want to deal with hacked up furballs or puddles of pee, after all." She flashed her friend a grin, smoothing her expression as Emily was brought over to her. The three year old looked her right in the eye for all of half a second, and then down at her feet.

"All right, Emily, what did you do wrong?"

There was a pause. "Was bad," came the answer.

"How were you bad?" Vicki pressed her pointedly.

"Didn't do what I was told," was the answer after another pause.

"And why was that bad?"

Emily sighed, looking at her mother unhappily. "Cos bad things happens when mummy says no and I do it anyway."

Elle wasn't sure whether she wanted to laugh or scoop the poor little girl up and give her a hug, but she did her best to keep a straight face while Vicki dealt with the little rebel. She remembered Daisy at that age and how hard she'd tried to keep her innocent. At least, she wouldn't have to worry about that with the next one.

Two sets of hopeful eyes looked over at Vicki, who laughed a little helplessly. "Masterfully done," she complimented Elle cheerfully, rolling her eyes at her children. "Of course you can go and play with Daisy when she gets back from school. But only for a little while - Daddy will want to spend time with you before bedtime."

"Daddy has been very busy with the theater," Elle said, regarding Jon. "We saw him in Elephant Man. He was fantastic. Sad but fantastic. I hear he got rave reviews." She tucked a flower into Emily's hair, before tickling Ben's nose with another.

"He's been itching to play John Merrick for years," Vicki agreed, chuckling as Emily preened happily over the pretty flower in her hair and Ben giggled like a maniac. "He worked really hard on it, too. He deserves the praise - too many people forget that he's not just Christian Grey."

"But Christian Grey is the role that got him noticed," Elle said. Though she'd never had a chance to see the movies or read the books, she'd certainly heard of them. "He got an Oscar a few years ago, didn't he" I'm afraid I don't pay much attention to that sort of thing." When you were constantly on the run for your life and the life of your child, it didn't leave much time for such things as movies.

"He did," Vicki grinned, hugging Emily about the waist as the little girl leaned against her. "For Swan Song. It was a little indie character piece that he didn't expect anyone to notice, but it got him, Mataya, and the writer Oscars."

"If he was half as good in that as he was in the play, I'm sure he deserved it," Elle said. "Does he plan on doing any more movies?" she asked curiously, though she was mostly just making conversation.

"I'm sure he'd like to," Vicki shrugged as she considered this, rummaging for a juice box for Emily. "He really enjoyed directing Rhy'Din Nights, though, so maybe if he makes another film, he'll go in that direction, rather than be on screen. I never quite know until he tells me."

"I suppose it depends on what comes his way," Elle reasoned, though she didn't really know much about showbiz. "What about you? Four kids is a lot to juggle with a full-time career," she asked, undecided as yet if she was going to continue working or not.

Vicki sighed softly, nodding. "I know," she said, and there was a little regret in her voice as she watched the children trading flowers back and forth to make their bunches prettier. "I love my job, and I'll miss it. But I think it's time I stopped trying to be Superwoman. My family comes first, and I'm going to have my hands full. I don't ever want our children to feel as though they don't come first, and if that means giving up a job I love, then I'm willing to do that."

"You can always go back to it in a few years when the kids start school," Elle suggested. "Or maybe Jon would be willing to take a break from the theater. You've been managing so far. He doesn't work all the time, does he" Maybe you could do something part-time," she suggested further, though she wasn't sure how important Vicki's career was to her.

The redhead chuckled softly. "If I asked, Mataya would pay me full time wages to consult for half an hour over the phone at the beginning of every month," she said, shaking her head. "I could go part-time, I suppose, but that's still me holding onto something I've been growing out of for a few years. I had my job because it was my job, and I worked hard to get there, and ....that doesn't hold water next to my kids need me."

"It's not about the money though, is it?" Elle asked, knowing none of the Grangers were hurting for money. She smiled as Vicki continued. "I've been thinking about it, too. I'm not sure if I'll go part-time or not yet." Her job wasn't all that important to her. It was just something she did to get out of the house and make a little money so that she didn't have to depend on Dom for everything, even if he was perfectly happy to provide for both her and Daisy on his own.

"You know what we should do?" Vicki suggested. "We should keep each other sane if we both go the stay at home mum route. Dom's going to be working full time from September, at least on school days, and Jon has rehearsals and performances, not to mention his own teaching bits and pieces. We should definitely make a mum's group for the Grove."

"That's a bloody well brilliant idea," Elle said with a grin, her not-very-proper way of speaking getting the best of her and for which she made no apologies. There were at least half a dozen of them at the Grove, though most of them worked at least part-time to stay busy.

"I bet Rufus would join in," Vicki snickered, laying a hand over Emily's mouth as the little girl opened her lips to repeat Elle's "naughty" words. "Cheeky little bee ....And Piper would be up for it, I'm sure. Not to mention what?ll happen if Gabi conceives again - that girl's luck suggests she'll be expecting triplets next time!"

Elle laughed at the mention of Rufus. "Do you think we could get him to wear a skirt?" she asked, with another grin. "Sorry about the language," she added, breaking her rule of no apologies for who she was for Vicki's sake. "I guess I should clean it up."

"Rude words," Emily informed Elle with a grin, drew a deep breath, and proceeded to repeat those "rude" words as fast as she could before Vicki could shut her up.

The redhead laughed, rolling her eyes. "Well, you're the one who'll have a toddler repeating everything you say," she did warn her friend fondly, ruffling Emily's hair. "Probably when you're helping Dom suck up to his colleagues, no doubt - they have amazing timing."

Elle laughed as Emily echoed her vulgar language, and she reached over to playfully tweak the little girl's nose. "That's enough out of you, smarty pants," she told her, knowing the little girl was smart enough to know the words she was repeating were bad ones. "I'll just blame him," Elle told Vicki further with a cheeky grin of her own.

Snorting with laughter as her daughter cackled happily, Vicki grinned. "Like anyone would believe that," she warned cheerfully. "I don't think I have ever heard Dom swear. Not even when he's drunk! It's not natural, I tell you."

"Never?" Elle asked. She tapped a finger against her cheek thoughtfully. "Hmm, I may take that as a challenge," she said, with that grin again.

"And you'll enjoy every second of it, I expect," Vicki accused her affectionately, glancing up as clouds passed over the sun. "What do you say to collecting your hungover fella, and coming back to the big house for lunch?"

"I'd say that sounds like a brilliant plan, so long as he's not green anymore," Elle replied with a chuckle. As much as she didn't like to see Dom feeling ill, he'd done it to himself this time around.

"What do you think, monsters?" Vicki then turned the question onto Emily and Ben. "Think you can get Dom out of bed and dressed without him throwing up?"

Emily grinned a grin that was almost unnervingly close to her mother's, but it was Ben who leaped up hopefully. "I can run and race and win!" he declared, and immediately toddled off at high speed in the direction of Wisteria Cottage, hotly pursued by his sister.

Vicki rolled her eyes, chuckling. "I'm sure he can, but he can't get in without you," she told Elle cheerfully, packing her bag once again.

"And I'm not running," Elle replied with a grin. She moved to her feet, just as Cosmo gave a bark and took off after his little herd of toddlers. She offered Vicki a hand, and between them the two women packed up the blankets and treats, before linking arms in pursuit of the children. It had been a good morning, but whether it was sunny or cloudy, everyday was a good day for those who lived at Maple Grove.