A lot had happened in the life of the Dalys in the last few months. After almost five years of extended clarity of mind, the spell that had given Jason's mother back control of her mind had finally claimed her life. She'd gone to sleep one night and never woken up again. But it was a better death than the one she had been facing before the magic of Rhy'Din had come into play on Jason's behalf. Yet, with Anna gone, there was nothing really to hold Jason and Bethany on Earth, and slowly they'd come to the conclusion that they would be happier on Rhy'Din, closer to the family and friends they loved best. So they'd gone through the troublesome awkwardness of resigning and selling their house, and finally, three months after they had said goodbye to Anna Daly, they were moving into Cedar Lodge on Maple Grove.

The twins were, theoretically, in their remaining grandparents' hands for the day, but given that Miranda and Rufus' house was very close to Cedar Lodge, it wouldn't be long before the newcomers were welcomed to the neighborhood. Hell, it probably wouldn't be long before Desmond and Piper showed up as well. If she was honest about it, Bethany was looking forward to seeing the look on her mother's face when they came face to face for the first time in four months.

When it had come down to it, it hadn't been a difficult decision to make. They'd made friends in New York and had careers there, but those they loved and missed most lived on Rhy'Din. Jason wasn't sure why they hadn't moved sooner, but now that they were, instead of feeling sad about leaving the city where he'd grown up, he found himself relieved to be leaving. His best friend was on Rhy'Din, and all of Beth's family was there, too. Now that his mother was gone, there really was nothing holding them to New York anymore. It was time to go, and he was happy to be going.

And because they were moving to Maple Grove, there was no need to move furniture; they'd been able to pack up only their personal belongings and a couple of pieces they just didn't want to leave behind. "You know ..." Bethany was saying as she placed a box of bedclothes on one of the beds in one of the upstairs bedrooms. "If we ever move house again, I'd like not to be pregnant when we do it."

"If we ever move again, it will be to a bigger house because we have too many kids for this one," Jason said, as he pulled open yet another box - this one full of kids' toys. He sighed. "More toys" Where do you want these?" It was hard to imagine Cedar Lodge ever being too small for them, with its four bedrooms and generous floor plan.

"I wonder if we can get away with keeping all the toys downstairs," Bethany mused, though it was likely, if they tried it, that every toy would end up in the twins' bedrooms and spread evenly all over the floor. "I think we should probably put the boxes of toys aside and let the kids decide what they want to put where."

"We could temporarily make the smaller bedroom into a play room," he suggested, rocking on his heels as he looked over the box of toys. "Or we could make that a nursery," he said, knowing they had plenty of time to decide. "Your mother is going to kill us for not telling her." But not until she was finished squealing with delight upon hearing the news that she was going to have another grandchild.

"You know, I think a playroom for now is probably a good idea," Beth agreed. "They're not going to want to share with each other too much longer, but we have just moved. Maybe when we decorate to make the nursery, we should seize the moment and decorate the rooms separately as well." She grinned at his comment on their bump-sized secret. "It'll be worth it," she predicted. "It's not like I did it on purpose - the whole thing just slipped my mind when we found out and then it seemed a little too late to be telling her. Just as well, really - she would have drowned us in baby products again."

"You think she'll notice?" he teased as he hefted the box of toys into his arms so he could deposit it in the smaller of the three upstairs bedrooms. "Is it me or do the kids have more crap than we do?" he asked, not really expecting an answer, as he made his way to the other room.

"Well, given that the bump popped this week?" Beth looked down at her front. She'd already carried twins, so at sixteen weeks her new bump was decidedly front and center, but thankfully there was only one baby in there this time. "Yeah, I think she's going to notice. I'll be the one she strangles, anyway." She grinned at him as he hefted the box. "How much more needs to come inside?"

"Better you than me!" he said with a grin. It was usually him who ended up in the doghouse as far as Miranda was concerned. There had been a time when it had been a little weird having a former girlfriend for a mother-in-law, but no one seemed to care anymore. "I'll go check, but I think that's most of it."

"I'll make the beds," Beth agreed, "and then we can make a start on unpacking the kitchen. At least we didn't have to bring most of the furniture with us this time."

"I'll be right back. Just going outside to see if there's anything left," Jason promised. The sound of his footsteps on the stairs could be heard fading away as he reached the bottom, and then there was the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"All right."

Glad she'd thought ahead and put the twins' favorite bedding sets at the top of the box, Beth turned her attention to covering the pillows and laying out the sheets, her nursing training definitely coming in handy when it came to saving herself from stretching over with a bent back the way many people did it. It might take longer, going down onto her knees and shuffling around, but she didn't creak when she stood up.

Jason was only gone a few minutes, but when he came back, he wasn't alone. The door opened again, two voices heard chatting downstairs - one male, one female - before the sound of one pair of footsteps was heard on the stairs. Beth didn't have to wonder who it was very long, as a very familiar female voice was heard calling her name.

"Bethany! Where are you? Do you need any help?"

"Bedroom on your right!" Beth called back, unable to keep the grin out of her voice. She couldn't have timed this more perfectly - right now, she was kneeling down on the far side of the second bed from the door. Miranda was going to have to get quite close before she realized what was different. "Making beds!"

"I'm so glad you're here!" Miranda called back, just as she rounded the turn to the bedroom. "Did you have any trouble coming through the portal?" she asked, moving to help Beth make the bed, without needing to be asked.

"We're pretty glad to be here, too," Beth promised her mother fondly, tucking the corner she knelt beside. "No trouble coming through - little bit dizzy, but nothing new about that. Did you abandon Dad to the tender mercies of three toddlers and a dog again?"

"Believe it or not, your father insisted," Miranda said in her own defense, as she tucked the opposite corner neatly into the mattress. "Of course, I might have been just a teensy bit excited and getting on his nerves," she added with a smirk.

"Well, you have been hoping we'd move to Rhy'Din for at least two years," Beth grinned back at her, smoothing the sheet with one hand before bracing herself to stand up. "Just the master bed to make - I'm not breaking my back getting everything done today."

"Honey, I've been hoping that ever since you had the twins," Miranda admitted, making a few minor adjustments to the bed-making, as mothers do. "There," she said, as though she had done it all by herself. "Now, what else do you ..." she trailed off as looked Beth's way and got a look at her belly. "Bethany, are you ..." You are, aren't you?" And the squealing ensued, as she made a dash for her daughter and threw her arms around her.

All but pounced by her own squealing mother, Bethany laughed as she hugged back, letting Miranda squeal and touch as much as she wanted to. "Surprise?" she offered through her grin. "It's gonna be an early Christmas present for everyone."

"I think they were worried about dropping by unexpectedly when you're busy trying to unpack," Miranda said. "Oh! We should have a housewarming slash pregnancy party sometime!" she added with a grin, because who didn't like a party' She smiled at her daughter's show of affection. "We probably should. You don't think it's PBJ, do you?"

"If he made some for the kids, you can have your PBJ fix, Gramma," Beth laughed, pulling her mother out of the bedroom and across the house to the kitchen. There were boxes everywhere, but in a few days, those would be gone. It wouldn't take long to settle in.

"Do you need help getting unpacked?" Miranda asked as she was steered toward the kitchen, where Jason had set out a plate of various sandwiches and a pitcher of iced tea. Currently though, he was not to be seen, presumably outside with Grandpa Rufus, Lucky, and the kids. "What do you say we take lunch outside?"

"Extra hands are never unwelcome," Beth promised her, already pulling a couple of trays from one of the boxes with a grin as her mother made that suggestion. "Great minds and all. Anyone would think you raised me, woman!"

"Anyone would be right!" Miranda said, chuckling. "I'm so glad you're here! I've been trying to talk your father into coming over all day. I finally told him that if he wasn't coming with me, I was going alone," she admitted, with a cheeky grin.

"Which is, of course, why he's now lying in the middle of the lawn, covered in children," Beth agreed, laughing with her as they loaded the trays. "It feels good to be here, Mom. Savor this ....you were right."

"I was right?" Miranda echoed, as she helped her daughter gather up everything they were going to need for a picnic lunch. "What was I right about?" she asked, curiously, not wanting to assume.

"About us moving here being good for us," Beth admitted with a rueful smile. "Jase wouldn't admit it out loud, but he misses being close to Des. And I miss being close to you."

"You could have moved here whenever you wanted, darling, but I think maybe it was good for you and Jason to have some time with Anna," Miranda said, though Anna would have been welcome, too.

"Anna wouldn't have left New York," Beth agreed quietly. "But we're here now, and I'm kinda hungry, you know?" She flashed her mother a grin, lifting one of the trays. "After you, Gramma - see if you can get the tray on the table before the kids pounce you."

"I better or Lucky will get all the sandwiches!" Miranda said with a girlish giggle as she took up the other tray. "After you, sweeheart," she said, hoping one of the men would get the door as they both had their hands full.

Grinning, Beth took the lead, heading toward the back door, fully prepared to open it with her elbow and her foot if Jason was engaged in preventing the children from squashing Rufus into the grass.

As it was, Jason was joining in the fun, swinging a squealing Evie around in a circle, while Lucky barked, tail wagging happily, and Rufus juggled Brody and Rowan.

"Hey, a little help here!" Miranda called from the doorway.

"Ah, help for the noble matriarch and her ....bloody hell, Beth!" Rufus suddenly exclaimed, losing his grip on Brody. "You're pregnant!"

As Beth exploded into laughter at this reaction, her son came rushing across the grass to tug at the door, displaying a more helpful streak than his male role models for the time being. "Gramma, Gramma, we keeped it a secret, was it a good secret?"

"Rufus! Language!" Miranda scolded, as she followed Beth out the door, though she didn't look too upset. "Hello, sweetheart," she smiled a greeting to her grandson. "It was the bestest secret ever! Give Gramma a minute and I'll give you a big hug!" she promised as she followed Beth to the table where they could set the trays down.

Setting her own tray down, Beth turned to Rufus, making the most of his gawping surprise to hug her father and Ro in one fell swoop as Brody waited impatiently for Miranda's full attention. As soon as he had it, the four-year-old boy swarmed up into his grandmother's arms, peppering her cheek with kisses as he giggled.

"We gonna live here for ever and ever and ever," he announced cheerfully.

Jason swung Evie up into his arms and moved over to join the group. "Surprise?" he said, grinning with pride.

Meanwhile, Miranda crouched down to gather her grandson into her arms, hugged him close, and returned his kisses, living just a touch of lipstick on his cheek. "Yes, you are! All of us together forever and ever!" she assured him.

Rufus snorted with laughter, hugging his daughter one-armed with his adopted daughter held in the other arm. "Something of a surprise, yes," he agreed, giving Ro easily into Beth's embrace. "Congratulations, Jason."

"Thanks," Jason replied, setting Evie down before she squirmed out of his arms, so she could get her share of hugs and kisses from Gramma. Of the small group, Ro was the only one who looked a little confused, but she was happy enough to see her cousins. All this talk of babies was a little over her head.

"It's a wonderful surprise," Miranda said, catching both the twins up in her arms and offering them each plenty of hugs and smooches. "Beth, show Ro your tummy."

"Can I say hello to my little sister first?" Beth asked with exagerrated offense, turning her head to smoosh a kiss against Ro's round cheek. "Heya, Ro-Ro. Wanna see what all the fuss is about?"

Evie was giggling into Miranda's ear. "Gwampa did a bottom burp 'cos I bounded on him!"

Miranda gave an exaggerated gasp. "He didn't! How rude!" she said, giggling back. "Grampa's been eating too much broccoli," she said, smirking over at Rufus. "How about we all sit down and have some peanut butter and jelly time?" she asked, looking from one to the other.

"Does brocka-tree make bottoms go burpy?" Brody asked, fascinated by this new piece of information. His sister giggled again, her eyes already gazing at the laden table. "M'hungry," she admitted, albeit a little shyly.

"You know," Rufus commented to Jason, watching as Beth lifted her shirt so Ro could inspect the bump, "I am constantly amazed that your terrible twosome are going to school as of September. It's gone by so fast."

"It definitely does!" Miranda confirmed. "You should see what happens when he eats brussel sprouts!" she said, holding her nose and making a face.

Meanwhile, Rowan was gently poking a finger at Beth's belly. "I don't see it!" she complained, a little confused.

To the tune of the twins' squeaking laughing, Beth winked at her adopted baby sister. "Because the baby is inside," she explained. "It won't come out until it's big enough, so I'm going to get bigger. And in a few weeks, you'll be able to feel the baby moving inside me just by putting your hand on the bump."

Beth winced. "She wouldn't do that on our first day, would she?"

"Don't worry, darling," Miranda assured her daughter. "Between us, we have plenty of room, and we can always take the kids for a while for you," she volunteered, though that was a lot of kids. Still, there were plenty of ways to keep a group of small children happy and entertained for a little while.

Before Beth could respond, Evie was perking up again. "Lynnie bringin' the fairies to see us?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh, I think she will probably show you where you can find the fairies already living in your new garden, young Evelyn," Rufus told her with robust confidence. "Don't you think, Gramma?"

"I think Lynnie would be delighted to introduce you to the fairies," Miranda agreed, smiling warmly at Rufus. Her eyes twinkled with amusement and affection at his attempt to be serious, when she had just recently witnessed the children using him for a bouncing bag.

"Daddy ..." Brody said then, his sing-song voice hopeful and serious all of a sudden. "Can Lucky have babies now?"

Beth choked on her mouthful, turning her face away to splutter through a coughing laugh. This was, apparently, an old question reframed for this conversation.

Jason chuckled, not overly surprised at their son's question. They'd been over this a few different ways before, but the twins didn't seem to grasp the fact that Lucky had been spayed. "A dog's babies are called puppies, Brod," Jason explained for the umpteenth time. "And no, Lucky can't have puppies." He hoped his answer wouldn't be followed with the inevitable "Why?". The twins' questions kept their parents on their toes these days.

"But you said it was magic here," Brody objected stubbornly.

Swallowing down her interrupted mouthful, Beth rolled her eyes. "Brody, remember what happened last time we talked about this," she warned her son gently. "You don't want to lose your temper over something so small again, do you?"

The little boy scowled, but made a visible effort to calm down. The consequences for screaming at Mommy and Daddy were not so much fun he wanted to repeat it.

"Magic can't fix everything, Brod. Sorry, son," Jason explained, hoping his son was starting to learn a little self-control. Maybe if things went well, they'd talk about a pet sometime in the near future, but there was no way Lucky was having puppies.

"What about a bunny?" Miranda suggested mildly, as she reached for Ro, to give Beth a break.

"A bunny?" Evie perked up again, ducking as Beth handed Ro over her head and onto Miranda's lap. "Like, like Thumper?"

Beth chuckled, bending down to kiss her daughter's curls. "Yeah, a little bit," she agreed.

Rufus scratched his chin, meeting Brody's frowning eyes with a smirk. "No one else on the Grove has a bunny," he said, almost in a throwaway manner, but that definitely got Brody's attention.

"Mmhm," Miranda murmured, as she dug one-handed in her bag for a wet wipe so she could clear off the leftover peanut butter and jelly from Ro's hands and face. "That's true," she said, backing Grampa up. "Everyone has a dog, but no one has a bunny!" Well, almost everyone.

"And, of course, if you're serious about being a good bunny-keeper, you have two, because otherwise they get dreadfully lonely," Rufus added, avoiding his grown daughter's pointed glance. After all, he had a feeling Miranda was already planning a trip to a pet shop with the twins anyway.

"We could have one each?" Brody asked, happier with this idea than with getting a pet he didn't know much about and then watching his twin get something else.

"Yes, but you'll have to help take care of them. And we'll have to build them a special place for them so they can go outside without getting lost," Miranda said. "Of course, it's up to your parents," she added, with a small shrug of her shoulders and without making eye contact with either Jason or Beth. In a few years, they were probably going to have to make a similar decision for little Rowan. Though they already shared their own with a cat, that cat had made it pretty clear that he belonged to Miranda.

"Oh, yeah, totally up to us now Gramma and Grampa laid it all out for the terrible twosome," Beth drawled, but there wasn't any anger or irritation in her voice. She was just amused by her own parents' sneakiness, trusting them not to go too far with it.

"You're the parents," Miranda pointed out with a half shrug and a barely-repressed smirk. "Even Leilani and Cian have a cat," she murmured.

"Is it some kind of requirement that everyone who's a Granger have some sort of pet?" Jason inquired, half-seriously.

Brody raised his hand, ready to share some wisdom. "Alex has a dwagon," he pointed out hopefully.

Rufus bit down on a laugh, tilting his head toward Jason. "You were saying?"

"Uh, no. We are not getting a dragon, and Alex isn't a Granger," Jason told his son. The boy should be thankful he might be getting a bunny. There was no way they were raising a dragon, along with three children.

Brody pouted, opening his mouth to object, when yet another voice interjected from the gate at the side of the house behind them.

"Hellooo! Can we come in" Dyl needs the wee-wee!"

And there was Lyneth Granger, perched on the gate and leaning over it, waving one arm even as her mother grasped her around the waist and pull her down onto the ground again.

Jason's expression brightened instantly, knowing his best friend could not be far behind. "Come on in! The more the merrier!" he said, with an inviting wave of his hand. "Can you find the bathroom or do you need a tour guide?" he asked.

"There she is! Where's my hug, Lynnie?" Miranda called over.

"I'll show Dyl!" Brody volunteered, scrambling down from the table to grab Dylan's hand as the other little boy came barrelling into the garden.

As the boys shot inside, Rufus followed to make sure no accidents happened, leaving Lyneth to pounce happily on Miranda and her girly cousins as Des and Piper appeared with Amelia and Loki.

"Hope we're not intruding!" Des said, Amelia balanced against his right hip, his left hand holding Piper's.

"Of course not!" Jason assured him with a bright smile. He and Desmond had grown up together and were as close as brothers. "Shall we share the news?" he asked, looking to Beth. They were bound to guess as soon as Beth stood up anyway.

Beth grinned. "I guess that means I'm standing up, huh?" she teased her husband fondly.

Beth nodded slowly, that look of absolute disbelief not leaving her face. "Uh-huh," she said, grinning at the pair of them. "I'm being wound up, I'm pretty sure."

Piper chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, it won't be long before you meet him."

"You don't believe me, do you?" Miranda said, knowing her daughter well enough to know that much. "Why don't you ask Lynnie if you don't believe us?" she challenged, with a straight face that left no room for teasing.

"Oh, yeah, because Lynnie's so honest all the time," Beth laughed, rolling her eyes.

"She's honest most of the time," Piper defended her eldest with a smile. She glanced over at Miranda. "I think we're going to have to wait until they're face to face for this one to sink in."

"Maybe she'll believe us when she sees him fly. Or maybe if he takes the twins flying," Miranda said, that hint of teasing back in her eyes again, though she was still dead serious.

Beth glanced between them, torn between amusement and suspicion. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" she accused in a mild tone, her smile returning as Piper erupted into giggles.

Miranda shrugged. "Don't say we didn't warn you," she told her daughter. It would be funny as hell when Beth realized they were telling the truth. "Maybe I should ask them to stop by," she said, though she doubted Jason and Beth were up for more company right now.

"Not tonight, Mom," Beth was quick to put a stop to that. "I love our family, I really do, but moving with twins and a pregnancy' This is as many people as I can handle without getting grumpy."

Piper chuckled, shaking her own head. "Well, if we put Lynnie in charge of the children, the six of us should get most of your unpacking done in a single afternoon," she pointed out. "And you'll be able to properly relax this evening, without thinking over what else needs to be done."

"That is a very good idea," Miranda said in agreement. "Maybe we should have a little get-together in a few weeks. Humphrey's birthday is coming and every year we have left with him is one to celebrate." The "Old Man" as he was referred to affectionately was going to be eighty-eight this year, after all.

"That's a good idea," Piper agreed. "Vicki probably has it in hand, but I imagine she'd welcome a little help getting it sorted out. The garden party is something of a tradition by now."

"We should have you all sorted and moved in by then," Miranda added. "And then you can meet Peter Pan," she added with another smirk before taking a sip of her tea and looking over at the men who were gathered into a small circle of their own. "How is he doing?" she asked, meaning Jason. "I know how close he was to his mother."

Still unconvinced by the Peter Pan conversation, Beth ignored that with a faint smirk of her own. She followed her mother's gaze over to the men, who had been joined by the boys. "It'll take time," she said quietly. "He misses her; he's always going to miss her. But being here will help. As much as we had friends in New York, the friends here are family."

"I know Des has missed him. We both have," Miranda admitted. It had been awkward between them when Jason and Beth had first started dating, but there had been a time when Miranda and Desmond and Jason had been the best of friends. "I'm not sure what you are both going to do here, but there's no rush. Family takes care of family."

"Well ..." Beth patted her bump cheerfully. "I'm set for a year, at least. Jason's been talking to Granger security, and you said something about Johnny Storm's fire crew having a search and rescue component, right' Lucky would be great at that."

"Hmm, true. Maybe Jason would even like to do that. He and Lucky seem kind of inseparable," she said, looking over to find Jason teaching the boys how to throw a ball so Lucky could play Catch.

"Well, if they hadn't needed a handler for Lucky, he never would have got out of homicide," Beth pointed out. "She adores him, but she does need to have a job of her own. It's like a switch inside her, you know" When she's working, she's this big bad don't mess with me type. And when she's not working, like now, well ..."

She gestured in time for them to see Dylan toddle straight into Lucky's side, at which point the big dog flopped over onto the grass with all four paws in the air, playing dead just to make the boys laugh.

Miranda laughed. "She's going to love it here," she said, the corners of her eyes crinkling when she smiled. There were plenty of dogs and people for her to make friends with at Maple Grove. "Where's Loki?" she asked, looking around for Piper and Des' dog.

Piper glanced around, and laughed. "Over there." She pointed to where Loki was patiently allowing himself to be crowned with a daisy chain, wagging his tail happily in the full attention of the little girls. "That dog is such a pushover for girls."

"The Grove is a great place for dogs and kids," Miranda said, smiling happily, and why shouldn't she be? Her family was all right here now, safe and happy on Rhy'Din - except for those who chose to wander, but there would always be a place here for them to come home to, if they so chose. "Wait until the kids get invited to the treehouse," she said.

"Oh! Did you hear about Fliss and Lucas?" Piper said suddenly, eyes a-glow at the thought of having gossip that just maybe Miranda hadn't heard yet. There was always a chance, anyway.

"Are they getting married?" Miranda guessed, though she had no idea what the news might be. She usually had her finger on all the latest gossip, but some things still escaped her.

"Well, they're engaged," Piper said, still thrilled to be the one in the know even if Miranda had guessed. "Ring and everything, but no plans for a wedding date yet. I think they want to settle into their new routine come September before they start making plans like that. And, of course, she is only seventeen."

Beth bit her lip, glancing at her mother. "Oh, and that's way too young to be doing anything like getting pregnant, right, Mom?" she said in a teasing tone. Miranda hadn't been too much older than that when Beth had become a reality, after all.

"They're awfully young," Miranda said, with a thoughtful frown. It wasn't that she didn't doubt they loved each other or that they'd be happy together, but what was the rush' She turned that frown on Beth, not really seeing the comparison. "That was different, Beth. Your father and I were in college, and ..." She shrugged. Look at how that had turned out? Miranda had been a single mom for most of Beth's life, only reconciling with Rufus in the last few years.

"And now you're gonna be grandparents again before Christmas!" Beth reminded her, deliberately glossing over the separation to distract her mother with the present reality. "Hope you're happy about it - it's kinda late to take it back to the shop now!"

Across the table, Piper choked on her tea at the thought of trying to exchange an unborn baby at some of the shops in Rhy'Din.