I stood looking over the ruins of my childhood home. I'd wanted to go the day it happened, but Marcus convinced me to wait until the fire department declared it safe. I'd somehow clung to this hope that there would be something we could poke through, possibly some things worth salvaging, but the fire had been merciless. It had taken the entire building right down to the ground.

Mama had been the calm one when we'd told her about it, and she'd insisted on joining me and Marcus when we went to check it out. But now that we were here... I could feel her losing her composure, piece by piece. She sniffled, and the sound tore my heart in two. I slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly to me, Marcus coming up on her other side to hold her hand, careful of the IV she still had inserted in her arm, his other hand holding the portable bag to keep it flowing.

"It's stupid," she said. "It's just things. And I never loved the house. It had tiny hallways and old pipes. And weird corners. That's how you know an alpha man built it." She tried to laugh at her old joke, but it came out a cough. "The important thing is none of us were here."

"That's right, Mama." I cleared my throat, the breeze pushing the acrid smell of the burnt remains at us. 

"I had too much stuff anyway. I kept talking about getting rid of all the stuff. I don't know why I didn't. Well, now I don't have to."

I could see she was trying to make the best of things, just like she always had. When Dad left. When our heater busted in the middle of winter and she didn't have money to repair it for a month. But she had been kind of on her own still, even though Coop and I had tried to help out. We'd just been kids. And she wasn't alone any more.

"It's not stupid," Marcus said. "It's okay to mourn. Even if you hated the house, you had memories here. And not just in the place, but in the things. So many of the things you didn't throw out had memories attached to them, I'm sure. That's not stupid."

Mama turned to give Marcus a kiss on the cheek, a silent thank you.

We stood silently for a while, Mama and I mourning the past, and Marcus giving us the time to do so. I'd probably do this again when Coop came back, though it might not be until his internship was over. He'd wanted to drive up right away, but I didn't want him to lose out on the experiences this summer was bringing him. There wasn't anything he could do here. We were all fine, a little bruised in spirit, perhaps, but not broken.

"We'll be making new memories soon enough, Mama," I said. Marcus and I helped her turn around to head back to the car. 

"We already are," Mama scoffed. "The stories I have to tell about the kids already..."

I caught Marcus's eye and he smiled hopefully. We'd been talking about the house and the coming baby almost non-stop, but privately. We didn't want to make any decisions until we know exactly what was going on with Mama's house. Now that we knew it was completely gone...

"How would you feel about some more kids?" We stopped outside of the car, and Marcus took my hand as Mama braced herself on the vehicle.

Mama looked horrified. "You can't fit any more animals in that house, Killian! It would be unfair to the ones you already have to say the least. Maybe once I move out, and you have a little more space, but even then..."

Marcus's smile stretched from ear to ear, and I suspected mine did the same. 

"We were thinking something a little less hairy. But it will be about nine months before they get here, so we'll have plenty of time to get our new house ready before then."

"Shut up." Mama's mouth dropped open. "You're not serious."

"Absolutely serious."

Mama pulled both of us into a bear hug. "I'm so proud of you boys." When she released us, she asked, "So what's this about a new house?"

"I've been looking for a while," Marcus said. "And I think I found the perfect one. I found it the same day we found out about the baby and the house blowing up, and I think you're going to love it."

"It doesn't matter what I think about the house. It matters what you two think, and if it will fit a growing family."

I pulled Marcus closer. "It kind of does matter what you think, Mama. One of the reasons Marcus picked this house out was you." I wasn't sold on that particular house if Marcus wasn't able to work around the bitchy real estate agent, but he was right, it was perfect for us.

Mama was flustered. "Me? Whatever for?"

"It has a cottage on the property. Separate from the main house, with all the basic amenities. It will probably actually need less work than the main house."

Mama's eyes kept overflowing with tears. "You boys can't do that! I know I'm a bit of an invalid now, but I'll land back on my feet, I always do."

"This is what we want to do," I said quietly. "I want you near while our kids grow up, human, furred or scaled."

"Maybe even feathered," Marcus added.

I gave him a look. We had not talked about feathered yet. I knew even as I did, though, that if Chloe got wind of either of us wanting another pet of any kind, we were done for. I wouldn't be surprised if between her and Marcus they managed to turn our home into some kind of rescue farm. Which, now that I thought of it, wouldn't be the worst possible thing.

"Don't say no until you see it," I entreated her. Mama had worked so hard to raise me and Coop. This was my chance to return some of that work and love to her.

"You're totally going to say yes," Marcus stage-whispered.

"Not until I see it," she told him sternly.

She was totally going to say yes.