Epilogue

“But Papa, why do we have to get the present for Henry? Why can’t we get a present for me?” Lucy frowned and crossed her arms as she sat in the basket of the shopping cart.

She was only five but that didn’t stop her from having very definite opinions on pretty much everything.

“It’s not your birthday yet,” said Derek as he walked alongside the cart. “It’s Henry’s birthday in a few days and you’ve been invited his party. When you’re invited to someone’s birthday party you bring them a present.”

Timothy chuckled as he pushed the cart. The small family of three was making their way slowly down the aisles of the toy store in town. Henry was Lucy’s cousin and he was just about a year older than her. For some unfathomable reason, the two of them had always absolutely hated one another.

“I don’t want to go to Henry’s stupid birthday party.” Lucy was not happy about the prospect. Of course, Timothy knew that if she wasn’t invited and didn’t go she would be equally upset.

“Henry was nice enough to ask you to come to his party. It’s only polite for you to go to.” Timothy reasoned with her. “You don’t want to be rude, do you?”

“No, I don’t. Henry is the rude one.”

“How is Henry rude? You two haven’t even talked to each other recently.” Derek reminded her.

They had already picked out a present and were making their way towards the checkout stand. It was early summer, the sun outside was shining, and Timothy had half a mind to treat his family to ice cream cones.

“But back at Christmas time, he was so rude.” Lucy had a long memory.

Derek and Timothy exchanged understanding looks. The Christmas incident had been a particularly stressful affair. No one was entirely certain how it started, but all the children in the family had erupted into a mini-conflict over it. The end result had been a confusing mess that had taken weeks to sort out. The parents of the aggrieved parties were still dealing with fallout over the matter.

“He apologized, everybody made up. You can’t hold it against him forever. Try to look at this is a fresh start,” suggested Timothy. He knew that, on some level, Lucy was just looking for an excuse to try and get out of the party. As much as he loved his daughter she had a bit of a penchant for being contrary. It was a habit that he and Derek were actively trying to coax her out of.

“I think,” Derek started, “that sometimes we do things we don’t want to do because we know that it’s the right thing to do. If you keep holding a grudge against Henry, then the two of you will never get along. Someday, you may need to help each other. If you push each other away you won’t be able to rely on one another.” The alpha paused and leaned over the edge of the cart. He lifted his daughter into his arms and looked her in the eye.

“So, you mean, sometime maybe Henry might need something only I can do?” Lucy was surprisingly intelligent for her age. She picked up on things much more quickly than many of her cousins.

“Exactly, or you’ll need something only Henry can do. You need to do your best to be friends with people. You never know who might be an ally in the future.” Derek smiled and kissed her forehead.

Lucy looked thoughtful for a moment as Derek lowered her to the ground. She looked at her fathers and took a deep breath. “Okay,” she relented. “I won’t be rude. Even if Henry is rude again.”

Timothy breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“Okay then,” said Timothy, “why don’t we go pay for this? Then, we’ll get ice cream before going back home.”

Derek’s eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. “Did you hear that Lucy? Daddy is going to buy us ice cream.”

“Yes!” Lucy squealed excitedly as she skipped along the aisle ahead of her parents. “I want three flavors.” She announced as she turned and looked back at them.

“You can have one flavor. So do your best to pick only your most favorite,” Timothy instructed. For a moment it looked like Lucy was going to argue. Instead, she folded her arms and looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling.

“You handled that well,” Timothy praised Derek as the alpha approached him.

“So did you,” said Derek. He gently kissed Timothy’s cheek. “I knew you’d be good at this.”

Timothy grinned. “Does that mean you’re up for another one?”

“What are you saying?” Derek raised an eyebrow quizzically. “Are you…?”

Timothy chuckled he enjoyed teasing his husband. “Not yet, but I could be.”

Before Derek could reply Lucy shouted. “I want strawberry!”

“Very well then, strawberry it is.” Timothy laughed as Derek blushed bright red.

“Hurry, Daddy, Papa! Let’s go get ice cream!” Lucy was doing an excited dance in the middle of the aisle.

Derek slid an arm around Timothy’s waist, pulled him close, and kissed him. “I love you. I want to have all of the babies with you and I will love them as much as I love you.”

A smile spread across Timothy’s lips he kissed Derek back. “I love you too.”

Timothy couldn’t imagine a better life for himself. He had an alpha that loved him, a daughter he adored, and a future full of possibilities.