"Lady Lockwood?"

Kimberly was sitting in a standard examination room of the Lockwood clinic, Edward standing next to her after he had figured out he was far too large for the chair in the room. The doctor, an older human male who wasn't mated to a Lycan but was still a trusted confidant, adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Sorry it took so long."

"I'm sure you had a reason, Doc. So what did you find?" Edward said, holding Kimberly's hand. She had been feeling a bit ill since coming into the exam room, and her skin was slightly pale. You sure you’re okay?

Just the smell, I promise. Let's find out what's up.

"Well, we had to say your description of symptoms was pretty vague, although since it was your twin brother who had the feeling, I had to give it some weight. Sorry that involved so many pokings and proddings, I know gathering all the samples was a bit painful at times. In any case, the labs have come back, and you’re in perfect health. Even better than perfect, in fact."

Kimberly shook her head. "What do you mean, better than perfect?"

The doctor smiled and handed her the clipboard. "Congratulations, Lady Lockwood. It seems like you’re not that far behind your brother in terms of having a child."

Kimberly and Edward looked at the printout, where the doctor had circled a section on the paper. The words were clear and highlighted in pink. "Really?" Kimberly asked. "But there's been no morning sickness, no feelings of change, none of the signs...."

"I think that may be to the unique circumstances of your pregnancy," the doctor replied. "Lord Stormstout...."

"Hold on," Edward interrupted. "I'm nobody's Lord. Edward, okay? God, I feel like I should be wearing an ascot or something with half the people I see calling me Lord Stormstout. Don't you jump in on it too, you're not even Lycan. Edward, okay?"

The doctor nodded. "Okay Edward. In any case, due to the unique circumstances of your Mating with Lady.... sorry, I guess I'll just keep it simple, with Kimberly, things are progressing differently. If I may ask, your people, the Arklak?"

"Aklark, but go ahead," Edward corrected. "What about us?"

"Well, the Aklark live near another Lycan Clan, the Kenai, if my notes on your background are correct. You've lived in peace for two generations. In that amount of time, has there ever been another hybrid Lycan and Aklark?"

"No," Edward replied. "While there was peace, the Kenai and Aklark aren't exactly super social. We each tend to keep to ourselves. Ah, Kimberly's kind of special that way."

"You seem to be as well, Edward. In any case, I can say for certain you are pregnant Kimberly, but without further tests, I can’t say exactly how far along. You said your last menstrual flow was nearly one month ago, so it could be just a few weeks or even more than a month. Some women, regular human women that is, have a false flow for a month or two even. They call it spotting. If you don't mind, I'd like to have you come in for a checkup in two or three weeks. By then I should be able to get an ultrasound and give you a better estimate of how far along you are, and an estimate of a date of birth. But since we are dealing with a hybrid, it's only going to be a guess. You could be ready early like Lady Melanie, or you could take longer."

Kimberly nodded. "Then it seems my work must get done faster. I'm not bringing a child into a war."

"Our work," Edward said, sweeping Kimberly up in a hug. "Our work, my love. Come on, let's tell the family. Or are you already?"

Kimberly blinked, surprised. She hadn't even thought of it. "I don't know. It might be more fun to surprise them. Doctor, can you keep this a secret from Keith for a few hours?"

The doctor mock frowned. "Lord Lockwood is the Alpha Male of this Clan, but that doesn’t entitle him to medical information about all the Lockwoods. But I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the assistants let it slip, so I’d suggest you not dilly dally. If you do wait too long, you’re liable to come home to a large banner strung across the lobby of the Tower."

"We understand. Thank you, doctor," Kimberly said. She took Edward's hand and they exited the clinic, walking out onto the busy sidewalks. Foot traffic swirled around them, and the couple looked at each other.

"We did it," Kimberly said softly, putting her arms around Edward's neck and pulling him in for a kiss. Their lips caressed each other, growing deeper and deeper until one of the passersby whistled in appreciation.

"Nice job homey," the stranger said to Edward. "You're definitely hitting above your weight class there."

The stranger moved on before Edward or Kimberly could reply, leaving them smiling in giddy happiness. "Did that guy see how big you are?" Kimberly asked. "Hitting above your weight, ha."

"Come on, let's get home. Keith should be there soon, he wanted to wrap up his business early to get home for Jay," Kimberly said. "He's going to be so excited."

They both started walking back to Lockwood Tower, but within a block found themselves almost running in pure excitement. Despite his size, Edward was remarkably fast compared to a normal human, and more than once caused onlookers to stop and do a double-take as the giant spun neatly around a pedestrian or bicycle that was in his way. Running inside the Tower, both of them were laughing and smiling, coming to a stop as they entered the lobby.

"Ahem, I guess it's time for us to start acting serious again," Kimberly said before breaking out in another round of giggles. "Come on, I'm laughing so damn much I'm having to really clamp down on my Link with Keith not to let him know."

Thankfully for Kimberly and Edward, Melanie was so distracted by Jay and the information that the Thornbloods had given her, she didn't notice the glances or small smiles that Kimberly and Edward kept exchanging. Instead, the couple let Melanie give them a full briefing on the information Clan Thornblood had gotten from the European Houses.

"So when you and Keith go up to Thornblood Hall next week, I think you can really make things work and maybe be able to take the fight to the Hunters worldwide. From what we have here, they are headquartered somewhere in Liechtenstein, which somewhat makes sense. The middle of Europe, Germanic but relatively close to Rome, they would be in an ideal place to operate as a shadow element of the Catholic church when they were sanctioned. The country is still highly Catholic, mountainous, and wealthy. If I were to headquarter a group like the Silver Bringers, I'd put it there."

"A trip to Thornblood Hall, huh?" Kimberly said, glancing at Edward. "That's not going to be easy, us being apart."

Melanie glanced over. "What are you talking about? Edward's going with you, you can take the Ka-62, just set up the back better."

"And who’s going to be here to take care of you and Jay?" Kimberly asked, causing Melanie to laugh. "What?"

"Here, hold your nephew for a moment," Melanie said, handing Jay over. Kimberly took the tiny bundle in her arms, so enraptured by the little face that was staring up at her with obvious recognition, if not of the sight of Kimberly then from the smell and the similarity to Keith's presence. He snuggled against her chest and sighed happily, and Kimberly leaned over, giving him a little kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too, little Jay," she whispered. "I can't wait until I can Link with you, even if it is through Mommy or Daddy."

Kimberly was distracted by a familiar snick-clack sound behind her and turned her head to see Melanie standing in the entryway area, her Glock in hand. "I may have had a baby, but I still know how to use this, and I'm already working on getting back in shape. Anyone who wants to screw with me or Jay is going to find a fight on their hands. So Edward, you're going to Thornblood Hall."

Edward looked at Kimberly, amused. "She has a point. A Tower full of Lycans, and I bet you guys can get some more firearms in here if you wanted. That’s going to be one well-protected baby."

Kimberly was tempted to use her authority as Alpha Female to override Melanie's wishes but knew that her Sister was right. Sighing, she kissed Jay on the soft curve of his forehead again and hugged him. "I guess. Still, I wish you could come with us, both of you. I don't feel comfortable unless one of us is with you."

Melanie popped the clip out of her Glock and cleared the weapon, making sure it was totally safe before she set it down on a wooden table nearby. Coming over, she sat down next to Kimberly and took her free hand. "I know. And you have to admit, part of that is because of the kidnapping. But you guys rescued me then, I'm safe now, and I can't think of a place safer than this penthouse. Besides, it's only for two days or so, and I'll be there with video for a lot of it anyway. Heck, maybe we can strap a wireless camera to Edward, and I can watch the whole damn thing streaming video. Just one thing."

"What's that?" Kimberly asked, sighing as she reluctantly agreed with Melanie's logic.

"You guys make sure you turn the camera off before you two get all kissy-kissy," Melanie replied with a smirk, causing Kimberly to laugh.

"Okay, no kissy-kissy on video," she said, leaning over and giving Melanie a hug. Jay, now sandwiched between the two women in the world who loved him most, gurgled happily before burping and cooing.

The rest of the briefing went well until Keith got home, and he was quickly brought up to speed on what had happened. "Sounds good. Our other activities are doing well, profits are going well on the construction front, and Edward you'll be happy to note that I've just initiated the first step in a partnership with an agricultural corporation. They're looking at organic grass-fed beef and lamb being their base, and we get to use our supermarket connections as a launching pad for their products. Of course, if we just happen to get some shipments off the top, well, it happens."

Edward chuckled and looked at Kimberly. "Not a moment too soon love, eh?"

"Did you just use the word eh?" Melanie joked, trying not to laugh too loudly. Jay had dropped off to sleep, and she had set him aside on the crook of the couch, surrounded by rolled blankets. She didn't want to wake him and interrupt their time with cries and screams of indignation. "How Canadian of you."

Edward rolled his eyes, giving Melanie a reproachful look. "At least I don't use aboot, and I have yet to call anyone a hoser. But, we wanted to talk to you guys about something serious."

Keith and Melanie immediately sobered, Keith's face clouding in worry. "Oh no, something's wrong," he said, sitting down on the sofa. "What?"

"Well, you guys know I went to the clinic today. Doctor Leavitt did a lot of tests, and he got some results," Kimberly said, reaching into her hip pocket and pulling out the folded piece of paper from the clinic. She almost felt bad seeing the expression on Keith's face, he looked like his heart was breaking and he was about to puke at the same time.

"Is that why your Link has been down all afternoon?" he whispered, trying to keep a brave face forward. "What is it?"

"Here," Kimberly said, handing him the paper and lowering her hands, staring down. She put a concerned look on her face, while on the inside she was trying not to laugh.

She heard Keith unfold the report, glancing over it before his eyes found the circled words. She couldn't contain her mirth anymore as she glanced up to see her brother staring, his mouth hanging open in surprise as the report slipped from his fingers to flutter to the carpet.

"You little stinker," he said, looking at her and grinning as he caught the smile on her face and in her eyes. "You got me all worked up, worried that you were sick, and instead you're pregnant?"

Keith got up off the couch, his smile wide, and Kimberly scrambled up and over the back of the sofa, laughing. "Hey, come on, you don't want to do that. Edward, aren't you going to help?"

Edward looked at Keith, then Melanie, who just shrugged and shook her head. Edward replied by stretching out his legs and lacing his hands behind his head. "Hey, you're the one who wanted to surprise them. I wanted to tell them both right away over the Link. I say that as long as Mel doesn't get mad you wake up Jay, it's nothing I need to get involved with."

Edward and Melanie watched in amusement as the two Lycan twins, proceeded to race around the penthouse, Keith pursuing his sister like they were two children. From the sounds of it, he caught her somewhere near the guest room, or maybe the workout room. Melanie looked over at Edward, smirking. "What are we going to do with them?"

"I don't know. It's hard enough with two kids and a baby, imagine what two babies is going to be like," he said with a grin. "So what's your opinion on this?"

"I'm so glad I'm still stunned. It's like I just figured out I'm in a dream, and I don't want to wake up, ever," Melanie replied. She looked down at the sleeping Jay, then at Edward. "Who knows, maybe Jay will have a little Brother to grow up with."

Edward shook his head. "I'm hoping for Sister. It would be fitting, I think."

An explosion of laughter from the back caused the two to look back, and Melanie got up off the sofa. "Come on, I don't want those two to have all the fun without us. The first one to get either of those two to make a snot bubble from laughing too hard gets first dibs on dessert tonight."

Edward leapt to his feet and hopped the couch. "You're on. You sure Jay is okay?"

"For sure. He's wrapped up nice and tight. He's good."

"Good, because I want that first dibs," Edward replied, taking off for the back. Melanie was close on his heels, and soon the entire back of the penthouse was filled with the sounds of laughing, giggling adults. Jay, who woke up during the height of the laughter, listened for a moment before wiggling and going back to sleep. He knew things were all right, his diaper was dry, and he was warm. All was right with the world.