#1-Arrival- Derek POV

(Derek is almost eight in this, Ami barely two months old.)

When Mom and Dad came home from their trip to the hospital, they had a third heartbeat accompanying them. It was tiny and light and very weak. It didn't take long for Alec to herd the rest of us into the living room; Cora nestled into the safety of his arms. So when Mom came in carrying a bundle of blankets that smelled really good, all of us tried to look. "Sit down," Dad ordered as Mom took a seat in one of the armchairs.

"Why do you have a baby?" Laura asked.

"Because we're going to be fostering this little thing until she's adopted. Her name is Ami," Mom replied.

"Can I hold her?" I asked. My six year old wolf was drawn to the scent of the tiny girl, the way Alec said he was drawn to Eric out of all his siblings. Laura and Cora had a similar relationship.

"Be very gentle. She's human and she's sick," Mom cautioned, carrying Ami over to me.

When Ami was settled in my arms, I smiled down at her and was rewarded by the tiniest of smiles in return. Her tiny hand came up as I touched her cheek, and her delicate little fingers closed around my pinkie. As soon as she touched me, I was in love. Alec came over to look, and I turned, hiding my little Ami from my big brother. But they all just laughed, and Alec said, "I guess Derek's found his anchor." There was a pride to his voice that made me turn back around and let him see her.

"Look how bright her eyes are. They're so blue," my brother remarked.

I nodded, but I was more concerned with how weak her heartbeat was. "Why is she so weak?" I asked Mom, speaking quietly as Ami's eyes fluttered closed in sleep.

"She was born too early, so she's very sick, and very small. She's spent the last two months in the hospital while they tried to make her stronger," Dad told me, handing Mom a cup of her favorite hot chocolate.

"But she's ours now, right?" I checked.

"Do you want her to be ours?" Mom asked. I nodded vigorously and she smiled widely. "Then she will be," she assured me.

"She'll be Ami Hale?" I pressed.

She laughs softly and her smile grew wider. Then she promised, "She'll be Ami Hale."