Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, they have been created by Tamora Pierce. But I do own the plot, it was all my idea and if you don't like it tell me so I can fix it!

Author's Note: I'm baaaaack! This is the sequel to Kisses So Sweet, and Secrets So Deep, so if you haven't read that one, I highly recommend that you do before you start this one. Anyways I hope you enjoy the story!

Warning: This story contains a lot of fluff, and when I say a lot, I mean like room stuffed with fluff!

The Aftermath of Flattery

Chapter One – Hide and Seek

"Dom, I'm going to visit Yuki" Kel kissed her husband on the cheek, "so you're in charge of Chris."

"Well I guess I have it easy," Dom laughed as he picked up his two year old daughter.

Kel laughed when she heard her husband say this. He didn't know how hard it actually was to take care of their daughter. He always got the easy jobs, Kel was the one that had the "difficult" jobs. She kissed her daughter on her head and set off to go see her friend. She usually took Chris with her, but Willow was with Neal in the infirmary, so she decided to let Dom spend the day with her.

"So what do you want to do today Chris?" Dom asked his daughter.

"Let's play hide and seek!" Chris told her father, a smile spreading across her face, "with your squad!"

Dom laughed and someone knocked on the open door. Glancing over he saw Wolset, Pascar, Fulcher and some other men of the Own. Setting Chris down he watched her run over to the men laughing.

"Do you wanna play hide and seek with me an my da?" she asked looking up at Wolset.

Grinning Wolset replied, "Of course, we'd love to Chris."

"Okay I'm it, you all have to go and hide!"

Chris walked over to the wall and put her face against it. She started counting, and had very little difficulty doing so. For a two year old she was quite intelligent. Moving away from the wall she walked around the room looking for ten or so men. It wasn't that difficult since they weren't in very good hiding places. Wolset was hiding on one side of her parents bed, Fulcher was in the dressing room. She found two men in the study underneath the table. Others were scattered around the suite in very obvious places. She walked into her own room and found her da pretending to be sleeping on her bed.

"Da! That's my bed," she cried as she jumped onto his back.

"Well I guess you're right, so who is going to be it now?" Dom asked as he carried her back to the main room where the men had gathered after being "found"

"You," she said a smile on her face, "all of you!"

"Okay, we'll be it," Wolset laughed as they all lined up on the wall.

Chris waited until they had all turned around and then ran out the open door. She liked it when she had the best hiding spot. She knew where the best ones were, and she was heading to her favourite one.

The men counted to twenty-five and turned around. They didn't think it was going to be hard to find her, sure she may be small but she was two. They didn't know how wrong they could be. At first they lazily looked around the rooms.

"Dom, where on earth did she go?" Fulcher asked confused they had looked everywhere.

"I don't know, Chris!" Dom cried, starting to panic, "Christine of Masbolle come out right now!"

Dom started to pull the room apart. His men stood there watching him in awe.

"Well don't just stand there! Help me find her."

They completely ripped the room apart. There were pillows and blankets on the ground, the furniture had been tipped over. It looked as if someone had set off a ball of blazebalm. Dom was panicking. He had lost his daughter, he was thinking of all the terrible things that could happen to her. She was two years old!

Of course no one had thought to check out in the hall, or even remember that the door had been left open. Until an hour or so later in walked Kel, with Chris giggling in her arms. Kel took one look around the room, and then to the men who were running around frantically. She couldn't help but laugh, sitting in the corner she saw Dom with his head in his hands.

"Were you looking for someone?" Kel asked as Dom looked up.

"Huh?" then he noticed that Kel was holding their daughter in her arms.

"Where did you find her! We've been looking for her all afternoon." Dom cried as he jumped and hugged his wife.

"Well, Neal came back to drop Willow off and Chris was with them. He said that she had wandered into the infirmary laughing and giggling. He was muttering something about you being an incapable father as well, and then Yuki whacked him over the head with her fan." Kel told him, as a yawn escaped her daughter.

"I think it's time for you to have a nap," Kel said looking down at her daughter.

Chris looked like Kel in almost every way, except for her eyes. Chris had Dom's eyes. Chris closed her eyes and laid her head on her mother's chest. Her parents smiled.

Kel carried her daughter back to her room and tucked her into bed. Dom kissed her forehead and the two adults slipped out of the room.

Later that evening Kel and Dom were getting ready to go to sleep. Dom was in the privy, brushing his teeth and Kel was sitting in bed thinking. It was quite late, and the two had had a very difficult time getting Chris to go to sleep. So they had stayed up late trying to get her to sleep.

"Dom?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever thought of having more children?" Kel asked curiously, she was gazing at the ceiling.

"Huh?" Dom asked surprised, Chris had been an accident, though it wasn't a mistake to have her, she just hadn't been planned.

"Never mind," Kel quickly said and rolled over onto her side, trying to sleep.

Dom was now shocked. Kel never acted like this. He climbed into bed and pulled Kel over to him. He trailed soft kisses down her face. Then he realized that her face was wet. Had she been crying?

"Kel are you crying," Dom said softly, "Is the great Protector crying?"

"No," Kel sniffled burying her face in Dom's shirt.

"Kel, it's okay, I was just surprised by what you said," Dom told her as he rubbed her back trying to comfort her, "If you want more children that's fine with me."

"Really?" Dom nodded his head to her question, she smiled.

It was a few hours before dawn, Kel and Dom were sleeping peacefully when a scream awoke them. Both adults jumped, Chris sure had the lungs to be a commander. They ran into her room to see their daughter sitting up on the bed, bawling.

"What's the matter Chrissy?" Kel said sitting down next to her daughter.

"I had a bad dream!"

Dom said down and hugged his daughter. He whispered happy thoughts into her ear and held her close. She eventually drifted back to sleep. Dom placed her back under the covers, and tucked her in. Both he and Kel kissed her forehead and quietly slipped out of the room.

"And you thought you'd make a bad father," Kel whispered to him as they crawled back into bed.

"No I didn't," Dom protested softly as they slipped back into deep sleep.

Kel woke up to a warm body against her back. Smiling she snuggle closer. The arms around her tightened and drew her closer to the body. She tipped her head up and kissed Dom on the chin. Kel was rewarded with sweet kisses from him. She rolled over so she could face him. The two got caught up in their other half. Didn't notice when Chris entered the room.

"Mama what are you and Da doing?"

Kel and Dom turned to the door, to see their daughter looking at them confused. Both adults started to laugh. Christine ran and jumped up onto the bed. Dom gave his daughter a big hug and the family laughed as Chris tried to tackle her father.

"Mama when I grow up, I wanna be just like you!" Chris cried as she sat on her Da's back holding one of his arms behind him.

"Okay Chris, but it'll take a lot of work," Kel told her daughter a smile forming on both their faces.

Chris gave her mother a big hug. She told her that she would work very hard, and make her parents proud.

"Can we go get some breakfast?" Chris asked her parents.

"Alright, but you need to get dressed first." Dom said as he climbed out of bed.

Kel watched as Chris trotted out of the room. She climbed out of bed, grabbing a pair of breeches and a shirt she quickly dressed.

"I'll go and help her dress, meet you in the mess hall," and with a kiss she left to go help her daughter put on suitable clothing.

Although Kel and Dom could eat in the noble's mess hall, or even in the luxury of their own room. But they enjoyed seeing all of their friends in their regular mess. They weren't the only ones that chose to do so, Yuki and Neal had chosen to do the same. Willow and Chris enjoyed listening to their adoptive aunts and uncles tell them stories of their parents pasts as well.

When Kel arrived with Chris she saw Dom had already gotten them breakfast. Guiding her daughter over to the table, she lifted her up onto the bench. She settled her between herself and Dom.

"Hello there Chris, do you remember me?" asked a voice across the table from Dom.

Chris sat on her knees so she could see over the table, "Of course I remember you Uncle Raoul!"

The adults around the table laughed. They were all eating the usual breakfast, with eggs and bacon. Most of them had fruit or vegetables, Dom had made sure to pile extra fruits on the plates he had gotten for his family knowing that Kel would nag him to get up and get it if he didn't.

"Uncle Raoul tell me a story about my Mama!" Chris begged with a pleading look in her big blue eyes.

"Oh alright," Raoul laughed as he started to tell the girl about the time when he'd had her mother as his squire and she found a baby Griffin.

Author's Note: Well I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Don't forget to review. There are many surprises to come in this story and I know you'll love them. Don't forget to review. I need some baby names, if you haven't guessed so already someone is going to end having a baby, though I won't tell you who it is. And if I hadn't mentioned it already, don't forget to review!