"Noll, I think we're in trouble."

Gene had crept into his brother's room late one night and closed the door behind him.

"What have you done this time?" Noll said from the armchair in the corner. His nose was stuck in a book. "And why do you presume to include me in your getting in trouble?"

"No, I mean we're in trouble," Gene said. He was biting his thumb nail, a sure sign that something was up. Noll looked up and raised an eyebrow. On any other young boy, this would have looked comical.

"Explain."

"Luella keeps being sick."

Noll rolled his eyes and returned to his book.

"We just started school, everyone gets sick at the beginning of term. She probably caught something from-"

"Sick in the morning," Gene interrupted.

"Martin's coffee is quite potent, it probably-"

"And she's been cooking loads."

"She likes cooking," Noll countered. "She thinks we are too thin."

"Then why won't she let me in?" Gene asked quickly.

"Possibly because you're a pain in the-"

"And she's been really happy lately."

"So?" Noll asked in a bored voice.

"Noll! Can't you see what I'm trying to say?"

Gene was frantic, pacing around his brother's room and almost wrenching his hair out.

"Not really, no."

"I think they're going to get rid of us."

Noll frowned and put his book down.

"Where do you get that idea?" he asked quietly.

"Because I think Luella is going to have a baby."

Gene stopped to face his twin.

"Morning sickness, weird moods, weird food habits," Noll surmised. "And you think they will not want us if they have their own baby?"

"Why would they? All the kids at the orphanage said that parents always want their own kids more than other peoples," Gene said. He flopped onto Noll's bed and covered his face with his arms. "We'll be sent back."

"They would have said something," Noll stated. "They would not lie to us."

"They wouldn't before! They might now they have their own baby coming."

"But Martin wants to work with us on our abilities."

"He won't have time if there's going to be a baby."

Noll frowned deeper.

"I still think they would have said something-" he began, but Gene cut him off again.

"They're grown ups Noll. Like the people in the orphanage. Like our real parents. They're no different really. We can't trust any of them. None of them care."

Noll joined Gene on the bed. He sat beside his twin waiting for Gene's outburst to finish.

"Gene?"

"Hmm?"

"They won't split us up," Noll said quietly. "I won't let them."

"I know," Gene said softly. A silence fell for a few minutes. "But I really like Luella and Martin."

Noll privately agreed, though did not speak his thoughts.

"I know."

"Do you think they'll send us back to America? Or send us to an orphanage here?"

"We're British citizens now," Noll said. "So we'll probably stay here."

"Right. Do you think they'll be as bad?"

Noll shrugged.

"Do you think we should ask them?" Gene asked. "If they're getting rid of us?"

"No."

"But-"

"It'd be rude."

"Like you care!"

"If we're rude they will get rid of us!"

Gene pouted up at his brother.

"I'd rather know," he mumbled.

"Me too," Noll agreed.

Gene reached out and took his brother's hand. He shuffled up so they were both sat with their backs against the wall next to the bed.

"She's down there now," Gene muttered. "Cooking something weird. I tried to work it out by smell but Martin caught me sniffing and told me I should leave Luella be."

"We could look in through the window," Noll suggested.

"Sneak out? Do you think they'll notice?"

"No, Martin will be reading now. If we're quiet..."

"Let's go."

Luella hummed to herself as she wiped up the flour on the work surface. The oven whirred in the background and several pyrex bowls sat in the sink, waiting to be washed.

This was going to be it. It was going to be perfect. It would give no one food poisoning this time. Her boys would love it.

She'd never been a massive fan of baking as a young girl. Home economics had never been her favourite subject and her mother had long since given up trying to teach her how to bake.

But it was her boys' birthday tomorrow. She'd been practicing making cakes for weeks in the hope of making at least an edible birthday cake. Martin had suggested several times that buying a cake would be easier. But Luella refused. She wanted to make her boys' a cake, like a real mother would. She wanted to give them something in return for the joy they had given her.

Luella glanced at the clock; two minutes to go. The washing up would have to wait. No way was she going to burn this one. She bent down in front of the oven and peered through the glass. The cake had risen beautifully, though the general grime of the oven disguised it's true colour. Refraining from opening the oven to check on it, she glanced at the clock; one minute to go.

Luella reached for her oven gloves, one eye still on the clock. The second hand seemed to slow down the closer it got to the mark. Ten seconds… Nine seconds… Eight, seven, six…

Hand poised on the oven door, Luella counted down in her head as her eyes followed the second hand on the clock. As soon as it hit the mark, she pulled open the door and retrieved her cake.

It was beautiful. The top was golden brown and nicely risen. Luella sniffed and inhaled the faint scent of vanilla.

"Perfect."

She stood up slowly with the cake clutched between her oven mitt clad hands, so as not to drop the cake.

Then she saw them. Out of the window. Two pairs of bright blue eyes.

Luella screamed. The cake fell from her hands. It crashed to the floor.

"Luella? What's wrong?" Martin's urgent shout came from the hallway.

But the pairs of eyes were gone.

Martin burst through the door.

"There were…" She pointed to the window. Martin hurried to the back door and wrenched it open. He stumbled out into the dark. "No! There was something out there!"

"Yes," Martin called back with a sigh. "There were two somethings."

He walked back in with each hand on one of the shoulders of his sons.

"Boys? What were you doing? You scared me half to death!"

The twins looked at each other. Luella watched, faintly amused, as their facial expressions changed.

"Gene, Noll, out loud if you please."

Noll scowled and looked away. Gene sighed and chose to speak.

"Are you getting rid of us?"

Luella frowned and then burst out laughing.

"What?"

"Well if you're going to have baby, you won't want us anymore."

"What baby?" Martin asked.

"You've been sick in the morning and been making weird food and excluding us," Gene went on.

"Oh blimey," Luella said. She rested her hand on her chest as she regained control of her laughter. "You think I'm pregnant."

Gene nodded.

"And that we're getting rid of you?"

He nodded again.

Martin coughed to hide his own amusement as Luella walked forward and pulled both her sons into a tight hug.

"Even if I was pregnant," she said softly. "We would never get rid of you."

"So you aren't having a baby?" Luella missed which of her sons asked the question.

"No."

"So why were you sick?"

She released them and gestured around at the mess on the floor.

"I have been trying to make you a birthday cake!"

"And it made you sick?" Both twins looked utterly horrified. "How bad of a cook are you?"

"Noll!"

"What?"

As the twins' argument descended into telepathic chaos, Luella and Martin shared an amused look over their boys' heads. They both knew they would never desert these boys.

Only death would part the family.

Author's note: Super late sort of birthday fic! Please review!