5

"I thought we had agreed that we were getting a dog…"

Kai paused in his story as the baby in his lap squirmed and started to cry. He bit his lip and began bouncing the small child topped with tufts of reddish hair. Skylor came over and scooped the infant up, cooing softly as she kissed the little face. Kai sagged with relief and looked back over at Cole and Keyda on the couch.

"But then she goes and springs this on me."

"And you handled the news like a champ," Skylor said, putting the baby down on the rug, where she rolled onto her back and tried to stuff her toes into her mouth. Jay laughed from his seat next to Nya.

"Sure…if by champ you mean had a total panic attack…"

"Oh, you're one to talk!" Kai snapped. "I swear you live panic attack to panic attack, Jay…just wait till you get that kind of news!"

Jay waved a hand nonchalantly.

"I will be the picture of calm, Kai."

"Really?" Nya asked wryly. Jay put an arm around her.

"Of course." Suddenly, he caught onto Nya's tone and looked at her in a near panic. "You…you're not pregnant though, right…"

Everyone laughed at that and Nya swatted her husband. He rubbed his head as the laughter died down.

"I'm serious though…"

"I'm not pregnant, Jay!"

Skylor turned to look at Keyda, who was smiling from her position up against Cole.

"So you don't know if it's a boy or a girl?"

Keyda blinked and looked over at the redhead and then down at her stomach.

"Oh…um….no."

"Too bad. If you knew it was a girl I'd make you take a bunch of hand-me-downs with you." Skylor scooped up the baby off the ground, who gurgled something before stuffing her fist in her mouth. "Ashley's been getting too big for everything; it's crazy how fast they grow." She looked back over at the couple and smiled. "Do you want to hold her?"

Keyda swallowed, uncertain, but Cole leaned forward and held his arms out. The restaurant owner handed him the squirming infant, and he positioned Ashely in one arm, bouncing her gently.

"How are you doing, Ashley?" he asked with a small smile. "You surviving having Kai as a father?"

"Ha…ha….very funny," the Master of Fire said dryly. "I'll have you know that I'm totally the 'cool dad.'"

Ashley blew a raspberry right then, and Cole raised an eyebrow.

"Seems she begs to differ…."

Everyone laughed again and Keyda leaned around Cole a little to get a better look at the baby. It was just so…tiny….

Ashley's sharp little eyes caught sight of the pale face and she giggled. Suddenly she was stretching out her hands towards Keyda, opening and closing her tiny fingers as she made little grunting noises. Keyda reared back and Cole looked over.

"Looks like she wants you…"

"Umm….no, that's ok…"

The baby's grunts became a little more frustrated, and Cole moved her closer to the Oni.

"You sure you don't want to…"

Keyda physically shifted away, her expression becoming more guarded.

"I…no. No thank you."

By now Ashley had given up and was starting to fuss and Cole held her up by his face.

"Aw….it's ok, Ash….it's ok."

Ashely calmed down and immediately stuffed her fist back into her mouth. He put her back into the crook of his arm, giving her a finger to hold in her other fist. Keyda watched, feeling slightly ashamed that she hadn't held the baby. She also felt…something else as she looked at the expression Cole was giving the tiny yellow figure.

"Have you had any crazy cravings yet?"

Keyda glanced over and realized that Skylor was addressing her again.

"…Cravings?"

"Oh yeah, Cole…just wait till those set in," Kai added. "I swear I was making midnight runs for puffy potstickers every night…"

"It was not every night…" Skylor argued. She paused for a moment and then sighed. "But I'm not proud…"

"So far, nothing," Cole said after everyone's laughter died down.

"It is possible that Oni do not experience the same symptoms as humans…" Zane pointed out from his place next to P.I.X.A.L. "In fact, it would be interesting to compare…"

"Yeah, that's true!" Nya pointed out. "Do you have, like, Oni-type pregnancy things?"

Keyda blinked, not understanding.

"Um…what do you mean?"

"Like…explosions of power? Or…" Jay trailed off. "I don't really know. Unusual stuff?"

The Oni frowned, suddenly feeling more than a little irritated.

"I have a living thing growing inside of me…is that not unusual enough?!"

Everyone laughed again, though she hadn't really meant it as a joke. Nya shrugged.

"Ok, ok…fair point. Do you know what you're going to name it?"

Keyda blinked as she glanced over at Cole.

"Um…."

"We…haven't really talked about that yet," the Master of Earth admitted, rocking a slightly fussy Ashley as the baby's eyes started drooping.

"There is no rush," P.I.X.A.L pointed out. "You still have a few months left…"

"I wonder what that baby is going to look like," Jay suddenly blurted, then he flushed as everyone turned to him. "I just mean….because…you know…"

"You guys just don't exactly look super similar," Nya pointed out, saving her floundering husband.

Cole glanced at Keyda but she wasn't meeting his eye.

"They're going to be beautiful…just like their mom,"

She smiled softly and looked over. He was giving her his usual half-smile, still holding the now-sleeping Ashley. He turned to the rest of the people in the room, suddenly looking like he had something important to ask.

"Hey guys…do you think I would look good with a mustache?"


Lou wouldn't stop talking to Keyda's stomach and it was making her very uncomfortable.

"Dad…" Cole finally reprimanded as Lou began talking to the baby again, and Lou just looked up with a twinkle in his eye.

"I want my grandbaby to know the sound of my voice, son! So forgive me if I'm laying it on thick but you don't exactly visit often…"

"It's not even a baby yet," Keyda argued, inching away a little from the performer. "It can't understand you…"

"Sure it can! Babies are understand more than you realize…and I believe they can definitely hear you. I sang to Cole for the entire nine months, and look how he turned out!"

"Tone-deaf," Cole answered dryly, but Lou waved him off.

"You are not tone-deaf, son, you just lack confidence…"

"That's not what my professor at Marty's said…"

"But…but what if I haven't been talking to it?"

Lou looked over at Keyda's stricken expression and his own softened.

"It's ok, Keyda…I'm sure the baby will turn out fine. It's my grandbaby, after all…how could it not!? And of course, it's never too late to start…"

Keyda looked down but didn't say anything, suddenly self-conscious. Lou pushed himself up off the couch and headed into another room.

"I've been looking forward to your visit all week…" he explained. "I even managed to dig up some old baby pictures of Cole…"

"Oh…Dad…"

"No complaining!" Lou chastised, re-entering the room with a stack of photos. He sat back down in his spot next to Keyda and Cole sighed before leaning in.

"He had so much hair…" Lou explained fondly as he held out the photos. Keyda looked down at them, frowning.

"These…are paintings?"

"Photos," Cole explained. "They're taken with a special machine that can capture something the way it really is…"

Keyda thought back to the times Zane had done something similar and frowned slightly.

"Oh."

"These are taken with a really old camera…that's why they're so grainy…" Lou explained, handing her another photo. Keyda studied the tiny form depicted on the paper. She was passed another photo, this one showing a woman with flowing dark hair, smiling out at the viewer with a sleeping baby in her arms.

"That's your mother…" she realized and Cole gave her a little smile before looking back down at the picture.

"That's Bev," Lou confirmed, his own mustache twitching a bit as he smiled. "Didn't matter how loud Cole was howling…all it took was one of her lullabies and he always calmed right down.

Keyda looked at the woman in the black and white picture a little longer before she was handed another image. They sat that way for a while, with Lou giving commentary on nearly every picture.

"Ah…now we enter Cole's childhood years…you can tell because he stopped smiling for pictures. The boy turned five or so and suddenly became so serious…"

"You knew I hated getting my picture taken…." Cole argued, and Keyda looked at the picture in her hand. The small boy was indeed giving the viewer a solemn look; even though it had been taken years ago, she recognized the expression instantly.

"And he refused to wear shoes…" the performer continued, pointing out the boy's bare feet in the picture. "Never could keep him in anything…even when he went out climbing he was adamant about being barefoot…"

Keyda couldn't help but smile at the next few pictures; Cole was all dressed up on a stage with other boys his age.

"How come you don't dress like that anymore?" she teased, pointing out the suit and bow tie with the tiny top-hat. She felt Cole shudder a little.

"Never really my style…"

"Which I never understood. It's timeless fashion, I tell you." Lou commented, straightening his own bow-tie. The phone rang in the other room and the performer excused himself to answer it. Keyda looked at the last few pictures and finally looked up at Cole.

"Are there more?"

Cole looked at the one she was holding—a moody looking preteen in a family portrait—and got a strange look on his face.

"I…don't think so."

She frowned.

"But you're still pretty young here….why'd he stop making pictures?"

Cole shrugged, but she noticed that he suddenly seemed more guarded.

"It was around that age they sent me off to school…and then a few years after that I joined up with Wu. I wasn't really home a lot…"

She wanted to press further, but Lou was calling from the other room.

"Son! It's for you…."

Cole got up off the couch and headed into the kitchen, and Keyda looked back at the pictures now spread out across the table. After a few moments she looked back down at her torso, swallowing.

"Please look like your father…" she whispered, though she felt foolish afterwards. A few minutes later Cole came back in.

"Everyone wants to meet up at the temple," he explained, and Keyda stood up. He put a hand on her arm, raising an eyebrow.

"And Keyds…I'm warning you now. They're wanting to surprise you."

6

Keyda hugged her stomach protectively.

"But…it's still inside! How are you going to bathe it?!"

Everyone laughed, much to her annoyance, and P.I.X.A.L explained gently.

"A baby shower is just a name for a party thrown by friends of an expecting mother to help her prepare for the birth of her child…"

Keyda relaxed slightly, though she glanced from face to face.

"Prepare…how?"

They sat her down on the couch and over the hour that followed they played silly games that made her frustrated more than anything because she couldn't understand their meaning. Cole spent a lot of time laughing at her frustration, which just added to her annoyance.

"I think it's time for gifts…" Nya finally announced and Keyda frowned. Kai piped up, pushing his and Skylor's offering forward.

"Ok…we have like no idea what you technically need…so we got you diapers. A baby always needs diapers, no matter what race it is…"

"You're going to want a lot of them," Skylor added, holding Ashley on her hip.

Jay was excited to go next, showing off the baby-bouncer he had put together.

"Then you can just set the baby in it to have a good time while you guys are, I don't know, having intense meetings to determine the fate of the realm and all that."

"Gee, thanks Jay," Cole laughed, and Jay beamed, proud of himself.

"It works pretty well: he made us one too," Kai pointed out.

Zane and P.I.X.A.L's gift was a small, baby-proof book and Cole flipped through it with interest.

"It's got all the Oni Kanji in here…"

"We created it using what we had downloaded from the scroll you gave us. Its modeled after 'A Baby's first Kanji Book," Zane explained.

"It should help the baby with character recognition in an age-appropriate way," P.I.X.A.L added. Keyda gave the book a long look, her expression unreadable.

"I'm going to be honest…I didn't really know what to get," Lloyd said sheepishly, handing them a package. "Like…Skylor and Kai's baby is the first one I've ever had a lot of contact with…besides Wu, I guess. When he was a baby. Um, but he wasn't really a normal baby…"

Cole pulled open the package as Lloyd rambled, and he and Keyda admired the soft, jade-green blanket. Cole smiled.

"It's perfect, Lloyd."

Keyda ran a hand over it. It never ceased to amaze her how soft they could make cloth here…

"Thank you," she said, giving him a smile. The blonde rubbed a hand to his head.

"I'm glad you like it."

"K, Zane…bring in the cake!" Jay yelled, and everyone laughed. A few moments later Zane rolled in a cake with "Congrats" spelled across the top and began divvying it out.

"Do you want your own piece?" Cole asked, and Keyda shook her head.

"I'll just have a bite of yours…"

"Woah, Cole sharing his cake?" Kai commented as he passed. "He must really love you…"

"Kai, hold the baby…." Skylor cut in, putting Ashley into her husband's surprised arms. Ashley took one look at Kai and turned back to Skylor, fussing.

"Hey, c'mon Ash…." Kai said, bouncing her. "It's me..."

The baby calmed down with the bouncing, and suddenly reached up to grab two tiny fistfuls of gelled hair. Kai cried out a little, pulling the baby back as she tried to tear the hair out of his head, and Ashley dissolved into laughter. Kai sighed but couldn't help but join in on the baby's contagious giggles as he walked away. Cole watched the whole thing with a little smile on his face, and when he looked back at his plate he made an incredulous sound.

"Hey….you said a bite…" he accused, and Keyda looked down at the plate, her expression just as shocked. She licked some frosting off her thumb.

"It was…better than I remembered…"

"Uh-huh…" Cole said, shaking his head. "Well, now I'm going to go get my own piece."

"There's still some left of this one!" She argued, but he just winked at her.

"Go ahead and finish it, Keyds…just don't make yourself sick."

The friends laughed and talked for a few more hours, enjoying each other's company. From what everyone was saying, gatherings didn't really happen as often as everyone would like, what with everyone more or less settled in their own place. Only Lloyd still lived at the temple, and he admitted it got lonely at times.

"I visit Harumi a few times a week…"

"How's that going?" Cole asked, frowning. Lloyd just shrugged.

"I dunno. She's probably never gonna get out of prison…but I feel like she talks with me more….you know, like real talk rather than just insults. I don't know how to explain it, but I think it's a little better?"

"Why do you visit that crazy chick again?" Kai asked, bouncing his baby. Lloyd frowned.

"At first it was because I felt bad for her. And, I don't know…I felt responsible? But now it's more like she needs me to come. It's weird; she says she hates me, but I missed a few weeks once and apparently she stopped eating. It's just…a fragile situation…"

Ashley let out a burp, and suddenly a torrent of milky liquid was pouring out of her mouth and all over Kai's red gi.

"Ugh…Skylor! She's leaking again!"

The redhead rolled her eyes and picked up a towel from the table before coming over. The baby laughed and reached out her arms for her mom, but Kai moved her to his other hip so Skylor had a clear shot for wiping off the stain soaking his clothes. She laughed at his expression as she did so.

"It washes out," she reminded, and he sighed.

"But I always smell funny after she barfs on me…"

"You've always smelled funny anyways!" Jay said, slapping his friend on the back. The Master of Lightning bent over to talk to the baby. "Good job, Ashley…you teach him…"

"Stop that!" Kai said, moving his baby to his other side and away from Jay as she laughed and clapped her tiny hands.

"Anything planned for the rest of your trip here?" Skylor asked Cole and Keyda. Cole looked over at his wife.

"We're just gonna take it easy, really. Anything you wanna see tomorrow, Keyds?"

She smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Don't worry, Cole. I made a list."


The sand trickled down through Keyda's fingers and she watched it fall back to the beach. The next day had dawned bright and sunny, and she was pleased with her decision for their first destination.

She looked up and smiled at where Cole was kneeling closer to the water.

"What are you doing?"

He smiled but didn't turn, patting down the small structure in front of him.

"I'm making a sand castle…"

She cocked an eyebrow and pushed herself up to come closer.

"That looks nothing like a castle."

'Pshhhh…" Cole said, waving her off. "It's got a turret over here…with a little flag…."

"That's a leaf…"

"…and a moat. It's definitely a castle."

She shook her head.

"Cole, you can literally make dirt and I've never seen you make one of these before. Why the sudden fascination?"

"We're on a beach! You have to build a sandcastle on the beach.; it's special…."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

He shook his head and pointed to one side of the droopy sand building.

"That side needs some barracks. Go work on that…"

"What?"

"Go play with the sand, Keyda!"

She scoffed at his mischievous look but headed over to the side that he had pointed to, kneeling down in the sand. They worked for a while, Cole showing her how to use wet sand so that it would keep its shape. She leaned back once she finally felt satisfied, and Cole leaned over the castle to admire her work.

"You even added little windows, just like the one back home," he noted, and she smirked.

"See? You can tell what it is…unlike whatever it is you're building over there."

"Oh please. It's obviously a swimming pool…"

"What? Why are you putting a swimming pool in?! There's already a moat!"

"You can't swim in a moat!"

They were laughing when a Frisbee came whizzing past Keyda's face, burying itself into the castle. She and Cole turned in surprise as two teenage boys came running up.

"Hey, wanna throw us the…"

They trailed off, stopping short as they got a good look at the pale and irritated face that turned towards them.

"Woah…what the heck? What's wrong with your girlfriend, mate?"

Keyda stiffened and Cole's expression darkened. He immediately started to rise and it took Keyda a second to realize his intentions.

"Woah…Cole, no…" she said, grabbing his arm. The teenagers balked a bit as Cole had gone to approach, but Keyda kept a firm grip on his arm as she stood.

"Calm down, dude…it was just a question…"

Cole's arms lit up and the teenager's bravado ran out and they scurried away. Cole continued to glare at them, but he finally sighed and his earth punch faded.

"You ok?" Keyda asked, and he looked over at her.

"That sort of thing shouldn't be happening…" he said, and she shook her head.

"They're just stupid kids…" she looked down at their mauled sand-castle. "And now we have a free…circle…disk thing…"

He gave her a small smile, but she could see that he was still upset. She wrapped an arm around his waist and looked back down at the sandcastle.

"Did you want to finish this? Or should we go do something else?"

He looked over and brushed some sand off her shoulder.

"You hungry?"

"Mmmmm…." she looked down at her stomach and shrugged. "Yeah, I could eat. What were you thinking?"


Keyda inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of the noodle bowl.

"So…this is what you do all day? Make noodles and things?" Keyda asked, and Skylor laughed.

"I made a lot of the food at first…but it's mainly chefs now. Especially after this one came along…" she said, gesturing to the baby on the rug.

"I appreciate you bringing the take out, sorry if it took you away from the restaurant…" Cole started, but Skylor waved him off.

"Nah, I only went in today to make sure that Kai hadn't done anything too crazy with the restaurant. He's was a pretty good assistant manager…but I'm still not sure how well he will deal with the promotion to manager…"

"This is so good…" Keyda commented, and Skylor pulled Ashley's foot out of her mouth to replace it with a toy.

"I'm glad you think so. Eat the puffy pot stickers at your own risk, though…you run the risk of craving them for the next five months."

"Always was my favorite restaurant," Cole commented, slurping up a bunch of noodles. He looked around the room, enjoying the various décor. "So…you like living here?"

Skylor shrugged.

"I think Kai would rather live in the countryside than the city, but having the restaurant makes it a little hard; we'd have to commute all that way and it's not feasible…"

"It's nice, though," Cole mused and she laughed.

"It works for us right now, at least."

Cole took another bite and then stretched.

"Could I maybe use your restroom?"

Skylor laughed and got up to show him where it was. Keyda watched them go, taking another bite. The noodles were simple and fragrant. She had no idea how the redhead had accomplished it.

The baby was rocking and Keyda watched in surprise as she rolled onto her stomach. The Ruler turned back to her noodle bowl, but then Ashley started fussing. Keyda looked up again as the chubby figure kicked her arms and legs, stuck on her stomach and not happy about it. Keyda swallowed uncertainly, wondering what was taking Skylor so long. Ashley started crying, her face turning red, and Keyda hesitantly put down her noodle bowl. She waited a few moments longer then finally reached over to carefully flip the baby back onto her back. Ashley calmed down as she got back into her desired position, but she grabbed Keyda's fingers in a surprisingly strong grip before the Oni could pull them away. Keyda blinked, not sure what to do or how to extract herself.

"Oh, thanks…did she flip onto her stomach again? She gets so mad when she does that."

Skylor re-entered the room, holding a small bundle in her hands.

"Sorry to just leave you with her, but I dug up some newborn clothes that I figured you might want."

"Oh…it's…um…" Keyda looked back down at Ashley, who continued to kick her little legs as she squealed, still keeping two of the Ruler's fingers prisoner. "It's fine…"

"You can reclaim your hand if you want. She just likes to latch on to things," Skylor said with a smile, and Keyda carefully tugged her fingers away. Ashley responded by stuffing her now-empty fist in her mouth, gurgling happily. Keyda tilted her head, reaching out to gently rub the reddish fluff that covered her tiny head.

"Ok…not to panic you or anything, but I may have broken your sink…"

Cole had re-entered the room, looking a little stricken, but Skylor just laughed.

"It's finicky…if you don't mind keeping an eye on Ashley I'll go get it sorted…"

Cole rubbed his head sheepishly as she left, feeling stupid, but then he caught sight of Keyda and his expression softened. Keyda pulled her hand away from the baby and picked her noodle bowl back up as Cole came to sit down next to her.

"What are these?"

She glanced over as he held up one of the things Skylor had brought in. They were all made of soft material of varying different colors, complete with little feet. Keyda had never seen anything like them.

"Um…she said we could have those, if we want."

"It'd probably be a good idea," he admitted. He sank backwards a little as he frowned. "Keyds, I'm realizing that there is probably a lot of stuff we should get ahold of before the baby comes."

Keyda reached over to pick up one of the onesies and sighed.

"These might be good during cold winter nights, but this material is far too thick for everyday in a desert."

"That's a good point," Cole mused. "What do Oni babies usually wear?"

Keyda paused, thinking hard. She hadn't really come into contact with many babies in her lifetime.

"Just…diapers, probably. It's too hot for clothes…"

"We can't just let them run around naked!" Cole argued, and she shrugged. Ashely let out a big raspberry and they both glanced over at her. Cole got a little smile as he shook his head.

"You know…I would have never guessed in a million years that Kai would be the first one of us to be a parent."

"Who would you have guessed?" Keyda asked, and Cole frowned as he thought about it.

"To be honest? Maybe Jay and Nya…but just because we all knew they'd get married first. Actually, Zane and P.I.X are the most emotionally prepared…like the only ones who I feel like would even know what they're doing."

He trailed off and Keyda scraped the last of the noodles out of her bowl.

"What about you?"

Cole turned to her, quizzical.

"What about me?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"Where did you fit into the scheme of things…in your mind?"

He smiled a little, sitting back as he looked back over at the babbling infant on the rug.

"I mean, to be honest, Keyds…I never really pictured myself settling down."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged.

"I mean Jay had Nya and the other guys eventually found their soulmates or whatever, and I just always sort of pictured myself as the odd one out. The one that would just keep doing my own thing forever…maybe just get really old and teach my own students someday, like Wu. But then you came along and…well." He looked over to give her a half smile. "You were the thing I never really knew I needed…"

She returned his smile, but then glanced away.

"So you never really wanted to get married? Or…have a family…"

"No, it's not that I didn't want it….it's more like…" Cole trailed off and finally shrugged. "I guess it just sometimes felt like there wasn't anybody out there, like it just wouldn't happen for me. And I guess I was just ok with that. I don't know why. But after we were bound, I sort of assumed that it was just a matter of time before we became parents. I wouldn't have expected it to be this soon….but you know, eventually…."

Her own smile faded as she looked back down at her torso.

"I just didn't want it to happen at all," she admitted quietly, and he didn't say anything. She finally cleared her throat. "But…you're right. We've handled lots of other unexpected things…hard, impossible things. As long as we're together, we can handle this too, right?"

He reached out and took her hand, giving her a smile.

"Definitely."

7

"How was the trip?"

Cole shrugged as he and Ret flew over the deep ravine that stretched between the northern and eastern provinces.

"It was really good, actually."

"You feeling better, then?"

Cole turned to his guard.

"Better?" he finally asked, and the large Oni smiled.

"You haven't really been yourself lately…"

"Oh." Cole fell silent and finally cleared his throat. "Yeah…I mean, I guess I've been a little stressed lately…"

Ret raised an eyebrow and Cole sighed before chuckling wryly.

"Or completely overwhelmed. But the trip to Ninjago really helped; it was good to see everyone, and for the first time Keyda actually talked about…well…"

"The heir coming in a few months," Ret supplied and Cole nodded.

"She seems less stressed about it as well…" he chewed his lip. "Which…I'm hoping she isn't just faking for my sake, you know? But it finally feels like we can talk about it without her breaking down…like I can finally feel excited about it."

Ret didn't say anything and the Guardian dipped down for a landing outside the Eastern Fortress. Cole sighed as he dismounted, trying to trade thoughts about the pregnancy for ones more related to the business at hand. But as the days and weeks continued, he was finding that a very difficult task.


"Like…what?"

The Captain of the Guard looked unsure as she watched Keyda chew her lip, staring at the paper in front of her.

"Like…somewhere for it to sleep…and things for it to wear…"

Jaqah was at a loss.

"I really don't know much about the fortress, Keyda…I mean, you've been living here far longer than I have. But from what I know, there haven't been any children born here in a long time. I'm not sure if we have that kind of stuff just lying around."

Keyda sighed.

"I don't know anything about babies, Jaqah. I should have thought about all of this stuff a lot sooner than now, I guess…but…" she trailed off and finally gave a half-shrug. "I guess I didn't really want to even think about the baby coming before…let alone prepare for it…"

"But you're feeling better about the whole…baby thing now?"

Keyda didn't answer, looking down at her painstakingly written list in Oni shorthand. A few minutes passed and Jaqah cleared her throat.

"You know…I think I'll go see if Omar is around. He comes from a relatively big family…he would know more about this kind of stuff."

Keyda glanced up.

"He does? Why is there so much I don't know about you all?" She asked, feeling tired and irritated. "For instance, when is Ves going to be back? I swear he's been gone for months…"

Jaqah shrugged.

"He just said he needed to go on a journey to discover himself…or something. I don't really have enough experience with "soul-journeys" to know how long that sort of thing takes. I'll go get Omar, though…he can help you figure out exactly what the baby is going to need."

"Alright…thanks, Jaqah."

The tall Oni nodded and headed out the door. As it closed Keyda found herself alone again and she leaned back in her chair. Her hands naturally rested on her middle now, and she looked down at the growing bump. What Lou had said about talking to the baby suddenly came to mind, but she flushed self-consciously. What if someone walked in and heard her talking to…well, herself, really. Because the baby couldn't really hear her yet…right?

"Um…" she started, looking down at her stomach. She gave it a little rub and sighed. "I hope that you can't hear me. Well, I mean, I guess I hope that you haven't heard me…before…"

She shook her head, feeling stupid.

"I mean, I'm sorry if you could hear me all the times I've complained…and if it ever feels like, I…I don't want you…"

Her throat suddenly constricted; whether or not the unseen baby could hear her, actually addressing it like this made it feel so much more real…so much more like a person rather than an event that was looming over her.

"I'm just scared…" she continued softly, her voice catching. "And I don't know if I can take care of you….ancients, for the longest time it felt like I had no control over myself, let alone…."

She swallowed again, taking a deep calming breath.

"But I mean you're coming…and Cole will know how to take care of you, how to love you…even if I don't. So I guess my job right now is just to…to let you grow…"

The tears came again, but this time she wasn't able to quell them.

"I'm sorry….I'm trying…I swear I'm trying…but I don't know what I'm doing…and even with everything that's happened in my life, I've never been as scared as I am right now…trying to figure out how this is all going to work…"

She desperately hoped that it took Jaqah a while to find Omar; the tears were coursing down her face and landing on her hands and stomach.

"And I don't know if I'll be able to love you…if I'm capable of that…but…" She bit her lip, closing her eyes. "I promise I'll try."


Cole was awakened by someone poking his back. He opened his eyes to a dark room and frowned. What time was it?

"Cole…"

He rolled over and could make out Keyda's pale face in the darkness.

"You ok, Keyds?" he mumbled sleepily, and her expression became sheepish.

"I'm…I'm hungry…"

He blinked, not really comprehending.

"You're…hungry?"

"Yes…"

He stared at her a few more seconds, rubbing his face to try to wake up.

"You want me to go get something from the kitchen?"

"Actually…"

She sounded embarrassed, and he pushed himself up on one arm.

"Actually what?"

"I…I need cake…"

His face contorted in confusion.

"Cake?"

"Cole I need some cake right now…"

"You don't even like cake…."

"I never said I didn't like it! And…"

"Keyds, I don't have any cake….there's no cake in this realm…"

"But…I need it…"

"What do you want me to do? I couldn't even make it if I wanted to….remember how that turned out?"

"Cole…"

He leaned in to kiss her on the forehead.

"I love you Keyds…but you're going to have to at least wait until the morning because there isn't really anything I can do right now."

She pouted but fell silent and he laid back down. A few minutes passed by and he had almost drifted back to sleep when she spoke again.

"Cole…the baby wants cake…"

He half groaned, half laughed and finally sat all the way up.

"You shouldn't be allowed to play that card…" he complained, and he pulled himself out of bed. He sleepily padded over to a drawer in the corner, and she sat up to watch him.

"You had cake in this room the whole time?! Are you serious?"

"No…cake doesn't keep, Keyds. Best when fresh…"

"Then what are you getting?"

"Next best thing…" he started. He passed her side of the bed and tossed something onto the blanket. She picked it up as he finished. "….chocolate."

She stared at it a few moments and finally tore off the strange outer coating, pulling out the flat bar inside. She took a bite and sighed, lying back down.

"Better?" Cole mumbled as he climbed back into bed, and she shrugged.

"It isn't cake but it'll work…"

He just chuckled as he lay down again.

"If our kid has a sweet tooth problem, Keyds, I'm blaming you…"

"Oh no…" she chastised, rolling over to face him as she took another bite. "When they have a sweet tooth problem…it is going to be completely and totally your fault…"

He chuckled again and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"Goodnight, Keyds."


"Back still hurting?"

Keyda shrugged, shifting her position on the couch.

"It's just so heavy now…"

Cole chuckled as he took a seat next to her, putting an arm around her as he put a hand on her large stomach.

She glanced over at the growing pile of random things they had been stuffing in the corner.

"You sure that we need that…crib thing? Most Oni babies just sleep on mats, from what Omar's been telling me. No need for special treatment…"

"Trust me, when it can start crawling around, we're going to like having the crib," Cole assured, and she just shrugged.

"Alright….I'll trust you…"

He rubbed her neck for a few moments before getting back up and heading to the pile.

"You know…we should probably start pinning down name ideas…"

Keyda suddenly jolted, her face blanching.

"Cole…"

Her tone caused him to pause, and his heart pounded as he turned and caught sight of her troubled expression.

"Keyds….what's wrong?"

"The baby…I…I think something's wrong… maybe it's getting ready to come out?!"

Cole was at her side in a second, feeling sick with worry as he grabbed her hands.

"But….but we still have a month and a half…"

She looked up at him, her eyes started filling with tears and he went to lift her.

"It's ok, Keyds… we'll just go see Phos, and he'll…"

She jumped again, her hand going to her stomach.

"It happened again!"

He paused and she grabbed his hand, putting it over a certain spot on her stomach. A moment later, Cole blinked as he felt what she was talking about, and he relaxed and sank down to his knees.

"See? Something's wrong…"

"No, it's…it's ok Keyds…"

"What do you mean?! What's it doing…"

He chuckled, a grin stretching over his face as he felt another kick.

"It's kicking…"

"It's…what?"

"It's just something babies do…the closer they get to their date, they start kicking…"

She looked down at her stomach, and frowned as she felt another kick.

"I've never done anything to you…" she chastised. "Why are you kicking me?"

Cole laughed and rubbed her stomach.

"Probably my fault….those are its dancer genes coming out…"

She shook her head, glaring at him.

"So help me, if the baby attempts that trigger tiger play while it's still in my body…"

He laughed out loud, getting up to sit next to her on the couch again, and she leaned onto him, her head resting in the crook of his neck. He had one arm around her shoulders while the his other hand rested on the hand she had placed on her stomach.

"So this isn't bad; we don't have to go see Phos? The baby isn't coming?"

"No, Keyds. This is normal, promise."

They felt another kick and Keyda shook her head a little.

"It's…it's like a real little person…" she finally murmured, and Cole kissed her temple.

"It's our little person."