AN: Chapter nine has been updated with more (and important) content! Please read it if you haven't already.

"Fuck, this could take a while." Cosima's chest heaves, looking down at Delphine's hand when she finally comes back down from an orgasm, "Well, I guess it's time you learned the basics."

"The basics?" Delphine chuckles breathlessly down at Cosima, gently moving down to lay on her side and pull her fingers out of Cosima only to cause the clone to jerk with her and curse in pain, "Mon Dieu."

Cosima's head falls back, sighing heavily, "Uhh.. yeah. So.. we might be like this for a while..."

Delphine looks at her, trying her best to keep a straight face only to crack up and laugh quietly, "Mon Dieu, years and years of evolution and..-"

"-Yeah.. this is still a thing." Cosima laughs breathlessly, maneuvering a sheet over her legs before turning her attention back to Delphine, "Not exactly how I thought this would turn out."

Delphine smiles and kisses her softly, "Mmm .. Non. It was incroyable."

Cosima's hand is making small waves outside of the window as they drive back in a comfortable silence.

She's sure she missed the other pack's arrival and their little field trip has left her feeling more relaxed than she's been in ages. Glancing back at Delphine, she offers her a warm smile, "Thanks.."

"Merci, aussi." Delphine hums softly, hands on the steering wheel.

Cosima's smile grows, letting her attention return to keeping an eye out for deer.

Mere minutes before they reach the gate Delphine clears her throat, catching Cosima's attention, "I have a question."

Cosima looks over at her curiously, head tilting to the side, "I'm listening.."

"Who are Luka's parents?"

Cosima coughs awkwardly, shifting in her spot, "Okay, I did not expect that.. Uhh.. so... it's sorta complicated."

Delphine looks over at Cosima and smiles, happy to parrot her earlier words, "I'm listening.."

Cosima smiles at Delphine, unable to help herself as she rolls her eyes, "You're such a puppy... Okay, so Tony 'officially' transitioned when he was roughly twenty. Sometime before that he kind-of got too drunk at a party, which lead to Luka."

"That's it?" Delphine pulls through the gate, looking at Cosima again when she gets the chance.

She thought the immediate Sadler family was confusing enough. Somehow she can't seem to help her curiosity.

"Mhmm. There was a bunch of drama before he was born about Tony considering an abortion and adoption, but other than that... that's it."

"Your packs allow abortions?"

"No, not usually... at least not that often anymore. I was willing to go behind Siobhan's back for him at the time."

"That makes sense.. it must have been a horrible situation." Delphine stops Cosima's car, putting it into park and taking out the keys, "He seems like a very sweet kid, though."

"Mmm, yeah. He's awesome." Cosima smiles, "I have to admit, I was a little worried about whether or not he could handle a kid at the time but he turned out to be a pretty awesome dad to Luka."

Delphine smiles back at Cosima, leaning forward and kissing her yet again. She can't seem to control herself around her. It could be dangerous, but Cosima was becoming an addiction of hers that she finds herself hoping she never overcomes, "We should go inside.."

"Yeah. Yeah.. in just a minute..."

...

Cosima giggles breathlessly as she walks inside, doing her best to keep quiet. They were lucky enough that the encampment had settled on the other side of the house. "It sounds like everyone's out back."

Delphine nods in agreement when Cosima looks back at her. Following her upstairs and into the attic, Delphine smiles when they find the room to be empty.

"Thank god.." Cosima sighs dramatically, shutting the door and earning a chuckle from Delphine, "Okay, so, we totally need to get baked before we join them."

"We're joining them?" Delphine hands are already moving to explore Cosima's hips all too eagerly once they make it to Cosima's bed.

"Mhmm," Cosima nods, "Tony covered for us, so we at least need to keep up the charade and make an appearance tonight. If we don't at least say hi to the other alpha's and AIT's then Siobhan will be irate with me."

"Oh no," Delphine chuckles, watching as Cosima pulls out her 'secret stash' from under her bed, "Well then, I guess we better get ready."

Cosima looks in the mirror, adjusting the straps to her dress before moving back over to the bed, "We should probably see about going down now."

"Mmm.." Delphine smiles over at her, "How tragic."

Cosima smiles, taking Delphine's hand and pulling her off of the bed, "Agreed... Come on."

Delphine follows Cosima out of the basement, hands intertwined as they make their way towards the backyard.

"Oh! There you two are. Delphine, you-" Felix turns around from his spot in the living room, giving the pair a look-over, "Oh. My. God. You didn't."

"We did." Delphine remarks.

"You." Felix gestures to her, "..Then we need to talk once you're done with the others."

"Fe-"

"Ah-ah-ah. Don't you Felix me, Delphine Cormier. We need to regroup once you two are done playing.. hostess, or whatever." Felix looks back over to Cosima, "Although I will admit, I can see why you chose the scientist."

"Ignore him," Delphine says as she wraps an arm around Cosima's shoulders, "lately he has been thinking with his fangs first."

"No big." Cosima smiles, opening the screen door, "Come on, let's find some food."

"Oi, Cos!" Sarah makes an attempt to sit up in her seat, "Get your pale arse over here!"

"In a minute!" Cosima's hand snakes around Delphine's waist, leading her over towards where she can smell the food Jennifer, Siobhan, and Shay have prepared.

"Mon Dieu, I haven't been this hungry for something other than blood in decades."

Cosima laughs and smiles up at her, grabbing a plate and handing it to Delphine, "Stock up."

"You're not eating?"

"Mmm.. no. I think I just want some tea right now.. and maybe some more of you later."

Delphine hums contently, leaning down and kissing Cosima, "We will see, mon petit chiot."

"Oh, we better." Cosima pours a glass of the iced tea Jennifer set out, ".. Try the pasta, it's my grandfather's recipe."

"Oui." Delphine nods, working through what foods she'd want to try.

Most of the foods set out are things she's never even seen before.

...

Cosima laughs and smiles, walking up to Sarah, "What's up?"

"Cosima, this is Jesse. Helena likes him." Sarah gestures over to the shifter that's sitting across from her.

"Oh?" Cosima waits for Delphine to sit down on an extended bench before laying down on it, resting her head on her lap casually, "Hey, dude."

Jesse waves awkwardly, "So, uh.. how many sisters does she have?"

"We're from a set of octuplets." Cosima is the first to speak up before Sarah can stammer, "What class are you?"

"Bear." Jesse says simply, taking another drink of his beer, "Octuplets.. that's.. a lot of sisters. How did that happen?"

"Mum's family is known for giving birth to twins." Sarah looks over at Cosima, already prepared for the possible shits-and-giggles she's about to pull off.

"You wanna know the truth? We're clones."

Delphine coughs, momentarily choking on her food when Cosima deadpans.

"..."

Sarah glances from Jesse to Cosima, then to Delphine and back to Jesse, completely silent.

"Clones? What, like.. dolly the sheep? Isn't that impossible with where science is at right now?"

"I like him." Cosima points to him, looking at Delphine and then to Sarah, "He's fine with me."

Sarah chuckles, still on-edge whenever Cosima announces it publicly.

Among the packs, it was completely fine, but...

... ... Helena would probably kill him off if he turned out to be a monitor from DYAD.

Maybe Cosima's (still) high again.

Wouldn't come as a big surprise..

"So, Jesse, right? What do you do on the outside?"

"I own a towing company. It isn't anything special but it's a pretty honest living and a secure job."

Cosima smiles, "That's awesome." Clearing her throat, she coughs slightly and gestures to Sarah, "Her man is from the Ursidae family, too."

"Black or brown?"

"Brown." Delphine speaks up, taking a break from her plate of food, "If I remember correctly."

"Are you a pack-member?" Jesse shifts in his spot, leaning closer to the fire when he spots the bite on Cosima's neck.

He couldn't make out the blonde's scent.

Cosima sits up slowly, scooting closer in order to rest her head against Delphine's shoulder when her blood rushes to her head too quickly, "No, she's my.. uh.. Girlfriend from the outside." Hands gesticulating through the air, she hesitates when she spots Siobhan peering out of the yurt that's not far behind the new shifter, beckoning her over.

"Hey, Cos.. why don't you go check up with S?" Sarah nods over towards the aforementioned tent, "You might've been busted."

"Fucking hell.." Cosima sighs and gets up, looking back at Delphine, "Wanna come?"

"Oui." Delphine sets her plate down on a nearby picnic table, getting up and grabbing Cosima's hand, "Lead the way."

"What is she doing in here?" Siobhan watches as Cosima enters the yurt with Delphine.

"Well," Cosima walks over to a small couch, sitting down next to the small wood-stove with Delphine, "I don't really trust you guys enough to leave her alone after that stunt in the shed and she might have valuable information pertaining to why we're all here."

"So this is the half-breed that experienced a delayed transformation?" Carlton stands, too tired to deal with the other alpha's butting heads over territory.

"Bonsoir," Delphine greets, sitting down at Cosima's side, "And you are?"

"Delphine, this is Carlton. He's the last of the nomadic alpha's."

"My pack tends to travel between the UK and South America. With most of the European packs gone, it's free range for us with the exception of North America."

Cosima offers him a small smile before looking back at Delphine, "He runs an underground-railroad of sorts. He finds shifters and if they're in any sort of danger he'll relocate them or let them join his pack."

"That's admirable." Delphine says slowly, taking his hand when it's offered, "Delphine Cormier."

"Oh, I've heard all about you. You're going through hybridization, correct?"

"I suppose it could be called that... loosely."

"Cosima," Siobhan speaks up, leaning against one of the sturdy poles of the yurt, "Carlton has offered to take her in and teach her the ropes of the community."

"Absolutely not." Cosima squeezes Delphine's hand instead of looking at her, not loosening her grip until the next words come out of her mouth, "Delphine stays with me. It's already been settled."

"Cosima.." Shay begins to speak up before looking at Delphine, finding her initial support of Siobhan's decision waning substantially.

"No. She stays with me, or I will go out that gate with her and never come back." She knows it's a risky choice; however, she doesn't trust the others enough right now to hand her over.

Even though they're family.

How in the hell did they come to this?

Siobhan shifts uncomfortably when she feels all eyes on her, "You know I can't let you leave, I promised your Grandfather I'd protect you from them."

"And the night he died, I promised him that I wouldn't let other people decide my life's path and that I would stick to choosing my own mate."

Cal looks from Shay, Siobhan, and back to Cosima, "You haven't known her long.. Is this really who you want?"

Shay leans over, whispering something in Cal's ear that Cosima can't make out.

But Delphine can, and it leaves the blonde fighting a smile.

Cosima, however, is focused on Cal's last words.

She's heard a similar tone the night Sarah finally tracked them down.

"I'm pretty sure the fact that I'm about to be in heat right now should speak for itself."

Sarah stands at the entrance of the yurt, "That's impossible."

"Yeah, well, even though I'm technically baren the ovaries don't lie. Can we get over this already and get back to the information about the map? Gramps' knew Delphine at some point."

Delphine shifts in her seat uncomfortably, "A distant ancestor of his was the other person to stay behind when Maman left on the Juliette."

"Your mother was on the Juliette?" Sarah furrows her brows in confusion.

Cosima looks over at Siobhan, falling silent.

"Oui, emm.. my father was a loup-garou but she was human. She was raised within the pack because one of them had orphaned her as a child on a hunt. When they left, she came with them."

"That makes no bloody sense.. how are you here and not on the island, then?"

"My father was.." Delphine squeezes Cosima's hand, "Ehm.. a very bad alpha. They decided to leave him. Due to laws on custody of children back then, when my mother left him I was forced to remain behind."

"Wait.. who else stayed behind then?"

Delphine looks over at Cosima and smiles, moving a few braids off of the clone's shoulder, "James' Father."

"Oh.." Cosima raises her brows, "That actually makes way more sense than I thought it would... I still have a few letters from when George visited Paris and Lille after the war."

"Bring them out tomorrow, we'll have to look them over." Siobhan sits down next to the stove across from Cosima and Delphine, "Did he ever leave anything in your possession, Delphine?"

"Non, but.. when he was getting married I gave him my mother's pendant to give for his wife. I assumed I wouldn't ever be married again myself, so.."

"Was it the pendant that was carved into the tree?" Cosima looks up at her in surprise.

"Oui. He was so besotted with his fiancee after the Naval ball that I could practically tell he had no intention of ever leaving her."

Cosima looks over to Siobhan, "That must be where he got it, then."

"You saw a carving of it? When?"

"When we left the gates earlier today. It was carved underneath part of a poem he wrote."

"You're sure he wrote it?" Siobhan raises an eyebrow.

"I'd bet my life on it. What he said wasn't important, mostly just fluff... but it was definitely the pendant."

"Cal will need a picture of it, then."

"I have one in my trunk." Delphine speaks up before hesitating, "But it's old... and important to me."

Siobhan offers her a smile, this one genuine (and significantly less threatening than her mannerisms as of late), "We can get it scanned and back in your hands without any damage, don't worry."

Delphine sighs slowly and stops near the stairs, still holding onto Cosima's hand. Everyone else in the house has gone to bed except for her vampires in the basement and one person upstairs, "You shouldn't have done that.."

"What?" Cosima looks up at her in confusion.

"Risk abdication just to keep me around."

"What I said wasn't a risk, I'll do what I have to."

Delphine sighs again, arms winding around Cosima's waist, "I don't want you to have to lose your family for me."

"Yeah, well, my family has done some pretty nasty shit in the past. I mean.. Andrew raped me, my mother sold out my family to a group of hunters for a fucking fix and later to Leekie when she found out we were escaping the island, and those scratches in the basement weren't made by no one. I've put my entire family before myself time and time again and they still let him into this fucking house.."

"Hey. Hey..." Delphine kisses her forehead, drawing her in closer, "It'll be okay, we'll figure this out."

Cosima shudders and wipes her eyes, "God damn, I'm so fucking sick of shit turning out like this all the time."

"One step at a time, d'accord?" Delphine murmurs, hand tangling into her braids in order to keep her head against her chest for a minute, delighting in the warmth from her tiny loup-garou's body, "Get changed and come back down to the basement, we'll sleep with the others tonight. Cal is going to retrieve the pendant, and Leekie is long gone. I'll keep your cousin away from you and we can figure out the rest in the morning. Okay?"

"Yeah... yeah," Cosima nods slowly, breathing in deeply before sighing, "you're right."

"I know." Delphine smiles, "Now go. We'll be waiting for you."

...

Cosima rubs her neck roughly as she walks down the stairs to the main floor.

"Hey.. can we talk?" Sarah looks up from her spot leaning against the kitchen's small island.

She waited for her.

Cosima curses under her breath, jumping slightly in her spot, "God, don't spook me like that."

"Sorry, I just.."

Cosima looks at Sarah, hands going from her forehead down to her sides when she spots the emotion crossing her face, "Shit, tell me you didn't.."

"I was waiting for you to go so I could catch up with Felix.."

Cosima sighs and scratches her scalp out of stress, "Sar', please just-"

"I'm sorry. If I'd known, I-"

"What? You'd have a massive argument with Siobhan?" Cosima scoffs, moving towards Sarah slowly, "Where's that going to get us?"

"Cos, you're still my sister."

"Yeah, yeah.. I know the spiel." Cosima sighs heavily and leans against the doorframe that leads into the kitchen, "You know what would really help? Come downstairs, stay with me, Helena, and the others. Let's have a night to actually be just a family."

"That's what you want, huh?" Sarah's arms are crossed as she regards Cosima.

She still doesn't understand how the other clone has already been chosen as alpha when there's another potential that would probably be better for the American pack.

"I mean, a Ph.D. would have been nice but," Cosima gesticulates as she walks over to Sarah, "That's clearly going to have to wait a while."

"You and your bloody science.." Sarah rolls her eyes, "Do you have pot on you?"

"No.. but I can get it from upstairs.." Cosima raises her eyebrows, fighting a smile.

"Alright. I'll get the alcohol. Meet me down there."

"Okay," Sarah chuckles leaning against the wall in Helena's room, "Your round, 'Lena."

"Never have I ever copy-copped a Sestra and had it work out perfectly."

Cosima looks up at the ceiling, resting her head on Delphine's lap as she fights a small smile when Sarah takes a shot.

"Fucking typical."

Cosima laughs and smiles up at Delphine, "Which one of us?"

"If I tell you, I'll never hear the end of it."

"-Then I'm calling bullshit." Cosima states simply, looking back at Sarah.

"Ugh, god, fine. When you went missing I masqueraded as Krystal to get a lead."

Helena snorts, "Blondie?"

"Yeah, blondie." Cosima laughs, smiling up at Delphine, "I can see that."

"Mhmm.." Delphine nods in agreement.

She and Scott have to be the only sober ones in the room.

"Alright, we need to turn the tables." Felix enunciates as he gestures towards Delphine and Scott, "You two are incredibly boring."

Cosima chuckles, looping her finger around one of Delphine's curls and fighting a cough, "No, not her."

"You're only saying that because you're inebriated in more than one department." Felix waves his hand, "Never have I ever woken up naked and had to cross-dress in order to get home."

"I hate you, sometimes." Scott pipes up, downing his schnapps.

"What?" Cosima laughs, ignoring Sarah when she takes a shot.

It wasn't anything new for them.

"Oh, mon Dieu, I remember that. You were out with Katherine, no?"

"Dianne." Scott cringes, setting his bottle of schnapps down between his legs.

"Mmm. That's right. She turned out to be une pute majeure."

"Not to say I told you so for the eighth time, Scotty-boy, but I did." Felix adds as he pours another glass.

"Okay, uhh.." Cosima blows air through clenched teeth as she looks around the room and sits up. She's running out of ideas, and Felix was right about one thing; Delphine and Scott were definitely not even taking a third as many shots as everyone else. "We'll go with the basics. Never have I ever given a blow job."

"Oh, Cosima, you little sapphic goddess in disguise." Felix remarks when Delphine finally takes a shot from the glass she's had sitting up on the table for the past half-an-hour.

"You brat." Delphine pinches Cosima's arm playfully, delighting in the giggle that erupts from the clone's mouth. Felix and Sarah take their shots.

"Oi, Delphine. It's your turn." Sarah speaks up, never minding Helena as the clone rests her head on her shoulder.

"Two can play at that game. Never have I ever not slept with a man."

Cosima laughs, once again gesturing towards Sarah to pour her another shot, "That the best you got, Dr. Cormier?"

"Oh, I am just getting started with you."

Cosima's laughter dies down as she takes a shot, fighting a quiet chuckle, "We'll have to see about that."

"Never have I ever eaten part of a.. human." Scott gives up, slumping back into his spot. He's not that good at this game.

Board games were more his specialty.

"Who's side are you on, hm?" Delphine teases, unable to actually glare at him as she pours herself another glass, lacing it with blood.

"Jesus Christ, who pissed you off?" Sarah half-laughs, watching as Delphine downs the contents in her glass.

"Turning was not easy. I was kept in an opium den until I learned not to go after every single thing that moved."

"I-it was quite genius, actually." Scott pipes up, "Not enough people would miss anyone from down there. It was practically free-range for a freshly turned vampire."

Cosima falls silent, running her finger along the rim of her glass.

"Also a personal hell I had to endure for over a year." Delphine sighs, resting her back against the wall, "So many memories became lost in those tunnels... Scott was much more fortunate by the time I had to turn him."

"Agreed." Felix nods, nursing his glass briefly, "Ending up in the basement of our house after a month in the 'den was much more humane. He even had his books if I recall, sister."

Sarah looks over at Cosima, worrying her lip between her teeth.

"Never have I ever eaten snail!" Helena speaks up out of nowhere, downing her glass.

Delphine smiles, pouring herself one last shot before downing it and holding out her hand to Cosima, "Come. Let's go back to my room, you must be tired..."

Cosima nods, putting up no fight when Delphine helps her up. She's feeling a little clumsy.. but better.

"Later, lovers." Felix wriggles his eyebrows, trying his best to lighten the mood.

Scott gets up with his bottle of Schnapps, "I'm gonna go to bed.. you coming?"

"Oh, no. Sarah and I have much to discuss."

Cosima sighs softly and follows Delphine back to her bed, laying down and nestling against her, "Thank you.."

"You're welcome.." Delphine hums softly, keeping her voice low as she pulls a blanket over Cosima, "Are you okay? You sounded like you were fighting a cough all night."

"Yeah.. I actually feel a bit better tonight.." Cosima pauses and smiles, kissing Delphine's neck gently, "I blame earlier, though."

"Oh?" Delphine smiles, all the more happy to entangle her fingers with Cosima's.

"Yeah.." Cosima bumps her nose against Delphine's chin, "I'm going to need you tomorrow."

Delphine smiles and hums softly in acknowledgment, "I will be here when you wake."