Hello everyone, I hope your holidays are going well, and that you will have family and food till you are sick, lol. Anyways, here we are. Next chapter, several weeks after Christmas and Sash's wedding.

Destiny's POV

The days seemed to meld together in an endless array of feelings. So much happiness was in the air, as if it were a drug that was not yet out of our systems. We did not see much of Oscuridad and Sasha, though the times we did we enough to make anyone sigh at the love in the air. They were happy, not even that word covered it. I managed to melt the hurt away from my heart, and it was easy to do. With Izquierdo stumbling over his advances, and yet his determination never seemed to waver.

Mara now had a nasty looking scar on the side of her throat. She said it was nothing and that it did no bother her, and by the look in her eye you could almost say it proved something to her. Often time I would catch her running her fingers along it, murmuring to herself, as if she were planning something. I could never get close enough to hear her she would suddenly stop and smile at me, and I knew she was waiting for me to leave. She was starting to worry me. But when Derecho proposed to Zoe, which took my mind off Mara for a little while. Considering Derecho was not the eldest of the family, him and Zoe would be able to have a private little wedding.

"Aunt Desi?" I blinked, bringing my eyes back into focus on Mara's face. She was titling her head at me with a worried expression, as she had been since Christmas.

"Sorry Mara, what were you saying?" I shook myself mentally. I had a bad feeling creeping down my spine, like something really awful was going to happen. But nothing was going wrong at the moment, so I needed to shake this feeling away before I made people worry.

"Nothing, I was just wondering why you seem so distant lately. Is it because of Izquierdo's flirting?" and I blinked at her, confused on why he would have to do with any bad mood I was in. He had refrained from his playful antics, so he had not tried to play a trick on me lately. It was odd, having him so calm and serious about something. I mean, this was the playful half of the twin side Derecho was the serious one. And yet, right now their roles were completely reversed.

"No, it has nothing to do with him. Though I am worried for him a little bit. He seems to be brooding over something that makes him a little less capable of playing particle jokes. But his flirting advances do not bother me it is actually flattering. I am just not so sure I need to go ahead and get back into a relationship. I care for him, do not get me wrong, but I just don't want us to get into a relationship and it not work out and it be awkward ever time I came down for the holidays." I sighed, but when I went to continue Sasha suddenly came rushing into the study room, slamming the door behind her and leaning against it, her face pink with excitement and she was breathless. She slid down the dark oak door and I stood from the chair I was sitting at the desk and quickly strode to her, kneeling in front of her.

"Is she alright?" Mara gasped, hopping over the desk and kneeling beside me. Sasha was focused on the window behind us, showing the encroaching night and the stars. Her lips were moving but nothing was coming out. Worry creased my brow.

"Sasha?" I reached up to touch her forehead, but a knock came to the door and she leapt up, jumping over the desk and sliding under it. I frowned, standing and reaching for the knob, turning it slowly and giving Mara time to compose her puzzled expression. Izquierdo stood at the door, looking more like a gentle men than I had ever seen him. He had his hands neatly folded behind his back, his expression was calm, but their was an air of mischief around him that told me not to open the door any further.

"May we help you?" I inquired, looking him up and down once. Nothing was out of place he wore his usual clothing. He seemed to not even notice my scan, but he tried to peek around me and into the room. My eyes sharpened and he leaned back, getting the threat I sent silently.

"Actually, yes. I am looking for Sasha. Oscuridad is in the kitchen, inquiring to the servants why the phone was off the hook. And I have to ask Sasha something, since I know there is a little secret she is hiding from us all. You might like to know it as well, so if you help me we can all find out." He raised an eyebrow, and I smiled, but kept my voice even.

"I am sorry, Izquierdo, but I do not think we can do that. We have not seen Sasha and surely anything she is hiding will be told at the best moment." But I looked at Mara with a "you up to it?" expression. She nodded, smiling widely.

"Sorry, Izquierdo. But Des is right, we cant help you." But we silently let him slip in. "See you later Izquierdo." And we shut the door, pointing silently under the desk. Sasha had apparently fallen for the whole façade, because she began climbing out from under the desk. She screamed when she saw Izquierdo and went to dive back under the desk but we were both gripping her feet in the blink of an eye and yanking her back out from under it. Mara attacked her with tickling finger, and we were all eventually in on it, making her laugh and scream. She called out for Oscuridad, but he never came to her aid, too far away to her desperate calls.

"Alright, alright!!!!" she screamed, laying flat on the floor in utter surrender. "I will tell you." And we pulled back, all three of us laughing as well. We soon managed to calm ourselves and looked at her with a curious gaze. She nibbled her lip for a moment, and then, carefully, her hand came to her stomach. She pushed herself up on her elbows and looked at our faces. With the most serious look she could have, she spoke.

"I wonder if all that tickling affected the baby." And it only took a second before me and Mara began screaming.

"OMG! Are you serious?"

"Congratulations!"

"When did you find out?"

"Are you hoping for a girl or a boy?"

"Does Oscuridad know?"

"How did you find out?"

Until the door opened and we all froze. Oscuridad stood in the doorway, his eyebrow raised as he took us all gathered around Sasha.

"You told them I am guessing?" he smiled, striding towards us and helping his damsel to her feet. She smiled up at him, nodding.

"They tickled it out of me." She answered honestly, and we all looked partially guilty.

"Ah, I thought I heard your voice yelling my name. Though I thought I was just imagining it, thinking it was stuck in my head from several nights ago." And her face turned so red we all started laughing again. She hit his chest, hiding her face in his chest. But Oscuridad looked directly at Mara, and it seemed for a moment she was the only one who could hear him. "There is someone here for you."

She frowned, standing and nodding and making her way to the door. I lay back on the floor, hearing Sasha begging to hum Rock A Thy Baby.

Mara's POV

I took my time going down the stairs, considering I had no clue who was waiting for me in the family room. I knew only several vampires, and all of them lived in far off places and the only time I ever saw them was at my birthday party. And though my birthday was not that far away, it was still too early for them to come. So I skipped and pondered, but when I came to the archway, I froze, because I had no clue who this vampire was. But I had seen him before. I had dreamed of him.

He was sitting in one of the over easy chairs, his blond hair reaching his ears and his deep green eyes looking off into the world only vampires seemed to be able to get too. His hand was resting on his temple, his head resting slightly on it. His skin was paler than normal, letting me know he was hungry, and his cheekbones were prominent. I wanted to back right out of the room, this vampire gave me the wiggins and I did not want to tango. But before I could even begin to back out, he spoke my name, still as immobile as ever.

"Mara, is that any way to treat a guest?" and I swallowed hard, gathering what was left of my courage and stepping the rest of the way into the room, standing beside the chair on the other side of the room. I kept my spin stiff, reminding myself I was safe as long as I was in this house and there were enough vampires around here to hear me if I screamed. His eyes came into focus, directly on me, and I forced myself not to shake, not to show fear.

"And you would be sir?" I inquired, my voice sounding slightly choked, and I cleared my throat quickly, making my pose more relaxed. He finally moved, his hand coming down to rest on the arm rest and his pale pink lips curving into a non-humorous smile that gave me the creeps even more. He seemed like on of those vampires that could kill without a second thought, and it made me want to get out of here even more than a minuet ago.

"Well, I thought you would have at least a clue. But then again, the other quality we seem to share is the hair." I turned my head slightly, as if it could help me hear him better, and my eyes narrowed. What was he talking about?

"Sir, it is either you tell me who you are or I am going to have to have you escorted out promptly." I was proud of myself, I guess ever since I had seen my future I had gained a little more courage. After all, the older me stood up to a pissed off vampire.

"Alright, we will do this your way then. My name is Eric, Eric Melix, if you would." But by the look on my face he must of saw that I still had no clue who he was. He shook his head, muttering something about being 'disappointed' and someone had 'kept my clueless'. I eventually got irritated and cut in.

"Is there a reason you are here and that you keep babbling on about some nonsense? Or are you trying to amuse yourself? Because either one will get me a full pass to walk right on out of here." I wanted to go back to Sasha, to ask her when the baby would be due. I wanted to ask Oscuridad why on earth he had sent me to this stranger.

"Well, they really did not tell you anything, did they?" and with my glare, he gave me a more humorous laugh. "Alright then, I am your father." And the news made me loose my balance and fall into the chair next to me.