Author's note: This chapter features a line I saw on a Tumblr text post that I thought was so Adrian. See if you can spot it.

Happy reading!

Chapter Twenty-One

Sadie was the first to arrive.

Adrian answered the door and smirked. "Admit it, you just wanted to be the first so you could gawk at me some more. Come on, I won't be upset. Sydney won't either. She knows how hot I am."

The young woman laughed. "Well, that's part of it. But only a small part. I also wanted a chance to play with your baby." She walked around him and placed a bowl on the counter.

"Don't let him give you a hard time." Sydney said from the couch as she fed Lorelei.

Sadie walked over and sat down beside her.

"Here, give it a go." She passed the baby over. "I have to check on the turkey."

"I got it, baby." Adrian called.

Sadie was a little awkward as she held the baby. "She's so small."

"Not too small." Sydney rubbed Lorelei's head.

"I've never been around babies." She said nervously.

"I hadn't since my younger sister. About sixteen years ago."

Sadie gave her a critical look. "A younger sister?"

She forgot she hadn't said anything about her family to Sadie.

Sydney worked her jaw a moment and then said, "One younger, one older. But we're estranged."

The baby pushed the bottle away and started crying.

Sydney took her back and she quieted. "It's okay, baby girl. Sadie is a friend."

She blinked at the other woman and then turned her face to Sydney. She smiled.

Sydney covered her eyes and then moved them away. "Boo!"

Lorelei laughed.

Sydney repeated the game several times, the baby on her lap laughing every time. Sadie watched them.

Adrian appeared behind her shoulder and she let out a happy sound.

"Do you see Daddy?" Sydney asked.

"So, Sadie, what are your thoughts?" Adrian said as he took his daughter and sat her in the middle of the floor with her toys.

"You make a really cute family." She answered. "When are you and Sydney getting married?"

"Ask my girlfriend." He said, eyeing the other young woman on the couch.

Sydney was spared answering by a knock at the door.

"We got a table and some stuffing." Andrew announced when he walked through the door. "Where do you want them?"

"You didn't bring chairs?" Sydney asked with a smile.

"They're still next door." Carla said. She leaned in. "Introduce me to the boyfriend."

She did.

Adrian shook hands and then hefted Lorelei up into his arms, "Hey, wanna see what I made?"

Carla laughed and then gushed, "Oh, she's so cute! The very image of you, Adrian."

"Thank you."

"Hey, the party's here." Alex announced as he walked through the open door. He held up two bottles of wine. "You're having a glass of this tonight, Sydney. No arguments."

"One of us needs to stay sharp, Alex." She said. "Meet my boyfriend. He will definitely help you drink that wine."

"Fantastic, Adrian! You are my new favorite person."

More introductions were made and everyone cooed over the baby. She clung to her father, not even wanting to be held by Sydney.

Alex handed out glasses of wine. Sydney took hers and took one sip. She smiled and poured the contents into Adrian's glass.

"Just don't overdo it." She begged softly.

He nodded.

"It really will be okay for her to eat the sweet potatoes and turkey?"

"Yes. Just stick them through the blender together. She might like it. She already likes sweet potatoes." He strapped Lorelei into the high chair. "You hungry, baby girl?"

Everyone gathered around the tables. Sydney handed a bowl to Adrian with the pureed food. She kissed the top of Lorelei's head and then took a seat.

As they ate, Carla said, "I think we should talk about what we're thankful for. I know it's cheesy, but it's what we always do with my family back home."

"We do that too." Sadie said. "Let me go first."

Adrian handed Lorelei a rattle when she was done eating.

"Adrian, it's your turn." Sadie prompted.

"Naw, mine's too embarrassing."

"Sydney and Rory?" She asked.

"Yes. And my best friend." Who is probably listening in right now, he added in his mind. He was rewarded with a text.

"I'm thankful for the life you gave back to me." Jill wrote.

Sydney squeezed his hand. "I'm thankful for your best friend, too."

"Why are you thankful for your boyfriend's best friend?" Paula asked.

She smiled. "She helped bring us together." She rubbed Lorelei's head. "This one helped, too."

"Gag." Alex said. "More wine anyone?"

"Not you. I'm cutting you off, baby." Paula said, taking the bottle and his glass away before he poured himself any more. "I think it's really sweet, Sydney."

"Thank you." She got up and took away the plates while Adrian got out dessert plates. She sat the pot of coffee in the middle of the table after pouring a cup for herself. She scooped up a small bite of pie and gave it to Lorelei.

She made a face as she mashed the food. Then she opened her mouth for more. Everyone laughed. Sydney fed the baby more between her own bites. She fell asleep on the tray of her chair.

Andrew and Sadie got to work on the dishes and everyone else joined in with the clean-up. Adrian put Lorelei to bed.

And then finally they were alone once more. They curled up together on the bed. Adrian combed his fingers through Sydney's hair.

"So what did you think?" She asked. She rested her hand on his hip.

"I really liked Andrew and Carla. Alex was a bit of a jerk once he finished that bottle by himself. But Paula knows how to handle him."

"Yeah, he's worse with the harder stuff. And Sadie?"

"She's a sweet kid."

"Hm." She wrapped her arm around his waist. "I think they all liked you."

"Yeah." He kissed her. "You look tired, baby."

She yawned. "I am."

"You should sleep. You've been up for a long time."

"Rory will be up soon."

"And I'll get her, Sage. You sleep. I'll hold you."

"You haven't called me that in a while." She said sleepily.

He shrugged. "I'm resigning myself to you being a Sage for a while longer."

Sydney slipped her hand up the back of his shirt. "You're not really upset by it, are you?"

"When you touch me like that, I'm not upset by much." Adrian crooned as he rolled onto his back and pulled his girlfriend on top of him.

"I'm tired, Adrian." She pressed a kiss to his lips and then rested her head on his chest. She was very quickly asleep.

Adrian dozed, but he woke up every time Sydney moved. She rolled away and he followed, holding her close until Lorelei woke up.

He changed her diaper and fed her a bottle. She was still not ready back to sleep after that. He put her on the floor and watched her as she played. She pushed herself up on her hands and then found her way to her knees.

"Are you going to start crawling, Rory?" He asked as he pulled out his phone.

She smiled up at him and lifted one hand as he filmed her. As he watched, she moved forward a little and then fell forward and started crying.

"It's okay, baby girl." He picked her up and trained the phone on her again.

She attempted the move again and was brought forward slightly. And then she did it again once more before deciding she was tired of it. She dropped down to her stomach and then rolled onto her back and put her foot in her mouth.

"A very good start, Rory. I've got to send this to Mommy." He tapped a few things out on his phone then went on watching his daughter talk to the ceiling.

His phone rang and he answered it quickly. "Hey, Rose."

"Hi. Thank you for sending that. I'll have to show Dimitri."

"It's no problem."

"We'll have to keep an eye out. She's going to get away from us if we're not careful."

"Yeah." He said a little forlornly.

"So how was your Thanksgiving dinner?" She asked, settling in for a long chat.

"Sydney has some interesting friends. Rory was a little unsure of them. Too many humans fawning all over her, I think."

"Yeah, that could be confusing. The only human in her life is Sydney. And she has a tattoo on her cheek to tell her apart."

"Yeah."

She hesitated. "Have you had that talk with her yet?"

"The Mom Talk?"

"Yeah." She sounded a little nervous.

"Not yet. I haven't figured out a way to start that conversation. She loves, Rory, but I don't know if she would feel comfortable with being called Mom."

"Well, she is her mom as much as Dimitri is her dad. I should have talked with her about this when you and he did."

He sighed. "At the time, Sydney was still an Alchemist and not an entirely permanent fixture in her life. You had to have been nervous about that."

"Yeah. I'm still nervous. I know she loves Sydney. I know you love Sydney. But is it going to last the way you have to do it?"

"We'll make it last. I'm not letting her go."

"Unlike me?"

"You were different. And I was still working hard to get Spirit under control. I've got it mostly figured out now."

"Good."

"Rory is getting tired again. I need to put her back to bed and get some sleep myself."

"Let me talk to her?"

He smiled. "Sure. Hold on." He picked the baby up and pressed the phone to her ear. "Say hi to Mommy."

He heard Rose talking on the other end. Lorelei cooed and grinned. Adrian took the phone back after a moment.

"She misses you."

"I'm sure she's having a good time." She said grudgingly. "Tell Sydney hello for me."

"I will. Talk to you later, Rose." He hung up and picked the baby up on his shoulder.

"I thought I heard voices." Sydney said from the doorway to her bedroom.

Adrian turned. "I was just talking with Rose. Lorelei crawled a little." He pulled the video up on his phone as his girlfriend sat down.

"Oh, wow." She tickled Lorelei's cheek. "You are getting so big. You'll be moving all over the place before we know it. I'll have to do another check of the apartment before your next visit."

"I need to talk to you about something." He said after a moment.

"You're breaking up with me." She said with a challenge in her eyes.

He chuckled. "No. Of course not." He looked down at Lorelei who was now snoozing on his shoulder. "Rose wants you to know that if you feel comfortable with it, she would be okay with you prompting Rory to call you Mom."

Sydney examined him for a moment. She brushed a hand over the baby's hair. "I'm not…" She sighed. "I don't know, Adrian."

"You don't have to. Don't feel obligated. It's just she was talking with Dimitri and they started wondering why she didn't discuss it with you."

She chewed her lip and rested her head on his shoulder. "I want Rory to have the choice. I don't like saying it, but something could still go wrong with us. And I don't want her to feel like I abandoned her."

"Whether you're Mom or Sydney, she'd still feel that way. You're in her life. She loves you." He kissed her temple. "We both do."

"And I love both of you." She looked rubbed the baby's back. "Put her to bed. Let's get some sleep."

Adrian walked into the bedroom after he put Lorelei back to bed to find Sydney curled on her side facing away from him. He got in behind her and kissed her shoulder as he pulled her close to his chest.

"I don't want you to leave tomorrow." She said softly.

"We'll have longer at Winter Break."

"I'll have to work. Christmas Eve will be like today. And I don't know if I'll be able to get off."

"So I'll come here if that's okay."

"That's fine. With Rory?"

"We still haven't ironed out those details yet." He kissed her shoulder again. "I hope to have her at least part of the time."

"Yes." Sydney yawned and rolled over in Adrian's arms. "Sleep."

"Yeah, you need that." He brushed a kiss across her lips. "Good night."