"Momma sent me the recipe for her corn beef casserole," Derek said as Penelope opened the door for him. "I hope you all enjoy it."

She nodded as she closed the door behind him. "I'm sure we'll all love it. I just hope you made enough for nine. It's just our family this Thanksgiving." Kissing his cheek, she took his coat before showing him in to the dining room, pointing to where he should set the casserole dish. "Come on, we still have about an hour before the turkey is finished."

Grabbing his hand, she brought him to the living room and grinned at Erin. Her lover smiled back and beckoned for them to sit next to her. Tabitha was seated in front of Erin, getting her hair braided, and Penelope sighed at the domesticity of the scene. "You made it, Derek!" Heedless of the others in the room, she lifted her lips for a kiss, and Derek obliged her, brushing his lips over hers.

Penelope playfully swatted his upper arm as she sat next to Erin, snuggling up to her. "Hey, hands of the fiancé, sugar bear. She's spoken for," she teased as he sat on the sofa.

"There's nothing wrong with a friendly kiss," he replied before kissing her as well. Penelope sighed a little as she looked across the room at Emily. It seemed as if she was glowing, and she cocked her head a little, frowning slightly. Her friend blushed a deep red and covered her stomach with her hand.

"Shut up. Seriously?" she blurted out as she reached out for Erin's hand. "I thought you were waiting until after we got married."

Erin turned her head to look at Penelope, a confused look on her face. "Whatever are you going on about, Penny?"

"Our grandchild is going to make their appearance a lot sooner than we anticipated."

Bruce and Karen gasped as they looked at their sister. "Tabitha Marie! You didn't tell me what you were planning on doing! I'm going to be an auntie!" Karen squealed as she rushed over to her sister's side, hugging her tightly.

"Well, I told Emily that I didn't want to be really pregnant for the wedding, since I'm standing up for Momma. And when we were at the fertility specialist, we both had a thorough examination, and Emily was deemed healthy enough to carry the babies, if that's what we wanted. So, we said yes. We were waiting to tell you at Christmas, since we're only about three weeks along."

Tabitha turned and stuck her tongue out at Penelope, and she shrugged. "I'm sorry, I just know Emily too well. And look, she was blushing in a guilty way. It was so not my fault that I guessed. I promise, it won't leave this room until after the first trimester, okay?"

Erin finished the braid in Tabitha's hair and she nodded. "As long as you promise that, everything will be fine." Tabby hugged her tightly before cuddling between her siblings. Bruce's girlfriend smiled nervously at Karen's boyfriend and he just shrugged.

"Well, are we going to eat soon?" Mary asked, obviously becoming uncomfortable with the tableau in front of her.

"There's still about forty five minutes until the turkey has finished cooking," Bruce answered. Penelope watched his arm fall protectively around his little sister and wondered what was going on. "I thought I told you that I had an unconventional family, hun."

"I know." She clammed up, pulling out her phone and making herself look occupied, visibly shutting herself off from the others. Penelope frowned a little and Erin shook her head, reaching out for her hand and clasping it tightly.

"Not here," she whispered in her ear. "Penny, we should probably go check on dinner, make sure everything is okay. We'll be right back," Erin said to the whole room, getting up and going over to the door. Penelope followed her into the kitchen and once the door was closed, she enveloped Erin in a tight hug. "Is this why Bruce never brought Mary by before?"

"I don't know. He only started dating her a few weeks ago, and she didn't want to go home for Thanksgiving. Michigan is a long way from Virginia." Penelope nodded against Erin's shoulder, welcoming the soft circles Erin was rubbing on her back.

Bruce came in moments later and leaned against the counter. "I didn't know she was that conservative, Momma, Penny. I think I'm going to run her back to the dorms after we eat. And then I'll apologize to Tabitha and Emily."

They looked at him and Penelope nodded a little before holding out her arm to him. He stepped into the embrace and they hugged him tightly. "At least Sean seemed not to mind our weird little family," Erin murmured.

"That's because Sean is awesome," Karen said as she joined them. "No one told me it was going to be a hug party in here." She wriggled into the middle of the group, resting her head on Erin's shoulder. "This was the deal breaker, wasn't it, Bruce?"

"Yeah. We should get back to the living room, though, Kare. I don't want to leave Tabby and Emmy with her. That wouldn't be fair." She nodded and they let go of them. Penelope watched them leave and rested her head on Erin's shoulder.

"We have amazing children, Erin," she murmured.

"We do. I am so lucky that they never questioned my falling in love with you, they just took it in stride. I love my family so much." Erin burst into tears, turning to Penelope once more and hugging her tightly as she cried. Over her shoulder, she watched the door open once more and Derek joined them.

"Hey, is there room in here for one more?" he asked lowly and she nodded. Coming up to them, he stood on Erin's other side, cocooning her between them. "Oh, Erin, my pretty lady, you're not supposed to cry this hard on a happy day."

"I know. And I'm so happy for my Tabby-girl and Emily." She turned in Penelope's arms to snuggle into him. "Penelope, would it be all right if I kissed Derek? Please?"

"Of course, Erin." She nodded and Penelope watched them kiss. A soft smile spread across her lips when Derek broke the kiss and then leaned over to kiss her as well. "Well, we really should look at that turkey now, so we're not liars," she said before placing a soft kiss on Erin's lips.

"That would be a good thing." Erin broke away from them and went over to the oven, pulling it open and breathing in deeply. "Well, the thermometer has popped up, which means we are ready to eat. Derek, will you take it out and bring it to the dining room? It goes on the large cutting board at the foot of the table. I put there so that you could carve it, if you don't mind."

"That will be fine, Erin." He put on a pair of oven mitts and carefully carried the bird into the other room while Penelope and Erin began to gather the rest of the necessities for their meal. Before they made their first trek into the dining room, she stopped Erin.

"I love you, honey blossom."

"I love you, too." Erin kissed her softly. "Happy Thanksgiving."