Okay, this is possibly even lighter than the chapter before it. It doesn't really talk of Murrue's . . . 'condition,' but, you should know, that this sickness of hers doesn't really conflict with regular life oh so much. With the medicine she's taking, even the moments she 'sways on her feet' everyday are decreased. So she can lead a pretty normal life--for the most part, anyway. . .

Okay, I have writer's block now, so it might be a bit longer till teh next update . . . if you have any ideas of what you want to see happen . . .

"How was it?" His voice traveled, deep and enchanting.

"Amazing." She gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

For some reason, it was as if time reverted to back before they were married, forgetting that they had been wed and that they had just lain down two exhausted children for the night. Mu and Murrue walked slowly, hand-in-hand up the stairs minds still dazed from the magical evening they wished didn't end. Mu could just have easily arranged for a 'sitter' and have gone to dinner with Murrue—just the two of them—but, it couldn't have been a real birthday without the kids.

Murrue carefully placed her roses in a vase before making her way into the bedroom, Mu following behind her.

"Everybody's a year older—except me," he almost whined as the door shut behind him.

"That's not true."

"Really?" He challenged Murrue with a laugh. "Evi's birthday was a month ago. Matt's first year was a week ago, and today, it was your birthday, Murrue. Mine, may I remind you, isn't fora month and a half or so."

"Yes, you are so out of the family loop, aren't you?" She teased quietly as she changed and as Mu kept whining.

"Matthew's already a year old and I still cannot believe that Evi is three already . . ."

"Four," Murrue corrected, stunned.

"Hm?"

"Four—" She spun to face him. "Evi's four . . ."

"I know . . ." Mu eased with a smile. How could he forget? "I couldn't believe she was three when she was three so how do you expect me to accept her being four. She was already such a handful . . ." Mu muttered, rolling his eyes before they landed on his wife.

She was sitting down in the small chair right before a vanity, slowly taking off her jewelry and make-up and such, getting ready for bed. Murrue's long red and black dress was already hung up and she wore her night-gown. Part of Mu wished she'd kept her dress on longer—she looked stunning in it. He made his way off the bed and to her side.

"But you, Murrue," he sighed, looking in the mirror from behind her as he gathered her thick hair in his hands. Mu sneaked one kiss to her cheek playfully. "As each year goes by you become even more beautiful." Murrue tensed in her chair, unnoticed to Mu who chose that moment to walk away. He pulled off his unbuttoned dress-shirt but paused in tossing it away from Murrue's silence. It was too quiet. He couldn't even hear her deep breaths. "What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

Murrue shook her head, trying to find her words, annoyed that she couldn't place them. She opened her mouth several times only to change her mind. She sighed, going back to bringing a brush through her auburn hair.

"Murrue?"

"What was she like?" She finally got out, tone airy and almost wistful, jolting Mu. He swallowed hard as his laughing eyes quickly paled.

"Huh?"

"Oh, sorry! That's not what I meant," Murrue pinked quickly trying to fix the misunderstanding. "No, it was just something that Evi had said before that's stuck with me is all . . ."

"Yes, and . . . ?" Mu cocked his head, waiting somewhat impatiently for the reason Murrue had a question on her mind like 'what was she like?'

"Well, everybody has that dream guy or girl that they picture when they think about the future . . ." Mu drew an uneasy breath. He knew where it all was going. "So, what was yours like, Mu, that dream girl?"

"Suddenly jealous of my dreams, Murrue?" He asked as he propped himself up on the bed. His accusatory laughing tone was followed closely by his signature roguish grin.

"No, no, I never said—"

"I know what you mean." Mu's smiling face turned 'serious' as he stroked at his chin. "Hmm . . . Blonde—" Murrue blinked at his answer. She hadn't been expecting it. "Blonde like me, but with green eyes . . . and she would've been short—shorter than you." Mu paused and searched his brain for anything else to add.

His grin came back.

"So, Murrue, any . . . fantasies of yours I should know about?" There Murrue couldn't contain her laugh. She popped a pill into her mouth almost carelessly from habit before making her way over to the bed as well.

"Like I'd tell you," she told him sternly as she pushed him off of her side of the bed before crawling in under the pale covers.

"Aw, that's not fair . . ." Mu whined, crawling over to her. "Come on, tell me."

"No. Go to sleep, Mu." Murrue fixed the covers tightly around her. She was tired after a long day—Mu being part of the problem. Couldn't he see she wanted to sleep? It was her birthday after all.

Instead, Mu leaned over and pulled back her hair exposing her soft neck and planted a kiss on it. In fact, he planted several, only pausing to whine.

"But—I—want—an—answer—Murrue—" She couldn't deny how good his lips felt, but soon after losing her senses then regaining them again, she pushed him away.

"Mu! Stop it! I want to get some sleep." Murrue knew her 'pleas' wouldn't work—it was Mu and it was his inhuman tenacity she was dealing with. He threatened again as he started working on her neck for the second time.

"I won't stop until you answer me," Mu murmured as he flattened Murrue's back to the bed so he had an easier line of 'attack' for the other side of her neck. "You brought this upon yourself, Murrue."

"No!" Murrue giggled trying to push him away but not making much progress seeing as how his light butterfly kisses were getting hungrier. Murrue kept trying to push Mu off, laughing. "Stop!"

---

Someway or another Murrue finally got to sleep without revealing her answer. And that roughly earned sleep didn't last long. She woke up in the middle of the night finding herself making a pillow in the hollow of Mu's shoulder.

She looked up, eyes trying to make out his facial features in the dark. His wavy hair was all messed up and rested in front of his eyes. With a delicate smile, Murrue reached up to push his hair away. His hand shot up to grip her wrist, making her jump with the sudden movement.

"Mu!" His hold on her loosened yet he didn't let go. Mu's eyes were still resting shut, a peaceful look was pulled across his face. Only his lips moved, in a slow easy drawl.

"It's not morning yet, so . . . why are you awake . . . ?"

"Thinking," she curtly replied with an air to her voice that meant it was 'the end.' But, not as far as Mu was concerned, unfortunately.

"About what?" He asked slyly, a twinge of a smile coming to his lips as one eye opened to Murrue. She silently huffed at him before lowering her head back to his shoulder and nuzzled closer. Mu let out a big sigh at the silence, face becoming the peaceful mask once more. He let his hand drop sort of by his side, bringing Murrue's with it, seeing as he still hadn't let go. Murrue raised her eyebrows in the dark at the simplistic way he had made her drape her arm cozily across him and how artfully he did it.

Murrue smiled. It was then or never. She nuzzled closer and casually brought up her topic of thought.

"What would you do if we had another baby?" Mu jumped faster than if the bed itself was on fire.

"You're—!"

"No . . . not yet at least . . . I was just wondering," Murrue murmured as she again situated herself comfortably on his arm after he had calmed himself and lain back down. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Life would be hell . . ." He grinned. "Sweet, irresistible hell . . ."

"Before . . . I don't know," Murrue questioned cautiously, "you sounded almost scared."

"Scared? I'm ecstatic—well, was ecstatic anyway . . ." His smile softened and his voice lowered. "But, I have to warn you, I'm not so great with kids . . ." That time it was Murrue's turn to laugh.

"What do you mean? I've seen you with Evi."

"No," Mu patiently corrected, "you've seen Evi with me . . . It's—" He was interrupted by the still clear and shattering ring of Matthew's cry. Both fully awake parents jumped out of bed and made their ways downstairs. Because both were awake, it was natural to not stay upstairs for absolutely no reason.

Mu hobbled along behind her, leg stiff from being asleep. He still had his slight limp, but it seemed to go away everyday, that or she was just so used to it by then. Either way, when it came to the times when his limp shone through, it always shocked her still.

When the pair reached downstairs, Evi was slumped outside the nursery door, just barely covering her ears. She was too tired to be energetic at the sight of them, which was a first. All the little girl could manage was a smile. Mu ran his fingers through her hair as he passed, smiling back.

Matthew, though, was still crying up a storm. Murrue picked the little man up in her arms and passed him on to Mu, running through a list of reasons he could be crying in her mind.

"Does he need to be changed?"

"No," Mu shook his head. "Hungry?"

"That's not his hungry cry, Mu."

"Maybe he had a nightmare," Mu guessed, fixing his hold on the boy, glancing up at Murrue who cocked her head back at him.

"Do babies even have nightmares?" He shrugged at her, laughing. Murrue cut him off with her hand. "Shh, he's quieting down," she almost whispered, listening to the newfound silence. Mu heaved a sigh looking down at the bundle in his arms.

"God, that's a relief."

"Mu!"

"It's true!" Murrue looked on quietly with appraising eyes as Mu had his light fun with the now wide awake Matthew.

Neither cared that it happened to be going on four in the morning, either.

Mu must have said or done something because then Matt burst out in small fits of laughter.

". . . Black," Murrue called out over the sound after a bit of warm moments of thought, bringing Mu's eyes straight to her face. Matt quieted down. "Black," she repeated softly. "Black hair. For my dream man, I wanted black hair with . . . dark eyes that showed me nothing when I looked into them and they were almost hypnotic with just one glance." To Mu's uneasy surprise, she kept going, completely lost in thoughts of her perfect dream guy.

With each sentence, he could feel his stomach twisting tighter and tighter and his heart dropping lower and lower. "He would always know how to hold himself. He wouldn't make lame jokes all the time, and he'd know both my limits and his. And he wasn't stubborn either. And he certainly wasn't Military." By the end Murrue was smiling so broadly—his distress must have made its way across his face for her to see.

"So, this means . . . what . . . ?" He half-whined cautiously as she stepped closer. She glanced down at Matthew, who was still curled up in Mu's arms, for only a moment before sliding her hand behind Mu's neck, pulling him into an embrace, Matthew between them.

"Thank God for unanswered prayers . . ." Murrue whispered into his waiting mouth before capturing it herself. Neither cared that it happened to be going on four in the morning, either.

When their short kiss was regretfully over, the pair took Matthew back upstairs. Even after all that time he'd been there, Mu kept forgetting to bring the extra crib down from their bedroom. Once Matthew fell asleep, they could finally get some of that much-needed shut-eye. The problem was that Matthew was still awake from before.

Mu and Murrue sat in the kitchen for what seemed like forever. By the time Five-o'clock rolled around, the little boy finally gave in to his being tired. His parents had already been trying for so long not to give into that far away dream. Their constant bickering on who needed the most sleep was what kept them awake.

"Go on to bed, Murrue. You're sick!"

"No, you've got work tomorrow. I'll take care of Matt, you go."

"I'll take him! Murrue . . ."

"Mu . . ."

When Matthew was finally asleep, the two of them dragged themselves into their bedroom. As Murrue laid her son into the crib in their room, Mu went to pulling back the sheets of the bed. His laugh pulled her stare.

"Looks like at least one of us was smart," he muttered pointing at Evi's small form curled up in their bed. The rustic kitten curled up by her chin. Murrue smiled, sliding her way into bed beside Evi. "Hey . . ." Mu realized sourly. "She took my spot."

"Oh yes, she was smart, wasn't she," Murrue mused, pulling bits of thin, sandy hair from the young girl's face. "Oh, stop sulking, Mu and get in. There's more than enough room."

Mu grumbled as he situated himself on the other side of the sleeping Evi. Murrue smiled. His eyes met hers for a moment and in just that moment time froze for only a moment longer. They could hear Matthew shift in his sleep and they could hear Evi's small breaths coupled with the kitten's soft purrs, all completely at peace.

Mu's blue eye's danced and Murrue's amber gleamed in the soft darkness. Over the covers, the two found the other's hand.

"Murrue . . . ?" He whispered, squeezing her hand softly ". . . Happy Birthday."

"Mu . . . Happy Early-Birthday." The moment was magical, Murrue realized . . . until Mu had to go and get in his last laugh.

"Belated Birthday, Murrue, belated. I'm not that old yet." Their small laughter was lost as sleep quickly overtook them in a moment even more special.