To Lyger 0: Do you mean Turing or the one who hasn't been born yet?

Stepping through the portal, Sabrina sighed in contentment on feeling the happy, positive emotions coming from the group gathered in the Graham de Vanily Manor. Expanding her senses out, she could identify Aisha and Hoda in the downstairs library with Amelie; Bri and Anne in the dining room. "What brought this on?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Chloe as she followed her through the portal.

Chloe shrugged, pausing to look up at the map of London tacked to the wall beside Amelie's desk. "Do I need an excuse to get a bunch of my favorite people together?"

Sabrina hummed in acknowledgment. "I suppose not…" Her eyes narrowed as Chloe leaned over to examine the desk itself, studiously avoiding looking at Sabrina. Frowning, Sabrina focused her emotions toward Chloe, digging past her surface-level excitement to feel the nervousness she was trying to hide. She pursed her lips. "What are you planning?"

Chloe's nervousness turned to surprise and confusion as she turned to look at Sabrina, head cocked to one side. "I'm sorry?"

"You're nervous about something." Sabrina eyed her suspiciously. "Is–is this a baby shower? Did you tell them!?"

Chloe stifled a laugh, shaking her head. "No! Of course, I didn't tell them anything. And I'm not going to tell them anything about…" She gestured vaguely in the direction of Sabrina's belly. "But these are our friends – some of our closest friends. So I thought you might want an opportunity to tell them what's happening. And besides, it's been a few months since we were all together."

Sabrina let out a breath, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. "Okay… but I wish you had told me first, if that's what you were planning." She frowned. "But I still don't know if I'm ready for a lot of people to know yet. I mean, I'm still less than three months along."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Are you afraid to tell?"

Sabrina furrowed her brows, pursing her lips in thought. "No – I don't think so? I just – I guess I want to keep it to myself more. Myself and Max." She let out a breath, her stomach fluttering with anxiety. "Every time I tell someone else, it starts to feel more and more real."

Chloe put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I get that you're still scared. I get that it's still pretty overwhelming. But you're not in this thing alone. Every time you tell someone else, it's more people who can help you and Max through it." She smiled. "You've helped all of us; it's okay to let us help you for a change."

Sabrina drew in a breath and released it slowly, emptying herself of her emotions and turning her attention toward the baby growing in her belly, taking in the contentment and happiness she could sense from the baby – far more pronounced now than it had been even a week ago. Her baby needed her – but he needed more than just her and Max. And for that matter, Sabrina herself needed more help and support, especially if she was going to continue with university and with her counseling. Emilie and her mom would both help them with the baby if they needed it… but maybe she could let a few more people know. "Okay," she finally agreed, nodding reluctantly. She pointed one finger at Chloe. "But you don't get to say anything. If I tell anyone today, I'll be the one doing it." She smirked. "Otherwise, you don't get to plan the baby shower!"

Chloe's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"Fine." Chloe shook her head with a groan. "But you don't get to object to anything with my baby shower…"

"Your baby shower?" Sabrina scoffed. "Which one of us is actually having the baby?"

"Do you want me to plan it or not?"

Rolling her eyes, Sabrina followed Chloe out of the Hero Study and paused, listening for the sound of voices echoing up the stairs from the main floor. Amelie's lighter voice, Hoda's deeper and more gravely voice, Aisha's infectious laugh… Sabrina smiled, walking down the stairs alongside Chloe and directing her steps toward the library from which she could hear most of the voices. "It really has been too long since we all got together for something," Sabrina admitted as they reached the bottom of the stairs and paused outside the library.

Amelie poked her head out of the open library doorway curiously, her eyes immediately widening as she beamed happily at them. "I'm so glad you suggested this, Chloe!" Amelie told her, stepping all the way out and giving Chloe a quick hug before doing the same to Sabrina. "But of course, you know you don't need any excuse to come and visit me, right? Especially with the portal system!"

"Oh, I know," Chloe assured her. "And believe me, now that things in Paris are starting to settle down a little bit more, I would like to visit for tea again sometime!"

Amelie raised an eyebrow. "How does next week sound?"

Chloe hummed, her mouth turning down in a frown. "Maybe not next week," she began. "Daddy has two different political rallies scheduled, and we actually do have to meet with the Lancer and figure out what we're going to do about this M. Loubet."

Amelie furrowed her brows. "'Loubet'," she murmured. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"He's a Paris businessman," Chloe explained. "He also started a charity to help rebuild Paris. And he's running against my father for Mayor. And he's almost certainly working for the Lynchpin."

Amelie started. "That is quite the accusation."

"That's what the Lancer says." Chloe arched an eyebrow. "Of course, would you really put that past a would-be politician?"

Amelie hummed, giving Chloe an amused look. "No, I suppose not."

"Are we seriously talking 'business' today?" demanded Anne, folding her arms and leaning against the doorframe of the dining room entrance. "I thought the plan was to have fun while we're all here together!"

"Yes," Sabrina agreed, raising an eyebrow at Chloe. "Fun."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine. But she brought it up," she protested, pointing to Amelie.

"It was a simple question," Amelie responded mildly.

Sabrina stifled a giggle, taking in the relaxed atmosphere of the manor. "We can worry about those things later."

"Do I hear Sabrina and Chloe?" called Aisha, as she and Hoda stepped out of the library. Aisha's eyes widened, and she immediately threw her arms around Sabrina in a hug. Sabrina hugged her back gently, and Aisha released her, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She smiled brightly, looking up at Sabrina, before hugging Chloe in turn. "Thank you so much for inviting us!" she told Chloe. "I can't believe it's been almost two months since I saw you all last! So much has happened!"

"Yeah," Chloe agreed, meeting Sabrina's eye. "A lot has happened lately."

"We have to catch up on things," Hoda told them, her mouth parting in a grin. "I was just telling Aisha about my trip into the Outback – and I thought Somalia was dry…"

"If you want to see some beautiful scenery," Anne interjected, smiling eagerly, "you should let me give you a tour of Ireland. You've never seen such green grass!"

Aisha turned back to Sabrina as Anne, Hoda, and Chloe started talking about Ireland. "I'm sorry it's been so long. I keep meaning to schedule an appointment with you, just to catch up, but I always forget to do it."

Sabrina put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to schedule a counseling appointment just to catch up with me," she assured her. "I would be happy to see you any time!" She hummed, raising an eyebrow. "You know, with how busy Chloe and Max both are, I don't always have someone to eat lunch with; perhaps we could catch up over lunch?"

Aisha's eyes widened eagerly. "Absolutely! Somalia or Paris, though?"

"We could alternate," Sabrina suggested. "But we can start with Paris – I know how much you want to see the city! I can show you some of my favorite spots!"

"Sounds perfect!"

"Just as long as you can keep your lunch down…" warned Chloe, glancing over at Sabrina with the corner of her mouth turned up in amusement.

Aisha furrowed her brows. "What does that mean?"

"It's nothing," Sabrina answered quickly, shooting Chloe a dirty look. "I've… just been a little under the weather lately."

"I hope it's nothing serious…" Aisha looked up at Sabrina with worry in her eyes.

"I've been feeling a little sick lately, too," Hoda mused, stifling a yawn. "Although that might just be the time difference, coming straight here from New Atlantis – my body is convinced that it's the middle of the night!"

Chloe smirked. "Probably not the same thing as Sabrina."

Hoda hummed. "Probably not."

"You know, you're always welcome to spend the night if you happen to be in this time zone," Amelie assured her. "Even with another bedroom in use, we have plenty of space."

"I may have to take you up on that," Hoda answered. "Depending on how long I say today…"

"You can stay as long as you'd like, of course."

"You might need to pick up a few more steaks, then," Bri warned, amusement in her voice, as they all filed into the dining room together. Gesturing toward the plate of pastries, she smiled. "I hope there's enough here for everyone; I made a quick trip to Paris earlier today."

Chloe shrugged, holding up a large bag with the bakery logo on it. "Great minds, I guess." Glancing down at the table, she hummed. "Although at least we picked different things."

"Probably a good thing," Bri mused. "Felix asked if I could save some pastries for him when he gets back – he took Dhuan on a tour of the City of London for the day."

"He didn't want to stick around for our 'girl time'?" asked Chloe, arching an eyebrow.

Bri shook her head. "He did not."

"I think his exact words," interjected Anne, stifling a laugh, "were 'I'd rather be mauled by a grizzly'!"

Chloe scoffed. "So dramatic."

"How has it been going?" Aisha asked Anne as she found a seat between Sabrina and Hoda. "Staying here, I mean?"

Anne shrugged. "The bed is a lot more comfortable than the one in our flat was," she answered. "It isn't any further to get to work, really. The company is better–"

"Hey!" Bri protested playfully.

"What?" Anne retorted. "Living there, it was just the two of us; here it's us, plus Felix, plus Amelie. Although," she added, smirking, "if I'd stayed there, then it would really have just been me – you would have been living here!"

Bri flushed. Sensing her emotions, Sabrina felt the blood rush to her own cheeks.

"It is really nice to see you and Felix so happy," Hoda told Bri earnestly. "That might have been the best thing to come out of that six weeks in Angola!"

"Plus, now it's like you're all one big happy family!" added Aisha, beaming brightly.

Amelie shook her head. "No. The fact that Bri is dating my son doesn't make us a family," she told them. "She was family well before that – you all have been a part of my family, ever since the fall!" Chloe arched an eyebrow, and Amelie sighed affectionately. "And some of you even longer than that."

Helping herself to a steak of the platter on the buffet, Hoda turned to Sabrina. "How is your counseling going?"

Sabrina smiled. "It's going well so far. I have had a lot of new clients come in, all of whom need help in their own way. I can help a lot of them, but some need more than I can provide. In those cases, I sometimes have to refer them to a specialist, or at least to someone who can write prescriptions."

"I'm glad Abdi went to see you," Aisha told her. "He seemed a lot better afterward."

Sabrina nodded, sighing in relief. "I'm glad."

"I have this bottle of wine that I've been saving for a special occasion, and I think this might be as good an opportunity as any. Would any of you like some?" Amelie offered, holding out a bottle. Chloe nodded, as did Bri and Anne.

"I haven't tried terrestrial alcohol," Hoda responded, eyeing the bottle warily. "Maybe I'll take a sip. But just a taste."

"Absolutely." Amelie poured the wine and glanced over. "Sabrina?"

Sabrina shook her head. "None for me, thanks."

Chloe gave her a knowing look. "Any particular reason?" she prompted, raising an eyebrow.

Sabrina let out a breath, giving Chloe an annoyed look. She could feel the curiosity from the others, mingled with affection and a hint of growing concern. Fine. "I'm… pregnant."

A chorus of gasps sounded all around the table.