Mia and Bill had spent a large part of the day getting Mia's things moved out of her old house and into Bill's. She took one last look at her rental house, now completely bare and scrubbed clean, the empty rooms bouncing with echoes. She always thought the little house was cute and on a nice street, but she wouldn't miss it… It never felt like home, especially not as much as Bill's house did.

Bill was excited to move Mia's things into his house, further establishing the life they were building together. He pushed the bedroom around to make a space for her dresser, and in the corner he placed her antique vanity with its tri fold mirror. They then cleared up some space on the garage shelves for a few more of Mia's things. Unfortunately for Bill, Mia discovered a forgotten box of his, dusty and hidden in the corner, filled with some embarrassing relics.

"Cuffs and Collars?" Mia shrieked with a laugh. Bill whirled around to see her holding a VHS tape.

"Uh, I uh, forgot about that," he stammered.

He hovered at her shoulder nervously while she rummaged through the rest of the box.

"You're into this shit?" she asked incredulously, holding up Jail Bait.

"No, not really. Those are old, I got them a long time ago…"

"Busty blondes, huh?" She was perusing the back of Hung Jury.

"I forgot I had them…"

"Relax, I'm just messing with you. Sorry I don't have big ol titties though…" she mock-forlornly tossed Illegal Entry back into the box.

"Yes, you do," he assured her.

Mia rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

"I'm going to throw these out, okay?"

"Oh but then what will you watch?" she teased.

"I'd rather watch you," he murmured huskily.

Mia bit her lip flirtatiously and pulled Bill close against her by his belt loops.

Unpacking the rest of the boxes would have to wait…


Mia living with him was greater than he had ever imagined.

Sure, she stayed at his house for days at a time, sleeping next to him at night and waking up with him in the morning. But it was definitely different now, having her here every single day, and having her things here, making his house into more of a true home.

It was also nice seeing Jackie, Tom, Gilbert, and Raul over more often now. Leah was also frequently over, if Mia wasn't already at her and Boomhauer's house. A For Sale sign sat out front of Leah's old house now, as she had finally finished with her fixes and renovations to make it more marketable.

Before getting her house listed, Leah finished digging up a few plants and shrubs she had planted during her time living there, to transplant over at her new house, and even gift some to Mia and Bill to plant around theirs. Bill never paid much mind to flowers or plant life around his house over the years, but he had to say Mia and Leah really made it into something nice out front and in the backyard. Mia even found some peony seedlings at the local garden center to spruce up near the front door.

It was pleasing, coming home to see all the homey touches Mia was making.

Bill continued to see Dr. Bliss regularly, and was making great progress with her. He felt strange when she told him she was proud of him at their last session, but he concluded what he was feeling was probably something akin to an ego boost, which he hadn't experienced terribly often.

He also made his regular trips to the rented industrial kitchen where he prepared his barbecue sauces to be packaged and sold. It was almost overwhelming how quickly it was selling, and how well the business was doing. He was starting to consider hiring employees to keep up with the demand, but in such a way so as to not divulge his family's secret recipe.

One day in March Peggy put together a small baby shower for Leah. The guest list included Nancy, Minh, Luanne, and Mia, of course.

"It's hard to live so far from my family," Leah told them all, as they sat together in Peggy's living room, "but I am so glad to have my Arlen family here with me."

"We are so blessed to have you with us, Leah!" Peggy said happily, "And we are so excited to meet your baby."

Peggy pulled out the Boggle set, and Leah and Mia gave each other covert looks. The baby-themed Boggle game Peggy had mentioned before was simply Boggle, but all the words had to be baby related. Peggy, of course, won, to nobody's surprise.

The time for gifts came, and once again Mia gazed longingly at all of the little baby gifts she wanted to see her baby in.

Leah opened Mia's gifts, which were similar to what she gifted Jackie. Mia had painted a picture of a fox with its big fluffy tail curled around a baby fox, both snuggling happily in a leafy green bush. She also gifted Leah a fox-print pajama set, including a fuzzy orange hat with fox ears, a soft fox plush, and a similar baby carrier to Jackie's.

"I love everything so much!" Leah told her, running her fingers over the stuffed fox's fur. Mia was glad.

Later that evening, after the party was over, Mia helped Leah bring her new baby things across the street to her house. Leah's nursery was decorated in a cute woodland animal theme, with little deer, foxes, rabbits, and songbirds all around the room. Mia couldn't wait to decorate her own…

The next morning, before the sun had even risen, Mia was sleeping peacefully next to Bill when the buzz of her phone rattled on the nightstand. She shifted slightly, but probably would have stayed asleep had her phone not buzzed again.

She reached her arm out and fumbled around until grabbing the source of the noise. Her eyes cracked open blearily, trying to focus on the words of the text messages.

Eventually the information shot through to her brain and her eyes snapped open. She sat up straight and rapidly tapped away a response.

The sudden change of Mia's position next to him slowly woke Bill up. He could feel her rigidness next to him, the shift in her breathing, and he felt how furiously she was typing.

"What's going on?" he mumbled sleepily, still buried into the pillow.

"Jackie had her baby!" she burst excitedly, finally able to say it out loud.

"Wha-?"

"Jackie had her baby! He is so freaking cute!" Mia put her phone in front of Bill, to which he blinked several times to clear his sleepy vision. She was showing him a picture of baby Arthur, bundled in a blanket with a knitted blue hat pulled over his head. Bill wasn't sure if the baby was discernible from a meatloaf at this point, but he sure was tiny with a little button nose.

"Very cute," Bill murmured.

"I can't wait to go see him!"

"When are we going?"

"You want to come too?"

"Of course."

Mia smiled and cuddled back down next to him.

"This is kind of weird to say, but I feel like I can be happier for Jackie now because I don't have to feel guilty for feeling jealous. I'm going to have a baby of my own soon...you know?"

"I do know. I feel that way, too." He brushed her hair behind her ear.

He wasn't sure if he would feel jealous of anybody ever again...he already had everything he ever wanted.


The following month came quickly, with spring popping up in full bloom.

Leah had been gardening in her yard right up until her due date. As the roses, larkspurs, and daffodils blossomed up towards the bright Texas sun, Anthony Boomhauer greeted the world along with them.

Mia visited Leah often, mostly to hold the baby so Leah could tend to her own self-care, or the occasional household chore. Eventually Leah felt well enough to take Anthony out on walks in his stroller, and Mia would join them.

Sometimes Luanne would visit with Gracie. Mia had to say Luanne's collection of puppets, the Manger Babies, were quite clever. Anthony was still too young to find much amusement from them, but Leah and Mia agreed he would in due time.

It was at least a week after Anthony's birth before Boomhauer came out to the alley again. Bill saw that he looked tired, yet pleased. The air of fatherhood looked good on him.

"Baby keeping you up, Boomhauer?" Hank asked him.

"A little."

"It gets easier once they sleep longer at night. But then it gets harder when they're able to run around and get into everything. I remember when Bobby stuffed the toaster oven with his plastic mega blocks and turned it on. They melted into one colorful blob."

"I remember when Joseph managed to crawl into the dryer and shut the door. Nancy and I were frantic trying to find him." Dale puffed out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette. "Kids always keep you on your toes…"

Bill voiced a worry that had been on his mind for quite some time now.

"How do you not screw your kid up for life?"

Hank thought for a moment. "Well...there's no preventing it, I don't think. I mean uh...look at Bobby." He cleared his throat. "But I think the best you can do is just do the best you can."

Dale gave his piece of advice: "Or if you had great parents, like I did, just be like that. Then your kids will turn out great, like I did."

Well, Bill's parents weren't great, so maybe it was a matter of just doing the opposite of that. He was grateful Mia's parents seemed so loving and structured, at least.

"Little Anthony sure is cute, I tell you what," Hank said to Boomhauer. "It will be nice for you and Bill to have kids around the same age. I bet they'll be the best of friends, just like Bobby and Joseph are."

"I can't wait," Bill said with a grin. Boomhauer agreed with a smile.

They looked on across the street at Leah's old house, where a realtor and potential buyers looked around the property.

"Looks like a nice couple," noted Hank.

"They look like they have the funeral home on standby," Dale chuckled.

"Having elderly neighbors wouldn't be so bad. Much better than loud and noisy riff raff," Hank pointed out.

"What would be cool is if Octavio or John Redcorn moved there…"

"No!" Bill and Boomhauer shouted at the same time.

Dale smiled with one corner of his mouth while a cigarette dangled from the other.


Mia's stomach was rounding out on her small frame. Whenever Bill watched her getting dressed, her naked belly exposed, he always felt a surge of wonder and pride. She was the mother of his child, which made her more beautiful than ever to him...and as a separate thought, the fact that he was the one to put a baby in her made him feel something debased and primal...

It wasn't often that he was able to keep his hands off of her.

When they finally reached the anatomy ultrasound, the one where they would find out the gender of the baby, they were both very excited. Mia would finally be able to visualize the baby more clearly, instead of imagining a nondescript fetus the size of various fruits.

When the ultrasound technician declared "It's a boy!" Mia and Bill both cheered.

"I wanted a boy so badly, I can't believe it!" Mia said once they were back in the car.

They drove down the alley underneath the sunset as they made their way home. Mia saw two people surveying the outside of Leah's old house as they passed. One figure was very tall and muscular, wearing a backwards baseball hat and a muscle shirt. The other was shorter, slighter, wearing a crisp cream colored suit. Her eyes widened in recognition when she realized it was Raul and Gilbert.

"What are they doing here?" she wondered.

She and Bill hopped out of the car and went over to them.

"Hey!" Raul greeted as they approached, "What would you say if we became your neighbors?"

"What!" Mia gasped.

"We looked at this place a few times now and decided to put an offer in."

Gilbert spoke with his usual dramatic lilt. "We fell in love with its quaint, rustic charm. Such a far cry from the bustle of city life to which I have become accustomed. But it is also far more welcoming than the devoid chateau in which I was reared."

"I like the pool," Raul shrugged.

"It will be pleasantly refreshing to enjoy a body of water that isn't a swamp," agreed Gilbert.

The sun was level to them as it was sliding below the horizon. They had to turn their backs to it so it wouldn't shine in their eyes.

"You're much more, uh, with child, than when I last saw you," Raul said to Mia, noting her stomach.

"I know! But guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm having a boy!" she excitedly told them.

"I do declare!" Gilbert drawled delightedly.

"Nice!" Raul grinned.

"Does little Master Dauterive have a name yet?" asked Gilbert.

"Not yet, but we're narrowing it down."

"Well, if I may offer my suggestion, I have always found Lazare to be quite a dignified name."

"So is this kid my second cousin or what?" Raul wondered.

"I think he will be your 'first cousin once-removed,'" clarified Mia.

"Huh." Raul looked thoughtful. "Well, I still feel more like an uncle to him, anyway. And what's better than having two gay uncles?" He playfully bumped Gilbert's shoulder, who blushed but looked pleased.

"You'll really like living on this street," Bill pitched to them, "It's quiet, but we all get together for barbecues and things often. It's very neighborly here."

"And I saw your one neighbor has a '68 Coronet." Raul motioned with a flick of his head towards Boomhauer's house. "I can dig it."

Mia batted her lashes playfully. "Oh and don't forget how lovely it would be to live next to me!"

"I suppose," Raul shrugged indifferently. Mia swiped at him and he laughed, then hugged her in a truce.

"Come on," she beckoned them all, "let's go inside and talk about your new house!"