[[So an announcement, sorry I have been slow on getting up chapters, I'm working on a part 2 to this series set 13 years for now and following Vera and Hamish and their gen 2 family. I had to wait until I introduced the information that they would be taking in Maddox due to his involvement in that series and having a fairly sizable role. Also I guess I'm going to be dropping spoilers in that second series as well. I'm trying to work out a schedule so I can post a new chapter for each series daily and now that I have this chapter out I can finally post the first chapter to part 2 of this series. Keep a look out for it if you want to see teen werewolf angst, wizened Hamish Temple Magus/Gnostic Council member, and Grand Magus Vera trying to seriously handle next gen Duke drama. Also new werewolves, old werewolves, new foes, and a familiar asshole we all want to hate.]]

It was nerve racking waiting for Vera to get home from her meeting with the Gnostic Council. Mostly because the conversations being had involved changes to this year and how the temple would be run with the school year starting up in just a few short weeks and the newest years acolyte candidates being discussed. Of course there was also another topic on the table. As Theo bit down on her little silver bracelet she whined trying to get it off her wrist. "No Theo, I know you don't like it but you have to keep that on." Since the incident with the 4th of July Vera wasn't taking any more risks. She had enchanted the little strand of silver with the same annoying 'curse' the chains in the vault had been enchanted with. It's main goal to make a werewolf weak, bringing them back down to a human level and worst of all keeping them from transforming.

In this case he could understand why she did it but as a werewolf himself he couldn't help but feel like Vera was desperately just trying to erase all of it from their daughter. It clearly was a place of great concern for Theo, her senses she had been born knowing as normal were now dulled down. He could only imagine it was like losing your hearing or eyesight and not understanding how. She would desperately sniff only to realize she couldn't smell her parents in the house and then panic as if they were not actually there even though they were. Hearing the door open Theo pushed herself up from the ground and rocked herself hard while she still looked at the ground. "Aaaaaaaaaaaa.' She screamed excitedly when Vera spoke from the entryway.

"Hamish."

Hamish imitated Theo doing a fake happy scream too and making the baby look up at him with a big grin on her face and her fingers in his mouth. "You started it, why can't I be excited to see her too?" When Vera walked into the livingroom Theo started to scream louder until Hamish picked her up and playfully shook her. "Oh my god, mommy's home. It's the best day ever." He lifted her up over his head as Theo kicked her legs and reached out to Vera. Sometimes it felt like a kick in the gut that she got so excited seeing Vera after she had been away for a few hours yet he could be away almost all day and he would get a smile and maybe some rapid arm flailing.

It was still understandable though, Hamish was just daddy, Vera was still mommy, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all her snacks between. "Well you are so happy to see me."

"Me too but I figured you wouldn't appreciate me jumping on you." Hamish joked.

"Not in front of the baby."

Hamish handed Theo off to Vera. "No, I meant...nevermind." Why did she have to make it a little dirty like that? Now he kind of wanted to jump at her like a high schooler. "So, what am I expecting to have change this year at the temple?" Right down to business.

"Well, since we have lost a few acolyte's over the years we get to select 4 new acolyte's this year rather than three to help bolster numbers." She paused a moment. "Also we need to get the death rates under control." She bounced Theo in her arms a little watching the baby smile up at her. "And I won't be in the temple much at first but I'm keeping close tabs on how you are settling into the position of Temple Magus this year. After Theo is a bit older however you can expect me to be taking the reliquary back." Hamish knew being the biggest dog in the temple was a short lived job but in a way he felt slightly relieved that Vera would come to take the helm back from him. "However the acolyte's as far as I am concerned are still going to remain your responsibility, naturally."

"Did they mention anything about Theo?" He grabbed his daughters feet and tickled them a little making her kick her legs to escape him.

"Not really, outside of the fact that because of Theo they did ask me for another favor."

"Which is?"

Vera shifted Theo in her arms, that baby was starting to get a bit heavy and holding her for a long amount of time made her arms feel tired. "Well, I said I'd talk to you about it first but since Elizabeth died Maddox has bounced around members of the Gnostic Council and he's not doing good with any of them."

Hamish couldn't blame the poor kid, over half the Gnostic Council were old guys who looked like they would kick the bucket, the other half were pretty cold women who reminded him a bit of Elizabeth and would do anything for power. Then you had Alejandro who was very much against children. He looked at Theo like she was some sort of dangerous alien species that could vomit acid. Even when she was being cute he would shiver with disgust, children were not his thing at all. "So they asked us to take him?" Vera gave him a little smile. "And you said yes?"

"I said I'd talk to you about it first but apparently the Gnostic Council thinks I'm the only one capable of keeping a child alive."

"I wonder why." He smiled at Theo, she was doing really good but Maddox was another story. Poor kid was an orphan and he didn't know it. The council had lied to him for a year now saying his father had just gone missing and to some degree he had but Hamish would make sure he'd never come back. "I guess your office will have to go then."

Yeah, that was something Vera had thought about but like hell her office was going to be gone for good. "Or, I could just move it down in your man cave."

"But…" Hamish looked a little sad. "That's my space." Where would they even put it? They couldn't move the bar, that was crucial for everyone in this household, minus Theo. "If this is about putting up all your personal pride posters and articles then I say just put them back in the hallway. I think it's so cute seeing that poster of you with the improv group." Hamish tried not to sound creepy thinking Vera looked sexy as hell in it but then again when he thought about it she wasn't that young in the picture. Sometimes he still wished he'd known her back then but then Hamish started to realize they had 6 years between them. Not that Vera wasn't fun now but she seemed far less jaded back then.

"Beside you said you'd love to have a boy someday, well here is someday now."

Hamish laughed, oh was this her trying to get out of having another baby with him? Yeah, he wasn't going to stop fighting for that one. He didn't even care if they had a boy or another girl, Hamish just wanted to have another kid with her eventually just because their first one was so perfect. That and having grown up with siblings he knew how nice it was to have someone close to your age that could hang out with you all the time and occupy each other. He didn't need Theo growing up with only child syndrome. "Are you any good with older kids though?" What he meant to say was anything over the age of a newborn and under the age of a legal adult.

"No, not at all." Vera was at least being honest. "But regardless I'm going to have to get good at interacting with an older child since this one won't stay little forever." No matter how hard she wished she would.

"Well if she has your height to me she will be little forever." Hamish teased her only to have Vera playfully punch him in the chest and make Theo scream with excitement. "Don't encourage your mother's violence against me Theo." He kissed Vera on the lips, making Theo whine and try to push him away. It made them both laugh a little, Theo got so jealous and didn't like to share Vera with anyone else. "Theo, you can't keep her to yourself." He pinched the babies cheek and made her turn away from him.

"She's going to try her best though."

"Me too." Hamish kissed Vera again, making Theo look at him for a moment before she started to cry. He let Vera go and took a step back rubbing Theo's back as she had a meltdown. "Alright fine, you get her first Theo. It's okay, don't cry."

"Well that lasted less than a minute." He talked a big game about her spoiling Theo when he was far worse than her. If ever Theo grew up to be a spoiled brat it was her father's fault. Hamish was a bit sweet from how tightly he was wound around Theo's finger, if she dropped something and whined he was the first to pick it up for her. If she cried he was the first to comfort her, if she really wanted something he was the first to get it for her. Was it odd that made her love him even more? "Hamish you are raising a monster."

He smiled, taking Theo from her and bouncing her a little until she calmed down and was all smiles again. "No, look at her, we are raising a complete angel." He held her tight but not too much since he was always a little fearful of hurting the baby. "Besides she is looking more like you every day and I can't say no to you either. If she didn't look at me with that sad pouty Vera look then it would be so much easier."

"I don't pout." Vera added getting a little defensive.

"Oh Vera, you pout and you are adorable when you do."

"No." She argued with him though it was a weak argument and even she knew it.

"I'll stop spoiling her when you stop being her mother and she doesn't take after you so much."

Vera smirked a little, "Hamish, I think it's a little too late to undo that part."

"You hear that Theo, it's too late already. I guess we have to keep her now don't we." Theo cooed at him almost in agreement. "That's okay, I really really really like her. She's smart, she's funny, she's sweet even if she pretends she's not, and she's very beautiful even if she's glaring at me like she's going to eat my heart out now." Theo smiled at Vera sticking her fingers in her mouth and cooing again. "Keep doing that Theo, she can't stay grumpy at you." Vera was trying her best though until Theo sounded a bit concerned for her mother and tried to reflect her expression back at her making a growling noise. "Vera your daughter is a step up on your intimidation factor. She growls, just wait until you are a big wolf. You are going to give your mother a run for her money."

"I don't think so." She put her hands on her hips, even if their daughter was a werewolf Vera was still an unstoppable force of nature and he loved her for it. If anyone was more intimidating than Vera on this earth he didn't want to meet them because they would be terrifying.