Maia poured herself a cup of tea as the rest of the house slept, moving around the kitchen in a graceful fashion. "All that I am saying Derek is that from what they're plans are, we can't continue to lie. Having grandma and grandpa living in Beacon Hills is not going to be easy when they think we're normal. How are we going to explain why they can't see us a week out of every month, because we're going crazy with the lunar cycle? What happens when they go to cuddle one of the kids running around here and they get a finger bitten off, or a cheek clawed? And how do we explain our glowing eyes, or our nails, or those uncontrollable growls or barks we let out when we're pissed- which is often! I'm a good liar and all, but that is one crazy huge web of lies I won't be able to handle," she hissed as she cleaned up for the night and moved to sit with her husband in the living room. Maia pulled her robe tighter around her before sitting down, seeing him glaring at her. "We keep this a secret for a reason: to keep people safe. Now, I haven't liked your parents since after Joshua died but I'd rather not have two innocent lives on my conscious just because they got pulled into a shit storm that they have no part in." She sighed then at his melodramatic words, sipping at her tea and gesturing with her free hand to the world around them. "Babe, do you see a shit storm brewing," Maia questioned sarcastically, setting her cup down and folding her arms across her chest.

He looked at her and raised his glass, narrowing his eyes slightly, "This is Beacon fucking Hills, you're a supernatural creature and your last name is Hale. Perfect recipe for an inevitable shit storm."

"Then that's even more incentive to tell them, to give them the chance to decide whether or not they want part of this life… our lives. Besides Der, there's this rift between us now that wasn't there before we were together and just after we got married, and its not because of our son. Not because of how losing him changed them or you… but because of how it changed me. My family hasn't been right since I became a wolf, because of what lengths I had to go to keep it all a secret. They deserve to know how their daughter is- if the situation was turned and our daughter lost a child, became a werewolf and ran off conquering the monsters in the woods, I would sure as hell want to know about it," Maia said, tucking her hair behind her ear as he contemplated that. He then sighed and ran a hand back over his head, looking at her evenly. "Would you Maia? Would you really want to know that the baby you raised, cared for, fed and clothed, loved, defended… and held, wasn't even the same species as you anymore? The reason most wolves leave their families is because the people they loved most turned on them, due to all of the changes and the struggle to keep humanity and lycanthropy on separate but equal-"

"And therein lies the problem: separate but equal. You know as well as I do that there is no separating who you are and what you are- you could no faster separate Derek Hale from werewolf, you pureblooded asshole of an Alpha male. Why should I do the same?"

Derek stood, draining his glass and sighing, shaking his head.

"You're not telling your parents because I said so," he replied as he attempted to put an end to the conversation by walking into the kitchen. "And who are you to tell me anything?" He retreated from the other room and turned to look over his shoulder at his wife, showing a flash of teeth, "Do not push me. Regardless of your pack position, I'm an Alpha male, you're my mate and you're carrying very precious cargo. So you'll do as I say and avoid getting a set of teeth dug in your ass cheek."

"Maybe," Maia said, standing and meeting his gaze. "I like getting a set of teeth dug in my ass cheek."

She moved to brush past him, pressing her teacup against his chest and smirking. Derek watched as she started up the stairs, baring his teeth and growling deeply. "Shower in five," he asked, hearing her chuckle quietly.

"Already on my way, babe."

"Well, I was thinking 'stil de grain yellow', but Derek is all for this shade of blue called 'Alice'. It's nice and pale, not too overwhelming or overtly masculine. But I'm all for unisex colors: that way when the next baby comes along, we won't have to paint the room over and over," Maia said as she held paint chips up to the wall for her mother to see. Olivia looked at the wall before sighing and looking at her daughter, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ears, "I never thought that we would be doing this again, not after the first time."

Maia chuckled almost sadly, shaking her head and cradling her stomach protectively. She rested her weight on one leg before looking away from her mother, staring down at the floor. "To be honest with you, up until after I got back with Derek, I felt the same way. I didn't want to have another baby or be a mom, and then I realized that while a lot of things had changed, the desire to be a mother had not. The desire to be a family with Derek hadn't changed or gone away either- if anything, it got… much stronger. Hence the growing belly and the plan to have a few more after and the ones we already have running around like a bunch of animals," the young woman said, smiling before leading her mother out of the room.

"You know, I've noticed how those three kids follow you around like puppies. They hang upon your every word and they don't do anything unless you say so. Must be the most well behaved teenagers I've ever met," Olivia smiled as they walked into the kitchen and sat down to wait for the others to come back from the morning's lacrosse tryouts.

"Well, they're only on their best behaviors because you and dad are here, and Derek threatened to disembowel them with his teeth. They can be a handful at times, but other than that, they really are good kids. Love them like they're my own."

The younger woman pulled out several cases of steak from the freezer to thaw for dinner, pausing as she felt her mother's eyes on her back, "So, are we… having guests or are those all for us?" Maia sat the boxes down beside the sink and smiled, looking back at her mother. "I've got a house of growing boys to feed, ma. Besides, you better get used to this when we start having Sunday dinners at your place."

"So now we're having dinners after you spent this entire morning trying to convince me not to move back," the older woman asked as she crossed her arms on the breakfast bar to look at Maia. She moved to pour herself a glass of water before sighing, shaking out the prenatal vitamins Deaton had somehow managed to provide her with. "Look mom, I'm just saying you should reconsider the mundane life of living here. I mean travelling abroad is something I've always wanted to do myself-" Olivia cocked her head at Maia, knowing that she was hiding something, "Then you go do it. You're having some mixed feelings about this whole thing, aren't you? That's the only thing I can think of as to why you would keep trying to discourage me from moving home. You know I'm doing it to be with you, Maia- to be with my family. Besides, you're going to need to learn about raising kids from the woman who raised you."

Olivia then leaned over the bar and looked at Maia, her eyes narrowed, "And as the woman who raised you, I want to ask what exactly you're keeping from me."

"Nothing."

The older woman scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest now, her dark hair falling over one shoulder. "You know, you learned how to lie from your father: too bad he's absolute shit at it. You think I haven't noticed you and Derek whispering to each other every time you think Henrik and I aren't looking? Or the three other ones running around here, asking you if its okay to do this or that with us around? What is it Maia, you smoke a little reefer every once in awhile? Or you kill people on the weekends? Ooh, or you're having an affair and you don't want it to get out! Seriously Mai, there is nothing you can say to keep me from being the most overbearing, completely controlling grandmother I can be…"

Maia cast a rueful glance outside, knowing that what she was about to do was going to piss Derek off whenever he showed up.

"Mom, what if I told you that there were things about me that I've been keeping a secret?"

The gates opened as the truck started up the driveway, Maia clearing her throat before letting out a sharp breath. "Well, if I don't do it now, you'll probably never know…" Maia started taking off her clothes, ignoring her mother's protests.

"Mai, what the hell are you doing?"

"Mom, just be quiet and look at me," Maia snapped as she heard the car doors open outside. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling her wolf rearing up inside of her. Her muscles began to rip and lengthen as they healed almost instantly, Maia unable to keep the painful snarl from slipping past her lips. The short, piercing scream her mother let out seemed almost silent as she fell onto all fours, turning her blinding white eyes towards her. Olivia jumped up and ran to the front door, flinging it open to see Derek standing there with his hand tightly around Henrik's bicep.

He growled at Maia as she came around the corner, Olivia turning around to look at the massive wolf before fainting in the foyer.

"Nice job, Maia."

She phased back and sighed, looking down at her mother, "Oops- guess I let the wolf out of the bag."