Maria held a now nearly six-month-old Ludwig on her hip. He was wide awake and focused on watching Eli and Francis maneuver her bedroom dresser out of the front door of the apartment and down to the moving truck waiting on the street. She was torn between feeling guilty about just standing there with the baby, and being happy that he was a valid reason not to be helping to move the last of the furniture. He was a good boy, and she could have set him down in his play pen for hours and he wouldn't cry or anything.

Ludwig was probably the most serious faced baby in the world. The way that he could stare down an adult was very impressive especially when you took into consideration that he wasn't even a year old yet. Maria had been concerned about his lack of tears; especially since all of her experience with children that young came from interactions with Antonio's boys (though she did suspect that Lovino and Feliciano were just naturally inclined to being overly emotional). The pediatrician had put her fears to rest though, once the man had ran a few tests and came to the conclusion that he was just a stoic baby. Maria shrugged it off and contributed his behavior to his German blood.

Francis stopped his efforts to slide the dresser into the hallway, signaling to Eli that he needed a bit of a rest by sighing. He set the dresser down then made a big show of stretching his back out and groaning before looking over at Maria. "You know this is your dresser, you could help us somehow." He placed his hands on his hips as if to add an emphasis to his point.

She simple shifted her little Ludwig so that her hands were positioned beneath his armpits, then raised the baby up as if she were presenting him from the top of pride rock. "Can't I've got a baby."

"I could hold him." Francis offered.

Eli simple snickered and rested his torso on the top of the dresser before watching Maria and Francis with a little smirk on his face. "Oh you know she won't give him up. You know how Maria is she likes to pretend she's a big, strong, independent woman but she hates work.

In one motion she moved her son back to his place on her hip and with her free hand flicked off Eli. "Yeah, that's exactly why I moved like half of those effing boxes on my own!"

"'iEffing/i'?" Francis and Eli both repeated confused.

"Baby- so I can't really use the word I wanted too... it's not appropriate or some junk like that."

"i'Junk'/i. What has gotten into you... using 'effing' and 'junk'" Francis laughed, "He's too young to speak, you've got e a couple more months, at least, before you have to worry about him repeating stuff at daycare and making you look like total white trash in front of the teachers."

"Yeah we'll he's a smart kid. I bet you hes going to start talking and walking before all the other loser babies! I just need to make sure I am careful and get into the practice of these things... since he's my kid he'll just be awesome like that!"

Eli rolled his eyes, "Oh right so you've got a theory that he's going to be smart because of you?" he snickered, Francis joined him.

"You know what with an attitude like that lets just unpack the truck and I'll not move in with you after all!"

"Not going to happen." Eli replied, "You already signed the lease and what am I going to do with a two bedroom apartment all to myself."

Francis nodded. "And I simply can't be bothered to move that stuff back into here, I already have plans for your old bedroom."

"Then why don't you too hurry up and finish moving that dresser?" Maria asked before nuzzling Ludwig who made a sound of approval hearing his mother's demand of the two men.

center /center

bAN/b And now I am done. Sorry it took so long to write the epilog and sorry it's so brief... and sorry for taking more then what like two years to complete the fill...? Anyways thanks to everyone who read this and a super special thanks to those of you who stuck with me through all that time... I hope that this wasn't too anti-climatic for you all! 3