BAZ

Simon's lost it.

"Agatha," he says. "I…you're…you…um…you…" I really want to tell him to use his words, but I know how much he hates that, and now doesn't really seem like the time. Simon swallows.

"It's…it's good to see you," he says pathetically. I suppress a groan with great difficulty. He's clearly actively ignoring the subject at hand because he can't bring himself to mention it. But I'll wait. He'll get it out eventually. He always does.

Wellbelove blushes.

"It's good to see you too Simon." She looks down and places a hand on her belly, and even Simon can't ignore it anymore.

"So, um, you're pregnant?" He says it like it's a question rather than an obvious statement of fact. Wellbelove nods. I've never seen Simon look more uncomfortable.

"Um, congratulations," he says weakly. Wellbelove's face falls.

"Would you like us to leave you two alone?" I offer. Now that I know that Wellbelove isn't missing a limb or suffering from small pox, I'm much less concerned, and if Simon wants to be alone with her, that would make sense to me. But Agatha shakes her head.

"No Baz, I'd like you here for this." I nod. Bunce clearly can't stand the atmosphere anymore.

"Let's all sit down for now," she says. "I'll make tea."

We all sit around the table and Bunce serves us tea and scones. Agatha shifts around uncomfortably but doesn't say anything. Simon grabs my hand under the table and I give it a squeeze.

"Well Agatha," Bunce prompts. "Why don't you tell Simon and Baz what you told me?"

SIMON

I don't know what to make of all this. I finally get to see Agatha after all these years, and she's pregnant. She's not married, I don't think. Penny still talks to her, so she keeps me updated on everything she knows, but she never mentioned marriage or a baby, or even a boyfriend. I guess I'm relieved that she seems to be healthy and in one piece, but she looks so depressed that my concern hasn't gone away at all.

Baz is squeezing my hand under the table, and I'm so grateful for his comfort I can't even express it.

Agatha takes a deep breath.

"I never wanted to get pregnant," she says. "It was an accident. I don't want children. I'm not even dating the father anymore. I broke up with him when I found out." She runs her finger along the rim of her mug.

"He was a Normal," she says. Baz's eyes narrow and he looks at Agatha's belly.

"A Normal? Are you sure?" he asks. Agatha sighs.

"I'm sure."

"What's wrong Baz?" I ask.

"Magic manifests in a fetus around month 5 or 6," he explains. "You can start to feel it, just like you can feel it from any magician. You can tell how powerful the baby will be." He frowns. "It's no you in there, but that baby is at least as powerful as me or Bunce." I'm shocked. Agatha's not that powerful, she never was. It's not unheard of for children to have more power than their parents, but usually Normal blood dilutes magic something awful. At least, that's what everyone I know believes.

Penny nods.

"I agree with Baz," she said. "I was shocked when Agatha told me. I was sure she had met some ridiculously powerful mage." Baz smirks.

"Maybe we should encourage more people to marry Normals." Bunce frowns.

"Don't even joke about that Baz. Anyway, Agatha, keep going!" Penny seems way too happy about all this, considering the state Agatha is in.

"Well," Agatha says, "I was hoping, you know, that the baby wouldn't have any magic at all. I can't…I can't raise a magician. I just can't. I…left." The silence in the room is thick. I swallow.

"You…left?" I ask. "You left magic? The World of Mages?" Agatha nods.

"I still talk to my parents, and Helen, and Penny because she makes me." Penny flashes her a proud smile, like she gives exactly two fucks about what Agatha wants. "I haven't told my parents that I've left, but I haven't used magic since Watford, and I don't plan to. I want to live as a Normal. But I just can't let a mage be raised as a Normal. Magic is too precious. I haven't forgotten everything I know." Agatha places a hand on her belly. "And I also don't want to. I don't want to feel her magic every day and be reminded of everything. It's bad enough that I have to feel my own."

"So, what are you going to do?" I ask. Agatha looks at me, and she smiles for the first time. A desperate, hopeful smile.

"I was hoping, Simon, that you and Baz might want her. Seeing as you can't have children of your own." My jaw drops all the way into the floor. Beside me, I can feel Baz go rigid.

"You want to run that by us again Wellbelove?" Baz says. "You want to give us your baby?" Agatha nods.

"The two of you obviously can't have one together," she says. "And you can't have children at all Baz. Simon, you technically could, but they probably wouldn't have any magic. I thought, maybe, that you might want a baby and this could be a way for you to have one…" she trails off and looks at the floor. "I'll understand if you don't want to do this…"

"No!" Baz cuts her off. "I mean…" he looks at me. "Would you excuse us for a minute?" He doesn't wait for the answer before he yanks my hand, pulling me out of the house into the yard. He rounds on me the second the door closes.

"Well?" he asks, and his eyes are alight. "What do you think?"

"I…" I'm not sure what to think. This all happened so quickly. I had ruled children out when I chose Baz. Not that I had really thought about them when I assumed I was going to marry Agatha (I didn't think I'd live that long), but Baz sealed the deal. I suppose I had thought about adopting a few times (I did grow up in a children's home, adoption was something I thought about almost every day when I was a kid, I know the process), but Baz would never accept a Normal child, so I just kind of forgot about it. Children aren't on my radar anymore.

"Simon," Baz says eagerly. "This is a golden opportunity for us. Without this, we'll likely never have children." Baz looks more excited than he has in a long time. He's practically glowing.

"You really want this, don't you?" I ask.

"I course I do! Why wouldn't I?" Baz takes my hands.

"Simon, we could be parents. We could have a baby. A baby with magic. I never thought it was possible." I must still look shell-shocked, because his excitement wanes a bit and his expression turns serious.

"But you have to want this too Simon. We can't do it if I'm the only one." Maybe I'm just going with the flow. Maybe Baz's excitement is contagious. Maybe I really do want this. I'm not sure which one of those is true right now, but I'm warming up to the idea considerably (I was never really against it in the first place). A baby. A real baby. I could be a father. Baz and I could have a family.

And now I think I'm starting to feel what Baz is feeling. A family. My family. Our family. I look up at Baz and my thoughts must be written all over my face because he's beaming at me. I give him a wide grin.

"I'm in," I say. "Let's say yes." Baz kisses me, laughs gleefully, then kisses me again. He gives me an enormous hug.

"Thank you Simon," he whispers in my ear. I hug him back.

"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for us."

"I know," Baz says, giving me a squeeze. "But still, thank you."

BAZ

Bunce thinks a party is in order.

"We have the whole gang together for the first time in…well ever," she argues. "Baz wasn't part of the group 4th year, and Agatha hasn't been around recently. Plus we're going to have a baby." I roll my eyes.

"What do you mean 'we' Bunce? Wellbelove's having a baby. Snow and I are adopting a baby. You're just a spectator."

"The hell I am. If you think I'm not going to play an enormous role in my niece's life, you've got another thing coming." (Agatha told us the baby is a girl. A girl! I'm going to have a daughter. Crowley.) I laugh.

"Since when are you a relative Bunce?" She rolls her eyes.

"I've been Simon's family long before you were, Baz. Don't think you're getting rid of me that easily." I smirk.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

I still can't believe this is all happening. I've always wanted children. My whole life. Maybe it's the family pressure (I am the Pitch family's only living heir), but it was something else, something internal. But I never believed it was possible. Wellbelove is right, I can't have any of my own (being a vampire and all), and even if I could, the whole gay thing made the thought of children even more hopeless.

I suppose I should be feeling worse for Wellbelove and her difficult situation, but she actually looks happy and relieved now that Simon and I agreed to take the baby off her hands, and she's laughing with Simon and Bunce like they used to back at Watford. It actually makes me happy to see it. Simon doesn't talk about Wellbelove much, but I know he misses her and worries about her (she was his friend long before she was his girlfriend). It's good to see them getting along again.

Bunce sends Micah grocery shopping for the party, and I leave to go hunting while he's gone so I can give the three of them some time together to catch up.

"Don't eat my chickens Baz," Bunce says. "They're valuable."

"What's so valuable about chickens?" Wellbelove asks. Bunce smirks.

"They lay golden eggs." Wellbelove winces and Simon laughs. It's good to see them like this. Really good.

"I won't touch your chickens Bunce," I assure her. "I'll eat the cat instead."

"Don't you eat my cat!" she says, but I'm already out the door.