As I promised, this is the betaed version. I hope you all enjoy!

Mai blinked, and let out a low groan as she registered a dull throb emanating from the back of her head

Mai blinked, and let out a low groan as she registered a dull throb emanating from the back of her head. Apparently, that was all it took to get all of SPR, plus the twins, over by her side.

"Onee-chan, are you alright?" Yue's asked worriedly, a porcelain teacup held gently in his hands.

"I'm fine. Aren't the two of you supposed to be in bed?" Mai raised her eyebrow, the smile on her face undermining the seriousness of her tone.

"Um, yeah, probably." Yue gave her an embarrassed smile.

"Well, then, let's get you two in bed, 'kay?" Naru marveled at how children obeyed her without hesitation when she smiled. Shing and Yue walked out of the room with Mai following behind. Yuki went with her to make sure she came back safely. Naru wasn't sure whether to be thankful, or irritated. He figured irritation was the easier emotion.

With Mai and Yuki on the way back to Base…

"That was all it took. He asked if my maternal instincts were kicking in, and it just clicked. The reason I want to protect those boys so much is because they were the ones in my dream, the ones calling me Okaa-san! I'm going to talk to Ito-san, and see what it would take to adopt them. I have a steady income that would support us all comfortably, and my apartment has plenty of room in it. There are only two things that I'm worried about, the fact that I'm single, and the fact that I have to travel a lot on this job." Mai was talking animatedly as she and Yuki walked down the hall. "I'm not as worried about that last one though, because I know Liang-san would be happy to take care of them for a few weeks, and I trust her with my life. After all, she's like a grandmother to me, and her brother's like a favorite uncle."

"You're sure about this? I mean, I don't have a problem with it but you are really young still." Yuki looked at Mai apprehensively. "That might be the hardest part about adopting them, your age. I mean, you became a legal adult the year before last. That's not that long ago and it may cause problems. Besides, you have to make sure it's what the boys want."

"I know and I'll ask them but first I want to see if it's possible. I'd hate to ask them, have them say yes, only to find out that I can't adopt them."

"Alright. I'll help you out as much as possible. Also, I think you should look at getting a house. Not an apartment, but a house." Yuki held up her hand as Mai opened her mouth to protest. "It would make a better impression on the adoption agency and be a more stable environment in which to care for the boys. It doesn't have to be huge, just look for something small in the suburbs."

"Do you have anything in mind?" Mai asked as they reached the base.

"No, I don't but if you'd like, I could look into it."

"Please do. Oh," Mai looked at Naru as she sat back down on the couch, placing the ice pack gently on her head. "I talked to Gene. He said that there doesn't seem to be a spirit here but that there are spirits coming in from nearby. He thinks that maybe one of the children is psychic and can see them, which is why they're hovering around the place. Those spirits don't seem to be causing the problem. Gene said that right now it looks like the problem stems from one of the children. So, I guess it's time to break out the little red lamp, huh?"

"Good. Mai, tea."

"Yes, Sahib"

"You really need to stop talking out loud. It's irritating." Mai turned crimson and squeaked before running off to make the tea.

A few days later at Base…

Imagine Lin's surprise when he and Naru walked into base at six in the morning to see Mai at her laptop. For the first time in the history of SPR, Mai was dressed in an extremely professional manner. She wore a simple pair of boot-cut khaki slacks, plain tan colored flats, a white button down three-quarter-length-sleeve shirt, and a maroon colored waistcoat. The only jewelry that she wore was an amber and gold ring that she wore on the ring finger of her right hand, a pair of simple stud earrings, and a plain leather watch.

Yuki stood behind her, looking every bit the intimidating lawyer that she had studied to be in black silk slacks with lavender pin stripes with a matching blazer over an aubergine colored silk top and lavender waistcoat decorated with a silver pocket watch dangling from it. Like Mai she wore very little jewelry, simple silver hoop earrings and small silver pendent. On the table was the black leather brief case that Yuki carried when acting as Mai's assistant when the two where on a case by themselves.

"I think this one would be a better choice. It has better facilities, more class options and has a high grade point average in its students. Of course, I want to pay a visit before I decide on anything. I don't want it to be anything like Ryokyoyo High School. Narrow minded idiot plagued that school, no offense to Yasuhara." Mai scrolled down a web page.

"Ahem." Lin cleared his throat, causing both women to look up.

"Oh. Good morning Naru, Lin-san. There's tea and pastries on the table, help yourselves." Mai said cheerfully, taking a sip of her own tea.

Lin looked at the table. European pastries. She wanted something. Mai never laid out European pastries, and yes, the smell of English breakfast tea, unless she wanted something. Oh, she defiantly wanted something that Naru wouldn't like giving her and from the look on Naru's face, he knew it as well.

Lin knew something that Naru was unaware of or that he chose to blatantly ignore. Naru might as well save him the time of arguing with Mai and just tell she could have what ever it was she wanted, because he was going to tell her anyway.

"Lin, can I talk to you for just a minute?" Yuki smiled up at him, two mugs of steaming hot green tea in her hands.

"Sure. Let's go for a walk." He said, taking one of the mugs away from her and tucking the hand that had held the mug into his arm, they walked out.

With Lin and Yuki…

"So, what does Mai want that Naru won't want to let her have?" Lin asked, sipping his tea as he and Yuki sat on a bench by the fountain.

"Oh, come on Koujo, can't you just believe that she wants to do something nice for Naru?" Yuki asked, clearly not wanting to say too much lest Naru learn about everything that the two of them were planning.

"With anything else, I would but Mai never buys European pastries, or serve English breakfast tea, unless she wants something. And she never does both at the same time unless she's involved you in her plans. So, what is it this time?" He asked sternly.

Yuki sighed, "Do you remember how I told you that Mai had a dream where two young voices were calling her 'Okaa-san'?"

"Yes. Why?" Lin asked.

"Well, because," Yuki stood up and began pacing back in forth "since we arrived, Mai has been saying that she has this urge to protect those twin boys that were in the base the other evening. When we were walking back from making sure they were in bed, Mai said that something that Gene had said made her realize why that was. In her dream, the ones calling her 'Okaa-san' were those twins." Yuki sat down and leaned against him.

"Oh. Okay. And this has to do with the bribery buffet because?"

"Mai's been looking at schools close to SPR that the boys could attend. She's found three that look promising and wants to go take a closer look at them but she has this case and Naru still hasn't narrowed things down to a group of ten kids."

"So she wants Naru to give the two of you the day off so you could look at these schools." Lin saw where Mai would need to resort to bribery.

"Exactly. Also, Mai wants to start the adoption process today. The only things that we're still looking at are a school for the boys and a house. I've found the perfect house. It's about the same distance from the three schools that Mai's narrowed it down to, about thirty minutes by train, and it's far enough away from Shibuya that it doesn't have to worry about city gang problems. All three schools are only about thirty to forty-five minutes from the bus stop that Mai normally gets off at if she needs to take the bus."

"She's put a lot of thought into this." Lin brushed some hair out of Yuki's eyes.

"I know, and that's what worries me. What if they decide for some reason that Mai can't adopt these boys?" Yuki asked, moving to stand up again. Lin pulled her back down.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He said, before kissing Yuki gently.

"You know as well as I do that they'd have to be insane not to let Mai take care of those kids."

"Yeah. Liang-san and his sister have agreed to watch the boys when Mai and I are working and Luella is all but begging to be put down as grandmother. So all in all, the boys will grow up in a loving, encouraging household. Why would any one deny them that, right?" Yuki asked, worry creeping in as the post-dawn mist began to fade.

"No one in their right mind. Now, let's get inside before there are no croissants left." Lin said, standing up. Yuki laughed as she and Lin walked quickly back to house, Lin muttering about what he would do if the Monk had eaten all the croissants again.

Back at base with Lin…

Lin sighed. He and Yuki hadn't even been back at Base for ten minutes before Mai and Yuki had left. If nothing else though, he had managed to save a few of the croissants from Bou-san, who never left any of the flaky bread rolls for any one else.

He glanced over at Naru. Oh, was he mad. And not because Mai had whopped him yet again, he really shouldn't make her resort to puppy dog eyes, but because he didn't know exactly where she was.

This was going to be a fun day…

"Lin! Get the next group of kids in here. I want to be done with this case as soon as possible!" Lin flinched at the sound of his narcissist charge.

Oh, this was going to be so much fun…

That evening in Ito-san's office…

"You want to adopt the twins?" Ito-san looked at Mai, shock lacing her voice.

"Yes. I've actually given this a lot of thought and I want to adopt both of them. I have a sufficient income for us all to live comfortably and when I'm at work I have some one who will be willing to take care of both boys and I trust them with my life."

"I understand that, but one child is quite a responsibility, two…well, that's even more so." Ito-san would never admit it but Yuki was somewhat intimidating and Mai was very determined.

"I understand that, which is why I've begun looking for a house in the suburbs. Close enough that we don't have a two or three hour commute but far enough away that city gang violence isn't a threat to the boys' safety. Also, I've been looking at several schools that the boys could attend and found one that I believe would be conducive to their advanced learning state. I believe that I can care for these boys and would like to be allowed to do so. My assistant," she motioned with her hand over to Yuki "is currently handling the matter of a house. If you would prefer, we can wait until we have a suitable home for the boys and you are more than welcome to come and inspect my apartment."

"Also, on the matter of who will be caring for them while Mai and myself are on cases with SPR," Yuki continued. "Liang-san and his sister will be available for interview if necessary and have given the okay for you to inspect their house at any time. There is also a matter of references. If you would like we can compile a list of references on the matter of Mai's responsibility and good character, as we can with all who will be involved with the boys for any period of time." She smiled sweetly at Ito-san, whose head was spinning with information.

"Ah, yes, well. Very well. If you are one hundred percent certain that you want to do this you can fill out the adoption papers and we'll go from there." Ito-san walked to the filling cabinet and began to look for the necessary paperwork.

"Thank you very much. However, before we proceed, I'd like to make sure that this arrangement is alright with the boys." Mai smiled.

"I think that's fine. In fact, that will give me time to make sure I have all the paperwork needed." Ito-san smiled.

"Very well then. Yuki, could you leave Ito-san with a copy of the school information that we picked up earlier while I go talk to the guys?" Mai turned expectantly to Yuki who nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you in twenty minutes?"

"Yes. Twenty minutes would be fine." Mai walked out of the room towards the library of the house where she was sure she could find Shing and Yue.

A few minutes later in the library…

"So, we'd be living with you?" Yue asked, sitting on one side of Mai as his brother sat on the other.

"Yeah, but only if you want to, of course. Right now I live in a two-bedroom apartment, so the two of you would have to share a room. Right now I'm looking at a house that has four bedrooms, so you could each have your own bedroom if you wanted. I'm not rich, so there are a lot of things you might not get, but you'd get plenty of love and a family." Mai held her breath as Yue thought about it. Shing had already said that, while the idea was all right with him, the final decision was up to Yue.

"Can I call you 'Okaa-san'?" Yue asked, looking up at Mai sweetly.