Betaed version.

"Can I call you 'Okaa-san'?" Yue asked, looking up at Mai sweetly. Mai sighed in relief before pulling him into a hug.

"Of course you can!" She said, laughing happily as she pulled Shing into the hug aswell. "We're going to be a family! If you want to call me 'Okaa-san' then go right ahead! That goes for you as well, Shing." She said, looking at the stoic young boy.

"Okaa-san." The corners of his mouth twitched up into a small smile. "I could get used to that." He said, nodding his head. Yue laughed.

"You're going to be a scientist, Shing. An idiot scientist." He laughed again. Shing growled slightly before smirking.

"At least I'm not struggling with my Latin." This time Yue scowled before Mai's laughter caused both boys to look at Mai.

"Boys! Behave! Oh, I'm sorry, it's just that you two are just so much like them. Oh!" Mai clutched her side.

"Like who?" Yue asked.

"Oh, just someone I knew." Mai calmed herself down. "Ah, well. I have to finish filling out the forms so that we can start the process and then get back to helping Naru with this case." Mai stood up. "Time to get busy, eh boys?"

"Yes 'kaa-san." Yue stood up as well and gave Mai a hug, which she returned with a smile.

Later…

Mai, Yuki and the twins trudged into the base.

"Mou! My hand hurts from all that writing!" Mai whimpered, before beginning to make tea for everyone.

"Mai, where have you been all day?" Naru asked, irritation coloring his voice causing Mai to flinch.

"And what, pray tell, does it mean to you? After all, you gave her today off, did you not?" Shing said before muttering 'Idiot' under his breath.

"Oh my Gosh! They are just too cute for words! They're so much like the boys! Hello, Noll, darling! Aren't they adorable, Martin?" A feminine voice squealed, causing Naru to pale.

"Mother! What are you doing here?!" He growled slightly.

"Don't growl at me, young man. I am your mother, Oliver Edward Davis and you will mind your manners with me! Do I make myself clear, mister?!" Her tone booked no arguments. Luella Davis was an attractive woman in her early forties, with blonde hair and gray eyes. Her husband, Martin, was ten years older than she was, with salt and pepper hair and blue-green eyes behind oval spectacles; he was, in short, the stereotypical eccentric professor with his tweed coats and khaki slacks.

"Yes mother."

"Good. Now, why don't you two handsome young gentlemen come over here and give your new Aunt Luella a hug, hmm?" She stretched her arms out. Yue promptly ran over to give her a hug. Shing looked up at Mai.

"Did she say 'Oliver Davis' or was I hearing things?" He asked softly, awe coloring his voice slightly.

"No, she really did say 'Oliver Davis'." Mai answered, holding her giggles back valiantly.

"You know the Davis brothers?"

"Davis twins, actually. I only know Gene because he's my 'dream guide' you could say. He died almost five years ago."

"Okay" Shing said weakly, before being pulled into a bone crushing hug by Luella.

"Oh, you are so like Oliver! Which one of you is older?"

"I am." Shing gasped, still held tight in her grasp.

"Really? It was the exact opposite with my boys. Noll was always the standoffish scientist, while Gene was always very friendly." She said. "Do you boys have any psychic abilities?"

"We've never been tested to see, ma'am. Besides, having psychic abilities wouldn't help us get adopted, it would just cause problems in that and most people already find us to be intimidating because of the fact that we read everything we can really, which means we're not exactly on your average 4th grade level." Yue said, pouring Luella and Martin both a cup of tea.

"I bet you're glad Mai's adopting you, though. Oh, you'll be so-"

"WHAT?!" Bou-san and Naru shouted together.

"Mai's adopted the boys. She's going to be their mother now. Really Noll, you need to loosen up some dear. You and Mai could've been married by now, but noooo! You just can't gather the courage to tell the girl you love her, much less ask her to marry you!" Luella said, ignoring Mai's red face at the mention of marriage.

"I've been telling him that for almost three years now, Mrs. Davis and he still doesn't get it." Yuki said, shaking her head sympathetically. "I keep telling him that Mai's answer will surprise him, that she lo-"

"Yuki! That is enough!" Mai growled. Yuki smiled nonchalantly and shrugged, before blowing Lin a kiss from across the room.

"Let me get this straight," Bou-san said, looking at Mai and the twins, "You took today off so that you could adopt Chibi-Naru and his brother Chibi-kun?" Both boys scowled slightly at the nicknames the monk had given them and Naru scowled at the fact he was being compared to the impertinent brat named Shing.

"Well, I didn't spend all day doing paperwork, and it's not official yet, but yes, something like that." She said, reaching into her bag and pulling out two silver captain whistles (think Captain von Trapp in the Sound of Music) and handing one to each boy. "These are for you. If you're in danger or scared, blow on these as loud as you can, 'kay? It's so I can find you and I'll know you're safe."

"Okay."

"Yes, 'kaa-san."

Mai smiled. Luella smiled as well, sipping her tea before smoothing her skirt out.

"You know, Mai," Luella said "I know you were just looking for a small house in the suburbs but Martin and I have a house here in Japan that we never use. It's not too far from where you work and where you said the boys would probably be going to school. I think it would be nice if you moved there. There'd be plenty of room for you and the boys, Yuki could move in, and there'd be rooms for Martin and I when we come to visit. Not to mention the fact that it's in a slightly more, rural area than what you're looking at. What do you think, Martin?"

"I think it's a wonderful idea! There's no sense in letting a perfectly good house go to waste and with two growing boys, she'll need plenty of room, even if they're not into sports. What do you think, Mai-chan? You don't have to, of course. I know you're not all that comfortable with taking what you perceive as charity but as a place where you could raise those boys…It might be worth at least considering." He said, pushing his wire rims up his nose.

"That's a very kind offer but I really don't know if I'd be comfortable with that." Mai said softly, choosing her words carefully.

"Perhaps this then," Martin interjected, obviously seeing where Mai was headed. "You move into the house and while you're living in it, you make payments on the house and in say, three years, the house is yours. How's that sound?"

"I suppose I could do that." Mai said slowly.

"Good, it's settled!" Luella clapped her hands happily. "Now, let's see if we can't wrap this case up so that we can get onto more important matters, like spoiling the boys rotten!"

It was around midnight, 12:05 if Naru was to be exact. How did he know this, you might ask? Well, it would be because Naru was sitting in the Base, a cold cup of tea on the table beside him, staring blankly at the clock while he thought about the day's turn of events.

Mai was adopting not one, but two children. Two identical twin boys. Two identical twin boys that reminded him of Gene and himself when they were children. He wondered idly if they had psychic abilities.

But that wasn't why he was awake.

Mai had blushed when his mother mentioned marriage. Yuki and Lin both said that Mai's response, should he ask her out, would most likely be an affirmative and that it would not be because of his physical resemblance to his dead twin. Gene had told

him that Mai thought of Gene as a brother, not a boyfriend. Maybe he could…

Nah.

Mai wouldn't go for a guy like him, even if he hadn't rejected her original confession.

You never know until you try. Naru's head jerked to the side to look into the full-length mirror. His reflection looked back, and then smiled, proving itself to be Gene.

So, Mai is adopting two little boys, eh? I'm sure Mum is pleased.

You have no idea.

You know, Mai said that they admire us.

Oh really? That Shing brat was quite insulting.

Was this before or after he knew you were Oliver Davis? Silence greeted his inquiry.If you want to get close to Mai, all you have to do is ask her out. Oh! And don't be so hostile to the twins. Just think of them as the next generation of ghost hunters, 'kay? I-I just…damn it Gene! If you ever tell anyone I said this…

Your secret's safe with me, idiot scientist.

I just don't want to share her with anyone.

Okay, now tell her that.

What?!

Don't shout! Here's what you should do. You'll be celebrating her birthday as soon as this case is over. So, get her a nice gift and add a little note telling her, in no uncertain terms, that you love her and you don't really want to share her. When she brings it to your attention, don't deny it.

But what do I get her?!

You tell me, idiot scientist.

I miss you, idiot.

I know you do, little brother, I know you do.Mai's Dream…

It was quite nice, walking around the grounds while she waited for Gene to appear. She was actually somewhat worried about the house Luella and Martin had offered her. Their definition of small wasn't the same as her's, by any means.

"Mai!" Mai whirled and spotted Gene.

"Hey Gene!" She said laughing at the boy as he vaulted over a low shrub, only to act as though he just won the Olympic gold in track.

"So, you're a mother now, eh?" He said, thoughtfully.

"It's not official yet, but yes. I'm adopting two little boys."

"Since you see me as a brother and will one day be married to Noll, does that mean I'm their uncle?" Mai turned brilliant red and sputtered at the mention of marriage.

"Wh-why does every one keep saying that?! Naru doesn't even acknowledge me half the time! How could he love me?" Mai asked, before perking back up. "I'm twenty now!"

"Really? Wow, time flies, huh?"

"Yeah, it does. One day I'm a bouncy obnoxious teenager, the next I'm a bouncy obnoxious adult whose adopting two boys." Gene laughed at Mai's assessment before becoming serious.

"Actually, I think those boys might just be the 'epicenter' of the psychic storm. They may have been the trigger or they may actually be behind the events. If so, Lin will more than likely become a permanent addition to your household, wherever you're living."

"I kind of thought of that myself. Your parents offered to let me stay at a house they own here in Japan."

"That's great! Well, it's time for you to go back." He leaned close and whispered something in her ear that made her blush, but before she could question him, he was gone and the dream was ending in a swirl of blue and green light.

"You caught the hearts of the Davis twins, Taniyama Mai."