Rather early the next morning, before the sun was over the mountain peaks anyway, Lilly was the first to stir awake, slowly opening her eyes with a yawn to see it was only just getting to be light inside the bedroom. She stretched out a little before looking down at her chest and belly area to see Serenity still peacefully asleep, bringing a smile to her face. She carefully turned a little as to not wake her and gently kissed her forehead, causing her to let out a little high pitched purr that made Lilly giggle a little. She happily sighed and laid her head back down next to Cody's, who was quietly snoring a little and she gave his cheek a quick lick.
She was starting to doze back off after a few minutes when he suddenly started to stir, waking up with a groan. She opened her eyes again and smiled as he woke up, yawning and stretching as he did. "Hi, baby…." She purred, licking his cheek again. He smiled back and gave her nose a slow kiss, saying "Hi, my beautiful girl….Did you sleep good?" She nodded and said "I slept amazingly good! Did you?" He nodded too and said "Only woke up once to use the bathroom, but other than that…." She giggled a bit and laid her head against his neck, saying "That's good. How about our little girl here?" He started running his hand up and down her back, making her softly purr and said "Seems she stayed asleep all night long. Think she's hungry this morning?"
"Probably. I know I am!" Lilly giggled, her stomach quietly growling a little. Cody chuckled and said "I suppose I'll be getting breakfast started soon, then. Wanna see if she'll try and nurse again?" Lilly quickly nodded and said "Let's wait for her to wake up, though. Probably won't be very long." Sure enough, after about fifteen minutes of talking, cuddling and kissing, they felt Serenity starting to squirm around as she woke up, letting out small squeaks and whimpers as she did. Instead of moving her to Lilly's belly, they decided to let her try and get there herself, and she eventually did after enough searching.
Her nose bumped over Lilly's nipples a few times and she soothingly said "Right there, honey, you've got it….That's what you're looking for." Serenity kept squirming around and whimpering, so Cody gently squeezed one of Lilly's nipples, causing a little milk to come out and that was all Serenity needed. As soon as she tasted it, she latched on like a bear trap, greedily sucking down her mother's milk. Lilly laid her head down on Cody's side, a constant purr emanating from her as they watched their daughter nurse for, technically, the first time. "How's it feel?" Cody asked, running his hand up and down her side.
"Amazing….There's really no better feeling in the world…." Lilly purred, a smile on her face and a happy tear on her cheek. Cody chuckled a bit and kissed her forehead, reaching down and gently running his hand over their daughter's back. She continued nursing for a little while longer, switching nipples from time to time until she was apparently full. She let go and curled up the best she could considering how her body was built, but did the best she could. Lilly smiled and looked up at Cody, saying "She's the most amazing thing anybody could ask for….And she's our daughter." He smiled too and nodded, kissing her nose and saying "Who would've dreamed it would happen, either?" Lilly nodded and looked back down at Serenity, just laying comfortably between them and squeakily purring.
"Can you do something for me, babe? There's milk all over my stomach now….Could you clean it off real quick, please?" Lilly asked, smiling up at him. He chuckled a bit and said "How about we take a shower soon? Then we both can get clean." She nodded and said "That sounds good to me! That nice big bathtub would be really relaxing if we just take a bath, you know…." He smiled and said "That's a good idea, too! Wanna bring baby girl in with us?" Lilly smiled more and nodded, saying "Yeah, we can. I think she might enjoy the nice warm water, too. Just be careful with her…." He chuckled a little and kissed her nose, saying "I know, don't worry. She'll be perfectly okay." She giggled a little and closed her eyes, shifting around a little bit to get more comfortable.
Out in the living room, Eve began to stir awake soon after the first rays of sunlight started to shine through the windows. Her eyes slowly opened to be nearly blinded by the sunlight, so she turned her head a little which caused her nose to bury against Kevin's neck. She smiled to herself and happy sighed, gently cuddling more against him when she suddenly felt him wrap his forelegs around her. "Good morning, Eve…." He softly said, kissing her forehead. She smiled more and let out a soft purr, saying "Morning, babe…."
"Sleep good after that eventful day?" He asked with a chuckle, causing her to giggle again. "I slept really good! I'm kinda anxious for Lilly to get up so I know she's doing okay." She said, stretching out a little. He nodded and said "I'm sure she's doing just fine, but I can't wait for them to be up either. Feel like coming outside with me for a bit?" She smiled again and nodded, saying "I don't see why not! It'd be nice to see the view from here…." He chuckled a bit and they got up, going over to the front door and Kevin opened it. She rubbed her nose on his cheek as she walked past him, causing him to smile a little as he followed her out. The door quietly closed behind them and they stepped out into the grass, stretching out with groans in the crisp morning air.
"Wow, it's so beautiful up here!" Eve said, smiling to herself as she looked around at all the amazing views. Kevin nodded in agreement and said "It really is! Almost puts Glacier to shame….Almost…." She giggled a bit and they walked around a little bit before using the bathroom, quickly relieving themselves of what they needed to do. After she was done, she went over to the concrete porch area and laid down, letting out a content sigh as she did and Kevin soon joined her. He noticed she had an odd look on her face; A puzzled look, in fact. He nudged her cheek with his nose and asked "Hey, whatcha thinkin' about?"
She shrugged and said "I don't know….Have you even thought of leaving Glacier to live somewhere else?" He thought for a brief moment before shaking his head, saying "No, can't say I have. Why do you ask?" She smiled a bit and said "I just started to wonder how a change of scenery would be. I mean, neither of us are young wolves anymore, that's for sure….Have you never felt like you wanted something different?" He chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders, saying "Well, I suppose I may have at some point or another….Are you saying you don't want to live in Glacier anymore?"
"No, it's not that I don't want to live there, it's just….I feel like we need a bit of a change. Glacier Park is GREAT, there's no denying that! What if….what if we just have ourselves a nice getaway sometime soon? Not too far, but someplace we haven't gone or been to in a while." She said, leaning against his side. He stared off toward the sunrise, thinking deeply on what she'd said until something finally came to mind. "What would you say about Jasper Park?"
Her eyes slowly widened and she turned her head to face him, a bit of a smile on his face. "You….really want to go there? My old home?" She asked, wondering if he was being serious or not. He nodded and said "Like you said, somewhere we haven't been in a while. Well, I haven't been there at all….It's probably changed at least a little in the few years it's been since you, Lilly and Kate left. Who knows, there could be just one big pack for all we know now." Her eyes absently drifted down to the ground, staring blankly at nothing as she thought about the idea of going back after so long.
"Honey, I'm not sure….I mean, there's so many memories….Painful ones….I couldn't go there without remembering Winston…." She sadly said, looking back up at him. He smiled a bit and started running his paw up and down her back, saying "There's nothing wrong with remembering an old love….You never want to forget about him, you know." She smiled a little as well and nodded, saying "Yeah, I know….If you think it'd be a good idea and an enjoyable time, then I guess we should do it!"
"I think we should, too. I know it'll be a good time…." He said, nuzzling her. She purred a little and nuzzled him back, saying "I'm sure it will be. When should we let everyone know what we're planning?" He shrugged and said "Whenever you feel would be a good time. We don't even know when we'll actually go, though…." She giggled a bit and said "Well, sometime in the near future….Maybe a couple months time." He nodded and said "How about we go back inside now? It's still a bit cool out…." She nodded too and they got up, going back inside to see Alexis and Chase coming out to the living room, looking like they'd both just woken up.
"Morning, you two!" Eve said, smiling at them. Alexis smiled back and yawned, sleepily saying "Morning, guys….How long've you been up?" Kevin shrugged and said "Half hour or so? You two just wake up?" They both nodded and Chase said "Serenity's crying woke us." Eve giggled a bit and said "Ahh….So, Lilly and Cody must be up now then. Honey, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go see how she's doing." Kevin smiled and kissed her cheek, causing her to purr a little before she went down the hallway to their bedroom, knocking her paw against the almost closed door. "Come on in!" She heard Lilly say, so she pushed the door open to see them sitting on their bed, Cody holding Serenity wrapped in a towel.
"Is she okay?" Eve asked, smiling a bit. Lilly was too and said "Yep, she's all good! We all took a nice bath….She didn't seem to think it was so nice, though…." Eve giggled and said "Well, she IS just a baby yet….You never did, either." Lilly rolled her eyes and said "Yeah, but that was a long time ago, Mom. I love them!" Cody chuckled as she finished drying Serenity off, gently laying her on the bed next to Lilly and tossing the towel in the basket by the door. "There, all clean and dry again…." He said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. Serenity squeakily whimpered and Lilly nuzzled her a little to comfort her.
"I know I've said this before, but she is absolutely beautiful, you two….Literally the most amazing thing I've ever seen…." Eve said, smiling as she stared at Serenity cuddled against her mother's side. Lilly giggled a bit and said "Don't we know it….And thanks, Mom!" Eve nodded and said "So, how're you feeling yourself, honey?" Lilly shrugged and said "You know, not too bad. I mean, my stomach's still kinda sore, but other than that, nothing. It does hurt a little more when baby girl here nurses, though."
"Oh, so you ARE nursing her, then?!" Eve excitedly asked, her tail wagging. Lilly giggled again and nodded, saying "Yep, of course I am! We got her to try last night, but I didn't have anything. This morning I did, though! She was pretty hungry!" Eve giggled too and said "That's great! I didn't think you'd be able to because of your surgery…." Cody chuckled and said "I didn't either. I wasn't even sure Serenity would try or want to, but she did…."
"Again, that's great! Does it feel any different considering she's not exactly a pup?" Eve asked with a giggle again. Lilly smiled and said "A little, but still just as amazing as when Dakota and Lupa did. She nurses longer since she's quite a bit bigger than a normal pup, obviously, but I still love it!" Eve nodded and said "I would, too! Not trying to be rude, but are you gonna be making breakfast soon, Cody?" He chuckled and said "Yeah, I am, don't worry. I take it you guys are hungry?" Right then, Eve stomach growled a little, causing them all to laugh a bit and she said "Maybe a bit…."
Out in the living room, Lupa, Shadow, Dakota and Crystal were all awake now, everybody talking and laughing amongst themselves. Todd was awake too, but Naomi was still asleep, seemingly pretty tired. "Has she been sleeping much recently, Todd?" Crystal asked, a little concerned for Naomi. He shook his head and said "Not as much as I think she needs to. She's been getting really tired during the day pretty quickly. She hasn't said much about it, but I'm starting to worry about her…."
"Well, I know girls get tired easier when we're pregnant, but I think there's a point when it'd probably be a little much….Maybe Dad could check her out later. Make sure she's okay." Lupa said and Todd nodded, saying "Maybe. I know it'd put me at ease if he says she's okay." Right about then, Eve, Lilly and Cody holding Serenity came out of the bedroom to the living room, getting everyone's attention. Lilly climbed up on the couch and he laid Serenity back down with her before going into the kitchen and asking "So, who's hungry?" Pretty much everybody said they were, so he got plenty of eggs, bacon and sausage out of the fridge and started cooking them.
"Hey, Cody? Would you mind taking a look at Naomi later sometime? She's been really tired the last few days, but I don't think she's been sleeping enough at night. I'm a little worried…." Todd said, weakly smiling. Cody smiled too and nodded, saying "Yeah, if she's okay with it when she wakes up, I'll check her out." Todd nodded and smiled more, saying "Thanks, It'll really put me at ease more…." They all chuckled a little and about then, Alexis suddenly nudged Chase's side a little, getting his attention and whispering something in his ear. He immediately had a worried look on his face and almost silently asked "Are you sure?"
She nodded and then he sighed, nodding as well before Alexis turned back to everyone and said "So, I think this is as good a time as any….Grandma, Grandpa, we're gonna tell you all something you'll probably find….well, shocking, I guess." Eve had a concerned look on her face and asked "What's wrong, honey?" Alexis weakly smiled and said "No, nothing's wrong….It's just….I….Mom, Dad, could you guys help us out here?" Crystal let out an amused sigh and said "We talked about this already….Just say it, okay? Everything's okay, so don't worry."
Alexis nodded and took a breath, saying "Alright….You guys all probably know I've gotten a little interesting in finding a mate recently, right?" They all nodded and then she smiled a little, saying "Well, I did….And like Mom said, I'm just gonna say it….It's Chase." He had an extremely worried look on his face as those words left her mouth, leaving everybody that didn't know in a state of shock. "Wha….How…." Eve stammered, her eyes wide as the moon. Alexis simply nodded and laid her head against Chase's shoulder, saying "I know you guys are probably shocked and mad, but….we truly love each other. Granted, a lot more than a brother and sister SHOULD, but still….It's all real."
Kevin looked over at Aatu and Fable, seeing they were smiling their heads off and not the least bit surprised. "Did you two know about this already?" He asked and they nodded, Fable saying "They told us last night before we came out to go to sleep. You guys aren't mad at them, are you?" Eve let out what sounded like a frustrated sigh and said "I don't know WHAT I am right now. Confused, upset…..everything." Alexis' ears laid back and right as she was about to say something, Lilly said "Mom, you just can't be mad at them…..You and Dad always told Kate and I that love has no boundaries, even before we know what it was like to be in love. Kate and I fell in love with humans and now Alexis and Chase are in love with each other, so there really are no limits."
Eve's expression softened as Lilly said that, slowly turning into a small smile as she said "I know, honey….I'm not going to say I completely approve and are comfortable with it, but….it's what you two want. I won't be the one to get in the way of that….." Alexis and Chase both smiled too, their tails starting to wag as Kevin said "And neither will I. Lupa, Shadow? What do you two think?" Lupa sighed and shook her head, saying "While it's not in the least the strangest and rather uncomfortable thought, I don't have any problem….My only question is how it actually happened."
Alexis blushed a deep red and said "Well….I was almost out of my heat the other week, but it hit all the sudden out of nowhere with the absolute NEED to mate! As much as I tried to refuse myself, I just couldn't keep it together anymore and Chase was the only male around….So, yeah…."that" happened. Mom and Dad walked in a little bit after we finished and found us tied still, so we had a family talk after a little bit. Mom helped me put all my feelings back together and I started to realize that I'd loved Chase like I do for a long time already, I just never saw it before." Crystal and Dakota both nodded and she said "Believe me, the initial shock was QUITE overwhelming….But, Dakota and I talked to them for a while like she said."
"Yeah, I could imagine….Did you want to basically kill them?" Shadow asked, chuckled a bit as was Dakota. "Oh, like you wouldn't believe….I'm just glad Crystal was there to keep my temper under control." Dakota said, nuzzling her. She giggled a bit and then Eve said "Well, I hope you both keep the love you share now for a long time. Love DOES have a strange way, but it's always for the better." Alexis and Chase nodded and he said "Thanks, Grandma! I don't think I'll ever stop loving her…." Alexis giggled a little too and kissed his cheek, making everyone chuckle a little. "Well, I suppose we should have some kind of little party of some kind today then! Not only to celebrate their happy pairing, but also our little girl." Cody said, coming into the living room and kissing Serenity's forehead.
She squeakily whimpered and cuddled more against Lilly, making her giggle a little as she said "I think that'd be a great idea! I know your parents would love to come, and Donna, too! I'd really like for her to be here as well." He nodded and said "I'll sure as heck give her a call in a little bit. I think she'd really enjoy the bit of time off. She works herself to the bone…." Lilly nodded as well and said "Yeah, she really does. Give her a call later and see what she says. If she can't come, it's okay."