This is Prompt No. 93-Spring

Spring came sooner than Mitchie had anticipated. What little snow was left had melted, soaking into the ground and giving the tiny green shoots of grass their first nutrients. "Yes," she decided, as she sat out on the porch of the base, "spring is a time of healing."

And she had healed. The last, most detrimental breaks had finally repaired themselves, and all of her bruises had vanished. She was back home, and she was with family. Her hand moved thoughtfully to her stomach, and she smiled. Yes, she was indeed going to have another baby, and soon, when the moment was right, she would tell Shane.

"Mama! Mama! Look at me!"

Mitchie's concentration was broken by the happy little cry, and she looked up to see her daughter perched on a horse's back, being led carefully around in a small circle by Jason, Daniella holding onto her from behind. To see her daughter, her smile so wide and carefree, having such fun for a rare afternoon, brought a smile to Mitchie's face as well. There were so few times when they could venture out of doors for fear of Confederate soldiers that this was most certainly a treat.

"You look wonderful, darling!" she called out, clapping her hands in honest excitement.

Shania looked down at her uncle and his fiancé and smiled angelically. "You can let go now," she told them.

Mitchie heard Jason's hearty laugh and smiled as he told his niece, "I don't mind holding on for a little while longer." He winked at her. "Don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to ride on your own. Don't rush it just yet."

Mitchie let out a quiet laugh, not wanting her daughter to think that she was laughing at her, and returned to her thoughts, convinced that her daughter was in good hands.

When would there be a "right time" to tell Shane? She feared that it would be a while, since Shane and Nate were busy moving furniture into the new houses in Washington D.C. in the hopes that the war would not last for too much longer. Already, it had been four years of fighting. Four years of blood and death and pain. When would it end?

Mitchie stood up, no longer in the mood for sitting outside and drinking in the sunshine. She motioned to Daniella, silently telling her that she was going to go inside, and then disappeared into the shack, being careful not to disturb the dust that was carefully laid around the room to give the appearance of neglect. She slipped into the cupboard and gave the necessary signal, having had Shane teach it to her a while ago, and began to descend.

When she reached the bottom, Mitchie nodded to the young man that operated the cupboard lift and then turned down the hall that led to Caitlyn and Nate's apartments. She knocked once on the door before entering and found Caitlyn in the kitchen making herself a pot of tea. When she caught sight of Mitchie, Caitlyn grinned. "You have the best timing in the world," she teased, indicating the tea. "Have a seat."

Mitchie did as she was instructed and gratefully took the cup and the sandwich that Caitlyn held out to her. "Thank you," she said as she sipped the tea.

Caitlyn sat down across the tiny table from Mitchie and smiled, rolling her cup from side to side in her hands. "I was hoping you'd come for a visit soon," she said. "It's been too long since we've been by ourselves with no little ones."

Mitchie nodded. "You're right," she told her friend.

Caitlyn glanced up at Mitchie and took a bite of her sandwich, looking thoughtful. "So," she began slowly, "when's the baby due?"

Mitchie's cup wobbled as she jumped in surprise. "How did you-?" she trailed off.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes comically. "I was around when you were carrying Shania, I've had my own baby in the meantime, and, well, let's just say that it's a gift I have." She winked at Mitchie teasingly. "Did you not want me to know?" Now, her voice sounded slightly hurt, and Mitchie immediately tried to sooth her.

"No, no," Mitchie assured her. "That's not it at all! I was just waiting for the right moment to tell everyone." She paused and then added softly, "I was waiting for the right moment to tell Shane first."

Caitlyn nodded, understanding. "And it hasn't come up yet," she guessed.

Mitchie shook her head, taking another sip of her tea and glancing down at her cup, swirling some of the tea grinds around and around the bottom of it. "No, it hasn't," she admitted. "I wanted to be sure that-" here she blushed, and it took her a moment to continue. She did, after a deep breath, and said, "I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to carry another baby to term after what happened at court. When I was sure that I was really going to have a baby, I wanted to tell Shane immediately, but it was never the right time, and when we got home he was just so busy moving all that furniture with Nate that I haven't had a chance."

Caitlyn nodded, reaching across the table to squeeze Mitchie's hand sympathetically. "It's sweet of you to want to wait," she told Mitchie, "but sometimes, waiting isn't always the best way to go about it." She laughed slightly. "I tried waiting, and I tried hiding the fact that I was pregnant. You remember, don't you?"

Mitchie laughed. "Yes," she said, remembering how secretive and embarrassed Caitlyn had been at first about her pregnancy.

"Well, I finally couldn't stand it anymore and told Nate when he was moving my favorite vase from one table to another." She smirked. "He dropped my vase, broke it, scattered water all over the new rug we had just gotten, and," here, her voice softened considerably, "he picked me up and whirled me around and then cooked me dinner to celebrate." Caitlyn smiled over at Mitchie and added, "That was the best day of my life, aside from when he asked me to marry him."

"What about the vase?" Mitchie teased.

Caitlyn shrugged. "It was worth it," she teased right back.

Mitchie sat for a moment in thought. "You're right," she said with a nod. "I'll snatch Shane away as soon as I see him."

"Caity!" someone called, shutting the apartment door behind them.

Caitlyn's cheeks turned pink with excitement. "Looks like now's your chance," she whispered to Mitchie. "We're in here!" she called, raising her voice slightly.

As if preordained to arrive just after Mitchie had made her decision, Nate and Shane came into the kitchen, looking slightly tired, but relieved. "Hello, ladies," Shane said, greeting Caitlyn with a kiss on the cheek and Mitchie with a slight, lingering kiss on her lips.

"You two look tired," Caitlyn observed. She raised an eyebrow at Mitchie and then asked, "Did you finish moving everything?"

Nate nodded, kissing his wife and Mitchie in the reverse fashion that Shane had. "Everything that we could move easily has been moved. The larger items will take longer, but hopefully we can work out some system for those." He patted his brother's arm. "Shane has a couple of ideas on that."

"Sounds great!" Caitlyn enthused, glancing at Mitchie again. Had she backed down from her resolve, or was she waiting for a break in the conversation?

As if to answer her, Mitchie stood up and set down her cup. "Thanks so much," she told her sister-in-law. "The tea was just what I needed." She turned to Shane and asked, "Would you like to help me with something?"

Shane shrugged. "Sure," he said.

"Great." Mitchie turned and smiled at Nate, winking at Caitlyn in turn. "See you later," she said with a wave as she guided Shane towards the front door of the apartment.

Caitlyn waved as well. "Moving a vase?" she teased, utterly confusing both of the men in the room.

Mitchie shook her head, knowing that Caitlyn would explain everything to Nate as soon as she and Shane left. "No," she said right before she disappeared through the door, Shane right behind her. "We're going to bake cookies."

A/N: Okay everyone, I'm sorry that it's taken this long to get around to this chapter. I had it all ready to go on Sunday, but I ended up in the ER at 2AM Monday morning because of a bad allergic reaction. This is my first oportunity to upload, so here you go!! Hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much to my new readers that read this story in one day. You're awesome!! Please review guys!!!!! :D