A/N: The cravings are a monster, they really are. ROFL. Thanks for the support, guys. Seriously.

Now have another chapter. Family themed this time. :D

November 6
7:26 P.M.

Nia's weight gain over the last two months hadn't gone unnoticed by Raphael. He felt the increase whenever he hugged or lifted her. Her breasts had inflated from an A-Cup to a C-Cup while her stomach protruded as if she stored a cantaloupe under her shirt. Granted that Raph found the curves sexy, they were also a big tease.

Nia wouldn't let him touch her. Not in that way.

The denial, while understandable, was irksome. He had all this emotion bottled and it longed to be expressed. How else could he prove his ever-increasing attraction? His craving for intimacy over the little lives they created together? That she didn't need to fear him finding her fat and marred? Or that he couldn't handle her roller coaster moods?

With words?

As if. He sucked with those. Forget that his alone time with her had decreased since they moved back into the Anders' townhouse. He could catch her during early mornings. Sometimes. Most evenings, though, were spent in the living room. Around the coffee table. Playing board games at Mia's persistence.

"Hey, Raph the Grouch," Mia said from her wheelchair. She twirled the numbered spinner on the colorful 'Game of LIFE' board. "Tonight's a work night, isn't it?"

The mutant sunk further down the sofa cushion and averted his eyes from the two figurines Nia's red van had acquired not one turn ago. "Yeah. We got anoddah supply shipment in. Don's hopin' we can start work on the bedrooms next."

"Get your computer repaired," Sophia interjected. She sent a wide smile Mia's way then held out a hand. "That's me, Furba. Give me the cash."

"Just you wait, Honey. You'll land on a few more art donations. I feel it."

"Still can't believe Mama wound up with the artist career," Nia said, arms folded atop her round belly.

"But a cop fits you so well, Calza," Sophia countered.

The real artist stuck out her tongue when Pink laughed and Raph noticed Gavin's lips quirk upwards from the chair beside Mia. Was that a semi-smile? He could do that?

Mia shook her head before gesturing towards the chubby blonde at her other side. "Your go, Adeline."

"I'm leaving you all in the dust!" Adeline explained like some mad scientist. She turned the spinner, which ticked repetitively as Mia's attention found Raphael.

"I can't wait to see the place all fixed up. Donatello's been sending me pictures, but he says they don't quite capture its size."

"There ain't a lot light 'round there," Raph added. "Did that on purpose. It's a secluded area, overgrown. Hidden."

Adeline, pucker-faced, handed over a blue bill to Nia after having spun a ten and then moved her white van further down the windy road. "This is the water treatment plant you guys mentioned?"

"Yeah," answered Nia in her husband's stead. "I—it hadn't been used since the early nineteen hundreds and it's open-plan. Mostly. So the guys have been able to maneuver rooms around pretty easy."

"Easy?" Raph grimaced. "We spent forever guttin' an' cleanin' that place."

"I've helped! It's just…gotten harder recently."

"You shouldn't over-exert yourself," Gavin said. Dead was his humor, his usual stoic stare replacing it. "The fetuses are expanding, so they're pressing more than your bladder now. Your stomach and lugs need cared for as well."

"My heartburn's been fine, Daddy."

"But you have been losing your breath."

Nia sighed.

"So"—Mia watched Sophia reach for the spinner then glanced up for a second—"what made you decide to renovate a building instead of continuing to look underground?"

That woman loved to pry, didn't she?

Raphael crossed his arms and scooted closer to Nia, saying, "We can only go down so far. It's easier ta build up. Our clan's expandin' an' who knows when it'll stop? Besides…"

Nia felt better while Topside. She didn't say so as often as last year, claiming her claustrophobia was cured. But it still affected her mood and health. Raph could tell in the ways she handled little matters, like reading or drawing. She felt suffocated away from the sky, from the air and moon. Maybe that freedom was something all Languu ached for…

"Genio claims it isn't something that can be easily targeted, at least," said Sophia after moving her yellow van.

"Yeah," Raph added, "his Cloaking technology will help wit' that."

"So it'll hide you?"

The mutant nodded under Adeline's frosty blue eyes. "From view an' when he works out more bugs, from radar as well."

"But do you think it'll be finished before the twins arrive?" Mia's gaze fell on Raphael, heavier than any bolder. A test? So be it.

Raph squared his shoulders, a show for both Mia and Gavin. "We ain't got a clue when the babies will come. Not even an estimate. But I'll work hard ta make sure they got a safe, dry, clean place ta sleep before then."

If they made it full-term, that is. Yet no one wanted to make mention of such a painful point.

Mia's hard look melted into a smile, which she flashed across the group. "Very good, Raph. We should host a baby shower before then, too."

"Inspired by Marina's?" asked Adeline with a loud laugh.

Mia nodded. "That was hilarious fun. Hugh…He picked good. I'm happy for him. Like I'm happy for Ni."

Mother and daughter shared a simple, kind smile—one which swelled Raphael's chest with joy.

Mia accepted that her daughter chose a mutant as a mate and that she carried Raph's children. Instead of disgust or annoyance, the mother expressed excitement. She wanted to be a grandmother. She wanted the twins alive and healthy. She wanted Raph and Nia to have their family.

That relief alone left the mutant speechless.

"Ma—Marina didn't find the party very relaxing," Nia said. "Her Braxton-Hicks Contractions were driving her insane."

"She's ready to pop," Adeline noted. Did she even notice she was almost yelling? "Poor girl. She's larger than I ever was with my girls."

"As big as a blimp." Mia shook her head. "Her due date's soon. Guess we'll see how cooperative Tobias will be over the next week."

"Oh!" Nia jolted. Wide-eyed, she cupped her swollen stomach, starring at it. "Wh—what was that?"

"Ya alright?" Raph couldn't keep urgency from his tone, so he let his hand join Nia's.

"I—I hope. Daddy"—Nia's voice hitched as the lights dimmed—"what do spasms mean?"

The redhead blinked behind his rounded glasses. "Spasms?"

"You deaf, Quattr'occhi?" Sophia yelled. At least someone voiced what Raph wanted to say.

"Do you mean like little flutters?" Everyone faced Adeline, whose smile widened when Nia nodded. "Those are blips, Nia. You're twins are hiccupping."

Raphael drew his eye ridges together. "They can hiccup?"

"It's practice for when they nurse. Kind of tickles, doesn't it?"

"Sort've." The dark-haired artist gave into a relieved laugh and leaned back in the sofa, rubbing her stomach. "So this is normal?"

"Yes. They're fine."

"Glad you're here, Adeline," said Mia in a low voice. "I didn't get to experience that…"

"If you ask me, it seems creepy," Sophia added. One of her eyes squinted, perhaps her attempt to keep from shivering, and she sent a quick look at her game piece stopped on a bridge. She had gained three children since Life started, all of which she had grumbled at before placing the 'people' pegs inside the slots. "Something wiggling inside you? Growing and stuff?"

"It's a gift," Mia countered. "A gift I was denied. You may feel that way now, Sophia. But wait. The first child you have with Michelangelo, it'll change your perspective."

"What if I can't give him a child?" the freckled blonde shot back.

"Time will tell."

"Si. Later, Furba. Years and years later…I'm getting a beer."

The blonde stood then exited the living room, leaving a heavy air behind. The game continued in her absence, but Raphael was too distracted by his thoughts to consider Nia's advancement.

'I hope Mike can stand ta wait. An' that Pink comes around. He wants a family later on, so…' Raph's fingers slipped off Nia's round belly when she leaned forward. 'She beddah not deny him forever. He needs ta go through this same shit. Then he'll really know what it's like ta be both petrified an' ecstatic at the same time.'

It really was an odd feeling...

A/N: I think Sophia saw what I had in mind for her character, promptly said EFF YOU, then decided to be the complete opposite out of spite. Guess kids will be yet another unplanned hurdle that couple will have to jump together. I give the 'sweet' duo of the brothers the hardest women to deal with, I swear. PFFT. O