A/N: I apologize, guys. I really did mean to wrap this story up now, but...life. Got some free time now, though.

Zathura, relax. The home invading is done. ;D

D. Leo...is a whole other issue. We'll see him in "The Distance." -

Sciencegal, hehehehehe. Kids. *Smiles*

Feather, you're back! :D Thanks for the reviews. They're always so up-lifiting and make me melt inside. So, thank you. And enjoy the rest of the story. :) (P.S. I didn't have plans for Nobody, but I may have to include him whenever I get back to Jamal/Silver Sentry. lol)

January 6
1:23 P.M.

April never thought this day would come. Sure, the clothes piled inside her shopping cart weren't for her child, per say, but she refused to let that small detail dampen her mood. She smiled at a cute onesie sized for a newborn and held it up for her company to see from their scattered positions across the department store's baby section.

"Oh my gosh!" Nia cried from somewhere unseen. "It has a tutu!"

Mia chuckled, rolling her wheelchair into April's view. "I love it. Ni used to wear things like that all the time."

"Thought she was a few years passed the onesie stage when you adopted her," Marina added. The Latina's curly hair could barely be spotted amidst the sea of colorful clothes racks. It was Adeline's five-foot-ten-inch figure that confirmed her location, since the blue-and-white clad blonde cooed at Tobias.

"Oh, she was, Marina," answered Mia across the aisles. "I meant the tutu. Nia wore them daily until she turned ten. Then her Converse became her trademark."

"So you've always been a quirky little thing," Adeline said with a snicker. "I haven't seen you in Converse much lately, though."

"Swelling, Ade-chan," replied the artist. She sounded closer, although April still couldn't spot her. "Can't fit in a size six anymore."

Adeline grinned over the clothes racks, her frosty eyes set on perhaps Nia. "There was that fun faze where you actually bothered with shoes. I always looked forward to which colors you'd leave the house with."

"I'd forget by the time I got to the second foot, okay?"

"Nothing wrong with it, Cara. For a while, I thought you mismatched on purpose. Like, it was a nod to your eyes or something."

Nia groaned.

"Luckily, I wear a size eight still," Mia interjected. "And I made sure her boots matched today."

"Thanks, Mama." Pucker-faced, Nia accepted the hand Mia extended and yawned while handing over a few clothes possibilities for evaluation.

"Still not sleeping well?" Marina asked. She walked up behind the mother and daughter then stood with her arms akimbo. Tobias gurgled in a baby carrier strapped across her chest, his round, dark eyes focused on the colorful attire Mia shifted through. At seven-weeks-old, he lacked proper strength to keep his head up, but darn if he didn't try.

Really; the boy was already growing up so much like Hugh.

"Dreams," Nia answered with another yawn. She shook her head then turned aside to look at more outfits as Marina continued,

"Know what that's like. They were the worst in my last trimester. Dreamed weird crap like Toby being eaten by sharks or coming out as an alien baby."

The artist flinched.

"The bad kind, Nia," Marina quickly added.

"No, you have a point," grumbled Nia. "We know next to nothing about the Languu. For all we know…they could be a race of murders…"

"Well"—Adeline's voice rocked the group like a gong—"you're not. That's what matters. My dreams were nothing of the sort when I was pregnant with Cosima. But Sophia?" The fair-haired woman wagged a meaty finger. "I knew she'd be a fighter from the start."

"Ye—yeah?"

Adeline nodded at Nia. "She always bossed around other kids. Never forgot that something was owed to her. Even her first word was rebellious. 'No.' To everything, even if she meant 'yes'. And if you couldn't tell the difference, she'd get upset."

"Such a stark contrast to Nia as a kid," said Mia, grinning. "My hardest time was coaxing her out of the closet to eat."

"Mama," Nia whined.

"But they both turned out to be good girls," added Adeline. "Sorry, women. I just wish Soph would get excited about trips like this for once."

"Yeah," Nia said. "It makes Mikey sad when she shuts down at the subject. She practically ran the other direction when we invited her out."

"Some have called it Pediaphobia, but"—Adeline took the clothes Mia deemed mediocre—"she's not scared of kids. She's scared she'll hurt them. She doesn't feel…soft enough, like she's a cactus. No good for them."

"Bet she and Raph could have a talk then," Nia said while dumping the acceptable clothes into the cart.

"Bet they could," Adeline replied with a snort. She hung up the rejected clothes in one spot then widened her smile. "She's not getting out of the baby shower, though. You're her to-be sister whenever one of them does pop the question. She's going."

"That should be a hoot," April said in an undertone.

The redhead could already picture the heroine sulking in a corner, awkwardly forced into games like 'Dirty Diaper' and 'Who Knows Mommy Best?' Mikey sure had his work cut out for him if he wanted to pursue a family.

'And he still has a better chance than me at this rate. My buffoon of an ex isn't even in state and every guy I've dated since feels…wrong. When will I get to shop for my first born?'

"Oh my, what an adorable shirt!" A high, unfamiliar voice jerked April from her thoughts.

She blinked as a flash of yellow darted towards Nia then stopped. Some middle-aged brunette in a flannel-print shirt studied the pregnant artist and disregarded all the looks the other women dished out. Her fingers fluffed the sleeves that about sloped off Nia then brushed the sash below Nia's bust that accentuated her stomach with flowing fabric.

"It makes your belly look so cute," the stranger added. "How far along are you? Five? Six months?"

The stranger's palm landed on Nia's stomach, but Nia didn't let it sit there for long. Her hand Karate-chopped the women before April could blink. Startled, flannel lady stepped back, rubbing the wrist Nia had struck.

"Uh," she started, "s—sorry. My sister recently had a baby and…"

Nia continued her stare—an odd yet heated gesture.

"I, uh, I'll go. So—sorry again. For bothering you. Um, yeah."

April watched the stranger retreat through the clothes racks like a predator outmatched by its pray. Then, the whole group, sans Nia, burst into laughter.

"I—I didn't mean to hurt o—or freak her out!" The dark-haired woman cried. "She just—she didn't even ask. I—"

"No shame, Cara," Adeline said once she regained her breath. She straightened from Mia's wheelchair, which she had used as a brace, then shared smiles with both Mia and Marina. "It's normal to dislike others touching your belly, especially strangers."

"I like Raph touching it."

"Then he's your exception. Really, don't stress about it."

"I feel like a jerk, though."

"Don't." Marina rubbed her fingers over Tobias' tight curls then kissed his head when his lingering giggles turned into another laughing fit. "I had to beat off people with sticks to get them away from Toby in my uterus. It gets annoying. Fast."

"Desensitize yourself now, Cara; you look full-on pregnant."

"And just think"—April smirked—"normal women who have twins are way bigger than you."

"Small babies," Nia about muttered.

Right, that was a touchy subject. So April maintained her smirk, saying,

"Maybe all the hybrids will be born small, Ni. What have Melody, Don, LH, and I been telling you?"

"Their hearts are strong."

"And you still feel them move?"

"Yes."

"Then they're fine. Now," the redhead slipped an arm around Nia's to make her smile, "let's go stock up on some snacks. The guys have been working hard to make the new lair livable and they deserve a treat."