Chapter 11- MonkeyBums vs. The Dragon

Delphine watched her step as Oscar and Kira ran across her path, on their way to the kitchen table from a bathroom break. She smiled as she stuttered her step, holding the pizza boxes up higher to let them by. It felt good to have a house full of laughing children. She continued on her way to the kitchen, getting the pizza and salad plated up.

"Okay, so you walk into the room and there's this huge throne…" Cosima starts.

"How big is it?" Gemma interrupts.

Cosima smiles and expands her hands "Like way big. Like a throne for Godzilla big. And it's got all these weird numbers on it. Across the room is a bookshelf, full of these books about Monsters and Wizards. No one else is in the room, but there's a big door on the other side with a huge deer head hanging above it."

"Do you think we should try the door?" Oscar asks his cousins and Scott who are all now seated at the table, each with a set of dice, character sheets, and a pencil in front of them.

Delphine peers over at the group and smiles. They've already been playing for a couple hours and each kid seems so involved in it. Not that Scott's any less interested. He'd heard they were playing and begged Cosima to join.

The blonde laughed and gently shook her head at the group. She looked out the backyard window at the piñata that was hung and ready to be broken open and thier yet to be opened pool. Should they open it for the wedding next weekend?

The wedding came back to her thoughts as she portioned out salad onto each plate. Most of the planning was complete. Luckily for them, neither wanted a huge affair. Just like they'd talked about: immediate family in their backyard. They'd ordered a full spread from a number of local restaurants and rented a set of speakers with an iPod input. Tables and chairs were being pieced together by the guests. Donnie was officiating, having gotten his certification as a frat joke in college. She just needed a dress and to make some more logistical plans.

Taking a deep, breath the blonde picked up a bunch of plates, carrying them over to the table and serving the players one by one. She received a round of thank yous before the adventurers turned back to their fantasy world. She grabbed two more plates and a beer, heading to the basement stairs where Helm was working.

The German father had already put in one assisted lift on the stairs leading upstairs, and was now putting one on the basement stairs. He saw Delphine and sat down on the step, smiling as he accepted the plate and beer that she handed him, pleasantly surprised when she sat down, joining him.

"It looks great, Helm" she praised.

He smiled and took a swig from the beer "Thank you. Not too tough at all. Should allow her a bit more movement."

Delphine nodded, taking a bite from her salad that she'd added a chicken breast to.

"No pizza?" Helm asked, noticing Delphine's plate.

She shook her head "I need to make sure to keep my diet focused on nutrition. Especially since I am ovulating" she told him.

He smiled "I'm glad to see you already taking care of my second grandbaby."

Delphine smiled at the idea "I cannot wait."

Taking a bite of his pizza, her soon to be father-in-law laughed "I remember that feeling" he told her as he turned to look at his daughter, laughing with her nieces, nephew, daughter, and Scott. "Even with the surrogate it was pretty special. Just wait until you see that little girl's eyes looking up at you" he remembered out loud.

Delphine took another bite of the salad, looking over at Cosima. "She is incredible. Thank you for that, for her" Delphine said sincerely.

"She's got a lot of her dad in her. He was a wonderful man" Helm smiled, twirling the ring on his finger.

"I would have loved to meet him" Delphine noted.

"Oh he would have adored you! He had a love of people and cultures. It's what drew us together at first. He was fascinated with my German background. Well that, and he always said that I was kind. Andrew had a real knack at seeing people's hearts, looking at them free of judgement. She learned that from him" the large man informed his daughter-in-law.

"I can only hope that I will raise our little one as well as you and Andrew raised Cosima" Delphine praised.

Helm turned his attention back to Delphine "You will. And you know Delphine, I don't go away when she does. You are my family now. You, Charlotte, and this future baby are my whole family. I will support you."

Delphine smiles, wiping the tears that had not quite fallen from her eyes "Thank you. It is good to know that I will have people to lean on."

"And what about your parents? Are they coming to the wedding?" he asked, sipping on the beer.

Delphine nodded, smiling now "My maman is. She is flying in from France. My father…no. He will not be attending" she told him sharply.

Helm gleaned the reason. He'd seen enough of kids being rejected by parents for their hearts in his lifetime to recognize it. "Well, then he is missing out. I'm glad I get to meet your mother though. I bet she's a gem."

The blonde chuckled "Oh, she is. Especially after a couple glasses of Sherry. She is a really wonderful woman. "

"Well then I see who you take after" Helm joked, gently nudging the woman's arm.

Delphine laughed and nodded "I am definitely her daughter."

"It's nice to know that Siobhan and I will have some more company amongst all of you youngsters" he noted.

The blonde nodded, sniffling back her tears.

"Those kids are really enjoying that game they are playing" he noticed, looking over at the table.

"So is Scott" she joked.

"Do you have any clue what it is about?" he asked.

Delphine chuckled and shook her head "Not a clue. Dungeons and those dragons are not in my interests."

"Me neither" he told her, wiping his hands together as he finished his meal, taking another pull from the beer. "I am almost done here. I'll keep an eye on things. How about you go take some time to yourself? Enjoy that new tub" he suggested.

"Are you sure?" she asked, taking another bite of her salad.

"Of course. I'll play grown up and you go relax. You've been running around all week" Helm told her.

"Thank you, Helm" she said sincerely, standing up and taking their plates to the kitchen before she headed upstairs to draw herself a bath.

The blonde added Cosima's favourite bubbles that they've since had to buy in bulk since Charlotte and Delphine had also taken a liking to them. She slowly stripped and lit a few candles. If she was going to take the time to relax, she was going full out relaxation. The new bathroom was luxurious. She sauntered over to the built in stereo and selected her favourite relaxation playlist before she shrugged off the sweater she'd been wearing, slowly stripping out of the rest of the clothes on her body.

She sunk into the tub, cutting off the flow of water as it reached an acceptable height in the receptacle, and took a deep breath. The blonde closed her eyes and immediately thought about all of the things she should be doing. The contractors had finished the basement a few hours earlier and she should really go and clean it. There was also the task of making sure all the logistics for the equipment delivery were taken care of for tomorrow. She still had to call her maman and make sure that they had her travel plans complete.

This all floated around her mind until the water finally got to her; its fluidic responsiveness adapting to every curve of her body, wrapping her in warmth. There was only one other warmth that could compare. She smiled as she thought of it; her love. That all-encompassing blanket of serenity that surrounded her every time she thought of Cosima wrapped itself firmly around her. It wouldn't be long until she was finally her wife.

Delphine let her body slide down the tub, holding her breath as she eased entirely below the water's surface. Her senses clouded, all dulled by the body of water she was entirely engulfed in. She held herself beneath the water, surrendering completely to its silence, to its stillness.

She emerged moments later, gently wiping the bubbles from her eyes as she laid back once more into the tub's curve, her neck gently supported by the pillow on the edge. She looked across the tub to the second pillow; Cosima's spot. She mentally thanked the brunette for having a planned activity for the kids tonight.

"But Oscar, if we maybe talk to the deer head" Gemma whined, tired of being talked over.

"Gemma, be quiet. We're trying to figure this out. I search the throne" Oscar tells his aunt, rolling his die. "18, with a +3. 21. I've got to find something"

Cosima holds her tongue, shrugging "It's a throne. It's big. It has numbers all over it." she repeats for the third time. "You do see a really big bum mark in it, perfectly worn into the foam."

Everyone but Oscar giggles.

"Okay, I search through the books to see if the numbers on the throne match anything in them" Kira mentions.

"Roll investigation" Cosima tells her.

Kira rolls the die. "7"

"With your modifier?" Cosima asks to clarify.

Kira nods.

"It is a book. It's pages have numbers. Some of them match the numbers on the chair. There are 3s and 9s and 5s and 1s and 6s and 7s and…"

"...okay, mummy. We get it" Charlotte interrupts. "I am going to try and pull all the books off the shelf. Does anything happen?" Charlotte asks.

"You reveal a...spider web and a lot of dust" she tells the group.

Everyone sighs and huffs. Cosima turns to Gemma.

"Princess NiceDress, do you want to do something?" she asks.

Gemma nods "I walk up to the deer head and say "Hello, I am sorry they cut your head off. I wish I could have saved you."

The table rolls their eyes.

Oscar, exasperated with his sister starts "Gemma, I told you…"

"The deer shakes off the dust that's been coating her for hundreds of years. An ancient voice speaks through the deer "And who would be so kind to wish such a thing?" it boomed throughout the room, shaking the walls" Cosima interrupted.

The table gasped. Gemma smiled and turned to them "I TOLD you so!"

"That's not fair, you changed the game to make her feel good about herself" Oscar complained.

"Oscar, shut up. You never rag on the DM" Scott tells him between his teeth. The geneticist turned to Cosima "Sorry Cosima. I apparently didn't teach him too well" he apologizes.

Cosima chuckled and looked down at her notes "It's all good" she told him, running through the page as she tore it in half, right at the moment they were at. She looked back up "Oscar, you keep questioning everything buddy. But yeah, it's all in my notes."

Cosima handed him the ripped top half of the page and smiled. "All good?" she asked.

The boy read it over and sighed, nodding. "Sorry Gemma" he apologized.

"Ok, good. So, where were we?" She looked down. "Right! "Who would be so kind to wish such a thing?" she asks again in the deer's voice.

"Why Princess NiceDress" Gemma informed the deer.

Cosima chuckled with the rest of the table. She could feel herself slowly fading. She was exhausted, even though she had just been sitting here. She made eye contact with Scott and gave him a look of pleading. The geek nodded at her and stood up.

"Alright my little adventurers, Scott's gonna take over" Cosima informed them.

"Awwww" rang out around the table from everyone but Charlotte.

"Hey, be nice you little haters. He's fun. I swear he's fun" she told them, putting her hand on her lower back as she stretched it. "I will be back to join a little later. You okay with them Scotty?" she asked.

He smiled up at her, pulling a chair over and taking her spot at the table while she rolled out of it. "Peachy. I will direct the fearless MonkeyBums through the battlefield" he told her.

The kids erupted in giggles at their group name. Cosima hung her head, shaking it as she laughed. When she picked it up, rubbing her neck, Charlotte was watching her.

"Are you okay, mummy?" she asked from her seat at the table.

Cosima nodded and smiled at her daughter "Five by five. Just a little tired. Mind giving me a push to the airlift?" she asked.

Charlotte nodded, standing up to help her mom out.

Delphine was half asleep in the tub when Cosima rolled in. She opened a single eye at the sound of the wheels on the tiled floor. The blonde immediately sat up.

"Cosima, are you okay?" she asked, worry painting her face.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a little tired" she admitted, rolling up the sleeve of her sweater and trailing her hand lazily through the bubble filled water.

"Do you want to join me?" Delphine asked

"No, no. You enjoy. I'm gonna have a little power nap. Think you could go round up the ankle biters and get them outside in a bit? Scott's running the rest of the adventure" Cosima informed.

Delphine nodded, taking a deep breath as she watched the sadness cloud Cosima's face. She reached for the hand that was playing with the water, intertwining their fingers.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Delphine asked.

Cosima took a deep breath and pushed her glasses further up her nose, leaning back in the chair.

"I can't even sit down for more than a few hours without getting tired. I hate how this thing is completely taking me over. I should be downstairs, spending my last days with all those littles or up here, knuckle deep in you, but I can't even walk. I can't even stay awake for a full day" she explained, shaking her head against the tears.

Delphine felt the pain radiating off of her and it hit her deep. Her heart wrenched at how upset Cosima was. She slowly stood and grabbed the towel she'd laid out. The blonde watched as Cosima's eyes followed her face as she stood. The brunette's bottom lip quivered as her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Mon petit chou, I am so sorry that you have to go through this. But I assure you that I am quite happy to have you nap half the day away if it means I get more half days with you" she told Cosima as she dried off. "And I am sure that those kids are very happy that you are spending time with them at all. They all look up to you so much. You are the cool aunt" Delphine joked, smiling as she cupped one of Cosima's cheeks once she'd finished drying. She watched as Cosima leaned into the touch, closing her eyes. "If you do not take care of yourself, you will not be able to have adventures with them anymore."

Cosima nodded, shaking her hands out as she took a deep breath. She lazily trailed a finger up and down Delphine's tummy in front of her. "You're right. I just hate this so much. I hate not being able to fuck your brains out until you pass out" she breathed.

Delphine laughed, stooping down to kiss Cosima's cheek "Oh ben, mon amour, you do. I'm just usually on top for it now" she tells her.

Cosima smiled, remembering that time "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. We need to do THAT again soon!"

Delphine nodded, aiming lower with her kiss now to gently press one to her fiancée's lips. Cosima let the associated sensations sink deep into her chest and warm her from the inside out. Delphine broke the kiss with a gentle bite to the brunette's bottom lip, watching as the flesh fell back in to place after she let go of it.

"I cannot wait for our wedding night. I am going to arrange for Charlotte to spend the night at Kira's and we are going to sleep and make passionate, crazy love all night and through the next day. No one will be leaving the bed for at least 24 hours. We will get lost in each other" Delphine purred, inches from her face.

Cosima moaned, leaning up and clasping Delphine's lips in hers for another soft, passionate kiss. She reached out, wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist, her fingers dancing across warmed skin.

Delphine leaned in to the action of affection, dipping her head to one side as she flicked her tongue over soft, plump lips. She met her fiancée's tongue as Cosima parted her lips. Delphine gently rolled the tip of her's over the surface of the clone's.

They broke apart, coming up for air. Delphine watched as the soft smile spread slowly across Cosima's face, her eyes still shut.

"Want me to wheel you to bed?" Delphine asked, kissing Cosima's full, rosy cheek.

The brunette nodded "As long as I get snuggles" she told her future wife.

"You are going to get so many snuggles!" Delphine assured, taking the chair and pushing it into the bedroom.

Cal stepped through the front door to the sounds of frustrated groans and the chatter of kids trying to organize themselves. He laughed, kicking off his shoes and spotting Helm. He walked up to the older man and shook his hand.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"Demigods and Dunes I think" he laughed. "I'm not really sure. But they have been playing for a while."

Cal looked at him, confused.

All the kids cheered in the background. The lumberjack turned to look at them, realization dawning on his face.

"Oh…Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah, we played with Scott. It's actually pretty fun" the lumberjack admitted, chuckling. "Anyways, I came to see how the basement turned out."

Helm nodded "Go have a look. I'm just putting the finishing touches on this lift."

"Thanks, Helm" the younger man said, heading down the stairs. He stopped to have a look at the mobility lift and nodded. "Nice work for an old man" he teased.

The German man laughed and took a bow, tightening a screw as the lumberjack continued down the stairs.

"We're so close!" Charlotte called out, turning to Kira. "Ashanta, think you and Princess NiceDress can inflict some damage? I can charge with my greatsword on my turn" she asked.

Kira nodded "I can use Divine Smite!"

"I can throw my axe" Gemma said "It should help with some damage."

"And I can use a binding spell to keep it from dodging!" Oscar added.

"Okay team MonkeyBums, let's do this!" the youngest clone exclaimed, turning to Scott who looked mildly terrified at the intensity of these kids.

Scott looked to the board and to his notes. These kids were going to beat a dragon. Sure Cosima had modified the monster slightly and had made sure that their party was well rounded, but it was still a feat he wasn't sure his party could master. He worked through the scenario, watching as they rolled for each move, making notes on the paper in front of him. Their plan was working. Scott saw that it would come down to Charlotte's roll. He turned to her and she smiled.

"I charge at the dragon, greatsword in hand, and I yell "No one messes with my friends you pipsqueak piece of dung!" and I slash at his throat with all my strength" she says, rolling her two die. They roll into the middle of the table as everyone hangs onto the edge of their seats. A perfect 20. All the kids cheer as Charlotte quickly looks at her character sheet, slowly looking up to Scott.

Cal, having just climbed the steps back up hurried over at the commotion. He leaned against the table, watching intently.

"23" she tells the Dungeon Master.

"It hits" Scott informs the party "roll for damage".

Scott waited, staring at the number on his page. The dragon's HP. If they didn't kill it here, it would destroy them on its turn.

"16" Charlotte

"Your greatsword sinks into the dragon's flesh and cleaves its head clean off. Its body falls to the ground, gushing blood. The dragon is dead" Scott tells them, scratching out the Dragon's remaining 10 HP.

A roar erupts as the kids jump from their seats, cheering and hugging. They all immediately start dancing.

"MonkeyBums are number 1!" Kira starts, the rest following in the chant.

Helm laughed loudly, watching the group and taking a video on his phone as Scott and Cal shrugged at each other, joining in on the chanting and dancing themselves.

Cosima heard the roar from downstairs and laughed, it pulling her from the lucidity of her pre-sleep as Delphine put a hand to her chest, looking at her confused.

"Those rascals just took down the final boss" she noted, stretching her hands above her head before holding her own hands together and dropping a forearm to rest on her forehead.

"Boss?" Delphine asked, still confused.

"They beat the dragon at the end of the dungeon" Cosima clarified.

Delphine laughed and shrugged, still not understanding.

"They won, Delphine" Cosima told her, giggling at how adorably naïve her fiancée was about this stuff. "One day I'll get you in to it. Trust me, it's a lot of fun."

"If you say so" she told Cosima, leaning in and leaving a peck on her lips "I should go down and get the kids on to the next activity. They will probably be excited and hyper for a while after winning" she noted.

Cosima nodded and pouted "Do I get one more kiss before you go?"

"Bien sûr, mon amour" Delphine told her, leaning in for a deep kiss. She broke it, smiling "I will make sure I get lots of pictures and videos for you."

"Good. I hate missing out" Cosima told her. "I don't think that I can sleep knowing what's going on down there."

Delphine smiled at her, leaning in to kiss her temple. She reached up and turned off the table lamp, darkening the room. She laid on her back, pulling Cosima to her chest.

"Just close your eyes and relax. I am not going anywhere until you are fast asleep" she told her fiancée.

"But.." Cosima started.

"No buts. They can wait" Delphine countered.

The blonde felt the clone settle in to her and she kissed the forehead right next to her chin, gently rubbing Cosima's upper arm as she started humming. Cosima smiled, snuggling closer as she got lost in the perfectly pitched vibration of Delphine's voice, echoing through her.

Delphine started a childhood lullaby in her native tongue, gently rolling each word over the air in the bedroom, filling it with the melody she learned from her maman's nightly serenity song. She thought of the baby she would soon be singing this to. The tiny perfect baby that was made of Cosima who would be nestled so snugly against her body as she rocked her to sleep, purring out this same song to sooth the infant. She could feel Cosima's body getting heavier.

Cosima's felt herself filled with the waves of sound and tranquility radiating out of Delphine's crooning words. She didn't understand the words, but she knew that voice. She would know that voice anywhere. Delphine's siren song tugged at her like a string attached between them, pulling her even closer than their physical bodies could get. She felt the tune slowly sink into her skin, entangling their souls in a sweet surrender of nothing short of bliss. This was the last thing she remembered.

Delphine felt her partner drift off, accompanied by the slight hiss of oxygen entering her system through the plastic tubing. She continued the song, not satisfied until it was finished and she was sure that Cosima was fully overtaken by sleep.

The blonde slowly extracted herself out from under the slumbering Cosima. She dressed quickly and exited the room, silently shutting the door behind her. She walked down the stairs, walking in to the kitchen to see the group still dancing and cheering.

Delphine let a laugh rip through her at the impromptu dance party. She made eye contact with Cal who smiled.

"Finny! They beat the dragon!" he called out.

Charlotte ran to her, hugging her waist "I dealt the killing blow, Maman!"

"You did?" Delphine asked, ruffling Charlotte's hair smiling down at her.

"Uh huh. I cut its head off with my great sword!" Charlotte told her, letting go of her.

"Well I think that deserves candy. What do you say? Piñata time outside?" she asked.

Charlotte's eyes lit up "I forgot about the piñata!"

"Bien, we need to get out there and break it open then" Delphine told her.

"I vote for a big game of road hockey after we're all full of sugar" Cal said, bumping Oscar with a hip.

All the kids ran to the door. Scott looked down at the table.

"Don't worry Scott, you can play goal" Cal told him.

Scott's face lit up as he ran to put his shoes on. Delphine laughed, shaking her head. Scott was such a big kid. It's why he and Cosima got along so well. Delphine turned to Cal as they walked to the front entrance.

"Thanks for the basement. It's perfect" she told him.

He nodded "No problem, Finny. I'm glad they did such a great job."

Helm came up behind them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders "And the delivery's coming tomorrow?" he asked.

Delphine nodded "Tomorrow at 1pm. Scott's spending the night. He claims that he wants to be here when it arrives to set up"

Helm laughed "Claims?"

Cal answered "We all now he wants to play video games and build forts with the kids. Scott's like the uncle of any parent's dreams"

Delphine nodded, high-fiving Cal for that one. Helm laughed.

"Oh, I see" the German man added.

"Well, we should follow them out. There's hockey to play and a piñata to smash" Cal noted, heading outside.

"The piñata is in the backyard, Cal. Get them there!" Delphine called out and was answered by the wave of his hand.

Helm smiled at his second daughter "Are you doing okay?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded "I am. This is a lot of fun"

"Good. Because those kids are having the time of their life. Keep it up, kiddo. You're doing a great job" he assured her.

She hugged him "Thank you. I needed to hear that."

He nodded, rubbing her back. "Now go play some hockey with all of them. I'll keep an ear and eye out for Mima."

Delphine nodded and headed outside to re-join the MonkeyBums. She was right, today had been a lot fun.

A/N: So there's a nice little fluffy chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it and please feel free to let me know how you feel about the scheduled weekly chapters in the comments. Once again, I appreciate all of your reviews, comments, messages, kudos, bookmarks, follows, and everyone who just keeps up by reading on a regular basis. See you all in the comments or next week!