Hey, I'm back! Hope ya'll like this!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age

Enjoy!

Angel, despite her best attempts, couldn't escape. She'd been trying for hours, it seemed. Her muscles were starting to get tired, and she was a bit winded. Her throat was dry. A drink sounded wonderful, but she had to keep going.

She transferred swiftly to a larger branch and looked around, panting. Had she managed to finally get away? She sighed and leaned against the trunk, looking around. Everything was still. Too still. And it was quiet. Not a noise. The trees were all completely silent and motionless as the young adult looked around. She even looked down; she was a good thirty feet above the ground. "Hmm…"

Just as she was about to relax, a dark chuckle reached her eyes and she was grabbed from behind. "There you are!"

She screamed and whipped around. So fast, she lost her balance and just about went tumbling out of the tree. She flailed, desperate to save herself. One of her feet managed to catch the branch and she was left dangling there, upside down, by one foot, her four opposable toes being the only things keeping her from a nasty fall.

Then the laughter came.

She recognized it easily, but it didn't soothe her fears. "Gunner! That's not funny! Help me, you big idiot!"

He leaned over the side, gripping a small, flimsy branch casually as he looked at her. "Say it first."

"Forget it!" she shrieked. "Help me!"

"Say it first."

"Help! You know I get sick if I hang upside down too long!" she really had no desire to lose her breakfast- it had been quite delicious.

"Say it!"

"Help! I'm not kidding." Her voice caught slightly as she felt herself slip a little, fearful tears slowly creeping into her sky blue eyes. "Gunneeer! I swear if you don't get me up from here in the next two seconds so help me I'll divorce your sorry-"

"Alright, alright. No need to get a bad mouth." He crouched down and offered her his free hand. "Still. You hafta say it."

"Gunner!"

"Fine, fine." He grinned and pulled her up. When she was sure she was secure again, she didn't hesitate to punch him, hard, in the arm. He only gave her the cocky grin that made her temper boil… or made her heart flutter. It all depended on the context of the situation, really. "I'm married to the worlds biggest moron."

He smiled. "You know you love me. Now say it!"

"Do I have to?" she whined.

"Yes."

"Urgh, fine. You won."

Another grin. "That's my girl."

They both sat down, and Angel felt her mate slide an arm around her. She gladly welcomed the embrace and snuggled into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. He always seemed to win their, not at all childish, games of treetop tag , nowadays. It wasn't her fault though! She lay one hand on her stomach, the other intertwining with her husbands, held in his lap. For awhile they just sat there in silence, enjoying each other's presence, Angel rubbing circular patterns on her stomach. That is, until…

"Ow!" she straightened up sharply, jolted out of her slight dose, as the sudden pain in her stomach. It disappeared as suddenly as it had come… until it happened again, on the other side. "Ouch! What in the…" for a moment, her confusion good, Gunner's worried, curious gaze on her. What could be wrong.

She took a sharp, drawn out intake of breath. Her eyes grew wide and she started bouncing in place, a hyper grin on her face. "Ooooooh! Gunner!" she squealed. "It kicked!"

"What?"

"It kicked! Our baby kicked! I felt it." It hadn't really hurt, now that she thought about it. It had startled her more than anything. The pain was very mild, more like a small flick or something, leaving a small tingling behind for a couple moments. "Feel, feel! Maybe they're not done!" she guided his hand to her abdomen. "There! Did you feel that?! You felt that right?!"

Slowly, a grin spread on his face, and he nodded almost dazedly. "Ange… that's amazing!"

"Ain't it?!" she squealed. "We gotta tell everyone!" and she proceeded to climb down, being closely followed by her mate. Then they headed back to the general area they all lived.

…

Everyone was ecstatic at the news, congratulating Angel and wanting a chance to feel the baby. Her parents were overjoyed at the concept of having grandchildren, and her brother-and-sister-in-law didn't pass the chance to tease her mate. She loved Jake and Lily- after all, she had stayed almost a year with them as a child- and they were like siblings, but she found their teasing a little cold. She herself was an only child, so didn't really understand that teasing and taunting was entirely playful. Her mate didn't seem to mind, and whenever she asked, he just shrug and say 'Used to it'. He'd grown up with them, after all.

Her little niece, Ashley, with caramel fur and green eyes, seemed a bit confused. "Yer gonna get a baby?" the tot asked, dropping from the branch of a nearby tree and onto her shoulder. "Where's it gonna come from?"

"Um, I…. ah… help?"

Her mother, a beautiful female with blond fur, married to Jake, gently picked her daughter up. "Baby's are special things Ashy." Tessa began. "They come from special places."

Her young eyes grew innocently wide. "Like magic?"

"Er, yes. In a way."

"Cool…" she looked back at her Aunt Angel. "You can do magic Ang'l?"

"Well. Um… I- I wouldn't say-"

"Uh… the point is, squirt" her mate jumped in, sensing his wife's discomfort. "Yer gettin a new cousin. Won't that be fun? New someone ta play with."

"Yay! Hear that Summer? Chase?" she yelled to her other cousins, even though they were only three feet away. "We're gettin another cousin!" ain't i' grea'?!"

"Woo-hoo!"

Squint shook his head as the four, six, and three year olds danced in a celebratory circle. "I hope you two're ready for this. Parenthood ain't easy."

"And you know that how?"

"Dude, come on." He gave his longtime friend a serious look. "I'm the youngest of eighty. Even if I ain't a dad, I know how much trouble kids are. Between growing up with seventy sisters, I've got more nieces and nephews than I can count. And they just love Uncle Squint. I'm always stuck babysitting. I know how much of a pain in the neck kits can be."

"Still." Angel gave a dreamy sigh and patted her stomach. "It'll all be worth it."

"You'll change your mind…" he sang as he zipped away, back to his mate.

Angel shook her head. He was wrong. He had to be. She'd love being a mother! And what was he talking about. Of course it would be worth it!

…Wouldn't it? What could possibly go wrong?

And… done! What didja think? Hope ya'll like it.

Hey, you should definitely read rabidcheeseball's (love authors with unique usernames!) story Lost and Found. It's great, and all about the pirates! Go on then, read it… and review please!

Oh, and I need a vote. Should I do Gupta and Jezzabelle next… or Silas and Abelie?! I can't decide!