A/N: I don't own Darquesse, Anton, Saracen, Donegan, Ghastly, Dex, Skulduggery or Tanith.

Time passed and Thaddeus became close with the children and the rest of the family. He especially like taking those who could go on daily tours wherever we stopped, and eventually started including one or two interested guests. He knew all the best places, like tiger reserves in India and the best parts of the Great Wall of China to tour. Wherever we went, Japan, Argentina, the American deep South or Africa the man spoke the language fluently and had great friends there.

I was considering this as he left with a tour group one day. Thaddeus had encouraged me to get out and see the sites of each locale more often, and I did, helping with the tours when I could. Or taking Abby to the outdoors markets with me to shop for fruits and other delights native to those areas in the wee hours of the morning. We loved our work so much it really wasn't work, and soon we had developed fresh breakfasts for the family that changed every time the Midnight Hotel moved.

Anton met us in the kitchen early one morning on our return and smiled sleepily. "I'll make coffee. You girls are a lifesaver, I've so much to do after our expansion-" He shrugged happily. Anton loved to work. He actually loved interacting with guests, where I, not being very good at diplomacy, let him.

And when he saw the fresh lychee and dragon fruit for breakfast, he perked up. "You know I sometimes honestly forget where I am. I don't suppose-" He said wistfully and I took out the small bag of super fresh dragon's beard candy which he accepted with utter delight. Anton's emerging sweet tooth never failed to amuse me, and the great thing about being in China is that freshly made candy was much cheaper and tastier than anything imported.

He demurely pocketed the treats, then set about making coffee and getting the breakfast baskets out. A sleepy Teresa joined us, wanting to help. And she was a lot of help, being able to put out orange juice that I squeezed, check to see if everything was set out properly and so on. Abby loved her like a little sister and I knew I could count on the girls for a few years at least.

Anton and I had an unspoken rule about the children. The children helped only if they wanted to. There was no faster way to drive a child away from the family business than forced labor, so when later that morning the pair asked to go on one of Thaddeus's four day tours I agreed after hearing Saracen and Donegan were also going. "Why do they always ask me?" I asked Anton and he chuckled.

"Because you'll say yes and as the wife of the hotel owner you outrank all our employees." He said. "I'm teasing, they trust you, Darquesse. They know you always search for hidden danger before you let them out the door." I blushed because it was true. One mother had named me The Lioness and another The Dragoness, and they meant it in a nice way. Nobody even so much looked at a child sideways in our hotel if they didn't want to answer to me.

As bad as I'd ever been or had the ability to be, I never would have harmed a child and I think they instinctively knew it. So did the mothers with large broods who would look at me helplessly because they wanted to reconnect with their spouse. I didn't mind seeing to the children and we never charged, though I suppose we should have. But it was really no problem, and it gave our children playmates.

I was watching over one set of little ones at the pool with Dex on as lifeguard and he grinned at me. "I had an idea to run by you." He called down from his chair. Dex always had ideas for the hotel, and they were usually good ones. "Daycare. You do it anyways." He said and I nodded.

He was right. Somehow our bed and breakfast was now more of a resort. We still served only continental breakfast, but although the outside of the hotel never grew the inside was taking on bigger and bigger proportions. A small arcade, a snack machine room, even a workout area. A daycare with some books and places for little ones to nap wouldn't be too bad, would it? And my little Sable and Tony would always be with me as they were now with the other children.

Pooltime over I trooped the little ones back to the common room after drying them off and changing them and read to them as they had naptime. Anton joined me, watching as couples returned to pick up their respective children. "You're getting better at this every day, Darquesse. Didn't I tell you you'd make a wonderful mother?" He asked, smiling gently.

"You did." I agreed watching as Sable and Tony slept on. "Still. You never had any of this in mind. The Midnight Hotel was never meant to be this active."

"Nonsense, I never had the staff. And it seems more and more families need us. Mainly because old guests are returning with their own families." He smiled gently and I used the time to admire my husband. Anton was still a very handsome man to me, and I was deeper in love with him than ever before. And I felt it was my privilege as his wife to see the subtle changes creeping in. Changes, dad had been hasty to assure me, did not mean Anton was old by any magical definition.

His long hair was just starting to go white at the temples, which gave him a distinguished look, and his face had changed, becoming kinder, mainly because of the children, I think. But there was something in his eyes now, a gentle light that was there more often than not. "You just keep getting more handsome every day, do you know that?" I asked and his gentle smile grew into a grin.

"And you're much more beautiful than the day I met you, Darquesse. You haven't noticed, but you've changed and for the better."

"Is that a nice way of telling me I'm old?" I teased and he laughed.

"Never. But you truly don't mind, having an older husband?" He asked, curious as ever.

"No, I like it, you're stable for one. And you work from before the sun comes up until you drop into bed each night. Speaking of work, Dex thought a daycare center would be a good idea, and I agree. So far our guests don't mind the little ones about, but it would help keep them all in one place and entertained."

"Agreed. We can go over plans. You know, I appreciate that you had no idea how hard you'd have to work being married to me, Darquesse. And the Midnight Hotel expanding was never part of my master plan, so I'm profoundly grateful to you. I see everything that goes on in the hotel, you know. I know you've been taking the children swimming, for instance." I was surprised, but I shouldn't have been. Anton seemed to have an ability to be everywhere in the hotel. He at least could show up out of nowhere.

"You should have joined us." I said, but he shook his head.

"Just making my rounds. Speaking of which, no rest for the wicked. I hate to ask, but do you suppose you and your mother could make beef wellington for dinner?" He looked so hopeful that I quickly agreed. It took precious little to please Anton, and so I knew it would be no trouble. Especially not when my husband was carrying our little ones back to their beds.

Mom was amused because Dad had asked for the same thing. "I think our men are plotting." She said cheerfully. "And thank you for sparing us this morning. It was nice to sleep in and do our duties in the afternoon." She said and I nodded.

"Not a problem. We've been thinking of streamlining the buffet to just cold items anyhow. Fruit, the breads and the like. Coffee and tea, of course." She looked up from wrapping a beef filet in pastry.

"I wish guests would make up their minds. Most of them want fast food now. I don't blame them, but still."

"Anton told me once to think of guests as little children. If we offered fast food tomorrow they'd whine for the continental breakfast back. They're not bad, they just don't know what they want."

"True. And all of us, rarely eating out. But I don't mind since we've so many cooks in the family. I'm surprised Anton isn't cooking."

"I think he's getting over the shock of me still being here. He brought up his age again today, it's like he's opening the barn door and encouraging me to run."

"Because he adores you, sweetheart. He is a much older mage. You'll still have many centuries with him, but I think he regrets not being a younger man for your sake."

"He shouldn't. He can run rings around me now. Besides, I like older men." We both giggled, and soon enough had dinner underway. I understood Anton's fears, I did. I had the opposite fears, of course. That he'd find someone closer to his age, but I think we both knew we'd found our true love. Like Tanith and Ghastly. I mused as she joined us.

Tanith kept her head down. She had been supposed to show up that morning to work the buffet and never did. Anton wasn't one to yell or mention a one-time absence so I didn't either, but I knew she felt guilty. But as she raised her head, she grinned at me, catching my by surprise. "Don't get mad, but Abby filled in for me this morning because we had an appointment with the Sanctuary doctor here. I'm pregnant."

Goodness, babies everywhere! I'll be jumping ahead a decade or so for the next chapter, but these little ones should round out the offspring.