This day had started out well for Lisanna. She had dropped off Xenia with her grandpas and was now finishing up some last minute shopping. Bickslow still had some things to go over at home. Her husband hated paper work and always waited until last minute to finish it. She hoped he had done it so he could be running around with her on their anniversary, but they would make up for it later.

As she passed a shop, she wondered what how her sister and brother were. How had they taken her death now that she was dead to the world again? Did they have families of their own now? Children? The oncoming war had shut them off. Hopefully when all was said and done, they could all go back to being a family.

She could imagine the Christmas and birthdays already, her daughter getting to play with her cousins. Laxus and her husband making stupid jokes, while Elfman got yelled at by his wife. Vik getting annoyed at Remy for fixing his shirt. Ivan and Makarov getting drunk and finally acting like father and son. And then there was her and Mira in the kitchen making dinner, which then would be followed by them all siting and eating together.

She shook her head. She had no time of silly dreams right now. She had to prepare. Ivan and her had talked about something and she just wanted it to be perfect.

Vik watched as Kitt lit a cigarette in the doorway of his apartment.

"You know if your landlord finds out about that he will kick you out." He joked as Kitt gave him a frown.

"Then it will be our little secret." The other boy huffed.

He smirked. "I don't see why you like those things. They smell terrible."

The other boy laughed. "Have you ever tried one?"

"Well no, but I don't know if I want to. They stink."

Instead of frowning, Kitt tossed him one. "Give it a go, trust me. It's better than you think."

He sighed. "Fine, pass me your lighter."

Rather than doing what he asked, Kitt walked over and lit it for him.

He took a breath, breathing in the smoke. His throat burned and he started to cough. "What..cough…the…hell. cough.."

Kitt started laughing, falling back onto his couch holding his sides.

He threw the cigarette down into the ashtray. "That wasn't..cough..funny."

Kitt just smiled up at him. "It takes a while to get used to it. Once you get used to it you'll understand."

He slide himself down on the couch next to his friend. "If you think I'm going to do that again you are sorely mistaken."

"Come on, Vik. Won't you do it for me?" The boy said jokingly.

He grumbled to himself. Kitt was getting on his nerves. "I said no."

"But, it's fun. Trust me." The slight disappointment in Kitts voice made his heart pang considerably. It was his own secret that he was developing a crush on his teammate.

He looked Kitt right in the eye. "Fine." Just as he hoped, Kitt's face brightened in seconds. Making his heart do backflips.

"You won't regret it." Kitt said passing him the cigarette that he had placed in the ashtray.

He grumbled something under his breath, but Kitt didn't seem to notice. Maybe, someday they could be more than friends, but he doubted it. Kitt was a womanizer at times. There was no way his friend would see him as anything more than just a friend.

He sighed taking the cigarette and relighting it. He did not want to explain this to his parents. Good thing he was staying here for the night, he didn't want to be woken up by the baby.

Remy was in bliss as he watched Xenia cross the carpet in their living room. Ivan was right next to him and both of them just watched her play in awe.

"I wonder what her first words will be." Ivan asked as she put the corner of a book in her mouth.

He felt himself chuckle as he stood and took the book from her. She seemed rather happy when she was held. "Da"

"I think it's going to be dad, with how much she says da." Watching her cuddle into his side.

Ivan laughed as she started to suck her thumb. "Yeah, I swear that both Lisanna and our son are going to be recording everything."

Remy felt himself smile. "We would have done the same if we were given the chance." Remy smelt the air, Ivan was cooking something. "What's in the oven?"

Ivan jumped up. "I almost forgot, I made bread!" The man ran frantically to the kitchen.

He chuckled down at Xenia. "You know your Papaw, is a silly man. But when you can understand you'll see why everyone loves him."

"Pa." She said while giggling.

That was different, she usually stuck with da. "So you got a new sound now?"

"Pa..Pa"

His eyes went wide, before he could think, he called out for Ivan. "Hey, Papaw get back in here!"

Ivan came right back. "Hold your horses, I just barely saved the bread. The bottom is burnt, but…" Remy placed his finger to his mouth.

"Look Xenia, Papaw came back."

The girl clapped her hands together. "Papa."

He watched Ivan blink twice before starting to cry. "That can't be."

"Bickslow is going to be pissed." Remy chuckled to himself.

"What do you mean, she said papa."

"Yeah, but she was referring to you." He said smugly.

"Papaw." She said this time stuffing her hand in her mouth.

Ivan was just frozen in shock, he just felt smug as he leaned in and kissed his nose. "Come on Papaw, Grandpa and Xenia are hungry.

Warner spotted smoke in the distance. Turning to his wife, he could already see a look of worry start to spread across her face.

This mission was not going to be easy, Bickslow was trusting them to go back into Fiore for something important.

Margret town was just up ahead, but the smoke did not look like a welcoming sight.

He had to wonder why Bickslow was sending him back to his old guild. What good would that do? Obba had been rather glad to see him leave, what was Bickslow's reasoning?

Carma put her hand on his shoulder. "I know it is hard, but Bickslow wanted to see if there was any information on your mother and Lamia Scale is the only place to find it."

He nodded at his wife. "I know, I just wish I didn't have to speak with the old hag in order to find it."

She giggled. "Yes, it would be like if I walked back into Mermaid Heel, but these are our orders."

"What if we are exposed?"

She touched the side of his face, giving him a small smile. "I remember having to travel cross country with a man who didn't worry about such things. He knew how to handle it…he still does."

He felt himself grin and he leaned down and kissed her. That time felt like ages ago. Back when he thought of his wife as a nuisance rather than a blessing. Back when he was a smoker and she was a drinker. Before Gunner was even a thought. "I love you."

She smiled up at him. "Good, I wouldn't be able to deal with you if you didn't"

Laxus waited in his office for his teams to report. Gajeel was getting him some information, he and Levy had joined the magic council. So far the information they had given him was golden.

The king was planning an attack soon on the border of Absolon. He was tired of waiting.

He heard a small knock on the door and was surprised to see his grandfather leaning in on his cane.

"What do I owe the honor, gramps?" He said jokingly to his grandfather.

The old man gave him a small smile. "I was just wondering how everything was going. Have you received any news?"

"Gajeel has yet to return, but soon we will have some news."

"Good. A full scale war is the last thing that Fiore needs. If the king goes through with this, many lives will be lost." He watched as the old man sat down before continuing. "The best thing we can do as a guild is try and set up a treaty with Absolon. It will keep the king at bay."

"I just wonder what reason he will try and sell to the people to get them to agree to a full scale war."

Makarov let out a chuckle. "He doesn't need a reason. All he has to do is get the council to agree and I bet they are already siding with him. No, it will be up to the individual guilds to stop a war from happening."

"I have already contacted the guilds in our alliance, within the next week we will be meeting in Hargeon so we can plan our next move."

His grandfather nodded. "I will look after the guild hall, who will be going with you?"

"Gray and Juvia will be sufficient. I asked every guild to bring two of their guild members with them. It looks less suspicious."

"Why not Freed and Evergreen?" His grandfather asked.

He sighed. "It will be close to impossible to remove Ever from her baby and Freed won't leave Laki for a second. This is for the best really. Leon from Lamia Scale will most likely be there. So it would make sense for them to go."

Makarov nodded. "Have you told Mira about this?"

"Yes, she knows. All she wants is revenge for Lisanna, but the best thing for her right now is to stay here with Maky."

His grandfather smiled at the name. "Speaking of Maky, when do I get to hold my Great-Grandson?"

Finally, his paperwork was done. If his father had told him that there was this much paperwork that a guild master had to do, he would have refused the position.

He was glad because he could smell the dinner that Lisanna was planning from down the hall.

He stood and walked to the kitchen, leaning in the doorway and watched her work. She didn't even notice his presence, which made come up with an idea.

He stocked forward, creeping up behind her and snagging her around the waist. She let out a small shriek, as he started to laugh.

"Bickslow, that wasn't very funny!" She said turning in his arms and smacking him on his chest.

He continued to laugh. "I think it was." He said leaning down to her ear and giving it a playful nibble.

Finally, she laughed. "None of that now mister, wait until after dinner." She shifted around to mess with the food that was cooking on the stove, so mash potatoes.

"But I'm hungry now." He whispered in her ear.

She shivered, "Well you have to wait."

"Who said anything about eating? You look good enough right now." He said leaning into her neck, only to have her push him away.

"Later Bickslow. You know if you had gotten that paperwork done earlier we could have just done that all day." She said throwing his laziness back in his face.

"It's not my fault that there is so much of it."

She giggled. "You wouldn't have so much if you did it every day like you're supposed to."

"But where is the fun in that?" He said moving away from her and taking a seat at the small table they had in the kitchen. It would be enough for them tonight. The large one in there dining room was only used for holidays.

He watched as she finished cooking. He already knew what it was, a favorite of his. Absolon had different cuisine from Fiore and when they first started living in this house, the prime minister's wife had sent over something that they didn't expect to become their favorite thing, heck it was now a holiday meal as well. Haggis stank to high heaven, but they loved it.

They both sat down and ate talking about some changes that were soon to come. A war was incoming and they both knew it.

As they finished their meal, Bickslow stood and threw his wife over his shoulder. Instead of getting angry Lisanna let out a couple of giggles.

"Come on, time for some fun." He said with excitement.

"I know, I know." She giggled as he took her up to their bedroom.

He threw her down on the bed and began to work on her clothes, in a rush. Kissing the side of her neck and listening to the sounds she was making in his arms. He was about to open a drawer at by the side of, but she stopped him. Looking him dead in the eye. "Bickslow, we don't need that tonight….I want another baby."

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

Sorry about the lack of updates. I'm getting ready to move in a couple of months for school, plus I've had some personal problems I had to get to before writing. So what do you guys think of the beginning of this story. Your thoughts are always welcome.