Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

175. Chapter 175

Chapter 175

Levi got off the plane feeling like the walking dead. Nadja had her workers visa for the US so all that was left was for Levi to find work, find a place and then she could come to the US and find work for herself. For now, he got his luggage and met Kevin outside so they could drive back home. They stopped at Anatoli's and Ivory's house so Levi could drop off his things and when he came into the house, Argo ran up to the door barking and it actually startled him, but Argo stopped barking as soon as Levi started petting him. He brought his things upstairs to the guest room then returned to Kevin's car to say goodbye and that he'd see them all again at dinner.

"It's good to have you home, Levi. Also, make sure you shave before you come to dinner tonight" Kevin said and then drove off as Levi rubbed his chin feeling the scruff. Levi went back inside Anatoli's house going straight upstairs to take a nap. When he woke up, it was to a hand on his shoulder and when he woke up, it was Anatoli.

"Welcome home, Levi," Anatoli smiled.

"It's good to be home," Levi said groggily and sat up in the guest bed. "Thanks for letting me stay with you."

"It's a pleasure," Anatoli said. "Give yourself a few days to relax before you start looking for work."

"I plan to," Levi said, "But I'll start looking by Monday for sure."

"Take your time," Anatoli said. "Nadja's joining you once you have your own place right?"

"Yeah," Levi said. "What time is it?"

"It's five," Anatoli said, "so we need to get going soon. Mama's expecting us all at the house. She made sauerbraten."

"I can't wait," Levi said. "Do I have time to take a shower first?"

"Make it quick," Anatoli said and left the bedroom so Levi could collect his toiletries and go to the bathroom for a shower.

He finished as quickly as possible but he also needed to shave before he could come out. He'd spent so much time letting his facial hair grow out so it was scruffy because Nadja loved it so shaving it was weird for him. He never let it grow too much but just enough that it would scratch her skin. He was actually looking forward to not shaving it every morning because it would mean Nadja was with him. He'd missed her the moment he'd gotten on the plane but shaving his scruff made him miss her even more. Once he was finally showered and shaved, he dried off and returned to the guest bedroom to get dressed. It was 5:15 and if his math served him right, he'd be able to call her once they got back from dinner. By then it should be 7 or 8 in the morning and she'd be awake and still home. Once Levi was finally ready, they all left together for Kevin's and Amber's house. Anatoli parked his car on the street and the three of them went up to the door.

"You knock," Anatoli told Levi and stepped aside so Levi could knock on the door. Amber answered and her face lit up.

"Levi!" she said and gave Levi a big hug. "Oh, my baby; I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, mom," Levi smiled and patted her back, "but can you cut the 'baby' stuff? I'm turning 25 for God's sake."

"Doesn't matter your age, Levi; you'll always be my baby," Amber said and gave Levi a big kiss on the cheek and invited everyone inside. Kevin was in his office working while the twins were out of sight. "Tristan! Lili! Levi's home!" Amber called upstairs and Lilliana was the first to leave her room and come downstairs to give Levi a big hug. Tristan was following behind and hugged Levi too.

"Welcome home, Levi," Lilliana said.

"It's good to be home," Levi said. "How've you two been? Are you ready for your Mitzvahs?"

"Yeah, we're ready," Tristan said. "I'm ready for this to be over. I've got enough school to worry about."

"I know what you mean," Levi chuckled and patted Tristan's head. "Think of it this way: once it's all over, you two will be going on a big tour of Europe. All I got was a trip to Germany."

"I'm sorry, 'all you got was a trip to Germany'? That wasn't cheap," Anatoli said.

"I know; I'm kidding," Levi said.

"All I got for my Bat Mitzvah was a party behind the synagogue," Amber teased and pinched Tristan's cheek.

"Mom!" Tristan complained and Kevin finally came out to hug Levi.

"We've got beer in the fridge. Did you want one?" Kevin asked everyone once he'd released Levi.

"I'd love one," Anatoli said.

"Me too," Levi said.

"I don't suppose you have something else do you?" Ivory asked.

"Sorry, Ivory, we're not a Gin household," Kevin teased, "but I have bourbon."

"Bourbon on the rocks sounds good," Ivory said. Kevin went to the kitchen to get a beer for himself, for Levi and for Anatoli and prepared a bourbon glass with ice and filled it with bourbon.

"Are Embry and Heather coming?"

"They should be here soon," Kevin said. "Right," he asked Amber, "Heather said she'd be coming?"

"She did; they might be late, though," Amber said. "She wasn't feeling very good earlier but she promised she and Embry would be here."

"I thought she was feeling better?" Levi said.

"Sometimes she feels fine, sometimes she feels sick," Amber said. "That's the reality of being pregnant. Kyle says Heather and the baby are healthy and that's what matters."

"Has she finally found out the gender or is she still undecided?" Levi asked.

"She's going to wait," Amber said. "She said she wants to be surprised."

"I mean, it's a surprise either way isn't it?" Ivory said.

"It's different to find out when the baby's born," Amber said. "There's something special about waiting."

"There's something special about it when you have the option to decide which you want to do," Kevin said. "Back when you were born, your mother and I didn't have the option to find out."

"You mean back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, dad?" Tristan said.

"I don't have to pay for a trip through Europe, you know," Kevin said.

"He's just joking, daddy!" Lilliana pleaded and gave Kevin a hug.

"I know; so am I," Kevin smiled and hugged Lilliana back. Then there was a knock at the door before Embry and Heather let themselves in. "Hey, Embry," Kevin said. "Heather, how are you feeling?"

"Like a beached whale; thanks for asking," Heather said and went right to the dining table and took a seat. "Embry, I'm about ready to demand you carry me everywhere. My feet feel like death."

"You know I will. You just need to ask," Embry said and sat beside her at the dining table. "Kevin, can you hand me a beer?"

"Sure," Kevin said and went to the kitchen to get one then brought it over to Embry.

"So I don't get a hug or anything?" Levi asked.

"Oh, damn it. I'm sorry," Heather said and was about to get up.

"No, no, it's fine. I see how it is. I know what I'm not wanted," Levi joked.

"Shut up and give your sister a hug, Levi," Embry said and Levi approached and leaned down to hug Heather so she wouldn't have to get up. "So where's Nadja?"

"She's coming later," Levi said. "I'll start looking for work on Monday and find a place so I'm out of Anatoli's hair and once that's all done, she'll move to Washington."

"So what was the point of all this again?" Embry asked.

"She's lived in London her whole life and she's not really eager to move," Levi said, "so we compromised and decided we'd each spend a year in London then a year in Seattle and at the end of it all, we'd decide where we'd move permanently."

"So we'd better make her feel welcome so she'll want to stay here then," Embry said.

"That's the goal," Levi said.

"We'll make sure Seattle feels like home," Kevin reassured and patted Levi's shoulder. "It's just her parents with her in London right?"

"Yeah," Levi said and smiled. "Did I tell you? When I went with Nadja to meet them formally, when we left her father told her 'you can marry this one'."

Anatoli chuckled, "So Mykolas likes you?"

"Yeah, he does," Levi said. "Mykolas and Maritza are really nice, but I can count the number of times we went to their house for a visit on one hand. Okay, maybe two."

"Have her parents given their two cents about Nadja moving here? Even if it's only theoretically temporary?" Kevin asked.

"Mykolas was asking if me moving her across the world meant I'd be marrying her and I just told him I would," Levi said. "I haven't proposed or anything yet, but he knows I will."

"When do you plan to do that?" Embry asked.

"Next year," Levi said. "Once we've decided where we're going to stay, that's when I'll propose. Just warning everyone right now whether we decide to live in the US or in England, the wedding is going to be in London."

"We can deal with that," Kevin said.

"It'll be a Jewish wedding, right?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, it will be," Levi said. "She wants to have the ceremony at the New West End Synagogue. You'll love it, mom. It's a really nice Synagogue. We went to a few services together with her parents and it's a gorgeous venue. Her mom volunteers there too so we might even get a small discount."

"There are no 'discounts' when there's a wedding, Levi," Kevin said.

"Doesn't mean we can't try, right?" Levi joked.

"If you really want to slam your head against that wall, Levi, then be my guest," Kevin chuckled. "Your tribal wedding will be inexpensive at least."

"And you two get to wear the wolf skins," Embry reminded Levi.

"Oh yeah; we do," Levi said.

"'Oh yeah; we do' he says," Embry chuckles.

"Don't be too hard on him," Kevin said with a humored smile. "Lord knows I won't be chief any time soon. Levi will be lucky if he becomes chief in the next century."

"Lucky isn't the word I'd use," Levi said. "Once you're chief, dad, the position's all yours for good if you want it."

"That's very gracious of you, Levi; thank you," Kevin joked.

Once the sauerbraten was out of the oven, Amber, Lilliana and Tristan carried everything to the table and they all sat down together to enjoy dinner together. They all stayed at Amber's and Kevin's house for several hours before disbanding and returning home for the night. When they'd stepped out of the house, Embry lifted Heather in his arms and carried her to the car while she and everyone else laughed at the display. He gently laid Heather in the passenger's seat of his truck and when they'd returned home, Embry carried her out of the car and into the house despite her giggling and telling him she'd only been joking before. He carried her all the way up to their bedroom and didn't put her down until he could place her on their bed.

"That was awfully sweet of you, Embry," Heather teased with a smile. Then her smile faded just a little when she realized the baby was kicking. "Give me your hand," she said and grabbed Embry's hand pressing it against her belly. They were quick enough that Embry felt a tiny movement across Heather's swollen belly. When he felt it, he kneeled and rubbed the spot. Then he felt a gentle kick against his fingers so he moved his hand so it was over the specific spot.

"What are you doing up at this hour, kid?" Embry smiled and brought his ear to her belly to listen. He could hear a faint sound of a heartbeat coming from the baby and he wrapped his arms around Heather in a hug. After a moment of no kicking, Embry said, "I think the baby tired themselves out."

"Maybe," Heather smiled. "Honestly, I'm really tired too."

"Okay, we'll go to bed," Embry said. "Did you want me to rub your feet?"

"Yes, please," Heather replied.

Embry stood while Heather got onto her back on the bed. Embry lifted her legs, took a seat on the edge of the bed and rested her feet on his lap before taking her right foot first starting to rub it. Heather sighed and laid her head back savoring the feel of Embry's hands massaging her feet. In no time, she was asleep but it was several minutes before Embry noticed. When he noticed and looked on her sleeping face, he smiled and gently squeezed his way up her calf until he was gently caressing her knee. He thought he saw something move on her belly so he reached up to touch the spot and seconds later he felt the baby kicking about.

"You're tiring mommy out; you know that?" Embry said as he rubbed Heather's belly. It was another few seconds before the baby kicked again and Embry smiled.

The following day, wanting to welcome Levi home as well, Roshad invited the family over so they could all swim outside and have dinner later. Since the weather that day was so lovely, it was a great excuse to have the whole family over for a swim party and most everyone was there, especially the family members with young kids, to enjoy the beginning of summer. Nesia were there was well but Ahiga had to stay behind since he was due to go to the gym that night. She was in her bathing suit but stayed out of the way of all the kids of different ages jumping into the water from the little walkway that protruded from the backyard and having a great time. Kamron, Iman and the youngest of their siblings were among the children. Sadly Ada María, Gabriel, Emma Leigh, Ariel and Nadeshka couldn't be there because they had work at the bar or, in Emma Leigh's case, the salon, but Nathan was there with Scarlet, Kai and Lulu. Ashti remained conservatively dressed as always covered head to toe in colorful silks with only her mouth and hands visible but she remained close just in case while Nathan was supervising the children in the water. Lee was there as well after he'd finished with hockey practice and hanging out with Tristan will Lilliana was hanging around Eun Mae and Mae Yon, but she kept glancing at Lee and would sometimes walk over to talk to him until they were all playing in the water.

Blu Jae was there with Desarae and little Zurra who was running around the backyard in her frilly little bathing suit running around with Caden and Archer. Salem had to be at the shop, but Yvonne was there with Mae who was playing with Caden, Archer and Zurra in the backyard. The radio was on and playing the latest hits so between that, the kids screaming and playing and the splashing of water, there wasn't a moment of silence. Roshad was inside making food and drinks for everyone while Jaedynn was on the porch relaxing and rubbing her belly along with Heather. Nesia and other family members from Forks stayed for another several hours after they'd finished dinner staying outside on the patio talking while the kids had shifted to roasting marshmallows over the fire pit making s'mores for themselves. Nesia had watched the kids playing all day and when things had calmed down, she was listening to Jaedynn and Heather talk about how they were feeling, how their babies were doing, how they were doing, what the plans were, baby names: she had stopped contributing to the conversation in any way and instead was just listening to them.

When people finally started leaving, Nesia drove home with Blu Jae and Desarae sitting in the back seat of the car next to Zurra who was out cold by the time they'd left. She was laying sideways in the backseat using Nesia's lap as a pillow and Nesia was holding her so she was secure in the seat supplementing the seatbelt. By the time Blu Jae and Desarae had made it home and dropped Nesia off at her place, Ahiga's car was out front and when she stepped into the house, she could hear the shower going upstairs. Nesia walked upstairs letting herself into the bedroom and saw Tina napping on the end of the bed curled up like a little fluffy ball. She stepped out of the master bedroom and went to one of the guest bedrooms opening the door and staring inside.

The room was bare bones. The sheets and comforter on the queen size bed were neutral, the walls a very pale gray color and a lone dresser was against the wall and there was a little closet to one side. A purely practical room. But she started to visualize it looking very different. She started picturing the gray walls being accented with lilac or sky blue, the queen bed being gone and in its place a crib and changing table on one side of the room, the dresser being removed and replaced with a toy box. She brought her hands to her belly and rubbed the area as though she were pregnant already. She wanted to be. She was ready. More than ready. Their life together had come such a long way and now she wanted so dearly to take another step forward. So many years ago, Ahiga had said 'someday' yet 'someday' had still not come. She wondered if Ahiga would agree to try. Then she decided she would only know if she asked. So she returned to their bedroom. Ahiga was still in the shower when she entered, so she removed all her clothes putting them in her hamper then went back to their bed sitting on the edge. She stayed that way until she heard the shower finally turn off. She heard the sink turn on so Ahiga could brush his teeth and Nesia took that time to decide how to present herself.

She decided to sit on the bed sitting on her butt with her left leg pressed onto the mattress and her right knee up and crossed over her left leg and wrapped her arms around her breasts so she was visibly naked but all her most intimate parts were hidden in an effort to tease him. Her pulse jumped when the sink turned off and she waited in anticipation for him to finally come out of the bathroom. Then the doorknob turned and the light turned off as Ahiga opened the bathroom door stepping out with nothing on as he used the towel to rub his face dry. He hanged the towel back up on the hook on the door and finally came out but stopped in his tracks with a silly smile crossing his face when he noticed Nesia was on the bed and was naked.

"I didn't keep you waiting too long did I?" he asked as he started to approach the bed.

"It was worth the wait," Nesia answered with a seductive smile. She stayed in the position she'd started, ensuring her breasts and core were hidden away.

"What are you doing hiding from me?" Ahiga asked playfully and brought his hand under her knee pulling on her until she'd fallen onto her back on the bed, her arms resting on either side of her head, and her legs were spread with her hips now resting on the edge of the bed. Then Ahiga got down to his knees and brought his mouth between her legs pressing his tongue to her clitoris making Nesia squeak with excitement and then moan. She very nearly forgot what she'd wanted to talk to him about, but she remembered in time to stop him from getting too engrossed with his task by bringing her hand to his head lacing her fingers through his short hair and pushing his face away from her so she could sit up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Nesia said and smiled lovingly at him despite him looking at her worried and confused. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"You want to talk?"

"Yeah," Nesia replied and continued brushing her fingers through Ahiga's hair affectionately as he looked up at her still kneeling. "We had a great time at Roshad's and Jaedynn's house. All the kids had a great time too."

Ahiga was silent a moment, still really confused where she was going with this, before finally saying, "Okay?"

"Heather and Jaedynn are coming along great," Nesia said. "They're due in September and October if I remember correctly."

"Okay," Ahiga said and another silence passed until he said, "and?"

Nesia giggled lightly, "I was just thinking about it. They're so excited about the babies. Then when I was driving home with Birdie and Desarae, I was in the backseat with Zurra and she was sleeping on my lap. She's so cute. When I got home, I started staring at our guest bedroom and thought to myself, 'Wouldn't it be nice to turn that into a nursery?'" Finally getting where she was going with this, Ahiga's eyes widened a little in surprise. She waited a moment to see what he would say but he didn't say anything, so she continued. "I want to start trying for a baby." He still didn't say anything right away. He leaned back sitting on his feet and let go of her looking away and at the floor. He looked back up at her eventually but he looked really nervous.

"Now?"

"Yes," Nesia said and got on the floor with him taking his hands in hers and looking up at him encouragingly. "Ahiga, we're ready. I want to start a family." He stayed silent and looked scared. His reaction was starting to scare her and she brought her hand up to lift his chin so he would look at her. "Ahiga, please say something," she pleaded.

"I…," Ahiga tried to start but he was at a loss, "I don't know." There was another stretch of silence. "Can I think about it?" he finally said. It hadn't been the response Nesia had been hoping for. Far from it. However, it was the best answer she was going to get for the time being.

"Okay," she finally said. Ahiga stood up and so did she. Then he walked over to the closet and grabbed a fresh pair of underwear – her indicator any romance she'd tried to initiate would not be happening tonight. Instead of dwelling on it, she grabbed her own fresh pair of panties and a t-shirt and got into bed with him. Once the light was turned off, Nesia waited a moment before saying, "I love you."

"I love you too," Ahiga replied, but his voice was weak and his back was to her. She felt her eyes start to burn as tears formed but she turned on her side and did her best to hold them back.

Neither of them could fall asleep for a long time. When Ahiga could finally fall asleep, it didn't last long at all and he was awake again by four in the morning. He got out of bed, dressed in some shorts and a black long sleeved shirt with the name of the gym he went to in hold white letters across the chest, put on his socks and tennis shoes and left the house to go for a run through the woods. He ran into Forks going up and down the sidewalks through town and ran back around to the woods and the whole time, he didn't think at all. He didn't let himself think. He just needed to be rid of this excess energy. The sun was starting to peak through the clouds by the time he made it home but it was cloudy and dreary unlike the previous day. Once he'd made it home, he didn't go inside. Instead, he took a seat on the wooden steps of the porch and finally let himself think.

He finally let his thoughts wander back to the night before. When Nesia had been naked in bed waiting for him, it had been exactly what he needed that day. He'd had a really long day at work, worked out at the gym until he was sore and the hot shower had helped ease the day while seeing Nesia naked and ready for him had made it melt away. Then, in an instant, when she told him she wanted to start trying he felt the wind fall from his sails and he felt scared. Work was great, boxing was great, their lives were great: everything's perfect the way it is. Nesia telling him she wanted to start trying came as a shock and he'd been so surprised that he shut down. Now, looking back on it, he felt like a huge asshole. Then his thoughts went back years to the night he'd snapped at her and run out of the house. His reaction then and his reaction the night before felt like one and the same and it made him feel worse.

He tried to visualize the two of them having a baby. Maybe it wasn't so scary as he was making it out to be in his head. He'd proposed to and married Nesia because he'd finally felt good enough for her. He'd become self-sufficient, he took care of himself, his mother and Nesia to some extent, he'd earned his way into becoming a professional boxer: he was nothing like the man he'd once been. If he felt good enough to be Nesia's husband, why wouldn't he be good enough to be a father? Regardless, he needed to go back inside and apologize to Nesia first and foremost. So he finally stood back up and took a deep breath to gather his courage before walking up the steps to the front door and let himself in. Nesia wasn't downstairs when he entered the house. He went to the kitchen to get the coffee brewing and then walked upstairs to the bedroom. Before he entered, though, he glanced at the guest bedroom and tried to visualize the room as a nursery as Nesia had told him she'd done. Maybe a baby wouldn't be such a scary thing. As he tried to think that, he felt scared again. So he had to take another deep breath to settle himself down. Finally, Ahiga walked back to the bedroom and opened the door to see Nesia still in bed. He approached the bed but realized she was still asleep so he went to the bathroom to shower off the sweat from his run. When he got out, Nesia was still in bed. He dried off and put on fresh boxers before walking to the bed and getting under the covers so he could get close to her. He wrapped his arms around her so her back was pressed against his chest and Nesia moaned as she started to wake up.

"Nesia," Ahiga whispered against her ear as she started to wake up. She didn't turn around but she started to rub his forearm and Ahiga tightened his hold on her and kissed the back of her head.

"Did you just get out of the shower?" Nesia asked in a groggy mumble when she smelled the soap on his body.

"Yeah. I went for a run this morning," Ahiga said.

"How did it go?"

"I got rid of some nervous energy," Ahiga answered. Nesia didn't respond and he could tell she was still upset from last night. He didn't blame her. He let the quiet hang in the air for a moment while he thought about what to say. The problem was he didn't even know where to start. "I got some coffee brewing. Did you want me to bring you a cup?"

"Not now," Nesia said and gently shook her head. Ahiga let the silence persist again for a moment and kissed the back of Nesia's head again. Nesia caressed his arm lovingly but her mind lingered to the night before.

"I'm sorry about last night," Ahiga finally said. "I wasn't expecting that and it took me off guard."

"I'm really sorry. The idea seemed a lot more romantic in my head," Nesia said.

"It was romantic," Ahiga said. "I'm the one that ruined it." Nesia finally started turning in his arms until she was on her side facing him. She laid her head against his chest and he hugged her tight. "Let's start this over. You want to start trying?"

"I do," Nesia said but kept her head tucked at his shoulder.

"Do you think we're ready?"

"I know we are," Nesia said and finally looked at him. "We're ready, Ahiga. We're secure financially, we're married, we love one another: I want to start a family with you, Ahiga." Ahiga nodded his head but it was out of sheer nervousness. The thought was still so daunting.

Nesia brought a hand up to his cheek in the hopes of comforting him and when she did, Ahiga took a hold of that hand and planted a kiss to her palm. She assumed Ahiga would say something else. Instead, he looked at her just as he lowered his head so he could press a kiss to her lips. Nesia closed her eyes and returned his kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ahiga rolled on top of her and started to trail his hand down so he could touch between her legs but then had a better idea. He let go of her sitting up on the bed and then got out from under the covers so he could get on the floor. He pulled off her panties and tossed them to one side before positioning her off the edge of the bed to pick up where they'd left off the night before. Nesia moaned when Ahiga dipped his head between her legs and his tongue trailed over her intimately. She pulled off the white nightshirt she wore and once that was tossed to one side, she trailed her fingers into his short hair enjoying the feel of his tongue against her clitoris.

Ahiga waisted no time with teasing and instead used his tongue and fingers to bring her to climax as quickly as possible. He slipped his fingers inside her the press against the sensitive area while his tongue swirled around and Nesia let go of Ahiga so she could instead lift her hands above her head to grip the comforter. She was moaning the moment his tongue began to pleasure her and her moans became louder and louder the closer she came to her release. When she reached her orgasm, she cried out his name as her whole body convulsed and contracted. After her body calmed down, Ahiga stood back up, removed his boxers and slipped inside her with a strong thrust.

"Ahiga," Nesia moaned his name.

"I love you, Nesia," Ahiga said as he leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss that she reciprocated.

He started a rhythm and took his lips away when kissing her was making it hard to breath. She brought her arms around his neck and bit his earlobe which gave him a jolt of pleasure and he thrust harder and faster. Nesia started to whimper as pleasure started to build again. Ahiga stopped move and left her body suddenly so he could grab a hold of Nesia by her ankles and forcefully turn her over onto her stomach. She giggled and crawled further onto the bed as if trying to get away from him but he was faster. He followed her onto the bed grabbing a hold of her first by her hair then wrapping an arm around her so he could pull her with him as he fell onto the bed. Once he was lying down and had Nesia on top of him with her back against his chest, he guided his erection back inside her and guided her hips up and down on his until Nesia took over the movement.

Nesia got up so she was sitting upright and once she was balanced, she brought her hands up behind her head so she could pull her head over her shoulder. Ahiga's hands stayed on her hips savoring the view before him as Nesia moved her hips over his slowly after first then increasing the speed bouncing up and down on her knees. As she bounced up and down, she looked over her shoulder at Ahiga.

"Does it feel good, Ahiga?" she asked with a seductive smile.

"You fucking know it does," Ahiga answered in a growl and spanked her for good measure which made Nesia whimper and move a little faster. When she'd stopped for a moment to catch her breath and was instead rocking her hips, Ahiga gripped tightly on her flesh. "Have I ever told you," Ahiga started with labored breaths, "that you have the most beautiful ass I've ever seen?"

"I don't think you have, no," Nesia giggled.

"Well, I'm telling you now you have the most beautiful ass I've ever seen," Ahiga repeated and spanked her again and making her squeal before she continued to giggle.

Wanting to regain control, Ahiga tossed her off him then rolled over so he could bring her underneath him. He slipped back inside her and pressed his lips to hers before he started to thrust again with renewed vigor. Nesia held onto Ahiga like a lifeline as he moved and when their lips eventually parted for the sake of being able to breathe, Ahiga rested his forehead against Nesia's and they looked into her eyes. Nesia reached one hand between them so she could touch herself to encourage the build of pleasure further. Ahiga moved even faster and didn't slow down until Nesia achieved orgasm once again. Her body trembled and Ahiga stopped moving so he could start kissing her through her release. Eventually her body stopped convulsing and when it did, Ahiga started to move again but slowly. He took his lips away so he could look into her eyes again.

"I love you, Ahiga," Nesia moaned.

"I love you too, Nesia," Ahiga answered. "I love you so fucking much."

Ahiga sped up again while continuing to look into her eyes until Nesia laid her head back as she moaned. Ahiga lowered his head so he could kiss her neck and sucked on her skin tickling and pleasuring her all at once. When he was getting really close, Ahiga grabbed a hold of the head board so he didn't have to mind his grip and Nesia hold onto him while her lips were at his ear sucking on the lobe again. Then he started to thrust even harder and stayed inside her, letting himself relax, until he finally achieved his own release. When he did, he let go of the head board and hugged Nesia close as his whole body went completely stiff on top of her. As they started to relax, Nesia kissed Ahiga's cheek and he kissed his way up until their lips finally met again. It was a tender, loving moment between the two of them and when their lips parted, they looked at one another loving. Ahiga was about to speak, but something wet and rough dragged over his foot and made him jump with a yell.

"Ahiga?" Nesia asked then looked at the end of the bed and saw Tina and she started giggling. "It's just Tina. I think she wants her breakfast."

"Well you can fucking wait until we're done!" Ahiga yelled at the cat and rolled onto his back as Nesia kept laughing. She rolled to him placing her hand over his muscular chest while also basking in the aftermath.

"She's a cat, Ahiga; she's not concerned with our personal space," Nesia said and then kissed his chest. "You said you made coffee?"

"Yeah," Ahiga said. "I'll make you a cup and get Tina her food."

"Thank you," Nesia said and kissed his chest again. Ahiga kissed the top of her head and got out of bed.

"Alright, fleabag; let's get you your breakfast," Ahiga said and Nesia giggled then spanked him as he got out of bed. When she did, he stared at her playfully and leaned over to quickly give her a firm spank that made her yelp. "I'll deal with you later."

"I'll be waiting with bells on," Nesia joked along with him.

"I bet you will, you dirty girl," Ahiga said and spanked her again before leaving the room, not bothering to get dressed and Tina following behind him ready to have her breakfast served.

It was normally a day off for Ahiga, but he felt like he needed some more time to himself so later that day, Ahiga told Nesia he was going into Port Angeles and would be back later in the evening. When he arrived at the gym, there was a class going on but there was still a punching bag available. So Ahiga put on his gloves and started punching at the bag.

"Everything okay, Ahiga?" Ahiga stopped and glanced at Freddy who'd walked up to him. "I thought you were taking today to yourself."

"I'd planned to, but I could use the exercise," Ahiga said.

"Did you go overboard on something?" Freddy chuckled.

"No, it's not food related," Ahiga said. "Last night Nesia told me she wanted to start trying."

"Trying?" Freddy asked and rose a brow. "You mean as in she wants to start having kids?"

"Yeah," Ahiga said and stretched his arms above his head for a second then relaxed with a deep breath. "I hadn't been expecting it and I told her I wanted to think about it. This morning I went for a run to clear my head and when I got back, we talked about it a little more and," Ahiga shrugged a little, "well, suffice it to say we slept together. At the time, I was feeling relaxed about it. Certainly more than last night or this morning, but I guess the idea's starting to get the better of me again."

"So do you not want kids at all? 'Cause if that's the case, why didn't you just tell her that from the get go? This isn't the first time the two of you have talked about this, right?" Freddy said.

"No, we've talked about it," Ahiga said. "It's not that I don't like kids or have a problem with kids."

"That's not really what I said," Freddy said. "I mean, Boss doesn't have a problem with kids; doesn't change he never wanted kids. What I'm asking is whether or not you 'want' kids of your own."

"I'm not opposed to kids, it's just that I don't…." Ahiga groaned and lightly punched the bag in frustration. "I don't know."

"Is this about your dad?"

Ahiga thought about it a second and sighed heavily, "Maybe it is."

"Does she know you're feeling this way?"

"No," Ahiga said. "I already fucked up enough yesterday."

"How so?" Freddy asked.

Ahiga debated whether to get into detail before finally saying, "She got home while I was in the shower and when I came out, she was in bed basically waiting for me and just when we were going to do something, she stopped me and told me she wanted to talk."

"Ah," Freddy said, getting what he meant. "So the two of you were getting ready to have fun and she brought up kids abruptly?"

"Pretty much," Ahiga said, "Scared the shit out of me. I asked her if I could think about it and she said that was fine, but I could tell she was hoping for a different response from me. She was trying to be romantic about it and I ruined it."

"Hey, don't think like that," Freddy said. "It took you by surprise. That's all. Besides, the two of you made up didn't you?"

"We did, but I still feel anxious," Ahiga said.

"That part's normal I would think," Freddy said. "If I can offer any kind of advice, I say just take a deep breath and enjoy the ride. Making kids is a lot of fun at the very least. I say have at least one together. She gets a kid like she wants and one should be plenty manageable. Expensive as all fuck regardless, but one kids is always less expensive than many kids."

"It's not the money I'm worried about," Ahiga said, "it's me I'm worried about. Nesia's a teacher. She's a pro with kids. Me? I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I'm just some asshole with daddy issues and anger management problems."

"Both problems you've dealt with remarkably well," Freddy said sincerely, realizing he had a feeling he knew what the crux of the issue was. "If you're scared you'll be a bad father, I don't think so."

"You give me too much credit," Ahiga said.

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Freddy said. "If it's worth anything, it's always scary at first but you'll do great once the time comes. Just take it one day at a time, rub her feet when they're sore, buy her candy when she asks and if you think you're right, you're wrong."

Ahiga finally smiled, "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Freddy smiled and patted Ahiga's shoulder. "Finish venting then go home and relax."

"Will do," Ahiga said.

Ahiga stayed at the gym another hour before he finally left to return home. Nesia was already making dinner and was still in the same chipper mood she'd been in since this morning. Seeing her in such a good mood made him happy and the thought of trying started becoming less and less scary to him. She welcomed him home with a big smile and telling him what she was making for dinner. He was starving yet dinner wasn't the first thing on his mind at the moment. He was more interested in Nesia: wearing blue jean shorts and a tank top with no bra on. It was nothing out of the ordinary of what she would wear on a weekend or when it was just the two of them alone at home, but today she was just radiant.

"Are you at a point where you can stop?" Ahiga asked Nesia after she'd told him what she was making and he'd gotten a good look at her.

"One second; I need to get this in the oven," Nesia said as she finished assembling everything in a glass dish.

Ahiga walked into the kitchen waiting for her to finish what she was doing. Once she put the dish in the oven and got the timer going, Ahiga walked up behind her and grabbed a hold of her. Nesia yelled out then started laughing as Ahiga carried her to kitchen table laying her back and the two of them kept themselves entertained while they waited for dinner to finish cooking. On Monday, Levi had his resume ready and went out to look for work. Figuring he may as well, among the places Levi applied to was the same bank Levi Sr. had worked at for so many years. However he applied so several other banks downtown as well as other shipping and manufacturing companies that had openings in their finance departments. As he waited for responses, he kept in contact with Nadja every day catching her in the morning her time before she had to go to work.

"Have you heard from any of the places you applied to yet?" Nadja asked a few days after he'd started looking and he'd called her at the end of the day.

"Not yet," Levi said. "I don't think I'll start getting callbacks until Friday or Monday. I applied to about 30 different places so one's bound to bite, right?"

"I'm sure more than one will," Nadja encouraged. "So I finally got my worker's visa today."

"You did?"

"Yeah, so I'm ready when you are as it were," Nadja said nervously despite her attempt to sound humorous.

"Everything will be okay, Nadja," Levi said when he noticed the way she sounded. "I promise everything will be okay."

"I know it will," Nadja said. "It's just a little nerve wracking."

"I know," Levi said, "and I really do appreciate you coming to Seattle."

"You moved to London for me," Nadja said and he finally heard a smile in her voice. "Do you suppose your family will like me?"

"They'll love you," Levi reassured. "You've met most of my immediate family already."

"That was years ago when your brother got married," Nadja said.

"They'll make you feel like you've known them your whole life," Levi promised. "We'll have a big party at Roshad's house welcoming you to Seattle and their house is right on the lake so we can go swimming while we're at it."

"That does sound like fun," Nadja answered with a smile in her voice. "Roshad is your cousin Jaedynn's husband right?"

"Yeah, that's Jaedynn's husband," Levi said. "When you first get here, I'll take you on a tour of the city like we did in London. I'd like to have a job and a place before July. We have 4th of July parade here ever year that I'd love to take you to. I remember when I was a little kid, my dad would hold me up on his shoulders so I could see the floats. I had been on his shoulders eating some watermelon and I got some melon on his head." Levi chuckled a little at the memory. "Dad wasn't even mad."

"I wouldn't think so," Nesia said. "Will you wear your 'Happy Traitor's Day' shirt?" she teased.

"That shirt's strictly between us," Levi smiled.

"Coward," Nadja teased with a giggle. "I'd better leave for work. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you, Nadja."

"I love you too," Nadja answered and they disconnected.

That coming Thursday was when Levi finally started to receive callbacks and the proceeding week was packed with interviews and even second interviews in some cases. Those 2nd interviews came soonest from the shipping companies he'd applied to courtesy of this experience in London. They were also the first to make offers. Wanting to hurry things along as much as he could, he accepted a job with a shipping company called Sydney Parker International that worked with Dawson Trade and were offering a generous salary based on his references in London. When he got that offer, he was so excited that he went out to buy the things he needed to make beef stew like he used to when he'd lived in his dorm with Archie and got everything in a Crockpot to cook while enjoying a glass of the red wine he'd bought to use for the soup. There was enough that he called Anatoli to check if he'd be okay with Levi inviting family over to celebrate and that night, the whole family was at Anatoli's and Ivory's house to celebrate the new job. Everyone was still over when Levi excused himself so he could call Nadja and let her know he'd found work and would now start looking for his own place, though Anatoli assured Levi he didn't need to be in a huge rush.

Levi was able to start working that Monday and made sure he was dressed really nice in a suit and tie for his first day. Dawson Trade, while definitely requiring business attire, was business casual though Levi wanted to get comfortable before he started dressing down to polo shirts or only dress shirts. He arrived at the large office building near First Hill on 5ht and Pike. It put him in the same neighborhood as his dad's Law Firm and Amber's candle shop which was really nice too. Even better, it had a parking garage for employees to use. Granted you had to have a company ID, but the attendant knew to expect new employees and let Levi in as soon as he'd seen his driver's license. Once his car was parked, Levi went to the elevator in the parking garage and took the elevator up to the 6th floor of the building where the head office was located. The entry to the office was to the left of the elevators and Sydney Parker was written in bold letters on the glass double doors. He let himself in and was welcomed by a young woman with straight blonde hair and bangs wearing a tweed yellow pantsuit and a mosaic patterned brown, beige and white turtleneck sleeveless sweater blouse and her suit jacket was hanging off her office chair.

"Welcome to Sydney Parker International; how can I assist you?" she asked with a kind smile when he walked in.

"My name's Levi Black. I'm supposed to start today," Levi answered.

"One second; I think I've got you in my notes," the young woman said and looked at a planner on her desk, then the phone rang. "I'm so sorry, can you bear with me one moment?"

"Take your time," Levi said and the young woman answered the phone but kept searching through her planner, then gave Levi a thumbs up when she apparently found him. She transferred the person on the phone to the correct department before ending the call and then started dialing an extension.

"Hey Jim. I've got Mr. Levi Black at the door. He's starting in billing today?" He waited a moment as the young woman spoke to the supervisor then thank him before ending the call. "Jim will be out in just a second to meet you."

"I appreciate it," Levi said and glanced at the name tag that was on the desk, "Ellen McGonagall?"

"Yes," she smiled, "I work the front desk."

"How long have you worked here?"

"It'll be four years in April," she said. "So are you excited for your first day?"

"Extremely," Levi smiled and then Jim walked out wearing a pair of grey dress pants and a yellow dress shirt with brown polka dots. "Good morning Mr. Marsh."

"Please, just call me Jim. It's good to see you again, Levi," Jim said and the two shook hands. "Come, I'll show you to your desk. We're further in the office but we've got a good view of the city. If you hate heights, don't get too close."

"Heights don't bother me; don't worry," Levi said. "So how was your weekend?"

"Never long enough," Jim joked. "How about yours?"

"I had family over to celebrate the new job," Levi said.

"That's exciting," Jim said. They made it to the department and Jim took a moment to introduce Levi to everyone including the man that would be training him. Their cubicles were one in front of the other with a window to their right. "Terrance, this is Levi Black. Levi, this is Terrance Polanski; he'll be training you."

"Good to finally meet you, Levi," Terrance said as he stood from his desk and shook Levi's hand. "Go ahead and pull up a chair and we'll get started."

"Sure," Levi said and went to his cubicle to grab his work chair and pull it over to Terrance's space.

"I'll leave you to it," Jim said. "I'll come bring you your badge once I get it from HR. I should have that before the end of the day."

"Thanks Jim," Levi answered and Jim walked away leaving Levi alone with Terrance. "So how long have you been working here?"

"I started working here last year," Terrance said. "The guy that trained me left a few weeks ago so the extra help's appreciated. Where did you work before this?"

"I worked for Dawson Trade in London," Levi said.

"Did you really? Why did you leave London?"

"My girlfriend is from London and we're trying to close the distance between us for good, but she's scared to leave England, so we agreed I'd spend a year in London then she'll spend a year here and we'll decide after that where we're staying. I'm shooting for having her move her permanently."

"How'd you two meet?"

"First time we'd ever met was my older brother's wedding back when I was 12 and we got along really well and kept in touch. Then my cousin got married in Tehran and after the wedding I decided to go visit Nadja in London and when I did, we started dating. Been together ever since."

"How long has that been?"

"Three years," Levi said.

"So you two planning to get married or anything?"

"I haven't proposed yet, but I will. I'll wait until we've decided for sure where we'll be staying."

"Well, good luck to you on that," Terrance said. "So let's get down to business. I handle the billing for all our terminals on the west coast. Each terminal has their own tariffs that we need to refer to. Our job is to make sure they're honoring those tariffs and taking special circumstances into account where they apply. Like wait time at a consignee's home and things like that."

"So is it strictly residential orders?"

"You and I will only be handling residential orders, yes," Terrance said. "Let's start with our terminals in Washington state and then we'll move on to Oregon and California."

"Sounds good," Levi answered and Terrance walked Levi through the invoices for that day that had been mailed to them for approval.

The morning flew by as Terrance walked Levi through everything he'd be taking over as of that day and he received his work badge when his lunch break started. Terrance showed Levi to the lunch room where a bunch of employees were already situated enjoying lunch they'd brought from home and Terrance introduced Levi to everyone. Once it was the end of his first day, Levi said goodbye to Terrance and everyone else he'd been introduced to as he left the building and made the trip back to Anatoli's and Ivory's house. Argo ran to the door to welcome Levi when he entered the house and by then Ivory was home and already getting things laid out for dinner.

"Hey, hotshot," Ivory said, "how was your first day?"

"First day went great," Levi said while he petted Argo's head. "What's for dinner?"

"Pasta," Ivory said. "Argo, come here! Dinner's ready!"

And like that, Argo lost all interest in Levi and ran to the kitchen as Ivory put down Argo's bowl of food that he dug right into. As soon as he was able to, Levi called Nadja to give her an update and also just so he could hear her voice and wish her a good morning her time. Missing her was really getting to him but the daily calls were helping. The moment he received his first paycheck, a pretty hefty chunk of it had to go to helping pay the phone bill from all the calls placed to London, but he had enough in savings that he'd converted to American dollars so he at least had the means to start looking for his own place. Since it required he be able to provide at least two paystubs, he couldn't get a place in time for 4th of July but he was able to enjoy the day with relatives at the very least.

The tribe had their own 4th of July celebration as they did every year enjoying a large bonfire, clam bakes, hot dogs and beer. Ahiga invited Freddy and Boss to come to the tribe to enjoy 4th of July with them. Boris and Illyana were at the beach as were Nadeshka and Sergei. Lee, on the other hand, was in Seattle to spend 4th of July with Tristan. While they didn't know and likely weren't yet, Nesia didn't drink during the party, sticking with either cola or water while Ahiga nursed a single beer for most of the party. Ahiga hadn't talked to Freddy about him and Nesia trying since the first time he'd mentioned it. Boss hadn't even been made aware of it. Ahiga had gone out of his way not to really draw attention to the matter. He and Nesia slept together near constantly and the only difference was they weren't making an effort to prevent anything. Otherwise, life was going on as it normally would.

"So Ahiga," Freddy said while he was sitting on the beach with Ahiga both enjoying their beer while Boss was helping look for clams with a few people, "has there been any change?"

"Change?"

"With you and Nesia," Freddy said. "Is she pregnant yet?"

"Oh," Ahiga started, "we don't know yet. I mean, the way we've been going at it, she's bound to be eventually."

"Was that intended as bragging?" Freddy joked.

Ahiga chuckled, "I mean, you can take it that way if you want to."

Freddy chuckled too before saying, "So point is nothing's confirmed yet?"

"Yeah," Ahiga said. "You haven't told Boss right?"

"No, of course not," Freddy said. "It's not my place to tell him. Besides, if Nesia's not pregnant yet there's really nothing to tell him. The man won't care that the two of you are humping like gorillas."

Ahiga laughed, "Fair enough. The moment anything changes, I'll tell you."

While the rest of the family was in Washington, Jaedynn and Roshad took the kids on vacation for 4th of July. They all went to Niagara Falls both as a fun thing to do as a family but also so Kamron, Mikie, Don and Leo could visit their brother Raphael. Gloria had made sure to get a few days off from work and Roshad paid for them all to stay in the same hotel nearest the waterfall. Roshad took over running after the kids when necessary so Jaedynn could relax given her top heavy state. When Roshad had the kids focused on the waterfall, Gloria sat beside Jaedynn on a free bench.

"You know, I've never actually been to Niagara Falls," Gloria said. "Lived in New York all my life but I've never seen Niagara Falls."

"If it makes you feel better, I've lived in Washington all my life and I've never been to the hot springs in the mountains or gone up to Canada," Jaedynn said. "You said Raphael's going to be starting pre-school in the fall?"

"Yes," Gloria said. "Thank you again for the help you guys have given me. The school's out of the way but it'll be worth it."

"Think nothing of it," Jaedynn said, "I'm just glad Raphael can go to a good school."

"'Good school' my ass; this place is supposed to be the best pre-school in the city. It certainly costs enough so it had better be," Gloria said and Jaedynn smiled.

"I would hope so," Jaedynn said. "Kamron starts Kindergarten in the fall."

"Is he excited?"

"He's nervous," Jaedynn said. "He's used to large groups of kids but they're all his little siblings or his cousins. This'll be the first time he'll be around a large group of kids he's not related to."

"I'm sure he'll do great," Gloria said. "So the kids haven't gone to pre-school?"

"No, we've more or less been acting as their pre-school," Jaedynn said. "Roshad wanted to make sure they were learning Farsi and as with any language, you've got to make sure they're starting young and there aren't any schools in the area that focus on the language."

"I guess there wouldn't be," Gloria said. "I already warned the teachers that Raphael's first language is Spanish and to be patient with him and they said one of the teachers is fluent and will look after him."

"That's good to hear," Jaedynn said. "Is the school keeping him the full day or just a half day?"

"There's an option for a full work day, but mom can pick him up after school's over so that's what we'll do," Gloria said. "I made it very clear to them they're only allowed to release Raphael either to me, to mom or to my dad and that's it."

"So they're aware of Alex?"

"Oh yeah," Gloria said with an irritable and harsh tone, "they know about him. I've given them more detail about our relationship than I ever wanted to but if it makes sure Alex doesn't run off with Raphael without my fucking permission, than fine."

"Does Alex know what school Raphael's going to?"

"Yes, he does," Gloria said with a small groan. "My dumb ass left the paperwork out without thinking and Alex saw it. He started demanding to know where I was getting the money from to pay for this school. I told him it was none of his business and to just be happy his son is getting a good education but he just wouldn't drop it. I refused to answer him regardless, but I think he may have figured out Roshad is paying child support."

"I guess if he's got a problem with it then he can start paying child support instead," Jaedynn snapped back though not directing the aggression at Gloria. "Is Raphael at least excited to start school?"

"He's not as nervous as he was before. He got to meet the teachers and the woman that'll be acting as his ESL instructor won him over."

"ESL?"

"English as a Second Language," Gloria said. "She minored in Spanish when she was going to college so we got really lucky."

"I'm happy to hear it," Jaedynn said. "This is all going by so fast. Lately I've been looking at Kamron and missing the days when he was just a little baby. Roshad always has to remind me Kamron growing up isn't a bad thing and to revel in his accomplishments. Even if that accomplishment is something small. The other day, Kamron said he wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but he wanted to make it himself. He tore the bread up with the butter knife trying to spread everything, made a huge mess, but he was proud of himself. It was the cutest thing in the world."

"It's when they accomplish little things when it's the cutest of all," Gloria agreed.

The two of them looked on as Roshad helped each child get a better view of the waterfall. Kamron started climbing on the rails but Roshad grabbed a hold of Kamron by the back of his shirt to make sure he didn't go too far. Raphael ran over to Gloria and pulled on her hand to get her to come to the rails and Jaedynn followed after them to get a better look as well. By the time they returned to the hotel, he feet ached horribly but Roshad could always be counted on to ease the soreness with a massage.

At the end of July, Levi was finally able to find himself an apartment downtown. It wasn't glamorous by any means. It was a single bedroom apartment up in Lawton Park but it was an upstairs unit and was five miles from where he worked. It was about seven miles from a theatre on top of that so Nadja could try out if she wished. The floors were white carpet that had been freshly cleaned and the walls were a stark white that had been freshly painted. When he walked into the apartment, the first room was the living area and to the left was the open kitchen area. There was a hallway between the living room and kitchen that had three doors: a closet to the left, a bedroom to the right across from the closet and the bathroom was at the end of the hallway. When he'd seen it, Kevin commented about how small it was but Levi said compared to a dorm room or to Nadja's flat in London, the apartment was the height of luxury.

It was too small to have a big dinner party, but Caleb and Sergei came over to see the place. He'd not gotten any furniture except his mattress and a TV so when Caleb and Sergei came to visit, the three of them were sitting on the floor of the living room watching TV together and eating pizza straight from the box and Sergei teased Levi to enjoy the place as a bachelor pad for as long as it would last. Levi laughed it off but he was looking forward to Nadja moving in. The apartment felt really lonely and barren and not because of the lack of furniture. That was easy to fix. However, now that he had his own place, Nadja gave her two weeks to the restaurant and made all the arrangements to move. She sold all her furniture not wanting to try carting it to the other side of the world.

"When exactly is Levi going to propose to you?" Mykolas asked as they were helping Nadja pack her things. "You two have been together three years, you've lived together for one of those years, I've already told him he has my blessing: where's the ring?"

"Daddy, we're trying to decide where we want to live right now," Nadja protested.

"Nadja, I have a hard time believing that Levi will be alright with moving to London permanently," Maritza said. "I suspect you'll end up staying in Washington with him."

"If I don't like it there, then we'd come back here," Nadja said. "We talked about this."

"And if he's not willing to do that? What then?" Mykolas asked. "You need to go into this knowing full well Levi's going to argue for the two of you staying in Seattle. If you're worried about your mother and I, there's no need to worry."

"It's not that," Nadja said. "I've never been outside England except once; I've been in London my whole life. I can't picture living anywhere else."

"I'm sure Levi feels the same way," Mykolas said, "but moving isn't so scary as it sounds, especially if it turns out to be for the better. Your mother and I left Lithuania because we wanted better for you."

"And I've had better here," Nadja said.

"And you may have even better in Seattle," Maritza added, "but if you don't give it an honest shot, you won't know for sure."

"I'll give it an honest shot; I'm moving there for the year aren't I?"

Maritza smiled and brushed her hand over Nadja's hair, "Don't be so nervous, Nadja. Everything will work out."

"Thank you, mom," Nadja said.

It was towards the end of July when Nesia finally started to feel different. Ahiga was at the gym after work while Nesia was home and getting her lesson plans put together for when school returned to session. She'd made herself some salmon for dinner but when she'd tried it, it tasted as good as it always but within a few bites, her stomach turned and she felt her mouth watering up as a pressure formed in her throat and she rushed to the bathroom making in just in time to vomit into the toilet. She was stuck on the floor for nearly 20 minutes before she felt better and could stand back up. As she was sitting on the floor, Tina came into the bathroom and started licking Nesia's toes which she didn't notice until she could finally stand to sit up straight. She went upstairs to brush her teeth and tried finishing her dinner now feeling hungrier than before but the salmon just didn't taste as good as it did before and she had to push it aside leaving it for Ahiga. When Ahiga got home, that plate of salmon was still on the table so he covered it with some plastic wrap and put it in the fridge before going upstairs. He saw Nesia lying in bed sound asleep so he went to kiss her cheek before going to take a shower. In the morning, Ahiga woke up early as usual to leave for work but Nesia woke up as he was getting dressed. He tried being quiet so she could go back to sleep, but Nesia turned so she was on her back and put her hand over her chest.

"Nesia?" Ahiga said and came to the bed crawling onto the mattress so he was close to her. "Are you okay?" he asked and put the back of his hand on her forehead to check her temperature, but it was normal.

"I feel really nauseous," Nesia groaned and sat up hoping it would stop. However sitting up just made it worse. "Fuck," Nesia muttered and got out of bed to run to the bathroom so she could throw up.

Ahiga was close behind and quickly took a hold of her hair so it was out of her face while she vomited. While one hand held her hair, his other hand laid on her back staying in one spot. He gently moved his hand back and forth over her back when she seemed to stop but he stilled again when he heard her start to wretch again. Eventually she stopped altogether and when she'd stopped for long enough, Ahiga got her away from the toilet so he could flush it and held Nesia comfortingly.

"Better?" he asked.

"As much as possible," Nesia said. "I can't believe I have anything left in me after yesterday."

"This happened yesterday?"

"Yeah," Nesia said, "I was having dinner but something about it just made me sick. I went straight to bed afterwards." Nesia rubbed her temples as a headache was starting to form. "You can go to work. I'll go to see Kyle today. I think it's safe to say all that hard work finally paid off."

"Oh," Ahiga started, finally realizing what was likely the cause of her feeling sick. "I can call in and take a day off. It's not a problem."

"No, you go to work. All Uncle Kyle is likely to do is make me take a pregnancy test. I'll schedule a date for the ultrasound and you can take that day off. You're coming straight home from work tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm coming straight home, but can you call me the moment you know?"

"Sure," Nesia said. "It'll be okay to call the manager's office?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine. Just tell Gary you need to speak to me and he'll come get me," Ahiga said. He felt himself getting anxious but pushed the feeling aside. Nothing was certain yet. Although it was probably a certainty so he needed to prepare himself for the answer he knew he was going to get. "You're sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"I'm sure," Nesia said, "I don't want to drag you out of work just in case it's a false alarm. It's better to save the day off for the baby's first ultrasound."

"Okay," Ahiga finally said. "Are you okay to stand or do you want to stay here for a bit?"

"I think I'm okay to go back to bed," Nesia said and stood back up with Ahiga's help. She went back to bed and laid down on her side just in case but she was already feeling a lot better. She smiled up at Ahiga as she stood by the bed and then squeezed his hand. "Despite how I'm feeling at the moment, I'm really excited."

"I know," Ahiga said and quickly leaned down to kiss her forehead. "If you need me to come home, just let me know okay?"

"I will," Nesia said. "I'll call you as soon as I see Kyle."

"Okay," Ahiga said, "I'll talk to you later."

Nesia nodded her head with the same smile and said, "I love you."

"I love you too," Ahiga said as he squeezed her hand then finally walked away to leave for work.

Nesia allowed herself a few hours in the morning to relax and make sure she didn't get sick again but by noon she felt normal and drove to the hospital and asked to see Kyle. He was seeing other patients and wouldn't be able to see Nesia for another hour and a half so Nesia set the appointment for later that day and went back home to get some work done while she waited. When she returned to the hospital, she waited about twenty minutes before one of the nurses brought her to an available room to check Nesia's vitals first and foremost. Afterwards, the nurse drew blood for testing and left with the sample leaving Nesia alone in the exam room until Kyle finally walked in.

"Hey Uncle Kyle," Nesia said.

"Hey Nesia," Kyle said as he shut the door behind him with a welcoming smile. "So I hear you haven't been feeling good since last night."

"Yeah, I started feeling nauseous when I was eating dinner last night and again this morning, but I'm feeling a lot better now," Nesia said.

"Good," Kyle said and took a seat beside her while she was on the exam chair, "Congratulation, Nesia. The good news is the blood test confirmed you're pregnant. The bad news is the morning sickness is likely to get worse from here but I'll give you some tea to alleviate that."

"Is it too soon to know how far along I am?" Nesia asked with a humored smile.

"At the moment yes, but we can make an estimation with an ultrasound," Kyle said, "although it is safe to estimate you're four to six weeks along."

"When's the soonest I can have an ultrasound?" Nesia asked.

"Check with the front desk and they'll let you know to earliest appointments that are available," Kyle said. "I'd like to get you scheduled for an ultrasound by next week but the sooner the better."

"Alright, I'll set something up with the front desk," Nesia said with a contented smile, "and thank you, Uncle Kyle."

"Congratulations, Nesia," Kyle smiled back and gave her a hug. "Make sure to call your mother; she'll be delighted to find out you're pregnant."

"I will. I'll see you when it's time for the ultrasound."

"I'll see you then, Nesia," Kyle said and left the room.

Nesia got her purse and went to the front desk to set up a date to have the first ultrasound and set that up for the following Monday. Once she had her appointment set, Nesia returned home and went straight to the phone dialing the manager's office for the lumber mill. She had to wait on hold for a bit before she finally got an answer from the manager on call.

"This is Gary Samson; how can I assist you?" the man asked.

"Hi Mr. Samson. This is Nesia Washington? Ahiga's wife? Could I talk to Ahiga please?"

"Just a moment and I'll get him. Do you mind if I put you on hold?"

"That's fine; thank you," Nesia said and she was placed on hold with the radio playing acting as the hold music.

Ahiga had been anxious all day. All he could think about what that morning and wait for Nesia to call him. It was nearing the end of the day and he'd still not heard back from Nesia and the longer he waited, the more he started to feel unsettled. Then finally his manager called him from off the lumber yard to let him know Nesia was on the phone asking for him. He rushed to the manager's office and was told what line Nesia was being held on then answered that extension.

"Nesia?" Ahiga said once he answered the line.

"Hey, Ahiga," Nesia said, "I just got back from the hospital."

He could already hear the smile in her voice when he asked, "And?"

"I'm pregnant," Nesia said, the joy audible in her voice, "I'm pregnant, Ahiga. We're going to have a baby." Ahiga's heart was beating a million miles an hour as what she was saying sank in.

"For sure?" he finally said.

"Yeah, it's for sure," Nesia said. "My first ultrasound's on Monday. It'll be at 10:30."

"Okay," Ahiga said, "I'll let my boss know."

"Okay," Nesia said. "Come home hungry okay? I'll be making us something special to celebrate. I'll see you when you get home."

"Okay," Ahiga said, "I'll see you when I get home."

"I love you," Nesia said with giddiness.

"I love you too," Ahiga said and they ended their call and he took a deep breath.

"You alright, Ahiga? You look like you've seen a ghost," Gary said to Ahiga when he'd finally turned away from the phone.

"Yeah," Ahiga said, "sorry, just adjusting to the news."

"What news?"

"Nesia's pregnant," Ahiga said.

"That's great," Gary said in a tempered tone, "congratulations."

"Thanks," Ahiga said and took a deep breath. "Do you mind if I take Monday off? She's scheduled for the first ultrasound."

"Sure thing," Gary said. "I take it this wasn't expected?"

"No, it was," Ahiga said, "we've been trying to get pregnant the past month and a half."

"Then why do you look so shocked?"

"I'm not shocked," Ahiga said and there was silence for a moment. The honest truth was he didn't know what he was feeling. "Thanks for letting me have Monday off."

"No problem," Gary said and Ahiga walked out. "Ahiga?" Gary said and stopped Ahiga as he was stepping through the door. "Buy your wife some flowers and chocolates before you go home."

"Sure," Ahiga said and left to finish off the rest of his day. After he punched out for the day, Ahiga went to a flower shop and bought a bouquet of red roses to bring home with him like Gary suggested. When he made it back to the house, he could smell salmon baking from inside the house and what he thought smelled like roasted potatoes: going all out in the celebrating.

"Deep breath," Ahiga said to himself than breathed in. He was only scared because it was new, he kept telling himself. They'd talked about this. They were ready. "We're ready," he mumbled to himself and did so over and over again for a moment. Then he walked to the door and let himself into the house. Nesia already had the dinner table set and was sitting at the table waiting for him. Once he walked in, she stood up and ran to him so she could give him a hug. She looked so happy; so joyous. For a moment, his fears melted and all he saw was Nesia: beautiful as ever and making his world so much better.

"I'm pregnant, Ahiga," Nesia said through tears and let go of him to wipe them away. "I don't know why I'm crying; this is good news."

"Tears of joy," Ahiga said and smiled lovingly at her and presented the flowers to her, "For you."

"Oh, Ahiga, they're beautiful," Nesia said with a smile and accepted the flowers. "I'll get these in a vase and put them on the table. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes."

"It smells great," Ahiga said. "It's a good thing I'm not trying to cut right now. Potatoes sound amazing."

"Thank goodness," Nesia said as she got a vase out from under the sink and filled it with cold water. "Did you get Monday off?"

"I did," Ahiga said.

"What did everyone say when you told them?" Nesia asked, now trimming the stems of the roses and putting them in the vase.

"Gary's the only one that knows," Ahiga said and felt that earlier fear starting to build again. He walked over to the dining table and sat at his usual seat while Nesia continued tending to the flowers. Once she finished that, she brought the flowers to the table and put them down in the center making it look nice. She looked at him with that same smile, but it faded when she realized Ahiga was staring at the table looking miles away.

"Ahiga?"

"Huh?" he looked up at her coming out of his trance. "I'm really sorry, I didn't hear you."

"I didn't say anything," Nesia said and put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ahiga started, then looked away thoughtfully and closed his eyes, "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it: me being a dad."

"You'll be a wonderful father, Ahiga," Nesia said and wrapped an arm around his neck as she sat in his lap. Ahiga held her and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I hope so," Ahiga said.

"I know you will be, Ahiga," Nesia promised and kissed the top of his head. "I told my mom and Suerro already. She's probably already told most of my side of the family. We can call your mom and tell her or we can visit and tell her."

"We'll go see her-" Ahiga began but a knock came at the front door. Nesia got off Ahiga's lap and went to answer the door and Haseya was on the other end holding a small homemade cake.

"Haseya?" Nesia asked, glanced at the cake, and then started blushing, "I take it you heard?"

"Yes, I got a call from Natalie asking if I'd heard the news and she ended up telling me," Haseya said.

"Mom," Ahiga said and approached the door. He took the cake from Haseya and she used the opportunity to give Nesia a big hug.

"I'm so happy," she said. "When did you find out?"

"I found out this morning," Nesia said as they released one another. "Ahiga, I'll take that to the kitchen." Nesia took the case from Ahiga and walked away with it so Haseya could hug Ahiga.

"Congratulations, Ahiga," Haseya said and kissed his cheek before releasing him from her hug so she could touch his face and look at him affectionately while Ahiga gave her a gentle smile.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to be the first to tell you," Ahiga said.

"Don't worry about it," Haseya said, "I'm just happy to know I have a grandchild on the way."

"Haseya, there's plenty of salmon and potatoes if you'd like to join us for dinner," Nesia invited.

"Yes, mom, have dinner with us," Ahiga said.

"I'd like that," Haseya said and Nesia got another plate setting on the table for Haseya to join them. By then, the oven timer finally went off and dinner was ready so Nesia got all the food plated and they sat down together. "So what will my grandchild's name be?" Haseya asked.

"Relax, mom; we haven't gotten that far," Ahiga said.

"Did you have any names in mind?" Haseya asked more of Nesia rather than Ahiga.

"I had a few ideas," Nesia said. "I like Sara, but if Heather and Embry have a girl, that name's taken."

"If it's a girl: Saraya," Ahiga spoke up suddenly.

"Saraya?" Nesia asked.

"Yeah," Ahiga said, "Sara was your great grandmother's name right?" Nesia nodded. "I want a girl to have my mom's name in some way."

"Saraya's a beautiful name," Haseya said.

"It is," Nesia smiled, "but if it's a boy, I want to name him Dauer."

"Dauer?"

"Yeah," Nesia said, "Dauer Jae after my father."

"I love that name too," Haseya smiled and patted Ahiga's shoulder affectionately, "and just like that, my grandchild is named."

"All that's left is to let mom hear those names. Hopefully she'll like them too," Nesia said.

"She'll love them I know," Haseya said. "When do you think the baby will be born?"

"We'll get a better estimation after Kyle does the ultrasound, but I'd guess spring next year," Nesia said.

"Spring is a good time," Haseya said. "So how have you been feeling? Did Kyle give you anything for the baby?"

"I've been feeling sick but nothing out of the ordinary," Nesia said. "Uncle Kyle gave me some vitamins and tea to help and I already drank some."

"That's good," Haseya said. "I recall when I was pregnant with Ahiga. I remember when I felt him kick for the first time – I could finally start to forgive when I felt that." Haseya directed a motherly smile at Ahiga and put her hand on his, but Ahiga suddenly felt sick to his stomach. "I remember feeling so scared when I realized I was pregnant. I'm relieved everything worked out for the better."

"Don't bring that up, mom," Ahiga said in a harsh tone that made Haseya take her hand away. Ahiga realized how he'd come off and immediately felt even worse.

"Ahiga," Haseya started.

"I need some air," Ahiga said suddenly and got up from the table to walk outside. Nesia followed after him and watched as he took a seat on the top step of the porch. She slowly walked over and took a seat beside him. When he realized Nesia was sitting beside him, he took a hold of her hand for comfort and it helped ease his mind. "Sorry," he said.

"Just take a deep breath," Nesia said and squeezed his hand with both of hers. Ahiga did as she said and took a few deep, calming breaths. They sat outside together for a few minutes without saying anything else to one another. Eventually Ahiga finally felt calmer and rubbed his face before looking at Nesia again.

"Would you mind asking mom to come outside? I owe her an apology," Ahiga said.

"Sure," Nesia said and returned inside sending Haseya outside. Haseya sat beside Ahiga once she was outside and Nesia gave them some privacy.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, mom," Ahiga said once Haseya was sitting beside him.

"It's alright, Ahiga," Haseya said and rubbed Ahiga's back. "Regardless of how, I still look back fondly on my pregnancy with you. No matter what, there was never a moment I didn't love you and I am so happy you won't go through what I did."

Ahiga didn't respond but he did take Haseya's hand and squeeze it affectionately. Haseya looked at Ahiga's face taking in his image. When he'd been born and had finally been able to hold him, she remembered the overwhelming relief she'd felt at the time. When Ahiga was in her arms, she knew there was no mistaking who his father was, yet Owota had granted her son mercy. She would never be able to repay such a debt. From that moment, it had not bothered her that her son looked so much like his father. To her it didn't matter. Ahiga had been such a sweet and loving boy that she simply couldn't see Barka in him. Just like that, the memory of seeing Ahiga forced to the pedestal came back to her mind and she started to shake.

"Mom?" Ahiga said when he felt her trembling. His voice brought her back to the present and she brushed her hand over her cheek so a tear wouldn't fall.

"I'm sorry, Ahiga," Haseya said and breathed deeply, "This is a joyful day. Let's go back inside. Nesia is waiting in there and I don't want to bring her down over this."

"Sure," Ahiga finally said and the two of them went back inside. Ahiga made sure what just happened was not brought up again and ensured they all focused on the subject at hand: Nesia's pregnancy.

The next day at work, Ahiga relayed to his coworkers that Nesia was pregnant and reactions ranged from gleeful and happy for him to passively congratulatory which he expected. Nesia was going to be spending the day with Natalie to bask in the happy news while Ahiga was going to the gym right after work. So once he punched out for the day, he drove straight to Port Angeles and went straight to the changing room to change into his shorts and gloves. When he stepped back out, Boss saw him and called out to him.

"Ahiga!" Boss yelled and waived for Ahiga to come to the punching bags. Freddy was busy in the ring with a class that was running late but he did notice Ahiga and wave at him before returning his attention to the class. Ahiga made it to the punching bags and picked one to stand in front of.

"I take it class started late?" Ahiga asked then got into position to start throwing punches.

"Yeah; the power had gone out earlier and we didn't get it fixed until 4:00," Boss said. "I'm freaking out thinking we didn't pay the fucking electric bill: you want to know what the actual issue was? A fucking squirrel went to town on a power line nearby. Whole block was out of power."

"Curse that fuzzy little bastard," Ahiga said with a light smile.

"So how'd your day go? Any furry critters throw a wrench into your day?"

"No, nothing like that," Ahiga said and stopped punching for a second. Given it was official, Ahiga said, "Nesia went to see Kyle yesterday."

"Doctor Uncle you mean?" Boss asked. "Nesia alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Ahiga said. "She, uh…..found out she's pregnant."

"Nesia's pregnant?"

"Yeah," Ahiga said.

"Was this planned?"

"Yeah, it was," Ahiga said. "Back in June, she said she wanted to start trying so that's what we've been doing."

"So…are you happy about this?"

"Nesia and mom are thrilled to death," Ahiga said.

"I bet they are. I asked if you're happy about this."

"I'm trying to be," Ahiga admitted. "When Nesia called and told me it was official, I don't think I've ever felt so scared in my life. When I got home, she was so happy that it kind of rubbed off on me for a while. Then mom came over, she was overjoyed about it and she started talking about when she was pregnant with me and my feelings on the matter kind of went downhill from there."

"I see," Boss said, "so…..I guess my next question is when's the baby due?"

"We'll find out Monday when Nesia has her first ultrasound," Ahiga said. "Nesia thinks it'll be in spring."

"Sounds about right," Boss shrugged. "Well, for the record, I'm happy for you. You have a remarkable talent for accomplishing some great things once you've pulled your head out of your ass."

Ahiga smiled at Boss's attempt to joke, "Thanks for the encouragement, Boss."

"You still want to fight in the Water Glove tournament this year right?"

"Of course I do," Ahiga said adamantly. "Hell, if anything, I need to participate more than ever. $1500 will go a long way."

"Not as long as maybe it should," Boss muttered as he looked off to the side, "but hey, it'll help. I'll see about getting you into other tournaments while we're at it. I hear there's going to be one in Michigan, so I'll see if I can find a challenger."

"Thanks Boss," Ahiga said and got back into position to start punching. "Nesia already knows what names she wants to give the baby."

"What names are those?"

"She wants to name it Dauer Jae if it's a boy and Saraya if it's a girl," Ahiga said.

"Those are good names," Boss agreed. "Dauer's her maiden name right?"

"Yeah," Ahiga answered. "I'm taking Monday off work so I can be with Nesia during the ultrasound. Maybe when I see the baby it'll be a little less scary."

"We'll see," Boss said but Ahiga could sense he sounded a little skeptical. "Well, if it's a boy, make sure to start bringing him in. We've got to start him early."

Ahiga chuckled and stopped the bag from moving to give himself a break, "So eager to replace me are you?"

"Picture it," Boss said jokingly, "DJ Washington: New Middle Weight champion – Successor to Ahiga 'The Falcon' Washington and better than his father before him."

"And if I have a girl?" Ahiga asked.

"Tough shit; you're on your own," Boss said and Ahiga laughed out loud. Boss laughed with him and patted his shoulder.

"I needed that," Ahiga said once he'd finished laughing.

"I figured," Boss said. "Don't let being a father scare you. Take it a day at a time. I'm told once you hold the kid, everything will feel better."

"I hope so," Ahiga said.

The rest of the week up to Monday seemed to drag by. Nesia was excited to finally have more information about the baby and Ahiga just wanted to actually see the kid. He was hoping seeing his baby would finally give him those warm, fuzzy feelings he kept hearing about. On Monday, the two of them went to the hospital together and were taken to a special room in the hospital with an ultrasound machine and Evalina came into the room to greet them.

"Hey Aunt Evie," Nesia said when Evalina came in.

"Hello Nesia," Evalina said with a big smile, "It's so good to see you. And what a happy occasion for it." Nesia gripped Ahiga's hand lovingly as Evalina walked to the machine and got it ready. "So how have you been feeling?"

"I'm alright," Nesia said. "I'm usually fine most of the day. That tea Uncle Kyle gave me helps a lot."

"I don't know why he doesn't bottle and sell it; it's a miracle cure," Evalina smiled. She then moved aside Nesia's hospital gown and the blanket so her belly was visible. "Now this is going to be a little cold, but it'll warm up in no time," she said before putting some gel on Nesia's belly. It was indeed very cold and it made her flinch but she soon got used to it. Evalina used the wide wand to move the gel around and just like that, a black and white image came onto the screen. Ahiga paid close attention to it, but he couldn't see anything. It all just looked empty and like a big black hole with white surrounding it.

"Where's the baby?" Ahiga asked.

"Baby is," Evalina said as she moved the wand around so there was a little speck in view, "right here." She pointed at the little white, indistinguishable dot.

"That's the baby?"

"Yup, that's your baby," Evalina smiled. "Baby's still about the size of a pea right now but he'll get bigger."

"So it's a boy?"

"Sorry, no, I can't tell yet," Evalina said, "we'll be able to tell in a few more weeks. I just say 'he' until I know. Force of habit." She pressed another button and the room filled with a beating sound. "There's baby's heartbeat, so you're at least six weeks."

"Can you only hear the heartbeat then?" Ahiga asked.

"5 ½ to 6 weeks is when we generally start to first hear baby's heart," Evalina said and then started doing some measuring on the screen. She took a few more measurements focusing on the task at hand while Nesia and Ahiga watched the little dot on the screen. When he looked really closely, Ahiga thought he could see some movement which was really strange. Kyle walked in just as Evalina was finishing up.

"Everything looking alright?" Kyle asked Evalina.

"Yes, everything looks normal," she replied. "Based on the measurements, I'm estimating baby's about 6 ½ weeks old."

"And Nesia? Have you been feeling alright? Have you experienced any new symptoms?"

"Right it's still just nausea," Nesia said. "I did have a really hard time falling asleep all this weekend, but I'm sure that was just from being excited for the ultrasound."

"If the insomnia persists, let me know and I'll give you some tips and remedies that'll help," Kyle said. "You're still not drinking coffee?"

"Nope; haven't had any since May," Nesia answered with a proud smile. "After those first three days, it wasn't so bad."

"That's good," Kyle said. "Just stick with water and the tea if you feel sick. No pop or coffee and obviously no alcohol until you're done breastfeeding."

"Got it," Nesia said. "Honestly, I've been desperately craving Twix for the longest time."

"I won't fault you having candy here and there; just don't overdo it," Kyle said. "99% of what you eat needs to be fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats. As far as increasing your calories, having an extra yogurt with berries or two eggs in the morning will be plenty."

"Okay," Nesia said.

"Also, Ahiga, you're going to need to take over caring for the cats' litter box," Kyle said.

"Sure," Ahiga said less than eagerly with a shrug. His eyes stayed on the screen as if staring long enough would make a distinguishable baby appear. However, all that was there was that little dot. "When will it start to look like a baby?"

"Around the second trimester," Kyle said. "By then, the baby's face will have developed more fully and we'll start seeing arms and legs." Evalina removed the wand from Nesia's belly and wiped the gel off the wand then off Nesia's belly.

"Alright, Nesia, everything looks as it should. We'll get you set up for another ultrasound appointment once you're about 12 weeks along," Evalina said and then reached down to grab the image she had printed out from the machine and handed it over to Nesia with a smile. "Here's baby's first picture."

"Thank you," Nesia smiled and accepted the picture. Ahiga looked at it again but to him it really looked nothing like a baby.

"Evalina, go ahead and help Nesia get scheduled for another appointment," Kyle said then looked at Ahiga. "Come with me for a minute and we'll talk."

"Is something wrong?" Ahiga asked.

"It's nothing to worry about," Kyle said and guided Ahiga to stand up and follow him out of the room so they could walk to Kyle's office. Once they'd made it to that wing of the hospital and Kyle opened the door to his office allowing Ahiga to step in first. It was a rather plain room. His desk was covered in paperwork but there was an organization to the chaos and Kyle's college degree and certificates were hung on the walls. Ahiga took a seat across from Kyle who sat behind his desk.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Ahiga asked.

"I just thought we could use a heart to heart," Kyle said. "Better to talk to me about this than JJ; trust me. You're still looking a bit shaken by the pregnancy." Ahiga was quiet a moment as he thought about what to say, but nothing came to mind. Nothing that he wanted to hear. "Don't worry about what I 'want to hear', Ahiga. Just tell me what you're thinking?"

"Why bother? You're listening to me anyway," Ahiga snapped quietly when he realized Kyle was reading his mind. Another silence passed that Kyle eventually ended.

"You know," Kyle started, "I didn't get married until I was over forty. Evalina and I met during the war when I was stationed in Naples. This has a point; I swear," Kyle said when he heard Ahiga becoming extremely annoyed and wondering what Kyle was bringing this up for. "Anyway, when we got married, I'd told Evalina that I didn't want kids right away. I wanted to accomplish some things first. If I'm completely honest with myself, if I'd had my way at the time, I'd have happily gone without having kids at all. That wasn't what Evalina wanted, though. Above all else, I wanted her to be happy. She was growing extremely jealous, not that she'd ever admit it to me. That woman's too good for me. She was willing to wait as long as I needed, but it was weighing heavily on her and I knew it. So I told her, 'Let's start trying'."

"Can you get to the point, Kyle?" Ahiga said.

"The point is when she became pregnant, Evalina was thrilled but I wasn't really," Kyle said. "I remember building Evalynn's crib with my father-in-law and I spoke without thinking and said it felt like this baby was coming before I'd accomplished what I wanted to. I hadn't opened this hospital at the time. Dante, Evalina's father, ripped me a new asshole over that. Evalina overheard me so she was upset of course. How I was feeling came out in the worst way imaginable. I don't want you falling into the same situation, especially with JJ involved. That boy will see you skinned alive and hung on his wall if he thought you didn't want this baby."

"I never said I didn't want the baby!" Ahiga yelled as he stood up from the chair. He quickly realized he'd started yelling and cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"You're just scared you'll be a bad father," Kyle said, finishing the thought he knew Ahiga was having. Ahiga stood there staring at the floor like he might start crying but he didn't. Kyle gave him a moment knowing he needed the quiet. Ahiga finally sat back down but his eyes stayed on the floor. "It's natural to be nervous. Kids are an enormous responsibility and they require more work than anything else ever will in your whole life. You're only human. You and Nesia will make mistakes, but that's part of raising kids. When we were expecting Evalynn, it was the scariest moment of my life, but do you want to know something?"

"What?" Ahiga said weakly as he finally lifted his head to look at Kyle.

"When I held Evalynn, I loved her right away," Kyle said. "Once my daughter was in my arms, I'd have burned this whole building to the ground without a second thought if she needed me to."

"I was trying so hard," Ahiga admitted, "to feel something like that when Evalina was doing the ultrasound. I was trying to feel that instant bond…..but I just couldn't. All I saw was a little bean and still scared shitless."

"I'll suggest something that helped me a lot when Evalina was pregnant," Kyle said. "Evalina told me to start talking to her belly and that helped me bond with Evalynn more easily."

"About what?"

Kyle shrugged, "Whatever you want. Talk about your interests, talk about your day, projects, work: anything. Just talk to the baby. It'll humanize the baby and help you bond. That's what it did for me."

"Okay," Ahiga finally said. "I'll try."

"Good," Kyle said and stood up from his chair. "I'll walk you out." Ahiga nodded and stood up from his chair following Kyle out of the office and to the front desk. Nesia was at the entrance waiting and smiled when she saw them approach. "Good luck, okay Ahiga? Just follow my advice: talk to the baby. Let him or her get to know you."

"Okay," Ahiga said.

Kyle patted Ahiga's back, "I'll see you at the next ultrasound if I don't see you before that."

"Thanks," Ahiga said and walked to the entrance to meet Nesia while Kyle retreated into the hospital.

"What did Uncle Kyle want to talk about?" Nesia asked Ahiga once he'd reached her and she was in his arms.

"He was just giving me some advice," Ahiga said.

The two of them relaxed for the rest of the day until Ahiga had to go into the city for the gym. While he trained, he thought over what Kyle suggested and even thought about what he might talk to the baby about. Then an idea popped in his head. When he returned to the house, Nesia was in bed already and was reading Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice and he almost laughed out loud.

"How's Miss Rice's book so far?"

"Thoroughly enjoyable," Nesia said and grabbed a piece of paper that she placed between the pages to save her place. "Lestat changed a little girl named Claudia to a vampire seemingly to make Louis stay in what I can only describe as the most platonic gay relationship I've ever seen put on paper."

"Is that the whole premise?"

"No, it's just a single incident in a whole barrage of events," Nesia said and put the book down. "How'd training go tonight?"

"Great," Ahiga said. "We're getting ready for the Water Glove tournament in October and I'll need to start cutting soon."

"You'll need to start cutting in August?"

"Probably at the start of August," Ahiga said. "I may have been enjoying too many carbs of late."

"You'll burn that off easy I'm sure," Nesia smiled. "Me? I plan to enjoy all the carbs I want."

Ahiga smiled, "You do that." He came over to the bed climbing in over the covers bringing himself by Nesia's side. He rested his head over her belly hoping to hear the baby's heartbeat and while he heard a heartbeat, it sounded like Nesia's.

"Checking on the baby?" Nesia asked with a loving smile and started brushing her fingers through his hair.

"I just thought I'd tell the baby a story tonight," Ahiga said and started rubbing her belly with his hand while his head rested in her lap. "How about I tell you a story my mom used to tell me when I was a child," Ahiga said, directing the comment to Nesia's belly. Nesia continued to run her fingers gently through his hair as she smiled lovingly at him. "Once, a very long time ago before the First Man and First Woman, there was a tiny spider that lived in his tiny borough in the desert. Little critters would wonder by his home where he waited and when they fell into his hole, he'd snatch them up and eat them.

"But one day while the spider hid in his hole, a scorpion made its way across the dusty plain toward the spider's home. The spider was scared of the giant black scorpion and tried to stay in its hole and out of sight, but the scorpion spotted the spider and attacked. The scorpion had giant pincers and a long tail with a scary stinger at the end. The spider tried to back away further into its hole, but the scorpion grabbed the spider forcing him out.

"To defend its life and his home, the spider gathered its courage and got out of the scorpion's pincer sacrificing one of its eight legs and started to bite the giant scorpion at the base of its tail. The scorpion tried to reach for the spider or sting the spider but it was no use and the spider's venom won the day. When the scorpion rose victorious, it returned to its little hole and consumed the scorpion as its reward." Nesia stared at Ahiga a moment. She assumed it was supposed to be an underdog tale of a fashion but it sounded so gruesome.

"Haseya used to tell you that story?" Nesia asked.

"She did," Ahiga said nodded and looked up at Nesia worried he'd already screwed up. "Was that not a good story to tell the baby?"

"It's fine," Nesia said and rubbed her hand over his cheek tenderly. "Tell the baby about training today. How did it go?"

"Well," Ahiga started with uncertainty but turned his gaze over to her belly as he'd done when he'd told his story, "When I got there, Freddy had just finished teaching a class and the other boxers and I sparred against one another. I fought against Freddy today but he beat be this time. It's okay, though. If I'm going to lose against someone, better there not be thousands of strangers watching and money on the line."

"Didn't you say they lost power the other day?" Nesia encouraged and finally Ahiga smiled and gently patted Nesia's belly.

"Yeah, they did. Boss was freaking out because he thought the bill had gone unpaid but it just turned out to be the fault of an ill-fated squirrel chewing on the electric line. It got fixed before I had to go in, but the boxing class Freddy teaches started late."

"Do you get squirrels in the desert?" Nesia asked. "I don't remember seeing any when we'd been out there."

"Sure we do. They're not like what you're used to here but we have them," Ahiga said. "They're all ground squirrels and most of them are really small. They're not as fluffy as you're used to either. The ones you have here get really, really fat and have fuller tails."

"It's good to be a squirrel in the Pacific Northwest it sounds like," Nesia smiled.

"Yeah," Ahiga replied. He took a moment to think of another story he might be able to tell the baby, but most of the stories he knew were scary. So he decided to change the subject. "Will it be alright for you to be in a large crowd when Water Glove starts?"

"I can't imagine it'll be a problem, but I'll check with Kyle," Nesia said as she looked lovingly at him. "Men always think women are so fragile when we're pregnant."

"Given the end result before the baby's born is being extremely top heavy, I'd argue that's a perfectly reasonable concern," Ahiga said and Nesia giggled.

"I've got time before I have to worry about being top heavy," Nesia said and lifted Ahiga's hand up to her lips to give his hand a kiss. Ahiga sat up so he could kiss her lips but quickly returned to his spot resting his head on her lap. "Go ahead and tell the baby another story. It doesn't have to be a story Haseya told you. It can just be something you made up. When my cousin Scarlet was little, Uncle Nathan used to tell her a story about a willow tree that wanted to be somewhere warmer and its wish came true."

"Give me a second to think of something," Ahiga said and looked at her belly. "If you're a boy, Boss already plans on replacing me with you."

Nesia giggled, "That's not true."

"It is; he said so himself," Ahiga said with a light smile. "He told me to picture DJ Washington's name on a billboard advertised as better than I had been."

"I appreciate that Boss has confidence in our son, but let's give the boy space to decide if he wants to get into boxing," Nesia smiled. "Maybe he just isn't interested in the sport or maybe we're having a girl and she'll want to get into boxing."

"I asked Boss what if we have a girl and he just said, 'Tough shit kid. You're on your own,'" Ahiga said and Nesia laughed.

"May God have mercy on our souls," Nesia said and Ahiga laughed with her. He gently tapped his finger thinking he might feel something, but he didn't. "It's too soon to feel the baby kick."

"Can't blame me for trying," Ahiga said.

"Don't worry. The moment the baby kicks, I'll make sure you feel it," Nesia said.

"Okay," Ahiga answered. "I should probably take a shower."

"Yeah; you are a bit smelly," Nesia said and Ahiga chuckled.

"Fine. I know when I'm not wanted," he joked and got off the bed while Nesia laughed.

Ahiga showered and when he returned to bed, the two of them went to bed together and Ahiga held her close to him until they'd both fallen asleep. The tea Kyle had given Nesia was really the only thing making it easier for her to get any work done and make sure she was prepared for when the school year finally began. Come August, she wasn't showing yet, but she was finally starting to feel a little better. Meanwhile in Seattle, it was Kamron's first day of Kindergarten. Ashti wanted to be present to see Kamron off to his first day of school so they reached out to Rosalie to look after the kids while they dropped Kamron off. They'd all gotten up early and had breakfast together as a family as they normally would but as a little treat, Roshad made lemon cookies for Kamron to include with his usual breakfast.

Jaedynn had to sit for most of the morning with her feet being so sore. Her feet were sore, her back was sore, she was having trouble sleeping – this pregnancy had proved to be the most challenging of them all. Kamron had scolded his unborn sibling to stop whatever they were doing so Jaedynn wasn't feeling bad anymore, but his efforts were sadly in vain. She appreciated it all the same and always thanked him when he was done. After they'd all eaten, Jaedynn and Roshad brought Kamron upstairs so they could get him dressed in his uniform. He was enrolled in a non-religious private school that was highly accredited and generously funded courtesy of the tuition paid by the parents. His uniform was a pair of navy dress pants and a light blue polo shirt but it was a size usually provided for second or third graders since he was already taller than the other children that would be in his class. Roshad and Jaedynn sat in the front seat of the car while Ashti sat in the backseat with Kamron and fussed over him nearly the whole time making sure he was put together. Kamron allowed Ashti's fussing without complaint. Once they were parked in front of the school there were already a large group of kids that surrounded a few teachers all of whom were wearing colorful patterned suits or skirts with jackets. The kids in older grades walked into the school business as usual walking past all the new Kindergarteners.

"Now remember Kamron: you behave and you mind your teacher," Ashti said once they were parked.

"Yes, Madar Jun," Kamron answered. Jaedynn and Roshad got out of the car first so Jaedynn could pull back to seat to allow Kamron and Ashti to exit the car. Jaedynn tried to kneel to adjust Kamron's collar but Ashti quickly intercepted warning Jaedynn to stay upright and took over the task.

"Close your eyes, Kamron," Ashti said and Kamron did as he was told so Ashti could open her eyes and look at him while she adjusted his collar, straightened his shirt and made sure any little stray hairs or bits of dust were removed from his uniform. Then she smiled at him though her smile was hidden under her green floral hijab. She closed her eyes before gushing in Farsi.

"Madar Jun," Kamron whined as Ashti cooed to him, Ashti having said something especially embarrassing. Roshad picked up Kamron while Ashti scolded him over messing up Kamron's uniform all over again. Roshad answered her in Farsi then made sure Kamron was looking at Jaedynn who took Kamron in her arms to give him a hug.

"Good luck today, Kamron," Jaedynn said. She was embarrassed when her voice cracked a little as tears were forming.

"Maman, why are you crying?" Kamron asked.

"I'm alright, Kamron. Take pity on your poor mother; she's not ready to see you growing up so fast," Jaedynn said.

"Don't be silly maman," Kamron said innocently and Jaedynn couldn't help but laugh a little and start kissing his cheek over and over again until he started pushing on her to make her stop, embarrassed that his mom was gushing over him in front of his new classmates.

Roshad smiled and hugged Kamron and kissed his cheek as well. By then, Kamron was feeling especially embarrassed and was pushing Roshad away too. Roshad just chuckled and finally put Kamron back down on his feet. The moment he was on the ground, Kamron ran away to join the other kids just in time for the teacher to order the children to start getting organized. She started calling out children's names and instructing them to get into a single file line in alphabetical order. Kamron was towards the end of the line with a James in front of him and a Johnson behind him in the line. Once that was done, the teacher guided the children inside the building. Before he went in, Kamron looked back at Jaedynn, Roshad and Ashti and timidly waved. Jaedynn smiled and waved back more eagerly and even blew him a kiss. That renewed Kamron's embarrassment and Jaedynn overheard the little boys beside Kamron that had seen her display start teasing him. Once the kids were inside the school, Jaedynn felt a little tear fall and Roshad wiped it away from her cheek then wrapped his arm around her waist bringing her close to him.

"Don't cry, Jaedynn," Roshad whispered lovingly in her ear.

"I'm sorry; I'm just so proud of him," Jaedynn said. "My little Kamron."

"Not so little," Roshad chuckled, "that little boy is growing tall."

"I'm afraid he gets that from me," Jaedynn said and rubbed her swollen belly. She was only a month away from delivering and was ready to be done. Roshad rubbed her belly and kissed her cheek. "We can pick him up at noon?"

"Yes, we return to pick Kamron up at noon," Roshad said and gave her one more kiss before they got in the car and drove back home to pass the day with Iman and the younger children as they waited out the day before they could finally bring Kamron home from his first day of school.