Haha, whoops... Enjoy Chapter 45!

"She's beautiful." Sera commented as Laurien closed the front door behind them once they had entered the house. "How old is she?"

Laurien sighed. "Almost eight, if you can believe it. She's grown up so fast."

"You know, she's the spitting image of Roosje at that age."

Laurien paused as she picked up one of Nina's toys from the floor with difficulty, before turning to look at Sera somewhat suspiciously. "How would you know that?"

The other woman shrugged. "Even though we didn't talk, your mother and I, she still sent photographs in the mail."

"Ah." Laurien murmured softly, leaning against the nearby wall as she watched Sera take in their house, if that was even the right word for what it was. It felt more akin to a rustic log cabin with the visible wooden walls and exposed support beams overhead. Their family's many books lay waiting upon a nearby handmade shelf, almost every single one of which Laurien had picked up very recently. Upon the lower shelves, within reach of little hands, was Nina's collection, including the favorites; The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Princess Bride, and The Monster At The End Of This Book.

A record player was nestled snuggly in a corner, along with a mixture of ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, Nina Simone, who was Nina's namesake, and many other albums that were carefully arranged in the storage case below. Nina had taken a liking to Queen especially, playing their records to the point that the whole family knew all of the words by heart. When she was younger, Nina would coerce them into partaking in a dance party, with Erik and Laurien both taking turns to dance with Nina as they prepared dinner together.

Their rustic living room chairs faced towards the wood burning fire place, with a thick clock and several framed photos upon the mantel. Sera approached the pictures, a small smile forming on her face. Laurien had framed many of the photos that she had found back in Belgium twenty years ago, including those of her parents and siblings, and even one of Sera and Laurien's mother together. On either side of the clock on the mantel, were two different photos of Erik, Laurien and Nina in their backyard. In one, Laurien and Erik held each other in a side embrace as Nina stood between them, holding a massive tabby cat in her arms; Basil, the wild cat that Nina had befriended upon them moving in to their new house. In the other, both Laurien and Erik held Nina in their combined embrace, while Basil loitered about their ankles, looking rather irked that he was being neglected at that moment.

"So, I see Erik has grown a beard." Sera remarked, squinting at the two photos. "No doubt to effectively hide his identity?"

"Yeah, he was going for the friendly Canadian lumberjack look." Laurien joked as she joined Sera at the unlit fireplace, admiring the handsome smile on her husband's face. "He was considering growing out his hair, but I quickly put a stop to that. Didn't want to be married to a George Harrison lookalike."

The older woman laughed before abruptly stopping to spin around to face her. "So you did get married?"

Laurien held up her hand, the silver ring Erik had made upon her finger. "In Switzerland, summer of '75. A couple of months after Nina was born."

Sera smirked, raising the eyebrow above her blue eye. "And what would your mother say to that?"

"Hey, these are changing times." Laurien scoffed, tucking her hand back into her sweater pocket. "We are far from the social norms of the 1950s."

"Not far enough, if you ask me." Sera griped before turning back to the photos. "Oh, this is cute." She remarked, holding up one of Nina at three years old, almost nose to nose with a faun that had mustered up enough courage to come investigate her. "She's like a modern day Snow White."

Laurien gave a small chuckle as she moved away from the fireplace. "Would you like some coffee?" She asked, beckoning the other woman towards the kitchen.

"Please."

The doorway opening to the kitchen was rather small. While it was just tall enough for Laurien to pass beneath unimpeded, Erik still needed to stoop every time he entered or exited to avoid getting a thump to the head. After making her way into the kitchen, Laurien began busying herself with the preparation of the coffee as Sera positioned herself near the large kitchen window, taking in the beautiful view of the Polish countryside.

"How do you take it?' Laurien asked, glancing into the fridge, grimacing to herself as she saw that the milk was dangerously low.

"Black is fine." Sera responded, eliciting a small sigh of relief from Laurien as she closed the fridge door.

She snuck a glance at Sera while her attention was elsewhere. Her auburn hair was longer than what Laurien remembered, yet that was the only physical difference she noticed. Despite that, Laurien still had the impression that she was looking upon a practically unrecognizable individual. From the relaxed set of her shoulders, to the brightness of her eyes, it was clear that something had finally settled within her. Instead of the tumultuous heat that Laurien had sensed in her ten years prior, she now felt a calm warmth; the comfort of a singular fluttering flame rather than the unpredictable ferocity of a roaring inferno.

With a soft smile, Laurien brought her gaze back to the matter of preparing coffee. "So, how did you find us?"

"I have my ways." Sera smirked, in such an overly suave and mysterious way that even Mr. Bond would have taken notes.

The remark, though purposefully embellished, still made Laurien frown. "Would the police or any western governments have the same access to this information?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No, it's a quite exclusive informant." Sera reassured her, suddenly serious.

"Good." Laurien said, a renewed sense of ease sweeping throughout her body. "How long are you in town?"

"I don't know." Sera shrugged, moving away from the window and making herself comfortable in one of the seats at the kitchen table. "To be honest, it kind of depended upon your reaction."

Laurien considered this as she clicked the button to start the coffee maker, giving it a small shake to help it get going. Bringing Sera into their lives would be a great risk, no matter how long or short a time she stayed. Erik and Laurien had spent years building the life they enjoyed now, which had been no easy feat. Any slip of information or perceived irregularity of their story could lead to the complete upheaval of their life in Dąbrowa Górnicza. Though something told her that, after years of practice, Sera could manage it.

Laurien turned to face her as the coffee maker puttered to life. "Well, you can stay with us, for however long you'd like."

Sera's gaze softened in what appeared to be sincere relief. "I'd like that very much." She said, a small smile forming on her lips before she quickly changed the subject. "How far along are you?"

Laurien's hands unconsciously moved to her stomach, a gentle warmth blossoming throughout her body. "A little over eight months."

"So you'll soon be ready to go at any moment."

"Yeah." Laurien breathed, feeling as if she were already ready to go. She took a quick glance into the living room before turning back to her guest. "Don't tell them when they grow up, but they were a bit of a surprise."

Sera's eyebrows raised comically. "Really?"

Laurien nodded. "To be completely honest, I wasn't too hopeful that I could even have kids after what happened."

"Charles told me about that." The other woman admitted, a wave of sadness emitting from her, causing Laurien to try to busy herself as she rode out the unpleasant reminder. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Laurien took a deep breath before turning back around, a neutral expression upon her face as she changed the subject, not wanting to linger any longer. "So you've seen Charles since Paris?"

Sera nodded.

"How is he?" Laurien pressed further, a nervous wave causing her chest to constrict slightly. "Did he look alright?"

"He's good. I saw him late last November." Sera explained, subconsciously fiddling with the shoe lace wrapped around her wrist. "He looked healthy. Happy, even."

"Glad to hear it." Laurien responded, a smile curving her lips as she felt the nervousness dissipating. "Is Hank still there?"

"Yeah."

"Still buried in his work?"

"They've gotten the school up and running again. There's perhaps thirty or forty students living there."

Laurien's heart clenched in her chest again as she remembered the faces of those who had attended before the school had shut down. She was snapped out of her reverie by the beep of the coffee machine. "That's great."

A giggle from outside let them know that Nina and her faun friends had made another tour of the yard. "Have you ever thought about taking Nina there?" Sera asked.

"I have." Laurien nodded as she poured the coffee into a mug. "But no."

Sera frowned, seemingly taken aback. "Why not?"

"It's just too difficult considering our past in the States – and with Charles for that matter. Besides, Nina is doing so well in school here. She's made so many friends, and so have we." Laurien grabbed the coffee mug from the counter and handed it to Sera. "We've planted roots for the first time in a long time. I'd hate to throw that all away."

Sera nodded, taking a healthy sip from her mug despite it still being piping hot. She pondered upon this for a moment before glancing back up at Laurien. "So you've been doing good?"

"Yeah." Laurien responded, a smile tugging on her lips. "We've been really good."

She moved to take the fixings for salad out of the fridge for dinner. The potatoes she'd already boiled were keeping warm in the oven and the dinner rolls were waiting within the protection of the bread box.

"I hope you don't mind me asking as to why you're here?" Laurien prompted, running a hand over her stomach as she turned to face her guest once she'd placed all the fixings on the counter. "You're not in trouble are you?"

"No, I'm not in trouble." Sera chuckled before she quickly sobering. "I am just taking you up on your offer from Paris, which I do hope still stands, that if I had gotten my act together, we might be able to get to know one another properly."

"The offer most certainly still stands." Laurien reassured her, keeping deliberate eye contact. "It's been a while, though."

"Better late than never, here I am." Sera stated before glancing back at where the photos lay in the living room. "I was never fully able to be a part of you and your siblings' lives because of what I was dealing with, as well as my strained relationship with your mother. I'd like to rectify that." Her voice then quietened, her mismatched eyes shining. "There used to be so many of us. Now you're the only family I've got left."

A wave of grief slammed into Laurien, dull and aching, though she maintained eye contact with the other woman as she took a deep breath and digested it, finally looking away with a nod of understanding.

"So what have you been up to?" Laurien asked, changing the subject as she chopped up the lettuce.

Sera sighed as she leaned back in her chair, causing the wood to squeak. "Nothing much, just traipsing around the world, trying out the different cuisine."

"Uh huh."

"It's true, I swear." Sera retorted playfully, raising her hands in the air in mock indignation. "I learned how to make gnocchi and everything."

"Okay, okay." Laurien relented with a laugh.

"You would not believe how many other mutants I came across in my travels. It's absolutely amazing." The older woman explained excitedly, her words coming out at a fast pace. "They're coming out of the woodwork. Ever since the Washington incident, they've felt like they can come out to the public. The world has become a more accepting place since what you guys did."

Laurien remained silent, some doubt simmering in her mind at Sera's words.

Sera frowned at her lack of reaction. "Have you not been watching the news?"

Laurien shrugged. "Other than children's shows or the odd episode here and there, we haven't really been watching any television." She and Erik had started to avoid it when the government began broadcasting attacks against Solidarity, the Polish trade union, a few years ago.

"Well, your friend, uh, Raven, right? She's become something of icon."

Laurien's eyebrows raised. "Really?"

"Yeah, in Cairo, they're selling posters of her from some of the market stalls." Sera laughed as she suddenly remembered something. "Someone was even making G.I. Joe-like action figures of her in France."

Laurien chuckled with her. "Ah, I'm sure she'd love that."

"They have some of Erik, Hank, and yourself as well."

Laurien frowned, dumbstruck. "What?"

"Yeah, look, I brought you some." She rummaged around her handbag before taking out four action figures and then handing them to Laurien for inspection.

"Oh dear." Laurien laughed, seeing the world's portrayal of them. "I think they're overcompensating in some areas." She said, holding up both her and Raven's action figures that had quite massive breasts.

"Yeah, though you're not doing all that badly in real life."

"Oh, well, thanks." She laughed, looking down at her chest without really meaning to. "Baby hormones."

Laurien then inspected the action figures further. "They're all rather muscular too. Nicely defined abdominal muscles all around." She commented, a silly grin on her face. "More like pro-wrestlers than actual people."

Laurien tried to hand them back to Sera, but the other woman didn't move to take them. "I was thinking that you could give them to Nina to play with."

"Ah." Laurien paused, biting her lip. "It's just that Erik and I haven't really discussed how much Nina should know about our past lives."

Sera frowned. "Well, how much does she know? Does she know about both of your parents?"

Laurien sighed, unconsciously swaying side to side. "She knows that she doesn't have any living grandparents, though lots of kids in her class don't have grandparents, so she's not alone in that regard."

"And what about her heritage?"

"She knows that she's Dutch and German, with a little bit of Polish from Erik's side. We went through all of this for a family tree project in second grade." She explained, and after a pause, added. "With fake names of course."

Sera's eyebrows remained furrowed. "At what point are you going to let her know about your real selves."

"I don't know, maybe when she's eighteen, or at least old enough to understand that we did what we had to do to be safe." Laurien stated, rubbing her forehead as she looked out the window, her head beginning to hurt a bit. "You never had kids, did you?"

"No, too complicated." Sera said, shifting in her seat. "Especially with my lifestyle."

"It can be difficult." Laurien admitted, observing as Nina chased a faun through the maze of trees lining the edge of the forest. "You want to give your children a hundred and ten percent of yourself when you're raising them, and to hold back a part that's so important… It just feels wrong."

"Would I be the first extended family that she's met?"

Laurien nodded slowly before turning to look at her. "And I hope it's alright that she knows you as my sister instead of my aunt."

"Yeah, definitely." Sera assented, leaning back in her chair as she crossed her arms comfortably over her chest. "For a sixty-four-year-old, I guess I could pass for late thirties."

"You could pass for far younger, believe me." Laurien chuckled. "Do you think any of those youthful genes are somehow shared in the family?"

"Ah, you don't want 'em. They only bring trouble." Sera stated, a sly smile upon her lips.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you about something." Laurien began, an old memory coming to the forefront of her mind. She abandoned her salad preparations and instead took a seat across from Sera at the table, not quite trusting her legs to support her during what she was about to say. "Um, well, before I left the mansion, Charles told me that he and Hank had given me some of your blood after I was injured in the mansion raid."

Sera's expression was unreadable, so Laurien continued.

"Charles said that your blood was the only reason I survived." She added, her hands again gravitating towards her stomach. "That it had some healing properties similar to how you can regenerate."

"Huh." Sera muttered, a frown deeply set upon her features.

"Should I be concerned?"

"Not necessarily. It's just that…" Sera hesitated, seeming unwilling to speak the words on her tongue. "The only other time we tried giving my blood to someone else, it killed them."

Laurien's eyes widened. "What?"

"We'd done an emergency blood transfusion during the war. One of Logan's men was in bad shape after a mission, and since I'm a universal donor, I volunteered." Sera's gaze had become glassy, something Laurien had come to recognize in some of the older inhabitants in town. "The moment the blood reached his veins, it was almost like it was burning him from the inside. He was dead within a minute."

Sera cleared her throat, seemingly remembering where she was. "Though I may have forgotten to tell Charles that part when I gave him the bags." Sera admitted, scratching her head. "I didn't think he'd actually use them for anything other than experimentation. Is he sure it was my blood?"

Laurien gave her head a slight shake. "I don't think he had a store of multiple people's blood hanging around."

An eerie silence filled the kitchen, until Sera finally spoke up, "Are you worried about it?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

"Well, if you haven't noticed anything strange, then you shouldn't worry about it." Sera advised her, leaning forward to place a hand on her arm. "You're alive. You're here. That's all that matters."

"Right." Laurien muttered, clutching her stomach a little tighter.

She wasn't permitted to dwell upon the matter for long, before her attention shifted towards the living room as she heard the key in the front door. "There he is." She said, pushing her concerns to the back of her mind before heading into the living room.

The door swung open to reveal her husband as he maneuvered his tool box through the doorway. He put the tool box on the ground before glancing up to see her walking towards him.

"Hello there." She greeted, giving him a quick kiss.

"Hello to you too." He responded, giving her a kiss of his own. "Hey, whose car is that out front?"

"Oh, that's Sera's."

Erik's expression went blank. "Sera?"

"Yeah, you remember Sera?" She said, turning to see that Sera had followed her into the living room, though keeping a bit of a distance away. The woman held up a hand in an awkward attempt at a wave.

"Uh, yeah." He said, albeit a little uncertainly. "It's nice to see you again."

"Sera's going to stay with us for a while." Laurien stated, though in a hushed tone meant for Erik alone.

"And how long is a while?" He asked, wincing slightly as Laurien pinched the back of his arm.

"That is still up in the air." She whispered back before returning to a normal volume. "How was work?"

Erik cleared his throat. "It was alright. Preparing a shipment headed to Moscow, so there's a lot of pressure to have it go smoothly."

Laurien nodded. "And Anatol is back at work?"

"Yes, the fracture has healed for the most part." He said, putting a hand on the couch to steady himself as he removed his work boots. "But he won't be trying to fix the shingles on his house again anytime soon."

"Did you offer him your fix-it services?"

He nodded. "I'll be going over there next Saturday."

"Good man."

He followed her into the kitchen where Sera had discretely seated herself back in her chair.

"What are these?" He asked, gesturing to the figurines on the table.

"Mutant action figures." Laurien responded, taking her own seat. "Sera brought them for Nina. She was just telling me that they're apparently all the rage in France."

"Ah." Erik picked the figurines up and considered them as he held them in his hands. "It'll be good for Nina to have some mutant role models to look up to."

"Papa!"

As if summoned by Laurien's powers, their daughter tore through the kitchen door and into Erik's arms.

"Hello, my Liebling! Did you have a good day?"

She nodded rapidly and when Erik let her down, he held out the action figures to her.

"Hey, look what Sera brought you."

Nina's eyes grew wide as she spotted them. "Who are they?"

"They are mutant heroes." Erik explained as he kneeled down next to her and pointed each out to her. "This one is Beast. Mystique. The Levitating Woman" When reaching his own, he paused for a moment, as if hesitant to proceed. "And Magneto." He finally stated.

Nina's gaze lingered upon the red and purple figurine. "Is he a bad guy?"

"No, he's a good guy, kochanie." Laurien clarified, earning her a somewhat glowing look from Erik.

"Now, what do you say?" Erik prompted once he had recovered.

"Thank you, Aunty." Nina said shyly.

Sera nodded, giving Nina a kind smile. "You're very welcome, sweetie."

"How about you take those up to your room and get washed up for dinner?" Laurien asked, getting to her feet once more.

Nina nodded and practically sprinted up the stairs with her new treasures held tightly in her arms.

Later that night, Laurien carefully closed the door to Nina's room and quietly made her way into her own where Erik was seated upon the bed, reading.

"Nina is in bed, and another chapter is through, though I think we should be prepared for a possible reaction to tomorrow's chapter." She said as she shut their bedroom door behind her.

"And why's that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her from behind his book.

"Thorin Oakenshield will meet his end in the Battle of the Five Armies." She explained, sympathetically. "She isn't even particularly fond of him, yet I feel as if we should be somewhat prepared all the same."

He nodded in agreement. "Probably for the best."

"Chickens are fed, the barn door is closed and locked…" She trailed off, going through the list in her head. "I feel as if I'm missing something."

"I left out some scraps for Nina's nocturnal friends." Erik aided, his words somewhat distorted as he yawned. "Dishes are in the drying rack and washing is hanging out to dry overnight."

"Good. I think that's all of it." She said, before walking into the adjoining washroom to brush her teeth. "And Sera's all set up in the guest bedroom."

"Did you know that she was going to be coming?" Erik's voice called to her.

"Not a clue."

"Is it wise to have her around when she's proven herself to be quite volatile in the past?"

Laurien understood what he meant, considering that the last time Erik had seen Sera, she had just shot herself in the head, but dinner had been quite an opportune time to show how she had changed. It had gone very well, with Sera becoming a bit more talkative in Nina's and Erik's presence, gaining some confidence after listening to Nina describe the bird that had been outside her bedroom window that morning. Nina really seemed to have taken a shine to Sera, lavishing in the questions that Sera asked about her friends, both human and animal, and the adventures so far of Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End.

Laurien could still sense his apprehension from across the room. "She's gone through a lot of changes since Paris." Laurien started, being careful with how she worded her answer. "I think that she's doing much better than she was when we first met her."

"I hope you're right." He said, depositing his book upon his bedside table.

"Yeah, me too." She stated, exiting the bathroom and making her way over to where he sat on the bed. She carefully straddled his lap, allowing enough space for her stomach between them. "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't consult you about her staying. It's just that she's actually here, and I got excited that she seems much more put together than she used to be."

"I know, I know." Erik conceded, running his hands lazily up and down her back. "I'm allowed to be skeptical though."

"And I completely understand that." She said, giving him a small smile. "But she could be a great deal of help when the baby comes, so we won't be running around like chickens with our heads chopped off like last time."

The comparison elicited a low chuckle from Erik's chest, but she could still sense a mingling tinge of foreboding infecting his thoughts. She knew that it was a risk, bringing in someone who was not familiar with the story they'd been playing out, but Sera was one of the only connections to her old life, her parents, and her siblings, and someone who could actually provide some legitimacy for their background. "Come on, Erik." She whispered, holding his face between her hands as she brought her forehead to gently touch his. "Trust me."

He took a deep breath, caving into her touch. His hands enveloped hers and brought them to his chest. His heartbeat was steady and anchoring, a rock to hold onto whenever her migraines hit. It had been intense since going off of her pain medication when she found out that she was pregnant. What she had been taking was nowhere near as intense as what she had been taking during their 'time travelling' adventure, but it was strong enough that it wasn't advisable for her to continue taking it while pregnant.

His hands drifted further until they reached her stomach. "And how has the little one been today."

"Fussy." Laurien sighed, frowning down at her swollen stomach. "They've been kicking me all day."

"A football player?" Erik suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Or a martial artist." Laurien countered.

He chuckled softly, his hands gently smoothing the fabric of her shirt over her bump. "Should we name them Bruce or Lee?"

She scrunched up her nose as she smiled. "Mmm, neither."

"What about Adeline, if it's a girl?"

"Maybe." She responded, tilting her head to the side as she considered it.

"What did Nina suggest for names?"

"Hmm, you'll never guess." She stated, absentmindedly running her fingers through his hair.

"What?"

"For a boy, Bilbo."

"Oh, goodness." He chuckled, shaking his head. "And for a girl?"

"Bilbo, as well."

They tried to stifle their laughter, careful to not disturb Nina and Sera, but were failing. Once their laughter petered out and they composed themselves, Erik carefully pushed a strand of hair away from her face before cupping the side of her neck. "You're alright, though?" He asked seriously. "Any migraines?"

She shook her head as she gave him a small smile, her eyelids growing heavy. "I'm fine, just tired."

"Well, let's get you to bed." He suggested, taking her hands to help her maneuver herself off of his lap and onto the bed. Once she was safely on the mattress, he made to get up, but her grip on his hand stopped him from going far.

"Only if you join me." She persuaded, a violet hue edging her vision.

He raised an eyebrow at her as she sensed his heartrate quicken. "Oh, you read my mind."

A bit more insight into how life is like in the Gurzsky household, and a new view of who Sera is as a person now. The plot will thicken soon, I promise.

Life has been very topsy turvy in the past couple of months, and I haven't exactly enjoyed it. Though I am almost officially finished my first year of university, things feel very uncertain and unfulfilled. I love university, but being away from home is hard.

I lost my Opa two weeks ago to pancreatic cancer, who was one of my main connections to my Dutch ancestry and who inspired my characterization of Laurien and her elaborate past, and who was always very supportive of all my endeavors. He cared a great deal for people and always seemed to go out of his way to get to know someone's life story and help them out if they were in a bad place. He also couldn't pronounce 'th' with his Dutch accent, so words like 'heather' would become 'hezzer'.

I hope you all are well, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you very much, and please review! Always cheers me up to hear from you all!