It was bright and early on a Monday morning when Ellie nabbed JJ from his crib. She planned on letting Dina sleep in since she had a rough night thanks to JJ's tantrum because he didn't want to go to bed despite being grouchy and tired. Thankfully, after a good power nap, their son was fine now so she made her way downstairs before washing up. After she was ready, she quickly fed their wolf pups some food since they were already up and rowdy downstairs before feeding JJ some fruit puree.

While her son happily (and messily) ate his breakfast, Ellie awkwardly ate a bowl of cereal too. It was a miracle her cereal wasn't too mushy this time around but sadly she had to clean the mess on the ground thanks to JJ's swinging hands. By the time she cleaned up the mess, they were all fed and Ellie strapped JJ to her chest before leaving the kitchen with the wolves on her tail. The second they ran out the door, they bolted to the field and chased after one another. Their rambunctious energy made Ellie smile before she sighed to herself.

"Geez, care to share some of that energy?"

The wolf pups paid her no mind, chasing after each other, while Missy made her way to the fenced border as if she were patrolling for safety. It was a behavior she noticed a while back and it made Ellie honestly feel safer. As she let the wolves do their thing, she decided to feed the chickens first today. She could hear them thrashing about from the front of her house and once the coup was in her line of sight, one of their chickens was screaming at the top of their lungs. She chuckled before speaking to them.

"Hey! Be quiet there Chuck, Dina's still sleeping!"

Chuck just cocked his head before cocka doodle doo-ing some more and Ellie just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I'll feed you all in a second."

Not after long, she grabbed the feed and scattered it across the coup. As they pecked away at the floor, Ellie snuck into their nests and harvested a handful of eggs. She placed it in her basket before eyeing Chuck one last time. He was vigorously pecking away at the feed before pausing a brief second and eyeing Ellie. He screamed at her before turning away and eating his chow.

"Excuse you sir, how rude!"

Ellie scoffed before resting her hand on her hip. She then shook her head with a smile before briefly heading back inside and putting away the eggs. After that, she went back outside toward the barn. She opened the doors before quickly greeting their animals.

"Mornin' kids! Hope you were all behaving…"

Their sheep were as energetic as they were for the start of their morning. She fed them as per usual and by the time she was done, Dina popped inside with a slight yawn. "You're up early."

JJ started goo-ing and making happy noises at the sound of Dina's voice. Ellie smiled at him before kissing his head.

"Yeah, I thought we could start our chores early." She nodded toward the sheep. "We gotta start shearing them before they get lost in their fluff."

Dina laughed at that before walking over to Ellie's side and kissing her lips. "Mmh, have you eaten breakfast yet?" She then looked at JJ before cooing and making some kissy noises at him.

"Had some cereal."

That didn't help Dina's happiness. "You should've waited for me, I would have whipped something up for you."

A small huff left Ellie's lips this time. "I just… couldn't fall back asleep."

Humming at that, Dina cupped her fiancé's cheek before stroking it with her thumb. She looked down at her lips before her back in the eyes. "I thought it was my turn today?"

Ellie leaned down and pecked Dina's lips. "You can water the plants for me instead?"

Sighing at that, Dina shook her head. "Alright fine but tomorrow, you're sitting your ass in bed and sleeping in okay El? We're a team. You don't have to do everything yourself. I love you and I don't want you overworking yourself, deal?"

Well, that stung a little. Admittedly, Ellie had been sneakingly doing more yard work which she hoped Dina hadn't noticed but, obviously, she did. What really made Ellie feel bad though was the look in her eyes. She was worried and it was showing on her pretty face.

"Okay, got it." Was her short response but when that look on Dina's face didn't go away, Ellie firmly nodded as well. "Deal."

Dina held her look for a second before softening up and smiling. "Okay, good." She leaned up and kissed her lips one last time before grabbing JJ from his wrap and pulling away. "Good morning, my sweet boy…" She kissed his cheeks a few times before bouncing him around. "Wanna come help me water our plants?"

JJ started laughing before nibbling on his fist.

"Yeah? Yeahhhh, I thought so too!" She turned her back and took a few steps, possibly swaying her hips a little more than usual, before turning back and sparing her a glance. "I expect you back after they're fed."

Ellie couldn't help but roll her eyes playfully. "Yes, mama."

Chuckling at that, Dina blew her a kiss. "I'll see you inside."

After that, Dina made her way to the garden without turning back and all Ellie was left with were warm cheeks. "God dang it…" She rubbed her cheeks before carrying on with her duties. "Why is she so cute?"

The next morning she slept in to Dina's standards.

With summer rolling in around the corner, the two of them finally decided to shear their sheep. They had gone into town not too long ago for a quick lesson on how to do it and after getting some tools, they were all set. Today was the day they were officially starting and, of course, Ellie volunteered to go first. Dina had insisted they do it together first but JJ was being extra fussy for some reason so rather than pushing it back, Ellie promised she'd be extra careful.

So that's where she was now.

In their barn, alone with the sheep.

"Okay… This shouldn't be too hard." Ellie mumbled out loud as she held the shears, not knowing what she was doing. "You've done it before. You've seen Old Aunt Mary do it a bunch of times to… What can go wrong?"

Breathing in and out, she hyped herself up before grabbing Todd and yoinking him into position. He baa-ed in disapproval and after he was settled in her hold, Ellie turned on the shear. It buzzed to life before she lowered it toward his fluffy coat. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and she carefully began trimming down his coat. It was surprisingly going well, nice, slow, and steady… She was fine. It was fine. With the last bit of sheepskin dangling off of Todd, Ellie struggled to shave it off but right when she managed to do it, she somehow slipped and cut herself.

"Ow fuck—"

Todd baa-ed in protest as Ellie dropped him before running off. Meanwhile, Ellie dropped the shear to the side before grabbing her left thigh. Blood gushed from her gash and her pants were quickly soaked in red. She hissed in pain before looking around for something to brace her cut with.

"Fuck—"

There wasn't exactly anything around so she ended up shrugging off her shirt and bracing her wound with the cleanest part of it.

"Dina!" Ellie winced before hopping to the side. "DINA!" She could hear Poncho barking in the distance before he ran over and barked even louder once he saw Ellie's leg. That triggered an onslaught of barking wolves outside before he quickly whimpered and tried licking her wound. "Argh— fuck, god dammit." Sighing at her mistake, she tied off her leg awkwardly before shoving Poncho aside and limping out of the barn. She did her best to walk across the field and once she was somewhat close to the house, she raised her voice again. "DINA!"

By some miracle, Dina heard her this time and less than a minute later, she came running out the door. "Ellie? What's wrong—" Her face dropped the second she saw her fiancé as she gasped out loud. "Oh my god—" She sprinted to her side. "Ellie, are you okay? What happened?" She was quick to pull Ellie's arm over her shoulder. "What the fuck did you do!"

Ellie hissed again as they awkwardly shuffled inside. "Ah fuck fuck— don't be mad." She groaned in pain when she was plopped down onto their couch. "I sort of… sheared myself?"

Dina immediately frowned before slapping her arm. "I told you to be careful!"

"Oww— babe! What the heck?" Ellie whined before awkwardly adding pressure to her thigh.

Her fiancé quickly rushed over and grabbed a medical kit before coming back. "You fucking scared me El!" She got on her knees before reaching up toward the hem of her jeans. "What do you expect me to do when I find my fiancé outside, yelling my name, and half naked with a fucking bleeding leg!"

"I'm sorry!" She really didn't have any excuses. "I was fucking dumb and it slipped."

Dina groaned in frustration as she carefully undid the bloody shirt and pulled down Ellie's pants. "This is not how I wanna see you naked."

"I'm not entirely naked—" She stopped when Dina glared at her. "T-Technically… my pants are still half on."

"You're ridiculous." Dina quickly started cleaning her wound, dabbing her gash with rubbing alcohol.

Ellie hissed loudly again. "Ow, fuck— babe!"

"Oh suck it up, you big baby." Dina tossed aside a bloody swab before preparing another one. "You're lucky it doesn't seem like a deep cut…" She muttered as she closely looked at her thigh. "You won't need stitches but it'll probably scar." She thoroughly cleaned her cut again, ignoring Ellie's hisses of protests, before patching her up.

As Dina focused on treating her leg, Ellie observed the distressed features on her face. Now she really felt bad, her fiancé looked so worried and the tight squeeze in her chest reminded her how bad of a mistake she made. It wasn't until Dina was a few seconds away from wrapping her leg that Ellie finally reached forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Dina looked up at her gesture before smiling softly and turning to kiss the palm of her hand.

"I'm glad you weren't badly hurt."

"Mmh, sorry…"

Dina smiled again before leaning up to kiss her lips. She then started cleaning up the supplies diligently when Ellie rubbed her face. She eventually cleared her throat when she noticed that Dina was sort of keeping her sandwiched on the couch.

"Can I get a shirt now…?"

Dina's eyes immediately flickered up to meet Ellie's before she glanced back down at her bare chest. "Yeah, give me a sec." She kissed her knee one last time before standing up.

As she walked away with the first aid kit in hand, Ellie sighed before slumping into the couch and rubbing her face. She groaned in disbelief at her blunder before dragging her hand down and taking a good look at her injury. Silence passed before she sighed again and noted the wolf pups whimpering close by. Missy was the first to approach her and lick her hand.

"I fucked up Missy." She patted her head and smiled softly. "Don't worry, I'm okay. Just like you before you got better ey girl?" She playfully scratched her head before adding, "Ugh, Joel's gonna be pissed if he finds out."

"He won't be as pissed as I am." Dina quipped as she entered the room before handing Ellie a shirt. "I thought I told you to be careful babe."

Laughing guiltily, Ellie awkwardly put on her shirt. "It's Todd's fault."

Snorting at that, Dina rolled her eyes. "Sure, blame Todd."

"Yeah. Silly Todd."

Shaking her head this time, Dina rested her hand on her hip before starting, "So, some bad news."

Ellie immediately frowned. "What's up?"

"We…" Dina paused for a second to be dramatic before informing her fiancé. "Are low on bandages so I'm going to have to go to town to get more."

"Oh."

"Mhmm…" She then walked into their creative room and grabbed JJ from his spot. She quickly appeared in front of Ellie again before handing him over. "And you, are on babysitting duty."

Ellie huffed as she adjusted JJ on her lap. "But the mess in the barn."

"I'll clean it up and then head out to Jackson. You just rest your cute butt and keep our baby alive."

Dina didn't explicitly say it, but Ellie could sense her sass. "Hey!"

"Just play some music and sing for him, you know he likes listening. I'll be back before you know it."

Ellie would have whined some more but Dina was gone in a flash. As she was left feeling astonished, JJ let out this grunt as if he was reminding his mom to give him some attention. Ellie looked down at him before smiling softly.

"Well, what do you wanna do bubba?"

Her son babbled some gibberish and Ellie bounced him up and down before lifting him up and setting him aside.

"How about I put on some music?" She basically launched herself off the couch before limping toward the record player. "We can draw while we wait for Mama to come back, yeah?"

JJ fell over and made his way toward the armrest. He swatted his arms and wiggled his butt as he crawled over before letting out some cute noises.

Ellie laughed before talking back. "Yeah, I know potato, I look funny limping." Once she was close enough to the player, she dipped down and grabbed a random vinyl, "I guess this works." She popped it on and music quickly filled the room before she looked at her son. "Now then…" She grabbed some paper and crayons from underneath the living table on the way back. "What do you wanna draw, JJ?"

After placing the drawing materials on the table, she plopped down next to JJ before setting him on her good thigh. She quickly kissed him on the head before grabbing his arms and playfully waving them around. That made him laugh, and before she knew it, the wolves were all scampering around in the living room. An eyebrow went up and Ellie shot them a look.

"Don't you guys have something better to do?"

Buddy huffed as Estelle yipped in distress. She was anxiously hovering around Ellie's feet compared to her mom who was just chilling at the base of the couch. On the other hand, Poncho was scampering around with no care in the world now that she wasn't bleeding out in the barn anymore.

"Mmhmm, thanks for the concern kids."

Ellie shook her head with a chuckle before focusing on JJ again. He let out this strained whine before reaching forward with his little hands.

"Okay okay, sorry bub!" She reached forward and grabbed the box of crayons, "Here you go, what color do you want?"

JJ bounced on Ellie's thigh before reaching inside and grabbing a crayon. He pulled one out before swinging it around enthusiastically.

"Oh, purple huh? A good choice!"

She then scooched forward so that JJ could reach the paper. He giggled excitedly before aggressively stabbing the paper with the crayon and doodling away.

"Easy there cowboy, you're gonna tear through your masterpiece!"

Her son drew a few wild lines before reaching out for another crayon.

"Ohh chaotic, what color do you want now?" She held up the box for him and he pulled out a yellow one this time. "Yellow? Nice choice, it compliments purple nicely. As expected of my son!"

He kicked around a little and Ellie had to adjust her hold on his tummy.

"Careful nugget, can't have you falling on me now can I?"

Chuckling at his excited behavior, Ellie watched over JJ the best she could. He looked as precious as ever and she pinched his chubby cheek before enjoying his doodle again. Eventually, she came up with the idea of reciting a silly story based on his colorful drawing. Now, JJ may have needed to be older to understand the concept of space monkey pirates defending their treasure, but he seemed thrilled with the enthusiastic storytelling nonetheless. When her son was finally bored with drawing, Ellie moved on to singing him a few songs before playing some pick-a-boo games with him.

It wasn't until the wolves perked up that Ellie tore her attention away from JJ. Poncho was the most riled-up of them all, and he ran over to the door, barking excitedly as he wagged his tail left and right as he hopped around in place. Dina was quick to announce her return before cracking the door open. She was… walking funny and had that blank look on her face that Ellie knew all too well.

Ellie eyed her suspiciously before asking, "What's up with you…?"

Dina looked at her with a neutral face before dismissing her. "Nothing."

Poncho sniffed around Dina some more and Buddy walked up to her before wolfing softly. That only made Ellie deepen her glare. "Uhuh." Her fiancé simply ignored her as she walked inside and set down her bag. All while cradling her jacket suspiciously. "Dina…"

Jutting her lips, Dina shot her a look as she scrunched her nose. After a second, she rolled her lips together before cracking, "Okay, you can't say shit."

Ellie shot her the look.

"Who was the one who brought home a pregnant wolf!" She argued out of nowhere before finally pulling out this little kitten from her jacket. "Besides, it's just a kitty! What's one more mouth to feed El? And just look at him, he's so cute!"

Not going to lie, Ellie thought Dina's pout was cuter than the kitty itself.

Ellie ended up snorting before laughing out loud. "What am I gonna do with you?" She wasn't planning to say no in the first place and even if she did, Dina wouldn't let her live it down. Although, as gung ho as she was to catnap that cat, she did worry about their furry friend compatibility though. She eyed their wolves before nodding at the kitty. "You kids gonna play it cool?"

They tilted their heads as if they were confused.

"Your mama brought back a little friend who is not food." Ellie clarified before patting JJ's tummy and bouncing him up and down. She then looked at Dina before finally asking, "Where'd you even pick that little fella up?"

She just shrugged. "He came up to me on the outskirts of town."

Poncho suddenly barked loudly, which startled the kitten, getting him to wiggle and scream in Dina's hands. He meowed helplessly as if it was trying to run away from their family and that only made Ellie laugh before she commented out loud.

"Now, I don't mind your orange fella Dina, but I'm not sure if they will." She nodded toward their wolves, who seemed pretty excited to investigate Dina's hands.

Buddy was licking his lips as he wagged his tail furiously, eyeing the kitten in Dina's hands. Poncho and Estelle tried to get closer to her hands, while Missy was staring at him intently. Dina noticed that before eyeing the most troublesome one.

"Buddy… this is your new baby brother. He is not your snack and will scratch you if you try eating him." She then cautiously held him closer so that he could get a sniff first. "You understand?"

The orange kitten was still helpless as he got placed in front of the wolf's nose. He meowed in horror as Buddy sniffed him out before Poncho and Estelle joined him. His meowing only grew worse before Dina finally lifted him away.

"Okay, that's enough kids. You're scaring him." Dina finally brought the kitten to her chest, close to her neck, before patting him soothingly. He miraculously stopped meowing in horror and quickly purred on her chest.

Ellie smiled as she placed JJ on her chest and stood up awkwardly. She hobbled her way over and once she was by Dina's side, she gave the kitten a look. "You name him yet?" She then made some kissy noises to catch his attention.

Dina placed him in one hand before holding him up closer to look at his small face. "Mmh… Gauze."

Snorting at that, Ellie scrunched her nose. "Gauze? Like first aid gauze?"

"Yup," she popped the 'p' with a smile expanding, "I went to Jackson to get some more and came back with him, kind of fate dontcha think?"

"But still… gauze?" JJ started whining a little before Ellie rocked him side to side.

"Hey, it's either Gauze or Band-Aid."

Ellie opened her mouth before holding herself back. The serious look on Dina's face was enough to stop Ellie from questioning her seriousness. She had named her old cats Goon and Ghost after all. She eventually cracked and laughed before giving in. "Gauze it is."

Satisfied with her answer, Dina giggled before smiling at their new son with an affectionate yet giddy smile. "And his nickname can be Band-Aid."

"Oh my god, you're ridiculous." Ellie laughed at the silliness before shifting JJ in her arms since he started getting more restless by the second, clawing at her clothes.

"What?" Her fiancé made some kissy noises before rubbing his little fuzzy head. "Bandy is a cute nickname, or even wittle Gauzito!"

Okay. Ellie had to admit, that was pretty good. It was cuter than it should have been and as she watched Dina gush at the kitten, she made eye contact with JJ who was pouting at Dina for ignoring him. He wanted her attention and looked like he was two seconds away from crying. Ellie quickly bounced him from side to side before speaking up on his behalf.

"Okay, enough gushing babe, just take your son already! He's been pouting at you for attention since you haven't greeted him yet." She then held him up so JJ could speak his mind and babbles.

Dina finally looked at him before immediately cooing at him. "Aw, did my baby miss me?" Their son giggled with his newfound attention as Dina kissed his forehead. "Yeah? I knew it, I'm your favorite, aren't I?" She chuckled happily as she held the kitten aside to grab JJ. Once he was settled on her side, she handed Ellie Gauze. "Don't squish him now, babe."

Ellie scoffed in offense. "Who do you think I am? Some kind of monster?" She held the kitten up to look him in the eyes. He was still shivering slightly and was as cute as one could expect with his little fuzzy tail tucked between his small legs. "I'll have you know, your baby loves me, and had a great time, and even wrote an epic adventure about space pirates."

"Oh? Did he now?" Dina playfully swayed JJ left and right before bouncing him around.

"Yeah, the best comic out there!" Ellie boasted before grinning at the little bugger. "A future bestseller for sure."

"Oh yeah?" Dina giggled lightly before asking, "What are you? His publisher?"

Ellie just shrugged. "Obviously. His editor too."

"And what does that make me?" Dina teased as she got closer to Ellie's nose.

"His number one fan."

Dina smiled sweetly before pecking Ellie's lips. "That wasn't what I had in mind. I'd be one hell of a publicist but…" She bounced JJ around before poking his nose. "That is acceptable." She then obnoxiously kissed JJ's face repeatedly, getting him to giggle and squeal happily, before hugging him tightly. "Aww, do you know I'm your number one fan?"

JJ had the most innocent and clueless smile out there.

"Yeah? Yeahhh, I think you do!" Dina kissed his cheek before her eyes widened at Gauze's sudden outburst.

Gauze let out the loudest meow he could make before scratching Ellie and getting her to drop him. "Ow— fuck!"

"Ellie!"

He fell down to the floor and before Dina could react and check up on him, Missy walked over before woofing firmly. She sniffed him a few times before gently biting his scruff and picking him up. She walked back to her spot by the couch before spinning in a circle to get comfy and plopping down. After that, she set Gauze down by her side before nuzzling him with her nose, ignoring his protest, and eventually settling him down. By some miracle, Gauze stopped squeaking in distress before freezing up in his place. Missy rubbed her nose against him a few times before eventually curling inward and handling the situation.

"Well, that's one way of handling it." Ellie huffed as she watched blood begin to pour from the scratch marks on her skin.

Dina sighed as she quickly went over to the first aid box. "Oh El…" Once she was back, she sighed before ripping up a small antiseptic wipe. "Why are you bleeding all over the place without permission?"

Ellie snorted before holding out her arm. "I need your permission to bleed?"

"When you're like this, yes." She then vaguely gestured at all her injuries with a judging eyebrow.

Her comment only made Ellie chuckle. "What if I told you my period was around the corner?"

Dina pursed her lips as she checked the date on the calendar in the kitchen. She then licked her lips before shaking her head lightly. "Nope."

"No?" Ellie knew it was a joke, so there was a slight smile on her face as she weakly argued back. "How do you expect me to control that monster down there?"

"Just don't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Her fiancé finally dabbed the disinfectant on her arm, getting her to hiss at the sting. "Stop bleeding on me, that's all. I can't exactly stick a blood transfusion tube in your arm and mine."

Ellie cocked an eyebrow at that. "Or can you?"

Rolling her eyes, Dina gave her a deadpanned look. "Babe, for starters, we're not the same blood type." She tossed aside the faintly red wipe before adding. "And secondly, we don't own such equipment."

Shrugging at the comment, Ellie turned to watch Gauze. "Hey, you're the brainy genius, I'm sure you can come up with something."

Dina smiled at her compliment. She got close to Ellie before grabbing her by the hips and pulling her in for a hug. "Probably…" She wrapped her arms around Ellie's shoulders before leaning up for a sweet kiss. "But I'd prefer you not getting hurt." She kissed her again before bringing her hand down and rubbing her lower back. "You had me worried."

A soft sigh escaped Ellie's lips. "My bad, I promise I'll be more careful."

"Good." Dina pressed her body against Ellie's before kissing her chastely. "I love you."

Ellie finally wrapped her hands around Dina's waist. She gave her a soft kiss on the lips before whispering against her cheek. "Love you too."