(Disclaimer: I do not own The Bad Guys; just Lilith.)

(Authors Note: Hello dear readers and fellow writers! Thank you all so much for sticking around so far. I hope you've been enjoying the story as I've certainly enjoyed writing it and adding to it. Feel free to leave a review as I enjoy the feedback and take further inspiration from them :) Until next time, enjoy!)

Chapter 23

Upon arriving back at her apartment building, via Uber, Lilith headed up to her studio and slipped out of her fancy attire and into an old Muppet's t-shirt. Afterwards, she poured herself a glass of water and sat down in her chair to rest and read for a little bit; however, her peace was suddenly interrupted by a familiar ringtone, to which she emitted a sigh and answered:

"Hi, Mom."

*:Hi, Lilly. How are you?:*

sigh* "Well, I could be better. I'm supposed to be at the Good Samaritan Awards Ceremony with Hubert, but I started feeling ill and ended up taking an Uber home. He would've come back with me, but he was hired as extra security, so he couldn't leave his post."

*:Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry to hear that. I know how much you were looking forward to going.:*

"Yea...But it is what it is."

*:Well, I hope you feel better soon. Do you have work tomorrow?:*

"Yea, but I should be fine by then."

*:Still, be sure to drink plenty of fluids and get some rest.:*

"I know," she playfully rolled her eyes and smiled as she rubbed her little baby bump. "Hubert will likely give me the same spiel when he gets home later."

*:Well, he obviously cares about you.:*

"He really does," she agreed with a soft blush, to which her Mother emitted a soft chuckle on the other line:

*:I still can't believe he's a snake. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that.:*

"I know. I'm just sorry I waited so long to tell you all. I guess I was just worried you'd overreact."

*:Oh, please. We're more open-minded than you think.:*

"And I'm so grateful for that. Most parents wouldn't be so accepting."

*:Well, then it's a good thing your Father and I aren't like most parents.:*

"Indeed," she agreed with a smile.

XXXXX

-Later-

It was roughly 11:47 when Snake arrived back at Lilith's apartment building and let himself inside. Having been given the passcode to the main entrance and a spare key to her unit, he made his way up to her floor and quietly unlocked her studio door before slipping inside. Glancing over at the bed, a tender smile lined his face as he looked upon her sleeping form: she was lying on her back with one of her Dungeons and Dragons books splayed across her chest and her left hand over her lower abdomen. Her lips were slightly parted and she was softly snoring, indicating that she was utterly exhausted as she was never one to regularly snore. Of course she'd be tired, considering that she would frequently get up in the night to empty her bladder as she said it was common for that to happen during pregnancy.

Slithering across the room, he removed his attire before slipping underneath the covers and joining her in the bed; however, as he laid his head down, he was greeted by a familiar pair of bright blue eyes:

"..Hey.."

"Evening, sweet peach," he gently caressed her cheek with the tip of his tail, to which she leaned into his touch and emitted a tired sigh.

"I'm sorry I had to leave the gala earlier."

"Don't be," he reassured with a slight shake of his head. "Your health and well-being is more important. Besides, it was rather boring."

"Hmm, I can imagine," she smiled and placed her book on the nightstand before rolling onto her side to hug/spoon him like a body pillow, which he happily allowed.

"How's little one doing," Snake curiously asked while gently rubbing her bump with the tip of his tail, to which Lilith lovingly caressed her lower abdomen:

"They're fine. Although, I thought I felt a tiny flutter shortly after I came home, but apparently it was just gas."

He chuckled at that before nuzzling her cheek, "I'm sure they'll start wiggling around soon enough."

"Yea. On a side note, I'm going to inform my boss and coworkers about our upcoming edition so they can make the necessary adjustments to my schedule and workload."

"Sounds good to me. By the way, the guys wanted me to tell you to get well soon."

"Aww, they're so sweet."

"Yea, they can be pretty soft when they wanna be," he smirked and playfully rolled his eyes. "Also, they wanted to know if you'd like to come over for dinner on Wednesday."

"I'd love to," she answered with a nod before curiously asking, "Do you think they'd be interested in playing Dungeons and Dragons sometime? I used to play with a group of people at the library on Saturday nights, but we ended up quitting the campaign because of multiple schedule conflictions."

"Hmm, I don't see why not. Personally, I wouldn't mind getting back into playing it."

"Oh? You used to play D&D?"

"Heh, yea, back in the 80's I got into it for a little while, but then I focused more on my criminal career," he added with a wink, causing her to shake her head and smirk in amusement:

"Oh, you and your roguish lifestyle."

"Former lifestyle," he corrected with a warm smile as he gently cradled her lower abdomen. "I've got a family to think about now. The last thing I want is to be locked away to where I can't see my kids grow up and be there for them. I don't want to be the absent Father who's missing out on his children's lives."

Cupping his cheek, Lilith placed a chaste kiss upon his scaly lips and offered a reassuring smile, "You won't be absent from their lives, Hubert...I'll make sure of it."

"I know," he huskily replied before returning her kiss and deepening it, causing her to moan as their tongues passionately danced with one another.

XXXXX

(Another Authors Note: Aww, they're so cute together :D BTW, I didn't bother adding the whole conversation between Lilith and her parents in regards to Snake's identity because I didn't really feel it was necessary. It's implied that she told them, but I didn't bother writing it because they don't really play a large role in the story. Yes, they'll appear every now and then, but I don't really feel the need to write every conversation/interaction Lilith had with them. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter :) Until next time, stay awesome!)