"Birthday Cake, Unicorns, and Best Friends"

In the midst of their daughter, Hope's 7th birthday, while Trixie acknowledges how devastated Leah has felt since Rocky has passed away, they are glad to have each other.

Leah sits up with her book on the couch as she watches her little girl, Hope, play on the rug with their dog, Sebsatian. It seems like only yesterday that Leah and Trixie adopted this sweet little girl, and now they were only a few days away from her seventh birthday party. Trixie is out getting a few last minute party supplies, while Leah sits watching Hope giggle with excitement as Sebastian barks for her to throw the ball again.

Leah can't believe it's almost been a year since her beloved black lab, Rocky passed away from cancer. While she's been getting along okay these days, little reminders keep coming up that makes Leah think of him. The way Sebastian would look up at them in the morning and yawn, the way he would paw at his bowl when he wanted more kibble, and especially the way he would look into your eyes when you talked to him, almost as if he could understand what you were saying.

Soon the front door to their apartment opened, and Trixie came in with a couple bags. Leah smiled while Hope and Sebastian got up excitedly to greet her.

"What did you buy, Mama?"

"It's a surprise, you'll have to wait and see later." Trixie told her, while bending down to pet Sebastian.

Hope and Sebastian continue their game of fetch, while Trixie places her bags on the kitchen counter, and joins Leah on the couch, greeting her with a kiss. Leah smiled at her wife as Trixie went through the checklist on her phone.

"So, I got all of the snacks we need, I got pink and purple decorations for her, and we can pick up the cake tomorrow. Did you hear from everyone that plans on coming?"

"Tori and Andre are coming with the twins at about 1:30, and so are Sean and Libby. Cat and Robbie will be here a little later around 2:00." Leah told her.

Trixie stared at her wife looking off into the distance as she brushes her hair over her ear, and Leah looks at her with a soft smile.

"What are you thinking about, Love?" Trixie asked.

"How much Hope and Sebastian are getting along."

Trixie and Leah look over at Hope who is now laying her head on Sebastian as the two rest on the floor.

"Yeah, I'm glad they're best buddies. I was hoping Sebastian would fit right in."

"I'm happy too." Leah nodded. "But I can't help thinking about how much it's going to hurt for her to someday lose him."

Trixie takes Leah's hand while Leah looks up at her.

"Sweetie, we're a long way off from that. We've taken him to the vet, and he says Sebastian is perfectly healthy." Trixie told her.

"I know. I wish I could just be happy that Hope is happy, and that Sebastian is a really sweet dog who loves us." Leah sighs. "I guess I just really miss Rocky."

Trixie hugs Leah around her shoulders, and kisses her cheek.

"I know you do, Babe. I miss him too."

Leah rubbed her eyes, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired and thinking too much."

"Don't be sorry." Trixie said, rubbing her shoulder.

"Let's think about something else, and go through the stuff for the party."

Leah and Trixie go into the kitchen to empty the groceries, and check off that they had everything they needed for Hope's birthday.

The day of the party was finally here, and Hope couldn't be more excited, as the entire living room was covered in a pink and purple unicorn theme, with colorful balloons and streamers. Andre and Tori were already there with their five year old twins, Charlotte and Allen, Sean and Libby were there with Libby currently being seven months pregnant. The apartment was at least only one floor up, so the two of them didn't have far to go. Finally Robbie and Cat arrived with their five year old boy, Tony, and they were ready to start the party.

Hope wore a sparkly unicorn headband and a purple dress adorned with more tiny unicorns that she enjoyed twirling around in. The kids came in the house, clutching presents for the birthday girl wanting to be the ones to bring them inside to the present table. Although Hope was two years older than the other kids, she still had a lot of fun playing with them. Tony had a love for superheroes, probably a little more than Hope did, but the two still enjoyed watching the Spider-man movies together. Charlotte and Allen came in with Allen holding the gift and Charlotte holding a plate of cookies that they made with their mother at home. This is the first time the twins have gotten to make cookies for a party, and the two five year olds hoped that everyone would like them.

The adults at the party sat around with cookies and juice, talking a little about work, but mostly how much the kids have grown. Hope sat on the couch next to her pregnant aunt, while Libby reached for the girl's hand, inviting her to feel the baby. Hope laid a hand on top of Libby's stomach, waiting a few minutes before feeling a tiny kick.

"Woah, that's neat." Hope said.

"Yeah, he's excited." Libby told her. "He can't wait to meet his big cousin."

Trixie came next to Hope on the couch, pulling her daughter up on her lap.

"How have you been feeling?" Trixie asked Libby.

"Large." Libby said with a laugh. "I feel like it's going to feel weird once the baby is born, and I'm not trying to sleep with this big belly."

"Yeah, I remember." Tori said, while sitting and petting Sebastian.

Leah then sat on the floor on the other side of Sebastian, scratching behind his ears, as the dog nuzzled her before laying across her lap. Tori looked over at Leah, and Leah looked up with a sad smile. Tori could tell something was on her mind, but elected to wait until the kids were occupied playing a game.

The kids were set up with their first game, an alternate version of pin the tail on the donkey, instead being pin the horn on the unicorn. Trixie stood watching the board taped to the wall, while the guys gathered around the kids letting each of them know when it was their turn. All of the little ones were laughing and giggling the whole time, while trying their best to make the target and win a prize. Tori took the opportunity to sit close to Leah, and get to the bottom of her unusually reserved demeanor.

"Hey." Tori whispered.

"Hi."

"So, how have you been doing?"

"Fine." Leah answered, still looking at the kids.

Tori decided to ease her way in, scratching gently on Leah's shoulder. Leah looked over smiling at her sister, with Sebastian's head still in her lap. The dog looked up at both women, while Leah stroked his ears and the sides of his face. As she was petting her labrador, Leah could still feel Tori staring at her.

"You sure everything's okay?" Tori asked her, softly.

Leah shrugged, "I'm still missing Rocky. I mean I love Sebastian; I really do…but, I don't know, the more I feel love for Sebastian, the guiltier I feel."

"Why do you feel guilty?"

"I just don't want to forget about Rocky one day." Leah confirmed.

Tori wrapped an arm around the younger Vega, kissing her head. She shut her eyes resting her head against her big sister as Tori squeezed her tight.

"You don't ever have to worry about forgetting Rocky. He'll always be your first best friend. It's something you can share with Hope when Sebatian becomes her best friend."

Leah lifted her head up, nodding, and turning to face Tori.

"She definitely adores him. I hate to think about Hope going through the same thing I have."

"For right now, she's enjoying him and having a good time. She's lucky to have the two of you."

"Thanks Tori." Leah said, giving her sister a hug.

Soon Hope came running up to Leah after having won Pin the Horn on the Unicorn, and winning a small candy bucket.

"Mom, Aunt Tori, I won!"

"Good job, kiddo!" Leah said, hugging her little girl.

Next on their agenda, Trixie came out with a unicorn piñata that had the kids immediately excited. Since they were inside, Trixie and Leah thought hitting a piñata would not be a good idea, so they got one where you pull the strings on the bottom. Hope was called to grab the first ribbon, while Tony grabbed one, and then the twins. On the count of three the kids all pulled their ribbon, and showered the ground with candies and small toys. The kids squealed in delight, scrambling to gather as many treats as they could. Each of them ran to their parents to show off their prizes while they held onto the goodies to take home later.

After games, they were ready to move on to presents. Charlotte, Allen, and Tony gathered on the floor next to Hope, while the adults sat on the couch ready to take pictures. Trixie grabbed the first gift off of the table, and sat down next to Hope.

"Okay Sweetie, this first one is from Uncle Sean and Aunt Libby."

Hope picked up the colorful package, ripping off the paper, and opening a pink and purple lego castle. She was so excited, wanting to open the box, and put it together now, but Trixie assured her that they would put it together another time. Next was her gift from Tori and Andre, which was a few sets of slime that she could mix with glitter and small toy unicorns. Hope turned to blow a kiss to her Aunt and Uncle, who both blew her a kiss in return. Cat and Robbie gave her a new bike helmet colored a glittery purple, and finally it was time for the gift from her parents.

"Alright Hope, here's the last one."

She opened the large package in front of her, with help from the other kids, to see a blow up princess castle that had a ball pit on the side. Hope hopped up excitedly, begging her moms to set it up for her. Robbie offered to help while they kids had dessert.

Now it was time for cake, and Sean helped Trixie bring the lit birthday cake out to the coffee table. It was a chocolate sheet cake, with white icing, and rainbow unicorns all over it. Leah stood up with her phone filming while everyone in the house sang "Happy Birthday", and Hope blew out her candles. Everyone cheered, while Sean took the cake back to the kitchen to cut and serve out slices. Sebastian jumped up toward Sean carrying three slices of cake.

"None for you, Buddy." Sean said, handing a piece to the birthday girl, and then the rest of the kids.

Everyone was quietly enjoying their cake, while Trixie took a seat on the couch next to Leah. Leah smiled and Trixie lovingly nudged her shoulder, successfully getting a laugh from her wife. Trixie wanted to keep making her smile, swiping a bit of whipped cream off her slice of cake and dabbing it on Leah's nose. Leah laughed even more, and Trixie pulled her in close.

"Are you having fun?" Trixie asked.

"Yeah, and the kids are having a blast. You did such a good job with this party."

"Thanks, Baby." Trixie said, kissing Leah's cheek.

The sun began to set, signaling the end of the party, and Trixie helped Hope hand out unicorn party favors to her guests filled with some more treats and small toys. The couples all thanked Trixie and Leah for the good time, and they thanked everyone for coming. Both moms cleaned up the remaining party mess while Hope sat in her blow up castle, throwing Sebastian one of the plastic balls. Trixie put the remainder of the cake in the fridge, and stood at the sink washing dishes, while Leah came up hugging her from behind.

"Thank you again for today." Leah whispered, laying her head on Trixie's shoulder.

"I'd do anything for my girls." Trixie said, turning to kiss her wife.

"I know you would. Thank you, Babe."

The two were swept up in a deep kiss, lost in the moment, before noticing Hope's tiny frame standing outside the kitchen.

"Uhh, moms?" Hope said, giggling.

The ladies broke apart, blushing while Leah walked over to their daughter.

"Hey kiddo. Uh…why don't we get you ready for bed."

Leah led Hope to her room, while turning back to Trixie, shooting her a sly smile, mouthing "Later.", Trixie gave her a wink, and finished cleaning up.

About two hours after putting Hope to bed, Leah and Trixie were in their bed, lying nude under the covers while nothing but a single candle lit their room.

"I don't know about you, but it certainly looks like she had a good birthday today," Leah acknowledged.

"Definitely. I'm proud of her and I'm proud of us. I know we've been going through a lot since losing Rocky, but I'm really happy that you and I have this family," Trixie mentioned.

"Me too," Leah said, kissing her wife. "Thank you for today. I think the kids really had fun at the party, and that was mostly because of you."

"I had a lot of fun with them. They're all really great kids." Trixie said.

"I look forward to us having more little ones of our own someday."

"Sounds good to me." Trixie said, pulling Leah in for a deep kiss.

Trixie looked forward to hers and Leah's family growing, making more memories, and of course getting to plan more birthday parties.