Yay! It's Friday and like I promised, here's the next chapter.

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Philip waved us out of the horrid nursery. "We should probably go back downstairs. Mikko will probably be in there a while. Abigail has a hard time understanding that a human takes precedence over her."

At the bottom of the stair awaited Finn and his bouncing daughter Madeline. She was very excited about something that she was holding behind her back. It looked like a project board.

"So I'm guessing you're coming from the horrid nursery that Abi was allowed to decorate." I had a feeling, from her tone, that Madeline wasn't a fan of Abigail like everyone else seemed to be.

I smiled. “I hate it.”

Madeline squealed. "I'm so glad you hate it. They should've let me decorate it, but she beat me to asking for it." My hearing had gotten better since I’ve been pregnant, so her high pitch hurt. “I told them they should’ve called you before they let anyone decorate the nursery. Hot pink isn’t a baby color, but they don’t listen to me.”

"Maybe they should've let you have the honors." I conceded. Anything else would've been better than what Abigail did to the poor room.

She nodded once proudly and looked over my shoulder, at her brother. “Told you.”

He rolled his eyes.

I felt a kick and put my hand over the spot. They were getting stronger the longer they were incubating. It really was amazing to feel them moving in me.

Slowly, she put her hand on mine with a smile. "Is the baby moving?"

I nodded and held her hand as I moved it to my belly. I was nervous. Philip moved to my side. "You should let her have some room Maddie. People have been touching her all day."

She grabbed his wrist and brought his hand under hers. “It’s still moving.”

He gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, my sister doesn’t understand boundaries.”

I smiled, trying to reassure him that it was okay. Once I had enough, they would know. I'd start snapping at them. “It's okay, random people come up and touch my belly a lot, especially now that it’s so huge.”

I grabbed his wrist and moved it to a better spot. He smiled when he felt the baby move.

"That really is pretty cool," he muttered beside me.

"It feels like an alien is trying to burst out of me sometimes." I joked.

"I could only imagine." His smile was still wide when he took his hand back. "That's my first time feeling that."

"That surprises me a little."

His smile dropped off a bit. "Having pregnant women around isn't something that happens often."

Madeline rolled her eyes. "And my brother would never ask to feel a baby bump."

"Well, excuse me for respecting her space," he said defensively.

"Yeah," she put her hands on her hips, "and that's why I'm never going to get more nieces and nephews."

"The timing's not there Mad."

She shook her head. "You're just afraid of women."

"Alright, enough with the back and forth." Mikko came down the stairs. "We need to get back to the party."

Mikko didn't leave me any option when he led me back to the living room and sat me down on the sofa. It wasn't long until a few of the pack members sat down on the surrounding furniture and kept me entertained.

***

By eleven I was ready to go to bed. I was exhausted and my back was in need of some relaxation. I learned that the only one I was going to have to worry about was Abigail. Mikko liked her and she probably didn't like me.

Eleven was well past my bedtime. Jared's recommendation of bed rest was looking like a very good idea. It would give me time to relax and try to enjoy the rest of the pregnancy... whatever of it I could enjoy. I was well past the point of being ready to get these babies out of me.

I found Mikko outside, talking to a couple of his pack mates. He looked happy. He was even smiling at whatever they were talking about.

Even if he had been such an asshole for the past thirty-two weeks, it was nice to actually see him smile. It gave me a little hope that being back on his own territory would bring some needed relief from the strain we've had on our situation. Maybe he could be what I needed him to be now.

But I wasn't going to bet everything I had on it. I needed to see the change happen and see that it was going to be permanent. If this whole thing imploded on itself, I would be the one who had custody over my kids and I knew Mikko would stay close.

Mikko looked over at me when one of the guys he was talking to jerked his chin at me. I remembered meeting the two, but I couldn't put their faces to names just yet.

Mikko shook both of their hands in a very informal manner. That was something I hadn't seen either.

Mikko came into the house looking less stressed. "Ready to go?"

I nodded once. "Are those two your friends?"

He looked back at the two before nodding once to me. "They are."

"Are you three close?"

He shrugged, avoiding the question more than answering it. "Are you ready to go?"

I let it go. "I'm ready." There was going to be time later to figure out who Mikko was close to.

Mikko went to get Nikki and Mike while I went to the front door to put my jacket on. It was no surprise that I was struggling getting the thing on.

When it was pulled away of me, I almost expected it to be Abigail being fake again. When I laid eyes on the person, I smiled it was Philip.

"You're escaping already?"

"The pregnant lady needs rest."

He smirked. "I thought you would've wanted to hang out with me a bit more. I'm amazing."

I held out my jacket to him. "Want to help me into my jacket mister amazing?"

He whipped the jacket out and held it open. "For you madam."

I laughed, but took the opportunity, and slipped into the jacket. "Where did you escape to?"

Philip's smile was almost as devastatingly beautiful as his brother's. "I needed to stretch my legs."

"Stretching your legs, huh?" I was skeptical. "Didn't you take a trip up to Canada?" I asked knowingly.

"I don't know what you're talking aboot," he said having fun with the Canadian accent. I could figure out that Philip had probably chased Marshall far enough away that he'd stay away for a while.

Nikki led the two men to the door. She smiled at Philip. "You're late!"

Philip had probably gone to stretch his legs after we chatted earlier.

Philip rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know."

"We're leaving." Mikko stopped any conversation that might have started.

Philips eyebrows rose at his brother. "Talk tomorrow?"

Mikko nodded once. "Emily needs sleep."

Philip opened the door and stood to the side. "Nice seeing you guys again."

When we got to Mikko's, I took a shower and went to bed. I was asleep as soon as I settled in.

***

Nikki and I spent most of the next day spending Mikko's money on decorating and stocking the nursery at his house and at his father's. We didn't decorate the one at Finn's because of the chance of someone seeing that we were preparing for two.

We spent that night and most of the next day arranging and decorating the nursery. We went white for the nursery at Mikko's. It took my breath away and made it all so real. I was going to have two babies within eight weeks! I probably wouldn't make it the full eight weeks.

Nikki left the day after that.

"She left too soon." I watched my best friend leave me an hour ago. "We didn't even start on Finn's nursery yet."

"You'll have help from Madeline."

I nodded. "Yeah. I know. She'll be great. I'm just going to miss Nikki."

"You're going to have a few days to get Finn's nursery together." Mikko went to his garage.

There was obviously something he wasn't telling me with that kind of comment. So, I followed him out there. "What does that mean?"

Mikko grabbed a duffle bag. "I have to leave for a few days."

"And you're just telling me now?" I was shocked that he waited so long to tell me. "Don't I deserve a bit of a heads up?"

"You do," he agreed with a nod. "But you've been doing so much lately that I didn't want to give you something else to stress about. The nurseries have been too much on you."

"That's just an excuse and you know it."

He sighed and stood in front of me. I didn't move to let him back into his house. "I have to pack."

I took a deep breath. "You're not going to do this to me again," I told him. "You're going to give me a week's advance warning. You're not allowed to drop this kind of stuff on me."

He rubbed his hand over his face in obvious frustration. "And if there's an emergency?"

"You'll tell me when you find out," I said simply. "I know you're going to say you don't have to because we're not in a relationship, but you'd be wrong."

He nodded once as he struck the deal. "A week's warning when I have it."

I stepped away from the door. "And don't forget it."

He walked to his room and shut the door behind himself. He wouldn't let me stay here alone and I didn't feel like entertaining protectors. That meant I'd be going to Finn's for a few days.

I conceded to my fate and went to my room and packed a bag. Maybe going to Finn's would give me a few days with no stress.

***

I was so wrong. I didn't get much rest. Madeline was constantly asking me questions about the nursery, Nikki, my relationship with Mikko, giving me advice with Mikko, and checking on me so often that I'd get maybe three hours of sleep before being woken up again.

I was exhausted. When she barged through the door four days after Mikko left, I didn't even jump this time.

I groaned. "What do you want Mad?" I had adopted her nickname on the second day of being at Finn's.

"Mikko's back!" she said excitedly before she ran off again.

I tiredly sat up and rubbed my tired eyes. "At least I'll get some sleep now," I muttered to myself.

I got dressed as I threw clothes into the bag that I had brought. I wanted away from Finn's home. I needed a bath and some sleep. I sat on the edge of the bed and rested for a few minutes. Even moving was draining.

It felt like I had been awake for the whole time Mikko was gone. Maybe I wouldn't curse him being around so much. When he was gone his sister was intense. At least he acted like a buffer when he was there.

I got up and grabbed the bag before walking out of the room. I took a step out of the room when Madeline came bouncing back to me. I kept my curse to myself since she's the werewolf with super hearing.

"Have you seen the new girl? She's cute."

"Madeline," I said tiredly. "I just stepped out of my room. How would I have time to see a new girl?" I shut the door to the guest room behind myself.

She smiled. "The guy she came with is yummy too."

Does she not understand the need for sleep and rest? I sighed. "You're not going to let me leave until I see them, aren't you?"

She nodded and took the bag off of my shoulder. She tugged me towards the stairs and let me go when we were there. She dragged me down the stairs my first day here and I nearly fell down. Rules were slowly being added as the need arose.

She dropped the bag next to the door and ran to the living room. I slowly made my way over there. I heard footsteps coming back and cringed at the thought of Madeline coming back for me. I was probably too slow for her.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Mikko instead of his sister. I was too tired to notice that the footsteps had been heavier than and not as frantic as Madeline's usually were.

He stopped when he saw me. His eyes stayed on my face, probably taking in how dead I looked. I sat down on the stairs now that I knew Madeline wouldn't bother me since Mikko was here. I felt relieved.

He crouched down next to me. "You look dead on your feet."

I nodded. "Your sister is full of energy."

He sighed unhappily. "Was she all over you?" I nodded. "They didn't stop her?"

"They tried." I offered. "Once she woke me up I was up for a while." I gave Mikko a small smile. "At least I'm actually excited that you're back."

Mikko sighed. "I'm going to have a little chat with my sister. Stay here. Once I'm done with her, I'll take you home."

I nodded and stayed sitting on the stairs. I'd meet the new people Mikko brought back after I had some rest. Right then, it just wasn't possible. I knew I was going to be resting in peace soon, so my energy left my body.

I heard Mikko's voice rise as he chastised his sister. I heard the yelling, but I didn't understand it because I kept my focus on sitting up without falling over.

Mikko came back and whipped my bag over his shoulder. "I'm sorry for Maddie. I should've kept her away from you."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't want her to stay away from me the whole time."

Mikko crouched down and picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head against his shoulder. "Maybe next time it'll be better if you stay home. I'll keep patrols around it."

Mikko opened the car door and put me in the passenger side.

I buckled myself in. I could do that at least. "She just needs to get it out of her system. She'll calm down eventually."

The ride to the house was quiet. I was pretty surprised that I didn't fall right asleep. I skipped the bath and went right to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned trying to find a position that I could be comfortable in.

It was ten minutes before my door opened. "You're not asleep yet," Mikko said from the doorway.

"I can't get comfortable."

Mikko came into the room and stood edge of the unoccupied side of the bed.

"You don't have to stay here," I said when it was obvious he was going to cuddle with me.

He took off his jeans before pulling the blankets over himself and pulling me towards him. "You need restful sleep and having me close will give you that."

I couldn't argue with that because I was already starting to fall asleep.

I stayed in bed for two days, only getting up when it was necessary. Mikko was only in my bed to sleep or when I was having a difficult time sleeping. I stayed inside of Mikko's house for two weeks, making me thirty-five weeks pregnant when I had an appointment with Jared to check on the twins.

Nothing had changed. A cesarean was becoming the reality for me. As long as the girl remained breached, a c-section would be the birth plan. If she flipped, natural north would happen. Jared informed me that he doubted she would turn now. There wasn't a lot of room in my belly for her to move anymore.

When we got out of the appointment, there was a woman sitting in the middle of the backyard. I didn't recognize her. "Who is that?"

"That's Alexia. She's here for recovery. She'll be here with us for a few months."

"Can I approach her?" I wouldn't want to go up to a wolf that had no control. That would've been stupid of me.

Mikko nodded. "If you want to."

I started towards her. "She's been here for a two and a half weeks and I haven't met her yet. It feels like I've been rude."

He chuckled. "You were recovering from Madeline. I'm sure she understands. She's been dealing with Maddie since she arrived."

Alexia stayed sitting with her eyes closed. I sat down a few feet in front of her. Once I was down I knew I was staying there until someone helped me up.

"Hi. I'm Emily."

Alexia opened her eyes and gave me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. Something had happened to this woman. "I'm Lexi." Her wolf was ascended, but not fully. There were streaks of amber in her brown eyes. She glanced over at Mikko, who stuck close to me. "You're the mother of his baby aren't you?"

I put a hand over my belly and smiled. "That's a little obvious now."

"We've talked about you before." Her eyes brightened a bit. "You look ready to pop."

I nodded once. "I feel ready to pop."

The wolf retreated from her eyes. "I think the two of us could get along."

Mikko stuck close as I chatted with Lexi. She was a newer werewolf who had been changed because of an attack. She didn't go into details of why she was here, so my mind made up its own story. Maybe she attacked someone. Maybe she fought with her alpha. Maybe her wolf wasn't submitting to her. There were a lot of possibilities for the reason why she was here.