Dear Diary,

Never really thought I'd hit a point where I'm getting to sleep, eat, and screw around all day and I'd start getting all rammy about it. Seriously, this is exactly what I dreamed of doing as a kind of 'happily ever after'.

Okay, not really, but only because I don't, never really believed in 'happily ever after'. Hell, back in Camden I'm not sure I believed in 'happy'.

Nothing new in dream town. Okay, some of the psychedelic tadpoles are back to their titillating ways, but after yesterday with Saffron? Not really surprising, if dreams are just the brain filing away memories like one of my old science teachers told me.

Woke up slowly, surrounded by fuzzy. Marie in front of me, Menace on top of me, and it took me way too long to realize that the rest of the fuzzy was just, y'know, me. Some part of me panicked, but whatever part that was wasn't in charge at the moment. Instead I just relaxed in the warm, fuzzy pile and slowly brought my Blend up, almost like slowly stretching into an upright position, or something like that.

For some reason I wound up laying there thinking about what my life had been like back in Camden, and where I might have wound up if I hadn't been, y'know, shot in the forehead by somebody who could easily measure their dick diameter by comparing it to bullets. When I'd thought about the future at all, I'd been pretty sure I'd wind up working minimum wage until I wound up pregnant, then working two or three jobs to try and make things better for whatever crotch goblin crawled out of me. Those rare times when I fantasized about something better I kinda wanted to become a writer. I'd always been a big Patterson fan, but even back then I wasn't sure whether I liked his gritty adult stuff or his kid stuff more. I mean, obviously I told everybody I loved the gritty stuff, because as a teenager it's what you do, but some part of me just liked, I dunno, simpler things.

Hell, maybe I would have wound up a poet. One of those people who throw a dozen words on a page and call it a day or some shit like that.

Eventually, before I could get really maudlin, I poked my wife. Kitten?

Yes, Tabitha?

I might have winced a little. Am I in trouble?

A warm wave of reassurance flowed over me. No, of course not. I'm just in the middle of an Inter-City Council meeting, so I'm thinking in formal at the moment.

Thinking in formal, huh? Any chance I could tempt you into joining me in bed here just to add some spice to your meeting? We've had plenty of casual sex, I can't help but wonder what formal sex is like.

Are Marie and Isnomi still there?

Rats! Foiled again!

A silly giggle echoed through my head, followed by Saffron thinking, entirely without heat, dammit.

Everything okay?

I just need to figure out how to explain to George that I wasn't laughing at him without making Ophelia think I was laughing at her.

No worries, Kitten. Just blame everything on me. I've got broad shoulders.

Don't I know it. Right now, though, you need to get your pert behind down to the Dining Hall for lunch.

Yes, Ma'am. Love you, Kitten.

Love you too, Goof. I'll be home when this meeting is done. Probably mid afternoon at the earliest though.

With that she was gone. I stirred a little, and Marie's eyes slid open. "Hi."

"Good Morning, Marie. Sleep well?"

She quirked her lips into a lopsided smile and said, "Guard."

"You didn't sleep? Because you were guarding me?"

She didn't reply to that, just shrugged. I snuggled into her, whispering, "thank you," into her fur.

A purr vibrated through me as she quietly replied, "de nada."

Isnomi chose that moment to get grumpy about me moving away, possibly about me going non-fuzzy, and snuggled back up to my back, muttering, "Momma," in a satisfied tone as she did.

"Okay, ladies," I said loud enough to be not-whispering, but soft enough to wake the menace as gently as possible. "Mom Saffron has informed me that I need to get down to the Dining Hall for lunch. I'm not feeling super hungry, but I half expect there's something wrong with my appetite at the moment anyhow."

Marie slipped out from under the covers and got herself dressed, while the menace clambered over me under the covers, somehow managing to pull more cold air in than Marie had getting out from under the covers entirely. I pebbled up something fierce at that, but despite that the little one didn't immediately go in for a pre-lunch nom. "Menace? You feeling okay?"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

She patted the upper curve of my breast, sighed, and said, "Mom say no nom Momma."

Kitten?

Yes Goof?

No nom on Momma for Menace why again?

Somehow Saffron managed to transmit rolled eyes through our link, followed by, not until you're fully healed. She's mostly weaned in any case, so she won't suffer. The maids might, trying to keep up with her appetite as well as yours, but I'm sure Marie can rise to the challenge.

But...

But what, Goof?

I think I kinda liked doing that.

If rolled eyes were strange, the mental image of her headdesking was even stranger. Weren't you the one who said it weirded you out?

I've changed and grown as a person?

She mock growled, who are you and what have you done with Tabitha? Before I could reply she broke down laughing. No, no, I understand, completely, but until you're fully healed, I want you focused on healing. Marie and I will make sure she doesn't want for milk, and I'm sure she'll suffer through suckling on you once you're healed.

She'd better.

Saffron just laughed in my brain and cut the connection after that. I snuggled Isnomi and said, "Don't worry, it's just until I get better, Menace. Mom said so."

"Ged bedder how?"

"According to Mom and Marie, I need to eat, apparently."

With that she flung off the covers and started yanking me toward the armoire. "Mon, Momma! Mon to Lunch!"

I might have gotten dressed faster if I wasn't laughing so much, but I couldn't be mad, what with her 'helping' me every step of the way. She even made Marie help her get dressed faster, telling me, "Sid, Mama. Sid down," when I tried to help. So I sat there and smiled as I watched her get dressed, then stopped her with a finger to her chest when she came to collect me.

"No fuzzy outside the room, Menace." She folded her arms and stuck out her lip. "Thought I'd forget, huh?"

Her lip stuck out further, but the fuzzy disappeared. Then she grabbed me and started pulling. I tried to scoop her up, but she held up a hand. "No. Momma ged bedder. Isnomi Big Gir wok."

I smiled down at her. "Okay. Can you hold my hand, to make sure I don't fall?"

She looked so much like Saffron when she rolled her eyes at me that I almost teared up, but I saw a secret little smile hiding behind her eyes, and she reached up and solemnly took my hand. About halfway to the Dining Hall, I looked down and realized that she was holding my hand, and I wasn't bent over. Yeah, my hand was straight down at my side, and she was on tiptoes, but still. "Getting even bigger, huh, Menace? You're just eating, sleeping, and growing nowadays, aren't you?"

That added a smug little grin to the mix, which stayed there until she towed me into the Dining Hall, set me in my seat, and then scampered under the table to get to Saffron's empty spot. When the rest of the ROTC Cadets rolled in a few minutes later, they each took the opportunity to come around and give me a little welcome back hug. With some, like Raven and Fred, it was a side-hug thing, with others they full on pressed themselves against my back and put their arms around me. When Angel stepped up, she smiled, yoinked me to my feet, and said, "come here, you," then straight up bear hugged me, lifting me from my feet and shaking me a little even.

"I take it this means we're good now?" I gasped out when she finally put me down.

She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we're good."

"Finally figure out I'm not as scary as I look?"

She laughed at that, shaking her head while she did. "Oh, hell naw. Bill and I saw what you did to the 'Damn soldiers. Right Bill?"

Bill had already sat down and was lifting a bite to his mouth when she asked. He stopped mid-bite, then shook his head and put his spoon back down, rubbing at his eyes with his other hand. "Oh, gods below, why did you have to remind me of that right now, Angel?"

She snorted, "you're the only one here who thinks this isn't better than home cooked food, man. Give it a minute and you'll be fine." She turned to me and leaned forward until our foreheads touched. "Seriously, Diaz. That shit was the most gruesome thing I've ever seen. Saffron told us why you did it, too."

I raised an eyebrow, laying my arms across hers. "So you finally get that I really would do that for any of you guys?"

She smirked a little and shook her head. "I really don't think you'd lose your shit quite so much if it had been me or Bill, but then I don't blame you for that either. I'd kick the shit out of somebody that hurt you, yeah, but if I were in love with someone like you're head over heels for Saffron? I'd go straight up murder happy too. But none of that's why."

If I blushed a little at how she smiled about me and Saffron, I refuse to be embarrassed for being a little embarrassed. Fuck off, you know what I mean. Anyway, I quietly asked, "then why?"

She smiled, shaking her head again. "You didn't even ask names or anything when you were Curing people, did you?"

I rolled my eyes, "I was a little busy, y'know?"

She laughed at me. "yeah, I figured. There are a shit-ton of Mac Connos in the Yards. Even more cousins and shit that don't have the name." She shook her head. "I literally lost count how many of them stopped by to tell me you'd Cured them. I mean, shit, they were here to thank you, but I had to tell them you're still sleeping that shit off."

I tried not to shrink away from her. Something about not wanting to be the center of attention when I wasn't the one putting me there. "You'd have done the same for Saffron, or Isnomi, or Marie."

She straight up grabbed me by the ears and headbonked me. In case you're wondering, it's a much gentler version of a headbutt. Like a cat would do, only coming from Angel, who after half a year of working out and high volume high protein nomming, had more in common with Marie's muscle mass than with mine? Kinda rattled my brains a bit. "Yeah, I'd want to, but I didn't. Hell, I couldn't, not for days on end like you." She pulled me in for another hug, then spun me back around to sit me down, hands on my shoulders. "Show off. Just to let you know you were invited to New Years' Day in like, half the homes in the Yards. And that's just my very extended family talking."

My brow furrowed. "New Years? Shit, did I sleep through that?"

Angel laughed, shook her head, slapped me on the shoulder, and walked back around to her seat. Bill turned to me and rolled his eyes a little, "you've been out of circulation for days, not months. For what it's worth, you're invited to Drivers' for New Years as well."

"Sounds like I'm gonna have to get back in tip top shape by then. Y'know, in order to fully get my party on with everybody in the Yards?"

That got quite a few spit takes from the table. Bonnie turned bright red and her mouth worked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out how to say what she wanted without making it worse. I, of course, being a mature, intelligent woman, took the higher path of stuffing my mouth with Salisbury steak, bread, and vegetable soup until the Maids shooed everyone else away and dumped all the leftovers into me.

Isnomi led me back to our room like a tug with a tanker. When we got there, she pointed to the bed and, when I sat, started working industriously to get my boots off. By the time she got one done, Marie had the rest of me stripped, and I curled up under the blankets with a fuzzy little Menace snuggled up to me like a warm teddy bear.