Lear paced the floor, anxious.

“Lear, it’s going to be alright.” Winna murmured, then grimaced.

Diana maowed from her spot on the bed beside Winna.

“I know, I know. Yes, women have kids all the time. But you’ve never had a kid before, and I’ve never even held a baby before, so I’m a little freaked out. And then you’re in pain and there’s nothing I can do, and-” he was rambling nervously.

Diana maowed again, cutting the fey captain off, sounding almost annoyed.

He stopped pacing, grimacing. “Sorry, you’re right. I’m not trying to make things worse.”

“I know, honey. It’s alright. Come here and hold my hand.” Winna reached out to him.

Her husband paused, then was at her side in an instant, kneeling and taking her hand. “I’m sorry.” he sighed, grimacing a little, “You’re the one in pain, but I’m the one freaking out.”

Winna reached out and brushed his hair back, “You’re going to be such a good papa.”

“I don’t know. My dad wasn’t a pinnacle of great fatherhood, exactly. Although he was a lot better than Arden’s.” the fey captain sighed.

“Asher’s dad was though, right?”

“Yeah. That’s why Asher turned out so well.” he shrugged.

“I know. You turned out well, too.” she smiled at him.

Lear relaxed a little, “I guess I did, huh?”

“Your drive to flirt is a little outrageous, but otherwise, yes.” she giggled a little.

“I only flirt with you, now, though, gorgeous.” her husband grinned at her, pulling her fingers to his lips and kissing each one.

“I know. It’s cute.”

“I don’t ever want you to forget that I love you.” Lear murmured, eyes gentle and tone earnest.

“I couldn't possibly forget.” Winna smiled, then grimaced. “Ohh…Marna get me through this!”

“It won’t be long now, dear.” the midwife, Baree, murmured.

Diana maowed in agreement. As the familiar of a family who had been mostly healers for hundreds of years, the sweet, diluted grey tabby had been present for many births.

Pima sat down on the other side of the bed, taking care so she didn’t dislodge Diana, and inquired gently, “Are you feeling alright?”

“I guess as good as possible? I don’t know what’s normal, given this is my first kid.” the human mage smiled wryly.

“Goddess forbid anything bad should happen.” Lear whispered.

“It won’t, Lear. Between Baree and me, there’s enough experience to deal with just about everything.” Pima said firmly.

“Did you give more thought to names?” her husband asked.

“Yeah. Aiken for a boy, cause that was my papa’s name. Sage for a girl.”

“Both are nice.” the fey man nodded approvingly.

“I thought so. Did you have any additions?”

“No. I don’t care what we call our kid, I just want them to be healthy.”

“Me too. But they do need a name.” Winna smiled.

“Of course,” he smiled. “We should probably send word to your brothers. I’m sure they’ll want to come.”

“Once the baby is born, I’ll have someone go tell them.” she nodded, then grimaced as she nodded, squeezing Lear’s hand tightly.

“Squeeze as hard as you need. You won’t hurt me, alright?” Lear told her.

“Okay.” Winna panted, glad her husband was fey, which meant he was practically indestructible within the bounds of her own physical strength. She literally couldn't crush his six-fingered hand, no matter how hard she gripped it.

-

Once he’d arrived back with Pima, Arden had joined me on the porch, in the other rocking chair as the faun had immediately hurried inside to help Winna.

A few moments later, Serha drifted out. “Well, there’ll be a baby here very soon!” She smiled a little. “I couldn't give any more help, so I decided to get out from underfoot, the room was a little crowded with me in it.”

“Well, there’s plenty of room on the porch.” I smiled at my friend. My eyes went to the metal band she still wore on her wrist. “You and Irving should go into town and get those taken off. There’s a cute little dragon who lives there that can eat it off. Although he’ll have to be a little more careful with yours, it’s not as loose as mine and Rowan’s was.”

Serha raised her wrist and looked down at the restraint. “Yeah.”

“The dragon lives with a dwarf, though, just so you know. He’s a very kind dwarf, but…well, I figured you’d want a heads up, all things considered.” I frowned, “Winna warned Rowan and I in advance, which made it a lot better.”

“I think we can manage, if it means we’ll be free.” she nodded, then smiled a little and asked, “It’s a little dragon that can eat the band off, you say?”

“Yes!” I giggled, “He’s adorable!”

“Wonderful!” Serha clapped her hands together excitedly. She looked over to where Rowan and Irving were keeping an eye on the fire so it didn’t get too big. “I’ll go see if he wants to go. How do we get into town?”

“It’s a bit of a distance. Winna won’t care if I get out the cart and drive you.” Arden told her.

“No, it’s alright. We can walk.” she shook her head.

“You must be as tired, if not more, than we were, though, are you sure you don’t want to drive? Or I guess you can wait until you’ve had a nice rest. There’s no pressing reason they have to be removed now, since Bellows is dead.”

“I’d rather not wait.” she shook her head. “I want this off of me as soon as possible.”

“I can’t say I blame you.” Arden sighed, starting to stand, “Let me come with you, at least.”

“No, it’s alright, you stay here, I know you want to be here when the baby is born.” Serha shook her head, tone firm. “I can tell you’re pretty close to Winna and Lear, so you should be here. Irving and I can manage just fine, I promise!”

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“Alright.” the white-haired fey soldier shrugged, motioning at the path that stretched away from Winna’s front porch. “It’s a straight shot on the path here. You can’t go astray. Ask for directions to Dern’s house, everyone in the town knows him.”

“Good.” Serha nodded, then meandered down the porch, and over to Irving.

They talked for a few moments with Rowan, then headed off down the path, leaving the centaur to watch the fire.

I smiled as they walked off. Yeah, they’d be alright.

There was a muted cry from the cottage, and I winced. “You know…I never put much thought into having kids, but I have lately. I’m…I’m not so sure I want any.”

“That’s alright.” he shrugged.

I looked over at him, “Do you want kids? I expect you’d be a good dad.”

“I don’t know.” Arden shrugged, “I guess it would depend on what my partner wanted, you know?”

“I guess it’s all a moot point, anyways. It’s not like I’m married.” I snorted. “Although, to be fair, people do have kids outside of marriage frequently enough.”

“Well, you have all the time in the world to decide one way or the other.” he smiled at me.

We were quiet for a few moments.

Arden broke the silence, flushing pink and speaking a little haltingly, “So…if it’s a moot point right now, simply because you don’t have a significant other…I could…maybe remedy that. If you’ll let me - uh - put in my application for the position?”

I giggled, “You’d be the only applicant, so I guess I’d have to consider you! Luckily, you’re super hot, so it’s really a non-issue to not have other people to consider for the job.”

“Yeah?” he murmured.

“Yeah. I…I’d marry you, someday, Arden.” I admitted, which made me flush a little too.

“I know.” he murmured, smiling sadly. “I don’t think I’m…quite ready for that yet, though. I’m still figuring life out, you know?”

“Me too.” I shrugged.

“We can figure it out together, then.”

“Yeah.” I smiled at him.

We were quiet again.

“I should probably kiss you again, huh?”

“Yes, I was rather hoping you would, all things considered.” I nodded.

Arden got up, scooped me up from the chair, then sat back down, settling me on his lap, and pulling my mouth to his.

Something about his actions spoke of a confidence I hadn’t seen from him yet. It was so attractive that it made me a little breathless and flustered.

When he broke away, I leaned into him, resting my head on his collarbone.

“I love you, Marri.” he murmured.

“I love you too, Arden.”

“We’re going to be so happy together. Happy and free.” the half-fey man trailed his fingers through my hair, sounding deeply content.

“Yeah.” I smiled.

-

Serha studied the village as they approached. “I’ve not been in a village in a while.”

“Me either.” Irving agreed.

“I hope it’s not too crowded.” she frowned.

“Here.” Irving reached out and caught her hand, weaving his fingers through hers. “If it is, we won’t get separated this way.”

Serha felt her face heat, but she smiled at him, “Alright.”

The ogre lifted her hand to his lips, murmuring, “We’re free, Serha.”

“We are!” she giggled, then sighed as they walked into town.

Heads turned towards them, but the gazes were friendly, and no one really stared outright.

“You know, if they don’t notice that we have six-fingered hands, our hair does cover the tips of our ears, so there’s every chance they think we’re human as well.” Irving mused, smiling.

“Oh! I hadn’t thought of that!” Serha smiled, looking around. “I bet they do! Although I imagine they’re more used to fey folk around her, given Winna lives nearby.”

“Yeah. It’s…nice to be treated as normal, though. You know?”

“Yeah. Like we’re not out of place or anything. It’s very nice.” Serha nodded.

“Can pretend we’re just a normal couple, out for a walk through town.” Irving said casually, shooting her a glance with hopeful blue eyes.

Knowing he was asking her to be his significant other in a very casual way, Serha smiled, “I mean, we are a normal couple. A normal fey couple, anyways.”

A bright smile flickered across his face. “Yeah, I guess so, huh?”

The selkie pulled her hand away so she could hold his arm instead, leaning her head against his shoulder. “I…I can really come live with you and your family?”

Irving patted her hand. “Yeah. We’re a bit of a motley bunch, but they’ll be happy to have you.”

“Okay.”

“And…I’ll take care of you. I’m no stranger to work, and am good with my hands. I was a blacksmith myself before…well, before the circus.”

“Oh?” Serha smiled. “I didn’t know that.”

“I made swords.” he nodded, smiling a little.

“You did?” she giggled.

“Yeah. I used to work with some pretty powerful people back in the feylands. I’m actually pretty sure I’ve met Lear before, now I’ve had a chance to think about everything that’s happened for a bit.”

“Oh, really? What a strange connection!” Serha laughed.

“Yeah, he’s the grandson of a powerful duke, and his team answers directly to the king, if I remember correctly.”

“Wow! And you rubbed elbows with people like him?”

Irving nodded, “I’ve worked alongside some of the best smiths there are. Most were dwarves, of course. So it was a little odd to be so beholden to Bellows. I had no idea a dwarf could go that bad.”

“Meanwhile, I hadn’t met any dwarves until he bought me.” Serha murmured. “I was really only owned by humans up until that point.”

“Does it bother you to be around humans?” Irving frowned, knowing the village was made up of humans.

“No. I don’t expect it’ll bother me to be around dwarves. I know better than to judge an entire race based on a few bad apples.”

“Of course.” he nodded, patting her hand gently. “We…could get married, if you wanted.”

“I’d like that.” Serha murmured.

“Oh?” Irving blinked, clearly surprised.

The selkie giggled, “Of course, Irving. I see the goodness in you. Your raunchy flirtations were usually just ploys to distract us. It worked especially well for Marri.”

“I had no idea you had realized that.” he muttered.

“I’m not just a hat-rack, Irving. And I think you forget I’m older than Marri, too! Don’t be so surprised that I’m more observant than you thought!” she giggled.

“Yeah, I do forget that.” he grimaced a little. “I’m older than you though, right?”

“Yeah. About fifty years.”

“Right.” He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. “We should figure out where Dern’s house is.” he paused and looked around, then saw an older woman walking down the street. “Excuse me!” Irving flashed a friendly smile, “So sorry to bother you, but we’re not from around here. Could you point us in the direction of Dern’s house?”

The elderly woman blinked, studied them for a moment, then smiled. “Of course. Turn right on that road right there.” She pointed ahead of them, “His house is the one at the end of the street. Has a workshop out back.”

“Thank you.”

“For a minute I mistook you two for humans!” the woman laughed. “Are you friends of Winna’s, by any chance?”

Irving blinked, apparently surprised they’d been picked out as fey. “Yes, I guess we are.”

“She’d have come with us, but…she’s having a baby right now!” Serha giggled.

“Oh, she’s in labor?” the woman broke into a wide smile. “That must have been why I saw Arden running so quickly through town earlier! He was just a blur with white hair! He must have been going to get my sister, Baree. She’s the midwife.”

“I met her!” Serha smiled.

“Well, I’m Bin. I run a clothing store in the village. If you two will swing by later after you’re done visiting Dern, and I’ll get you into some new clothes.” she studied their somewhat tattered clothing sadly.

“We don’t have a bit of money, I’m afraid.” Irving grimaced.

“Don’t worry about that, honey.” she shook her head, smiling. “I’ll work something out with Lear and Winna.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“I’ve known Winna her whole life, and Lear is just as generous as she is, we’ve come to realize.” Bin smiled warmly, “They’d want me to help you.”

“Thank you. We’re…strangers here, though…You’ve been most kind.” Serha bowed low, and Irving followed suit.

“Oh, none of that!” Bin laughed a little, “Our town owes a lot to fey folk. When there was a bad mudslide a while back, the fey folk in the area came together and helped us save our loved ones, recover and bury our dead with respect, and rebuild what had been destroyed. You all are most welcome here, provided you’re up to no shenanigans, and I can tell you’re not.”

“This is a wonderful place.” Serha sighed, looking around.

“Maybe…once we go back home and visit my family so you can meet them…maybe we should come back here?” Irving said thoughtfully.

“I think I’d like that.” Serha murmured.

“It’s a very peaceful place.” Bin nodded, then glanced at a watch. “Well, I must get back to my store, I just had a nice, late lunch. I’ll be expecting you two later!” Bin took a moment to point out her shop across the village green, then bade them farewell.

“This place is wonderful, Irving.” the selkie sighed happily.

“I think I agree with you.” They continued on their way to Dern’s house.