Fatherhood was looming. No, fatherhood was imminent. Fatherhood was threatening to happen right there in his hands if he didn't pull himself together and start being supportive to his laboring mate. Emrys was not having a good start to his day. With any luck, he'd have a good end to his day, if all went well with the birth, but all that depended on Marissa, as well as on Mara to get there before all hell broke loose.

"Kitten ....why is there a note on this birth plan to bring the pigs inside for moral support?" he asked a little helplessly, shoving said birth plan in his mouth to free up his hands for padding out the bed in preparation for the birth.

"Because the pigs are ..." Marissa broke off with a groan of pain. Her contractions were getting closer together and more importantly, they were getting more painful. "Em ..." she gasped, one hand resting on her heavily swollen belly, while the other tightly clutched the arm of the chair she was currently sprawled in.

Seren had spent the last four months or so predicting that her always composed brother would completely lose his composure when faced with the imminent birth of his children. She was definitely wrong. Despite this being a completely new scenario for Emrys, that calmness he held around himself was staying firmly in place, even as he dropped the sheets and loped across the cabin to drop down onto his knees beside Marissa.

"You're doing fine, Marissa," he promised her softly, easing his hand between hers and the chair to let her squeeze as hard as she liked. "Just fine ....and they're fine, too. Mara'll be here any minute."

At least one of them was calm because Marissa certainly wasn't. She'd never given birth before, nor had any of the other Marissas that existed only in her memory. She was scared, but she was excited, too, and anxious to give her beloved two healthy children. "M-maybe I should have gone to the hospital," she said, searching his face for some sense of reassurance that they were doing the right thing.

"With a mate who can't drive, kitten, that's not the best idea," Emrys reminded her gently, leaning close to kiss her brow. "Mara will be here soon, and she said something about bringing the local healer, just in case. Try and be calm, love." He smiled, stroking his free hand against her cheek. "Do you really want the pigs in here?"

She frowned at his question, drawing comfort from the tenderness of his touch, and even the sound of his voice. He was her rock and her safety net and her voice of reason. She knew she'd never be able to do this without him. As far as the pigs were concerned, it wasn't them she really wanted close right now. It was him. "No, I just want you."

"We can show them the little ones later," he agreed, relieved she really wasn't going to ask him to manhandle their pair of pigs into the cabin for the duration of her labor. Attached as she was to them, that wasn't exactly hygienic. His sharp ears, however, picked up the familiar sound of hoofbeats coming their way. "There now, kitten. Help is here."

She'd heard the hoofbeats, too, but she clung to him, hesitant to let go. "Don't leave me," she pleaded, even if all he was going to do was go outside to meet their friends. "Em, I can't do this alone."

"I'm not going anywhere, kitten," he promised her, lowering back down onto his knees. "She can let herself in, she's been here often enough." He drew her hand to his lips, kissing her palm tenderly. "You're not alone, Marissa. I'm here. I will always be here."

She smiled at his reassurance and reached up to stroke his hair, which was almost as wild as he was, though he was gentle as a pup. The smile didn't last long, though, as another contraction wracked her with pain and she gripped his hand hard.

To his credit, Emrys only whimpered a little as she clamped down on his hand, wiping the wince from his face to attempt as encouraging a look as he could manage while he felt his bones grinding together. This was what Mara walked in on, breathless from her ride and with a big bag over her shoulder. She took one look at the laboring pair, grinned, and headed for the bed to make sure it was ready to be birthed on.

Duncan was there, too, outside tethering the horses, while Mara took care of things inside. Marissa gripped Emrys' hand for a long moment, trying her best to breathe through the contraction like she'd been taught. It only lasted a moment, but for that moment, she was lost in the pain.

As the contraction eased, Mara came back into view, crouching down in front of Marissa with a warm smile. "Today's the big day," she announced a little superfluously. "Why don't you two scramble over to the bed so I can drop your drawers and see what?s going on up there?"

Emrys gaped at his mate's friend, shocked to hear her say that so bluntly. Unfortunately, all he could think of to say was, "She doesn't wear drawers."

Marissa frowned back at Mara, even though Mara was smiling. She made it all sound so easy, but it was anything but. "I-I don't think I can scramble," she said, unsure if she could even get off the chair without groaning in pain.

"That's what you have Emrys for, sweetheart," Mara assured her, rising onto her feet to offer her friend her hands. "Up you come. I'll pull, he can push." And if Mara hadn't already been through this twice herself, that might have been offensive.

Marissa frowned dubiously, though she didn't have much choice. "Can't I just have the baby here?" she asked, reluctant to get out of the chair, even as she reached for Mara's hands.

"Not if you want to actually push them out," Mara told her, calm and smiling as she pulled gently.

Emrys caught up finally, rising onto his own feet to slide his hands down behind Marissa's back and gently guide her up until she was standing with them, his arm automatically wrapping about her back the moment she was upright. "It's just a few steps, kitten," he assured her softly. "Just a few steps, and you can get comfortable again."

She took a few slow steps before stopping dead in her tracks, gasping as her face turned suddenly pale. She'd felt a strange gushing sensation that could only mean one thing. There would be no stopping the twins from being born now. "I think my water just broke," she whispered, almost afraid to say it out loud.

Emrys paused, aware that his mate had just frozen in the act of walking. Her whisper, however, definitely got his attention. "Oh," he managed, squeezing her gently. "That's what?s supposed to happen. It's just water." It wasn't, and he could smell that it wasn't just water, but he wasn't going to make a fuss in the hope that she wouldn't, either.

Mara glanced between them, one brow raised. "Were you expecting it to be under your control?"

"I've got her!" Given the squeak that came immediately before that proud announcement, however, it was a fair bet that Mara had just played a spirited game of catch the baby with herself. "All right, back on the bed, and we'll finish up." Cord cut, she turned to tuck the slimy baby girl into Duncan's free arm, wiping her own hands dry to help Emrys settle his mate back onto the bed. This last part didn't need too much help to finish with, after all.

"What am I supposed to do with two of them?" Duncan asked with another chuckle as he took the second one in his arm, also loosely wrapped in a blanket. Someone was going to have to clean the newborns up, and it seemed that someone was going to be him.

"Are they-are they okay?" Marissa asked, all out of breath and clearly exhausted.

"They're perfect," Mara promised her, busily dealing with what had to be dealt with while the new mother and father sprawled together on the bed and her own husband was hopefully cleaning the babies up a little.

Emrys was laughing again, hugging his arms around Marissa as he nipped her jaw affectionately. "Hear them, kitten," he told her, weary and wild and deliriously happy. "A boy and a girl."

"A boy and a girl," she echoed, smiling up at the man who had given her these children and made her life complete. There was still the matter of the afterbirth, but that was nothing compared to birthing two babies. "I want to see them," she told Emrys, needing to see them, to make sure they were as healthy as they sounded.

"So do I," he chuckled, but he didn't rush to have Duncan bring the children over. He trusted their friend to have the babies in hand, preferring to make certain Marissa was as comfortable as he could possibly make her before gesturing for Duncan to come closer and hand them over.

It was no easy task juggling two newborns, but Duncan was no rookie at handling babies, and it wasn't long before he had returned with each twin cleaned up as best he could and wrapped in a blanket.

The sight of his newborn children distracted Emrys from seeing just what was in the bundle of blankets Mara removed from the bed, his gaze and nose centering on the twins as Duncan brought them to the bed. "Here," he said, trying to curb his excitement as he reached out to take the first that came to hand, twisting to lay a squirming baby boy into Marissa's arms.

When Duncan laid the baby girl into his arms, though, he just sank down beside his mate, unable to quite believe all this was happening. He had a mate; he had a family, children. He was holding his daughter ....and slowly, the tears started to drip from his face as he smiled down at his family, leaning over to nuzzle his face against Marissa's hair.

Marissa looked down at the bundle in her arms, so small and fragile and yet, as far as she could tell he looked healthy and robust. He certainly had no problem making his displeasure known. "Oh, Emrys," she said, looking from the boy in her arms to the girl in his, and then to the man who had made it all possible. She noticed the tears on his face before he leaned close to nuzzle his face against her hair and suddenly, she was crying, too - happy, relieved, weary tears.

Duncan smiled at the couple, touched by the moment and at the honor of being witness to it, but he knew when two people needed a moment alone and he turned to help with whatever Mara needed him to do. It wasn't exactly glamorous, but it got them out from underfoot as the two new parents sobbed together over their beautiful children.

Emrys was murmuring something utterly incomprehensible to both Marissa and the twins, but it didn't really need words. It was all in his tone - the love, the wonder, the forceful protectiveness that he would always look after them.

It was more than Marissa had ever dreamed possible. In all her pasts and futures, none of the Marissas she'd ever known had ever been so happy, and it was all because of Emrys. Some of those Marissas had known love, but none of them had ever had a child or known such happiness as this. She nuzzled her face against his, her face wet with tears, the bundles in their arms quieting at last, as if they knew they were safely in their parents' care.

"What are we going to call them?" Emrys asked finally, rubbing his nose on his opposite shoulder as he made an effort to get his sniffling under control. "I can't remember any of the names we were talking about."

"I don't know!" Marissa exclaimed, laughing. "Thing One and Thing Two?" she suggested in jest, though it was likely he'd miss the reference to the Dr. Seuss book.

"We are not calling our children Thing," he insisted with a warm smile, glad to see her laughing after her long ordeal. "Or It, or That, or This, or anything else that isn't a unique name that belongs to them." He stuck his tongue out at her playfully.

She grinned up him. Despite her weariness, it was good to laugh with him and to see him happy. She knew she had made him happy in giving him a family and her heart soared with the knowledge of it. "I would like to give our daughter your sister's name, but not for a first name. That would be too confusing."

"You know Seren means star, right?" he mentioned, looking down at their daughter in his arms. He drew a fingertip along the baby girl's cheek, smiling as she flailed to take a firm grip on his digit.

"Does it?" she asked a little wearily, smiling dreamily as she watched him with their daughter. "I am not good at naming," she said, as was evidenced by the pigs who were simply known as Frick and Frack.

"Maia means star," he murmured to her, though his eyes were on their daughter, gently tugging his finger back and forth as the tiny girl held on tightly. "But you look more like a Ceri to me, cariad bach. What does your Mama think?"

"Mama thinks that's lovely," Marissa murmured back. "But what do you think about Cerys" Cerys Maia. It has a softer sound to me," she argued. Even though she didn't think herself very good at naming things, she knew that names were important and she wanted her children to have names they could be proud of and that would fit them.

"Cerys ....aye, that's a sweet name," he agreed softly, his fingertip gently booping the little button nose in front of him. "Cerys Maia ....I can live with that." He raised his head with a grin, proving that he could more than live with such a beautiful name for their beautiful girl. "And what shall we name the brute" Felix?"

"Felix" No!" Marissa replied, wrinkling her nose in distaste. She'd had a name of sorts in mind, in case they were blessed with a son, but she wasn't sure if he'd agree to it.

He snorted with laughter at her expression, touching a kiss to her temple. "I love you," he chuckled, nuzzling close for a moment. "I have no idea for a lad. Seems wrong to try and name him after me or any of my pack ....what about something Duncan?"

"Duncan?" she echoed again, frowning thoughtfully, unsure if she liked that or not. If they named their son after Duncan, then shouldn't they name their daughter after Mara" She didn't want any hurt feelings, after all. "Would it be so terrible to name him after you? Just his middle name," she asked, pouting a little as if that might help convince him.

Somehow, they would both manage some sleep, even if it took taking shifts, one awake while the other slept. At least, Marissa hoped so. She was exhausted, but a little too excited to sleep just yet.

"Sleep when they sleep," Duncan suggested, giving them the best piece of advice he could think of. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"And don't bath them just yet, just wipe clean for now," Mara added as they stepped away, wiggling her fingers in a goodbye. "See you tomorrow, Mom and Pops."

Emrys snorted with laughter at the farewell, nodding gratefully to Duncan. He had a feeling they were going to need all the advice they could get over the coming days.

"So much to remember," Marissa murmured quietly with a frown and another sigh. But they were as prepared as they could be, and help was only a phone call away.

"We can do this," Emrys promised her softly, watching their friends out through the door as he settled down at her side once again. "Do you need anything, kitten" Hungry or thirsty or something else?"

"Tired," she admitted. More tired than she'd ever felt before in her entire life. "But all I need I have right here," she added smiling up at him, each of them with one child in their arms. "I'd ask you to switch, but I think our daughter is enjoying your finger too much," she said with a very Marissa-like giggle.

He blinked, glancing down again to chuckle at the sight of Ceri sucking his finger in her sleep. "She might prefer your finger, you never know," he pointed out in amusement, easing closer to her. "They're beautiful, Marissa. As beautiful as their mother."

"I think they have a little of their father in them, too," she pointed out, leaning her head against his shoulder as he eased closer. As tired as she was, she did not think she could ever feel more happy or content than she did at that moment. Of course, that feeling might change when it was three a.m. and both babies were screaming for her attention.

"Judging by the noise they made coming out, I'd agree with that," he conceded with a smile, kissing her hair tenderly. "I will always be here, kitten," he promised, his low voice fervent in the stillness around them. "I will never leave you. Our family will always be protected."

"I know," she replied quietly, not needing his words to tell her that. She knew in her heart that he loved her, and she loved him just as much in return. "I waited all my life for you. We are meant to be together, Em."

His smile was soft and warm as he closed his eyes, resting his cheek against her hair as they cradled their newborn children close. Then a thought occurred to him. "Your ....step-mother-person," he said in a wary tone. "She isn't going to do anything unspeakable to me for getting you pregnant before she met me, is she?"

"Step-mother?" she echoed, giggling a little. Colleen wasn't what Marissa would consider a step-mother, but it was hard to explain. At least, that was who she assumed he was talking about. "No, love. She is going to adore you. Trust me." And probably adore him even more for giving Marissa her children.

"Well, your family is even weirder than my family," he defended himself with a grin. "At least I only have a slightly strange sister to remember. You have an entire pantheon of weirdness."

"Perhaps one day I will take you to meet the tribe," she told him. If he thought her adoptive family was weird, that was nothing compared to her birth mother's family.

He chuckled. "Would they accept me?" he asked in surprise. "I am a mongrel wolf, after all." Which wasn't entirely true - if anything, he was likely more pure-blooded than most lycanthropes out there in the world, if a little in-bred because of it.

"I am not sure," Marissa replied, honestly enough. "But my siblings are half wolf and the tribe accepted them," she admitted, realizing too late that she might not have mentioned her siblings before.

He frowned thoughtfully. She had mentioned siblings before now, but never in much detail. "How many brothers and sisters do you have?" he asked her curiously. He knew her mystical side of the family was vast, but how big was the other side"

Little did he know that her tribal family was almost as mystical as her adoptive side. "Um, half a dozen or so?" she replied, not uncertainly, but a little timidly, unsure what he might make of that.

"Half a dozen?" He laughed a little disbelievingly. "You weren't all one litter, were you? I mean, I know you said you were born alone, but the others?"

"No, not one litter. I am the eldest," she told him. Or at least, she believed herself to be the eldest, but there was a lot about her birth parents that she didn't know.

"Like humans, right?" he asked, still a little fuzzy on the details there. "Like Robert and Deirdre?" Mara and Duncan were the only humans who had procreated that he knew well enough to be able to use them as a reference.

"No, they are ....like us," she said, after a moment's hesitation. "Like me," she clarified. "Of mixed blood." It was still not easy for her to speak of such things, but it was getting easier for her to talk about it with him.

"No, I mean ....in order of birth," he explained gently. "Seren and I, and our brothers and sister, we were born in one litter. You and your siblings were born the way humans are born, one at a time?" Gently extracting his finger from Ceri's mouth, he wrapped his arm about his mate affectionately. "Mixed blood like your children," he added, kissing her temple. "All three of you outdo me in the wild creature stakes."

"No, I was the only one born alone," she told him, which might give him a sense of the loneliness she'd endured most of her life. She'd always been alone, separate, different from all the rest in more ways than one. But none of that really mattered anymore.

His arm tightened around her. "You're not alone anymore."

She smiled up at him, all the pain and loneliness of the past forgotten, warm and content in his embrace. "Neither are you."

"Because I found you." He met her smile with his own in a tender kiss, somehow easing their daughter into her arms along with their son so he could wrap his own warms about all three of them. So long as he lived, nothing would ever harm them. No longer a lone wolf, he would protect his pack.