((Contains reference to adult situations.))

Moving into a new home could have been a stressful experience, but somehow it hadn't been so for Natalya Bristol. Despite being pregnant, and having to navigate the unfamiliar realm of making friends with the neighbors - who, at times, seemed to be living in the house with them - she was happier here, more relaxed, than she had been anywhere else in her lifetime, with one exception. And she had a pretty good feeling that it was entirely because of Rhys. He had her wrapped around his little finger, whether he knew it or not, never once questioning his feelings for her or his excited anticipation for their daughter's birth. He hadn't even complained when she had dragged him out to choose furniture for the nursery, which was actually being set up in the cozy nook that would ordinarily be a lounging place in their master bedroom.

One changing station and a heavy duty chest of drawers later, she was leaning against the arch that separated that nook from the main bedroom, watching as Rhys put the finishing touches to the construction of the crib they wouldn't be using until the baby was at least a month old anyway.

As for Rhys, all of this was like a dream come true - which was not too far from the truth, really. In all his life, he'd never been happier than he was right now, and he had Natalya to blame for it. He could hardly remember life before her; it was almost as if he'd died and been reborn, which was not really too far from the truth either. Long, long ago when he'd been a boy, an angel had appeared to him and told him that if he was strong, if he had faith, that all would one day be well.

There had been times when he'd doubted that message, when he'd almost lost hope, when he'd come dangerously close to defeat, but somehow he'd managed to overcome all the challenges that had been set before him and earn the reward of the life he was living now, and again, he knew his Natalya was in good part to thank for it. This was the life he'd always dreamed of - a wife who loved him and children born of that love, a home they could call their own surrounded by family and friends. What more could any man want than this" It was Heaven on Earth to a fallen angel who had only ever wished to love and be loved in return.

If anyone had told him he'd find himself putting together a crib in anticipation of his daughter's birth - a daughter from whose line would come the next Lady of Avalon - he would never have believed them. But there he was on a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon, doing what he did best, what made him most happy, and though he wasn't tinkering with a car engine or building a house, he felt useful and feeling useful made him happy.

"You know," his wife began in her gentle Russian accent, something she was learning not to hide now they were becoming domesticated, "I thought all American men did such manly construction work as this shirtless while drinking Coca Cola. Have I been deceived, or are you short-changing me?" Brown eyes twinkled teasingly as she rested her folded arms on the high bump at her waist - at 24 weeks, she still had a way to go, but there was no mistaking that she definitely was pregnant these days.

"And I thought all Russian women were named Natasha and had a deep voice and mustache," he teased back with a smirk on his unshaven face. "Besides, I know you. If I take my shirt off, I won't get any work done," he pointed out as he fitted another piece of wood together, the thing in front of him slowly starting to take shape. He had a half-drained beer on the floor at his side and was wearing a Metallica t-shirt and faded blue jeans. From the look of him, you'd never know they weren't hurting for money or that he was, in truth, the Champion of Avalon. He looked like any other ordinary New Yorker.

"Well, I do have a Natasha I could introduce you to," she conceded. "And after all this time in prison, I am fairly sure she will have a mustache by now. But wouldn't you rather have your Natalya licking every inch of your shirtless torso than have to play nice with her criminal sister?"

"You are teasing me, woman," he told her, trying to ignore the baser parts of his brain and body that were susceptible to her womanly wiles. It was no big secret that he'd never been able to resist her. She had seduced him practically from the first moment they'd met, but he had no regrets. She was, in all honesty, the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Of course I am," she agreed, utterly shameless in her enjoyment of how easy it was to tease her husband, especially when he was in no position to follow through on any threats he might make about retaliation. "I am enjoying watching you be manly with a screwdriver, though I suppose I should be making you dinner instead. I just do not seem to be able to tear myself away, dusha moya."

He chuckled, assuming his good wife was still trying to tease him by making an analogy he couldn't help but gutter. "Would you rather I was screwing you instead?" he asked, unabashedly, that smirk still curling his lips. "It could be arranged, you know." And probably would have been in quick measure if she wasn't six months pregnant or so.

"Well, naturally I would be quite happy to spend all day every day being screwed by you, milaya, but you promised you would finish the nursery before you let me distract you again today," Nat laughed, careful not to consider how very careful he was about touching her these days. Overjoyed as Rhys was to have a baby bump he could smother with affection, it took more than a little determined seduction to get him to do more than kiss and lie back these days. Not that she minded too much - Rhys was fun to seduce.

"Right, so instead of letting me do what I've promised and get this finished, you thought you'd tease me and try to distract me from my work," he accused, though there was no anger in the accusation, only amusement. "How typically female of you, Natalya," he remarked with another smirk as he leaned back on his heels and tipped the beer back for a long swallow. He knew she enjoyed winding him up, and he had to admit, he enjoyed the attention.

"I feel it is only fair, since you managed somehow to undo my bra through my dress while we were in the store picking up this infernal contraption," she pointed out cheerfully, and quite suddenly stiffened, gasping in surprise. Her hand lowered to the smooth side of her bump, and a wide smile crossed her face. "Milaya, come here. Quickly!"

He followed Nat's gaze to the window to see their neighbors laughing like a couple of kids, as happy as they were. Marital bliss seemed to be catching. Rhys smiled at Nat's question. He'd become rather fond of their new friends, and even Adam and Gina seemed to approve. "If they can't, I'm afraid we're going to get stuck helping out," he said, though he knew they had as much of support system as he and Nat, if not more. "You know, it's been a while since we've been to Avalon. Aren't you curious how Zach and Rachel are getting on?" he asked, changing the subject a little.

She chuckled softly. "I am more than a little curious," she admitted. "And they have been there a good long time. Perhaps it is time they visited New York, to get a feel of the world outside Avalon. They cannot stay there forever, and I think your sister may be itching to show off some of what she has learned from the Handmaidens and her husband." It felt strange, referring to Zachariel as Rachel's husband, but it was something she would have to get used to. The broken angel needed all the help he could get when it came to integrating with their family.

"Hm," he replied thoughtfully, taking hold of her hand and drawing her toward the bed so she could get off her feet and relax for a while. "I don't really wanna think about what the Handmaidens might have taught her," he said as he leaned down to slide the heels from her feet, wondering what ever possessed her to wear them in the first place, though he wouldn't deny he found them sexy. "I've been thinking..." Uh, oh.

She laughed as he commented on the Handmaidens, knowing exactly where his mind had gone. The Lady's women did like to tease him. "They are not entirely focused upon sex," she assured her husband, leaning carefully on his shoulder as she lifted first one foot, then the other, losing height when she put them back down again. "And would you not rather have your sister here than in Avalon for the spring rites?" She flashed him a somewhat wicked grin - he hadn't been in Avalon himself for Beltane, but he could guess. "And what have you been thinking, milaya?"

"You could have fooled me," he muttered to himself, regarding the Handmaidens who seemed to enjoy teasing him, many of whom still giggled in his presence, despite his being married to their Priestess. He winced at the mention of Beltane, but more so at the idea of his sister partaking in the rites and rituals that more than likely went hand in hand with the event. "I'm surprised we haven't been summoned back to preside over the celebration. Or whatever," he said, uncertainly as he set her shoes aside and drew her down to the bed. "I'm also surprised Rachel isn't pregnant by now. Do you think we need to give them a sex manual?"

"I think the Lady may be keeping that in check," Nat reassured him gently as he guided her down to the bed with him. "They are barely more than children themselves. They need to find a purpose for themselves, and learn to function in this world before they can consider children. Besides," she added teasingly, "doesn't Ana have enough competition in the adorable stakes with next door outdoing us with two?"

"I doubt Ana will have to worry much about competition so long as we're around," he pointed out, knowing their daughter would never lack in love or affection or attention. "I've been thinking that maybe they should live with us awhile. Or nearby," he said, unsure what his wife might think of this. Having Rachel and Zach close by could prove a blessing or a curse. For now, they were safe in Avalon, but Rhys wasn't sure they wanted to stay there forever. It was their choice, however, and he'd abide by whatever they chose.

Nat lay back slowly, taking the opportunity to rest her feet and stretch out her back at the same time, raising her arms above her head as she considered this. "I think, perhaps, we should ask them to visit with us for a few days over Easter," she suggested quietly. "I have been practicing my cooking, I think I am ready to cook a big meal. We could invite Adam, Gina, and Joey over, with Rachel and Zachariel, and have a family meal."

Rhys settled himself on his side beside Nat, one hand moving slowly over her baby bump, a smile forming on his face at her suggestion. "I like that idea. You're a genius." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips, warm and affectionate. Dinner might have to wait a while longer. "Do we deliver the invitation in person or should we send word?"

She smiled against his lips, warm and soft and only too happy to be distracted from anything more than simply being affectionate with her husband. "I think we should deliver it in person," she said thoughtfully through her smile. "After we call Adam and Gina. They are the ones with jobs we will need to work around."

"I'm sure they'll get some time off for Easter. Joey will be on break from school," he reminded her, more concerned about Rachel and Zach than about Adam and Gina. For the moment, however, his thought process was distracted by the closeness of his wife, his lips wandering away from hers to leave a trail of kisses against her neck.

Pleasantly surprised, Nat didn't offer anything in the way of protest as his lips began to wander, wondering if this was a result of Ana finally giving his hand a good thump or just her own natural charms. Either one was a good enough reason for Rhys to do a little seducing of his own this time around. Her fingers skimmed against his arm as she tilted her head, thick curls falling out of his way easily. "Mmm ....let's get take out tonight," she murmured, giving up on the idea of cooking dinner. This was always more fun, anyway.

He made no protest. Takeout was fine with him, and food was not the most important thing on his mind at the moment. He needed to take more care with her these days, seeing as she was carrying his child, but thus far their love life had not been too hindered by it. "Sounds like a plan," he said as his fingers drew her cardigan away from her shoulder.

Of course, with Rhys not putting up any protest about this, Nat felt the need to teased him a little further, even as she rolled her shoulder to ease the slide of the soft wool down her arm. Trailing her own lips to his ear, she murmured impishly, "There is a Russian deli that delivers borscht only a couple of blocks away."

"Mmhmm," he replied, his lips still busy trailing kisses against her neck, obviously distracted and not paying much attention to the remark about the deli. She knew how much he hated borscht - or so he claimed, since he had never really been brave enough to try it. "Why do you insist on wearing clothes that are so hard to get you out of?" he asked as he somehow managed to get the cardigan off her.

She laughed, both at his inattention to her words, and at his frustration with her clothing. "If you had your way, milaya, I would be barefoot and naked all day," she reminded him warmly, rolling onto her side to pin him in place as she took over with kisses and caresses of her own. "You enjoy the challenge."

He smiled, more so at the determination in her voice than at her promise. Neither could know what the future would bring, though they'd both been given the gift of a peek at a possible future, and Rhys knew that so long as they were under the Lady's protection, they could expect a long, full life together. Of course, there were other forces at work they knew nothing about and couldn't predict, but when the time came, they would face them together. "What if it turns out to be four?" he asked, with a small smile on his face. Three children had been foreseen, but who was to say that was final" It wasn't that he was greedy so much as that he just loved the idea of being part of a big family and being surrounded by those he loved and who loved him in return.

She laughed softly, poking at his chest. Of everything she had said, and he only took that away from it - Rhys had definitely had a good afternoon. "I would not care if it were only one, or a dozen," she assured him. "But three will do, for now." A smirk touched her face as she thought back on the vision she had been shown at Christmas. "If you are expecting lots of children, I would keep an eye upon Adam and Gina in the coming years. That little brownstone will not hold them all."

He laughed as she poked his chest. He'd heard every word she'd said, but preferred to focus on the here and now, rather than what might come after. "For now," he agreed with a grin, arching a brow when she mentioned Adam and Gina. She had told him a little of the vision she'd been given at Christmas, but not in great detail. "Should we put a down payment on a house for them now or wait until later?"

"Oh, I think we should wait until they are bursting at the seams and surprise them," Nat chuckled wickedly. "Perhaps we should recruit Joey to keep it a secret when he starts collecting brothers and sisters."

"How many?" Rhys asked curiously, as he let go of her hand so that he could lay a hand against her belly, hoping to feel some movement. He had no qualms about buying their best friends a house. It was the least they could do, after all. Without Adam's help, it was likely they might both have been dead by now.

She smiled, settling once again as within her belly the baby pushed back against the weight of her father's hand. "I remember at least four of them, and Joey all grown up," she chuckled softly. "Perhaps one of them was his girlfriend, I do not know. But they were happy, and they all called you Uncle Rhys."

"Four?" Rhys echoed, obviously surprised. "We're going to have three and they're going to have five?" He furrowed his brows, as he let that sink in. "Four besides Joey?" he asked, curiously. If she was right, they were going to have some serious competition.

She nodded, giggling at his expression. "I do not think Gina will be pregnant four times, though," she told him warmly. "I think, perhaps, they will open their home to children who need it."

"Oh," he said, brows furrowing deeper. At first, he'd thought she meant Gina might have twins, but it seemed she was referring to either foster children or adoption. "That's....admirable of them," he said, wondering if it was selfish of him to want children that were of their own flesh and blood.

"I think there is a story there," Nat mused softly. "But perhaps it has not happened yet. Perhaps it happened years ago. Whatever the motivation, their family will grow, and grow big. And in a few years, you will have a nephew of your own blood, as well."

That last part got his attention, drawing his thoughts away from that of Adam and Gina and their future houseful of little urchins to that of his sister and her fallen angel. "Rachel and Zach?" he asked, already knowing the answer to that question. Nat was right - the pair was very much like children right now, but if she was right, then in a few years, things would change. "Were they living in New York or Avalon?" he asked, knowing it was dangerous to know too much about the future, but unable to resist asking.

"I do not know," she shrugged lightly, not putting too much emphasis on the visions they had been shown, but understanding his curiosity concerning the visit at Christmas that had healed wounds neither of them had known she was still carrying. "They were visiting us, here, with two boys. And Rachel was round with a third."

"Wait, I thought you said....a third?" he echoed, eyes widening in renewed surprise before he broke into joyful laughter, though these events had not happened yet and would not happen for a few years to come. "I'll be damned. Well, it's good to know they eventually figure out what to do with each other!"

She laughed again, having had little doubt that Zach was only waiting for the appropriate time before showing Rachel what he had learned from his millenia of watching over her in various lives. "You have too little faith in your sister's determination to live the way she should have been for the past years," she informed her husband fondly. A thought flickered through her mind, gentling her smile. "But I do not think they will come to New York to live, in the end. I think they are suited to Avalon, in a way that we are not."

A small frown crinkled the space between Rhys' brows as he considered that. He'd always assumed his sister and her angel would eventually settle in New York, somewhere close to him and Nat, but the more he thought about it, the more he had to admit that Nat was probably right. The pair had been through enough; New York was really no place for them. They were too innocent, too naive. Why should they move to the crowded, bustling city when they could live a peaceful, contented life in Avalon' There was so much time to be made up between him and his sister, and yet, it was more important to Rhys that Rachel be happy. "You're right," he said at last. But then, when wasn't Natalya right' "They don't belong here." He didn't say it with sadness or regret or grief, though he knew he'd miss his sister; it was said with conviction and certainty. It was more important to him that she be safe and happy.

"But that does not mean that they cannot visit us, or that we cannot visit them," his wife pointed out gently. "We have nothing but time at this moment, and I do not believe the Lady will give us work until Ana is safely born and has lived a while in the light with us. We could go to Avalon for a month or more; you could spend time with your sister. There is nothing to say that keeping them in Avalon would be to sacrifice anything between you, milaya."

She sighed softly. "Rhys, I will not let you make excuses to avoid this," she told him firmly. "You can rant and rave, or you can never speak to me again, but you will go back there. You owe it to yourself to face the past. The way I did."

"It's not gonna change anything, Nat. It's not gonna bring him back." She knew that as well as he did, but it was just another excuse to avoid the inevitable. "I'm happy here with you. I don't know if I can face it again." But at the same time, he wasn't sure if he could sell the house without going back there again either. He felt torn between the need to put the past behind him and the fear of facing it.

"Yes, you can." She wasn't going to let him talk himself out of this, sitting up to look down at him with the determined solemnity he had not once yet managed to argue successfully against. "Because you need to. And you know that he is at peace, that he will never again be a part of this world. If I can face my childhood, knowing that what is left of my father could still be out there, waiting to hurt me again ....then you can do this."

But that opened another can of worms, and Rhys wished they could just go back to talking about the baby again. "He's not gonna hurt you again. I'm not gonna let that happen," he said with determined vehemence as he he sat up beside her and gently touched her face, his own grief and guilt over Dylan turning to anger over what her father did to her and a deep need to protect and care for her.

But again, she spotted that for what it was, shaking her head as she caught his hand in her own. "Stop changing the subject," she told him, a flicker in her eyes suggesting that she was going to lose patience with his cowardice here if he didn't set it aside. "I want an answer from you, Rhys. When will we go to Pennsylvania?"

He was tempted to give her the easy answer. He could put it off for another year, if he wanted, and maybe another year after that, until she forgot about it and let him be, but what would that solve" The house would still be there, empty and abandoned and forgotten. He owed Dylan more than that. He owed it to the memory of Dylan to face the past and put it to rest at long last. "After Easter," he told her after a long moment, surprised to hear himself say it. "We'll go after Easter. Now can we get something to eat?"

She smiled, knowing how hard the decision was to make, but once made, how infinitely harder the execution of that decision might be. Leaning close, she kissed him tenderly. "Yes, we can get something to eat," she assured him. "And call Adam and Gina to arrange Sunday."

He returned her kiss, relieved she was no longer angry with him, if she ever was. He knew he'd been testing her patience, but he also knew how hard it was going to be to actually go through it. "Sometimes I think you actually enjoy busting my balls," he told her, though there was no anger in his voice. He knew she was only forcing him to do what needed to be done for his own sake.

Her smirk brushed his lips once again. "I enjoy doing a lot of things to your balls," she murmured teasingly, moving to rise from the bed, snapping her fingers at him. "Up, up. Phone Adam, I will find the takeout menus."

"You might want to get dressed first," he reminded her with a smirk once she was finished kissing his lips. He got up after her and patted her bare rear fondly before snagging his shorts from the floor and tugging them on.

She stuck her tongue out at him, foregoing her usual impeccable taste in clothing to put his t-shirt on, something very unusual for Rhys' perfectly put together wife. Between his shirt, loose enough to define but not hug the roundness at her belly, and her own panties, she was about as dressed down as he had ever seen her, wild curls tumbling around her shoulders as she wandered toward the door. "I will be barefoot in the kitchen, when you are done," she teased sweetly, slipping from the bedroom with a low laugh.

Dressed to the nines or clad simply in his t-shirt and her panties, he thought she was as gorgeous as ever, maybe even more so for the roundness of her belly beneath his shirt. She was carrying his child - their daughter - and the mere thought of it did strange things to his insides. "Barefoot and pregnant," he reminded her with a smirk, but maybe that was the point of her teasing. Despite all the hardships they'd been through and challenges they had yet to face, he wouldn't change a thing. This love they shared was what life was all about; it was what made life worth living.

((One trip to Avalon, coming up! As always maximungus thanks to Rhys' player!))