Chapter 33: Family Tree

"I'm still mad at you by the way." Sabbith glared at Kitty, taking a seat beside her. 

"How could you not tell me you were pregnant?"

"She didn't tell me either." Spikes raised an eyebrow at Sabbtih from the seat on the other side of Kitty.

"Yes, but you hate kids. So it kinda makes sense." Sabbith laughed, before returning her glare to Kitty.

"But I love kids. How could you not tell me?"

"Do you really expect me to tell you before I told my husband?" Kitty laughed, resting her hand on her stomach. Kitty was four months pregnant and it was starting to really show.

"Yes, I do." Sabbith whined. 
"This put us two months behind with shopping for baby supplies."

"Aren't you scared, or nervous?" Spikes asked, leaning back in her seat.
"Having a kid sounds terrifying."

Kitty sighed softly. She rubbed her stomach, smiling as she thought of how to answer Spikes.

"Not anymore." Kitty looked up to meet Spikes's eyes.
"At first I was terrified, but now that Takado knows and everything went better than I'd imagined... I'm not scared at all."

"That's so cute." Sabbith gushed, reaching out and resting her hand on Kitty's stomach as well.
"Does daddy feel the same way?"

"Nope." Kitty laughed.
"He's completely terrified, but he's also excited. I just know he's going to be an amazing father."

Spikes stared at Kitty's stomach, a lump forming in her throat. She stayed quiet for a while, unsure of what had made her so uneasy.

"Spikes are you okay?" Kitty asked, reaching over and resting her hand over Spikes.

Spikes blinked, her eyes meeting Kitty's sapphire ones. She nodded briskly, pulling her hand out of the cat's.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about how weird it'll be to have a baby around here." Spikes forced herself to smile.

Sabbith grinned back and continued to fawn over Kitty's growing stomach. Kitty didn't look convinced. She didn't get the chance to press the matter further as her husband stepped into the room.

"How are my two favorite people in the world?" Takado asked as he stepped through the door.

Kitty and Spikes both smiled up at Takado as he made his way towards them. Takado leaned over, meeting his lips to Kitty's before kneeling down and kissing her stomach.

"We're good, other than the whole pressing against my spine thing." Kitty responded, sighing slightly.

"You need to take it easy on your mom, Bud." Takado grinned. He rubbed Kitty's stomach for a few moments. He stood up, kissing her forehead briefly.
"We need to talk later by the way."

"Okay, is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine." He kissed her once more. 
"I'll see you two when your girl time is over okay?"

"Both of us?" Spikes asked suddenly, almost startling Takado and Kitty.

"Oh hey Carissa I didn't see you in here." Takado chuckled.
"I was just talking to Kitty and the baby."

"Speaking of which, if you two don't take me with you when you find out the gender I will kill you." Sabbith interrupted, catching Takado's attention before he could see his sister's weak smile falter.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll take you with." Takado sighed.
"Alright well I'll leave you four alone now."

Takado waved to the girls as he stepped out of the room, leaving Kitty and Sabbith to squeal over the baby. Spikes sat in silence staring at her hands in her lap. For a few minutes Spikes didn't say anything as Sabbith and Kitty chatted about baby things.

"Well I'd better go see what Takado wanted to talk about." Kitty's voice broke through Spikes's fog.
"Curiosity killed the cat you know."

"I want to hear all about it if it's about the baby okay?" Sabbith gushed, petting Kitty's stomach.
"I know you have five more months to go, but I wish it was sooner."

"Me too." Kitty laughed, giving Sabbith a hug before turning to look at Spikes.
"Do you want me to stop by your room when I'm done talking to Takado? You look like you need to talk."

Spikes blinked, staring up at Kitty before she stood up as well.
"No I'm alright. I was supposed to go to dinner with Vincent. We're thinking of going to visit his mom in a few weeks."

"Oh that's cool. Well I'll talk to you later." Kitty grinned, hugging Spikes before she stepped out of Sabbith's room and crossed the hall into her own room.

She quietly crossed the room, sitting on the desk where her husband was sitting at the computer typing.
"So what did you want to talk about?"

Takado almost jumped at her voice, pausing to stare at her in confusion.
"When did you come inside?"

"A minute ago. Are you okay Takado?" Kitty leaned over, resting her finger tips against his forehead.
"It was weird enough when you didn't notice Spikes right next to me, but now you don't notice me when I'm literally right in front of you?"

"I'm sorry Kitty-Kat." Takado sighed, kissing her knuckles before leaning back in his seat.
"I'm just stressed out right now."

"Worrying about the baby again?"

"Yes and no." Takado smiled glancing at her stomach. He swallowed, taking a moment to glance around the room.
"We have to move. This house isn't suited for a baby and there just isn't enough room."

Kitty's eyes widen with shock as she stared at her husband. He looked miserable as he placed his hand over his forehead, covering his eyes.

"You don't look like you really want to." Kitty spoke softly. She stepped down from the desk, sitting on top of her husband's lap. Takado wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling against her neck.

"I don't." Takado admitted. He began running his hand along Kitty's stomach, and sighed.
"But our baby deserves the best life we can give it. In our own home where he has his own room, and a real yard."

"Spikes is probably going to take it pretty hard."

Takado nodded, tightening his grip on her.
"I know."

"You're going to be an amazing Daddy." Kitty whispered, kissing his temple as she ran her hand through his tawny hair.

"You really think so?" Takado pulled away slightly, staring into her sapphire eyes as if he were searching for any hint she might be lying.
"I'm constantly worried. I had a pretty crappy example for a father... I don't want to be like him."

"I know you don't." Kitty smiled, kissing his nose.
"You had a good mom though. That's something I didn't have."

"Do you ever worry you'll end up like her?" Kitty sighed, taking a moment to think about her answer. She took his hand in her, rubbing circles in his palm.

"Sometimes, but I just remind myself that... I'm not her. And as much as I might wish it, I'm not my dad either." Kitty leaned her head against his shoulder. Takado smiled, kissing her shoulder briefly before she continued.
"We're not them. We're us and we'll do the best we can along the way."

"Yeah." Takado sighed softly, some of the tension falling from his shoulders.

"Relax Tako. We're gonna be okay." Kitty smiled and pushed up the corners of his mouth into a smile.
...

“Vince!” Rosanne exclaimed as she reached up and tightly hugged her son.  

“I’ve missed you so much!”

“I’ve missed you too Mom.” Vince smiled hugging her back.  

“I’m sorry it’s been so long.” he happily turned around as Spikes walked up to the doorway, 

“I brought Spikes with me.”

“It’s so good to see you.” Rosanne shouted happily as she grabbed the canine and pulled her into a hug.

“It’s good to see you too Ms. Greene.” Spikes responded shyly as she returned the hug.

“Spikes, you’ve been with my son for over five years now, you can call me Rosanne.” the succubus giggled as she led the two inside.

“Right, sorry Rosanne.”

“No need to apologize, now about some coffee and cookies while we catch up?” she grinned before spinning around.

“Mom you don’t have to do that.” Vince protested as he sat on the living room couch.

“I know I don’t need to but I want to!” she protested as she made her way to the kitchen.

“Hey, don’t be so nervous.” Vince whispered as he lightly grabbed Spikes’ hand.

“You know how I am with parents.” she muttered as she kept her eyes on the kitchen.

“I also know that Mom loves you, almost as much as I do actually.” he rubbed his thumb along the side of her hand.

“Yeah...” her voice trailed off as she heard footsteps from the kitchen.  

She softly shushed her mate as Rosanne entered the room with a tray of cookies and three mugs.  Spikes couldn’t help but smile as she watched Vince’s eyes light up as he reached for a cookie.

“Aw yeah!” Vince exclaimed, sounding like a teenage boy.  

“Love, you are in for such a treat!  These are Mom’s famous triple chocolate chip cookies!” He managed to speak through a mouthful of food. 

“Vincent, I know you can be yourself with this girl but you still should at least cover your mouth if you’re going to talk with it full.” his mother teased causing Spikes to laugh.

“Sorry mom...” Vince responded shyly as he sipped his coffee.

“It’s fine honey.” Rosanne smiled as she set down her mug.  

“So why did you two come all this way to visit your dear old mother?” she smirked with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re far from old Mom,” Vince chuckled, 

“But we wanted to tell you that Kitty and Takado are going to be having a baby.  I’m going to be an uncle!”  

Vince’s smile was almost sad as he looked at Spikes who also debated telling her of the other baby.

“And Spikes is going to be an older sister?”

“Aunt, older sister, one of the two.” Spikes slightly chuckled as she looked over at Rosane who was clearly confused.  

“Blade and Nadine, you met them at Kitty and Takado’s wedding, they’re going to be having a baby too.”

“That’s wonderful!  I’m assuming they found a donor?  Or, I read that there are ways for two females to conceive a child that is genetically both theirs.  Either way I’m happy for both of the couples.”

 

“Well, it wasn’t either of those, but despite how it happened, Nadine decided she would keep the baby.”  Vincent said softly.

“Oh...I see.” his mother’s eyes saddened, 

“Regardless, Nadine and Blade will make wonderful parents to the child and that’s all that matters.” she smiled sipping her coffee. 

“Now, speaking of babies, when will I have grandchildren?”  Spikes felt her heart skip a beat at the question, 

“Or better yet, when are you to going to finally tie the knot?” 

Her smile quickly faded as she watched her son’s face turn stone and Spikes eyes drop to her feet.

“Well -erm- you see...” Spikes stuttered but was quickly cut off.

“Hey!” Rosanne chirped, 

“How does barbecue salmon sound for dinner tonight?”

“That sounds great mom.” Vince smiled softly at his mother’s way to quickly change the subject.

“Good, but I need you to go get the ingredients.” She smiled happily as she trotted over to the desk her purse was on. 

“You know the best salmon to get and what vegetables everyone likes.” 

“Mom you’re already going to cook an amazing meal, the least I could do is pay for the ingredients.” Vincent smiled softly pushing aways his mother’s hand of money.  

He stood up and kissed Spikes on top of her head receiving a weak smile in return.

“Thank you Meowser.” Rosanne smiled as Vince approached the front door, he paused as all his hair stood up like a cat in fear.

“Meowser?” Spikes laughed nearly choking on her coffee.

“Thanks Mom, love you too.” he grumbled his hair calming itself as he made his way out the door.

“Okay what’s the story behind that one?” Spikes laughed before picking up a cookie, 

“Wow, these really are amazing!”

“Thank you,” Rosanne laughed, 

“And as for the name, when Vince was younger her was obsessed with Mario.  He loved those games, we had an agreement that if he kept his grades up he could have what ever game he wanted and that was always it.  

He would tell me in such detail about the characters, their abilities, and which ones were his favorites.  Bowser he seemed really fond of, and from there I came up with Meowser.”

“Sounds like the perfect childhood.” Spikes admitted almost sadly.

“I wouldn’t say perfect, but I did the best I could for my son as a single mother.” she paused observing Spikes fidgeting with her coffee mug.  

“In fact, did you know that I used to hate fish, even now I don’t really care for it.”  

Spikes looked up and tilted her head.

“Then why are you-”
“Because it’s his favorite.” she stated almost matter-of-factly.  

“It may not be something I’ve ever expected I would eat, but I love him and gladly do what I can to make him happy, so I learned to sort of like fish.” she smiled as she watched Spikes eyes drift down at her coffee.

“We’re not talking about food anymore, are we?” Spikes asked softly.

“Are we?” Rosanne asked calmly.

“You’re the one he got reading people from, aren’t you?” Spikes chuckled looking up at the succubus.

“We can’t necessarily read people, we’re just more intuitive than most.  It helps when we are hunting, or when you are a mother.” Rosanne giggled lightly at the last part getting a smile from the canine.

“So, would you care to share what’s going on with you two?”  Spikes leaned back and sighed as she contemplated telling the truth.

“Well, with Kitty and Takado getting married, and now them and Blade and Nadine having a kid, it’s really put-” she stopped trying to find the right words, 

“I guess almost a rift between Vince and I.  He want’s to get married, and don’t get me wrong, I love him. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my near immortality with him; but I don’t see the point in getting married.” Spikes held her breath, waiting for the other woman’s response.

“I see, I guess that explains why he wasn’t too happy when I asked.” she leaned back in her seat and exhaled softly.  

“And I know how much he wants a family, a wife, a normal life...” Spikes could feel a lump forming in her throat, 

“But I can’t be that for him, I can’t give that to him, that’s not what-not who- I am.”  she shook her head before taking a sip of her drink trying to swallow back the tears.

“Well, why isn’t that you?” Rosanne asked softly.  Spikes eyes widened as she stared at the succubus who’s expression showed genuine concern for the canine.

“I-I....I just can’t.” Spikes spat out trying to stop her mind from really taking in the question.

“So then it isn’t that it isn’t you, it’s something stopping you?” Rosanne asked keeping her eyes locked with Spikes, her voice remaining gentle.  Spikes felt her stomach flip and the lump form back in her throat.

“No it is me...I-I don’t know the first thing about being normal, even if I were human I don’t know what it means to have a normal life.”  Spikes admitted harshly, 

“I grew up on the streets, lived in constant fear and that fear turned into this-” 

she threw her hands up and motioned toward herself. 

“An orphan with an extremely hard shell who is almost completely incapable of properly expressing any and all emotions.  I am literally emotionally challenged.” she shook her head again and slightly chuckled to herself, 

“The first normal relationship I’ve ever seen was still pretty dysfunctional in the beginning despite the final outcome.  And they actually know how to function properly when in a social setting.” she scoffed running her hand through her hair trying to keep herself calm.  

“So please tell me why your son deserves to settle with something like me when he should be with someone who can give him the life he should really have?”

“Then why are you with him?” Rosanne asked sternly catching Spikes by surprise.  

“If you really believe that, then why would you have bothered this long?  Because I’m sure you are the type of girl who knows what she wants and values her time.  Which if I’m right, you wouldn’t have wasted this much time, you wouldn’t have wasted this much time on him.” 

“It isn’t wasted time!” Spikes barked, quickly gasping at her own outburst. 

“It’s not wasted time... I love Vince, I love him so much and I don’t want to lose him...And maybe that’s selfish of me, knowing he deserves better than me but keeping him to myself.”  her voice was shaky as she let her head hang.

“Then do you think maybe it isn’t that you aren’t the type to marry, but it’s that you are truly in love with someone for the first time?  That you are, well to be blunt, fucking terrified because let’s face it; finding the one isn’t like the fairy tales.”  She stood up and took a seat next to the canine lightly rubbing her hand along her back.  

“It’s terrifying when you find someone who has seen every part of you, even your ugliest side, and still loves and accepts you.”  Spikes looked up at the succubus, eyes already watering.

“Kitty saw me and accepted me too, I remember being afraid then, but not like this...”

“It’s okay to be afraid Spikes, but the cool thing about having someone who loves you like that, they are there to help you overcome fear.” Rosanne smiled reaching and lightly tucking strands of hair behind Spikes’ ear.  Spikes smiled softly, leaning over and resting her head on Rosanne’s shoulder.

“I don’t know what I should do...” Spikes whispered softly.

“Just take time to think about it, don’t think about money, don’t think about the process of planning, just think about what it would be like.” Rosanne lightly ran her hand through Spikes hair.  

Spikes closed her eyes and let her breathing return to normal, letting her mind run with the pros and cons.  

She lifted her head as she heard the front door open.

“Hey I’m back!” Vincent shouted as he made his way through the house to the kitchen.  

“Did you find everything we need Meowser?” Rosanne asked happily as she trotted to the kitchen.

“Mom!” Vincent hissed.  Spikes giggled as she walked into the kitchen, seeing Vincent put away the groceries, trying to hide his smile as his mother continued to tease him.  She walked over to Vincent, hugging him from behind.

“I missed you Meowser.” she giggled feeling him jump as she hugged him.

“Really?  You too?” he whined turning around and looking down at her.

“Just this once.” she chuckled leaning up to kiss him, 

“Thank you for tolerating my psycho ass.”

“I’ve told you Spikes, I love you, I’m not just tolerating you.” he smiled quickly kissing her nose.

“Well thank you for loving me.” she smiled before nipping his chin, 

“Now be awesome and help your mom with dinner, you know I can’t cook fish.”  

Vince smiled and walked outside with the fish and marinade in hand.  

Spikes watched as he started up the grill and fixed the food, she couldn’t help but smile as she pictured them together in their own yard, the dogs and their own pups.  

A quick glimpse of herself in a white gown flashed in her mind, she shook her head softly and smiled.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad...
...

Takado groaned, adjusting himself in his seat as Kitty paced around him. More like waddled at this point, but that was something he wasn't going to remind her of now.

"We have to tell them Takado. You have put this off long enough." She hissed at him. "I am seven months pregnant. Are you planning on waiting until I give birth?"

"You need to sit down. You're going to make your feet swell up."

"Don't you dare start avoiding this with even me, Takado Rovain."

Takado sighed heavily, resting his head on his hands. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd upset his wife this much.

"I just don't know how to tell her that we're moving." Takado sat fidgeting with his hands as he attempted to speak.
"She's going to be upset and she's not going to understand."

"That's why I told you to tell her sooner, Dumbass." Kitty almost snarled before sitting in the seat beside him.
"If we'd said something sooner she would have had time to cope with it and talk to us about it. Takado, I need time to settle into our new home before the baby gets here."

"I know that." Takado almost whimpered. Kitty exhaled dramatically, calming herself slightly.

"We have to tell them, Takado." She spoke gently, reaching for his hand.
"We already bought the house. We already have it completely set up for the baby. It's mostly furnished.
Spikes may be dense, but Vince and Sabbith have both noticed we are completely unprepared for a baby at this house."

She sighed, rubbing circles in the palm of Takado's hand. Takado stood from his seat and walked over to her. He leaned over, gently pressing his lips to hers before inhaling deeply.

"Let's go tell them."

"Right now?" Kitty hesitated, surprised by how quickly he'd decided on it.

"You're right, Love. I can't put this off any further." He held out his hand, helping Kitty to her feet. He kissed her forehead and made his way to the door. She followed quietly behind him. He hesitated in front of the living room door.

"I'm right here, Takado. You can do this." Kitty whispered gently, entwining her fingers with his.
"It's going to be okay. Maybe not today, but someday."

Takado nodded, squeezing her hand lightly in his. He opened the door and stepped through. Spikes and Vincent were sitting quietly in the living room, watching something on the TV.
The couple barely glanced at them before returning their attention back to the television.

"Hey we need to talk." His voice sounded a lot stronger than he felt as he helped Kitty down the small set of stairs.

"What's going on?" Spikes asked, eyeing her brother suspiciously.

"Is the baby okay?" Vincent asked, standing up from his seat.

"The baby is fine Vince, other than my feet are killing me." Kitty chuckled taking a seat on the couch across from the couple.
Takado sat beside her, pulling her feet onto her lap as he started rubbing them.

"Takado, what's going on?" Spikes asked impatiently. Her brother's continued silence beginning to worry her.

Takado paused rubbing Kitty's feet briefly. He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, biting on the inside of his cheek.

"Kitty and I are moving out." Takado kept his eyes closed, forcing himself to ignore the room's silence after he'd spoken.

"When are you leaving?" Vincent asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Sometime this week, maybe next."

"You don't even have a house to move in to yet." Spikes scoffed, inching closer to Vincent.
"You still have to look for a house and set up furniture, and don't you think that's a bit much stress to put on Kitty this late in her pregnancy?"

"We bought the house two months ago." Takado's voice was almost a whisper. He opened his eyes, meeting his sister's which were so heavily in denial.
"We set up everything for the baby over there, and the house is already mostly furnished. The house is ready for us whenever we choose to leave."

"Then you can choose to leave later can't you?"  Spikes choked out. Her breathing became more rapid the more she spoke.
"If it's ready whenever then you don't have to leave yet, right?"

"It's better for Kitty if we leave sooner. We both need time to get used to the new house, and for Kitty to get comfortable before the baby gets here."

"Why couldn't Kitty get comfortable here?" Spikes barked. Her eyes had begun to burn from her unshed tears.
"I don't see why you guys have to leave at all."

"This house isn't suitable for a baby." Kitty's voice was almost a whisper. Vincent nodded briefly, but Spikes stared at Kitty, the betrayal she felt easily seen in her eyes.

"We can just clean the house. We can baby proof it and all that crap."

"Carissa it's the house itself." Takado interrupted.
"Every hallway is outdoors, a toddler could easily slip through the railings. There's no railing to stop him from falling into the living room. The baby wouldn't even get it's own room here."

"Okay so we can fix all of those things. It's not like Kitty doesn't have the money for it. Hell, I might have the money for it." Spikes barked standing from her seat.

"There isn't enough time to renovate the entire house Carissa." Takado sighed impatiently. He held the bridge of his nose between his fingers as he spoke.

"Well maybe if we'd started on it sooner."

"It still wouldn't be done by the time Kitty had the baby, and what we could have done is irrelevant now."

"Why did you even bother getting this house in the first place if you were just planning on leaving us?" Spikes was caught somewhere in between a cry and a growl. Vincent tried to reach for her hand, only to have her pull away.

"Spikes, we never planned any of this." Kitty pleaded with her best friend. She stood up, taking Spikes's hand in hers.
"I know this is hard, but we're going to be just down the road. It's barely a ten minute drive."

"That's not good enough!" Spikes barked, a tear slipping from her eyes as she shoved Kitty away from herself.

Takado lunged from his seat. He wrapped an arm around Kitty's waist, lifting her to her feet. He set her down, kissing her forehead repeatedly and asking if she was okay.
Spikes stared at her best friend, eyes wide with fear as Takado checked on her.
Spikes hesitantly took a step forward, reaching a hand out towards them.

"I... I'm so sorry Kitty. I didn't mean to-" Spikes was cut off by her brother's snarling as he turned around to face her. He towered over her as he stepped closer to her.
The color drained from her face as she met Takado's eyes.

"You don't get to speak. Not anymore." He kept his voice down, his eyes never leaving Spikes's.
"Kitty and I are leaving. End of discussion. You do whatever you need to grow the fuck up and cope with it. I need to take care of my family."

"I'm your family too, aren't I?" Spikes yelped. She fought desperately against the tears spilling from her eyes.
"Takado I just don't want to lose-"

"The fact that you're my sister is the only reason you aren't dead right now." Takado's face was stone cold as he spoke. His eyes didn't leave hers for a second.

"Takado I know you're upset, but this is uncalled for." Vincent stood up, stepping in between the two siblings.
"She never meant to hurt Kitty. She's just scared. You know what a dog is like when backed into a corner."

"I'm not even hurt." Kitty chimed in. She stood back up, pulling on Takado's hand.
"Spikes didn't push me hard, and you caught me."

"You still could have gotten hurt. More importantly the baby could have gotten hurt." Takado continued to glare at Spikes as he spoke. Spikes tried to back away from her brother. Instead she found herself falling back onto the couch, feeling two feet tall under his glare.

"Maybe it's for the best if you two stay at your new house tonight?" Vincent suggested, speaking more to Kitty than to Takado.

"What?" Spikes barked helplessly at Vincent, causing Takado to snarl loudly once again.

Kitty sighed heavily, tears filling her eyes as she looked between the two siblings.

"Takado." Kitty tugged on his arm, finally pulling his gaze from his quivering sister.
"Do you think you could help me pack a bag for the night? We can come back tomorrow to pick up the rest of our stuff."

Takado nodded, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he leaned over to kiss her cheek. He glanced briefly back at his sister, sadness leaking through his glare for only a second before he turned to walk out of the room.
...

"Have there been any updates?" Vincent asked as he walked up the hallways. Spikes stayed behind her mate as he approached her brother. Takado and Sabbith glanced up from their seats in the waiting room, the dark circles under their eyes were apparent.

"The medication is burning out of her system before it can do anything." Takado's voice was horse, almost a whimper as he spoke.
Spikes raised an eyebrow at her brother, unable to believe the shell of a man that stood before her was him.
"I know this is all natural crap and she'll be fine in the end, but I can't stand to see her hurt like this."

"I know. You just rest for a while. I'm going to step in to see her." Vincent grinned, giving Takado a one armed hug.
"Sabbith can you show me how to get up there?"

"Yeah of course." She sighed softly, rubbing Takado's shoulder for a moment. She smiled at Vincent and they walked down the hall, leaving Spikes and Takado alone.

"You look like crap." Spikes muttered under her breath, taking a seat across from her brother.

"I feel like crap." Takado leaned over, resting his head in his hands.
"I knew this was going to be rough on her. I just didn't realize how bad it would be."

"You should have known human medications wouldn't do much for her."

"I should have."

Spikes stared at her brother with confusion. She had expected him to fight back a little. They'd hardly spoken in two months, and they argued every time they did speak to each other.

"What's with you?" Spikes crossed her arms over her chest.
"Normally you argue more."

"It's just not worth it, Rissa." Takado sighed, forcing a light chuckle from his lungs.
"I'm about to be a dad. This is the biggest thing I've ever done.
It's just not worth arguing over small things that I can't change."

Spikes flinched at the use of her old nick name. Her chest aching as he spoke of being a father for the first time.

Don't you remember that you raised me too?

"Takado the doctor just went in. Kitty's ready to deliver." Vincent's voice broke both sibling's fog. 

"You might want to get up there Daddy." Sabbith chuckled lightly when Takado remained frozen. Takado shook his head and ran to the room, Sabbith following closely behind him.

Spikes stood from her seat, hesitating. She sighed and sat back down, toying with the ends of her hair.

"What's wrong, Love?"

"Nothing, it's just hard getting used to him moving on with his life without me." Spikes sighed, resting her head on Vincent's shoulder as he sat down beside her.
"It's hard to realize that I don't mean to him what he means to me."

"You're still precious to him Carissa." Vincent reassured her, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
"You're his baby sister."

"I don't want to revisit this argument with you right now Vince." Spikes groaned.

Vincent frowned briefly. He stood up, kissing her forehead.
"I understand how you feel, but you distancing yourself instead of talking to him is only making things worse."

Spikes glared at him. She turned away from him in her seat, resting her chin on her palm.

"I love you, but I'm going to go meet the baby." Vincent sighed, turning around and walking down the hallway. 

"Not letting us in yet?" He asked as he approached Sabbith standing in the hallway.

Sabbith shook her head softly.
"They just want Daddy in the room while the baby is being born."

Vincent frowned as he stood outside the door to Kitty's room with Sabbith, waiting for the doctor to step out and say he could enter.
He paced the hallway with anticipation for almost twenty minutes before the doctor stepped out, nodding briefly at them.

"He's perfect, Kitty-kat." Vincent overheard Takado whisper as he stepped into the room.

Kitty was in tears, holding a tiny baby in her arms. Takado hovered over her, kissing her temple and wiping aside her tears.

"Oh god Kitty..." Sabbith rushed to her side, beginning to tear up herself.
"He's beautiful."

"So it's a boy?" Vincent grinned. He walked to Kitty's free side, leaning over to see the small baby in her arms.

"We've known for a while." Takado admitted. He sighed, leaning over to kiss his son's head.
"Kitty couldn't handle not knowing, but she wanted it to be a surprise for everyone else."

"Except for me, cause I would have killed you if you didn't tell me. I mean I am his godmother." Sabbith chuckled, lightly running her fingers across the baby's cheek.

"He's beautiful Sis." Vincent kissed the top of her head.
"Did you two finally decide on a name?"

"I actually just had an idea for one." Kitty smiled brightly up at her husband.
"How does Damien sound?"

"Why Damien?" Takado grinned back at her. Kitty's excitement was infectious, even Vincent found himself inexplicably smiling.

"A tribute to your mother." Kitty's smiled faltered briefly, hoping for her husbands approval.
"I thought Damien was almost like a boy version of Demonia so-"

Takado cut her off, resting his lips against hers.

"Damien is a perfect name."

Fresh tears fell from Kitty's eyes, her smile somehow getting impossibly brighter. Vincent hugged the couple before kissing Damien's forehead himself.

"Good to see everything's okay." Spikes's voice was just above a whisper as she stepped into the room.
"I take it, It was born without any issues?"

Vincent straightened himself, frowning at Spikes. For a moment he panicked that Takado would start another fight with her.

"Carissa quit being moody and come meet your nephew." Takado smiled rolling his eyes at her briefly before taking Damien from Kitty's arms. Spikes hesitantly stepped toward Takado. He rocked the baby in his arms, kneeling slightly so Spikes could get a better look at him.
"Hey Buddy. This is your Auntie Rissa, Mommy calls her Spikes though."

Spikes glared at Takado. Her gaze turning to the baby as he opened his brilliant sapphire blue eyes. Spikes's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the baby that had received his mother's piercing blue eyes.

"What's his name?"

"Damien." Takado grinned, glancing back at his half asleep wife. He smiled softly, his hold on his son tightening slightly.
"Damien Curtis Rovain."