#serrasangel

H.G. smiled and sighed. The last thing her child needed was sugar, but it was Saturday so she supposed a little indulgence wouldn’t hurt.

“I suppose then I’ll have to get up then won’t I?”

“Yeah!” Arianna was off like a shot after that, thundering down the hall like a pack of elephants. She hoped her stomping woke the rest of the house. She loved her family, she truly did, but if she had to wake up at—she turned over and looked at the clock—six thirty in the morning, then the rest of them should have to as well. She groaned and laid back. She couldn’t wait until Arianna hit her teenage years and slept into until noon.

Her hand crept over to the other side of the bed, finding Myka’s back and rubbing it gently. Myka stirred under her ministrations slowly, breathing pattern changing, eye fluttering under her lids, before finally they opened, blinking against the dim light in the room. Myka stretched slowly and sighed.

“Morning,” she sighed, voice rough with sleep.

“Good Morning, darling.” She leaned forward and kissed Myka lightly. “How you sleep through a five year old bouncing on the bed completely baffles me.”

Myka smiled at that. “Skill I learned in noisy college dorms. You have to be able to tune out the noise to get any sleep.”

“Noises I can see, but she was half on you, darling.” H.G. sat up and stretched, joints cracking and popping more than they had in previous years. Aging after a hundred years in bronze was such an odd thing to think about.

“I find it funny that she always goes for you in the mornings, the certified night owl.”

“Of course you would.” H.G. rolled her eyes and got out of bed, pawing around for the pair of sleep pants she had shucked the night before right before she had gotten into bed. She found them and pulled them on triumphantly.

Myka sat up and looked her over, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Well, I suppose I might have helped with that last night.”

H.G.’s mind immediately went to their activities last night and smiled. Sex with Myka had not lost any bit of its spark in all the time they’d been together. The way Myka was looking at her made her want a repeat performance, but they had a five year old waiting for them downstairs.

“Yes, quite, but I’m not complaining.”

“I never said you would.”

Myka pushed herself out of bed and walked over to H.G. mussed curls framing her face beautifully. She pulled her askew sleepwear into place, the sleep shorts leaving a great deal of Myka’s long legs bare. H.G. had to wonder just exactly how she had fallen in love with someone so completely perfect.

H.G. shook herself and walked forward, grabbing Myka’s hand. “What say we go eat pancakes with our daughter?”

“Sounds like a good way to spend a Saturday morning.”

H.G. frowned theatrically. “I could think of a few better ways to spend a Saturday morning, like sleeping.” But she couldn’t hold the frown for long and ended up smiling instead.

Myka shook her head. “Don’t like, as much as you call American food the strangest mash up of odd condiments you’ve ever seen, you love pancakes just as much as Arianna.”

She had no comeback to that. It was true after all. Instead, she just led Myka from their room and into the hall that smelled deliciously of breakfast food and coffee.

“Did someone say pancakes?” Pete opened his door and peeked out.

H.G. snorted. “Yes, Pete, we said pancakes.”

“Awesome!” He slammed his door ostensibly so her could change into more presentable breakfast clothing.

Myka laughed as they descended the stairs. Pete was behind them a couple seconds later, power walking to the kitchen like a kid on Christmas morning after being told not to run. Leena smiled up at the two of them and pushed plates their way, having just the right amount of food on each of them with a cup of coffee not far behind. Having a woman that was so in tune with everything was very handy.

“Thank you, Leena.” H.G. smiled at the other woman.

“Yeah! Thank you, Aunty Leena,” Arianna called from the table, already sticky with syrup.

Leena smiled softly at the both of them. “Of course.”

H.G. made her way to her normal seat, sandwiching Arianna between herself and Myka. Myka set to work trying to minimize the syrup carnage while H.G. looked on. She wouldn’t have ever imagined being here all those years ago, but she was. She hadn’t wanted anymore children, not even when Myka had come into the picture and had been just the balm her soul had needed. But then while they were out on a case with a particularly nasty artifact, Genghis Kahn’s sword, which had the habit of coming to life for short spurts and destroying whatever was around it. Arianna’s parents had been around at the wrong time and had died as a result. H.G. herself had a rather nasty scar she had gotten protecting the girl while Myka had doused the thing in goo.

After that, the girl had latched on to them, barely two years old and frightening out of her mind. They had gotten in touch with social services, but the girl had no family to speak of beyond that of her parents, both sets of grandparents already dead or out of the picture for so long no one knew where they were. With that, Myka and H.G. had decided to adopt the little girl, and now over three years later they all sat together at the dinner table quietly eating pancakes on a Saturday morning.

“Momma, can we go visit the horses today?” Arianna asked, putting down her fork, finished with the little pancakes Leena always made just for her.

Artie shuffled into the kitchen. “Horse, bah, horrible things.”

H.G. laughed. “Just because one bit you when you were a child does not mean they’re horrible, Artie.”

“Says you, but if you look into their eyes it’s clear they’re not as innocent as they appear.” Trailer padded in behind Artie and barked. “See, Trailer agrees with me.”

“He’s your dog, Artie, of course he agrees with you.” Myka shook her head and smiled, turning back to Arianna. “Of course we can go see the horses today, honey.”

The girl had a fondness of the horses owned by one of the farms near the B&B. H.G. figured that for the girl’s sixth birthday she would get her riding lessons at the one stable in Univille. She already knew exactly the face Arianna would make, eyes huge, mouth wide open in glee. The image warmed her heart.

Claudia stumbled in a few minutes later and their little family was complete. Leena squeezed the younger woman’s shoulder and shoved a cup of coffee in her hands. Claudia wouldn’t be her normal bouncy self unless she had at least half a cup in her. She sat down beside H.G. and stared at the plate Leena set in front of her before sitting down herself.