Copycats and Medical Miracles...

“Aunt Lil’,” Ziva called, her hand covering Cooper’s head where he slept strapped to her chest. “You here?”

“Raawwtlll” 

Ziva smiled and looked back at River, strapped in a front facing hold on Nick’s chest, trying to copy her words.  Her little peach was so alpha already.  She faced the world with a determination she got from both her parents and the eyes that could only have come from the daddy whose thumbs she was currently holding.

“In here, Ziva dear.”

The wispy sound of her aunt’s voice pulled her away from the smiles of her mate and child, concern for Liliya making a place in her chest.  She loved her aunt and couldn’t imagine life without her.  Aunt Lil’ had made life tolerable for Ziva during the years she’d had to assume the alpha position in her family.

Moving through the house her mother and aunt shared to the solarium in back, Ziva noticed how dark and unkempt the place had become.  That was so not like Lil’.  Her mother, now that she could see.

“Lil’, are you okay?” She asked the lump of a woman bundled into a blanket in the comphy double chair that looked out into the forest.

“No, Ziva my sweet, my time has come, “  Liliya whispered, acting like the old lady she wasn’t.  “I love you, dear.  Remember me fondly.”

“Lil’, I’m pretty sure it’s not your time.”

“No, it’s true, I’m bound for wherever shifters go to be recycled for the next life.”

“Aunt Lil’, I was with you just last week when Doc Leo did your annual physical.  Remember, he said you were as healthy as one of the oxen brothers.”

Liliya threw off her blanket and sat up straight.  “Oh, what does he know anyway?”

“Well, he’s a vet and shifter doctor, I assume he knows quite a bit.”

“Pish, I’ve got the arthritis.  A really bad case.”

“Shifters don’t get arthritis, Lil’.  All that changing shape keeps the joints fresh and young.”

“Well then, I’m a frigging medical miracle ‘cause I’ve got the arthritis.”

Ziva shot Nick, who was trying really hard not to laugh at the surly lady on the chair, a help me look.

“Say, Ms. Liliya, It’s been a while since Peter’s stop by the gazette with pictures to sell, have you been keeping he busy?”  Nick teased.

“No.  Good riddance too little peewee rubbish with that one, and when I say little, I really mean itty bitty…candy corn size if you know what I mean…”

“Stop!” Nick moaned. His theatrics were enough to earn him a share of the award Ziva had been ready to give her aunt.  “Z, cover Coop’s ears…please.  Men don’t need or want to know about the size of another man’s junk!”  

“Really, babe, he’s sound asleep.” Ziva laughed, then looked back at her aunt.  “What happened, Liliya?”

“That bugger decided to go sniffing after some human who works at a fast food place down off the highway.  A human!”

“Rauggr…”

“River, my sweetling and Cooper baby.”  Liliya got up out of the chair and crooned at the bundles she and Nick where holding.

“Lil’?”

“You know, now that I think about it, let that human have him, he deserves the ridicule he’s gonna get for his little peewee.”

“Reeree…AH!”  River shouted, making Nick cringe.

“Great…that one was actually close to sounding correct.”  Nick groaned.

Ziva smirked at Nick’s dismay and decided there would be plenty of time later to tell Nick that the AH at the end of Rivers new word was really her attempt at the word DAH. 

~~~

Have a great weekend, y'all and keep warm!

Serena

A Bonding Moment

Reetha took the steps two at a time and threw open the front door to Nick and Ziva’s house, ready to kill anything threatening her niece and nephew.  Mooney’s call for help still fresh enough in her head that she was fighting off the urge to shift.

“Holy Lupa, Reeth,” Mooney yelped, tucking a whimpering Cooper close to his chest. “Are you trying to scare the pups?”

“Where’s the problem?  How many are there?”

“What?  Reetha, what are you talking about?”

“The reason you called?”  She bit out, willing her wildly beating heart to calm enough so her hearing sharpened that much further. “You were whispering that you were with the babies and needed help.”

“Well, I do, just, it’s not…exactly what you must be thinking.”  Mooney stammered, blushing along the roots of his hairline.

“So there’s no danger in the vicinity?”

“Only you.”

Reetha turned her head, stretching and cracking the tension out before taking and holding her breath.

“Are you going to breathe again anytime soon?” her brother asked.  “Because I still do have that problem.”

She let out the calming breath and prayed to the great Lupa that she wouldn’t beat the crap out of her brother in front of the two sets of blue-green eyes watching her every move.  “What is the problem, Mooney?”

“River has a poopy diaper.”

A stripe of pick crossed her vision at her brother’s words.  “Please tell me you didn’t scare the hel, er, heck out of me because of a poopy diaper.”

“Well, I didn’t know what to do?”

Mooney at least had the decency to look embarrassed, but Reetha was still trying to process the idea that her brother – who had two children already – didn’t know what to do with a poopy diaper.  “You change it, Moon.  How in Lupa’s name did Thor and Loki survive their babyhood?”

“Well no shit, er, shilo, Reeth.  Of course you change them.  And I did that for Cooper.  I also did a lot of that with my boys, but that’s the thing, they’re boys.”

“And? Do girl babies not poop the same as boy babies?  Are you afraid there will be flowers in the diaper or something?”

“No.  It just didn’t feel right for me to be, you know, changing her diaper.  You know, never mind,” he said, while setting Coop back in the mounded up pillow area they used for play time.  “I’ll figure this out on my own.”

Mooney’s face was bright red and the look in his eyes was pure disgust—at himself.  Reetha was surprised to see how much he’d grown up over the time she’d been gone and wondered if she should be handling the situation in a different way?

“Wait.”  She put her hand on Mooney’s arm and bent to grab little River herself.  “Let’s do this together.  Is this the first time you’ve been around a girl baby as an adult?”

“Yeah, they are way different little creatures than boys.  Boy babies tend to always be in motion, kicking and moving around.  But she’s so thoughtful.  She looks at me like she’s trying to figure me out and to see if I’m doing things right or wrong.”

Reetha set River on the changing pad and Mooney grabbed the new diaper and cleaning supplies. “I can see what you mean about how thoughtful she is.  The way she’s staring can be confusing, but think back to Loki.  Didn’t he do the same thing sometimes?”

Mooney quietly watched as she stripped the used diaper from River’s tush and cleaned her up before putting on a clean one.

“Yeah, I guess sometimes he did do the same thing.”

“It’s an alpha thing, Moon.  She, like Loki, is figuring out her place here.  It starts early in shifters.  Beta babies tend to be more like regular babies, though they too are smart as a lick and advance faster, they are a bit more playful then their alpha counterparts.  That’s why it’s so important to keep the alpha babies with the beta babies and encourage silly playtime.  The alpha’s will be sliding into their roles soon enough.”

Moon leaned over and surprised her with a hug. “Thanks Reeth, for not laughing or beating me up.  Thanks for helping me.”

Reetha hugged her brother back, thankful she was getting another chance to be a part of this family.  “You’re welcome.”

“Now, give me that dirty diaper and you kiddo,” he said to the very aware River, “Next time, you and Uncle Moon are going to figure this out.  Sound good.”

River coo’d, giggled and let loose with a not quite growl at her Uncle Moon and Reetha knew they’d definitely figure out the changing thing.

“Mooney, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, shoot.”

“How did you come to be here today?  I thought Elly was coming over?”

“She was, but something happened with one of her hard-headed kids and she couldn’t come.  Pop went with her and I suspect you were busy as well.  Sorry if I pulled you away from something important.  I know I was their last pick, but I don’t mind.  I do like spending time with these two.  Plus, Coop needs another beta around here for a bit.”

“Yeah,” she laughed, “I can see where he would need a break.”

“Besides, Ziva’s working in the back room in case of emergencies.”

“And yet you called me?”

“Yeah, Ziva’s last words to me before burying herself in work were, ‘there are only two reasons to bother me today, boobs or blood.  They just ate and there had better not be blood.  If there’s blood I will emasculate you, and I’m not speaking figuratively here.’”

Reetha laughed, but gave Moon a sympathetic look.  “She takes her pups very seriously.”

“As she should.  I know poops not blood, but since I’d really like to keep the goods where they belong, the safe bet was to call you.”

Reetha laughed.  “Good call, Moon.”
~~~

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!

Serena

I'll Just Do It Myself...

Nick shifted in his seat, seeking out a more comfortable position and mildly concerned that watching Ziva nurse his daughter was turning him on to such a degree.  Thankfully, he’d read those books about being a new dad and knew that arousal at the sight was not uncommon.

It was times like this he wished he could draw or paint or do something even slightly creative to immortalize the beauty before him.

“What are you thinking about, Nicky?”

“Nicky? Am I in trouble?”

Her half smile soothed him.  They’d been fighting more than usual of late and they both knew why.  Names. Another thing he’d read in the book was that it was not uncommon to have trouble naming your baby.  Lots of couples struggled with it, of course, those couples weren’t usually made up of two alpha wolves.

“You know, Z, we really need to resolve this name issue.”

Ziva looked up and smiled at him, the baby girl at her breast.  Her happiness at being a mother written all over her face for the world to see.

“I know we do, but Nick, I just can’t go with Monica, like you suggested, or Dwayne.  Ralph would attach himself to our son and we would have to break all those bear habits he’d instill in our boy.”

“I agree, no names Ralph suggested.  You know that’s going to make him crankier than usual.”

“Ralph needs to get himself laid but good and burn some of those vacation days he’s been hoarding. 
He is a bear, they need to hibernate.”

Nick laughed.  His mate was always spot on with her assessments of the people around her.  “You going to tell him that before or after you tell him we didn’t pick his names.”

“I’m going to let you tell him.  Air kisses…”

“Thanks.”  He shook his head and smiled.  “You know, I’ll back off of Monica if you’d be willing to let go of Misha.”

Emotions played across Ziva’s face and Nick worried she was going to continue to be stubborn about naming their son, Misha.

“But…Misha is a beautiful name!  Girls will love that name…”

“Z, we’re shifters, he’d be teased and beat up just because of his name.”

“Not in this town,” she said, setting their well-fed, sleeping girl back into the bassinet and picking up the gentle boy whose name was being disputed.  She put him to her other breast and swiped a soft touch down his cheek.

“Especially in this town, Z.”  He leaned forward and touched the silky head of his son.  “He’s beta, and even with all of our protection he has a tough road to follow.  Let’s at least give him a strong name, not something that would get him pick on.”

“Do you have a suggestion?”

Nick released a breath, happy she was willing to finally talk.  “I do, actually.  What about Michael or Sam?”

Ziva was quiet for a few minutes before she spoke.  “Those are strong names, but to plain.”

“Okay, then how about Cooper?”

The little prince squawked and squealed, shook his tiny fist before once again nuzzling at his momma breast. “Well, I guess he likes that name,” Ziva said through a smile.

“He’s a smart boy…takes after his mom, for sure.”

“Suck up.” She snorted, but grinned all the same. “Can I keep DeClan as his middle name?”

“If I say yes will it win me points when it comes to our daughter’s name?”

Ziva gave him her wickedest smile and predictably, he went stone hard.  “Nope, but Penny called to tell me about the new store of rulers that were delivered to the G&B the other day…”

Nick groaned.

“I had her send me one, or two.”

“Oh Lupa…”

“Nope, you can call me ma’am.”
~~~

Well, that's one down and one to go.  The newest beta in the McMahon clan is Cooper DeClan and he picked the name himself...kinda.  Now they just need to agree on a name for their little alpha girl...

Have a great weekend!
Serena