Don't need no fortune teller...

Alison had been fidgeting about this for a while. Quietly. As much as she hated asking for things -- particularly when she already had so much and had been given so much -- there was something on her mind that she just couldn't shake. The nursery that Robbie and Miyuki set up for the babies was wonderful. She had no complaints at all. But, there was something missing.

Every time she was in the room and every time she imagined herself with the twins after their birth, she saw herself with one tiny infant held against each shoulder and sitting in an old fashioned, wooden rocking chair. Rocking them to sleep; feeding, nursing.

All the chairs in the stores and catalogs she'd seen lately had been the new, modern kind with all sorts of mechanical looking, moving parts. Not at all what she wanted.

Dakota had made beautiful furniture for the babies so far. The crib and changing table he'd given them was breathtaking. The work he'd done on the little bridge over their koi pond was lovely, too. She had no doubt in her mind that if she asked, he could make her exactly what she wanted.

But, he and Rogue were on vacation. And they'd already abused him enough with the koi pond.

She sighed to herself as she stepped out the back door and carried a cup of warm tea down the steps and out toward the pond. She wandered barefoot across the grass and marveled at how quiet it was. Longshot had gotten up early this morning to take the kids out on a horseback ride. A couple of horses had to be borrowed from camp to carry them all, but Alison had yet to see them deny Longshot anything.

She discovered she wasn't alone at the pond, though. Dakota was sitting on one of the benches overlooking the koi pond. Glad for the company and amused by the coincidence, Alison wandered over to sit by him.

"Enjoying your handy work?"

Alison had asked her husband to wake her early this morning. It was not a request he took lightly and she had to promise not to take the inevitable grouchiness out on him. Then she made him promise to remind her of that, too. Mornings were never her happy times, but add morning sickness to the equation and things really got out of hand. She did her best, but hormones got by her sometimes.

A little preparation helped, though. She had been sure to leave a few crackers and a bottle of warm ginger ale by her bedside before going to sleep the night before. She was still horribly nauseated when she got up, but at least she wasn't camped out on the floor of their bathroom. That was an improvement.

The tricky part was being unsure of whether or not she would run into Rogue downstairs. Or the kids. If she had, she'd have happily left them to it and gone back to bed. But, the kitchen was empty and quiet when she arrived. It wasn't that early, but there was no reason to be up early on a Sunday. And, she figured, the couple upstairs had a good reason to stay in bed.

It took a little over an hour and a lot of help from her hubby, but the hour went by fast. She nibbled as she cooked and felt a little better. When they finally left the kitchen, they were both fed and he was carrying a tray for her. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek as they paused outside Rogue and Dakota's bedroom door. And, then she continued up the stairs to their own bedroom. Longshot had promised to leave the tray by the bedroom door, knock, and then scurry up the stairs to snuggle back up with her. She always rested better when he was nearby.

The tray bore a breakfast for two under covered dishes. The puppy had been set free while they cooked to roam in the back yard, but it never hurt to be careful. Omelets, French toast, and bacon were warm off the stove. Blueberry muffins were baked aplenty the day before. And, for fun, an empty white wine bottle had been filled with chocolate milk and chilled in a bucket of ice beside two glasses.

A card on the tray read: Happy Birthday! Since it's your birthday and you're on vacation, you don't get to make your own breakfast. Ha! Today you have the option of spending the day with the kids, or leaving them here for us to stuff full of baked goods while you and Rogue do some proper sightseeing. A fun tour brochure is conveniently placed underneath you Vintage Moo if you decide to go. Longshot highly recommends the soba making classes. Either way, the two of you have reservations at a big fancy restaurant down town that I can't pronounce or spell, but Longshot assures me it's one of the best in town. No fancy dress or dancing required. Enjoy!

Love -- Alison and Longshot.

It was a beautiful day for a picnic. Actually, it seemed like the Italian countryside rarely had a bad day for anything. Alison had been up, unreasonably early in her opinion, packing a large basket with food enough for a small army. She figured that was about what they had when you considered the five adults and four young children that would be in attendance.

She'd been forced to enlist Maria's help, considering her lack of cooking abilities. All she had to do was promise to monitor Longshot anytime he decided to cook something en flambé.

After that, it was just the simple tasks of corralling her husband and his faithful squire, and making a few quick calls. She even agreed to ride the horses out to the picnic site. With saddles, this time.