Amanda Sefton #8

By Suzene Campos, Larry Upman III, Jon Bartley, Chris Dickinson, Jennie Karim, Lindsey Harris, Jaimie Diamante, Tesa Lau, Anthony Higginbotham, Shaun Marx,

edited by: TH Bitch

Anyway, now was one of those exceedingly rare times when Amanda was conscious and relaxed at the same time. She was seated on a patch of grass shaded by several high bushes. On her lap was her eleven-month-old daughter, Kitrina. The baby seemed to enjoy the change from the hectic camp, but now was looking up at her mother with a puzzled expression on her face. Amanda noticed.

"What?" she asked, rubbing one fingertip against her daughter's cheek. Kit smiled and grabbed the finger. Her pudgy baby-digits closed around it and she hung on. Amanda smiled and went back to her relaxing. Aside from a cloud or two on the horizon, it really was a nice day.

Kitrina, on the other hand, had a slightly different idea of what she considered a fun outing, and wasn't content to play with her mother's fingers for long. From the baby's point of view, Amanda was being too quiet. When Kit's father, Nightcrawler, or brother, Lucas, took care of her, they tended to talk, play, and generally goof around with her. This lady was nice, but not very active. The blue-skinned child gave the finger an impatient tug and made a soft whimper for attention.

Amanda quickly from having her child sitting on her lap to cuddling her in her arms. "What?" she asked, brow wrinkling up in worry. Amanda loved her daughter, but had almost no idea how to be a parent. No one in Excalibur was exactly sure how it worked and Amanda would have sooner had her daughter raised by wolves than try to think of her own mother as a role model. "What's wrong baby-girl? What's the matter?" Kit looked up. The two of them regarded each other for a long minute. Amanda hugged her daughter and started to laugh.

"I'm confusing you, aren't I?" the sorceress chuckled. The sound of laughter set Kitrina giggling as well, but as soon as things got quiet again, Kit began to fuss. Just when it seemed that this grown-up knew how to behave, she messed up and got all quiet again. Amanda smiled, leaned forward, and nuzzled her daughter.

"You're really right to bawl at me." she said, still leaning over Kit and letting the baby play with her hair. "I'm a horrible mother, aren't I? OW!" Kit had given Amanda's hair a harder yank than normal, as if chastising her for the self-derogatory comment. "Your brother's been talking to you hasn't he?" Amanda accused the infant, who was still making a rat's nest out of the strawberry-blonde hair in her fist. "He's probably been filling your head with all of these stories about what a wonderful person I am. Don't you believe a word of it. OUCH! You've been listening to him too!"

Kit crowed at the sudden animation in her mother's voice. She couldn't understand a word of it, of course, but at least it SOUNDED interesting.

Amanda sighed. "Now what can I talk about to keep you happy?" Kit's attention wandered from her mother's voice to a passing purple butterfly. "Kit?" The big yellow eyes jerked back to Amanda. "Kitreeeeeenaaaaa..." The baby giggled again at the drawn-out sound of her name. "OK," grinned Amanda, "I know how to keep you happy. I'll talk about YOU, ya little egotist!" She tickled Kit's belly and got a shrieking laugh and a little fist beating at her hand.

Amanda leaned back and put on a thoughtful expression. "How should this start? I don't want to be too corny, but... Aw, hell with it. Once upon a time, about eleven months ago... "

Ah... early dawn! 6:08 am to be exact. The most peaceful time of day. So quiet, so still. The world seems to begin it's self anew. And anyone with any common sense sleeps right through it.

In the Medlab of Excalibur's Helicarrier, Moira MacTaggert is wide awake, as she has been for the past hour and a half. She is busy finishing her third cup of coffee, and the last half of the team's physicals.

"'And the only thing that Ah ever, ever did wrong...'" she sings softly to herself, as she slides the next set of samples into her scanner. `Why Ah bother, Ah'll never know.' she thinks. "T'only thing we have ta worry aboot is t' Prodigy Virus, and heaven knows none o' us has come down with that."

She slides Tymwalker's results out of the computer's printer. "Caffeine level 50% above safe levels. Normal for Vladiscount."

Next: "`Shot. Normal."

And Rouge. "Blood alcohol at 1.5%. Normal."

And Amanda Sefton. "Elevated hormone levels. Nor-"

Moira skims down the sheet again. "Oh, mah goodness... This may nae bide well."

Meanwhile, in Fuzzy and Amanda's bedroom...

*MEEP! MEEP! MEEP!* Amanda Sefton rolls over and tries to ignore the steady beeping of the comcall on the endtable. Maybe if she lets it go on long enough, Fuzzy will get it. Or maybe whoever it is will take the hint and hang up.

*MEEP! MEEP! MEEP!* No such luck. Her lover is sleeping the sleep of dead men and ancient fossils.

*MEEP! MEEP! MEEP!* "All right already! Jeezum crow... son of a Bish... gimmie a sec..." she growls to herself, as she untangles herself from Fuzzy Elf and struggles to sit up. A wave of nausea hits her and she slides back between the covers. She gropes for the headphones, plugs them into the unit, and mumbles into the mouthpiece. Fuzzy wakes up just long enough to hear most of the conversation.

"This had better be good."

*indistinct chattering from the headphones*

Amanda sounds worried. "You woke me up to give me my physical results? Is something wrong?"

*chatter*

"What do you mean, 'Depends?'"

*chatter* pause *chatter*

"NO! You lie!! Dammit, Moira! Tell me this is your idea of a joke!"

*angry chattering*

The sound of the com-call being tossed across room is heard on Moira's end.

Fuzzy opens his eyes slightly. "'Manda?" he inquired sleepily, "Wha's the *yawn* matter?"

Amanda slides out of bed, pulls on her bathrobe, and goes downstairs without a word. Fuzzy gets dressed and follows her. They both wind up in the Medlab with Moira.

Amanda snatches a printout from Moira, and studies it. Fuzzy reads over her shoulder. Moira stands back, not knowing what their reactions to the news might be.

"Oh my God..." Amanda whispers, going pale as a sheet, "She's right, Fuzzy."

"Are you sure?" he asks, "Are you absolutely sure?!" Amanda nods wordlessly. She can't get her throat to work.

An hour or so later, in Fuzzy and Mandy's quarters, Amanda sits on the bed, leaning back against Fuzzy's chest.

"What're we gonna do?" she moans, envisioning horrible, painful days ahead. "I never expected this to happen, Kurt."

"Neither did I. But it did. And we're going to have to make the right choices about it." "And we're going to have to tell the rest of the team. I think they'll eventually notice my... change in health."

Kurt grins. "That's a nice way of saying it. When do you want to let them know?" he asks.

"How about... now?"

Most of Excalibur is seated moodily around the kitchen table, trying to keep their eyes open long enough to aim their coffee (or Vodka) into their mugs.

Moira (looking grim), Kurt (looking pleased) and Amanda (looking like hell) walk in through the door.

"Well, Mandy? What was this big important thing that you guys have to announce to us?" asks Longshot, not noticing that he's pouring hot coffee onto the table.

"Yeah! Give!" demands Betsy, crawling up on Holo's shoulders to get away from the spill.

"Ahem." starts Moira. "Ah'm afraid that Amanda has contacted a verra common, but serious condition for young women of her life-style and habits. Ye see..."

"Cut the suspense, Moira." sighs Exodus.

"Verra well. Amanda."

Amanda keeps it short and simple.

"I'm knocked up. Fuzzy and I are gonna have a kid."

The White Queen, Emma Frost, wakes up for the end of the announcement. "Congrats, you two. Can we go back to sleep now?" Then the last of the cobwebs clear... OK, are knocked from... their minds and every realizes what this could mean. Extra work and less sleep.

Holo looks confuzzed. "Uh... Mandy? It's not mine. I was away in Alberta at the time."

"Of course it's not yours, silly." Betsy replies. "Is it?" While Betsy and Holo have that one out, Rogue finds her voice. "Oh mah lord! How did this happen? Of course Ah know HOW it happened but....WOW! Amanda... a mama! Way to go Fuzzy!"

"Oh, congrats Mandy!" grins Polaris. "Ain't that just the darkest news!"

"Thanks all, I did my best." Fuzzy, a proud smile stamped on his face, wraps his arms around Amanda, rests his chin on her shoulder and looks at the rest of the team.

"Yes, we are going to have a baby and it's going to be the best thing that's ever happen to us." he says, trying to reassure Amanda more than the rest of the team.

"With your looks, Fuzz, I feel sorry for that poor kid. Imagine what it's going to look like." Longshot remarks, mopping up coffee.

"Ha ha ha.. " Fuzzy says and sticks his tongue at the team's CO. "He or she will probably be just as good looking as I am."

"I need a drink." Amanda says, horrible visions of having to learn to sleep on her back and go into the Medlab for regular check-ups flooding her mind's eye.

"I don't think so." Fuzzy says, ushering her to a free spot at the table. "You have got someone else to look out for. No more alcohol, no more late nights, and worst of all," he says with a joking grin, "no more bedtime 'discussions' for either of us..." He pauses. "Though I could think of things to talk to myself about." Amanda scowls, the look on her face suggesting that this kid just might not get any brothers or sisters. At least not by Fuzzy.

"JUST KIDDING, JUST KIDDING." Fuzzy says, giving her a kiss. "So lets get you some good breakfast and some orange juice... with NO vodka in it!"

"OH NO! Unless you wanna see it again within the next few minutes, I'm not touching anything!" protests Amanda.

"But you've got to eat something." says Fuzzy.

Amanda sighs and sits down. "Fine, but don't say ya weren't warned!" But she was thinking of what was coming... hurling every morning for the next seven or eight months... swollen breasts and ankles... weight gain. She wants a drink SO badly.

"Hey... y'all think Mandy might go into RKA withdrawal?" asks Emma, picking herself up off of the floor. "And don't forget MOOD SWINGS! Yeah, it gets worse than PMS, Fuzz..."

"Oh, how would you know?" grumps Amanda.

"I'm a telepath, dummy. I KNOW these things."

"Poor Fuzzy." giggles Rogue, thinking about kids with blue fur. "Ya think Mandy was bad already, believe me, you ain't seen nothing yet."

"Maybe their kids won't have fur." suggests Holocaust, his thoughts echoing Rogue's. "But a few furry children running around might make a more interesting Helicarrier."

"Just pray your kid doesn't turn out like mine did." yawns Exodus, falling forward onto the table in a deep snooze.

"Furry kids with attitudes like Mandy's." muses Rogue. "I can't wait to baby-sit."

Spiral speaks up. "Does anyone realize that if the kids have feet like their father... don't take offence Fuzzy... that she will need a lot of support when they come? What if it's twins? Or quints?"

"What about that tail? What if the doctor cuts that instead of th--" Holo is cut off from repeated slaps from Amanda.

"Just SHUT UP!" she wails.

Domino opens her eyes long enough to see the worried look on Amanda's face. "Oh, don't sweat it, Mandy." she grins, as Fuzzy puts a plate in front of his lover. "You'll be a great mom."

"It's alright Mandy." agrees Rogue. "Ya may feel depressed now, but when the kids come, you'll feel a lot better for two reasons: Having a tremendous weight lifted off your shoulders (an' your pelvis) an' you'll have a wonderful child who will love and adore you. Not to mention beg you for money every day. And any way we'll all pitch in to help you, if needed. Right guys?" The answering silence is not exactly comforting.

Mandy stops playing with her food as Tym walks through the door, ignorant of the wonderful news.

"Hi all. Mandy, I picked up your fave movies of all time! See? The 'Aliens' movies, 'Rosemary's Baby'..."

Mandy looks ill, but has enough presence of mind to try and stuff the videos down Tym's throat before fleeing to the bathroom.

Amanda stands in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at her reflection. It wasn't even noticeable yet, but what about a month from now? Two months?

"I'll look like a whale!" she moans. With a sudden urge to get what she can while the getting's good, Mandy dashes out of the bathroom, and whispers into Fuzzy's ear. She gets a running start, and Fuzzy chases her back to their room.

"...and the rest of that you'll hear when you're older." Amanda smiled, realizing that Kit seemed enraptured. She was about to get up and head back for camp when she realizes that she's not alone. She shifts to her wolf-shape very subtlety, just barely enhancing her hearing and sense of smell. Yep, they had company. Hiding among the branches of a nearby tree. It was welcome company, though. It was Nightcrawler, Fuzzy Elf to his friends, Kurt to Amanda, and the warm, blue, furry thing to Kit.

It had been nearly a month since an accident had caused two unfortunate changes in Fuzzy. The first (and least obvious) was a fair amount of selected brain damage. The second one, resulting from the first, was a severe case of amnesia, erasing every personal memory from Fuzzy's mind, including Amanda.

Amanda started to tell him he might as well come out, but had an idea... something that she'd wanted to get off of her chest for a while, but that hadn't seemed relevant when she'd 'come clean' several weeks ago and had really been a hard subject to bring up later. Amanda resettled Kit and began talking again, using her imagination to stitch together what parts she hadn't gotten from Spitfire.

"On the wind-barren plains of a place called Limbo, a lone figure stood in silence, contemplating a tempting offer. True, she was suspicious... especially considering the person who was making her this offer. But the bait was worth the chance of a trap, she had decided.

Nistrisa scratched her blond hair with her one good arm* (*see Excalibur: Nistrisa one-shot) and headed back towards her catacombs. This would require some planning.

"In a place out of joint from Limbo, three acquaintances watched the demoness plot.

'We should not interfere.' remarked Lancelot, the most powerful of the trio.

Spitfire bristled. 'You say that now, but you were hardly so stand-offish with thine own issues.' the warlock snarled in the formal dialect.

Vixen, who had recently undergone the physical and mental changes to become Spitfire's familiar, glared at Lancelot. 'I still can't believe what you did.'

Lancelot gave the fox-woman a chilly stare. 'I need not explain my actions to you, stripling.' he intoned.

'She's our friend you cold sonuva- !'

'In that case, we're to handle this ourselves.' interjected Spitfire, standing. 'Come, Vixen.'

As she walked towards her paladin, Vixen eyes flashed angry heat at Lancelot. 'Go to hell.' she growled.

'I've been there, thank you.' returned Lancelot without batting an eye. Spitfire cast a teleport spell and whisked himself and his familiar away before she could get them into more trouble.

"In the Helicarrier of Excalibur, Amanda Sefton was just starting to drift off to sleep. It had been a long day, with assorted repairs and improvements going on all over the team's HQ. That, combined with a two hour "conversation" with Fuzzy had the sorceress pretty tuckered out. So it was understandable that she didn't notice the extra presence in the room until it came up and bit her on the a... the butt. Literally.

'AGGH!' she yelped, sitting straight up. Fuzzy was awake a second later.

'Wha-*yawn* what's wrong?' he asked blearily.

But Amanda had seen Spitfire a second before he vanished under the bed. His being there could only mean trouble, and Amanda didn't want the team... or Kurt... involved in what was most likely personal business.

'Nothing.' she fibbed, 'Bad dream. I think I'll go get a drink...'

'Not while you carry our child!'

'...of water.' finished Mandy, dangling her feet over the edge of the bed.

'Oh...' Fuzzy grinned sheepishly, 'Hurry back then. This bed gets very cold and lonely without you.'

Amanda felt a quick pang of guilt over her lie, and more over the fact that if it was trouble, she might not be back period."

Amanda heard a slight rustle in the trees, but pretended not to, keeping her eyes locked on Kitrina's face.

"That was kind of trashy of me, wasn't it?" she asked. "Your father was the kindest, sweetest man I knew at the time... and know now. I guess, no matter how much I rolled around in bed, I still had a lot to learn about a successful relationship..." Her voice trailed off as things went totally still in the area. "I think I'd better get back to your story, huh?"

"Amanda was about to snuggle back next to Fuzzy and tell Spitfire to go and do biologically improbable things to himself when she felt a hard tug on her foot.

'I'll be back as soon as I can.' she whispered, pulling a robe over her bare body.

The pair of mystics snuck out of the room, and down to the kitchen, where Vixen was snacking on cold chicken.

'Hi.' Vixen said, waving. Amanda didn't notice.

'Spitfire, you better have a damn good reason for this. You know I don't care who's cutting whose balls off on the Winding Way anymore. If it's Lancelot, Margali, or even Tranai, I don't wanna hear anything. I just wanna be left alone!'

'Amanda,' sighed Spitfire, 'I'll give it to you straight. Someone from inside your team has made with Nistrisa. Whoever it is going to deliver you, Wagner, and the kid to Limbo ASAP.'

Amanda's face lost all color, but her voice didn't quaver.

'I can take on Nistrisa...' she started.

'And every other freak of pseudo-nature in Limbo? Be real. Remember Bapta'an?' Amanda slapped Spitfire. He didn't even see the blow coming.

'Don't remind me about him! You haven't the right.' she snapped. 'I'm not going back! I'M NOT!'

Spitfire stepped back, and started again. 'Remember how he screamed while you ran? A fat lot of good your spells did then.' Even as he spoke the words, Spitfire felt something twist inside of him. It gutted him to hurt Sefton like this, but it might be the only way to get her to see how much trouble she was in. He thought about asking her if she wanted to lose another kid, but remembered that Sefton didn't recall that. Spitfire continued to hammer away.

'Do you want the elf torn to shreds too? Do you want your kid born in Limbo?'

'STOP IT!' Amanda was nearly screaming now. Spitfire did. It wasn't helping matters.

'Amanda, I know how that hurt you. I was bonded to you then, remember? I'll go now...but think, please. If they get a hold on you, I can't do anything.' In a flash of light, Spitfire and Vixen vanished.

With a soft snarl, Amanda swept the plate that Vixen had been eating from to the floor. She winced as Holo's good china shattered into a dozen pieces. Amanda picked the pieces up, and tossed them into a recycling chute (more stolen Starfleet technology).

"Bapta'an was right," thought Amanda. "Lancelot never really cared about me. And I was dumb enough to think he was wrong...and it was my fault that we wound up in Limbo... my fault 'Taan died."

Amanda found herself in front of the door to her room. She wanted to curl up in Fuzzy's arms and have a good cleansing cry. But she couldn't, she just couldn't. She knew didn't deserve that kind of comfort.

Instead, she wound up in the arboretum, letting silent tears run down her face. She was more of a danger than a protection to her baby.

'Not even born yet, and I'm already screwing up your life, kid.' she whispered. Amanda couldn't hide anymore. Eventually, she'd have to go back to Limbo and try to set the score even. She'd have to at least make a grave cairn, if nothing else.

But not now. She'd have to see her loved ones safe first.

"The next morning, Morphine Somers was woken up by someone trying to kick in his door.

'Bloody hell... all right, I'm coming!' he grumbled, trying to fend off the sunlight streaming through his windows with one upraised hand. He was not so pleasantly surprised to see Amanda standing at his door, looking as if she hadn't slept all night. He rubbed the sleep boogers from his eyes, but the scene stayed the same.

'Hummana...um, hi Mandy. C'mon in.'

She did. "Morphine, I need you to age me." she said quietly, seeing no point in beating around the bush. 'This baby has to be born as soon as possible.'

'Wha-?' asked Mr. Somers intelligently. 'Mandy, are you SURE about this? You're hacking a good seven months off of your life!'

Morphine sat on the edge of his bed. Amanda started to pace.

'Please...it's very important.' she said, voice choked with a jumble of emotions.

'Well,' said Morphine, smiling nervously, 'when you use the "p-word" that means that we're all about to die, or you need another guinea pig for your RKA.'

He got up and placed his hands on Amanda's shoulders. The timing for this was going to be tricky. 'Brace yourself.' he advised, and flipped the mental switch that activated his power.

"Half an hour later, Fuzzy Elf was snapped into wakefulness by Moira's voice blaring into his ear. 'KURT WAGNER! Get yerself doon to th' Medlab in double-time! Amanda's gettin' ready tah give birth!'

'I wish you wouldn't yell in my ear like that. Besides, that's not a bit funny. Amanda isn't due for several months yet.' Fuzzy yawned, turning down the volume of the com.

'NIGHTCRAWLER, YOU EITHER GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW OR THIS BABY IS COM'N WITHOUT YOU!!' Moira yelled. In the background, he could hear Amanda begging someone to knock her out, and not necessarily with drugs. Fuzzy threw a pair of pants on and BAMFed away."

"What?" asked Amanda, in response to Kit's almost bored look. "You didn't think your daddy was in this story?" Kit gave a tired little yawn and squirm into a more comfortable position, almost asleep already. Amanda detected motion out of the corner of her eye, as Kurt descended from his tree.

"It's about time." she smiled, as he took a seat beside her.

"I was enjoying myself." he responded. He looked shy, almost scared, but Kurt held out his arms and Amanda handed Kitrina over to her father. After settling the baby, he turned back to Amanda. "That was an interesting story. Care to finish it?"

"Why?" she asked feeling reluctant and even some resentment. It wasn't fair. Life wasn't supposed to be fair, but this sucked, even for life. She'd finally been able to tell Kurt what had been eating at her mind for months. He'd not only still loved her, he'd agreed to stand by her and help her through it. And now it was all for nothing. Kurt didn't remember any of it. His promise didn't mean anything now. It might as well have been made by someone else.

"Please? It's part of my life, even if I don't remember it." He looked down at Kitrina. "She's my daughter, Amanda, but I don't know anything about her. I don't remember her birth, the first time she used her powers, or even her first smile."

Amanda sighed deeply. She knew it wasn't Kurt's fault, but it still rankled. Still, he was trying to be a father to a daughter he didn't even remember. She could cooperate at least this much.

"Fuzzy reappeared in the Medlab to a very confusing sight. Amanda was laying on one of the medical beds, her feet in stirrups. She was at full term. Fuzzy couldn't get any words out, no matter how hard he tried, but just stared at her rounded stomach and walked over to her.

'How is this possible?' Fuzzy asked placing a hand on her stomach.

'She had Morphine age her to term. She's gonna have the baby any minute.' Moira explained over all the noise that her patient was making. Not for the first time, she wondered why she left Scotland in the first place.

Fuzzy turned to Amanda, seeing her face covered in sweat and a distorted by a pain near agony. 'Liebchen, why would you do this? Do you want to be a mother that badly?'

"My accent does not come through that thickly." protested Kurt, with a grin. "Tell it right."

"I am!" Amanda insisted. "I can't help it if your ears are all stopped with fur... eeek! Stop tickling! You'll wake up Kit! C'mon, you wanted me to finish the story. Let me tell it!"

"Amanda reached up and grabbed a hunk of Fuzzy's chest fur. Kurt didn't yelp out loud, but did wish that he'd taken the time to put a shirt on. She pulled him down until their faces were level. She started to yell a good many insults about his parentage at him, but caught the totally bewildered look on his face in time.

'Its... *pant* AHHHH! ...not that. Later... *pant* if I can... ARRRRRGH!' Amanda cried out.

'Here we go. Dammit, Amanda! Breathe!' Moira says. Amanda's grip on Fuzzy's fur tightens as she yells back a reply that consists mostly of four letter words.

'OW, you're gonna pull my fur off.' Fuzzy said, transferring her hand from his chest to his hand. 'Its all right, Love. I'm here.'

'I WISH YOU HADN'T BEEN TWO MONTHS AGO! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! I WANT MY OWN ROOM! I WANT BUNK-BEDS!' Amanda screamed, before flopping back onto the pillow and going back to trying to breathe according to the Lamaze tape that she'd watched over Fuzzy's shoulder one passionate night. She continued to moan loudly and dug her nails into the top of Kurt's hand.

'Can't you give her something?!' he asked, wincing as Amanda's nails drew thin blood.

'Na, the drugs might hurt the baby.' Moira said, paying only the slightest of attention to Fuzzy. 'The baby's coming head first. That's good. I dinnae think it'd be this fast.'

'FAST?! I'VE BEEN HERE FOR HOURS!'

'Ye've been here for twenty-three minutes. Control yerself.'

'CONTROL?! LET ME UP AND I'LL SHOW YOU CONTROL! I'LL...'

'Almost there!' murmered Moira, ignoring Amanda's hysterics. 'Just a little push, Amanda! A little more... PUSH, BLAST IT! There! That's done it!' Moira smiled proudly and held up a squalling blue infant, which she promptly handed to Nynaeve to clean up. 'Congradulations, ye two. Its a girl.' Amanda just lay there gasping as Fuzzy pries her hand off of his. While Nynaeve cleaned all the gross birth stuff off of the newest member of Excalibur's little family, the Emperor posing as Excalibur's leader peered around the corner, witnessing the birth of a being.

He thought to himself: 'I wonder. Would my life have gone a different path if I witnessed the birth of my son, Shatterstar, who lies locked away in the Vault?' He shook his head. 'I've got to get my thoughts straight, or I'll jeopardize my purpose here...'

Longshot walked away, pretending he didn't see what he just saw. That is, until the image of Storm popped in his head. 'What is coming over me? I've got to get the Tymwalker's power... after I meet M'Kalan.'

After making sure that the danger of being killed was over, members of Excalibur began to straggle in and wish luck to the new parents. Emma Frost and Jaimie Maddox are the first.

'A girl?! Yay! New bitch in training!' she cheered, displaying the tiny new leather outfits she brought for just such an accurance.

'...and another member for the infamous Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell.' moaned Mx2 into his hands. 'Not that I'm not thrilled for you two, or nothing.'

Exhausted still, Amanda ignored the commotion and lay back. She picked blue fur out from under her nails until Moira handed her the kid. As Mandy started to give the baby her first meal, she grinned wearily up at her lover. 'Looks like you'll be sharing these for a while.'

Just then, Holo walked into the med-lab and over to Mandy and Fuzzy. "Congrats!" he grins, then realizes that he might have to baby-sit. "Um... yeah! Congrats!"

Fuzzy just looked down at his new daughter. 'Blue skin and pointed ears, just like mine.' he mused, murmuring so softly that only Amanda and the child could hear. The sudden tenderness he felt showed on his face. 'We'll have to wait a couple of months to see if she's going to have fur or not.' All the same, he's concerned. His deepest worry had been that, by inheriting his looks, his child would have the same difficulties that he had growing up. Along with that new tenderness comes a vow to protect her from that pain at all costs.

The baby had three fingers and a thumb, which should have been expected from such a combination. She had pupils, like most humans, but they were luminous yellow like Fuzzy's eyes. She didn't have a tail and they suppose any powers that she might have had they would be a long time waiting to find out. Fuzzy raised his voice. 'And keep the leather costumes away from her until she's at least a teenager.' Fuzzy leaned down and gave Amanda a gentle kiss.

'I love you.' Fuzzy said.

'I love you too.' Amanda replied. 'And so will she.' She indicated the baby, which had stopped nursing and fallen asleep.

'So, have you thought of a name?' Holo asked.

'We've been throwing a few names around, but really expected a lot more time to think about it.' Fuzzy said, hesitantly offering his good hand to Amanda.

'Very funny.' Amanda said, giving his palm a kiss. 'We'll have to think about it a little more.'

Queen continues to sulk. 'Awwww...if we can't spoil the kid with stuff, then what CAN we do with it? It just... drools.'

Amanda pretends to be annoyed with Emma. 'You can spoil ME you know. I feel like I just tried to take food from Rush Limbaugh!'

"Later that night, Amanda was still awake in the Medlab. Fuzzy had moved a cot to Amanda's bedside, and was just as wide awake as she was. Both of them had been batting names around for a while.

'What do you think about Kitrina, Kurt?' asked Amanda.

Fuzzy looks at Amanda. 'Kitrina is a great name. Let's go with Kitrina Sefton for the moment.' Fuzzy stands up. Amanda casts him a worried look.

'What wrong?' Amanda asked, almost getting up herself before wincing and going back down. Kurt put a reassuring (and bandaged) hand on her arm.

'Nothing, I have to... umm...' he mumbled as he tried to think of a task he had to perform and failed. 'I'll be back in a little bit." he says. BAMF. The sound and smell of Fuzzy's teleporting scared Kitrina a little. Amanda calmed her back down.

'That's one thing that she's gonna have tae get used to.' Moira said, coming by to check on her patients.

'What do you think is the matter with Fuzzy?" Amanda asked, feeling a little hurt that her lover wasn't staying around. For some reason, this entire procedure held a strong sense of deja vu for her. That and a sense of loss. She wanted Kurt around to reassure her that everything really was going to be fine.

'I dinnae ken. But it could be that the fact that he has a daughter has just hit him. The excitement is over and now the real emotions are kicking in. I've seen it before. Give him time, he'll be OK.' Moira explained. Her idea was right on, for Fuzzy reappeared on the cock-pit of the Helicarrier and sat, staring at the stars. A lot of heavy thinking was ahead.

Amanda was doing some thinking of her own. She'd tried to divine why this felt so frighteningly familiar, but she can't for the life of her recall why. She reached for the glass of water that Moira had left for her... and finds it missing.

'Great.' she sighed, and settled down to wait for Fuzzy to return."

"After an hour, Fuzzy walked back into the Medlab.

'Sorry, I disappeared like that. I had to get my thoughts together.' he said, moving to her side again.

'What's wrong?' Amanda asked.

'Nothing really. Only the reality of what just changed in our lives just hit me like a truck. I was all excited about having a daughter and raising her, but then the other shoe dropped. This isn't a joke, or a game, or some fantasy I'll wake up from, I truly am a father and my responsibilities have just quadrupled. The changings, the late nights, the protection we'll have to give her living here and doing what we do.' Fuzzy explained, casting another adoring look at the pair laying on the bed.

'And...?' Amanda prompts.

'And I think that I'm OK now. How about you?'

'I've been thinking too...'

"Meanwhile, Moira is busy looking for something, 'Now where did I put that laser scalpel from the Enterprise.' Moira turns on the PA system and everyone on the Helicarrier hears, 'Has anyone seen my laser scalpel?'

'Yeah, it's in the living room.' Morphine replies.

'How did it get there?" Moira wondered, shutting off the PA and headed for the living to retrieve her scalpel.

"Amanda looked down at her hands. She'd have to tell Fuzzy about Spitfire and Lancelot and everything...

'Kurt...I...'

...but not now.

'I think we'll all be fine.' she said, not believing herself. 'We're a real family now, you know.'

'I know.' said Fuzzy, giving her a hug.

'It'll be great.' Amanda smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes."

"See?" Amanda stated, wrapping Kurt's tail around her fingers. "No big revelations, just... stuff."

"Au contraire." Fuzzy said, momentarily switching his genuine German accent for a bad French one. It was so rediculous that Amanda had to laugh. "Have a little respect for the father of your child, will you?" Fuzzy quipped, regaining possession of his tail. "What was I saying?"

"I forgot."

"You lie horribly. Anyway, you never told me how you felt about any of that... or why you were in such a rush to have Kitrina. Not that I'm sorry you did. Every little facet of your personality is a revelation to me, Liebchen. I don't love you... but that doesn't mean that we can't try again for what we had before."

Amanda sighed deeply, but said nothing as she fought down a gut-churning bitterness. She got up. "Come on. Let's get back home." Kurt, looking uneasy, got to his feet and the two of them walked towards camp.

In the recesses of Amanda's mind, something stirred. It had been a considerable time since it had last awoken and managed to break through the surface personality of it's host. Now it had an ally and if things worked out, the control of this body and it's power would be total...