[I] Meeting their nephews

Alexis was finally up and about after giving birth to Tahir and hers first child.

The woman hummed softly to herself as she practically danced across the room, packing a small baby bag with toys and the essentials, a bottle, diapers, they were going out today.

"Tahir~"

She sang out as she checked her phone, Aeker was back in the country at last.

"My brothers are back from Ireland, I think it's about time Aeker met little Jem."

She muttered, padding over to the bathroom where her mate was meant to be bathing their son.

Tahir had been in that bathroom with his infant son for about a half an hour.  Much longer than it took to wash a baby.  Especially since he and Alexis had obtained a little seat meant to keep babies safe while they were being bathed.  

Jem had sat in the seat wiggling his little chubby arms and legs around, his big eyes taking in everything.  His small hands clenched at the air and he made soft little coo's as warm water rushed over him.  

Tahir looked... nervous.  He had sloshed up some baby soap in the tub and was using a cup to gently pour the water over Jem, who was nice and clean everywhere but his head.  

The Persian man had no idea how to go about washing off Jem's face and hair without potentially drowning him.  

When he heard Alexis call his name he went into a mini panic mode.  He wanted his mate to feel like the father of her son was a competent parent... even though Tahir felt very incompetent.  

Quickly he sloshed his hand in the water and then ran it back over Jem's fuzzy black hair, making it look like it had been properly washed.  

"Oh?" He asked, flashing her a smile as she walked into the room.

Alexis smiled brightly as she looked at her two boys, oblivious to Tahir's turmoil about drowning the baby.

"Who is a squeaky clean little man?"

She cooed, leaning down and scooping up the baby in her arms before wrapping him in a towel.

"Daddy did such a good job didn't he?"

She asked, rubbing her nose against Jem's damp little nose as the boy squealed excitedly, grasping onto his mother's long silver hair gently.

Tahir relaxed. Who was a squeaky clean little man? Jem was. Damn straight.

The Persian stood up and dried his hands off on his trousers. He was wearing a ragged pair of jeans and a black tank. His hair, which was considerably longer now than it had been when he first moved into the coven, was tied back.

He glanced over into the mirror and examined his face, tilting his head to get a good look at his jaw. His beard had gotten pretty long too. He'd been keeping it looking nice though.

"Do you think I should shave first?" He asked, a bit mindlessly. He didn't really care either way, and so he decided to leave it up to what Alexis preferred.

Alexis tossed the towel back into the bathroom once Jem was dry and moved in toward Tahir, her fingers stroking through his long beard.

"I like your beard."

She admitted with a small smile, Tahir was a warrior at heart, even if he had hung up his sword a long time ago, seeing him like this reminded her of that, it was a nice thing to remember, to be able to see that her man was strong and fearless, with the exception of giving Jem a bath of course.

"I think you should keep it."

Alexis place Jem out on the bed, pulling on his diaper and dressing him warmly in his blue pajamas, covered in small green dinosaurs.

Tahir smiled and leaned down to kiss Alexis before she walked away again. So that was that, the beard would stay.

He followed her out into the bedroom.

"So your brother is back from Ireland. How is he doing now that he gets to play mom?" He asked, handing Alexis a pacifier when Jem started to fuss.

Alexis chuckled as she looked up at Tahir, taking the pacifier off him and placing it in Jem's mouth.

"Probably doing a better job than me too be honest, who would have thought that my brother would make such a good woman."

She couldn't help but tease and make fun of her brother, what he was doing was admirable, the boy was without a mother and already had a father in his life so he had taken on that role regardless of his gender.

"It's an odd situation to be in but I know Aeker, he really will make a great mother for that boy."

Tahir chuckled and shook his head.

He believed that Aeker would be a good parent. The few times he had met the man, Aeker was calm and reasonable, and patient enough to put up with Aodh.

He placed his hand on Alexis's hip and gave it a few soft pats.

"I doubt he's better then you. I wouldn't want anyone else to be the mother of my child." He said, planting another kiss on the top of her head.

Lex turned around and wrapped her arms around her mate's waist, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"And I wouldn't want anyone else to be my children's father."

She replied, running her hand over his cheek tenderly as she snuggled in against him.

A small chuckle sounded from the woman as she looked over her shoulder at Jem who was wiggling around on the middle of the bed.

"Gods help us when he learns to walk."

Tahir eagerly kissed her back. Becoming a parent had him worried for plenty of reasons. The three biggest in order were:

1. Accidentally killing the baby by dropping him or letting him get into something or just failing in general.
2. Raising a son that hated him.
and
3. Not having enough time to still have awesome sex with Alexis.

Tahir noticed how Alexis had said "children" instead of "child", and he couldn't help but grin. If Jem survived infancy, giving him a sibling to play with didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"Is it considered child abuse to put a leash on him?" He asked, his hand still on Alexis's hip.

Honestly when Jem learned how to walk, Tahir figured he'd be a worried mess.

It was hard enough trying not to break the baby when the baby could barely move.

Alexis burst into giggles as she nuzzled against him, hugging him close.

"I was actually considering it too."

She admitted, having to chase after Jem when he could run around would be tiring would, she was scared he would run off outside during the day where she couldn't follow him.

"So help me if he learns how to shift into a wolf, you're the one who will be chasing after him."

Lex grinned up at her mate, Tahir made him half Lycan, he could deal with the wolf side of business.

Tahir adored the woman's laugh.

Just the sound was like music to his ears, the kind of music that could make his heart skip beats and his stomach do flips.

"That sound fair, I'll handle the wolf business, and you can handle whatever quirks he gets from being a vampire." He said, nodding his head as he looked at his son.

They wouldn't really know what traits the boy had from both species until they appeared but they would be more than able to take care of any issues that arose from them, after all bother Alexis and Tahir had been their species for a very long time.

"Lets hope he doesn't take after me much."

She replied with a chuckle as she crawled onto the bed, picking Jem up and resting the boy so he was sitting up on her stomach.

"You want to go play out in the sunshine, don't you sweetheart?"

She cooed to the boy with a smile, bouncing him softly, she didn't want him stuck in the shadows.

Tahir, despite being able to go out in the sun, had found himself living a vampires schedule ever since he had fallen in love with Alexis.

Still, he had the option of sun. It wouldn't kill him. He too hoped his son would have that choice. He wanted the boy to have a fairly normal childhood, despite obviously being anything but normal.

But the vampire traits could be a blessing as well. Vampires were more stealthy and agile than lycans, and powers not even Tahir was fully aware of.

Jem sucked on the dummy as his mommy bounced him, but eventually it fell out of his mouth as he smiled at her, having fun with the attention she was giving him.

With Alexis now on the bed, Tahir gently grabbed her ankle and brought her leg up so he could begin massaging her foot.

He often idly did things like this for Alexis while she was pregnant, and now that Jem was born he hadn't dropped the habit.

"So when are we going to head over to have Jem meet his uncle?" He asked.

Alexis gave a content little moan as he rubbed her foot, he was such a gentle man and was constantly putting her before himself.

A cheeky little smile appeared on her pale lips as she looked up at him.

"Remind me to let you message the rest of me when we get back."

She muttered with a soft chuckle, it had been a little while since they had been intimate, it had taken her a few weeks to get over the pains of child birth but now that her body was back to it's former glory it was time for them to get reacquainted.

"I suppose we should get going while he is still in a good mood."

Tahir raised his brow and a crooked grin came to his face. A flicker of excitement filled his hooded eyes.

"I like that plan." He said, rubbing her foot a little more before placing it down on the bed again.

He walked over to Jem's baby capsule and placed it on the bed beside Alexis.

Alexis smirked softly as she sat up, placing Jem in his capsule before tucking a blanket around him and placing his pacifier back into his mouth.

"I thought you would, it has been far too long in my opinion."

It couldn't be helped, but now she refused to become those boring parents who lost their spark for one another after they had children.

The Vampire wouldn't have it, no way, they were going to be passionate for one another for a long time yet.

It had felt like forever since the two of them had been intimate, at least to Tahir it did.

But she had been recovering, and the idea of having sex with her until her body was ready again was not even something Tahir considered.

"So long as you're feeling up to it, you know I always am." He said with a playful tone. It was true though. There was rarely a time he would ever deny any of Alexis's advances.

Jem, bless his heart, was obviously completely oblivious to anything his parents were saying. His big eyes scanned the room as he sucked on his dummy, his little legs kicking underneath the blanket.

One thing was for sure, he was an energetic little guy.

He wouldn't remain oblivious forever so Alexis was going to enjoy the opportunity of being able to say anything at all in front of him without him noticing.

"Oh I am up for it, it has been hell sleeping next to you and being too sore to fool around."

She replied with a chuckle as she picked up Jem's capsule.

"Lets get going before we spend all night in bed."

Hell was a good description of how long it had been since they'd been able to be intimate, but at least they had someone as amazing as Jem to make up for it.

Tahir just grinned big and nodded, thinking of how much fun they'd have. He was eager to leave.

Because the sooner they left, the sooner they could come back.

The man gently picked up Jem's capsule and escorted Alexis out of the room so they could go and find her brother and his mate.

Aeker sat up on the bed, watching Aodh and Darragh colour, books, paper and pencils sprawled out over the carpet.

He smiled endearingly at the two of them, they really were mirror images of each other.

The knock at the door caught his attention and he moved to open it, letting the boy continue their art.

"Lex!"

He proclaimed, embracing his sister warmly, each of them giving the other a peck on the cheek as he ushered her in.

"Good Evening Tahir."
He greeted warmly, petting the man on the shoulder since his hands were full.

His crimson eyes trailed down to the little boy bundled in his capsule.

"He is beautiful."
The Vampire cooed, stroking a gentle hand through his dark hair.

"Aodh, our new nephew is here to meet us."
He called over to the man with a smile.
"Darragh, you have a little baby cousin."

With that he gestured for the Lycan to come in and join them.

The two Lycan were, for once, being quiet, both too engrossed in their drawing to make a peep.

Darragh was drawing a picture of his mommy, a scribble of black and grey crayons with a green background. Aodh's eyes flickered up every few moments as he sketched his son as he drew.

Both boys eyes flickered up when the door was opened, but soon returned to their drawings. They didn't want to be disturbed quiet yet.

Darragh finished first, dropping his crayon and scampering off to Aeker with his drawing in his hand. "Look mommy." He tugged on Aeker's pants, trying to draw his attention away from the other grown ups as he waved the sheet of paper. "I drewed you."

Aodh shook his head when Darragh got up and darted away. "Little sod," he snorted. Why did all the subjects of his drawings move before he finished them? Was he just cursed?

The Lycan stood up, abandoning his sketchpad. "Aight, Lex?" His eyes flickered to Tahir for a moment, giving him a civil nod before his attention turned back to his sister.

Darragh shuffled behind Aeker's legs, peeking out behind them to gaze up at Tahir. Wow...he was big!

Tahir was really only himself around three people. His sister, his mate, and his baby. Around others, he shut down and had more walls.

It didn't matter if he liked that person or not. He just had a hard time showing any real emotion around anyone other than his family.

He gave a nod of his head at Aeker greeting him, and placed the baby capsule down on a chair so that everyone could get a better look at Jem.

The Persian man didn't recognize who the little boy was, but he looked an incredible amount like Aodh.

Mommy? Did that little boy just call Aeker "Mommy"? Aeker was feminine looking, but why didn't he bother to correct the child. If anything, wouldn't the boy just have two fathers?

Tahir figured it didn't really matter. He had been trapped in a sword for thousands of years. Maybe this was normal? He wouldn't be the wiser.

The man hadn't smiled at all since he entered the room. Again, it had to do with the walls he normally held up around other people. Especially males. Especially males like Aodh.

He was not very comfortable with that man being any sort of influence in his sons life. But that man was his son's uncle, and Alexis was fond of him. So it didn't seem like Tahir had much of a choice. Still, he was guarded.

His silver eyes watched Aodh cautiously as the red-headed man came closer to Jem.

He didn't say anything though. He wanted to remain civil, for Alexis and Aeker's sake.

"This is Jem, another little addition to the family."
Alexis introduced before moving over to Aodh and giving him a hug.

Aeker beamed brightly as he scooped Darragh up into his arms, taking the picture from the body.

"Sweety it is amazing, I love it. We will have to frame it."

This was the first drawing Darragh had done of him, he was definitely going to keep it.

"Darragh, this is Uncle Tahir and Aunty Alexis, she is my twin sister."

He told the boy, nuzzling against his cheek.
"Lex, Tahir, this Darragh, our son."

He added with a little smile.

"Oh he is adorable, can I have a hug Darragh?"
Alexis asked, tilting her head slightly as she spoke to the boy.

Aodh returned the hug with a smile, planting a kiss on the crown of the woman's head.

"It's good to see you again, Ceadsearc. You're absolutely glowing. Having a kid's done wonders."

The boy clung to Aeker when he was picked up, peeking at Tahir and Lex through his hair.

Usually he was a social little butterfly but Tahir looked really big and muscley and scary.

The boy gave a whine and buried his face in Aeker's chest shyly when Lex asked for a hug.