I needed to write this morning, but nothing was coming for Shades of Red, so I decided to revisit James and Kiliane. :) I've been toying with the idea of a series of one-shots revolving around their twins, April & Andy.

Good idea? Or terrible idea?

"April, no!"

Time seemed to still as James watched his three-year-old daughter climb up the jungle gym. She was on the complete opposite side from where he was helping her twin brother, Andy, cross the monkey bars. Quickly lowering Andy to the ground, he made a dash for April. Meanwhile, her little arms had gotten tired of holding her up, and she just let go.

"Dios, por favor!"

James said a short prayer as dove into the sand, catching her just before she hit the ground. When his heart had finally stopped thundering in his ears, he was rewarded with the sound of his daughter giggling.

"Daddy, that was fun! Again?"

He just hugged her tight, letting his head drop into the sand as he said, "You are going to be the death of me, little fiend. And you are most definitely your mother's daughter."

She just giggled again, climbed off of him and tottled towards the rocking caterpillar in the corner of the playground. Since that was much more her size, he allowed himself to relax. Until two seconds later when he remembered that he'd left Andy sitting in the sand on the other side of the equipment.

With a groan, he got up and dusted himself off. James would have liked to have said that he was surprised when he rounded the corner and saw nothing but sand where his son had previously been sitting. But that would have been a lie.

"Andy?"

He spun in a circle, watching and listening, but couldn't figure out where his son had gotten off to now. There was a small wooded area bordering the northern side of the playground, and if he had to guess, that's where Andy had disappeared to in the two seconds he'd taken his eye off of him.

Grabbing April first, so as not to lose her too, he headed towards the woods, calling his son's name.

Kiliane let herself into their apartment as quietly as she could. It was late, and she was sure the twins would be sleeping by now. With a small grin, she wondered how James had managed wrangling them into bed by himself.

She'd just had a wonderful, and long-overdue, girls night out. Liara had flown in to visit, and Miranda had joined them for dinner, drinks and dancing. It had been loads of fun, and exactly what she'd needed. But it was the first time James had been alone with the twins for any extended period of time. With him being away for work so often, any time they spent out of the house when he was home was usually together.

The house was quiet, and most of the lights were off. She made her way down the hall, pausing at the door to the twins' room to look at their small sleeping forms, before continuing to her and James' bedroom. When she opened the door, she had to fight back a laugh.

Her husband was sprawled out on his belly, fully clothed and on top of the covers, snoring loudly.

She crawled in next to him, placing a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. He blinked a couple of times as he slowly woke up and then smiled.

"Hey, Lola. Have fun?"

"I did. Did you?"

He reached an arm out and pulled her closer before answering.

"Yeah. I've decided that you're my hero, though. I mean, you kinda always were, but even more so now."

"Did they wear you out?"

"More than an entire warehouse full of pirates." Kiliane laughed, and he continued. "Seriously, Lola. I don't know how you do it while I'm away. It's pretty impressive."

She kissed him softly before she said, "It's true. I wouldn't' trade them for the world, but saving the galaxy was a walk in the park compared to raising those two."

Kiliane was left confused as James winced before saying, "No more walks in the park. At least not for the next ten years or so."

She thought only briefly before deciding it was better not to even ask. Instead, she just snuggled in closer, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her.