Disclaimer: I do not own Beauty and the Beast. They belong to the wonderful writers that created their world which we had a brief glimpse into. Thank you.

A/N: That wasn't too long of a wait I hope.

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Mothers

Chapter 3 – The Past is the Future

Vincent escorted Catherine to her threshold where she and her two companions would emerge into her apartment building. Before they parted Catherine wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him warmly. To her surprise and pleasure he did not pull away, despite their small audience. Then he waited there until Mouse returned with a bag Catherine had prepared for him to carry back. It was filled with many personal items and clothing. Then he returned Below to anxiously await her return. He spent the time with his mother, showing her all the wonders of his world. Kira marveled at how the people seemed to love and care for him. Vincent told her stories of his childhood, his quiet exploration of the world Above, and how he had met Catherine. Kira soaked in every bit of knowledge she could, striving to regain the lost years between them.

Meanwhile, Mouse and Jamie waited while Catherine bathed and dressed in the loosest clothes she could find. She spared a few moments to call Joe and let him know she was all right and to tell him she was taking a leave of absence. She didn't tell him why, but he assumed she need time to recover from her captivity. She told him little about why she had been kidnapped or who had done it, but she promised that eventually she would tell him more. He was relieved to finally hear from her and she had to persuade him not to come check on her.

And then it was time to go shopping. They traveled underground to their next stop, just to be on the safe side. Shopping was a relatively new experience for both of them and Mouse was especially surprised when he was allowed to choose a few toys for the baby. Uncertain if she carried a boy or girl, Catherine was forced to pick unisexual clothing. But with a certain level of confidence, she picked some boy outfits just in case. By the time they were through, Catherine had bought a bed, a playpen, diapers, blankets, toys, baby soaps and powders, a few maternity dresses, and a breast pump and bottles. She hadn't really considered ever not breast feeding, it seemed the best thing to do. Poor Mouse and Jamie were loaded down with boxes and bags. And they thoroughly refused to let Catherine carry anything heavier than her purse.

Catherine had been careful not to pick too many toys or fancy knickknacks that would upset the children Below. Not that anyone of them would have begrudged Vincent's child anything.

Finally, exhausted from being on her feet most of the day, Catherine took Mouse and Jamie to eat at a small sidewalk cafe. Mouse was pleased when he got to pick his own food off the menu, but Jamie was quick to remind him not to pick anything too expensive. Catherine laughed and told them it was a gift for the help they'd given her and to pick anything they wanted. Hunger overcame hesitation and they all ate greedily for either exertion or a second mouth. After their late afternoon meal, they found the nearest entrance into the tunnels and began to make their way home.

Vincent greeted them warmly in Father's library, embracing Catherine and taking the heaviest packages from her companions. Kira came too and took the rest of the packages. Catherine was escorted to a seat where she sat heavily, exhausted from the walk home.

Father chuckled. "My goodness, I think you've bought enough here for two children."

Catherine chuckled, a bit breathless. "I wasn't real certain what all to get, so I just got everything I could think of." Kira set her smaller packages down and shuffled through them a bit. She smiled when she came to the pair of outfits, specifically chosen for a boy. Father blinked as she held it up in the candlelight. Catherine blushed. "Just in case."

Kira laughed. "It is a good hope." Vincent silently wished that he knew for certain.

Father seemed to sense this. "Perhaps we could have Peter do an ultrasound."

Catherine and Vincent exchanged a look and both responded in one voice. "No." For too many reasons they did not desire to know. Father nodded acceptingly, though he still had reservations about Catherine baring such a large child. But Catherine seemed content, so he did not press the issue.

Mouse had already spread out the parts to put the bed together and Catherine smiled down at him with amusement. "What are you doing, Mouse? The baby's not due for another three months."

Mouse looked up from the instruction book, where he was not really reading only examining the photos. "Better to be ready now than later." Mouse's words struck a cord deep within Vincent. He was not at all prepared for this child. His chamber was barely large enough to accommodate him and Catherine, to place a small child into the mix would be even more difficult. He would have to expand his chamber or move. Either option presented its own problems.

He kissed Catherine on the brow. "Catherine, there's something I must go do, but if you'd like I can take you back to my…our chamber first so you may rest."

Catherine shook her head slightly. She was feeling much better. "No, I think I'll stay here. Besides, I want to make sure Mouse uses all the parts to that bed."

Vincent chuckled. "I shouldn't be long." He smiled and left them. He headed down the passage toward the kitchen. His chamber was abutted by another that Kione, a small Chinese woman stayed in. She had joined their community long ago. She had lost her youth as Vincent had grown. She worked mostly in the kitchen and was one of William's most valued workers. Vincent found the woman sitting on a stool chopping vegetables. "Kione, may I speak with you?"

She gave Vincent a warm smile. "Of course."

"I was wondering, if it would not be too much trouble, if you would move to a new chamber. I would gladly help."

She blinked in confusion. "Move? What for?"

"I will soon be needing the extra space." His voice was sheepish. He hated asking her to move. She'd been in that chamber a long time.

But the old woman was sharper than he knew. "So it's true then, your Catherine is with child."

He nodded. "I do not want to inconvenience you, but-"

She patted his furred hand. "Vincent I will be glad to give you the space. As long as you promise to help move me. I haven't the strength to move such heavy things any more."

Vincent smiled. "Oh, I promise. As soon as you have decided on a new chamber, I shall move your things."

"I have already thought of one. I have been considering moving to the guest chamber that is nearer to the kitchen. It will be less of a walk for me."

"I know that chamber. When would you like to be moved?"

"Whenever it is convenient for you, child. No rush."

Vincent considered the time. "Better make it tomorrow. Thank you, Kione. I will be forever grateful." He rose to leave. "I'd better get back to Catherine."

"Wait." Kione glanced around for any sign of William and slipped off her stool. She pulled a plate of oatmeal cookies out of one of the cabinets. "Better take these with you. If you return smelling like the kitchen with no food, you may find your Catherine very grumpy."

Vincent's smile widened. "Thank you." He carried the plate back with his spirits much renewed. He could hear laughter before he ever reached the chamber. He entered to find Kira and Father laughing hard, Catherine red clean up to her ears, and Mouse with both hands clamped over his mouth. Upon seeing Vincent, Mouse turned red as well. "Didn't mean it," he mumbled between his hands.

"Didn't mean what?" By the look of shock and muffled amusement on Catherine's face, Vincent guessed the joke had been at her benefit.

Kira spoke through her laughter, taking a few deep breaths. "A few misplaced words. The poor child didn't even realize what he said and neither did we until Catherine began to blush."

"What did you say, Mouse?"

Mouse averted his eyes from Vincent's gaze. And his answer was nearly inaudible. "Just said, Catherine screwed good."

The refreshed redness on Catherine's cheek, made Vincent want to blush. Then he noticed the small tool in her lap, a screw-driver. Vincent pressed down the urge to laugh. Instead he went to Catherine's side and set the plate in her lap. He shot Mouse one of his half smiles, ensuring him that he was not angry. "Don't worry my love. Mouse will repay you for the insult tomorrow, when he helps me move Kione to her new chamber."

Father was intrigued. "Why is Kione moving?"

"She wishes to and it will allow me to expand my own chamber." Catherine smiled up at him with understanding.

Father turned to Kira. "We should also consider finding you a more permanent chamber as well. Perhaps tomorrow I can show you some that are not inhabited and are suitable to move into."

Kira nodded. "Yes, that sounds wonderful." Vincent smiled inwardly at the way his two estranged 'parents' seemed to have bonded in so short a time. Vincent thought he might even see a glitter of something different in Father's eyes as he looked on Kira. He could not place it, though it seemed familiar.

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The next day, Vincent was as good as his word and made Mouse help him move Kione's things to her new chamber. Then they marked off on the wall where his chamber abutted hers. Here he would make a door to join the two chambers and use the rock to fill in the door that led into the main tunnel. Catherine and Father walked Kira to the many empty chambers and helped her chose one. They made Kira feel very much at home. Father arranged for a spare bed and dresser to be brought along with a thick carpet and pad to cover the cold floor. The chamber quickly took shape into a livable space.

By the time Catherine had arrived back in Vincent's chamber, he had already rearranged the room so that the wall that abutted the other chamber was bare. She sank tiredly into the bed and closed her eyes. She had only meant to rest a little while, but when she woke she found the candles already burning low and Vincent bending over her.

She smiled up at him. "I will never get used to the wonderful sight of waking up to your face." Vincent smiled warmly and bent to kiss her. The world was right and nothing now could change that, except one thing.

"Catherine," he asked after a moment, "I've been thinking. What do you plan on doing once the baby is born? I mean, do you plan to stay here?" He hoped with all his heart she would say yes.

Catherine sat up slowly. She had thought she would return Above, but as the past few days had passed she had begun to reconsider that decision. She dearly loved staying Below with Vincent and she would certainly prefer to stay Below when the baby came. No one Above had known she was pregnant and to simply show up with a child would seem strange. As she looked on her beloved's face and caressed one soft down cheek, she realized where her true place was. It was with him, it had always been with him. "I will stay, Vincent. I want to stay."

Vincent drew her to him, catching her lovely face in his hands and kissing her. "Now, all of the world is perfect."

Catherine smiled. "Dinner would make it even more perfect." Vincent chuckled and took his beloved to fill her growing appetite.

The days faded into weeks and Catherine's body began to feel the aches and pains that come in late pregnancy. But she complained little and never in Vincent's presence. Her pain troubled him badly. He tried gallantly to appease her every need, though that was not always easy to do. Her cravings were strange and grew stranger each day. Catherine became ravenous whenever she could get meat. Kira had laughed and said she'd been the same way.

One day near the end of Catherine's eighth month, Kira asked Father for a map of the city. Father provided her with several. "This is the most recent one I have. It's about twenty years old though."

Kira examined it, turning it in different directions until she found the angle she was looking for. She placed one long furred finger on a point just north of the city. "This place here. Do you have access to it?"

Father looked at the point. "We don't have any maps of that area, but that doesn't mean there aren't tunnels there. Is that the place your ship crashed?"

"Yes." The sad memory of Leedon's death filled her eyes. "I must go there."

"Now? But Catherine is barely a month away from delivery."

"That is why I must go now. Jacob, there is something there I must get. I hid it there long ago. It is Vincent's birthright and it shall be his son's as well."

Father nodded slowly. He could see the determination in her eyes. "I understand. But it is a long journey. At least four days, there and back. Perhaps you should take someone with you. Vincent would never forgive me, if I let you go off alone."

Kira smiled. "Perhaps you're right. But who? I will not take Vincent from Catherine now. She would become stressed at his absence."

"And I know better than anyone that a pregnant woman must be as stress-free as possible." Father frowned he had no good options to provide. Though the tunnel dwellers paid Kira a great deal of respect and listened intently to her every word, few had really taken the time to get to know her. Mouse appeared in the doorway and before he could begin his usual ramblings. Father called him to them. "Mouse, look here. Do you know this area? Are there any tunnels there?"

Mouse studied the map for a brief moment. "Yes, tunnels there. Don't know well, but know some. Why?"

"Mouse, I have to go there. There is something there I need to get for Vincent." Kira smiled warmly at the child. She was fond of the boy. His insatiable excitement was endearing.

"A gift for Vincent?" The boy looked at the map again. "So far away. Take long time to get there."

She nodded. "Yes, I know. But it is for Vincent."

Father was suddenly inspired. "Mouse, would you like to help Kira get her gift? If you know any of the tunnels, it would make things easier and quicker. Plus, you'd be helping keep an eye on Kira for Vincent."

Mouse squinted at the map and then at Kira. A broad grin broke on his face. "Okay good, okay fine. Mouse always helps. Will help Kira for Vincent."

Kira nodded. "For Vincent."
"Will leave soon?"

"Yes."

"Today."

"Yes."

"Mouse will go pack." Without another word, Mouse disappeared through the door. Kira smiled to herself. She had a feeling it was going to be an interesting journey.

Vincent appeared in the door. He looked a bit tired, but he smiled as his eyes met his mother's. Catherine had been up most of the night. Between going to the bathroom and eating, neither had gotten much sleep. "I just passed Mouse in the passage. He seemed in quite a hurry."

Kira came around the desk and took his hands, as her features grew serious. "Vincent, I must go on a journey."

Vincent felt a slow shiver go through him. A sudden fear that he might loose his mother again welled up in him. "Why? Where?"

"To the place where Leedon was burnt." Her sad eyes spoke volumes.

"I will go with you." Something inside him wanted to see the place his father's body had been burnt and perhaps even the place he had been born.

Kira shook her head. "No, you must stay here. Your Catherine will need you far more than I. Do not worry, Mouse has agreed to come with me. The journey will take at least four days, perhaps even more if things do not go smoothly."

Slow realization was setting in. "So you are leaving now, today?"

She nodded. "Yes, an hour or so." Vincent bowed his head for the turmoil he felt inside. Kira kissed his brow warmly. "Don't worry. I'll be back. I'm not leaving you again, Vincent. Never again." With the thumb of one furred hand, she brushed away the tear that escaped his eye.

An hour later, Kira and Mouse set out along the tunnel leading north. Kira had said a warm goodbye to Father and Catherine and had hugged Vincent tightly, before they left. It was strange to think that even in that short time since her arrival Below she had begun to think of the place as home. She hated leaving it, even when she knew she would be returning, and hated leaving Vincent even worse. She had never allowed herself to imagine a life with her son. Perhaps it had always laid hidden as a silent hope, but she had never let it take form inside her.

Mouse was a new found source of information, just dying to be told. He told Vincent's mother of all the adventures he and Vincent had shared. He told of the time Vincent and Father had been trapped in the cave-in and how he and Catherine had saved them. He told of the time Vincent had gotten so ill and they had thought he might die. And of many other adventures they had shared. Each new tale was a new layer of knowledge for Kira and she accepted it gratefully.

Between the two they were able to find the correct tunnels and when they came to a place near an underground spring, Kira recognized it. "I know this place. It was so long ago, but I can still remember it." She knelt to run her fingers along the smooth rock floor. "Mouse, this is where Vincent was born."

Mouse looked around in amazement. "Really? Wow." Kira had discovered long ago that Mouse thought of Vincent as his idol. "Vincent born here? Nice place."

Kira chuckled. "It did not seem that way at the time. I was being hunted by the same men that captured Catherine." She closed her eyes, remembering that night. She had been scared and exhausted. The contractions had come suddenly and the birth quick. It had been a good thing though, for the pain had been excruciating and she would not have been able to endure a long labor. She recalled holding him, so tiny he had seemed. She had wrapped him in his father's cloak, which she had saved just for the occasion. It had been thick and soft. Her son had made little noise after the initial birth cry, as if he knew they were in danger.

Pulling herself from the memory, they started off once more. The terrain in the tunnels had obviously been changed by natural occurrences over the years and so meant slow going at points. They traveled for another day and a half, until they came to a place Kira knew instantly. She moved across the large open chamber with the shaft in its roof that let in light. The only thing that remained of what had once been Leedon's pyre was a blackened spot on the cave floor.

She knelt and ran her hand through the dust and ash there. "My Leedon, my mate, my lord, father of my son, I miss you." Mouse hung back. He could feel her reverent mood. In fact he could feel it in the whole place. The place felt as though it were a burial chamber of some great king. For a long time Kira did not move. At last she stood and Mouse came near.

"Vincent's dad was here?"

"Yes, Mouse. This is the place were I burnt his remains and released his spirit."

Mouse cocked his head to the side. "Why burn? We bury."

"Because child, it releases the spirit back into the world and does not allow the earth to destroy what there was in life." She turned to face him. "It was... is our way. Do you understand?"

Mouse nodded. He did understand, she had once lived far differently than he could imagine. "So, where is present?"

Kira smiled, she'd almost forgotten in her revelry of the past. She crossed the large chamber to the wall. Running her hand lightly along it about mid-waist, she found a place where a stone moved beneath her touch. "Bring the lantern here, Mouse." He did and she removed the heavy stone, which in retrospect seemed much lighter than the last time she had moved it. Inside was a hollowed out space in the stone wall about the size of a trunk. Kira reached inside and pulled out one of the items within. It was a sword and dagger on a belt. She ran her fingers over the decorated hilt of the sword and the braided belt. She set it aside and Mouse looked at it in awe.

"These things were my mate's." She explained as she pulled a pair of pants and a shirt from the space. She set the pants aside, but held the shirt close to her nose and breathed in the scent of her lost mate. She held her breath savoring the scent. The scent had been much stronger than she expected after thirty years. Somehow the enclosed space had saved it. At last she set the shirt aside and reached again into the space. She withdrew what looked to be almost a chain mail shirt. It was heavy and bore a strange design upon the chest. Setting it too aside, she reached one last time into the space with both hands. In one hand she withdrew a pair of boots, and in the other a necklace. The boots she set aside, but the necklace she held aloft, so the lantern light flickered against it. "This is the gift Mouse. It was Vincent's father, and his grandfather's, and his great-grandfather's. It has been passed down in his family for centuries. And now it will be his. And one day, his son's."

Mouse was speechless at the beautiful ornament. Its gold chain sparkled, even after years of disregard, and the strange symbol that hung from the chain was mystifying. It was a sun with many rays, two swords crossed each other at the center, and a great bird with wings spread wide was beneath them. He touched it reverently. "For Vincent?"

"Yes, for Vincent." Kira smiled. The other things she would also bring, for no other reason than to keep for herself in memory of her beloved mate. She un-shouldered her pack and pulled out the extra bag she'd brought. In it she placed all the items, except the necklace. "Mouse, when we return you must help me find something nice to put this in."

Mouse clapped his hands excitedly. "Yes, yes! Mouse will find. You leave to Mouse."

She gave him a sidelong glance that reminded him immediately of Vincent. "Alright, you take care of it and it will be a gift from both of us." She tucked the charm into her pocket and stood. Her task was done. It was time to go home.

Catherine woke to Vincent sitting up on the edge of their bed. The small single bed had been done away with and a much larger bed had been put into the expanded space. Vincent sat motionless, his head in his hands. She touched his arm. "What is it, Vincent?" Vincent startled slightly in surprise at her touch.

He turned and gave her a strained smile, while pushing aside a stray hair from her face. "It's nothing, my love."

"Please Vincent, tell me."

He sighed. "I'm just a little worried, that's all."

She sat up, as best she could, and ran her hands over his tight shoulders. "About your mother?"

"Yes, she should have been back today. She and Father said the trip wouldn't take more than about four days. I keep wondering if something has happened to her."

Catherine massaged his shoulders with her small hands. Vincent tried to relax. Her touch was more soothing than the actual action. "She'll be all right. She can take care of herself and she has Mouse with her." Vincent took a few trembling breaths. He had to calm down, for Catherine's sake. If she thought he was distressed, she would be too.

Another deep breath. "I'm all right, Catherine, really."

Catherine ran her warm hands down his arms, massaging them as well. "She'll be home tomorrow. You'll see."

He lay back down and drew her to him for a soft kiss that made Catherine's blood rush. "Yes, we'll see." Pulling the covers up over them, he hugged her tightly. "I love you, Catherine."

She placed a soft kiss beneath his jaw. "And I love you, Vincent."

Kira and Mouse made it back to the hub late in the afternoon. When they appeared in the door of Father's library three very happy faces greeted them. "Mouse! Kira! Welcome home." Father's voice was full of warmth.

Vincent nearly bounded up the stairs to greet his mother. He hugged her. "I am glad you're home safely."

She smiled and hugged him tightly. "I missed you too."

He stepped back and noticed the heavy bag slung over her shoulder. "Here, let me take that." She handed it over and he realized with some surprise that it really was heavy. "What is it?"

"Come, I'll show you." Kira stepped down into the chamber and paused to give Catherine a warm kiss on the brow. "How are you feeling?"

"As good as I can in my condition." Catherine smiled and rubbed absently at her belly.

Kira smiled and sat down in a chair beside her. She motioned for Vincent to hand her the bag. He complied. "These are few things that I hid after the crash." She looked up at Vincent, seeing his father in him. "These were your father's things." Vincent pulled up a chair in front of the two women, and watched with awe as his mother pulled things from the bag.

The first thing was the belt with the sword and dagger. She handed it to Vincent. "You spoke of space travel and a superior society. Why would he carry such things?"

"One of our laws was that no advanced technology be used in warfare on the home planet. These were standard for the head of a household. Leedon was defender of his realm and of his people." She suddenly smiled and chuckled. "It frustrated him a bit that he never got to use them." She answered the unasked question that burned in their eyes. "None dared to oppose his rule. I think they knew better. Leedon was both powerful and brilliant. The others would not risk such a confrontation with him." She reached again into the bag and pulled out the chain mail shirt. She spread it out so the symbol was easy to see. Mouse recognized the symbol. It was the bird from the necklace. The shirt itself was not really a shirt but a vest, and its length was only to the waist. Vincent took it from her and held it up. It had been the heavy object at the bottom of the bag.

Catherine ran her hand over the symbol. "Is this a bird?"

"Yes, the Takarrow, a great hunting bird. Their wing span grew to be nearly ten feet across. Some of the elders said the symbol could send a man's enemy into retreat." She smiled. "I never much believed that superstition myself. I always believed it was the wearer that sent his enemies into retreat." Catherine suddenly had an image of Vincent wearing the vest with the sword in his hand, standing atop a hill on the edge of battle. 'I think I would run too', she thought with a touch of humor. The image did more to arouse her chaotic hormones, than to frighten her.

Kira was busy bringing out the leather pants and a soft blue shirt, which she again pressed to her nose. Vincent was intrigued by the action and when she set it aside, he picked it up to examine it. The back of the collar was stained with blood, but the front was relatively clean and embroidered with a fine hand. He held it close to his nose as she had and breathed deeply. The scent that filled his lungs was in one moment wondrous and unsettling. For some reason it sent adrenaline pumping through his body. His expression must have been distressed, because Catherine became concerned. "Are you all right?"

"I...I don't know." He slowly began to fold the shirt back neatly and set it atop the leather pants. He lowered his face. "I got such a strange feeling."

Kira touched his arm warmly. "You're body is responding to a rival."

"A rival? I don't understand."

"You would have been about the same age. On our home world you would have been rivals for good mates."

"But he was my father..."

"Your body does not know that. If you had grown up with him and known him all your life, it would. But as chance would have it you didn't, and so your body is responding to the scent." Kira stroked his hair comfortingly. Vincent shook off the drab mood and Kira reached once more into her bag of wonders. She withdrew the boots. Suddenly she paused and shook them slightly. She could feel something moving inside them. Nothing alive, something that slid from end to end. She laughed. "I'd forgotten." Reaching inside she pulled out another necklace. It was smaller than the other and more delicate. It was obviously meant for a woman. Kira cradled it in her hand for a moment, looking long at the green gem set in a golden clasp on a golden chain. "Leedon gave this to me when he finally muscled the courage to ask for my hand." She smiled at the wonderful memory. Then she turned to Catherine. "For you."

Catherine was flabbergasted. "Oh, Kira I couldn't."

"Please. If I had been around when you and Vincent first met, you'd probably already have it."

Catherine glanced at Vincent for reassurance, but he only smiled. So she took it gingerly. "Thank you."

Kira reached into the other boot and pulled out something very small. She cupped two rings in her palm, both gold and slick, and one slightly smaller than the other. Tears suddenly blurred her vision and she could not prevent the soft sob that left her. Vincent touched her arm. "Mother, are you all right?"

She took a strangled breath. "Yes." She took his hand and turning it, placed the rings in his palm. "For you...and Catherine. When the time comes." Vincent stared down at the two small objects. It was his turn to be flabbergasted.

"Mother, are these...?"

"Yes, they were, but they're yours now. I no longer have need of them. My bond-mate is gone, and I will forever feel his loss."

Vincent was still unsure, but a simple nod from Kira told him he could not refuse this gift. "Thank you, Mother."

Kira smiled and sighed. "You may have use for these as well. They were practically new, when he last wore them." She motioned to the boots. "As a matter of fact, you may have all of it, except this." Kira picked up the soft blue shirt. Vincent understood better than Kira suspected. He could see the effect the scent of Leedon still had on her.

Catherine picked up one of the boots. She smiled. "I think these might fit you, Vincent. They might even fit me in my present state." She lifted a swollen foot and chuckled. The mood was broken and Vincent smiled.

"Catherine," Father chastised, "you really ought to put your feet up for a while." Before Catherine could protest, Vincent set a chair with a pillow in it before her. He lifted her feet gently and placed them lovingly in the seat. Father didn't laugh, but the smile that crossed his face was all-knowing. Catherine indulged them and smiled to herself.

As Vincent reseated himself, he turned to the subject of their journey. "Was Mouse of any help to you?"

"Oh, yes, a great deal. He certainly has a talent for finding his way through or over the roughest terrain. He was also a good source of stories. It's strange that you forgot to mention so many." Kira's smile was tolerant and knowing.

Vincent looked away sheepishly. He hadn't considered that Mouse would tell her everything about what had happened in his life. "I didn't want you to worry. After all, those things happened a long time ago."

Kira patted his hand. "The truth is I enjoyed his recollection of events. They seemed to put you in dazzling sort of light."

Catherine chuckled softly, understanding that Mouse had exaggerated Vincent's heroism because of his affection for him. Vincent glanced at Mouse, who blushed slightly. "Well, in that case. Thank you, Mouse." Mouse's grin would have lit a chamber with no candles. They turned their attention back to the objects arrayed on the carpet and Vincent began to replace them in the bag. "I will put these in a safe place. Surely you must be tired from your journey. Why don't you rest and we'll come get you for lunch."

"Yes, I am a bit tired." Rising, she patted Vincent on the cheek and placed a motherly kiss on Catherine's brow. "Jacob, would you walk me to my chamber?" Father nodded and they left the chamber together. Once inside her chamber, Kira displayed the lovely necklace. "It is his birthright. It has been passed down through the centuries from father to son. Usually it is passed on at the death of the father, but Vincent wasn't even born when Leedon died."

"It is lovely." Father cradled the emblem in his palm. In a strange twisted sort of way he was glad Vincent had never got to know his real father. Perhaps in a strange way he felt he could never compare to the real thing. But that world was gone and Vincent could never know his real father, except for the stories and now this. "When do you plan on giving it to him?"

"I had hoped you could suggest an appropriate time. Things will be very chaotic until after the child is born. And I do not wish to draw away from that important occasion."

"Down here we have what we call a Naming Ceremony for a child born in our underground world. Perhaps before the ceremony would be a good time. Gifts are brought for the child, but I think we can include one for Vincent as well."

Kira placed the necklace into a soft bag and tucked it safely into a drawer. "Mouse has promised to find something suitable to present it in."

"Did the presenting of this chain have some ceremony on your own world?"

Kira nodded. "Yes, though only in the slightest way. The chain was brought to the new lord by the widow or wife, and presented before the gathered people of his realm. It was done the very hour of the old lord's death and symbolized the transfer of power." She frowned slightly. "Here it will not hold such power, but it is an heirloom nonetheless. And will some day be passed to Vincent's son."

Father smiled. "Are you so certain it's a boy?"

Kira chuckled softly. "Yes, if I've ever been good at doing anything in my life, it is telling what a woman carries in her womb."

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A/N: I know this fic doesn't have a lot of action in it, but I hope you guys are enjoying it nonetheless. As I said, it's sat in my computer library for a while and I haven't really done much with it. I hope it is in the least entertaining.