The Morning After - How Nick and Ana got together <3

Nicolas handed the Daily Prophet to Ana. "Helena's dead." He said simply.

Ana's eyes widened. "How? Why?"

"Yesterday, before midnight.... when we were at the pub..." Nicolas said rereading the article. "They say it was a Purger attack..."

Ana frowned. "A purger attack? But she was a Capulet...and a Gryffie. Why would she be targeted?...Or was she doing the targeting?"
She glanced down at the baby resting on her arm and held his little hand. The baby clenched his fist around her smallest finger and gurgled. She laughed quietly as she couldn't move her finger.

"It says here she was caught in the cross-fire..." Nicolas read.

He cursed. "I knew I should have taken her with me, she was most upset when Diana...."

Ana snorted. "Caught in the crossfire is equal to murdered by the Purgers."
"Well they were best friends..."
Darius gurgled again and tightened his grip around Ana's finger.

"Yeah," Nicolas swore again. "I should have known she'd be looking for trouble!"

"I could have taken her with me to the pub... made sure she got home alright..." Nicolas banged his hand on the table.

Ana nodded. "You should have. Then you'd be married to her, not me."
Darius tugged on her finger and she yelped quietly. "Have you been teaching him to weightlift?! He's going to dislocate my finger..." She poked the baby's nose gently with her thumb.
Darius giggled.
Ana sighed. "But then I would never have met my little nephew..." She kissed Darius on the forehead. Darius responded by grabbing her nose.
"Um...Nick? Have you been training him to kill me?"

"She doesn't like..." Nicolas hesitated. "Well let's just say, she'd rather be married to someone like you then to someone like me."

"Yes, I have actually." Nicolas grinned.

Ana blinked but made no answer.

She laughed, sounding strange due to the small hand on her nose.
Darius gurgled and released her nose...but not her finger.
"Thank you." Ana raised her head, but Darius placed a hand on her face, observing her intently.
She smiled. "Well...he needs to practise his death glare."

"That he does," Nicolas sighed.

Darius made a strange gurgling noise and stretched out a limb to Nick.
"Hey Nick, I think he wants to cut off the circulation in your finger too." Ana laughed.

Nicolas looked up. He was still feeling slightly guilty. And he let Darius grab on to his finger.

Darius grinned, a toothless grin. He yanked on the two adult fingers, pulling them next to each other. He then made a stream of baby noises and giggled.

Ana felt awkward and edged slightly away from Nick.

Darius responded by yanking her back to where she'd been before.
Ana sighed. "I get the feeling he's laughing at us."

Nicolas chuckled. "Yes I get that too..."

Darius giggled and shoved his fists next to each other.

"What do you think he's trying to say?" Ana muttered to Nick.

Darius knocked his fists together and gurgled once more.

"I think he's thinks you should continue to sleep in my room Ana." Nicolas said somberly but there was an undertone of playfulness in it.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Well I'm guessing he'll just force me to, so I hardly have a choice."

Nicolas laughed. "Come on Darius, let's give you a bath."

Darius giggled, but refused to let go of the fingers he grasped.

Ana laughed. "Apparently he's stubborn."

"Come on little Darius," Nicolas said but still Darius wouldn't budge. "Looks like you're going to have to come with me to give him a bath Ana."

"Fine." Ana laughed. "Stubborn little guy. Come on Darius, your daddy wants you to have a bath."
Darius gurgled and turned towards Nick at the mention of his daddy. He tugged on Ana's finger again.
"Okay, so does Ana." Darius blinked, as if to ask who that was.

"Darius," Nicolas said. "This is your mother... okay?"

Ana froze. Darius' face split into a grin and he turned to her.

Ana struggled to speak. "...Yes. Mummy and Daddy want you to take a bath. Will you let us give you a bath?"

Darius gurgled in the affirmative. He let go of their fingers and allowed them to carry him, still grinning.

"He looks rather smug." Ana commented to Nick, grinning.

"Yes..." Nicolas laughed, "That he does."