Angel

Chapter 22

Raven

Krolik and zaychik had stayed the night and soon we would be heading to the airport to meet Owen and Sean. When I was younger I never considered being a father. My own was cold and distant, even at the best of times. I feared I would turn out just like him until I met malen'koye solnyshko. Now, watching her braid zaychik's hair made me happy. Her presence lit up a room and made you want to be near her. I can't help but smile when I think back to how she showed no fear of me that first day. She's tiny and fierce, and I want her to be ours forever.

"How are my beautiful girls this morning," I asked, making my appearance known.

Those beautiful jade eyes met mine and I caught my breath. "Raven!" Zaychik squealed and jumped into my arms. Her little arms squeezed my neck and I pretended like she was choking me.

"Such a strong zaychik," I teased.

"What is that?" she asked, her little forehead scrunched.

I chuckled, "It means baby bunny. Your mama is my krolik, or bunny, and you are my baby bunny."

She blinked and paused, "Does that mean you're my daddy bunny?" I gaped and looked at Mattie who seemed equally shocked.

I held my hand out to her, then asked zaychik, "Would you like that?"

"Yep! I like you and Daddy Nova, and BB, and Axie, and Corey. You make Mama happy and are fun to play with," she grinned, then shimmied out of my arms, running down the hall yelling, "Raven's my Daddy Bunny!"

I looked at Mattie, "Sorry krolik, I didn't know what was okay to say."

Her hand cupped my cheek and she leaned up, kissing me softly. "Never apologize for making us happy, papa krolik," she giggled.

I pulled her into my arms and laughed, "Never thought I'd be called a krolik." Then I leaned against her ear, whispering, "Then again, I haven't had the chance to wear you out in my bed yet, so maybe I can live up to the title." Her cheeks blossomed with color and I laughed more before kissing her deeply.

Axel

Princess came running down the hall shouting, "Raven is my Daddy Bunny!" and I about spit out my coffee. She was bouncing around and giggling as she chanted it, then looked at all of us and pointed one by one, "And you're Daddy Nova, Daddy Axie, Daddy BB, and Daddy Corey!" I thought my cheeks were going to split at the size of the grin that spread across my face.

I scooped her up in my arms, tickling her tummy, "Yes we are Princess, and we all love you and your mama very much." She shrieked and laughed as she squirmed in my arms until I put her down. I gave Mattie a kiss on the cheek when she walked in with Raven, her cheeks flushed. "I see we have officially been claimed, Dove?" I teased her.

"Um, she, um," Mattie sputtered.

I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close, "Dove, I am proud to be claimed by both of you as long as it is what you want." She nodded, her cheeks darkening. I pressed a kiss to her lips then leaned my forehead against hers, "I love both of you, more than I thought possible, Mattie."

Soft tears sprang to her eyes as she wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered, "We love you too, Axel."

Marc cleared his throat, "Well, I think our daughter just cleared up one of Owen's questions. He asked about guardianship for the guys if anything were to happen to either of us."

She nodded and smiled, "Yes, if you are all willing I think that would be best. I know MawMaw would care for her, but with her health and age, that isn't feasible for the long term. I also know if anything ever happened to me, you'd make sure she still spent time with her."

"Of course, beautiful," Brandon said, "Now we just need to convince the three of you to move in." He gave her a wink, "I think Precious is already on board with the idea considering she told me we needed to make her bedroom, and I quote, 'more sparkly'." We all laughed as Dove just rolled her eyes.

Owen

I watched as the Toma men interacted with this petite woman and her daughter. She was quick-witted and didn't hesitate to put them in their place, even Raven. Sean and I both had to choke back our laughter when the little girl, Violet, called Raven her Daddy Bunny, but he just beamed with pride.

"So how long have you and Sean been together?" she asked as we settled into our seats at a small diner.

I gripped his hand as he blushed, "We've known one another since childhood, but didn't fully admit our feelings until years later. We went public with our relationship about four years ago."

She flashed a brilliant smile. "You make a beautiful couple." Her tone was so sincere that I couldn't help but quickly understand why the Tomas were so drawn to her. "So Nova mentioned you all worked together, but you also practice law. Do the other members of your family have jobs outside the Academy?

"We all do," Sean interjected. "I'm a doctor back in Charleston. North and Silas who you met a few days ago do construction and old house rehabs as well as North owns his own garage. Nathan teaches self-defense classes and is a personal trainer, Kota went into accounting, Victor does tech work, Luke owns a bakery, and Gabe, well, he does what strikes his fancy at the moment - art, design, fashion."

"Wow," she muttered, "That's a really big and diverse family."

"What about you, Mattie, do you have any siblings?" I asked her.

She frowned slightly and shook her head, "No, it's just me, Violet, and MawMaw. My, um, parents kicked me out when I got pregnant. I haven't seen them since Bebe was little."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but from the way those men look at you, it isn't just the three of you anymore, little lady," I told her, patting her hand. She immediately smiled and glanced over at the five men who were engrossed in the story Violet was telling them.

She giggled, "I have no idea how we got so lucky."

Sean snorted and grinned, "I'd say they would share the same sentiment about finding you if you asked. I've never seen them so happy, Mattie. Heck, even North couldn't stop talking about how you and Violet. He came home bragging that we were all uncles now."

She blushed, "Yes, he and Silas were both quite quick to take on that title. I thought Bebe was going to burst she was so excited. You realize she's going to claim both of you as well," she grinned.

"We'd be honored," I told her as Sean agreed.

Author's Notes:  Daddy Bunny...*snort*...I couldn't resist...

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Author's Notes:  A filler chapter, but the family dynamic needs to be built.