KOTLC After Stellarlune-A Sokeefe Story

The Name

A girl. They were having a girl.

A daughter.

Once they made it back to Aeternum, Keefe pulled Sophie on to the couch and held her close.

"A girl," he crooned in her ear. "Our first baby will be a little girl."

Sophie smiled up at him. "What a good dad you'll be. And just think how easily she'll get whatever she wants out of you." She laughed, just picturing it.

"Probably," Keefe agreed. "Just like her mama." He kissed her forehead. "Now...what should we name her?"

Sophie sat up a little straighter. "Well, I had a name in mind already. For a boy and a girl, actually. I've been thinking about it a lot lately."

Keefe smiled. "You going to tell me, or...?"

"So I know it's a human name, but...my human mom's name--the one she was born with, anyway--is Emma."

Keefe nodded. "I think a human name makes perfect sense, all things considered. What about her middle name? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

At the same time, they both quietly said "Jolie".

Keefe's smile was incredibly sweet when he practically sang, "Emma Jolie Sencen. I think it's perfect."

"Me too." Sophie brought her hands up to Keefe's face and kissed him. "I love you so much."

"Of course you do," Keefe said with a smirk. Then he added, "I love you too."

They sat in quiet contentment for a few minutes before Keefe asked, "out of curiosity, what is the boy name you were considering?"

"William, or Will. That's my human dad's name. And then...I thought maybe Errol for the middle name."

"That's Forkle's first name, right? Or at least...that identity's first name."

"It is. I thought Mr. Forkle might appreciate us commemorating his brother in that way."

"I'm sure he would. Or rather, he will. When we have a son someday."

"What if we just keep having girls?"

"Well, first off, we'd obviously name the next daughter Amy. Maybe Amy Calla? And second...we'll just keep having kids until we get a boy to name after your dad."

Sophie laughed. "You know that could totally backfire and you could have, like, five daughters before a son ever came into the mix?"

Keefe shrugged. "More little Fosters to love, that's all."

"That's...a lot of boyfriends to eventually have to deal with."

Keefe shuddered. "Stupid boys better stay far, far away from my little girl."

"You do remember how long it took Grady to stop calling you That Boy, don't you?"

"He still calls me that when I start to irritate him. But I get what you're saying. And I won't chase all the boys away, only the stupid ones."

Sophie leaned in to kiss him. "I'm sure you will."

They then chose to hail Grady and Edaline and tell them that they'd be having a girl--and to tell them her name.

They were so deeply touched by this news that they insisted on coming to Aeternum to hug them again in person. And before they glittered away, Edaline--tears streaming down her face--placed her hand gently on Sophie's abdomen. "See you later, little Emma Jolie. I can't wait to get to know you."

Over the course of the next few days, they shared the news with their friends. Everyone was incredibly excited for them, and perhaps none more than Biana. She squealed, jumped up and down, and hugged them both. And then, she whipped around and looked at Dex with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Oh, no," Dex groaned good-naturedly. "Biana, we just got married. Can't we enjoy a little bit of time just the two of us? Trust me, I want lots of babies--though hopefully just one at a time...not because of any prejudice I have but because wow growing up with triplets was intense--but maybe not just yet."

Biana sighed. "I know. But...someday..."

Dex grinned. "Someday. Probably someday soon."

But after all that, Sophie sat down and told Keefe that they should probably tell Cassius too.

Keefe sighed. "I just...I don't want you to get your hopes up. Telling my dad isn't going to be like telling anyone else. Even Elwin was excited for us. Mr. Forkle cried a little. Sandor hugged you so tight I thought you might suffocate. But my dad? This will just be average news to him. He won't be excited. He doesn't get excited. And I don't want that to disappoint or hurt you. I want her to be celebrated."

"I understand that. And she will be celebrated. We already have been celebrating. But I mean...it's not like we can keep it a secret. So we might as well offer this small little olive branch and tell him he's going to be a grandfather. Even if he's going to be the most cold, unaffectionate, strange grandfather ever. If we try to hide it from him, it'll just cause more drama when he does find out."

"I guess."

"We can just hail him, if you like. We don't have to make a big thing of it and go see him or anything. In fact, I think we should also hail Oralie and Kenric and tell them."

"Let's do that first then. They'll be happy for us."

And they were. Oralie cried--of course, she was also pregnant and a bit hormonal--and Kenric grinned at them. "Guess we'll both be adding to our families pretty soon, then," he told them. "And our girls will be friends, whether or not they ever know they're related."

And then it was time to hail Cassius. Sophie knew he wouldn't be bubbly and excited like everyone else had been, but she wasn't as worried about that as Keefe was.

But then, Sophie hadn't grown up in a house with him. Keefe had grown up with Cassius constantly disparaging everything Keefe did, every effort he made. So she understood why he'd been hesitant to share happy news with his dad.

But she also felt, intuitively, that the sooner they got it over with, the better.

So Keefe hailed his father.

And he took it better than they expected.

When Keefe told him that Sophie was pregnant with a little girl, Cassius smiled--slightly oily, still, but a smile nonetheless--and congratulated them. But his face was completely serious when he added--sounding very much like Edaline--"I can't wait to meet her."

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Sophie asked after they hung up.

Keefe reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears. "No, that wasn't so bad. But it's late, and you're sleeping for two now." He smirked at her. "Let's get you to bed." He took her by the hand and began leading her upstairs.

"I'm not that sleepy yet," Sophie told him.

Keefe stopped and turned to look at her, fire in his eyes. "Good," he said in a low voice, leaning in to kiss her and reaching out to slip a hand under her tunic. "I never said you needed to go to sleep yet."