For the Alouette family, time was quickly ticking down to the days when their new arrivals would be born. Singer and Danielle had gotten pregnant right around the same time, and were due to have their babies within weeks of each other.

Two-year-old Jean-Michel was really rather excited to be a big brother and a big cousin. He was looking forward to the arrivals of his sister and cousin, and didn’t quite understand that they wouldn’t be able to play with him right away. He also didn’t realize they would be taking up quite a bit of the grown-ups’ time and energy, whereas before he was the one who got all the attention.

"Grand-pere...when Gen-vie an’ Travis gon’ be done?"

Pierre laughed heartily, as he always did when his grandson said something that like. It seemed to him that the boy thought of the babies as cooking in an oven, and being taken out when they were "done" cooking. It amused him to no end.

"Soon, little one, soon."

"Good. Dey takin’ a really long time."

Pierre was just glad he could be there to meet his newest grandchildren when they were born. He had gone to Remy and Bella Donna days after they moved into the tunnels, and explained his case to them. Both had willingly agreed to let him come back for good as long as he kept his promise to not have anything to do with being a thief, and stuck to being a father and grandfather...patriarch to his family.

For his own part, Pierre agreed willingly, and didn’t give being a thief even one thought. He was so happy that he was allowed to stay and wasn’t being kicked out of the city again that he would have agreed to do anything to be allowed to stay.

A couple of days later, Genard went to Pierre in the early morning hours and asked him to watch Jean-Michel for awhile. Singer was in the early stages of labor. Pierre agreed, and took the boy for an exploratory walk through the tunnels. Meanwhile, Danielle, who was designated the Guild healer after the death of Tante Mattie, went to assist her sister-in-law in the delivery.

After several hours, during which screams of pain and agony were heard coming from the main bedroom of the Alouette home, Singer brought her second child into the world and broke her husband’s hand in the process.

As Genard looked at his new baby daughter from his spot beside his wife, who was cradling the baby in her arms, Genard knew his broken hand was a small price to pay to get such a beautiful, perfect little person added to his life.

"She’s perfect..."

Singer smiled. "Yes, she is. Perfect an’ beautiful an’ amazin’. Our beautiful little Genevieve..."

Not even two weeks later, before the family had gotten used to having one crying newborn in the house, Danielle woke up in the early morning with the distinct impression of wetness. Her water had broken. She calmly woke up her partner and signed the information to her.

Grace did what they had planned weeks ago. She got up and went to get Mercy, who was the only other person in the Guild with experience in delivering babies.

Mercy returned with Grace and in only a few hours, they welcomed baby Travis into the world.

Danielle cradled her new son in her arms and looked at him adoringly. Her long-time dream had finally come true. All her life she had wanted to be a mother, and now she was. She had been afraid for quite awhile that it would never happen, but science was on their side. Travis was a perfect mix of her and her partner and judging from the look on Grace’s face, he was going to be doted on and spoiled by both his mothers.

He didn’t know how he managed to do it, but he kept his addiction a secret from everyone, including his wife, which surprised him. He knew that when Allie was attending university, she worked in a rehab clinic, so she would know the signs of addiction if anyone would. But she remained oblivious to it for weeks.

Allie was unaware that anything was wrong with her husband, but if she had known she would have been very alarmed. Sure, there were worse things he could be addicted to, but any drug addiction was a bad thing.

Emil was a logical man. He’d always had a rational brain in his head, and he used it even with his addiction. He actually read the directions on the bottles, at least at first. He would only take one or two pills at a time, and he’d space them four-to-six hours apart, like the directions said. But then his body started wanting more. So he took more. He upped the dosage to three, and then four pills, but still stayed within the four-to-six hour range.

At one point, a few weeks after he started taking the pills, somewhere in his mind he realized it was getting too bad. He was lying to people and sneaking around…something he’d never had to do around his family before. It bothered him. So he decided to quit, cold turkey, and swore he’d never take another pill again for as long as he lived. However, his body had other ideas. Not long after he made his decision, his body went into major withdrawal. He lay on the bed he shared with his wife, shaking, crying uncontrollably; he was in more pain than he’d ever been in his life. He resisted taking any pills, in spite of his body demanding that he take some. He was nearly unconscious when he mentally called to his wife, asking for help.

When Allie reached his side, Emil was unconscious. She had figured out from the things he’d said that he was addicted to pills and she knew what had to be done. She used her training from working in the rehab clinic and first of all woke him up, then talked to him about his addiction. He told her everything, the whole truth, without leaving a single thing out.

Allie explained to him that quitting cold turkey was not the way to go. Over the next few weeks, she helped him get off the pills by weaning him off them slowly, letting his body get used to having less and less and then none in its system.

"I jus’ have one question..." Emil asked her at one point during his rehab.

"What’s that?"

"My headaches aren’ gon’ go ‘way. How do I deal wit’ dem now if I can’ take pills?" Emil was honest and frank about his problem.

Allie smiled. "There are other ways to deal with things like headaches, Emil. I know acupuncture. That works quite effectively."

"So if I get a headache from now on you can help me?"

"Yes. I’d be glad to."

"Okay, thanks."

It was going to be a long, hard road, but Emil trusted Allie, and he knew with her by his side, he could accomplish his goal and remain drug-free for the rest of his life.

Emil wasn’t the only one dealing with addiction. Singer had been addicted to heroine for most of her life. She tried to quit three times and was only half successful. The first time she tried was when she met and fell in love with Genard. That unfortunately didn’t last very long. Both the second and third times lasted for nine months; the duration of her two pregnancies.

She wasn’t able to kick her habit entirely though, even though she really, really wanted to. She hated what it did to her, hated being an addict. She wanted to quit, for her sake and for the sake of her young family. But she realized now that she couldn’t do it on her own.

Genard went looking for his wife one day when she disappeared to take care of her habit. He had always thought she was just going for walks, but something told him he wasn’t right, and he followed her. He watched her shoot up and it nearly broke his heart. He loved her with all his heart and soul and hated to see her like that. He stepped in and spoke to her.

"Singer..."

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "I don’ wan’ do dis anymore..."

Genard sat down beside her. "How long have you been...?"

"Since I was sixteen. I tried to quit three times on my own an’ couldn’ do it. I need help. I have de inspiration...you an’ de children...but I need help. My body won’ let me quit for good..."

Genard didn’t know how to help her, so he mentally contacted his sister. Danielle suggested they replace heroine with something else, like candy or coffee.

"Instead of her shooting up when she gets a craving, get her to eat candy or drink coffee or something like that. It’ll be hard, but eventually the addiction will change to that, and being addicted to that kind of thing is a lot better than being addicted to something like heroine."

Genard used her advice and went to the store before his wife’s next craving. He returned with a huge bag full of candy sticks.

From that moment on, whenever Singer got a craving for heroine, she ate a candy stick. Within weeks, she was no longer addicted to heroine, although if they ran out of candy sticks, the world would end.

Not long after the Guild moved to the tunnels, the five remaining members of the Paris Thieves Guild, all of whom were related to the New Orleans Thieves in some way, arrived, needing a new place to live. Two of those who arrived were seven year old twins Aimee and Julien Potier. They were the last remaining people in Claude’s entire family around the world.

The twins were immediately drawn to their cousin Claude, and he was just as drawn to them. He loved them from the moment he met them and already had dreams of legally adopting them. One big thing was standing in the way though. The twins were afraid of Fifolet and didn’t include him in anything.

This hurt the assassin more than just about anything. He desperately wanted to be included in the family and felt like he was just in the way. Deep down he’d always been very sensitive, and hated killing. He only did it because it was his job.

He came to the conclusion that there was only one real way to see if it was him the children were afraid of, or his job. With that conclusion, he went to see Remy.

Remy was surprised to see Fifolet standing in the door of his office. "What can I do for you, Feef?"

Fifolet joined him. "I want to talk to you about somethin’..."

"Sure. What’s on your mind?"

He decided not to beat around the bush. "I’d like to retire. I’ve never really been happy as an assassin, and at this point in my life I don’t see the point to continuing to do something that doesn’t make me feel happy and fulfilled..."

Remy nodded his approval. "Okay. Consider it done. Whenever I pass around the jobs from now on, your name will be off de list."

"T’anks Remy. I really appreciate dis a lot."

"You’re quite welcome Fifolet." Remy smiled.

As he went to leave he turned back. "Oh an’ Rem? Can you call me Sebastien from now on?"

Remy smiled again as he looked up from the note he was making of this event. "Of course. Have a good night...Sebastien."

Sebastien smiled and left. "T’anks. You too."

He quickly went back to his home to find Claude and give his partner the news. He sincerely hoped his actions would help the children get over their fear of him and start to include him in their little family unit.

He found Claude working on a set of shelves for Aimee’s room. "Hey."

Claude looked up, smiling. "Hey, where’ve you been?"

Sebastien sat down on the bed. "I went to see Remy. I decided to do somethin’ I’ve been wantin’ to do for a very long time. I retired from bein’ an assassin."

Claude blinked in shock, a smile slowly growing over his face. "Oh wow, Feef, dat’s...wow. Um...congratulations?"

Sebastien laughed softly. "Yeah dat works. An’ it’s Sebastien now. Why use a code name when I’m not workin’ anymore?"

Claude nodded. "Makes sense to me. Sebastien it is. Might take awhile to get used to it, though. Should we tell de children de good news?" "Yeah. Dey’re de other reason I did it." Sebastien admitted.

And that was really all it took. The children had been more afraid of Sebastien’s job as an assassin, than of the man himself. Once he became a normal, regular man, they learned very quickly to open up to him and include him. They also learned a secret not too many people knew about him. The man made the best fudge in the whole world.

The advent of the Paris thieves on the New Orleans Guild was the best thing that could have happened, not just for Claude and Sebastien, but also for Zoë.

One of the five thieves from Paris was an Alouette cousin named Marcel. Marcel was lonely in his new home, and felt like he didn’t have anything in common with any of the others in the Guild, even his cousins.

It wasn’t long before Marcel found a new friend in Zoë, however. She was someone who understood how he felt; she had been an outside herself, when she arrived from Japan, and it had taken her awhile to fit in. She knew exactly how Marcel felt, and they quickly formed a close bond. They started spending a lot of time together and before either of them knew it they started to fall in love.

Neither of them could admit it at first, but the attraction they felt for each other got stronger as the days went by.

It was something that baffled both of them. They weren’t expecting it, but when love suddenly appeared in their lives, they embraced it full on, their happiness and radiance shining in their every movement and gesture. It soon became apparent to the entire Guild that the two very different and very similar thieves were madly in love with each other and everybody supported the relationship.

Several months into their relationship, on Valentine’s Day 2006, Marcel did something not even Zoë was expecting. He took her out for a romantic dinner at their favorite restaurant. He waited until their dessert was being served before he revealed his real purpose for taking her out that night.

"I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and one thing that has remained in the forefront of my mind is the fact that I love you with all my heart and I don’t want to spend another moment without you by my side." He began, pulling a small black jewelry box out of his pocket.

Zoë’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say a word; instead she let him say what he had to say before she responded.

"You are the most important person to me in this whole crazy family. You are my friend and my girlfriend...and I have a question to ask you now." As he said this, he got down on one knee by her on the floor of the restaurant, opening the box to reveal a beautiful diamond engagement ring. "Zoë Ishihara, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

A smile brighter than the sun lit up Zoë’s beautiful face. Only a few short months ago she was unhappy and lonely, but now she felt like she was on top of the world. "Yes!"

Marcel slipped the ring onto Zoë’s finger, got up, kissed her among the applause from the other diners and then sat back down so they could both enjoy their dessert.

They attended the wedding of Zoë and Marcel in the summer of 2006, and congratulated Emil and Allie on the arrival of their third child, Mattie, that same summer. Jean-Louis was a sounding board for his older brother, Theoren, who was having difficulties dealing with the arrival of his nearly-grown daughter, Kiara, who had shown up in New Orleans the previous fall to go to college. She had met her father for the first time and ended up moving in with the Guild in the tunnels after fighting with her mother over her desire to get to know Theoren.

Things were going quite well for Jean-Louis and Stefan for the most part. They had their home and enjoyed their life together.

However, in the early fall of 2006, Stefan fell ill. It wasn’t a normal illness either. He thought it was a bad strain of the flu, and went to see his family doctor, Dr. Samson. The doctor ran some tests and told Stefan he’d call him in a week with the results. Stefan wasn’t really that worried about it, since he figured it was just the flu, so he went home and didn’t worry Jean-Louis about any of it.

A week later, Stefan was home alone when the phone rang. He answered it on the second ring. "Hello?"

Dr. Samson was on the other end of the phone line. "Hello Stefan. This is Dr. Samson. I’m calling with your test results."

Stefan was suddenly nervous, and he didn’t know why. "Okay..."

"I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. It’s something you have to share with Jean-Louis immediately and you should both come in. He needs to be tested, and you at least need to be started on medication immediately. One of the tests I did was for HIV. And unfortunately, your test came back positive." Dr. Samson wasn’t one to mince words.

"Okay. We’ll come in later today. T’anks." Stefan sounded remarkably calm, but the second he hung up the phone, he collapsed on the floor in a heap, and sobbed uncontrollably.

He was still in that position when Jean-Louis returned home from the store half an hour later. He dropped the bags he was carrying and rushed to his partner’s side. "Stefan? What’s wrong? What is it?"

Stefan looked up at him, obviously heartbroken and miserable. "You know how I’ve been sick a lot lately? Well I went to see Dr. Samson. He did a bunch of tests an’…I don’ wan’ die..."

Jean-Louis didn’t quite understand. "I’m not sure I follow..."

In a voice barely above a whisper, Stefan admitted the truth. "I’m HIV positive. He wants us both to come in so I can get on medication and you can get tested."

Jean-Louis was stunned. He hugged his partner lovingly. "Okay, we’ll go now. An’ no matter what, I’m here for you an’ we’ll get t’rough dis. Together, we can do anythin’..."

Right around the same time, Emil was kidnapped. He was taken from the tunnels in the nighttime darkness and no one was any the wiser until morning, when his son went looking for him. The Guild was soon alerted to the fact that the empath was gone and they immediately started forming a plan to try and find him and bring him back safely.

Danielle got on the phone and called Jean Grey, one of the only X-Men who still considered herself an ally to the Guild. She hadn’t been around when her teammates attacked the Guild, or she would have done something about it before it got out of hand.

It took Jean quite awhile to locate Emil with her powers, because there was a powerful field surrounding him. She was quite alarmed when she realized what was going on. One of his kidnappers was a mutant with the ability to take Emil’s powers and project them very powerfully on everybody around the world, and that is just what he was doing. Millions of people all over the world were dropping like flies, clutching their heads in agony, screaming both mentally and aloud, as Emil’s powers were used against them. The kidnappers’ true goal was unclear, as far as Jean could tell, but as soon as she was able to locate where they had taken Emil, she sent the Guild there immediately. They didn’t have time to waste. Emil was dying.

Oddly enough, only one Guild family member was affected by the onslaught of Emil’s powers. Jean later concluded that part of the reason the ordeal hurt Emil so badly was because he was trying to protect the Guild in his mind at the same time his powers were being forcefully used by his kidnappers. The only one he was unable to protect was Danielle, who fell into a deep, near-death coma while the rest of the Guild was heading to Chicago to rescue Emil.

Of the Guild members who went to rescue Emil, Questa reached him first. Without thinking the assassin pulled out his gun and shot all three of Emil’s kidnappers in the head, killing them instantly. He went to Emil’s side and waited for the others to join them.

Emil was unconscious and barely breathing. There was nothing they could do except get him back home where he was safe.

Several long hours later, Henri finally got through to Emil mentally, and the younger thief woke up. He was emotionally and mentally traumatized and as a result of that, he was unable to speak either in his head or aloud. His mind literally shut down that part of itself, and he essentially forgot how to speak or express himself. He understood when people spoke to him, but he was unable to reply or even write down what he wanted to communicate to them.

Nor was he the only one of the Guild left scarred. Danielle’s mind and body shut down and she nearly died. It took Jean giving her part of the Phoenix Force to enable the young woman to survive the traumatic ordeal. However, even the Phoenix Force couldn’t help her entirely. Where Emil’s mind forgot how to speak or communicate, Danielle’s forgot how to walk. She tried several times to relearn how, to no avail, and in turn became severely depressed, cutting herself off from her partner and their toddler son, who didn’t understand what was wrong with his Mama, no matter how many times his Mommy explained it to him. Finally, with help from Grace and Travis, Danielle fully realized she might never walk again and resigned herself to it. She asked Claude if he could build her a wheelchair. He could and did, within one week. From then on, she got around using her chair, instead of dragging herself around on the floor. It was difficult for her, but less degrading than the dragging had been.

For his own part Emil was frustrated beyond words. He had always been someone who loved to talk, and being unable to do so hurt him deeply. It especially hurt that his youngest child, Mattie, who was learning how to talk, was going at a much faster level than he was. He felt like a baby and a burden to his family and it depressed him.

Henri, who was very concerned about his cousin, realized this and spoke to Allie about it.

"I t’ink bein’ here an’ seein’ how well Mattie’s doin’ is hard on him…frustratin’..." He said during one visit.

"Yeah...I’ve noticed that. But I didn’t know what to do about it."

Henri smiled. "I t’ink I have an answer. Emil could come an’ live wit’ me for awhile. I could be his teacher an’ therapist...we’d be alone in a quiet area of de tunnels where dere’d be no distractions or t’ings to really frustrate him. An’ we could move at his own speed, not anyone else’s."

Allie thought about that for a few moments and then nodded. "Okay. I think that’d be in his best interest and I want him to get better. I’m scared he won’t if he keeps being so frustrated and unhappy. He can go live with you until he’s better."

When told of the idea, Emil did the only thing he could do to communicate. He nodded. Then he hugged his wife and children and went with Henri to the latter’s home in another section of the tunnels.

It was around that time that the Guild families learned of two pregnancies. Emil had the ability with his powers to sense the presence of unborn babies almost from the moment they were conceived. One of the first things he did upon returning home, after spending some much-needed quality time with his wife and children, was visit the families in question and tell them they were expecting new additions.

Singer’s response upon learning she was expecting hers and Genard’s third child almost made Emil laugh. Even Allie hadn’t had the same reaction.

"Yes Singer, again. An’ you’re not de only one, either." Emil replied before he left them to deal with the news.

"Okay Genard dat’s it. We have to start usin’ protection. I t’ought we were finished..." Singer half-pouted. She was really very happy at this new development, but that didn’t mean she wanted to have more. She didn’t. Three was enough.

Genard was also thrilled and the smile on his face proved it. "Yeah, okay. Isn’ it great dat Emil’s okay?"

"Yes it is. I know you were all very worried about him."

"I wonder who else is pregnant..."

Down in another area of the tunnels, Emil was breaking the news to Remy and Bella Donna that they were going to be parents. The pair had decided several months prior to try a relationship again, and apparently things were working.

"I feel sick, Emil, what do you want?" Bel demanded.

"I know you do. An’ I know why." Emil replied coyly, smiling from the doorway of the bedroom she and Remy now shared.

Bel blinked at him from where she was lying, miserable, on the bed. "You...do...?" "Yes. You’re gon’ have a baby. She’s a feisty little one…it took me awhile to figure out who she b’longed to, but I got it. Congratulations."

Once Emil left, Bella Donna curled up on the bed, crying softly. She was terrified of becoming a mother. She never had one that she remembered, just Tante Mattie, and the thought of being mother to an innocent little baby scared her more than anything else in the whole world ever had.

Remy went to her side. He was thrilled at the news, but sensitive enough to Bel’s emotions to know she was apprehensive. "Bel what’s wrong?"

"I’m scared..." Bel admitted.

"Oh chere, I am too. But we’re gon’ do jus’ fine. I bet she’s gon’ be jus’ like you. An’ I know you’re gon’ make a wonderful mama. You’re wonderful at everythin’ you do."

Bella Donna nodded slowly. "You’re scared too?"

Remy laughed. "Of course I am! But I feel like we’re finally bein’ given a chance to do right by ourselves, de way we never could when we agreed to dat arranged marriage when we were teenagers. We’re older now. Wiser. An’ we can do anythin’. Look at how much we’ve done wit’ de Guild..."

"Dat’s true...Gris doesn’ threaten to kill Emil every two minutes..."

Remy laughed again. "Exactly. Don’ worry, okay, chere? We’ll be fine. An’ so will our little girl."

Bel smiled at him. "I trust you, Remy. I know you’re right."

Two days later Remy returned from a shopping trip and found his girlfriend sitting on a chair reading a book. "Hey."

Bel looked up and smiled. "Hey. Where’ve you been?"

"Shoppin’." He got a chair and pulled it over so he was sitting across from her before he continued. "Our relationship got screwed up on us…but it wasn’ our fault. You loved me an’ I loved you, but de world had other plans dat didn’ include us bein’ together. Not den. But now I t’ink t’ings are diff’rent. I t’ink we’re bein’ given a second chance to make t’ings work, especially since we found out we’re gon’ have a baby. I want to do what’s right…for us an’ for our daughter."

Remy pulled a small jewelry box out of his pocket and opened it, showing the contents to Bel. Inside the box was a beautiful, elaborate diamond engagement ring.

"Bella Donna, will you marry me...again?"

Bel blinked in shock. She had not been expecting this, especially so soon. "Yes!"

Remy’s eyes shined with happiness. He slid the ring onto Bel’s finger and kissed her deeply. He loved her with all his heart, and he loved their unborn daughter. Everything in that very moment made all the things they had gone through, good and bad, worth it to him.