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Tally stood on the porch for a moment and cast her knowing through the house. Sarah's wards pressed back a little but felt warm and welcoming to Tally's talent. Sarah and Peg were at the kitchen table and Peg felt like she was very intent while Sarah felt amused and happy. Eon was asleep in a pack-n-play in the guest room Tally had taken for the week. She breathed a sigh of relief that Sarah had been able to get the baby to sleep, hopefully without too much crying from baby or friend. She smiled at the thought. Sarah was wonderful with children and babies but putting someone else's infant to bed was rarely a smooth process.
After quickly motioning a sigil on the door, Tally eased it open and came inside, heading toward the kitchen. "Aunt Tally!" Peg jumped down from her chair and ran across the floor, slamming into Tally's midsection.
The redhead absorbed the contact and swung her niece up and onto her hip, wiping a few crumbs from her upper lip. "Grammy gave you oreos I see."
Peg climbed down and jumped back into her seat at the table. "With milk," she said, taking another sip from her glass.
Tally smiled at both residents of the room. "Eon went to bed easily?"
Sarah laughed. "I wouldn't say easily but no one drew blood."
"She screamed when Grammy changed her stinky diaper and put on her pajamas!" Peggy shouted.
Tally crossed to brush her fingertips along Sarah's shoulder. "Well thank you. You missed quite the double Bachelorette party."
Sarah laughed. "Oh...I'm sure I did. I'm surprised you're back so soon."
Tally shrugged. "I only had two drinks but I need to pump and dump. Raelle and Scylla and Abigail and everyone else have had quite a bit more and weren't slowing down anytime soon." Sarah nodded as Tally motioned to the stairs, "speaking of which, I think I'll go do that and change into some comfys."
Peg nodded. "You should color with us when you get back, Aunt Tally."
Tally smiled at the five year old. "I'd love to." She looked at the clock on the stove top. "Maybe you and Grammy should brush teeth and get into pajamas while I get ready. Tomorrow is a big day."
"My mamas are getting married!" Peggy shouted. "and I'm going to throw flowers!"
Tally laughed. "How many oreos did you give her?" She giggled and left the room before Sarah she could huff her indignation.
"I didn't hear you volunteer to baby sit...," Sarah playfully called up the stairs.
Tally checked first on Eon seeing the seven month old in the portable crib holding her blue stuffed puppy. Sarah had been kicked out of the birthing room by Raelle and the head Fixer for being "insufferable and commanding." According to Adil, she had paced the halls like Eon would be the first witch ever born on base. Or anywhere. The moment she was allowed back in to see the infant, she had kissed exhausted mother and baby on their foreheads and handed the puppy to the sleeping newborn. Pupster went everywhere with Tally and Eon.
As she changed and pumped, Tally could hear Sarah bathing Peg - letting the child play while they sang together. By the time Tally got back to the kitchen, Peg and Sarah were at the table, Peg coloring once again.
Tally again brushed her fingertips over Sarah's arm as she sat next to Peg and began to look through the papers. In the first, 2 blobbish figures in big dresses stood under an arch of flowers. Next to them stood a redheaded blob and various other blobs in addition to a smaller blob with a pink dress and handful of flowers. "With a drawing like this, your mamas won't even need the photographer tomorrow."
"No," Peg disagreed. "Grammy wants it for her refrigerator. And this one." She pushed the second paper toward Tally, obviously a drawing of Abigail and Adil's handfasting.
Tally smiled as she looked at the drawing Peg was currently working on. She was easily identifiable in a big white dress with her red hair, especially as she was holding a baby with equally red hair. The rest of the cast of characters in the fictional scene were reasonably easy to identify. But next to Tally under the flowers were an empty pair of black boots.
"Am I marrying someone invisible?"
Peg scowled at her aunt as she pulled the drawing back toward her. "Of course not." She turned to Sarah. "Would you wear your blue suit with all the pins or a big dress like mamas?"
"My... My uniform do you mean? My dress blues?" Sarah looked puzzled.
Peg nodded as Tally glanced at Sarah. Was she amused? Excited? Appalled?
Sarah looked from Peg to Tally with a smile. "Maybe we should ask the bride."
That smile... Tally felt like she could melt from it. Again.
Goddess. Sarah's smile and her bright eyes had power over Tally. She'd been worried a year and a half ago when she told Sarah her intentions for Beltane. Raelle already had a three year old and Tally wasn't getting any younger. The Imperatrix presented Tally with a short list of names and awkward as it would be, Tally asked her closest friend and sometimes lover her opinion of those choices. Sarah had excused herself from the room for a few minutes, returned with a glass of whiskey, and given a thorough appraisal of each candidate as she would have job candidates or officers up for promotion. While Tally refused the High Atlantic three father system, she acknowledged Eon's paternity and arranged visits with he and his family.
After a first trimester filled with morning sickness and attempted remedy after remedy, the second trimester and first half of the third hit the redhead with an overwhelming sexual appetite. Sarah had been more then happy, more than elated, more than satisfied, to attempt to sate said appetite. Now Tally wasn't sure of the status of their relationship. Neither she nor Sarah seemed eager to define things and Tally's current assignment in Europe combined with her newborn related exhaustion didn't lend itself to clarity. Of course, they weren't usually prompted by a kindergartner to make wedding plans.
"I love the uniform," Tally breathed. "You were wearing it when you welcomed us to Fort Salem. My childhood hero in the flesh." She brushed her hand on Sarah's thigh under the table, feeling a tensing of her muscles. Tally turned to Peg. "But... Sweetie. You know Grammy and I aren't... We're not like your moms or Abidil. Right?"
Peg tilted her head, said, "yes you are," and grabbed the blue crayon to start drawing Sarah's uniform.
Sarah smiled at Tally then leaned closer to the five year old. "Sweetie. Your moms are committed to each other as a couple. They love each other and have built a life and family together. Abidil are the same but without a child yet."
Peg finished Sarah's uniform and grabbed a green and a red crayon to start scribbling about a hundred ribbons on her chest. "Duh!" she said with all the sarcasm someone so young could throw. "You both love each other and you started your family with baby Eon. You just haven't figured it out yet."
And without losing a beat she slid from the chair and demanded help putting the three drawings on Sarah's gleaming refrigerator. "Can you both put me to bed so we can sing the sleeping song?"
Sarah extended her arms and picked up the child and kissed her on the cheek. "Of course." She extended her free hand to pull a blushing Tally from the table. The trio ascended the stairs and once Peg had used the bathroom and washed her hands, Sarah and Tally tucked her in and sang her "bedtime song."
As they left the room and pulled the door mostly closed, Sarah reached for Tally's hand, pulling the redhead against her and kissing her deeply. "I know you are tired. Do you want to sleep in the guest room with Eon or ... do you think I might interest you in a little quality time?"
Tally kissed her back, resting her hand against her cheek. "Mmm, quality time, Sarah." She yawned as she spoke and laughed lightly. "Let me get the baby monitor and I'll meet you in your room?" Sarah kissed her again and nodded. Tally checked on Eon and picked up the monitor, making sure it was broadcasting well and bringing it with to set it on the bedside table. Sarah had lit a candle before going into the bathroom. Tally could feel the work lingering in the space. Sarah's work. Powerful and secure and steady and strong and loving and peaceful. The redhead leaned her head against the headboard and closed her eyes to absorb the energy.
She awoke sometime later. No candles were lit but she could hear Sarah humming and singing quietly. Tally rolled over to find her lover's side of the bed empty and realized the sound was coming from the baby monitor. "Eon... is never a peon. Holding her makes me get my glee-on. That one was a stretch wasn't it, love?" she continued to sing quietly and Tally could hear fussing but not outright crying from the baby. "We'll never find a rhyme for your middle name, my baby girl. That's ok. I couldn't find a rhyme for it 40 years ago either." Tally considered getting up to see if Sarah needed her but lay back in the bed listening for a few minutes as Sarah sang nonsense songs and stories to the baby, rhyming maven with Craven but as she predicted, not finding a rhyme for Anacostia.
Tally considered getting up to join them but didn't want to disturb the peace that Sarah was clearly gaining as Eon's fussing became less pronounced and after a few minutes the baby went silent and Tally could tell Sarah laid her in the temporary crib and patted her back before returning.
The former general clearly didn't realize Tally was awake and slid quietly between the sheets on her side of the bed, reaching a hand to gently caress the redhead's arm. She didn't jolt as Tally's hand closed around her own and pulled it across the bed to rest Sarah's fingertips on her stomach just at the waistband of her sleep shorts. Tally leaned close to Sarah's ear as she whispered, "have I ever told you how sexy it is when you sing?"
"Mmm... Is that so?" Sarah slid her fingers under the waist of Tally's shorts and along the edge of her sex, feeling her wetness. "You certainly seem to have ..." was as far as she got as Tally flipped onto Sarah and pressed their mouths together, grinding against her leg. Sarah's other hand went to Tally's hip, pulling the redhead closer as she began to grind on her tensed leg. She slid a first finger into Tally's sex just as the redhead moved her hand to Sarah's breast, caressing and then pinching the nipple. In only a few minutes Tally could feel herself nearing an orgasm and knew Sarah would be as wet as she was. She pulled away, sliding her hand under her lover's sleep gown.
"I've missed you, sweetheart," she whispered as she slid a finger and then two inside the dark haired woman. "I want to come with you." Sarah arched her back and whimpered her agreement even as she resumed her motions with her hand to bring Tally to the edge. "I can... I ... soon... just let ... " Tally was a whimpering mess, knowing she was soaking Sarah's hand as she bent to take her nipple in her mouth and sucked hard. "Fuck, Tally... I need... are you ..."
"Yes," The redhead whispered before reattaching her mouth to Sarah's other nipple. "Now, baby... oh... Goddess..." She came as she felt Sarah tightening around her fingers as well. After a little while, Tally lifted herself off Sarah's fingers and fell weakly to her side and off of the older woman. "Wow...I mean... wow."
"Seconded," Sarah breathed. "You were asleep by the time I was ready for bed and I wanted to let you rest."
"You did," Tally smiled.
Sarah rolled toward the redhead. "If you feel rested, I had some other ideas of ways to welcome you to the states..."
Tally smiled as she pulled Sarah closer. "That sounds very intriguing..."
--
After not very much sleep, the witches had been woken early by the children. They all managed to arrive at base clean, fed, and carrying all their clothes for the ceremony and reception. Peg ran over to hug her moms and shout all about her time with Sarah and Eon and Tally smirked at the look on Raelle, Scylla, and Abigail's faces showing just how much too much they had had to drink. Adil and Anacostia didn't look much better and all of them sported large cups of coffee. "You'd think a fixer as powerful as Raelle could help them all out, wouldn't you?" Sarah whispered.
Tally smirked. "She refuses to work on them until another Fixer helps her hangover."
Sarah shrugged. "If that's her hill, let them all be sick on it I guess." They approached the group and visited for a few minutes. The brides, Bellweather unit, and Anacosta were using the large dressing room to get ready. As they started to walk toward the area Sarah reached for Tally's hand. "Why don't you let me hold Eon while you dress?"
The redhead looked at her watch. "Actually I need to feed her before I put on this beautiful but not breast-feeding friendly dress."
Sarah nodded, "Ok. Let me know." She looked around. "I'll go say hello to people."
Abigail watched Sarah go with a smirk. "Yeah, Tally. You can give your girlfriend the baby after you feed Eon."
Scylla joined in. "Right. She'll be happy to watch any kids you spit out."
"She's not my girlfriend, guys!" Tally shoved playfully at Scylla who was closest of the group.
Anacostia nodded. "Yeah guys. Let's not harass Tally. I mean I'm sure that when she left us early last evening she just checked on the kids and went instantly to sleep."
Abigail took another turn. "In her own bed in the guest room. No doubt."
"Yeah. She looks super well rested," Raelle said, "and I totally can't see a hickey on her collarbone."
Tally's hand flew up to the neck of her shirt almost involuntarily. "I don't... " She shook her head. "You ass." She looked between the two brides. "And anyway, what happened with that girl you two were eyeing across the bar last night? The 'last fling before vows girl'?"
Anacostia laughed loudly and stage whispered. "These two 'went to get drinks' 'with last fling before vows girl' for 45 minutes and showed back up wearing each other's shirts."
Tally laughed loudly, startling Eon. "It's ok baby. Your aunts had extra fun at their bachelorette party last night."
--
The wedding was beautiful and both brides glowed as did Peg who was a very enthusiastic flower girl. Eon slept in Sarah's lap throughout the ceremony and Tally took her back after the recession. Edwin and Anacostia and M all made lovely toasts and the good food and open bar had everyone moving from table to table to visit. Tally enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones but Eon was clearly getting restless.
Sarah found the red-haired mother and baby on a large sheet Tally had pulled from the diaper bag to spread in the grass in the gardens. "I wondered where you had gotten to."
Tally smiled up at the other woman. "She needed a break from being held and talked at," she reached out her finger to the baby to grab at as Eon pushed up onto hands and knees to rock back and forth.
Sarah flopped onto her stomach next to Tally. "Are you sure that it wasn't you who needed a break?" Before Tally could answer, Sarah added, "she's so close to crawling."
Tally sighed. "I know she'll crawl next week and then suddenly she'll ride a bike and drive and have kids of her own..." She laid her head on Sarah's arm.
Sarah laughed and patted Tally's head. "I think you have some time."
The former general shifted to sit on the blanket, shifting Pupster closer to the the baby. "So... I was chatting with people earlier and Petra said your assignment will be complete in less than a month."
Tally shifted as well, pulling Eon into her lap to offer her some milk while nodding. "I should be done in about three weeks."
Sarah reached out and picked up Pupster as she casually suggested, "I was thinking that if you don't have a different plan, maybe the two of you could move in with me."
"That's a sweet offer, Sarah," Tally smiled. "I would hate to impose though."
Sarah frowned and continued playing with the stuffed animal. "I was the commander of our forces for over 300 years..."
Tally laughed as Eon released her suction, milk drunk, letting Tally burp her and then hold her as she quickly began to sleep. "I think you do ok."
Sarah huffed. "Verger and Petra have informed me that we are 'fwbs.' Apparently it's a relationship status in which..."
Tally cut her off with a laugh and a hand on her knee. "I know what friends with benefits are, Sarah."
Sarah took a breath. "I really enjoyed the ceremony today."
Tally could see that Sarah was working herself up to say something important and she suspected or maybe hoped she knew what it was. "Me too." She chuckled. "The flower girl was the star of the show."
Sarah nodded. "Yes. I don't remember a flower girl ever taking a bow before."
"I hope the photographer got a good shot of that." Tally laid Eon on the blanket to her side and pulled a blanket from the diaper bag to lay over the baby as she patted her for a few moments.
"That part was wonderful but I was thinking about when Petra spoke about how long Raelle and Scylla have been together and how long and strong their love has had to be. And that a love like that should be honored and cherished above anything else in the world." Sarah looked over at Tally who waited for her to continue speaking. "I heard a county song once where the little boy passed the girl a note that asked do you love me, check yes or no."
"Simple," Tally commented.
The former General reached for Tally's hands and rubbed her thumb gently over the backs. "I don't have a piece of paper but I would pass you a note with a series of check boxes: would you go out with me? Be my girlfriend? Move in with me? Marry me? Start a family?" She whispered the last, "Do you love me?" She looked up and into Tally's eyes. "Because I love you and I would check yes for every box and double for loving you."
Tally leaned in to kiss the General, swiping her tongue over her lips before sitting back. "Check. Check. Check. Check. Check. Double check." she kissed her again. "I love you, Sarah Alder."
"Good." Sarah leaned in for another kiss. "I guess Peg was right."