Family Ties

**Angel:**

"And this is our room," I said, smiling at Antonia. She looked at Lowrence, and I couldn't help but smile when I saw that my son was still awake.

His eyes met mine before looking at Antonia.

"Hi, Antonia." Lowrence said, smiling at his older sister. I was grateful for how I raised my son. He knew how to be kind to everyone he met, and I knew it was something I highly valued, but I would have to teach him that it wouldn't be the same for everyone. There would come a time when he would have to stand firm, strong, and not trust or let everyone in.

But now that I was by his side, his shadow and armor, I knew I would be able to protect him.

"Hello," she said, and I smiled. I walked towards the bed where he was sitting, waiting for us.

"Antonia will sleep here tonight. Would you be willing to have her?" I asked, looking at Lowrence. His eyes sparkled, and I couldn't help but smile when I saw his calm expression as he looked at both of us.

"Are you okay, Antonia?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine. I had a bad dream," she said, and I frowned. I hated when children had bad dreams. It was something that Lowrence sometimes woke up from, and I often found myself worried when I saw it happening. His eyes met mine and I gave him a quick wink, silently signaling that I wasn't going to talk about it. I knew what it was like to be forced into something you didn't want. And she was a child; judging her for an impulse wasn't something I was going to do.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lowrence asked, and Antonia shook her head. Lowrence looked at me, and I nodded, silently telling him to drop the subject. I always explained to him that when someone didn't want to talk about something, we shouldn't interfere. Fortunately, that was a lesson he always kept in mind.

"Do you want to hear the story I was telling Lowrence? When he has trouble sleeping, which is tonight because he chose to eat too much sugar at dinner, I tell him a story. He falls asleep after a while." I said, and Lowrence laughed, making me smile.

"Okay," she said, and I nodded, asking her to get into bed. I had to admit, the desire to explain to them that they were siblings was something I really wanted. I didn't even know how they would process or digest it, if they would accept each other, or if they would see each other as competitors.

The number of thoughts in my mind was countless, but I knew to keep them to myself as I sat at the edge of the bed in front of them, opting to add it to a little story.

"Do you want me to start over? Or should I continue where I left off?" I asked, and Antonia looked at Lowrence, waiting for what he would say. It surprised me that the same girl who was upset at the ceremony was now sitting in front of me, waiting for permission. It showed that respect was earned and taught. She was approaching us the same way we approached her. And I was fortunate to know that I was doing a good job when it came to that part.

"We can start over, Mom. I know Antonia would want to hear the whole story." He said, and I smiled and nodded. I crossed my legs underneath me and looked at the two before beginning.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl running through the forest..."

"Antonia!" Haizel called out to her daughter, panting when she saw her. She waved to me, and I smiled, watching as she walked towards her mother.

"Good morning, Mom." She said, but Haizel didn't seem to care. She continued examining her as if she were hurt or in pain. I could even tell that the girl was irritated by this, despite being quiet now.

"Did they hurt you? Are you okay...?"

"I'm fine, Mom." She said, stopping her mother. She took a step back just as Dimitri cleared his throat. He entered the room before placing a hand on his daughter's head, running his fingers through her hair before kneeling to look at her.

"Morning." said Dimitri, looking pleased. I looked at the man for a second, and I couldn't help but notice his calm demeanor, a smile on his face, regardless of the fact that I could tell he was irritated last night. It annoyed me how well I knew the man, but after the years spent with him, I shouldn't expect anything different. "Did you enjoy your night?"

"Yes! Aunt Angel told a story to me and Lowrence. It was about a little boy who discovers he has an older sister. She also told how a girl united the two to become stronger." Said Antonia. Dimitri stood up and looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I looked away, wanting to step back to excuse myself.

I still needed to find a building to transfer my office to, and there was also the fact that I needed to find a suitable school for Lowrence.

"Did she?" asked Dimitri, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yes!" said Antonia, looking proud. "Then, in the morning, she waited for me to get ready so we could all go downstairs together. Can she keep doing this often? It was a lot of fun!"

Dimitri looked between me and Antonia for a second before looking at Haizel. He was proud, and I could tell he was happy.

"Well, I would say yes. But your mother needs you by her side, and she will be needing you to be there a bit more often now." said Dimitri, making me frown in confusion. Even Antonia didn't understand what was happening. I kept my eyes on the man, but instead of looking at his daughter as he said his last sentence, he looked at me.

"Your mother is pregnant, Antonia." He said, looking me in the eyes. "You're going to have a new brother or sister..."