No Greater Wonder

Title: No Greater Wonder
Author: FyreQueen89    
Game: Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and SWtOR(snippets of each)
Characters/Pairings: f!Smuggler/Corso, m!Shepard/Jack, f!Shepard/Kaidan, m!Cousland/f!Amell, and f!Hawke/Sebastian, variety of kid OCs
Disclaimer: BioWare owns all locales/worlds/established characters. All that's mine is the kids and the personalities of player characters. : )
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"The tickle monster's gonna get you!" The lighthearted threat echoed off the Angel's walls, followed almost immediately by a pair of high-pitched, shrieking giggles and the stampeding thumps of bare feet against metal floors. Shaking her head--but unable to resist a smile--Silver swung the engine maintenance hatch shut and crossed to lean against the doorframe, knowing exactly what was barreling in her direction.

It wasn't a terribly long wait before the first pint-sized Riggs rounded the curving hallway, shrieking with laughter as she risked a glance over her shoulder. "No! Bad tickle monstah!" She tripped, rolled in a blur of pink pajamas and dark hair, and clumsily scrambled to her feet as her sister came into view. Both girls were laughing so hard they could barely breathe as they dove for refuge behind their mother. Silver smirked when small, tan fingers clutched at her legs and waited for the best part--in her opinion--of the game.

Corso wasn't far behind the girls, pace fast enough to keep up, but slow enough he wouldn't actually catch them until it was time for the game to end. "I'm comin' to get you..." He grinned and wiggled his fingers in mock threat that made their daughters shriek once more and cling to Silver even more tightly.

"Save us, Mama!" Talia pleaded, dark eyes wide in the spitting image of what Silver had dubbed Corso's puppydog face.

"Yeah, no tickles!" Brynna seconded, blowing hair out of her face and clinging even more ferociously to her mother's boot.

"So, Mister Tickle Monster," Silver began dryly, fighting back a laugh. "I thought I told you to get these two ready for bed. That implies calming down. Not riling up."

Corso gave her that grin as he straightened, but at least had the decency to look a little sheepish. "But we were havin' fun. Weren't we?"

The girls giggled and nodded even as they hid further behind their mother.

"Well, if Mom says stop, we better stop..." he dropped his hands and turned away. Talia and Brynna began to edge out from behind Silver with small, shuffling steps. Corso waited a beat, then swung back around and snatched up Brynna, tickling her til she shrieked. "I gotcha, angel!"

"Daddy, stop!!" the redhead begged as she laughed. "Stop!"

Corso acquiesced, laughing as he boosted her around to sit on his shoulders. "Admit I won."

"You winned." Small fingers dug into his hair, clutching the loose dreadlocks to help keep her balance. "Now I wanna bedtime story. One 'a you and Mama's 'ventures."

"I'll see what I can do, darlin'," Corso promised, grasping her ankle with one hand and extending the other to Talia. "C'mon, sweetheart. Wish me luck, Sil."

"Good luck," she grinned, tucking away the image of her husband, barefoot and wearing just an undershirt and loose sleep pants, a redheaded four year old riding on his shoulders as he headed for the girls' cabin. "Don't take too long."

He turned and gave her a roguish grin. "Aye, aye, Captain."

It took him twenty minutes.

"That must be a new record," Silver teased as he climbed into bed with her. "I need to motivate you more often."

Corso laughed. "The tickle monster wore them out. They didn't even last all the way through the story." He leaned in to steal a kiss. "I knew what I was doin'."

"Mmhm, so I see," she chuckled. "Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that you're the father of my children?"

"Once or twice. Wouldn't hurt to hear it again," he hinted.

"Corso Riggs, I'm very-" kiss- "very-" kiss- "happy that you are the father of my children. You make an infinitely better tickle monster than I ever could."

Corso grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. "An' don't you forget it. Captain."

As the two of them snuggled in to go to sleep, Silver was certain she never would.

*O*O*O*O*O*

He'd thought rallying the Council races had been hard. It was nothing compared to parenting a trio of teenagers. When he muttered something to that effect in Jack's hearing, she needled him for a week about being hokey as hell.

Hokey or not, Charlie knew it was true. He'd rather headbutt a krogan than deal with Bonnie's attitude one more night. He'd rather dive back into the warzone that had been Menae during the Reaper Invasion than sit through one more parent-teacher meeting about the stunts Jay had pulled this week, and he definitely would rather relive the Cerberus coup than attempt to convince Audrey making eye contact was not, in fact, going to kill her. 

Still, for every moment that made him question the wisdom of him and Jack as foster parents, there was a snort of laughter as Bonnie tried to pretend his jokes weren't that funny, or a glint of excitement in Jay's eyes when they finally reassembled the Carnifax pistol he'd stripped down, or Audrey whooping in triumph when she beat him in the combat simulator after sixteen million tries. And when those moments shone through, it was enough. Hard as hell, yes. But a little hell kept life from getting boring. Giving these kids someone they could trust was worth a little hell, and he wouldn't have a prouder day in his life than when Bonnie first called him Dad. Hokey as hell? Yeah, maybe.

But it was true as hell, too.

*O*O*O*O*O*

"Em. Em. Emmy." Kaidan grinned as he nudged her with an elbow. "You're gonna miss the best part."

Emily's head snapped and she blinked owlishly at the flickering screen. "Thanks.  I wouldn't wanna miss this." She focused on the scene playing out in front of them, hand groping for the popcorn bowl balanced on Kaidan's lap. It didn't even take a whole minute for her to start nodding again, head lolling back against his shoulder. This time he let her sleep until the movie was done. As he shifted her sideways to a more comfortable sleeping position, Emily started awake again. "I'm sorry, Kaidan. I've been feelin' exhausted all day."

"I don't mind," he assured her with a smile, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Just... d'you think you should see a doctor? This is weird for you." 

Emily scoffed, teasing glint in her eyes. "But I'm Commander Shepard. I don't get sick. I'm invincible."

"Nah, it just seems like it sometimes," Kaidan teased back. "Please go. For me?"

"Oh, fine," she relented, scooting the popcorn bowl out of the way so she could sit in his lap. "If you're gonna play dirty."

"When it comes to keeping you healthy I absolutely will." He nuzzled in to steal another kiss before scooping her up and carrying her, laughing and protesting the whole way, to their room.

Fortunately, Emily's doctor had an opening the very next day. She insisted on going alone, and came back looking slightly shell-shocked but in good spirits. "I'm fine," she reported when he asked how it went. "Absolutely nothing wrong with me."

Kaidan toyed with pushing, asking her why she looked like she got hit by a truck if everything was fine, but didn't. Emily didn't keep secrets for petty reasons, if something was wrong, she would tell him. So he let it go, and that seemed to be the end of it. Until a few days later, Sunday, when his sleep-til-noon-on-weekends wife was up before him and made them breakfast in bed.

"What's this for?" he asked as Emily curled back up next to him.

She shrugged. "A girl can't just think her husband's a sweetheart and wanna show she appreciates it?"

Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "Emmy..."

"Eat your eggs before they get cold."

"Yes, ma'am." But as he reached for his fork to begin eating, the box caught his eye. It was small, not even the size of his fist. He quirked a curious look at Emily, who was attempting to look innocent around a mouthful of bacon.

"Yes, that's for you," she affirmed before he even opened his mouth.

"Now I'm intrigued." He picked up the small box and opened it, frowning in confusion as he pulled out a rattle, paper tag attached with string. And then he read what it said. Happy Father's Day, Daddy! We can't wait to meet you! Realization crashed over him hard enough Kaidan was pretty sure now he was the one who looked like he got hit by a truck. "Emily, you're..." He blinked when she nodded, glanced back at the note. "Wait-Wait a minute, we?"

Emily grinned as she confirmed, "Yep. Twins. That's why I've been tired; I've got two of 'em in there sharing my food. Sorry for sitting on the news, but I remember today was gonna be Father's Day, and it was too perfect to pass up-"

He kissed her. The rattle dropped with a clang against his plate as he moved his hand to rest against the slight curve of her belly, and then he blindly moved the whole thing to the bedside table so he could shift position to trail kisses down to where their children resided, emphatically placing the last one right above Emily's bellybutton before whispering, "Daddy can't wait to meet you, too."

*O*O*O*O*O*

It was hard being The Killjoy Parent, the one who stopped the shenanigans before they got to 'the fun part', the one who said no. But somebody had to do it if they wanted the Vigil to remain standing, and it certainly wasn't going to be Trinne. She had confessed--and shown--many, many times a weakness for Big Green Puppy-Eyes. A weakness Liam knew all too well how to exploit. So it fell to Harvey to be the bad guy who wouldn't let their younger son dribble grease on the bottom step--"That's too dangerous, Liam"--or build a 'fort' smack in the middle of the training yard--"I know the dummies make good sentries, but people need to use them"--or plot a spider-filled ambush for his mother--"Trust me, you don't want to do that"--or a million other things the boy concocted to wreak havoc on the keep's residents.

More than once, a sulky Liam retreated to his room, grumbling that his father was  a fun-ruiner who was only capable of saying no. But that wasn't true.

He usually said yes when the boys asked for a story--they weren't very long, and they definitely weren't as embellished as the ones they got from their mother, but he'd do it.

He usually said yes when they wanted to go exploring in the woods--even knowing it would mean grubby hands and mud all over.

He usually said yes when they begged for seconds at dinner.

And he always said yes when they asked if he loved them. Sometimes--a lot of the time, with Liam--love was saying no. Especially if what you were saying no to involved a boy who didn't know what he was getting himself into, a jar of spiders, and an arachnophobic mother.

*O*O*O*O*O*

There was no greater wonder, no higher joy, than the sight of his girls, and Sebastian knew that for a fact. When Astrid noticed him watching from the doorway, she smiled and gestured him closer with a tip of her head. He obeyed with alacrity, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed and ever so gently brushing his knuckles against their daughter's cheek.

"Still trying to wrap your head around the fact she's really here?" Astrid whispered, chuckling softly at the look on his face. 

"Aye," he admitted, glancing up from the sleeping infant to his still-exhausted wife. "She's just so... perfect."

Astrid smiled. "Holding her helps."

Sebastian frowned in concern. "Won't that wake her?"

"Probably not," she shrugged. "But if it does, you get to tell her you love her. You're not going to break her, Sebastian."

He chuckled sheepishly. "Am I that obvious?"

"Only to me," Astrid replied with a loving smile. "Now hold out your hands, love."

Sebastian did as he was told, and his wife carefully handed him the child. Their child. His and hers. This wonderful, glorious, beautiful human being was theirs. Calloused fingers snarled briefly on silky black hair as he cradled her head, and his breath caught in his chest as tiny fingers curled around his thumb.

"A-Astrid, darlin'," he murmured breathlessly, eyes fixed on their daughter's peacefully sleeping face. "I'm terribly sorry, but I do believe I'm in love with another lass."

She laughed. "I think I can forgive you. After all, I'm in love with her, too." She squeezed his arm and he looked  up at her. They shared the giddy smiles of brand new, first time parents, and then Sebastian looked back down.

She was staring at him. With dark, half-lidded eyes still heavy with sleep.

He smiled, kissed her forehead. "Hello, Eilidh. I'm your Da."