Hammers in the Shadows

Part One: Shadows and Ice - Chapter Six

"Anna, you know as well as I do that tonight we will be living in the Pride House and trying to fill your parents' shoes. They've done this for over two hundred years and we're not even a century old and they will be asking us to take over for them. I don't think that anyone can truly be ready for something like this, they simply do the best job that they are able with information and resources that they have on hand."

She nodded as the door to our bedroom opened and Sergey walked in with a tray with two steaming mugs of coffee on it. "Morning dad, mom." He said setting the tray down on the bedside table. "Most of the things have been moved already, just a few things left." He told us as he arranged a some clothes for both of us to wear, not that I really needed that detail to be taken care of since I'd long been used to selecting my own clothing. Though, under the circumstances I was more than willing to take Sergey's choices and run with them since both Anna and I had a lot more on our mind than simply choosing our clothing.

"Thank you, Sergey." I said sitting up in the bed and taking a sip of the coffee that he had made for me. For some reason, he could make a better cup of coffee than I'd ever made and I'd long learned to leave that detail to him since he did it so well. Even my occasional Tim Hortons double-double had nothing on a Sergey special.

Anna sighed happily as she took a sip of her coffee before Shawn and Kat came into the room and sat down in the easy chair in the corner, together. "Morning Pops, Moms." Kat said yawning slightly since she'd apparently just woken up.

"Morning Kat," I replied smiling at her and her brother before I beckoned them to us. Even though Kat was a teen now and Shawn would become one next year they still were affectionate loving cubs and I treasured every moment that I got to spend with them. Kat was growing like a weed and Shawn wasn't all that far behind her even though he was two years younger than she was.

As usual Shawn took his favourite place on left side and cuddled up with a soft grumble of happiness, "Thanks dad, you're the best," He said. There were times when his actions would lead any outsider to believe that he didn't mean that, but for those times there were other times like this when I knew, beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt that he meant it when he stated that he loved me completely, furthermore I could feel it across our personal bond as well as the pride bonds

Kat felt similar to her brother as she took her favourite place between Anna and I. "Thanks Pops." She said, in eleven years she'd never managed to call me dad, or Anna mom but we'd gotten used to that in her. Recently, while still at Wild Valley, she had told us the reason why she couldn't call Anna and I mom or dad. Even though it had been more than eleven years ago, she still had some memories of her birth parents and to call us by the same terms that she'd used for them would cause her some pain, though that pain was now muted by time.

"You're welcome pup," I replied giving her a gently rub on the tummy.

"Moms are these supposed to be sore?" Kat asked Anna, while softly rubbing her chest, she was developing into a young woman and I turned to look at Shawn while Kat and Anna talked over female issues.

"Dad, I miss Wild Valley." Shawn said softly, looking into my eyes, and I could see the pale gold in his eyes of his cat. "I miss my friends, I miss Paul, I miss how it all felt." He said, while hugging me.

I leaned over and picked up the handset from the bedside table and looked at Shawn, "Have you called your friends there yet since we got home?"

Shawn shook his head, "No I haven't daddy." He answered softly and I nudged his shoulder and remembered that Paul had given me his number in case Shawn forgot it.

I quickly punched the number into the handset before I handed the phone to Shawn. "Then now is the time Shawn. If he really is a friend of yours, you should have called him." I told him before a voice came onto the handset.