It was close to ten-thirty by the time we got to the mall, which meant that we had roughly five hours to get Selina all of the necessities and for me to try and sneak in some ninja-shopping for her birthday gift and a few things for Christmas. That last part was actually surprisingly easy. Mom had decided that since Selina’s hair was a bit of an uneven mess from her time living on the streets and then ‘Manifesting’ that our first stop should be at Shear Bliss to get my new daughter a haircut.

I suggested to Mom that Selina get the whole experience by getting her nails done as well and maybe her ears pierced too and paid Heather for everything upfront. It would give me a little extra time to do what I needed to, I had noticed that Selina’s ears weren’t pierced yet, and I doubted that she had ever had the opportunity to get a manicure or pedicure. Selina looked like she was in a dream and afraid that she would wake up as we discussed it after briefly giving Heather the ‘official’ story about my new daughter.

Once Selina was in Heather’s capable hands with her glamour temporarily dropped in the privacy of the salon and the Glaistig was fussing over the ‘poor wee lass’, I was able to slip away with Annika by my side to grab what I wanted. It was a good thing that I knew what I was looking for since I expected that we would only have an hour and a half or so for my bit of secret shopping before we were supposed to meet Mom, Aunt Merry, and Selina at the food court once Heather was done with the Astrae. The stores that I needed to go to thankfully weren’t that far apart and with a very intimidating Amazon at my side glaring at anyone who tried to get too close, we were able to get the gifts fairly quickly.

For Jessica’s Christmas gift, I got a gold locket that would go well with the charm bracelet that Dad had gotten her for our birthday. It was one of those lockets that you could open up and place a picture inside and I was hoping that we could get a good picture of us together in twin-mode for that. I also saw a pair of delicate drop earrings with butterflies at the ends made from gold and tiny blue rhinestones that I thought would be nice for Selina’s birthday gift. They were nothing too amazing but they would suit my new daughter and I thought that her first earrings other than the starter studs should be from me. I had something else planned for her Christmas gift and planned to get that later on in the shopping trip.

As for Melody’s Christmas gift, I talked to someone at the bookstore a few stores down and was able to get something that would hopefully make my girlfriend happy. I got her a beyond-the-basics package that would help her to expand her skills with Cantonese. It included both audio and visual lessons and an English-Cantonese dictionary.

Melody had mentioned wanting to learn more even though she was technically bilingual already and the salesperson said that the beyond-the-basics pack would be good for that. They were meant for people like Melody who had a good grasp of the language for everyday use but wanted to learn more. It also gave some background on the history of the language, which I thought she would like.

After the bookstore, Annika and I made our way to an electronics store as the Amazon and I talked about what kinds of things Selina might need beyond just clothes and other basic items. I liked Annika, she was a bit gruff and serious, but only because she took my safety very seriously and was trying to stay alert for danger. Still, she and my Aunt Merry seemed to be good friends and she had a few interesting stories to tell about some of their misadventures.

The electronics store was mostly for me since I had been wanting to get my laptop replaced and hadn’t had the chance until now. I did make the salesman very happy though since not only did he literally beat out two other guys in a race to serve me but also scored a hefty commission. I got the new laptop that I wanted as well as a pair of nice tablets and a fairly basic smartphone. The phone and one of the tablets were for Selina since Annika and I figured that she would need a phone and the tablet was going to be her Christmas gift.

I wasn’t going to bother trying to wrap gifts myself and make a mess of them like I usually did so we stopped off at a gift wrapping station for that. Thankfully they were much better at it than I would have been, not to mention quicker. We had actually done the same when Melody, Jess, and I went on our Christmas shopping date with Rose and it may have been a bit of an extra cost but the proceeds went to charity, they did a much better job than I would have, and it saved us from people accidentally catching a look at their gifts while I procrastinated on wrapping them myself. Besides, I needed the birthday gift wrapped before we got home.

Somehow we had managed to get to the food court before the others but we didn’t have to wait very long before Mom, Aunt Merry, and Selina joined us. I couldn’t really see any difference in the latter with her glamour on, except for the studs in her ears and evened-out hair, but she was smiling and seemingly happy and that was the important thing. Still, I asked, “What did you think of your first trip to Shear Bliss, Selina?”

“It was amazing, M… Crystal,” she started to gush before quickly correcting herself and looking at the floor. “Are… you sure it was okay? It was probably kinda expensive.”

“If it made you feel better about yourself then it was worth it,” I replied, cupping her chin and raising it so I could look her in the eyes. “I have a good nest egg in the bank right now and doing a few nice things for you and getting you some clothes and all the things that a girl your age should have isn’t going to do too much damage to that. You’re my responsibility and I want you to be happy, that will make me happy. Now let’s eat some lunch so we can do some shopping for you.”

We had a quick lunch of sushi before getting to the serious shopping. I had never had sushi before and neither had Selina but Mom and Aunt Merry convinced us to try it. Yeah, it’s a little weird for someone who grew up in Vancouver to never have tried sushi before, but I was never really the adventurous type before. Now my whole life is one big and strange adventure so eating something new and unfamiliar was fairly tame by comparison. Who would have guessed, but I actually really liked it and so did Selina. Maybe it’s a Fey thing, I figured that I’d have to get Jess to try it and see what she thinks.

After lunch, we only had three hours to get Selina enough clothes to last a while plus all of the other necessities, so things were a bit rushed. Selina didn’t really speak much unless we were in one of the stores for Paranormals and I guessed that that was because she didn’t want to slip up and call me Momma by mistake. We visited many of the same stores that Rhissa had taken me, Melody, and Jessica to on our big shopping trip and thankfully most of them were on friendly terms with my mom and eager to help when Mom explained to them about her new granddaughter’s clothing situation.

Mom took charge at the drugstore, quickly filling our cart with the various personal care and feminine hygiene products that Selina would need. I was glad she did since I was still learning about all of that stuff and wouldn’t have been sure what to get other than basics like a toothbrush and toothpaste, let alone what was safe for us Fey. Thanks to Jess, I had a better idea about all that than when I had first Manifested, but I couldn’t remember half of the brand names that she had bought for me, let alone what products they were attached to.

Just like the first big shopping trip, we finished up by stopping at Rabbit’s Foot. It seemed that they didn’t have any customers at the moment because Rose and her aunt jumped on us almost as soon as we were in the door. “Tiff! It’s good to see you again, and you somehow managed to get Merry and Annika to join you on a shopping trip, what brought on this miracle?” Sandra teased. “Hello, Crystal, it’s good to see you again so soon, as well.”

“Tiff and Crystal both have a knack for finding trouble, I think it might be genetic,” Annika said in a teasing tone of her own, making both me and my mom blush. “Merry and I felt better accompanying them on this trip to keep them safe, you never know when there could be Snatchers or worse about.”

Sandra nodded, a serious look passing over her pretty face. “Sad, but true. I’m not going to stop worrying about Rose here going out on her own until she’s good enough at shapeshifting to completely hide her non-human features. Maybe not even then, Snatchers have been known to go after particularly pretty normie girls too, after all. Regardless, it’s good to see all of you again. Rose, I’d like you to meet Merriwynd, Annika, and Crystal’s mother, Tiffani. Oh! And who is this?” The last was asked as she caught sight of Selina half-hiding behind me.

“This is my new granddaughter, Selina. Selina, this is Sandra and her niece Rose,” my mother offered by way of introduction.

“Granddaughter? Surely she’s not…” Sandra started to say, her eyes settling on me and the girl peeking out nervously from behind me.

“It’s… umm… complicated, but yeah. The PDA put her in Mom’s care until I’m officially eighteen though.” I replied with another blush before pulling Selina out from behind me. “Selina, it’s okay. Sandy and Rose are really nice, well Rose is once you get to know her anyway. She’s sorta a friend and she and your Aunt Jess are… close.” Wow, the relationships in my life are complicated and hard to explain.

You could see the family resemblance between Rose and Sandra as Rose gave me the same look that her aunt gave my mom. A look that said, “You’re giving me the whole story, ASAP.” Rose followed it with a lifted eyebrow as she smiled and said, “I thought that Jess was pulling my chain when she started talking about a new niece yesterday, I didn’t think you and Mel were that serious yet.”

I didn’t think my face could go a brighter red but I was to be surprised as I stammered, “Well… I…. we… ummm…”

“OMG! Okay, you’re totally giving me all the deets on both that and your new ‘daughter’ as soon as we all get together again,” Rose said with a predatory glint in her eye. Damn, I was glad the murder-bunny was at least on our side now. The gleam left her eye though as she turned to my daughter and offered surprisingly gently. “I’m gonna guess that this isn’t just a social visit though, so why don’t you tell me what kinds of shoes you need and we’ll get you hooked up.”

Rose was as good as her word. By that time, we only had about fifteen minutes before we would have to leave for home but she quickly got Selina’s size and then helped us to find her some sneakers, winter boots, and four other pairs of shoes for different occasions and styles in record time. I did ask her quietly about coming to celebrate Selina’s birthday with us while the Astrae was busy trying on a pair of canvas sneakers similar to the ones I had bought the other day, but Rose wasn’t getting off work until dinner time.

Selina had gone to wait outside the store with Mom and our bodyguards while I paid for her new footwear when Rose slipped me a fifty-dollar gift certificate for the store along with my receipt. “I talked to Aunt Sandy really quick while we looked for the ballet flats in Selina’s size. Tell her happy birthday for us, Elsa,” she teased with a wink.

“Thanks, Rose. You’re not bad, for a murder-bunny,” I shot back before giving her an only slightly awkward half-hug and heading out to join the others so we could head home.

On the way back to the club I gave Selina her new phone and helped her to get it set up and program the number for the club as well as Mom’s number, mine, Jessica’s, Melody’s, and Carmen’s to get her started. At first, she looked at the phone in disbelief, excited but almost like she was afraid that it was going to bite her. She had never had one of her own before and, while she knew the basics, I had to give her an introduction to the various features and programs. I also laid down the ground rules regarding the phone and explained her phone service plan and that she should plug the charger in beside her bed so she could charge it every night so she wouldn’t run out of juice.

We arrived home minutes before the club was due to open. Mom, Annika, and Aunt Merry poured out of the elevator to get to their positions for work as soon as the doors opened on the first floor while Selina and I rode up to the third-floor common room overloaded with bags. We were both a bit tired from all of our running around at the mall but Selina seemed happy and it was nice to see her smiling. I just hoped that everyone had been able to set things up in time for the party so we could give her something to really smile about.

As soon as we stepped out of the elevator a chorus of voices called out, “Surprise! Happy birthday, Selina!” Dr. Diaz, Jack, Jill, Aislinn, Cindy, Carmen, Melody, Jess, Lou, and Sorcha were all sitting there at the tables with a huge cake with pink icing, lavender butterflies, and ‘Happy Birthday Selina’ written across it. Poor Selina burst into tears and I had to take a few minutes calming her down. “B…but Momma… it’s not…” she said between sniffles as I held her.

“No, it’s not,” I agreed as I brushed her hair out of her eyes. “You were born two days ago, but it was a bit of a surprise so we couldn’t really throw you a party then, could we? I know that this is probably a bit much for you right now, but we all just wanted to show you that you have a family that loves you for who you are now, so this is only the first of many other birthday parties and other family celebrations that you’re going to be a part of.”

I guided her to the table with the cake on it and sat her down and she just sat there with wide teary eyes for a few minutes as she took it all in. There were pink and lavender streamers and balloons all over the common room and a big happy birthday banner with pink letters. The tables had been covered with Disney Princess-themed tablecloths, paper plates, and paper cups that looked like they may have been from Sorcha’s last birthday party. Aside from the massive chocolate cake, there were also four extra-large pizzas that looked fresh out of the oven; two vegetarians, one meat-lovers, and one seafood. Brock and Cindy had outdone themselves.

Sadly, not everyone could stay for the whole party. Cindy had to get back down to the kitchen now that the club was open but she was happy that she had gotten to see the look on Selina’s face. Aislinn, Jack, and Jill had to finish up cleaning the dorm rooms and a few other things, but they offered to take Selina’s things from the shopping trip to her room so she would be saved a trip when she should be enjoying her party. Everyone else would be staying though, and at least the four of them had managed to stay long enough to sing happy birthday and have a piece of cake with us.

Yeah, we ate cake before dinner but since this was Selina’s first birthday with us we all figured that it would be okay this once. The pizzas were amazing; I never knew that the club even had them on the menu but we all really enjoyed them. I managed to try a slice of each type, though I mostly stuck to the veggie and seafood ones since I can’t eat much meat. Finally, after we were all comfortably full from dinner, it was time for Selina to open her gifts.

She had been floored by the surprise of having a birthday party but the fact that people had cared enough to get her gifts when she’d only been with us less than two days had Selina in tears again. We had to give her enough time to calm down and she got super-huggy with me as I reassured her that this was real and not a dream, but soon we got to the gifts. We started with my gift and she carefully removed the paper and ribbons as if afraid to damage them. “It’s okay to just tear it off,” Lou attempted to assure her.

“Y-yeah, but this… this is my first… I wanna keep the wrapping to remember it,” Selina managed to get out between happy and tearful sniffles. When she had finally managed to unwrap the gift without damaging anything she set the wrapping aside and opened the small jewelry box to reveal the earrings and let out a gasp. “They’re so pretty, Momma.”

“Well, since you got your ears pierced today, I thought that you should have something nice to wear in them,” I offered as she closed the box and clutched it tightly as she glomped me.

Things went a bit faster after that as she eagerly tore open the remaining gifts with everyone’s encouragement to see what was inside. It was so nice seeing her starting to relax and feeling comfortable with everyone as things progressed. Aside from the gift certificate from Rose and Sandy, Selina had gotten gift cards for some of the stores was had gone to earlier from Mom, Annika, and Aunt Merry as well.

She also got a pair of stuffed animals for her room because every girl needs at least one, or at least that was what Jess told her. My sister had gotten her a white stuffed rabbit and Lou had gotten her a stuffed wolf. They were both a little on the nose but Selina seemed to appreciate that. I half-expected little Sorcha to have gotten her a stuffed white seal as the Selkie bounced with excitement and watched Selina open her gift.

It wasn’t a seal stuffy but it was a bit on the nose as well, just it was Selina’s nose this time. It was a Monster High doll called Luna Mothews along with various accessories and clothes. “I gotted you a dolly of your own so we can keep playin’ together,” the Selkie explained, practically vibrating in her seat from the excitement. “She gots wings jus’ like yours, ‘Lina!”

I wasn’t the only one smiling and trying to hold back a giggle at Sorcha’s excitement. She’s just so freaking adorable and Selina was flabbergasted for a moment before wrapping the little girl in a hug and blubbering, “Thanks, Sorcha. I always wanted dolls of my own… we can play together anytime you want to.”

After that, there were only Melody’s and Carmen’s gifts to open. Carmen had gotten Selina a pink glittery diary with a lock and key while my girlfriend had gotten her a fairly simple black leather purse. Melody shrugged when hers was opened and merely stated, “I figured that you’d need this for your new ID and other stuff. Every girl needs a good utility purse. It’s not nearly as big as mine but I doubt that you’ll be filling yours with big ass guns, bug detectors, tracking devices, and other shit like that.”

“Seriously, Mel, you carry the weirdest stuff in that purse. You need a purse of holding or something, that big-ass bag of yours isn’t exactly low-profile,” Carmen said with a smirk as she shook her head at Melody.

“I like to be prepared,” the half-Demon countered. “You know that it’s always the one time you don’t have something with you that you actually end up needing it, right? What if I run into something heavily armored and I don’t have high-explosive armor-piercing rounds?”

“Weirdo,” Carmen said with a laugh.

The rest of the evening was spent like that, everyone trying to make Selina feel welcome and a part of the family while we all chatted and generally got to know one another better. Aislinn and the Brownies came back to join us once they were finished with their housekeeping duties and Lana came upstairs for a short time to bring up the package that Jimmy had dropped off with Selina’s new PDA registration card and other necessary documents. She also brought a gift for Selina, a pretty pink satin nightgown that she had made for our newest family member.

As with the other gifts, that set Selina off crying again. She was happy and grateful, but she just had no clue how to take people being so kind to her. It was sad that she was so beaten down that such acts of kindness confused and even scared her to a point but at the same time, I could see her slowly starting to accept and embrace her new reality. She had a family now, and as the evening went on she was beginning to get more comfortable with the other members of that family besides me and that warmed my heart as much as seeing her happy did.

So, as I sat there snuggled up with Melody on the couch watching Selina and Sorcha playing together and watching cartoons I couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t just them either. It was Cinder being awake and us wrapping each other up in loving thoughts as Melody’s hand absently caressed my cheek. It was the adults talking about the plans for Christmas and looking forward to a couple of days of the club being closed so we could all spend the holidays together without worrying about work. It was being part of a family and knowing that we were all welcome in that family and loved for who we were.

It kind of made me miss Dad, but at the same time my heart was filled with warmth and I was glad to be here and have this new family. I was glad that we could all be that family for my new daughter as well. Selina needed it as much as Melody, Jess, and I had, probably even more.

So I just sat there and enjoyed the closeness and the company as I watched the girls play and listened to Carmen and Lou telling me, Melody, and Jessica about the next day’s plans and how much fun we were all going to have. The next day was Christmas Eve so we would have a few days off from our lessons because family time was just more important. I still had that warm feeling nestled in my chest when I tucked Selina into bed. It helped that she was smiling too. “Good day?” I asked.

Selina nodded at first, uncertain about what to say for a moment. “I… I think that was the best day I ever had, Momma.”

She hadn’t elaborated so I brushed a strand of hair out of her eye as I told her, “I’m glad, I hope it wasn’t too much for you.”

“A… at first, Momma,” she admitted. “I’m not used to people treating me like…”

“Family?” I finished for her as she trailed off. She nodded and I leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead. “Nobody should have to have to get used to being treated with love and respect. You will though, because now you have me and your Aunt Jess, and everyone else here to be the family that you should have had all along. Sweet dreams, Selina, I love you, and so does the rest of our crazy family.”

“I love you, Momma. Good night,” she replied as I padded toward the door. Then, after one last look at her starting to drift away in her bed, I closed the door and went back to the common room to help clean up now that the party was over.

With everyone but Sorcha and Selina helping with the cleanup it didn’t take very long. It had been an eventful day though and some of us were tired so things broke up after that as Carmen, Lou, and the adults headed off to prepare for bed. Jessica was going to head to bed as well so she could text Rose, to tell her about how the party had gone and everything. So Melody and I said our goodnights as well before walking hand-in-hand toward my bedroom.