This is my one chance, to take back, no regrets.

[Natasha Ainsworth]

Sera scowled a little, making a face at the thought. "Do you blame her? I don't think I'd want someone in my crotch with a camera either, when I'm pushing out a.."

And she took a moment to squint down at the birth certificate for a moment, before going on. "Eight pound and six ounce baby girl. I'd punch him, too," the brunette mused, as she moved the certificate aside carefully, and picked up the pacifier a moment to examine it, before reaching for a box of photos, which was dated on the top from the early-to-middle nineties. As Leigh grabbed up the blanket, Seraphim turned a bit to look at her, managing a little laugh at the sight of her girlfriend with the tiny thing held against her chest.

"Okay, apparently your mom made a mistake in taking that away from you? Are we feeling some repressed resentment? I think I remember that blanket, actually. Didn't you have that in kindergarten? And it 'disappeared' when we started real school? I recall some crying. You were a blankie kid. I guess we know where it's been now," she teased, as she pulled the top off of the shoebox that was resting on her knee.

[Leigh O'Conner]

Leigh rubbed the worn fabric between her fingers absently. "It did disappear. Mom said it had gotten blown away, and somewhere another little kid had it to keep warm. Liar," she said, without malice. "But, I guess it was all for the better. And mom still let me keep Peeki, he's on my bed." Peeki was the teddy bear she'd had since she was a baby. It had once been pink-and-cream (at the muzzle, cream), but time had worn it down to a dull gray-cream color. As an infant, she'd tried to name it "Pinky" but had trouble with the pronunciation. "I was just a sentimental kid," she added. "Except with that pacifier, according to Mom. Apparently I've never liked to be shut up. Bethie won't use one, either."

[Natasha Ainsworth]

"Well, I don't see any other kids in this box, not even a skeleton, so I think it's safe to say she lied about that one," Sera replied absently, as she settled the larger box to the floor beside them, and focused on the shoe box instead. "And trust me, I know that you never like to be shut up. It's nothing new," she added softly, with a hint of a smirk, as she picked up a picture from the top of the pile; one of pregnant Bella, accompanied by Andrew and a very small Michael. "You made your mom a fattie, dude. I don't know how she manages to look so good after four kids."

[Leigh O'Conner]

"Need I remind you Michael was like...four then? And then there was me?" Leigh teased. "The woman's been running for twenty years straight!" The blonde moved to situate herself more comfortably, gently placing her chin on the curve of Sera's shoulder, so she could look at the pictures, too. "They look so happy, don't they?" she noted, rather wonderingly, of her parents. "Look at those smiles."

[Natasha Ainsworth]

"Good point," Seraphim replied softly, as she considered the thought. Four kids meant a lot of weight, but Leigh was right, it also meant a metric ton of running around, just to name some of the trouble. She glanced down at the picture again when Leigh made her comment, before nodding a bit. "They do, yeah. Your family pictures always looked happy though. We've got albums, but I don't think we've put anything in them in years. My family photos are all those portraits mom makes us take every year? The ones all along the upstairs hallway? Me in the front, twins behind me, mom and dad standing behind them, rinse and repeat. And we all look like we've either got sticks up our butts, or like we're going to snap any minute from holding the same pose," the brunette sighed, smiling just a little.

"I like genuine smiles better. That's the kind of family photos I want to have," she added, after a moment of silence. She moved through a few more photos, stopping at one apparently taken at the hospital right after Leigh was born. "Tiny girlfriend is tiny, wow, look at you."

[Leigh O'Conner]

"I hate those pictures," Leigh admitted. "That's what's creepy, sir. And don't think you'll have escaped unscathed, either. I know for a fact you're in some of these pictures, too. I swear, if we got every picture Mom and Dad ever took, we could have a flip-book of all four of our entire lives.

"They're kinda cheesy, but I agree with you. I want pictures like this for my whole life. 'Cos even in the bad moments, when you've got pictures like this, you've got some reason to smile.

"Aww, look. I had dark hair when I was born. Not that I miss it, but it makes me look more like Dad."

[Seraphim Donnelly-Rousseau]

"I hate them too, trust me. Especially how she has them in ascending order on the wall, so it's like I start at the stairs, and by the time I get to the bathroom, I've got from like.. an infant, to last year. This year isn't done yet, she always does them right after my birthday, since that's when she had the first one done. Just before the near year," the brunette sighed, scowling a little at the thought. She loved her mother, she really did. She adored the woman, but her taste in photography was atrocious. Sera, personally, thought that they could have much nicer family photos if they just hung up some of the ones Tatum had taken over the years. Tatum's albums were much nicer than any of the stuffy photos her mother kept around.

"Anyway, I haven't seen me yet. All I see is tiny Leigh, and tiny Michael. We're not even to your second birthday, I don't show up quite yet, miss. And for the record, if any of these are embarrassing, I'm sure Tatum had embarrassing ones of you on a digital camera somewhere. And they're probably far more recent."

[Leigh O'Conner]

"You know, she said something similar really recently," Leigh replied. "And you know I like Tatum's pictures. I couldn't have the newspaper without her, and you know how I feel about the newspaper. It's my baby. And you'll be in there soon enough, sir, I promise."

[Seraphim Donnelly-Rousseau]

"We're sisters, we think alike. Did you honestly think the evil genius gene was only for me? She just hides it better, with her innocent looks, and her red hair, and her eating disorders. There is evil behind that skinny girl, I swear it," Sera replied firmly, leaning back some against Leigh. She flipped through some more photos, settling them aside as they looked at them, so that they could get to the bottom easier, rather than having to keep moving a pile each time they wanted to move deeper.

Within a few minutes, they had gone through newborn, to rolling over, to crawling, to walking, to solid foods, third birthday, and still hadn't reached the end of the piles yet. Picking up a new handful, Seraphim frowned deeply at the one right on top.

"First day of school, good lord. Does my mother hate me? Why did she dress me like that?"

[Leigh O'Conner]

"I'm not sure it's evil to make all those around her wish to tie her up and force sandwiches down her throat," Leigh replied idly, watching the pictures of her change, watching her grow, and Michael grow. He'd been a cute kid.

Leigh had to pull away to laugh at her, "Aw," she fumbled between bursts of laughter, "you look so...cute! And pigtails, too!"

[Seraphim Donnelly-Rousseau]

Seraphim scowled at the laughter, turning a bit to give the blonde a light shove against her shoulder, as she flipped to the next picture. Which was just the same photo, really, but from a slightly different angle. "I deserve this, don't I, for making the jokes about bath time photos? Which, for the record, weren't have as risque as I was led to believe they might be."

She flipped to the next photo, which was thankfully without her presence, but apparently came from the same day, after school had been over and done with. "Maybe that'll be it. Was that my final cameo? I mean, the fourth birthday party ones were bad, but those first grade ones were.. I think I might suffocate my mother tonight. For doing that to me. As if it wasn't weird enough being the only kid who spoke French better than English."

[Leigh O'Conner]

"Hey, at least I understood you, n'est pas?" Leigh asked teasingly drawing closer after the shove. "And yes. Those pigtails were karma planned long in advance. And no, that's not the end of you," Leigh noted, rolling her eyes. The next picture, in fact, held Seraphim, too. Clearly Halloween of the same year, Michael was the monster, Sera Dr. Frankenstein, and Leigh was dressed up as a rather giggly Igor. "Ha! Do you remember that? Mom picked those out. She's a genius."

[Seraphim Donnelly-Rousseau]

"You understood me after I taught you, mon cher," Seraphim retorted, smiling as she leaned back against the blonde once again. She made a dramatic grimace at the mention of the fact that her cameo was, in fact, not finished, but when she saw what the picture was, she had to smile. "I completely remember that, back before I hated juvenile diabetes day," she murmured, turning her head a bit to look back at Leigh. "Before I had read about the adverse effects of candy, you see, and learned about the original origins of the holiday. I don't think I got that book until we were in second grade.

"Also, I think your mother really is a genius, which is where you get the gene. Because either those costume choices were the biggest coincidence ever, or she could see the future."

[Leigh O'Conner]

"Or maybe all of the above," Leigh replied, with a shrug. "She does have super Mom-powers, unless we've already forgotten. I really liked that day, too. I had so much fun following you around, 'Yeeees, maaassster'-ing. And Mom let me watch Young Frankenstien? 'It's pronounced EYE-gore,'" Leigh giggled. "Good times, ma'am. And I swear, candy isn't that bad for you if you eat it moderation. Blame the parents, not the sugar!"

[Seraphim Donnelly-Rousseau]

"Maybe if lawyering doesn't work out, I can always go into dentistry. Lecture kids about their teeth, and I can be especially nasty in October," Sera suggested absently, as she flipped to another photo. "And you still follow me around, 'yes master'-ing. As you should," she added coyly, before returning her attention to the photograph in her hand. "Look, first grade Christmas concert. You looked so cute, you made a good Missus Claus. Although I think I should have had a better role than generic elf number sixteen ."