When Hands woke up it was somewhat earlier than normal but he didn't mind. He had talked with both Misty, Kyth, and Dreamer the night before. All the various decorations were ready and as well as a number of small gifts as well. Even though Hunter and Morning were coming over they were going to decorate the Den. It wasn't a massive amount of decorations and was fairly generic but it was something they could keep developing. Back on Earth Christmas had come and gone but not by much, outside there was some snow and it was cold so it was about right. He stretched and yawned, *Gentle we are going to go to the Den and get started decorating. Please keep people away for the moment.* This was his present to both packs even if his pack knew about it.

Gentle had been expecting this and smiled, *That is what I had expected since if we don't do it now I don't know when it would happen. I will keep most of the others from the Den. Go and have fun. If you need anything let me know.* She let him go and smiled at Ray and Birdy. It had been an active evening for the two and Birdy was looking less stressed now.

Hands finally sat up and looked around the living room. Most of the girls were curled up close to the center as he had expected, *Wake up everyone. We are going to catch a quick breakfast and then decorate the Den. Gather the various presents and decorations. Gentle is going to keep everyone else away from there until it's lunch time.* He leaned over and gave Kyth a kiss. She had been so stressed last night and it had forced him to calm her down. He stroked her face and his face softened. She was normally a very strong and in-charge female, "Thank you for taking care of our pack Kyth. I can't even explain how much that means to me."

Kyth rolled over and stretched before opening her eyes and looking at Hands, "Thank you for last night. I really did need my Pack Father." She sat up and gave him a good hug and returned the kiss, "Now time for breakfast and I hope you like the decorations." They had worked closely with both Misty and Gentle to come up with a mixture of both cultures.

"I'm sure I will and now time for a quick shower and the bathroom." He stood and offered her a hand, "Would you like your hair washed and back scrubbed?" As he was talking the other girls were starting to wake up. When he mentioned a shower a number of the girls stood and grinned at him. That forced him to roll his eyes, "The showers aren't large enough for all of us. I will make sure to spend time with all of my pack."

~~~

When Ray finally woke up he couldn't help but smile. He was still missing Flitter but it had felt so good to start connecting with his pack again. He was spooning Birdy even as Gentle was spooning him. He had one hand resting on Birdy's stomach and he couldn't help but pull her somewhat closer to his body, *Morning Birdy and I enjoyed last night. I hope you did as well. We do need to get up and start working on food for when Hunter and Morning come over.* He knew Gentle would get that as well. Now that they were mated unless he had a good reason anything he sent via the implant went to her as well.

She sighed and rested her hand on his, *Thank you Ray. I know some of the other females need your attention as well but it hurt so badly.* She pressed her hand against his and finally slipped off the bed and stood up, "Most definitely time for a shower." She walked towards the bathroom as Ray rolled onto his back and stretched.

Gentle gave him a good kiss before she rolled over and sat up as well, "That was one of the best night's sleep I have had for some time." After one last stretch she eeped since Ray had sat up and stroked one breast, "Down boy, we have all the time in the world for that. I know you like my body and you don't have to prove it to me." She stood with an amused growl and headed towards the shower.

Ray grinned and then sighed. It really did feel good to be mostly back to normal and he was going to make a point of having different female of his pack in his bed each night. They might not have sex but he wanted to renew the connections. He also knew that Gerdal had been helping the pack as well and he also knew Dusty hadn't had a problem. They just didn't have the same type of jealousy as humans did.

Eventually they had showered and headed downstairs. It wasn't that early but they had plenty of time for cooking since it was going to be several hours from now. Gentle had informed him that Hand's pack was going to be doing the decorations for the Den. He had to wonder what they were going to do but nobody was telling him so he settled for a grumble. While the females were working on the food he settled down in his office with Gerdal and started reviewing what had been going on.

As much as he had been honored to help the Pack Lord and Goddess he needed to catch up with the packs happenings. There was a great deal he needed to approve even though Gerdal, Gentle, and Vyra had taken care of the issues. That was going to take several days but for the moment he hit the important parts.

Lunch finally rolled around and both Ray and Gerdal had headed to the living room of the house. It was only moments later when Daisy and Aqua escorted Hunter, Morning and their Liraque in. Ray stood and walked over and smiled, "Good morning and thank you for accepting our invite. I know we had been invited to your Pack House but I need to be with my pack. The same goes for my brother Hands. We have both been gone and needed to reconnect."

Hunter gave him a good hug followed by Morning, "Please relax Ray, and we do understand. Once I was informed of some of what had been happening I looked more into it. I wish someone had informed me sooner and I would have come to see you. There was a conspiracy of silence." He didn't sound pleased with that and had already chewed the tail off a few people.

Morning gave him a good hug, "I am very pleased to meet you and your new mate as well. Ignore my grumpy mate. He tends to get grumpy when he hasn't eaten for a while." She knew he would grumble at her for that, Ray's pack didn't need the stress of their reactions. She turned to Gentle and gave her a good hug, "It is good to see you again Gentle. I can tell having your Pack Father back is helping."

Ray ran his fingers through his hair after the hugs, "I... It had to happen but I just wish some of what had happened hadn't been so traumatic for both packs. Me, I can deal with but my brother didn't need what happened." His voice lowered to a growl as he was talking. He wanted to find out who had tried to kill Dreamer and his mother and rip his or her tail off.

Gentle turned and gave him a hug and pulled him close, "Deep breath Ray. Deep breath. I know but Hands and the packs doesn't need this." As she was working on comforting him Zantha came over and wrapped her arms around him as well, "Sorry, neither of you didn't need to see or feel that. I just..." He took several slow breaths, "Thanks Zantha."

Hunter rested a hand on one of Ray's shoulders, "Believe me I do understand Ray. I honestly do since I have wanted to rip the crap out of someone before but you are also right. Your pack doesn't need this right now. We will deal with this down the road. For now, let's celebrate you and your brother being back with your packs. I have to admit I do want to meet Hands."

Morning gave Gentle a second hug for good measure, "I have to admit I want to meet Hands' Pack Mother as well. From what little I have heard she is a wonderful girl. That interview they did was excellent. When can we meet them?" She was trying to distract them from the tension and anger.

Ray stepped back, "Very soon since they are doing some decorating in the Den. It is both for your visit and a combination of a celebration of our world and mixed with your world. I don't know what they have planned since my mate won't tell me." He grinned at Gentle only to get an ear twitch back from her.

Just about then Hands and Savory walked in and over to the adults. They had felt the Pack Father and Mother arrive not to mention a light greeting from their Liraque, "Good afternoon Pack Father Hunter, Pack Mother Morning Sun. Greetings to both of your Liraque as well." Hands couldn't help but turn slightly pink since he felt so odd greeting them as if they were just above his level.

"I am Strong Hands Johnson, the Pack Father of Pack Liraque. This is my Pack Mother Savory and future mate. This young lady is my Liraque Nuzzle Johnson." He was tense and it showed.

Morning turned to them and moved over before giving them a good hug, "I am so pleased to finally meet the three of you. My mate is also pleased to meet you and we will talk later. I can't wait to see what sort of decorations you have put up."

Hands blushed when she gave them a hug and gave Savory a slight smile since she had done much the same, "Thank you ma'am. Unless you need to talk to my brother if you would follow us we can show you to the Den, as we call it." He glanced at Ray and received a very slight nod.

When they walked into the Den Hands' Pack was formed up to one side. On the walls was a mixture of symbols of both cultures. From Hands and Ray's there were snowflakes, crosses, and stars. From theirs were images of the goddess with new pups, small animals, and other new born images. They had also managed to include images of both packs and the pups in the decorations. Off to one side was a large table which was covered with presents.

Hands waited for both packs to come in before he spoke. When he did there was some stress in his voice, "As all of you know the last few months have been somewhat troublesome. Before I left to Savory's family's house I had a dream of some of the Christmas's from our family. Christmas to us is a way of bringing family together and celebrating the birth of a new year. We, Misty and I, decided we needed something to give to the pack to celebrate our new packs and our new lives." He glanced over at Misty and Skye as he was talking, "This is our gift to all of you." Tears started trickling down his face as his emotions showed, "I love all of you and..." He was forced to turn to Savory for a good hug.

Ray's pack stopped for a short time as everyone came in and looked at both Ray and his brother. They weren't totally sure what to say or do. To be honest it didn't take Hands to much time to recover before he spoke again, "Sorry but as I said the last few months have been stressful for both packs." He took a deep breath.

As he was doing that Savory wrapped her arms around him and gave him a good hug, *Relax Hands and keep talking please. Our packs need this.* She needed it and so did the rest of their packs.

Hands took another breath, "Sorry but it has been a rough few months." He looked at Morning and Hunter, "On Earth we have a celebration called Christmas. It is the birth of one of our Gods. In this case I don't want to call it Christmas and I don't know what to really call it. It is just a chance to celebrate our packs and to try and look to the future." His voice was tense as he was speaking.

Morning didn't hesitate and came over and squatted down in front of Hands, "This is a lovely celebration and thank you for allowing Hunter and I to be here when you showed both packs this." She gave him a light hug and peck before she stood up and moved back. She had to look around and was very pleased with the decorations. She didn't understand all of them but it looked like they were celebrating both their Terran heritage as well as the Folician side.

Gentle moved forward next and gathered both Hands and Savory a good hug, "Thank you Hands. I know this was your idea but letting both Misty and Dreamer take care of it is special. Love you Hands." She gave both another good hug before standing back.

Ray took charge before anyone else started to break down, "Everyone this is a celebration of our packs, both mine and Strong Hands. It is our honor to have Senior Pack Father Hunter and Senior Pack Mother Morning Sun here as well. Bring the food and drinks out and let's celebrate the birth of two new packs. That isn't even mentioning the birth of all of our pups and my accepting Gentle as my Pack Mother." Tears of happiness trickled down his face as he was talking.

Pack Father Hunter drew a sharp breath, "I wish to say thank you as well for both my mate and I. We are beyond honored that you would include us in this celebration." He let his emotions show for those who could feel them.

Dusty came over to where Hands and Savory were standing and she pulled them into a good hug, "This is lovely little bro. I can't even explain how much it means to me knowing you thought of this when you were so hurt. Thank you." She gave them a good hug and kiss before she stepped back and moved over to Gerdal.

For the next several minutes all the ladies came over and hugged Hands and Savory. They were all so pleased with what he had done. Several were walking around and looking at the decorations and noticed a large number of images which included both packs. Birdy couldn't help but giggle at one since it showed her giving Hands a hug on the ship and he was looking rather uncertain. Some of the pictures were more serious such as showing the females with their babies after they had delivered. Other pictures were silly such as Gentle picking on Ray as she was pretending to hold him like he was a baby. They hadn't hesitated to include a number of pictures of Flitter as well.

Eventually the workers who had been hired had the food placed on a side table in a buffet fashion. It was a mixture of both Folician and Terran foods. On the drinks table were some bottles of wine from both planets as well as beer, juices, ice tea, and more. As the scents started flowing through the room there were any number of appreciative growls.

Ray came over to Hunter and Morning, "Would you join me at the head of the line? There is a table for all the senior pack members. Normally I go for something less formal but in this case, we do have some things to discuss." Gentle was standing next to him and he had his arm around her waist.

Hunter gave him a polite nod, "For now why don't we just talk about general subjects? This is a celebration for your packs. Once it is over and the gifts are given out we can move to your office and talk. I know I personally hate talking shop over food unless it is a working meal." He grinned at Morning when she grunted at him.

She poked him in the side as she grunted, "Right, now pull my tail again. You tend to swear at things during meals, well you used to. I finally put my foot down so during breakfast and dinner work is off limits." Morning was grinning as they started towards the food. They were met by Vyra, Hands, Savory, and Kythryn. She had to smile at Kythryn, "It is nice to see you again Kythryn. I would have liked to have spent more time with you." She frowned slightly, "I do expect you to contact me about any questions you have as the Matriarch of your pack. That is part of my job and I expect you to avail to my help."

Kyth blushed slightly, "Yes Pack Mother. I will do that and thank you. For the moment, I don't have any questions though I am sure I will." When Hands wrapped an arm around her she leaned into him.

Hands couldn't help but give a tired sigh, "I think Kyth, Savory, and I are somewhat overwhelmed by the changes to who we are. I was just another kid not that long ago and now I am a Pack Father with a pack. Savory was just a Liraque Trainee and is now the Pack Mother and my future mate. Kyth was also just a Liraque Trainee and is now a Matriarch of the pack. Oh, and Nuzzle is my Liraque even though she is six." He rolled his eyes and sighed again, "What is so annoying is we are all technically too young for our new jobs. That alone is enough to stress us."

Hunter gave him a good smile, "What Morning said applies to you as well, well both you and Ray. Contact me with any questions you have and please don't hesitate. I have talked to Toes as well and he is going to be spending time at the Pack Lord's temple learning to be a Pack Father. I expect you will be invited to join him part of the time as well. Golden will take very good care of you."

They finally had all their food and settled down at the central table. Hands had to frown at one of the dishes, "Okay, who poached my stuffed shells recipe? I am going to complain to the management." He smirked when he said that and took a bite and had to grin, "Then again this is darn good so I might make an exception." A thought crossed his mind, "Misty what about Singer? How is she doing? I feel bad for forgetting about her."

Misty managed not to choke on the bite of food she had. It took her a minute before she could reply, "Well she and Thunder went into heat just about the time you left. She is at the temple right now." She knew Hands was going to turn red when he realized what she was saying.

As she had expected Hands face froze and then he turned bright red, "Oh... Um... Thanks for letting me know." He was going to have to give her his gift later then. Maybe in a week or two after he came to terms with what Misty had implied. He looked off to the side and had to smile since Nuzzle and Sunny were at the little pups table and were giggling about something. His expression softened.

"Ray all I can say is thank you for Nuzzle. She has made all my troubles easier to deal with. She is such a wonderful little sister." Um, was it actually a cousin, niece, or what? His brain threatened to melt down and he finally dropped the question, "Her little tickle attacks or waking me up by tickling my neck with her whiskers means so much."

Ray glanced at her and he was still honestly in shock that she was his child, "She is a lovely little pup and I have a feeling when she grows up she is going to be a wonderful young woman. I can't think of a better Liraque for you at the moment." He had to grin at Sunny as well, "Then again those two little minions have grown to mean a great deal to both packs. Sunny is such a sweetie as well."

Hunter and Morning traded a glance since there was something not being said. Hunter finally glanced at Ray, *What did Hands mean? If you can talk about it I would like to know but if it is private I do understand.* He took a bite of the stuffed shells and his ears perked up, "By the Pack Lord this is darn good. For a small fee, can I pretend to steal the recipe?" He could feel the appreciation of his mate as well as their Liraque.

Ray snorted, "We can discuss the fee later and I will convince Hands to consider turning it over to you." The two traded looks since it was actually a generic recipe on earth from some cook book or another, *Um, well, ah, that is a hard question to decide how to answer.* He took a bite of something on his plate and chewed contemplatively, *It does not go beyond the two of you and I ask this as one Pack Father to another. Nuzzle is my child. She is also the daughter of the Goddess. I will not say anything else.*

Both blinked at that and Gentle gave them a slight smile. It was rather obvious the two were blindsided by that. Both of their jaws dropped for a moment before they managed to catch their reactions, *Oh goodness that... My mind boggles at the idea.* Morning was seriously shocked and she could feel her mates shock as well, *By