A/N: Thank you again to my reviewers: Dracorum, Kisdota, Althia, chiharu-tanaka, Feeny, koalababay, larnelo girl, omegarulesall, QbertEnhanced, DJ, and Puggles Master.

I wanted to do one more prompt with the orphan kids before I finish off this table, so...well, here's that.

Prompt #48 - Empty

"Can I hold him?"

"I want to hold him, too!"

"Eee! He's so cute!"

"I think he looks kind of squishy."

"Shut up, Bucco; he's not squishy!"

"Is so, Fidget! Look at him!"

Penelo shifted her newborn son in her arms and beamed around at the kids crammed into their apartment. No sooner had Vaan and Penelo brought baby Reks home than they had been swarmed with all of their orphan children. Nine kids were now crowded around Penelo, who was holding Reks on the couch. Vaan was grinning like the proud father he was, his arm slung around Riby and Filo as they all peered down at Reks.

He was mesmerizing. Penelo had barely taken her eyes off of her baby in the two days since he'd been born. It had been such a short time, and already she couldn't imagine life without him. It was ironic, really, how things could have felt so complete and fulfilling when it had just been her and Vaan, but now that he was here, her life would have felt so empty without him.

Penelo finally pulled her gaze away from Reks, her eyes drifting over each of the kids surrounding her. They were growing up so fast. Filo, the eldest, was fourteen already, while Myro, the youngest, was eleven. It seemed like just the other day they had all been so small. It only went to show how fast childhood passed. One day she would be looking at Reks and wondering where his childhood had gone.

She carefully lifted Reks toward the nearest child. Kytes's eyes widened and he carefully grasped the baby in his arms. "He's so tiny!" he whispered. "What if I break him?"

Penelo laughed softly. "You won't break him, Kytes."

Still, it was with great care that Kytes gently held Reks before slowly passing him to Filo. Myro slipped onto the couch beside Penelo and leaned her head on her shoulder. Penelo smiled and smoothed Myro's hair, but Myro's gaze was fixed on Reks as all the kids took turns holding him. Her eyes were large and she sat very still against Penelo, until at last, Johm was kneeling in front of Myro and placing Reks in her lap.

"He ain't so bad, for a baby," Johm muttered as Myro's arms folded around Reks.

"Well, thank you, Johm," Penelo said dryly.

"What do you mean, he's not bad?" Vaan protested. "He's my kid; you should be saying how amazing and wonderful and-"

"Beautiful."

Everyone fell silent at Myro's quiet word. Though it had been several years since she had overcome her trauma-induced inability to speak, she remained the quietest of all of the kids. Whenever she spoke, they all got quiet to listen to her.

Myro looked up, and there were tears sparkling in her eyes. "He's beautiful," she repeated.

The kids' silence was broken when Bucco snorted. "Boys aren't beautiful, Myro. You're gonna scar him for life."

Johm punched Bucco's leg from where he was still kneeling in front of Myro. "Shut up. She ain't gonna scar him."

The other children were all chattering again, but Myro just leaned down to kiss Reks's face, a smile on her lips.

Penelo met Vaan's eyes over the kids' heads. He grinned at her and said, "Just wait until they start arguing about who's going to babysit."

"Me!" Filo exclaimed instantly.

"Uh-uh, I wanna babysit!" Fidget said.

"The girls can do it." Riby grimaced. "I don't wanna be changing a dirty baby."

Fussbudget made a face. "Me neither! Gross!"

Penelo's gaze went back down to Myro. She was snuggling Reks close to her, and when she saw Penelo looking at her, she whispered, "May I hold him for just another minute?"

"Of course," Penelo whispered back. She leaned back and rested her head against the couch, closing her eyes. As wonderful as having Reks was, she was completely exhausted and felt like she could have slept for a day. Or three.

A smile spread across her face as she listened to the chatter around her. Yes, her life was definitely far from empty, and she expected that it would get fuller and fuller with each passing day.

And I'll probably get more and more sleep-deprived, at least for a while, she thought as she stifled a yawn. But it's all so worth it.