Viper Daughters

[11]

"Good morning." I whisper to Bella, who wakes in my arms.

"Morning." She whispers back.

"The kids have been waiting for you to wake, well all of them except Willow of course." I chuckle at the thought of my daughter who sleeps more then anyone I know.

"Oh, what time is it?" She sits up, running her hands over her face in an attempt to wake.

"It just hit ten."

"You should have woken me." She slides out of bed in a hurry, heading for the walk in wardrobe.

"You needed a rest, last night took a toll on you."

"It took a toll on the kids as well, I should have been awake to speak to them first thing." She says and re-emerges from the wardrobe, now dressed in a simple white sun dress.

"I'll go and wake Willow, and I'll meet you down there." I tell her, before leaving the room.

Walking to the very end of the hall, I knock loudly on Willow's door, then push it open. To my surprise I find her in bed with a shirtless Colson, the two of them cuddled up together. I clear my throat, knocking on the door again, only this time it's open.

Waking with a startle, Colson sits up quickly, rubbing his eyes, and Willow does the same, removing herself from her embrace with Colson quickly.

"Everyone is waiting downstairs for that talk Willow." I tell her before she has a chance to speak.

"Yep, going right now." She jumps out of bed in a flash and bolts out the door past me like a rocket, headed for the stairs.

"Is there something I should know about?" I ask Colson, who is looking rather sheepish, as he reaches for his T-shirt.

"I came in to check on her last night, and we crashed out." He says as he pulls his shirt over his head.

"I see." I nod slowly. "Well, thank you for looking out for her."

"I'll always look out for her." He says as he stands, and slicks his hair back in the mirror. "Have Mom and Dad already left?"

"Yes, they left a few hours ago, they wanted to give us time to talk things through as a family."

"Understandable, I'll grab my bags and do the same."

"Maybe don't leave just yet." I say quickly.

"Why not?" He raises a brow.

"Because I would really like it if Willow would still go to New York with you and get used to her surroundings there just incase she doesn't get the job."

"Jex if she doesn't get the job, I really don't think she'll come to New York anyway, she told me last night, she wants to stay with you."

"And I get that, but Bella and I need some time, and I need time to see my doctors and get results and understand all of this myself."

"If anyone can convince her, it's you." He gives me a small smile.

***