Against Reason

Bonus Chapter - Our Last Slice of Pie

"Morning," I smile, running a hand through his messy bed hair. 

He catches my smile, and it spreads on his lips. "Morning," he responds, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

"Sleep well?" I ask. 

He rubs the back of his neck. "As well as you can on a couch," he answers. 

"Have you heard from my mum? Are they here yet?" I ask Danny, excited to see our other kids. I get why my mum would smother Nick and I everyday once we were back home from school, I can barely spend such time apart without them. 

Danny shakes his head with a small smile, checking his phone on the bedside. "They just got here. I'm sure we'll hear the girls excitement from down the hall sooner or later," he quips jokingly, pressing a soft kiss to my head, then travelling down to my lips again. 

A soft whine interrupts our kiss, Juliette growing antsy as she hasn't yet had her breakfast. I hold out my arms as Danny passes her over with so much caution, as if he hasn't done this four times over already. 

"Hungry, hm?" I question softly, letting her latch and I relax while she feeds. With a quiet room, it's soon happily disrupted with excited chatter and giggles from outside the door. 

Danny is quick to open the door, revealing our three very cheery children. "Daddy! Mummy!" they exclaim and I laugh lightly, joyous to see their little faces. 

"Good morning," Danny smiles, hugging them all tightly and picking up Archer. The girls carefully crawl onto the bed. "Where's Granny and Grandpa?" he asks. 

"They went to go get coffee," Hallie answers, both of them leaning over me with tamed excitement. 

"Were we right? Is it a girl?" Bridie asks. 

I nod, a small smile on my face, and they squeal. "I knew it!" Hallie exclaims. 

A light knock on the door catches everyones attention, Danny opening it up to reveal one of my nurses. "Morning," she smiles lightly. "How are you feeling?" she asks me as I switch to now burping Juliette. 

"I feel a little sore and tired, but nothing terrible," I answer, and she nods. After she checks up on a few more things to do with Juliette and I, she leaves us all be. 

The kids peer over as they stare at Juliette's half awake demeanor. Her fists are scrunched tight and her eyes, big and wide like everyone else's in the family, stare around at the new people around her. 

"These are your siblings, sweet girl," I say softly to Juliette. "This is Hallie, Bridie, and Archer," I tell her, even though she has no perception of anything as of now. 

Noticing it's awkward for the three to equally get a good view of Juliette, Danny chimes in. "I'll take her, you eat breakfast," he reaches for Juliette, and I hand her over cautiously. 

He presses a soft kiss to my head, before taking a seat on the couch nearby, and the other three crowd around him as they stare lovingly at their new sister. "She's so cute," Hallie comments, a kind smile on her face. 

"I'm glad she has my nose, not daddy's," Bridie chimes in, and I snicker. As if she doesn't have an identical nose to Danny's. 

"My nose isn't bad," Danny defends himself, Bridie only staring at him blankly, but not agreeing. 

As they nestle together, I reach for the hospital breakfast trey beside me. With some plain pancakes, maple syrup, orange juice, and an apple - the meal is exactly what I expected. 

But hey, who can complain with pancakes?

"Mummy?" a small voice catches my attention, and I pear over my bedside to see Archer looking up at me with his big wide eyes.