extraordinarylove.

11: Highs & Lows

As the week goes on, Stephen and Alyssa find themselves struggling to get used to their routine with the twins. The sleepless nights, the crying, the constant worrying about the twins - it was definitely stressful, but worth every second. Alyssa's mom was in and out of the house as well trying to give the two some help, being that Alyssa was slowly trying to get back to work and Steph was in and out for practices and pre-season games.

Steph sleepily walked over to the bed at 415AM in the morning. Micah had thrown a crying fit and he did his best to soothe her before she could wake up her sister. He looked at how peaceful Alyssa looked in the bed, hugging onto a pillow like her life depended on it. He softly smiled and climbed in, wrapping his arms around his fiancé. He wanted to make sure she was getting enough rest, knowing the delivery was still taking a toll on her. So, he took it upon himself to cater to the twins whenever needed while Alyssa rested. And although he had practices, games or whatever else he needed to get done during the day, he had no issues with it.

As soon as he felt his eyelids getting heavy, one of the twins began to cry in their Pack N' Play right across from the bed. He sighed, checking to see which twin it was and it was Layleana.

"Who is it?" Alyssa sleepily asked.

"It's Lay."

"I'll get her."

"Nah baby. It's okay. Just sleep. I'll get her."

"But you already took care of Micah."

"Well now it's time for Layleana to get some love from Daddy." He yawned as he got himself up out of bed once again. Before he could fully leave the bed, Alyssa was immediately back to sleep, snoring away. He chuckled as he made his way to Layleana. At this point, both twins were crying now that Micah was awoken by her sister.

And Alyssa slept through it all. Exactly what he meant by letting her rest.

"Aw, what's wrong princesses? What can Daddy do to make you happy?" He says, scooping up the two in his arms. He bounced around until the two were calm, laying their heads on their daddy's shoulders. He continued to walk around the room with the twins in his arms, making sure they were falling asleep. Alyssa slowly opens her eyes, turning around to see if Steph needed help with the girls. She gave her eyes a few rubs before she fully turned around to see Steph dancing and softly singing to the girls in his arms near their balcony doors. She smiled to herself, almost not wanting to go back to sleep just to keep witnessing every moment he has with their daughters.

"You okay, babe?" He turns to face her and smiles sleepily.

"Yeah, we're all good in the hood." He says lowly, afraid to wake up the girls. "I said I was fine baby, go sleep."

"I don't want to."

'Why not? You were just snoring earlier." He chuckled as he slowly made his way over to the Pack N' Play cribs the twins were temporarily in. Alyssa never knew how he could manage to put the twins back to their beds peacefully, but she wasn't complaining. He takes one last look to make sure they were tucked enough, before returning to bed.

"Yeah but I could help, you know."

"Yes, I know. But I'd rather have you rest."

"You're the one who has long days--"

"You know, your stubbornness will never get old." He made himself comfortable by bringing Alyssa's head onto his chest and wrapping his arms around her. "You don't gotta argue with me, shnookums. I mean it when I say I want you to rest."

"Whatever you say, shnookums." She mocked him. "What were you singing to the girls? You got vocals now, Curry?"

"I've been, stop being in denial. I was just singing Rock A Bye Baby. It was the first lullaby to come into my head."