Al(lie)son

Epilogue

This might be the last official chapter of the book, but rest assured, there are a lot of scenes I have written that I probably will post.

Thank you if you've been here since the beginning, and thank you if you just picked it up today.

Without further ado, here we go.
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Christmas Eve, 2019

Allie's POV

My back actually screamed when I changed my position. "Holy f-"

"Language." Matt whisper-yelled at me, bouncing little Ian while he simultaneously snapped his head onto his shoulder. His effort as he tried to stop the burp cloth from sliding down his shoulder and onto his son were admirable, but it wasn't enough and edge of the cloth was now on Nolan's forehead.

I took pity on him, and sighed, "You do know he's asleep and he doesn't understand a word, right?" as I rose from my position on the sofa. Hades didn't budge even though I accidentally kicked him. I made a mental note that the dog getaway to Water Mill for New Year's was coming up next week. Sherlock, Verona, John and Hades would probably end up so tired that they wouldn't be up for much more.

Which was perfect because with two children under the ages of 2 coming along, we'd need all the help we could get. Wes and I got off easy. We were just in charge of all the dogs. My parents threw themselves into being grandparents and were dropping subtle hints at how much fun it would be when Wes and I started our own family.

He was blunt about the fact that the grandchildren would be coming after a wedding and not before. And I agreed. Sherlock and John were a force to be reckoned with. Even though Sherlock's muzzle had grayed quite a bit after another four years of life, he had taken part in most of John's antics. Double trouble.

I winced as my joints popped because I'd been in a position that was definitely awful for my already bad posture, and gingerly plucked the burp cloth off my nephew's chest. My heart squeezed a little and I couldn't help the involuntary grin that spread across my face because the chubby, rosy cheeked, blue eyed infant had totally grabbed onto my heart and pinky from the first moment I met him at the hospital.

Of course, that didn't mean that I was even anywhere close to fully taking on all the responsibilities of a parent. Brandon and Anna' little girl, Iris, had just started walking a month ago, so she was getting up to all kinds of trouble. Nolan, despite being almost 6 months old, was equally as active and pretty smart.

I took my responsibility as an aunt seriously. And spoiled them rotten while teaching them pranks, and letting them do all the things that their parents wouldn't. Matt was already bad enough with baby Nolan and Brandon, well, ever since he found out it was going to be a girl, he'd been making an ever growing list of interrogation questions to ask Iris' future boyfriend.

And I thought I got it bad with the overprotectiveness. Bless those kids.

Matt shifted Nolan a little bit as he continued swaying back and forth, bouncing as he did so. "I don't care. He can learn to swear when he learns to stop spitting up. What's up with Wes, anyway? He's never late."

I sighed. "It was a long day today. A lot of paperwork to get done before Christmas. He said he's stuck in traffic so he's probably coming over here from the precinct, and it's snowing.."

"But it's Sunday." Matt's brows furrowed. "There shouldn't be any traffic. It's midnight."

"Case came in this morning. He had to go in."

"But it's Christmas Eve."

I grinned wryly, settling back onto the couch and resting my ankles on my very conveniently placed, fluffy footrest. "You're a Captain. You know crime doesn't stop on the holidays."