Summer vacation had finally sprung around, much to Polly and Betty's glee, and while her girls were preparing for a summer filled with fun loving chaos, Alice was preparing to enter her second trimester.
She stood by her full length mirror, glaring at her reflection and stroking her abdomen int he process. She lifted up her shirt and turned sideways for closer examination of her growing stomach, almost making out the tiniest of a bump, realising it would naturally be a little bigger since she was carrying two.
It had been sixteen years since she was with child, and the thought of carrying not one but two was adding onto the pressure she was already under over not feeling quite prepared enough.
She's disturbed when a newly walking Tyler toddles into her room, struggling to push the door open at first and waddle through the gap before babbling some adorable baby gibberish and wandering to over to his Grandmother.
She spotted his cheeky little smile in the mirror before turning around, her face lit up with excitement before lowering to his level and picking him up off the ground.
"Did you get out of your crib again?!" She gasps in faux excitement, her face displaying playful shock as he bared her a gummy smile before lightly tickling his belly, his guttural giggles filling the room.
The joyous moment had her thinking briefly on the pregnancy for a moment, the thought of having moments like this with her troublesome two in a little over 5 months.
"Just think, you won't be the only baby around here soon." She quietly confided in the infant, softly stroking his cheek as she did.
"Tyler!" Betty calls out from her bedroom, her footsteps moving down the hall soon after.
"In here!" Alice confirms as she continues playing with him, jokingly pretending to dip him down, causing him to laugh harder.
Betty quickly entered the room, releasing a sigh of relief and clutching her hand to her heart. "Since he started walking he's been shooting off."
"Before you know it, he'll be using those legs to sneak out past curfew." Alice jokes, handing him over to his Mother.
A tight grimace appeared on Betty's face as she positioned Tyler in her arms and bowed her head. "I just can't believe how fast he's growing up." She added in disbelief, staring into the tot's green eyes and softly running her fingers along his cheeks before suddenly becoming withdrawn.
As she gazed into her baby boys eyes, the same eyes he had inherited from his Father, she couldn't help but reflect on just how fast he was growing, and just how much his Dad had missed out on.
"You okay baby?"
Betty simply offered her mother a nod, before a tight smile of uncertainty etched over her face.
"Jordan, emailed me yesterday." She nervously revealed, earning a concerned but questioning glance from Alice, as Jordan was Tyler's Dad.
"Okay." Alice firmly responded as she prepared to listen attentively, even though every impulse in her body, combined with her protective motherly instinct and out of control hormones in her body was telling her to act out and curse the boy who knocked up her 14 year old daughter, got sent to juvenile detention and disappeared off the face off the earth shortly after, making no effort to see his child.
"And he wants to see Tyler." Betty reluctantly announced, bowing her head nervously as she awaited her Mother's fiery response. If anything, the chilling silence from Alice and stern knitted brows spoke 1000 words that Betty was all too familiar with.
"I see." Alice blurt out begrudgingly, pretending to fix her skirt to drift away from the tension that suddenly arose within the room. "What did you say?"
The young blonde blinked back her emerald orbs in shock at her Mother's more tender and calm response. "Y-you're not angry? No smart comment?"
"Well I'm not impressed, if that's what you're asking." Alice established with a slight fiery glare, folding her arms in frustration over her chest. "I mean, that little bastard got you pregnant and left you high and dry, and now he wants to pick up where he left off as if he didn't practically abandon you?!"
"At least he wants to try again!" Betty defended strongly. "And every time I look at Tyler, I'm just reminded of how fast he's growing and everything he's missed out on. He deserves his Dad in his life. Don't you wish you would've made things work with Dad, and gave us a proper family?"
A hint of guilt etched over her face, bowing her head slowly before she blinked back up at her daughter. "Sometimes." She reluctantly confessed. "But it wouldnt have been worth the drama and heartache it would've brought on you girls."
As much as she had craved a normal and traditional family set up when the girls were younger, she would be lying if she said he was the ideal man and Father to build that with.
"I don't wanna badmouth your Dad, God rest his soul, but if he really wanted to stick around and get straight? He would've, but the truth is, he wasn't a family man, and he wasn't cut out for it. Single parenthood ain't no picnic, but it was for the best." She cynically concluded.
"But that's the thing, Dad didn't care enough, but Jordan does. So what should I do?"
"I think, you should follow your heart." Alice warmly suggested, stroking her fingers through Betty's locks. She was never a parent to dictate her children's decisions nor was she one to push them to do things they didn't want to. As much as she wanted to protect her little girl, this was a decision Betty was going to have to come to herself, for herself, and Alice knew her influence couldn't intervene through that.
"I trust you to do whatever you think is right for you and Tyler, and I'll support you either way." Alice assured her strongly.
"Thanks Mom."
And with that, Betty quietly left the room with Tyler on her hip, leaving Alice with a huge thought prompted by their discussion for her to ponder further on.
...
"Relaxed enough?" FP sensually questions Alice as he tenderly massaged her neck and shoulders, basking in the hot water and bubbles that surrounded them and she leaned back into his strong chest.
"Perfect." Alice breathed out.
"How are you feeling, babe?"
"Pregnant." She joyously scoffed. "With twins. And this is just the start." She begins to rambled, making FP chuckle.
"I'm already showing." She huffs, staring down at her already present little bump. It's a slight curve, very recognisable when naked, but but still small enough to disguise with certain clothing, hence why none of her children had caught onto it yet.
"And I think that's beautiful." FP praises, reaching his hand down to her abdominal area and lightly rubbing against it.
"And I don't know how much worse my back and feet are gonna get. It wasn't this bad when I was pregnant with the girls but I guess that's what comes with double trouble." She noted as she rubbed her neck.
"Well I'll be giving you round the clock foot and back massages." He romantically promised. "Whenever you call, I'll be there, waiting on you hand and foot."
"About that...." Alice carefully begins, turning in his arms and staring into his eyes, nervously preparing what she wanted to say. She reflected back on her conversation with Betty earlier, and the importance of having both parent figures highly present for a child and raising them together in a secure family unit.
"Hmm?"
"What if, I didn't have to call you?"
"What do you mean?" He softly wondered, stroking his hands through her tied up hair.
"I was talking to Betty earlier-"
"You told her?" He quickly interjected, excited at the idea that they were now telling the kids.
"No, no. She was telling me about Tyler's Dad, and how he'd been in contact wanting to see him."
"And how did you feel about that?"
"Conflicted, I guess." Alice admitted, darting her eyes downwards "She mentioned wanting to build a co-parenting relationship with him, you know, make sure Tyler had a proper, stable family unit because he's already missed so much."
"Al, you don't have to worry about me missing out on anything, I'm gonna be here every step of the way." He comforted as he glided his fingers over her shoulder.
"I know you won't, and I know you're not going anywhere." Alice reaffirmed, stroking her hands through his half shaven beard. "It's just, I want these babies to have a normal and stable and home life, with both parents around fully."
FP remained mildly puzzled, arching his brow in confusion as he continued to listen to her attentively. "So, what are you saying?"
She inhaled a deep sigh, slowly shifting her gaze back to his soft brown orbs as she readied herself to speak. "I was thinking, that maybe, we should move in together. What d'you say?"