This is set in the future!
If you asked me, the best part of my day was the end. It was the time when work was finally over and I was able to return home. I looked forward to it; not because of sleep...well, that wasn't the only reason. It was because I knew what would be waiting for me inside.
The moment I unlocked the front door, a small pair of arms immediately swarmed me and wrapped themselves around my waist.
"You're home!" Paxton exclaimed, his dark eyes staring up at me.
To this day, it never failed to surprise me just how much both he and Palmer looked like Nixon. It shouldn't have been surprising seeing as we had used a surrogate and given Nixon's alpha genes on top of being a werewolf, it made sense that the kids would have taken after him more. Still, it seemed like every time I saw the twins, they resembled him more and more.
"Were you good today?" I asked and Paxton immediately nodded.
"I taught Zion how to ride a bike today!" He told me proudly, a wide smile breaking out on his face which revealed his two missing teeth.
"Yeah, you also forgot to teach him how to stop," Nixon said as he entered the room with Silas in his arms and Zion on his back.
"Details, details," Paxton dismissed Nixon. "You're the one who said that sometimes you have to fall down in order to learn."
Nixon scowled at the eight-year-old and I moved toward him and took Zion off his back.
"He got his attitude from you," I told Nixon with a teasing smile before turning my attention to Zion. "Are you okay, Zi? Did you get hurt?"
Zion's immediately started to nod and squirmed his way out of my arms before heading toward the couch with a visible limp. A frown formed on my face and I watched as he took a seat and pulled up his pant leg, revealing...the smallest scratch.
"He gets his dramatics from you," Nixon mocked and I rolled my eyes. "He landed in the grass. Barely got injured, but you would've thought he'd broken a leg based on the way he was whaling."
The three-year-old immediately broke into a pout. "It hurt!"
"I'm sure it did," I responded before Nixon could. I approached the couch where he sat and kneeled to his level. "Does it still hurt now?" Zion nodded and without giving him a second to react, I scooped the small child into my arms and attacked him with kisses until the room was filled with his giggles. "How about now?"
"All better!" He said, giving me a thumbs up for good measure.
"Where's my kiss?" Nixon asked from behind me.
"You can wait," I teased. "Where's Palmer and Silas?"
"They're upstairs with Goob and Stitch. They're watching Bolt!" Paxton said and I stood up and ruffled both his and Zion's hair before heading upstairs.
It wasn't hard to locate the boys due to just how loud the TV was. When I entered the room, Silas was laying on his stomach on the bed with Stitch curled up by his side. His curly blonde hair shot up in every direction reminding me that it was time for the boys to go get their hair cut. Palmer, on the other hand, was fast asleep on the floor with Goob snoring away beside him.
I snorted quietly to myself and entered the room which caused Silas' eyes to shoot toward me.
"Papa!" The blond-haired seven-year-old jumped off of the bed and ran toward me with open arms.
"Hi baby," I greeted as I returned his hug, but made sure to be careful to not wake up Palmer. "Did you have a good day today?"
Silas nodded enthusiastically and pointed at the TV. "Daddy watched Aladdin with me!"
"Did he?" I grinned. "What was your favorite character?"
"The Genie," he replied.
"Why the Genie?"
"Because he's blue," Silas said without hesitation.
I blinked twice. "Any other reason?"
"Nope," the seven-year-old responded confidently.
"Did you like the movie?" I asked instead and he nodded. "Well then, that's all that matters."
Not a second later, Paxton and Zion entered the room with Nixon in tow. Paxton opened his mouth but I quickly raised my finger and gestured toward Palmer's sleeping figure.
"It's not over?" Zion asked, gesturing to the TV and Silas shook his head.
"Not yet."
Zion's face immediately broke out into a smile and he climbed onto Silas' bed and took a seat beside him.
"Why don't you all finish Bolt while your Papa settles down, okay?" Nixon suggested and Paxton nodded whilst Silas and Zion ignored him completely.
His arm quickly wrapped around my wrist and he pulled me out of the room and down the hallway toward where our room was. The moment we were both inside and the door was shut, he pulled me closer and placed his lips on mine.
"I missed you," he mumbled.
"I was only gone for a few hours," I said, but that didn't stop the smile from forming on my lips.
"That's too long."
"Maybe you're just clingy," I playfully replied.
"Then you like that I'm clingy. You've been with me for how long?"
"Maybe too long," I joked. "Look at us. We have four kids and another on the way. It's crazy how much our lives have changed in what? Ten years?"
"Goddess, don't say it like that. You make me feel old."
"Thirty-two isn't old," I snorted.
Nixon rolled his eyes before they lowered toward my stomach. "How are you feeling by the way?"
"Right now? Fine. The morning sickness hasn't gotten that bad," I responded truthfully. "Honestly, I'm just excited to see what this baby looks like."
Of our five children, this would be the first one Nixon and I had together without the use of a surrogate or adoption. Paxton and Palmer were our oldest and when the topic of surrogacy first came up, we decided to use Nixon's genes. A few years later, when we decided to have another child only this time we'd switch which was how Zion came to be.
Adopting Silas was never in the plan, but when Nixon and I met him for the first time, I knew that there was no way we'd be going home without him.
And now here we were, expecting baby number five. I can't say that it was planned because that would be the furthest thing from the truth. Being pregnant wasn't something I ever thought I'd experience, but now that the initial shock was gone, I was excited. This child would be the first we biologically had together and likely our last one. I was curious to see how they would look.
"I wouldn't mind having another child with your eyes," Nixon admitted.
"Yeah? I could say the same about your smile. Or your hair; that'd make my life much easier."
The one thing Paxton and Palmer didn't get from Nixon was his loose curls. Theirs were tighter and I'd be lying if I said throughout the first few years of their life I didn't struggle to get a handle on it. Now that it had been eight years, I knew how to handle it better, but that didn't mean I wanted to go through that process again with another kid.
"Fathers of five," Nixon muttered. "Can you believe it?"
I shook my head. "Feels like yesterday we were arguing over if you could cook or not."
He shot me a glare. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"'Course not," I grinned and kissed his cheek.
Nixon rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, likely to retort, but he didn't get the chance.
"Daddy, the movie's over!" Zion's squeaky voice echoed down the hall.
"Our job's never over," Nixon said and I laughed.
"No. No, it's not."
But I knew that deep down, neither one of us truly minded. In fact, it was the opposite; we enjoyed it.
There will potentially be another bonus either here or in my notebook about after their baby is born! I will also be doing this for Gaius and Onyx, but not Cloud and Raiden (which will be explained in Gaius and Onyx's bonus).