Colby's POV
Watching Julia be a mom was the best thing to ever happen to me. She was always such a great guardian for her siblings but the way she loved and cared for Maisie was another level.
I could tell she was exhausted. It was very obvious considering she needed to feed or pump every two hours. She never complained though.
She would get up without complaining then would still get the kids ready for school. I knew I was in love with her, but seeing her like this amplified it.
I was just so proud of her.
"Are we all going to pick up the kids?" I asked as Julia came into the room with Maisie in her arms.
"Yeah, it's their last day of school in Texas. They get the whole crew." She said with a small smile.
"Are you sure you don't want to rest, sweetheart?" I asked then gently caressed her cheek. "Absolutely not. I will sleep when I'm dead." She said with a laugh as Maisie fussed and looked up at me.
"I think she wants you." Julia said with shimmering eyes as she looked at me. "Of course she does, she's a daddy's girl through and through." I said and took Maisie from Julia.
I couldn't get over how small and fragile she was. I had this overwhelming feeling of needing to protect her. If anyone even came close to her I would kill them.
"Easy, killer." Julia said, breaking me from my thoughts. "Huh?" I asked as she breathed a laugh and grabbed the diaper bag.
"You got that look in your eye." She hummed as I grabbed the keys to the car.
"What look?" I asked innocently. "The one that would murder anyone who stepped close to Maisie." She said as I chuckled.
"I would." I said simply then got Maisie situated in her car seat. "I know you would." Julia said then opened the front door.
When we got to the car I got Maisie situated while Julia got settled in the front seat.
Once Maisie was clipped in, I got in the drivers seat and looked over at Julia. "Ready?" I asked and offered her my hand.
"Ready." She hummed and took my hand as I backed out of the driveway.
Juniper's school was only a couple miles from our house so it only took a couple minutes to get there but by the time I pulled up to the curb, Julia was fast asleep.
I knew I should have woken her so she could witness picking the kids up on their last day of school but she really needed the rest.
I waited in the car for a minute before getting out. I stayed closer to the car than usual because Julia and Maisie were in there.
When the kindergarteners were let out, Juniper squealed and ran towards me. "Hi best friend!!" She said as I grinned and scooped her up. "Hey first grader." I said as she gasped.
"No!!!!!" She screamed causing me to laugh. "You don't want to be a first grader?" I asked and set her down, internally laughing at the outfit she had chosen.
"No, they're old." She said as I nodded. "Yeah, maybe a little too old. We should probably hold you back." I said then walked her to the car. "Yep." She said with a nod as I crouched down.
"Okay, sissy and Maisie are sleeping so we have to be super quiet. Can you do that?" I asked as she nodded. "Like a mouse." She whispered causing me to grin.
"Perfect." I said then opened the door so I could help her get in the car. Once she was settled in I got in the driver's seat and looked over at Julia.
She was still fast asleep as she leaned against the window.
Part of me wished she had stayed home so she could actually get some rest but I was glad she was here.
I knew she wanted to be present when picking up the kids but her getting rest was the most important thing.
When we got to the older kids' school I parked in the lane I needed to park in then got out. I knew I didn't need to get out but I wanted to warn them to be quiet.
As soon as they saw me standing out of the car, Jenna froze with wide eyes before looking at Carter.
"What's going on?" Sam asked as the boys actually approached the car. "I'm just standing out here because Jules and Maisie are sleeping and wanted to warn you guys to be quiet." I said as Carter laughed.
"She thought you were gonna embarrass us." He said then turned towards Jenna.
"Oh. I mean I can. It's not like you'll probably ever see any of these people anyways." I said as Sam frowned.
"We're really gonna move?" He asked as I nodded. "That's the plan for now. We can probably stay here for the summer though." I explained as Jenna walked up to us finally.
"You're really not gonna shout anything embarrassing?" Jenna asked as I breathed a laugh.
"I mean, do you want me to?" I asked as she shook her head.
"No, I'd rather die." She said as I nodded. "Cool. Did you make sure to get your hemorrhoid medication from the nurse?" I asked loudly causing her to gasp and hide her face while the boys laughed.
"Dude!" She gasped as I shrugged. "Couldn't resist." I said then went to get in the car.
"Colby." Juniper whispered causing me to turn to look at her. "I'm being quiet." She said as I nodded.
"You're doing great, love. Is Maisie still asleep?" I asked as she looked over at the baby. "Yeahhhhh." She said and quietly cheered.
"Perfect." I said then turned straight ahead, glancing to make sure Julia was still doing alright.
I couldn't get over how adorably peaceful she was as she slept. I just knew she needed this rest so badly.
I was proud of the kids for being quiet enough to not wake up Jules or the baby. I knew they were all old enough to understand but I knew that it was fun to mess with your siblings.
When we got home, the kids made their way inside and I went to bring Maisie in.
Of course as soon as I started taking her out of her car seat so I could bring her upstairs she started crying.
"Shhh, I know. I'm sorry for waking you." I said and laid her on my chest so I could rock her gently.
It only took a minute to calm her down so I decided to bring her to the living room so Jenna could watch her while I got Julia.
"Hey, do you mind watching Maisie?" I asked as Jenna's face lit up. "Not at all. Gimme gimme gimme." She said and held her arms out causing me to laugh.
"Thanks, Jen." I said then laid Maisie in her arms before going back out to the car. When I got there I carefully opened the door and lifted Julia out.
"Hmm?" Julia groaned as I cradled her carefully. "Shh, sleep." I whispered and started carrying her inside.
"Did I miss it?" She mumbled as I sighed. "No, baby. Get some rest." I said quietly and carried her upstairs.
"Okay." She whispered and snuggled into me a bit as I walked into the bedroom.
I laid her on the bed, then covered her with the covers before leaning down and kissing her head.
"I love you." I whispered then turned to leave the room.
When I made my way back downstairs all the kids were hanging out in the living room.
"Alright, listen up." I said causing them all to look up at me.
"Jules made you guys cupcakes and she was really excited to get you guys from school today. She fell asleep though and she's gonna be really upset so like...be gentle." I said as Carter laughed.
"We won't eat the cupcakes." He said as Sam nodded. "Yeah and we can redo the pickup process for her if it makes her feel better." He offered.
"That's really nice, guys. I'm sure she'll appreciate that." I said as Maisie fussed.
"I think she wants you." Jenna said as I nodded. "Thanks for watching her." I said then took Maisie from her as she started to get fussy.
"Best friend?" Juniper asked as I got Maisie situated in my arms. "What's up, best friend?" I asked as she frowned. "Can I cuddle too?" She asked with a sad tone.
"Of course. Come on." I said and patted my lap. "What do you guys wanna do? It's the first day of summer afterall." I said as Juniper got situated.
"Well since Jules is sleeping, we can't do anything outside of the house so maybe we can just watch a movie and order food?" Jenna suggested.
"That'd be good." I said with a nod. "Can we get Chinese food for sissy?" Juniper asked as I nodded.
"I think she'd like that." I said then kissed Juniper's head.
We decided on a movie then ordered the food when Julia came into the room in tears.
"What's wrong?" I asked as she came and sat on the couch. "I missed it." She said as Maisie fussed, hearing Julia's voice.
"You missed what, sweetheart?" I asked as she took Maisie from me. "The last day of school." Julia said with a frown.
"We didn't eat our cupcakes, sissy!" Juniper said with a wide smile. "You didn't?" Julia asked, her voice breaking slightly.
"No, we wanted you to be here for it. You needed your rest though." Sam said as Julia pouted her lip.
"You were exhausted so we wanted you to sleep." Carter said as someone knocked on the door. "Who is that?" Julia asked nervously. "We ordered Chinese food." I said then stood up with Juniper.
"Be right back." I said then went with Juniper to grab the food.
After collecting the food, we made our way back to the living room where we had a movie night with the kids.
It was so great being able to treat them and spend time with them since I knew that there was some doubt that we would be more distant when Maisie came.
I knew in my heart that we would never abandon the kids.
When it was time to go to bed, I put Juniper to bed while Julia worked on getting Maisie settled down.
"Everything okay in here?" I asked and walked into the bedroom. Julia was rocking Maisie with a broken and frustrated look as the baby screamed and cried. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong." Julia said quietly.
"Nothing, sweetheart. She's just a little cranky." I said and came over so I could help. "I changed her diaper, fed her, burped her. I don't know what else to do." Julia said with a broken tone.
"Try holding her up to your heart. That's what the nurse said can help." I explained as she nodded and did as I suggested.
After only a couple minutes, Maisie was calming down and falling asleep against Julia's chest. "There we go." I said gently as Julia looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
"Hey...it's okay, Jules." I said gently and wiped the tear from her cheek. "I just feel like such a shitty mom." She whispered as I shook my head.
"You're an amazing mom. I wish you could see what I see." I said gently as Julia leaned down and kissed Maisie's head.
"She loves you so much, sweetheart. When she hears your voice she immediately wants you to hold her." I explained and looked down at our sleeping daughter.
"She adores you." I said then leaned down and gave Julia a gentle kiss.
I knew why she was doubting herself. I knew it had to be killing her that she wasn't perfect at this but she didn't understand how amazing she was.
She truly was the best mom in the world.
We stayed awake for a little while, making sure Maisie was okay before we finally settled down and got into bed together.
I held Julia as she cried herself to sleep. It was hard to see her be so hard on herself but I wanted to be there for her before I could fall asleep.
It felt like we only were asleep for a couple minutes though before there was a large crash downstairs followed by the sound of the security system going off.