Colby's POV
My heart broke for Julia. The idea that she thought this was all her fault made everything so much worse.
I tried to keep us all calm while we stayed in the hotel but it was hard considering how scared the kids got by the break-in.
I didn't know what happened in the room, but I knew that Julia killed two grown men. That would be enough to traumatize anyone of any age, let alone children.
Sleeping was nearly impossible since I was so worried about Maisie and Julia.
Jules still had to wake up every two hours to feed Maisie and every time she would wake up she would yell at me to go to sleep.
"Colby, seriously." Julia hummed as she fed Maisie, rocking her gently. "It's fine, Jules. You feed her and go back to sleep, I'll burp her and get her back to bed." I said and gently rubbed Julia's shoulder, massaging them.
"You have to drive..." She said as I breathed a laugh. "I'll be fine, sweetheart." I said as Maisie finished up.
"Come here." I said to Maisie as I took her from Julia.
"Get some sleep, Jules." I said and stood up with Maisie, patting her back as I rocked side to side.
"Are you sure?" Julia asked as I nodded. "Of course. Get some sleep." I said and watched as she nodded and got back in bed.
I rocked Maisie as I burped her then held her against my chest until she fell asleep.
I couldn't get over how in love with her I was and how happy I was that she was here. I was apprehensive at first about bringing a child into this terrifying world.
The second I saw her though I knew it was the right decision. Having a child with Julia was the best thing to ever happen to me.
I loved Maisie more than anything in the world.
Once Maisie was asleep I laid her in her crib and turned to get in bed with Julia only to see Juniper standing in the doorway with tears in her eyes.
"Hey, kid. You okay?" I whispered and crouched down to be level with her. "I had a nightmare." She mumbled. "Well that's no good." I said and brushed the tears from her cheeks.
"Can I sleep with you and sissy?" She asked as I nodded. "Of course. Come on." I said then scooped her up and carried her to the bed.
I laid Juniper next to Julia then laid beside her. "Hmm?" Julia mumbled quietly as Juniper cuddled up to her.
"You okay, bug?" She asked and wrapped her arms around her little sister. "I had a nightmare." She said as I wrapped my arms around both of them.
"We'll keep you safe, love." Julia said and glanced up at me. "Always." I said as Juniper nodded and closed her eyes, snuggling into Julia.
Juniper slept with us all night, which was surprising considering we were up and with Maisie multiple times.
Once the sun was up though, we started the get everyone situated to his the road again.
I held Maisie and rocked her as Julia helped Juniper get ready.
It broke my heart how afraid Juniper was about all of this but I couldn't stress enough how much we would protect her.
I knew it was scary but Julia and I would do anything to keep all of the girls safe.
"Sissy, can we get apple slices?" Juniper asked as Julia gently brushed through her hair. "I don't see why not." Julia said and looked up at me.
"Yeah, we can get anything you want." I said with a small smile. "Thanks." Juniper said and looked down at her teddy bear.
"I'm gonna get the other kids together." I said and looked down at Maisie as she looked up at me a blank expression.
"Hi, my darling." I hummed as she yawned. "Yeah, you're gonna sleep good in the car." I said and walked out to the living room where the older kids were.
"You guys ready?" I asked as Maisie started fussing. "Are we going to LA?" Jenna asked as I nodded. "It's the best place for us to go since we have more people to keep you guys safe." I explained and bounced Maisie.
"Aren't people going to kill Jule if we go there?" Sam asked as I shook my head. "Nobody is gonna kill her. They don't stand a chance against her at this point." I explained as the kids got up.
"Yeah, she's a badass." Carter said causing me to laugh. "Honestly, yeah. Probably the scariest woman the crime world has ever seen." I hummed as Julia came out of the room with Juniper on her hip.
"Are we ready?" She asked as I nodded. "Yep. We're gonna go to McDonald's and get breakfast then we'll be on the road all day." I said as the kids started grabbing all the stuff so we could go down to the car.
"Apple slices." Juniper said with a small smile. "Yep, as many as you want." I said as Julia sighed and kissed Juniper's head.
I could see the guilt sitting behind Julia's eyes as she looked up at me, which broke my heart even more.
I hated that she carried that guilt at all. None of this was her fault and although the kids were traumatized, it wasn't because of her.
It was because of the people out to get her.
When we got to the car we got all the kids in the car but before Julia and I got in, I walked up to her. "How are you feeling?" I asked as she sighed and looked up at me. "I'm stressed." She said as I wrapped my arms around her.
"I know, we're gonna be okay though. I promise it will all work out." I said then kissed her head.
"I love you." She said and looked up at me. "I love you too, sweetheart. We're gonna be okay." I said again then gave her a kiss.
It was hard for me to see her be like this but I knew she was going to be okay in the end. I knew my Julia and I knew she was strong. I knew we would get through this together.
The drive to LA was tough considering we literally had a newborn with us, but after the long day of driving we finally go to the office.
"Hey, guys welcome back." Sam said as the elevator door opened. "Hey, man." I said with a smile as Maisie started crying in Julia's arms. "Sorry, she's cranky." Julia apologized as Sam shook his head.
"Go ahead and take her to my office. I'll help Colby get the kids situated." Sam explained as Julia nodded and went down the hallway and towards my old office.
"How was the trip?" Sam asked as little Sam smiled widely. "It was fine. Are we gonna get to hang out more now that we are gonna be living here?" He asked with excitement.
Julia's brother Sam has always had a soft spot for my best friend. They had the same name and I think he really clung to him because of it.
"Nobody said we were moving, Sam." Carter said as I sighed. "We're moving here but I'm not sure if it's gonna be now or not." I explained.
"We don't get the summer with our friends anymore?" Jenna asked as I frowned.
"As much as I would love for you guys to have that, it's just no longer safe. Your safety is everything." I said as we made our way to the room we would be staying in.
"That sucks." Jenna mumbled. "I know it does and I'm sorry." I said quietly as Juniper tensed up in my arms.
"What's wrong, kid?" I asked as she pointed to someone from the gang who was just walking by.
"You're okay." I said quietly then kissed her head as we got to our room.
"We've stayed here so much it almost feels like home." Jenna hummed as the kids went to their respective beds.
"I know, I'm sorry." I said with a sigh and sat Juniper on her bed. "We're gonna try to get into a house soon, it'll be much more comfortable." I said and crouched in front of Juniper.
"I'm gonna go help sissy with Maisie. Is that okay?" I asked as she frowned. "I promise Sam will stay here and keep you safe." I said as she frowned.
"I don't want you to go." She said with a sniffle. "I know, love. I'll be five minutes." I said as she nodded.
Once I had her permission I left to go to Sam's office where Julia was rocking Maisie as she cried and screamed.
"She's still fussing?" I asked as Julia looked up at me with an exhausted look on her face. "Yeah, I don't think she likes all the traveling." She said as I sighed and wrapped my arms around the both of them.
It was crazy to me that we were stood in my old office. The same place we fell deeply in love.
It was the place we have been millions of times, but this time was different.
This time we were with a child I never thought we would have.