Sorry for my poor grammar. Enjoy!
For the next month, both families became extremely close, spending almost every weekend together. One night, Artem received a call from Sharna pleading for him to watch the kids because she had to take the night shift at the diner. Artem immediately agreed. Hastily, Sharna dropped off Jace, who ran over to play with Harper right when the door opened, and Mia, who was currently crying.
"Thank you so much, Artem. This means so much to me. My friend, Peta, and her husband usually watch them, but they're in the process of moving to New York." Sharna explained.
"Don't worry about it. I can watch them anytime." Artem replied. "What time do you have to be at work?"
Sharna looked down at her watch. "Now. Bye, Jace. I love you. Bye, sweetheart."
She set down the kids' overnight bags on the ground and kisses Mia's head.
"Bye, Sharna. Say bye to Mommy, Mia." Artem and Sharna give each other a kiss on the cheek, before Sharna raced towards her car.
Artem looked back to see that Harper and Jace had disappeared to the playroom upstairs. He gazed at Mia "Well, I guess it's just you and me, Princess."
After bringing the kids' overnight bags upstairs, Artem cooked Mac & Cheese for Jace and Harper, with Mia still in his arms. Once he fed them, the man ate his dinner with Mia eating Cheerios next to him in her portable high chair. All of a sudden, his phone notified him of a text from Sharna.
Sharna: How is everything? R the kids behaving?
Artem: Everything is great. Jace is playing with Harper in playroom. Mia is with me.
Sharna: Good 2 hear.
Artem: How is work?
Sharna: Boring. But I won't be back till 9:00 or so.
Artem: I should be awake when u get here. Jace goes 2 bed @ 8:00 right?
Sharna: Yup. I gotta go. Tell the kids I love them.
Artem: Will do. See u later.
Once he cleaned the dishes and checked on the kids, Artem took Mia upstairs and gave her a bath. After drying her off and putting her in a fresh diaper, he dressed her in a soft, pink onesie covered with small, cute elephants. A few hours and a diaper change later, it was time for all of the kids to go to bed.
"Bedtime, kids." Artem said as he walked into the playroom.
Earlier, Artem had set up sleeping bags in the playroom so the kids could have a sleepover.
"Time to brush your teeth." He continued.
The kids started whining and complaining. One by one, Artem helped Harper and Jace brush their teeth. Both kids jumped into their sleeping bags.
First, Artem bent down and pulled the covers over Harper, before kissing her on the forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Get some sleep. I love you."
"I love you too." She replied.
Then, he kneeled down next to Jace and pulled up the covers of his sleeping bag.
"Artem, can I sleep over again soon? Today was fun." Jace asked.
Artem smiled. "Of course, buddy. Goodnight."
As he turned off the light and walked out of the room, he faintly heard Jace whisper, "I love you."
"I love you too." He replied softly, turning back to see that the young boy had already fallen asleep.
Artem walked downstairs into the living room where Mia was playing in her playpen.
"Bedtime, Pumpkin Pie." He said lifting her from the playpen, her blankie in her hand.
She gurgled. He took her upstairs into his room, where he had set up her crib, and he set her down in it. Instead of closing her eyes or going to sleep, she just smiled and kicked her legs in the air, showing no signs of being tired.
Artem sighed. "You aren't going to go to sleep, are you?"
Her only reply was lifting her arms in the air, signaling to him to hold her. He picked her up and walked downstairs with her still in his arms. Turning on the Brady Bunch on the TV, he laid on the couch with Mia on his chest. Soon, he fell asleep. He woke up, with Mia peacefully sleeping on his chest, just as Sharna walked in. She collapsed next to him on the couch, exhausted from the day's work.
Artem sat up. "How did you get in?"
"Spare key." She answered.
"How was work?" He questioned.
"As good as work can get." She responded truthfully. "How was looking after the kids?"
"Great. Harper and Jace went straight to sleep. This one on the other hand..." He said gesturing to the baby on his chest.
Sharna rubbed Mia's back. "Aw, poor baby. I see you both got some sleep."
"Yup." He replied.
She smiled. "You are so good with her. She loves you so much. Jace too."
"Thank you."
"Thanks for watching them. I'm going to go grab all of their stuff, so we can get going, before it gets too late." Sharna stood up.
Artem protested. "No. It's too late for you to go. I don't feel comfortable knowing you're driving at this time. Stay here. You can take my room, and I'll stay on the couch."
"No, I couldn't possibly do that." She replied.
"I insist. It's no big deal. Plus, the kids can hang out a little bit more in the morning." Artem responded.
"Thank you." Sharna said, gratefully.
"My pleasure. Now, go shower and get changed. I imagine that your waitress outfit isn't comfortable. You can borrow one of my shirts and some boxer shorts." He offered.
"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek, before running upstairs into his room.
About half an hour later, Sharna came down in Artem's clothes and her hair up in a bun, all ready for bed. "So, what are we watching?"
"How about Timeless? I just need to bring Mia upstairs, and we can start watching." Artem said.
"Perfect." She agreed.
Artem came back, and they watched the action-packed show. Sharna broke the silence. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
He turned to look at her. "Of course. You can ask me anything."
"What happened to Harper's mother?" She questioned, immediately regretting asking him when his face dropped.
Artem took a deep breath. "Honestly, I don't know. One night, the doorbell rang, and there was my ex-girlfriend, Mischa, carrying a baby carrier and a suitcase. She passed the baby over to me, put down the suitcase, and left. Harper was barely one month old."
"I'm so sorry." Sharna wrapped her arms around him and put her head on his shoulder.
Artem returned the hug. "It's okay. I got over it a long time ago." He paused. "Whatever happened to Jace and Mia's father?"
"He left us before Mia was born. He couldn't handle the responsibility of raising Jace. I didn't even tell him about Mia." She revealed.
Artem pulled Sharna closer. "What is his name?"
"Paul Kirkland." She answered.
That name was familiar to Artem, but he couldn't put a face to the name. "Well, he is an idiot for letting you and your beautiful children go."
Sharna smiled. "I don't know what I would do without you. You and Harper have been the light of my family's life."
"And you, Jace, and Mia have been the light in mine and Harper's life." Artem kissed her on the forehead. "You know this is the first time we've spent time together without the kids."
Sharna hummed. "This is nice. I like when we talk."
"So do I. We should do this more often. No kids, just us." Artem agreed.
Sharna nodded her head in agreement.
Artem suggested. "Why don't we go on a date? It doesn't have to be romantic if you don't want it to be, but I want to spend time with you."
"I would like that." She began to blush. "And honestly...I wouldn't mind if it were romantic."
Sharna gazed up and him and smiled.
He returned the smile. "It's a date."
Artem leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. Both of them sat in silence, enjoying being in each other's arms. Eventually, they fell asleep, her head resting on his shoulder, and his head over hers. His hand rested over hers. At 3:00 A.M., Artem woke up. Carefully, he picked up Sharna and carried her to bed. Artem pulled the covers over her and kissed her on the forehead. On his way out, he checked on Mia in the crib and kissed her forehead too. After checking on Harper and Jace, he went back downstairs and slept on the couch. Fortunately, Mia never woke up in the middle of the night.