Disclaimer: I don't own Private Practice and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Charlotte and Cooper have looked forward to the first day of school for a long time, especially this summer. They're thrilled that the triplets are starting kindergarten because they desperately want Stella, Dylan, and Aiden out of the house for some peace and quiet. Don't get them wrong, they love their children, but there are times they need a break. This summer was an endless string of reasons for why.
"Mommy, what if I get sick?" Stella was terrified of going to school and didn't want to start kindergarten. She was giving her parents the most trouble about this, which surprised them. Dylan and Aiden were usually worse about things like these.
Charlotte smiled at her only daughter. "You won't, baby. I promise." She kneeled down and hugged the five year old.
"I will tell everyone that I am going to be a doctor." Aiden was the one most determined to follow in his parents' footsteps. He had been declaring since the age of three that he was going to help people like his mommy and daddy did. Charlotte and Cooper really weren't sure if he was actually going to do it considering that he was still only a kid, but they appreciated it nonetheless.
"I'll be really good!" Charlotte snorted at Dylan's proclamation. She hoped he was on his best behavior, but she doubted that would happen. Dylan was pretty rambunctious and the reason why things got broken in their house.
"Alright, kiddos. Who's going to eat pizza with me after school?" Mason adored his younger brothers and sister and spoiled them rotten. Neither Charlotte nor Cooper liked it very much, but they couldn't say anything because it made them feel good about how much he loved his siblings.
The triplets squealed excitedly and began talking about the toppings they wanted – None of them could agree, which made ordering pizza harder than it should be. This meant that the King-Freedman's didn't order it very often and thus, pizza was a special treat reserved for an important event.
Half an hour later, Charlotte and Cooper were dropping their kids off at school – Each had different teachers, something they had requested for multiple reasons. "I love you, Mommy! Please don't go, Daddy!" Aiden, the most sensitive triplet, burst into tears and threw his arms around his mother.
Charlotte fought back tears of her own. "Dyl, it's going to be okay, sweetheart. Daddy and Mase are picking you up after school. It's not going to be for very long and you'll have fun. I promise. We love you, too, okay? Just remember that." Damn her for getting emotional. She had been trying to hold on to that excited feeling for days, but it had slowly been fading away.
They hugged him and reluctantly sent a sobbing Dylan off with his teacher before dropping off Stella at her teacher's room. "I'll see you later. I'll even draw you something!" She was getting more confident about start school, something Cooper was proud of her for.
"Thank you, kiddo. Mommy and I will love it." Cooper loved all of her drawings and was the one who reigned Charlotte in when she didn't know what the hell their children had drawn. After hugging Stella, they walked with Aiden down to his room.
"I don't want you to go!" Aiden wailed. His change of heart was surprising to Charlotte and Cooper, but they recovered quickly.
"We have to, honey. But like we told Dylan, Daddy and Mason will be here soon. You'll be fine. Be good to your teacher, okay?" They hugged him and then reluctantly left. Well, reluctantly on Charlotte's part. It was unexpectedly hard leaving the kids, and Cooper had to force her to exit the school. They headed back home afterwards, both having the day off work.
"This is different." Charlotte and Cooper had a nanny for Stella, Dylan, and Aiden, but they very rarely had a day without their children. They had either all four of them, three of them, two, or even just one. Peace and quiet was something very rare.
"You're right. I think I'm going to nap." Charlotte wanted to clean, but she needed sleep first. That was also something that had gone by the wayside the minute the triplets entered the world.
Cooper laughed. "Sounds good. I'm going to make breakfast." He hadn't had time to eat since they had had helped the kids get ready.
After Charlotte woke up from her nap and cleaned, she and Cooper sat on the couch and did nothing. "I don't think I like the quiet anymore. I'm glad the kids are in school and we don't have to deal them twenty-four hours, but this is weird." She certainly hadn't expected that one.
He nodded his head in agreement. "I know. When did that happen?" How had he and Charlotte gone from desperately wanting their children out of the house for a few hours to missing them so much it hurt when they did go? He hated the yo-yoing emotions.
"Should we play a game?" Charlotte stopped herself from suggesting Candyland, a game she was immensely sick of. She'd be thrilled if she never played that game again, which is why she forced Cooper and Mason to do it.
"Go to work maybe? I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we went in anyway." At least Cooper hoped they didn't mind, but he needed to keep busy. And there was nothing to do.
She shrugged. "I don't want to work today. We took today off for a reason. Want to go have sex?"
"Now is that something I can agree to." They hurried off to their bedroom and went a few rounds until they (actually, Charlotte) got tired. He checked his watch afterwards. "We still have a few more hours left."
Charlotte groaned. "This is harder than I thought it would be." She felt guilty for desperately wanting her children to start school now, a feeling she wanted to go away.
"You're telling me."
Charlotte sighed. "Fuck it, let's go into work for a little while." They got up and got dressed then headed into work for a little while.
Both were immensely grateful when school ended for the day, and Stella, Dylan, and Aiden returned home, chattering all about their day. It was hard to understand them over all the different conversations, but neither cared. They actually liked hearing all the noise. They wouldn't take it for granted again, but would occasionally need the day off for some peace and quiet. Charlotte and Cooper were only human, after all.