Author's Note: When I realized it was Allie (Authored by Allison)'s birthday, I knew I had to do a story for her. Since I know we both share a love for a certain woman from Flushing, I decided to do some long-overdue re-watching. This bit of fluff resulted. Please do R&R! :)
Fran sighed. She couldn't remember her heart ever feeling so full. She had always loved Maggie, Brighton and Grace as if they were her own, but the experience of raising her own two kids was something else. After seeing how quickly Max's children grew up, Fran enjoyed every second with Jonah and Eve. Especially on a day like today.
"Well, it's been quite a day, hasn't it?" Max asked, walking up to kiss Fran.
"Yeah. It was a great birthday party. And that's thanks to you!"
Max blushed a bit. "I didn't do that much. I have a few connections in the movie business. It wasn't that hard to use them to make sure my children had fun on their birthday."
"Yeah, but how many kids can say they got to see a Disney movie that's not even out yet?!" Sometimes, Fran was still amazed that a man as successful as Maxwell Sheffield had ever wanted to marry her.
"Please, Fran. It was nothing. I wanted them to be happy. Anything I do for the twins, it's all thanks to you. When you came into my life, I barely knew my children. The four of us were virtually strangers to each other, and then I met a door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman who changed my life." Max kissed her again. The years when he had tried everything to run from any sort of commitment were now long gone. He wanted nothing more than to grow old alongside Fran and their children.
For once in her life, Fran was speechless. She could see in his eyes what he was thinking about. Then, suddenly, the quiet was broken by the unmistakable sound of the twins bickering. Unfortunately, they had both inherited Fran's tendency to be loud. Fran and Max headed into the large bedroom that the two shared. Usually, they got along pretty well and were best friends. But, every once in a while, they could get on each other's nerves.
"What on earth is going on in here?" Max asked. Jonah and Eve stopped dead in their tracks. The video game they'd been fighting over fell to the ground.
"Jonah won't let me play!" Eve whined, with a voice that was eerily reminiscent of Fran's.
"Jonah Samuel Sheffield, you know you have to share with your sister," Max said, sighing.
"Your dad's right," Fran agreed. "But it'll have to wait till tomorrow, because it's time for bed."
This brought immediate groans from the twins.
"You heard your mother," Max said, using the tone that the twins knew meant business. They reluctantly crawled into their beds.
"Now, are you two gonna stop fighting long enough for a bedtime story, or do you just want to go right to sleep?" Fran asked.
"Story," Eve said. But her tone revealed she was still angry with her brother.
"OK, then," Fran said. She and Max sat down on the two beds. Looking at the two of them, it struck Fran that they were now a year older. Six, to be precise. They'd be starting first grade soon. Where had the time gone?
Max saw the look on Fran's face and got up from Jonah's bed to sit next to his wife. He gently kissed her cheek. "It's all right, Fran. I know it seems like the twins are growing up awfully fast, but that just means we have to enjoy these moments while we can. You know I missed a lot of this with Maggie, Brighton and Grace."
At that, Fran smiled. "You're right." Max always seemed to know what to say when she was upset. One more reason she loved him. After kissing him again, she remembered that she was supposed to tell a story. There was no question about what story she wanted to tell. "Would you guys like to hear about the night you were born?"
Both Jonah and Eve nodded enthusiastically.
"That was quite a memorable night," Max said. "It was our first anniversary. We had a huge party, with Grandma Sylvia, Yetta, Maggie, Brighton, and Grace. It was wonderful. That was also the night that Uncle Niles asked C.C. to marry him. She turned him down, and ran out of the room."
Fran nodded. "Yeah, and I ran after her. Well, as much as I could run, being nine months pregnant with twins!" She laughed, remembering how hard the pregnancy had been. But, of course, it was all worth it. "I caught up with her in the elevator. I tried to convince C.C that she was making a mistake. I knew that Niles loved her. Then, the elevator stopped. That wasn't good. But, about a minute later, my water broke. I knew then that you guys wanted to come out!"
"What did you do, Daddy?" Eve asked. It was clear she was hanging on every word.
"Well, when I found out your mother was trapped, I got someone to get her out. We had to get her to the hospital right away. Everyone left the anniversary party and came with us. C.C decided she wanted to marry Niles after all. But, for some reason, she kept getting sick, and she couldn't figure out why. They went through with the wedding, right in the delivery room. You two were born right as they said 'I do.'"
"Really?" Now Jonah was caught up in the story.
"Really," Fran said. "And then C.C found out why she kept throwing up. She was pregnant!" The thought of C.C being a mother was something Fran was still getting used to. But she and Niles were happy together. Their daughter, Lauren, was a year younger than Jonah and Eve. She was definitely her mother's child.
"So that's it? That's how we were born?" Eve asked.
"Yeah, that's it. What more did you want?!" Fran replied. "The minute we saw you two, we were in love. Grandma Sylvia took one look and wanted to eat you right up, Jonah!"
Jonah was wide-eyed, thinking of what he'd seen his grandmother do to a chocolate cake.
Fran laughed. "Don't worry, your father took you away before she could do anything. It was about a week later that we all packed up and moved out here to California."
"Oh," Eve said. "So what happened after that?" It was clear that, although she was trying her best to hide it, she was getting tired.
"We moved out here, and your father made a boatload of money producing movies," Fran said, exasperated. "Now it's definitely time for bed!"
The twins started to protest, but one look from Max ended their complaining at once. He walked over, kissing his daughter on the forehead. "Goodnight. I love you."
"Love you, too, Daddy," Eve said, but she was already half-asleep.
Fran kissed Jonah goodnight, then she and Max switched. Before they'd even turned out the lights, both kids were sound asleep.
When they were back in the hallway, Fran kissed Max for a long moment. "Thank you again for today."
"You don't have to thank me, Fran. I wanted them to enjoy their birthday."
Fran nodded. "I know. But I also know that you feel guilty for not being there for Maggie, Brighton and Grace when they were this age. You may not think so, but you're a good father – to all of our kids."
Just hearing Fran say "our kids," as if it were a totally normal thing, made Max's heart melt all over again. Since he and Fran were married, he'd often wished he could go back and change their story. But, right now, he realized that was all nonsense. It didn't matter how they'd gotten here. The important thing was, his family was exactly where they were supposed to be.
The End