Hi there. I was looking for some inspiration after staring at a blank page all evening and so decided to do a challenge. 1000 words on a vision into the future. This is what happened. It's a bit mushier than the usual but we all like a little bit of LP happiness, right? Enjoy, Lexie.
...
Peyton Scott lifted the blanket high above her head and let it float gently back down onto the bed. As it settled softly a giggle erupted from beneath it. It was a sound that Peyton swore would never cease to make her heart soar.
"Again, Mommy!" The little voice called, as a pair of feet kicked playfully at the quilt.
"One more." Peyton said in a light tone, taking the material in her hands again. She let a smile run to her lips as she began to count to three. Then with a whoosh she pulled the blanket up into the air again, to reveal her daughter's gleeful face.
Unable to help herself, Peyton leaned down to kiss her little girls apple cheeks. Her curls fell forwards, brushing gently at Sawyer's face as she did so. The young girl only giggled at the action and then laughed harder as her quilt fell over the pair of them.
"Mommy, you're in my bed." Sawyer pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, Mommy." A new voice agreed. "You're in Sawyer's bed."
The blanket billowed to the foot of the bed and Lucas Scott's smiling face was revealed to his girls. He gave them a lop-sided smile before putting his serious face on. "It's sleepy time, Baby."
The routine was a regular occurrence. Somehow Peyton always managed to get their little girl hyper right before bedtime. It was left to Lucas to calm her down ready to go to sleep. It just so happened that it was one of his many talents. It was one of the reasons why Peyton played games before bedtime, because she loved partaking in their little family custom.
"Have you got a story?" Sawyer questioned, blinking up at her Daddy with big innocent blue eyes.
"Sure have." He said, pulling a book from behind his back.
Sawyer pulled a face which made Lucas chuckle. She really was her mother's daughter. He swore sometimes that all she'd got from him was his signature ocean blue squint and an unhealthy obsession with books. Besides that, she was all Peyton. Not that he was complaining. He loved that she was the image of her mother.
"We read Matilda already!" Sawyer announced in a 'duh' tone before sighing heavily.
Peyton raised her eyebrows in the direction of her husband. For a five year old, Sawyer sure has some attitude. "Yeah, Daddy, we've heard that one before."
Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing that his wife was enjoying the tormenting perhaps more than she should have been. "She gets it from you."
In response, Peyton just poked her tongue out. Lucas thought it proved his point perfectly but he was outnumbered, as was usually the case.
Sawyer, having grown bored of the adult interaction, wriggled free from her Mom's hold and jumped down from her bed.
"Where are you going, Little Lady?" Peyton called to her as Lucas turned to give his best stern look which happened to not be that stern at all.
Sawyer threw her hands up in the air and gave her parents an exasperated look, " To find a book I never read a-fore."
"Quickly then," Lucas said, caving in immediately.
Peyton sent him a pointed look from where she was still lazing on their daughter's bed. She was forever telling him that he's too soft with their daughter. It was a losing battle though, she knew.
They were so caught in their stare, that they almost missed their daughter padding out of the room. Soon though they were both on the tail of the headstrong youngster, following her blonde curls and bare feet to Lucas' office.
"Sawyer Brooke," Peyton called to her, "You know you're not allowed in there."
"I am when Daddy says so." Sawyer shot back, causing Peyton to roll her eyes.
Lucas crouched down to his daughter's level, "What do you want from there, Baby?"
Sawyer huffed, loudly and deliberately, "A book, Silly!"
Lucas squinted back at his wife as she snorted at Sawyer's words.
"They're grown-up books in there." Lucas said in a pained tone. He hated to deny his little girl anything.
"So?" Sawyer blinked back obliviously, "You know all the hard words, Daddy."
Peyton cackled at the little girl's logic. Her innocence told her that Lucas' books were just fairy stories with more complicated words in them.
"Baby," Lucas sighed as he went to explain why Sawyer couldn't have his books read to her, "Daddy's books are…,"
"Boring?" Peyton supplied, knowing that it would earn her a look from Lucas. She was only teasing though.
"Complicated." Lucas corrected, lifting Sawyer up into his arms, "They're not full of magic like your books."
Sawyer pouted, adorably. "What about the books you writed?"
"Wrote." Lucas said, correcting the young girl's grammar.
In an act that was completely Peyton inspired, Sawyer rolled her blue eyes, "But are they magic?"
A wry smile flew to Lucas' lips, "In a way."
Peyton shook her head; she could see where this was going. Lucas found it impossible to say no to their daughter, and Sawyer clearly wanted to hear one of Luke's stories.
"Once upon a time," Lucas began, padding back towards Sawyer's room.
Peyton smiled after them as they went, reaching for the door handle to Lucas' office to click it shut. As she did so, her eyes fell over the shelf dedicated to Lucas' bestsellers; from Ravens to the newest title, a comical story of a modern stay-at-home Dad. Her smile widened at the sight of them, her very own fairytale in print.
"Mommy!" Sawyer called out to her, "You're in Daddy's story!"
Peyton rolled her eyes, wondering which story Lucas was feeding her, "Wait for me!"