Sleeping in the next morning was wonderful. Three months of not having to turn on an alarm clock was one of the blessed perks of being a teacher. Will stretched his legs and felt that Doodlebug had found her way back to the foot of their bed. Emma must have gotten up in the middle of the night to let her back in. He turned to look over at his sunshine cuddled close and still sound asleep. He turned to face her and propped himself up on his elbow. Smiling he stroked her cheek then slipped his hand under the sheets to stroke her bare back.
"Rise and shine sleepyhead," he said kissing her forehead.
"Mmmm, Will," she said stirring, "what time is it?"
"Brace yourself," he teased knowing the old Emma would surely freak out sleeping in so late, "it's 10:30."
"Wow," she said kissing him and snuggling closer. "I guess we should enjoy this while we can. This is our last summer alone."
"We're not alone," he said letting his hand fall to their baby bump.
"You know what I mean," she said.
"I know," he said, "I don't think I'll mind getting up early next summer."
"Me neither," she said, "I'm actually looking forward to it."
"So what do you want to do today," he said, "it's a little late for breakfast but maybe we could grab an early lunch somewhere and then head to the grocery store."
"If you had a plan then why did you ask me what I wanted to do today," she said following her husband's example and running her hand up and down his bare back.
"Because sunshine, you always have a choice and a say so," he said.
"Are you trying to score brownie points with me," she joked. She knew all too well that he was serious and always took her opinion into account.
"Nope, just trying to be a good husband to my pregnant wife," he said nuzzling her neck. "And score a few points that I might be able to use to convince you that we need to know if the sea monkey is a boy or a girl."
"So there is a motive," she teased.
"Maybe," he said, his voice muffled because he was too busy kissing her neck.
"You really want to know," she said pushing him back and searching his eyes for an answer she already knew.
"I really want to know," he said turning over to seek out his pajama pants that at some point had landed in a heap on the floor. He tugged his pants on and threw back the covers, "but it's your call. If you want to be a surprise, then it will be one of the best ones I ever get in my life."
"I hate it when you do that," she said sitting up, clutching the sheets to her chest as she began the hunt for her pajamas. The tone in her voice was playful. She wants to know as much as he does but is enjoying his efforts to convince her.
"What," he asked untangling her pajamas from the heap, "here ya go babe."
"Thanks," she said, "when you say absolutely wonderful things to me in an attempt to persuade me to do something."
"This time I mean it," he said patting Doodlebugs head. Their dog sometimes slept more soundly then they did, "I'll be happy with whatever decision you make. I've pleaded my case but…I'm going to say one more word and leave it up to you."
"What's that," she asked watching him walk to the bedroom door.
"Shopping," he said with a wink, "come on Bug. Let's go outside."
With a huge grin on her face, Emma watched their dog follow Will out of the room.
"Little one," she said patting her baby bump and made her way to the bathroom, "your daddy is something else."
Emma was in and out of the shower by the time Will came back upstairs. She figured he probably dawdled downstairs, getting the paper, turning on the coffee pot and playing with their dog. Truth be told she would have much preferred sharing the shower with her husband but knew they had all summer for that and then some.
As she got dressed, she heard his footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Em," Will said walking back into their bedroom.
"In here," she called from the bathroom.
"Hey," Will said walking to the door and leaning against the frame. He found his wife in one of his button down shirts and a flowery skirt that fell just past her knees. She was towel drying her hair. "You look cute."
"Do you mind," she said motioning to the shirt. He shook his head, "we're going to have to go shopping for me before we go shopping for the baby. I'm starting to grow out of my clothes."
"You can wear my clothes anytime, it's sexy," he said, "look, um, we've got a problem."
"What's wrong," she asked.
"I found something on our front porch when I went out to get the paper," he said leaning up against the vanity, "Actually two somethings."
"You don't mean," Emma questioned.
"I don't think they ever left last night," Will said, "They were just sitting on the swing."
"Wow," Emma said, "what are we going to do?"
"I'm not taking them to the store with us so cross that option off the list," he said.
"Why don't you run to the grocery," Emma said, "I can stay and talk to them."
"No way," he said. Unless it was something very specific, Emma never let him go to the grocery store without her. He always came back with a bunch of junk and half of the things on the list forgotten, "I always get in trouble when I go without you."
"Well then, I guess we can survive until tomorrow," Emma said, "We've got more than just a box of baking soda and a shriveled up lime in the fridge."
Smiling at the memory, Will took her in his arms and kissed her.
"I'm sorry baby," he said, "this isn't how I anticipated kicking off the summer."
"It's okay. It's just day one. Every teacher has one or two students that they just can't let go of," Emma said, "Finn and Rachel are ours."
"Thank you," Will said.
"Get dressed," she said patting him on the backside as she walked back into the bedroom. "I'll go check on them."
"They're in the kitchen," Will said turning on the shower. Emma started towards the door but turned just as her husband rid himself of his pajama pants. She smiled and bit her lip. She loved seeing him like that. He caught her eye and threw the pants at her. "What?"
"Nothing. I just have an extremely handsome husband," she said walking out of the room.
As Emma made her way downstairs, she could hear Doodlebug barking in the backyard and voices in another room. She stopped by the side door to let the dog in before continuing on to the kitchen.
"Come on in Doodlebug," Emma said to the happy dog, "are you hungry?"
She walked through to the kitchen to find Finn and Rachel sitting in the breakfast nook. They looked exhausted, physically and emotionally. Emma remembered how tired she was after that first night.
"Good morning," she said to the kids.
"Emma," Finn said standing up with an apologetic look written all over his face, "I'm really…"
"No worries," she said, "I completely understand. Will and I did the same thing that first night, although it was behind a closed door, not on someone's front porch."
"It just seemed the most logical place," Finn said as Emma grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. Rachel noticed she pulled out the "his" and "hers" mugs. She watched her former guidance counselor fix a cup of coffee for her husband and tea for herself. When Emma popped an English muffin in the toaster, she was curious if they would share it. Rachel wondered to herself if she and Finn would ever fall into a morning pattern like the one she had been witnessing of the Schuesters. She hoped so.
"Okay," Will said walking into the room clapping his hands, "let's start the day."
"Um, honey," Emma said handing him his coffee and accepting an "official" good morning kiss, "Hi. Look, they've got a million questions."
"They said that," he whispered.
"They didn't have to. Look at them," Emma said grabbing the muffin from the toaster, "they're one step away from being locked in Sue's bathroom having panic attack."
"Okay," he said kissing her on the head, "come on you guys. If we're going to take a trip down memory lane, we're going to be comfortable."
"What are we doing," Rachel asked as Finn took her hand. He knew his friends well enough that he didn't have to communicate through words. Class was about to start.
"We're starting at the beginning," Emma said. "The day Will came back from New York."