*Benjamim is an OC to belongs to my dear friend Jo, he is Paulo's son.

Again

That morning, when they asked Vincent what he wanted for his birthday, he said:

"I want a sibling"

Mei and Lars looked at each other, then at their son. Vincent was a very lively boy; he has dark blond hair and brown eyes. He had stopped wearing diapers and drinking in a baby's bottle. In two weeks, he would be 3 years old. He was a big boy now.

"Vincent, a baby… takes time"

"Why? Javier and Benjamim have siblings" he replied innocently.

"Because…" Lars didn't know how to explain it, he looked at Mei.

"Don't worry, daddy and I are working on it, sweetie"

Lars coughed. They were trying to have other child before Vincent went to kindergarten, so maybe his wishes will come true soon. They had talked about it at 3 in the morning, after their singing contest. But at that moment, they wanted to get married and that Vincent learnt to walk.

Despite his fears, Lars became a real caring father, he used to get up at night to change diapers, feed him with the bottle and carrying him until he fell asleep. Sometimes, he took a nap with Vincent on his chest. Mei saw them and felt her heart full of love, and took pictures of those moments.

Lars tried to hide his pride when they visited Emma and Antonio. He used to be very blunt with him. Now, he asked him for advice about how to take care of kids. He felt even worst when Paulo, Antonio's brother, was there. Both brothers had already two kids, so that made them have more experience than him, or that's what they told him.

The three women gave advices to each other and talked about their kids and lots of other topics, ignoring the childish behavior of their husbands. And the kids just played all the afternoon.

As he thought, Mei was a very loving mother, she liked to sing Vincent to asleep, dressed him with cute clothes, talk with him even when he only could babbling, or she just looked at him while he slept. She was so excited when Vincent said his first word, and it was: "mommy".

Both worried a lot for him, even in their honey moon, they called her parents every day to know how he was. Their life as parents wasn't easy, sometimes they didn't know what to do when he cried without apparentely reason, and they were very afraid the day he had a cold. They didn't sleep that night until Vincent seemed calmer. But they loved him so much, they felt happy every time he laughed and when he learnt to do something.

His grandparents spoiled him so much and he spent his first birthday in everyone's arms. His uncles and aunts took turns to carrying him for a while, and gave him lots of presents, especially Henri and Mathias. Even Lien, who wasn't used to kids, enjoyed her turn, because that kid's tenderness was irresistable.

Finally, two weeks after Vincent's birthday, it happened. Lars worked until late, and he found her still awake. She smiled and showed him a pregnancy test. He hugged her. "Here we go again" he thought gladly.

Contrary to her past pregnancy, this time, she just had cravings. Again, he got her everything she fancied and bought her lots of things for her and the baby. Vincent didn't understand what was going on; the only thing he knew was that he'd have a sibling. He didn't know when but soon, very soon they told him.

When Mei's pregnancy was more advanced, she rested at home, as the doctor told her. For her it was a big relief, she was very tiny and now with her big belly, she hardly could move or walk. Vincent followed her everywhere, especially when Lars was at work.

"Take care of your mother" he asked him.

And Vincent took his job very seriously. "He is like his father", Mei thought amused. Vincent stopped going to play with Javier and Benjamim; he wanted to protect his mother and the baby.

Sometimes, they played that he was a brave knight who had to take care of the queen, other times she read him some fairy tales, his favorites were that one in which a princess saved a dragon who actually was a prince, and other about a princess and a wolf.

Mei could notice the changes in her body, and again she complained about gaining so much weight, but now certain little one assured her that she was the prettiest mom in the universe. Lars smiled and hugged her from behind. He felt proud of his family.

Their parents visited them very often, to see Vincent and to help Mei, but Lars was very caring and helped her with everything. She felt that she was depending so much on him, but she did it because of the doctor's orders. He helped her to get dressed, put on her shoes, carrying and reach things, even to take baths.

In her last month of pregnancy, he started working at home. He wanted to be there for her, because his past fears had returned, mostly after the doctor asked her to rest at home. And he wanted to be ready in case of emergency. She felt safe with him at her side.

At night, he used to observe her. Mei was wearing a nightgown and an oversized sweater; he thought she looked so beautiful. He loved her so much, that he didn't know what he'd do without her. He saw Vincent; he was sleeping with them since she rested at home. He already had his own bedroom, right next to theirs, but he didn't want to be away from his mother.

Lars caressed his son's hair. He still couldn't believe that he had already a family, it seemed like a dream. Some years ago, when he was an arrogant university student, getting married and having children weren't in his plans.

He dated occasionally but he thought that romance wasn't for him, and the idea of living in couple annoyed him, he was so tidy for that, it was enough with his roommate. Some years later, he met Mei and his life changed.

To the contrary, Mei wanted to get married and having children. Her past relationships weren't bad, but she wanted to wait for the right guy. Then, she met Lars, a man who she thought wasn't her type but when she got to know him better, she knew she had met the one for her.

Their relationship wasn't perfect because they weren't either, but they tried to respect their differences and try to complement each other. Then, after 4 years of relationship, they had Vincent, a pleasant surprise, and they got married almost six months later.

Their wedding was very private, a civil marriage. They only invited family and close friends. She thought that maybe she would get pregnant in their honey moon, but then they realized that it was too soon. So, they decided to wait.

Now, their family was about to be bigger. Even though, Vincent seemed excited about the baby and the idea of being a big brother, they thought about the possibility of him being jealous of his new sibling, especially, when he slept in his bedroom and the baby in theirs.

"You know that daddy and I love you so much, right?" Mei asked him.

"Yes! Mommy"

"And you will always be my baby boy, right?"

The kid just nodded without really understand what she was trying to say. But she wanted that he knew they loved him no matter what. Meanwhile, they counted the days for the birth.

As soon as she felt the first contractions, he took her to the hospital. Vincent stayed with Yao. This time, Lars could be at her side and taking her hand while she gave birth to a precious little girl.

A couple of hours later, Vincent finally could meet his sister. He approached hesitantly to his mother's bed.

"She is so small" was the first thing he could say.

Lars and Mei smiled.

"And what's her name?" he asked them.

They had been thinking about several names but finally, they decided to call her Anri, as his great-grandmother. Contrary to her big brother, Anri was a very calm baby, she just ate and slept. She barely cried, only when she needed a new diaper.

Vincent observed her to sleep; he wondered when they'd play together. He returned to play with Javier and Benjamim, and the first he did when he arrived home was to go see her. Also, he tried to be a good boy, as Yao told him, according to his uncle that could help his parents a lot.

Mei was still afraid of that rivalry between siblings. She and Lars worried the day Anri was crying because she had a stomach ache. Tired of the sobbing, Vincent said:

"I don't want her, she cries a lot"

So, sometimes, she hugged him and sang him a lullaby, or they took naps together when Lars was at home, and she was tired. Vincent didn't understand why she did it but he didn't mind to spend time with his mother.

Other times, Lars took him to do shopping just the two of them or he bought him an ice cream, and read him fairy tales before sleep. Vincent liked to spend time with his father too, and he wanted to be as tall as him.

One night, Anri started crying, there was a big storm, and the thunders and lightning scared her. Her parents were really tired and had a sleepy argue about who had to go. After a short while, she stopped crying. They made an effort for wake up and they found Vincent taking Anri's hand.

"Vincent, what are you doing here?" Lars asked him concerned.

"She was crying, and I came to see her"

"You did a great job" Mei said hugging him "Thank you"

Lars carried the baby. Mei kissed her cheek.

"My poor princess, you must be afraid of that storm. Are you afraid too, sweetie?" she asked Vincent. He nodded.

"You two have terrible parents" she murmured and Lars seemed to agree.

Later, the four of them went to sleep together. That storm wasn't scary anymore.

Sometimes, Anri sat in the floor next to her big brother, he gave her some toys and at their own way, they played together. She clapped with her little hands when he invented a story with a dinosaur, a doll and a teddy bear, and he told her the whole adventure they had.

When Lars and Mei saw them like that, they remembered their own childhood. Lars accepting to play with Emma and her cat in her imaginary bakery, or with Henri and he had a plane. Mei and her questions about everything making Yao upset and playing board games with Jiang and Li.

They had been close to their siblings and they hoped also their kids. For the moment, Vincent seemed to look after his sister, and she was very happy when she saw him arrive home when he went to play with his cousin, and later when he had to go to kindergarten.

Soon, Anri could do more things by herself, like take a spoon and say her first word. When she said it, Lars had the same reaction he had, when Vincent took his finger the first time he saw him. Anri said "daddy".

Mei and Lars already knew that parenthood was a challenge, but it was worth it when they saw their kids laughing and having fun together and learning lots of things every day.

In her first birthday, Mei dressed her as a princess; Lars later explained that Anri was a princess, because Mei was the queen. They were proud of their family, and they love each other a lot. They didn't imagine they would be that happy.

This is like the second part of "Surprise", I really wanted to write about their kids because they are so adorable. Thanks for reading.