Notes: Thanks for making your way over from "Two to Tango"! This fic is going to be more of a collection of one (or two) offs through the next few years, so more frequent time jumps than we've had lately. We are starting out slow at first :) Enjoy!
April 1996
"Your mom laid your dress out on the bed with your tights," Andy tells Emily as she gets up from the dining room table. He'd made her and Ricky some toast before they left for church considering it was going to be a longer service and they weren't going out for food until afterward. It was Easter Sunday and they were meeting their parents at Mass. After the service they were staying for the twins' baptism. Both sets had come out earlier the week before to finally meet the twins and spend the holiday with the family, "Don't linger in the bathroom. Your brother still needs to shower too."
"Okay!" Emily smiles before running off to her room.
"Rick, why don't you go get your nice pants and shirt out of the laundry room?" Andy tells his son, "I ironed them last night, so don't just throw them on the bed."
"You ironed them?" Ricky wrinkles his nose, "I thought Mom did that."
"Mom was getting the twins' outfits ready," Andy tells him before nudging him in the direction of the laundry room. He quickly cleans up after their breakfast snack before following Ricky to his room and making sure that he lays out the clothes carefully.
"After your sister gets out of the bathroom you get in and shower."
"Can I play with my Gameboy til then?"
"Sure," Andy nods and smiles before going to check on Sharon, stepping through to their bathroom, "How are we doing in here?"
"Almost done," Sharon calls out from the shower. The twins were sitting in their bathtubs on the floor of the shower cubicle, playing with a couple of keychain toys as Sharon took her own shower.
"I gave the kids some toast and they're getting ready," Andy tells her as he leans against the counter, watching as she works conditioner through her hair.
"You're staring," Sharon comments as she looks over her shoulder and catches his eyes through the slightly foggy glass.
"I like staring," Andy grins as he drags his eyes over her form. The twins were almost three months old and it had taken a few weeks before the initial 'bump' went away. She was still a little thick around the waist and her form filled out more than usual with wider hips and heavier breasts, but he loved it all the same, "I like what I see."
"Hmm," Sharon makes a small sound and tips her head back to wash the conditioner out of her hair. She turns the water off and squeezes the excess water from her hair, turning around when she hears the door to the shower open. Andy holds her robe open for her and tucks it around her body as she steps into it, "Thank you."
"You don't give yourself enough credit sometimes," Andy murmurs in her ear as she ties the sash shut.
"I give myself plenty of credit, and I'm realistic."
"Me too," Andy kisses her cheek before stepping around her to grab the twins. He hands her Drew as he takes Libby, snapping a towel off the counter and wrapping her in it, "Aren't we, Libby Mae?"
"Don't rope the children into it," Sharon chastises as Libby gives her father a wide gummy grin. Andy grins back and kisses the little girl on the nose before carrying her into the bedroom. He quickly dries her off and gets her wrapped into a diaper before handing her a toy to occupy herself with.
"Where are their outfits?"
"In the nursery. There are two boxes on top of the dresser," Sharon tells him as she gets Drew's diaper on. Andy nods and heads into the nursery to grab the outfits that had been purchased for them. They get the twins dressed in simple white onesies, leaving them to play on the bed as they get dressed themselves. Andy finishes buttoning his shirt and tucks it into his pants before buckling up.
"I am going to go check on Emily and Ricky, you alright?"
"Yeah," Sharon nods and flashes a quick smile as she leans closer to the mirror to put her earrings in. She fastens both of the pieces of jewelry on before picking up the diamond cross that Andy had gifted her on their first Christmas together. She slips it around her neck as one of the twins lets out a yell and she hears the clatter of the plastic keys falling to the floor, "What are you two back there doing?"
Sharon puts on her bracelet before turning her attention back to the babies. She picks the keys up from the floor and gives them to Drew who had his fingers around his sister's ring, trying to pull them to his mouth. She puts pillows on either side of them before going into the bathroom to collect her makeup, bringing it into the bedroom to sit at the vanity. She manages to get the majority of her makeup on before they loose focus and she hears both toys clatter to the floor and fussy whines.
"Hang on, hang on," She swipes on her lipstick and puts the tube down before walking over to the bed, grabbing the toys from the floor again, "There see, Mommy's done."
"The older monsters are watching TV," Andy says as he walks back in, "All dressed and ready to go."
"Thank you," Sharon smiles as she grabs the first outfit and begins to dress Drew. Andy steps into their closet and grabs his tie and jacket, bringing them out to the bedroom before starting to knot his tie and finish getting ready. She manages to get both of the twins into their outfits without too much fuss before she sighs and looks at her watch, "We must be getting good at this we're almost on time for once."
"Don't jinx it," Andy grins and grabs Drew as Sharon grabs Libby. The boy was dressed in a pleated white romper with a folded over collar while his sister was dressed in a more traditional gown. The white was playing nicely against the bright color of their hair and eyes. In their short three months the light strawberry blonde hair that they had been born with had deepened to a darker auburn, a much redder version of their mother's natural tone, and their bright blue eyes were starting to warm towards a hazel shade.
"Let's get going," Sharon smiles at her husband before heading down the hall towards the living room. They manage to get all four of the kids loaded into the car without incident before heading off for the church. Inside they find their parent's waiting and holding a pew for them. Sharon and Andy sidle down the lane first, handing the twins off to their grandparents before they all take their seats.
"Andy, are Vicky and the kids joining us?" Bill asks.
"They are stopping by the house after brunch," Andy says, "They were doing church and breakfast with Dan's family. That's why we were waiting for baskets and the egg hunt."
"Good," Mary smiles, "It will be nice to see all of the kids together."
"It will be nice to have the whole family together," Sharon agrees, "It's been quite a while since we've been able to do that."
"Do you think you'll make it out this summer at all?"
"I don't know about the summer, but I think we'll definitely plan on traveling a little at least for the holidays," Sharon replies with a slightly forlorn smile, "I'm afraid that all of the vacation we'd had saved up before we went to Europe last summer has been depleted between going on maternity leave early and taking a little extra time off after."
Their conversation stops as the doors to the church close and the service begins. The twins spend most of it sleeping, only waking up towards the end. Sharon and Andy manage to get a bottle in each of them before they start to fuss too much. Andy minds the children as the adults get up to take communion, Emily holding onto her baby brother as people mill around.
"Why don't you go with them?" Emily asks as she looks up at her father.
"Go with who?"
"Mom and Nonna and Grammy and Papa. You never do communion when we go to church."
"You know I don't always come with you."
"Uh huh."
"It's the same reason I don't always come with," Andy comments, "I've got a different relationship with God than your mom does, or even you do."
"Cause you're an alcoholic?"
"Yeah," Andy smiles. His middle daughter was blunt, it was a trait she'd inherited from both of them but she definitely didn't always have the tact her mother did and that was his fault, "But there was other stuff, even before that. And sometimes when you get older, you need different things out of church than you did when you were younger."
"Like what?"
"Lots of things. Guidance, refuge, a helping hand…sometimes you don't need or want any of that."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It rarely does," Andy smiles, looking up as Sharon makes her way back down their pew.
"Father Espinoza said that it shouldn't be much longer and then we can get started," She informs her husband before brushing her hand over her daughter's head as the baby grins at her. She smiles back and squats down to her level, tickling under her chin for a moment before Drew lets out a squawk for her attention, "What are you feeling neglected? Hmm?"
"I didn't think it was possible for a baby to be a bigger ham than Ricky was," Andy comments as Drew coos and smiles at his mother's attention.
"Mmm I think Ricky just had that natural Flynn charm, but this little boy is definitely a ball of cheese," Sharon grins and peppers his cheeks with kisses before standing up with him. She turns around as she hears her name called out, raising her hand and waving at Gavin and Andrea as they make their way over.
"Hello, hello," Gavin greets, "Happy Easter."
"Thank you for coming," Sharon says as she leans over the pew to press a kiss to his cheek, "How are you guys?"
"Starving," Andrea comments, "Gavin would only let me order a latte when we stopped for coffee, said that I can't ruin my breakfast because this restaurant is to die for."
"It is pretty good," Sharon laughs, "Andy and I have been a few times, though never for brunch. But Gavin assured us it would do for Easter Sunday."
"Where are the rest of the Flynnlings?" Gavin asks with a grin as Andy rolls his eyes. Sharon shakes her head and hands Drew over to him before smoothing out her dress.
"They are doing mass and lunch with Vicky's in-laws. They'll be at the house later though," Sharon informs them as their parents come back, "Mom, Dad, you remember Gavin and Andrea?"
"We do," Mary nods, "How are you both?"
"Well," Gavin answers for the both of them as Andrea coos over Drew, "It's nice to see you again."
"And Connie, I don't know that you have actually met these two," Sharon says, "This is Gavin Baker and Andrea Hobbs. Guys, Andy's mother, Connie Flynn."
"I have not, though I have heard plenty over the years," Connie smiles, "All good things of course."
"It's nice to finally meet you," Andrea replies, reaching out to shake Connie's hand, "It's nice to finally meet the woman behind the man."
"I tried my best," Connie grins as she looks at her son. Andy rolls his eyes.
"Gee thanks Ma," Andy grumbles as Father Espinoza joins their group, telling them all that he was ready to start with the baptism. He stands and hands Libby over to Andrea before they all make their way towards the front of the church. He wraps his arm around his wife's waist, holding her close as they walk through the small ceremony. He feels her tense when the twins start to cry after the priest pours water over the tops of their heads. He presses a reassuring kiss to her forehead and smiles as he murmurs in her ear, "They're fine, Mama Bear."
"I know," Sharon whispers, swatting at his leg. She steps over quickly once they finish, taking Drew from Gavin and pressing a soft kiss to his head as he sobs. Andy pulls Libby's pacifier out of the diaper bag and gives it to her as Andrea continues to hold her.
"There you go," Andrea smiles at the baby as she takes the piece of plastic in her mouth and begins to suck on it.
After an afternoon of food and egg hunting with six kids and their families present Sharon was glad to see everyone off at the end of the day. Her feet hurt from wearing heels for the first time in six months and her breasts hurt from using bottles for the twins most of the day. She'd only been able to escape to pump a couple of times throughout the afternoon. Andy was currently in the process of putting them down in the bedroom while Emily and Ricky were sprawled out on the floor playing with some of the new toys they'd received in their easter baskets. She leans against the couch as she lifts her feet to tug her shoes off, sighing as she sinks down to her regular height.
"Why don't you two clean up and get ready for bed hmm?" Sharon suggests.
"But we don't have school tomorrow," Emily points out.
"You can still go to bed at your regular time," Sharon tells her. The grandparents were taking the kids to Disney the next day since the children didn't have school and the adults were all heading back east early Tuesday morning. She knew that if the kids didn't get enough sleep they'd become terrors even earlier than usual after a long day of lines and walking around. The girl sighs and rolls her eyes just slightly before stuffing everything back into her basket and pushing herself up off the floor. Sharon leans over and presses a kiss to her head as she walks past, doing the same to Ricky before collapsing down onto the couch with a groan. She leans her head back and closes her eyes as she hugs one of the throw pillows to her chest, taking a moment to enjoy the quiet.
"So I talked to Harrison earlier…" Andy says as he steps into the living room, trailing off when he sees his wife sitting on the couch with her eyes closed.
"Hmm?" Sharon hums to let him know that she was listening.
"I talked to Harrison earlier about that accident we drove by on the way to brunch," Andy continues as he walks over and sits down next to her. Sharon shifts her weight and leans against him, still cradling the pillow against her chest, "He said it wasn't anything serious just a fender bender."
"Then why all of the EMS?" Sharon replies. Their arrival at brunch had been delayed by traffic. At first they had assumed that it was just the usual LA traffic magnified by the holiday, but the deeper they got into it it was evident that there had been an accident. Both Sharon and Andy had assumed it was relatively serious from the amount of emergency services that were on the scene.
"Get this. The lady that rear ended the other guy, decided to drive herself to the hospital after she went into labor. Hit the accelerator instead of the brake at the light…" Andy rolls his eyes, "The patrol officer that got the call ended up having to deliver the kid at the scene. Bouncing baby boy."
"Oh lord," Sharon sighs, "I hope everyone was alright."
"He said they checked in a little bit ago and mom and baby were fine. Which surprised him, she seemed a little…strung out? I don't know. No one was hurt though and that's the good thing," Andy assures her before laughing, "I was always surprised I managed to avoid one of those pullovers while I was on patrol. Dad racing down the street to get his wife to the hospital."
"Mmm, my first partner and I got one when I first started. I was probably only a couple months in, he took care of everything though," Sharon laughs, "I ended up directing traffic."
"Seriously?"
"Mmhm," Sharon nods, "The exciting times of 1981 LA."
"You're telling me," Andy smiles and presses a kiss to the top of her head, "Did you get everything you wanted for Easter?"
"You're not supposed to want anything for Easter," Sharon reminds him, "Though I was grateful for the chocolate bunny you seemed to materialize out of nowhere."
"I'm magic like that," Andy grins, "I thought you deserved a little better than a grocery store milk chocolate bunny."
"I do," Sharon nods in agreement with a smile, her forehead rubbing against his shirt.
"Oh getting a little full of ourselves are we?"
"Just being honest," Sharon says, finally looking up at Andy and opening her eyes, "I thought that's what you wanted."
"Smartass," Andy murmurs as he leans his head down and presses a kiss to her lips. Sharon chuckles against his mouth before humming softly as he deepens the kiss. He pulls back a moment later and smiles as he rests his hand on her thigh, "I love you though."
"I love you too," Sharon smiles and arches her eyebrow as Andy drops his arm behind the couch before pulling out a tiny purple basket, "What is that?"
"Your Easter basket," Andy says as he hands it to her. The small base was only the size of a couple handfuls but had been delicately stuffed with pale green paper grass and a small jewelry box with a white bow on top.
"You didn't have to get me anything," Sharon says as she takes the basket, "We're supposed to be saving money."
"I'd ordered it a while ago, and I picked up some extra time to pay for it," Andy replies. Sharon gives him a look before taking the box out and opening it up. Nestled inside was a simple, thin, silver cuff bracelet with an engraving on the inside face. She lifts it out and turns it over in her hand, inspecting it closely. On one end the twins' birthday was engraved on the other their initials separated by a swirling ampersand, "I know it's hardly the earrings I got you when we got married, but…"
"It's perfect," Sharon assures him with a bright smile on her face as she runs her thumbs over the engravings. She holds the band out to Andy and holds her right arm out in front of them, silently prompting him to slip it onto her wrist. He smiles and takes the piece from her, slipping it carefully around her wrist bone. She twists her wrist a few times before dropping it into her lap, "Thank you. I really do like it."
"You're welcome," Andy replies as he presses a kiss to her head laughing softly as both Ricky and Emily call out for her at the same time, "No rest for the wicked."
"No, I suppose there isn't. At least not for the next few years."
[TBC]