Chapter 3

Instantly all four inhabitants stopped what they were doing and looked up at the interruption.

"Chloe!" Lex exclaimed, his face like a deer caught in the headlights. The girls however rushed at their mother, all wanting a piece of her attention all at once.

Abby got to her mother first, wrapping her little arms tightly around her waist and proclaiming;

"Mummies come home to play with us!"

Chloe however, just stood there taking in the mess of the room, trying to control the outburst that was bubbling up inside of her.

Lex followed her gaze around the room. There were unpacked games spread out all over the floor, pieces of each of them mixed in with the other. Two near empty pizza boxes, cans of soda and dirty ice-cream bowls sat on and near the desk.

Finally his eyes landed on the clock on the mantle and realised the girls should have been in bed nearly an hour ago!
As if reading Chloe's mind he quickly got up off the floor and proceeded to 'round up' the girls for bed.

"Oh please, please Daddy can we stay up?" Laurie began to beg her father. This quickly turned into a chorus of three.

"Yeah please, please, please" the other girls joined in, whining.

"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Chloe yelled. Everyone stopped and stood still, looking her way.

"Everyone upstairs. Brush your teeth, wash your faces and get into your pyjamas!"

The girls, (knowing not to question or argue with their mother) reluctantly made their way out of the room, quietly moaning to each other about the fairness of it all.
Lex however was standing stock still, waiting for the inevitable explosion of anger that was sure to come.
To his surprise and somewhat relief she just turned and headed upstairs, following the girls.

Looking around the mess of the room, he let out a long sigh and started gathering up the games, haphazardly putting them aside in one messy pile. The dirty plates and glasses could wait for Maria in the morning.
Switching off the light he silently made his way upstairs.

lllllll

Once Chloe had changed out of her wet clothes and into some comfortable Pjs she felt a whole lot calmer about everything. She was still mad at Lex, but she had expected it and was too tired to fight. Wrapping a towel around her wet hair she made her way over to the vanity to check her appearance. Her makeup had run in the rain making her look slightly washed out but other thank that she looked better than she expected.
Grabbing some cleansing liquid and some cotton wool, she had started to correct her face when she heard giggling from down the hall.

"If you're not in bed in three minutes, you won't be going to the Zoo tomorrow with Grandpa!" She shouted.

The giggling suddenly subsided as quickly as it appeared as she made her way down the hall to her children's bedrooms. (The closest being Abigail's), she stepped into a powder blue bedroom decorated with pictures of polar bears and Winnie the Pooh to find her little girl sitting up in bed seemingly waiting for her.

"You want me to tuck you in, sweetie?" Chloe asked, sitting down on the bed.

"Mummy?" Abby replied quietly, looking up at her mother with big sad eyes just like her father.

"What is it Abby?" Chloe questioned.

A few tears escaped Abby's eyes, falling down her cheeks and landing down the front of her Pj's. She looked down sheepishly and confessed;

"It was..it was all my fault we were up late Mummy, not Daddies!" She sniffled "please don't be mad"

Chloe instantly pulled her daughter towards her in a hug, kissing the top of her head and then resting her chin against it. "Sweetheart, I'm not mad anymore". She started rubbing her back, "why would you say it's your fault?"

"Because.." She sniffled again " I wanted to play but Laurie and Joey wouldn't let me so Daddy said he would play with me. But then Joey and Laurie wanted to play too.." She trailed off, more tears falling down her cheeks.

"Hey there, ssshh" Chloe rubbed her back in small circles. "Nothing's your fault, do you understand?" She felt Abby nodding against her chest and continued "I'm not mad at anyone, least of all you!"
Chloe let go and pulled away giving Abby another kiss on the forehead. "Let's get you to bed and then you will wake up tomorrow and be nice and refreshed for Granpa."

Abby nodded a quiet "OK Mummy" letting her mother tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. "Night night" she whispered back, closing her eyes and snuggling under the covers.

"Have a good sleep sweetheart"

Stroking her child's hair one last times he hastily got up and switched off the light. Leaving the door ajar she made her way down the hall to check on her other girls.

lllllll

Once Lex made it to his bedroom he found it empty. Walking into their adjoining bathroom he noticed Chloe's workwear on top of the hamper and realised she must be checking on the kids.
Grabbing some sweatpants and a grey t-shirt from a drawer he changed from his silk shirt and tailored pants and got into the large king size bed to wait for her.

He didn't have to wait long. No sooner had he laid his head back on the pillows she had entered the room, approaching him.

He closed his eyes and once again braced himself for the certain argument that he felt was sure to come.

He waited..

But to his surprise...nothing. Suddenly his head was being lifted up in a kiss and he opened his eyes to find her smiling down at him.

"What was that for? " he asked.

Her smile widened as she got into bed and cuddled up to him. "For being such a good father." She explained. "Abigail told me everything."

"She's lonely!" He stated.

"She's got her sisters!"

"They're leaving her out, segregating her!" He argued. Suddenly a thought came to him as he put his arm round her, drawing her close. "Maybe it's time for..."

"NO!" Chloe interrupted, pulling away slightly.

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"That's because I know what your gonna say" she said, gesturing with her hands. "Lex...", she started. "We can't have another baby, we just can't! I'm just getting back on track with my career since having Abigail! And anyway..by the time the baby gets here she will be too old to play with him or her anyway."

He let her statement sink in a few seconds before coming up with a whole new idea. "Maybe we could adopt?" He said playfully.

She laughed, kissed him lightly on the mouth and settled down into the bed, covering herself more with the blankets.

"Think some more" she replied, kissing him on the lips and turning off her light, leaving the room in partial darkness.

Eventually Lex turned off his own light, after an unproductive half hour of thinking. Laying back against the soft pillows, he or this eyes droop down and close. Before drifting off into slumber his last thoughts were of Abby and his determination to find an answer.

I'm really sorry for the delay in updating. WOW it's been a long time coming. I haven't forgotten about my stories but I have had some health issues that have taken up most of my time. I'll update as often as I can. Thank you for reading. :)