A LARGE, LOVABLE thank you to the following people for reviewing chapter 3: ilovezim123, AnimeRomantic4Ever, SillyKwado, Lissia, yunike08, 91RedRoses, ViolleetteRain, and Witchwannabe! Here you guys go, *Virtual hug*

"One...two...three!" Alfred shouted, throwing a certain squealing two year old high up into the air. The toddler came falling back down, only to be caught in the American's strong arms.

"Please do not drop him. We do not need two people in the house with brain damage." Ivan warned with a sigh, shaking his head at his husband's antics.

"Sure thing babe...wait, was that an insult?!" Alfred asked.

"You decide," Ivan told him, grinning.

The family of four were currently in the backyard, deciding to enjoy the summer by trying out the new pool that they'd gotten. It had been on clearance, and since they had some extra money Alfred had convinced Ivan that they needed a swimming pool. It wasn't a huge thing, but it was definitely good sized. The pool was round and blow-up. Totally full, the water probably reached Ivan's waist.

Each of them were dressed in their swimsuits. Francis wore his favorite purple colored swim trunks. Arthur was wearing his new swim trunks, which were patterned with the Union Jack flag. He looked very cute, especially after Alfred put arm floaties on him, and a cute little green and blue life jacket.

Francis new how to swim pretty good for a five year old, but of course Alfred, being the protective parent he was, made him wear arm floaties too.

"Can we get in now?" Francis asked eagerly. After all, it was quite hot outside and the cool water looked very refreshing.

"Not yet. First we need to put on sunblock." Ivan instructed. He lathered their oldest child's face, arms, and legs with sunblock. Alfred did the same to Arthur, who struggled through the process of getting his face smeared with the oily substance. After the adults covered themselves in sunblock too, it was time to swim.

This would be Arthur's first time swimming, so it would be exciting. Francis was quick to climb the ladder and jump in. Ivan went in next, sighing at how refreshing the water felt.

"Ready to get in the pool Artie?" Alfred asked, walking over towards the ladder with Arthur in his arms. The two year old didn't respond, staring at the water with wide eyes. Alfred climbed into the pool, keeping Arthur above the water at first. Then, he dipped Arthur's feet into the water.

The toddler shrieked unexpectedly, clinging to Alfred like a lifeline.

"What's wrong Art? Don't you like the water? It's fun." Alfred said, but of course quickly lifted his baby out of the water.

"No! No, no, no!" Arthur kept shrieking, wrapping his little arms around Alfred's neck as tightly as he could.

"Is it too cold Arthur?" Ivan asked, wondering what was the cause of the toddler's distress. Or maybe he was hydrophobic? He did fine in the bathtub though...

"Père, throw me into the water! Please?" Francis begged Alfred.

"Sure bud," Alfred agreed. "Ivan, can you hold Artie?"

Ivan immediately gathered Arthur into his arms, who looked slightly more relieved since Ivan was taller than Alfred, which kept him up even further from the water. Meanwhile, Alfred had picked Francis up and tossed him to the other side of the pool as if he weighed nothing, which was pretty much true. The five year old laughed as he landed with a big splash.

Unfortunately the water from the splash flew everywhere. That also included spraying Ivan and Arthur with water. The latter gave an ear piercing shriek, instantly bursting into tears.

"Aww, c'mere baby boy," Alfred cooed, taking Arthur back from Ivan's arms. "I'm sorry. Come on, let's go inside and get a Popsicle."

With that, he carried the whimpering toddler out of the pool, grabbing one of the folded towels that was on the lawn chair and wrapping Arthur up in it. They left Ivan and Francis to chill in the pool, heading back inside to the kitchen.

"Is the water scary buddy?" Alfred asked, setting Arthur down on the counter while he dug in the freezer for the popsicle box.

"I no' like it." Arthur agreed, jamming his thumb into his mouth.

"That's okay Artie-Fartie," Alfred said, poking Arthur's side. "What color Popsicle do you want?"

"B'oo" Arthur said, thumb still in mouth. Alfred took the plastic off of a blue Popsicle and handed it to the awaiting toddler. Arthur took his thumb from his mouth and instead crammed the Popsicle in to take it's place. Alfred grabbed a cherry red Popsicle for himself, and together they ate them.

"How about we go out in the driveway and you can ride your tricycle?" Alfred suggested once they were finished.

"Yeah," Arthur agreed, face covered with the remains of the Popsicle. Alfred wet a paper towel and proceeded to clean his face up. While he was doing that, Arthur suddenly reached out and pressed a small hand against Alfred's cheek.

"Daddy wuv's me?" He asked softly.

Alfred drew his arm back, eyes wide with shock. "Of course I love you! Daddy always loves you Artie. So does Father and big brother Francis. Always." He replied firmly, pulling the toddler to his chest.

"I wuv my daddy," Arthur said, resting his head against Alfred's chest. "An' my father, an' my big brother Francis. Always."

Always...

a/n: Awww, was that sweet or what? Wow, I'm doing a pretty good job updating this regularly. I'm also working on a Worth It story showing what life is like with the kids in their teens.