Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed the baby chapter. There is so much more to come in this story watching the kids grow up! Please let me know if you have ideas! I love reading them! Thanks everyone and I don't own PJO!
We had to stay at the hospital for a few more days since Dallas was very small when she was born. After receiving extra nutrition, we were able to take her home for the first time. Max and Percy had gone clothes shopping with Sadria and Kat to make sure they didn't buy anything stupid for their new daughters. Since we weren't allowed to leave the hospital, Annabeth and I bonded together with our little girls while we waited for our husbands to return. We sat in Annabeth's room together sitting in the chairs as our daughters slept in our arms. Brady stayed in the room with us and he would walk around and play with Remi's new gifts from everyone.
"Are you ready to go home and take care of not one but two kids?" I asked her.
"It will be a challenge but nothing I can't handle. Brady is well-behaved and hopefully Percy can keep him entertained while I'm with Remi."
"Yeah I have to learn how to take care of this one before we have any more." I said and looked down at Dallas whose eyelids fluttered as she went in and out of sleep.
"You will be fine. The first couple of nights are the worst but then you start to get into a pattern and eventually get used to everything. I'm a little nervous on how Brady will do with Percy and I giving our attention to Remi."
"I guess that's something you will have to work on. I'm sure soon he will understand but like all kids, they want the attention to be on them and only them. I'm sure you have a plan Annabeth, I mean you always do." I said and she laughed.
"Like I say all the time, the children of Athena always have a plan and a back-up to everything they do."
"Of course Annabeth, I don't think that will ever change." I said. We continued to talk while Remi and Dallas slept and Brady continued to run around the room playing with all the new and exciting things. I returned back to my room to pack my bags for when we leave tonight. I had Dallas lay down on her little bed while I collected all the gifts and my things. Max returned carrying a few bags with him.
"Obviously you had success. I want to see the clothes." I said to him. We sat on the bed and he pulled out the clothes from the bags.
"Sadria and Kat helped us out a lot. So I got a little bit of everything." He said. He pulled out multiple onesies and dresses.
"Honey I love these. Nice job picking them out." I said holding up a few dresses.
"Good I'm glad you like them. So should we change Dallas into one of her new outfits?" he asked. I nodded my head. I walked over to Dallas who was looking around the room.
"Ok sweetie time to get you changed into something more exciting." I said and picked her up. I liked one of the dresses Max had picked out, it was a yellow dress with little brown birds on it that had a white undershirt and brown leggings. I dressed her in her new outfit then once we were finished, I put a little brown headband on her that had a bow. She looked so adorable in her new dress then I grabbed a pair of brown booties and put them on her feet.
"Alright lets put this one in her little carrier and we can go home." Max said.
I grabbed her carrier and buckled her in while Max finished packing our things and swinging the bags over his shoulder. We walked out to the car and got ready to go home. We drove home and arrived at our apartment building. We took the elevator upstairs and unlocked the door to our apartment. Duchess ran over and instantly noticed Dallas. She sniffed her face and that made Dallas smile. Max quickly took a picture on his phone and when I looked at it, it was cute. We walked into the nursery and placed all the new clothes in the closet and dropped off the new toys. We sat down on the couch as Duchess walked over to join us. Our family was wonderful and I was glad that Duchess was good around Dallas. That night, I understood what Annabeth was talking about. Every thirty minutes, Dallas would cry and Max and I would go over to the bassinet and pick her up. Even though we have a small space, it is more convenient to have Dallas upstairs with us instead of walking downstairs every thirty minutes. This cycle repeated for the next three nights but on the fourth night, she would cry every two hours. I was grateful to have Max with me because he would help calm me down when I got frustrated. Eventually I'll get used to the no sleep but for now, I'm exhausted.
It's been about three weeks since Dallas and Remi were born. Actually tomorrow happens to be Thanksgiving. Percy and Annabeth invited everyone over to have dinner at their brownstone. The next day, I decided to bake some pies. Max had the holiday off which was great so he helped with Dallas while I made the pies. As the pies were baking, the smell of fresh-baked goods filled the apartment and made the home perfect. Max had the football game on while I went upstairs and got ready for dinner. I put on a long-sleeved red dress and put my hair up in a bun with some red pointed pumps. I sat at my vanity putting on my red lipstick as Max walked upstairs carrying Dallas in his arms.
"I'm almost ready to go, just let me finish doing my make-up." I said.
"Look at how pretty mommy is Dallas." Max said and I smiled.
"Thank you. And Dallas we need to get your outfit on." I said. Since Halloween got thrown off for the kids, we all decided to dress our kids up in their Halloween costumes. I went out and got Dallas a white dress and then got her a pair of small angel wings and a halo. She looked adorable in her costume as we buckled her up and drove over to Percy and Annabeth's brownstone. We pulled up and saw our friends' cars parked along the side of the road and we got out and went up to the front door. Percy opened up the door and smiled.
"Welcome guys um just put the pies in the kitchen and then meet us in the dining room." He said. I carried the pies into the kitchen where Annabeth was drizzling salad dressing over the lettuce.
"Hey Annabeth, thanks for inviting us." I said and she turned and smiled.
"Carter you're practically family. Of course we would have you over here. Those pies look delicious." Annabeth said.
"Thank you I hope they taste as good as they look." I said and she laughed. She finished making the salad and we walked into the dining room to join our friends. I haven't seen my friends from California since Jade was born. Everyone swooned over Remi and Dallas and all the kids looked adorable in their costumes. Skylar and Aden were dressed as Batman and Robin and seemed to stay with each other throughout the night.
"It looks like Skylar and Aden will be best friends. "I said to Jason, Piper, Leo and Reyna.
"Yeah they are pretty inseparable." Piper said. Charlotte had on her puffy pink princess dress with a little crown clipped into her red curls. Duncan had on his little knight costume and was sitting next to Charlotte playing with blocks. Jade was sitting on Thalia's lap dressed as an adorable lamb while Erik was running around as a cowboy with Brady. Brady was dressed in a Yankee's uniform and had on a baseball cap.
"Oh Brady you're the most adorable Yankee's player." I said.
"Yeah he must get his good looks from his dad." Percy said and both Annabeth and I rolled our eyes.
Annabeth held Remi in her arms. Remi had a little mermaid costume on that matched Ariel's mermaid costume. The two looked adorable when they were next to each other. We sat down at the table and started eating. I looked over at Connor who seemed to have had a little too much to drink. Clearly being the father of twins has taken a toll on him.
"Sadria… I think… I think we should make another baby." He said and Sadria turned bright red.
"Connor lets not discuss this here." She said and tried hard to avoid the topic.
"We could just go upstairs…"
"Connor shut up! This is not the time!" Sadria said and all of us awkwardly turned our heads.
"So everyone from Cali, how are your lives going?" I asked them trying to change the subject.
"Everything has been great so far. Jason and I have nothing to complain about." Piper said and Jason smiled.
"Frank and I just bought a home near camp Jupiter. It's really beautiful." Hazel said.
"That's great! I'm sure its gorgeous." I said.
"Well we don't have anything to complain about either." Reyna said.
"Yeah except Sadria might…" Leo said smiling.
"Just ignore my husband please." She said.
"Why? I'm an amazing person!" Connor said.
"I question everything I got myself into each day." Sadria said.
"Something must make you stay." I said.
"Most of the time he is well-behaved just not when he has had a few beers then he starts talking nonsense." She said.
We ate then Annabeth brought out the pies for us to eat. She gave Brady a small sliver of a piece and placed it in a small bowl in front of him. He used his hands to break apart the pie and shoved huge chunks in his mouth and started laughing.
"Oh that's adorable." I said.
"He loves to laugh while he eats. I have no clue why though." Annabeth said.
After having desert, Max and I helped Percy and Annabeth clean up the dishes. We gathered in their living room to watch the evening football game. The guys all cheered and the rest of us just sat around and talked. Dallas fell asleep in my arms resting her tiny head against my skin. By the end of the night, we said our goodbyes to each other then Max and I walked back to the car and buckled Dallas in and drove home to our apartment. We got Dallas changed into her little nightgown and placed her gently in her crib then went to bed.
"We never said what we were thankful for." I said to Max.
"I'm thankful for a wonderful and loving wife and a beautiful baby girl. A nice job and a shelter above my head and food to eat. And a wonderful group of friends." Max said.
"I'm thankful for the second chance to get my life back on track. Without a supporting group of people I love, I don't know where I would be today."
That's it! Its not my favorite chapter but let me know what you thought! Thanks guys and for the idea from my friend I'm-too-outrageous-4-u. Please review!
