Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter. First of all, I wanna say, you've all made some great guesses on who finds out first. :) I really love this chapter so I hope you do too.
Tamara: Thank you so much. And thanks, not quite done yet. But I'm almost there. :)
Guest: Good guesses. You'll find out soon. :)
And now, the chapter. Enjoy!
*December*
"Hey Skye, are you ready to go yet?" Grant calls through the house from the living room where he's shoving his keys, wallet, and cell phone into his pockets.
"Almost," she calls back.
A few minutes later Skye emerges from the hallway carrying Jessica in her arms, both of them dressed up in their best. "Okay, we're ready to go now. Took a little bit of struggling, but now Jessie is all dressed up and ready to go see Santa for the very first time."
Grant turns around and smiles when he sees Jessica wearing a red velvet dress with white fur trimming on the bottom of the dress and the ends of the sleeves, a pair of white stockings and black dress shoes, and a white headband with a red bow.
"She looks great," Grant smiles, stepping towards his girlfriend and daughter. "Te ves tan hermosa, Jessie," he smiles at the little girl, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"What about me?" Skye asks him. "How do I look?"
Grant steps back to take in her outfit; a simple red dress that goes down to her mid thigh, a pair of black pumps, and part of her hair pulled back by a large black clip.
He smiles at her, "You look amazing."
"Thank you," she smiles. "You don't look half bad yourself," she eyes his outfit up and down; a pair of black slacks, a dark red button up dress shirt, and black dress shoes.
"Thank you," he smiles at her. "But don't you think it's a little cliché that we're all matching?" he asks her.
Skye shakes her head, "Nope. It's our first professional family photo and it just so happens to be at Christmastime. All of us wearing red just seems right somehow. Plus I never got to do anything cheesy like this when I was a kid so indulge me a little."
He chuckles lightly, "Yeah, alright. And I guess it makes a little bit of sense."
"It makes complete sense," she says. "Now come on," she steps past him and stops in front of the door, looking at him over her shoulder, "time to go get our pictures taken with Santa."
...
"Oh these turned out so perfect," Skye smiles as she looks through the photos from the Santa Photo Booth at the mall. "I am so glad we decided to come here and do this."
"Yeah?" Grant asks from his spot walking beside her, Jessica lying asleep against his shoulder while he pushes the stroller in front of him as they make their way through the busy shopping center.
Skye nods, "Mm-hmm. We definitely have to frame a couple of these to hang up at the house. The walls are still pretty bare."
Grant nods his head, "Okay, I think we can do that. There's a store right over there where you can probably find some frames," he points to a store just off to the side. "I'll wait out here with Jess while you look around."
Skye thinks for a minute and then shakes her head, "No, that's fine. Jess looks like she's pretty wiped so we should probably get her home. I'll worry about getting some frames for these pictures later."
"Are you sure?"
She nods, "Mm-hmm. Things usually go on sale after the holidays anyways."
"Okay. Shall we go home then?" he asks her.
"Yes, I think we should definitely do that." She smiles, "We have to continue getting ready to celebrate our first Christmas together as a family."
He smiles back, "Yes we do."
...
"She's out," Grant whispers to his girlfriend, glancing down to see Jessica lying asleep on the carpet next to the couch, one of the antennas of her ladybug doll clutched tightly in one fist. He's lying on his back on the couch, Skye lying pretty much on top of him, resting her head on his chest with one of his arms wrapped comfortably around her waist, an old Christmas movie playing out on the TV screen in front of them.
"Well it is almost midnight," Skye tells him. "She's probably been out for a while."
"True," he nods. "Should we move her and put her in her crib?"
Skye thinks and then lets out a breath, "I don't know. I'd hate to move her and have her wake up and then not be able to get her back to sleep."
"Oh I'm sure you'd be able to get her to go back to sleep by singing to her. It's worked before. You could sing that one Christmas song you like. The one you sang last year when you were pregnant that got her kicking up a storm, remember?"
She nods and laughs quietly, "Yes, I remember. Very vividly. We could just let her sleep on the floor, though," she tells him. "And we can sleep on the couch to keep an eye on her. Mainly because I don't want to move because I'm so comfortable. You're a great pillow and heater."
"I'm pretty sure you've told me that before," Grant replies with a smile.
"Well it's the truth," she says. "Now, you go grab the rest of the presents to put under the tree while I keep the couch warm. Then you come back over here and join me so we can get a few hours of sleep in before Jess wakes us up."
"You don't want me to just pick you up and carry you to the bedroom?" he asks her with a small smile on his face.
She shakes her head, "Nope. I don't want to move."
He chuckles, "Alright. Well, you're going to have to move a little so I can get up."
Skye sighs, "Fine." She shifts off of his body and presses herself against the back of the couch, allowing him to stand up.
"I'll be right back," he tells her, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.
"Mmkay," she replies, her eyes closed as she stretches out on the couch.
Grant just smiles at her and then turns around to make his way down the hallway towards their bedroom for the rest of the Christmas presents.
...
Breathing in deeply, Skye smiles at the feeling of two strong arms wrapped around her middle. She tilts her head up to see Grant looking at her with a smile on his face.
"Good morning," he whispers.
"Morning," she smiles back. She leans up to press a kiss to his lips.
Grant smiles into the kiss, tightening his hold on her. He moves one hand to her hip, letting his fingers graze at the skin right above the hemline of her shorts.
Skye pulls back, "Not now."
Grant groans, "Do you know how long it's been?"
"It hasn't been that long," she tells him with a roll of her eyes.
"August," he deadpans. "The last time you were here was August."
"Well then be a good boy the rest of the time I'm here and maybe I'll reward you." She leans forward and gives him a peck on the lips before pulling back.
She leans over the edge of the couch to see Jessica already lying awake, holding her ladybug close to her body.
Skye smiles down at her daughter, "Hey, baby girl." She sits up on the edge of the couch and reaches down to lift the little girl off of the floor and set her in her lap, tucking the ladybug between their bodies. She presses a kiss to Jessica's cheek, "Merry Christmas, angel. Are you ready to open some presents? Mommy and daddy got you some really good presents. And Auntie Kara is coming by later to say hi and give you a present."
"Feliz Navidad, Jessie," Grant sits up behind Skye and smiles at his daughter. He leans forward and presses a kiss to her cheek. He looks at Skye and smiles at her, wrapping an arm around her waist, "I'm really glad you're here so we can celebrate Christmas together. As a family."
Skye smiles back at him, "As a family."
*December/January*
"Weren't you going to put her in bed before the countdown started?" Grant asks Skye as he enters the bedroom to find her still sitting on the bed with ten month old Jessica curled up in her lap, the stuffed ladybug lying next to her.
"I was going to," Skye looks up at him. "But she just looks so comfortable right now, I figured I'd let her stay in the bed with us tonight," she smoothes back some of Jessica's dark hair. She presses a kiss to her daughters' forehead. "Besides, it's only for one night. I'm leaving tomorrow and I haven't seen her in what feels like forever. Let me have this just this once."
Grant smiles, "Fine. Just this once." He climbs into the bed next to her, handing her one of the glasses of champagne.
She smiles at him, "Thank you."
"Of course," he smiles back, leaning over to give her a quick kiss. He pulls back and settles himself down onto the bed, holding his own glass of champagne. "So, are you ready to ring in 2018?"
Skye shrugs, "I guess so."
"What is it?" he asks.
"Nothing. I just can't believe our baby girl is going to be a year old so soon."
"It's crazy how quickly the time has gone by," Grant comments, running one of his hands through Jessica's hair.
"Especially for me because I'm always away," Skye says sadly, looking down.
Grant dips his head so he can look at her, "Hey, you may not be here all the time, but you're here when it really matters. That's all we can ask for."
She sighs and looks up, "I just wish I could be here more."
"I know you do. But you'll be here again for her birthday. That's the big one that really matters."
She smiles as she looks down at her daughter, "Yeah."
"Hey Skye," Grant says to her.
She looks up at him, "Yeah?"
Grant leans forward and gently presses his lips to hers, a small smile on his face. He pulls back and smiles just a bit bigger at her, "Happy New Year."
She smiles back, "Happy New Year. I love you."
He grins from ear to ear, "I love you too."
*February*
"You know, I really hate Valentine's Day," Hunter says as he walks into the common room and falls down onto the couch across the room from Skye.
Skye looks up at him, "See, I could understand you saying that if you didn't have anyone to celebrate the holiday with, but you do have someone. A wife."
"Ex wife, thank you very much," Hunter corrects her. "And even when we were married I hated Valentine's Day. It just put all of this unwanted pressure on me to actually make it a special day. But I was never really good at that kind of stuff, so I'd apologize profusely for ruining the holiday and then we'd end up having sex. So now that I think about it, it really wasn't all too bad."
Skye laughs quietly, "Glad to hear it. I was never a huge fan of the holiday either, but I learned to appreciate it as I got older."
"Yeah? And how's that?"
"Discounted chocolate the next day," she smiles.
Hunter chuckles, "Yes, I think I can see the appeal."
Skye's phone goes off in her pocket and she pulls it out, unlocking the shell program to find a new text from Grant Happy Valentine's Day, beautiful. This probably isn't what you were expecting as a gift, but I'm sure you'll like it anyways. A video is attached to the message and she quickly pulls the headphones out of her laptop and plugs them into her phone.
She hits the play button and the video opens up, filling her phone screen.
Grant is smiling into the camera, "Hey beautiful, I wish you could be here right now to see this, but I guess this will have to do for now until you come back to see it in person." He shuffles with his phone for a moment and then moves back, bending down so his face is still in the screen. "You ready? Watch this." He moves across the room and squats down a little ways away from where Kara is standing holding onto Jessica's hands to help her stay steady on her feet. "Okay Jess," he holds his arms out to the little girl. "Ven acá, come to daddy."
Kara lets go of Jessica's hands, the little girl wobbling for a moment on her feet. Then she lifts one foot off of the floor and sets it down in front of her, repeating the same process with her other foot. She keeps going, taking a few more wobbly steps across the carpet before falling into Grant's open arms, a small smile on her face.
"Muy bien, baby girl," Grant smiles, lifting Jessica off the ground, standing up, and twirling her around.
He walks back over to the camera and picks it up, holding it up so he and Jessica are in the frame.
"Did you see her go, Skye?" Grant asks with a happy smile on his face. "She's walking. Can you believe it? She's still a little wobbly, but soon enough she'll be walking all over the place and we're really going to have to keep an eye on her," he chuckles. "We're going to go now; we have to celebrate Jess taking her first steps. Dile adiós a mamá, Jessie," Grant says to his daughter.
Jessica leans forward, reaching one arm out towards the screen.
"We love you," Grant smiles. "See you soon."
The video ends and Skye just sits staring at the smiling faces of her family.
She types a quick reply That was amazing. I love you guys too. And tell Jess that I'm so incredibly proud of her.
Will docomes his reply.
She smiles. So, any big plans for today? Besides celebrating her first steps?
Kendra told me about this Annual Valentine's Day Father Daughter, Mother Son Dance that they have nearby. We'll probably go to that if Jess isn't too fussy.
Well I expect loads and loads of cute pictures if you guys end up going.
I promise. I should probably go now, but I love you and I can't wait to see you next month.
I love you too.
"Skye? Are you alright?"
Looking up from her phone, she looks over to see Hunter looking at her with concern written on his face.
"What? Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"You've uh, you've got some tears on your face," he motions to her cheeks.
Skye quickly wipes at her face, "Oh, um, it's nothing, I promise. I'm perfectly fine."
Hunter gives her a skeptical look, "If you insist."
She gives him a small smile, "I do. I'm fine, Hunter, really. I'm just thinking about something. But it's nothing that you need to worry about."
So? What did you all think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Anymore guesses? Next chapter is where you find out who finds out first. :)
*You look so beautiful
Merry Christmas
Come here
Very good
Say goodbye to mommy, Jessie
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!