Story Summary: Daniel and the kids surprise Vala for Mother's Day.

Ages: Rhen (7) Lilah (7) Matt (4)

Mommy's Day

"Shh," Daniel warned as he carefully led his three children up the stairs. "We want Mommy to be surprised."

"Okay, Daddy," the twins whispered with a giggle while Matthew nodded solemnly.

Daniel stifled his own laughter as the group crept closer to the bedroom where Vala was, hopefully, still asleep. He'd been careful not to wake her when he rose two hours ago, but one could never be certain with her. After all these years, Vala hadn't lost her inherent ability to be sneaky and he loved her all the more for it. No one could ever say their life was boring. Carefully balancing the tray in his hand, Daniel reached for the handle and pushed the door open. He peeked inside and smiled when he noted that Vala appeared to still be sleeping. It felt good to, every once in a while, be able to catch her off-guard. Opening the door all the way, he ushered the kids forward, once more cautioning them to be quiet. Tiny giggles emanated from them as they tip-toed and Daniel shook his head with a smile. Stealthy, they were not. He motioned for them to hop on the bed and gently wake their mother, snorting a laugh when Matt landed on the pillow, nearly sitting on Vala's head. The little boy bent his head to peer at his mother then poked her in the eye, making Daniel cringe a little.

"Mommy?" Matt whispered loudly. "You 'wake?"

Vala snored loudly for a second and Daniel rolled his eyes. Of course, she was awake. So much for catching her off-guard. Daniel let her have her fun, though, not wishing to spoil it for the kids. Matthew poked at his mother's face again before her arm suddenly shot out, capturing the child in a tight snuggle.

"Mommy!" Matt giggled struggling to free himself.

"I'll let go if you tell me why you're poking at my eyeballs. They don't come out, you know."

"I know, Mommy." Matt laughed again. "I was tryin' to see if you were 'wake."

"Well, I'm awake now." Vala smiled at the child as she loosened her grip but did not let him go completely. "The question is, why am I awake?"

"It's Mommy's Day!" Rhen shouted as she bounced in place at the foot of the bed.

"We made you breakfast!" Lilah chimed in, bouncing in sync with her sister.

"Did you now? Well, isn't that lovely." Vala finally sat up and smiled at her children before turning her gaze to Daniel. They shared a wordless conversation before Rhen piped up again.

"We made chocolate pancakes, Mommy."

"With chocolate flavoured syrup!" Lilah grinned.

"My favourite. Thank you, darlings." Vala bit into a pancake and smiled. The dough was slightly lumpy and the syrup tasted a bit off but to her it was perfect. "It's delicious."

"We got presents, too, Mommy." Rhen put in, scooting closer to the head of the bed as she produced a bag from behind her. "Open it!"

Vala took the bag and did as requested, pulling out what looked like three large stones. She curiously turned them over and noticed tiny handprints and names engraved on the front. "You made these?"

"Yes Mommy." Lilah said proudly. "Daddy helped."

"I love them." Vala said with tears in her eyes then looked toward her husband again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Daniel grinned and leant in for a kiss.

"Ew!" the twins groaned, causing Daniel and Vala to pull apart with a laugh.

"Okay, enough." Daniel said. "Now, you three get dressed. We're going to clean the house for Mommy."

"Really?" Vala asked in awe.

"Yup, we're gonna make the whole house shiny." Rhen told her proudly.

"I'm sure you are." Vala pulled her children in for a hug. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Mommy!" they chorused then scampered out, arguing over who was going to clean the most.

Once they were gone, Vala looked over at Daniel with a smile. "You did all of this for me?"

"Of course," he confirmed, taking a seat beside her. "You do so much for us, now it's our turn. But we're not done yet. Finish eating then get dressed."

"Why?"

"Because you're going out."

"I am?"

"Yup. While the kids and I clean, you are going to the spa with Caro and Sam. Now, get dressed." Daniel leant in for one more kiss then left.

Vala smiled at his departing form, feeling a though she was going to cry. She had a wonderful husband and beautiful children who loved her unconditionally. This wasn't how she'd expected her life to turn out but now she couldn't imagine it any other way.

The End