'Nurse Ryan, can you please-'

'No, sorry, I can't,' Honey-Milk replied with a firm tone.

'But, Jenny-'

'Whitney, tomorrow is my anniversary and I'm working nights so when I am off in-' Honey-Milk checked her watch '-eight minutes, I am going home to my very hot hubby and try and convince him to give me a back rub and maybe have sex with me after a bubble bath.'

'So that's a no?'

'That's a hell no. In the meantime, you have temperature and pulse updates to do, and I believe young mister Henson needs his dressing on his appendectomy changed.'

Honey-Milk knew it was probably muy-bad for her karma to gloat as Whitney all but stomped off to fulfill her reputation as the nasty nurse of pediatrics but also at the moment didn't really give a damn. She was going home to her husband who'd been in court that day and had picked up Dell and Mallory the moment he was finished and she would be home in time to tuck them into bed.

With barely four minutes to go now thanks to wasting the previous four listening to Whitney try to cajole her into overtime, Honey-Milk decided to call down to the pharmacy to ensure that the night-shift would not be going skeleton for the holiday weekend, and being put on hold ate up another two minutes. By the time her verification was done, it was two minutes past end of shift; Honey-Milk had never bolted for the staff locker rooms so quickly.

Once in her street clothes, work scrubs tucked into her bag for laundering at home, Honey-Milk caught the train to Fifty-First Street and decided to walk the last eight blocks home since it was such a gorgeous evening out. Dell was going back to school on Monday and Mallory would be in her last year at the daycare full time. Then she would switch to the after-school groups after attending kindergarten all day, where she would make new friends, have her own stories to tell. One more step to independence.

'God, please don't let my babies grow up so quickly, on me,' she murmured, casting a quick glance up to the perfectly clear blue sky. 'I like the age they are now.'

Still, she had to admit, she liked the fact they were now old enough to have sleepovers with friends so that when she and her husband wanted a date-night, they knew they didn't have to worry about the babies crying with a sitter or family member watching them. And then there were nights like tonight when she planned to seduce her husband in their marital bed and she didn't have to worry about them crying through the monitor for a midnight feeding.

And what a seduction she had in mind for her man - it was their anniversary night together after all, since she was starting nights the next day on their actual anniversary. Nine years married, eleven years together, and two beautiful babies; they had thriving careers and an extended family they adored, and so much love for each other there were times when Honey-Milk still couldn't believe that gorgeous Irish stud with the melting blue eyes had picked her.

She let herself into the building, took the stairs up to her floor and grinned when she smelled the scents of home - children, crayons, flowers; the last came from the bouquet of white and candy pink tulips on the table. Expensive since they were out of season but Ryan knew the importance of them for her.

'Hello? Anyone home?'

'Mama!'

There was the sound of scampering feet and she soon saw her prince and princess running towards her from Mallory's room - Dell with his father's blue eyes, Mallory with his nose and chin. They bracketed her with their hugs.

'Hello my mama!' Dell squeezed hard, made a little 'mm' sound. 'How was work today? Did you get to save anyone's life?'

'Anyone nee' a 'pation?' Mallory adding, eyes shining in curiosity.

'There was no emergencies I was in charge of today, Dell, and yes, Mally, there was a little boy who needed an operation.'

'Oh no, he okay? He 'faid? You tell him it okay, no be 'cared, I am a goo' nurse?'

Honey-Milk smiled at her daughter. However empathetic Dell was, no one she knew had the capacity for feeling like her Mallory Agatha. 'I told him it was going to be okay, and he was scared of the needles that had his medicine but I told him that my little boy had to have a needle every day for diabetes and he said he could be brave like that too.'

'I'm not brave, Mama,' Dell scoffed, sounding just like Ryan. 'I just make sure I stay healthy.'

'You buh-rave, Dell,' Mallory insisted. 'I 'faid of nee-dills, I can' do tha'.'

'Alright, you two where's your daddy?'

'He's having a nap, he said that court was a real mother today,' Dell replied, wrinkling his forehead in confusion. 'What's that mean, Mama?'

'That it was an incredibly tough day.'

'You moosh Daddy, Mama, make it bettah,' Mallory advised her. When she was feeling blue, a kiss from her mama always made her feel better. 'We have falalas fo' suppah tonigh'?'

'No, pepperoni pizza!'

'Peppi-oh-nees f'om piggies! Mama, I no wanna ea' piggies!'

'Oink, oink, whack!'

'Mama! Dell bein' nas'y!'

'Both of you know on Friday nights when we have pizza, we get three pizzas. One cheese, one meat and one veggie so Dell, stop tormenting your sister, and you,' Honey-Milk turned to Mallory, 'stop getting worked up over all meat-eaters teasing you or you won't survive at school.'

'Okay Mama. Daddy nee' his moosh.'

'Very well. You two head back to what you were doing.' She paused. 'What were you doing?'

'Playing Monopoly Junior, Mama. I am teaching Mallory about money for when we have the welcome-back carnival next Friday.'

'I gonna puh-lay the fuh-roggie pon', Mama. I gonna win a 'tuff toy.'

'Good plan.' Honey-Milk toed off her sandals now that her children had released her from their double-stack hug, kissed both their heads. 'I want to go see Daddy so you guys keep playing your game, okay?'

Dell nodded; he was a smart boy and had heard from the other older boys at school that sometimes grown-ups liked to be alone so they could kiss and hug to show they loved each other. It made him feel all flush and squirmy to think of his parents all touchy like that, but at the same time, oddly proud because he knew many students who didn't have parents so in love like his.

He took his sister's hand, apologizing to her about the piggies-comment as they headed back to her room which had Honey-Milk shaking her head as she walked over to indulge herself in a sniff of her flowers before carefully opening the bedroom door where she wasn't at all surprised to see her beautiful man face down and snoring. He'd hung up his suit on the closet door and there were no words to describe how charming Honey-Milk found it that beneath his prim and proper court-testimony clothes he'd been wearing a pair of green silk boxers with the words 'Kiss Me I'm Irish' printing in gold all over in little speech bubbles.

Stripping off her top and crop pants, she carefully crawled into bed beside him, but the man slept light as a cat so the moment her fingertips touched the sheet, Ryan's eyes flew open and he was focusing on her with a sleepy smile.

'There's my queen,' he mumbled, lightly patted the pillow beside him. 'I'm so tired, baby.'

'I know, Kev. Dell said that court today was a real mother.'

'That boy's spending too much time at school,' he joked. 'But he's not wrong. This was a tough one. The Hatsu Li case.'

'Right.'

'Every day on that case has felt like a tennis game, Jenny, it's like whatever we present for the prosecution the defense can come back and twist it so we look like brutal American police picking on a little Japanese immigrant and making an example of him.'

'He murdered three people and served them as sushi to his Yakuza pals, how is that picking on him?'

'You got me.' Ryan rolled to his side, moved closer to his wife. She was his sanity on days like this, even more than seeing the innocent faces of his children. He bumped his forehead against hers, kissed her sweetly. 'Did I hear something about pigs and pizza?'

'What are we going to do about Mallory and her hypersensitivity over eating animals?'

'Give it time, sweetie. You know how ever much shit her brother gives her, next year when she starts at Saint Bartholemew's if anyone tries to say the same thing Dell will clean their clocks.'

'I know.'

'Speaking of clean...' Ryan gave her another kiss. 'I have a little surprise for you later, so once the kids are in bed, I want you to take a nice long hot bubble bath, so you come out of it all hot and foamy and pink.'

'A surprise?'

'Yes, a surprise.'