Hey peeps! It's been a long time, but I just came back to this story! it's probably best to start at the beginning, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary. Enjoy :)

Into the Morning

Chapter 12

By JewWitch

"Wake up! Wake up!" The door to Spencer and Ashley's bedroom was thrown open, and light from the hall spilled onto the two figures sprawled on the bed.

"Aww, Jacks…it's early," Ashley groaned, eyes still closed, pressing her face further into her pillow. Spencer just made a sleepy, incoherent murmuring sound, and curled up closer to Ashley's warm body.

"But the birthday girl is here!" Jackson squealed, holding his little sister up and tossing her lightly onto the bed between her mothers, while little Ella giggled uncontrollably. Ashley and Spencer's eyes snapped open, taking in the heart-warming sight of their toddler bouncing on the end of their bed, her sleep-mussed blond hair topped with a shiny tin-foil crown, festively adorned with multicolored plastic jewels and a huge, glittery "2" in the center.

"Oh, baby, did you make this beautiful birthday crown for your sister?" Spencer asked with a yawn, beaming at her son, who had climbed into the bed after his sister.

"Auntie Chelsea helped," Jackson shrugged. "We spent all yesterday afternoon on it."

"Totally hard rock," Ashley agreed, sitting up with a yawn of her own. "Happy birthday, Ella!" She picked up the bouncing toddler, and all three of them hugged and kissed her while she laughed delightedly.

"Birfday?" Ella asked, looking happy but rather confused when her moms finally released her.

"Yeah, Elly, it's your birthday. You're two years old today!" Jackson explained patiently, pointing to the crown atop the little girl's head.

"I two?" Ella frowned, pointing to her chest bemusedly.

"Yeah, you're two!" Jackson nodded vigorously, grinning widely, and showing a newly missing front tooth.

"I two now?" Ella asked again, not quite able to wrap her mind around the concept.

"Okay, nobody move…I have got to get the camera." Spencer disappeared into the hall, and Jackson wiggled into the warm spot under the covers she'd left behind, cuddling up to Ashley contentedly.

"Elly, remember we're having your birthday party today?" he reminded his sister, who squealed shrilly with delight.

"Pony!"

"That's right, baby," Ashley murmured with another groggy yawn, still not really awake. "We're gonna have a pony come give everybody rides in the backyard…" Rubbing her eyes, Ashley blinked, and grinned at the awestruck expression on her small daughter's cherubic face. "And then we'll have a great big cake, and lots of presents for you."

"Pony!" Ella shrieked again, her grin almost bigger than her face. "Pony pwesent!"

"No no, Elly," Jackson shook his head gravely. "The pony isn't to keep. It's just for today, remember? He, he has to go back to his home after the party." A scowl appeared on the toddler's face, replacing the beaming grin of moments before, and she crossed her arms and pouted.

"Aw, honey, don't pout," Ashley smirked, thinking how much the toddler resembled Spencer with her forehead all scrunched up, and lower lip sticking out like that. "You're gonna get a lot of great presents to keep, right?" Ella looked up at Ashley speculatively, her homemade crown tilting sideways across her forehead. A flash alerted them to Spencer's return to the bedroom, camera in hand, with a distinctive Kodak-moment gleam in her eye.

"Okay, everybody smile!" Spencer beamed, framing up another shot. She looked through the viewfinder; then lowered it again with a slight frown at Ashley's unhappy expression. "Ash, I said smile, not glower. Can't you do any better?" Instead of answering, Ashley clamped a hand over her mouth and bolted out from between her two children, scrambling for the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind her. A moment later, they could all hear the sound of her retching.

"What's the matter with Mommy?" Jackson asked, looking alarmed.

"Don't be scared, sweetie. Mommy just has a little tummy ache," Spencer lied smoothly, glancing from the bathroom door to her two bewildered children still sprawled out on the bed. "Why don't you take Ella downstairs and turn on some cartoons for the two of you to watch? I'll be down in a minute to make breakfast."

"Okay," Jackson agreed uncertainly, hauling his little sister up under her arms and carrying her out of the room while Spencer slipped through the bathroom door, and knelt down on the tile next to a whimpering Ashley.

"You okay, babe?" Spencer asked softly, reaching out to rub Ashley's back with one hand and gathering her hair with the other.

"Oh yeah, fucking peachy," Ashley snarled. "This is the most fun I've had in years." Spencer silently leaned over and filled a dixie cup with water from the sink, and handed it to Ashley, who took it rather mulishly.

"Sorry I ruined the photo moment," she grumbled petulantly, leaning back into Spencer's arms on the cool tile floor.

"Aw, Ash, don't worry about that," Spencer murmured, wrapping her arms around the trembling body in front of her, and kissing her temple. "There'll be plenty more Kodak moments today. And it's not like you planned it."

"Yeah," Ashley agreed, the grumpiness draining out of her voice as Spencer's warm hands began to gently stroke her stomach.

"Think you're ready to come down now?"

"Uh-huh," Ashley nodded, taking another sip of her water. "Just let me brush my teeth first." She stood a little shakily, and Spencer leaned up on her knees, pushed Ashley's pajama top up, and kissed her bellybutton.

"And you," she said sternly, addressing Ashley's stomach. "Are you gonna be good in there, and let Mommy have some peace today?" Ashley giggled and ran a hand through Spencer's sleep-mussed hair, exactly the same golden hue and silky texture as Ella's.

"I told you this baby was gonna be stubborn," Ashley shrugged, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips as Spencer glanced up, and their eyes met.

"I told you," Spencer smirked.

The rest of the morning passed in a rush, as breakfast was made, backpacks filled, and the four of them all dressed for their day. Ashley tried to act cheerful for everyone else's sake, not wanting to spoil her daughter's second birthday with her pregnancy mood swings and lingering nausea. By the time she got to the recording studio, she was wishing she'd never gotten out of bed; and the fact that she couldn't tell anyone why she was acting so crabby didn't help, either. She knew that Spencer wanted to take out a full-page ad in the Times to tell the world they were having another baby, but Ashley was dead set against saying anything before the first trimester was over. Just in case…well, in case she had another miscarriage. She couldn't bear the thought of having to tell everyone THAT. So she suffered in silence; not exactly typical Ashley style. But she got through her day the best she could, right up till she picked Ella up from daycare in what could only be described as full toddler-tantrum mode.

"It's okay, you can deal with this," she said to herself quietly on the drive home, as Ella shrieked at the top of her lungs from her car seat. "Spencer will be home in half an hour…you can handle this for half an hour." A plastic dinosaur hit her in the back of the head.

"Fuck!" Ashley squealed, eyes watering from the pain. Then she took a deep breath. "Half an hour…" she whispered.

An hour and a half later, she heard the front door slam, and looked up from where her head was buried under a pillow on the couch. All she could see of Spencer was a pair of legs; everything else was obscured by several enormous bags of party favors piled high in her arms. Jackson trailed behind her, carrying a much smaller bag of party hats, his backpack trailing on the floor.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Ashley snapped, sitting up and rubbing her aching head. "You were supposed to be home to help me set up an hour ago!"

"I'm sorry, Ash, we had to stay after soccer practice to have a talk with the coach and some other parents. Jack, tell Mommy what you did." The seven-year-old's head was hung so low, all Ashley could see was his shaggy brown hair and the tip of his nose.

"Punched Sam in the mouth 'cause he called me a sissy-boy."

"What??" Ashley sprang up from her seat, arms crossed in disbelief. "Jackson Raife, what got into you?" The little boy shrugged, eyes still focused on his shoes.

"That's not an answer, buddy." Finally he looked up, and Ashley gasped at the swollen bruise around her son's eye. "Oh my God!" She grabbed his face and tilted it up toward the light.

"It's okay Mommy, it doesn't hurt that much," he said glumly, still avoiding her eyes.

"It most definitely is not okay! Is this how Mama and I taught you to behave? We're about to have a house full of toddlers and parents, and here you are looking like you just escaped from juvie!"

"Ash…" Spencer reached out and laid a warm hand on her trembling arm.

"No Spencer, he needs to hear this."

"I'm sorry!" Jackson yelled, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he ran from the room. A moment later, they heard his door slam above their heads. Ashley groaned, and pressed her face into her hands.

"Spence? Not to alarm you, but I think I just heard myself become my mother."

"Baby," Spencer sighed, pulling Ashley into her arms for a long moment. Ashley didn't say anything, just laid her head on Spencer's shoulder and breathed in the sweet, soothing smell of her hair. "You are absolutely nothing like your mother."

"Still wasn't my best parental moment." Spencer pulled back and pressed her lips to Ashley's, then gave her "the look."

"No, it wasn't. If you'd let him tell you what happened before you accused him of being a juvenile delinquent, you'd know that the reason the other boy was teasing him was because he couldn't stop talking about his little sister's birthday party."

"Ohhh…shit, I am such an asshole."

"No you're not." Spencer grinned wistfully and smoothed back a lock of Ashley's red-streaked hair. "You're just hormonal. Hi, been there."

"I'm unfit to raise a family. All three of you…four of you," she corrected, touching her stomach—"would be better off without me." She sat down on the couch and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, okay. Do I have to remind you how much 'better off' we were when you were gone on your last world tour?" There was a long pause where Spencer just tapped her foot, and Ashley was silent.

"Well…" Ashley finally looked up with a small, sly grin. "I guess I do have my charms." Spencer just smirked back, and without a word leaned into Ashley and kissed her.

"Yes, you do," she agreed. "Now go talk to your son." Spencer turned Ashley's shoulders toward the staircase. Ashley leaped forward in surprise when Spencer slapped her on the butt to get her moving.

"Okay, jeez! I'm going."