Chapter 25 – All Said And Done

Izzy crept around the corner of the door to the twins room. A smile crept to her lips as she watched Stephen, his head bobbing along to the music filling the room. The paint brush in his hand swept across the wall, coating it in the rich oat colour they had picked out. Her gaze travelled up his thick arm to his bare back, the muscles bunching with his movements. Travelling lower, she had to bite her lip at the sight of him. The old worn jeans he had on clung to his behind and Izzy had the sudden urge to manhandle him; though she would put that down to hormones.

"I think you've missed a spot." Izzy spoke into the empty room. Stephen shot around at the sound of her voice.

"Ah've only just started." Izzy started walking towards him, her hands clasped together under her stomach.

"Yet you're covered in paint." Stephen glanced down at his chest and the few specks of paint there.

"The tin of paint got on the wrong side of me." Izzy couldn't help but laugh. As she reached Stephen she pressed a soft kiss to his lips and trailed her finger down his chest.

"It got on every side of you, Ste."

"How yeh feeling?" Stephen asked as he turned back around to keep painting.

"Fine, the babies are moving again." Stephen spun around, dropping his paintbrush onto the tray of paint he had poured out. A smile was etched on his face and his grey eyes sparkled. His hands roamed around her stomach, trying to feel the babies moving. "Not right now."

"Oh." Stephens smile dropped, his excitement fading.

"As soon as they do I'll shout you." Izzy took hold of his hands and squeezed lightly. "Before I forget, my mom's coming over, she's going to make me pancakes."

"And let me guess, there won't be any left for me?"

"I may let you have one bite." Stephen grinned and lowered his lips to her neck, he gently kissed down her throat then nibbled on her collar bone. "Mmmm.. Don't start unless you're going to finish."

Stephen pulled back from his wife, staring into her blue orbs. They pulled him in and held him there, entranced by everything she did. "Ah've got another surprise for yeh later."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Can I get a hint?"

"No." Stephen resumed painting and Izzy sighed. She eyed the tray of paint on the floor, her mind wandered for a moment before she bent down and pressed both of her palms into the cool paint. Slowly she pressed her hands to Stephens jean clad behind, then mumbled 'I love you' into his bare back. Stephen glanced over his shoulder and smirked before painting again, oblivious to her actions.

"I'm going to take a nap before my mom gets here." Izzy grinned and quickly left the room to wash her hands. She took one last glance as she made it to the doorway and had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing. That would keep her amused for a few hours.

Stephen had finished the first coat of the room in under an hour. He was rather proud of it, having never been the most 'DIY' guy. He padded downstairs, dying for a cold beer. The knock on the front door stopped him mid-track on his way to the kitchen. Pulling the door open, he came face to face with Joanne. Her eyes widened as she saw him, scanning his appearance.

"Hello Stephen."

"Joanne, come in." Stephen stepped to the side, letting her into the house.

"Do you always walk around half naked?"

"Special occasions." Stephen grinned and Joanne rolled her eyes. "Can ah get yeh something to drink?"

"A coffee would be lovely, thank you."

"Coming right up." Stephen flicked the coffee machine on which hadn't been used in a while due to Izzy being unable to drink the stuff. "She's asleep, ah'll go wake her up."

Stephen headed upstairs to the bedroom, walking in the room was dark. The drapes had been pulled to, leaving only a slice of light creeping into the room from the small gap. He smiled at the sight before him. Izzy was laid on her side, clutching the pillow on Stephens side. Her lips were slightly parted, hair fanned out across the pillows. One of her hands was settled on her bump, something she subconsciously did though Stephen had picked up on it.

"Iz?" He didn't want to wake her up; her peaceful form looked beautiful. He moved over to the bed and carefully sat down on the edge. "Iz?" He spoke into the room a little louder than before whilst tucking a strand of hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear.

She lightly mumbled in her sleep and Stephen couldn't help but grin. His fingers brushed her cheek lightly, to which she reached out and grabbed his wrist, her lips curved into a smile and she let out a breathy sigh. "Mmm.. Sheamus."

Stephen stared at his wife, trying to make sure he heard her correctly. He swallowed hard. Was he really feeling jealous over the character he portrayed when he was in the ring? "Iz." Stephen spoke loudly, watching her eyes snap open.

"Hey." Izzy mumbled then smiled, she sat up with help from Stephen.

"Hey yehself, what were you dreaming of?" He stood up as she scooted across the bed.

"I don't remember." Stephen grinned as her cheeks flushed slightly. He pulled her up and kissed her cheek, gently sliding his mouth to her ear.

"Yeh want another night with Sheamus, lass?"

"Ste!" He grinned and let her escape his hold. She rushed towards the mirror, fussing with her hair and swiping under her eyes to get rid of the stray bits of mascara.

"All yeh have to do is ask." Izzy glanced over her shoulder to look at her smirking husband.

"Is my mom here?" Izzy asked, the prospect of pancakes now making her stomach rumble.

"She's downstairs, save some pancakes for me though, lass. Ah'm going to grab a shower first."

"Now that I cannot promise you." Stephen turned to walk into the bathroom and Izzy couldn't stifle the laugh threatening to escape her lips. He frowned at her, eyeing her up like she were mad. "I'm sorry Ste, I just love your ass." With that she left to room in a flash, just the thought of eating pancakes luring her to the kitchen.

Stephen still couldn't get his head around Izzy sometimes. He moved over to the mirror she had just been stood in front of. Turning around slightly he caught sight of the small hand prints on his jeans. Shaking his head at his wife's playful side, he shed himself of the jeans before making his way to the shower to try and wash the paint off.

Izzy finally made it downstairs, a little breathless but happy to see her mom. She could hear her rustling about before she even made it through the door, and as soon as she stepped into the room her mom came into sight stood beside the counter with a whisk in hand.

"Hi mom." Izzy greeted, making her way through the kitchen.

"Elizabeth, sweetie." Her mom put the whisk down, wiping her hands on a cloth. "Well look at you, you've gotten so big." Izzy was swiftly pulled into a motherly embrace.

"You only saw me a few weeks ago." Izzy laughed, letting her mom hold her at arms length to get a better look at her.

"And how are you feeling?"

"Tired." Izzy smiled and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "We're redecorating."

"Well that would kind of explain Stephen attire." Izzy couldn't help but grin at the thought of her mom coming face to face with a shirtless Stephen and the shock she would have got.

"I'm just so undecided with what to do with the babies room, but I guess there's no rush." Izzy's mom returned to the batter she was making, whisking away and adding different ingredients. She eyed the chocolate chips on the counter and licked her lips.

"Of course not, sweetie. The more you get done now the less you have to do when you're bigger though." Izzy grabbed a few of the chocolate chips and ate them before her mom could scold her. "How is Cassandra by the way?"

"She's doing great. Recovering slowly, but I'm just glad she's back to her normal self, or as normal as she can be." Leaning against the counter, she watched her mom pour some of the batter into a hot pan. The mouth watering smell of the pancakes instantly filled the room. "I've missed this."

"Missed what?"

"Us being like this, like it used to be." Izzy confessed, things had never been the same and she wasn't quite sure if they ever would be.

"I know and I've apologised for how me and your father acted. You're happy and Stephen is a wonderful man."

"I just wished you could have seen that from the start."

"Ah'm not interrupting am ah?" Stephen poked his head around the door, catching the conversation at an awkward time.

"No quite the opposite, you're just in time." She handed a plate to Stephen with three pancakes stacked on top of each other. He thought of turning down the plate due to his diet, but saw the plate as a peace offering; one he couldn't afford to refuse.

"Thank yeh."

"And don't worry Elizabeth, yours are right here." Her mom handed her a plate as Stephen poured two mugs of coffee. The three of them ate and chatted away like everything was perfect. Though Izzy would loved her dad to have been there also, he had opted for a day at the country club with work colleagues.

"So I want you two to join us for christmas this year, Josie and Paul are coming of course and it would mean everything to me and your father." Izzy mom piped up, her cheery demeanour not once slipping.

"Oh." Izzy turned to Stephen before glancing back at her mom. "Well, Stephen's mom is actually coming here."

"Well then its settled, you're all invited." Her mom stood up, effectively ending the conversation then started clearing the plates from the table. Izzy shot Stephen an apologetic smile, but she couldn't help but think it might not be that bad.

"Ah've been telling yeh to relax, and since yeh won't listen to me ah'll have to force yeh." Stephen and Izzy had done the finishing touches to the spare room, now perfect for the new furniture to be put in. Though it was only mid afternoon, Stephen had put his plan into place.

"Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?" Stephen took hold of her hand and pulled her through to the bedroom. The smell of vanilla filled her senses, and floated around her. He carried on walking through to the bathroom. When Stephen opened the door, Izzy was greeted by the bathroom filled with candles, the bath full of water and bubbles. "Ste, you didn't have to do this."

"Ah want you to relax." He kissed her lips softly. "And whilst yeh do that, ah'll go lift some weights." He let go of the hand and moved over to the counter. He filled a tall wine glass with a mixed berry sparkling juice and handed it to her. "Next best thing to wine." Izzy took hold of the glass and Stephen bent down to kiss her stomach. As he looked up, he watched Izzy take in a deep breath. Her eyes were glossy, slowly tears threatened to fall.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Stephen stood up, framing her face with his large hands.

"You're too good to me." Izzy smiled sheepishly, wiping away the few stray tears that had rolled down her cheeks. She shook her head in fear of looking like a completely mad woman. "Anyway, where's my hot Irishman in this tub?"

"What yeh talking about?" Stephen still held her face in place, his thumbs softly brushing her cheeks.

"That's what I got on my honeymoon."

"If ah'm in there with yeh, ah can assure yeh, yeh won't be relaxing." Izzy set her drink down then kissed him hard on the lips, wrapping her arms around his thick neck. She couldn't get as close to him as she wanted, but he still held her as close as possible.

"Thank you." She almost whispered against his lips, staring into his eyes and losing herself in his orbs.

"Yer welcome, love. Now enjoy yehself." He kissed her one last time before leaving her alone and shutting the door. She couldn't help but smile to herself; she really did have it all.

A/N – Thank you hotpocketbandit, MissShelz, DeansTrueGirl, moxxie23, ThatGirl54, peeps8705, wwemagpie and hOtlilmofo for the lovely reviews. Lou x