A/N: I'm a little mad because this chapter would have been up sooner, but something happened, I guess I saved the document wrong and I lost most of it. So, I had to rewrite most of it from memory. I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who has supported this story from beginning to end, through all the ups and downs. It really means a lot to me. This chapter is for you, my readers! Enjoy! :)
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Lou stared out the kitchen window, hardly paying attention to the dirty dishes she was washing. The sun was bright, but you could see the brisk wind blowing through the trees. The horses in the far pasture grazed close together, sheltering each other from the harsh wind. But Lou wasn't watching them, her eyes were trained, instead, on the driveway. She was waiting for two young girls to materialize after a hard day at school.
She was completely absorbed in her thoughts that she jumped when a pair of strong arms circled her waist. It only took her a moment to realize it was her loving husband. Lou relaxed back into him, closing her eyes as he nuzzled her neck.
"Tell me you're not staring out the window, waiting for our daughters to come home," Peter whispered in her ear.
"No, I'm washing dishes," Lou said, though as she did, she noticed that the sink was empty and all the dishes were on the drying rack. She stared at them, wondering just how long ago she'd finished.
"Honey, relax," Peter told her, his hands moving to her shoulders, kneading them softly. "They'll be here soon enough."
"I can't help it," Lou sighed. "I'm worried about the girls, especially Georgie, when we tell them."
"Don't be, I'm sure they will be excited," Peter assured her.
Lou turned around in his arms and put her face in his shoulder. "How can you be so confident?" she asked him.
"Because I'm not you," Peter answered, with a chuckle. Lou looked up at him and smacked him lightly on the arm. Peter laughed again and added, "But I love you."
Peter lowered his mouth down to hers and kissed her softly. Anything Lou was feeling, anxiousness or mock anger, slipped away when he kissed her. She melted into him, her arms circling his neck, succumbing to the kiss. It was slow and sweet as they took their time, enjoying this one moment of quiet bliss.
They nearly missed the creak of the front door as it opened, due to their passion. They'd just pulled apart when Georgie and Katie walked inside. Katie immediately ran past Georgie and threw herself into Lou's arms, excitedly.
"Hey, how was kindergarten?" Lou asked, picking up her daughter.
"It was good," Katie answered, looking around distractedly. "Can I have a snack?"
"Yes, daddy and I want to tell you something," Lou said, putting Katie down. The five-year-old sat down at the table as Lou got out a packet of peanut butter crackers for her.
"I'm going to go change and then take Phoenix for a ride," Georgie announced, hefting her backpack higher on her shoulder and started to leave.
"Hold on a minute, Georgie, we want to talk to you too," Lou stopped, placing the crackers down in front of Katie, who tore into it eagerly.
Georgie slowly dropped her bag onto the floor and walked back into the kitchen. "Is it something bad?" she asked as she sat down in a chair. Lou and Peter sat down opposite her.
"No, no, not at all," Peter reassured her.
"It's actually really exciting news," Lou smiling, glancing over at Peter, who nodded for her to go on. "I'm pregnant! We're going to have a baby!"
"I'm going to have a baby sister!" Katie exclaimed, around a mouthful of crackers.
"Well, we don't know if it's going to be a girl or boy yet, sweetheart," Peter told his young daughter.
Katie swallowed and turned to Lou. "But mommy, I want a baby sister," Katie whined. "I want to teach her everything Georgie teached me."
"Aw, that's sweet, but you can still teach a brother the same way," Lou said, hoping to make her feel better.
"No, mommy," Katie shook her head and picked up another cracker. "It has to be a girl."
Lou laughed a little as Peter turned to Georgie. "What do you think, Georgie?" he asked her.
Georgie bit her lip as she thought about it and then she looked up at her adoptive parents. "I think it's cool," she finally said. "As long as I don't have to share my room or change any diapers."
"I think we can work something out," Peter laughed.
Peter took Lou's hand, their fingers entwining together as Katie shared one of her crackers with her big sister. The two shared smile and Lou realized that she'd had nothing to worry about. No matter whether they're family stayed the same or grew bigger, they would be okay. Because they had each other and that love kept them all connected.
~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~
The blue matchbox car slid across the floor and into the tower of blocks, sending them flying everywhere. The toddler let out a big laugh and clapped his hands together. Then, he picked up another car, a red convertible, and did the same thing to another tower of blocks. Again, the toddler dissolved into a fit of giggles.
"You little rascal!" Caleb exclaimed, reaching for the toddler, but AJ darted away quickly, still laughing.
"Do it 'gain!" AJ told him, pointing to the mess of blocks.
"How about you help me this time," Caleb suggested, pushing the blocks into a pile.
AJ crawled back over and picked up two blocks. He began to stack them one on top of the other and when Caleb put a block on top, the toddler knocked it over again. AJ looked up at him with an expectant smile on his face.
"Alright, that's it," Caleb said, good-naturedly, and lunged toward the toddler. AJ laughed out loud and tried to squirm away from Caleb's tickling hands. After a few minutes, they were both laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.
"Where mommy?" AJ asked, when the tickling was all done.
"I don't know," Caleb said, standing up. "Do you want to help me find her?" AJ nodded and put his hands up, so Caleb could pick him up.
"She hidin fr' us," AJ said as they walked out of the toddler's bedroom.
"She is?" Caleb replied, walking across the hall to the other bedroom.
The door was open, but when he peeked inside, Rebecca wasn't in there. Caleb called out to her and a moment later, he heard a reply come from the bathroom down the hall. AJ heard it too and pointed toward the bathroom door.
"Becky, you okay in there?" Caleb asked through the door. There was a muffled reply and the sound of someone fumbling around with stuff. A minute later, Rebecca opened the door looking flushed and wide-eyed.
"What's wrong?" Caleb asked, suddenly worried.
Rebecca opened her mouth, but only a small squeak escaped. She turned to AJ instead, seeming to change her mind. "Do you want a snack, AJ?" Rebecca took her son from Caleb and walked to the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, Rebecca got a small packet of animal crackers out of the cabinet, and placed AJ at the table with it. She heard Caleb come in a second later and before he could say anything, she asked, "Can you get his milk from the fridge?" Rebecca pushed the toddler's hair out of his eyes, thinking he'll need a haircut soon. A moment later, a yellow sippy cup was placed in front of AJ and then, Caleb too her arm.
"Becky, talk to me," he said quietly.
Rebecca turned to look at him, the words already on her lips. "I'm pregnant."
Caleb stopped, his hand dropping from her arm. He swallowed and then, said, "Marry me."
Now, it was Rebecca's turn to be surprised. She took an involuntary step backward, bumped into the table, startling AJ, who had been trying to open his cookies.
"AJ, let's have your snack in your room and watch a movie," she said. Rebecca turned abruptly and picked AJ up out of his booster seat.
Rebecca hurried out of the room before Caleb could say anything else and didn't stop until she reached her son's bedroom. She put him on the floor and opened his packet of animal crackers for him. Rebecca smiled when AJ stuck his hand in the bag and took a big bite of a cookie. Then, she put Cars 2 in the DVD player and pressed play.
Closing the door shut when she left, Rebecca leaned up against it and put her head in her hands. She took a deep breath, telling herself to calm down. When she felt better, Rebecca pushed her hair behind her ears and went to find Caleb.
He was sitting on the couch in the living room and she had to tell herself not to be nervous. "I'm sorry, you startled me and I just..." She drifted off, not really sure what to say.
"I have to say that's not the reaction I was hoping for," Caleb said, cracking a small smile.
Rebecca gave him a small smile back and that's when her eyes landed on a small, black box sitting on the coffee table. Caleb stood up and came around the table toward her, picking the box up as he went.
"Caleb, wait," Rebecca put her hand out to stop his advancements. "If you're doing this just because I told you I'm pregnant, then..."
"Is that really the kind of guy you think I am?" Caleb interrupted her. A small look of hurt crossed his features.
"I really don't know what I'm thinking right now," Rebecca whispered, truthfully. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."
"Then, let me assure you that I am in this all the way," Caleb told her as he took another step closer. "Rebecca, I love you and I've been thinking about this for awhile. I want to make this thing between us permanent."
Rebecca's pulse quickened as Caleb took her hand and placed the box in it. He opened it, revealing a sparkling diamond ring inside. A small gasp escaped Rebecca and she felt tears fill her eyes.
"Rebecca Borden, will you marry me?" Caleb asked.
Rebecca rapidly blinked the tears from her eyes. "Yes," she choked out. Then, afraid that he'd misheard, she said again, "Yes, I will marry you."
Caleb smiled and carefully took the ring out of the box. Rebecca let out a small laugh that sounded more like a sob as he slid the ring onto her left hand. Then, they sealed the promise with a kiss. There was nothing but bright skies ahead as Rebecca had gotten everything she'd ever wanted.
~OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~
"Mommy, all better!" the little girl sang as she waved her magic wand and tapped it on her mother's head. As soon as she had learned that Amy was sick, Lily had gotten her Cinderella costume dress on and was waving her magic wand around like she was the fairy godmother.
Amy wasn't that sick, it was just an upset stomach. It hadn't been so bad when she woke up that morning, but gradually as the day wore on, she had a hard time holding back the vomit. Eventually, Amy had given up on working with the horses and had come inside to relieve Jessica of her nanny duties. She was also pretty sure she knew what was going on, after considering other factors, but she wouldn't know for sure until Ty got home. For now, Amy lay on the day bed in the twins' playroom downstairs, the one they sometimes used for nap time, while Lily wished her better.
"Thank you, baby," Amy said to her daughter, brushing a hand over the toddler's hair. Lily had also brought her My Little Pony fleece blanket and had covered Amy up in it.
"Tea ready," Jackson said, coming over to the two of them with Lily's plastic teacup in his hand. He handed it to Amy and she pretended to drink it all gone.
"Mmm, that was good," Amy replied, handing the cup back to him. Jackson beamed and ran off to make some more.
"You better, mommy?" Lily asked, leaning onto the bed.
"Yes, I am," Amy answered, not wanting her daughter to get upset. Lily beamed as well and gave a little twirl with her magic wand.
"I make more!" Jackson announced, coming back over with the plastic tea cup.
"More!" Amy exclaimed, taking the cup from him. He watched as she pretended to drink all the imaginary tea all gone. After Amy told him how good it was, Jackson ran away with the cup, probably to do the whole thing all over again.
Then, it sounded like the front door opened and a second later she heard Ty call, "Amy?"
"Back here, in the playroom!" Amy called back to him.
"Daddy home?" both twins asked at the same time. They both stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
Amy nodded and they ran out of the room to meet him. She tossed off the blanket and stood up, the queasy feeling gone. Ty had only gotten to the hall before the twins had intercepted him, both trying to scramble up his legs for a hug. After giving them each one, Ty put them both down and made his way to Amy.
"How are you feeling?" Ty asked her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"I told Jessie, she didn't have to call you," Amy said. She hadn't been hiding anything, she just hadn't wanted to worry him at work over nothing.
"Well, I'm glad she did," Ty replied, his hands sliding up and down her arms. "It's not like you to let something like this stop you from working with the horses."
Amy stared at him, thinking he looked cute when he was concerned. "I just had something else on my mind today," she shrugged. Then, Amy turned to the twins. "How about you two go back and play with your toys? I have to tell daddy something."
Lily and Jackson didn't need anymore encouragement, they both ran off back to their playroom in excitement. Amy nearly winced as she watched them race through the doorway side by side, expecting someone to bump their head against the wall. Neither one of them did though, they both made it safely into the room. A minute later, they could hear the sounds of toys hitting the floor. Amy slipped her hand into Ty's and started walking toward the living room.
"What is it you wanted to tell me?" Ty asked her.
"Well, it's not certain, just a feeling I have," Amy bit her lip as she turned to face him, stopping him in his tracks. "I think I might be pregnant."
"You might be—are you sure?" he asked again.
Amy shrugged, "I'm late and I've gained a little weight."
"Have you taken the test?" Ty questioned.
Amy shook her head. "I haven't had the chance, I don't even have one here," she said.
"I'll run out and get you one, then," Ty replied, automatically. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and started walking toward the front door. Amy held him back though, wanting to know something before they learned anything new.
"Ty, wait," Amy said. When he looked back at her, she continued, "How do you feel about me being pregnant again?"
Ty didn't miss a beat. "I've always wanted our family to grow and," he replied. "If you are pregnant, then I'll be really excited."
"Good," Amy smiled, then, added, "Me too."
Ty smiled back at her and lowered his mouth to hers, to give her a proper kiss this time. Amy knew that the kiss wasn't going to last long, so she savored it, memorizing the lines of his lips for later. Ty held her close to him for a moment right before the kiss ended. Their foreheads touched, neither one of them eager to give up their closeness.
"I should go, so we can find out if we're having another baby," Ty said.
"And before the other two catch wind that you're leaving again," Amy added, with a small laugh.
At that moment, it seemed like playtime got louder in the other room. Amy all but pushed Ty out the door before a twin could run out and see what they were doing. She watched from the window as Ty got in his truck and started it up. As the truck disappeared down the driveway, Amy's hand gravitated to her stomach, her fingers grazing the fabric of her shirt. A smile spread across her face as the curtain fell back into place.
A/N: I hope this was worth the long wait. Review one last time and let me know what you thought! I'm not sure when the sequel will be up, but it is happening, so keep watching for it. :)