Ch. 36
After the birth of Pogue and Blake's healthy baby girl, the doctor insisted that the child and her mother stay in the hospital for a few days.
On the third and last day, the happy parents of the first Daughter of the Covenant decided to name her Peyton Brianna Parry. It was Blake's idea that their daughter have the first letters of each of her parents name. P from Pogue and B from Blake.
The day after Blake and Peyton Brianna Parry were released from the hospital, Paige had gone into labor, and eight long hours later, she gave birth. For the second time in less than a week, it was shock and surprise that settled over the family and friends.
With a state of pure astonishment on her face, Demi stepped forward to stand beside the happy mother. "First a baby girl breaks the Covenant's normality, now another miracle has happened. For the first time in the history of the Covenant, we do not only have a girl born among the Sons, but twins as well."
Paige smiled a tired smile as she held her healthy newborn son in her arms. Next to her, Reid tenderly held his son's twin sister. "Paige and Blake were right," Reid said to all who was crammed into the hospital room. "We didn't marry just anyone. The next generation of the Covenant will be extremely special and blessed. Won't you, my little Rae."
"Rae? You've decided on names?" Kassandra asked excitedly from next to her best friend, Demi.
Reid grinned, looking down at his daughter in his arms. "Meet Rae Patience and Rome Parker Garwin."
Paige and Reid had settled on having two names ready in the chance that the baby would be either a girl or a boy. They did not expect to have to use both names. They had decided, like Blake and Pogue had, to use both first letters from their names. Rae or Rome for a first name, and Patience or Parker for the middle.
"Twins." Paige yawned once her and her husband were alone. "I have a feeling Rae will be just like you."
Reid shook his head looking down at his daughter. "Hell, no. She better not be like me."
By the time the twins and Peyton had turned a year old, River and Caleb's son, Cameron Ryann Danvers was five months old while Tyler's and Rylee's son, Tristan Ryce Simms was only two months old.
"Mom, we're here!" Tyler called through the large house for his mother. He placed his hand on the small of his wife's back and guided her into the house. Her hands were wrapped around the bundle she held in her arms.
"Oh, my little grandson!" Madison rushed down the stairs, a large smile on her face. Her husband Terrance entered the room from his study down the hall. Immediately her arms flung out and gently took her three month old grandson from her daughter-in-law. "Hello, Tristan."
Terrance greeted his son with a hug and kissed Rylee on the cheek. "How was the drive?"
"Not bad," Tyler answered as he walked with his father to the living room. Madison and Rylee joined them seconds later.
When Rylee took a seat next to her husband, she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. Tyler turned his blue eyes to her and smiled before addressing his parents. "You look happy to see your grandson."
Madison looked up from the baby she held in her arms. "Of course, we are. Though sometimes I wish you lived closer so we could see him more often."
"Well," Rylee started with a grin after she had both Madison and her father-in-law's attention. "Then I think you'll like our news. We've decided to move back to Ipswich."
"Actually, we all have," Tyler said talking about Caleb, River and the others. "There's a new neighborhood only a year old, and it's not far town. It looks like a nice place for the next Covenant generation."
Madison nearly started to cry with happiness. "Tyler, honey! That's such wonderful news! Terrance, isn't it wonderful?"
Terrance beamed at his wife and nodded. "Quite good news, darling. It's good for a family to be so close. And it'll be nice for the kids to grow up together, just like you and the boys."
Tyler grinned, thinking of all the memories he shared with his friends while growing up. "That's one of the reasons we've decided to come back. Blake and Pogue are looking at houses as we speak."
"There's this one that Blake as her heart set on. It's beautiful. It's got this amazing wrap around porch. I have my eye on a specific one too."
"You think you could watch him for a while?" Tyler asked as he stood, pulling Rylee up with him. "We don't want anyone to snatch our favorite house."
With a smile, Madison looked down at her grandson. "Take your time."
Eleven years later:
"Ha! I win!" said a young brunette girl the age of 11 as she raced into the Simms Manor in Ipswich, Massachusetts. A large grin was set on her face as she turned to face the two boys who ran in behind her seconds later. Her green eyes, so much like her fathers, landed on the pair and wanted to laugh when she saw they were hunched over, trying hard to catch their breaths.
The dark eyed, dark haired boy stepped forward, frowning. "Yeah Peyton, but only cause we let you win," he said, striding past her and further into the kitchen in the direction of the living room.
"Don't be a sore loser, Cameron," Peyton teased while still grinning as she fell instep with the unhappy boy. "Just because you got beat by a girl, doesn't mean anything. Well, actually it does. It means you suck."
The second boy who walked a few paces behind them, burst out in laughter and tried to pass it off as a cough.
"Shut it, Tristan," Cameron snapped at his younger friend. "She beat you, too."
"Yeah, cause she's really fast," Tristan replied, not phased at all that Peyton had beaten them both at a race. She always won them. The azure eyes that he inherited from his father showed the amusement he felt. Cameron rolled his eyes and ignored his two friends, acting like their laughter didn't bother him.
As they passed the front door, it opened and Peyton's grin grew.
"Rae!" she said excitedly as a young girl with nearly white blond hair and crystal blue eyes pushed passed her parents. After pulling away from Rae, Peyton turned to the two adults that stood before her. "Hey, Aunt Paige! Hey, Uncle Reid!"
"Hey, Peyton." Paige leaned down and kissed the girl on her cheek then made to move toward Tristan and Cameron to give them a kiss as well. The two boys jumped back quickly, making sure they were far out of reach.
Paige laughed and shook her head. "You don't want a kiss?" she teased as she stood up straight. "Girls still have cooties, don't they?"
Reid wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and pulled her closer. "Good, more kisses for me," he said to the boys and chuckled when his lips meeting Paige's made the two boys squirm.
"Bleh," Cameron shivered while Tristan pretended to gag. "Where's Rome?" he asked, peaking out the door for his friend.
"Outside still," Reid answered him and leaned down so his face was level with the two boys. "We brought our Super Soaker water guns."
"Awesome!" the two boys yelled together and raced outside, Rae and Peyton right on their heels.
Paige laughed and headed to the living room, knowing that's where the rest of the parents would be. As she walked with Reid she heard the familiar sound of laughter from her friends. She smiled as she stepped into the room, catching the end of a sentence that Tyler was finishing. "-time River attacked Caleb?"
River grinned sheepishly and cuddled closer to Caleb, whose arms were around her. "That was a one-time thing."
Caleb grinned. "Well, what about last night? You pretty much ripped off my-" River's hand clapped itself over her husband's mouth, a bright pink shade formed on her cheeks as the others burst into laughter, including Reid and Paige.
"That was such a Reid thing to say, Caleb," Paige said, catching the attention of their friends.
"Oh, hey guys!" Rylee greeted happily. Even after so many years of being a mother, Rylee still had the heart of a child, her bubbly personality still glowed as bright as ever.
"When did you get here?" Tyler asked from his place next to his wife on the plush couch.
"Just now, baby boy," Reid answered, bumping fists with the other Sons of Ipswich just like they did when they were in high school.
Pogue grinned at his friend as he peaked out the window. "Did you seriously drive here? You live four houses down, lazy ass."
"The kids didn't want to walk," Reid explained, jamming his thumb in the direction of where he heard the kids. "They said it was too hot."
Pogue rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Where are trouble one and trouble two anyways?"
As if on cue, five kids ran into the room, all armed with large water guns.
The tallest one, a boy with crystal blue eyes and blond hair darker than his sister's stepped forward. "We challenge the grown-ups to a duel. The choice of weapons are water guns," Rome Garwin said in a mock superior tone, sounding like a military commander. Acting as his second in command, the oldest of the group stepped forward.
With a smirk Peyton eyed her father. "Do you accept the challenge?" Peyton asked, sounding much older than an 11-year old.
"You're ammunition and weapons are in the back on the patio table." Tristan jerked his head to the back, holding his stance next to Cameron.
The four Sons shared looks before addressing their children. With a grin, Tyler stood, Reid and Caleb followed his lead. Pogue walked to stand in front of his daughter, he squatted down to her level. "We accept. We'll give you a ten second head start."
From behind Peyton, Rae said, "We don't need a head start." With the others right behind her, she led the way into the back yard.
River rolled her eyes at her husband as he grinned like a child and ran after the kids with Tyler, Reid and Pogue right behind him.
"Did we marry children?" she laughed.
"We're really glad you decided to move back to Ipswich, Paige," River said thoughtfully with a smile. "Cameron is really happy his little gang's back together, even though he won't say it."
"And I know Peyton is more than ecstatic that Rae is closer to her. She loves hanging with the guys but she needs another girl to hang out with." Blake grinned as they moved to the patio in the back yard and took seats at the table. From there they could see Reid running from Cameron and Rome, laughing as the boys gained on him, soon dousing him with water.
Closer to them, Tyler and Pogue had Peyton cornered against the side of the house, she giggled as the water hit her, soaking her once dry t-shirt and shorts. "I need back up!" she yelled through her laughter after dropping her water gun so she could use her hands as a shield.
As sly as a panther, Tristan slowly moved closer to his trapped comrade. Just when he aimed the water gun at his fathers back, Caleb jumped out of the trees next to him and gave a war cry before shooting him. Once the water hit the blue-eyed boy in the side, he dramatically fell to the ground. "I'm hit! Man down! Man down!"
From the patio deck, Rylee laughed at her son's theatrics as he acted out a long, painfully fake death scene. When Caleb and Pogue's attention was on Tristan, Peyton ran from her spot and towards Rae. Cameron and Rome raced to watch Tristan's fake death.
Rae rolled her crystal blue eyes and turned to Peyton. "He is so weird."
After the game had ended, Rome led the group of kids up the stairs to the deck. "Who won?" Blake asked as Peyton climbed onto her lap, not caring that her daughter was soaking wet.
"It was a draw," Cameron answered for her from next to his mother. He hated losing so he would rather settle for a tie than a loss. Tristan and Rome nodded their heads in agreement as Caleb, Pogue and Tyler climbed up the stairs, all looking worn out.
Paige raised an eyebrow when she noticed someone missing. "Where's my husband?" she asked, her blue eyes scanning the yard. A loud bark of laughter escaped her as she spotted the white blonde hair of Reid. He was lying face down in the grass exactly where Rome and Cameron had knocked him to the ground. "Rome, honey go get your dad."
Rome jogged out to his dad who lay motionless on the ground. When he approached his father he dropped to his knees and pushed Reid, trying to get him to flip over on his side. The 11-year old jumped in surprise when his fathers arms wrapped around him and pulled him close, causing him to laugh in fits as he was tickled. Rae jumped off the deck and raced to her brothers aid, her hair blowing in the wind as she ran.
Paige smiled warmly at the sight of Reid laughing and playing with his children. From where she sat, she could see the love he felt for them in his eyes. Before her and Reid started dating, she remembered very clearly when he said he wasn't the commitment type. And even when he vowed he loved her, he still told her he was probably going to make a lot of mistakes. But as she looked at him now, as he played and laughed with his two children, she knew he had never been afraid of commitment. He just needed some encouragement, and that was exactly what Paige had done. Reid had turned into an amazing man, though Paige thought he had always been amazing from the start, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
Every single one of the Sons of Ipswich were the most amazing guys anyone could ask for. Besides being totally drop dead gorgeous, they were sweet, genuine, loyal and trustworthy. And to top it off, they had personalities every girl dreamed of and smiles that could melt any woman's heart. The four girls knew that they had gotten extremely lucky with capturing the heart of the four, but then again luck had nothing to do with it. It was fate.
Dinner was delicious. Caleb grilled steak and chicken while Rylee and Blake made mashed potatoes and a salad. With the remaining light in the sky, Pogue, Caleb and Tyler gathered sticks and branches from around the yard for the bonfire that Reid had began to start. The kids waited patiently, talking to River while Paige brought graham crackers, Hershey's chocolate, and marshmallows to make s'mores. Tyler and Rylee were cleaning up from dinner.
In the kitchen, Rylee handed Tyler the last plate to put away. As he dried it, Tyler stared at his wife watching her pull her short brown hair away from her face.
As if she could feel his eyes on her, Rylee turned her head. "What?"
Tyler shrugged and remained silent for a while longer. "I'm just happy." He placed the plate in the cabinet then faced his wife again. "I'm happy about everything." His tanned arms snaked around her waist and pulled her to him.
"Explain," she said with a smile still on her lips as she rested her hands on his chest.
"I have you, the greatest woman in the world as a wife, the best friends a guy could ask for," he kissed her nose gently before resting his forehead against hers. "And I have the most beautiful child ever. I have the life only people dream of."
"Have I ever told you that you're my prince?" Rylee said happily from within his arms. "My knight in shining armor."
"I would rescue you any day, my princess." He took his hand and lifted Rylee's chin so he could kiss her lips. His finger's intertwined with hers as he led her to the back deck to see the bonfire had already started. They took a seat next to Blake and Pogue who greeted them with a smile.
"S'more?" Caleb handed Rylee the ingredients and a stick so she could roast marshmallows on. On the other side of the fire, Peyton and Rae were chatting and laughing to themselves.
Tristan eyed Rae and Peyton, with their heads bent close together and watched them giggle like crazy. "What are you girls talking about?"
Rae looked over her shoulder at him. A smirk identical to her father's formed on her lips. "Boys," she said then was thrown into a fits of giggles while Peyton rolled her eyes but ended up joining in the laughter. Though she was only 11-years old, Rae had already developed a fascination with the opposite sex. Reid wasn't fond of that fact at all.
Cameron rolled his eyes as if girls his age didn't capture his attention once in a while. The girls in his school swooned over his award winning smile his father had passed down to him. And the warm, dark chocolate eyes his mother gave him made it even more difficult for the girls not to stare.
Blake had to admit, all of their children were very good-looking. Her daughter had her soft, smooth complexion and her fathers mysterious eyes. The ones that had lured Blake so quickly the night she had met Pogue. She was very proud of her daughter as well. Good grades in school, nice and polite, and very tolerable when it comes to the guys.
Tristan was not shy like his father was when he was younger. In fact, he was more like his mother. Very energetic. Though unlike both of his parents, Tristan thrived to be the center of attention, he loved when all eyes were on him. Not that he was conceited or anything but he liked to stand out in a crowd.
Grinning at his sister, Rome threw a marshmallow at her. "You were talking about Cameron, weren't you?"
"No," she said quickly before turning around back to Peyton who in defense of her best friend, threw a whole s'more, melted chocolate and all at Rome's head. The marshmallow stuck in his blonde hair.
"Whoops," was all she said when Rome glared at her.
Pogue had watched the entire thing and fought the urge to laugh. "Peyton Brianna don't do that again," he warned though his warning was softer than it should have been. Peyton grinned sheepishly at her father before continuing her conversation with Rae. Next to them, Cameron and Tristan tried to stifle their laughter as Rome fought to pick the gooey remnants of the s'more out of his hair.
His attention was quickly averted to his wife when her hand found it's place in his thigh. "I love you," she said as she placed a kiss on his lips. She had watched him try to scold their daughter but Peyton had Pogue wrapped so tight around her finger that he couldn't even punish her even when he tried.
"I love you, too," Pogue spoke softly, bringing his lips to hers once more. The woman who sat before him gave him the world, and she did so without spending a single dollar. She gave him life, a life with no curse. A life without fear of wondering if he'd live long enough to see his children grow up and have children of their own. She gave him unconditional love. These people sitting around the fire with him were all he needed in life. Sure wealth was a plus too, but if he didn't have Blake, Peyton or his friends he wouldn't see life worth living.
"How lucky are we that there just happened to be four houses conveniently in the same neighborhood?" came Rylee's voice, bringing Pogue back to Earth and out of his thoughts. "I mean, it worked out perfectly."
Paige smiled, completely agreeing. "I know, how long was our house up for sale?" she asked Blake, since her and Pogue had been living in the neighborhood the longest.
"A year, I think," she answered. "This is pretty much a brand new neighborhood when we bought ours. They're very nice houses, in a great neighborhood and only about ten minutes from town. I'm surprised they weren't bought up as soon as they were built."
"Well, we're extremely lucky," Paige said, grabbing Reid's hands in hers. "The kids get to grow up together like you guys did."
"That's the plan." Caleb grinned. "Let's just hope they can get along as well as we did," he said sarcastically but with a smile, his eyes on Reid. Reid smirked at him in return. Though they were more than fine now, in high school they didn't get along. They butted heads way too often, causing a small wall of separation to form between them. But after the Chase incident and the arriving of Paige and the girls, the wall had been taken down.
Blake smiled and looked in the direction of their children. "I don't think we'll have a problem with that."
Everyone's eyes followed her gaze. On the other side of the fire, Cameron, Peyton, Tristan, and the twins were laughing and joking with each other. The small conflict involving marshmallows and chocolate forgotten. Feeling eyes on them, the five kids turned to see their parents staring at them.
"What?" they said in unison, sounding like quintuplets. They shared looks before bursting into laughter at saying the same word, at the exact same time, in the same tone.
"Okay, that was really weird," Rae said once the laughter faded. "I thought me and Rome only did the whole talkin' at the same time thing."
Rome grinned at his sister. "Guess we were wrong," he said before a yawn threatened to escape him.
"Tired buddy?" Reid called to his son. Rome shook his head just as the yawn passed his lips. "Yeah, I bet you're not." He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, seeing it was way past midnight. "I think we should head out and get the twins to bed."
"Alright, children I gave birth to," Paige called, laughing when her twins gave her the stop-embarrassing-me face. "Time to go home." With groans, Rae and Rome reluctantly said bye to their friends and then to their Aunt's and Uncle's.
"Yeah we should be going too." Blake stood motioning for Peyton to come to her. After their goodbyes, Peyton, Rome and Rae walked with their parents around the side of the house, through the gate and out to the driveway.
"Bye Peyton!" Rae called from the back seat of her mother's Hyundai Santa Fe. The twins waved back as they drove four houses down. Peyton grabbed both of her parents hands and walked to the house that sat right next door.
"Alright, sweetie you need to get ready for bed," Blake said as she walked with her daughter up the long half-circle staircase that led to the second floor.
After she brushed her teeth and put on pajamas, Peyton crawled into her bed and curled underneath the purple down comforter. There was a knock on the door as her head hit the pillow. Pogue and Blake walked in to tuck her into bed just like they had been doing every night since she was born.
Though she was old enough to tuck herself in, Peyton loved having her parents do it. Blake kissed her daughter's forehead and pushed back the brown hair from her face. "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you."
"I love you too." Peyton grinned at her mother as she stepped aside to let Pogue say goodnight. Pogue sat down on the bed and leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek. "I love you my little girl. Good night."
Peyton sat up and kissed her father's cheek before lying back down. "I love you too, daddy." Her parents walked to the door, shut off the light and closed the door just as Peyton shut her eyes to sleep.
As Pogue and Blake walked to their room at the end of the hallway, several rooms down from their daughters, they passed four picture frames that hung on the wall.
The first one was one of Paige, Caleb, Reid, Tyler and Pogue the summer before Paige left for California. Tyler and Pogue had their arms around Paige's shoulder and she had hers around their waists. Caleb stood behind the three resting his face close the Paige's while Reid stood a little off to the side. All had smiles on their faces, even Reid. Their eyes were full of happiness and innocence.
Standing in the second frame were four girls at the age of fifteen. Rylee, Paige, River and Blake were sitting outside on the back porch at River's house. Their arms wrapped around each other in a tangled mess, their eyes cross eyed with tongues sticking out of their mouths goofily. It was Blake's favorite picture of her and her best friends.
The next picture was taken right before the day of their senior graduation. The eight of them were paired off and were wearing their cabs and gowns. The excitement for their future shown brightly in their eyes.
The third and last picture was everyone's favorite. In it, five children sat on a large couch. Three boys and two girls all around the age of six. Rae and Peyton were hugging each other so hard that it seemed as if they were trying to squeeze the life out of the other, the boys sat next to them with their arms around each others shoulders. Rome, Cameron and Tristan were hamming it up for the camera, grinning from ear to ear showing all the teeth that they had.
This picture symbolized the future. It showed the next generation of the Covenant. The Sons and Daughters of Ipswich.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay so I was going to leave some sort of a cliff hanger but I'll just wait to do that in the sequel. Oh. Wait? Did I just say sequel? Why, yes. Yes, I did! If you haven't guessed already I have decided to write a sequel to Four by Four. That is…if you want a sequel. =)
If you do it will focus more on the kids this time but Paige, Rylee, Blake and River will not be shoved aside…No, they will play a big part in the next one. I want them to be involved cause they are like my babies. Ha, and of course the Sons will be in it as well!