Chapter 38 – Lost Time

It was hard, and even though they had been told it was going to be this hard, it was still a shock. Stephen felt like he hadn't slept in days; he probably hadn't. All the days were staring to blur into one, and although he was the happiest man walking the planet, he would have given anything for one uninterrupted nights sleep. The one thing he did know was that he didn't want Izzy to go back into work; not soon anyway. So she hadn't voiced it out loud since the birth, but he could read her. She had been itching to get back, especially after seeing Cas who had given her a fresh dose of office gossip.

Stephen glanced down at his daughter sleeping in his arms, then at his son in his cot; nothing was more precious to him at that moment. Though the babies were 6 weeks old now, they had only been able to bring them home a few weeks ago.

The room was dark, apart from light spilling in from the hallway. He had told Izzy he would only be a few moments but he couldn't pull himself away.

"What happened to you coming back to me?" Stephen tore his gaze away from his daughter to his wife standing at the entryway of the room. His lips curved into a smile as she stared at him, her head cocked slightly to one side.

"She's sleeping." Stephen pointed out the obvious. "And so should you. Yeh supposed to be resting."

"I've done nothing but rest all day." Izzy stepped into the room, edging closer to Stephen. Leaning over the cot, she brushed a few strands of her sons hair away from his face.

"Doctors orders." Stephen reminded, his tone gentle so he wouldn't wake either of the babies up.

"She's going to be a daddy's girl." Izzy grinned. "She already has you wrapped around her little finger."

"Like mother, like daughter." Stephen watched Izzy closely, already noticing the similarities between his wife and his daughter. She had Izzy's eyes and nose. "Iz, go back to bed, ah'll be there in a minute."

Slightly surprised, Stephen was happy to see Izzy leave without protest. He just wanted her back to full health as soon as possible, and the more rest she got, the quicker that would happen. "Goodnight." Gently he kissed his daughter on the top of her head before putting her back into the cot.

He left the room, leaving the door slightly open and turning the baby monitor on. "Iz?" Stephen asked as he walked into the bedroom, no sight of his wife anywhere. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he ran a hand over his face. Even with all the travelling and shows he did, he had never felt this exhausted. Stephen fell back onto the bed, his eyes closing and feeling as though he could sleep in a second.

"At least take your clothes off." The sound of Izzy's voice made him open his eyes, He sat up just in time to see her walking through the bedroom door.

"Where'd yeh go?"

"To see if your mom is okay." Stopping in front of Stephen, Izzy rolled her eyes. If she left him there he'd fall asleep and regret it.

"And is she?"

"Yes." Izzy grabbed hold of Stephens hand, pulling him upwards so he was sitting again. "She told you to rest."

"Yeh have no idea how much ah want to sleep."

"Then let's get you undressed." Izzy grinned, gripping the hem of Stephens shirt to bring it over his head. Stephen placed his hands onto her hips, stopping her from making another move.

"How are yeh feeling?" Stephen asked, his hands slipping under her shirt slightly, thick fingers grazing her smooth skin.

"Tired like you I guess."

"But yer happy?"

"Very happy." Izzy whispered, leaning down to capture Stephens lips. Their time alone together was virtually none existent, but when they got a spare minute to talk or embrace, they took it.

Stephen picked Izzy up, making her sit on his lap. Izzy slipped her arms around his shoulders, nails lightly scraping his pale skin, leaving thin red marks behind. Stephens hungry lips were still on hers, holding her body close against his. Reluctantly he pulled away, a small groan escaping him.

"If ah wasn't so tired, ah'd be doing that all night." Izzy couldn't help but laugh at the grin on Stephens face.

"Ditto." Izzy smiled, planting another kiss onto Stephens lips.

The cold dreary New York weather was becoming a little too familiar, and summer was too far away for anyone to even be thinking about pulling out colourful clothes and sandals. However that didn't stop Stephen from somehow convincing Izzy that they should get out of the house, just the two of them and get some fresh air whilst Izzy's parents and Stephens mom looked after the babies. The only problem with that was that Izzy hadn't been out without the babies yet.

"So, you have how long until you go back to work?" Izzy asked, slipping her hand into Stephens as they walked through Central Park. She took a small bite of the soft pretzel Stephen had bought her, even though she was watching her weight she couldn't resist.

"Another three weeks." Stephen answered but received no reply from his wife. He glanced down at her and knew she wasn't really paying attention to him. "The babies are fine."

"I know." Izzy sighed, trying to force a smile. "This is hard though, I can't stop thinking about them."

"Ah've been meaning to ask yeh." Stephen stopped walking for a second. "Have yeh thought about that promotion?"

Izzy nodded, suddenly not wanting to eat anymore; quickly she put the rest of the pretzel in the nearest trash can. She'd made her mind up long ago. "Yeah, I have actually. And I think I'm going to take it."

"Good." Stephen grinned, starting to walk again, but Izzy grabbed his arm, trying to stop him from going anywhere.

"What?"

Stephen laughed, "Yeh sound shocked."

"I am, I thought you didn't want me to go back to work, let alone take a promotion."

"Ah may ah've said some things ah didn't mean. Ah've thought about stuff."

"So if I take this promotion, you won't be mad?" Stephen shook his head, the smile beaming from Izzy's face becoming more infectious. "We could talk about getting a part time nanny and my parents can help out."

"Anything, as long as yeh happy." Izzy tried to stop herself from smiling but she couldn't.

"Thank you."

"And to see yeh smile, that's always worth it." Feeling her heart jump, Izzy wrapped her arms around Stephens waist, pushing her face into his chest. "Yeh blushing? Haven't made yeh do that in a while." Stephen laughed, cupping Izzy's face with his hand to make her look up at him.

"Can we please go back now, I'm freezing."

"And?" Stephen raised his eyebrows, knowing exactly why Izzy wanted to be home already.

"And I really want to get back to the babies."

Stephen glanced at his watch; they had only been out 45 minutes. "Ah thought we could go up to the lake."

"When it's this cold?" Izzy was already bundled up under her Burberry trench and scarf, being mid February the air was still bitterly cold.

"Ah just want to make the most of having yeh to myself."

Izzy instantly felt bad, she wanted to spend as much time with Stephen as she could, even with the little nagging voice in the back of her mind telling her to go back to the babies. "Okay, let's go to the lake then."

Stephen wrapped one arm around Izzy's shoulder, tugging her gently into his side. "Ah'll keep yeh warm."

After talking a stroll around the lake, Izzy had finally had enough. The cold had gotten to her, even though Stephen had done his best to keep her warm. "Ste, why are there so many cars?" Izzy asked as they neared their house.

"Ah don't know what yeh talking about, lass." Stephen squeezed Izzy's hand, not at all hiding the smirk on his face. Izzy had noticed he'd been acting a little different during their walk back, stopping to point out things they saw every day.

"Are you kidding me? You really think these cars are here all the time?" Izzy rolled her eyes, practically running up the steps to the front door. "Lack of sleep must be getting to you." Izzy laughed as Stephen opened the door, letting her go inside first.

"What's going on?" Izzy was greeted by a 'Congratulations it's a boy' banner on the wall, and further along another one, however the boy had been replaced with girl. "Ste?"

"Surprise." Stephen gently pushed Izzy towards the living room, hoping that she wouldn't be mad that he hadn't told her.

Izzy couldn't quite believe what she saw, friends and family were gathered in the living room, chatting away and eating food from a small buffet that had been laid out. A table with presents caught her eye, various sized boxes wrapped in various patterned blue and pink paper. She smiled as she saw Katie holding Madison and Stu with Isabelle. Isabelle had her little hand reached out, obviously wanting to say hello to Madison.

Izzy caught sight of her mom with Mark, chatting away with Stephens mom. Her dad was stood with Paul, laughing and joking about what she didn't know, though she'd assume something sports related. She felt Stephen place a hand on her back and spinning around she wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing the life out of him. "Thank you."

"Happy belated baby shower." Stephen grinned, "But thank me mum, Cas and Katie." Stephen started to unbutton Izzy's coat, pulling it from her shoulders then taking her scarf from her. "Go have fun and catch up with everyone."

As much as Izzy wanted to say hello to everyone, especially those she hadn't seen in a while, first of all she needed to check on her children. "There's my little girl." Izzy cooed, taking Madison from her friends arms. "And my two favourite English people."

"Nice to see you too." Katie took her daughter from Stu, who reluctantly handed her over.

"I've missed you both." Izzy held Madison against her chest, rocking her slowly. "I'm just going to go see my mom, but I'll come find you when I'm done."

Izzy moved across the room, smiling as her daughter stared up at her. "Hey mom, Margaret."

"Hey sweetie, do you like your baby shower?" Izzy nodded whilst she stared at her son, sound asleep even with the noise in the room.

"Yes, I can't believe you planned this without me knowing."

"Here I'll take Madison and you can relax a little." Izzy kissed her daughter on the forehead before letting Margaret take her.

"Are you sure? You've already done so much for me already."

"Of course, we love getting to spend time with our grandchildren." Her mom and mother-in-law were a god send, and definitely doing more than Izzy had ever imagined them to.

"Okay, well I'm just going to get a drink. Just come get me if you need anything."

Izzy smiled at a few people as she quickly made her way out of the room, letting out a deep breath she tried to get to the kitchen as soon as possible. Overwhelmed was what she was feeling. Though she had always known that the friends and family she had were always there for her, this was the first time since getting married she'd seen everyone together. Biting her lip she tried to stop herself from doing the inevitable, knowing that hormones were still swirling around her, controlling her emotions.

Hearing the door close behind her, Izzy glanced over her shoulder, laying eyes on her husband. Quickly she looked away, already feeling tears lining her eyes. "I'm fine."

Izzy felt Stephen behind her, she found herself blowing a sigh of relief as his big arms wrapped around her, holding her tight to his body. "I'm just so grateful for all of this Ste. I think I just forgot how many amazing people we have in our lives. Ugh, I hope my hormones return to normal soon." Izzy laughed, turning around in Stephens arms. He gently wiped under her eyes with his thumbs, still not saying a word. "I'm sorry, I just needed a breather."

Tilting Izzy's head back he kissed her lips softly, pulling back in time to see her full lips curve into a smile. "Ah love yeh."

"I love you too."

"Yeh okay now?" Izzy nodded, feeling a little bit stupid.

"Yep." Izzy gently brushed under her eyes, hoping there was no mascara there. "I think I saw cake at the buffet."

"Red velvet, yeh favourite." Stephen took hold of Izzy's hand, kissing the back of her knuckles before walking towards the door.

"Wow, you never fail to amaze me." Izzy let Stephen lead her towards the party. Everything was just right, and as always, Stephen managed to make it perfect.

A/N – Thank you mrsa87, miamitravel, MissShelz, DeirdreLaelia, hotpocketbandit, DeansTrueGirl, ResplendentAnarchist, wwemagpie, ThatGirl54 and xFindTheEnigmaWithinx for the lovely reviews :D! I really don't want to finish this story, hence why it's taking me so long to write these last few chapters :P, sorry for making you guys wait! Lou x