"Oh—oh yes. Yes. Hell yes," Fitz nodded.
"Sweetheart, are you having sex over there or are you decorating a Christmas tree?" Olivia yelled from the kitchen.
She heard him chuckle to himself over the Christmas music that was playing softly in the family room.
"This is not what I sound like when I have sex," Fitz said. "...Right?"
Now it was her turn to laugh.
"Yeah, you're right. There's usually a lot more moaning and breathing and 'Olivias' involved," she said.
"Ha ha," he quipped. "...You love that and you know it."
"Oh you are absolutely right, I do. In fact, I think we should uh...retire to the bedroom here pretty soon, you."
"Oh, how come?" he asked. "I just turned this Christmas music on!"
"To have this thing called sex, baby. It's been a long day."
"Ohhh yes. Right. Okay, that sounds nice. But can I...finish this first?" he asked.
"Yes, Fitz," she laughed, as she put the last dish away from dinner earlier. Then she had to head into the family room to see her husband decorating the tree. It seemed as though it was quite the event.
As soon as she reached the entryway, she stepped on one of his shoes. Just one of them.
She shook her head. "Fitzgerald Thomas."
He looked behind her, and then followed her gaze to the random shoe by her feet, and his eyes widened.
"Okay, seriously Liv. That was either our dog or one of our children. My bet is on our daughter. I would not leave one shoe there!" he said with a laugh.
She started to laugh too. "Our dog and our children are sleeping, mister! You're the only one here I can blame," she teased.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure the other one is on the opposite end of the house and on an entirely different level, knowing Elle," he chuckled, continuing to decorate.
"Our children take after you," she said, going to put his shoe by the mudroom door. And sure enough, there was no other shoe to match in there. Who knew where they'd find that one.
"Yes. But aren't they so cute?" he called after her.
"Mmmhm," she giggled, coming back to the family room.
She stood in the entryway with her hands on her hips, surveying her precious husband. He was standing on his tiptoes trying to decorate the very top of the tree. That tree was a fake one, one Olivia had had ever since her apartment days with Abby. It was just a seven-footer, so it wasn't overly big. But it was sure pretty with all its decorations on it.
Ribbon, colored lights, ornaments, some tinsel, and a star on top, of course.
The living room was where the serious Christmas spirit came in. Their ceilings were much taller in their living room than in their family room, so it allowed for a larger tree. That one was real, and was 13 feet tall.
It had beautiful beads draped across, warm white lights, ornaments, and an angel sitting at the top. The angel had taken many, many tries for Fitz to get it to sit right. While balancing on a ladder, straddling the top rung, practically.
There was garland on all of the mantles. Christmas lights outside on their house and their front trees. A mini silver Christmas tree in their bedroom. And not to mention, decorations throughout their entire home.
It was safe to say they had Christmas spirit covered this year.
They had been working all week to get everything decorated. Not simply just to have it done early, but because this weekend was a very special weekend.
On Sunday, the twins turned one, and there would be quite a party for them.
Everyone was invited for the occasion, so the house had to be ready. And since it was December, they thought it would be pretty to have the decorations up too. Plus, they'd had their tree ever since the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so it was only fitting that they finished the whole house.
She did appreciate Fitz's dedication. There was a time in his life that Christmas made him sad. When he didn't decorate, didn't do anything special. Because it painfully reminded him of his mother, and her love for the holiday.
And he still thought of her every day, especially around Christmas. Even hung up her stocking in its place of honor, on a little hook beneath a picture of him and his parents in their library.
But since he had become a part of another family, and had started one of his own, Christmas didn't scare him anymore. He didn't dread it. In fact, if Olivia wasn't mistaken, she was pretty sure he really liked it now.
She giggled, watching him hang up his baseball ornament, one of the very few he'd actually kept from his childhood.
"You are so cute, taking this so seriously," she noted.
He looked behind him, still reaching up on his tiptoes and trying to hang the ornament.
A cute smile flashed across his face and then he returned to his very serious task. "It's important."
"I know it is," she nodded. Her eyes wandered down his body. Those dark gray skinny jeans he had on clung to his ass perfectly.
"Your ass looks really good in those jeans, baby," she said.
"Oh, thank you," he said. He twisted his body, looking down at his own ass. "Wait. Really?"
"Yes," she laughed.
He nodded, seeming satisfied. "I forgot I had these pants. I will wear them more."
"Yes. Definitely. Great idea," she nodded.
"How can I help, sweetie?"
"Oh, it's okay, I think it's almost done now," he said. "But...you could sing for me, because this song isn't my favorite."
She listened intently to the Christmas song that was playing. She instantly recognized Michael Bublé's voice as the song "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" started to wind down.
"Oh, this one's not so bad. He has a nice voice!" Olivia said.
"I like Mariah Carey's better," he shrugged, grabbing another ornament.
She laughed. "No, you just like Mariah Carey."
He peered back at her innocently. "Maybe. But come on. 'All I Want for Christmas' never gets old."
"Very true. Ouu, how about this song?" Olivia asked, starting to sway a little where she was standing.
Fitz stopped, listening to the instruments, and then the "Ohhhh yeah."
He started to move his head back and forth, and started swaying his hips to the beat of Stevie Wonder's version of "What Christmas Means to Me", which had Olivia dying of laughter.
"Lots of snow and ice, everywhere we go.
Choirs singin' carols, right outside my door," Fitz belted put dramatically. All for Olivia, because he enjoyed making her laugh. And singing.
He finished with singing "that's what Christmas means to me, my love," while pointing at her.
"That was beautiful, Fitz, thank you," Olivia giggled.
"You're so welcome, my love," he nodded, grabbing another ornament. "Okay. I'm almost done."
"You better be," she smirked, coming up behind him. She leaned her head against his back, wrapping her arms around his abdomen in a hug from behind.
"Hi, baby," he said quietly, rubbing his hand on her leg briefly before returning to his decorating.
"Hi," she whispered. "You smell nice."
"Thank you," he chuckled.
She rubbed his chest, and let her hand wander down a little further. He just kept decorating very seriously.
He turned his head, raising his eyebrow at her suspiciously and giving her a smirk, which made her smile up at him. But he still kept at it.
She reached down with her other hand too, and began unbuckling his belt.
"Oh, I love this ornament," he said, readjusting its hook. It was a replica of Symphony of the Seas, the cruise ship they'd gone on for their honeymoon. They'd come across it in the gift shop onboard and had to buy it.
"Oh yeah, that's a good one," Olivia agreed, unzipping his pants.
He only had a couple of ornaments left in the box, and the tree was fully covered already. It was just a matter of making use of all the ornaments, because at this point, why not.
"Let's see...we've got Mr. Snowman here," Fitz said, reaching down slowly to grab one of the remaining ornaments. She could tell he reached slowly, as not to disrupt what she was currently doing. Which was...sliding her hand in his pants.
But neither said nothing about it. About the fact that he loved it and she knew it. She just kept doing what she was doing, which amused her, especially because he was now hard.
"How do you know that's not a Mrs. Snowman?" Olivia asked curiously.
"Hmm...because I named him Jack when I was, like, eight," Fitz answered, hanging him up near the top.
"Jack, huh? Not...Frosty?" Olivia asked.
"No, not Frosty, that was too mainstream. So naturally...my child self picked Jack. A not at all mainstream name," he chuckled sarcastically.
"Not at all," Olivia said with a smile. "Jack the snowman is very cute. I'm glad you still have him."
"Me too," he nodded. "And last but not least...we've got this...metal, engraved...mini plate thing."
"Very pretty. It was Elle's, wasn't it?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah. It was hers," Fitz nodded. "I'm sorry, mom. I have...no idea what this is called," he chuckled.
Olivia glanced around his body again at the "metal engraved mini plate thing." She had to give him props, because that's exactly what it was, truly.
It was a silver little plate. The engraving said "Merry Christmas," and the velvet loop that allowed it to hang on the tree was accompanied by little bells as well. It was definitely pretty.
"Hang it in the front in her honor," Olivia said, smiling up at him. "I think the living room tree has more of her ornaments on it, so this one needs one front and center."
He looked down and to the side at her and smiled. "Okay."
He did exactly what she'd suggested, even moving around another ornament so that his mother's could be more prominently in the center.
"There," he nodded proudly. "Merry Christmas, mom."
"Merry Christmas, Elle," Olivia said. "I'm sorry that...my hand is currently in your son's pants."
He burst into laughter with her, looking down at Olivia's hand just feeling its way around in his pants. He stood there for a minute, eyes closed and enjoying how it felt. But then his hand slowly reached behind him too, dragging up Olivia's thigh.
He turned around to face her, and his hand lingered between her legs just as her hand was with him.
"You trying to drive me crazy?" he murmured quietly.
"Maybe," she smiled.
He smiled back. "You were successful."
He touched her for a while through her jeans, but then unzipped those too. Until his hand was deep in her underwear, and two of his fingers were thrusting in and out of her.
At this point, they were making out, and Olivia was trying her best to continue what she'd been doing to him. Only, he'd caught up with her, and was now way more focused on that than what her hand was doing to him.
But eventually, he couldn't take it anymore. His dick was pulsing in her hand, and he felt her slick and tight, around his fingers. He wanted, needed, to feel it himself, and she'd made very clear earlier that they needed to go and have that thing called sex.
So he removed his hand and picked her up, before crouching down to the ground, holding her tightly to his body. He gently laid her down, using one palm to brace himself above her on the floor.
She held his face in her hands as she was laid gently down, and the clothes started to come all the way off. All of them. On the floor of the family room.
"You know...I've never done this," he whispered against her lips. He prodded her entrance gently.
"Done—what? Oh my god," she moaned, gripping the leg of the coffee table. Which, was a tad far away, so it was a reach. But she needed something to grip as he stretched her.
"Made love to...Frank Sinatra," he murmured, starting to set a pace.
She tried to listen to the song, even though she was a bit focused on other things. But she did hear his deep voice surrounding them with his song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."
And then all she could think about was the song. She unwrapped her legs from his body and about fell flat on her back after bursting into laughter.
He had been thrusting in and out of her fairly fast, but as he realized she was now just laying there on her back doing nothing but laughing, he slowed down.
"What?!" he chuckled in a whisper, bracing himself above her. "Why are you laughing?!"
"We're—to Frank Sinatra," she laughed, gesturing to their current position.
At this point, he had paused completely inside her, and was just watching her giggle and smile.
And she looked so cute, so he couldn't stop himself from laughing back.
He leaned his head down into her chest, chuckling with her. She instantly wrapped her arms around him, holding his curly head to her chest as they both laughed.
"A Christmas song," Olivia whispered, which made them both quietly laugh more.
"Well, yes! You were the one feeling me up by the damn Christmas tree!" he exclaimed.
"I know, I know," she laughed.
He sighed, looking up at her with a smile. "Okay—can I continue or are you gonna keep laughing?!"
"Keep going," she said. Although she did continue to giggle a little bit, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you."
"I love you back," he chuckled, resuming his pace again.
She let him take control for a while, but they eventually finished with Olivia riding the hell out of him on the rug.
She about took the breath right out of him. He laid there, exhausted, but not satisfied that she hadn't finished yet. So he used his fingers until she did.
She was the one who'd wanted to, after all, and he didn't let her up until she was just as breathless as he had been.
"There you go," he whispered, kissing her forehead as she collapsed onto his chest afterward. Both extremely messy and extremely naked on the family room floor rug.
"Mmm love you," she murmured, peppering his damp chest with kisses.
He smiled, knowing this was the product of a satisfied Olivia.
"Happy?" he asked sweetly.
"Mhmmm," she nodded, snuggling into his chest again.
She turned the engraved metal tag that hung around his neck over, seeing the names of their twins, and the date and times they were born. It made her smile.
The man rarely took it off. And she rarely took her beautiful silver version off, either.
He brushed her currently wavy hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear so he could see her pretty face. She caught sight of his wrist, her name permanently inked there. And that made her smile too. their necklaces. Their tattoos. Both proud to commemorate those they loved in such beautiful ways.
They had recently been talking about additional tattoos. But only when Fitz could bear to talk about them.
Needles would always make him nervous. But the idea of the important, beautiful things he wanted to permanently pay tribute to on his body overpowered his nerves. She was pretty sure that in time, they would both have more than one tattoo.
The soft sound of Christmas music still played around them, and it was nice. It was relaxing, to lay there and feel her soft, quick breaths as she calmed her body. Feeling her little hand running over his chest affectionately, admiring his necklace.
And for her, to feel her husband's big, strong arms wrapped around her. Holding her. His heartbeat beneath her own chest, and the beautiful music that continued to fill the room.
"Baby," she whispered.
"Hm?" he answered.
"Our babies are going to be one in two days," she whispered. She couldn't believe it, she really couldn't. They had grown so much. The past year had gone by in the blink of an eye; much too fast for either of their liking.
"I know," he said, smiling at her. "One year, it's been. The...best year of our lives."
She nodded into his chest. "No question. I just wish that...time would slow down. I want them to be little forever."
"Me too," he chuckled. "But they're growing fast. Soon they're going to be two. And then...three. And before you know it, they'll be teenagers!"
"Oh my gosh," Olivia said, shaking her head. "Nope, I can't think about that yet. I just can't, they're still my little loves."
He smiled. "You know they will always be. They're attached to you. Just like their daddy is."
She smiled back. "I don't know...the more we start to wean them off of breast milk the less attached they're getting to me...now that my boobs are becoming more useless to them they're realizing I'm not all that magical."
"Oh whatever," Fitz chuckled, shaking his head because they both knew that was bullshit. "They can barely go to sleep unless you're talking to them. I swear, it's like I read their bedtime story and all I get is screaming, angry babies!"
"Oh, that's only happened a few times!" she exclaimed.
"No, way more than that! And I think I can count the number of times I've actually been successful on one hand," he replied. "Maybe like...half a hand."
"That's just a coincidence. I think you have a beautiful reading voice, sweetheart," she laughed. "And singing voice, by the way. They always love bedtime songs."
"Well, thank you, Livvie," he said. "And I think you are extremely magical. And so are your boobs, by the way," he added. "They are...I mean, they're very intriguing, very perfect."
"Awww, you really mean that?" she asked with a laugh.
"My god, yes," he nodded. "Mesmerizing. You know that."
He rolled her over, causing a big smile and a lot of laughs to escape from her mouth as he pressed kisses all over her neck, and breasts. Making sure she knew how much he appreciated not only her, but of course, her boobs as well.
"See?" he asked, pressing his lips softly to her nipple. He did it multiple times, letting his tongue flick lightly across it and leaving both nipples wet from his mouth. "Perfect."
"You better be careful, mister, if you keep doing that," she warned, watching him in pleasure.
"Oh I'm being plenty careful," he shrugged, swirling his tongue around one nipple. "Nice and gentle."
"You know what I mean!" she exclaimed.
"Ohhh, I see, I see," he nodded casually, pulling up. "You mean...I'm turning you on."
"Shut up," she giggled, nudging his bicep.
"Okay, okay," I'll shut up," he nodded, returning to his important work. Turning her on.
She groaned, widening her legs underneath him almost desperately. She could feel his erection again between her legs. It was not hard to hide, and she could see him long, thick and hard as he crouched on his knees above her.
He dragged his tongue between her breasts, before sucking hard on the skin there. He rubbed himself against her while he went to town on her chest, his eyes closed and looking as relaxed as could be.
She was sure he would leave a mark on her skin at that point, but then he started to talk to her as he rubbed up against her. "Let's go again, baby," he murmured against her skin.
"Yeah?" she asked.
He nodded, moving up and capturing her lips in a deep, wet kiss. "Yeah," he said.
She nodded back in response, before feeling his tongue plunge back into her mouth. He reached between their bodies, grabbing his tip and directing it toward her entrance while never pulling away from her lips.
He slid right in. He fit so perfectly inside her, and they both moaned in pleasure at the wonderful, familiar feeling.
"God, baby, I could do this all night," he whispered, rolling his hips. Going all the way in, and lingering there each time. Making sure she felt all of him, like he felt all of her.
"With the Christmas music—and everything?" she panted.
He started to laugh again, picking up his pace. "It doesn't matter what's playing in the background. Could be...the kids' sound machine for all I care, I just want to feel you...all the time. You just feel—so fucking good," he groaned.
"Kids'...sound machine," she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh my god. Don't stop. Keep...just go faster."
He nodded, going faster, and harder. All Olivia could do was hold onto him and feel him fill her up with each powerful thrust.
He urged her to widen her legs further. She was about as spread as she could be for him, legs bent at the knee, while he pounded into her.
"Flip over," he panted. "On your knees."
She obliged, bracing herself against the floor as he slid in again from behind. He started out slow, feeling her perfect ass in his hands as he gently pushed into her. But he did pick up his pace again, and it wasn't all that gentle when he did.
"Oh my god," she mouthed, clutching at the rug beneath her fingertips.
He was on his knees behind her, his thighs connecting with her ass with each thrust as he held tightly to her hips.
She was so wet that they could hear her around him; he slid so effortlessly in and out of her, too. It didn't take long for either of them to get close—not in that position. When Fitz reached around and started rubbing her clit at the same time, it was game over for her.
As soon as she let out a loud gasp, and her body tightened, he couldn't hold off any longer. He finished inside of her, pumping in and out of her quickly as she reached her orgasm, crying out his name loudly.
She collapsed forward on her stomach, and rolled over, panting hard. He panted too, holding himself up on his palms above her and looking down at her naked body covered lightly in sweat.
He lowered himself on top of her chest slowly, before resting his head on top of her heart. He always loved to hear it come down from its fast pace, because of what he did to her. Maybe a sense of personal pride, along with the fact that hearing her heartbeat, in general, made him happy.
"I'm not going to lie...I like fucking you to Christmas music," she panted beneath him.
And they both were in a fit of laughter for about the fifteenth time that night.
"Done. I'm down. Every night—in December, it's a deal," he nodded, which made her laugh more.
"I mean...that was just all sorts of fantastic," she said, running her fingers through his now very messy curls.
"Fantastic," he agreed. "We are...an absolute mess."
"It's a shame we don't have any of the twins' wet wipes down here," she said, looking around. "Those are seriously so handy."
"You know, they really are!" he nodded. "I had an extra pack in my briefcase for some reason. Because, you know, they're literally everywhere," he began.
"Right, right," she nodded.
"And I tell you. I spilled some coffee on my desk at work the other day and those wet wipes did the trick in about 6 seconds. No coffee smell in my office, no stain, no stickiness. Magic. Just magic."
"Absolutely," she agreed. "Well, since we don't have those, I'll go grab a towel or something quick before we make matters worse. I don't wanna have to clean up cum on this rug before our one-year-old twins' birthday party."
He chuckled, rolling off of her and onto his back. "Thank you, baby."
"Mhm," she nodded, getting up slowly. She ran her fingers down her body, looking at certain places. And then it started to run down her leg. "Oh—oh. Oh, dear. Nope, nope, nope."
He laughed, watching her run into the kitchen, completely naked. Trying to contain some things.
"Stop laughing!" she exclaimed. "This is a serious matter."
He kept laughing. "Sorry. Are you all good now?"
"Yep, okay. We're good," she replied from the kitchen.
"Oh good. Now come save me!" he said.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," she answered.
She came to save him, and then they decided they should probably make their way upstairs for the night as they were both tired. Plus, it was past ten.
Olivia put some comfy clothes on and let Arie out one last time before bed. Lucky for them, she'd been asleep on the floor of the nursery in between the twins' cribs, so she hadn't been witness to any of the fooling around in the family room. Not that she would care anyway. But, she was sleeping with her little human siblings, whom she loved and protected a lot.
The twins had been asleep since about 7:30 that evening after their quick baths, which was pretty standard for them. But they'd be up bright and early around 7:00 the next morning as well, so Olivia and Fitz headed to bed in preparation for that.
Aside from waking up generally early, they also had some people coming over the next day. And the weekend would just be packed with activity for the kids' birthday, so a good amount of sleep would be extremely necessary.
And by 11:00, every Grant in the house was fast asleep.
The next day began bright and early for Olivia and Fitz, who were awoken around 7:15 by the two littlest in the household.
Elle woke up first, and in turn, woke her brother up.
They chatted with each other for a little while, which let Olivia and Fitz have a chance to wake up a little bit at least while the sounds of their kids talking back and forth on the monitor made them smile.
They were quite chatty, especially with each other. Elle was far more chatty than Thomas was, but when he was with Elle, he was a lot more inclined to talk back and forth. And of course, with his parents. But otherwise, he took a little longer than his sister to warm up to people, and show his extroverted side. Even now, at just about a year old, their personalities were becoming more and more visible.
They both knew a handful of words already, and their vocabulary only grew with each passing day.
"Momma" and "dadda" were now perfected by the little ones, which made for a happy Olivia and Fitz.
Arie was even in the mix, known by the twins as "Ah-ie" on a good day. That one was tougher for them, but they definitely understood who she was when their parents said her name.
They also knew "no" and "bye-bye," which was not to be confused with "baba," or bottle. Those did get mixed up in translation occasionally.
There were other words that it seemed the twins attempted to try, but couldn't quite complete yet. Either way, at not even a year old, they both had a pretty good-sized vocabulary, and showed extreme promise in boosting it in their next year of life. Olivia and Fitz assumed that by two, they'd be talking nonstop.
Aside from being chatty, they were also walking machines. It hadn't taken them much past the eleven-month mark to start walking. Thomas took his first real steps about two days before Elle did, so in typical twin fashion, they were pretty similar in their milestones.
They'd toyed with the idea of walking far before they actually did; pulling themselves up to a standing position using furniture, taking little baby steps when their parents would hold them up on their legs. So even though the first steps had been an extremely exciting occasion for Olivia and Fitz, they'd known it was coming.
It was both fun, and tiring sometimes, having little humans running around the house. There had been a few falls here and there, even a little cut on Elle's lip a couple of weeks ago because of a little tumble she'd taken on the hardwood.
Even still, the house was about as baby-proofed as possible. All the stairs had baby gates, all the unused outlets were plugged, the lower cabinets were safety-locked, the corners of the coffee tables were padded. Everything. And there was a lot of house to cover!
This was the first year the twins would be mobile during the holiday season, though, as last year they were only a couple weeks old at Christmas. So far, thankfully, no Christmas decorations or trees had been damaged and no children had hurt themselves, so they only hoped it would stay that way!
Arie was definitely amused with her little walking human siblings. She had been familiar with their crawling, and that they loved to crawl all over her if she was just laying there. But now that they could walk, she had to actually keep up with them sometimes.
It was pretty cute that when Arie stood, the twins could also stand up and wrap their arms around her furry body as best they could in a hug of sorts. They loved their fluffy girl just like Olivia and Fitz did, and she loved them lots, too.
Overall, the Grant household was changing every day. It was hard to think that Thomas and Elle were almost one. Tomorrow would be the day. But today, was at least a start to the celebration.
The guest rooms would be utilized that night by Olivia's parents, grandparents, Sandra and Stephen, Harrison and Macy, and Brett and his family. They all had long drives for sure, and Brett and his family had a flight to make. But they wouldn't miss this weekend for the world, because Brett couldn't possibly miss his goddaughter's birthday party.
There were some others who would have a bit of a drive the next day, but not too bad of one. Sunday would definitely be a full house.
By five that evening, everyone who was staying the night that night was there.
They ordered in for dinner because of the large number of people that were there.
They were catering for the party tomorrow, too, also because of the number of people that would be there. Fitz and Olivia had been known to have great home-cooked food for gatherings, but they would have needed a lot of time and a lot of helping hands to make that work for this party.
The twins got to stay up just a tad later than normal that night, because a good portion of their family members were in town already. But they still had a schedule to stick to, and a set time to wake up in the morning to get ready for their party. So by 8:15, they were out like a light.
Olivia and Fitz, on the other hand, were up until 11:30 with their friends and family, talking and laughing with them in the living room. Watching a movie and eating popcorn, thanks to Olivia. Catching up. Talking about all the adorable things the twins had done since they'd all seen them last. And just having a good time.
After Arie had been let out by her favorite grandpa Eli, the non-dog person, he gave her a couple pats and a treat before bed. There was only one exception to his dog preference, and it was Arie. She had captured his heart soon after Fitz and Olivia had even brought her into the family. Along with everyone else's heart, practically.
Then, they were all off to bed.
Fitz and Olivia peeked in on the kids before they retired to their own room. Both were snuggled up in their cribs, a nightlight on in the corner with glow in the dark stars and moons on the ceiling, and the sound of their sound machine on lightly in the background.
As always, it was a precious sight to see before they, themselves, went to get ready for bed.
By the time Olivia came out of the bathroom with freshly brushed teeth, a washed face, and a wrap on her head, her husband was sleepily waiting for her in bed. He was all ready for bed too, wearing nothing but boxers. Even in the winter months, he preferred less clothing at night.
Olivia certainly wouldn't complain. His skin was always warm, and he was always snuggly anyway.
She, on the other hand, got into bed wearing pajama pants and one of his shirts. Comfy and cozy, and warm.
She finished rubbing some thick lotion on her hands as she climbed into bed, replenishing her skin from the effect the dry winter air could have.
"Hey," she greeted with a smile.
"Hi, pretty girl," he whispered, pulling back the covers for her.
She crawled into bed and snuggled into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.
"Long day," she said, closing her eyes. She inhaled his wonderful scent, and it made her smile against his warm chest.
"Long day," he agreed, giving her another kiss. "But guess what, I love you."
"I love you too," she said, peering up at him. "Lots."
"Like...how much?" he asked.
"So much," she answered. "As much as Tommy loves plums."
He gasped dramatically, which made her start to giggle.
"That's so much," he noted, smiling down at her.
"I know," she nodded. "That boy could eat plums all day."
"He could," Fitz agreed. "I love you more than that."
Now it was her turn to gasp. "Nuh-uh! That's not fair."
"Too late, I said it," he chuckled, hugging her tighter.
"Take it back," she said.
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"I will argue with you all night if that's what it takes," she said, letting out a yawn.
"Oh is that right, sleepyhead?" he smiled, taking note of her yawn.
"That's right," she nodded confidently, snuggling her face closer to his chest.
He chuckled, pressing a couple more kisses to her head. "Sleep well, baby."
"Sleep well, sweetheart," she murmured back.
"I love you so much," he whispered, looking down at her pretty face. Not a touch of makeup was on it. Her long eyelashes rested gently on the tops of her cheeks, and her little hands were holding on tightly to him. The sight made him smile every night.
"Mmm...love you...I love you," she whispered quietly back. She was so sleepy, and he knew it.
He watched her fall asleep rather quickly, holding her close to his body. He grew excited for tomorrow, for his kids' birthday. He knew he and Olivia were way more excited than anyone else would be. But they had a reason to be. And as he thought about it, he smiled bigger at his beautiful, sleeping wife. The mother of the two little ones fast asleep in the other room.
She was so gorgeous, and she didn't think a thing about it. In the five years they'd been together, they'd both grown so much. But he knew she'd grown far more than he had, simply because in this relationship, she'd kind of been forced to. Merely 25 years of age, but acted so much older than that. She was the best mother he knew, and obviously, the best life partner in his eyes. Maybe he was a tad biased, because he was in love with her. But he knew it was true, regardless.
"I love you, Olivia," he whispered again.
And with that, he turned off the lamp, closed his eyes, and slowly waded into sleep along with her.
The next morning, they woke up around their normal time because the twins woke up, and they heard them on the monitor.
Since they'd all been up decently late the night before, everyone else would likely sleep in a bit yet. But Olivia and Fitz had to get up. They had things to do, and birthday babies to snuggle.
The happy chatter between the twins only grew happier at the sight of their parents entering the nursery.
"Happy birthday, loves!" Olivia exclaimed, waving at the two of them.
"Happy birthday!" Fitz exclaimed quietly.
As if the twins had a single clue what they were talking about. But Olivia and Fitz gave them lots of snuggles and kisses anyway.
"Momma," Thomas said, leaning into Olivia's chest as she held him. He was smiling big. "Momma."
"Yes, hi, baby," she said, kissing his curly head. "My sweet birthday boy."
He smiled at her kisses and excitement, while Fitz mixed them both their morning bottles. Elle was standing contently at his feet, holding onto his leg to keep herself steady. He'd just set her down in order to have both his hands.
They were currently being weaned off of breast milk, which was both nice, but also a little bit sad for Olivia, in many ways.
Nice, because as her body had begun to adapt, she wasn't needing to pump all the time as she had been before. She didn't need to work her schedule around it, and that was nice. She could drink alcohol more regularly, also nice.
But breastfeeding them had been a bonding experience with them, too. She could always count on spending quality time with them at least in the morning and at night, when she truly breastfed them and didn't just pump for their bottles.
She would miss that bonding with them. Another thing she would miss is not having a period. She had been lucky in that breastfeeding had been putting off the return of her menstrual cycle. No blood, no pain, no birth control, nothing. Just plain freedom! She'd definitely miss this, knowing her menstrual cycle would soon return.
Changes were always happening within the family, and this was just one of them. So the twins were now enjoying formula throughout the day, and only one breastfeed, which always took place at night before bed. They were now pretty used to the formula and didn't mind it, even though it was definitely a transition. But soon, breastfeeding would be out of the equation entirely, and they would transition from formula to whole cow's milk.
They were currently practicing with other drinking containers like sippy cups and regular cups, too. Sippy cups were strictly for water, while regular cups were for water and formula on occasion. They were still getting the hang of those.
But right now, to begin their day, it was a bottle of formula for both of them, followed by breakfast.
Breakfast on their birthday was special, of course.
Fitz and Olivia made them apple and oat pancakes, with some maple syrup on top that they absolutely loved. It was quite a sticky mess, but they were going to have a bath afterward anyway.
They also had half a sliced banana each. After that, they were more than content. And messy.
Arie had been getting her fair share of running in outside while the kids ate, which was good, because she would have to spend a portion of the day in her room, because of the party. But Fitz let her in and then they quietly took the kids back upstairs, trying not to wake anyone in the house.
Not only was it now bath time, but it was wash day for the twins' hair, which always took some time.
They filled up the bathtub for them and put them in their bath seats, which suction cupped to the sides of the tub to keep them upright and safely above the water. Their little feet, however, kicked happily in the warm water.
They generally were pretty good for bath time, especially when it was just a normal bath and no hair washing. But their hair care did require some extra time, and sometimes that got tiring for a baby.
They had the hair care routine down now, though, and they attempted to make it as painless as possible, with as many distractions as possible. That usually included lots of singing, kisses, and bath toys.
The process of shampooing, conditioning and detangling depended on how cooperative the twins were. And luckily that day, they were pretty cooperative.
Both Olivia and Fitz had had some learning to do when it came to their children's biracial hair; the texture different from Fitz's hair, and from Olivia's too. But Olivia had a bit of a jumpstart, due to her own hair care routine. So while they learned together, Olivia still did most of the teaching.
And by now, Fitz pretty much had it down pat, too.
"Alright, daddy. What do we always remember?" she asked.
"We always remember to work in sections, and detangle the ends first, then work our way up to the roots," he said confidently.
Olivia gasped, looking down at her daughter. "Daddy's right, yes he is."
"Mhm. Daddy's got it down now," he told his son, lathering the shampoo into his hair gently.
And so they teamed up with the twins' bath and hair wash day, because that went so much faster.
By the end of their bath, their curls looked perfectly clean and bouncy, and ready to be styled.
Unfortunately, the transition from the bathroom to their bedroom was not so perfect.
The twins had been set down briefly, wearing their little hooded towels to keep them warm, so that Olivia and Fitz could drain the bath.
Thomas' towel was a white bunny, and Elle's was a pink one. They were both pretty adorable, and also effective. A perfect combination.
Olivia started to completely dry the two babies, using their hooded towels to do it. They sat so nicely in her lap.
Until they didn't.
They saw their daddy open the bathroom door, and apparently got curious. And then they were using all their little energy to run after him, butt naked.
Olivia could have caught them and held them back. But it was a tad funny. And clearly they were not at all cold, as Olivia held their two little towels in her hand.
"Incoming," Olivia announced to Fitz.
"Well! What are you two doing?!" Fitz exclaimed with a laugh. Olivia could hear giggles upon giggles. Anything to make the whole bath experience more fun, she allowed.
"Aren't you two cold?! Come here, babies," he chuckled.
Olivia looked into the bedroom, seeing Fitz "chase" the two little birthday babies. Completely naked and not a care in the world. They were giggling about as uncontrollably as one-year-olds could giggle.
"Watch out, daddy's gonna get you! Your plan to escape didn't work so well, did it?!" Olivia laughed.
Their bedroom door was closed, so there was nowhere they could go but in circles, really. They still made the most of it, until Fitz scooped them up.
"I got you! Hahaha, yes I did!" he exclaimed, kissing both of their heads. "And you smell so good!"
"Alright, you two. Now we're keeping these on until we're clothed," Olivia laughed, bringing the hooded towels over to them and Fitz. "No more funny business!"
Fitz gasped, looking at the two of them. "You heard momma. No more funny business."
Olivia nodded seriously at them, but couldn't help but giggle at their sweet little faces. They each put one of their towels back on, and carried them to their nursery to get dressed, and then do their hair.
First, it was time for some leave-in conditioner, and then some oil to lock in the moisture. The little baby brands of everything smelled absolutely amazing.
"Your curls are so pretty," Olivia said to Elle. "Yes. Your curls are so pretty."
"Cuw," Elle said.
"Yes, your curls!" Olivia laughed, looking at Fitz with wide eyes.
"Wow! So smart!" Fitz said, looking at Elle as he combed through Thomas' curls once more before he put product in it.
"Yes you are," Olivia nodded. "And your curls are poppin' now, aren't they. Yes, they are. You and your brother's curls are poppin'."
"Poppin'," Fitz nodded, applying some leave-in conditioner.
Olivia laughed. "Daddy's curls are poppin' right now too."
He laughed, knowing his hair was a mess right now. "When I'm done getting ready then we'll see."
"Our curly-headed boys," Olivia said with a smile. "We love them, don't we?" she asked Elle.
"Sometimes they do," Fitz said to Thomas. "Other times they team up on us!"
Olivia laughed. "Occasionally. Girl power!"
"Ahh!" Elle giggled, throwing her hands up in the air happily. "Momma!"
"Elle!" Olivia said back, kissing her little nose.
"You two are so lively today," Fitz chuckled, looking at Thomas. "Yes, you are. You must know it's your birthday. Huh?"
"Baba, dadda?" Thomas asked seriously.
"No, we already had our baba this morning. We'll have a small one before our nap, pal," Fitz said.
"Baba," Thomas said again.
"You are persistent, little man," Fitz chuckled. "No, babas, Thomas."
He did understand "no." He may not have been too happy about it, but he understood.
"Baba," Elle piped up.
"Oh, not you too!" Olivia said. "We will have babas later. You just had breakfast not too long ago you sillies."
"Okay," Fitz said, finishing up Thomas' hair. "Liv, this is the definition of...poppin'."
She looked at her son's now perfectly washed and styled curls. "Oh, daddy does such a good job, doesn't he? You look so handsome, baby!"
"Ahh," he smiled, looking at his mom. Thankfully letting the bottle situation go.
"Ahh," Olivia said back to him. "Look, your sister's almost done too."
She was just about finished up with Elle's second little bun atop her head. She looked absolutely adorable with her two little buns. Sometimes to prevent more flyaway curls, Olivia would do two on top and two more near the bottom of her head. But today she was going to wear a headband, so the extra two buns weren't necessary.
Olivia slid the yellow headband with a bow in the front over Elle's head, and positioned it in her hair.
She looked adorable.
"You're so pretty, birthday girl!" Fitz exclaimed, picking Thomas up in his arms.
"So pretty," Olivia nodded. "Just beautiful. Grandma will love this bow, she loves yellow."
"Speaking of, I think I may hear grandma and grandpa up downstairs," Fitz said. "Should we go see?"
Olivia nodded, so they went to check. And sure enough, they were up, and so ready to greet their little birthday grandbabies.
Maya did, indeed, love Elle's yellow bow.
They quickly offered to watch and play with the babies while Olivia and Fitz went to get ready, themselves. And having already mentioned that the night before, Olivia and Fitz took them up on that offer because they had lots to do.
First, they set out bagels and cream cheese for everyone else that gradually woke up throughout the morning, and made sure Arie had food and lots of water before they went upstairs.
Then, they showered together. You know, to save time and water.
Fitz wore a dress shirt underneath a sweater, and jeans. His curly hair was, indeed, poppin', and he smelled amazing as always.
Olivia wore a pretty light lavender-colored dress, that looked gorgeous on her. Her hair in loose curls, and makeup done perfectly. She also smelled amazing, but when didn't she?
They were ready. The food would be there soon. And shortly after, the guests would start arriving too.
And so the birthday festivities would soon begin for real.
"My godson and my little Ellie bean!" Abby exclaimed, holding them both for the first time that day.
She'd had to wait her turn, because there were lots of people that had been holding and saying hello to the babies of honor.
They smiled at Abby, because they knew her well now. They knew their auntie Abby.
"They missed you lots!" Olivia said.
"I missed you too!" Abby said to them. "And you two are going to love your presents. Yes, you will!"
"Oh, I'm sure they will. They are going to be pretty spoiled with all those gifts piling up over there," Olivia said, shaking her head at the large pile by the living room window. Their friends and family had certainly gone overboard, that was clear. But they were one now. That was a big birthday, after all.
They would get to see what all those gifts were after lunch and cake. And something else there was a lot of at that party, was cake.
It was ginormous!
They'd had it professionally made for the big occasion. It was in the shape of a very large "1" and read "Happy Birthday Thomas and Elle!" It was a very pale shade of blue, with little animals on it, to match the theme of their nursery. There was an elephant, a giraffe, and a lion, all created beautifully with fondant. There was a large number of cupcakes surrounding the cake too, just because there were so many people there.
It was quite the cake. And it was pretty dang delicious too.
The twins got the first slices, of course, after a huge round of "Happy Birthday To You" was sung to them by everyone. They each got big slices, and their little faces lit up at the pretty dessert in front of them.
And by the end of it, their slices of cake were mostly gone, with a good portion of it on their faces. Blue frosting and little chunks of white cake covered their mouths. Thomas even had some near his eyebrow. It was quite a funny sight, especially to the little kids that were there.
"Fitz, Fitz. Look at Tommy's eyebrow!" Mia giggled, pointing to Thomas.
"I know!" Fitz chuckled.
"I think it's safe to say the twins liked the cake!" Maya exclaimed.
"Which twins?" grandma Gina asked with a little smile.
They all looked around to Jordan and Anthony, still eating their cake. Macy and Dillon, with empty cake plates in their hands. And then the littlest set of twins, in their high chairs, covered in cake. All six had smiles on their faces.
And everyone laughed at grandma Gina.
"You're right, ma. There are a lot of twins in this household right now," Eli chuckled.
"You get a twin, you get a twin. Everybody gets a twin!" Charlie laughed.
"In this family, we love our twins, don't we," aunt Faye said, wrapping her arms around Macy and Dillon.
"Yes we do," Olivia nodded. "Even when they are covered in...blue fondant and cake chunks."
"Especially then," Maya nodded casually.
"I think we better clean them up," Fitz chuckled. "What do you say, huh? Should we get you two all cleaned up?"
"Dadda!" Thomas exclaimed with a smile, purring his arms up.
"Tommy!" Fitz exclaimed, putting his hands up in response. That had not only Thomas, but Elle in a fit of laughter too. So she decided to join in, because she wanted her daddy's attention too.
"Dadda...dadda!" Elle exclaimed.
"Yes, pretty baby," Fitz answered leaning down by Elle.
She gave him a big smile. "Dadda," she said contently. As if she was very pleased with herself that she got his attention too.
"Elle," Fitz smiled, tilting his head.
She giggled. And then seemed to develop a perfect idea.
"Momma!" she exclaimed, which had Thomas repeating her. "Momma!" he said.
So Olivia leaned her face down by the two of them too.
Elle's plan worked wonderfully. Now she and her brother had both their parents' attention, and they were as happy as could be.
Everyone around their high chairs was laughing pretty hard at the scene.
"They are so funny. They sure know how to get mom and dad's attention," Macy said.
"Ohhh yes. And I promise it's not always this nice. Sometimes they resort to screaming instead," Olivia said.
"Very loud, high-pitched screaming," Fitz nodded in agreement.
"Oh, don't all babies," Maya laughed. "They are so bright. And very good with words, they annunciate really well."
"Indeed," Eli nodded, impressed. "Much clearer than even a month ago. They learn very quickly."
"Oh, yes," Olivia nodded. "Are you two showing off for everyone?!"
"They definitely deserve to show off. They're the smartest babies I've ever met," Charlie said.
"Definitely," Quinn agreed. All their friends nodded.
"Did you hear that? You are so smart! So smart," Fitz said to them. He gave Elle a kiss as he pulled her out of her high chair.
Olivia pulled Thomas out of his and they went to get them cleaned up before they did presents.
After that, the party would technically be over, but many were staying over that night, too, so people would still be there. The twins would just have to take a nap, since they missed their early afternoon one and barely had a morning one. After presents, they'd likely be pretty tired.
And presents were quite the event.
The twins got everything they could have ever wanted and needed as one-year-olds.
So many clothes. A couple pairs of shoes each. Tons and tons of toys and games. Among those gifts were many things that sang, made sounds, or played music.
That would be a fun time for Olivia and Fitz.
And of course, Fitz and Olivia spoiled them rotten:
Custom wagons personalized with their names on them. Personalized baby blocks, which was actually the first set they'd ever owned. A pop-up tunnel for their nursery that they had already begun an obsession with, climbing through it. Elle's very own baby doll. Thomas' first train set, which also made lots of noise. Some more clothes as well, including a little Patagonia fuzzy sweatshirt for each of them. The clothes probably weren't the most excited for one-year-olds, but having warm, nice clothes was still a plus.
Eli and Maya were also quite the spoilers. They only had two grandchildren, so they went all out with their toys and games and clothes, too.
Everyone did. And although the twins couldn't thank everyone themselves, Olivia and Fitz made sure to go around to everyone with the twins and thank them, giving them all one last greeting before they needed to go and hit the hay.
They had been pretty good all day running on virtually no nap, and with their daily routine being completely messed with. So it was understandable when they got a little fussy.
There was one baby in the house that hadn't been fussy a single time that day, though, and that was little Lucy Domagalski. She was absolutely adorable, wrapped up in her blanket. She was about three and a half months old, a perfect age. But still so little, and sleepy for much of the day.
All of Fitz's buddies and their wives took turns holding her while she slept. She was the newest child of their friend group, and she deserved all of the "oohing" and "ahhing" that she got.
Abby had to hold her too, because she'd always liked Jason and Janelle, and she loved babies, of course. She'd been waiting to meet Lucy for a long time now!
Lucy already looked like a perfect mix of her parents. She had dark, dark hair like her mom, and big, blue eyes like her dad.
And although she hadn't really been fussing, Jason and Janelle did head out as soon as the Grant twins were going to sleep, just because they had a bit of a drive ahead of them and they wanted to get Lucy home to her own crib. So everyone said goodbye to them, and then Fitz and Olivia went to make sure their little ones made it to their own cribs.
"Oh, I know, I know. I think it will be okay, baby," Olivia said, calming a cranky Elle. Cranky, solely because she was tired and was just not having her diaper change right now.
Thomas was the same, but not verbalizing it as much currently. He held tight to his dad's chest as Fitz grabbed both of their small bottles.
It wasn't much, but just a little milk to tide them over before dinner. Especially since they had had plenty of snacks already throughout the day.
"Here you go. Here's your baba," Fitz said, prodding Thomas' lips with it.
He gratefully took it.
"Elle's is over here, babe," Fitz said.
"Okay, thanks, baby," Olivia nodded, finishing up with Elle's diaper.
She also took hers gratefully. And after they finished those, they eagerly took their pacifiers as well for their nap. The only time they had them nowadays.
With a push of a button on the sound machine and the flip of the light switch, they were much more calm, laying in their cribs.
And with that, Olivia and Fitz shut the nursery door.
Many of the people there had already been gradually leaving before the twins went down, but many of their close family and friends still remained.
Olivia's parents and her grandma Michelle, and all her friends, some of which would be staying the night.
Since there was now far fewer people, they let Arie out of her room so she could go to the bathroom, and hang out with everyone downstairs. It was always a little overwhelming for her with that many people in the house, but now that the number had diminished, she'd be perfectly content.
They all had a good night. They still had lots of good food from the party that they had again for dinner, and a few more slices of cake and cupcakes even went around because there were still extras.
The twins took a nap for about two hours, which had them feeling much more content for the rest of the evening. And because of their nap, they did stay up a little later with everyone for the occasion.
It was their birthday after all. It would be okay.
They broke out the surround sound speakers again with some music. Christmas music again, specifically at the request of Maya.
Soon after, most everyone was even up and dancing, twins included!
Maya and Eli were currently the ones dancing with them, which was a pretty cute sight.
Olivia and Fitz were doing a little slow dancing next to a couple of their friends, laughing at Maya spinning Thomas around in her arms.
"Okay, where's Charlie? Babe? I wanna dance with somebody!" Quinn exclaimed, looking around for Charlie.
"Do you also, by chance, wanna feel the heat with somebody?" Fitz asked, twirling Olivia around.
Everyone burst into laughter.
"That was a good one, Fitz," grandma Michelle laughed.
"Thank you," he chuckled. "Ah, there's Charlie. Charlie, you are needed. To dance and to feel the heat with your woman."
Charlie had just returned from the bathroom, and was now raising an eyebrow at Fitz. "I'm sorry, I need to what now?"
"Wooo!" Quinn exclaimed, doing her best Whitney Houston imitation as she grabbed Charlie's hand.
Everyone got a good laugh out of that.
But even amidst the family-friendly dancing and Christmas music going on currently, Olivia and Fitz were still reminded of what went on only two days prior in that very room, also to Christmas music.
"We probably should never disclose to anyone that we had sex right where Abby and David are currently standing, to Christmas music two nights ago," Olivia whispered to Fitz, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He started to laugh, leaning his face down closer to her ear. "Probably not. Or that it happened twice."
"Twice!" Olivia exclaimed in a whisper. "Good times."
"Fantastic times," he said quietly, kissing her neck gently.
"Ohhh, don't start something we can't finish with my parents in the room," she giggled, holding onto him tighter.
"Mmm. Makes me want to," he murmured, pulling back and leaning his forehead against hers. He pecked her lips lightly and gave her a smirk. One that made her curse internally, because he was so sexy and she couldn't act on that right now.
Rest assured, she would later.
By around 8:45, the twins were done in for the night. They successfully stayed up "late," but could barely keep their eyes open after many, many rounds of dancing, and even singing, too.
When Olivia had mentioned that she and Fitz sometimes alternated between bedtime stories and singing for them, and had been recently introducing Christmas music into their routine, everyone begged to hear a little bit of a song.
"White Christmas" was the one they had settled on, because they both knew the words.
Their voices sounded really good together. And although most of them were aware they both could sing, it still received many claps and cheers, and impressed reactions. Even sleepy claps from the twins as they laid in their grandparents' arms.
They loved when mom and dad sang for them.
"That is definitely some recordable material right there," Logan nodded. "I'd buy it."
"Seriously!" Quinn exclaimed amongst the laughter. "You guys sound so good, it isn't fair."
"All of your children will probably be amazing singers. Wow. I honestly didn't know you two could sing like that," Huck said.
"Yes, that was very impressive," Macy said. "I knew Liv could sing but I didn't know you could, Fitz!"
Fitz shrugged it off, but gave her a smile.
"Oh, he can. He just likes to deny it," Olivia said.
"I just sang with you for everyone here, come on!" he exclaimed, his cheeks pink.
"Yes, you did and I'm proud of you for that," Olivia said, kissing his cheek.
"Thank you," he chuckled.
"I think you'll have to do a round two for them pretty quick. They're sleepy," Maya said, smiling down at Elle in her arms.
"Yeah, we better go put these two to bed," Olivia said. "We'll be back!"
Everyone said goodnight to the twins, even though they were pretty much half asleep.
They woke up when their diapers were changed and their pajamas were put on, and when Olivia breastfed them. Arie laid at the foot of the chair, wanting to be by the twins and by her parents, too.
Always such a protector.
The twins could barely get through half of a song before they were fast asleep, each in the arms of their parents as they sat in the nursery chairs.
"Happy birthday, babies," Fitz whispered, laying Thomas down in his crib.
"Happy birthday, babies," Olivia added, laying Elle down as well.
It had been a fun birthday for them.
After they were asleep, Olivia and Fitz finally had a drink along with everyone else, and the night started to wind down. They brought Arie back downstairs with them, even though she probably would have loved to lay down in her favorite place between the twins' cribs.
Downstairs, there was still chatter amongst the friends. Talk about Abby and David trying to decide on where to go for their honeymoon. Talk about how cute Thomas and Elle would be as the ring bearer and flower girl at the wedding in the spring. Talk about how precious little Lucy Domagalski was, now that they'd all met her today. And talk about when Fitz and Olivia were going to get going on another baby, because the ones they had now were just so darn cute.
That caused some laughs, and Olivia and Fitz were quick to say that they wanted to wait a while yet. They had their hands pretty full as it was!
And aside from chatting, there was still dancing, too. Olivia smiled, seeing her parents slow dancing to many, many songs in a row. They were so happy to have spent the weekend there, she knew it. And she was just as happy to have them. She was happy to have had everyone there this weekend.
Everyone they loved had gathered for their twins' first birthday party. And she and Fitz knew going forward that no matter what they faced in life, they'd always have all of those wonderful people by their side.
Happy birthday, Grant twins!
This is my last author's note, as there will not be one after the final epilogue chapter.
Thank you so much to everyone for sticking with me to the very end. We went through a lot of chapters together!
This story will always have such a special place in my heart, and that's all because of the support I had to keep it going. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
I hope some of the story's elements will stick with you all, too, and that when you hear or read the word "forbidden," you'll smile a little bit.
I do have plans for more stories, and one will begin very very soon, so maybe some of you will continue to stick with me going forward!
Either way, stay tuned for the next and final chapter of Forbidden, to see a little look-in on the Grant family a few years down the road.
Read on, forever and always.
With lots of love,
~Tori