February 15, 2016

Ashtyn Lowman was finally a year old. Her birthday had come and gone, along with her first birthday. With two cakes, many presents and even more family to dote on her. She had a ball and now the sweet little baby was curled up beside her father in his favorite chair, watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas. She did not care one bit that it was no longer Christmas, she did not care that it was the third time that day watching the movie but her father sure did and he tried aimlessly to put a stop to it but to no favorable result.

Happy looked down at the smiling baby as she watched the movie. She was content, she was happy and most of all, she was actually cuddling with him. That made him very happy. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, making her crawl into his lap. "I know, you love kisses. That's why you love her. Mama gives the best snuggles and kisses, she is the best huh?"

"That she is." Kozik chuckled as he dropped onto the sofa. "What's with the Christmas movie?"

Ashtyn looked at Kozik before she looked at Happy. "No Ko-ko."

"He's fine, he's good people. Don't be mean, tiny." Happy shook his head. "Don't offend my kid, man. She likes Jim Carrey, she's a weird one but likes comedy." He shrugged lazily. "Plus I got her to cuddle up to me. Normally she only cuddles with her mama or Aleksandr."

Kozik shook his head slowly. "I don't like him, man. He's a crazy motherfucker."

"He's not bad at all. He's protective over the sisters and very protective over all the kids. Quit trying to fuck with his daughter and he might stop threatening you." Happy shook his head again as he looked at Kozik. "Leave his kid alone and he'll leave you alone. You always gotta mess with her or talk about her."

"My mama." Ashtyn looked at Kozik with a fierce glare on her face. "Mine."

Kozik started laughing at the toddler. "Oh man, how'd you get another mean ass kid who glares like you, man? She's a mean little thing."

"She's taught to be mean and protective just like the rest of the family was taught. She just started it early. No one messes with her mama either. She's all about Jacey, get over it." Happy shrugged lazily as he tapped on Ashtyn's shoulder. "Movie or I'll turn it off and we can sit and talk about you going to daycare."

Ashtyn turned her glare on Happy and slid out of his lap. "No." She pulled her blanket off of his legs and wrapped it under her legs. "No, da-da."


February 29, 2016

End of the month. It was already hot and the weather was humid. It was ultimately just the way Jacey Lowman enjoyed her days. But not at six o'clock in the morning when she'd already been up for three hours with her youngest daughter who couldn't seem to sleep through the night anymore. It was now 6:10 and she was preparing her eldest children for school with a solid breakfast and making sure they're bags were ready for the day. With a seven year old and a four year old, there was obviously no easy way to please them when it came to breakfast but these were Lowman kids who loved food, most importantly, they loved breakfast. Her job seemed easy. Not with her one year old at her side though.

With a bowl of blueberries and blackberries, donning only a diaper, Ashtyn Lowman was a picture of smeared berries on her tan skin and a grin to adore. Jacey set two plates down on the island, both containing a small amount of bacon, berries and a cheese, mushroom, and ham omelet. She set a smaller plate down on the countertop high chair for Ashtyn that contained a small omelet and a side of ham. "You can try it again now that you're a little older. If you don't like it then we'll give it to your father. It'll be back from his run in a moment."

"How come you make her try things all the time?" Kol murmured as he climbed onto the bar stool, still not dressed for school. "Why can't she keep eating that liquid stuff?"

Jacey looked at her son, her face full of immediate annoyance as she noticed her son's state. "Why are you not dressed? School is school, you have to go and that is that. No more fighting, no more arguing. No more. Go back upstairs, get yourself in a pair of jeans, grab your sneakers or boots and put on a t-shirt. You have less than five more minutes."

6:20. Jacey watched the clock change another minute and she finally looked at Ashtyn and shook her head. "You are about to have one less sibling if he keeps it up."

"You cannot say that to a toddler." Happy smirked as he walked into the kitchen, wiping his face off. "Look at you, is mama leaving you with me when she takes your rowdy siblings to school?" He sat down at the island directly across from his youngest daughter. "You ever just look at her and get stunned by her? All three of them are beautiful but that one, she's something else. It's the eyes, those weird eyes."

Jacey shrugged lazily as she leaned down to kiss Ashtyn's cheek. "I can say it, she's not upset by the idea either. I think she is comfortable with it." She smiled. "I am leaving her with you. Bath time is the best time. She doesn't have weird eyes, it's just the abnormal eye color. She's gorgeous though, huh? We did real good here."

.

.

Happy stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist to the sound of his doorbell ringing. He looked down at the toddler trying to wrap her towel around her waist like he did. "Oh kid. You're too much." He placed the hood on Ashtyn's head and lifted her up, making sure the towel covered her. "Better? It's going to get cold here in a second. I bet mama locked herself out of the house again. She's such a blonde." He smirked as he made his way downstairs and to the front door, unlocking it before he pulled it open to find Eli Roosevelt at the door. His back was turned but he turned around when Happy cleared his throat. "What can I do for you now? It's seven in the morning, man."

"I'm fully aware. I need to speak with your wife." Roosevelt nodded his head before his eyes took in Happy's state. "I'm sorry if I was interrupting anything."

"Hi." Ashtyn pushed her hood off and grinned at the Sheriff. "Bash."

Happy looked at the tiny brunette and sighed. "Ash, not Bash. No B. You interrupted her picking her outfit out. Jacey is not here but I must say, you look like death."

"Hello." Roosevelt broke his resolve and smiled at the toddler. "I am sure I do. I know your wife spoke with mine the other day. They ran into each other at the grocery store and I just need to know if she said anything to Mrs. Lowman."

Happy shrugged his shoulders as he looked around Roosevelt to see his wife's Range Rover pulling into the driveway. "She didn't mention anything to me. Look, Ash, mamas came back. Just come in. Wait in the dining room." He stepped aside and led the man through the house and into the large dining room. "Take a seat. Why do you need to know if your wife said anything?"

"Hap! What the hell does that damn man want now?" Jacey walked into the house through the mudroom and the kitchen before stopping at the entrance of the dining room. "What the hell do you want now? We know nothing, we don't care and we're not interes- where are your clothes?"

Happy turned around and passed their daughter off. "I'll bring her some clothes down here. We were getting out of the shower when the doorbell went off like Bri was on a frenzy." He shook his head. "Warm or hot clothes?"

"I laid them out already, just grab the diaper and her outfit is on the changing table. Grab some bows and a brush too." Jacey hugged her daughter tightly as she kept her eyes on Roosevelt. "What do you want now?"

He held his phone out to the blonde. "I received this message and I just need to know what is going on. She said she was speaking with you the other day at the store."

"Ok." Jacey murmured as she read the message on the phone. "We bumped into each other literally, we both apologized. She complimented my child and we discussed babies. She mentioned she was dying to have children, asked how Ashtyn stays so quiet." She shrugged her shoulders. "It was harmless conversation, she mainly cooed over Ashtyn. I didn't hurt your wife."

"Hi." Ashtyn leaned up to look at Roosevelt again. "Hi. My mama."

Jacey kissed Ashtyn's cheek and whispered to her in Russia. "He's not trying to steal me away. He likes to talk to me, it is all fine. I'm still your mama." She looked at the Sheriff. "I cannot help you. We didn't discuss anything relevant. You may not like what you think my husband is involved in but we didn't hurt her. I have my hands full with raising tiny humans, he has his hands full with his businesses and our family."

Roosevelt nodded slowly before he looked at Ashtyn and sighed. "We've been trying for years and I just need to make sure she is ok. I just need to make sure this is all a joke. I wanted to talk to you about your conversation before I went any further." He smiled at the toddler before holding his hand out to her. "You are beautiful. Don't worry, I won't take her anywhere. You may keep her."

"Try tracking her phone, go through every place she would be at. Maybe she took off somewhere for a break. It's hard, anything baby related. Whether it's trying to have them, having them and not wanting them out of your sight or getting pregnant and you never get to take the baby home. It is all hard." Jacey shook her head slowly as she looked at Ashtyn for a moment. "As a woman, you're either born with it or you're not. Many women are born with the desire to be a mother and experience pregnancy, labor, delivery and raising this person you're connected to but there are some that weren't born with that. Many women can love hard as hell and some never figure out how to love their children. Everything to do with reproducing is hard. Do you even know if she truly wanted children or was it something you wanted?"

Happy walked back in and slipped Ashtyn out of Jacey's arms. "I'll bring her back when she has a diaper on her naked little butt." He whispered to the blonde.

"It was something we both equally wanted. We still want it. I don't know that this is related to the fact that she just cannot get pregnant. I'm just worried so thank you for speaking with me." Roosevelt shook his head slowly as he ran his hands up and down his face. "I don't know why she'd just leave like this. I'm worried though."

"Mama!" Ashtyn giggled and she toddled back into the room, now in a diaper with wild curls everything. "Hi."

Jacey looked back and started to laugh as she lifted her daughter up and kissed her. "Hi pretty girl. Here let's sit down so you can get dressed."

"No, no." Ashtyn started to wiggle. "No, mama."

Jacey accepted the outfit from her husband as he sat down beside her. "Thank you. Yes, Ashtyn, yes." She pulled the mint onesie over the toddler's head and smirked. "Look, finally found clothes to match your eyes. I'm excited now." She finished the outfit off with a pair of light blue jean overalls and matching mint colored socks. "Tada. All dressed but no party."

"If only we could just have one, we'd be so happy." Roosevelt murmured as he watched Jacey and Ashtyn. "Thank you for letting me know what you discussed. I appreciate it."


March 5, 2016

"Boom!" Kol hit the dining table with his fists before he held up his fork, pointing it at Ashtyn. "Put 'em up! Put 'em up!"

Happy walked by his son, flicking his ear. "Would you stop?" He sat down at the head of the table, his youngest daughter sitting beside him in her high chair. "Tell him to stop, don't just glare."

"She can't talk." Kol shook his head as he cut his icy gaze to his sister. "Ashtyn is useless."

Jacey cleared her throat as she walked in the dining room, carrying four boxes of pizza. "Do not speak unless you can say nice things, Kol Lowman." She set the boxes down in the middle of the table. "I'm getting very tired of your meanness toward your sister."

"No." Kol turned and glared at his mother as he stood up in the chair. "You're mean."

Jacey pointed to one of the far corners of the room. "Go now, you have five minutes. You do not tell adults no and you do not backtalk." She waited for Kol to follow her instructions before she moved back into the kitchen to grab the boxes of wings and breadsticks. "Cami, dinnertime. Your grandparents should be here any second!"

"Already here," Aleksandr snuck up behind his daughter. "How's my favorite Jacey?"

The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "I'm breathing. We just did pizza, I was running late at the studio. Come on, they're at the table. Except Cami, she's hiding out."

"I'm right here." Camryn Lowman walked toward the pair, pulling her long, thick up into a ponytail. "Hi Papa."

"Look at my girl," he picked her up. "I've missed you."

The tiny blonde shrugged as she hugged the burly man. "I miss you, papa. Where's Grandma? How come she has a lame name but you have Papa?"

"Why don't you come up with a name for her?" He smiled. "She'll love it. She's finishing up a phone call. Your Aunt Bri needed advice on a patient."

Jacey lead the pair into the dining room. "Don't mind the boy, he's being disobedient today. It's a new thing and he hasn't figured out that it doesn't fly here."

"Papa, help!" Kol whined as he turned around to look at Aleksandr and Jacey. "Mean mama locked me up."

"My boy, when is your time up?" Aleksandr shook his head. "Were you being mean to Ashtyn again?"

Jacey shook her head. "Two minutes left. He's being mean, he's told me no." She looked at the man. "Take a seat, dad. Or love on the little one with that cute pouty face."

"Hi." Ashtyn started grinning at Aleksandr before her bright teal eyes landed on Sariya. "Oh! Tee!"

"My loves," Sariya smiled as she gave everyone a hug before lifting up Ashtyn. "Ashtyn, I assume you put in the order for wings."

Jacey sat down before she looked over to her son. "Are you ready to change your attitude and join us at the table for dinner?"

"Yes mama please." Kol turned around again and moved to the blonde. "Please I'm hungry."

Happy cleared his throat, gaining his son's attention. "What do you say then? You have two people you need to talk to."

"I'm sorry for telling you no mama." Kol hugged the blonde before he pulled away to look at Ashtyn. "I don't wanna talk to her, I don't like her mama."

Jacey sighed. "Too bad, she's your sister. You have no valid reason to dislike her either. She never bothers you."

"She stole you from me." Kol groaned as he laid on Jacey's lap. "Send her back."

Jacey shook her head. "She didn't steal me. You share me, I'm your mother but I am hers and I am Camryn's mother. She's not going anywhere so you can either shape up or ship out."

"Kol, she's your baby sister. It's one of your responsibilities to always protect her and make sure no harm comes to her," Aleksandr nodded. "It's like you're in training like a baby suit. When I started, I got to be a suit to your aunt Bri. It was the most fun to see her grow up. Don't you want a happy little sister?"

Kol shook his head. "I don't want a little sister. I want to only have big sisters. Or brothers. Why can't I have brothers? Creed has them. I want brothers."

"You don't deserve brothers, Kol." Camryn cut her blue eyes to her younger brother. "You're being a mean brother to your sister, why should you get brothers? You'll just be mean to them too."

"No." Ashtyn shook her head as she looked at Jacey. "Nuff."

Jacey looked at her youngest child. "You listen to me too much but I agree. I've heard enough too. Kol, get to your seat and eat your dinner. Camryn, my love, finish your dinner. I'm so glad we chose tonight to have dinner with my parents."

"It's nothing," Aleksandr smiled at Jacey. "Brianna didn't want a little sister for the longest time either but look at her now. Obsessed with the both of you."

Happy shook his head slowly. "And here we were thinking we could hide our demonic kids for a bit longer." He winked at his wife. "It is fine, Jace, they're kids. They're bound to be opinionated about each other. We knew Kol had his mama's boy issues."

"It's common, he was the youngest for quite a while." Sariya smiled. "He will adjust and learn that Ashtyn is nothing but lovely cuddles and kisses. Also looks like she'll be a voice of reason when her siblings disagree. I like the way she said nuff."

"It's good, I enjoyed Camryn's use of logic and her glare." Aleksandr smiled. "She made a point though my boy. How are you going to want brothers when you still have to learn how to be a big brother? I have a brother, it's more competition for a moms attention than a sister is. Trust me. I got this scar on my nose because my brother got mad that I hugged our mom so he hit me with his bat."

Jacey nodded her head. "Ashtyn doesn't have time for arguing, she does it to Kol and Hap a lot. The blondie there doesn't have time for her brother's shit. They're demanding babies. Hi mom."

"Hello, I must say it's been a while since I've had some good wings." Sariya smiled. "I delivered triplets this morning, two boys and one girl. The brothers cried when I took their sister to weigh her. It was precious. Sisters aren't all bad. I've got a sister."

Jacey smirked as she shook her head. "My big sister is a mess but my baby sister is my love. She's a sweet little thing." She winked at Aleksandr. "If you're going to steal Ashtyn, at least make sure she eats an adequate amount."

"I'll make sure she's well fed," Aleksandr smiled. "Papa makes sure all the kids have full bellies. I want to take them all home with us. I need the cuddles."

"We had Javier the other night, he decided to tell us all of the security tech we have is no good but he can hook us up with the best." Sariya laughed. "The boy is a genius and I hope he continues to nurture that within himself."

Ashtyn started grinning at Aleksandr. "Bash."

"He knows who you are. Ashtyn. Not Bash, silly little thing." Jacey smirked as she nodded. "I love that boy. I'll tell ya what, since it's Thursday, take them for the night. School tomorrow but then they're yours."

Happy shook his head. "Not Ash though. She's gotta stay here. I gotta push buttons more."

"How about you guys keep your Papa for the rest of the week and the weekend?" Sariya smirked. "Just gotta feed him and make sure his suit is pressed. How does that sound Kol? You can even take him to school with you."

"I would love to go to school with my boy, and my girl over there." Aleksandr smiled. "I'm really good at monkey bars and art class. I've leveled up from finger painting to using the brushes, finally."

Jacey shrugged lazily. "I'm ok with that. The kids would love having him move in for the rest of the week. That sounds fun."

"Good, I need a break from him," She chuckled. "He's been driving me up the wall about coming over here and seeing the kids. He feels like he's imposing when he shows up unannounced. I said no that only applies to Brianna who lets herself in without any type of notice."

Jacey laughed and nodded her head slowly. "That's very true. Bri always picks bad times to come too. I love having you around and so does everyone else. Except maybe Igor and Frey, they stay up to no good."

"Frey and Igor are grounded from the armor right now," Aleksandr wiped his hands. "Idiots set off stink bombs."

Jacey pointed to her husband. "He set them up to it. They were having deep conversations about bombs last week. Blame him."

"Hey! I never said they should set anything off in the armory." Happy smirked as he pointed to Ashtyn. "She mentioned the armory so her grandfather would come here instead of work."

"I believe it," Aleksandr smiled at Ashtyn. "At least you're keeping Dmitri in line. That boy won't partake in any nonsense. It's quite endearing."

Sariya rolled her eyes. "It's because he doesn't want to be sent to a different assignment. He enjoys where he's at. Always has stories to share about the Lowman clan. I've seen the picture of Ashtyn wearing his suit jacket, I about died over it."

"Dmitri is her favorite suit," Aleksandr nodded. "Even likes him more than me." He faked a pout. "Ashtyn you love me more than Dmitri, right?"

Ashtyn looked at her grandfather, watching him for a moment before she reached for him. "Mine. Plea!"

"Ashtyn, my girl." Aleksandr picked her up. "I'm all better. You made me smile. I remember when Kol was your age, same with Camryn. I used to hide them in my suit jacket and try to walk out the house. The dog would rat me out."

Jacey started laughing. "He was a good dog. We keep saying we're going to go puppy shopping soon but we just get busy. She would love a puppy." She nodded. "How about you two let your baby sister choose our puppy this time? Her and papa?"

"No ugly ones!" Kol shook his head frantically.

Happy smirked. "He means small. No small dogs. He's a big dog kind of guy."

"I wouldn't dare pick out a small dog," Aleksandr shook his head. "Puppy shopping would be fun, huh Ashtyn? Do you know what sound a puppy makes?"

Ashtyn chomped her teeth together. "Woof! Woof!"

"Oh that was so good," He chuckled. "A smart one she is, just like her siblings. Now, is she going to be allergic to the dog since she's allergic to fur? Or is she just allergic to Bri's fur?"

Jacey looked at her mom. "You're the expert with her allergies. You tell me."

"A nice dog with hypoallergenic fur should be no issue with Ashtyn. I'm going to say her being so allergic to Bri's fur is more due to what type they are and how they are treated." Sariya nodded. "I've never met an animal with bright red fur, have you? We can do a small test with her. So when puppy shopping, you'll want a puppy with low fur and not a giant fluffy puppy. Like the Beagles at the Fortress. I say a pit bull, rottweiler or Doberman."

"Grrr!" Ashtyn growled like a bear at Aleksandr before she started giggling. "Gobble."

Jacey nodded her head. "Another pit then. Maybe another black one we can lose in the house like we did with Cato. Come to find out him and his mastermind, Cami, were hiding him on the furniture."

"Meow?" Aleksandr grinned. "Honk, honk. That's a goose not a car."

Ashtyn shook her head. "Ribbet, ribbet. Oink, oink."

"I guess Old McPapa had a farm, huh?" Jacey smirked at her mother. "What are you going to do with them?"

Sariya smiled. "I suppose I will take them to an actual farm so they realize they're city slickers." She chuckled. "When I was growing up, we had a goat named Yaba who sat on the sofa with us."

"Oh hell no." Happy shook his head. "No damn farm animals."

Ashtyn looked back at her father with a glare. "Neigh."

"You better watch that glare, shortstack." He shook his head. "Get your girl, Jace."

"You want to see my horse?" Sariya smiled at Ashtyn. "Your Papa surprised me with him, his name is Bolt." She held up her phone. "I'll take you riding one day soon."

"I bought her the horse because I pissed her off," Aleksandr shook his head. "I neglected to tell her that I enjoyed the cupcakes she baked and brought to work."

Jacey shook her head. "You're pitiful old man. Who buys a damn horse as a makeup gift?"

"She already has her dream home and dream car. She busted her butt to get the practice up and perfected with her daughter. She mentioned once that she wanted a horse and bam, got her one." He smiled and nodded. "It's hard to give a gift to a woman who already has the world. Part of me wanted to round up all of the grandchildren and drop them into bed to cuddle her."

Ashtyn reached for Sariya. "Hug. Hug. Hug. Hug."

"What do you say?" Jacey tapped on the table. "Hug, please."

Ashtyn sighed as she dropped her head onto Aleksandr's chest. "Plea, plea."

"Come here my girl," Sariya took Ashtyn. "Love hugs. I wish I could fit all three of you on my lap at once."

Jacey shook her head slowly as she pointed to the baby girl. "She's trying to go to sleep. You fed her, now she's ready for bed. You have to try to go potty first, little one. Potty in your bathroom, get in pajamas then you can snuggle."

"So you did start potty training?" Happy nodded his head. "Hopefully she's easy like Cami and not stubborn like her brother."

Ashtyn shook her head. "Busy, mama."

"No ma'am. You are not busy." Jacey shook her head slowly. "You're not sleepy enough yet."

"Do you want to show me your big girl bathroom?" Sariya smiled. "If you can potty like a big girl it means you can play in the treehouse with your twins."

Ashtyn started rubbing her eyes and hid her face. "No, no, no. Hug."

"Come on, mom. We'll go upstairs. Kol, help dad clean up then come up for your turn." Jacey stood up, leaning toward Camryn to kiss her face. "Come on, sweet girl. You can come help Ash or stay with your dad."

"I'll stay with papa." Camryn nodded her head. "Thank you for dinner."


AN: Helloooooo beautiful people! If I have anyone left still with me and the story, I thank you guys so much. I am sorry I have been absent. Life has been something else but here we are with another chapter. Full of sass, family and even odd visits from a desperate man. Let me know about your thoughts