Chapter 7
"Good morning, birthday girl."
"Good morning." Maggie hums, curling her arms around John's neck, his head falling to press against her neck, leaving feather light kisses along her jaw. "This is a nice way to wake up."
"I thought so." John hums in reply. "Don't tell the kids, you gotta act surprised when they come in, but they wanna surprise you this morning. I told them to wait for me to come and get them, give us a little while at least to celebrate by ourselves."
"I like the way you think, Mr Shelby." She replies, pulling his head down to hers, their lips colliding forcefully.
One hand holding James' hand, the other holding a big bunch of flowers, John shushes his children, nodding towards the door, motioning for them to go on ahead. Pushing the door open gently, Lottie leaps onto the bed, her older brother and sister following quickly after her, trying to hold back their excitement, but letting it break free as Maggie laughs, pulling the three of them into her arms.
"Happy birthday!" James shouts, John hoisting him up onto the bed with an arm around the waist, where Maggie was waiting, her arms already spread wide, ready to receive the little boy in her arms.
"Thank you!" She exclaims, smiling up at John who leans down to kiss her deeply; placing the flowers on the bedside table, John reaches behind his wife, pulling her pillows up to rest against the headboard, Maggie immediately shuffling backwards to rest against them. James still tucked in her arms, Maggie's eyes follow John as he rounds to his side of the bed, settling in beside her, the children all falling to sit or lay around them.
"Robert, why don't you get Maggie's presents?" Nodding, Robert shoots off the bed, gathering the carefully wrapped parcels into his arms, depositing them gently into the centre of the bed.
"What's all this?" Maggie gasps, her head whipping up to look at John who sends her a soft smile. "You didn't have to do all of this!"
"We wanted to." John states simply, nodding towards his children. "Didn't we kids? We wanted to say happy birthday Mags, and thank you for looking after us, eh?"
"Yeah!" Lottie exclaims, picking up one of the packages and thrusting it towards Maggie. "This one's from me!" Blowing the young girl a kiss, Maggie takes the gift from her, pulling the wrapping free carefully.
"Chocolate!" Giving Lottie a wide grin, Maggie leans forwards, rubbing her nose against hers in a gently Eskimo kiss. "My favourite!"
"Gonna share with me?" John teases, bumping his shoulder against Maggie's, his wife rolling her eyes playfully at him.
"No, daddy! It's Maggie's chocolate!" Lottie replies for her, Maggie and John bursting into laughter at her response, the former pulling the little girl into her arms.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, Lot." She whispers, letting her settle against her side. "And did you make this card for me?"
"All by myself!" Lottie replies, nodding frantically.
"Mine next!" Katie calls, holding out her gift. "Daddy helped me pick it."
"Ooh, new gloves! They're lovely!" Maggie coos, repeating the same action she had with Lottie, rubbing their noses together. "Thank you Kate." Blushing at her reply, Katie snuggles up to her father, Robert moving into her place to pass Maggie his gift.
"Happy birthday, Maggie." He says softly, giving her a small smile as she accepts the gift gratefully.
"A bauble." Maggie breathes out, holding the ornament carefully up in front of her. "Oh Robert, it's gorgeous!"
"Dad said we can get the tree today, it's your favourite colour, and look, it says Shelby!" Leaning towards Robert, Maggie watches his excited face aptly as he points out the details on the ornament. "For your first Christmas as a Shelby." Dropping back onto his heels, Robert pulls his lip between his teeth, glancing over at his father who nods, sending him a wink, signalling he had done a good job.
"Robert it's lovely, thank you." Maggie gushes, laying the bauble back into the tissue paper. "Can I give you a hug?" At Robert's nod, Maggie frees her arm from around Lottie, smiling as Robert leans forwards into her touch, returning her tight hug.
"And this one's from James." John offers up, handing Maggie the last package, running a hand over his sleepy son's head, then letting it drop to rest against the swell of her stomach, housing their baby. "You gonna help Mags open it?" John whispers in James' ear, the little boy reaching up eagerly to help Maggie pull the wrapping paper off.
"Jane Eyre!" Maggie breathes out, lifting the book free and running her finger over the spine.
"Open it!" James prompts, reaching his hand out over Maggie's to lift the cover of the book, Maggie letting out a teary laugh at the front page. Written in John's blocky handwriting was a note, signed by all five of them, the handwriting varying widely in sizes and formation; Dearest Maggie, Happy birthday my love. We are all so lucky to have you in our lives. All our love, John, Robert, Katie, Lottie and James x.
"Don't cry, Maggie!" Lottie exclaims, reaching up to catch the single tear falling from Maggie's eye, trailing down her cheek. "Oh no, daddy!"
"I think Mags is happy, love." John soothes his daughter, reaching around Maggie to run a hand over her head, Maggie nodding frantically in reply, too choked up to speak. "Why don't you kids run along and get breakfast, eh? Mags and I will be down in a minute." Flying at Maggie for a final hug and a kiss, all four children pile off the bed, racing out of the room and down the stairs to help themselves to the breakfast John had laid out earlier. "They are happy tears, right?" John clarifies, letting out a long breath at Maggie's nod, a chuckle breaking free as she flings her arms around his neck, John quickly pulling her to lay on top of him, cupping her head to his chest.
"You- That-" Shaking her head, Maggie buries her face in John's chest, clearing her throat before lifting her head once more to meet John's eye. "You didn't have to do all of that for me."
"Yes I did." John protests, cupping her cheeks and rubbing his thumbs across her cheekbones. "Happy birthday, darling."
"Thank you, John." Maggie breathes out against John's lips, sighing as he deepens the kiss, letting his hands wander across her body.
"There's one more thing-"
"No, John!" Maggie protests, groaning at the loss of his touch as he pushes her up to sit up, straddling his lap, her hands coming to rest on his stomach. "You don't need to give me anything else! That was plenty. Besides, I thought you had already given me my gift this morning?"
"One more thing." John repeats, reaching into the side table and pulling out a small velvet box. "Something you need."
"I have everything I need." Maggie tells him, shaking her head, shuffling along with John as he pushes himself to sit against the headboard again. Prying the box open, John keeps his eyes locked on Maggie's, his wife gasping at the gift, hands flying up to cover her mouth. "John..."
"I didn't think it was right that you didn't get a pretty ring when we got married. Bloody Tommy and Arthur. The idiots clearly didn't think of it."
"They're clearly not the romantic you are." She teases, cupping her hands around his neck, pulling him in for a deep kiss.
"Here." John mumbles as they pull apart; lifting the ring from the box, he slides the daisy shaped diamond ring onto her ring finger, fitting perfectly on top of her simple wedding band. "Thank God, it fits." He breathes out, dropping his head forward to rest against Maggie's, his wife lifting her hand to admire the ring.
"It's beautiful." She whispers, dropping her hand to his shoulders, pulling her body flush to his in a tight hug. "Thank you, Johnny."
"You're welcome." John says, lips brushing against her neck. "Look at this, eh?" He whispers, pulling his head back and running his fingers gently over Maggie's stomach. "Not gonna be able to hide it much longer."
"Maybe we should tell the children at Christmas? It's not too far away, but I quite like it being our little secret for now." Maggie suggests, dropping her hand to let it rest against John's as he nods, head resting back against her neck. "I think I'm falling in love with you." Maggie whispers suddenly, eyes fluttering closed as John stills beneath her, his lips pausing in their trail down her neck, his fingers stopping their journey along her bump.
"You think?" He chokes out, letting his hands drop to her hips, his own eyes dropping closed as he awaits her reply.
"Mhmm." She hums, running a hand through his hair.
"I know."
"What?" Maggie questions, cupping his head to pull it away from her neck, peering down at him.
"I know, that I'm in love with you." He states, reaching up to brush her hair behind her ear.
"John!" Maggie gasps, cupping his cheeks, wide grin spreading across her face. "You-"
"I fucking love you, Maggie Shelby." Letting out a giggle, Maggie winds her arms around John's neck, dropping her head to rest against his forehead.
"I fucking love you, John Shelby." She whispers in reply, giggling again at his stunned reaction, her head falling against his shoulder. "Fuck, it feels good to say that."
"It does." John agrees, running his hand along her spine. "This feels right, Mags. Even more so than...this feels different to when I was with Martha. Ya know? She was the love of my life for so long, she gave me those four amazing children, but we were so young. And you. You've just fit in with us, like you were our missing fucking piece. I didn't think I could fall in love again after Martha passed, and then I laid my eyes on you. My gorgeous, kind hearted, generous, loving, incredible wife, and I fall more and more in love with you every day that passes. Is that crazy?"
"No." Maggie whispers breathlessly, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks. "God, John. No. It makes perfect sense. You have to know I feel the same way. I have since day one. I just...I didn't want us to rush into something that didn't feel right, especially with our union being arranged and all, but, fuck, it's been such a short amount of time in reality and I already can't imagine my life without you. I can't picture my future without you and the kids. You're my whole world. You've filled my heart so completely and I had no idea, until I met you, that anyone could do that." Smiling softly down at John, Maggie reaches out to wipe the tear that was falling from his eye. "I love you, Johnny." She whispers against his lips, his grin widening at her words.
"I love you, Maggie." He repeats, pulling her close, Maggie leaning down to press her lips against his again in a deep kiss, both moaning simultaneously into each other's mouth.
"Can we stay like this all day?" John asks, dropping his head again to continue his previous path down her neck with delicate kisses, Maggie letting out a loud laugh at his question, throwing her head back in reply.
"I don't think so." She replies gently, pouting down at John, who grumbles under his breath. "Who knows what the kids would get up to!"
"True." John grumbles, pulling her close once more.
"And you said we could put the decorations up today!"
"I did..." he agrees, cupping her cheeks to pull her head down to his, their lips colliding once more. "Let's just stay like this until they start fussin', eh?"
"Sounds like a plan." Maggie replies, using her body weight to flip them over to lay on the bed again, John hovering over her. Cupping his head with the back of her head, Maggie drags John's lips back to hers, the pair enjoying each other's company for the short while the children were quiet.
The creaking of the bedroom door rouses Maggie from her light sleep, the baby having woken her earlier, and left her feeling rather restless. She had attempted to curl up in John's warm embrace once more, but having failed miserably, submitted herself to the fact that she would just have to try and doze lightly until the children awoke; which seemed to be now. Waving at her from the doorway were Lottie and James, the younger two Shelby's clearly having been sent to do the dirty work of waking their parents early on Christmas morning. Waving sleepily back to them, Maggie opens her arms out towards the pair, who spring into action, leaping, giggling, into their step mother's arms; sighing against their heads, Maggie breathes in their soapy scent, pressing kisses to their hair as they cling to her.
"Come here." She whispers, lifting them one at a time onto the bed, patting their bottoms gently to set them off in John's direction (who, she could tell by his breathing, had awoken too when his youngest had crept to their door, and was feigning sleep in order to not ruin their fun). Letting out a playful groan as his children jump on top of him, Maggie watches, grinning, as Robert and Katie burst into the room, having been alerted to their plan having succeeded, by their father's playful shouts. Pulling them up onto the bed too, John wraps his arms around his children, holding them all to his chest, playfully squashing them as he rolls onto his side, pretending to fall asleep again.
"Cor, think this bed has shrunk over night, Mags." The young father teases, pretending to ignore the delighted squeals of his children, reaching a hand out towards Maggie, who laces her fingers through his, rolling onto her side and pulling herself closer.
"You know what, I think it has..." She replies slowly, humming under her breath. "I wonder how that happened?"
"It's us, Maggie!" Lottie squeals, attempting to break free of her father's hold, poking her head up above her siblings to look over at her step mother who feigns shock.
"Did you- did you hear that, John? It sounded like the bed...spoke to me!"
"Bloody hell...it did!" John gasps, throwing a wink at Maggie as the volume of the shrieks intensify. Finally wiggling out of his father's hold, James lets out a triumphant yell, throwing himself into Maggie's arms, the young woman catching him easily and pulling him gently into her chest.
"It's a little James!" She exclaims with a giggle, cupping his cheeks and playfully turning his head from side to side. "The bed spat out a little James! He mustn't have been very tasty!"
"The bed didn't eat me!" James coos excitedly, letting out a series of loud giggles. "Daddy captured me!"
"No! Never!" Maggie gasps, pulling the little boy close again.
"And me!" Lottie exclaims, pushing out of John's arms and sliding into Maggie's, nudging her head into her neck. Gasping, Maggie pulls her close, tucking the little girl against her side.
"Oh, what a naughty daddy! Capturing his babies! I guess that means no presents for him." Maggie shrugs, dropping her head to the side to look over at John who continued to play along, widening his eyes in shock.
"What? That's not fair!" He squeals out, pulling his two oldest children closer to his chest, bending his head to smother them in kisses. "I'm the cuddle monster!" Reaching out to pull the youngest children back into his arms, he nods his head towards Maggie, motioning for her to join in; smiling up at him, Maggie hooks her arms around the children, joining him in placing gentle kisses over their heads as they squeal in delight again.
"No more, daddy! No more!" Lottie squeals eventually, pushing his head away. "I'm gonna wee wee!"
"Uh oh." John gasps playfully, wrapping an arm around Lottie's waist and dropping her carefully to the floor. "Off you go. Go on, quickly." He prompts, patting her gently on the bottom. Turning back to the giggling heap of children on his bed, he drops them all one by one to the floor with the instructions of finding their dressing gowns and slippers, and using the bathroom before they went downstairs to see if Father Christmas had arrived. With the bedroom now peacefully silent again, John reaches out to pull Maggie into his embrace. Letting his fingers dance softly over her jaw, he stops at her chin, tilting her head up to kiss her gently, his wife melting into his embrace, sliding her arms around his neck to pull him closer.
"Merry Christmas, darling." John breathes out against Maggie's lips, smiling as she hums in reply, capturing his lips in a series of lingering kisses.
"Merry Christmas, my love." She whispers, curling into his embrace as his hand finds her back, his fingers tracing a feather light trail along her spine. "We should probably get up, hmm?"
"Probably." John agrees, pressing his lips to her forehead. Cupping his cheeks to pull him in for another kiss, Maggie rests her head against John's for a moment longer before sliding out of bed, slipping on her gown and slippers. Holding her hand out to John, she smiles as he winds his finger through hers, allowing her to pull him out into the hallway where the two youngest Shelby's were sat at the stairs waiting for the rest of their family. James smiles up at Maggie as she approaches him, rising to stand before her, arms raised in a silent question, Maggie complying immediately, lifting the little boy into her arms, placing him on her hip and holding him close.
"I heard Father Christmas." James tells Maggie seriously as she carries him down the stairs, gasping at his statement, looking down at him with wide eyes. "Uh huh! And Rudolf! I heard the bells on his sleigh!"
"No way!" Maggie breathes out, dropping him carefully to the floor at the living room door. "Well let's go and see what he brought you!" Reaching around Maggie, John pushes the living room door open, smiling widely at the gasps and shrieks of excitement coming from his children, rushing into the room. Winding her arms around John's waist, Maggie rests against his chest, the couple hovering in the doorway, taking in the chaos ensuing around them with marching wide grins.
"Maggie, look! A dolls house!" Katie shrieks, jumping up and down frantically. Laughing warmly at the little girl's reaction, Maggie tilts her head to look up at John, waggling her eyes teasingly, remembering the way he had reluctantly been dragged through the market on countless occasions by Maggie to find the perfect house and furnishings.
"It's beautiful!" Maggie gasps in reply, moving to crouch beside her step-daughter, curling her arm around Lottie's waist to pull her closer. "And look! It says 'to Katie and Lottie'." Breathing in sharply at her comment, Lottie pitches forwards, carefully pulling open the front of the house.
"Katie, look! People!" Gathering the tiny wooden dolls into her arms, she drops them carefully onto the rug between herself and her sister, Katie reaching out to sort through them, spinning them in her hands to look them over carefully.
"This one looks like daddy! With his Peaky cap." Katie states, holding the doll up towards Maggie who settles onto the rug beside her, taking the doll in her hands.
"It does!" Maggie agrees, glancing back over her shoulder as John moves to perch on the edge of the sofa behind her, elbows resting on his knees, head hovering just beside hers. "What do the other dolls look like?"
"This one looks like you." Katie continues, lifting the next biggest doll, holding it up to Maggie's face. "It's got a long pretty skirt like yours, and curly brown hair. And this one is me! Look! And Robbie, and Jamie, and Lottie!" Gathering the dolls into her hands, she pushes them in Maggie's direction as she nods enthusiastically.
"And who's that?" Maggie prompts, motioning to the last doll left on the rug, the smallest by far, a tiny baby doll wrapped in a blanket.
"A baby." Lottie states in reply, picking up the doll and holding it out to Maggie who raises her eyebrows.
"A baby?" She repeats, humming. "I wonder why you've got dolls for for all of us, and a baby?"
"We don't have a baby." Katie replies, glancing up at John who raises his eyebrows, reaching out to spin the tiny doll between his fingers. "Do we?"
"No. We don't." He tells her, handing the doll back and wrapping his arm around Maggie's shoulders, pulling her back into his arms. "Not yet."
"Not yet?" Katie questions, peering up at John who smiles gently. "We're getting a baby?"
"A baby?" Lottie exclaims, bouncing up onto her knees, clapping her hands together. "We're getting a baby!"
"We're having a baby." John corrects gently, smiling as Maggie reaches her hand up to curl her fingers around his. "Maggie's having a baby."
"A baby!" Lottie shrieks, throwing her arms around Maggie's neck, jumping into her arms, her step-mother laughing as she curls her arms around the little girl, holding her close.
"No...way!" Katie breathes out, letting out an ear piercing shriek making John wince, turning his head away from the noise.
"Alright, love. Enough of that." He scolds gently, lifting his daughter into his arms. "I take it you're excited?"
"Yes!" Katie exclaims, wiggling in his arms, reaching out to clasp Maggie's cheeks in her palms. "Thank you, Maggie!" Laughing in response, Maggie puckers her lips for a kiss, Katie leaning forwards to press a big kiss on her cheek.
"Did you hear that, boys?" John calls over to his sons, who briefly raise their heads from the new toys they were playing with. "Mags is having a baby!"
"That's nice." Robert replies kindly, throwing Maggie a wide smile. "Can I play with my toys now, daddy?" Laughing at his son's response, John nods, pressing his lips to Maggie's temple.
"Jamie?"
"Yes?" James' head shoots up, glancing between Maggie and John with wide eyes. "Our baby?" He asks, having been listening in on the conversation, but being too enthralled in his own new gifts to pay too much attention to what was going on around him. "To keep?" He clarifies nonetheless, Maggie smiling warmly at his question, nodding in reply. "That's good." He states with a nod of his own. "Can I put my car in your dolls house?" He asks his sisters, jumping in shock as they both let out a shriek of protest, jumping towards their brother who was crawling towards their new house.
"That's mine!" Lottie squeals, throwing herself at her brother who lets out an angered squeal, attempting to push her away.
"Oh here we bloody go." John groans, pushing up from the sofa and calling out to his children to stop as Maggie leans back against the sofa with a giggle. "Can't have five minutes peace."