Chapter 29.
Ana
Ana woke the next morning smiling as she thought about the night before. Her smile quickly dropped as she reached over to find that Christian was not beside her. She grumbled as she climbed out of bed and cleaned herself up before glamouring on a pair of denim shorts and a white vest top and white wedged sandals, not wanting to waste any more time without her husband and children.
She shimmered downstairs after going into the twin's room to see that they too were no longer in bed. As she appeared in the front room she could hear her babies before she saw them, they were sat at the table outside with Christian.
She just stood for a few minutes and watched them giggling with fists full of pancakes trying to feed their daddy the soggy food and laughing every time he turned his head with an exaggerated look of disgust. She could stand and watch Christian with their babies all day and never get bored. He was such an incredible father, and the love he had for not just her but their children shone from his eyes whenever he looked at them.
She was lost in her little family when she felt someone coming towards her from behind. "Are you ok sweetheart?" She turned to see her dad smiling softly at her children.
"Yeah Dad, I'm really good, I just love to watch them sometimes. Can you believe everything that's happened in such a short space of time? I sometimes feel like this is all a dream and that eventually, I will wake up back in my apartment alone. I hate that thought, I couldn't imagine going back to the life I had before Christian."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "You never need to worry about that sweetheart, everything that has happened is real, and that man outside with your babies is here with you forever. Now come and have your breakfast so that we can get everyone ready to leave. Your mom and Huldah have not stopped talking about Vegas. How they have both been alive so long and never been to Vegas is beyond me, especially considering how excited they are to go there now." He laughed and grabbed her hand pulling her towards the table and her family.
Christian turned to her with the most beautiful smile and took her hand from her father's pulling her onto his lap. "Your father is right beautiful, I am here with you forever." He kissed her softly, she groaned when he pulled away hating that the kiss ended so quickly.
"As much as I would like to continue this kiss kitten we are surrounded by our family, and you have two little ones desperate to get your attention." He gave her another quick kiss before she turned to see her babies thrusting their sticky pancake-filled hands. She leaned forward and pretended to take a bite much to their delight.
She stood and leaned forward kissing each of her children's heads then took the seat next to Christian who had already filled her plate with her favorite things. "Eat, beautiful we have a big day ahead of us." She smiled and made a show of taking a big bite of food, "good girl" he winked at her and squeezed her hand before digging into the mountain of food on his own plate.
Everyone was eating and talking about their plans when Huldah and Carla came running into the room "Come on guys, hurry up and eat, we want to get going. Christian, did you book the hotel? Please, please, tell me it's somewhere fancy."
Beal stood holding his son and walked over to Huldah pulling her in for a quick kiss. "Calm down my love, everything has been organized we are all staying at the Waldorf Astoria my..." Beal never got to finish his sentence because Huldah's scream stopped him from saying any more.
Her scream also gave her son a little fright as he was now crying. "Oh baby boy I am so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Mommy just got excited because daddy and Uncle Chris have given mommy the best surprise ever." Everyone watched as Huldah walked over to her seat cooing at her baby in a soft voice calming him almost instantly.
Once everyone had finished eating the villa quickly became chaotic as everyone tried to get everything ready and organized, which considering how many people there were, and how many children seemed like it was going to be impossible to do.
They had to actually pack things this time as it would look strange to turn up at a hotel with no bags, which made this all that much harder and much more stressful. Huldah had also expressed her wishes of making this vacation as human as possible, so Christian had one of his private planes flown over so that they could all fly from Italy to Vegas, because according to Huldah 'the vacation starts at the airport'.
The front room was filled with suitcases as everyone shimmered in and out of the room as the children all sat outside playing with Huldah watching over them and feeding Liam. Ana was just checking that they had everything that they needed. She hadn't realized until now how dependant she had become on magic, it just made everything so much easier, but this was Huldah's wishes and she would do anything for her just to make her smile. She was always making everyone else happy, so doing things the human way was the least they could all do.
Ana was pulled from her thoughts by the grumbling of Christian as he shimmered in with the last suitcase. "This would be so much easier if we could just glamour things, why do we have to do things this way when we have magic?"
"Christian, we need the suitcases because it will look strange at the hotel if we don't have them, and I don't fancy spending our vacation altering people's memories so that we can use magic. Also, this vacation is for Huldah and Beal and Huldah has told us that she wants this to be as human an experience as possible. So quit moaning and suck it up we are doing this the human way whether you like it or not."
She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss and couldn't help but to laugh at his growl of disapproval as she stepped away from him to check that the twins were clean and ready to leave.
"Come on honey we need to get our babies ready to leave, the sooner we leave the sooner I can be laying by the pool in a skimpy bikini with a cocktail in my hand." She winked at him and laughed then squealed and ran when he growled and lunged forward to grab her around the waist and swat her backside leaving a delicious sting that turned her squeal into a moan of pleasure.
"Do not tease me, wife of mine, there will be no skimpy bikinis when you are lying by the pool. I will not have anyone else staring at your delectable body wishing you were theirs." She loved possessive Christian but sometimes he could be very unreasonable.
She rolled her eyes and pulled out of his arms a little to look up at him. "hmm hmm whatever you say, dear husband." She was laughing again as she walked away from him to get the twins.
Ten minutes later everyone was piling into the fleet of cars waiting outside for them all the cases had already been loaded into the cars and now everyone else was seated comfortably and on their way to the airport. She was sat listening to the excited chatter from the twins about going on a plane for the first time and their excitement was infectious.
They arrived at the airport a little while later and all the cars pulled up next to a massive luxurious plane. She had to admit being here at the airport the excitement she had been feeling watching the twins in the car had grown. Huldah was right the vacation truly did start at the airport.
The children all jumped out of the cars and ran towards the plane laughing and screaming about how cool the plane was. Christian walked up behind her and grabbed her hand. "Come on beautiful let me show you around the plane, I thought this would be the best one to use considering how many there are of us and given how long the flight will be."
She smiled up at him then followed him onto the plane as his brothers all loaded the luggage onto the pain she tried now to laugh at their frustrated expressions knowing that they would be hating not being able to use magic.
They walked onto the plane and Ana sucked in a shocked breath at what she was looking at. The plane that was the same size as a commercial plane looked like a home. It had U-shaped sofas on either side with long wooden tables in front lined with all kinds of drinks and snacks. She smiled as she watched the children climbing onto the sofas and grabbing handfuls of popcorns and chips not caring that they were dropping them everywhere, and to be honest Ana didn't care either, they looked so happy and excited and that made them mess worth it.
Christian led her through the plane and past huge gorgeous leather chairs and that surrounded large square tables, the amount of space behind the chairs left Ana thinking that they probably reclined. One look up at Christian and he confirmed what she was thinking.
"This is the biggest plane I own and it only has two bedrooms, so I figured that the children could sleep in the bedrooms and the adults can all sleep out here. The sofas pull out into beds and the chairs are comfortable enough when they are reclined to sleep in." He seemed so unsure and worried about if she was happy with it.
"I think it's perfect baby, thank you." He kissed her and all she wanted to do at that moment was strip his clothes off and taste every inch of his incredible body.
"Come on beautiful there will be plenty of time for what you want when we arrive in Vegas, for now, let me show you around the plane." He pulled her through some doors and into a small hallway with two doors. He opened a door to a small but stunning double room with a large bed in the middle. The room next to it was almost identical but a little larger and it had its own en-suite.
"I'm guessing this is that master bedroom" Christian had his arms wrapped around her waist and was kissing her neck. She rolled her head back and moaned with the pleasure of what he was doing.
"Come on beautiful, I need to get you away from this room before I lose my patience and just throw you on the bed." She wanted him to do what he had just said he wanted to do however the pilot had other ideas, as he was now announcing over the intercom that they all had to take their seats and buckle themselves in.
She groaned in protest making Christian laugh at her frustration, they walked back into the seating area to see all the adults buckling the children into the seats. Once everyone was sat down the plane took off and Ana's usual nerves of being on a plane hit her and she closed her eyes and gripped the armrests, it was always the taking of that she hated.
Once the plane leveled out she released her grip and opened her eyes to find every adult on the plane staring at her in disbelief. "What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Ana, you do realize you have wings right? Why are you terrified of a fucking plane? You're one of the most, if not the most powerful beings in the world and you look like you want to cry from fear of the plane taking off." Beal looked like he was desperately trying to stop himself from laughing but she could hear the laughter in his voice.
"Look I haven't been who I am for very long and this is my first time on a plane since all of this happened. I have a fear of flying, I always have, so it's hard to break old behaviors and I forgot who I was." She had to admit she was feeling a little stupid now that she remembered who she was and what she was capable of and she could feel the blush creep up her cheeks.
Beal burst into fits of laughter and when she looked around she could see everyone else fighting the urge to do the same. She couldn't stop herself smiling knowing how ridiculous she must have looked to everyone, and now that the embarrassment had gone she could see the funny side.
Christian squeezed her hand and lifted it to his lips to give it a soft kiss.
"Are you ok kitten?" She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just hate taking off in planes, and I'm feeling a little silly now." She laughed a little as Christian handed her a glass of champagne which she took a big drink of without hesitation. "Thanks, I really needed that."
As soon as the seatbelt light went off Ana was up and over to the children to get them comfortable on the sofa with the other children while Izzy put on a movie for them and Elliot grabbed some more snacks for them. The children all whispered and giggled excitedly amongst each other and the adults all went to sit on the other sofa and chairs.
After a few hours of talking and laughing and making their plans for when they arrived, it started to get late and the children had all started to get cranky and tired so they settled them all in bed.
Once they were sound asleep everyone went back into the main part of the plane, Ana snuggled in next to Christian and noticed him watching Huldah, Beal, and baby Liam. "Are you ok baby?" Christian pulled looked down at her longingly.
"We said we would talk about having another baby once everything had finished. I want another one, we never got to enjoy the twins as babies and I just feel like we missed so much. Look at Liam and Ella we never had that for very long, they grew so quick and I know that any child we have will grow faster than most but we will still have longer than we did with the twins. I just think that we should think about it."
He then looked at Pythia with Zeus who was rubbing her growing bump lovingly. "I also miss you looking like that, I hate that we don't get as long as Huldah did or as humans do with you being pregnant but it looks like the more power you have the faster the pregnancy goes." He looked really unhappy about that and she had to admit as much as she hated being so big she also hated the fact that she didn't get to bond with her babies in her belly for very long.
Christian shrugged his shoulder and kissed the top of her head, he sounded so unsure of himself but so determined that he wanted this more than anything, and if she was honest she had been thinking about it a lot more lately as well. She watched Izzy with Ella and Huldah with Liam and she suddenly found herself with butterflies in her stomach feeling excited.
"Let's do it, after the wedding, we should do it. I don't want to take anything away from Huldah and Beal's wedding and I don't want to be feeling sick at the wedding but once it's over and we are back home we should definitely do it."
Christian looked like he was going to burst with excitement as he pulled her out of her seat and onto his lap and kissed her like he wanted to make a baby right there and then. "I love you so much, thank you, baby, thank you for giving me everything I never knew I wanted and now I couldn't live without."
She smiled and kissed him again when Huldah handed Liam to Beal and Pythia stood and walked over to them. Huldah plopped herself down in the chair opposite and Pythia took the one next to her. They both just sat staring at her and Christian smiling.
"You guys ok?" Ana was so confused as to why they were being so weird.
"We're good, just wondering why you guys are going to wait and not make another baby now." Ana choked on the drink of champagne she had just taken a drink of and Christian laughed and rubbed her back gently.
"Ana, why are you shocked? you know Pythia is an oracle and Huldah is a seer of course they would know the second we were to plan on having another baby. Our children will make a huge impact on the world so it stands to reason the second something that big would be planned that they would both see it." He was laughing as both Pythia and Huldah sat smiling and nodding their heads.
"I never really thought about that, to be honest, but it does make sense, and in answer to your question Huldah we are waiting because I don't want to have morning sickness at your wedding and I would really like to enjoy a few cocktails by the pool. Also, how do we explain me showing up not pregnant and leaving heavily pregnant? It just makes sense to wait, and besides all that I don't want to take any of the shine of your time."
"You won't, oh it will be so exciting and the men can deal with what people see, it would be so much fun and all our babies can grow up together please." Ana looked at Christian for support but the second she did she realized he would be of no help as he clearly agreed with Huldah.
"It's not happening; I want to enjoy myself in Vegas so we are waiting, but I will compromise and we can do it the night before we leave. Christian if you even think about tricking me I am sure the next pregnancy I will be strong enough to not need your essence as much if at all and I will put you on a sex ban." Christian held up his hands like he wouldn't dream of such a thing, she however knew better, she rolled her eyes and looked back at Huldah.
"Huldah, remember honey, I was pregnant for less than a week with the twins so our babies will still grow up together, so you don't have to worry about that."
"Ok fine, but I still think you should do it straight away." She folded her arms and sulked but looked utterly adorable, which drew the attention of her soon-to-be husband. He smiled and walked over picking her up and sitting back down with her on his lap because apparently, these men had a thing for having their women on their laps instead of just next to them.
Christian had obviously heard what she was thinking because he whispered in her ear "We like having our arms filled with our sexy as sin women."
Ana blushed and melted into him as Beal reached over and actually high-fived Christian, followed by a "Well said, brother." At the moment Zeus came over and gently did the same with Pythia, his hand joined hers on her stomach and he kissed her neck and hummed with pleasure.
Ana smiled seeing all the women melt into their men, there was so much love surrounding her it warmed her heart, but when she looked at Artemis and Benji her heart sank a little. They would keep stealing glances at each other and looking around at all the loved-up couples surrounding them and the sad looks on both their faces were heartbreaking.
Ana excused herself and went to sit with Artemis. "Hey, are you ok?" She looked up at her and smiled but the smile never touched her eyes as she looked back over to Benji. Ana sat next to her and grabbed her hand catching her attention.
"Can I ask you something Artemis?" she never looked away from Benji as she nodded her head. "What is it that is stopping you from giving in to your obvious feelings for my brother?"
She turned in her seat to look at Ana as she spoke. "I made a vow of chastity so long ago; I'm scared to let it go. What if I give into my feelings for Benji and it doesn't work out? I don't know how to handle that kind of pain."
"I understand why you would be scared, I really do, but what if it does work out? What if you get everything you have spent your life watching others achieve? I see you looking at the other couples. I know you want that for yourself. Would you tell others to never take a chance on love? or would you encourage them to follow their feelings?"
"I would always encourage people to take a chance on love." Ana gave her hand a little squeeze.
"Then ask yourself why you are not taking your own advice, I know I am biased as Benji is my brother but he is wonderful, and I can see how much he feels for you. Why would you not want to give yourself the chance to be loved the way I know he will love you." She could see the tears pooling in Artemis's eyes and it broke her heart but she had to try and get through to her or she was going to possibly miss out on someone who could be the love of her life.
"Artemis, when I met Christian I think I fell for him the second my eyes met his, and I was terrified of my feelings. I was terrified that I was going to get my heart broken because at first, I couldn't believe that a man like him could ever love someone like me. Then when I found out I was pregnant, I remember feeling even more afraid because no way could he feel for me how I felt for him, and here I was pregnant with someone who was essentially a total stranger." Artemis took a shaky breath but nodded for her to continue.
"My point is Artemis, love is terrifying taking a chance on love is even scarier, but it's worth it. Look around this plane, all of the people that you see have taken a chance on love and look at them. Look at the babies in the cribs and think of all the children asleep in the other rooms; they are all a product of the love everyone despite their fears took a chance on. Benji is willing to take a chance on the love he has for you, think about fighting the fear inside you and give your love for him a chance, look around you at what you can have. It's worth it, I promise."
"What if it doesn't work out? I would lose all of you, anytime I would be around you all it would be uncomfortable." The tears that were in her eyes had spilled over and were running down her cheeks.
"You will never, ever lose any of us no matter what, and we would never allow things to e uncomfortable. You will never know what will happen if you don't be brave and give things a chance. None of us knew if things would work, but we all gave things a chance. Huldah was in the same situation as you. She is my family and Beal is Christians, she would have faced the same situation had it not worked out, and right now we are on our way to their wedding, and they have just welcomed a beautiful boy into the world. You could have everything you ever dreamed of if you just be brave and give it a chance."
Artemis nodded her head and looked at Benji as the tears continued, Ana smiled as she watched her brother look at Artemis and stand up and begin to walk over to them. Ana turned to Artemis asking with her eyes if she wanted to be alone with him and Artemis nodded so Ana stood and walked away.
As she passed Benji she grabbed his arm and spoke quietly. "Be careful with her heart, she is scared, but give her time, do not rush her." He leaned down and gave her cheek a quick kiss before walking over to Artemis.
She sat back on Christian's lap and snuggled in his arms. She smiled softly and had to kick Huldah gently under the table to stop her squealing as they watched Benji wipe Artemis tears away and lean in to softly kiss her lips, something Artemis seemed to welcome as she threaded her fingers into his hair and deepened the kiss.
She turned her head not wanting to impose and as she looked around the plane she saw everyone else watching them with a mixture of shock and excitement. She used her magic to speak to everyone openly staring at the new couple. "Quit staring and come up to this end, give them some privacy" She watched with amusement as everyone jumped a little, then stand and walk over to the seats near her sulking a little.
She laughed a little and decided cocktails would be perfect to take the attention away from Artemis and Benji, the excitement was clear as the cocktails appeared in front of everyone. Huldah lifted her glass. "Here's to an amazing vacation, and here's to love." Everyone cheered and lifted their glasses but their eyes turned to Artemis and Benji who were lost in their own little bubble, giggling and kissing.
It was so beautiful to watch them and yes she knew that she shouldn't be watching them but to see Artemis finally give in to her feelings and for them to both get what they have wanted for what felt like so long it was hard to look away. This was definitely the perfect way to start this vacation.