Before anybody freaks out, this chapter was supposed to be published before the other. I didn't realize what happened until this morning... So the last chapter didn't happen until after this one...

Chapter 33

Carlos POV:

I walked into the house, hanging my jacket up on one of the hooks by the door. I kicked off my boots and picked them up. I walked out of the foyer and down the hall to the master bedroom. My guns went in the safe before I set my belt on a high shelf in the closet.

Nico who was sitting on the floor let out an unintelligible screaming giggle when he saw me enter the living room. He pushed himself up off the ground and ran over to me. Steph looked up from where she sat at the dining room table with Julie. She smiled as Nico crawled over to me, and I picked him up. I gave him an eskimo kiss, causing him to giggle loudly.

I kissed his forehead and he smacked me on the chest, giggling. "Daddy!" Julie yelled as she ran into the living room. Steph smiled, standing and following her. I picked up Julie and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Hello hija, how was your day?" I asked in spanish.

"It was very good, papa! I had so much fun! Jenna and I got to sit together today in class," she responded back seamlessly.

"I'm glad," I told her, now speaking in English. "Now you better get back on your homework so you can go play."

Julie ran back into the dining room. Steph walked over and stood on her toes, kissing me softly, and wrapping her arms around Nico. She nuzzled into his neck and then blew into it, making him giggle. I grinned while watching them.

"I can't believe this. My wife is paying more attention to another man than she is to me," I exclaimed sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes. "The other man is your son." She glared at me without any malice. "Besides, he's much cuter and chubbier."

I rolled my eyes. "You're complaining because I have too much muscle?"

Her eyes roamed over me, and her eyes glazed over. "Trust me, I'll never complain about it."

"Babe, there's kids here."

She rolled her eyes again and walked back into the dining room. "Susan already brought dinner. Would you mind changing Nico before we eat?"

"Sure, Babe," I said, taking the baby from her arms. I leaned down and kissed her before carrying him to the nursery. I set him on the changing table, placing a hand on his stomach as I got out the diaper and wipes.

I cleaned him up quickly before disposing of the diaper in the Genie. He waved his hands in the air and babbled at me. At sixteen months old he wasn't talking yet, which made Steph rush him to the doctor. Once he assured her that it was common for a child being raised bilingual to have delays, she calmed down, and then apologized to Mama for not listening to her advice.

I carried him back out and delivered him to his highchair, strapping him in and putting a bib on him. Julie cleared her things from the table and helped Steph set it while I filled a sippy cup with apple juice for Nico. She settled into her chair across from Nico as I helped Steph bring the food in.

I sat back looking at Nico, Julie, and Steph. Steph caught me staring and smiled softly across the table.

After the kids were in bed, we settled on the couch, intertwined, and sipping wine and watching TV on a low volume. "Carlos."

"Hmm?"

"What do you think about trying for another baby?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You really want to?"

"I do. I want to try at least. I know I'm getting older..."

"You're thirty-five," I broke in.

"I would at least like to try to have the experience again."

"If it was up to me, we would have a hoard of kids," I smiled, trying to lighten her mood. "Following us around like little ducks. But then again, I like seeing you pregnant."

She laughed, the dark look on her face disappearing. She leaned into me and laughed again. "I'm just picturing a bunch of little kids dressed up like little commandos in full black riot gear following you around in a line."

I rolled my eyes. "You're horrible," I told her. She smiled up at me and I kissed her.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Babe."

XXXXXX

Steph POV:

I sat in my office with the door open. There was a knock and I looked up to see Elena in the door. I smiled and waved her in.

"What's up?"

"I brought you the reports you wanted."

"Thank you." I smiled.

"So..." she said, setting them in my inbox. She settled into one of the guest chairs. "Are you and Carlos trying for another baby?"

"How the hell did you know that?"

"You've got that look." She motioned to me. I set my pen down and looked at her.

"That look?"

"Baby fever look." She grinned.

I laughed. "I do not."

"Oh, yes you do! Every time you talk about one of the kids your eyes go all big and sappy. When you see anything baby related, you coo. You've got the fever." She tapped her manicured nail on my desk to accentuate her point. "So, you're trying again."

"We are, but you can't tell anyone. We want to make it past the first trimester before we tell anyone. The same we did with Nico." I sighed.

"What're you hoping for?" She asked.

"I would love another little girl. As long as it's healthy though, either way. I've raised both a boy and a girl."

"I know how you feel. Tank is talking about having more but I haven't made my mind up just yet."

I nodded. "Two is a good number," I said. "Only you know how many you can handle. Don't let anyone guilt trip you into having more than you want to. Motherhood is a gift; it shouldn't feel like a chore."

She nodded. "I know. I think I want to wait until Lyla's a little older."

"I can understand that. I couldn't imagine having kids too close in age to each other."

She sighed. "The troubles of motherhood."

I laughed. "True."

"Anyway, let me know if you need anything."

"I will, thank you."

"Oh, Lucia wants to go out to lunch tomorrow," she said as she stood.

"Sounds like fun. I don't have anything planned. Where does she want to go?"

"The little Cuban restaurant in Little Havana."

"Maria's?"

"Yes."

"Mmm, her empanadas are almost as good as Abuelita Rosa's."

Elena moaned. "Nobody cooks as good as that woman."

"She's magical in the kitchen," I said.

"A saint."

I laughed softly. "Alright, alright, we need to stop before we have a foodgasm."

She laughed walking to the door. "You're horrible."

"See you later."

"Later!" she called over her shoulder, as she walked down the hall.

XXXXXX

Carlos was waiting outside the door as I took the test, I had refused to allow him in the bathroom as I peed on the stick. My period was a week late, and I was having worse symptoms than when I was pregnant with Nico.

I set the test on the counter and flushed the toilet. I walked out and joined Carlos to wait. He set a three-minute timer and wrapped his arms around me. He rested his cheek on the top of my head as I held onto him.

"Are you ready for another baby?" I asked him.

"We have nine months to get ready," he chuckled.

The timer on his watch went off, and we went into the bathroom. We both looked down at the test. Carlos's eyes met mine and he grinned.

"Looks like we have a few months to get used to the idea."

"You and your super sperm," I told him. "I only stopped the pill a month ago."

He chuckled and kissed me, claiming my lips in a passionate kiss. "I love you, Babe."

"I love you, too, Carlos."

XXXXXX

At the doctor's office, Carlos held my hand as she inserted the wand. She watched the screen, before pausing it and taking a few pictures.

"Here are you Babies." She smiled proudly.

"Babies?" Carlos asked. "As in plural?"

"Yes, you're having twins." She smiled brightly.

I watched as Carlos's eyes crossed and he hit the floor. "Did he just faint?" I asked the doctor. She peered over my leg and looked down at my husband sprawled across the floor.

"Looks like it," she said, before calling for a nurse.

After a few moments Carlos came to. The nurse helped him stand and then sit in the chair. "Twins... What're we going to do with twins?"

"Well, we're going to have twins whether we know what to do or not." I said simply.

Then he smiled. "Twins. Two for one, a two for one special."

"Carlos, they're babies, not a deal at the gun store," I exclaimed. He chuckled. I held out my hand and he took it, kissing the back of it. I smiled at him.

"You know that's romantic and all, but I need my clothes." I smirked, and he laughed.

"You're something else, Babe."

"That's why you married me." I grinned.

XXXXXX

Carlos POV:

I sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair, holding Steph's hand as she slept. She had been a real trooper, going all natural again during this birth. The twins were both positioned right, keeping her from needing a c-section.

The twins were in separate bassinets. One boy, one girl. Our little boy was a perfect mixture of us both, His skin in between ours, brown hair already curling, cute button nose, and blue eyes like his mother.

Our girl, she was a mini-Steph. From the pictures I had seen of her as a baby, it was like seeing her in person. Curly brown hair, crystal clear blue eyes, her nose with a slight turn up, the same face shape.

Both babies were perfect, not that I expected any less. I knew Steph and the babies were worn out from the birth, but I was wired.

I couldn't believe how much our family had grown in the past five years, how much our life had changed. I had never pictured myself as a father, with four kids, a big house, two dogs, and a successful company running it with my best friends.

In the morning, Nico and Julie would be coming in with my mother and father to visit the babies and Steph. The doctors wanted to keep them babies a few extra days longer to make sure there were no complications. Steph stirred and opened her eyes, peering at me.

"They'll be waking up soon."

I smirked and traced my thumb over the back of her hand. "You're such a good mother, Babe. Have I told you that lately?"

"All of the time." She smiled softly. "You're a good father, Carlos. You always make time for me and the kids."

"You're my life," I said simply.

"Saying things like that makes me hormonal," she told me. I grinned and leaned forward kissing her softly.

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