It's been a while loves. Sorry about that. I will finish this story, promise! Two more chapters left...
Time for a little visit from James Dawson. I don't think Hanna or Caleb are ready for what a teenager brings with them. Enjoy below...
If This is Teenagehood
"Thank God we're home," Hanna muttered to herself as she unlocked the door to their home just after the day from hell. They'd left Antigua after two weeks of pure bliss early that morning, but their flight had been delayed for 6 hours which had left her and Caleb with the almost impossible task of keeping three children happy and entertained until they could finally board the plane. There'd been a set of tears from everyone, but right now her two over-tired daughters were screaming their heads off and testing her and Caleb's patience as they unloaded from their car.
"I'm gonna take her straight upstairs," Caleb called over the wails of the baby girl cradled in his arms. Everly had hardly slept for the last leg of the journey and she was letting everyone know just how unhappy she was about that.
"Sure," Hanna sighed, heading back to the car where Mila was whimpering in her car seat next to a half-asleep Logan. "Logi," She whispered, leaning over to gently wake him, "We're home," She added, sending him a reassuring smile as he came round. She unbuckled Mila, pulling her into her arms before she made sure Logan got down okay, "Let's go to bed," She told them both, shutting the car door and taking Logan's hand in hers as she guided them up the stairs.
"I'm tired Mommy," Logan muttered, rubbing at his eyes with his fist.
"You can sleep in just a minute," She replied, trying not to cringe as they walked past Everly's nursery where she could hear her still crying. "Get in bed Lo," She instructed him, opening up his bedroom door, "I'll be right back after tucking Mila in," She promised, infinitely grateful in that moment that her and Caleb had changed all of them into their pajamas on the flight.
She opened the door to her little girl's pink palace and crossed the room to her white toddler bed, smiling as she caught sight of her passed out against her shoulder in the mirror. It seemed like everyone went back to normal as soon as they were home.
She pulled the covers back and lowered her down onto the bed, tucking her in and pressing a sweet kiss against her hair before she quietly made her way out and headed straight back to Logan. She caught him fighting to keep his eyes open as he waited for her, so she made quick work of checking his nightlight was on before sitting down on his bed as he opened his sweet mouth, "When can we get George Mommy?" He asked as she stroked her fingers through his hair.
"Tomorrow," She promised quietly, leaning down to press a gentle kiss against his forehead, "Aunty Emmy wants to say goodbye to him tonight."
"Okay," He sighed as his body succumbed even further to the tiredness.
"I love you," Hanna whispered, giving his tanned cheek one final stroke before she left him to sleep and made her way back out to the car to try and haul their luggage in. She got as far as two suitcases before Caleb appeared, a look of exasperation on his face.
"Why don't they just sleep when they're overtired?" He asked, shaking his head as he grabbed one of the two remaining suitcases.
"Because they're babies and can't figure out how their bodies work?" Hanna muttered sarcastically as she moved round to the front to grab her handbag. "I need a glass of wine."
Caleb didn't say anything, just pulled the final piece of luggage out and dragged them up to the house. Hanna locked up the car and followed him in, taking one of the cases down to the laundry room before she stopped in the kitchen and reached for two wine glasses. "Babe?" She called, wondering where Caleb had disappeared to.
"I'm here," He appeared in sweatpants and a fresh t-shirt.
"Do you want some?" She held up the bottle of red wine she was about to pour from.
"Sure," He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island and began to check through his phone. "My Mom's tried to call me," He muttered as Hanna placed a glass down in front of him.
"She knew we were flying today," Hanna frowned, running a hand across his shoulders. "When did she call?"
"Three hours ago," He said, standing up and heading towards the sofa. "She hasn't messaged," He shrugged, throwing his phone down, "Probably thought we'd already landed."
"Call her tomorrow," She suggested quietly, following and folding her legs underneath her as she cuddled up next to him and took a sip of her wine.
"I will," He agreed, playing with the stem of his glass as they settled into a comfortable silence, just enjoying everything that was home. Their holiday had been amazing and they'd made so many memories as a family that they never wanted to forget, but there was something about the house and the life that they'd built in Rosewood that could never be beaten.
Hanna sighed contently before she tried to fight a yawn, "This wine's making me sleepy," She said quietly, placing her half empty glass down on the coffee table.
"We can go to bed," He murmured, tangling his fingers in her hair as she leant against his chest.
She nodded, pressing a kiss against his chest before she found the energy to stand up to take their glasses to the kitchen; the washing up could wait until the morning. She was just about to turn off the kitchen light when Caleb's phone started vibrating and ringing, "It's my Mom," He looked back and told her, "If she's calling again it's probably important," He said more to himself from Hanna before he wasted no time in answering the call. "Hey."
"Caleb," Claudia sounded relieved, "Thank god you picked up."
"What's going on?" He stifled a yawn himself.
"Did I wake you?" Claudia frowned, glancing at the clock on her study wall.
"No, no," Caleb shook his head, running a hand down his face "We just got back from the airport."
"God, of course," Claudia berated herself, "Did you guys have a nice time?"
"Yeah," He murmured, "I'll tell you all about it once we've had some sleep. What's up?" He probed again, unwilling to sit through the small talk when he just wanted to go to bed.
"James has done something stupid..."
"Like what?"
"You know he's having a hard time whilst his Dad's not been around for the past month."
"I know," Caleb agreed – he did; his little brother wasn't exactly quiet about how unhappy he was.
"Well he's booked a flight."
"To where?"
"To Philly…"
"Mom."
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" He threw his head back against the sofa.
"He wants to come and spend time with you," Claudia tried, "And to be honest, getting out of California will be good for him."
"Mom, we have literally just got home."
"I know sweetheart," She sighed, holding a hand to her head as her brow furrowed just like her son's did when he was stressed. "He's adamant about coming to see you and Hanna and the kids."
Caleb glanced up at Hanna who was still stood by his side and sending him a confused look. What's up she mouthed, shaking her head.
He moved the phone away from his ear, "James has booked a flight to Philly," He muttered, "Tomorrow."
"Why?" She asked, running a tired hand through her hair.
"Mom, can you hold on one minute?" Caleb spoke down the phone before holding it further away. "I guess to get away from Cali," He said to Hanna, "He's been having a tough time since Will's moved out temporarily."
"I guess there's nothing we can do," Hanna shrugged as she spoke quietly. "If he's getting on a plane, we have to pick him up."
"Just not tomorrow," Caleb shook his head disbelievingly.
Hanna reached out to stroke his arm, sending him a tired smile before she leaned up to give him a gentle kiss, "We'll make it work," Were her final words, before she left him to go to bed as he worked out logistics with his Mom.
The next day Caleb found himself hauling his body out of bed to the sound of his alarm. It wasn't often that him and Hanna weren't woken up by one of their kids climbing into bed, or Everly babbling over her monitor, but he guessed they were as knocked out as him after the flight.
Hanna stirred as he moved, shuffling closer to him and resting her head on his pillow as she searched for his warmth. He couldn't help but pause and press a gentle kiss to her forehead before he padded over to the bathroom to have a quick shower and get ready to drive back to Philadelphia airport to pick up a moody teenager.
He couldn't believe his brother had just booked a flight without so much as a conversation first. He should have taken it as a compliment really… that their relationship was in such a great place that James felt he could come to him whenever things got tough, but he also just wanted to have some relative normalcy after their holiday.
When he walked back out into their bedroom, Hanna was still snoozing but she'd been joined by Mila who'd clearly reached for the iPad that had been on the side to keep herself entertained, "Daddy," She called excitedly as she saw him, ditching the tablet and reaching for him.
"Hey bug," He murmured quietly, heading over to give her a snuggle, "You're not tired anymore?"
"Nuh uh," She shook her head, clinging onto his shoulders as he picked her up, "I sleep for a long time."
"You did," He agreed, cupping her cheek as she rested her head on his naked shoulder. "Guess what," He whispered as they headed into his and Hanna's closet. "Uncle James is coming to visit," He told her, propping her on the floor so that he could rifle through the drawers for a t-shirt.
"No," She frowned, reaching for him.
"One minute," He promised her quietly, quickly pulling on the first thing he found, "Are you gonna come with me to pick up Uncle James?" He asked, grabbing a pair of dark jeans and socks before he picked her up again as she nodded up at him, "You are?" He smiled, kissing her cheek as he headed down to her room.
"I go wiv you," She agreed, letting him pull her pajamas off and dress her for the day.
"Don't tell Mommy, but we're going to get a Starbucks on the way because Daddy needs his coffee to get going right now," He muttered the last part to himself more than anything.
"Bucks!" Mila squealed as he wrestled a cardigan on her.
"Shh," He laughed, tickling her belly. "Don't let Mommy hear you."
"I love 'bucks Daddy."
"Me too baby," He agreed, "Let's go say bye to Mommy and then we better go pick your Uncle up – because he decided the best thing to do was get a flight first thing."
He carried her back down the hallway, peeking his head into both Logan and Everly's rooms to make sure they were still sleeping before he slipped into the master bedroom. Hanna blinked her eyes open at the sound of the door opening, sending him a tired smile as he walked towards her.
"Hi," She whispered as he sat down on the bed, Mila tucked on his lap. "I thought she was in here earlier."
Caleb reached out to run a hand down her bedhead hair, "We're gonna go pick James up," He told her as she ran her hand down his outstretched arm, "You want me to get anything on the way back?"
Hanna sighed as she forced her brain to think about what they actually had in, "No," She eventually said, reaching down to stroke Mila's leg, "I'll go shopping whilst you're out," She conceded, already starting to make a mental list.
"Okay," He murmured, leaning down to give her a tender kiss. She cupped his cheek and held him there until Mila wriggled around enough to let them know that she wasn't prepared to sit there any longer.
"We'll be about three hours," Caleb rolled his eyes, letting Mila go so that she could cuddle up against Hanna.
"I want to stay here all day," Hanna pouted as he smiled at her.
"I'm stealing her," He plucked Mila right out of her grasp, "I need a little date with her if I'm driving back to the airport."
"We gettin' 'bucks Mommy," Mila told her, settling in Caleb's arms.
"Hey," He poked her side, "That was supposed to be our secret."
Mila gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, "Mommy no!" She pleaded, anticipating Hanna saying no to the morning spike in sugar Caleb was undoubtedly planning on letting her have.
"It's okay," Hanna sent them both a heart-stopping smile as she pulled the covers over her shoulders, "I'm jealous," She pouted, "I'll just hold out for my own coffee date soon."
Caleb grinned, "At least James means we get free babysitting on tap."
Hanna reached out and gave him a gentle push towards the door, "Go now," She laughed, "Before I come with you and leave your two kids at home."
"We'll bring you coffee," He called, squeezing Mila as she waved at Hanna over his shoulder until she was out of sight. He carried her down the stairs, stuffing his wallet into his back pocket and grabbing his sunglasses from the table in the hallway before they headed out to the car and he strapped her in.
"I'm getting déjà vu bug," He murmured as he reversed out of the driveway.
"What day vu?" Her face contorted in confusion before she went back to sucking her thumb.
"It means we've already experienced this," He explained, reaching forward to play with the radio.
"Oh."
"But this time, we're not going on vacation."
"No beach?" Mila pouted in her car seat, looking at him in the rearview mirror.
"No beach," He agreed, glancing up at her, "But we're getting Starbucks instead," He reminded her, smiling as he watched her face light up, "And right now that is going to feel better than any beach."
"Bucks!" She cheered.
He chuckled to himself, turning the music up a little. It was time to go get his little brother.
By the time they got to the airport and parked up, Caleb was slightly regretting letting Mila get her own drink and a cookie. She was hyped up to say the least and dancing round at his feet as they waited for James to come through arrivals. The board on the wall said he'd landed, so Caleb was left playing a mental game of whether his brother's face or a sugar meltdown from his two-year-old would come first.
He was thankful when it was the former, waving with relief as he spotted the floppy-haired teenager walking towards them with a large duffle bag over his shoulders. "Hey," He smiled, reaching out to pull him in for a hug. "How was the flight?" He asked as James bent down to say hi to Mila.
"James!" She called, jumping up and down excitedly with her hands in the air.
"Hi," He laughed, giving her a sweet hug too.
"I let her have a cookie," Caleb told him wryly, "And her own frap," He sighed, watching as Mila refused to let go of her Uncle, "And now I'm regretting it," He rolled his eyes, "Let me take your bag and you can give her a piggy back ride or something."
"Thanks bro," James dumped his duffle on the floor and waited for Caleb to settle Mila on his back before they began to walk towards the car.
"So you gonna tell me what's going on?"
"Mom's just pissing me off."
"Okay first of all, language," Caleb rolled his eyes, unlocking their Audi once they found it, "Han will be seriously unimpressed if they start swearing as soon as you've turned up."
"Sorry," James muttered, waiting for him to throw his stuff in the boot before he extracted Mila and helped her in to her car seat.
"And secondly," He continued, checking Mila's seat belt was all in place as James moved round to climb into the front seat, "Mom annoying you is not a reason to take her credit card and book a flight without asking anyone first. What if we didn't get back from holiday until today?"
"Dude," He shook his head, "Hanna posted about your last day on Instagram."
"James," Caleb said, starting to get a little frustrated as he turned on the ignition. "We are happy for you to stay with us, but next time bud, just ask first."
"Noted," He muttered sarcastically.
"Okay, you need to cut the attitude," Caleb told him as they headed for the exit of the car park, "I don't know what's going on with you and Mom or if this is how you are back home, but right now, you're coming to stay in my house and that's not okay."
"Right."
"I've got three kids who look up to you," He reminded him, "Don't make me take you straight back to the airport."
"Daddy?" Mila called timidly from the back, sensing the tension in the front.
"It's okay baby," He promised her, "We're just having a talk about what's made James grumpy."
"He have no 'bucks," She reminded him, brushing her hair from her face as she watched out of the window.
"You're right, he didn't. Shall we stop and get him and Mommy one when we get closer to home?"
Mila nodded excitedly, "An' Lo!"
"We can get something for Logi too," He agreed, glancing in the mirror to check his answer had settled her before he turned to catch sight of his brother again momentarily.
"I'll shake it off," James didn't need to be prompted to say anything. "I just needed to get out of Cali."
Caleb sighed, feeling sympathy for the teenager, "Stay with us for a week," He offered, "You'll forget all about what's going on out there as soon as Lo realises he's got a new play buddy."
James smiled, thinking about his nephew who was usually surrounded by girls, "I am sorry about not asking," He added, staring out the window at the passing scenery, "I just…"
"It's fine," Caleb conceded, "Han's actually looking forward to it I think," He added, "Just message one of us next time."
"I will."
As soon as they'd pulled up to the house, James had settled down. With a peace offering gift of Hanna's favourite coffee from Starbucks, she'd pulled him in for a tight hug and instructed him to sit down at the table whilst she whipped up some lunch for everyone.
That had gone to plan until Logan had come running in from the playroom and spotted him, instantly begging for James to go and help him with his new legos. Hanna put her foot down though and they'd at least spent an hour together before he disappeared off, leaving her and Caleb to trawl through their piles of washing from the holiday whilst also trying to keep two little girls entertained.
They were still getting over the minor jet lag and the full day of travelling, so by the time the evening came round and they'd gone through their usual routine of putting the kids to bed, all Hanna wanted to do was settle on the sofa with her husband and watch some trash TV that require zero brain power.
"Hey," She smiled at James as she walked in to find him lounging on the sofa, a bag of crisps on his lap as he watched baseball on the television. "Has Caleb not come down yet?"
"Dunno," James shrugged, shooting her a glance before he reverted back to the sport in front of him.
Hanna brushed it off, resting her hands on the back of her pristine sofa as she looked at him, "You want a drink or anything?"
"A coke would be great," James muttered without batting an eyelid.
"Sure," She said quietly, rolling her eyes to herself as she headed for the fridge to grab them both a drink. She almost jumped when she felt Caleb's hand on her waist, instantly relaxing back into him and resting her head on his shoulder as he smiled down at her.
"Okay?" He asked tenderly, dropping his mouth to her neck to press gentle kisses against her skin.
She nodded, reaching for his hand on her side, "I think this is like some flash forward into what it's like to live with a teenager."
Caleb glanced behind them, letting out a laugh as he shook his head knowingly, "I guess so."
"You think Logi's gonna just watch baseball when I want to chill with you."
"Babe, he tried softball once and hated it. There's no way."
"I hope so," She moved away from him, reaching for two glasses, "I can't watch sport every night for the next week."
"I'll talk to him," He promised.
"No," Hanna frowned immediately, "It's not a big deal," She reassured him, "And this is the first night. I want him to settle in and feel like he can relax here."
"Trust me," Caleb sent her a smirk, "I walked into his room and there was already dirty washing on the floor. He's settled."
Hanna turned and leant back against the countertop, keeping an eye on their guest until Caleb stepped in front of her, "Hey," She tried to peer round him, failing completely as he blocked her view.
"Relax," He told her, cupping her cheek, "He knows how lucky he is that we'll just take him in at the drop of a hat."
Hanna sighed, placing her hand over his, "You're a good big brother."
"Tell me about it," He grinned, peeking over his shoulder again before he turned and dropped his mouth onto hers. She melted into him, her hands gripping the front of his t-shirt to keep him close.
"Do you guys always make out?"
They were pulled apart as James appeared next to them, clearly looking for the glass of coke he's asked for.
"Nope," Caleb shook his head, "Not all the time. Just when you're around."
"It's kind of gross dude." He called as he headed back to the sofa.
"You're right," Hanna shot her husband a look, "Totally settled."
Caleb laughed, pushing his mouth onto hers again before he stepped back, "Let's go to bed. He can stay up however long he wants."
Hanna didn't need to be told twice, pouring herself and Caleb a glass of water before saying goodnight to James and heading for the stairs. She vaguely heard Caleb telling him how to turn everything off until she disappeared out of earshot and changed into one of Caleb's t-shirts that she was going to wear to bed.
She brushed her teeth and took off her make up, settling under the covers with only her bedside light on as Caleb finally made his way into the room. "I had to show him twice how to shut it down," He muttered, shooting her a look as he headed to the bathroom himself. He came back out in his boxers, turning off the light in their en suite before he joined her in bed. "What teenager doesn't know how to work a remote?"
"The kind that lets us go to bed early," Hanna whispered, slowly climbing on top of him, her legs either side of his stomach as she dropped her head down to give him a gentle kiss.
He couldn't help but roll them over, laughing at her squeal as he pinned her beneath him, "I guess we should take advantage," He agreed, his lips finding her neck again as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight against her body.
"I guess we should," She echoed, letting him quickly rid her of the t-shirt she'd pointlessly put on. His lips went to her breasts, worshiping each tenderly before he trailed his way down to her panties. "Do you think he'll get up with the kids tomorrow?"
Caleb grunted, pressing a kiss against her navel before he pulled her panties down her legs and covered her body with his again, "I thought teenagers slept in?"
"Maybe," She agreed, her own hand running down his stomach to dip inside his boxers, finding his length and languidly pumping up and down. "Or maybe—"
"Can we stop talking about my little brother," He murmured, cutting her off as his fingers trailed down and across her lips.
She said nothing, just sent him a grin before she surrendered herself to him and pushed her mouth up onto his hard. He kissed her back, his tongue finding it's way between her lips as they worked together to get rid of his boxers. It had only been two days but he craved being with her. Right now, there was only one place his mind was running to – and it was all south.
"Ready?" He whispered, their noses brushing as he lined himself up.
She'd just about nodded and was about to say yes when their bedroom door flung open, James standing in the illuminated hallway.
"Caleb, it's frozen again," He called, not thinking about what he might have been walking in to.
"Dude!" Caleb yelled, rolling off Hanna instantly and pulling the covers up higher to maintain as much decency as possible. "Please knock."
"Sorry," The teenager mumbled, "Did I interrupt something?"
"No," Hanna sent him a reassuring smile, her cheeks flushed as she held the comforter to her naked chest. "It's fine," She gritted her teeth. "Caleb will come downstairs and sort it."
"Cool."
"Just go downstairs," He told him, shaking his head up at the ceiling, "I'll be down in a minute."
They waited for James to disappear before collapsing back in disbelief, "He didn't see anything," Hanna said, more for herself than Caleb, "He didn't see anything."
Caleb said nothing, just rooted around for his boxers and pulled them on before emerging from the bed. "Don't move," He told her, doing his best to adjust himself as she looked over.
"Oh I'm not going anywhere," She agreed, still struggling with the embarrassment that brushed her cheeks. "If this is teenagehood then I don't want my babies to ever grow up."
"Trust me," Caleb grunted, "We are on the same page about that," He took a deep breath, glancing down at himself, "Okay," He nodded, feeling he was in an acceptable state. "I will be two minutes and then we're pretending nothing ever happened."
"Okay," Hanna agreed, closing her eyes as he disappeared out the room, "It never happened, it never happened…" She chanted to herself as she waited for him to reappear, "Teenagehood…" She whispered, "It never happened…"
I may make this into part one of two. Let me know if you want more of James or something else instead... Please review xox
