A/N: Some moments throughout Katie and Ned's life after having kids. One sad, one happy, and one sexy... I hope you all enjoy xx Mariah
Once when Asher was young, he caught Katie crying. It wasn't supposed to happen because Ned had taken the day off like he always did and she was caught off guard.
Today was a day when it was a challenge for her just to get out of bed. She had only done it at first because her kids' sweet words were always enough to get her out of bed, but slipped away from Ned when everything became too much. It was too much to be around their kids knowing there should have been three of them, and if they were counting they both knew there was a possibility they could've even had five of them by now.
So naturally her husband had kept their four-year-old son and almost one-year-old daughter both entertained downstairs for a little while before her son came and find her. It wasn't a hard feat to keep their kids wrangled together, but Asher had always had a close connection with her in a way that was different from Willow because not only was he her baby boy, but he had been her first living baby that she'd held in her arms. And God, Katie had never wanted to let him go.
She was burrowed beneath the covers, clinging to a picture and running her hand over the small hand of her son who had died so long ago, silent tears streaming down her face. It was still hard every day without him.
"Mommy?"
Asher's quiet, hesitant voice startled her and she looked up to find him standing at the door. Her son was peering into the room, looking scared and a little unsure of what he might find. "Hi, sweetheart," she wiped away her tears and offered him a weak smile. "You can come in, mommy is okay."
The four-year-old made his way across the room and crawled up onto the bed, fitting himself against her side and wrapping an arm around her waist. "Are you sad, mommy?" Asher asked with all the innocence and curiosity of a little kid. "I can see you're crying."
She took a deep shaky breath and pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his head. "Yes, baby. Mommy is a little sad today." Those were the only words she could force out through the lump in her throat.
The warmth of her son's body and the softness of his hair as she ran her fingers through it were just enough to calm her. They made her feel a little warmer inside as the sadness slowly loosened its hold around her.
"Mommy, who is this?" He asked, catching a glimpse of the picture still sitting on the bed.
Katie and Ned had never really talked about Charlie to their kids because they hardly liked talking about him on their own. Asher knew about his brother who had died before he and his sister were born and knowing that he could see ghosts as she could, he probably hadn't forgotten that talk with her last year. Her son understood death well enough and grasped the concept as much as he could for a child.
"That's a baby in your arms mommy," he said matter-of-fact, pointing to her arm in the photo.
"Yes, it is." She felt a smile rise to the surface despite her mood. "How'd you know?"
"That mark on your arm," he pointed to the scar from where she'd gotten stitches after one of her rougher soccer games. Then he took the time to show her where it was on her arm right then too. "It's right there."
"Yes, that's me, and do you remember that time your daddy and I talked to you about your big brother?" She asked softly, running her hands through her son's hair.
"The one that died," he nodded sadly, his head turning to look up her.
"Yes, this a picture of him on the day he was born," she told him softly, feeling the weight ease off her chest. "Today is his birthday. That's why mommy is sad."
Asher had tried to contain the bit of excitement that came to any child when someone told them it was another person's birthday. "But can't be sad on someone's birthday! Does that mean we can make a cake?" He asked excitedly. "How old would he be?"
"Sure, baby. We can go to the store and make a cake later." She said and felt a laugh rumble through her as she kissed his forehead, feeling the joy of child innocence spread through her. "Your big brother Charlie would've been nine."
Later, when her husband appeared upstairs after putting their daughter down for her afternoon nap, he found them both still in bed. Ned joined them, moving on the other side so Asher was sandwiched in between them. He put his arm around her and gave her a reassuring squeeze, offering all the comfort and support he had thought she would need for this moment.
He hadn't needed to say anything else and she could see his eyes were rimmed red as well. Even on her worst days she knew he was going through the same things she was, but trying to pick up her slack and he never complained. Never.
"I love you," she whispered.
Today surprisingly wasn't as difficult as she imagined. If anything it felt good to talk to their son and tell him some little things about the baby boy they lost.
Curled up in bed with her son and husband, she found some peace. She found the happiness they always bring to her life and let it push away all the lingering dark thoughts and feelings from before.
It was the first time Katie and Ned had taken a trip outside of the state with their family, but it wasn't for anything fun. Ned's great uncle in Florida had died and they were going to the funeral. Asher was six and Willow was two. They took a plane and got in late. They had to carry the kids into their hotel room.
Ned had wanted to get a suite, so they would have the king bed and put Asher on the couch and Willow in a playpen they brought. Katie was hesitant about the price after plane tickets, but couldn't complain about the room they got when they were there. It had so much space that it actually felt like the kids were in another room and neither of them felt like if they had sex the kids could wake up and just see them.
The first day had gone as smoothly as it could with the funeral services and a nice dinner afterword and once Katie tucked the kids in for bed, she found Ned at the window overlooking the beach.
"I'm happy you talked me into getting the suite," she whispered, sliding her arms up and around his chest before peeking out at the view and up at him.
"Me too," he chuckled. "At least we have a little space from the kids, you know?"
She laughed and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "Yes, I know what you mean." She said softly. "Speaking of the kids, they are both tuckered out and in their beds. Are you ready for bed?"
"Just about," he said, peeking over his shoulder at her as she walked away from him and toward the bed. His eyes traveled up to where her nightgown ended. It was shorter than the ones she usually wore and it made him wet his lips. "Are you?"
"Yeah," she yawned while pulling back the covers and giving him a nice view that showed she wasn't wearing anything underneath before slipping inside. "I'm pretty jet-lagged from the travel to get here, and plus the kids will be up with the sun and hungry. I'm just happy we decided to make a trip out of this whole thing."
That put an end to any hope of wanting to take things to the next level, but he didn't mind. They had taken a whole week to make the trip about more than just death and to make use of a nice vacation. He would find some other time she was in the mood if tonight wasn't the night.
"Yeah, me too, but you know I can take care of the kids in the morning and bring you some breakfast to the room. I wake up early normally because of work so it won't even feel all that different." He said as he pulled the window open just a little to let some fresh air in.
"That would be wonderful, Ned," she said as he settled in beside her. "I love you."
"Love you too, babe," he said, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead and settle in next to her on his side.
Sadly, the fresh air and the gentle sound of waves crashing against the shore wasn't enough to lull them to sleep right away though. Ned could sense some unease in his wife as they both tried and failed to fall asleep. He knew she initiated it, but Ned was certainly the one to finish it. After barely a few kisses he had stripped her of her nightgown, leaving her nude and exposed to him.
"I thought you were tired," he chuckled as his lips devoured her nipples, sucking and pulling just the way she liked.
She was biting her tongue so hard she could nearly taste blood as he'd kissed his way down her body until his head was between her legs and he was sucking and licking at her relentlessly. "I'm never tired of you doing this to me," she mewled under his tongue and had to press her pillow against her face to try and keep from screaming out and waking their children up.
Katie came with a soul-shattering orgasm and then he was sliding into her. Their lips met as he brought the blanket up to cover them and caress her cheek. As he moved quicker inside her, she shook with pleasure. Ned had always been an amazing and generous lover to her and she would never take that for granted. He kept slowly circling his fingertips between her thighs while simultaneously hitting her with hard shallow thrusts against the spot she needed the most.
She came again before he finally let himself go, and they drifted off into a deep, uninterrupted sleep. Katie had woke before Ned in the morning when she got out of bed to get dressed and check on the children who were both still fast asleep. She paused by the window, looking out at the ocean. The morning sun was hitting it just right and it reflected back an amazing sea green that was almost identical to the color of Ned's eyes.
She turned back to the bed and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, the color of the ocean still fresh in her mind as his eyes open and she saw it again in his eyes. He wrapped his arm around her and the process from the night before started all over again.
This was everything she'd ever wanted.
Katie had a headache. She was tired and grumpy after a terrible day at work, so she'd gone to bed early while Ned put their children down for the night.
She could hear him across the hall telling Willow bedtime stories, answering her questions, and singing her favorite songs. Then the sound of him moving into Asher's room, the hushed father-son moments and words they shared. The sound was so comforting, such a soothing noise for her heart and soul, that it must have let her drift off for a little while before he'd gone into their youngest Emily's room who was almost two.
Then she was stirring in bed as she heard her husband moving around the room, loud on his feet as always, and getting ready for bed.
"Hi," she smiled at him sleepily. "Thank you for putting them down. I wasn't doing too hot earlier. Is Emily doing okay in her big girl bed?"
He slid into bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her flush against his chest. "You are never not hot," he whispered before gently biting down on her earlobe. "And yes, Emily is tucked in and fast asleep in her big girl bed. All of them are tucked in and ready for bed, the door is locked, and I will always want you," he added, slipping his hand down between her legs.
His words ignited a fire inside her and she got butterflies in her stomach when she recognized that tone of voice, the crassness of his words.
She knew that meant he was in one of his moods where he wanted to have her. When he wanted to make her come until she couldn't see straight. And with her headache gone and kids to bed, she was more than willing to let him.
"I remember the first time I really wanted to fuck you," he laughed, pressing kisses along the crook of her neck.
"Oh yeah, when was that?" She asked curiously.
"I think there was a certain bikini," he said at length, running his hands over her body languidly, leaving a trail of electricity in their wake, her skin tingling from his touch. "It was red and the fourth of July. Right before we got engaged. It was revealing in all the right places. You know the one..."
She vaguely recalled the bikini he was referring to. She hardly wore any bikinis anymore, not after having kids. She remembered trying on three swimsuits before knowing that the red one was perfect with Ned in mind, hoping he would like how it looked on her.
"That was the first time you wanted to fuck me?" She laughed as his fingers traced against her, gathering the arousal accumulating there. "Not before then?"
"It was the first time I remember just wanting to bury myself inside you," he murmured as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. "I mean, I was always attracted to you and I love what we do, but there was something about that swimsuit. The second I saw you, Katie..."
"What about the year or so before then?" She teased.
He hummed his amusement and started to circle her center. "I always thought about you like that, but they were more innocent, pure thoughts about taking my sweet time to make love to you. When I saw you in that swimsuit it had me wanting to make you scream my name."
"Ned, oh…" she keened as he pushed two fingers inside her.
He laughed. "Yeah. Kind of like that."
