Chapter 40 – Basketball Dad

Tuesday, February 4th, 2020

Gabi's POV

I pulled into the high school parking lot as both of the babies were fast asleep. I shot a text out to Lennon and Sara who were going to come help me get all of their stuff inside. I was still restricted on the amount of weight I could carry and Troy was overly protective over that fact. I got out of the car as I grabbed the diaper backpack and pulled it over my shoulders. They were mostly going to stay in their car seats unless they were fussy but they had both just eaten before we left the house.

"Where are those cute little babies," Lennon and Sara each opened a car door and I smiled, "Thank you guys, I will one day be able to do this."

"Girl, no problem. This is the easy part and we get first dibs on them if they get fussy." I smiled as we all walked in together. This felt like our first step back to normalcy in our lives. We entered the gym and we waved to Cindy. "Wait, wait, are these the precious babies?" I laughed with a nod as they turned their car seat around to face them. "Oh my god, they are both so beautiful. I hope they enjoy watching their dad."

We made our way into the gym as the JV game was finishing up. We paused at the end of the bleachers to wait for stoppage in play with only thirty seconds left. The gym was only half full and probably wouldn't get too much fuller. I spotted Dana against the wall and she grinned spotting me. I waved as we moved across the gym during a time out to our normal seats. Sage and Josie were already sitting there. "Oh, my goodness! Look at these cuties!" Sage gushed over them as Dana and Brea came nearly sprinting over with a handful of other dance girls.

"Coach Gabi!" I smiled as I started to hug a lot of them as the JV game ended. "Hi girls, hi, you can look at them all you want but no touching please," Everybody began to coo over the two babies. I watched as the locker room doors opened and the varsity team began to file out. Jax and Cameron were with the JV team as they headed back into the locker room. Dylan, Jesse, and Troy all filed out in their dress pants and button up shirts that were tucked in. They were sans tie and a few buttons undone as they were in deep conversation. Troy was holding a water and he rubbed his eyes before lifting to look around the crowd before spotting us.

A grin shot over his face as he drifted from his friends and worked his way over towards us. The dance team began to disperse to get ready for the game when Troy came over. "Hi, I missed you," he grabbed me into a tight hug and kiss the top of my head. I just laughed, "You left at three. It's six forty-five," Troy just grinned and he kissed me one more time. "Where are my babies?" he peeked over my shoulder and he grinned looking down at the twins.

"Hi Saylor," he cooed as he moved her blanket. I turned around to face Troy as he read her onesie and laughed. You call him Coach; I call him daddy.

"I love it, oh my god, I just want to get you out and snuggle you." Troy brushed his fingers over her head before moving to Sutton. He was wearing the same thing and I couldn't stop my smile just watching him. "Ugh, he would be a hot dad," Lennon said. Troy and I both laughed together. "Troy," Dylan called his name and Troy turned to see they were getting ready to do a coin flip. Troy nodded as he kissed me, "Good luck," I told him. He smiled, "I have you three, I'm the luckiest man alive."

I just laughed and settled in as Dana and Brea came back over to get another peek at the babies. Both of them stayed asleep as I watched as they got ready for the game on the court. Troy took his seat and when the team came running over, he ran them through the first play. They all agreed and did their chant before taking the court after being announced. Troy settled in on the bench next to his four best friends.

They tipped the ball off and it didn't take long for Troy to stand up and start directing play on the court. They still had only lost one game in the entire season. They worked hard on the court as they quickly took a lead. The gym was noisy but both babies remained completely asleep which honestly shocked me. "I am just shocked at how well they are doing," Sage said and I laughed, "I was literally just thinking the same exact thing. I am impressed. It's probably because they are used to all of the NICU noise."

"Man, I hope our little man will cooperate and sleep during games." I laughed as the first quarter quickly ended. They had their huddle between quarters and I watched as Troy intently talked to all of his players. Those blue eyes flickering around and making eye contact with whichever kids he was talking, too. Once they had a game plan, he released all of them back to the court while he took a seat. He took a drink of water when Sutton cried out from his car seat. His head twitched towards the sound and I couldn't help but smile at him. I bent over as I unbuckled his seat belt and picked him up. The noise the gym began to drown out his cries. He snuggled into my chest and I put his blanket over him as he calmed down almost instantly.

"Oh, somebody just wanted his mama," Lennon cooed as she smiled at Sutton. "He is my mini-me and typically wants me, it's probably because I feed him." The girls laughed as I felt a pair of eyes on me and I looked at Troy to see he was slightly distracted. I smiled and winked at him as he smiled before turning back to the game. The first half came to an end as they all went jogging back to the locker room. I let Sage get Saylor out of her car seat as she was starting to get fussy herself.

Once the team returned from half time both babies were back asleep and James Island never let the other opponent get close to making it a game. Troy was way more relaxed on the bench as the guys were all laughing. The game quickly concluded as they shook hands with the other team before heading back to the locker room. "Gabi," his voice went up the bleachers and his eyes locked with mine. "Don't leave," I just nodded as he turned to head to the locker room.

"Let's get a picture of the four of you," Lennon said. "You need their first basketball game on film," we all laughed and agreed. "I wonder if this little man will get to see a basketball game or if he will wait until next season." Sage said rubbing her stomach. "Hopefully they make a good run and he gets to experience that." Josie offered. We all went to the lower portion of the bleacher as it didn't take long for the coaches to start spilling out of the locker room.

Troy was the first and he barely stopped to say hi to somebody speaking to him. He was on a mission. I just laughed as he backed out of a conversation and nearly sprinted in my direction. "Gimme, I just washed me hands." I handed him Sutton and he cooed at him. "Hi little buddy, did you take all the notes? If not, it's okay, we'll just watch film together and I'll talk you through it all." I couldn't stop my laugh as Troy finally saw his onesie. "Gabi, these are amazing." I smiled as I went over and I wrapped my hand through his bicep as I stared at Sutton. "I needed them to have a cute little outfit." Troy smiled as he kissed me with a smile on my face.

"Here, here, while you are being all cute hold Saylor," I took Saylor as we posed for a family picture together. Lennon also got a close up of the twins together in our arms in their shirts. "Coach B! Can we see them?" Half of the basketball team approached, "Yes, of course, just no touching. The last place either of us wants to take them is back to the hospital." Troy joked and the team laughed. "I have Sutton and Gabi has Saylor. Soon enough, they will be smoking all of you on the basketball court."

I laughed as I knew we only had so much time before they go hungry. I was also getting tired. "Troy, I am going to get Saylor in her car seat. They are both going to be hungry soon and I am getting tired myself." I said and he nodded his head, "They will be at another game soon, promise," Troy said as he walked back over to their car seats. We both got them situated and once they were buckled in with their blankets Troy gently tugged on my arm. I looked up at him and he pulled my body into his body. His lips pressing into my hair. "Thank you for coming," he whispered. "I wouldn't miss it. I love getting to be here with you and watch you do this. I want our kids to know if from the beginning." Troy smiled and kissed me again.

"C'mon, let's get these babies to the car." Troy picked up both car seats while I grabbed the diaper bag and he escorted us to the car. Once we were all buckled in and tucked inside Troy gave me a smile, "I'll be home in 15 minutes. I just have to grab my stuff. You can save Saylor's stuff for me. Okay?" I nodded and he kissed my cheek. "I love you Gabriella,"

I smiled, "I love you, too."


Troy's POV

Wednesday, February 5th, 2020

"See, Sut, this is what I was telling Jones yesterday but he wouldn't listen to me. He continued to pull back when he shot and the ball left his fingers unevenly," Sutton was passed out on my chest as I had gotten out of bed early this morning when Gabi was trying to get them both back to sleep and neither of them wanted to go back to sleep. I told her to go back to bed and that I had them because I did have things to do. First, I needed to watch last night's film and then prepare Friday's film.

Cameron and Jax were doing a lot of Friday's stuff but I still needed to be prepared myself. I cut a piece of film as Saylor was asleep in the swing in front of me while I balanced my laptop on my legs. They were both fussy all night last night. Neither one of them slept longer than an hour at a time and I knew Gabi was exhausted. She mostly just breastfed both of them throughout the night unless Saylor wasn't having it. I did their first feeding which was formula and then from then on out it was just her. I felt bad.

I continued to cut and watch film as they both slept quietly around me. These are the mornings that I could get used, too. Just having them both here was amazing. Luna was propped up on the couch as she looked at Sutton almost with envy. This used to be our things sitting on the couch and watching film. "As soon as mom is up – we will go for a run." I said toward her. She twisted her head and thumped her tail against the couch. "Soon. Mom needs rest," I reminded her. She huffed and laid her head down again.

My phone rang and I quickly answered it before anybody woke up. Cameron was calling me, "Hey," I said as I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder. "What are you up doing?" I asked him. "I was trying to watch more film for the game on Friday. I was getting ready to see if you needed me to do yesterday's game." I shook my head with a laugh, "No. I am currently doing it right now with Sutton. I mean, I am doing it and Sutton is sleeping." Cameron laughed. "Is Gabi getting some rest?"

"Yes, the babies were up all-night last night. I finally took them out of the room so she could get some solid hours of sleep. They fell back asleep and I am almost finished cutting film from yesterday. It was a good first game back."

"It was indeed, next Friday we have the big match-up. Do you want me to continue scouting for that?" I shook my head, "Yes, I will be at the game tomorrow but to support Blaine. No scouting. Plus, I want to hold my kids and watch a basketball game."

"Yes sir, you got it. I think most of us are going to the game tomorrow. Is there anything else I can help you with? You still are on leave and I don't want you have to balance too much." I shook my head as I continued to clip a piece of the film and added it to the profile. "Nope. I think I am good. I will be at practice this afternoon. Does Lennon want to come over and hang out with Gabi? I hate leaving her."

"I can ask her. What are you going to do when you go back to work?"

"I have no clue. My guilt will literally eat me alive. It will be helpful when basketball is over but my days are long right now when I return back to work." I rubbed my forehead and exhaled, "I might send a rotation of people over there to make sure she's okay. I know she can do it but I don't want her to do it alone. Y'know?" Cameron sighed, "Yea, our days our long once play offs start to happen. When is she going back to work?"

"Towards the beginning of May. I think I am going to ask Macken, my mom, her parents, and Ada if they want to take turns watching the kids during the day. If we can help it to get me to summer break then that might be a lot better for all of us. I have them enrolled for next year at our school district day care."

"Man, that would be really nice if you don't have to send them to day care until August. They would be almost seven months old."

"That sounds crazy," I finished the game as I shut my laptop, Saylor started to stir and they both took bottles first thing in the morning. "Hey man, I gotta go make bottles. I just finished last night's film. We will start in my classroom tonight. Will you text the boys that?" Cameron agreed and we hung up. I put Sutton down as I laid him in his own swing before going to make each of them their bottle. Saylor got an extra scoop of formula for extra calories in her bottle along with a multivitamin and iron. Sutton got a normal amount with a multivitamin and iron as well. I mixed them all together in a purple and green bottle. I walked over as Saylor was awake but Sutton wasn't.

"Hi baby girl, are you hungry?" I whispered as I cradled her in my arms. I undid her swaddle and she stretched her arms over her head as she was still in a sleeper. She opened those blue eyes and blinked them with a little grin on her lips. I changed her diaper and that truly woke her up. Her tiny little peanut body was so tiny at a month old but they weren't even due for another ten days and we've had almost five weeks with them. I stroked her head as I gave her the bottle. We fed her the same way we fed Sutton. She laid on her side and ate while pacing her. Her blue eyes flickered around and I couldn't stop staring at her. She had almost blonde hair on the top of her head. My mom had sent me a picture of myself and she definitely favored me.

Sutton definitely favored Gabi and it was fun to see the differences between the two of them. Sutton began to stir in his swing and I kept an eye on him but he mostly woke up and just laid there. "Well, this is a sight," I looked up as Gabi was standing at the bottom stairs with a sleepy smile on her face. "Good morning, you don't have to get up." I told her. "I've got them. You were up most of the night." Gabi rubbed her eyes as she came to sit next to me. Her head resting on my shoulder, "I have to pump. My alarm went off for it and I realized that my fiancé nor my children were in the room with me." I kissed the top of her head as Saylor was almost finished with her 3oz bottle. I put her on my opposite shoulder to help burp her and Gabi closed her eyes. "Go pump in bed and sleep for a little bit longer,"

"You probably have things to do," she murmured. "Nope. Nothing more important than letting you sleep. You could get two more hours of sleep." I told her. "I won't be here next week to give you that sleep. I love spending time with them." Gabi opened her eyes and she stared at Saylor while reaching over to brush her fingers over her bald head. "I am going to be so jealous of you over the summer when you are home with them every single day." I smiled as I kissed her head, "And I will be the same over the next ten weeks."

I finished feeding Saylor and I laid her back in the swing as she was awake and looking around while I went to grab Sutton but I paused. I reached over for Gabi and I pulled her into my lap. She curled up and rested her head on my shoulder. My fingers ran through her hair and she smiled, "Are you sure? I can stay up and you can go nap or something," I laughed with a shake of my head. "No, go. Pump and then sleep some more. I might bundle them up and take them for a walk with Luna."

"I can go with you," she protested again and I just laughed, "Gabi, baby, rest. Luna will not protest to two walks today but you need to go rest first. I got some sleep last night. I want you to get more rest than two hours." Gabi's brown eyes looked at me and I let my thumb trace over her bottom lip. "I am going to feed Sutton, I am going to get them both ready for the day, and then go for a walk. I will then bring both babies to you so you can snuggle and feed both of them. After you do that, I will take them so you can take a shower and then we will do something as a family afterwards."

Tears filled her eyes and she just wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face into my chest. "I don't want you to go back to work," she whispered. "I want to spend every day like this, together," I let my head rest against her head. "I wish we could do this every day together but we also have some big dreams for our kids. I want us to chase our dreams so that they chase their dreams one day. Sadly, those cost money." Gabi laughed and I tilted her chin backwards and I kissed her. "What is your dream?" she asked me. I shrugged, "I'm not sure. I love coaching and if I could chase the coaching ladder I might but at the same time I don't want to leave my friends behind."

"Would you want to coach at the college level?" I didn't say anything. My eyes staring at Sutton and Saylor in their swings. "I mean, yes, realistically yes I would want to chase up the coaching tree. If I were to get an offer, I would think hard about it. If I could bring my own coaching staff and if the pay was decent – I would bring my friends with me. We are a unit and we know how to coach together. But it would be a lot of traveling and recruiting. Long practices, gym time, I don't know. It would be a huge time commitment. Plus, I would have to be around here because I can't move us away from family."

Gabi sat up, "Why?" she questioned. I blinked. "I mean, I just figured you wouldn't want to leave your family. It would be hard to leave my family and if you open a dance studio? I mean that's a lot to ask of you to walk away from." She rolled her lips together and shrugged her shoulders, "This is all very hypothetical but I wouldn't ever want you to turn down a job because we might have to move. I would rather talk about it first. If we aren't in the position to move then we won't do it but it will be a discussion between us first."

"But what about all of your wants of opening a dance studio?" I asked her. "What if I opened another one? Or moved locations? Or sold the one I have? If we literally just started it, it might not be ideal, but if we are in a good position maybe I open a branch or maybe I just sell it. I would never put my own needs above yours. It has to make sense for the both of us in the moment." I framed her face, "I love you so much," she smiled and I kissed her again. "Go rest. I am going to feed Sutton. I'll come get your milk." She smiled and kissed me. "You are a saint from above."

Gabi walked upstairs as I got Sutton out, changed his diaper, and fed him. I put both of them in their swing as each of them were awake and moving around. "I'll be right back," I said as I bounced up the stairs to grab Gabi's milk to put in the freezer. She was already asleep again as I grabbed the milk, two different outfits for the twins from their room, and I bounced back downstairs as they were each cooing. I took a picture of both them and I sent it in our family group chat.

I changed each of them, placed them in their car seats, and then pulled on my own pair of jeans with a sweatshirt. I locked the kids into the stroller and then put their blankets around them. I put their stroller on the front porch and down the step as I called for Luna. She sprinted out and I hooked up her leash, "We can't run but we can go for a walk," I rubbed behind her ear and she grinned up at me as I hooked her leash to the stroller as she was well trained on her leash already.

Today was going to be a good day.


Thursday, February 6th, 2020

Gabi's POV

The gym was packed as Troy and I were sitting with my family as West Ashley took the court for their match-up tonight. A week from tomorrow it would be Troy and Blaine facing off again. It was going to be a fun match-up and I knew Blaine was looking forward to it. Lucy was staring at Saylor who was fast asleep against my chest in the wrap. Troy had Sutton as Cameron, Jax, Dylan, and Jesse all showed up tonight.

Today, we went out to breakfast with my parents. Today was the 6th. Today, I woke up at 4am with Sutton and as I breastfed him, I couldn't stop the silent tears. I was thinking all about how Zoey would never meet me kids. How she would have loved to hold them, snuggle them, and try to beat Beth at the favorite aunt. It broke my heart and this was the first moment that I had a moment on the 6th to feel something with kids.

Troy woke up at some point and he didn't say anything, just pulled me into his side and I just leaned against him. He was too good for me sometimes. "Aunt Gabi, I want to hold her." Lucy pouted. "I know you do but she is sleeping sweet girl, she hasn't done a lot of that today." Lucy pouted and James laughed, "Lucy, you can hold them in a little bit. I bet Sutton will be awake soon." James redirected her attention as Blaine took the floor. My eyes flickered over to Troy as he held our son tightly in his grasp. He laughed at something Jesse said with a smile on his lips. I loved seeing him so happy.

Blaine stole the ball and worked his way down the court as everybody in the gym was paying full attention. He took a shot from the middle of the key and as it sank in, he returned for defense. "Go Blaine," Lucy yelled with her arms up in the air. I smiled as Troy caught my eye and I felt that feeling in my chest. That one day this would be Troy and I. Watching our kids do what they love and cheering them on. He reached over to rub my shoulder as he continued his conversation with Jesse.

This was their second basketball game of the week and I thought about going to Troy's game tomorrow but I think my mom was going to come over and we were going to have a night together. I would attend both games next week. We were in mid swing of the season with basketball and I knew Troy going back to work next week was going to stretch us all thin. We were going to do it all together though. Saylor grunted and moved around on my chest and I adjusted her while I rocked her.

Troy's fingers slipped over my shoulder and I turned to face him as he smiled at me. He leaned forward and press his lips to my ear, "I want to do something after this, is that okay?" I looked at him and I just nodded, "Yea, what is it?" he shook his head. "You'll see." I smiled at him as we continued to watch Blaine run across the court and play his favorite game. We all knew he was going to be getting big offers in the future and we couldn't wait to cheer him on in those adventures.

James had officially put the house on the market and put an offer on another one in the same district. All of them were ready for a fresh start and I couldn't be more supportive of them for it. Troy already volunteered to help them move when they got a house. Once half time occurred, I stood up and looked back at Troy as I smiled, "Wanna switch?" he grinned and nodded, "Wait, wait, I want to see one of them!" My mom protested and I laughed. Troy handed her the hand sanitizer and Troy gave Sutton to my mom.

"Well, if your mom gets one, I want one," our group laughed as I gave Saylor to my dad and Troy just shot me a grin. "Now I get mom," I laughed as Troy pulled me into his lap and he buried his face into my neck. I could feel the smile on his face as his hands slid around my stomach. "Coach B!" Troy lifted his head as our friends behind us busted out laughing. "Hi Quinton," Troy said with a cheeky smile and a wave. I looked over at the three teenage boys in James Island letterman's jackets all laughing together. "Coach B, you yell at us for this!"

"You aren't 29," Troy tossed back to them and they all laughed. "Go study," Troy yelled again and they all smirked and walked away. "Oh damn, Bolton, they catch you in the act all the time." Troy shook his head with a smile on his face. "I can't keep my hands off of her, exhibit A and B are over there." Troy nudged. I couldn't stop my laugh as I looked over at my parents cooing and snuggling up with our babies. I kissed Troy's cheek and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I can't wait for Saturday," I whispered into his ear.

"Saturday? You can't wait to spend time with me?" I pushed his shoulder and I kissed him again. Once the teams ran back out, I slipped out of his lap and leaned back against him. He mostly carried on a conversation with Jesse, Cameron, Dylan, and Jax. They were all scouting and Troy was mostly here for Blaine. My parents fed the twins their final bottle of the day as Troy interlocked our fingers together. Blaine was leading the team tonight in points and when the final buzzer sounded, they were all excited to continue their winning streak.

Troy and I got the babes back in their car seats as they were both fast asleep. They all ran to the locker room while Lucy peeked at each of the babies. I pulled my jacket on and we made our way down to the floor while we waited to talk to Blaine. Troy was bidding good-bye to his friends and they each gave me a big hug. Once Blaine exited the locker room and Lucy ran up to him and gave him a big hug. He picked her up and walked over to all of us. "Good game, Blaine." Troy called as he walked over with a smug smile on his face. "Can't wait to wipe your towel on the floor next Friday," the group all laughed as Troy did their little hand shake together.

"Coach Sams said to stop showing up to our games and taking notes," I laughed this time as Troy shrugged his shoulders, "I took zero notes." Blaine smiled as he put Lucy down and I went over to give him a big hug. "Good game, Saylor and Sutton enjoyed watching you for the first time." Blaine smiled as he peeked over into their car seats. "Looks like they watched the back of their eyelids."

James hugged his son and then Blaine hugged my parents as we all chatted. "Coach Bolton, I heard you are back to coaching just in time for our game." Troy turned to greet Coach Sams with a smile on his face. "Just in the nick of time,"

"Gabi, I'm glad you are doing well. Blaine told me all about what happened. Are these the two who wanted to make their presence known early?" we all laughed and nodded, "That's Saylor and right next to her is Sutton," a smile grew over Coach Sams face. "They are both very cute, congrats, Coach Bolton, congrats Gabi," I smiled and nodded. "I believe each of them will be in a different colored onesie next week. We can't be too biased on who we want to win." Everybody laughed as Troy shook Coach Sams hand as he walked away.

Troy smiled as he looked at our babes. "You ready? We have one more stop," I just nodded and he grabbed both car seats while I walked out with my family. My parents hugged me at our car as Troy got each of the car seats all buckled in. "I love you guys,"

"I love you Aunt Gabi!" Lucy said and I hugged her tightly as I gave her a kiss on the cheek. I hugged James and then slipped into the car as Troy started it. "How long is our stop going to take? I need to get home and pump and they should get to bed soon." Troy slid his hand over my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It won't take too long but I think it should be done tonight." I just nodded as he turned the radio up a little bit as I was so tired but I was so grateful to have them home and be this tired.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment and before I knew it, Troy was rubbing my shoulder, "I hate to wake you up but we're here," I pushed up and I looked around and I paused. I blinked my eyes and Troy slid his hand into mine. He gave a gentle squeeze as his voice entered the car, "I thought it was time for your sister to meet them," I couldn't stop my tears as I looked over at him. "From all of the stories I have heard, I can only assume she would be pissed that she was one of the last."

A laugh bubbled up out of my throat with a sob behind it. "She really would have," I wiped away my tears and Troy squeezed my hand gently again. "Unless you don't want to do this today, then we don't have too." I shook my head, "No, I think they should. I just…" I closed my eyes and I tilted my head back to take a deep breath. "The fact that you thought of this and that you are doing this with me tonight…" I swallowed on the tears and he slipped out of the car. He came over to my side and opened the door as he hugged me tightly. "Your sister is an important person in your life and it was a big moment for us when I came out here. I know it's important to you. I figured today was the best day to do it."

"I love you, let's take our two cutest babies to meet her." Troy kissed the top of my head and he smiled, "Let's do it,"

We got the car seats out and walked the few feet over towards her gravestone. Troy set down each car seat and I sat down in the middle. "Hey Zo," I whispered as I reached forward to trace her name with my fingers. "I brought a few people to meet you today, I saw a few, because I think it's your fault there is two of them." Troy snorted behind me and I smiled, "Your niece and nephew, Saylor and Sutton. I think you've already been their guardian angel because they have already over came so many things in their short life. You would have loved them so much and been the first one to hold them. Probably before me." I smiled on the thought and shook my head, "I love you Zo, thanks for watching my two little people, thank you for putting Troy into my path. I just am not sure where I would be without all three of them." Troy's fingers gently squeezed my shoulder and he kissed the top of my head.

"I miss you, Zo," I felt myself bend over into a puddle of tears. Troy just did what Troy does best. He held me close and loved on me. I simply had no idea what I would have done without him.


Saturday, February 8th, 2020

Troy's POV

I opened the front door as Jesse and Sage were on the other side. Sage and her pregnant belly with an extra smiley Jesse. "Hey guys, come on in. Thanks for coming over to hang out with them." Jesse laughed, "This is just practice for the two of us. Thankfully, if the twins are too much, we only have to bring home one." I laughed as Sage sat her purse on the table. "This is true. Gabi just fed both of them and is finishing up getting ready. They are both sleeping in their cribs upstairs."

I tucked my hands into my jeans, "We made a bottle for the both of them in the fridge. They are labeled only because Saylor gets extra calories. They should both sleep for a little bit. They were awake for a while before feeding. They are both in their PJs but if they spit up or anything there are extras on the changing table upstairs. They each wear the same size diapers." I rolled on the balls of my feet as Sage smiled, "Any key things to know?"

"They are mostly still in that newborn stage of sleep, eat, and poop. If you want to get them out of their cribs to hold them and what not – go for it. Gabi just laid them in there once they were done nursing. She is finishing up getting ready." Sage clapped her hands with a grin, "I might be more excited than you and Gabi to have this night with them." I showed them where their stuff was downstairs before taking them up the stairs. Luna was all over Jesse the moment she saw him. I walked into the nursery with Sage where I found Gabi.

She was watching Sutton sleep when she turned to face us with a smile on her face. It was one of the first time she had put on make-up in a long time. I love her without it but tonight she looked radiating and I know she felt more put together without it. God, she was beautiful. She was in a snug pair of jeans with a loose-fitting sweater over top. She still hadn't put on shoes but I knew how distracting those two little ones could be. I swore she was even more beautiful now after having kids.

"Gabi, they are both so freaking cute." I smiled as I leaned against the door as Gabi told them about their swaddles and what they liked. Jesse looked over at me with a smug smile on his face. I shook my head with a smile as I walked out of the room. "Sage, I am going to go with Troy. Let you two chat." Gabi looked over at me with a smile on her face. I walked down stairs and Jesse shoved my shoulder, "I don't think I've ever seen you so in love before. I mean I thought you were in love with Gabi before but I think it's double now."

"She's amazing. I am very excited to spend the evening with her. I hate that I am going back to work on Monday. If I could spend every day with them I would. All day. Every day."

"I am actually really excited to be a dad,"

"You'll be a great dad," I told him as I went to the fridge and got a beer for the both of us. "Any big plans for you and Gabi tonight?" I shook my head. "No, I think we're just going to go to dinner and then she can decide if she wants to do something else. We have a good four hours we can be gone." Jesse smiled over at me, "Enjoy it. Just make sure you trade the offer." I laughed as I took a sip of my beer. "I might have to invite more hands over for that."

"Do you like having two of them?" Jesse asked. I smiled and nodded, "I mean, we're exhausted but we each can always hold one. They are going to have so much growing up together. I mean I think of Brady and I who were less than two years apart from each other and how much fun we had. I can't imagine somebody my own age. Well, I mean, besides you four." We heard a chatter down the stairs and I looked over my shoulder to see Gabi and Sage each carrying a baby.

She was stunning.

I took another pull of my beer as they walked closer. "You about ready?" I asked her. She nodded her head, "Yea, I just have to put shoes on. Jesse, do you want Sutton?" he nodded and scooped up Sutton and rocked him in his arms. "Wow, Jess, you look hot as fuck with a baby in your arms," I laughed as I polished off my beer as Gabi came back with mules on her feet. "You guys, do not hesitate to call if you need anything." I spoke. "We will come right back and be here."

"No, you two go out and enjoy yourself. We can handle these two beautiful babies,"

"Seriously, if they lose their shit just call us." Gabi said. Sage and Jesse both shared a look with each other and just shook their heads. "Not a chance." I laughed as I slipped my hand into Gabi's hand. "Let's get out of here, c'mon," she kissed each of the babes before we walked into the garage. "I'm nervous," she admitted and I gave her a small smile, "They are in good hands. It's not like it's Dylan," Gabi laughed as I opened up her car door for her but I paused as I let my hands grip her hips and I kissed the side of her mouth. "Hi, you look absolutely beautiful." I murmured into her ear. I felt the goosebumps run down her body and I smiled.

"You look pretty handsome yourself in these jeans and this flannel," I smiled as I kissed her on the lips. "Ready for some dinner?" she grinned and nodded, "I really am."


Gabi's POV

I tilted my head back in a laugh as Troy demonstrated how the boys acted this morning after seeing the two of us cuddle at the game. "They were giving me so much shit. I had to remind them that I was engaged to you and it was appropriate. Plus, we have two kids together." I squeezed his hand as we already ate dinner but we were both just so enamored with talking and catching up on our lives together. I had two glasses of wine while he was on his third beer.

He asked if I wanted to do anything else and I shook my head because I was happy right here. The place wasn't that busy and our server was more than happy to let us sit here. "Dylan also gave me shit but I just…I wish we could have met a lot sooner in life sometimes." His fingers brushed over my knuckles. "I don't," I told him honestly. "Because I was in such a different space before we met. I mean, prior to my sister dying even. I don't think I would have left Brad. I probably would have married him and hated my life. My sister dying was one of the worst things that happened to me but the person I became afterwards is the person I am proud of."

A smile lifted to my face as I looked at him and he only looked at me in awh. "I also think that you collided into my life the moment I needed you in my life. The past several months have been hard and I am so ready to turn the page and watch our little family grow. I can't wait for our future together but I also am so excited to just spend the whole day on the couch with you tomorrow. I know you wish as well that we could just spend every day together but that just means we'll cherish all of our time together."

"I really wasn't sure if I was ever going to get married before I met you. I never truly clicked with anybody. I had a few girls I dated for a while but it was never serious. I never saw myself marrying them." He paused as his blue eyes flickered around before landing on me. "Until I had one date with you and I knew that I was going to marry you." My fingers rolled around my engagement ring and I looked up at him. "One date?" he smirked, "You know this."

"I sometimes think you are just joking." I told him. He smiled and shook his head, "No, I'm not. I knew. I knew there was something about you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I was waiting for you, Gabriella." I leaned forward as our lips met in the middle of the table, "Can you believe it's been six weeks and we haven't had sex?" I said to him. He chuckled, "You had your insides cut open and babies came out and I couldn't imagine you would want to have sex any time soon."

My eyes glanced down at my hands and I shrugged, "I don't disagree. I am not ready and I know I'll probably get clearance soon but…" Troy reached out and his hand cupped my face. His eyes aligning with mine. "No, you don't have to go any further than that. All you have to say is I'm not ready and that's the end of the discussion. It'll come back with time. The last six weeks have been an emotional roller-coaster. You need time to heal and grieve and find yourself again." I just blinked my eyes several times and I pressed his hand into my face as I just wanted his touch. "You are such an amazing man,"

"I love you, Gabs. Sex is only good if we both enjoy it. You just tell me when you are ready and then I'll do everything I know to show you how amazing, beautiful, and glorious that body and soul is." Our eyes connected together and I slipped our fingers together. I tugged on it and Troy laughed, "Brie, I have to pay." I only rolled my eyes as he dug out cash for our remaining drinks as we tabbed out the rest earlier. He tossed it down with a tip before I drug him to the car. "I may not be ready to have sex but I really, really want to kiss you."

Troy stopped and tugged my body into his where he framed my face and his lips crashed onto mine almost making me dizzy. My fingers reached up to run through his hair as his left hand tugged the back of my head closer. "You make me insane for you, Gabs," his nose brushed along my cheek and I wanted to pull him closer to me. He inhaled and gently released me from his hold before we made our way to the car. "That's it?" I nearly pouted. Troy just shot me a smile before opening my door. "Just get in,"

I obeyed as he got into the other side of his Jeep before pulling out of the parking lot but he didn't go very far. Just to the parking lot down the road that was deserted. He shut off the car and scooted his seat back as I unbuckled my seat belt to crawl into his lap over the middle console. "Hi," he whispered as his fingers reached up the inside of my shirt. "hi," I whispered back to him. Our lips met briefly in the middle.

"Promise, we will make time for each other after tonight,"

"Every two weeks," Troy responded without hesitation. He sealed it with a searing kiss as his fingers pressed deeper into sides. I locked my arms around his neck and I fell into his kiss. The love he gave my body and the patience he observed. It was easy now because I wasn't cleared yet but I knew the moment I was he would wait for my agreement. He would never ask and I just loved that about him the most. "Two weeks?" I finally asked as we both tried to catch our breaths.

"I already scheduled our next one baring any complications with the babies. But my mom and dad are going to come over and hang out with them next Saturday so we can go out on another date. I told you, we aren't done dating. We will never be done dating, Gabriella. I will show you over, and over, and over again how much I love you." I laid my head on his shoulder as his arms just wrapped around me tightly. "I love you, Troy."

"I love you, too, if anything, I've fallen way more in love with you these past six weeks. Watching you become a mother, watching you in awh of cheering them on, feeding them, holding them, and taking all days with stride? Fucking amazing. You make me so proud, every day." I kissed up his neck and I smiled, "Are you trying to get laid?" he just laughed and shook his head while our lips met again together. This kiss was slow and gentle as if we were trying to not test our limits.

We continued to make-out in his car like teenagers for ten more minutes before I had concluded that I wanted ice cream and to go home and see my babies. Troy just gave me a smile and we got into the appropriate positions in the car. Our fingers laced in the middle and we shared those smiles with each other. Yea, this was the best.


Troy's POV

I could only laugh. Gabi laughed.

We pulled up to our house and all of our friends were over.

"Do you think they needed that much back-up?" I shook my head with a laugh, "I bet the others were jealous and just showed up. Probably drank all my beer. Those assholes." Gabi laughed again as we both got out of the car on the street as they were blocking the driveway. We moved towards the front door as we opened it up to hear a bunch of cooing. Gabi smiled up at me as she linked our arms together with a smile on her face. The front door closed when there was a shift of movement.

"Fuck, they are back early." Dylan whispered. Gabi and I both laughed together as we made our entrance into the living room. Dylan, Jesse, and Jax were all circled around the twins on the floor while Cameron was sitting on the couch above them. Sage, Sara, Lennon, and Josie were all cleaning the kitchen and the downstairs area. "What in the world is going on?" I said with a laugh. "Well, it started with Dylan and Josie just popping over because they wanted to see them. Then Jax and Sara followed by Lennon and Cameron. Then they all decided to start cleaning up and doing a load of laundry because why no and well…you caught us all."

"You guys did not have to do any of that." Sara came over and hugged Gabi, "We wanted too, that's the difference. Plus, we all got to snuggle those sweet, sweet babies who literally never cried unless they were hungry." I smiled as I got down on the floor with my friends. I smiled at Sutton and Saylor who were both awake and just lounging around. "Dad looks good on you Bolton," Jesse teased. I smiled, "I love them, that's for sure. Glad you all love them just as much."

"I think next Sunday the girls want to take Gabi out. It's super bowl Sunday so we can come over early. Make food and let the girls have the morning before the super bowl. We can all five tackle the kids together." I shared a smile and a nod, "That sounds awesome. She will need a day out."

Saylor was the first to cry on the floor and I reached for her as I sat up and cradled her against me. "Hi sweet baby," I murmured against her ear. She curled up against my chest and relaxed. Gabi came and sat next to me as she grabbed Sutton. "Did you two enjoy dinner together?" I looked over at Gabi who grinned up at Dylan. "You bet, then we made our like teenagers in the car. Jealous?" Dylan laughed with a smirk on his face. "Only a little bit. I can go home and take Josie with me without the fear of crying babies."

"Touché," I noted.

The group laughed as we were all just hanging out and having fun with one another. Gabi eventually took both of them upstairs to nurse with the girls trailing behind. "Did you all finish off my beer or is there some left?"

"We brought a 12 pack to replace." I smiled as we all went to grab a beer. I slid onto the counter, "Thank you guys, for coming over, I mean, I didn't invite half of you but you still showed up anyways and I can't thank you guys enough for it."

"We do this journey of life together," Jax said with a shrug. "Before too long we will all have kids and I never want our friendship to waver. If that means countless playdates – that means countless playdates." we all laughed as we talked about the upcoming games this week and how we were facing off against West Ashley on Friday. "I want the win. I want the two of us to go into the district tournament with one loss. That way we are 1 and 2 and we don't meet again until the championship. I want this year. I'll give Blaine his senior year but I want this one."

"That has to be hard morally for you at this point," I shrugged, "I know I have the group of guys to do it this year. We lose our starting five next year. West Ashley starting five is fucking juniors," Jesse smirked, "They do have some serious talent over there."

The girls all started to drift down the stairs minus Gabi, "Does she need anything?" I asked. Lennon shook her head, "No. She is just putting them in their beds all swaddled. She nursed them both together like a champ. What a woman,"

I smiled, "Thank you guys,"

"You found a good one, Bolton. Didn't think you could do it." I laughed at Sage as she hugged me, "Give Jesse all the tips, okay? Gabi could do nothing but rave about you." I felt my heart well with happiness. "I will."


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Next Update: December 19th