March – 9 months earlier
Richard Nealson made a lot of friends in his day, but that changed when he got locked up; it seemed as if anyone and everyone he ever knew wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Nealson didn't understand why, I'm a great catch. I tried to save Cassandra, it's not my fault she continued to live her sinful life. I did my best. I worked with the FBI for years, that should count for something, right? Nealson tried to work that angle with the guards—and eventually, he made 'friends' with Jason Palmer.
The guard had been at Rikers for the last four years and was working the cell block Nealson was located on, but he had bigger dreams in life than being a prison guard forever. After talking with the prisoner, he was promised a job at the FBI if he helped Nealson do the one thing that was nearly impossible to pull off alone…
Palmer also picked up shifts at Bayview to make some extra money, where conveniently, Cassidy was sentenced. Nealson had asked Palmer to pass along a note to the woman, and today was the day. Palmer was ready: 'deliver the note, one step closer to my goal—you got this man!' He said, giving himself a pep talk.
Cassidy wasn't sure what to make of the man at first; she thought his behavior towards her was strange until he mentioned Nealson's name—since then, she's looked forward to the days he works because she has been planning and scheming since the madam foreman read: guilty(on all charges). Cassidy knew she wasn't guilty of anything, and definitely didn't belong in prison. I'm a rich, powerful, beautiful, strong woman who doesn't belong with these people. They are low life, nothings…disgusting, dirty, gross, horrible nothings who don't deserve to look at me. I am THE Cassidy Anne Novak—I don't belong here.
Palmer walked into Bayview to start his shift with the letter in his pocket. Not wanting to look too suspicious, he took a few laps before lightly tapping against Cassidy's door; he dropped the note inside and walked away.
Cassidy picked it up and sat down on the metal slab they call a bed, carefully unfolding it:
I'm forever thankful for you because you know just how much I love cherries.
Christmas this year will be extra special, I sure do hope you're ready.
Between the 15 and 13, I hope you will see,
Cassidy at night, I know you'll follow thee.
I can only hope you forgive me for my inability to do right,
This time, oh this time I'm quite sure there will be absolutely no fight.
The only thought going through her mind after reading what Nealson wrote was: he better not fuck this up too!
December – present time
Today was a cold snowy day and Emily decided to make cookies with Harper while Blayke and Avery napped; Casey was working from home today and Alex was in the office, however, she was going to leave early to pick Charlotte up from school and get home before the storm got worse. JJ was coming with her as she and Emily were spending the night at the Novak residence considering nobody seemed prepared for a storm like this in the middle of December—it was only Tuesday but if the storm was as bad as they predict it will be, they might not be going into work for the rest of the week considering Fridays are a given day off anyways. School was already cancelled for tomorrow, and they were not sure about Thursday or Friday yet—but it's kindergarten, and if the roads are that bad, Casey and Alex wouldn't have an issue keeping Charlotte home. Miss Allison has told them many, many times how incredibly smart their little girl is, praising the mothers for teaching her so much from such a young age.
"Emmy chopit chips pease?" Harper said, batting her eyelashes and tilting her head to the side.
Emily couldn't resist any of the Novak girls—she had such a soft spot for all of them, between the perfect green and blue eyes of the four, it was too much for her heart to handle.
"More chocolate chips?" Emily teased, picking up the container of candy and putting it close to the little girl, just out of reach.
"Pease?" she asked again.
"Oh okay, just a few more," the brunette smiled. She new Charlotte would want to make some cookies as well, but they were only making chocolate chip right now—sugar cookies to decorate would be later when her girlfriend got there after work along with when the Novak mothers finished work as well.
Emily was so incredibly grateful to Casey and Alex; not only did Casey push her to go after her now girlfriend, but both women gave her the opportunity at a life outside of work. Not only that, they gave her girlfriend the most incredible opportunities as well. Novak and Co. paid for the rest of JJ's law degree, even though she isn't finished yet, it's completely paid for meaning she doesn't need to continuously worry about it—and she is also paid well for the work she does, no longer needing to work two jobs just to live paycheck to paycheck. Of course, Emily has her own fortunes because of her mother and doesn't pay for her condo due to that fact, but JJ liked knowing she could stand on her own two feet. It was a feeling she loved, and made her extremely proud. Casey and Alex not only invited them into their own lives, but their friends lives as well who welcomed them with open arms; it was amazing making real connections with people who actually wanted to be your friend. Emily wasn't used to that until she met the women—it was great.
"YAY!" Harper cheered from the spot where she was sitting on the kitchen island. She wasn't a fan of her toddler stool like Charlotte was—and with the Novak girls being so small, it was easy enough to put them on the kitchen island and bake with them right there.
"Alright little miss, let's count them," Emily said as she handed the chocolate chips to Harper.
"One," Emily said, and Harper repeated, "un", "two," "tooo", "three," "free", "four," "oorr", "five," instead of repeating the number, the little girl took the candy and put it into her mouth.
Emily laughed, "Hey!" Harper giggled and scrunched her body up to get away from the brunette but she got her, picking her up after she chewed the candy and gave her a big kiss on the side of the head, "You silly girl!"
"illy dirl!" Harper repeated, then Emily started to tickle her as squeals and laughs filled the kitchen.
Casey was in the home office and heart laughter pouring in; as much as she wanted to go out into the kitchen and see what was going on, she really needed to get some work done knowing Charlotte had a snow day tomorrow and they'd definitely be bringing the girls outside to play. Neither women would work, nor would they get anything done once Alex got home so Casey decided to focus. She was doing well until her mind wandered off to Christmas and what else they needed. Avery and Blayke were easy to shop for—being almost a year old, Fisher-Price learning toys were always great, they each got a little no pedal infant bike, a new pastel colored ball pit which is their favorite toy in the playroom, and new bath toys. Harper and Charlotte got individual presents, but their big gift was combined because they loved playing together. Alex and Casey went a little overboard but they knew with four girls, it would be worth it. They purchased a full play kitchen set for Charlotte and Harper—a refrigerator, sink with shelves underneath that is connected to the oven and stove, then of course the mothers purchased toy pots and pans, two shopping carts, new toy food, toy utensils, plates, bowls, aprons, baskets for the 'grocery store'—it was incredible. Thanks to Pottery Barn kids, their playroom would be forever transformed and all four girls would be able to use it for years to come.
Casey had done a lot of shopping for her wife, but she was looking for that wow gift; that being said, what do you get the woman who, in the blondes words, (has) 'everything I could ever want'. The redhead had kept up with writing her a letter every Friday and even though their life gets busy with four girls, they always find time to read them together. That was one of Alex's favorite times of the week; what can I get her that would be like the letters?
"AH-HA!" Casey said out loud as the idea popped into her mind. She quickly did some research and went to work at putting it together, "This will be perfect!"
While she was looking on the website where she ordered the gift for Alex, she found something she couldn't pass up for Charlotte and wrote down the SKU number so she could order it. Casey called the store and have the man put aside what she was looking for, saying once the storm passed, she would be in to finalize the purchase; Casey wasn't going to have them engraved until she saw the items in person, but was fairly certain they would both be perfect for what she was looking for. With that done, Casey went back to work.
"Hey, are you ready to go?" Alex asked, looking at JJ who was hard at work.
JJ looked at the time then up at Alex, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize, oh my…we're going to be late to get Charlotte," JJ stood up and started shuffling papers around, throwing them into her bag, clearly mixing up the files she was working on.
"JJ calm down, we have some time," Alex said calmly. "The snow doesn't seem that bad yet so we're good."
The younger blonde relaxed, but still continued packing up quickly. She didn't want to be the reason they were late to pick up her bosses daughter from school. JJ tried to keep it professional at work, everyone knew she was friends with Casey and Alex but that didn't change the fact she wanted to hopefully work her way up to someday being an attorney in the office; JJ knew the Novak's could pull strings, Liz would pull strings, hell Branch even loved the Novak assistant—but JJ wanted to do it with hard work and dedication which they all admired, especially Casey who did the same thing, never using her name or connection to get her anything. That being said, Alex earned everything she has as well—although Branch knew Alex her entire life she earned her position in the office; they wouldn't interfere with JJ's job once she graduated unless she asked for help—the only thing they'd do is give her a recommendation.
"I can't believe we're getting this much snow!" JJ exclaimed as she put on her coat.
"I know, it seems a bit crazy seeing as it's only December 12th," Alex agreed.
"Okay, I'm ready—let's go get the cutest little five year old in the world," JJ smiled.
"She's going to be so excited to see you," Alex said as they walked to the elevator. Casey had called this morning suggesting she bring JJ home with her so she and Emily could spend the night and they could decorate gingerbread houses. Casey bought a bunch of them to decorate and with the snow day tomorrow, tonight would be the perfect time to do them with the girls.
"I can't wait!" The minute they stepped into the parking garage both women could feel how cold it was and gasped, "Burr, it's cold!"
"No kidding! Thank god I already started the car," Alex said, jingling her keys. The amount of times the remote starter was used was unreal—it was such a necessary purchase when living anywhere with cold weather and snow.
The women got into the car, and off they went to Charlotte's school. JJ stayed in the car while Alex went in to sign her out and smiled when she saw Alex cradling the little girl in her arms. Gosh she's still so tiny compared to all these other kids JJ thought as she saw the other parents and kids coming out of the school.
Charlotte's face was buried in Alex's neck to keep her warm and away from the whipping winds and snow coming down as she opened the car door, JJ catching part of what the older blonde was saying, "...I'm not sure baby, but I do have a surprise."
"What is it mommy?" Charlotte asked.
Alex saw JJ turn around in her seat so she could look at the little girl and once the strawberry blonde saw her she screamed, "JJ! You comed to pick me up too!" she said, wrapping her arms around the blondes neck.
"I did honey, and I'm having a sleepover at your house tonight too," JJ smiled.
Charlotte squealed and turned to look at Alex who was nodding, "Okay baby, come on—let's get you in your car seat it's freezing out here." Charlotte went to get into her seat, Alex got her buckled then raced around to get into the drivers seat smiling as JJ and Charlotte continued to talk about their sleepover. It was just too cute.
Cassidy was pacing back and forth in her cell; she and Nealson had been communicating back and forth for the last 9 months now making sure everything was ready. Palmer should be heading to Rikers right now to deliver her note to Nealson—December 14th was the chosen day. If all went in their favor, they should be able to get a redo of Cassidy's plan. I will get those two little girls, Charlotte and Harper deserve to live a normal life with grammy instead of being raised by sinners. They'll be mine soon enough.
Palmer got to Rikers and delivered the note to Nealson, staying close by as he read it so he could be filled in on what to do next. Palmer really thought he had it made—Cassidy was paying him, and Nealson promised to make a phone call guaranteeing him an in with the FBI. What an idiot. Little did the fool know, he was committing multiple crimes in the process by helping the inmates. Palmer saw no harm in passing along a letter between 'lovers', and that's what Cassidy and Nealson said they were. The money was just an added bonus, but hey, guards get bribed right? Wrong. Jason Palmer was being played like a fiddle.
Nealson opened the note but before he read it shooed Palmer away; he sat down on the bed and read it over multiple times making sure he didn't miss anything. They kept it brief, but detailed enough that they would know what the other meant.
I know it's a long drive to the house, but we always made it there by night.
Remember you brought your gold our last adventure? It's always fun to be in disguise.
This time will be different, but not much considering fate…don't forget what I told you, I hate it when you're late.
If you're a good boy, I'll even give you a second chance before we end our perfect date.
Nealson smirked thinking about getting to have the perfect redhead again, it had been 17 years since the last time he had her…there's no way he would screw this up.
By the time Alex, Charlotte, and JJ pulled in the snow was really coming down and the older blonde was happy to be home. Charlotte went running into the house and into the home office like she did every day, "MOMMA!"
Casey spun around in her chair and opened her arms for the little girl who jumped into them, "Hi baby girl," she peppered kisses all over her. "Did you have a good day at school?"
"Mhm! And Miss Allson said we have a snow day tamorow momma, isn't that the coolest?"
"It is the coolest," Casey smiled. "Are we going to go outside and make a big snowman?"
"YA! And mommy said we can make ginger houses tonight and have marshmallows and hot cocoa and decorate cookies!" Charlotte said, bouncing in Casey's lap.
My wife and her sweet tooth, "We'll see, babe. Maybe we can save the cookie making for tomorrow, but we will definitely decorate the gingerbread houses tonight okay?"
"Otay momma!"
Alex and JJ walked into the house after Charlotte and were met with three squealing girls; Harper ran up to Alex yelling, "MOMMY!" Avery and Blayke crawling over to their mother babbling and grabbing onto her legs as Alex had already lifted Harper onto her hip. The twins were almost walking; they would pull themselves up on everything, take steps when they wanted to, but when either of them wanted to catch up with their big sisters, they would still crawl. Casey and Alex were thrilled when both babies took their first steps not only on the same day, but when they were home. Being a working mother, you're going to miss things—however, Alex and Casey made sure to try and be there for everything they could; of course some things they couldn't control like first steps, they just happened to get lucky.
"Hi sweet girl," Alex said giving Harper a kiss. "Did you have a good day?"
"Tookies mommy," Harper said pointing towards the kitchen; the smell of freshly baked cookies was wafting through the house and the blonde knew what she was talking about.
"You and Emmy made cookies?" Harper nodded. "I bet they're going to be so yummy," Alex remarked, poking the little girls tummy. She looked down and saw the twins had pulled themselves up against her legs and laughed.
"And hi to you too little ones," she said, running her fingers through their blonde hair. Their hair wasn't like Charlotte's and Harper's at all; Charlotte came to them at 2 year olds with hair to her shoulders—they've since cut it to keep it healthy, but even still, it's now halfway down her back. Casey didn't think much about the length when they first met Charlotte, but Alex definitely did until Harper's hair started growing almost as quickly. 2.5 and Harper's hair is past her shoulders as well—gorgeous, gorgeous hair on both of them. Not to say the twins don't have gorgeous hair, it's just the typical blonde baby hair. Itty bitty pony tails on the top of their heads with bows and that's it; Alex doesn't see that changing for them until they get older and even then, it took her a long time to grow her hair to where it is now, cascading down her back just like Casey's.
Harper spun to see JJ and squealed, "Dayday!"
"Hi honey," she smiled, and saw the little girl squirm out of Alex's arms so she could give the blonde a hug. Although the girls didn't put 'auntie' in front of Emily and JJ's names, they acted as if the woman were their aunts as well because they've known them their whole lives. Charlotte knows JJ works with momma and mommy and that Emmy takes care of her sisters while she's at school and used to take care of her too, but doesn't really understand what that means for a job title. The brunette has been in her life almost as long as all of her mothers others friends, so she doesn't see Emmy any differently.
Alex lifted up Avery and Blayke to give them each a kiss, and then Casey came out of the home office carrying Charlotte who wore a big smile on her face. "Momma said we getta make the ginger houses now!" she announced.
All the adults laughed, 'ginger houses'. The oven beeped and Emily went to get the first batch of sugar cookies she made while Harper napped—she had forgotten to put them in the oven until a bit later, but it was fine knowing they were decorating the gingerbread houses first. The sugar cookies would be the ones they decorated most likely tomorrow anyways according to Casey. JJ went with Emily to help, Harper in her arms so she could see the cookies—Charlotte squirming to get down wanting to see as well.
Alex put the twins down so they could crawl around a bit, knowing they wouldn't get far; Casey walked over and wrapped her arms around the blondes waist pulling their bodies flush together, "Welcome home beautiful."
"Mmm," Alex moaned into the kiss.
"Did you have a good day?" Casey asked when she pulled back a bit, still leaving her arms wrapped around her wife.
"Y-yes," Alex answered breathlessly, leaning in to give Casey another kiss.
"MOMMA, MOMMY come on!" Charlotte yelled, "It's time to make ginger houses!"
The women smiled into the kiss, giving each other one more before separating, grabbing a twin once they made it into the kitchen. Their kitchen island looked like a winter wonderland bake shop—the four girls lined up in their Inglesina fast table chairs; hands down one of the best purchases not only because they could easily attach them to the kitchen island, or any table top, but they were easy to clean, adjusted with size, had safety straps, and because Charlotte was still so little she fit in one and loved it.
Casey lifted Avery into her seat while Alex lifted Blayke into hers; Emily and JJ had already gotten Charlotte and Harper settled, opening the gingerbread houses and setting out all the candy into bowls. The babies were still to little to make them but they could definitely watch and have a fourth of a sugar cookie each; too much sugar is not only bad for their little bodies, but would keep them busy for a while. Casey bought four gingerbread houses for them to make, one for each of the big girls, and the adults could decide what to do with the other two. Knowing the girls would need help, Casey said Emily and JJ could each make one, however, they wanted to turn it into a friendly competition and have Alex and Casey make one as well. They put on some music, and started decorating—there was truly never a dull moment in the Novak house, and they loved it.
"Mommy look," Charlotte exclaimed pointing to her house. "Momma help me only a little bit but I did it most by myself."
Alex looked up from helping Harper and couldn't help but smile, "That looks great baby, are you sure you aren't a professional gingerbread house maker? Because I've never seen one look so beautiful before."
Charlotte beamed, "Mommy that's not a real job."
"It's not?" Alex teased.
"No," Charlotte shook her head back and forth then looked up at Casey, "Right momma?"
"Right baby," Casey said, placing a kiss to her cheek.
Emily and JJ were taking things very seriously, barely speaking other than to the girls when they asked them to look at their house, or if Charlotte spoke about her friends, or kindergarten. Alex and Casey just laughed at their friends concentration; Casey doesn't have a competitive bone in her body, Alex on the other hand loved to win—she's extremely competitive but in a very healthy way, losing doesn't ever make her upset unless it's against Johnathan and that has more to do with sibling rivalry than anything else. JJ grew up playing soccer, making her a competitive person by nature as well—Emily was more competitive with herself, but since she's made real friends…having friendly competition has become quite fun.
JJ was putting finishing touches on their house while Emily took over helping Charlotte, and Casey started to make dinner. She cut up some fruit for the girls to munch on instead of the candy they were trying to consume while decorating, then went to work on making some yummy lasagna. It wasn't the most spectacular dinner, but it was quick, easy, and would warm their bellies on this cold winter night.
Alex and Casey didn't know if they'd get around to making their gingerbread house, so instead, decided to let the girls help them with it while they both added things here and there. Casey came around the kitchen island after putting the lasagna in the oven and wrapped her arms around Alex's waist, kissing her shoulder.
Charlotte and Harper were so focused on decorating mommies house that Casey took Alex's hand and spun her around, the blonde squealing as she was pulled flush against her wife. They danced to the music, sharing a few chaste kisses before Charlotte said, "I wanna dance too!"
"Me ance!" Harper squealed.
Avery and Blayke were both clapping their hands together and babbling, Emily and JJ smiling as the mothers pulled the girls from their seats and spun them around the kitchen. Soon enough, JJ and Emily took the babies out of their seats and started dancing with them—this was nothing new to the Novak family, they had dance parties like this all the time. Ever since Charlotte was two, they would put music on and dance together, but to JJ being a part of a family again felt so good. Her life forever changed the day her sister died; to JJ, it's the day she lost her whole family. Sure she had her parents there physically, but emotionally and mentally they weren't there. Her father came around, but not until she was in high school and by then he was dying. She realized although her and Emily had vastly different childhoods, a lot was similar in the fact that they raised themselves. JJ smiled down at Blayke who was in her arms, then at her girlfriend who was dancing around with Avery—across the kitchen Casey was twirling Harper around as Alex spun with Charlotte: everyone was so happy, with not a care in the world.
The snow was falling, music was playing, girls were squealing, babies babbling, and woman laughing: nothing but love in the Novak home.
After bath time, Casey and Alex went to put the twins to bed while JJ and Emily were with the girls—they weren't used to staying for this part of the night, and it was really nice. The girls were extra cuddly, snuggling up with them watching Moana, Charlotte holding her elephant, Harper her giraffe.
Alex handed over Avery to Casey who already had Blayke latched to her breast and laughed, "What?" Casey asked.
"She's just always so impatient," Alex said, running her hand over Blayke's head gently.
Casey positioned Avery then looked back up at Alex. "Reminds me of someone else I know," she smirked, nudging Alex with her foot.
Alex scoffed, "Rude! I am not imp—" Casey gave her a look to say 'oh really' "Okay, I'm impatient."
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Casey spoke again, "Why don't you go get a book to read to these little cuties?"
"Look who's impatient now," Alex winked, walking over to the bookshelf to pick a few stories leaving Casey shaking her head.
Alex read the babies a few stories while Casey fed them, and by the third story, their eyes were fluttering shut. "Lex," Casey said, getting her wife's attention.
Alex couldn't help but smile, Avery and Blayke have loved holding hands while they fed since day 1, "Some things never change."
Casey pressed a kiss to both of their heads, "Goodnight my babies."
Alex stood up and reached down to grab Blayke, pressing a kiss to her forehead and put the baby into her crib, then she repeated the process with Avery. "Sweet dreams," the blonde said. Alex smiled as she turned around to head back to the rocking chair, extending her hands out to Casey helping her up pressing a kiss to her lips. Casey turned on the baby monitor while her wife turned on the nightlight, turned out the overhead light and they went back downstairs.
Emily and JJ each had a little girl in their lap and as much as the mothers would love to let the girls stay up a little late to snuggle, that doesn't get to happen when you're so young, and you're still going to wake up bright and early tomorrow. Charlotte saw her mommies but didn't say anything, she knew she could still watch the movie because Harper wasn't in bed yet—the little redhead didn't see her mommies yet though, and once she did, she wouldn't want to go to sleep.
Alex went into the kitchen to heat up some milk and Casey came closer to the couch so Harper could see her and said, "Okay sweet girl, it's time for bed." The mothers were expecting a fuss, but it didn't come—instead, Harper lifted her arms up and Casey scooped her out of Emily's arms. "You're sleepy tonight, huh?" Harper snuggled into Casey's arms further and sighed.
"20 more minutes, okay Charlotte?" Alex said as she entered the living room again.
"Otay mommy," the strawberry blonde said, positioning herself between both Emily and JJ now.
Harper was exhausted and it didn't take long after rocking her for the little girl to drift off into dreamland; Alex barely finished reading her a bedtime story before she was sound asleep. Two goodnight kisses, and Casey placed the toddler in her crib.
The women went back downstairs to get Charlotte and weren't the least bit surprised when they saw her eyes were already fluttering. Casey scooped her up and the little girls body melted into her mothers embrace right away and the redhead started to head up the stairs again. Alex stayed back for a few minutes, "Feel free to put on whatever. You two know where everything is, we shouldn't be long—heck, if you two want to stay down here alone Case and I can have a movie night in our bedroom," she said.
"Is that what the kids are calling it these days," Emily laughed.
"Oh shush up, you two are just as bad," Alex scoffed. "We'll come back down in a bit and you can let us know what you've decided."
"Thanks, Lexie," JJ smiled and watched as the older blonde ran up the stairs to go tuck in her oldest daughter.
Emily and JJ were left sitting on the couch together, they moved closer to each other now that they didn't have a child in between them and the blonde snuggled in the brunettes arms. Emily switched off the movie so they were no longer watching Moana however, once she did, JJ swatted at her.
"Hey, I was watching that!"
Emily laughed, "You want me to put it back on for you?"
JJ looked up at her girlfriend with a scowl on her face, "Is that a problem?"
"Nope. I just—" Emily trailed off. She was with the girls all day and had seen the movie countless times, clearly the blonde hadn't and wanted to see how it ended.
"I don't have any reason to watch children's movies on my own," JJ admitted. "I just want to see the end…please?"
Emily kissed her, "Who could resist those blue eyes?"
"Not you," JJ mumbled.
Upstairs, Charlotte had woken up a little bit in the transfer to her bed and even though she was still on the verge of sleep, wanted to hear a bedtime story.
"…No matter where you go, no matter where you are, no matter how big you grow, and even if you stray far, I'll love you forever, 'cause you'll always be my baby star."
"Goodnight baby girl," Casey said, kissing the top of her head. "We love you." Alex gave her a kiss and they both stood up heading towards the door. With one last look back towards their sleeping beauty, Casey shut the door then turned to look at her wife.
"I wonder how many more years we'll have of that book," Alex said.
"It's Charlotte's favorite," Casey shrugged. "I think on some level it's a comfort to her—just like her elephant, or playing with our necklaces while we hold her, rubbing the edge of her blanket against her face, those are all things she started doing when she was 2; just like we started reading her Bedtime for Baby Star every night when she was 2—it's safe." Casey paused, "I mean, Harper loves the book too but she has her own favorite, and I'm sure Blayke and Avery will have their own favorites as well one day."
"True," Alex said, wrapping her arms around Casey's neck. "You're so smart. I guess I never thought of it that way—she likes to read other books during the day, so I thought it was more of, actually I have no idea what I thought," Alex laughed.
Casey's squeezed her arms that were around Alex's waist a little tighter, "You're so cute, Lex. Come on, let's go lock up and see what Em and JJ want to do—maybe they'll want an evening to themselves and we can take a bath," she winked.
"Mmm," Alex leaned in and kissed her. "I love that idea! I already mentioned to them how they could take over the living room and we'd have a movie night in our bedroom; Em took it as I wanted to have sex with you."
Casey just laughed, "She's not wrong."
Alex blushed, then followed her wife as they went back down the stairs. They were expecting to find their friends cuddled together, but they weren't expecting to find them still watching Moana. "You could have changed the movie," Alex laughed.
"Shh," JJ said, her eyes never leaving the screen.
Emily looked up at her friends and smiled, kissing the top of her girlfriends head mouthing 'never seen it'. Casey and Alex understood—any new Disney film that came out was always interesting to them considering they had seen certain ones so many times they could recite them.
Casey made quick work of locking up the house for the night while Alex set out what they would need for the morning—it was something they did every night, Casey locked up, Alex set out the babies bibs, and the girls plates, bowls, and forks for breakfast. She also set out a bottle of wine, popcorn and some other snacks for Emily and JJ to have a movie night together.
They reconvened in the living room where Alex whispered, "We're heading upstairs for the night; open the bottle of wine I left out for you on the counter—if you don't like it, switch it out for another bottle in the cooler. Enjoy your night," she winked.
Alex grabbed Casey's hand and they went upstairs knowing the women knew exactly where everything was in their house. Normally a situation like this would leave Emily feeling incredibly uncomfortable; however, this is how Alex and Casey were with their friends—very accommodating, extremely kind, caring, and trusting when it has been earned. Emily could tell from day one with the Novak's that trust was not easily earned, with Casey in particular, but once it was, she was forever loyal—this was true in every sense of the word. She would give the shirt off her back to a complete stranger, but trusting you with her family is a whole different story. Emily felt incredibly lucky to be in the inner circle, and trusted with who she cares about the most in life: her children.
She went into the kitchen to find a bunch of snacks, popcorn, tortilla chips with a sticky note saying there's shredded cheese and salsa in the fridge along with soft pretzels and ice cream in the freezer, and a bunch of typical movie candy, M&M's, milk duds, skittles, sour gummies, cookie dough bites. Emily had no idea where Alex would have pulled all of this candy from, they are the healthiest eaters I've ever met. Well, besides Alex's ice cream addiction…but gosh I've never even seen an ounce of unhealthy food in this house.
JJ made her way into the kitchen and her jaw dropped open, "Where did you find all of this?"
"Lexie left it out for us so we could have a movie night," Emily said.
"They had this," JJ motioned to all the candy, "in this house? THIS house?"
Emily laughed and shrugged, "I guess. I've never seen any of it though—I know Lexie has a sweet tooth, but I thought it only extended to ice cream and cheesecake."
"Apparently not…well, movie night?" JJ asked.
"Absolutely babe," Emily said, wrapping her arms around JJ's waist and pulling her close to give her a kiss.
Alex and Casey were upstairs already rolling around in the sheets after their bath together—over four years together and they still couldn't get enough of each other. The only time their sex life 'faltered' per say was after Casey gave birth to their girls, and that's just because she wasn't medically cleared. That being said, the women did have some fun even when she wasn't cleared—they just couldn't keep their hands off each other.
"…oh fuck, fuck, right there don't stop baby!" Alex panted as Casey continued thrusting her fingers in and out of her wife's entrance while rubbing her clit.
"Cum for me," Casey husked.
Alex screamed out in pleasure, and it was times like these they were thankful for their soundproof walls, "Fuck," she breathed out, chest heaving.
Casey couldn't wipe the smirk off her face, there was nothing better than making love to your beautiful wife and watching her come undone—but she wasn't finished with her. Casey settled between the blondes legs to clean up all her juices, humming in satisfaction when Alex bucked her hips again. "Oh god."
Casey wrapped her arms around Alex's thighs keeping her steady while sucking her clit softly before licking up her slit; she dipped her tongue into her wife's entrance and started to fuck her again as the blonde grabbed onto Casey's hands, "Oh fuck baby, I'm going to—" she didn't get to finish the thought before coming undone again.
The women fell fast asleep naked in each others arms after exchanging I love you's, happy, and content as the snow continued to fall around them.
The family had two incredibly fun snow days together; the girls loved the snow—Charlotte building a snowman that she named Sparkles, they built another little snowman for Harper as well—the twins loved putting the snow in their mouths and getting surprised each time by how cold it was. The storm was worse than they predicted, and the Novak girls didn't get to play in the snow until Thursday as it continued to snow all through Wednesday—but they enjoyed that day inside, JJ and Emily along for the ride; but they didn't mind, it was great to be a part of it. Wednesday they decorated sugar cookies, made Christmas cards for their family and friends using finger paints, had some more hot cocoa, and watched Disney movies. Of course the day was kept the same in a lot of ways as well, nap times, meals, snacks, and a few learning activities, but they wanted to keep it fun. Emily and JJ were having a great time being with the Novak family, and as much as the women loved each others company more than anything, it was nice being snowed surrounded by others as well.
Charlotte's school had been cancelled the last two days, but it was opened as of Friday—that being said, the mothers had the day off from work, as did Emily and JJ. The couple was going to head back to their apartment after lunch Thursday, seeing as the roads were clear enough for them to actually drive on again, and the mothers were planning on keeping Charlotte out of school Friday. One day wouldn't make or break kindergarten, but Charlotte wasn't a fan of the idea—she loves school, and wanted to see her friends so she could tell them about her snow days; because of this, Casey agreed she would take the little girl to school.
"Okay sweet girl, you ready?" Casey asked.
"Mhm, but I needa get my backpack momma!" Charlotte said, suddenly remembering she was missing it.
"I've got it," Alex said from behind her, Avery on her hip. Blayke and Harper were in the playroom already, but little miss cuddle bug wanted to be held. "Give me a kiss," she said, squatting down to meet Charlotte's height.
The strawberry blonde ran up to her mother and gave her a hug and kiss, took her backpack, and ran towards the garage door. Casey gave Avery a kiss, then Alex and met the little girl at the door where she was waiting patiently.
"Come on momma! Let's go!"
"I'm coming baby," Casey said, tossing a wink over her shoulder at her wife. "I love you, see you soon."
"Love you too," Alex said as the door closed, then went into the playroom to join her daughters. Friday's were one of her favorite days, although she preferred the weekends with all her babies at home. Even so, having three at home is still great and she cherished it completely.
Casey was just pulling into the school when her phone rang, "Novak."
"Hey Casey, it's—"
"Hey Captain, what's going on?" Casey said, effectively cutting him off; she could recognize his voice anywhere.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"Umm, in the parking lot of Charlotte's school to drop her off, why?" Casey said, starting to get a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Casey, take Charlotte back home instead of bringing her into school, I'm already on my way to you now."
"Don, please tell me what this is about," Casey looked in the rearview mirror chancing a look back at Charlotte who was bouncing in her seat ready to get out—luckily Casey had taken the phone off of speaker so it wasn't on through the car anymore.
When Casey didn't receive a respond, she asked again, "Don, please."
"Cassidy and Richard have escaped…"
Casey's heart started beating rapidly in her chest and the only thing she could think about was her wife and kids. She knew Cragen was speaking to her, but Casey couldn't make out what he was saying. Charlotte is with me, and she's safe. I need to call Lex, I need to get home. I need to protect my family.
Casey put the car in reverse and started to leave the parking lot; she was pulled from her thoughts when Charlotte spoke, "Momma! You forgetted to bring me inside."
"I know baby, but we're not going to school today. I know momma said you could, and I'm so sorry—we need to get home and see mommy and your sisters."
Charlotte could sense the change in emotion of her normally composed, and happy mother, "Did something happen to mommy?"
"No baby girl, mommy is okay. You know how mommy and I always keeps you and your sisters safe?" she saw the little girl nod. "Right now, we need to keep you safe by making sure you're at home with us."
"Because of the snow?" Charlotte asked.
Casey took the easy way out and nodded, "Yeah baby, I'm going to call mommy and let her know we're coming home okay?"
"Otay momma."
Casey focused back on the phone call realizing Cragen most likely just heard most of what she just said, "Don, I need to call Lex—I'll see you soon." She hung up the phone and speed dialed her wife.
"Novak," Alex said into the phone.
"Lex, baby—" Casey started to say, but was cut off by her wife.
"Blayke Alexandria stop pulling Avery's hair, that's not nice." Casey heard screaming in the background which she knew was Avery crying because her sister just had a handful of her hair. "Shh, shh, shh, mommy's here baby. Case?" Alex said, again to let her wife know she was listening again.
"Lex, I need you to turn on the alarm right now. Charlotte and I are on our way home—and I'll explain everything when we get there, just make sure it's set okay?" They always kept their house locked up unless they opened the doors to go out into the backyard, and when they came back in, locked it back up—but they didn't use the daytime alarm often because of the neighborhood they lived in. Each time a door opened in their house, a sound would play through the house signaling so, as well as a notification on Casey's phone. They also had cameras in every room of the house except for the bathrooms and guest bedrooms for obvious reasons, and in the office was the monitor for all the cameras that could also be viewed from each phone.
"I—what? Why didn't you drop Charlotte off?" Alex asked, trying to focus on what her wife was saying.
"Honey please, I'll tell you everything when I get there. Just go turn on the alarm okay? I love you so much."
"I will. I love you too," Alex said. She didn't have enough time to let her mind wander as to what was going on—she just walked over to the panel and armed the house. Having three babies fighting for your attention doesn't give you much time to worry especially when you'd never think in a million years that not one but two people broke out of prison. Maybe Charlotte wanted to stay home instead. We'll have a nice family day. That thought warmed Alex's heart—nothing better than spending the day with her wife and babies. Little did she know their world was about to be turned upside down.
