"Avengers?" Elizabeth asked Hunter. "I don't know, sweetheart. What if the babies are girls?"

"Then we can do Wonder Woman! Please, Mom? I know the babies would love it."

Jack laughed at her expression. "Babe, look at the board we made on Pinterest. You would be surprised at what things are out there."

"You made a board on Pinterest? You, Jack Thornton, who said Pinterest is for girls?"

"Yes, I suppose. But it's potentially for our girls, right?"

"Uh huh. You better show me the board."

"Awesome!" Hunter cheered.

"I'm not saying yes, Hunt. I just want to see what you guys picked out." After she looked at the board, she smiled at Hunter. "What if we compromise?"

"What does that mean?"

"What if we just get things like a light switch and a ceiling fan and mobiles that are Avengers? The rest, we can decorate in those colors, like dark blue and red. That way you get to pick out some things that are Avengers but I get to pick out things too."

"Ok. I guess that's fine. Can we go pick them out tomorrow?"

"Well, I have to work, sweetie."

"Dad? Can we go? A man's day out!"

"Ok, Hunt. Maybe we should see if Uncle Tom and Grandpa Tom can come too."

"Yeah! Can I call them?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Can I have your phone? Actually, can I have my own phone?"

"No," Jack and Elizabeth told him at the same time.

"Didn't hurt to try," he said with a shrug.

Jack looked at Elizabeth at laughed. "A six year old, almost seven, with a cell phone? Can you imagine?"

"Nope and I am glad we are on the same page about that."

"Are you really okay with the Avengers thing, Elizabeth?"

"If we do it the way I explained it, yes. It will be fine."

Jack scooted closer to her on the couch and rubbed her belly, wanting to feel the flutter of his children.

"I think they are sleeping, Jack."

"I can't wait to hold them."

"Me either." She couldn't. She was now completely ready for the new phase in their life. She loved her job and would always but she loved her babies more. And Jack and Hunter, of course.

"Grandpa can't come, Dad, but Uncle Tom can. He said anything to get him away from wedding plans is good for him."

"Okay. Sounds good, Hunt. Time for a bath."

"Aww, I'm clean."

"Upstairs please," Elizabeth told him. "Give me a kiss first."

He kissed both cheeks and then her belly twice. "Love you, Mama."

"Love you, Hunter."

….

Elizabeth returned home from work the next afternoon pretty much convinced she was getting too pregnant to work. She was only about five and a half months, but she no longer could see her toes and she was finding it hard not to take a nap partway through the day.

"Jack?"

"Hey, babe. Dinner will be ready in about 30."

"I need to sleep. I might eat later."

"You feeling ok?"

"I am exhausted and I think I might need to start only working half shifts or not at all. These babies are zapping my energy."

"Whatever you think is best. I definitely want you to rest more."

"I'll try half shifts for awhile. Now, I'm going to sleep." She kissed him and carefully climbed the stairs.

"Where's Mom? I want to show her what we got for the babies."

"She's going up to take a nap."

"Oh." Hunter was disappointed.

"We can show her later. In the mean time, let's finish that chapter in your book."

Elizabeth woke up a couple hours later, still tired but ready to eat dinner.

"Mom! We had so much fun with Uncle Tom today," Hunter told her, climbing up on the stool while she prepared a plate for herself.

"You did? Tell me about it."

"First we picked Uncle Tom up and went to Abby's for breakfast. I had these really big waffles with strawberries and whipped cream! They were so good. Uncle Tom said I must have a hollow leg because I ate the whole thing!"

Elizabeth chuckled as she sat next to Hunter on the other stool. "Ok so after breakfast, you…."

"Went to the baby furniture store. There are so many different kinds of stuff there. Like cribs and beds and tables to change diapers and dressers. I didn't know babies needed so many things, did you?"

"Yeah, I had an idea."

"So we bought something there and then we went to another store and found the fan for the ceiling and the thingy for the light switch."

"Wow."

"And we bought some other cool stuff too."

"Where exactly is all this stuff you and Dad and Uncle Tom bought?"

"In the babies room. Wanna go see?"

"Why don't you go put your PJs on and I can finish eating and then I'll come see."

"Ok!"

After Hunter was ready for bed, they all headed into the nursery.

"You bought me a rocking chair, Jack?"

"Yeah, but it was Hunter's idea. He saw the navy blue cushion and thought that went well with the light switch and the fan."

"It does." She sat down and Hunter immediately climbed on her lap. "Thank you, love," she told Hunter. "This is perfect."

Hunter snuggled into her arms as much as he could but there wasn't a lot of lap left for him. "Babies take up a lot of room," he said, finally getting comfortable.

"Yes they do," she laughed.

"Mama, when do the babies come?"

"About four and half months from now. After you're done with school."

"That's a long time."

"Not really. It will go fast."

….

The next afternoon…

Elizabeth was picking up Hunter's room, finding it pretty difficult to bend over, when she found a folded piece of paper on his desk. She opened it and read the message written in crayon.

"Dear Opal,

I like you a lot and I'm glad you're my friend. If when we are big and older we are still friends, we should get married. I will learn how to cook if you don't want to.

Hunt

"Oh my gosh. Hunter Thornton has his first crush," she muttered to herself with a smile. She didn't even know almost seven year olds had crushes, but apparently Hunter did. She put the note back where it was and grabbed his laundry.

In the car on the way home from school, Hunter was pretty quiet.

"Hey, bud? You feeling okay?"

"Yeah."

"You're quiet. Something happen at school?"

"No. Not really." After a few moments, Hunter looked at Jack in his mirror. "Dad?"

"Yeah, bud?"

"How old do I have to be to get married?"

"Married? I think you need to wait a few more years for that." Jack tried not to laugh because Hunter seemed pretty serious.

"Like two?"

"Uh, no. You can't get married at age eight. Try at least fourteen more years."

"Fourteen! Holy cow, batman. That's a long time. I'll be old."

"Got some one in mind, son?" Jack said, unable to hold back his chuckle.

"Yeah. She's real pretty, Dad." Jack smiled and looked at Hunter's face. He had a crush and it was pretty adorable.

"Oh yeah? How old is she?"

"Six. She's got blonde hair and blue eyes."

"What's her name?"

"Opal Weise."

"Opal, huh? Real pretty name."

"Can I take her on a date?"

"Like where?"

"Abby's. We can have ice cream, but I may have to borrow some money."

"Let's talk with Mom and see what she thinks, alright, bud?"

"Ok."

….

Hunter ran in the house a few minutes later, wanting to talk to his Mom but she was sleeping again. He gently climbed up on the bed and laid down next to her, waiting.

Her eyes popped open a few minutes later. "Hi, Hunter."

"Hi, Mom. Can we talk?"

She smiled and kissed his forehead. "Sure. About what?"

"I want to go on a date."

Elizabeth looked up at Jack who had walked in the room.

"A date? To where?"

"Abby's. Can I borrow twenty bucks?"

"Twenty bucks? Who are you taking on this expensive date, Hunter?"

"Opal. Since we have to wait fourteen years to get married, I thought we could just go on a date."

"Fourteen years?"

"Dad said so. So can I?"

"Well, you can't go alone and maybe we should meet Opal's parents first. That's part of dating a girl."

"Okay, they can come for dinner but maybe Dad should cook."

"Hey!" she said, poking his belly. "You go change clothes, mister, and take Bruce out." Hunter giggled and got off the bed, leaving the room.

Jack removed his dress shirt and laid down where Hunter had been only a bit closer. Close enough that his nose touched her cheek and his lips touched hers.

"Hi, beautiful." He kissed her again, his hands caressing her belly.

"Hi. How was school?"

"Just fine. How was home?"

"Good. I did laundry and vacuumed and dusted, then I fell asleep. Oh and in between there, I found our son's marriage proposal to Opal."

"His what?"

"Yeah. It was probably the most adorable thing I've ever read. Who knew seven year olds had crushes?" She got up slowly and wandered into the bathroom.

"He told me she's real pretty. Blonde hair and blue eyes."

"Cute!"

"I prefer brunettes myself."

….

Two weeks later, spring break was just about to start for Jack and Hunter. Elizabeth had been working half days at the station and felt much better. She missed the energy and environment of the precinct but this was what was best for her and the babies. That made it easier. Her stepping back from her full time duties as an officer made it easier to help Jane out with all the last minute details for her and Mike's wedding which was now only a day away.

At home, Elizabeth had just woken up from an afternoon nap and Jack and Hunter were due back home in about an hour. She headed down stairs and grabbed Hunter's school directory from the drawer in Jack's office. Over the past two week Hunter wouldn't let them forget what they had said about his "date" with Opal.

The high level of excitement Hunter had caused his parents to sit him down to explain to him that this would simply be a play date, not a romantic date. They talked about how at his age it was only appropriate to be friends. They could be good friends, but they were too young to see each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. He was alright with that. Hunter's almost 7 year old heart was pretty confidant that one day, everything would turn out just fine.

After finding Opals parents emails in the directory, Elizabeth emailed Susan Weise.

"Dear Susan,

We haven't officially met yet, but I have heard a great deal about your daughter, Opal. She and my son Hunter are in the same class this year and apparently good friends. Hunter would love to invite Opal to have dinner with us at Abby's Diner over break. My husband Jack and I would like to extend the invitation to you and your husband as well. Let us know some nights that would work if you're interested.

Elizabeth Thornton"

She placed her phone down on the counter in the kitchen and began pulling out ingredients for chocolate chip cookies, thinking Hunter might like a special snack to kick off his spring break. Didn't hurt that she was craving them too.

As she was putting the first pan of cookie dough in the oven, her phone dinged with a new email.

"Elizabeth,

Thank you for your email! Let's just say we hear a lot about Hunter from Opal as well. I believe the word "marriage" has even been tossed around a time or two… or many, LOL. Opal has assured us several times that we'd really like Hunter.

We'd love to meet Hunter and you and your husband as well. How's Tuesday evening sound? Say, 5:30?

Susan Weise"

Elizabeth giggled to herself as she replied.

"Susan, you just made my little boy's whole vacation, I'm sure! See you then!

Elizabeth"

She placed the phone back on the counter and began filling up the next pan with little dough balls. But before she got too far, her cell rang. This time it was Jane. Elizabeth answered on speaker and continued her work.

"Not getting cold feet are you?" she teased.

"Hardly! Is it tomorrow yet? I'm ready to be married now!"

"Almost there, honey. This time tomorrow you will be Mrs. Mike Hickam."

"I love the sound of that!" Jane swooned. "You're still coming tonight right?"

"For the rehearsal? Of course! We'll be there early to help with anything you need."

"Great! I think we're set. Mike took today off to finish moving his things in."

"Where is he now?"

"Picking up Mikey and then grabbing one last batch of things from his place. Then he's all moved in! He's staying at Jesse's tonight. Anyway, sorry to bug you. I'm just antsy," she laughed.

"Don't worry, I get it. Besides, that's what I'm here for."

"I know, thank you. Oh! Margaret just got here. She's doing my hair for tonight."

"Say hi for me! See you guys soon!"

"Bye!"

Elizabeth laughed to herself as she got off the phone. If you had told her over a year ago that the two women she met when Hunter first invited her to his hockey tournament would become two of her truest friends, she probably wouldn't have believed it. That's what happened though. She looked around her home, so much had changed since she first moved in. At the time she was single, brokenhearted, her closest friend was probably Snow the cat. Now she had a loving husband, a son, countless friends, and two more babies on the way.

Snow, her black cat jumped on the counter. "What are you up to, sneaky?" She carefully lifted the cat and placed her on the bar stool. Bruce, the energetic beagle seemed to think Snow wasn't worth getting up from his spot on the kitchen rug for. It was nice to see them getting along. Snow had hidden in Jack and Elizabeth's room a lot when they first got the hound.

The first pan of fresh baked cookies was out of the oven just as Jack's car pulled into the drive. She could hear Hunter thundering up the steps just before the door flung open.

"Mom! I'm home!" he yelled.

"I can see that, love. I'm right here," she laughed.

"Oh, sorry." Hunter gasped. "Cookies!"

"Wait a minute they're…" it was too late. "Hot…"

"Ow, ow ow!" Hunter complained as he bounced around the kitchen with a mouth full of cookie.

"Tried to warn you. You're too fast."

"Warn me faster," he sassed playfully.

"Watch it, little man. You keep that attitude up I won't tell you the good news I have for you."

"Who's got good news?" Jack entered the home with a big smile on his face. "Hi, babe."

"Hi." She leaned into him for a kiss. "I was just about to tell Hunter something."

"Tell me!" He grabbed another cookie, more carefully this time and sat on the floor next to Bruce.

"I talked with Opal's parents today. We're going to meet them at Abby's for dinner on Tuesday."

"Really? Yes!" He did the cutest little dance from his perch on the floor.

….

Later that evening, the Thornton's drove into the city to Jane and Mike's church for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. They parked in the back of the church. Mike and Jesse came out to meet them to help carry in the centerpieces and tablecloths for the dinner that was going to be held in the churches newly renovated fellowship hall afterwards.

"Why am I wearing a tie? I'm not even in this thing!" Hunter fussed.

"You look nice, love." Elizabeth assured him. "Besides, you remember what we told you before? Bruce Wayne wears ties."

"Nice try, Mom. That worked last time, but not now. I'm over this stupid thing."

"Hunter James," Jack warned. "If I have to wear one right now, so do you."

"Fine," he sighed as he quickly headed up the stairs to find Mikey.

"Ready for this?" Jack asked his long time friend. Mike just stood there beaming at him.

"More than ready. Now I don't have to sit back and be jealous of you. I get to be happy too."

"I guess that just leaves me…" Jesse faked sadness.

"What about that girl you were seeing? Clara?" Mike asked.

Now Jesse beamed. "She's here. Things are going well too. Who knows, maybe it'll be me next year."

"Should we warn the poor girl?" Jack teased. "Tell her what he was like back in the day?" Jack and Mike laughed.

"On second thought, you two aren't allowed to talk to her… ever."

"We'll be good Jess. I promise." Jack winked.