Okay, wtf is up with the bars? Anyways. :-p Katie, this chapter is so for you! Kristen and I hope everything is alright and we hope to talk to you soon! You'll know what's 'for you' when you get to it ;-) Everyone else - thank you for your reviews and reading, I know we can get a little...como se dice...loca on you, but it's all in good fun, right? Enjoy!
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By the time Lilian had changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, John was waiting and ready to go. He sat down on the bench, watching her zip up one of her suit cases.
"So do you want to fly out tonight, or get a hotel and fly out tomorrow?"
She turned to face him, running her brush through her hair. "It doesn't matter to me. It's not like we're in any hurry to get there. We have 'til Sunday."
He nodded. "Yeah, but we can save a hundred bucks by not staying in a hotel."
She threw the brush into the remaining open bag. "Only you would think of saving money."
He sent her a grin and got up grabbing her bags. "What can I say, you've taught me well."
"Aw, so you do listen to me? Who would have thought?" She smiled sweetly as he shot her a look.
"Yeah yeah, let's go and before you even think about it...you're not allowed to touch any of the photo albums!"
"Why not? Your mom and I didn't finish last time I was over." She sent him a pout as she climbed into the car. "We'll just send you out with the guys!"
"Come on, you have to be bored of the baby pictures by now!"
"No way! You were adorable."
He sighed and pulled the car out on the road. "So what are we doing? Hotel or airport?"
"Let's just go for a late flight. We'll sleep late," she decided.
"Alright, home it is. And remember, Vince has paid for my parents to go on a vacation for letting him use the house for that vignette."
Her eyes lit up. "So we get the house to ourselves?"
"Yep, and no matter how old I get, I can guarantee you my mom will run this speech by us before she leaves," he cleared his throat and went into a bad impression of what was supposed to be his mother. "Now John, there will be no parties in my house. If I find out there were more guys here than a few friends and your brothers, you will be in so much trouble. And don't even think about bringing in beer!" He cleared his throat again. "Then my dad will jump in with: Now honey, he's growing up! He has every right to do something like that!" He looked at Lilian, who was laughing. "Then he'll wink at me like I'm going to get laid by some college chick."
Lilian giggled. "Ooh, so I get to be said college girl right?"
"Well...I guess."
She reached over, smacking his thigh. "I feel no love!"
"Oh, you know I'm only joking. But no more abuse or I'm telling my mom!" He chuckled and stuck his tongue out.
"Go ahead, she likes me more! She'll even tell you so."
"Oh, I'm sure."
They arrived at the airport and boarded a flight to Boston. Lilian quickly fell asleep and didn't wake up until the plane landed. They loaded their stuff into John's truck and he drove to his parents' house in West Newbury.
"Would you please stay awake, Lil? You're making me tired."
"I'm sorry," she yawned and then flicked on the radio. "Here, allow me to sing for you."
He smiled and held his free hand in front of her face like a microphone. Lilian held on to his wrist and started belting out the words to Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar.
Once the song ended Lilian leaned her head against his shoulder, giggling. "Oh God, you know, you're the only one who does that for me."
He leaned down, kissing her temple. "That's because I'm the only one as crazy as you."
"True, true, which is why I love you." She looked up, smiling brightly as they approached his house.
John pulled the car into the driveway, not the least surprised to see his mom already outside waiting for them. He turned the car off, and turned to Lilian to see her already out of the car and walking over to his mom. He watched as the two women hugged, and smiled, climbing out. He grabbed the bags and walked over to them, hugging his mother tightly.
"Come on in you two, you guys deserve some sleep."
He nodded his head, sending Lilian a grin. "Well one of us already slept most of the way."
Lilian smiled sheepishly. "Sorry?"
His mother shook her head. "Don't you pay him any mind!"
As soon as John had the door opened, he was met by two paws on his chest and a pink tongue lapping at his face. He dropped the bags and wrapped his arms around the big rottweiler. "Hey Tyra, did ya miss me!" He started making mock growling sounds from the back of his throat and pushed the dog off before running into the front room, the dog quickly chasing him.
Lilian and his mom walked inside, shaking their heads. "That dog is going to just love you two staying here," his mother said.
Lilian smiled and turned to face her. "Carol, thank you so much for letting us stay. I really do appreciate it. It's so much better than paying money for a hotel, or flying down to his house in Florida or mine in Manhattan. I really appreciate it."
"Don't worry about it. We needed somebody to watch the house while we're down in Florida anyways."
"So that's where Vince sent ya? John didn't say."
"Yeah, Vince's a good man." Carol smiled. "Well, I've got the guest room all made up for you two since I doubt you want to stay in his old room."
Lilian sent her a smile. "You didn't have to go through all that trouble." She added teasingly, "John could have done it!"
Carol laughed and sent the blonde a smile. "Have I mentioned how much I'm going to love having a daughter?"
"Not lately, though the last time we talked, I think you did."
"Well in that case, I'm going to love having you around!" She gave her a gentle squeeze before leading her over to the couch. "Should we finish those photo albums?"
Before Lilian could reply, John came back into the room. "Mom, Lily's kinda getting bored of those things."
The small blonde sent him a look before turning back to his mother. "Don't mind him; I would love to see the rest of them."
"No, it's alright, you two had better get to bed," she said slowly, looking at her son. She glared at him, half serious, and then turned back to Lilian. "We can look at them tomorrow before we leave."
Lilian smiled. "I would love that."
The next morning, John's parents finished packing their things before setting all their suitcases by the door. John and Lilian came downstairs a little after 11, both of them yawning. He looked out the kitchen window and saw a familiar black SUV sitting in the drive way.
"Mom, what's Matt doing here!"
Lilian's eyes immediately lit up. "Matt's here!"
Carol walked into the kitchen, followed by John Sr. "He and Sarah are coming along with us."
"Vince paid for them too?" John scoffed. "Why doesn't he give me a vacation?"
Lilian rolled her eyes and shook her head. "The poor baby didn't get his usual 8 hours of sleep, so he's going to be cranky today." She smiled at his parents. "Is Isaac going too?"
"No," Carol said, looking away from the group, smiling slightly.
"So where's he going?" John pressed.
"Well," his mom drawled out, "we kind of told them you two would watch him."
Lilian covered John's mouth before he could reply. "We'd love to." Turning back to John, she smiled brightly. "We get to play house!"
"Plus, it'll be good practice for you guys," his mother added gently.
John looked between the two women with a groan. "Alright, we'll watch him. Do we at least get paid?"
"Johnathon!" "John!" Lilian and Carol both yelled simultaneously.
"I was only joking!" He snickered, glancing up as his brother and his family came walking in. "Hey guys."
Lilian climbed to her feet, rushing over to give them all a hug. She gently lifted baby Isaac into her arms, cradling him against her chest. "Hey little guy."
John hugged his sister-in-law and his brother, whispering in his ear, "I'm going to kill you."
"Love you too, man!" Matt said back, grinning.
"Alright, now John," Carol started with the speech he had relayed to Lilian the night before. He rolled his eyes, while Matt was behind her, mocking her every word. Sarah and Lilian giggled quietly.
Their father ushered his wife out the door. "We'll be back early Sunday morning. Carol left a list of numbers on the refrigerator for you if anything happens."
"We'll be fine," John insisted.
"Lil, I know you two will be okay, but if he starts to cough, I put some of his medicine in the bag I put on the kitchen table," Sarah instructed.
Lilian nodded. "Okay. You have both of our cell numbers right?"
"Yes, and so does Matt. Don't worry, we'll be calling daily." She smiled and took her son back from Lilian. She started talking to him and Lilian grinned.
Matt walked over to her and took her by the arm. "I will try to keep her on a tight leash, I promise."
She laughed and shook her head. "It's not a problem, I understand. She can call as much as she wants."
Sarah finally passed the baby back to Lilian. "Thanks again for doing this, we haven't been away since we had him."
"You guys deserve this, go on and have fun." She smiled over at John as he stepped closer. "We don't mind at all."
He nodded his head, wrapping an arm around his fiancée's waist. "We really don't. Now get going before I change my mind!" He sent them a wink to show he was only joking.
A little over an hour later, Lilian had Isaac fed and down for a nap. She settled down on the couch beside John, yawning softly.
"You're amazing with him, you know. It seems so natural for you." He said softly as he brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.
"With a baby like Isaac, it's not hard. He's so cute, and God...I can't wait 'til we get to do this with our own baby."
"Yep, just a couple more years."
Lilian shrugged and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, but sometimes I think of how it wouldn't kill me to not re-sign. Trish and Amy are leaving, both for different reasons, but Trish is doing it to have a normal life."
"And you'd regret every second of it when your album comes out and you're a huge hit, but you can't go out to do concerts because you're at home with our baby," he replied knowingly.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know, I got it!" She laughed and smacked him in the arm. "So now that we're all alone in this big house for five days, what are we going to do?"
"Well I had a couple things in mind," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
She giggled softly, then made a face. "What if we wake the baby?"
John groaned playfully. "Tell me one thing, when you do get pregnant…can we still have sex?"
She tilted her head and thought it over. "Will it hurt the baby? I mean what if you poke his or her eye out!" She feigned fear as she looked over at him.
"Please tell me you're joking, please!" He crinkled his nose and nudged her onto her back.
Lilian looked up at him and tried not to laugh. "I'm serious, we can't risk hurting the baby!"
"Fine, but you know what I think we should do is practice." He grinned before leaning down over her to kiss her.
Lilian wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down. She was reaching for his shirt when Isaac began to cry.
"See, this is the exact reason why I say no children!" John grumbled, sitting up.
"Oh stop it. Maybe you should go see what's wrong?"
"Me!" He looked at her like she asked him to murder someone. "Why would you want me to do something like that?"
"Dios mio," she said laughing, and standing up. "Come on, you're more of a baby than he is." She grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs.
"Yeah, because he gets to sleep for as long as he wants!" John whined.
"You could sleep now if you want!" She tossed back, all but dragging him up to the baby's room.
"Very funny!" He stuck his tongue out, hanging back so that she could check on the baby.
"John, come here!" She glanced back at him, pointing to a spot next to her. "Now."
He grumbled and walked to her side, looking down at Isaac. "It'd be so much easier if you could talk and tell us what's wrong."
She laughed softly. "Why don't you pick him up?"
He nodded his head, gently leaning down to lift Isaac into his arms. "Hey buddy." He rubbed his back, moving the baby so that he could cradle him against his chest.
Lilian smiled as the baby quickly relaxed. "Looks like I'm not the only natural here."
"Lil…somethin' stinks."
"John, I told you to take a shower this morning!"
"No, I think Isaac here left you a present. So uh, why don't you take care of it?" he asked, handing her the baby.
"Me!" Lilian looked at him, shaking her head. "Nope, you can practice. Remember, like downstairs?" She held Isaac out for John and made a face. "¡Que apeste!"
"No, I don't think so. You're the one that wants a baby so bad, you do it!"
"Okay, okay, fine, we'll do it together," she resolved. She watched him lay the baby down and stand in front of him. "But, you might not want to stand there." She smirked; semi-regretting she had offered that piece of advice.
John simply smirked, not budging. "What's that supposed to me? I kind of have to stand in front of him to change him!"
She smirked inwardly. "You're right. Why don't you get the diaper off while I get his bag?" She had just made it to the bag when she heard him scream. Trying not to laugh, she called out, "Something wrong?"
"YES! He...he peed on me!"
"I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen."
He grumbled, struggling to put a diaper over the baby. "You knew I wouldn't listen, didn't you!"
She smiled sweetly and carried the bag over. "Hmm, maybe."
He looked at her, "What? No, 'I told you so'?"
"No, I'm pretty sure you learned your lesson." She smiled and pushed him gently. "Go get cleaned up, I'll finish up in here."
"What's the catch?" he asked, after stopping in the doorway.
"Nothing! Go, before I make you do this."
"Bye!"
Later in the evening, after dinner, they were all sitting on the couch. Lilian was playing with Isaac and John was flicking through the channels.
"Oh, John, before they left, Sarah told me that Isaac loves Finding Nemo."
"What's your point?" he asked, turning towards her.
"We should watch it, of course!"
"Is that the fish movie? The kiddie one?"
She nodded. "And we should watch it en español so that Isaac can learn the best language in the world."
"One, I don't even understand that movie in Spanish, how will he? Plus how will Matt and Sarah feel about him speaking Spanish?"
"Sarah said she wants Isaac to learn all that he can, it's best to start young. Besides I'm here to help!"
He scoffed and turned Nemo on in Spanish. "Can I go to sleep now?"
She shook her head and leaned against him, turning Isaac so he could face the TV. "No."
He wrapped his arms around her, resting his head against hers. "Fine, evil one."
"Shh, the movie is starting!"
As the movie played, Lilian kept giggling at random things that John clearly didn't understand. Isaac would laugh as well, but it was more directed towards the exaggerated expressions on the fishes' faces.
John shook his head. "I don't get it."
Lilian looked up at him. "Oh c'mon, how is a fish saying 'Luz, por favor,' not funny!"
"'Light, please,' since when is that funny?" His jaw dropped, suddenly realizing what he said. "Oh my God, I just understand what you said in Spanish. You are taking over my brain. I'm not even John anymore, just call me Juan, really."
Lilian started laughing even harder. "Juan…I love it!"
He shook his head and looked down at the now sleeping baby. "I don't think your movie fest interested him in the least."
She stood up carefully, trying not to wake him. "He's had a very busy day, I'm sure he's exhausted."
"Come on, let's get him to bed then maybe we should turn in." He leaned over, turning the television and lights off before carefully guiding her up the stairs.
After gently laying the baby down and turning the monitor on, she turned to face John with a smile. "Okay, off to bed, baby."
He nodded his head and lifted her up into his arms, carrying her to the guest room and gently climbing into bed with her. "Hey Lily?"
She snuggled into his frame, laying her head on his chest. "Yeah?"
"Are you gonna breast feed our baby?"
She arched a brow and looked up at him. "Do I even want to know why you're asking?"
He shrugged and sent her a silly grin. "Just gonna suggest we start practicing..."
She rolled her eyes and laid her head back down. "Good night, Juan."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Night."