How many children do they have

The clock on the night stand read 5:57am, as Jake shuffled into the bedroom, pulling off his shoes and clothes as he made his way towards the bed. He was just coming off the night shift from hell and all he wanted was to sleep for the next 24 hours. His head barely hit the pillow before the alarm started going off.

"No," he cried.

"Yes," he heard his wife saying from her side of the bed.

He turned his head so he could look at her. "How long have you been awake?"

"I woke up as I heard you come in the front door."

"I'm sorry, I was trying to be quiet."

"You were quiet. I just was sleeping lightly," Amy said as she moved up onto her elbow so she could get a better look at her husband.

"Mhm..." Jake murmured as he started drifting off to sleep.

"Jake, you can't sleep yet, you need to take the boys to school. Also, you have off today which means you are staying home with Maddie and Zach," Amy said, shaking him to wake him up.

As much as he loved his kids, the thought of staying home with a three year old and a two year old on just a few hours of sleep was not appealing to Jake. "I just need some sleep. How about you drop Seth and Caleb off at school, take Madeline and Zachary with you, and then drop them back off here before you go into work. That's three hours. It should be enough sleep for me until Maddie and Zach's nap."

"Sorry babe but I can't, I have a doctor's appointment before work this morning."

"Mhm…" Jake replied, drifting back off to sleep.

"Seriously, Jacob Peralta, get up now," Amy raised her voice slightly, gently slapping his head to wake him up.

"I'm up, I'm up," he said sitting up, rubbing his eyes and fighting back a yawn.

"Come on babe, let me show you how much I appreciate all that you do for me and the kids," Amy said, grabbing his hand and lifting him out of bed, pulling him into the bathroom.

"You know, I really do do a lot for you," Jake replied using his sexy voice, watching his wife as she walked into the shower.

" I know. And I really, really appreciate it." Amy pulled her nightgown off and threw it at Jake, winking at him as she gestured for him to join her in the shower.

...

Twelve hours later, Amy returned home, exhausted, to find her husband passed out on the couch, their daughter sleeping on his chest. The baby quietly played in his playpen, and their two older sons were fighting over a game of candyland, while cartoons blasted on the TV. She stood in the doorway for a minute, taking in the scene. Amy couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched her family.

"Mommy!" Seth yelled as he spotted his mother, running to give her a hug, his little brother not far behind him.

"Hi babies, how was your day?" she asked, hugging them before picking Zach up out of his playpen and giving him a big kiss on the cheek.

"It was great," Seth said as he began to fill Amy in on the first grade gossip, following her into the kitchen.

"Did you have dinner?" Amy asked, putting Zach down in his booster seat.

"No, Daddy said we had to wait for you," Seth said.

"Of course he did. Caleb, go wake up Daddy," Amy said as she opened up the freezer, searching for something she could feed the kids. It had been a long day and Amy did not have the energy to put together a healthy meal for her kids and husband. Amy pulled out a frozen pizza and frozen mozzarella sticks, deciding that this would have to be good enough for tonight. Amy could hear her sons resuming their argument in the living room. She preheated the oven as her husband walked into the kitchen, carrying Maddie who was still asleep. She smiled at him, hoping he could understand just how grateful she was for him.

"Ames, I'm so sorry," Jake apologized to his wife for not making dinner. "But, did you remember that Seth and Caleb had little league this afternoon? Because they did. Also, Maddie refused to take her nap this afternoon. Instead, we had a tea party."

Amy apologetically frowned. She could hear the subtle sarcasm in her husband's voice and felt guilty that he had to deal with such a long, busy day. She had forgotten that today was Thursday, the day the boys had baseball. Also, she probably should have warned Jake that Maddie went to bed late last night, meaning that she wouldn't take her nap. Amy felt incredibly bad for forgetting and putting her husband through this long day with no sleep.

"You are going to need to make this up to me," Jake yawned. "And it's going to take more than a blowjob in the shower to make it up to me," Jake said, covering his daughter's ears, even though she was still fast asleep on his shoulder.

"Of course," Amy said, standing on her tip toes to kiss Jake.

"Well, just think, we only have sixteen more years. Sixteen years and then we'll have a quiet empty nest again, with no kids to take care of," Jake raised his voice as their sons argument moved from the living room into the kitchen.

"Eighteen years," Amy replied quietly.

"Honey, I know its been a long day, but Zach is two," Jake explained patiently, "Sixteen years until we have an empty nest."

"No Jake," Amy said slowly. "It's going to be eighteen years before we have an empty nest."

Amy watched as her husband smiled, finally understanding the news that she was sharing.