Stephen
"Apparently Miles refuses to baby sit for us anymore" murmured a preoccupied Stephen Connor, trailing a finger down his wife's shoulder before kissing the path lightly.
Upon arriving home he'd been delegated the task of chatting with the young doctor, making sure no sustainable damage had been caused throughout the night as his wife checked on both children, ensuring they remained asleep, intact and breathing.
"Why's that hun?" she asked casually, patting the hand secured around her waist while ignoring the attempts her husband was making at rekindling where they had left off at the front door.
"Natalie" he growled against her ear, sending shivers up her spin "As much as you know I enjoy discussing our friends I did have other ideas of where this night might be headed. The fact that both of our children are asleep at the same time is only furthering my intentions and I'm afraid that if we don't take advantage of this scarce opportunity all hope may be lost, and well, we both know where that will lead"
Natalie bit down on her lip to stop herself laughing, spinning to face a grinning Stephen who still believed that tone worked with her.
Poor man hasn't realised I have 15 years of Connor experiences behind me
With his arms trapping her by their young daughter's crib she found no choice but to lay both hands on his forearms, tilting her head to the side in mock imitation of considering his thought.
"Well" she began slowly, throwing her head to the other side for effect. Her blonde waves bounced lightly with the movement; the heat rising in her cheeks as Stephan stood enthralled before her.
She hadn't doubted her power to make Stephan Connor go weak at the knees in years, though it still managed to catch her off guard when ever he got that look in his eyes.
The whole I-can't-believe-I-have-the-most-gorgeous-woman-before-me look that he wore so well.
"You say something?" she asked, suddenly aware that Stephan was leaning towards her. Sometimes her thoughts got in the way of reality and she had been caught out on many occasions with a similar gaze to her husbands.
"Just commenting on maybe moving this to a more appropriate room" he breathed out slowly, enjoying the look his wife was giving him in question.
In actual fact he hadn't said a word, but Natalie pulled of confused so adorably that he couldn't resist holding onto it a bit longer, even if it did earn him a swat moments later.
"Stephen!" exclaimed Natalie huffily, mentally acknowledging that he was right but not willing to give him the satisfaction of knowing it just yet.
"You had somewhere else in mind" she teased, switching tones to throw him off guard. She silently debated whether encouraging him so early was a good idea. Usually she could hold out for at least another 10 minutes, toying with his emotions until he was ready to grab and haul her into the bedroom himself.
Tonight however, for some reason or another, the way his lips danced millimetres from her own had tuned down her sharp wit, instead she was quite willing to get past all the teasing and straight to the heart of the matter.
Herself + her husband + quiet house her favourite equation.
Sometimes she really did love arithmetic.
Moments later she remembered the presences of her husband before her and wondered if she was always this light headed when he was around.
"I may" he smiled knowingly, finally capturing her lips as Natalie surrendered for the night, wrapping her arms around her his neck before parting slightly.
"Bedroom" they whispered in agreement, both glancing towards their sleeping daughter before tip toeing out of the room, Stephan still managing to grab Natalie from behind to kiss the base of her neck, even as they stumbled down the hallway.
"Whose bright idea was it to have the children's room so far from our own?" he mumbled in annoyance, hopping behind his wife's quick steps as his arms wrapped around her waist.
"If I remember correctly it was you and it was for this exact reason" she stated, stopping and spinning right into her Stephen's chest.
He paused for a minute, standing on tip toes as Natalie grinned up at him, kissing his lips softly in a weak attempt at gaining some of her usual control.
"Hmmmm" mused Stephen, choosing to ignore Natalie's tactics "A very bright idea"
He smiled at her cheekily before poking her side, kick starting a chase down the hall that left them both breathless and laughing.
"Love you" whispered Natalie leisurely, running a hand under Stephen's jacket as he resumed his earlier attack on her neck.
She waited a moment for his response, shifting her eyes slightly as his kisses slowed and his hands became looser.
"Stephen?" she questioned, wondering what on earth had stopped him in his quest to claim her for the night.
"Did you hear that?" he asked suddenly, voice barely above as whisper as he moved away from her towards the door.
"That would be the sound of me letting you know how I feel Stephen Connor" she retaliated, allowing the anger to seep into her voice at such a slip of tongue.
Stephen's face recoiled in horror as he realised what he had said, waving his hand apologetically at her. "Not that" he whispered once more, moving further away and towards the closed door.
"I love you to" he threw over his shoulder on an after thought, dashing a smile to assure her of his mistake.
"That!" he stage whispered moments later, holding a finger in the air as Natalie inched towards him.
If she leant close enough to the door she could almost hear it herself, a soft chant of sorts coming from somewhere down the hallway. "Stephen" she murmured against his ear, grabbing onto his arm for support.
"One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, five sheep, twenty sheep, 'hundred sheep, William sheep, blue sheep, daddy sheep…"
Sheep…
"William" they breathed out together, both parents collapsing against each other in relief.
"Daddy, mummy?" called a little voice from down the hallway, the child hearing his name and returning the sentiment.
"I'll get him" whispered Stephen, kissing his wife's forehead knowingly.
"The sheep are all gone daddy" complained William Connor, holding his hands out on either side in a silent gesture.
"What do you mean buddy, you were counting them a moment ago" countered his father, shuffling towards the bed and squatting down next to the wide eyed child.
"I was calling their name 'cause I lost 'em daddy" informed Will, pouting his lips at the prospect of never seeing his fleecy friends again.
"I'm sure they're fine Will, probably asleep like you should be" tried Stephan, even pulling the blanket up around his small frame in an attempt to get him back to bed.
If I execute this quickly there may still be time…
"No daddy!" argued the boy some more, banging a small fist against his fathers hand. He leant his little head against the doctor's arm, calling on all his three year old charm as he turned his eyes towards his father.
"Please read me the sheep story daddy" pleaded Will, making sure his lip quivered slightly as he blinked away the tears.
Of course he had to have Natalie's eyes…
"Pretty please daddy"
Stephen sighed.
"One story"
William squealed, reminding his father eerily of Eva as he positioned himself on the bed, pulling Will onto his lap and ignoring the little elbow sticking into his knee.
"After this you promise you'll sleep William?" Stephen picked the child up under his arms to spin him around, looking him squarely on the eyes.
"Promise" nodded Will eagerly, settling back down for story time. He snuggled against Stephen's chest as he had done as a baby, bringing a smile to the older Connor's lips.
"Once upon a time"
"Daddy" cut in Will suddenly.
"Will" his father growled.
"I love you" smiled the little boy, pulling his blankie to his chest as his eyes drooped a little.
Awww geez…
"Love you to buddy"
"Nat?" whispered Stephan hopefully; lying down on the bed softly in the hopes she was still awake.
"Nat, you there?" he asked once more, laying a hand against her waist.
"Sleep Stephen" was all she could muster before rolling over, burrowing into his chest as he heaved a sigh.
Maybe tomorrow night…
Making himself comfortable he noticed a distinct bump underneath his right arm. Manoeuvring so as not to wake Natalie he gently pulled the offending lump in front of his face, meeting the very smiley face of Will's stuffed sheep.
Despite everything he couldn't deny the warm feeling in his chest at the thought of his little boy.
"Found your sheep Will" he mumbled sleepily before nuzzling his head against Natalie's for the night.
As he drifted off to sleep he could have sworn he heard a little voice from the other side of the house call out.
"f'ank you daddy"