Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own characters.
Nick's family were twice a year Christians. Allie refused to attend mass that Sunday with the wider Buchanan family, but she had no objection to Mia attending with Nick, her baby sister and her much loved cousins.
Standing in the pew in the packed church that morning, Tallulah was not used to the rituals of mass or the requirement of staying in one place for a long period of time. Not content with being held in her father's arms, she insisted on being put down to roam. As a compromise, Nick made do with standing his daughter on his legs.
She thankfully stayed in his arms for communion as he guided Mia forward, arms crossed over her chest, but he had a feeling it was the large number of people all around that brought about this complicity. Mass was done not long after and it was then that Tali wanted to walk.
This meant Nick was forced to bend over almost double to provide a hand – a few fingers – for Tali to hold on to and as she wobbled and walked in an unbalanced manner. Caught behind his older brother, Rick snorted at the sight. "Bowed down by the female species eh?"
"Hey," shot back Nick. "Unlike yours, my house is full of them."
"Ah," he shrugged off. "It's survival of the fittest."
Distracted by Mia searching in his pockets for the keys, he put out a hand and ordered her to wait for someone before crossing the carpark.
With Tali moving so slowly it was going to be an eternity and Mia sighed, severely put out. Her mood instantly swung back to happy when Candice stepped up and offered Mia a lift home in their car, if they were happy to take her brother.
"Sure," replied Nick making sure to get his keys back from his excited daughter. "Why not."
Arriving back at their cluster of chalets, Nick was surprised to find that Allie was just getting out of the shower, considering the late hour. Mia raced by him, throwing off her clothes as fast as she could, throwing on her play clothes just as quickly in order to dash next door once again. Tali was happy playing with her father's keys as he placed her on the bed before stepping up to his wife.
Her hair was still wet as he rested one hand on her hip and leaned down for a kiss. "You okay?" he asked when they parted and he began to unbutton his shirt.
Mia now out the door, her clothes were in an unorganised pile near the door, on the bed and everywhere in between as Allie ran her fingers through her damp hair. "I'm fine. Just went back to sleep after you all left," she said, moving to the bathroom to hang her towel with a yawn. "Oops."
Allie had had been tired for the last few days, her head hitting the pillow and unable to be roused – even Tali's cried in the night didn't penetrate the fog of sleep – once she down for the night.
Nick quickly changed into shorts and a shirt and was moved onto Tali as Allie moved to the suitcase. The younger Buchanan resisted his attempts to obtain his car keys back as his wife grunted. He was working at getting his baby girl's clothes off around the keys as he mumbled an absentminded "Mm?" in response.
"These pants are tight on me," said Allie in confusion as Nick finally got the dress free and reached for its replacement. "Mm?"
"I haven't put on that much weight recently," continued Allie as she stood in front of the ensuite door and looked at her figure in profile on the mirror. "It's almost as if..." She could not believe it. "You've got to be shitting me."
Nick's head flew up in concern at the sudden comment. "Al?"
As their eyes met across the room, his eyes dropped from her shocked face to where he hand lay resting on the slight swell of her stomach. Tali, now bored with the keys and willing for her daddy to take them back, was jiggling the drool-laden objects in the air. She wasn't having much success in getting his attention though as the person holding her leggings had them frozen mid-air.
"Da da," she retorted crossly.
Nick never took his eyes of his wife's hand as he dumbly reached for the keys and took them in hand. Attention diverted, and still pants-free, the nappy-clad baby clambered off the bed and made her swift exit. The steps outside were slow going, but she was victorious at last as she scooted to where her Uncle Rick and Uncle Chas's Labrador Emery was tied up.
Meanwhile, her still oblivious parents were inside, jaws dropped in shock.
Tali had been semi-planned, and they had both agreed they were happy with their two, but all signs from the past few days seemed to show that Allie was pregnant again.
Nick had recovered enough to stand and make his way over. His hand (still holding the red and white striped leggings) slipped to cover Allie's as their gaze held. "What do you think?"
She bit her bottom lip as fear flooded her features. "I don't know. Could be..." She drifted off. He brought his other hand up to brush his thumb against her bruised lip. "And what do you think?"
Allie released a rush of air. "It's sudden. We're going to have two under two Nick," she rambled.
"So?" said Nick, cool, calm and collected as usual. "We can handle it."
He saw the disbelief on her face before the acceptance. "Oh Lordy," she muttered as she dropped her head to his chest. "Here we go again."
Nick eased her head up and angled it to the side before he leaned down and kissed his wife. Her arms came up and she buried her fingers in his hair as she deepened the kiss. His hand rested on the small of her back, pulling her close.
"This is probably how we ended up in this situation in the first place," snorted Allie breathlessly, back to her usual self when they parted. Nick only smirked as her hands smoothed his shirt and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Why do you have a pair of leggings in your hand?" asked Allie in confusion a moment later. "I think they're a bit small for you."
"They're Tali's..." he trailed off as both parents looked around and realised that their daughter had disappeared. "I'll be back," laughed Nick.
"Oh crap!"
Nick paused in the doorway, turning back at the sudden expletive from the fiery woman pulling on a less constrictive set of shorts. "I can't drink."
His laughter resounded down the hall as he kissed his irate wife firmly on the lips and then left in search of his cheeky not-to-be-youngest-for-much-longer daughter, feeling strangely exhilarated.
There were leggings that needed wearing!