The date had been circled for months. It was circled in bright blue highlighter and written in Deacon's chicken scratch was, 'Deacon's Headed Home' it still took the wind from her sails when she laid eyes on it.

She felt the sadness in the pit of her stomach, it was bittersweet. She had fallen head over heels in love with the little boy the first time she laid eyes on him. He was this little boy who was quiet as a mouse and timid as can be, he'd hide behind Adam's leg whenever he was introduced to someone new. Slowly he came out of his shell, once he was comfortable with you he morphed into a completely different child. One who was rambunctious and talked for hours on end, a bit like his uncle.

Deacon was no longer that timid little boy, he had grown into a fine young man, one that she was proud of. One she loved with all her heart, and one she had to let go.

They had planned one last hurrah, a 'goodbye' party of sorts. A way for everyone who loved Deacon to come together and celebrate the boy who had brought such joy to their lives.

Deacon pushed the cart through the wide aisles of the warehouse styled store, they had already loaded up on beverages and food and were headed towards the electronics.

The video games to be more specific.

"Mom doesn't have a PlayStation at her house." Deacon pointed out as Adam flicked through the games on the shelf, "Can I take the one from our...I mean your house?" He quickly corrected himself, it still sounded foreign to him. He had lived with his aunt and uncle for just over four years now, he was excited to go home. He felt bad about that, and he tried to hide his excitement from them but it was really hard some days.

He loved his aunt and uncle, he knew he could count on them to always be there for him, but he hated being different. He hated being away from his mom, he was ready to go home.

To his home.

It was so close he could taste it.

"Nope. Can't take mine." Adam told him, "You know Aunt Kim won't let me buy another one. She's mean like that." He shrugged. He moved further down the aisle, stopping in front of the gaming systems, he squatted in front of them, "plus if you take mine..." he sorted through the boxes, "how can we play together when you're at home with your mom and I'm off from work?" He asked as dropped the PlayStation 4 in Deacon's arms.

"What? Seriously? You're not messing with me are you?" Deacon eyed him suspiciously.

"Would I mess with you?"

"Yes. You do it all the time." He glared at his uncle, "It's not even my birthday." Deacon was in disbelief. "Aunt Kim said I had to wait for my birthday to get one."

"I know she did, but that was just to get you to quit whining about it. We wanted to surprise you with it. It's a going away gift." Adam explained, "Not that you're going away, not really."

Deacon put the game on the cart and hugged him, "Thanks Uncle Adam."

Adam held his head against his chest, "You're welcome buddy." He leaned down and kissed him, "I love you."

"I love you too." Deacon pulled back, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Adam took over pushing the cart and they made their way to the registers, surprised to find one with just a few customers waiting.

"You're not..." Deacon paused trying to find the right words, "...well you're not mad at me right?"

"Mad?"

"Yeah, like are you mad that I want to live with my mom?" Deacon picked at a hangnail, "I really want to live with her again. Does that make you mad? You don't like my mom"

Adam's shoulders sagged, "No. I'm not mad at you." He grabbed his shoulders, "I could never be mad at you." He tilted Deacon's chin up to look him in the eye, "I love you. I love having you live with me and Aunt Kim. I'm selfish and don't want you to go, but I would never keep you from your mom."

"Do you hate her?" Deacon asked.

Adam sighed, "Deacon, man. It's complicated. Do I hate her? No. Do I hate the things she did? Absolutely. She made some horrible choices, she didn't take care of you like she should have."

"That's why she found you. I remember that. She told me that you could help us." Deacon watched as Adam loaded the items on the conveyer belt to be scanned, "You used to come over when we lived in that nasty apartment. You brought pizza."

Adam nodded his head, "I did. I'm surprised you remember that."

"I remember a lot of things. Aunt Kim says I'm like an elephant, they never forget things." Deacon explained, "My Mom is good Uncle Adam, she's nice now. She is better."

"She is," Adam replied, "She is better. It's hard for me to be friends with your mom right now. It's complicated adult stuff."

"So it's boring?" Deacon asked.

"Something like that." Adam handed over his credit card to the cashier, "As long as your mom does right by you, we are good."

Kim wasn't sure how long she had been sitting with the calendar in her hands and tears streaming down her cheeks, she'd been an emotional wreck the last few weeks. She was more than willing to blame it on the pregnancy hormones and now that she was just a few days away from her due date she was feeling it big time.

She felt as if she was gaining one child and losing another. It was bittersweet and it was overwhelming, it was a contradiction of emotions. She worried about Adam and how losing Deacon would affect him. For a long time Deacon was all Adam had and he had poured every ounce of love he had into that kid, and made him his entire world.

Adam was an amazing uncle and she couldn't wait to see their little one in his arms. The moment Adam learned of her pregnancy would be forever ingrained in her mind's eye. He was overcome with emotion and broke down in her arms, he dropped to his knees and kissed her stomach over and over again. He whispered words of love against her bare stomach, and did so throughout her pregnancy. It was a beautiful sight to behold, Adam had one sided conversations with their unborn child, he talked about his love for Kim and the baby, it was without a doubt the sweetest thing Kim had ever witnessed.

Their due date was just a few days after Deacon's move out date, they couldn't have planned it better if they tried.

She dropped the calendar and wiped her tears away, she'd have a houseful of guests in just a few hours and she needed to get to work. Nicole would be arriving shortly, she'd have Zoe in tow and they'd help with setting everything up.

Pregnancy had kicked her ass, she had always been very active and fit, going for morning runs and hitting the gym on her way home from work. By her fifth month of pregnancy she was really feeling it, she was exhausted all the time and as seemed to pop over night.

She was huge and couldn't remember what her feet looked like anymore, she practically lived in yoga pants and sweats.

Adam was constantly telling her she was beautiful, some days she questioned his sincerity, pregnancy didn't leave her feeling beautiful. She was miserable and uncomfortable all the time, she was constantly peeing. She sneezed she'd pee, heaven forbid she laugh too much, cause she'd pee then as well.

She was ready to evict the two humans inside her. Twins. That had been a shock and she was still trying to wrap her head around it. They had just gotten used to the idea of becoming parents when the doctor discovered the second baby, they were in a state of shock for a few weeks before the shock wore off and they were overjoyed by the news.

Nicole helped Zoe carry the bags inside, "Kim! We're here." Nicole called out, the house was strangely quiet, "Kim?"

Kim waddled down the hallway, "l'm here. Some of us can't move as fast as they used to." She pointed to her belly, "these two are having a party in there today."

"They're definitely Adam's children, aren't they?" She laughed. She and her brother in law had come along way over the years.

"Of course they are." She laughed as she hugged her sister, "I'm so excited you guys could make it. We're trying to keep the mood light and fun, I've already cried my eyes out this morning. I'm just glad Deacon wasn't here to see it."

"Ouch. I'm sorry. I know this is hard for you." Nicole knew how much Kim adored Deacon, "just think though, now you get to be the fun aunt..not the mean mom." Nicole reasoned, "I can't wait to be aunt to these two sweet babies" she ran her hand over Kim's belly.

"Its hard but it's the right thing. We will have Deacon on the weekends and during the summer and holidays."

"How's Adam?"

"Adam's Adam, you know? Doesn't say a whole lot but I know it's weighing heavily on him. I just wish he'd find some common ground with Mia. It would make this transition a bit easier."

Nicole chuckled, "Indeed it would. I get why Adam is so reluctant to befriend her, she dicked him over. He went to jail for her, I'm surprised you can tolerate being in the same space as her. Forget how she treated Adam that was bad but the way she treated her own son? It's disgusting."

Kim pinched the bridge of her nose, "Please don't go there. Adam made his choices, Mia wasn't the only one who made the wrong choice." She had this conversation with Adam more times than she'd like to admit, "Anyway..it's water under the bridge. Perhaps one day Mia and Adam can have a relationship, but until that happens I'm left playing peacekeeper, so please don't bring Mia up in front of Adam. Not today, today is about Deacon."

Nicole held her hands up, "I won't I promise." She hugged her sister, "you're amazing, I want you to know that. I don't think I can say it enough.." She shuddered a bit at the memory, "...you've been amazing for me, for Zoe, and for Deacon. I'm so lucky tohave you in my life. We all our. I love you."

"I love you too! I'm so thankful for you. Adam and I will need all the help we can get when our babies arrive" she rubbed her belly lovingly, "I hope Zoe is up for babysitting."

"I hope so. I think it'd be a great form of birth control for her" Nicole teased, "my sweet little girl has turned into a hormonal boy crazy teenager, it's not pretty"

"Oh joy.." Kim smirked, "sounds like a blast."

Jay grabbed three beers and found Kevin and Adam in the backyard, "He's really going back to her, huh?"

Adam accepted the beer, "He is." He took a swig, "she better not fuck up. If she does she will never see Deacon again. I promise you that."

"Wow..." Kevin marveled, "that's a positive outlook. I get that you're worried but come on man, don't be thinking like that. Have a little faith in your sister. People change."

The party was in full swing, Kim loved when her home was packed with their friends and family. She loved to her the laughter as it floated through the air, she weaved her way through the crowd and spotted her husband as he sat on the back steps. He shoulders slumped and his head down, a bottle of beer at his side.

She ran her hand across his broad shoulders, the shoulders that often held the weight of the world upon them.

"You okay?" She asked him as she leaned against the railing, she knew she'd never be able to get up if she somehow managed to sit beside him.

"Yeah. Just needed a breather." Adam stood up and pulled her into his arms, resting his head on her shoulder as his arms cradled her belly, "you're taking it easy, right?"

Kim nodded her head as she covered his hands with hers, "I am. You worry to much. Deacon is having the time of his life isn't he? He enjoys being the center of attention." Kim twisted a bit to look Adam in the eye, "He's going to be okay, I know you're scared to let him go."

"I can keep him safe when he's here. With us. I can't protect him if he's with Mia." Adam explained, "He asked me if I was mad at him. If I was mad that he wanted to live with his mom. He said he knew I didn't like his mom. A kick to the nuts would've felt better."

Kim hissed, "I'm sorry." She turned around to face him, "What did you tell him?"

"That I wasn't mad, that I know he loves his mom. I told him it was complicated. Which it is. Told him that I didn't like some of her choices and that I was just looking out for him."

Kim wrapped her arms around his neck, "Will you do something for me?"

"I'd do anything for you." Adam told her, "Anything at all."

"Give your sister a chance." She felt him tense up, "Adam, she is a part of our lives now. She's not going away. We need to accept that, I think part of you wants a relationship with her. She's your sister Adam. If not for me do it for Deacon. Do it for our babies"

Adam sighed, "You're playing dirty. You know that, right? Maybe. I'm willing to try. Not for her but for Deacon and you."

"Thank you."

Adam rolled over and shielded his eyes from the light, he had no idea of the time or how long he'd been asleep. It wasn't strange to wake up and not have Kim in bed but it always jump started his heart, her due date wasn't far off and he worried constantly.

He grabbed his sweats from the floor and pulled them on, he searched the house and found Kim in the living room pacing the length of the room.

"Darlin', you alright?" He asked.

She had her hand on the small of her back, "Yes. No..." she paused, "..I'm not sure. My back hurts, it's been bothering me most of the day but now.." she stopped as she felt another one come on, "...I think I'm having contractions."

Adam raced to her side and gripped her arms, "Seriously?" He was desperate to not panic, "Are you sure?"

"No." Kim laughed, "I think we should call the doctor."

Sorry for the long delay in updating, this story hasn't been kind to me. Hopefully it won't take as long with the next chapter.