A/N: Writing and posting might slow down a bit for the next little while due to several reasons, but I am still going to continue to try to get these out in a better timeframe than some previous postings have happened.
At my last chapter, I had no one to thank for reviews, which was extremely depressing. But after posting I was inundated and am definitely happier about continuing on. I am exceeding grateful for reviews for the last chapter from ahowell1993, zhangxinna, Wtiger5 and VLJH. To Hippiechic81: you completely blew me away when you reviewed just about all of the NPH series over several days, so thank you. Thank you to everyone for your reviews and encouragement to continue on with this series.
WARNING: This chapter has just a touch of drama but is otherwise all family fluff.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me. And the list of those I do own is getting so incredibly long that I am just going to say that I own anyone who does not come directly from Criminal Minds.
Chapter 4 – The Morgan's
Late April 2021
Derek pulled the car into the drive and narrowed his eyes. The porch light was off, which was extremely unusual; even when she was at her sickest, Jordan always had the light on for him when he got home. And there were lights on all along the top of the house; it looked like only the boys' bedrooms were shrouded in darkness.
"Mum didn't turn the light on for us at the front door," Ben said worriedly.
Derek shot him a brief smile. "You noticed that too huh?"
Ben nodded. "And mum never leaves that many lights on all at the same time if we aren't in that space."
"That is certainly true. Let's go see what is going on."
Ben nodded agreement and turned to gently shake Ryan awake, while Derek moved to collect Jonathan, who was sound asleep. Inside the house, he went straight up to his youngest son's room to get him settled into bed, listening intently as Ben and Ryan went to find their mum. The shrieks that started up minutes later had him deeply grateful that Jonathan was already lying on the bed as he bolted in the direction of all the noise. He ran into Ryan as he entered the master bedroom, the boy crying heavily. Hearing Ben talking in the bathroom, he steadied his middle son and hurried across the room with him right on his heels.
Ben was kneeling in vomit with Jordan's head up on his lap. The vomit was on the side of her face and in her hair and if he had to guess, she had been lying in it for a while. He was relieved to see that she was conscious, but she was also as pale as he had ever seen her and she was sweating profusely as well. He ran a soothing hand down the back of Ryan's head and gently sent the boy off to cover up his little brother. Careful of the mess on the floor, he crouched down to look at Jordan.
"Hey baby. This doesn't look so good, what happened?"
It took a moment for her eyes to focus on him, a moment too long for his liking. "Derek. What time is it?"
"It's just gone nine."
She licked her lips and grimaced. "Yuck. I thought about trying some toast for dinner, or maybe some crackers, but the smell made me ill. So I had a bit of water and the next thing I knew I felt like I was going to throw up again. So I came up here, was sick, brushed my teeth and had a bit more water and then I was sick again but I never made it to the toilet. The next thing I knew the boys were here screaming."
Worry started to edge towards fear as he thought. "So all you've had today is water?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Okay," he soothed gently. "I'm going to call for an ambulance, because if you are vomiting water, you are losing fluids you can't afford while you're sick. I think you need a drip to help you with your hydration, and they may be able to give you something to deal with the vomiting too."
Her eyes drifted closed. "That would be lovely," she whispered.
He looked at Ben and dredged up a reassuring smile. "You doing okay son?"
Ben nodded jerkily and Derek pulled out his phone and called for help. The realisation that he couldn't go with Jordan unless he found someone to look after the boys tugged at him as he hung up from the 911 call. After giving it a little thought, he called Sean. Explaining the situation, he was assured that either he or Esther would be there shortly and would stay the night if needed.
Esther turned up just as the ambulance was pulling away. She kissed his cheek and hugged him before pushing him towards his car.
"Ryan and Ben found her, so they may need to talk a bit. Jonathan slept through the whole thing, so if I'm not back when he wakes in the morning, just tell him whatever you think he needs to know. Think three-year-old instead of four."
"Got it. Go on now, I have this under control. And message me to let me know if she's okay."
He nodded and headed off, arriving at the hospital just minutes after the ambulance and doing his best not to panic as a nurse showed him back to one of the curtained off cubicles. The paramedics had inserted the drip at the house, and it was obvious that this had made a difference because Jordan's smile was steadier as her eyes landed on him and her colour was better. He moved to her side, relieved to also hear that she sounded more coherent as she spoke with the doctor.
An hour later and Jordan had been settled in a private room. He dropped, exhausted, into the chair beside her bed and ran a hand over the top of his head before taking the hand that Jordan held out to him.
"We should pray that the boys don't get this," Jordan said softly with a yawn.
Derek snorted. "Pray that I don't get this. Happily, I don't get sick all that often, but we both know how badly I react to being sick."
Her smile was filled with just a little cheek as she replied, "Yep…you turn into a whiny man-child."
The look on his face as she exploded into a fit of giggles was priceless.
Late May 2021
"Stupid gastro," Jordan muttered as she looked at the two lines on the pregnancy test in her hand. "Stupid gastro bringing up the stupid pill." Sighing heavily, she tossed the test, washed her hands and made an appointment for that afternoon with her GP.
Hours later, she listened to the boisterous game of Twister being played out in the living room while she put away the dishes, amused to hear that Jonathan might just be winning that game. Closing the last cupboard door, she walked toward the noise and leaned against the doorframe, pulling out her phone to take a couple of photos before she was spotted.
"Mum, Mum! Come play with us!"
Laughing, she shook her head. "Not on your life Ryan. Every time I get in there, I somehow end up at the bottom of the pile. Anyway, it is Jonathan's bedtime, and you and Ben need to go and get in your PJ's for some quiet time." At the chorus of negativity, she rolled her eyes. "You can finish your game first."
She managed not to laugh as the game seemed to slow down to a crawl, turning instead to tidying up the living areas so that she could leave it alone as soon as the kids were in bed. But finally everyone was sorted out and she was alone with Derek.
She watched him approach, extremely turned on as he climbed onto the bed with her. Taking the initiative, she rolled over on top of him and pinned him. He smiled up at her and stole her breath with a searing kiss before he settled down under her.
"You've been biting your tongue since I got home and I'm dying of curiosity to know what you wouldn't say in front of the children."
She grinned. "You actually just played perfectly into my topic of conversation for the evening."
"What? Something about the children?"
"Yes."
She watched him frown, as he tried to figure out what she was getting at. "The kids all seem fine, and as far as I know, Jonathan's next appointment with the case worker isn't until next month."
"That's correct," she agreed placidly as she lightly rocked her hips, pleased when his body responded despite his growing confusion.
"Alright, I give up baby. What about the children?"
"We need to do some remodelling work on the spare room."
"Huh? What on earth does that have to do with the children? I mean, there isn't anything wrong with the spare room."
"Oh, I agree. The spare room is fine as it is for adult visitors. It definitely needs some work to get it ready for a baby."
"A…oh hell. You're pregnant?"
She laughed at the stunned look on his face. "Took you long enough. I think it was the gastro interfering with the pill, and my GP confirmed this; I'm about six weeks pregnant."
He rolled her over onto her back and pinned her. "Are you okay with this? Because I remember our conversation after Jonathan was born."
A shadow of sadness passed over her. "I remember," she said softly. "I know I was pretty adamant that I really didn't want to risk losing another child. We were on the same page there completely. But how can I be sad about a baby we created out of the love we have for each other?" The sadness passed and she spread her legs further apart to allow him to get closer as a smile came over her face. "Besides, maybe I'll get lucky this time and we'll have a girl."
He snorted. "Please; that was your hope with the last two pregnancies and look where that got us."
Sighing mournfully, she nodded solemnly. "You're right, I'm now surrounded by testosterone."
He laughed for a moment before dropping his head and claiming her. An hour passed before they curled up against each other.
"You're happy right?" Jordan asked softly. "About the baby?"
He tightened his hold. "I'm thrilled Jordan. As long as you're both okay."
"Good," she whispered. "I love you."
Nuzzling into her hair, he murmured, "I love you too baby."
July 2021
Jordan watched the kids playing nearby and sighed contentedly as she snuggled back against Derek. It was really far too hot for snuggling, but her need for skin on skin contact had always been higher while she was pregnant and she was lucky to have a husband who accommodated her needs.
Looking out over the park, she could see many groups of people celebrating the fourth of July with a picnic of their own. Distant sounds of music playing and bands performing mixed with people singing, laughing and cheering on the entertainment happening all across the city this hot summer day. Having already eaten, the kids would be happily entertained for hours yet with their games, which left the adults able to have a decent conversation without weathering too many interruptions.
"Aren't you guys hot all snuggled up there," Penelope asked as she narrowed her eyes at them, a battery operated fan in the shape of a brightly coloured flower aimed at her face. "I mean, it's about a bazillion degrees out here; I don't see how you aren't melting into a puddle of chocolatey gooiness."
Jordan looked up at Derek, her eyebrow arched in amusement as he winked down at her. He stole a quick kiss before looking the group over.
"That actually leads in beautifully to what I was about to say. Jordan's pregnant; we're expecting our fourth child in early January."
Cheering followed this announcement along with lots of hugs and congratulations, though Derek noted that Esther seemed sad underneath her genuine warm reaction. He waited until everything had settled down before asking about it.
"Hey Esther, is everything alright?"
Esther looked startled at first before a look of consternation came over her face. "Sorry Derek. I didn't mean to pull attention from your big announcement.
He waved that off. "Not the point I was trying to make hon. What's going on?"
She slumped back against Sean, who wrapped her up in a supportive hug.
"Esther and I have been told that it is highly doubtful that we will ever be able to have another child naturally." He murmured softly with her for a moment before explaining. "She had a bad UTI when she was in high school that left a lot of scarring behind, causing three miscarriages in her first marriage and another four since we were married five years ago. We recently made the tough decision to stop trying, because it hurts far too much every time you lose that child you were just beginning to think about becoming a reality."
Emily nodded her affirmation as several members of the group murmured support and condolences.
"I get that," Emily said softly. "When I lost the baby shortly before your wedding, I thought my heart was going to break beyond all my abilities to heal it. It didn't matter that I already had healthy children; the grief was just all consuming."
"Are you looking into other avenues of becoming parents?" Brad asked in the silence that followed Emily's admittance.
Sean nodded as Esther explained, "We remembered which agency you and Kelly were with and approached them. We actually have your caseworker working on our behalf. We've also spoken with one of their other caseworkers who only handles international adoptions."
"We're not being picky at this stage," Sean added. "We both just really want to be parents, so we are looking into all the ways that this is possible."
"Surrogacy?" JJ asked curiously.
Esther shook her head. "We considered it, but we're not sure about watching a baby with our DNA growing in someone else's stomach. Or rather, I'm not comfortable with the idea. Sean would consider it, but we agreed to hold off on that unless it becomes strictly necessary. There is also the potential for the surrogate to become so attached to the baby that they won't give it up, and that is something I just couldn't contemplate surviving. I'd rather try myself and lose that way."
"Well I'll try not to rub my pregnancy in your face too much," Jordan said as she held out her hand.
Esther took it with a firm shake of her head. "No. Don't be like that. I like to celebrate all of you in your growing families."
Dave snorted. "Not so much growing going on anymore. Certain families got too big to grow."
"Speak for yourself," Penelope said indignantly. When Dave raised an eyebrow at her she shrugged. "We just decided to cap things off at three; it had nothing to do with how big the family got."
Everyone laughed as Dave inclined his head in acknowledgement of her statement, and the talk turned to lighter, happier topics.
September 2021
"Ryan scares me a little, even while making me proud as punch."
Jordan's smile was amused as she looked at her husband. "Which part?"
Derek laughed with her as they spotted Emily and Aaron walking in their direction. After they'd been through the greeting and ordering stages, Aaron inquired as to their amusement when they arrived.
"It was one of those you-had-to-be-there-in-the-moment moments. But we can give you the gist of the conversation leading up to that moment." The waiter returned with their drinks, setting them out before walking back inside the café. Derek continued, "Did we mention that Ryan started learning to play the piano back at the start of May?"
"I think I heard something to that effect when Austin was talking about Diana's improvement on the violin. I think it went along the lines of at least the piano doesn't screech," Emily finished with a cheeky grin.
Jordan took a sip of her smoothie and returned the grin. "Ryan's first request was for the violin, but since we had asked for a list of the three instruments he most wanted to learn to play, we thankfully had other options to work with."
"What was the third option?"
"The cello," Derek said. "Which wouldn't have been so bad, except that the cello is currently bigger than he is. The growth spurts definitely haven't started yet."
"So the piano was the only option genuinely considered?" Aaron asked.
"Yes," Derek replied. "Ryan didn't seem that upset either way, so we picked up a nice second hand piano and found a local teacher who was happy to come to us in the afternoon when Ryan got home from school and on the weekends."
"I feel like there is a 'but' involved here somewhere," Emily stated as their food came out.
"Not so much a 'but' as a 'we did not see that coming'."
"How do you mean?"
Jordan made a go-ahead gesture to Derek as she tucked into her sandwich with a happy sigh.
They all ate in contented silence for a few minutes before Derek's initial hunger settled down and he continued the narrative.
"Ryan picked up the placement of his hands on the keys, which keys were which, the running of the different scales and the reading of music all within the first lesson. Keep in mind that lessons are an hour long and most people just starting lessons don't manage to get all of that down for at least a few months, and anywhere up to a year. He practiced diligently throughout the week, showed his proficiency to be quite advanced at the start of his second lesson, and had learnt three separate short songs by the time the teacher left. She warned us then that she probably wouldn't be able to teach him for very long because his ability was already outstripping her own.
"She left Ryan with the beginner's music book they had been working from. By the time she returned the following week, he had not only played every song in the book without any problems with the flow of the notes, but he was playing the songs without actually reading the music and he was beginning to add little flourishes here and there."
"Good gracious, he sounds like a prodigy," Emily said breathlessly.
"That's what his teachers have all stated," Jordan agreed.
"How many teachers has he had?"
"He's on his third now, but this guy has a sister who is the dean of the local music conservatory and he has been in contact with her about Ryan." Derek's face showed his shock as he spoke. "She came out to hear him play and was completely blown away by the classical piece he played for her. They're prepared to offer free, unlimited piano lessons after school and on weekends with their best teachers in order to help him progress at his speed. They're also willing to connect him virtually to teachers around the world who can further help him."
"Wow," Emily breathed.
"Wow is right," Aaron agreed. "How does Ryan feel about it all?"
"Ah, there's the rub," Jordan said with a sigh. "He's actually a little frightened by the speed with which everything is happening to him, including his own abilities. He just thought playing an instrument would be for fun, and now everyone is making it out to be some huge deal. We sat down with him this morning before leaving for our lunch with you and asked him what he wanted to do. For now, we are putting a stop to all lessons, and we've been in contact with the dean and explained that Ryan wants to slow everything down so he can just be a little boy who likes to play piano. She wasn't enthusiastic about the idea, but as Derek pointed out, he's only seven, and neither of us will ever force our kids to be someone they're not. If Ryan grows up and wants to play piano for a living, I have no doubt he will make that happen. If he grows up wanting to be something else, then we will support him completely. It is his life and as long as he makes good life choices, who are we to get in the way."
"I can just imagine his relief when you explained that to him," Aaron said with a smile.
"He cried," Derek stated. "When he was done crying, he said we were the best parents ever and he was going to go get ready for his play date with Mackenzie."
Everyone chuckled as the plates were collected before Emily turned to Jordan.
"So tell me, how are you and the bub? Any ideas what you're having just yet?"
Jordan snorted, disdain written all over her face. "You're kidding, right? This little one, whoever they are, has been playing coy since day one. I've got a feeling we're just not going to know until the doctor announces it at their birth."
"You seem a little frustrated by this," Aaron teased gently.
Jordan bared her teeth and snarled at him as everyone else laughed.
New Year's Eve 2021
Jordan rubbed lightly at the taught skin of her abdomen as she listened to the distant sounds of her family making breakfast. She had no doubt that it would be breakfast in bed for her, because there was otherwise nothing in the universe that could get Ben and Ryan up this early on a non-school day. They would be part of a surprise pampering moment for her and she smiled, thinking back over the last nine months to all the things, little and big, that her family had pulled out of nowhere just to make her feel special.
Sure enough, her boys walked through the door several minutes later. Jonathan carried the larger tray instead of the individual one she normally used when eating away from the table, Ryan was carefully carrying a plate, Ben had two more and Derek brought up the rear with a glass of milk, several plates and cutlery. The realisation as they set everything down, that there was so much food because they were going to eat with her, left her feeling a little emotional.
"Aww, you guys cooked breakfast for me?"
Three little heads nodded solemnly. It was Ben who explained, "Dad said you can't stand up much anymore because it hurts too much, so we thought we could cook and then Dad said that just this once, we could eat up here."
"You're all very sweet," she said with a smile at the boys before pining Derek with a look that he correctly interpreted.
"I thought I might settle you in the living room with a movie or book of your choice while I washed the sheets today," he said with a decisive nod, clearly trying not to squirm.
She relented with a smile. "That sounds like an excellent idea."
They had kept it simple, with pancakes, bacon, eggs and toast, which was just fine with her considering she didn't really have much of an appetite. The food was dished up and the guys tucked into it. She had a small bite of eggs and felt her stomach rebel against her. Taking a slow breath, she took the glass of milk and had a sip, grimacing slightly at the taste of it. She set it back down as her memory reminded her of times past shortly before she went into labour with Ben and Ryan; she'd lost her appetite and her taste for food both times.
"Derek," she said softly as the first twinge made itself known.
As his head came around to look at her, Jonathan piped up. "Aren't you hungry mummy?"
"Not really baby. The food is delicious, but I have no room to put it in this morning."
Derek's eyes narrowed knowingly as Jonathan looked closely at her before shrugging and digging back into his food. Jordan placed a finger to her lips as the boys ate and dropped her head back against the pillows piled up behind her. They had some time yet before they needed to get moving, so she'd let the boys enjoy this special treat while they could, since all the attention would shortly be on the new baby. But soon enough breakfast was over, and Derek gathered the boys and dishes up and moved them out of the room.
Easing out of bed, Jordan waddled into the bathroom to clean up before walking back into the main room for her robe. She was just far too tired to worry about getting dressed when they would be sent straight up to maternity when they arrived at the hospital anyway. Now ready to go, she sat on the end of the bed and waited patiently for her husband to come back up for her. Sure enough, Derek jogged back in a few minutes later.
"The boys are watching Disney in the living room and Austin is on her way. She'll stay with them while I am at the hospital with you. She said it was the least she could do after all the help we gave her while Reid was in hospital all those months."
"You couldn't get a hold of Sean or Esther?"
"No. It was weird; both phones went straight to voicemail. I was worried so I called Aaron, which was necessary anyway since we are supposed to be there tonight and he confirmed that he knew what was going on and while it wasn't good, it wasn't anything anyone could really help with either."
"I wish I had it in me to push for an answer so that we could offer to help or support or something, but I am clearly not able to right now."
Derek leaned down and gently kissed her forehead, placing his hands on hers on her belly and feeling the movements there. She rested against him, breathing slowly and deeply and in that moment he had perfect clarity on the depth of his love for her. Oh, he always knew how much he loved his wife of ten years but some moments, like this one right now, it was like a bell tolling on the clearest of days, pure and sweet.
"I love you," he said softly, forcing the words past the lump in his throat. Understanding filled her eyes as she looked up at him, so he kissed her; a long, slow, sweet melding that left him longing for more but content for what he had right now. Clearing his throat, he stroked her hair gently. "We should start walking for the stairs while you can still move easily."
She nodded her agreement and allowed him to help her stand, steadying her until she nodded that she was ready. They must have been in the moment longer than he thought, because the front door opened while they were still on the stairs and Austin walked through. Seeing where they were, she hurried forward and offered a supportive hand on Jordan's free side.
"I'm guessing from the reasonably relaxed looks on your faces that it isn't time to rush around like headless chooks yet."
Jordan grinned. "Not at the moment anyway. I'm glad the key we gave you came in handy."
"Me too," she said with a cheeky smile in return. "I left Spencer watching Barbie princess movies with the girls."
Derek chuckled as Jordan laughed her head off, which had obviously been the goal if the satisfied look on Austin's face was anything to go by. Austin walked off with a cheerful little whistle and they quickly heard happy shouts from the boys. He got Jordan settled in the car, realised that he had forgotten the overnight bag and headed back inside. Austin met him with the bag in the kitchen, but didn't immediately let go of it.
"When the pregnancy progressed past the point that Jonathan's stalled at, most of the underlying stress Jordan was feeling eased. But there is still fear in the back of her head that something could still go horribly wrong now. As focused as you are on her, I know you would have picked it up on your own pretty quickly…"
"But it never hurts to have something this important confirmed," Derek finished softly.
Austin let go of the bag with a nod. "You were my rock when I thought I was losing Spencer, and after that during the months he was in the coma. I owe you more than I will ever be able to repay, and knowing you as I do, more than you will ever let me repay. So I will do what I can for you and Jordan and your boys when I can and will try to be content with that."
He hugged her tight, kissed her lightly and thanked her softly before heading back to the car and the woman he would give his life for.
New Year's Day
"Oh my goodness, we might just win the competition."
Jordan narrowed her eyes on her husband, who looked far too good after a full day of coaching her through her contractions.
"What competition," she gritted out.
"All you have to do is slow down for just a few more minutes and we might just have the first baby born in the New Year. I hear this hospital offers full college scholarships for those babies when they grow up."
Jordan reached out and hooked her hand in Derek's top, hauling him close. "I am not slowing down just so that this baby has a free college educa….ahhhhhhhh!" She tightened her hold in her husband's top, vaguely aware of his rapid reassurances that she could have the baby whenever she was ready and to ignore him. Dropping back against the pillows behind her, she glared at him.
"If looks could kill dad, you'd be a very dead man right now," the midwife said in amusement.
"Don't I know it," he muttered as he eyed the normally gentle woman he had married.
"Damn straight," Jordan agreed under her breath as another contraction turned into something else. "I think I need to push."
"I was just going to suggest that very thing," the midwife encouraged with a warm smile. Derek moved in behind her for additional support and everything happened very quickly after that, her screams of pain melding into tears of joy as healthy lungs announced their displeasure.
"Okay, let's cut that," the midwife murmured, before looking up with a grin. "Congratulations Jordan and Derek, it's a girl!" She lifted the partially swaddled baby up where they could see her and placed her on Jordan's chest.
Jordan lifted her hands and gently cradled the baby. "Hey beautiful girl, you're finally here. It's you and me against all the testosterone, though knowing my luck you'll be daddy's little princess and will take after him. But that's okay baby mine."
Derek gently embraced them both, kissing both his girls before a nurse came to take the baby for measuring. The midwife winked at them.
"The stopwatch says midnight plus fifteen seconds. Now, I happen to know that there are seven women in labour tonight so the results aren't assured, but there is a strong chance that your little beauty is the first born this year in this hospital."
"Yes!" Derek said enthusiastically as he pumped the air.
Jordan rolled her eyes and reached out to the nurse returning her child to her.
"Is she alright?" she asked anxiously.
"She's perfect," the nurse assured them both.
Derek kissed the side of her head, and then her lips as she tipped her head up to him. "She is the perfect little miniature of you; I can see it already."
Her smile trembled slightly. "We need a name for her. Are we happy with what we discussed this morning?"
He nodded and rubbed his nose against hers before they turned their attention back to the baby who was finally quieting down.
"Well?" the midwife asked as all attention turned their way.
Jordan's smile was soft. "I love my three sons more than life, but I am so overjoyed to welcome this beautiful little girl into our family. We're naming her Eloise May Morgan."
Late January 2022
Jordan walked into the care centre that Jonathan had been attending for the last two weeks and headed in the direction of the room he would be in. The centre only accepted children with disabilities and offered specialised classroom style experiences that allowed professionally trained teachers to assess their capabilities for entering mainstream schooling. The assessment would provide recommendations on the levels of support each child would need, whether they entered a normal schooling environment or whether they needed to attend a special education institution.
Today was the end of the initial assessment period. If everything went well, Jonathan would be ready for some form of school come the start of the next school year in September. But she was nervous, because there was also the chance that they would be recommending holding Jonathan back by another year, and she really didn't want that for her youngest son. She wanted him to go through school with his peers, not by always being the oldest child in the class.
Looking down at the baby in her arms, she smiled gently. "Hey baby girl. What do you think? Do you think Jonathan can be ready for school this year?" Eloise slept on peacefully and Jordan nodded. "You're right sweetheart; this is not something to stress over. Right, let's go see your brother's teacher."
A few minutes later, she'd greeted Jonathan and sent him back to play while she stepped into the teacher's office.
"Have a seat Jordan," Susie said. She peered at the baby in Jordan's arms. "How is motherhood treating you this time around?"
Jordan smiled ruefully. "It has been interesting. All three boys established nice, parent-friendly sleep patterns pretty quickly. Eloise has decided that it is fun to keep everyone awake at night. As far as I am aware, Jonathan is the only one sleeping through the night at the moment and that is only because once he is asleep you can't wake him for anything."
Susie's look was sympathetic and they chatted for a few minutes before they got down to the reason Jordan was still there.
"As you know, your case worker, GP and specialist all gave us access to their records on previous assessments of Jonathan's disability so that we had a point of reference as I assessed him over the last two weeks. I can go into all of the details if you like, but essentially what I have found is that Jonathan is very slowly but surely catching up in all of the areas he has been lagging in, including his mental age. He may need initial support on entry, but as he is with us up until he enters school, I fully believe that he will be ready for kindergarten come September."
Jordan grinned, wanting to get up and dance around for joy, but she contained herself because she didn't want to wake her daughter.
"That is such great news, thank you so much! I think this calls for a family celebration this evening. Does Jonathan continue to come in here to your classroom based on the current schedule?"
Susie smiled warmly. "For now, yes. I'll probably keep him here for the next few weeks to fully cement what I am teaching him, and then I'll recommend that he move into the next phase of learning. If I feel he needs a bit longer here, I'll hold on to him. There isn't a right or wrong way to progress through the teaching environments we provide; there's just his way."
Jordan thanked Susie warmly and walked back into the classroom. Jonathan came running with a joyful shout and after looking over all of his achievements that day, she walked them back to the car as she mentally planned a special celebration for her gorgeous little battler.
March 2022
"How is she doing?" Jordan asked Emily as she approached.
Emily grinned. "She's a sweetheart. I will deny it if anyone asks, but she is making me feel clucky."
They both laughed as they looked out over the backyard that was teeming with kids helping Ben to celebrate his tenth birthday.
"This is probably a silly question, but have you received your invitation to Ariana's sixteenth next month yet?"
Emily rolled her eyes. "I think Lydia and Cameron have bitten off more than they can chew, but hey, you only turn sixteen once and apparently this is how she wants to celebrate it."
Jordan's head tipped sideways as she narrowed her eyes on the small group of little boys creeping towards the pool. Before she needed to intervene, Dave and Spencer swept in and herded them back to the main group.
"We only received an invite to the large extended family dinner on the Friday. What does the whole celebration look like?"
"The celebration starts with a private family dinner on Thursday the seventh, though Ariana is campaigning to have Jack there for that one too."
"She hasn't won that campaign?"
"Not yet."
Jordan snorted softly in amusement as Emily continued. "The large extended family dinner is on the Friday with all of us at our place and then we are swapping houses with the Scott's on the Saturday so that Ariana can have the teens only pool party on her actual birthday."
"Teens only?"
"Well teens, Lydia and Cameron anyway. That way she can have both guys and girls there and the party will still be a safe environment for everyone. We'll have Rhys and Evan with us while Gavin is going to be in attendance at the party with his girlfriend. They're mostly just attending, but they've also offered to keep an eye on things considering the number of people Ariana has invited."
"So the celebrations start on the seventh and finish up on the ninth?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Are we all bringing food on the Friday?"
"It is my hope to convince Lydia to allow us all to do that, but right now she is insisting on doing all of the cooking herself." Emily shook her head. "I have enough trouble cooking up enough to feed my brood every night. I just don't see how she can manage it without spending at least two weeks cooking in the lead up to it. We're catching up for coffee this week so I'll see what I can do."
"Either way it will be epic," Jordan stated.
"This is true, though as long as Ariana is happy, I don't think her parents are complaining. Now, I am going to change the subject to something far more interesting."
Jordan raised an eyebrow. "I like interesting."
Emily grinned and shifted Eloise on her shoulder. "Find Ben and tell me who he is with."
Jordan rolled her eyes. "That's easy. He's down the back of the yard with India." Jordan frowned slightly. "That is India, right?"
Emily nodded her agreement with an amused smile. "Yes, that's India. When we arrived, she rather enthusiastically wished him a happy birthday. Keep in mind that she is the shy, quiet twin. We then moved into the house, dropped off the presents and came out here. That was approximately three hours ago. Since then, they have had three rather animated conversations in passing that I am aware of, and have been sitting down the back there for around forty-five minutes."
"We told Ben to try really hard not to get caught up in any one conversation or activity and to make sure that he mingled with everyone who has come to help him celebrate," Jordan said with a frown.
"Don't you think it is interesting though that my quietest child is interested in your young socially outgoing child and vice versa?"
It was obvious that Jordan had only just caught on to what Emily was getting at. "You think this'll be another Jack and Ariana situation where they start out young?"
Emily shrugged. "I'm just pointing out that the little girl who has just two friends because she is so quiet that it is almost impossible for her to put herself out there is down the back of the yard having an involved, animated conversation with Ben. If she ends up following in her big brother's footsteps, I'm not going to cry over it. I really like Ben, and she can definitely do worse."
Jordan smiled, pleased, before sighing. "And it really isn't that surprising that they would be talking considering she's only two months younger than him. Still, everyone is here to celebrate with him and he is off to the side. I should go and sort that out."
But even as she said that, Derek crouched down beside the kids and talked to them. They could see India's blush from where they stood, and could tell that both kids were rather apologetic as they stood up and followed Derek back into the middle of the action. They also didn't miss the wistful glances they threw each other as they parted.
"Do you guys want to stay for dinner after the party is over?" Jordan asked as she turned to Emily.
Neither woman pretended the invitation was anything other than an opportunity to see how intensely India and Ben liked each other.
"I'll go find Aaron and ask," Emily responded as she walked off. She exchanged a high-fived with Derek as they passed each other, and a moment later Jordan was snuggled into her husband's arms as they looked out over the chaos that their backyard had become.
"I invited Emily, Aaron and family to stay for dinner. We both agree that we want a better idea of what is going on with Ben and India."
"Good idea," he agreed softly. "They were both completely oblivious to me until I was right down beside them. I definitely feel like there might be relationship potential there."
"We're going to learn from Jack and Ariana's mistakes if that is the case, right?"
"Absolutely baby." They watched as Ben and India slowly gravitated back towards each other despite all the kids trying to claim Ben's attention. "Learning from those mistakes is most definitely going to be a must."
End
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