"Merry Christmas my love" Harry murmured three days later as he turned over in the bed and wrapped his arm around Nikki's waist, his lover moaning quietly as she opened her eyes sleepily
"Merry Christmas sweetheart" Nikki smiled and leant forward to kiss Harry before laying her head back down again and snuggling further under the duvet and turning to look at the time. "How long have you been awake?"
"About half an hour, I had to check on the boys"
"No you had to check to see if Santa had come" Nikki giggled and Harry laughed quietly and nodded.
"Of course I did and he's left a lot of presents under the tree"
"And a lump of coal for you Harry because you've been a naughty boy this year" Nikki smirked at him and Harry smirked right back at her, leaning down and pressing his lips to her neck as he nipped and licked her skin.
"And I'm very proud of it" he murmured against her skin and Nikki giggled loudly as he moved away from her. "We've been engaged for a year" Harry drew Nikki's attention again as his hand found her left one under the duvet and played with the ring there. His lover nodded and sighed. "That's really..weird" he chuckled and Nikki giggled.
"Good weird or bad weird?"
"Very good weird" Harry smiled and Nikki laughed quietly and nodded as her lover kissed her cheek gently.
Nikki then turned her head to look at the baby monitor on the bedside table as they heard one of their babies start to cry.
"I'll go and get him" Harry told Nikki as he stole another kiss before climbing out of bed and wincing slightly at the coldness of the air that hit him. He had put the heating on fifteen minutes ago and it was only just kicking in.
A few minutes later Harry walked back into the room with Donovan in his arms and handed the crying baby to Nikki who knew what the baby wanted. She undid her pyjama top as she sat up and offered Donovan her breast, the baby suckling immediately. Nikki then giggled loudly as Gabriel started to cry as well, Harry just having climbed back into bed.
"They're definitely your sons" Harry murmured good-naturedly as he climbed out of bed and walked from the room again to go to the nursery once again.
"Your daddy is cheeky" Nikki told Donovan, neither parent having got used to the fact that he couldn't hear them but when they did remember it didn't put them off, they were both determined to treat both of their sons the same.
"He just needs a change" Harry commented as he walked back into the room with Gabriel on his shoulder. He made his way over to the bathroom and opened the door with his free hand as Nikki nodded.
Her mind then wandered to the phone call she had received from Ada two days previously, one begging her to go to the hospital with her. Nikki had refused again and asked whether she had told Adrian yet, Ada had just said no and that they'd spent the entire afternoon that everyone else was in the park having sex. Nikki had tried not to feel ashamed of her friend, she had made her life choices and Ada was making hers. It didn't help Nikki though and she had just told Ada that it would be fine and to ring her when it was over.
She had and to Nikki's horror she sounded more cheerful than she had in a while, saying that there was nothing too it and that it was just two tablets. Nikki had to wonder if Ada knew that the 'nothing to it' was what had killed her baby. They had talked for a while and Ada had apologised to Nikki for being like she had been and they had gone back to how they were before everything had happened. Nikki still felt a stab of regret when she thought about what Ada had done but knew that it was the best, Ada wasn't ready for parenthood, she had said so herself.
A few minutes later Harry climbed back into bed with Gabriel and Nikki was burping Donovan.
"Is my little boy all clean now?" Nikki cooed to Gabriel who simply let out a quiet cough and kicked his legs out.
"They look so much like you sometimes" Harry told his lover who chuckled and wiped Donovan's face free of the milk he had burped up.
"They're gorgeous" Nikki chuckled as Donovan smiled up at her, trying to lift his head off her shoulder. "Aren't you both?" she asked her son as she pulled her legs up to her chest under the duvet and rested the baby on them, placing her hands either side of him to prevent him falling off. "And Happy Christmas to you both, we'll go and see if Santa has been soon shall we?"
Harry did the same with Gabriel who grabbed at his father's fingers and held on tightly; his other hand fisted in his mouth as he dribbled slightly, his light green eyes focusing on Harry's. His father then reached across to the bedside table and picked up one of the soft baby toys that were designed for newborns. Handing it to Gabriel the baby gripped hold of it tightly and shook it slightly, jumping a bit when the toy squeaked. His parents chuckled at him and the baby followed the toy with his eyes as he moved it himself, not realising that he was doing it.
Donovan meanwhile was too enthralled with clenching and unclenching his fingers around Nikki's hand, following it with his eyes as Nikki chuckled and moved it slightly. The baby automatically reached up to grab her finger in one of his tiny hands and he gripped at it tightly, not wanting to let go.
"You're a good boy aren't you?" Nikki told Donovan, a smile on her face as the six week old cooed to her and looked her in the eye "Yes you are" she grinned and tickled the baby's tummy, his legs kicking and a loud gurgle escaping his mouth "You and your brother are"
"You're a brilliant mum"
Nikki looked up from where she was gently running a piece of tinsel through Donovan's hands as they sat on the floor in front of the covered cracking fire in the hearth. She smiled bashfully at her lover who walked over and placed Gabriel next to his brother, Nikki placing the same bit of tinsel in his hands as well as both babies tightened their grips on the red decoration. Artemis and Eos were curled up in their baskets, basking in the warm glow of the fire, their ears twitching every now and again.
"You won't be getting that back" Harry chuckled, sitting himself down next to Nikki and wrapping one arm around her waist, kissing her on the cheek, motioning to the tinsel. "You really are a brilliant mum though"
Nikki just sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, not taking her eyes away from their sons.
"How hard do you think it'll be? School and uni at the same time as raising twins, one who's deaf"
"I think we can do it" Harry told her, shrugging slightly as he moved some of her soft blonde hair away from her face and kissed her cheek gently.
"You're an amazing daddy" Nikki murmured quietly as she moved so she was leaning on her hands next to him, a smile on her face as Harry beamed at her. "I love you so much"
"I love you very much" Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, Nikki leaning forward and kissing him on the lips. "Now I think we should get these two started on their presents"
Nikki giggled loudly as she drew away and nodded, Harry stealing another kiss before turning and crawling around to the large amounts of presents underneath the Christmas tree.
"I think they're impressed" Nikki told Harry dryly as she glanced over at Donovan and Gabriel who were fast asleep in their Moses baskets. She then giggled as Harry rolled his eyes at them and walked over to sit on the sofa. Nikki moved her legs from where she was laying and allowed Harry to sit down before resting her legs back on his lap and turning back to the book she was reading.
"Is that good?" Harry asked, motioning to the sign language book that Darren had got them for Christmas. It was a thick book but it was set out in sections that made it easier to learn and to find things that were relevant.
"It's very good. Nice and simple so it's perfect for you" Nikki smirked and Harry mock glared at her, going to tickle her feet. "Don't you dare" she squealed loudly and went to move her legs away from him.
"Okay calm down" Harry laughed "I won't"
Nikki eyed him closely before relaxing again and handing the book to her lover, leaning her head on the back of the sofa and watching him. Harry then reached down and picked up Artemis who had bounded over, meowing up at them both for attention. He placed the cat on his lap and stroked her fur, both of them suddenly surprised at how much she had grown in the past year that they had her.
"I should call everyone and thank them for the presents" Nikki sighed and went to get up; Harry placing his free hand on her leg stopped her and Artemis crawling onto Nikki's lap and laying down, making her giggle.
"You can do it later, just relax okay?" Harry told her seriously and Nikki nodded "You need to rest Nikki. Even Artemis is telling you too" he chuckled
"I do rest"
"I know but..I just worry"
"I know you do" Nikki giggled and reached over to place one hand gently on Harry's arm, squeezing it gently "But I'm fine, I promise. Anyway it's not like you don't help is it?" she shrugged and Harry shook his head, giving her a smile before turning back to the book. "We'll learn at lot from that. Do you think it'll be easy learning to be fluent in sign language?"
"Well we've done alright so far" Harry shrugged "And it's not like we have to learn everything now, just the basics and we can learn as the boys grow up"
"I suppose so" Nikki nodded and then smirked "You do realise that with the guys learning as well we can use it in lessons"
"Nicola Alexander" Harry tutted and smirked, scratching Artemis behind her ears and making the cat purr loudly. "Are condoning talking in class?"
"Technically it isn't talking" Nikki pointed out and Harry rolled his eyes "So no I'm not, and then the teachers can't moan at us for talking"
"I like your way of thinking my love" Harry smiled and Nikki giggled "How is Ada by the way?"
"Recovering. I think it was easier for her because she actually wanted to have the...abortion" Nikki told Harry who nodded and gave his lover his full attention "But it's harder for me to understand why she's okay because of my experience with it"
"But she's okay?"
"Yes" Nikki smiled slightly and nodded "We've talked and we're back to how we were again. I can't stay angry at her forever"
"Good. We all hate it when you're not talking. The guys don't even know why you weren't talking in the first place"
"So do we" Nikki chuckled and looked up when the phone rang. "I'll go"
She swung her legs off the sofa and stood up, picking Artemis up with one hand and placing her on the spot she had just vacated, walking quickly from the living room to pick up the phone as the cat jumped onto Harry's lap for some attention.
"Hello?"
"Nikki, Merry Christmas" Ada laughed cheerfully down the phone and Nikki smiled, her friend sounding like she was back to her normal self.
"Merry Christmas to you too" she replied happily "Are you drunk already?"
"No. What do you take me for? I'm just happy that's all, you know I love Christmas"
"Yes I do. Thank you for the presents, you shouldn't have and we're angry at you" Nikki told her friend who just laughed down the phone.
"Yes well we're angry at you as well for buying us presents"
"Of course you are" Nikki rolled her eyes and leant against the wall, shaking her head in amusement.
"Mum wants to know if you want to come round today" Ada then told Nikki who glanced towards the living room when one of the twins started to cry. "Later on just for a few drinks or something, well you don't have to drink because of the twins but.."
"How about you come here" Nikki replied "It's larger than your place and I don't really want to disrupt the twins today"
"I'll ask mum"
Nikki then heard Ada yelling over to Isold about Nikki's suggestion and the blonde rolled her eyes, leaning around the door frame to look into the living room where Harry was holding Gabriel, talking to him softly to calm him down, showing him the bright Christmas tree. A loving grin formed on Nikki's face and she jumped when she heard Ada's voice down the phone.
"Mum said if you're sure, we know it's your first Christmas with Donovan and Gabriel"
"I am" Nikki nodded "Come around at about four? Is William at yours?"
"No, we were meeting up tomorrow"
"Well he can come as well if he wants to, Darren and Angela as well of course"
"I'll phone them and ask" Ada replied and Nikki nodded, hearing Isold call something out "Hold on"
A few seconds later and Ada was back on the phone.
"Mum wants to know if you want us to bring anything. Food or drink?"
"Whatever you want to bring. We have things here but it's hardly enough for all of us"
"We'll bring some things then" Ada told Nikki and then tutted "I have to go; Jurian wants me to play with one of his new toys"
"They can bring some toys around as well" Nikki added "To amuse them"
"Thanks" Ada laughed and Nikki giggled "See you then. Happy Christmas"
"Happy Christmas"
Nikki then put the phone down and walked back into the living room where Harry was still showing Gabriel the tree, allowing their son to hold a brightly coloured piece of tinsel in his tiny hand.
"Everyone's coming round this evening" she told him and Harry looked up and nodded "Around four o'clock"
"Okay" Harry smiled "That gives us lots of time to spend with our boys"
"Yes it does" Nikki agreed as she walked over and wrapped her arms around Harry's stomach from behind, resting her head on his back as she smiled down at Donovan who was still sleeping soundly. "We better start on the dinner. You can cut the vegetables"
Harry groaned quietly and Nikki giggled as she pushed away from him and slapped his back gently.
"Come on, it's not that bad"
"It is"