"Can't we just have him in here for the night?" Nikki asked Harry without looking up at him as her lover walked into the bedroom and closed the door, Gabriel's having woken up again when Harry had left the room, his cries coming from the baby monitor next to the bed. "Please"

"No" Harry sighed and shook his head, walking over to the bed and climbing on behind Nikki, wrapping himself in the duvet and then pressing his chest against Nikki's back, draping one arm over her waist and the other playing with her hair on the pillow. "Nikki we have to learn to leave them, it's horrible I know but we have to"

"But he's..he's.." Nikki started to cry and she buried her face in the pillow so her sobs were muffled. Harry gently rolled her over so she was facing him and Nikki instantly buried her face in his chest and began to sob loudly. "I hate..it.."

"I know, so do I" Harry told her, stroking her hair gently as she cried "But it's only flu, he'll be fine in a few days once we've given lots of TLC"

Nikki gave her lover a watery chuckle and nodded against his t-shirt, absentmindedly picking at it as she tried to stop crying, Gabriel's cries having died down slightly but they could still hear him sobbing.

"We have to let him fall asleep on his own, he'll just stay awake for longer if he's with one of us" Harry told her, he himself hating leaving their baby but knowing that it was important.

"What if something happens? Or if it's worse than we thought and he's crying for a reason and we're ignoring him" Nikki suddenly asked Harry as she sat up, a look of horror on her face as she went to climb out of the bed. Harry wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back down onto him "Harry I need to check on him"

"No"

"Harry let me check on him" Nikki shouted as she pushed Harry's arm away from her and climbed out of the bed, shooting her lover an annoyed look as she walked from the room, wiping her face as she did so.

Harry sighed and lay back in the bed, he understood why Nikki was worried, he was worried as well but he knew that they shouldn't let themselves get too worried every time the twins got ill, they'd go mad otherwise. He sighed again and sat up, climbing out of the bed and walking out of the room to the nursery where Nikki was cradling Gabriel against her, stroking his back and murmuring something to him as the baby gripped at her, crying quietly into her chest. Nikki looked up at Harry and gave him another dirty look before turning her back on him to walk over to the window, ignoring him completely.

Harry ignored the hurt feeling that shot through his body as he walked over to his lover and placed his hand on her pyjama clad hips. Nikki however moved herself away from him and continued to talk to Gabriel who was beginning to calm down slightly.

"Nikki we can't pander to their every need, they need to learn that.."

"Harry they're six months old" Nikki told him, turning and glaring at him "They don't know right from wrong yet"

"You'd be surprised what they do understand"

"Don't tell me about my own sons" Nikki snapped and Harry sighed "Go back to bed then while I comfort our ill child, sorry for disturbing you" she scoffed and Harry shook his head.

"Nikki that isn't fair"

"Are you actually concerned for him?"

"Nikki" Harry snapped, angry at her for even suggesting that he wasn't concerned for their ill son "That wasn't fair either. You know I'm concerned for him. You're just even more concerned because you're his mummy" he smiled slightly and Nikki looked away from Gabriel "I think mummies are always more concerned than daddies are, it's just a natural thing for mums to worry"

Nikki sniffed slightly and nodded, kissing Gabriel's hot forehead slightly as she tried to blink away her tears, stroking her son's back gently as he continued to snivel into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry if you thought I wasn't concerned" Harry whispered and Nikki shook her head, turning to look at him with tears falling down her face.

"I didn't, I know you're worried. It just hurt me, hearing him crying like that" Nikki told her lover who nodded and smiled when she walked over and pressed herself against him, Harry wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry for being horrible"

Harry tutted and shook his head, moving some of her hair away from her face.

"You were upset, I understand"

"I shouldn't have said that you weren't concerned"

"Nikki its okay" Harry chuckled and kissed her forehead, stroking Gabriel's hair gently as he spoke "I'll go to get his prescription tomorrow. I'll pop into the driving school as well afterwards"

"Okay" Nikki nodded, still stroking Gabriel's back even though the baby had dropped off to sleep. She looked down at him and chuckled, reaching over to grab a tissue from the box and gently wiping his nose so he didn't wake up more than he was, he was almost asleep in the comfort of her arms "I love you" she whispered to the baby, kissing his forehead and smiling when Harry did the same, stroking Gabriel's blonde hair gently.

"And he loves you" Harry told her and Nikki grinned happily.

"Hey, ssh" Harry whispered to Gabriel as he picked up the crying baby, cradling him against his shoulder and quickly turned down the baby monitor so it didn't wake Nikki up but so it was still on. She had already been up four times in the night with Gabriel, Harry having not woken quickly enough in time to see her climb out of bed. However it was him who had woken up this time and Nikki was still asleep, obviously exhausted from tending to not only Gabriel but Donovan as well. They normally took it in turns to check on the babies when they cried during the night, that way neither of them was more exhausted than the other and both got to tend to the babies, something that they both loved doing even in the middle of the night. "Daddy's here, mummy is still asleep because she needs lots of sleep. She's such a brilliant mummy isn't she? But she needs to learn that just because she doesn't get up to change your nappy or has a bit of a lay in because she's tired or lets me do all the work with you and your brother doesn't mean that she's a bad mummy. Mummy needs rest sometimes as well, daddy tries to tell her but your mummy is such an amazing woman that she wants to make sure you and your brother are happy at all times"

He walked over and sat down on the rocking chair, plucking a tissue from the box as he passed and wiped Gabriel's running nose as the baby continued to cry.

"Daddy's going to get you some medicine today" Harry told the crying baby as he attempted to calm him down, it was half past six in the morning but Harry knew he wouldn't be going back to sleep after putting Gabriel back to bed, he was already wide awake. "Just to make sure you don't get any worse because mummy and daddy want you all better again" he smiled and Gabriel began to calm down again hearing his father's voice and feeling his heartbeat next to him where he was against Harry. "Now I need your advice little man. When should mummy and daddy get married? It's going to take a lot of planning and I want mummy to have the best day that she could ever have because she deserves it for being so amazing" he grinned when Gabriel looked up at him, his green eyes still full of tears as Harry wiped his nose again, the baby coughing and letting out a quiet moan, trying to bat Harry's hand away from his face. "I really want mummy as my wife" Harry continued talking to his son as he let Gabriel tug at a strand of his hair when he moved the baby slightly "Maybe when we're in university, hmm? Mummy's nearly eighteen and...wow that sounds weird" he murmured and then chuckled, addressing Gabriel as he talked "I met your mummy when she was fifteen and I was sixteen, it seems like we've grown up so much in the time we've known each other but I wouldn't swap it for the world. No I wouldn't" he cooed as he blew a raspberry on Gabriel's cheek, the baby laughing despite still having tears on his cheeks "I think I'd still be a very immature little boy if I hadn't met your mummy, she's changed me for the better and I am so glad to have met her and honoured that we have both of you. Many other men would love to have mummy as their girlfriend and it makes me.." Harry trailed off and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he talked about his feelings to his son who had calmed down in Harry's arms "It makes me so happy that..she chose me, especially to have you two with" he choked out and buried his face in Gabriel's hair, taking a deep breath to stop himself from crying when he thought about what he and Nikki had together. "Now let me tell you a little bit about your mummy, hmm? And why she still has a slight accent that isn't from this country..."

Meanwhile Nikki lay in their bed, smiling into her pillow and ignoring the happy tears on her face as she heard Harry speaking through the baby monitor. She loved the life she had and wouldn't trade it for anything.