"I am so very proud of you Nikki" Harry told his fiancé as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. Nikki giggled at him and turned her head so she could see him a bit better.
"So you've told me, and I'm very proud of you as well"
"But you need to keep hearing it" Harry chuckled, Nikki turning herself in his arms and looping hers around his neck, Harry placing his hands on her hips as he leant down and pressed his lips to hers. Nikki responded eagerly and they kissed almost lazily before Harry attempted to deepen the kiss, Nikki letting him as he pulled her closer to his strong body. Neither of them heard the front door open and shut.
"Harry, Nikki I'm..oh"
They quickly broke the kiss when they heard Anne's voice and they looked towards the living room door where she was standing.
"Sorry"
"It's okay" Harry shook his head and then grinned "We got into Oxford mum"
Anne's face lit up when she heard that and she grinned at both of them, quickly walking over and pulling them both into her arms, the teenagers laughing happily and hugging her back.
"I'm so proud of both of you" she told them tearfully as she moved away from them slightly "After everything you still got there. I can't begin to explain how proud I am of you. This calls for a celebration, we'll go out for dinner tonight, the five of us"
"Okay" Harry nodded, laughing as Anne hugged him again and then kissed him on the cheek.
"You dad would have been so proud of you" she told him.
Nikki couldn't help but smile bitterly as she knelt down and picked up Eos who was curling around her ankles.
"You can have whatever you want, I'm paying" Anne told the teenagers as they sat down at the table their waiter had directed them to.
"Mum.."
"I'm paying" Anne gave Harry a firm look and her son relented nodding and smiling at her.
"Thank you"
"You sit there and be good" Nikki smiled at Gabriel as she placed her son into the highchair at the end of the table between herself and Anne, the baby looking around in amazement at his surroundings as Harry placed Donovan in the highchair next to his older brother, kissing his blonde hair gently. Harry then placed two of their colourful toys in front of them on the trays to entertain the young children while they were in the restaurant. Nikki sat down opposite Anne and Harry took a seat next to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek and making her smile at him.
"So how did the others do?" Anne asked them both when she looked up from the menu.
"They all got into the universities they wanted to" Nikki replied with a smile and Anne nodded "It will seem weird not seeing each other all the time, I mean it's not like we'll be spending the entire holidays back here either"
"You'll get used to it" Anne told her with a small nod and a smile "It will probably seem weird at first though"
"Mum would you do us both a favour and move back into the house?" Harry asked Anne and Nikki nodded as she looked down at the menu on the table in front of her "We need someone to look after the cats as well as the house and now you're not moving anymore"
"How cheeky" Anne smirked at Nikki who giggled and nodded "I thought Isold was doing it, I don't mind though"
"Thank you" Harry smiled gratefully "We won't stay in Oxford all the time, we'll come back for a weekend or two so you can see the boys" he continued "Or you could come to Oxford sometimes to see us"
"Harry how many students want their mums visiting them?"
"Mum how many students have twins who need to know their grandma more than just someone who pops in and out of their lives every holiday" Harry told her seriously and Anne smiled at him "If you don't want to come to the uni to see us then we'll have a day out in Oxford or something"
"We'll work it all out when the time comes" Anne informed them both and they nodded "Leave it for now"
"Can I get you any drinks?" the waiter asked as he came over, he looked to be about thirty or so with short black hair and piercing blue eyes.
"Orange juice please" Nikki smiled and he nodded, smiling at her and then turning to Harry.
"I'll have a coffee please"
"Me too" Anne added and their water, his name tag told them his name was Bobby, nodded.
"Okay, I'll bring them over as quickly as possible"
"Thank you"
"What's wrong with you Gabriel? You normally love your food" Nikki frowned at her son who was refusing to eat more than a few mouthfuls of mashed potato. He pushed the baby spoon away from his mouth when Nikki attempted to feed him again and let out a quiet sob. Nikki put the spoon down on her plate and picked up a napkin, wiping his hand to clean it from the potato. "Okay, I know" she cooed to him, leaning over and kissing him gently "Try again in a minute"
"What's wrong?" Harry then asked her as he turned away from feeding Donovan who was eagerly eating his food "He won't feed?"
Nikki shook her head as she scooped some peas and carrot onto her fork and looked at their oldest who was looking slightly red in the face.
"Maybe he's ill, you know how quickly it can come on"
"Hmm" Nikki nodded as she chewed her food and looked worriedly at her son "I'll give him some medicine when we get home, I can't have my little boy feeling ill can I?" she directed the last part towards Gabriel as she reached over and took his hand in hers, the baby pulling it away from her quickly and making Nikki frown in concern.
"I know, I know" Nikki soothed Gabriel as her son clung to her, sobbing and crying as she cradled him against her shoulder, his cries piercing her heart because she knew there was little she could do for him. She looked up as Anne walked into the room and she shook her head "He's no better, there's definitely something wrong with him. I gave him some medicine two hours ago and he settled down but now he's.." she nodded to him as she stroked his back soothingly and kissed the top of his head.
"Do you want me to call the on call doctor?" Anne asked and Nikki nodded, stepping over Artemis as she began to walk around the room with her sobbing child. The older woman walked from the room and left Nikki alone with her crying baby, Harry upstairs changing Donovan's nappy.
"It always scares mummy when you or Donny are ill" Nikki whispered to Gabriel as she heard his cries quieten down slightly "I know everyone gets ill, especially babies but it's still scary because I know I can't do anything to stop you from hurting" she pressed a kiss to Gabriel's warm forehead as she spoke "Apart from give you medicine but that only works so much"
Nikki looked up just as Harry walked into the room with Donovan in his arms and she smiled at her fiancé as she kissed their son's head again. He walked over and placed Donovan on the floor so he could play with his toys, the deaf child not disturbed by his brother's wailing.
"Your mum is calling the doctor" Nikki explained as Harry placed his hand on Gabriel's back and gave the little boy a concerned look.
"Hey, what's all this about then?" he asked Gabriel quietly "You're meant to be happy for mummy and daddy today"
Gabriel just whimpered, tears on his cheeks and brought one hand to his ear before beginning to cry again.
"Come on my darling" Nikki soothed him, rubbing his back gently through his t-shirt and kissing his hot forehead again "Calm down"
"The doctor is on his way" Anne told them as she walked back into the room and Nikki nodded.
"Thank you" Nikki nodded as she sat down on the sofa, cradling Gabriel to her chest as the baby snuggled closer to her.
"Do you want me to stay?"
"You get home" Harry told his mother quietly as she looked in concern at her grandchild "It's late already, we'll call you when the doctor's been"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes mum" Harry chuckled and hugged the older woman who hugged him back "I promise to call"
"You've got an ear infection my dear" Nikki informed Gabriel as she carried the now quiet baby upstairs to put him to bed, Gabriel with his head resting on her shoulder as his eyes kept drooping "Daddy's going to go and get you your medicine tomorrow at soon as the pharmacy opens then you can get better for us"
She walked into the nursery and smiled at Harry who was standing by the cot that he had just put Donovan into.
"Hi darling" Harry smiled as he looked up at his lover, motioning to the baby in her arms "How is he?"
"I think he's just calmed down because he's tired" Nikki sighed, rubbing Gabriel's back as she spoke "I don't think we'll be getting much sleep tonight, I've given him some baby medicine though so it should knock him out for a while" she smiled and Harry nodded at her.
"Where's his medicine?"
"My pocket"
Harry reached into her pocket and pulled out the bottle of liquid medicine and the syringe they used to give it to the twins.
"I'll go and get the proper medicine tomorrow as soon as possible" Harry told her as he placed the medicine and syringe on the top of the chest of drawers and then turned on the nightlight, colourful planes lighting up the wall and ceiling as he did so. "He'll be better in no time"
"Did you hear that Gabriel?" Nikki cooed to the baby who suddenly began to sob again, tears falling down his cheeks as his small body shook with each pained cry. "Oh my darling" she murmured, stroking his back and kissing his head softly as cried loudly "It's okay, I know it hurts baby but you'll get better soon. Harry I can't leave him like this" she told her boyfriend, both of them knowing how painful an ear infection was.
"You've given him medicine there's nothing more you can do for him right now"
"I know" Nikki sighed tearfully as she looked down at the crying baby "But look at him"
"Nikki you have to be strong for him, he'll get over the infection soon enough"
"I keep..will I always think back to Donny?" Nikki asked Harry quietly "I know it's so stupid because it was months ago but I just.."
"I know Nikki, I keep thinking about it as well" Harry nodded, wrapping his arms around his fiancé's waist and kissing the side of her head gently, resting his chin on the top of her head as she rested her head against him. "But I think that's natural for parents who have been in our situation, we always fear the worst"
"Will it stop?"
"I hope so"