"It's weird thinking about moving" Nikki told Harry three weeks later as they began to pack the first of their items, it was the second week of September and they would be moving to Oxford at the beginning of October, five weeks before Gabriel and Donovan's first birthday. Neither of them knew how the move would affect the ten month old children but they knew it would take a lot of getting used to for themselves, let alone their children.

"It'll be fun" Harry nudged her side gently as he sat himself down next to her on the bed and wrapped one arm around her back, Nikki resting her head on his shoulder "Okay it'll be weird but it'll be fun as well, think of all the people we'll meet and the new things we'll learn. And the life we're going to give our boys once it's all done"

Nikki sighed and nodded, snuggling even closer to her fiancé as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Dad and Gran are in Oxford"

"Is that what you're worried about?"

Nikki just nodded against his shoulder and he reached up to move some of her lose hair away from her face as he replied.

"Oxford is a big place, the chances of us running into them are very small"

"Not really, I mean we could be shopping in the same place or.."

"Nikki unless you actively go out and seek them I don't think we'll bump into them" Harry interrupted his lover who looked up at him and frowned.

"We were in the paper though, about getting into Oxford. What if they saw that?"

Harry sighed and shook his head, leaning down and kissing her gently on the lips before moving away again.

"Don't let them spoil the fun"

"I know" Nikki then smiled as she stood up and looked over to where Gabriel and Donovan were playing on their bedroom floor so they could keep an eye on them while they packed "They ruined enough of my life I shouldn't let them do it again"

"Good" Harry smiled happily at her and Nikki grinned at him, leaning down and kissing him on the lips.

"I'm so excited" she then told him as she clapped her hands and Harry laughed, nodding his agreement as he placed his hands on her hips.

"I know, so am I"

"I'm still a bit wary of leaving them in the nursery" Nikki frowned at their boys who were playing happily together, sitting closely on their play mat.

"They'd have to go to nursery at some point anyway so they can get some social skills" Harry chuckled and Nikki shrugged, still not looking away from their sons "Now what are you really worried about?"

"Donny" Nikki whispered and Harry sighed quietly "Don't tell me you're not"

"I am a little bit worried yes but that's just part of being a parent Nikki, it's natural"

"But I worry about him all the time when I think about what he's going to be like at nursery with people he doesn't know, and going to school and later on in life when..." she trailed off and shook her head, reaching up to wipe her eyes free from tears before they fell down her face.

"He's a very friendly little boy" Harry smiled at her, taking her hands in his and squeezing them gently "He'll be fine with other people and he'll love the nursery there. You've seen it and its amazing isn't it?"

"I know it is but.." she shook her head "It's just with him being deaf I can't help but worry about it"

"I'm sure Gabriel will be there to defend him" Harry chuckled and Nikki giggled tearfully as she nodded in agreement. Everyone had noticed how protective Gabriel was of Donovan sometimes even at just ten months old, as though he knew there was something different about his little brother and he had to look after him.

"I'm just being silly. I know they have to go to nursery at some point but it's still difficult. I mean they're one in..seven weeks and that's a really scary thought"

"They'll soon be off to school" Harry chuckled and Nikki glared at him, hitting his shoulder and shaking her head.

"Don't say that, it's not even funny"

"Sorry"

"I'll just have to get used to it I suppose, we'll be busy with work anyway"

"And I'm very sure we're not the only people in the family residence this year" Harry laughed and Nikki nodded "Gabriel and Donny could get along with some of their children and we could be friends with some of the parents"

"I suppose so" Nikki nodded again "But it's not like we're living on each other's laps like we would be in the normal halls, we all have space"

"Good, I'd have having to live on other people's laps" Nikki giggled and then pushed away from him "Now stop distracting me we need to pack"

Instead of going over to the wardrobe she instead walked over to Gabriel and Donovan, crouching down in front of them and instantly having an armful of her youngest as she laughed and hugged him back.

"Are you going to show daddy how clever you are Donny?" Nikki sighed as she scooted back a bit on the floor and held her arms out to her youngest, smiling at him as he pushed himself up onto his legs and swayed on his feet a little bit before holding his hands out to his mother. Nikki took his hands in her own and gave him some support as he took a few steps forward, Harry walking over and sitting down next to his lover, a smile on his face as he saw his little boy walking again.

The twins had begun to walk with assistance a week before and had managed a few steps on their own but had soon fallen down without the support from someone holding their hands. Both Harry and Nikki had been so proud of their children for their progress but they were also upset that their boys were growing up so quickly.

"It doesn't seem that long ago they were tiny little newborns" Nikki commented as Donovan took a few steps towards her before he stopped and began to bounce on his feet, a grin on his face as he laughed.

"I wasn't really, only ten months" Harry replied, reaching over to pull Gabriel onto his lap as the older twin crawled over to them for the attention his brother was receiving. "You two need to stop growing up so quickly"

Gabriel laughed and used Harry's chest for leverage as he stood up on his father's legs and grinned happily at him, his green eyes lighting up as Harry pressed a kiss to his lips and then received one back from his son.

"Nikki I'm thinking about talking to Ada about what you told us a few weeks ago"

Nikki quickly turned from where she was warming up some baby food for Gabriel and Donovan and shook her head at Georg who had spoken.

"No, you can't" Nikki told him quietly as he closed the kitchen door and shook his head "Please"

"In the past three weeks I've seen her out with two different guys" Georg informed Nikki who just shook her head and shrugged.

"I.."

"Nikki I just want to protect her"

"Georg I told you three weeks ago that she's chosen her way of live just as we've chosen ours, don't interfere with it"

"What do you think she's going to be like at university?" Georg hissed loudly, both of them well aware of Ada who was sitting in the living room with everyone else. "When she knows that none of us are around to be disappointed or tell her no"

"You telling her that I betrayed her confidence like that won't change that" Nikki replied, shaking her head and turning back to her children's food "It will just make her worse"

"I don't want her wasting her life"

"Just because she's slept with a few men and a woman doesn't mean she's going to waste her life" Nikki informed Georg incredulously "She's intelligent and she's going to do well at university, what she does in her free time is not for me to judge. I'm not exactly the epitome of what people think teenage girls should be like am I?"

"But you're..you're not sleeping around are you?" Georg replied weakly "You've got a family and there's nothing wrong with that"

"I'm not going to argue with you Georg" Nikki shook her head defiantly "She's my friend and yes I'm concerned for her but I don't expect her to tell me that my lifestyle is wrong so I'm not going to do it to her"

"So you approve of her sleeping around"

"No" Nikki cried incredulously "It's not something I would encourage no, I would never do it but..God Georg stop making this so bloody difficult for me" she slammed the baby spoon in her hand down on the counter and glared at her friend "I don't want to argue or fight with you"

"I'm sorry" Georg sighed, shifting nervously on his feet "I'm just worried for her once we all leave and she doesn't have us to look out for her"

"She'll be fine, this is Ada we're talking about" Nikki smiled slightly, hoping that she was right and that Ada would be okay. "She'll be perfectly fine"

"They're growing up so quickly" Anne smiled proudly as Gabriel walked towards her with a little help from Nikki who was holding his hands above him slightly and keeping him balanced.

"I know" Nikki agreed with a small sigh as she let Gabriel's hands go and let him stumble forward into his grandmother's arms, Anne picking him up and kissing him on the cheek as the baby grinned and laughed.

"You are a clever boy aren't you?" Anne praised him as she kissed his cheek again and then put him back down on the floor, Gabriel quickly crawling back over to Donovan who was playing contentedly on the play mat. Both women watched as Donovan turned his head towards Gabriel and his older brother grinned before leaning over and kissing his younger brother on the mouth and then laughing, Donovan grinning and kissing Gabriel back on the mouth as their mother and grandmother laughed and 'awwed' at them.

"What are you doing about their birthday?" Nikki then asked Anne as she stood up from the floor and sat herself down on the armchair "Are you coming to see us?"

"What day is it?"

"A Friday"

"I could come up and see you on the Saturday, we could meet somewhere and go out for the day if you're not busy"

"We'll make sure the day is free" Nikki nodded and smiled "We can't have you missing your grandchildren's first birthday"

"I'm going to miss you all"

"We'll miss you as well" Nikki sighed, looking down at her children as they played "It'll seem weird not living here or having you around every other day"

"It's not like you'll be gone forever"

"I know but it's still weird"

"You'll get used to it soon enough" Anne chuckled and Nikki looked at her as she nodded her agreement "You'll soon forget all about us back here"

"I don't know about that" Nikki laughed "I think you're all pretty difficult to forget"

"I don't know whether to be offended or not" Anne smirked and Nikki giggled at her and shook her head.

"Georg was out of sorts this afternoon when we were out" Harry informed Nikki as he walked out of the bathroom in only a towel, his lover already in bed in her pyjamas, a book in her hand which she was reading intently.

"Really?" she replied noncommittally, turning the page and shrugging "Maybe he's nervous about leaving, he has to leave William for weeks at a time after all"

"It wasn't that" Harry shook his head and missed the irritated look at Nikki shot him over the top of her book when he refused to drop the subject. "He just seemed worried and not really with us"

"He's probably nervous" Nikki repeated and Harry turned away from the chest of drawers on the other side of the room with a frown on his face.

"Do you know why?"

"No"

"Nicola"

"No" Nikki told him more forcibly as she book the book down on her lap and glared at him, making sure to not give him the satisfaction of her looking at his half naked form "Now drop it"

"Well judging by your reaction you do know why"

Nikki huffed loudly and started to read her book again.

"Leave it, I'm not arguing with you again Harry"

"He's seen Ada out with at least two other guys in the past three weeks" Harry told her noncommittally as he turned back to the drawer and pulled out some clean pyjamas "She didn't know he saw her"

"Hmm"

"Has she spoken to you about.."

"No she hasn't told me anything about what guy she's got in bed this week or last week or the week before" Nikki snapped at him suddenly "Ada doesn't talk to me about her conquests anymore, not since our holiday together. And for your information Georg was out of sorts because we had an argument this morning about him telling Ada what I told you all three weeks ago"

"Oh, I didn't mean to.."

"Well don't pry next time" Nikki interrupted him again, more angry this time as she bookmarked her book and threw it on the bedside table "I wish I never told them anything, I feel so guilty for betraying Ada and then I have Georg wanting to talk to her about it. Do you have any idea what that would mean for me and Ada if she found out what I did?"

"She'll understand" Harry sighed as he walked over to the bed and went to sit down next to Nikki.

"Don't sit down you'll get the bed damp" Nikki told him quickly and Harry stopped himself just in time, not wanting to get his lover even angrier "And she wouldn't understand"

"Stop beating yourself up about it" Harry told her softly, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead and then onto her nose, smiling when Nikki's lips twitched slightly "Was that a smile?"

"No"

"It was" Harry grinned as Nikki giggled and reached up to pull him down for another proper kiss.

"Shut up" she murmured against his lips before kissing him once more.