A/N: Welcome to chapter four! Thank you so much for the support and I hope you like this one.
They watched Michael run into the soft play area, standing there hand in hand, and once he was on the little climbing frame that led up to the slide they headed for one of the settees and sat down together. It had been a lovely day thus far. She and Eddie decided to get to the farm for opening time so it would be a little quieter and a lot of the animals were out and about, much to Michael's delight, so they had a walk around for about an hour and fed them some of the animal food they bought from the little shop. It made them smile, watching him feed the smaller animals in the children area and hearing him laugh.
Not too long ago though, the weather decided to change and it started chucking it down with rain, so Eddie suggested they came into the soft play area for a bit until it died down. It seemed like everyone had the same idea because the place was packed and they had to start turning people away when they entered, but Michael was more than happy with this arrangement and that was all either of them cared about. Letting go of his hand so she could slip her arm through his and cuddle a bit closer to him, she let her head drop against his shoulder and smiled to herself when she felt him bury his lips in her hair.
"I thought you were looking a bit tired." She heard him mumble against her crown.
"I forgot how big this place was," She laughed, tilting her head back so she could look up at him. "Mel and I used to bring Phillip here when he was little. It was quite a drive from where we lived at the time, but he loved it and it gave me and Mel chance to see each other once in a blue moon. None of this was here back then though, the only thing they really had was that little park near the back and we used to grab hot chocolates and go and sit in the car if it started raining like this. Only problem was, Phil hated his car seat. He used to scream and scream until Mel gave in and got him out so he could go and play."
He chuckled. "I bet you were pleased about that."
"You really think I got out of the car in that weather? I had common sense," She told him with a smile. "Phil had ways of bending her to his every whim when he was little. She hated telling him no or letting him down, probably because his dad did enough of that himself, so he tended to get his own way a lot of the time. Not with me though. If I took him out for the day and he started screaming in his car seat, I let him scream until he wore himself out so much that he ended up falling asleep. Didn't take him too long to figure out that he was wasting his breath and throwing a tantrum wasn't going to work on me."
"Bet he had the same pout then as he does now."
"Mmm, but I have to say it was a lot cuter back when he was three."
Sliding his arm out of hers, he put it around her shoulders and felt her curl a hand into the front of his jumper as they went back to watching Michael play. They could see him standing on the very top level, patiently waiting for his turn to go down the slide, and when it came at long last they watched him do so before he made his way through the little pit of plastic balls and ran over to where they were sitting. "Daddy, please can you get me a drink?" He asked, a little out of breath from all of his running around.
"Course I can, mate," Eddie nodded before reaching into his coat pocket for his wallet, taking his arm from around Rachel and getting to his feet again. "You coming with me or you staying here with Rach?"
He gave him his answer by stealing his seat, giving him a cheeky smile as Rachel reached for him.
"Same answer every time. I don't know why you ask." She smirked.
"I didn't sign up for you pair to gang up on me every other weekend, you know." He muttered, opening his wallet so he could take out some money and glancing at them again as he put it back in his pocket.
"Oh, come on. You love us really." She reminded him.
"Unfortunately…" He sighed before giving her a smile. "You want anything? My treat."
She thought for a moment. "You know, I wouldn't mind a gingerbread latte. I haven't had one in ages."
"Medium or large?"
"Surprise me."
He gave her a wink and turned to make his way over to the other side of the room and get the drinks, Rachel tightening her hold of Michael once they were alone and rubbing his back when he cuddled up to her. He had only been running around for a little while, but she could tell that he was starting to get tired. He only really had cuddles like this when he was feeling sleepy, so she smoothed a hand over his hair and gave him a kiss on the head which only made him nestle deeper into her embrace. "I think we should have a drink when Daddy comes back and then see the shop for a little bit before going home."
"No, I don't want to go home," He whined. "I want to go and see the sheep."
"Michael, we went to have a look at the sheep before we came in here," She reminded him. "I'm getting tired now and I'm starting to feel a little bit sick. I forgot to bring my medicine with me, so we need to go home soon so I can take it before I get bad. How about, after we get home and I take my medicine, we make some popcorn and cuddle up on the settee and watch the rest of our film? I need to get some cleaning done later, but that can wait and doing that will let me have a little rest before I have to start."
He tilted his head back to look at her. "I want to help clean! I help Mummy clean all the time."
"Because you are the sweetest boy," She told him, stroking his hair away from his forehead and giving him a gentle kiss on the temple. "Sure, you can help me do some cleaning later on if you want to. You might be able to teach that daddy of yours a thing or two while you're at it. He's the worst at cleaning."
"I can teach him how to do it. Then he can help you too." He assured her.
She smiled. "And that is why you are my favourite boy."
He frowned. "But…but Daddy always says he's your favourite boy."
"Shh," She winked. "Don't tell him."
He was unable to keep from giggling at that. "You're silly, Rachel."
When he cuddled up to her again and draped a little arm over her stomach, anchoring himself to her, she got a little more comfortable on the settee and started running her fingers lightly through his hair. She could feel herself growing sleepier by the minute, honestly, but luckily Eddie returned before too long with their drinks and she smiled as she watched him set the tray they were on down on the table. Michael sat up a little then and she took her arm from around him, allowing him to reach for his drink, before thanking her boyfriend when he sat himself down next to her again and handed her latte to her.
"Ooo, a large one," She commented before taking a sip. "You are spoiling me today, aren't you?"
"Feeling nice for once," He replied, wiping some of the froth from her upper lip. "You doing all right?"
"I forgot to put my medication in my handbag before we came out," She shook her head while tapping her nails against the side of the mug. "I have a horrible feeling I'm going to be paying for that tonight."
He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear at her words and wrapped an arm around her when she laid her head on his shoulder, letting his hand run along her arm. If the last time she failed to take her medication on time was anything to go by, tonight was going to be absolute murder for the pair of them. She would be vomiting near enough non-stop and unable to sleep, the whirling in her stomach keeping her brain from turning itself off, and he wouldn't be able to sleep from worrying about her. He hated seeing her in such a state, but it was the knowing there was nothing he could do that was worse.
All he could do was sit there and rub her back, speaking words of encouragement to her until it eased.
It made him feel like an idiot, but he knew she was grateful to have him there beside her.
"We'll get you home soon and then you can chill," He mumbled into her hair. "If you take your meds as soon as we get in, maybe it won't be as bad tonight and you might actually be able to get some sleep."
"I hope so," She grumbled. "I love how we both had a part to play in this, yet I'm the one suffering."
"Believe me, if I could deal with it for you then I would." He said, his tone sincere.
Looking up at him, she perched the mug on her knee and held it in one hand so that she could give his face a stroke with the other. She hadn't meant her words to come across quite so bluntly. "I know you would and I love you for it," She smiled, bringing her hand to the side of his neck and stretching up to kiss him. "You have been amazing these past few weeks, you really have, and I'm not upset with you in the slightest. I'm upset with myself for being careless enough to forget to bring them because now the day is ruined and all because of me. I feel bad for this little one mainly. He was so excited about it all."
"Hey…" He soothed. "You haven't ruined anything, don't be daft. We had a fantastic morning together and he had the time of his life. You saw the look on his face when he went on that tractor, he loved it. He might have a bit of a sulk in the car on the way home, but I bet by the time we get home he'll have come out of it. Bottom line is, Rach, we need to get you home before you start feeling worse. We need to get you some meds and then you need to sit and do nothing for a bit until you're feeling more you."
She made a sound of agreement.
"I love you, you know that?" He touched his forehead to hers with a raise of an eyebrow.
"I mean, I should hope so," She chuckled. "I am having your kids."
He hummed with a smile, smoothing her hair down with the palm of his hand.
"No, I love you too," She told him a little more seriously. "And I feel very, very lucky…"
"Daddy, we need to do some cleaning."
Eddie looked up from the homework he was marking at the kitchen table when his son walked into the room. Michael had the most serious look on his little face and it made him smile as he set the red pen in his hand down, letting him have his attention. "We need to do some cleaning, do we?" He asked him.
"Yeah, for Rachel," Michael explained. "She said she needs to do it today, but she can't do it if she feels poorly. We need to do it for her to help her and make her feel better. I think it would make her happy."
He hummed in agreement, incredibly proud of him. "I think so too, mate. You are such a good boy."
Michael glowed with pride. "She said I need to teach you how to do it because you're bad at it."
"Oh, did she?" He chuckled. "Well, I'm going to be having words with her about that when she gets up."
"Don't be mad at her, Daddy, I think she was only playing." Michael shook his head.
"I know she was," He soothed. "So, where do you think we should start? In here or the living room?"
Michael thought for a minute. "I think in the living room. I need to put all my toys away because Rachel doesn't like it when I leave them out everywhere. Can you help me put my train track back in the box?"
"Course I can. How about you go and make a start and I'll be in to help after putting my marking away? See how much you can do before I get there, yeah?" He gave his hair a stroke before he turned and left the kitchen quickly, his love for him deepening as he got up from the table and began to gather up his things. He loved the way that boy loved Rachel. She meant the world to him and more, clearly, and the bond the pair of them had formed in the time since they properly got together was incredible. She was such a natural with him. Loving, gentle, fiercely protective. All the makings of a phenomenal stepmum.
She and Alison got on like an absolute house on fire too which made the whole thing so much simpler. Admittedly, he was worried initially that they would have a hard time warming to each other – Alison more than Rachel – but he was wrong. Given the way she helped them way back when, back when she brought Michael to the school and dumped him on him in the middle of their presentation, she had so much respect for her. She thought she was an incredible human being – which, of course, she was – so she had no qualms about letting her have a relationship with Michael when she learned that they were together. She trusted her with him implicitly and it was clear she was grateful for another set of hands.
It took him little time to neaten up the kitchen table and put the books he'd been marking back in his bag, keeping them safe until he could get back to them later, and then he ran a hand through his hair and made his way out of the kitchen. He walked down the hall to the living room and when he reached the doorway he stopped, smiling as he watched his son gather up as many pieces of track as he could and place them in the box Rachel kept them in. "Doing well there, mate," He told him as he entered the room, making him turn in place to look at him. "Do you want some help putting the rest of it all away?"
"No, I think I got it," Michael replied. "I drawed earlier. Can you put my things back for me?"
"Sure." He nodded.
He got to work with picking up the coloured pencils and crayons, putting them back in their pots, and once that was sorted he turned to the pile of paper on the little table near the window and paused. He picked the top sheet of paper up and looked at it for a minute before turning to look at Michael again, smiling as he held the piece of paper up for him to see. "Is this you and Rachel at the farm?" He raised an eyebrow, watching his little boy pad across the room to him before he handed him back his picture.
"Yeah," Michael told him. "I don't think I did very good, but I want her to feel better and she gets happy when I do pictures for her. She liked looking at the baby piggies at the farm, she said they were funny, so I drawed them for her so she can see them again and stop feeling so poorly. Will she like it, Daddy?"
"I think she is going to love it and she is going to love you even more," He replied. "You can give it to her when she comes down, yeah? When all your toys are away and I'm making her something to drink."
Michael nodded. "Almost done with all my toys now. Only my cars to put back."
"Do you want to do that then while I go and make a start in the kitchen? Rachel hates the kitchen being a state, so I should probably get that clean before she comes down." He rubbed at his neck, chuckling.
"Remember to use spray on the counters."
"I know, I know."
Once his dad had left the room and he was alone again, he began picking up the cars dotted about the carpet and putting them back in the drawers. It only took him a couple of minutes and, before long, he heard the creak of the stairs and knew Rachel was up. Making sure he shut the drawer behind him, he ran into the hall and stopped at the bottom of the stairs so he could watch Rachel come down. She was a lot more smiley than she was before she went up for a nap. It must have made her feel a lot better. "Rachel, Rachel, come and see what I did," He grabbed her hand. "I only had a bit of help from Daddy."
She barely had chance to step off the bottom stair before he started dragging her into the living room, incredibly excited, and she failed to keep from gasping when she saw how neat and tidy it was. Before she went up, it looked like a bomb hit it with all his toys and things scattered around, but he had done so well with it. "Oh my goodness, look at this room! It must have taken you ages!" She shook her head.
"It only took a little while," He assured her. "I wanted to help you because you were feeling poorly."
"You are a little darling," She got down to his height and gave him a hug, smiling when he wrapped his arms around her neck and played with her hair. When she pulled back again, she laid her hands on his waist and looked him in the eye. "How about we speak to Daddy about ordering a takeaway for dinner later on? Normally, I would probably say we need to be a little healthier, but I think you earned a treat."
"I earned a treat too," She looked over her shoulder at the sound of her boyfriend's voice. "I helped."
She rolled her eyes, returning to her normal height. "Oh, what would I do without my boys?"
"You would have a lot more cleaning to do." Michael told her.
"Yes, I imagine I would." She laughed.
"Michael, are you going to show Rachel your picture while I go and get her a drink?" Eddie asked.
Michael suddenly remembered about the picture he did for her and gasped, taking her hand again and pulling her towards the settee before she sat down and he ran to his little art table for his drawing. He hurried back to her then, beaming, and practically dove into the space next to her on the settee before she put an arm around him. "You said you liked the baby piggies at the farm, so I drawed them for you so you can see them all the time. This is you and this is me and those are the piggies. I wanted to put Daddy in it too, but my pencil broke and then we had to do some cleaning so I didn't have much time."
"Not to worry," She soothed. "I love it. I'm going to have to get a frame or something for it, aren't I?"
"Yeah, and then you can put it on your wall," He agreed. "Do you think the babies will like piggies too?"
"Maybe," She laid a hand on her stomach, stroking it gently. "It might be a while before we find out."
He hummed. "When the babies are big enough, can they come to the farm with us?"
"Of course. You can show them all the animals and tell them all the facts you know." She told him.
"Mummy says I'm a clever-clogs," He said with pride. "I can't wait for the babies to be born, Rachel."
"Neither can I," She kissed his head when he cuddled close to her. "Neither can I."
Eddie opened the door to Michael's bedroom when he and Rachel made it upstairs at last, allowing her to enter ahead of him with the boy on her hip while he slept with his head on her shoulder. He wanted to stay up a little later tonight so he could watch their comedy with them and, seeing as though it was his last full night with them before his mum came for him tomorrow afternoon, they agreed to let him. He tried his hardest to stay awake as the three of them cuddled on the settee, but his long day caught up with him quickly and it took little time for him to end up falling asleep in her arms. He was so tired.
When the movie ended and they decided it was time to go and put him to bed, Eddie tried to take him from her so she wouldn't have to worry about carrying him. He only held onto her even tighter though, reluctant to be away from her even in sleep, and she again made some teasing remark about being the favourite that made him chuckle. She told him she felt she would be able to manage getting him up to his room, so once they actually got up from the settee they left the living room and it took minutes at the most for them to get upstairs. He stirred a number of times, but Rachel soon got him settled again.
Making their way into his bedroom with him now, they both approached the bed and she waited for a moment while he pulled back the quilt before carefully lying him down. She waited for him to bury his nose in his pillow and get comfortable before reaching for the quilt and covering him with it, her love for him deepening as she smoothed his hair down with the palm of her hand and kissed his forehead. She mumbled a soft 'I love you' against his skin before pulling back again and she and Eddie shared a smile before turning to make their way out of the bedroom. "Easiest night so far." She chuckled gently.
"Letting him stay up was a good plan," He told her. "What now then? Bedtime or…?"
"No, I'm not tired enough yet and I feel like a drink," She admitted. "Tea, obviously. Unfortunately."
He smirked. "You can have one drink, you know. It is allowed."
"I know, but still…" She reached for his hand. "Come on. Before I do get tired and change my mind."
They made their way back downstairs together then, heading for the kitchen so they could make their drinks and grab a couple packets of biscuits to go with them, and once they had everything they both returned to the living room. Flopping onto the settee again, he put an arm around her shoulders while holding his mug in the other hand and she cuddled against his chest while sipping at her peppermint tea. "I think I overdid it a bit this morning, you know, and that was why I started feeling so ill when we were out and when we got back. Having that nap this afternoon really did the trick. I feel much better."
"Good," He rubbed her arm, kissing her temple. "I agree too, you did way too much today. You were up early and then you were non-stop until we left, getting Michael ready and making sure you had things. Then we did all that walking around the farm and the play area was rammed which wouldn't have been much help. I should have noticed you were feeling rough way sooner than I did, so I'm sorry about that and I promise to be more aware next time. I think we need to learn your limits and plan the things we do around them. Or at least make sure you take a break every now and again to let yourself chill a bit."
"Yeah, I was thinking that earlier on. I have no idea why I used to think pregnancy would be a breeze," She laughed, bringing a hand to her stomach and tilting her head back against his shoulder to look at him. "How far along am I? Fourteen weeks, give or take a couple of days? Not that far along, really, and I'm already struggling, so I dread to think what sort of state I'm going to be in by the end of all of this. I remember Mel being huge when she was expecting Phil and she was only having one, so I'm probably going to look like some sort of beached whale by the time this pair decides to make their appearance."
He looked at her for a minute. "I think you're going to look beautiful, honestly."
"Yeah, but you have to say that which means it doesn't really count for much." She reminded him.
"Still the truth," He shrugged. "And I'm going to remind you of it all the time if I have to."
She sighed, setting her mug down on the table in front of them before curling into his side and resting a hand on his chest. She was quiet for a minute as she stroked her thumb against the coarse, dark hair peeking out from under his shirt where a couple of buttons had been left undone, but then she looked him in the eye again. "I said it earlier, I know, but I actually have no idea what I would do without you."
"That is one thing you never have to worry about," He reminded her. "I love you, Rach. All three of you."
"I know you do," She smiled, pulling him down into the softest kiss. "And we love you just as much."
A/N: Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this chapter! I had a lot of trouble with writer's block for this one and it took a while, but it is finally up and I am so relieved. I would love for you to let me know what you thought of this one with a review if you have the time. Thank you for your continued support and I will see you all soon!