*Sniff sniff* only a few chapters left :( Lady Kalee thanks girls! And I did find your weak spots didn't I haha! 191838 thanks! Keep reading to the end! babysister1997 yup! Another one! Meg-sters52 thanks! Jonelle love you too girl! And I will do a sequel probably so fingers crossed it comes together! Juliana Rose I was hoping to actually do that! But that means I have to come up with 70 new characters :P Cute Irish Gal what are you laughing at? sbellebound thanks for having my story as one of your favorites! popperzag thanks for also having my story as one of your favorites and following it! babysister1997 thanks for having me as one of your favorite authors! Love you! lilythemermaid you are too sweet! It makes my heart melt hearing that! Keep up the amazing work and I hope you'll read more of my fanfic later! NALyourGAL thanks for following me and having my story as one of your favorites! Love you! Awww ClaireMontieth I love you girl! I hope you continue reading my fanfic and the sequel too ;) xxzkellyheartxx I LOVE YOU! Thanks for following me and my story and having me and my story as one of your favorites! THANK YOU! Red-HeadNinja1524 thanks for having my story as one of your favorites! queen America it's not over yet! Mmbutcher I'm sorry it had to come to an end but there will be a sequel! Gilmoregirls1997 it's not over yet! But I'm glad you loved it!

Thanks to everyone for all your love and support! Only 5 chapters after this :(

Love Smashleigh

Chapter 45:

"Alex! What have you gotten yourself into?" I exclaim rushing into the nursery. Paint covers the wall and little Alex stands, with his black hair spiked in all directions, staring up at me. We haven't figured out how he has black hair and Olivia blonde. His deep blue eyes, that he shares with his sister, look up at me with complete innocence but the paint on his hands and face say otherwise. "Alexander…"

"Art Mommy!" he says happily, doing a little jump before rushing over to me. "Pretty!"

I stop him before he can get any paint on my dress. Taking his little hand I walk him over to the bathroom and sit him on the edge of the tub. He squirms in my grip because I know he doesn't like baths. Starting the water I make sure it's warm before rushing to change. Closing the door so Alex can't get out I turn and head for my room.

"Mommy?" Olivia asks from behind her playhouse.

I turn in the doorway. "What's wrong sweetie?"

"Where's Daddy?" she asks.

I offer her a smile. Maxon had been away on a trip for almost a month now and I find myself just aching to see him. Apparently so does his little princess. "He'll be back soon darling." I tell her before rushing to change.

Throwing on an old day dress I rush back to the bathroom. Opening the door Alex rushes out and toddles away. I chase after him but even for a four-year old he is fast. My dress and sandals don't exactly offer the best running conditions. Alex runs over to the door just as it opens and I gasp. Maxon steps through with a huge grin on his face. He's holding Gavin in his arms, who I assume was with his Grandmother. Gavin is sleeping quietly on his shoulder; both their blonde heads are a mess. Alex runs over to Maxon and grips his suit pant leg with his painted hands. I sigh and shake my head. "Alexander Schreave…"

Maxon rubs his head before taking his hand. Two little green hand prints stick to his pant leg and he chuckles. "What have you gotten yourself into Alex?" he asks.

"Paint! Look Daddy! Look!" Alex says leading him to the brightly painted wall.

I take this distraction to advantage and scoop up the little boy. He squeals in protest and flails in my arms. "Alex, you need a bath!" I tell him taking him into the bathroom.

I shut the door behind me and sit him on the edge of the tub again. He crosses his arms over his small chest and pouts. I give him a pointed look and he stares back at me in defiance. At least we know whose stubbornness he's gotten.

After finally getting Alex all cleaned up I take him back into the nursery. Digging through his clothes I pull out a blue onesie. Alex slipped it on and ran over to his bed. He knew that since it was almost nine o'clock he'd get a story, which he absolutely adores. Olivia sits up in her bed and crosses her legs, leaning her elbows on her knees and placing her chin in her hands. She's such a beautiful little girl I find it hard to believe she's mine sometimes. Her strawberry blonde hair is braided to the side and falls down to the bed and her purple onesie makes her pretty blue eyes pop.

"Story?" she asks happily, seeing me sit on the edge of her bed.

I nod. "Let me get Daddy first, okay?"

They nod eagerly. I leave them whispering over what the story will be about and go into our bedroom. Maxon is hunched over the desk reading numerous papers. I wrap my arms around his chest and hug him from behind. Glancing down at the papers I notice they are more rebel threats. They've increased the number of attacks recently and we find we've had at least three a week sometimes. I've had to make sure someone is with the children when I'm not and when I'm not I can't focus because I'm so worried. Thankfully no threats have been made on them but instead on me and Maxon again. I can breathe better knowing it's us they want and not our children.

"I'm guessing they want another story?" Maxon asks tiredly.

I nod and kiss his head. "I can do it if you'd like. You seem tired and busy."

He shakes his head. "No. It'll be a good distraction, what's tonight's story?"

"I'm not sure. I was going to ask you." I told him.

"Hmm. We could always read them some of the old fairy tales in the older books." Maxon offers.

"Really?" I ask incredulously. "A-are you sure?"

He shrugs. "Is anyone going to stop me?"

I kiss his cheek. "I'll go get a book then!"

Rushing out of the room I head to the secret room where all Gregory Illeá's diaries are kept. Taping 'Fairy Tale' into the search bar. Almost fifty books pop up and I find one written by someone called Brothers Grimm. Odd. Who would name their son Brothers? Flipping through the book I find numerous fairy tales. One called Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and so many more! The children will absolutely love this book!

Closing the door I head back to the nursery. Maxon changed into a pair of his blue silk pajamas as opposed to his sweat pants and a t-shirt. He noticed the book in my hand and smiled. Alex, Gavin, and Olivia waited eagerly in their beds. Looking at the three yellow beds lined up beside each other I smiled. They all refused to be separated from one another and it made my heart melt. Just wait until they get older, I tell myself with a smile.

"Which one do you want to read, little princess?" Maxon asks showing her the book.

I watch as Olivia flips through the book, looking at the pictures of princesses and their fair princes. She stops on the one with a beautiful blonde princess in a light blue gown and I recognize her as Sleeping Beauty. "Perfect." Maxon says.

Sitting beside him on Olivia's bed, I lean my head on his shoulder. The book has very little pictures but we rarely show them the pictures so they can use their imagination. Well I do at least, Maxon likes showing them the pictures.

"Once upon a time…" Maxon read. "There was a Queen who had a beautiful baby daughter."

Tucking them all in snuggly I glanced at the clock, almost ten. It wasn't so bad but normally I would've had them asleep by half past nine. I guess with Maxon home they were eager to see him. He was back in our room now, letting me tuck our little angels in bed. I kissed each of their little heads and turned off the light.

Stepping into our room I leaned against the door. I wasn't very tired mentally but I was physically exhausted. My limbs just weren't cooperating right now. So I trudged into the room and lay, still fully clothed, on the bed. The bed dipped and I felt Maxon rubbing his hand along my arm. His touch alone sent tingles down my body and it amazed me how even after being married for four years, he still was able to make me react like that. I turned over and met his deep brown eyes. These past few years have not been well on him. His face had these worry lines etched all over it and I hated when they were there. He was always worried about me and the children. I told him we were fine and that we loved and missed him every day he was gone. It was heart wrenching to see him so tired.

Kissing me sweetly on the cheek he laid down beside me. "What are you thinking love?"

"Oh nothing." I lied.

He propped himself on one elbow and looked down at me. "Liar."

I giggle. "Alright fine. I'm just worried you are stressing yourself out too much."

He sighs. "Darling, of course I was worried. But now I'm home and have you."

He kissed my cheek and runs a line of kisses down my jaw. His kisses trail to my neck and the sweet moments over. Meeting his lips, he cups my face in his hand. His other roams to the back of the dress and I hear the zipper slowly move down my back. Fumbling with the buttons on his shirt I stop and pull back, teasing him. But he looks at me lovingly and trails circles along the bare skin on my back. It's moments like this where I realize we really are still in love and will remain that way until we die. It's also these moments where I find myself absolutely and hopelessly in love with the man of my dreams.

He buries his face in the bare spot between my shoulder and neck. I wrap my arms around him and lean my head on his. "Are you alright darling?" I ask him softly.

He sighs. "America I've never been away from you so long. I've just missed you far too much."

"Oh." is all I say.

I want to say something else but his warm lips stop me. His lips travel up my neck and to mine. But it's not an intense kiss; it's a slow, passionate one. The one where it's just nice to be able to kiss someone you love. This is not the usual Maxon I'm use to. The lover who dotes me every minute of our time together. This is someone who's been afraid to lose something and just wants to embrace every second we have.

"Maxon…" I say pulling away slightly.

He pulls back to look into my eyes. I try not ruining the moment by looking at his bare chest but fail miserably. So quickly I look into his eyes. But the moment is gone and the fire returns into his eyes. He dips his head down and kisses me tenderly at first but then with need.

"Stay with me America, Forever."

I don't hesitate. "I'm yours Maxon. Forever."

The sequel (which I know you all will love!) will be be out August 1st! Keep your fingers crossed for that date though because I'm a little booked for the end of July!