Author's note: I think there will only be one more chapter after this. Maybe two. It will be completed by the end of the weekend. And Then maybe we'll see a one-shot or two. We'll see.
Anyway, happy reading!
Chapter Eight
Jill's phone rang just as they walked up to the front of the school. "Hold on, Ivanna." She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the display: Lissa's Office. "Hello?"
"Jill, is this a good time?" Her sister asked.
"It's fine. The kids and I are headed in to get Eddie for lunch."
"Then I won't take long. I'm calling to let you know the Council will be meeting to discuss the children Monday. It's the first item on our agenda. I've spoken individually with most of the members and they are in agreement that we need to settle this matter quickly for the children's sake."
"Thank you." Jill smiled fondly at Ivanna as she talked with her brother. "Has any family been found?"
"None." She sighed. "I'll let you go have lunch with your husband. If I hear anything between now and then, I'll let you know."
"Thank you, Lissa. For everything." She breathed. She hung up and tickled the back of Ivanna's neck. "Let's go find Eddie."
She giggled and ran forward to the building.
"Wait for me, Ladybug. You don't know where you're going."
She stopped at the door and turned.
They stepped into the office to check in and then walked toward the gym. It was Eddie's conference period and it was thankfully right before lunch. The bell rang as Ivanna pushed her way inside. Children started streaming out and Jill had to grab onto the girl to keep her from getting trampled.
Eddie was standing in a corner with a student giving him a firm talking-to. The boy looked like he wished he could crawl into a hole.
"What's happening, Jill?" Ivanna asked.
The sound of the girl's voice and his wife's name made Eddie pause in his lecture. He waved and then finished up his speech. He clapped the boy on the shoulder and gave him a smile. The boy nodded and then walked away looking like he was going to throw up. Eddie met them in the middle of the room.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked as he moved in for a kiss.
"We're kidnapping you for lunch. Do you have plans for your conference period?"
"Nothing." He scratched the top of Ivanna's head and she looked up at him. "Where's my hug, kid?"
She threw her arms around his waist.
He picked her up and swung her around in a circle. "What do you want for lunch, sweetie?"
"Pizza?" She asked shyly.
"That sounds good for me. What about you, babe?"
"That can work."
He smiled and kissed her again.
Rose cleared her throat loudly.
Eddie smiled at her over Jill's shoulder. "Do you remember our friend Rose?" He asked Ivanna.
She nodded. "Hi, Rose."
She walked closer. "Hello, Ivanna. How are you?"
"Good."
"How's your neck?" She pointed to her own.
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
"I'm glad." She smiled.
Eddie squeezed the girl and then said, "My wife and the kids are kidnapping me for pizza. Want to join?"
"I think I'll pass. But thanks."
Eddie put Ivanna down and she latched onto his hand. They bid farewell to Rose and headed out the door. The little girl started jabbering about their trip to the studio earlier. Jill took out her phone and called the nearby pizza place to put in their order so that they wouldn't have to wait and waste Eddie's limited time.
"The queen's dress is pretty." The little girl announced.
"Oh, I don't doubt it. Jill is a genius with fabric." Eddie wrapped an arm around Jill's waist and kissed her neck.
She giggled and pushed him away.
They were ushered to a booth. Ivanna insisted on sitting beside Eddie, claiming to have missed him all morning. He agreed, lifting her into the seat before sliding in beside her. They ordered their drinks and Jill reached across the table to grab Eddie's hands. He smiled and bent down to kiss her knuckles.
Ivanna watched them silently.
"I probably smell awful." He commented softly.
"I really don't care. You work hard to smell that bad."
He laughed.
"Lissa called me."
"She did?" He leaned back, removing one hand from her to drape an arm over the back of the booth.
She explained about the Council and their plans. "So this could be decided soon." She said, winking at Ivanna. "What do you say, Ladybug?"
"About what?" She asked.
"Do you like living with us?" Eddie asked, twirling a bit of the girl's hair around his finger.
She nodded.
"Would you like to stay with us for a while?"
"I thought we were staying forever." She said matter-of-factly.
Eddie smiled and squeezed Jill's hand. "If it all works out, you will be. Well, until you're eighteen at least."
Their food arrived and Eddie passed a slice to Ivanna. When he warned her that it was still hot, she leaned close and blew on the slice to cool it. Jill smiled at the act.
Nikolai started crying.
"I'll feed him." Eddie offered when Jill started mixing his bottle.
"Are you sure?"
He reached into the stroller and unbuckled the straps. "Of course I'm sure." He tucked the baby into the crook of his arm and took the bottle from his wife's outstretched hand. He put it in the baby's mouth and his crying immediately stopped. He ate greedily.
"Have you been starving our boy?" He teased. He propped the bottle against his chest so he could take a bit of his own food.
"Yes. Of course. Babies don't need to eat." She said with a laugh. He tangled her feet with his under the table and he smiled at her. "This is perfect. I love this."
"Me too." He agreed.
"Me too!" Ivanna chimed in. She leaned against Eddie's side a moment before getting up on her knees and leaning over her plate to eat her pizza.
"Hey." Eddie said softly, wrapping his arms around Jill from behind. "What's cookin' good lookin'?"
She laughed and leaned back for a moment. "Ivanna said her favorite thing to eat was lasagna. So I'm making that. With my own special flare, thanks to my best friend Adrian. Taste this." She said, taking the spoon out of the sauce and holding it toward him.
He leaned forward and took a tentative taste of the sauce. "That's good. You know what's even better?"
"What?" She asked.
He pressed his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "You."
She giggled and jabbed him with her elbow.
He tightened his grip and whispered, "I need to return that favor from last night."
"We still have a while until we can."
"Just letting you know what to anticipate." He kissed her neck and brushed a hand over her breast before stepping back. "Ivanna in her room?"
"Yep." She grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him to her for a kiss. "You better not forget."
He chuckled and kissed her again. "I won't, babe."
At supper, they ate mostly in silence. Ivanna chewed thoughtfully. When she was done, she announced that it was "almost as good as mommy's." and then asked if she could watch TV for a while.
"Go on." Eddie said, noticing Jill lose her appetite.
She scooted off her chair and wrapped her arms around Jill's waist. "Thank you for making it."
She leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I'm glad you liked it, Ladybug."
She smiled up at her foster mother once more and then ran off to the living room and picked the remote up off the coffee table.
As soon as the set started up and the music on one of Ivanna's shows started, Eddie turned to his wife. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know." She scooted her food around on her plate and then dropped her fork and sat back.
"Talk to me, Jill." He said softly, reaching across the table.
She slipped her hand into his and leaned forward. "I don't feel like I'll be enough."
"Are you kidding me? She loves everything about you. No, you're not the woman who carried her or gave birth to her, but I think you're a damn good stand in. She's starting to love you. And I know you're starting to love her, too."
"It doesn't make it any less painful to think about. I don't know what I'd do without my mother."
"You'd figure it out." He let go of her hand and went back to his food.
"Eddie…"
"Don't worry about it, babe." He said as he took a bite.
"I do worry about it. You never knew your mother."
"She was just a Moroi looking for a good time. My father was a handsome man."
She nodded. "Well, I plan on making sure those kids are loved by two people all the time."
"We don't even know…"
"I know we don't. But I'm going to fight for them. And if they're sent somewhere else, I'll make sure to stay in their lives. I'm not just any Moroi royal; I'm the queen's sister. And I'll pull rank if I have to."
He smiled. "I look forward to seeing that. I bet you'd be even hotter, if it's possible."
Her anxiety melted away at that. "I just keep praying we're the right choice."
"Me too." He tangled his feet with hers under the table. "Let's get that little girl bathed and put to bed. I have a promise to keep."
She walked around the table and kissed him. "You get dishes duty, Guardian Castile."
He groaned. "All the fighting Strigoi and keeping you safe from assassins only to wash pots and pans."
"Maybe you shouldn't have married me." She teased.
He pulled her onto his lap, digging his fingers into her ticklish spots.
She laughed and pushed at him. "Stop it." She begged between breaths.
"Stop? Stop what?" He asked, continuing to tickle her.
"Eddie, stop. Please." She squeaked.
He laughed and placed his hands on her sides. His thumbs rested just under her breasts. He smiled up at her.
Ivanna giggled from the living room and they looked over to see she was watching them from over the back of the couch.
Jill leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. He stole a kiss and lifted her off his lap. They walked together toward the couch. As stealthily as he would have done sneaking up on Strigoi, Eddie moved around to the front of the couch and snatched the little girl up.
"Okay, Jill, I got her." He said, holding her to his chest.
She jumped over the back of the couch and reached out to tickle her in every spot she could get. Ivanna giggled and kicked her feet, begging them to stop as Eddie joined in. After a while, Jill stopped and grabbed her feet.
"Eddie, get her arms." She said.
He dropped her and caught her by her arms. She squealed happily.
"Let's throw her onto the couch." Jill said as she started to swing her by her legs.
Eddie joined. "On three."
They counted together, "One, two, three." They dropped her onto the couch as she laughed.
"Again?" She asked.
"Not tonight, Ladybug. Time for your bath." Jill motioned toward the other end of the apartment.
"I'm not tired." She protested.
"I didn't say bedtime, I said bath time." Jill scooped her up. "Come on. You can play for a while after you wash up."
Jill put her to bed that night, rubbing her back and humming an old lullaby her mother used to sing for her. When she was sure the girl was asleep, she went to her own room.
Eddie put the baby in his crib and turned as she walked into the room. "Lock the door."
She smiled. "Why don't we take a shower?"
He walked toward her and pressed her against the door. He smiled and covered her mouth with his.
Nikolai started crying. They tried to ignore it, thinking maybe he just needed a good cry. But it became more insistent. Eddie broke the kiss with a sigh and walked back over to the crib, scooping him up. He continued to cry for a while longer. Eddie continued to sooth him as he calmed down bit by bit, swaying slightly. He still whimpered.
"It's okay, baby. I've got you." Eddie crooned. "I'm here. I plan on being here for a long time." He kissed Nikolai's head. "Now, let's see if you can go back to sleep. Jill and I have plans." He put the baby into the crib.
He started crying as soon as his back hit the mattress.
Eddie picked him up again. "I'm sorry, Jill. It looks like this may be a while." He sat down on the bed.
She smiled and combed her fingers through his hair. "It's fine." She kissed his forehead. "There are plenty of hours in the day."
He chuckled. "Of course. But I think we're about to adopt a couple of perpetual cockblocks."
She laughed. "Welcome to the world of parenting." She pressed a kiss to her husband's lips. "That's why there are babysitters. I'm going to work in my studio for a while." She walked out of the room.