Title: Two?

Time: October 2021

POV: Claire

"Thank you so much, Claire! I owe you one, well sort of two," Eve laughs, "But seriously, next time you and Shane want to go out, you know who to call," She mimics being on the phone, as Michael grabs her hand and gently pulls her to the car.

After waving goodbye to my best friend, I head out to the living room where Shane is holding baby Blake as Carrie shakes a rattle in little Cory's face. Michael and Eve's twins are 16 months and as well behaved as they are, I almost regret offering to babysit. I walk over to Carrie and lie down next to her as she messes with the baby. It's hard to remember when Carrie was that old, she's 7 next week.

The reason why I'm dreading baby sitting the twins isn't because I don't like babies, or that they're dirty or too energetic, it's not because I don't want to help Eve. It's because I'm worried about how this will effect Shane. Even now, as he puts all his effort into making Blake giggle, I know he wants another baby.

It started when Carrie was 3 years old. He brought it up casually, as if it didn't matter and I brushed it off, saying that we weren't ready. He didn't mention it again until Carrie's 5th birthday, and even then, it was just a little hint in the form of him telling me about how close he and Alyssa were, and that he would love for Carrie to experience having a baby brother or sister like he did. The third time he hinted at it was when we took Carrie to the park a few weeks ago, there was a couple younger kids there and they swarmed around Shane easily. He was great with kids, they loved him. When we got home, he told me that he wanted a 2nd but it was up to me.

How long could I keep saying no to him?

Finally, when all three kids where tired out, Shane and I opened a tub of ice cream with wine for me, and a can of some kind of beer for him. We didn't talk at first, but I squirmed a little, knowing that the inevitable question was coming soon.

"You know, we had 3 kids today," Shane told me. I looked up at him, "I don't think it made that much difference to what we normally do,"

I knew what he was asking. He wanted to know if we could have another baby, but as usual, he didn't want to ask in case he upset me. I did agree with him to an extent, Cory and Blake were good babies and we had a lot of fun watching them. But having another baby wouldn't be like that, would it?

Maybe it would. I mean, Carrie loved Cory and Blake so there'd be no jealousy issues. Also, Morganville is a lot safer now, so we wouldn't have to worry too much abouut whether or not there would be danger for him/her. I've missed having a baby, too, if i'm honest.

"Okay" I say, before I can change my mind.

"Okay?" Shane repeats, as if he didn't hear me.

"Yes,"

He doesn't say anything, but he smiles and leans over to kiss me. I kiss him back with equal force and that's when I know I've made the right decision.