(Maya P.O.V)
A baby's cry echoed through the house and I sighed, not wanting to get up right now. I rolled over and poked Zack awake.
"What? I was dreaming." He groaned, trying to move away from me.
"Kensi's crying. It's your turn to deal with her." He sighed but got up anyway, sleepily making his way out the door to the nursery. Smiling, I rolled back over and fell asleep again.
It wasn't until much later that I woke up properly. The bed beside me was empty but I could hear the shower in the ensuite running. I was about to go and join Zack but a shout from Reed's room had me going to find out what had happened instead. It was just over a year since Zack had brought me back from Virginia and not long after, I'd fallen pregnant with our third child, Kensi Mae. Reed was happy to have another sibling but Jaeden didn't seem to really have much of an opinion. We'd decided that three kids was enough and I'd sent Zack in for a vasectomy after Kensi was born. He was really good about it all and I knew for a fact that Bailey had convinced Cody to do the same so now we had six kids between the four of us and Carey was overjoyed.
Entering Reed's room I found Jaeden, who had just started walking, attempting to climb up onto Reed's bed. I laughed quietly before crossing the room and sitting on the bottom of the bed, careful not to disturb Reed who was still sleeping.
"Hey buddy. What are you doing in here?" I asked Jaeden, picking him up. Zack must not have shut Reed's door properly last night otherwise Jaeden wouldn't have been able to get in.
"Wakey wakey." Jaeden said to me, pointing at Reed.
"Yeah, I think it's time for Reed to wake up too." I said, shifting Jaeden to sit on my hip and I reached over to shake Reed awake. He groaned sleepily but sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"Good morning sleepy head." I said to him.
"Good morning mommy. What's Jaeden doing here?"
"He wanted to say good morning to you."
"Hey Jaeden." He said, grinning at his brother.
"Reed wakey." Jaeden cried and I laughed.
"That's right Jaeden, Reed's awake." Reed shook his head and pushed his blankets down, climbing out of bed.
"Is daddy making breakfast?" He asked.
"No. I'm making breakfast today. Do you want pancakes?" I said, getting up.
"Yes please!" He was excited. I grinned and left the room, reminding him to make sure he looked nice today because we had a surprise for him. I put Reed back in his room and told him to play with his toys until Zack came to get him. Finally, I went into the ensuite where Zack was getting dressed.
"Morning." He said, kissing my forehead.
"Hi. What time did you get back to sleep last night?"
"About four. She just wouldn't settle."
"Sorry. But I'd already been up three times last night."
"I know. I just want her to hurry up and be old enough to sleep through the night so we can get some level of normal sleep." I grinned at him, pushing past into the shower.
"She is a handful, isn't she?" Kensi, unlike her brothers was proving to be quite hard to look after. Both Reed and Jaeden had slept through the night pretty much straight away but Kensi was still waking at all hours four months later.
"Do you think there's something wrong or is she going to be a problem child?"
"I think having a problem child would be good for you, don't you think?" I teased.
"It would be fate's payback for everything Cody and I did."
"More you than Cody, from what I've heard."
"I'll accept that, but Cody has done his fair share of turning mom's hair grey."
"But no, I don't think there's anything wrong with her. She'll come around eventually."
"I hope so."
"Can you go get Jaeden ready? I'll finish my shower and get started on breakfast."
"Sure. Are we just going to let Kensi sleep in?"
"Yeah. I figure she'll probably be awake for most of the afternoon what with ten people in the house."
"Alright." Zack disappeared out the door and I quickly finished my shower. Once done, I pulled my hair into a waterfall braid, letting the ends hang loose to dry. Wrapping a towel around me, I went into the wardrobe and pulled my pink dress off the hanger and slipped it on, adding matching heels and jewelry. After I was finished, I headed down to the kitchen to find Zack already pulling out ingredients for pancakes. Reed was sitting on a bar stool and Jaeden was sitting on the floor, playing with toys.
"I'll finish that." I said, taking the bag of flour from Zack's hand.
"Okay." He went and sat on the floor with Jaeden while Reed leaned forward, resting his elbow on the bench in front of him and sighing.
"What's up Reed?" I asked, focusing half my attention on him and the other half on what I was doing.
"I don't know. I'm just sad."
"Sad about anything in particular?"
"No. Just sad."
"That's no good. Do you think Kimmie coming over will help you cheer up?" I asked. Instantly he brightened.
"Is Uncle Cody and Aunty Bailey coming?"
"Yeah. We're having a bar-b-q for a late lunch."
"Yay!" He cheered and I laughed.
"So are you happy now?"
"Yup. Can I go set out my train set for Kimmie and me to play with?"
"Kimmie and I. And wait until after breakfast. It's almost ready okay?"
"Okay." He jumped down off the bar stool and went to join Zack and Jaeden on the floor. Soon we were all sitting around the table eating pancakes. Kensi had stayed asleep and so we were able to have a quiet morning. When we finished, Reed helped Zack clean the kitchen and I put Jaeden on the floor again while I got started on the cake I wanted to make.
(Bailey P.O.V)
Cody and I slept in this morning, not having to get up early because the twins were at the Tipton and my sister was looking after Kimberlee. Eventually we did get up and showered so that we could collect the kids before heading over to Zack and Maya's. After showering, I slipped on my striped black and green dress and gave my hair a quick blow-dry, curling the ends a bit. I added black heels and a silver locket and I was good to go. Cody was already in the garage when I came down and we climbed into his new Blue Honda CR-V. After the accident on New Year's Eve, my car had been written off and we'd had to buy a new car. In the end, we decided that I would take Cody's Kluger and he bought the CR-V. it worked well considering we had three children under the age of five and were constantly driving them everywhere with us. We would probably get another small car in the future, especially when it came close to time to teach them to drive but for now, we were happy.
Our first stop was my sister's new apartment where she'd moved to last month in an attempt to get away from Moose's idiot cousin, Ferret. That's not actually his name but he's always creeping around and has a small pinched face just like a Ferret so the townspeople gave him that nickname. He'd apparently been hoping that Felicity, my sister, would settle for him and become his farm-wife. She'd heard too many stories of my adventures on board the S.S. Tipton and decided to follow my lead but wasn't game enough to go completely on her own and so bought a small apartment on the outskirts of Boston.
"Hey Bailey. I wasn't expecting you so early. Kimmie's still in her pajamas." Felicity said when she opened the door, still in her own pajamas too.
"Mommy!" Kimberlee came running when she heard Felicity talking to us.
"Hey sweetie. What are you still doing in your jammies?" I asked picking her up.
"We were watching Frozen and eating pancakes." She explained, hugging me. I passed her off to Cody who kissed her forehead.
"Was she good?" I asked Felicity.
"An angel. As always. Kimmie, can you go get dressed for mommy and daddy?"
"I'm going." We sat around Felicity's kitchen table while we waited.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" She asked.
"We've got to pick up Karlee and Lauchie from moms and then we've got some shopping to do before we go to Zack and Maya's. What about you?" Cody informed her.
"I'm still hunting for a proper job. I love the café, it's just that's not what I want to do for the rest of my life."
"I understand. I mean, I spent the majority of my high school days being a towel boy." Cody said and Felicity laughed.
"Bailey told me about that. Something about Zack using up all your food money or something."
"That pretty much sums it up." Kimberlee came running out, dressed in the strangest outfit I've ever seen. She'd put her jeans on but she was wearing a Cookie Monster sweater that I didn't recognize.
"Kimmie what are you wearing?" I asked her.
"Aunty Licy gave it to me. Do you like it mommy?"
"Of course I do. " I told her, glancing at my sister who was laughing. Sending a glare in her direction, I picked up Kimberlee. "Well, we need to be heading off. Thanks for looking after her."
"Any time. It's always nice to have some company." I grinned, hugging her.
"Take care of yourself Felicity. And just remember, we're only a phone call away if you need anything at all."
"I know. Have fun today." She waved as we walked down the hall, Cody carrying Kimberlee's bag and me walking with Kimberlee leaning over my shoulder to wave goodbye. Back in the car, we began the drive further into the city to pick up the twins.
"Hi guys. Come on in." Carey greeted, letting us in when we knocked. Karlee and Lachlan were sitting on the couch watching something on the TV but looked up when we came in.
"Mommy!" Karlee cried, wriggling off the couch. I rushed over to help her and she giggled as I picked her up, swinging her around.
"Hey little miss. How are you?" At the same time, Cody was grabbing Lauchie while Kimberlee got hugged by Carey.
"Were they good?" Cody asked his mom, looking over Lauchie's shoulder.
"Of course they were. I don't believe these three could ever be naughty. Your brothers' boys on the other hand are a different story. And we've yet to see the results of the littlest." Carey teased.
"She seemed fine the other day but growing up in that family is bound to have it's effects." Cody laughed.
"Be nice to your brother." I scolded but he just rolled his eyes at me.
Before long, we were pulling back into our own driveway after a trip to the supermarket and the three kids piled out of the car. Leaving Cody to sort out clothes for Kimberlee, I went into the twins' room to get them ready. For the moment, we'd decided that they could share a room but they would eventually get their own. I dressed Karlee in a cute pink dress and tied her blonde hair up in a ponytail before putting Lachlan in a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt that said 'I'm just too cute to be trouble.' I met Cody in the living room and found that he'd put Kimberlee in a pretty purple sequined top and leggings with her boots. Sitting on the couch, I quickly twisted her hair into a bun and we were on our way to Zack and Maya's.
(Maya P.O.V)
It was about two when the doorbell rang, signaling that Cody and Bailey were here. Zack was already out at the bar-b-q so I went to answer the door. I was just about bowled over by Kimberlee rushing at me and hugging my legs. Laughing, I bent down to hug her back.
"Hey peanut." A while ago, I'd also started calling the little girl 'peanut' and although at first she;d been against it, she was now used to it
"Hi Aunty Maya." Hearing a squeal, I looked up to find Karlee trying to wriggle out of Bailey's arms so I stood up and took the girl from her, laughing.
"Hey missy. You'd better be careful when you wriggle like that. You'll fall down." I told her. By now Kimberlee had let go of my leg and had disappeared to find Reed. Moving aside, I let Cody and Bailey in, ruffling Lauchie's head as they went past. After putting the twins in the living room with Jaeden and Kensi, Bailey joined me in the kitchen and we worked together on the salads to go with the bar-b-q. Cody was out on the porch with Zack, the two of them laughing and talking over a bottle of beer each, occasionally checking the meat. Reed and Kimberlee were in the backyard playing in the treehouse Zack had built a few months ago. All-in all, life was good. I was no longer on my depression meds and I had no trouble with depression at all. Of course, when I'd been taken of the medication, the doctors had warned me that I may have a regression in the future but I didn't think anything could cause me to have regression.
We spent a lazy afternoon together, just relaxing in the sun and talking. Eventually Bailey and I brought the four younger kids outside and we watched as Reed and Kimberlee tried to incorporate them into their game of who knows what. Jaeden and the twins started to get into it but Kensi seemed to not even notice what was going on so I picked her up and cradled her close while I talked to Bailey.
Preview: Cody and Bailey will face some problems at work that will ripple into their home lives