I feel like i should just tell y'all now that i am awake at 11:00 so i can update and i have an 8 am tomorrow morning. you're welcome. :)

Jesus replied "You don't understand what i'm doing now, but someday you will." - John 13:7

I wasn't pregnant yet.

Maxon and I had decided that we wanted to stop using contraception and see what would happen months ago, back in October. And I wasn't pregnant yet. I could see that it was starting to wear on him but I he wasn't saying anything. I was scared that maybe I was wrong when I told him that I would be capable of producing an heir. With as much as we tried…how was I still not pregnant?

The question plagued my mind as I woke up on Christmas morning. This was supposed to be a happy day but I had very little to celebrate. Just a year ago on this day, I had buried my father. I had no father and no baby. The only good thing was that it was my first Christmas with Maxon.

He kissed my bare shoulder, nuzzling his face into the scar on my arm. "Good morning, my dear," he whispered. "How did you sleep?"

There was mischief in his voice and I knew instantly where this morning was going. "Not well. I'm afraid a man crawled into my bed in the middle of the night and demanded I make love to him." I rolled on to my side to slip an arm around his shoulder.

"Hm. That is a problem. I hope you knew this man," he remarked, brushing his hand through my messy morning hair. It was barely light out. God, what was he thinking?

I bit my lip coyly. "Well, I only know him for his reputation. Apparently he's the king of this great nation. Can you believe that? Me, with the king? Unbelievable. I understand completely if you're jealous. Are you jealous?"

"Insanely so," he whispered huskily into my neck. He started to suck on the skin there, prompting me to move away slightly.

"Uh, no. No hickeys on Christmas." He pouted. "Maxon. No. My family is coming and I do not want my mother seeing that and reacting."

He smiled. "That is a fearsome image to behold. I guess I'll have to make do with your lips." He moved his face upward to meet my lips, just barely brushing them. I pulled his hips down closer to mine with my hand. "In a hurry, I see?"

"You may have the day off, my royal husbandness, but I have a lot to do today," I told him. "No time for foreplay," I clarified. Maxon pretended to be offended but he smiled anyway and proceeded without any problem.

I hummed as I skipped my way downstairs to meet with Marlee and Paige who were busy setting up the breakfast buffet for the hungry family members that were surely starting to stir. I didn't have much time to get dressed so Mary just let my hair be curled to save some time in the morning.

It really was a beautiful day in Angeles. Maybe Maxon and I could take a walk in the gardens later if we could find a moment for ourselves. Marlee was buzzing around the music room, directing the guards in where to put the various furniture we had moved into here for all of the family that was coming.

"Merry Christmas!" she sang when she saw me. She embraced me tight, rocking me back and forth.

"Merry Christmas," I repeated back to her. "Marlee, you should have stayed with Carter for the morning. After all, this is your last Christmas to yourselves."

She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "We don't mind. We wouldn't want to spend the day with anyone but our friends. And," she lowered her voice, "it could be your last Christmas just with Maxon."

I looked away, the familiar weight settling into my stomach that usually came with this topic. "I'm not so sure anymore," I said quietly. Marlee knew that we had been trying but she didn't know for how long.

Her brows knitted together in concern but Carter and the newly-wedded Legers entered so she said, "We'll talk later."

I walked over to welcome Aspen and Lucy who were both sporting tan skin from their honeymoon in the Maldives. I embraced Aspen and then Lucy, wishing them both a merry Christmas. "Thank you, miss!" Lucy squeaked, curtsying. "I hope you don't mind that we're only staying for breakfast. I do want to go to my father's to celebrate and we have to make our flight for Carolina tonight."

"I'm glad you guys could make it," I told them both, squeezing her arm. "Please, help yourselves for breakfast and you can fill me on your honeymoon later." I winked at Lucy and she blushed, smiling timidly.

Adele came in with her family then. I welcomed them as well and slipped the twins their first present of the days. "Where on earth is my nephew?" Adele ordered, putting her hands on her hips and staring me down.

I laughed. "It may be Christmas but he still had some work to do today."

"Let me guess, that means he's sleeping in?" She looked at me sideways, clearly not fooled by my excuse.

"You know us Ones too well." I hugged her and whispered in her ear, "Thank you so much for coming today. It means a lot to Maxon and I."

She smiled sadly. "It is hard celebrating in this house without my sister. But this whole year has been full of first-times for doing things without her. Which reminds me, I do want to speak to you later."

Something about her tone made me uneasy but I knew I had to agree. She had quickly filled in for Amberley in my life. I smiled and took a mimosa, heading to where Aspen was standing by himself. "Hello, handsome sir," I greeted, smiling at him warmly. "Marriage looks good on you."

He smiled and shook his head. "Thank you for letting us use those houses for our wedding and honeymoon."

"It was the least we could do for you two. After the year Lucy has had and what with your being so loyal…like I said, it was nothing," I explained. "How is her father doing?"

"She called him a couple times while we were away and he seemed fine. I know she's anxious to see him today so we're only staying for breakfast," he explained.

I nodded. "At this point, you may leave before my family even gets here."

Aspen laughed and looked past my shoulder at something. "I'm not sure about that."

I turned and saw May walk in with Astra in her arms. I laughed and ran to them, embracing her tight. "Merry Christmas!" I squealed in May's ears. No matter what, May always brought out a fun side of me. I welcomed the rest of my family and showed the butlers where to put the presents. Seeing the number of presents my family had brought with them nearly brought me to tears.

Maxon arrived as we were all sitting down for breakfast. He kissed me on the cheek. "Recovered from this morning, my dear?" he whispered so only I could hear him. I blushed furiously and watched him walk all the way to the opposite end of the table. Before he sat down, he lifted his glass. "To my wonderful friends and family gathered here today. May we have many more happy Christmases in the future!" I was a little relieved that he had kept it short; he had a habit of being longwinded.

I raised my glass to him and sipped from it, not breaking eye contact until Gerad started telling me about the soccer program he had qualified for the next summer. After breakfast, we all opened our presents together. Maxon and I had already agreed on no presents but of course, neither of us stuck by that.

For Maxon, I gave him a couple new sweaters and ties. He gave me engraved pens that were apparently "chew-proof" and another set of pictures to hang on the wall in my suite to add to the collection. I got hair clips and more accessories from my family. It took me most of the morning for me to realize that I had yet to get a present from Marlee when all week she kept telling me about the amazing present she had for me.

As if she could read my mind she pulled Maxon and I aside. She sat down next to Carter, facing us, her hand rubbing her stomach unconsciously. "So…I know you're probably wondering what my present is for you," she said, sounding nervous.

Maxon looked sideways at me. "Am I included in this?" he asked.

She smiled at Carter and then beamed, looking at us again. "We know it's a little early," Carter began, "but Marlee and I wanted to ask you two to be our child's godparents."

I was stunned. I was not expecting this. I looked over at Maxon and saw the same surprise in his eyes. "Godparents?" I repeated.

Marlee couldn't seem to help but smile even bigger. "We have so much to thank you both for. We would not be having this baby together if it weren't for you two. And Maxon, we probably wouldn't even be alive if you didn't save us. We know you were risking a lot by that and we couldn't be even more grateful. We don't know what the baby is so we don't know if we need another godmother or godfather but we know that we definitely want you two to be godparents together…" She didn't even finish her sentence due to me practically tackling her in my hug.

She laughed and held me back. "Oh, Marlee, thank you."

"We figured you two could practice with our baby for when you have one of your own," she whispered. I blushed again and remembered that I would have to talk to her later about my mounting concerns.

I heard Maxon laugh behind me as he and Carter shook hands. "Merry Christmas, indeed!" he exclaimed.

They soon departed, traveling back to Kent to visit her family for a few days. Next to pull us aside was Adele. She wore a more grave expression than Marlee did when she talked to us earlier. "This morning has been spectacular," she began. "You do make an excellent hostess, America."

"Thank you. That means a lot considering the fact that I'm following your sister's act and she seemed to be a pro at these things."

Adele nodded and smiled sadly. "I'm afraid that's what I wanted to talk to you both about. I have been struggling, these past few months especially, with the loss of my sister. My husband insisted that I speak to a doctor but what he recommended is not easy to do."

Maxon and I exchanged an uneasy look. We had no idea of Adele's depression. "Whatever you need, we can help," Maxon easily extended. Adele was like a second mom to him. I knew he cared for her deeply and would do anything for her at the drop of a hat.

She pursed her lips before going on. "Well, you haven't heard my request yet. He referred me to a healing specialist in Clermont. I can go there and get the help I need but she recommended I bring my husband with me." I sat back, knowing where this conversation was headed. "With both of us gone, we need someone to watch the kids and I'm afraid that I don't know anyone with the resources to take on six children."

I nodded. "And you were wondering if we could," I concluded. She nodded timidly. "Well, we'd have to discuss it…"

"No problem. When do you leave?" Maxon talked over me.

Adele looked stunned at his easy acceptance and I also looked at him, wondering what on earth he was thinking to agree to this without us discussing it first. "In one week, I believe," she answered, still looking shocked.

Maxon nodded. "We can do this for you. We'll just need some sort of paper or something with everything we'll need to know." He glanced at me but I had already looked away from him.

Adele wiped away a tear and nodded. "Thank you so, so much Maxon. You have no idea the hero you're being to my family."

"Yes, quite the hero," I snapped. I could feel the familiar heat of anger boiling up in me.

He and Adele embraced and when she walked away I took that as my time to leave. I trudged up to our study where I immediately slipped off my heels, walking around in just my stocking-feet. As I sat down I rubbed my sore feet.

Maxon came in shortly after me and leaned against the sofa in front of me. "Okay, what're you doing?"

"I just remembered that I have to finish making the menu for next week's meals. Do you want cauliflower or broccoli next Thursday? I can never decide between the two." I chewed on my pen cap as I debated it.

Maxon laughed, looking at me curiously. "I don't know, both?"

"Well you need to choose one," I said, looking up at him sharply. "You should have no problem with this decision since you jumped on Adele's proposition just now."

He sighed and nodded, apparently gearing himself up for a fight. "They're my cousins, Mer, what was I supposed to do? Adele is not the person to ask unless she's exhausted every other option."

"That doesn't mean that we shouldn't discuss it first."

"Sorry, I thought you felt the same way I did about my family. I would do the same if it was your aunt coming to us with the same request."

I shook my head, leaning back in my chair. "Maxon, we're trying to start our own family. How are we supposed to do that with kids running all over the palace?"

"The same way we'll do it when our own kids are running all over the palace. Or were you planning on only having one child?"

I finally snapped, all of my frustration exploding out of me like a grenade. "Who even knows if we can have a child?" I screamed.

Maxon paused. "America, we will have a baby."

"Oh, so you're psychic now? How do you know that?"

"Because I have faith in us. One way or another, we're going to have a baby." He leaned closer to me, reaching for my hand across my desk but I quickly withdrew it and stared away from him angrily.

I rolled my eyes, feeling tears gather. "Maxon, what if we really can't do it? We've been at it for months. How much longer are we supposed to go on acting like there may not be anything wrong?" I could feel my body threatening to dissolve into nothing more than a puddle of tears.

He wasted no time in walking around my desk and putting his arms around me, rocking me and stroking my hair. "Maybe now just isn't the right time for us. I have a proposition for you. Just hear me out, okay?" I nodded against him. "We start using contraception again. We will enjoy taking care of my cousins. Then we'll help take care of Marlee and Carter's baby. After that, we can revisit this."

I frowned but it made sense, as much as I hated to let this go. It seemed like the longer I let it go, the more unlikely it would be for me to have a baby. The more hope I would lose. But Maxon's voice was so soft and soothing, I couldn't help but agree.

Adele handed me a small notebook of things we needed to know. She kissed her youngest son's head and then embraced Maxon and I. "Call my husband if you need anything; he'll be able to help. Thank you again."

"It's our pleasure," I told her as she kissed us all goodbye and walked to the car where her husband was waiting. We waved to her as the car pulled away and then we turned to her kids.

Maxon clapped his hands together. "So…who wants to watch a movie?" he offered. I smiled as I watched the boys dash inside. "What?" Maxon asked, holding his hand out to me.

"Not even sixty seconds and you're already spoiling them," I joked. "Our children are going to be so spoiled."

He threw his arm over my shoulder and simply laughed. "I want them to like me," he said nonchalantly, as if them not liking him was a big concern of his.

I shook my head. "They'll like you just fine. How about this; you take the boys and watch that pirate movie you always want to watch with me and I'll take the girls to play dress-up."

"I thought you had work to do." He frowned, looking at me curiously.

I just shrugged my shoulders. "I can make time."

We parted ways then and I took the two girls up to my suite where we tried on dresses and jewelry all afternoon. I even gave them fake tiaras to wear. I put on my real one and I snapped some selfies of the three of us on one of Maxon's Polaroid cameras.

The kids were all tuckered when we finally tucked them into bed that night but then they were up at the crack of dawn. Maxon blamed that on the jetlag. We settled into a comfortable routine though where we were woken up by the kids, would go help the young ones get dressed for the day, and then eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together. This meant that Maxon and I both had to buckle down more between meals but we did our best to be there for all three meal times and for dessert at night.

About two weeks into our month of looking after his cousins, Maxon came in for bed one night and just collapsed onto it with his head near my feet. "Tuckered out?"

"I just don't understand how a human being can have so much energy," he stated in disbelief.

I smiled, setting my folder of work off to the side as he reached over to pet Fitz who was also suffering from exhaustion due to the kids. "Maybe it's the ice cream we give them every other night," I suggested kindly. I crawled through the bed so that I could lay on my stomach with my head near his.

He laughed quietly, his eyes shut. "I know this whole experience was supposed to curb our desire for kids but if anything, I want kids even more now. I know," he held up a hand to stop the argument jumping to my lips. "we agreed to wait and I'll stand by that with you. It's just…despite the exhaustion and having no free time, I can't wait to do all of this with our own children."

I stroked a hand through his hair and rested my head against his cheek. "Me too," was all I said. Maxon abruptly turned his head to face me. He lifted himself up on his elbows to kiss me. "Max, what're you doing?" I laughed against his aggressive mouth.

"Kissing you," he mumbled. "Now shh."

"The kids could walk in on us."

"I locked the door. Now please, let me make love to you."

I shook my head, giving in. In the morning I woke up with Fitz curled between me and Maxon. When I heard a fourth set of steady breaths I was confused. I propped myself up on an elbow to see one the youngest boy sprawled in the bed on the other side of Maxon. I smiled at Maxon's care for him and lay back down quietly so I wouldn't disturb any of my boys, a smile playing on my lips.

yay for updating! okay, quick review responses!

Guest: trust me, that is much easier said than done. but it's not for lack of effort! i have about thirty started manuscripts on my computer, anything from an outline to just one little paragraph that i had to write down. i have about 5 and a half manuscripts that i'm seriously working on. (I say half because i don't know whether or not i'm writing a sequel to one of them.) but yeah, i will definitely get a book published some day. i'm not dying until i do. mwahahah. the real question is: how will you know that it's me who published it? [insert another evil laugh]

winterprincess: yes, i remembered that part too! that whole scene was one of my favorites from the One so last chapter was a bit of a tribute to that. and Kiera said that professional athletes are Twos in Illea so i'd like to think that there's still football. i can definitely see Maxon flipping the game on before going to bed at night.

theoneforever: I do not remember what my response was but i'm glad you liked it! i did kind of like the last chapter. i just love football.

EWhisks: yes, our king does have a rebellious side, doesn't he? haha. he literally does everything he can for America so i'm sure sneaking out for a football game, risking sending the country into a collapse in the process, is no big deal to him. his advisers may not feel the same way though.

don't worry if this is starting to kind of lag. y'all will like the next chapter. ;) (I still think this smiley faces look evil)