GUYS IT'S SNOWING I CANNOT CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT ITS ACTUALLY FOR REAL SNOWING LIKE FROZEN STUFF FROM THE SKY AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

"She is delightfully chaotic; a beautiful mess. Loving her is a splendid adventure." - Steve Maraboli

It was completely quiet in our study aside from Maxon tapping his pen against his book. I looked up at him, trying to get a glimpse at what he was reading but not succeeding. I chewed on my pen and then went back to reading, only making it through a paragraph before I was bored again.

Finally my head fell down over my papers that I was reading. "I'm so bored," I groaned into the paper.

Maxon sighed and I turned my head to see him nod and sit back in his chair, rubbing his face. "Me too. Do you want to do something?"

"Yes. Save me. Be my knight in shining army. Sweep me off my feet."

He laughed and stood up to come stand by my desk. "What do you want to do then?"

I checked my watch. "Well, we have a few hours before you go on babysitting duty. A movie?"

"No, I'll fall asleep," he joked. "What about going out for a ride?"

I looked out the window at the rain that had been falling all day. "I have a better idea," I said, grabbing him by the hand and leading him up to the fourth floor. He smiled when he realized what we were doing. I opened the door and waited for him to step outside. "You first," I told him.

He shook his head and suddenly lifted me over his shoulder, bringing both of us out into the pouring rain. I squealed and pounded his back as we were both soaked in seconds. Once I was on my feet again I reached up to brush the hair out of my eyes, the wet strands dragging across my face.

"You're pretty when you're a mess," he said, putting his hands on the wall behind me and trapping me there.

I smiled. "You're not so bad yourself."

He leaned down and kissed my lips chastely before stepping away and holding his hand out to me. "May I have this dance, my lady?"

"Why, yes you may, kind sir." I took his hand and gasped as he pulled me close so my body was flush against his. We swayed to the music of the rain hitting the roof, both of us looking out over Angeles. "This is where I fell in love with you," I whispered into his soaked shirt and tie.

"I figured as much," he told me.

I looked up at him. "Really?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. I don't know, I just felt something change in you after that day," he said. "I mean, I knew that you loved me but I felt like after that day…you really, truly loved me."

Rain dripped into my eyes as I kept looking up at him. Sometimes looking at him was more intimate than a kiss, especially when he looked right back at me with the same love in his eyes. "I do love you," I whispered.

He smiled. "Took you long enough to say it. Actually, if memory serves me correctly, we were engaged before you even told me that you loved me."

"Okay, we were engaged for maybe five minutes before that," I reminded him.

"You said we had three hours, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

I nodded. "About that, yeah."

He smiled wickedly and pulled me back inside down to his bedroom, where we quickly shed our sticky clothes and proceeded to make love divinely. After, I stroked my hand lazily over his chest, playing with the hair that was starting to grow there. I thought he was in a deep, satiated sleep but he suddenly sat up quickly.

"What…?" I began asking but stopped when he dashed off to the bathroom.

I followed him and slid my robe on, grabbing his in case he wanted it. At the doorway I stopped and slowly cracked it open, looking inside. Maxon crouched in front of the toilet, throwing up the contents of his stomach. I sat next to him on the cool marble floor, draping his robe across his back.

"You should go," he groaned out. "I don't want you to get sick."

I shook my head. "I've already been exposed. I'm not going anywhere," I told him. I traced one of the long scars on his back; something that I knew soothed him, just like him tracing the circular scar from when I was shot.

"But the kids…"

"Have also already been exposed," I reminded. He kept retching so I got him a glass of water and waited patiently for him to be done. He took it and started drinking with small sips. "Anything else you need?"

He shook his head and shivered, moving away from the toilet. I pushed down on the lever for it to flush and then wrapped his robe around him. I walked into his room and pulled the duvet off of his bed and arranged it on the bathroom floor for him, forming a makeshift bed. "Thank you," he mumbled, curling up on his side.

I left a couple books on the sink for him to read while he was in there before heading to see the kids. On my way I found a guard. "Excuse me, could you please find Carter Woodwork and inform him that the king is ill and will not be able to work for the rest of today and probably tomorrow?" The guard bowed and walked away to go do his job.

The kids seemed healthy but Maxon did as well all day. I would just have to watch them closely and hope that they would be immune. Of course, just a couple hours later, Amber started complaining that her stomach hurt. I was able to swoop her up and get her in front of a toilet before she threw up.

The whole time she was bawling and screaming at me, terrified. I braided her red hair back so it was out of her face and cleaned up her face. "I know it's scary honey, you'll be okay," I whispered, helping her drink. "Parrah, can you take Shalom to my room so he's at least away from her? Watch him closely and let me know right away if he seems sick."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Parrah said, curtsying and then taking Shalom to my room as I helped Amber change into her nightie. She threw up again as I was helping her change and it made me almost feel sick seeing my daughter go through this. Figuring it would be easier, I carried her over to Maxon's bathroom and set her down next to him.

"Another bit the dust?" he asked quietly in a hoarse voice.

"Sadly, yes. Shalom is quarantined in my room," I told him.

He groaned. "That's where you should be," he said weakly.

I rolled my eyes but sighed. "I'm just waiting for Shalom to get sick at this point." I crossed my arms and stood in the doorway. "Do you need anything else?" He shook his head and sat up to start coughing into the toilet. I stood behind him and held him up by the shoulders because he looked so worn out that he could collapse at any moment. "This is our first time with the family getting sick," I pointed out.

Maxon shrugged and reached for his glass of water. "You should really go," he urged.

"Silly man," I whispered, kissing his sweaty temple and walking back over to my room.

The next twenty-four hours consisted of me running between my room and Maxon's, trying to take care of my family. I could have easily asked my maids to help me but I sent them all home, not wanting all of them to get sick as well. At that point they could have already caught it but I knew that Maxon wouldn't want them all to witness him being sick.

The next morning, Shalom finally got sick. Amber was already improving; she must have had the twelve-hour bug but Maxon was still throwing up periodically. It had at least slowed down to the point where he could move to his bed and have a bucket at the side for when he needed it. My life had become a never-ending marathon of taking care of sick children and a sick husband.

A few days later, I thought that life had finally calmed down and everyone was back to normal when I got sick. Maxon had just recovered but that didn't slow him down from taking care of me. Like Amber though, I seemed to be lucky to get the twelve-hour bug.

I was surprised though, about a month later, when I relapsed. I was tired and sick, unable to leave the floor of my bathroom for nearly a whole day. Maxon was worried and wanted to get Dr. Ashlar to check on me but I assured him that it was just the same thing. The nausea did eventually go away two days later but I was left fatigued. I was also left with the acute feeling that I was dealing with a very different kind of bug and that this one wouldn't be going away for a while.

Despite being tired, I still had two very important jobs in my life and I had to keep going. I was particularly late getting back to my room after a day full of meetings and an important appointment. I folded a sweater and put it on the shelf with the rest of my jumpers, jumping when I heard Maxon's voice behind me. "I want more," he announced.

"More what?" I asked, holding out my jeans to fold them.

"More kids," he stated.

I sighed, folding my pants carefully. "Really? I mean, we haven't talked about having more kids."

I heard his footsteps come closer to me until I assumed he was leaning against the shelves on the other side of my closet. "I know. But we did both agree to wanting a big family and with the twins turning two this year and all...I don't know." He paused. "If you're not ready, forget I said anything."

I turned around and leaned against my side, staring at him. "I'm just surprised. I wanted to talk to you about it but I didn't want to pressure you."

"You were waiting on me? Well, yes, I want more kids! I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Amber and Shay but I like the idea of a few more kids."

"A few?" I repeated, raising my eyebrows.

He shrugged. "We'll discuss the final number. But we can start trying now and maybe by our anniversary we'll have another baby on the way." I bit my lip and looked down at my bare feet, noticing that my nail polish was starting to chip. Mary would have to redo them soon. "What aren't you telling me?" Maxon asked, picking up on my silence.

My shoulders sagged. "I wanted to make it until Valentine's Day to tell you as a present again," I confessed.

He raised his eyebrows. "Wait a minute, you're...already...really?"

I laughed. "Nothing like telling you that I'm pregnant to make you fall speechless," I joked.

"When?"

"Last month, when you were sick and then the kids were sick and then I was sick...I forgot to take my pill for a couple weeks. I wasn't concerned, I didn't think I'd get pregnant so quickly but obviously I was wrong." I saw the worry flicker through his eyes. "And I'm excited."

"Have you had it confirmed?" he asked.

I nodded. "Remember that emergency meeting with Silvia this morning about flower arrangements for Friday?"

"I knew it! I knew there were no flower arrangements!" He took a few steps toward me, holding my shoulders. "We're really having another baby?"

"Yep, now kiss me you fool," I said, leaning my face up to his. He brought his lips down to mine and my fingers searched hungrily, sliding beneath his shirt at the base of his back. I could feel just the beginnings of his scars there.

He pulled back and looked at me, bewildered. "I cannot believe this," he breathed out. Fear flickered through his eyes and he said, "That fight we went through…"

"Ancient history," I told him, pulling his face back down to meet mine. "I think with the kids being sick, we've officially figured out how to be effective parents. Let's just hope it's one this time around."

"Yes, let's! I love Amber and Shay but two more kids right now would test even our invincibility," he joked. He put his hands down on my hips as he stared at my tummy. I didn't have a bump yet and I probably wouldn't for several more weeks. I was excited for this pregnancy though. I was excited to really be able to enjoy it and to not be overwhelmed by giving life to two small babies. "When's your next appointment? I want to be at every one, just like last time."

I laughed at his enthusiasm, the bright emotion very contagious. "Sometime two weeks from now. Dr. Ashlar asked me to get back to him once I have a more definitive schedule of the week."

"Well, this comes first. I will postpone any meeting in order to make an appointment. So long as we are able to determine that we have a healthy baby," he told me. "And to hear the baby's heartbeat."

I smiled at him, stroking his face. "You're wonderful," I whispered.

"I know. But one can't help being born into perfection."

I knocked on Maxon's bedroom door the next morning, cracking it open enough so I could hear him. "Maxon, you in there?"

I heard a door open – probably his bathroom door – and then he asked, "Why are you hiding?"

"I did something really bad," I prefaced, trying desperately to contain my giggles. Mary had to put a hand over her mouth to cover hers up. She actually walked back to my bathroom because she couldn't herself.

"What did you do?" he demanded and I heard his voice get closer. "Are you okay? The baby?"

I breathed out a laugh and composed myself enough to say, "The baby is fine, you worrywart. I just decided to do something a little different."

"Okay," he said tentatively.

I took a deep breath and opened up the door, seeing him on two feet away on the other side. His eyes widened right away at the sight of my hair. The change was unmistakable. When I got close enough to him, he lifted a hand to touch it, starting at the root and then following the strands down to where they ended at my shoulders. "It's…so short," he said.

I held my breath and asked, "Do you like it?"

He smiled and laughed. "It's definitely different. But as long as it's still red, I love it." He was beaming as he leaned down to kiss me. "You're beautiful. But, one question, why the sudden desire to cut all of your hair off?"

"It's just a lot easier to take care of," I told him. "Plus, Amber is fascinated with it still. It's a miracle I didn't chop it all off when she was a baby with the way she played with it," I joked.

"Well I think it suits you. You look very sophisticated. The press will go crazy though when they see it."

I put my arms around his shoulders. "Let them go crazy. See if I care."

I know, I know, it's a shorter update this time. But hey - MORE MAXERICA BABIES! YAAAYYY!

Two things: 1) I read a really awesome one-shot the other day for the Hunger Games called Forever Until by lieselmemingers. I highly recommend it. 2) oh crap, i forgot what the second thing i wanted to say was...oh yeah! I'm taking down the author's note from a couple weeks ago sometime soon so no, you're not behind a chapter; a chapter is just missing. i think that's taking us from 33 to 32 chapters but i'm not completely positive of that.

Shades: thanks! i got excited about your last review that you were reading and i just now saw your most recent (congrats on being the 280th reviewer, btw!) i've been watching that the past couple days like c'mon, who's going to review so it's not an awkward 279 anymore? haha.

Parisismydream: thanks! i've had that fight planned for a long time now! p.s. londonismydream

winterprincess: okay...i'll try to not write you a dissertation. first of all, the Mockingjay trailers? I can't even. I really can't. I'm going to bawl all through that movie. And can we just think about what we have to endure for Part 2? If i can't handle part 1, i will NOT survive part 2. Second, i understand what you're saying about Maxon and the kids. But the kids are young and i think a part of them recognized that he was their father and he was then a comforting presence for them. Also, I know that it seems strange for him to not spend time with them. However, as things declined in his and America's relationship, he started to avoid America because it was too painful for him to be around her. America spent all of her time with the kids, thus Maxon started to subsequently avoid Amber and Shalom as well. He did see them though. Don't think that he never spoke to them for an entire two months. Shalom, as his son (and eldest son), is extremely important to him so he would sneak into their room at night and take Shalom or Amber or both and take them to his bed to cuddle up with them for the night. And he would, of course, return them to their respective beds before America would notice in the morning. Their nanny was under express orders to not say anything to America. So Maxon did see them and did spend time with them. At the same time though, because of the way he was brought up, he was scared of spending time with them because with his anger at America already being projected into other aspects of his life, he didn't want to accidentally project it on to his children. so...yeah...there's the dissertation. Hope it cleared some things up!

Guest: ugh, i love you anon for reviewing and cheering me on!

Prnamber3909: we're not really Hunger Games level. I just like to say that the Selection fandom is small but mighty! And Matched, while there were some editing mistakes i picked up on, was pretty good! Now that i've thought about it more the hype has died down and i'm like, meh. i think Ally Condie could've taken the story different ways and made it better but oh well, it's her story so who are we to criticize? she at least has a book published.

Mac: glad i could please you! Don't hold your breath though; things are about to take a turn in the country of Illea. There are some rumblings going on in the upper castes and they're not happy rumblings.

Kiren: the Selection is WAY better!

Weatherbug02: guys are idiots but we have to make babies somehow so i guess for all their faults and failures, they're still pretty important. ;)

lilythemermaid: hmm, that's weird. i haven't been ignoring you or anything; i just agree and don't think that your reviews have been posting! i like your reviews! and when i saw your review, i went to the last page and looked at all of those Fics because they were all the best! Smashleigh was my fave, for sure! and yeah, i started writing Selection Fanfiction in my junior year of high school and now i'm in college...so cray.

thanks for the reviews guys! hope y'all have a fantastic weekend!