A/N: Hi there! I'm always thinking of different chapters to add here and finally decided to write one down. Hope you have fun :)


January, 2031

Drew – 15, Blake – 7, Penny – 5

Sunday mornings were for walks after breakfast and family time in the living room. Some days were interrupted by rainstorms, and, when January hit, some days were interrupted by the frigid air.

Hailey usually didn't mind the cold days. Jay would turn on the fireplace, they'd all play games or do puzzles while a movie was on, and she'd make them hot chocolate. She enjoyed watching her kids grow up in that room, watching as their competitive edge began to show or their compassion made an appearance if someone's feelings got hurt. It was everything family was meant to be.

Drew was 15 when Hailey realized all the growing up wasn't just happening in the family room. She was teaching Penny how to braid on her giant Barbie head when Jay stood up from his chair and walked over to nudge him.

"Hey, let's go upstairs and do that thing we were talking about," he said quietly.

"Oh, yeah," Drew said. He shoved his book to the side and hurried up the stairs.

Hailey met Jay's gaze and raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head and gestured toward Blake quietly building a tower out of his magnetic tiles in front of the fireplace. Holding a finger to his lips, he winked then turned to follow Drew.

Hailey smiled and returned to watching Penny. Her daughter had received many dolls for Christmas and became very interested in doing their hair and dressing them. It was nothing like the childhood she'd had herself, but it was much happier and maybe even more creative. She loved watching her daughter explore the world - even if her "braids" were just twisted knots.

"Mom, see?"

Hailey looked over at Blake and smiled at the tower he'd built. "That's very cool," she replied, "You're a good builder."

"I know," Blake said confidently. He reached up to place one last tile on the roof then stood up to put his hands on his waist like he'd seen Jay do upon completing any task. Hailey thought it was adorable.

Penny glanced over and said, "I like it. Can I have it?"

Blake spun to face her and said, "No, you cannot. I worked too hard to have a baby destroy it."

"Hey," Hailey said quickly, "What have Dad and I said? She's not a baby."

"Yeah!" Penny agreed, standing up as well, "I am five!"

"I do first grade, you're just in kindergarten," Blake replied as he crossed his arms, "And I'm taller."

"Not a lot," Penny said as she marched over to stand by her brother, "Mommy!"

Hailey sighed and shook her head. Blake was taller by maybe two inches, but that was pushing it. This was a conversation they'd been having for the last four months. Upon entering first grade, Blake decided he was an official "big kid" and that his sister was much, much younger than him.

And Penny wasn't having it.

"Blake, you need to be nice," Hailey sighed, "And Penny, maybe you can make your own tower."

"You can't use my tiles," Blake clarified, standing in front of his tower with his arms out.

Penny grumbled and stomped her foot. "Fine, but mine's gonna be bigger."

Blake's jaw dropped, and he turned back to study his tower. "I need more!" he yelled before running upstairs.

Penny laughed and hurried over to her own box of tiles, something Hailey had needed to do set up the week before after another fight over the tiles and who owned what since they'd both gotten some for Christmas. While watching her daughter quickly dump out her tiles, Hailey smiled and leaned back against her palms. Just as Penny was making her first cube, though, Hailey spun to look at the stairs that Jay had warned her not to send Blake up.

Blake who, at that moment, came running down the stairs even angrier than he'd been when he'd gone up them. "Dad and Drew are rude!" he yelled, "They're telling secrets, and they're not letting me in! I'm a boy too!"

Penny, distracted now from her tower, gasped and said, "That's not nice!"

Hailey pushed up on her knees and reached over to grab Blake's hands. "It's okay," she said softly, "They're not telling secrets-"

"Yes!" Blake interrupted loudly, "In the bathroom! I know it!" He looked over his shoulder at the stairs and added, "Unkind."

Penny's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth.

Hailey sighed and shook her head. "It's not unkind. Drew is older, remember? It's okay if he needs alone time with Dad. Shouldn't he get to talk to Dad without you?"

"No because I am a really good kid," Blake replied easily, "And we're brothers."

His emphasis on the word brothers sent a flutter of emotion through Hailey's belly. She softened and glanced toward the stairs.

Despite their nearly eight-year age difference, she knew Drew and Blake had a tight bond. Blake loved asking Drew questions, and Drew seemed to love answering them most of the time - even if two consecutive questions were how to tie shoes and what the smartest dinosaur was. They argued over legos or wanting alone time, but they needed each other in ways Hailey loved to see.

She couldn't just push that to the side.

"Okay," she said quietly. She stood up and looked at Penny. "You stay here though."

"So I don't get to know the secret either?" Penny asked.

"It's probably a boy thing," Blake replied, "But I'll tell you if girls are allowed."

Penny nodded, then turned back to the start of her tiny tower.

Hailey smiled to herself and shook her head before walking Blake up the stairs. It wasn't until she was about to knock on the bathroom door that she briefly worried about what she was going to find on the other side of it.

Blake beat her to it, though, and reached forward to knock hard. "It's Buzz!" he yelled, "And I have Mom! You need to tell me the secret. Mom says so."

Hailey couldn't help but roll her eyes as she looked down at him. "Did I really say that?" she asked.

Blake shrugged then returned his hands to his hips, his small foot tapping impatiently.

Finally, the door opened and Jay stuck his head out to immediately look down at Blake. "Are you going to be cool?" he asked.

Hailey felt her lips tip up in a smirk, which just grew when she heard Drew laugh in the bathroom.

"I'm the coolest first grader Uncle Kevin knows," Blake replied.

Jay chuckled and nodded. He pushed the door open further so he could reach out and brush his hand over Blake's hair. "Coolest first grader I know too," Jay said, "Okay, come on, you can join us."

Blake's face lit up, and he pushed past Jay into the bathroom.

Jay met Hailey's gaze and winked.

"What're you doing?" she whispered beneath her laugh.

Jay nodded her over and smiled. "He asked me the other day to show him."

Hailey leaned into the bathroom and felt that emotion that had begun in the living room practically bubble over: Drew had shaving cream on half his face and was helping Blake up onto the counter so he could watch in the mirror.

"Is he doing okay?" she asked softly, "No nicks?"

Jay shook his head and crossed his arms while leaning against the door jamb. "It's slow going, but he's nervous, so it's okay. The chin was the hardest part."

Hailey nodded and watched Drew show Blake his black razor. "When did he become old enough to shave?"

"I don't know," Jay said, "But I do know that I'm gonna hold onto Blake's tiny, smooth face for as long as possible."

Hailey laughed softly as Drew leaned forward and, incredibly slowly, dragged the razor over his cheek all while Blake watched as well with wide eyes.

Both she and Jay were pulled out of their thoughts about their kids growing up when they heard a quiet stomping on the stairs.

"Mommy," Penny whined, "I tried a braid on my hair, and I can't undo it."

"Oh boy," Hailey breathed, kneeling down to meet Penny as she came onto the landing.

Jay whistled under his breath at the big knot clearly in Penny's hair then knelt next to them.

"Please don't cut it," Penny whimpered.

"We won't cut it," Hailey said softly, "It's just gonna take a bit."

Jay nodded and said, "We've got this." He glanced over his shoulder at his boys then smiled at Hailey. "Lots of hair issues today."

Hailey laughed softly and shook her head before beginning to pick at Penny's hair.

Half an hour later, Penny was silently crying into Jay's shoulder while Drew with a clean-shaven face and Blake with a beard of shaving cream were trying to make her laugh and Hailey was cutting the small knot out of her hair. In that short amount of time, two of her kids had gotten rid of some hair, but she didn't think she hated any of it. They were all growing up; it was going to get a little messy.