Hi everyone! So I've realized I haven't updated this story in AGES, so y'all are about to gt a huge chapter dump. I have ten chapters written already, that I will hopefully upload over the next few days, so let me know what you think!

As they were walking towards the house, Lydia saw Arthur and Tom talking on the front porch, and she was glad that Tom at least didn't look angry about things. As they got closer to the house, Arthur noticed them walking, making Tom look as well. Lydia couldn't help but look away from the older man, really hoping he wouldn't be too mad about what brought along Arthur and April in the first place.

"Hey, you two come here," Arthur said to the twins when everyone was on the porch. "I wanna show you something."

He walked off the porch and the twins followed without question, already asking him if he was "like them" since their mom was, too. That left Lydia with Tom, but she only felt awkward for a moment.

"So those are my grandkids," he said with a broad smile. Lydia only nodded, sitting next to him on the porch when he motioned for her to. "What in the world possessed your mom to make you move away instead of telling Arthur?"

"I'm not really sure," Lydia answered with a shrug. "Other than the fact that she definitely didn't like me hanging around him once we were teenagers. At the time I didn't know why. At least, not until the twins came along."

"You never knew how much he liked you?"

Lydia wasn't sure why Tom seemed so surprised by this.

"We were best friends growing up. Of course I wasn't expecting it."

"So, are you gonna take up Arthur's offer? I'd love it if those two could be around more. You, too, of course," Tom said with a small smirk when Lydia gave him a sideways glance.

"The twins certainly like the idea. I'm still thinking about it."

"He told me where you're staying. You'd all be better off here."

"How about, I'll let you know tomorrow."

"Deal."

It wasn't long until Lydia was trying to convince her kids it was time to go home since they had school in the morning, but they were reluctant to leave. It seemed they got along with Arthur much better than she'd anticipated.

"How'd you get here anyways?" Arthur asked her when her attempts at getting the kids to leave proved futile.

"Cab," Lydia said sheepishly. "I really hate to ask, but would you or your dad mind driving us home? I know it's inconvenient…"

"I have a better idea," Arthur interjected. "If you're up for it."

"No," Lydia argued, already knowing what he was going to offer. "We can't stay here tonight. They have school in the morning. I'm not gonna make them get up at the crack ass of dawn to make the school bus across town in the morning. They have to get up early enough as it is."

"You working tomorrow?" Lydia shook her head and Arthur continued, "Then borrow my truck to take them to school in the morning. I can take you to your place so you can get whatever you need to get, okay?"

Lydia but her lip, trying to make up her mind. She could tell the twins wouldn't mind at all staying the night. But she'd only just reunited with Arthur. It didn't feel right to just barge in on his and his dad's life right off the bat like that.

"I'll only do it if your dad is absolutely sure he wouldn't mind us staying the night," she finally answered. "Plus, it is getting pretty late. The twins should've been in bed thirty minutes ago."

Arthur turned and asked his dad if he wouldn't mind Lydia and the kids staying the night, and he said it was okay without hesitation. He was also busy telling the twins a story – particularly, the story Arthur's mother used to tell him before she had to leave. Arthur gave Lydia a shit-eating grin at the affirmative answer, and she just rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"So, we going to get your stuff or what?" Arthur asked, that look still on his face.

"I guess," Lydia finally gave in, still smiling. "But April and Arthur need to go to bed. I would wait until we got back to make them go to bed, but they've had a pretty busy evening."

"I got this."

Arthur went upstairs for a moment before coming back down with two t-shirts in his hands.

"Will this work?" he asked Lydia, tossing one of the shirts to her. She caught it and held it out in front of her, smirking at the rock band logo on it.

"I think so," she said before turning to her kids. "Hey, we're staying here tonight guys. Go get ready for bed."

"What are we supposed to wear to sleep?" little Arthur asked. Lydia tossed the shirt in her hand to him and it landed on his head, making April laugh. Arthur tossed the other one to her and she caught it before studying it. It had the logo for Van Halen on the front.

"What's Van Halen?" April asked, furrowing her brow at Arthur.

"It's a band," Lydia said before Arthur could go on some tangent about classic rock. "Now both of you, get ready for bed."

"Come on, I'll show you the bedrooms," Arthur said as the twins stood up to follow him. "No more sharing a room."

Both twins looked relieved to have separate rooms, even if they weren't their own rooms – yet. Lydia watched after them as they followed Arthur upstairs and talked animatedly about anything and everything.

"Do I need to go grocery shopping now?" Tom asked Lydia in an amused tone. "If those two eat like Arthur did at that age, I'm gonna need a bigger fridge."

"Trust me, they can eat for sure," Lydia said with a smirk. "I'll bring a few things with me when I go to get a few of our things. Arthur has to have strawberry milk every morning. It's been his ritual since he was three. Both of them love pancakes, too, but they had that this morning."

"So, you ready to go?" Arthur asked Lydia, having already come back downstairs.

"That was quick," Lydia said in surprise. Are you sure they're actually going to bed?"

Arthur only shrugged as he walked past her to grab the keys to his truck.

"Let me check to make sure they're actually gonna go to bed then we can go."